Huge upset! Snooker Champion of Champions report: The world champion collapses, Lei Peifan crushes Murphy 4-1

On November 11th, Beijing time, the Snooker Champion of Champions tournament began with the first group’s matches. Chinese young talent Lei Peifan took on world champion Murphy. Despite expectations of a loss, the contest became lopsided as Lei played brilliantly, overcoming Murphy 4-1 to reach the last eight, with a probable showdown against Trump for a place in the semifinals!

Lei Peifan is a young Chinese player who has already won a ranking event and is considered a promising star. His mindset is very steady, though his defense and positioning still need improvement. This tournament marks his debut at the Champion of Champions, where he opened the event by battling Murphy for a quarterfinal spot. Murphy, one of the '80s Five Tigers' and a multiple Grand Slam winner, is very strong and especially skilled against Chinese players. He recently won a ranking event and is in good form. Given the skill gap, it was highly unlikely for Lei to cause an upset—but could a miracle happen?

In the first frame, Murphy built a big lead but gifted points, allowing Lei to clinch the frame with a decisive break and take the lead. In the second frame, Murphy again led by a large margin but failed to secure the frame, leading to a back-and-forth battle. Lei overcame difficulties to score repeatedly and secured another comeback, going up 2-0. The third frame was chaotic; Murphy steadily accumulated points with multiple visits and managed to reduce the deficit. In the fourth frame, Lei scored a 60+ break, though interrupted by an error, but Murphy missed a golden opportunity. Lei capitalized again to extend his lead to 3-1. The fifth frame remained unsettled; Murphy seemed unfocused and made several basic mistakes, which Lei took full advantage of, ultimately winning 4-1 and advancing to the quarterfinals!

Congratulations to Lei Peifan for an excellent performance. Defeating world champion Murphy is no small feat. It seems that apart from Ding Junhui, other Chinese players are not intimidated by Murphy. Lei now awaits Trump, and barring surprises, they will compete for a top-four spot in the group. Let’s hope Lei continues his surprising run—keep it up!

Written by Sports Novel