Betway 2019 UK Championship

[Odrl]

I was about to praise Yan Bingtao for winning 6-0 without much fuss against a poor Robertson, but the last two frames were not very encouraging. Losing a frame when your opponent needs 4 snookers is just poor, and next time it happens it might be with a closer scoreline or against an opponent who is then able to continue to put the pressure on. But tonight Robertson just wasn't intimidating enough to be able to expect a complete meltdown from Yan.

Much closer match on the other table. Seems they are playing quite fast, with 9 and a bit frames played compared to the 7 in the other match. :smile:

[ADR147]

I was about to praise Yan Bingtao for winning 6-0 without much fuss against a poor Robertson, but the last two frames were not very encouraging. Losing a frame when your opponent needs 4 snookers is just poor, and next time it happens it might be with a closer scoreline or against an opponent who is then able to continue to put the pressure on. But tonight Robertson just wasn't intimidating enough to be able to expect a complete meltdown from Yan.

Much closer match on the other table. Seems they are playing quite fast, with 9 and a bit frames played compared to the 7 in the other match. :smile:

In fairness to Yan, Robertson did produce some pretty special Snookers!

[crocodile]

Must say I was pretty impressed by the way Neil battled on and at least managed to claw one frame back, though I'm sure he sensed that a major comeback wasn't on the cards. Wasn't exactly glued to the TV the whole evening, but from what I could see those long pots he missed at the beginning of several frames were decisive factors in his downfall.

Oh well - my tournament favourite (one of them at least) bites the dust ....

[Cue crafty]

Not just you, It's been poor. When a tournament has prestige, the bad matches are still quite exciting, because of the occasion. But the UK doesn't have that anymore, so a bad match is just that.

Agreed this is very true sadly, so far this event has only added further to that demise. The UK has been downgraded in terms of prestige last couple of years or more, which is a real shame, especially from a comparing the greats perspective. Its important that something is done to to resurrect this tournament to its highest level, because I for one will want to see how the likes of Trump, Selby, Murphy etc stand against the all time greats in terms of wins near the end of their careers. ITV must be rubbing their hands together after the success of "Champion of Champions" the BBC will probably just drop the "Triple crown" talk and put more darts on.....

[Odrl]

In fairness to Yan, Robertson did produce some pretty special Snookers!

He did, I definitely enjoyed that passage of play. I'm not sure he would have got those penalty points against a more tactically sound player though. The one shot that stands out in particular was when Yan gave 6 points away, hitting the pink when he was trying to hit the reds directly rather than off a cushion. I think that was before it went up to four snookers needed though.

[balkend]

Happy Birthday Ronnie

[Neil Taperell]

3 bad safety shots in 3 frames by O'Sullivan , very unusual for him .

Someone have a word with Wilson ……….the barber forgot to cut the back of his head

[Ronnie's tip]

I think the problem (a tad harsh) for Ronnie and this "all out attack" approach is that his long game isn't strong enough for him to dominate like he would otherwise. If you look at the Irish final against Trump, he lost because of the first session where he went for everything, was at about 20% success and Trump gained a lead which he maintained for the rest of the final. He's still good enough to win events of course but it isn't Ronnie 'at his best', even though he will go through matches looking unbeatable when those aggressive shots do go in. Is it sustainable though? I'm not so sure.

Ding has looked great here though. If he wins today, I hope he wins the tournament. I could see Selby dragging him through the dirt in a final, mind you.

[Odrl]

Someone have a word with Wilson ……….the barber forgot to cut the back of his head

Yeah, that "hair" is just ridiculous. I can't believe he did that to himself on purpose. :biggrin:

[Cue crafty]

Yeah, that "hair" is just ridiculous. I can't believe he did that to himself on purpose. :biggrin:

Arguably better than this one though....

The balls never forgive you and neither should that hair.... I think GW may be heading off to the mental asylum after that loss to Bond!!

[zeeman]

What happens to wilson bond match,only 3rd frame now?! Ithought they started earlier than ronnie ding

[JimMalone]

Great win for Ding! Really happy for him. If he repeats that performance he has a good chance to reach the final here.

[Hey]

Go Ding ! ...go all the way

[Odrl]

What happens to wilson bond match,only 3rd frame now?! Ithought they started earlier than ronnie ding

The 2nd frame lasted more than an hour, Bond winning it on the final black after getting a snooker on the pink. :smile:


Nice win for Ding in quite an entertaining match. I think it was important for him to play so well in the first three frames, as it put O'Sullivan under pressure and he missed more than he usually does.

I remember O'Sullivan praising Trump for how quickly he came back from behind in the 2014 Champion of Champions final, but it has to be said that O'Sullivan himself is the king of those kinds of comebacks. I remember the match he played against Ken Doherty in the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, Doherty was 4-2 in front, had a kick when he was in the balls to win, and I think it must have been less than 20 minutes later when he was shaking O'Sullivan's hand in a 5-4 defeat. It kind of felt like that today when O'Sullivan got going to make it 4-4 from 4-1 down. :smile:

Ding held his nerve slightly better in the end though, even though they both missed a couple. What a chance he now has, considering the mediocre form most of the top players have been in this week. :smile:

[Billy]

I've just caught up with highlights of Wengo's match from last night. I understand he's recently lost his mother, but what was that weird arm-over-his-face thing he did as he was leaving the arena? The floor camera was focused on him and as he neared it he threw his arm over his face and sprinted out of shot.