Key events
Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize (39-37) Shaun gets a red off the side then goes to remove another off the blue, but misses it by a way; end of break. So he sends a ball down the table, using the black to block off the white, and Wu’ll have to go some to hit either target, never mind get it safe; he plays it well, and this frame is maturing into a crucial battle of wits and skill.
Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize (10-37) That second chance Shaun spurned looked a goodun at the time and, as Wu works his way through the loose balls, he’ll be feeling extremely peaky. All the more so when a split looks to go badly, but in fact offers a jab, bridging awkwardly, to middle … and it’s there. The blue, though, needing cut to the green bag, isn’t easy, and you can see from contact that he’s overcut it, so Shaun returns to what is now a taxing table, well aware that he must find a way of winning this frame.
Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize (2-14) Tantalised with a longun, Wu refuses it – not words often typed – and I doubt they’ll be typed again anytime soon, given a poor safety that allows Shaun in for a starter … and no mo. But another error offers him further opportunity … and he overcuts his first black, catching the top rail before the pocket and stopping out accordingly. That could be a very big miss given the match-state, because there are plenty of points available and with them a four-frame lead.
“No idea about nicknames,” says Simon McMahon – yesterday, we were trying to find one for Wu – “but Shaun ‘The Magician’ Murphy must be thinking ‘Oh Mr Wu, what shall I do..?’”
I was musing on this this morning – do I prefer Wu “The Surgeon” Yize or Wu “The Scalpel” Yize? – and then it hit me: it can surely only be Wu “The Geezer” Yize.
A handshake, Shaun to break, and off he goes.
Here comes Wu, the applause no doubt for Rob Walker as much as for him. And now it’s Shaun’s go; he waves and rotates at the top of his mark, then goes again on the plinth. He absolutely loves it.
Rob Walker is talking to himself; I’m certain we’ve noticed him, but he’s still going.
So what’s going to happen today? Well, the power is with Wu, whose long-potting might just be the best we’ve ever seen. Zhao Xintong mid-rangers wowed us last year, brilliant once you’re in, but the deadliness from range makes him a brutal proposition because almost nothing can ever be safe.
And that is what’s foxing Shaun, who usually has the advantage in that area; so far, he’s not found an antidote that enables him to do his thing while keeping his opponent out. I’m sure Peter Ebdon will have shared some thoughts on the matter but, more or less he needs to play lights-out to win from here – though there’s a strong chance that, if he nears the finish line, Wu gets nervous, because he’s got form.
During Wu’s marathon frame with Mark Allen, my pal Jaron came up with a solution: if there’s that kind of stalemate, you re-rack, but only the balls remaining, keeping the scores as the are. To me, that’s foolproof, but if we’re missing something, let us know.
Preamble
Human beings are born with hope – we all have ambitions and desires when we’re young, then life and reality coach them out of us. So on the odd occasion we come across someone with the talent and drive, ego and discipline to withstand the onslaught, it’s moving: they’re not just fulfilling themselves but us, our pain and desperation converted into tranquility and joy.
In that sense, sport is one of the more worthy activities we can pursue, teaching us to celebrate others with full hearts – to see our species as one – which, in these divided times, means a lot. The snooker won’t heal us, but goodness me, it’s up there with the best we have to offer ourselves by way of comfort.
Wu Yize is a 22-year-old from Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province in China’s north west. He is not someone you’d expect to read about in the pages of a British newspaper – however outward looking – except he’s also a genius of preternatural precision and unique flair through whom we understand more of a world that would otherwise be hidden from us. He begins today with the dream that animates his life a mere eight frames away … and the knowledge that consequently, things may become too much for him, leading to its brutal confiscation.
Which brings us on to Shaun Murphy, a potter of rare aesthetic perfection, who claimed his one world title when Wu was a baby. Since then, he’s lost three finals, dealing with myriad form losses and confidence crises, fearing he’d never again reach the pinnacle of the game without ever losing the courage to give it everything he has. That is not easily done, trading the ambiguity of easy refuge for the certainty of not being good enough and, at 10-7 down, he is once again daring himself to attack his own failure.
Or, in other words, whatever happens next, the enduring beauty of humanity is right here, waiting to absorb us in its embrace. The least we can do is reciprocate.
Play: 1pm BST
