Championship League snooker 2021: 2005 world finalists Shaun Murphy and Matthew Stevens reach last 32
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ByEurosport
Updated 04/08/2021 at 22:06 GMT
Shaun Murphy and Matthew Stevens showed off their timeless class by reaching the last 32 of the Championship League. The 2005 world finalists made a winning start to the new campaign with Murphy unbeaten in topping Group 17 and Stevens coming out on top of Group 15 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
Shaun Murphy | Snooker | Betfred World Snooker Meisterschaft 2021 | ESP Player Feature
Image credit: Getty Images
Shaun Murphy picked up from where he finished last season by showing off his scoring class to power into the Championship League last 32 in Leicester.
2005 world champion Murphy – who lost 18-15 to Mark Selby in the Crucible final in May – enjoyed a 3-0 win over Michael Collumb and a 3-1 success against Chen Zifan before a 2-2 draw with Jamie Jones secured his progress at the first ranking event of the new campaign.
World number five Murphy cut a refreshed figure in collecting seven points from his three matches on Wednesday as he made breaks of 100, 72, 54, 71, 66 and 66.
"This is my 24th year as a professional," he said. "I am not sure where those 23 years on tour have gone. I feel a bit like a newbie, to be honest! In all seriousness, it’s a nice way to kick off the season and I’m thrilled to be into the next stage.
I settled and played quite well. I played well throughout the day. I did have a lot of runs as well. Whatever that intangible quality is, I got away with a lot of mistakes today. Perhaps that was the difference.
Murphy edged out Matthew Stevens 18-16 to lift the world title 16 years ago, but the Welshman proved he can still cut it when the mood takes him as he compiled a 130 break on his way to a 3-1 victory over Ross Muir in Group 15.
He lost his second match 3-1 to Andrew Pagett, but recovered well as runs of 91 and 62 helped him to a 3-1 win over Mark King.
Pagett needed a win over Muir to qualify ahead of Stevens, but lost 3-1.
Masters champion Yan Bingtao won Group 25 on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Robbie McGuigan and 3-1 victories over Louis Heathcote and Jamie Clarke respectively that included sparkling breaks of 130 and 114.
Matthew Selt topped Group 27 courtesy of a 3-1 win over Ashley Carty after 2-2 draws with Fraser Patrick and Lukas Kleckers.
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