Shaun Murphy battles back from losing first four frames to down Kyren Wilson in Tour Championship final

Shaun Murphy shrugged off the shock of losing the opening four frames to rally superbly and beat Kyren Wilson 10-7 to win the Tour Championship. Murphy has been a man transformed this season, with back issues seemingly a thing of the past after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery to control his weight.

Ad He ended a three-year wait for a ranking title with victory in the Players Championship in February, and will now head to the World Championship with a spring in his step after claiming the Tour Championship title in Hull. Tour ChampionshipO'Sullivan handed major boost ahead of world title defence15 HOURS AGO Wilson made six centuries in his semi-final win over Ding Junhui and started in a similar vein compiling runs of 108, 84, 62 and 111 on his way to a four-frame lead, but Murphy weathered the storm and fought back — producing three 70+ breaks — to level things going into the evening.

Murphy attempted to carry on the momentum from the afternoon when taking on a long red at the start of the evening session, but it wobbled in the jaws and fell kindly for Wilson to get up and running. Wilson settled first and a run of 59 was enough to restore his lead, but Murphy responded with 131, his first century of the match, in the 10th to restore parity.

Wilson got in first in the 11th, but trudged back to his chair after a miscue on a blue. It did not prove costly, as Murphy overcut a red to the bottom left and a run of 52 was enough to help the man from Kettering to edge back in front — albeit he wrapped up the frame a short while later with a stunning red that belonged on the exhibition circuit rather than in a final.