A mammoth afternoon session between Wu Yize and Mark Allen saw the longest frame in World Championship history completed.
The afternoon session at the Crucible concluded with a bizarre 14th frame, which saw a cluster of eight reds jammed around a black on the edge of the pocket.
It resulted in a lengthy stalemate which passed without a ball being potted and included referee Marcel Eckardt asking the Crucible crowd to settle before Allen eventually fouled the black.
A gruelling frame was completed in one hour and 40 minutes – the longest in World Championship history – leaving the pair tied at 7-7 overnight as the session ended two frames short.
Snooker™️ 😅
— WST (@WeAreWST) May 1, 2026
Just some of the more memorable moments from the LONGEST frame in Crucible history #WorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/teRuFfWhFI
Allen knew he had to hit the ground running after trailing 6-2 overnight to an opponent high on confidence and belief.
The Antrim man dug deep to win a scrappy opener with Wu failing to make the most of getting in among the balls before ending on 32.
What followed next was extraordinary with a frame of ebb and flow lasting over an hour.
Wu racked up a 51 break before choosing not to split the remaining reds and opting for a safety shot instead.
The move looked like paying off but Wu missed a key brown and no ball was potted for 30 minutes as a safety battle took charge.
Wu eventually found a red but failed to cut a green into the middle pocket, allowing Allen to find the snooker he needed and eventually take the frame on the black.
The Crucible crowd stood to salute Allen and they were on their feet again within minutes after he compiled a tournament-best 145 break.
Wu looked a forlorn figure in need of the interval until fluking a black that rattled the jaws of one pocket and rolled along the cushion before finding another.
But Wu was unable to take advantage of his good fortune and another error allowed Allen to square matters at 6-6.
Allen maintained his momentum after the interval with a 121 break, his ninth century of the tournament taking him one clear of Zhao Xintong, to lead for the first time.
Another extraordinary frame followed in the 14th, with the black crowded by a cluster of reds and after a lengthy stalemate, Allen knocked the black in.
The frame continued to ultimately make Crucible history, with Wu battling to clinch it and level the semi-final.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis was unhappy with the situation in the 14th frame.
Speaking on the BBC afterwards, Davis said: "In a nutshell that frame is an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees' and the players’ association need to try to work out a way that never happens again."
Friday's evening session saw another tight tussle between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy as the Scot clinched a 13-11 lead.
The earlier contest saw four-time world champion Higgins look like he may build a lead after taking an 8-6 advantage, but Murphy held his nerve to draw level in a session where he had made only one break over 50.
That left the score at tied at 8-8 going into the evening, where little separated both players in an entertaining battle.
Murphy started the evening session with a break of 60 to clinch the opening frame, but Higgins replied with a break of 55.
Some mistakes in the following frame resulted in a close scoreline before Higgins took advantage and potted the brown, blue and pink in quick succession to take a one-frame lead.
However, Murphy responded with a commanding display to win the 20th frame, hitting a comfortable 82 break to draw level again at the mid-session interval.
After the restart, Higgins looked to have allowed Murphy back in, but the Scot’s early break of 63 underpinned the frame as he potted the pink to win.
Murphy again levelled with one visit to the table, hitting a 105 break to become the fifth player to reach 100 century breaks at the Crucible.
Higgins then took control towards the end of the session, winning back-to-back frames including a 101 break in the final one to hold a slender overnight advantage.
