Shaun Murphy has revealed he will soon be entering arenas to play his matches with more than one snooker cue.
Nicknamed the Magician, Murphy intends to compete in the future with a selection of different wands that are each suited to the varying conditions snooker players face.
The recent Championship League champion compared snooker to golf and tennis, admitting the cue sport lags behind the others in terms of advancements in technology.
Golf and tennis players are often changing their clubs and racquets in an attempt to develop their levels.
“I experimented a few years ago,” Shaun Murphy told the World Snooker Tour after beating Daniel Wells in the European Masters on Wednesday.
“I got John Parris, who is for me the best cue maker in the world – I’m very happy to represent him around the world.”
“I was using some inserts that he made for me that added or reduced the mass of the cue.
“It then changes, what we call, cue ball deflection when playing with side spin. That’s what the conditions out there – the atmospheric conditions – can affect.
“My plan is, I’ve got some cues being made by John and they are very nearly ready. Pretty soon, you’ll see me walking into the arena with more than one cue.
“Based on the playing conditions of the day, I’ll choose cue one, two, or three.
“I’m happy to break the mould. Until somebody walks into an arena somewhere in the world and uses more than one cue in one match, we’ll all be deemed mad.
“We’re about 50 years behind other sports like golf and tennis in terms of the tech.
“Golf professional friends of mine think we, as snooker players, are like cavemen when we expect that one cue to perform the same everywhere around the world.
“It’s just madness, so it’s not ready yet but it’s coming.
“I’m always trying to improve, but it’s been frustrating throughout my career running into these different types of conditions.
“You know, in Shanghai it’s very humid. This week here, the temperatures are off the scale.
“That affects the cloth, the balls, and the way the balls spin round the table.
“It has been incredibly frustrating just having to accept it and move on. That’s not very professional.
“We’re a little bit behind, I would have liked to have been here a little bit earlier with these innovations.
“But they are coming, and hopefully they’ll make a difference.”
Murphy has arguably been the best player in the calendar year of 2023 so far, winning both the Players and Tour Championships before his season-opening victory in the Championship League.
The 41 year-old faces Ross Muir in the last 32 of the European Masters in Germany on Thursday.
European Masters draw and results
Quarter 1
L64
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Alfie Burden
Si Jiahui 5-3 Ken Doherty
Hossein Vafaei 0-5 Allan Taylor
Dominic Dale 5-2 Duane Jones
Andrew Higginson 1-5 Zhou Yuelong
Dylan Emery 1-5 John Higgins
Ross Muir 5-3 Joe Perry
Daniel Wells 2-5 Shaun Murphy
L32
K. Wilson vs Si
Taylor 3-5 D. Jones
Zhou 2-5 Higgins
Muir vs Murphy
Quarter 2
L64
Judd Trump 5-0 Jordan Brown
Chris Wakelin 5-0 Aaron Hill
Ben Woollaston 5-1 Xu Si
Tom Ford 5-2 Oliver Brown
Jamie Jones 3-5 Ricky Walden
Michael White 5-4 Jack Lisowski
Ashley Carty 5-4 Joe O’Connor
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-0 Mark Allen
L32
Trump vs Wakelin
Woollaston vs Ford
Walden vs M. White
Carty vs Un-Nooh
Quarter 3
L64
Andy Hicks 5-2 Peng Yisong
Lyu Haotian 5-4 Elliot Slessor
Ben Mertens 5-3 Sanderson Lam
David Gilbert 5-1 Reanne Evans
Xiao Guodong 5-3 Stuart Bingham
Ashley Hugill 5-4 Ali Carter
Louis Heathcote 1-5 Anthony Hamilton
Adam Duffy 1-5 Mark Selby
L32
Hicks vs Lyu
Mertens vs Gilbert
Xiao vs Hugill
Hamilton vs Selby
Quarter 4
L64
Wu Yize w/o Liu Hongyu
Noppon Saengkham 5-2 Mark Davis
Mark Williams 5-3 Matthew Stevens
Jimmy Robertson 5-0 Scott Donaldson
James Cahill 3-5 Barry Hawkins
Jiang Jun 4-5 Zak Surety
Robbie Williams 5-1 Pang Junxu
Ishpreet Singh 3-5 Luca Brecel
L32
Wu vs Saengkham
M. Williams vs J. Robertson
Hawkins vs Surety
R. Williams vs Brecel
Featured photo credit: WST
