Ex-world snooker champion calls for immediate rule change after Crucible incident
There were two similar moments during Friday's World Snooker Championship action, prompting questions over the current rules in place at the showpiece tournament
Former world champion Neil Robertson suggested rules need to be "looked at" after two incidents at the World Snooker Championships involving players making multiple attempts at safety shots.
Both Jak Jones and Kyren Wilson gave up points after failing to get the cue ball safe. Wilson took three attempts at one shot against David Gilbert and Jones had eight attempts in his meeting with Stuart Bingham.
The draw has opened up for all four semi-finalists, with none of the top 10 seeds still involved at The Crucible after a number of shocks. The unusual scenario may have ramped up the pressure, with all four remaining stars able to make the case that the tournament is theirs to win.
Even so, it was a frustrating watch for Robertson and for some viewers. The Australian, who won the world title in 2010, was covering the action for the BBC and urged a potential change.
“I saw it earlier in the session with Stuart and Jak and Jak missed it eight times before he hit it,” Robertson said, as reported by The Express. “At any point he could have hit a red if he wanted to.
"When you are trying to play a two-cushion escape, the commentator or any player will say: ‘I am trying to hit it’. But realistically you’re not. You’re having a practice go to miss it by a few inches and then you’re slowly moving up the cushion to get closer and closer to the red.
"You don’t care if you give away 50 or 60 points in fouls as long as you get it safe. I agree with [commentator Shaun Murphy] that the rule should be looked at because at any point Kyren could have hit any red on the table that he wanted to.”
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After Friday's action, Wilson opened up a 14-10 lead over Gilbert in his best-of-33 tie. The battle between Jones and Bingham is far closer, though, with the scores locked at 8-8 ahead of a resumption on Saturday.
Jones, who knocked out Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, could be the first qualifier to win the World Snooker Championships since back in 2005. The Welshman has already gone one better than 2023, when he came through qualifying before reaching the quarters, and has spoken about shutting out social media criticism.
“I am not the first person to have it, every player gets it," he said, per The BBC. “I like seeing stuff like that as much as good things. It kind of motivates me.”
Jones and Bingham are due to restart their semi-final at 10am on Saturday, with the final session of Wilson v Gilbert scheduled for 2.30pm before Jones and Bingham play to a conclusion in the evening session. The final, which is a best-of-35 affair, gets underway on Sunday and will conclude on Bank Holiday Monday.
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