Welsh Open 2022: 'Oh dear' – Mark Williams uses HAND to stop ball as snooker attempt goes badly wrong

Updated 01/03/2022 at 17:02 GMT

It wasn’t the most disguised attempt to use his hand by Mark Williams, who was back on home soil at the Welsh Open and bidding to win the title for the first time since 1996. But this mistake proved costly as the 46-year-old fell to Kurt Maflin in the second round. Williams has had a mixed season, winning the British Open and reaching the Masters semi-finals, but suffering a string of early exits.

'Oh dear' – Williams uses HAND to stop ball as snooker attempt goes badly wrong

Mark Williams was forced to play goalkeeper during his match with Kurt Maflin at the Welsh Open after his snooker attempt went badly wrong – sparking amused chuckles from the crowd.

Already 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven encounter, the three-time world champion trailed Maflin by 18 points in the fourth frame with just two balls left on the table. He needed a snooker.

His plan was to play the pink off the cushion and steer the cue ball behind the black, preventing a path to the pink. Simple, right?

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But despite producing a solid cue ball, the pink bounced off the cushion and started rolling towards the right middle pocket…

“Doesn’t want the pink in,” said Philip Studd on Eurosport commentary.

Realising his fate, Williams jabbed his finger at the ball to prevent it finding the pocket. Sadly for the Welshman, the referee was quick to spot the infringement and duly called a foul. The frame was done.

“Oh dear,” added Studd amid laughter from his co-commentator Joe Johnson and the crowd.

Williams staged a mini-revival to turn 3-1 into 3-3, but he lost the decider as Maflin progressed to the third round.

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Stream the Welsh Open and other top snooker live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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