Snooker star Holt calls out social media 'trolls' over 'cheating' vibe: "a bit of a sewer"

The world number 60 won a qualifying match held several weeks ago to reach the main draw of the £550,400 world ranking event held at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno where he faced home hero and three-time world champion Mark Williams.

A low-scoring opening frame went the way of Williams, before the unique situation occurred in frame two. Leading 39-1 in points, Holt potted a long red, but accidentally hit the yellow ball his cue whilst getting up from his shot.

This was unseen by referee Colin Humphries, although marker Kevin Dabrowski immediately alerted Humphries of the foul, and after footage was shown - seen by Holt, too - this was subsequently called, and penalty points awarded before another shot was played.

Williams made a 58 from that visit, but it was Holt who took the frame with a yellow to black clearance.

The match was eventually won by Williams, as he recorded three further half-century breaks in a 4-2 win.

Holt on social media comments: “Obviously, the trolls jump on that”

Looking back at the match and the incident in question, Holt posted a video on his Facebook coaching channel to discuss what happened, and had no issue with the result, admitting that he didn’t play well enough to win.

“Disappointing. Obviously not to lose to Mark Williams, but my performance weren’t good enough. I had more than enough chances to win” said the 47-year-old.

Over the foul on the yellow, Holt wanted to set the record straight: “Obviously that incident with the yellow; touched the yellow, didn’t I. I can’t believe by how much I moved it - it was unbelievable, how did I not notice that?

“Obviously, the trolls jump on that - ‘I’m a cheat’. You read some of the comments; it’s funny actually how much people just jump on, it’s a bit of a sewer, in it?

“I can’t believe it I didn’t feel it myself to be honest, but look, I mean, if you think I’m a cheat, then you don’t know me very well. And also, it’s against Mark Williams, he’s one of my heroes. I’m really good friends with him, like, he was at my wedding with Jo (Williams’ wife).

“But like I say, people jump on it, but I can’t do anything about that. So, yeah, it was a bit of a disaster all round.”

Next up for Holt on the World Snooker Tour is next month’s World Open held in Yushan, China. Earlier this month at the Barnsley Metrodome, he defeated Ken Doherty 5-2 to qualify for the main draw in the Far East where he is set to meet Mark Selby.

Holt is on the second year of a tour card having earned back his top flight stripes through winning the Q Tour order of merit in 2024. On the end-of-season provisional rankings list he is projected 53rd, so should be safe in retaining his professional status for next season.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Welsh Open, visit here.