Welsh Open 2016 - Discussion

[vilkrang]

Fair play, I think I was a bit harsh. There are plenty of moments where Ronnie has shown unbelievable steel. That 147 in the final frame against Selby for instance. re Hendry - I'd add when Ebdon beat him in the WC final, he really succumbed to nerves in the end.

Unrelated, but "These two great players" must be Willie Thorne's favourite phrase and not just tonight.

Absolutely, I think he had 3 good chances in that decider against Ebdon.

Only ever needed one against poor Jimmy!

[cally]

Well done Ron.. Different class to anyone thats ever played the game.

[cyberheater]

As I've said. I'm watching the recording. It's 5-4 to Robbo. So he doesn't put another frame on the board for the rest of the match. Unbelievable.

[itsnoteasy]

Do any of the stat men know what Ronnies record of winning from behind in finals is( not the odd frame say three at least)

[Hatcherjob]

Robbo is absolutely gutted isn't he? This meant a lot more to him than it did for Ronnie. He's talked about wanting to play Ronnie for so long, he really fancied himself, and I don't blame him, because his standard in the last couple of years has been so high, he knows he's good enough to beat him, indeed capable of putting a big score on him on his day. However, playing in finals and winning is a different job. Neil hasn't quite got that champion greatness yet like ROS, Hendry, Higgins etc, might just take times to get that extra gear.

[zombieman]

That is probably the worst bottling of a major final I remember seeing since Stevens in the 2005 World final. The first two frames in the evening session were massive. Robertson had golden chances there and inexcusably given them away. Usually he's very solid, but in the end he was totally gone mentally.

Fair play to Ronnie, especially for sticking in there in the afternoon, when he wasn't playing well and was put under pressure by Robertson's safety game. Otherwise, he was playing very well all week and his long game was quite solid. But the final itself will be memorable for how badly Neil blew it.

[Erwan_BZH]

Once again, an unbelievable display from Ronnie.....From 5-2 down, being able to knock in 7 frame son the trot is fabulous. so effortless, so smooth, so natural.....You really have the impression he's able to win when he wants to. As simple as that.
Now, seriously, if he's that mood...who is gonna stop him in Sheffield??

[Chappy5]

Feeling for Robbo but ROS was just to good and clinical when it mattered most down the stretch.

"I'm delighted to win it. Neil's been the best player all season and definitely the best player in the world at the moment." "I just tried to stay in there and stay patient. I've had a fantastic week and played so much better here than at the Masters."

Very humble and classy comments from ROS and kudos to him, he is going to be extremely hard to beat when in this frame of mind on the table.

[itsnoteasy]

Ronnie against Selby in the world final was the biggest bottle job I have seen, he crumbled mentally you could see him physically shaking on the shot.
Or Jimmy White against Hendry 14-8 up and lost ten in a row.

[Le Ball Sack]

Isn't this a bit embarrassing for the rest of the field. A guy that hasn't played for much of the season has managed to win the last two big tournaments, today using his B- game. Its a bit like the mens tennis field. You have Murray, Joker, Fed and Nedal, there are no up and coming players from the new generation that seem to be able to complete with those four (ok Nedal is a bit **** nowadays). Players from Ronnie's generation can't compete with him (Higgins, Ebdon, Williams), players from the generation after that cant complete with him either (Robertson, Selby, Maguire, Murphy) and the new generation appear no better (Judd, Ding, Allen).

[Where's Willie?]

From 5-5 to 9-5 in about half an hour. Unreal. There are many great players in snooker but ONLY Ronnie could do that. Absolutely superb. Let's give Neil a break too, certainly didn't 'bottle it', just missed a couple of balls, that's all.

[cally]

I dunno but people want to stop wanting him to be something he's not and just enjoy watching snooker played like he plays it cos there's not going to be another player like him anytime soon.

Yeh, he's not perfect! But you can't have it all...

[acpc89]

Well done Ronnie! Favourite from the outset.

Must admit, the pink Robertson missed in the second frame of the afternoon session to the left looked like it did roll off when it went over some finger marks. You could see him talking about that shot at the mid-session interval to one of his team, I think that took away a lot of his confidence. But surely he must be used to that by now and able to get on with it.

I did call it out that Ronnie will win 6 frames on the trot like the world champs but surprised he did it as comfortable as he had did in the end. Robertson had so many chances, it was as though he didnt want to win it.

Like someone stated above, I wouldn't put Robertson with the likes of Williams/Hendry/Higgins/Ronnie/Davis as he needs more majors and more of these lesser tournaments. He hasnt had too many battle scars over the years from the big players, but again the competition is a lot more broad.

On the whole, probably one of, if not my favourite tournament from start to finish or 2nd round onwards in terms of quality, excitement, and just sheer brilliance. So many scoring masterclasses and pots it was rather impressive. Certainly did not feel like a lesser tournament from r2/3 onwards. It had more hype than some of the worlds championships have in recent years.

[wake_up_bomb]

Isn't this a bit embarrassing for the rest of the field. A guy that hasn't played for much of the season has managed to win the last two big tournaments, today using his B- game. Its a bit like the mens tennis field. You have Murray, Joker, Fed and Nedal, there are no up and coming players from the new generation that seem to be able to complete with those four (ok Nedal is a bit **** nowadays). Players from Ronnie's generation can't compete with him (Higgins, Ebdon, Williams), players from the generation after that cant complete with him either (Robertson, Selby, Maguire, Murphy) and the new generation appear no better (Judd, Ding, Allen).

I have actually said elsewhere (on a tennis forum!) that I think the upcoming generation will be less inclined to do the sort of solitary work required to get good at sports like tennis and snooker and that's why we haven't seen young players coming through in either sport up to the same standard as the great players of the current generation. You could maybe say the same thing about certain types of music. There are so many more distractions nowadays, so much more entertainment.

However, it's no disgrace to come second best to Ronnie because we won't see anyone like him again and haven't seen anyone like him before.

[acpc89]

Also, just a small gripe about the presenter, why do they have to get someone who knows nothing about snooker?

He mentioned Ronnie equaling the record of 4 Welsh open titles on numerous occasions throughout, but I dont remember anyone mentioning that he will equal Higgins and Davis record of 28 ranking titles.

Also a side note, Ronnie said he is not eligible to enter any more tournaments til Sheffield. I was under the impression a win and only a win at the Welsh would give him a place at the Grand Prix, which again, was never mentioned.