April 6, 2026

Shaun Murphy - Part 3 (No Plan B — Turning Pro, Triple Crowns, and the Art of Winning)

Show Notes
Transcript

In Part 3 of our five-part conversation with snooker great Shaun Murphy, the story moves into the years when talent had to become a profession and ambition had to survive reality. Shaun reflects on the early certainty that snooker was never simply a dream, but the only plan. There was no fallback, no second option, and no diluted ambition. From the time he made his first century as a boy, he believed this would be his life.

This episode explores the difficult transition from gifted junior to hardened professional, and Shaun speaks with refreshing honesty about how unprepared he was for the tactical demands of the top level. He could score, attack, and thrill, but he had not yet learned the darker arts of match play — the safety, strategy, and patience that separate a dangerous talent from a true champion. His account of those early professional lessons is insightful, self-aware, and full of perspective for fans of both snooker and pool.

Along the way, Shaun shares terrific stories about seeking advice from the best players he could find, including a young Allison Fisher, and about the unforgettable education he received simply by being around great players and great events. He also offers a fascinating look at what it means to win snooker’s Triple Crown, why those BBC majors still carry such weight, and why joining that exclusive club remains one of the proudest achievements of his career.

The episode also dives into the magic of century breaks and 147s, the relationship between player and crowd, and the charitable purpose Shaun has attached to his scoring feats. Part 3 is a wonderful blend of humor, candor, and high-level insight — a chapter about growing up in the game, learning how to win, and still believing that the best may be yet to come.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPBA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

WEBVTT

00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:20.879
Allison asked you a little bit about the process of becoming a professional, but let's talk about your decision process that you went through.

00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:25.839
At what age do you remember having the thought, hey, I want to play this for a living?

00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:38.079
Um I mean, I don't remember the day, but I remember by the age by the time I'd made my first century break, that just after my 10th birthday, Snooker was Snooker was it.

00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.119
Like, you know, by then, already by then, Snooker was it.

00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.560
That was all I wanted to watch, talk about, study.

00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.880
It was definitely what I was going to do for a job.

00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:49.600
You know, that was we already talked about that as a family.

00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:51.520
That was definitely where I was going.

00:00:51.920 --> 00:01:03.280
Which I think when it came to leaving school, although it was I left school under very difficult circumstances, it made the decision quite easy because I I wasn't, you know, I wasn't particularly interested in it anyway.

00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.640
I did my, as I said, I did my GCSEs quite early.

00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.079
I passed them, so I always had them in the back pocket just in case.

00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:12.239
But we didn't live in a just in case family.

00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:13.200
We didn't have plan B.

00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:20.640
As again, my dad from like that sort of, you know, teacher training, kind of training people in achievement and stuff world that he came from.

00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:22.159
There was no room for plan B.

00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.040
We had plan A, and plan A had to work.

00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:26.000
And that was it, really.

00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:29.280
There was no question of what happens, what are we going to do if this doesn't work?

00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:39.040
Remember, we had, I'm sure it's a thing in the States, but definitely in the UK, you have the thing where, whilst you are still at school, the careers officer comes in to see all the kids.

00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:40.879
You know, what are you gonna be?

00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:41.680
What do you want to do?

00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:47.120
Because you, you know, you've got to make some decisions soon about what subjects you want to major in and this, that, and the other.

00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:51.840
And I didn't know this, but the head of year at the time, a guy called Mr.

00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:52.400
Perkins.

00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:54.799
Isn't it funny how you still refer to your teachers by Mr.

00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:55.599
or Miss, isn't it?

00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:56.400
That's weird, isn't it?

00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.040
I remember I couldn't tell you what this guy's Christian name was.

00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:00.000
It was Mr.

00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:01.840
Perkins, that's what I know him as.

00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.719
I didn't know, but he'd already had words with this careers officer who came in for the day.

00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:12.639
And, you know, we were sat in the waiting area, and the kids were going in and out of her office all day long, and it got to my turn, and we went in.

00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:14.240
She went, Right, what are you into?

00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:15.199
Snooker.

00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:15.680
Right.

00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:16.960
Don't know much about snooker.

00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:18.879
What skills do you need to be a snooker player?

00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:20.879
Geometry and this, that, and the other, and blah blah blah.

00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.319
I said, No, you know, seven hours a day practice, six days a week, she'd do it.

00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.719
And she's like, Well, I don't really know how to deal with this person.

00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.319
She she went out to get Mr.

00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:30.080
Perkins and he came back in.

00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:32.879
He said, I did tell you you would have a problem with Murphy, didn't I?

00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:33.840
I did tell you.

00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:37.680
And it was very much like that.

00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:43.599
I've all I wanted to be was a snooker player from being just, you know, old enough to see over the table.

00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.400
I was totally fascinated with it, totally hooked with it.

00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:56.639
Alison, I'm sure, will have told you or will tell you, you know, stories of 12-year-old me chasing her around Ron's Q Sports.

00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:58.080
It's not true.

00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:04.080
Asking her all sorts of, you know, mind-bendingly boring questions.

00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.599
You know, Alison's world champion at the time, and she's having to deal with me.

00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:09.280
How do you, Alison, how'd you do this?

00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:11.599
How do I what should I do in this?

00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.039
Will you leave me alone?

00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.000
Go, you know.

00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.120
No, not at all.

00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:16.159
You never said that.

00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:17.360
You never ever said that.

00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.280
But like I had my dad in my ear.

00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:24.800
My dad was in my ear going, You've got one of the best players on the planet in the club now.

00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:30.319
Why are you s why are you sat here with me talking, you know, non go and ask her how to do it.

00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:31.039
She knows.

00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:34.479
She's got all the answers of how to do what you want to look.

00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:35.840
Go and ask her.

00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.680
Go and hound that woman and find out the answers.

00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:42.719
That's cute.

00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:43.759
And that's true.

00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:45.759
That's that's exactly what happened.

00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:49.840
Do you have any specific recollections of some of those uh me?

00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:51.680
I remember him as a young boy.

00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.039
I do remember him as a young boy.

00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.800
And then the last time I saw you in person, I think it was in Shanghai.

00:03:57.439 --> 00:03:57.680
Yes.

00:03:57.919 --> 00:03:59.280
I came to snooker tournament.

00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:08.719
We happened to be there for a pool tournament, and I noticed a snooker tournament was on, so I definitely got over to that building to see all the old snooker players, and we went out for a drink, didn't we?

00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.400
No, that was lovely.

00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:15.919
That was a long time ago, but yeah, it feels like a couple of years ago, but it was it was probably more than that.

00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:17.360
Yeah, it was definitely more than that.

00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.079
And I think you were with Steve Davis, there was yourself.

00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.360
Who else was there?

00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:22.560
Can't remember.

00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.360
But we were having a couple of beers in the chat, catching up.

00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:26.560
Yeah, nice.

00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:26.959
Good.

00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:28.160
Yeah, it's really nice.

00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:34.319
They're nice memories to have, they're they're lovely times to think about, you know, especially as I say, it somehow for me.

00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.160
I mean, talk about luck.

00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:47.360
Mark Wildman, again, who bought the club where I played and his influence in the game, brings the World Ladies Snooker Championship to my snooker club.

00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:56.959
Like, you know, it just couldn't be any better for a young kid trying to learn how to do things to have the best players on the planet in the club for a week.

00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.800
It was just it was just too cut off.

00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:02.399
I seem to, I think I was still at school then, but I don't think I went to school that week.

00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.319
I seem to remember living in the snooker club, watching, listening, learning.

00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.360
He used to teach Karen Corr, didn't he, Mark Wildman?

00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:09.920
He did.

00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:10.879
He did.

00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:11.600
He did.

00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.439
The best one was an I listened.

00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:21.680
He he may well listen to this podcast, I don't know, but there was a billiards player, very good billiards player, English billiards, a prodigy of Mark's called Roxton Chapman.

00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:23.759
Do you remember that name, Alison?

00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:24.959
I don't know that one.

00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:26.399
I think he still plays a bit.

00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.680
He was from the Peterborough area, so similar neck of the woods to Karen.

00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:31.199
I think she was in down there somewhere.

00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:32.480
Correct, Lincolnshire.

00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.319
And this guy, Roxton Chapman.

00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:41.680
Well, there can only be one person in the UK with the name Roxton, and it was him, their name.

00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:44.240
And he had two brothers, this guy.

00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.480
And his brothers were called Rupert and Rudolph Rockman.

00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:55.199
Which is just as a kid, I found that just it's what it's one of the things I've remembered from being a boy.

00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:00.879
Now this guy was Roxton Chapman was an incredibly good English billiards player.

00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.839
I don't think he reached his potential, I think he went off and did some of the things.

00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:12.000
Wonderful company, great guy to be around, but I could never get over the fact that his brothers were called Rupert, Rupert and Rudolph.

00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:12.720
I just couldn't.

00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.439
What kind of parents do they have, huh?

00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:16.240
Mr.

00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:16.800
and Mrs.

00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:21.360
Chapman, given of three boys named them Rupert, Rudolph, and Roxton.

00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.759
I was just it was just too much for me to take, I have to admit.

00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.240
So remind us uh of the year you turned pro, 97-ish?

00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.199
Is that correct, yeah, 97, yeah.

00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:39.279
So you run through, you win three straight UK under-15s, you turn pro in about 97.

00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:47.199
Last a year, you say, they just made it almost impossible to keep your card if you're talking like a PGA tour professional, keeping your card, right?

00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.639
So you go back on the amateur circuit for what what sort of period of time?

00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.560
Because you won uh the English under-21 championship in 98.

00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:02.800
I was, well, it when I when I realized my year as a pro was going down the pan, I I sort of played on the amateur circuit at the same time.

00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.279
That was a strange idiosyncrasy of the tour at the time.

00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:08.399
I could they allowed you to play on both almost as a saver.

00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:16.800
So you can play on the amateur circuit at the same time, just in case it goes wrong, and then you'll get you're automatically sort of re-elected to the tour.

00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:17.920
Neither of which worked.

00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:23.040
I got booted off the pro tour, and I think I finished the top 20 of the amateur tour, got promoted.

00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.240
I think I finished 21st, something like that.

00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:27.439
It was painful anyway.

00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:35.439
So I I spent, including that season where I played both, I had three seasons back on the amateur circuit.

00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:43.360
You know, came very close a couple of times to walking away from it, you know, where I was just like, you know, this, this just isn't, this isn't what I thought it was going to be, you know.

00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:45.279
This this hasn't gone how I thought it was gonna go.

00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.639
You know, we've we've all put there's a lot of people put a lot into this.

00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:50.160
Just hasn't worked, you know.

00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:51.600
We've we've given it a good go.

00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.120
But I was never playing it, I never wanted to play it to just make the numbers up.

00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:59.759
I wasn't, I, you know, becoming a professional snooker player was never a goal of mine.

00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:01.439
I wanted to win the world championship.

00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:02.879
That would that I wanted to be a winner.

00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:08.639
I didn't, you know, you get some people, they go, oh, well, if I could just turn pro, if I could just be a pro, that would be my goal.

00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:09.839
That was never a goal for me.

00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.120
It was never a target.

00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:15.439
So I took very little out of those two or three seasons on the secondary tour.

00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:23.040
I found that very hard while some of my peers who we'd grown up together and frankly they weren't as good as me, were doing better than me.

00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:28.160
But you know, they were they were they were far ahead and they were winning matches that I wasn't.

00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.120
And ultimately, that's that's what you're judged on, isn't it?

00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:33.440
It's not about potential or how good you used to be.

00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:34.799
It's did you win that match?

00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:46.720
Like there were there were guys who we'd grown up with as kids who, as I say, they they they weren't as good as me as a junior, but through their late teens and early twenties, they accelerated past me a little bit.

00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:48.159
And I think that kicked me into gear.

00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:54.559
I remember thinking, really, you know, I should be I should be doing better than X fill in the blank.

00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:59.039
Let's go and work a bit harder and manage to get back on the tour then after a few years.

00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:00.480
Yeah, well you mentioned that first.

00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:03.840
You you admitted your game really wasn't ready.

00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:05.200
Well, no, not at all.

00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:13.039
So, you know, particularly for the pool playing listeners that we have who may not know a lot about Snooker, try to relate it to pool if you can.

00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.440
But what aspects of your game weren't ready?

00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:21.440
I mean, what really differentiates the sort of the really fine amateur player from an elite professional?

00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:29.840
Well, I would say it's probably what what would differentiate, you know, a good nine ball player from a an average good nine ball player, uh, you know, a world beater to everyone else.

00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:33.440
It's it's probably the defensive strategic part of the game.

00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:48.960
Uh, you know, I I'm not an expert on nine ball, I would have to hold my hands up from the start and say that, but I know enough about it to know that you know, I think if I walked into a game with a with a a very average pro nine ball player, uh, you know, I probably wouldn't win it.

00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:52.559
You know, I I might be better at potting balls as a snooker player.

00:09:52.720 --> 00:10:05.679
But your your ability to make the game difficult for your opponent, you you know, to to the tactical side of it, to stop your opponent from potting, would be what would be my that would be my Achilles heel in nine ball.

00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.120
And it was my Achilles heel as a kid playing snooker when I turned pro.

00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:19.759
You know, I was I remember my first pro match was against an Irish pro called Dermot McGlinchy, who you'd have to be a real snooker geek to know the name Dermot McGlinchy.

00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:21.840
I think I think I remember that name.

00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:30.480
And his family had come all the way from Ireland to watch this match between Dermot and I at the Plymouth Pavilions, where these qualifiers were.

00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:41.120
Not to watch Dermot, but to watch this young, you know, half-Irish snooker player they've heard of demolish their son.

00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.000
And that's not how it went.

00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.679
Spoiler alert, that's not what happened.

00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:55.039
You know, because whilst this guy he couldn't pop balls like I could, he couldn't make sentries like I could, but he could stop me from doing it.

00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:58.720
He had a side of the game that I just hadn't encountered as a junior player.

00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:04.240
There was nowhere in my early life I encountered that type of game.

00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:05.600
Yeah, yeah.

00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:08.080
So Dermot was tying you up in knots, was it?

00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.240
Oh, oh goodness me, he was playing shots that were just they were just cruel.

00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:14.559
And you just like to play offense.

00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.279
I just wanted to, yeah, I just wanted to attack.

00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.200
And I was like, well, eventually I'm gonna run enough balls here, aren't I?

00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:23.200
I'm just gonna I will beat him.

00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:26.320
I think I lost 5-3, shook his hand, and that was it.

00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:27.919
We went and got fish and chips outside.

00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:28.639
It was unbelievable.

00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:32.559
It was just it was it was an awful baptism into the pro tour.

00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.679
Okay, well, I remember being 3-1 behind at the interval.

00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.600
My dad met me in the you know players' lounge backstage.

00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:41.440
He said, How how how are you feeling, son?

00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.440
I said, not enjoying it to be honest.

00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:44.720
Don't like it.

00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:46.720
Don't like it at all.

00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:47.360
Yeah.

00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:55.200
And it took me, I know I said it jokingly earlier on, I mean, I still would always err on the side of attack rather than defence.

00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:56.960
That's just it's just who I am.

00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.159
If we go playing golf tomorrow, I will be going for every pin.

00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.360
It's just it's just how I play sport, it's just who I am.

00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:09.600
But it took me a long time to learn in Snooker that you've got to be as good at that as you have at everything else.

00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.919
You know, uh you've really got to have that.

00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.919
It's not just about potting balls, there's a lot more to the game than that.

00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:17.679
I think it's a mindset, isn't it?

00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:21.600
Because you've got one of the straightest Q actions in the world, you're known for that.

00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:24.559
So if I could pot balls like you, I'd be attacking, of course.

00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:29.600
At your level, the safety game, like I've watched Mark Selby a lot.

00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:37.200
There's just that little bit extra, isn't there, that's nailing it to the rail or behind another ball where they can't get to the reds at the end of the table.

00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.120
It's just another dimension, isn't it?

00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:40.559
The safety game.

00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:50.720
I mean, whilst we're talking about Mark specifically, I mean, his his his knowledge of the angles and tactical play and when to play that shot versus that shot is better than almost anyone.

00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:55.600
But what doesn't get spoken about enough, in my opinion, is his ability to predict.

00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:59.919
Let's say he's snookered and he can't see the ball he's got to play.

00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:14.080
His ability to get out of the snooker and hit two or three cushions and accurately predict where the object ball's gonna finish and leave it safe is like it's otherworldly.

00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:14.799
Yeah.

00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.840
And he does it that often that you have to say, do you know what?

00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:19.039
That's not luck.

00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:20.960
There's some skill in that.

00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:22.000
He's practiced that.

00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:27.840
He's able to go two, three cushions, work out exact and he knows where that ball's gonna finish.

00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.039
Whereas the rest of us are just going, well, I just want to hit the ball.

00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.320
He's trying to get you in trouble from being in trouble.

00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:36.720
It's a different you know, it's different.

00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.120
He's like the Efren Reyes of kicking.

00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:44.240
Exactly what I was thinking about that brings to Snooker, it's amazing.

00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:55.120
Mark, I mean, uh for a lot of time probably people were saying, Oh, this Efren Reyes kid, he's just so lucky, but but when you repeat that and repeat that year after year after year, you realize, no, no.

00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.200
That's another worldly skill.

00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:58.080
It didn't take that.

00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:10.399
Yeah, there's no looking at he brought a dimension to pool that had never been witnessed before because I was around it and assured from all the other top players that, you know, the Americans are the best in the world.

00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:14.960
And I wasn't nationalistic, but until Efran came, that had been true.

00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:28.159
And then I'm seeing shots played where he's not just kicking, but he's kicking to a particular side of the ball that creates separation and angles, and and sometimes he can score them and he's confident with it that you'd never witnessed.

00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.399
Before that, we just bludgeoned into him and tried to hope that something happened, you know.

00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.639
So as hard as you can.

00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.639
But part of it is that it's not a glamorous side of the sport, you know.

00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:43.360
And so Sean's talking about he wants to knock in centuries, and that's fun, and it's very gratifying.

00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.159
You know, when it hits the pocket, you feel that where when you hit a good safety, there's no exuberance.

00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:49.840
You don't say, oh, look at that shot.

00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.080
It's not a 50-yard field goal, you know.

00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:58.159
So we tend to not practice it because you don't get that immediate reward that you would like to feel.

00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.759
I I mean I I I know Mark Selby, for instance.

00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:10.720
I know he practices that, you know, at the end of every practice session, he'll spend an hour working on kicking and getting out of snookers and laying snookers, and that's why he's so good at it.

00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:11.360
Fantastic.

00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:16.559
You know, I'm practicing these lumps and these exciting entertaining shots.

00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:17.919
He's not.

00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:22.080
You do have some entertaining shots too.

00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:27.759
I've seen of quite a few of those, those reverse English ones where you're making balls in the side pocket and crazy stuff.

00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:28.960
Yeah, there's a few out there.

00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:30.639
Yeah, there's a few out there.

00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:35.200
Um of course we've just sadly lost one of our big commentators over here, John Virgo.

00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:38.240
He just passed away and he's on all of these clips.

00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:47.120
You know, his voice is gonna live forever, and a couple of these clips they've gone viral over the years, you know, sort of semi-trick shots that are played from a snookered position.

00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:48.799
And he's commentating on them.

00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.759
So they're nice to see, and it they're also nice to hear his voice, you know.

00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:52.720
Yeah, definitely.

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:53.519
All right.

00:15:53.600 --> 00:16:00.960
So, Sean, at the top, as we talk about your professional career, um, of course, Dally mentioned that uh you had won the career triple crown of snooker.

00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:05.440
Now, a pool player may not fully appreciate how significant that is.

00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:08.960
Winning the world championship, the UK championships, and the Masters.

00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:10.960
That's a big deal, isn't it?

00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:12.879
It's a big deal in Snooker.

00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:18.240
Yeah, it's you know, it's it's our Grand Slam, you know, in in in other sports, certainly tennis, golf.

00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.799
You know, if you've won all four of the majors, you've won the Grand Slam in in Snooker.

00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:28.960
If you win the the three, basically it's the three events that are on BBC, you know, filmed by the BBC here in the UK.

00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:31.120
Obviously, they're on the syndicated around the world.

00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:34.000
You can watch them all live now anywhere in the world, which is a big change.

00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:36.080
Certainly even since I've turned pro, you know.

00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.080
You can watch Snooker anywhere now.

00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:40.000
That didn't used to be the way of it.

00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:49.440
But yeah, if you win the three majors, the three triple crown events, you're deemed to be a triple crown member, I suppose.

00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:49.759
Yeah.

00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:59.440
And when I beat I beat Neil Robertson in the 2015 Masters final, the first thing he said to me was, Welcome to the club.

00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:06.000
I think at the I think at the time I became the the tenth player to to join that club.

00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:12.079
So it's it's you know, when you think about all the players that have played, and of course, you know, if you go back far enough, the triple crown wasn't a thing.

00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:28.160
You know, it's a commercial idea that's fairly new, but you know, there aren't that many players who've won all three of those majors, you know, growing up in the UK in the 80s, 90s, those BBC events were seen as like the holy grail of Snooker.

00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:34.799
You you know, we have between 20 and 25 other events around the world, you know, throughout the season.

00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:40.079
Some of them massive in their own right, both in terms of stature and prize money and all the rest of it.

00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:46.880
But the BBC majors are seen in just that little bit higher esteem, I think.

00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:50.240
They've got that historical element, certainly here in the UK.

00:17:50.480 --> 00:18:00.160
And anyone in the States, for instance, listening to this who might have been a snooker fan throughout the 80s when it was very niche, you know, they would have got their snooker love from the BBC events.

00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:01.680
That's where it would have come from.

00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.799
So those events are very special and they remain so.

00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:12.720
And yeah, so to be one of the only eleven players now in the history of the game who've won all three is um yeah, I'm very proud of that.

00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:35.839
So amongst the members of that exclusive club then, I mean, you do you have a secret handshake, or do you have a jacket you wear, a medal, or a lapel pin, or uh Well, we have we have uh this year will be our second, but last year we totally ripped off the Masters Golf and have the we had the inaugural champions dinner the night before the tournament started last year at the Crucible.

00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:36.240
Yeah.

00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.160
That's and we do have a jacket.

00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.079
It's not as nice as the green jacket.

00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:45.279
I did ask them why they hadn't made the jackets out of the snooker cloth that we use.

00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:46.400
I thought that was a good idea.

00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:53.519
But we've got we've got these black, they're like black velvet jackets with the World Trophy emblazoned on them.

00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:55.839
They're, you know, we we've only done that for a year.

00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:02.000
It does beg the question why has it taken so long for something like that, a champion's dinner, to be a thing.

00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:10.079
I think they were worried about be just copying the Masters Golf, but eventually they've cracked and thought, you know what, that's a good idea, we're gonna do it.

00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:11.920
So this year we'll be number two.

00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.240
In fact, today I just sent off my menu choices for the dinner.

00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:21.839
There's a heavy Chinese influence in it this year with our defending champion Zhao Zintong choosing the menu.

00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:22.720
Yeah, there you go.

00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.279
So yeah, it's a bit of a stab in the dark.

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.680
Does he have to pay the bill, by the way, the defending champ?

00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.000
Do they have to have to pick up the dinner tab or not?

00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.079
I don't think he does, but you know what?

00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:33.200
He's earned that much this year.

00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:34.079
I think if you are.

00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:35.599
He should, he should chip it.

00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:36.480
I think he could add that.

00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:38.400
I think he could manage it.

00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:39.119
Yeah.

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:43.839
All right, so over 700 century breaks career-wise.

00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:45.680
Alison, how many do you have?

00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.160
No, nothing like him.

00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:49.519
That's incredible.

00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:50.799
It is incredible.

00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.799
What's it mean to you when you make a century now?

00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:59.359
You know, is it uh it's just a century or is it always a big deal?

00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.680
It means quite a lot to me for a couple of reasons.

00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:06.319
I mean, I I sort of really I don't like particularly singling myself out.

00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:11.920
But I I I do something when I make a century that it sort of seems to be unique at the moment in Snooker.

00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.240
You know, I I I sort of interact with the crowd a little bit.

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:20.240
I always think it's weird when the crowd applaud and the player doesn't sort of acknowledge the crowd, at least.

00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:25.519
You know, imagine Phil Mickelson makes the birdie and he gets his birdie and he tips his hat, and it's just normal, isn't it?

00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:35.359
It's normal for if you went to the theatre and applauded somebody at the end of an aria or an end the end of a what and they just walked off the stage, you know, it would be weird.

00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:40.640
I always think it's weird when a snooker player makes a sentry break and doesn't even look at the crowd.

00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.400
So I make a deal of it now.

00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:45.200
When I make a sentry and the crowd, you know, cheer for the century.

00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:56.400
I always sort of look in the crowd and applaud thank them and nod nod you know as an appreciation, and then if you make a total clearance again, there might be a trick shot at the end of it or whatever, and just interact with them a little bit.

00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:58.400
I think that's good.

00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:01.279
I think it's good to thank the crowd for their appreciation.

00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:01.839
Yeah.

00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:07.599
Secondly, and far more importantly, I used to be a patron of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:11.599
I'm I'm now a patron of the Rainbows Hospice for Children in Leicestershire.

00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:14.079
And I again copied Phil Nicholson.

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:14.480
Yeah.

00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:18.400
Who unknowingly has become a bit of an influence in my life over the years.

00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:24.880
Every century break I make, I donate a hundred pounds to the Rainbows Hospice.

00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:25.519
Nice.

00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:28.400
I mean listen, you know, it's not life-changing money.

00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:33.920
Uh maybe I I need to convince John Trump to donate for his centuries because he makes far more than me.

00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:39.279
But I made 58 last season, so they got a check for nearly six thousand pounds.

00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:40.160
Uh lovely.

00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.559
If that makes a small difference for somebody somewhere, then it's worth it, isn't it?

00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.400
I'm I think I'm up to fifty this season.

00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.799
So I'm I'm on track to donate more this year than last year.

00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:55.599
Um that's that's far more important than it is.

00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:56.799
It's a wonderful thing to do.

00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:58.400
Message to everybody.

00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.039
Yeah.

00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.680
And you're

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.160
Your maximum break number now is how many?

00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:03.359
Do you know what?

00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:04.559
There's a bit of a debate about this.

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.839
It's nine or ten.

00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.119
I've got ten, but I thought maybe you've added to that count.

00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:10.160
No, I haven't.

00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:10.319
No.

00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:11.680
I I I think, well, you've got ten.

00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:12.400
Let's go with ten.

00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:13.359
Let's go with ten.

00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:15.119
Let's go with the bigger number.

00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.079
Yeah, it's funny.

00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:20.559
I've made a few in the last few seasons, actually, and it and it's sort of that number's increased quite rapidly.

00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:27.359
I was sort of I think I'd only made a handful maybe ten seasons ago, and then I I made quite a few in in quick succession.

00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:38.240
Something I worked on with an old coach, Chris Henry, who, again, you know, is a snooker player at heart, but has been in the world of motivational speaking and character development and all that type of thing.

00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:40.400
And he really came at it when we started working.

00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:41.519
Like, what do you want to achieve?

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:42.559
How are we going to work at it?

00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:50.880
It was very specific-led, you know, that kind of targeted approach at becoming better at certain things, and making 147s was one of them.

00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:57.599
It was something I'd always struggled with getting towards the 147 and being a bit twitchy about being a bit nervous about it.

00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:03.359
You know, I nearly made one at the world championships once I'd like I couldn't stand still to hit the ball long enough.

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:05.599
You know, I was so nervous, it meant so much.

00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:06.720
Yeah.

00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.400
But uh I thought I've got that under control more in the last year.

00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:12.880
I was gonna say, what was it like making that first one?

00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.880
The very first one, Maxi.

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:19.359
Yeah, it was yeah, it was it was just as you can imagine, totally nerve-wracking.

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:30.000
Like just, you know, you look back at some of the greats that have done it, like O'Sullivan's Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum in 1997 at the World Championships in five minutes, eight seconds.

00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:30.799
Insane.

00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.279
Like it's just ridiculous.

00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.079
I mean, I I made one at the shootout a few years ago.

00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:39.039
A shootout, for those that don't know, is a timed event.

00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:47.440
You only have 20 seconds a shot for the first five minutes, and then it's 10 seconds a shot for the remaining five minutes of a 10-minute match.

00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:51.359
When that event started, they said, Well, no one will ever make a hundred break in it.

00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:54.960
I think there's been 20-something hundreds in it over the last few years.

00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:02.720
And then a few two seasons ago, I had a 1-4-7 in it, and bearing in mind that's timed, it's against the clock, and it was still slower than Ronny.

00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.240
Oh, wow.

00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.680
His was still faster than mine.

00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:08.799
That's incredible.

00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:10.079
Yeah, madness.

00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:11.039
It is madness.

00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.359
Yeah.

00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:17.519
The 1-4-7s, I think a bit like a hole in one or a nine-yard finish or whatever it might be in, you know, in other sports.

00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.599
They're magical, you know, they're special.

00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.799
They really are.

00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:25.680
And the only thing in Snooker that comes close to the buzz of a 1-4-7 is winning the tournament.

00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:28.400
You know, winning a match here or there doesn't come close.

00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.240
Great performances don't come close.

00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.240
The 1-4-7, the only thing better than doing that is the buzz of actually being there stood with the trophy at the end.

00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.680
That's that's how special they are.

00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:38.240
Yeah.

00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:47.839