The moment was caught on camera and with live microphones inside the Crucible
Snooker viewers watched on baffled as a noise emanating from the referee was caught on the microphone mid-frame during the Zhao Xintong and Ronnie O’Sullivan match.
In the final frame of the first session of the semi-final, with the match at a particularly tense stage, you could hear a pin drop inside the Crucible Theatre.
After O’Sullivan had missed a black off the spot, Zhao set about clearing the table in a bid to level the scores at 4-4. As the Chinese star lined up a red to the middle pocket with the scores delicately poised at 32-6, a noise echoed out around the Crucible.
Referee Leo Scullion’s stomach appeared to gurgle as Zhao was lining his shot up, with the noise seemingly being caught on the referee’s microphone.
Scullion visibly moved his hand over his stomach in a sub-conscious attempt to try and stop the noise, however in the silence of the Crucible he had no such luck.
Posting the picture on X, broadcaster TNT asked: “Was that a stomach rumble from the referee?”
Viewers were in hysterics replying to the post on social media, as one asked: “Half the viewers probably thinking it was them like I did.”
Another said: “I wondered where that was coming from!” While another weighed in with: “I honestly thought it was me, I thought am I hungry?”
Zhao wasn’t to be put off, though. He managed to win the final frame, smashing off the corner pocket in the process, and went into the break on level terms with the Rocket.