The Masters 2016 10-17 January

[RaveDave]

If i'm honest i'd rather have seen Trump in the final to give O'Sullivan a run for his money as it is he's running away with it, watch for the obligatory throwing of a couple of frames tonight by O'Sullivan to elongate the night and satisfy Hearne

I hope not. Would much rather see a 10-1 beat down than prolonging the inevitable. This is the worst Ronnie has played in this event by far and he is still destroying this mug. I expect the usual "We were both terrible" post match but this time at least he would be right.

[ManiaMuse]

If there was a conspiracy then it would be the most obvious conspiracy ever (and probably the death of snooker if it was discovered).

Even if he 'can't pot a ball' Ronnie is still good at nicking frames which he shouldn't. And I think he is quite good at playing the mind games against his opponents more than he lets on, like the way he walks out of the arena after winning a scrappy frame with a 'I'm not playing well but you're playing worse' kind of attitude. Looking forward to the 'I'm embarrassed, I couldn't pot a ball, we both played really badly, I'm sorry for the fans, I'm just relieved that it's over, I'm not sure about the future etc' interview later.....

One of the (not so) young (anymore) guard really needs to step up and start winning everything again like Hendry. Although I guess that's more a reflection of the difficulty in being consistent on the modern tour. Robertson/Murphy/Trump/Ding must be kicking themselves if they are watching this thinking that they could have taken on Ronnie.

[shmeeko69]

I hope not. Would much rather see a 10-1 beat down than prolonging the inevitable. This is the worst Ronnie has played in this event by far and he is still destroying this mug. I expect the usual "We were both terrible" post match but this time at least he would be right.

Quite scary how Ronnie is not even near his best and winning 7 - 1 I expected much more from the Hawk and especially after the way he played against Trump.

[shmeeko69]

If i'm honest i'd rather have seen Trump in the final to give O'Sullivan a run for his money as it is he's running away with it, watch for the obligatory throwing of a couple of frames tonight by O'Sullivan to elongate the night and satisfy Hearne

I was disappointed not just for him for the sake of a good final. A Trump v O'Sullivan final must be one if not the biggest draws in the current game.

[trains]

Ronnie's first match v Mark Williams is the only time I questioned where there might be any shenanigans with pandering to him,the problem is the climate itself where nobody cares about any other player so Williams plays a hollywood shot and loses the match.
The sad thing is is that his wife had her head in her hands when Williams was left with a standard safety shot with a 20 point lead in the final frame.
Quite pathetic really.

[barrywhite]

I hope not. Would much rather see a 10-1 beat down than prolonging the inevitable. This is the worst Ronnie has played in this event by far and he is still destroying this mug. I expect the usual "We were both terrible" post match but this time at least he would be right.

He was below par yesterday and he said Bingo was as well. He said his back was affecting his touch and feel and he said he was grinding it out.

And he was absolutely correct about all these things. So if he says he ain't the mustard laters, he ain't. Only a genius knows how well a genius is playing.

I said it yesterday, Judd should be kicking the spikes off his shoes in frustration; this was his tourney to take home.

[barrywhite]

Best odds: Ronnie 1/100, Hawk 57-1. The Hawk odds are very generous, anyone tempted?

[thevenue2]

Simply cannot understand the amount of hate for Ronnie on this board of "Snooker Fans", he plays Snooker in its most fluent, purest form? He's 40, he's been away from the game for 8 months, and he looks like he's gonna run away with it! What does that say about the rest of the field??

Why can't people just enjoy his game for what it is, sure, it's not always "perfect", but then who's game is, in ANY sport? As long as he wins, that's what counts for his fans. I know a lot of players don't like his interviews.... DON'T WATCH THEM THEN (Surrrrrprise!).

Snooker has so much to thank you him for, in terms of introducing fans to the game, bums on seats, and just pure talent, enjoy him while he's here!

[Shockerz]

If there was a conspiracy then it would be the most obvious conspiracy ever (and probably the death of snooker if it was discovered).

Even if he 'can't pot a ball' Ronnie is still good at nicking frames which he shouldn't. And I think he is quite good at playing the mind games against his opponents more than he lets on, like the way he walks out of the arena after winning a scrappy frame with a 'I'm not playing well but you're playing worse' kind of attitude. Looking forward to the 'I'm embarrassed, I couldn't pot a ball, we both played really badly, I'm sorry for the fans, I'm just relieved that it's over, I'm not sure about the future etc' interview later.....

One of the (not so) young (anymore) guard really needs to step up and start winning everything again like Hendry. Although I guess that's more a reflection of the difficulty in being consistent on the modern tour. Robertson/Murphy/Trump/Ding must be kicking themselves if they are watching this thinking that they could have taken on Ronnie.

All mind games.... I used to have a mate who would crash his golf drives up round the 300 mark at times, look at the face of his driver afterwards, shake his head and then walk off the tee in disgust going, "I just can't seem to catch this thing out of the middle."

He knows he's playing ok most of the time and just well enough in the final to cruise it without breaking a sweat. I'm sure he's loving every minute of the fact that he hasn't been pushed as it justifies his time off.

Can't deny his shot making; the 73 he got against Selby's 70 and the last red he got in the last frame against him, awesome..............someone ought to buy him a brush though to sort his hair out!

[barrywhite]

Simply cannot understand the amount of hate for Ronnie on this board of "Snooker Fans", he plays Snooker in its most fluent, purest form? He's 40, he's been away from the game for 8 months, and he looks like he's gonna run away with it! What does that say about the rest of the field??

Why can't people just enjoy his game for what it is, sure, it's not always "perfect", but then who's game is, in ANY sport? As long as he wins, that's what counts for his fans. I know a lot of players don't like his interviews.... DON'T WATCH THEM THEN (Surrrrrprise!).

Snooker has so much to thank you him for, in terms of introducing fans to the game, bums on seats, and just pure talent, enjoy him while he's here!

Half the people I know are fans of Ronnie (and to a lesser extent Hendry) and that includes one who beat him at a qually. He makes people want to pick up their cues. I played with a guy today who did just that. People need inspiration. Folk on here begging for a Hawk v. Bingo final don't really care for the health of snooker, they'd rather it become a closet sport where even the audience only get to attend if they middle aged and boring.

[thevenue2]

He makes people want to pick up their cues.

Yeah, for me personally, he was instrumental in why I first bought a cue and started playing, watching him is just like Tiger Woods or Federer, just inspirational when in full-flow.

Folk on here begging for a Hawk v. Bingo final don't really care for the health of snooker, they'd rather it become a closet sport where even the audience only get to attend if they middle aged and boring.

I know everyone has there favourite player, as they are well entitled, but what I can't fathom, is the sheer hatered for him at times, I don't recall any other player on here who gets the same amount of hate? Who else has done more for the modern game? Where would snooker be now if he'd retired 5 years ago? If you go into your local snooker club / WMC (if you're lucky enough!) and ask them who inspires them, surely many would pick Ronnie. It would be like going on a Tennis forum and finding most of the fans hating someone like Roger Federer, just bemuses me.

[cueman]

The golden boy beat the current world champion and the world number 1, the best tactician as many around here think. Not an easy draw...but Ronnie is far too good and can beat anyone even with his B-game.

Just because they are no.1 and world champ respectively means nothing if they don't play to the standard that has gotten them there. Bingham has had a very average season so far, Selby has played well in patches but certainly didn't turn up against Ronnie, this isn't a good event to showcase the best players if they are playing at 70% of their level.

Other than Trumps match against Robbo and parts of Higgins vs Liang, I think the BBC have done a good job in fooling the viewers the standard has been so high. Ronnie admitted last night that its a generous table and its easy to score heavily on so why have so many players missed so many balls and been so inconsistent! What we've seen mostly all event is one sided matches mostly and that is worrying. This is supposed to be the best 16 players in the world yet we have so many out of form and inconsistent players its a joke to call them the elite.

We have a world champ who has only managed 1 semi final and that was at the start of the season. A world no.1 who has only managed a couple of semi finals this season. Ding Junhui, Ricky Walden and Marco Fu completely and utter waste of time having them here, though Fu admittedly wasn't feeling well. All the other players played well one match then were average the next and subsequently lost. For players who have played a lot of tournaments and should all be sharp that is not good enough IMO. I've seen higher standard from all back in the 90's and early 2000's when the standard of the top 16 was worthy of being called an elite. I'm not deluded by the BBC commentary that this has been a great event. Much like the UK champs, this has been a bit of a let down and I think the Masters has lost a bit of credibility when we are seeing so many one sided matches the last couple of years.

They keep saying the strength in depth in snooker is stronger than its ever been and there is some truth in that but I think there is also a decline in the top 16. I've never known such a weak top 16 that have won so few between them apart from the likes of Ronnie, Higgins and Williams and all of those are past their best at 40. It maybe harder to dominate now but consider this. The likes of Ebdon, Doherty and White won more ranking titles than Selby or Murphy who are considered better players and won in an era when Higgins, Williams, Hendry and O'Sullivan amongst others were at their peak! I know which era would have been harder to win in so it proves that todays top players aren't really all they are made out to be.

[DeanH]

Yeah, for me personally, he was instrumental in why I first bought a cue and started playing, watching him is just like Tiger Woods or Federer, just inspirational when in full-flow.


I know everyone has there favourite player, as they are well entitled, but what I can't fathom, is the sheer hatered for him at times, I don't recall any other player on here who gets the same amount of hate? Who else has done more for the modern game? Where would snooker be now if he'd retired 5 years ago? If you go into your local snooker club / WMC (if you're lucky enough!) and ask them who inspires them, surely many would pick Ronnie. It would be like going on a Tennis forum and finding most of the fans hating someone like Roger Federer, just bemuses me.

must be the way you are reading the posts, if you think there could be hatred, you will read them as such (if you look for it you will find it real or not :wink
when I read posts about ROS I don't register "hate"; bemusement and tiredness of his sometimes prima-donna antics on and off the table but always with respect for his talent, results, and what he has done for the sport

I think I only ever read one post where the OP said "I hate ROS"

[gavpowell]

Been at almost every session this year and looks like I'm going to miss the final one because the only tickets available are on stubhub and I'd have to get from Ally Pally to Charing Cross and back inside an hour, which isn't going to happen. So for all these seats Worldsnooker say they've added, yet again dozens of them will sit empty because there's no way in without a ticket and the only tickets are with touts.

[thevenue2]

must be the way you are reading the posts, if you think there could be hatred, you will read them as such (if you look for it you will find it real or not :wink
when I read posts about ROS I don't register "hate"; bemusement and tiredness of his sometimes prima-donna antics on and off the table but always with respect for his talent, results, and what he has done for the sport

I think I only ever read one post where the OP said "I hate ROS"

Yeah maybe "hate" is a bit strong (in most cases), just thought there'd be much less "negative" posts about him and more on the "40 year old part-timer" who, yet again, has done away with everyone in the top 16 to win The Masters, or very likely win. Will this raise questions about the current quality of the players (especially the younger players)?