Stavrou, bidding to become only the second player to complete the ladies singles and mixed pairs double, cruised to a 10-4 first set win, and looked all over the title winner when she eased into a 6-2 lead in the second.
It was then that Murphy suddenly clicked into gear to put pressure on Stavrou for the first time in the match, and the grip the England star had on proceedings began to look less secure.
Murphy trailed the jack for two shots to give her a lifeline when 6-2 down, added a single on the next, and then produced a superb drawing bowl under pressure to nudge the jack the required few inches to claim a double and a 7-6 win when staring defeat in the face to force the match into a tie-break.
There was suddenly a spring in the Aussie's step and she duly maintained her momentum by playing two immaculate tie-break ends to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and make amends for her defeat in last year's final on her first appearance in the championship.
“I was under the pump for most of the match and I suppose you could say that I stole the trophy, but that's what happens in sets play,” she said afterwards.
“I felt I played a little better than I did in the semi-final, but I had to because Debbie is a class player, and she was certainly more consistent than me on the day.”
Clearly disappointed at not achieving the record, Stavrou added: “I felt confident going into the final, but I played too many loose bowls in the second set and lost my weight, which you can't afford to do against such a class player as Karen. I'm pleased to have reached the final again, but Karen played the important bowls when she needed to and probably just had the edge.”
Jason Greenslade became the third Welshman to reach the singles quarter-finals when the number 13 seed defeated England's Mark Royal, the fourth seed, 10-7, 5-11, 2-1. Greenslade, who has never been beyond the semi-finals, bossed the early exchanges in the opening set to lead 9-2, and despite dropping a four on the seventh end, eventually took the set 10-7.
Royal, one of the most consistent accumulators of ranking points over the past few seasons, found his radar in the second, winning it 11-5, Greenslade not aiding his cause by dropping a four on exactly the same end as in the first when only 5-4 down. It looked as though the tide had turned in favour of the England star, who begins his defence of the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix next weekend, as he dropped in for shot off his back bowl to take the opening end of the tie-break on a close measure.
But Greenslade, hungry for ranking points to maintain his position in the world's top 16, levelled matters on the next end and then drew the shot with his last delivery of the match on the decider, Royal's final bowl slipping by the head. Greenslade's quarter-final opponent is Scottish qualifier Wayne Hogg who continued his dispersal of the seeds by defeating his former international colleague Stewart Anderson, now representing Wales, 7-6, 6-12, 2-1.
The 32-year-old from Glenrothes, who comprehensively dispatched local favourite Mervyn King in the opening round, is making the kind of impression young Anderson did two years ago when he shook the bowls establishment by reaching the final as a qualifier.
Hogg, a first round loser last year on his first appearance, edged the opening set 7-6, having led from the fourth end, but after holding a 4-0 advantage in the second, Anderson, the number 12 seed, reminded everyone of his credentials by sweeping by en route to a 12-6 victory, only for the impressive Hogg to recover his composure and snatch glory on the third and final end of the tie-break.
Scotland's Darren Burnett, the only player from the world's top seven still standing, reached the quarter-finals after a remarkable match against unseeded Englishman Robert Paxton, winner of the recent Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish International Open.
Burnett, seeded three, took the first set 9-7, after leading 9-1, but was then blitzed 11-0 by Paxton in the second, having failed to score in no fewer than ten consecutive ends before winning the first two tie-break ends for the match.
