Ronnie O'Sullivan v Matthew Stevens - Semi Final

[stephenm2682]

not a bad result still for ronnie, bit unlucky in all the frames when he went to open the pack, especially in the second mini session, could of won at least 2 or 3 frames, stevens was just throwing his cue at some shots and getting away with it.

hopefully the run will change tomorrow.

[montoya10]

5-3

good for stevens, but not too good

ronnie had a bad session so had he, tomorrow i cant see ronnie playing like this

Realistically speaking, I don't think we will see any of the four semi-finalists playing this bad again.
Hopefully...

[Masterdoctorgenius]

5-3

good for stevens, but not too good

ronnie had a bad session so had he, tomorrow i cant see ronnie playing like this

[montoya10]

We should open up a poll.

Question: What performance was the worst of all?
a) Stephen Maguire, 1st mini-session: High break of 21.
b) Matthew Stevens, 1st mini-session: 73% potting percentage.
c) Ronnie O'Sullivan, 2nd mini-session: Lost the mini-session to an awful Matthew Stevens.

[Ronnie's tip]

Terrible standard.

Have to say that Stevens in that 2nd session had a criminal amount of ball run. Everything seemed to go his way + against Ronnie. It makes the match more competitive though. What time do they start tommorow? Should be good.

[daffie]

Yes, they just looked like they would love to see this day come to an end all day.

Total and utter waste of an evening this for me, I even skipped 2-3 frames and watched a documentary that I taped yesterday. Lackluster performances and I have never enjoyed watching Matthew Stevens. On to tomorrow it is then...good night everyone

[thelongbomber]

stevens is the biggest choker around

look at last years crucible match against allen, led 9-6 or 9-7 and had several chances to kill the match off
not to mention the two crucible finals and other matches, yes, he plays well here, has a good record, but plays not well enough to win the whole thing.

this is why he has only one ranking event to his name

i saw his match against hendry at the Uk final where he was totally outplayed by hendry in the first session, but clawed his way back and won the Uk. I thought back then as he had overcome his mental barrier that he would be a future champ but 2 years later he choked in the WSC final 2005 against a qualfier

when the pressure is on, he rarely delievers against top opposition, against weaker opposition he gets away with it

btw he had the easiest draw u can get (not his fault though) in this Championship, played only qualifiers so far and made quite a lot of mistakes which get unpunished. but he also made some good century breaks.
to have any chance he has to cut down his mistakes.

further, he hasnt won a match against ronnie for years, let alone have been in a semi finale of any tournaments. the pressure will get to him in the end


prediciton: ronnie to prevail with a session to spare

Totally true. No to mention that Mathew also has an imperfect cue action and tends to dip into shots when the pressure is on. I see 17-8 for Ronnie.

[montoya10]

Tough day this one, all look tired...but Stevens and Maguire shouldnt be

Yes, they just looked like they would love to see this day come to an end all day.

[missneworleans]

Tough day this one, all look tired...but Stevens and Maguire shouldnt be

[Dr_Doctor]

C'mon Stevens. You got to win your long overdue world title at some point!

[montoya10]

But this is his 9th session I think, and he's been 'great' in only 2 of them. Not complaining though - too often when ROS plays anything less than his best he gives up.

I don't even count his session against Robertson 'great'. Just the second session against Williams was a lethal one.
Even in his great sessions, he gave his opponents chances, but none of his opponents played solid enough to take their chances when they were presented.
And so far, Stevens hasn't been any different at this job from Ebdon, Williams or Robertson.

[snookerfran]

Stevens has his first frame on the board. Strange frame, a couple of great pots and bad misses...

[ytsejam]

Just how useless are the referee's these days?!!!..TWO balls to reposition a few inches, TV monitor for one to look at and guide the other, YET they still can't put the balls back where they were?!!...What chance would these ref's have had back in the day without TV "stills"?!!

[Ronnie's tip]

Stevens get's the frame. Had a lot of luck though. Game on...

but u dont have to be amazing all the time, just in certain periods, surely no one can expect perfection?

Ronnie does lol.

But this is his 9th session I think, and he's been 'great' in only 2 of them. Not complaining though - too often when ROS plays anything less than his best he gives up.

[Ronnie's tip]

Terrible miss by O'Sullivan. Stevens will feel like topping himself if he doesn't win the frame now. This could be a big frame.