'They will have to do something about it' - Sloping table controversy at start of Mark Williams v Judd Trump semi-final
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Updated 28/04/2022 at 14:54 GMT
Mark Williams and Judd Trump are battling for a place in the final of the World Championship, but the start of their semi-final at the Crucible has been overshadowed by talk of the table not playing level. Williams twice tested it at the end of the opening mini-session. Watch the World Championship and other top snooker live on Eurosport and discovery+.
'He's not too happy!' - Watch as Williams tests table amid slant concerns
Controversy has cast a shadow over the start of the first World Championship semi-final between Mark Williams and Judd Trump, with the players seemingly of the opinion that the table is rolling off straight.
The Crucible has been transformed from two tables to one, with one of the tables from the early rounds being moved into the centre of the arena.
Moving a table can have an impact, and it can take time for it to settle.
Early in the contest, Trump looked bemused after playing a shot, while at the end of the first mini-session, Williams played two practice shots extremely slowly to suggest the table is not playing true.
“He is testing the table,” David Hendon said on Eurosport's commentary. “He’s done it twice now but has made his point.”
In the Eurosport studio, Alan McManus said it can take time for a table to find its natural position.
“It is not an exact science,” McManus said. “The table has been in situ for six, eight hours.
“It takes generally two or three days, maybe up to a week, for a table to settle, gravity to do what it does, and you get little tweaks.
"It will get there.”
Jimmy White has said an intervention will be needed if it is not playing true.
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'They've got to do something about that' - White on table slant concerns
“The occasion outrides the conditions, you adapt to it,” White said. “But if the table is rolling off they will have to do something about it because all of a sudden you start to allow for that, everything can go wrong and you look silly.
“I am sure they will sort it out.”
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Watch the World Championship and other top snooker live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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