The Worlds - Who do you think?

[GOMH71]

Maguire...Murphy...Selby...O'Sullivan.

Forget the rest.

I'll plump for Maguire...

[Signal Fire]

My 2 favourites for the title are Bond & Harold.

I can't remember the draw - can they meet in the final?

[Monique]

My 2 favourites for the title are Bond & Harold.

I can't remember the draw - can they meet in the final?

They would meet in the semis ... probably one of the most lethal match ever

[Signal Fire]

They would meet in the semis ... probably one of the most lethal match ever

It'd be one of the greatest semi's ever - full of tension & misses, with so much at stake for both players.

Wow, i hope that match happens!

[PaulTheSoave]

Exactly my thoughts. two rankers under his belt and runner up in the uk this season. Best performance this season.

I'm surprised no one has said this yet - but i think maguires got a great chance??

[Black_cat]

Smart money should be on Selby and Murphy. Maguire's too volatile. Higgins and Robertson haven't been anywhere this season. Fu is my semi-dark horse.
That was me with my sensible hat on. I think you can guess who my nominee is if I take said hat off.

[PaulTheSoave]

Think this is a bit odd to say. Smart money on Murphy. and not on Maguire. Who won 2 ranking tournaments and who bottled it in a couple of semis and the last final this season?

Smart money should be on Selby and Murphy. Maguire's too volatile. Higgins and Robertson haven't been anywhere this season. Fu is my semi-dark horse.
That was me with my sensible hat on. I think you can guess who my nominee is if I take said hat off.

[Wim]

14 replys and nobody as said ronnie o'sullivan he's got as good a chance as anyone.

Indeed. ROS winning the WC depends more of himself than the ones he is playing against. If he is at his max all the time no doubt he will win. But this is very doubtful. The way he played in China was very 'unreal' and his attitude not only in China but also those last months is quite 'bizar'.
Unless... his state of mind and level of playing is the same as in the UK.
To me he is not favorite a priori but let's wait and see.

[Black_cat]

Call it feminine intuition, Paul! Maguire can either beat the snooker out of you or fizzle out disappointingly, whereas Murphy is a lot more consistent. And then we have the eternal "chicken and egg" question: if a player can't make the best of a healthy advantage and win then did he bottle it or the opponent outplayed him completely?

[Monique]

Indeed. ROS winning the WC depends more of himself than the ones he is playing against. If he is at his max all the time no doubt he will win. But this is very doubtful. The way he played in China was very 'unreal' and his attitude not only in China but also those last months is quite 'bizar'.
Unless... his state of mind and level of playing is the same as in the UK.
To me he is not favorite a priori but let's wait and see.

You are right Wim, ROS worst opponent is himself. But strange as it may sound I have the feeling that the China incident might contribute to put him back on tracks and stay focused. If he is, then certainly he is one of the favourites. My feeling is that he will meet the winner of the match Ding/Fu in semis... Fu could very well be the dark horse of this WC. But I'm not ruling ROS out for a third title.

For me the three other favourites are Maguire, Murphy and Selby and they are in the same half of the draw. Murphy and Selby will probably meet in quarters, then the winner could face Maguire in semis ... I'd say Selby is the best match player but it's a toss of a coin really.

[bongo]

Thank you for all of the replies folks, keep 'em comin'!

BTW - The draw is on www.888snooker.com, you can watch the video there.

[Alex0paul]

Exactly my thoughts. two rankers under his belt and runner up in the uk this season. Best performance this season.

Just a shame he has been ill with the flu for this week. Must be so annoying getting ill so close to the World Championships.

[PaulTheSoave]

Players out injured / ill and coming back perform the best.

(Van Bastens hattrick against England 1998)

Just a shame he has been ill with the flu for this week. Must be so annoying getting ill so close to the World Championships.

[Alex0paul]

I wouldn't be surprised if any of the 4 major players this season weren't in the semis. My guess is

Ryan Day v Mark Williams
Peter Ebdon v Stuart Bingham

Mark Williams v Peter Ebdon

Williams to win.

[cueman]

Going on form and looking at the draw I break it down like this. Realistically the bottom half of the draw has 3 main contenders, Maguire, Murphy and Selby. I think one of those 3 will be in the final, personally, going on form and experience its a toss of a coin between them but I think Maguire will get through.

Top half and for me there are a number of players who could get through, its really open. So many tough 1st round matches to call, Ding vs Fu, Higgins vs Stevens, Allen vs Hendry. I think its a certainty that O'Sullivan will get through to the semi but it depends out of the winners of the matches I mentioned whether he makes the final. On form he would walk through as I don't see anyone touching him but he tends to struggle over the longer frame matches these days.

I'll stick my neck out though and say it will be Maguire vs O'Sullivan, if it is then we could be in for a treat. Maguire to edge it 18-16.

And if any of that happens I'll eat my hat!