The Masters 2016 10-17 January

[Odrl]

*Ordl, three of your potential semi-finalists are already out!

To be fair, every player in the Masters is a potential semi-finalist, but yeah, not a great prediction. :smile: Selby is still in it though, with a decent chance to go through. :smile:

Selby-O'Sullivan is the match I'm most looking forward to in the quarter-finals, mainly because of the history between them and the interest they always seem to generate on this forum. Some of their matches in the past were real classics, although mainly in the longer format.

Robertson-Trump has been a good rivalry in recent years as well, so this should be another good one. And what about Bingham-Higgins? They hold four major titles between them at the moment, including the World title, so, personal preferences aside, this could well be considered the match of the round. :smile:

[OmaMiesta]

Kicks have always been there, it's just that every miss these days is blamed on them, and the commentators never shut up about them.

To be honest I completely disagree with that. Theres very good reason to blame missing on kicks when its clear you got a bad contact (balls bouncing or sticking) Its really obvious when a player completely misses a shot due to bad judgement or when they miss due to a kick. Any player with a bit of experience in the game can tell the difference. Also these top players really are that good that misses are so extremely rare in amongst the balls. The 90 percent and up pot success rate is evidence of this in good matches. Its very fair to assume they miss due to something completely out of their control. Scary how good they really are.

[DeanH]

The Masters 2016 10-17 January

I have noticed that there have not been that many requests for cleaning the white this tournament.
Also I do think that commentators call Kick when the player just played a bad shot, cued across and the like :wink:

[itsnoteasy]

Yet again the top draw match is the early one.

[mikeyd100]

Just curious, but what is it exactly you find so 'robotic' about Selby? I've never really understood the comparison. I mean, his shot selection is often quite unusual, partly I suppose due to his pool background, he's a good laugh round the table, happy to have a bit of banter with his opponent, his technique is hardly Davis-like robotic, with his head swaying around all over the place, so where does the robot thing come from? Granite I can understand, limpet-like yes, but robotic? I just don't get it.

-

I'm with you on this, I admire Selby for his graft.
He is a complete player in my opinion and not boring.

[OmaMiesta]

I have noticed that there have not been that many requests for cleaning the white this tournament.
Also I do think that commentators call Kick when the player just played a bad shot, cued across and the like :wink:

Lol these guys are professional players and have devoted their whole life to the game. I can assure you they know the difference between a kick and a poor shot. If you're really unsure just pay attention to the balls when ever a commentator says kick, 90 percent of the time you'll notice a bad contact on either the white or the object ball. Whenever a player misses or plays a really bad shot and its not a kick, the commentators will usually say that it was just a bad shot. Though I do agree that if you hit the ball really well its still possible to make the shot even with a kick.

[HIPPY147]

Rocket - Allen for me but could go either way
long as its great snooker thats all that matters
Robbo player to beat for me so far

[Billy]

Lol these guys are professional players and have devoted their whole life to the game. I can assure you they know the difference between a kick and a poor shot. If you're really unsure just pay attention to the balls when ever a commentator says kick, 90 percent of the time you'll notice a bad contact on either the white or the object ball. Whenever a player misses or plays a really bad shot and its not a kick, the commentators will usually say that it was just a bad shot. Though I do agree that if you hit the ball really well its still possible to make the shot even with a kick.

But the point I'm really making is that they've always been there. Yes, the misses may genuinely be down to a kick 90% of the time, but the difference these days is that we know of their existence, which is why everyone sees them as a problem.

It's a bit like the way everyone sees the world as a more violent place than it was in the past. It isn't, it's just that we didn't have 24hr news reporting on it back then.

[OmaMiesta]

But the point I'm really making is that they've always been there. Yes, the misses may genuinely be down to a kick 90% of the time, but the difference these days is that we know of their existence, which is why everyone sees them as a problem.

It's a bit like the way everyone sees the world as a more violent place than it was in the past. It isn't, it's just that we didn't have 24hr news reporting on it back then.

I agree that they've always been there, wasn't really arguing that although they happened much less in the older days when the balls and cloth were different. Just raising the point that there seemed to be a lot of unlucky kicks so far in the tournament that cost players a lot of key frames or moments. Really unfortunate.

[crocodile]

It's a bit like the way everyone sees the world as a more violent place than it was in the past. It isn't, it's just that we didn't have 24hr news reporting on it back then.

Thanks for putting this in the proper perspective!

[shmeeko69]

8 matches, only one real upset so far. But it will get serious from tomorrow, anything could happen! The first match is the most interesting, a complete contrast in styles; the Genius v. the Man Made of Metal.

Mark Selby (Eng) v Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) - 13:00 GMT

Watch on BBC Two, 13:00-18:00

Mark Allen (NI) v Barry Hawkins (Eng) - 19:00 GMT

Who's gonna win these quarters guys? Oddschecker have ROS as favourite. I find this odd because Ronnie hasn't hit the kind of form to down Selby and Ronnie also has a back injury preventing him from getting down properly, so it's rosy for Ronnie and I think Selby must the value favourite.

Allen on form is the one for me in the second quarter. The Hawk is always a threat but I think Allen is full of smiles and confidence.

*Ordl, three of your potential semi-finalists are already out!

I'm quite surprised at the odds being in Ronnie's favour v Selby? He did play OK against Williams, but Selby was clinical against Walden and know's how to frustrate Ronnie and unless he brings his A game to the table then, it will be a struggle for him.

[mikeyd100]

I'm quite surprised at the odds being in Ronnie's favour v Selby? He did play OK against Williams, but Selby was clinical against Walden and know's how to frustrate Ronnie and unless he brings his A game to the table then, it will be a struggle for him.

Them two lads have had some great battles in the past.
Guaranteed they are both going to want to win this one badly - even if Ronnie does play it down pre or post match.

[shmeeko69]

Them two lads have had some great battles in the past.
Guaranteed they are both going to want to win this one badly - even if Ronnie does play it down pre or post match.

Absolutely and there's no love lost between these two. If there's one guy that get's under Ronnie's skin then, it's Mark Selby and the man who stopped his winning Crucible run and 6th world title.

[Billy]

- even if Ronnie does play it down pre or post match.

Ronnie? Play it down? Nooo, I won't have it said

[mikeyd100]

Absolutely and there's no love lost between these two. If there's one guy that get's under Ronnie's skin then, it's Mark Selby and the man who stopped his winning Crucible run and 6th world title.

It should be a good one