The Masters 2016 10-17 January

[barrywhite]

Set up for yet another Masters 10-9 finish maybe...........always back that score in the Masters . Happened quite a few times over the years .

Good shout Neil. You are a wise old bird that knows a lot of inside stuff

Hawk has generous odds IMO. Ronnie ain't all there and he was stressing it so much. He's not invincible. My mate beat him 3-1 in a qually (he also beat MJW by the same score) when they were younger.

Something weird has happened because his long and medium potting have improved so maybe his back has caused an alignment change. And his short potting, positional play and cannons have become worse. He's missed a few frame balls when before, the frame would have been finished that visit. Anyone who's had his back problem will tell you, a lot of feeling goes due to the effect on the nerves.

[Csmith]

Ronnie seems to perform better when playing less. When he picks and chooses events, he's calm and relaxed, seems to enjoy himself. Last season he was getting bothered like the Ronnie of old again.

[bonoman1970]

Does anyone agree , Barry Hawkins match winning blue was a push shot I know the ref couldnt really call it , but Im pretty sure it was ?

[barrywhite]

Ronnie can sometimes frustrate me, but other times I really sympathise with the stuff he has to put up with. Take his post match interview just now. Whatever your opinions, the fact remains he thinks he's fighting for every pot at the moment, and yet despite him stressing this throughout the interview, Hazel smiles at him and tells him his long and medium game are 'fantastic'. His face when she said that spoke volumes.

If he doesn't feel like he's playing well, then people need to accept that, because it's only how he feels that matters.

Spot on, how on earth could any of us pretend to understand what it's like in his shoes. I ain't a genius snooker player, I don't have his injury. I have to take him at his word. He's not a liar, he's pretty honest and no-one gets an advantage from being down on themselves so I can only put what he said down to honesty and frustration. He's not been tutored to say all the right things, the usual humbug we hear from pros in interviews. His interviews are box office as well and very funny.

[barrywhite]

Does anyone agree , Barry Hawkins match winning blue was a push shot I know the ref couldnt really call it , but Im pretty sure it was ?

I've seen loads of push shots this Masters but the refs won't call them. When you're that close to the ball on and you stroke through the cue ball, there is lots of contact time and no way you won't be touching the cue ball when it contacts the ball on. Refs are scared to call them. Not sure why, probably the same reason they let the players go to the toilet every 15 minutes. No balls.

[sealer]

I had herniated disc on holiday 3 weeks ago. Played snooker for the first time in about a month. Like learning it again.

[barrywhite]

What's Ordl's wise review of that match?

[bonoman1970]

I've seen loads of push shots this Masters but the refs won't call them. When you're that close to the ball on and you stroke through the cue ball, there is lots of contact time and no way you won't be touching the cue ball when it contacts the ball on. Refs are scared to call them. Not sure why, probably the same reason they let the players go to the toilet every 15 minutes. No balls.

it would have been a massive call from the ref , took loads of guts , but Im pretty sure that was a push shot , im surprised Judd didnt question it , snooker needs a third umpire , like the rugby , Im pretty sure it was a push

[barrywhite]

it would have been a massive call from the ref , took loads of guts , but Im pretty sure that was a push shot , im surprised Judd didnt question it , snooker needs a third umpire , like the rugby , Im pretty sure it was a push

Judd won't question it, if he can be the beneficiary sometime. If he had an argument could break out too and players dont like that. If you question the ref, you're indirectly calling your opponent a so and so for not realising or admitting it if he knew, which is a dangerous place to go! Remember what happened when Allen questioned a double contact? It all went mental.

[Billy]

Does anyone agree , Barry Hawkins match winning blue was a push shot I know the ref couldnt really call it , but Im pretty sure it was ?

I don't think it was - too much distance between the two balls.

As for the refs not having the balls to call them, this may be true, but when you consider how honest players are with any other type of foul, it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't call it on themselves... and they'd know if they'd pushed.

[gavpowell]

Something weird has happened because his long and medium potting have improved so maybe his back has caused an alignment change. And his short potting, positional play and cannons have become worse.

He's always been erratic though- a few years ago, he looked like he couldn't hit a long ball to save his life, was going to see out his career relying on middle-distance shots and getting chances among the balls. Then he suddenly started knocking screaming long reds in like a Trump or a Robertson, said he'd loosened his grip to match theirs. He looked in a dreadful state today before the interval, then the century seemed to settle him down, then a couple of misses and he was going off his nut muttering to himself, looked close to tears.

[itsnoteasy]

Does anyone have a link to it, thanks.

[DeanH]

Does anyone have a link to it, thanks.

do you mean the just finished match?
try YouTube you will probably find frames to watch
on BBC website they often have highlights to stream

[bonoman1970]

the balls were pretty close dude , to get topspin on that and get on the pink , I still think technically it was a push shot , would like to see it in slowmo , anyway its happened and gone now (im pretty sure that blue was a push shot tho ) ha !

[barrywhite]

He's always been erratic though- a few years ago, he looked like he couldn't hit a long ball to save his life, was going to see out his career relying on middle-distance shots and getting chances among the balls. Then he suddenly started knocking screaming long reds in like a Trump or a Robertson, said he'd loosened his grip to match theirs. He looked in a dreadful state today before the interval, then the century seemed to settle him down, then a couple of misses and he was going off his nut muttering to himself, looked close to tears.

He's got a herniated disc, a proper injury. Daffie should apologise. That's a bad slur on a great player.

We had muppets saying there was nothing wrong with him when he had a broken foot. He was moving gingerly around the table in trainers for god sake. But his is much worse if he's lost his feel and touch. The guy gets injuries from running, which he needs to stay sane. Is that his fault for running and risking his health, yes. If he lying. NO. You want to know why Hendry went off the boil? As Terry Davidson says, he changed his posture. He couldn't get into the supine position of his youth anymore, it hurts in that position once you get to a certain age. He dropped his shoulder and went downhill. The spine is very important to snooker players who rely on adopting the same stance they've used for decades.