A bust-up took place at the Crucible between two players when tempers boiled over
Andy Hicks and Quinten Hann at the end of their World Snooker Championship tie
The World Snooker Championship is rarely short on controversy and disagreements, but not too often do players nearly come to blows in the middle of the match. But just that happened when Andy Hicks had to be separated from Quinten Hann during their Crucible first-round tie.
In 2007, Hicks defeated Hann 10-4 to claim his first win at snooker’s blue-ribbon event since his debut run to the semi-finals in 1995. Controversial Australian Hann had already been warned for swearing by referee Lawrie Annandale and the official then had to step in and calm tempers down.
Tensions boiled over when Hicks was accused of goading his opponent, mocking the seriousness of the loss and suggesting that the result would relegate Hann from the elite top 16.
An angry exchange of words followed, before the pair got in each other’s faces and threatened to come to blows if the referee had not intervened.
Afterwards, Hann said: "I'd love to fight him. I've beaten him three times before, they were all close games and there was a bit of needle before the start. He shook my hand at the end and said: 'Well, you won't be in the top 16 next year.'
“I knew he was going to say something right from the start. He was doing subtle things like not getting out the way when I was coming to the table. I wasn't happy. I thought it was a bit low.
“I said to him: ‘You're short and bald and always will be and you can have me outside whenever you want.' It was just a bit of harmless fun and entertainment for the crowd. It doesn't really upset me."
Andy Hicks and Quinten Hann's match ended on a sour note
Giving his side of the story, Hicks replied: "Quinten reckons I started it by saying something nasty at the end but he did during the middle of the match when he said: ‘I enjoyed the last three times I beat you.'
“That started it off so I thought I'd have my say at the end. Maybe in the heat of the moment I said the wrong thing but I stand by it. He wound me up so I wound him up in return. I don't have any grudges against anybody but I wanted to beat him."
Despite the bitter comments from all sides, Hicks later climbed down from his argument and insisted they were made in the heat of the moment.
"We all make mistakes," the Englishman said. "It is very unusual for something like that to happen. It's a game for gentleman and that is the way it should be.
"There is a lot of pressure out there because there is so much at stake. And we all say and do things that we regret later.
"If somebody had sat me down for five minutes after the game and I had had time to think before I shook his hand, I would not have said anything.
"So yes, I do regret getting involved. I have been playing snooker for 14 years and nothing like that has happened before."
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