Wu Yize Reaches World Championship Final After Dramatic Win Over Mark Allen

Wu Yize booked his spot in the World Championship final after beating Mark Allen, making him only the third Chinese player to achieve the milestone after Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong. The Gansu native will face Shaun Murphy in the showpiece match on Sunday evening, with play resuming shortly after lunch and in the evening on Monday local time.

Wu, who had never won a match at the Crucible before this year, rode his luck in the semi-final after Allen had multiple opportunities to seal the victory, including missing a fairly easy black off its spot. Wu potted the black to tie the match 16-16 and secured his place in the final with a clearance of 71 in the decider.

“I feel I have still not recovered from the nerves,” Wu, the 34th player to reach the final in Sheffield, said after his remarkable semi-final win. “I feel sorry for Mark. I thought I was going to lose, but I was able to take the opportunity.

“Tonight I played well but made a few mistakes, towards the end I was lucky. I will give it my best in the final; I will give it everything to win. Shaun has played well throughout this tournament, and scoring heavily, it will be a very tough match.”

Allen, 40, has now lost all three of his Crucible semi-finals, losing to John Higgins in 2009 and Mark Selby four years later, and the Northern Irishman admitted he did not deserve to go through.