 After three seasons ranked number three , he dropped to number seven for the 2010 / 2011 season . He won the Wuxi Classic , a non @-@ ranking tournament held in China , defeating Ding 9 – 8 , having recovered from 2 – 8 down . Murphy reached the semi @-@ finals of the Paul Hunter Classic , now part of the Players Tour Championship minor @-@ ranking series , but lost 2 – 4 against eventual winner Judd Trump . Murphy won the Brugge Open , the second European event of the Players Tour Championship , with defeating Matthew Couch 4 – 2 in the final . He reached the final of the Ruhr Championship , but lost 2 – 4 against John Higgins . Murphy finished 1st on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit , couldn 't defend his Premier League Snooker title , as he lost 1 – 7 against Ronnie O 'Sullivan in the final . He then reached the semi @-@ finals of the 2010 UK Championship , where he lost to eventual runner @-@ up Mark Williams 8 – 9 . 
