Controversy has been brewing around the World Snooker Championship this week over Ronnie O'Sullivan's choice of chalk.
The seven-time world champion is one of the few players on the World Snooker Tour to have not adopted Taom Chalk -- which launched in 2017 and quickly became the go-to for most professionals -- and continued to use the traditional Triangle Chalk.
O'Sullivan's decision has drawn criticism from snooker stars past and present, despite his last-16 exit to John Higgins after one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent memory.
Why are snooker stars criticising O'Sullivan's chalk?
Those who are critical of the classic Triangle Chalk say it can stick to the cue ball and cause kicks when it hits the object ball, making control and positioning much harder.
The old-style chalk can also leave marks on the table and the cushions, sometimes leading to unexpected bounces.
Higgins himself experienced a visible kick during the deciding frame of his dramatic match against O'Sullivan on Monday.
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The Scot could be heard saying "oh my God" as he found himself out of position on the black after his cue ball did not run on as he had anticipated.
Higgins missed the resulting shot but still went on to complete an incredible 13-12 comeback from 8-3 and 9-4 down.
What have players said about O'Sullivan's chalk?
Higgins' quarterfinal against former world champion Neil Robertson began on Tuesday, after the Australian admitted he had hoped to face the 50-year-old so that he did not have to worry about O'Sullivan's chalk.
"Ban that c**p, please," he said after defeating Chris Wakelin in their last-16 match. "All the players hate it. It destroys the game. You get kicks, you get bounces. Not only that, it makes an absolute mess of the table.
"I know [O'Sullivan] is good friends with [artist] Damien Hirst, but it's like he's doing artwork with chalk all over the cloth.
"I don't think he does it to put off anyone, he's not that way inclined at all, but it's not great.
"It's hard enough to play Ronnie O'Sullivan, but he's the only player, just about, on tour who uses that chalk. Hopefully, they bring in a ban, but there are only a couple of players who use it."
Higgins himself was not quite as critical as Robertson, but admitted that O'Sullivan's choice of chalk had made his victory much more difficult.
"Ronnie was by far the better player," Higgins said of his performance on Sunday. "His cue ball was amazing and that's what sort of makes you just feel inferior sometimes, when his cue ball is so much better and I'm scrapping about.
"But there are circumstances why that is because we all know he uses the other chalk, so that's what makes the table play a little bit bouncy and it's all messy.
"It's tough to play against, but you've just got to try and get it out of your mind. But today it was a brand new cloth, which helped me a great deal, because then I knew there was no chalk marks.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry also noted that players appeared to be struggling in matches in which Triangle Chalk was used, telling the BBC: "Ronnie uses the old-fashioned chalk that leaves a lot of marks on the table.
"Marks on the cushions, which if the balls hit it can make big bounces. The table can play heavy and the players are not used to that because everyone else uses the other chalk -- there's no marks, there's nothing, no bounces, no kicks."