Jiang Jun was forced to pause his match at the Shenzhen Open mid-shot because of an outburst from a crowd member. The 21-year-old made headlines around the world after knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round of the competition.
The Chinese potter would go on to lose to fellow Englishman Zak Surety in the second round, but it was during his historic win over O’Sullivan that Jiang paused the match. The match had reached the final frame, with Jiang lining up a shot, when an interruption came from the crowd.
Confrontation during final frame
The noise was inaudible, but it was enough to knock Jiang off his stride, and the snooker ace even turned towards the member of the crowd responsible for the noise and confronted them. He eventually settled himself before going on to pocket the red that he had been lining up.
Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage, Philip Studd remarked: "That is far from ideal on the backswing. No wonder he's frustrated because he's on the brink of perhaps the biggest win of his career to date."
Historic win over O'Sullivan
Thankfully, as far as Jiang is concerned, it wasn’t enough to knock him off-kilter completely. The 21-year-old took the match 5-2 and confirmed a historic win over the legendary seven-time world champion.
It was the latest bitter blow for O’Sullivan, who continues to look like a shell of himself at the table. The Rocket had led the opening frame 62-28, but missed a seemingly easy red, allowing Jiang back into the contest.
Studd said on commentary: "Oh goodness. Who saw that coming? So this frame is still alive. He overcut it."
O'Sullivan's costly miss
His errant shot opened the door for Jiang, and the youngster took it with both hands. Speaking after the victorious frame, Studd added: "It looked like [Jiang] missed his chance before O'Sullivan very surprisingly missed the red which was very adjacent to that right corner. An eventful first frame.
"O'Sullivan looked likely to win it on a couple of occasions but Jiang Jun has taken his opportunity, making the most of his reprieve there to steal it on the black. And so the underdog has taken the opening frame."
