Mark Allen to forever be haunted by black-ball miss that costs Brit his place in maiden World Snooker Championship final

MARK ALLEN will be forever haunted by a black-ball miss that cost him a spot in a maiden Crucible final.

The Pistol, 40, will probably never want to watch back the final frames of his epic 17-16 defeat to Wu Yize in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship.

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In the penultimate frame on a drama-filled night, Allen only needed to sink the final black after Wu, 22, had missed the last pink.

Yet even though the black was on its spot – the type of shot he would have hit successfully a thousand times in the past – the Northern Ireland star could not sink it under the most extreme pressure.

Wu, who was heading for the exit door at that point, gratefully cleaned up to take the match to a 33rd frame.

And then the Chinese cueist, 22, advanced in frame 33 to the two-day, four-session finale with Shaun Murphy.

The match will be remembered for the 100-minute frame 14 on Friday evening which is the longest seen at the Crucible.

What happened late on Saturday will be a sickening blow for Allen, who had been hoping to join Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor as world snooker champions from his homeland.

Wu, one of a record 11 Chinese cueists in the draw, would be the youngest overseas world champion if he gets to 18 frames before Murphy does this Bank Holiday weekend.

As Wu walked off, the crowd started to roar WUUUUU, an affectionate chant that is similar to what sports fans shout about former England cricket captain Joe Root whenever he has hit a century.

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He will now have less than 14 hours to get ready before he returns to the South Yorkshire theatre to battle the Magician.

On the defeat, Allen said: “You don’t deserve to be in a world final if you are missing balls like that. That was just pure pressure.

“Normally I am pretty good under pressure but I just didn’t handle it well. I had two, three chances to close out the match but didn’t do it. So, credit to Wu.

“I don’t know how much he understood when we spoke. I wished him good luck. I said he played very well.

“I think he is going to be a world champion. Even though I am devastated to lose that match I think the right person is in the final.

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“The way he plays is great for the game. He scores heavily. Pots some ridiculous long ball.

“He doesn’t seem to mind the pressure. He stepped up with a good clearance at 16-14. He did what he needed to do in the last, coming from behind.

“All credit to Wu. If he doesn’t win this time, he will win many more titles. It’s a sore one from me for sure.”

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