Judd Trump admits Jak Jones fully deserved to beat him after suffering a surprise quarter-final exit at the World Snooker Championship on Wednesday.
The world No 2 lost 13-9 to his Welsh opponent, who has reached the semi-final at the Crucible for the first time in his career.
The match resumed at 8-8 following the second session on Tuesday evening, with Trump way below his usual high standards.
The 2019 champion has won five tournaments this season but was not able to find that form throughout most of the encounter.
Judd Trump showed his class with his comments on Jak Jones after his World Snooker Championship exit
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Jones won five of the six frames played on Wednesday to provide one of the shocks of the tournament so far.
The 30-year-old wrapped up victory with a fine 106 break to end Trump's hopes of regaining the world No 1 spot.
Trump was understandably disappointed with his own performance but was quick to credit his opponent for his win.
He told the BBC: "There's not really much I can say. I didn't play very well. Jak deserved to win. Jak took his chances.
"Jak just outplayed me. Jak played to his rhythm. I couldn't get going.
"Every time I got in, I'd been sat down for a while. He executed his game plan well and when I was able to create a chance, I missed it."
Trump reckons he would have suffered a heavy defeat if he made it through to the semi-finals.
He added: "I just struggled. I had a lot of chances but it was a bit slower than I liked and I couldn’t get any rhythm and it was like starting again every time I came to the table.
"I should have been a bit more attacking in the first two sessions and maybe I played into his hands a little bit.
"It is not easy to have a good run here. Playing like that, he did me a favour because I’d have lost 17-0 [next] playing like that."
Jones admits he took advantage of early struggles from Trump and revealed his love for The Crucible amid talk the tournament could soon leave the venue.
He said: "I don't know how I got it done. Like Judd said, he struggled for pretty much the whole match.
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Judd Trump has been knocked out of the World Snooker Championship at the quarter-final stage
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"I thought he struggled in the first mini-session - and I took advantage. I felt quite calm. He started like typical Judd (with a century), but that motivated me.
"I went 3-1 up and, after that, I just felt he wasn't the same at all.
"I'm hoping they move the whole tour here! I don't know what it is, if you can't get up for the Crucible, then you can't get up for anything."
It hasn't been an easy road for Jones and he thanked his parents for their influence on his career.
Jak Jones has made it through to his first World Snooker Championship quarter-final
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He said: "My parents struggled by to pay for everything for me, it was a lot of pressure as a kid. I couldn't deal with it.
"Maybe that shows in the way I play now, I don't give up because of all the struggles I've had.
"It's absolutely down to my parents, it's the reason I've continued going because they've supported me so much."
