'Maybe we're better' – Shaun Murphy risks wrath of darts stars with snooker quip

Shaun Murphy couldn't resist a cheeky darts dig after racking up the 10th maximum break of his career.

The Magician has been at the centre of a light-hearted debate between snooker and darts over what feat is tougher to achieve - a 147 break or a nine-dart finish? Having claimed to have hit a nine-darter himself, Murphy annoyed darts' top player Luke Humphries during Paddy Power's Perfect Challenge, a charity event involving stars from both sports.

Giving his opinion on the debate, the 2024 world champion said: "I think if you're an amateur - you don't play snooker, you don't play golf, you don't play darts - you give them a snooker cue, some darts and a golf club...

"I think they'd do the hole-in-one first, the nine-darter second and then the 147 last. I think that would be harder. But to a professional, I think a nine-darter is harder than a 147."

After overhearing, Murphy couldn't help but retort with a light-hearted jab, saying: "I didn't know you were a comedian too."

Humphries fired back: "What's funny about that? Did you hear what I said, though? When you know all the angles... You've seen you two - Mark's [Williams] come close [to a maximum] already.

"That's my opinion. When you're a professional, you make it look easy to hit a 147. Stats show it too. In frames and legs of darts, there are more 147s than nine-darters."

After completing his latest 147 break against Zhou Jinhao at the World Open in China, Murphy was told in an interview that he was giving darts players "some ammunition" in the long-running debate.

He quipped: "Maybe we're just better at what we do, I don't know. That has been said by some." But he added: "In all seriousness, I never really wanted to compare the things. It started with me and Wayne Mardle having a drink, discussing which was more difficult.

"I'm sure there are more things out there more difficult than each other. Listen, I've made snooker look very difficult at times. When it goes well, I'm really pleased."

Despite his impressive performance in Yushan, Murphy's run came to an end in the quarter-finals. He was knocked out by Joe O'Connor, who went on to book a place in the final against John Higgins. Meanwhile, Humphries advanced to the second day of the UK Open with a thrilling 10-7 win over Beau Greaves on Friday night.