Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan has completed his first-round demolition of Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-1 in a World Championship record 108 minutes.
He will keep his noggin together this year. Talent will out.
Wang it won’t be Lisowski, far too flaky and inconsistent, and never been near the winners post as yet.
ronnie was super impressive and focused against what is a very impressive player in Thepchayia Unooh , this lad was the one all the seeds did not want to draw. Williams was excellent, and Judd had a tough work out in the first round.
I think the absence of an audience will see Ronnie and Williams play like they do when their practising down their club and if that happens it will be spell binding . Trump is too good to discount , but he definitely needs a roaring crowd so he can show boat . Their my top three picks .
williams and o’sullivan probably still the two biggest natural talents in the game, which given their age says a lot about the decline of snooker.
The usual question is: will it be a potter or a grinder? Lots of the latter about at the mo. Even Selby is basically the thinking man’s grinder.
Or it could be w total outsider. Lisowski is a potential Williams but mentally maybe he is not strong enough yet. Snooker does produce surprise winners tho.
Laz, there has only been one surprise winner in the last two decades and that was Stuart Bingham. It will always be a potter and break builder, the game now is dangerously attacking, although having a safety game is still a requirement.
selby is a modern day grinder although he can score , but it won’t be him , the more attacking players when at full steam have too much fire power him , no matter how much grinding he does .
Laz, Dott was in the top 16 when he won if I recall correctly, as was Robertson. In fairness Murphy was a rank outsider, who since has been a firm member of the top eight.
Laz,the winner will be someone who attacks and breakbuilds, contrary to popular opinion, even Selby fits into that mould, despite him being a spoiler.
Did anyone see when Mcgill was 8-2 up complained cruicible debutant Jamie Clarke was delberatley standing in his eye ine, the referee had to intervene to prevent a physical bust up. On completion of the frame Clarke left the venue, and McGill ran out after him. Mcgill is a cheat , and grafted Clarke, and it worked.
If Wilson wins it will be a travesty, he's boring as hell and will have played a round less.
being in the top 16 doesn’t mean you’re not a surprise winner! eg this year anyone but Williams, Selby, Ronnie, Trump, or Higgins (maybe Bingham) would / will be a surprise winner.
Money is probably in Ronnie tbh. Williams was the difficult tie for him. He should beat Selby. Certainly either of them should beat Wilson or McGill.
If Ronnie wins will he be the undisputed snooker GOAT? His talent is up there with maybe only one or two others ever - Hendry, perhaps Higgins - and he has real longevity although (undiplomatic as he was to say it) in the latter regard he has been helped by the relative paucity of talent in succeeding generations. On the down side, he has never truly dominated an era the way Hendry or Steve Davis did.
I was really disappointed that Maflin lost. Qualifier he may be but the form he showed to eliminate Higgins was genuinely world class, like world top five class. If he can attain consistency at that level he is a future world champion.
I still think Hendry is the GOAT actually. Not as stylish as Ronnie, nor as long-lived at the table. But probably an equal talent, an absolute boss at break-building, wonderfully true technique, and he totally dominated an era when the field was stronger than it is now. In his first three finals, or was it four, he defeated Jimmy White fgs, himself an absolutely world class talent
Hendry is the GOAT, marlin has been on tour for 18 years he will never win the world championship ever. He is one dimensional has no B game , and it showed against McGill in the first session, he looked like a club player on a Friday night having beers with his mates.
fair play to you btw m88, you may know fuck all about the economic returns, work/life balance and entry criteria for different professions, but you do know your baize.
Laz one swallow doesn’t make a summer. It’s Ronnies too lose . Please god not the “grinder” Selby, he’s a cheat and a spoiler , I love snooker like you wouldn’t believe and follow the tour . My old shop sponsored a player in the top 32 and what was a friend for 20 years now more of an close acquaintance flirts with a top 16 ranking .
wilsob is dull and moans like a grandpa, if he wins it won’t count. McGill has had far too many close tiring games I expect and home he gets trounced .
McGill is a tool, hope he fucks off, but I agree Wilson is a bore. I’m going to watch all the QFs in full on iplayer. You are v knowledge about the topic m99, I can tell it’s a passion. Do you play?
I will try to write a little snooker history I think, as per of my academic career.
I used to play decent/ good club level , probably 3/4 times a week . Post the smoking ban and the mad rates on premises clubs have all but fallen by the wayside . There is now 1 maybe 2 clubs in south West London, they are not places one wants to frequent.
my old club would regularly host pro-am tournaments and was the practice base for three top 16 players for years
For some reason i have watched this year for the first time in years. Takes me back. I used to stay up late to watch the WC final when i was a kid. The whole tournament was a really exciting time.
Not sure what changed, but the quality definitely seems to have fallen away.
Hendry is all time best for my money. It felt like you could always back him to come through when the chips were down. I dont think you could say the same about R O'S.
there were a few Riley clubs near(ish) me but the group went pop. Shame really as they were nice places and had loads of screens everywhere where you could watch all manner of football matches across the globe or indeed any other sport .
A lot of games are sloppy these days, even at this level. Probably the biggest pure talent to have emerged since the Higgins/Williams/O’Sullivan cohort )class of ‘75) is Robertson, and the best match player is (by far) Selby, but both of them would have been outside the top ten in the 90s (I don’t know where Robertson is currently ranked tbf).
One effect of this is that these days even the remaining big talents - all of the class of ‘75 are still doing business at the sharp end - don’t have to be as much on their game as they used to, which means age isn’t biting. Williams recently tacitly admitted being could still win without being as good as he used to be, while Ronnie unchivalrously dismissed the younger generation as “really bad”. It’s fair to a large extent.
China’s Yan is an emerging talent, genuinely of world class potential and only 20 yo. Still not at the level, say, Ronnie was at at his age tho.
During my brief period as a regular (poor) club player I was at the Cambridge snooker centre, round the back and over the level crossing on the creepy Coldhams industrial estate. Thankfully me and my college mate could pass for non students.
Laz, Selby can win ugly and often does , his B/C game wins matches/tournaments, but I standby the fact he is a cheat deliberatley grafting players and spoiling. That works to a point but when Ronnie, Williams, Higgins, Robertson are at full steam , he just isn't " good" emough to counter their firepower.
They ca win 4 frames on the bounce in under 30 minutes, and that is unerving to an opponent. The scoreboard changes so quickly , whereas he winning frames in bits and pieces doesn't generally have the same effect. Selbys tactic today will be to take ages over the simplest shots, refuse odds on balls, put balls on cushions, play a slow as he can, and do Ronnies head in. Whether Ronnie is up for that we will see.
By way of example Ronnie will go 100, 120, 110, and win three frames in 20 minutes and on a roll. What does selby do? He needs 4 snookers with 1 red left and will play for them just to do his opponents head in. Disgraceful.
Despite what Ronnie said ( he was attention seeking) and wanting a headline players in 32-100 ranking the standard is unvelivably high. Even 15 years ago players that were 32-100, were awful and as the standard improved they fell off the tour very quickly. See Fergal O'brien, he would never ever be a top 32 player now , or anywhere near it.
Ryan Day, Ricky Walden, Mark King, Marco Fu,Marin Gould all have been stalwarts of the top 16 previously and have one world ranking tournaments, but their ranking has fallen of a cliff over the last 5 years or so. And that is due to the lower ranked players improving massively.
Ryan Day, Ricky Walden, Mark King, Marco Fu,Marin Gould all have been stalwarts of the top 16 previously and have one world ranking tournaments, but their ranking has fallen of a cliff over the last 5 years or so. And that is due to the lower ranked players improving massively.
I think most would agree that the very top standard of the game has fallen, but you might be right that the average standard of the top 100 has improved nonetheless - I don’t follow the game at that level closely enough to follow. Marco Fu is an absolute hero btw
TBF Marco Fu decline is because he has degenerative eye condition , which shows no sign of improvement . He is an intelligent and articulate chap, and s great snooker player.
Probably true! Ebit sounds like a solid player. I’d just like to make a new friend with a mutual interest. I’d make the trip just to play up, have a couple of cheap lagers and shoot some balls.
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Ronnie of course.
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and he’s just fluffed an easy mid range pot
work to do on his consistency
never bet on ronnie ffs
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He will keep his noggin together this year. Talent will out.
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Heh never bet again the rock
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Wang it won’t be Lisowski, far too flaky and inconsistent, and never been near the winners post as yet.
ronnie was super impressive and focused against what is a very impressive player in Thepchayia Unooh , this lad was the one all the seeds did not want to draw. Williams was excellent, and Judd had a tough work out in the first round.
I think the absence of an audience will see Ronnie and Williams play like they do when their practising down their club and if that happens it will be spell binding . Trump is too good to discount , but he definitely needs a roaring crowd so he can show boat . Their my top three picks .
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williams and o’sullivan probably still the two biggest natural talents in the game, which given their age says a lot about the decline of snooker.
The usual question is: will it be a potter or a grinder? Lots of the latter about at the mo. Even Selby is basically the thinking man’s grinder.
Or it could be w total outsider. Lisowski is a potential Williams but mentally maybe he is not strong enough yet. Snooker does produce surprise winners tho.
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Laz, there has only been one surprise winner in the last two decades and that was Stuart Bingham. It will always be a potter and break builder, the game now is dangerously attacking, although having a safety game is still a requirement.
selby is a modern day grinder although he can score , but it won’t be him , the more attacking players when at full steam have too much fire power him , no matter how much grinding he does .
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I am team Ronnie all the way. Unless white J has a wildcard
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The referees
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Jordan Brown looks like a snooker playing womble.
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It’s so weird that it’s on at this time of year. We always watch the final at our friends’ cottage. Ps Trump to win!
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Wonder if the absence of snooker earlier in the year will have a greater impact on uni degrees than the Covey.
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Do students still watch the snooker? Thought they'd be too busy hitting the latest juice bar.
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There’s quite a lot of students. At least five will be watching the snooks.
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“It will always be a potter and break builder, the game now is dangerously attacking”
don’t agree with this at all
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and selby was certainly a surprise the first time he won
so was williams for his most recent victory
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Dott, Murphy, Robertson, all surprise winners and probably Trump last year too
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Trump a surprise winner? He will have been ranked top 5
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ok I see that probably would have been the case
fair enough
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Laz, Dott was in the top 16 when he won if I recall correctly, as was Robertson. In fairness Murphy was a rank outsider, who since has been a firm member of the top eight.
Laz,the winner will be someone who attacks and breakbuilds, contrary to popular opinion, even Selby fits into that mould, despite him being a spoiler.
Did anyone see when Mcgill was 8-2 up complained cruicible debutant Jamie Clarke was delberatley standing in his eye ine, the referee had to intervene to prevent a physical bust up. On completion of the frame Clarke left the venue, and McGill ran out after him. Mcgill is a cheat , and grafted Clarke, and it worked.
If Wilson wins it will be a travesty, he's boring as hell and will have played a round less.
Whose your money on now.
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being in the top 16 doesn’t mean you’re not a surprise winner! eg this year anyone but Williams, Selby, Ronnie, Trump, or Higgins (maybe Bingham) would / will be a surprise winner.
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good analysis further down your post tho
I saw the dust up and McGill is a tool
Money is probably in Ronnie tbh. Williams was the difficult tie for him. He should beat Selby. Certainly either of them should beat Wilson or McGill.
If Ronnie wins will he be the undisputed snooker GOAT? His talent is up there with maybe only one or two others ever - Hendry, perhaps Higgins - and he has real longevity although (undiplomatic as he was to say it) in the latter regard he has been helped by the relative paucity of talent in succeeding generations. On the down side, he has never truly dominated an era the way Hendry or Steve Davis did.
I was really disappointed that Maflin lost. Qualifier he may be but the form he showed to eliminate Higgins was genuinely world class, like world top five class. If he can attain consistency at that level he is a future world champion.
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I still think Hendry is the GOAT actually. Not as stylish as Ronnie, nor as long-lived at the table. But probably an equal talent, an absolute boss at break-building, wonderfully true technique, and he totally dominated an era when the field was stronger than it is now. In his first three finals, or was it four, he defeated Jimmy White fgs, himself an absolutely world class talent
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Hendry is the GOAT, marlin has been on tour for 18 years he will never win the world championship ever. He is one dimensional has no B game , and it showed against McGill in the first session, he looked like a club player on a Friday night having beers with his mates.
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you may be right but his form against Higgins was not just world class, it was world championship class
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fair play to you btw m88, you may know fuck all about the economic returns, work/life balance and entry criteria for different professions, but you do know your baize.
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Is Maflin actually of norwegian descent btw or is he just married to a norwegian lady?
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Laz one swallow doesn’t make a summer. It’s Ronnies too lose . Please god not the “grinder” Selby, he’s a cheat and a spoiler , I love snooker like you wouldn’t believe and follow the tour . My old shop sponsored a player in the top 32 and what was a friend for 20 years now more of an close acquaintance flirts with a top 16 ranking .
wilsob is dull and moans like a grandpa, if he wins it won’t count. McGill has had far too many close tiring games I expect and home he gets trounced .
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Hope
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McGill is a tool, hope he fucks off, but I agree Wilson is a bore. I’m going to watch all the QFs in full on iplayer. You are v knowledge about the topic m99, I can tell it’s a passion. Do you play?
I will try to write a little snooker history I think, as per of my academic career.
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Laz Maflin is from Camberwell ! He married a Norwegian, having moved there in about 2006
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My $$$ is on Selby.
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I used to play decent/ good club level , probably 3/4 times a week . Post the smoking ban and the mad rates on premises clubs have all but fallen by the wayside . There is now 1 maybe 2 clubs in south West London, they are not places one wants to frequent.
my old club would regularly host pro-am tournaments and was the practice base for three top 16 players for years
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What was your biggest break?
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112
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Yikes.
Thought I was doing well with 8.
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there’s still a club in whetstone, my old north london stamping ground, I think
there are many in HK. i’m not a serious player tho
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For some reason i have watched this year for the first time in years. Takes me back. I used to stay up late to watch the WC final when i was a kid. The whole tournament was a really exciting time.
Not sure what changed, but the quality definitely seems to have fallen away.
Hendry is all time best for my money. It felt like you could always back him to come through when the chips were down. I dont think you could say the same about R O'S.
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Laz too far for me is north London.
there were a few Riley clubs near(ish) me but the group went pop. Shame really as they were nice places and had loads of screens everywhere where you could watch all manner of football matches across the globe or indeed any other sport .
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A lot of games are sloppy these days, even at this level. Probably the biggest pure talent to have emerged since the Higgins/Williams/O’Sullivan cohort )class of ‘75) is Robertson, and the best match player is (by far) Selby, but both of them would have been outside the top ten in the 90s (I don’t know where Robertson is currently ranked tbf).
One effect of this is that these days even the remaining big talents - all of the class of ‘75 are still doing business at the sharp end - don’t have to be as much on their game as they used to, which means age isn’t biting. Williams recently tacitly admitted being could still win without being as good as he used to be, while Ronnie unchivalrously dismissed the younger generation as “really bad”. It’s fair to a large extent.
China’s Yan is an emerging talent, genuinely of world class potential and only 20 yo. Still not at the level, say, Ronnie was at at his age tho.
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During my brief period as a regular (poor) club player I was at the Cambridge snooker centre, round the back and over the level crossing on the creepy Coldhams industrial estate. Thankfully me and my college mate could pass for non students.
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Laz, Selby can win ugly and often does , his B/C game wins matches/tournaments, but I standby the fact he is a cheat deliberatley grafting players and spoiling. That works to a point but when Ronnie, Williams, Higgins, Robertson are at full steam , he just isn't " good" emough to counter their firepower.
They ca win 4 frames on the bounce in under 30 minutes, and that is unerving to an opponent. The scoreboard changes so quickly , whereas he winning frames in bits and pieces doesn't generally have the same effect. Selbys tactic today will be to take ages over the simplest shots, refuse odds on balls, put balls on cushions, play a slow as he can, and do Ronnies head in. Whether Ronnie is up for that we will see.
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By way of example Ronnie will go 100, 120, 110, and win three frames in 20 minutes and on a roll. What does selby do? He needs 4 snookers with 1 red left and will play for them just to do his opponents head in. Disgraceful.
Despite what Ronnie said ( he was attention seeking) and wanting a headline players in 32-100 ranking the standard is unvelivably high. Even 15 years ago players that were 32-100, were awful and as the standard improved they fell off the tour very quickly. See Fergal O'brien, he would never ever be a top 32 player now , or anywhere near it.
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Ryan Day, Ricky Walden, Mark King, Marco Fu,Marin Gould all have been stalwarts of the top 16 previously and have one world ranking tournaments, but their ranking has fallen of a cliff over the last 5 years or so. And that is due to the lower ranked players improving massively.
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Ryan Day, Ricky Walden, Mark King, Marco Fu,Marin Gould all have been stalwarts of the top 16 previously and have one world ranking tournaments, but their ranking has fallen of a cliff over the last 5 years or so. And that is due to the lower ranked players improving massively.
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I’m not sure that kind of play from Aelby is “disgraceful” tbh, I think it’s perfectly fair but just not good to watch.
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Interesting point you make above.
I think most would agree that the very top standard of the game has fallen, but you might be right that the average standard of the top 100 has improved nonetheless - I don’t follow the game at that level closely enough to follow. Marco Fu is an absolute hero btw
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TBF Marco Fu decline is because he has degenerative eye condition , which shows no sign of improvement . He is an intelligent and articulate chap, and s great snooker player.
He has an american accent though..
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Speaking of which, what happened to the Canadian presence in snooker.
ebitda, let’s make a pact m88. one day, you and I will play a Best of 19. IRL. Deal?
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deal.
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All I hope is Selby doesn't do a job on Ronnie. I wana see Ronnie in full flow at his best, my fear is , Ronnies head will explode early doors.
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You’re on sun. we can find a proper club in your neck of the woods and I’ll come down there. I’ve got folks in SE London so not too far
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sweet.
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Laz, no offence, but you're going to get slaughtered.
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Probably true! Ebit sounds like a solid player. I’d just like to make a new friend with a mutual interest. I’d make the trip just to play up, have a couple of cheap lagers and shoot some balls.
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