John Higgins expressed anger at the playing conditions despite safely reaching the quarter-finals of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship on Wednesday.
The Scot swept past Ding Junhui 4-0 with a pair of 106 breaks but said both players struggled to adapt to what he described as an unacceptable table setup for such a lucrative event.
The invitational in Saudi Arabia carries a top prize of £250,000, with a jackpot bonus worth $1,000,000 also on offer should a player make a rare 167 break using a 20-point golden ball specifically introduced for this event.
Despite his relatively routine outing, the Scot lambasted the table – including the cloth and the cushions – and questioned how it wasn’t tested properly before the tournament began.
“It was a little bit difficult at the start,” John Higgins told TNT Sports after confirming his spot in the last eight.
“I think me and Ding both really struggled with the table. In the first couple of frames, there was no bite on the table.”
“With me and Ding being only about five-foot-five each, we really struggled with the table. It’s as if there’s beer mats underneath the table, and it’s raised up.
“Somebody really needs to get told. I don’t know who has passed that, but it’s pathetic for a million-pound tournament. It really is bad.
“Ding gave me a few chances obviously, and then in the third frame I done a hundred break [sic]. I felt I got through the ball a little bit better.
“In the last frame, I played pretty well as well. So I’m delighted to win obviously.”
Higgins, who recently reached the final of the International Championship where he lost to Wu Yize, will face reigning Riyadh Season Snooker Championship winner Mark Allen on Thursday.
Shaun Murphy was the other player to emerge with a quarter-final berth on Wednesday, the Magician safely negotiating his opening two rounds.
As the lowest seed among the professional players, Murphy was forced to contest one of two games in the round of 12 against the local wildcard amateurs.
The British Open champion easily ousted Ziyad Alqabbani 4-0 before repeating the whitewash display against Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The latter was the inaugural winner of this event in March last year, a victory that actually represents his last on the main tour.
But despite being satisfied with his overall level of play of late, O’Sullivan wasn’t at the races here and Murphy took full advantage.
Zhao Xintong will be next on the agenda for the reigning Masters champion, with the other quarter-final ties pitting Judd Trump against Mark Williams and Kyren Wilson with Neil Robertson.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship lasts only three days and is played across a short format, with most matches adopting the best-of-seven frames format.
The quarter-finals are on Thursday before both semi-finals and the best-of-nine final will be contested on Friday.
More details about the tournament, including the draw and schedule, are available by clicking here.
Photos credit: WST
Surely someone will measure the height of the table to see that it complies with the rules?
Rule 1:(b) Height
The height of the table from the floor to the top of the cushion rail shall be 2 ft 10 in (864 mm) with a tolerance of +/- ½ in (13 mm).
If it does, John needs to apologise. If it doesn’t, it needs to be changed.
My guess is that we will hear no more about it – whether the table is changed or not.