Yesterday evening, Shaun Murphy beat Kyren Wilson by 10-7 – from 0-4 down – to win the Tour Championship for the first time. Shaun’s form in recent weeks has been really impressive! He has now made the final in the last three months, winning two.
Shaun Murphy, the best player in the world on current form, won his second title within five weeks as he came from 4-0 down to beat Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the final of the Duelbits Tour Championship.
After a slow start, Murphy was by far the better player in a superb final in Hull which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 50. He captured the silverware for the first time at what some players consider the biggest tournament outside the Triple Crown, and is rewarded with a cheque for £150,000.
Murphy won the Duelbits Players Championship in February and, having landed the World Grand Prix in 2016, he joins Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson as the only players to have lifted all three trophies in this series. This is only the second time in his career that he has won two ranking titles in the same season, having done so in 2019/20. Overall, the 40-year-old has now won 11 ranking titles, which puts him ahead of Jimmy White on the all-time list.
A year ago, Murphy was in a dark place, suffering from a chronic neck injury, a loss of form and a slide down the world rankings. He took the drastic option of gastric sleeve surgery last summer, and losing weight inspired a transformation in his performances on the baize. A purple patch of potting commenced at February’s Welsh Open where he made a 147 and reached the final, and despite defeat to Robert Milkins that day, he has since gone on to win two tournaments which are reserved for the elite players on the one-year ranking list.
Up to fourth in the official rankings, he now heads to the Crucible brimming with confidence and must be considered among the favourites for the Cazoo World Championship title which he has landed just once before, 18 years ago.
Victory would have given Wilson the biggest title of his career and first in a televised ranking event in the UK. The Kettering ace made six centuries during his semi-final against Ding Junhui and started today at the same blistering pace as he went 4-0 ahead, but the 31-year-old was outplayed for the remainder of the contest. He banks £60,000 as runner-up and remains seventh in the rankings.
After sharing the first session 4-4, Wilson took the opening frame tonight with a break of 59, before Murphy responded with a 131. A run of 52 helped Wilson edge 6-5 ahead, and he had a chance to double his lead in frame 12, but Murphy stole it on the final black to square the tie again.
Frame 13 also came down to the colours and Murphy sealed it with a cracking long pot on the final brown to lead for the first time at 7-6. A superb 115 kept his momentum going, then Wilson showed spirit to pulled one back with an excellent run of 60. In frame 16, Murphy fired in a trademark long red to start a break of 95 which brought him to the brink at 9-7.
Wilson had first chance in frame 17 but made only 13. Murphy replied with 39 before running out of position, but then got the better of a safety exchange, forcing his opponent into a risky long red which missed its target. The Magician added 22 which proved enough.
“I am blown away, and delighted to come here off the back of the performance at the Players Championship and to win again,” said Dublin-based Murphy, who was almost beaten in the semi-finals on Saturday night but edged out Mark Selby 10-9. “The second half of the first session was pivotal, to come from 4-0 down to 4-4 gave me a massive foothold in the match.
“Around 6-6 or 7-6, I challenged myself to find another gear. The greats I grew up watching, like Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, always found something extra when they needed it.
“I have been working very hard on my game, but also myself as a person. There has been a lot of soul searching and honest conversations. I had to work on things that were painful. But it has paid off. I knew my game was good months ago, and that has taken some time to prove.
“There is one event left in the season now and I’d pay a lot of money to keep this form for another couple of weeks. If I can take this patience and composure to the Crucible I will be a handful for anyone.”
Wilson said: “There are two frames which stick out. I felt I was unlucky not to go 5-3 up as I had Shaun in all sorts of trouble (in a snooker on the last red in frame eight) but he made an incredible escape and put me in trouble. I was disappointed not to be ahead at the end of the first session. And tonight I missed a tricky red when I had a chance to go 7-5 up. Those are big frames and you need to take those chances against someone of Shaun’s class. It has been a tough time recently for my family so it has been great to have them up here with me this week. I had no practice coming into this event so it was a huge bonus to get to the final. Look out for me at the Crucible when I have some prep behind me.”
The crowds had been poor for most of the week, but were excellent over the week-end. Reflecting on what could explain the poor attendance early in the week, David Hendon suggested that events need an identity and a recognisable location/venue. I agree with him. The three BBC events have that. The “Crucible” has become synonym for the Snooker World Championship. A lot of past events had that too: “Goffs” remains a legendary venue and is forever associated with the Irish Masters. It’s no different in other sports: the two biggest events in Tennis are identified by their iconic venues: we speak about “Roland Garros” and “Wimbledon”.
Snooker’s British Open will be staged in Cheltenham for the first time next season, while the World Grand Prix will move to Leicester and the Players Championship will have a new home in Telford.
Tickets for all three of these tournaments will be on sale from next Friday, April 7th. Visit our ticket page for full details and be ready to book on Friday!
The dates are:
British Open, September 25th to October 1st (2023) at Cheltenham Racecourse
World Grand Prix, January 15th to 21st (2024) at the Morningside Arena in Leicester
Players Championship, February 19th to 25th (2024) at the Telford International Centre
Further details on each event will be announced next week. The full calendar for the 2023/24 season will follow in due course.
All those venues have been used before, so it’s not as if they were making forays in new territories. What’s the purpose of “playing musical chairs” with known venues and established events, season after season? Frankly, it beats me.
Anyway … the 2023 World Championship starts today and this is the seeds “draw”
With one of the best performances of his career, Kyren Wilson made six century breaks during a 10-5 victory over Ding Junhui to reach the final of the Duelbits Tour Championship.
Wilson came so close to equalling the all-time record of seven centuries in a single match, set by Stephen Hendry during the 1994 UK Championship final, and equalled by both Ding and Judd Trump at the Crucible. His sixth ton put him 8-2 ahead and he had chances in both the 12th and 15th frames for a magnificent seventh, but missed relatively simple pots on 81 then 87.
The Kettering cueman goes through to Sunday’s final to face Shaun Murphy or Mark Selby when a top prize of £150,000 will be up for grabs. Victory would would give him the biggest title of his career so far, and first in a televised tournament in the UK. It will be his 13th ranking final and he’ll be aiming for a sixth title.
It has been an impressive season already for the world number seven, highlighted by his triumph at the European Masters in August. Earlier this week he revealed that his son Bailey was going through serious health problems, but with snooker put into perspective he looks serene at the table.
Wilson led 6-2 after the first session, firing runs of 130, 103, 115 and 100, and the 31-year-old raced away to 8-2 tonight with 107 and 118. Ding pulled one back with a 113, but was back in his chair in frame 12 as Wilson made 81 before under-hitting a red to a centre pocket from a tight angle.
The Englishman had a scoring chance in the 13th but missed the green on 33 and Ding replied with 84 to close to 9-4. The Chinese ace pulled another back with a break of 66, but when he missed a difficult red early in frame 15 it proved his last shot. Wilson made 87 and was just three pots from another century when, playing with the rest, he missed the pink to a top corner.
“I’m chuffed by the way I played, especially against a class opponent like Ding,” said Wilson. “The only match I can remember where I played better was a qualifier against Anthony Hamilton where between us we had six centuries in a row.
“I wasn’t aware tonight of the record of seven centuries. I wish I had done because at 8-3, if I had put the mini-butt on the cue instead of stretching for the red to the middle, maybe I would have potted it. I guess Stephen Hendry will be delighted that I didn’t equal his record. I have played great in both games this week and managed to win comfortably.
“It has been a special week already. It has been a tough time for our household recently so it has been great to have the family up here tonight, enjoying it happy and healthy.”
Kyren looked absolutely unplayable at times in this match and Ding did well to get to five in the end. He fought really hard.
Shaun Murphy edged out Mark Selby 10-9 in a fabulous match to reach the final of the Duelbits Tour Championship, remaining on course to win two consecutive titles in the series.
An outstanding contest, which featured two centuries and 15 more breaks over 50 in the 19 frames, came down to a decider after Selby recovered from 9-6 to 9-9, but it was Murphy who got over the line. He’ll face Kyren Wilson in Sunday’s final, where first to ten frames will lift the coveted trophy and receive the top prize of £150,000.
Their only previous final meeting came at the 2020 Welsh Open when Murphy won 9-1, but this time it will surely be a much closer battle, with both players at the top of their game.
Playing some of the best snooker of his career, Murphy won the Duelbits Players Championship in February, and now has the chance to add another trophy to a superb season. It will be his third final within six weeks as he was also runner-up to Robert Milkins at the Welsh Open. Murphy, 40, will be playing in his 25th ranking final and aiming for his 11th ranking title, which would put him ahead of Jimmy White on the all-time list.
The result ends Selby’s hopes of regaining the world number one ranking from Ronnie O’Sullivan and the Leicester cueman misses out on back-to-back ranking titles having won the recent WST Classic.
After sharing the first session 4-4. Murphy took the first two frames tonight with breaks of 71 and 100. Selby hit back with 99 and 75 for 6-6, before Murphy took frame 13. In the 14th, Selby had a chance to clear from 57-0 down, but missed a difficult pot on the final yellow along the baulk cushion on 45, handing his opponent the chance for 8-6. An excellent long pot on the penultimate red in frame 15 helped Murphy go three up with four to play.
Four-time World Champion Selby stormed back to 9-9 with breaks of 81, 78 and 106. But Murphy took control of the decider with a run of 59, and later converted a thumping pot on the last red to make sure of the result.
“Mark never knows when he is beaten,” Murphy told ITV. “We’ve had so many great matches, tonight was another one. The crowd tonight was amazing. This is a massive event, we play all year to get here, and now it’s just Kyren and I left. I can’t wait to go head to head with him.”
Selby said: “I gave it everything, I never give in, that’s always my attitude. All credit to Shaun, he played great and it looked like he was going to score every time he got a chance.”
It’s very hard to predict who will prevail today. Shaun Murphy has certainly been the man of the end of the season, but Kyren Wilson, having gone through a lot privately in recent months, is playing with freedom and if he can play that way today as well, we should have a very high quality final indeed.
Today’s match will determine the Crucible seeding.
If Shaun wins, he will climb to World number 4
1. Ronnie O’Sullivan
16. Ding Junhui
9. Luca Brecel
8. Mark Williams
5. Judd Trump
12. Jack Lisowski
13. Robert Milkins
4. Shaun Murphy
———————————————–
3. Mark Allen
14. Stuart Bingham
11. Ali Carter
6. Neil Robertson
7. Kyren Wilson
10. John Higgins
15. Gary Wilsom
2. Mark Selby
If Kyren wins he will get to World number 5
1.Ronnie O’Sullivan
16. Ding Junhui
9. Luca Brecel
8. Mark Williams
5. Kyren Wilson
12. Jack Lisowski
13. Robert Milkins
4. Judd Trump
———————————————–
3. Mark Allen
14. Stuart Bingham
11.Ali Carter
6. Neil Robertson
7. Shaun Murphy
10. John Higgins
15. Gary Wilson
2. Mark Selby
As you can see, the first and third quarters are now set.
It’s that time of the year again! The 2023 World Championship effectively starts on Monday and WST had shared some news about the “side events” that are traditionally organised during the Crucible.
This year’s World Disability Snooker Day will be held at the Sheffield Winter Garden on Wednesday 19 April 2023.
Following its successful return during the Cazoo World Championship last year, the day aims to raise awareness of the opportunities for people with disabilities to pick up a cue and get involved in snooker.
The day will once again be based at the WPBSA Cue Zone, with WPBSA Snooker coaches Steve Rutter and Ian McAllister on site throughout to oversee activities featuring invited players and officials representing WDBS. The day will also be featured during the live BBC coverage of the World Championship.
The event is jointly organised by World Snooker Tour (WST) and World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS), a body which has staged approximately 40 disability snooker events across the UK and mainland Europe since 2015.
WDBS aims to provide opportunities for people around the world with disabilities to play snooker competitively, with the long-term goal of taking the sport back to the Paralympics for the first time since 1988.
GET INVOLVED
As always, WDBS is encouraging everyone who supports disability snooker to get involved on the day, whether on site at the Cue Zone, or online via social media.
Whether you are a player, official, coach or a fan of the sport, help us to spread the word and encourage more people with disabilities to pick up a cue and try snooker by using the hashtag #DisabilitySnooker
I can’t recommend you enough to go and watch those players. They are admirable. The level is surprisingly high and their creativity when it comes to overcoming their disabilities is remarkable. They deserve your support. A few years back, Mark Allen came to support the event, and tried to play a mini match, sat in a wheelchair. He found it extraordinary difficult and was full of praise for his opponent.
World Women’s Snooker Day will run during the upcoming Cazoo World Snooker Championship on Wednesday 26 April.
Once again, the day will see activities organised at the Sheffield Winter Garden with the aim of raising awareness of the World Women’s Snooker Tour and the opportunities available for women to pick up a cue and play our sport competitively at all levels.
Through the support of snooker’s world governing body the WPBSA, women’s snooker has seen significant growth in recent years, with nine international ranking events held during the current season, highlighted by the recent 40th staging of the World Women’s Snooker Championship won by Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan in Thailand.
The WWS Tour is now an established qualifying pathway to the World Snooker Tour, while continuing to promote inclusivity and welcoming players of all age groups and levels of ability.
The day will be coordinated by both World Snooker Tour and WWS, with WPBSA Snooker Coaches Mark Peevers and for the first time multiple ranking event winner Tessa Davidson, who will be joined by selected Tour players to help promote women’s snooker during the BBC’s World Championship coverage.
GET INVOLVED
As in previous years, players and supporters of women’s snooker are encouraged to support the day and to help promote the sport to women and girls everywhere, whether in Sheffield on the day, or online via social media using the #WomensSnooker hashtag.
WST and the WPBSA will offer a prize of £40,000 for a 147 made at the Crucible during the 2023 Cazoo World Championship, and £10,000 for a maximum made during the qualifying rounds.
These bonuses are on top of the £15,000 high break prize which will apply throughout the whole event.
Last year at the Crucible, Neil Robertson became the eighth player to make a 147 at the famous venue. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cliff Thorburn’s Crucible maximum, the first made in Sheffield.
The qualifying rounds at the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield run from April 3rd to 12th, followed by the main event from April 15th to May 1st.
If more than one player makes a 147, then the prize money will be shared equally.
Crucible Maximums 1983 – Cliff Thorburn 1992 – Jimmy White 1995 – Stephen Hendry 1997 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 2003 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 2005 – Mark Williams 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 2008 – Ali Carter 2009 – Stephen Hendry 2012 – Stephen Hendry 2020 – John Higgins 2022 – Neil Robertson
And, finally, yet to be confirmed but coming from a source I 100% trust …
WST/WPBSA are considering a change regarding the “Crucible” seeding.
To make it more exciting, the “seeds” ranked 9-16, will this year, be drawn randomly in the draw alongside the 16 qualifiers. It’s a bit like at the Masters where the players ranked 1-8 are actually seeded whilst the other 8 players are drawn against them. Only, at the Crucible, this year we could have 24 players “drawn” at random, whilst the top 8 would be actually seeded. If the idea proves successful, and the fans love it, this new “format” could become permanent.
…. and this last paragraph was an April fool of course …
Ronnie O'Sullivan 