Shaun Murphy steps down from key role after making admission following £350,000 snooker Masters win

SHAUN MURPHY has stepped down from a major role following his Masters win.

Murphy, 42, bagged the biggest payday of his career in January when he beat Kyren Wilson in the Alexandra Palace final.

Shaun Murphy resigned from his role as WPBSA Players ChairmanPA

The Englishman banked a whopping £350,000 as the champion – ten years on from his maiden Masters crown in 2015 – plus an extra £15,000 for his epic 147 break in the semi-final.

But now Murphy has decided to end his time as World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Players Chairman.

He joined the board in 2023 following a run of poor results which saw him fail to reach the main draw in seven of his next 14 ranking events – and only going beyond round two twice.

The Magician then took on the role of chairman last May.

However, his Masters win prompted the world No6 to focus solely on his snooker again.

And as a result, he called time on his brief stint with the WPBSA.

Murphy said on his OneFourSeven podcast: “There’s no way of me sugarcoating it.

“The win at the Masters a couple of weeks ago has really shone a torch for me, into my own game and self-belief, that I can actually still do it at the very cutting edge, top end of the sport.

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“I had started to think that that had gone. So, I started to look at other areas in the game where I could make a difference.

“That win has given me a tap on the shoulder to say, ‘You know what? You can still do this.’

“In the end, you can’t be all things to all people. You can’t be everywhere all at once, and it’s not a job I’m willing to give half of myself to.

“It’s not a responsibility – looking after the members, representing them, and fighting on their behalf – that I’m willing to give 75 per cent to it.

“I’m either in or I’m out. At the minute, I’m not able to represent them as well as I want and be as committed as I want to.

“So I think it’s right that I stand aside and allow somebody else to take the reins.”

Murphy also described taking on the position as WPBSA chairman as a “great honour” in a statement confirming his resignation with immediate effect.

He also leaves his role of non-executive director, leaving the WPBSA Players Board with Mark Davis, Ken Doherty and Ben Woollaston.

List of all-time Snooker World Champions

BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.

The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.

The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.

Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.

Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.

1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson