Murphy completes Malta triumph
The 2005 world champion romped to an easy victory in the Malta Cup
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Sunday, 04, Feb 2007 06:29
Former world champion Shaun Murphy has won the Malta Cup, beating Wales' Ryan Day 9-4.
The 2005 Crucible champion raced to a 4-0 lead at the Hilton conference centre in Portomaso.
Murphy opened with a break of 54 to win the first frame and won a scrappy second despite a 54 break from Day.
A break of 62 gave the 24-year-old frame three and Murphy edged a tense fourth frame by 25 points to continue the rout.
Day, playing in his first ranking final, got off the mark with a break of 54 in the fifth frame.
But Murphy won the final two frames of the session at a canter, including a break of 50, to move to a 6-1 lead.
In the first frame of the evening session, Murphy won 80-23 to move within two frames of victory and despite a brief fightback from Day, the Englishman completed a 9-4 victory in comfortable fashion.
The win gave Murphy his first tournament victory since his world title over 18 months ago.
Day's previous best finish was the quarter-finals of the 2005 Welsh Open.
The 26-year-old reached the final after a 6-3 win over Peter Ebdon yesterday while Murphy defeated Ali Carter 6-3 in his semi.