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.
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.”
