World Snooker Championship 2026 as it happened – High drama as Wu Yize wins longest-ever tournament frame to end day level with Mark Allen
By Paul Hassall
Updated 01/05/2026 at 20:04 GMT+1
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World Snooker Championship 2026 live comments and streaming details. TNT Sports brings you frame-by-frame updates as Wu Yize ended a remarkable day level at 7-7 with Mark Allen.
'A tactical move' - Allen ends stalemate by potting black
Video credit: TNT Sports
Allen hits back to tie with Wu after record-breaking session
Mark Allen produced a stirring comeback, but had to settle for levelling at 7-7 with Wu Yize after an attritional afternoon in their World Championship semi-final ended with the longest frame in Crucible history.
Allen was looking for a fast start, having lost the first session 6-2, and he immediately reduced the arrears in a cagey, error-strewn opener, with both players demonstrating nerves.
The tense atmosphere continued with Wu’s run of 51 proving to be in vain as a gruelling one-hour frame saw Allen somehow steal it to move within two of the Chinese world number 10.
In stark contrast to the previous stanza, Allen’s momentum continued with an outstanding 145 clearance, and the Northern Irishman was too strong again as he made it four frames on the spin to pull level at the mid-session interval.
Allen maintained his flow as his 69th Crucible century made it five in a row courtesy of a 121 clearance, but the 14th frame of the session turned into a real stand-off.
Eventually, with no sign of a breakthrough in the impasse, the threat of a re-rack led to Allen deciding to commit a foul on the black.
The Pistol had been 34 points ahead, but ended up being pegged back as Wu clocked up a 41 on his way to levelling the match courtesy of the longest frame in the tournament’s history, which lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
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Mark Allen looks up at the scoreboard during the semi-final at the Crucible
Image credit: Getty Images
World Snooker Championship 2026 live comments
World Championship LIVE – Wu 7-7 Allen: end of session
Wu ends a remarkable frame by teasing the pink to the yellow pocket.
All square ahead of tomorrow’s morning session after the longest frame in tournament history (one hour and 40 minutes).
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*82-66)
Wu tries to tease a long pink up to the green pocket but it refuses to drop.
Allen responds and conjures up a potential shot of the tournament contender as he gets tight behind the black.
There’s lots of pressure on Wu but he comes off the left cushion to clip the pink and avoid a disaster.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (82-66*)
Allen slams the blue to the yellow pocket and is now hoping to get a snooker off the pink.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (82-61)
On we go.
This is now officially the longest frame in tournament history.
Allen is chasing that snooker on the blue with Wu 21 ahead and 18 left on the table.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (82-61*)
It’s a face-off on the blue, pink and black now with Allen searching for a snooker to avoid losing a frame he felt he was in charge of until the threat of a re-rack emerged.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*82-61)
Wu flukes in the brown and plays safe of the blue.
Allen returns and gets his reward as a sloppy knock on the blue ends with it racing towards the black and knocking it into the right corner.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (78-54*)
Allen pops in the green but can’t find the snooker behind the blue.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*78-51)
Wu zaps down a long red and rolls a pink home to move within sight of taking the frame.
The black off its spot almost seals the deal and a fine cut on the yellow to its home pocket has him on the brink, but he misses the green and Allen will return in search of a snooker.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (61-51*)
Drama!
Wu blinks with a foul and a miss trying to remain safe on one of the two remaining reds.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*61-47)
Wu knocks in a red and steers down a black to the left corner despite bridging over a ball to make it happen.
The Chinese must have almost forgotten what it felt like to pot a ball, but a delightful 41 puts him in charge.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (20-47*)
Allen doesn’t want the re-rack, so he fires into the cluster of reds and fouls by potting the black!
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-47*)
Wu lacks any sort of pace with his attempt from a tricky situation on the left side of baulk.
It leads to a foul and a miss and a slow-hand clap from the crowd!
The referee is given a message from the hierarchy to tell the players there must be a resolution or development in the next few shots or they will re-rack.
Allen is obviously against it given his lead.
The idea is that the players get three shots each to get this frame moving.
The audience agree with the decision, loudly applauding.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-43*)
The hour-mark arrives with no change. The eight reds are jammed together, suffocating the black over that right-hand pocket.
The unique aspect of this situation is no longer amusing the audience who have started to get restless.
Indeed, some fans are almost giving it the 'oles' on each slow-paced approach shot and cheering when it doesn't lead to the black falling.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-43*)
Allen plays a clever trap behind the brown and it leads to Wu misjudging the pace of his escape and coughing up the foul and a miss.
It only adds the Allen’s score. The impasse will go on…
‘It looks to me now like this is never going to end, ever,’ says Foulds on TNT.
Meanwhile, the referee shuts down a fan in the audience who suggests a re-rack should be considered.
Allen’s lead means he will be dead against it.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-39*)
The stand-off continues.
The reds are now forming a line towards that right corner with the black hovering ever closer to the pocket.
It’s a strange old watch. The audience seem intrigued and for the players it a game of patience.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-39*)
All eight reds clustered near that black in the right corner.
‘I’m not sure how this is going to get resolved,’ says Foulds on TNT Sports comms.
Are we set for a possible re-rack?
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (13-39*)
Not for the first time today, Wu’s radar is off as he misses a red attached to the centre of the bottom deck in an effort to clip it ever so finely.
However, Allen can’t make the opening count and surprisingly catches the pink trying to duck out of Wu’s safety.
The Pistol is trying to nick a red south of the pink from up near the green bag and there’s plenty of discussion about putting the balls back in their correct places.
It takes an age and on TNT Sports comms, Foulds suggests they aren’t back in the right places.
Allen hits the pink again and the same discussion ensues.
It proves to be third time lucky as Mark takes aim at another red and pulls off a recovery back up to baulk.
It’s another attritional frame that has now past the 30-minute mark with the black’s position near that right corner pocket making it almost impossible for either player to develop anything.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (1-35*)
It’s another lengthy stand-off with the pack well split to the right, but with the black hovering over the corner pocket.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*1-35)
Wu leaves a red hovering near to the middle right bag and Mark inevitably punishes him with a sweet pot from the bottom deck.
The Northern Irishman drills a mid-range black to the left corner and bullets down a red from right to left to propel the cue ball up to baulk. A green to its home pocket brings him back down where he needs a decent shot with the rest on a tricky red to regain position.
A plant on a red to the right earns him a nice ripple of applause, which is something he has grown used to as this afternoon has developed.
However, the stunned gasp of the crowd says it all when a surprise miss on the black to the right ends his break on 35.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen (*1-0)
Wu pockets his third fluke of the afternoon as his long red hits the blue and flies into middle right.
The Chinese uses the fortune to lay a trap behind the brown, but Mark escapes with nice weight of shot to tickle the side of the pack.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-7 Allen
Allen seizes upon a loose safety from Wu to return from the interval with a red down to right middle.
An unfortunate ricochet means he’s not on the black but his safety off the brown immediately offers a half chance, which he executes with a stylish double off the left cushion to the middle right bag.
A red up to middle left sees him land topside of blue and allows him to come off the bottom deck to prey upon a trio of reds sitting south of the pack near to the black.
A brief foray north to the blue enables him to come back down for the final red of that triumvirate of reds and some lovely left side spins him up off the black to a red just loose to the corner of the pack.
However, the cue ball doesn’t read the script as it ends up tight above the blue, leaving him to arrow the brown to the yellow corner and eye a tough red near the right rail.
The Pistol is in such confident mood now that he nails that to the right corner with aplomb and the blue follows with a red to the left flank and the black to the right taking him to the brink of the half century.
A pink to the left corner sees him cannon into the pack, but the split isn’t too kind. He ponders a red up to middle left for a good two minutes and then makes it look simple with a beauty of a pot.
He needs a sublime cut on the black to the left corner via the rest to keep it going and Wu can only stare at the table in dismay as another frame is swept away from him.
Allen has that Mojo flowing now and it’s all about the possibility of another century when he sinks a pink to middle right before popping away the final red to the same corner.
Yellow, brown and green off their spots seal the ton and he goes on to complete his 69th century at The Crucible.
The applause continues as he completes the job, notching up a 121 clearance to hit the front in the match!
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-6 Allen (0-55*)
Allen seizes upon a loose safety from Wu to return from the interval with a red down to right middle.
An unfortunate ricochet means he’s not on the black but his safety off the brown immediately offers a half chance, which he executes with a stylish double off the left cushion to the middle right bag.
A red up to middle left sees him land topside of blue and allows him to come off the bottom deck to prey upon a trio of reds sitting south of the pack near to the black.
A brief foray north to the blue enables him to come back down for the final red of that triumvirate of reds and some lovely left side spins him up off the black to a red just loose to the corner of the pack.
However, the cue ball doesn’t read the script as it ends up tight above the blue, leaving him to arrow the brown to the yellow corner and eye a tough red near the right rail.
The Pistol is in such confident mood now that he nails that to the right corner with aplomb and the blue follows with a red to the left flank and the black to the right taking him to the brink of the half century.
A pink to the left corner sees him cannon into the pack, but the split isn’t too kind and his run ends on 55.
'Absolutely immaculate' - Allen makes total clearance to move ahead in high-break race
Video credit: TNT Sports
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-6 Allen
Wu looks bemused by his complete lack of form in this second session.
Allen looks to make him pay and begins to extend his lead on the board with some clinical snooker.
A lovely pink down to the left corner enables him to nonchalantly roll the cue ball in-behind a red near the middle left.
It doesn’t go, but Mark shows his comfort right now as he doubles the other remaining red off the right rail and into the opposite pocket!
It leaves Wu with too much to do and he makes a quick exit for the mid-session interval after conceding a frame that sees Allen pull level!
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'Houdini-like escape' - Wu misses blue and Allen pinches hour-long frame after needing snooker
Video credit: TNT Sports
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-5 Allen (*17-36)
Wu plays a red to middle right but then gets a major fluke when his awkward jab with the rest sees the black shoot away from the intended right corner and flies straight into the opposite bag!
The Chinese looks to take full advantage of his massive fortune but fluffs his lines again when a routine black hits the near jaw of the left corner and races free.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-5 Allen (0-36*)
Wu looks a touch lost as he misses a long cut and takes a seat he has become far too familiar with in the past 20 minutes or so.
Allen leaps back into action with a fine cut on a red up to the middle and yellow, red, black bring him right back down the table to again play off the latter colour on its spot.
It looks like being anther big score from The Pistol but it ends abruptly on 36 as he misses the black cannoning into the pack.
It’s nicely split and Wu has a big chance here…
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-5 Allen
Allen has got a spring in his step now and slaps down an opening red that allows him to play off a series of red-black combos and develop an early advantage.
A delightful cut on a red up to middle left keeps him ticking along and brings him back down for the black off its spot once again.
It paves the way for a cannon into the pack that earns some applause and impresses Neal Foulds on TNT Sports comms.
A fine cut on a red up to middle left is perfect and the cue ball navigates down from baulk and misses the brown and blue to tee up a hefty pot on the latter to take him beyond the half century.
Positionally that was some shot and The Pistol rampantly gobbles down more routine reds-black combos to move out of sight.
A red to the right corner opens the door for the black to the same bag and the crescendo of applause tells us that’s the ton.
The final two reds are quickly despatched and he comes off the left cushion off the black to line up the yellow to its home pocket via the rest.
‘It’s been an absolutely immaculate break,’ says Foulds on TNT Sports comms.
He’s not wrong and the Northern Irishman deserves to bask in more adulation from the audience as he completes a stunning 145 clearance.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (59-10*)
A poor safety from Wu leaves a half chance for Allen. It’s not the easiest of cuts on a red up to the middle right bag, but pulls it off with a delicious pot that leaves him straight on the black.
‘He’s done well, he’s done very well,’ says Foulds as he screws back to the left cushion off a pot on the black and glides the cue ball across to a quartet of reds near the upper right rail.
The first red is vanquished to the yellow bag but he’s off course positionally and ends tight to the lower right rail with his cueing.
There’s no way to continue without huge risk, so he plays off the blue up to baulk.
On we go!
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-4 Allen
More groans as Allen almost flukes the blue to the right corner after trying to play safe with it tight to the cushion near the opposite bag.
Wu takes on the long blue to the corner but can’t tease it down and Allen is able to step in and knock a routine pot to the right bag.
The pink follows to the same corner and Mark remains poker-faced as he completes the clearance to move within two with an almighty steal in a frame lasting one hour!
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'Oh my word, what a shot' - Wu crushes in superb red
Video credit: TNT Sports
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (60-47*)
Allen gets first sight on a long pot on the yellow and rifles it down to its home pocket.
The Pistol zaps an equally sharp green down to the left corner and sends the brown down along the baulk cushion.
It was rather straight and he didn’t have much angle, which means it’s a tough ask on the blue down the left rail and he plays safe after a run of nine.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (60-38*)
Right then.
Allen produces a smart snooker tight below the black with a route to the yellow blocked by the pink and green.
Wu’s rescue attempt goes awry and the foul sees Mark get his snooker. A pot is not on, but it’s very much up for grabs…
And suddenly Wu has lost concentration and completely misses the yellow again.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (60-30*)
Allen slots down the final red and has his mind on engineering a trap.
The Northern Irishman slots a pink to middle right and then plays the yellow to the baulk cushion and moves the cue ball south of the pink.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (*60-23)
There are more gasps and groans from the crowd as the tension continues to reverberate around that table.
The safety isn’t perfect and allows for both players to attempt shots for nothing, but a couple of near misses prolong the uncertainty.
Eventually, a massive fluke sees Wu come off the bottom cushion, glance the penultimate red and flick it into middle left.
However, the Chinese misses a routine green and still can’t get himself over the line!
Allen needs a snooker now…
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'Wow, that's a big mistake' - Wu completely misses red as Allen steps in to pinch frame
Video credit: TNT Sports
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (59-23*)
There’s a murmur of concern from the crowd and it’s directed towards Wu as he blinks first after another tense spell of safety.
The Chinese star coughs up the foul and a miss and The Pistol lays another trap behind the yellow, blue and green.
Wu fouls again with the final three reds tight to the bottom rail – and then again!
The referee delivers a warning and the Chinese has to abandon his efforts to stay safe and drags one red clear towards baulk, but near the yellow pocket.
Allen jabs it down via the rest but the cue ball won’t slow down and ends up right between the last two reds on the bottom deck.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (59-1*)
Allen gets off the mark but it's a solitary pot as he ends up tight to the bottom rail and opts to shunt slowly into the black on its spot.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (*59-0)
‘It’s quite a serious mistake,’ says Foulds on TNT Sports comms.
It follows a poor safety from Allen that leaves a couple of tricky reds available for Wu.
It had been a tense safety exchange up until that moment and Wu produces a spellbinding red to the corner from tight to the pink that has Foulds gasping ‘oh my word what a shot!’
The 22-year-old backs it up with a special long cut on the pink to the same bag, but a miss on the brown up to the green pocket keeps Mark interested in the frame.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen (*51-0)
Wu dusts himself down and sizzles down a long to open to suggest he’s not ready to allow that disjointed opener linger in his mind.
A flurry of red-black combos quickly develop a healthy advantage and a tidy cannon into the pack off a pot on a stray red to the left corner has Neal Foulds purring with the word ‘beautiful’ on TNT Sports comms.
It helps the world number 10 move beyond the 40-mark, but another cannon off a black to the right goes wrong and he can’t develop a frame-winning situation, putting the black safe after a run of 51.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-3 Allen
It’s Allen who gets a hold of the nerves first, arrowing a long red down to the right corner. It enables him to screw back and send the black to the green pocket and get it back on its spot.
The Northern Irishman attempts a snooker only the final red but leaves it open to the green pocket.
Wu can’t send it down and after Allen sees a long attempt hit the jaw of the right corner and somehow stay out after making a beeline for the opposite corner, the Chinese inexplicably misses the final red completely trying to cut it down from distance.
Mark pops it down via the rest but then needs a supreme recovery cut on the green up in baulk to fire it to the yellow pocket and haul himself back into position.
The remaining colours follow with the brown being frame ball and disappearing to the yellow bag.
Allen can’t send down the pink but a run of 18 is enough for him to reduce the arrears.
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-2 Allen (*36-34)
It’s Allen who ends a brief spell of safety with a crisp red to the corner.
However, The Pistol tries to play up to the black next to the brown. It doesn’t come off and his attempted cut on the green also goes awry.
Wu also comes up short with a red to the right corner that slaps the jaw and flies away.
Tense stuff with two reds left and both players missing decent opportunities!
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-2 Allen (*36-26)
Wu seizes the opportunity and zaps a long red to the right corner.
It’s slick work from the Chinese star as he quickly erodes his opponent’s lead and a black to the left puts him in the ascendancy with five nicely spread reds still remaining.
However, there’s another twist with four reds left as he fluffs is lines.
Lifeline for Allen!
World Championship LIVE – Wu 6-2 Allen (4*-26)
The Pistol needs a big start and that’s not a bad opener!
Mark eyes a stray red just north of the pack and sends it down from high up in baulk to earn a ripple of applause.
A black to the corner sets him along nicely but he screws back off a pot on the colour a few moments later and ends up going in-off to middle right – ouch!
Show time!
The stage is set and the players are currently making their entrance into The Crucible Arena.
Can Mark Allen begin the fightback here?
He needs a quick start this afternoon.
How to watch and stream the World Championship
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