SHAUN Murphy has vowed to keep on going for "crazy" pots if it helps him go on to win a second Betway UK Championship crown.

The Magician left another opponent at the York Barbican spellbound as he swept into the last 16 with a 6-2 victory over Ben Woollaston.

The latter was left dumbfounded - arguing that he didn't think "even Judd Trump would go for the ones he goes for" - as he fell to a barrage of spectacular long reds and colours.

Murphy, whose aggressive style took him to the world title ten years ago, pledged in recent years to return to the attacking snooker that brought him that success and, citing Stephen Hendry's propensity to take on outrageous balls in the 1990s, says he's won't change.

"Part of going for your shots is saying to your opponent 'I'm prepared to go for my shots, are you?'," he said. "Stephen Hendry dominated the game in the 90s by going for his shots. He went for some crazy shots but they went in.

"Even the ones that didn't go in, they send a message out to your opponents. For me, it is about how I feel. I am not really bothered how my opponent feels. I have always gone for my shots and I always will."

Murphy started in fluent fashion, kicking off with a break of 83, but Woollaston had early chances and, levelling after the second frame, would have been aggrieved to have lost the third - his effort of 62 not proving enough to thwart Murphy.

From there, it was largely one-way traffic. Murphy built his lead up to 5-1 with a pair of consecutive 72s and, although Woollaston sneaked the seventh, the Magician finished with an epic red on his way to a fabulous 106.

"I was very pleased with my performance," he said. "I am playing well. I have been working hard on my game as always and I was very, very pleased to see it come out on the match table.

"Snooker is a very difficult game and, at the moment, these last few games have gone my way."

Woollaston was left in awe of Murphy's potting ability, saying: "He pots balls and goes for balls that no one else would go for. I don't think even Judd Trump would go for the ones he goes for. In the last frame, I thought I played a great safety and he went and made a century.

"That's why I think Shaun is not as consistent as Mark Selby. If they don't go in he will leave you chances but, at his best, he's brilliant."

He added: "The third frame was just huge, really. It was about the only time in the match I felt good. I felt a bit unlucky to pot a really good green and, to land where I did on the brown, it was the only centimetre on the table where it wasn't easy.

"I think if I had gone 2-1 up the game would have been far different. I could also have possibly gone 2-2. After the interval, I didn't get too much from 3-1 to 5-1 but the seventh frame was embarrassing, to be honest.

"I should have won it far before time and nearly ended up losing it."