Ronnie O'Sullivan v Matthew Stevens - Semi Final

[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.

[Dr_Doctor]

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

[missneworleans]

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

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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]

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...

[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.

[FOXMULDER]

Who cares about the standard? Who sets this "standard" anyway??

Personally, I love watching snooker - good, bad, or ugly. Snooker's snooker. It's strange how these days everyone analyses the "quality" of a match by looking at statistics, or how many big breaks are made. For me, every shot of every frame is fascinating regardless.

What the "stats" don't tell you is that this is the Semi Final of the World Championship, in a new one-table set up, increased pressure and a brand new cloth to boot. Important context to understand.

[Ronnie's tip]

Who cares about the standard? Who sets this "standard" anyway??

Personally, I love watching snooker - good, bad, or ugly. Snooker's snooker. It's strange how these days everyone analyses the "quality" of a match by looking at statistics, or how many big breaks are made. For me, every shot of every frame is fascinating regardless.

What the "stats" don't tell you is that this is the Semi Final of the World Championship, in a new one-table set up, increased pressure and a brand new cloth to boot. Important context to understand.

It's the fans of individuals who want standards. I'd have been delighted with an 8-0 drubbing from ROS with Stevens not potting a ball. Any match where I'm a neutral I agree with you though. It adds to the drama.

Can't wait for tommorow - does anyone know what time it's on? Stevens has momentum and ROS is playing poorly, but at the same time you'd expect the run of the ball to change at some point.

[FerruleFox]

I don't mind tight, scrappy matches but it seemed to me there was no energy in the audience in either session.

Hopefully everyone gets into it more tomorrow.

[the montrealer]

Ronnie played bad hower still leads 5 frames to 3 frames. He will pick it up in the second session

Go Ronnie Go