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Right, the warm-up is over and the business end of the tournament starts today. :smile: Only two players that cannon realistically win the tournament have survived this time. I would have preferred none, but it's still an improvement on the last two years. :wink:
O'Sullivan v. Murphy: The match of the round probably, the only one featuring two of this season's major tournament winners. They have both played some good and some less good stuff in this tournament. Murphy only just survived his opening match against Cope, but raised his game for the match against Fu and did the damage with a very strong middle session. He could have won even more comfortably, but threw quite a few frames away, allowing Fu a couple of clearances from 50 and more behind. He will probably have to be more clinical against O'Sullivan, otherwise it could be the same story.
O'Sullivan wasn't ever in trouble in the 1st round, but he certainly was in the 2nd round against Perry, coming the closest to losing a WC match since 2011. He is always likely to make a bunch of big breaks, but the worrying thing is that he is giving a lot of easy chances to his opponents as well, and Perry was taking them for most of the match. O'Sullivan usually gets better with each round though, so I expect him to be sharper against Murphy.
There is surprisingly little history between the two players, considering they have been in the top8 for most of the last decade. O'Sullivan won their biggest match to date, 13-10 in the 2nd round of the 2011 WC, where neither player was really at their best. I also remember a good match between them in the semi-finals of the 2007 Grand Prix, where Murphy led 5-2, but O'Sullivan came back with couple of good breaks to win 6-5. Murphy's biggest win over O'Sullivan came in the final of the 2009 Premier League, in shot-clock snooker.
I was going to go for O'Sullivan to win anyway, but Murphy's comments after his win over Fu are just amazing... He seems completely in awe of O'Sullivan, talking about how he is looking forward to watching him and learning from him, and how he would support O'Sullivan himself if he was in the crowd. He also says that the match is "in O'Sullivan's hands", clearly hoping that O'Sullivan plays beneath his usual level, rather than Murphy raising his own game. It's a pretty embarrassing mindset for a player who was himself a World champion in the past... I sincerely hope it's some sort of mind game to put pressure on O'Sullivan, and not just Murphy ****ting his pants before the match even starts. O'Sullivan to win 13-8.
Hawkins v. Dale: Even less history between these two... Hawkins is by far the higher-ranked player, but I expect the scoreline to be closer than the rankings suggest. Dale has had two very comfortable wins so far, slightly lucky perhaps to play the weakest seed in the 1st round, followed by a complete outsider in the 2nd, but he did play well in both matches. This is by far his toughest opponent though.
Hawkins came through a pretty nervy match against Walden, where he was four frames behind at one point, but handled the pressure better in the final session. He must fancy his chances to reach the semi-finals now. He has perhaps not reached the form he had last year, but he clearly knows how to play in these session matches at the Crucible now. I'm not sure he knows how to win comfortably though. :smile:
I think the match will stay close early on, but I expect Hawkins to prevail towards the end. There is a reason why he is a top8 player after all, he has had to play consistently good snooker to get there, while Dale only plays well in patches. Hawkins to win 13-11.
Selby v. McManus: This could be quite a tactical and fragmented match, although both players have shown some decent scoring in their previous matches. Selby scraped through the 1st round, then raised his game against Carter, one of the toughest opponents he could have got in the 2nd round. He won a couple of crucial close frames early on, and kept the lead throughout the match, struggling a bit to get over the line in the end. We are still waiting for a prolonged run of scoring from him, but he has proven over the last couple of years that he doesn't really need it to be competitive. At least not in the early rounds...
I was really impressed with McManus' win over Higgins, so I expected him to beat Doherty pretty comfortably, and he didn't disappoint. The thing is, he is not wasting too many chances, like some veterans usually tend to do, and he backs it up with an excellent tactical game. He also has the luxury of being the underdog here, having already got more success than he probably expected, while Selby really needs to win this to continue his title challenge and justify his status in the game.
They met pretty recently in the World Open, and Selby won 5-1, so he has the edge. McManus has lost quite a few matches against strong tactical players this season, two big ones against Michael Holt in particular, so perhaps the fact that his great tactical game is not such an advantage against Selby could make the difference here. I also have a feeling Selby could find his scoring at some point, so I'm going for Selby to win 13-7.
Robertson v. Trump: This could be another good one. Robertson has probably been the best player of the tournament so far. Allen pretty much did everything he could against him, but Robertson still ended up winning pretty comfortably. He is scoring as well as he has been all season, and his long potting seems to be at its best as well. It's kind of hard to see who could beat him over three sessions here, but there is the danger that he has peaked too early...
I have to admit Trump's 2nd round match was the one I saw the least of, so I don't really have a good picture of how well he is playing, but it did look like Day had a bunch of chances to make it closer. Tom Ford certainly did in the 1st round. One thing in Trump's favour here is his good record against Robertson. Not many players have that going for them. He beat Robertson in the 1st round of the WC in 2011, when Robertson was defending his title, and he followed it up with a win in the semi-finals of the 2011 UK Championship, and also in the final of the International Championship last season. All these matches were over two sessions, so that could give Trump a bit of confidence ahead of today, maybe even a psychological edge. He mentioned it himself in his post-match comments yesterday, but it could be wishful thinking, and it's a worrying sign if he expects Robertson to be afraid of him.
I expect both players to be going for their shots here. They are both excellent potters, well matched in the safety, but I think Robertson is a better decision-maker and a stronger scorer at this point in time. He is also a very competitive character who enjoys a challenge like this, and is very good at turning rivalries in his favour. Robertson to win 13-8.
Bring it on! :smile:
O'Sullivan v. Murphy: The match of the round probably, the only one featuring two of this season's major tournament winners. They have both played some good and some less good stuff in this tournament. Murphy only just survived his opening match against Cope, but raised his game for the match against Fu and did the damage with a very strong middle session. He could have won even more comfortably, but threw quite a few frames away, allowing Fu a couple of clearances from 50 and more behind. He will probably have to be more clinical against O'Sullivan, otherwise it could be the same story.
O'Sullivan wasn't ever in trouble in the 1st round, but he certainly was in the 2nd round against Perry, coming the closest to losing a WC match since 2011. He is always likely to make a bunch of big breaks, but the worrying thing is that he is giving a lot of easy chances to his opponents as well, and Perry was taking them for most of the match. O'Sullivan usually gets better with each round though, so I expect him to be sharper against Murphy.
There is surprisingly little history between the two players, considering they have been in the top8 for most of the last decade. O'Sullivan won their biggest match to date, 13-10 in the 2nd round of the 2011 WC, where neither player was really at their best. I also remember a good match between them in the semi-finals of the 2007 Grand Prix, where Murphy led 5-2, but O'Sullivan came back with couple of good breaks to win 6-5. Murphy's biggest win over O'Sullivan came in the final of the 2009 Premier League, in shot-clock snooker.
I was going to go for O'Sullivan to win anyway, but Murphy's comments after his win over Fu are just amazing... He seems completely in awe of O'Sullivan, talking about how he is looking forward to watching him and learning from him, and how he would support O'Sullivan himself if he was in the crowd. He also says that the match is "in O'Sullivan's hands", clearly hoping that O'Sullivan plays beneath his usual level, rather than Murphy raising his own game. It's a pretty embarrassing mindset for a player who was himself a World champion in the past... I sincerely hope it's some sort of mind game to put pressure on O'Sullivan, and not just Murphy ****ting his pants before the match even starts. O'Sullivan to win 13-8.
Hawkins v. Dale: Even less history between these two... Hawkins is by far the higher-ranked player, but I expect the scoreline to be closer than the rankings suggest. Dale has had two very comfortable wins so far, slightly lucky perhaps to play the weakest seed in the 1st round, followed by a complete outsider in the 2nd, but he did play well in both matches. This is by far his toughest opponent though.
Hawkins came through a pretty nervy match against Walden, where he was four frames behind at one point, but handled the pressure better in the final session. He must fancy his chances to reach the semi-finals now. He has perhaps not reached the form he had last year, but he clearly knows how to play in these session matches at the Crucible now. I'm not sure he knows how to win comfortably though. :smile:
I think the match will stay close early on, but I expect Hawkins to prevail towards the end. There is a reason why he is a top8 player after all, he has had to play consistently good snooker to get there, while Dale only plays well in patches. Hawkins to win 13-11.
Selby v. McManus: This could be quite a tactical and fragmented match, although both players have shown some decent scoring in their previous matches. Selby scraped through the 1st round, then raised his game against Carter, one of the toughest opponents he could have got in the 2nd round. He won a couple of crucial close frames early on, and kept the lead throughout the match, struggling a bit to get over the line in the end. We are still waiting for a prolonged run of scoring from him, but he has proven over the last couple of years that he doesn't really need it to be competitive. At least not in the early rounds...
I was really impressed with McManus' win over Higgins, so I expected him to beat Doherty pretty comfortably, and he didn't disappoint. The thing is, he is not wasting too many chances, like some veterans usually tend to do, and he backs it up with an excellent tactical game. He also has the luxury of being the underdog here, having already got more success than he probably expected, while Selby really needs to win this to continue his title challenge and justify his status in the game.
They met pretty recently in the World Open, and Selby won 5-1, so he has the edge. McManus has lost quite a few matches against strong tactical players this season, two big ones against Michael Holt in particular, so perhaps the fact that his great tactical game is not such an advantage against Selby could make the difference here. I also have a feeling Selby could find his scoring at some point, so I'm going for Selby to win 13-7.
Robertson v. Trump: This could be another good one. Robertson has probably been the best player of the tournament so far. Allen pretty much did everything he could against him, but Robertson still ended up winning pretty comfortably. He is scoring as well as he has been all season, and his long potting seems to be at its best as well. It's kind of hard to see who could beat him over three sessions here, but there is the danger that he has peaked too early...
I have to admit Trump's 2nd round match was the one I saw the least of, so I don't really have a good picture of how well he is playing, but it did look like Day had a bunch of chances to make it closer. Tom Ford certainly did in the 1st round. One thing in Trump's favour here is his good record against Robertson. Not many players have that going for them. He beat Robertson in the 1st round of the WC in 2011, when Robertson was defending his title, and he followed it up with a win in the semi-finals of the 2011 UK Championship, and also in the final of the International Championship last season. All these matches were over two sessions, so that could give Trump a bit of confidence ahead of today, maybe even a psychological edge. He mentioned it himself in his post-match comments yesterday, but it could be wishful thinking, and it's a worrying sign if he expects Robertson to be afraid of him.
I expect both players to be going for their shots here. They are both excellent potters, well matched in the safety, but I think Robertson is a better decision-maker and a stronger scorer at this point in time. He is also a very competitive character who enjoys a challenge like this, and is very good at turning rivalries in his favour. Robertson to win 13-8.
Bring it on! :smile:
However, I doubt anything Rob Walker said was meant, or indeed taken by Shaun, offensively. 
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