Wu Yize’s semi-final battle with Mark Allen on the baize quickly turned into a game of tactical wit, as the crowd inside the Crucible got impatient
The World Snooker Championship crowd was left thoroughly frustrated by a tactical battle between Wu Yize and Mark Allen during the semi-finals. Sarcastic applause and demands for re-racks echoed around the venue as the duo played out an agonisingly lengthy frame, with Allen holding a 30-point advantage.
Allen had posted a score of 43 before the black became trapped by eight reds at the right-bottom pocket. Yize and Allen traded kisses off the reds for more than 35 minutes, with the audience venting their displeasure through a chorus of jeers.
Stephen Hendry and John Parrott watched on in disbelief as they called the action, with the Scotsman explaining: “The referee has got to call this, I’m afraid. I think he should’ve called it a while ago.”
At one point, a spectator shouted: “Can we have a rerack?” to which the match official fired back: “Thanks for the advice, but we can do it without you.”
According to Parrott, no further frames of snooker are permitted after 6:15pm, meaning any remaining frames on the day’s schedule would simply be carried over to the following session.
The BBC noted: “With John Higgins and Shaun Murphy due to get back underway at 7pm, it appears extremely unlikely that the eight frames scheduled for this session will be played.
“If the players are called off early those frames will be added to their final session on Saturday evening.”
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The referee gestured towards Allen following the prolonged tactical exchange and cautioned that measures might need to be implemented.
He said: ” I was always hoping the black was going to drop in, obviously. But that is not happening.”
Near the conclusion of the mayhem, the referee informed Yize and Allen that three additional shots were permitted each before a re-rack would occur.
Allen was displeased with the directive, arguing the action should carry on.
He ultimately sank the black, accepting the foul and allowing the snooker to proceed.
However, the match was not done there, with the BBC forced to switch their coverage of the frame over to the red button due to the extended period of play, a message reading: “Richard Osman’s House of Games will now be shown at 6.30pm.”
It also came as the longest frame in WST history. As a result of the mistake on Allen’s part, Yize was able to storm into a remarkable lead, clearing up the reds situated at the bottom corner of the table without the black impeding – before eventually taking the frame 88-66 to level the overall score to 7-7.
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