Wu in control of Crucible final against Murphy

May 4, 2026 No Comments

Wu in control of Crucible final against MurphyFigure caption, Wu wins final frame of session to lead Murphy 10-7BySteve SutcliffeBBC Sport journalist at the Crucible Theatre, SheffieldPublished3 May 2026, 16:53 BSTUpdated 47 minutes agoWu Yize opened up a 10-7 lead over Shaun Murphy in the World Championship final to put himself on course to become the second-youngest player to be crowned a Crucible champion.The 22-year-old is three months younger than Murphy was at the time of his only world title to date in 2005 and would sit only behind Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he triumphed for the first time in 1990.If Wu can hold off the Englishman on Monday, he would also follow in Zhao Xintong’s footsteps to become the second successive winner from China.On the evidence of Sunday’s second session, that is becoming a realistic prospect for a player who moved to Sheffield from his home city of Lanzhou with his father as a 16-year-old to pursue his dream.Who is snooker’s new superstar Wu?

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Wu made a scintillating start to the evening, having resumed at 4-4 after an afternoon session that was briefly interrupted by a female spectator jumping over the front-row barrier before referee Rob Spencer and security intervened to remove her.

Breaks of 82 and 103 gave him a two-frame advantage and while Murphy, who had earlier recovered from 3-0 down, hit back with a 72 it appeared as though he was struggling to stem the flow of his opponent.

Murphy, 43, who is aiming to set a new record for the longest gap between first and second titles, openly admitted that Wu had blasted him off the table at the Masters in January – albeit in a best-of-11 contest.

And having never won a match on his two visits to the Crucible prior to this year, Wu has so far has answered every question posed of him in the longer format.

Shaun Murphy & Wu Yize pose with the trophy — Image caption,

Shaun Murphy is playing in his fifth Crucible final, while Wu Yize is featuring in his first

His ability to knock in a barrage of long pots helped him enjoy runs of 89 and 66 as he won three of the next four frames.

During that period, a spectator was asked to leave the arena after their phone alarm went off while Murphy was about to play a shot just after the start of the 15th frame.

Murphy refused to buckle and responded again after an outrageous plant helped him take the 16th frame to get back to 9-7.

But with Murphy seemingly in charge of the concluding frame of the day, Wu knocked in a trademark long red that was fraught with danger to kick-start a wonderful contribution of 91 that gave him a healthy overnight advantage.

Their best-of-35 final resumes on Monday at 13:00 BST live on BBC Two.

Spectator ejected after jumping Crucible barrier in final
Quiz: Can you name all World Championship finalists since 2000?

Analysis – Wu ‘scaring life out of everyone he plays’

Stephen Hendry, seven-time world champion, speaking on BBC Two:

“It’s harder [trailing overnight] but Shaun has got that kind of game that can win bunches of frames in no time at all. He’s got that in him.

“Wu has just got to be careful that he doesn’t think he’s won it already. The people who are with him – keep his feet on the ground tonight.”

Steve Davis, six-time world champion, speaking on BBC Two:

“There is a long, long way to go but he is in front overnight and you can’t ask for more than that.

“From Shaun’s perspective, he has to hope Wu Yize gives him more chances. He is scaring the life out of everyone he plays. I think it’s going to be a tough day for Shaun Murphy.”

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