Wu Yize beats Shaun Murphy in Crucible classic to become world snooker champion

The 22-year-old's victory means back-to-back titles for Chinese players following Zhau Xintong's win in 2025

Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 at the Crucible to win the World Snooker Championship. Pic: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.

Wu Yize held his nerve to sink Shaun Murphy in a deciding-frame shoot-out and be crowned world snooker champion after a final for the ages at the Crucible.

The 22-year-old produced a match-winning break of 85 to win 18-17 to become the second youngest champion of the modern era and the second in succession from China after last year’s triumph by Zhao Xintong.

In a pulsating final session, Wu was repeatedly pegged back by Murphy, looking to seal his second crown 21 years after his first, and missed a black off its spot that would surely have got him over the line in the previous frame.

Murphy duly cleared and had the first chance in the decider, but Wu stepped up to the plate yet again, polishing off the title-winning break in a manner that suggests the sport has heralded the birth of a new superstar.

Sweeping to the final with victories over the likes of Mark Selby and Mark Allen, Wu picked up an army of fans for his free-scoring style, repeatedly digging deep to repel a succession of much more experienced opponents.

A decider had seemed almost inevitable as a nerve-jangling final session developed, with Wu resuming 13-12 in front after withstanding a five-frame burst from Murphy upon their resumption on Monday afternoon.

The Lanzhou-born player had looked down and out after the experienced Murphy roared back from a 10-7 deficit, pouncing on a succession of errors from his opponent to surge into a 12-10 lead.

Wu looked a pale imitation of the ferocious potting machine who had blazed into his first world final with scintillating wins over Selby and Allen, and Murphy looked a strong bet to make his experience count.

But far from the first time in this tournament, Wu, who had failed to win a match at the Crucible in two previous attempts prior to this year, rolled with the punches and came out firing.

A missed mid-range red by Murphy proved the pivotal moment, Wu responding with a nervous 64 to stem his opponent’s momentum, before proceeding to take the last two frames of a see-saw afternoon and ensure he would start the final session 13-12 in front.

Wu sustained his momentum with a break of 88 in the first frame of the evening to set up a thrilling spectacle in which the pair persistently traded blows.

Wu maintained his one-frame lead into the mid-session interval but Murphy was far from done, clawing back a 70-point deficit to draw level at 15-15, and a magnificent 131 clearance two frames later to nudge the match ever closer to a seemingly inevitable decider.

Wu moved one clear after overturning Murphy’s half-century lead with a break of 91, but after the drama of his semi-final win over Allen, it was the Chinese star’s turn to miss a simple black, giving Murphy the chance to take the match to the brink.