The Welsh Open

[the nugget]

I think a bomb and an ice cream van would of actually put him off, both have the potential to kill him too.

Yeah if he dint eat the icecream van first!

[montoya10]

I just remembered the Pukka Pies UK Championship and the jokes made about the special pie prize

[stephenm2682]

so what is your score verdicts for the semi finals?

i think the ronnie v selby will be close, as i can see ronnie falling asleep during that match.

[FOXMULDER]

Well then, the law of averages has just kicked in hasn't it.

-

Has it? You don't know if it was accidental or deliberate.

However, neither do I - I'll concede that much.

[palukaville]

Has it? You don't know if it was accidental or deliberate.

However, neither do I - I'll concede that much.

I`m sure the Crowd where told to turn their phones off.

[FOXMULDER]

I`m sure the Crowd where told to turn their phones off.

Of course, they always are.

Dozens of hours of snooker played this week and a phone goes off on THAT shot. It's either extremely unlucky or -equally as plausible- deliberate.

Que sera sera. I wanted Ding to win anyway. (But I didn't send the text, I assure you).

[Ronnie's tip]

I don't think it was a Chinese fan who's phone went off. They were all grouped together and Lee looked at the other side of the crowd.

Did ROS say something about Mark Selby? That's a tough one. ROS is in better form and more importantly in a good mood, but Selby always seems to scrape a comeback against him (think he's done it atleast 4 times). The BBC better show the whole match.

O'Sullivan vs Trump didn't even sell out - what's going on?

[MasterBreak147]

If it wasn't the green, it would've been something else.

I agree, Lee didn't look comfortable for some shots feeling the pressure maybe but for me he didn't look like he that that clearance in him.

[Mr Snooker]

I to think it will be close as well. as Ronnie said in is interview
i don't want to play mark Selby i would rather watch the other match, probably will for a sleep as well and I think Shaun will beat Ding as well, but was such a shame for Stephen Lee no ome likes to lose under those circumstances.

[denja]

Of course, they always are.

Dozens of hours of snooker played this week and a phone goes off on THAT shot. It's either extremely unlucky or -equally as plausible- deliberate.

Que sera sera. I wanted Ding to win anyway. (But I didn't send the text, I assure you).

I feel bad for Ding people are always going to say "He would not have won if that phone had not gone off" its a bit like winning on a fluke shot ! ok you have won but that little seed of doubt is there. Although I was watching from the comfort of my arm chair I felt robbed of a otherwise great match.

[Odrl]

Two great prospect today...

First of all, Ding-Murphy, a clash of two very well matched opponents. I suppose Murphy should be favourite, considering their previous meetings. I think Ding generally has more firepower of the two, although I'm not sure if that's the case this week. This is his first semi-final of the season, and he is not usually outclassed in semi-finals, even when he does lose. If he can produce some of his best scoring game, he could outplay Murphy, just as he did at the UK in 2009, where he won 9-3. From Murphy's perspective, he knows he has a slight psychological edge over Ding, having beaten him in most of their previous matches, once even from 8-2 behind. He is the kind of player who digs deep when he goes a couple of frames behind, and Ding is exactly the kind of opponent who is vulnerable against that. Also, Murphy has been playing somewhere near his best in the last three events, so he could well produce some one-visit stuff himself. As I said, they are well matched, so it should be a 6-4 or a 6-5 game.

I have to admit I'm more looking forward to the other game tonight, as O'Sullivan-Selby is one of my favourite pairings these days. O'Sullivan's advantages? Form certainly, he looks to have more firepower than Selby at this point of the season. He also looks determined to go for another title, not showing any signs mental weakness so far this week. He should also be high on confidence, knowing he can still win these major titles. Selby's advantages? As usual, his style of play, which is something that doesn't suit O'Sullivan at all. The rhythm changes, deliberate or not, the prolonged periods of containing safety at the start of frames, the willingness to fight for every ball. He has won a couple of matches against O'Sullivan when he was clearly outplayed early on, but patiently waited for the momentum to switch in his favour. Having said that, those were all session matches, and this is only a best-of-11 decided in a single evening. Still, with the slight psychological edge he holds over O'Sullivan, Selby has a decent chance, even if he doesn't play his best. I would put O'Sullivan as a slight favourite though. A midnight finish perhaps?

[montoya10]

Ding has been far from convincing so far this week, but it's tough to totally write him off. Murphy has been one of the most consistent performers of the season, but he didn't quite get anything out of it, ranking points aside. He hasn't been a top performer on those occasions as well, which isn't a very good indication. He was decent against Allen, and heads into this match as pre-favourite thanks to that solid performance.
But you never know. These days, at times, 'solid' is enough to win at the business end of a tournament, and at times, it is not.
Judging from Ding's perspective, I think Murphy's game suits him well. Okay, he may try to clinch frames through tactical battles, but Murphy is primarily an attacking player that will go for his shots when he finds an opportunity. We've seen in the past that his self-confidence in his supreme long-potting could potentially backfire for him, as it goes for any attacking player, and Ding isn't someone you could expect to win against, if you give him chances to get in and develop the balls.

As for the evening's match, I've already stated last night that this is a match-up I really don't fancy. Selby is not my favourite player to watch thanks to his somewhat ill-wise cueing action. And as far as I love tactical battle, I really don't like it when a player shuts down the black immediately after the break-off and this has been the case for some time in their encounters. I do not think that this is a deliberate action, but rather a direct result of the defensive openings he uses against O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan himself has often commented on Selby to be a dull player and he gets disinterested throughout their matches. This may not be the case tonight, and hopefully won't, as, in that case, O'Sullivan's lack of desire to get past the winning line is making those comebacks a lot less dramatic for me, as I could sense them coming from two or three frames before. Best-of-11 is slightly in favour of O'Sullivan and I expect him to prevail at the end, but this could well go all the way to a final frame and midnight finish (=

[daffie]

I'm afraid that I missed the finale between Ding and Lee. Anyone maybe have a link to watch the part where the phone went off? Edit : nevermind, already found the clip.

I for one have been sometimes rather cynical of a specific time a mobile phone went off...seen it happen quite a few times and I clearly remember it happen when ROS was playing a couple years ago...or rather his opponent was a a critical time at he table. Sometimes the coincidence was just too big to me and I suspected foul-play from some 'supporters'. Anyway...

[Odrl]

Great start for Ding, good match snooker.

[LittleMissAlexa]

i think this tournament will be Ronnie's fifth title of the season yes amazingly for a player struggling hes won 4 titles this season