Shaun Murphy says watching Below Deck rather than snooker has helped him on his way to a World Snooker Championship semi-final.
The Magician is into the last four at the Crucible after a superb 13-10 win over defending champion Zhao Xintong.
Having downed Fan Zhengyi in round one, hammered Xiao Guodong in the last 16 and now ousted Zhao in the quarters, Murphy has set up a semi-final meeting with either Neil Robertson or John Higgins.
The 43-year-old has largely been in consistently good form since he won the 2025 Masters at Alexandra Palace, but he feels he has found an added ingredient to the recipe of success in Sheffield this year.
He reckons that keeping his eyes off the snooker, switching off from the tournament as much as possible between matches, has been a big help to him.
He and his fiancé, Jo, have been busy enjoying superyacht reality show Below Deck rather than safety battles at the Crucible.
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‘One of the other things I’ve done this week, I’ve not watched as much snooker,’ Murphy told the BBC after beating Zhao. ‘Jo and I have been ploughing through Below Deck, we’re absolutely addicted to Below Deck, absolutely addicted to it.
‘I’ve tried to stay away, which is hard for me because I absolutely love it. I love watching it, I love all the things around snooker, I’m still that kid at heart. But for what’s best for performance, I have to try and keep away from it.’
Murphy was full of praise for Zhao, who had a tremendous season as world champion, winning a hat-trick of ranking events at the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship.
‘First things first, I have to say what a fantastic world champion Xintong has been throughout the year. Carried himself so well, carried the game, the reputation, the mantle of carrying that trophy everywhere he goes.
‘And of course, he’s delivered the goods on the table for 12 months as well. Won all three of the Players Series, and won events through the year too. What a player he is, what a talent he is.
‘I knew going into it, nothing but my best would do. I’m thankful I found it in the third session and I’m delighted. It’s one of the best wins of my career. I’m delighted not just to win it, but to get to the semis.’
Murphy is into a sixth Crucible semi-final, but says the nerves at the venue do not ease despite all his experience and any suggestion that he looked relaxed out there was inaccurate.
‘I should have been an actor, because I certainly didn’t feel that way,’ he said. ‘But no, I think you know you’ve got to sort of fake it till you make it.
‘You’ve got to try and convince yourself that you’re feeling confident and bang up for it, even though inside you’re very nervous, and you’re shaking, and all the rest of it.
‘I’ve been coming here since I was nine years of age and it still gets you, every time you walk down those steps, every time you shake hands and go to battle in the Crucible, it’s still as nerve wracking as the first time. Every time feels like a debut and whilst it still gives me that buzz, I’ll keep coming.’
After inflicting the Crucible curse on Zhao, the Cyclone becoming the 21st first time defending champion to fall to it, Murphy thinks it will last forever.
‘No, never. There’s a reason why it’s called the Crucible curse,’ he said on whether it will ever be broken.
‘You’ve got to be careful, those snooker gods are always listening.
‘We’ve all watched enough and we’ve all been around the block long enough to; I don’t think the Crucible curse will ever be broken.’
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