Ronnie O Sullivan - Ali Carter - final

[Rane]

I´m quite surprised that this thread hasn´t been started yet.

I hold O´Sullivan as favourit, but I think it will be closer than last time. My guess 18 - 14 or 18 - 15.

[FerruleFox]

Carter looks like he'll be much more competitive this time but hard to imagine him beating Ronnie over such a long match. Their B and C games just don't compare.

[Ronnie's tip]

Carter is in better form IMO - he's had a harder draw and the pressure is on Ronnie. First session is huge. If Carter wins it, I think he'll win the match.

[FOXMULDER]

Carter is in better form IMO .

huh?? I think we've been watching different tournaments.

Anyway... the problem for Carter will be the pressure that will definitely come if he gets a nice lead. He will be thinking along the lines of .... "I've got a real chance of becoming a World Champion... This is really happening.... How is this happening>..**** arghhhhh ".....

Ronnie will win.

[Table_of_Reds]

Carter is in better form IMO - he's had a harder draw and the pressure is on Ronnie. First session is huge. If Carter wins it, I think he'll win the match.

Why do you even bother supporting O'Sullivan? Every single post you make you're saying how it's all going to be doom and gloom for him, and how much better his opponent is and how he's likely to lose. Support someone you have some sort of faith in, then you might actually get some enjoyment out of watching them play. This MIGHT be the last time you ever get to see your favourite player play, so you may as well try and enjoy it rather than being doom and gloom before the match has even started.

Also - Ebdon (ex-world champion, still a ranking event winner), Williams (ditto, also world number 2), Robertson (ex-world champ, regular event winner, one of the top players in the world), Matthews (two time finalist, ranking event winner, back in form) > M. Davis (journeyman nobody), Trump, Jones (flash in the pan youngish player who beat Higginson and a very off-form Smurphy but has done little else of note in his career) and Maguire.

Hard run for both, but O'Sullivan's was much harder.

[tawaterski]

Think Ronnie will crush the boy around 18-5 or 18-6.

[The Rook]

"If" Carter plays as well and as cannily in the final as his previous matches, then there is absolutely no chance O'Sullivan will annihilate him.

I've never seen Carter look so measured in his approach prior to this tournament and his standard has been consistently very high, so I hold a shred of optimism for him in the final – although O'Sullivan is clearly the favourite.

[grimreaper]

Carter 18- 15

[stylishkidsintheriot]

I'd call it Ronnie to win, 18-10. I've watched all of Ronnie's matches and only caught a few sessions of Ali's, wasn't impressed enough by his game this tournament that I think it'll be enough to beat Ronnie's excellent current form.

[Buda]

For the first time I'm not sure about Ronnie, he's playing much slower and safer which is not his style but if I have to guess the champ and score than it would be Ronnie 18-16.

[maxz]

I believe ronnie will win 18-10. Cant really see Ali winning this. normally ronnie lost his wsc matches are best of 17 or best of 25. i cant really see anyone can match his current form in best of 35 frames.most of his winning frames he does it in 1 visit.He dont really miss in like 5 to 6 frames consecutive and he got good defensive play and high percentage long pots. so NO WORRY!! its in his bag WSC 2012 CHAMPION.

[luke147]

Ronnie O´Sullivan - Ali Carter - final

Think ronnie will win this 18-13 but if carter can punish ronnie for the mistakes he makes he might have a chance in this match.

[LittleMissAlexa]

ronnie 18-12 Ali is ronnies walking wicket to use a cricket term

[Masterdoctorgenius]

i am quite excited

first session is very important, ronnie has to be with his patience, saftey and potting spot on

6-2 lead would be a nice lead to have

will it play in ronnies mind that he never lost a final and to ali. Will this add pressure (there is always pressure in a world final) or give him confidence ?

ali will approach with the same attitude like he did against maguire and judd, nothing to lose which could make him dangerous

[Odrl]

So, the nightmare final is here...

Well, nightmare before the tournament begun, but I'm slightly more optimistic about it now. I've been very impressed by Carter, especially in his last match against Maguire. I kept waiting for Maguire to close to gap and take control of the match. He had his chances and wasted most of them, but he was always up against it, because Carter's standard never dropped. Carter has very rarely missed in the balls in this tournament, not that it's all been one-visit stuff, but most of the time he has kept it tight, not taking major risks. He has never beaten O'Sullivan in a proper match, but I think this is probably the closest they have ever been. They are close in the rankings, close in what they have achieved over the last two seasons, both having their ups and downs, and close in the standard they've produced. Of course that doesn't mean they are equally close to what they are capable of, I think O'Sullivan is more likely of the two to play on this week's form consistently. Also, Carter is probably playing the most measured and methodical game of his career, so in a way he is closest to playing a game O'Sullivan struggles against.

The first thing for Carter to overcome in this final is his fear of O'Sullivan, in my opinion. If he ****s his pants again, like he did in 2008, the final will probably be over in the second session. I think with Ebdon's influence this week, he looks so composed, so determined, that there is less danger of that happening. The pressure is also slightly off, as he knows everyone expects him to lose. This could work in his favour, as long as he is still hungry for the title, and not just satisfied with reaching the final.

What can I possibly say about Ronnie O'Sullivan? I could go on and on about his weaknesses again, but to be honest, I think they were tested the most against Robertson. It went close, 13-10, but not close enough. So unless there was an even better player, in even better form than Robertson, O'Sullivan was always going to be the favourite here. We've seen no nonsense from him whatsoever this week. He has looked extremely mature, very concentrated and determined, and he has shown enough form to back it up. I think he is playing his best game since 2008. His long potting is back to a very good level, and his scoring is still very clinical. When he refuses to be unsettled, which has been the case in this tournament, his opponents are always in danger of losing a couple of frames in a row in no time. And they all did. On the other hand, O'Sullivan never went through a particularly bad patch, even though some players did match him for a while. Can Carter?

I think the biggest danger O'Sullivan faces here is possibly the pressure. The pressure of being such a favourite, expected to win comfortably. He knows that should he lose, some people will overreact and start calling it "the greatest shock in history", and no one wants to deal with that sort of thing. He was slightly under the radar at the start of the event, a lot of people concentrating on Trump and other contenders. Well, that luxury is gone. All eyes are on him now, and he has to do the business. He has done it in every match so far, so one more and he is the champion.

I think Carter will stick with him in the early part of the match, probably resisting O'Sullivan's good run of frames better than any of his previous opponents. But it will be tough to beat him, O'Sullivan to win 18-15.


BTW, this seems to be one of those threads that sometimes shows as "not accessible". Perhaps it's the "´" in "O´Sullivan", so if someone could rename it, that would be great.