Snooker: BBC pulls plug to show Frank Spencer repeat

Ronnie OSullivan: Turn off. Picture: Getty

Rather than show O’Sullivan polish off a first-round Betfair World Championship win in his first match since announcing his comeback, BBC2 switched to show a repeat of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.

Sports fans expressed anger on social networks when the BBC left the snooker at 8pm to screen the vintage comedy re-run, as per its schedule. It was also unavailable on the ‘red button’ service, with the BBC website the only medium through which to view O’Sullivan complete a 10-4 win against Marcus Campbell.

The complaints were founded on the notion that the BBC could have shown flexibility in order to complete its coverage of a match it began showing at 10am.

Hearn was alerted to the issue and yesterday wrote on Twitter: “Sorry to all snooker fans for the poor BBC coverage last night. Letter of complaint sent to BBC today.” World Snooker and the BBC have a close working relationship, and Hearn knows its importance to snooker, indicating his criticism was considered.

The BBC recently signed up as host broadcaster of the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters tournaments until the end of the 2016-17 season. Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), welcomed the public response to the BBC’s scheduling decision.

Ferguson wrote on Twitter: “Snooker Fans, World Snooker letter of complaint has been filed with the BBC over yesterday’s coverage, thanks everyone for your comments.”

The BBC last night responded to the complaint from Hearn, saying: “We’re obviously disappointed that we weren’t able to show the conclusion to the World Championship Snooker on BBC Two. We are committed to delivering great snooker content to our audiences as demonstrated by the increased number of broadcast hours for the World Championships which means we are able to being the sport to as wide an audience as possible.”

Meanwhile, Michael White caused the first major shock of the tournament as the debutant from Neath knocked out Welsh compatriot Mark Williams to launch his Crucible career.

Two-time former champion Williams made a similar impact in his first match at the World Championship 16 years ago, when he beat Terry Griffiths. That proved to be Griffiths’ final match at the Crucible, and three years later Williams landed his first title in Sheffield. Qualifier White, only 21, could prove to be the next in the line of great champions Wales has produced, and he was well worth his 10-6 margin of victory.

Four-time champion John Higgins was in trouble against Mark Davis, with the Scot letting an early 2-0 lead slip away as he fell 6-3 behind. Davis scored heavily, with breaks of 85 and 96 steering the Hastings man into a strong position ahead of this afternoon’s concluding session.

Graeme Dott built a 6-2 lead over Peter Ebdon in an often-gruelling battle between former world champions that progressed at such a pedestrian pace they could not fit in the session’s scheduled ninth frame. They resume this morning when, time permitting, they will play to a finish.