China Open 2018 - £1 million prize money

[golferson123]

no fxxxxr there, its a travesty hearn give it up. false. false. false, more bodies at a local league match prostitution at its worst

[PatBlock]

....prostitution at its worst

WHERE?! Damn, I missed that bit.

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[Billy]

Do the Chinese 'get' snooker?

A few years ago we were told it was the 'future of snooker'. We're constantly reminded that Ding is treated like a god out there, and the other players like pop stars. Empty arenas are blamed on extortionate ticket prices.

But it all seems like flannel and excuses to me. I find it difficult to muster up any enthusiasm for the Chinese tournaments, and it seems pretty obvious to me that so do the Chinese people themselves.

[Odrl]

Disappointing match in the end... Oh well, I guess I'll just watch Paris-Roubaix for the rest of the afternoon. :smile:

That's the thing with Hawkins, he can play flawless snooker on his day, but when he starts to struggle he can lose in a pretty pathetic way. He played tremendous stuff to beat Trump in the SF of the Masters in 2016, then lost 10-1 to O'Sullivan in the final. He then played terrifically well to beat O'Sullivan at the Crucible that year, then went a long way behind against Fu the following day. In 2015 he played probably his best-ever match to beat Robertson in the QF at the Crucible, then almost lost with a session to spare against Murphy in the following round... You can add this tournament to the list of those examples, very solid against Robertson in the semis, but very poor against Selby today. I think that steal from Selby to go 4-1 ahead completely broke Hawkins' resolve early on, although I don't think he would have come close to winning anyway.

What can you say about Mark Selby? That makes it 10 wins from his last 11 major finals, over a period of almost exactly four years. Take any great champion in the modern era of snooker and I think you will struggle to find a period as successful as that when it comes to major finals. Nothing special today in all honesty, but it was still good enough to win with ease. He was not looking good for the World Championship this year, but I think this win surely makes him one of the two big favourites now. He's won two of the three biggest ranking tournaments of the season so far, so it would be no great surprise to see him make it three out of four at the Crucible.

All in all, I think the changes to this tournament were a great success. The longer matches are always more enjoyable for me, especially when so many players are playing well at the same time. The tables were good as well it seems, apart from balls drifting off their path a little when played slowly, we didn't really have any major controversy as far as kicks or big bounces were concerned. I also like the fact that matches actually start as advertised in China, unlike the tournaments in the UK where snooker is constantly delayed because the local TV can't be bothered to finish their studio analysis on time. On the other hand, the China Open did lack a bit of the atmosphere we get in Europe, and the arena was mostly empty during the week. But that's nothing new I suppose...

That's it then, onto the WC qualifiers... :smile:

[cesard]

Do the Chinese 'get' snooker?

A few years ago we were told it was the 'future of snooker'. We're constantly reminded that Ding is treated like a god out there, and that the other players like pop stars. Empty arenas are blamed on extortionate ticket prices.

But it all seems like excuses to me. I find it difficult to muster up any enthusiasm for the Chinese tournaments, and it seems pretty obvious to me that so do the Chinese people themselves.

I think Chinese people don´tlike snooker, just they like Chinese players winning a tournament.

I guess if Ding would have reached the final, it would be full house; but if the final is Selby vs Hawkins, then nothing. If at least Ronnie would reach this round, it will be different. I think Selby has no charisma at all, regardless he could be the world best player

[blahblah01]

Disappointing match in the end... Oh well, I guess I'll just watch Paris-Roubaix for the rest of the afternoon. :smile:

I've been on P-R since coverage started, lol.

[Hey]

P-R was fantastic

[ken147]

A worthy world no.1, that is Selby. BUT... his style of play does not excite the masses. I'm sure his personality off the table is very likeable but on the baize at times it's like watching a robot with a 486 chip running windows 3.1 (gets the job done but takes ages to get there).

[thai_son22]

I don't actually think Selby is any slower than the average player. Take Ronnie, I find when you watch his movements around the table, he doesn't look fast, but when you time the breaks and shot time, he is quick.

I find Selby isn't slow around the table, but his style appears slow and dragged which makes him 'seem' slow. He feathers about 3 times, long back swing and shoots.

Plenty players who take longer than Selby.

[golferson123]

A worthy world no.1, that is Selby. BUT... his style of play does not excite the masses. I'm sure his personality off the table is very likeable but on the baize at times it's like watching a robot with a 486 chip running windows 3.1 (gets the job done but takes ages to get there).

not selbys fault for the pxxs poor attendance, it will be a full house for all his matches at the crucible, its just not it as far as snooker in the far east, ie football in the usa. leave it as it is, a club/pub game in the uk fine as it is

[ken147]

I don't actually think Selby is any slower than the average player. Take Ronnie, I find when you watch his movements around the table, he doesn't look fast, but when you time the breaks and shot time, he is quick.

I find Selby isn't slow around the table, but his style appears slow and dragged which makes him 'seem' slow. He feathers about 3 times, long back swing and shoots.

Plenty players who take longer than Selby.

Selby is not slow like Ebo but often when the game is tight he over thinks a simple shot, walking round the table again and again, looking up to the commentary box, staring at the table for what seems like an eternity. Some people may say it adds to the the suspense but it's blatant time wasting tactic and more than often knocks the opponents rhythm off... He's a great player to watch in full flow, when he has an unassailable lead or his opponent has lost his bottle.

[DeanH]

I don't actually think Selby is any slower than the average player. Take Ronnie, I find when you watch his movements around the table, he doesn't look fast, but when you time the breaks and shot time, he is quick.

I find Selby isn't slow around the table, but his style appears slow and dragged which makes him 'seem' slow. He feathers about 3 times, long back swing and shoots.

Plenty players who take longer than Selby.

ROS ast = 14s (v Muir)
Selby ast = 24s (v Hawkins)

Selby is slow around the table and there are only a few that are slower
what Selby does that does not make for nice watching is that he looks at a shot about three times, whether it is just a lean to the side or walk around the table; where ROS sees a shot and goes for it and not often walks around to check (whatever Selby needs to check 3 times)

[blahblah01]

P-R was fantastic

Not sure why Quick step let him go, but chapeau Sagan....

[The Rook]

The slow Selby thing is a myth and has become a cliche. According to http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.c...rs/Index/14008 Selby's average shot time this season is 22.90. That puts him 47th out of 131 players, which in fact makes him slightly faster than average and less than a second slower than John Higgins.

[ken147]

You'll see at the World's that Selby's average shot time will invariably increase. Keep an eye out of his average shot time for the WC. I expect it to be at least 2-3 seconds longer than his average now.