Shaun Murphy makes blunt snooker future claim as he reveals brutal impact of Masters success

Shaun Murphy claimed a shock Masters title - and joked that the hangover from celebrating almost stopped him competing at the next event.

The Magician ended a 10 year drought for one of snooker's Triple Crown title by lifting the Paul Hunter Trophy after a dominant victory against world champion and fellow Englishman Kyren Wilson, despite going into the tournament as a rank outsider following a barren decade. And he says that the length of time he went without silverware makes him determined to follow it up with more success - admitting that, at 42, he doesn't know how many years he has left in him at the top of the game.

Speaking to WST at the German Open, Murphy said: "I said to some friends that what I'd achieved might sink in when I'm introduced by (MC) Rolf Kalb as the Masters champion. That has certainly been the case. To be introduced as a major winner again, has certainly given me an extra bit of bounce in my step. More importantly it has given me that self belief.

"I can assure you that there was a post-Masters hangover. Absolutely there was, if you’d have asked me to play snooker on Tuesday that would’ve been very difficult. I was quite honest and said afterwards that I wanted to try and really push on now. I really want to ring out every last drop of potential from whatever’s left of my career.

"Maybe there could be 10 years, maybe there’s only five years. Who knows. But I really am determined to push on and not have such a big gap between successes. Does that mean that I’m going to win in Germany? No it doesn’t, but I’m trying my best." Murphy certainly showed no signs of any lingering hangover as he breezed through his first two matches without dropping a single frame - beating Scots youngster Liam Graham