Shaun Murphy scoops second Masters title to end ten-year wait
Shaun Murphy ended a decade-long wait for a second Masters title as he defeated Kyren Wilson 10-7 to regain the crown at Alexandra Palace.
Murphy held off a spirited fightback from the reigning World Champion to clinch his fourth Triple Crown title and become the 12th multiple winner of The Masters.
Murphy established a commanding 6-2 lead following the first session, but only for Wilson to claw back to just 8-7 behind.
However, the 42-year-old hit back with successive frames to close out victory, including his fourth century break of the match to seal the deal.
“I can’t believe it – I’m in shock. If I’m totally honest I thought these days were gone,” Murphy told BBC Sport.
“When I lost to Mark Selby in 2021 [World Final] at The Crucible, I thought my days in the business end of these events had gone.
“But everyone knows I’ve teamed up with Peter Ebdon and he’s helped me rediscover that self-belief, he’s helped remind me I used to be quite good at this. There’s still a bit of life in the old dog yet.
“I must pay tribute to Kyren – he is a great world champion. He really took it to me and there was a stage a few frames ago when it was panic stations.
“I’ve had loads of good days. I have been very, very lucky but this is right up there.”
Wilson had been bidding to go one better than his runner-up spot at Ally Pally in 2018, but saw his gallant effort fall short.
A run of three consecutive frames in the evening session piled the pressure on his opponent, but a missed long red to the right corner pocket in frame 16 proved fatal to his hopes of pulling off a sensational comeback.
“I just made it too easy for Shaun today. I threw him in the balls too many times and you can’t do that with how well Shaun’s been playing this week,” admitted Wilson.
“I proved why I’m the World Champion, I fought as hard as I could. From 8-4 down a lot of people would have written me off, and if the red goes in at 8-7 that could have been my clearance for 8-8 and you might be looking at a different scoreline.
“But every credit to Shaun making a century to finish for the fans.”
Murphy, who made a magnificent maximum break during his semi-final win over Mark Allen, started the final strongly by producing a break of 94 to clinch the opening frame.
He then doubled his lead before Wilson got off the mark with a break of 69 to halve the deficit.
A key moment early on saw Wilson break down on 61 in frame four and Murphy punish emphatically with a 65 clearance to move 3-1 ahead.
The duo exchanged the next two frames before Murphy piled in a brilliant brace of centuries, firing in a 134 clearance and a 116 to lead 6-2 at the halfway stage.
It was Wilson who took the opening frame of the evening session, but Murphy hit back in style with a break of 125 to maintain a four-frame advantage.
Wilson rallied again with a 95 break in frame 11, but a costly missed black to the middle allowed Murphy to make a 66 break for an 8-4 lead.
Twice a ranking event winner this season, Wilson responded with a 78 break to kick-start a run of three consecutive frames, adding a 65 break to close to just one behind.
Murphy, though, held firm with a 55 break to halt the charge, before clinching victory in dream fashion with a crowd-pleasing 100 clearance.
The £350,000 top prize and £15,000 high break bonus marks Murphy’s biggest career payday as he reaps the rewards of his new partnership with former World Champion Peter Ebdon.