Shaun Murphy believes snooker will have a bright future even after Ronnie O’Sullivan retires (Image: Getty)
Shaun Murphy has dismissed fears will be ‘finished’ when and his fellow ‘Class of 92’ stars retire. O’Sullivan, and have, in the view of many, carried the sport since turning professional in 1992, winning 14 world titles between them.
While past the peak of their powers, the trio are still playing at a high level as they all approach the age of 50. Retirement for all three is not far off, leading to question marks over the long-term future of the sport.
However, is sure snooker won’t lose popularity in their absence. His theory is backed up by a high-quality Masters, which saw O’Sullivan pull out on the eve of the tournament while Higgins and Williams crashed out in the first round.
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Speaking on his Murphy said: “We’ve all heard the stories, haven’t we, ‘snooker will be finished when Ronnie quits’, ‘when Ronnie jacks it in, it’s over’, ‘the Class of 92 are the leaders of the sport and when they leave, we’ll be in trouble’.
“I’m not sure if there’s any evidence to support that. Obviously, there are people in the game who move the needle more than others. That’s the same across all industries, it’s not unique to us.
“The same was said about Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, all of these players. It was the first time since 2010 or 2011 that one of the Class of 92 didn’t make the quarter-finals of the Masters. Everyone has their time.”
Shaun Murphy says Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams are far from finished (Image: Getty)
However, Murphy believes the illustrious trio have plenty of time left at the top level. He added: “I don’t think they’re finished. They’ve still got a lot of tournaments and victories left in them. I don’t think they’re anywhere near finished, those three, annoyingly so!”
He joked: “I wish they would all retire very quickly. It would certainly make our lives a lot easier! But no, I don’t think they’re going anywhere.
“Long may it continue. I think it’s great. When they’re in town, it’s still special. Lots of us were looking forward to what we refer to as ‘El Clasico’ – Ronnie against John [O’Sullivan had been due to play Higgins at the Masters before withdrawing and being replaced by Neil Robertson], which should have been the first round but wasn’t to be. But there will be more matches like that to look forward to.”