Steve Davis lays into star over 'unforgivable' mistake at World Snooker Championship

Snooker legend Steve Davis was baffled by a decision Joe O'Connor made at a vital stage in his defeat to on Monday. The battle could still have gone either way when the pair were tied at 7-7 in a nervy 15th frame, but Higgins prevailing turned out to be the start of O'Connor's ending.

The Wizard of Wishaw went on to win the proceeding two frames and book his spot in the next round courtesy of a 10-7 victory. It took 37 minutes to find a winner of the 15th frame, in which O'Connor was forced to get creative as he chased down a 17-point deficit with only the pink and black left on the table.

The 29-year-old stepped up with the rest and played a brilliant snooker. With the cue ball in behind the black, Higgins missed the pink by a whisker, which put six more points on the board for O'Connor.

Rules dictated that, when snookers are required to win the frame, O'Connor was unable to put Higgins back in. He was therefore forced to play a tricky safety shot, with the cue ball resting near the side cushion. And his mediocre attempt was punished by Higgins, who played his own snooker before going on to take the lead in the match.

Davis, perhaps temporarily forgetting that rule, could not believe that Higgins wasn't asked another question after failing to get out of O'Connor's snooker the first time.

The 67-year-old told the BBC: "[O'Connor] played a brilliant snooker, a tough one for John Higgins to get out of. The thing I cannot understand is why did Joe O'Connor not put John Higgins back in?

"Joe O'Connor was in a position to make him play that shot again. I think that's a tough safety shot [O'Connor took on]. And as it worked out, the safety shot Joe O'Connor played, John Higgins gets a snooker back from it. That was strange.

"You can miss the pots, but your decision-making and positional [play] sometimes goes awry and you stop making the correct decisions under pressure. That at the end was unforgivable, not to put your opponent back in, for me. John would have fully expected, in my opinion, to be put back in there and have to play a containing safety."

Higgins saw out the job to continue his Crucible charge, and it was an emotional night for the Scot, who while discussing his father-in-law's recent heart attack during a live TV interview.