Wayne Mardle has warned Peter Wright that his shock exit could carry consequences far beyond a single result.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Mardle said: “I know Merk won but the story is about Peter Wright, unfortunately.
“And I’ve got to say, from a friend’s point of view, it was an awful watch.
“Watching an absolute champion, a legend of our sport, someone who’s helped the sport grow play like that. I didn’t enjoy it one bit.
“If you play like that elsewhere, it’s okay. You don’t really think about it. It’s one of those.
“But when you do it in the World Championship, and I know this because I’ve done it, you end up questioning whether you’re good enough ever again to compete. And it’s about competing. It’s about winning.
“I don’t know what kind of questions Peter is asking himself, whether it’s like, it’s fine. I’ll carry on. I love the game. And I hope that happens, by the way.
“I don’t want him to because he’s always said that I don’t want to retire, I just don’t want to retire, I love it.
“And I don’t want him to have this knee-jerk reaction because it’s happened at the World Championships.
“He’s a winner. He’s an absolute winner. I just hope he’s okay because that is one of those where you will think about that. That sleepless night stuff.”