Murphy so excited to play at '˜iconic' Guild Hall

The event runs from February 6 to 12 and will feature 32 players from a unique ranking list which has run throughout this season. Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Judd Trump and John Higgins are among the star names who will be battling for the £100,000 top prize.

Last season the tournament was staged in Llandudno and Murphy beat Stuart Bingham 10-9 in a dramatic final. World number five Murphy is delighted that it has been moved to the Guild Hall, which staged the UK Championship from 1978 to 1997.

“If you think of snooker’s most iconic venues, you think of the Crucible first and then probably the Preston Guild Hall along with Wembley Conference Centre and the Reading Hexagon,” said 2005 World Champion Murphy. “When I was growing up, they were the venues where the big events took place and the ones I dreamed of playing at.

“I’ve watched plenty of footage on YouTube of the Steve Davis versus Alex Higgins UK Championship finals at the Guild Hall in the early 1980s. As a junior I went there to watch and I’d think about those great matches. There’s such a strong sense of snooker history there, so many great moments happened in that arena, and that’s what still makes it so special.

“It’s similar to the feeling you get when you walk into the Crucible. When you watch on TV you don’t realise how big the Guild Hall is. But it feels very intimate at the same time. There’s that sense of anticipation and suspense for the crowd that you don’t get in any other sport.

“It’s a great honour to play at the Guild Hall now in a big tournament and it’s exciting for all the players, and I can’t wait for the World Grand Prix to come around. It’s great that Preston is back on our rotation.”

Murphy’s final clash with Bingham last year was an epic contest which went down to the last few balls in the deciding frame. “It was a much more exciting final than I wanted it to be!” he said. “I played really well throughout the tournament, I was in a good frame of mind and I was very happy with my game. In fact it was only in the final that I struggled. I was a bit of a rabbit in the headlights because I was so determined to win and perhaps that brought a few more nerves. In the end it went down to the last frame and either of us could have won.

Fans can book tickets, which start at £13, for every session including the showpiece final on February 12. For full details call 01772 80 4444 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets