Steve Davis labelled a record-breaking frame between Mark Allen and Wu Yize at the World Snooker Championship an “embarrassment to snooker” on Saturday.
The BBC pundit didn’t mince his words after a chaotic stalemate between Allen and Wu in their semi-final was allowed to drag on for over 100 minutes at the Crucible.
What unfolded in the 14th frame tested the patience of all involved, as both players were repeatedly forced into safety exchanges with no viable attacking options available.
The issue stemmed from an awkward cluster that left multiple reds effectively unplayable, with the black ball blocking the right corner pocket following an earlier miss from Allen.
With neither player able to progress the frame meaningfully, the situation dragged on and on and on.
Referee Marcel Eckardt became an increasingly central figure as frustration mixed with bemusement grew inside the arena.
With the crowd reacting sarcastically to each safety shot, Eckardt finally warned the players that a re-rack would be called unless the deadlock was broken.
However, confusion surrounded the decision-making process. Eckardt took an extended period to reach a verdict and was ultimately instructed by officials outside the arena on how to proceed.
That ultimatum only heightened the farcical nature of the frame.
Allen, visibly irritated, had already established a healthy lead in the frame and was firmly against any prospect of restarting it.
But a breakthrough of sorts arrived eventually once the 14th seed knocked in the black, much to the delight of those watching.
Wu seized his opportunity and overturned his deficit to move to the snooker’s required stage, but even then the drama lingered.
With Allen playing on for the penalty points, the frame crawled past the previous Crucible record of 85 minutes before finally concluding after 100 minutes and 19 seconds.
An earlier frame in the session had already lasted an hour, and the cumulative delay forced a premature end to the second session two frames early.
The match was left finely poised at 7-7, with the third session scheduled to resume on Saturday morning.
The reaction from pundits was damning, with Stephen Hendry and John Parrott both critical in the commentary box while Davis did not hold back in his assessment in the studio afterwards.
“In a nutshell, that frame is an embarrassment to snooker,” Davis said. “The referees and the players’ association need to find a solution so that something like that never happens again.”
While undoubtedly long, the frame stopped short of breaking the all-time record for the longest in the sport’s history.
At the 2017 World Snooker Championship qualifiers, Fergal O’Brien won a deciding frame against David Gilbert in two hours, three minutes, and 41 seconds.
Featured photo credit: WST
