Liang Wenbo has been accused of cheating at a very crucial moment in his World Championship final qualifying round against Fergal O’Brien. Wenbo was caught on tape committing a foul that neither of the players or the referee seemed to have noticed.
The world number 34 saw off his Irish opponent with a slim 10-9 victory to make way to the Crucible Theatre for the first time since he last did in 2017. When the pressure was highest, the former English Open Champion was calm, collected, and managed to round off with an impressive 141 clearance in the 19th frame. It was in this frame that Liang was seen to have committed an unnoticed foul.
While all the balls on the table were still and the match at a critical position, Liang played the reds pack up to baulk area but unintentionally hit another red with his cue’s tip. Yet, no foul was awarded.
It remains unknown whether that foul could have changed the entire complexion of the game and, by extension, the outcome. However, what we know is that awarding the foul could have given O’Brien a fair chance of putting the former English Open winner back and facing a tricky safety shot.
Reactions to video clip that showed this foul were rife on the World Championship qualifiers last day, also known as judgement day. Sifting through the reviews and reactions from fans, players, and high-profile stars, we can categorically say that most of the comments went against Liang, who was accused of possible cheating.
One such comment on Twitter by professional golfer, Ian Poulter, read: “I hate this.. Blatant cheating… he knows that touched the cue… should be banned. End of conversation.”
Ben Woollaston, a recent Championship runner-up and three-time world champion, Mark Williams, also did not fail to register their surprise.
On reviewing the footage that went viral on social media, it is highly unlikely that the Chinese didn’t feel a complete contact between his ball and the cue.
The game’s referee has also had his own share of blames. The man who stood directly behind the shot also faced a lot of criticisms for failing to call the foul.
Regardless of the many accusations, Lian will feature in the World Championship draw where he is poised to take on one of the top 16 seeds.
In other matches, Matthew Stevens enjoyed a 10-5 win over Ricky Walden to seAl his place at the Crucible Theatre, while Former Northern Ireland Open champion Mark King defeated Ian Burns 10-6, and 2006 World Championship winner Graeme Dott was eliminated after suffering a 10-6 defeat to Martin Gould.
Written by: Roland Arum
