In a recent snooker event, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy found themselves embroiled in a heated exchange over playing conditions. Allen, who had criticized the table at the British Open, was quick to address Murphy’s comments about his remarks.
Allen did not hold back when expressing his dissatisfaction with the conditions at the tournament. After defeating Gary Wilson in a close match, Allen spoke to Rob Walker on ITV and let his feelings be known. He stated, “The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing. It’s some of the worst weather outside and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid out there. The table needs to be burned.”
He continued, “The cushions are just unplayable, uncontrollable. It was heavy. The speed was decent, but there’s new guys doing the tables this year, and they’re clearly not up to it. I pride myself on preparing properly for tournaments with good conditions. You turn up and you don’t get them. It’s not good enough.”
Despite his criticism, Allen managed to make a remarkable 147 break and reach the semi-finals, where he ultimately fell to Mark Selby. However, his comments did not sit well with Murphy, who serves on the WPBSA Players’ Board. Murphy defended the table-fitters and emphasized the impact of weather and humidity on playing conditions.
“It’s about time players understood that. They’re either difficult or get more difficult with the weather and humidity. A lot of players don’t understand that once humidity hits a table, it becomes very difficult. It’s nothing to do with the table fitter or their skill. They get a table off the back of a lorry and fit it, they do a great job.”
Amidst this back-and-forth between the two players, tensions ran high regarding the state of the playing conditions. As both Allen and Murphy stood by their respective opinions, the snooker community was left to ponder the impact of external factors on the game. It remains to be seen if this exchange will have any lasting effects on future tournaments or player relations.
