Shaun Murphy echoes Stephen Hendry criticism of ghostly Tour Championship snooker atmosphere – 'It’s difficult'

No Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson or Judd Trump at the elite eight-man Tour Championship and no atmosphere in Hull either according to Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Stephen Hendry. The 2005 world champion Murphy became the latest professional to comment on the dearth of fans inside the Bonus Arena after sealing his semi-final spot with a 10-8 win over Robert Milkins from 5-1 behind on Wednesday. Ad When asked if he had struggled with the ghostly surroundings, the in-form Murphy – winner of the Players Championship last month in Wolverhampton – responded: «Absolutely 100 per cent, I’m not a shy and retiring type of person, I want to put a show on.

Tour ChampionshipMurphy avenges Welsh Open defeat with comeback win over Milkins to seal place in semis10 HOURS AGO »When there’s not an audience there, it’s difficult, but it’s the same for both players. «I think the tickets have sold well for the weekend. So the reward for coming through a match like that is that we will get to play in front of a packed house.» Murphy will meet Mark Selby or Ryan Day in his 50th ranking semi-finals on Saturday as he continues his chase for the £150,000 first prize.

He hit breaks of 128, 106, 70, 67, 67, 64 and 56 to avenge his 9-7 defeat to Milkins in the Welsh Open final with a merited victory. Milkins later berated issues with the tip on his cue describing his performance as «terrible» in the evening session. “I have a couple of days off now to get my head right and prepare for the semis," said Murphy.