Murphy is left reeling by KO

SAD SHAUN’S TRIBUTE TO FORMER BOSS

SHAUN MURPHY paid an emotional tribute to his former manager after falling at the first hurdle in the BetfredWorld Championship.

The 2005 world champion lost 10-4 to qualifier Noppon Saengkham yesterday, just over two weeks since the death of World Snooker Tour director Brandon Parker.

Saengkham, 28, becomes only the third player from Thailand to win a match at the Crucible after James Wattana and Dechawat Poomjaeng.

But for Murphy, sadness over the recent loss of his close friend Parker far outweighed his early exit.

Parker, 55, managed many players, including Murphy, Neil Robertson,

Paul Hunter, Matthew Stevens, Barry Hawkins, Ryan

Day and most recently Kyren Wilson. He died at his home in Portugal after a long battle with illness.

Murphy said: “That performance did come as a surprise, my form has been good this season, so it was a shock.

“But the build-up to the tournament had no impact. I came here wanting to honour Brandon’s memory. You dream of winning the title and dedicating it to him. But I would never dishonour him by saying that has caused me a problem. I did attend his funeral in Portugal and then isolated.

“If it had meant missing this tournament I would still have gone. This is just snooker.” Saengkham said: “It is the biggest win of my life. I really didn’t believe I could beat Shaun here.” Three-time world champion Mark Selby beat Jordan Brown 10-6, and will play Saengkham in the last 16. Meanwhile, John Higgins, left, knows the warning signs when his rival Ronnie O’Sullivan is cutting loose. Crowd favourite O’Sullivan enjoyed the absence of fans, recording the fastest-ever win at the venue as he eased through the first round. Four-time champion Higgins, 45, speaking ahead of his clash today with Norwegian Kurt Maflin, said: “We know there are much more important things going on in the country, but if that’s what happens when Ronnie plays without a crowd then we need to get that vaccine pretty quick.”