Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy will renew their fierce rivalry in a grudge match at the Masters this weekend, with the two rivals facing each other in the semi-finals.
There is clearly no love lost between the pair, who have been exchanging barbs on social media over the last few months.
Their friendship took a bitter turn in October, when they clashed over Allen’s criticism of the playing conditions at the British Open. He did not hold back in his assessment of the baize, suggesting the quality was so bad that it needed to be ‘burned’.
Murphy, who represents the interests of players on the WPBSA board, responded to Allen’s comments by saying: “I think some of the criticism from fellow professionals has been nothing short of rude and amateurish.”
“Anyone taking [Murphy’s] opinions seriously, I seriously question their judgement or quite possibly their sanity, not gonna lie,” wrote Allen on X (formerly Twitter). “Anyway, maybe I’ll take three cues to my next match.”
When a fan suggested that Murphy’s opinions were ‘perfectly valid’ given that he has reached four World Snooker Championship finals, Allen replied: “You misspelled irrelevant.”
In another flashpoint, Allen took aim at Murphy’s ‘baffling behaviour’ after he criticised Kyren Wilson for complaining that he was not given the TV table at the British Open.
Allen was quick to accuse his rival of ‘attention seeking’ and being a ‘yes man’, saying: “Actually getting a bit boring reading [Murphy’s] recent views.
“This is someone who is meant to represent the players at board level but openly criticising the current world champ and others. Baffling behaviour or is it just attention seeking from the yes man?”
-Two months ago, Allen confessed that his opinion of Murphy had changed following their repeated online spats. He told The Mirror: “I think he’s changed a bit in my view, if I’m honest. Some of the things he said just made no sense to me.
“Some of the things he said recently are completely the opposite of what he’s said in the past. At least if you’re going to speak rubbish, speak rubbish consistently and don’t change your tune.”
A few weeks later, Murphy accused Allen of deliberately slowing his play in an attempt to unsettle Barry Hawkins during their match at the UK Championship.
Commentating for the BBC, Murphy said: “At what stage do we question whether the amount of time Mark Allen is taking over simple decisions is a tactic to annoy his opponent?”
It once again prompted a furious response from Allen, who posted on social media: “He’s absolutely entitled to his opinion on things but perhaps best to leave personal feelings out of the commentary box. All because I called out some of his recent BS.”
It remains to be seen if the pair will renew their bitter feud in person this weekend, with a place in the Masters final up for grabs.
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