World Champs - Worst in a While?

zuutroy

I have to say I haven't enjoyed it at all, bar one or two matches. The lack of real quality matches involving Doherty, Hendry, Ebdon, Mark Williams and maybe Dott and Stephen Lee at the latter stages made it very boring. I enjoyed O'Sullivan vs Robertson and Higgins, but the likes of Selby and Carter bore the life out of me, and I've no time for Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy. I hope Higgins goes on to take it.

zuutroy

I have to retract some of that, the semis were great entertainment. I've warmed to Selby a lot.

Rudolph Claus

zuutroy wrote:

I have to retract some of that, the semis were great entertainment. I've warmed to Selby a lot.

Lol
Surely, none of the lads you mentioned above are more boring than Higgins? I hope Selby wins it now, that was a class match.
I agree with you to an extent though, the Doherty comeback matches from few years ago made for class watching but he seems to have lost his way. How is he number 2 or whatever he is, there was talk of him being able to claim number 1 spot when the tournament started?

eirebhoy

They really need to get a few more tournaments added.

You have the Northern Ireland Trophy in August which I don't even think was televised. 2 months later is the Grand Prix. 2 months later is the UK. Then betwen 14th January and 18th February you have 3 tournaments. The China open is 6 weeks after that but, like the Malta cup, you'd hardly know it was on.

You haven't a hope of predicting what form a player is in. I've been backing Higgins all season and he's been letting me down. As soon as I don't back him he hits a bit of form. Thankfully I got him at 13/1 after the O'Brien match.

ambman

god be with the days when we had alex. only for him and jimmy snooker would never be as big today. that semi between alex and jimmy was one of the best matches ever. and that clearence well need i say anymore.
long live the king of snooker alex higgins

patrickc

eirebhoy wrote:

They really need to get a few more tournaments added.

You have the Northern Ireland Trophy in August which I don't even think was televised. 2 months later is the Grand Prix. 2 months later is the UK. Then betwen 14th January and 18th February you have 3 tournaments. The China open is 6 weeks after that but, like the Malta cup, you'd hardly know it was on.

You haven't a hope of predicting what form a player is in. I've been backing Higgins all season and he's been letting me down. As soon as I don't back him he hits a bit of form. Thankfully I got him at 13/1 after the O'Brien match.

the NI trophy is screened on tg4 and eurosport

armchairninja

is it just me or has anybody else noticed how BBC's coverage hasn't really been as comprehensive in recent years, i remember when they used to show it from 1 or 2 in the afternoon to maybe 5, and then switch to BBC 2 from 5-7 and then from 8 to about 11, now they seem to skip the 8 to 11 part and just show highlights, or is that just me?
I know that eurosport show it, but personally, i like the BBC coverage, you get all the trivia that goes with the studio parts, and the commentators seem to know alot more about snooker than the Eurosport ones, unless thats changed recently

mewso

For a snooker fan sky digital and the red button is a must. BBc's digital options are great. Watch the snooker whenever it's on and chose which of the two tables you want.
As I type Selby has won 3 on the trot and is in again. Heres to a classic comeback.

hailtothechimp

Nuttzy wrote:

Lol
Surely, none of the lads you mentioned above are more boring than Higgins?

In what way is Higgins boring?! He's third on the all-time century breaks list (after Hendry and O'Sullivan). I don't see anything boring about him and neither should anyone who genuinely likes/understands snooker.

I've heard the same sort of guff from people who've described Hendry as boring. If by that people mean his personality, well that's a matter of opinion. If, on the other hand, they mean his snooker then that's a joke. He's one of the most aggressive, attacking players the game has ever seen!

zuutroy

musician wrote:

For a snooker fan sky digital and the red button is a must. BBc's digital options are great. Watch the snooker whenever it's on and chose which of the two tables you want.
As I type Selby has won 3 on the trot and is in again. Heres to a classic comeback.

Yeah, God bless the red button, though the girlfriend certainly doesn't agree! Some turnaround today, 5 in a row.

RuggieBear

Higgins was 1-250 before the start of the session on paddypower! I just put a few quid on selby at 2-1 just now. kicking myself i didn't do it earlier.lol Boy is on a roll:D

patrickc

RuggieBear wrote:

Higgins was 1-250 before the start of the session on paddypower! I just put a few quid on selby at 2-1 just now. kicking myself i didn't do it earlier.lol Boy is on a roll:D

he was 33/1 and higher this morning to win.. I bet on higgins to win 18/10 so 6 in a row John come on ya boyo

Goldcupfav

Heard a rumour down the pub that Mark Selby's father is from dublin any truth in that????

zuutroy

Dammit...Central European Time + Work Tomorrow + Selby playing at a crawl = Tired me!
This could go on for another 3 hours if it's tight.

EDIT: 7 frames without a 50 break. That has to be some sort of record.

eirebhoy

3.15am is the latest finish for a final. This could break that.:eek: I really hope Higgins does it but fancy Selby now, even though he's 15-13 down.

Rowley Birkin QC

what a final....havent seen much of the tourney this year because of exmas and expensive ntl but the final is brilliant, just the kind of slow technical snooker I love! Saying that selby's flashes of flair are brilliant

eirebhoy

Davis reckons the standard this year was the highest ever.

patrickc

well done John the best player won in the end, watch out for Mark next season though

BrandonBlock

What were they on about highest standard ever, the amount of silly misses they made, choking on nerves.. was unreal Dott/Ebdon last year was a much higher standard of snooker imo.

patrickc

BrandonBlock wrote:

What were they on about highest standard ever, the amount of silly misses they made, choking on nerves.. was unreal Dott/Ebdon last year was a much higher standard of snooker imo.

I dont agree with highest standard ever, but do agree in the end John played some terrific shots under immense pressure

Trojan

BrandonBlock wrote:

What were they on about highest standard ever, the amount of silly misses they made, choking on nerves.. was unreal Dott/Ebdon last year was a much higher standard of snooker imo.

This summarises my opinion 000%.

Rudolph Claus

hailtothechimp wrote:

In what way is Higgins boring?! He's third on the all-time century breaks list (after Hendry and O'Sullivan). I don't see anything boring about him and neither should anyone who genuinely likes/understands snooker.

I've heard the same sort of guff from people who've described Hendry as boring. If by that people mean his personality, well that's a matter of opinion. If, on the other hand, they mean his snooker then that's a joke. He's one of the most aggressive, attacking players the game has ever seen!

I mean boring as in dry, there were loads of examples in that final match, Selby made a few jokeish remarks and Higgins barelt acknowledged them, when he did smile he nearly had to think twice about it. Even off the table hes boring, not much craic out of him. He`s a good snooker player obviously, but i`d still have liked to see Selby win it.

loyatemu

frame after frame of players winning in one visit is pretty boring - I prefer to see a bit of tactical play, or players really struggling (like Dott and Ebdon last year). That long exchange on the yellow last night was fascinating.

I'd love to see a Doherty-Ebdon final some year - they'd have to extend the tournament by a couple of days! Sadly both of them are possibly past their best.

eirebhoy

BrandonBlock wrote:

What were they on about highest standard ever, the amount of silly misses they made, choking on nerves.. was unreal Dott/Ebdon last year was a much higher standard of snooker imo.

That's just one match though, he's talking about the standard of the tournament.

Rjd2

Um interesting tournament it started of brilliantly with the elimination of the gruesome threesome (Doherty, Ebdon and Dott) and continued to improve. The Stephens v Murphy match was a cracker as was some of Higgins snooker against Ronnie who was involved in the match of the tournament against Robertson. The defeat of Carter was a huge pity, the lad has such natural ability when you think someone as limited as Dott won the championship last year and then you look at Carters career well it’s a letdown isn’t it? Watching Maguire choke as usual was fun (never had much time for his boorish behaviour on and of the table). The final was an anticlimactic, sure some of the long range potting was great as was the tactical play but their was not enough of exciting breaks for my liking. However it was an improvement on the dross that was served up last year. That was a truly awful spectacle between two horribly tedious players.

rockdrummer

It was a decent final, Selby was great - definetely deserved to win. Higgins is very boring. It seemed to me he was very lucky to win alot of frames. I turned off when it got to 14-13 (off to bed, up early for work), im glad I did not to interested in seeing Higgins win ! Some of the Pool / trick shots that Selby played were amazing. Very accurate at long pots at speed aswell. He will win in the near future.....

Rjd2

Snooker while financially it may be a mess it still has a lot of depth. The likes of Robertson, Cope are other young players are not be underestimated. Gilbert looked good against Hendry as well, as Murphy will testify success in the world championship does not automatically mean world domination. The criticism of Higgins I find bizarre, hes a superb break builder and has being involved in some classic games over the last few years. I remember a master’s final against Ronnie which down to the last frame and John won, it literally blew me away, thinking of that game it remind me he has produced some superb snooker against Ronnie. He does like James Blunt though so he’s not perfect!. On this final saying it was not a good as lasts year is really unfair. The quality of the first three sessions last year was bloody terrible, only towards the end did an interesting match break out.

sportaholic

Nuttzy wrote:

I mean boring as in dry, there were loads of examples in that final match, Selby made a few jokeish remarks and Higgins barelt acknowledged them, when he did smile he nearly had to think twice about it. Even off the table hes boring, not much craic out of him. He`s a good snooker player obviously, but i`d still have liked to see Selby win it.

Higgins was there to win a world title not to laugh and joke with his opponent.

It was a good tournament overall, the semi-finals were superb snooker.

Amazing that Selby stretched the match until almost 1am when on Sunday it looked like it could have been over in the afternoon session yesterday. I felt Higgins would always have enough to get over the line but it was a better finish than expected.

Good to see Steve Davis will be in the top 16 too when he hits 50!

Higgins regains number one spot

DMBandit

The final was most definately the highest standard of snooker I have ever seen. The safety play for most of yesterday evening was out of this world, absolutely unbelievable. Selby played three long pots in a row and was unlucky not to finish on anything after all three, he hammered them in. This was when he was two frames away from losing the World Final. Balls of steel. Not just talking about Selby either. The frame that took nearly an hour to play was incredible. The two of them could barely have placed the white ball with their hands better in most of the shots.

Couple that with the long potting from both of them and tie for the all-time century break record at the Crucible. Davis knows what he is talking about lads.

zuutroy

Nuttzy wrote:

I mean boring as in dry, there were loads of examples in that final match, Selby made a few jokeish remarks and Higgins barelt acknowledged them, when he did smile he nearly had to think twice about it. Even off the table hes boring, not much craic out of him.

He's been quoted as deliberately not lightening the mood in the final to keep focused when he was so far aheadand he made a concious effort not to react to Selby's lightheartedness. As for not being much craic off the table, thats not the reputation he has at all! Him and Doherty were thrown off a flight after last years Malta Cup final after having been on the piss all night.

rockdrummer

So getting thrown of a flite makes him a good laugh - mmmm interesting.

patrickc

rockdrummer wrote:

So getting thrown of a flite makes him a good laugh - mmmm interesting.

some people never let by gones be by gones.

rockdrummer

Patrick2006 obvioulsy does not read all threads.

The comment was made by zuutroy describing how Higgins is a good laugh !!

zuutroy

rockdrummer wrote:

So getting thrown of a flite makes him a good laugh - mmmm interesting.

Well what do you want him to do. Come out in a fez with a monkey and tell jokes for the whole session? I think the fact the he and Kendo went out on the booze together after Higgins LOST the final proves that he's not all doom and gloom. Much like Davis, when he's working he's deadly serious, when he's not....he's not!

rockdrummer

I dont know what a fez is but the monkey idea sounds funny !

rockdrummer

Dont want to get into an argument here but going out drinking when your upset and getting thrown off a plane does not prove to me he has a sense of humour !!

The whole point of me stating that Higgins was boring was about his snooker playing. No doubt he is good and a good break builder but he is not exciting, like White who for example when making a big break would run out of position and pull out a great shot to get him back into position. Or Selby who potted the red off the pink in the final. Higgins would never pull a shot like that. Like Hendry - very safe, very boring - but a very good player !!!

Selby's breaks were alot more interesting than Higgins !! In this final selby's snooker stands out alot more than Higgins IMO - even though he lost !!

zuutroy

I think you've explained yourself now. Note that the bores like Higgins, Hendry and Davis have done a lot better than entertainers like White though.
As for Selby being exciting, certainly true when he's in the balls, but the guy was slower than Fergal O'Brien in the safety exchanges. spent 2 mins deciding, then played the obvious shot.

BTW: A fez is one of those Turkish hats that Tommy Cooper used to wear!

rockdrummer

Thats very true and a big pity (that bores have done alot better).

I know he was pretty slow with the safety but suppose was looking at all possibilities, coming from a pool background aswell !!

armchairninja

I feel that the people who are calling the GREATS OF THE GAME bores dont really know what there talking about, Hendry is not boring, he gets in the balls and doesnt need to pull off exciting shots because he keep his head and plays the right shot every time, davis in his prime was the same, where as white and higgins had to frequently pull out the "exciting" shot, which risked loosing the frame, so if you ask me, id rather watch the higgins' and hendry's of the game on a day in day out basis, if you want excitement and trickshots may i suggest you start watching the likes of strickland and bustamante, but you'll probably call them bores too because they are successful on 9 ball
Sure selbys shots where great but they were stupid at the same time, they were snooker hall shots not world final shots, 3 ball plants from 10 foot down the table may be all well and good but theyre not smart, especially when playing the 3rd highest maker of centuries of all times, because if you miss hes going to bury you...and he did in the end
.....anyway, thats my rant over

zuutroy

^^^ what he said.

irishthump

BrandonBlock wrote:

What were they on about highest standard ever, the amount of silly misses they made, choking on nerves.. was unreal Dott/Ebdon last year was a much higher standard of snooker imo.

That's crap. The overall standard of snooker this year was phenomenal. When a player misses a simple ball because of pressure, it should not be taken out of context.

Remember Davis v Taylor in 1985? The standard of snooker throughout the final was top notch (for that time), but they could'nt pot a ball in the final frame.

Dott/Ebdon was a good match, but Selby and Higgins played snooker of a much higher standard throughout the final, one mistake usually being enough to cost them the frame.

The fact that so few of the "big names" fell early in the tournament just goes to prove how tought the game has got at the highest level. When qualifiers like Selby can reach the final it's only too obvious.

eirebhoy

Nuttzy wrote:

I mean boring as in dry, there were loads of examples in that final match, Selby made a few jokeish remarks and Higgins barelt acknowledged them, when he did smile he nearly had to think twice about it. Even off the table hes boring, not much craic out of him.

Have you seen him outside of snooker? My mate was in the players lounge at Celtic Park last Saturday. Higgins was there with his world championship trophy. He was drinking from 2 o'clock and supposedly had a great laugh with the players after the match.

Of all the players Higgins is probably the one I'd most like to have a pint with.

RuggieBear

eirebhoy wrote:

Have you seen him outside of snooker? My mate was in the players lounge at Celtic Park last Saturday. Higgins was there with his world championship trophy. He was drinking from 2 o'clock and supposedly had a great laugh with the players after the match.

Of all the players Higgins is probably the one I'd most like to have a pint with.

i thought he had given up alcohol?

Michael Collins

Aye, sure remember that incident with himself and Ken being kicked off the plane after the Malta Open 2005... don't think Ken was drunk but Higgins was certainly very...happy anyway.