Snooker star Matthew Selt sensationally walked out on his opponent during their match at the lucrative Saudi Arabia Masters tournament on Tuesday.
The Englishman – ranked 33rd in the world – was pitted against the Chinese player Pang Junxu, who is 28th on the world snooker leaderboard.
With the score 4-3 (1-10) in his opponent’s favour in the seventh frame, Selt lined up the chance to sink the black into the bottom-right pocket, only to miss what looked like a straightforward pot.
Having been perched on the table to make the shot, Selt reacted in utter frustration by flicking a red ball with his hand and quickly dismantled from the table.
Many would have expected the 39-year-old to brush off the error and just continue playing. But after having a quick word with the referee, Selt could be seen gathering his belongings and making his way for the exit.
In the footage, his opponent Junxu could be seen sitting in his chair in the corner. Selt appeared to approach him to shake hands before making a swift exit.
It comes just two days after Selt revealed he had been playing with a broken cue in Riyadh after it had been damaged on the flight, which may explain his decision to quit the match altogether.
“It snapped in two,” Selt said before the tournament. “I had some cues sent from back home and one from Thailand but I found a local carpenter here who has filed some of the wood away and used some extremely strong adhesive to put it back together, so I’m going to use it.
“I played with it for a few hours earlier. It looks terrible, but the balls are going in the direction they were going in before it broke.
“Hopefully that will keep happening and it won’t break during the game. He’s done a very good job in terms of keeping me going until I can get it to Thailand after here and get it completely rebuilt.”
As a consequence of his decision to forfeit, Junxu progressed with a 5-3 victory. It means Selt will not get the chance to fight for the lucrative £500,000 jackpot for the winner.
Instead, he will leave the tournament with £11,000 after reaching the fourth round with his win over Allan Taylor.
In an ironic turn of events, Selt’s next scheduled match on the World Snooker Tour takes him to the Wuhan Open on October 6, where he will once again face Junxu.
