UK Championship 25/11 - 7/12

[Odrl]

what about higgins win at the WC 2011? Did he play better there than ronnie ronnie did at the uk?i dont think so higgins was left off the hook not once not twice but thrice time

I think he did play a little bit better, although O'Sullivan and Williams really should have finished him off. Some of his opponents certainly wobbled against him in that period, like they do against O'Sullivan now, but I suppose both players worked hard to get that luxury. :smile:

Selby's performance in the 2012 UK Championship might be a good contender as well, never found any fluency all week, but still somehow fought to win the title.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

I think he did play a little bit better, although O'Sullivan and Williams really should have finished him off. Some of his opponents certainly wobbled against him in that period, like they do against O'Sullivan now, but I suppose both players worked hard to get that luxury. :smile:

Selby's performance in the 2012 UK Championship might be a good contender as well, never found any fluency all week, but still somehow fought to win the title.

fair enough. but i dont care if he wins through sheer genius or true grit and determination as long as he wins the tourney or is comeptitve enough in his matches.
u cant play always well.

[SnookerFan]

I'd only had about four hours sleep the night before. After it went 9-9, I must've dropped off. I suddenly woke up wondering why they were interviewing Trump.

[SnookerFan]

This may sound silly, but Ronnie has looked a much improved player in the last couple of seasons. He was always massively talented, of course. But he would often lose games because his mentality wasn't right. He seems to have sorted that out now.

I actually reckon he'd be a ten time world champion if he'd been like this his entire career.

He'll win The Crucible this year, in my opinion.

[P.Smith]

What was the crowd reactions like? Pro Ronnie or pro Trump?

For most of the match it was definitely pro-Ronnie, but then they started favouring Judd when he began his fight back, by the time the final frame decider came around the crowd reactions were about neck and neck, absolutely thunderous for both players. Tremendous atmosphere to be a part of.

[daffie]

This may sound silly, but Ronnie has looked a much improved player in the last couple of seasons. He was always massively talented, of course. But he would often lose games because his mentality wasn't right. He seems to have sorted that out now.

I actually reckon he'd be a ten time world champion if he'd been like this his entire career.

He'll win The Crucible this year, in my opinion.

Oh it's very clear for me ROS has improved immensly over these past years. Like you say he's very healthy mentally nowadays and it really seems like he is in a good place himself about life and snooker. Of course we all know Dr Steve Peters has been the one responsible for this (and of course Ronnie himself). I have never been a huge fan of his, mainly due to the fact that when he's in form there most often isn't any player that can stand up to him and consiquently a match will always be very one-sided...and I like my matches close Exceptions are Selby and indeed Trump...but only if he can find his confidence.

But I can appreciate Ronnie getting through the very difficult periods in his life and coming out on top. That's very commendable imo and I'm glad to see it. I think Ronnie is a very likeable person(ality) and he treats other players with the respect they deserve. That's very important to me in a snooker player.

I also think indeed probably Ronnie with his current mindset and heatlhy outlook on life and snooker, he will remain top-dog for the coming 5-10 years. Unless a Trump can catch up fast and Selby doesn't get too distracted by his personal life Who else can match ROS in top form? Not many come to mind...Marco Fu maybe when he's on top of his form. Stuart Bingham and Barry Hawkins are two more players that can take Ronnie on when they are on top of their form.

[neuronic]

So... best match of this year's UK?

Since we had so many quite amazing comebacks, gotta be a comeback match I would guess. Nigel Bonds comeback might have been the most "shocking" since he actually made it through (Hawkins pretty much crumbling away, though). Judds comeback yesterday made the final great (which it wasn't before he started actually playing IMHO). Anyway I think Ding's comeback was the most impressive one, especially the way he clinically played to get the free ball and went on to win the frame from there when he already needed three fouls. But what reaction from Cahill in the decider.

All in all a pretty enjoyable UK, don't you think?
Still want the BO17 matches back.

[daffie]

So... best match of this year's UK?

Ding - Cahill without a doubt for me...that was tense and dramatic with each and every shot/frame and with very likeable characters who played the match with much fun and love (maybe Ding a bit less in the latter frames ). Cahill was a revelation for me, great composure around the table and a very personable lad as well. And it's not often I stay up for a match (not a semi or the final) that finishes at 2 in the morning, to catch a mere 4 hours of sleep before another workday

Edit : a very enjoyable UK for me personally...many very good and dramatic matches and many comebacks. Couldn't have wished for more.

[Odrl]

So... best match of this year's UK?

Two-session matches are generally more exciting than one-session matches, and we only had one of those this year, so it's not really fair. :smile:

But of the best-of-11 matches, two stand out for me. Ding-Cahill certainly created a bit of late-night drama, and it was a great story in the end. But for quality alone, it's got to be Robertson-Dott. It was amazing to see Dott playing so fast and efficiently in the first five frames. He hardly missed a ball and outscored Robertson 410 to 74. But Robertson's reply in the next five frames was even more amazing, outscoring Dott 538 to 48. I didn't think Dott would hold his nerve in the decider, but somehow he found one last push. Both great matches. :smile:

[neuronic]

Yeah, Dott did great there and I was really happy for him since a) he's such a great, sadly underrated player considering his somewhat limited arsenal of shots, and b) he had such a rough time over the last years. Would rather see him than Robert Milkins at the Masters actually. No offense.

Isn't it astonishing how seldom the combacker really gets to win the decider by the way? Seems to me that most of the times the player who held a big lead wins a deciding frame...

[robertmac]

There are several players who continue to improve.
Robertson, Trump, Ding, Murphy, Walden, Hawkins,
Bingham so this will make for great snooker.

[SouthPaw]

There were signs that maybe Ronnie is starting to lose a bit of consistency in his matches which doesn't bode well for the future, his long potting was erratic one minute sublime the next, he could have easily lost to Bingham and Trump, still great to watch as even his "c" game is exceptional, Trump had a big chance to show everyone he could be on par with the game's great but he had already accepted defeat before the match had even started...

[dcrackers147]

There were signs that maybe Ronnie is starting to lose a bit of consistency in his matches which doesn't bode well for the future, his long potting was erratic one minute sublime the next, he could have easily lost to Bingham and Trump, still great to watch as even his "c" game is exceptional, Trump had a big chance to show everyone he could be on par with the game's great but he had already accepted defeat before the match had even started...

quite the contradictory post there "Ronnie is starting to lose a bit of consistency in his matches which doesn't bode well for the future" "even his "c" game is exceptional". If you can win one of the biggest events in the calender playing your "C" game I would say your future is pretty bright. Lets not forget his foot would have still been giving him a bit of pain. He is the best by a mile has the most bottle as well as talent.

[dcrackers147]

There are several players who continue to improve.
Robertson, Trump, Ding, Murphy, Walden, Hawkins,
Bingham so this will make for great snooker.

Bingham - is pushing on though so has peaked very late in his career. I remeber watching him at pro ams on the table next to me bashing in centries for fun and destroying players but it has taken him too long to cut it at the top. His longevity is questionable,
Robertson - is solid and will continue to win events however struggles againt ROS and not sure he could have done what Judd did last night.
Murphy - can be playing the best snooker in the event and easily lose his game is a little all or nothing and over longer matches he willl get picked off.
Walden - Similair to Murphy doesnt really have a "B" game.
Hawkins - struggles with bottle for me and is solid rather than great.
Trump/Ding - I predict these 2 players will take over from ROS when he wants them to. Ding is the better breakbuilder and plays the more sensible game at present but this is down to experience Judd is the most frightening prospect of an oponent when in top gear though unbelievable cueist.

[Cyril]

Can't wait for the World's when we get to see matches played over more than one session. The UK just isn't the same for me since they reduced all the matches to best-of-11 (except the final).