World Snooker Championship 2026 results: Shaun Murphy beats John Higgins to reach Crucible final

Shaun Murphy claimed a 17-15 victory over John Higgins to reach his fifth World Championship final at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield.

The Englishman will face either Wu Yizi or Mark Allen in his bid for a second title, 21 years after his first – having finished runner-up in his previous three appearances in the final.

The first was in 2009 at the hands of four-time champion Higgins, who ran out a comfortable 18-9 winner.

There was more tension this time and, more importantly for Murphy, no repeat result as they rallied from a 13-11 deficit overnight.

He opened with exciting breaks of 132 and 127 and appeared to be in his element as he roamed the hall.

But his fast start didn’t matter at first as Higgins, who barely got any time at the table in those frames, showed the determination and great fighting qualities that have highlighted his glittering career.

Higgins, who turns 51 later this month and was hoping to become the oldest finalist ever, took a downbeat 27th frame and then made an 88th break.

While those contributions lacked the brilliance of Murphy’s previous efforts, they did briefly restore his two-frame advantage.

Murphy’s third century session break reduced his arrears, and when the Scot missed a black ball into the right corner and also played a loose safety shot in the next frame, he was clinically punished as his opponent amassed 78.

Higgins failed to clip the red into the left corner pocket and Murphy missed the blue into the top right corner in the 31st frame which ultimately went the way of the 2005 winner.

In a nerve-wracking frame 32, Higgins collapsed at 50 and Murphy wasted a red card along with the rest before securing his place in snooker’s most prestigious match.