David Gilbert ousts defending champion Shaun Murphy from British Open

David Gilbert ended Shaun Murphy's defence of the British Open title with a 4-2 victory in the second round in Cheltenham on Wednesday. RTÉ reported that Gilbert took control of the best-of-seven match with a 117 break in the opening frame, giving the tournament one of its most notable results of the day.

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Murphy responded strongly after falling behind. The defending champion compiled runs of 64 and 103 to claim two frames, but those contributions were not enough to turn the contest. Gilbert produced three further half-century breaks as he completed the win and advanced, according to RTÉ's account of the match.

The result removes the player who arrived at the Centaur as the reigning champion. Murphy won the 2025 British Open by beating Anthony McGill 10-7 in the final. This year's professional tournament runs from August 31 through September 6, but his bid for consecutive titles ended before the last 32.

Gilbert's victory was part of a busy second-round schedule. Judd Trump also won 4-2, recovering from behind against Ricky Walden and finishing the match with breaks of 96 and 87. World number one Zhao Xintong defeated Daniel Wells by the same score after Wells recovered from 3-0 down; Zhao made a 73 in the sixth frame after a rerack.

Two other leading players needed deciding frames. John Higgins edged Noppon Saengkham 4-3, while Mark Selby beat Lei Peifan by the same margin. Ross Muir also prevailed in a decider, defeating Bai Yulu 4-3 after Bai had made a break of 59 and appeared close to victory.

Ireland's Aaron Hill progressed with a 4-2 win over Belgium's Ben Mertens. Hill trailed twice in the match but levelled on both occasions before taking the final two frames. His reward is a last-32 meeting with China's Wang Xinbo, while Gilbert moves forward after bringing Murphy's title defence to an early close.