Shaun Murphy's 'life saving' surgery and divorces after story shocked snooker
The former world champion is looking to win his second Masters title as he takes on Kyren Wilson in the final
Shaun Murphy could seal his second Masters title as he takes on Kyren Wilson in the final at Alexandra Palace.
The 42-year-old former World Champion heads into the showpiece final having made a stunning 147 maximum break in his semi-final victory over Mark Allen, which he described as "one of the best moments" of his snooker career. It was just the sixth maximum break seen at the tournament since it started in 1975, and came after Murphy narrowly missed out on pulling another one off against Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals.
"I can't believe it. It was an incredible moment, one of the best of my snooker career," he told BBC Sport. "I have wanted to make a 147 in one of the BBC events since I was a child."
Now only Wilson - who is looking for his first ever Masters win - stands in Murphy's way of sealing victory at the tournament for a second time, having beaten Robertson in the 2015 final. It would see 'The Magician' add to his 2005 World Championship win and 11 other ranking tournament titles, which in turn have helped him to achieve an estimated net worth of around ÂŁ5 million.
Away from the table, however, Murphy has experienced some difficulties in his personal life of late, having split with his wife Elaine in May 2023. The couple married in 2016 and went on to have two children - Harry and Molly - together, but got divorced despite moving to Dublin and "trying absolutely everything" to make the marriage work.
"We tried to reconcile and it will be nice to look back in years to come and know we tried absolutely everything to make our marriage work," he said after the split. "It's amicable. We move on as friends and our whole lives now become about raising our children and protecting them from everything that people go through in life, because life's not easy."
It was the second divorce that Murphy has gone through, having split with his first wife Clare in 2009. The Essex-born star moved to Rotherham in 2004 to be with her, and married her the following the year. However, the relationship began to deteriorate three years later, with a press story then shocking the world of snooker.
By his own admission, Murphy - who was previously a devout Christian - was "completely unprepared" for the recognition he received after becoming world champion and later admitted that he "fell foul of a couple of journalists who were looking for dirt".
He told the Guardian in 2023: "They found out that, at the time, I was heavily religious. Iâm an atheist now but back then I was deep down the rabbit hole of being a born-again Christian. Some unsavoury things were written about me which I didnât know how to handle.â
With his marriage already in trouble, Murphy reached his second world championship final against John Higgins, but was rocked the night before when it was reported in the press that he had spent the night with an escort.
His then-manager, Brandon Parker, issued a statement confirming that Murphy had slept with the woman but denied he had been unfaithful, stating that he did not have sex with her. It was also claimed in the story that they had met a religious youth group 10 years earlier.
âThatâs not quite accurate,â Murphy explained he addressed the controversy, after which he lost the final and Clare filed for divorce. âThis girl and I had dated in our teenage years and following the break-up from my wife at the time in 2008, she reconnected with me through Facebook.
âShe led me down the garden path a little and made up stories of what she did for a job. It turned out she was an escort. Nobody was more surprised than me and it was very unnerving to see these things written about you."
While he has gone through a tough time in his romantic life, Murphy has recently found new confidence and an upturn in form after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in 2022. The 42-year-old's weight ballooned to 20 stone and left him in a "very, very bad state mentally" with the surgery proving "life-saving" for him.
âThe surgery that I had in May last year has changed my life from top to bottom,â he told Eurosport. âI think whilst I did not go to see a doctor, had I have done I think someone would have signed me off with complete full depression. I was in a very, very bad state mentally.
âMy self-esteem was through the floor and I did not want to go out and play,â Murphy added. âI did not want to leave the house and that spiralled into feeling miserable and eating more. I don't think it is too extreme to say it was life-saving for me."
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