Wu Yize Stuns Allen With Brilliant Decider Clearance to Reach World Final Against Murphy

The Pick: Back Wu Yize to Win the World Championship

If you weren't already on Wu Yize before Saturday night, you need to be now. The 22-year-old Chinese potter produced one of the great Crucible comeback moments — a nerveless 71 clearance in the deciding 33rd frame to beat a shell-shocked Mark Allen 17-16 — and everything we saw across those two evening sessions screams world champion in the making. He faces Shaun Murphy in Sunday and Monday's final, and despite Murphy's own impressive semi-final comeback, Wu represents the standout value in this market.

The Analysis

Let's not gloss over what happened in that semi-final, because it was genuinely extraordinary. Allen — 40 years old, from Antrim, and playing some of the best snooker of his career — had the match utterly wrapped up. He needed just the black off its spot to close out a 17-15 win and book his place in a first-ever World Championship final. Somehow, almost impossibly, he rattled the pocket. The Sheffield crowd erupted, Wu got a second life, and what followed was as dramatic a Crucible finish as you're likely to witness in a generation.

Allen himself, to his enormous credit, was brutally honest in the aftermath. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "You don't deserve to be in a world final if you're missing balls like that. It was just pure pressure, to be honest." He also offered what amounted to a glowing character reference for his conqueror: "He's going to win many world titles." When the man you've just beaten in a last-frame decider is already predicting a dynasty, you sit up and take notice.

What made Wu's performance so compelling wasn't just the final clearance — it was the consistency under pressure throughout the entire match. Allen nudged one frame ahead repeatedly across those final two sessions, only for Wu to drag himself level every single time. The 22-year-old was drilling long reds with apparent ease and seemed almost entirely unaffected by the mounting tension. When Wu did miss — notably a straightforward red to the middle in frame 30 that let Allen surge to 16-14 — it felt like an aberration rather than a pattern. He immediately fired back, forced the decider, and then played the most important clearance of his career without so much as a tremor.

It's also worth noting the contrast with Friday night, when a notorious 100-minute frame — widely criticised by five-time world champion Steve Davis as an "embarrassment" — had threatened to overshadow the entire semi-final. Saturday's play was the perfect antidote: high quality, rapid scoring, and drama that had the Crucible crowd absolutely raucous. Wu Yize was at the centre of all of it, and he thrived.

Murphy's Route to the Final

Shaun Murphy's semi-final against John Higgins was no less tense, even if it lacked that single jaw-dropping moment. Murphy found himself 15-13 down against the 50-year-old Scot with time running out, before producing a superb final-session recovery to win 17-15. He twice overturned two-frame deficits in that decisive session, and Higgins — who had looked on course for yet another final appearance — gifted Murphy a crucial opportunity by missing a black whilst on a break of 50. Murphy didn't need asking twice.

The Magician has been to this final before — he won the world title back in 2005 — and his experience should not be underestimated. He's a fighter, as that comeback against Higgins clearly demonstrated, and he'll arrive at the final table with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Odds

Odds indicative at time of writing. Check Bet365, Paddy Power and William Hill for latest prices and any existing accounts bonuses on the outright market.

The Pick: Wu Yize to win the World Snooker Championship at 8/11 with Bet365. Yes, the price is short, but this is a generational talent who has just produced one of the great Crucible performances under extreme pressure. At 22, playing this kind of snooker, on this stage — he looks the real deal. Murphy is a worthy opponent and will make it a contest, but Wu is the right side of this market.

Please gamble responsibly. Visit BeGambleAware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. Only bet what you can afford to lose.