147 puts Hendry in command

The Scot's clearance of 15 reds and blacks, followed by the colours, came in the seventh frame of the match.

Providing no one matches it, in which case he shares the prize money, Hendry will receive £157,000 for the feat. The sponsors will also pay £147,000 to the Sport Relief charity.

Hendry moved 5-2 ahead after his maximum, having made an outstanding start to the match this morning.

After potting a tricky pink and running the white up through baulk and back to the black, which was on its spot, Hendry left himself with another difficult shot to complete his feat. The black wobbled in the jaws of the pocket before dropping in, handing Hendry his ninth career maximum.

He was well on top against Murphy in the early stages of their tussle. Murphy, 26, blundered in the fourth frame when he missed a black after putting together a run of 61, and Hendry cleared up in two scoring visits to pull clear.

Hendry had lost the opening frame from 47-0 up, but a break of 117 in the next brought him level at 1-1. Hendry showed his appetite for the challenge in the best-of-25 match by taking the next two tight frames. Although they shared the two which followed the resumption, Hendry will have felt he should have won the second of them, however Murphy cleared up with a break of 61 to pinch it.

Elsewhere Ronnie O'Sullivan's conqueror Mark Allen was 5-3 up in his match against Welshman Ryan Day at the end of their opening session.

Meanwhile, the World Championship is to stay in Sheffield until 2014 after an extension to the existing contract was announced on Tuesday.

The tournament has been staged at the city's Crucible theatre since 1977, however Chinese officials were keen to take it to the Far East. World Snooker's deal with the Sheffield authorities had been due to expire after next year's event, however it was confirmed at a press conference this afternoon that a three-year extension has been agreed.