The Snooker Thread

[Yevrah]

Pretty sure Hendry got one against him, maybe even in the final frame of a final if memory serves. Let’s go for Numberwang with at 8-8 in the Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge final.

[Boydy]

Is the masters hidden away on iplayer for primetime too? No fucking bbc 3 slot or anything?

[Yevrah]

Yep.

[niko_cee]

Ronnie's in his mid-match all at sea phase. Can THE HAWK swoop?

[niko_cee]

Looks like the answer was no.

[Jimmy Floyd]

All these years and I've only just realised that 'the ace in the pack' refers to his name being trump, which is something you do in cards. I always thought it was a weird thing to call oneself.

[niko_cee]

Impressive pink by Carter to take it to the deciding frame.

[niko_cee]

Selby has been distressingly lucky in these first few frames.

Got to love a trick shot though.

[Gray Fox]

I see Ronnie has SLAMMED the venue for being shit.

Immediately WST put out a response saying all other players think it's great. Usually this would indicate Ronnie being a little off the boil, but he seems to have eased into the semis and is giving it the "lol I wasn't even good" again. It's going to be quite shit when he decides enough is enough.

[Ian]

1745539015338524749

[niko_cee]

:D

Oof. Hell of a maximum.

[wullie]

I keep thinking Allen's ill whenever he appears on screen which is testament to a hell of a weight loss regime.

[Dark Soldier]

This has been amazingly bad. Two shovels of snooker shite.

[Gray Fox]

Ronnie trying to knock everything in may well be his undoing here. He's just lost two frames for it, but far be it from me to tell him how to play.

I do enjoy when he does just not engage the Selbys of the world.

[niko_cee]

His smash 'em up 'safety' in the first frame set the tone.

[Gray Fox]

You do wonder how it must be to be an Ali Carter here. You know other than your family, no fucker here wants you winning.

[Gray Fox]

Some proper thickos in the crowd tonight.

[Shindig]

If Ronnie retired, would that crowd element go with him or would they just back someone else?

[Gray Fox]

I suspect a reasonable portion of the audience is only there for him. You'll always get some good/bad crowds though. They'll get behind a new chosen hero.

[Ben]

“Ally Pally” crowds are always the worst.

[Yevrah]

That might be the best point John Parrot's ever made while commentating.

[niko_cee]

:D

[Jimmy Floyd]

This tournament has always been partisan for Ronnie and Jimmy White.

I've been thinking while watching him, if you consider he has a long term edge on the field, how much of that edge is the ability to play with both hands? It makes certain shots hugely easier.

[Gray Fox]

He insists breaking left handed is the way to go too. He's been doing that exclusively for some time now.

[niko_cee]

What a weird choice of shot having refused playing safe off the bunch the shot before.

[Gray Fox]

Ronnie clearly not at it so far tonight. If he gets ahead that's probably that, but he's struggling.

[niko_cee]

Isn't this pretty much how he's been all week?

[Yevrah]

Isn't this pretty much how he's been all week?

Yep. The waxing lyrical over his performance against Shaun Murphy was serious overstatement. He's basically had the draw of his dreams, playing players with appalling records against him one after the other.

[niko_cee]

Wasn't expecting to flick back and see Carter had lost that frame. Feels like that could be costly.

[wullie]

I was hoping Carter would win it just because he's less likely to use his acceptance speech to talk about how shit he is and how much the room stinks of piss.

[Yevrah]

I was hoping Carter would win it just because he's less likely to use his acceptance speech to talk about how shit he is and how much the room stinks of piss.

:D What a finish to a sentence.

Hoping Carter loses his shit and has a pop at the crowd if he loses.

[Gray Fox]

I'm very surprised one of them hasn't already.

[Gray Fox]

Carter threw in the towel at 7-7 it seems.

[niko_cee]

Pretty miserable end.

[Yevrah]

As is his acceptance speech, never seen anyone less arsed at winning something.

[Gray Fox]

He's said as much on Henry's YouTube channel. What he wants is to just turn up and have competitive games with people and win. He doesn't quite like all of the other faff that goes with it.

[Dark Soldier]

Must reach a point, like. Prob the same reason Taylor stopped molesting women by the end of his darts reign, too easy.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I can't believe Rob Walker putting the 'where does this rank' question, it very clearly ranks in the bottom handful.

[Yevrah]

Bit difficult for Steve Davis to answer how hard it was doing the triple crown given the marketing bullshit term didn't exist then.

[Gray Fox]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/67988328

Ronnie sticking the knife in.

[niko_cee]

:D

Probably with him on that, Carter always has seemed a bit of a twat. Even his 100k and some ranking points comment the other day was snide as fuck.

[Giggles]

Was the dirty animal really snotting on the carpets?

[Ian]

He could shit on the carpets and there'd still be plenty going 'lol what a character though."

[niko_cee]

Seems an odd thing for an apparent clean freak germophobe type to be doing. The snotting that is, not the shitting, although that would also qualify as odd.

[Waffdon]

Is that why he does them fist bumps? It’s always a laugh when he does it to the referee in an awkward manner

[Yevrah]

It is, Covid went to his head.

[niko_cee]

Carter upping the seethe ante. Not sure it's a great course of action.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It isn't. O'Sullivan is bigger than the sport, so you're never going to win.

[Dark Soldier]

I did enjoy the sad cunt during the Masters who everytime Carter went to the table just shouted 'Captain' with an imaginary hat tip.

[igor_balis]

Carter is a massive right wing cunt, but jeez O'Sullivan is incredibly annoying.

[Jimmy Floyd]

World Snooker announces a new event in Saudi Arabia in March “with an innovative new concept, a 23rd ball known as the Riyadh Season ball. This gold ball will be worth 20 points”

Imagine trying to promote your regime through the medium of snooker. The hearts and minds of British pensioners are at stake.

[Gray Fox]

Who is getting the first 167 then?

[Yevrah]

Imagine trying to promote your regime through the medium of snooker. The hearts and minds of British pensioners are at stake.

You just wouldn't, would you? Which is why they're not.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They're literally naming a golden snooker ball after a state-sponsored cultural expo.

[Yevrah]

Well they needed to give the terrible idea a name.

[Ben]

As long as it stays confined to their shores then so fuck. It'll never get any eyeballs over here but might finance snooker's survival post-Ronnie.

[niko_cee]

Where is the golden ball going to live?

Maybe one ball per frame should be designated the embassy ball, could even do a bit of tobacco sponsorship, and if you pot that one it doesn't come out of the pocket and you lose the frame and/or your life.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It seems that it only appears in the event of somebody completing a 147 break. If you're going to have a 20 point golden ball, at least have it coming out as a deciding ball any time the frame is closer than 20 points. These guys are rubbish.

[Yevrah]

Got Ronnie on in the background and after this tournament he could do with putting his cue down and not picking it up again until a week before the World Championships.

[Ian]

This golden ball idea sounds like the impetus snooker needs and I'm going to become a die hard snooker fan with immediate effect.

[Gray Fox]

I want the quiet hush interrupted by sirens, air horns and lazer lighting to announce the golden ball is now in play.

[Dark Soldier]

Put a timer on the ball and if its not potted within 30 seconds they're beheaded live on the telly. Would finally rid the world of Ebdon.

[Ian]

I want the quiet hush interrupted by sirens, air horns and lazer lighting to announce the golden ball is now in play.

If it's anything like the first few WWE Saudi PPVs the silence will be respected but only because everybody there will be bored businessmen playing on their phones.

[Gray Fox]

It'll be interesting to see if Ronnie says the place is filthy and smells this time.

My guess is he'll be overjoyed to be out there.

[Kikó]

The Saudis are absolute heathens.

[Shindig]

Outside of horse racing, I have a hard time believing Saudis like any sport.

[niko_cee]

Are there any sports involving birds of prey? They quite like those don't they?

Which I suppose is sort of apt seeing as the guy in charge of all the sportswashing is called turkey.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Once you get past the shock value of the Saudis owning all of sport, I'm not sure what comes next. I mean, what are they going to do with it?

[Yevrah]

Keep it until it's no longer useful to them then bin it off.

[niko_cee]

None of it is useful to them, their football league is on the "well supported and long standing" road to ruin already and everything else they have is either owned by the Hearns or historically corrupt as hell.

And OPEC is also losing it's grip on the world in the face of massive increases in North American production, so maybe the Saudi century is going to be even more short-lived than the Chinese one.

[Yevrah]

Ronnie is absolutely battering Ding on ITV now. 4-1 up and playing sensational stuff.

[niko_cee]

That final pink, fucking hell.

Good luck living with that.

[Yevrah]

Four centuries, two other one visit winning breaks. One of the best performances in a short form match I can recall.

[niko_cee]

Ken Doherty's swallowed the thesaurus.

[Gray Fox]

Ken "you know" Doherty.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If Trump and O'Sullivan a) get on opposite sides of the WC draw and b) both manage not to get ground into the dust by Selby, Gary Wilson or any other slab of granite along the way, there's the potential for an all-time final.

[Ian]

Do you lads reckon Ding has it in him to ever win the big one? I mostly only watch the World Championship and Ding always looks a contender right up until he very suddenly doesn't. What's stopping him d'you thing?

[Yevrah]

Probably not now, but I'd never say no chance. He was genuinely good when he was young and looked to have the right mentality too, but he came up against Ronnie in that final I posted the highlights of a couple of pages ago, got absolutely humped and was never the same again.

[Yevrah]

O'Sullivan vs Trump on ITV4 in 10 mins. Seriously looking forward to this. :drool:

[Waffdon]

We’re all Judd Trump.

[Yevrah]

Looks like Ronnie is too at the moment. Dogshit start.

[Gray Fox]

Doesnt look too arsed at the moment. About to be 3 down.

This will be the one where he comes out afterwards and says "See, I told you I was shit. I don't want to play any more"

[Yevrah]

Jesus, that was rancid. Gone from up there with the best I've ever seen him play to down there with the worst.

[Gray Fox]

There must have been nearly 10 times the cue ball has gone in-off so far today. Horrid stuff.

[Yevrah]

If Ronnie wasn't being a dick when it comes to 147s there'd be a decent chance of one happening here. Could not wish for the balls to be better placed.

[Gray Fox]

Felt like he wanted that one but just isn't in the form to make it happen.

[Yevrah]

Shitshow warming up nicely now.

[Waffdon]

People clapping every single Ronnie shot is boring as fuck

[Giggles]

It's about 3 years away from being like the darts.

[wullie]

Don't know if it's contracted to ensure SPREADEX SPORTS is in every shot but the main table camera is far too low in this.

[Gray Fox]

Last time I checked this was 2-5. Looks as if it could be 7-7 soon. Is this a case of Ronnie upping his game or Trump letting him back in?

[Gray Fox]

Bloody hell he's bottled that.

[wullie]

That was perfect.

[Waffdon]

Seen that black fucking him over a mile out there. Thought he’d have tried to move it earlier. That’s the game

[Gray Fox]

He should have taken a little bit to steady himself for that. Crazy.

[Waffdon]

Been hanging around with Jack Lisowski too much

[Yevrah]

Last time I checked this was 2-5. Looks as if it could be 7-7 soon. Is this a case of Ronnie upping his game or Trump letting him back in?

Ronnie's played a lot better and Trump has dropped a bit. It's far from the classic I was expecting still mind.

[niko_cee]

Ronnie going into god mode for a bit and then missing that red by a mile, particularly when it looked like he'd played for the tougher one down the line was a bit :cab:

Trump chucking frames not helping, looked on the verge of tears at one point there.

[Waffdon]

Fuck me, why has he even attempted that.

[Waffdon]

3 he’s left hanging over the pocket in the last 20 minutes. Bottle: shot.

[Gray Fox]

Stick a fork in it.

Ronnie will say he knew Trump didn't have the bottle.

[Gray Fox]

Did someone really just shout "Come on Judd, he's shit!" :D

[Dark Soldier]

This has been one of the worst, yet also one of the most entertaining finals in years.

[Waffdon]

Trump has played some incredible shots but then fucks it all up with a positional shot or an easy pocket.

Hopefully he sorts it out for World Championship. I’m not really sure he’s played all that great in some of these tournaments he’s won

[Jimmy Floyd]

That's a big marker for the worlds. A pity as Trump could be twice the player he is.

[Waffdon]

Trump continues to dismantle anyone and everyone in these ranking tournament. Hopefully he doesn’t shit the bed at Worlds. On for 100 centuries for the year with ease.

[Yevrah]

Watching this desert shit show on Eurosport. It's already half 11 over there and Murphy and Trump are just coming on for their best of seven before Ronnie and Higgins follow. Some amazing scheduling that.

[niko_cee]

I wouldn't worry, the smattering of Sheikhs will be able to browse their phones at any hour of the day.

Having not seen it, what does it mean that the golden ball sits on the top cushion - is it on the table or is it on the cushion, or is it really nowhere it can be an amusing obstacle?

[Waffdon]

In a bit Murphy, ya fud.

[Yevrah]

Having not seen it, what does it mean that the golden ball sits on the top cushion - is it on the table or is it on the cushion, or is it really nowhere it can be an amusing obstacle?

It sits on the table, but tight on the baulk cushion, directly behind the Brown and stays there until a 147 is no longer on at which point it's removed until the next frame. Should someone get a 147 they then need to somehow get on the golden ball having potted the black at the other end of the table.

Tournament over, Ronnie won and he was pretty shit hot. 6 centuries in the 13 frames he won. And fair play to the snooker players and establishment, showing exactly how it should be done when it comes to dealing with the Saudi's. No pissing around with hollow protests about human rights only to subsequently suck hard on that desert cash cock - a unified response of "we're snooker players, not politicians" was echoed throughout with a clear nod to the prize money being the main reason they're there. On the prize money, it was obscene for a couple of days work, but not enough to devalue the status of the World Championships and the short form matches also helped on that score too.

Nice moment at the end when top ranking Saudi asked for a mic and announced that this season's 167 prize that no-one managed now rolls into next year's tournament for a cool $1m should someone manage it then.

All in all, a pretty good effort and similar to the World Cup, much better than expected.

[Ben]

Does it get replaced to the top cushion if it's cannoned elsewhere during the frame?

[Yevrah]

It doesn’t, but the chances of that happening while a 147 is still on are so remote. I didn’t watch all of the matches but did see a fair few and didn’t see it move once (other than to be removed from the table).

[Jimmy Floyd]

Doesn't it get in the way of safety shots at 0-0? I'm not criticising our Saudi overlords who are of course just and measured in all things.

[niko_cee]

That's what I was thinking, albeit it more in a that would be fun way. What happens if you foul it? Does it go off like an IED?

They should have it in a mousetrap style run to deploy onto the table at speed and in an irregular way when necessary.

[Gray Fox]

I don't think our new Saudi overlords have paid much money to see Mark Selby come over and safety everyone into the ground to be fair.

[Don]

Rumour is the golden ball was actually in the original game in India but it was removed when it came over to England as the gammons thought it would encourage more colours to come on their shores and negatively affect the Sheperd's Pie supplies.

[Ben]

Surely we would have ditched the brown and black then?

[Jimmy Floyd]

A good shepherd's pie is nothing if not golden.

[Dark Soldier]

Been watching some WC qualifiers in the background while working this week. Some geezer on Twitch is streaming all of it (SnookerLiveStreams if you wanna tune in).

Some good and shocking stuff. Jimmy White got twatted and currently watching Fu v Doherty stink it right up. Love it.

[Yevrah]

I watched a load of it last year and it was so bad. Not very good players + awful venue + understandable nerves at qualifying = shocking viewing.

[Yevrah]

Neil Robertson lost in qualifying for the World Championship. There aren't enough lols.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He must have really dropped a bollock to have sunk as low as 24 in the world.

Thankfully Slick Rick Walden and Ball Run Bingham seem to have had more luck.

[Yevrah]

He was in a video on Hendry’s channel saying how nobody would want to draw him. That’s aged well.

He’s a bit of a joke really. The Ato Boldon of snooker.

[Ben]

Quinten Hann. :cool:

[igor_balis]

Nice to have old Nige back

[Gray Fox]

I see that the Saudi Arabia Ambassador for Snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan, has suddenly decided that the World Championship should move away from the crucible.

You'll never guess where he thinks it should move to.

[John Arne]

I'm guessing it's not Llandudno....

[Ian]

While it just moving to Riyadh would be enormously depressing what do you who care more about snooker than me think about the general idea of it not being at the crucible? An absolute no-go and it must remain there because that's just the tradition / part of the magic or are you theoretically not against it?

I basically only watch the World championship and then bits and bobs elsewhere if I catch it, and on the one hand my gut reaction is that it'd be weird if it wasn't at the Crucible I also can't really say why because if the crowds elsewhere were still being told to shut the fuck up I can't imagine it would actually impact my viewing experience, but maybe that's just because I don't watch that much of it and I'm missing something.

Also: Fuck Ronnie. Partly for this totally predictable and money-grubbing stance, but also just generally.

[niko_cee]

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it moving but I think you would lose something if you replaced an interested crowd tittering along to John Virgo's rye remarks with row upon row of disinterested sheikhs looking at their phones, so it leaving the UK would probably be a red line.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I think the Crucible (along with the long match length) is what gives it the gravitas it has. Snooker isn't a sport that will ever command mass viewership all year round but like tennis and darts, it has a fortnight in the year when the sporting public will tune in because there is gravitas attached to it. You put it in Saudi Arabia or shorten it to best of 9 and it's then no longer the world championship but just another sporting money grab.

You could play Wimbledon or the Masters in Saudi Arabia. Could. But should?

[Ian]

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it moving but I think you would lose something if you replaced an interested crowd tittering along to John Virgo's rye remarks with row upon row of disinterested sheikhs looking at their phones, so it leaving the UK would probably be a red line.

This is the main thing I think about basically all these things. Dunno if WWE did it first but as a "sport" (I know, I know) where the front rows of the crowd can be such a big part of the experience the shows where it's just a load of bored blokes in thobes are just immediately shit regardless of whatever else is going on.

[wullie]

I'll accept them moving it so long as the chap in the knock-off Cov kit still gets his seat on camera each year. Although if he's there Sunday, forget that plastic.

[Shindig]

I think the Crucible (along with the long match length) is what gives it the gravitas it has. Snooker isn't a sport that will ever command mass viewership all year round but like tennis and darts, it has a fortnight in the year when the sporting public will tune in because there is gravitas attached to it. You put it in Saudi Arabia or shorten it to best of 9 and it's then no longer the world championship but just another sporting money grab.

You could play Wimbledon or the Masters in Saudi Arabia. Could. But should?

I think those two other examples at least have the sense of a global event within a global sport. Snooker is a sport incredibly focused around the home nations. The talent, audience and administrators are predominantly British. There is no market in Saudi Arabia for cue sports and there's no chance of this sparking a Arabian talent drive.

[Gray Fox]

I see the change of venue like I saw Arsenals stadium move. Highbury was great. Not the biggest place but it had that magic about it at times and comes with all of the history and tradition.

They moved what, a few hundred feet down the road? But it's now a somewhat soulless bowl. Yes it's nice and shiny and holds more people but it's just not the same.

[Ian]

I love seeing clips from Highbury now, when it looked tight and hostile.

[Giggles]

Highbury was so good

[Jimmy Floyd]

There's no market in Saudi Arabia for anything except possibly football and even then the spend is nothing to do with the market that exists.

[Ian]

I dunno, some of them might like the cues as a sort of novelty implement for corporal punishment.

[Gray Fox]

The crucible curse claims another victim.

[Waffdon]

Ali Carter being dumped out is wonderful to see

[Yevrah]

As is Selby being 7-2 down. :drool:

[Yevrah]

If it goes to expectation/form from here the final is basically going to be Trump vs O'Sullivan in the second semi-final, with the winner absolutely nailed on in the final.

[niko_cee]

Watched a bit of that Carter v Maguire match and there was a point when it was something like 7-7 that every shot was just an outrageous fluke or piece of misfortune. Glad to see the captain came out on the wrong end of it.

Think this is the one thing about the Snooker World Champs which sort of sets them apart from, in my mind, any other sport or whatever you want to call it. Once it kicks off you are straight into it and every match has jeopardy in it. Perhaps take heed format expanders of the world.

[Ian]

I think it should start with three group stages to really ramp up the excitement, and then Ronnie gets to choose who he playa in the knockouts on the proviso that he stops fucking whinging.

[Gray Fox]

We need a deep Shaun Murphy run with an agonising exit. Keeps him away from the title, but also off punditry for as long as possible.

[-james-]

We need a deep Shaun Murphy run with an agonising exit. Keeps him away from the title, but also off punditry for as long as possible.

He's doing the punditry while still in the tournament. Stephen Hendry was clearly baffled by this while chatting to him post victory earlier. I get the vibe the pundits are quite wound up by him too. I quite enjoy him and his turbo lameness but I think it's just me

[Yevrah]

I don't mind Murphy, but I absolutely hate current players being in the commentary box.

[Yevrah]

Hold me.

[Yevrah]

As for the Crucible debate, I was always on the side of keeping it but that was until the game got reasonably popular again and outgrew the Crucible in its current state. If you could comfortably sell somewhere between five thousand and ten thousand tickets for the final and your actual venue holds 980 people then something is seriously wrong - It'd be like routinely holding the football World Cup final in a 20k seater stadium.

All other arguments for keeping it there are irrelevant when you have that elephant in the room. Now there's then a debate about where you should move it to and I would absolutely hate that to involve sucking desert cock as it would actively damage the sport, so I guess the ideal solution would be to make the Crucible bigger, or usher in the use of technology that puts you virtually in the room. Not sure how feasible either of those are before the current deal expires in 2028, but it's a stupid argument to keep it somewhere that's now so unfit for purpose 'because that's what we've one for 50 years'.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Isn't Gladiators filmed in Sheffield? Hold it wherever that is.

[Shindig]

I was thinking for a second about trying to keep 10,000 people quiet but they do that in tennis quite easily. Holding it in the current venues might also give it a false perspective. They're holding more events these days but can they keep larger venues full? At least then, you'd have an idea of where the popularity of the sport is at.

[igor_balis]

As for the Crucible debate, I was always on the side of keeping it but that was until the game got reasonably popular again and outgrew the Crucible in its current state. If you could comfortably sell somewhere between five thousand and ten thousand tickets for the final and your actual venue holds 980 people then something is seriously wrong - It'd be like routinely holding the football World Cup final in a 20k seater stadium.

All other arguments for keeping it there are irrelevant when you have that elephant in the room. Now there's then a debate about where you should move it to and I would absolutely hate that to involve sucking desert cock as it would actively damage the sport, so I guess the ideal solution would be to make the Crucible bigger, or usher in the use of technology that puts you virtually in the room. Not sure how feasible either of those are before the current deal expires in 2028, but it's a stupid argument to keep it somewhere that's now so unfit for purpose 'because that's what we've one for 50 years'.

Yes I agree with all of that, good post. I do quite like the heritage of the crucible, but it's not like it's been THERE for ever, either. I wouldn't be against doing that qualies there maybe? Or just the senior championships?

[niko_cee]

I've never been to the snooker, but isn't there a bit of a technical/logistical issue with being there to watch it if there are 10000 other people and you're fifty rows back? Are we advocating for opera glasses here? I mean, don't the largest indoor arenas usually only hold about 10000 people?

[Shindig]

You don't want the audience trained on screens, really. Having them wired into the commentary is good but then they'll just solely react to John Virgo saying, "Oh, he's played that well."

[igor_balis]

I fucking hate the audience giggling to virgos shit jokes. I do bang on about it a lot, but I find the Eurosport coverage a lot less annoying. I think a lot find Joe Johnson a bit crap, but I really like him. Foulds is great, too.

[Gray Fox]

I suppose the question is how big should the venue be? If you can wrangle a few thousand seats into there with everyone still having a decent view then grand. You'd have to accept that it'd be amazing to have it packed out for Ronnie and co, but there'll be a fair few on-camera empty seats for Gary Wilson v Robert Milkins.

[igor_balis]

I do feel like snooker is a bit like golf (and controversial one, but cricket too) in that it's infinitely harder to know what the fuck is going on when you watch it live, and that'll be exponentially worse with bigger venues.

I went to the UKs in York in 2019, and aside from the unbridled joy at seeing Marco Fu in the flesh, it was basically a waste of time in our seats.

To be honest, the more I think about it, the more I'm coming back round to sticking with the crucible. Dunno lol

[Jimmy Floyd]

The thing is it's a parlour game that has inexplicably turned into a spectator sport, and like all capitalists Barry Hearn's job is to EXPAND but I'm not sure it actually works.

[niko_cee]

I do feel like snooker is a bit like golf (and controversial one, but cricket too) in that it's infinitely harder to know what the fuck is going on when you watch it live


Same for darts, but, like the cricket, that's more about getting battered.

[Waffdon]

Si back at it again :cool:

[Ben]

Ronnie absolutely spanking some jobber at the moment.

[Waffdon]

He looks like he’s about to cry

[Giggles]

Errrrrrr...


1784184688250155238

[Ian]

Even if that is a thing they do because his son has ears like taxi doors it's still deeply peculiar behaviour to do it in public. Looks deeply sus.

[John Arne]

Saw that earlier. No idea what the fuss is about. A dad bites his young son's ear. What is suspicious or dodgy about that?

[Waffdon]

Saw that earlier. No idea what the fuss is about. A dad bites his young son's ear. What is suspicious or dodgy about that?

You’ve been Vietnam too long.

This Si/Jones match has been hilarious. Literally every frame going down to the final ball. Both players look like a mess.

[John Arne]

You’ve been Vietnam too long.

Casual racism, nice.

[Shindig]

No, he's implying you're a nonce.

[Yevrah]

Yeah, that is proper nonce behaviour.

[John Arne]

Weirdos, the lot of you.

[Giggles]

You've been in Vietnam too long.

[Yevrah]

If the kid was an infant I could sort of understand it but that boy’s a young man and there he is, on tv, casually watching the don that is Stephen Hendré drop truth bombs while his Dad leans in and nibbles his ear.

It’s suspect behaviour of the highest order. That he doesn’t even flinch suggests his Dad does it all the time and if he’s happy to do that in public what the fuck is he up to with him at home?

[igor_balis]

Ronnie very sloppy but I think Ryan Day might be a bit too shit to fully take advantage

[Yevrah]

Yeah, Ronnie not in good nick, probably playing as badly as he did against Brecel last year.

[Waffdon]

The standard is shite, idk why they always try make out it’s so much harder to win these days

[Yevrah]

Watch some of the old stuff and you'll see why. The standard is a million times better among everyone bar the very best.

[Yevrah]

And despite labouring all night he's suddenly notched up a gear, is 10-4 ahead and the match is, over.

[Yevrah]

Cursed that as he lost the last two frames. 10-6.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Why are the Chinese so useless? 13 of them in the last 48, only one made the last 16 and he lost there.

[Spikey M]

Weirdos, the lot of you.

To clarify, you think that this:

1783652961174032660?t=lKsoikhMO2L2GA4VpIZGoA&s=19

Is normal behaviour?

Someone change his name to Gary Arne Glitter immediately.

[Yevrah]

Ronnie through and given the complete no marks he's come up against impossible to tell whether he's in the right nick to win this.

[Waffdon]

Trump smacks him silly in the semis.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's got to defeat the entire population of Wales one by one before he gets to play against Trump. Next up: the comedian, Mark Watson.

[Waffdon]

Bristol is basically Wales anyway with that dodgy accent

[igor_balis]

Bristol is basically Wales anyway with that dodgy accent

Dyk that he actually put on a pretend Welsh accent at the start of his career because it made him less nervous performing? What a lunatic.

[Boydy]

This Allen - Higgins game is good.

[wullie]

This has been a great pair of games, some shot by Higgins just then.

[Boydy]

The double to start off and then that last red. Fucking hell. Class.

Shame that game was so early in the tournament.

[Waffdon]

What a ridiculous break from Higgins. The balls on that double and then the last red :drool:

[Yevrah]

That was mustard.

[Waffdon]

May have jinxed Trump slightly. He started off well with a century and 60 break as well

[Waffdon]

11/4 for Jak Jones is great odds. Trump looks off it and is getting dragged into long safety battles every other frame

[Boydy]

Trump and Jones are both playing absolute dogshit here.

[Waffdon]

Trump’s cue ball control has been dreadful majority of the tournament

[Waffdon]

Only way Jack Jones doesn’t win is if his bottle drops as Trump looks absolutely horrendous. The former should really have already won this if he didn’t throw away multiple frames

[Gray Fox]

Speaking of, the state of that yellow he's just missed.

[Waffdon]

Both of them.

He’s been fucking dreadful.

[Ben]

I've just discovered you can enlarge the BBC website's picture in picture player. Brilliant.

[Gray Fox]

Assuming Jones clears up here, I don't see anyone left that could stop Ronnie even in not the best of form. As long as he gets through Bingham he should have it.

[Yevrah]

Ronnie plays at 80%+ of what he can and it's his, maybe 85% for Kyren if I'm being charitable to the latter.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Trump needs to have a look at himself being that good all year and then playing like this at the worlds. Not like he got unlucky with someone on a hot day.

[niko_cee]

Loved that 21st frame in the Trump match, what an absolute shitshow. Nothing better than when a pocket gets completely fucked. Bit of a shame Trump conceded so we couldn't get a determination on whether the cueball passed the green.

[niko_cee]

Ronnie gone slightly mad on that rocking black situation.

The greatest piece of sportsmanship in any sport ever. :happycry:

[Yevrah]

What happened?

[niko_cee]

He was in at 7-5 after Bingham made a mistake, but when potting the black he failed to hold the spot so it was very tight as to whether he could get to the potting angle for the only red he had on. The ref kept putting the black on its spot, but it kept rolling off it and more in line with the pot. Eventually she managed to get it to stay, and it looked like the pot was on, but Ronnie thought it should have been on and so the black must have been in the wrong place. She had about 50 more goes before essentially telling him he had to play, so, rather than play the pot which looked to be on, he played safe, and ended up losing the frame. It was all a bit :cab:

Sorry, might have been 6-5 to go 7-5. And the guy on comms who isn't Virgo called it the greatest piece of sportsmanship ever witnessed.

[Ben]

Neil Robertson. He’s a right square.

[Dave.]

If we get Jak Jones, Gilbert, Wilson and Bingham in the quarter finals, it will be a massive yawnfest.:yawn:

[Gray Fox]

So whoever wins the Ronnie v Bingham match will take it then.
Jones and Gilbert will surely brick it and I'm not sure if Wilson has it in him. He has threatened it a couple of times but always seems to fall short.

[Boydy]

I thought the Wilson - Higgins game was over from how you lot were talking.

Higgins for the whole thing.

[Waffdon]

Drama queen Ronnie

[Jimmy Floyd]

Ball run Bingham just too strong, not even Ronnie's talents enough to beat a man who looks like a massive snooker ball strapped to a snooker table.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Well I know where I'm going to be on Bank Holiday Monday, glued to my sofa for hours as Ball Run shows David Gilbert the true meaning of sporting charisma.

[niko_cee]

:D

Got to feel this will have absolutely murdered the weekend ratings.

[Yevrah]

Gutted albeit thoroughly deserved. It’s Kyren Wilson’s now.

[Waffdon]

Thank fuck for that. Wank stain

[igor_balis]

Love ball bag Bingham, what a brilliantly mad set of semis. Reminds me of when Portsmouth won the fa cup after the baros handball. Cunt.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm actually glad we didn't get the Trump v O'Sullivan coitus interruptus followed by the winner slotting Kyren 18-5. This way we may at least get a 2am shit-off showdown.

[Ben]

All week I've been lamenting BBC punting snooker onto BBC Four at 8pm in favour of some gardening wank. This is why. That's tanked the viewership.

[igor_balis]

People who'd rather watch the best most successful players win tournaments should fuck off to America, we are the land of the god damn underdog. Oooh I just want to see quality sport, fucking get a life mate.

[Ian]

But Ronnie, Igor. RONNIE.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Americans are pathological on that sort of thing. They find it psychologically really hard when underdogs do well. They used to get really upset when there was a golf major and Tiger or Phil didn't win, as if the whole thing was a massive letdown and damp squib because of it.

Even in their team sports what they really are hoping for is a DOMINANT ERA from an individual, basketball being the easiest chance for this to happen. Baseball it's really about individual stats rather than which team wins. And so on. Freudian analysts might call it a submissive tendency.

[Gray Fox]

I'd be all in on BALL RUN Bingham now, but a new winner will be nice.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It will be Kyren v BRB final and the latter will probably outlast him.

If it's a Gilbert v Jones final then we're all taking Tuesday as holiday and piling into the finest single malt in our cupboards.

[Yevrah]

Bingham/Wilson final, with the latter prevailing 18-14.

I really like Bingham but something is wrong if he becomes a double World Champion.

As for Ronnie, despite the commentators continually talking him up he really wasn't playing very well so no great loss that he's out. There are limits to these things mind and a Dave Gilbert/Jak Jones final needs to be avoided at all costs.

[Gray Fox]

Trump needs to have a look at himself being that good all year and then playing like this at the worlds. Not like he got unlucky with someone on a hot day.

Going back to this as I was at work. I'm not sure if you ever watch the Hendry YouTube channel, but he's had Trump on reasonably recently.

He's stated on there he doesn't really value the world championship above all others. Says he'd much rather win several of the other tournaments in a season consistently than take a win at the worlds. To be fair to him that seems to be what he's done this season. 5 ranking titles by my count. He's still 34 too which by modern snooker standards should have him another near 20 years on the tour. Reckon he switches that focus a few years down the line?

[Boydy]

Is "Jak" a Welsh name/spelling variant or what?

[Yevrah]

He's using words to cover up his numerous failures there. No chance he wouldn't have swapped a couple of those events for a win on Monday. He'd have earnt more money if nothing else.

[Ben]

Is "Jak" a Welsh name/spelling variant or what?

I work with a Welsh lad and he's also called Jak Jones. There are swathes of creativity amongst those people evidently.

[niko_cee]

Dave Gilbert has a permanently resigned look.

[igor_balis]

Gilbo playing some magic snooker here lads, magic

[igor_balis]

Fuck

[igor_balis]

Fantastic first session, gilbo potting great but losing position a bit, kyren a bit better with positioning, but fun evenly matched game.

[Ian]

I really do find Wilson irrationally irritating in interviews.

[Gray Fox]

Is a Ja(c)k Jones v Kyren Wilson final the best possible outcome then? As I say I normally wouldn't mind BRB to bring it home here, but he's had his already.

[igor_balis]

Jones Vs Gilbert for me

[Giggles]

The BBC are fairly laying the 'crucible is great' on thick this evening.

[Shindig]

The final four's lacking some star power so they've decided the venue is the real winner.

[Ian]

The BBC are fairly laying the 'crucible is great' on thick this evening.

Presumably the moment it goes to Jeddah TNT will snaffle the rights up so that literally nobody watches it.

[Shindig]

"Watch live on DA ZN as Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins BATTLE on the UNDERCARD of Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul."

[niko_cee]

Bingham's running with the balls already.

[Gray Fox]

I also see Saudi Arabian Ambassador for Snooker, Ronnie has gone full "fuck you, pay me" in regard to his future appearances outside of the wonderful Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

[niko_cee]

Jones may as well go home if he doesn't win this frame.

[niko_cee]

I've found this whole tournament quite confusing. Every time I leave the room and expect to come back to see a clearance underway the scores don't seem to have changed and a safety battle is being fought.

[Boydy]

How did Jak Jones get this far? He's fucking shit.

[igor_balis]

Jak Jones what a fucking loser. Oooh he can't handle the pressure of the one table set up, bro it's fucking snooker

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's all that empty floor, fucking terrifying.

[igor_balis]

I like Bingham and was fucking buzzing when he got his first, but he'd easily be the worst case scenario winner of these four. Id take him battering Jac and then doing the honourable thing and lying down for the three count for either of the other two

[Jimmy Floyd]

I thought the bingster came across quite well in his Hendry outing (that channel basically keeping the sport alive) but double champ, hmm.

Jones has the air of a shit salesman who says 'yourself' when he means you.

[igor_balis]

Yeah I agree with all of the above Jim

[Waffdon]

I've found this whole tournament quite confusing. Every time I leave the room and expect to come back to see a clearance underway the scores don't seem to have changed and a safety battle is being fought.

Yeah majority of matches have been turgid as fuck and safety battles galore. Hence Jak Jones being in the semis. He misses so many pots and yet he’s still gone through