Former snooker world champion Shaun Murphy appears to have reached the pinnacle of another sport, firing nine perfect darts in a clip shared by Paddy Power, but not everyone is convinced.
The ‘Magician’ became the first qualifier since the 1970s to win the World Championship at the Crucible in 2005.
He is one of an elite group of players to have claimed the Triple Crown, lifting the UK Championship in 2008-09 and the Masters in 2014-15.
The 42-year-old has since turned his attention to broadcasting, commentating for the BBC during major snooker events, while continuing to compete in ranking and non-ranking tournaments.
Murphy is also known for trying his hand at the tungsten, previously insisting he has made a nine-darter, a claim mocked by figures in the sport including three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
Now Paddy Power has shared footage of his supposed successful attempt, which sees him throwing darts at a board at home while a mirror shows his action and his response to the feat.
Snooker star Shaun Murphy claims to have hit a nine-darter and now seems to have proof
Paddy Power shared a clip of the snooker star appearing to achieve the feat at home
Luke Humphries has been among those to suggest the video might not be entirely accurate
The first three darts go awry, as Murphy fires a single-20, a treble-20 and a single-one.
But the Magician then pulls an incredible trick from his hat, landing two consecutive 180s to put him on the cusp of a nine-darter.
With his final visit, he holds his nerve, rattling off a treble-20 before going downstairs to clinch a treble-19. A double-12 completes the achievement, with Murphy looking relatively composed given what he has just pulled off.
Paddy Power shared the video with the caption: ‘”I did tell you!” Shaun Murphy hits 9 perfect darts in his garage…’
There have been 96 nine-darters in televised matches in the history of the sport, including six in 2024.
Understandably, some fans have questioned the video with darts’ number one-ranked player Luke Humphries leading those mocking the attempt.
The 29-year-old referred to the highest achievement in Murphy’s own sport, a 147, which involves hitting 15 red balls and 15 black balls alternately before completing the break with a sweep of the coloured balls (all the non-red balls).
Many have spent a great deal of time arguing over which is the greater feat, with some comparing the two accomplishments with a hole-in-one in golf.
Darts fans have taken to social media to voice their doubts as to the validity of the attempt
Humphries said: ‘And I’ll make a 147 next week.’
PDC darts referee Kirk Bevins meanwhile posted: ‘You could have at least waited for April 1st!’
Darts Anonymous suggested the first three darts made the nine-darter attempt null and void, replying: ‘Bust.’
And Rezzy took to X to say: ‘The way his dart is way faster than his hand movements his very impressive. Almost like he is a magician or just a spoofer.’
Murphy, alongside fellow snooker star Mark Williams, joined darts icons Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen and golf duo Matt Wallace and Ross Fisher in a two-hour challenge in a battle of the sports.
Athletes were given 120 minutes to try and complete what is deemed the most difficult challenge in their respective sports: a nine-darter, a 147 break and a hole in one.
MVG hit six perfect darts at one stage, while Matt Wallace and Ross Fisher failed in their bids to bag a hole in one on the golf course, though came close on more than one occasion.
Murphy was previously mocked for his efforts on the oche by darts icon Michael van Gerwen
Murphy threw a few darts during a Paddy Power Perfect Challenge, which he completed
It was Murphy, meanwhile, who was the star of the event, first missing the brown for a 147 break and finally securing one – the only person to complete their challenge within the time limit.
Going into the event, he had raised eyebrows by claiming he had previously hit a nine-darter at a local club, before a shocking performance when he picked up some darts during the challenge. He has, though, now doubled down on his claim.
‘I’ve been getting absolute pelters across social media,’ he told the Onefourseven podcast. ‘It seems as if what I thought was an obvious joke hasn’t been picked up on.
‘At the end they told me to throw some darts. I haven’t played darts for nearly 15 years. Let me just point this out there, to be clear, I never claimed to be a really good darts player, ever. I used to play socially, once or twice a week in my old pub in Manchester when I lived up there a long time ago.
‘I never claimed to be any good at it. But randomly one night, using a set of Phil Taylor darts which he’d sent to me as a gift, I threw nine perfect darts. I think I followed it with 26, it was ridiculous.
‘So at the end of the challenge today, there’s a lot of barracking, a lot of banter, there’s TV crews, behind the cameras there’s 50 people stood there watching. I’m totally out of my comfort zone, I’ve got a scorer who wants to watch me fail, I’ve got Mark Williams wanting to see me fail. Van Gerwen, one the best of all time, the current world champion Luke Humphries has given me his darts.
‘I’ve thrown the first one, held onto it for a bit long and hit two, thrown the next one, gone for double something and missed that, then on purpose I’ve thrown it into the cardboard backing.
‘It was totally on purpose, I thought it was funny. The marker nearly collapsed, because it finished about a foot from his head. I thought that was an obvious joke, but it wasn’t.’
Murphy was the only athlete involved to complete the challenge, securing a 147 break
Darts stars were challenged to hit a nine-darter, while golfers had to try and hit a hole in one
Murphy had joked in the build-up that he had achieved several sporting successes, such as taking six wickets in an over in cricket and securing a perfect game in 10-pin bowling.
When he picked up the darts, however, his credentials were questioned by Van Gerwen.
‘What happens if I hit a 180 here?’ Murphy asked, using the three-time world champion’s darts as he approached the oche. He then proceeded to miss the board completely with two of his darts.
‘Where was it you hit the nine darter?’ Van Gerwen asked after watching his opponent for the day throw a few darts. ‘I would like to know this story.’
Emma Paton, Sky Sports anchor and host of the event, chipped in: ‘It was in his local club.’
After Murphy nodded, Van Gerwen replied, laughing: ‘Was it 301 or 101?’
