Murphy whitewashes O’Sullivan at ‘golden ball’ event

As Shaun Murphy advanced to the quarter-finals of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, winning 4-0 over Ronnie O’Sullivan was his first victory over him since 2017.

O’Sullivan, a seven-time world champion, has never won a frame in a contest involving seven frames or more since 2023.

Murphy, who had previously defeated 15-year-old Ziyad Al-Qabbani 4-0, produced several stunning pots and broke the record for 53 and 93 against O’Sullivan, who struggled to find his groove.

It’s been a long time since I last experienced victory against Ronnie, but they are always special, even in short matches like this, Murphy said, “I don’t know what the statistics are,” Murphy said.

“It’s such a prestigious event, and you know everyone is trying their best,” said one participant, “I was pleased with how I played and delighted to get through” despite only being a best-of-seven.

I made an effort to go outside and play like I’ve always done, but thankfully the majority of those long reds did not come in.

On Thursday (20:00 GMT), Murphy will now face Zhao Xintong, the current Crucible champion, in the final eight, in a competition that has attracted a lot of media attention because it rewards participants with $1 million (£760, 000) for potting the golden ball after a maximum of 147.

Despite recording 106 consecutive breaks to seal a 4-0 victory over Ding Junhui, John Higgins nevertheless delivered a drab assessment of the table conditions in the Saudi Arabian capital.

The Scot said, “There are so many… like beer mats underneath the table and it’s raised up.”

Someone needs to be told, really. It’s pathetic for a million-pound tournament, but I don’t know who has already passed that. It is really bad.

It’s incredible how much it has grown up, said Stephen Hendry, who worked for TNT Sports as a studio pundit.

“As a player, you can really tell the difference because the floor is so uneven,” says one player.