Wu Yize defeated Mark Allen in Saturday's semifinal to become the first Chinese player to reach the World Championship final for the second consecutive year. The 22-year-old, who moved to Sheffield at 16 and turned professional at 17, now faces Shaun Murphy in the final. A victory would make him the second youngest world champion in snooker history, behind Stephen Hendry.
Wu Yize became only the third Chinese player to reach the World Snooker Championship final after beating Mark Allen 17-16 in a dramatic semi-final at the Crucible. The 34th player to reach the final in Sheffield will face Shaun Murphy in Sunday's showpiece, having recovered from nerves to overturn a tense match where Allen missed a crucial black. Allen, 40, has now lost all three of his Crucible semi-finals.
Wu Yize beat Mark Allen 17-16 in a dramatic World Snooker Championship semifinal at the Crucible, capitalizing on Allen's missed black in the final frame. The 22-year-old Chinese player will face Shaun Murphy in the final after Murphy defeated John Higgins 17-15 in another thrilling semifinal.
Wu Yize defeated Mark Allen 17-16 in an extraordinary World Championship semi-final at the Crucible, with Allen missing a match-winning black off its spot in the final frame. The 22-year-old Chinese player came from 16-14 down to win three consecutive frames and reach his first World Championship final, where he will face Shaun Murphy.
Wu Yize beat Mark Allen 17-16 in a dramatic World Snooker Championship semifinal at the Crucible, capitalising on Allen's missed black in the final frame. The 22-year-old Chinese player will face Shaun Murphy in the final after Murphy came from behind to beat John Higgins 17-16 in the other semifinal.
Wu Yize produced a stunning comeback to beat Mark Allen 17-16 in an epic World Championship semi-final at the Crucible, capitalising on Allen's missed match-winning black in the final frame. The 22-year-old Chinese player will face England's Shaun Murphy in the final after Murphy defeated John Higgins 17-15. Allen, 40, was bidding to become the oldest first-time finalist in Crucible history but suffered a devastating defeat.
Wu Yize produced a stunning comeback to beat Mark Allen 17-16 in an epic World Championship semi-final at the Crucible, trailing 16-14 before winning three consecutive frames. The 22-year-old Chinese player will face Shaun Murphy in the final after the Englishman came from 13-11 down to beat John Higgins 17-15. Allen, 40, missed a match-winning black in the penultimate frame, suffering a heartbreaking defeat in his bid to become the oldest first-time finalist in Crucible history.
Wu Yize came back from 16-14 down to beat Mark Allen 17-16 in an epic World Championship semi-final, winning three consecutive frames with breaks of 67, 52 and 71. Allen missed a match-winning black in the 32nd frame, breaking down on 45 before losing the decisive frame. The 22-year-old Chinese player will face England's Shaun Murphy in the final after Murphy defeated John Higgins 17-15. Allen, at 40, was aiming to become the oldest first-time finalist in Crucible history.
Watch as Mark Allen misses a simple match-winning pot on the black during his semi-final loss against Wu Yize in the World Snooker Championship.
Shaun Murphy defeated John Higgins 17-15 in an epic World Snooker Championship semifinal, overturning a two-frame deficit in the final session to reach his fifth final. The 43-year-old Murphy, winner in 2005, benefited from Higgins' crucial miss on a break of 50 in the decisive moments. Higgins, at 50, received praise from Murphy who called him an inspiration. Murphy will face either Mark Allen or Wu Yize in the final, with that semifinal tied at 11-11.
Wu Yize and Mark Allen finished locked at 11-11 in their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre. The Chinese 22-year-old made three centuries including a 142 opening break, while the 40-year-old Northern Irishman responded with breaks of 56, 85 and 99 to level at 10-10 before the final frame ended all square. They return for the decisive final session at 19:00 BST on Saturday, with Allen attempting to become the first Northern Irish finalist since Dennis Taylor in 1985.
Wu Yize and Mark Allen contested the longest frame in Crucible Theatre history during their World Championship semi-final, a 100 minutes and 21 seconds epic. Chinese star Wu, 22, saw his five-frame lead disappear as Allen recovered from 6-2 down to lead 7-6 before the record-breaking 14th frame. Eight reds covered the black for 55 minutes without a pot, ending only when Allen fouled. Steve Davis called it 'an embarrassment to snooker'.
Semi-final poised at 7-7 after attritional 14th frameJohn Higgins edges to 13-11 lead over Shaun MurphyWu Yize and Mark Allen’s semi-final is poised at seven frames all after their afternoon session ended with a bizarre frame – the longest in the World Snooker Championship’s Crucible era – clocking in at just over 100 minutes.Allen began the afternoon trailing 6-2 overnight to an opponent high on confidence and belief, but fought back in style, winning five frames in succession to edge 7-6 ahead. Continue reading...
A power outage at the Crucible Theatre interrupted BBC’s live coverage of the 2026 World Snooker Championship semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yize for 12 minutes. BBC issued an apology, and despite the disruption, Allen regained his focus, leveling the match. The semi-final remains tightly contested heading into the final sessions.
Semi-final poised at 7-7 after attritional 14th frameShaun Murphy and John Higgins deadlocked at 8-8Wu Yize and Mark Allen’s semi-final is poised at seven frames all after their afternoon session ended with the longest frame in World Snooker Championship history, clocking in at just over 100 minutes.Allen began the afternoon trailing 6-2 overnight to an opponent high on confidence and belief, but fought back in style, winning five frames in a row to edge 7-6 ahead. Continue reading...
Mark Allen and Wu Yize produced the longest frame in Crucible history during their World Championship semi-final, with a remarkable 14th frame lasting 100 minutes and 21 seconds. The farcical encounter saw eight reds left covering the black, prompting referee Marcel Eckardt to warn players after 55 minutes of no potting. Steve Davis described the frame as an embarrassment to snooker. Allen recovered from 3-5 down to level at 7-7, making a 145 break - the highest of the championship - and a 121 century.
Wu Yize took control of his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Mark Allen, reeling off the closing four frames to open up a 6-2 lead. The 22-year-old from China produced a clinical performance including runs of 78 and 64, while a power outage interrupted Thursday's evening session. In the other semi-final, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins are locked at 4-4 after the 2005 champion let slip a 3-1 lead.
John Higgins pegged back Shaun Murphy to level their World Snooker Championship semi-final at 4-4 in Sheffield. The four-time champion fought back after Murphy had led 3-1 at the mid-session interval, with the match a repeat of the 2009 final which Higgins won 17 years ago. Higgins was playing his 100th match at the Crucible and had also fought off Neil Robertson in a late night quarter-final on Wednesday.
Chinese snooker player Wu Yize has reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship for the first time after a 13-8 victory over Hossein Vafaei. He is set to face Mark Allen in the next round at the Crucible Theatre.
Shaun Murphy defeated defending champion Zhao Xintong 13-10 to reach the World Championship semi-finals in Sheffield, ending Zhao's title defence in the process. The 43-year-old Murphy won four of the first five frames in the final session to overturn an 8-8 deadlock into a 12-9 lead before sealing victory with a break of 69. Zhao became the 21st player to fall victim to the 'Crucible curse' - first-time winners who failed to defend their crown. Murphy will face John Higgins, who beat Neil Robertson 13-10, while Mark Allen faces Wu Yize in the other semi-final.
Shaun Murphy defeated defending champion Zhao Xintong 13-10 to reach the World Snooker Championship semi-finals, becoming the 21st player to fall victim to the Crucible curse - first-time winners who failed to defend their crown. Murphy won four of the first five frames in the final session to overturn an 8-8 deadlock. Meanwhile, Mark Allen beat Barry Hawkins 13-11 after Hawkins made an unforgivable blunder in the closing stages.
Shaun Murphy defeated defending champion Zhao Xintong 13-10 to reach the World Championship semi-finals in Sheffield, becoming the 21st player to fall victim to the Crucible curse. The 43-year-old Murphy won four of five frames in the final session to overturn an 8-8 deadlock. Mark Allen also progressed after Barry Hawkins committed a crucial error in the deciding frame, winning 13-11.
Shaun Murphy defeated defending champion Zhao Xintong 13-10 to reach the World Snooker Championship semi-finals in Sheffield, becoming the 21st player to fall victim to the so-called Crucible curse. The 43-year-old Murphy won four of the first five frames in the final session to overturn an 8-8 deadlock. Meanwhile, Mark Allen also secured a semi-final spot with a 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins after Hawkins committed a crucial blunder in the deciding frame.
Mark Allen reached the World Championship semi-finals with a hard-fought 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The 40-year-old Northern Irishman, who has won the UK Championship and Masters, is aiming to complete snooker's Triple Crown. If he wins the world title, Allen will become the oldest first-time winner in the modern era, eclipsing Stuart Bingham's 2015 record.
