SNOOKER star Shaun Murphy has revealed he remains estranged from his father and regrets their relationship has become irreparable.
Should the Magician, 42, win a second world title over the next three weeks, it is “upsetting” that his dad Tony, a former pro golfer and high-flying Mercedes-Benz executive, will not be in his corner.
Shaun Murphy’s relationship with dad Tony has broken down but the snooker star ‘wishes him no malice’[/caption]
Murphy has admitted his dad has never met his own daughter, while seeing his son only once, when he was just a year old[/caption]
Tony played a pivotal role in his son’s snooker upbringing until he split from his wife when Murphy was a teenager – but the pair have not spoken for many years.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Murphy – who has two children – said he bears no malice or ill-feeling towards his dad.
But Murphy, who is also a top keynote speaker, admitted: “It’s very, very disappointing and very upsetting how that has worked itself out.
“As a father now myself, I see the breakdown over that relationship through totally different lenses and from a different perspective than I ever did.
“We haven’t spoken properly for a long, long time.
“I always thought that as the son, when I chose and wanted to go back through the door of reconciliation with my father, that that door would be open to me.
“I always assumed as the son that opportunity would be there.
“It turns out I was wrong. It takes two to tango. You know, I have offered him an olive branch several times. Including very recently.
“And somehow he has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
“You’d think that that man that raised me and I grew up with… well, actually I don’t know him at all.”
Murphy admits he ‘feels’ for his dad amid the breakdown in their relationship[/caption]
Murphy continued: “He’s not the man I thought he was. I wish no malice at all. I wish him no ill whatsoever.
“But he doesn’t have a relationship with me. Nor my brother and sister, their families, their children…
“He has met my son once when he was one year old. He has never met my daughter and it doesn’t look like he will.
“He’s the only one who’s missed out in that situation. I feel for him. I wish it was different but it’s not.”
Murphy grew up in the Northamptonshire village of Irthlingborough and lived a comfortable life until the 1987 Black Monday financial crash.
More on Shaun Murphy
SHAUN Murphy spoke exclusively to The Sun about his rollercoaster life and career in snooker….
One minute “we had a nice life, a nice house, two holidays a year, two new Mercs on the drive” and then the “bank took everything away”.
The family came close to losing everything, including their home, until the charity of neighbours saved them from becoming homeless, giving them a property at a discounted rent rate.
It was years later that Murphy managed to secure a five-year £5,000-a-year commercial deal with local firm Dr Martens that was beneficial to his snooker progression.
Yet until then, the 2005 world snooker champion and his family “lived by the seat of our pants for years”.
He said: “Carboot, jumble sales, house clearances. I watch Bargain Hunt now on TV and I think, ‘That was my life. I go into an antique fair and it’s like being ten again.’”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins