Marco Fu lost his cue tip but not his nerve as he levelled his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Mark Selby at 8-8, yesterday.

Fu had started the afternoon trailing 5-3 but outplayed the world number one and was looking to take the lead in the 15th frame when the unthinkable happened.

While chalking his cue and glancing at the table mid-break, Fu nudged the tip off and joined the Crucible crowd in shock as he realised what had happened.

But, after an interlude for running repairs, he showed no concerns with his amended equipment and closed out the frame.

Selby, who had been short of his best throughout, won the last to ensure they would resume today with nothing between them, but not before both men made big errors.

Fu looked to have it won before he botched the final red, a mistake his rival then matched before a sloppy safety shot from Fu finally settled matters in Selby’s favour.

Other semi-final: Ding leads McManus 13-10.