The Masters 2016 10-17 January

[vmax4steve]

It's quite strange because Barry White always seemed like a laid back sort of fellow, certainly not one to get angry at differing opinions.

He's liable to slip back into MB when you pressure him.

[SnookerFan]

I thought Barry White was Jimmy's less famous brother...

[daffie]

He's liable to slip back into MB when you pressure him.

MB? (what did I miss here?)

[dcrackers147]

Remember when Steve Davis won the Masters in 1997? Everyone was saying what an amazing achievement it was that such an old player could win one of the majors.

Ronnie is roughly the same age as when Davis won the Masters in 1997. I'm not saying it's impossible for him to win a 6th World title but winning the Masters at 40 is a massive achievement and if equalling Hendry's Masters record is the last thing he manages to achieve then whilst he will of course have under achieved with the talent he had been blessed with, equalling Hendry's Masters record at age 40 isn't a bad major win to end on (similarly Federer should perhaps have won more than 17 Grand Slams with the amount of finals he's been in over the last few years but if the last thing he achieves ends up being tying Sampras' Wimbledon record, again it's not a bad last achievement).

Can he win another world title? Of course, but he's not the favourite, he makes too many errors and long potting aside I thought he started to show his age in this tournament with his cue ball control, he usually has it on a piece of string but I've never seen him struggling for position so much over the course of a tournament. His potting got him out of trouble on a lot of occasions but his eyes will go now he is 40 and if what he says is true about starting smoking and stopping running then this might well be the last major he wins.

I hope it isn't as with his talent he should have at least equalled Hendry's World tally but he has a small chance of winning the UK with the shorter format (which I hate and don't really class as the same tournament so Davis will always be king there) and I'd say he has a shot at owning the Masters record out right in the next 2 to 3 years but after that he won't be winning majors, the signs are already there that he is slipping and no snooker player has consistently won majors in their 40s for decades. Winning the Masters at 40 is huge.

Have you ever had lower disk issues in your back you feel like your body is not on straight...I have had ongoing issues with a lower back injury and I can tell you it makes alot of difference to alignment and cue delivery. He said throughout the comp that his touch has gone as a result of it. Once it settles down he will 100% have the white better than anybody else in the game...something he has done throughout his career.

[daffie]

Have you ever had lower disk issues in your back you feel like your body is not on straight...I have had ongoing issues with a lower back injury and I can tell you it makes alot of difference to alignment and cue delivery. He said throughout the comp that his touch has gone as a result of it. Once it settles down he will 100% have the white better than anybody else in the game...something he has done throughout his career.

Anybody can instinctively feel/know that any back injury is extremely painful or at the very least limiting/annoying...and yes I know from personal experience. However the fact Ronnie says/claims he has back troubles doesn't automatically 'prove' he does indeed have any specific and/or serious back problem/injury, let alone any problems which could have any consistent negative effect on his play.

All I am saying is anyone can say/claim anything. It's like he's constantly hetching his bets...if he does play well then he can say '...even with my back injury I eventually managed to play well and even win the tournament'. And if he does loose, or even goes out in the first round, he can cite his 'back injury'. It's a win-win situation he has created for himself...an escape route.

[dcrackers147]

Anybody can instinctively feel/know that any back injury is extremely painful or at the very least limiting/annoying...and yes I know from personal experience. However the fact Ronnie says/claims he has back troubles doesn't automatically 'prove' he does indeed have any specific and/or serious back problem/injury, let alone any problems which could have any consistent negative effect on his play.

All I am saying is anyone can say/claim anything. It's like he's constantly hetching his bets...if he does play well then he can say '...even with my back injury I eventually managed to play well and even win the tournament'. And if he does loose, or even goes out in the first round, he can cite his 'back injury'. It's a win-win situation he has created for himself...an escape route.

Well I guess only time will tell. However I would suggest all the greats don't really lose the white when age takes hold they just miss alot more than they used to those mid range pots or tricky ones players like hendry used to eat up start to become their downfall when their career was finishing.

[daffie]

Well I guess only time will tell. However I would suggest all the greats don't really lose the white when age takes hold they just miss alot more than they used to those mid range pots or tricky ones players like hendry used to eat up start to become their downfall when their career was finishing.

I dunno...I would suggest to anyone and especially Ronnie to start playing more tournaments instead of just the couple he chooses to enter each year. keeping yourself 8 months out of tournament play is never beneficial...to any player. Practice and especially matchplay normally will profit the player enormously...this applies to the best, and yes even to Ronnie, even though he wishes to play less (and only enter the events he wants).

[Masterdoctorgenius]

Remember when Steve Davis won the Masters in 1997? Everyone was saying what an amazing achievement it was that such an old player could win one of the majors.

Ronnie is roughly the same age as when Davis won the Masters in 1997. I'm not saying it's impossible for him to win a 6th World title but winning the Masters at 40 is a massive achievement and if equalling Hendry's Masters record is the last thing he manages to achieve then whilst he will of course have under achieved with the talent he had been blessed with, equalling Hendry's Masters record at age 40 isn't a bad major win to end on (similarly Federer should perhaps have won more than 17 Grand Slams with the amount of finals he's been in over the last few years but if the last thing he achieves ends up being tying Sampras' Wimbledon record, again it's not a bad last achievement).

Can he win another world title? Of course, but he's not the favourite, he makes too many errors and long potting aside I thought he started to show his age in this tournament with his cue ball control, he usually has it on a piece of string but I've never seen him struggling for position so much over the course of a tournament. His potting got him out of trouble on a lot of occasions but his eyes will go now he is 40 and if what he says is true about starting smoking and stopping running then this might well be the last major he wins.

I hope it isn't as with his talent he should have at least equalled Hendry's World tally but he has a small chance of winning the UK with the shorter format (which I hate and don't really class as the same tournament so Davis will always be king there) and I'd say he has a shot at owning the Masters record out right in the next 2 to 3 years but after that he won't be winning majors, the signs are already there that he is slipping and no snooker player has consistently won majors in their 40s for decades. Winning the Masters at 40 is huge.

his eyes will go now?!?!?!? wtf did u want to say?

[armstm]

I am not sure you know better than Ronnie.

I dunno...I would suggest to anyone and especially Ronnie to start playing more tournaments instead of just the couple he chooses to enter each year. keeping yourself 8 months out of tournament play is never beneficial...to any player. Practice and especially matchplay normally will profit the player enormously...this applies to the best, and yes even to Ronnie, even though he wishes to play less (and only enter the events he wants).

[vmax4steve]

He was eight months off the tour, not out of the game, he wasn't digging roads for the local council with a pick axe for eight months and put his back out, he was playing snooker, and after twenty plus years as a pro he knows all about tournaments.

It ain't as big a deal as the beeb boys are making out, especially when your opponents are still as afraid of you as ever. Selby destroyed Walden with superb long potting, first long pot chance against Ronnie and he plays a dump shot to the top cushion, nuff said.

[daffie]

I am not sure you know better than Ronnie.

I don't know better than ronnie. What I do know is people are gullible (you are case in point) and tend to believe anything what they're told, especially when it concerns 'their man'. Try to keep more of an open eye/mind...it will benefit you in life

[daffie]

He was eight months off the tour, not out of the game, he wasn't digging roads for the local council with a pick axe for eight months and put his back out, he was playing snooker, and after twenty plus years as a pro he knows all about tournaments.

It ain't as big a deal as the beeb boys are making out, especially when your opponents are still as afraid of you as ever. Selby destroyed Walden with superb long potting, first long pot chance against Ronnie and he plays a dump shot to the top cushion, nuff said.

Nuff said indeed.

Btw it's exactly the same as when Ronnie claimed to have *broken* his foot (or a toe, or a specific bone in his toe...whatever) a year or so ago (maybe a bit longer...dunno exactly) when clearly he could play just fine, although he himself kept bringing this little fact up and of course the Beeb was all over it and kept it in circulation...'ROS plays with broken foot!!!'...blah blah blah

[GeordieDS]

Anybody can instinctively feel/know that any back injury is extremely painful or at the very least limiting/annoying...and yes I know from personal experience. However the fact Ronnie says/claims he has back troubles doesn't automatically 'prove' he does indeed have any specific and/or serious back problem/injury, let alone any problems which could have any consistent negative effect on his play.

All I am saying is anyone can say/claim anything. It's like he's constantly hetching his bets...if he does play well then he can say '...even with my back injury I eventually managed to play well and even win the tournament'. And if he does loose, or even goes out in the first round, he can cite his 'back injury'. It's a win-win situation he has created for himself...an escape route.

does anybody ever listen to a word Ronnie says these days?

[daffie]

does anybody ever listen to a word Ronnie says these days?

The Ron fanboys will...but like Hendry himself said during the tournament 'none of the players listen to anything Ronnie has to say anymore...' A lot of viewers don't either...myself included.

[armstm]

I haven't expressed a view about what I'm told. I don't have a strong view. Ronnie may be right about playing fewer tournaments or you may be right. I don't have a strong view. you however seem to have a strong view - I am not just not sure how you can be so certain to the point where u seem to know better than Ronnie, someone who has won 5 world titles!

I don't know better than ronnie. What I do know is people are gullible (you are case in point) and tend to believe anything what they're told, especially when it concerns 'their man'. Try to keep more of an open eye/mind...it will benefit you in life