Snooker star in disbelief after committing bizarre foul in UK Championship as fans say ‘what a sport, that’s wild’
DAVID LILLEY saw his UK Championship hopes crash and burn after committing a bizarre foul against Elliot Slessor.
The pair did battle at Morningside Arena with a place in snooker‘s UK Championship in York on the line.
Lilley, 48, went 3-1 down in the first-to-six clash – but found himself with a chance to grab the fifth frame.
In order to pot the green, Lilley leaned across the table.
He successfully pocketed the green only to inadvertently foul just moments later.
Unbeknownst to Lilley, his chalk fell out of his pocket as he potted the green.
As the white trickled back towards the gaggle of reds it struck the chalk, its path diverting in the process.
Lilley could only watch on in horror, knowing that he had fouled.
He responded by placing both hands on the table’s edge in pure desolation.
Slessor went on to win the match 6-3 to book a place at the Barbican.
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Describing the incident, astonished Eurosport commentator Steven Hallworth said: “Time must have stood still there for David Lilley. You cannot catch your breath here at the Morningside Arena.
“You think you have seen everything there is to see in this game, and you haven’t. That is unbelievable.”
Fans also couldn’t believe what they’d seen, with one joking: “Chalk that one up to bad luck.”
A second wrote: “snooker never ceases to amaze me.”
And a third said: “What a sport, that’s wild.”
A fourth called it “rotten luck”.
And another added: “That’s new. And unlucky. And quite funny.”
Having booked his place in the last 16, Slessor will next face China’s Zhang Anda.