Shaun Murphy stormed into the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters with a 6-2 victory over Neil Robertson, but passed up the chance to make his first 147 in a Triple Crown event.
Murphy came so close to the perfect finish to a tremendous match, as in the eighth and final frame he potted 15 reds with blacks, chasing the ninth maximum of his career and first in a major. But in potting the 15th black he left himself behind the blue, snookered on the yellow, and the chance was gone.
“It was just a terrible mistake to leave the cue ball behind the blue,” he said. “Almost anywhere on the table except there would have been fine. It was such a good chance. At the start of the season, making a 147 in a Triple Crown event was one of my goals. To get so close, I’m gutted.”
Still, that was the only blemish on an outstanding performance from the 2005 World and 2015 Masters champion as he booked a semi-final with Mark Allen or Mark Selby on Saturday afternoon.
World number seven Murphy hasn’t won a title since the 2023 Championship League but has come close this season, notably reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters and semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. The 42-year-old is now into a seventh Masters semi-final with his sights set on the £350,000 top prize.
Robertson had first chance in the opening frame but ran out of position on 35 and Murphy punished him with a superb 90 clearance. A break of 79 helped Robertson level but Murphy dominated the next two with 49 and 67 for 3-1.
In frame five, Robertson was on 66 with five reds left when he was unlucky to lose position when splitting the cluster, and he later mid-cued attempting safety, which handed Murphy the chance to clear with 66 for 4-1. World number 20 Robertson hit back with 108, but a missed pink to centre early in frame seven proved costly as Murphy took advantage with 82 for 5-2. And his 147 attempt ended on 120 but still Murphy received a huge ovation from the Alexandra Palace crowd.
Murphy added: “I was very strong in all departments today. I must give Neil credit because when you play someone of his class, you have to play really well to stand a chance, so I was in the right frame of mind. I remember as an 11-year-old going to the Masters at Wembley Conference Centre, I said to my friend “do you think I’ll ever get to play here?” Ally Pally is better, it’s a dream come true to walk down those stairs.
“My game has been going in the right direction, something good is coming for me, whether it’s this week or next week or next month. As long as I am here I am dangerous.“
Australia’s Robertson, a late replacement in the field when Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled out, said: “Both of us played fantastic out there. When two of us are playing that well, small margins can make the difference. I missed the pink to middle at 4-2, that’s all I can think of in terms of unforced errors. I just take my hat off to Shaun for how good he was. I felt as if I could go all the way and win the event. It was a real shame for everyone watching that Shaun didn’t make the 147. Even if he had left himself a shot with the rest on the yellow, he is so good with the rest you would fancy him potting it.“
It was indeed an excellent match, very entertaining and played in great spirit. I enjoyed it as, I’m sure, did the lucky fans who were sat in the arena for that session.
I’m not sure the same can’t be said about the evening match… It certainly was high quality; some of the safety battles were incredible, but it was close to one thirty in the morning at my place when it finished and I was probably far too tired to be able to appreciate that kind of snooker. Anyway, here is the report shared by WST:
Mark Allen showed his tactical intelligence as he won a succession of close frames to beat Mark Selby 6-2 and reach the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters.
In recent seasons Allen has developed into one of the best all-round competitors in the sport and he showed that at Alexandra Palace on Thursday evening as he outfoxed Selby to reach the last four of this event for the fifth time. The Northern Irishman will face Shaun Murphy on Saturday afternoon and is just two wins away from becoming a multiple Masters champion having first lifted the trophy in 2018.
The pair had met three times before in this event and all three had gone to a deciding frame, Selby winning the first two before Allen gained revenge last year. This time, the scoreline was emphatic in Allen’s favour, though Selby failed to take opportunities to make it much closer and the three-time winner has not reached the semi-finals since 2014.
“Mark is probably the best player of all time when it comes to safety,” said Allen, winner of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship four weeks ago. “But that’s probably the first time I feel I have dictated play against him. Especially on the safety side – I felt I was better than him, aside from the few bits of luck I had. That’s a real positive for me to take forward.“
World number four Allen took a 2-1 lead with breaks of 81 and 104, sandwiching an 88 from Selby in frame two. In frame four, which lasted 58 minutes, Selby led 71-8 but couldn’t finish the job and Allen battled back, eventually snatching it by clearing from the last red. It was a similar story in the fifth as Allen out-maneuvered his opponent in an exchange on the last red and took advantage for 4-1.
Frame six ended with 11 minutes of cat-and-mouse on the final black, resolved when Selby went for a cross double and was unlucky to leave the black over a top corner for Allen to extend his lead. Selby pulled one back with a run of 80, but Allen made a 59 in frame eight and eventually got over the line by converting a thin snick on the final yellow to a centre pocket and adding the points he needed.
“The fourth frame was the big one because I had no right to win it, the way the balls were sitting,” added 38-year-old Allen. “I am much happier with my game than I was a few months ago. There is still room for improvement and I slipped into a few bad habits tonight. But in general there is a lot of good stuff and I’m feeling upbeat. I am buzzing for the semi-final, the atmosphere gets better every round.”
Selby said: “If I had won the fourth frame for 2-2 I was right in the match. After that I felt I was chasing the game. Mark won all of the close frames. A few times I thought he had stuck balls over the hole but they finished safe. But he took his chances better than I did.“
The fourth frame was indeed crucial.
Somehow this match reminded me of the match of the 2013 semi-final that Mark Selby won, beating Graeme Dott by 6-5, well past midnight1. It was a safety masterclass by Selby, but it wasn’t pretty and that’s a serious understatement. Ally Pally is a rather isolated place and it was snowing heavily. All around the arena, people started getting up and leaving mid-frame. They had enough of it. It was cold and damp in the venue. Many feared that they would be blocked in their cars by the snow. Others didn’t want to risk missing the bus, the next one might never come, again because of the snow. The media stood put. After the match, Graeme was incensed. “Surely he can’t enjoy playing this way, can he?” was his assessment of his opponent game. When the last press interview was over, we discovered that the venue had been locked with us inside. It was dark and cold everywhere. We had to find the security guy on night duty to be able to leave… And then I started trudging in the snow, through the blizzard … with all my heavy photo equipment. Ahead of me was a deserted park. I wasn’t afraid … surely even hooligans wouldn’t stay out in this weather, he?2 But what about stray dogs? I was freezing and it wasn’t a pretty prospect. Eventually I was saved by Tryggvi Erlingsson who was on his way to his hotel, in his car, and spotted me on the side of the road… I’m eternally grateful! I still caught the mother of colds that night though…
Ronnie O'Sullivan 