STUART Bingham was left ‘gutted’ after losing in the final of the Welsh Open.

Bingham, who is based in Bowers Gifford, lost 9-7 to Neil Robertson at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.

And Bingham was frustrated to come off second best.

“I’m gutted really, I just didn’t show up,” Bingham told the World Snooker website.

“I have been good all week and to not do it on the final day is disappointing.

“I had my chances and it isn’t like he blew me away.

“I tried to keep in it and got myself back to 7-7 and all of a sudden I fancied the job.”

But Bingham was also keen to try and remain positive.

“If someone had said before the tournament I’d get to the final I would probably have grabbed their hands off,” said the 42-year-old.

“I made 11 centuries this week and even though I didn’t play great in the final, I had a fighting chance.

“That probably shows me where my game is.

“You can be a fraction out sometimes.”

Bingham claimed the Welsh Open title two years ago by defeating Judd Trump in the 2017 final.

However, that means he was defending the prize money won that week on the two-year rolling world rankings.

As a result he now drops from 12th to 14th in the world and faces a battle to keep his top 16 spot ahead of the World Championship.

In a fragmented afternoon session, it was 2010 Crucible king Robertson who claimed the advantage coming out with a 5-3 lead.

When they emerged for the evening’s action the Australian widened the gap.

Bingham spurned opportunities to take the opening frame, before missing a black off the spot which allowed Robertson to clear with a break of 65 to edge three ahead.

He then moved even further in front after punishing a loose safety with a run of 56 to extend his lead to four at 7-3.

Bingham kept himself in it by clinching an important 11th frame to make it 7-4.

Bingham remained on top and impressively fought back to make it 7-7 to set up an exciting finale.

But Robertson then won a tense 15th frame to move to the verge of victory at 8-7.

The Australian emphatically surged past the winning post in the following frame, depositing a long red and crafting a contribution of 83 to claim his second Welsh Open title, 12 years after his last win in 2007.