2014 World Snooker Championship Thread

[The Special Juan]

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[The Special Juan]

I think so. Selby v Robertson is the bottom half SF, I don't know about the top (Barry Hawkins probably).

As for tonight I'd love to see Judd get smacked by Ryan but, failing that, I'd back Neil to do a job on him.

[The Special Juan]

sMurphy v O'Sullivan then. Murphy can compete with ROS in every department except break building. He breaks down too often around the 50 mark as the commentators say and you need to take frames in one chance against the best. He's a class act though - one of my favourite players as a person.

[VTR]

sMurphy v O'Sullivan then.  Murphy can compete with ROS in every department except break building.  He breaks down too often around the 50 mark as the commentators say and you need to take frames in one chance against the best.  He's a class act though - one of my favourite players as a person.

Its very odd how he inexplicably breaks down so often. A player who really should have achieved more I feel.

[LastDamnation]

Murphy definitely has the ability to beat Ronnie in a first to 13, if Ronnie hits form in the semis/finals no1 will be able to live with him

[Duty281]

Fingers tightly crossed for his Juddness today.

[The Special Juan]

Oh Shaun, it was going so well for the first 2 frames.... I think that one's all over. The other match this afternoon is not though. Everyone plays one bad session at the Crucible every year. I think that was Robertson's and he'll come out fighting tomorrow. The 100th 100 is definitely on his mind. He needs to forget about it but, of course, easier said than done.

[CaledonianCraig]

Ronnie thrashing Murphy 8-3 but as commentators are saying it isn't even as if Ronnie is playing brilliant stuff - he has offered up plenty of chances but Murphy has not taken them. That for me is a sign of the standard of today's snooker I am afraid. I can't see anyway back for Murphy from here. Selby, meanwhile, has hammered Alan McManus to reach the semis.

[Nachos Jones]

There was no way back CC, Ronnie wins 13-3. Murphy was not at his best but ROC at the worlds is something special. Can really only see Selby or Robbo coming remotely close to him.

[The Special Juan]

Well if Robbo goes out here I think it's going to be a ROS v Selby final. What a prospect that'll be (I'm going to ignore the Masters final because Selby looks like he's playing pretty well at the moment compared to January when he scraped through and was unconvincing).

[The Special Juan]

For all his potting and break building ability, one thing that is completely understated about Neil Robertson's game is his battling qualities. He might not be as good as Selby and Higgins at grinding out results but he's top 5 for sure.

[CaledonianCraig]

Robertson is certainly the best youngster in the game at the moment. He is now back in this match at 10-11.

[The Special Juan]

He's older than he looks!! (After checking, I thought he was ~28 but he's 32!!). Judd's creaking here.

[The Special Juan]

Mega chance for Neil to square it up. I've not seen a lot of it but surely it's match of the tournament??

[CaledonianCraig]

Well these are the matches that will tell us whether Trump has the mental fortitude to be a world champion of the future. If he has that champion mentality he will shrug off the last few frames and still win - somehow I doubt he has that quality. I'd like to be proved wrong though as snooker needs fresh talent challenging the old guard.

[CaledonianCraig]

Mega chance for Neil to square it up.  I've not seen a lot of it but surely it's match of the tournament??

I was about to post that up. It has been pretty high standard this evening. Not sure about the rest though as missed it.

[The Special Juan]

Oh he has the chance of it now....

[The Special Juan]

Well these are the matches that will tell us whether Trump has the mental fortitude to be a world champion of the future. If he has that champion mentality he will shrug off the last few frames and still win - somehow I doubt he has that quality. I'd like to be proved wrong though as snooker needs fresh talent challenging the old guard.

I think he does have both the game and the mental capacity to win it. He just needs to get back to playing snooker than enjoying the celebrity lifestyle which was Jimmy's downfall.

[The Special Juan]

There it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can see how much it meant to him and therefore it was obviously heavily on his mind throughout this match. Surely he can't lose it now??

[CaledonianCraig]

Well these are the matches that will tell us whether Trump has the mental fortitude to be a world champion of the future. If he has that champion mentality he will shrug off the last few frames and still win - somehow I doubt he has that quality. I'd like to be proved wrong though as snooker needs fresh talent challenging the old guard.

I think he does have both the game and the mental capacity to win it.  He just needs to get back to playing snooker than enjoying the celebrity lifestyle which was Jimmy's downfall.

Hmm no I'd say he seems well-grounded enough. He just seems mentally not as hardened as needs be to hold up under severe pressure. If he can turn this match around now though he will have done well.

[CaledonianCraig]

Congratulations to Robertson. That was a cracking break under intense pressure and what a record!

[PhoenixBeer]

Well done Robbo, fantastic achievement! Did Trump shake his hand? I know the match is still on, but thought Trump should've congratulated him.

[CaledonianCraig]

This is really top notch from Robertson. Can't really blame Trump I suppose as he just has not had a look in.

[The Special Juan]

Well done Robbo, fantastic achievement! Did Trump shake his hand? I know the match is still on, but thought Trump should've congratulated him.

No, he didn't. Judd's a miserable beggar.

[PhoenixBeer]

I thought that! Just plain ignorance!!

[CaledonianCraig]

Well done Robbo, fantastic achievement! Did Trump shake his hand? I know the match is still on, but thought Trump should've congratulated him.

No, he didn't.  Judd's a miserable beggar.

Sorry but I have to disagree. The match is at a key stage in the balance so why offer a boost by shaking his hand. I don't think anyone in the game today or even in the past that would have done it. A 147 yes that is different.

Great win for Robbo. If he can keep tonight's standard up he could become a multiple world champion.

[PhoenixBeer]

Think the century would've gave Robbo the boost, not Judd shaking his hand. If anything, I'd say him not shaking his hand would've spurred Neil on even more.

[CaledonianCraig]

Think the century would've gave Robbo the boost, not Judd shaking his hand. If anything, I'd say him not shaking his hand would've spurred Neil on even more.

Sorry but I disagree. I don't even think Robertson would have expected a handshake from Trump so it never affected the way this match turned out. Like I said earlier a 147 and yes you would have seen a handshake and pat on the back but Robertson reaching a 100 centuries for the season - no. I am 100% certain that Hendry's opponent never shook his hand when he passed his centuries milestones or same with Davis or O'Sullivan so no issue at all here.

[Johnyjeep]

Think the century would've gave Robbo the boost, not Judd shaking his hand. If anything, I'd say him not shaking his hand would've spurred Neil on even more.

Sorry but I disagree. I don't even think Robertson would have expected a handshake from Trump so it never affected the way this match turned out. Like I said earlier  a 147 and yes you would have seen a handshake and pat on the back but Robertson reaching a 100 centuries for the season - no. I am 100% certain that Hendry's opponent never shook his hand when he passed his centuries milestones or same with Davis or O'Sullivan so no issue at all here.

Couldn't agree more with this comment. I will further add that this 100 century breaks really holds very little interest to me. I see next to no relevance in it at all. It's like the Guiness Book of Records listing the man who can sit naked in a bath tub of baked beans for the longest. Errrrr great?! Well done. The frame has long been won. Yes...you are making your opponent sit in his chair longer..may affect the physcology of him a little...but I think that is negligible. Especially at this level.

I will add that I think Roberston and Trump are both detestable characters. Which may be clouding my opinion a little. But i agreed with Trump's comments. There was much bigger fish to fry at this point of the match. A semi-final appearance at the Crucible. Or congratulating a bloke who has just scored a century. Albeit his 100 one.

It is not like cricket. If Robertson makes another painful analogy to cricket, somehow managing to bring Bradman and Warne into the equation, I swear I will scream. Hundreds in cricket mean something and are still contributing to the overall story of a match. As every run counts! Centuries in snooker do not! You can win a match by never scoring a hundred. Similiarly you can score 9 centuries in a best of 19 match and still lose. The total points scored in a snooker match has no material impact on the result.

For example..how many centuries has Ding scored this season? Yet he tied Hendry's record for ranking tournament wins (granted Ding has far more tournaments). How many has Roberston won this year? I'd rather have had Ding's season than Robertson's any day of the week and twice on a Sunday.

And finally I'd like some perspective. I have no idea about this and we might see Robertson's ratio be better, but I wonder what the centuries breaks to frames played ratio is between Robertson's year and Hendry in his pomp. Or Trump's from last year.

First time on snooker board! Hello all. I've played for well over a decade in a local league. I hate and love the game with an equal passion depending on whether or not I have bottled a decided frame for the team on a re-spotted black when my opponenet needed 3 snookers going into the colours!

[Liam]

That kid shouting out all the time did my head in in that last session. If I was his parent I would've given him a clip by now.

Hawkins unlucky that session. Those kicks on those key reds, possibly mixed with the match against Dale caught up with him there and as far as I'm concerned that's game over. Never truly believed Hawkins would be close tbh.

[The Special Juan]

Well done Robbo, fantastic achievement! Did Trump shake his hand? I know the match is still on, but thought Trump should've congratulated him.

No, he didn't.  Judd's a miserable beggar.

Sorry but I have to disagree. The match is at a key stage in the balance so why offer a boost by shaking his hand. I don't think anyone in the game today or even in the past that would have done it. A 147 yes that is different.

Great win for Robbo. If he can keep tonight's standard up he could become a multiple world champion.

Hey, I agree with you. A handshake would be appropriate for a 147 but all Neil did was "make another ton" which happened to his 100th of the season. And to be fair to Judd, he did congratulate Neil at the end.

[The Special Juan]

I don't know how he does it but.... Mark Selby makes others play poorly against him.

[CaledonianCraig]

I was about to post up what Dennis just said. I reckon Neil must be a little bit mentally drained. The Trump match forced him to dig really deep and he had a tight match before that whereas Selby has had an easier run to this stage.

[The Special Juan]

I remember his comeback against Martin Gould a few years ago from 11-5 down. There's no way he should be tired after 2 fairly easy matches to open the tournament. Hell, Judd didn't even force a decider against Neil.

[CaledonianCraig]

I remember his comeback against Martin Gould a few years ago from 11-5 down.  There's no way he should be tired after 2 fairly easy matches to open the tournament.  Hell, Judd didn't even force a decider against Neil.

I was wrong I thought he had a tough match earlier as well but he beat Allen 13-7. Trump match he did have to dig deep as he was trailing 11-8 plus all that mental pressure of would he get his 100th 100 of the season. May be just a slow start. If he only trails 5-3 it is still pretty even.

[The Special Juan]

Well there we go, century 101, after being kept off the table for a long, long while. Good stuff so far and hopefully they can keep it up tomorrow.

[CaledonianCraig]

Well there we go, century 101, after being kept off the table for a long, long while.  Good stuff so far and hopefully they can keep it up tomorrow.

I'd say better quality than the other semi. What do you reckon?

[The Special Juan]

I never saw the first session as I was working but in theory it should be a better match. We've got two players in one match who are terrific in every department compared to a genius v Mr Consistent (sorry Barry, you're matchplay is great but there's no individual area of your game which is better than anyone else's).

[CaledonianCraig]

I never saw the first session as I was working but in theory it should be a better match.  We've got two players in one match who are terrific in every department compared to a genius v Mr Consistent (sorry Barry, you're matchplay is great but there's no individual area of your game which is better than anyone else's).

That is my point about snooker of today though. Hawkins is ranked No.4 in the world but his only strength is consistency. Go back five, ten, fifteen or even twenty years ago and I'd bet the world No.4 at that time had so much more going for them and depressingly Stuart Bingham is world No.6 is he not? It makes me shudder.

1994 World No.4 Jimmy White

1999 World No.4 Ronnie O'Sullivan

2004 World No.4 Paul Hunter

2009 World No.4 Mark Selby

[The Special Juan]

David Ferrer is a top 5 tennis player on nothing more than consistency though.

Anyway, I've gone back 5, 10, 15 years to look at the top 4:

0 years ago - Ding, Robertson, Selby, Hawkins
5 years ago - O'Sullivan, Maguire, Murphy, Selby
10 years ago - Williams, Hendry, O'Sullivan, Higgins
15 years ago - Higgins, Hendry, O'Sullivan, Doherty

Hell, let's look at the top 10 5, 10 and 15 years ago out of interest.  For the "now" rankings I'm using what the rankings will be come the first match of next season.

Now

Ding

Robertson

Selby

Hawkins

O'Sullivan

Trump

Murphy

Fu

Allen

Walden

5 years ago	10 years ago	15 years ago
O'Sullivan	Williams	Higgins
Maguire	Hendry	Hendry
Murphy	O'Sullivan	O'Sullivan
Selby	Higgins	Doherty
Higgins	Lee	Williams
Hendry	Doherty	Parrott
Carter	Ebdon	Ebdon
Day	Hunter	McManus
Ebdon	Stevens	Lee
Robertson	McManus	Drago

What I think is that the quality of the top 4 players is better than it was 5 years ago but not as good as 10 and 15 years ago.  The top 10 nowadays though is stronger than 5 and 15 years ago but not 10 years ago when snooker was at something of a high with many of the best players every at their peaks.

[The Special Juan]

My view that you can only judge players at the end of their careers still stands though.

[CaledonianCraig]

Sorry but I disagree. There is no way on earth the likes of Hawkins and Bingham would have gotten near the top ten let alone the top five in the last twenty five years I'd say perhaps even thirty five years. If we go forward twenty years from now and discuss the greatest players of the early 2000's into the 2010's then it is guaranteed that Hawkins and Bingham would not get a mention. Also in the top ten now we have similar-type players who are no more than also rans when it comes to major title winners ie world titles).

[CaledonianCraig]

The first frame of the morning says it all. Hawkins in with a good chance and breaks down on 8 missing a very makeable red and gifts the frame away. Not what I expect from a world No.4.

[Guest]

9-2 O'Sullivan. On his way with ease to the final.

[CaledonianCraig]

9-2 O'Sullivan. On his way with ease to the final.

Man V Boy springs to mind really. More to do with Hawkins inefficiencies than magnificence of O'Sullivan to be honest.

[The Special Juan]

Sorry but I disagree. There is no way on earth the likes of Hawkins and Bingham would have gotten near the top ten let alone the top five in the last twenty five years I'd say perhaps even thirty five years. If we go forward twenty years from now and discuss the greatest players of the early 2000's into the 2010's then it is guaranteed that Hawkins and Bingham would not get a mention. Also in the top ten now we have similar-type players who are no more than also rans when it comes to major title winners ie world titles).

I think you're being overly critical now. There were some really.... ordinary.... players in the 80s and 90s so to say they were better than Bingham just isn't true. Remember, Bingham has made multiple 147s in his career, has won titles and is arguably the only person to beat ROS when he was playing well this season.

[CaledonianCraig]

Bingham is a journeyman - no more no less. If we are judging players on 147's then Kirk Stevens of the 80s managed them as did White and others. Bingham has won ONE ranking title in his career! I will say no more. He floated around in the lower reaches of the rankings for years when real quality was at the top and as quality at the top has dropped he has sneaked in. The same goes for Hawkins. Look at the match this morning - he had chances in all of them and failed due to poor shots at key times. World No.4's of real quality of old would never have passed up chances like he has. It irks me to hear the commentators drone on about Ronnie - yes he is by far the best in the world at the moment but for me that is not saying a lot at all such is the lack of quality around today and it plainly obvious.

[The Special Juan]

I'm not going to disagree about Hawkins as I think he's distinctly average and has taken full advantage of easy draws at the Crucible the past two years.

Bingham's made 3. Kirk made 1, Jimmy made 1. Someone from Cyprus has made 1!! You could make the point that Bingham's taken advantage of a dip in quality but I can counter that with "maybe it's these new tournaments that have spurred him on". I don't know why I'm defending him in all honesty!!

[CaledonianCraig]

Like I said earlier, take a trip forward in time twenty years and ask snooker fans for the top players of 2000 to 2015 and Bingham and Hawkins would come into nobody's list and neither would Fu who is also in the world top ten and neither will Ricky Walden also in the top ten.

[The Special Juan]

I refuse to hear anything bad about Ricky Walden.

[CaledonianCraig]

I refuse to hear anything bad about Ricky Walden.

Cover your ears then as there isn't anything to put him in anything but the also rans category and not an all-time great.

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