Masters and British Open Champion Shaun Murphy narrowly escaped a major upset in the second round of the International Championship in Nanjing, edging out 14-year-old qualifier Wang Xinzhong in a nail-biting final frame decider.
The young prodigy had already turned heads by defeating women’s world champions Bai Yulu and seasoned pro Robbie Williams to secure his spot in the second round of the competition. Despite Yulu achieving the highest ever break by a woman in a ranking event with a 145, the teenage sensation still managed to clinch the win.
Wang continued to make waves in his first-round victory over Williams. He brushed aside the Englishman with a decisive 6-1 triumph to advance to the second round.
Unsurprisingly, former world champion Murphy entered the match as the clear favourite, swiftly securing the first three frames. However, Wang rallied, winning five of the next six frames to bring the score to 5-4 and teetering on the brink of a major upset.
Ultimately, breaks of 72 and 89 over the final two frames allowed Murphy to secure his place in the last 32, where he will face off against Elliot Selssor. Post-match, Murphy was full of praise for his young opponent, predicting a bright future for the teenager.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Murphy told the World Snooker Tour. “I was good at 14. Ronnie [O’Sullivan] was good at 14, as were many others. I think that young man may well be the best 14-year-old I’ve ever seen.
“He has everything. I kept waiting for him to crack but he played like someone who has 20 titles and doesn’t have a care in the world. I think I’ve just seen the future of snooker. Unbelievable.
“I turned professional at 15 so I knew you couldn’t take any liberties with anybody. Especially someone who has beaten the women’s world champion and Robbie Williams.
“I missed two or three balls of any consequence in the whole match. I somehow found myself 5-4 down against someone playing snooker from the gods.”
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan secured his spot by defeating Sanderson Lam 6-2. He is set to face Jack Lisowski in the subsequent round. Other players advancing include Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong, Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby.
Trump triumphed over Matthew Stevens 6-3, while Xintong defeated Fan Zhengyi 6-3. Defending champion Junhui bested Michael Holt 6-1, and Higgins claimed a 6-2 victory over Oliver Lines.