2017 UK Championship

[vjmehra]

I was just about to post the same.

The problem is then whoever wins would still be playing as the Scottish Open starts :-)

But yes I totally agree!

[GeordieDS]

Maguire guaranteed to bottle it today, always pisses his pants when he sees Ronnie in the opposite chair

[VillaGuy]

The problem is then whoever wins would still be playing as the Scottish Open starts :-)

But yes I totally agree!

These best of 11 matches can be over in not much more than an hour, I think a Murphy match was over in 1hr25mins in one of the previous rounds. Not long enough at the table for a big semi in my view, a best of 15 or 17 would also potentially produce a match with more of an ebb and flow to it. The start is vitally important in the short format.

[JimMalone]

Don't forget we also had Anthony Hamilton winning a ranking title last season, so the potential could be there. I don't think it would be too outrageous if someone like Peter Ebdon had a good run, for example, especially as there are so many best-of-7 events around these days and the top players tend to skip some of those. :smile:

Yeah, at the small events this could happen. But I suggest it's quite unlikely. Ebdon wasn't close to a ranking final in a long time, having only one sole quarterfinal during the last four seasons.

[JimMalone]

A shame. Maguire really had a good chance to win this frame, but once again made a costly mistake. It's such important to have a good start against O'Sullivan (unless your name is Mark Selby or John Higgins) and so this really hurts.

Good clearance by O'Sullivan though.

[vjmehra]

These best of 11 matches can be over in not much more than an hour, I think a Murphy match was over in 1hr25mins in one of the previous rounds. Not long enough at the table for a big semi in my view, a best of 15 or 17 would also potentially produce a match with more of an ebb and flow to it. The start is vitally important in the short format.

Yeah, I would much rather fewer tournaments and a few with longer matches such as the UK. I just don't think we'll ever see that again with the way the scheduling works now.

[VillaGuy]

I'm amazed Ebdon still has a ranking, his game is no where near his younger days now, I don't mind him as a player or personality but I feel he really struggles to be competitive with pretty much anyone.

[JimMalone]

The problem is then whoever wins would still be playing as the Scottish Open starts :-)

But yes I totally agree!

They could just plan the UK Championship with one more day and make the semifinals over two days. 12 or 13 days it really doesn't make a huge difference.

[JimMalone]

I'm amazed Ebdon still has a ranking, his game is no where near his younger days now, I don't mind him as a player or personality but I feel he really struggles to be competitive with pretty much anyone.

Actually he is still the world number #47. I reckon he will drop a few spots until the end of the season though, as he will lose 28.000 more points - more than all players who are in the environment behind him in the rankings except for Sam Baird.

[VillaGuy]

Maguire is struggling with the colours to the middle, not got going at all yet and Ronnie has given him a few chances.

[jrc750]

These best of 11 matches can be over in not much more than an hour, I think a Murphy match was over in 1hr25mins in one of the previous rounds......

They can also last well over 4 hours like last night !

[JimMalone]

Maguire is struggling with the colours to the middle, not got going at all yet and Ronnie has given him a few chances.

Also he plays almost every screw shot way too strong. Lost position very often with one of those. (yeah, I know it's very difficult ;-))

[vjmehra]

Also he plays almost every screw shot way too strong. Lost position very often with one of those. (yeah, I know it's very difficult ;-))

That long red where he screwed back almost the entire table length was pretty immense though!

[JimMalone]

That long red where he screwed back almost the entire table length was pretty immense though!

Definitely! It's incredible how much cue power he can generate. It's just that he plays with too much often it seems to me (not only today).

[jonny66]

When did Stephen Maguire change his nickname? I thought it was "on fire" Maguire.