Players Championship 2023 final as it happened - Shaun Murphy seals title with emphatic win against Ali Carter
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Updated 26/02/2023 at 21:00 GMT
Eurosport's updates of the 2023 Players Championship final with Shaun Murphy facing off against Ali Carter for the trophy. Murphy dominated throughout and notched up five centuries as he recorded a 10-4 victory. Don't forget, you can stream the World Championship and more top snooker action live on Eurosport and discovery+.
'Oh, wow!' - Murphy 'never backs off a big shot' as he drains tough black in final
SHAUN MURPHY WINS THE 2023 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
THAT'S YOUR LOT, FOLKS
As Shaun Murphy celebrates, we will bid you good night, but remember that Eurosport.co.uk is the place to be for all of your snooker needs.
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'One of my biggest achievements'
Murphy: “I played really good all week, but that performance…I couldn’t get it done in the final of the Welsh Open last week, so to win it like that, it’s one of the biggest ever achievements in my career. To play like that when I needed it most, I’m going to take that as a feather in my cap.”
Carter reacts to a tough night: “Shaun played great, I think he played the best all week. I couldn’t find my game. Safety is usually one of my strong points but Shaun was just potting every long ball. When he's on... well you saw what happened tonight... You wonder how he’s not won for three years!"
RESULT: MURPHY 10-4 CARTER
It’s all over! Shaun Murphy fittingly racks up a FIFTH century of the final courtesy of a sublime 130 clearance to seal victory and cap a scintillating week of snooker by destroying an in-form Ali Carter.
It means the Magician ends a three-year wait for a major honour, which is the 10th ranking title of his illustrious career.
It also sees him go one better and recover quickly from his defeat in the final of the Welsh Open last week.
Murphy picks up the £125,000 winners’ cheque and, most significantly from his perspective, a second piece of silverware at this tournament having also prevailed in the inaugural event back in 2011.
MURPHY 9-4 CARTER (1-0)
Shaun locks in for another long pot, but this time it goes wrong. Carter has the chance to lay a trap but makes a real hash of it.
Murphy again opens the scoring as he uses the obstacle of the blue as a guide to clip a long red into the bottom-right corner pocket.
Will the Captain get another opportunity at the table? The title could be incoming...
MURPHY 9-4 CARTER
That is how to pinch a frame. It’s ice-cool, it’s methodical and it’s another heavy score as a splendid 88 clearance moves Murphy to within one of the title.
MURPHY 8-4 CARTER (0-48)
Murphy is unlucky with a long red that rattles the jaws of the bottom right pocket, rolls across the bottom cushion and does the same in the left corner.
Carter’s eyes light up as the cue ball remains close to the black around a flurry of loose reds.
The Captain quickly builds a head of steam with a succession of red-black combos, but then hangs his head in dismay as his screw back off the black somehow curves away from the pack and up to baulk. He’s left with a risky red from distance but it refuses the offer of a place in the right-hand bottom pocket.
As a result, a chance for Murphy presents itself….
MURPHY 8-4 CARTER
It’s Carter who wins the safety face-off as Murphy plays the same escape shot off the right cushion into the pack, but too much pace on the cue ball means the Captain has sight of a red to the bottom left corner.
He takes advantage and after dusting off a pink to the left middle he is able to roll back down and build off the black spot. A black to the bottom right allows him to split the pack and all of a sudden there’s a slightly different feel about this final.
Carter’s focus remains excellent as he cuts a tough black to the bottom right pocket with the frame within sight.
The audience respond as he nails frame-ball and mops up with a break of 82 to head into the mid-session interval trailing by four.
MURPHY 8-3 CARTER (9-5)
Ali cues a long red like an arrow to the bottom right pocket and earns cheers of encouragement. It doesn’t lead anywhere but he’s able to apply some pressure by leaving Murphy with limited options from baulk behind the yellow and green.
The 2005 World Champion tries to escape off the right cushion but lacks the pace to nudge into the pack and fouls. He gets it right second time around but at this juncture Carter has the momentum in this frame.
MURPHY 8-3 CARTER (9-0)
Long red – check … Pot with the rest – check…
However, what feels like an inevitable solving of the puzzle and a big run from Murphy doesn’t materialise as he can’t quite find the angle on the screw back to split a tightly aligned red and black.
He retreats to baulk and there’s an opportunity for Carter to once again try and sink his teeth into a frame rather than watching the Magician produce another disappearing act with the balls.
MURPHY 8-3 CARTER
There’s no doubt who the crowd are rooting for at this moment in time. They want to see more snooker and if that’s to be the case, then Ali needs to find some way of battling back into this contest.
He angles a red to the bottom right corner via the rest to land neatly on the pink close to the black spot and from there he’s able to attempt a decent split of the pack.
The Captain glides a tough red up to left middle and plays off blue and pink with the black up on the yellow spot.
It’s not a routine break to build by any means but he suddenly rediscovers the rhythm that has seen him excel this month, tucking away some tricky pots to right middle before seeing his frame-winning run end on 71 when a long blue refuses to go down.
MURPHY 8-2 CARTER (8-1)
How’s your luck? Carter finally has a look-in when Murphy misses (yes, he missed a shot!) a red down to the middle right pocket.
He sees a long red jump out of the bottom left pocket but his irritation quickly turns to relief as it rolls diagonally across the table into right middle.
It’s the slice of fortune he was hoping for, but then he goes and messes it all up by hitting the jaws of the pocket with an attempt on an easy enough blue to middle right.
Murphy steps in with the rest to roll a red in down the left cushion but ends prematurely with a break of seven - and then a cheeky score of one - when he can’t convince the black to drop down the opposite flank.
MURPHY 8-2 CARTER
This must be agony for Carter. It’s like Groundhog Day as he watches his opponent once again nail an absolute scorcher of a long red to the corner left to get that first look at the table.
In the blink of an eye the Magician conjures up another fabulous run as he clocks up a fourth century of the final - and a record-extending 10th of the tournament - with a solid 103.
So, we have indeed had a fast start to this evening session, but it’s been all about Murphy, who has simply been relentless.
MURPHY 7-2 CARTER
New session, same old story? It looks that way as Murphy punishes Carter’s failure to slot home a long red to the bottom right pocket by drilling one down that same flank via the rest.
It provides him with the perfect opportunity to prey off loose reds around the black spot and he’s soon chalking up another solid break.
There’s the early suggestion he’s got a 147 in mind when he turns down a simple red to the right middle and instead uses a spider to cue down over a pack of balls to knock a tougher one in and stay on black.
He’s ticking along very nicely and there’s an air of anticipation in the audience, but all of a sudden it all goes awry when he blows a simple black to the bottom right pocket with just three reds remaining. The break of 89 seals the frame but he looks rather rueful and he evidently did have the eighth maximum break of his career in mind.
Here we go!
It's Frame 9 and Carter will break off.
PUNDIT'S VIEW: IT'S MURPHY'S TO LOSE
The 1997 World champion, Ken Doherty has been speaking to ITV4 about Carter’s chances as the players prepare to step out for the tournament finale.
“He needs to play good safety and when he gets a chance he MUST take it… Ali needs a big and very fast start tonight,” said Doherty.
Asked about Murphy’s form, he added: “His long-ball game and his scoring has just been phenomenal. It’s hard to play against but so good to watch. Every time he gets in, he looks like he’s going to clear the table.”
WILL A SECOND TITLE IN THE SAME YEAR REMAIN ELUSIVE FOR CARTER?
The Captain has never won two ranking titles in the same campaign and it's now looking less likely that he'll break that duck in Wolverhampton.
However, his triumph in the German Masters at the start of the month shows he has the pedigree and there's always a chance Murphy may get nervy as the 2005 World Champion looks to land the 10th title of his career at this level and his first since 2020.
Will Murphy go one better tonight?
The Magician came up just short in the final of the Welsh Open last week and blamed it on too many errors. That's not been the case so far today, but we could yet have plenty of snooker ahead if Ali Carter has anything to say about it.
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'I made far too many unforced errors' - Murphy rues mistakes in final against Milkins
GOOD EVENING!
Welcome back to our live updates from the final of the 2023 Players Championship.
Shaun Murphy was in mesmerising form in the afternoon session as he swept into a 6-2 lead with some particularly impressive cue-action including runs of 145, 141 and 112.
Ali Carter made a 122 in response but for the large part he was glued to his seat as the Magician took centre stage.
Will the Captain provide a response this evening? He’s going to need a strong start if he wants to turn this one around; the first to 10 will take home the trophy.
The players are due at the table from 19.00 GMT.
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Snooker The Players Championship Final : Murphy 112 Frames 7
Image credit: Eurosport
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JOIN US AGAIN THIS EVENING
That’s it for what has been a hugely entertaining afternoon session – but don't worry! We’ll be back from 18.30 GMT for the conclusion of this final.
MURPHY 6-2 CARTER
What a way to end the session! Murphy makes history with a NINTH century of the tournament to move to within four frames of victory.
Carter can only watch on, slightly bewildered, as his opponent spots a double off the right cushion and almost effortlessly fires it into left middle to land perfectly on the black.
Shaun’s delight continues when he produces some excellent top spin on the cue ball while despatching a red to the bottom right corner to burst into the pack and open up the table.
With the frame in the bag a potential 147 is on his mind and he keeps the attempt on target with a wonderful cannon into three reds stacked together in the centre of the table.
The final red is tied to the right cushion but he can’t find the pot via the rest as the red jiggles against both jaws before staying out. The 147 eludes him but a 112 break is good enough to give him a four-frame lead heading into tonight’s session.
MURPHY 5-2 CARTER
He’s at it again! Murphy’s cue control is a sight to behold as he steers another beauty of a long red to the bottom left corner pocket, continuing his intent to play aggressive, front-foot snooker.
The World No.11 reasserts his authority in style as he tickles another red down with the rest and gets a delightful nudge off the red furthest south to land perfectly on the black.
It’s not long before a frame-winning run emerges on his horizon when he crunches a red to the bottom right pocket and screws back to get a favourable split of the pack.
There’s certainly more than a sprinkle magic about his run as he storms to an eight century of the tournament in double-quick time to tie the record held by John Higgins with a scintillating 141 clearance.
MURPHY 4-2 CARTER (12-59)
He can indeed. That’s a superb, controlled pot from Carter on a red that is effectively frame ball.
He visibly relaxes and clears up to the pink to move back to within two frames of Murphy.
MURPHY 4-1 CARTER (12-59)
Carter tries to come off the left cushion to escape but misses on his first foray. He catches the red closest to the pocket but only succeeds in knocking it into a potable position. Murphy duly obliges but can’t manage much else.
He leaves a pressure pot on down the right cushion for his opponent. Can Carter handle the heat?
MURPHY 4-1 CARTER (7-59)
That's intelligent snooker right there. Murphy rolls an easy red to bottom right but with a line of three reds just above the same pocket, close to the cushion, he opts for a snooker behind the black just above them.
MURPHY 4-1 CARTER (0-59)
That could be very costly. Murphy misses a long red to the bottom left pocket by some distance and watches in horror as the cue ball clatters into pack of reds.
He frowns and paces back to his chair as a shout of ‘Come on Ali!’ emanates from the crowd.
Carter doesn’t disappoint as he cuts up to a red above the black to glide it into the bottom right pocket before working position off the blue to prey off stray reds around the black spot.
A lovely pot on the blue to cannon into a cluster of three reds still in a central position works a treat, but two shots later he has to cue over the pink to reach a red.
He then takes on the pink to the right middle but catches the far jaw and sees his hopes of winning the frame at this visit disappear.
MURPHY 4-1 CARTER
Well, not for long. Carter plays a terrible shot that leaves Murphy with a half chance. It’s all he needs as he finds a very fine cut on a red to the bottom left pocket. There’s no clearance in sight as he lays a snooker after clocking up a lowly score of five, but it’s all that is required to get the nod of concession from his opponent to conclude a scrappy, forgettable frame.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (41-8)
Carter has played quite a few excellent safety shots this afternoon, so he must be wondering how most of those exchanges have ended with Murphy ending up with the initiative.
It happens again here as the Magician rattles down a red to the bottom left pocket and works his way through the remaining reds, nudging down an awkward pink via the rest along the way.
He leans in from baulk to roll in the first of the final three reds but then inexplicably misses an easier pink with the frame all-but in his hands.
On we go!
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (26-8)
Murphy takes on a difficult red up to the right middle but it catches the far jaw and stays out.
Carter steps in and cuts a red to the bottom right with the rest but can’t stop the cue ball from travelling up the table near to the side cushion. He opts to remain patient and plays the safety.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (26-7)
Ali can’t do much in response and it’s Shaun who gets in again to thump a long red to the bottom left pocket before running out of position on 13.
It continues to be a patchy return to the action following the mid-session interval.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (13-7)
Wow, what a fluke! Murphy misses another long attempt on a red to the bottom right corner, but as he plods back to his chair with his eyes on the floor, the sound of the crowd’s murmurs of disbelief catch his attention. The red flew up to baulk and rolled right down to the bottom left pocket.
Another bit of fortune follows when another long red to the bottom left almost sees him go in-off via the jaw of the left middle. It causes him to ask the referee if the white ball has been changed, which is rather interesting.
It hasn’t, of course, but he does look less convincing right now and ends on 12 with a safety.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (1-7)
It’s a lukewarm opening following the break as Carter runs out of position far too early and can only clock up a seven.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER (1-0)
It’s déjà vu as Murphy returns from the mid-session interval to knock in another long red off a Carter break.
The Magician has rarely looked like he will miss but does just that – and by some distance – on an attempt on the blue up to the yellow pocket.
MURPHY 3-1 CARTER
Boy, did he need that. Carter takes full of advantage of the foul he lured with the snooker behind the yellow and finally finds the rhythm that has been the foundation of his fine February form.
He rolls a tough final red in along the bottom cushion and works his way up to the colours to notch up the century with an efficient pot on the green.
A 122 clearance ensues and he heads into the mid-session interval in a much better frame of mind having finally dragged himself on to the board.
MURPHY 3-0 CARTER (4-6)
A cagey safety exchange kicks off Frame 4.
Once again Carter is the one to wobble with an avoidable foul when trying to apply a thin touch to the red furthest right, close to the bottom cushion.
He gets it right second time around and then has the first decent look at the opening pot. He thunders a red to the bottom left pocket and sees a second ricochet off the cue ball and roll into the opposite corner too.
He opts against trying to build a break at this juncture and instead tucks the cue ball tight behind the yellow to leave Murphy in a pickle that lures the foul back.
MURPHY 3-0 CARTER
It’s cat and mouse stuff on that blue.
Carter plays a lovely safety to leave the blue in the centre of the baulk cushion and earns a tap of the table in appreciation from his opponent.
Murphy responds with an equally impressive defensive tactic to push the blue to the right cushion and there looks like being no end to the stand-off until a bit of magic from the man nicknamed the Magician swings it his way.
Murphy takes on a long blue up to the green pocket and maintains brilliant cue action to sizzle it down and strike a real blow to Carter’s belief. The pink follows and that’ll do it.
Murphy is firmly in charge of this final and Carter needs to find a response quickly.
MURPHY 2-0 CARTER (57-54)
The Magician clears up to that tough blue but doesn’t have the angle for a possible pot and is forced to play a safety.
Carter then goes in-off to put Murphy ahead on the board, but somehow the Captain leaves the blue safe, tight to baulk. Still anyone’s frame here!
MURPHY 2-0 CARTER (43-54)
There are cheers of encouragement from the spectators as Carter knocks in a red for his first pot in 22 minutes.
There’s no sign of rust as he follows that by rocketing a brilliant pink up to the green pocket and applies back spin on the cue ball to split the pack and earn himself a real opportunity to reduce the arrears.
It looks very much on when he guides the final red home with the rest, but after completing the half century break he comes unstuck with a surprising miss on the black to the bottom left.
The blue is in a tricky position but Murphy could well punish him from here…
MURPHY 2-0 CARTER (43-0)
Carter had the best seat in the house to witness that majestic 145 clearance and he’s rooted to his seat once for a little longer here as Murphy slams another speculative red to the bottom right pocket to remain firmly in his groove.
It all looks so effortless when the Magician is seeing the balls like this. Even when faced with another tricky long red to the bottom left corner, he mulls it over before coolly sizzling it home.
In the end, such confidence proves his undoing as he takes a long blue on to the4 green pocket to try and regain lost position, but for once he fails to sink it.
MURPHY 2-0 CARTER
Carter still hasn’t quite settled – but there’s no doubt Murphy has!
The Captain misses a long red to the bottom left by some way and a double kiss allows Murphy another early opportunity to seize the initiative.
The 2005 World Champion expertly cuts the red into that pocket via the rest and produces the perfect weight of shot to repeatedly nudge the scoreboard with some routine play off the black spot. A sweet red up to right middle and a blue to the opposite pocket help him regain position and this time he does move beyond the half century point following his break of 48 in the opener.
The key shot arrives with a black to the bottom right that allows him to nudge into the pack and land on a red to middle left. He duly sinks what is effectively frame ball and from there it’s all about how big a score he achieves.
The world No.11 has been scoring heavy all week and his seventh century of the tournament - the highest of the week overall - arrives via a sensational 145 clearance.
MURPHY 1-0 CARTER
The Magician is the first to regain his composure, finding a lovely cut on a red and clocking an additional 14 to his tally before producing an exquisite snooker right behind the brown and tight to baulk.
Carter already needs a snooker at this point and when he sends the cue ball into the bottom left pocket in his first attempt to escape, he sees there’s no real point in continuing and concedes the frame.
MURPHY 0-0 CARTER (49-18)
Ouch. Carter sees the opportunity to nick the frame but comes up well short at 12 when he misses a red to the bottom left on the stretch.
Both players then earn groans of dismay from the crowd as their respective nerves reveal themselves with some edgy, make-able misses.
MURPHY 0-0 CARTER (49-6)
Carter blinks first in the exchanges of safeties when he gets a flick off a blue that leaves the cue ball down table. Murphy looks to take advantage with a dead plant on a red to the bottom right corner but sees the black refuse to wriggle down in the opposite pocket.
Chance for Carter.
MURPHY 0-0 CARTER (48-6)
The Captain arrows a long red to the bottom left pocket and slams a blue to middle right, but it all goes wrong too quickly as an unfortunate ricochet sees the cue ball cling tight to a cluster of three reds. It’s a touching ball, so he’s got very few options and opts to play off a couple of cushions with a safety up to baulk.
MURPHY 0-0 CARTER (48-0)
It’s first blood to the Magician as he thunders in a long red to the bottom right corner to make the maiden pot of the final.
He knocks in a blue and another red before powering into the pack to open the table up for a potentially frame-winning run.
A tricky pink to left middle goes down with the minimum of fuss before he tickles a miss-able red down the right cushion into the pocket to land neatly on the black.
He looks unstoppable but a tiny nick off a red while sinking the pink proves costly as he loses position on a red to the bottom right corner.
The grimace says it all as he plays a red off the left cushion to retreat with a safety to baulk.
SHOW TIME!
The big intros are over with Carter quickly followed by Murphy into the arena.
Carter will break first in the 2023 Players Championship final.
WHO IS THE FAVOURITE?
Murphy may be playing a few mind games suggesting Carter is the favourite as he looks to go one better following a run to the final at the Welsh Open last time out.
The Bookies disagree with the Captain and have him down as odds-on to claim his second Players Championship title.
BEATEN WILSON FACING POTENTIAL FINE
Kyren Wilson cut a frustrated figure after watching Shaun Murphy claim four of the final five frames in a 6-3 defeat to the 2005 world champion at the Players Championship semi-finals in Wolverhampton.
Wilson slammed his cue against the deck and his display. "I had loads of chances, I was c***, absolutely c***".
FORMER WORLD NO.6 IS IN THE CAPTAIN'S CORNER
Alan McManus: “I think the recent Carter win in the German Masters will stand him in good stead. Finals are a separate life form, a completely different entity from normal matches and I think Ali will take good vibes into this one. I slightly fancy Carter.”
SEVEN-TIME WORLD CHAMPION IS TIPPING MURPHY TO LIFT THE TROPHY
Stephen Hendry: "I think Shaun’s just playing too good, at the moment, He’s scoring too heavily."
IT'S WIN OR BUST FOR THE CAPTAIN
"It is all about winning," said Carter following his triumph over Joe O'Connor.
"I’m in another final which is great, but I want to be a tournament winner. I don’t want to be a finalist. This is a massive tournament and it would arguably be the biggest event I’ve won.”
MURPHY HAPPY TO PLAY THE SUPPOSED ROLE OF THE UNDERDOG
"I'm going to go for my shots (in the final) and play attractive snooker," he said following his semi-final win over Kyren Wilson.
"I think he (Ali) goes in as favourite because he's just won a ranking title, and it is my job to keep up with him."
H2H
This is their 19th meeting with Carter leading the career match-ups 10-8. They first met way back in 2000 in the old B&H Championship with Murphy winning 5-2.
MEN IN FORM
The final two are bang at right now with Ali Carter winning the German Masters earlier this month and Shaun Murphy finishing as runner-up at the Welsh Open just last week.
The players are due at the table for the first session of a best of 19-frame showdown for the trophy from 13.00 GMT.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to Eurosport's live text coverage of the 2023 Players Championship final that will see Shaun Murphy face off against Ali Carter.
Players Championship Sunday schedule
13:00
- Shaun Murphy v Ali Carter
19:00
- Shaun Murphy v Ali Carter
- -
Stream the World Championship and more top snooker action live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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