Shaun Murphy faces rival he claimed ‘shouldn’t be in the building’ in astonishing rant at World Snooker Championship | The Sun

SHAUN MURPHY has drawn Si Jiahui in the first round of the World Snooker Championship… the player he once claimed "shouldn't even be in the building".

The Magician was stunned by then-amateur Si 18 months ago, losing 6-5 at the UK Championship.

Si, then 19, had got into the tournament after a withdrawal – and his amateur status nagged at Murphy.

Following his dramatic defeat, the former world champion fumed that amateur players should not be allowed in professional tournaments because they "don't face the same pressures".

The duo will rematch this weekend, with Si making his Crucible debut.

Chinese ace Si, 20, has since earned a two-year tour card and will look to cause another upset.

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After their last meeting, 2005 champion Murphy ranted to the BBC: "I am going to sound like a grumpy old man but that young man shouldn't be in the tournament. It is not fair, it is not right.

"I feel extremely hard done by that I have lost to someone who shouldn't even be in the building.

"I don't know why we as a sport allow amateurs to compete in professional tournaments. This is our livelihood. This is our living. We are self-employed individuals and not contracted sportsmen. We don't play for a team.

"The other 127 runners and riders in the tournament, it is their livelihood too. It is wrong, in my opinion, to walk into somebody who is not playing with the same pressures and concerns I am."

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Murphy, 40, then added: "He played like a man who does not have a care in the world, because he does not have a care in the world. It is not fair, it is not right.

"I am not picking on him as a young man, he deserved his victory. Amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments, the end.

"This is our livelihood. This is how I put food on the table. This is how I earn money. Since turning professional at 15, I have earned the right to call myself a professional snooker player.

'HE SHOULDN'T BE AT THE TABLE'

"He hasn't done that. He shouldn't be on the table."

Murphy later apologised to Si, telling the Beeb: "I think if I could go back in time I perhaps wouldn’t have said what I said, having just lost to Si Jiahui.

"I think it took the shine off his victory and I regret that, and I’d like to apologise to him for that."

He stuck to his opinion that amateur players should not be allowed to play pro tournaments, however, but World Snooker doubled down on their stance in an official statement.

It read: "Si Jiahui earns a place in ranking tournaments this season as one of the leading players on the 2021 Q School rankings.

"While he may have amateur status, he deserves his place in our events, based on his results. Amateurs play under the same rules as professionals, they can earn prize money and places on the World Snooker Tour based on results.

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"Many elite amateur players like Si Jiahui train and compete full time in the hope of earning a guaranteed tour place, therefore they are competing under significant pressure with no guarantees."

Their statement went on to conclude: "We respect Shaun's opinions but in this case we strongly disagree with his comments."

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