Shaun Murphy reveals desire for club he is 'desperate to join' ahead of Crucible snooker final

Murphy reached his fifth world championship final at the Crucible on Saturday afternoon after winning the final four frames from 15-13 down to oust four-time champion John Higgins.

During the gripping contest in Sheffield, Murphy compiled five century breaks - one of those was his 100th ton made at the Crucible, becoming only the fifth player to achieve that incredible break-building feat.

And now, the 43-year-old Englishman is aiming to join more exclusive green baize memberships over the coming days as he faces Chinese youngster Wu in snooker’s biggest fixture, the world final, across bank holiday Sunday and Monday in South Yorkshire.

Murphy reveals self-doubts

Ever since shocking the snooker world by winning the world title in 2005 as a qualifier on only his third Crucible appearance, Murphy has been an ever-present within the top echelons in the sport.

Currently placed 10th on the all-time list of most decorated ranking event champions with 14 titles, Murphy’s career has been a bit of a rollercoaster in the sense of not backing up fruitful spells on the circuit.

An example of that would be the last couple years. In 2023, within the space of a few months he won three ranking titles, but had to wait over two years for another one at this season’s British Open, last September.

It has already been a memorable season for Murphy. Back in August, he momentarily slipped outside of the world’s elite top 16 rankings for the first time in 19 years, but immediately bounced back with the aforementioned triumph in Cheltenham, followed by run to the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix. A few months later he also got silver at the German Masters.

Despite always tending to be at least ‘there or there abouts’ in a post-match interview with the World Snooker Tour, ‘The Magician’ admitted to having doubts on whether he would return to another Crucible final.

“There were days in the last few years where I genuinely thought these days had gone for me” said Murphy.

“I thought these days were over. Winning the Masters renewed that spark of belief, I’ve won other events, I’ve played really well through this season particularly, so to be standing here toe to toe in the final for a chance to take that beautiful trophy home, I’m going to give it absolutely everything.”

Murphy on trying to “recreate the magic” in Sheffield

Murphy is set to become the eighth player who has appeared in five or more Crucible finals. He now has his sights set on being the 14th multiple world champion of all-time, and the seventh multiple Crucible world champion after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, and Mark Selby.

A great historian and custodian of the sport, Murphy is aware of the exclusivity of collecting more than one world title, and it is an ambition he is eager to fulfil: “I’m very aware that there’s a slightly different nod. I wouldn’t say there’s a secret handshake that multiple champions have, but you know, I wouldn’t know!

“So, it’s a club that I’m desperate to join. I’ve tried many times, I’ve been trying to recreate the magic of 2005 for 21 years.

“There’s no point me pretending that it isn’t going to be the biggest day of my life. There’s no point pretending that, trying to kid myself, there’ll be no kidology. It’s going to be massive, and I’m going to have to stand up and go through pain to get there.

“There will be challenges, there’s going to be difficulties, they’ll be mistakes, they’ll be misses - they’ll be, all sorts will happen and I’m going to have to go through it. I’ve been through it before, but I know what’s waiting at the end and I’m going to try my best.”

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Snooker Championship, visit our tournament information centre here.