Birthday boy and record-breaker Shaun Murphy has double cause for celebration in Taiyuan

Former World Champion Murphy will spend his 44th birthday in the Far East, and he will be feeling great about his game after a record-breaking performance in round one of the £1.2 million+ ranking event.

Murphy produced one of the greatest performances ever seen in top-flight snooker on Sunday as he brushed aside qualifier Matthew Selt, 6-0, to reach the last 16 where he will meet Xiao Guodong.

During that swashbuckling whitewash, ‘The Magician’ conjured up four century breaks in consecutive frames - equalling the record that he already jointly held - but even more notably, amassed an unprecedented sequence of 607 unanswered points.

The new world record of 607 without reply broke Ronnie O’Sullivan’s previous benchmark of 556 from The Rocket’s 6-0 win over Ricky Walden in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Masters at the Alexandra Palace in London.

After a 61 in the opening frame, world number six Murphy fashioned runs of 132, 103, and 139 to go 4-0 up at the mid-session. On resumption, the Englishman continued his ruthless streak, compiling a break of 113 which was a 147 maximum break attempt that was halted when he was unable to slice in a very difficult 15th black.

By this point a new record had already been set, but Murphy swelled the total further with a 41 in frame six before Selt finally scored his first points of the match. However, Murphy later returned, and with an effort of 55 he wrapped up a very memorable outing.

Proud Murphy ‘over the moon’ and looking to enjoy birthday as a tourist

It was just under 12 months ago that Murphy slipped outside the world’s top 16 rankings for the first time in over 19 years.

That time outside snooker’s elite bracket was very brief, though, as just a few weeks later he won his 13th ranking event title at the 2025 British Open. He instantly followed up that victory with a run to the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix, and later in the season was runner-up at the German Masters, and only a frame away from a second world title when he was denied in a deciding frame by Wu Yize in the Crucible final.

As it stands, Murphy could mathematically become world number one for the first time in his career later this month - although it would take an extraordinary sequence of results for that to happen.

Speaking to the World Snooker Tour shortly after his remarkable achievement, a proud Murphy said: “It's like a cricket score isn't it? I've had golf scores closer to that!”

"I can't believe it, I'm over the moon. I knew I was close - at the interval I didn't want to go looking on any websites to check what the record was. If you find yourself in the bubble and in the flow, you just want to stay in it.”

The 2005 World Champion - who is the only player in professional snooker history to have compiled a maximum 147 break under shot-clock conditions, at the Shoot Out in 2023 - added: “I haven't set that many records throughout my career and I am sure someone will go out and beat this one at some stage. But to be part of snooker history in this way is a great thrill.”

The China Open is one of the few accolades that Murphy doesn’t already have on his CV, although he came mightily close in 2008 when he was pipped 10-9 by Stephen Maguire in the final.

Following a seven-year absence from the tournament calendar - the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and didn’t return until now - Murphy is delighted to see it back on the roster.

Having moved from Beijing where it was staged annually between 2005 to 2019, the China Open revival has also given Murphy the chance to visit Taiyuan for the first time, and he’s going to be a tourist on Monday as he enjoys some time away from the baize.

“We're all thrilled to see the return of the China Open - China's premier event. We've missed it greatly over the years, I'm thrilled that it's back.

"It's my first time in this city of Taiyuan and I'm celebrating my birthday tomorrow, I've got the day off and so I'll be out seeing the sights. If anyone wants to give me a glass of wine I'll be happy to take it!"

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 China Open snooker ranking event, visit our tournament information centre here.