McGill comeback eclipsed by heated clash

A N G RY Scot Anthony McGill took a potshot at opponent Jamie Clarke as their heated Crucible clash boiled over.

McGill accused Welshman Clarke of deliberately standing in his eyeline when he was lining up shots in their fiery World Championship second-round showdown.

It overshadowed a tight encounter in which McGill won five frames on the spin from 8-2 down to finish 8-7 behind and keep his quarterfinal hopes alive for today.

The duo had been due to play one more frame but we r e h a u l e d off early because the evening matches risked not starting on time.

E a r l i e r, referee Jan

Verhaas was forced to step in after an angry exchange between the two players. Trailing 7- 2, McGill complained to Verhaas about Clarke not sitting in his seat after he finished his shots.

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 and 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 draw a line under it and get on with it.’

During the mid- session interval, the Welsh player cryptically tweeted: ‘ You want to dance, let’s dance.’

BBC 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 a nyt hi ng unt o ward, but there’s an unwritten rule in snooker that when it’s your shot it’s your table.’

Meanwhile, five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui finished l o c ked a t 8 - 8 a f t e r t he penultimate session of their second-round clash.

The duo returned all-square at 4-4, but it was Ding who made the early dash to move 7-5 ahead.

But the Rocket hit back with three frames on the trot to lead 8-7, before Ding won the final frame of the session to l eave the match even ahead of today’s conclusion.