Murphy sweeps aside O’Sullivan and Chang to soar into Champion of Champions semi-finals

Shaun Murphy whitewashed both Ronnie O’Sullivan and Chang Bingyu on Wednesday as he soared into the Champion of Champions semi-finals.

The Magician enjoyed a dominant day at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, winning all 10 frames he played to progress to the weekend as the Group Three winner.

Murphy saw off an out-of-sorts O’Sullivan during a scrappy opening match, inflicting only the four-time champion’s second group semi-final defeat at this event.

The 2017 winner then avenged his resounding 4-0 defeat by Chang Bingyu at this year’s Welsh Open – when the Chinese produced four straight centuries and a 100% pot success rate, while his opponent scored a single point – hitting back-to-back tons along the way.

“Very contrasting matches,” Murphy told ITV4. “Ronnie and I tried to really outmanoeuvre each other. When two players have got such respect for each other, it was always going to be more a safety affair. I wasn’t surprised with how that match went.

“Then, tonight, nobody knows the power of Chang Bingyu better than me. I had a little chuckle to myself when I scored more than one point. I knew I had to keep him in the long grass tonight. For the most part, I thought I did my job well.”

O’Sullivan was back at the Champion of Champions for the first time since surrendering a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 against Xiao Guodong in the 2024 group semi-finals.

The World Seniors champion struggled to settle and Murphy took control with runs of 42, 68 and 41 to go 3-0 to the good.

Frame four was a scrappy one, as both players saw chances go begging, until the Magician cleared from yellow to pink to get over the line.

In the other group semi-final, Chang trailed fellow debutant Wu Yize 3-1, with the reigning World champion later missing a tricky black to seal a 4-2 victory.

The Wuhan Open champion, who recently climbed into the world’s top 16, subsequently forced a decider, in which he recovered from 38-0 down to prevail.

That set up a rematch with Murphy, who he had dominated in Llandudno earlier this year.

However, the pendulum swung firmly in the Magician’s favour this time around. After winning a tight opener and controlling the second frame, back-to-back centuries of 142 and 107 put him 4-0 ahead at the mid-session interval.

Chang simply could not stop the rot. The Chinese, after missing a routine red at 59-0 up in frame five, had to watch as Murphy produced a wonderful 78 counter clearance, before a break of 70 sealed a second straight whitewash of the day.

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Champion of Champions 2026 | Group Three Results

Wednesday November 11

Group Three Semi-Finals

1pm
Shaun Murphy 4-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan

3pm
Wu Yize 3-4 Chang Bingyu

Group Three Final

7pm
Shaun Murphy 6-0 Chang Bingyu