'He's just walked out!' - John Higgins stuns commentators by leaving mid-match over lights at UK Championship
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Published 30/11/2023 at 19:06 GMT
It is not often that a professional snooker player finds something so distracting that it causes them to walk away from the table mid-match with an encounter having to be delayed, but that is exactly what unfolded as John Higgins took exception to some lights in a TV studio during his defeat to Zhou Yuelong at the UK Championship on Thursday afternoon. The Scot eventually returned to the table.
'Higgins is leaving the arena!' - Surprise as star walks off mid-match
John Higgins left Eurosport's commentators very surprised as he suddenly walked off mid-match against Zhou Yuelong at the UK Championship due to some lights.
It was a pretty dismal day for the Scot as he lost 6-3 to exit the tournament at the Barbican Centre in York in hugely disappointing fashion, but the drama came in the ninth frame as he became distracted by some lights in a TV studio.
After raising the issue with the match referee Tatiana Woollaston, Higgins promptly put his cue down on the table and walked out, clearly unhappy with the lighting situation and not feeling able to play.
A lengthy delay unfolded, and it was a scenario that left Eurosport's commentators for the match, Dave Hendon and Neal Foulds, pretty stunned as they attempted to narrate the situation while the fans in the arena also sat in confusion.
Hendon explained: "Well, John Higgins has just had a word with Tatiana Woollaston because he is saying about the light in the TV studio, the host broadcasters, that it is putting him off.
"I suppose it is an important moment for him as he is 5-3 down. Well, Higgins is leaving, actually! He is leaving the arena. The studio lights have been coming on and off all afternoon, and from where we are, I don't think the wall actually obscures them.
"Anyway, Higgins made his views known there, he's just walked out! So, obviously, we won't be continuing until he returns! Play has been held up.
"This is a distraction. He is returning, but I think he is going to have a sit down as the lights are still on. At the table, no one is home."
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Zhou wraps up deserved win over Higgins
Foulds also attempted to fathom what was unfolding: "Yes, some lights... I don't know if it has been made worse by the fact that they have put up the divide [between the tables] now, which means you can see the other side of the arena and perhaps what is happening in the studio there - which is not our Eurosport studio, I might add.
"Anyway, John is not hanging around! He needs to find some inspiration from somewhere, even if it is getting annoyed at something. He has not played well today; he has struggled for the most part.
"It is a difficult one. It is a television event, and sometimes you just have to play through things. I don't know how hard it is for John, in fairness, but it is not as though this is the first time all week. For some reason, John is not happy about things."
Eventually, play did get back underway in the ninth frame, but the delay in play did little to help Higgins as he proceeded to lose 6-3 regardless of the studio lights being turned off.
Zhou will next take on Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals after The Rocket defeated Robert Milkins in a dramatic final-frame decider in their clash on the other table in the afternoon session.
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