Allen and Wu struggle through 100-minute frame in World Snooker Championship
struggle through 100-minute: The semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yize is poised at seven frames all after the pair played out the longest frame in the World Snooker Championship’s Crucible era. The afternoon session ended with a remarkable 14th frame that lasted just over 100 minutes, marking a new record for the longest frame in Crucible history.
Details of the longest frame in Crucible history
Mark Allen began the afternoon session trailing 6-2 overnight to Wu Yize, who was high on confidence. Allen fought back strongly, winning five frames in succession to take a 7-6 lead. The session concluded with an extraordinary 14th frame featuring a cluster of eight reds jammed around the black ball near a corner pocket, creating a lengthy stalemate.
For 55 minutes, no balls were potted as the players struggled to find a way out of the snooker. Allen led the frame 47-13 and was reluctant to request a re-rack. The referee, Marcel Eckardt, faced challenges controlling the crowd after some spectators began slow clapping. He hesitated to intervene until prompted by the tournament director, Rob Spencer, who instructed him to warn the players that they had three shots to resolve the situation or the frame would be re-racked.
Eventually, Allen committed a foul by knocking the black ball into the pocket, allowing Wu to take the lead. Wu then won the frame 88-66 after a lengthy safety exchange and an impressive escape shot to pot the pink ball from behind the black.
The frame lasted one hour, 40 minutes, and 21 seconds, setting a new record for the longest frame at the Crucible. This duration was just eight minutes shorter than the quickest match ever played at the venue, which was a 10-1 victory by Ronnie O’Sullivan over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in 108 minutes during the 2020 championship.
Reactions to the lengthy frame
Several snooker legends and current players expressed their views on the prolonged frame. Six-time world champion Steve Davis described the frame as “an embarrassment to snooker” and called for the referees and players’ association to find a way to prevent such situations in the future.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry criticized the referee’s delay in ending the stalemate, calling it “the dark side of snooker.” Kyren Wilson, the 2024 champion, also felt that referee Marcel Eckardt should have intervened earlier, describing the frame as “quite painful” but praising Mark Allen’s fight and determination.
Progress in the Allen vs Wu semi-final
Despite the challenges of the long frame, Allen had shown resilience throughout the session. He won the first two frames of the afternoon, even as Wu made breaks of 32 and 51. Allen also produced a tournament-best 145 break and followed it with a 121 break after the interval, his ninth century of the tournament, making him the top break-builder ahead of Zhao Xintong.
The session was expected to include three more frames, but the lengthy 14th frame meant it ended at 7-7, leaving the semi-final evenly poised.
John Higgins takes lead over Shaun Murphy in tight semi-final
In the other semi-final, John Higgins moved into a 13-11 lead over Shaun Murphy after a closely contested evening session. The pair entered the session tied at 8-8, and the battle remained tight throughout.
Murphy started the evening with a 60 break to win the opening frame, but Higgins responded with a 55 break. After some errors in the following frame, Higgins capitalized by potting the brown, blue, and pink balls in quick succession to take a one-frame lead.
Murphy then produced a commanding 82 break to level the match at 10-10 by the mid-session interval. After the break, Higgins made an early 63 break and secured the frame by potting the pink ball. Murphy responded with a 105 break, becoming the fifth player to reach 100 century breaks at the Crucible, to draw level again.
Higgins closed the session strongly, winning back-to-back frames including a 101 break in the final frame to hold a slender overnight advantage of 13-11.