Spectator ejected in disrupted start to World Championship final

SHAUN MURPHY’S WORLD Championship final against Wu Yize got off to a rowdy start with a protester ejected from the Crucible and 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.

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.

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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.