Snooker

[podunavac]

Have to agree with l.Harm. Lots of unexpected misses and long sessions in the first round. Looks to me that players have chosen to find their form through the frames rather than to come in already fine shape. An usual practice at the Worlds, I think. It's a long tournament and the format of matches gives an opportunity for tuning.
But some have burned. Ding, most notably. And several of them have squeezed through the eye of a needle... Murphy, Selby, Trump, Carter.
Some nice duels in the second round. Doherty vs. McManus has a potential to overshadow the matches of the seeded players.
O'Sullivan and Robertson have left the strongest impression, so far.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

The Hurricane

watch 3:05 (luck, but still awesome)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=750LMVA1di4

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Dale on an enormous comeback: After being down 5-11, he´s now leading 12-11, one Frame shy of reaching his first ever QF at the Worlds.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

100th 100 for Robertson in a season. Shattering the old record* by 64% (it was 61 centuries by Trump)... *Ding has 62 in this same season 2013/14.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Great comebacks tonight. One prevailed (Robertson).
I´ll root for Robertson now. Which is bad, since teams or players I root for are cursed. Hockey and NFL fans know this. And of course my old cycling buddies, fans of Ullrich like I was.

Whatever, most important is that the arrogant *** O`Sullivan does not win.

 

[podunavac]

A ton of tons... That's some achievement. Can't see it been beaten soon.
Great duel in prospect - Selby vs. Robertson.
O'Sullivan vs. Robertson would be appropriate finale, but Selby is a tough nut.
On the other hand, Trump cracked the moment Robertson caught the rhythm. An assistance from a psychologist could be useful for him.
A very good match. Some magical pots, misses due to discharge of anxiety , a reversal... A Crucible classic, certainly.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

A ton of tons... That's some achievement. Can't see it been beaten soon.
Great duel in prospect - Selby vs. Robertson.
O'Sullivan vs. Robertson would be appropriate finale, but Selby is a tough nut.
On the other hand, Trump cracked the moment Robertson caught the rhythm. An assistance from a psychologist could be useful for him.
A very good match. Some magical pots, misses due to discharge of anxiety , a reversal... A Crucible classic, certainly.

Unless they "expand" the calendar with more ranking tournaments, I also think this record will stay for a long time.
BTW, also great achievement by Ding to tie Hendrys 5 rankings wins in a season.

 

[podunavac]

Unless they "expand" the calendar with more ranking tournaments, I also think this record will stay for a long time.
BTW, also great achievement by Ding to tie Hendrys 5 rankings wins in a season.

I think that doesn't matter whether it is a ranking or not for the centuries count. And I think it'll stay on 10 rankings. That's the standard.
Ding was surreal, but the Worlds failure keeps him behind the Hendry's five. Also, neither one of the big three in the season of his life.
However, Ding should become a World champion. He's the material.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I think that doesn't matter whether it is a ranking or not for the centuries count. And I think it'll stay on 10 rankings. That's the standard.
Ding was surreal, but the Worlds failure keeps him behind the Hendry's five. Also, neither one of the big three in the season of his life.
However, Ding should become a World champion. He's the material.

True. Non rankings also count... Still amazing gap to Ding.
Personally I think Hendry is the greatest ever, even though he got the "yips" disease or his "downfall" came b/c of his broken cue. The turning point must have been somewhere around 2003. Until then he was circa even with O`Sullivan in head-to-head matchups* and "owned" the rest of the players.

O´Sullivan OTOH never was as constant, became (or always was) a diva, and just don´t match the overall numbers of Hendry... And I don´t buy the crap that the competition was easier for Hendry. I mean he played in the golden era when Snooker spread everywhere, and popularity was at the highest.

(* 19-20-2 in matches, 249-238 in frames. After 2003 he went 2-10-3, 47-86. A complete different player)

 

[l.Harm]

Unbelievable Trump tried that one shot in the last frame (?) which was clearly impossible. He looked five times to check it.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

... and I thought I was the only one doing such stupid things. Serious: I think I know what he was feeling. The game got out of hand, he could only watch, so he refused to accept reality. I did this "trick" many times. Of course it never worked.

 

[podunavac]

True. Non rankings also count... Still amazing gap to Ding.
Personally I think Hendry is the greatest ever, even though he got the "yips" disease or his "downfall" came b/c of his broken cue. The turning point must have been somewhere around 2003. Until then he was circa even with O`Sullivan in head-to-head matchups* and "owned" the rest of the players.

O´Sullivan OTOH never was as constant, became (or always was) a diva, and just don´t match the overall numbers of Hendry... And I don´t buy the crap that the competition was easier for Hendry. I mean he played in the golden era when Snooker spread everywhere, and popularity was at the highest.

(* 19-20-2 in matches, 249-238 in frames. After 2003 he went 2-10-3, 47-86. A complete different player)

Hendry's downfall has to be related to his internship. He's hit and kept the peak early. That affects longevity. Not that he wasn't long-standing, on contrary, but the highest achievements at an early age are carrying heavy mental burden. He could have been the only player who has been winning the Worlds through three decades.
And speaking about the decades, Ronnie is the other one. But his mental issue was on the other side of the career continuum. No Worlds title in the nineties for him is a pure shame.
Their rivalry looked to me a bit unhealthy. I think they've admit it in some documentary.
Ronnie's abandonment in the 2006 UK Championship was indicative to me. He just couldn't stand to be humiliated by Hendry. Yes, it was Ronnie's bad day, but the fact it was Hendry (at the setting of his career) who was unveiling it, was too much for him. So, he's found an escape route acceptable for his vanity in an abandonment.
My impression is that Ronnie has always felt inferior to Hendry, despite the head to head record.
But more than their rivalry, a moment of vulgar arrogance at the last year's Worlds turned me away from Ronnie... The vulgar gesticulation with his cue in a match when Michaela Tab was the referee.
You have to be a gentleman if you're playing a gentlemen's game.
His latest fair-play during the Masters have attracted me again, but the damage has been done.
And to add this - I have never liked Hendry. Too serious, often grim... Like majority of Scottish players. I don't like that kind of appearance and behavior.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I think your points have merit...
And I understand you not liking Hendry. Me too I don´t like players without emotions. Hendry was the exception. His game was beautiful to watch, so I could forgive his non emotions. Such a great contrast to Davis (whom I really liked later) or even worse, Ebdon, who needed like 10 mins for a simple shot from the spot. Grrr these guys are annoying (had to play a couple of them)... So I should like O´Sullivan. But no I never did. Too cheap, too arrogant. Now I like him a little bit. Don´t know why.

 

[podunavac]

Yes, Ebdon's slowness could be repulsive, but I appreciate his skill.
He can put the balls in the middle of the table and make the opponent fouling. Extraordinary spacial reasoning. The snooker game he plays, not the potting. And that often is the more interesting part of a frame. He also seems to enjoy doing it.
A fine gentleman, too.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Yes, Ebdon's slowness could be repulsive, but I appreciate his skill.
He can put the balls in the middle of the table and make the opponent fouling. Extraordinary spacial reasoning. The snooker game he plays, not the potting. And that often is the more interesting part of a frame. He also seems to enjoy doing it.
A fine gentleman, too.

But booring and emotionless. The anti player.
If snooker wants to regain the popularity of the 80s, you need guys with charisma and emotions...
Just heard that Hawkins may could get a fine for his short fist making celebration after his win. Is that true?
The players are too good nowadays, you need something else. W/o something special, the game is dying. Saying this, I liked how Robertson was running wild a little after his 100th 100...

 

[podunavac]

I don't know about the fine, but I doubt. Looks to me like an ironic note about the spirit of modern snooker.
See, I didn't like Robertson's celebration. And it's not the first time he's reacting in a footballers' manner. I prefer men wearing the bow ties showing their joy a bit more discretely. To improve the popularity it (snooker) needs more rivalry. It became depersonalized. The scores and titles has become the opponents instead of the players. Robertson and Selby might be on the good way, but we'll see. Robertson vs. Trump is another potential rivalry. But, in any case, attention should be payed on a balance between rivalry and hostility. At the moment there's no danger of hostility 'cause there's neither a rivalry.

Despite convincing victories in the quarters and semis, I think O'Sullivan is beatable. He's been giving the opportunities, but Perry and Hawkins were afraid to exploit them. Robertson or Selby shouldn't have that problem, I hope. At least not during the first day of the finale.

 

[ILovecycling]

The difference between those 2 semifinals is huge.
Personally I dont like Selby and Robertson match (I like them as a players tho),they are so even that some frames are reaaaally boring.I like safety plays but with snookers or something to watch,not this horrible 20 minutes ends on one ball,thats awful to be honest.
Sullivan and Barry played very nice frames,Barry attacked even when loosing,I liked it a lot (and I love him since he eliminated Walden).

Final will be really interesting,Sullivan needs to up his game if he wants to be 'sure' of winning back to back to back D).So does Selby/Neil if he wants a chance to win.

Anybody of CN members attends Crucible these days?

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

O´Sullivan has it in the pocket. I say 18-13...

 

[l.Harm]

Depends how they got started next session. 10-7 is not decided yet, but Selby needs to win next session.

 

[podunavac]

Three frames behind isn't that bad considering the way the match started and the fact O'Sullivan was much fresher.
Although Selby should have an advantage during the evening session, 'cause he usually plays better in the evening and the fatigue could get O'Sullivan, he (Selby) has to reduce the deficit first.
The afternoon session might decide the entire match.

 

[jsem94]

Selby is back to 9-10 now. I still think Ronnie will kick in soon and take the victory, but it might not happen until late in the evening going by the looks of it.

 

[podunavac]

The tension in the first frame after the pause speaks volumes.
You don't need a better parameter about he importance of the mini session than the misses on the yellow and green ball.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

As if I needed another reason to want Ronny to lose, he's working with that publicity ***** Peters.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Now it´s interesting (thanks to 6 in a row by Selby). Under extreme pressure the play looks human (speak "easy" misses), no more robo like.... I like that.

 

[jsem94]

Selby leads 12-11 now. Ronnie made a huge blunder on the last pink, and Selby cleaned up.

Has the makings of a late night classic this.