- The Riyadh tournament has introduced a golden ball worth 20 extra points
- It sits on the beam cushion and can only be potted when landing 147 is completed.
- Higgins came closer than anyone so far during the match with Mark Williams.
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Snooker star John Higgins agonizingly missed out on a £395,000 windfall for becoming the first player to break 167 at the Riyadh Season World Masters.
Four-time world champion Higgins, 48, had holed 15 reds and 15 blacks during his second-round match against Mark Williams.
That put him on track to reach the maximum of 147 and, under the rules of this tournament, the chance to get a golden ball worth 20 extra points.
But Higgins saw his hopes of a £395,000 prize disappear when he overtook his approach to the yellow, distracted by crowd movement as he lined up the black beforehand.
Footage from Eurosport showed people serving refreshments among the crowd in Saudi Arabia, putting themselves in Higgins’ line of sight as he prepared to take a shot.
John Higgins fell short in his attempt to achieve a maximum break of 167 – and win £395,000 – at the Riyadh Season World Masters event in Saudi Arabia
Higgins had made 15 reds and 14 blacks in the first frame of his match against Mark Williams when he took this tough shot against the black. The golden ball is seen on the seesaw cushion and comes into play when a 147 has been completed.
Higgins was distracted by the movement of the public in front of the black crucial: it seemed that people were serving refreshments, which caused a disruption.
In the end, Higgins missed this tricky yellow after overshooting his approach after the black.
‘Oh no, there are people walking in John’s line of sight. That’s the last thing he needs,” said Eurosport commentator Dominic Dale.
The gold ball is placed in the middle of the rocker cushion and can only be placed in the pot after the final black ball has been sunk.
When the possibility of a maximum break ends, the ball is removed from the table and placed on a cushion at the side of the arena.
Higgins later admitted that he began to feel nervous as the break progressed.
‘I couldn’t really feel my feet, my arms and my legs. I walked past Mark and he said, ‘Listen, I never get nervous, but my palms were sweaty watching you try to make that break!'” Higgins said. Eurosport.
‘It’s an incredible feeling, but disappointing. I think in the back of my mind, pink wasn’t good, so that was on my mind the whole break, but I tried.
Higgins missed out on the £395,000 windfall this time, but won the match 4-2.
The new Ballon d’Or is exclusive to this event and players are rewarded if they manage to score it.
‘I was gone! She was just thinking about happy things.
The failure of the opening 167 frame attempt did not distract Higgins for long as he beat Williams 4-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals with Ronnie O’Sullivan on Tuesday.