Redcafe Snooker

I'm a bit late to the party but I switched off after the first frame of the final. Once Selby went ahead he was turning it into a shit fest. I was never going to be worth watching. I despite Mark Selby. He is everything I hate about snooker.
 
One-frame Shoot Out event added to ranking list
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/36266842

Absolute lunacy. I'm not surprised the players are upset about it. Don't get me wrong, I love the tournament, it's good fun and played in the right spirit.
However ranking points should be reserved the real tests of skill and concentration, not matches that last a maximum of 1 frame or 10 minutes! I'm honestly staggered World Snooker have decided this is a good idea.
 
I watched as much of the championship at the crucible as I could this year. The last time I watched it was when Shaun Murphy won the title and it was around that time the big guns were on the wane. I watched quite a lot of snooker growing up in the mid-late 90's and I know nostalgia is always viewed with rose tinted glasses but this year's standard of snooker seemed to be far worse than I can ever remember it. Is it just me or were the likes of McManus, Doherty, Williams et al just much better in their prime than this current generation?
 
Not really. It was a shit year but the talents of this "generation" are better then your Doherty's and McManus's
 
Third time's the charm.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, known recently for missing final black in 147 break attempt, and that twice! Not this time, bagged his first career 147 century break, and very likely not the last one.

Should be on youtube in a bit.

EDIT: Well, scratch that, he made already one a month ago in Thailand. Going with this pace, should be over Ronnie in a year. :)
 
Jimmy White vs Ronnie in the second round of the Northern Irish Open on Wednesday. :drool:

White was poor as expected these days but still managed to win 4-2. Should be a whitewash for Ronnie. Good spectacle on Wednesday for nostalgia though.
 
Watching Ronnie and having doubts about him is a strange one. I'm not confident when he goes to the table at all. He's being sucked into Selbys game here.
 
Glad someone else bumped this so I didn't have to :)

Stookie said:
Watching Ronnie and having doubts about him is a strange one. I'm not confident when he goes to the table at all. He's being sucked into Selbys game here.
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Agreed. Selby is one of those players Ronnie needs his A game to beat, kinda like that chubby Scot cheat.

Edit: Ronnie gifting him chances at the moment.
 
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Said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of the way Mark Selby plays. I agree that as a match player there is no better, the guy is so hard to beat but it's just so boring to watch.
 
I don't think he's as bad as people make him out to be, honestly.

Match is over at 6-2 for me. Ronnie hasn't shown the form needed at any point during this tournament that makes me believe he can take 8 before Mark takes 4.
 
Unlucky there though. Rare to see him miss so many pots as he has over the last two matches.
 
End of frame. 7-3 still shouts no chance, but if he can go into the interval at 7-5...
 
Jesus what a shot to start the frame :wenger:
 
Didn't know it was Ronnie v Selby.. both my favourite players. Watching it now.
 
Wow three back to back 130+ breaks. Amazing standard.
 
Match was lost this morning, but the evening session sure did deliver some quality stuff. Almost made me forget about the football!
 
Brilliant match.. Ronnie left himself too much to do, Selby is ruthless. Can't make errors against him.
 
Was fantastic to watch. Incredible performance by Selby, Ronnie gave it his all and seemed fully motivated, yet he still didn't have enough. It's amazing how Selby can lose a few frames quickly yet comes back to the table as if nothing has happened and rattles off a century. Mentally so strong.

There are loads of great competitors around at the moment, but Selby is shaping up to be one of the most complete players of all time.
 
I remember people saying 3-4 years ago how Selby's quite disappointing in finals, with losing much more than winning. That changed completely now, he's been ruthless lately in finals - 11 finals played, 10 wins.
 
Raees said:
Brilliant match.. Ronnie left himself too much to do, Selby is ruthless. Can't make errors against him.
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Selby is absolutely ruthless. But I couldn't help feeling he didn't have enough in his game to take it away from Ronnie. Going for stupid shots (which may have served him well in younger days) when a crucial snooker or deadly safety shot would have sufficed was enough for Ronnie to win I reckon. Petulant shot selection almost fecked it up against Fu and did feck it up against a more solid performer, Selby.

That brown ball attempt into the middle pocket. What the Actual feck?!? :nono:
 
Dumbstar said:
Selby is absolutely ruthless. But I couldn't help feeling he didn't have enough in his game to take it away from Ronnie. Going for stupid shots (which may have served him well in younger days) when a crucial snooker or deadly safety shot would have sufficed was enough for Ronnie to win I reckon. Petulant shot selection almost fecked it up against Fu and did feck it up against a more solid performer, Selby.

That brown ball attempt into the middle pocket. What the Actual feck?!? :nono:
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Lack of discipline. Got carried away.. his matchplay is very hit and miss but I guess that is the sheer appeal of Ronnie isn't it. If his decision-making was perfect, he'd be on 10 world titles. He has a petulant streak and it cost him in that match.

I think most people were watching that and expecting a mistake from Ronnie and then for Selby to win (but secretly hoping against the odds that Ronnie would hold it all together).

On the topic of Selby, how many world titles will he win by career end?
 
Raees said:
Lack of discipline. Got carried away.. his matchplay is very hit and miss but I guess that is the sheer appeal of Ronnie isn't it. If his decision-making was perfect, he'd be on 10 world titles. He has a petulant streak and it cost him in that match.

I think most people were watching that and expecting a mistake from Ronnie and then for Selby to win (but secretly hoping against the odds that Ronnie would hold it all together).

On the topic of Selby, how many world titles will he win by career end?
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Selby's no spring chicken so maybe 1 more or at most 2? I thought he would push on from the last time he looked invincible.
 
Dumbstar said:
Selby's no spring chicken so maybe 1 more or at most 2? I thought he would push on from the last time he looked invincible.
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Depends how he ages. He's a late bloomer so might age well.. I hope he gets another 2, seems really passionate about the game and very driven.

Can't believe how good this thread was, had no idea snooker had a strong following on the caf.
 
Raees said:
Depends how he ages. He's a late bloomer so might age well.. I hope he gets another 2, seems really passionate about the game and very driven.

Can't believe how good this thread was, had no idea snooker had a strong following on the caf.
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Is he? He's at his very, very best now, but he's generally been regarded as a top player for nearly a decade or so now. Definitely got another world title or two in him: you'd imagine if he remains sharp and focused (which he almost certainly will) he'll be able to remain somewhere around a world title winning standard till he's about 40.
 
Cheesy said:
Is he? He's at his very, very best now, but he's generally been regarded as a top player for nearly a decade or so now. Definitely got another world title or two in him: you'd imagine if he remains sharp and focused (which he almost certainly will) he'll be able to remain somewhere around a world title winning standard till he's about 40.
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Became a top 16 player in 2007/08 aged 24, Murphy by way of contrast, was 5 in the world a year earlier aged 22. Didn't win a world title until he was aged 30.

Higgins aged 21, world number 2.. Ronnie aged 20, world number 3, Hendry aged 19, world number 4, Williams aged 22, world number 4. All of them won the title pretty young.. O'Sullivan won it quite late (aged 25), but Selby much older before he hit his peak and this in an environment where all the greats were on the wane.

O'Sullivan has had a weird trajectory, young virtuoso but still peaked older and probably explains why he is maintaining his standard more than a Hendry who burnt out before 30.
 
Where does everyone feel snooker is at quality wise right now? A few years back (maybe 10) there seemed to be a bunch of whipper snappers coming through who would looked like they would be sweeping it all up in a few years time.

It's not really been the case and I don't see many 17-24 year olds looking to break through now like there has been in the past.

For me it's down to the standard of match play these days. In previous years potting was enough to see you through but there's been a real drive towards the gritty percentage play in recent years that I think youngsters would really struggle to overcome over the course of the season.

On top of that you've got extra ranking competitions that require more and more air miles for less and less rewards and I think as a sport it's becoming very difficult to break through as a kid.

I think that's going be as damaging as anything long term. As far as I can see there's only 3 players under the age of 25 in the Top 32.
 
Pexbo said:
Where does everyone feel snooker is at quality wise right now? A few years back (maybe 10) there seemed to be a bunch of whipper snappers coming through who would looked like they would be sweeping it all up in a few years time.

It's not really been the case and I don't see many 17-24 year olds looking to break through now like there has been in the past.

For me it's down to the standard of match play these days. In previous years potting was enough to see you through but there's been a real drive towards the gritty percentage play in recent years that I think youngsters would really struggle to overcome over the course of the season.

On top of that you've got extra ranking competitions that require more and more air miles for less and less rewards and I think as a sport it's becoming very difficult to break through as a kid.

I think that's going be as damaging as anything long term. As far as I can see there's only 3 players under the age of 25 in the Top 32.
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Yeah, difficult to see where the next big stars are coming from. The likes of Hendry, O'Sullivan and Higgins were all winning major tournaments in their early 20s - no ones really doing that now. The point about the lack of younger players in the top 32 is likely true as well - the average age of the semi-finalists at the WC's this year was absurdly high compared to lots of previous years.

It was always assumed a boom of talent would emerge from China (and it might at some point) but it's not really been the case.
 
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