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Shaun Murphy calls out ‘ridiculous’ gamesmanship tactic that is ‘ruining’ snooker
Masters champion Shaun Murphy feels one issue in snooker needs to be stamped out (Picture: Getty Images) Shaun Murphy believes toilet breaks have become a blight on snooker and an example of gamesmanship that has got out of hand. Players can obviously go for toilet breaks during matches, with even four-frame mini-sessions able to last a number of hours. However, the Magician believes that most of the time someone disappears from the playing area to go to the bathroom, it has ‘got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee, it’s good old fashioned gamesmanship.’ What exactly can be done about too many toilet breaks is difficult to say, it sounds like a human rights infringement to tell someone they can’t go to the toilet, but Murphy feels players are taking liberties and it needs to stop. ‘Toilet breaks. We have to talk about the epidemic of toilet breaks that are spoiling snooker action,’ Murphy said on his onefourseven podcast. ‘It is now getting ridiculous, guys. It is getting totally out of hand. It is ridiculous how many times players are leaving the arena to go to the loo. ‘And here’s where it gets spicy, because most of these exits from the arena have got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee, it’s good old fashioned gamesmanship. Murphy wants less stoppages in the middle of matches (Picture: Getty Images) ‘My opponent last week went to the toilet after the first frame of the match, then after the fifth frame after the interval. You’ve had 20-odd minutes to be ready to play. What’s going on? It’s getting ridiculous. It’s a joke.’ The recent Masters champion feels it slows down the game too much, spoils the viewing experience and has even impacted on television coverage. ‘Remember the old days when the BBC used to take absolute pelters for the amount of afternoon sessions that had to go off from live and onto the red button?’ Murphy questioned. ‘I spoke to someone very high up about this and they said the biggest contributing factor was the amount of unscheduled breaks the players took. ‘I think it’s ruining the game, I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s one of the biggest blights on our sport. ‘I go to the theatre quite a lot, imagine if you went to see a show and 15 minutes in the lead said, “Sorry guys I’m just going to nip off.” It can’t happen in any other form of entertainment. It’s totally ridiculous!’ Murphy was brilliant in winning the Masters at Alexandra Palace last month (Picture: Getty Images) On a very different note, it was announced on Tuesday that Murphy has stepped down from his role as WPBSA Players chairman. Explaining the move, he said it had been a stressful time in the role and after his brilliant recent Masters win he wanted to focus as much attention as possible on achieving more success on the table. ‘It’s been quite a turbulent year, politically, in snooker, certainly behind the scenes,’ Murphy said. ‘There’s been quite a lot of turbulence going on that has been very taxing, probably more taxing than I thought they would be. ‘And there’s no way of sugar-coating it, the win at the Masters a couple of weeks ago has really shone a torch on my own game and own self-belief, that I can actually still do it at the very cutting edge and top end of the sport. ‘I had started to think that had gone and started to look at other areas of the game where I could make a difference. That win has given me a tap on the shoulder to say, you can still do this. ‘You can’t be all things to all people and be everywhere all at once and it’s not a job I’m willing to give half of myself to. I’m either in or I’m out. At the minute I’m not able to represent the members as well as I want to so I think it right I stand aside and allow somebody else to take the reins.’ WPBSA Chairman, Jason Ferguson, said of Murphy’s departure from the role: ‘I would like to thank Shaun for his service during his time with us. Shaun has been a real leader for the players and was with us from the beginning of creating the concept of WPBSA Players as an arm’s length player led organisation. ‘Despite his heavy workload at WPBSA Players he has managed to produce incredible form on the table, which is testament to the quality of the player that he is, and I wish him all the best for the future.’
Shaun Murphy believes toilet breaks have become a blight on snooker and an example of gamesmanship that has got out of hand.
Players can obviously go for toilet breaks during matches, with even four-frame mini-sessions able to last a number of hours.
However, the Magician believes that most of the time someone disappears from the playing area to go to the bathroom, it has ‘got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee, it’s good old fashioned gamesmanship.’
What exactly can be done about too many toilet breaks is difficult to say, it sounds like a human rights infringement to tell someone they can’t go to the toilet, but Murphy feels players are taking liberties and it needs to stop.
‘Toilet breaks. We have to talk about the epidemic of toilet breaks that are spoiling snooker action,’ Murphy said on his onefourseven podcast.
‘It is now getting ridiculous, guys. It is getting totally out of hand. It is ridiculous how many times players are leaving the arena to go to the loo.
‘And here’s where it gets spicy, because most of these exits from the arena have got nothing to do with players needing to go for a wee, it’s good old fashioned gamesmanship.
‘My opponent last week went to the toilet after the first frame of the match, then after the fifth frame after the interval. You’ve had 20-odd minutes to be ready to play. What’s going on? It’s getting ridiculous. It’s a joke.’
The recent Masters champion feels it slows down the game too much, spoils the viewing experience and has even impacted on television coverage.
‘Remember the old days when the BBC used to take absolute pelters for the amount of afternoon sessions that had to go off from live and onto the red button?’ Murphy questioned. ‘I spoke to someone very high up about this and they said the biggest contributing factor was the amount of unscheduled breaks the players took.
‘I think it’s ruining the game, I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s one of the biggest blights on our sport.
‘I go to the theatre quite a lot, imagine if you went to see a show and 15 minutes in the lead said, “Sorry guys I’m just going to nip off.” It can’t happen in any other form of entertainment. It’s totally ridiculous!’
On a very different note, it was announced on Tuesday that Murphy has stepped down from his role as WPBSA Players chairman.
Explaining the move, he said it had been a stressful time in the role and after his brilliant recent Masters win he wanted to focus as much attention as possible on achieving more success on the table.
‘It’s been quite a turbulent year, politically, in snooker, certainly behind the scenes,’ Murphy said. ‘There’s been quite a lot of turbulence going on that has been very taxing, probably more taxing than I thought they would be.
‘And there’s no way of sugar-coating it, the win at the Masters a couple of weeks ago has really shone a torch on my own game and own self-belief, that I can actually still do it at the very cutting edge and top end of the sport.
‘I had started to think that had gone and started to look at other areas of the game where I could make a difference. That win has given me a tap on the shoulder to say, you can still do this.
‘You can’t be all things to all people and be everywhere all at once and it’s not a job I’m willing to give half of myself to. I’m either in or I’m out. At the minute I’m not able to represent the members as well as I want to so I think it right I stand aside and allow somebody else to take the reins.’
WPBSA Chairman, Jason Ferguson, said of Murphy’s departure from the role: ‘I would like to thank Shaun for his service during his time with us. Shaun has been a real leader for the players and was with us from the beginning of creating the concept of WPBSA Players as an arm’s length player led organisation.
‘Despite his heavy workload at WPBSA Players he has managed to produce incredible form on the table, which is testament to the quality of the player that he is, and I wish him all the best for the future.’
