Gould impresses in European Tour event

By

Martin Gould continued his impressive form by reaching the final of the third European Tour event of the season.

Gould played some sparkling snooker to win six matches in the tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, before losing a high-quality final 4-2 against world number seven Shaun Murphy.

The Pinner potter lost the opening frame against former world champion Murphy, but breaks of 45 and 60 saw him lead 2-1 in the first-to-four final.

However, Murphy rattled off breaks of 89, 99 and 63 to win the title in fine style.

Murphy paid tribute to world number 28 Gould, whose run saw him beat Ross Muir, David Grace, Jamie Jones, Ricky Walden, Mark Davis and Peter Ebdon.

“Most of the matches this week have gone my way all the way through, but Martin really pushed me hard,” Murphy said.

“At 2-1 I had to get myself sorted. I played really well after that.”

The 2014/15 European Tour series is made up of six events, with the top 24 in the final Order of Merit progressing to the Players Championship in March.