Referee was forced to halt snooker match for treatment on bizarre injury

Ben Williams never thought he'd have to go above and beyond the job description of a snooker referee.

But when he saw a star about to fall victim to an infamous insect, he had to step in, even if it came at a cost.

Williams officiated a first round match of the 2020 Masters between Kyren Wilson and Jack Lisowski at the iconic Alexandra Palace.

With the score at 2-2, Wilson was about to take a shot but had a wasp fly off his ear and on to the back of his shirt collar.

The 33-year-old was understandably a little unsettled after the wasp flew off his shirt and landed on the table.

Determined not to let the insect derail the contest, referee Williams grabbed the wasp with his gloved right hand.

However, the wasp did not take kindly to being picked up by the official and immediately stung Williams.

After Williams informed the players he'd been stung, Wilson gave the referee a hug as the audience laughed along at the bizarre sequence of events.

At the end of the fifth frame, which Wilson won, Williams received treatment from the onsite medical staff.

It seemed the encounter provided Wilson with the reprieve he needed, as the 33-year-old won the following three frames to claim a 6-2 victory in the best-of-11 contest.

"Jack started off like a house on fire, going for everything and potting everything like we know he can do," Wilson said.

"First two frames I didn't really see a ball. After that I settled down and started to play snooker like I know I can.