Shaun Murphy whitewashed defending champion Kyren Wilson to reach the Xi’an Grand Prix quarter-finals – and said it was “as good as I’ve ever played”.
The 43-year-old hit a high of 141 in three centuries for a crushing 5-0 win over the world number two.
Wilson, the 2024 world champion, didn’t pot a ball and scored just six points – thanks to a foul when Murphy hit the pink after being snookered – in the whole match against his relentless fellow Englishman, who made 533 in a row without reply.
“That’s pretty much as good as I’ve ever played,” said Murphy. “That’s one of the best best-of-nine matches that I’ve ever been part of.
“It’s mad. You play so many matches around the world throughout your life and every now and then it comes together.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan also continued his fine form with two century breaks in a 5-2 win over Jak Jones.
The seven-time world champion, who has impressed in his first tournament since August, will next play Gary Wilson in the quarter-finals.
Jones made a 140 to stay in the match, but O’Sullivan – who hit a best of 135 in the second frame – responded with an 81 break to seal the success.
The 49-year-old, who was a beaten semi-finalist in the first Xi’an Grand Prix last year, remained on course to win his first ranking title in 21 months.
Shaun Murphy whitewashed defending champion Kyren Wilson to reach the Xi’an Grand Prix quarter-finals – and said it was “as good as I’ve ever played”.
The 43-year-old hit a high of 141 in three centuries for a crushing 5-0 win over the world number two.
Wilson, the 2024 world champion, didn’t pot a ball and scored just six points – thanks to a foul when Murphy hit the pink after being snookered – in the whole match against his relentless fellow Englishman, who made 533 in a row without reply.
“That’s pretty much as good as I’ve ever played,” said Murphy. “That’s one of the best best-of-nine matches that I’ve ever been part of.
“It’s mad. You play so many matches around the world throughout your life and every now and then it comes together.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan also continued his fine form with two century breaks in a 5-2 win over Jak Jones.
The seven-time world champion, who has impressed in his first tournament since August, will next play Gary Wilson in the quarter-finals.
Jones made a 140 to stay in the match, but O’Sullivan – who hit a best of 135 in the second frame – responded with an 81 break to seal the success.
The 49-year-old, who was a beaten semi-finalist in the first Xi’an Grand Prix last year, remained on course to win his first ranking title in 21 months.
Rebecca Ferguson has branded actor Tom Cruise, with whom she starred in the Mission: Impossible franchise, a ‘man-child’, but had a perfectly good explanation for it
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Rebecca Ferguson brands Tom Cruise a ‘man-child’ and explains ‘good’ reason for it(Image: BANG Showbiz)
Rebecca Ferguson has labelled Tom Cruise a “man-child” but “in a good way”. The actress, who starred alongside the Top Gun actor in the Mission: Impossible franchise, revealed that filming was often chaotic due to last-minute script changes and stunts being cut, while the leading man would frequently arrive late on set.
Speaking in a recent interview, she said: “You don’t have scripts and have no idea where it’s going to go, which is annoying and tedious in equal measure. You train for a stunt scene for months and all of a sudden they cut it .. [Cruise is] a man-child in a good way. I often joke that there’s someone with a tranquilliser gun and a net looking for him.
“It’s frustrating because you’re ready to shoot and the sun’s going down.”
She added to The Times: “Tom goes: ‘What are we waiting for?’ and I go: ‘You!’ And he laughs and goes, ‘F***, I’m sorry’.”
Ferguson portrayed Ilsa Faust in the franchise, but her character was killed off in the 2023 instalment Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. She told The Times that she agreed it was time for her to exit the series as “there was nothing more to do” with her character.
Recently, Ferguson collaborated with screenwriter Steven Knight on the Peaky Blinders spin-off film The Immortal Man. She later discovered that he had been tasked with writing the next James Bond movie.
She confessed that if she had known about his plans at the time, she would have badgered him for a role, as it’s her dream to portray a Bond villain.
Rebecca expressed: “I would have been pushing to play the baddie. We haven’t had a female Bond villain.”
The actress has previously collaborated with the new Bond movie’s director, Denis Villeneuve, on the Dune franchise and she disclosed that she’s also discussed the prospect of a female antagonist in the next 007 instalment.
She revealed to the publication: “I already said that to Denis – ‘Female Bond villain, b****!’ He was like: ‘Oh la la’.”
Rebecca further commented on the Bond franchise: “I love the Bonds, most of them, but I often found that they weren’t very good at writing for women.”
Despite this, she holds high expectations for Knight’s screenplay, stating: “He wrote [Maria Callas biopic] Maria for Angelina Jolie – he’s written loads of good female roles.”
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Protesters at the Broadview Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility near Chicago scuffled with police Friday morning. A day earlier a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers to the state of Illinois, saying the administration was providing “unreliable evidence” on supposed threats to federal agents.
Heart of Gold singer Neil Young shared a lengthy statement on his blog, in which he explained why his music isn’t available to stream on Amazon Music any longer
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Neil has removed his music from Amazon(Image: Getty Images for SXSW)
Singer Neil Young has removed his music from Amazon in a bid to “save America”. The musician made the announcement via his blog in a long statement.
He stated that fans would no longer be able to stream his music via Amazon Music while also condemning Jeff Bezos’ support of Donald Trump. The 79-year-old urged his followers to “buy local”, “support your community” and “do the right thing”.
In his statement, he wrote: “Forget Amazon and Whole Foods [supermarket chain owned by Amazon]. Forget Facebook. Buy local. Buy direct. [Jeff] Bezos supports this government. It does not support you or me.
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“The time is here. Forget Amazon. Soon my music will not be there. It is easy to buy local. Support your community. Go to the local store.
“Don’t go back to the big corporations who have sold out America. We all have to give up something to save America from the Corporate Control Age it is entering.
“They need you to buy from them. Don’t. They shut down our government. Your income. Your safety. Your family’s health security. Take America Back.
“Together, stop buying from the big corporations, support local business. Do the right thing. Show who you are.” Neil is referencing the US government shutdown after the Republican and Democratic parties didn’t agree to pass a bill funding government services.
Neil recently left social media but did not confirm whether he would also be removing physical copies for sale from Amazon.
The music star removed his music from Spotify three years ago as he protested the platform’s distribution of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as concerns emerged it was spreading misinformation about vaccines.
At the time, Joe Rogan’s podcast was signed exclusively to Spotify. However, his music then appeared again on Spotify last year as he said he couldn’t remove all of his work from online.
Neil released another statement at the time where he explained why his music would be returning. The announcement read: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify.
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“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it.
“Qobuz and Tidal, where my music is presented, are all high-res as well.” Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts headlined Glastonbury this year and topped the bill at BST Hyde Park in London.
Claudia Winkleman’s fingerless gloves are a staple of her wardrobe on The Traitors, and we know where to shop the exact pairs she’s been wearing on the celebrity version of the show
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Claudia is back with Celebrity Traitors(Image: PA)
When it comes to The Traitors, Claudia Winkleman’s fingerless gloves are as synonymous with the show as the round table and murders. Every season, Claudia and her stylist Sinead McKeefry find a way to incorporate a cosy pair of fingerless gloves into countless outfits, and the most recent Celebrity Traitors is no different.
As we head towards even colder weather, we’re fully on board the knitted handwear train, which is why we were delighted to spot that the exact pairs Claudia has been wearing on the show are now back in stock. British brand Brora have been keeping Claudia’s hands warm for multiple seasons now, and you can shop her Cashmere Wristwarmers for £65.
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We’ve only had two episodes of Celebrity Traitors so far, and we’ve already been treated to two different pairs of Brora’s Cashmere Wristwarmers in Claudia’s Highlands wardrobe. During the contestants first challenge in a graveyard Claudia wore an iconic cape emblazoned with the word Celebrities, and kept cosy with a pair of light grey hand warmers in the shade “ash”.
Meanwhile, for the first Trojan Horse mission, Claudia was wearing the “sorrel” green pair of the fingerless gloves, which Sinead styled with a tweed jacket from Chloe and a pair of Hunter wellies. This khaki green colourway is a brand new addition to the already extensive shade range of the wristwarmers, which come in a grand total of 11 different colours.
Claudia’s Cashmere Wristwarmers are made from 100% four-ply Scottish cashmere which means they’re cosy, warm and luxuriously soft to wear. They’re an absolute staple as we head through autumn and into winter, managing to keep your hands (and wrists) warm, whilst still leaving your fingers free for things like using your phone, fastening buttons and zips and even just holding your dog’s lead on a walk.
If you want something that’ll keep even more of you warm, Toast’s £30 Nishiguchi Kutsushita Merino Tipless Gloves are elbow length and come in three different colours, with individual cut outs for each finger. For more affordable pairs, White Company’s Cashmere Essential Wristwarmer are £49 whilst still being made from pure cashmere, while Next’s Oatmeal Wool Cashmere Handwarmer Gloves are £20 and made from a cosy blend of wool and cashmere.
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If you want to err on the side of luxury, Johnston’s of Elgin’s Light Grey Cashmere Wrist Warmers are £90 and made from 100% pure cashmere, with eight different neutral colours to pick from. Meanwhile Strathberry – whose handbags are a firm favourite of Kate Middleton – have the Westray Fingerless Cashmere Gloves for £70, with each pair handmade in Scotland.
