Ronnie O'Sullivan's second round Welsh Open clash threatened to descend into a nightmare as he was twice forced off the table with cue problems.
Reigning world champion O'Sullivan had secured a 4-0 first round victory over Oliver Lines in Llandudno and was making an ominous start in his next game against Ross Muir.
O'Sullivan fired a typically classy century break, remarkably his 1195th in tournament play, during the first frame against Scotland's Muir at Venue Cymru.
But after knocking in the final pink when clearing up, the Rocket was shocked to discover the tip of his cue had suddenly flown off.
And the 47-year-old immediately shook his head in frustration as he alerted referee Luise Kratz to his unfortunate issue.
“Oh his tip has come off, wow,” stunned commentator Dave Hendon said on Eurosport. “That’s incredible," he added. "That’s a big concern.”
World Snooker rules dictate that players are permitted 15 minute breaks to repair cue damages, and O'Sullivan wandered off backstage to fix the issue.
And he returned to the table after around 10 minutes as he resumed his match with outsider Muir. But O'Sullivan, targeting a steal in the second frame, was irked as his tip came off once again as he screwed back off a simple red into the middle pocket.
The world No.1 looked away in disbelief before walking round the table to reclaim his tip, ahead of another break as he scrambled to resolve his cue issues. "This is a major problem now," Hendon said. "He's allowed another 15 minutes but It's turning into a bit of a nightmare this."
And pundit Neal Foulds expressed his worry in the Eurosport studio that the "match might never end" if O'Sullivan's tip kept coming off.
Thankfully for the packed out Llandudno crowd, O'Sullivan returned with his tip back on, but he looked understandably concerned that it could fall off for a third time as he attempted to refocus on reaching the third round.
O'Sullivan has won two big ranking events at the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions this season, but is still targeting his first ranking title of the campaign at the Home Nations event in Llandudno.
