Redcafe Snooker

Ah, OK. Can't blame you for that.

I'm used to all the Home Nations being incredibly anti-English - always puzzles me how many English I hear that wants the others to win rather than respond to their hatred with the same. So can't disagree with you at all for doing so and I'm similar with their national teams - certainly don't 'want them to win' like I hear many do.

Just seems a quirk at the moment that a couple of the younger players I like are Welsh - Jackson Page and Liam Davies. The only other Welsh player I remember particularly liking over the years has been Matthew Stevens (though very glad to see him lose yesterday!)
 
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MC89 said:
World championships moving from the crucible after 2027
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Has that been confirmed, and if so, do we know who might be hosting it?

While the Crucible is iconic as snooker's home, it'd be fascinating to see the World Championship hosted somewhere else. Gosh, how I'd love for it to be in China and for Ding to win it. Highly unlikely, but that would be a fairytale story.
 
A more likely alternative is for them to completely re-do the Crucible area.

There has been talk before of almost creating a Wimbledon type setup with a 'Centre Table' and a 'Number One Table'.

With the order of play arranged at the start of each day according to who is in action.

This would enable them to practically double the capacity and create somewhere suitable for the Qualifiers and seniors etc. as well.
 
Money talks, and this has only been heading one way for quite a while. It's sadly a matter of when, not if, the sport becomes mostly Asian based and all / the main tournaments are held there. I'm hoping later, but there's a momentum building and it looks like it's going to be sooner.

Saudi Arabia have already 'bought' a 4th Major, and the talk of moving away from the Crucible keeps on building - and that's the hard part, once the history of it has been removed, then moving it to China or Saudi Arabia instead of other UK places will be the easy part.
 
Moving the WC abroad will kill snooker in the UK.

It's already finding itself in the shadow of darts amongst other things and this will be another huge blow.

The way things are going we may as well just move all sport to Saudi Arabia and not bother doing anything outside that country.

Will be interesting to see what ticket sales are like in that hotbed of snooker because no one from Europe will go for it.
 
Heard the commentators mention, and read some discussion online, that Cao Yupeng may retire at the end of this season.

If he (or any other top 64) does, then with all those outside the top 64 now knocked out, that would presumably mean Julian Leclercq moves up from #65 and stays on tour that way instead? The positive of that being he gets to keep his current ranking points. The downside being its only a one year card instead of the two that he'd get from being one of the top 4 in the one year list (currently 2nd). That would also mean, I guess, that Ashley Hugill would move up from 5th to 4th on the one year list and get a new 2 year card that way?
 
ChrisNelson said:
Moving the WC abroad will kill snooker in the UK.

It's already finding itself in the shadow of darts amongst other things and this will be another huge blow.

The way things are going we may as well just move all sport to Saudi Arabia and not bother doing anything outside that country.

Will be interesting to see what ticket sales are like in that hotbed of snooker because no one from Europe will go for it.
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Is the rumour it will go abroad?

It’s a weird one because yes, the Crucible isn’t the ideal venue in terms of numbers which obviously means less income but that’s not really the biggest thing surely? You can’t put a snooker table in the middle of Wembley and expect to fill it. The table as a focal point isn’t big enough. So why not make the crucible centre stage for the headline matches and find a number of other venues nearby in Sheffield to get as many bums on seats around every match table?
 
Neil Robertson out which is a shame because I love the way he plays the game. He just hasn't been anywhere near his former self over the past few years.
 
Robbo losing is a disappointing way to end what's generally been a good qualifying section for me.

Pleased to see Lisowski and Page get through. And, as regards securing tour places, happy for Michael White, Ben Mertens and Julien Leclercq.

So overall, very satisfying. But a shame for it to end with one of the two players I most wanted to get there missing out in a final frame decider.
 
Tough 'reward' for Jackson Page...


First Round draw

Luca Brecel v David Gilbert
Robert Milkins v Pang Junxu
Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby v Joe O'Connor
Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale
John Higgins v Jamie Jones
Mark Allen v Robbie Williams
Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
Tom Ford v Ricky Walden
Zhang Anda v Jak Jones
Mark Williams v Si Jiahui
Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski
Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham
Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Jackson Page
 
Yeah, not a great draw for the players I'm looking out for - qualifiers Lisowski and Page got tough seeds in Ding Junhui and O'Sullivan; while Judd Trump drew as tough a qualifier as he could have got in Hossein Vafaei.

Presumably Neil Robertson would have been the same ball number as Jamie Jones had he won? If so, John Higgins v Neil Robertson would have been a juicy first round match!
 
Only one debutant this year - Joe O'Connor which is quite surprising but again shows you the ever increasing strength of the qualifying competition.

There are a few ties in there which wouldn't look out of place later in the draw.

Suspect there's some butterfly effect to think about with the ball that came out. If it had been Robertson they'd have spent another 20 minutes talking about how he's the strongest player to come through qualifying since God was a lad etc... and everything would have changed but there were lots of first round ties he could have got where he would have been favourite. He was unlucky to get such a tough draw in the final round of the Q's.
 
Of course Brecel gets Brecel'd in the first round of his defence...... or not. Don't write off the Brecel miracle comeback even countering a Brecel miracle comeback :lol:
 
Ive always liked Selby but have always found it irritating how so many people (fans, pundits, and even some players) categorise him as some anti snooker, borefest.

Give me a tense safety battle over a 147 any day. Gary Wilson and Zhou Yuelong final frame in the Scottish open for instance, is what seperates snooker with other cue sports. Don't get me wrong a 147 is ridiculous, hard to fathom, but in reality they are quite uncommon. Maybe because my highest break is circa 30 that I get so much excitement over safety battles. For me Selbys safety play at his pomp was the best I've ever seen. Excruciating for his opponents but amazing for me.

Ronnie was so vocal about how he dreaded playing Selby when really Mark knew exactly how to play against Ronnie and how to frustrate him. If Ronnie is frustrated, you might beat him. If he's content then no one can.


Ronnie's the goat and only has to be at 80% to be unplayable but he's not a pleasant individual. The way he speaks to some refs, his self professed lack of interest in the sport, when he loses that is, and which is absolute bollocks as he is a fanatic, plays it everyday, since he was too small to even reach the table, and wouldn't be where he is without it. Everyone knows he's the goat, everyone says it to him. Why does he have to pretend that he isn't that interested in the game? You dont get to that level of any game or sport without absolute dedication, before talent.

Selby on the other hand is viewed as boring and generally unlikeable due to his style but he is an absolute gentlemen in real life, based on people I know that have met him. Listen to most players talk of him behind the scenes and he's very different to the hard nosed person you see on the table. Just look at how Ronnie walks straight past fans outside the crucible yet Mark has time for all of them.
 
Joe O'Connor is an actual Mark Selby fan boy!

He's been in the crowd for three of Selby's title wins as a supporter and they're extremely close.

Must be really strange meeting effectively your hero in such a huge match.
 
ChrisNelson said:
Joe O'Connor is an actual Mark Selby fan boy!

He's been in the crowd for three of Selby's title wins as a supporter and they're extremely close.

Must be really strange meeting effectively your hero in such a huge match.
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I feel Joe O'Connor will win a big event before long. Has a fantastic temperament !!
 
jeff gurr said:
I feel Joe O'Connor will win a big event before long. Has a fantastic temperament !!
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It's a very impressive Crucible debut. It will be interesting to see how he responds to losing the mini-session 3-1.

He knows how to battle for sure - the final frame of his last qualifying match against Matt Selt was the second longest in history at 110 minutes!

And only last month he reached the Final of the Championship League Winners Group, ironically losing to Selby 3-1.

Other than that his season has been pretty poor with lots of early exits but his run to the final of the Scottish Open last season has him a lot higher in the rankings than he would be otherwise.
 
Sweet Square said:
This used to a real sport for real athletes

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Bill’s wikipedia states he had at least 6 pints before a game and drank one for each frame during the match, consuming between 40-50 pints a day - how is that possible?!
 
Brecel surely threw that match? His play was shocking, some pathetic misses, stupid shot choices, hit an hopes, he played it like a right dickhead.

Wasn't even hiding that he was trying to lose. Painfully obvious.
 
I think it’s been a few pages since I’ve mentioned my utter distain for Shaun Murphy. The porcine cnut. What a pompous prick.

Wanker.
 
Pexbo said:
I think it’s been a few pages since I’ve mentioned my utter distain for Shaun Murphy. The porcine cnut. What a pompous prick.

Wanker.
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This Si geezer looks like he could go all the way. I think he might be Ding to become China’s first World Champion.
 
Pexbo said:
I think it’s been a few pages since I’ve mentioned my utter distain for Shaun Murphy. The porcine cnut. What a pompous prick.

Wanker.
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:lol: seems to be more of that type in snooker than ever before.

Don't know who I dislike more, Murphy, or Carter.
 
One Night Only said:
:lol: seems to be more of that type in snooker than ever before.

Don't know who I dislike more, Murphy, or Carter.
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Carter is just a grumpy weasel. Murphy is a pompous, arrogant, aloof, pretentious, braggart windbag.
 
Seeing bloody Si Juahui beat Mark Williams in a final frame decider just brings back the Ben Mertens qualifier all over again! :(

Ben was so close to knocking out Si Juahui in the 3rd round of qualifiers - 9-7 up, then 40 point lead in the next one before losing. And the penultimate frame even worse - 68-0 up with Si Juahui already needing a snooker, before he got it, won on the black, and then won the decider.

So close to seeing Ben through and Si Juahui out - and now the git looks like he's on another Crucible run.
 
I find the Welsh presenter on the BBC coverage, Catrin Heledd, quite hard work. She presents it more like she's doing Blue Peter or CBBC. Much prefer Hazel Irvine.
 
Bertie Wooster said:
I find the Welsh presenter on the BBC coverage, Catrin Heledd, quite hard work. She presents it more like she's doing Blue Peter or CBBC. Much prefer Hazel Irvine.
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Hazel is fantastic, have a real soft spot for her. Unlike Shaun Murphy who is an arrogant porcine cnut.
 
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