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Murphy Secures 13-10 Victory Against Zhao
Shaun Murphy extinguished Zhao Xintong’s aspirations of overcoming the Crucible curse with a commanding 13-10 victory, advancing him to the World Championship’s semi-finals.
Zhao, 29, aimed to become the first champion to successfully defend his title since the tournament’s relocation to the Crucible Theatre in 1977.
However, the 43-year-old Englishman proved insurmountable, showcasing an impressive potting display to secure his sixth semi-final appearance.
He is now set to face four-time champion John Higgins, who delivered a vintage performance to defeat Australia’s Neil Robertson 13-10.
Higgins, who will turn 51 on May 18, becomes the oldest semi-finalist since Ray Reardon, who reached the same stage at the age of 52 in 1985.
His upcoming match against Murphy, scheduled to begin at 13:00 BST on Thursday, will be a rematch of the 2009 final, where the Scot emerged victorious with an 18-9 scoreline.
Since then, Murphy has twice reached the final and openly expressed his ambition to replicate his 2005 success, when he secured his sole world title to date.
He commenced Wednesday’s session with a stylish 96 break, edging into a 9-8 lead.
While Zhao responded with a 71 break, Murphy compiled breaks of 80 and 70, claiming the subsequent three frames to move closer to victory against a player he had lauded as the “best on the planet” earlier in the week.
A composed 81 break from Asia’s first world champion extended the contest to a 23rd frame.
However, when Murphy executed a sublime red pot to the middle from the pack, he constructed a break of 69. With Zhao unable to secure the necessary snooker, the ‘Magician’ sealed a memorable triumph.
During commentary, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry lauded Murphy, who had trailed 3-0 and lost momentum on Tuesday evening, as delivering a “flawless” performance.
“I think when you are playing a great player – which Zhao unquestionably is – it makes it straightforward for you,” Murphy told BBC Sport.
“I just knew I had to play properly and knew I had to be somewhere near my best and I think I was.
“I’m so in awe of Zhao Xintong and how he plays the game. When he is in full flow, he is mesmerising to watch. It is one of the best wins of my career.”
Zhao, who became the first player to win all three events in the Players Series in the same season and only the third to bank in excess of £1m in a single campaign, added: “Shaun played really well and put me under big pressure. He played perfect snooker and deserves his win.
“All this season I have had big pressure but now it is gone. I trust myself to come back strongly.”
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Allen Advances to Semi-Final
Earlier on Wednesday, Mark Allen’s pursuit of becoming the oldest first-time world champion in the modern era gained momentum as he secured a 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins to reach the semi-finals.
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 most coveted prize has eluded him in 19 previous attempts, with his win over Hawkins earning him a place in the last four for only the third time.
Resuming at 8-8, Allen claimed the opening two frames of Wednesday morning’s session, only to be pegged back by the 2013 finalist, who responded with breaks of 70 and 83.
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 expressed that he felt “relief more than anything”.
He added: “I thought the second session was one of the best I have ever been involved in. It was really high-quality snooker.
“My heart sank when he fluked that red – I’m over the moon to get over the line. If you could have seen inner Mark when he didn’t reach the pink, he was doing somersaults and then I potted a good yellow.
“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.”
Should Allen win the world title, he will become the oldest first-time winner in the modern era, surpassing Stuart Bingham, who became champion in 2015, aged 38 years and 343 days.
Allen will now face Wu Yize in a best-of-33 encounter that begins on Thursday at 19:00 BST.
Wu, who led 10-6 after taking control of his last-eight tie against Hossein Vafaei in the afternoon, enjoyed a run of 75 and produced an exquisite 135 as reached the mid-session interval 12-8 ahead.
And when Iran’s Vafaei broke down after a break of 70, Wu – who had never won a match on snooker’s grandest stage prior to this year – booked his passage into the semis with a fine 55 clearance.
Having trailed 9-7 against Ronnie O’Sullivan going into the concluding session in the last 16 before coming back to win, Higgins delivered a repeat showing against 2010 winner Robertson.
Breaks of 66 and 77 brought him level at 9-9 and when he again levelled the match at 10-10 in remarkable circumstances – after his opponent went in off the green – it felt like it would be his night.
He enjoyed the better of two tactical frames to head into a 12-10 lead and crafted a break of 53 before booking a 12th semi-final appearance in a nervy 23rd frame.
“Amazing. Happy birthday Mum – it’s her birthday tomorrow,” Higgins said.
“It’s a great achievement getting back to that one table. Being so close last year with Mark [Williams], and just missing out, it was heartbreaking in a way.
“It will be an amazing feeling to step out there in the Crucible with just me and Shaun.”
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