Davis - slammed table. (Getty Images)
DAVIS SLAMS TABLE MANNERS
By John Curtis PA Sport
Snooker legend Steve Davis has hit out at the Crucible table fault which has
helped to put Paul Hunter on course for his first Embassy World Championship
final.
Hunter's semi-final opponent Ken Doherty was given a kick in the teeth when
the cue ball inexplicably rolled off course as he tried to snooker Hunter behind
the brown in the fourth frame when holding a 32-14 advantage.
The deviation off course allowed Hunter the chance escape by hitting a red and
Doherty's concentration seemed to be affected as his opponent stepped in with a
49 to pinch the frame and stretch his lead to 3-1.
The number one table for the previous 12 days had been repositioned and
re-covered in the centre of the arena overnight to create the one-table set-up.
As soon as the Hunter-Doherty session was completed, table-fitters moved into
action to repair the damage ahead of the first session of the Mark
Williams-Stephen Lee clash.
But that was too late to be of consolation for Doherty who is trailing 6-2
going into Friday morning's second session.
Six times world champion Davis said: "It is totally infuriating if that
happens. At this level you expect the tables to be absolutely perfect.
"Instead of being rolled up right behind the brown, Paul Hunter had the
chance to hit a ball and it definitely cost Ken that frame. It was the
difference between 2-2 and 3-1 at the interval.
"It is not the most solid of floors at the Crucible and the table had just
been moved into the middle of the arena.
"Understandably there could be teething problems but for it to critically
happen in the early part of a match is very upsetting for Ken. He will feel
quite aggrieved about it."
A World Snooker spokesman said: "The table being used for the semi-final
match between Paul Hunter and Ken Doherty in the 2003 Embassy World Championship
was repositioned in the Crucible arena on Wednesday night to create the one
table set-up.
"As the table settled into the floor of the arena, the baulk slate joint
moved slightly and a few fragments of Plaster of Paris collected under the baize
near the brown spot.
"Table fitters rectified the problem immediately after the session finished
in time for the start of the second semi-final between Mark Williams and Stephen
Lee."
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