Shaun Murphy has collected his 10th ranking title with a 10-4 victory over Ali Carter at the Players Championship.
Both players went into the showpiece in Wolverhampton having produced some of their best snooker of the year, particularly Murphy who dropped just six frames on the way to reaching the final.
The 40-year-old continued his rich vein of form with an exquisite 145 break during the early stages, opening up a 3-0 lead before Carter got on the board with a 122.
After the next two frames were shared, Murphy compiled a 141, remarkably leaving him with the top five highest breaks of the week.
Your champion, @Magician147 pic.twitter.com/yh1SQwhr04
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) February 26, 2023
The score was 6-2 at the interval and yet another century was recorded to help Murphy surge 8-2 ahead, resulting in Carter having only pride to play for against a relentless opponent.
Carter, the recently-crowned German Masters champion, showed his class with efforts of 71 and 82 to add to what had transpired into a high-quality showdown.
However, Murphy wasted no further time in closing the show, putting together an 88 break to move one away and getting over the line with a masterful 130.
As a result of his win, Murphy moves up to sixth in the world rankings, while Carter has progressed up to 12th and solidified his top-16 place ahead of the World Championship.
Darren Plant
