| Born | 23 September 1969 |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Ireland |
| Professional | 1989–1999 |
| Highest ranking | 50 |
| Best ranking finish | Last 32 (x9) |
Stephen Murphy (born 23 September 1969) is an Irish former professional snooker player. He was part of the Irish team that were runners-up at the 1996 World Cup of snooker.
Stephen Murphy was born on 23 September 1969. [1] He became a professional player having finished fourth in the pro-ticket series and defeating Derek Mienie 9–4 in the 1989 professional play-offs. [1] He played on the professional circuit from 1989 to 1999, achieving a highest ranking of 50. [2]
He reached the last 32 of the 1992 World Snooker Championship, where he lost 3–10 to Stephen Hendry. [3]
Murphy represented Ireland at the 1996 World Cup of snooker. Three-man teams with one sub from all over the globe took part at the Armari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok. The Irish team consisted of Murphy along with Ken Doherty, Fergal O'Brien and Michael Judge as sub. Ireland beat Canada to earn a semi-final with England. The England team was made up of Peter Ebdon, Nigel Bond and Ronnie O'Sullivan but lost 10–9. Ireland faced a Scotland team of Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus in the final and lost 10–6. [4] [5]
Despite returning to Dublin upon retirement, Murphy would visit to watch his friend Doherty play at future World Championships. [6]
Alexander Gordon Higgins was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as a key factor in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s.
James Warren White is an English professional snooker player who has won four seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, swift and attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 Six-red World champion, a record four-time World Seniors Champion, 2019 Seniors 6-Red World Champion and 1984 World Doubles champion with Alex Higgins.
Steve Davis is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, DJ, electronic musician and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, winning six world titles, and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons. He was runner-up to Dennis Taylor in one of snooker's most famous matches, the 1985 World Championship final, which ended in a dramatic black-ball conclusion that attracted 18.5 million viewers, still the largest British television audience for any broadcast after midnight and any broadcast on BBC Two.
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player who was World Snooker Champion in 1997. In addition to his ongoing playing career, he works as a regular commentator and pundit on televised snooker broadcasts. A director since 2012 of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, he also served from 2021 to 2024 as inaugural chairman of the WPBSA Players organisation.
Mark James Williams is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003 and 2018. Often noted for his long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname "The Welsh Potting Machine", and is regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.
Stephen Gordon Hendry is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and a current commentator and pundit. One of the most successful players in snooker history, he turned professional in 1985, aged 16, and rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990, aged 21 years and 106 days, making him the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. He won seven world titles between 1990 and 1999, setting a new modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. He also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 23. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 41, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.
John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (41) and Stephen Hendry (36). Since turning professional in 1992, he has won four World Championships, three UK Championships and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles; this puts him behind only O'Sullivan (23), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15), and level with Mark Selby. A prolific break-builder, Higgins has compiled over 900 century breaks in professional competition, including 13 maximum breaks, second only to O'Sullivan's 15. He is also the oldest player to make a maximum break in professional competition, having set the record at the 2024 Championship League when he was aged 48 years and 268 days. He has reached the world number one ranking position four times. Alongside O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, he is one of the three players known as the "Class of '92", who all turned professional during the 1992–93 snooker season.
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple crown event, the World Snooker Championship, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a career high ranking of No. 4 for the 2005/2006 season. Stevens has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career.
Terence Martin Griffiths is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and back-to-back English Amateur Championships in 1977 and 1978, Griffiths turned professional in June 1978 at the age of 30. In his second professional tournament, he qualified for the 1979 World Snooker Championship. He reached the final of the event where he defeated Dennis Taylor by 24 frames to 16. This was only the second time a qualifier had won the World Snooker Championship, after Alex Higgins in 1972; only Shaun Murphy in 2005 has since emulated the achievement. In 1988, Griffiths again reached the final of the competition. He was tied with Steve Davis, 8–8, but lost the match 11–18.
John Stephen Parrott is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for fourteen consecutive seasons.
The 2002 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the final ranking event of the 2001–02 snooker season. This was the 26th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, marking the 25th anniversary of the first staging of the event at this venue. The championship was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
Paul Davies is a Welsh former professional snooker player who lives in Cardiff. He turned professional in 1991.
Tony Chappel is a former Welsh professional snooker player, whose career spanned seventeen years from 1984 to 2001.
Nick Terry is an English former professional snooker player.
Shaun Peter Murphy is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
The 2017–18 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 4 May 2017 and 7 May 2018. The season began with the pro–am Vienna Snooker Open in May 2017 and ended with the 2018 World Snooker Championship in April the following year. Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a joint-record five ranking titles in the season. He joined Stephen Hendry (1990/1991), Ding Junhui (2013/2014), and Mark Selby (2016/2017) in winning five ranking titles in the same season.
Yuan Sijun is a Chinese professional snooker player.
The 1996 Snooker World Cup was a team snooker tournament which returned after a six-year absence. With the increasing rise of snooker in some countries, This new version has 20 teams in the championship and it was played in Bangkok in Thailand. Scotland's 'Dream Team' with Stephen Hendry, Alan McManus and John Higgins were strong favourites to win from the start and they did so by beating Republic of Ireland with Ken Doherty, Fergal O'Brien and Stephen Murphy to win their only World Cup. Higgins got the highest break of the tournament with a 139 in his semi-final match against Thailand's Tai Pichit. The tournament was a success but hosting the event had become too costly that the event was withdrawn afterward.
Ronnie O'Sullivan started his professional snooker career in 1992 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His play and accomplishments are described by some peers and pundits as being the greatest in the modern era of snooker. O'Sullivan is a seven-time world champion and holds many records, including the fastest maximum break in professional competition; the highest number of century breaks; the highest number of maximum breaks, and the most Triple Crown event titles (23).
The 2001 Nations Cup was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at The Hexagon, in Reading, Berkshire, England, from 13 to 21 January 2001. It was a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association team competition held as part of the 2000–01 snooker season and the third and final edition of the Nations Cup. The competition was contested by eight nations of three players each, with one of them qualifying via a play-off match. It was sponsored by smokeless coal manufacturer Coalite.
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