Shaun Murphy came from 7-6 down to beat Anthony McGill 10-7 in a high quality final to win the Unibet British Open for the first time and his first ranking title in 26 months.
Murphy stepped up a gear in the last four frames of an intriguing contest which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 60. The 43-year-old Englishman receives the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000, landing his first ranking crown since the 2023 Championship League.
Fearing that his career on the baize was on the slide, Murphy began work with fellow former World Champion Peter Ebdon last year, and that partnership has paid dividends as he won the Johnstone’s Paint Masters in January and has now added more silverware to his collection. He moves on to 13 ranking titles in all, one ahead of Mark Allen into tenth place on his own in the all-time list.
Murphy had a tough draw in Cheltenham, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to reach the final, but proved his enduring class with a series of excellent displays. He becomes the first player to complete the ‘grand slam’ of ITV-televised events having previous won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions. Moving from 16th to 12th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, he is up to fourth on the Sportsbet.io One-Year list.
Victory for McGill would have been the biggest triumph of his career – though he has previously won the Indian Open and the Shoot Out – and he looked composed at 7-6 ahead. But the contest slipped away from him and he had to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize. Having struggled with his game over the past three years and fallen to 57th in the world, this is a much-needed boost for the Scot and he jumps back to 45th.
Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Murphy started strongly with a break of 78 to take the opening frame tonight. Ahead for the first time, the Englishman had another scoring chance in frame ten, but missed the black to a top corner on 15 and McGill responded with a run of 81 for 5-5. In the 11th, Murphy once again missed the black to corner when he led 37-0, and McGill took advantage with a break of 77.
Frame 12 was in the balance until McGill, leading 32-31, missed a long pot on the fourth-last red and Murphy added the points he needed to square the tie. After the interval, McGill’s run of 73 put him 7-6 ahead and he was among the balls early in frame 14 but failed to pot the pink to centre and Murphy restored parity again with a 76. McGill led 30-0 in the 15th when he ran out of position and missed a tough red to a baulk corner, letting Murphy in for a run of 72 which proved enough for 8-7.
Leading 34-0 in frame 16, Murphy converted a clever cross double on a red to centre, creating the chance for a break of 66 to go two up with three to play. McGill was on 43 in the next when he overcut a red to top corner, and he was later out-foxed in a safety exchange on the last red. Murphy slotted the red into a top corner to initiate the winning clearance.
“When you haven’t been in a ranking final for a long time, I was grateful for the opportunity and so pleased that my game was there today when I needed it,” said Murphy. “I have a great team behind me who help me so much, when I am not feeling 100 per cent they push me on. For it all to come together today is extremely rewarding. Having Peter Ebdon in my corner was invaluable because he has done it himself so he understands how I am feeling out there.
“I have been watching the likes of Trump, Selby and Robertson winning multiple titles in a season and I would like to get back to that level. I still think I am dangerous on my day, as I have proved this week so I just need to add consistency. I’ll be back on the practice table tomorrow.
“I have to give Anthony credit because he is so tough to beat, I respect him so much as a player and I’m sure there will be more titles for him in the future.”
McGill said: “I felt like the stronger player all day. I’m not sure what happened towards the end, I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just didn’t seem to participate in the last few frames. Shaun is a quality player. I have got my ranking back up so there are some positives, I feel a lot better about my game.”
Article by WST.
The post Murphy Is Best Of British appeared first on WPBSA.
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Murphy stepped up a gear in the last four frames of an intriguing contest which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 60. The 43-year-old Englishman receives the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000, landing his first ranking crown since the 2023 Championship League.

Fearing that his career on the baize was on the slide, Murphy began work with fellow former World Champion Peter Ebdon last year, and that partnership has paid dividends as he won the Johnstone’s Paint Masters in January and has now added more silverware to his collection. He moves on to 13 ranking titles in all, one ahead of Mark Allen into tenth place on his own in the all-time list.
Murphy had a tough draw in Cheltenham, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to reach the final, but proved his enduring class with a series of excellent displays. He becomes the first player to complete the ‘grand slam’ of ITV-televised events having previous won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions. Moving from 16th to 12th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, he is up to fourth on the Sportsbet.io One-Year list.
Victory for McGill would have been the biggest triumph of his career – though he has previously won the Indian Open and the Shoot Out – and he looked composed at 7-6 ahead. But the contest slipped away from him and he had to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize. Having struggled with his game over the past three years and fallen to 57th in the world, this is a much-needed boost for the Scot and he jumps back to 45th.
Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Murphy started strongly with a break of 78 to take the opening frame tonight. Ahead for the first time, the Englishman had another scoring chance in frame ten, but missed the black to a top corner on 15 and McGill responded with a run of 81 for 5-5. In the 11th, Murphy once again missed the black to corner when he led 37-0, and McGill took advantage with a break of 77.
Frame 12 was in the balance until McGill, leading 32-31, missed a long pot on the fourth-last red and Murphy added the points he needed to square the tie. After the interval, McGill’s run of 73 put him 7-6 ahead and he was among the balls early in frame 14 but failed to pot the pink to centre and Murphy restored parity again with a 76. McGill led 30-0 in the 15th when he ran out of position and missed a tough red to a baulk corner, letting Murphy in for a run of 72 which proved enough for 8-7.
Leading 34-0 in frame 16, Murphy converted a clever cross double on a red to centre, creating the chance for a break of 66 to go two up with three to play. McGill was on 43 in the next when he overcut a red to top corner, and he was later out-foxed in a safety exchange on the last red. Murphy slotted the red into a top corner to initiate the winning clearance.
“When you haven’t been in a ranking final for a long time, I was grateful for the opportunity and so pleased that my game was there today when I needed it,” said Murphy. “I have a great team behind me who help me so much, when I am not feeling 100 per cent they push me on. For it all to come together today is extremely rewarding. Having Peter Ebdon in my corner was invaluable because he has done it himself so he understands how I am feeling out there.
“I have been watching the likes of Trump, Selby and Robertson winning multiple titles in a season and I would like to get back to that level. I still think I am dangerous on my day, as I have proved this week so I just need to add consistency. I’ll be back on the practice table tomorrow.
“I have to give Anthony credit because he is so tough to beat, I respect him so much as a player and I’m sure there will be more titles for him in the future.”
McGill said: “I felt like the stronger player all day. I’m not sure what happened towards the end, I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just didn’t seem to participate in the last few frames. Shaun is a quality player. I have got my ranking back up so there are some positives, I feel a lot better about my game.”
Article by WST.
The post Murphy Is Best Of British appeared first on WPBSA.
Continue reading...