Rejuvenated Shaun Murphy benefiting from stepping off snooker hamster wheel

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Shaun Murphy had a perfect day at Champion of Champions on Wednesday (Picture: Action Plus/Shutterstock) Shaun Murphy looked very well rested as he romped through his Champion of…

Shaun Murphy looked very well rested as he romped through his Champion of Champions group, feeling the benefit of taking a rare break from the snooker rat race.

The Magician made light work of a brutal-looking group as he brushed aside Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-0 and then hammered Chang Bingyu 6-0 on Wednesday.

There would have been decent odds available on Murphy just progressing from that group, which also featured world champion Wu Yize, and to breeze through without dropping a frame seemed unthinkable.

It comes after the 44-year-old opted out of the International Championship last week in Nanjing, with various health niggles and mental strain encouraging him to take a week off.

He explained on his Clearing the Table podcast: ‘I wouldn’t say burnout, I wouldn’t say tired.

‘I’m not even sure whether it’s in the mental health category. But I do want to take some time for myself just to go “I’m not playing that week because I actually think it’s potentially damaging for the rest of the season or just my own personal well-being.”‘

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Speaking to Metro after whitewashing O’Sullivan, Murphy explained: ‘I’m not a child anymore. I’m not that young, brash kid who just does everything, plays in every event all the time.

‘I think as you get older, as you just become more experienced with life, I think you learn to read yourself a bit more.

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