Murphy wins 13-10, Higgins fightback sinks Robertson
Mark Allen to face China’s Wu Yize in other semi-final
Shaun Murphy stormed into the world championship semi‑finals in Sheffield as the defending champion, Zhao Xintong, became the 21st player to fall victim to the so-called “Crucible curse”.
Murphy’s 13-10 triumph means Zhao joins the list of first-time winners who have failed to return the following year and successfully defend their crown.
Murphy won four of the first five frames of the final session to turn an 8-8 overnight deadlock into a 12-9 lead. Zhao clawed one frame back to keep his hopes alive, but the 43-year-old sealed victory with a break of 69.
