UK Championship 2013/2014

[cyberheater]

I wonder if Bingham got any sleep last night.

[Odrl]

Looking forward to the snooker today... This tournament promised to have a great conclusion after most of the top players made it to the last 16. We lost Ding and Trump yesterday, and Higgins as well, so it looks slightly less impressive today, but there are only eight spots available at this stage, so you can't have everyone. :smile: There are still seven of the world's top12 in the tournament, plus Ronnie O'Sullivan. Seven matches to go and they should all be good ones. :smile:

Mark Selby vs Barry Hawkins: Great rivalry between these two in the last two seasons, a rivalry Hawkins has had the better of. He has beaten Selby twice in the World Championship, and two times out of four in the other ranking events as well. In the Shanghai Masters a couple of months ago Selby led 4-2 before Hawkins came back to win 5-4. So the recent head-to-head would favour Hawkins, what about current form? Neither has been particularly impressive this week, to be honest. Selby played well in the last three frames against Dott, but by that time it was obvious that Dott was struggling. This year has been similar to last year for Selby, just going through the rounds without ever really hitting top form. He managed to win the tournament last year playing like that, and it looks like he won't be beaten by a mediocre performance, someone will have to play well against him. Hawkins had some good moments against Murphy, particularly the three frames to take the lead from 2-0 down. Murphy has been a top player for nearly a decade now, so he is kind of considered the favourite in matches like that by default, but there isn't much difference between the two in the rankings and achievements these days, and I think that shows in Hawkins' game and demeanor now. He will not be beaten by Selby's or anyone's reputation. His matches always seem to go close for some reason. Against Murphy he had a chance to win in the penultimate frame but broke down, and he is usually strong from behind as well, so this has 6-5 written all over it. I make Selby a slight favourite though... :wink:

Mark Allen vs Ricky Walden: Tough match to call... They played in the semi-finals of this tournament two years ago, Allen winning 9-7. I think this could be another close one. For some reason Allen is seen as the stronger player, and indeed the bookies' favourite, but their ranking and career achievements are about the same. I guess Walden has always been somewhat underrated, but at the same time respected enough that no one really saw his win over Ding as a big shock. Very little of that match was televised, and the same goes for Walden's previous match against Williams, but we saw the ending of both. Against Williams he finished with a brilliant total clearance in the decider, against Ding he just got over the line in a nervy 10th frame. Allen won in ten frames against Trump as well, a massive fluke helping him to win the last one, but Trump could have (and really should have) won the match comfortably before that. Allen really struggled to score, and not just by running out of position or getting splits wrong, he was actually missing easy balls to break down. You can't expect to reach the semi-finals of the UK by playing like that, but then again, I don't think he does expect to play that badly again. As I said, I see Allen as a stronger player for some reason, even though there is no real basis for that, so I would give him every chance to play well and win this one. But objectively, Walden should be the favourite. 6-4 for Walden. :wink:

Neil Robertson vs Stephen Maguire: This is the match I am looking forward to the most, it would definitely be my pick if all the matches were played at the same time. One of the best rivalries in snooker over the past six years or so. Maguire won eight out of their first nine meetings, so he really had the edge at one point, but Robertson has won six out of their last eight. Although to be fair, they've played a lot of shorter matches recently, while Maguire's previous wins were all best-of-9s or longer. With all the history between these two, their only really recent big match was the China Open semi-final last season, and that was a real cracker. Maguire had two chances in the last two frames, but couldn't get a good split, so Robertson eventually prevailed 6-5. Robertson has been a real century machine this season, well on the way to smashing last season's record, but his only success has been the very first ranking event of the season - the Wuxi Classic. This week he has only made four centuries in four matches, but his all-round great matchplay has got him though without any trouble. He was tested against Li Hang, and I was impressed with his concentration and with the respect he gave Li, because a bit of complacency could have got him in trouble there. He definitely has the mental strength to hold his own against any player in this tournament, but will he have the firepower when he needs it? Maguire had to survive two deciders to get to this stage, and certainly against Brecel the match was out of his hands at one point, but he made a good clearance when Brecel broke down. Against Liang he was first in, but broke down on match ball and then had to defend himself when Liang was going for snookers. But that wasn't televised, so it's tough to imagine how it looked. His match against Higgins was televised, and while parts of it weren't pretty, there were still some good signs for Maguire. The total clearance of 142 was certainly a good one, as was the tremendous long pot and the good break that put him in a commanding position in the last frame. There is no doubt Robertson is the stronger player at this point in time, but he is not playing to a standard that Maguire is incapable of, and I have a feeling Maguire could be inspired to play well today. Robertson starts favourite though, 6-5. :wink:

Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Stuart Bingham: Quite a few matches between these two in recent years, and of course the Champion of Champions final is still very fresh in the memory. Bingham is one of the players to drop the fewest frames so far, indeed no one has really come close to him, but he is also the only player in the quarter-finals that has avoided the strong player he was supposed to beat, when Marco Fu went out. It's hard to see how he could beat O'Sullivan, for a couple of reasons... The first is the kind of game he plays, open and uncomplicated, which is the kind of game O'Sullivan is most difficult to beat at. Another reason is the head-to-head between these two, which is strongly in O'Sullivan's favour. Having said that, the one win Bingham has had over O'Sullivan came in this tournament in 2010, so he will know things could go his way if he plays well. O'Sullivan hasn't been at his best in the last month, but he still captured another title and beat a few top players along the way, and that is bound to put some doubt into most of his opposition. He got into a great rhythm against Milkins last night, but you could say Milkins is the ultimate favourable opponent for O'Sullivan, so that was always a possibility. A couple of ways this match could go, either a slight struggle for both players like the CoC final, or they could push one another to play a good game. In either of those scenarios O'Sullivan is the favourite, 6-3. :wink:


Should be a great day of snooker. Bring it on...

[streamer45]

Looking forward to the snooker today...
[...]
Should be a great day of snooker. Bring it on...

Great analysis as always, I am ready

[mythman69]

Good summary !

My picks:

Hawkins
Walden
Robertson
ROS

[Billy]

Thanks for bringing us up to date, Odrl. Like you, I am looking forward to the Robertson v. Maguire match the most.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

i noticed one thing

ding has won more ranking titles than neil, selby, maguire and murphy although he is much younger. quite astonishing

[Masterdoctorgenius]

Come on ronnie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ronnie's tip]

Poor start from Ronnie.

[brusque]

When there's opportunity against Ronnie, guys like Bingham start shaking. Dissappointing. At least believe you can beat him and try.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

ronnie missed a shocker. i think he doesnt like afternnon session

[brusque]

i noticed one thing

ding has won more ranking titles than neil, selby, maguire and murphy although he is much younger. quite astonishing

That is because he is naturally much more talented than any of those

[stephenm2682]

I've seen Ronnie miss loads to the middle pockets in his recent games. Not a good sign

[Masterdoctorgenius]

why does he have to play in the afternoon

a bit tired i think

[Masterdoctorgenius]

ronnie has to fight today

nothing going his way

[rich45]

Ronnie looks terrible...unshaven, messy hair, bags under the eyes...I can see Bingham winning this.