Exhaustion from grueling World Snooker Championship 'marathon of the mind' causes bizarre behaviour

In this recent 2024 WSC quarter-final match there was a problem with an uneven black spot which was causing the black to roll off. The referee (Desislava Bozhilova) did a good job fixing the uneven surface and she successfully respotted the black ball which was now blocking the object ball. What happened next was truly bizarre.

Ronnie couldn't pot the red so he had to play a safety shot instead. But he and the two commentators incorrectly thought that he played safe because the referee had given him an unfair advantage. But the black was on its spot and we can clearly see that it's blocking the potting angle of the red. There was no advantage. It's like the three of them were suffering from temporary insanity.

And then Ronnie refused to shake her hand at the end of the session. Truly bizarre behaviour by Ronnie.. and very rude. Ronnie can be a bit difficult with referees sometimes (authority figures perhaps) but this was completely unacceptable. Desi did nothing wrong here.

Ultimately, I think that we have to give Ronnie the benefit of the doubt here and conclude that his behaviour was as a result of mental exhaustion from this gruelling competition dubbed the 'marathon of the mind.'

(They did 'shake hands' at the end of the match btw.)

This video is for educational purposes only.