On April 30, 2026, the BBC’s coverage of the World Snooker Championship was unexpectedly interrupted by technical problems at the Crucible Theatre. A power fault affected the live transmission during the semi-final between Mark Allen and Wu Yize.
The broadcast feed dropped out at 19:51 BST and remained unavailable for 12 minutes. Frustrated fans expressed their disappointment as they awaited coverage to resume.
Coverage returned on BBC iPlayer and TNT after the interruption. Mark Allen won the third frame of the semi-final despite the disruption.
After the brief delay, both players returned to finish the final frame before the mid-session interval. However, Wu Yize took advantage of the situation and opened up a 6-2 lead against Mark Allen.
The World Snooker Tour confirmed that the broadcast was paused due to a technical issue. Hazel Irvine reported, “There was a big crash, bang and wallop in there and that sort of led to what we think is the power going off.”
The incident raised questions about technical reliability during high-stakes matches. Fans were eager for updates as they followed this crucial semi-final.