World Snooker Championships Discussion

[shmeeko69]

After watching the video on BBC Sport yesterday it's a real pity that, he feels the need to retire from the game when he could quite clearly win another two or three world championships.

The guy is blessed with a snooker cue in his hand and we would all love to have half of his natural ability. The sport will seriously miss him and especially when the game in the UK needs Ronnie O'Sullivan. Apart from Judd Trump and a couple of other younger players, there isn't really anything which is going to make the game of snooker more attractive to young folk.

I hope you change your mind Ronnie!

[gem]

The reason it looks so easy is because he is better than the rest. At least 4 former world champions agree going by their commentary in the last few days.

Ronnie is obviously still struggling with his inner demons, but I'm just glad to have what promises to be a a semi final for the ages to look forward to.

He is ahead of the rest at the moment as the standard of the top player is not what it used to be but the point I was making was that others can score more breaks than him but he will always look better when doing it.

As for Davis and Hendry saying nice things about Ronnie, I would imagine they both know they would have been a match for him in their prime.
He is a great front runner when things go his way but can struggle to win when others dictate the style of the match.

[gem]

And people still take him at his word!
There is no way he would have bothered to put in the serious hours of practice and got himself so up for this if he thought that it wasn't for him. Whether this is his demons at work or Ronnie just being his usual petulant self I don't know but either way he is talking out of his rear end. Of course he will come back, all this talk is his way of playing down this match and tournament in case he doesn't win it as though he was never interested.



Its pure and simple mind games in my eyes, trying to devalue the event because he feels that he is the only reason it holds any prestige. Last week he was saying how he would love to win more world titles and that he has underachieved and also mentioned that he doesn't play for the money. Now suddenly he's short of cash! Guy is a grade A idiot as a person who just happens to be blessed with talent to play the game.

I think you are bang on here.

[SnookerFan]

I really hope Judd wins now. If Ronnie is going to blab on that he doesn't want to be here, he deserves to be knocked out. Whether he means it or not.

[carlosportsman]

There really shouldn't be too much surprise in what he has said in reality.

If it is true and geniune then it has shown all tournament as despite his great play, his opponents (who have been on the end of sustained brilliance by him) have smiled more than him.

Anyway, hopefully it won't detract from the fact we have two very interesting semi finals, one that was predicted by many and one that wasn't predicted by many if any at all. I think O'Sullivan and Hawkins will be the winners of their respective semi's. Both I think will have a significant edge on the safety front, particularly Hawkins who I think is being under-rated by many despite being marginal favourite for the match. He has beaten a better quality of opponent on his run to semi's and has responded well when tested by Ding and briefly Selby, Walden has been a bit hit and miss in that respect and allowed Milkins back into a match he was out of and was fortunate not to do so against White.

[coomsey76]

And people still take him at his word!
There is no way he would have bothered to put in the serious hours of practice and got himself so up for this if he thought that it wasn't for him. Whether this is his demons at work or Ronnie just being his usual petulant self I don't know but either way he is talking out of his rear end. Of course he will come back, all this talk is his way of playing down this match and tournament in case he doesn't win it as though he was never interested.

Its pure and simple mind games in my eyes, trying to devalue the event because he feels that he is the only reason it holds any prestige. Last week he was saying how he would love to win more world titles and that he has underachieved and also mentioned that he doesn't play for the money. Now suddenly he's short of cash! Guy is a grade A idiot as a person who just happens to be blessed with talent to play the game.

I think you're bang on there mate...... Big match coming up and mind games are in full swing!!

The sport will seriously miss him and especially when the game in the UK needs Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Sorry mate that is so untrue...... Have you been watching much snooker over the last 12 months??

I love to watch Ronnie play but the game doesn't need him to survive because its done perfectly well without him for the last 12 months, look at the young talent coming through with the likes Trump, Lisowski and White just to name a few!!

[alabadi]

Ronnie always does this, every interview he says different things, i mean come on does he really need money to pay for school fees, he's a millionair.

he should be greatful for what snooker has given him, instead of moaning that he has no life and snooker doesn't excite hime anymore. i think deep down he couldn't live without it. and all this talk of leaving is bull.

as he said in a few interviews he will be playing he is contracted to 10 events which will include all the UK main events and a few PTCs, i suspect he wont travel to China as that is a step too far, however i can see him in at least one as he may need to please the sponsors and Barry Hearn.

All these mind games is just petty, he should just get on with it and do what he does best and that is play snooker.

[Giggity1984]

I think Ron is just talking **** to the media. He'll probably be doing the same thing for the next 5 year's. Lol.

[JeeSe]

I don't even know why people still report Ronnie's conferences and debate the things he says, (Mark Allen says something stupid on a monthly basis with very little coverage, at least Ronnie is getting snooker some headlines) he says whatever comes into his head true or not. Get over it.

I am a massive Ronnie fan but I don't like when he does this, but we shouldn't be surprised he's been doing it years.
I find it hard to believe this is about money, but I do believe he wants to do something else and has for a long time, he didn't find whatever that is last year so here he is.
I am sure he will continue to look this year, but we will see him in some events and the 10 he has to play, if he wins the world this year I highly doubt he will be skipping the UK. Maybe he will play the premier league again too..

[Billy]

The sport will seriously miss him and especially when the game in the UK needs Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Sorry mate that is so untrue...... Have you been watching much snooker over the last 12 months??

I love to watch Ronnie play but the game doesn't need him to survive because its done perfectly well without him for the last 12 months, look at the young talent coming through with the likes Trump, Lisowski and White just to name a few!!

This is the truest thing that's been said so far. I haven't given O'Sullivan a second thought over the last 12 months (apart from the times we were reminded he was taking a 'sabbatical') and I don't think the sport has missed him one iota.

No one will ever be bigger than the game, and before anyone starts spouting on about Alex Higgins, the decline in the game's popularity came a long time after he'd left the sport.

[carlosportsman]

I think it is time for Ronnie to follow through with his comments and retire for good (though I doubt he will). I love him as a player and think he is one of the most enjoyable sportsman to watch when in full flow but he is devaluing tournaments and the sport as a whole by his come and go antics. He doesn't love snooker so I don't blame him for wanting to retire but he needs to understand that he is in a privilaged position of being very good at his choosen occupation and it makes him a lot of money, I don't like my job some days but I know I can't retire as I need money to be able to live.

[Odrl]

You know, I was so excited about the World Championship this year, because so many top players had shown at least some form at times this season, and it was tough to imagine so few of them playing well here. That was kind of my worst nightmare - to get a repeat of last year's championship and only have a couple of contenders left as early as the QF stage.

I think most of us expect the final to be an anti-climax now. But on the positive side, there won't be a better chance to get that 18-3 scoreline, so we can stop hearing about how it's never going to happen again. :wink:

Joking aside, a big Ronnie O'Sullivan against Judd Trump match was what many people wanted to see for the last two seasons or so, and here it is. To be honest, I never really found this pairing any more spectacular than any other between two top players, particularly as O'Sullivan was struggling with his game 15 months or so ago, and wasn't really challenging for titles. On top of that, we had just had the Higgins-Trump World final, and I saw that one as the ultimate clash of generations everyone wanted. Well, things are different now... Not only is O'Sullivan back as a worthy contender, but also back as the man to beat, and considered the big favourite here by most people.

I kind of get annoyed at the current generation of top players, the ones supposedly in their prime I mean, for failing so miserably as a group in the World Championship these last two years. Some of the stuff they've played to win big tournaments has been as good as anything, so what are John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan doing still winning World titles every year in their late 30s? Well, whatever the failings of their competition are, these two great champions deserve every respect for still being at the top of the game. There is no doubt O'Sullivan has played the best snooker of the tournament so far. His one-visit scoring to pull away from Carter and Bingham was very impressive. He missed a couple of easy ones, but it's happened at the right times for him, when he wasn't really pushed to play better. His long game was also strong in a couple of key sessions, so there isn't really a weakness in his game this week. I think the most impressive thing about O'Sullivan, for all his brilliance and fluency in the balls, he can also play a bit of snooker. It's all the little details that ultimately win you frames and matches... The guy always seems to have an easy table to clear when he is 50 points behind, because he does a lot of "invisible" work in the safety, making sure reds don't get pushed on cushions and colours don't get tied up. When he applies pressure with his scoring, he is always keen to open up the table, because he knows his opponent is under pressure not to miss even if they get the chance, and O'Sullivan just clears up frame after frame. He has thrashed his share of opponents in big matches and major finals in recent years, but he also came through against some opponents who did test him, often by keeping his discipline and turning down ill-advised shots, rather than just going for it. I think it's no coincidence that the two players who have had notable success against him in recent years, Higgins and Selby, are also known for that type of clever snooker. Speaking of Mark Selby, I think his comeback against O'Sullivan in the QF in 2010 was quite special, because it was the only time in recent years that O'Sullivan went into his one-visit mode for a prolonged time, and ultimately failed to crack his opponent. The reason I mention this is because Trump is not Selby, and if he is to beat O'Sullivan, he will have to do it in his own style. If O'Sullivan stamps his authority on the match and starts to dominate, like he so often does, most of his work will be done. :wink:

Now, let's look at it from Trump's corner... He may have to accept the role of the underdog this time, but he certainly has his advantages. For one thing, he has a positive record over O'Sullivan. They played four times last season, and Trump knocked O'Sullivan out of both the UK Championship and the Masters, and also won their PTC final in Belgium, playing an open attacking game in every one of those matches. At one point last season, Trump had the nerve to say O'Sullivan would still be winning tournaments, if he wasn't meeting him so often. You could call it "having balls", or you could call it arrogance and delusion, that's your choice. But one thing that's certain is that Trump has the confidence to take O'Sullivan on at his own game, and he has some results to back it up. He had a bad first session against Murphy, but played strongly after that, showing that he is able to fight for it even when things aren't going his way. His trademark ability to force his way into frames with great potting has come and gone in this tournament, and he will need it here. He also showed some nerves against Murphy, missing that pink for the frame, or playing a terrible positional shot when he had the chance in the penultimate frame, but overall, his record in close matches is still a good one. Everyone feels the pressure at some point. O'Sullivan certainly does, but he has to be put under it if you want him to wobble. I think a strong start could be key for either player. O'Sullivan has been there before and done it many times, but so has Higgins, and he found himself on the back foot early on against Trump. It's a three-day match, so on one hand you have O'Sullivan's experience, knowing how to prepare himself to play well at different times of the day, but on the other hand he is also prone to some jadedness at times, as opposed to Trump's youth and enthusiasm. I guess it would be silly to attach any importance to O'Sullivan's statements these days, because he has just about said anything one can say at different times, no matter how contradicting. But if you're desperate to find a disadvantage there, maybe comparing things to the 2005 Grand Prix could be it. O'Sullivan talked about how boring he found snooker after his win over Hawkins in the semi-finals, saying how he would rather be gardening than playing snooker, or words to that effect. The next day he was booed by a couple of people in the audience and got thrashed 9-2 by John Higgins. I'll eat my hat if something like that happens here, but I do think Trump has a good chance to win this match. :wink:


Anyway, sorry for that bit of over-analysis, but it does kind of feel like this is the real World final, so I can't help getting a little excited. :smile:

[cpenney]

here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Masterdoctorgenius]

I guess it would be silly to attach any importance to O'Sullivan's statements these days, because he has just about said anything one can say at different times, no matter how contradicting. But if you're desperate to find a disadvantage there, maybe comparing things to the 2005 Grand Prix could be it. O'Sullivan talked about how boring he found snooker after his win over Hawkins in the semi-finals, saying how he would rather be gardening than playing snooker, or words to that effect. The next day he was booed by a couple of people in the audience and got thrashed 9-2 by John Higgins. I'll eat my hat if something like that happens here, but I do think Trump has a good chance to win this match

i dont think that will happen, he is mentally more fit than in 2005 and higgins played out of his skin in that final

[fernandofan08]

Judd doing his usual WHACK AND HOPE IT WORKS OUT. Frustration seeping in already. Come on ronnie, put this little boy out.