Referee warns Zhou Yuelong in surprising incident over shot in Northern Ireland Open final with Mark Allen
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Updated 23/10/2022 at 18:46 GMT
It is something you very rarely see in professional snooker, particularly a final: a player being warned for taking too long over a shot. That is what happened to Zhou Yuelong in the Sunday showpiece at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast as he struggled to decide what shot to play when in a tricky position against the defending champion and home favourite, Mark Allen.
'You need to decide' - Referee warns Zhou over taking too long on shot
There was a surprising incident during the fourth frame of the Northern Ireland Open final on Sunday as Zhou Yuelong was given an unexpected warning.
Players are not typically expected to take a particularly long time over shots in professional snooker, but Zhou simply could not settle on a decision when in a tricky spot during the final in Belfast.
Zhou, who is not renowned for being a slow player on the World Snooker Tour, saw the shot clock tick past two minutes as he visibly sweated over a tough call at the table, having established a lead of 61-17 and a 2-1 advantage in frames.
Perhaps frustrated after having handed the player the rest and then having to put it back again, referee Leo Scullion gave Zhou a surprising warning.
"You need to decide," he implored the 24-year-old after the two-minute mark. For context, Mark Selby once famously took six minutes and 13 seconds to play a shot so two minutes is not even close to the longest ever seen.
Scullion repeated the warning to the Chinese player, who then swiftly rushed to take the shot. As it happened, he pulled off a perfectly good safety shot with the cue ball finding its way to baulk.
The fans inside Waterfront Hall, perhaps feeling a bit of sympathy for Zhou, applauded warmly as the cue ball safely came to rest back up the table.
Eurosport experts Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White made it clear later in the studio that they were not overly impressed with the referee's decision to intervene.
It was not the first refereeing controversy of the tournament, as White can speak to, while O'Sullivan also knows about being frustrated by officials.
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O'Sullivan says 'it is not fair' after referee warns Zhou over shot
In the fourth frame of White’s second-round match against Luca Brecel, which he lost 4-0, referee Ben Williams wrongly called which ball The Whirlwind was going for.
Williams laughed at the situation, which White was not at all happy about, so he gesticulated at the official - seemingly waving a finger at the referee - and was given a warning for his actions.
The pair shook hands after the match but White told Williams to “look at the video” footage. White missed his next shot and went on to lose the frame as his run in Belfast came to an end in the last 64. He later shared his side of the story.
“He’s given me a warning because he thinks I did a hand gesture, which I didn’t,” White explained in the Eurosport studio.
“What I was frustrated about is, I’m 3-0 down, this guy [Brecel] is potting balls, I’m trying my best. We’re playing a serious match, this is not an exhibition match. This is not a fun situation. I’m one of the lucky ones. It could be one of the guys out there who is playing for their mortgage.
“All of a sudden I’ve come on the brown in the middle and he’s said ‘blue’. I looked at him and said ‘no, brown’ and he starts laughing. All he’s got to do is turn around and say, ‘Ok, sorry brown’ and we get on with the game.
“But then he thinks I’ve given a gesture which he now realises I didn’t. I’ve got no problem with him. But this is a snooker match, I’m trying as hard as I can to win. I’m one of the lucky ones so financially it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
Asked if he had any regrets, White said: “No regrets, because it’s a serious situation.”
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The Home Nations series is back with the Northern Ireland Open and it is live and exclusive on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand now.
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