Shaun Murphy made a superb century in the deciding frame to beat late call-up Ben Woollaston 4-3 in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, boosting his hopes of a place at the Crucible next month.
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Woollaston only found out he had a place in this tournament early on Monday morning as he was next in line when Stephen Maguire pulled out. Setting off immediately for Heathrow, he booked a flight on his way to the airport and was on the plane east by 11am, arriving in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. In the circumstances, with just a few hours to recover from jet lag, he put up a fine battle, but Johnstone's Paint Masters champion Murphy showed his quality at the business end to set up a last 16 tie with Barry Hawkins or Tom Ford.
A break of 90 gave Woollaston the opening frame, then Murphy took a scrappy second before making a 97 for 2-1. Then next two were shared, then Murphy looked close to the winning post when he led 62-18 in frame six, only for Woollaston to double a red to a baulk corner to set up a tremendous 54 clearance for 3-3. Early in the decider, Woollaston potted a red then went for a risky brown to centre, but missed the target and spent the rest of the match in his seat as Murphy made 110.
Having started this week in 19th place in the Race to the Crucible, Murphy needs to win matches over the next three tournaments to climb into the top 16 and make sure of a seeded status in Sheffield next month, otherwise he'll be heading to the World Championship qualifying rounds. So the extra £5,000 he has earned today helps his cause.
"The fact that Ben was a late call-up doesn't change the fact that he's an incredibly tough player to beat," said Murphy. "No one batters him, he's very tough. The clearance he made in the sixth frame has to be one of the best of all time. The double he played on the first red - I was sitting there thinking 'what's he playing?' The next thing I knew it was 3-3.
"There were moments today where I felt really good. I probably put myself under too much pressure because I have caused myself the problem of battling for a Crucible seeding.
"Over the last few seasons, the voice in my head had been saying some very negative things to me when things weren't going well. Since winning the Masters it has been saying much nicer things, reminding me that I can do it and I am good enough. In moments like the deciding frame today, when you get the chance to do it now, that's when that voice makes a difference."
Jack Lisowski scored a 4-2 win over Zhang Anda to set up a last 16 clash with Judd Trump or Gary Wilson. From 2-0 down, China's Zhang made breaks of 112 and 69 for 2-2, and he led by 16 points in frame five with just pink and black left, but went in-off which handed Lisowski the chance to snatch that frame. The Englishman went on to take frame six with a 51 clearance and secure a result which keeps alive his hopes of climbing into the top 16 of the Johnstone's Paint One-Year Rankings and qualifying for the Sportsbet.io Players Championship later this month.
"At 2-2 I was a bit gone but then he played a weird shot on the pink when I needed a snooker," admitted Lisowski. "When someone does that you have to take the chance. I was lucky. I have been to Hong Kong a few times for exhibitions so I know snooker is popular here. The first time I came I was getting recognised on the street. So it's obviously big here and it's great to have a ranking event.
"I know I have to win at least two more matches (to qualify for Telford). I might play Judd Trump next so it won't be easy. I'll try my best. My attacking game is good but my safety is still questionable and that side doesn't come easily to me, though I did play a good safety shot to get a chance in the last frame. Hopefully I can pull it all together."
Stuart Bingham came out on top in a battle of two former Crucible kings, beating Mark Williams 4-2 with breaks of 100, 75 and 65. Bingham now meets Wu Yize or Pang Junxu.
David Gilbert enjoyed a 4-3 success against Chris Wakelin to earn a last 16 tie with Neil Robertson or Yuan Sijun. After winning the opening frame on the colours, Gilbert made a breaks of 73 for 2-0. Wakelin then fired runs of 81 and 79 in going 3-2 ahead, only for Gilbert to take the last two frames.
Both Gilbert and Bingham need to reach the final this week for a chance of qualifying for Telford - follow updates on that race here.