We have all been there. Playing some pool with some mates and things are not going your way.It could perhaps be your lack of talent but it can’t be because you’re the best player in the room. So whose fault is it?That’s right, it’s the white ball’s fault.How do you communicate your frustrations at an inanimate object? Of course, you flip the bird at the object.That must have been the thought process for professional player Kurt Maflin who was on his way to beating his opponent David Gilbert in the 2020 World Snooker Championship.In a tight match, with Maflin winning 8-7 in a best of 19 frames match, the Englishman was attempting to make a 147 break which would put him 9-7 in front.However, the cue ball positioning on the last red ball was not to his liking and clearly having the thought process that I have described previously, felt it necessary to vent his frustrations onto the white ball.

The referee did warn to Maflin that if he were to do the same action again, the frame would be automatically conceded to his opponent.

Speaking after the match Maflin explained: "I meant nothing by it - it was purely aggression being taken out on the cue ball. I felt like I'd worked really hard to get into that position... and when the white hit the yellow, it was just one of those reactions.

"She [Referee, Tatiana Woollaston] was whispering and I thought she was telling me to tuck my shirt in, but she told me she had to warn me for the gesture. I wasn't quite with it at that stage."

We have all been there. Maflin went on to win not the match but many fans too during what will most likely be the highest point of his career so far.