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Shaun Murphy Beats John Higgins 17-15 to Advance to World Snooker Championship Final
Shaun Murphy secured a 17-15 victory over John Higgins in the World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, reaching his fifth final. The match featured high breaks and a comeback from Murphy, who won four consecutive frames from 15-13 down. In the other semi-final, Wu Yize and Mark Allen are tied at 11-11 heading into their final session.
May 2, 1:58 PM·3m read2 sources
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Shaun Murphy defeated John Higgins 17-15 in the World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, advancing to his fifth World Championship final. Murphy, the world number eight, overcame a 13-11 overnight deficit and reeled off four consecutive frames from 15-13 down to secure the win.
He opened the final session with breaks of 132 and 127, followed by a third century break and a 78 break that helped seal his victory.
The match, a best-of-33 encounter, resumed with Murphy trailing. Higgins, a four-time world champion who turns 51 later this month, won the 27th frame scrappily and made an 88 break to briefly restore a two-frame lead. In the 31st frame, Murphy won after misses by both players, and in the nerve-shredding 32nd frame, Higgins broke down on 50 while Murphy missed a red with the rest before clinching the frame.
Murphy won his first World Championship title 21 years ago in 2005 and has finished as runner-up in three previous finals, including a 18-9 loss to Higgins in the 2009 final. 'I am over the moon. I am exhausted.
I was in a match with John, four sessions, a world semi-final, it does not get much more difficult than that,' Murphy said. He added: 'I knew I needed a good start and two centuries off the bat was good. Murphy continued: 'I knew I had to go to the well again.
I knew I had done it once and could do it again. John Parrott, the 1991 world champion, stated: 'What character Shaun Murphy has shown. We quite rightly always talk about John Higgins' character - Shaun has shown plenty in that match.
