Shaun Murphy: Triple Crown events head and shoulders above Saudi Arabia Masters

Shaun Murphy feels the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters is still some way behind the more traditional Triple Crown events in standing, saying: ‘You can’t buy legacy.’

The tournament is in just its second year, being played in Jeddah this week after a move from the first edition in Riyadh last season.

The event boasts an enormous prize fund which is only just shy of the World Championship and offers the same £500,000 winner’s cheque as the Crucible.

With a 10-year deal in place and the whopping prize pot, the Saudi Arabia Masters has been dubbed the ‘fourth major’ by World Snooker Tour, putting it alongside the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.

Many fans are not entirely impressed with a brand new event being lumped in with the three most prestigious tournaments on the calendar, but the substantial investment from Saudi Arabia has bought the ‘fourth major’ tag.

However, despite the big money on offer, Murphy does not see the Saudi Arabia Masters as on a par with any of the Triple Crown events just yet, believing history and legacy cannot be matched just by cash.

‘I’ve still got one foot in the history camp,’ Murphy told Metro. ‘I still think the history and the legacy of the existing three majors, the Triple Crown events, I think they’re stand alone events.

‘This event obviously rivals the World Championship in terms of prize money and it’s a 10-year deal, so it’s got the potential to become in great standing, but at the moment, for me, the other three would still be ahead of this one, despite the prize money.’

He added: ‘You can’t buy legacy. The prize money here is massive and we’re all enjoying competing and somebody is going to walk away with £500,000 this week, it’s an amazing opportunity and we’re all very grateful for it.

‘But the legacy and how special the Triple Crown events are, you can’t buy that. For me, those events are head and shoulders above everything else.’

Murphy got his campaign in Jeddah off to a very good start on Tuesday with a 5-1 win over the in-form Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who had made a 147 earlier in the tournament.

In a packed session which featured eight top 16 players, the match was confined to table eight, which was not able to be watched in the UK, but the Magician didn’t mind that his tricks were not on show.

‘I couldn’t care less what table I play on, I’m delighted just to play snooker, whether it’s table one or table 10,’ he said.

‘When you look at the people in competition this afternoon with Judd, Mark [Selby], Neil [Robertson], Stuart Bingham, John Higgins, everybody’s got to go somewhere! It doesn’t matter what table you play on, you’ve got to get the ball in the pocket wherever it is.’

Murphy’s win over the Thai star has set up a clash with Mark Williams after the Welshman beat Yuan Sijun 5-3 in his opening contest.

The three-time world champion was in the World Championship final last season at 50 years old, further cementing his legendary career, with Murphy rating him among the very best in the history of the sport.

‘He’s right up there, despite his very self-deprecating view on his career,’ said the Magician.

‘Whether he likes it or not he’s an all-time legend and on his day he still beats anybody.’

Williams and Murphy meet on Wednesday in the last 16 in Jeddah when Oliver Lines will take on Ali Carter after his huge upset win over Judd Trump.

Neil Robertson and Mark Selby will meet in a blockbuster clash and Elliot Slessor faces Stuart Bingham.

The remaining last 32 games are on Tuesday evening as Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Joe O’Connor, Zhao Xintong takes on Steven Hallworth, Kyren Wilson faces Iulian Boiko, Mark Allen meets Chang Bingyu.

Si Jiahui and Wu Yize play an all-Chinese affair, Chris Wakelin faces Farakh Ajaib, Barry Hawkins faces Farakh Ajaib and Ding Junhui meets Stephen Maguire.