Mark Allen suffered one of the most painful defeats imaginable on the snooker table, but took it incredibly well, admitting he didn’t deserve to beat Wu Yize given the chances he missed.
Wu is into the World Snooker Championship final thanks to beating the Northern Irishman 17-16 in stunning fashion at the Crucible.
Allen had one foot in his first final, leading 16-14 and making what looked likely to be the match-winning break.
He spurned that chance then missed more in the next two frames, most notably fluffing the final black in the 32nd frame, a pot which was entirely straightforward for a player of his quality.
The Pistol got in again in the decider, but broke down and China’s Wu is into the World Championship final for the first time.
40-year-old Allen was in his third Crucible semi, with a final in Sheffield still not on his CV, but he was impressive in defeat to the 22-year-old.
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‘You don’t deserve to be in a World final if you’re missing balls like that [the final black in the 32nd],’ he told the BBC. ‘That was just pure pressure to be honest.
‘I’m normally pretty good under pressure but I didn’t handle it well today. I had two or three chances to close out the match, so credit to Wu. I had more than enough chances to win.’
On what he said to the winner at the end, Allen revealed: ‘I don’t know how much he understood, but I wished him good luck and said he played very well and I think he’s going to be a world champion.
‘Even though I’m devastated to lose that match, I think the right person is in the final. The way he plays is great for the game, scores heavy, pots some ridiculous long balls.
‘He just keeps potting, he doesn’t seem to mind the pressure. He stepped up and made a good clearance at 16-14, did what he needed to in the last.
‘All credit to Wu, if he doesn’t win it this time he’s going to win many world titles if he keeps playing the way he’s playing. But it’s a sore one for me, for sure.’
Wu started the match brilliantly, showing no signs of nerves on his first visit to the one-table set-up as he made five half-centuries in the first session to lead 6-2.
The second session could scarcely have been more different, though, with Allen winning five frames on the spin, including a 145 and a 121.
Then came the carnage of the 14th frame, the longest in Crucible history, as the black covered a corner pocked and both players nudged reds towards it without it dropping.
Allen eventually relented by potting the black, trying to avoid a re-rack as he had a lead, but went on to lose the frame and Friday night ended 7-7.
The next session was shared and they ended Saturday morning at 11-11, with Wu having made a run of 140 along the way.
Saturday night saw the first six frames shared, with the quality very high, but at 14-14, Allen finally broke away from Wu, making 65 and then pinching the 30th from behind.
The Pistol got in first in the 31st frame, but broke down on 45 and Wu pinched it, as he did the next two, in spectacular fashion.
The penultimate frame was incredible, with Allen having two prime bites of the cherry, firstly missing a red and then the final black for a place in the final.
Allen had another chance in the decider, but Wu made 71 to secure a clash with Murphy.