World Championship 2025: Si Jiahui pulls off 'Barnes Wallis special' bouncing shot pot against David Gilbert in Crucible clash

Si Jiahui and David Gilbert locked horns in the opening round of the World Championship at The Crucible on Monday evening. It was a bit patchy at times, but there was one moment of brilliance from the Chinese youngster that had the commentators in shock. Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+

Si Jiahui is one of the rising stars of Chinese snooker, and he produced a piece of magic in his clash with David Gilbert in the first round of the World Championship.

Zhao Xintong has been commanding plenty of headlines, and rightly so given he is a UK Championship winner.

But Zhao is not alone, as he is one of 10 Chinese players taking part at The Crucible this year.

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Si already has an established pedigree in the game, having reached the semi-finals of the World Championship in 2023.

Attack is the best form of defence for the stars of the modern game, and Si demonstrated that in the eighth frame against Gilbert.

Gilbert returned to his seat fairly content with where he had left the cue ball, but what was to follow almost defied belief.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Si dug down on the cue ball and struck it at pace, which saw it bounce along the bed of the table before striking a red and sending it crashing into the left corner. For good measure, he dropped perfectly on the black and went on to make a frame-winning 97.

It is fair to say Dominic Dale and Phil Yates were almost lost for words, which is a rare thing.

"Goodness me, that is an amazing pot," Dale said on TNT Sports. 

"Dave Gilbert looks away in a mixture of disgust and disbelief," Yates added. "That was some pot. It was against all the rules, if you like."

Drawing breath, Dale said: "Did you see how many times the cue ball bounced down the table? Take a look at this…

"It was about six times before it struck the red."

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Digging into the history books, Dale referenced the bouncing bombs from World War II.

"It was a Barnes Wallis special," Dale added in reference to the inventor of the bouncing bomb. "Absolutely incredible.

"I’d like to know how far the cue ball was off the baulk cushion, because if it was just a couple of inches it was one of the best pots I have ever seen."

Si claimed the last frame of the evening on Monday to lead 6-3 going into Tuesday's concluding session, which you can follow live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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