Pool great Earl Strickland branded "scum", swore at fans and gave flowers to ref
Pool legend Eric Strickland has been no stranger to controversy throughout his chequered career.
On a bizarre night at the World Pool Championship back in 2003, the 60-year-old was scheduled to face snooker ace Steve Davis in a round of 16 tie.
Prior to the match, Strickland had given a heated interview with Sky Sports, in which he blasted the fans for booing and being disrespectful to him.
After beginning the match in a quiet manner, Strickland soon began to engage in heated verbal arguments with fans and even referee Michaela Tabb.
TV microphones caught him using foul language to one member of the crowd, then telling Tabb to "shut up" when she warned him.
While Davis took a break during the match, Strickland was left at the mercy of the vociferous crowd.
The American put his fingers in his ears to block out the crowd's support for Davis, who cheered loudly for Davis whenever Strickland took his fingers out.
As play continued, Strickland was very animated following an easy miss from Davis.
He leapt out of his chair, fists aloft, shouting to the crowd "Yeah! He dogged it!"
When Davis opted to take a second break, Strickland loudly complained that players were only entitled to a single break.
Do you remember this moment from 2003?Let us know in the comments section.
He then yelled at the crowd: "He's Steve Davis, he can do what he likes," another reference to his belief that Davis's status at Matchroom Sport, the organisers of the event, afforded him special treatment.
Strickland would go on to defeat Davis 11-9, but despite his victory, his tirade continued through the main part of a post-match interview, before composing himself and apologising for his actions.
In his next match, to the surprise of many Strickland entered the arena carrying a bunch of flowers which he gave to Tabb as a token of apology, and played the rest of the tournament in a much calmer and composed manner.
At the Mosconi Cup in Las Vegas in 2007, Strickland was involved in an ill-tempered clash with reigning world champion Daryl Peach.
The referee, again Tabb, was forced to separate the duo amid fears the row would turn violent.
Peach described Strickland as "the scum of the earth" in his post-match interview, and declined the opportunity to retract his statement when offered.
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Snooker star Judd Trump has turned his hand to pool in recent weeks, but was hammered 11-1 by Europe's Mosconi Cup winner Jayson Shaw at the US Open Pool Championship.
Trump’s playing in the competition for the first time and had a dream debut, winning his opening match 9-0 over Joe Magee.
He backed it up with an equally impressive 9-2 success against India's Dhruvalkumar Patel.
The former snooker world champion won a third match against Saudi Arabia's Abdullah Al-Shammari 11-5, before he was outclassed by Shaw.
Strickland, a five time winner of this event, also competed in the ongoing tournament but has been eliminated.
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