World Snooker Championship 2012

Cassidy28

Fair play to Ronnie he seems much happier in himself overall

PauloMN

Always an anti-climax when finals finish early though.... not that Ronnie cares!!!! Love the late bank holiday Monday evenings when you get a cuppa during the mid session interval and settle down to some final frames in a tighter battle.

Ah well, always next year. Best enjoy it before it moves to China!!! :mad:

Go Harvey Go

Well, Hazel isn't wearing a dress - but that's still a wonderful top.

And Bazza looks smart too.

And... have they had confetti before?

carbon nanotube

how much does runner up get

id be well pissed off if i got a medal that looks worse than the ones i won at school during the sports day.

Lucutus

Enjoyed that, best player won out.

It just goes to show that raw, natural talent around the table, coupled with a tight lid on the temper / composure is impossible to beat.

PauloMN

O'Sullivan has matured so much, I agree it was definitely a big factor in his game. Staying cool and playing really good safety also. Incredible player, the most gifted player I've seen in my time since Alex Higgins.

Scorpion Sting

carbon nanotube wrote: »

how much does runner up get

id be well pissed off if i got a medal that looks worse than the ones i won at school during the sports day.

£125,000 I think.

Setun

Well that's it for another year! Bit of an anticlimax alright, I found I enjoyed the second round and the quarter final matches the most as they seemed to be the most unpredictable and threw up plenty of surprises and tense finishes. As the tournament wore on, the eventual finalists became increasingly apparent, with the semis being won with plenty of frames in reserve. It may be a cliche at this stage, but I don't think anybody can touch O'Sullivan when he's in this form - he even survived Ali's Death Stare(TM) and his no-risk policy which slowed the pace of the match quite a bit. Not things that the Ronnie of the mid-00s could have handled. Good to hear that he is going to stick around for a while longer

carbon nanotube

jebforever wrote: »

£125,000 I think.

they could have said that...

patwicklow

Most boring final ever in snooker bring back the good ole days when snooker was snooker! not snoozer..

M cebee

patwicklow wrote: »

Most boring final ever in snooker bring back the good ole days when snooker was snooker! not snoozer..

i miss the fags and drink at the tables
those were the days

markj2009

Well done Ronnie. Just a pity we didnt get a closer final. Only Higgins, Selby and possibly Trump could live with him on that form. For me Selby was the big disappointment, hopefully he can mount a better challenge next year.

indiewindy

PauloMN wrote: »

Always an anti-climax when finals finish early though.... not that Ronnie cares!!!! Love the late bank holiday Monday evenings when you get a cuppa during the mid session interval and settle down to some final frames in a tighter battle.

Ah well, always next year. Best enjoy it before it moves to China!!! :mad:

Yeah, it will probably be held there in a few years, one benefit is that we wont have any late night finishes:).
Delighted to see Ronnie win it this year.
It was interesting to hear him mention in his interview during the afternoon session today where he said that he wasnt a fan of the crucible theatre. Thats at least 3 players this year who are saying that

zack01

Ronnie's post match press interview in full .....

“I just want to congratulate Ali on a brilliant tournament, he hasn’t had the best of seasons, but he’s come good in the big one again. He played fantastic, he beat some brilliant players this week, he beat Judd the favourite, Maguire in the semis, to be beat them two players is massive so I’ve got to say a massive well done to Ali for a brilliant World Championship really.”

“I just think I played with a bit more fluency [during this tournament]. I tried to stay patient, I think I only really kinda lost it a little bit once during the whole tournament where I thought that maybe I’m not up to scratch, but I quickly turned that session around and it was just trying to stay in control of your emotions. Not to get too carried away and not get too down, to try and keep things in perspective and try to see it for what it was and try to make sure I wasn’t being critical of myself if things didn’t go well.”

“The next time I get to the table, just to play the best shot that I can possibly play and just give it the best all the way through and that’s what I’ve done, but it’s hard to do that for 17 days! It’s just an absolute marathon and a slog and to do it at this age in my career as well at 36. I never doubted myself that I could win a tournament but to win another world title I didn’t know whether I was ever going to do that, so to actually do it is a fantastic feeling so I’m over the moon really.”
“It’s the best, the best, the best. I didn’t ever think I would get that opportunity to share those moments with him, it was so nice to have him here. He loves snooker, to have him here, he loves watching the snooker, he loved it at Ally Pally, so to have him here watching , I got a little emotional even before the match was over because I just thought that it was only me and him here.”
“It just felt like me and him in that whole arena, it didn’t feel like I had people watching, that I had anyone there, I just felt this massive buzz and connection between me and him. It’s just the best feeling I have ever had in my life. The best feeling I have ever had in my life was when he came to Ally Pally, this is up there with it, just to have your close ones with you when you are doing something, achieving something which to most people is a fantastic achievement, to be world champion. So very special.
Ronnie was also asked whether we can now put the retirement talk to bed and went into a very interesting five minute monologue as to his views on the schedule at present…

“No, not really. I’ve had a long time to think about everything I’ve done, it’s not a knee-jerk reaction, I’m not saying that I have retired but I am saying that my family have become the most important thing in my life. Snooker, I work as hard as anyone and I am prepared to work as hard as anyone, but I just want to be treated fairly and I think that the top players need to be treated fairly.”

“That is up to the governing body to treat the players right and say that we don’t expect players to be able to travel to 28 tournaments a year, but either come up with a money list and make it fair rather than forcing, not forcing players but if players don’t play in these minor events, you know you are going to have to drop out of the top 16, to qualify for tournaments and I think there is a better way of doing it.”

“Listen, even if there were no ranking points for PTC events, I would still go to some of them so all that business that I’m not prepared to go them because I’m playing in a cubicle, it’s not the case. I don’t like feeling that I am being blackmailed if it’s the right word I don’t know. Or forced to play in certain events.”

“I’ve had a long time to thing about it but I’m not going to hang around another two years to wait until things become fair, or what I believe to be fair. They have a chance to sort things out in my opinion, but I aint hanging around, I’ve made plans. But I aint making no knee-jerk reactions, I am having a good four, five six months off whatever. And I’ll assess the situation.”
“Part of me still wants to play but like I said, early December I was that ill trying to keep up with the schedule and that ill with the pressure being put on me getting letters from World Snooker, always a week before events saying I had to respond by such and such a date…and I just think it was an absolute build-up of things and my biggest crime was actually doing well in the events, obviously a lot of late nights, a lot of playing and fatigue does set in.”

“Obviously I got glandular fever, I got really ill, I didn’t event know I had it until I went to the doctors and said I know that something is up with me. I was driving home in December and I was lucky to get home, I was on the bumper of cars, I could have fell asleep and I just decided that the family and life itself is more important and that whatever pressure World Snooker was going to put on me, I am prepared to face any consequence but I am not going to make myself ill in the process of trying to explain myself and to convince them that I am ill. It is hard enough playing this game let alone having any of that going on.”

“I’m not the only player to have it but I just aint prepared to put myself under that stress. I know there is a big responsibility on me to promote the game and I think I do that and I’d play in any tournament if it’s physically possible but it’s just a bit hard sometimes and I think that a bit of leeway needs to be given and stop hiding behind these letters and these rules because it’s not right.”

“Like I said I am quite happy to move on if I have to and enter another world where there aren’t those restrictions on me, a bit of Strictly, a bit of TalkSport, being a pundit, there’s a lot out there for me to do. I know there is still a bit more in the tank for snooker but it’s up to certain people to start to do the right thing and stop trying to blackmail players because snooker players love to play the game. But make it fair, that’s all I ask, just to make it fair and that’s all I can say really.”

Bullseye1

Delighted that RO'S has won as many titles as he has. Probably the most natural player to have played the game and not wasted his talent.

steelcityblues

patwicklow wrote: »

Most boring final ever in snooker bring back the good ole days when snooker was snooker! not snoozer..

Obviously don't remember Dott vs Edbon.

cherryghost

IMO Ali dug himself a hole and when he tried to climb out of it, it was too late.

Fair play to Ronnie. Sounds like he's going to give the Austrailian open and PTC events a miss.

Silvio.Dante

A big thank you to Zack for all of his inputs, especially while he was in Sheffield. This thread wouldn't have been the same without them.

Mark Allen should take a leaf out of Ronnie's book off the table.

Obviously the players have issues with the way the game is going. Ronnie has made it clear in his press conference that he wants to see changes made by Hearn. But did so in very dipomatic language and coming across as being willing to meet halfway...

Omega28

Ronnie deserved the title, no one came close to him this year, was never put under any pressure.

Carter was fairly poor, shouldn't of listened to Ebdon imo and should of went out and played his own game, not that it would of been good enough anyway to match Ronnie but still Carter was awful to watch.

If Ronnie wasn't in that tourney it would of been an awful tournament, if Ronnie retires I'd say snooker will go down the tubes, he's the only character there and a joy to watch! The Chinese players are awful to watch, they wouldn't even smile if they won their match!

anyway, well done Ronnie:)

StephenHendry

delighted to see that ronnie won the WC. he never looked to be beaten and played really well in all of his games. the best i've seen him play since the 08 WC. hope he enjoys his six month break and im sure he will come back ready to to challenge for the UK

mewso

M cebee wrote: »

i miss the fags and drink at the tables
those were the days

zack01

So that's it another world championship over and a worthy winner in Ronnie O'Sullivan. Without question he played the most consistent snooker throughout the 17 days and while his pot success rate was in the '90%'s so was his safety play which in my opinion was the best safety i've ever seen him play,it was so good at times his opponents had really no answer and that increased the pressure that they were already under.

Since The Masters in January O'Sullivan has shown some real character, he is happy in his personal life, he gets to see his kids every w'end and as everyone has seen during this world championships a happy and content O'Sullivan is an unbeatable snooker player. Frames he would'nt have bothered with he now battles on for and his press interviews especially after lifting the world crown last night have been dignified and professional.

I feel Carter may regret his game plan he adopted in the final, it seemed to be all about containing O'Sullivan, Carter is a prolific scorer amongst the balls and i feel a slightly more aggresive approach may have won him more frames. Wheter Peter Ebdon worked out the game plan remains to be known but playing that way put more pressure on his safety because if it was'nt good O'Sullivan was punishing him. The pressure he put himself under trying to contain O'Sullivan showed each time he got chances, and to be fair he got plenty of them, he missed several blacks off the spot and yesterday a missed pink off the spot was simply unforgivable.
That in turn may have lifted the pressure off Ronnie as he knew his opponent needed three or four chances to win frames.
I think talk of a possible comeback last night was lunacy, he needed to win 8 frames from 10 and against Ronnie is was nigh on impossible.

As much as i admire O'Sullivan and i'm a huge fan of his (i first met him in Ilford Snooker Club in 1989) and even though he was the overall winner of these championships, it was'nt all about him. The snooker it has to be said was exceptional this year, there were some great moments on the table and a few not so pleasant off the table. We saw the youngest ever player Luca Brecel make his debut, he will learn a lot from that and i have no doubt we will see a lot more of him in the future.
We saw the magical max from the legend Stephen Hendry, there was the comeback from Ryan Day to knock out Ding, the comeback from Carter to beat Trump to name a few.

O'Sullivan may well have been the player off the tournament but surely a close second must have been Jamie Jones, what an incredible debut and another player i'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more off.

Off the table we had the infamous words and accusations from Mark Allen, to me it was nothing but sour grapes and i would'nt really expect anything better from him to be honest, he's a very bitter person with some sort of chip on his shoulder, agreed it's expected to be annoyed after losing but to label your opponent and his fellow countrymen cheats is beyond belief, he's a fantastic player but needs to grow up and behave like a professional person.
Then we had Ding, again he had a moan but this time it was about the crowd, did he stop to think how it is for other players when he's on home turf in China?

I think the only solution is to give these players a few mins cooling off time when they come in from the arena, they can calm down and then maybe speak some intelligence.

But surely the most surprising comments made in the press conferencs was the retirement announcement from Stephen Hendry, a lot expected this last year but he held on another year before he put an end to his glorious career.
Again another person i really admire and i know the debate will go on and on but to me he's the best player the game has ever seen.
Yes there is no finer sight than when O'Sullivan is flowing but the same can be of Hendry, the man was simply invincable and set the standard of which we are seeing today.

So the season comes to and end and the new one begins the first week in June with qualifiers for the first two ranking events, The Wuxi and The Austrailian Open, in between there is the Q School which begins next week.

O'Sullivan has hinted at a six month break, he will miss a lot of events and that in turn will affect his ranking, but the season after next will see the rankings based on money won, so another World title will see his ranking secure.

The game is in great hands, Barry Hearn has done an incredible job and continues to do so, in a time of recession, snooker has a sponsor for every event, it has a new world champion that will only entice more players to play the game, several new exciting tournaments are planned and from what i've heard Ireland will again host the PTC Grand Finals next season with a first prize of £100,000 to the eventual winner.

I enjoyed Sheffield this year and i'm already looking forward to next season.

PS
When i figure out how to upload my pics i'll have them up.

Silvio.Dante

zack01 wrote: »

Ireland will again host the PTC Grand Finals next season with a first prize of £100,000 to the eventual winner.

I enjoyed Sheffield this year and i'm alrwady looking forward to next season.

PS
When i figure out how to upload my pics i'll have them up.

Fantastic, on both counts...:)

Setun

zack01 wrote:

I enjoyed Sheffield this year and i'm already looking forward to next season.

Excellent summary zack, thanks for all your input over the last few weeks. Did you go out with the players last night?

zack01

Daddio wrote: »

Excellent summary zack, thanks for all your input over the last few weeks. Did you go out with the players last night?

Unfortunately I did

Every year they have the champions dinner, speeches etc, but the real fun is at the party after that, all the tv crew, refs, press etc let their hair down. Finished up at 5am and my flight was at 9.20am.

Great fun and I got myself an invite to Jimmy Whites testimonial dinner in London in June.

Hungover but happy !

Setun

zack01 wrote: »

Unfortunately I did

Every year they have the champions dinner, speeches etc, but the real fun is at the party after that, all the tv crew, refs, press etc let their hair down. Finished up at 5am and my flight was at 9.20am.

Great fun and I got myself an invite to Jimmy Whites testimonial dinner in London in June.

Hungover but happy !

I hope you got some pics Were Ali and Ronnie there?

By the way, if you want to upload an image, do the following:

- Click the 'Go Advanced' button beside the usual 'Post Quick Reply' when making your post.
- Scroll down to see the Additional Options section, and click the 'Manage Attachments button under the heading 'Attach Files'.
- You can select a number of images and click upload.
- Submit your reply to the thread, and that should be it

zack01

Daddio wrote: »

I hope you got some pics Were Ali and Ronnie there?

By the way, if you want to upload an image, do the following:

- Click the 'Go Advanced' button beside the usual 'Post Quick Reply' when making your post.
- Scroll down to see the Additional Options section, and click the 'Manage Attachments button under the heading 'Attach Files'.
- You can select a number of images and click upload.
- Submit your reply to the thread, and that should be it

Can't seem to do that from my phone, think I'll have to upload photos to the laptop and do it from there.

Silvio.Dante

Yep. Laptop sounds like the way to go. Chopchop...:D

Pighead

Delighted to see Ronnie win his fourth world championship. If he had finished with just three titles there definitely would have been an element of him underachieving but i think four is a pretty decent return.

Most of you have probably seen the below video but it's worth sticking up again for those who haven't. Ronnie at home practising making the game look ridiculously easy.

Silvio.Dante

Zack.

Have you any idea where the possible tournament in Ireland might be played..?