O’Sullivan has made no secret of his struggles with form all season, and he will have to wait another year at least for another crack at winning this tournament for a fifth time.

For his part, Murphy didn’t need to be anywhere near his best, a high break of 68 his only real meaningful contribution of the afternoon, but still more than enough to down his off-colour opponent.

To his credit, O’Sullivan was still trying to muster a fightback in the fourth and ultimately final frame, but when he missed the yellow to centre his race was run, Murphy sealing the deal when potting the final pink with the rest.