SNOOKER star Shaun Murphy can’t wait to get back on the green baize in York.

The 28-year-old said the game’s professionals were united in their delight at the return of the UK Championship to the Barbican in December.

Murphy, ironically, won snooker’s second biggest event when the tournament was held in Telford – lifting the crown in 2008.

While having never got past the third round in the Minster city, Murphy, nicknamed The Magician, said he was eager to return.

“I never really enjoyed any real success at the Barbican when I played in the UK Championship at York,” he told The Press.

“All the players love the tournament at York and love the Barbican as a venue.

“I remember it being a good venue. It has undergone some refurbishment so I can’t wait to come back and see it.

“I can’t wait to get stuck in and, hopefully, have some success at York.”

When asked whether he had mixed feelings about the move from Telford, having won the UK at the International Centre, Murphy added: “Anywhere you go back to as a past winner is great but the UK Championship is a big enough tournament that it wouldn’t matter where they played it.

“I think all the players – we’ve nothing against Telford – if they had a straight choice between Telford and York, York would win every time.”

Murphy, one of the few players to have won both the World and UK Championship, has thrown himself fully into the revolution started by World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.

A stalwart of the Professional Tour Championship series, a set of competitions which helped Pickering pro Paul Davison keep his place on the main tour, Murphy said it was a “great time to be a snooker player”.

“Some players have gone into those (PTC) tournaments with the wrong attitude – of just keeping themselves sharp,” he added.

“Those tournaments were good events on their own and I treated each one as a big event. I was lucky enough to qualify for the Grand Final and ended up winning it.

“I was pleased to be busy every week. It was nice to be able to call myself a proper professional sportsman for the first time in my career. I was busy all the time.

“Snooker is having a massive resurgence at the minute and I am very lucky to be part of that.

“It’s a great time to be a snooker player.”