 Murphy 's victory was considered a major surprise . His pre @-@ tournament odds were 150 – 1 , and before his win he was considered an underachiever . He became only the third qualifier to win the World Championship ( or to reach the final ) after Alex Higgins in 1972 and Terry Griffiths in 1979 . At the age of 22 , Murphy was the second youngest player to win the World Championship , following Hendry who first lifted the title when he was 21 . No previous world champion had played as many matches ( seven ) to lift the title , and he was the lowest ranked player , at number 48 , to win the tournament . No player had won the World Championship as his first ranking event win since Joe Johnson in 1986 . His run in the tournament earned him the nickname " Magician " and the tournament doubled his previous career prize money , with which he purchased a Mercedes @-@ Benz and a house . After his win , in July 2005 , he married his fiancée Clare . 
