Mark Selby and Mark Williams “back” Shaun Murphy’s criticism of amateur participation

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Mark Selby and Mark Williams have said they “support” Shaun Murphy’s criticism of allowing amateurs to participate in professional snooker events.

After suffering a shocking first round loss to Si Jiahui of China in the UK Championship, Murphy said he felt “extremely hard because I lost to someone who shouldn’t even be in the league. building “.

Murphy’s interview was criticized on social media, with many quickly pointing out that the 39-year-old had previously tried to qualify for the British Open of golf as an amateur himself.

However, four-time world champion Selby said: “I think a lot of players agree with him. Because he said it after losing, people probably think they’re sour grapes and he wouldn’t have said it if he had won – but I totally support everything he said.

“There is a reason there is a Q school to try to fit in [the professional tour], and if you don’t get along, you’ll have to wait another year and play in amateur events.

Williams, a three-time world champion, also stood in Murphy’s corner and went so far as to suggest that the current system was not suited to his purpose.

“I’ve been saying this for years,” Williams said. “It’s a 128 [man] tour and we never got 128 entries. I think it should be smaller, sure. I think if you are on the main tour you should be sure to make a living. The only way to do this is to cut it.

“Where is the development? There aren’t many young Britons because they face Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump in the first round of tournaments. How are you going to progress with a draw like this?

“I sent a text [Jason] Ferguson [World Snooker chairman] the other day saying: “if you want to have refills, stop the refills at every tournament”. How is that fair? There is no pressure and they roll freely.

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