REIGNING world champion Judd Trump admitted he was simply outplayed after crashing out of the 19.com English Open.

The 30-year-old had cruised into the tournament’s fourth day without dropping a frame, overturning 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon 4-0 in his opener, before seeing off Neath’s Daniel Wells by the same scoreline in round two.

But it was another Welshman who ultimately got the better of the Bristol potter, with world No.80 Lee Walker stunning Trump 4-2 in the third round.

Walker raced into a 2-0 lead, but Trump responded with breaks of 135 and 101 without reply to seemingly take control of the tie as he looked to cement a spot in the last 16.

But Trump had no answer to Walker’s two half-centuries in the match’s final two frames, and after his exit was confirmed, quickly acknowledged that his largely unfancied opponent was well worth the win.

“He played well and he deserved to go through,” he said. “I didn’t play badly but he was too good and I hope he goes on to do really well.

“I did my best to try and get back into the game but he barely missed a ball. He potted a really good brown at the end of the last frame and he played as well as anyone can play.

“When you get to the last 32 you know you’re going to be up against a dangerous player and you’ve got to give everyone as much respect as you can.

“There are times when you know you’ve been outplayed and I gave it my all. It was the same last year when Ryan Day played amazingly to beat me in the last 16.

“In a best-of-seven-frames match anyone can win the game, and even the tournament. It’s disappointing to lose but you can’t do anything about it.”

Despite his campaign being over in West Sussex, Trump insisted there was no time to dwell on the defeat with a hectic winter period firmly on the horizon.

And with his eyes set on claiming his second UK Championship title which would see him hold all Triple Crown titles simultaneously, he admitted there is plenty to work towards in the coming months.

He said: “There are some really big events coming up and when you get to the one or two table setup there’s always something to look forward to.

“Obviously it’d be nice to do well at the smaller events but if you can perform to your best at the big tournaments, then at the end of the season you’ll most likely look back and think you’ve had a good year.”

Watch the English Open live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White