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2021 World Championships

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  • I enjoyed the final. Neither player was really playing at the top of their game, but it had a lot of good moments, and Selby was never so far in front as to make it uninteresting. Obviously it was Sunday night that was the decisive session, with Selby winning it 7-2. In most other finals he's played it was actually Sunday afternoon where he made the difference.

    What to say at the end of it all? Obviously Selby winning a fourth World title elevates him even further among the all-time greats, and it also cements his place as the greatest player of his generation. Four World titles in the last eight editions of the tournament, can't really argue with that. He has also won 13 of his last 14 major finals now, with a few minor titles thrown in as well. His record on the big occasions is pretty much unmatched. If he keeps his motivation, he surely has a few more titles in him, but obviously that's not always guaranteed.

    Other positives from this tournament? Shaun Murphy obviously, good to see him returning to the final after losing early in the previous five editions of the tournament. Stuart Bingham too, we knew his rating was unrealistic here as he is quite comfortably among the 16 best players in the world, and he proved it here by getting through quite a tough draw and giving Selby his toughest game of the tournament. I was also impressed by Anthony McGill here. He frustrates me a little by not making that step forward that would see him join the elite players, but he played some good stuff in this event and came extremely close to reaching the one-table setup for the second year in a row. I would like to see him playing like that for all of next season, not just at the Crucible.

    As for the negatives, Neil Robertson obviously stands out. He has played some tremendous stuff in recent years, but he always seems to hit a wall at the Crucible and go out in quite underwhelming fashion. Must be very frustrating for him. Kyren Wilson's collapse in the semi-finals was also quite a worrying sign. He is a very consistent performer, getting to the business end of most tournaments throughout the season, as well as at the Crucible over the past five years, but the only time he really seems to shine on the big stage is when he plays Trump. He's lost some finals pretty badly, 10-3 to Ding, 9-1 to Murphy, 18-8 and 9-2 to O'Sullivan, and now throwing away a 10-4 lead by losing 13 of the following 15 frames... Needs a big win, I think, otherwise there is a danger that this trend drags on. I guess I could mention players like Trump or O'Sullivan too, but going out in the 2nd round against tricky opponents is just something that inevitably happens on occasion. Perhaps Stephen Maguire is the bigger disappointment. He had got himself back to the top 8 in the rankings with some great results last season, but this season has been another forgettable one for him. Other than Ding, who got the toughest draw here, Maguire is the only seed to go out in the 1st round, and he did so in a pretty pathetic way.

    Good to see some proper snooker atmosphere again. Selby didn't get the best reception tonight, but I'm glad he ruined some people's evening. Pretty good coverage by Eurosport too, apart from the few commentators and the one presenter that I find difficult to tolerate. Also good to see a tournament with barely any kicks. Now, if only they could get the tables right for once.

    Looking forward to next season. Hopefully the situation with covid improves to the point where tournaments are held at their proper venues again, with spectators where possible. The Chinese tournaments missing from the calendar has also been a pretty big hit, as those were among the very few that still used the much superior best-of-9 format, or even best-of-11. It would be nice to see snooker returning to China at some point in the near future.

    Finally, let me just say that I've appreciated being able to post on here again. Last year was one big frustration, and obviously there is still work to be done to clean up all the broken and outdated stuff on the forum, but hopefully this is the start of better times. It would be a shame to see this site die out after being here for more than 14 years. Hopefully it has a few more years in it.

    Comment


    • Glad you are back Odrl - missed your reviews

      onto 2021-2022!
      Last edited by DeanH; 4 May 2021, 07:39 AM.
      Up the TSF! :snooker:

      Comment


      • Originally Posted by Starsky View Post
        Tbh , I’ve found Murphy more frustrating to watch as once again he hasn’t taken his chances when given them. It’s not Selby’s tactical play that’s won him games but Murphy’s mistakes and lack of scoring.
        If I was him I'd make a conscious decision to work hard on my tactical and safety game. If he polished that up he'd be in many more finals.
        Practice, Learn, Improve, Enjoy, Practice, Learn, Improve, Enjoy :snooker:

        Comment


        • Starsky I totally agree. Murphy lost opposed to Selby winning. To be 60+ ahead in frame 3 and lose was so poor. Also 40 or so ahead in several frames and allowing Selby back in was very disappointing to see.
          im dreaming of...a century:rolleyes: ..But one day...it will come.;)

          Comment


          • Originally Posted by Odrl View Post

            As for the negatives, Neil Robertson obviously stands out. He has played some tremendous stuff in recent years, but he always seems to hit a wall at the Crucible and go out in quite underwhelming fashion. Must be very frustrating for him. Kyren Wilson's collapse in the semi-finals was also quite a worrying sign. He is a very consistent performer, getting to the business end of most tournaments throughout the season, as well as at the Crucible over the past five years, but the only time he really seems to shine on the big stage is when he plays Trump. He's lost some finals pretty badly, 10-3 to Ding, 9-1 to Murphy, 18-8 and 9-2 to O'Sullivan, and now throwing away a 10-4 lead by losing 13 of the following 15 frames... Needs a big win, I think, otherwise there is a danger that this trend drags on. I guess I could mention players like Trump or O'Sullivan too, but going out in the 2nd round against tricky opponents is just something that inevitably happens on occasion. Perhaps Stephen Maguire is the bigger disappointment. He had got himself back to the top 8 in the rankings with some great results last season, but this season has been another forgettable one for him. Other than Ding, who got the toughest draw here, Maguire is the only seed to go out in the 1st round, and he did so in a pretty pathetic way.

            Agree with you on Kyren Wilson. He looks a bit like the next Barry Hawkins, a very good player who?s just lacking the last bit, but he has put a lot on his breakbuilding so he?ll be interesting to follow.

            As for Trump it seems like we all forget, that he has won 5 titles this season, but a dip of form cost him in the end.
            ....its not called potting its called snooker. Quote: WildJONESEYE
            "Its called snooker not potting" Quote: Rory McLeod

            Comment


            • Youv'e got to hand it to Mark Selby, he must have been hard pushed throughout, playing Shaun and the audience at once.Only getting luke warm applause for superb safety play and killing off a frame once he got in, that's the mark of a champion, to cut out everything and just get the job done.
              Snooker is a game of simple shots played to perfection, Joe Davies

              Comment


              • Enjoyed reading everybody's comments here in the last few weeks and hope people keep in touch with the site occasionally in the off season , great to see it up and running so healthily as well. Special thanks to Odri for giving a detailed and thoughtful reflection on his take of the championship . Best wishes to our 2 Administrators for injecting life into site again , much appreciated by me anyway and am sure by everybody here. Take care folks and enjoy your snooker !

                Comment


                • Originally Posted by balkend View Post
                  Enjoyed reading everybody's comments here in the last few weeks and hope people keep in touch with the site occasionally in the off season , great to see it up and running so healthily as well. Special thanks to Odri for giving a detailed and thoughtful reflection on his take of the championship . Best wishes to our 2 Administrators for injecting life into site again , much appreciated by me anyway and am sure by everybody here. Take care folks and enjoy your snooker !
                  Geez, get a room.

                  Comment


                  • I was pleased to restart posting on this forum too - reviving it after such a bad, alienating lockdown was great, I felt less isolated in the last two weeks. True, snooker-wise it is off season now, but we'll soon be able to restart playing!!! (maybe we should start commenting on our own games down the club, posting the best local shots, making silly challenges like "wrong-hand colour clearance" while waiting for the pros to be back? ). Take care, each and everyone!!!

                    Comment


                    • Definitely much more lively recently. Only a month or so ago we only had about a dozen regular posters. Unrelated to that, but does anyone know why the snooker forum facebook just keeps posting hundreds of photos of the 2009 world championships?

                      Comment


                      • Originally Posted by Mark187187 View Post
                        Definitely much more lively recently. Only a month or so ago we only had about a dozen regular posters. Unrelated to that, but does anyone know why the snooker forum facebook just keeps posting hundreds of photos of the 2009 world championships?
                        not on FB but I will pass on your comment
                        Up the TSF! :snooker:

                        Comment


                        • After I enjoyed last evening focused to the TV now my congratulations to Mark Selby for a deserved fourth title and also to Shaun Murphy for a great tournament and showing so much class in his comments after deafeat.

                          At the end this was what I'd call a good World Championship. Not quite among the best, but certainly better than the last two editions for example.

                          We had a quite close final, that was a bit too clear in between to call it a thriller, but in the end it was at least on the edge of getting very close again. And it was on a quite a high level. Selby didn't play his very best, as his cue ball control and break builiding wasn't top for most of the game and in the end his long pots left him. But it's rare to play your best anyways and especially over the long distances and his tactic was at the highest level once again. And Murphy's potting was from another world. But also here his break building wasn't quite at his best and it was never expected he could go with Selby toe on toe in the safety battles, but really it was unbelievable what he potted to keep himself in the match and also his huge fighting spirit demands praise.

                          And along with this we had also a fantastic semifinal between Selby and Bingham, which for me was undoubtly the match of the tournament. Incredible safety play, excellent breaks and tension. It really had all. As well as another good semifinal, which was only let down a bit by Wilson's minor collapse towards the end.

                          So that's already the most important ingredients for a good world championship, but there was also a couple of classy quarterfinals and round-two matches.

                          Selby is once again a deserved world champion. He played unbelievable stuff in the first three rounds and while in the decisive two matches he didn't play quite as good, he showed again his tactical brillance and mental strength despite some nervous moments to get his fourth trophy. I'm really happy for him and I hope that now that he is quite close to his best (despite I thought he was a bit better in 2017) he will keep that level for a while.

                          The same goes even more for Murphy, who played with more confidence and better potting than in many, many years and Stuart Bingham.

                          I also echo Odrl in the sentiment that maybe Anthony McGill after another great world championship will finally fulfill the expectations I have for him since six years and joins Judd Trump (though not on his level) and Kyren Wilson as another great player of this generation. I had new hopes for him already after his run last year though and he disappointed.

                          Comment


                          • Originally Posted by John Flaf View Post
                            Youv'e got to hand it to Mark Selby, he must have been hard pushed throughout, playing Shaun and the audience at once.Only getting luke warm applause for superb safety play and killing off a frame once he got in, that's the mark of a champion, to cut out everything and just get the job done.
                            It probably just made him even more determined, as, I suspect, did Shaun's fist pump, bit premature that one Shaun .

                            -
                            The fast and the furious,
                            The slow and labourious,
                            All of us, glorious parts of the whole!

                            Comment


                            • Originally Posted by PatBlock View Post

                              It probably just made him even more determined, as, I suspect, did Shaun's fist pump, bit premature that one Shaun .

                              -
                              Can't see any issue with the fist pumping. It's not what's normally done, just as it's not traditional to clap at a classical music concert between movements. Doesn't mean that what is the convention is correct though. Sometimes I applaud all my shots at the club a la Dechawat Poomjaeng, or ride my cue around the table. Most other sportsman celebrate a point, game, set. Footballers take their shirts off, and the darts players fart all over the oche between pints. One thing I could see clearly was that the audience was heavily on Shaun's side, and I also warmed to him more than usual. Looks like the fist pumping did what he wanted, and contributed towards him winning some new fans

                              Comment


                              • It's ok to celebrate every little win I reckon, it means you are engaged and living in the moment. Most game / sports players need to ride the momentum to drive themselves forward and make themselves believe they have a chance. Happy to see this from any player, especially Shaun TBH, who has been accused of not looking like he wants to be at the races.... He's an intelligent bloke and I'm fairly sure he knew what's been said about him in this regard. He had a crowd and he played to them and fed off them as well.
                                ⚪ 🔴🟡🟢🟤🔵💗⚫🕳️😎

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