SHAUN Murphy's hopes of ending his long drought of victories in the desert Kingdom remained a mirage following a shocking 4-5 defeat yesterday in the Bahrain Snooker Champion-ship.The 2005 world champion, presently ranked No. 3, was undone in an intricate and intense battle of attrition at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.
The 26-year-old from Rotherham was not alone in grief as another world champion Ken Doherty also went down - 3-5 to Barry Hawkins - in the same session.
But Murphy's first round defeat was particularly bitter as he looked in decent form and well on way to scoring his maiden victory of the season. As if adding credence to this, Murphy won the first two frames with breaks of 61 and was 3-1 ahead at the interval.
Murphy played with calm assurance and varying degrees of confidence. The classic cue action stood out and he even pulled off a few trademark long pots. But doubts lingered as some of the shots at the top of the table ran ragged or the cue ball went out of position.
Dunn did no better either though he was playing his second match following a victory in a wild card tie on Saturday. In the third frame, he missed a simple black with the reds well scattered.
Murphy's eyes must have lit up with joy. He did a good cleaning job but with three reds left missed the black and handed the advantage back to Dunn who did not need a second invitation as he sealed the frame with a break of 27.
Dunn won three frames after the break with increasing assurance. There were no big breaks or any fancy shot-making. He kept it simple and stringed together small breaks to put pressure on Murphy.
A break of 70 in the seventh frame was the highlight as Dunn kept pressing for the slightest of advantage and made most of even the smallest of mistakes. He could have sealed victory in the next frame but another mistake took the match to the decider.
Dunn came up with another small but effective break to narrow the lead to 39-53 in the eighth frame. The pink was taken neatly with the cue ball removing a pair of reds close to each other and hugging the edge of the table. But with one red left he ran out of position.
Murphy feasted on the colours to square the scores at 4-4.
The decider was a tight affair and more exciting than the score line may indicate. Dunn indeed needed a slice of luck to pull this off. But he was brave enough to take a risk and it paid off.
Leading 14-9, Dunn got the red into the top right hand pocket with a fluke shot, which he later termed it as 'calculated fluke', and that proved decisive.
With the balls well spread, the 37-year-old went about the task with technical finesse as Murphy sat in his chair rubbing a heavily creased forehead.
A break of 67 ensued to put Dunn through and ensure Murphy's long drought would continue even after he leaves the desert state.
"At 4-4 I played a calculated fluke shot but I played well and just needed a few chances. I know he's going though the mill a bit but he just needs a few wins," said Dunn after the match. "He's a fantastic player."
For Murphy it was another bitter defeat. "I'm hitting the ball really well, as well as I've done in my life, I'm just not getting to five first," said Murphy.
The second upset of the day was less seismic as Hawkins overcame Doherty whose struggle for form is well documented in his past defeats this season.
Doherty displayed his old fighting skills in the opener where the 38-year-old needed three snookers to stay in contention and got them. But Hawkins still managed to win it after it went to a re-spotted black.
The Irish man won the next two frames but his younger opponent was unfazed. Hawkins turned the heat on winning the following three frames with a top break of 96 in the fourth to put himself well on course into the second match against Dunn.
Hawkins was well placed for a maximum break but he misjudged after having taken 12 reds and blacks.
It, however, did not affect his scoring spree as he soon had the match sealed with breaks of 32 and 49 in the eight frame.
