Shaun Murphy draws gasps from Crucible crowd at World Championship after foul not seen in ‘years’- 'What a mistake'

React to this story

TNT Sports commentator Dominic Dale was left stunned after Shaun Murphy committed a foul he had not seen for "years".

Watch: Wild Murphy error Dale has not seen for 'years' - 'What a mistake!'

Video credit: TNT Sports

The incident came during an entertaining afternoon session as the second-round clash between Murphy and Xiao Guodong got underway at the Crucible Theatre.

Murphy, who stunned the field to win the World Championship title aged 22 in 2005, was at his free-flowing, break-building best in the early exchanges on Thursday, as he sailed into a 5-0 lead, contributing impressive breaks of 79, 103, 63 and 64.

Even in the third frame, when he had locked himself up in a snooker which took eight attempts to escape, he managed to impress the Sheffield crowd with diverse potting and the type of grit which saw him romp to an impressive Masters title in 2025.

Shanghai Masters

Trump whitewashes Higgins, Wu beats Murphy on final ball in Shanghai

30/07/2026 at 19:19

However, the World Championship is renowned as a mentally gruelling beast, with plenty of twists and turns in the best-of-25 second-round format. So it proved for Murphy, as a mini-slump after the interval raised the threat of a potential Xiao comeback.

The Chinese world No. 9 fought back to get two scrappy frames on the board, during which time Murphy managed to accumulate just 16 points.

At 5-2 ahead, with just a frame remaining in the session, Murphy's late struggles came to a head with a wild error which left the Crucible audibly stunned.

Watch: Murphy takes a bow after escaping self-imposed snooker on eighth attempt

Video credit: TNT Sports

Throughout the match, Murphy had played the break-off - the first shot of the frame - towards the widest reds in their triangle formation, a tactic he utilised in order to gain control of the scoring opportunities in the frame.

However, Murphy was living life dangerously with how thin he was taking the break, which resulted in him committing an unfortunate foul immediately in the eighth frame, the cue ball ricocheting into the top pocket.

"How long has it been since we’ve seen a player break off and find a corner pocket with the cue ball?" Dale queried on TNT Sports' commentary. "It must be years since I’ve seen that.

'Looking a million dollars' - Murphy shakes off seven fouls to hit fine century

Video credit: TNT Sports

"Again, he’s breaking off from the second red from the end in a bid to break open the pack of reds so that the frames are more played on his terms.

"He doesn’t want to become bogged down, Shaun Murphy, he likes to pot balls and make breaks. But breaking off that way, there’s a better chance of being able to. But what a mistake."

Alongside Dale, Phil Yates commented: "Well, that’s another risk when you play that very thin break, going in-off, not into a ball pocket, but into a top pocket."

It would have been easy for Murphy to think the snooker gods were against him from that point, but he remained in contention to edge the scrappy frame when Xiao's angled attempt saw the green narrowly miss the middle pocket.

The two-time Masters champion astutely sunk the green, long into the top right pocket, ensuring he would take a 6-2 lead into their second session on Friday.

There was even time for a final trick from The Magician, as he cleared up to pink, which he smashed across the table before it somehow landed in a pocket, much to the delight of the Crucible crowd, as he shook hands with his counterpart after an eventful afternoon's work.