World Snooker Championship 2025: Shaun Murphy Backs Trump as ‘Champion Elect’ After Crucible Loss

Tournament favourite and world number one Judd Trump continued his relentless charge at the 2024 World Snooker Championship, seeing off reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy in a second-round classic at the Crucible.

Billed as the standout tie of the round, the match more than lived up to its billing. Trump’s scoring power overwhelmed Murphy early on, but a spirited late fightback from the 2005 world champion added plenty of drama.

Milestone Century Earns Trump £100,000 Bonus

Murphy impressed when chances arose, crafting some brilliant breaks, but the world number one was simply too clinical, rarely giving him any openings.

With the score finely poised at 7-6, Trump went into overdrive. The ‘Ace in the Pack’ reeled off five consecutive frames across Sunday evening and Monday afternoon, all with 50-plus breaks, including stunning centuries of 106 and 132, to move one frame away from victory.

Murphy rallied with a late surge, stringing together four high-quality frames with breaks of 77, 88, 99 and 112 to claw his way back into the contest. But Trump held firm to eventually seal a 13-10 win and book his quarter-final spot.

The 132 break in the 15th frame also marked a significant milestone for Trump — his 100th century of the season. It’s only the third time in history a player has reached the landmark in a single campaign, earning him a £100,000 bonus from World Snooker Tour. Only Neil Robertson (103 in 2013-14) and Trump himself (102 in 2019-20) have previously achieved the feat. 

Murphy: ”If I could bet, I’d back Judd”

Despite the defeat, Murphy spoke glowingly about Trump’s performance — even suggesting the tournament outcome is already a foregone conclusion.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s complicated. If he’s able to sustain that level of performance, he’ll win the tournament without question,” Murphy said.

“If I were allowed to bet on snooker matches, I’d be having as much money as possible on Judd Trump.”

“No one in the tournament is playing that well, across all facets of the game. I think he’s showing why he is the world number one. I think it’s his time for a second world title.”

The World’s Most Under-appreciated Snooker Star?

Murphy even went as far as to call Trump the most under-appreciated player in the world right now — despite his dominance and top ranking.

“It’s a strange world we live in, but in terms of snooker ability, he’s the most under-appreciated player in the world,” he told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

“I think so far Judd has managed to keep getting headlines based on his ability, but in the world we live in, that’s not enough to be famous.”

Why Trump Won’t Follow the Ronnie O’Sullivan Blueprint

Comparisons were naturally made between Trump’s profile and that of Ronnie O’Sullivan, whose charisma, controversy, and success have made him a household name. 

When asked what Trump might need to do to match that level of popularity, Murphy made it clear that O’Sullivan is in a league of his own — but suggested he might gladly trade some of that fame if given the chance.

“No, I don’t think so. I think [Ronnie] O’Sullivan did a lot of things he probably wouldn’t be proud of in his early career to gather headlines. And I don’t think Judd would want to go down that road,” Murphy said.

“You see O’Sullivan talks about a lot of things that he wishes he could change now that he’s an older man.”

O'Sullivan’s early controversies — including the infamous 1996 Crucible incident where he assaulted a press officer, resulting in a suspended ban and fine — helped build a “bad boy” image that paradoxically boosted his popularity. Murphy believes that’s not a route Trump would or should emulate.

Looking ahead, Murphy said he isn’t sure whether Trump will ever match O’Sullivan’s celebrity status, especially with the way media consumption is changing — though he did offer some tongue-in-cheek advice.

“I’m not sure, the days of tabloid media, they feel like they’re on the way out. I think Ronnie courted that for many years through the nineties. He played the media game better than anyone else, and that’s a world that’s changing.”

“We’re in the TikTok generation now. I don’t know if Judd has a TikTok account, but if he doesn’t, he should have one. I’ve got one,” he laughed.