Ronnie O Sullivan v Neil Robertson - Quarter Final

[montoya10]

Robertson is Peter Ebdon with hair these days. Methodical, relies on long potting, takes his time for shots, doesn't care if balls go to awkward places and in fact, tries to keep the balls closed. Even so, I don't expect his determination level to reach the great heights of Ebdon's 2002 run. It's too much for him, perhaps.

Ronnie's long potting has been the best amongst all players in this tournament. He didn't quite pull out Trump-esque outreageous ones, but he nearly didn't miss a ball that you could call a half chance. MJW plays the game at a tempo quite close to Ronnie, so, he's kind of player taking the match into Ronnie's background. He'd only stay with Ronnie had he played his best and he didn't. Robertson will never do this and I'll not be surprised at all if we see the black tied up at early stages of the frame. Selby tends to do this when he's playing against Ronnie and this is quite a frustrating approach for him, a displeasure he doesn't even need to hide with his body language.

I'm still sticking to my pre-tournament prediction and call Stephen Maguire to win it all at this point. Maguire certainly wouldn't fancy facing a nemesis in the final, but then again, I'm not sure if it's the same kind of match if they play a four-session game. Still, I guess it's going to be a Maguire-Robertson final (Stevens to pull something out of bag? He scored excellently in his first two matches and will probably put aside Day. Not sure what he can do against Robertson, but writing him off will be a big, big mistake), with Maguire getting the title.

This prediction kind of forces my hand to go with Robertson in this match. 13-11 is my prediction and there could be a maximum, perhaps? Wishful thinking. A bit

[cueman]

Another great match that would have made a better final. Its a tough draw for both players and I just wonder whether the winner will have enough left in the tank for a semi and final. I don't think its a certainty that the winner of this will win the tournament. Obviously the other half of the draw is a little easier in that respect.

Much as I want Ronnie to win I think Robertson has the game to upset Ronnie's rythmn. We'll see plenty of Robertson walking around the table and doing his usual table ownership and it does affect his opponents. Ronnie will need to stamp his authority on this game in the first session if he's to stand any chance of winning.

[the montrealer]

Tomorrow afternoon session.

HI at what time is the match between Osullivan and Robertson British Time would that be 3 pm British time maybe someone knoiws. I do not want to miiss this match which will be shown live on the Internet



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[Ronnie's tip]

Fancy a 13-10 Robertson win here. It will be like last years QF between ROS and Higgins.

[FerruleFox]

Tomorrow afternoon session.

[DamienB]

what is the time and date for this match?

[Guy3103]

I don't really think, I just shoot out what I actually want to happen... Ronnie wins 13-10!

[Odrl]

Ah yes, this is the match I'm most looking forward to, and if Maguire wasn't still in the tournament, I think this match would have decided the championship.

There is no doubt Ronnie O'Sullivan has played some of the best snooker of the tournament so far, particularly in the second session against Williams. His scoring has been very efficient, he has won a lot of frames in one visit, some where he has had to develop the balls from nothing. His long potting percentage has also been excellent, not only has it not been a weakness in his game, it's actually been a great strength so far. We also haven't seen any nonsense from him yet, which was kind of expected against Williams, but he held it together against Ebdon as well. He looks to be very focused on winning the title here, and this match is perhaps his biggest obstacle...

Neil Robertson has been very good as well, two comfortable wins against players who were playing well themselves. I thought Gilbert was quite unlucky to have found himself in this particular part of the draw, because he was playing well enough to go further in the tournament. But every time he put any pressure on Robertson, Robertson responded brilliantly, with clinical snooker when in the balls. He may not be quite as creative as O'Sullivan in developing good scoring positions, but he is doing enough to win a lot of frames in one visit. Compared to Williams, I think he could be a much tougher opponent for O'Sullivan. First of all, he is clearly in better form, so any tricky balls that Williams was missing will probably be going in with a higher percentage for Robertson. He also won't play to O'Sullivan's strengths, so I'm sure he will opt for safeties on shots that could leave O'Sullivan in with an easy chance.

I think the rhythm of this match could also be quite different to O'Sullivan-Williams. Robertson certainly has quite a studious approach these days, taking his time on any crucial or tricky shots. I reckon he will make sure to do it if he senses O'Sullivan is getting anxious as well. Robertson also doesn't have any psychological disadvantage against O'Sullivan. They've played a number of big matches in recent seasons, although perhaps none as big as this one. Robertson won a couple of quarter-finals in the 06/07 season, then lost to O'Sullivan in the 2nd round of the 2007 WC, their only three-session match so far. O'Sullivan also beat him in the Masters in 2010, a match in which Robertson threw everything he had at O'Sullivan, getting to a 3-0 lead, before O'Sullivan played some top-notch snooker to prevail 6-4. Then there was the 2010 World Open final, a convincing win for Robertson. I can't think of any others, at least not major ones... So no particular edge either way, something that O'Sullivan will miss perhaps, because he is great at exploiting any psychological edge.

So, for O'Sullivan to win this match, the key will be keeping his discipline, resisting any frustration over the three sessions. He will also be looking to put some early pressure on Robertson, taking a couple of frames in one visit, letting Robertson know that any mistake will be punished heavily. And if he can keep his potting from distance on the same level as against Williams, he will be very hard to stop. Robertson of course needs to keep it tight and not let O'Sullivan in the balls too many times. He is not so dependent on rhythm when scoring, so a more fragmented match should be to his advantage. He needs to try to dominate the safety exchanges, either forcing O'Sullivan to make mistakes, or get in first with a high percentage from distance.

This pairing reminds me of 2010, when O'Sullivan faced Selby after a tremendous performance against Williams. He dominated the match early on, getting a good lead with some magical snooker, but then somewhat fell apart as Selby was grinding his way back into the match. I don't expect this match to go quite the same way, because Robertson is known to dominate matches when he is playing well, he doesn't really go behind. I can see it being fairly close in the first two sessions, a frame or two either way, but when the pressure really comes on in the big finale, Robertson has to be favourite. I reckon he will prevail 13-10.

[montoya10]

O´sullivan is quoted for this sentence tonight "I think whoever wins this tournament will have to beat Neil Robertson" I guess it means that O´Sullivan expects the winner of his match with Robertson to get to the final. I think I´ll back up on his opinion.

Logical interpretation:

"If I beat Robertson, you're done for. I'll get the title."
"If Robertson beats me and then the winner of Day v Stevens, he's in the final, so, he's the man to beat for the title, of course."
"If Robertson beats me and the winner of Day v Stevens knocks him out, the winner of Day v Stevens wins it all."

[Mr O]

Had Robertson at 8/1 before the start. When he lost to Trump in the UK he had a very unlucky shot at 1 frame behind. Potted an extremely hard- what would have been frame ball- and snookered himself. But for that he'd be UK champ aswell as Masters champ, which in today's company is very impressive

[Rane]

O´sullivan is quoted for this sentence tonight "I think whoever wins this tournament will have to beat Neil Robertson" I guess it means that O´Sullivan expects the winner of his match with Robertson to get to the final. I think I´ll back up on his opinion.

[Mr O]

Of the 2 Ronnie is more likely to get a 147 especially if he's a few frames behind and let's his arm go. But when it gets to the nitty gritty he's more likely than Robertson to miss something he shouldn't and his head might go

[checkSide]

There are great players, and then there are genuine genii.

If O'Sullivan plays well he will show a gulf in class that people would never have believed existed.

O'Sullivan 13-9.



Go Ronnie!
Cheers.

[breakman16]

Robertson is too tough and Ronnie won't be at his best. Robertson to win about 13-7...... and then to go on to win the title. He is playing superbly well and nothing tends to faze him. First to 13 Robertson is clear fave for the title now..

wow 13-7!! I'd go for Robertson 13-12, gonna be epic, I think they'll be lots of good safety play too, both will be desparate not to leave the other easy chances! This is what the worlds is all about folks, the best of the best playing over 3 and 4 session matches, I want the winner of this to win the title, unless Hendry gets to the final, then it's the great man all the way!!

[Mr O]

Robertson is too tough and Ronnie won't be at his best. Robertson to win about 13-7...... and then to go on to win the title. He is playing superbly well and nothing tends to faze him. First to 13 Robertson is clear fave for the title now..