A protestor jumped on the table during a match at the World Snooker Championship on Monday evening, blasting orange powder over the baize.
The first round match between Rob Milkins and Joe Perry on Table One was interrupted as a protestor wearing a ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest leapt on the table.
He opened a small bag which sent orange powder all over the table before he was hauled off.
Another protestor attempted to jump on the other table, where Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi were playing, but they were stopped beforehand and removed.
Play was stopped on both tables as a clear-up operation began, with venue staff, World Snooker Tour employees and even MC and commentator Rob Walker joining in to hoover up the powder.
Stephen Hendry, the seven-time world champion, said: ‘I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.
This was the moment the chaos ensued at the Crucible. pic.twitter.com/vdp2viBjps
‘It is scary. Wow! You just hope the cloth can be recovered from that. It caught us all by surprise and then this happens.
‘For me, straightaway as a snooker player I am thinking: “Is the table recoverable?” We don’t know what that is on the table.’
The protest occurred at around 7.15pm and just before 8pm Allen and Fan returned to Table Two, but Table One is to be recovered overnight.
Allen and Fan are in the second session of their match and if that is finished in reasonable time – around 9.30pm – then Milkins and Perry will play on that table.
Remarkably, Allen was on a break of 24 before the interruption and returned to complete a brilliant century, scoring an immense 126.
Just Stop Oil issued a statement confirming they were behind the interruption.
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