Murphy: Olympic appearance would be a game-changer for snooker

Snooker and cue sports are aiming to reach Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after missing out on reaching Tokyo 2020 from a bid three years ago.

The sport has never previously been at the Games but Murphy feels that could all change in the near future.

And the Englishman feels that the sport’s presence could be a game-changer for players at all levels, considering whether the allure of an Olympic gold medal could usurp anything else in the game.

“Snooker is already a recognised Olympic sport, but the cue sports family has to go into the Olympics – it has to be all of them together,” he said.

“Getting governing bodies around the world to look beyond their own self-interest and look at cue sports as a whole is difficult, it’s why it has taken so many years.

“We’re going for Paris and we’ll see how far we can go.

“For younger kids taking on the game, if we could get in there and get to a place of an iconic gold medal being an opportunity, that could be a massive game-changer.

“For lads in my generation, winning a gold medal has never been available and so never been a target.

“The World Championships is our pinnacle but that could change – an Olympic medal is very, very special.”

Watch the Snooker UK Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds