Wu Yize will meet Shaun Murphy in the 2026 World Snooker Championship final after a dramatic conclusion to the Chinese star’s semi-final with Mark Allen.
Earlier, Shaun Murphy produced a superb comeback to defeat John Higgins in a classic semi-final at the Crucible Theatre and emerge as a 17-15 winner.
Higgins built a 15-13 lead going into the mid-session interval of the last session but Murphy came back from the break firing and reeled off four frames on the spin to reach the Crucible final for a fifth time. He won the world title in 2005 but has lost each of his three final appearances since so will have ghosts to lay to rest when the best-of-35 showpiece begins on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, Higgins’ attempt to become the oldest world finalist at the age of 50 fell just short.
History was made in the other semi-final on Friday afternoon as Mark Allen and Wu Yize played out the longest frame in Crucible history. The epic encounter lasted for more than 100 minutes and saw some of the bizarrest scenes ever witnessed on the baize. A logjam was created when eight reds and the black were stuck over the right corner pocket, leading to a stalemate that lasted for around 55 minutes before Wu somehow prevailed.
And they then played out a remarkable finale to the semi-final. Allen had a simple black to win the penultimate frame and book his spot in the final, but somehow missed, and Wu went on to clinch the frame and win the decider to meet Murphy in the showpiece.
Follow all the latest reaction from the World Championship at the Crucible below.
Wu Yize into World Championship final
Steve Davis is predicted “fireworks” tomorrow in a final between two of the most entertaining players around.
“I think we will have fireworks in the final. They will both be bashing in balls all over the place. It will be about who can play the best positional play. Maybe Shaun Murphy would have preferred to have played Mark Allen than Wu Yize?”
Prize money
Whoever wins the final stands to take home half a million pounds…
- Winner: £500,000
- Runner-up: £200,000
- Semi-finals: £100,000
- Quarter-finals: £50,000
- Last 16: £30,000
- Last 32: £20,000
- Last 48: £15,000
- Last 80: £10,000
- Last 112: £5,000
- Highest break: £15,000
- Maximum break: £40,000, paid out in addition to the highest break prize. The break bonuses are shared if two players hit the same total.
Wu Yize into World Championship final
More from Allen after that dramatic finish: “You don’t deserve to be in a world final if you’re missing balls like that – that was just pure pressure to be honest.
“Normally I’m pretty good under the pressure but just didn’t handle it well today. I had two or three good chances to close out the match but I didn’t do it, so credit to Wu.”
Wu Yize into World Championship final
“I think the right person is in the final,” says Mark Allen, as classy as ever. “He’s great for the game.”
Mark Allen 16-17 Wu Yize – WU THROUGH TO FIRST WORLD FINAL!
A brilliant clearance by Wu and somehow he’s through to the final!
He won the final three frames to get there. But oh, Mark Allen, what a nightmare moment that was, missing a simple black off its spot that would have put him in the final.
One of the most extraordinary finales in Crucible history.
Mark Allen 16-16 Wu Yize
Wu takes the lead in the frame, and picks off the trickiest red in the process. He’s so close now, only the colours remaining…
Mark Allen 16-16 Wu Yize
Allen couldn’t plot a way out of the situation, and his attempt to leave the cue ball on the top cushion goes awry. Wu has a real chance to clear up, but the pressure is enormous now.
Mark Allen 16-16 Wu Yize
… And Wu breaks them up but fails to land on a red! He didn’t quite put enough energy into the cue ball and it got stuck against one of the reds.
Wu plays a good safety though, and Allen is in a bind.
Mark Allen 16-16 Wu Yize
Allen loses the safety exchange, as Wu pots a mid-length red into the right corner and stuns across for the black. He nails a do-or-die thin black, and now this is a decent chance to respond.
The challenge is that he is going to need open the bunch…
