At 22 years old, Wu Yize is the second-youngest world champion in snooker history. Stephen Hendry was 21 years old when he won the first of his seven world titles in 1990. He also follows in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong, becoming the second consecutive winner from China.
Last updated: 04/05/26 23:40
22-year-old China’s Wu Yize becomes the second-youngest winner of the World Snooker Championship
After an epic finale at the Crucible that went down to the deciding final frame, Wu Yize defeated Shaun Murphy 18-17 to win the World Snooker Championship.
In an exciting final match, Wu was pinned down by Murphy over and over again. Some of them could have missed the black on the 34th frame and clinched the title one frame earlier.
Murphy duly cleared and had the first chance in the decider, but Wu stepped up with a match-winning break of 85 and officially announced the birth of snooker’s new superstar.
Wu’s surprise win – he had never won a match at the Crucible until this year – was his fourth World Snooker final and his first since 2002.
At 22, he becomes the second-youngest world champion in snooker history. Stephen Hendry was 21 years old when he won the first of his seven world titles in 1990.
Wu will also follow in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong, winning the world championship in China for the second consecutive year.
The hugely popular champion delivered many of the attacking shots that have become his trademark over the past two weeks to secure the win, and the Crucible was filled with cries of ‘woo woo’.
Wu Yize celebrates winning the 2026 World Snooker Championship title with an 85-point break in the deciding final frame
“At first there was a misunderstanding. I thought people were booing me,” Wu said of the crowd through an interpreter. “But the staff told me they were rooting for me.”
Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp
Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp for the latest sports news, videos, features, analysis and more
Wu started Monday with a 10-7 lead after dominating the first two sessions on Sunday, but continued to lose the first five frames of the afternoon session as Murphy exploited relentless mistakes with breaks of 76, 52, 59 and 60 to suddenly jump into a 12-10 lead.
But Wu refused to give up, winning the final three frames of the session and conceding just six points to Murphy in that period, while scoring 287 points himself, posting breaks of 64 and 61 points along the way.
Sean Murphy beat Wu Yize 13-12 at the Crucible on Monday night heading into the final session.
Wu also scored the first frame of the night with four bounces to take a 14-12 lead, only for Murphy to tie it again and do the same in a close final at 15-15, 16-16, 17-17.
In the end, it was Wu who held his own and defeated Murphy in the deciding frame shootout. Murphy also won snooker’s only world title 21 years ago at the age of 22, three months older than his opponent.
“I hate being right,” Murphy said after the loss. “We had a great game in China a little earlier in the season and we managed to win. After that I came out and said that one day he’s going to be world champion.
“Today was really disappointing.
“I couldn’t do any more. I couldn’t try any harder. I can’t do any more.”
