Shaun Murphy crafted a magnificent 147 break as he came from behind to beat Mark Allen 6-3 and secure his place in the Masters final at Alexandra Palace.
After a nervous start from both players, each missing routine reds into the bottom corner, it was Allen, tournament winner in 2018, who eventually built a couple of solid breaks which proved enough to take the opening frame.
Some more solid scoring and safety play from the Northern Irishman saw him extend his lead before Murphy got a frame on the board with a break of 66 to reduce the deficit.
A long red helped set 2015 champion Murphy on his way to a run of 83 as he levelled the match at 2-2 heading into the mid-session interval.
On the resumption, Murphy did not allow his momentum to be checked by an appearance from the Alexandra Palace wasp, going on to complete the turnaround and lead 3-2 helped by a break of 54.
‘The Magician’ had missed a maximum attempt during his 6-2 win over Neil Robertson on Thursday, having snookered himself behind the blue when on 120.
There was, though, no prospect of letting another opportunity slip as Murphy maintained perfect position as he picked off three tricky reds around the pink spot.
Murphy then confidently knocked in the colours off their spots to complete only the sixth 147 break in the history of the Masters – and give himself every chance of taking home the £15,000 prize for the tournament’s highest break.
Once the dust had settled from the celebrations, with the crowd on their feet, world number four Allen dug in to make a half-century and pick up the seventh frame, reducing the arrears at 4-3.
Any hopes of a comeback, though, were soon dispelled as Murphy made 72 to take the next.
Murphy then secured a place in the final against either world number one Judd Trump or world champion Kyren Wilson after taking the ninth frame 63-49 following a safety battle.
“I can’t believe it. It was an incredible moment, one of the best of my snooker career,” Murphy told BBC Sport.
“I have wanted to make a 147 in one of the BBC events since I was a child.
“I had a great opportunity the other day and totally messed it up. I had great support from the crowd, who were absolutely amazing.”
