2017 World Championship - Main Event

[Odrl]

9-7 to Hawkins then, which means there could still be a decent match on tonight. It probably won't be as enjoyable as some of the other stuff today though. :smile:

I missed a bit of Selby's match, but what I did see was some very clinical snooker from him, and that 143 break was just ridiculous. Obviously the game is much easier when the pressure is off, but still...

Nice to see Ding standing up to the pressure on this occasion, a lovely break to finish things off. The second session was the key to his victory. O'Sullivan had a couple of chances in each session to make things really close, but the pressure got to him a little in this match, and he was on the back foot pretty much from the start. His long-potting was a little off, and his safety was not tight enough to keep Ding away from the table. He scored quite well at times, but the supporting elements of his game just weren't strong enough on this occasion.

A tough match for Ding coming up against Selby, but at least he has beaten him on the big stage a number of times in the past, so his confidence going into the match should be higher than it was against O'Sullivan. :smile:

[screw-back]

Thorne revolutionised commentary when he started talking the viewer through what was going through the mind of the player as he was break building. Perhaps you prefer Dennis Taylor going on about how much he would like to see Ronnie O'Sullivan on Strictly Come Dancing. I really hope they use Peter Ebdon for the Semis and Final. Thorne, I'm sure, will not be. BBC's preferred pairing our Taylor + 1 and Virgo + 1

Thorne, Virgo and Taylor need to be put out to grass. Taylor is a has been and the other two, never beens. The only thing Thorne revolutionised is the talking over the player down on the shot.

[vjmehra]

An interesting thing to note about the Ding-O' Sullivan match is that there were 23 breaks of at least 50 in 23 frames. The only frame that didn't have a half century was frame 17, but there were two in frame 22.

Looking back, Ronnie played that dreadful shot with the rest leaving himself a difficult black when he should have cleared up and lost the respotted black frame. That's what really cost him the match, particularly the shot with the rest where it looked a formality for him to clean up.

He also might want to think about his ranking, as he's not a world number 14. He should be way higher in the rankings than that. If you look at the other quarter-finals, Higgins has beaten Kyren Wilson easily, Selby thrashed Fu, and I haven't seen much of the Hawkins-Maguire match, but it looks pretty mediocre standard (5 fifty breaks and no centuries in the first 14 frames by comparison). If he'd played that standard against the sort of opponent he should have been playing in the quarter-finals then he would have won, probably quite easily.

Is that a record? I don't recall any other long matches where there has been as many 50+ breaks (in as many frames)?

In short matches you could get 3 centuries and a 50 in 4 frames, but over this distance, surely thats pretty unique?

[Stony152]

Thorne, Virgo and Taylor need to be put out to grass. Taylor is a has been and the other two, never beens. The only thing Thorne revolutionised is the talking over the player down on the shot.

I mostly agree. I can handle Taylor and Virgo in small doses, but they should be phased out along with Griffiths.. I think Hendry is excellent and Ebdon will be good in time. Davis, Parrott, and Doherty are better in the studio with Hazel than commentating on matches. I wonder who the next "younger" guy will be after Ebdon.

I've been living in Central Europe for the past 5-6 years so I've watched many hours of Eurosport coverage. I'm not really a fan of any of their commentators. Joe Johnson is very boring and predictable and Foulds and Hallett are annoying for various reasons. McManus is the best of that group, but he's rarely on.

What I like about Hendry is that he can be brutally honest in criticizing a player and then later be very glowing and speak very positively about the same player if he deserves it. Most of the other guys are afraid to be overly critical.

[vjmehra]

What I like about Hendry is that he can be brutally honest in criticizing a player and then later be very glowing and speak very positively about the same player if he deserves it. Most of the other guys are afraid to be overly critical.

I guess he's earned that right more than anyone :-)

[Stony152]

I think O'Sullivan was in a different mindset playing Ding compared to when he played Murphy. He wanted to beat Murphy very badly and was 100% concentrated on the task. I think it's tougher for him after all of these years when it's a player like Ding who he genuinely likes away from the table.I'm sure he wanted to win, but maybe it wasn't with quite the amount of passion that he wanted to beat Murphy.

Or maybe that's a bunch of psychobabble and Ding just outplayed him on the day.

[Stony152]

I guess he's earned that right more than anyone :-)

That's true, but so has Davis and yet he just seems to prefer a "nice guy" style of commentary and analysis. Maybe it's more in line with his personality.

[vjmehra]

I think O'Sullivan was in a different mindset playing Ding compared to when he played Murphy. He wanted to beat Murphy very badly and was 100% concentrated on the task. I think it's tougher for him after all of these years when it's a player like Ding who he genuinely likes away from the table.I'm sure he wanted to win, but maybe it wasn't with quite the amount of passion that he wanted to beat Murphy.

Or maybe that's a bunch of psychobabble and Ding just outplayed him on the day.

Ding was the better player overall, but it was really the evening session yesterday that won it, if that had been close it would have been a coin toss.

[P.Smith]

Agreed, Higgins should have been banned for far longer (or life) for CHEATING. Selby is just, well.... Selby is Selby!

Except Higgins didn't cheat at all and Selby is well.... Selby is the best player of his generation!

[vjmehra]

That's true, but so has Davis and yet he just seems to prefer a "nice guy" style of commentary and analysis. Maybe it's more in line with his personality.

Yeah, its odd in a way as Davis was ruthless on the table, but somehow he didn't come across that way.

With Hendry there was never a doubt, he was a winning machine, nothing else mattered.

[PatBlock]

I think O'Sullivan was in a different mindset playing Ding compared to when he played Murphy. He wanted to beat Murphy very badly and was 100% concentrated on the task. I think it's tougher for him after all of these years when it's a player like Ding who he genuinely likes away from the table.I'm sure he wanted to win, but maybe it wasn't with quite the amount of passion that he wanted to beat Murphy.

Or maybe that's a bunch of psychobabble and Ding just outplayed him on the day.

I'll go with option B.

So pleased for Dong, what a mentally and emotionally strong performance that was from him, I've been waiting for that for what seems like decades. I'd love to see him go on and lift the trophy now and I can't wait for his match with Selby.

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[Ben04uk]

Thorne, Virgo and Taylor need to be put out to grass. Taylor is a has been and the other two, never beens. The only thing Thorne revolutionised is the talking over the player down on the shot.

You obviously dont remember the times of Ted Lowe and Jack Karnham and Ray Edmunds. Although they had fantastic voices they gave no insight into what the player was thinking at all in terms of their shot selection. Thorne change all that. I accept his time has probably past now and the BBC is in urgent need of new commentators and has been for years now. Hopefully Ebdon could be that new person they need.

[nicky1982]

Mark Selby's 143 was top class with some brilliant shots, but he was miles ahead in the match. Alex Higgins' 69 was the best break of all time as every pot carried the ultimate pressure that one miss would mean losing a world semi final.

[Ben04uk]

Mark Selby's 143 was top class with some brilliant shots, but he was miles ahead in the match. Alex Higgins' 69 was the best break of all time as every pot carried the ultimate pressure that one miss would mean losing a world semi final.

On that notion, the last breaks made in the 3 x 18-17 Finals were the best ever.

[wake_up_bomb]

Is that a record? I don't recall any other long matches where there has been as many 50+ breaks (in as many frames)?

In short matches you could get 3 centuries and a 50 in 4 frames, but over this distance, surely thats pretty unique?

I'm not sure, but I can't recall it ever happening, there are usually a few frames where the balls go scrappy. I doubt it has happened very often if at all.