Masters Q&A with SHAUN MURPHY

It's that time of the year again as Masters fever has hit the snooker nation, and one of the guys hoping to take the prestigious title next Sunday is Shaun Murphy who kindly took some time out from his heavy preparations to answer a few questions I had for him on The Masters, a busy period between now and the end of February, his start to the season and his recent weight loss.


Here's what Shaun had to say:

Where do you rank the Masters event on the calendar in comparison to the rest of the calendar?

For me The Masters was always the third major behind the UK's and the World Championship. But now with the increase in prize money and the upcoming switch to a money list, I think it's now the second biggest event of our calendar.

How hard are you working to try and win The Masters this time around and complete the Triple Crown, and how do you rate your chances?

Completing my triple crown of BBC events will be top of my priority list until I achieve it so I've been working really hard on my game over the festive period to try to make sure I get to Ally Pally in good form.

You have Ding Junhui in the first round this year, who since winning The Masters in 2011, hasn’t won a Masters match in 2 years since, how are you looking to approach this match knowing what Ding is capable of, and what are you expecting on the day?

Well as you rightly say, Ding has already won this tournament before and so doesn't have anything to prove there. Mid way through this season he was looking unbeatable and our game in Shanghai was a high quality match. Of course in snooker all I can focus on is my one game and that's what I'll be doing down there.

Where does the Ally Pally sit for you as a Masters snooker venue, and is the feeling shared by the other players?

I'm pretty sure that anyone that played at the old Conference Centre would say that it was the best venue of them all, but the Ally Pally is definitely a close second and 100% better than the Wembley Arena we played in for a few years. Although it was pretty cool knowing that Kylie had used the same dressing rooms the week before!

Neil Robertson has been your Masters nemesis the past 2 years, and after being the first overseas player to complete the Triple Crown in December, do you think he’ll be the man to beat again this year?

Neil along with Mark Selby have now in my opinion made themselves so consistent that I think they are always the ones to beat nowadays. Mark in particular has found a way of being able to win when he's not at his best and as Steve Davis once said, that's what sport is all about.

The Masters is one of the tournaments these days with a longer format, do you prefer the long format and would you like to see more tournaments for the elite players with the longer format?

It's a funny sign of the times when we start calling best of 11's a long format as it isn't really. I just think now that most of the tour have adapted to all the match lengths and just get on with it. I think in general people like the fact that they will definitely have a result at the end of play. Nothing frustrates me more when watching sport than not having a result.

The shoot-out follows the Masters in late January, what do you make of that event and is it nice to see some of these types of events on the calendar?

I really like the Shoot Out. It's a completely different event than any other we see on tour all year and it's refreshing. I do think though that for Snooker to thrive in todays world like a few other sports are doing, certain things have to change and some of the things we see at the Shoot Out need to filter through into "normal" snooker. Certainly a lot of purists won't like it, but the paying public are the ones that part with their cash to come and watch us and I think what they want, they should get.

The German Masters at the Tempodrome in Berlin in early February is another event you have a nice record in, how nice would it be to win an event in a venue you rate so highly and do the surroundings inspire you to do well?

Well it's an event very close to my heart as I was lucky enough to be involved in the promotion of snooker through the mid naughties in places like Germany and other European countries that are now taking snooker to heart and it's really nice to see these events doing so well. I've played many exhibition events in the Tempodrome and have always had great support in Germany that I'm very thankful for, so for them more than me I'd like to have a good run there one day and who knows maybe one day lift the title.

Also in early February is the final EPTC event in Gdynia, and with you currently sat in the 24th and final qualifying spot, how desperate are you to have a good run in Poland to make it back to the PTC Finals for the first time since you won it, and would you consider entering the final APTC if you don’t qualify via the European Order of Merit?

Yeah qualifying for the Tour finals is definitely something I'm trying to do but as always, all I can do is my best and not worry too much about other results and other players. If I play well enough I'm sure I'll get through. If not then entering the final APTC is something I'll definitely be looking at as like I say, getting to the tour finals is a real goal of mine. To win it in year one and then not go back for two years has been hard but I'm trying my best to get there this year.

A hectic January/February period culminates in the Welsh Open, where you have lost in Round 1 in 3 of the last 4 seasons, so how much will you be trying to put that right?

The Welsh Open has not been one of my strongest events that's for sure. I think I got to the final in '06 but since then it's been a tough event for me. Not really sure why but I'll be going this year trying my best as always and trying to put in a good performance and see what happens.

While not playing poorly in the first half of the season, you have been on a pretty poor run of form. So, what aspects of your game in particular are you working on to try and have a better second half of the season and what are your goals for this period?

It's been a really weird season for me so far. I've worked so hard on my game and myself away from the table and so far haven't seen any rewards for it. But I know that if you do the right things for long enough, then eventually you get the rewards for your hard work.

What is your view on the Championship League event as a whole, and do you think that it can provide good match practice for the big events?

When it first started I think a few of the lads saw it as a bit of a knockabout but it's definitely more than that now. For me especially I'm going to use it as an opportunity to try out some of the things I've been working on and hopefully play myself into some good form just before The Masters, so I think it's a great event.

Do you think that tournaments like The Masters really set the men from the boys in terms of the general standard of play, but also the guys that work hard over the Christmas break with the ones that don’t?

I think if The Masters was in the first week of January then you'd really get a taste for who had been playing over Christmas and those that hadn't. With it starting on the 12th and the Championship league being played before it too I think most players will arrive ready for action. It is after all the second biggest event in our game so not being prepared would be a bit silly really.

A lot of people have been commenting on your recent weight loss, and want to know how much you’ve lost, and what made you decide to start losing weight, so could you enlighten the fans?

I just got to a point in my life where I wanted to be better, in all areas. My diet's always been terrible and so I spoke with some close friends about it and they put together a really good health eating plan for me which I've followed and since starting on August 12th last year I've lost nearly three stone. They told me that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, something I'd not thought about before and they were right. Anyone who wants to know more about it can contact me on Twitter @magician147 or through my website www.shaunmurphy.net

Just to finish off, as we enter the new year what was your favourite moment of 2013, and what are your hopes for 2014?

I actually always look back at my Massé attempt against Ding in Shanghai as one of my funniest moments of 2013, it certainly couldn't have gone any worse could it? As for 2014 I'm going to continue working on my game and getting better and fitter and I'll see where that takes me. Obviously I'm trying to win every event I play in but that hasn't happened yet.............................yet.

Thanks to Shaun once again for giving some good views and insight on a range of things there. I'd like to wish him and the rest of the players good luck for The Masters, and I for one hope to see Murphy back in the winners enclosure very soon.