Shaun Murphy smashes Ronnie O’Sullivan snooker record in stunning China Open win

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 30: Shaun Murphy of England reacts in the Quarterfinal match against Wu Yize of China on Day 4 of the 2026 Snooker Shanghai Masters at Luwan Gymnasium on July 30, 2026 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images)
Shaun Murphy has secured a piece of snooker history (Picture: Getty Images)

Shaun Murphy has broken Ronnie O’Sullivan’s long-standing record for most points scored without reply in a snooker match.

The Magician took on Matt Selt in the last 32 of the China Open in Taiyuan on Sunday and was in spectacular form.

This year’s World Championship runner-up made breaks of 61, 132, 103, 139 and 113 to surge into a 5-0 lead without Selt scoring a point.

He opened the scoring in the sixth frame, but could not wrap things up in one visit and Selt scored his first points of the match.

That saw Murphy’s run of unanswered scoring end at 607 points, smashing the previous record held by the Rocket.

O’Sullivan scored 556 points without reply against Ricky Walden at the Masters in 2014, a record which has stood for over 12 years.

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Murphy secured the sixth and final frame of the match to beat Selt 6-0, just as O’Sullivan hammered Walden 6-0 at Alexandra Palace in 2014.

More to follow…

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