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We were all somewhat surprised by the shenanigans of last evening, and there was of course the official line that Ding misunderstood, either by miscounting how many frames O'Sullivan had already won or misunderstanding the length of the match – and of course there were suggestions that this was a cover-up.
Questions were first asked when Ding made a very casual approach to two consecutive shots in the twelfth frame (just before the interval). It was obvious that there was somoe off-table situation that had shaken him somewhat, as had, obviously, O'Sullivan's on-the-table performance.
At the end of that frame, he appeared to be about to concede, either 'early' or on a misunderstanding. This makes the two casual shots a little more understandable if he thought it was the last frame O'Sullivan needed – one is more likely to be resigned to that situation with one's opponent needing just that frame than if he needed one more in addition. (I believe he did have his cue in his hand, which he wouldn't normally do if he was conceding, early or not – so he may simply have been going back to the dressing room to spend the interval there.)
Nevertheless, it has been pointed out, by David Hendon for one, that he was leaving the arena (which indeed he was – he had his cue in his hand so it was not as if he walked that way just because that's where O'Sullivan was), which suggests that he was consciously intending to concede early.
It does seem unlikely on the face of it that he would have been unaware of the length of the match; this was his fourth final and NOT his first best-of-19. But the mind can do funny things in funny situations.
There is also talk that the person in the crowd, who was communicating with, was Chinese, so talk of 'racist' abuse seems unlikely – maybe it was a fellow countryman venting his disappointment that his comrade was about to lose, who knows?
In any case, I wonder what everyone's opinion is – was he about to deliberately concede early or was it a genuine misunderstanding as to the required score?
I don't intend to criticise Ding – he is, after all, not fully snooker-mature (that can only come with exdperience) and was playing in new surroundings, at a new level if you like, and one cannot expect miracles. This is completely different from O'Sullivan's walkout in York, a very experienced competitor who was five frames from defeat – but of course O'Sullivan has other issues. Thinking about it, while O'Sullivan's issues are well documented, maybe Ding has some off-table problems of which we are unaware?
In any case, without criticisms of anyone in particular, what do you think he would have done without O'Sullivan's exceptionally timely, quick-thinking interception (for which he gets a fair amount of thumbs up from me – well actually, I only have two thumbs, of course, but you know what I mean).
Questions were first asked when Ding made a very casual approach to two consecutive shots in the twelfth frame (just before the interval). It was obvious that there was somoe off-table situation that had shaken him somewhat, as had, obviously, O'Sullivan's on-the-table performance.
At the end of that frame, he appeared to be about to concede, either 'early' or on a misunderstanding. This makes the two casual shots a little more understandable if he thought it was the last frame O'Sullivan needed – one is more likely to be resigned to that situation with one's opponent needing just that frame than if he needed one more in addition. (I believe he did have his cue in his hand, which he wouldn't normally do if he was conceding, early or not – so he may simply have been going back to the dressing room to spend the interval there.)
Nevertheless, it has been pointed out, by David Hendon for one, that he was leaving the arena (which indeed he was – he had his cue in his hand so it was not as if he walked that way just because that's where O'Sullivan was), which suggests that he was consciously intending to concede early.
It does seem unlikely on the face of it that he would have been unaware of the length of the match; this was his fourth final and NOT his first best-of-19. But the mind can do funny things in funny situations.
There is also talk that the person in the crowd, who was communicating with, was Chinese, so talk of 'racist' abuse seems unlikely – maybe it was a fellow countryman venting his disappointment that his comrade was about to lose, who knows?
In any case, I wonder what everyone's opinion is – was he about to deliberately concede early or was it a genuine misunderstanding as to the required score?
I don't intend to criticise Ding – he is, after all, not fully snooker-mature (that can only come with exdperience) and was playing in new surroundings, at a new level if you like, and one cannot expect miracles. This is completely different from O'Sullivan's walkout in York, a very experienced competitor who was five frames from defeat – but of course O'Sullivan has other issues. Thinking about it, while O'Sullivan's issues are well documented, maybe Ding has some off-table problems of which we are unaware?
In any case, without criticisms of anyone in particular, what do you think he would have done without O'Sullivan's exceptionally timely, quick-thinking interception (for which he gets a fair amount of thumbs up from me – well actually, I only have two thumbs, of course, but you know what I mean).
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