After defeat, the snooker world’s magician angrily criticized the schedule as 'disrespectful'
Shaun Murphy, the former 2005 world snooker champion, fiercely condemned the organizers of the Champion of Champions tournament after being informed he had to compete in England just hours after returning from China. Murphy, 43, had just taken part in the International Championship in Nanjing, China, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the legendary John Higgins. Following that, Murphy and his fiancée Jo embarked on a journey lasting over 36 hours back to England, involving a domestic flight to Beijing, a taxi ride through rush hour, then a flight from Beijing to Dubai, before connecting to Manchester, England. Before he could rest, while on the plane, Murphy used wifi to check his phone and was shocked to receive notice that he was scheduled to play at 1 pm on Monday—less than 48 hours after leaving China—in Group 2 of the Champion of Champions held in Leicester, England. Shaun Murphy’s travel itinerary before returning to England for the "Champion of Champions" event. Exhausted from jet lag and lack of sleep, Murphy lost 1-4 to the Scotland Open champion, Lei Peifan, in his opening match. Immediately after the game, he openly expressed his outrage live on ITV4: "I always strive to act professionally and respect this sport. But the way Matchroom treated me at this event is disgraceful. I only found out I had to play today while in the middle of a 36-hour journey from China—just 48 hours before the match. Meanwhile, three other players like Mark Williams, Mark Allen, and Alfie Burden, who didn’t even participate in the China tournament, were scheduled to play later. This is unreasonable and disrespectful. Such handling is unacceptable." Murphy further emphasized that he has worked with Matchroom for over 30 years and has never witnessed such "unprofessionalism" before. "I don’t even know where I am, what I’m wearing, or what day it is. Yet they expect me to perform like a world-class player—it’s outrageous." In response to the backlash, Matchroom Sport—the organizer of the Champion of Champions—quickly issued a statement. A Matchroom representative confirmed that the match groups were arranged according to seed rankings, denying any "manual selection" of players as Murphy alleged. "We spoke with Shaun after the match and fully understand his frustration. Scheduling is always a challenge each year, but we are committed to reviewing and improving it in the future. All players are seeded to ensure transparency and fairness," the Matchroom representative said. The organizers also noted they considered that two Scottish players, Stephen Maguire and John Higgins, had similarly long journeys from China to England. The "Champion of Champions" is a prestigious tournament featuring the world’s top 16 players, but according to Murphy, "if fairness is overlooked, this title loses its true meaning." Former world billiards snooker champion suspended over child abuse allegations 10/04/2025 17:00 Vietnamese cueist claims to be 'abandoned' at world championship, Billiard & Snooker Federation responds 17/09/2024 06:20 National champion makes major progress with Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker 06/01/2024 22:15 See more Sports information
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