Stuart Bingham remarkably potted the black off the break in his UK Championship comeback win over Mark Williams. Tasked with downing an in-form three-time world champion in Williams, Bingham was late out the stalls, surrendering a 4-1 lead to his opponent in a battle to six.
However, while it seemed almost certain that this match would be Ball Run’s last in York for this year, with the score sitting at 5-2, the 48-year-old rattled off four frames in a row to progress into the next round, much to the amazement of those in attendance.
Yet, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Bingham. When the crucial 10th frame rolled around, the Englishman broke disastrously, strangely potting the black off his break in what has been described as a ‘never before seen’ feat.
Trailing 5-4 but with all of the momentum behind him, Bingham stepped up to break in the 10th frame but smashed his opener into the left side of the reds, offering up a relatively poor effort. Yet, that wouldn’t be the worst of it. His cue ball would cannon off of the cushion and brush the black into a top pocket, shocking Alan McManus on commentary but also fans on social media.
One stated: “That has to be the worst break I’ve ever seen: how do you put the black in from the break?! Howler from Ball Run,” while another lightly commented: “Finally! Something Ronnie [O’Sullivan] hasn’t done.”
Neal Foulds, a former six-time tournament-winning pro who provides commentary for ITV and Eurosport, also chimed in on the feat, adding: “Don’t think I’ve ever seen the black knocked in from the break off before tonight.”
McManus also couldn’t believe his eyes when the black fell, stating during Eurosport’s coverage: “You think you’ve seen it all. I’ve never seen that before, ever. Potting the black off the break. That is incredible.”
The 10th and 11th frames would go the way of world semi-finalist Bingham as he downed a shellshocked Williams – though the potted black wasn’t the only controversy of the tie, with the quality of the table also being questioned. A clash on the same table prior between Judd Trump and Neil Robertson also saw complaints arise, with Bingham accrediting such issues to certain chalk.
“I put it down to the two players in the tournament using Triangle [chalk], and they’re out now,” Bingham stated. “I think the conditions will play a lot better now. When the Triangle chalk gets in the cloth it can change the conditions totally.
“With it being reclothed now, I think we’ll be in for a scoring fest from the last 16. You see it at the Worlds, the table plays nice, then you follow Ronnie or Luca [Brecel], and the table plays different, but it’s up to them what they do.”
Bingham will face Zhang Anda in the next round, who pulled off a feat of his own in York, producing a stunning 147 in his 6-3 first-round win over compatriot Lei Peifan.
