Sam Craigie decided he wasn't going to hang around just to lose in the Scottish Open as the snooker star bizarrely walked out of his last-16 clash.
Trailing 3-1 to Ricky Walden, the world No 37 nonchalantly played a wild shot early in the fifth frame, opening up the balls and gifting his opponent a match winning chance. And Walden seemed to be making the most of it, building up a 29-1 lead with a seemingly straightforward clearance ahead of him.
But before he could seal the win himself, Craigie took matters into his own hands. The Englishman rose from his seat and shook the hand of his opponent, and the referee, before making a swift exit from the arena.
His actions are likely to result in disciplinary measures from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The World Snooker Tour are also yet to make a statement on the incident.
But such behaviour has been seen before in snooker, most famously in the Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stephen Hendry UK Championship quarter final in 2006. Trailing Hendry 4-1 in their best-of-17-frames meeting, 'The Rocket' conceded the match in the sixth frame and was both docked ranking points and fined £20,800 for his actions.
Prior to his exit, O'Sullivan had been angered by misplacing the cue ball after potting the black. On his next red, O'Sullivan missed and went on to shock the whole arena by heading over to Hendry and shaking his hand
Incredibly, the incident in Edinburgh comes barely a week after David Gilbert also stormed out during his German Masters qualifier against Andy Hicks. Gilbert took on Hicks in Leicester for a place in the main draw in February, and was trailing 3-2 and 56-1 as he missed a black off the spot.
He too is awaiting sanctions, after the World Snooker Tour said: "Gilbert has been referred to the WPBSA to consider whether there will be any disciplinary action." And like his compatriot, the WPBSA rulebook suggests trouble is ahead for Craigie.
"A player shall not concede a frame in any game, or match unless any player requires penalty points," it reads. "Any breach of this Rule shall be regarded as Unsporting Conduct by the player concerned. If the referee has already warned the player under Rule 1(a) above, the next frame shall be awarded to their opponent."
