Shaun Murphy believes his game is in better shape than ever and he is a "dangerous" contender for the Halo World Championship crown having beaten Daniel Wells 10-4 in a tremendous first round fixture.
The match of the tournament so far featured six centuries (equalling the record for a first round Crucible tie) and eight more breaks over 50, and debutant Wells played his part with three of those tons. But he was no match for Murphy who strolled into the second round for the 15th time in his career. If Judd Trump can convert a 6-3 lead over Zhou Yuelong into a last 16 spot then the world number one would meet Murphy in a potentially epic tie on Sunday and Monday.
It's 20 year since Murphy, age 22 at the time, lifted the sport's most famous trophy. He has since been in three more finals, in 2009, 2015 and 2021, but is yet to join the elite group who have conquered the Crucible on multiple occasions: Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Selby. After winning the Masters in 2015 he went ten years without a Triple Crown success, but ended that drought in January with victory at Alexandra Palace, restoring his self belief.
"The hunger and desire never goes away, but sometimes in life you can lose your way," said the world number 15. "Champions don't think like everyone else, but for a little while I started thinking like everyone else. I had forgotten what it was like to win the majors, I felt like a bit of a draw filler. Winning the Masters has totally changed that. I believe again and I think that makes me dangerous.
"I have come here in the best shape I have ever been in. My game is the best it has ever been and I'm sharp, I'm ready. If I am allowed to play and get chances, I will be a handful for anyone.
"We had the inaugural champions dinner this year and there were a lot of one-time champions sat around the table. It's not easy winning this title once, let alone more than that. It's a very small group of people who have done that and there are quite a few of us searching for it - I have been chasing it for 20 years. Judd has got more time on his side. If we meet in the next round I hope he doesn't play too well against me.
"There's nothing better than playing well here. I have to give massive praise to Daniel because he is a really nice guy. He didn't play like a debutant, he played like someone who has been here for years. With more experience he might have won that match or beaten someone else."
Murphy led 7-2 overnight having made breaks of 64, 63, 100, 57, 138, 76 and 89 in the first session. A run of 53 in the opener today helped him go 8-2 up, before Wells hit back with 115 and 68 for 8-4. But Murphy soon ended any hopes of a fight-back by taking the last two frames with 133 and 71.
Wells said: "It was enjoyable, but just very difficult playing Shaun at the top of his game. I tried to embrace it but he was absolutely fantastic. Making three centuries is something to be proud of."