The Masters 2014

[daffie]

Nope. How many Reardon/Davis/Hendry fans turned up blotto and shouted abuse? Some Davis ones early doors arguably but they got bombed out. Quite simply, flawed sportsmen, pop groups, whatever, attract flawed fans in a way that clean cut hard working pros do not.

Exactly! And snooker is very much completely independent upon these few flawed sportsman and their 'fans'. The sport will continue and grow just fine. The Ros-puppies needed worry...the real fans / people who genuinely love the sport will continue to do so without a Ronnie or a Judd...and their 'fans'.

[infairness]

I was sitting among a group of them who had all arrived together, and I can assure you they were two sheets to the wind before frame 1, with the remaining sheets blowing away over the next three frames. Every now and then you just pray for someone like that to go too far and get thrown out...

Worst thing is,when they get back home they start posting here lol

[Holden Chinaski]

Exactly! And snooker is very much completely independent upon these few flawed sportsman and their 'fans'. The sport will continue and grow just fine. The Ros-puppies needed worry...the real fans / people who genuinely love the sport will continue to do so without a Ronnie or a Judd...and their 'fans'.

Yes, without Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Ronnie the sport would be just the same as it is today right? NO! Without these legends the game would have no sponsors and almost nobody viewing on tv. Everybody knows that. Those guys are like Ali, Maradona, Senna, Tyson....

[Holden Chinaski]

I love the game. I love watching it and playing it. I also love the game's history.

I am a big fan of Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins. As well as Ronnie and Alex Higgins.

The game needs players like Alex Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan. They were born to play the game and will always get people interested in snooker.

Not all Ronnie fans are loud and ignorant. If you think that you are ignorant yourself.

Muhammad Ali was loud and arrogant and flashy. He was also the greatest and still inspires boxing fans. Every sport needs this.

If you cant appreciate what O'Sullivan does on a snooker table, how he compiles his breaks, you are not a real snooker fan and wouldnt know greatness if it bit you in the ass.

[Ronnie's tip]

I can't speak from the players POV, but from watching on the tv it sounded great today. Crowd involvement is great and I don't think they went too far as they were ok when a player was on the shot. I preferred today then your average crowd who do nothing but the occasional clap. Move with the times.

Anyway, Selby has done well against ROS in recent years. Masters 10, WC 10, Welsh Open semi final in 2012, final of that PTC. He just causes Ronnie major problems. Same will happen again because Selby simply won't allow Ronnie to play his best.

[jb134]

I love the game. I love watching it and playing it. I also love the game's history.

I am a big fan of Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins. As well as Ronnie and Alex Higgins.

The game needs players like Alex Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan. They were born to play the game and will always get people interested in snooker.

Not all Ronnie fans are loud and ignorant. If you think that you are ignorant yourself.

Muhammad Ali was loud and arrogant and flashy. He was also the greatest and still inspires boxing fans. Every sport needs this.

If you cant appreciate what O'Sullivan does on a snooker table, how he compiles his breaks, you are not a real snooker fan and wouldnt know greatness if it bit you in the ass.

Yes, the game needs PLAYERS like Alex Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan. It needs PEOPLE like Davis, Reardon and Hendry. It's good PEOPLE who go out and build businesses and sponsor the game.

As for the Ali thing, greatest? Give me a break. ABSOLUTELY not the greatest. Great icon, yes, an inspiration, threw his medal in the river, never went to Vietnam blah blah and the guy who put him in the ring with Larry Holmes should get the jail but Ronnie has a greater claim to be the greatest than Ali.

[stephenm2682]

Ronnie also got revenge in the next ptc semi 4-2, should be a good match now, Selby has always won the close matches whereas Ronnie has dished out some big wins against him.

[jb134]

Ronnie also got revenge in the next ptc semi 4-2, should be a good match now, Selby as always won the close matches whereas Ronnie has dished out some big wins against him.

Am a Ronnie fan, I hope all that playing with his tip tonight wasn't getting excuses ready for tomorrow. I've got a bad feeling Selby might cane him. But I'm a pessimist.

[scottley]

Either way its a great match for us snooker fans to watch, im a massive fan of both players, one is the greatest player to play this great game, and the other is one of the greatest competitors you could hope to see, cant wait!

[stephenm2682]

If Selby beats Ronnie comfortable then that will be first time ever..

http://www.cuetracker.net/pages/h2h.php?ID1=2&ID2=18

[jb134]

If Selby beats Ronnie comfortable then that will be first time ever...

I was looking the other day and I think there a 6-2 in there. Although I know what you're saying.

[stephenm2682]

Yeah one in 20 matches lol

[Table_of_Reds]

Exactly! And snooker is very much completely independent upon these few flawed sportsman and their 'fans'. The sport will continue and grow just fine. The Ros-puppies needed worry...the real fans / people who genuinely love the sport will continue to do so without a Ronnie or a Judd...and their 'fans'.

If you think that then you're deluded. If a sport wants to be 'big' (i.e. lots of tournaments around the world, big prize money, sponsorships, televised events) then it needs more than just it's hardcore fans, it needs the more casual observer who might only watch snooker when they notice a big event is on the tele that week or when someone like O'Sullivan or White is playing. If you want snooker to be a niche sport like bowls or billiards then fine, if you want it to stay as big as it is now then you need players that'll make the people with only a passing interest in snooker tune in. I work in a busy bookmakers, we've shown the snooker on the screens all week, and literally the only time any customer showed an interest was regarding O'Sullivan "how's O'Sullivan doing?", "has O'Sullivan won yet?". Like it or not the game needs it's great, unpredictable entertainer, whether that be Higgins, White, O'Sullivan or whoever takes that mantle in the future.

Honestly, you people are making WAY too big a deal about O'Sullivan's 'idiot' fans. I really don't think they were that noisy at all - they weren't abusive to the other player (one idiot seven years ago, get over it), they didn't shout out when a player was on the shot... they just shouted encouragement when he got a chance. I have a feeling that the fact that he's by far the most popular player in the game gets up the noses of those who don't like him. People love him, people show up to see him, they're going to express their support of him... Deal with it. I've seen much more disrespectful fans before, for example the entourage Trump and Allen bring along with him or any Chinese crowd with any Chinese player.

[Table_of_Reds]

Corals offering 21/10 for Selby to win! If you like a bet then you aught to snap their hand off at that price!

I'm shocked all the bookies are making O'Sullivan odds on. 4/11? Do me a lemon. You can easily make a case for making either player the favourite.

[arbitrage]

If you think that then you're deluded. If a sport wants to be 'big' (i.e. lots of tournaments around the world, big prize money, sponsorships, televised events) then it needs more than just it's hardcore fans, it needs the more casual observer who might only watch snooker when they notice a big event is on the tele that week or when someone like O'Sullivan or White is playing. If you want snooker to be a niche sport like bowls or billiards then fine, if you want it to stay as big as it is now then you need players that'll make the people with only a passing interest in snooker tune in. I work in a busy bookmakers, we've shown the snooker on the screens all week, and literally the only time any customer showed an interest was regarding O'Sullivan "how's O'Sullivan doing?", "has O'Sullivan won yet?". Like it or not the game needs it's great, unpredictable entertainer, whether that be Higgins, White, O'Sullivan or whoever takes that mantle in the future.

Honestly, you people are making WAY too big a deal about O'Sullivan's 'idiot' fans. I really don't think they were that noisy at all - they weren't abusive to the other player (one idiot seven years ago, get over it), they didn't shout out when a player was on the shot... they just shouted encouragement when he got a chance. I have a feeling that the fact that he's by far the most popular player in the game gets up the noses of those who don't like him. People love him, people show up to see him, they're going to express their support of him... Deal with it. I've seen much more disrespectful fans before, for example the entourage Trump and Allen bring along with him or any Chinese crowd with any Chinese player.

the bloke is not called 'daffie' for nothing....