[ad_1]
| Venue: The Barbican, York Dates: 12-20 November |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV and Red Button with uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app |
Shaun Murphy came back from the brink of defeat to knock Judd Trump out of the UK Championships despite playing “in complete agony”.
Murphy, 40, was suffering from chronic neck pain which has affected him for years.
When it flared up again he thought he would have to withdraw from the second-round encounter.
But after falling 5-3 behind he tied the match with two century breaks and took the decider for a 6-5 victory.
Before the match started Murphy had tweeted to say he was in “terrible pain” and it was “not looking good”.
However, a combination of massage, stretching and “as many painkillers as I’m allowed” saw him play and he took the first frame with a century break.
“I think when the dust settles and I think about where that match fits into my life, given all the various contexts, it will probably be up there,” said Murphy, who said there had been a dash to the shops buy a massage gun in the morning.
“I played pretty much 95% of my shots in complete agony. I reached and stretched for some shots I shouldn’t have done, and I’m sure that will come back to get me.
“I could barely bend down in my practice session last night and it lasted five minutes. It’s very painful but it was either quit or try, and I chose to try.”
Trump said Murphy “deserved” the win which took him through to his first UK Championships quarter-final in five years, but added: “You can’t play like that with an injury. The way he started off with a century in the first frame put all doubts to bed.
“He was involved out there and he certainly played like he wasn’t injured. If he was injured, maybe he should stay injured.”
Elsewhere, three-time winner Ding Junhui beat Wales’ Jamie Clarke 6-1 to reach the last eight and will now play Ronnie O’Sullivan.
China’s Ding was joined by Jack Lisowski, who faces Murphy next following a 6-2 win over Iranian Hossein Vafaei, while Joe Perry beat Stuart Bingham 6-3 to set up a meeting with Tom Ford.
