Majestic Murphy Opens Account in Style - 02/09/2010

Shaun Murphy 5-1 Ding Junhui

71-51 (51 Ding), 69-38 (45 Murphy), 0-128 (65, 63 Ding), 124-0 (124 Murphy), 86-31 (55 Murphy, 31 Ding), 109-0 (109 Murphy)

Defending champion Shaun Murphy got his 2010 PartyCasino.com Premier League campaign off to a fantastic site as he got the better of Ding Junhui by a convincing 5-1 scoreline.

The early frames were close before Murphy opened up with some quality breaks to close out the match.

‘Job well done, a good start,’ said Murphy after match.

‘It’s a long tournament though and it’s not how you start though, it’s about getting in top four and that was a good start,’ he added.

Murphy took the opening frame with two small breaks, interspersed by a run of 51 by Ding and the defending champion had the early opportunity in the second but went in-off on 19 points while trying to make a difficult position. The long red went in but the cue ball followed it.

Ding then got to the table but broke down on 28 as he missed a red to the middle pocket and Murphy took full advantage to secure the frame to move into a 2-0 lead.

Ding came alive in the third frame as he compiled a break of 65 but he missed a cannon into the remainder of the pack and then missed a red to the top corner pocket with the rest. Murphy couldn’t hold him off though, and Ding rolled a difficult long red in that saw him over the line as he cleared to the pink to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

A cracking 124 break from Murphy, the first of this year’s tournament and worth an extra £1,000, moved him into a 3-1 lead and secured at least a point.

Murphy, looking very convincing at this stage of the match, made it to 55 but missed a slow cut on a red into the corner pocket to throw Ding a life line. He couldn’t capitalise on it, though and but Murphy missed a relatively easy red.

Ding got to 31 but missed a sitter into the centre pocket and that gave Murphy the opportunity to take the frame and the match which he did.

The final frame went Murphy’s way as he compiled a majestic break of 109 to cement an excellent 5-1 victory.

‘Winning frames you’re not meant to is like a double whammy as it gives you a boost and it’s also what it does to the other player,’ said Murphy.

‘The scoreline was flattering though as Ding played well in parts, but I’ve got a happy but long drive home,’ he added.