Paul Hunter joined the growing list of big-name casualties at the British Open when he found 22-year-old Shaun Murphy too hot to handle in Brighton yesterday.

World number four Hunter followed Jimmy White, UK champion Matthew Stevens and 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon on the road home as Murphy, ranked 48th, scored a shock 5-3 victory.

''It was a bad result but nothing to get too disheartened about,'' said Hunter, who had been second favourite behind Ronnie O'Sullivan to collect the £30,000 first prize.

While Hunter drove back to Leeds to prepare for next week's UK Championship, Murphy advances to the last 16 of a world ranking event for only the second time in his six-year professional career.

Murphy, who beat last month's Grand Prix runner-up Ian McCulloch in the previous round, believes his success is down to his contentment off the table.

''My girlfriend Claire is a wonderful woman. We've become engaged and we're involved with a tremendous church in Rotherham,'' said Murphy, who flew his fiance to New York to pop the question.

''Tactics have been my downfall in the past, but I'm trying to keep things tighter. I missed a few long pots today but if I can sort that out and knit the two together, special things could happen.''

Murphy stole the first frame with a last-red-to-black clearance, led 3-1 and moved 4-2 ahead with a run of 69 in the sixth.

Hunter is renowned for his fighting qualities, and another comeback could not be discounted when he controlled frame seven.

But the three-time Masters champion jawed a testing black with the cue ball close to the side cushion at the start of the eighth, and Murphy stepped in with an 88 break to set up a meeting with Graeme Dott or Michael Holt.

While Hunter foundered, two-time world champion Mark Williams eased into the third round with a 5-1 victory over Leicester's Joe Jogia - and then admitted his recent poor form can be directly linked to laziness.

''I haven't practised as much as I should have and you only get out of the game what you put into it,'' said the down-to-earth Welshman, who has fallen from first to eighth in the provisional rankings.

''I could sit here and tell you I was practising hard but that would be a load of rubbish. Maybe what's happened lately might wake me up.''

Williams certainly looked sharp against Jogia as he fired in breaks of 80, 43, 67, 72 and 51 on the way to completing victory in only 89 minutes.