World Snooker Championship semi-final interrupted by ‘Epstein Files’ shout

The 33rd and deciding frame of the World Snooker Championship semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yize was interrupted by an unexpected and baffling shout from the crowd.

The Northern Irishman and the rising Chinese star were locked at 16-16 as they both battled to reach a first Crucible final.

The epic contest came to the boil in dramatic fashion as Allen missed two glorious chances to win the previous frame, most notably on the final black, which was straightforward but he sent wide.

Right at the start of the final frame, with no points on the board yet, Wu came to the table and a spectator loudly shouted: ‘Never forget the Epstein Files!’

The young Chinese talent looked stunned, staring up at the crowd as the same person shouted the line again.

The referee, Marcel Eckhart, quickly ushered security over to have the person removed after the insane interruption to play.

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It was an extremely confusing outburst, especially as the session had begun with the players locked at 11-11, so the man had waited all the way until the 33rd frame – which was no guarantee to happen at all – to shout out.

It appeared that Wu may have been put off by the shock outburst as Allen took a lead in the frame, but the 22-year-old got back to the table and made a half-century to get over the line and book a spot in the final.

Asked about the bizarre disruption, Wu said: ‘At the beginning of the last frame I was a little bit nervous and then someone screamed from the stands.

‘I didn’t understand what he was screaming, but it sort of affected me. Then Mark was having a very good lead but I’m very happy I was able to turn it around.’

It was an incredible contest which looked like it was going Allen’s way when he was 16-14 ahead and in the balls.

The Pistol had chances in each of the final three frames but lost them all, most notably in the penultimate frame when he missed an easy red and then a straightforward final black in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Shaun Murphy waits for him there after an impressive 17-15 win over John Higgins earlier on Saturday.

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