Shaun Murphy downed Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-0 at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, advancing to the quarter-finals in style.
It was the second whitewash win of the day for the Magician after he beat Saudi wildcard Ziyad Alqabbani in the afternoon session.
It was a different test entirely against the Rocket in the evening, but he produced the same result, handily beating the seven-time world champion.
The 2005 world champ’s long-potting was in great shape and high breaks of 93 and 53 were enough to secure the win over a below-par O’Sullivan.
The victory means Murphy books a quarter-final clash with world champion Zhao Xintong on Thursday in the big-money Saudi event.
As for O’Sullivan, his search for silverware goes on, with his last tournament win coming in this event, when it was known as the World Masters of Snooker in March 2024.
The Rocket’s pot success for the match was just 79 per cent, while an incredibly straightforward missed yellow in the final frame stunned Neil Robertson on commentary.
‘Oh my goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him miss a ball like that ever!’ Robertson said.
In contrast, Murphy’s excellent 2025 continues, which has already seen him win the Masters and the British Open.
‘Very, very happy,’ he said after downing O’Sullivan. ‘It’s a long time since I tasted victory against Ronnie and they’re special any time they come up. I was pleased with how I played and delighted to get through
‘I just tried to go out and play snooker tonight as I have done all season and thankfully most of those long reds went in.’
Murphy is not exaggerating about his dry spell against the Rocket, with his previous win over him coming way back in 2017.
That was a big one as the Magician beat O’Sullivan 10-8 in the Champion of Champions final, but he then lost six on the spin against the seven-time world champ, before ending that run in Riyadh.
O’Sullivan will be back in action at the UK Championship, where he is due to play his opening round match on December 2 in York.
Riyadh Season Snooker Championship results and draw
Wednesday November 19
Round One
2pm: Shaun Murphy 4-0 Ziyad Alqabbani
4pm: Ding Junhui 4-0 Ayman Alamri
Round Two
7pm: Ronnie O’Sullivan 0-4 Shaun Murphy
9pm: John Higgins vs Ding Junhui
Thursday November 20
Quarter-finals
2pm: Kyren Wilson vs Neil Robertson
4pm: Mark Allen vs Higgins/Ding
7pm: Judd Trump vs Mark Williams
9pm: Zhao Xintong vs Shaun Murphy
Friday November 21
2pm: Semi-finals
7pm: Final
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship features the golden ball, which is worth 20 points but can only be potted after a 147 has been made, allowing a break of 167 to be constructed.
There is a $1m bonus on offer for the first player to make the 167 but no one has come close as yet.
The winner of the event in Riyadh will pick up £250,000.