FORMER champion Stuart Bingham suffered a shock defeat on day one of the Australian Snooker Goldfields Open at Bendigo Stadium.

The Englishman looked set to advance to round two when he opened up a 4-2 lead on Fergal O’Brien.

However, the Irishman had other ideas, storming home to win the final three frames and claim the match 5-4.

O’Brien advanced to a second round clash with Scotland’s John Higgins.

Higgins proved too steady for Michael Georgiou, winning 5-2.

Scotsman Stephen Maguire made light work of round one opponent Joel Walker, cruising to a 5-0 victory, while Ricky Walden was forced to work harder to account for Andrew Higginson 5-3.

Maguire and Walden will meet in Wednesday’s second round.

The tournament began on Monday morning with two wildcard matches.

Yarrawonga’s Adrian Ridley scored one of the biggest wins of his career to earn a place in the main draw.

Ridley defeated Ben Woolaston 5-3 to earn a round one clash against England’s Robert Milkins.

England’s Matthew Selt dominated the second wildcard match, thrashing Ben Judge 5-0.

Selt’s reward for his win – a marquee match-up against Australian star Neil Robertson on Tuesday night.

Robertson has finished runner-up at the Australian Snooker Goldfields Open and is desperate to add his home title to his world championship crown.

The highlight of Tuesday’s play will be the round one clash between former world champion Shaun Murphy and two-time world champion runner-up Ali Carter.

Other round one matches scheduled for Tuesday include world number one Mark Selby, from England, taking on Mark King and 2013 Australian Snooker Goldfields Open champion Marco Fu against Englishman Martin Gould.

Tickets are still available for the tournament via the Bendigo Stadium box office. Action starts on Tuesday at 11.30am. Robertson’s match is scheduled for 7pm.