Mark Selby tipped his shock conqueror Anthony McGill to carry off the Betfred World Championship title after the Crucible curse struck yet again.
Scottish potter McGill, a qualifier making his debut on snooker's biggest stage this year, followed up his eye-catching 10-9 win over fellow Glaswegian Stephen Maguire by crushing Selby's hopes of retaining the trophy.
He was rated a 150/1 shot for the title with bookmakers before the tournament began. But in clinching a 13-9 victory over Selby to reach the quarter-finals on Friday night, McGill never appeared overawed by the occasion or the gradual position of control he developed.
The 24-year-old finished off Selby with a break of 82, and as they shook hands, the man who beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in last year's final told McGill he could go all the way.
Selby said: "He played fantastically all match and thoroughly deserved to win.
"Every time he got a chance he seemed to punish me.
"I said to him at the end that if he played like that there's no reason he can't win it."
"I don't think people will be fearing me. I'm probably a good draw in the quarter-finals of the World Championship to be honest" - Anthony McGill
McGill, who promised his watching parents Tam and Helen a hearty hug, said: "I'm just ecstatic. To beat the world champion at the Crucible, I just can't believe it.
"No-one expected me to win. I wasn't expecting myself to win, I was just hoping to put up a decent fight and try my best.
"To beat Mark 13-9 is just a dream."
No first-time winner of the World Championship in Sheffield has returned a year later to retain the trophy, with Selby becoming the 16th to falter, joining a list that includes greats of the game such as Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and O'Sullivan.
It has become known as the Crucible curse, but with that in mind Selby said: "I've no embarrassment in losing. You look at the greats who've won it for the first time and not defended it."
McGill faces a last-eight clash with Shaun Murphy or Joe Perry, who begin their second-round clash on Sunday.
As for his own thoughts of landing the trophy, McGill said: "I've knocked out the world champion, so you think whoever knocks him out could - but I don't know.
"I don't think people will be fearing me. I'm probably a good draw in the quarter-finals of the World Championship to be honest.
"It seems like every time I win a game it's the biggest win of my career. Fingers crossed it keeps happening."
Hendry gave a thumbs-up as they briefly crossed paths, the approval of the seven-time champion bringing a smile to McGill's face.
McGill could find himself the last Scot standing come Saturday evening, with former champions Graeme Dott and John Higgins in danger of elimination.
Dott resumes 11-5 adrift of Stuart Bingham, while Higgins slipped from 7-5 in front to 9-7 behind Ding Junhui, China's perennial Crucible underachiever.
