Not good from Murphy. Back in with a red, left with a black along the bottom cushion but clips the near jaw and stays out. A shake of the head from the Englishman as he trudges back to his chair.

He needs a fast start this afternoon but Wu is right in among the balls with a good chance to score.

Shaun Murphy with the first pot of the afternoon, applauded by the crowd. But it’s only the red, with no colour to follow, so just one point.

Here come the players, introduced, as ever, by irrepressible MC Rob Walker.

Wu Yize out first to a good reception but Shaun Murphy receives a thunderous ovation and soaks it all in. The crowd would love to see a comeback from ‘the Magician’ and a really close final

Play will resume shortly, with eight frames scheduled for this afternoon’s session.

Yesterday evening could hardly have gone better for Wu Yize. The players finished the afternoon session at 4-4 but Wu dominated the evening’s play, winning it 6-3 to establish a healthy three-frame lead over Shaun Murphy.

It’s not terminal for the Englishman by any stretch of the imagination but Wu is in control and looks perfectly at home in his first world final.

The trophy and the honour of becoming world snooker champion is obviously the main prize here at the Crucible but there’s also a fair amount of money on the line for the players.

Here’s the prize pot for the tournament.

• Winner: £500,000
• Runner-up: £200,000
• Semi-finals: £100,000
• Quarter-finals: £50,000
• Last 16: £30,000
• Last 32: £20,000
• Last 48: £15,000
• Last 80: £10,000
• Last 112: £5,000
• Highest break: £15,000
• Maximum break: £40,000, paid out in addition to the highest break prize. The break bonuses are shared if two players hit the same total.

The final of the World Snooker Championship was interrupted by a protester with referee Rob Spencer forced to intervene.

With Wu Yize and Shaun Murphy locked in a protracted safety battle in the third frame, a woman vaulted into the playing area close to the table and appeared to shout something. It was not immediately clear what her intentions were, though it appeared her comment was directed at the BBC.

Spencer ensured the disturbance was short as he rushed quickly to the individual, before she was removed from the Crucible Theatre by security.

Wu Yize overcame ringing phones, a protester and the efforts of Shaun Murphy to build a healthy overnight lead in his first World Snooker Championship final.

A female protester briefly interrupted play early in the match, at least one audience member was kicked out after phones rang with the players down on the shot on multiple occasions and Murphy failed to live with a barrage of scoring in the evening session as the 22-year-old Wu acclimatised nicely to the biggest match of his life.

Perhaps having been all but knocked out as Mark Allen lined up a simple winning black in their semi-final has given Wu a free hit at the title or perhaps the fearlessness of youth – a trait Murphy himself has cited as key to his own Crucible success at the age of 22 back in 2005 – is spurring him on but there is no indication of the Chinese wonderkid being overawed.

Read Luke Baker’s full report from day one of the final at the Crucible:

Want to know a little bit more about Wu Yize - the wonderkid who may be on the brink of his first world title?

Read Lawrence Ostlere’s profile of a man who may well fulfil what seems his destiny as a world champion.

The players will be back for more shortly. Here’s the session times for today

Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize - frames 18-25

Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize - to a conclusion

Good afternoon from the Crucible and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the 2026 World Snooker Championship final.

Shaun Murphy has a job on his hands against 22-year-old wonderkid Wu Yize, with Wu leading 10-7 overnight.

The target for victory is 18 frames, so there’s still work to do, but not since 2014 has the player trailing after the first day gone on to win the final.