Shaun Murphy hit a 147 break in his semi-final clash against Mark Allen (Image: BBC Sport)
hit a stunning 147 break during his Masters semi-final against at Alexandra Palace.
The Magician had been on course to hit one during his quarter-final clash with Neil Robertson earlier this week but snookered himself with only the coloured balls left on the table.
Having learned from his mistakes, Murphy made no mistake against Allen, sinking the final black ball to confirm the maximum and become just the sixth player to hit one at the Masters.
Murphy let out a huge roar after the final ball fell into the pocket, with Allen even cracking a smile at his opponent’s achievement.
Reacting to the break on Sport’s coverage, former world champion Ken Doherty said: “Absolutely fantastic break from start to finish. It was the perfect maximum break. To hold himself together as well, it was brilliant.
“The crowd loved it. It is tough because your heart is racing and you have to be able to keep calm.”
John Parrott added: “It was immaculate. It was so simple because everything about it was perfect.”
The break had put Murphy 4-2 up in frames as he battled Allen for a spot in the final.
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Shaun Murphy was taking on Mark Allen in the Masters semi-final (Image: Getty)
Murphy had made it his goal for the 2024/25 season to hit a 147 break at a Triple Crown event – something he has now achieved.
, Murphy said: “What an idiot! I’d love to play that one again,” he said. “Anywhere but there! I did it before in the Welsh Open against Mark Williams. It was the exact same shot. You’d think I would have learned.
“I couldn’t breathe, I was just so nervous. One of my targets for the season was to make a max at a Triple Crown event.
“It would have been a great present because it’s my mum’s birthday today. That was somewhere near my best so I’m really pleased.”
It comes after Murphy caused a storm within the sporting world late last year when he came to blows with former darts world champion Luke Humphries about a 147-break being harder to achieve than a nine-darter.
Commenting at a PaddyPower event, Humphries stated: “If you give someone a set of darts, a snooker cue and a golf club, I think they would do the hole-in-one first, nine-darter second and 147 last. That would be harder. But to a professional, snooker players know all the angles.”
Murphy, also a former world champion in his sport, replied: “I didn’t know you were a comedian. A 147 is harder than a nine-darter.”
Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson go head-to-head in the second semi-final on Saturday evening.