Everyone has had one or two embarrassing moments that would piss them off each time it comes back to mind. In the same vein, Snookers has witnessed its own fair share of embarrassing moments, some of which are just so unforgivably cringeworthy.
Stuart Bingham witnessed one of those flustering moments during his pivotal quarter-final showdown against John Higgins at the UK Championship. Embarrassments do not come any worse than this one!
The English professional snooker player was left fuming after a mobile phone went off just when he was about to launch a break, much to the disappointment of the player. He could not hide his irritation at the event, yelling, “This is a joke. It is ruining livelihoods”.
That comment just about affirms how aggravated the 43-year-old was by the event that took place during his last-16 match-up.
The way everything played out could be classified as both funny and embarrassing. The 2015 world champion was on cloud-9, leading 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 during early proceedings. However, as the clock wound down, the Englishman was pegged back 4-4 by a resilient Higgins.
During the ninth frame, the Ball-run was on the verge of placing himself within one frame of the quarter-finals, looking to pull off a potential frame-winning break. He had his eyes set on the ball as he was fixated at the pot, looking to bring the tie to a close.
However, as Bingham lined up a rudimentary red leading 46-18, a spectator’s phone began to ring. As the phone blew off, everyone turned to the spectator. Even Bingham was left destabilized by the event that played out. Goodness me! Do embarrassments come any worse than that?
Bingham, clearly disrupted by the interruption, attempted to steady himself but jawed the red, allowing Higgins an opportunity to steal the frame.
Clearly pissed at the end of the game, “It went off – I got down and took the shot, but I shouldn’t have missed it. I was just thinking on the shot that something always seems to happen”.
“If the phone didn’t go off, I am 5-4 up, and I would have a couple of chances to get over the line,” he said.
These things happen, and Bingham will be looking to put this latest setback behind him as soon as possible.