McGill dreams of world glory after beating Murphy

McGill dreams of world glory after beating Murphy

LONDON - Scotland's Anthony McGill eyed snooker's ultimate prize after knocking out former winner Shaun Murphy in the first round of this year's World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on Sunday.

Anthony McGill of Scotland, pictured on April 28, 2015, saw off Shaun Murphy 10-8

McGill saw off the Englishman, last year's runner-up and the champion in 2005, 10-8.

For the 25-year-old McGill it was a happy return to the northern English venue where he reached the quarter-finals on his World Championship debut last year, beating Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby on the way.

"I possibly could win it," said McGill. "But it'd be nice to better last year's result."

McGill came from 6-4 down with a burst of heaving scoring that included breaks of 64, 85, 81, 117 and a concluding effort of 97.

"I'm extremely pleased," said McGill, who came through three rounds of qualifying and next faces Hong Kong's Marco Fu.

"It was a really tough draw for me. I thought I handled myself well," added the Scot, who lost to Murphy in the last eight a year ago.

Murphy, whose partner Elaine is due to give birth to a boy in August, said: "I'm obviously disappointed but I think the fact I've a child on the way has changed my perspective on a lot of things.

"It's just a game of snooker. I played really well and my preparation couldn't have been better, but unfortunately I played against someone who played even better than I did on the day.

"If he (McGill) can keep his composure, keep himself under wraps and keep playing with enjoyment, he could take some stopping."

Murphy added: "While practising my long potting I'll have to work on my nappy skills."

Alan McManus beat Stephen Maguire 10-7 in an all-Scottish clash while Ronnie O'Sullivan launched his bid for a sixth world title by establishing a 6-3 lead over David Gilbert in a match that will be played to a finish on Monday.

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