This year’s Champion of Champions final sees a meeting of two old nemesis Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Magician, who wrapped up his place last night after fighting back from 4-2 down to beat Belgium’s Luca Brecel 6-4, is appearing in the final for the first time after previously never winning a match in this event in four appearances.
The Rocket on the other hand is a master of this event reaching the final on all four occasions he’s competed in the tournament including lifting the title twice.
O’Sullivan is gunning for a hat-trick of wins and in the kind of form which suggests he should be a heavy favourite to improve his already superior record against Murphy.
The pair have met on 13 previous occasions with Murphy only coming out on top three times. If you exclude their meetings in the now defunct Premier League, the pair have faced each other on six occasions with five wins for Ronnie. Notably, O’Sullivan has a 100 per cent record against Murphy in their three biggest meetings at the World Championship.
There’s never been much love lost between these two down the years. Murphy has made no secret of his disapproval to O’Sullivan’s sometimes disparaging comments made in public towards the game. The Rocket has never been one to mix his words and always speaks his mind, while Murphy prides himself on being a great ambassador for the game and saying all the right things at the right time.
This has helped to develop a rich rivalry between the two and has often given O’Sullivan that extra motivation to get the job done.
This rivalry will give the final some added spice although the prize for a win today is already big enough for both players with one of the sport’s developing elite trophies up for grabs. Murphy has already lost two finals this season and will be desperate to get his hands on some silverware. Ronnie was recently crowned champion at the English Open and looks hungry for more.
Murphy’s gameplan will be simple. He’ll be going out to attack O’Sullivan and is more than capable of giving him a scare. Ronnie is scoring well this week himself and will not be afraid to go toe to toe with him in an open and attacking match but also knows he has a vastly superior safety game to give the edge.
The time for talking is over. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show.
