'Never-before-seen' snooker shot that somehow stayed out of pocket defies physics

We've all had a very unlucky snooker shot not end up potted at some stage in our time - but one player in particular can feel very hard done by with after his miss led to an early exit from the Crucible.

Irishman Michael Judge has been competing at the World Seniors Championship, which is currently taking place at the iconic snooker venue in Sheffield.

The 48-year-old was in the last-16 phase of the competition when he came up against 58-year-old Maltese player Tony Drago in a best-of-five-frames encounter.

Drago raced into a 2-1 lead and was leading in the fourth frame but Judge was at the table and 12 points behind his opponent as he sought to level the score.

Judge intended to pot the blue ball into the middle pocket on the left of the table, which would have reduced the deficit in the frame and would have set him up to continue in a bid to take the match to the maximum number of frames.

Initially as Judge took his shot, it seemed as though he would do just that with the ball looking on course to be potted.

But, remarkably, the ball hit the centre of the pocket's cushion before bouncing back out onto the table.

Judge appeared stunned and even leaned over the table to inspect the pocket to see what had happened.

The very unlucky miss proved decisive, as Drago went on to win the frame and knock Judge out.

And the commentators, including veteran Dennis Taylor, helped to explain what happened with the freak shot.

He said: "What happened there? That blue jumped straight out, he didn't even hit it that hard.

"There's something there caught. It's just sticking out, that little bit of leather there."

Taylor's co-commentator went on to explain that a piece of wood protruding from below the pocket had pushed up and out a flap of leather, which led to the ball jumping straight back out onto the table, as you can see below.

things that happen on a 12 x 6... gutting for michael judge pic.twitter.com/pOa8JpPGBB

— Snooker Legends (@Snookerlegends) May 9, 2024

After the match, Drago knew that he had been the beneficiary of a piece of bad luck for his opponent but was glad to reach the competition's next stage.

He said: “I think someone up there wanted me to win.

“Michael was on top in the latter stages of the match but for once luck smiled at me and I could close out the match.

“I felt that I played very well in the first two frames of the match but then I started to miss too much and Michael started to be consistent. But now I look forward to the next match.”