Play was halted at the Crucible after one of the worst security lapses in the history of the game saw a protester cover a snooker table in orange powder.
Here’s all you need to know about jerk Edred Whittingham, whose antics ended Joe Perry and Robert Milkins’ World Snooker Championship match in the first round.
Who is Edred Whittingham?
Whittingham crowdfunds his activities, telling supporters: “I have been arrested six times in one year and have spent a week in prison.
“Help me stay afloat. My living costs are quite low, and any support you can offer means I can focus on my activism rather than needing to get a job in a pub.”
On the third day of the World Snooker Championship, Whittingham sprang from the audience and climbed onto table one during the first-round match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry.
Then, in a stupid move, he threw some powder, covering the green surface and forcing an immediate end to the session.
A lady attempted to jump onto table two, where Mark Allen was playing Fan Zhengyi, in a planned attack, but Oliver Marteel of Belgium prevented her.
Both demonstrators were held by security backstage as the action was put on hold.
Later, police verified that they had both been arrested.
The World Snooker Tour authorities made the decision to stop play on the damaged table one for the evening and finish fixing it the following day.
13th seed The opening session between Milkins and qualifier Perry will now go place on Tuesday night, however it is expected that the first frame will start over completely.
Stephen Hendry, the seven-time world champion, said on the incident: “I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.
“It is scary. Wow! You just hope the cloth can be recovered from that. It caught us all by surprise and then this happens.
“For me, straightaway as a snooker player I am thinking: ‘Is the table recoverable?’ We don’t know what that is on the table. There is a lot of things that need working out. It is unknown territory.”
MC Rob Walker joined his coworkers in the hoovering process after donning a mask and some marigold-colored gloves.
The dramatic event occurred at around 7:20 o’clock, however play on table two was resumed after a 40-minute break.
Officials of the World Snooker Tour decided to stop play on the damaged table one for the evening and entirely re-cloth it the following day.
In the wake of the incident, former World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn demanded harsher penalties for demonstrators, telling talkSPORT: “Sport’s an easy target. On Saturday, we watched Aintree. How soon are The Open, Wimbledon, or other events?
“And it is a concern because, whenever someone intrudes on the field of play, wherever it is, your first thought is not that this could be a protest, but it could be something quite harmful.
