Shaun Murphy did not want to watch back one part of his UK Championship win over Junhui (Image: Eurosport)
refused to watch a television replay of a horror moment during his win over Ding Junhui. The Englishman won a tight match 6-5 after overcoming an embarrassing moment midway through.
Murphy revealed that he suffered from a complete lack of composure when he missed what seemed an easy shot while leading 5-3. He attempted to pot a red but his effort rebounded off the cushion and well away from the hole.
The 42-year-old was in a chipper mood when he spoke to Eurosport after his win and jokingly refused to re-watch the moment that left him red-faced.
“I was trying so hard [that] I didn’t really play with any freedom until three-each, when I got my nose ahead. I made such a mistake at 5-3, missing a sitter of a red to the middle.”
Murphy was informed that he was about to be shown a replay of the incident in question.
He quipped: “Well I’m not going to watch it!”
That prompted laughter in the studio before Murphy continued: “It’s just absolutely awful. I think I changed my mind on that shot at least five times while I was sat down. It’s just a total, total lack of composure. Total lack of composure.
“I couldn’t get my thoughts [together]. I rushed to the table thinking, ‘This is my chance, this is the moment’. I’m all over him to that point and I’m thinking, ‘Do it now’.
“I’ve run to the table like a 20-year-old rookie and changed my mind. I didn’t commit, I didn’t do any of the things that you would teach any players out there. Then the game turns, you miss another one in the next frame, now you’re shaking hands at five-each.
Shaun Murphy defeated Ding Junhui at the UK Championship (Image: Getty)
“You’re thinking, ‘I should be home and hosed here!’. If I’d lost, I’d have fronted up and said that you don’t deserve to win when you miss balls like that.”
Jimmy White suggested that Murphy should not be too down on his bad miss and told him he should be “delighted” with his performance.
The 2025 world champion said: “What I must say, I must pay tribute to Ding. When I had the 100 to go 5-3, I thought I’d broken his back. I didn’t think he’d get up out of his chair, [but] he stood up to be counted and made two really good hundred breaks to level the match at five-each.
“I must give him massive credit for that because that takes guts. Someone has to win and someone has to lose. To stand up and be counted in that manner, I thought he did very well.”