Who will be The 2012 World Snooker Champion?

[montoya10]

My big 4 are O'Sullivan, Higgins, Williams and Murphy.

If only you got Maguire in for Murphy, I'd second this quartet in a heartbeat (=

[Guy3103]

The Last 4 standing for me are Maguire, Trump, O'sullivan, Junhui.

Hard to predict the winner but I would sure love a Trump - O'sullivan final

[montoya10]

And Odrl, you really did take something away from Lee there. He at least deserves to get mentioned as a fringe contender, in my opinion. Perhaps he peaked too early, as you stated. But then again, confidence is generally what gets you through the tough matches in this game, which is sky high in Lee's side at this point : )

[Odrl]

You could be right...

The problem I have with Lee is the fact that his great patch of results has come over a series of medium and short-length events. It's been a while since he last put together a number of wins in a longer event. Even in his prime, he didn't have a great record at the Crucible. He reached one semi-final where he was completely outclassed, and only a couple of quarter-finals. For someone who spent quite a few years in the top8, it's not a spectacular record. On the other hand, he has had his share of heavy defeats in two and three-session matches.

Even this season, the one match he played over two sessions, he lost 10-1. Or take the 2008 Masters final for example, where he was evidently struggling with fatigue, and ended up losing 10-3.

I'm not saying he is incapable of playing well in a long match. He has certainly done so many times, even recently, but combining five of them together in 17 days is a different matter. Once we get to the QF stage, even if Lee is still there, he won't be one of the favourites for me.

[<CuePower>]

The semi-finalists will be Higgins v Trump and O' Sullivan v Ding. Not sure about the finalists but if pushed would go for Trump v Ding.
Luca Brecel to make the quarter-finals also....

[Odrl]

pretty sure the champion will not come from his big 4

Well, that's two down in the 1st round already.

I still have quite a bit of confidence in the other two though, particularly Robertson. At this point in time, I think Maguire looks the most dangerous to spoil things for me. As I said, it's all about damage limitation with him. If he plays well, he will have dominant sessions here and there, as he always does. It's just a question whether he wins his good sessions more convincingly than he loses his bad ones. John Higgins is the man to copy in that regard.

And Higgins could also spoil the party, now that he's scraped past the 1st round. Williams and O'Sullivan don't worry me that much. Williams won't get past O'Sullivan, while O'Sullivan probably won't get past Robertson.

[FOXMULDER]

I still have quite a bit of confidence in the other two though, particularly Robertson.

I expect Gilbert to have a good opening session tomorrow. He must be on cloud nine at the moment, having won five matches already in this tournament, and he's got nothing to lose. I can see Robertson dominating the second session, so Dave will need a good opening 8 frames if he's to stand a chance.

Obviously, Robertson is a strong favourite. But if Dave plays well he'll be dangerous.

[ADR147]

I expect Gilbert to have a good opening session tomorrow. He must be on cloud nine at the moment, having won five matches already in this tournament, and he's got nothing to lose. I can see Robertson dominating the second session, so Dave will need a good opening 8 frames if he's to stand a chance.

Obviously, Robertson is a strong favourite. But if Dave plays well he'll be dangerous.

i would go along with that - robertson not in top gear yet.