2013 Masters discussion

[craig147]

Felt Dott never really recovered after the missed black which would have put him 5-1 up and don't think mark could have won from there, funny old game in the end Dott just lost his composure ,think Robertson will win fairly convincingly in today's final though

[The Rook]

Regardless of the outcome in tomorrow's final – Selby will still be a winner. Mark is the world #1, UK Champion, has wealth, a successful career, and is happily married to a beautiful lady. I'd be surprised if any of his small (but very vocal) army of haters have so much going for them.

I think Shaun Murphy said it best after his 10-6 UK final defeat:

“I don’t know of anyone who’s achieved anything in the game to any great level who’s criticised Mark Selby. All the criticism has been from people who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

(from The Telegraph 10/12/12)

[Valiullin]

Dott said: "It was like living through a nightmare. I'm not having a go at Mark because it's the way he plays, but I was bored to tears. The ways he constructs frames, the balls always go awkward."

Nuff said. "I'm not having a go at Mark", read : "I don't need to cause everybody knows what I mean"

[DandyA]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching it ... certainly one of the best matches I've ever seen ... here's hoping the final later today is just as good ... I suspect it could be

[The Rook]

Dott said: "It was like living through a nightmare. I'm not having a go at Mark because it's the way he plays, but I was bored to tears. The ways he constructs frames, the balls always go awkward."

Nuff said. "I'm not having a go at Mark", read : "I don't need to cause everybody knows what I mean"

If contorting Dott's words (in the aftermath of a bitter defeat) gives you some small feeling of comfort then good for you!

[The Rook]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching it ... certainly one of the best matches I've ever seen ... here's hoping the final later today is just as good ... I suspect it could be

I agree. It was a very close and tense match, far more interesting than any one sided blitz imo.

I have great respect for players who can grind out difficult wins when in poor form. Selby can be a very fluent and consistent break builder when in full flow, but he won't lie down when he's out of rhythm and that's why he's #1. I think he will need to improve to stand a decent chance of beating Robertson tomorrow though!

[mythman69]

It should be great final. Go Robertson!!

I can't wait . . .

[Odrl]

erm... reading here for quite a while. but: is that forum about snooker, or a place ROS-groupies/selby-haters ?

Welcome to the forum. :wink:

Yes, tonight was quite amazing. I don't think I've seen this much hate on the forum since the 2010 WC. We had threads dedicated to people's hate of Mark King and Shaun Murphy on that occasion, and the discussion threads were full of it as well, directed at O'Sullivan and Selby in particular. The final didn't prove too popular either. And all that had nothing to do with the Higgins scandal. :wink:

Interestingly, Dott was left alone that time, even though he reached the final. When I first joined the forum, Dott was probably one of the most hated players on here, criticized almost by default, no matter what he did. It's nice to see that he has now gained an almost universal respect, and people genuinely want to see him do well, although he was mostly supported for the wrong reasons tonight.

Selby seems to be the opposite case... There have always been people who didn't like him, particularly after his successes against O'Sullivan, but I think it's reached a new level now. This week we've had three new members joining with the purpose of expressing their hate for Mark Selby. We all have our favourites, so welcome to you guys as well. :wink:

Personally, I find all of this quite amusing. I'm sure anyone looking through this thread tomorrow will find some of the statements quite bizarre. We had stuff like:

• Selby can't score centuries
• Selby will never be remembered for playing anything special, he doesn't go for any challenging pots, he only plays safety
• Selby is a terrible positional player (would be better if he worked on it rather than boring his opponents)
• Selby plays thin safeties to avoid opening up the reds
• Selby isn't good enough to pot, so he hides behind other balls
• It's embarrassing for the sport that Selby is number one, being so average
• The only way Selby can compete is with disgustingly negative anti snooker
• Selby's game consists of ****ty breaks of 20, cheap snookers and lifeless crowds, among other things
• People don't like snooker because of players like Selby
• Selby is destroying snooker
• Selby is a cancer, you cannot fight him forever

Pick your favourite. :wink: On top of that, we had the usual complaining about Selby's luck. And of course, whenever a frame goes scrappy or the balls go awkward, it's Selby's disgusting plan to bore Dott, while Dott is just an innocent victim of his. :smile:

It's an interesting mindset in a way. I'm sure we all come across people who for some reason just don't get the appeal of snooker. And we pity them, because they're missing out on such a wonderful game. I sometimes look at all the threads about cues and tips and stuff like that on this forum, and I just can't understand how so many people can get so passionate and excited about something that leaves me completely cold. It's the same with some other sports that are referenced on here a lot, such as darts or golf, which I would never watch. Or the stuff that gets shoved down our throats here in Slovenia, alpine skiing all winter, and I just can't imagine anything more boring. I guess that's my loss. And for people who don't see the magic in the way Selby plays snooker, it's their loss.

Someone said earlier that a Robertson-Selby final was not worth watching... Just shows what different tastes we have, as I've been waiting for this one for years. They basically played their first serious ranking match at the UK last month, after years of being at the top of the game, and now these two great champions and two of the best players of their generation finally meet in a major final. The only way to stop me watching it would be to physically remove me from the TV. There is nothing better than that final evening session on Sunday night, to end a great snooker week.

From what we saw tonight, I guess Selby does indeed divide opinions. On one side there are people who enjoy the snooker and show respect for both players, and on the other the people who only watch so they can have a go at Selby. If you plan to do that again tomorrow, at least skip the sarcastic comments about the Selby police. :wink:

I know some people supported Robertson against Murphy earlier, because they saw him as the bigger obstacle for Selby to overcome in the final. Well, you got your wish, and I think you were right as well. I think Robertson will probably prove the stronger player tomorrow, but with Selby's fighting qualities, it should be a cracking match. I hope the players play their best and give us much to talk about. I will be enjoying every shot of every frame and may the best man win. As for everyone who watches snooker with hate rather than love, you can enjoy another frustrating evening, hoping Robertson wins. I hope Selby does his best to annoy you again. :wink:


Good night.

[arbitrage]

yes one bag of garbage deserves another - glad you found your affinity with selby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8XRKC4SNWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te6oBNohuAs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJkRzZLIfs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84KCcxqx0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWqJvjCFtRs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBdQxzTah70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWOHjtBLnfk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wHnHnJUk-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tJoy40WlE

[streamer45]

@Odrl

exactly my thoughts.
I'll just ignore them for the time being, they usually don't even know what snooker is all about.

[cyberheater]

I'll not be watching the final. I really don't like the way Selby plays the game and get no enjoyment from watching him play.

[cueman]

Suppose its a good time to debate whether a shot clock should be used for all snooker matches now as I feel the game needs to move with the times. Too many matches are going on for far too long, a best of 11 match taking over 5 hours is not good for the game, not good for the audience and certainly not good for TV or attracting new fans or sponsors.

If Selby continues playing in the manner he is and dragging matches down as his only chance of victory then changes need to be made. It was bad enough living through the 80's with certain players playing like this but that in part was down to the standard of the players and the conditions. There really isn't an excuse anymore to see so many scrappy frames played out like last night unless your plan is to knock your opponent off his game and using slow play and deliberately making frames scrappy.
Selby can use excuses like a lack of sleep or feeling flat all he likes, its funny that his lack of sleep didn't make him play like that from the start, it was when Dott led 4-1 that he reverted to this plan.

All other cue games, 9ball, 8ball etc use a shot clock at professional level in all events, the time has to come for snooker for the good of the game IMO.

[Odrl]

Suppose its a good time to debate whether a shot clock should be used for all snooker matches now as I feel the game needs to move with the times. Too many matches are going on for far too long, a best of 11 match taking over 5 hours is not good for the game, not good for the audience and certainly not good for TV or attracting new fans or sponsors.

If Selby continues playing in the manner he is and dragging matches down as his only chance of victory then changes need to be made. It was bad enough living through the 80's with certain players playing like this but that in part was down to the standard of the players and the conditions. There really isn't an excuse anymore to see so many scrappy frames played out like last night unless your plan is to knock your opponent off his game and using slow play and deliberately making frames scrappy.
Selby can use excuses like a lack of sleep or feeling flat all he likes, its funny that his lack of sleep didn't make him play like that from the start, it was when Dott led 4-1 that he reverted to this plan.

All other cue games, 9ball, 8ball etc use a shot clock at professional level in all events, the time has to come for snooker for the good of the game IMO.

And the time is now? When the game is enjoying its highest-ever popularity across the world, is covered more extensively than it's ever been, and is arguably played faster than at any point in its history?

And all that so we can filter Selby out. :wink:

[jono*]

Is it the first time people have left prematurely during masters semi final?? I surely haven't heard of anything before dotts comments today..,

[Stevie]

I really don't like the way Selby plays the game and get no enjoyment from watching him play.

My thoughts exactly, I will be watching though, would love to see a final where Selby just goes for it and tries to hammer Robbo but I know that won't be happening, I really can't see Robbo coping with Selby's table time in the same way that Judd and Ronnie can't, but its about winning I suppose and it's his style. Winning isn't what i want to see though, I can see someone win in my local club, I want to see dazzling snooker, the kind that makes me wanna run down to my club for a few games....