Pundits name 'easy' reason for John Higgins' defeat to Judd Trump in UK Snooker Championship epic

Stephen Hendry identified what cost John Higgins victory in a four hour epic with Judd Trump.

The Wizard of Wishaw had made a commanding start to his 33rd UK Championship, with breaks of 110 and 92 as he breezed beyond China's He Guoqiang 6-0 in the opening round. And he led world number one Trump after seven frames, before crashing out after a gripping four hours of play - which was only decided by a tense 11th frame in front of a packed York Barbican.

Trump had dominated the recent head-to-head having won 11 of their last 12 meetings - out with the Championship League – including a 5-2 victory at the Wuhan Open earlier this year. But in front of a capacity crowd at the York Barbican the opening exchanges proved more of a tense battle of tactics, as both players struggled to get to grips with a table described as "super fast" by BBC commentator Stephen Hendry - and that had previously been slated by Trump.

But that made way for a marathon 42 minute first frame, which Higgins pinched with an excellent clearance - despite having trailed by 40 points at once stage, making it his longest frame victory over Trump in more than two years. World number one Trump hit back, taking a a slightly shorter second frame to level things up - with Higgins passing up a number of good chances to double his lead, before missing the pink altogether when attempting to play a safety shot, and Trump also took the third frame - another 40 minute epic. Before another excellent clearance saw Higgins win the fourth to square things up at 2-2.

The pace picked up considerably in the fifth frame, with Higgins missing a red in the middle and Trump taking full advantage - with a blistering century moving him back ahead. But Higgins fought back,