Shaun Murphy triumphs at the Masters a decade after winning his first title… as the ‘in shock’ snooker star beats world champion Kyren Wilson 10-7
A decade after he conjured up his first Masters title, the man they call The Magician repeated the trick on Sunday night.
Shaun Murphy has been in spellbinding form all week at Alexandra Palace, hitting a 147 maximum break in Saturday’s semi-final. And the eighth seed waved his magic wand again in Sunday’s final, hitting four centuries to beat world champion Kyren Wilson 10-7 and win the Masters for a second time.
It was Murphy’s first Triple Crown triumph since his maiden victory at Ally Pally in 2015. And the Peter Ebdon-coached Englishman will now fancy his chances of claiming a second world title at the Crucible in May, 20 years after he famously won as a qualifier.
‘I am in shock, I thought my days at the business end of these big events was gone,’ admitted the 42-year-old, who is the fourth oldest winner of the Masters and collects a tournament record cheque of £350,000.
‘Peter Ebdon has helped remind me that I used to be quite good at this. There is life in the old dog yet. The win here in 2015 was big, but this win is as big, if not bigger. It’s been an incredible week.
‘I go to the Crucible with renewed optimism, hoping to be in the mix.’
Shaun Murphy secured victory in the Masters as he managed to overcome Kyren Wilson
Wilson was unable to prevent Murphy winning, with his opponent hitting four centuries
It was Murphy’s first Triple Crown triumph since his maiden victory at Ally Pally in 2015
Murphy has been the standout player throughout the Masters’ 50th anniversary tournament, registering an incredible 100 per cent success rate on pots with the rest.
In just his second final of the season, he raced into a 6-2 lead against second seed Wilson in Sunday afternoon session, finishing with breaks of 134 and 116.
Murphy hit a 125 in the second frame of the evening and was 8-4 ahead at the mid-session interval. But Wilson then showed why he is nicknamed The Warrior by winning three straight frames to move within one of his opponent at 8-7.
Murphy, though, stopped the rot with a battling break of 55 and then clinched the Paul Hunter Trophy in the next frame with another century, bringing the 2,200 fans inside Ally Pally to their feet.
