2014 World Championship - Discussion

[cebs]

White shirt, clean shaven and hair up?

Or black, stubble and messy hair?

[cebs]

Don't forget that semi final where Ronnie made a 147 to enjoy win after counting dots on a fork during the match.

Ronnie to win but not by such a margin as at the masters but I expect some grinding so you never know.

[cyberheater]

White shirt, clean shaven and hair up?

Or black, stubble and messy hair?

Black shirt for the final-I'm going to kill you off-session.

[nicklowry12]

Here we go!

go on ronnie

[cyberheater]

Why the hell are you late once again Eurosport. I know it's not important. I just the opening session to the World Championship snooker final.
You useless .......

[daffie]

Goosebumps!

Let's go ....

[Odrl]

Only one match to go until the end of the season, so time for one last prediction...

After the China Open I said it would be nice to have O'Sullivan against Robertson in the World final, after we already got O'Sullivan-Ding and Robertson-Ding in major finals this season, but I can't say I'm disappointed with what we got in the end. Selby and O'Sullivan have provided us with some absolute classics over the last seven years or so, probably more than any other pairing in this time.

I guess the opening round of their rivalry was the semi-final of the UK Championship in 2007, where O'Sullivan was behind all the way, but came good at the business end of the match and finished with a 147 in the decider. The roles were reversed in the 2008 Welsh Open final, O'Sullivan pulling away with some excellent snooker in the final session, but Selby came back from 8-5 down with a couple of scrappy frames and won 9-8 in the end. I think O'Sullivan's best win over Selby came in the 2009 Masters final. There was a lot of speculation about whether Selby would try to play slowly and defensively again, and there were some doubts over O'Sullivan's ability to cope with it, but he was prepared for the fight that day, and he competed in all the tactical and fragmented stuff very well. I think that was the most excited I have ever seen him after winning a tournament. :smile:

It was looking like he had the measure of Selby after that, beating him comfortably in the quarter-finals of the 2009 UK Championship, 9-3, but Selby impressed again a couple of weeks later with an excellent win in the Masters final, this time coming back from 9-6 down to win in the decider. O'Sullivan really should have won that match, but he didn't have the patience to wait for his chance in the last couple of frames. There was that infamous cut on the green he missed, but also a crazy pot he attempted when he ran out position on a break at 9-6, which is really where the comeback started. Selby also prevailed in their WC quarter-final later that season, in a match that followed a similar pattern, O'Sullivan playing brilliantly to take a 9-5 lead, but Selby limiting his losses and coming back in the final session. That was also their only previous match over more than two sessions.

In the more recent years it's been mostly short-format stuff, including a PTC final in Antwerp this season, which Selby won 4-3 from 3-1 down. He also beat O'Sullivan 6-2 in the semi-finals of the 2012 Welsh Open, a fairly low-quality and scrappy match. But of course the match most fresh in the memory is the Masters final this season. O'Sullivan made it clear very early in the match that he was the only possible winner. He made a couple of good breaks in the first three frames to apply the pressure, then just took advantage of Selby's many mistakes.

I guess that's been the pattern in most of O'Sullivan's matches over the last couple of years. He doesn't really need to play his best all that often, because most of the work has already been done in the recent and sometimes not so recent past, when he has built a huge psychological advantage over most of his main opposition. Shaun Murphy didn't even come to play the match, he just came to learn and admire, as he basically admitted himself. Barry Hawkins did come to play, but he'd played his very best four or five times against O'Sullivan in the past and still couldn't win, so it's no wonder the confidence wasn't there this time. Joe Perry gave it the best shot, actually raising his game against O'Sullivan, but O'Sullivan didn't crack and finished the match with two centuries in the last two frames under pressure.

His game is pretty bulletproof at the moment. Even when he is slightly off form his scoring is still as reliable as anyone's, and when he finds his rhythm I don't fancy anyone to stick with him. He hasn't been outplayed in the safety for a long time either, and he now fully realizes and uses that strength to his advantage. He does a lot of the "little things" right, like finding the right shots to open up the frames when he is behind, he plays on for snookers more often now, and he knows when to take risks and when to be patient. I guess patience has been the key for him in recent years, along with discipline and concentration, and it makes him very hard to beat on the big stage. Especially when the long balls start going in, like they did against Hawkins. I said on Friday night that he would be favourite for the final no matter what, and even though I have changed my mind slightly since then, I still agree with the sentiment to a large extent. He is still undefeated in World finals, and he has a great record in other finals as well. He had yesterday off, so he should be very fresh here, and I think he will be mentally prepared for the fight. His gameplan is always the same, and it mostly works: do the damage early, then just pick up the pieces!

What can Mark Selby do? He too has had an excellent tournament here, playing probably his best snooker since 2011. I know he won the UK and the Masters last season, but I think a lot of people would agree that he wasn't playing his very best at the time. In fact, I think he played about as well to reach both finals this season, but he ran into much stronger opposition and was outplayed pretty convincingly. He has shown a lot more fluency over the last two weeks, and finally looks like winning frames in one visit when he gets the chances. He struggled to get over the line against Michael White in the 1st round, then got better with each match, first winning a fairly high-quality match against Ali Carter, followed by a convincing win over Alan McManus, and finally that great match against Robertson yesterday. As I said last night, I don't think Robertson has ever played that well in a big match before and lost. Selby missed one black off the spot, when he had a chance to go 10-6 in front after two sessions, but I think that was the only easy ball he missed all match, and they played for more than 12 hours!

Like with O'Sullivan, Selby's game doesn't really have a major weakness either. He is one of the best tacticians in the world, and he too does all the little things right, so it's no wonder he has a better record against O'Sullivan than most. Physically he is fit enough to compete at the end of a long tournament like this, and it didn't look like he was all that tired last night, even though he had a much tougher match than O'Sullivan. His scoring can be a bit inconsistent, but it's there when he needs it this time, as is his potting from distance. He is also a very strong pressure player, and he is one of the few players I wouldn't rule out even when they go a couple of frames behind against O'Sullivan. Most of the hate over the last two weeks has been directed at Neil Robertson, which has been pretty annoying, but it's been refreshing to see Selby being left alone for the most part. I know a lot of people appreciate him playing a faster and more attacking game, but I am not necessarily one of them. I expect him to do everything in his power to win this match, even if it means trying to break O'Sullivan's rhythm and getting on his nerves with his usual banter with the crowd and things like that. But I don't expect that to be his initial plan, because he is certainly playing well enough to hold his own in an open game. He can't afford to start slowly though, like he did against Higgins in 2007...

Like I said before the Masters final, this is the ultimate clash of styles in snooker. O'Sullivan is the "artist", playing his best when he finds some inspiration, and he can make the game look ridiculously easy at times. Selby is more of a fighter, often making it look like hard work, but he plays the game with more heart than anyone, and he has the head and the balls to take on anyone under pressure. Between them they pretty much have a mix of the best things snooker has to offer, so there couldn't be a better pairing for the World final. :smile:

The last couple of World finals were quite easy to call, but I'm struggling with this one... In the last couple of days you almost convinced me that O'Sullivan could win easily, but if Selby plays like he did yesterday that's not going to happen. I can see O'Sullivan starting strongly in the first session and Selby making it pretty close by the end of tonight, which should leave things very nicely for the showdown tomorrow. As usual, I'll take 18-17 either way at midnight, but my feeling is that Selby will win. :wink:

Bring it on!

[cyberheater]

Goosebumps!

Let's go ....

Don't tell me. My magic 8 ball says you're supporting Selby all the way.

[daffie]

Odrl you've outdone yourself with that write up...simply excellent! ( where you come up with all these words each time I'll never know )

[daffie]

Don't tell me. My magic 8 ball says you're supporting Selby all the way.

Magic! We'll get along just fine though

[cyberheater]

Magic! We'll get along just fine though

That pink into the middle. Just amazing.

[cebs]

Very nice write up pal.

Loved the 2007/2008/2009 meetings between these guys.

Selby did a number on Ronnie a few times but it's clear his mindset is totally different these days.

Let's see if an attacking Selby can put a challenge up as Ronnie's current safety and log potting will win some of the grinding frames that Selby might have done in the past.

[brusque]

wow ... what can Selby or anyone do against that sort of standard ... you can't do much .. just sit and admire ... though to be fair Selby played terrible safeties there to give ROS the chance

[montoya10]

A supreme safety play and a great frame winning break. Just the start any player would be looking for.

[alphabetagaga]

anyone know who the guy in the footie shirt is sitting next to ros? seen him pretty much everyday in the same seat or in the same seat on the opposite side the past 2 weeks