Hi, just wondering who you guys think and want to win in the World Snooker Championship over the coming week.

I personally think Ronnie O'Sullivan is yet to hit form this week and if he does then there's just no stopping him. The Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui is looking impressive as always but can he handle the pressure??? He still has to get past the legend himself Stephen Hendry (8-8 / 25) As for the internationals, Neil Robertson was outstanding in the first round winning 10-2 and Marco Fu has certainly improved over the last year or so but faces Murphy in the 2nd.

John Higgins has been by the uk press as the main player to stop O'Sullivan in his tracks. Others who might have a say are the attacking starlets such as Maguire & Selby.

The last international player to win the championship other than UK & Irish player was Canada's Cliff Thorburn 1989.

I know Daniel Negreanu played snooker (the real man's game), back in the day so it would be interesting to see who he wants to win.

PS. 6 Red ball snooker (Anyone feeling it?)

1) ??????????????

2) ????????????

3) Tiger Woods?

is steve davis still playing?

oh, and, wtf?

Ooooh a snooker thread. That's new.

Personally I want Higgins to win, he's always been my favourite player. I'd like Murphy to lose in spectacular fashion but he actually looks to be playing well

Oh and what about Hendry beating Ding!? In this day and age I think that's actually a shock result. Here's hoping he can make a deep run, Hendry/Higgins final one time! (Not sure if this is possible, haven't checked the draw)

O'Sullivan is out.


I was pleased Hendry won yesterday, don't think there's much chance of him winning but I'd love it if he did... I'm also hoping Murphy doesn't go far, although it looks like he's doing well unfortunately.

Why does everyone hate Murphy? My friend and I were discussing this last night. We thought it was just because as Scots we have an instant dislike for any English sportsman but then we saw hime getting roundly booed and the facebook group "we hate shaun murphy" is predominately filled with English folks. So why the hate for one of your own?

Ali Carter v Neil Robertson on the red button. 1-1, good game definately 2 for the future. I like Robertson's game a lot.

I have never liked him, just his general demeanor etc.. something I could never really put my finger on.


However, it's kind of been proved correct recently, because the guy is clearly a pretty arrogant hypocrite... you can search for the exact details yourself, but just recently he split up with his wife after he was caught out having an affair, and apparently left a note at the bottom of the stairs for her to read (to dump her) saying he didn't look at her and think 'phoar'. lol! That's a dickish thing to do basically, he didn't even have the decency to tell her to her face.

All the while, he's been preaching to the world about what a Chrstian he is etc... to sum up, he's a dick.

Nice 1st post. It isn't very often that Negreanu visits the General Sport forum so you might be waiting a while for his prediction. On the plus side there are a lot of nice folk here who will talk about almost any sport.

As for the World Snooker Championship, I'll pick who I always pick and that is Stephen Hendry. (The 8th title will come!)

Links to where this can be watched online?

I've been playing pool for awhile now. Nothing great, just your standard B player. Never played snooker though, I'm not sure of any pool halls in my area that have a table.

bbc.co.uk

Although its UK only

No love for Hendry's 147?


I hope he can beat Murphy, I really do... he has to come right out of the blocks tomorrow. If he loses, the only other I'd like to see win is Selby. His match with Higgins could be really good actually.

It was spectacular. Always love watching a 147. Shame he couldn't win though because this is obviously the weaker half of the draw. Can't see Allen or Day causing Murphy too many problems. Sigh.

On the bright side Higgins and Selby have been amazing - locked at 8-8 at the moment. Obviously I'm a Higgins fan but I really like Selby's game. I also lived near Leicester for a year and met a few guys that played with Selby and said nothing but good things about him so I'll bear no ill-will if he gets through.

Just an hour and a half to go 'til Maguire/Robertson. This year's championships have been the highest standard for ages. I'm loving it!

unfortunately, even in Canada, this isn't televised like it used to be. I remember back in the day (before the 9-ball boom) the only televised billiards we watched was snooker. They closed the last place to play snooker in the city about 3 years ago. Its really a shame that it's a dying game. If there is anywhere on the web to watch outside of the uk, i'd appreciate the link.

Is Sid commentating this year? I can never understand a word he says. It's not his accent, it's his constant use of uk slang and metaphors. Nothing he says makes sense to north american people. I'm usually glad when jim is there to translate.

Try atdhe.net for online watching. Or eurosport.com, but I'm not sure if North Americans can view through that or if they even show it online (they do have TV coverage).

As for commentators I don't know who you're talking about. The BBC team is made up of ex-pros and stuffy journalists.

Snooker does need something to appeal to the masses and a worldwide audience again. Lowering the number of reds is not the answer, unfortunately I can't think of a quick fix. But I'm a purist anyway and wouldn't like anything they do.

In other news the Maguire/Robertson match has been on for over half and hour and they have 29 points between them with 5 reds left. Not one colour is on its spot. Scrappy doesn't quite cover it...

I'm not a fan of most of the commentary team. Neil Foulds is a welcome addition though, this year... he's good. Also I don't mind Steve Davis (he knows what the hell he's talking about) and Clive Everton is ok. All the other seem dreary, esp Willie Thorne who seems to be trying to coach the players most of the time.

rivergirl, is it Sid Waddell you're talking about? He's the only British commentator I can think of called Sid... and he fits the description of using slang. He usually does the darts over here, but maybe he does snooker for Canadians? That would be pretty cool actually, BBC should get him!


I think what snooker needs again, is true rivalries. People have said it needs more characters, which it does.. so having rivalries would create the personalities and 'images'. For once, I agreed with something O'Sullivan said when he was talking about someone coming in and taking snooker by the scruff of the neck and revitalizing it... I think the current authorities are a bit stale.

I honestly think anything can be popular, if promoted in the right way. One of the most popular shows in Britain for the last 10 years has been a load of unknown people sitting in a house, with cameras watching them all day while they sit around (Big Brother, btw!), so I know snooker could be reformed.

By the way, who is BUBBLE? It's a bit strange to randomly make your first post/topic in FCP Off Topic Sport, about snooker.


As for the 6-red idea, let's not discount it altogether (I'm a purist too, don't worry... played snooker since I was 6 and was always the biggest fan you could imagine, I used to be obsessed with it)... but how about using it as a way to get more fans into the sport? Much like Pot Black, there could be a 6-red frame/small tournament between the top players. Also a way to create and develop the personalities, so that people can then get into the game and follow them into the bigger tournaments like the World, UK and Masters.

Higgins is a beast.

it is sid waddell and he actually did alot of 9-ball coverage with jim wyche(?) when the world championships were held in cardiff. I guess I just assumed he was a billiard commentator because of it. Not that he had alot of knowledge of the game, but because he seemed natural in that position. I have seen him do darts as well, they still give us the world dart championships, just no longer any snooker. There is a Canadian and a US BBC channel and neither of them show sports (kind of depressing really).

As for snooker, I personally could watch it for hours, unfortunately, I'm probably the minority in NA. Since the 9ball boom, the slow deliberate play of snooker is no longer appealing to a viewing audience of recreational players. Pretty much like stud has lost it's appeal because of NL holdem.

Yay!

First, it was 1980 not 1989. I met Cliff last year at a pool hall close to where I was living and had a nice little chat with him. He was also runner up in 1977 and 1983. His nickname is The Grinder, suitable for his style of play.

I hope Stephen Hendry goes far in the tournament.

You never see it on TV anymore in Canada, too bad, I used to watch it all the time back in its heyday in the 1980's.

Rivergirl, you could check out: http://www.snookerline.com/ for tournaments in Canada. A friend of mine plays in a lot of them and I sometimes go to watch & support him. He usually makes it past the first two rounds then craps out. Still it is a great game to watch I think.


owise1

Hmm... I hope so too, but I must say that John Higgins is my pick. Fancy a wager?

It takes a lot of balls to play snooker.

ok, answer quickly, how many?

22 but only for me cause i'm a girl

you'd need 24

Actually, it's 21 to start (15 red and 6 coloured balls). Thing is you need to pot more than 21 if you run the table out for a perfect score (147 points). Anyone ever done that?

Red = 1 each

Yellow = 2

Green = 3

Brown = 4

Blue = 5

Pink = 6

Black = 7

I think rg was (quite correctly) including the white. A rather vital ball.



LOL do you know how hard that is? I'd say no member of this site has posted over 90. And if anyone wants to claim they have I'll need a video.

When we used to be able to play (we have no snooker tables available around here anymore), we used to play with 6 reds, just to keep the games quicker. My hubby used to play league (they used full rack of reds) and you'd see a century break every once in a while, but not very often. I really doubt anyone here would've made a perfect break, and if they have, well they probably should be in the tourney. It's not like running a table in 8ball or 9ball....



and yes, it's 22 including the white. I think you kind need the cue ball

You pair of smartie pantses...I concede the point, but sinking the cue is not something you'll get a point for ;-)

I new he would forget the cue ball


Also, in theory it is possible to get more than 147. Your opponent fouls (scratches) then you run a perfect game.

if you're opponent scratches on a full table and you run a perfect game, this is a serious mismatch. The person who does this should not be playing against someone of that caliber ever. I mean this is probably something you'll never see....people who run perfect games don't usually play with someone who would scratch on a full rack. So maybe theoretically its possible....highly improbable. Like I said, it's not like running a rack of 8 or 9 ball, its just not something that anybody can do. And yes, i've seen some people run a rack of 8 ball where you're just dumbfounded cause the person has never made 2 balls in a row before.

Owise, you're from TO, do you play a lot of pool? If so, where and what and would I know you or would my hubby and his friends know you?

my highest break is 56, however i play alot, and with someone who did use to be on the pro circuit but never really had the right mentality. in 1990 he played ronnie o'sullivan in qualifying for the world championships and lost 5-4. he has had numerous 147s and is a sick player tbf. hes had numberous people wanting to buy him infor tourneys but hes never really MADE it, believe me, if anyone else had his ability, they wouldve been world champion by now. ( this is not an over statement)

Name?