Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Mark Selby - Discussion

[steedee]

Selby was allways my favourite for the title. but I'm afraid to say I won't be watching any more of this years WC. I wish the remaining players all the best. But I fear barry has a very big job on his hands when I look at the players left. I can see the final being very very boring and played at a low standard. Shoot me down later if I wrong

seems strange you be on a snooker forum when the prospect of watching a final between either carter(former world finalist and provisional number 3) or robertson (4 time ranking event winner and provisional number 4) and selby (two masters titles and worlds finalist) or dott (former world champion and world finalist and probably the form player so far this week) does nothing for you....

i must ask, had Ronnie lost in rd 1 would you have bothered to watch anymore? and which members of snookers elite do you deem good enough entertainment to devote your time to watching?

[The Boss]

I did not enjoy the match

[coulsontom]

have to say, i was supporting ronnie tonight, but he didn't look up for it. selby winning wasn't a formality though, and mark selby did play v well.

[David 06]

seems strange you be on a snooker forum when the prospect of watching a final between either carter(former world finalist and provisional number 3) or robertson (4 time ranking event winner and provisional number 4) and selby (two masters titles and worlds finalist) or dott (former world champion and world finalist and probably the form player so far this week) does nothing for you....

i must ask, had Ronnie lost in rd 1 would you have bothered to watch anymore? and which members of snookers elite do you deem good enough entertainment to devote your time to watching?

I agree the WC is over for exceitment in my eyes, sure any of 4 remaining players could win the title but for me there will be no beta blockers neeeded,
love him or hate him ROS is a star draw with unknown results when he plays. I truly believe that he couln't be bothered tonight because Mark played too good and didn't want to fight for the title. This for me is why he will not go down as one of the top 5 greats in future history. I am a massive ROS fan but he disapoints to often.

[steedee]

if those four players dont excite you, especially robertson, then why follow the sport?

[Luke Hooper]

ali or selby to win then!

all four players are great..

in fact is dott still in? if so dott to win! haha

[ore]

as predicted. its so obvious ronnie wanted to leave, he didn't even bother to aim on most of the shots. obviously very bored by and not very amused at the non-inspirational play of the hated c-man.

The only interesting fact about this match is that Selby made a run of 8-2 by playing with tons of mistakes and much more nervously than his opponent.

Yes Selby probably played his poorest match against Ronnie yet still won convincingly really.

Got a strange feeling about this match, well about the last frames especially, after MSI. It looked like Selby and Ronnie were playing in 2 different matches, or 2 different realities, Selby cared and was licking his lips for every opportunity he got, and worrying when he missed. Ronnie was coming up to the table just to play whatever would maybe go in, not putting too much effort to improve balls in clusters situation, which he normally is interested in. I think it was before the last frame where he played such a safety where it was obvious he will push red over the pocket playing like this, if I could see it in the telly, surely Ronnie would have realized that too. Attempted pots he would not have if he was playing a decider with Williams. And the last frame was not as crazy as in China, but it seemed that anyway Ronnie is leaving the long pots over and over again for Selby just in order to tease him by checking how many visits to the table will that one need to kill off the match finally.

What I don't get is why he would not want 4th WC title.
The only logical reason I can think of is he didn't feel like playing Dott next
And another less logical - he gives the win away to the one who really wants it...

Funny how Monique's report from post-match conference goes in line with my conspiracy theory. Am I going crazy and noone else thinks he just wasn't interested in wining that match? I am not saying he would have surely won if he would have wanted, but it would have looked different. His matches with Higgins look different, even Master's final looked different.

So I lost my faith in Ronnie's interest to win almost completely now. Poor people ever laying any bets on him. Bookies should be obliged to warn anyone placing those about the risk level.

Joining Looki in his depression, Mark J must be mad now.
Anyway, time to move on. Since this match revealed holes in Selby's form (and that might have been not as evident in his previous matches because of different pressure & opposition), is Dott going to be a 2nd time WC? (Time for Mark J to be even more mad?)

[MackenzieRules]

Ronnie has no nerve. He bottles it like a girl. Selby is more a man than Ronnie will ever be.

[FerruleFox]

Well done to selby on another destruction of the so called greatest player ever...(not)

three words



Stephen Gordon Hendry :snooker:

[FerruleFox]

get in there all that remains is ronnie's inevitable post match meltdown

Did the BBC broadcast it? I'd really like to see it.

[FerruleFox]

I saw the end of the match with O'Sullivan conceding the last frame needing only one snooker, while Selby was still at the table. Disappointing.


Perhaps Ronnie would enjoy playing more of the 9ball circuit where there is little culture of sportsmanship? Cuz he's not bigger than snooker and he shouldn't be given a free pass for disrespecting the game every time he loses.

[gavpowell]

There's an audio interview

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...er/8650588.stm

He sounds genuinely in pain, and if he's really in that much tturmoil, I hope either his dad's imminent release helps or that he takes some time off to rediscover his enjoyment.

I've always had the impression he really doesn't like travelling given his dad was arrested while he was away at a tournament and his mum's been away a couple of times. Still, aside from Dott, he looked tio have a relatively straight runt to the final with Higgins and Williams gone.

[minhiub]

To be honest, I am a big fan of ROS. I felt sad, upset every time when he lost an important match, especially to Selby (I never like his attitude, especially when he has any wins to Ronnie). Sometimes, I felt angry because he did not play well or did not try hard to play well and I thought to myself that I would never watch any match of him ever again. However, part of me would try to find a reason to explain for him. And before any tournament, ranking or not, I could not help myself to find out whether he would be a part. Then I continue to support him all the way through the tournament. That happened tournament to tournament. I was in pain when I saw him lost, I was worry when he said that he would retire from the game, I was telling myself that I would quit watching snooker if he would not be a part of the game anymore.

But today, at this very moment, I don't give a **** anymore. I am just tired of his attitude of the game we all love. I don't give the **** about his retirement anymore after I saw a gentleman at 52 years of age, who was once the king of snooker and achieved every and any success in the world of snooker in the last 30 years, but still tried to played with all of his heart and sole and brought us all a fairytale that none of us would imagine in our wildest dream. I don't give a **** about whether he wants to play or not after I saw the desire of winning and the sadness of losing in Steve Davis' eyes. I am just ****ing tired of hearing him repeat that he had lost interest in the game, I am just ****ing ****ing tired of watching him playing a match with no soul and no desire to win. So if you want to quit, Ronnie. I hope you will do as you said for the very first time of your life.

[gavpowell]

That's a very angry form of ambivalence you have there.

[rich45]

To be honest, I am a big fan of ROS. I felt sad, upset every time when he lost an important match, especially to Selby (I never like his attitude, especially when he has any wins to Ronnie). Sometimes, I felt angry because he did not play well or did not try hard to play well and I thought to myself that I would never watch any match of him ever again. However, part of me would try to find a reason to explain for him. And before any tournament, ranking or not, I could not help myself to find out whether he would be a part. Then I continue to support him all the way through the tournament. That happened tournament to tournament. I was in pain when I saw him lost, I was worry when he said that he would retire from the game, I was telling myself that I would quit watching snooker if he would not be a part of the game anymore.

But today, at this very moment, I don't give a **** anymore. I am just tired of his attitude of the game we all love. I don't give the **** about his retirement anymore after I saw a gentleman at 52 years of age, who was once the king of snooker and achieved every and any success in the world of snooker in the last 30 years, but still tried to played with all of his heart and sole and brought us all a fairytale that none of us would imagine in our wildest dream. I don't give a **** about whether he wants to play or not after I saw the desire of winning and the sadness of losing in Steve Davis' eyes. I am just ****ing tired of hearing him repeat that he had lost interest in the game, I am just ****ing ****ing tired of watching him playing a match with no soul and no desire to win. So if you want to quit, Ronnie. I hope you will do as you said for the very first time of your life.

Yeah I agree. i'm a big fan of Ronnie's but I am bored of the same thing happening year after year, and his bad attitude.

I'll be avoiding the Dott v Selby semi like the plague, and I hope the winner comes from the other semi final.