Wu Yize is through to the World Snooker Championship final after a dramatic 17-16 victory over Mark Allen in one of the most thrilling semi-finals in Crucible history. The 22-year-old Chinese star will face Shaun Murphy in the final after Allen missed a simple black that would have sealed his place in his first world final.
Allen's Miss Proves Costly
The 40-year-old from Antrim had the match at his mercy in the 32nd frame, needing only to pot the black off its spot to wrap up a 17-15 win. However, he rattled the pocket, allowing Wu to level at 16-16 and force a tense decider. In front of a raucous Sheffield crowd, Allen initially shut out his nightmare, building a 47-point lead, but an unlucky split on the reds left him out of position. Wu stepped in with a nerveless 71 clearance to secure the victory.
Allen told BBC Sport: "You don't deserve to be in a world final if you're missing balls like that. It was just pure pressure, to be honest. Even though I'm devastated to lose that match, I think the right person's in the final. The way he plays is great for the game, he scores heavily and pots some ridiculous long balls. He's going to win many world titles."
A Dramatic Session
Saturday's sessions provided a stunning contrast to Friday night's notorious 100-minute frame, which former champion Steve Davis had called an "embarrassment." In a session that saw two swift re-racks, Allen consistently nudged one frame clear, only to be hauled back repeatedly by the free-scoring Wu, who drilled long reds and seemed impervious to mounting pressure.
The pivotal moment appeared to come in frame 30 when Wu missed a simple red to the middle, allowing Allen to move to the brink of victory at 16-14. Yet Wu fired back irresistibly, forcing the dramatic conclusion.
Murphy Overcomes Higgins
Earlier, Shaun Murphy twice overturned a two-frame deficit in the final session against John Higgins, dredging up his best form to see off the 50-year-old Scot. The clash looked set for a decider until Higgins fluffed a black on a break of 50, gifting Murphy the chance to win at the second attempt.
Murphy told the BBC: "I just came out today knowing if I got my chances I could score. At the interval I was just saying to myself, 'you've done it before, now you can do it again.' But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out there, the tougher he gets and the better he plays. If I'm half the player when I'm in my 50s, I'll be very proud."
Resuming the final session 13-11 behind, Murphy started in scintillating fashion with two total clearances to level, only for Higgins to chisel out the next two frames and restore his two-frame lead. Murphy's fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval, and as Higgins began to miss easy balls, the 43-year-old went into overdrive, winning the last four frames in a row to confirm victory.
Higgins paid tribute to Murphy, saying: "The way Shaun hit the ball in that session was incredible. He just hits it like God. I'm disappointed but what can you do. As you get older your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match, but take nothing away, Shaun was awesome and he's got a great chance of going on to win it for a second time."
