Shaun Murphy broke Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 12-year record for the most unanswered points in a professional match as he thrashed Matthew Selt 6-0 at the China Open in Taiyuan.
Murphy, who also equalled the record of four consecutive centuries, opened the first-round tie with breaks of 18, 61, 132, 103, 139, 113 and 41 for a new record of 607 points without reply.
“It’s like a cricket score isn’t it?” Murphy told WST. “I can’t believe it, I’m over the moon.
“I knew I was close at the interval, but I didn’t want to go looking for it on any sites or anything, As a sportsperson, when you do find yourself in that bubble, in that flow, you just want to stay in it.
“Ideally I wouldn’t have had the interval, I would have just carried on. But it was a delight to play for a great crowd out there. Thrilled.
“I haven’t set many records throughout my career and I’m sure someone at some stage will come along and beat that one, but to be part of snooker history in that way is a great thrill.”
O’Sullivan set the previous record of 556 unanswered points in a 6-0 win against Ricky Walden at the 2014 Masters.
Murphy compiled successive century breaks in frames two to five and joins Mark Allen and Neil Robertson as the only players to have achieved the feat twice.
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan won six straight frames after falling 2-0 behind to beat Jackson Page 6-2, but world number one Judd Trump’s unbeaten start to the season was halted in a 6-3 defeat to Noppon Saengkham.
