Stephen Hendry stunned by 'the worst shot at World Snooker Championship so far'

Lewis Henderson
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:14:28 +0000

Stephen Hendry has been left stunned by what he described as "the worst shot at the World Snooker Championship so far".

The snooker icon delivered the scathing verdict on Xiao Guodong's play during his second-round encounter at the Crucible.

The seven-time world champion was working alongside fellow former winner John Parrott when the Chinese player produced the errant stroke while trailing Shaun Murphy 4-0.

"It's just not a shot: it's almost amateurish the way he played it," Hendry remarked, offering no sympathy for the world number nine's struggles.

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Guodong's calamitous moment came as he stretched across the baize with a rest, targeting a red into the bottom left corner while attempting to free up position on the black ball positioned nearby.

The execution proved disastrous, with the cue ball coming to rest surrounded by a cluster of reds, leaving him completely trapped.

Commenting on the shot, Hendry said: "We said before about not thinking clearly when the snooker situation was on, and we've also got a shot here.

"He's got a red over the corner next to the black, and all you've got to do here is hit this with pace.

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"You've got a fantastic bunch of reds there, you've got the black hanging over the pocket.

"It's almost like having a free shot. So put a bit of left-hand side on, go into the pack, split the pack of reds open.

"You know the black is over the corner pocket. I don't know why you'd want to play with no pace, and he ends up snookering himself."

The seven-time world champion continued: "That (pressure) has got a bit to do with it.

"He's not started the match well, he's desperate to get a frame on the board and not thinking clearly.

"But there's no excusing that. It's probably the worst shot I've seen at this championship so far.

"It's just not a shot. It's almost amateurish the way he played it. You need a frame. Get the reds out into the open. Get scoring.

"Clearly, his head is all over the place with the way he started the match. Credit to Shaun, he's been outstanding."

Murphy scored breaks of 79, 103, 63, and 64, establishing a comfortable early lead.

Guodong, on the other hand, struggled significantly in the early stages, scoring just seven, 28, 16, and 23 points.