Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

, Essex, and raised in

Irthlingborough Irthlingborough () is a town on the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England. It had a population of 8,900 at the 2011 census and was the smallest town in England to have had a Football League team, Rushden & Diamonds F.C., prior to the ...

, North Northamptonshire, Murphy turned professional in 1998. His victory at the 2005

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

was considered a major surprise as he was only the third qualifier to win the title after

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

and

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champion ...

. He has won twelve ranking titles, placing him tenth on the all time list of ranking tournament victories, and he has also reached a second World Championship final in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, a third in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and a fourth in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. Murphy has also won eleven non-ranking tournaments, including the

2015 Masters The 2015 Masters Tournament was the 79th Masters Tournament, and the first of golf's four major championships, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jordan Spieth led wire-to-wire and shot a record-tying 270 (−1 ...

, which completed his career

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

. Murphy has won over £4 million in prize money and has compiled more than 600 century breaks in his professional career. His highest

world ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

was number three, which he maintained for three seasons following 2007–08. On 12 November 2017, Murphy won the Champion of Champions title beating

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

in the final. At the

2019 World Snooker Championship The 2019 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2019 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2019 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 4 ...

, Murphy became only the second person to perform a whitewash at the world championships, defeating

Luo Honghao Luo Honghao (; born 31 January 2000) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career Amateur In July 2017, he reached the final of 2017 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship where he lost the final 7–6 to Fan Zhengyi. Later i ...

10–0 in the opening round.

Early life

Born on 10 August 1982 in

, England, Murphy began playing

at the age of eight after his parents bought him a

snooker table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that i ...

for Christmas. He made his first

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

at the age of 10 and practised at the

Rushden Rushden is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of Bedford. The parish of Rushden covers an area of some ...

Snooker Centre, where players such as

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

, Mark Williams, and

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

have also played. At the age of 13, he secured a five-year £5,000-a-year sponsorship deal with the

Doc Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, D ...

shoe company and stated his ambitions of winning the

and becoming world number one. For the interview, see "Interview: Thirteen-year-old Shaun Murphy on his aspirations for his career in snooker". He turned professional in 1998 at the age of 15. Murphy was coached by Steve Prest until the 2006–07 season. He also received guidance from

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...

and

Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

, and when he was 15 he was given Reardon's old cue by his father.

Snooker career

1998–2001

Murphy began his career on the UK Tour in 1998 (renamed the Challenge Tour in 2000), at the time the second-level professional tour. He was runner-up in the fourth event on the UK tour for the 1997–98 season and, for the 2000–01 season, won the third and fourth events on the Challenge Tour, topping the Order of Merit rankings. In 2000, he received the World Snooker Newcomer of the Year award and one of six Young Player of Distinction of the Year awards from the

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...

. In 2000, he won the English Open Championship. Murphy won his first professional tournament at the 2000 Benson & Hedges Championship, defeating

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

6–1 in the semi-final, and

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

9–7 in the final, recovering from 2–5 down. Although he was not yet on the first-level main tour, this victory brought qualification for the Masters—a prestigious non-ranking invitation tournament with places for members of the top 16, the winner of the

qualifying tournament Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

, and a limited number of wildcards. In the 2001 tournament, he showed promise in his first televised match, defeating world number 15,

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He ...

, and building a 4–1 lead over seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, before losing the match. He made his first

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

in the 2001 Benson & Hedges Championship.

2002–2004

Murphy first reached the final stages of a ranking event at the 2002 World Championship, hosted at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

, where he lost 4–10 to Stephen Hendry in the first round. In the 2002–03 season, he reached the final stages of the Scottish Open, where he was defeated 3–5 by

Drew Henry Drew Henry (born 24 November 1968) is a Scottish former professional snooker player, who spent five consecutive seasons of his career in the top 32 of the rankings, peaking at No. 18. Career A strong amateur, Henry won the 1988 Scottish Amateur ...

in the first round, and the

, where he lost 9–10 against Ken Doherty on the final black in the first round. For the 2003–04 season, Murphy was ranked number 64 and qualified for the final stages of three ranking tournaments. In the LG Cup, he defeated

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

5–4 in the second round, before losing 2–5 to

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

in the third. After the victory over Davis, Murphy said "This is one of the greatest days in my snooker career." In the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, he defeated

Dave Harold David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of ...

5–1 in the first round, before losing to

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

2–5 in the second round. In the Players Championship—the new name of the Scottish Open—he lost 3–5 to eventual champion

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

in the second round. He failed to reach the

, losing a qualifying match 7–10 against

Stuart Pettman Stuart Pettman (born 24 April 1975) is an English former professional snooker player and author. The Preston native has qualified for the World Championship three times, in 2003, 2004 and 2010. He beat 2005 champion Shaun Murphy in qualifying ...

, in which Pettman was docked a frame for arriving late.

2004–05 season: World Champion

Murphy was ranked number 48 for the 2004–05 season and reached the final stages of four ranking events. In the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

—the new name of the LG Cup—he lost 2–5 to

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional i ...

in the first round. This was followed by his first ranking semi-final, at the

, where he was whitewashed 0–6 by John Higgins. In the

Malta Cup The European Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been staged periodically since 1989 as the European Open. Between 2005 and 2008 it was known as the Malta Cup and was the sole ranking tournament in Europe outside the Brit ...

, he lost 2–5 to

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple c ...

in the first round. He won two qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the 2005 World Championship and then defeated former world champions Higgins 13–8, Steve Davis 13–4, and

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

17–12 to reach the final where he faced Stevens, the world number six. After trailing 6–10 at the end of the first day (the World Championship final is played over two days), he made a comeback to level the score at 16–16. He then made two frame-winning breaks to lift the title. His 11 century breaks were the most in that year's tournament. Murphy's victory was considered a major surprise. His pre-tournament odds were 150–1, and before his win he was considered an underachiever. He became only the third qualifier to win the World Championship (or to reach the final) after

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Aged 22, Murphy was the second-youngest player to win the World Championship, following Stephen Hendry who first lifted the title when he was 21. No previous world champion had played as many matches (seven) to lift the title, and he was the lowest-ranked player, at number 48, to win the tournament. No player had won the World Championship as his first ranking event win since Joe Johnson in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. Murphy's run in the tournament earned him the nickname "The Magician" and the tournament doubled his previous career prize money, with which he purchased a house and a

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

. After his win, in July 2005, he married his fiancée Clare.

2005–06 season

For the new season, Murphy improved his ranking to number 21, which would not usually guarantee qualification for ranking events. However, as world champion he qualified automatically for every tournament in the season as the number two seed (and number one seed for the 2006 World Championship). He was invited to play in the

Premier League Snooker The Premier League Snooker was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament. It was held from 1987 until 2012. The tournament was played in a round-robin format over a number of weeks, normally from mid-September to early-December, around the ot ...

, a non-ranking tournament with a 25-a-second shot clock, but he went out in the round-robin stage. He reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural, non-ranking

Northern Ireland Trophy The Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional snooker tournament. History First contested in 1981 and named ''Northern Ireland Classic''. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the fi ...

before being defeated 4–5 by

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

. In the first three ranking events of the season—the

, the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...

, and the

—Murphy reached the last 16, losing final-frame matches to Stuart Bingham, Robertson, and

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...

, respectively. After his loss to Bingham, he complained about having to play his match on an outside table, given his world champion status. In the revival of

Pot Black ''Pot Black'' was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC. Each match was contested over a single , where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points, but played a large part in th ...

, a single-frame knockout tournament not staged since 1991, he was defeated in the final by Matthew Stevens. Murphy was awarded Sportsman of the Year at the

BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, southern parts of South Kes ...

Sports Awards in December 2005. At the Masters, Murphy lost 4–6 to John Higgins in the quarter-finals, but reached his second ranking final in the Welsh Open, losing 4–9 to Stephen Lee. In the

, he reached the quarter-finals, but fell victim to the so-called "

Crucible curse The "Crucible curse" (also known as "The curse of the Crucible" or sometimes the "Crucible jinx") is a quip in professional snooker referring to the fact that every first-time world champion has failed to retain the title the following year. The ...

", where no first-time champion has successfully defended the title at the Crucible Theatre, when he was defeated 7–13 by Peter Ebdon.

2006–07 season

For the next season, Murphy moved to number five in the world rankings, entering the elite top 16 for the first time, and thereby automatically qualifying for the final stages of ranking tournaments and receiving an automatic invitation to the Masters. In the

(a ranking event in this season), he lost 4–5 to Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals, and in the

, he lost 3–9 to

Alan McManus Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...

in the second round. A 3–6 defeat by Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals of the Masters was followed by his second ranking title, when he defeated Ryan Day 9–4 in the final of the

. After the victory, he said it was a relief to get rid of the one-hit wonder label. In his next match, a victory over

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

in the Welsh Open, he scored centuries in four consecutive frames, becoming only the second player to do so (after John Higgins in the 2005 Grand Prix final) and the only person to achieve this in a best-of-nine-frames match. He went on to lose 3–5 to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. In the

, Murphy defeated Matthew Stevens 13–12 in the quarter-finals—recovering from 5–11 down and knocking Stevens out of the top 16—before losing 16–17 against

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

in the semi-finals.

2007–08 season

For the 2007–08 season, Murphy was ranked number three, his highest-ever ranking, and reached at least the semi-finals of five ranking events but without winning any. In the inaugural Shanghai Masters, he was defeated 2–5 by Ian McCulloch in the first round. He reached the final of the 2007 Pot Black tournament, where he was defeated by Ken Doherty. In the

, he reached the semi-finals, where he lost 5–6 against

, despite an earlier 5–2 lead. Further semi-finals followed at the

and the

, where he was defeated on both occasions by Stephen Maguire, 5–6 and 5–9, respectively, making it three consecutive semi-final losses. Before the UK Championship, Murphy was provisionally ranked world number one. He successfully defended his

title (that year the tournament was not a ranking event) with a 9–3 victory over Doherty in the final. In the China Open, he defeated Mark Selby 6–3 in the semi-finals—his sixth semi-final appearance in the past seven ranking events—but lost 9–10 to Maguire in the final. Before the

, Murphy was again provisional world number one. As one of the favourites for the championship, he reached the second round where he lost 4–13 to

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

. After his loss, Murphy criticised the state of the tables.

2008–09 season: UK Champion

Murphy maintained his number three ranking for the 2008–09 season. He won the non-ranking

Paul Hunter Classic The Paul Hunter Classic is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It changed from a ranking event to a 16-man invitational event in 2019. From 2010 to 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. Barry Hawkins is the reigning champion. After los ...

, defeating Mark Selby 4–0 in the final, but lost in the first round of the first four ranking tournaments, including a 4–5 defeat by world number 47 Mike Dunn in the Bahrain Championship. Murphy and his wife separated in October, after three years of marriage. Despite the four consecutive first-round losses—which had been attributed to the split from his wife—he claimed his third ranking title at the

, defeating Marco Fu 10–9 in a low-quality final, in which he fluked a pink in the deciding frame that was effectively match ball. The victory meant that Murphy joined Steve Davis, Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths,

John Parrott John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within ...

, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Peter Ebdon as one of only ten players to have won both the World title and the UK title. In the

, there were concerns that Murphy's estranged wife would serve him divorce papers during play of his first-round match against

Andrew Higginson Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open. Career Early years After some success in amateur tourn ...

. He defeated Higginson 10–8 without incident, although his wife's parents were present in the arena and were asked to leave. He went on to defeat Fu 13–3, Hendry 13–11, and Neil Robertson 17–14, to earn a place in his second world final with two-time world champion Higgins as his opponent. In the final, he trailed 5–11 after the first day, and was beaten 9–18 by Higgins. On the first day of the final, a newspaper published a "kiss and tell" story involving Murphy.

2009–10 season

Murphy maintained his number three ranking for a third year in the 2009–10 season. He successfully defended his

title, defeating White 4–0 in the final. He won the

with a 7–3 win against O'Sullivan in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins in the tournament. He reached the semi-finals of the first ranking tournament, the Shanghai Masters, before losing 5–6 against

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

. This would be his only run to the semi-finals or better in a ranking tournament that season. In the

, as the defending champion, he lost 5–9 to eventual winner

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...

in the second round. After the match, Murphy complained about Ding leaving the arena too often after frames, saying "I can't believe anyone needs to go to the toilet after every single frame." He reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, where he lost 4–6 against Mark Williams. In the Welsh Open and the China Open, he lost his first-round matches to Matthew Stevens and

Nigel Bond Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...

, respectively. In the

, he defeated

Gerard Greene Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast. Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...

and Ding, but lost 12–13 against Ali Carter in the quarter-finals, despite leading 8–4. This was the first season in which he did not reach a final or better of a ranking tournament since the 2003–04 season.

2010–11 season

After three seasons ranked world number three, Murphy dropped to number seven for the 2010–11 season. He won the

Wuxi Classic The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...

, a non-ranking tournament held in China, defeating Ding Junhui 9–8 after recovering from 2–8 down. He progressed to the semi-finals of the

, the first European event of the season's

Players Tour Championship The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification ...

minor-ranking series, but lost 2–4 to eventual winner

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

. Murphy won the Brugge Open, the second European event of the series, defeating

Matthew Couch Matthew Couch (born 30 June 1974) is an English former professional snooker player. Career During a professional career lasting from 1992 to 2012, Couch had little success in ranking events, although he reached the quarter-finals of the UK Ch ...

4–2 in the final. He then reached the final of the Ruhr Championship, but lost 2–4 against John Higgins. Murphy finished first on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, but could not defend his

title, as he lost 1–7 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He reached the semi-finals of the

, where he lost to eventual runner-up Mark Williams 8–9. Murphy lost in the first round of the Masters 3–6 against Jamie Cope, in the second round of the

German Masters The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...

2–5 against

Joe Swail Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Cha ...

, and in the first round of the Welsh Open 0–4 against Matthew Stevens. He won his fourth ranking title in March 2011, with a 4–0 victory over

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began his prof ...

in the finals of the Players Tour Championship. The following week, he also reached the final of the

Championship League Championship League is a professional snooker tournament, devised by Matchroom Sport. A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played similarly to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart but with some minor changes ...

, but lost 1–3 against Stevens. He progressed to the semi-final of the China Open, where he lost 1–6 against Trump. Murphy's last tournament of the season was the

, where he lost in the second round 10–13 against O'Sullivan.

2011–12 season

Murphy began the 2011–12 season ranked number seven. He could not defend his

title, as he lost 3–6 against Ali Carter. Murphy reached the semi-finals of the

Australian Goldfields Open The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015. History Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...

, but lost 2–6 against eventual champion Stuart Bingham. At the Shanghai Masters Murphy reached the quarter-finals, but lost 4–5 against Mark Selby. Murphy's next tournament was the Brazil Masters, where he defeated Graeme Dott 5–0 in the final. Murphy also participated at the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and ended the league stage with two wins and four losses. As a result, he did not advance to the play-off. Murphy then reached the quarter-finals of the

, but lost 3–6 against

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

. He also participated at the

, where his best results came at the Warsaw Classic and the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy, where he reached the quarter-finals, but lost 3–4 against Neil Robertson and 2–4 against Matthew Stevens respectively. He finished number 37 on the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

, and could not qualify to the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

to defend his title. Murphy reached his first Masters final, but lost 6–10 against Robertson. Murphy then reached the semi-finals of the next two ranking tournaments, but lost 0–6 against Stephen Maguire at the

, 2–6 against Ding Junhui at the Welsh Open. He then lost in the quarter-finals of the World Open 0–5 against Mark Selby. Murphy ended the season with two first round losses. He lost 2–5 against wild-card

Lu Ning Lu Ning (, born 1 January 1994 in Jilin) is a professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. Lu is among ten Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Lu's firs ...

at the China Open and 8–10 against

Jamie Jones Jamie Jones may refer to: * Jamie Jones (DJ), Welsh DJ, producer and two-time DJ Awards winner * Jamie Jones (footballer) (born 1989), English professional footballer for Wigan Athletic * Jamie Jones (snooker player) (born 1988), Welsh professional ...

at the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927 Wor ...

2012–13 season

Murphy began the 2012–13 season ranked number six. The first tournament for Murphy was the

, where he lost in the first round 1–5 against Ken Doherty. Murphy's next tournament was the

Six-red World Championship The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion. History The event was first held in the 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six-red Snooker Internationa ...

, where he finished first in Group E with four wins out of five matches and advanced to the knock-out stage. There he defeated

James Wattana James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm'', then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm'' in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker pl ...

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championsh ...

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...

and Judd Trump to reach the final, but lost 4–8 against Mark Davis. He then reached the quarter-finals of the

, but lost 4–5 against Peter Ebdon. Murphy went one better in the next two ranking tournaments, as he reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the

International Championship The International Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. The reigning champion is Judd Trump. History The event was introduced in the 2012/2013 season. It was named as the "first overseas 'major'", because the tournament ha ...

, but lost 3–6 against John Higgins and 5–9 against Neil Robertson respectively. Murphy than reached the final of the

2012 UK Championship The 2012 williamhill.com UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 1–9 December 2012 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. It was the fifth ranking event of the 2012/2013 season. For the first t ...

courtesy of two tight victories. The first against teenager

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made hi ...

in the quarter-finals, after Brecel twice had the chance to pot the final pink and black to win the match, then against Ali Carter in which Murphy recovered from 4–8 down and 0–32 in points behind in the deciding frame to win 9–8. He was ultimately defeated by good friend Mark Selby 6–10 in the final. He also participated at the

, with his best result coming at the third English event, where he reached the semi-finals, but lost 0–4 against Marco Fu. He finished number 29 on the

, and couldn't qualify to the

. Murphy began the year by reaching the semi-finals at the Masters, but lost 2–6 against Robertson. He then reached the quarter-final of the

, but lost 4–5 against Robertson. In the first round of the

2013 World Snooker Championship The 2013 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2013 Betfair World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2013 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 37th consec ...

, Murphy defeated Martin Gould 10–5 to advance to the second round, where he faced Graeme Dott, winning 13–11. In the quarter-final, he faced Trump in a tense match that went to a deciding frame, after Trump won five consecutive frames from 7–12 down to level at 12–12. Trump ultimately prevailed in a nervy last frame to go through to the semi-final.

2013–14 season

Murphy's 2013–14 season began with a shock 1–5 defeat by Alex Davies in the qualifying round of the

2013 Wuxi Classic The 2013 Sports Lottery Cup Wuxi Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament held between 17 and 23 June 2013 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first ranking event of the 2013/2014 season. The tournament ...

. The tournament was the first to use a new format that required top-16 players to compete in qualifiers. Between August 2013 and January 2014, Murphy lost 3

stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

(42 pounds or 19 kg) in weight, due to a new diet and fitness regime. He stated that one of his health and fitness goals was to improve his stamina and concentration at the table. In group two of the 2014 Championship League, he made his second official maximum break in his round-robin match against Mark Davis. In the first round of the Masters, Murphy came back from 2–4 behind to defeat Ding Junhui 6–4. He produced another comeback in the quarter-finals, where he trailed Marco Fu 1–4 before winning five frames in a row to clinch a 6–4 victory. He faced defending champion Mark Selby in the semi-finals, but lost 1–6. In February 2014, while playing Jamie Jones in the last 16 of the minor-ranking

Gdynia Open The Gdynia Open was a pro–am minor-ranking snooker tournament, which was part of the Players Tour Championship. The tournament in the 2012/2013 was split in two parts, with the first part taking place at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffie ...

, Murphy made his second 147 break of the season and the third of his professional career. He went on to win the tournament, defeating

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000� ...

4–1 in the final to capture his first title in 29 months. The following month, he defeated Selby 10–6 in the final of the World Open, winning the fifth ranking title of his career and his first ranking title in three years. At the

, Murphy defeated Jamie Cope 10–9 and Marco Fu 13–8 to reach the quarter-finals, where he faced defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. Murphy was defeated 3–13 with a session to spare.

2014–15 season: Masters Champion

Murphy won the Bulgarian Open in October, with a 4–2 victory over Martin Gould in the final. Two weeks later, he reached the final of the

General Cup The General Cup was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which was held sporadically from 2004 until 2015 at the General Snooker Club in Hong Kong. History Established in 2004 under the "General Cup International" name, the tournament w ...

but lost 6–7 against Ali Carter. In November, he won the Ruhr Open by defeating

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkins ...

4–0 in the final. In the second frame of this match, he achieved the fourth

of his career after missing out on the maximum on two previous occasions earlier that day—in a match against Joe Swail where Murphy made a break of 129 before missing the blue ball, and in a match against Mark Williams where the maximum attempt ended on a break of 122 as he missed the green ball. In 2014, Murphy became the first player to make three maximums in a calendar year. At the Masters in January, he defeated Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire, and

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

en route to the final against Neil Robertson. Murphy won the match 10–2, completing his career

. In the

, seeded eighth, Murphy beat

Robin Hull Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player. For some time, he was the sole Nordic countries, Nordic player on the game's Snooker world rankings, main tour. He is known as a solid -builder, having compiled ov ...

10–3, Joe Perry 13–5,

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...

13–8, and Barry Hawkins 17–9, to reach his third World Championship final where he met tenth seed Stuart Bingham. Despite leading 3–0 and 8–5, Murphy fell behind 11–14 in the third session; after fighting back to level the score at 15–15, he lost the next three frames and the final 15–18.

2015–16 season

At the

, Murphy defeated

Ashley Hugill Ashley Hugill (born 28 September 1994 in York, Yorkshire) is an English professional snooker player. Career In May 2017, Hugill came through Q-School by winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2017–18 an ...

Zhou Yuelong Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open. Career Between ...

, and

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the ...

to reach the last 16, but then lost 4–6 to Marco Fu. In defence of his title at the Masters, he was knocked out in the first round by Mark Allen, losing 4–6. Murphy's only ranking title this season came at the World Grand Prix in March. With wins over Michael White, Martin Gould, Liang Wenbo, and Ding Junhui, he met Stuart Bingham in the final—a repeat of the previous year's World Championship final—and claimed the victory this time by winning 10–9. At the

, Murphy suffered a shocking first-round exit, losing 8–10 to Anthony McGill.

2016–17 season

After beating the likes of Dominic Dale and Luca Brecel, Murphy reached the semi-finals of the

but lost 2–6 to the eventual champion Mark Selby. He faced another first-round exit at the Masters, this time losing heavily to Barry Hawkins 1–6. In March 2017, Murphy won his seventh ranking title, and his first of the season, by beating Judd Trump 4–2 in the

Gibraltar Open The Gibraltar Open was a ranking snooker tournament. In 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. The tournament started in 2015 and was staged at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar. Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 Ma ...

final. At the

, his 10–8 victory over

Yan Bingtao Yan Bingtao (, born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the youngest player to win the Amateur World Snooker Championship after defeating Muhammad Sajjad 8–7. Having qualified to compete on the main tour for t ...

earned him a place in the second round, where he was defeated by Ronnie O'Sullivan 13–7.

2017–18 season

Murphy reached the final of the China Championship in August, with victories over

Zhang Anda Zhang Anda (born 25 December 1991) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 season. He qualified by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship. Standing at 5 ft. 3 in. tall, he ...

, Ken Doherty, Anthony Hamilton, Stephen Maguire, Zhou Yuelong, and Ali Carter, but he was defeated 5–10 by Luca Brecel in the final. Later that month, he reached the second ranking tournament final of the season, the

, this time losing 2–4 to Michael White. In November, he won the invitational Champion of Champions tournament for the first time, beating Mark King, White, and Brecel on the way to the final, before claiming a 10–8 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan. The pair faced each other again in the final of the

in December, but this time Murphy lost 5–10. At the Masters, he avoided another first-round exit by beating Carter 6–4, though it was a hard-fought victory as Carter recovered from a 0–4 deficit to pull up to 4–5 behind. However, Murphy was knocked out of the tournament in the next round by Judd Trump, losing 4–6. He reached his third ranking final of the season at the Players Championship in March. After defeating

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

, Anthony McGill, and Mark Williams, he met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final for the third time this season; trailing 3–6 at the end of the afternoon session, he eventually lost the match 4–10. At the end of the season, Murphy suffered another shocking first-round exit at the

, losing 9–10 to Jamie Jones.

2018–19 season

In December 2018, Murphy was defeated by world number 124

Chen Feilong Chen Feilong (born 4 September 1982) is a former professional Chinese snooker player, playing on the World Snooker Tour from the 2018–19 season. Career He has been awarded a two-year professional tour card following his performances on the C ...

in the first round of the

. Despite taking an early lead of 3–1, Murphy lost the next five frames and lost the match 3–6. He bounced back later that month and reached the final of the Scottish Open after winning against the likes of Michael Holt, Kyren Wilson, and Judd Trump to face Mark Allen in the final. After trailing 3–6, Murphy won four frames out of the next five to level the match at 7–7, but Allen eventually claimed the title by winning 9–7. In January 2019, Murphy lost 2–6 to Barry Hawkins in the first round of the Masters. At the

, Murphy whitewashed debutant

in the first round, winning 10–0, which is the biggest defeat in Crucible history. But he was knocked out of the tournament by Neil Robertson in the next round, losing 6–13.

2019–20 season

In August 2019, Murphy won against the likes of

Yuan Sijun Yuan Sijun (Chinese: 袁思俊; born 29 May 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Career Yuan started to play snooker at the age of 10 and played as a wildcard in many professional tournaments between ages of 13 and 16. Yuan first drew ...

, Yan Bingtao, Neil Robertson, Graeme Dott, and Mark Allen to face Judd Trump in the final of the

. After trailing 0–5 at the beginning, Murphy eventually lost the match 3–10. In September, Murphy also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, an invitational tournament, after beating

Lyu Haotian Lyu Haotian (, born 29 November 1997) is a snooker player from the People's Republic of China, notable for being one of the youngest snooker players to have played in professional tournaments, aged only 14. He reached the quarter-finals of the ...

, Mark Williams,

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his atta ...

, and Mark Allen. He suffered another defeat in the final against Ronnie O'Sullivan, this time losing 9–11. He defeated Williams in the final of the China Championship later that month and captured his first ranking title since winning the Gibraltar Open in March 2017. At the

, Murphy lost 4–6 to

Eden Sharav Eden Sharav ( he, עדן שרב; born 30 April 1992) is an Israeli- Scottish former professional snooker player. He was born in Israel to an Israeli father and a Scottish-born mother. Career Amateur In 2010 Sharav reached the final of the Scott ...

in the first round, despite taking an early lead of 3–1. In January 2020, Murphy progressed to the semi-finals of the Masters for the first time since winning the title in 2015 after defeating Trump and Joe Perry, but he eventually lost 3–6 to Ali Carter. In February 2020, Murphy claimed his ninth ranking title after thrashing Kyren Wilson in the final of the Welsh Open. He made three

s and three more breaks over 70 to win 9–1. At the

, Murphy had another first round exit after losing to

Noppon Saengkham Noppon Saengkham (; born 15 July 1992) is a Thai professional snooker player. Career Early years In April 2009, Saengkham lost in the final of the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 1–5 to Zhang Anda. He went one better at the 2009 IBSF ...

4–10.

2020–21 season

Murphy reached the semi-finals of the European Masters in September, knocking out the defending champion Neil Robertson at the quarter-final stage, but was then himself defeated 3–6 by Mark Selby. He made a quarter-final appearance at the Masters in January where he was defeated by the same scoreline by Stuart Bingham. Defending his title at the Welsh Open in February, Murphy was defeated in the quarter-finals by Stephen Maguire in a ninth-frame decider after taking an earlier 4–3 lead. Murphy met Mark Selby in the final of the

in a repeat of the European Masters semi-final seven months earlier; he lost 18–15. This was the fourth time that Murphy reached the final.

2021–22 season

On 24 November, following his first-round loss to amateur player

Si Jiahui Si Jiahui (; born 11 July 2002) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Career In May 2019, Si qualified for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 professional Main Tour as Q School, as the highest ranked player on the Q School ranking list who didn' ...

in the

2021 UK Championship The 2021 UK Championship (also known as the 2021 Cazoo UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 23 November to 5 December 2021 at the York Barbican, in York, England. The event was the ...

, Murphy commented, "he iplayed like a man who does not have a care in the world, because he does not have a care in the world. It is not fair, it is not right. I am not picking on him as a young man, he deserved his victory. Amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments, the end. This is our livelihood. This is how I put food on the table. This is how I earn money. Since turning professional at 15, I have earned the right to call myself a professional snooker player. He hasn't done that. He shouldn't be on the table."

Rivalry

Murphy has clashed with

, another of the 2000 Young Players of Distinction, on several occasions. At the start of their 2004 Grand Prix match, there was an incident that resulted in Maguire being docked the opening frame. After they had shaken hands at the outset of the first frame, Maguire asked referee Johan Oomen for permission to leave the arena and retrieve his chalk, which he had forgotten. While Maguire was away, the referee and Murphy spoke before tournament director Mike Ganley arrived on the scene and docked Maguire a frame for technically not being ready to start at the scheduled time, which angered and surprised Maguire. Murphy refutes that the docking of the frame was down to him speaking to the referee. Maguire won the match 5–2 and later commented: "Rules are rules but I've never heard of anything like that happening before". Further incidents came in subsequent years. During the 2006 World Championship, Maguire said "I don't want to be a fat world champion", a perceived reference to Murphy. After beating Murphy in the 2007 Welsh Open, Maguire said of the chalk incident, "That put the icing on the cake, but we've always had a rivalry. I dislike him and I think he dislikes me. I try hard to beat everyone, but it would have hurt more if I'd lost to him." Murphy currently leads the head-to-head 14–11. Murphy has been outspoken about several other of his rivals, criticising them for having too many toilet breaks and complaining about table conditions among other things. Murphy also makes collective criticisms of his fellow professionals for not attending events and has branded other players' concerns over prize money as a joke.

Playing style

Murphy is noted for his straight cue action—which Steve Davis once called "the best cue action I've ever seen"—his long potting, and his breakbuilding. Phil Yates wrote in 2008 in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' that Murphy has improved his tactical game since his World Championship victory. He has compiled more than 600 century breaks and has made seven maximum breaks. His career earnings amount to more than £3 million.

Personal life

Murphy was born in

and grew up in

. He was home-schooled from age 13 after being bullied at school, and his parents split up when he was 14. He lived with his father Tony, a former professional golfer, and did not see his mother again until he was 19. During the 2007 World Championship, it was reported that he had developed a rift with his father, who was a member of the

World Snooker The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial ar ...

board. He said that they had not spoken in over a year, but that he would willingly speak to his father again if the other called him. Murphy moved to

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

during the 2004 season to be with his fiancée, Clare, whom he married in July 2005. Murphy's wife filed for divorce in 2009 on the grounds of infidelity after ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' newspaper published an

exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

revealing he had spent the night with an

escort girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

he had met at a religious youth group. Murphy's then manager, Brandon Parker, issued a statement confirming that Murphy had slept with the woman but denied he had been unfaithful, stating that Murphy did not have sex with her. He also dated Claire Chorlton, who was first introduced to the viewing public backstage during the final of the 2012 UK Championship. Murphy became engaged to his girlfriend Elaine, after proposing marriage at a restaurant in her native Ireland during Christmas 2014. The couple married in June 2016, and have since had a son. The family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 2018. Murphy became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

at the age of 15, after meeting a religious family on holiday. Murphy is well known for his charitable nature, having spent some of the summer of 2006 doing aid work in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

with his then wife, Clare. He also donated one-tenth of his 2005 World Championship winnings to the church, and at the 2012 World Snooker Championship Murphy donated £100 to the

Royal Manchester Children's Hospital The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is a children's hospital in Oxford Road, Manchester, England. The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. History A new hospital was required to ...

Charity for every century he made. Murphy is currently based in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

with his family. He has claimed to be the only person to have achieved a

in snooker, a

nine-dart finish A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly an ...

in darts, and a

hole in one In golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one (also known as an ace, mostly in American English) occurs when a ball hit from a tee to start a hole finishes in the cup. A ball hit from a tee following a lost ball, out-of-bounds, or water hazard is not a ho ...

in golf.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 26 (12 titles)

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2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 5. ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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(2) , , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 10. ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Players Championship , , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 11. ,

, Scottish Open , , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 12. ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 8. ,

, China Championship , , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 9. ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, Welsh Open , , style="text-align:center;", , align="center", , - , -style="background:#e5d1cb;" , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 13. ,

(3) , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 14. ,

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, Welsh Open (2) , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 10. ,

, Players Championship , , style="text-align:center;", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 11. ,

Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

, , style="text-align:center;", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 12. ,

, , style="text-align:center;", ,

Minor-ranking finals: 6 (4 titles)

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, , align="center", 4–1 , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 3. ,

, Bulgarian Open , , align="center", 4–2 , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 4. ,

, Ruhr Open , , align="center", 4–0 , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 2. ,

, , align="center", 3–4 , align="center",

Non-ranking finals: 22 (11 titles)

{, , valign=top width=40% align=left , {, class="wikitable" , - bgcolor="#eeeeee" , Legend , - bgcolor="ffffcc" , The Masters (1–1) , - style="background:#ffe6cc;" , Champion of Champions (1–0) , - bgcolor="d0f0c0" , Premier League (1–1) , - , Other (8–9) {, class="sortable wikitable" , - !width="80", Outcome !width="20", No. !width="50", Year !width="250", Championship !width="200", Opponent in the final !align="center" width="50", Score !width="30", Ref. , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 1. , 1998 , UK Tour – Event 4 , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 1. ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Benson & Hedges Championship , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 2. , 2001 , Challenge Tour – Event 3 , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 3. , 2001 , Challenge Tour – Event 4 , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 2. , 2001 , WPBSA Open Tour – Event 1 , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 3. ,

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 4. ,

(2) , , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 4. ,

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 5. ,

, World Series of Snooker Berlin , , align="center", 1–6 , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 5. ,

, World Series of Snooker Grand Final , , align="center", 6–2 , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 6. ,

, World Series of Snooker Killarney , , align="center", 5–1 , align="center", , - , -style="background:#d0f0c0;" , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 7. ,

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 8. ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="center", , align="center", , -style="background:#d0f0c0;" , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 6. ,

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 7. ,

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 9. ,

, Brazil Masters , , align="center", , align="center", , - bgcolor="ffffcc" , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 8. ,

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

, , align="center", , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 9. ,

, , align="center", 4–8 , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 10. ,

, , align="center", 6–7 , align="center", , - bgcolor="ffffcc" , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 10. ,

, , align="center", 10–2 , align="center", , - style="background:#ffe6cc;" , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 11. ,

, Champion of Champions , , align="center", 10–8 , align="center", , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Runner-up , 11. ,

, Shanghai Masters , , align="center", 9–11 , align="center",

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles)

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, , align="center", 4–0 , align="center", , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 2. ,

(2) , , align="center", 4–0 , align="center",

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

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Brian Salmon Brian Salmon (born 5 April 1978) is an English former professional snooker player. Career Salmon turned professional in 2000. During the 2001/2001 season, he reached the last 80 at the 2001 European Open, defeating former World Champion Joe ...

, style="text-align:center;", 8–1 , style="text-align:center;",

References

External links

* *
Shaun Murphy
at Global-Snooker.com
Shaun Murphy
at Eurosport.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Shaun 1982 births English snooker players Living people English Christians English people of Irish descent People from Irthlingborough Sportspeople from Nottingham UK champions (snooker) Masters (snooker) champions Winners of the professional snooker world championship Sportspeople from Harlow