2016 Scottish Open

[ace man]

O'Sullivan/Higgins rivalry has been going on since their junior days, i.e. decades. Absolute best of snooker. It is a shame they meet already in the quarters.

[JimMalone]

Always great to see those two legends playing. Really great snooker so far once again.

[VillaGuy]

Just tuned in thinking it'd be 2pm starts, what's the story behind the 3-1, great play from Higgins?

[Hal]

nah, the match is not good .... both struggling, one class break from Higgins and the rest of the match so far is both of them missing too many balls ....
Who is the referee in this match? I must say he is very good one if you can say that about snooker ref :-)

[DeanH]

nah, the match is not good .... both struggling, one class break from Higgins and the rest of the match so far is both of them missing too many balls ....
Who is the referee in this match? I must say he is very good one if you can say that about snooker ref :-)

ref - Ben Williams I think.

[VillaGuy]

Doesn't look like this match will take up the full 9 frames, O'Sullivan doesn't seem like an early session person, didn't play great early yesterday either. Going to be an interesting next match Milkins has come through a fairly solid tournament beating a few players in a bit of form themselves like Hamilton and Perry.

[JimMalone]

nah, the match is not good .... both struggling, one class break from Higgins and the rest of the match so far is both of them missing too many balls ....
Who is the referee in this match? I must say he is very good one if you can say that about snooker ref :-)

Well, Higgins is playing very good. He isn't missing many balls except for the one green at the end of the fourth frame. Only problem for him is running the white ball.
The safety play so far is excellent.

O'Sullivan however is far from his best.

[VillaGuy]

O'Sullivan at the end of the match at the handshake 'How am I supposed to get to these records with you playing like this?' Higgins and Selby are the two players that bit above the rest of the others I think, some scrappy bits but some great tactical play and a few high breaks, I quite enjoyed it but nothing beats a deciding frame. Unfortunately Ronnie wasn't close enough to him for that

[VillaGuy]

Just a question for us 'watching supporters', do you reckon them not changing the cloths is good for the spectators even if the players complain about it? I mean some scrappy tactical battles are more fun to watch than single visit frames, what's people opinions on this?

[vmax4steve]

Higgins should try playing on the same cloth for two years, just how many bad contacts and kicks do the likes of us get without realising it.
Look, if these balls can only work on the finest cloths that only last for three days then something should be done about them.

[VillaGuy]

Milkins is like Steve Bruce without a broken nose

[VillaGuy]

Higgins should try playing on the same cloth for two years, just how many bad contacts and kicks do the likes of us get without realising it.
Look, if these balls can only work on the finest cloths that only last for three days then something should be done about them.

I've played on tables with holes in the cloths, probably not been changed for 2 decades, but you're both playing on the same table and it makes it like an obstacle course, you can use the holes as part of your safety strategy

[VillaGuy]

Those cushions do look pingy you've gotta say, isn't there more durable kinds of way of setting the table up to prevent this without having to change the cloths so frequently?

[Erwan_BZH]

Quite a big rant from John during his post-match interview. He was absolutely seething about table conditions, scored a zero out of 10 for the table itself. Rarely seen so vocal but he was pissed off. He called on WS to do something.
Now it is quite a debate on how many times do you need to change the cloth during a tournament. I understand these guys are the cream of the cream and they want the best conditions but you have to question the life expectancy of a cloth if it cannot last longer than three days.....

Anyway, still a good victory for the Scot who can overtake Bingham's number two spot in the world rankings if he goes on winning this Sunday Safety was particularly great today.

[vmax4steve]

They've been fiddle fart arseing about with cloths and heaters for nearly two decades now just to get these dull thudding PR balls to work as well as the old SC balls did.
There is only one solution, go figure.