Shaun Murphy is one step away from securing his second World Snooker Championship title, 21 years after his first, after a thrilling 17-15 victory over John Higgins in the semi-final at the Crucible Theatre.
Murphy's resilience shines through
The 43-year-old Englishman twice overcame a two-frame deficit in the final session to overcome the 50-year-old Scot in a tense contest that looked destined for a deciding frame until Higgins missed a crucial black on a break of 50. That error allowed Murphy to clear to the black and seal his place in his fifth Crucible final.
Murphy told the BBC: "I just came out today knowing if I got my chances I could score. At the interval I was just saying to myself, 'you've done it before, now you can do it again.' But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out there the tougher he gets and the better he plays. If I'm half the player when I'm in my 50s, I'll be very proud."
Resuming the final session 13-11 behind, Murphy started with two total clearances to level the match. However, Higgins responded by winning the next two frames to restore his two-frame lead. Murphy's fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval, and as Higgins began to miss some easy balls, Murphy won the last four frames in a row to secure victory.
Higgins pays tribute
Higgins, a four-time world champion, paid tribute to Murphy: "The way Shaun hit the ball in that session was incredible. He just hits it like God. I'm disappointed but what can you do. As you get older your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match, but take nothing away, Shaun was awesome and he's got a great chance of going on to win it for a second time."
Murphy will face either Mark Allen or Wu Yize in the final. Their semi-final resumed on Saturday evening after the morning session ended at 11-11, with Wu producing three centuries including two breaks of at least 140, while Allen responded with knocks of 99 and 85. The match was a stark contrast to Friday's farcical 14th frame, which became the longest in Crucible history after eight reds covered the black over the bottom right corner pocket, prompting former champion Steve Davis to call it "an embarrassment to snooker."
