Wu Yize and Mark Allen quicken the pace to put ’embarrassment’ behind them

BACK AT IT: Wu Yize during his semi-final match with Mark Allen (right) on day fifteen of the Halo World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Pic: Richard Sellers/PA Wire

Mark Allen and Wu Yize put memories of their 100-minute “embarrassment” to bed as they finished level at 11-11 after a riveting third session of their World Snooker Championship semi-final in Sheffield.

The duo tore through the frames with Wu delivering three centuries – including two breaks of at least 140 – while Allen responded with knocks of 99 and 85 before taking the final frame of the morning.

It was a far cry from Friday’s farcical 14th frame which became the longest in Crucible history after eight reds were left covering the black over the bottom right corner pocket, prompting former champion Steve Davis to call it “an embarrassment to snooker”.

The marathon had meant the pair could only play six of the eight scheduled frames in the session, which was good news for Wu, who had missed a series of simple shots as Allen hit back from 6-2 down to level at 7-7.

The Chinese 22-year-old was in much better form on Saturday, starting with his 142 clearance in the opening frame, but dogged Allen consistently hit back to set up an intriguing final session later on Saturday.

More to come...

PA