• Ruhr Open

Murphy makes 147 on way to Ruhr title

Shaun Murphy has made three maximum 147 breaks this year © Getty Images

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Shaun Murphy made a 147 break in the final of the Ruhr Open as he was crowned champion in Germany - but could have made three in one day.

Murphy finally made a maximum in the second frame of Sunday's final before going on to whitewash opponent Robert Milkins 4-0 and claim his fourth title of the year.

"I had four or five chances at maximums before the final. When I got the chance tonight I was under so much pressure. I potted a very difficult 15th black and finished perfect on the yellow - then I was just concentrating on every ball," Murphy told worldsnooker.com

"When I started working with my coach Chris Henry we focussed on making 147s because top players make them all the time but I wasn't doing that. Now the work I've done is coming through.

"I had a few barren years where I started to lose a bit of faith in my game. I was looking for answers elsewhere and I even thought about jacking it in. I'm really pleased that I stuck with it and got through that bad patch, and I'm so happy to have won another trophy."

Earlier on Sunday, "The Magician" missed two clear chances to make snooker's Holy Grail; firstly in his sixth round clash against Joe Swail and then in his quarter-final clash with Mark Williams.

Murphy missed the blue to the middle pocket when left with the colours in the third frame of his 4-3 triumph over Swail - leaving him on 129 - before he left the green short of the pocket when on the same in frame four of his 4-2 victory against Williams.

However, having rallied from 3-0 down to beat Judd Trump in their semi-final, Murphy made no mistake against Milkins as he expertly finished the colours for his fourth career maximum and third of 2014.

Having achieved a £1,000 bonus prize for his effort, Murphy won the two frames needed to clinch the title with further breaks of 62 and 58.

Murphy's 147 break was the 108th maximum in snooker history.

I'd like to change my nickname to tweaker #147 #missedblue

— Shaun Murphy (@Magician147) November 23, 2014

The Magician celebrates his latest trick @Magician147 pic.twitter.com/drrvlOXfNs

— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker1) November 23, 2014

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