A coo for snooker: Pigeon stops the World Championship action
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- Mark SelbyEnglish snooker player
- Yan BingtaoChinese snooker player (2000-)
A pigeon briefly stopped play at the World Snooker Championship midway through the second round match between Mark Selby and Yan Bingtao.
The bird fluttered down from among the television lights and landed on the top cushion during a brief break prior to the start of the sixth frame at the Crucible.
We've seen some things at the Crucible.
This is a new one. #ilovesnooker pic.twitter.com/5w0uR3ljpa
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) April 22, 2022
It was quickly ushered out of the arena through the players’ entrance, surprising defending champion Selby, who was returning to the arena at the time.
Pigeons have been frequent visitors to Wimbledon’s service lines but it is believed to the first time they have invaded the Sheffield venue. BBC pundit John Virgo joked “where’s the pigeon going?”