Neil Robertson plays a red off the cushion and into the yellow to divert the ball into the middle pocket in his quarter-final match against John Higgins at the World Snooker Championship.
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Former world champion Neil Robertson has called for a controversial chalk used by Ronnie O’Sullivan to be banned, saying most other players “hate it” and that it “makes an absolute mess of the table”.
O’Sullivan, 50, is one of only a handful of players on the World Snooker Tour (WST) to still use the traditional Triangle Chalk.
Critics say it causes more poor contacts, leading to ‘kicks’ when the cue ball hits the object ball, often resulting in players running out of position or missing pots.
Almost all players use Taom Chalk, which reduces kicks and leaves no marks on the table.
There are currently no restrictions in place on what chalks can be used in WST events so O’Sullivan, who lost a thrilling last-16 tie 13-12 to John Higgins earlier on Monday, has not done anything against the sport’s rules.
However, there was a noticeable kick in the deciding frame when the Scot was taking a shot on a red.
He could be heard saying “oh my god” when the cue ball did not run through as expected. That red was potted, but, out of position, Higgins then missed the following black, although it did not prove crucial as he sealed an incredible victory, having trailed 8-3 and 9-4.
Robertson won 13-7 in his last-16 match against Chris Wakelin to set up a meeting with Higgins, with the Australian pleased to avoid O’Sullivan – and his chalk.
“I would prefer to play John so I don’t have to contend with the chalk that Ronnie uses, which should be banned from the game,” Robertson told BBC Four.
“I don’t know how you are allowed to even use it.”
In the first of the last-16 matches, 2005 winner Shaun Murphy moved into a dominant 6-2 lead over China’s Xiao Guodong.
Murphy scraped through 10-9 against Fan Zhengyi in the first round, calling his match-winning break of 50 in the decider the best break he had ever made at the Crucible after he had trailed 53-17.
But the 43-year-old Englishman found this session to be calmer as he made breaks of 79, 103, 63 and 64 to go 5-0 ahead.
World number nine Xiao took the next two frames, but Murphy ended the session well and took the last with a run of 61 to have a four-frame lead in the first-to-13 match.
That match resumes on Friday at 10:00 BST and Murphy could win it with a session to spare if he wins seven of the eight frames in that session. The third session, if needed, will take place from 19:00.
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen holds a 5-3 lead against England’s Kyren Wilson, the 2024 champion.
Two-time semi-finalist Allen made breaks of 50 and 78 to race into a 5-0 lead, but Wilson won the last three frames of the session, helped by runs of 75 and 50.
The second session is on Friday from 14:30, before it is played to a finish on Saturday morning.