Shaun Murphy became the biggest casualty of the Welsh Open so far after he was whitewashed by a player ranked 83 places below him.

The 2005 world champion could only score 87 points in a surprise 4-0 defeat to world number 90 Gerard Greene.

Despite his lowly ranking, Greene proved he was no mug on the table after a very impressive display saw him thrash this season’s Champion of Champions winner.

Elsewhere, it was a good day for the home nation with the likes of Wales’ very own Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens progressing through to the next stage.

Williams, winner of two rankings event this season, beat Mark King 4-2 but the attention on him was away from the table after fellow Welsh player Darren Morgan accused him of being a bully in a BBC interview.

Morgan lost his pre-qualifier match in the Welsh Open on Monday and has reportedly been upset by Williams’ comments and tweets in relation to his support for 16-year-old Jackson Page.

Before the tournament Williams said he felt Page should have earned an automatic spot in the competition.

Williams’ comments came despite Morgan beating Page in the Robert Harrhy Memorial tournament – a win which allowed him the chance to qualify for the event. Page eventually got a place in the Welsh Open after Joe Swail was forced to pull out.

Morgan said: “He’s (Williams) saying things, trying to get me chucked out of the event saying Jackson should be in it. At the end of the day, I won a tournament and I’m ranked number one in the men’s [Welsh] rankings. It isn’t my fault.

“I’ve been trying to get to this Welsh Open for the last four years.

“So why Mark decided then get on his high horse when I beat Jackson in the final is beyond me really.

“He thinks it’s a bit of banter but there’s consequences to everything people do and say… but where he thinks it’s banter, to a lot of people it’s cyber bullying… he is abusing his position.

“He’s a bully. He’s a keyboard warrior… but he gets away with it.”

Williams has declined to discuss Morgan’s comments. In a BBC interview, while sitting next to Morgan, he said: “It’s probably best not to make any comment. He’s said what he said and everyone can read it. I’d just rather talk about the match today and how well I played.”

Matthew Stevens beat Ken Doherty 4-1 to book his place in the second round.