Shaun Murphy backs Ronnie O’Sullivan after whitewash but Rocket looks low on fuel

It was a day to forget for Ronnie O’Sullivan in Leicester on Wednesday (Picture: Shutterstock)

Shaun Murphy insists Ronnie O’Sullivan does still hold a fear factor after brushing aside a seriously out-of-form Rocket at Champion of Champions.

O’Sullivan has now lost his opening match at three tournaments on the spin, last winning a game in August and he was much nearer his worst than his best as he lost 4-0 to Murphy on Wednesday.

‘He didn’t look comfortable out there, there was a litany of mistakes from him,’ former world champion Ken Doherty said on ITV4 after the Rocket managed a high break of 35 in the loss.

‘He can spark into life so quickly but there was nothing there. He doesn’t look sharp at all.

‘From Ronnie’s point of view I would say he’ll be very disappointed and the fans will be as well.’

The 50-year-old is still ranked 13 in the world, but faces a slide down the rankings if results do not improve significantly.

Defeat to a top player like Murphy would not cause concern on another day, but his performance was so far from peak O’Sullivan that his fans will be worried about his future at the top of the game.

Shaun Murphy needed just one half-century to whitewash O’Sullivan (Picture: Shutterstock)

Into a sixth decade, it is no surprise he is struggling for top form and clearly O’Sullivan has nothing left to prove, but his aim of winning a record eighth world title now looks distant.

The Rocket has not always had a buoyant demeanour round the table, even when comfortably hammering opponents, but he looked dispirited and drained as he spurned chance after chance against Murphy, who did not have to hit the heights to whitewash the seven-time world champion.

Before the event, Neil Robertson said that the fear factor of any opponent has gone from snooker, with O’Sullivan the last to lose his.

Murphy, though, feels there are plenty of players on tour who have so many scars from facing the Rocket, that his aura is not so easily lost.

‘Not to me. I think if there’s any fear factor gone, I think it’s probably a generational thing,’ Murphy told Metro. ‘I think maybe for the younger kids who haven’t experienced the pain of what he can do to you, I think that might be the case.

‘I think if you’ve not experienced that, if you’re one of the new young kids, you go, “Oh, there’s Ronnie O’Sullivan, that’s great, but come on, let’s get on for a match.”

O’Sullivan cut a dispirited figure at the Mattioli Arena (Picture: Shutterstock)

‘Players of my generation and a few floating around since…I’ve had some good hidings off Ronnie O’Sullivan over the years and you never forget a good hiding.

‘Even in that match, you’re conscious that, yeah he missed a couple of balls over distance, but he could spark into life. It’s only while he adapts to the table and as the other player, you’ve got to go, “right, I’ve got a chance here whilst he’s not adapted to the playing conditions. I need to strike while the iron’s hot.”‘

The Magician and the Rocket have been playing each other for over 20 years and Murphy has won just six of their 24 professional contests.

One of those 17 defeats O’Sullivan has dished out came in March at the World Open, where the Rocket also made a record 153 break and lost in an epic final to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

That week in Yushan is fresh enough in Murphy’s memory to warn anyone against writing off Ronnie O’Sullivan just yet.

‘He played me out in China a few months ago and it was a great match and then the next day he made the 153,’ recalled Murphy.

‘So, there’s still a player in there, don’t worry about that.’

O’Sullivan will next play in Snooker 900 action at the Crucible Cup on November 24-25, with his next professional outing at the UK Championshipagainst a qualifier on November 29.

The Rocket is an eight-time UK champion, but has lost in the opening round on his last two trips to York, downed by Barry Hawkins and Zhou Yuelong in 2024 and ’25 respectively.

Things are looking much more positive for Murphy as he followed up his win over O’Sullivan with another whitewash victory in the evening session on Wednesday, thrashing Chang Bingyu 6-0.

The Magician returns on Saturday for the Champion of Champions semi-final against Zhao Xintong, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Kyren Wilson or Ali Carter.

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