Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby level after ‘weird’ session at the Crucible

There were some early issues for both Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby in their World Championship semi-final. Picture: Zac Goodwin

The table rather than the players took centre stage in the first semi-final of the World Snooker Championship with ‘soft cushions’ and a possibly defective cue ball blamed for some scrappy early play at the Crucible.

From the off three-time former champion Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham, the 2015 winner, noticed the ball was not behaving as they expected as they found themselves out of position on a number of shots with the white regularly coming up short.