Championship

Wu Yize and Mark Allen produced a session of spellbinding snooker and finished locked at 11-11 to perfectly set up the final session of their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre.

Resuming at 7-7 on Saturday, the third session of the match was a complete contrast to their epic slugfest on Friday, that produced the longest frame ever played at the famous venue.

China’s Wu set the tone, opening with a sublime 142 and also constructing breaks of 76 and 121 to lead 10-8 at the mid-session interval.

However, Allen, who is attempting to become the first player from Northern Ireland to reach the final since Dennis Taylor in 1985, showed he had also thrown off the shackles of negativity.

The 40-year-old enjoyed a run of 56, and well-crafted breaks of 85 and 99 enabled him to draw level at 10-10.

Wu, 22, who defeated Lei Peifan, Mark Selby and Hossein Vafaei to reach the last four, responded with his third century of the day.

But as the tension increased, in what felt like an important concluding frame to the session, Wu was unable to capitalise after getting the first opportunity.

That allowed Allen, who could become the oldest first-time winner at the Crucible, to make a couple of useful contributions and ensure there was nothing to divide the pair.

They return to play the final session of their best-of-33 encounter at 19:00 BST on Saturday, with a possible 11 frames still to get through, as they attempt to set up a title match against John Higgins or Shaun Murphy.

The World Championship semi-final between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy is delicately poised at 8-8 after a captivating second session at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

In contrast to the opening to their match on Wednesday, Higgins appeared the stronger of the two players in their early exchanges.

The four-time world champion, who turns 51 on 18 May, ruthlessly punished a missed black from Murphy to take the opening frame with a break of 72.

Englishman Murphy, who is looking to end a 21-year wait for his second Crucible crown, delivered the perfect riposte with an 88 as he took two of the next three frames to draw level at 6-6.

When Murphy failed to convert a plant to the right middle, his error was again exploited, with Higgins enjoying a run of 57 to edge back in front.

The Scot then knocked in a wonderful break of 86 off the back of a brave long red to open up a two-frame advantage.

However, Murphy took a scrappy 15th frame and turned the tables on his opponent to restore parity when Higgins missed a tricky red with the rest down the left cushion.

Their best-of-33-frames encounter will resume on Friday at 19:00 BST, with another eight frames to be played in the third of four sessions.

China’s Wu Yize takes a 6-2 lead into the second session of his last-four meeting with Mark Allen, which gets under way at 14:30 BST.

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 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The 40-year-old Northern Irishman 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.

Having resumed at 8-8, Allen took the opening two frames of Wednesday morning’s session only to be pegged back by the 2013 finalist, who knocked in breaks of 70 and 83 in response.

The players traded frames before Allen constructed his third century of a high-quality affair to move 12-11 ahead.

In a dramatic final frame Allen took control with a break of 59 and sealed his passage to the single-table stage after the Englishman underhit an attempted snooker on the pink just seconds after fluking a red to give himself the chance to force a decider.

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.

More to follow

Neil Robertson established a narrow 5-3 lead over John Higgins in a fiercely contested opening to their quarter-final.

Higgins compiled breaks of 61 and 56 to take the first frame and the fourth to draw level at 2-2.

However, the emotional and physical toll of defeating Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-12 in an all-time Crucible classic on Monday appeared to weigh on the 50-year-old Scot at times.

The four-time champion made six unforced errors before reaching the mid-session interval and was far from his best in a scrappy affair.

Australia’s Robertson, who won the world title in 2010, also failed to hit the heights despite enjoying runs of 77 and 70 and, at one point, he even had to have his chair repaired, adding to the protracted nature of their contest.

While he took the final two frames of the session, his pragmatic approach and an unfortunate run of the balls contributed to a drawn-out eighth frame that lasted almost 52 minutes and delayed the start of the evening session.

Robertson and Higgins get back under way on Wednesday at 10:00 BST.

In contrast, Hossein Vafaei and Wu Yize are level at 4-4 after an entertaining start to their best-of-25 encounter.

With both players seemingly focused on attacking snooker, Iran’s Vafaei knocked in a break of 66 to lead 2-1 before Wu underlined his status as one of the game’s burgeoning talents with runs of 90, 56 and 56 to pull 4-2 ahead.

Vafaei, who had to win two qualifiers before advancing past Si Jiahui and then world number one Judd Trump in a final-frame thriller, responded with a break of 71.

And he drew level when Wu failed to knock in a presentable long black to the top left corner, clearing the table up to, and including, the pink.

They return for the second session of their best-of-25 encounter on Wednesday at 14:30 BST.

Former world champion Neil Robertson has called for a controversial chalk used by Ronnie O’Sullivan to be banned, saying most other players “hate it” and that it “makes an absolute mess of the table”.

O’Sullivan, 50, is one of only a handful of players on the World Snooker Tour (WST) to still use the traditional Triangle Chalk.

Critics say it causes more poor contacts, leading to ‘kicks’ when the cue ball hits the object ball, often resulting in players running out of position or missing pots.

Almost all players use Taom Chalk, which reduces kicks and leaves no marks on the table.

There are currently no restrictions in place on what chalks can be used in WST events so O’Sullivan, who lost a thrilling last-16 tie 13-12 to John Higgins earlier on Monday, has not done anything against the sport’s rules.

However, there was a noticeable kick in the deciding frame when the Scot was taking a shot on a red.

He could be heard saying “oh my god” when the cue ball did not run through as expected. That red was potted, but, out of position, Higgins then missed the following black, although it did not prove crucial as he sealed an incredible victory, having trailed 8-3 and 9-4.

Robertson won 13-7 in his last-16 match against Chris Wakelin to set up a meeting with Higgins, with the Australian pleased to avoid O’Sullivan – and his chalk.

“I would prefer to play John so I don’t have to contend with the chalk that Ronnie uses, which should be banned from the game,” Robertson told BBC Four.

“I don’t know how you are allowed to even use it.”

Chief executive Mark Darbon says the R&A are having “ongoing dialogue” with Muirfield with a view to returning The Open Championship to the Gullane course for the first time since 2013.

Darbon also says there are “challenges” with bringing the event back to Turnberry.

Royal Lytham & St Annes will host The Open in 2028, with this year’s 154th tournament taking place at Royal Birkdale and next year’s staging at The Old Course at St Andrews.

Muirfield, a 16-times Open venue, will host this year’s Women’s Amateur Championship from 22-27 June.

“We’ve got a great ongoing dialogue with Muirfield,” Darbon said.

“There are some things we need to overcome to facilitate a modern Open Championship – the practice ground is one of those, along with a few on-course infrastructural points.”

On US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry, which hosted the last of its four Opens in 2009, Darbon commented: “We really like the golf course.

“But there are challenges around staging a modern Open – primarily road, rail and accommodation infrastructure.”

The Scottish Open has signed a deal to stay at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian until 2030, with the tournament played in the week before The Open to allow players time to adapt to seaside links courses.

Nelly Korda returned to the top of the world rankings after claiming a dominant five-shot victory in the LPGA Chevron Championship.

It is Korda’s second Chevron title in three seasons and ensures she leapfrogs Jeeno Thitikul in the rankings, after the Thai missed the cut.

The American equalled the event’s 54-hole scoring record on Saturday but fell two shots short of the tournament record of 20 under par.

“That was a hard weekend,” Korda told NBC Sports.

“Honestly, having that big of a lead, it’s not easy. It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to do mentally.

“I have an amazing support system. An amazing family who are right behind me. An amazing caddie who is on the bag and I’m just happy to get it done.”

Korda takes her tally of majors to three, after also winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.

After a break of 83 from Higgins in the ninth frame, O’Sullivan won two in a row, thanks to runs of 116 and 80, to hold a dominant five-frame advantage at 8-3.

Higgins won the 12th, but O’Sullivan’s break of 91 left the Englishman 9-4 in front.

But the final three frames were very dramatic. Higgins looked in control of the 14th, with O’Sullivan needing a snooker to have any chance, which he then got, although he could not capitalise.

Higgins took the 15th on a black-ball finish, with O’Sullivan then punching the table in frustration after missing a red early on in the last frame of the night.

His mood was not improved when he potted a long red but then saw the cue ball follow it into the same pocket, with that foul proving crucial as Higgins took the frame to give himself some hope.

O’Sullivan is fighting to make the Crucible quarter-finals for a 24th time and looking for an eighth world title, which would be a record in the modern era.

He was watched by former Manchester United footballer Paul Scholes during his 10-2 win over Chinese debutant He Guoqiang and, this time, UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett and Liverpool defender Milos Kerkez were in attendance.

They, along with the rest of the crowd at the Crucible, would have left thoroughly entertained.

The postseason has already begin, with playoffs and spring high school championships filling much of May.

Baseball

Southern Section Division 1 final will be held at Cal State Fullerton on Friday, May 29; others May 30 at Epicenter stadium in Rancho Cucamonga

City Section Open Division and Division I finals will be held at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, May 23.

Softball

Southern Section finals May 28-30 at Barber Park in Irvine.

City Section finals May 29-30 at site TBA.

Track and field

Southern Section finals are Saturday, May 16, at Moorpark High, with the Masters Meet on May 23.

City Section finals are Thursday, May 21, at Birmingham.

Boys’ volleyball

Southern Section finals are May 14-16 at Cerritos College.

City Section finals are Friday, May 15, at Venice and Saturday, May 16, at Birmingham

Girls’ beach volleyball

Southern Section finals are May 2 at Long Beach City College

City Section team final are May 1 at Santa Monica Beach

Lacrosse

Southern Section finals are May 15-16 at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.

City Section finals are Thursday, April 30, at Palisades

Swimming

Southern Section finals are May 5-9 at Mt. San Antonio College

City Section finals are Friday, May 8, at East L.A. College

Boys’ golf

Southern Section individual final is Thursday, May 21; team finals are May 18-19.

City Section finals are Wednesday, May 20, at Wilson/Harding.

Boys’ tennis

Southern Section finals are Friday, May 15, at University of Redlands Claremont Club

City Section finals are April 29, May 6-7 at Balboa Park

Stunt Cheer

Southern Section finals are Saturday, May 2, at Brea Olinda.

City Section finals are Friday, May 1, at Venice

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

World number two Nelly Korda saw her lead at the LPGA Chevron Championship cut to five shots despite equalling the event’s 54-hole scoring record.

After shooting two rounds of 65 on previous days, the 27-year-old American went round in 70 on Saturday to go 16 under par at Houston’s Memorial Park.

If Korda can get over the line on Sunday and win a second Chevron title in three seasons, it would take her to the top of the world rankings after the current world number one, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, missed the cut.

Korda got off to a fine start too, with four birdies on the opening six holes but failed to break par on any more holes as she lacked precision on the greens.

“The front nine was great,” said Korda, who said she was going to spend time on the putting greens before Sunday’s final round of the first women’s major of 2026.

“Just got to reset and hopefully it goes my way tomorrow,” she added.

Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit hit a 69 so was able to claw back a shot and reduce Korda’s overnight six-stroke lead to five, despite a bogey on the 13th – her first of the tournament.

She sits on 11 under heading into the final day.

Pauline Bouchard of France is a further shot behind, alongside China’s Yin Ruoning, who scored a bogey-free 66, the joint-best round of the day.

Korda’s 54-hole score of 200 put her level with record holder Jennifer Kupcho, who was the third-round leader on 200 in 2022 – she went on to win by two strokes.

In a truly remarkable story of hard work, endurance, talent and dedication, the pair are still at the top of the sport three decades later and will go head-to-head in the last 16 on Saturday.

Thirty years on from that first memorable Crucible meeting, O’Sullivan has seven world titles, Higgins has four, both having long cemented their positions as two of the greatest players the sport has ever seen.

“We deserve a great pat on the back,” added Higgins, who admitted he never thought he would still be playing so well at this age.

Higgins and O’Sullivan are both now 50, while they are joined in the last 16 by the third member of snooker’s fabled ‘Class of 92’, with 51-year-old Mark Williams still in contention for a fourth title.

O’Sullivan holds the record for being the oldest world champion after his most recent success four years ago, aged 46, but that could be beaten in the next week and a half.

After that first World Championship meeting in 1996, Higgins beat O’Sullivan 17-9 in the 1998 semi-finals on his way to his first title, before the Rocket got his revenge, winning 18-14 in the 2001 final for his first success.

Higgins then gained 13-9 and 13-10 wins in the quarter-finals of 2007 and 2011 respectively, before O’Sullivan won their most recent Crucible tie, 17-11 in the 2022 semi-finals.

They have played six times at the famous Sheffield theatre, with three wins apiece.

Shaun Murphy produced a superb performance to thrash China’s Xiao Guodong 13-3 and become the first player into the 2026 World Championship quarter-finals.

Murphy, a champion at the Crucible in 2005 and runner-up in 2009, 2015 and 2021, led 6-2 overnight against China’s world number nine Xiao Guodong, before winning seven of the eight frames in Friday’s first session.

It meant the 43-year-old eighth seed won his match with a session to spare.

Murphy made breaks of 93, 66, 103, 69, 115 and 103 in Friday’s session to set up a last-eight tie against the winner of the all-Chinese match between reigning world champion Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui, with the quarter-final beginning on Tuesday and finishing on Wednesday.

“I’m really pleased with how I played. I’m delighted,” said Murphy. “It does not happen often that you win with a session to spare, because everyone is so good.

“I would not say I’m desperate to win another World Championship, but it is close.

“It’s 21 years since that clueless 22-year-old came here and nicked the trophy from everyone. Since then I’ve been trying my hardest to get the trophy again. It’s not been through the lack of trying.”

Murphy last reached the quarter-final stage in 2021, when he went on to the final and lost to Mark Selby, and said he still feels he can improve.

“I’m loving the game, loving practice and still think I can get better,” said Murphy. “The best days are still ahead of me.”

Former New Zealand all-rounder Doug Bracewell has admitted using cocaine after the first day of Essex’s final County Championship match last year.

Bracewell returned the positive test on 25 September – the second day of the match against Somerset at Chelmsford.

He was notified by the Cricket Regulator in November and responded on 8 December, confirming he had used cocaine after the first day of the fixture, into the early hours of the following morning.

Bracewell, who signed for Essex for the final three Championship matches of the season, opened the bowling on day one, claiming two wickets as Somerset moved to 339-6. He was not required to bat on day two and Essex eventually won the match by seven wickets.

After being notified of the positive test, Bracewell then retired from cricket on 28 December. The Regulator has still issued him with a two-year ban.

Part of a famous New Zealand cricketing family – his uncle John Bracewell played 28 Tests and cousin Michael is a current Black Cap – Doug played 69 international matches across formats.

He also previously served a one-month ban for cocaine use in 2024.

Bracewell has accepted the sanction, while Essex will not face punishment.

“Essex can confirm that Doug Bracewell failed a routine drugs test in September 2025,” said a club statement.

“The club supports the Cricket Regulator’s decision to impose a period of ineligibility of two years. All employees are required to meet the highest standards of professional conduct.

“While the club does not condone Bracewell’s behaviour, we are committed to supporting him through rehabilitation in line with our policies and procedures.”

In the first of the last-16 matches, 2005 winner Shaun Murphy moved into a dominant 6-2 lead over China’s Xiao Guodong.

Murphy scraped through 10-9 against Fan Zhengyi in the first round, calling his match-winning break of 50 in the decider the best break he had ever made at the Crucible after he had trailed 53-17.

But the 43-year-old Englishman found this session to be calmer as he made breaks of 79, 103, 63 and 64 to go 5-0 ahead.

World number nine Xiao took the next two frames, but Murphy ended the session well and took the last with a run of 61 to have a four-frame lead in the first-to-13 match.

That match resumes on Friday at 10:00 BST and Murphy could win it with a session to spare if he wins seven of the eight frames in that session. The third session, if needed, will take place from 19:00.

Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen holds a 5-3 lead against England’s Kyren Wilson, the 2024 champion.

Two-time semi-finalist Allen made breaks of 50 and 78 to race into a 5-0 lead, but Wilson won the last three frames of the session, helped by runs of 75 and 50.

The second session is on Friday from 14:30, before it is played to a finish on Saturday morning.

Ireland’s Nations Championship fixture against Japan will take place at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia on 11 July (11:00 BST).

Andy Farrell’s side open the inaugural tournament against Australia in Sydney on 4 July and will face the Brave Blossoms before travelling to New Zealand to take on the All Blacks at Auckland’s Eden Park on 18 July.

Ireland have won 10 out of 11 Tests with Japan, the sole defeat coming at the 2019 Rugby World Cup at Shizuoka Stadium. Ireland won the last meeting 41-10 in Dublin last November.

After July’s fixtures, Ireland will host Argentina, Fiji and South Africa in November at Aviva Stadium.

The biennial 12-team Nations Championship comprises six rounds of matches across the summer and autumn Test windows before a ‘finals weekend’ on 27-29 November at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

After each team has played the other six from the opposing hemisphere once, they are ranked within their own hemisphere.

The finals weekend in London will start with the sixth-placed northern hemisphere side taking on their southern hemisphere equivalent, and culminate in the two group winners taking each other on for the title.

The results on the finals weekend will also contribute to a north v south overall score and title.

Ireland’s fixtures (times BST)

4 July

Australia v Ireland, Allianz Stadium, 11:00

11 July

Japan v Ireland, McDonald Jones Stadium, 11:00

18 July

New Zealand v Ireland, 08:10

6 November

Ireland v Argentina, Aviva Stadium

14 November

Ireland v Fiji, Aviva Stadium

21 November

Ireland v South Africa, Aviva Stadium

Finals weekend

27 November

Sixth-place North v Sixth-place South

Third-place North v Third-place South

28 November

Fifth-place North v Fifth-place South

Second-place North v Second-place South

29 November

Fourth-place North v Fourth-place South

First-place North v First-place South

Premier League-bound Coventry City secured the Championship title on Wednesday.

It is the first time the Sky Blues have won the Championship title since the league’s rebranding before the 2004-05 season.

Inspired by Frank Lampard’s team, we want you to name every winner from the past 22 seasons.

When Don Robertson’s whistle peeped – it could just about be heard through the celebratory chants of the 3,000+ strong travelling support – Valakari let it all out.

The energetic manager was emotional, ecstatic and a little bit exhausted as he immersed himself in the post-match scenes.

The supporters were chanting his name from the 80th minute onwards and a few of his players lifted him up like they will do with the Championship trophy on Friday night after playing Raith Rovers – live on BBC Scotland.

He has masterminded what Williams calls “the most enjoyable season going and watching Saints since Tommy Wright was there”.

Wright, of course, oversaw the landmark 2014 Scottish Cup win during his impressive seven-year stint.

By no means does Williams’ sentiment diminish the cup double achieved under Wright’s successor Callum Davidson, but this has been a league campaign built on utter consistency – while the first 10 games were “totally brilliant”.

“It’s been nice to have that feeling back, but I think the novelty would wear off after one season,” he added, not wanting to get too familiar with the second tier.

Thankfully for those of a Perthshire-Saints persuasion, they can put their notifications for the Premiership back on. In two games time, their full attention will be back on the top flight.

How do they reckon they’ll fare once there, though?

“We’re in a decent place, better than we were last time,” Williams said.

“There’ll be a lot of guys maybe looking for more opportunities elsewhere next season, but hopefully the core of the squad can stay as it’d be good to see them have a crack at the Premiership because they’ve done us really well this season.”

That they have. Now they get to party just as hard too…

Vafaei beat Barry Hawkins in the first round at the Crucible last year before losing 13-10 to Mark Williams.

An injury wrecked the start of this season but an intensive physio programme got him back playing, although he then had a poor run of results following his return.

“With my injury, I took two or three months [out] and after that I lost my form,” he added. “It was a shoulder problem, it was hurting my fingers and all the nerves on my left side.

“It was tough to get back my form and to find something and the struggles started from there.

“I’m under lots of pressure. I’m not having a good season. A lot of people have been like ‘where is he? what’s he doing?’. They’re thinking I’ve stopped playing snooker.

“I’ve had a tough year mentally, personally, and everything.”

But there has been some encouragement on the table as before his success at qualifying, he beat Williams and Zhang Anda to reach the quarter-finals of last month’s World Open where he was beaten by Trump.

However, he said news from back home meant he was often not focused on snooker.

“You get a bad text in the day and you can’t focus on your job. How can I focus?” said Vafaei.

“No-one knows how tough it is but hopefully it will be over soon, then the safety comes back to my country.”

World number one Judd Trump recovered from a slow start to defeat Gary Wilson in their first-round match.

Trump, the 2019 champion, lost four of the first five frames as Wilson, ranked 27th, moved into a 4-1 lead.

But Trump then claimed the final four frames of the session, including superb breaks of 128 and 77, to hold a 5-4 advantage.

However, Wilson, a three-time ranking event winner, made the highest break of the session with a superb 139 clearance in frame five.

In the second session later on Tuesday, Wilson made a break of 58 to make it 5-5, but Trump pulled clear by winning five in a row to seal a 10-5 success.

Trump, 36, has been top of the world rankings since August 2024 and will extend that run if he reaches the quarter-finals.

“I like being number one, it’s going to be difficult to keep it unless I do really well in the next season but I take a lot of pride in it,” he said.

Trump lives in Dubai but, because of the recent conflict in the Middle East, he left the area temporarily.

“I had to stay in Thailand for a month, and I managed to practice for the World Championship, but it has been more back to normal now,” he said.

“Dubai is still my base, I’ve been back there in the last couple of weeks and everything is normal.”

A downbeat Wilson, speaking to BBC Four, said: “It’s just constant disappointment. I am, and always have been since the age of 13, a better player than this.

“It’s a constant struggle. The yips are getting worse and I’m just riding through it.”

Ulster continue to count the cost of Friday’s 29-21 defeat by Leinster in the United Rugby Championship [URC] with six players added to the injury list for this Saturday’s trip to face Munster at Thomond Park [17:30 BST].

Angus Bell (foot), Scott Wilson (ankle), Tom O’Toole (hand), James Hume (neck), Jude Postlethwaite (hand) and Bryn Ward (shoulder) have all been ruled out after picking up injuries against Leo Cullen’s side.

They join a list of unavilable players that already includes Nick Timoney (hip), James McNabney (knee), Rob Herring (calf), Robert Baloucoune (elbow), Rory McGuire (shoulder) and Stewart Moore (knee).

Ulster dropped to fifth in the URC standings following last week’s defeat, one point above Munster as the season enters its final three rounds of games before the play-offs.

“Not winning at home was a big moment for us, but then add the guys who have picked up knocks,” Ulster coach Richie Murphy told BBC Sport NI.

“There will be a bit of pressure on our squad depth this week, but that’s exciting as well with everyone wanting to put their hand up for what is ahead.

“It’s going to be interesting, not going to be easy, but it is an exciting couple of weeks ahead.”

Murphy’s side have a home European Challenge Cup semi-final against Exeter Chiefs to look forward to on Saturday, 2 May as they seek to end their 20-year wait for silverware and while there is “no timeline” but feels some have a “really good chance of playing next week”.

One player who may feature this week is Michael Lowry who has returned to full training and his availability for the trip to Limerick will be assessed throughout the week.

“Mikey has had a really tough run over the last while and at the start of the season, we played some of our best rugby with him in the team,” Murphy continued.

“He played for Ireland ‘A’ against Spain and picked up an injury. From that moment, he’s struggled for fitness, but was flying around in training today and a great addition to our squad for the next few weeks.”

One of the most striking elements of Cardiff’s success this season has been the development of their young players.

Barry-Murphy signalled his intent in the first game of the season against Peterborough, naming the youngest Cardiff starting line-up for a league fixture this century.

His faith in the academy graduates has been repaid handsomely, with Dylan Lawlor, Cian Ashford, Joel Colwill, Isaak Davies and Ronan Kpakio all catching the eye at different points this season.

Playing in League One has benefited them enormously – as if they have dropped down a division to spend a season on loan together at a lower level.

What remains to be seen is how they deal with the Championship.

It is also easy to forget that vice-captain Rubin Colwill is still only 23. Having burst on to the scene as a teenager, the Wales attacking midfielder has come of age this season.

“It’s been an unbelievable season for everyone involved,” Colwill said.

“A lot of the young lads have had really good seasons, and obviously getting promoted for everyone is amazing. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of it.”

Centre-back Lawlor has arguably had the biggest impact of those fledgling talents this season, making his Wales debut and looking remarkably assured over the course of his five caps to date.

The 20-year-old has been linked with a move away – with German giants Bayern Munich among the clubs reportedly interested – and Cardiff will do well to keep him this summer.

But Barry-Murphy has shown how well he can work with young players, not only in the Welsh capital but during his time in charge of Manchester City’s Under-21s, where he nurtured the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers.

Crucially, Cardiff will be protected financially should big clubs come calling for Lawlor, who signed a three-year contract extension last August to keep him at the club until 2028.

And this is the nub of it: history.

Alex Higgins and baby daughter Lauren in 1982. Dennis Taylor wagging his finger in ’85. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five-minute maximum. White the exasperated nearly man. The dominant Davis and Stephen Hendry decades.

Rob Maul covers snooker for the Sun and Shane McDermott has been a mainstay of the media room for the Mirror.

As Maul says: “You can’t ignore the history. It’s a pilgrimage I’ve done since 2018 and I feel honoured to do it, but there are people in that building who have done it for decades and decades and decades.

“That’s the unique thing about snooker: they’ve kept the Hendrys in the sport, and they’re still working. John Parrott’s commentating. And that legacy is something you don’t throw away lightly.

“When you walk around the city, you see Steve Davis, and Jimmy White will come by if he’s working. And so much has changed in other sports, but snooker’s fundamentally the same game that these legends were playing.”

McDermott says: “You see the same faces year on year, people who have been coming every year since 1977. Sadly some of them are coming less and less because of age.

“I can remember after matches perhaps nipping out of the press room for a minute and bumping into John Virgo as he left the commentary box. You’d have a little nod and say hello. That’s one thing everyone will miss this year.”

Faces in the crowd, faces in the commentary box, faces at the table. Here one year, gone the next.

In recent times, snooker has lost Virgo, Ray Reardon, Willie Thorne and Terry Griffiths, among others. Broadcaster and journalist Clive Everton and Bafta-nominated former BBC snooker executive producer Nick Hunter have left us too.

The booming voice and laughter of Thorne, the gentle humour of Griffiths, the wisdom of Everton, the dry wit of Virgo.

They were part of the fixtures and fittings.

And in their own particular ways, they each played a telling role in the Crucible becoming what it was never built to be: snooker’s home.