Speaking on BBC Two, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry called for the German official to end the stalemate much earlier.
“The referee’s got to get involved here, in my opinion. This is the dark side of snooker,” he said.
“It’s been a horrendous frame but it’s helped Wu Yize so much. He didn’t look like winning another frame, but the ludicrous nature of this has just helped to lighten the load on him and free him up, forget what was happening to him in this session.”
Kyren Wilson, the 2024 champion, added: “I think Marcel Eckardt should’ve called that a lot earlier.
“That game was going nowhere, quite painful, but the fight and determination from Mark Allen is still incredible.”
Meanwhile, John Parrott, who won the world title in 1991, said: “I’ve never seen a frame like it in all my years.
“I’ve never seen it this bad. Mark Allen says he doesn’t want a re-rack, but the referee is in charge and the referee should be in charge.
“I can understand from Mark’s point of view, but the referee has the authority to do something about this.”
When fellow referee Rob Spencer was dispatched from the tournament office, well into the deadlock, he warned there would be no time to restart the frame if a re-rack was called as the following match was soon due to start.