Announcement

**screw-back** · 21 January 2017, 04:27 PM

O'Sullivan confirms the tip was not damaged, it wasn't split it was just like a "piece of slate". That is no reason for having an early interval and World Snooker need to question themselves. Fu's concentration may have been affected. I recall O'Sullivan biting his tip off during a match in the Crucible which meant his opponent was put off his stride. As was mentioned earlier, World Snooker bend over backwards where he is concerned. Will things change? No. Will someone be held to account? Of course not!

**vmax4steve** · 21 January 2017, 04:28 PM

I don't know the rules regarding equipment failure, but if Ronnies tip wasn't split but simply too hard then the mid session interval was the time to put on a new one IMO.

**Billy** · 21 January 2017, 04:31 PM

I must confess I understand where you're coming from, screw-back. An early interval just because a player didn't like the way his tip was playing? How many other players would have got away with that, if we're honest with ourselves?

Marco's the kind of guy that won't say it put him off his stride, even if it did, but I'm sure it disrupted the general rhythm of things.

**Odrl** · 21 January 2017, 04:40 PM

That was fun, some really good breaks from both of them this afternoon. :smile:

As I suspected, O'Sullivan raised his game today and played very well under pressure, particularly with that excellent pot and break in the last frame. I still expected Fu's current form to be a little too much for O'Sullivan, but not today. Fu just made a couple of mistakes too many, most crucially perhaps when he missed that red with the rest when he had a chance to go 5-4 in front.

I think O'Sullivan will be difficult to beat tomorrow for whoever comes through tonight. :smile:

**DeanH** · 21 January 2017, 04:40 PM

2017 Masters

not liking a tip is not "equipment failure"
Ronnie could have continued for a frame till the normal interval.
I think the ref should have asked "is it damaged?" and if not then please continue till the interval.
I think Ronnie was given preferential treatment.
Amazing how he played after but I think Ronnie was, in a way, given an unfair advantage in that he knew he did not have the poor tip anymore.

**Tim65** · 21 January 2017, 04:41 PM

O'Sullivans antics are a disgrace.As no damage had been done to the tip during play he had no right to be allowed to change it.He should have been ordered to play frame 4 before the interval.He would then have had the normal interval to change the tip if he wished to.If he was still not ready to play he should be docked a frame.Players have been docked frames in the past for not being ready to play.

**Shockerz** · 21 January 2017, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by ghost121 View Post

Feel sorry for Marco here. Ronnie is not about gamesmanship but his ridiculous ronnie-centric ego thinks he can do anything and mostly he's right. The officials bend the rules accordingly where Ronnieworld is concerned. That was longer than 15 minutes and Marco has no choice but to go along with it. Ronnie should have been docked a frame. I really hope Marco wins this match.

It would be nice to know exactly what the rule is. I thought it was 15 minutes to put a tip on (which isn't long enough in my opinion).

If you are changing the time to put a tip on or moving beaks to accommodate then why not change the rule to suit?

Steve Davis said, "A reasonable amount of time," what's that then as it's different for each person. It certainly made a difference to the next frame as Fu was in a rhythm.

**Shockerz** · 21 January 2017, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by vmax4steve View Post

I don't know the rules regarding equipment failure, but if Ronnies tip wasn't split but simply too hard then the mid session interval was the time to put on a new one IMO.

Definitely. There was only one more frame to the interval.

Obviously in the future if you are on the wrong end of it you could develop a bit of a hard tip that needs a little treatment?

**Tim65** · 21 January 2017, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by Shockerz View Post

Definitely. There was only one more frame to the interval.

Obviously in the future if you are on the wrong end of it you could develop a bit of a hard tip that needs a little treatment?

Exactly.Commentators constantly talk about how the interval can change a match.It now seems that O'Sullivan can dictate when that interval will be.

**throtts** · 21 January 2017, 05:21 PM

Yep,, it was iffy. And if we all had to guess a player out of the 16 to do what happened today we would all guess Ronnie...And I would have thought most pros have played in tips ready as a reserve.. Think a lot of the ""new tip"" is just BS to hype it all up. But, yes, Ronnie played lovely stuff. Just think a lot of stuff that he does and the way he acts is literally just that, an act and a comical one, along with Jimmy..haha...

**ken147** · 21 January 2017, 05:35 PM

At the end of the day the final decision regarding Ronnie's tip problem was the tournament director. Ronnie did have a dialogue on the feasibility of having an early interval but was dependant on the tournament directors discretion...

**ZiP** · 21 January 2017, 05:46 PM

Interval would've come one frame later anyway and we can say that it obviously didn't effect the course of the match (marco knocking 141 afterwards), so why waste so much time on this non issue?

Or is there no place on the internet without trolls anymore, jesus?!

**screw-back** · 21 January 2017, 05:56 PM

A tip doesn't become playable to being a lump of slate in three frames. Call me a sceptic but . . . .

Originally Posted by ZiP View Post

Interval would've come one frame later anyway and we can say that it obviously didn't effect the course of the match (marco knocking 141 afterwards), so why waste so much time on this non issue?

Or is there no place on the internet without trolls anymore, jesus?!

How do you know it "obviously didn't affect the course of the match"? Fu is one of the games gentlemen and sportsmanlike. O'Sullivan isn't. A non-issue it is not. Trolling? Check the definition, the comments about O'Sullivan are fact.

***ADR147*** · 21 January 2017, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by screw-back View Post

A tip doesn't become playable to being a lump of slate in three frames. Call me a sceptic but . . . .

How do you know it "obviously didn't affect the course of the match"? Fu is one of the games gentlemen and sportsmanlike. O'Sullivan isn't. A non-issue it is not. Trolling? Check the definition, the comments about O'Sullivan are fact.

I would agree unless it is damaged - but it is easy enough for ronnie to say it does not feel right and I guess that makes it equipment failure.

**ghost121** · 21 January 2017, 06:18 PM

Appalling decision from the tournament director. Clearly, ROS should have been made to wait for the interval. If it had been the other way around, do you really think ROS would have let Marco walk out without question at 2-1 down? ROS expects, and gets, preferential treatment. He also massively criticised the referee in his post match interview. Not acceptable. And all the fawning pundit nonsense of only a genius playing like that with a new tip is frankly ridiculous. It amazes me the rubbish so called ex-pros and experts talk about tips. Jimmy thinks Kamuis cost £60 each and Foulds and Parrot think every new tip is basically a sponge for two days. And that's the best they can come up with?