The Crucible is on par with Wimbledon and Wembley – Shaun Murphy proved it | Other | Sport
It’s the quiet that always gets you at the Crucible.
I was lucky enough to be inside the famous arena for the concluding session of the World Championship semi-final between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy on Saturday afternoon. We had the big build-up from enthusiastic MC Rob Walker, and the crowd was pretty much at fever pitch for the entrance of the two players.
From the semi-final stage of the tournament, players enter from the top of the staircase. The noise builds to a crescendo as they clamber onto the arena floor. It felt to me like the support was pretty much equal for both men. Murphy, a winner here 21 years ago, was aiming for his second title. Higgins, first victorious in Sheffield in 1998, was hoping to be king of the world for a fifth time.
Then, as play began, all went quiet. A breathless hush descended across the arena.
That said, it wasn’t long before a ringing noise from two separate mobile phones disturbed matters.
Referee Tatiana Woollaston was unimpressed, telling the crowd to switch off their devices and adding: “You don’t want to be the one to be asked to leave.”
On the balcony beneath me, Peter Ebdon – world champion here in 2002 and now Murphy’s coach – watched impassively for the first two frames as Murphy made superb breaks of 132 and 127 to level at 13-13.
It was mesmerising watching Murphy at work. He was striding cooly around the table, striking the ball like a dream.
Higgins dominated the next frame however, and Ebdon opened his book of notes. He spent some minutes scribbling away.
Higgins took frame 27 and then won the next too with a run of 88. Higgins 15 Murphy 13 at the interval. It was time for Ebdon to go and speak his words of wisdom to Murphy.
The atmosphere was raucous once more when the players emerged again for the climax of the match. This is a golden ticket in sport and the fans knew how lucky they were to be present for such a titanic encounter.
If you’ve been to any of the UK’s great sporting arenas – like Wembley, Wimbledon or Lord’s – you’ll know they have an intensity all of their own. The Crucible is up there with anywhere now.
The tension was palpable when Murphy made breaks of 105 and 78 to level the match at 15-15. We had a best-of-three contest on our hands.
Now it was time for the nerves. And the misses. The Crucible gasped, as only it can. Thankfully for Murphy supporters, he was making fewer of the mistakes and he edged ahead in the contest, 16-15.
The Crucible erupted, with fans serenading Murphy as he waved to all corners of the arena, and pointed towards Ebdon and his fiancee Jo.
This place has been serving up epic snooker matches for half a century now. We had seen another thriller in Sheffield, and those here to watch will long remember it.
