Best of Masters snooker 2021 - Chalk drama, Ronnie O'Sullivan's naughty shots and a laughing fit

ByBen Snowball

Updated 18/01/2021 at 17:22 GMT

We reflect on a brilliant Masters 2021 in Milton Keynes as Yan Bingtao claimed his first Triple Crown title. Featuring Kyren Wilson’s lighter, Stuart Bingham’s chalk, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s unique ability with a snooker cue and Stephen Maguire’s giggles in the hilarious setting of an, err, interview studio.

Yan Bingtao is snooker's newest star.

The 20-year-old roared back from 5-3 and 7-5 behind to stun two-time champion John Higgins in the Masters final on Sunday night and lift his first Triple Crown title.

The tournament was handed a banana skin before it had even begun, with the event switched from the traditional setting of Alexandra Palace to Milton Keynes' Marshall Arena due to the coronavirus situation, but the world's top 16 players (minus the Covid-stricken Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski) still put on a show.

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Sensational pots, dramatic finales and, erm, a hysterical laughing fit brightened up the 2021 edition and ensured the Masters retained its grandeur despite an unfamiliar venue and a lack of fans.

Join us as we reflect on some of the tournament's greatest moments...

Wilson uses lighter to fix dodgy cue tip

We begin our recap with a one-man pyrotechnics display from Kyren Wilson, who was forced to get creative to fix a dodgy cue tip during his opening match.

The 29-year-old grabbed a lighter and set about burning the tip in just the third frame of his clash with Gary Wilson.

'You don't see that often' - Kyren Wilson uses lighter to fix tip

The bizarre moment was perhaps best summed up by Philip Studd on Eurosport commentary duties: "It’s not ideal that you’re having to make running repairs to your tip three frames into the Masters."

Wilson later revealed he had promised his mum the Masters trophy, which now looks a bit awkward given he didn't win it. We're sure Yan will lend it to you, Kyren.

'Extraordinary' - Bingham catches chalk to prevent bizarre foul

Stuart Bingham almost suffered what would have been one of the most bizarre fouls in recent memory, with the 44 year old scrambling to catch his chalk which rolled onto the table.

Bingham, the 2015 world champion, knocked the chalk off the side of the table and had to hastily grab it and stop any contact being made with one of the balls to prevent a most unlikely foul.

Watch the moment Bingham catches chalk to avoid foul

"Of course, that new chalk he has got is circular so it would have just rolled," explained David Hendon on Eurosport commentary duty, ramping up the drama.

Good reactions there from Bingham, that would have been an extraordinary twist, wouldn't it! He just nudged the chalk and it started to roll and roll and roll before he got it."

O'Sullivan's extraordinary double act

Ronnie O’Sullivan had us all purring after two brilliant shots during his comeback win over Ding Junhui in the first round.

When the world champion arrowed a red into the bottom right corner to begin a break of 60, sparking hopes of a revival at 3-1 down, the adulation started to roll in.

"They don’t get any harder than that," said Joe Johnson. "There should be something up there [in the stats] about the difficulty of a shot. That was worth at least four."

'Don’t get any harder than that' - O'Sullivan pots astonishing shot

O'Sullivan soon followed it up with a superb jump shot as he turned an elite match into an exhibition. Just look at this:

'Very few players could do that!' - O'Sullivan nails impressive jump shot

The break would come to an abrupt halt at 60, and O'Sullivan would bow out in the quarter-finals, but this was yet another reminder... he's still got it.

Murphy attacks 'idiot' footballers

He may feature in our Shot of the Tournament video THREE times, but Shaun Murphy caught the headlines for another reason after his defeat to Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals.

The Magician launched a stinging tirade on "idiot" footballers who have broken Covid-19 rules.

"I can only speak for myself, but when you compare the number of positive test results we have in our sport compared to others, we are a complete minority," said Murphy.

"That’s because our players respect the rules, our players respect the public who are paying their wages and watching them perform and we want to be here performing for everyone.

Murphy berates 'idiot' footballers who don't respect Covid rules

"Maybe some of the footballers earn too much to care. Maybe they’re not bothered about that. There was one footballer who has been done several times. I’m not sure who he is, he had a big party at his house on New Year’s Eve.

"We’re supposed to all be in this together, it doesn’t quite feel like that at the moment. And I would hate it if my sport, the sport I’ve been in love with for 30 years, and that I know brings so much joy to so many people, was stamped on because of some of these idiots in football."

The sports news landscape was littered with stories of players breaching guidelines over the festive period as coronavirus cases soared across the country.

Drama in the final

And so to the final. It's all ifs and buts now, but Higgins actually had the chance to open up an 8-5 advantage on Yan in Sunday's best-of-19 showdown.

The Scot appeared to attempt a double on the final black, an exceptionally bold strategy, but fluffed it which allowed his opponent to return to the table and pinch the frame.

Had it been a three-frame margin, rather than one frame, it may have been a different story.

'Unbelievable' - Yan steals frame as Higgins misses double on final black

"Another unbelievable frame in what's turning out to be an unbelievable final," commentator Dave Hendon summarised perfectly.

Maguire in hysterics

There's no better way to finish than with Stephen Maguire's grin. We all need some comic relief in these difficult times, and fortunately Maguire was on hand to provide it.

The 39-year-old had to leave an interview with Eurosport's Rachel Casey after getting a fit of the giggles. If you're going to do one thing today, make sure it's watching the below video. It's amazing.

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