Masters Semi-Final Discussion

[hegeland]

Great line-up!

Saturday 17 January 2009 (Best of 11 frames)

14.00 – Mark Selby v John Higgins Ref: Michaela Tabb
19.00 – Stephen Maguire v Ronnie O'Sullivan Ref: Eirian Williams

[doorag]

One Higgins - O'Sullivan coming up!

[RaNeN]

I hope its a Higgins- O'sullivan. Its been a long time since they both have played each other...except for the premier league.

[Frias]

One Higgins - O'Sullivan coming up!

i agree totaly! I think they are in a good performance

[RocketRoy1983]

Im going for a selby-o'sullivan final.

[noel]

O'Sullivan has said that the ony true competitor he has is John Higgins.
I want to see that.
I want to see ROS playing someone he respects and he feels he has to be on his toes to beat.

I think one of the reasons he feels like that is that Higgins, unlike Carter today, won't stall out when they play like a deer caught in the headlights of genius.



=o)

Noel

[attilahun]

Higgins-Ronnie would be a great final. I think John is the only player who can beat Ronnie when hes on top form. Others seem to lose it when facing Ronnie, like Ali did last night, but John never looked intimidated by Ronnie.

But i believe that a final between Selby and Maguire will also be a great match.

So, no matter the results, we are in for a treat in the final.

[crucible77]

I personally think that the semi finalists are the 4 best players in the world at the moment :snooker: should be a great set of semis

[In-off]

Selby could beat, and has beaten, O'Sullivan over the distance

That said, I'd like Higgins v O'Sullivan as well

[João]

Since it's not possible a Maguire vs Ronnie in the final, I'd prefer an all scott affair.

[RocketRoy1983]

I cant see either Higgins or Selby beating Ronnie if his in the mood he was in against Carter yesterday.

[In-off]

He didn't play any better than any of the other semi-finalists

In fact, he made quite a few errors early on but Carter failed to take advantage

I think Higgins is looking very good and hope he wins it

[mmirza16993]

I dont see why it cant be Selby and ROS in the final coz i think selby is one of the best players in the world at the moment, even tho he may not have shown it in his last match

I certainly dont want maguire in the finals

[Odrl]

This is impossible to predict. But one thing is certain, we're in for a great final, no matter who comes through.

Selby-Higgins: Selby has won their last couple of meetings, and pretty convincingly too. It's understandable though, Selby was great last season, and Higgins was basically poor. I don't thing anyone has a mental edge here, and their games are very similar. They will both get a couple of long pots, and score heavily. The safety battles are going to be great as well, and if it goes close, they're both great under pressure. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a match. Selby tends to win his matches 6-5, maybe another one?

O'Sullivan-Maguire: The general impression seems to be, that O'Sullivan played great against Carter. Ok, he almost finished with three centuries, but at 2-2, I was thinking that Maguire was going to trash him. I think Maguire made fewer mistakes in his match, and he had to work hard for his chances. He went for his pots, and scored heavily. O'Sullivan's centuries came more or less from Carter's mistakes. If they repeat their performances from yesterday, I don't see it going close. But another thing needs to be said... In the last two years or so, everytime there was a "feeling" that O'Sullivan might be 2nd favourite for a match, he has responded. Particularly last season's UK final, and his two matches against Murphy. The exception was perhaps the 2007 WC match against Higgins, and the signs were similar: he wouldn't go for long pots. Maguire for me.

[RocketRoy1983]

He didn't play any better than any of the other semi-finalists

In fact, he made quite a few errors early on but Carter failed to take advantage

I think Higgins is looking very good and hope he wins it

With the exception of Maguire-Robertson Q/F POSSIBLY but his performance against a spellbound Carter, particularly from 2-2 to 6-2 was the best in this competition so far.