Former snooker world champion Neil Robertson suffered a shock 8-10 defeat at the hands of England's Robert Milkins in the first round at The Crucible in Sheffield on Thursday.

Milkins, the world No. 19 and making his first appearance in the world championship since 2005, trailed 4-5 overnight but took advantage of a number of errors by the Australian to prevail in a tense finale.

World No. 2 Robertson became the first Australian to win the world title and the first player from outside the United Kingdom and Ireland since Canadian Cliff Thorburn's victory in 1980 when he won the 2010 championship