Protester thrown out of snooker final at the Crucible

Second time disruption has happened in two days

Shaun Murphy's World Championship final against Wu Yize got off to a rowdy start with a protester ejected from the Crucible and referee Rob Spencer admonishing the audience for keeping their phones on during play.

Wu Yize (right) looks on as Shaun Murphy plays a shot on day sixteen of the Halo World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Photo Mike Egerton/PA Wire.placeholder image
Wu Yize (right) looks on as Shaun Murphy plays a shot on day sixteen of the Halo World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Photo Mike Egerton/PA Wire. | Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

A female spectator was swiftly ejected by security officials after starting to shout out midway through the third frame of the match as the 22-year-old Chinese player was preparing to take a shot.

It followed a similar disruption late in Saturday night's semi-final between Wu and Mark Allen , in which an audience member shouted out "never forget the Epstein files" and was also escorted from the arena.

In a separate incident, Murphy threw down his rest in disgust after missing a green in the second frame, having seemingly been distracted by a phone ringing.

The incident prompted Spencer to address the audience at the end of the frame, warning: "Make sure your phones are on silent, or switched off. Don't be the person that has to be thrown out."

Wu kept his composure to make a 61 break in the interrupted third frame and open up a 3-0 lead, before Murphy got on the board with an 85 in the last frame before the interval.

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