2022 World Championship

[The Boss]

Higgins is the oldest looking player on tour and today he played like it

[PatBlock]

You old bugger. Btw feeling as much a spring chicken as yourself.

Glad to hear you're feeling clucking fantastic Daffie.

Isn't it funny that the word 'bugger' doesn't bother the digital swear box.

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[fkhan]

Does anyonw know how to post a question on Eurosport? Is it via Twitter?

[vmax]

What was the question?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3F8m78eGnI

[Odrl]

Okay, that's two ancients down, one more to go. I have confidence in you Trump.

[Starsky]

Okay, that's two ancients down, one more to go. I have confidence in you Trump.

Long live the ancients ….

[trains]

Okay, that's two ancients down, one more to go. I have confidence in you Trump.

If you enjoy banging the anti - oldies drum there’s plenty of mileage left in that i think , i really cant see them going anywhere for years and years yet , tbh i never bought into the idea it was ever a young mans game in the first place , even when higgins won it in 98 it was obvious that the class of 92’s success then was just as much filling the vacuum from the closed circuit days of the 80’s as anything else.

[Odrl]

I know they'll still be around for a while, and then we have Robertson over 40 now as well, and Selby not far behind. But it's still a statistical anomaly to have three players aged 47 in the semi-finals. Hopefully next year makes up for it with Yan and Zhao taking their place.

[trains]

yes and hopefully more players can buy houses within walking distance of ding's and victoria's snooker academies in sheffield , just kidding.

[PatBlock]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3F8m78eGnI

Thanks vmax. Classic.

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[GeordieDS]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3F8m78eGnI

Rob Walker as good as a human being he is I wouldn't want to have to listen to his enthusiasm after losing like that ♂️

[mikee]

Probably looking like one of the best Crucible finals in years ,two of the best naturally gifted players slugging it out .You couldn’t really ask for more

[Nifty50]

Probably looking like one of the best Crucible finals in years ,two of the best naturally gifted players slugging it out .You couldn’t really ask for more

And it sorts out who is No 1. Can’t wait. Have to go with Ronnie but Judd could turn it on.

[BrianMahdi]

There is going to be no loser's side for me on this one. My two favorite players 😃 best of luck to both

[Odrl]

Alright, so only the World final remains...

I don't really have a strong prediction on this occasion, nor the time to really try to analyse the matchup in any great depth. I feel like both players have shown some weakness in this tournament, and both have shown a lot of strength too, so there is basically no result that would really surprise me, apart from maybe a completely one-sided victory for either of them.

Judd Trump has been really inconsistent in this tournament. He had a couple of great sessions where the long balls were going in, but then that part of his game disappeared in the second half of his match against Williams. If he can't rely on getting in from distance, I think there is a chance O'Sullivan dominates in terms of table time, preventing Trump from getting into his scoring rhythm. On the other hand, Trump seems to be really relaxed at the moment, playing quite quickly and not looking for any problems, which is the opposite of how Higgins played yesterday. Even when Williams was outplaying him, it wasn't a complete collapse or anything like that, he was still in the match and ready to take his chances when they came. I have no idea how well he will play here, but if it's anything like 2019, I don't think O'Sullivan can reach that level currently.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is on the verge of finally getting that one missing achievement that puts him at the top of anyone's list of greatest players. In all honesty, I used to think he would get nowhere near, but I never expected these old-timers to still be playing at this level beyond the age of 40, let alone 45. There has been some of the usual nonsense from O'Sullivan in this tournament, doing the weird sitting down thing when balls are being cleaned, constantly cleaning the table and finding distractions everywhere, and some frustration shown at times as well. But on the table itself, he has played textbook stuff, playing the right shots and fighting for every ball. Some of the breaks he was making against Higgins were very impressive, winning frames from very little to work with, which was quite reminiscent of his best years. I think he still has the edge against Trump in that department. Tactically, he should have the edge as well. I guess the one worry is that he didn't actually manage to keep Higgins away from the table much. Higgins had chance after chance and didn't make much from them, but Trump just might, so O'Sullivan needs to raise his game as well.

There isn't much in their head-to-head, although the recent history does seem to favour Trump. I think he's got rid of any fear of playing O'Sullivan now, so I don't think the match will be decided on that basis. If both of them play their best, Trump is the better player in 2022, but I don't think that's likely to happen. I think nerves will play a part, I think we'll see some frustration at times, and I think we'll see wasted chances and missed opportunities. But who will come out on top in the end? As I said, I don't have a strong prediction, but I'll go for Trump to win 18-16.