Welsh Open: Former champions crash out in Cardiff

Neil Robertson was first to go as Lee Walker completed a remarkable comeback to win 4-3.

Walker trailed 3-1 and looked set to lose the match, only to fluke the pink he needed to further reduce the deficit.

Both men had chances in the sixth frame, Robertson twice failing to capitalise on openings which he may have expected to take, and a sloppy safety allowed Walker to force a decider.

Walker, who turned 40 last weekend, then produced a brilliant century clearance after another careless shot by Robertson to seal an astonishing turnaround and book a clash with Graeme Dott next.

Almost 20 years on from his sole appearance in the quarter-finals of snooker's World Championship, the closing frame must surely rank among Walker's finest achievements as, in front of a nervous audience, he sealed the upset of the tournament so far.

For Robertson, who won the title 10 years ago and was beaten in the 2016 final, it was another disappointing result in a frustrating season, hopes of a second world title now appearing slim.

He had appeared to be returning to his best form and showed flashes of it here, firing in clearances of 133 and 143 to help establish a two-frame lead, only to surrender it to a player who has never ranked inside the world's top 40.

Unlike Robertson, Shaun Murphy was always behind as he lost 4-2 to Josh Boileu.

The highly-touted Boileu reached the third round of the Irish Open earlier this season and showed the benefit of that experience for the biggest win of his fledgling career.

The current European Under-21 champion won the first three frames and while Murphy reduced the deficit to 3-2, Boileu held his nerve to win the sixth frame and earn a meeting with Robert Milkins.

Perhaps less of a surprise given the solid form of his opponent, Ronnie O'Sullivan was beaten 4-3 by Mark Davis.

O'Sullivan appeared in total command of the match having led 3-0, but Davis refuse to lie down and produced a composed, match-winning 64 break in the decider.

Davis had hauled himself back into the match with breaks of 65 and 81 in frames four and six, also winning a scrappy fifth frame as he knocked out the defending champion.

The 44-year-old told Eurosport that recent victories for some of the other veterans of the circuit had inspired him.

"I watched Mark (King) and Anthony (Hamilton) and they have both been around a long time," he said.

"They have managed to hold themselves together and do the business. You've just got to be persistent and keep going, and go out and do it for yourself."

Peter Ebdon was the fourth former world champ to see his title hopes ended as he lost 4-0 to Mei Xi Wen, who sealed victory with a 131 break, but there were no such issues for Mark Selby who beat Mike Dunn 4-2.

Judd Trump also secured progress in the final match to finish on Wednesday as he beat Alex Borg 4-2.

Also on Wednesday, recent German Masters winner Anthony Hamilton beat Jamie Cope 4-1 while there were morning session wins for Fergal O'Brien, Zhou Yuelong, Graeme Dott, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Craig Steadman, Ian Burns and Dominic Dale.

Marco Fu was another big-name casualty as he suffered a shock 4-0 defeat to 21-year-old Ross Muir in the afternoon session, where Northern Ireland Open champion Mark King was also beaten, his 4-2 defeat coming at the hands of Scott Donaldson.

There were no such issues for Barry Hawkins, a 4-0 winner over Tian Pengfei, while Michael White held off a comeback from Liang Wenbo to win their match 4-3.

Ali Carter, Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham were among the other big-names to survive on a day of shocks in Cardiff.