Snooker chiefs pledge to end mobile distraction

Snooker chiefs have pledged to get tough with fans who allow mobile phones to go off during play after Stephen Hendry was distracted when missing out on the magical 147 for the second time in four days in the Embassy World Championship.

The seven-times champion looked set for his second maximum at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield during the 17th frame of his semi-final shoot-out with Ronnie O’Sullivan.

But he twice got up from his shot after ringing tones sounded out in the capacity 900 audience and prompted a stern warning from referee Eirian Williams.

Hendry eventually broke down on 113 after missing the 15th black - the same stage at which he had failed in his quarter-final with Ken Doherty when the 147 had appeared at his mercy.

World Snooker official Mike Ganley immediately entered the auditorium and warned that spectators who allowed their phones to ring in future would be immediately thrown out and he repeated that stance after the session which ended 12-12.

Ganley said: ‘‘Due to the interruptions in play on Friday night, we will be clamping down on similar incidents in future.

‘‘Anyone who leaves their phone on during play, and then it goes off, will be asked to leave the auditorium immediately.

‘‘You can’t say how a break will finish but it is important to give the players the best opportunity without having to contend with things like mobile phones.

‘‘We know it is not practical to search people and prevent them from taking phones into the auditorium but we will ask them to use common sense for the good of everybody.’’

The phone incident overshadowed a superb session of snooker which saw O’Sullivan twice recover from a three-frame deficit to go into the final session all-square.

Hendry compiled three centuries to take his tally to five in the match but he was unable to shake off the challenge of O’Sullivan, who responded with a run of 129 and three other 50-plus breaks.

Meanwhile, Peter Ebdon’s reputation as the modern-day Cliff Thorburn was enhanced as he kept Matthew Stevens at arm’s length to keep on course to clinch a spot in his second world final.

The watching Thorburn would have been full of admiration for the way Ebdon refused to give up an apparent lost cause in the final frame of the second session of his semi-final with the Welshman to keep the best-of-33 encounter in his favour.

Stevens had suddenly found his touch after trailing 8-4 as he produced breaks of 65, 94 and 97 to win three frames on the trot.

It looked as if he would end the second session all square after he raced into a 73-0 lead with only a possible 67 points left on the table.

But the kind of challenge that ‘‘The Grinder’’ Thorburn would have relished during the 1970s and 1980s brought the best out of Ebdon.

He obtained the two snookers he required and then took advantage of a free ball to complete a 36 clearance and a dramatic 75-73 victory.

It remains to be seen how much of a body blow that will be to Stevens when the match resumes.

Ebdon may not be the typical modern snooker star, where quickfire frames and century breaks are the norm, and his slowish pace may not make him the most popular player to be drawn against.

But no-one will have worked harder and displayed greater concentration if 31-year-old Ebdon makes it through to his second world final.

And his determination and will-to-win is also harnessed to an ability to break-build to good effect, as already shown in the first half of his semi-final.

Stevens may be the more fluent potter but his tally of seven 50-plus breaks in the match to date is only one more than his opponent, who was ranked the outsider to win the crown when the semi-finals began on Thursday.

Ebdon enjoyed a run of six successive frames at one stage to go from 1-3 down to 7-3 in front and at 8-4 he looked comfortable as Stevens failed to show the form he had displayed against Jimmy White and John Higgins.

Then came that Stevens revival, but only time will tell if he can put that last frame heartbreak out of his mind when battle recommences.