John Virgo was left scratching his head at the World Snooker Championship when Chris Wakelin found himself hindered by the set during Sunday’s clash with Neil Robertson.
As Robertson aimed to snooker his opponent behind the brown, Wakelin encountered difficulty in executing a full stroke from the right-hand cushion due to an intrusive board. The 33-year-old was visibly irked as he tried to line up his shot, only to have his cue collide with an advertising board separating the players from the audience.
He showed clear frustration as he moved around the table, while Virgo – providing commentary with Ken Doherty – expressed his surprise, saying: “Yeah, I saw this happen the other night – I don’t ever remember people having a problem with this.”
Doherty continued: “I know it’s a new set, a new perimeter but…” before Virgo added: “Kyren Wilson did it the other night, it’s maybe just that ledge that’s sticking out. If it is interfering with his cueing, that’s wrong.”
Despite the awkward set-up, Wakelin managed to pull off an impressive snooker of his own, delicately grazing the red and then tucking the white ball neatly behind the pink on the far-right side of the table.
Virgo couldn’t hide his admiration for the shot, saying: “It’s unbelievable. He looked to be in all kinds of trouble, and that little flick on the pink… it wouldn’t have gone in off?
“Well, it could have gone in off the pink, but he’s got a snooker from nowhere.”
Wakelin, who was leading 8-7 at the time of the incident, secured a 10-8 victory over Robertson on Sunday.
He will now face either Mark Allen or Fan Zhengyi in the round of 16. Allen and Zhengyi will resume their match at 2.30pm on Monday, with Allen currently leading 5-4.
It follows a similar issue faced by last year’s World Snooker Championship winner, Wilson, during his opening match against Lei Peifan on Saturday.
While preparing to pot a black for a 136 break, Wilson accidentally nudged the partition with his cue.
Despite this, the defending champion remained unfazed, sinking the ball and sharing a laugh about the unusual incident with spectators, reports the Express.
However, it was Peifan who had the final chuckle, eliminating Wilson from the tournament with a surprising 10-9 win.
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