FANS and star Joe Perry were left bemused and in stitches as he was wrongly introduced as his opponent at the World Snooker Championship.
The awkward gaffe by emcee Rob Walker occurred this morning before his clash with Robert Milkins.
The early match, which was not even originally supposed to be played today, saw Perry lead the Welsh Open champion 7-2 following the first session as they battled for a spot in the second round.
But there were amusing scenes beforehand as Walker mistakenly gave Perry his opponent’s full introduction instead – leaving The Gentleman looking sheepish.
Walker roared: “Please welcome a player coming to the end of his best season on tour.
“He now needs to find the form that helped him lift the Welsh Open title in such fine style in February.
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“He's been a grafter for his entire career and he will go for it this morning.
“He's a cider drinker, but we call him 'The Milkman', Robert Milkins!”
The bewildered looking Perry shook his head to the camera before walking out, continuing to shake his head and pointing to his watch, before embracing Walker.
The man on the mic quickly realised his error, and said: “As if by magic, it's The Gentleman, Joe Perry!”
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Dave Hendon, on commentary for Eurosport, explained: “Well, this is unfortunate because, of course, Perry is the qualifier so he comes out first.
“This is not Robert Milkins, this is Joe Perry. It's early for everyone, even Rob Walker, who is human.”
Perry laughed it off and said: "I am not going to say anything about Rob Walker.
"He’s absolutely tremendous. He is probably one of the biggest assets we have got at this tournament."
Of course, it is not the first unusual incident to occur in the game between the two snooker stars.
It was delayed to today’s impromptu morning session after protesters halted the original game by invading the table and throwing orange powder everywhere on Monday.
It was then confirmed that the match would begin on Tuesday at 19:00 UK time, at the time their second session was originally scheduled, and then the second session would take place at 9:30 today when there was due to be no morning play held.
Police have made two arrests after the snooker table was defaced at the World Snooker Championships.
Snooker fans fumed at the BBC not immediately cutting away from the foolish stunt and for posting the video on their social media channels.
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