World Snooker Championship semi-final set for thrilling conclusion

The two former world champions are locked in an intense battle to reach the Crucible final, where either Mark Allen or Wu Yize will await
John Higgins will try to turn a 13-11 lead over Shaun Murphy into victory this afternoon in their enthralling World Snooker Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre, as he continues his quest to become the oldest world champion in history.

Higgins was particularly impressive in Friday’s two sessions, as the 50-year-old Scot seeking his fifth world tile edged ahead of his English foe, sealing an overnight advantage with a superb break of 101 in the final frame of the day, meaning he requires four more for victory, while Murphy needs six.

Meanwhile, history was made in the other semi-final on Friday afternoon as Mark Allen and Wu Yize played out the longest frame in Crucible history .

The epic encounter lasted for more than 100 minutes and saw some of the bizarrest scenes ever witnessed on the baize.

A logjam was created when eight reds and the black were stuck over the right corner pocket, leading to a stalemate that lasted for around 55 minutes before Wu somehow prevailed.

Their third session on Saturday morning was much more fluent as Wu made breaks of 142, 140 and 121 but Allen managed to hang with the 22-year-old rising talent to end the session level at 11-11.

They will play to a finish in the race to 17 frames from 7pm this evening.

Follow all the latest scores and action from the World Championship at the Crucible below.

John Higgins 13-11 Shaun Murphy
This is good from Murphy.

Working in and around the black spot and quickly moves the break beyond 30 with limited trouble.

Leaves himself a mid-range red to the right corner with the rest but that’s in the heart of the pocket to keep the break going.

The lead is up to 50 now and the reds are all there for a century, and more importantly the frame.

Promising start from Murphy as he crunches in a long red and then rolls up behind the brown to put Higgins under pressure.

The Scot leaves a three-ball plant to the middle for the 2005 champion and that is a great pot!

Clips the lower jaw and drops.

Murphy in here with a great chance to build an advantage in this frame.

A great reception for both players and they’re underway in frame 25.

Shaun Murphy needs a fast start to this session.

He can’t really afford to fall three or four frames behind at this stage of the match
Right, we’re just about to get back underway at the Crucible for the concluding session of this epic semi-final between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy.

MC Rob Walker will be introducing the players shortly.

From abject farce to mesmerising beauty – snooker shows its contrasting faces
Whoever lifts the World Snooker Championship trophy aloft on Monday evening as the confetti streams down around them will have reached the pinnacle of their sport.

If it’s John Higgins, it would be for the fifth time, for Shaun Murphy the second and for Mark Allen or Wu Yize, the very first occasion.

It will be a remarkable achievement, the highlight of a career and the fulfilment of a dream that began in childhood.

But whoever emerges triumphant will inevitably, sadly, only achieve a fraction of the headlines that frame 14 of the second semi-final did.

After all, pure sporting accomplishment can never match abject farce when it comes to capturing public interest.

Read Luke Baker’s full analysis of a remarkable Friday at the Crucible:
Inside snooker’s Chinese match-fixing scandal – and how they got caught
Some pre-session reading for you: Three years on from the news that rocked the snooker world, Lawrence Ostlere delves into the story of an unprecedented scandal that saw 10 Chinese players banned from the game.

Threats, bets and guilty WhatsApps: Inside snooker’s Chinese match-fixing scandal
Mark Allen and Wu Yize locked at 11-11 ahead of finale
Yesterday’s session between Mark Allen and Wu Yize was a slog - not only was there the record 100-minute frame but another frame that lasted more than an hour.

In fact, they only had time to play six of the scheduled eight frames...

However, it was a different story this morning with a glorious session playing out between the two men.

Wu made breaks of 142, 140 and 121 but Allen managed to hang with the 22-year-old rising talent thanks to runs of 56, 85 and 99 to end the session level at 11-11.

They will play to a finish in the race to 17 frames from 7pm this evening.

It should be a cracker
‘An embarrassment to snooker’: Pundits fume as Mark Allen and Wu Yize play out longest frame in Crucible history
Here’s a reminder of what happened yesterday, when an extraordinary frame lasted for a record 100 minutes and 21 seconds as Mark Allen and Wu Yize engaged in a bizarre stalemate during their World Snooker Championship semi-final.

But not everyone was impressed...

‘Embarrassment’: Pundits fume as Allen and Wu play longest frame in Crucible history
John Higgins builds lead over Shaun Murphy
There’s been little to separate Higgins and Murphy so far but the 50-year-old Scot - bidding to become the oldest world finalist in history - finally edged ahead on Friday evening.

He made breaks of 70 and 101 to turn an 11-11 tie into a 13-11 advantage.

“He always finds another gear, it’s what he’s always done,” purred seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry on the BBC’s coverage.

Can he now get the four frames he needs to win?

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the World Snooker Championship semi-finals.

We’re in for a fascinating afternoon of action as John Higgins leads Shaun Murphy 13-11 in the race to 17 frames, with the winner sealing a place in the final.

This has been a superb match so far.

How will it play out this afternoon?

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