Snooker star Kyren Wilson gave the Crucible crowd plenty to laugh about during his World Championship match with Stuart Bingham after appearing to go for a pink when on for a 147 break. Wilson had potted 23 perfect balls (12 reds 11 blacks) during the 16th frame of his last-16 tie.
Following his 12th red, the Englishman left himself with a tricky shot to the black to continue his hunt for a prized maximum break. As Wilson weighed up his next move, he eyed up the pink which if taken would of course end his chances of a 147.
After momentarily lining up behind the pink ball the 30-year-old quickly hopped away and moved across to the black, which saw the Sheffield crowd break out into laughter.
Wilson himself shared a quick chuckle as he re-chalked his cue, as did opponent Bingham who was watching on. He then tried his chances with the black which he cut into the bottom right pocket to keep his maximum charge alive.
As well as seemingly fooling the crowd and his opponent, the prank also worked on Eurosport commentator Dominic Dale who, clearly shocked, commented: “He's playing the pink," as he lined up the joke attempt. When Wilson finally moved over to the black, Dale added: “I honestly thought for a moment he didn't realise he was on a maximum.”
Despite eventually potting the black the 30-year-old’s hope of a World Championship 147 fell short just one shot later. Wilson left himself with a tough shot to the bottom left, which he crashed into the jaws of the pocket before slumping over the table in disappointment.
In spite of the miss, Wilson took the frame, after ending the 16th with a break of 96 to level things up at 8-8. This would be the last bit of action as the match was paused following the end of play on Sunday.
Wilson and Bingham then reappeared on Monday, and it was the latter who secured a spot in the quarter-final, as the 45-year-old won five of the six frames played after the restart to claim a 13-8 win.
Who do you think will win the World Championship? Let us know in the comments section below.
Despite missing out on a 147 break from Wilson, the crowd were treated to a piece of World Championship history just 24 hours later, as Neil Robertson secured just the 12th maximum in the Sheffield venue’s history in his second-round tie against Jack Lisowski.
His efforts were in vain though, as the Australian fell to a shock defeat to Lisowski in a 25-frame thriller. The Englishman will take on John Higgins for a place in the last four, while Bingham’s win earned him a clash with Judd Trump.
