World Snooker final disrupted after protester storms the floor shouting 'nobody pay their TV licences'
The final got underway on Sunday but was brought to a sudden halt
The World Snooker Championship final got off to a rowdy start after a protester was ejected from the Crucible for shouting "nobody pay their TV licences".
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The clash between Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize was temporarily halted leading to referee Rob Spencer admonishing the audience for keeping their phones on during play.
A female spectator was swiftly ejected by security officials after starting to shout out midway through the third frame of the match as the 22-year-old Chinese player was preparing to take a shot.
It followed a similar disruption late in Saturday night's semi-final between Wu and Mark Allen, in which an audience member shouted out "never forget the Epstein files" and was also escorted from the arena.
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In a separate incident, Murphy threw down his rest in disgust after missing a green in the second frame, having seemingly been distracted by a phone ringing.
The incident prompted Spencer to address the audience at the end of the frame, warning: "Make sure your phones are on silent, or switched off.
"Don't be the person that has to be thrown out."
Wu kept his composure to make a 61 break in the interrupted third frame and open up a 3-0 lead, before Murphy got on the board with an 85 in the last frame before the interval.
Murphy, 43, twice overturned a two-frame deficit in the final session to beat John Higgins 17-15 and seal his place in his fifth final.
Murphy was forced to dredge up his best form to see off the 50-year-old Scot in a titanic tussle that looked nailed-on for a decider until Higgins fluffed a black on a break of 50.
Higgins' miss gave Murphy a chance and despite a rare miss with the rest he seized on a second chance to clear to black and give himself a shot at a first title since his solitary win in 2005.
Meanwhile, Yize booked his spot in the last two after Mark Allen missed a simple black to book his place in his first final.
The 40-year-old Antrim man had the match at his mercy when he got on top of an error-strewn 32nd frame and required just the black off its spot to wrap up a 17-15 win.