World Snooker Championship semi-final derailed by ugly crowd incident which even disgusted commentators

John Higgins and Shaun Murphy were squaring off in the World Snooker Championship semi-final when it was derailed by an ugly crowd incident.

At the end of play Higgins leads Murphy 13-11 after their third session, and the match is set to be played to finish tomorrow, starting at 2:30 pm at the Crucible in Sheffield.

The Scot would finish the evening strongly by taking the last two to give himself the advantage coming into the home straight.

Victory for Higgins would make him the oldest ever Triple Crown finalist and would equal Stephen Hendry's record of nine Crucible finals.

The game started at 8-8; it would be nip and tuck throughout the match until 11-11, with the match proving to be a gripping affair; however, as Murphy got ready to break the 23rd frame, the ugly crowd incident would occur.

As he got prepared to break, a member of the crowd shouted incredibly loudly, stopping Murphy from taking the shot to gather himself before attempting it again.

🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/QRwjgbK34c

— Out Of Context Snooker (@OOCSnooker) May 1, 2026

The commentator urged the security and staff of the event to take swift action with the individual that was behind the ugly crowd incident at the World Snooker Championship semi-final.

He said: “Whoever shouted out get them out of the Crucible, we don’t need that.”

It is unknown whether this incident put Murphy off for the remainder of the evening's match, as he would lose the next two frames to give Higgins the advantage going into play tomorrow, but he may be pleased for the break to be able to compose himself to start a fightback to reach the final.

Fans took to social media to let their feelings known about the individual who decided they would shout out at the start of the 23rd frame.

One fan wrote: “It’s so incoherent I can work out if he said Shaun or John.”

While another said: “Should throw that idiot out!”

The overall consensus from those in the Crucible, from those watching on TV and from the commentators was that this incident has no place in snooker.