Welsh Open 2016 - Discussion

[badgermeat]

I have to say I was a little surprised at how Michael played last night, I suppose the pressure of being in front of his home crowd didn't help, and although the pink going in obviously affected him, I thought that he was a bit loose with his safety play at times. He potted some screamers but just couldn't get over the line with ease. As for Mark's behaviour, surely the odd fist pump shows how much he wants it? Allen's been heavily criticised of late and like other sports, getting (or trying to get) under your opponents skill is part and parcel of the game. Snooker wouldn't be what it is if you didn't have different personalities clashing at times, how you handle pressure and an opponent that has a weak bladder is something that you need to experience and learn from. Will miss the evening session tonight, should be free for the final on Sunday.

[Odrl]

Anyway, the first semi-final starts in a few minutes...

Neil Robertson v. Mark Allen: Looking forward to this one. Everything suggests Robertson should be the favourite. He has beaten Allen the last six times they've met on the big stage, and he generally has a very strong record against him. He beat him for three years in a row at the Masters, from 2012 to 2014, he beat him over three sessions at the Crucible in 2014, when he played a superb final session to pull away in an otherwise close match, and of course he beat him in the Champion of Champions final this season. Those results should give him a nice psychological edge this afternoon. On the other hand, it could lead to complacency, and Robertson can't afford to think he will win easily, without putting the effort in. Allen had a similarly poor record against Murphy before they met at the Masters, and he managed to win that one, so I wouldn't underestimate him here. He is a great battler, and he showed last night that he was prepared to play a few mind games as well, if needed. But as he said in the press conference afterwards, those tricks won't work on Robertson. At his best, I think Robertson is the better player, and I was impressed with his scoring against Ding, especially as Ding did put some pressure on him early on. I expect Allen to do the same today, but I think Robertson will prevail regardless. 6-3. :smile:

Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Joe Perry: The head-to-head is even more one-sided here, as Perry has only beaten O'Sullivan once in a match of any importance. I'm sure most people remember that match, in the 2008 UK Championship, when O'Sullivan was actually in control early on, but for some reason completely lost his head in the second session and lost seven frames in a row, including one where he conceded with almost every ball still on the table. Perry also had a great chance to beat him in the 1st round of the Masters the following month. That tournament is mostly remembered for O'Sullivan winning it with a new cue and a great performance, but it's largely forgotten that Perry missed an absolute sitter to beat him 6-4 in his opening match. Then of course there was the excellent battle at the Crucible two years ago, when Perry was on the verge of taking a 12-10 lead, but somehow lost the frame, and O'Sullivan closed out the match with two centuries in the last two frames. History aside, O'Sullivan is playing some excellent snooker this week, and he is very hard to beat when in this sort of form. Perry has played well himself, but he was a ball away from losing 4-2 to Trump, and according to Woollaston, he gave him a chance in every frame last night. If that happens tonight, I expect O'Sullivan to take those chances and win frames in one visit, as he has been doing all week. O'Sullivan to win 6-2. :smile:

Should be a decent day. :smile:

[DeanH]

at least now we have both matches on TV, we have missed some many good matches this week on the non-TV tables

[itsnoteasy]

Fingers crossed for the classic match up in the final, Allen vs Perry , a barnstormer if ever there was one:nightmare:

[daffie]

Nice setup

[daffie]

Points ducked for time wasting.

Next!

[cyberheater]

Come on Robbo. Sort it out.

[armstm]

querying the referee - not wanting to accept the decision. no, not a twat at all.

Come on Robbo. Sort it out.

[vilkrang]

Wasn't it Allen who was accusing one of the Chinese players of being a cheat a few years ago by knowingly fouling and not calling it on himself? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Poor form anyway.

[billabong]

Yeah, thin edge of the wedge, questioning the ref , or asking up in the commentary box.


Be looking for a tennis setup next, where you have a limited number of hawkeye replays.

Just accept it and get on with it. . .

[daffie]

Is the msi after 4 or 5 frames?

[Fahrenheit]

I don't like the fact that Willie and Dominic were allowed to have the final call over that foul. The ref was quite happy to overturn his decision when he misheard them and thought they said no foul. Ref's decision should be his own.

[Odrl]

This could prove to be a crucial clearance from Robertson. Key frame coming up as well, 2-2 would be a terrible result for Allen at the interval.

[armstm]

I am sure twallen thinks he was in the right in his self-righteous little head but its just not the done thing. he should accept it graciously and move on.

I don't like the fact that Willie and Dominic were allowed to have the final call over that foul. The ref was quite happy to overturn his decision when he misheard them and thought they said no foul. Ref's decision should be his own.

[DeanH]

Wasn't it Allen who was accusing one of the Chinese players of being a cheat a few years ago by knowingly fouling and not calling it on himself? Or am I thinking of someone else?

yes it was

Is the msi after 4 or 5 frames?

always after first 4 frames

I don't like the fact that Willie and Dominic were allowed to have the final call over that foul. The ref was quite happy to overturn his decision when he misheard them and thought they said no foul. Ref's decision should be his own.

the referee can ask anyone they deem to may have a better view of the incident and make a decision based on the information he gathers.
In this instance the referee should have stood by his first decision, he was correct from the actual moment and did not need any other evidence; he should have said that the ball moved, please continue the game. :wink: