Judd Trump, knocked out of the world championship by Ali Carter, called his opponent's behaviour "childish".
Last year's runner-up frittered away a 12-9 lead to lose 13-12 in the second round, beaten in a Crucible classic which reached its climax in a 46-minute deciding frame.
Carter complained that Trump, the 22-year-old title favourite, had all the luck in the match and was so frustrated when he was put in a snooker behind the brown and yellow balls in the 23rd frame, seemingly by fluke, that he applauded sarcastically.
"If he wants to do that, then it's up to him, but he's 30-odd years old and it's a bit childish," Trump said.
Carter, 32, said the match proved that snooker is about more than simply potting balls.
Trump was baffled by the remark, and said: "I'm still a lot younger than him and have done a lot better, so let's just let the snooker do the talking."
Trump had been 9-7 ahead going into the concluding session of the match and almost made a maximum break in the afternoon's third frame but could not find position on a 13th red.
It put him 11-8 ahead, though, and despite Carter taking the next with a 94 break Trump soon re-established his three-frame cushion.
Carter began to eat into the lead, though, and had his own maximum chance but could manage only 81. It put him back at 12-10, then Carter closed the gap further by taking a scrappy frame and drew level aided by a run of 53.
Trump missed a red with the rest to present Carter with a match-winning chance in the decider. He made 47 which left Trump needing four snookers, and remarkably he found three of them.
But Carter, fighting an ongoing battle with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel condition, mopped up the colours he required to claim a hugely satisfying win.
Although the tournament lost a crowd favourite in Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan was not to be denied a place in the last eight as he beat Mark Williams at the Crucible for the fourth time in seven years.
O'Sullivan was outstanding on Sunday, winning six of eight frames in their middle session to build an 11-5 lead, and he finished off Williams 13-6 on Monday evening.
Matthew Stevens reached the quarter-finals by defeating Barry Hawkins. He won 13-11, aided by a break of 57 in a final-frame victory march, and the 34-year-old will face Ryan Day in the last eight.
Later, a third Welsh player reached the last eight after Shaun Murphy's first-round conqueror, Jamie Jones, the world No36, set up a clash with Carter by defeating Andrew Higginson 13-10. Jones said: "I feel relief. I've played Ali before and I won it so hopefully that's a good omen."
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