World Snooker Championship 2012

cherryghost

So much tension already. That cue ball was close!

zack01

This could be if you excuse the pun a slow burner, both players will want a decent start Ronnie more than Ebdon i feel.
The rocket is pure box office, say what you like about he is still the biggest draw in the game.

More exciting i think will be Barry Hearns press conference this afternoon, im intrigued to hear what he has to say about a certain player who was knocked out yesterday.

cherryghost

This is unbelieveable! Both players deserve to lose! :P

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Lucutus

finally! gg

zack01

That's me done here, flight home at 6pm, i'll be following the action here guys.
Enjoy!!!

zack01

StephenHendry wrote: »

well zack, im big fan of stephen hendry, can he realistically beat john higgins or will be the inconsistent version that was playing last night against bingham

I feel the inconsistent Hendry will appear i'm afraid, in saying that the second round matches are best of 25 frames and played over three sessions, so a bad session can be clawed back so long as it's not a 7-1 or 8-0 deficit.
Hendry during that first session against Bingham was awesome and was like the Hendry of old, but as we've seen during the season, one day he's fantastic the next he's missing blacks off the spot.
Higgins on the other hand can and will only get better, but it is the world championship and with 11 titles between them i hope it lives up to the billing, my heart says i'd love to see Hendry do the remarkable and win an eighth title but my head says Higgins will win this battle.... just !!

StephenHendry

zack01 wrote: »

I feel the inconsistent Hendry will appear i'm afraid, in saying that the second round matches are best of 25 frames and played over three sessions, so a bad session can be clawed back so long as it's not a 7-1 or 8-0 deficit.
Hendry during that first session against Bingham was awesome and was like the Hendry of old, but as we've seen during the season, one day he's fantastic the next he's missing blacks off the spot.
Higgins on the other hand can and will only get better, but it is the world championship and with 11 titles between them i hope it lives up to the billing, my heart says i'd love to see Hendry do the remarkable and win an eighth title but my head says Higgins will win this battle.... just !!

agree with you zack, thats why i was hoping for liang to get through as his more open style of play would suit stephen. credit to john for sticking at it and he showed great bottle in the end to come through.

what do you make of mark allens comments, i think he will have to pull a sickie when next years china open comes round

zack01

StephenHendry wrote: »

agree with you zack, thats why i was hoping for liang to get through as his more open style of play would suit stephen. credit to john for sticking at it and he showed great bottle in the end to come through.

what do you make of mark allens comments, i think he will have to pull a sickie when next years china open comes round

The less said about him the better really, he's a sore loser and a bitter person. Five ranking events in China next season, he's going to have to pull some sickie!!
I'll be very interested to hear what Hearn has to say about it today.

zack01

Just getting some news in from Barry's Hearns press conference, main talking points are that Tony Drago and Luca Brecel will receive the European wild cards for next season and so will gain a place on the main tour with a two year exemption.
Prize money will increase most notably the winner of the PTC Grand Final will receive £100,000.

And a Hearn classic, when asked about certain players comments..

'it's a great time to be a snooker player, not a great time to be an idiot' !

StephenHendry

zack01 wrote: »

The less said about him the better really, he's a sore loser and a bitter person. Five ranking events in China next season, he's going to have to pull some sickie!!
I'll be very interested to hear what Hearn has to say about it today.

indeed zack, very much a case of 'watch this space on the outcome of that. anyway the games this afternoon are very interesting with ronnie and ebdon having a great battle , likewise jones against murphy at 7-6. all the debutants to a man have been excellent in this years WC , Ciao , luca and now jones.

StephenHendry

zack01 wrote: »

Just getting some news in from Barry's Hearns press conference, main talking points are that Tony Drago and Luca Brecel will receive the European wild cards for next season and so will gain a place on the main tour with a two year exemption.
Prize money will increase most notably the winner of the PTC Grand Final will receive £100,000.

And a Hearn classic, when asked about certain players comments..

'it's a great time to be a snooker player, not an idiot' !

great stuff Zack, i have a feeling this will be a great WC from what happened on the first day. love the quote from barry !!!

Backstreet Moyes

I just done get giving Drago a wildcard. He is going to do nothing would be nice to give it to a young player who could go onto do something.

zack01

Nuts102 wrote: »

I just done get giving Drago a wildcard. He is going to do nothing would be nice to give it to a young player who could go onto do something.

They are currently the top two players not on the main tour so I suppose they are next in line.

StephenHendry

zack01 wrote: »

They are currently the top two players not on the main tour so I suppose they are next in line.

its great for luca as well. if he didnt get a wildcard, then his confidence might have been hit with having to go through q school. anyway a great future ahead for luca and he put in a good performance if a little short of some luck in the first day

zack01

Statement from World Snooker re Mark Allen.......



Having reviewed comments made in the press conference after yesterday’s match at the Betfred.com World Championship, the WPBSA will be writing to Mark Allen to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
 
Mark Allen was recently fined £1,000 for comments made in China during the Haikou World Open last month, and now faces further action.
 
WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “The WPBSA is responsible for the governance of snooker worldwide and takes very seriously comments made which could be perceived to be directed at a particular nation. The Chairman of the disciplinary committee Nigel Mawer is making further inquiries into this incident. Mark Allen will be given 14 days to respond to the letter.”

Scorpion Sting

Ebdon is playing poorly at the moment and Ronnie is capitalising. It's vital for Ebdon to win this 7th frame. At 6-1 down in a best of 19, Ebdon would have to dig deep against the Rocket.

purple_hatstand

unbelievable finish from Ronnie - great safety play to secure the snooker and then left-handed brown & pink to clear the table!

cherryghost

Delighted I switched to the Jamie Jones match for the last 4 frames. Excellent stuff. Jamie is through to the last 16. Such passion from the guy. What a great final frame. Murphy out now. That's another top seed dumped. My my my.... who's next?

Silvio.Dante

Respect to Ronnie for having his head in the right place today.

I personally love Tony Drago. He's a great guy with a wonderful attitude to the game. He puts bums on seats...:)

zack01

Silvio.Dante wrote: »

Respect to Ronnie for having his head in the right place today.

I personally love Tony Drago. He's a great guy with a wonderful attitude to the game. He puts bums on seats...:)

Just watching recorded highlights from today's matches, have to say that Ronnie turned in a very professional performance today, all credit to him, he knew Ebdon was struggling and didn't leave him much.
Have to say I'm delighted for Jamie Jones, I honestly thought he blew it when he missed that red at 9-7, but he kept it together and was a deserved winner.

So another seed has fallen and the standard of snooker is fantastic, 14 more days of this??
Yes Please !!!!

cgpg5

cherryghost wrote: »

Delighted I switched to the Jamie Jones match for the last 4 frames. Excellent stuff. Jamie is through to the last 16. Such passion from the guy. What a great final frame. Murphy out now. That's another top seed dumped. My my my.... who's next?

Jamie is a great bet to make the semis imo. I had a feeling he'd beat Murphy alright. I rate him very highly and was very impressed by him in Galway recently. Lee Higginson should be tight, fancy Lee but Higginson is not a bad player when he turns up. Shouting for Matthew Stevens this year, looks good to get second round at least ha

Voodoo_rasher

zack01 wrote: »

Tony Drago and Luca Brecel will receive the European wild cards for next season and so will gain a place on the main tour with a two year exemption.
And a Hearn classic, when asked about certain players comments..

'it's a great time to be a snooker player, not a great time to be an idiot'
!

I think Hearn's quote will be lost on his intended target somehow. That 'target is the new Quinten Hann of snooker one could say. So we can be seeing more of Tony Drago let alone Luca Brecel. Great!

zack01

Day four at the Cruicble and here's the line up today.....


10am
8 Judd Trump v Dominic Dale
13 Ding Junhui v Ryan Day

 
2.30pm
3 Graeme Dott v Joe Perry
10* Ronnie O'Sullivan v Peter Ebdon
 
7pm
6* Stephen Lee v Andrew Higginson
16 Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins


Favourite Judd Trump begins his tournament against a very tricky opponent in Dominic Dale,if Dale can keep things tight i would fancy him to run Trump close.

Ding also gets underway today against Ryan Day, Ding reached the semi's last year and lost out to Trump but he's hitting some form now so he'll fancy the job here.Day has'nt really fulfilled the expections a lot of people had in him when he turned pro, he tends to lose a lot of first round matches and has'nt really had a great season, i have to fancy Ding to win.

Dott v Perry won't be the most exciting match in these championships, i'll have to fancy Dott but just, he's a previous champion and also reached two other finals, in saying that Perry only last week won the world mixed doubles championship, even though it was'nt a ranking event or such, going into to any match on the back of a win is always good. I'd like to see Perry win, he's one of the nicest guys on the tour, is an excellent player but always seems to miss the frame winning ball, mind you he's Neil Robertson's practice partner and no doubt they put the hours in before Sheffield. As i said i'd love Perry to win but i'll go Dott 10-7.

Ronnie continues against Ebdon 7-2 up, he should finish the job but you'll have to scrape Ebdon off the table today, i was very impressed with Ronnie yesterday, he was very professional in his approach and was well worth his lead.

Lee v Higginson is another match where i feel the seed will fall, a lot of people tipped Lee for these championships but Higginson is probably one of the hardest draws he could have got, Higginson has the experience albeit not at the Cruicble but i fancy him to beat Lee today.

Last match up is a lot of peoples favourite for the tournament Mark Selby, he is world number one but has'nt showed anything like the form that won him two masters titles and a runners up slot in Sheffield, Hawkins is a good player but has an awful record at the cruicble, he won the Sky Shootout in January and seems to be enjoying his snooker a lot more now, he beat Davy Morris without much trouble to qualify and he might just give Selby a run for his money, i would still go for Selby but it may be a lot closer than a lot of people think.

radiata

zack01 wrote: »

Lee v Higginson is another match where i feel the seed will fall, a lot of people tipped Lee for these championships but Higginson is probably one of the hardest draws he could have got, Higginson has the experience albeit not at the Cruicble but i fancy him to beat Lee today.

.

I was in Galway all week for the PTC and I have to say I was very impressed with Higginson (and obviously Lee). I have a very small bet on him at 200/1! It'll be a pity that 1 of them will be gone after this round, I was very happy to see Lee win in Galway too.
I see the ref is already at Judds buddies to stay quiet

zack01

radiata wrote: »

I see the ref is already at Judds buddies to stay quiet

I said it after the Masters in January, he should do himself a favour and give those 'pals' of his a wide berth. There is one guy in particular who thinks he's as famous as Trump just because he carries his cue around!

cherryghost

Judd apparently had food poisoning this morning, finds himself 3-1 down now. 2-2 on the other table.

JBarnes1986

zack01 wrote: »

I said it after the Masters in January, he should do himself a favour and give those 'pals' of his a wide berth. There is one guy in particular who thinks he's as famous as Trump just because he carries his cue around!

Sounds like someone we used to know over this side of the pond

zack01

JBarnes1986 wrote: »

Sounds like someone we used to know over this side of the pond

Exactly !!

StephenHendry

zack01 wrote: »

Exactly !!

some of his fans were very vocal when he played neil robertson in the SF in the masters this year. it was mentioned that judd has a bout of food poisoning atm, dominic is doing well so far and with that he would need to be at least 6-3 up especially if judd is feeling better tomorrow.


stephen lee has looked very impressive and could be a contender for the WC. ronnie was impressive yesterday against ebdon as well.

cherryghost

Dott looking poor so far. Missing some easy shots as well as safety shots. Perry not looking great either but getting the job done. 2-0 Perry is looking on the cards.

Just as I say that he misses a red -_-

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

Dott looking poor so far. Missing some easy shots as well as safety shots. Perry not looking great either but getting the job done. 2-0 Perry is looking on the cards.

Just as I say that he misses a red -_-

That's exactly as I said earlier,he misses too many frame winning balls.

8-3 now to O'Sullivan in the other match

cherryghost

zack01 wrote: »

That's exactly as I said earlier,he misses too many frame winning balls.

8-3 now to O'Sullivan in the other match

Maybe I should put bets down on yourself :P Spot on. 2-0 now to average Perry

zack01

Watching Ebdon here and even though he's won one of the two frames played today I can't help feeling he's resigned to losing the match. Once you see Ebdon smiling and talking to the crowd you just know he's more or less conceded the game.

cherryghost

3-0 to Perry now. Dott looks like a shadow of his former self at the moment. Kinda disappointed as I'd expect it to be a lot closer!

cherryghost

4-0 now... Dott really needs to knuckle down. Very poor safeties from him. Nowhere near the top cushion 99% of the time. And potting.

As a matter of fact he'll have to come out a completely different man after the interval.

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

4-0 now... Dott really needs to knuckle down. Very poor safeties from him. Nowhere near the top cushion 99% of the time. And potting.

As a matter of fact he'll have to come out a completely different man after the interval.

4-0 Perry !!
I never saw that coming and I don't think Dott did either, come on Joe 3 out of the next five will do.

Voodoo_rasher

has been pretty much dismantling Ebdon. Ebdon has been breaking down several times when at the 40+ point mark for some reason.

zack01

O'Sullivan wins 10-4 and I'm sure he'll be very relieved to come through that match without it being the grind that was expected.

matthew8

Ken's in the BBC studio hooray.

cherryghost

5-0 to Perry. I've never seen Dott play so poorly.

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

5-0 to Perry. I've never seen Dott play so poorly.

Dott's in serious trouble here, he doesn't look anything like a player here.

cherryghost

zack01 wrote: »

Dott's in serious trouble here, he doesn't look anything like a player here.

His shots aren't even rattling the jaws. Looks completely amateur out there

zack01

cherryghost wrote: »

His shots aren't even rattling the jaws. Looks completely amateur out there

If Perry doesn't come out of this session at least 8-1 up he'll be kicking himself.

zack01

zack01 wrote: »

If Perry doesn't come out of this session at least 8-1 up he'll be kicking himself.

Dott just doesn't want to be out there now, there is no fight in him at all, he has already given up by the looks of things.

Omega28

whos on tonight folks?

zack01

Dylanmc111 wrote: »

whos on tonight folks?

Lee v Higginson

Selby v Hawkins

cherryghost

zack01 wrote: »

If Perry doesn't come out of this session at least 8-1 up he'll be kicking himself.

And 8-1 it was. Dott appreciating the crowd at the final frame, good to see. He'll be doing an all nighter practicing I reckon.

On another note, really looking forward to Higginsons display tonight

zack01

An interesting little bit of history will be made tonight at the Cruicble, it will be the first time both matches at the world championship will be refereed by women.
The girl power doesn't stop there either, this afternoon Reanne Evans won her 8th woman's world championship, this time beating Ronnie O'Sullivans cousin Maria Catalano 5-3 in the final.

zack01

Statement released from Mark Allen.....


Mark Allen's management stable, OnQ Promotions, have issued the following statement on his behalf:

"Following my recent comments in the press conference after my first round defeat to Cao Yupeng, I would like to formally apologise to anyone who may have been offended.

"Having taken some time to reflect on my comments I can appreciate that I over-stepped the line at a time when I was heavily influenced by the emotions of a disappointing defeat.

"I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Cao Yupeng if he felt that my comments were insinuating he were a cheat. I stand by my opinion that the shot in question was a foul, but I also stand by my previous comments in the press conference that Cao was the better player and fully deserved to win. I genuinely wish him the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.

"I would also like to apologise to World Snooker. I appreciate the hard work by many people to grow our sport and I am truly horrified to think that my actions could be perceived to be detrimental to this.

"It is fair to say that this season has been one of ups and downs. The highs of winning my first ranking title and finishing runner-up in the UK championships have been overshadowed by some ill judged comments from myself.

"I realise that I need to ensure that my off table behaviour matches the standard and level of professionalism I set for my on table etiquette. I will return for the 2012-13 season with an improved approach to giving my opinions publicly."