RONNIE O'SULLIVAN'S clash with Stuart Bingham descended into chaos as the snooker legend told the referee to "chill".
The match was on a knife edge in frame 21 as O'Sullivan tried to come from behind to beat Bingham.
And ahead of a key shot on the green The Rocket paused as he was distracted by members of the crowd moving in and out of the arena.
At one point there was a steady flow of punters trying to take their seat, so O'Sullivan did the same and sat down next to his opponent.
After a lengthy delay referee Desislava Bozhilova assured O'Sullivan that the door was closed and no more fans would be allowed.
The world number one stood up and then told the ref to "chill", with Bozhilova responding: "I am chill."
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O'Sullivan, 48, next potted the green brilliantly but went on the lose another action-packed frame, which again took commentators by surprise.
Ken Doherty commented on the fiasco saying: "I've never seen this before. I've never seen this before at The Crucible, particularly at such an important stage.
"I don't blame him taking his time, there is no rush. Just take your time, it's such an important stage, it's an important shot."
O'Sullivan clashed with Bozhilova earlier in the match over a re-spotting of the black ball, which moved after being put on its spot.
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The Rocket revealed he wanted to prove she had made a mistake after playing a safety shot instead of going for a pot.
He said: “To be honest with you, some of the referees I think they’ve got it in for me.
“So I just wanted to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.
“I thought, you know what, I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that.
“But I just wanted to make a point. The point was made.
“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I am more of a principled person, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”