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Ben

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So, I had a look around the forum and not seeing a thread for this, thought I'd create a thread and see if there are any snooker fans around on here?

 

I do enjoy sitting down with a brew and watching, and nowadays there's so much talent on the table that it always makes for exciting tournaments. The World Championships are on at the moment until the 7th of May - arguably the greatest tournament of the season; the one they all want to win. I'll be supporting Ronnie O' Sullivan, my favourite player, but he's inconsistent these days and as a result I won't hold my breath for him to win or anything.

 

Anyone else going to be watching? The BBC have good coverage in the afternoon and evening, and practically all games on the red button too. You can also watch most of the matches online on the BBC.

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I try and catch the highlights when I can, especially the later games. I do like O'Sullivan as well as Higgins.

 

Yeah I enjoy watching Higgins play - he most certainly had a tough time of it today though, battling to win 10-9 against young Liang Wenbo. It was a great match and now he's got over nearly falling to the Crucible Curse, I'm sure he'll go on far through the competition.

 

I also try and play down at the local club every so often, I'm not very good though.

 

I've played a few times, and I wasn't too bad, but I don't have the time to practice regularly enough to be any good. I prefer playing pool, although of course that tends to be a lot easier than the complexities of playing snooker.

 

In any case, a fantastic day of snooker on day one at The Crucible today. As mentioned above, John Higgins had a tough time getting through Liang Wenbo, who pushed him all the way to a final frame, and by rights had enough chances to go a step further and knock him out, too. All the other games are still in progress, but Neil Robertson, one of the favourites, leads Ken Doherty 7-2, Stephen Hendry pulled out a fantastic 147 maximum break on his way to leading 8-1 against Stuart Bingham, Mark Allen is trailing 4-5 to the talented Cao Yupeng, and Martin Gould is losing 6-3 to David Gilbert.

 

Looking forward to seeing the youngest player to ever grace the Crucible stage in 17 year old Luca Brecel, who faces Stephen Maguire at 10:00am. Only seen bits and bats of him but he's apparently a rising star and playing very well. Definitely one to watch.

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Looking forward to seeing the youngest player to ever grace the Crucible stage in 17 year old Luca Brecel, who faces Stephen Maguire at 10:00am. Only seen bits and bats of him but he's apparently a rising star and playing very well. Definitely one to watch.

 

He is losing at the moment, but it will be interesting to see how he does.

I prefer pool as well, mainly because it is easier and cheaper but I do love the challenge of snooker. Their precision is so impressive!

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He is losing at the moment, but it will be interesting to see how he does.

I prefer pool as well, mainly because it is easier and cheaper but I do love the challenge of snooker. Their precision is so impressive!

 

Yeah he was unlucky to be 6-1 down in all fairness, I thought he showed good promise. Nevertheless, two frames at the end and a 116 break has him right back in this when they continue tomorrow now! It'll be fascinating to see if he can pull something out of the locker.

 

I completely agree about the differences between pool and snooker, some things they can do with the ball on a snooker table is sensational.

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I saw Hendry's 147, some incredible shots! Will be great to see the rest of the tournament!

 

Was great! Shows he's still got the game! First major shock of the tournament afoot when Allen was losing 9-5 to Cao Yupeng this afternoon. It's now back to 9-6 and he turned around the same score last year against Matthew Stevens to win 10-9. Would be amazing if he does it again.

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Couple of upsets in the first round then, what with the young Chinese guy Cao Yupeng seeing off Mark Allen, and now just not that long ago Jamie Jones managed to defeat 2005 Champion Shaun Murphy by 10 frames to 8. His first Crucible appearance and he's managed this, I'm sure he's delighted. From what I saw of it he looked good, but Murphy was sloppy, inconsistent and far from at his best.

 

In any case, I was concentrating on the Ronnie O' Sullivan vs. Peter Ebdon match, which was enthralling. Both players haven't been at their best, and there have been a lot of mistakes, but Ronnie is comfortably on top 7-2 after the day's play. It seems very one-sided but he's been helped often by Ebdon missing many easy shots which he should have converted. Nevertheless, good to see The Rocket in winning ways - hopefully he can finish Ebdon off tomorrow and then concentrate on getting better as the tournament progresses.

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Just saw the first half of the Trump v Dale match. Some amazing snooker, especially the final frame.

 

Was great! Not to mention Judd has food poisoning! He's bound to be even better if he gets through.

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All eyes on the John Higgins and Stephen Hendry game this morning. It's looking like it'll be 5-3 to Hendry who's really impressed me so far!

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It's incredible, really. I mean I honestly didn't think he could win more major tournaments, but like you say - he's playing better than he has for years.

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Thought Ronnie looked great in his second round match with Williams, too. Mark was very fortunate to stay in touch with him in terms of frames, and keep the scores at 5-3 to The Rocket. They resume this afternoon, so I have my fingers crossed that O' Sullivan can stretch his lead into something comprehensive come the end of the second session.

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Oh my, and what a session that was. :o Including the frames he won in the previous session, Ronnie won nine in a row to lead 11-3. He was sensation - potting balls and break-building for fun. Certainly the Ronnie I like to see and a force to be reckoned with now. Williams clawed his way back to 11-5 but I think with O'Sullivan in this kind of form there's no stopping him. Bring on the quarter-final Robertson clash! :D

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It was some incredible snooker! Will be a short session tomorrow!

 

Should wrap it up fairly quickly. Now ordinarily I'd say Robertson would beat Ronnie, but in this kind of form it's hard to call. :D

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yeah I saw the odds had moved in Ronnie's favour.

 

You just never know with him, if his head and form is in the right place he can beat anyone - but I'm just never sure! :lol:

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Did you catch the end of the Trump/Carter game? Nail biting tension on the deciding frame! Some easy shots missed and some great snookers.

 

I did indeed. Was tremendous! I think on the balance of things, Carter deserved it in the end; Trump was far from his best throughout the match. Got to say Ali looked nervous at the end when Judd started reeling them snookers off. I bet he wondered what he had to do to get over the line.

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Well the tournament is certainly heating up at the moment. I was disappointed to see Hendry so hapless against Maguire. He's had such a good run but I can't see him coming back from 7-1 down against Stephen Maguire in all fairness. The first session between O'Sullivan and Robertson has just finished and it's the latter that goes into tomorrow 5-3 in the lead, but I'm extremely frustrated that Ronnie messed up in the final frame - it should be 4-4. Pretty tightly fought today and all to play for, but why do I get a bad feeling about it. :(

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Ronnie only ever really loses to himself, if he had the mental discipline of some of the other players he would be unbeatable. That's what makes him such a fan favourite though, he is great to watch, I bet the powers that be wish the O'Sullivan - Robertson game was the final.

 

They all make it look so easy, I plays most weeks and still am really quite poor at the game. I still really enjoy playing but it can get so frustrating missing easy shots far too often.

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Ronnie only ever really loses to himself, if he had the mental discipline of some of the other players he would be unbeatable. That's what makes him such a fan favourite though, he is great to watch, I bet the powers that be wish the O'Sullivan - Robertson game was the final.

 

Yeah, I know. :( It's pretty tragic, but he's been a lot better within his own mind since he started seeing that sports psychologist. I agree with that being what makes him being so good to watch - he's just so unpredictable. I've been a massive fan of him a long time now, one of the most naturally gifted players ever. I wish this was the final too, but here's hoping he comes through.

 

They all make it look so easy, I plays most weeks and still am really quite poor at the game. I still really enjoy playing but it can get so frustrating missing easy shots far too often.

 

That's the main thing that gets me when I watch, particularly with snookers as well. I think to myself how it'd take me hundreds of attempts to get out of some of the snookers they get put in, and more often or not they get out of it and get it safe too. It's ridiculous.

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