GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Any snooker fans on the forum? I have just seen John Higgins got a 147. Must have been weird with no crowd at the Crucible.
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Snooker
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eMeS
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I think I enjoyed it, on TV, back in the 1980s. In my teens I played billiards for a short period, but was never introduced to snooker - perhaps the venue didn't own a set of snooker balls.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Billiards is a very skilled game.
In the 1980s there was Alex Higgins and Jimmy White - great entertainers. Snooker then lost its way a bit and I stopped watching until the full emergence of The Rocket.
In the 1980s there was Alex Higgins and Jimmy White - great entertainers. Snooker then lost its way a bit and I stopped watching until the full emergence of The Rocket.
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eMeS
Member
I remember my mother telling me that her father always told her that "Billiards is a very skilled game", but he died 20 years before I played.
Sean Davidson
Member
The best match I ever saw was a repeat of Hurricane Higgins v Ray Reardon during the lock down one Saturday, absolutely enthralling, a pleasure to watch, the new people are undoubtedly good at snooker, however, Ronnie aside, they completely fail to entertain.
eMeS
Member
At the moment I'm dipping in and out of TV from the ongoing Championship at Sheffield. There's a lady refereeing one of the matches, and that's reminded me, that I've never seen a woman playing snooker on TV, or elsewhere. What's the problem? Tables too high?
And, how does a referee remember precisely where the white ball was, when it has to be returned to its last spot?
And, how does a referee remember precisely where the white ball was, when it has to be returned to its last spot?
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
They use TVs and other referees to respot balls these days on televised matches
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GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Ronnie is doing pretty good.
Whilst he is probably the most natural player ever, he is really starting to do my head in with the constant attention seeking in the media. Part of me wishes he would actually just retire now!
bearhugger
Member
But then we would have him as a pundit, all the talk & none of the playing!
MidlandsChap
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I dont think he is the attention seeking type. Yes he speaks rather bluntly and as a result the media will be all over it, but I would not call him a constant attention seeker.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Agreed
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Not looking too shabby for the Rocket
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
One thing I've always been curious about:
Why doesn't snooker, when most others ports do, have a 3rd place playoff match between the two losing semi finalists?
Why doesn't snooker, when most others ports do, have a 3rd place playoff match between the two losing semi finalists?
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
That is a great question and have never thought about until you posted this.
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
Thank you.
I'd certainly like to see a play off, especially in the World, as it would mean an extra 2 days of play plus the finalists would be fully rested before the final which should also mean a more equal level of play, increasing the chances of it going to a deciding frame..
greatkingrat
Established Member
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While some sports have 3rd place playoffs, many don't. For example, there are no playoffs in tennis (apart from at the Olympics). In football there is only a playoff at the World Cup. The problem is that in such matches, the players concerned often don't really care about the match and they tend to rate poorly for TV purposes. Also it would be difficult to schedule for snooker - if you extend the tournament by 2 days the final would no longer be on the weekend.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
very true. Wimbledon/US Open, French and Australian opens don't have a 3rd place playoff iirc.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
No you are not the only one.
No! Selby plays a different tactical game but that is what makes snooker intriguing. Big breaks are fine but guile and cunning are also part of the game
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
That is very true but I grew up watching Hurricane Higgins and then Whirlwind White. The Rocket and the Juddernaught are of the same mould. I just find Selby boring.
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If the tactic is to bore his opponents and many of the people watching, then it usually works.
His playing style is very easily the blandest I've ever seen in the twenty years I've been watching snooker, and in my opinion it doesn't offer anywhere near the same level of entertainment that players such as O'Sullivan, Williams, Trump and Wilson provide.
I understand your point but snooker is a strategic game. If you want to see speedy tons, then watch the shootout. Snooker is a delicate and intricate game where the fast boys can be caught in the web of the tactician.
Delighted to see Ronnie win his sixth and I hope he does achieve a seventh world title which would surely end any doubt over his claim to be the greatest of all time.
I couldn't agree more on Selby who is my least favourite of the current top-level players alongside Murphy. His overly cautious style and slow play is dreadful to watch, and I'm convinced he deliberately played slowly as a tactic and also played on when needing five or more snookers a couple of times. Nothing illegal in that of course but painful to watch and a tad underhand.
As for his comments after the semi-final calling O'Sullivan "disrespectful", it smacked of sour grapes. I'm sure he regrets what he said now.
Funnily enough, I didn't mind watching Ebdon in small doses, who was another much-disliked slow player. His incredible determination and somewhat more attacking style made him a better watch than Selby.
I couldn't agree more on Selby who is my least favourite of the current top-level players alongside Murphy. His overly cautious style and slow play is dreadful to watch, and I'm convinced he deliberately played slowly as a tactic and also played on when needing five or more snookers a couple of times. Nothing illegal in that of course but painful to watch and a tad underhand.
As for his comments after the semi-final calling O'Sullivan "disrespectful", it smacked of sour grapes. I'm sure he regrets what he said now.
Funnily enough, I didn't mind watching Ebdon in small doses, who was another much-disliked slow player. His incredible determination and somewhat more attacking style made him a better watch than Selby.
There are huge doubts about O'Sullivan claiming to be the best ever - did he ever actually say that?
Hendry has the better record
Judd Trump has put the old boy back in his box plenty of times over the last 2 years as well
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
The last point is surely the easiest to solve - just start the tournament two days earlier?
If there were graded cash prizes for 3rd and 4th place, that might get round the risk of the players not caring about it.
Not being into football, I didn't realise it was just the World Cup because I quite often see references to play offs on the news with regard to domestic football - although I'm not really paying attention to that.
Ronnie has never referred to himself as the greatest ever (to my knowledge) but the vast majority of snooker pundits and players have. He has most of the big records now, be it 'Triple Crown' tournaments, ranking events, century breaks, maximum breaks. It has to be said that O'Sullivan has played at the highest level for a lot longer than Hendry too, who monopolised the 1990s but won relatively little after that.
I've always been a Stephen Hendry fan and there will always be debate about different eras and the fact there are a lot more ranking events now than in the 1990s when Hendry was at his peak. I have to say Hendry makes an excellent commentator as well: the best in the business for me.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Agreed. Ronnie is very modest and has never claimed to be the greatest but heaps praise on people like John Higgins etc. it is other commentators etc who have said Ronnie is the greatest.
Hendry is a really good commentator.
Hendry is a really good commentator.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I see there was a bit more controversy last week wit he Mark Allen moving when Ronnie was on the shot incident.
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