Shaun Murphy echoes Stephen Hendry criticism of ghostly Tour Championship snooker atmosphere – 'It’s difficult'
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ByEurosport
Published 30/03/2023 at 07:32 GMT
Shaun Murphy has joined Ali Carter and Stephen Hendry in condemning the atmosphere at the eight-man Tour Championship being staged for the first time at the Bonus Arena in Hull. Despite completing a rousing 10-8 win over Robert Milkins from 5-1 behind on Wednesday in the quarter-finals, the 2005 world champion admits he toiled to cope with the empty seats at the elite ranking event.
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No Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson or Judd Trump at the elite eight-man Tour Championship and no atmosphere in Hull either according to Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Stephen Hendry.
The 2005 world champion Murphy became the latest professional to comment on the dearth of fans inside the Bonus Arena after sealing his semi-final spot with a 10-8 win over Robert Milkins from 5-1 behind on Wednesday.
When asked if he had struggled with the ghostly surroundings, the in-form Murphy – winner of the Players Championship last month in Wolverhampton – responded: "Absolutely 100 per cent, I’m not a shy and retiring type of person, I want to put a show on.
"When there’s not an audience there, it’s difficult, but it’s the same for both players.
"I think the tickets have sold well for the weekend. So the reward for coming through a match like that is that we will get to play in front of a packed house."
Murphy will meet Mark Selby or Ryan Day in his 50th ranking semi-finals on Saturday as he continues his chase for the £150,000 first prize.
He hit breaks of 128, 106, 70, 67, 67, 64 and 56 to avenge his 9-7 defeat to Milkins in the Welsh Open final with a merited victory. Milkins later berated issues with the tip on his cue describing his performance as "terrible" in the evening session.
“I have a couple of days off now to get my head right and prepare for the semis," said Murphy.
"I love performing to crowds, I love putting on a show, I am an entertainer, anyone who has been to one of my exhibitions knows that. I am looking forward to Saturday.”
Murphy's lament about crowd numbers supports similar comments made by Hendry and Carter earlier in the week.
World champions O'Sullivan, Trump, Robertson, John Higgins and Mark Williams failing to qualify has arguably not benefited promotion of the season's penultimate ranking tournament.
Seven-time Crucible champion Stephen Hendry is working as a pundit for ITV and took to Instagram to make his feelings known about the empty spaces at the venue.
"Big event this week, shame about the poor crowds," said the Scotsman.
German Masters champion Ali Carter lost 10-4 to Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals on Tuesday and said: "I was rubbish all day really.
"I just felt flat all day. It was a very subdued atmosphere, that didn’t help me really. Disappointing."
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