# Tommy Murphy (snooker player)

Tommy Murphy (born 8 January 1962) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player.

## Career

Murphy won the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship and All-Ireland Amateur Championship in 1981. Before turning professional, Murphy was an apprentice coffin-maker. In 1987, Willie Thorne made a maximum break against Murphy in the UK Championship. Although this was the first maximum in almost four years, it was not televised.
As a professional, Murphy's best ranking finishes were last 16 appearances at the 1987 British Open and the 1988 Classic. At the Irish Professional Championship in 1982 and 1986 he reached the semi-final, on both occasions being defeated by eventual champion Dennis Taylor. He also represented Northern Ireland at their infamous World Cup campaign. Teaming up with Taylor and Alex Higgins, Northern Ireland reached the final which ended with defeat to Canada and Higgins threatening to have Taylor shot.
This was Murphy's last notable appearance at a tournament, and he lost his professional status in 1994.

## Performance and rankings timeline

| Tournament | 1981/ 82 | 1982/ 83 | 1983/ 84 | 1984/ 85 | 1985/ 86 | 1986/ 87 | 1987/ 88 | 1988/ 89 | 1989/ 90 | 1990/ 91 | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 |
| Ranking | | | | 55 | 58 | 57 | 44 | 42 | 57 | 75 | 90 | 150 | 228 |
| Ranking tournaments ||||||||||||||
| Dubai Classic | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | A |
| Grand Prix | NH | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A |
| UK Championship | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | A |
| European Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | A |
| Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | LQ | LQ | A |
| International Open | NR | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | A | A |
| Thailand Open | Not Held | Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Not Held | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | A |
| British Open | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | LQ | 3R | 1R | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | WD | A |
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| Non-ranking tournaments ||||||||||||||
| The Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | A |
| Former ranking tournaments ||||||||||||||
| Canadian Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Hong Kong Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Classic | NR | NR | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | Not Held | Not Held |
| Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Not Held | Not Held |
| Former non-ranking tournaments ||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | LQ | LQ | 1R | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event |
| British Open | LQ | A | LQ | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event | Ranking Event |
| Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| Irish Professional Championship | SF | QF | NH | QF | SF | 1R | QF | QF | Not Held | Not Held | LQ | LQ | A |
Performance table legend :
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi–finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. |
| R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. |
* ↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
* 1 2 He was not on the Main Tour.
* ↑ The event ran under different names such as Professional Players Tournament (1982/1983 to 1983/1984).
* ↑ The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1991/1992 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
* ↑ The event run under different names such as International Masters (1981/1982-1983/1984)

## Career finals
### Team finals: 1

| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1990 | World Cup | Northern Ireland | Canada | 5–9 |

### Amateur finals: 2 (2 titles)

| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 1981 | Northern Ireland Amateur Championship | Billy Mills | 4–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 1981 | All-Ireland Amateur Championship | Anthony Kearney | 5–2 |