summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Trump playing even worse than this afternoon, 8-3 down.
World Snooker Championship
- Thread starter summerisle
- Start date
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
The first frame took about seventy minutes, probably bored him to death.
Drico
Player Valuation: £60m
Late career Selby is an enigma. He’s more inconsistent than ever, but when he puts it together he’s fearsome, capable of handing out paddlins to all and sundry.
Old-school Selby would win this tournament from here. Long-form matches suit him down to the ground. But late career Selby could well find it hard to get back up after this statement tonight. He has everybody else’s number (Hawkins, Higgins, Ding). But I think he’s fragile. He’ll know he has the game to win again in Sheffield, and his aura there grows more than almost anybody else’s once he arrives. So tonight is probably what he needed out of this week. Shots fired. Kyren would be a fascinating test, but that seems in doubt now.
Still anyone’s. And all semi finalists are good to great Sheffield players…
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
O'Sullivan to make late decision on World Championship appearance
Seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan will give himself "as much time as possible" to decide whether to compete at the World Snooker Championship.
www.bbc.co.uk
Drico
Player Valuation: £60m
Of course he’ll be there.O'Sullivan to make late decision on World Championship appearance
Seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan will give himself "as much time as possible" to decide whether to compete at the World Snooker Championship.
All part of the show.
Drico
Player Valuation: £60m
This, today, is my kind of final. Into the trenches - no quarter asked or given. Matchplay at its teak-tough hardest core.
I think Selby has run into form at precisely the right time for Sheffield. Others will have noted his displays and shuddered at the prospect of multi-session marathon matches with the marathon man. I think Ding just raised the white flag at the prospect yesterday, given his self-confessed issues with concentration. You really need to be ready to go to mental war with Selby over the long haul. Few fancy that.
One who always fancied the mental battle was John Higgins. But now, at 50, he knows he isn't going to win on stamina. First things first, though. While everybody knows John Higgins is not the genius-level player he was at his peak (he is unquestionably in the top five of all time in my book), how many people of his current age have ever played the game as well as he currently does? In fact, how many people at ANY age have ever played as well as he currently does? Sometimes, we don't give genuine longevity the respect it deserves. With Ronnie currently AWOL, and Mark Williams battling with contact lenses, Higgins has really turned his career around, particularly this season. When he lost to Selby in a ranking final earlier this season, it seemed like he'd never win a title again. But he has. And he has been one of the best players in the world in 2024/25. That win in China might just give him the belief that he still has what it takes to win tonight.
But Selby in a muti-session final is a different challenge even for the all-time greats. You'd imagine we have seen this movie before with Selby winning with something to spare. Either way, I'm not sure it is critical for either player to win this evening. Both look primed for Sheffield. That said, a Higgins win would truly change his perspective. Neither will want a paddlin', mind. And given the weird results we are seeing lately, you wouldn't completely rule one out.
I hope not, though. I'd like to see this one go close to full length. We all need to tune up for the Crucible.
I think Selby has run into form at precisely the right time for Sheffield. Others will have noted his displays and shuddered at the prospect of multi-session marathon matches with the marathon man. I think Ding just raised the white flag at the prospect yesterday, given his self-confessed issues with concentration. You really need to be ready to go to mental war with Selby over the long haul. Few fancy that.
One who always fancied the mental battle was John Higgins. But now, at 50, he knows he isn't going to win on stamina. First things first, though. While everybody knows John Higgins is not the genius-level player he was at his peak (he is unquestionably in the top five of all time in my book), how many people of his current age have ever played the game as well as he currently does? In fact, how many people at ANY age have ever played as well as he currently does? Sometimes, we don't give genuine longevity the respect it deserves. With Ronnie currently AWOL, and Mark Williams battling with contact lenses, Higgins has really turned his career around, particularly this season. When he lost to Selby in a ranking final earlier this season, it seemed like he'd never win a title again. But he has. And he has been one of the best players in the world in 2024/25. That win in China might just give him the belief that he still has what it takes to win tonight.
But Selby in a muti-session final is a different challenge even for the all-time greats. You'd imagine we have seen this movie before with Selby winning with something to spare. Either way, I'm not sure it is critical for either player to win this evening. Both look primed for Sheffield. That said, a Higgins win would truly change his perspective. Neither will want a paddlin', mind. And given the weird results we are seeing lately, you wouldn't completely rule one out.
I hope not, though. I'd like to see this one go close to full length. We all need to tune up for the Crucible.
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