Shaun Murphy will hope to win back-to-back ranking titles for the first time in his career when he plays in the Ladbrokes Players Championship in Manchester next week.
Murphy is the man in form having won the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix last Sunday, beating Stuart Bingham 10-9 in a dramatic final. That was his sixth career ranking title though he has never won two in the same year.
The Ladbrokes Players Championship will be staged in Manchester for the first time and runs from March 22 to 27 at Event City.
Televised by ITV4, it brings together the 32 best players from this season’s European Tour and Asian Tour events to chase the £100,000 top prize.
“I can’t wait for the next tournament,” said world number four Murphy, who faces Liang Wenbo on the opening day of the event. “I’ve got a few things to work on this week back on the practice table then I’ll go to Manchester really feeling as if I can mix it with everyone else.
“There’s nothing like the feeling of taking trophies home and I feel I’m on the right road to win more.
“I had been in a slump for a few months and not picked up any silverware. There were a lot of upset journeys back from events, trying to work out what had gone wrong. Eventually I realised where it was going wrong, I have gone back to an instinctive way of playing and it seems to be working.
“I lived in Manchester for eight years, then as soon as I left World Snooker decided to have a tournament there…I’m not sure how to take that! At least I’ll know where all the best coffee shops are. It’s a great location and I think having a big snooker tournament in Manchester is long overdue.”
World number one Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen and Mark Williams are among the other top stars competing for the title.
Tickets are ON SALE NOW and start at just £10, incredible value for the chance to see the world’s best players live. Certain sessions will sell out fast so fans must book quickly. For details visit http://www.worldsnooker.com/tickets
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