Shaun Murphy has revealed that a pair of lucky underpants helped him win his first World Snooker Championship title, yet it wasn’t him who was wearing them.
Murphy begins the final of the 2026 tournament against 22-year-old Wu Yize this afternoon but his first world title came back in 2005, when he was a relatively unknown 22-year-old himself.
Having come through qualifying to reach the Crucible, Murphy blitzed the field with his attacking snooker in the main tournament itself, seeing off Chris Small, John Higgins, Steve Davis and Peter Ebdon before beating Matthew Stevens 18-16 in the final.
Twenty-one years later, the now 43-year-old has revealed the victory may have been down to his nephew Joshua, who was just a child at the time and ensured that his uncle kept winning by wearing the same underwear each day he was at the Crucible.
Murphy said of Joshua, now an adult, who was in the crowd for his uncle’s epic 17-15 semi-final victory over Higgins on Saturday afternoon: “He comes to watch me as much as he possibly can.
“In fact, I’m pleased to say that it’s 21 years since he made his debut here as a child. He was totally under the belief that it was his lucky pants that won me that championship [in 2005].
“My sister was washing his underpants in the hotel room all week. He was convinced it was his lucky pants!
“I don’t think that’s what’s got me to this stage this week… I hope not. He’s a different man these days – I think he changes his pants at least once a week.”
Murphy also told the assembled media that he wasn’t even his nephew’s favourite player at the time, with that honour being bestowed on Higgins.
“He was eight or nine years old at the time,” added Murphy. “I have a lovely picture of him sat in my seat in the Crucible and he’s got these three-quarter length cargos on.
“The funny thing was that John Higgins was and is his absolute idol. At the after-party dinner, Joshua sat there all night not bothered about me, his uncle who just won the World Championship, and not bothered about the trophy but bothered about John Higgins, who was sat two tables away. He just stared at John all night.”
With that being the case, there may have been a small part of Joshua that was disappointed to see Murphy edge past his idol Higgins in classic Crucible semi-final.
It sealed a place in a fifth world final for the Englishman, as he tries to put defeats in each of his most recent three behind him and become a multiple world champion.
But he had warm words for his vanquished foe, who was agonisingly close to becoming the oldest player to reach a world final just a fortnight before his 51st birthday – paying tribute to a snooker legend.
“John Higgins… What a player and what a man,” said Murphy. “The harder it gets on the table, the tougher he gets and the better he plays.
“He’s such a competitor. If I’m half the player he is when I’m in my 50s, I’ll be very proud.”
