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

Shaun Murphy arrived for the 2005 World Championship aiming to make it third time lucky at The Crucible.

The then 22-year-old was back for his third appearance on snooker’s biggest stage, having beaten Marcus Campbell and two-time semi-finalist Joe Swail during the qualifying rounds at Pontin’s, Prestatyn.

Murphy had fallen at the first hurdle against former champions on the previous two occasions; losing to seven-time winner Stephen Hendry in 2002, while suffering an agonising 10-9 defeat to 1997 victor Ken Doherty the following year.

This time, his first-round opponent would be world number 10 – and former LG Cup winner – Chris Small.

But despite the tough proposition awaiting him – along with his previous form in Sheffield – Murphy was quietly confident.

“I just remember Chris been an absolutely granite player,” Murphy told Live Snooker. “He wouldn’t have given you a nod in the desert. That’s how hard he was; an incredibly tough, gritty player. He gave you nothing.

“I was riding a crest of belief at the time. I’d done an interview before the tournament and said to a local reporter something along the lines of: ‘somebody’s got to win it, why can’t it be me?’

“It was a totally ridiculous thing to say; I hadn’t even won a match at the Crucible.”

By this time, however, a crippling spinal condition had taken its toll on Small, who had lost each of his previous 10 matches, and would subsequently retire from the game following the event.

Despite trailing 4-3, Murphy managed to edge 5-4 in front overnight. He then reeled off four successive frames upon the contest’s resumption, with breaks of 84, 100 and 57 getting him over the line.

Although, he would soon be quickly brought back down to earth.

“You don’t really feel like you’re in the tournament until you get that first round out of the way, especially at the Crucible,” he said. “It’s great to get over that mad first hurdle, and watch everybody else twitching for a few days.

“When I beat Chris, the memories of having never previous won a match there just vanished. It’s amazing how quickly it changes. I remember being over the moon to walk out of the arena as a winner.

“That belief was short-lived, though, because a quick study of the draw told me I was going to play John Higgins in the next round.”

Higgins had whitewashed Murphy 6-0 in his maiden career ranking semi-final at that season’s British Open. The previous campaign saw the 22-year-old’s first run to the last 16 of such a tournament ended by a 5-2 defeat to Higgins at the LG Cup.

The Magician, therefore, knew he would have his work cut out, but was not too unfamiliar with his opponent.

“In the couple of years prior to that, John had very graciously invited me to stay with his family at their home in Glasgow for three or four days a couple of times a year, and allowed me to use his practise table,” Murphy explained.

“He was one of the few players that were willing to put something back into the next generation. Even though he was some distance away, as a hungry young player who was desperate for knowledge, those lessons I learned from him were invaluable – watching him and studying him at such close quarters really helped me.

“I’d never beaten John and there was nothing to suggest I was going to beat him either. Every time I’d got to a personal best, I walked into him and he’d always beaten me heavily.

“Once John had beaten Mark Selby in the first round, I was thinking I’d put up a good show and defence against John, but I’ll probably lose.”

It appeared that would be the case when Murphy trailed 4-1 against 1998 World champion Higgins, who was still seeking his second title.

Nevertheless, he bounced back to move within four frames of a shock victory at 9-7 in front overnight, though the reality of the situation suddenly became quite daunting for the world number 48.

“I remember I had the chance to play either Steve Davis or Michael Holt [in the quarter-finals],” he said. “With the greatest respect to both of them, it suddenly felt like a huge opportunity.

“If I beat John, I then fancied my chances of getting to the semi-finals! That was life-changing in terms of money and rankings.

“Suddenly, the job of getting to 13 frames started to look a lot more difficult because of what it meant. I did that thing that all inexperienced players do, and started looking at draws and prize money guarantees.

“I remember having to really work very hard overnight to just get myself in the right frame of mind to forget about what that victory might mean, and just focus on trying to get to 13 first.

“It was a ridiculously calm and mature way of looking at it for a clueless 22-year-old! I had no right to think like that at all.”

Higgins won the opening frame of the final session to halve his deficit to 9-8, but there was no stopping Murphy’s all-out attacking game as he won the next four, sealing a 13-8 victory with a marvellous break of 115.

And there was one particular moment when the 22-year-old knew he had his opponent on the ropes.

“I had John in trouble and he missed a shot, then stamped his cue on the floor,” Murphy, who is an expert leadership keynote speaker, recalls.

“You just didn’t see that from him. The crowd gave him the pantomime ‘ooh!’ and I remember thinking: ‘I’ve got him here’.

“Looking back, I think my style of play around that time threw a lot of people, particularly some of the big names. I don’t think he knew how to handle me; obviously, he does now because he’s beaten me so many times since then.

“They give Judd Trump the credit for inventing naughty snooker, but I think I did; I just don’t think they had a name for it! I just attacked John from the minute the match started; if a red popped its head out, I was going for it. I ran at him at pace and went for his throat. I just assumed I was going to lose, so thought I may as well go down fighting. It seemed to throw the cat among the pigeons.

“When I did win, nobody was more shocked than me! I certainly didn’t see that coming at all.”

Another former champion awaited Murphy in the quarter-finals in six-time winner Davis, who recovered from 6-2 and 10-8 down to beat Holt 13-10.

Murphy had fancied his chances of progressing to the semi-finals, no matter who his last-eight opponent would be, but could he subsequently deliver the goods?

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