European Masters 2023 as it happened - Shaun Murphy and John Higgins in action after wins for Judd Trump and Luca Brecel

Join us again tomorrow for more action from the European Masters in Nuremburg.

Zhou Yuelong 2-4 John Higgins

James Cahill 3-3 Barry Hawkins

Jimmy Robertson 4-0 Scott Donaldson

Allan Taylor 3-3 Duane Jones

Andy Hicks 4-1 Yisong Peng

After a taxing start, Shaun rattled off four frames in a row there to breeze past Daniel Wells and into the next round. Before the match Shaun mentioned that there's a day in the post where he'll start bringing multiple cues to not just events, but matches; he was in mono-cue mode tonight and it was more than enough as he registered breaks of 104, 54, 85 and 67. After winning the Championship League already this season, Shaun looks the form player early in 2023-24.

Shaun takes yellow as a free ball, and when he shifts two reds off the bottom cushion when potting the pink, the credits start to roll. He showboats up to the blue for a quick 40, and he's won frame and match.

One last push? Daniel elicits four after fluking a snooker, and then gets in with a thin snick on a red to bottom right. He really is struggling though, missing his next red to the bottom right when it looked a simple, off-straight pot. Soon after, he serves another four to Shaun when he shorts a safety. With only three reds left Shaun is in total command, even more so when Daniel misses a thin contact safety and leaves a free ball. His game is unravelling a bit here, and he may not get another shot.

On 24 Shaun leaves himself a tricky cut back on a red to bottom right, and he overcuts it to bring Daniel back to the table. There's nothing on, and after a brief safety exchange Shaun finds another long red to take control of the frame again. A delicate cut back on another red to go up for the blue soon follows. It's a tough little break this as the black and two other reds are tied up, and it's soon over as Shaun tries to force the latter open and ends up welded to one of the reds.

That's three on the bike now for Shaun, can Daniel respond? He was playing so well to go 2-1 in front, but is struggling a touch now. Is this a chance though? A poor safety from Shaun catches the jaws of the bottom left, and it's left Daniel an easy starter. With pink and black tied up it's not the easiest table, and in trying to pot a tight pink to right middle he catches a red first and it's end of break. It's also left Shaun a plant, which he makes; he could add a heavy visit here, maybe even a match-winning one.

Shaun definitively ends the argument with a thunderous long red to the bottom left, which makes a satisfying thunk as it drops. A few shots later Shaun returns for a further 13, and he's one away from victory.

Frame ball pink does go, and Daniel returns to the table 71 in arrears with 67 left out there. After a brief safety exchange Daniel pots a red but can only take pink next, increasing the snookers required to two. Daniel's got a yahoo at this with the position of the balls, but blows it on 14 by missing the pot on a red to bottom left.

With the black tied up in a cluster of five reds, Shaun does superbly to keep staying on the pink and rack up a half-century. He can leave Daniel needing a snooker by dishing the remaining two open reds with pinks, and he looks of a mind to do just that.

Shaun has Daniel in mither again at the start of the sixth frame, drawing another four point foul before Daniel rests in the bunch off two cushions. A few shots later Shaun is in again as a poor attempt by Daniel to drop a red into the left middle misses by a distance and leaves it on to the same pocket. Shaun pots that, and then opens the pack off the green; a clever shot off the blue a few pots later then releases the pink. It feels like he's taking charge here.

It's an 85 for Shaun as he moves one in front.

A cut back on a black to bottom right takes Shaun to a half-century, and it's a perfectly judged shot to hold for the next red. We've seen his power and his touch in this frame, he does look in good touch so far tonight. A few more pots and this one will be done.

We're back, and Shaun flukes a snooker tight in behind the brown in baulk. It's a three cushion escape to a red just off the bottom cushion, which Daniel needs four stabs at hitting. Shaun's then in a bit of bother in baulk, but pots his way out of trouble with a stunning red down the right of the table and into the bottom corner. That's a superb shot, it was such a difficult angle. And just like that, he's filling his boots around the black spot.

Zhou Yuelong 1-2 John Higgins

James Cahill 1-1 Barry Hawkins

Jimmy Robertson 2-0 Scott Donaldson

Allan Taylor 2-1 Duane Jones

Andy Hicks 3-0 Yisong Peng

Shaun makes a plant as a shot to nothing, and gets control of the safety exchange that follows. A few shots later Daniel chucks everything at a deadweight pot on a red to the bottom left, misses it, and Shaun should surely now clean up enough to level this up. As suspected, another 33 are piled on Shaun and we're all square in a fascinating match.

We'll be back in 15 minutes.

What a split! Shaun booms into the pack earlier than expected off the blue; he comes slightly off the side, but the white glides off two cushions to land perfectly on the next red and with the pack split compliantly. It looks for all the world a frame-winner, but what an error here as he misses a brush cannon on a red and leaves only a tough cut on another with the rest. The pot doesn't go close but the white goes safe, as the break clangs to a halt on 54.

It's the last one before the interval, and Shaun takes charge of it after picking off a loose red long to the bottom left. There are a nice scattering of reds in the open, the black is on to both corners and it looks like a decent bunch to go into. There may even be a plant in there too, so it's looking good for Shaun as he moves to 28 and counting in this visit.

Shaun drops on the brown, but he's virtually straight. He tries to force it to get the white to the blue, misses the pot, and is so lucky to see it run safe. Daniel then lands a snooker, from which Shaun escapes and leaves mid-range, frame ball brown to the bottom right. It's the biggest shot of the match so far, and Daniel plugs that and the blue to take the frame. Dramatic stuff.

Things have changed here, my word. Shaun flukes a snooker, and it's brutal; Daniel misses from his escape, but compounds that error by going in-off and leaving a free ball. Shaun takes the yellow for a point, followed by the green, then down for a red and black. If he can dish the colours this will be a sensational steal! The brown, just off the top cushion, is Daniel's only potential saviour here.

We'll be here for a bit, as Daniel thumps a red into the high knuckle of the right middle and out to end his break. Shaun needs two snookers, but can fire off a volley of reds and blacks before having a yahoo at getting them. Sure enough, four reds and blacks disappear; Daniel returns, trapped behind the pink with the one remaining red near the baulk line. it's a tricky hit but with a little touch of swerve, Daniel connects.

It's a third half-century for Daniel, he's cueing very nicely here. A blue to left middle takes him to 60, and with three loose reds still to go for he looks nailed on to win another one .

This is a chance again for Daniel, as Shaun takes on a red deadweight to the left middle and watches it visit all of the lip of the pocket before staying out. It's there as a sitter for Daniel instead, who's away again. His second red wobbles furiously in the jaws of the bottom right before going in, but he's soon up to 30 and has opened the pack after bouncing the white hard off the bottom cushion and into the bunch. That leaves a straight long red to the green pocket, and he nails that one too; huge chance now for a frame-winning clearance.

Daniel lets his arm go a bit, empting the table for an 81 to top his 56 earlier in the frame.

A real slice here for Daniel, as Shaun takes on a red to the bottom right with the rest, opening other reds as he does so. It's close, but it stays in the jaws; but Daniel, snookered on it, fails to cut another red onto it and back comes Shaun! Don't blink here though - Shaun makes exactly the same mistake and fails to plant one red onto the gimme in the bottom right! My days, that was a farcical couple of shots. A quick couple of reds and blacks from a relieved Daniel follow, and with plenty still on that should do us.

It's a half-ton for Daniel, but a nasty flick on a red near the left rail throws the white out of position and leaves a nasty cut back to the bottom right. Daniel calmly tucks it in though, and he's on the blue; this is an excellent riposte so far, a few more good pots and he'll be home and hosed. As I type that, he misses a tricky red across the table to the bottom left, and Shaun can counter.

A poor break from Shaun leaves a red on to the bottom right, and Daniel drops it in from distance and pulls up before baulk. He's soon down at the business end of the table and it's a chance to hit right back, with five other reds detached from the pack and in good positions. It goes seemingly pear-shaped on 28 though as he goes into the pack on 28 off the black and sticks to them. Hello though - there's a plant on, and Daniel plugs it to keep on trucking.

The frame has long gone as Shaun rings in the century when he trundles in another black, before picking off the final red and then missing the next black to nix his effort on 104.

Maybe just use that cue Shaun, it's playing fine!

What a Wednesday evening stroll this is so far, as Shaun saunters to a half-ton in no time at all with a black to bottom left. A plant takes him to 56 and the frame - with a ton - is looking likely. This is some start from the Magician.

Shaun gets in first, floating a long red into the bottom left, and pulls up before baulk. He's soon into the pack too, and is quickly into the pack and they've split beautifully.

Just the one cue for Shaun here, but he's dropped a fascinating interview this week on stepping out in future like a golfer, with multiple cues within reach to suit the various conditions of the World Snooker Tour.

The two players stride out, and it'll be Daniel to break. Best of nine then for the right to face Ross Muir in the last 32.

These two have met seven times before, with Shaun having the edge 5-2. Their most recent clash was in the Welsh Open in February, where Shaun won 4-1 to advance to the quarters, registering a 147 on the way.

Welcome back to day two of the European Masters from Nuremburg. We’ve got a two-time winner of this event to enjoy tonight; back when it was known as the Malta Cup, Shaun Murphy won this in back-to-back seasons in the noughties, once as a ranking title and once when it was not. He’ll be taking on Daniel Wells for a place in the last 32.

But that's all from us for now! Don't forget to check the Snooker Score Center for the results of the remaining afternoon games Mertens v Lam, Hugill v Carter and Heathcote v Hamilton, but otherwise we'll see you later on, thanks for joining us!

The excitement doesn't stop there. We'll be live again ahead of the evening session of the European Masters, which starts at 19:00 BST. It'll also be live on Eurosport and discovery+, so do stay tuned, you don't want to miss it!

Daniel Wells v Shaun Murphy

Andy Hicks v Peng Yisong

Jimmy Robertson v Scott Donaldson

James Cahill v Barry Hawkins

And Mark Williams finish off compatriot Matthew Stevens almost simultaneosuly, leaving just enough time for the coverage to switch and catch the handshake between the Welshmen. Williams will face either Jimmy Robertson or Scott Donaldson in the next round, their round of 64 match is tonight, speaking of which...

That double red was the turning point, Luca Brecel controlled the short and medium-range shots there to take an unassailable lead before just knocking the black onto the jawof the middle left to end his break. Ishpreet has lots to be proud of after putting up a determined fight against the world champion. Brecel will face David Gilbert next.

If Jordan Brown does feel a bit down after that pummelling, he can at least take solace that he's not alone - see Mark Allen after he was picked apart by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh this morning.

Brecel just produced a superb double to sink a red middle-right and keep this break alive. Brecel's taking the game away from Singh here

Judd Trump 5-0 Jordan Brown

Kyren Wilson 5-2 Alfie Burden

Ben Mertens 1-1 Sanderson Lam

Ashley Hugill 1-1 Ali Carter

Louis Heathcote 2-1 Anthony Hamilton

Mark Williams 4-3 Matthew Stevens

Alfie Burden swiftly conceded 5-2 just to spite me after writing that, missing a long but straighforward pink pot on the top right against Kyren Wilson who advances to face Si Jiahui. Singh's sunk the first points in this one.

And it's all over! Brown fouls on the yellow extinguishing any faint hope he had of making a comeback, meaning Trump advances to the round of 32 to face 28th seed Chris Wakelin. A dominant opening two frames, particularly Trump's 100-2 crushing in the second, set the tone for this one and Brown looked beaten from there.

But don't go anywhere! Ishpreet Singh has pulled two frames back from 4-1 down against Luca Brecel and that's where we're focussing next, and every other game of the afternoon session is still alive too.

Brown's hanging on by a thread here. He takes up Trump's generous positioning on the final red then snookers his opponent into a foul before passing up an easy pot on the yellow middle-left attempting to draw more points from the Englishman.

After the fourth frame started so tentatively, this's ones already shifted into top gear. Trump begins at the top but screws a fast green back down to start cleaning up the reds at the business end of the table. Four blacks and two pinks later he's surpassed another half-century, and only comes to a halt when his double attempt on the red jams on the jaws.

That didn't take long did it? Judd Trump sinks a mid-range red followed by the black, but misses his second attempt on the black attempting to canon the cue back into the reds. Brown needs to come out fighting and take full advantage and he doesn that with back-to-back short black pots.

Jordan Brown gets the fifth, must-win frame underway.

With Judd Trump closing in on victory, this is the only match this afternoon on course for a whitewash. Don't forget, Singh vs Brecel is live on Eurosport while this match, Wilson vs Burden and Williams vs Stevens are on discovery+.

Kyren Wilson 3-1 Alfie Burden

Ben Mertens 1-1 Sanderson Lam

Ashley Hugill 1-1 Ali Carter

Louis Heathcote 1-1 Anthony Hamilton

Mark Williams 2-3 Matthew Stevens

Ishpreet Singh Chadha 1-4 Luca Brecel

Into the interval now, Brown looked broken heading off after that last frame. While we wait, enjoy this O'Sullivan 147 from yesterday. That'd be Sean O'sullivan mind, as Ronnie's withdrawn from the competition.

Of course, as I write that Trump is gifted an easy short pot on the red, and follows it up with the black to go 4-0 up.

Still no score, you could cut the tension with a knife right now.

Crunch time. Both players miss gettable shots on the final red in the top right, Trump's straight shot just glancing the jaws and ending up well up the table. Brown responds by hanging the white in the bottom right pocket and Trump goes close on the middle right. Brown snookers his opponent yet again, psycologically, the is the game right here.

Trump makes the first foul of the game, attempting to get out of a snooker but missing the red. Brown senses he needs to pile on the pressure and snookers his opponent again on the baulk cushion.

As someone's phone goes off in the audience, Brown's given himself a lifeline. But not much more. He tries to trap Trump behind the black at the bottom of the table and though the Englishman escapes, Brown's now given him an even harder shot centrally behind the blue.

Brown finally gets the chance to respond, but his attempt on the red jams on the bottom-right jaws. Trump then shows him how it's done, cutting a red middle-left off the cushion. 18 points later and he misses the same shot, but Brown has it all to do here.

Brown already looks beaten. Trump cuts a red bottom right before dispatching the brown and screwing back to the middle-right of the table for an easy blue. A fast red and brown later and he's past his quarter-century.

First blood to Trump as he doubles the red in before potting the blue and taking cue ball back to the bottom of the table. The black looks in for another pummelling here...

As the safety battle for the fourth frame begins, here's the scores on the rest of the tables this afternoon:

Kyren Wilson 2-1 Alfie Burden

Ben Mertens 1-1 Sanderson Lam

Ashley Hugill 1-1 Ali Carter

Louis Heathcote 1-1 Anthony Hamilton

Mark Williams 2-1 Matthew Stevens

Ishpreet Singh Chadha 1-3 Luca Brecel

I'm not sure 'taking advantage' fully covers that. Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois square up on Saturday and this latest pummelling would've looked more at home there. He potted the black nine times on his wayt to his ton, all short as he manouevured the white around the business end of the table. The highlight was a sumptuous cut of the penultimate red off the pink before he just misses the blue attempting to clear out. Jordan Brown already looks beaten as Trump starts the next frame.

Brown edges ahead with a couple of reds before bringing it back up the table with a safety on the green leaving the cue behind the baulk line. But he misses a long red on the jaws bottom-left allowing Trump to take over at the business end of the table and the Englishman's already taken advantage on the black and blue.

It's a nervier start than we saw from the opening two frames, with Brown needing to generate some serious momentum before it's too late. He thins a red to escape what looked like a snooker but neither player has been able to assert themselves so far.

Brown was agonisingly close to rebounding a red in middle-right but it's just too short, leaving Trump an easy eight on the table to secure the frame.

But Brown can't sustain it. He misses a must-pot black on the jaws of the bottom left and Trump quickly racks up another 12 before losing possession.

With both players playing the baulk, eventually Trump gets greedy, missing a long red down to the bottom corner to allow Brown an opening into the frame. He's taken immediate advantage, potting black and blue either side a of mid-range red cut as his break continues.

Another half-ton for Trump, he rattles the black in four times short, before the white cannons into the remaining cluster of reds and he plays a safety off the pink onto the bottom cushion. Brown can do nothing in reply and we're into another safety battle with the Northern Irishman requiring a miracle to get back into this frame.

Trump almost snookers Brown off the first shot, but he's able to escape with a safety down the table... Or so he thinks. Trump spend a while weighing his return, but produces a sumtuous a long safety down the table to take possession.

While we wait to get back underway in the second frame, here's the latest scores on the doors in Nuremberg:

Kyren Wilson 1-0 Alfie Burden

Ben Mertens 0-1 Sanderson Lam

Ashley Hugill 0-1 Ali Carter

Mark Williams 1-0 Matthew Stevens

Ishpreet Singh Chadha 0-1 Luca Brecel

Just like that it's 1-0. Trump cannons on the penultimate red before his attempt to pot the black top-right bounces agonisingly off the jaws and out onto the baulk cushion.

And Trump needs no second invitation. He blasts through a half-ton, potting the blue four times before screwing back up the table to take brown and yellow a mid-range. He works back central to dust off remainder of the break...

Brown hits a red long into the bottom left pocket but misses cutting the blue leaving it hanging on the middle left as Trump takes over.

Brown hits a red long into the bottom left pocket but misses cutting the blue leaving it hanging on the middle left as Trump takes over.

We're into our first safety battle, with both players content to leave the cue away from the business end of the table.

We're underway in Nuremberg on table three but both players are sitting it out at the moment with all balls left on the table, just waiting to see what the stoppage is.

We're about to get underway here. A reminder that this match is one of four that's live on discovery+ this afternoon, while Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Luca Brecel is live on Eurosport.

The big news from yesterday was Ronnie O'Sullivan's withdrawal from the tournamenet ahead of his opening match due to medical reasons, you can read the full story here.

There were seven matches this morning, the headliner being Thepchaiya Un-Nooh's 5-0 demolition of Mark Allen, who looked haunted by the end.

Mark Selby, Robbie Williams, Zak Surety, Xiao Guodong, David Gilbert and Nappon Saengkham stayed alive in the tournament with Stuart Bingham the biggest name heading home.

Luca Brecel is one of those in action this afternoon, like Judd Trump and Jordan Brown he starts in 15 minutes. The world number 2 edged past Jackson Page yesterday.

We'll be focussing on Judd Trump vs Jordan Brown here, but there's a packed afternoon of snooker coming to you from Nuremberg:

Kyren Wilson v Alfie Burden

Ben Mertens v Sanderson Lam

Ashley Hugill v Ali Carter

Louis Heathcote v Anthony Hamilton

Mark Williams v Matthew Stevens

Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Luca Brecel

Good afternoon and thanks to our LIVE updates of the 2023 European Masters! The afternoon session is set to get started in half an hour in Nuremburg, at 14.30 BST.

The European Masters 2023 got underway with an action-packed opening day at the KIA Metropol Arena in Nuremberg.

Reigning champion Kyren Wilson started his title defending campaign with a competent 5-1 win over Scotsman Dean Young.

World No.2 and reigning World Champion Luca Brecel had an uncomfortable opening afternoon against Jackson Page who pushed his opponent to sweat, though Brecel’s quality was ultimately enough to dispatch Page 5-3 and carry him through to the second round.

Judd Trump and Mark Allen had far easier affairs both cruising to 5-0 wins over Mohamed Ibrahim and Anton Kazakov respectively.

Neil Robertson, ranked 7th, suffered a shock defeat to Chinese Wu Yize with 40 world ranking places between the two competitors.

A well poised afternoon of action sees Kyren Wilson back in action against Alfie Burden at 1430, Trump takes on Jordan Brown and Brecel locks horns with Ishpreet Singh Chadha.

In the late session from 1900, Shaun Murphy is up against Daniel Wells and Barry Hawkins takes on James Cahill.

The first round of 32 game also occurs later in the evening as John Higgins faces Yuelong Zhou.

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Stream the European Masters and other top snooker action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com