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I conducted a telephone interview this-evening with Shaun Murphy minutes after his 7-3 win over defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
O'Sullivan 9-119 Murphy - (Murphy 111)
O'Sullivan 36-87 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 35, Murphy 38, 32)
O'Sullivan 11-100 Murphy - (Murphy 40, 31)
O'Sullivan 65-51 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 34)
O'Sullivan 88-0 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 88)
O'Sullivan 67-61 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 49, Murphy 34)
O'Sullivan 27-75 Murphy - (Murphy 33)
O'Sullivan 3-126 Murphy - (Murphy 47, 75)
O'Sullivan 0-63 Murphy - (Murphy 63)
O'Sullivan 67-75 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 67, Murphy 67)
Kevin - You had a great win there
Shaun - Yes thank you very much
Kevin - So you have stopped Ronnie's winning run in The Premier League
Shaun - Yeah, I said afterwards and I mean it that it would of been an ausum achievement to of won it 6 times but you know 5 is still quite good, if I won the event 5 times let along 5 times on the bounce I would be a happy man.
Kevin - So is this now the time to go put that deposit on the Asti?
Shaun - ha ha ha ha ha no, I am afraid not, it's certainly the wrong time of year for an Astin Martin.
Kevin - I want to ask you about Barry Hearns bid for chairman of The WPBSA, have you read the article?
Shaun - I have heard it yes
Kevin - What do you think about his plans for the pro tour?
Shaun - I think as he said repeatedly in that interview that he is unable to make any firm plans until he gets into the building and has a look at how the ground lies, but I think people have to understand that this is all hypothetical at the moment and I am very excited at the prospect of Barry becoming chairman of The WPBSA but it has not happened yet, if and when it happens we will see. We have seen what he is capable of here with the Premier League Snooker and seen what he is capable of with the Darts, the boxing he has been apart of and anything else he touches he is very, very good at. Given the choice between the current board and or a Barry Hearn lead board I would choose Barry Hearn, I think the current board in there with Sir Rodney leading it have done a good job, they came into the game when we were in massive turmoil, the game was on its knees and they have managed us through that period to the point where we have got money in the bank and yeah we may only have 6 tournaments but they are a solid 6 tournaments, we got good relationships with our broadcasters and we are in a decent position, it is not the position that everybody wants but is much better that the game going down the pan and us all being down the job center, so I actually think they should be applauded for what they have done, I just think it is time now for them to hand the rains over to someone who is a specialist in this area and lets see what Barry can do.
Kevin - Onto the UK Championships next week.
Shaun - Yeah we roll onto the UK, great preparation as far as myself is concerned going in to that event, got a good week coming up of practice and a couple of matches so you know we got abit of politics but I think the snooker players need to remember what our job is, we are not politiciation but we are havign to get involved in this for the sake of the game, once the politics have finished we should get back to the table and do what we are good at doing.
Kevin - Going into this competition as defending champion the games over the past few days is probably the best practice you could ask for and alot better than potting some balls down your local club?
Shaun - Absolutely, you know you can not ask for two better days of practice, I have played The World Champion John Higgins and I player the world No.1 and defending champion in this event Ronnie, you know I could not of planned it any better really to of had a better practice session than what I have had and if I can just top up my hours this week and goto Telford in good form then you know I could be dangerous.
O'Sullivan 9-119 Murphy - (Murphy 111)
O'Sullivan 36-87 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 35, Murphy 38, 32)
O'Sullivan 11-100 Murphy - (Murphy 40, 31)
O'Sullivan 65-51 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 34)
O'Sullivan 88-0 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 88)
O'Sullivan 67-61 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 49, Murphy 34)
O'Sullivan 27-75 Murphy - (Murphy 33)
O'Sullivan 3-126 Murphy - (Murphy 47, 75)
O'Sullivan 0-63 Murphy - (Murphy 63)
O'Sullivan 67-75 Murphy - (O'Sullivan 67, Murphy 67)
Kevin - You had a great win there
Shaun - Yes thank you very much
Kevin - So you have stopped Ronnie's winning run in The Premier League
Shaun - Yeah, I said afterwards and I mean it that it would of been an ausum achievement to of won it 6 times but you know 5 is still quite good, if I won the event 5 times let along 5 times on the bounce I would be a happy man.
Kevin - So is this now the time to go put that deposit on the Asti?
Shaun - ha ha ha ha ha no, I am afraid not, it's certainly the wrong time of year for an Astin Martin.
Kevin - I want to ask you about Barry Hearns bid for chairman of The WPBSA, have you read the article?
Shaun - I have heard it yes
Kevin - What do you think about his plans for the pro tour?
Shaun - I think as he said repeatedly in that interview that he is unable to make any firm plans until he gets into the building and has a look at how the ground lies, but I think people have to understand that this is all hypothetical at the moment and I am very excited at the prospect of Barry becoming chairman of The WPBSA but it has not happened yet, if and when it happens we will see. We have seen what he is capable of here with the Premier League Snooker and seen what he is capable of with the Darts, the boxing he has been apart of and anything else he touches he is very, very good at. Given the choice between the current board and or a Barry Hearn lead board I would choose Barry Hearn, I think the current board in there with Sir Rodney leading it have done a good job, they came into the game when we were in massive turmoil, the game was on its knees and they have managed us through that period to the point where we have got money in the bank and yeah we may only have 6 tournaments but they are a solid 6 tournaments, we got good relationships with our broadcasters and we are in a decent position, it is not the position that everybody wants but is much better that the game going down the pan and us all being down the job center, so I actually think they should be applauded for what they have done, I just think it is time now for them to hand the rains over to someone who is a specialist in this area and lets see what Barry can do.
Kevin - Onto the UK Championships next week.
Shaun - Yeah we roll onto the UK, great preparation as far as myself is concerned going in to that event, got a good week coming up of practice and a couple of matches so you know we got abit of politics but I think the snooker players need to remember what our job is, we are not politiciation but we are havign to get involved in this for the sake of the game, once the politics have finished we should get back to the table and do what we are good at doing.
Kevin - Going into this competition as defending champion the games over the past few days is probably the best practice you could ask for and alot better than potting some balls down your local club?
Shaun - Absolutely, you know you can not ask for two better days of practice, I have played The World Champion John Higgins and I player the world No.1 and defending champion in this event Ronnie, you know I could not of planned it any better really to of had a better practice session than what I have had and if I can just top up my hours this week and goto Telford in good form then you know I could be dangerous.
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