Shaun Murphy ended Zhao Xintong ’s dreams of becoming the man to finally best the Crucible Curse and then insisted it would never be broken.

Snooker ’s most famous hex means no first-time World Championship winner has successfully defended their title since the sport’s most prestigious tournament moved to the iconic Sheffield theatre in 1977.

Zhao became the 21st man to fail to break the curse as eighth seed Murphy produced a scintillating finish in their quarter-final clash, making breaks of 96, 80, 70 and 69 to turn an 8-8 tie heading into the final session into a 13-10 triumph.…