World Snooker Championship: 'Sit back down' - Mark Selby leaves seat as mad Shaun Murphy fluke drops

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 02/05/2021 at 16:12 GMT

Shaun Murphy was the beneficiary of a quite outrageous fluke during the World Snooker Championship final on Sunday afternoon with his opponent Mark Selby left so baffled by the shot that he had already left his chair and was ready to take over at the table. It was an amusing moment for Murphy and the fans inside the Crucible, with only Selby left to curse his luck with a thousand-yard stare.

Mark Selby was left so stunned by a crazy fluke from Shaun Murphy in the World Snooker Championship final that he had left his seat before the ball dropped.

In an absorbing afternoon session at the Crucible, Murphy established a 5-3 lead over the three-time world champion to assume a slender advantage ahead of Sunday evening's play.

While there were some fine breaks and delightful pots, undoubtedly the moment of the afternoon's snooker was a quite ridiculous fluke from the Magician on the pink, at what was a crucial stage in proceedings.

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Trailing 46-8 in the eighth frame of the match, Murphy chanced his arm on a relatively tricky pink to the middle pocket. The 2005 world champion looked on in dismay as the ball zipped off the corner of the pocket and down the table.

Selby, ready to capitalise on his opponent's blunder, had already left his chair and was purposefully approaching the table when the pink miraculously bagged in the far corner pocket.

"And he's missed it," declared Eurosport's Dominic Dale, on commentary at the time along with fellow expert David Hendon.

O'Sullivan: 'Selby will make Murphy want to take a year off!'

"Hang on!" exclaimed Hendon as the pink dropped in the far corner pocket. "Wow, that's huge.

Selby was getting out of his seat - he will have to sit back down again!

"Selby was just getting out of his seat as this pink was going to the jaw [of the pocket], but then it goes along the cushion and he has to sit back down again."

Dale added: "Well, a bit of magic there from the Magician himself."

"Yes," responded Hendon, "but not a lot of laughter from the Jester."

Murphy and Selby will resume their enthralling battle on Sunday evening with the Crucible showpiece set to conclude in traditional fashion on Monday.

Murphy holds nerve to nail crucial blue against Selby in final

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