Put 200 kr on Shaun to win .... Thanks Robbo for missing a sitter and giving the frame away to Shaun ... I hope you keep doing this instead of what you did to Ali and RoS ... so far so good.
Also "took his eye off the ball" drives me nuts and I feel the urge to punch the commentators every time they say that
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Even though he is the current World number 1, hit 100 centuries last season and won the World Championship in 2010 he gets almost no press coverage here in Australia.Originally Posted by hesnookerforum View Post
Just found this: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/neil-rob...18-12smep.htmlLast edited by mythman69; 18 January 2015, 12:33 PM.Leave a comment:
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too many nicknames. i think he should decide and keep using one of them. So he may becaome a "brand" like the Rocket.Originally Posted by Hal View PostAnd Centurion?
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Right, a few thoughts ahead of the final today...
Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy have been the two best players this week, by a large margin, so it's great that the draw has allowed them to meet in the final. Unfortunately this pairing has not always been a guarantee for a great match. The last time they played over two sessions was in the semi-finals of the 2012 International Championship, and that turned into a really scrappy match with neither player playing anywhere near their best, Robertson winning 9-5 in the end. Robertson also won their Masters final that year, 10-6, which must have been a real disappointment for Murphy, because he had looked like the stronger player throughout the week, but in the final he played his worst snooker, while Robertson probably played his best. Murphy's last big win over Robertson was in the quarter-finals of the 2010 UK Championship, 9-7, and that was a good one, because Robertson was the reigning World champion and world number one at that point, and was beginning to look almost unbeatable on the big stage. All in all it's 3-1 to Robertson in two-session matches, the other one being his 9-8 win in the 2005 UK Championship, but I suppose that was too long ago to have any relevance today. Murphy did win the only time they've met over a longer distance though, 17-14 in the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship. Murphy led 14-7 at one point, before Robertson came back to 14-14. I remember Robertson had a chance in the next frame as well, but the split didn't go his way, and Murphy never missed for the rest of the match. :smile:
In the more recent times they've only met in shorter matches, and Robertson has won all of them. He won 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Masters in 2013, 5-4 in the quarter-finals of the German Masters a few weeks later, and also 5-4 in the quarter-finals of the Wuxi Classic at the start of this season. That was a poor loss for Murphy, because he had a 60-point lead in the decider with the balls at his mercy, but missed an absolute sitter. A few minutes later Robertson won on the black, and two days later he was lifting the trophy. Will that come into play when the pressure is really on tonight? It might, although Murphy generally looks much stronger than he did six months ago...
Both players produced great performances yesterday. Any win over O'Sullivan is a good one, but to beat him 6-1 on the big stage, after he had won the last two major events, just shows what a great champion Robertson is himself, not getting intimidated in the least by his opponent's reputation. O'Sullivan was poor and Robertson took full advantage. In the previous round Carter wasn't poor at all, and in fact only missed a couple of balls, but the scoreline was still the same, because Robertson played close to perfect snooker. He is not just scoring heavily when he gets easy chances, he is making breaks from difficult positions as well. He has won his share of titles in recent years, but on many occasions he wasn't playing as well is he is now, and that's got to be a great sign for him. And we know what a great record he has in major finals...
In my opinion Murphy's performance yesterday was even better than Robertson's. He went for so many tricky pots, from distance or from mid range, and he hardly missed any, especially in the last five frames. He went 2-0 down against both Allen and Maguire, but it didn't seem to affect his confidence in the least. He waited for his chances and made good breaks at the right time. He may not be the greatest tactician in the game, but when he is potting like this he doesn't really need to be, he is very difficult to keep away from the table. He has always been a prolific winner of the minor events, the PTCs as well as various invitational tournaments, but this is the best he has played in a major event for a long time, perhaps years.
We have seen tournaments in the past where players played really strongly to reach the final, but then failed to live up to the expectations and gave us a bit of an anti-climax. I hope this doesn't happen today. I expect both players to go for their shots and score heavily, and every missed chance to be heavily punished. I think Robertson scores a little better than Murphy, but Murphy's long-potting success is a little higher this week, so there shouldn't be much in it. It could come down to who handles the pressure better in the end, and here I would have to give a slight edge to Robertson. I have criticized Murphy in the past for his statements ahead of playing O'Sullivan, where he looked like he had admitted defeat before the match even started, and this time he has done something similar, saying Robertson was a "massive favourite" today. The only difference is, I don't think he believes that for a second. He knows he is playing well enough to at least compete, if not win, so I hope he isn't satisfied with just reaching the final. On the other hand, we know Robertson in only here to win, and second place means very little to him. He has the edge in their previous meetings, and he has won a lot more of these tournaments than Murphy has in recent years.
The Masters final used to be known for its close 10-9 or 10-8 finishes, but we haven't had one like that for a few years now, so I think it's about time. I will go for Robertson to win, but I would take 10-9 either way, preferably at midnight.
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Bit like tree surgeons who cut a tree down then chop it up.....
Anybody else missing Michaela?
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My mate was saying this last night ... He's mentioned it on numerous occasions . It really is his pet hate .Originally Posted by PatBlock View PostDoes anyone other than JV ever use the phrase "Slow up"? As in "This cueball needs to slow up..." Surely it's "speed up" and "slow down", isn't it? I mean, does he also say "Come on, speed down!..." when he wants someone to errr, speed up?
Anyway, crackin' start to this one. All the way, surely!
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My commentary pet hate is "he took his eye off the pot " when replay shows the player staring deep into the soul of the OB on strike .
Can a player not just simply miss a pot.Leave a comment:
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Who misses the semi finals of the Masters?
Mark Allen vs Shaun Murphy
http://snookervideotube.com/2015/01/...-7-semi-final/
Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Neil Robertson
http://snookervideotube.com/2015/01/...-7-semi-final/Leave a comment:
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I don't think anyone's trying to discredit Hendry's achievements its just that they find most players a bit dull to watch or talk about,tbh at the best of times I'm the same too.Originally Posted by Odrl View Post
I mean,nothing personal at all,but I wouldn't give up 4 or 5 hours of my time to watch Joe Perry or Barry Hawkins,even if I got tickets for free.Leave a comment:
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I thought we had outgrown this Hendry vs O'Sullivan debate years ago on this forum. We have a great Masters final in prospect today, why are you wasting time in trying to discredit Hendry's achievements?Leave a comment:
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