The evening session at the World Snooker Championship was moving into rhythm at the Crucible Theater when everything abruptly stopped, with a power issue inside the arena cutting pictures mid-frame and forcing broadcasters off air during a live semi-final. The disruption came during the second semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yize on Thursday night, with viewers losing coverage at 7:51pm for approximately 12 minutes before transmission was gradually restored across platforms.
power outage at Crucible stops live broadcast mid-frame
Allen had built a 31–0 lead in the third frame when the feed suddenly dropped, with coverage disappearing across television screens and digital platforms as the issue unfolded inside the venue. Viewers watching on BBC Two were abruptly switched to a rerun of Wild Isles while technicians worked to resolve the fault, with an on-screen message stating: “We are sorry for the break in this program and are trying to correct the fault. Please stay with us we are experiencing some technical faults.” The interruption lasted around 12 minutes, and by the time pictures returned via BBC iPlayer and TNT Sports, Allen had already completed the third frame to get off the mark in the match. BBC Two viewers experienced a slightly longer delay before their feed resumed.
Hazel Irvine issues on-air apology as cause emerges
Presenter Hazel Irvine addressed the situation immediately upon the return of coverage, delivering a detailed apology and explanation. She said: “Welcome back to Sheffield and our apologies for the interruption to our evening at the Crucible in this second semi-final, We had a rather unexpected power issue. Nothing to do with not feeding the meter I assure you! We lost power but Mark Allen did not, he took frame three to get his semi-final campaign underway.” As more information filtered through from inside the venue, Irvine added further context about what triggered the outage. She said: “There was a big crash, bang and wallop in there and that sort of led to what we think is the power going off, however, in the middle of it all Mark Allen was amassing a break of 91.”
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 pushed on in the fourth frame, Irvine reflected again on both the disruption and the match situation. She said: “Well Mark Allen is back in this match and we are back as well after a slight unexpected hiatus.”
Steve Davis describes confusion inside the arena during outage
Six-time world champion Steve Davis, working as a pundit, provided a detailed account of how the incident unfolded inside the Crucible itself, where the disruption was immediately visible. He said: “It was obvious when the screens went blank in the room here that something happened, lights went off and cameras stopped filming.” Davis described the confusion among players, officials and those inside the arena as the situation developed. He added: “There were people going, ‘what’s going on, where are we with it?’ Nobody knew what to do.” Despite the disruption, Davis highlighted Allen’s composure during the incident and its aftermath. He said: “Mark Allen was aware something had happened and how good a performance to keep his standard up without getting confused by what was going on.” He also revealed that the issue appeared to repeat itself during play. Davis said: “Then amazingly, it happened again. We heard it in the last frame. And he still kept his composure. That is somebody who is on point at the moment.”
Match context: Allen responds as semi-final finely poised
The semi-final itself remained tightly balanced despite the interruption, with Allen recovering strongly after the restart and compiling a break of 76 in the fourth frame to draw level. The contest is one of two last-four ties at this year’s championship, 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 most recent title came in 2011, reached this stage with wins over Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan. Wu, described as a “Chinese wonderkid,” had earlier booked his place in the semi-finals by overcoming Hossein Vafaei. As of May 1, the semi-finals, played over a best-of-33 frames format, remained finely poised, with both ties still open heading into the concluding sessions on May 2. The final, contested over 35 frames, is scheduled to take place across May 3 and May 4 at the Crucible.
