Shaun Murphy is an international snooker player. He is known for his long-potting and straight cue actions. In his career, he has been able to achieve over 400 century breaks. This includes the second highest break in the Championship League for 2014.
Murphy was ranked number three in the world at the start of the 2008/2009 season. For the 2010/2011 seasons, Murphy fell to number 7. He won the Players Tour Championship that year and finished his career Triple Crown. Murphy was considered a big underdog so Murphy's win was unexpected. In 2012, Murphy reached the final of UK Championship. But, he was defeated by Judd Trump who became the eventual winner.
Murphy is a gifted player. He has had many firsts. These include his first 147 break and his first ranking title. He also made his first appearance in the World Snooker Championship.
He began his career on the Challenge Tour, also known as the UK Tour, in 1998. His father, Tony, was a professional golfer. As a teenager, he was bullied at school. He attended homeschooling classes, but did not see his mother until age 19. Elaine, his wife, found him one year later. They were married in 2006. Despite his family's misgivings, the couple were engaged in 2014.
Shaun has won more than PS3,000,000 in prize money during his career. He has won seven non-ranking tournaments. He has also played in eight ranking tournaments and reached the quarterfinals of two.
He was ranked no. 4 in the world at the start of 2004/2005 season. He also won the Brugge Open and Welsh Open. By this time, he had been diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a condition in which a person with autism has superior skills.
In 2005, he won the World Championship. The next year he was named Sportsman of the Year by the BBC. He then became a San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, California surgical resident.
When Murphy was a young boy, he had difficulty communicating with other people. This may have affected his social skills. While he has had several complicated romantic relationships, he has also been able to solve these problems. During one of his matches, he even proposed to his girlfriend, Elaine, at a restaurant in Ireland.
Ray Reardon taught him how to play basketball when he had just turned 15. Following that, he worked with Steve Prest until 2006. Willie Thorne coached him for the 2007/2008 season. He won the Challenge Tour’s third & fourth events.
Murphy won China's Wuxi Classic. He was then invited to the elite top 16. The inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy was his next appearance. Despite having the tournament's shortest qualifying round of only five frames, he reached the quarterfinals and beat teenager Luca Brecel.
He then won the German Masters Championship, the Ruhr Championship, as well the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy. For the 2008/2009 season, he remained at number three. During that same season, he reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the UK Championship.