Snooker

[Poisoned Slice]

Yeah, I think Murphy has to come out of tonight with a healthy lead if he has a real chance of winning.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Showing all those guys on the winners list with the MBE beside their name.

I'll let you guess who has the OBE beside his name. I'm sure you already know. Things like this matter not. But still.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I gotta repeat myself. Just hearing the real roar from the crowd and not that artificial nonsense. They sound louder than ever before It's just great. One of those don't know what you have until it is gone situations.

Mark Selby would say boooooo to that unauthentic crap.

Opening frame of the night. Selby in with a chance to do what he does after Murphy break ends at 49. He could not get the reds open but now they are open and Selby is in. I still think there are a couple of difficult reds here. Of course, these players end up making it look so easy.

Brilliant from Selby. He does end up making it look easy and gets it back to 4-5.

Murphy right back at it in the next frame. One chance saloon. He was left with a rather easy red to the middle to start the break. He puts the frame to bed and just misses out on the century. (98) 6-4

 

[Sephiroth]

Murphy should be like 8-2 ahead, srsly he just needs to focus a bit on finishing off the frames after he's made the breaks but loses a bit of focus when he just needs 10-20 more points

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Going to have to snooker better than that if you want to trouble Selby. 5-6.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

The best thing about this current championship is probably getting those Jack Lisowski and Judd Trump segments. haha Making me switch back to BBC full time.

As for the final, now at 6-6. I believe Selby is fully dialled in now.

It was looking like Selby was going to take the lead for the first time in this final. An unexpected miss put The Magician back in and he showed his stuff. Back in the lead. 7-6

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Selby takes charge of the final. 10-7 advantage to end the session. Murphy's game seemed to turn against him while Selby showed some vintage stuff. It took Selby long enough to take a lead. He’s not giving that up.

 

[Sephiroth]

What a clown, Murphy deciding to play negative this session is so stupid. He was actually beating himself, Mark was the one who was going for things instead

 

[Poisoned Slice]

LOL Stephen Hendry getting the big ovation there.

They are talking about the players having the same coach and what he will say to the players.

Steve Davis talks about what the coach will say to Mark Selby. '' keep dictating out there.''

Stephen Hendry was then asked what the coach will say to Shaun Murphy. '' Don't let him dictate out there.''

Well, it made me laugh anyway.


Yeah, really sounds like nobody wants Selby to win. Aye right. He got a wonder ovation there.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Murphy starts off with a sweet long pot. Could only get 3 out of it though.

Yes, I would think he needs a quick start today if he has any chance.

Selby always seems to get the white safe when he goes for the long pot he doesn't put away. Yeah, not every time, of course, but most of the time.

Not quite sure if Murphy has his attacking boots on yet. He did go after that red to the middle.

OK, Murphy has been left in with a great chance. Gotta take these out in one go.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Just what the doctor ordered. Murphy does take it out in one. Started the next frame with another sweet long red.

Missed a trick there. This looks to be another one of those frames, Murphy gets 40 points, misses and Selby comes in to punish. I know Selby dominated last night, but a lot of frames before that, Murphy breaks down. Just can't be having that.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

What a frame that turned out to be. Murphy needed a snooker and he actually got it. All came down to the final black, Murphy just missed it. Looked like it was heading in. Damn table.

Selby takes three frame lead again. 11-8

 

[StrongRule]

Murphy should have won this frame. Selby was way too overconfident when he decided not to make position on the blue, and almost paid for it. Unfortunately for Murphy, that last black didn't go in.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Wow, if Murphy ends up losing this one.

I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when Selby missed that black. Would have been heartbreaking for Murphy to lose after the advantage he had. The pot from yellow to green was top of the line.

Still not over yet, Selby can always do his thing and gets the snooker.

Back to 9-11. Unfortunate to not be all level. Still a good start from Murphy.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

haha awww This is cute. Shaun Murphy's wife being interviewed, she is a very pleasant lady. His son keeps interrupting.

Selby back with the three frame advantage. 12-9.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I felt it was all starting to get away from Murphy, the century proved me wrong. He's not done yet. 10-13

And there goes another one. 11-13.

The next frame is huge. haha They all huge.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Shocker, Mark Selby wins the huge frame. 14-11

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Mark Selby is closing in on the title now. 16-12

Murphy does get in on the current frame. Knocked in a couple of big pressure pots.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Sweet frame for Selby here. 17-13 Now only one away from becoming the four time world champion.

Yeah, even gets a century while clearing the table.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Murphy with a century of his own. Fair play to the lad. 14-17.

107 centuries. Looking back at the 1989 stats there for some reason. 19 century breaks. We've come a long way, baby.

The Magician gets another frame back. 15-17. I am very impressed here. Steve Davis did make me think there. Shaun Murphy had the realistic chance to come out of the first session with a 6-2 lead. It didn't quite work out that way. Definitely have those what if feelings.

Back to back centuries for Murphy.

 

[K-H]

Surely not, surely not...

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Selby is back in now and this looks like the time.

Ohh, maybe not. Broken down at 38. Let us see what Murphy can do here.

Wow, that long pot stat is very surprising. Selby with a measly 10% in this final session. 1/10. Yikes.

Murphy gets back in. Ready to blow the roof off the building if he can win this one. haha Too brave taking on that red there on the cushion.

I jumped the gun last time. This time, I do believe it will be the championship. All the colors on their spot pretty much.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

The jester from Leicester does it. I doff my cap to him. Our new four time world champion.

A most enjoyable final apart from the second session last night.

Don't be falling back into the wilderness now, Magician.

 

[StrongRule]

Murphy should have played safe on that last red. He took a very unnecessary risk. Another lost world final for him. Sadly, he could never repeat his 2005 success.

A 4th title for Selby. Should have been 5, but last year he choked. This is even more annoying now. If he hadn't choked last year, he could now have the same number of WC titles as O'Sullivan.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Wouldn't say he choked last year. Ronnie played extraordinary stuff in the final 3 frames. Didn't give Selby a chance to choke.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Shaun Murphy: "He's just super granite isn't he. I've known him since he was nine years of age and he's always been the same.

He broke me last night, A three frame lead was too much to give away.

Life has been very difficult for everyone in the last 12 months. I want to say a very deep personal thank you to every one who has brought a ticket over the last 17 days. Sport is nothing without the fans."

 

[StrongRule]

Wouldn't say he choked last year. Ronnie played extraordinary stuff in the final 3 frames. Didn't give Selby a chance to choke.

He choked in the third session. There were at least 3 frames which he should have won, but made stupid mistakes. He should have been 15-9 or at least 14-10 up after the third session, not 13-11. In the last session O'Sullivan obviously upped his level. But he wouldn't be able to complete the comeback if Selby took his chances earlier.

 

[Hitman]

I caught the ending. Selby looks like he has A LOT in the tank for the coming years.

How old is he?

 

[K-H]

I caught the ending. Selby looks like he has A LOT in the tank for the coming years.

How old is he?

Around 37.
Hes no young and upcoming player.
Hes been one of the best for a while now.
But I still see quite a few more years in him like you said.
The old guard are lasting longer these days like in tennis.

 

[Hitman]

Around 37.
Hes no young and upcoming player.
Hes been one of the best for a while now.
But I still see quite a few more years in him like you said.
The old guard are lasting longer these days like in tennis.

OK. I think he could be a threat to the GOAT title then.

 

[StrongRule]

OK. I think he could be a threat to the GOAT title then.

That would be the case if he won last year. Just like for Nadal it was Wimbledon 2018. Both missed the best chance they will ever have.

 

[Hitman]

That would be the case if he won last year. Just like for Nadal it was Wimbledon 2018. Both missed the best chance they will ever have.

But he looks like he is in his prime. Surely he has several more years at this, I mean I know Ronnie is a lot older and he reached his sixth win last year.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I think it is stretching it a little to consider Selby a GOAT contender. But, he isn't done yet. Maybe he comes back and wins it again next year.

I caught the ending. Selby looks like he has A LOT in the tank for the coming years.

How old is he?

Turning 38 in June. He's talking about being in a better place mentally now. And he has showed us that he can do it at the world championship. Trump is the world number one and I was thinking it would be his time to win it again this year. Once again, plays his best stuff in the lesser tournaments and doesn't bring it to the world championship.

 

[Hitman]

I think it is stretching it a little to consider Selby a GOAT contender. But, he isn't done yet. Maybe he comes back and wins it again next year.



Turning 38 in June. He's talking about being in a better place mentally now. And he has showed us that he can do it at the world championship. Trump is the world number one and I was thinking it would be his time to win it again this year. Once again, plays his best stuff in the lesser tournaments and doesn't bring it to the world championship.

How many majors does Selby have? Ronnie has the most majors I think, not sure how many, but have heard it been said he holds the record.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

How many majors does Selby have? Ronnie has the most majors I think, not sure how many, but have heard it been said he holds the record.

The big three are the masters, world championship and UK championship. They are known as the triple crown. Ronnie holds the record with 20, Hendry has 18, Selby has 9.

Selby has won 20 ranking titles, 7 minor ranking and 8 non-ranking.

I'll say that he should definitely be in the discussion or getting close to being in the discussion. He did have this long period of being world number 1.

Hendry doesn't seem all that bothered at times. He always says he is happy enough to be in the discussion. I like that.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Not looking so miserable now.

 

[StrongRule]

But he looks like he is in his prime. Surely he has several more years at this, I mean I know Ronnie is a lot older and he reached his sixth win last year.

Selby entered his prime when he reached the 2007 WC final out of nowhere. Since then he is a top player. So it's been 14 years.

 

[K-H]

OK. I think he could be a threat to the GOAT title then.

Like poisoned said, it would be stretching to put him in GOAT discussion.

Hes quite behind on a lot of achievements.
The closest stat is the number of World championships where hes only 2 behind.

But he's way behind on:
-Masters titles 7 to 3 (ronnie holds the record)
-UK champs titles 7 to 2 (ronnie holds the record)
-Ranking events 37 to 20 (ronnie holds the record)

And then the eye test. Ronnie was considered a potential GOAT when he was on like 3 World Championships I remember back in 2011. That just shows what level he was capable of. Since he has 4 more World champions and countless other titles.

If Selby does somehow get into the conversation, then he'll have done something special in these next few years.
I still have him in my top 5 though.

 

[StrongRule]

Like poisoned said, it would be stretching to put him in GOAT discussion.

Hes quite behind on a lot of achievements.
The closest stat is the number of World championships where hes only 2 behind.

But he's way behind on:
-Masters titles 7 to 3 (ronnie holds the record)
-UK champs titles 7 to 2 (ronnie holds the record)
-Ranking events 37 to 20 (ronnie holds the record)

And then the eye test. Ronnie was considered a potential GOAT when he was on like 2 World Championships I remember back in 2011. That just shows what level he was capable of. Since he has 4 more World champions and countless other titles.

If Selby does somehow get into the conversation, then he'll have done something special in these next few years.
I still have him in my top 5 though.

You don't even know how many WC titles O'Sullivan had in 2011.

 

[K-H]

You don't even know how many WC titles O'Sullivan had in 2011.

Obviously meant to write 3. It was a typo. Considering how many other titles I quoted, I'm bound to mistype one lol.

And I literally said the word 'like' just before it signifying there or thereabouts

 

[Sephiroth]

Biggest overachiever in the history of this beautiful sport, he even got booed at the Crucible of all places

vomit inducing he's tied with Higgins. If Judd or Robertson don't get their finger out and stop Selby at the big stages this is gonna be a wrap and a disaster for the sport of Snooker.

 

[Sephiroth]

Murphy was a huge disappointment he couldn't hold any breaks together and kept breaking down on 20s and 30s otherwise he had plenty of chances to win this match. Losing a session 7-2 is also unforgivable, the damage was done last evening.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

All hail Mark Selby. 4 in 8 years. What an achievement.

Now on to the seniors world championship. Think I'll give that a miss and wait until the next season.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Biggest overachiever in the history of this beautiful sport, he even got booed at the Crucible of all places

vomit inducing he's tied with Higgins. If Judd or Robertson don't get their finger out and stop Selby at the big stages this is gonna be a wrap and a disaster for the sport of Snooker.

Your comment about Judd Trump and his Northern Ireland open wins did make me laugh. It is frustrating for sure. He finally gets his win in 2019, then starts to dominate the tour, but fails at the world championship. I know Murphy did play very well against him, Trump was nowhere near his best though.

I feel like Robertson is never going to get it together at the world championship and he will stay on 1.

Ronnie is well on the decline now. Maybe that is harsh. He just can't bring the consistency and I don't expect him to be able to do it at the world championship any more. I'll cherish last year for long time.

Yeah, be afraid of Selby.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Ronnie is like, ''children, you're not getting into snooker.''

''If they decide to play snooker they’re on their own, I’m not supporting that.

It’s a bad sport, it can cause you a lot of damage. Unless you’re Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, John Higgins, Mark Williams, me, Judd Trump, [Mark] Selby, [Neil] Robertson…forget it.

The others, it’s just a waste of a life.''

Snooker sucks, kids. Take up badminton.

 

[K-H]

Ronnie is like, ''children, you're not getting into snooker.''

''If they decide to play snooker they’re on their own, I’m not supporting that.

It’s a bad sport, it can cause you a lot of damage. Unless you’re Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, John Higgins, Mark Williams, me, Judd Trump, [Mark] Selby, [Neil] Robertson…forget it.

The others, it’s just a waste of a life.''

Snooker sucks, kids. Take up badminton.

I mean hes not wrong. So difficult to make a living if you're not one of the top guys.

But not the best advert for the sport coming from the sports biggest star

 

[Terry Tibbs]

I mean hes not wrong. So difficult to make a living if you're not one of the top guys.

But not the best advert for the sport coming from the sports biggest star

He is right. The prize money is **** compared to other sports and snooker is a very hard game. Unlikely you would end up being one of the best players earning decent money.

In the world championship you had to make QF''s to earn 50k and that is the worlds. Would be a lot less obviously for other tournament's. As a comparison, tennis players earnt 48k at Wimbledon just for reaching the 1st round!

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I mean hes not wrong. So difficult to make a living if you're not one of the top guys.

But not the best advert for the sport coming from the sports biggest star

Yeah, I agree. Just amused at the ol parents will support their kid's career decisions. Well, unless your career decision is becoming a snooker player like your Dad. lol

 

[Vcore89]

Ronnie is like, ''children, you're not getting into snooker.''

''If they decide to play snooker they’re on their own, I’m not supporting that.

It’s a bad sport, it can cause you a lot of damage. Unless you’re Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, John Higgins, Mark Williams, me, Judd Trump, [Mark] Selby, [Neil] Robertson…forget it.

The others, it’s just a waste of a life.''

Snooker sucks, kids. Take up badminton.

Unless you are Viktor Axelson or Timo Boll in table tennis.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Unless you are Viktor Axelson or Timo Boll in table tennis.

Or Bobby Axelrod's wife in false billionaires.