At the 2026 World Snooker Championship, Shaun Murphy battled into the second round after edging Fan Zhengyi 10-9 in a gripping contest that went all the way to a deciding frame. The 2005 world champion later described the match-winning half-century in the final frame as the finest break he has ever produced at the Crucible.
Murphy started strongly, leading 2-0 and 3-1, but Fan fought back to level at 3-3. From there, the two players traded frames throughout a tense and evenly matched encounter. Murphy’s standout contribution earlier in the match was a superb 140 total clearance the only century of the contest which helped him take a narrow lead into the final session. However, he struggled to shake off his resilient opponent.
The deciding frame was full of drama, with Fan looking likely to clinch victory at different points. A crucial miss on a difficult red into the middle pocket proved costly, allowing Murphy to seize control and compile a composed break down to the pink to secure the win.
Murphy also had to deal with an unusual disruption when the arena lights flickered during a shot in the 17th frame, briefly halting play. Despite that, he held his nerve to close out the match and set up a second-round clash with Xiao Guodong, who defeated Zhou Yuelong 10-6.
In another match, Judd Trump advanced with a 10-5 victory over Gary Wilson, despite not being at his best. The turning point came when Trump, trailing 4-2 and needing a snooker, managed to steal the frame and shift momentum. He carried that into the evening session with a 5-4 lead and gradually pulled away.
Wilson made a promising start to the final session with a break of 58, but Trump responded strongly, producing key contributions of 71 and 69 to wrap up the match. One of the highlights was an inventive escape from a snooker, where Trump used the jaws of a pocket to regain safety from a difficult position.
Trump will now face the winner of the match between Si Jiahui and Hossein Vafaei in the next round.
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