Wu Yize
Wu Yize, who had never won a match at the Crucible before this year, reached the final of the World Snooker Championship with a 17-16 defeat of Mark Allen, who missed match-ball black in the penultimate frame.
Wu will meet Shaun Murphy over a possible 35 frames on Sunday and Monday with the winner to lift the famous trophy and bank £500,000. Following Zhao Xintong’s historic triumph last year, Yize could become the second player from China to win snooker’s biggest title, and at the age of 22 could also become the second youngest champion after Stephen Hendry who was 21 in 1990.
As he reflects on a remarkable semi-final, Yize may barely be able to believe he is still in the tournament, as Allen – usually renowned for his calmness under pressure – crumbled when he had chances to win 17-14 and 17-15. The penultimate frame – the most dramatic at the Crucible since Kyren Wilson beat Anthony McGill 17-16 in an epic decider in 2020 – culminated when Allen had the black off its spot to reach the final for the first time, but rattled it in the jaws of a corner pocket. Yize potted it for 16-16 and eventually took the decider with a fantastic clearance.
This has been a breakthrough season for Yize as he won his first ranking title at the International Championship in November, then reached the semi-finals of the Masters on his debut, and has climbed into the world’s top ten, potentially jumping to fourth if he wins the final. He has stormed through the field over the past fortnight with audacious long potting and heavy scoring, making eight centuries and 35 more breaks over 50, notably knocking out Mark Selby in the second round and now the much more experienced Allen.
Yize has won many fans with his swash-buckling style and will go into the final full of confidence against a player he beat 6-2 at the Masters in January. Playing in his fourth ranking final and looking to double his tally of titles, he becomes the third Chinese player to reach the Crucible final, after Xintong and Ding Junhui.
In the opening frame tonight, Yize was on a break of 50 when he lost position and Allen edged back into the frame, eventually getting the better of a safety battle on the final blue and clearing to lead 12-11. Yize dominated the next and in frame 25 he was on 31 when he ran out of position, and Allen made 82 to regain the lead. A run of 126, his eighth century of the tournament, got Wu back to level before Allen’s run of 57 helped him go 14-13 ahead. Yize responded with a break of 74 to restore parity, only for Allen to make 65 for 15-14.
In the 30th, Yize looked set to level the match until he missed a red to a centre pocket on 58. Allen made 22 then got the better of a tactical tussle and cleared with 45 to go two clear. In the 31st, the Antrim cueman was a few pots from the winning post when a red to centre hit the far jaw on a run of 45, and Wu made an excellent 67 clearance to keep his hopes alive at 16-15. Nerves took hold in the 32nd as both players passed up chances: Allen failed to pot the last red when he led 62-52, then Yize’s attempted clearance ended with a missed pink. Allen clipped in the pink from distance and was near-perfect on the black, but couldn’t find the target.
In the decider, Allen had first chance and made 47 before running out of position, then Yize replied with 22 and was unlucky not to land on a red when splitting the pack. He played a fine safety to create another opening, and this time made a brilliant 71.
“I feel I have still not recovered from the nerves,” said Yize, the 34th player to reach the final in Sheffield. I feel sorry for Mark. I thought I was going to lose but I was able to take the opportunity. I was under pressure in the second session and lost my lead. After that I felt less pressure. 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 get it everything to win. Shaun has played well throughout this tournament and scoring heavily, it will be a very tough match.”
Allen, age 40, has now lost all three of his Crucible semi-finals, beaten by John Higgins in 2009 and Selby in 2023, and his hopes of becoming the oldest first-time Crucible champion have come to an end for another year.
He said: “It will take me a while to get over that black. You don’t deserve to be in a world final if you miss balls like that. It was just pure pressure, usually I am pretty good under pressure but I didn’t handle it today. I had two or three good chances to win and didn’t do it. I felt fine in the last frame and thought I was a bit unlucky when I potted the pink and didn’t land on anything. Wu played really well, all credit to him. I am devastated to lose but I think the right person is in the final. The way Wu plays is great for the game, he pots some ridiculous long balls. He made a great clearance at 16-14, he doesn’t seem to mind the pressure. Even if he doesn’t win it this time, I think he will win many world titles.”
Murphy Into Fifth Crucible Final
Shaun Murphy came from 15-13 down to beat John Higgins 17-15 in the semi-finals as he continued to chase his dream of becoming only the seventh player to lift the trophy on multiple occasions at the Crucible.
Higgins said that his opponent had “played like God” in the concluding session of a fascinating contest, as Murphy swept in three centuries to take control. Four-time champion Higgins, who would have extended his own record as the oldest ever Triple Crown finalist, had a chance to make it 16-16 but missed the black at a crucial moment of the 32nd frame. Instead, Murphy goes through to meet Mark Allen or Wu Yize over a possible 35 frames on Sunday and Monday.
Murphy became the second youngest ever World Champion back in 2005 at the age of 22, beating Matthew Stevens 18-16. Since then he has lost in three finals – against Higgins in 2009, Stuart Bingham in 2015 and Mark Selby in 2021. He had years in the doldrums when he felt his chances of landing the biggest titles were over, but victory in the Masters last season restored his self belief and now the 43-year-old has the opportunity to join the sport’s all-time greats as a multiple winner of the biggest prize.
Only Ronnie O’Sullivan (seven), Stephen Hendry (seven), Steve Davis (six), Higgins (four), Mark Selby (four) and Mark Williams (three) have held the silverware aloft more than once in Sheffield. Murphy has the chance to set a new record with the longest gap – 21 years – between first and second titles, currently held by Higgins who landed his first crown in 1998 and second in 2007.
Currently ranked eighth – but with the chance to go as high as second if he lands the £500,000 top prize – Murphy is into the 30th ranking final of his career and has won 13 of the previous 29. Earlier this season he won the British Open, and he has performed at a high level throughout the campaign, finishing runner-up to Mark Williams at the Xi’an Grand Prix and to Judd Trump at the German Masters.
Higgins started the session with a 13-11 lead but within 28 minutes they were level as Murphy opened with breaks of 132 and 127, bringing his tally of centuries for the tournament to nine and his career tally to 777, equal with Stephen Hendry. A scrappy 27th frame went to Higgins, then Murphy had first chance in the 28th but made only 11 before missing a red to top corner and Higgins capitalised with a tremendous run of 88 to lead 15-13 at the interval.
Another ton from Murphy, 105, halved his deficit and in the next he took advantage of a safety error from Higgins to make 78 for 15-15. In frame 31, Higgins trailed 26-8 when he attempted a tough red to centre, but it caught the near jaw and finished close to a baulk corner, handing Murphy the chance to make 38 and edge ahead.
In the next, Higgins was on 50 when a short range black to a top corner stayed in the jaws, and Murphy replied with 35 before missing the last red with the rest. A brief safety exchange ended with a mistake from Higgins, leaving the red available to a baulk corner, and Murphy stayed composed as he cleared to the pink.
“I feel exhausted, beating John over four sessions,” said Murphy, who has now won five of his six Crucible semi-finals. “What a player he is, and what a man. If I am half the player he is when I’m 50, I’ll be happy. I knew I needed a good start tonight, then when it went 15-13 I had to go to the well again. It looked like going 16-16 and I was preparing myself for a decider. It feels incredible to be in the final again, I will be nervous and it will be difficult but it would mean so much to win. I was clueless in 2005 but I had complete faith in what I was doing. Over the years since then I have doubted myself and my cue action at time.
“I have worked so hard to get back to this stage, in the hunt for that rhythm and timing and commitment under pressure, I am so pleased for myself and rest of my team. The club of multiple champions is one that I am desperate to join, I have been trying to replicate the magic of 2005 for 21 years. I am going to give it absolutely everything. It’s going to be the biggest two days of my life.”
Higgins, just 17 days short of his 51st birthday, missed the chance to reach a ninth Crucible final, which would have equalled Hendry’s record. He said: “Shaun was incredible in that last session, he was going for it and I couldn’t keep him at bay. The black in the last frame, I played it so badly, I tried to steer it in rather than stunning it. That’s what happens as you get older, your cue action breaks down at certain moments. I can’t be too disappointed because Shaun was superb. I am just sick about that black, that’s my over-riding emotion.”
