Murphy chasing title defence

Murphy: Much more confident

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The Pukka-Pies UK Championship starts in Telford on Saturday, with Shaun Murphy hoping to become only the third player in the event's history to mount a successful title defence.

Murphy won in nerve-wracking fashion at the International Centre last year after beating Marco Fu in the deciding frame of the best-of-19 final.

Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry are the only players to have successfully defended the title and Murphy admitted that joining two of the sport's biggest names will be a tall order.

"Snooker isn't littered with repeat winners, it's not something that happens very often," said the 2005 World Champion, who begins his title defence against Gerard Greene.

"If I can add my name to that list then I will be a very proud man. I had such a great tournament here for many reasons and if I can have some more success this time around, then I'll be very, very pleased."

Form

Murphy comes into this year's tournament in good form having won the Premier League for the first time on Sunday, after beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.

His situation could not have been more different 12 months ago - Murphy arriving having lost four successive first round matches.

"I couldn't really have come here last year in worse form or any lower on confidence, but fortunately the years of hard work and practising were still there," he admitted.

"But once I got myself in the event and a bit of confidence, I was able to play quite well in the end.

"The final was a bit too tight for my liking. The idea is to get to 10 first, but also try to keep as many fingernails intact as you can."

Murphy struggled to get past qualifier Martin Gould in the opening round, but gained confidence as he dispatched Mark Allen, Stephen Lee and Stephen Maguire en route to the final.

"I think last year proves the point you can throw the formbook out of the window," he insisted.

"Last year I hadn't really practised hard before the event, had no confidence and I hadn't won a match for nearly six months. I came to this tournament just looking for my first win.

"This time I'll come here in much better form and much more confident. I've had a good season, so I'll probably lose in the first round!"