I think we can expect that from the four players on show this afternoon - they all love attacking snooker!

Shaun Murphy, after a 96 break in the previous frame, puts together a break of 42 but his attempt to open up a cluster of five reds does not go to plan.

The Englishman plays safe with a 31-point lead.

Worth pointing out that Wu Yize's maiden ranking tournament win earlier this season - at the prestigious International Championship in China, beating no less than John Higgins in the final - rocketed him up the rankings.

He's now world number 10 - and that will go up further depending if he continues to progress here at the Crucible, as high as fourth if he were to lift the trophy.

The youngster is responding well to the loss of that opening frame of the afternoon, in first with a solid red and with a good chance of building a really healthy lead in frame 10.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

What you find in a lot of these last sessions is both players can start brilliantly, but when it gets to 10-10, 11-11 or that sort of scoreline, it becomes all about bottle and being able to keep that standard up.

That is when the pressure is at its highest and that's what Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins did the other day - they got better as the pressure increased.

Oh hello Zhao Xintong!

The defending champion knocks in a long red and a superb long blue to get the scoring under way in the second frame of the session.

He sat in his chair watching Shaun Murphy almost clear the table in the previous frame, but he's showing he's in good form too.

However, a pot with the spider doesn't leave him correctly on the next colour and China's first world snooker champion has to play safe.

Rob Walker
Snooker commentator for BBC

That has given Wu Yize food for thought - he knows his opponent has settled brilliantly.

Vafaei made referee Ben Williams earn his steps - that century break didn't take long at all.

Oooshh, Hossein Vafaei crunches in a brilliant yellow to give himself a chance of a first century in this quarter-final.

Frame was already over, snookers required, but that pot will send a message.

He goes on to complete a fantastic 106 clearance. Superb start from the Iranian, who's gone from 4-2 down to 5-4 up.

Ken Doherty
1997 world champion on BBC Two

It was excellent, when you consider the black was tied up for pretty much all of that break.

Just the way he manoeuvred the ball, the strike of the ball, the confidence around the table - he looks to be cueing how he left off yesterday.

No century for Shaun Murphy but a 96 break is a perfect way to start the final session.

He's 9-8 up, with 13 frames the target for victory.

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

They are going to be spending the rest of the day on the table.

It favours the younger player in some ways but you'll be totally in stroke come the next session.

Even though we say it's not great to have to play these back-to-back sessions, sometimes it can make the flow of the game even better.

It's the older of the two who has started better though - Hossein Vafaei pouncing on an ambitious missed red from Wu Yize to go within a few balls of taking the opening frame...

Shaun Murphy has started very quickly and is already on the verge of wrapping up the opening frame of the session in one visit.

Image source, Getty Images

The pundits in the studio have just been discussing the quirk of the match scheduling that means Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei are in for a bit of a marathon today.

Their quarter-final has back-to-back afternoon and evening sessions, meaning they could play 17 frames over the next few hours if it goes the distance.

Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Both players are capable of reeling off frames in quick succession on their day, and neither likes getting too bogged down in long safety battles.

BBC Two

MC Rob Walker is introducing the players so live action is not too far away.

Zhao Xintong v Shaun Murphy will be the feature match on BBC Two, but you can choose which match you'd like to watch via the "Watch and listen" tab at the top of this page.

Two first-time quarter-finalists begin their second session locked level.

Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei - second-round conquerors of former Crucible kings Mark Selby and Judd Trump respectively - both looked a tad nervy at times in yesterday's opening session.

Iran's Vafaei led 2-1 but slipped 4-2 behind, only to win the final two frames of Tuesday's session to restore parity.

Wu has really been going for pretty much everything and Vafaei is no shrinking violet either so we should be in store for some more thrilling snooker this afternoon.

Shaun Murphy is yet to conjure up a century break in his quarter-final but he came from 3-0 down on Tuesday morning to lead reigning Crucible champion Zhao Xintong 8-6 last night.

However, the Chinese superstar showed his mettle to take the final two frames of the night and level things up.

Will last year's winner march on or will the 'Crucible curse' - no first-time winner has ever retained the world title - rear its head again?

So then, we have our first name in the semi-final bracket - that of Mark Allen.

Another of those spots will be filled this afternoon as defending champion Zhao Xintong and Shaun Murphy, locked at 8-8, play to a finish.

And the last-four line-up will be complete by the end of play tonight when Neil Robertson and John Higgins lock horns on one table, while Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei battle to a conclusion on the other.

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Allen's bid to become the oldest first-time world champion in the modern era gathered momentum as he reached the semi-finals with a 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins.

The 40-year-old from Northern Ireland is aiming to complete snooker's Triple Crown, having previously triumphed in the UK Championship and Masters.

However, snooker's biggest prize has so far eluded him in 19 previous attempts, with his win over Hawkins earning him a place in the last four for only the third time.

"I thought the second session was one of the best I have ever been involved in, it was really high-quality snooker," Allen said.

"I have won everything else, why can't I win this? I am thinking about it because I come here every year thinking I can win it for the first time."

Allen will now face either Wu Yize or Hossein Vafaei in a best-of-33 encounter that begins on Thursday at 19:00 BST.

Should Allen win the world title he will become the oldest first-time winner in the modern era, eclipsing Stuart Bingham, who claimed the world title in 2015, aged 38 years and 343 days.

On the other table, Neil Robertson and John Higgins shared the eight frames in their second session, meaning the Australian, 5-3 ahead overnight, leads 9-7 going into this evening's finale.

After a short interlude, our coverage of day 12 of the 2026 World Snooker Championship continues.

It's the second day of the quarter-finals and we already know our first semi-finalist following Mark Allen's victory against Barry Hawkins earlier today.

By the end of the afternoon session, either Zhao Xintong or Shaun Murphy will have joined Northern Ireland's Allen in the last four.

Defending champion Zhao and 2005 winner Murphy shared the first 16 frames, so it's essentially a race to five this afternoon to decide the winner.

There's also the second session of the intriguing quarter-final between Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei, who are both making their first appearances in the last eight at the Crucible.

TV coverage from Sheffield continues on BBC Two and at the top of this page.

The afternoon session will start at 14:30 BST, so the live text updates will pause for about half an hour.

What an afternoon we have in store - Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei return for the second session of their match level at 4-4, while it's 8-8 at the start of the final session between Shaun Murphy and defending champion Zhao Xintong.

In the meantime, you can catch up with the details of Mark Allen's quarter-final win over Barry Hawkins in Steve Sutcliffe's report from the Crucible.

Image source, PA Media