Wu Yize speaks out about Shaun Murphy tactic that caused a big stir | Other | Sport
Wu Yize grew to appreciate Shaun Murphy’s break-off tactic in the World Snooker Championship final even though it was “especially effective” against him. The 22-year-old became the second youngest winner at the Crucible earlier this month when he defeated the Englishman 18-17 to lift his first major trophy.
Murphy approached the table in a different manner at the World Championship. Instead of the typical second-to-last red shot, the Englishman would hit the third red off-break to scatter the balls early on and force his opponent into more aggressive play. This tactic caused a stir among opponents as John Higgins begged Murphy to “tell the secret.”
Other snooker stars were left stunned by the technique, with Neil Robertson adding: “It’s something I’m actually excited to work on because I think Shaun’s on to something new for the first time in 40 years.”
Wu acknowledged this tactic and admitted it forced him to be “very risky.” Speaking to the World Snooker Tour, the Chinese snooker star said: “That’s a tactical approach he has studied very well.
“I think his break-off is especially effective against aggressive players because it can really limit the opponent’s scoring opportunities. The good thing about his break-off is that many times I simply couldn’t find a way to deal with it.
“The only option was often to take on a very risky attacking shot, maybe a long pot to open things up, but if you miss, you can leave him with a very good chance.
“When I play, I always like to embrace challenges. If I believe it’s the right situation, I will definitely take risks.
“Maybe that’s just the kind of player I am. Of course, I’ve paid the price for it many times and lost a lot of matches because of it.”
Murphy explained that the shot materialised during a practice session with coach Peter Ebdon. He said: “We both just were in the snooker room at the house a few weeks ago, before the Tour Championships, and we said let’s go and do a few hours practice.
“And I just said as we went in: ‘I’m convinced there’s a better shot than the one we’ve been playing for 100 years.’
“It’s 100 years of professional snooker this year, and the break off hasn’t changed. You always leave either the standard shot to nothing or a long red, or you drag one up over the middle. One of those three things usually happens.
“I just said to Peter: ‘I’m convinced that there’s a better shot in there.'”
Murphy’s technique failed to bring the ultimate success as he fell to an 18-17 defeat at the Crucible.
