SNOOKER star Mark Williams offered his cue to a member of the crowd during his World Championship match against Si Jiahui.
The 49-year-old was losing with five frames to Si’s seven when he bizarrely passed his cue to a baffled member of the Crucible crowd.
While attempting to pot the red, he instead hit the knuckle of the table.
Williams then punched his cue before handing it over to a crowd member and returning to his chair.
Commentator Shaun Murphy claimed he was playing up to the audience during the match.
Fans took to social media to react, with one person writing: “Legend.”
Another added: “I cannot believe that Shaun Murphy accuses Mark Williams of tactics playing up to the crowd, to win a game of Snooker, he’s always played up to the crowd, and it’s great to see.”
However, other viewers were not so amused with one person commenting: “Mark wouldn’t be displaying those antics if he was playing against Higgins, O’Sullivan etc he’s trying to intimate the young lad, not good sportsmanship.”
Williams went on to lose the match 10-9, subsequently crashing out of the World Snooker Championship.
Si took the deciding frame in dramatic fashion to progress to the last-16.
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The 21-year-old will now face Jak Jones in the next round.
Former world champion Murphy claimed he had “star quality” against Williams.
Speaking after the match, Williams said: “Who knows what will happen? I cannot keep coming to this venue. I am 50 next year. I look around and I have loved every minute of it.
“If I will be back next year, I don’t know. Who knows?
“You cannot keep going on forever. I will miss it. Fingers crossed you will see me play next year but who knows?
“It’s a tough game, and tough to keep getting back to these venues. You have to treat it if you are not going to get back here.
“Si was excellent. I didn’t play very well throughout the match. His break at the end was one of the best you will see.
“If he can do those breaks more frequently, then he’s a future world champion, no question. He has the potential to win it. Whether it is this year, who knows?”
Six of the top 16 seeds have already been knocked out of the tournament, including reigning champion Luca Brecel, Mark Selby, Ali Carter, Gary Wilson and Zhang Anda.
