One Seat in the Masters Semi-Finals is Decided! Murphy Scores 120, Defeats World Champion, Ding Junhui Faces Strong Opponent. The first quarter-final of the 2024 Snooker Masters has concluded, with two world champions facing off in a peak confrontation. Ultimately, Shaun Murphy emerged victorious with a 6-2 win over Neil Robertson, securing the first semi-final spot. Next up, China's top player Ding Junhui will take the stage to face the world number one, Judd Trump.
In this Snooker Masters tournament, three Chinese players qualified for participation: Ding Junhui, Si Jiahui, and Zhang Anda. However, apart from Ding Junhui, the other two were eliminated in the first round, leaving only Ding to advance to the second round. In the quarter-finals, Shaun Murphy faced off against Neil Robertson. The two have had similar recent form, with Murphy ranked 7th in the world and Robertson at 20th. In the match, the first game saw Robertson take the lead but only score 35 points before giving up the chance, allowing Murphy to step in and secure the first victory with a single shot of 90 points. In the second game, Robertson responded with a single shot of 79 points to level the score. In the third game, both players made some mistakes at the start, but Murphy took the lead through multiple shots and maintained his advantage to win another game with a score of 68-24. In the fourth game, Murphy continued his aggressive play, scoring a single shot of 67 points to win the game 76-0, leading 3-1 into the second half.
In the fifth game, Murphy took the lead but only scored one point before giving up the chance. Robertson then stepped in and scored a single shot of 66 points but failed to surpass the score. Murphy then stepped in and cleared the table with a single shot of 66 points, completing a reversal with a score of 67-66. In the sixth game, Robertson fought back with a single shot of 108 points to win a game. In the seventh game, Murphy scored a single shot of 82 points to win, taking a 5-2 lead and securing match point. In the eighth game, Murphy attempted a 147-point shot but was interrupted when hitting the black ball after the yellow ball, with the score stopping at 120 points. Ultimately, Murphy won with a total score of 6-2, advancing to the semi-finals first. Looking at the whole match, Murphy won relatively easily. Although Robertson showed resilience by reversing Higgins in the first round, Murphy was in better form and performed better overall. Especially in the fifth game, he could clear the table even when trailing, showing that Murphy's mentality was stable and he completely controlled the game. Therefore, it would not be surprising that Robertson lost.
There are still three more quarter-finals to come, featuring Ding Junhui versus Judd Trump, Mark Selby versus Mark Allen, and Kyren Wilson versus Luca Brecel. Who will secure the semi-final spots? Let's wait and see. This article is original content by Xiao Li Zi, please do not plagiarize or republish.