Shaun Murphy dishes dirt on snooker rival ‘you don’t want to wind up’ | Other | Sport
Shaun Murphy has labelled Ryan Day as the most hot-headed pro on the circuit following his World Snooker Championship defeat to Luca Brecel. That’s after the Welshman – known as ‘Dynamite’ – seemed on the verge of losing his cool during his first-round match at the Crucible against the 2023 winner.
Despite building a 5-1 lead in their clash, Day gave up nine of the last 11 frames as Brecel stormed to a 10-7 win. Self-styled as the Ronaldinho of snooker, the Belgian entertained the Sheffield crowd with an array of trick shots en route to a tense win. Masters champion Murphy gave a look behind the curtain as he commented on Day’s temperament. And he suggested the one-time British Open champion won’t have appreciated his opponent’s flamboyance around the table.
“The one thing I would say about Ryan – and I’ve known Ryan since we were kids – he’s not called ‘Dynamite Day’ because it starts with a D,” he said on the BBC (via the Daily Record). “It’s because he goes off. He’s the last player on the tour who you’d want to wind up.
“That little section of play from Luca, which he’s totally entitled to do, could be the catalyst that sparks Ryan. He’s taken himself off. He probably didn’t need to leave the arena for a comfort break.
“He’s probably taken himself off to give himself a talking to. He wouldn’t like Luca taking the mickey out of him. Which he wasn’t doing, but he might’ve interpreted it like that. He’s the last player on tour you’d like to wind up.”
Meanwhile, snooker legend Steve Davis observed a trend in Day’s performance that hinted at the mounting pressure affecting his game. And the six-time world champ spotted a significant shift as the game progressed.
“I commentated on the first session and Ryan made a century break first frame, he looked immaculate,” said Davis. “Then, all of a sudden, Luca started to become very erratic. Missing and leaving Ryan right in among the balls frame after frame.
“Every time that Ryan got a chance, he messed up the position. He found problems that he should never have had. Especially after winning the first frame so easily. And it seems like the same pattern is happening.
“When he’s presented with a chance that he should convert, he’s getting himself a bit too much under pressure. He’s probably thinking that he has to win the frame to kill this guy off, because he’s missing. He’s finding himself in a very strange scenario.”
Maverick Brecel, who notably entered the Crucible tournament spontaneously after being on holiday just 24 hours prior, differs from many pros in his casual but passionate approach to the sport and is the candid way he talks in interviews.
Speaking pre-tournament, he admitted to not ‘caring’ about winning. He said: “I just don’t really think a lot about winning tournaments and stuff like that. I just like playing the game. I’m more of a Ronaldinho type of player in snooker, so it’s all about just entertaining and fun and also having a nice life around it, that’s more important to me.”
