By Elliott West
“There have been a lot of honest conversations in front of mirrors and a lot of soul searching, but I am very lucky to have some great support, with friends and family back home.”
Shaun Murphy
Introduction
It’s been 1,106 days, the equivalent of three years since Shaun Murphy last won a ranking title, the 2020 Welsh Open when he defeated Kyren Wilson 9-1 in the final. So it is not surprising that Shaun had to go back to the drawing board in more ways than one to rediscover himself as a person and a player. Despite reaching the finals of the 2021 World Championship and the 2023 Welsh Open, he lost both finals to Mark Selby and Robert Milkins respectively. A bitter pill to swallow especially as he played well throughout both tournaments. So what did he have to do to get those winning juices flowing again?
The Winning Path
Lockdown wasn’t kind to Shaun, having to spend long periods away from his family home in Dublin in isolation just to be able to compete on the tour. This inevitably put a great deal of pressure on your mental health and Murphy was the first to admit that he suffered from depression during this trying period. What else didn’t help, were the cruel jibes on social media about his weight and so much so that he decided to take a leaf out of the books of Mark Allen and John Higgins and do something drastic about it. His solution was to have a gastric sleeve operation, a solution that he felt was necessary as he had tried every diet possible over a 20-year period with none working effectively with him ballooning to 20 stones in weight at one stage.
Shaun became the literal magician, shedding weight faster than he could ever dream of despite struggling to finish a pint of Guinness at the same rate as his friends in the pub. This nine-time ranking champion was focused and knew that this was the right way forward and was determined to finish this no-pain, no-gain journey. The result is that Murphy not only looks fitter and healthier in appearance but can now lean over the snooker table with ease rather than the pained and cumbersome experience that it was before. Now he can wear those sparkly trousers and tailored shirts that were a nightmare to wear before, being too tight and affecting his mindset backstage even before he had walked out into the arena itself.
Murphy has transformed and looks more like the killer player he was when he won his first World Championship title in 2005. Already one of the best rest players alongside Jimmy White, Shaun makes his authority known when he literally stomps around the table and it is sheer pleasure to watch him flow, producing high breaks, tight safety and often killing off a frame at his first opportunity. Difficult viewing for his opponent, who is just hoping and praying that he will get a chance to shine at the same table. A big ask when Murphy is at the height of his pomp. He has that Rolls Royce cue action that Stephen Lee frittered away, a brick wall that few can chip away at.
The Players Championship
This tournament, held this year at the Aldersley Arena in Wolverhampton is getting the reputation of producing the best in a particular player. Just look how well John Higgins performed to win it in 2021, inflicting a devastating 10-3 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan. It was only a matter of time before Shaun Murphy would bubble to the surface of the victory fountain and the one-year ranking list definitely helped him, eliminating a large chunk of the top players. Joe O’Connor, Robert Milkins and Kyren Wilson were potential contenders but they couldn’t quite cut the mustard. So it fell to Ali Carter, this year’s German Masters winner to try and attempt to slay this ferocious dragon that is the 40-year-old Shaun Murphy.
If you are an Ali Carter fan, this final isn’t one you would want to watch again in a hurry. Murphy oozed brilliance and caused his Essex-born opponent to produce more facial expressions than a Spitting Image puppet. Carter spent a large part of the match, wincing in his chair, a bystander rather than a contender. With a 6-2 lead going into the evening session, Shaun looked like a man on a mission. Murphy had already smashed the record books by making the most century breaks ever by any player in the lifetime of this tournament. Five of the 11 centuries came in this final.
Carter showed glimmers of his expertise in the evening session but they really were the embers of a fire that raged throughout the match through his opponent. In the end, Murphy would shatter his victory drought with a 10-4 victory and an impressive £125,000 top prize to go with the trophy. and now his 10th-ranking title. Shaun has shown once again that it is possible to pull yourself out of the defeat quagmire and shine once again in full blazing technicolour glory. A very dangerous threat for the remainder of the season and is now a hot favourite for the World Championship.
