Shaun Murphy ended Zhao Xintong’s dreams of becoming the man to finally best the Crucible Curse and then insisted it would never be broken.
Snooker’s most famous hex means no first-time World Championship winner has successfully defended their title since the sport’s most prestigious tournament moved to the iconic Sheffield theatre in 1977.
Zhao became the 21st man to fail to break the curse as eighth seed Murphy produced a scintillating finish in their quarter-final clash, making breaks of 96, 80, 70 and 69 to turn an 8-8 tie heading into the final session into a 13-10 triumph. A mouthwatering semi-final with either John Higgins or Neil Robertson now awaits.
Zhao, who became the first Chinese world champion 12 months ago, was heavily fancied to break the Crucible Curse and entered the tournament as the bookies’ favourite after a superb season that has seen him win three ranking events in the past three months.
But after crushing that dream in style, Murphy is adamant the curse is simply too strong.
“No, never,” said the Englishman bluntly, when asked if the Crucible Curse would ever be broken. “It’s been here and there’s a reason why it’s called the Crucible Curse. You’ve got to be careful, those snooker gods are always listening.
“We’ve all watched enough and we’ve all been around the block long enough, I don’t think the Crucible Curse will ever be broken.”
Murphy made his own attempt to break the curse back in 2006, having won his first – and to date, only – World Championship 12 months prior as a 22-year-old.
Now 43, the world No 8 can look back and laugh at the arrogance of his more youthful self, who was convinced he would end the famous hex.
“I can’t really remember, to be honest, it’s that bloody long ago – 21 years ago,” laughed Murphy. “I know I started to think as I got through the event, got the first couple of wins under my belt, I started to think I was going to break the curse.
“That’s how silly I was, that’s how clueless I was as a 23 year old. I remember trying my best. Ironically it was Peter Ebdon – the man who is in my corner now [as a coach] – who beat me and he beat me well [13-7 in the quarter-finals]. I remember he could have had three or four 147s in that match. He was unbelievable.”
Although he got the best of Zhao in their quarter-final this year, Murphy was quick to pay credit to the Chinese cueman, who he believes has coped admirably with the pressure of becoming the face of snooker.
“I have to say what a fantastic world champion Xintong has been throughout the year,” he added. “He’s carried himself so well, carried the game, the reputation and the mantle of having that trophy everywhere he goes.
“And of course he’s delivered the goods on the table for 12 months as well. Came into this event totally unbeaten, won all three of the Players Series events through the year too. What a player he is, what a talent he is.”
