Snooker star Noppon Saengkham had his blushes spared shortly before his opening match at Northern Ireland Open.
The Thai player bizarrely arrived at the tournament without the most vital piece of kit – his cue.
GettyNoppon Saengkham was left sweating ahead of his first-round match in Belfast[/caption]
After realising it had gone missing in transit during his journey from Manchester to Belfast, Saengkham pleaded for help from his peers, which initially fell on deaf ears.
His failure to secure a replacement cue left his first-round match against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in serious doubt, until one star came to his rescue.
Cue the emergence of triple crown-winning great Shaun Murphy, who came up trumps for Saengkham with time running out.
The 32-year-old paid an immediate debt of gratitude to Murphy before going on to win his opener 4-3.
“I have to really thank Shaun because I asked a few other players, but they couldn’t lend me a cue because they were practicing,” said Saengkham.
“Then I saw Shaun and he gave me his cue this morning.”
Murphy later revealed that his act of kindness came at the expense of his own match preparations.
The Englishman is one of only 11 players in snooker history to complete a career triple crown – winning the world snooker championship in 2005, UK championship in 2008 and Masters in 2015
“I only had ten minutes with his cue before my match,” Murphy said. “So I just tried to enjoy the game because if I’m not happy then I can’t play well. I tried to play simple shots, nothing too hard.”
The topsy-turvy match had fans on the edge of their seats with Saengkham relinquishing his 1-0 advantage, as compatriot Un-Nooh clawed back to level at 3-3.
GettySaengkham was back in business in no time thanks for Murphy’s act of Kindness[/caption]
Murphy showed his class by helping out his fellow proGetty
However, Saengkham powered through the final frame to win the match, before jokingly revealing his plans to future help from Murphy.
“I did very well, I potted some long balls and my break-building was good, especially the clearance in the last frame,” Saengkham said.
“I don’t know if Shaun will let me use this cue in my next match. I will have to ask him. If I end up playing him here, maybe we will have to share it.”
As for the whereabouts of Saengkham’s cue; it arrived shortly before his second-round match against Welshman Mark Williams.
But maybe now he hoped it didn’t arrive, as Williams romped to a convincing 4-1 win.
Murphy’s tournament also ended in disappointment on Friday, as he was knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Judd Trump – the world No.1 claiming a 5-1 victory to book his place in the last four.
