Shaun Murphy heaped praise on Chang Bingyu after being humbled by the young Chinese player in a stunning display at the Welsh Open on Tuesday.
Chang, who reached the final of the Scottish Open in December, thumped the former world champion 4-0 in a remarkable performance that included four century breaks and a 100% pot success rate.
The 23 year-old compiled a break of 130 in the opening frame to set the tone for the entire first-round affair at the Venue Cymru.
A match-high 136 followed, and the relentless scoring streak continued in the third and fourth frames where he added contributions of 119 and 130 without missing a single ball.
“That’s the best performance in a best-of-seven match that I’ve ever seen,” Shaun Murphy told BBC Wales straight after the match.
“If that were Ronnie O’Sullivan or Judd Trump, it would be on the news. It was quite literally the best performance I’ve ever witnessed in a match of that length.”
“I mean, you can copy and paste my comments from last week from the Players Championship. It’s another absolutely outstanding performance from an opponent against me this season.
“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about it – what a performance and what a player.”
Murphy, who gave his opponent a standing ovation at the end, managed to pot just one ball in the entire outing – a terrific long red to open the third frame.
But that was as good as it got for the reigning British Open champion as he was forced to sit and appreciate a piece of history.
“That’s snooker,” a resigned Murphy continued. “Unfortunately, that’s what makes our sport unique. We’re not golf, where you hit the ball and go find it.”
“We can’t tackle. In darts, you get your three darts in a few seconds. In snooker, your next shot could be your last.
“As we saw today, did I have ten shots in the match? I’m not sure I had 15, I’m not sure. Two of them were break-offs and one of them was a long red.
“In the third frame, I got to hit the ball a couple of times. I only potted one ball and it was a good shot, but what can I say?
“I love coming to Llandudno, but it has been a very short trip.”
Chang, who has already broken into the top 64 in his first season back on the main tour following a ban, will face either Luca Brecel or Jackson Page in the last 32.
The former world amateur champion’s outright odds for the tournament have been slashed to 10/1 with more sign-up offers available at top-rated bookmakers covering major snooker tournaments and ranking events.
The 2026 Welsh Open is the season’s last event from the Home Nations Series and carries a top prize worth £100,000.
Chang, though, still has an opportunity to pocket the £150,000 Home Nations Series bonus after front-runner Mark Allen exited the competition on the first day.
Chang would land the jackpot by winning his maiden ranking crown in Wales, and he’s certainly a threat to do just that after this eye-catching display.
Featured image credit: WST
Today was a prime time to promote the game we all love. As Dave so eloquently eluded to, there was a major consensus that Shaun Murphy and Chang Bingyu”s match was the type of match most fans love to watch. It is funny how one of the commentary guy numerous times had mentioned that people in the first two days whom had all day passes were receiving could value for their money after some 8 to 10 hours sitting in a chair while the fans had clearly spoken with an 1st time this year glorious standing ovation for the Murphy/Bingyu match that lasted barely an hour. Considering the commentators comment on value for money, by his logic, the happy fans had been short changed.
I must salute Mr.Shaun Murphy for good sportsmanship by also participating in the standing ovation. That is how to sell the sport.
What I cannot understand, is the zero comment from the WST about us, the fans. A full crowd, a standing ovation and nothing said.
Unlike football, where they constantly mention the importance of fans to the game and team, it looks as though whoever runs this sport is simply fine with collecting tournaments in another country that has such an impact on points with ultimately zero fan base. Our sport will die without those who stood and gave our players standing ovations and support, period.
Gary Wilson produced something very similar later in the day. The Tynesider made a 93 followed by three successive centuries in beating Amir Sarkhosh 4-0. The aggregate score finishing 469-6.
Murphy himself has made four consecutive tons at the Welsh Open. He did so in a 5-1 win over Jamie Cope in 2007.
The Magician was also in his chair when Jack Lisowski made four in a row against him in the 2022 UK Championship quarter-finals.