Those watching the snooker on television will have noticed a change in the provider of the on-screen technology used to plot the positions of the balls.
Chinese company Rigour, a technology partner at the Beijing Academy supporting the WPBSA and CBSA, were brought in for the first time outside China instead of the originally British firm Hawk-Eye - bought in 2011 by Japanese giants Sony and also used in tennis and cricket as well as snooker.
The new system, which saw the angle of shots and pots periodically displayed on screen, offered a more effective solution to restoring the table to how it was in those most awkward situations for officials when the balls are moved around on a foul. It may be imagined that the deal also represented value for money compared to the previous technology.
Rigour, who enjoyed a fact-finding trip in York at the UK Championship, spent time with editors and directors at Alexandra Palace trying to ensure smooth implementation and the best use of their service – but there was one minor hiccup.
One of the Chinese team, perhaps unaware of the somewhat more stringent health and safety regime in the UK, scrambled up on to the lighting rig hanging high above the arena to try and rectify some issue. A pointed intervention from tournament director Mike Ganley saw him descend in a hurry.