The 2026 German Masters – Day 4

Here is the report shared by WST on what happened in Berlin on day 4 at the 2026 German Masters:

Machineseeker German Masters Day Four

Shaun Murphy continued his quest for a maiden Machineseeker German Masters title with a blistering 5-0 victory against Mark Allen in Berlin.

The Magician is a former losing finalist, at the hands of Mark Selby, in 2015. However, since then he’s failed to reach the title match. Victory here this week would be particularly meaningful for Murphy.

The trophy is named after his close friend Brandon Parker, who sadly passed away in 2020. Parker played an instrumental role in bringing snooker to Berlin working as a tournament promotor for the German Masters and making the event what it is today.

The signs heading into this week weren’t hugely encouraging for 13-time ranking event winner Murphy. He exited the Masters in the opening round of his title defence earlier this month and afterwards admitted the 6-2 loss against Wu Yize hit him hard.

However, today was the 2005 World Champion at his imperious best. Breaks of 125, 74, 75 and 62 helped him to victory and booked a mouth watering quarter-final with recently crowned Masters champion Kyren Wilson.

“5-0 wins over Mark Allen don’t come along every day. It was a really good match, certainly from my point of view. I thought the conditions caught us both out. It was the quickest table I’ve ever played on in my life. Controlling the cue ball isn’t always easy. Mark missed a few shots and that gave me the chance to get used to the speed quicker,” said 43-year-old Murphy.

“I was very disappointed after the Masters, not just because of the loss but how I played. It was totally inexplicable. My preparation was second to none and I worked very hard on my game. I’ve come here this week feeling the same as I did for Ally Pally but thankfully I’ve strung a few wins together.

“It would be very special to win this week. We all remember Brandon and the contribution he made to snooker. He is sorely missed. It would be lovely to take the Brandon Parker Trophy home. There are some great players left in the tournament. I won’t be getting ahead of myself just yet.”

Defending champion Wilson came from 2-0 down to beat Zhang Anda 5-2 and earn his spot in the last eight.

Wilson lifted the title here at the Tempodrom last year after a thrilling 10-9 win over Barry Hawkins in the final. He needs another significant run this week. With two events to go, he is currently outside of the qualifying spots for the Sportsbet.io Players Championship, where he is hoping to defend his title.

Only the top 16 on the Sportsbet.io One one-year-list earn a place in Telford and Wilson’s two big wins this season, at the Shanghai Masters and the Masters, were invitational tournaments.

Wilson said: “I’m definitely chasing the points. That is for sure. There is a little bit of pressure on me this week. I’m coping well so far. It will be a tough game with Shaun. He is a great player and a great champion.“

Neil Robertson thrashed Ishpreet Singh Chadha 5-0 and now faces former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson, who was a 5-2 victor against former Crucible finalist Jak Jones.

World number one Judd Trump emerged a 5-2 victor against two-time ranking finalist Si Jiahui and now faces Xiao Guodong, who overcame John Higgins 5-3 with the clock beyond midnight.

Ali Carter prevailed 5-0 against Xu Si and faces fellow Essex cueman Stuart Bingham after his 5-2 defeat of Tom Ford.

All the detailed results are available on snooker.org.

I will admit to it… I didn’t watch any of the action. My heart wasn’t in it. Not because Ronnie is out, because the mentality of some so-called “fans”. In sport, no matter who you are, there is no “divine right to win” and giving it your best on the day is no guarantee for success¹. Also, every (sports)person has good and bad days, and, alas, as the (sports)person ages bad days occur more often. It’s the natural course of things… and not just in sport BTW, in life in general which is why I put those parenthesis in the previous sentence. Generally, we do not know what happens in other people’s life and, therefore, we should refrain to judge. Losing a snooker match is hardly “murder” …

But back to the topic of the day. Shaun will always bring back the memories about Brandon Parker and remind everyone what Brandon did for the sport in mainland Europe. I had the privilege to get to know Brandon, to travel to tournaments with him and Shaun. These were mainly exhibition tournaments in mainland Europe, and a good few of them were held in Germany. That’s how Brandon “discovered” the Tempodrom. He immediately saw its potential. On the next exhibition event Brandon organised there he invited Jason Ferguson who saw that potential too, and felt the very special atmosphere of that unique arena … that’s how it started and it’s only right that the trophy is named after Brandon.