Both Judd Trump and Neil Robertson were left frustrated and disappointed with playing conditions at the UK Championship after their first round clash.
Trump win five frames on the spin to claim the match 6-3, turning his form around from early struggles to a much more impressive finish.
The two former world champions were struggling for their best for much of the contest, though, and both felt the table was extremely difficult.
Asked if the conditions were the worst he has faced, Trump said: ‘I’ve played in some bad ones, but that’s close.
‘It’s disappointing because it always seems to be the big events over here. The World Championship is the same. I’ve always struggled here because the tables are so heavy.
‘The cushions out there, you can’t ever get them to play that bad on a practice table! So I don’t know what it is. Hopefully they can change them. I think all the players have been struggling.’
Trump, who faces John Higgins next in the last 16, added on Eurosport: ‘I did my best both sessions, as well as I could play in the conditions.
‘We both found it tough. It’s difficult when you can’t perform to your best out there in a big event. We both struggled with the conditions. I just tried to not give up and hopefully it would turn around and that’s kind of what happened after the interval.
‘The cushions were just very bouncy, very heavy. It was hard to stop the white. It’s tough because it gets you down. You want to go out there and play your best, but it’s difficult when the conditions don’t allow that. It’s nice to say that after winning. It’s tough for both players.’
Robertson told a post-match press conference: ‘To be honest with you the table was pretty much as unplayable as it gets for professional conditions. Being such a tough sport anyway it can make either player look stupid. It was as tough as I’ve ever played.
‘It’s not the table-fitters fault or anything like that, the arena felt fine, I don’t understand. It’s really frustrating because that’s about as hard conditions as I’ve played on as a professional.’
The Australian added: ‘Probably the only two people who can be critical of our play is myself and Judd. Unless you’re out there and you know how hard the conditions are playing today…that was tough.
‘We were laughing about it really. He’s almost missed a red off the break-off, that tells you hard things were out there.
‘It was just tough, a tough game. I thought he has to take a lot of credit for how he came back, the last few frames he potted some great balls and kept breaks going really well. There’s nothing negative to come out of it, it was just a really tough game for both of us.’
A WST spokesperson said: ‘We always strive to provide the best possible conditions and welcome feedback from players.
‘The recent weather has seen a large volume of rainfall and high humidity around the country. This can negatively influence the conditions.’
Trump did manage to make breaks of 73, 126 and 67 in the final four frames of the match as he eventually got a handle on the table.
His blockbuster last 16 clash with Higgins, a repeat of two World Championship finals, will be on Thursday in York.
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