Judd Trump involved in bizarre snooker mix-up at Wuhan Open: ‘This isn’t my cue’

The world No 1 apologised to his opponent John Higgins after stopping their last-16 match

Judd Trump went on to beat John Higgins despite the incident (Getty Images)

Judd Trump had to pause his match with John Higgins at the Wuhan Open after realising he was holding the wrong cue.

The bizarre incident occured during their last-16 encounter in China, when the players returned to the arena following a mid-session break with Trump leading 3-1.

As the world No 1 stepped up to the table to break off, he told the match referee: “This isn’t my cue.”

The match was briefly halted while the players waited for Trump’s cue to be delivered to the table, and Higgins appeared to see the funny side as he laughed along.

Trump could be heard explaining to his opponent that his cue had become muddled with another player’s on the practice table, referring to a mix-up with “Ben” – presumably fellow English player Ben Woollaston, who was due to take on China’s Long Zehuang in the last 16.

"This isn't my cue!" 😅

Judd Trump picked up the wrong cue when coming back from the mid-session interval! ❌@WeAreWST | #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/AoM1qaSlLQ

— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 9, 2024

“My cue was in its case, I think, but Ben put his cue next to my case,” Trump said, before apologising to Higgins for the delay.

Trump quickly put the incident behind him, hitting a half-century as he clinched the frame to lead 4-1 in the best-of-nine match, before Higgins responded with a brilliant 126 clearance. But another heavy score by Trump sealed a 5-2 victory.

He later told World Snooker Tour: “I have never done that before. It was a bit of a shock. It wasn’t until I really got to the table that I noticed. I was going to break off and the cue felt strange, so I looked down and it wasn’t my cue.

“Luckily for me, John was very nice about it and he just told me to wait as long as possible. I think it has happened before and someone got awarded the frame, but John was nice enough just to allow me enough time to get my cue back.”

Trump will face either Chris Wakelin and Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals. On the other side of the draw, Shaun Murphy and Jack Lisowski are also through to the final eight.

But Kyren Wilson was dumped out after the world champion lost a final-frame decider to China's Xiao Guodong in the second round.

Momentum was with Wilson in a winner-takes-all final frame after back-to-back centuries, but it was Xiao who took it after potting a long-range pink to seal a 5-4 win. Xiao next plays Barry Hawkins, who beat 18-year-old Stan Moody 5-3.

“Kyren is ranked No 2 in the world and became world champion this year so I kept a clear head and reminded myself to be patient for my chances,” Xiao told World Snooker's official website. “Whether I was leading or trailing, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“When I compete in China, I really want to win. Having fans and my family in the audience makes me want to show my best. Thankfully I managed to get the result.”