Shaun Murphy nearly breaks Ronnie O’Sullivan’s world record in extraordinary Xi’an whitewash win

Shaun Murphy nearly breaks Ronnie O’Sullivan’s world record in extraordinary Xi’an whitewash win

 

 

In a stunning display of dominance at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix, Shaun Murphy delivered what many are already calling one of the finest whitewash performances in modern snooker — and came agonisingly close to rewriting the record books.

Facing Kyren Wilson in the last‑16 stage, Murphy completely shut out the reigning world champion, running up 533 unanswered points in a clean 5–0 victory. Wilson failed to pot a single ball during the match, with his only points coming from a foul by Murphy in the final frame. The sheer magnitude of the streak placed Murphy third on the all‑time list for most points in a professional match without reply.

The benchmark he nearly eclipsed belongs to snooker’s great showman, Ronnie O’Sullivan, who holds the record with 556 unanswered points (vs Ricky Walden in the 2014 Masters). Not far behind O’Sullivan (and ahead of Murphy’s tally) is Stuart Bingham, with 547 points in a 2016 China Open streak. Murphy needed only another 24 points to match O’Sullivan’s mark, but his chance slipped away when he snookered himself on the last red and elected to snick the pink, giving Wilson the only points he scored.

What made the performance even more remarkable was not just the points tally, but the consistency and architectural quality of Murphy’s break-building. Over the five frames, he compiled breaks of 74, 141, 133, 84, and 84. Such precision left Wilson with no foothold, no opportunity to wrest momentum. Commentators and viewers alike hailed the match as “snooker from the gods” — a phrase Wilson’s own brother used — and suggested that Murphy was firing at an almost superhuman level.

In post‑match reflections, Murphy admitted he was surprised by just how well it all came together. “That’s pretty much as good as I’ve ever played,” he said, calling the match perhaps the best best‑of‑nine he’d ever contested. He credited years of practice, mental alignment, and confidence gained from recent form. Meanwhile, TNT Sports commentator David Hendon praised Murphy’s utter dominance, noting that Wilson “didn’t get a look-in” until the final frame’s error.

With that win, Murphy advanced to the quarter-finals, where he was set to face Ding Junhui. More broadly, the performance reinforced that Murphy — though older than many of his peers — remains a force to be reckoned with, capable on his day of producing near‑legendary displays.

This match will long be remembered not only as a whitewash of a defending champion, but as a moment when Murphy almost toppled one of the most enduring records in snooker — and, in doing so, reminded everyone that brilliance can still show up in full light, even against the game’s greatest.