Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry made the greatest escape so far in the 2008 World Snooker Championship, beating Mark Allen 10-9 in the first round on Monday.

Hendry was two balls away from being knocked out but showed a bit of magic to make a perfect bounceback.

Allen, 22, led 6-3 and 9-7 before his best chance came at 9-8.

Leading 66-39 on a break of 39, the Northern Irish missed a simple pink to a center pocket, needing just that ball and the last red for the overall win.

Hendry showed no mercy to clear up with 35 to force a deciding frame in which he devastated the young opponent with a brilliant 72.

"It's probably the greatest first round match I've ever won in all the years I've been coming here," said the Scot.

"I've got to take confidence from a win like this, to be up against it all the way and come through in the end, and to win the last frame in style in one visit is very pleasing."

The 39-year-old has been in dim form recently with no ranking title since 2005 and went no further than the last sixteen in Crucible in the last two years.

Allen, who eliminated Hendry in the first-round of this season's UK championship, could not hold back tears as he reflected on a clearly squandered winning position.

His hopes of earning a place among next season's official top 16 is now in the balance.

"I thought I played the better snooker but I had my chance in the last frame and didn't take it," said Allen.

"The way Stephen took the last frame shows what he is still capable of and it shows how experience matters at The Crucible."

Steve Davis lost another thrilling match 10-8 to Stuart Bingham later, as well as his place among the top 16.

The 50-year-old legend will have to qualify for next year's Crucible showpiece for the first time since 2003 as he provisionally ranked 27th going into the tournament.

Davis came back superbly from 8-3 down to 8-8, only to crucially lose a marathon 44-minute 17th frame on the pink and a 65-15 final.

Meanwhile, Welshman Ryan Day beat Dubliner Michael Judge 10-6 to set up a second-round clash with reigning champion John Higgins.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2008)