Welsh Open 2009 - Discussion

[Forman]

What's so bad about that?

It means jimmys match wont be shown on tv

[bongo]

It means jimmys match wont be shown on tv

Now that's a real shame. It will be interesting to hear Snooker Scene's opinions on that. My first thoughts...the idiots that decide which matches are on TV should be sacked.

[dannyd0g]

Now that's a real shame. It will be interesting to hear Snooker Scene's opinions on that. My first thoughts...the idiots that decide which matches are on TV should be sacked.

I would guess 90 % of snooker fans would prefer to see Jimmy's match. (No offence to Selby but we get to see him all the time.)

Sadly, it seems the TV chiefs are not snooker fans so they dont appreciate things like that

[Odrl]

It's time for some live snooker again. Not one of my favourite events, but snooker is snooker. I'm interested to see if the WSA were lying when they said the tickets were "selling rapidly" as it's been poorly attended in recent years. But perhaps things are a bit better this year. I think there's more people on this forum alone, that said they were going this year, than I've seen on TV last year in the early stages.

Anyway, let's have a little preview for the on table prospects of the tournament:

Quarter 1:

Selby v. Davies
Perry v. Williams/Gilbert
Ebdon v. Hamilton
Day v. Judge

From the first two pairs, Selby, Perry and Williams are the serious contenders. I would love to see another Selby-Williams encounter, I thought their match in the UK was excellent. Realistically, in a best of 9, Mark Selby is the most solid, so I expect him to get through.

From the other two pairs, Day is by far the favourite considering Ebdon's form. This is not Day's best tournament traditionally though, his best results have been in overseas events. Ebdon needs some good results and this is in my opinion a reasonable chance. Could also be one of the outsiders, but realistically, it's Ryan Day.

Quarter 2:

Carter v. White
Dott v. Dunn
King v. Harold
Murphy v. Pinches

Carter has been very solid against the lower ranked players for about two seasons now. I can see him getting through to at least the QF. Graeme Dott seems to be close to reasonable form again, and at his best, I consider him a better player than Carter, but it's doubtful whether he plays his best.

Shaun Murphy is a big favourite for the other QF spot. He can't avoid a solid player in the 2nd round, but he hasn't really shown any sort of weakness against that type of player in the past. I'd be surprised if Murphy doesn't get through here.

Quarter 3:

Maguire v. Preece
Ding v. Stevens/Hicks
Allen v. Swail
Hendry v. Gould

The first two pairs feature Maguire, Ding and Stevens. This one is tough to call, it just might be the type of draw that suits Stevens. Ding has played consistently decent snooker in the early rounds recently, maybe he could get through, as I don't think he has any negative history with either Maguire or Stevens. Or am I complicating things too much and Maguire gets through easily?

Allen, Swail or Hendry? I think it's going too be Allen-Hendry in the 2nd round. Perhaps Allen is favourite at this moment in time, but you never know, Hendry has a habit of playing well when he's the underdog.

Quarter 4:

Higgins v. Dale/Liang
Robertson v. Burnett
Fu v. O'Brien
O'Sullivan v. Davis

This quarter is quite nasty actually. In the first two pairs alone, there are four reasonable contenders. Higgins hasn't lost early for quite some time now, maybe it's time for one of his disappointing tournaments. If he meets Liang though, he should get through, he trashed him in the NIT and I don't think Liang is a different player now. If Higgins is not on his game, I'm sure Robertson will be. He seems to be back, and this is just the kind of event he could win. I'd say Neil Robertson for the QF spot.

Ronnie O'Sullivan must be favourite for the other spot. He could easily be knocked out though. He is the winner of the previous event which is traditionally not good. He is also likely to meet his bogey player in Fu, or at least O'Brien, whom he lost to the last time they played.

Possible QF pairings:

Mark Selby v. Ryan Day
Ali Carter v. Shaun Murphy
Stephen Maguire v. Mark Allen
Neil Robertson v. Ronnie O'Sullivan

Looking forward to it.

[João]

It must be because Paul Davies is Welsh.

But you never know when it's going to be Jimmy's last appearance in the TV stages, this would have been an awesome time to broadcast it.

[dannyd0g]

It must be because Paul Davies is Welsh.

Mostly because Selby is defending champion.

Good preview Odrl. A couple of things i would debate.....Murphy's section. Pinches seems to have been playing very well in the qualifiers. If he can maintain that form he could cause an upset. Murphy seems to have been unexpectedly loosing a lot of first round matches this season if i remember correctly.

Also if Ronnie has to play Fergal: This time he would know how well Fergal can play. And so would respect him more, and also be out for revenge. I would be amazed if Fergal was to beat Ronnie again. He's unlikeley to hit the form of his life again, which is what he would need to.

[Forman]

I would guess 90 % of snooker fans would prefer to see Jimmy's match. (No offence to Selby but we get to see him all the time.)

Sadly, it seems the TV chiefs are not snooker fans so they dont appreciate things like that

i dont get it either, surely the goal is to show the match which would get the most people watching? if that is the case it seems like a no brainer to put jimmy vs carter match on

[bobbond]

looks like jimmys going to have to win his match then to get on tv!

[attilahun]

looks like jimmys going to have to win his match then to get on tv!

A MAN'S GOT TO DO WHAT A MAN'S GOT TO DO......

[the_Crippler09]

looks like jimmys going to have to win his match then to get on tv!

what an absolute disgrace!!! who on earth makes these decisions??
i hope jimmy is at least playin on the other table where cameras are rolling, but whoever made the decision to show selby v nobody over jimmy white v ali carter shud be shot to death with a ball of their own chit!!

[spike]

A little harsh crippler09 but i share your frustration.

[the_Crippler09]

A little harsh crippler09 but i share your frustration.

I couldnt possibly post what i really think of these morons...else i would be banned from the forum but it really is bewildering

[Billyboy]

This not on BBC? I will check ATDHE tomoz for it.

[Billyboy]

Where are you lot watching it?

[JiangYu]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the decision is wrong but rather right? Selby is the champion and I'm sorry Jimmy (big fan of yours) but if you worked at your game a long time ago, you would be a frequent on TV Coverage. No disrespect to Jimmy who I love but I'm sure he would agree with me.
A lot of you guys should be fair to the Champion himself rather than substitute his right, as Champion to get TV coverage, with your own personal prejudices. If Selby loses his crown first round, in hindsight, it would be awful had the match not been shown live.

It's fair for Selby and even though I'd rather see Jimmy play it's not my Crown that I'm defending nor is it the latter's. You know I'm right on this one and I know, I know, I hate being right too