Mark Allen (left) plays a shot towards the reds and the black over the pocket during his match against Yize Wu. Alamy Stock Photo

Allen all square with Wu Yize after longest ever Crucible frame as Higgins takes edge on Murphy

Allen and Wu were confounded by the black blocking a cluster of reds over the corner pocket as frame 14 lasted an hour and 40 minutes.

LAST UPDATE | 4 hrs ago

WU YIZE WON the longest frame in snooker World Championship history in controversial circumstances to level his semi-final with Mark Allen at 7-7 in Friday’s second session.

The 100-minute frame was labelled “an embarrassment to snooker” by six-time world champion Steve Davis after nearly an hour passed without a single ball being potted.

Referee Marcel Eckardt was forced to warn the players after eight reds were left covering the black over the bottom right corner pocket.

The lengthy impasse meant the session was cut short by two frames. It also delayed the third installment of the other semi-final between John Higgins and Sean Murphy.

“In a nutshell that frame is an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees’ and the players’ association need to try to work out a way so that never happens again,” said Davis.

The final frame was the only one that Wu won all afternoon as the Chinese wonderkid blew a 6-2 overnight lead.

Allen reeled off five straight frames, which included a tournament-best 145 break.

There could still be up to 19 more frames to come on Saturday with the first to 17 reaching the final.

In a battle of former champions, Higgins edged 13-11 ahead on Murphy thanks to a fine century clearance in the final frame of the night.

Locked together at 8-8 after two sessions, the first four frames of the evening were also shared.

But Higgins hit breaks of 63, 70 and 101 to win three of the four after the interval to leave Murphy little margin for error on Saturday.

– © AFP 2026

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