Mark Allen during his match against Yize Wu on day 14 of the 2026 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
The evening session of the World Snooker Championship was moving to its rhythm at the Crucible Theater when everything came to a sudden halt, with a power issue inside the arena cutting out images mid-frame and forcing broadcasters to stop broadcasting during the live semi-final. The disruption came during the second semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yezi on Thursday night, with viewers losing coverage at 7:51pm for approximately 12 minutes before transmission was gradually restored across platforms.
power failure When Crucible, the live stream stops mid-frame
Allen had built a 31-0 lead into the third frame when the broadcast suddenly dropped, with coverage disappearing across television and digital platforms as the issue unfolded inside the venue. Viewers watching BBC Two were suddenly switched to reruns Wild islands While the technicians worked to solve the defect, a message appeared on the screen saying: “We apologize for the malfunction in this program and we are trying to correct the defect. Please stay with us as we are experiencing some technical errors.”
The stoppage lasted about 12 minutes, and by the time images returned via BBC iPlayer and TNT Sports, Allen had already completed the third frame to get off the mark in the bout.
BBC Two viewers faced a slightly longer delay before broadcasting resumed.
Hazel Irvine issues an on-air apology as the reason emerges
Broadcaster Hazel Irvine spoke about the situation immediately after coverage returned, offering an apology and a detailed explanation. She said: “Welcome back to Sheffield and we apologize for our evening at the Crucible being interrupted in the second semi-final, we had a rather unexpected power issue. I assure you it had nothing to do with the meter not being fed! We lost power but Mark Allen didn’t, he took the third frame to start his semi-final campaign.” As more information poured in from inside the venue, Irvin added additional context on what caused the outage. “There was a big crash, a bang and a bang there, and that kind of led to what we think was a power outage, but in the middle of it all Mark Allen was making a break of 91,” she said.
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen during his match against England’s Kyren Wilson on day eight of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)
Later, as play resumed and Allen pressed in the fourth frame, Irvin thought back to both the upset and the state of the game. “Well, Mark Allen is back for this game, and so are we, after a little unexpected hiatus,” she said.
Steve Davis describes the confusion inside the arena during a power outage
Six-time world champion Steve Davis, acting as an analyst, gave a detailed account of how the accident occurred inside the crucible itself, where turbulence was immediately apparent. “It was clear when the screens went blank in the room here that something had happened, the lights went out and the cameras stopped filming,” he said. Davis described the state of confusion among players, officials and those on the field as the situation developed. He added: “There were people wondering: What is happening, where are we?” Nobody knows what to do.” Despite the turmoil, Davis highlighted Allen’s composure during the incident and its aftermath. “Mark Allen knew something was going on and how well he had to perform to maintain his level without being confused by what was going on,” he said. He also revealed that the issue seemed to reoccur during gameplay. “And surprisingly enough, it happened again,” Davis said. “We heard it in the last picture. He’s still got his composure. He’s a guy on his toes right now.”
Context of the match: Allen responds in the semi-final in a good position
The semi-final itself remained tightly balanced despite the stoppage, with Allen recovering strongly after the restart and making a 76-point break in the fourth frame to level the score. The contest is one of two of the final four ties in this year’s tournament, with Shaun Murphy facing John Higgins in the other semi-final. Murphy, the 2005 world champion, arrived in strong form after defeating 2025 champion Zhao Xintong, while Higgins, a four-time world champion whose last title came in 2011, has reached this stage with victories over Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan. Wu, described as the “Chinese boy prodigy”, had earlier booked his place in the semi-finals by defeating Hussein Fafai. As of 1 May, the semi-finals, played on a best-of-33-frame format, remained in good standing, with both ties remaining open before the closing sessions on 2 May. The final, contested over 35 frames, is scheduled for May 3-4 at the Crucible.
