Daylight robbery – Fans unhappy with no refunds after O’Sullivan game ends early

Snooker fans have reacted angrily to being refused refunds for what was meant to be the fourth session of the World Championship semi-final between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong.

Xintong’s commanding 17-7 victory was completed with a session to spare, meaning there will be no competitive action on Saturday afternoon at the Crucible.

An exhibition featuring Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor, 40 years on from the latter’s victory in their famous ‘black-ball final’ will take place instead, running from 2:30pm until approximately 4pm, including a short interval.

The World Snooker Tour said its box office terms and conditions meant it was “unable to offer ticket refunds or exchanges”, news which has not gone down well with spectators expecting to see seven-time champion O’Sullivan.

Responding to the announcement on social media site X, formerly Twitter, Andy Wilson wrote: “Like both Steve and Dennis but I paid £115 for my seat yesterday.

“Endlessly rolling out the old guys isn’t an answer today. But WST do like to keep their money. Refunds can and should be made.”

Another response, from Luigi di Falco, read: “It’s pretty much daylight robbery. Those semi-final tickets were so expensive to not offer refunds you should be ashamed.”

In a statement released to the PA news agency, the WST said: “We are putting together a fantastic exhibition this afternoon featuring all-time snooker legends.

“We realise that fans come from all over the world to enjoy the Crucible experience so our intention is to provide the best possible entertainment in these circumstances.

“This is the first time in over a decade that a semi-final has finished a session early so it is a very rare occurrence and unfortunately beyond our control.”