Murphy beats Fu for UK title
Shaun Murphy beat Marco Fu in a match that finished after midnight
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Monday, 22, Dec 2008 09:13
England's Shaun Murphy emerged triumphant after a late night in Telford ended with him beating Hong Kong's Marco Fu 10-9 in snooker's UK Championship final.
A scrappy affair that lasted until after midnight went down to the final frame, when Murphy fluked a pink while holding a 55-24 lead - which effectively ended the contest.
Fu had earlier been just a single frame from victory after battling back from a 5-3 deficit at the interval to level at 6-6 then move into a 9-8 lead.
But Murphy, who won the World Championship title back in 2005, held his nerve to compile a break of 69 and send the match to a decider.
In the final frame both players had chances to build an unassailable lead but nerves played a part as both Fu and Murphy over-hit and under-hit positional and safety shots.
However, it was Murphy who found enough consistency at the crucial time - helped by a lucky pink that rolled into the middle pocket after he had missed the routine pot into the bottom left corner - to secure the win and the coveted trophy.