Wu Yize produced a stunning display of snooker on Sunday night to take a commanding 10-7 lead over Shaun Murphy after two sessions of the World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The 22-year-old Chinese player, appearing in his first world final, showed remarkable composure and attacking flair to build a three-frame advantage heading into the final day.
Blistering Start in Evening Session
After the opening session ended 4-4, with both players showing signs of nerves, Wu came out firing in the evening. He knocked in breaks of 82 and 103 to storm into a 6-4 lead. Murphy responded with a 72 to reduce the deficit, but Wu claimed the next two frames, including an 89, to move 8-5 ahead. The quality of attacking snooker was relentless, with Murphy occasionally forced into safety play while Wu took on almost every opportunity.
Murphy Fights Back but Wu Finishes Strong
Murphy, the 2005 world champion, showed his class with a 70 to take the 14th frame, but Wu immediately replied with a 66 as the Sheffield crowd were treated to brilliant scoring. The Magician seemed to be hanging on, though he looked set to close the gap to one frame after taking the 16th and getting in the balls in the 17th. However, a slight misfortune left him awkward, and his safety was met by an immense long red from Wu, who followed up with a 91 to finish the day 10-7 up.
Hendry and Davis Praise Wu
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry was full of praise from the BBC studio. 'What a player. He's just brilliant. He plays the game properly and goes for the shots,' said the Scot. 'He's obviously at a stage of his career when he's not had many scars and he's not thinking about the consequences of missing. He's just having fun. The important thing is when he's playing shots, he's fully committing to them. There are no thoughts of bailing out at any stage.'
Hendry added: 'He's having fun out there and that's the worst kind of opponent you can have, someone who looks as though they're enjoying themselves.' Six-time champion Steve Davis said Wu is 'scaring the life out of everyone he plays' after his victories over Lei Peifan, Mark Selby, Hossein Vafaei and Mark Allen. Hendry highlighted the depth of Chinese talent, saying: 'The talent coming through from China is quite frightening. [Zhao] Xintong last year, Wu Yize now, a guy called Chang Bingyu who beat Shaun this year with 100 per cent pot success. The young talent is frightening.'
The race to 18 frames concludes on Monday, and Murphy faces a significant challenge to overcome the Chinese phenom.
