Snooker English Open: Murphy v Trump -flukefest required epic decider

The marathon matches at the snooker English Open continued late on Friday night, as Judd Trump went head-to-head against Shaun Murphy in the final quarter-final. The best of 11 match went all the way to a decider, where Murphy managed to finally grind his opponent down.

It was a tightly contested affair throughout, as neither player managed to eek out an advantage bigger than a single frame. However, Murphy seemed to be on top of things mostly, even if Trump did manage two century breaks of 110 and 112. Despite those great breaks it took a hefty slice of luck to keep Trump in this one, with three miraculous flukes going his way across the match.

Murphy collected one century break himself during the match, but it was his break of 67 in the decider that proved most crucial. Even that was nearly not enough against Trump who had lady luck on his side, as when needing three snookers, Murphy somehow managed to drop the pink ball in.

This and a snooker of his own making meant the former world number one only needed one snooker to be back in the frame, but finally the coupe de grace was provided by Murphy in the form of a fabulous long pot on the green to seal the frame and the match.

- The things that happen on a snooker table, of course I snag the pink like that in the decider, Murphy sighed with relief after the match.

- I've been playing with practically a new cue as I made changes to it recently. This is now the fourth tip on this one, and I'm feeling like my equipment is letting me down. In that context this win feels like one of the best ones in my career, Murphy gathered his thoughts after all his troubles.

The English Open continues tomorrow with the semi-finals, which take place at 13 and 19 UK time.

Below are all the results from snooker's English Open quarter-finals.





Source: TNT Sports