World Snooker Championship: Jimmy White questions Mark Allen talking with Mark Selby - ‘What is he doing?’

Updated 28/04/2023 at 16:39 GMT

Modern sportspeople tend to get on very well off the field but Jimmy White was not happy about Mark Allen’s decision to have a chat with Mark Selby at the end of the mid-session interval on Friday afternoon. Having squandered a three-frame lead, Allen still appeared to be in a good mood and was talking with Selby before they walked out for the resumption of their second session.

‘What is Mark Allen doing?’ – White questions talking with Selby at interval

Eurosport expert Jimmy White questioned Mark Allen’s decision to talk to Mark Selby before the resumption of their World Championship semi-final.

The opening four frames of the second session on Friday took over two hours and Selby stole a frame from a snooker down to go 6-4 behind, when he was on the verge of trailing 7-3.

Selby then won the next two frames to level the match up at 6-6 going into the mid-session interval.

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Before the players re-entered the Crucible, they were seen talking with each other, along with referee Leo Scullion, which White didn’t understand.

“They are now laughing,” White said in the Eurosport studio. “What is Mark Allen doing? I don’t agree. You have a chance to be four frames in front, it’s not a good tactic.

“Out of the two, Mark Selby needs to have that chatter. He’s a little bit, not insecure, but that will be better for Selby than it is for Allen.”

Two more sessions will take place in the intriguing semi-final on Saturday morning before they play to a finish on Saturday night, with every ball live on Eurosport and discovery+.

White thinks the match could go either way but at 6-6, said Selby has the momentum.

“There have been a few mistakes, Allen is too experienced to panic but he should be four in front, he didn’t capitalise on that,” he explained.

“Selby has hit back, he was struggling, but all of a sudden he has momentum. The next session they will be weighing each other up again.”

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Stream top snooker action, including the 2023 World Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

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