Shaun Murphy dashed Zhao Xintong’s hopes of lifting the Crucible curse with a superb 13-10 win as he moved into the semi-finals of the World Championship.
Zhao, 29, had been aiming to become the only first-time winner to defend his crown since the tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre in 1977.
However, he simply had no answer as the 43-year-old Englishman knocked in a barrage of pots to reach the last four for the sixth time.
Murphy, who has made it his personal mission to repeat his success from 2005 when he claimed his one and only world title to date, got under way in style, fashioning a 96 break to edge into a 9-8 lead.
While Zhao immediately responded with a 71, Murphy compiled breaks of 80 and 70 as he reeled off the next three frames to put himself on the cusp of victory against a player he lauded as the “best on the planet” earlier in the week.
A composed run of 81 from Asia’s first world champion took the contest to a 23rd frame.
But when Murphy picked out a sublime red to the middle from the bottom of the pack he was able to construct a break of 69, and with Zhao unable to get the snooker he required, the ‘Magician’ wrapped up a famous triumph.
In commentary, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry described Murphy, who at one stage trailed 3-0 and lost the impetus on Tuesday evening, when Zhao fought back from 8-6 to 8-8, as delivering a “flawless” performance.
“I think when you are playing great player – which Zhao unquestionably is – it makes it straightforward for you,” Murphy told BBC Sport.
“I just knew I had to play properly and knew I had to be somewhere near my best and I think I was.
“I’m so in awe of Zhao Xintong and how he plays the game. When he is in full flow, he is mesmerising to watch.
“It is one of the best wins of my career.”
Zhao, who became the first ever player to win all three events in the Players Series in the same season and only the third to bank in excess of £1m in a single campaign, added: “Shaun played really well and put me under big pressure. He played perfect snooker and deserves his win.
“He is a very good player and congratulations to him. I give him some very difficult long pots but he could pot everything today.
“All this season I have had big pressure but now it is gone. I trust myself to come back strongly.”
