World Snooker Championships Discussion

[Ronnie's tip]

what will be barry and walden thinking after knowing their final oppoenent is ronnie?

I think Barry is more likely to be affected than Walden - particularly in the final. Walden doesn't really strike me as being a bottler and he has beaten Ronnie in a final before. Sure this is the WC, but he's atleast been in big matches against ROS.

Hawkins is the type of player that you could easily see getting bullied early on. There will be a totally different pressure in the semi's compared to the final though.

[Le Ball Sack]

Walden has no B game.

[Looki]

Back to practise table please, mr Trump, you just don't have it yet. Talk about freshness or lack of it is bollocks, Trump's been poor half the season. You shouldn't feel tired at that age.

[Ronnington]

Best lesson Judd can learn from this is to take a year off and be fresh and prepare well and he too could play like that.

What planet are you on

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a better snooker player than Judd Trump. End of.

Stephen Hendry - arguably the greatest BBC commentator now, who just tells it how it is - says Ronnie is still comfortably the best in the world.

[CueInAction]

What planet are you on

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a better snooker player than Judd Trump. End of.

Stephen Hendry - arguably the greatest BBC commentator now, who just tells it how it is - says Ronnie is still comfortably the best in the world.

IF as expected Ronnie takes home the title this year it will put him on 5 WCs. If he doesn't go & retire (which I'm sure he won't) there's a real possibility of him equaling Hendrie's 7 titles

[PatBlock]

So, the actual final just might be the better match after all. :smile:

Could be. (Where's the 'clutching at straws' smilie?) I know the other SF has had it's scrappy frames, but they've also made 5 centuries between them so far, which is already 4 more than Ronnie and Judd managed in their entire match, Osullivan's best being a 93. Although Barry has only won 1 of his 5 previous matches against Ronie, the others were close, 6-4 5-4 6-5 and 5-4, so we might at least get a decider there. And as Ronnie's tip said, Ricky has beaten Osullivan in a final once before, which I suppose always helps. Yep, could be a classic. ositive:

-

[Valiullin]

Not only is it probably going to be a horribly one-sided final, but it also looks like that the second finalist will feel really lonely. The crowd may go wild for Trump or O'Sullivan, but surely not for Walden or Hawkins...

[Billy]

http://youtu.be/XbTQPVN8oXU - Skip to 14:35

This is pretty inconclusive to be fair. He did a far more obvious 'tossing off the cue' gesture a few days ago when playing Bingham and hardly anyone noticed it. It's only because Michaela warned him this time that everyone's kicking up such a fuss.

14:10 - notice the sniggers from the crowd?

[Masterdoctorgenius]

http://www.thesnookerblog.com/2013/0...es-into-final/

Ronnie O’Sullivan is through to his fifth World Championship final after reeling off the three frames he needed against Judd Trump to complete a comfortable 17-11 victory.

Starting the session 14-10 behind, Trump knew the opening frames would be pivotal and when he lost the first two, the writing was on the wall.

Trump fought back with a 77 in the next but it only delayed the inevitable as the four-time champion sealed his place in the final when the 23-year-old left him in after attempting a long red.

It completes a remarkable turnaround for O’Sullivan who has only played one competitive match since winning the title last May.
Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Despite previously indicating that this would definitely be his last Crucible campaign, the Rocket refused to rule out a possible return next year.

“You can never say never. Barry Hearn is always making changes, and if he calls me, we’ll see what happens.”

O’Sullivan did confirm that he intends to play in a number of smaller events next season, due to the relaxed nature.

“I’ll enter a few of the PTCs, because it’s pure snooker. I can go and enjoy it without any pressure. I get almost the same buzz as a World Final.”

An emotional O’Sullivan also revealed that problems with his former partner were another big reason for his year out.

“My ex is driving me mad. My book comes out in October so you can read everything in there but at the moment the better I do, the more I seem to get punished.

“The last three or four years haven’t been easy. I’ve spent 250,000 pounds on lawyer’s fees. I know people always say I’ve got millions but I don’t know where it’s gone, it’s all tied up.”

On the table, the 37-year-old said he was delighted to make yet another final.

“It’s very pleasing to make the final; I’m quite surprised though as it’s been tough. There’s a lot of tension out there and I just about did enough to come through. I need to improve; I’m not playing anywhere near as good as I did last year when I really did blast through the field.”

Trump meanwhile, said he was frustrated with the way he played.

“I’m disappointed; I had chances but really struggled in the first two sessions. It’s not good enough at this level and Ronnie’s very hard to catch when he gets in front.”

O’Sullivan will start as the overwhelming favourite in the final as he faces the winner of the other semi-final between Ricky Walden and Barry Hawkins, but he believes it won’t be as straightforward as some people think.

“They’ve been ten different winners of tournaments this season so it’s not a surprise to see Barry and Ricky doing well. Anyone can beat anyone these days as they’re all playing so much snooker.”

The first session of the final will take place at 2pm on Sunday with the first to 18 frames picking up the trophy and £250,000.

[PatBlock]

“My ex is driving me mad. My book comes out in October so you can read everything in there...

Subtle. :greedy_dollars:

-

[Masterdoctorgenius]

http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/New...167132,00.html

Ronnie O'Sullivan remained on course to become the first player to win back-to-back Crucible crowns since Stephen Hendry by beating Judd Trump 17-11 in the semi-finals of the Betfair World Championship.


O'Sullivan comfortably converted a 14-10 overnight lead into victory over Trump to reach his fifth Crucible final. He will face Ricky Walden or Barry Hawkins over 35 frames on Sunday and Monday for the trophy and £250,000 top prize. Not since Hendry enjoyed hegemony over the field from 1992 to 1996 has a player won the title in consecutive years, but the Rocket is now huge favourite to retain the crown and is rated 1/9 odds-on by sponsor Betfair. If he did go on to win a fifth title, Chigwell's 37-year-old O'Sullivan would be just two short of Hendry's Crucible record of seven.



Having played just one competitive match this season - in a non-televised PTC event - before heading to Sheffield, O'Sullivan has proved over the past two weeks that, when his focus is engaged, he remains the man to beat. He has never been behind throughout the tournament and could become the first player ever to win the top prize at the Crucible without trailing in a match.



In terms of the standard of play, the match between snooker's two most exciting talents didn't live up to its billing. O'Sullivan's top break was just 93 and it was the first time he had failed to make a century in a match at the Crucible since 2008. Trump admitted afterwards he was disappointed in his own performance as he didn't take enough of the chances that came his way. There were only four frames among the 28 in which he didn't pot a ball, yet he managed just five breaks over 50.



The first frame today was a case in point as Trump made 45 before missing a tricky pot on the third last red. O'Sullivan's 41 clearance put him 15-10 ahead, and he also got the bettter of a scrappy next frame to go six up with seven to play. Trump pulled one back with a break of 77 but there was to be no fight-back as O'Sullivan sealed the result in the next with runs of 31 and 33.



"It was tough because I don't think either of us played anywhere near our best," said O'Sullivan, who is chasing his 25th ranking title, which would put him level with John Higgins. "There was a lot of tension out there during the sessions. We practise in the same environment and used to have the same manager so obviously that creates a derby match feel.



"Then you have the crowd who are excited by the way Judd plays and over the years I've also had such great support. Everyone was really geared up for it with the newcomer and the future of the game against someone who's been around for a long time and wears his heart on his sleeve.



"I might say some things that frustrate people sometimes but my fans always get behind me because they know I try my hardest and give it my best every time I go out there.



"It hasn't been easy the last three or four years but last year was a wonderful way to for me to think 'I've closed my door and can turn my back on the sport I love.' During the year out I got myself into financial difficulties from not playing and kind of realised that was one of the motivating factors for having to come back after realising I've got two children that I'm responsible for."



O'Sullivan went on to reveal the extent of his money problems and gave an insight into one of his reasons for not playing for most of this season.



"I don't know where the (career prize) money has gone to be honest," he added. "I'm not in a position to retire. I could be but I've got court orders from all over the place and I have to find X amount of money every week. That puts a pressure on me that I don't enjoy and in some ways for the last three or four years I've been out of pocket even though I've been playing.



"It seems the better I do, the more I'm going to be punished so in some ways it's easier for me to play in a few smaller events and earn less money. Sometimes I'm better off not earning because they don't want to know you when you've got no money. I've spent £250,000 on lawyers' fees over the last three years, plus the court orders, and I just think there's no point in playing, I might as well be skint.



"That's why I took a year out because I thought there is no point - and I just want to get on with my life and enjoy myself. I don't want the added pressure of snooker and lawyers."




Trump said: "I'm disappointed with my performance because I did have chances. As soon as he got in front as he's so hard to peg back. My scoring was just not good enough for this level and it's probably the worst I've played all tournament. I would've probably expected to lose to anyone the way I played.



"He scored a lot heavier than I did. I probably got in first more times than he did which shows how good my safety and all round game was. Over the tournament, he's missed less easy balls than the rest of us. I didn't feel as confident as I had done in other games.



"Ronnie's so much better than most of the other players so the match practice doesn't come into it really. He's good enough in the balls so he's never far away and doesn't put any pressure on himself. The crowd hardly ever clap because he's always in position, whereas the other players and me have to pull out a good pot.



"I think Ricky will have a better chance of beating him in the final than Barry would because he's beaten Ronnie in a final before. But if he does carry on like that then he will be tough to beat.



"I had him on the back foot a few times last night and he was getting a bit frustrated - that's what you've got to do to him. He's a lot stronger mentally now than a few seasons ago and he can just switch it back on in the next frame.



"I think if I was playing against anyone else in this tournament then I'd have won it. But hopefully he plays in it next year so I'll have another chance to beat him. I want to win the World Championship with him in it and want to beat him on the way."

[daffie]

This is pretty inconclusive to be fair. He did a far more obvious 'tossing off the cue' gesture a few days ago when playing Bingham and hardly anyone noticed it. It's only because Michaela warned him this time that everyone's kicking up such a fuss.

14:10 - notice the sniggers from the crowd?

Yup...that's the one both you and I had spotted during that match. It's very obvious in that clip. Bad boy...Ronnie!

[daffie]

Don't know about anybody else, but I am definately looking forward to the final session of the 2nd Semi in just about a couple minutes time... Should be good...and could even be very close...who knows maybe we'll even get our 3rd deciding frame of the championship.

[spike]

Don't know about anybody else, but I am definately looking forward to the final session of the 2nd Semi in just about a couple minutes time... Should be good...and could even be very close...who knows maybe we'll even get our 3rd deciding frame of the championship.

16-16 black ball game would be just great..

[daffie]

16-16 black ball game would be just great..

You wouldn't hear me complaining