The climax of the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out descended into chaos for excited TV viewers.
Keen watchers on Eurosport and Discovery Plus were unable to hear commentary when the tournament’s most exciting moment unfolded.
Sound was temporarily lost during the semi-final blue ball shoot out between Wu Yize and Tom Ford.
A blue ball shoot out is the equivalent of a football penalty shoot out. After a tied game, each player must pot the blue from its spot into the top corner pocket.
Tom Ford won the sudden death climax after Wu missed his long pot at the first attempt. But those watching on TV had to watch with no sound.
Ford then won the final, beating Scotland’s Liam Graham right at the death in a thrilling finish.
But viewers still had no commentary when the final began. Commentary eventually returned two minutes after the final started.
However, there were technical problems after the final too. Eurosport appeared to cut short its coverage entirely.
This meant there was no studio analysis with Jimmy White, Reanne Evans and Neal Foulds after the action.
“No sound at the Shoot Out?”
Snooker fans took to social media website X to figure out what was going on.
One fan posted: “Has anyone else sound gone on Eurosport Snooker shootout?”
The post triggered several replies with viewers agreeing with Julie’s experience.
Another joked: “The irony of the Snooker shoot out losing sound on Eurosport when it’s the only event you can make noise in.”
One viewer called the situation “utterly astonishing”
And another snooker fan added: “It’s suddenly so quiet, it’s like watching snooker!”
Ironically when the sound first come back on for Discovery Plus viewers, Master of Ceremonies Rob Walker was heard saying: “It’s like a disco in here” – unaware that TV viewers were watching in silence.
Eurosport’s David Hendon ended the coverage by apologising for the “slight wobble” at the end.
Ford won his first ranking event after he was able to beat Graham dramatically in the final seconds. Prior to the tournament, he had only won two games all season.
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