There were unusual scenes on the opening day of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship as a power problem saw the lights go out with Zhang Anda at the table bidding for an historic break. The tournament in Saudi Arabia features a golden ball worth 20 points but only available to pot after a player makes a 147, which means a 167 break is possible.
The first player to achieve that break will win a bonus of $1m, so everyone involved this week is desperate to do so. Zhang was well on his way to doing just that in the first frame of his match against Saudi wildcard Ahmed Aseeri, but he was not helped by a problem with the power at Boulevard City.
The lights went on and off a number of times during the first frame as Zhang potted reds and blacks, eventually going off for a lengthy period with the Chinese star on 72. There was a stoppage of around half an hour as the problem with the power supply was fixed before Zhang returned to the table to try and complete the money-spinning break.
Unfortunately for the 32-year-old he broke down on 97 and we will never know if he would have reached 167 if not for the light problem. All that dosh and they haven't got 20p for the light. pic.twitter.com/29L74HTkvT. In the third frame he was looking good again for a 167 bid, but missed with the rest on 64.
Zhang did win the match 4-0, but speaking to DAZN after the win, he said: ‘Little bit disappointed I missed two chances to make the 167, I got chances. I do feel a little bit disappointed.’. On what he thought after returning to the table, he added: ‘Just concentrate again and don’t think about the light, just concentrate every shot.’.
