Neal Foulds looks back on last week's Masters, where Shaun Murphy proved to be an 'irresistible force' as he marched to another Triple Crown success.
There’s so much so say about last week’s Masters, and it's all good. The snooker was fantastic, full of terrific matches, we had a quite outstanding winner in Shaun Murphy, and the venue itself was a triumph, making for a fantastic experience for visiting fans.
I said last time that the increased prize money this year was another boost for this famous old event, but in the end, I’m not sure that was top of anyone’s list. Nevertheless, there has been a clear effort to beef things up at this tournament, and between sessions there was loads going on to ensure the paying customers were catered for like never before. It really was a job well done.
And it couldn’t have started in any better fashion on the table. We had a brilliant match to start between Neil Robertson and John Higgins, and as disappointed as we were that there was no Ronnie O’Sullivan, on the table at least, his replacement didn’t let anyone down.
In fact, he was probably the one man John didn’t want to see stepping in at the last minute, given the Australian has given him plenty of problems over the years. The run Robertson put together to eventually win 6-5 from 5-1 behind really was something special and set up the week perfectly.
But that wasn’t the only cracking match we got to savour. And that’s the thing about the Masters. All the matches come under the very closest scrutiny, with just one game per session. It’s all eyes on you when it’s your turn to take to the table, and I can’t remember any of the ties really disappointing.
With the likes of Neil, Luca Brecel and Shaun coming back to form, it was a welcome reminder of the sheer depth of talent we have in snooker nowadays. We can sometimes be blinded into thinking it’s the Judd Trump show – because it so often is – but there are so many terrific players out there who are capable of putting it all together when getting on a roll, just like Shaun did.
Shaun’s form and standard of play throughout was outstanding and he was a thoroughly deserving winner. I don’t think anyone could argue with that. You wondered whether the form he showed in his first few matches might desert him at the weekend, but there wasn’t even a hint that might happen. It was relentless, remorseless, and utterly brilliant.
It’s 20 years since he won the World Championship as a qualifier and what a career he’s gone on to enjoy. He’s won all the big events, including the Masters on two occasions now, and when he’s at his best, he is an almost irresistible force.
He does tend to come in and out form, and his style of play – all-out aggression and a reliance on his excellent long potting and heavy scoring – does mean he will endure bad runs from time to time. His tactical play is improving, I will say that much, but his strong suit is his potting and break-building, and nobody could live with that last week.
He’s always been extremely capable, high-class, and when he’s good, he’s as good as anyone in the game. It was nice to be reminded of just what a force he’s been, and winning an event of this magnitude at the age of 42 is a remarkable thing.
The Class of 92 have almost normalised such achievements, but they shouldn’t, and to have the success he’s had, playing against the likes of Ronnie and John for all these years, and then Judd and Neil and many more fine players, is a testament to Shaun's skill and technique.
That technique has never really changed. He’s been blessed with a beautiful cue action, but what about going through the whole of the Masters without missing a single shot with the rest? 51 from 51. Astonishing.
When you add a 147 maximum break into the mix, just days after blowing a great chance to make one, his week really did have it all. And ultimately, when we look back on all the snooker we saw, Shaun was the one who kept making the big headlines on the table.
He’s been one hell of a player, really, and when someone as good as Ronnie suggests that despite all the big titles he has won, that Shaun has possibly underachieved in the sport, like he did on Eurosport after the final on Sunday night, that tells you how highly he is rated by his peers, in this instance the greatest of them all.
People tend to forget that for all Shaun has won one world title, he lost in three more finals. Very few people remember the final he lost to John in 2009, but there were defeats to Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby in Crucible finals, too. Who knows, perhaps there's still time to put that right.
It was a good final on Sunday and for a short while, it looked like we might get a grandstand finish as Kyren rallied from 8-4 down to close to 8-7. But even then, Shaun never looked fazed and when his chances came, he took them like the champion he is.
It’s been well-documented that’s he’s been working with Peter Ebdon and it does look like his new coach has added some steel to his game. If Peter can instil even half of the grit and determination he had in Shaun, he’ll be a much better player for it.
Kyren played his part, and he was never going to lay down without a fight, but I thought he looked frustrated at the end. Perhaps, having worked so hard and played so well to beat Judd in their semi-final, he felt he was favourite to beat Shaun in the final.
Perhaps, too, he didn’t expect Shaun to keep producing such a high standard when we got to the business end on Sunday night. But you must give Shaun all the credit in the world. He hit him with a real onslaught in the afternoon session, especially those two centuries to finish, and didn’t relent in the evening.
I did think it was interesting to hear Kyren talking about Germany in his post-match interview, with the German Masters starting next week. This is a big tournament in its own right, and one Kyren has won before.
He said he intends to ‘smash it up’ in Berlin, which was refreshing to hear, with himself, Judd and a number of other big names expected to be on show.
I’ve said many times before that it’s so important we continue to push the sport all around the world, especially in Europe where there is a great appetite for snooker. This event in particular has always been very well supported.
The structure of the tournament has been changed this year, too, meaning there were no qualifiers played in the UK before Christmas and that all the matches will be played at the venue. That’s a very good thing as far as I’m concerned, most importantly for the fans who will be in for a real treat.
And then when you get down to the weekend, things really step up a gear. The Tempodrom is a brilliant venue for snooker and the passionate locals more than play their part in creating a great atmosphere.
It’s clear that I really enjoy this event and I'm looking forward to it already. We’ve just been treated to a great week at Ally Pally, and we might just be in for another in Berlin.
