AFPMurphy, the 2005 world champion, battled from three frames behind to snatch a point in his Group A clash with Bingham, who was making his debut in the competition.
“That felt like a win,” said Murphy. “It is a tough school, the Premier League. I didn’t feel I played badly in my first game (a 2-4 defeat to Ding Junhui) and I felt I played alright tonight. It is really, really tough, this could be the hardest year ever.
“I went into the game knowing it was Stuart’s debut and I didn’t want to throw him into the reds to start with. I went for a longish red with safety in mind and I got a kick on the red and left him in the balls, which helped settle him down. I made a mistake but it wasn’t really my fault but that is a part of snooker, you have to take it on the chin.”
Later in the evening at The Sands, Higgins prevailed 4-2 against Allen in another six-framer.
The four-times world champion also had to come from behind to secure victory after Allen took the opener, but he proved too strong, taking a 3-2 lead before securing victory in the decisive frame.
Event Three results:
Group A
Shaun Murphy 3-3 Stuart Bingham
16-83 (Bingham 53), 55-68 (Murphy 54, Bingham 68), 0-105 (Bingham 59), 88-51 (Murphy 88), 97-0 (Murphy 58), 77-53 (Murphy 42, Bingham 49)
Group B
John Higgins 4-2 Mark Allen
0-71 (Allen 67), 69-34 (Higgins 38), 67-63 (Higgins 33), 58-70 (Higgins 38, Allen 49), 95-39 (Higgins 59), 76-30 (Higgins 52)
Group A table:
Name Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
Neil Robertson 1 1 0 0 2
Ding Junhui 1 1 0 0 2
Stuart Bingham 1 0 1 0 1
Shaun Murphy 2 0 1 1 1
Mark Selby 1 0 0 1 0
Group B table:
Name Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
Judd Trump 1 1 0 0 2
Peter Ebdon 1 1 0 0 2
John Higgins 1 1 0 0 2
Mark Allen 1 0 0 1 0
Stephen Lee 2 0 0 2 0
The players:
Group A
Shanghai Masters champion: Mark Selby (world number1)
Brazilian Masters champion: Shaun Murphy (6)
Masters champion: Neil Robertson (7)
Championship League winner: Ding Junhui (11)
2011 Australian Goldfields Open champion: Stuart Bingham (16)
Group B
UK champion: Judd Trump (2)
Wild Card: John Higgins (5)
PTC Grand Final champion: Stephen Lee (8)
World Open champion: Mark Allen (12)
China Open champion: Peter Ebdon (20)
