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Two fans were spotted paying a heartfelt tribute to the late John Virgo just minutes into the World Snooker Championship final. The sport is still mourning the loss of the legendary commentator, who died in February at the age of 79. Known to many as the voice of snooker, he worked right up until his death and had been covering the Masters just weeks earlier.

A minute's applause was held in honour of Virgo before the start of the tournament, with some of the sport's biggest legends lining up to pay their respects. Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty joined the Crucible crowd in applauding Virgo's legacy as one of snooker's most recognisable and iconic figures.

His memory has remained strong throughout the tournament and two fans took it upon themselves to pay another emotional tribute during the final.

In the early moments of Shaun Murphy's match against Wu Yize, the pair were spotted wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Virgo's famous phrase: "Is there a gap? There's always a gap!"

BBC commentator John Parrott said: "Oh and that's a lovely touch, fans coming today, of course we lost our great friend John Virgo. Well done fellas. Nice touch, one of John's favourite sayings."

It comes after a number of top players urged the BBC to honour Virgo's legendary status with a reboot of Big Break, the snooker-themed game show he co-presented between 1991 and 2002.

The programme focused on teams consisting of a contestant and a professional snooker player, competing in rounds that involve snooker, with the best team eventually seeing its player seeking to win prizes for their contestant.

Of course, the BBC would face the challenge of finding a new presenter fit to replace Virgo as the main source of entertainment.

Murphy recently insisted that he would be open to the role, saying: "I was actually in conversation many years ago with the creator of Big Break, who put me forward as he wanted me to be one of the hosts.

"I was absolutely delighted to be included in that conversation. I'm not sure where that conversation went, but it's not on the screens yet. If it were to come back and they came calling, I'm in."

Higgins, meanwhile, said: "Who would you have without John Virgo, though? It would have to be one of the great champions, like Steve Davis."

Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson also suggested that Davis would be the ideal candidate, while Mark Allen put forward 1997 world champion Doherty as the perfect choice.

"I know he's very fun on exhibition nights," said the Northern Irishman. "He'd probably be good at trickshots and he's got a good way with people, good conversation and jokes."

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