Murphy hits ‘most underwhelming 147 of all time’

Shaun Murphy joked that the World Open was “the most underwhelming 147 of all time” while being “blown away” after claiming a maximum break on Monday.

Murphy fired in three century breaks during his second-round match with China’s Zhou Jinhao to pass 700 in his career.

The last sealed a 5-0 victory in Yushan, China, and was his 10th official maximum and second of the season.

“I’m absolutely delighted, but I must say it was an early session, an early start”, Murphy told Eurosport.

“There weren’t many fans in this morning so it was probably the most underwhelming 147 of all time, but they’re all special. I can’t believe it – I’m blown away”.

The 42-year-old Englishman won the Masters in January, claiming his ninth career maximum.

Monday’s 147 takes the 2005 world champion ahead of Stuart Bingham to fourth on the all-time list, behind Ronnie O’Sullivan (15), John Higgins (13) and Stephen Hendry (11).

The 214th official maximum in snooker history and the 12th of the season.

Judd Trump’s compatriot, Judd, shot three centuries in the second-round victory over Long Zehuang, defending his World Open title.

Following a 5-0 victory over Xing Zihao with a 5-1 victory, Trump bounced back with five straight breaks over 50.

But world number seven Mark Allen fell 5-4 to David Lilley, in what the 49-year-old Englishman described as the best win of his career.

Allen, who had a spell as world number one last year, hit back-to-back centuries to lead 3-2 but Lilley – ranked 62 in the world – responded to edge ahead again.

Despite missing a green to effectively seal the tie one frame earlier, he recovered with a match-winning break of 77 in the decider.

“It’s a huge feather in my cap – my best win ever”, said Lilley. “My only hope this week is to try to win my next match because I’m fighting for my tour survival.”

In the third round, Lilley takes on fellow-traitor Joe O’Connor, while Murphy takes on Thai Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

In the other half of the draw, world champion Kyren Wilson secured breaks of 138, 111 and 90 to beat Lei Peifan 5-1, while 18-year-old Stan Moody claimed a 5-2 win over former world champion Graeme Dott.

Xiao Guodong defeated Duane Jones 5-4 in a remarkable comeback after going 4-0 down and fighting back from 54-1 down in the decisive to win with a 56 clearance.