Former snooker world champion Shaun Murphy has backed Judd Trump to win this year’s championship but admitted it was “gutting” that the world No 1 knocked him out.
Murphy lost an epic earlier this week, with Trump winning 13-10 to book his place in the last eight.
Speaking after his exit, the 49-year-old exclusively told GB News: “It doesn't matter how close the game was. It doesn't really matter how you play. Losing hurts, you know, there's no getting around that.
“And of course, it's the World Championship. You get yourself built up for it, you practice for it, you're excited about it, and then you lose. So it’s gutting, to be honest.
Shaun Murphy has admitted to being 'gutted' after his hopes of World Snooker Championship glory were dashed
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“But I’ll stay here with my other broadcasting hat on, I’ll stay here commentating, and as a studio analyst, looking at the matches, trying to work out who's going to win. I get the best, best next thing.
“I think it's always nice if the person who beat you sort of goes on and has a bit of a run that kind of says to you, well, at least it took somebody who was playing really well to stop you in their tracks."
Murphy then backed Trump, the world No 1, to go all the way and secure Crucible glory.
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“As it happens, I think Judd Trump is by far and away the favourite to win this championship this year," he continued.
"He's just playing the best snooker in all areas, over and above anyone else.
“Now that's, that's today. We've got another, nearly a week to go in the tournament. It's not a guarantee that he's going to be there come Monday night with the trophy. But as it stands, he's playing the best of everybody.”
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Shaun Murphy won a thriller against Judd Trump on Monday
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Asked if age affected how well a player does, he added: “No, I think, if anything, I think you get better with age. I think it's like a fine wine.
“You see the likes of John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan, they're aging like a fine wine, you know? And they're getting better with age.
“With that age brings experience and a bit of ring craft and knowing when to play that right shot at the right time.
“Whereas some of the younger players, they're still a little bit inexperienced, they're still a bit brash, and that's probably what's extended that class of 92 careers. They've got that little bit of smart play. They know when to play the right shot at the right time.”
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Asked about female competitors, Shaun, now a leading motivational speaker with the Champions Speakers Agency, said: "There's absolutely no barriers on the snooker tour. Female players from the ladies tour have been given tour cards over the years.
“They are on the tour. We don't have a men's tour in snooker. It is just the tour, and there are female players on that at the moment.
Shaun Murphy thinks Judd Trump will win this year's World Snooker Championship
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“The reason you don't see them at the Crucible…is they're not good enough at the moment, but they will be eventually, at some stage, that will happen.
“But as it stands, we don't make any - what's the word I'm looking for? We don't make any difference between those tours. We don't have a men's tour. The only obstacle to success in snooker is ability.”
