Shanghai Masters last 16 discussion

[Mal]

Joe will be disappointed - That green wasn't a gimme, but a player of his standard should have potted it. It should have been 4-4 - Ronnie would still have been favourite, but the amount of chances Joe had in other frames he should have had it sewn up.

Ronnie didn't look like he cared, was in a huff before and after the referee spoke to him, played a bad shot on the pink, but in the end it paid off and that's what counts and he could well go on and win the tournament. As someone mentioned before, he has been fortunate in that he has avoided the so called big names in the last two tournaments. This time, it may be different. He has a slightly resurgent Williams next. If he does get through that, maybe Maguire and then perhaps Selby,

[Matt_2745]

Nonsense performance from O'Sullivan really, shame that Joe couldn't make him pay I think. He'll probably go on to win the whole thing now which would be pretty typical.

If he wins it by playing great snooker then fair enough but when people let him win titles playing like he has at times recently then for me that's not a good thing.

[In-off]

I'm glad Ronnie at least potted the black at the end because it looked for a moment as if he didn't want to win

I don't like him in that mood - you feel it's a bit childish

[Ellena]

I'm glad Ronnie at least potted the black at the end because it looked for a moment as if he didn't want to win

I don't like him in that mood - you feel it's a bit childish

Well imo..Ronnies mood was ok till he got that warning... Or was the way he was playing that got to him...In the second half hes been different.. frustrated, ipatient..Anyway..i disagree fortune was the only reason he won the match.
And id like to ask MAl what "big names " he had in mind ?! Cause these days , names like carter, HArold, Perry seem to play way better and be more consistent than any of the "big names" that go out after the first round..

[noel]

At some point all great sports figures become truly great when they evolve past just excellence in their field... they become showmen.
Think, for instance, Ali (not the snooker player). He could literally beat any of his contenders hands down.
It became a matter of how he would win.
I got a tiny glimmer of that today with ROS... a rather ho-hum match until at the last moment in a black ball game & match point he pots pink sloppily blowing shape (how rare is that?) 2" behind black on the spot. He simply lines up as if there was no doubt about it and slaps the ball into the far left corner just like that.

[ cue: wild applause ]

=o)


PS. O'Sullivan needs better competition to make him shine.

Noel

[Black_cat]

So the warning was definitely for swearing or some rude gesture? Because if so, well done, mr. ref!
If it was for something else then hm...

[dannyd0g]

i noticed ronnie make a ****** gesture when he ran out of position and left himself unable to continue a break early on in the first or second frame. It seems he was a bit "off" even back then, but the ref didnt seem to notice that.

Annoying commenatator award goes to Dave Hendon for stupidly rabbiting on "i wonder what the ref is saying...." when if he'd actually shut up we could have heard him !!

Well done Joe Johnson for telling him to shut up and listen !!

[Mal]

And id like to ask MAl what "big names " he had in mind ?! Cause these days , names like carter, HArold, Perry seem to play way better and be more consistent than any of the "big names" that go out after the first round..

Please note, I put 'so called' before big names. I agree the likes of Higgins, Williams are not playing well. Maguire is a big name in the current climate, as are Murphy and Selby. Murphy has started the season poorly, but was provisionally in world's top 2. These are the players are would be anticipating to give Ronnie a game and certainly wouldn't let chances go begging like have been. The old adage of form is temporary and class is permanent.

Having said that, perhaps playing against one of the 'so called' big names would bring out the best of Ronnie (Undoubtedly, he played his best snooker of the WC in last session against Mark Williams and throughout the match against Hendry and even in NI trophy, his best was in coming back against Doherty) as I think part of the reason for him not playing his best in the last two tournaments but still winning, is he is not being challenged and this is frustrating him. Perhaps he is subconsciously (or not) trying to make the match more interesting. I can relate to this, as if playing a long game and being a few frames in front, I get bored, or if I think it is going to be easy, I often slip a few frames behind and then I become more motivated. This isn't intentional, but with Ronnie, it almost appears to be so!!

Just seen Noel's comment - Ronnie needs better competition to make him shine - I quite agree and I think he will play better tomorrow, but Perry should have won today (and would of if he had played to his normal standard)

[Robert602]

And id like to ask MAl what "big names " he had in mind ?! Cause these days , names like carter, HArold, Perry seem to play way better and be more consistent than any of the "big names" that go out after the first round..

Harold's tough and in good form but it'd be a big shock if he won a title these days. Perry and Carter are doing well but still only have two ranking finals and a single career victory over Ronnie between them, and they're not exactly young.

I'd say the 'big names' are the ones at the top of the rankings, the proven winners, the ones who continue to be among the pre tournament favourites. That's still Selby, Maguire, Higgins, Murphy. Yes they've been unspectacular lately and that's certainly no fault of Ronnie's but one or more of them will inevitably hit form at some point.

Ronnie's great to watch and part of me would be happy to see him lift every trophy this season, but I also want to see his biggest potential rivals really making a game of it.

[Monique]

Is it just me or ...
I have the feeling none of them is quite near their best except maybe Steve Davis and Ricky Walden ...
To be honest I haven't watched Selby or Day. But Maguire wasn't great yesterday, it was Hawkins who was really out of sorts. Higgins wan't good at all and I'm not surprised he lost day. Williams played decent but against a more cautious player I wonder if he would have won. ROS is not at his best ... just reasonably patient and building on his opponents mistakes. And I could go on.

I wonder if they are still jet-lagged or if the conditions are different from what they are used to or if they have too many commercial/promotional activities around the matches ... or a bit of all of that!

[Fuu]

Is it just me or ...
I have the feeling none of them is quite near their best except maybe Steve Davis and Ricky Walden ...
To be honest I haven't watched Selby or Day. But Maguire wasn't great yesterday, it was Hawkins who was really out of sorts. Higgins wan't good at all and I'm not surprised he lost day. Williams played decent but against a more cautious player I wonder if he would have won. ROS is not at his best ... just reasonably patient and building on his opponents mistakes. And I could go on.

I wonder if they are still jet-lagged or if the conditions are different from what they are used to or if they have too many commercial/promotional activities around the matches ... or a bit of all of that!

well I agree on Maguire and the likes, but also watched Day and Selby and have to say, they are good. Selby did defnitely take advantage of Kings weaknesses today, but nonetheless he send him off in 80 minutes. He builds solid breaks, he plays faster and in my opinion more secure than last season, his work on his cue action definitely seems to pay off, which also showed in the PL.

For Day, whom I saw playing only yesterday: he was playing extremely solid, maybe not briliant but definitely good to very good snooker. He looked confident and he took his chances without leaving much on for his opponent. So I guess the two of them are getting along well.

Then again, I've never experienced that all people whom you know about that they do HAVE a brilliant A-game actually showed it. So maybe it's just normal. Eventhough I wonder myself, whether the promotional stuff that surrounds the tournament might be a bit much, considering that it's on top of jet lag, travel stress and a really packed schedule for the season in general.

[poolqjunkie]

Well, Ding and Fu has been travelling to the UK to compete for a while now, and I have never heard jetlag being a reason when they lost. Well, some rude comment from the viewers did get to Ding once, but that was about it. Other than that, they do their best to adjust to playing in a foreign country. I think as a professional, you need to be able to do that.

[Fuu]

Well, Ding and Fu has been travelling to the UK to compete for a while now, and I have never heard jetlag being a reason when they lost. Well, some rude comment from the viewers did get to Ding once, but that was about it. Other than that, they do their best to adjust to playing in a foreign country. I think as a professional, you need to be able to do that.

absolutely second that, but then again Ding and Fu spent probably longer time in the UK than the other way round, thus having more time to adjust. But that's only assumption.

Generally you are right, still at times jetlag can be better or worse, sometimes it affects you harder than others, depending on your general physical and mental shape I guess.

[Monique]

That is not necesarily under your control. They are pros but they are human also. And at their level even a moderate jetlag will make a difference. During the season Ding is living in Sheffield, he doesn't travel. I'm not sre about Fu.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for excuses. I'm just wondering at the average level in this tournament and the possible reasons.

[Fuu]

I know what you mean.
But is the average level so much worse? I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been watching the "wrong" matches, but to me it doesn't seem to make so much of a difference compared to other tournaments I've seen.
Could be wrong there, though.