SHAUN MURPHY has stepped down from a major role following his Masters win.
Murphy, 42, bagged the biggest payday of his career in January when he beat Kyren Wilson in the Alexandra Palace final.
The Englishman banked a whopping £350,000 as the champion – ten years on from his maiden Masters crown in 2015 – plus an extra £15,000 for his epic 147 break in the semi-final.
But now Murphy has decided to end his time as World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Players Chairman.
He joined the board in 2023 following a run of poor results which saw him fail to reach the main draw in seven of his next 14 ranking events – and only going beyond round two twice.
The Magician then took on the role of chairman last May.
However, his Masters win prompted the world No6 to focus solely on his snooker again.
And as a result, he called time on his brief stint with the WPBSA.
Murphy said on his OneFourSeven podcast: “There’s no way of me sugarcoating it.
“The win at the Masters a couple of weeks ago has really shone a torch for me, into my own game and self-belief, that I can actually still do it at the very cutting edge, top end of the sport.
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“I had started to think that that had gone. So, I started to look at other areas in the game where I could make a difference.
“That win has given me a tap on the shoulder to say, ‘You know what? You can still do this.’
“In the end, you can’t be all things to all people. You can’t be everywhere all at once, and it’s not a job I’m willing to give half of myself to.
“It’s not a responsibility – looking after the members, representing them, and fighting on their behalf – that I’m willing to give 75 per cent to it.
“I’m either in or I’m out. At the minute, I’m not able to represent them as well as I want and be as committed as I want to.
“So I think it’s right that I stand aside and allow somebody else to take the reins.”
Murphy also described taking on the position as WPBSA chairman as a “great honour” in a statement confirming his resignation with immediate effect.
He also leaves his role of non-executive director, leaving the WPBSA Players Board with Mark Davis, Ken Doherty and Ben Woollaston.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
