Murphy hauls level in Sheffield
Qualifier Mark Selby remains firmly in contention for for a place in the 888.com World Championship final despite a typical comeback from 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy.
Selby led 11-9 at the interval but Murphy claimed three of the final four frames to level at 12-12 going into the final session of the best-of-33 showdown on Saturday evening.
The Leicester potter is bidding to become only the third qualifier to reach the final after Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Murphy himself two years ago.
Selby showed no signs of fatigue or being overawed by the occasion as he strives to set up a meeting with either Stephen Maguire or John Higgins on Sunday and Monday.
The first frame of the session was a marathon affair spanning 52 minutes and 27 seconds before Selby emerged triumphant.
It was the second longest of the tournament after the 57 mins and 55 secs taken up by Higgins and Michael Holt in their first round meeting.
Selby showed he has the patience to deal with such an ordeal and was unfazed even when conceding 21 points in fouls after being snookered behind the green.
He showed the other side to his game in frame 18 when he made a 112 break.
Murphy opened his account for the day with runs of 51 and 36 to cut the deficit to 10-9 but Selby moved two clear again after another drawn-out affair encompassing 45 minutes with the help of an opening 31.
After the interval, Murphy, who came from 12-7 down to beat Matthew Stevens in the quarter-finals, stepped up a gear with a 76 break in frame 21 and a 62 in the next to draw level.
But Selby refused to buckle and his second century of the session – a 129 total clearance – was his ninth of the tournament – two more than his nearest challenger Maguire.
It was also the 998th in 30 years of snooker at the Crucible and the four-figure mark seems certain to be reached before the end of the current tournament.
Murphy’s opening 31 in a 35-minute final frame ensured parity for the Rotherham-based player.
Maguire needs to win only three of the remaining nine frames of his semi-final encounter with Higgins after opening up a 14-10 lead.
He triumphed in six of the eight frames during the third session on Friday evening against 1998 champion Higgins.
A 131 clearance plus four other half-century breaks allowed Maguire to dominate proceedings.
Higgins managed his own clearance of 134 but the ’wizard of Wishaw’ generally was second best.
Maguire is striving to become the fifth Scot to win snooker’s most coveted prize after Walter Donaldson, Stephen Hendry, Higgins and Graeme Dott.
He won the 2004 UK Championship but, until now, has generally struggled since then.
