Murphy Shatters 12-Year Points Record at China Open — And He's Worth Backing to Go Deep

The Pick

Back Shaun Murphy to reach the China Open quarter-finals at current odds. The Magician is in the form of his life in Taiyuan and has drawn a very winnable second-round fixture against Xiao Guodong. With 607 unanswered points already banked in round one, this is a man playing in a state of pure flow — and you want to be on him while he's in it.

What Just Happened

If you weren't watching Shaun Murphy dismantle Matthew Selt at the 2026 China Open on Sunday, you missed one of the most extraordinary individual performances in modern snooker. Murphy whitewashed Selt 6-0 in Taiyuan, but the scoreline barely tells the story. The Magician compiled breaks of 139, 133, 113, 109, 61, and 55 — scoring an astonishing 607 consecutive points without his opponent potting a single ball. That figure doesn't just look good on paper. It breaks a world record that has stood for 12 years.

The previous mark of 556 unanswered points was set by Ronnie O'Sullivan at the 2014 Masters — and O'Sullivan is not a man who gives up records lightly. Murphy has now consigned that benchmark to the history books, and he did it with a performance that included four consecutive century breaks, only the second time in his career he's managed that feat in a single match. It's also worth noting that his 113 in the penultimate frame came to an end on the 15th black during what could have been a maximum break attempt. On a different day, we might be talking about something even more extraordinary.

Murphy was typically good-humoured when reflecting on the achievement after leaving the table. "It's like a cricket score, isn't it?" he quipped to World Snooker Tour media, before adding that some of his golf rounds have been closer to 607 than his opponents usually get. Jokes aside, the emotion was genuine. He admitted he knew he was approaching the record but deliberately avoided checking any websites at the interval — not wanting to disrupt the mental state that was producing such brilliance. "As a sportsperson, when you do find yourself in that bubble and in that flow, you just want to stay in it," he said. Smart thinking from a seasoned professional.

The Analysis

Murphy heads into round two against Xiao Guodong, the Chinese number who came from a frame down to beat Anthony McGill 6-3, winning the last four frames to close out the match. Xiao is a solid, experienced player who will have the home crowd behind him — that's not nothing in Taiyuan — but he is unlikely to trouble a Murphy operating at anything close to this level. The Englishman is striking the ball as cleanly as anyone on tour right now, his positional play looks effortless, and his safety game is sharp enough that opponents rarely get a sniff even when he isn't in full scoring mode.

Elsewhere in the draw, there are already ripples worth paying attention to. Ronnie O'Sullivan secured his first ranking event win of the season by beating Jackson Page 6-2, recovering from two frames down to win comfortably with contributions of 100, 96, 93, 70, and 64. The Rocket is finding form at the right time. Meanwhile, the tournament has already seen a significant upset — the world number one and reigning Shanghai Masters champion has been eliminated 6-3 by Thailand's Noppon Saengkham. That result blows the top half of the draw wide open and makes Murphy's potential path to the latter stages considerably more appealing.

The Odds

Odds correct at time of writing. Always check current prices before placing a bet.

The quarter-final each-way angle on Murphy is the value play here. At 5/4 for that stage, you're getting a fair return on a man who just broke a record that had lasted over a decade and whose route through the draw looks genuinely favourable given the early exit of the world number one. The outright at 10/1 is worth a small interest too — Stephen Hendry has already tipped Judd Trump to take the title, but don't sleep on Murphy if he keeps this form going.

The Verdict

Shaun Murphy breaking Ronnie O'Sullivan's 12-year record in Taiyuan is the kind of story that reminds you why snooker remains one of the most compelling sports to follow — and to bet on. He's in the zone, the draw has opened up, and the odds haven't fully caught up with his current level. Get on now before they do.

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