PERENNIAL fire-cracker Earl Strickland blotted his copy book once again as he folded against Frenchman Vincent Facquet in an opening day group match defeat at the 2006 Philippines World Pool Championship the PICC in Manila.

The final score ended 8-4 in favour of Facquet was the final score but it was the way the match ended that was typical Strickland (pictured right with referee Nigel Rees), a three-time World Champion, who hails from South Carolina.

His off-the-wall behaviour has become a regular feature of the WPC and he  was out of sorts against as the Frenchman opened up a lead down the home straight.

He started muttering under his breath and fidgeting to Facquet’s clear annoyance. The Frenchman, not to be outdone, responded in kind and eventually referee Nigel Rees called both players together and ordered a halt.

However, ‘The Pearl’ continued to fiddle with his cue case while Facquet was playing and referee Rees issued a final warning. Strickland asked whether he could concede the final rack before saying "I don’t care, I’m out of here."

With a defeat in his first match, Strickland now faces an uphill struggle to make Wednesday’s knock out stages.