Bradford snooker champion Gareth Green left the UK Championships with the belief he can cut it among the best players in the world.

Green was one of seven amateurs to enter the draw for the first round at York’s Barbican Centre and lost to former champion Judd Trump 6-2.

After slipping to a 3-0 deficit, the 23-year-old fought back to win two straight frames before the world No 4 took control.

But Green, who juggles snooker commitments with his job as an asbestos surveyor, just wants more opportunities to show he can compete at the top level.

“If I got to the venues more often, I think I could compete,” he said. “But if it’s on and off, then it is just hit and miss. I am confident that I can do it.

“I work full time so it is a bit hard for me to play.

“Overall I think we both played fairly poor. I missed a lot of chances and pretty much gave him the game.

“It was great to play here for the first time but obviously the pressure got to me a bit.

“It didn’t faze me by playing Judd. It was just more the venue and the build-up to it. You don’t really look at who you’re taking on – you just play the balls.

“I was feeling fine, just missing silly balls and it cost me. I left too many for him and he took them eventually.

“My aim is to concentrate on practising towards a Q School, when that starts again and, if I get on, I will take it from there.”

Leeds’ Peter Lines, who beat Sam Baird 6-2 later in the day, was relieved to get past the first-round nerves.

“To be honest, once I have won the first round match I am not really bothered who I play because you feel like you’re into it anyway,” he said. “It should get harder but after that I don’t mind who I play.”

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