In a historic moment, Mark Allen and Wu Yize played the longest frame in Crucible history during their World Snooker Championship semi-final. The 14th frame lasted 100 minutes and 21 seconds, raising concerns about snooker rules.
The session ended with a score of 7-7. Only six of the eight frames scheduled were played in this session. An impasse occurred where no balls were potted for 55 minutes.
During this stalemate, referee Marcel Eckardt warned the players. Allen eventually fouled and nudged the black ball to break the deadlock. After another 30 minutes, Wu Yize managed to win his only frame of the afternoon.
Steve Davis criticized the lengthy frame, calling it an embarrassment to snooker. He stated, “In a nutshell that frame is an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees’ and the players’ association need to try to work out a way so that never happens again.”
World Snooker confirmed they would not make changes regarding re-racks following this incident. This decision leaves some questions about potential adjustments to snooker rules for future matches.
