Shaun Murphy. Picture by Monique Limbos

SHAUN Murphy secured his place in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters after he pulled off a mighty impressive comeback to defeat Peter Ebdon.

The two former world champions produced a thrilling contest which went down to the wire but Murphy, who reached this year’s World Championship final, showed great fight as he bounced back from 4-1 down to clinch a win from the jaws of defeat.

Breaks of 60 and 134 helped Ebdon, who won the world championship in 2002, to a surprise 3-0 lead before he moved just one way from victory two frames later.

But Murphy bounced back in brilliant fashion as breaks of 74, 67, 47 and 81 earned him a place in the second round in dramatic style.

The third day also saw another exciting thriller as Jamie Cope held his nerve to record a surprising 5-4 win over Australian Neil Robertson.

Cope raced into a 3-0 lead before Robertson hit back and edged in front at 4-3. But Cope produced a late twist and won the two remaining frames to pull off a great victory.

Elsewhere, last year’s finalist Mark Allen secured his place in the next round with a 5-3 win over Luca Brecel.

Kettering potter Kyren Wilson also had a good day on the baize after he produced a dominant display in beating Joe Perry 5-2. There were also comfortable 5-1 wins for Mark Davis and Mark Williams against Michael White and Tom Ford respectively.

World number one Mark Selby has withdrawn from the tournament following the death of his father-in-law. His first round opponent David Grace received a bye into the second round.

SHANGHAI MASTERS 2015 – Last 16 Draw

Stuart BINGHAM vs Mike DUNN
John HIGGINS vs Martin GOULD
Judd TRUMP vs Matthew SELT
Mark WILLIAMS vs Jamie COPE
Ding JUNHUI vs Ryan DAY
Michael HOLT vs Kyren WILSON
Shaun MURPHY vs Mark DAVIS
Mark ALLEN vs David GRACE