Allen edges Murphy in Snooker Tour Championship semis

LONDON - Mark Allen edged out Shaun Murphy 9-8 in the Snooker Tour Championship on Tuesday to set up a semifinal clash against Mark Selby.

The duo leveled at 4-4 in the afternoon session and Murphy was the one to break the stalemate first by winning the opening two frames in the evening session.

Allen fought back to draw at 7-7, but Murphy won the 15th frame after firing his sixth century in the match. However, a tough-minded Allen came from behind again to wrap it up at 9-8.

34-year-old Allen will face Selby, as the three-time world champion saw off Chinese hopeful Yan Bingtao 9-6 on Monday.

"It is going to be very tough in the semifinals," Allen told the World Snooker Tour website. "Considering how heavily Shaun scored today, I know I will have to play better than that against Mark. My safety wasn't good enough today and I'll need to be able to create a lot more chances on Thursday. If I can find a little bit extra, I don't think I will be far away."

The other semifinal will see world No 1 Judd Trump lock horns with Stephen Maguire.

Maguire replaced Ding Junhui for the event in Milton Keynes, as China's top player decided to pull out of the competition to avoid extensive travel from China to the U.K..

The 39-year-old Scot ousted Australia's Neil Robertson on Saturday.

The competition, which features the top eight players on the one-year ranking list, is the first ranking tournament since the snooker season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month, the snooker season resumed with the non-ranking Championship League, which was also held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

Since June 1, elite and professional sporting events in the UK have been allowed to resume behind closed doors.