The World Snooker Championship might be finished but there’s more action to come from the Crucible this weekend as the Seniors Championship continues. The game’s elder statesmen and women are gathered in the Steel City for the popular tournament, which concludes on Sunday.
It follows a dramatic and exciting main championship, which saw Wu Yize win out over Shaun Murphy in a final frame decider just under a week ago. The 22-year-old became just the second Chinese player to win the event, following in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Zhao Xintong who took the spoils 12 months ago.
With snooker still firmly in the headlines, Mirror Sport takes a look at two of the biggest stories doing the rounds on the old green baize at the moment.
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Shaun Murphy not only lost the World Snooker Championship final to Wu Yize but also had to hand a wad of winnings to the taxman. The Englishman enjoyed a portion of the 2026 prize fund, which stood just shy of £2.4million.
The 43-year-old initially collected £200,000 as the runner-up, with Wu snatching up £500,000. However, the Englishman will be left with just £106K after 53% of his winnings were taken for tax. The world champion will see £235K collected by the government, allowing him to keep just over a quarter of a million (£265K).
Murphy had defeated two former winners in the lead-up to the final, knocking Zhao out in the quarter-finals before enjoying a semi-final for the ages against John Higgins. Despite being hit with this double blow, the Englishman was humble in defeat as he praised Wu on his win.
View 3 ImagesShaun Murphy has been hit twice in defeat(Image: Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images)
He said: “I’d like to be the first to congratulate Wu Yize and his family, and everyone around him for being a wonderful world champion. I hate being right – I said sometime earlier in the season when we had a great game out in China somewhere, I won that one but I came out afterwards and said that he would be world champion one day.
“It’s just a real shame that it was today, but I couldn’t have given it any more, I couldn’t have tried harder. I played the best shots I could have played and I didn’t get my chance. I couldn’t do any more than that.”
Jimmy White has hit back at snooker players criticising the Crucible being the main venue for the World Seniors Championship. The major tournament hadn’t been held at the iconic theatre since 2019, with Dave Gilbert being one of the voices against the move.
He said: “It’s a special place. It’s brilliant that it’s [World Snooker Championship] staying there, you know. It’s a travesty for any professional that doesn’t get to play there, it is a special place. I hate that they play the Seniors there. I think that’s shocking.
“The only people that should play at the Crucible are people that go through this qualifying school or a top 16 professional. It’s not for hacking around in exhibitions. It’s the Mecca of snooker.”
View 3 ImagesJimmy White wasn’t happy with the comments(Image: Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images)
White was not pleased with this statement as he made a fiery challenge of his own. The 64-year-old told The Metro: “Get a life! Listen, this is why we’re here. Why not?
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“It’s a World Championship, the World Seniors. I don’t know why people would say that. It don’t make any sense.”
Ken Doherty was in agreement with both parties but believes the World Seniors should remain in Sheffield for the time being. He added: “I know what he means, but listen, why not? I know it’s the home of the World Championship, but it can be the home of the World Seniors Championship as well.
“It’s a special event, so why not? It’s hard to get tickets for the World Championship. It’s a little bit easier for this, but still, there’s been great crowds and the atmosphere is electric. No, I think it’s a great idea to have it here.”