Shaun Murphy insists Ronnie O'Sullivan has never faced true pressure outside snooker - 'He grew up in incredible wealth'
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ByEurosport
Updated 17/11/2022 at 09:48 GMT
Shaun Murphy believes Ronnie O'Sullivan could do more to promote the game of snooker, but feels the seven-time world champion is not the only player who suffers from "apathy" towards the sport. Murphy was reacting after O'Sullivan said snooker was "insignificant" to his life. Stream the 2022 UK Championship and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+.
Gilbert not happy as Murphy celebrates with fist pumps after dramatic black
Shaun Murphy believes Ronnie O'Sullivan fails to appreciate what it is like to struggle as a snooker player because he was born into wealth before becoming a self-made multi-millionaire due to his golden exploits on the green baize.
2005 world champion Murphy reacted to O'Sullivan's comments about snooker being "insignificant" in his life after despatching Matthew Stevens (6-2) and Zhou Yuelong (6-0) respectively to reach the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.
“I am feeling flat to be honest with you and don’t want to play snooker at the moment," said the world No. 1. “I don’t play much and really don’t care. I mainly keep coming because it’s something to do."
The Essex icon has amassed seven world titles amid winning a sweltering record 39 ranking titles since turning professional in 1992, earning an estimated £13 million from success on the table before endorsements and exhibitions.
Amid claims players can't handle pressure on the table, Murphy feels O'Sullivan can never truly appreciate the pressure of a life without money because he has never faced the prospect of living in poverty.
World No. 54 Elliot Slessor highlighted the problems last season when he commented: "30% of the tour can’t afford a loaf of bread. Either give players expenses or cut the tour and guarantee everybody dough."
"Ronnie in particular has one of the biggest platforms in the world. I hope he uses it to make the game better," said Murphy. “Sometimes it feels like most of the Tour are going in the same direction, and others – and he’s not alone – are just going it alone.
“I don’t have O’Sullivan’s resume, I don’t have what I presume must be incredible wealth.
“He comes from an incredibly wealthy background and grew up in an incredible wealth. Most of the tour is not from that world.
“For him and people like him with cabinet after cabinet full of trophies, it’s okay to say how meaningless the game is to them.
“But for the rest of us it means an awful lot because it not only feeds our life and looks after us today.
“I’m only 40, but I remember the village I grew up in. I know a life that would have been saved from total anonymity without this game. I will never forget that.
“A lot of players are now on tour talk about how the game doesn’t mean much to them, how much they don’t like it, and they don’t play it anymore for fun."
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Watch as O'Sullivan races to stunning century against Zhou at UK Championship
O'Sullivan has described Murphy's comments as "water off my back". "I am not interested in what anyone has got to say about me," he said.
Murphy meets Judd Trump in the last 16 in a blockbuster encounter on Thursday afternoon with the winner meeting Hossein Vafaei or Jack Lisowski in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The world No. 13 lifted the UK title in 2008 with a 10-9 win over Marco Fu while losing the 2012 final to Mark Selby (10-6) and the 2017 final to O'Sullivan (10-5).
“It (snooker) means absolutely everything to me," said Murphy, who turned professional in 1998 and has earned close on £5m.
“I attend every player’s meeting. It’s a game I’m passionate about, and I don’t just criticise from the sidelines.
“I’m actually trying to get my hands dirty and make the game better than when I turned pro.
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Murphy reveals he is playing in pain at UK Championship
“The apathy on tour is disgusting and a lack of desire to actually participate and make a positive difference in the game.
“But most of us come from very working class backgrounds and live across the street.
“This game took us out of life in the job centre and dole money that most of us would have collected every two weeks. That’s life for most of us.
“Trying to make the game better without properly engaging is pretty bad.”
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Stream the 2022 UK Championship and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand now.
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