SNOOKER'S cramped schedule came under attack from a former world and UK champion just before he left York's Barbican Centre last night after being knocked out of the Travis Perkins UK Championship.

John Higgins, beaten 9-7 by 22-year-old Welshman Ricky Walden, called the playing tour scandalous and a joke.

Last Sunday after winning the British Open title in Brighton he rushed back to his home near Glasgow for the imminent birth of his second child.

He wants desperately to be at the birth but the baby was four days overdue when he had to come to York for the UK event. When he left York yesterday his wife Denise had still not gone into labour.

Higgins was critical of the tournament schedule's back-back-back tournaments.

"The way the schedule is we've not had a tournament for two months and then they schedule one, after which you're lucky if you get a day off, and you've got another tournament.

"We have eight months in the season and it must be for television, obviously, but it's scandalous really when you think of the amount of tournaments we've got and you've got one back-to-back.

"You can't choose your events in snooker as you're contracted to play. It's a joke."

He made no excuses about his defeat to world-ranked 78 Walden, from Flintshire, who won through the qualifying rounds.

"I lost it when I was 4-2 in front of him and had a couple of chances and didn't take them and finished the session 4-4," he said.

Walden, went 7-4 ahead helped by breaks of 116 and 140 and although Higgins fought back to level at 7-7 the young Welshman knocked in an 86 for 8-7 and won the next to earn a last-16 match against John Parrott, 9-3 winner over Marco Fu.

Steve Davis is through to the last 16 after a six and a half hour 9-8 win over Dominic Dale after Davis had led 8-5. Alan McManus came from 8-6 down to beat Ryan Day, while Pontefract's Jimmy Michie lost.

Second round

David Gray bt Mark Selby 9-3, John Parrott bt Marco Fu 9-3, Ricky Walden bt John Higgins 9-7, Graeme Dott bt Neil Robertson 9-8, Alan McManus bt Ryan Day 9-8, Peter Ebdon bt Robert Milkins 9-6, Stephen Lee bt Jimmy Michie 9-4, Steve Davis bt Dominic Dale 9-8.

There were no matches on Friday as the arena was being re-rigged for television coverage starting on Saturday.

Updated: 10:25 Friday, November 19, 2004