2014 World Championship - Discussion

[richo]

Agreed that entertainment is partly important, which is why I am not watching now. Don't want to watch this style of play so just catching up via forum and news.

There is some deliberate slow play. He is often getting down a couple of times on pots then back up again and wondering round the table, just trying to frustrate ROS, and you have to say it's working.

[jrc750]

Selby as usual suffocating an opponent! Hopefully he will come out with renewed vigour after the interval.

I have to wonder sometimes if anyone on here actually plays snooker !!

[wake_up_bomb]

The big difference between the two of them is that Selby is happy to make 12, run out of position, play a containing safety, black goes safe, gets in again, makes 20, plays safe again, gets in again, makes 6, misses a pot but leaves it awkward for his opponent, etc, all day long. Ronnie cannot cope with this, he can play great safety, in fact he is a better safety player than Selby, but all of his play is aggressive. If Ronnie played eleven frames, lost eight of them and didn’t make a 50 break he just wouldn’t be able to cope with it. If the balls start running better for Ronnie then he can still win quite easily.

[nicklowry12]

Ronnie is going to have to make some serious changes about how he goes about the match during the interval. I can't see him winning another frame the entire match if this continues. Credit where it's due though Selby has really stepped up today.

[JimMalone]

I don't think anyone doubts his quality, it's just his style. He kills the match and then rebuilds it in his own way. He has the ability to make 100 breaks for fun, but in the big matches it seems like he puts emphasis (perhaps unintentionally) of killing the tempo/style of the match for his opponent.

It's smart, and if it works good on him. But as a fan I hate it.

Well, to each his own.

I love seeing some good tactic battles.

[wemba]

You have to admire Selby. And the best part is we have a player who is not bottling it against Ronnie.
Great final.

[luke-h]

Selby as usual suffocating an opponent! Hopefully he will come out with renewed vigour after the interval.

[trains]

Ronnie's been knocking the black safe on his break off shot so I don't see why people think Selby is slowing the game.

[zombieman]

I don't see that his head has gone at all - he's been playing relatively poorly all tournament but why is it that if Ronnie plays badly his head has just gone, whereas everyone else has been exhausted by the schedule? Maybe the other finalists over the yeears have struggled with the pressure?

I can't believe I have to spell this out on a snooker forum...

Because he's an exceptional player... exceptional in his ability and also his mood swings, getting bored easily, and not even wanting to be there. It has nothing to do with exhaustion or mental fatigue as evidenced by the fact that he's played in 5 world finals and played with no exhaustion in pretty much every one of them.

As with other players... is it a coincidence that Dott '06, Ebdon '06, Carter '08, Robertson '10, Dott '10, Carter '12 (and I could go on) all played their worst snooker in the final? And two of the above won the final. Many of them even admitted to exhaustion in their post match interviews.

[daffie]

I think that is the stuff of conspiracy theorists. Anyone can cough at an inopportune time. Selby could have got back up off the shot as the cough happened at least a second before he delivered the cue.

Hendry used to play in tournaments when people were saying miss whilst he was on the shot and it never put him off!

Normally I would agree with anybody that says coughs will happen at any time, as well as other disturbances during a game. But...sometimes these disturbances are just not random. They especially happen when Ronnie or trump play...the kind of 'fans' they attract sometimes are the ones that do apply such tactics. Very unfortunate.

[montoya10]

I really can't understand the hate for Selby.
Sure, everybody has his own preferences when watching snooker. But after all he has proven often, though not in the first two sessions of the final, he is a great break-builder as well.

As for myself I love watching Selby. He is a great all-around player. He is able to score high, when needed, but is also a great tactician and plays excellent safeties.

Selby vs. Robertson in the semifinal was probably the best match I've seen in the last two or three years.

Oh well, as for myself, I don't need excuses. I'm a Ronnie O'Sullivan fan, and Mark Selby is a frustrating player whenever he plays O'Sullivan. If he played the same way against everyone, I'd probably feel more like okay with that, though.

[Ronnie's tip]

I really can't understand the hate for Selby.
Sure, everybody has his own preferences when watching snooker. But after all he has proven often, though not in the first two sessions of the final, he is a great break-builder as well.

As for myself I love watching Selby. He is a great all-around player. He is able to score high, when needed, but is also a great tactician and plays excellent safeties.

Selby vs. Robertson in the semifinal was probably the best match I've seen in the last two or three years.

I don't think anyone doubts his quality, it's just his style. He kills the match and then rebuilds it in his own way. He has the ability to make 100 breaks for fun, but in the big matches it seems like he puts emphasis (perhaps unintentionally) of killing the tempo/style of the match for his opponent.

It's smart, and if it works good on him. But as a fan I hate it.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

unbelievable. simply cant believe this

[stephenm2682]

ronnie's safeties are on par with murphys in this final!!

[billabong]

I'm not one bit bored or one bit tired!

+1

You have to play to your strengths imho. Unreasonable to ask players to change their strategy

in order to entertain more ( personally I find this match entertaining to watch as it is ).

That'd be like asking Mayweather to stop boxing defensively , and go for an early round stoppage in every fight .

Not gonna happen. .

Far more entertaining to have a clash of styles ( in many sports ), than 2 sportspersons with similar styles .