Shaun Murphy should probably take most of the credit for his much-needed win over Ding Junhui at the Masters – but the former world champion was left wondering if other motivational forces had subtly contributed to his success, having chosen for the first time the ‘Superman’ film theme music for his entrance.

Murphy, 31, said: “It struck me over Christmas watching the darts here that walk-ons are your little opportunity to have a bit of fun and show a bit of your personality. I used to have ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ being the Magician, and the theme from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, because I liked it.

“Then it hit me that I have been the biggest Superman fan since I was six, so why don’t I use it? It’s a piece of music I really like, everyone else likes it, it is a bit of fun, and that’s it. It only puts extra pressure on myself walking in to Superman if my opponent has Kryptonite, and luckily Ding didn’t have any with him.”