Fans blame crowd at Riyadh Season World Masters for John Higgins’ 167 maximum break failure

Fans blamed the crowd at the World Masters of Snooker tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after John Higgins failed in his 167 maximum break attempt.

Higgins was in action against Mark Williams in the second round on Monday night at Boulevard City.

He won 4-2 to set up a quarter-final with Ronnie O'Sullivan on Tuesday but the Scot hit headlines after his close effort to bag a maximum break.

The inaugural tournament has been given a new twist following the introduction of a 'Golden Ball', which is worth 20 points.

Normally the maximum break is 147 but this event has switched things up, with the first player to achieve 167 pocketing a whopping £395,000 in prize money.

A 23rd ball is placed on the baulk cushion and can only be potted after the final black is in the pocket.

The Golden Ball is the unique selling point of the tournament and Higgins gave it a go on day one.

He potted 15 reds and blacks but got too close to the yellow and ended up finishing on a break of 120, with the new, lucrative ball then removed from the table.

Higgins cracked a smile but many felt as though the crowd in Riyadh put him off with their movement as he was playing.

One wrote: "Constantly walking around ignoring what's happening in front of them. Snooker does not work in that environment."

A second said: "Absolute shambles this."

A third added: "Why an earth are they walking around?! No respect for the sport."

A fourth commented: "Just watched the Higgins 167 attempt on YouTube. I think he would have done it if it wasn't for the clowns in the (very small) crowd."

The tournament features the world's top ten players, with the overall prize money standing at $1 million.

The opening ceremony took place on Monday but was a subdued affair, with barely any fans or atmosphere.