Snooker icon Ken Doherty reckoned that Shaun Murphy ran the risk of lighting a fire underneath Kyren Wilson with his act of showmanship in their Masters final.
The Magician became champion for a second time, defeating Wilson 10-7, with the majority of the work coming in the first session.
Murphy took the final frame of the afternoon to authoritatively lead 6-2 thanks to breaks of 134, 116, 94 and 65. Having taken a four-frame lead, Murphy moved the black ball over the corner pocket using his hand with a big smile on his face.
The Alexandra Palace crowd enjoyed a cheeky Murphy playing up to them, but Doherty warned Murphy that he may also have riled up his opponent at the same time.
“That last bit of showmanship from Shaun Murphy was great for the crowd, but Kyren Wilson will absolutely be livid,” Doherty said.
“You don’t want to give your opponent any ammunition to get him going but that will – so it’ll be interesting to see how Kyren comes out tonight.”
And Wilson was much-improved in the evening, rallying from 8-4 down to 8-7 before Murphy saw out the final two frames to win the Triple Crown event.
A break of 100 got him over the line to lift the Paul Hunter Trophy, before being playfully mocked by Wilson, who admitted that he would be heading to the bar to commiserate.
“I proved I am a world champion,” Wilson said. “Every credit to Shaun, making a century to finish for the fans. So well done Shaun.
“No disrespect to Shaun, he is turning into an old man now, so he needs this more than me. I am 33 years old, coming into my prime and I am having an amazing season. Runner-up obviously isn’t what I wanted, but got Berlin next week, so I’ll go and smash it in Germany.
“I am a lucky lad win or lose. Listen I lost, I am gutted, but I tell you what, I am going to consume so many jagerbombs tonight and have the best night ever.”
The 2005 world champion, who had been accused of giving his opponent a big opportunity through an act of showmanship, replied: “I can’t believe it. I’m in shock.
“If I’m totally honest I thought these days had gone. When I lost to Mark Selby in the world final in 2021 I thought my days at the business end of these big events were behind me.
“There’s still a bit of life in the old dog yet. This is right up there in terms of my achievements. This win is arguably as big, if not bigger, than completing the Triple Crown in 2015.”
