Ssb - the best of 2009

[MySockPuppet]

What have been your favourite matches of 2009?

I can immediately think of three featuring John Higgins: his 13-12 victory over Mark Selby at the Crucible, 6-5 defeat to Neil Robertson in the Grand Prix semi-finals and 9-8 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan at the same stage of the UK Championship.

O'Sullivan's 10-8 defeat of Selby in the Masters final was gripping viewing while Mark Allen's comeback against Higgins in the World Championship semi-finals was as compelling as it must have been nerve wracking for John.

I'd be interested to read the 2009 memories of snooker fans so please leave them below.



More...

[steedee]

so many john higgins matches as you mentioned also the jamie cope match at sheffield too. the man is truly a legend.

the selby match was truly the greatest match ive ever seen. so that wins.

[missneworleans]

Semi between Robertson and Murphy was quite great too
Shame Robbo didn't win..

[crucible77]

The final session of the 2009 UK semi between Ronnie and John Higgins was very exciting :snooker:

[superaussie]

the best 2 matches were

robbo v higgins at grand prix semi

robbo v maguire world quarter

both quality matches

[spike]

Mine are;

2009 Grand Prix semi-final

Robertson v Higgins

2009 World Championship 2nd Round

Mark Allen v Ronnie O' Sullivan

[missneworleans]

did you mean 2nd round?
Wasn't a good quality match but it was nice to see Allen beating Ronnie, but Ronnie himself was poor specially in the last session

[Odrl]

I enjoyed this snooker year immensely. There were so many great matches worth remembering... I already mentioned a lot of great matches from the early part of the year in the "best matches of 2008/2009 season?" thread, so I might be repeating myself a bit here... Anyway, here's my top10 matches of 2009, in chronological order:

Maguire v. Robertson, QF of the Masters

I didn't have particularly high expectations about this match. Both players struggled in the 1st round, but the quality of play in this match must be considered as some of the highest in recent times, even though the tables were perhaps slightly generous. They made five consecutive centuries in the final five frames, three from Maguire and two from Robertson. I don't think I've ever seen Robertson play better and lose. Too bad Maguire couldn't reproduce that sort of standard against O'Sullivan in the SF.

O'Sullivan v. Selby, Final of the Masters

That was a fitting final to a great week of snooker. It was O'Sullivan's fifth final in six years, and Selby was still undefeated at the Masters. It didn't go exactly as I expected. O'Sullivan was really determined not to get frustrated, and he won a couple of frames on the colours. His average shot time was actually slower than Selby's, and he took over three minutes on one shot. Selby on the other hand made more big breaks. Probably the best final of the year, and it was lovely too see how much it meant to O'Sullivan.

Selby v. Hamilton, QF of the Welsh Open

Many won't remember that match, but I'll never forget how much I enjoyed that great 26-minute safety battle on the final red in one of the frames. It was an awkward day, because the four quarter-finals had to be played consecutively and Maguire-Swail had already gone to a decider and finished later than expected. Many people were anxious for Robertson-Fu to start, but this one turned out to be the most enjoyable for me. That safety battle was high quality stuff. It wasn't the case of the players missing pots, they never even had a shot at it, they both kept it so safe. Although it was helped a bit by one of the colours blocking one of the pockets. And when Hamilton finally got the chance, he potted it clean as a whistle.

Higgins v. Cope, 2nd round of the World Championship

I didn't expect Cope to hold his own against an in-form Higgins, but he proved me wrong here. The match was a great display of one-visit snooker, and Cope just seemed to get stronger at the business end of the match. He got to a 12-10 lead, and looked like he would only need one more chance to take the match. But he didn't really get it. Higgins played three nerveless frames. The drama was such that they had to assist someone in the audience on two occasions, but it didn't seem to affect Higgins at all. His break in the decider was first class.

Hendry v. Ding, 2nd round of the World Championship

That match had everything you could wish for in a snooker match. The quality was very high, and it was played in a good spirit. Ding even joked about his height with the audience, when he needed the rest on one occasion. A couple of frames, especially in the 2nd session, were classic. My favourite was the one that went to a re-spotted black. I can still remember the entire exchange towards the end. But at the business end, it was Hendry who raised his game, making some good breaks, including a 140 total clearance.

Higgins v. Selby, QF of the World Championship

I can't see this one dropping out of my "all-time favourite matches" list anytime soon. The draw made it impossible for those two to meet in the final, but this was probably the real final of that Championship. The opening three centuries from Selby set a lovely tone for what was to come, as did Higgins' four frames in a row from 0-3 down. It really was high quality, with neither player cracking at any point. The final session had some of the best safety exchanges I've ever seen, and once again Higgins found himself 11-12 behind. Selby missed a tricky plant, and it was all Higgins from there on. The decider had two re-racks, and Higgins' third break off shot snookered Selby on all the reds. It might have been the shot that won Higgins the match. He made another classy break and never gave Selby a chance in that frame. It was his Championship to lose after that match.

King v. Walden, 1st round of the Grand Prix

I didn't see the entire match, because I wanted to watch a bit of Maguire-Bond as well, but I did see the decider, and it was one of the best frames of the year. Both players had the upper hand at one point, and it finally looked like it was going Walden's way. I predicted Walden to win 5-4 and was delighted to get 2 points, but King had other ideas. He played two of the best shots of the year to win that frame. First he got a brilliant snooker behind the black, which Walden failed to escape from, and then he played a really tough final black, reminiscent of Hendry's black for the maximum in the 1995 WC. Must have meant a lot to King to win from there, even though it was only a 1st round match.

O'Sullivan v. Higgins, 2nd round of the Grand Prix

This one totally lived up to the expectations for me. The atmosphere was great, and the crowd was with Higgins for a change. There were a lot of good breaks, as well as three frames won from more than 50 behind. O'Sullivan missed a sitter in the penultimate frame, which is probably the easiest shot I've ever seen him miss under pressure. He had another chance on the colours, but Higgins somehow managed to take it, and the decider was never in question. This time Higgins took it with a lovely 94 break. How many times does he win deciders with a classy break like that?

Higgins v. Robertson, SF of the Grand Prix

I'm sure this one is still fresh in everyone's memory. It was a very good match standard wise. When they got to the interval at 2-2, Higgins actually had a pot success of 100%. The tighter tables caught most of the players by surprise during the week, and some players struggled to score. But it didn't seem to bother Robertson who was by far the leading century maker of the week, and he made three centuries in this match as well. It got him to a 5-3 lead and he seemed to have the match won. But Higgins almost made his usual brilliant comeback, playing two great frames. It went down to the colours in the decider with a couple of classic moments, and Robertson finally got it.

O'Sullivan v. Higgins, SF of the UK Championship

I predicted Higgins to win 9-7, but I never imagined everything that went on in this match. Higgins played a solid opening session while O'Sullivan struggled, and it could easily have been 7-1. If Higgins was a strong favourite at 6-2, he was virtually certain to win it at 8-2. But then came that famous incident at 8-4. There was a replay after that frame, that showed Higgins almost yelling at Jan Verhaas, and it was clear that he couldn't find any sort of composure after that frame. He had a number of chances to win the match, but one by one the frames went to O'Sullivan who seemed to grow in confidence. O'Sullivan had two chances in the decider. He played a lovely split from a red, finished perfectly on the black, but another red blocked the pocket. He wasn't far from having a brilliant chance to win. But then he threw away his second chance with that missed pink, and Higgins stepped in. I still don't know how he managed to make that 56 break. Two great shots in that frame... The black where he had to cue over two reds, and the long green that you would never see him take on in normal circumstances. Balls of steel.


It wasn't a bad year at all, I could probably list 10 more. Hopefully we'll have some more great snooker next year. Looking forward to it.

[missneworleans]

Selby-Hamilton and King-Walden...good one to add
Thanks reminding me these were really great matches