Shaun Murphy might be known as ‘The Magician’ but he again showed his willingness to dig deep and fight as he dramatically beat Mark Selby in the Shanghai Masters semi-final. And after overturning a 6-2 deficit to eventuallly win 10-8 on Friday, he insisted “I’m not a quitter” in a frank message to fans and critics.
After being four frames down, the 2005 world champion reeled off three on the bounce to leave the contest on a knife-edge.
But again Selby took the ascendancy by moving 8-5 ahead, only for Murphy to produce a scintillating spell that yielded breaks of 134, 116, 104, and 67 to leave his compatriot stunned.
“It’s the old cliches, isn’t it?” he told the World Snooker Tour. “It’s never over until it’s over. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a quitter. I’ve never given up in my life, and I wasn’t prepared to give up tonight.
“I kept pushing and had a little bit of luck at the right time. I rode my luck and scored well. I’m over the moon, I can’t believe it.”
Murphy of course, is no stranger to coming back from adversity, whether it be during matches or away from the table. In 2022, the 41-year-old underwent life changing stomach surgery, having a gastric band fitted after admitting to struggling with weight problems.
And now only Sunday’s final stands between him and a first ever title in Shanghai. Murphy reached the same stage back in 2019, but was beaten 11-9 in an epic battle with Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The current world No. 7 now awaits the winner of ‘The Rocket’ and Judd Trump, and will seemingly be full of confidence after his latest triumph. “Mark really should have been 7-2 up at the interval,” he admitted.
“Instead it was 6-3, and it gave me a lifeline. It just gave me a stepping stone. Tonight, I came out and played really, really well. I’m so proud of how I played. It was great to play in front of such a great audience – the crowd were brilliant, the support here is fantastic.”
Murphy also jokingly implied he wouldn’t mind seeing the second final four clash go the distance, while he watches on television with his feet up. “I’ve played them both before in big matches,” he added.
“I played Ronnie here a few years ago, so it would be great to go one better. I’m looking forward to watching them two slog it out until the wee small hours whilst I rest and look forward to what’s going to be a great match.”
