Shaun Murphy was back at his magical best to win the Masters – but has joked that he can see into the future as well.
The Magician saw off world champion Kyren Wilson at Alexandra Palace to celebrate a second Masters success, and first Triple Crown title in a decade, but told Scots snooker great Stephen Hendry that it didn’t come as a surprise – because he felt he was in great form. Murphy also revealed a prophetic conversation with Scottish Open finalist Xiao Guodong earlier in the season, when the Chinese player was cruising to a 5-1 win at the Wuhan Open.
Speaking on Hendry’s CueTips YouTube channel, Murphy quipped: “Xiao Guodong and I walked off the stage in Wuhan arm-in-arm, with me saying to him that he was unbelievable. The funny thing about that match is that, at 4-0, he’s played four of the most perfect frames ever to get into that lead at the interval.
“We’ve walked off and we’re in the players’ lounge, and I said, ‘you know what, you should be careful, if you keep playing like that then they’re going to drug test you’. It was a bit of banter, a bit of craic. We went back out, I made a century before he finished me off 5-1. We walked off stage and there are drug testers waiting on us. He turned round to me and asked if I’d arranged it. I had to tell him that it was nothing to do with me!”
Murphy also said that his surprise Masters success didn’t come as a shock to him or his team, having made a habit of being knocked out of events by eventual finalists. He added: “I feel like my game has been good enough all season and we’ve made a thing about it on my podcast, about whoever beats me in a tournament then goes on to win it, or at least makes the final. We’ve been saying that all season.
“Lei Peifan is the perfect example. He beat me in Scotland and goes on to win the tournament from nowhere. It was happening, it’s taken someone at the top of their form almost every week.”