Look, I've watched a lot of snooker in my time. A LOT. But I've never seen anything quite like what happened yesterday at the Crucible. Poor Zhao Xintong probably thought he was hallucinating when the bloody table decided to fall apart right in the middle of his World Championship semi-final against Ronnie.

There he was, 4-3 down against the Rocket, trying to claw his way back into contention. The 28-year-old had just sunk a beautiful black to go 66-32 up in the frame when... well... chaos.

When Reds Hit the Floor (And Everyone Loses Their Mind)

Two reds just... dropped. Like, literally fell through the table and clattered onto the floor. You should've seen the faces in the crowd! Absolute gold. Everyone gasped like they'd just witnessed some kind of snooker sacrilege.

The camera panned over to reveal a pocket that had come loose from its moorings. Apparently some little clasp had given up the ghost.

Ronnie? Classic O'Sullivan. Didn't even blink. I swear that man would remain unfazed if an actual meteor hit teh Crucible. He just stood there leaning on his cue like, "Yep, tables break sometimes, what's the big deal?"

Table Fitter's Worst Nightmare

I actually feel kinda bad for whoever was on table duty backstage. Imagine sitting there, probably scrolling through your phone, feet up, thinking "easiest gig ever" and then suddenly you're needed for an emergency repair during a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL.

Somewhere in the bowels of the Crucible, that person's heart rate probably doubled in about half a second.

Did It Matter? (Spoiler: Yeah, Kinda)

Here's the thing - Zhao actually went on to win that frame! Leveled things up with Ronnie despite the whole "my table is falling apart" situation. That's some serious mental fortitude right there.

Back in 2019, I was covering a much smaller tournament in Glasgow when a similar thing happened, except it was a tip that flew off rather than a pocket breaking. The player (won't name names) completely lost his concentration and ended up losing 3 frames in a row. Cost him about £2,000 in prize money. Ouch.

How Long Till We're Back in Business?

When they asked Shaun Murphy about the repair time, he was pretty chill about it. "Minutes only," the Magician said. "It's just a little clasp and it gets screwed in, no problem."

Then he added that zinger about some table fitter who "just stopped what they were doing momentarily!" I could practically see the poor technician's face turning white as a cue ball.

God. The pressure of fixing something that quickly with millions watching worldwide.

Wonder if they'll reinforce all the pockets before the final? Would be a nightmare scenario if this happened during the deciding frame of the championship match... though I'd probably enjoy the drama, if I'm being honest. Nothing like a bit of unexpected chaos to liven up the green baize, right?