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Post by Adam on May 3, 2022 16:03:25 GMT -5
So pleased he won it. Incredible how he has 'matured' over the years. One more! I honestly don't think there's anything in his game that has declined. The defensive and safety skills have definitely improved compared to the all out attacking approach he did earlier on in his career. Sometimes I think that's what wins it for him and it can cover up a decline in attacking match play, but then again he scored a record of centuries this year too showing that his usual attacking instincts are as good as ever. Desperate for him to break the record now. Given his performance this year, I think there' still a good few years to do it. Although I love the symmetry of 7 titles at each of the 3 majors, he’s got to have the overall world titles record to himself… he’s just too good to share it. Still gutted Hendry never made it to 8 as I love the nickname Hendry the 8th. If Ronnie’s makes it to 8, then he needs to round it up to 10, as Jimmy White has recently predicted. I doubt it’d happen, but I’ve been stupid enough to write Ronnie off before.
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Post by matt on May 3, 2022 16:29:10 GMT -5
I honestly don't think there's anything in his game that has declined. The defensive and safety skills have definitely improved compared to the all out attacking approach he did earlier on in his career. Sometimes I think that's what wins it for him and it can cover up a decline in attacking match play, but then again he scored a record of centuries this year too showing that his usual attacking instincts are as good as ever. Desperate for him to break the record now. Given his performance this year, I think there' still a good few years to do it. Although I love the symmetry of 7 titles at each of the 3 majors, he’s got to have the overall world titles record to himself… he’s just too good to share it. Still gutted Hendry never made it to 8 as I love the nickname Hendry the 8th. If Ronnie’s makes it to 8, then he needs to round it up to 10, as Jimmy White has recently predicted. I doubt it’d happen, but I’ve been stupid enough to write Ronnie off before. Hendry was my favourite, still remember being gutted as a kid that he didn't win 2002 final and always thought he was the undisputed greatest. Ronnie was only ever spoken of as the 'most naturally gifted' player years ago but he slowly chipped into the records. Like yourself, I doubted him, but only because you give snooker players a good decade at the top before decline (happened with Reardon, Davis and Hendry). The fact he's 21 years on and still producing it is unreal. His longevity is as amazing as his natural talent.
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Snooker
May 3, 2022 17:07:22 GMT -5
Post by The Escapist on May 3, 2022 17:07:22 GMT -5
A dialled-in Ronnie is simply the best snooker player there's ever been. Hendry was the greatest competitor and the greatest champion, I do love him, but Ronnie has played when the wealth of talent has never been stronger, and when he's on it, he just steam-rolls the field. He was never behind in a match after the end of a session once this tournament. Against Gilbert, Mark Allen, Maguire, John Higgins, and Judd Trump. He didn't lose a session in 2012. He took a year off and then won it handily again in 2013. And it's not just records, it's the personality and talent that's on display every time he comes to a big tournament with the right mind-set. If he had been working with the psychologist he found in 2011 since the start, I genuinely think he'd have won over ten Worlds and over thirty majors.
Anyway, my top ten as standing:
1. Ronnie O' Sullivan 2. Stephen Hendry 3. Steve Davis 4. John Higgins 5. Ray Reardon 6. Mark Selby 7. Alex Higgins 8. Joe Davis 9. Mark Williams 10. Neil Robertson
Trump should really get up on list if he gets his arse in gear and wins some more Triple Crowns.
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Post by settingson on May 3, 2022 18:34:58 GMT -5
I'm old enough (and boring enough) to have loved Steve Davis in the 80's and then been gutted to watch Hendry eclipse him in the 90's. Then Ronnie came along and eclipsed Hendry. It's the way of things ... The standard now is so incredibly high, it's difficult to see how it can get much better, but it will.
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Post by thomaslivesforever on May 4, 2022 2:25:02 GMT -5
So pleased he won it. Incredible how he has 'matured' over the years. One more! I honestly don't think there's anything in his game that has declined. The defensive and safety skills have definitely improved compared to the all out attacking approach he did earlier on in his career. Sometimes I think that's what wins it for him and it can cover up a decline in attacking match play, but then again he scored a record of centuries this year too showing that his usual attacking instincts are as good as ever. Desperate for him to break the record now. Given his performance this year, I think there' still a good few years to do it. To be fair Ronnie has been struggling this season for form especially early on, even his win at the World Grand Prix wasn’t that impressive until his last session blitz against Robertson. What has impressed me is his willingness to keep going, he’s played a lot of tournaments this season. This win is a result of his determination as finally in the last few comps his form returned.
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Post by The Escapist on May 4, 2022 10:43:04 GMT -5
I honestly don't think there's anything in his game that has declined. The defensive and safety skills have definitely improved compared to the all out attacking approach he did earlier on in his career. Sometimes I think that's what wins it for him and it can cover up a decline in attacking match play, but then again he scored a record of centuries this year too showing that his usual attacking instincts are as good as ever. Desperate for him to break the record now. Given his performance this year, I think there' still a good few years to do it. To be fair Ronnie has been struggling this season for form especially early on, even his win at the World Grand Prix wasn’t that impressive until his last session blitz against Robertson. What has impressed me is his willingness to keep going, he’s played a lot of tournaments this season. This win is a result of his determination as finally in the last few comps his form returned. He's said in a few interviews that he used to only be able to win when he felt he was at his top form, when he could beat anyone, but if he was short of that, even if he won the first round, his head would just go and he would lose interest and beat himself up. Working with Steve Peters helped him find the ability to be able to win and keep his head for the whole tournament even when not playing his best, and you can really see the difference. World #1 at his age, in this era, is insane.
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Post by thomaslivesforever on May 4, 2022 10:55:17 GMT -5
To be fair Ronnie has been struggling this season for form especially early on, even his win at the World Grand Prix wasn’t that impressive until his last session blitz against Robertson. What has impressed me is his willingness to keep going, he’s played a lot of tournaments this season. This win is a result of his determination as finally in the last few comps his form returned. He's said in a few interviews that he used to only be able to win when he felt he was at his top form, when he could beat anyone, but if he was short of that, even if he won the first round, his head would just go and he would lose interest and beat himself up. Working with Steve Peters helped him find the ability to be able to win and keep his head for the whole tournament even when not playing his best, and you can really see the difference. World #1 at his age, in this era, is insane. Oh I agree with a lot of that. Ronnie is a genius, probably my favourite sportsman of all time. Can’t think of any other person or team who has consistently given me that amount of joy and entertainment. He’s been working with Steve for a long time, he’s been able to dig in for a while. 2014 UK against Judd is one that sticks out, he battled in that tournament and won it while below his best. Things really changed when he worked with Reardon. The semi finals against Hendry in 2004 and 2008 are the most startling display of that partnership produced. I’m sure you have seen them but anyone who hasn’t should look them up!
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Snooker
May 4, 2022 11:42:36 GMT -5
via mobile
Adam likes this
Post by thomaslivesforever on May 4, 2022 11:42:36 GMT -5
I’ve probably posted this before but always worth another look 😂
Head to 19 minutes to see something totally outrageous.
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Snooker
May 4, 2022 11:59:58 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by thomaslivesforever on May 4, 2022 11:59:58 GMT -5
Should have probably posted the video the first time 😂
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Snooker
May 4, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5
Post by matt on May 4, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5
I honestly don't think there's anything in his game that has declined. The defensive and safety skills have definitely improved compared to the all out attacking approach he did earlier on in his career. Sometimes I think that's what wins it for him and it can cover up a decline in attacking match play, but then again he scored a record of centuries this year too showing that his usual attacking instincts are as good as ever. Desperate for him to break the record now. Given his performance this year, I think there' still a good few years to do it. To be fair Ronnie has been struggling this season for form especially early on, even his win at the World Grand Prix wasn’t that impressive until his last session blitz against Robertson. What has impressed me is his willingness to keep going, he’s played a lot of tournaments this season. This win is a result of his determination as finally in the last few comps his form returned. It's a difficult one, I can't say I observed that early form too closely but even the great snooker players are rarely ever consistent tournament to tournament. Question is, was that form you saw down to ability (tentative signs of a decline) or his mentality?
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Snooker
May 4, 2022 15:40:54 GMT -5
Post by The Escapist on May 4, 2022 15:40:54 GMT -5
I thought Ronnie played great in that Champions League or whatever it was before the World's, was unlucky in that close loss to Neil Robertson who has been the best player of the season and always performs best away from the Crucible. If he can keep his motivation, mentality, etc, then he can still be dangerous in every tournament.
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Snooker
May 4, 2022 19:22:18 GMT -5
Post by matt on May 4, 2022 19:22:18 GMT -5
He's said in a few interviews that he used to only be able to win when he felt he was at his top form, when he could beat anyone, but if he was short of that, even if he won the first round, his head would just go and he would lose interest and beat himself up. Working with Steve Peters helped him find the ability to be able to win and keep his head for the whole tournament even when not playing his best, and you can really see the difference. World #1 at his age, in this era, is insane. Oh I agree with a lot of that. Ronnie is a genius, probably my favourite sportsman of all time. Can’t think of any other person or team who has consistently given me that amount of joy and entertainment. He’s been working with Steve for a long time, he’s been able to dig in for a while. 2014 UK against Judd is one that sticks out, he battled in that tournament and won it while below his best. Things really changed when he worked with Reardon. The semi finals against Hendry in 2004 and 2008 are the most startling display of that partnership produced. I’m sure you have seen them but anyone who hasn’t should look them up! Reardon really got the ball rolling for Ronnie in terms of focusing on defensive aspects of the game he didn't want to. I'd be fascinated to watch his 2001 championship wins and see how he got through scrappy frames. Although old habits die hard - sure there's a story that Reardon just got up fed up and left when Ronnie refused to play safety in one match!
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Post by The Escapist on May 4, 2022 20:12:39 GMT -5
If anyone hasn't watched Hendry's Instagram interviews with some of the top players from lockdown, I highly recommend them. You only see the true personalities of people like Ronnie and Williams when they're talking with a snooker great who they respect rather than some mug from the BBC or Eurosport, and both of them come across very well. Williams is just the cool uncle everyone wishes they had, all warm jokes and kebabs and faded tattoos. Ronnie is like Liam in that he's obviously a massive twat, but he's loveable and real and an icon, and probably also a decent bloke when tuned in.
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Snooker
May 5, 2022 14:00:43 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by globe on May 5, 2022 14:00:43 GMT -5
For me, Jimmy White and Alex Higgins were every bit as naturally talented as Ronnie but other circumstances prevented them winning as many world titles as him:
Higgins - came up against Davis who was a machine coupled with his chaotic life.
Jimmy- if he was born 10 years later or 10 years earlier he’d have avoided peak Davis and Hendry - he’d have 5 or 6 worlds if that was the case.
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Snooker
May 5, 2022 17:44:04 GMT -5
Post by matt on May 5, 2022 17:44:04 GMT -5
For me, Jimmy White and Alex Higgins were every bit as naturally talented as Ronnie but other circumstances prevented them winning as many world titles as him: Higgins - came up against Davis who was a machine coupled with his chaotic life. Jimmy- if he was born 10 years later or 10 years earlier he’d have avoided peak Davis and Hendry - he’d have 5 or 6 worlds if that was the case. Before my time but I was listening to Barry Hearn who said exactly the same about Jimmy, should have won 5 or 6 he was that gifted. Thing is that rock n roll lifestyle stopped him from getting over the finish line in the crucial moments. He genuinely believed if he got serious off the table like Hendry it would have worked for him. And if he had done so, he may very well have reduced Hendry's total of seven world titles to three (just looked and they played each other in the world final an astonishing 4 times) and we'd never have the discussion about Hendry as the greatest. Same goes for Higgins but that was sadly obvious for everyone.
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Post by thomaslivesforever on May 8, 2022 16:03:19 GMT -5
To be fair Ronnie has been struggling this season for form especially early on, even his win at the World Grand Prix wasn’t that impressive until his last session blitz against Robertson. What has impressed me is his willingness to keep going, he’s played a lot of tournaments this season. This win is a result of his determination as finally in the last few comps his form returned. It's a difficult one, I can't say I observed that early form too closely but even the great snooker players are rarely ever consistent tournament to tournament. Question is, was that form you saw down to ability (tentative signs of a decline) or his mentality? That’s a really good question. After his 5 final defeats in the season before this one and his form at the start of this one I was concerned that it was a sign of decline. He has, however, proved me wrong again thankfully. I think it took a lot work to produce what he has at the back end of the season but that’s a testament to his determination to keep going to the well. You need two out of the three disciplines working at a high level to win tournaments. Break building, safety and long potting. The first has rarely been a problem for Ronnie the second and third are less dependable. At the World Champs something that wasn’t commented on enough was how good his safety was. The more trouble you put someone in, the easier the next chance is usually.
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Snooker
May 16, 2022 16:32:55 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by globe on May 16, 2022 16:32:55 GMT -5
For me, Jimmy White and Alex Higgins were every bit as naturally talented as Ronnie but other circumstances prevented them winning as many world titles as him: Higgins - came up against Davis who was a machine coupled with his chaotic life. Jimmy- if he was born 10 years later or 10 years earlier he’d have avoided peak Davis and Hendry - he’d have 5 or 6 worlds if that was the case. Before my time but I was listening to Barry Hearn who said exactly the same about Jimmy, should have won 5 or 6 he was that gifted. Thing is that rock n roll lifestyle stopped him from getting over the finish line in the crucial moments. He genuinely believed if he got serious off the table like Hendry it would have worked for him. And if he had done so, he may very well have reduced Hendry's total of seven world titles to three (just looked and they played each other in the world final an astonishing 4 times) and we'd never have the discussion about Hendry as the greatest. Same goes for Higgins but that was sadly obvious for everyone. Jimmy lost 5 finals in a row 1990-94, 4 of them to Hendry. He also lost in 84 to Davis when Davis was dominating. In retrospect he probably sees the 91 final again John Parrot as his biggest opportunity to with world championship. Parrot got absolutely hammered himself from Davis in the 89 final.
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Snooker
Nov 19, 2022 15:36:00 GMT -5
Post by matt on Nov 19, 2022 15:36:00 GMT -5
Watching this Allen/Lisowski match, not a fan of Allen at all and Jack seems a fairly decent guy. A Ding/Lisowski final would be just fine.
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Snooker
Nov 20, 2022 12:20:57 GMT -5
Post by The Escapist on Nov 20, 2022 12:20:57 GMT -5
Hope Ding can carry this home, now.
Such a good player, would be a shame if Bingham and Dott finish with World Titles but not him.
I also take a weird, sadistic pleasure in Lisowski's bottling nature. So talented, but the schadenfreude is real.
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Snooker
Nov 20, 2022 16:08:24 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by thomaslivesforever on Nov 20, 2022 16:08:24 GMT -5
Hope Ding can carry this home, now. Such a good player, would be a shame if Bingham and Dott finish with World Titles but not him. I also take a weird, sadistic pleasure in Lisowski's bottling nature. So talented, but the schadenfreude is real. I think mentally he’s under a lot of pressure. He hasn’t had much luck since the start of the evening session either
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Post by matt on Nov 20, 2022 18:58:30 GMT -5
Hope Ding can carry this home, now. Such a good player, would be a shame if Bingham and Dott finish with World Titles but not him. I also take a weird, sadistic pleasure in Lisowski's bottling nature. So talented, but the schadenfreude is real. I think mentally he’s under a lot of pressure. He hasn’t had much luck since the start of the evening session either Ahh damn, it completely fell apart for Ding Junhui. Talent is there, he just needs to sort out these moments in his head and he'd be world champion. Fair play to Allen though, incredible resolve to get back.
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Snooker
Nov 28, 2022 16:45:48 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by thomaslivesforever on Nov 28, 2022 16:45:48 GMT -5
If anyone hasn’t watched it from to tonight, give it a look, it’s awesome. The 🐐 breaking more records.
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Snooker
Dec 12, 2022 13:54:55 GMT -5
Post by matt on Dec 12, 2022 13:54:55 GMT -5
Yan Bingtao suspended amid match fixing investigation, that's a huge scalp.
Worrying trend here too. I was at the Scottish Open a week back taking in a couple of days and in all honesty, I doubt the majority of players there make serious money when taking overheads into account (they are not contracted so pay for accommodation, coaching, travel, etc). Go far in tournaments and you can recoup and gain a hefty profit but obviously only a select few.
To really reap rewards you have to be an elite player. Outside of that, more will be tempted to throw a game.
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Snooker
Dec 13, 2022 7:30:54 GMT -5
Post by thomaslivesforever on Dec 13, 2022 7:30:54 GMT -5
Yan Bingtao suspended amid match fixing investigation, that's a huge scalp. Worrying trend here too. I was at the Scottish Open a week back taking in a couple of days and in all honesty, I doubt the majority of players there make serious money when taking overheads into account (they are not contracted so pay for accommodation, coaching, travel, etc). Go far in tournaments and you can recoup and gain a hefty profit but obviously only a select few. To really reap rewards you have to be an elite player. Outside of that, more will be tempted to throw a game. Yan is such an odd one, not only have I never seen a suspicious game but he must be earning decent money. He's a top player.
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Snooker
Apr 22, 2023 14:07:27 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by thomaslivesforever on Apr 22, 2023 14:07:27 GMT -5
Anyone been watching? Vafaei should have perhaps kept his thoughts to himself. Chat shit, get banged as the young people say.
Shelby looking good as well.
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