Defending champion Murphy expecting exciting start - 31/08/2010

REIGNING Premier League Snooker Champion Shaun Murphy begins the defence of his title on Thursday at the Southampton Guildhall.

Murphy meets Ding Junhui before Ronnie O’Sullivan, who saw his five-year dominance of the competition end when he lost to Murphy in last year’s final, plays Hong Kong star Marco Fu.

A round of PartyCasino.com Premier League Snooker was successfully held in Southampton last year and Murphy believes the crowd will be treated to an entertaining evening.

“Ding and I always have great matches,” said Murphy, a winner of the world title in 2005. “This year at the World Championships I edged through and a few weeks ago I played him in a tournament in China and beat him in the final. Maybe I’ve inflicted a bit of mental scarring and it will be good to see how the season opener kicks off.”

Each Premier League match is played over six frames with a 25-second shot clock to guarantee quick action. The players get £1,000 for every frame won plus an additional £1,000 for every century break.

Murphy caused a shock last year when he defeated O’Sullivan in the final after The Rocket had won the previous five tournaments.

“It’s going to be very difficult to win the title again but having said that Ronnie did it for five years so it can be done,” added Murphy.

“I’m hoping to make a better start to the campaign than I did last year but if I finish it like I did last year then I’ll consider it a success.

“I had a really bad start and was nowhere after a few weeks as I was bottom and propping up the table.

“I just snuck into the play-offs but it doesn’t matter where you finish as long as you’re in the top four.”

The matches will be shown live on Sky Sports and are expected to be played out in front of a capacity crowd, although tickets are still currently available.

Fu, who won the qualifying tournament Championship League Snooker to secure his Premier League spot, believes he is capable of defeating O’Sullivan.

“Ronnie is the man to beat and probably the favourite to win the tournament,” said Fu. “I had a good record against him but have lost the last four or five times we met so it’s going to be tough but hopefully I can perform well.”

The PartyCasino.com Premier League Snooker features seven of the finest players competing over ten weeks in a round-robin basis.

Winning players get two points per victory, while both men get a point each if it ends 3-3 and the top four at the end of the league phase advance into the semi-finals.

The semi-finals and final will take place at the end of November at the Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk and the overall champion will pocket an extra £30,000.

Tickets for the Southampton Guildhall cost £15 (adults) and £12.50 (concessions) and are available from 02380 632 601.