Flukes are the most fortunate and unfortunate occurrences that happen in the world of snooker. It provides another exciting and unexpected twist in the tale. Flukes have the uncanny ability to turn a match on its head.
Currently, we’ve seen a few during the Shanghai Masters. Judd Trump fluked a long red and went on to score a century break to win the match against David Gilbert. At 5-2 down, Ronnie O’Sullivan missed a shot that scattered some reds and would’ve left Kyren Wilson a golden opportunity to clinch a match. Fortunately for the Rocket, a stray red went into the pocket and he went on to win the frame. That turned out to be the game-changing moment as he went on to win the match 6-5!
This countdown is about these antagonising moments. Not the flukes that are simply outrageous. It is about those flukes that have the potential to dictate a frame, a match and even a tournament. Those are the cruellest. There are many to choose from, so these are the ones I thought of off the top of my head. Each fluke tells a story of how snooker can be a cruel game.
In sport, you can have all the skill in the world but you can’t beat a bit of luck.
5. Shaun Murphy vs. Graeme Dott (2014 World Open)
One of the worst ways to lose a match is by a fluke. Especially in a deciding frame. Especially when it is on a black-ball decider and someone flukes that black ball. Well, that is exactly what happened here.
The slight embarrassed bow of Shaun Murphy says it all. Rather wonderfully, Murphy went on to win that tournament! After beating Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals, he breezed past Mark Allen and Mark Selby to win the 2014 World Open crown! Yet it all was decided on that fluke…
4. Thanawat Thirapongpiaboon vs. Robert Milkins (2012 World Open)
There isn’t too much backstory to this one, but it is unbelievable fluke of all proportions. Some of you might’ve already seen this one, or have seen a similar one committed by Alex Higgins and Alan McManus.It decided the outcome of the frame and provoked a reaction from the opponent and it was a fluke no-one sure coming.
When Thirapongpiaboon (thank you, got it right in one) and Rob Milkins were battling it out for the final black, Thirapongpiaboon went for the long-range pot. It was 4-1 to Milkins by this stage. It rattled the bottom-left pocket, travelled along the rail and went into the bottom-right pocket to win the frame. If it had left the table, it would’ve been match over for the Thai.
What makes the fluke even more delicious are two things. First, it is the amazement in Thirapongpiaboon’s face. Second, it is way Milkins left the arena in disgust of what he saw. Some people would’ve said that he should’ve seen the funny side, considering it was a massive fluke. At the same time, it’s hard to not be furious to lose a frame in such unusual and spectacular circumstances. However, it didn’t do too much to alter the outcome of the match. The Thai managed to get another frame on the board after that, but eventually lost 5-3. Imagine if he won the match after that!
3. Ronnie O’Sullivan vs. Mark Selby (2018 Northern Ireland Open)
This happened near the end of a titanic battle between Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan. It was the decider of the Northern Ireland Open semi-final, which is as good as it gets anyway. During the tussle on the final red, Selby managed to fluke a snooker behind the yellow. O’Sullivan had a few cracks at this without much luck, conceding a number of precious points. You can see where this is going…
Of course, not only has Ronnie hit the red, but he managed to pot it in the middle pocket. Not only that, he was plum on a colour too. It left him to pot that colour and a marvellous positional shot around the table from yellow to green. He managed to win the frame and match on the final black, placing himself in the final. He went on to lose 9-7 to a newly rejuvenated Judd Trump.
There’s nothing worse than getting a fluke yourself, only to be bitten back straight away by another fluke from your opponent, is there?
2. Mark Williams vs. Jimmy Robertson (2018 World Championships)
This fluke is much more well-known, now we understand what happened during the rest of tournament!
Mark Williams was dominating his first-round match against Jimmy Robertson. Jimmy needed a frame to have a chance of catching-up with the Welshman. He put Williams in a tricky snooker near the cushion behind the black. The brown was safely near the cushion on the other side of the table. Mark Williams was lining up his shot and turned his head towards the green ball – he wasn’t even looking at the cue ball! You know when a fluke amazes someone like Stephen Hendry that the fluke was so good!
Not only did Williams pot the green without looking at the cue ball, the cue ball cannoned onto the brown to leave it in perfect position for Williams to win the frame and extend his lead. Robertson was seething inside and rightly so. When questioned about the shot after his first-round victory, Williams said that “it was the luckiest shot you will ever see in your life!” He then went on to say to the interviewer, “if you think I meant that, then I am not answering one question you’re offering me!”
What is quite poignant about this fluke is what commentator Stephen Hendry said straight after. After Williams’s shot on the green, Hendry questioned if we were watching that year’s World Champion. The rest as the story goes, is history!
1. Stephen Maguire vs. Tian Pengfei (2019 World Championships)
This is a very recent example, but to me this is the cruellest fluke that I can remember. By quite a distance as well.
Stephen Maguire said that he would prefer to be drawn with a debutant in the first-round of the World Championships. He got his wish but unfortunately, he got a debutant in the form of Tian Pengfei. Despite his age, Tian has been on the circuit for a while and, in my opinion, is the biggest enigma on the tour. He has the habit of beating the top players and losing to those struggling to stay on as a professional.
Anyway, Tian managed to get the grip of the Crucible very quickly and eventually led 9-7. Even better, the Merlin from Milton was in the snookers required stage. But Maguire get the snooker and Tian fouled by missing a simple blue. Maguire had a tricky blue and to be honest, just watch the video – it is an amazing fluke at the most amazing time to do it.
After fluking the blue, Maguire potting the pink and black to win the frame to just be 9-8 behind. This is how cruel snooker can be. Tian Pengfei had his foot into the second round of the World Championships. In fewer than five shots, he missed his golden opportunity. Two frames later, Stephen Maguire won the decider 10-9 to proceed to the second round, eventually reaching the quarter-finals. The fluke itself, the timing and the fact it turned the match around is the reason this fluke tops this list.
What a cruel game this is.
