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Murray is a breath of fresh air for snooker i think. It's like sitting with your pals in the pub. Jimmy white needs the bullet tho.
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Right, just a few words about tonight's match then...
Mark Selby v. Stephen Maguire: Earlier I said it was unusual for a player to reach a ranking semi-final without ever being on TV during the week, but Maguire is another case. We know his form coming into the tournament was quite good, he had solid displays in the UK Championship and the Masters, where it took good performances from Trump and Murphy to take him out. He also won the Lisbon Open to give himself a taste of winning, and it's made him a more dangerous player than he was at the start of the season. He made quite a few high breaks in his first two matches here, against Gilbert and King, so it looks like his scoring is strong at the moment. The stats suggest that his match against Robertson was more of a scrap, but he won it just the same, by a point on the final black, after needing two snookers. Like with Murphy, he should have been out really, so he might feel like he has nothing to lose now. He has shown improved discipline and concentration this season, and I expect a fairly solid performance from him tonight, win or lose.
Selby has battled through to reach this round in his usual style, winning two deciders on his way. We only saw the match against McGill, where he played alright, but his other two wins suggest he is back to some sort of form now, certainly better than in the first half of the season. He made five breaks over 60 yesterday, so I would expect him to hold his own against Maguire in terms of scoring. In the other elements of the game he is probably slightly better, but he is also a little rusty compared to his opponent, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was on the back foot for most of the match. But Selby seems to relish those situations anyway. :smile:
These two are of a similar age, and probably among the four best players of their generation, but they have never played a major final and never meet in a really big match. They have played a couple of semi-finals before though, and won one each. Outside of those Selby has won both of their other best-of-11 matches, while Maguire won the only time they've met in a two-session match. Hard to call this one, I think it has 6-5 written all over it, with a midnight finish hopefully. But if I really had to chose, I would go for Maguire to win. :smile:
Looking forward to it. :smile:Comment
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Maguire is a more obvious underachiever to me than Shaun Murphy,he led John Higgins 15-9 in the 2007 Crucible semi and blew it,will he ever get that close again ? Would he have beaten Selby in the final then anyway ?
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Welldone Murphy. Wenbo had some chances but
he did win some frames which will give him some
confidence.
I hope Maguire can defeat Selby and give Murphy
a good match.Comment
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Very promising start by Selby, class.Comment
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Maguire has a 50% pot success? I hope he wakes
up very soon and wins.Comment
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I'm only looking at livescores. Can't access the tv just now.
Come on Mags. Don't let it all be one way traffic.Comment
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Maguire hasn't really had a proper scoring chance yet. After every pot he has either had to play safe or play a tough colour. Partly his own fault of course, but he could do with a bit of luck to help him along. :smile:Comment
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Mags can do the same back given a chance. Selby looks good tho,Comment
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Pretty simple red that Selby missed there... Mags: welcome to your semi!
"That pocket moved!"Comment
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Ohdear. Looks pretty much over already... too bad, I was hoping for a match
"That pocket moved!"Comment
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Great match by Selby, well done.Comment
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Well done Selby.
Although Murphy's on form, you can never write Selby off. Should be a close one tomorrow.Comment
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The German Masters Feb 4 - 8, 2015
a good event, with good crowds. Anyone know the capacity of the auditorium as it seems thousands!
looking forward to the final tomorrow
hoping to get the family out of the house for the day :biggrin:Up the TSF! :snooker:Comment
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Maguire was playing much like Robertson vs Murphy.
I was expecting him to win as he has been playing
very well.
I would really like to see Murphy win this as he has
put a lot of effort into himself and his game and is
shooting well.
I lost a lot of interest in this since both Trump and
Robertson lost. I enjoy watching them both play.Comment
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