Shaun Murphy ruined his own engagement plans with snooker triumph

Even the best laid plans can come unstuck.

Unfortunately for snooker star Shaun Murphy, that was the case for his engagement to his partner, Jo Rochell.

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But it wasn’t the weather or the traffic that forced Murphy to improvise when it came to getting the knee dusty.

Instead, it was his own brilliance on the baize which led to victory at the British Open and a run to the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix in China.

“The funny story is that I’d planned to do the engagement at our favourite hotel, which is up in North Yorkshire,” Murphy said.

“I’d planned to do the engagement there over the dates of the 167 event [in Saudi Arabia].

“By winning the British and getting to the final in China, that meant I couldn’t do that, so the plans had to change.

“Jo is at home celebrating every match that I win, not knowing that it’s cancelling the engagement!

“So there was a bit of a last-minute change of plan. That’s why it [the proposal] ended up being a spur-of-the-moment and we came out here.

“All the best laid plans… I’d ruined my own engagement by winning the British Open!”

The couple announced their engagement via Instagram on November 1, with Rochell posting the caption: “Four years ago, he booked me for a gig… After many MANY ups and downs, I said ‘Yes’ to a lifetime of more”.

Rochell shared a picture of the happy couple three days later clinking a glass of bubbles in the bar section of an aeroplane and wrote: “It’s still sinking in!!!! There’s been a distinct lack of champagne in China… but we emptied the Emirates plane of their stock.”

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Murphy’s triumph at the British Open was the 13th ranking title of his career, one more than Mark Allen’s haul.

The 43-year-old’s impressive tally of ranked titles also lifted him to 10th in the all-time list.

Murphy aims to boost his ranked title haul to 14 at the UK Championship, which begins on Sunday.

It is a tournament Murphy has won just once in his career, albeit back in 2008.

In the years since, Murphy has reached the final twice but has not done so since 2017, when he was beaten 10-5 by snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Murphy, who is seeded 10th, begins his 2025 UK Championship tilt with a first round clash against China’s Lyu Haotian.