Shaun Murphy is a world-class snooker player who is known for his long potting and straight cue action. He has over 400 century break records, including the second best in the Championship League.
Murphy was number three in world rankings at the start 2008/2009 season. For the 2010/2011 seasons, Murphy fell to number 7. He won the Players Tour Championship in 2011 and finished his career Triple Crown. Murphy was considered an underdog and Murphy won the Players Tour Championship. In 2012, Murphy reached the final of UK Championship. He was eventually defeated by Judd Trump.
Murphy is a skilled player who has won many firsts during his career. These include his first 147 break and his first ranking title. He also made his first appearance in the World Snooker Championship.
In 1998, he began his professional career on the Challenge Tour (also known as the UK Tour). Tony, Tony's father, was an avid golfer. He was bullied at school as a teen. He was a homeschooler, but he did not see his mom until age 19. Elaine, his wife of one year, was his first love. They were married in June 2006. Despite his family's misgivings, the couple were engaged in 2014.
Shaun has won over PS3 millions in prize money throughout his career. He has won seven tournaments not ranking. He has also played in eight ranking tournaments and reached the quarterfinals of two.
At the start of the 2004/2005 season, he was ranked number four in the world. He was also the winner of the Brugge Open, and the Welsh Open. By this time, he had been diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a condition in which a person with autism has superior skills.
He won the World Championship 2005. He was awarded the BBC Sportsman of the YEAR award the following year. After this, he was appointed a San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital surgical resident.
When Murphy was a young boy, he had difficulty communicating with other people. Murphy may have had a poor social life because of this. While he has had a few difficult relationships, he has also been able solve them. Elaine, his girlfriend from one of his matches, was even proposing to him in a restaurant in Ireland.
Ray Reardon mentored him at 15 years of age. After Ray Reardon, he worked for Steve Prest until 2006. Willie Thorne served as his coach during the 2007/2008 seasons. He won the Challenge Tour's fourth and third events.
Murphy won China's Wuxi Classic. Murphy was elected to the elite top 16 after that win. He made his next appearance at the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy. Despite the tournament's shortest qualifying rounds of just five frames, he reached his quarterfinals and defeated teenage Luca Brecel.
He then won the German Masters Championship, the Ruhr Championship, as well the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy. He remained ranked number three for the entire 2008/2009 season. During that same season, he reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the UK Championship.