Obdurate Selby grinds down doughty Murphy

WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
THE CRUCIBLE • 2-3 MAY
[4] MARK SELBY 18-15 SHAUN MURPHY [7]

[1]	3-5	Sun 1pm 49-57, 46-67, 68-65 (65 SM), 89-7 (89), 0-75 (75), 66-1, 8-71 (64), 54-80 (52 SM)
[2]	7-2	Sun 7pm 85-49 (85), 0-98 (98), 72-34 (67), 107-0 (86), 34-97 (64), 109-0 (57), 90-34 (90), 88-4, 69-26
[3]	4-4	Mon 1pm 4-84 (77), 69-58 (62), 41-69, 134-0 (107), 104-14 (54, 50), 1-100 (100), 0-108 (56), 131-0 (62, 69)
[4]	4-4	Mon 7pm 70-28 (66), 48-73, 108-0 (68), 11-79 (58), 120-0 (120), 0-100 (100), 8-126 (103), 71-57

MARK SELBY held off a valiant attempt at a comeback by Shaun Murphy to win a fourth world snooker title at the Crucible on Bank Holiday Monday.

Resuming the second day of the Final trailing by three frames at 10-7 down, Murphy made a quick start with a 77 break to win the 18th. 

Murphy also looked like adding the 19th to close the gap to just one after getting a snooker on the final blue before fluking it and getting the better of a safety battle on the pink. 

Agonisingly, though, the black - rolled dead-weight towards the pocket - stayed out and in the jaws, allowing Selby to clip it in and win the frame. 

In fairness to Murphy, he did well to recover immediately from that disappointment by taking the 20th frame before Selby produced the first century of the contest in the next with a well-taken 107.

The ton meant that the first four frames of the day had been split - and that, at 12-9, Murphy had failed to make any sort of in-roads into the granite Selby lead. 

For sure, Harlow potter Murphy had tried to make headway in front of a boisterous capacity crowd at the Crucible - but putting a series of frames together was proving difficult for the 2005 champion.

Instead, it was Selby who threatened to pull away when he took the 22nd frame to stretch his lead to four for the first time. 

Murphy responded to that with his first century of the match - and took the next frame as well - to set up a mammoth last segment of the session. 

Selby knew he was guaranteed a lead heading into the evening - but the two possible scores, 13-12 and 14-11, would look and feel rather different. 

Ultimately, Selby ensured he departed the afternoon still holding the three-frame advantage with which he had entered it, as two long reds set up breaks of 62 and 69. 

In the first and third frames of the evening, the Leicester man twice opened his lead back to four, only for Murphy to strike back immediately on both occasions. 

Nevertheless, Selby was well aware that if the players merely continued to exchange frames in the way that they were, he would get over the finish line first. 

In the fifth frame of the night, and 30th in the match, Selby went four clear for a fourth time with a 120 break to put himself just a single frame away from a fourth world title. 

But Murphy - who had already belied a complete lack of form heading into the tournament by getting to the Final - was not about to go down without a fight. 

A quick-fire 100 break was followed by a brilliant 110 as Murphy cleared up to make the 108th century of the championships, a total which easily surpassed the previous best of 100 in 2019.

Better still for Murphy, Selby had finally started to show some nerves - he had snatched at a long red to allow Murphy in for the second of those centuries. 

At 17-15 with the time ticking beyond 10pm, the crowd sensed there may still yet be a finish to match the Crucible drama of years long since past. 

But a scrappy 33rd frame suited Selby down to the ground - and, though Murphy had the first opportunity at a difficult final red, he again left it in the jaws of the pocket. 

Selby cleared up to restore a three-frame margin yet again - except this time there would be no further chances for Murphy to catch up. 

In the end, Murphy only lost one of the four sessions - but he lost it badly, going down 7-2 on Sunday night to leave him with his overnight deficit. 

And, even the first session, which Murphy actually won 5-3, will be the lingering source of irritation for him. 

After all, the Magician had managed to get an ideal start by taking the first two frames of the match - and, though both players demonstrated some impressive long potting and safety play, neither of them were at their best among the balls in the early stages.

Murphy really needed to have built up a bigger lead over a slack Selby that afternoon - but, at just two behind, the latter could make sure the evening session was played on his own terms. 

By the mid-session interval, Murphy's early lead had been swallowed up - and, after the players returned, Selby was in his element, bogging frames down and taking the last four of the night. 

The last two of those were particularly painful to watch with Selby regularly taking 90 seconds per shot, and sometimes over two minutes. 

Selby had already been warned by the match referee for taking too long on his shots when he used well over three minutes to line up an effort in his semi final victory over Stuart Bingham.

And it is not as if this is an unusual occurrence with Selby. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan often has good reason to refer to Selby as the Torturer - and he once took over six minutes to make a shot in a match against John Higgins in the 2019 Northern Ireland Open. 

For context, O'Sullivan compiled his famous maximum break at the Crucible in 1997 in a time of five minutes 20 seconds. 

Returning to the semi final against Bingham - and, unsurprisingly, Selby's decision to carry on when needing five snookers in the last frame of the Friday evening session also caused a fair deal of opprobrium. 

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Selby v Bingham contest became the first Crucible semi final to fail to be completed inside the four scheduled sessions. 

For sure, it came across as a case of sour grapes from Bingham when he suggested some of the play from Selby was on the verge of gamesmanship - but the Essex potter is certainly not alone in holding that opinion. 

Of course, Selby did not deserve to be heckled and booed during his walk-on in the Final - and the complexities of snooker mean that it will always attract a variety of different styles. 

The truth is, though, that Selby could win the next three World Snooker Championships at the Crucible to go level with Stephen Hendry on seven - and he still would not be a particularly fondly regarded player.

In fairness, it is not something which appears to bother him too much - indeed, he seems to revel in bogging matches down.

But, at a time when the appeal of snooker to future generations is being openly questioned by world number one Judd Trump, a sustained period of Selby success could prove fatal to the long-term prospects of the game. 

Certainly, beating Selby on the baize is a difficult task. Unfortunately for snooker, watching Selby on the baize is immeasurably harder still. 

WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
THE CRUCIBLE • EARLIER RESULTS

FIRST ROUND [Best of 19 frames]

	[1]	Ronnie O'Sullivan	10-4	Mark Joyce
	[16]	Anthony McGill	10-5	Ricky Walden
	[9]	Ding Junhui	9-10	Stuart Bingham
	[8]	Stephen Maguire	4-10	Jamie Jones

	[5]	John Higgins	10-7	Tian Pengfei
	[12]	Mark Williams	10-4	Sam Craigie
	[13]	Mark Allen	10-2	Lyu Haotian
	[4]	Mark Selby	10-1	Kurt Maflin

	[3]	Neil Robertson	10-3	Liang Wenbo
	[14]	Jack Lisowski	10-9	Ali Carter
	[11]	Barry Hawkins	10-3	Matthew Selt
	[6]	Kyren Wilson	10-8	Gary Wilson

	[7]	Shaun Murphy	10-7	Mark Davis
	[10]	Yan Bingtao	10-6	Martin Gould
	[15]	David Gilbert	10-4	Chris Wakelin
	[2]	Judd Trump	10-4	Liam Highfield

SECOND ROUND [Best of 25 frames]

	[1]	Ronnie O'Sullivan	12-13	Anthony McGill	[16]
		Stuart Bingham	13-6	Jamie Jones
	[5]	John Higgins	7-13	Mark Williams	[12]
	[13]	Mark Allen	7-13	Mark Selby	[4]

	[3]	Neil Robertson	13-9	Jack Lisowski	[14]
	[11]	Barry Hawkins	10-13	Kyren Wilson	[6]
	[7]	Shaun Murphy	13-7	Yan Bingtao	[10]
	[15]	David Gilbert	8-13	Judd Trump	[2]

QUARTER FINALS [Best of 25 frames]

	[16]	Anthony McGill	12-13	Stuart Bingham
	[12]	Mark Williams	3-13	Mark Selby	[4]
	[3]	Neil Robertson	8-13	Kyren Wilson	[6]
	[7]	Shaun Murphy	13-11	Judd Trump	[2]

SEMI FINALS [Best of 33 frames] 

		Stuart Bingham	15-17	Mark Selby	[4]
	[6]	Kyren Wilson	12-17	Shaun Murphy	[7]

CENTURIES (108)
144 Shaun Murphy
142 Mark Selby
139 Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen
138 Liam Highfield, Ronnie O'Sullivan
137 Ronnie O'Sullivan, Barry Hawkins, Neil Robertson
136 Anthony McGill
135 John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby
134 Mark Selby (3)
133 Kyren Wilson
132 David Gilbert, Mark Selby (2)
131 Stuart Bingham (2), Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson
130 Yan Bingtao, Anthony McGill (2)
129 Stuart Bingham
127 John Higgins, Stuart Bingham, Kyren Wilson
126 Liang Wenbo, Barry Hawkins, Anthony McGill (2), Neil Robertson (2)
125 Stuart Bingham, Mark Selby
124 Ronnie O'Sullivan, Shaun Murphy
123 Barry Hawkins
122 Stuart Bingham
121 Jack Lisowski, Jamie Jones, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson
120 Stuart Bingham, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby
119 Anthony McGill, Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham
117 Stuart Bingham, Shaun Murphy
116 Yan Bingtao, Mark Allen, Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski
115 Kyren Wilson
114 Judd Trump
113 Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, John Higgins
112 Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ricky Walden
111 David Gilbert, Tian Pengfei, Mark Williams, Judd Trump (2)
110 Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson
109 Martin Gould, Shaun Murphy
108 Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Stuart Bingham
107 Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins, John Higgins, Judd Trump, Mark Selby
106 Anthony McGill
105 Ricky Walden, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Anthony McGill, Judd Trump (2), Neil Robertson
104 Stuart Bingham, Shaun Murphy
103 Shaun Murphy
102 Mark Allen, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham
101 Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Yan Bingtao
100 David Gilbert, Neil Robertson (2), Yan Bingtao, Stuart Bingham, Shaun Murphy (2)

Live coverage provided by BBC and Eurosport

Trump targets second World Snooker title

WORLD number one Judd Trump has to wait until Tuesday afternoon to begin his quest for a second World Snooker title against Liam Highfield at the Crucible.

Second seed Trump won the world title two years ago, beating John Higgins 18-9 in the Final, to fulfil years of promise, the first spark of which came back in 2011 when he was beaten 18-15 in the Final by Higgins.

Last year, though, the tournament - which was delayed until August by the coronavirus pandemic - was won by the familiar face of Ronnie O'Sullivan.

The Rocket clocked up his sixth world title to rank alongside Ray Reardon and Steve Davis, and sit just one behind all-time record holder Stephen Hendry.

Of course, Trump - at the age of 31 - has plenty of time yet to win a few more Crucible crowns himself, and he heads into the tournament having won 11 ranking events in the 23 months since his world title.

Unsurprisingly then, the Bristolian starts off as favourite with the bookmakers - and he has expressed his delight at the gradual return of crowds to the Crucible.

Matches at the Sheffield venue will be one-third full as part of a government pilot on the roadmap out of the lockdown in England.

Meanwhile, there are plans for a capacity crowd to be able to attend the Final on May Bank Holiday weekend.

"You miss the coughing and the mobile phones going off," Trump said following the draw on Thursday.

"When you are losing and you get a frame or two behind, it is so much easier to give up because you feel nobody is there to see it.

"When you've got a crowd you sometimes take a toilet break just to get the roar of the fans and get them calling your name to get you back in the game.

"I need the fans there just to bring out the best in me. Just adding more nerves and excitement helps my concentration."

Defending champion, and previously a perennial favourite for the title, number one seed O'Sullivan is at the top of the draw in the opposite half to Trump.

O'Sullivan has already had enough in his locker to deal with snooker journeyman Mark Joyce who, after qualifying at the 18th attempt, was one of only two debutants this year alongside Sam Craigie.

Geordie lad Craigie faces another of the famous Class of 92 in Mark Williams while the third of that remarkable cohort, Higgins, takes on Tian Pengfei, one of five Chinese players in the draw.

Higgins and Williams could meet in the Last 16 with the winner potentially going onto meet O'Sullivan in the semi finals. 

However, three-time winner Mark Selby is in the same quarter of the draw as the Wizard from Wishaw and the Welsh Potting Machine, and so will no doubt have plenty to say about that.

Among the qualifiers, 2015 champion Stuart Bingham will fancy his chances against Ding Junhui who has never won the biggest prize in snooker, and twice runner-up Ali Carter has a good chance against the inconsistent Jack Lisowski.

For sure, there have been a number of big shocks over the years - and there are always a few seeds who are defeated unexpectedly. 

But a strong pedigree at the Crucible generally counts for something as players are required to cope with matches of multiple sessions in a far longer format than in other tournaments across the season.

On that basis, the hugely underrated Barry Hawkins can be expected to have another good run in Sheffield having reached at least the last four stage on five occasions out of six between 2013 and 2018.

The Hawk also heads to the Crucible in decent form with three semi final appearances in ranking events. 

However, the last four is clearly a stage beyond which Hawkins struggles to progress, something with which a bullish Trump has no such trouble.

"I feel my game is there for another win," said Trump. "It is such a long time, 17 days, that you can't peak for every single game.

"You've got to be mentally prepared to go through hell to win the tournament."

Trump takes on the Crucible curse

Year	Defending champion		Defence
1980	Terry Griffiths	R2	lost 10-13 to Steve Davis
1981	Cliff Thorburn	SF	lost 10-16 to Steve Davis
1982	Steve Davis	R1	lost 1-10 to Tony Knowles
1986	Dennis Taylor	R1	lost 6-10 to Mike Hallett
1987	Joe Johnson	F	lost 14-18 to Steve Davis
1991	Stephen Hendry	QF	lost 11-13 to Steve James
1992	John Parrott	QF	lost 12-13 to Alan McManus
1998	Ken Doherty	F	lost 12-18 to John Higgins
1999	John Higgins	SF	lost 10-17 to Mark Williams
2001	Mark Williams	R2	lost 12-13 to Joe Swail
2002	Ronnie O'Sullivan	SF	lost 13-17 to Stephen Hendry
2003	Peter Ebdon	QF	lost 12-13 to Paul Hunter
2006	Shaun Murphy	QF	lost 7-13 to Peter Ebdon
2007	Graeme Dott	R1	lost 7-10 to Ian McCulloch
2011	Neil Robertson	R1	lost 8-10 to Judd Trump
2015	Mark Selby	R2	lost 9-13 to Anthony McGill
2016	Stuart Bingham	R1	lost 9-10 to Ali Carter
2020	Judd Trump	QF	lost 9-13 to Kyren Wilson

JUDD TRUMP will take on Tom Ford - and the weight of history - as he belatedly begins the defence of his World Snooker title at the Crucible Theatre today. 

The 30-year-old Bristolian won his maiden world crown in Sheffield last May in a high-quality, century-laden Final against John Higgins.

But the tournament this year was scheduled for weeks in which the country was gripped most tightly in the clutches of the coronavirus - and so it was postponed on 20 March. 

Arguably, governing body World Snooker was actually a little slow to react to the extent of the crisis and the Gibraltar Open went ahead as scheduled in mid-March despite the withdrawal of several big-name players and some officials. 

Indeed, the shortage of match referees led to near-farcical scenes in which some matches were played without referees, with players respotting balls for their opponents.

Nevertheless, this strangest of events had a familiar conclusion as Trump beat rival Kyren Wilson 4-3 in the Final to win a record sixth ranking title of the season. 

For sure, Trump has only gone from strength to strength since taking the world title last year with his other ranking wins this season coming in the International Championship, the World Open, the Northern Ireland Open, the German Masters, and the Players Championship. 

It is no surprise then that, in the bookmakers' view, Trump starts as a strong favourite at 11/4 to retain his crown ahead of Ronnie O'Sullivan (4/1) and Neil Robertson (13/2).

But, with not a huge amount of snooker played since lockdown, this edition of the World Snooker Championships promises to be even more unpredictable than usual. 

Trump faces another threat - that of the Crucible Curse which, for the past 42 years, has dictated that no first-time winner at the venue has gone on to retain the title. 

Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998 have come closest to beating the Curse, reaching the Final before losing to Steve Davis and John Higgins respectively.

However, the fact that only Davis, Stephen Hendry, O'Sullivan, and Mark Selby have won back-to-back titles at the Sheffield venue shows just how difficult it is in general.

They all still fell victim to the Crucible Curse, of course - with Davis one of six first-time champions to be eliminated in their first match of the following year.

As such, Ford - despite his tough draw and failure to win on any of his previous three Crucible appearances - should not discount himself just yet, especially as he has already been able to hold his nerve in qualifying. 

Other highlights of the first round draw include what should be a fast-paced encounter between five-time champion O'Sullivan and Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, both of whom average less than 17 seconds a shot.

Four-time champion Higgins - who has been runner-up in each of the last three years to Selby, Mark Williams and Trump - faces the Welsh Dragon, Matthew Stevens. 

Stevens knows exactly what Higgins has felt over the last few years, having lost both his appearances in Crucible finals in 2000 and 2005 - although he has not been a regular qualifier in recent times.

Two more players approaching veteran age - Williams and Alan McManus - have been paired together, while reigning UK champion Ding Junhui takes on Mark King and Masters champion Stuart Bingham faces Ashley Carty. 

Bingham is one of eight former champions in the draw along with Trump, Higgins, Williams, O'Sullivan, Selby, Robertson and Shaun Murphy. 

By contrast, world number 82 Carty, of Rotherham, is one of five Crucible debutants with his lowly ranking requiring him to come through three preliminary rounds. 

The other debutants are Elliot Slessor, Alexander Ursenbacher, Jordan Brown, and Jamie Clarke - who take on Yan Bingtao, former finalist Barry Hawkins, Selby, and Mark Allen respectively.

Gateshead-born Slessor flies the flag for Tyneside in the absence of Wallsend's Gary Wilson who was beaten by Ursenbacher as the Swiss number one ensures his nation becomes the 19th country to be represented in Crucible history. 

Meanwhile, Clarke - at 89, the lowest-ranked player in the draw - completed this year's line-up as he fended off a comeback from Sunny Akani to become the 16th, and final, qualifier.

The line-up is complete then - but there has already been a result with Kyren Wilson awarded a walkover victory over Anthony Hamilton who has withdrawn. 

Hamilton, who has severe asthma, had criticised the decision by World Snooker to allow 300 spectators to attend. 

"I am absolutely gutted not to be playing," said the Sheriff of Pottingham. "It is the best tournament and the Crucible is the home of snooker.

"It has been a really difficult decision for me. However, due to my health condition, after careful consideration I have decided not to play in the final stages."

If anything, O'Sullivan has been even more critical of the playing conditions, and likened him and his fellow professionals to" "lab-rats". 

O'Sullivan said: "I defy anybody if they have been keeping their distance from people for four months to say, oh right, now you've got to go into a room full of people - unless you have got a death wish, and some people have in many ways and they just don't care.

"So I totally respect where Anthony is coming from, and where other people are coming from - they want crowds in there, they want things back to normal. We have a choice - we don't have to go and play. We all run a bit of a risk.

"I have the option not to play but I've decided to play. Maybe with 5,000 fans I could see it's a bit of an income you're going to lose, but 200 fans, is it really?

"Maybe they have to start doing a test on crowds at some point and I've heard people say they're treating the snooker event a little bit like lab rats - you've got to start somewhere, start with snooker players.

"Less insurance to pay out for Anthony Hamilton than there is for Lewis Hamilton." 

For their part, World Snooker responded in a statement: “For the Betfred World Championship to be designated as the first indoor sporting event to be held with a crowd within the UK is a fantastic triumph for not only the World Snooker Tour but all of our partners. 

"Independent and government advisers will be on site supporting WST and Sheffield Theatres, observing and assisting in ensuring that the measures which we have put in place are effective.”

But, with the coronavirus continuing to wreak havoc across England and beyond, this will be a World Snooker Championship like no other.

As such, a wise old head like Higgins - who has seen it all before, good and bad - would seem like a solid enough bet to go one better than in the previous three years.

World Snooker Championships: The O'Sullivan paradox

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN begins his bid for a sixth world title against qualifier David Gilbert at the Crucible in Sheffield today.

The Rocket - previously champion in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2013 - is an overwhelming favourite, not only in his first round match but for the tournament as a whole.

In fact, O'Sullivan is generally as short as 7/4 with most bookmakers - and, undoubtedly, he remains the biggest draw in the sport.

Paradoxically, though, his continued dominance is not particularly healthy for snooker as a whole.

A post-Ronnie era has yet to emerge even though O'Sullivan is now aged 40 - and, while this has much to do with his own fitness from his regimented healthy lifestyle, even the Rocket has expressed some frustration with the competition.

In 2013, O'Sullivan won his fifth world title, defeating Barry Hawkins 18-12 - despite having spent a whole year outside of the game.

Afterwards, he said: "The standard's great. Look at the way Barry (Hawkins) played in the final. But what you are lacking is someone who adds a bit of pizazz.

"I think every sport needs someone like Alex Higgins or Eric Cantona, it's about the characters.

"They're all nice guys and all good boys, but it needs someone to get in there. Some of them are trying to do it but it's just not natural. You need someone like me who just comes out and does my thing."

Earlier this year, at the Masters at Alexandra Palace, Hawkins was on the end of another beating by O'Sullivan who delivered a 10-1 thrashing in the Final.

Speaking as part of a generation which includes fellow former world champions John Higgins and Mark Williams, O'Sullivan said: "We have kept our level high and are waiting for someone young, or two or three, to come through and take it away from us – but it doesn’t seem to be happening."

Perhaps that is a little unfair on the likes of world number one, 2014 champion Mark Selby, or 2010 champion Neil Robertson.

But even fans of the Jester from Leicester would have to agree that he often grinds his way through games, a style which led to O'Sullivan labelling him as "The Torturer".

Meanwhile, Robertson himself is no spring chicken at 34 years old - and another one-time emerging force in the sport, Ding Junhui, has so badly lost his way that he was forced to qualify for the tournament this year.

Instead, the most likely heir to the title of fans' favourite remains Judd Trump, the 26-year-old who was runner-up to John Higgins in 2011.

However, a searing lack of consistency blights the Bristolian's game - though, last year, he was unfortunate in losing to Stuart Bingham in the deciding frame of a classic Crucible semi final.

Bingham, of course, went on to win the title - beating Shaun Murphy 18-15 in the Final - but already it has been assured that there will no repeat of that outcome this year.

The Crucible Curse - which determines that no first-time champion has ever successfully defended their crown at the venue - struck again on the opening day as Ali Carter won a decider.

Carter - a two-times runner-up - was always going to be a tough opening opponent for Bingham - and, while the latter has been a gracious and gentlemanly world champion, the result is not actually that big a shock.

For Bingham, as lovely a bloke as he seems to be, was hardly a big name champion.

Indeed, the only time that snooker has made it onto the back pages of the newspapers this year was when O'Sullivan controversially decided against making a 147 at the Welsh Open in February.

This was nothing new for O'Sullivan who had previously almost turned down a maximum at the World Open in Glasgow in 2010 before being convinced by referee Jan Verhaas on that occasion to complete the break.

But there was nothing which could convince O'Sullivan in Cardiff this year - and, while his unusual 146 break earned snooker some rare backpage headlines, it was not exactly the finest moment for the sport.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn recognised that and described O'Sullivan's action as "unacceptable" and "disrespectful".

However, Hearn is well aware that, although there is no single player bigger than the game itself, the Rocket comes close to holding that status.

Not that this necessarily means the bookmakers will be right. The World Championship at the Crucible is a 17-day event, a psychological marathon which tests every sinew in a survival of the fittest.

Therefore, it would be no surprise if a battler and a grinder like O'Sullivan's torturer Selby prevailed again.

Whatever happens, though, the action at the Crucible usually makes for epic viewing with coverage provided by the BBC and Eurosport throughout.

World Snooker final: Battle-scarred Bingham gets run of the ball at last

2015 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 

(8) Shaun MURPHY 15-18 Stuart BINGHAM (10)

Session One (4-4): 103-44 (68), 69-51 (59), 74-5 (65), 0-105 (105), 15-68 (56), 90-0 (90), 7-55, 30-73 (65) 
Session Two (5-4): 74-57 (M 74 B 57), 106-1 (106), 121-14 (121), 97-41 (51), 1-76 (76), 7-129 (123), 0-113 (89), 76-0 (76), 22-67 (53)
Session Three (2-6):  4-87 (87), 40-68 (51), 0-112 (112), 23-95 (50), 80-4 (59), 0-87 (87), 84-0 (84), 7-86 (57)
Session Four (4-4): 73-6, 6-102 (102), 75-55 (75), 68-29 (64), 76-0, 56-80, 3-68 (55), 1-88 (88)


STUART BINGHAM caused a major snooker shock last night after he became the oldest player to win the World Championship at the Crucible since Ray Reardon in 1978.

Essex potter Bingham, aged 38, knocked in an 88 break in the 33rd frame to beat 2005 champion Shaun Murphy 18-15 in one of the best finals of recent years.

There were no fewer than six centuries in the showpiece match, a total which ensured the 2015 tournament broke the overall record for Crucible tons. Eighty-six were scored in the end.

Indeed, Bingham's first major contribution to the contest was a run of 105 - although this was simply necessary to get a foothold after Murphy opened with breaks of 68, 59 and 65 to 3-0 up.

By the end of the first session, Bingham had levelled the contest at 4-4 - but, on Sunday evening, Murphy re-established his dominance with back-to-back centuries as part of a sequence of four frames in a row.

Somehow, Bingham clung on and he came back again with runs of 76, 123, and 89.

And, although Murphy took frame 16 with his own effort of 76, Bingham took the 17th to trail only 9-8 overnight.

Having been 3-0 and 8-4 behind, that was some achievement - and, having restored parity immediately with an 87 yesterday afternoon, Bingham then opened up his own three-frame advantage.

All the momentum was with the man nicknamed Ball-run - and, in frame 20, a sequence of 14 reds and blacks even gave rise to the possibility of a first ever maximum break in a World Championship final.

Sadly, it was not to be as Bingham missed out on the 147 after being unable to remove the last red off the cushion.

Nevertheless, he quickly got over any disappointment and held his lead into the last session, cancelling out Murphy's frame-winning runs of 49 and 84 with contributions of 87 and 57 himself.

Regardless, it was always going to be in the concluding session where the final was properly decided - the match had swung too many times and was too close to think otherwise.

But Bingham pretty much picked up last night where he had left off in the afternoon, equalling Murphy's early effort with a 102 to retain a three-frame lead.

Yet it was by no means an unassailable advantage - and, in fact, it did not last - as Murphy knocked in breaks of 75 and 64 to make it 15-15.

For the next hour and four minutes, though, the two finalists would then contest the most pivotal frame of the match.

"It’s unreal," Bingham said. "At 15-15 I thought my chance was gone. My arm felt like someone else’s and the nerves had got to me. 

"But we had a marathon 31st frame, I pinched it on the colours and from then on I played pretty solid."

The decisive breakthrough actually looked to have been made quite early on by a long red from Bingham - but the cue ball cannoned off another red and went in-off.

Murphy tried to capitalise but missed on the yellow, found himself snookered and then went in-off himself three times before an excruciatingly four further misses.

By this stage, the penalty points had given Bingham control of the frame - and he again put Murphy in trouble by sending the yellow up to the top cushion and putting the 2005 champion behind the green.

Incredibly, Murphy went in-off again - but it was not until the 32-year-old unintentionally potted the blue and left the chance of snookers nigh-on impossible that Bingham began to find breathing room.

And, at the same time, not just breathing room - yes, the frame had lasted so long that it had even involved a bathroom break for Bingham. 

Undoubtedly, though, it had all been worth it - and, as it happened, it was the first of one last three-frame push.

Frame 32 went to Bingham, thanks largely to a 55 break - and Murphy then still had no answer as his opponent got in first in the 33rd and, ultimately final, rack of the match.

The high quality 88 break was in keeping with the match and the tournament as a whole with heavy scoring frames far outweighing tactical battles.

As such, it was no surprise to see Murphy emerge from the top half of the draw after world number Mark Selby fell victim to the Crucible Curse - and a remarkable debut effort from young Scotsman Anthony McGill.

However, it was perhaps more of a surprise that neither Ronnie O'Sullivan nor Judd Trump could make it through from the bottom half.

That, of course, was down solely to Bingham who beat them both - with the Trump semi final going to a final frame decider following a string of centuries.

It was the emotionally-charged but well-deserved 13-9 win over five-time champion O'Sullivan, though, which Bingham admits really gave himself the belief he could go on to win the title.

And maybe that is all that was missing previously from Ball-run - that little bit of self-belief.

Certainly, there were no problems with his effort or attitude, as no player on the circuit has worked harder or travelled and played more than Bingham since Barry Hearn's global revolution of snooker.

All the toil then has culminated in this 17-day marathon of snooker - and so, while he may have been an unexpected champion, he can hardly be considered an unworthy one.

Yes, after all the defeats - and even the jibes - over the years, last night meant it had all still been worth it. Bingham had reached the pinnacle of his sport.

EARLIER RESULTS

FIRST ROUND Best of 19 frames

	(1) Mark SELBY	10-9	Kurt MAFLIN
	(16) Stephen MAGUIRE	9-10	Anthony McGILL
	(9) Joe PERRY	10-4	ZHANG Anda
	(8) Shaun MURPHY	10-3	Robin HULL
	(5) Barry HAWKINS	10-9	Matthew SELT
	(12) Mark ALLEN	10-3	Ryan DAY
	(13) Ali CARTER	10-5	Alan McMANUS
	(4) Neil ROBERTSON	10-2	Jamie JONES
	(3) DING Junhui	10-7	Mark DAVIS
	(14) John HIGGINS	10-5	Robert MILKINS
	(11) Marco FU	10-6	Jimmy ROBERTSON
	(6) Judd TRUMP	10-6	Stuart CARRINGTON
	(7) Ricky WALDEN	8-10	Graeme DOTT
	(10) Stuart BINGHAM	10-7	Robbie WILLIAMS
	(15) Mark WILLIAMS	2-10	Matthew STEVENS
	(2) Ronnie O'SULLIVAN	10-3	Craig STEADMAN

SECOND ROUND Best of 25 frames

	(1) Mark SELBY	9-13	Anthony McGILL
	(9) Joe PERRY	5-13	Shaun MURPHY (8)
	(5) Barry HAWKINS	13-11	Mark ALLEN (12)
	(13) Ali CARTER	5-13	Neil ROBERTSON (4)
	(3) DING Junhui	13-9	John HIGGINS (14)
	(11) Marco FU	8-13	Judd TRUMP (6)
	Graeme DOTT	5-13	Stuart BINGHAM (10)
	Matthew STEVENS	5-13	Ronnie O'SULLIVAN (2)

QUARTER FINALS Best of 25 frames

	Anthony McGILL	8-13	Shaun MURPHY (8)
	(5) Barry HAWKINS	13-12	Neil ROBERTSON (4)
	(3) DING Junhui	4-13	Judd TRUMP (6)
	(10) Stuart BINGHAM	13-9	Ronnie O'SULLIVAN (2)

SEMI FINALS Best of 33 frames

	(8) Shaun MURPHY	17-9	Barry HAWKINS (5)
	(6) Judd TRUMP	16-17	Stuart BINGHAM (10)

CENTURIES
145 Neil Robertson, Stuart Bingham
143 Neil Robertson
142 Neil Robertson
141 Neil Robertson
139 Ronnie O'Sullivan
138 Shaun Murphy
137 Anthony McGill
135 Ricky Walden, Ding Junhui
133 Neil Robertson, Judd Trump
132 Zhang Anda
131 Barry Hawkins, Joe Perry
130 Neil Robertson
129 Neil Robertson, Judd Trump
127 Ali Carter, Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump
125 Anthony McGill, Shaun Murphy
124 Mark Selby
123 Stuart Bingham
122 Anthony McGill  
121 Shaun Murphy (x3)
120 Mark Selby, Marco Fu
119 Neil Robertson
118 Ronnie O'Sullivan
116 Ronnie O'Sullivan
115 Matthew Stevens, Mark Allen, Neil Robertson (x2)
113 Judd Trump
112 Stuart Bingham
111 Matthew Stevens, Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump (x2)
110 Ronnie O'Sullivan
109 Neil Robertson, Matthew Selt, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins
108 Mark Selby, Barry Hawkins (x3), Judd Trump (x2)
106 Jimmy Robertson, John Higgins, Mark Davis, Shaun Murphy (x2), Stuart Bingham
105 Shaun Murphy (x2), Stuart Bingham
104 Ricky Walden, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stuart Bingham, Barry Hawkins (x2)
103 Ronnie O'Sullivan, Barry Hawkins (x2)
102 Matthew Selt, Stuart Bingham (x3), Barry Hawkins, Judd Trump
101 Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby
100 Stuart Bingham, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Shaun Murphy