2016 World Championship discussion

[Le Ball Sack]

That'll be nothing new to him.

And one minus is that he'll have the expectations of about 600,000,000 Chinese on his shoulders.

[Odrl]

A nice evening of snooker, more fluency than in the first three sessions, and a lovely long frame to finish it off. :smile:

Every credit to Selby for reaching the final for the third time in his career, despite playing nowhere near as well as he did the first two times. As I said before the match started, Selby is the king of midnight snooker, and he plays the game with more heart than anyone else. He gave everything he had tonight, and it's nice to see him rewarded. He must be pretty exhausted after the last three matches, but of course the big one is still to come, so I hope he still has some energy left to give us a great final.

Ding will start as a clear favourite for me though, but more on that tomorrow... :smile:

[Billy]

That'll be nothing new to him.

Maybe not, but then again he's never been in the WC final before.

[vilkrang]

Mixed feelings, under any normal circumstance I'd want Ding to win but near the beginning of the tournament I put 30 quid on Selby at 8-1 thinking that I hate his style of play and if he did win I would at least have a couple of hundred quid as consolidation...

But I am a bit broke at the moment!

Still want Ding to win but the money will cushion the blow if he fails, would still rather he won though.

[gavpowell]

I'd quite like to reset this tournament to the back end of round 1, when all my favourite players were still in

Still, I hope Selby can produce his attacking game rather than just his negative scrappy game, because he can knock in big breaks as well as most of his contemporaries, he just hasn't really looked right this season.

Even though I don't really care about the final, it's been a superb tournament all in all, marred only by the early issues with the tables. But we've seen final-frame deciders, ludicrous pots, big breaks and some new talent shining through, along with the resurgence of some old talent. On top of that, I've managed to get tickets for every session I wanted using only the official box office, not a single tout required.

I couldn't have asked for much more than that, so I'll accept whatever the final brings and look forward to next year's glorious 40th anniversary.

[gmg]

Am I the only one on here who appreciates the tenacity, determination and sheer character of Mark Selby? He's been like a dead man walking for most of this match and still somehow managed to get over the line. It takes me back to the Masters a few years ago when he slogged his way through to the final before upping his game to wallop Robertson. I wouldn't begrudge Ding a World title but I'll definitely be pulling for Selby over the next couple of days.

[Catch 22]

Well chuffed Selby's through . Got tickets for tomorrow .

[mick745]

No I reckon he fully deserves his number 1 in the world status as he is so difficult to beat. There is no aspect of the game in which he is weak. He may not have the 'fluency' of some but so what? The guy's will to win and play under pressure are incredible.

[The Rook]

Am I the only one on here who appreciates the tenacity, determination and sheer character of Mark Selby?

You can add me to the list.

Selby is one of my favourite players, but I have to concede that his general snooker has been very poor by his standards in this tournament - especially the positional play. The funny thing is if he lost in the first round I expect everyone would have forgotten his performance within a couple of days, but he has somehow managed to attract more criticism by winning all his matches!

It could be an interesting final tomorrow. I think Ding should be the favourite based on his previous form, but he will be carrying the weight of China on his shoulders. I just can't see Selby winning this unless he starts playing to his potential again.

[Billy]

I honestly can't put my finger on what it is I don't like about Selby's style of play, other than to say I find it very uninspiring.

If I was forced to explain it, I'd have to say that where other players fizz and entertain, he simmers and grinds. Oddly (and I accept this is a ridiculous thing to use against him) his swaying on the shot puts me right off and robs me of any possible enjoyment I may get from watching him. I'm also irritated by his constant getting up and down on his shots. He somehow manages to make total clearances seem like a long, drawn-out affair, contemplating each and every shot, where other players just get on with it. It's what makes John Parrot's description of him being like a hoover so daft - he's anything but a hoover, or if he is it's a hoover that constantly stops to get its bag emptied.

[best1966]

If you look at it again, you can clearly see the referee on the left hand side of the player, and he was looking at the possibility of Marco's cue fouling a red. I guess if he was looking at that it's understandable why he didn't see the finger move the red

As soon as I saw his finger move slightly towards the red, I was thinking he's going to foul this, and he did. I noticed it in real time straight away.

I was surprised Brendan Moore didn't see it, usually when a player is leaning over a ball or bridging over one they are like Hawks crouching down looking to see if a foul is being comitted . But here he was on the wrong side so he couldn't see it.

I don't want to say that FU cheated and will give him the benefit of the doubt , however it's pretty hard not to feel if u touch a ball with your finger.

[mikeyd100]

Here ya go Snooker Buddies, the red getting errmmmm.... fingered -

[Reidowen94]

Like others have said I'm not the biggest fan of Selby's style, but fair play to him today. He wasn't playing at top level for most of the match but found a way to win frames and in tonight session he pulled off some fantastic long pots and safety shots. As for tomorrow, I think it will be close, maybe finish 19-16 or something. I feel Ding needs to come out the blocks fast and win the first 3 or 4 frames, get that early advantage so that when Selby does grind him down he still will have something of a lead. Tough one to call but I hope Ding comes out on top.

[Ethanat]

Neil Robertson predicts "Selby will grind Ding to dirt." I don't think it will happen. Not saying Selby can't win, but he has to do it through heavy scoring. Ding is more shaken when his opponents are scoring heavily. Don't think he is particularly bothered by scrappy frames these days.

[sharkster63]

I think that Ding is a very hard nut to crack, he is a very good safety player, very cautous and aware, does mistakes but bery rarely and only when pushed to the limit. I think the match is written in the stars, funny thing is that I think Mark Selby already knows this and cant do anything to prevent it.....