Stuart Bingham fumes at Crucible followers after lacking straightforward pot in semi-final loss
Stuart Bingham lost his cool with snooker fans as the pressure told during his World Championship semi-final defeat to Jak Jones.
Bingham, who knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, was battling to stay in touch with fellow qualifier Jones at 13-10 down. The 2015 world champion had what appeared to be a straight-forward blue to the top-left corner of the table.
However, Bingham surprisingly missed the pot before angrily wagging his cue in the direction of supporters stationed in the front row, who had presumably moved while in his eyeline. It was an uncharacteristic outburst from the mild-mannered Essex cueman, but underlined the pressure of the situation.
READ MORE: Kyren Wilson reveals two keys to World Championship success after reaching Crucible final
READ MORE: Stuart Bingham legs it mid-frame as referee jokes ‘if you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go’
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Bingham did pull the match back to 13-11, but the match pivoted in the next when Bingham made an inexplicable error attempting to play safe on the green and let the Welshman in to clear up and re-establish a three-frame lead.
Jones maintained his advantage through more tough frames in a match that drifted towards 12-and-a-half hours, then capitalised on a missed black by Bingham to move one frame from victory with a coolly-taken 70 break. More errors from Bingham served up the first chance for Jones in the next and he won it in two visits to complete his fairy tale run to the final.
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(Image: BBC)
The 47-year-old made no excuses following his defeat and lamented an “embarrassing” performance. He said: “I missed too many easy balls, gave him far too many easy starters. It was just an embarrassing performance on my part.
“There were seven or eight frames that I gifted him and when you look back, that’s what the difference is. It was embarrassing and I just can’t put my finger on why. I’m just gutted.”
(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Jones fought through two qualifying rounds just to reach the first round proper and becomes only the ninth qualifier in 47 years at the Crucible to clinch his place in the final. However, the Welshman shrugged: “I don’t feel that excited, to be honest.
“I suppose I should, but I’ve had so much disappointment so far in my career that I don’t get particularly excited. I don’t get too down, and when I do win, no matter how big it is, I just feel like it’s job done.”
