Masters - SF Discussion

[lennon11]

Hmmm, i'm starting to dislike judd and his ego me thinks....

i doubt its only about the flukes,but their general rowdiness and clear delight at judds opponents faliure to make a shot or play a good safety...by all means cheers your guys success(not over the top though...show some respect and decorum) but dont celebrate the other guys faliure.

[Ronnie's tip]

i doubt its only about the flukes,but their general rowdiness and clear delight at judds opponents faliure to make a shot or play a good safety...by all means cheers your guys success(not over the top though...show some respect and decorum) but dont celebrate the other guys faliure.

Agree. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying come on Judd when the other guy misses, but don't cheer it.

[Ronnie's tip]

This is slightly off topic but I think it would be a good idea if the forum had a "twitter thread". Mark Williams is quite opinionated and comes out with some interesting points (for instance he just said that Ronnie's peak would beat Hendry's peak). Guys like Holt, King, Davis, O'Sullivan, Trump, Bingham ect all come out with interesting things aswell so it seems like twitter is becoming more important for snooker players. Others like Doherty, Robertson, Allen ect all have twitter aswell.

Just an idea.

edit:

aplogies for the double post.

[daffie]

Yeah it's something that has been bugging me for some years now. You first saw it with fans of Jimmy White, but mostly only in London. Then with O'Sullivan the same idea, basically everywhere...the famous Masters Final against Ding is a pretty good example. And now with the new teen-sensation Trump. It's like winning is everything, at all cost, and without much respect for either the other player or the game itself. It's very negative and unsportsmanlike conduct imo.

Ronnie did sometimes tell those specific idiot-fans in the audience to shut it or go home...that he didn't need them. I really wish Trump at some point could do that as well, at least to show the snooker world that he doesn't agree with it. That is, if he doesn't...and I really hope that's the case. But up untill now I'm not convinced either way. In interviews he seems rather self-absorbed, but at the same time does give players credit and treat them respectful. So the jury's still out on that one for me personally.

[Ronnie's tip]

The players seem to be ok with eachother (unfortunately, as I think heated rivalries is great for the sport):

Robertson:
Unlucky to Judd who has been on an amazing run of form. The game of snooker is blessed to have him in our sport

Judd:
Good to luck to Neil in the final!!

[zombieman]

The players seem to be ok with eachother (unfortunately, as I think heated rivalries is great for the sport):

Robertson:
Unlucky to Judd who has been on an amazing run of form. The game of snooker is blessed to have him in our sport

Judd:
Good to luck to Neil in the final!!

I can't help but notice a bit of bad blood between the two:

Judd:
He played his normal speed, he's always quite slow. He did what he had to go, and he got in front. He was a little bit boring in the first couple of frames so I lost a bit of interest. If I had played my best game I would have beaten him easily. So I've got myself to blame really. He has done what he can do with his talent. He has won a lot of tournaments, he's worked hard over the years so he's done well. The balls that were going in against Ronnie and Stuart weren't going in for me.

Neil:
I made an 80 odd break in about six minutes so I don't think I tried to slow him down. Look at my average shot time when I'm in the balls. I took my time to think of a good safety shot, when he had me in trouble.
With the amount of balls he takes on, if he is at his best he would probably beat me. If I'm at my best I would like to see what would happen as well. He's on a great run of form but he has been playing snooker since he was six or seven years old, so in theory he has probably been playing longer than me. If I had been playing since six or seven I would like to have achieved more than he has.

[alex_5525]

what did neil say in the interview? cuz there were many people suporting neil there too and his fans were just as noisy as judds. I deffinatly would not agree that any fans of judds would celebrate when his opponents miss.

[alex_5525]

I can't help but notice a bit of bad blood between the two:

Judd:
He played his normal speed, he's always quite slow. He did what he had to go, and he got in front. He was a little bit boring in the first couple of frames so I lost a bit of interest. If I had played my best game I would have beaten him easily. So I've got myself to blame really. He has done what he can do with his talent. He has won a lot of tournaments, he's worked hard over the years so he's done well. The balls that were going in against Ronnie and Stuart weren't going in for me.

Neil:
I made an 80 odd break in about six minutes so I don't think I tried to slow him down. Look at my average shot time when I'm in the balls. I took my time to think of a good safety shot, when he had me in trouble.
With the amount of balls he takes on, if he is at his best he would probably beat me. If I'm at my best I would like to see what would happen as well. He's on a great run of form but he has been playing snooker since he was six or seven years old, so in theory he has probably been playing longer than me. If I had been playing since six or seven I would like to have achieved more than he has.

I think both players speak a fair point here, neil can be very slow, although today he wasnt which was nice to see. And the reason judd lost was because the balls just didnt go in, and maybe took one too many on. pretty ****ty comment about underachievement of judd tho, cuz to be fair judd was won 2 events in the past year.

[Odrl]

Right, moving on to the evening match...

Surely this one will be at least somewhat close? I think Higgins has been the more successful of the two in their recent matches, at least since losing to Murphy at the WC in 2005. But Murphy did win in China last season, and quite convincingly at that. He is the kind of player who, when at his best, doesn't really let an opponent's reputation affect him. He has stood up to pretty much everyone in the game at some point, so he will fancy his chances. I suppose he has probably played the best snooker of the tournament so far, or you could at least say he is one of the few players to string two good matches together. He was pretty quick to stamp his authority on the match against Selby, as well as Gould in the 1st round. He has not really played too many of these big matches recently, at least not as many as some of the players considered his equals. From a tactical point of view, he should be able to stand up to Higgins. He can trade big breaks, as well as compete in a run of scrappy frames, and he is always unlikely to run out of patience. He also doesn't get afraid of winning, and doesn't crack when a couple of frames behind.

Higgins has been solid as well. If it was any other player, you could say he was looking good, but we know Higgins has another gear or two. The Masters is not his favourite tournament, but now that he is in the SF, there is every chance to go all the way. His form rarely declines at the business end of tournaments, in fact, he usually comes good for the final weekend. As his season hasn't been great so far, he is bound to be hungry for success here, so there is little chance he puts in a "casual" performance. From his point of view, he should also fancy taking on Murphy in any type of match. I guess the World final of 2009 would be something to look back to, a match in which he totally outclassed Murphy, particularly in the early-frame safety. I think it could go either way, but my feeling is Higgins could win 6-4ish.

Bring it on!

[trains]

what did neil say in the interview? cuz there were many people suporting neil there too and his fans were just as noisy as judds. I deffinatly would not agree that any fans of judds would celebrate when his opponents miss.

His interview with Hazel Irvine straight after should be on the bbc iplayer if not tonight then tomorrow.

[Ronnie's tip]

Higgins will outclass Murphy IMO. I'm going for a 6-3.

[cally]

I feel it going to be a close one and i kinda fancy murf to win this. he been striking the ball real sweet.

And that coming from me is rare to be saying such things about the smurf.

[Odrl]

Well well, great start from Murphy. I didn't think he would be 2-0 up in 25 minutes.

[Rane]

Agree, I hadn´t seen that coming.

[daffie]

Damn wasn't aware it would be live on Eurosport...was waiting for bbc to start coverage again. Did I miss much?

Higgins 2-0 behind...wow, that's pretty unexpected.