SHAUN MURPHY revealed he had a bitter pill to swallow before bouncing back to the top.
The snooker star won The Masters in January – his first major title since winning the same tournament in 2015.
GettyShaun Murphy was left despondent after an incident last year[/caption]
Murphy had been struggling for form for much of the previous year and found himself tumbling down the rankings.
Prior to last year’s World Snooker Championship he even found himself unable to defend titles he won in 2023 – the Players Championship and the Tour Championship.
He spoke on that disappointment on the Onefourseven Podcast, saying: “Last year I didn’t even get to the Players or to the Tour to defend my titles, that was embarrassing. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I had to go to Manchester during the Tour Champs to do some PR for World Snooker, and I’m walking past the venue where they are playing for my trophy in what used to be my home city. People are stopping me on the street asking me when my game is.
“I’m having to say my next game is at the Crucible and it was really embarrassing to have to do that. I didn’t like that at all.”
Murphy lost in the quarter-final of the Players Championship to eventual runner-up Judd Trump last week.
But he is ready to go again and believes he can win the Tour Championship, which gets underway next week.
He continued: “I’ve tried hard all season to get into the Players and the Tour.
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“It’s great now knowing that I can go to Manchester, have a free crack, get stuck in and get amongst it. I won’t use it as a warm-up for the Crucible.
“Nothing breeds confidence like winning. And nothing would fill me with more confidence and belief going to the Crucible than a win in Manchester.”
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