The first half of the season has been thoroughly miserable for Shaun Murphy, both personally and professionally, but in reaching the semi-finals of the Maplin UK
Championship in Telford, Shropshire, last night, the 2005 world champion demonstrated that he is once again a force to be reckoned with.
Murphy is one of the sport’s most dedicated players. He possesses a classically straight cue action, has an aggressive shot selection and, at his best, is fearsome. However, not unsurprisingly, a recent split from his wife, Claire, coincided with a dramatic slump in form.
Having lost his opening match, to qualifiers, in four consecutive world ranking tournaments, Murphy needed a confidence-building run in Telford and his revitalisation continued with a 9-3 win over Stephen Lee.
Lee had