Shaun Murphy admits he may need to guard against being “mesmerised” when he takes on Zhao Xintong in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Snooker Championship.
Murphy faces the defending champion across Tuesday and Wednesday in what promises to be one of the standout ties of the last eight.
Zhao continued his quest to break the Curse of the Crucible on Sunday with a 13-9 victory over Ding Junhui, and 2005 winner Murphy was full of admiration for his next opponent.
“He’s very difficult obviously. He’s the defending champion, the current world champion, and seems to win when he wants,” Murphy told Midnite.
“But Zhao Xintong, for me at the moment, is just so easy on the eye to watch. I love watching him play.”
“He’s easy to get a bit mesmerised by when you’re playing him, in all honesty. I’m so in awe of just how easy he makes the game look – a wonderful player.”
Murphy, who thrashed Xiao Guodong 13-3 with a session to spare in the second round, suggested he will adopt a more liberated mindset heading into the contest with the world number four.
The Magician is opting to draw inspiration from golf and Rory McIlroy’s recent Masters triumph at Augusta National.
“I’m a big golf fan. I love golf, play a lot of golf, watch a lot of golf, as my fiancée will attest,” Murphy continued.
“Rory McIlroy said something during the Masters just before the final round. Obviously he went on to win.”
“He played a bit under pressure in the third round and he said, ‘I’m going to go out tomorrow and play like somebody who’s already won my green jacket, already got one.’
“[So] I’m going to come out this year and play like someone who’s already won the World Championship.
“I’ve already done my job, so I’ve got no pressure. I’m going to go out and go for my shots.”
The Crucible remains a special place for Murphy, who first visited the iconic venue as a child and has vivid memories of his early experiences there.
“I’ve been coming here since 1992. I was a nine-year-old when I first came here to watch Peter Ebdon make his debut against Steve Davis. And I’ve enjoyed coming back every year since.”
“I do remember my debut against Stephen Hendry in 2002 where if you’d said to me at that moment to spell your name or write your name, I couldn’t have done it. I was shaking like a leaf.
“It’s been a dream of mine to make a 147 in the Crucible all my life. I think I got to 112, so that’s the closest I got.
“I asked for them to bring the dividing wall up because play had stopped on the other table. I wanted everyone else to see it, then I missed the next shot.
“So that’s typical of me. But I was desperate to do it. I’ve never got close. Maybe this year could be my year.”
Murphy is rarely short of confidence, and maximum or not, he’ll believe he has every chance of dethroning reigning champion Zhao when they cross paths in the last eight.
The 43 year-old hasn’t reached the single table setup at the Crucible since 2021, the last time he featured in the final in Sheffield.
Murphy already has silverware from this season following his success at the British Open, but another crack at global glory is what he is ultimately chasing.
Featured photo credit: WST
