Murphy stunned by rampant Higgins

John Higgins was in cruise-control after a blistering evening session to lead Shaun Murphy 11-5 in the World Championship final at The Crucible.

Resuming at 4-4, Higgins won the last six frames and needs just seven more on Monday to win his third world crown.

The first two frames were shared, and with both missing easy pots, Murphy seemed stronger than the jaded Scot.

But Higgins hit back with a 95, before taking control with a 128 and a 51, to wrap up the night with another 128.

No player has come back from 11-5 in the final to be world champion at The Crucible, so Murphy will be making history if he gets his hands on the world trophy again to add to his 2005 title.

Although Higgins had taken the first three frames of the match, the way Murphy responded with a 109 to make it 3-3, and then to make it 4-4, did not seem to suggest the Scot would dominate so much later on.

The 1998 and 2007 champion from Wishaw began the night with a comfortable 57 but only a miss on an easy brown denied Murphy the chance to take the opener.

But Murphy, who won in Sheffield in 2005, remained focused and struck back with a 52 to level the match.

The final still remained a relatively flat affair with both players missing a number of easy shots.

However, Higgins, although appearing extremely weary, stepped up his performance and grabbed a two-frame lead, including a magnificent 95 just before the mid-session interval.

The break may have helped Murphy to avert a Neil Robertson comeback on Saturday, but Higgins was rapidly moving up through the gears.

Read in full at the BBC

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John Higgins (Sco) 11-5 Shaun Murphy (Eng)

83-0 (78) 85-6 (52) 79-20 7-83 (58) 50-96 0-114 (109) 49-63 69-34 (50) 98-1 (57) 12-87 (52) 70-51 95-11 (95) 70-45 132-0 (128) 82-0 (51) 128-6 (128)