In the final of the Snooker Masters, Shaun Murphy defeated Kyren Wilson with a score of 10:7, winning the championship again after 2015.
The 42-year-old Murphy had not won a major championship for ten years. After winning the championship, he expressed that although he might have appeared confident to the outside world, his confidence had actually collapsed.
What changed him was former world champion Peter Ebdon.
After defeating Mark Allen in the quarter-finals and advancing, Murphy faced Wilson, the reigning World Championship winner, in the final. Wilson had just defeated Trump, who set the record for the highest single-season prize money, and was in excellent form.
However, Murphy performed outstandingly, leading 6:2 in the first section and entering the backstage to rest. Later, Wilson once chased to 8:7, but Murphy withstood the pressure and took two consecutive games, finally winning the championship with a score of 10:7.
Amidst the flying snowflakes, the 42-year-old Murphy joyfully held up the trophy. He had previously won the Triple Crown (Masters, World Championship, and UK Championship) once each, but the last time was in 2015 when he won the Masters title, exactly ten years ago.
In the post-match interview, Murphy described his feelings as "unbelievable" and "shocked": "Honestly, after losing to Selby in the 2021 World Championship final, I thought the days of competing for championships in these events were gone. However, after working with Peter Ebdon, he helped me regain my confidence and reminded me that I was once good at this sport. There's still a bit of life in the old dog yet."
The 54-year-old Peter Ebdon won the 2002 World Championship and retired in 2020, serving as a coach for many players, including Wilson. Murphy stated that he only worked with Peter Ebdon for three events, and before they joined forces last autumn, he had completely lost his confidence.
"I may give the impression of being a confident person, but I used to have the opportunity to win such events, and I once thought those days would never come back." Previously, O'Sullivan was rumored to have withdrawn due to psychological reasons, and Murphy openly supported him. "Everyone is fighting behind the scenes. In fact, we face many things in life, including troubles and pressures, and we are all going through things that others don't know about."
During the quarter-finals against Mark Allen, Murphy scored a perfect 147, which was the first time in his career in the Triple Crown events. After the match, he was asked if he sought help from Peter Ebdon due to lack of confidence, and Murphy denied it: "I just hope to have someone who has fought on the court in my corner."
Murphy jokingly pointed out that before the quarter-finals, the two of them did not even discuss tactics, but just listened to music in the lounge: "Someone who has competed there knows when silence is better than words."