'Very rickety!' - Farcical moment Judd Trump has to ditch wonky spider, nick another in match with Mark Allen

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 15/10/2021 at 12:13 GMT

After deciding to rely on using the extended spider rest, he then realised that the piece of equipment was ludicrously wonky and effectively unusable. "It's very rickety, it seems," said Eurosport commentator David Hendon while chuckling at the absurdity of the situation. "It seems table two have got better equipment! Obviously you don't want it moving around while you're playing a shot."

Judd Trump encountered a very strange situation during his Northern Ireland Open quarter-final against Mark Allen in Belfast.

During the second frame with a slender 19-0 lead, Trump found himself in a tough spot as he needed to cue over a pack of reds in tricky circumstances.

After deciding to rely on using the extended spider rest, he then realised that the piece of equipment was ludicrously wonky and effectively unusable.

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Next, after agreeing with the match referee, he attempted to use Allen's extended spider instead, only to find that it was equally dodgy.

So, in a farcical and amusing moment, he then had to stride over to the other table in the venue. He pretended to take a shot as the crowd cheered and laughed before swiping the equipment he needed.

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After taking the extended spider from table two as though in a local pool club, he executed the pot perfectly and duly left the equipment under the playing table rather than returning it.

"It's very rickety it seems," said Eurosport commentator David Hendon while chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.

"Not ideal, really! Hmmm, so two extended spiders are not to his liking so he's going to look on the other table, table two, to see if there is a more secure one.

It seems table two have got better equipment! Obviously you don't want it moving around while you're playing a shot - it's a horrible enough shot as it is.

"Now, what does he do with that? Does he take it back over to table two? No, it's going under this table. Let's hope they remember to put one over there tonight."

It was a comical moment in the afternoon session of what was a hotly-anticipated match between the three-time champion and the hometown hero.

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Stream the Northern Ireland Open live and on demand on discovery+, the Eurosport app and eurosport.com.

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