Murphy overcomes King

He will return on March 23 where he will join Mark Williams and Mark Selby, with the final four places to be determined.

King had got off to a great start, edging the first frame by a single point and then taking the second with breaks of 30 and 37. A superb break of 139 from Murphy though - the best in the group - got him back in it and secured the £500 top break bonus.

There was more to come in the next as Murphy compiled a run of 137 to level the scores. The turning point in the decider came when King was 41-0 up. He potted the black and seemed to go perfectly into the pack, but a loose red crept into the middle pocket to hand the initiative to Murphy.

The 2005 World Champion never looked back as he ran in a break of 80 to seal the win. He earned £6,700 while King took home £4,600 and will have another chance to qualify from Group 4. 

Earlier King had battled back from 2-1 down to oust Ali Carter in the semi-final, while Murphy posted an excellent run of 122 in his decider with Peter Ebdon. Both beaten semi-finalists return on Wednesday to compete in Group 4.

Stuart Bingham 3-1 Peter Ebdon

John Higgins 2-3 Mark King

Ali Carter 3-1 Marco Fu

Shaun Murphy 1-3 Peter Ebdon

John Higgins 0-3 Marco Fu

Stuart Bingham 1-3 Mark King

John Higgins 3-0 Peter Ebdon

Shaun Murphy 3-1 Mark King

Ali Carter 3-2 Stuart Bingham

Ali Carter 2-3 Mark King

Shaun Murphy 3-2 Peter Ebdon

Shaun Murphy 3-2 Mark King