The Hendry - O'Sullivan match!

[Caroline]

Thanks Rich for the valuable report

[Nina]

I have read a lot about the incident since last night.

Some said that Ronnie acted like a spoilt child who cannot take defeat at a game. To be honest, when I first saw Ronnie years ago that was the impression I got too, a spoilt brat - which is the main reason I have never been a fan even though I recognise his brilliance on the game. But when I found out he suffers from depression I changed my mind. His emotions, and therefore his reactions, are beyond his control sometimes, despite the treatment.

Of course I am not going to sit here and claim this was not one of the worst displays of unprofessional behaviour I have ever seen. It went against all sports ethics. If it had been anyone else in his place I would say he ought to be punished (even though he didn't break any rule) but not Ronnie, no. I am sure he is beating himself up over this now (which doesn't do any good anyway), he is the harshest judge of himself - as ingenious people often are.

Most people said he showed disrespect for the spectators. I am afraid the audience was the last thing on him mind at that moment. Of course he realized afterwards, when he was told, that's why he apologised.
I think Ronnie's fans who went to see him should have realised by now what he is like, he has these amazing highs but also terrible downs (typical of depression), and buying tickets for one of his matches is a roll of a dice really, so forgive me if I say I find the requests for a refund a little far fetched.

I was pleasantly surprised to read he went to see Hendry and wish him all the best before leaving. It shows he is a good person. And I was pleased with Hendry's reaction to the whole incident too, this is the attitude I expected of him.

I have been thinking, maybe that one year break Ronnie was talking about last season is what he needs. Perhaps keeping him from taking time off was not the best for him. After all he may be a professional player, but he is also a troubled person - that primarily I would think...

[Ginger Freak]

I have a lot of sympathy for Ronnie as a person, having spent the last few years supporting a friend through a similar problem. I can understand what he might be going through.

However I have no sympathy for him as a player. If he commits to a tournament he should see it through, otherwise he should not be there in the first place. It short changes the fans and the organisers, and shows didrespect to his opponents.

If I was to tell work that I could decide to b#gger off home at any point because I didnt feel like being there (legitimate reasons or not) I would be told to go take a hike!

[PAULCS]

I was also at the match and there was no sign at all that something was going to happen. The only slightly strange thing was when Ronnie's name was announced before the game, he took ages to appear so maybe he was having second thoughts then....

Even when Hendry was dominating though Ronnie remained very disciplined and played on when needing a snooker in the 4th frame. I certainly don't believe all these 'can't take losing' comments at all as if that was the case, surely he would have quit at 0-4 rather than win a frame and then go 24-0 up in the next. Yes, Ronnie left Hendry in when he missed that final shot but he would have been no certainty to clear up.

I've seen him get far worse hammerings -

Lost all 8 frames of a session v Higgins - World Champs
Lost all 8 frames of a session v Dott - World Champs
Lost 5-0 v Wattana - China Open
Lost 5-0 v Dott - Malta

And of course, there was the 'infamous' Ebdon match but each time he battled on so I just don't know what has gone on here.....

Despite buying a ticket for the afternoon/evening (£24), I never at any stage felt angry as I was just stunned. Luckily Dott appears to have speeded up so I quite enjoyed watching him in the end but I'd looked forward to Hendry v O'Sullivan so much so it was just a big disappointment.

Maybe the real reasons will come out in the end and any interviews that Ronnie does at the Masters (if he plays of course ) will be very interesting as he is certain to get a grilling. Having said all of this, I'm just a big Ronnie fan at the end of the day so I hope that he is feeling better already and that he gets back to his best very soon.....

[DeadQueen]

Good post Paul

[PAULCS]

Thanks DeadQueen

[rich45]

Thanks DeadQueen

Yeah spot on Paul...he did take an age to come out at the start didn't he? And he was rubbing his face as if he'd only just woken up! But after that there were no clues, although the mid-session interval did seem a bit longer than usual but maybe that's got nothing to do with it...

[PAULCS]

And then he tripped over the cameraman and went to Hendry's chair but maybe we are just clutching at straws now!!

More interesting was John Parrott's comment straight after when he said that he had spoken to 2 people before the match (1 a current player) and they both said that 'something's up with Ronnie today, something's wrong.'

I know that depression is an illness that you never 100% recover from but it's particularly disappointing when Paul Hunter played for a full season in serious pain/discomfort yet Ronnie quits here cos he's fed up.

[rich45]

And then he tripped over the cameraman and went to Hendry's chair but maybe we are just clutching at straws now!!

More interesting was John Parrott's comment straight after when he said that he had spoken to 2 people before the match (1 a current player) and they both said that 'something's up with Ronnie today, something's wrong.'

I know that depression is an illness that you never 100% recover from but it's particularly disappointing when Paul Hunter played for a full season in serious pain/discomfort yet Ronnie quits here cos he's fed up.

Looking back, Ronnie actually did me a favour as I was able to work in the evening and take tonight off instead, meaning that I got to watch the brilliant Ebdon-Higgins match! So thanks for that Ronnie!

[The Statman]

And then he tripped over the cameraman and went to Hendry's chair but maybe we are just clutching at straws now!!

To be fair, I think the walking to the wrong chair malarkey was just a lapse in concentration.

The vast majority of his opponents are ranked lower than him so it would be an automatic reaction to go to the higher ranked player's (yellow side) seat.

[Stormwatch]

I think we just have to accept geniuses with their flaws...
Ronnie has given so much to the sport.Much like Alex Higgins (lots of behaviour problems but how poorer would snooker be without him).
I just didn't like Dott's "mediacal depressed" (I dont think he should comment on someone else's health issues even if they are publicly known) and "feel sorry for the people" comments (he just has to admitt that he is not gonna be half as popular as Ronnie is)

[Nina]

It all depends on the flaws I would say... I don't like giving someone the feeling that he can get away with murder just because they have a special talent at something. Don't get me wrong, I am not accusing Ronnie of having done something horrific. He has however done wrong and he has already admitted it himself.

There is one thing I read today that made me angry. When a fine was suggested as punishment for an other incident in the past, Ronnie's response apparently was "so, fine me, I'm rich"! It makes me mad that he may think he can do anything and get away with it. I was fast to make excuses for him when he conceded the quarterfinal, but this is a different story and I don't see why such a character flaw should be overlooked or forgiven.

[austrian_girl]

More interesting was John Parrott's comment straight after when he said that he had spoken to 2 people before the match (1 a current player) and they both said that 'something's up with Ronnie today, something's wrong.'

When did he say that?

[snookersfun]

it's in the interview on here

[viv]

Everyone is wrong on this one

The only cracker it turned out to me was Ronnie going crackers he should be banned from snooker for the rest of the season