Shaun Murphy is an international snooker player. He is known for his long-potting and straight cue actions. He has achieved over 400 century breaks in his career, including the second maximum break in the Championship League in 2014.
Murphy was number three in world rankings at the start 2008/2009 season. For the 2010/2011 seasons, Murphy fell to number 7. He won the Players Tour Championship, and completed his career Triple Crown. Murphy was considered a huge underdog at the time, and it was a surprising win. He then reached the finals at the UK Championship in 2012. He was however defeated by Judd Trump.
Murphy is considered a highly skilled player. He has many firsts in his professional career. His first 147 break was his first, as well as his first ranking title and appearance at the World Snooker Championship.
In 1998, he began his professional career on the Challenge Tour (also known as the UK Tour). Tony, Tony's father, was an avid golfer. As a teenager, he was bullied at school. He went to homeschooling classes but didn't see his mother until he was 19. Elaine, his wife, found him one year later. They were married in 2006. The couple got engaged despite the opposition of his family.
Shaun has earned over PS3,000,000 in prize cash during his career. He has won seven non ranking tournaments. He has also been a part of eight ranking tournaments reaching the quarterfinals two times.
He was ranked fourth in the world at the beginning of the 2004/2005 season. He won the Brugge Open as well as the Welsh Open. He was also diagnosed with Savant Syndrome.
He won the 2005 World Championship. He was awarded the BBC Sportsman of the YEAR award the following year. After this, he was appointed a San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital surgical resident.
Murphy struggled with communication as a boy. His social skills might have suffered as a result. While he has had a few difficult relationships, he has also been able solve them. Elaine, his girlfriend, proposed to him at a Irish restaurant during one his matches.
Ray Reardon coached him when he turned 15 years old. After that, he continued his work with Steve Prest to 2006. Willie Thorne coached him for the 2007/2008 season. He won the Challenge Tour's third- and fourth events.
Murphy won the Wuxi Classic in China. After that, Murphy entered the elite top 16. His next appearance was the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy. Despite playing only five frames in the tournament's qualifying round, he advanced to the quarterfinals beating teenager Luca Brecel.
He then won the German Masters Championship, the Ruhr Championship, as well the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy. For the entire 2008/2009 season, he was still ranked number 3. He reached the semi-finals at the UK Championship and Shanghai Masters during the same season.