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Shaun Murphy says professional snooker players have "a list as long as your arm" of potential changes they would like to see after the establishment of a new body to represent their interests.
The formation of the independent Professional Snooker Players' Association (PSPA) was announced in August, with the stated intention of giving players "a stronger voice" to "champion the sport".
Four-time world champion John Higgins is the PSPA's chairman, with a number of leading players - including world number one Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, Murphy, Mark Allen and Mark Selby - on the players' board.
The association claims the governance of snooker "should factor in more of the views of the players".
It vowed to foster a "collaborative relationship" with the sport's authorities, including the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the existing WPBSA Players' Board, and World Snooker Tour (WST) "to enhance the sport's future, while safeguarding player welfare and commercial interests".
The WPBSA's own players' body was formed in 2020, and the governing body says it has "a specific mandate to act in the collective best interest of members in relation to welfare and issues affecting the professional game".
Former world champion Murphy resigned from his role as WPBSA Players chairman in February to focus more on his playing career and other interests off the table.
The 43-year-old now believes the PSPA represents the best way forward for players to have input into decisions affecting the sport.
"The new body has a long way to go but one of the big things it has... is that it's totally independent," Murphy told BBC Sport after beating David Lilley 4-0 in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
"The way the game is funded - and the way the WPBSA earns its money and the way that funnels into WPBSA Players - it can never be truly independent of the people it's trying to negotiate with and make the game better for the players."
Murphy previously served on the main WPBSA Board - the governing body which works in tandem with the commercial WST - from 2017-19 and was elected to the WPBSA Players Board in December 2023, becoming chairman in May 2024.
He also joined the WPBSA Board in February 2024 as a non-executive player director.
Murphy believes transparency is important in the relationship between governance and players.
"I think if you ask the players in [the PSPA] they've got a list as long as your arm of things to see changed, done better, done differently, looked at, considered, but the WST guard their secrets very closely and there's often a lack of information as to why certain decisions are taken.
"I think once the players have that information they'll understand why certain things are done the way they are - like the calendar of events.
"There are very good reasons for those things and the fact that [the PSPA] is independent allows it to ask questions that staff members of WPBSA don't want to ask."
The reigning Masters champion believes there is a high degree of solidarity among players about the potential impact of the PSPA.
"In my time as a professional snooker player there has been high political drama in snooker, it hasn't been without its problems, but at the minute I think the players are very close to [being] united, probably as close as ever in terms of seeing what this new association is about.
"I think they are positive that something is being done.
"John Higgins is leading it and if it's serious enough for John to throw his hat in the ring then I think everyone should take it seriously."
A statement released by WST in response said: "We have been ready to speak to the PSPA since we first heard about it at the start of August and our door remains open, be that for the PSPA or for any individual player."
Murphy is part of an elite group of players who have won all three of snooker's 'Triple Crown' events - the World Championship, the Masters and the UK Championship.
Among the changes he would like to see is a return to a points-based system to determine ranking, as opposed to the current standings which are based on prize money accumulated in ranking events.
Murphy won the recent British Open and finished runner-up in the Xi'an Grand Prix to rise to ninth in the world rankings and third on the one-year list, which reflects more recent form.
Neil Robertson enjoys a substantial lead in the one-year list after picking up a cheque of £500,000 for winning the Saudi Arabia Masters in August.
"I don't think the Saudi Masters is five times more difficult to win than the British Open, but it is worth five times the amount of points and prize money. It's a skewed system in my opinion," Murphy said.
"I think it would be good to have a money list for whatever the WST want to use it for - but in terms of the rankings I think we need to return to a points-based system where you can have that equality a little bit more."
