 World champion Shaun Murphy was too good for Graeme Dott |
World champion Shaun Murphy began his season with a 4-2 victory over Graeme Dott in the second round of the Northern Ireland Trophy on Wednesday. Murphy won the first three frames, with a break of 90 in the third, before Dott rallied and came back to 3-2 behind.
However, Murphy booked his place in the Waterfront Hall quarter-finals thanks to a 50 break in frame six.
Meanwhile, former world champion Peter Ebdon suffered a surprise defeat to Alan McManus on the adjacent table.
Scot McManus produced breaks of 64 and 59, before runs of 37 and 35 in frame three gave the Glaswegian right-hander a 3-0 advantage.
Ebdon hit back with a 50 break, his highest of the best-of-seven match, but McManus took the frame by a 64-58 scoreline.
Northern Ireland Trophy - first round: Mark Allen (Eng) bt Steve Davis (Eng) 4-0, Neil Robertson
(Aus) bt Ian McCulloch (Eng) 4-0; Ding Junhui (Chi) bt Ali Carter (Eng) 4-0, Joe Swail
(NIrl) bt Joe Perry (Eng) 4-1.
Second round: Shaun Murphy (Eng) bt Graeme Dott (Sco) 4-2, Alan McManus (Sco)
bt Peter Ebdon (Eng) 4-0.
MMIX
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