World Snooker Championship fans burst out laughing in bizarre moment during match | Other | Sport

But during the 16th frame of the contest, fans inside the Crucible were sent into raptures as Ding had both legs off the ground and one knee on the table. The 39-year-old was only momentarily balanced off the ground and quickly returned to his feet.

However, not quite believing exactly what they’d witnessed, were laughing their heads off at the move. It became clear after a grimace towards the referee that Ding was joking, and he quickly returned to all fours.

Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage, the commentator said: “Of course, you have to keep a toe on the floor, you can’t just clamber onto the table.”

The incident came at a crucial point in the game, given Ding was looking to close out the session with a frame that would take him back to two behind. He did just that, meaning Zhao, the reigning world champion, leads by 9-6 heading into the deciding session.

It keeps alive hopes of a first third-round appearance at the World Championship since 2018 for Ding, who was the underdog heading into the clash against Zhao. In fact, the Dragon has tipped his compatriot to go on and achieve even more phenomenal things in the sport of snooker.

He said before the match: “Look now, it’s just like Ronnie O’Sullivan. New stars for snooker, I think in the future, he will take everything over.

“There will be quite a lot [of people watching]. All the snooker fans want to watch this, especially at the World Championships, every match has a lot of people watching.”

Meanwhile, former snooker star Alan McManus believes that Zhao’s aura at the table actually hindered Ding at times. He told TNT: “The only thing I would say about Ding in comparison to his round one win, he looked a lot more tense, because of the guy he’s playing against, and that is a concern.

“It’s clear to see the presence of Xintong is having some effect on him. Whether he can overcome that, that’s going to be the fascination over the next couple of days. It’s an amazing game of snooker that one.”