Shaun Murphy has accused snooker promoters Matchroom of “despicable” treatment over the scheduling of his match at the Champion of Champions tournament.
World number nine Murphy was beaten 4-1 by China’s Lei Peifan in the 16-player invitational knockout at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena. The 43-year-old said he was unhappy to be required to play the opening match of the non-ranking event after returning from the International Championship in China, where he reached the quarter-finals.
Murphy said he was asked to play first despite a “marathon 36-hour journey” back to the UK and complained that the promoters “hand pick the draw”. “For me to be thrown out first is nothing short of despicable, and I think they have covered themselves in a huge embarrassment by treating me with such disrespect,” Murphy told ITV. “I always pride myself on conducting myself as professionally as I can, try to treat the game with an incredible amount of respect. There are three other players in this tournament who weren’t even in China last week. The way I have been treated by Matchroom in this tournament is nothing short of despicable.”
Matchroom said it spoke to Murphy afterwards and “share his frustrations”. A statement added: “Our priorities are the players, we take pride in the fact they consider this event prestigious and want to prepare for it. For transparency and fairness, the groups [for the draw] are based on seeding. Scheduling is always a challenge every year, but we take on board the points and always strive to improve for next year and the future.”
In the match, Lei, ranked 31st, moved 2-0 ahead before Murphy pulled one back. Lei then hit a break of 61 to take the fourth frame and closed out the match in the fifth. Meanwhile, England’s Judd Trump advanced to the semi-finals after a 4-1 win over Bai Yulu of China in their first meeting. Bai, 22 and the reigning women’s world champion, won the opening frame, but world number one Trump replied with breaks of 84 and 71 to claim the next two. Trump then beat Lei 6-2 in the quarter-final, compiling two 60s and a 71 in that victory.
