SELBY AND YAN PLAY CRUCIBLE’S LONGEST FRAME

Mark Selby and Yan Bingtao played a frame lasting 85 minutes and 22 seconds during their second round match on Saturday night – the longest in 45 years of snooker at the Crucible.

The previous record was 79 minutes and 31 seconds, set by Luca Brecel and Gary Wilson in 2019.

Defending champion Selby and 16th seed Yan had a succession of extended safety battles on the reds and colours. It came down to the final black, and both players missed chances before Yan slotted the black into a centre pocket to go 12-10 ahead.

The frame was still well short of the record for the longest in a pro match: 123 minutes and 41 seconds, set by Fergal O’Brien and David Gilbert in the final qualifying round 2017 World Championship. The longest televised frame was 93 minutes and 12 seconds, in a match between Shaun Murphy and Dave Harold at the 2008 China Open.