UK Championship 2021

[Odrl]

It doesn't really bother me if people have a strong regional accent, it's not really something they can quickly fix. I would expect TV pundits to be at least somewhat eloquent though, which O'Sullivan and White are definitely not.

I think most commentators have their pluses and minuses. Virgo and Taylor are generally not unpleasant with their tone of voice and their analysis, but I find it highly unprofessional that they (by their own admission) don't really follow snooker and hence don't know some of the players they commentate on. How can a person like that address the snooker audience with any kind of credibility?

Johnson and Dale I find alright, they follow the game and are generally positive. I can see why they would get on some people's nerves though. Hendon I generally like, Studd not so much (if you can't tell them apart, when you hear anything particularly idiotic, it's probably Studd ). Phil Yates is the worst and shouldn't have a job that requires talking.

There, I feel... the same a before.

[PatBlock]

I guess I could, but then why am I paying for Eurosport Player? It's been more than 15 years, so I think I'm beginning to accept the fact that Jimmy White just isn't going away, ever.

365's pretty good, no ads or commentary (usually). But it does go belly up from time to time, so I keep my Eurosport account just in case. You also get the (admittedly often cringeworthy) interviews and you can watch matches retrospectively, which is great. So, belt & braces for me.

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[Stony152]

It doesn't really bother me if people have a strong regional accent, it's not really something they can quickly fix. I would expect TV pundits to be at least somewhat eloquent though, which O'Sullivan and White are definitely not.

I think most commentators have their pluses and minuses. Virgo and Taylor are generally not unpleasant with their tone of voice and their analysis, but I find it highly unprofessional that they (by their own admission) don't really follow snooker and hence don't know some of the players they commentate on. How can a person like that address the snooker audience with any kind of credibility?

Johnson and Dale I find alright, they follow the game and are generally positive. I can see why they would get on some people's nerves though. Hendon I generally like, Studd not so much (if you can't tell them apart, when you hear anything particularly idiotic, it's probably Studd ). Phil Yates is the worst and shouldn't have a job that requires talking.

There, I feel... the same a before.

It's the weirdest thing. I've been watching sports for about 50 years and 99% of the time I can tell right away who is talking. Some people claim that John and Patrick McEnroe sound the same, but I have no trouble distinguishing between them. But when it comes to Hendon, Yates, and Studd I really don't know who is who. To me they all have a generic British voice and I don't know which of them I'm listening to. I've watched hours and hours of tennis, golf, basketball, baseball, hockey, and American football and have never had that issue.

[trains]

365's pretty good, no ads or commentary (usually). But it does go belly up from time to time, so I keep my Eurosport account just in case. You also get the (admittedly often cringeworthy) interviews and you can watch matches retrospectively, which is great. So, belt & braces for me.

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there were quite a few matches in the earlier rounds of this tournament where bet365 didn't actually stream though , hope the trend doesn't continue , granted of course eight at a time in the earlier rounds i guess could be more costly or difficult.

[Odrl]

When it comes to powering into the pack or into a cluster of reds, Zhao seems to get it perfectly every time.

[Nifty50]

When it comes to powering into the pack or into a cluster of reds, Zhao seems to get it perfectly every time.

As good as Hendry?

[Odrl]

As good as Hendry?

If he keeps it up for 10 years, sure. But he is certainly getting them right today.

[Odrl]

I know foreign names starting with X require a big of guesswork (when you are too lazy to inform yourself), but how White gets to his "Yintong" pronunciation is a bit of a mystery to me.

[MrRottweiler]

What happened in that frame with Ding Junhui when his opponent put his cue on the table and it fouled the pink? Did the referee not call the foul which could have given Ding a chance to win the frame? Only saw it briefly during the mid session interval tournament highlights so not sure what happened.

[PatBlock]

What happened in that frame with Ding Junhui when his opponent put his cue on the table and it fouled the pink? Did the referee not call the foul which could have given Ding a chance to win the frame? Only saw it briefly during the mid session interval tournament highlights so not sure what happened.

The ref called the frame before the cueball came to rest.

You could call this a catalogue of errors:
- the referee should have waited for the cue ball to stop moving, then check that the opponent did not wish to come to the table, AND THEN call the frame.
- a Player is responsible for their equipment, Sam should not have placed his cue anywhere near any ball moving or not, as you saw and as well we all know, a cue can roll on their own after placement

In my opinion:

Should NOT have been called a foul as the referee had called the frame, it could be said that indicated to Sam that it was all over and he put his cue on the table because of the call; and as stated in the rules a player is not culpable for any mistake by a referee

It is actually a foul as the cue did hit the cue ball when the cue ball was still moving so officially the stroke was not finished, the turn was not finished and the frame was not finished - BUT because the referee called the frame, indicating frame finished the foul should not have been called.

One for the Referees committee to send out a reminder to their membership

[fkhan]

Congrats Zhao!

[JimMalone]

Congrats to Zhao Xintong. I never would have thought he would win this tournament.

He certainly is an amazing talent in terms of cueing especially, but thats really a big jump from his former results. It will be interesting what this success will do to him mentally.
I wish him all the best, cause he seems a really nice guy, but I think it might be difficult to play on that level and habe That success consistently in near future as I still think he heavily relies on potting.
It would be good for him to develop a bit more tactical game with better decision making. But on the very positive side is that mentally he seems very fit. He hardly showed any nerves today and this in the by far biggest game of his career.

[Nifty50]

That was brilliant. Great advert for snooker.

[vmax]

It's the weirdest thing. I've been watching sports for about 50 years and 99% of the time I can tell right away who is talking. Some people claim that John and Patrick McEnroe sound the same, but I have no trouble distinguishing between them. But when it comes to Hendon, Yates, and Studd I really don't know who is who. To me they all have a generic British voice and I don't know which of them I'm listening to. I've watched hours and hours of tennis, golf, basketball, baseball, hockey, and American football and have never had that issue.

You can always tell when it's Yates as he's the one who makes you want to run to the nearest gun shop

Well done Zhao tonight, played superbly and took advantage of the run of the balls when things got close, hard luck Luca, it wasn't your time this time.

[Cue crafty]

Well done young lad!! Great performance all championship and a very worthy winner!! This kid is magic for snooker and I wish him every success on his onward journey from here.

First time I saw him play I thought he has a special temperament for the game along with his ability and thankfully for this game he has been able to rise to this occasion. No stopping him I hope, but more tests to come that will pave his future.

Best of luck kid!!!