Welsh Open 2016 - Discussion

[Neil Taperell]

Bold statement . Neil Robertson might give him a run for his money .

[Neil Taperell]

not like mark allen to be an utter twat

Don't think Allen did anything wrong . Nothing more than a clenched fist when he won the frame , which countless other players have done over the years .

[Leo]

not like mark allen to be an utter twat

Wow a snooker player showed passion during the game how dare he.

[armstm]

yeah but the quotes afterwards where he was endorsing trying to mess with someone is not fantastic. ok u wanna win but do u want to win by trying to mess with ur opponents head - especially a young lad at his home arena?

Don't think Allen did anything wrong . Nothing more than a clenched fist when he won the frame , which countless other players have done over the years .

[Neil Taperell]

Again ,i am sure that a lot of players do that . Robertson and Selby spring to mind.........toilet breaks like they are going out of fashion .

[Neil Taperell]

yeah but the quotes afterwards where he was endorsing trying to mess with someone is not fantastic. ok u wanna win but do u want to win by trying to mess with ur opponents head - especially a young lad at his home arena?

Allen said: “The fist pump was part of the game plan, as was not apologising for some good running in the next frame. I thought it might get to him. He was playing in a big match in front of his home Welsh crowd, I have done the same in Northern Ireland and you are under a lot more pressure.

A fist pump and not apologising .........not exactly the crime of the century .

[cueman]

I think its good to have a few grudge battles in the game, its good to see the players care and want to win so much. Makes it more interesting than seeing players give each other too much respect. They are out there trying to win and earn a living for themselves, why be nice to your opponent! Luck, be it good or bad happens in every match and to every player, why apologise when you get it, I don't see your opponent feel sorry for you when you have a bad run of luck in a match.

Allen did nothing wrong IMO. Michael White just needs to grow up and take it on the chin, came across as a bit of a spoilt child when things didn't go his way.

[itsnoteasy]

I'm not totally a stuffed shirt, but where have manners and respect for your opponent gone? Give it five years and Hearn will have a boxing style face off, both staring each other down , Ronnie getting pulled away as some daft bint shouts , leave Im Wonnie ee aint wuurff it. As Mr big shot would say, change is coming you can't stand in the way of regression.

[cyberheater]

Allen said: “The fist pump was part of the game plan, as was not apologising for some good running in the next frame. I thought it might get to him. He was playing in a big match in front of his home Welsh crowd, I have done the same in Northern Ireland and you are under a lot more pressure.

A fist pump and not apologising .........not exactly the crime of the century .

Yes but not exactly sporting or playing the game in the spirit of the game is it.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

I'm not totally a stuffed shirt, but where have manners and respect for your opponent gone? Give it five years and Hearn will have a boxing style face off, both staring each other down , Ronnie getting pulled away as some daft bint shouts , leave Im Wonnie ee aint wuurff it. As Mr big shot would say, change is coming you can't stand in the way of regression.

Lol.

You can either change yourself or have it forced upon you.

[tetricky]

What Mark Allen did was within the rules, and was not disrespecting his opponent. A mentally stronger opponent might have seen a fist pump at the end of a won frame as a sign of weakness. He might have chosen to to interpret not acknowledging favourable running as a need for the running to compete.

For me part of the fascination of snooker is the waging of mental warfare alongside executing a fine physical skill. It's a big part of the outcome. Davis and Hendry in their pomp had often won the game before the first break off. Granite. Showed no chinks in the armour. Mental certainty that they were the best, and going to dispatch their opponent.

It's why they both dominated a decade, and in more than twice as long, the greatest player to ever pick up a cue has fewer world championships than both of them. The mental side is an absolutely critical part of any competitive battle.

[armstm]

no its not - I didn't call him hitler, I called him an utter twat! he has earnt his right to this level of twattery, learnt his twattery trade with some twattish outbursts and now is the undisputed twat in the snooker world.

Allen said: “The fist pump was part of the game plan, as was not apologising for some good running in the next frame. I thought it might get to him. He was playing in a big match in front of his home Welsh crowd, I have done the same in Northern Ireland and you are under a lot more pressure.

A fist pump and not apologising .........not exactly the crime of the century .

[jonny66]

In a game which is said to be at least 80 percent mental, you would be stupid not to try and get into your opponents head if you can. You wouldn't expect a footballer to only kick the ball with one foot because it was deemed polite would you? White let him get inside his head and he needs to stop letting opponents get to him, as long as Mark Allen doesn't try to distract him while he's at the table I'd say it's fair game. Stephen Hendry didn't apologise for flukes either.

[itsnoteasy]

What Mark Allen did was within the rules, and was not disrespecting his opponent. A mentally stronger opponent might have seen a fist pump at the end of a won frame as a sign of weakness. He might have chosen to to interpret not acknowledging favourable running as a need for the running to compete.

For me part of the fascination of snooker is the waging of mental warfare alongside executing a fine physical skill. It's a big part of the outcome. Davis and Hendry in their pomp had often won the game before the first break off. Granite. Showed no chinks in the armour. Mental certainty that they were the best, and going to dispatch their opponent.

It's why they both dominated a decade, and in more than twice as long, the greatest player to ever pick up a cue has fewer world championships than both of them. The mental side is an absolutely critical part of any competitive battle.

His comments after it, kind of contradict what you claim , deliberately as a game plan not to apologise for some lucky running , while not against the rules is a slight disrespect to his opponent. I'm not defending White or feeling sorry for him, he was worse, his slash out of the snooker was awful to see and I think they were both wrong in their behaviour, again not the end of the world but not the best sportsmanship around.

[Neil Taperell]

no its not - I didn't call him hitler, I called him an utter twat! he has earnt his right to this level of twattery, learnt his twattery trade with some twattish outbursts and now is the undisputed twat in the snooker world.

I didn't call him Hitler either

So where do you stand on Selby hiding in the wings after a toilet break to put his young opponent off or Ebdon screaming like a lunatic in the Worlds that time ?

Found those far worse than what Allen did in my opinion .


As someone said earlier, Michael White was acting like a little kid ........after the fist pump it should have spurred him on to win the nexr frame and not appear to throw his toys out of the pram .

I like Michael White , still only 24 , but been around long enough to know how it goes .

Hopefully he will learn from this and become mentally stronger .