Shaun Murphy conjured a magical fight back to defeat John Higgins 17-15 in an engrossing semi-final at the 2026 World Snooker Championship on Saturday in Sheffield.
The Englishman reached his fifth Crucible final with a dramatic victory over the four-time champion, who wilted slightly when the winning line came into sight.
There were never more than two frames between them across the entire contest with both players trading punch and counter punch in a topsy-turvy tie.
The story of much of the match was Murphy’s frequent inability to make the most of what seemed to be relentless scoring opportunities.
Higgins managed to take advantage to win a series of close or scrappier frames, and the Scot duly established a 13-11 lead heading into the fourth and final session.
Murphy immediately responded and ironed out his early-break mishaps from the previous two days by knocking in back-to-back century breaks to restore parity.
Yet when Higgins regained the lead and subsequently made a break of 88 to go two in front again at the mid-session interval, it seemed like his dogged determination was going to prove to be the difference.
Murphy, though, was not to be denied and quickly made it 15-15 with runs of 105 and 78.
The eighth seed then moved ahead for the first time since the 17th frame and, albeit he needed two bites at the cherry, he pounced on a missed black from his esteemed opponent in the next to seal his spot in the final.
“I came today knowing that, if I got my chances, I could score,” Murphy said in the BBC studio afterward.
“When I got back to level pegging after the first few frames, I thought here we go. But then I fell two behind again.”
“So at the interval, I was just saying to myself that you’ve done it before and can do it again if you get your chances.
“But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out here, the tougher he gets and the better he plays. It’s just like, would you ever give me a break?”
Murphy, who will face either Mark Allen or Wu Yize in the title-deciding showdown, will now attempt to add a second world crown to his collection of titles, having won his first all the way back in 2005.
“I think I’m a better player now. I think I’m a more rounded and mature player. I was 22, and that was 21 years ago,” Murphy said.
“I think I’m a totally different prospect and a different package. I feel like my scoring is still as good as it ever was and I’ve become a bit more of a mature player.”
“But there’s no getting away from it. I can say that I want to go out there and play like it means nothing, but it will mean everything.”
Higgins, who was bidding to reach a World Championship final for the ninth time, produced a gutsy performance from start to finish.
But the soon-to-be 51 year-old will be left to rue a missed black in what proved to be the last frame, when it seemed as though he was on the brink of forcing a decider.
“The shot on the black was very weak,” a disappointed Higgins admitted. “I know that the pressure is on. But when you look at the final session, Shaun was punching and really going for it.”
“My action got a little bit lost at the end, which is understandable out there because it’s difficult.
“I shouldn’t have been below the black – it was criminal the way I played it. But listen, you can’t hit the ball better than the way Shaun hit it.
“The way he hit the ball in that last session was incredible, it really was. He just hit it like a god. I’m disappointed, but what do you do?”
The second semi-final between Allen and Wu will conclude later on Saturday with the pair tied at 11 frames apiece.
Featured photo credit: WST
