Shaun Murphy edges past Martin Gould in first round to secure quarter-final spot: 2012 Masters
England’s Shaun Murphy put up an excellent snooker show at the Alexandra Palace in Stock, Essex and nudged his opponent, compatriot Martin Gould easily by the score line of 6-2. The Englishman dominated the match from the beginning until the end with his
outstanding form. Gould had no chance to unsettle his opponent as he was unable to compile any high scores.
Murphy has been quite a convincing performer throughout the current season with a 61.5 percent match winning rate after clinching 24 match wins out of 39. He reached the final matches of some minor events but failed to make any impact on his opponents. Before
entering the Alexandra Palace in Stock to participate at the 2012 Masters, odds were stacked in favour of Murphy.
The Harlow potter, Murphy, underwent huge pressure when Gould struck a superb blow winning the first scrappy frame by 0-108 after hitting a fine knock of 60 points. The 29-year-old did not lose focus and stayed at the table. He played outstandingly in the
next frames and was able to clinch four consecutive frames firing some stunning knocks of 107, 59 and 82 to lead 3-1.
Gould seemed to have no chance to jump back into the game. He tried his best and grabbed the fifth frame 21-76 after a half-century break of 50 points to move one frame up at 3-2. However, this frame victory could not save him from losing the match as Murphy
took next three frames easily to win the match 6-2.
The detailed score line of the match was 0-108 (60), 66-46, 115-1 (107), 71-35 (59), 82-0 (82), 21-76 (50), 93-1 (89), 139-0 (139).
The Magician has successfully made his way into the quarter-final stage of 2012 Masters snooker tournament. He will be meeting the World Number One, Mark Selby, or Stephen Lee in the quarter-final clash. Both Selby and Lee will be up against each other on
Wednesday, January 18, at the same arena.
If the Englishman manages to win the quarter-final clash, he will have a potential semi-final against World Snooker Champion, Scotland’s John Higgins. He might face archrival, Ronnie O’Sullivan in a potential final match.
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