English Open star left baffled and needed snooker referee to explain how they fouled
The first round of the English Open was not short of drama, with the battle for the £100,000 prize money underway.
Reanne Evans was left confused by a refereeing call during her historic English Open clash with Mink Nutcharut.
The match saw two female players face off on the professional World Snooker Tour for the first time in history, with Nutcharut claiming the victory with a 4-2 success.
Evans headed into the clash on the back of a 4-0 defeat at the hand of Bai Yulu in the women’s UK final on Sunday, and she raced into a 2-1 in Essex before Nutcharut managed to turn the game on its head.
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The match was not without drama though, with a refereeing call early in the match raising eyebrows.
Evans was called for a foul after she cued over a black ball, which did not appear to move as she completed her shot and pocketed a red ball.
The referee therefore brought the break to a close by calling her for a foul, indicating that the black ball did not move to leave Evans bemused.
Nutcharut was unable to capitalise initially, with the former women’s world champion rallying after she slipped behind in the third set to prevent Evans from extending her lead.
The Thai star then dominated the latter stages of the contest to set up a clash with Ricky Walden in the second round next week.
Judd Trump is the defending champion at the Brentwood Centre in Essex and he will kickstart his title charge on Monday when he faces either Ashley Cart or Liu Hongyu.
All of the world’s best 16 players are seeded into the last 64 of the competition and will not compete until Monday or Tuesday.
Trump heads into the competition in sensational form and is a firm favourite to land the £100,000 first prize.
He landed his 29th ranking title over the weekend when dramatically beating Mark Williams in the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The 35-year-old was far from at his best in Riyadh on Saturday evening but his ability to capitalise on Williams’ miss in the decider highlighted his quality.
After the Welshman missed a red on 62, Trump kicked into gear to make a 72 clearance and snatch the inaugural title from the clutches of his opponent to earn himself a healthy £300,000 in prize money.
