Chaos at the Crucible: Farce as bizarre stalemate causes LONGEST-EVER World Championship frame as star who had big lead is left fuming and BBC pundits rage at ’embarrassing’ scenes
Wu Yize and Mark Allen played the longest frame ever recorded at the World Snooker Championship after a bizarre stalemate left them incapable of putting in the red ball in scenes described as ‘disgraceful’ at the Crucible.
The referee was the center of attention in Sheffield in the 14th frame of the match, with Allen leading by a long margin.
The players found themselves in a situation where it was impossible to pot the eight red balls due to black’s position; This resulted in constant safety shots as the crowd became restless and referee Marcel Eckardt had to intervene.
Eventually Allen was told that unless something happened within three takes, causing the enraged star to almost deliberately foul out so the frame could continue, the frame would begin again, meaning the frame would begin again.
Allen placed the black and allowed Yize to take control of the frame with nothing to lose. With two reds on the table, it would go down from 43-13 to 61-47.
Eckardt became annoyed with the crowd, who ironically applauded every safety shot and at one point shouted: ‘We don’t want this, calm down.’
The Crucible was the scene of chaos on Friday as Wu Yize and Mark Allen locked in a lengthy stalemate that was the longest frame in the history of the World Snooker Championship.
The players were locked in a series of safety shots as they refused to budge from the reds’ plight surrounding the blacks.
Mark Allen was left fuming after seeing his lead disappear in the face of threat of requalification
Join the discussion
How should snooker deal with the boring frames that frustrate players and fans alike?
Seven-time world champion Steven Hendry told the BBC: ‘Even if the blacks come in, are there drinkable reds?
‘This is the dark side of snooker.’
As the clock ticked down and the frame became the longest frame in World Championship history, a tense battle of safety shots ensued again.
Hendry added: ‘It was a terrible frame but it helped Wu Yize a lot.
‘He didn’t look like he was going to win another frame, but the ridiculous nature of this frame helped to ease the burden on him and liberate him, to forget what had happened to him in this session.’
Allen joked to the crowd that they “thought Yize was finished” after a short break, but the frame would continue and become the longest frame in tournament history, surpassing the previous record of 1 hour and 25 minutes.
In the end, Allen fluffed his words when presented with the snooker chance and Yize spotted the pink shot and eventually ended the frame at 100 minutes and 21 seconds, taking the game to 7-7.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis said on the BBC: ‘In summary this shot is an embarrassment for snooker and the referees and the players’ association need to try to find a way to make sure this never happens again.’
