Ford Makes 147 To Beat Murphy
Tom Ford made a brilliant 147 in the final frame of his 4-3 win over Shaun Murphy in the last 16 of the 19.com English Open.
He becomes only the second player to make a maximum in the deciding frame of a ranking event match, after Ronnie O’Sullivan who did so at the 2007 UK Championship.
It’s the fifth 147 of Ford’s career – only O’Sullivan (15), Stephen Hendry (11), John Higgins (nine) and Ding Junhui (six) have made more.
Leicester’s 36-year-old Ford is the only player to make a maximum so far this season and in fact he has made two – the first coming in the International Championship qualifiers. Tonight’s was the 153rd in snooker history.
He’ll win the £5,000 high break prize as long as his feat is not equalled this week.
Earlier in the match, Ford had leads of 2-0 and 3-2, then Murphy recovered to 3-3. But it was world number 25 Ford who finished in style, potting 15 reds with blacks then clearing the colours. He ran out of position on the green but converted a double to a centre pocket to keep the break going.
“Early in the break I was thinking of going up for the blue because I didn’t want the 147 on my mind, the result was more important,” said Ford, who now meets Tian Pengfei in the quarter-finals. “But I kept landing on the black. Once I got to 80 I knew the match was over and I could go for the maximum. I wanted to do it for the crowd because it’s great for them to see one. I only need to make 18 more to win the £1 million bonus!”
