Shaun Murphy singles out best 'rest' player in the world as Masters champion settles debate
A decade after his first Masters win, Shaun Murphy lifted the iconic Paul Hunter Trophy - and now he's hungry for more.
The Magician was back to his brilliant best at Alexandra Palace, racing into a 6-2 lead before eventually defeating world champion Kyren Wilson 10-7 in front of a capacity crowd in London - celebrating the fourth Triple Crown event title of his snooker career. And Murphy, who hadn't tasted success in one of the majors since his last Masters title in 2015, believes that he's playing with a confidence his game has lacked in recent times.
When asked about the impact of the success on his career, Murphy told SportsBoom: "Well, it just completely reignites it. It changes the perspective for me. As I say, I am not trying to use it as a line. I genuinely thought my days of winning these tournaments were gone. And I've managed to prove that wrong to myself more than anyone else. So, I will go to The Crucible knowing that I can do it. And that's something I haven't felt for a long time.
READ MORE: Kyren Wilson shows true colours with Shaun Murphy 'old man' jibe after epic Masters final
"The partnership with (coach) Peter Ebdon is the first thing that he has helped me rediscover was my self-belief and that I can actually do this. And geez, three events in and we're winners. Unbelievable. I'm in complete shock. I genuinely thought that my days of competing for these Triple Crown events, these massive majors of ours, I thought those days had gone."
Murphy also had his say in the ongoing debate over who is the best rest player in the game - a playful rivalry between him and Wilson that has caused debate amongst snooker fans. During the Masters, Murphy was magical when using the rest, achieving a 100 percent success rate with 51 successful shots out of 51. However, when asked if this remarkable statistic settles the debate, he remained humble.
He joked: “If I'm totally honest, it is a bit niche, but isn't that what we're here for? I would actually say Kyren is better with the rest than I am. I think he's a better rest player than me. I think he has a much wider range, a much fuller range of shots that he can play. I might be a bit more accurate as the stats this week show, but he has a much bigger range of shots he can play, and I'm surprised he ever misses with it. He's incredible.”
