John Higgins gets up off a shot because of a mobile phone going off in the audience.

He gets back down and misses a red by some way - not sure if it put him off, but it's very unlike the Wizard of Wishaw to be off target by that much.

Now it's John Higgins' turn to fluke a red but the balls are all in really messy positions at the moment. He won't get more than one point.

Joe Perry
Former World Championship semi-finalist on BBC Two

Shaun Murphy has missed a couple of long ones but he hasn't really put John in amongst the balls.

John is just struggling to get his hand on the table with a really decent opportunity.

Higgins pots the first red but a cannon off the yellow doesn't go to plan - Higgins is 12-1 up in the frame with 11 reds on the table and every colour off its spot.

Ooof, Shaun Murphy misses a long red which bounces out of the jaws, flicks off the travelling white and into the green pocket at the other end of the table.

What a fluke - but it'll only yield one point for the Magician.

Another missed long red, which Murphy got very close to, leaves John Higgins in again.

John Higgins runs out of position early in the break, he refuses a difficult blue to the top corner and instead plays safe to the baulk cushion.

John Higgins leaves the white in the jaws of the yellow pocket and Shaun Murphy has a very difficult safety shot ahead.

His first attempt at a thin snick off the pack of reds misses everything, and the second go is a touch too thick, leaving Higgins a chance to get going in the fifth frame with a red to the corner.

Image source, Getty Images

John Higgins and Shaun Murphy are back in the playing arena and under way in frame five.

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

It's a fantastic match-up, Wu Yize is a brilliant young talent.

He's a tournament winner already - we were saying he's never played a best-of-25 before... well he has now and he beat Mark Selby, and then got past Hossein Vafaei.

He looks a big-occasion player, he's also a really lovely lad.

We've been watching two former world champions in semi-final action this afternoon.

Tonight, it's the turn of two players who have never appeared in a Crucible final before.

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen has been trying for about two decades to win the biggest prize in his sport. He's already won the UK Championship and the Masters, and the world title is the only one missing in his bid to complete a career Triple Crown.

Wu Yize of China is one of the sport's rising stars and many pundits believe he'll lift the world title one day, but will it be this year? The 22-year-old had not won a match at the Crucible before this year but has shown some excellent form in reaching the semi-finals.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

Last night John Higgins dismissed the need for him to work with a coach or sports psychologist and instead talked about the influence his wife Denise holds.

The Scot referred to her as the "boss" at one stage and she was walking purposefully towards the player dressing rooms at the end of that mini-session.

Peter Ebdon, the 2002 world champion, is in Shaun Murphy's corner and was also heading in the same direction, looking very dapper in a blue suit.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

Peter Ebdon has had a big impact [on Shaun Murphy] in terms of keeping his focus.

When Shaun won the Masters [in 2025] and here against Zhao Xintong, he never took his eyes off the table.

Before, he would do a bit of posing and look here, there and everywhere. He wouldn't be on it.

In general, since he's been with Peter, even when he's in his chair and his opponent's at the table, he's still trying to be focused.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

You're always going to have sessions that are worse than others, when you're not on it, and others when you're going to fly. Making the most of each session is so important.

All tournament, John hasn't won his first session yet so he won't be too worried. But he won't want to be 6-2 behind or 7-1 behind.

You'd never write him off but he's struggling a bit at the minute for whatever reason. He'd never use the excuse of playing last night.

But Shaun is definitely cueing with far more authority.

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

If you were in Shaun Murphy's camp and you hadn't come in 3-1 up at that mid-session interval you'd have been kicking yourself, because John Higgins obviously has a bit of match hangover from yesterday.

Shaun's been hitting the ball better and you've got to press home when you're on top, because there will be parts of this where John is playing better than you.

When your opponent shows slight weakness you've got to make the most of it in that session.

Applause from all inside the Crucible Theatre as Shaun Murphy compiles the first century break of the semi-final.

It ends on exactly 100, which is more than enough to send him into the mid-session interval with a 3-1 lead.

Joe Perry
Former World Championship semi-finalist on BBC Two

He's missed a couple of balls in this opening session, but all in all, Shaun looks in tremendous form.

The misses came as a complete shock to the system because, in general today, he's hit the ball like a dream.

On a break of 36, Shaun Murphy needs the extended rest to pot a difficult red. He follows that up with a pink into the yellow pocket with awkward cueing.

A 3-1 lead incoming?

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

In these sessions, you always get your stall out to try to win the mini-sessions 3-1. If you can win all four frames, that's a bonus.

Shaun Murphy's long-potting was a key feature of his quarter-final win over defending champion Zhao Xintong and he's shown already today that he can knock in those long reds to take the initiative early in frames.

Another one gets him off the mark in frame four as he seeks to take a two-frame lead into the mid-session interval.