Shaun Murphy likens teenager Wang Xinzhong to Ronnie O'Sullivan after close call at International Championship - 'Best 14-year-old I've ever seen'

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Shaun Murphy was made to work extremely hard to secure a win over Wang Xinzhong at the International Championship, and was full of praise for the 14-year-old. 2005 world champion Murphy said he was waiting for the youngster to flinch. Watch and stream the 2025/26 snooker season, including the International Championship, live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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Shaun Murphy scrapped his way to a 6-5 win over Wang Xinzhong at the International Championship, and he said the 14-year-old was as good as Ronnie O’Sullivan as a teenager and "the future of snooker".

After easing into a 3-0 lead on the back of breaks of 50 and 102, Murphy witnessed the potential of Wang from his chair as the youngster reeled off three frames in a row on the back of runs of 81, 100 and 58.

A further century and break of 74 took Wang to the brink of victory, but Murphy forced a decider and won the final frame after a re-rack to get over the line.

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After setting up a meeting with Elliot Slessor in round three on Tuesday, Murphy was full of praise for his beaten opponent.

"I've never seen anything like that," Murphy said. "I was good at 14. Ronnie was good at 14, as were many others. I think that young man may well be the best 14-year-old I've ever seen. He has everything."

Murphy kept up the pressure on his opponent, but was impressed by how Wang refused to wilt.

"I kept waiting for him to crack but he played like someone who has 20 titles and doesn't have a care in the world," Murphy said. "I think I've just seen the future of snooker. Unbelievable.

"I turned professional at 15 so I knew you couldn't take any liberties with anybody, especially someone who has beaten the Women's World Champion [Bai Yulu] and Robbie Williams.

"I missed two or three balls of any consequence in the whole match. I somehow found myself 5-4 down against someone playing snooker from the gods."

O’Sullivan was in action on Monday, and he continued his quest for a first International Championship title with a 6-2 win over Sanderson Lam.

The seven-time world champion was not at his vintage best, and spent plenty of time working on his tip, but he rallied from losing the first two frames to run out a 6-2 winner.

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O’Sullivan will face Jack Lisowski in round three after the Northern Ireland Open victor knocked in four centuries in his 6-4 win over Louis Heathcote.

John Higgins told TNT Sports earlier in the season that he was struggling for motivation, but the four-time Crucible winner was more upbeat after beating Oliver Lines 6-2 to set up a meeting with Hossein Vafaei in Nanjing.

"As you get older it affects you a bit more," Higgins said. "It is the same old grind. You are going to have difficult moments getting motivated. That is understandable. When you are actually out there you are trying so hard to win. My game is at a decent level, which is good."

Vafaei stamped his ticket for a meeting with Higgins by beating Ryan Day 6-4, and did so in style with three centuries and a run of 92.

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Watch and stream the 2025/26 snooker season, including the International Championship, live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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