THE 2021 World Snooker Championship final will begin this weekend capping what has been a strangely successful season for the sport.
The isolated nature of snooker as an individual rather than team game has seen it generally cope well through a difficult period, and it is now playing a key role in exploring ways to get fans and spectators back to events safely.
The continuation of professional snooker tournaments during the past year has often given them pride of place on TV, and the sport could emerge from this period stronger than it has been for some time.
The final session of the World Championship final on Monday will be played in front of a full house at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with earlier sessions also close to selling out.
At the interval the match referee spoke to both players and the table was brushed heavily and the cue ball was changed as Bingham felt that was the issue, although when asked Selby reportedly did not think that was the problem.
Selby had coped better with the strange conditions as, having lost the first frame to a 60-break by his opponent, he took a 3-1 lead into the first interval.
Bingham was on a break of 46 before missing a blue but then Selby, with a chance to clean up failed on a yellow at 56-31, although it was not to prove detrimental as he later cut in a brilliant long yellow and cleared the table.
Anthony McGill moves to within four frames of second successive semi-final spot April 27 2021, 11.12pm
Anthony McGill, left, is ahead of Stuart Bingham going into the final session of their quarter-final in Sheffield (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Anthony McGill moved to within four frames of a second successive semi-final appearance at the Betfred World Snooker Championship by hitting back to gain the upper hand on Stuart Bingham.
McGill, conqueror of defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in round two, registered two century breaks in a high-scoring second session en route to establishing a 9-7 overnight lead over the 2015 winner.
Resuming with the scores locked at 4-4 from Tuesday’s opening exchanges, the Scot dropped the opening two frames of the evening but swiftly recovered to impressively take five of the final six.
Snooker pundit Reanne Evans, 35, (pictured) was told to leave the studio at the World Championships by BBC chiefs on April 20 after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction
A snooker pundit was told to leave the studio by BBC chiefs after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction.
Reanne Evans, 35, was set to join a live discussion at the World Championships before being hooked on April 20.
The BBC studio was next to the practise area, where her ex, Mark Allen, had been preparing for his upcoming match against China s Lyu Haotian.
Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya and Evans, who is the women s world snooker champion, were preparing for the start of the show when world no 13 Allen complained that Evans was a distraction , The Sun reports.
Selby came from 55-6 down to take frame five and then produced breaks of 90 and 76 to make it 6-1, before Welshman Williams gave himself overnight hope by ending with a superb run of 111.
On the other table, there was little to separate world number one Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy as they finished the day locked at 4-4.
Neither player was able to move more than one frame in front during an evenly-matched opening session at the Crucible.
Trump, winner in 2019, produced breaks of 87 and 68 either side of knocks of 80 and 79 from 2005 champion Murphy in a rapid opening to the contest.