Murphy wins but Davis, Ebdon fall

Shaun Murphy, known as one of snooker's most attacking players, curbed his bold instincts at the Malta Cup yesterday as he battled to victory over Mark Allen.

The world champion came from 2-0 down to win 5-2 and book his place in the last 16 against Graeme Dott who last night beat John Parrott 5-2.

"Mark is a very good player with a lot of potential," said Murphy, who has not yet reached a ranking quarter-final this season and hopes for a good run on what is only his second trip overseas as a professional.

"I see a lot of myself in him, he goes for his shots. In the past week I have been working very hard on my safety game. I felt that if I could keep things tight against Mark it would pay off. I didn't do a lot wrong to be 2-0 down and in fact I could have been 4-0 down at the interval.

"It took me a little while to get used to the conditions. But it was nice to get a good reception from the crowd."

Allen won the first on the colours after a long-range cross double on the green. The 19-year-old world amateur champion from Northern Ireland added the second frame courtesy of a 65 break.

But Rotherham's 23-year-old Murphy hit back to win five in a row despite never reaching top gear. Runs of 54, 36, 43 and 35 were enough as Allen's game became increasingly ragged.

Steve Davis faces an early flight home as he went down 5-4 to Finland's Robin Hull.

World No 55 Hull took a 3-1 lead with breaks of 54, 63 and 66, Davis winning frame two with a 104.

The UK Championship runner-up won the fifth with a 36 clearance then levelled with a 79.

Hull regained the lead at 4-3 and could have finished the match in the next but missed a simple final brown. Davis got the snooker he needed on the blue and cleared up for 4-4.

Five snookers

Hull took control of the decider with 31 and 37, leaving Davis needing five snookers on the last red. Amazingly, he got four of those but his hopes of a miracle escape ended when Hull fluked the last red.

"I think that was the only way I was going to win," admitted the London-based player, who went almost a year without winning a match after contracting a life-threatening super virus in 2003.

"I thought I was home and dry at 68-0 in the last but Steve put so much pressure on me. My game is so inconsistent it's frightening, bad shots just come out of the blue."

In-form Stuart Bingham came from 3-0 down to beat Peter Ebdon 5-4. The Basildon potter knocked in 47, 59 and 129 to get back to 4-4 then made a vital 63 in the decider.

His opponent in the last 16 is Ken Doherty who won an all-Irish affair against Joe Swail 5-3.

Dublin's Doherty opened superbly with a break of 106 then Belfast's Swail took the next two frames with a top run of 60.

World No 11 Doherty squared the tie with a 68 then pulled away to lead 4-2, blasting in a superb 133 total clerance in frame six.

Swail reduced the deficit with a ton of his own, a 104. But Doherty chipped away in frame eight with 36 and 30 and eventually sealed victory after his opponent had missed a long pot on the third-last red.

"It was a very high standard today," said Doherty, who won the Malta Grand Prix in 2000. "Joe's been playing well for the last couple of seasons and he's beaten me a few times.

"In fact he beat me in the Irish Professional final last year which hurt. So I wouldn't say it was revenge today as he's a good pal, but it was nice to get one back on him.

"I always enjoy playing here and I think the venue lends itself to good snooker. My practice is going well and I'm pleased to have won all of my first round matches this season. But there's still a lot of work to do."

Romford's Mark King scored a 5-2 defeat of fellow left-hander Ian McCulloch. King was hauled back from 2-0 to 2-2 but then won the last three frames, finishing with a 111.

Another player that suffered an early exit was Jimmy White who last night lost to Barry Hawkins 5-2.

Yesterday's results: I. McCulloch vs M. King 2-5; K. Doherty vs J. Swail 5-3; P. Ebdon vs S. Bingham 4-5; S. Davis vs R. Hull 4-5; S. Murphy vs M. Allen 5-2; S. Lee vs B. Pinches 1-5; J. White vs B. Hawkins 2-5; G. Dott vs J. Parrott 5-2.

Playing today: Last 16 - Noon, S. Maguire vs M. King, K. Doherty vs S. Bingham; 4 p.m. M. Williams vs N. Bond, B. Hawkins vs R. Hull, G. Dott vs S. Murphy; 8 p.m. S. Hendry vs B. Pinches, A. McManus vs J. Higgins, D. Dale vs J. Perry.