The snooker World Championship reached a dramatic conclusion on Monday evening, as Wu Yize secured victory over Shaun Murphy in the final at the Crucible Theatre. The Chinese sensation, who moved to Sheffield just six years ago to pursue his professional dreams, had never won a match at the Crucible before this year's tournament. However, a monumental run saw him dispatch Lei Peifan, Mark Selby, Hossein Vafaei, and Mark Allen to reach the final. While Murphy looked to relive his glory days of 2005 and claim a second world title, it was the 22-year-old Wu who ultimately reigned supreme with an 18-17 win.
As a result of his victory, Wu became the second-youngest player to win the competition, behind only Stephen Hendry's 1990 feat at age 21, and the second consecutive Chinese player to triumph at the Crucible, following Zhao Xintong's success last year.
BBC Issues Apology
BBC presenter Hazel Irvine made an on-air apology to Mark Allen during the final. Wu had defeated the Northern Irishman in a gripping semi-final clash, but things could have taken a different turn had Allen potted a match-winning black to seal a 17-15 win instead of losing 17-16. As the BBC showed a highlights package of the tournament, Irvine could not bear to watch Allen's missed shot again. Speaking on the BBC's coverage, she said: "Nicely done Steve [Bracknall] aka Chris McClure, stage name, really genius stuff there. I still cannot watch Mark Allen's missed black, I am really sorry Mark. But the grace in which he took that was extraordinary, wasn't it?" John Parrott added: "Unbelievable. If you are watching pal, I am still hurting for you. I am absolutely am, I have never seen anything like it."
While unlikely to have watched the painful moment himself, Allen owned up to his error after the loss. He said: "You don't deserve to be in the world final if you're missing balls like that. That was just pure pressure to be honest. Normally I'm pretty good under the pressure but just didn't handle it well today. I was probably more nervous at different stages of the match than I was on that black. I just threw a quick one in, I genuinely did. I just didn't deliver the cue properly and I got what I deserved when you miss a black like that to win the match. I had two, three chances to close out the match and didn't do it. But credit to Wu."
Wu's Family in Tears
Wu paid tribute to his visibly moved parents after winning the World Championship. When asked by Irvine if he had any words for his mother and father, who supported his move to a one-bedroom flat to follow his ambitions, Wu had to collect himself before speaking. After a lengthy pause, he said: "My parents are the true champions. Since I made the decision to drop out of school, my dad has been by my side. My mum has also gone through a lot over the years, they are the source of my strength. I love them so much." Wu's mother was spotted wiping a tear from her eyes as her son spoke about his family's support, while his father also wore an expression of emotion.
Murphy Proven Right
Gracious in defeat, Murphy showered his opponent with praise before recalling that he had previously predicted Wu would become a world champion. He said: "I'd like to be the first to congratulate Wu Yize and his family. And everyone around him for being a wonderful world champion. I hate being right, I said sometime earlier in the season, we had a great game out in China somewhere, and I managed to win that one. I came out afterwards and said that he would be world champion one day, it's just a real shame that it was today, but I couldn't have given it anymore. I couldn't have tried harder. I played the best shots I could have played and I didn't get my chance. I couldn't do any more than that."
