Shaun

Shaun Murphy claimed his first victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan since 2017, with a 4-0 whitewash, as he moved into the quarter-finals of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.

It was the first occasion since 2023 that seven-time world champion O’Sullivan had failed to win a frame in any contest of seven frames or more.

Murphy, who had also earlier defeated 15-year-old Ziyad Al-Qabbani 4-0, produced several stunning pots and registered breaks of 53 and 93 against O’Sullivan, who had very little time to find his rhythm.

“I don’t know what the statistics are, but it is a long time since I have tasted victory against Ronnie and they are special any time they come up even in short match like this,” Murphy told TNT Sports.

“It is such a prestigious event and you know everyone is trying 100% so despite it only being a best-of-seven I was pleased with how I played and delighted to get through.

“I just tried to go out and play like I have all season and thankfully for me most of those long reds went in.”

Murphy will now face current Crucible champion Zhao Xintong in the last eight on Thursday (20:00 GMT) in an event that has attracted huge publicity for offering a reward of $1m (£760,000) for potting the golden ball after making a maximum 147.

Meanwhile, John Higgins delivered a withering assessment of the table conditions in the Saudi Arabian capital despite compiling consecutive breaks of 106 to seal a 4-0 success over Ding Junhui.

“There are so many…like beer mats underneath the table and it’s raised up,” said the Scot.

“Somebody really needs to get told. I don’t know who has passed that but it’s pathetic for a million-pound tournament. It really is bad.”

Stephen Hendry, who was working as a studio pundit for TNT Sports, added: “It’s incredible how much it’s been built up.

“I can only assume the floor is so uneven they have had to build the table up, but as a player you can really feel the difference.”

Higgins, 50, will now meet last year’s winner Mark Allen on Thursday, aiming for a place in the semi-finals.

“For me to be thrown out first is nothing short of despicable, and I think they have covered themselves in a huge embarrassment by treating me with such disrespect,” Murphy told ITV.

“I always pride myself on conducting myself as professionally as I can, try to treat the game with an incredible amount of respect.

“There are three other players in this tournament who weren’t even in China last week. The way I have been treated by Matchroom in this tournament is nothing short of despicable.”

In response, Matchroom said it spoke to Murphy afterwards and “share his frustrations”.

A statement read: “Our priorities are the players, we take pride in the fact they consider this event prestigious and want to prepare for it.

“For transparency and fairness, the groups [for the draw] are based on seeding. Scheduling is always a challenge every year, but we take on board the points and always strive to improve for next year and the future.”

Lei, ranked 31st in the world, opened up a two-frame lead before Murphy reduced the deficit.

However, Lei responded with a break of 61 to take the fourth frame with Murphy unable to respond in the fifth.

Meanwhile, England’s Judd Trump booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Bai Yulu of China.

Reigning women’s world champion Bai, 22, won the opening frame of the first meeting between the players.

But men’s world number one Trump held his nerve to win the next two frames with breaks of 84 and 71, to secure a quarter-final meeting with Murphy’s conquerer Lei.