SHAUN MURPHY has made an emotional return to Hong Kong as the region brings back memories of his late “hero” uncle.
The Magician, 42, has a strong family connection to the Far East territory, which was under British rule for 156 years until it was handed over to China in 1997.
RexShaun Murphy is in Hong Kong for the World Grand Prix[/caption]
Murphy – who plays sub Ben Woollaston in the first round of the World Grand Prix – felt a rush of emotions when he posed for photos at the opening ceremony in Victoria Harbour.
The reigning Masters champion said: “My uncle Frank was a police chief in Hong Kong before the handover in 1997.
“It’s quite emotional coming here. I feel it every time I’m in Hong Kong.
“He lived here for many years, my cousins were born here.
“Sadly, my uncle passed away during Covid, but every time I come to Hong Kong I feel close to him.
“I grew up as a little child hearing all these stories of my uncle and auntie living in this far away place.
“When Skype became a thing, we would call them and that was a real event for us.
“One of the times he came back to the UK, we went out for a Chinese meal and he placed the whole order in Cantonese. He was a real hero of mine.”
This is the first staging of a ranking event in Hong Kong for 35 years and involves the top 32 players on the One Year List all battling for the £180,000 top prize.
The 2005 Crucible champion desperately needs the qualifying points this week to help secure a seeding spot at next month’s World Championship in Sheffield.
At present, he is set to miss out and that would mean having to negotiate two rounds of qualifying.
Murphy added: “As a former winner of this event, it’s a real thrill to see the tournament take on a new perspective.
“This is the World Grand Prix, it isn’t the UK Grand Prix. Where could be better to stage the event than Hong Kong.
“What a place. It has an incredible mixture of cultures and mixture of people. This is a real melting pot of the world. It is a feather in snooker’s cap that we are here.
“I’m that bit nearer to not having to go to the qualifiers. It is the thing that is keeping me awake at night. It’s what is motivating me. I check the rankings every day.”
LATE CALL-UPS CONTROVERSY
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Maguire have both withdrawn for medical reasons and replaced in the draw by Hossein Vafaei and Woollaston respectively.
But this has angered world No.7 Mark Allen who feels that the two replacements did not deserve the late call-ups.
The Northern Ireland potter – who plays Jimmy Robertson on Wednesday – said: “Nothing against Ben or Hossein but I really don’t agree with guys being replaced by those who have technically failed to qualify.
“Imagine number 17 doesn’t qualify for Sheffield. A top-16 player WDs (withdraws), does 17 get back in as next in line? Both Ronnie and Mags have earned their 10k.
“All those not in the top-32 on the one-year list have had their chance to qualify and haven’t done so.
“Semis of the world, someone falls ill… replace with the highest ranked (who has) already lost or a bye?”
AlamyMark Allen had strong words to say about late call-ups[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
