2025 World Championships

[cueman]

I think he thought to himself I don’t believe I can win the title with this cue, if I change the tip & ferrule there is no pressure on me if it doesn’t work out and I play awful.

Add to that who would he least mind losing to out of the remaining players and there you have it. Sabotaged himself.

Look forward to the match fixing allegations all over social media! Seriously though, this is the worst he's played during the championship, so the decision to change is literally as you said, sabotaging himself. I look forward to his explanation after but we know it will be riddled with nonsense but it won't stop the pundits saying without the tip issue he would've won the title.

[RonnieO’Hendry]

Is it Ronnie or the new cue?
Toss of a coin job!

[DeanH]

7-0 so far this session; new ferrule and tip I would say is not clicking with ROS.

If I was that cue doctor I would be glad that their name has not been mentioned

[Cue crafty]

I just cannot fathom the logic of changing ferrule and tip mid match. Who even thought up the change and why? When Ronnie started practicing with this cue why didn't he get the ferrule changed prior to the championship starting. Instead he plays 3 matches, and hasn't played terribly and then suddenly decides he can't play with it! Absolutely ridiculous decision and likely to cost him the match.

I think he thought to himself I don’t believe I can win the title with this cue, if I change the tip & ferrule there is no pressure on me if it doesn’t work out and I play awful.

Add to that who would he least mind losing to out of the remaining players and there you have it. Sabotaged himself.

[Nifty50]

Apparently he went to a Cue Doctor in/close to Sheffield for the brass ferrule and new tip.
There are a couple that come to mind

Jeez that’s risky. Thanks.

[DeanH]

I’m getting confused with what the current state of Ronnie’s cue is. In the intros Doherty said he’d got a new tip and had gone back to a brass ferrule. Parrott said Ronnie was practicing with it last night and was hitting the ball well.
It’s pretty easy to change a tip between matches but changing a ferrule would have been a bit more difficult. Who at The Crucible would have been able to do it or was it a taxi job down to Parris or Greenbeize. Anyone got the lowdown?

Apparently he went to a Cue Doctor in/close to Sheffield for the brass ferrule and new tip.

There are a couple that come to mind

[Cue crafty]

Looking like bad decision if he changed the ferrule! Looks lost out there.

reminding me of Apocalypse Now when he says “I asked for a challenging mission and for my sins they gave me one”

good luck Ronnie.

[cueman]

I just cannot fathom the logic of changing ferrule and tip mid match. Who even thought up the change and why? When Ronnie started practicing with this cue why didn't he get the ferrule changed prior to the championship starting. Instead he plays 3 matches, and hasn't played terribly and then suddenly decides he can't play with it! Absolutely ridiculous decision and likely to cost him the match.

[PatBlock]

Agh, if only the colours had been on their spots.

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[Nifty50]

I’m getting confused with what the current state of Ronnie’s cue is. In the intros Doherty said he’d got a new tip and had gone back to a brass ferrule. Parrott said Ronnie was practicing with it last night and was hitting the ball well.
It’s pretty easy to change a tip between matches but changing a ferrule would have been a bit more difficult. Who at The Crucible would have been able to do it or was it a taxi job down to Parris or Greenbeize. Anyone got the lowdown?

[vmax]

Agreed. And I'm sure there is some regret for cracking that good cue into a few pieces.

That 'good cue' wasn't the same after the ferrule had been replaced, cut back for a new tenon, then lengthened to its original length and re-tapered, it was time for a new one then not twelve months later. If Ronnie is trying to get back to how he played when he was fifteen then he has to understand that he was only fifteen then, he'd grown taller since then and the standard length cue he'd been using is therefore shorter in relation to his height, hence the compete restructering of his cue action he said he'd undergone in his early twenties.

He needs something about two inches longer so the cue is the same length in relation to his height that it was when he was fifteen, like Xao Xintong's cue which comes up from the floor to the tip of his shoulder which gives him ample cue over his bridge to sight the shot and enables his grip hand forearm to be behind the vertical 90 degree point at address so that the upper arm doesn't drop from the shoulder before the strike.

Ronnies upper arm drop has always been there but when the grip hand forearm is vertical at the address point it's a fine line between dropping the upper arm before the strike and after the strike, it's this line that Ronnie has been dancing around all through his adult career so he either needs a longer cue or stops the upper arm drop completely like Selby has, but that wouldn't really be going back to how he played when he was fifteen.

Neil Robertson uses a 59 inch cue and I think Ronnie needs something around that length so he can play naturally without having to think about his cue action all the time.

[Billy]

40 years ago Ray Reardon made it to a world final at the age of 49, but apparently the fawned over Class of 92 doing it at 49/50 is meant to be some kind of miraculous unprecedented achievement? Get lost. Let's for a Xintong v Trump final so we can get rid of these over-rated pensioners once and for all.

A: Back in Reardon’s time, there was only a very small handful of players good enough to put up any kind of challenge, compared to today’s very large pool of great players. And B: Your Xintongs of this sport are perfectly entitled to come and put these pensioners in their place, just as soon as they’re good enough.

[snookerfollower]

It's impressive that the class of 92 are still competing at the top level and reaching late stages of tournaments. They're not going to retire because younger fans think they are too old. Run that by MJW and see how that goes.

It's not impressive - Ray Reardon was reaching the world final at the age of 49 more than 40 years ago. It's nothing new. I'm happy to see them playing well but I'd rather they retire than hear one more commentator gush over it being 'impressive at their age' or 'unprecedented longevity' my patience is going to wear thin. Reardon didn't turn pro until 35 and still won 6 world championships - that's impressive. The Class of 92 have had 33 years and won 14 between them - a dire rate in comparison.

[DeanH]

If the red had dropped would the ref and placed the red where it was over the pocket and called a foul on Mark?

The red would have been replaced but no foul called.
The referee may have a word with Mark though

I'm guessing John Virgo was referring to a delay between a ball dropping but Mark was still at the table so am not sure what he meant by 'if the red had dropped it would have been replaced'.

The "timing" has nothing to do with the player being at the table or not but purely the amount of time the ball stays at the lip of the drop.
Unfortunately snooker rules do not have an actual time stated but the word momentarily; when I ref I say the word slowly in my head; if the ball drops before I finish, it counts (pot or foul as appropriate); if drops after, replace and no score/foul.

[Cue crafty]

I think with him feeling inferior in his game right now, having an excuse of the cue is a way for him to accept failure should he not win. I think it's been his way of dealing with losses throughout his career, whether it be his long standing issue of tips and now this cue. Whenever he's not living up to his own exacting standards, rather than admit form comes and goes, hes always looking for an an excuse.

He's never been bullish about his chances but given how he lives on the practice table, so determined is he to win, it's the only explanation I can come up with.

Yes, I do think that's closer to the truth here. Down the years I've seen a number of professionals do this to deflect the reality of poor form or play, away from themselves. Nick Faldo was a master at this too.