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Shaun Murphy cut a frustrated figure during his nervy 10-9 victory over Fan Zhengyi at the World Snooker Championship. Only once in the match did either player pull more than one frame clear of the other, and that came during the fourth frame of an enthralling Crucible contest.

But it was during the 17th frame of the match, with the score level at 8-8, when Murphy was left bewildered, as the lights from the other table in the arena suddenly came on. It startled Murphy, who would go on to make a break of 45 and eventually take the frame.

Looking towards that part of the venue, Murphy stood there, mouth wide open, questioning why there had been a sudden change in the light. His reaction garnered laughter from the crowd, with Lee Walker on BBC commentary saying: "Well, the light has come on from the other table. Not sure how that's come on, don't think anyone else is coming to play on here tonight."

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The Englishman confronted the referee, with the light quickly switched back off again. Rob Walker added: "He's been around a long time, Shaun Murphy, but he looked a bit startled there. [The referee] is just passing a message to the office to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Fan did manage to extend the match into a deciding frame, but the victory in the end was Murphy's, who battled hard and eventually found light at the end of the tunnel. Murphy had been hovering over the trap door for a portion of the final frame, and trailed by 36 points with four reds left.

Reflecting on his gutsy comeback, the 43-year-old said: "I can't believe I won the match from that position, the way the balls were. It's the best break I have ever made, given what was at stake, and I am so proud. The most nerve-racking thing I have done outside snooker was my driving test and this was 50 times worse."

Before adding: "I have no idea how I did it, I was preparing my losing speech. Fan played a great match and he had more than a foot in the last 16. I didn't want to be the first seed to lose."

It's a welcome reprieve for Murphy, who has now gone over 20 years since his first and only World Championship title. His pursuit of a second will continue against another Chinese potter in the second round, with Xiao Guodong his opponent after the 37-year-old beat Zhou Yuelong 10-6 in the pair's opener.