Australia Goldfields Open

[Wayne G]

Bummer, that means Saturday midnight and Sunday 5 am my time.

[gettingbetter]

Maybe this final will put snooker on the map in Australia.

For those who are concerned about snooker outside the UK and China, from the TV (the news) I have watched thus far, there has not been one peep about the tournament or Robertson at all. I have not seen the Saturday paper.

I wonder if any other Australian have seen the media cover it? I'm in Sydney for the record.

[P.Smith]

Looking at the attendance for some of the Chinese events I'm pretty concerned about snooker in that country. If it's so popular then why isn't there any spectators? At least the Aussie open has decent crowds.

[culraven]

Bums on seats are the tip of the iceberg, especially in a country as large as China.

[robertmac]

Yes midnight and 5am for me as well.

Both players can certainly play offensive style snooker
as well as good safeties so I think this will be an exciting
match especially if both players bring their A games.
Its a shame that the Oz press doesnt seem to provide
much coverage of snooker and Robertson. Hopefully this
will change.
Robertson seems to be the favourite and I would pick him
to win this.

[cueman]

Looking at the attendance for some of the Chinese events I'm pretty concerned about snooker in that country. If it's so popular then why isn't there any spectators? At least the Aussie open has decent crowds.

The sport is popular amongst players of the game in China but not so sure they are avid watchers of the game, especially in some of the arena's where these events are held.

The main problem is the feeling in China is that unless Ronnie is playing many of the fans of the game aren't interested in anyone else. Judd is the next most popular player out there but he hasn't got the same level of support and neither has his game been strong enough recently to make him a big draw.

I also feel as a nation they are losing interest because they are not having the success with the new wave of chinese players that they expected to have come into the game by now. Ding is still by far their best talent and he still can't get close to a world title and maybe never will because of the pressure on his shoulders. The fact that none of their up and coming players are making the necessary step up is likely to mean viewing figures will decline over the coming years.

For all Ding's quality he is not an exciting player to watch. What they really need is an exciting star to boost popularity otherwise the cash cow that is China may not be so fruitful in the coming years.

[miscuehamburg]

I think the chinese organizers should reconsider them ticket prices. It's ridicilous that they have 10 odd million tv-viewers and only the famous one man with his dog at the venue

[Terry Davidson]

I had read in SnookerScene a couple of years ago when Ding was in the finals of something that they had over 300 million people watching and it was the middle of the night. So I suspect they have a lot of interest given viewing figures like that (as long as there's a Chinese player in the finals) but perhaps the tickets are too expensive for the average fan?

I also noted today Eurosport ran the Robertson/King semi-final at a reasonable time. Can anyone tell me where I can find the Eurosport listings or let me know if they will be showing the match during more normal hours in Europe and North Americal.

Thanks,
Terry

[Terry Davidson]

Aha...I found the Eurosport TV guide and they have 2hrs at 21:30 which I assume is BST and means 16:30 for me here. They also have it live much earlier but that would be the middle of the night for me and I ain't that keen a fan and need my beauty rest anyway.

Of course I'll already know the results but at least will get to see how they're playing.

Terry

[DeanH]

Australia Goldfields Open

eurosport are showing the final live in their eurosport player. not sure but that could be register for free.
also sportslemon.tv is showing it live but without the commentary

[Odrl]

eurosport are showing the final live in their eurosport player. not sure but that could be register for free.
also sportslemon.tv is showing it live but without the commentary

It's not exactly perfect tomorrow morning... Eurosport have a very short highlights program, so they won't be able to squeeze in much of the eight frames, and getting up at 6am to watch it live is a tough one. Especially as I'm still up now. :smile:

But Eurosport Player does allow you to rewind it back a bit, something like three hours, so I think I'll get up at 9 and watch it from the start. :smile:


Anyway, looking forward to it... These two have developed quite a rivalry in recent years. Trump won their first three big matches, the 1st round of the 2011 WC, the semi-finals of the 2011 UK Championship and the final of the 2012 International Championship, all played over two sessions, and all going very close. Robertson won their semi-final at the Masters in this period, and of course won their recent big one, coming from behind to beat Trump in the quarter-finals of the WC a couple of months back. I often say that Robertson is very good at turning these rivalries in his favour, but I think it's Trump who has a score to settle this time, so I'm sure he will be as determined as possible.

Robertson is the better player at this point in time, and has just won a major event without playing anywhere near his best, mainly through experience and a good B-game. This week he has had some great moments, mainly in the match against Jones and party against Davis, but other times he has struggled and relied on his opponents' inability to punish him. He has done a lot of work in the past to achieve this kind of status in the game, and I guess players cracking a little against him is the result... But Trump is the first really big name he will be facing here, and he won't get scared of winning. His scoring has been quite reliable this week, so I think Robertson will be in trouble if he doesn't keep things tight. We know Robertson really wants this home title, so it will be interesting to see whether that brings the best out of him or puts him under additional pressure... It should go close in any case, 9-8 either way hopefully, but I have a feeling Trump will prevail. :wink:

[robertmac]

I would have chosen Trump however if his long
game isnt sharp and he tries some crazy shots
I see Robertson jumping on those types of mistakes.
It has the potential to be a real interesting match.
Both players are very determined.

[Chappy5]

Looking at the attendance for some of the Chinese events I'm pretty concerned about snooker in that country. If it's so popular then why isn't there any spectators? At least the Aussie open has decent crowds.

There will not be 1 spare seat today as well!!

Going to be a great atmosphere as well with the home town favourite playing! Really hoping Neil can win this event but the pressure would be massive when everyone in the stadium is sweating on your shot. There will be a heap of ooohh's and ahhhh's i reckon from the crowd!

If Neil has his long game going well i think he will beat Trump and a % of around 80% should be enough. Against Jones Neil's long game was flawless but he struggled at times against Davis and Milkens with pretty much a decent version of his B game getting him through. I don't think his B game is good enough to beat Trump and what a cracker of a match coming up. :snooker:

[rich45]

Anybody watching? Been a bit scrappy so far but a nice close match, 3-3 at the moment. Hope it goes the distance. Not overly enamoured with the commentators to be honest, especially the guy with the incredibly slow voice, but good to see a full house in the arena.

[rich45]

Wow Trump just knocked in a superb 55 break with all blues. One shot in particular was unreal. Just off straight red along the bottom cushion, screwed back with tremendous side, and ended up perfect on the blue in the centre. 4-3