‘Maybe if I wasn’t a snooker player…’ Shaun Murphy reveals surprising career ‘I would’ve found my way into’
SHAUN MURPHY has revealed the career path he believes he would have found himself moving into if he wasn’t a snooker player.
Murphy, 42, is the reigning Masters champion.
If his career has proven anything, he is more than befitting of the nickname The Magician owing to the moments of magic he can create with a snooker cue.
And Murphy believes he would have found himself in the entertainment industry even if his snooker skills were not up to scratch.
Speaking on his In The Frame YouTube series, Murphy admitted he was a bit confused by his colleagues’ lack of willingness to get the crowd onside.
He then revealed he reckons he would have ended up on the West End due to being “a bit of a performer”.
Murphy said: “I’ve been consistent in my confusion around other players and their lack of interaction with the crowd.
“If you went to the West End and at the end of the show the cast just walked off, you would feel a little hard done to.
“I suppose I am a bit of a performer and maybe if I wasn’t a snooker player, maybe I would’ve found my way into that kind of world.
“So, I think it’s important to give the crowd everything you can as well. They give you their support, it would be weird to just walk off.”
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Murphy pocketed £350,000 for winning The Masters in January.
Meanwhile, West End actors are paid an average yearly salary roughly worth between £32,780 to £45,760 according to London Theatre Direct.
But Murphy has also called on a revamp of snooker rules on misses and a major update to the cue ball.
He said: “I’m going to keep using the spotted cue ball because we’re getting some really good feedback about that.
“You guys are loving seeing the spin, how the spin manipulates the cue ball and what it’s actually doing…
“It’s great that you can see it with one of these. You know what? I actually think we should be using one of these in tournament play.
“I think that you should be able to see this when we’re playing. Think about this, snooker, currently, is the only table sport and cue sport that doesn’t use one of these.”
On misses, he added: “I just find it so weird that we have a rule in the game that allows players to have a sighter.
“I mean in my opinion the miss rule needs taken out of the game altogether. I don’t like the rule at all.”
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
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins