Shaun Murphy v Wu Yize: World Snooker Championship final day one – live

Updates from the first day of the Crucible final
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Team sports offer us a simple life: we pick one or one picks us, the end. Individual sports, though, are different: on the one hand, who we enjoy doesn’t describe us in the same way but, on the other, it allows us the gift of wanting the best for everyone, the tribalism still present but with all of us gathered as one.

It is not, for example, necessarily easy to vibe with Shaun Murphy, his smarts that make the soul sing sometimes encroaching into smarms that make the teeth itch. But no one can challenge what he’s given to this thing of ours, love of the game – yes, and love of himself, a valuable lesson – radiating through him and into us. He wants a second world title as badly as anyone has ever wanted anything, and should he get it, his smooth, natural, beautiful style will deserve it and then some.