Wu Yize held his nerve to sink Shaun Murphy in a deciding-frame shoot-out and be crowned world snooker champion after a final for the ages at the Crucible.
The 22-year-old produced a match-winning break of 85 to win 18-17 to become the second youngest champion of the modern era and the second in succession from China after last year’s triumph by Zhao Xintong.
In a pulsating final session, Wu was repeatedly pegged back by Murphy, looking to seal his second crown 21 years after his first, and missed a black off its spot that would surely have got him over the line in the previous frame.
Murphy duly cleared and had the first chance in the decider, but Wu stepped up to the plate yet again, polishing off the title-winning break in a manner that suggests the sport has heralded the birth of a new superstar.
Wu’s victory completed a remarkable story that started when he arrived the UK six years ago with his father, sharing a bed in a windowless flat in Sheffield as he tried to carve out a career as a professional player.
Wu, who said he would celebrate with “a good sleep”, added: “My parents are the true champions.
“Since I made the decision to drop out of school, my dad has been by my side. My mum has not been in very good health. Since we have been in Sheffield she has been staying a long time in hospital. She has sacrificed everything for me.”
Sweeping to the final with victories over the likes of Mark Selby and Mark Allen, Wu picked up an army of fans for his free-scoring style, repeatedly digging deep to repel a succession of much more experienced opponents.
A decider had seemed almost inevitable as a nerve-jangling final session developed, with Wu resuming 13-12 in front after withstanding a five-frame burst from Murphy upon their resumption on Monday afternoon.
The Lanzhou-born player had looked down and out after the experienced Murphy roared back from a 10-7 deficit, pouncing on a succession of errors from his opponent to surge into a 12-10 lead.
Wu looked a pale imitation of the ferocious potting machine who had blazed into his first world final with scintillating wins over Selby and Allen, and Murphy looked a strong bet to make his experience count.
But far from the first time in this tournament, Wu, who had failed to win a match at the Crucible in two previous attempts prior to this year, rolled with the punches and came out firing.
A missed mid-range red by Murphy proved the pivotal moment, Wu responding with a nervous 64 to stem his opponent’s momentum, before proceeding to take the last two frames of a see-saw afternoon and ensure he would start the final session 13-12 in front.
Wu sustained his momentum with a break of 88 in the first frame of the evening to set up a thrilling spectacle in which the pair persistently traded blows.
Wu maintained his one-frame lead into the mid-session interval but Murphy was far from done, clawing back a 70-point deficit to draw level at 15-15, and a magnificent 131 clearance two frames later to nudge the match ever closer to a seemingly inevitable decider.
Wu moved one clear after overturning Murphy’s half-century lead with a break of 91, but after the drama of his semi-final win over Allen, it was the Chinese star’s turn to miss a simple black, giving Murphy the chance to take the match to the brink.
Murphy, who had battled his way to the final after appearing on the brink of defeat against another Chinese player, Fan Zhengyi, in the opening round, had few regrets about the conclusion.
“It was a great match and I thought we put on a great show,” Murphy said. “Wu is one of the most talented players I’ve ever seen and I hate being right about things, because I said after we played in China a few months ago that he would be world champion.
“I’m heartbroken that I didn’t win but I couldn’t have tried any harder. I guess people will say I was in first in the decider, but I didn’t really do anything wrong. I played the best shots I could and as a snooker player that’s really all you can do.
“I remember how it feels as a 22-year-old having never won a match here, coming here and getting to the final, so all credit to him. When he got his chance he took his chance. I don’t feel like I lost the match – he won the match.”
