Snooker is a hard game for the players, but spare a thought for the referees. During the World Snooker Championship semi-final between Stuart Bingham and Jak Jones, referee Marcel Eckardt was left with a nightmare scenario of replacing multiple balls after a foul. Stream top snooker action, including the 2024 World Championship, live and on-demand on Eurosport and discovery+
Marcel Eckardt is one of the finest referees in the game, but he suffered an official’s worst nightmare when being asked to replace a cluster of balls after a foul.
During his semi-final clash with Jak Jones at the World Snooker Championship, Stuart Bingham laid a devilish snooker behind the green tight to the baulk cushion.
Lines were put on the screen showing a path to the object ball, but it never looked on.
After a bit of deliberation, Jones played his shot. It looked good early in its direction of travel, but it soon became apparent that the cue ball was heading towards the pink – at pace.
The white crashed into the pink, and reds were sent scattering around the table.
With no obvious pot on, Bingham asked for the balls to be replaced – to the delight of the Crucible crowd.
Eckardt had a rueful look on his face, as he began to consult with marker Rob Spencer on the replacement.
“This replacement might take about a week,” said Neal Foulds in the Eurosport commentary box.
It did not take a week, as Eckardt and Spencer worked their magic in five minutes “which was pretty good going considering how many balls moved,” said Philip Studd on Eurosport commentary.
Eckardt was spared a repeat trip to the monitor, as Jones made a brilliant escape at the second time of asking.
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Stream top snooker action, including the 2024 World Championship, live and on-demand on Eurosport and discovery+
