Jones’ vanishing trick on Murphy
SHAUN MURPHY saw his world title hopes go up in smoke yesterday against his Crucible bogeyman Jamie Jones.
The Magician lost a Betfred World Championship firstround thriller 10-9 in Sheffield against the world No 51 from Neath.
It was the second time in six years that the 2005 champion had been made to vanish by the 30-year-old Jones at the same stage of the competition.
And a bewildered Murphy, 35, was left wondering why Jones fails to pull more rabbits out of the hat at regular tour events.
Murphy said: “I had a chance in the decider and that’s what you want – but I missed it and that’s top-class sport. There were lots of other mistakes and chances in the earlier frames, though. Those little errors can come back to haunt you, and they did.
“I have to give credit to Jamie, it seems when he sets REPORTS foot in the Crucible there is a weird change in him.
“In his team I would want to work out how he plays like that here and then repeat it at regular tour events. Because playing like that, he should be much higher up the rankings.
“I’m just glad I won this tournament when I was young and didn’t understand fear and had no battle scars. Because now I’m older and more frightened.”
Jones, who beat Murphy 10-8 six years ago, now plays Kyren Wilson for a place in the quarter-finals – the stage he reached in 2012.
He said: “I need to prepare for every tournament like I do for the World Championship – I haven’t done that in a lot of my career and gone missing for events.
“I missed the first good chance in the decider and thought, ‘Oh no’ and that maybe it was gone – but then he missed straight away.
“That has to be the best win of my career, I have never felt pressure like that before.
“Obviously I beat Shaun here six years ago at the same stage, at the same times, on the same days and was also 5-4 down after the first session. Maybe it was meant to be.
“I probably took being a professional for granted a bit and did not dedicate myself to the sport but this season I have treated it properly. It might be paying off now.
“I did have a heart to heart with a mate a while ago, it was a realisation that I need to be harder on myself and push myself. The top players live on the table, it’s no coincidence.”
Mark Allen waded in to the Crucible football shirt ban row after easing into the second round.
The Masters champion beat debutant Liam Highfield 10-5 to set up a last-16 clash with world No1 Mark Selby’s conqueror Joe Perry. Allen then pointedly celebrated with super-fan Brian Wright, 48, in the front row – who is not allowed to wear his Coventry City shirts for the first time in 29 years.
World Snooker supremo Barry Hearn insisted last week that he wanted a stricter and smarter dress code for the blue-riband event – and also to avoid rival fans antagonising each other.
Allen said, however: “I went over to Brian at the end and just laughed with him that he didn’t have his football top on. He did say, ‘Wait until the final, I may have something in store’.
“Look, the world has gone nuts that you can’t wear a football top to come and watch snooker. I think one of Barry’s reasons was the image of the sport.
“What would you rather as a player – play in front of a packed house with people wearing football shirts, or play in China, as we do, in front of three people and a dog?
“It is a ridiculous statement to make and I’m sure Barry could have come up with a better reason than that.”