Shaun Murphy survives scare against wonderkid 'better than Ronnie O'Sullivan'
Shaun Murphy faced 14-year-old Wang Xinzhong in the International Championship held in Nanjing, China. The former world champion narrowly won in a deciding frame to secure his place in the next round.
The teenage qualifier Wang drew attention earlier in the tournament by defeating women’s world champion Bai Yulu and seasoned player Robbie Williams. Remarkably, his victory over Yulu came even though she achieved the highest break ever made by a woman in a ranking event — 145 points. Wang later dominated Williams 6-1 to claim his second-round spot.
Murphy, the Masters and British Open champion, entered as the strong favourite and initially led by winning the first three frames. However, Wang responded impressively, taking five of the next six frames to lead 5-4 and stand just one frame from a stunning upset. In the end, Murphy delivered breaks of 72 and 89 to complete his 6-5 comeback and advance to the last 32, where he will meet Elliot Selssor.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Murphy told World Snooker Tour. “Ronnie [O’Sullivan] was good at 14, as were many others.”
Murphy praises rising star
After the match, Murphy expressed deep respect for the young prodigy and predicted a bright future for him in professional snooker.
Author’s Summary
Murphy survived a tense challenge from 14-year-old Wang Xinzhong, whose remarkable performance marked him as a rising talent in the world of snooker.