2014 World Championship - Discussion

[Dr_Doctor]

I like to think that Hawkins is mentally stronger than Murphy. Well... I hope so... :upset:

[Tiger800]

I'm finding it hard to determine if Ronnies opponents are falling apart or if his standard of play is just making them look bad although I'm leaning towards the "Ronnie" factor.

[Billy]

RO never ceases to amaze me. He says he has to work hard when he's out there, and I don't doubt it, but when he goes into auto-pilot he's like a man possessed by some snooker devil. It's almost like he's not in control of what he's doing out there, just walking around in a daze potting anything and everything because he can't do anything else.

[funkrider]

I think those kicks in the 6th game really threw Hawkins off. O'Sullivan wasn't as untouchable as in the Perry match. Barry definitely had chances to end at a 4-4 imo.

If the semi-finals were reversed (in any kind of combination) the matches would've been so much more compelling.

[scottley]

I hate to write Baz off at this early stage but he just hardly loses when in front, its all over.

[KSR2013]

Selbyv Robbo is gonna be a cracker. 17-14 robbo i say

[Viktortheman]

The red Hawkins missed in the 8th frame to the left center is just so bad...cannot put it in another way than that, just awful.

[Odrl]

Looking forward to Selby vs Robertson tonight...

I always say the same thing when they meet, but I just find it amazing how long they went without ever meeting on the big stage. Selby had a win over Robertson in the qualifiers in 2006, before either player won their first major title, and they didn't meet for six years after that, even though they were both ranked in the top8, or even in the top4 for most of that period. Their first really big match came in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in 2012, when Selby came from 4-0 down to win 6-4. He also got the better of Robertson in the Masters final a month later, even though Robertson had looked like the stronger player during the week. Robertson is very good at turning these rivalries around though, and he got revenge over Selby in the World Open later in the season, and again in the final of the China Open. He also won their two biggest matches this season, the semi-final of the Australian Open and of course the UK final. The latter was a particularly interesting match, Selby taking a 5-1 lead in what was a very fragmented start to the match, but Robertson started going for his shots after that and put some good breaks together, and he won with a few frames to spare in the end.

At this point in time Robertson is the stronger player on paper. His scoring is second to none, although it took a bit of time for him to find it against Trump, but he certainly had it against Williams and Allen. Similar with his potting really, he got all kinds of balls against Allen, and it's really tough to keep him off the table when he plays like that. Last night he also displayed some excellent safety, particularly towards the end of the match. He doesn't mind winning ugly either, but I don't necessarily think it's a good sign when he starts overthinking shots under pressure. He usually comes good in the end though, probably the best big-occasion player of his generation, along with Selby himself.

Selby has lost the three big finals he's played in this season, but he wasn't really playing the kind of snooker that would have made him favourite in any of them, so it's a testament to his fighting qualities that he made it that far in the first place. As I said, he led Robertson 5-1 in the UK final, and he is the kind of player who is always going to win a lot of the scrappy frames, so you need to outplay him in the "open" ones to make the difference. Robertson did on that occasion, but I think Selby is playing better himself this time. He scraped past the 1st round 10-9, then won a tough match against Ali Carter in the 2nd round, and he didn't really give McManus much chance in the quarters. He should be reasonably fresh for the final few days of the tournament, and his form seems to be coming around just at the right time.

Maybe it's just my feeling, but I think Selby is looking stronger with each match, while Robertson has maybe peaked a little too early. They both landed in pretty tough quarters, but Selby's draw at least opened up a bit for the quarter-finals, while Robertson had to do it the hard way. In any case, these two both play the game with a lot of heart, never know when they are beaten, and they seem to thrive on pressure. They also seem to shine in the late-night hours, and they play their deciding session in the evening. So my wish (and my expectation) is for 17-16 either way on Saturday night, hopefully past midnight, and may the best man win. But if I had to call it, I would go for Selby. :wink:

Can't wait. :smile:

[funkrider]

I hate to write Baz off at this early stage but he just hardly loses when in front, its all over.

There's room for a mini comeback of sorts where Hawkins could make the score look decent but I don't think Ronnie will have any problems in sealing the match, too good of a frontrunner.

[vilkrang]

The red Hawkins missed in the 8th frame to the left center is just so bad...cannot put it in another way than that, just awful.

It's the sort of red that someone with a high break of 20 would pot 9 times out of 10. Truly awful.

[cyberheater]

It's the sort of red that someone with a high break of 20 would pot 9 times out of 10. Truly awful.

Yes. Terry will be giving him a right ticking off.

[Viktortheman]

It's the sort of red that someone with a high break of 20 would pot 9 times out of 10. Truly awful.

Exactly! I'm not sure whether it was a bad contact or not but that may have been the worst shot I've ever seen on the professional circuit this season! (The pink Murphy missed against ROS is also a contender I believe). It should have been 3-5 but now it's 2-6 which is quite a tall order already for the Hawk.

[rightoncue89]

Am I the only one who finds these trickshot segments rather tiresome?

I wish they'd fill that time by bringing back the good old fashioned Shot of the Tournament.

I dont like trick shots in general, the setting it all up with cues and triangles annoys me, my idea of a trick shot is something you could do in a match..They just annoy me..especially when its a pool trick shot during the world snooker championship!

And if youve used one of the us pool cues with tips made for trick shots then you know how easy it is to masse and spin the ball all over.

I would much rather watch jimmy or dare i say it..judd trump! playing exhibition shots without having to set the shots up and use cues and triangles to guide balls around

[Billy]

I dont like trick shots in general, the setting it all up with cues and triangles annoys me, my idea of a trick shot is something you could do in a match..They just annoy me..especially when its a pool trick shot during the world snooker championship!

And if youve used one of the us pool cues with tips made for trick shots then you know how easy it is to masse and spin the ball all over.

I would much rather watch jimmy or dare i say it..judd trump! playing exhibition shots without having to set the shots up and use cues and triangles to guide balls around

This pretty much sums it up for me too. Also, I just can't take to the guy doing them, either.

[spike]

Even the pub quiz they did a couple of years back was better, and that's saying something..