Hendry, confident of adding title number eight at this year's tournament, shook his head in disbelief as the 23-year-old from Basildon shattered his hopes.

Bingham, the world number 92, only joined the main tour this season and had to battle through four qualifying rounds.

He trailed Hendry 5-4 at one stage but put in a superb performance during the evening session to snatch victory.

Perhaps only the exit of Steve Davis in 1982 at the hands of Tony Knowles, who at the time was little known, eclipses Hendry's second first-round defeat in three years.

After his win Bingham said: "I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"I was really nervous before the game and as soon as the curtains opened and I walked through and I was just in my element.

"It was an unbelievable feeling. The crowd was brilliant and the adrenalin just went through me."

Following his defeat, Hendry admitted his attitude had been all wrong during the match.

He said: "I think I spent most of the day trying not to lose the match instead of trying to win it.

"When you are negative like that from the start you are gonig to lose.

"My safety was poor, not aggressive enough and I left reds on.

"Stuart was fantastic, he had the right attitude and enjoyed it."

The world number two was never allowed to seize command of the match in his customary style by Bingham, who lost the opening frame but was never more than one behind.

Drama

The first sign of the drama that lay ahead came when Bingham moved 4-2 ahead, only for Hendry to rattle off the last three frames of the morning session helped by the first century break of 106.

There was little of the usual Hendry fluency, but the Scot was still expected to put his opponent in his place when the match resumed.

However, it was Bingham who started like a house on fire and he won all four frames before the interval, helped by breaks of 51, 78, 70 and 95 as Hendry sat shaking his head.

Leading 8-5, the former world amateur champion then showed his first signs of nerves as Hendry pulled a frame back, but Bingham kept his composure to take the next.

Hendry kept his hopes alive by taking frame 16 to pile the pressure on the qualifier.

But then Bingham potted an audacious red to begin a run of 29 and he added a further contribution of 87 to seal an amazing triumph.

In Saturday's other big match, world number one Mark Williams of Wales was leading John Read of England by five frames to four.

The match was due to resume on Sunday evening.