Cazoo World Championship 2024

[neuronic]

He missed it thick, bad contact for certain, happens quite often and this time a p1ss easy frame ball black off its spot. There are bad contacts, kicks and statistics as Mark Twain once said bloody aramith balls are doing the players heads in and they don't realise why and are blaming themselves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

[trains]

So will Selby come back ? He'll have to go at worse 8 frames to 2 today. Will he come back like the Terminator as Cue crafty once described him ?

[neuronic]

So will Selby come back ? He'll have to go at worse 8 frames to 2 today. Will he come back like the Terminator as Cue crafty once described him ?

I don't see it. The ol' hoover, the torturer of impatient souls isn't back... yet.

Anyway MJW vs Si looks far more attractive to me, so I'm seeing that

[Odrl]

Ronnie's longest stay at the top is around 100 weeks , whilst Hendry was no. 1 from 1990 to 1998. Steve Davis held onto no. 1 from 1983 until Hendry took over. The weeks at no. 1 stats actually tell you a lot about how Davis and Hendry dominated the game in the 1980's and 1990's, far from being an unfair source of comparison. As good as Ronnie has been, he has never dominated like that. Even if the number of ranking events had remained the same in the modern game as in the 80's and 90's, a combination of Ronnie's fluctuating form and the strength of competition means it is still unlikely he would have dominated the rankings in the same way if there were less tournaments on the calendar. Selby managed 4 years straight at no. 1 from 2015-19, so it is possible to dominate for longer periods than Ronnie has.

The thing is, rankings used to only be updated at the end of the season, so in a way it was easier to stay on top for a longer period of time. It didn't matter if Hendry ever dropped to 2nd in the provisional rankings during the season (not that it happened much anyway ). Under that system, Selby would have actually held the top spot for 7 years in a row.

But then there's also the change in how tournaments are valued. There used to be a points system where the WC was worth 10000 points, the UK 8000 points, and then other ranking events either 5000 or 4000 points. Consistent results during the season mattered much more for the rankings than just winning the WC. Now it's heavily skewed in favour of the big-money events, and there are a bunch of events that don't follow the previous "ranking event" logic and aren't actually open to everyone, so the players at the top get an ever bigger gap from them.

But yeah, O'Sullivan's best achievements have always come in waves, so he wouldn't have matched Hendry regardless of the system. And it will be increasingly difficult for anyone to do so now.

[PatBlock]

Ronnie's longest stay at the top is around 100 weeks , whilst Hendry was no. 1 from 1990 to 1998. Steve Davis held onto no. 1 from 1983 until Hendry took over. The weeks at no. 1 stats actually tell you a lot about how Davis and Hendry dominated the game in the 1980's and 1990's, far from being an unfair source of comparison. As good as Ronnie has been, he has never dominated like that. Even if the number of ranking events had remained the same in the modern game as in the 80's and 90's, a combination of Ronnie's fluctuating form and the strength of competition means it is still unlikely he would have dominated the rankings in the same way if there were less tournaments on the calendar. Selby managed 4 years straight at no. 1 from 2015-19, so it is possible to dominate for longer periods than Ronnie has.

Do you favour Hendry over O'Sullivan as the GOAT then, if you had to Chose between those two? Just curious.

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[PatBlock]

So will Selby come back ? He'll have to go at worse 8 frames to 2 today. Will he come back like the Terminator as Cue crafty once described him ?

no.

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[itsnoteasy]

So will Selby come back ? He'll have to go at worse 8 frames to 2 today. Will he come back like the Terminator as Cue crafty once described him ?

If he does he will have upped his game to old Selby levels, can't see Joe crumbling.
even if he loses I hope he makes a game of it, I fear he may walk away otherwise.

[Mark187187]

Do you favour Hendry over O'Sullivan as the GOAT then, if you had to Chose between those two? Just curious.

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They're very different players in different eras, but I'd say Ronnie's A-game is definitely stronger and his longevity is impressive whereas Hendry's game fell off a cliff before he retired. Hendry never really adapted his game either, even when his ultra attacking style was losing him more matches than winning. Ronnie is arguably a better player now and he can win with his B game, whereas when he was younger he was a bit all or nothing.

[itsnoteasy]

Those aren't original cushions on that 1920's table as they have a modern cut to them, straight after the fall of the slate rather than carrying the curve past the fall of the pocket as they were back in the day as it was that that made them tighter than they are today. But it does look like a bevel on the edge of the middles. I'll be playing on our 1920's Jacobean tonight, the middles on that one are really tight, can't smash the reds off the blue as the blue will jump out of the pocket. It's supposed to have been reclothed this week as well so I'll be expecting that extreme cushion slide and making lots of tons
That Star looks like the fall of the slate at the corners are a bit closer to the jaws than the 1920's one, every little helps.

That's a B and W table is it not? Does it have the stretchers on the legs?
I used to play on one, middle pocket bounce outs are common with them as far as I know ,also the low profile steel block cushions can give you a slight bounce on the cue ball I found.fantastic tables to play on though and a proper test.

[PatBlock]

They're very different players in different eras, but I'd say Ronnie's A-game is definitely stronger and his longevity is impressive whereas Hendry's game fell off a cliff before he retired. Hendry never really adapted his game either, even when his ultra attacking style was losing him more matches than winning. Ronnie is arguably a better player now and he can win with his B game, whereas when he was younger he was a bit all or nothing.

I'd agree with most of that. And I certainly find Ronnie a better watch, when he's not picking his teeth, that is.

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[PatBlock]

If he does he will have upped his game to old Selby levels, can't see Joe crumbling.
even if he loses I hope he makes a game of it, I fear he may walk away otherwise.

Selby, retire? You think so, really? That would be a great shame.

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[Cue crafty]

Si showing Williams he's no shrinking violet!! What a pink to middle to get on the last red. Love watching this kid play.

[Cue crafty]

If he does he will have upped his game to old Selby levels, can't see Joe crumbling.
even if he loses I hope he makes a game of it, I fear he may walk away otherwise.

Yes, there have been a few comments from Mark lately that suggest his snooker is not the main focus of his life any longer. His mental health issues coupled with his wife's health issues have quite rightly put things in perspective. It would be a shame if he walked away but after playing at the highest level, if a player feels that desire has wained it's possibly the right thing for him to do.

Either way let's hope things work out well for him.

[itsnoteasy]

Selby, retire? You think so, really? That would be a great shame.

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He said after he lost to Gary Wilson he would give the world's a go and if he didn't play well he would walk away from the game, so I'm basing it on his own statement.

[fatfreddy]

That's a B and W table is it not? Does it have the stretchers on the legs?
I used to play on one, middle pocket bounce outs are common with them as far as I know ,also the low profile steel block cushions can give you a slight bounce on the cue ball I found.fantastic tables to play on though and a proper test.

I'm unsure if you are referring to VMAX's table or mine, however the 1920's table in the photos I shared is not a B+W table and does not have steel block cushions.