Shaun Murphy says snooker event that is 'best some have ever been to' is here to stay

Shaun Murphy has hailed snooker's expansion into the Middle East at the Saudi Arabia Masters. The tournament, which is in full swing in Riyadh, boasts a £2.3million prize fund, with the winner set to pocket £500,000.

That matches the reward for winning the World Championship, with the event already being dubbed the sport's 'fourth major'. Despite concerns that the World Championship could swap Sheffield for Saudi, something Murphy and many cue sport enthusiasts oppose, the 2005 world champion is thrilled about the new tournament's potential.

"When they come in and bang in a tournament that is equal to the World Champs in terms of prize money, certainly in terms of final prize money, you have to take note," he told the Mirror.

"We've seen the growth of snooker in China over the last 20 years. We started out there with an event nowhere near as prestigious as this. To have a 10-year deal in our hands is a great starting point for us.

"To be back here [following the invitational Riyadh Season World Masters earlier this year] with a full-field ranking event is fantastic. At the moment, it looks like a roaring success.

"Lots of players have already been on their social media calling it the best event they've been to. If this is how it's starting, imagine what it could be like in five years."

Golf fan Murphy, who has paid close attention to the emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, added: "Hopefully these events will naturally raise the bar of all the others. Those events will have to keep up.

"We've seen it in the LIV Tour, which has now been widely accepted by the golf masses. The player reward systems have increased on the PGA Tour to try and make their tour more attractive than the LIV tour."

On the prestige of the new tournament, Murphy believes it is not yet on par with the classics. He said: "I think everybody knows that the World Championship, the UK [Open] and the Masters are bigger than everything else. It's not all about prize money, but prize money is a massive factor of course. You can't buy history, but I think everything else is for sale."

The Crucible in Sheffield, which is synonymous with the World Championship, sees its contract to host the tournament expire in 2027. Murphy wants the tournament to stay put and thinks the debate over its venue is still premature. He said: "It's got three years left. Are we going to have this debate for three years every time we go to Sheffield? I hope not.

"I'm not sure I like this public negotiation, this public execution of Sheffield City Council [which has been put under pressure by former WST chairman Barry Hearn to provide a much bigger arena for the tournament]. But I'm not a salesman, it's not my job.

"I've got no idea what the future of snooker in Sheffield holds. My hope is that it stays. I think that 50-year connection, that history, that heritage - other sports would kill for that.

"It's like football at Wembley, tennis at Wimbledon, Masters golf at Augusta. As I say, you can't buy history. It would be a very hard decision to walk away from the Crucible. It's not something anyone would do easily.

"You could argue that if the World Snooker Tour had the opportunity to take it around the world for much more money, they have a duty of care to the players to do that. It's an interesting time for sure."

Murphy admits his desire for the Worlds to stay at Crucible is not necessarily shared by his peers. The 42-year-old said: "I think it's 50/50. People accept a 50-year connection to Sheffield is very special and, to some degree, irreplaceable.

"But I know a lot of players who aren't bothered about that. They're just interested in what the bottom line is and what the winner takes home. They'd play a snooker tournament at the top of Mount Everest if the prize money was right.

"Players can think what they like but ultimately it's not up to us. It's up to World Snooker and they make what they think is the best decision for the whole game."