McGill confronts new boy Clarke in fiery clash
Angry Scot Anthony McGill took a potshot at opponent Jamie Clarke yesterday as their heated Crucible clash boiled over.
McGill accused Welshman Clarke of deliberately standing in his eyeline when he was lining up shots in what proved to be a fiery World Championship second round showdown.
Referee Van Verhaas was forced to step in and warn both players about their conduct after an angry exchange.
Trailing 7-2 McGill complained to Verhaas about Clarke consistently getting in his way after he’d taken his shot.
Dutchman Verhaas told McGill: “I’m sure it’s nothing malicious, but stay out of it now please.”
And then the experienced referee spoke to debutant Clarke and instructed him to sit in his seat for the remainder of the match when it was McGill’s turn to play.
“You’ve got to try to avoid being in the eyeline of the player, so if he’s playing in that direction I’d like you to be in your chair,” Verhaas told Clarke.
“Let’s just draw a line under it and get on with it.”
BBC pundit and six-time world champion Steve Davis stressed: “That’s nasty moments, that’s something you don’t see very often.” Fellow commentator Alan McManus reflected: “Tensions can run high at the Crucible, it’s understandable.
“Anthony wants, and rightly so, his opponent not to be impinging at all.
“Not to imply Jamie is doing anything untoward, but there’s an unwritten rule in snooker that when it’s your shot, it’s your table.
“You don’t like to see any controversial moments like that because they’re both great lads.”
Bust-ups at the table are rare in snooker, but the altercation brought back memories of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter’s famous ill-tempered spat at the Crucible two years ago.
The five-time world champion appeared to barge Carter and snapped at him “Mr Angry”.
Carter went on to win the match 13-9 and stressed afterwards: “I’m not intimidated by Ronnie”.
On the table Glaswegian McGill resumed with a daunting 6-2 deficit, but he dug deep to win five frames in a row from 8-2 down to finish 8-7 down.
Clarke, the world No 89, pulled six frames clear with a 77 break and won a thrilling 10th frame on the final black.
But after the controversy McGill dug deep and bravely rallied to keep his quarterfinal hopes alive.
On the table next door O’Sullivan and Chinese star Ding Junhui finished deadlocked at 8-8.
The duo returned all-square at 4-4, but it was Ding who make the early running as breaks of 64, 118 and 101 saw him move 7-5 ahead.
But the Rocket hit back with runs of 90, 89 and 73 to lead 8-7, before Ding won the final frame of the session with a 53 break to leave the match finely-poised.
Meanwhile, defending world champion Judd Trump has revealed he has struggled with the pressure of being snooker’s biggest star.
Potting sensation Trump was tipped to replace O’Sullivan as snooker’s flagbearer after an eye-catching start to his career.
But it’s taken time for the 30-year-old to firmly establish himself as world No 1 and to be regarded as the Rocket’s natural successor.
“For a long time it was a hindrance to me being labelled the flag-bearer. It added pressure to me being compared to the great players,” admitted Trump, who is through to the quarter-finals in Sheffield. “It’s probably why I underachieved for five years in my early 20s.
“But now I’ve learned to turn it around and use it to my advantage. I can really live up to that mantle.
“I’m enjoying trying to better myself on the table. I’m just trying to reach another level, to make more centuries than anyone has ever seen and the best standard in matches.”