Shaun Murphy hits four centuries as he crushes Ryan Day to reach Players Championship semi-finals

Shaun Murphy set up a Saturday night date with one Wilson or another after blitzing Ryan Day 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Players Championship. The 2005 world champion has rediscovered his best form this season after a couple of years in the wilderness.

Ad Following a near miss in the Welsh Open at the weekend, when he lost to Robert Milkins in the final, Murphy arrived in Wolverhampton in a confident frame of mind. Players ChampionshipPlayers Championship LIVE — Murphy faces off against Day after O'Connor stuns Brecel10 HOURS AGO After getting the better of a battle with Mark Selby in the first round, Murphy found the form that saw him make breaks of 145 and 147 in Wales last week.

Day was left in a daze as Murphy’s brilliant, assured potting and intelligent safety booked his ticket to the semi-finals where he will play either Kyren Wilson or Gary Wilson. Murphy has been playing with an air of authority and recent months, and crunched a red into the middle of the bottom left pocket early in the opening frame.

It did not secure the frame at the first visit as he ran out of position when colliding with the brown, but got in again shortly afterwards. There was no mistake at the second time of asking, as he compiled a superb break of 104 to edge in front.

O'Connor sets up Carter semi-final after win over Brecel Davis to support Blur and Paul Weller at sold-out Wembley after huge break Day had every right to be concerned as Murphy strode confidently back to his chair with the applause of the audience ringing out after the century in the opening frame. His woes were compounded when he fouled the brown when potting the blue in the second, and it proved a costly mistake as Murphy mopped up a second ton in as many frames