well, I personally spoke to both players today. I'll preface this by stating both responded well to my inquiry, as I suspect they answered as if asked by someone of authority, not a player or fan.
Bob told me, that stevie was "verbal" throughout the match. Early on, he called bob on a foul, and bob didn't question the call, although he maintains that he is almost certain that he did not. What is surprising here is that several other times in the match, at stevie's insistence, a ref came to watch specific shots to be an impartial viewer. Oddly, the 2 times stevie called foul he had NOT requested a ref. Stevie was ahead most of the match, and it was towards the end, as bob was closing the gap, the second foul was called. Apparently, bob was making a tricky shot with the bridge, when stevie said the cue came in illegal contact with a ball. Bob says that because of the first called foul, and the few times the ref had been called over, he was EXTRA AWARE of the foul potential, and swears no such foul took place. I'll get to more of bob in a moment.
Stevie on the other hand, swears he saw the foul. He went on to say that he was offended that bob didnt call it on himself, adding there was no way bob couldn't have NOT known he fouled.
I believe, strongly, that both players sincerely believe their own accountiing of the event.
Now, with that said, I don't know why stevie didnt call over the ref before this shot. Afterall, he wan't shy about doing so previously on a few prior occasions in this very match. The heat got turned up as Bon disregarded the call and began his preshot routine on the next ball. In my opinion, bob was doing the right thing. No ref, no foul. In fact, without the presence of a ref, the only person who can call a foul, is the shooter himself.
After that, there was some unfortunate name calling, and bob unscrewed.
Bob, inretrospect, really regrets doing so, and he is ashamed. He was awfully hard on himself, and was worried that his behavior would have a negative impact on the tournament. I assured him that was nonsense, but that in the future, there is never any good reason to quit something he has devoted most of his life participating and supporting.
Hope this adds new perspectives
Tv
