Murphy holds off Trump to reach British Open quarters

World number one Judd Trump’s strong defense against Shaun Murphy secured a spot-seeking victory in the British Open’s quarter-finals in Cheltenham.

Murphy, an Englishman who won the Masters in January, held a 3-1 lead before coming back to beat his countryman 4-3.

Trump also lost in the last 16 of last week’s English Open, and he hasn’t made it to the semi-finals this year.

After beating Barry Hawkins 4-2, Murphy now faces fellow Englishman Mitchell Mann in the final eight.

World No. 91 Mann only has ever competed in the quarter-finals of a ranking competition before, reaching the top 20 in 2021.

With a comprehensive victory over Chang Bingyu from China, defending champion Mark Selby put a marker on his rivals.

Meanwhile, Mark Williams defeated third-round champion Mark Allen 4-3 before coming back for the evening session to defeat Lei Peifan from China.

Selby and Williams will face off in the quarter-finals of a repeat of the 2023 final, where the Welshman won the title twice as well as he did in 2021.

Stan Moody, 19, defeated Liam Davies of Wales 4-2, in a back-and-forth battle with Ali Carter to win 4-3.