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.
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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.
Is the masters hidden away on iplayer for primetime too? No fucking bbc 3 slot or anything?
Yep.
Ronnie's in his mid-match all at sea phase. Can THE HAWK swoop?
Looks like the answer was no.
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.
Impressive pink by Carter to take it to the deciding frame.
Selby has been distressingly lucky in these first few frames.
Got to love a trick shot though.
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.
:D
Oof. Hell of a maximum.
I keep thinking Allen's ill whenever he appears on screen which is testament to a hell of a weight loss regime.
This has been amazingly bad. Two shovels of snooker shite.
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.
His smash 'em up 'safety' in the first frame set the tone.
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.
Some proper thickos in the crowd tonight.
If Ronnie retired, would that crowd element go with him or would they just back someone else?
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.
“Ally Pally” crowds are always the worst.
That might be the best point John Parrot's ever made while commentating.
:D
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.
He insists breaking left handed is the way to go too. He's been doing that exclusively for some time now.
What a weird choice of shot having refused playing safe off the bunch the shot before.
Ronnie clearly not at it so far tonight. If he gets ahead that's probably that, but he's struggling.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
Wasn't expecting to flick back and see Carter had lost that frame. Feels like that could be costly.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by wullie
Hoping Carter loses his shit and has a pop at the crowd if he loses.
I'm very surprised one of them hasn't already.
Carter threw in the towel at 7-7 it seems.
Pretty miserable end.
As is his acceptance speech, never seen anyone less arsed at winning something.
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.
Must reach a point, like. Prob the same reason Taylor stopped molesting women by the end of his darts reign, too easy.
I can't believe Rob Walker putting the 'where does this rank' question, it very clearly ranks in the bottom handful.
Bit difficult for Steve Davis to answer how hard it was doing the triple crown given the marketing bullshit term didn't exist then.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/67988328
Ronnie sticking the knife in.
: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.
Was the dirty animal really snotting on the carpets?
He could shit on the carpets and there'd still be plenty going 'lol what a character though."
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.
Is that why he does them fist bumps? It’s always a laugh when he does it to the referee in an awkward manner
It is, Covid went to his head.
Carter upping the seethe ante. Not sure it's a great course of action.
It isn't. O'Sullivan is bigger than the sport, so you're never going to win.
I did enjoy the sad cunt during the Masters who everytime Carter went to the table just shouted 'Captain' with an imaginary hat tip.
Carter is a massive right wing cunt, but jeez O'Sullivan is incredibly annoying.
Imagine trying to promote your regime through the medium of snooker. The hearts and minds of British pensioners are at stake.Quote:
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”
Who is getting the first 167 then?
You just wouldn't, would you? Which is why they're not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
They're literally naming a golden snooker ball after a state-sponsored cultural expo.
Well they needed to give the terrible idea a name.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This golden ball idea sounds like the impetus snooker needs and I'm going to become a die hard snooker fan with immediate effect.
I want the quiet hush interrupted by sirens, air horns and lazer lighting to announce the golden ball is now in play.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
The Saudis are absolute heathens.
Outside of horse racing, I have a hard time believing Saudis like any sport.
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.
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?
Keep it until it's no longer useful to them then bin it off.
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.
Ronnie is absolutely battering Ding on ITV now. 4-1 up and playing sensational stuff.
That final pink, fucking hell.
Good luck living with that.
Four centuries, two other one visit winning breaks. One of the best performances in a short form match I can recall.
Ken Doherty's swallowed the thesaurus.
Ken "you know" Doherty.
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.
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?
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.
O'Sullivan vs Trump on ITV4 in 10 mins. Seriously looking forward to this. :drool:
We’re all Judd Trump.
Looks like Ronnie is too at the moment. Dogshit start.
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"
Jesus, that was rancid. Gone from up there with the best I've ever seen him play to down there with the worst.
There must have been nearly 10 times the cue ball has gone in-off so far today. Horrid stuff.
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.
Felt like he wanted that one but just isn't in the form to make it happen.
Shitshow warming up nicely now.
People clapping every single Ronnie shot is boring as fuck
It's about 3 years away from being like the darts.
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.
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?
Bloody hell he's bottled that.
That was perfect.
Seen that black fucking him over a mile out there. Thought he’d have tried to move it earlier. That’s the game
He should have taken a little bit to steady himself for that. Crazy.
Been hanging around with Jack Lisowski too much
Ronnie's played a lot better and Trump has dropped a bit. It's far from the classic I was expecting still mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Fox
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.
Fuck me, why has he even attempted that.
3 he’s left hanging over the pocket in the last 20 minutes. Bottle: shot.
Stick a fork in it.
Ronnie will say he knew Trump didn't have the bottle.
Did someone really just shout "Come on Judd, he's shit!" :D
This has been one of the worst, yet also one of the most entertaining finals in years.
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
That's a big marker for the worlds. A pity as Trump could be twice the player he is.
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.
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.
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?
In a bit Murphy, ya fud.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
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.
Does it get replaced to the top cushion if it's cannoned elsewhere during the frame?
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Surely we would have ditched the brown and black then?
A good shepherd's pie is nothing if not golden.
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.
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.
Neil Robertson lost in qualifying for the World Championship. There aren't enough lols.
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.
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.
Quinten Hann. :cool:
Nice to have old Nige back
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.
I'm guessing it's not Llandudno....
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.
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.
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?
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
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.
I love seeing clips from Highbury now, when it looked tight and hostile.
Highbury was so good
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.
I dunno, some of them might like the cues as a sort of novelty implement for corporal punishment.
The crucible curse claims another victim.
Ali Carter being dumped out is wonderful to see
As is Selby being 7-2 down. :drool:
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.
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.
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.
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 meQuote:
Originally Posted by Gray Fox
I don't mind Murphy, but I absolutely hate current players being in the commentary box.
Hold me.
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'.
Isn't Gladiators filmed in Sheffield? Hold it wherever that is.
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.
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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Yevrah
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?
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."
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.
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.
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
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.
Same for darts, but, like the cricket, that's more about getting battered.Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
Si back at it again :cool:
Ronnie absolutely spanking some jobber at the moment.
He looks like he’s about to cry
Errrrrrr...
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by John Arne
This Si/Jones match has been hilarious. Literally every frame going down to the final ball. Both players look like a mess.
Casual racism, nice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
No, he's implying you're a nonce.
Yeah, that is proper nonce behaviour.
Weirdos, the lot of you.
You've been in Vietnam too long.
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?
Ronnie very sloppy but I think Ryan Day might be a bit too shit to fully take advantage
Yeah, Ronnie not in good nick, probably playing as badly as he did against Brecel last year.
The standard is shite, idk why they always try make out it’s so much harder to win these days
Watch some of the old stuff and you'll see why. The standard is a million times better among everyone bar the very best.
And despite labouring all night he's suddenly notched up a gear, is 10-4 ahead and the match is, over.
Cursed that as he lost the last two frames. 10-6.
Why are the Chinese so useless? 13 of them in the last 48, only one made the last 16 and he lost there.
To clarify, you think that this:Quote:
Originally Posted by John Arne
Is normal behaviour?
Someone change his name to Gary Arne Glitter immediately.
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.
Trump smacks him silly in the semis.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
This Allen - Higgins game is good.
This has been a great pair of games, some shot by Higgins just then.
The double to start off and then that last red. Fucking hell. Class.
Shame that game was so early in the tournament.
What a ridiculous break from Higgins. The balls on that double and then the last red :drool:
That was mustard.
May have jinxed Trump slightly. He started off well with a century and 60 break as well
11/4 for Jak Jones is great odds. Trump looks off it and is getting dragged into long safety battles every other frame
Trump and Jones are both playing absolute dogshit here.
Trump’s cue ball control has been dreadful majority of the tournament
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
Speaking of, the state of that yellow he's just missed.
Both of them.
He’s been fucking dreadful.
I've just discovered you can enlarge the BBC website's picture in picture player. Brilliant.
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.
Ronnie plays at 80%+ of what he can and it's his, maybe 85% for Kyren if I'm being charitable to the latter.
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.
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.
Ronnie gone slightly mad on that rocking black situation.
The greatest piece of sportsmanship in any sport ever. :happycry:
What happened?
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.
Neil Robertson. He’s a right square.
If we get Jak Jones, Gilbert, Wilson and Bingham in the quarter finals, it will be a massive yawnfest.:yawn:
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.
I thought the Wilson - Higgins game was over from how you lot were talking.
Higgins for the whole thing.
Drama queen Ronnie
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.
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.
:D
Got to feel this will have absolutely murdered the weekend ratings.
Gutted albeit thoroughly deserved. It’s Kyren Wilson’s now.
Thank fuck for that. Wank stain
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.
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.
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.
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.
But Ronnie, Igor. RONNIE.
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.
I'd be all in on BALL RUN Bingham now, but a new winner will be nice.
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.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
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?
Is "Jak" a Welsh name/spelling variant or what?
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.
I work with a Welsh lad and he's also called Jak Jones. There are swathes of creativity amongst those people evidently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boydy
Dave Gilbert has a permanently resigned look.
Gilbo playing some magic snooker here lads, magic
Fuck
Fantastic first session, gilbo potting great but losing position a bit, kyren a bit better with positioning, but fun evenly matched game.
I really do find Wilson irrationally irritating in interviews.
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.
Jones Vs Gilbert for me
The BBC are fairly laying the 'crucible is great' on thick this evening.
The final four's lacking some star power so they've decided the venue is the real winner.
Presumably the moment it goes to Jeddah TNT will snaffle the rights up so that literally nobody watches it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Giggles
"Watch live on DA ZN as Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins BATTLE on the UNDERCARD of Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul."
Bingham's running with the balls already.
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.
Jones may as well go home if he doesn't win this frame.
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.
How did Jak Jones get this far? He's fucking shit.
Jak Jones what a fucking loser. Oooh he can't handle the pressure of the one table set up, bro it's fucking snooker
It's all that empty floor, fucking terrifying.
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
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.
Yeah I agree with all of the above Jim
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 throughQuote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
Brilliant semis so far, nice to see Jones back in it.
Safety play is the best form of snooker. Potting and breaks are like goals - basic.
I've actually liked how Jones has been declining some moderately difficult pots and going for safeties, when the default received wisdom is always to TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY to win in one visit. It'd be rubbish if everyone did it, but it's nice to see some variety of approach. His long potting has looked very tidy in the last few frames as well.
Watch him miss now, but it feels like Jones is in one of those spells where he wishes they could just keep playing this session all night.
Bingham's head now colour matching perfectly with the sponsor behind it.
Nice clear up given the circumstances. Another hearty plug from Virgo for the Crucible as well.
Knowledgeable Crucible Crowd not coming up trumps there applauding the outcome Jones was desperately trying to avoid.
Slaphead's gone to absolute shit though.
Good god, the balls aren't half bailing him out here.
12 fouls in a frame though. :eek:
Not as bad as the one earlier but I'm really not a fan of players being allowed to foul ad infinitum in pursuit of the best possible shot. Not sure you should necessarily extend the three foul forfeit rule, but then just going for it and missing over and over again feels like an abuse of the rules.
One semi is 8-8 and the other looks like being 9-9. The way it should be.
Really good match this. I’m all for World Champion Dave Gilbert.
The Angry Farmer. :cool:
Nah bollocks, it's better than a decent snooker basically instantly making you far more likely to win the frame cus the other player is obliged to take a riskier escape. you're WRONGQuote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
Getting a bit twitchy out there.
EDIT: Forgot I paused on iPlayer. Skipped back to live and he's on for a century.
Gilbo needs to win the next couple I think
It is literally the name of the game though and whilst I appreciate the point made about roll-up snookers being disproportionately beneficial for very little effort, perhaps a bit of new rules pool is needed, why should you be permanently entitled to play the 'best possible shot' in a reasonably risk and consequence free way?Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
Things really not rolling for Gilbo at the moment.
Not helping himself either though. Head gone.
That Bingham safety was possibly the worst professional snooker shot I've ever seen :D
I make you right there.
The ref might have to do this more than once here. :D
Marcel being a right fanny here, good luck to him and Lindsay Hoyle though.
Just give him a fucking i-pad with iplayer on it ffs.
This is absolute PEAK snooker, what a magical sport.
Plz splatter them twice as badly this time
Yeah, that was class. :D
Bingham is absolutely gone, I feel like Kyren is gonna batter Jones in the final as well
I've got no idea why but it bugs me that everyone goes by surname on the scoreboard and there's Jak Jones with his full name. Unless his full name is actually Keith Jak Jones or something
He shares surname and even first initial with Jamie Jones of first round fameQuote:
Originally Posted by wullie
Ah there is another Jones then, I did wonder.
New winner guaranteed. Arses going to get twitchy if it's close towards the end.
Oh dear.
:evictory:Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
Jones may go home.
Apparently he didn't touch the practice room after being 4-0 down. A bit foolish.
What's the biggest win in the final before this?
Could be worse for Jones, looking back over the list of finals they used to play 145 frames at one point.
Steve Davis beating John Parrott 18-3 appears to be the biggest hiding, at least in modern terms
Goes without saying that he really needs this final frame but he's just playing so badly.
Nearly had got to the stage where you'd be rooting for the 18-0 for the craic.
Kyren playing on for three snookers at 7-0 is probably a sign of a TRULY DRIVEN SPORTSMAN but it feels a bit unnecessary.
Glad to see jak making a bit of a fight of it
I think he looks vaguely like me, actually. Poor bloke.
Pretty gutting end of session if Wilson wins this frame
Ball run has some questions to answer for allowing this state of affairs.
7-0 happens weirdly often in finals for whatever reason. The famous black ball one saw Davis in the same place and he still went on to lose.
J.j. did well to pull it back as much as he did but I think that's the ballgame. Even if he wins this frame, 13-9 just feels too far off. 12-10 and momentum plus Kyren shitting himself may have got him there.
He's still in it, just about. Wilson will get very twitchy the closer he gets to the line if Jones can keep it close.
I think that's game. He had to win that one.
JJ is winning it lads
He has done well to make it respectable, but you can't really be giving anyone in the Worlds final a 7 frame head start. Hopefully he sticks at it and we get a close finish.
Brecel came from 9 frames behind last year to win his semi. Dude was 14-5 down at one point. Taylor was 8-0 down in 85. 91 Masters Hendry 7-0 down.
Its happened many, many times.
Wales a real hot bed of snooker? is it?
While a 7-0 deficit is far from ideal the bigger problem Jak Jones has is that he’s just a bit crap.
It’s been an awful tournament all told. Lowest number of centuries for a decade, barely any good matches and a joke of a semi-final line up. Hopefully normal service will resume next year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boydy
Its prob more the ol' reliables are just fucking old now, sadly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yevrah
Tempted to get down the nearest club and start practising regularly if this shitter can get to the world championship final.
Must be the piss aura of the Crucible.
I feel like Virgo is contractually obliged to praise the Crucible at least once per frame.
He's so bad!
Just fucking finish it Kyren so I can stop watching this shit.
Virgo is getting sick of his shit now.
I've switched it over to Eurosport, I'm pretty sure Virgo has dementia.
What a fluke :D
Here we go, he's potted a red. Break of 40 or so, then he fucks up an easy pot and hands the frame to Kyren.
Didn't even get to 40 ffs. :D
That black. Christ. Roll it in lad.
Second century of the evening session? No, easy blue missed off the spot!
I do like how little poker face Jones has. Lose a frame? Sits chuntering away to himself. Wins a frame? Happy as Larry.
I really enjoyed how perplexed he was by the plant not going in, and the missed double not going safe.
Contrary to Yev, I loved this tournament. Centuries are overrated anyway, you've already won the frame ffs. Not sure of any other sports where you basically just keep going in that situation, at least a third of the shots in a total clearance are basically superfluous.
I've always thought that, it's like if a cricket team reached the winning target and kept going anyway to get Dhoni to his hundred (let's hope the BCCI aren't reading this for ideas). If I was on the end of a Judd Trump clearance and he started smashing the last few in exhibition-style as he does, I'd want to chin him.
Whether you're bothered by them or not centuries are a good barometer of the level of play in a tournament, given that the players are actively trying to get them.
The Higgins/Allen match was great but beyond that they're wasn't much to get excited about.
Aye, break building is essential. Once they're at the table, that's got to be a forefront of every player's mind. Every ball matters to some degree.
Honestly not trying to be contrary, but I much prefer gritty safety play to breakbuilding. Don't get me wrong, I love some #naughtysnooker, and I appreciate great pots, but when players are just in the zone and ruthlessly clearing the table without ever really losing position (basically optimal snooker that all players are trying to achieve) I find it incredibly boring.
Obviously there's a difference between great safety play and frames getting bogged down cus people keep missing stuff, but I love it either way.
Yev, you're obviously right that lack of centuries is a clear indicator of a lower standard, but I don't really care about that anyway. Give me unfancied randos somehow ending up at the business end of the tournament over Judd and Ronnie and co just smashing everyone.
A bit like votes in safe seats under FPTP - they do, but also they kind of don't. In fairness, I love a 147, but garden-variety 100s can do one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shindig
I love tactical safety battles too but if there's not much jeopardy to them because your opponent is only going to make a break of 30 if he gets a chance and then fucks it up then they're not really as exciting.
Weren't they blaming the tables for the lack of century breaks?
Have they ever been as 'lumpy'? Even aside from that whole mess with the O'Sullivan black, I never seen as many balls come to a stop and then settle left or right of their trajectory.
Trump Vs Robertson has been absolutely appalling, I can't remember seeing standard this low since I played with my old work colleague at Riley's.
Trump has woken up and been great since I wrote that, Robertson is really bad though, maybe he's done at the top level - he will drop out of the year to date top 16 and thus will not compete at the masters.
Ball bag Bingham probably even worse this evening
147 from one of the Chinese fellas on table two though which was nice
I think we're entering the Kyren Wilson era, and it's probably what we deserve.
It would be about time. But the old dog John Higgins is still in the draw and his next game is against Judd Trump.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
Both are in Wilson's side of the draw to potentially meet in the semi-finals.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standar...7d550.jpg.webp
What a forehead.
His entire face is in the southern hemisphere.
I umpired with a guy last year who was like that and I'll be honest, I couldn't take him seriously all day.
'Did the batsmen cross there?'
'Dunno mate, your face is on your chin'
Trump in the first 4 frames earlier today was so close to utter perfection. Genuinely should have had 4 centuries in a row
Been a good tournament overall, nice to see Michael Holt doing alright, seems a decent bloke.
Think Wilson wins this match. He seems to have trumps number this year
Quality jinxingQuote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
Worked a treat. Pretty shite match though
Agreed.
45 year old v 38 year old. Snooker probably has fifteen years left before it's dead.
It's such a weird sport/game though. I was somewhat amazed to see the other day that Barry Hawkins has 4 ranking tournament wins in his 28 year pro career. For someone who seems to have been fairly consistently in the top 16 for ages that seems like a low number. He's 11th all time for matches won apparently. Must be weird just grinding away forever without ever really having any sort of moment in the sun when you are in the top whatever in the world at something. I suppose golf is similar.
It's difficult to get excited by a guy who's name is Barry Hawkins. It's the sort of name of someone who hires out bouncy castles.
Finally some PROPER snooker
Aye, you'd think they'd be shared around a bit more, but I spose if you get seasons where trump or whoever win 7 there's hardly any left for the rest.Quote:
Originally Posted by niko_cee
It's what made moments like Milkins winning whatever it was he won a few years ago extra special.
It's still living off the long tail of when there was a sweet spot between working class social games culture and mass market colour TV in the 70s and 80s. Obviously you can now watch Disney+ or Barcelona on your colour TV, and as for working class social games culture, that seems to have been taken over by darts which can be played in a smaller space with cheaper equipment and doesn't take as long.
It remains a remarkably pleasing televisual experience. The sound, the look, everything is a wonderful aesthetic. That's about all it has left going for it. Has already proven to be a great survivor so I wouldn't write it off, but it might become principally Chinese. I think it suits Chinese civilisation well. Patience, discipline and staying in it for the long haul.
Also Hawkins hitting the blue there doesn't fill me with much confidence for him making it number 5
Yeah it's probably my second favourite spectator sport after, very specifically, the final day of a golf major.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
I really dunno what will happen to the sport over the next ten-fifteen years - it feels like it's absolutely on its arse at #grassroots level, there's one place in Rugby I can play, upstairs at the pool place, and I'm convinced they only bother persisting with snooker tables because it's literally where world top 16 player Chris Wakelin practises.
In terms of the professional level, I have a slightly batshit prediction that we'll still get a decent contingent of young British players coming through in the next generation or so, but they'll all be from posh or more likely nouveau riche type families - builders and plumbers done good, who just happen to whack a full sized snooker table in their house.
Great third frame from bawkins, got the better of a safety exchange and cleared up nicely. This is my favourite kind of snooker, some decent little breaks, some good safety play, but certainly not mechanically putting everything away at will. A heathen would describe that as "bad potting", but there's more nuance than that. Inconsistent breaks, some potting, and yes, some missing.
Average frame length creeps above 30 minutes :drool:
Also snooker crowds are really bad at knowing when to clap
Allen is a right eye sore
This is brutal viewing.
I dunno, I think he's quite handsome now he's not a gigantic fat cuntQuote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
I saw him pacing quickly across a road with his manager/minder/fluffer, cue case in hand, when I was holidaying in Belfast. I was all of a flutter.
Also, to get all amateur psychologist, watching people like Hawkins, Gary Wilson, Dave Gilbert and other perennial top 16/ top 32 type players who never win fuck all, I do think it's mostly psychological. Even when they go on a decent tournament run, I just don't believe them. Guy on eurosport was saying how Mark Allen described Hawkins as "solid" and basically good at every aspect of snooker, and yet as soon as he goes 4-2 down in this, against a fairly underwhelming Allen it's like yeah, obviously. Cus you're a fucking loser mate.
Consider yourself swooped.
This standard has been hilarious. Semi final of a triple crown as well.
Trump should wipe the floor with either but you wouldn’t be shocked if Allen ‘Selby’s’ him if he gets through
Used to be better before they were all listening to commentary on earpieces. Genuinely should be taken away.Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
that final frame summed up the whole game. At least the final shouldn’t be a dull affair
Lefties running the show.
Delighted to be wrong, as I love an underdog winner. Trump has been inconsistent as well, but I still reckon he'll probably batter Hawkins. The late finish here won't help. Plus while it's easy to write off my chatting bollocks about Hawkins being a LOSER, I think it's more of a thing tomorrow, seeing as the cunt has lost a few major finals before.
Sounds like an Ali Carter tweetQuote:
Originally Posted by AJ23
Yeah trump got battered in the Irish final the other week.
Should piss it though
I absolutely hate it, especially when virgo or one of the other dickheads makes a shit joke and the audience giggle and distract the cueist.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
In theory it should help really though, because when someone plays a great safety shot and accidentally pots the red and leaves himself in a shit position, the commentators should be making it clear this is not a good outcome. I spose the BBC commentators are mostly just shouting where's the cue ball going and stuff, though.
Hawkins has lost two masters finals and a world championship final, and even managed to lose to mark king in some other final. Fanny.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
The perspective you get from watching won't match the TV overhead so the commentary helps put that in context.Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
How is Shaun Murphy in commentary or in the studio for every single game? Beyond annoying
Did you see the tweet where mark williams said he muted if he's on cus he "never shuts up" :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
Get on Eurosport if you have it.
It's either that or Shaun Murphy winning the tournaments so which do you want?
They have far too many current pros commentating, I'm sure they had Kyren Wilson doing some games and he's like 33.
Chelsea could probably do with a third goal before the inevitably concede. Don’t really do clean sheets
What does a snooker teenager really know about the game?Quote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
Also, Shaun Murphy. How is in the studio every single game? Beyond annoying.
I can't believe you deleted the duplicate post, dickhead.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
:DQuote:
Originally Posted by igor_balis
I was going insane wondering why that clean sheet post was being messaged on here after Danny in the other thread. Google chrome on the phone is as tragic as Trump has been here
Yeah I hate it, I need to work out how to do what Ben mentioned in the other thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
Yeah, +1 for current pros commentating. There's something about it that sits so uncomfortably with me.
Hawkins looking Ike he's gonna take the lead, then a crap positional shot and two ropey safety shots let's trump back in, though trump only managed 14. Huge frame, I think who wins it wins the tournament.
It’s just hard to take them seriously especially when it’s always usually middle of the pack players doing it. Murphy critiquing a guy who papped him out the same tournament is just a bit wrongQuote:
Originally Posted by Yevrah
Trump’s got nervous and Hawkins now can’t miss. Could be a decider
Fucking Trump, boring cunt.
Not on the table he isn’t, unlike 90% of the playersQuote:
Originally Posted by Boydy
Hopefully he kicks on in triple crowns now rather than stat padding the ranking titles
I don't think Brecel could repeat this again if he tried 100 times.
https://youtube.com/shorts/mzeDjkAPh...BeWWVM7K1AwNMG
Always nice to see Mark Allen lose. What a bottle job
That is genuinely remarkable.
What a bell end.
In 35 years of watching the sport I’ve not remotely seen anything like that. The seethe to end all seethes.
Watching it again I think it might be perfect. The ref trying to console the child while Selt can be heard smashing the shit out his cue. :lol:
That’s the worst part for me. Young lad getting a big win on tour and Selt has made him feel a foot tall.
We all love a tantrum when we miss but acting like that during a match over a fluke is embarrassing behaviour and he needs banning. No doubt it’ll blow over after a Twitter apology.
Kid should have been awarded frame and match. Selt also should get the banhammer.
Kid should also get a thousand ranking points for his delivery of 'Have a good Christmas'.
Yeah, the ‘have a good Christmas’ was perfect.
Selt has always come across as a twat
Some going that from Robertson.
Why do they wank on about the venue so much these days?
Pretty sure they always do it here and at the Crucible for the World Championship.
I always used to think it was because the rest of the (largely unseen) events are played at Rhyl or Prestatyn in front of 7 people and the referee, but these days there are loads of events in reasonable size arenas so I don't know.
Stephen Hendry did a behind the scenes video at the Crucible last year for his YouTube and other than the arena itself, it looked like a complete dump.
147 from Murphy. God, I really hope he doesn’t win this. He has looked v good all week though.
All aboard the Trump Train and his Triple Crown
Quite looking forward to this. 'mon Murphy!
That swerve shot was insane.
Ridiculous yellow into the middle there as well.
Aye, the forehead is on fire at the moment.
Got a bit cocky with the middle pocket there though.
Have players always been terrible at break offs or do they deliberately leave long pots on to entice the player to go for it?
Isn't it sort of a risk/reward thing - they can make the break completely safe but then it is likely to bog the frame into stalemate shitfest?
They're not deliberately doing it I don't think, they're just quite hard to get safe with the element of randomness in how the pack will open when you hit it.
I was always shit at the break off when I used to play. The theory goes that if you apply some top and right hand side (if breaking off from the right) then it should come back across into baulk, but I could never get enough purchase on and ended up either smashing into the blue or just being far too thin.
Murphy calling out yellow ball when it couldn’t be anymore obvious it’s what he’s going for. He just loves hearing his own voice
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
The break was the one thing I could always manage. Like you said, a touch of top, bit more of right hand side, and managed to get it back to baulk quite often. Unfortunately, it tended to be my best shot of the game as I struggled for a max break of 18 or so.
I played a lot of billiards so the break was standard stuff for me. It all went to shit thereafter when I had to start potting.
Similarly the updated pool rules fucked me over when they started introducing shit like skill shots and deliberate fouls which totally nerfed defensive play.
Really enjoying this and we've now hit the point where Murphy's suspect match play is going to come under serious pressure.
I think the thing with breaks is that long-potting is just a lot better than it used to be. The alternative, of course, is to go with the Mark Williams banter break, but actually please don't.
I've vaguely warmed to Murphy recently. Well, not quite "warmed" - I think he's just authentically a weird, very Partridge kind of bloke, and he can't help it. Plus I have really enjoyed his play throughout the tournament, he is a very fun player to watch when he's on form.
Also, he looks a bit like that fat crone from The Chase. I'm gonna start calling him the governess. Also - we have a game here boys.
Yeah, he's definitely an odd one, but I like that he speaks his mind and as you say when he's playing well it's a joy to watch.
I too have noticed the Governess comparison. They've never been in the same room.
Trump isn’t half throwing this away. So many missed opportunities after building a decent break
Wilson just has his number. Seems to beat him every single time
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c985555nr49o
Dott's a nonce
Jackson Page(?) has become the first player to ever hit two 147s in the same match.
For doing that alone he's won a potential £25k in the high break bonus(£15k) at the WC and 147 bonus (£10k). There was also a bonus of £147k on offer from Saudi for the first player to make two 147s during the Triple Crown events + Saudi Masters.
My minds eye has Jackson Page as a fresh-faced prodigy.
Not even close.
I love how there are still darts and snooker players 20 years younger than me who look older than I ever will.
World Championships started this morning. Ronnie is IN and some really not very young Men will be playing snooker ball for the next 17 days.
I see he's started the self doubt promo early this year. Not picked up a cue in nearly 5 months before the start of this one.
Hendry reckons Zhao Xintong is the one to watch.
Crucible Curse eyeing up another victim here.
:cool:
That should be judd trump sailing through to a second win now his nemesis is out
Yeah unless we get vintage Ronnie over the next couple weeks, I cant see anyone stopping Judd Trump apart from himself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waffdon
This Mark Williams/Wu Yize match has been good.
Yize has lots of flashes but needs to clean everything up a bit to be a real threat. Mark Williams just continues to grind & use all his experience. Still an excellent potter despite his eyes going as well.
The spectators must have fairly dumbed down. They don't seem to know a good shot now until it's confirmed on their commentary headphones.
Robertson just torpedoed himself out of the tournament too.
Might be a second rerack in one frame in this Higgins - O'Connor match now.
A disgraceful three frames from Carter here.
His head has gone. Good riddance.
Who on earth are Halo? Presumably not the old xbox game...
This tournament is shaping up very nicely. O'Sullivan vs. Selby and Higgins vs. Williams potential quarter finals.
I see Zhao Xintong is joint second favourite to win it with the bookies. Have the BBC addressed the match fixing stuff? Going to be funny seeing them tiptoe around it if he does win it.
Not sure if BBC have talked about it but I don't think there's a lot of ill will there. He was one of the young ones that was naively caught up in it. The biggest shame out of it all was Yan Bingtao.
I don't see him as second favourite, mind. He's incredible on his day but this is a tournament of attrition and he's shown himself to have lapses in concentration still. I think the longer matches will be his downfall.
I would love to see Ding win it.
41, 49, 49 and 50. Average age of 47.25 :drool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
Murphy not doing a very good job of disguising how shit he thinks Woollaston is.
This has been so shit from both of them.
This has become the worst kind of gritty frame. Murphy on commentary to make it even worse.
Selby shitting out is fantastic news.
Pretty impressive capitulation from Ryan Day too. 5-1 to 7-10.
O’Sullivan has the dream route to the semis unless Si Jiahui can turn it on again
Mark Allen's just hit a 147 despite appearing to get himself stuck at least twice.
Was he potting balls cushion first?
That's incredible
Cannot fucking wait til Virgo retires
He's going to get that catchphrase shouted at his lowering coffin.
Is BBC 4 showing the Mark Allen 147 from earlier that Willie mentioned or is he on for another one here?
Virgo's top notch.
Talking of which, Allen's on for another 147 here.
Seems like that was another one but he's just messed it up.
Yeah, shame that.
Cunt doesn't even understand angles despite his head at 90 degrees, uselessQuote:
Originally Posted by Yevrah
I think the all timer commentary duo was Taylor and Willie Thorne.
These days we have to put up with Shaun Murphy.
I miss the days of being round me Grandad's as he chainsmoked all day while the voice of Clive Everton put me to sleep, Terry Griffiths taking 25 minutes to hit a 14 break.
Do people at the snooker cough intentionally just so they can hear themselves back on iPlayer or is Sheffield rife with lung disease?
Vafaei does not look like he wants to be there at all tonight.
They're all riven with pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis after a hard morning's work at the steel mill.Quote:
Originally Posted by wullie
:cool:
The calling card of a proper old fashioned private school education.
Judd :cool:
He’ll probably lose now
Yeah, that was obscenely good from him. Fancied Murphy to do something in this tournament, but he was blown away in that session.
Tomorrows evening session looking utterly pointless with both games sitting at 12-4
Higgins absolutely pulled it out of the bag here, 12-8 down and then a brief interval and he's pulled it level, last frame starting now. Amazing what you can do once you've had a poo.
That was a hell of a match.
Epic match.
Brecel doing that thing where he’s looking like a god again. Wonder if he can keep it up. Both players just keep winning in one visit
The two semi finals look great. Wouldn't want to pick a winner. Whoever wins this probably.
It’s a genuinely outstanding tournament this year. It’s got a bit of everything and the standard has been incredible.
Indeed. I am gutted most of the good matches seem to have been while I've been at work. mon' tonight's Trump/Brecel match.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
There's probably not much they can do about it given how late the evening sessions can run but it pisses me off that the highlights are on so late at night.
My man.
Fairly difficult run this has been for Trump. Murphy/Brecel/Williams is not the kindest of runs, albeit the first two being attacking probably suit him. Anyone but O’Sullivan anyway, the massive weirdo
And tonight's matches are shite. :moop:Quote:
Originally Posted by Yevrah
I like to see Mark Williams doing well. A pretty good semi-final line-up all things considered. All 4 have a great chance of winning the whole thing even if Trump is favourite to take it.
Im happy to be wrong but I can see both semis being over fairly quickly and not that competitive at all
Guys Ronnie is playing so let’s clap every shot
Yeah but he says he's the worst player ever.
I will pull out of all tournaments at short notice for my mental health except the Saudi events because money helps my mental health
In the voice of a confounded father type, why do they keep hitting it so hard?
They both look petrified. Could be a big final frame
That was quite the frame.
That could be a big miss off the spot.