STUART Bingham’s UK Championship campaign ended prematurely after he was surprisingly beaten by world number 62 Yu De Lu.
The 40-year-old from Bowers Gifford made the highest break of the match on Saturday but lost the final three frames as he went down in the second round at the Barbican Centre in York.
And the world number two was critical of his display on social media following the conclusion of the match.
Bingham said on Twitter: "What can I say?! Absolutely shocked on how bad I played tonight! Can't believe it myself! Gutted! Cheers for the support."
Bingham had walloped Adam Stefanow 6-0 in the first round at the end of last week and came into the encounter in confident mood.
It was an evenly-contested opening, with the first six frames shared between the two - with Bingham racking up an impressive 121.
He surged ahead only for Yu to find a second wind.
And breaks of 66 and 70 proved decisive in the end as Bingham crashed out to lose 6-4.
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