Shaun Murphy’s 2005 World Championship triumph: 20 Years On | Part Three

Shaun Murphy was set for a dream 2005 World Championship quarter-final meeting with idol Steve Davis, just over a decade after chasing the six-time Crucible king for his autograph as a starry-eyed nine-year-old in Sheffield.

Another of snooker’s all-time greats awaited 22-year-old Murphy, who was fresh from stunning 1998 champion John Higgins 13-8 in the second round.

Murphy, who had failed to win a match on his two previous Crucible appearances, had doubled his victory tally on snooker’s biggest stage, having overcome Chris Small 10-5 at the first hurdle.

Next up for him would be six-time World champion Davis, who had edged out Gerard Greene 10-9 before recovering from 6-2 and 10-8 down to overcome Michael Holt 13-10 and reach his first Crucible quarter-final since 1996.

And it was a tie with increased personal significance and nostalgia for Murphy.

“I have to say that was a very difficult match for me,” Murphy told Live Snooker. “Walking out against my idol at the Crucible – the person I’d emulated, watched and studied, chased for his autograph – was a dream come true, though it could’ve quickly become a nightmare.”

Although, thankfully for Murphy, it did not take him long to take command against snooker’s king of the 1980s, who was no longer at the peak of the powers of his heyday from just over two decades earlier.

The Magician raced into a 7-1 lead and continued to punish his opponent’s mistakes to stretch his advantage before eventually prevailing a 13-4 winner.

“With respect to Steve, I think he was certainly on the way down,” he added. “His consistency didn’t really match his seeding or ranking at that particular stage.

“If we’d jumped in Doctor Who’s tardis back to the 1980s and played the same match, I think Steve would’ve buried me! I couldn’t have lived with his tactical play but, thankfully, he wasn’t at full power.

“I knew getting embroiled in safety with Steve was to be avoided. I thought that while Steve might be able to tie me up in the tactical department, he’d just reached that stage where he missed too many balls.

“When he did get his chances, he’d shoot himself in the foot by missing the simple ball. He let me off the hook a lot, and I was able to pick up the pieces.

“I was a little bit annoyed I didn’t manage to beat him with a session to spare. That would’ve been a real feather in my cap. I had to come back the following day to play what turned out to be just one frame.

“I thought I’d get to 13 first, but I didn’t think I’d outrun him by that margin. If I’m totally honest, I think the scoreline flattered me. It’s not like I peppered him by nine frames.”

While Murphy was wrapping up a commanding victory, everybody had got an eye on the outcome of the other quarter-final tie that would determine his last-four opponent.

Reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan had led 8-2 and 10-6 against Peter Ebdon, only to be ground down by the deliberate methodically slow play of the latter, who would eventually battle back for a 13-10 win.

And having fully expected to play the Rocket in his maiden Crucible semi-final, Murphy suddenly saw “opportunity” against a former practise partner – and a player who would become his coach just under 20 years later.

“Peter was a master of the dark arts, even then,” he recalls. “He used everything at his disposal to beat O’Sullivan in the quarters.

“Snooker’s a sport that’s just not played on the table. There is that mental warfare that’s going on at the same time – often unseen by everyone else. I think that was the case there.

“O’Sullivan is the most gifted player we’ve ever seen, but he couldn’t handle Peter over those couple of days, or get to 13 before him.

“Me and my team had got ourselves ready to play Ronnie. We thought he would beat Peter over three sessions, and I’d be playing him in the semi-finals. If that’s the case, I’ve had a good run, but I’m probably not going to beat him.

“It was a mightily relieved Team Murphy to be facing Peter rather than Ronnie – with respect to everybody involved.

“Suddenly, you see opportunity. I’d been beating Peter since we first started practising together. I beat him as often as he beat me, so he didn’t hold any fear factor – I wasn’t frightened of him, I wasn’t intimidated by him. I knew him by name. For me, it was just going to play a game of snooker.”

However, Murphy was soon to find that was far easier said than done, as he fell 6-2 behind against the 2002 World champion while initially struggling to adapt to his new surroundings.

“I was very intimidated by the fact I was playing in the Crucible with one table,” adds Murphy. “That took some time to get used to.

“I have watched that first session back, and it was pretty awful from my point of view. I was totally distracted and mesmerised by what was going on around me – how different it felt, the attention was on me.

“I knew it was a massive opportunity, and I just crumbled in that first session against Peter by putting too much pressure on myself. If you’d asked me to tie my shoelaces, I think I’d have struggled.”

Murphy did eventually settle into his rhythm. From 7-5 adrift, he reeled off four successive frames to lead 9-7 at the end of the second session.

While the lead changed hands during the third, the Magician produced a timely break of 132 to level at 12-12 overnight heading into the concluding session.

However, a nerveless Murphy found another timely surge, with breaks of 62, 72, 123 and 60 helping him win five frames on the spin for what was eventually a comfortable 17-12 victory.

“Once I adjusted to all eyes being on me and what it meant in the one-table situation, I enjoyed it,” said Murphy, who is a leading diversity and inclusion speaker.

“I’ve often thought about final session as one of the best five-frame blitzes I’ve ever put together.”

The player who was that disillusioned with the game he had sought employment elsewhere prior to the tournament – suddenly found himself in the sport’s biggest match.

Matthew Stevens – appearing in his second Crucible final – stood in the way of Murphy and the most remarkable of triumphs.

Could he become only the second qualifier after Terry Griffiths in 1979 to lift the famous trophy?

READ PART ONE OF SHAUN MURPHY’S 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING JOURNEY HERE

READ PART TWO OF SHAUN MURPHY’S 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING JOURNEY HERE