An unbelievable fluke shot in the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out event left the commentators as shocked as the crowd in Leicester. Zak Surety was in need of inspiration as he trailed Liam Pullen 48-36 in their clash, finding himself snookered behind the blue and the brown.
He managed to come off the back cushion and connect with a red though, although there appeared little control over his shot.
But as Surety glanced up to see where the balls would end up, anxiety turned into astonishment as the red cannoned off the yellow and green before dropping into the middle pocket.
And on Eurosport, the pundits struggled to contain themselves, with one saying: “Ohhh unbelievable, but is he on anything? Yes, yes, the yellow is coming back.”
A smiling Surety lapped up the moment, prompting the quip: “I need a drink myself after that. We’ve seen some outrageous flukes in this event so far. You can’t make it up.”
Unfortunately for the Englishman, he couldn’t capitalise on his good fortune. After he missed the yellow, his teenage opponent got one more visit in, playing a neat safety shot before the 10-minute time limit expired.
Pullen’s victory means the 19-year-old will be here for the second and final day of the ranking event at the Morningside Arena. And regardless of how he performs tomorrow, he’ll take home a cheque of £1000 for this troubles.
He’d previously come though a low-scoring affair with Jimmy Robertson, taking the frame 21-13. Surety meanwhile, will receive just £500 for managing his shock win over Pang Junxu.
But while the conclusion to the battle brought a big reaction from the crowd, the behaviour of supporters has been under the spotlight throughout Friday. Fans online have complained about people constantly shouting out during play.
The Snooker Shoot Out is the only professional tournament where crowd noise is encouraged during frames. It’s returned to Leicester this year having been held at the Swansea Arena in December 2023.
The most enticing second round tie has been saved for the end for the second round, with four-time world champion Mark Selby taking on Jak Jones. The Welshman was a beaten finalist at the Crucible this year.