Shaun Murphy missed out on a most 147 break as he secured a spot within the semi-finals of the Masters with an outstanding 6-2 victory over Neil Robertson at Alexandra Palace.
Main 5-2, Murphy knocked in 15 reds and 15 blacks to succeed in 120 with solely the colors remaining however ended up snookering himself behind the blue and the possibility was misplaced.
It could have been a magical conclusion to a close to faultless show from the 42-year-old Englishman, who will now play Mark Allen within the semi-finals on Saturday after the Northern Irishman defeated Mark Selby 6-2.
Breaks of 81, 88 and 104 underscored a unbelievable and fluent opening to the match however as soon as Allen pinched a protracted and pivotal fourth body to stop Selby from drawing stage at 2-2, he all the time regarded the stronger.
Earlier, Murphy had compiled breaks of 90, 67 and 66 to ascertain a 4-1 benefit over Robertson.
Whereas two-time winner Robertson made an outstanding century break within the subsequent, a run of 82 carried Murphy additional clear earlier than he sealed his win.
“That was someplace close to my finest. I’m delighted,” Murphy advised BBC Sport.
“I could not breathe [going for the 147]. I used to be very nervous. Certainly one of my targets for the season was to make a max in a Triple Crown occasion and it was an excellent likelihood.
“It was thrilling and would have been an excellent current as a result of immediately is my mum’s birthday.”
