2014 World Championship - Discussion

[lk8]

Not the first time the crowd has reacted like that unfortunately in the Ding match. An instance happened on the 16th frame as well if memory serves me right, when Wasley/crowd was urging a fluked pink on the corner, Ding was already getting up thinking to play his next shot and someone in the crowd just shouted "sit back down". That was uncalled for I thought.

But glad to see the classy congratulations in the end after that tough loss.

or that loud ring tone on someone's phone going off halfway through Ding's delivery in his attempt of a long red?

[gavpowell]

As for the crowd on the other hand... Well can't blame them for supporting the local guy,

Having been to the Crucible many years in a row now, along with the UK at York and the Masters at Wembley/Ally Pally, I promise you Ding gets plenty of support from Brits - he's extremely popular - even in the infamous Masters final when he got a thraqshing off Ronnie and there were allegations of racist abuse from certain spectators, the rest of the crowd got behind him and cheered his attempts to come back etc.

I personally don't like Ding and have always thought he's overrated(though I'm warming to him a bit now he's showing his emotions a little bit) but to suggest he's getting no support is just inaccurate. Especially at the Crucible, people judt love drama, no matter who's playing.

[Dave Walton]

Really, is it *rolls eyes* Selby is awful to watch

In your opinion maybe, personally i like watching him play, best tactician out there

Higgins is the best tactician, Selby is a boring grinder like Ebdon, I appreciate good tactical play, don't enjoy watching Selby though, too much gamesmanship with him imo

[Dave Walton]

Why exactly does the tournament need a boring, extremely lucky grinder like Selby?

I can take or leave Selby, but as someone here once pointed out, there's no such thing as luck. Luck is something man invented to explain why certain things happen, because it's too hard from them to accept that they just do.

If a player tries to pot a ball in the corner pocket, misses and the red then cannons off three other reds before dropping in the centre bag; that's not luck. It just so happens that the red hit the other reds in such a way that it found its way into the centre pocket. It's nothing more than a series of events that resulted in something we decide to call luck.

Its luck! Some are luckier than others but its still luck, if you try to play a pot, play it badly and miss but fluke it into the opposite pocket its lucky as you've gained an advantage by playing a bad shot you hadn't intended to play. Everything ever done was given a description by man. By your theory did you choose to type this post or is it just a serious of events beyond your control? Sorry but imo your theory is a load of bollocks

[jb134]

I wonder who the crowd would support if Walsey were playing Ding in China? The stuff I am reading here is pathetic.

[DG GIBERT]

I was watching the final frame with my son, I called the red in the middle before Wasley played it,
you cant call a fluke before hand.

You could see him line it up a few times, it was a shot for nothing not a fluke.

[coomsey76]

Well, well, well..... I can certainly say I never saw that result coming!!

What a great prospect Wasley is, it's good to see the young guns doing well!!

Well played Wasley at the end of the day he did what was needed to win, what a great first couple of days it has been!!

[DG GIBERT]

No different than Selby's trick shot hitting one red onto the other to pot it in the middle, no one called that a fluke.

[SnookerFan]

Ding has been the player of the season so far, but struggles at Sheffield.

Hope to see him win it one day, a player of his quality should win it.

[cebs]

No way he played that final red like that.

That was a fluke, no questions asked.

Did well to make it 9-9 and scored a great 103 in the first frame back on last night. Was on for a 145 as well so shame it broke down.

That fluke did help him win but lots happened before it and Ding almost got it back on the pink.

Ding showed class at the end also with a nice handshake and what looked like king words with a smile, can think if plenty who would have given neither.

I think commentators switch there 'he was lucky there' comments to who ever is playing that shot. And the crowd love an underdog but Ding is well supported by English fans imo.

Shame he is out as could have been a nice semi, likely to be Murphy or Hawkins now and either of those might challenge Ronnie a bit more than Ding normally does.

[vmax4steve]

I was watching the final frame with my son, I called the red in the middle before Wasley played it,
you cant call a fluke before hand.

You could see him line it up a few times, it was a shot for nothing not a fluke.

It was a fluke mate, he was lining up the path between black and pink to play a cushion first safety and hopefully get the cue ball behind the black.
Desperate way for Ding to lose but he really lost it in the afternoon session when he missed a lot of balls that he usually doesn't. Wasley started every session very strongly and I suspected that he would do the same in the extra session, and he did.
Great stuff from Ding in getting those snookers and a cool head from Wasley escaping from them.

As for the crowd being biased towards the home boy, that can be seen to be jingoistic by those who don't understand the britsh mentality of rooting for the underdog. When someone or something becomes serially successful then in the eyes of the british they turn into the establishment, and that's when the collective unconscious of british anti establishmentism comes to the fore.
It's the same with Man Utd and the season they're having now, those UTD fans who live their lives vicariously through their team are in a state of nothingness right now, while the rest of britain are loving it.

Ding has had a successful season, he's head of snookers establishment at the moment and therefore up there to be shot down. He's folded before under that kind of fan support for his opponent when he misinterpreted a crowd baying for Ronnie was personal hatred directed at him and he ended up in tears. At the time he was the new hot shot, got well and truly shot down and it's taken him this long to find that status again. He needs to get used to it like Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry did before, or find a personality on the table in either his manner or his play that the fans will warm to.

[Neil Taperell]

I was watching the final frame with my son, I called the red in the middle before Wasley played it,
you cant call a fluke before hand.

You could see him line it up a few times, it was a shot for nothing not a fluke.

Wasley quite clearly held his hand to apologise to Ding , as it was a fluke .

[cyberheater]

Wasley quite clearly held his hand to apologise to Ding , as it was a fluke .

Yes he did acknowledge the fluke. On the other hand he did eye the shot to the center pocket twice. I think it was a speculative pot to the center but he apologised to Ding because he knew how lucky he was to get it.

[coomsey76]

If you scroll through till about 1:02mins you can see Wasley lining up safety shot to push the red between the black and pink imo, and when he fluked it he clearly apologises.

[SouthPaw]

2014 World Championship - Discussion

Hard to know for certain but very unlikely he was playing a shot to nothing to the middle, as if he hits the far jaw more than likely his opponent is in... I'd highly believe it was a snooker on his mind trying to miss the middle pocket...