SHAUN MURPHY branded himself an “idiot” live on TV – after blowing the chance of a 147 at the Masters.
The former world champion powered to an emphatic 6-2 win over Neil Robertson on Thursday afternoon.
Murphy was at his brilliant best as he overcame the Aussie in front of a packed house at Ally Pally.
The 42-year-old almost ended the game with a perfect 147 break – before inexplicably snookering himself behind the blue.
Murphy potted the black and played for position on the yellow, only to leave his shot miles short.
Despite missing out on the 147, Murphy still sealed victory with the century break of 120.
Following the match, reigning world champ Kyren Wilson joined John Parrott and host Hazel Irvine in the BBC studio.
Asked for his immediate thoughts on Murphy’s performance, Wilson laughed: “What a wally!
“What a wally. Fancy snookering yourself on the blue.”
Still laughing, he added: “No, what an effort. What a fantastic performance.
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“Neil will be walking away there thinking ‘I didn’t do too much wrong.'”
Murphy joined the trio moments later – and before being prompted, let out his frustration at missing out on the maximum and £15,000 for the highest break of the tournament.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”‘Let’s have a re-rack then’, jokes snooker world champion as Masters crowd erupts into laughter during bizarre frame” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367130048112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Holding his head in his hands, he spluttered: “What an idiot!
“I wouldn’t mind but I’ve done the exact same thing before, in the Welsh Open years ago. You’d think I would have learnt.”
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D103269%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Murphy has made eight career 147s, with his last in the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out.
And he admitted this one would have been special – as it’s his mum’s birthday.
Murphy added: “I couldn’t breathe [during the end of the break.]
“I just thought, please stop anywhere but there.
“When you’re playing one of the greats, you know you have to step up to the mark.
“I was really pleased with how I finished the game, especially after Neil came back from [5-1 down] against John Higgins.
“It would have been a great present, it’s my mum’s birthday today”.
Now through to the semi-finals, Murphy faces the winner of Mark Selby and Mark Allen who play at Alexandra Palace tonight.