Snooker - UK Championship:Shaun Murphy was more than happy to win ugly after he claimed the Maplin UK Championship title in nail-biting fashion late last night. The 2005 world champion had arrived in Telford in atrocious form, and his first-round victory over Martin Gould was his first in tournament action this season.
However, he dug in throughout the tournament and completed his transformation with a dramatic 10-9 final victory over Hong Kong's Marco Fu.
In a match where the tension far outweighed the quality on show, Murphy squandered a three-frame lead early in the evening session and was forced to win the penultimate frame to take the game to a decider.
And the occasion was perhaps best summed up when the Yorkshireman fluked an outrageous pink to leave Fu needing snookers to stay alive in the match — something he was unable to achieve.
"That's probably the worst game we've played throughout the tournament and it had to be in the final, but that just shows that all the hours of practice, they do count for something," Murphy told BBC2.
He becomes only the 10th player to have won the UK and World Championships, and after his recent barren streak, Murphy admitted the pressure was even more intense than when he took the latter three years ago.
"Coming here I had no form all season at all and I don't think anyone tipped me (to win)," he said. "I don't think I've ever felt pressure like that before, even when I won the world title in 2005. It was even harder because it's been a long time since I even competed at a tournament.
"So to win one of the majors again is massive."
Fu expressed surprise that he had been able to stay in contention for so long given his struggles.
"I never really settled because Shaun was winning frames in one visit and I was winning on the pink or black, so it was tough to hang in there because Shaun is so tough among the balls," he said.
"I wasn't really scoring enough and I was really surprised to win nine frames today."
The victory lifts Murphy to third in the world rankings, while Fu climbs to sixth.