Shaun Murphy is fighting to join an elite club of multiple world snooker champions, but faces a tough challenge as Wu Yize bids for his first title. The 22-year-old Chinese sensation leads 10-7 after two sessions, looking inspired in his first Crucible showpiece. Wu had never won a match at the Crucible before this year but is now just eight frames away from becoming world champion.
Murphy's Quest for Multiple Titles
Murphy knows what it is like to conquer the snooker world, but that memory grows increasingly distant since his 2005 triumph. The Magician is now in his fifth Crucible final and is desperate to join a small group of players who have won the event more than once in snooker's modern era. The World Snooker Championship became a knockout event in 1969, and there have been just nine multiple champions since then. Murphy says those players are given a different level of respect.
“Yeah, there’s a totally different reverence given to multi-world champions throughout the tour amongst the players,” Murphy said. “They’re seen in a totally different light. There’s actually not that many of them. I saw a stat recently that there’s actually not as many of them as I thought there was. There is a slightly different nod given to the guys that have won it twice or more. So it would be great to join the club.”
The Rarity of Multiple Champions
A two-time world champion is surprisingly rare, with only Alex Higgins having finished his career on two world titles. The other multiple world champions – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, John Higgins, Mark Selby, John Spencer, and Mark Williams – have all managed three or more. Here is the list of multiple world champions in snooker's modern era:
- 7 – Stephen Hendry
- 7 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon
- 6 – Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins
- 4 – Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer
- 3 – Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
Murphy would also set a record for the longest gap between first and second World Championship wins at 21 years. In 2005, a 22-year-old Magician downed Chris Small, John Higgins, Steve Davis, Peter Ebdon, and then Matthew Stevens in the final to pull off an incredible upset win.
“I remember being overtly positive and probably it was misplaced positivity,” Murphy said on his triumph as a qualifier in 2005. “I had complete faith in what I was doing and I suppose that’s something I’ve tried to reclaim over the last 20 odd years. There have been moments where I’ve doubted myself and my cue action and my technique and shot selection and all the rest of it. I’m certainly a better snooker player than I was 21 years ago. There’s no question about that now. But, you know, the proof’s in the pudding. We’ll see.”
Murphy has work to do to keep his multiple world champion dream alive, with the players returning at 1pm for the third of four sessions.
