2017 World Snooker Championship

Passenger

Say Your Number wrote: »

Mental frame here,

Delboy2015 wrote: »

Important one for Murphy to bring it back to 5-2

Tense frame alright. Ronnie just steamrollered through the next one though.

Permabear

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Passenger

Permabear wrote: »

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Yeah, expecting him to go all the way this year or most of it at least.

Gaoth Laidir

To be honest I hope he never wins it again. His arrogance is becoming annoying at this stage. He sees himself as the greatest of the great but he forgets that others are still ahead of him for titles. No one is bigger than the game but he thinks he is. He's a bit of a twit to be honest.

mdwexford

Was savage seeing him in person. His touch around the table really is different gravy to the rest. So fluid and natural and makes it all look so easy.

Met him outside the crucible and got him to sign the program as well, epic day of snooker. Pity my 7-1 correct score session bet didn't come up to top it all off.

melon_collie

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

To be honest I hope he never wins it again. His arrogance is becoming annoying at this stage. He sees himself as the greatest of the great but he forgets that others are still ahead of him for titles. No one is bigger than the game but he thinks he is. He's a bit of a twit to be honest.

I agree with to you a certain extent. He annoys the sh1te in me and has done over many years with the constant talk of retirement, mental issues, etc, etc.

However as much as I hate to admit it . . . . the game needs him. I think that once he retires the game will become less interesting to many people. For example you wouldn't believe how many people I have spoken to over the last 2 years and asking 'were you watching the snooker last night?' The common response I get is 'nah I'd only watch it now if Ronnie O' Sullivan was playing'

So as much as he annoys me I'm willing to grin and bear it for the good of the game. I just hope he doesn't beat Hendry's record of 7 world titles. Hendry had a much better temperament.

Joe_ Public

That was far too easy for OSullivan, I wouldn't say he played all that well, just as good as he had to be. Murphy looks great playing those exhibition shots off the cushion to pot the red, but when it comes to knuckling down and applying pressure on his opponent, he seems totally clueless and incapable. Don't know if i'd make too much of his criticising of Ronnie pre-match but I certainly don't think it helps things anyway. He may surprise me and make a match of it yet - I don't trust O'Sullivan not to throw in a wobbly session or two nowadays - but I don't believe he has the capacity to win it.

mdwexford

Well Ronnie will have to do it the hard way.

Possible path of Murphy, Ding, Selby and then whoever comes through the bottom half in the final is about as tough as it gets.

Permabear

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Spudman_20000

Ronnie seemed to be striking the ball really well. As others have said, haven't seen him play that well in a long time. Maybe the comments from Murphy leading up to the game got him riled up.

Shaun doesn't strike me a the sharpest crayon in the picnic drawer if I'm being honest. He should really learn to keep his mouth shut, rather than acting like a shill for Barry Hearn. Hope Ronnie gets the job done.

mikeoneilly

Hendry is still the greatest all round player

Mental strength and attitude is a big part of the game and get outdoes Ronnie there

Joe_ Public

Permabear wrote: »

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I've no problem with people claiming O'Sullivan is a greater player than Hendry (personally don't have any strong opinion believing it can be strongly argued either way), but I don't really go in for comparing different eras like that. There were things in Reardons era you just couldn't dream of doing on the conditions they play under today, its almost like a totally different game in some ways.

To put it another way, would you say someone like Mark Allen is a better player than Ray Reardon because he could probably amass as many tons in a season as Reardon across his entire career? Tactically, I dont think todays generation hold a candle to players from that or even later eras, I think mentally they're a lot weaker now than they used to be as well.

Gaoth Laidir

Reardon's career centuries total is not comparable to Ronnie's as back then there only a handful of tournaments per year. OK maybe pound for pound Ronnie's percentage is higher but let's compare apples and apples.

My point was that as an overall individual I dislike the guy and hope they he gets caught out at this year's tournament. Doesn't look likely yet, but matches are not won in just one session.

Permabear

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Permabear

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Passenger

Ronnie's on good form today.

Lucas Hood

The crowd are very loud today.
Can see why Ronnie get frustrated with them.

Passenger

Lucas Hood wrote: »

The crowd are very loud today.
Can see why Ronnie get frustrated with them.

Somebody keeps clapping the adjacent game, don't they.

Permabear

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4068ac1elhodqr

There was also a lot of audience coughing yesterday, must be a flu going around or something.

Was reading NR said he gave up the XBox/PS type things within the last few months and this has aided his performance.

Brian?

Permabear wrote: »

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There were fewer tournaments, but many more frames. When Reardon won the world title in 1975, even first-round matches were the best of 29 frames, and the final was the best of 61 frames. Today, it's common to have tournaments with lots of best of 9 frame matches, and the final maybe the best of 19.

My point was that as an overall individual I dislike the guy and hope they he gets caught out at this year's tournament.

Point taken -- you dislike him as an individual. But that doesn't mean he isn't a great player, arguably the greatest ever.[/quote]

I genuinely dislike Ronnie when he's not at the table. As soon as he starts playing I love him again. He is the greatest player ever IMO. Hendry is the only one to ever get close.

Joe_ Public

Permabear wrote: »

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But you're still directly comparing eras. If you want to that's fine by me, I just don't think it's particularly useful or relevant.

It was a completely different game back then. John Spencer once did a deep screw shot off the blue back in the 60s and the crowd gasped in wonder, they'd no idea what he'd just done or how. In those conditions - heavier balls, slower cloths, deader cushions etc - it just wasnt possible to play the game the way the modern pros play it. There's no point imagining a modern pro on those tables, because he would be an entirely different player if that was the case. Simple as that.

Talking about bucket pockets back then is a bit rich, when even the bbc commentators are starting to acknowledge just how generous these tables are playing. It's been like that for several years now, only they are finally getting around to officially noting it.

Ray Reardon would be lost on todays tables, because it is simply a game he didnt grow up playing. If you need to compare, I would look at achievement, consistency, ability under pressure, tactical acumen, all of which he eclipses a player like Mark Allen by some considerable distance.

I have nothing against Mark Allen btw, could have picked 20 other examples. Also, i dont see that the pressure nowadays is significantly greater than before. Why? I watched my first World Champs in 1980 and can't recall the pressure being any less than it was then. It was the players' living after all. Its just my observation that players are becoming a bit more mentally weak, not just in snooker either, but it's open to debate, not saying I am totally right about it either.

Permabear

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Joe_ Public

It was the Mark Allen comment I was actually referring to but fair enough, dont mind disagreeing, not really worth arguing about.

I will say that Alex was such a paradox that he could be both a chronic underachiever and one of the best bottle players of the time. Use of substances and addictions seemed more a reflection of their lifestyles than of any pressure they were under at the table i would have thought..

Passenger

Murphy really back in this match and putting pressure on Ronnie.

mikeoneilly

How many.times has O'Sullivan done that in crunch frames!

Passenger

Crucial frame for Ronnie. Four frames ahead for tomorrows session.

Joe_ Public

3 things in that last frame sum up Murphy for me:

1. Decision to take on the final red. Was a one in three shot, no percentage at all in it and should have cost him the frame.

2. Decision not to take on the yellow after Ronnie missed the brown. Not an easy pot admittedly, probably a one in five, or maybe a one in six, still the percentage is more on his side this time, but instead turns it down to play an average safety shot.

3. Missing the green with the rest. No analysis required.

ziggyman17

In my opinin O'Sullivan is the greatest of all time because he can simply make the cue ball do what he wants better than anybody I have ever seen..

Say Your Number

Strong start by Wenbo, back to 6-4.