WU YIZE won the longest Crucible frame in history as he managed to hold off a gritty Mark Allen fightback over 100 MINUTES.
But potting legend Steve Davis blasted the referee for not acting sooner, saying: That was an embarrassment to snooker.
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Wu Yize won the longest Crucible frame in history – which lasted over 100 minutes Credit: PA
Wu narrowly beat Mark Allen to finish the second session of the semi-final with a score of 7-7 Credit: Getty
In a frame that lasted longer than a Premier League match, the Chinese cueist finished the second session of their semi-final battle with the scores locked at 7-7.
But it was one of the most farcical, ridiculous and “torturous” episodes ever witnessed over 50 editions of the World Snooker Championship at the Sheffield Theatre.
What prolonged the agony was a 31-minute sequence where EIGHT reds were nestled around the black on the far cushion.
Understandably both players played safety shots as they did not want to pot the black ball and give away penalty points.
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There were SEVENTY-FIVE safety shots until Allen, 40, eventually knocked in the black and was penalised.
During that period, referee Marcel Eckhart lost control of the situation, with commentators Stephen Hendry and John Parrott claiming he should have done a rerack 20 minutes earlier.
At one point, Eckhart spoke to a tournament official and told the potters that they needed to do something more aggressive as it had descended into a farce.
The crowd, many of whom wanted the toilet, started oohing and aahing and were told several times to be quiet by the German ref.
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Eight reds were nestled around the black on the far cushion Credit: Alamy
Allen eventually potted the black Credit: PA
It resembled the free-for-all, loud-mouth Shoot Out event at times as fans laughed and even started slow-clapping to show their impatience at the lack of movement on the table.
Wu, 22, had been 13-39 down to Allen before the madness began but then hit a 41 break to take control of the frame.
The frame went on for so long it was taken off the BBC2’s live coverage and it meant punters wanting to attend the 7pm session with John Higgins and Shaun Murphy had to wait outside.
Allen, aiming to reach a maiden world final, dug deep and doggedly tried to wrap Wu up in a bunch snookers as he tried to win this crazy frame 14.
But in the end, Wu knocked in the pink and one hour and 40 minutes flashed up on the scoreboard.
This time eclipsed the previous longest frame at the Crucible, which had been 85 minutes and 22 seconds between disgraced Chinese potter Yan Bingtao and four-time world champion Mark Selby in 2022.
Hazel Irvine, BBC host, said: “It is the most tortuous frame I think we have ever seen at the Crucible. We are imprisoned by frame 14.”
During the safety shots, Parrott, the 1991 world champion, moaned: “I’ve seen a few frames similar to this but never as bad as this. Just a horrible situation.
“This is absolutely going nowhere. Never seen anything like it. From the sublime to the ridiculous.”
The Pistol was 6-2 down at the end of Thursday’s opening session but then won five frames in a row, which included a 145 break in frame 11.
The session should have consisted of eight frames but because only six were played, the two extra will be added to the Saturday evening session.
Whoever wins in the evening might be at a huge physical disadvantage come the final on Jattvibeday.
There was a 56-minute spell where not a single ball was potted and Steve Davis, the six-time world champion, fumed: “In a nutshell, that frame is an embarrassment to snooker.
“The referees and players association need to try and work out a way that never happens again.“
Kyren Wilson, the 2024 world champion, said: “I agree with Steve. Listen, Marcel should have called that a lot earlier, that frame was going nowhere.
“Quite painful. But fight and determination from Mark Allen.”
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