Tempted to get down the nearest club and start practising regularly if this shitter can get to the world championship final.
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
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.
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.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.
Both are in Wilson's side of the draw to potentially meet in the semi-finals.
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 jinxing
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.
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.
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
Also snooker crowds are really bad at knowing when to clap
Allen is a right eye sore
This is brutal viewing.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote