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Neil Robertson is the third World Snooker Championship star to risk a fine after Ronnie O'Sullivan made an error before the tournament even began. The 44-year-old is set to lose £250 after misreading the scoreboard in his first-round match with Pang Junxu.

The Australian was trailing 57-10 in the second frame and made a baffling error by walking away from the table while the frame was still winnable. Robertson walked back to his chair after missing a simple black and told the referee he would concede the frame as he believed he was further behind than he was. The snooker star thought he was 57 points behind when the number was actually 47. When questioned by the referee, Robertson said: "No. I was 57 behind."

The match official corrected Robertson and said: "There were three reds left. Can you bring the score up?" to which the star replied: "Ah, I miscalculated the score. Yeah, sorry. Yeah. I didn't mean it."

BBC commentator and former world champion Ken Doherty noticed Robertson's easy mistake and cleared up the confusion on air. He explained: "Well, what has happened there? He has actually conceded when he can still win. He's absolutely disgusted with missing that black.

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"But that's very unusual for Neil Robertson to do something like that. You don't really see that in the game anymore. I couldn't believe that he had conceded. Not only will he be warned, he will incur a fine for that as well - £250 that cost him."

Robertson isn't the only snooker star risking losing money at the World Championship this year. Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan are both expecting to receive fines for missing the media day at the Crucible.

All 16 of the top-seeded stars are expected to attend the event on the eve of the tournament. They pose for pictures with the official trophy, meet fans and speak with the media.

However, Trump and O'Sullivan were both missing and are now at risk of a £250 fine from tournament bosses. The only way they could avoid losing money is by providing a medical note to excuse their absence.

Robertson incurred a fine for this very issue at the 2023 World Snooker Championship. The 44-year-old was stuck on the A1 following a crash, leaving him an hour late for media day.

Shaun Murphy was asked if the no-show by Trump and O'Sullivan affected snooker's image. He said: "I don't know about image problems. I think it might give those two a particular image problem. I think it might affect their image slightly.

"I think once the public sort of tag onto that themselves and realise that two of the biggest stars of the game weren't here for opening day, when everyone else has made the effort to be here, listen, it's a strange one. I don't know why they're not here. Their own decisions, isn't it?

"I've got no idea, but none of us are shocked by it. It would be more strange for us if they were here, which is saying something. I think it's a real shame and they probably could both have done a little bit more to help promote the game over the years."