RIGHT ON CUE
Shaun Murphy reveals huge sacrifice he made to snooker rival in rarely-seen gesture at Northern Ireland Open
The draw could make it interesting later in the event
SHAUN MURPHY has revealed he made a huge sacrifice before his last 32 match at the Northern Ireland Open.
The Magician made a rarely-seen gesture to help out a snooker rival in Belfast this week.
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Murphy faced Zhou Yuelong on Tuesday evening for a place in the last 16.
However, before the match, he lent his cue to Noppon Saengkham.
The Thai cueist had arrived in Northern Ireland without his cue before bumping into Murphy the night before his opener.
With his cue still not arriving in time for his clash with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, he used Murphy's instead.
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Noppon went on to win 4-3 after only having 10 minutes to practice with the cue, setting up a last 32 meeting with Mark Williams.
Murphy then retrieved the cue before beating Zhou 4-2 and will now face Stuart Bingham next.
Speaking afterward, the former world champion explained: "I just ran into him last night in the hotel and he looked distraught, he looked in trouble and I asked if everything was ok and he said his cue hadn’t arrived.
"Listen, this week it was me but that type of thing is certainly offered any time a player is in trouble like that.
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"I can’t think of a player on tour who wouldn’t offer to help out another player if they were in need like that.
"I said if it doesn’t turn up, let me know. He let me know at breakfast this morning.
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"He said, ‘it hasn’t turned up, can I use your cue?’ I said, ‘yeah no problem, there it is.’ I think he might have used it better than I did today, to be honest!
"My tip is pretty much on its last legs so an extra best of seven wasn’t really what it needed but thankfully it’s seen us both home today."
With Noppon using his cue, it also meant Murphy could not practice before his own match.
He added: "Yeah I didn’t get to hit any balls, but I’ve been hitting balls since I was eight so an afternoon off isn’t going to kill me.
"I was delighted I was able to help him, as I say, this week it was my turn but that type of offer is happening all the time."
Fortunately, the pair find themselves on opposite sides of the draw.
As a result, they cannot meet until the final, making their cue sharing less complicated than it might have been.
Murphy's gesture, meanwhile, comes after he was criticised by Stephen Hendry following his Wuhan Open exit.
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The world number eight sparked a row with Hendry after applauding opponent Xiao Guodong.
His clapping came during a 5-1 thrashing to Xiao at the event in China earlier this month.
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