The Masters champion, who is well known for his outspoken views, has called on snooker chiefs to bring in spotted cue balls to better give fans watching an understanding of the different impact certain shots have. It’s far from the first time that Murphy has called for drastic changes, having also been a vocal critic of the miss rule in it’s current form.
Speaking on his In the Frame Youtube series, Murphy said: “I’m going to keep using the spotted cue ball because we’re getting some really good feedback about that. You guys are loving seeing the spin, how the spin manipulates the cue ball and what it’s actually doing.
“It’s great that you can see it with one of these. You know what? I actually think we should be using one of these in tournament play.
“I think that you should be able to see this when we’re playing. Think about this, snooker, currently, is the only table sport and cue sport that doesn’t use one of these.
“They are using it in billiards, they’re using it in nine-ball, they are using it in everything. Maybe it’s time that snooker moved on, just so you guys can see what’s happening.”
Showman Murphy is determined to make the sport as entertaining as possible for fans, having spoken out in favour of players having trademark celebrations like football stars. Speaking after victory at the Masters he said: “I’ve been consistent in my confusion around other players and their lack of interaction with the crowd. If you went to the West End and at the end of the show the cast just walked off, you would feel a little hard done to.
“I suppose I am a bit of a performer and maybe if I wasn’t a snooker player, maybe I would’ve found my way into that kind of world. So, I think it’s important to give the crowd everything you can as well. They give you their support, it would be weird to just walk off.”
And he’s also demanded changes are made to the miss-rule, which he believes rewards slack play. He said: “I just find it so weird that we have a rule in the game that allows players to have a sighter. I mean in my opinion the miss rule needs taken out of the game altogether. I don’t like the rule at all.”
