The Masters Jan 11 - 18, 2015

[streamer45]

Why is it I can never find the match best-of count at worldsnooker.com? Where do you guys go to see the format for each round? Thanks.

http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=363

[cyberheater]

Just finished watching the Murphy vs Maguire game.

Maguire didn't do much wrong but Murphy just held his nerve and executed perfectly to push himself over the line.
A very good win for him and very enjoyable to watch.

[Byrom]

It would be nice if somebody could have the balls to turn up against Ronnie, I'm sick of seeing players crumble against him

There might be a bit of that stuff going on but I think Ronnie is actually one of the best safety players out there too and that more than anything is the bit of his game I admire the most - that's difficult to cope with also knowing the guy is also going to score heavy too when he gets in.

Robertson can match him if he plays his best though I think and certainly is a better long potter so could be a cracker Robertson wins for me if he plays like he did against Carter - but each match is a different day and Ronnie is a different animal.

I don't think Murphy has the game to beat O Sullivan yet - he has improved but his shot selection is lacking at times and his safety not good enough, Mark Allen is an adrenaline type of player and loves playing under those conditions - thrives on it like a boxer with a cue and I think he is capable of going toe to toe with Ronnie so I would say he has more chance of beating Ronnie out of them all because of this.

[hesnookerforum]

If you miss the excellent match of yesterday, Snooker The Masters 2015 – Stephen Maguire v Shaun Murphy – (Day 6 Quarter-Final Highlights)
http://snookervideotube.com/2015/01/...al-highlights/

[HIPPY147]

Tipping Rocket v Allen Final

[hesnookerforum]

Full match Snooker The Masters 2015 – Mark Allen vs Joe Perry (Day 6, Quarter-Final)
http://snookervideotube.com/2015/01/...quarter-final/

[PatBlock]

...Ronnie is actually one of the best safety players out there too and that more than anything is the bit of his game I admire the most....

This is true and probably the key to him surpassing Hendry. It was the part of his game that was missing and used to be something of an Achilles heel, but he's clearly worked hard to change that. I don't think he actually enjoys it, but these days he knuckles down and can grind it out with the best of them. I wonder how many more world titles Stephen would have won if he had done the same.

-

[zombieman]

One thing to note is that Neil has never beaten Ronnie in a Triple Crown event. Granted, they have only played each other three times (twice in the Worlds, once in the Masters), but it's an interesting fact.

(Murphy hasn't beaten Ronnie either in these events. Mark Allen has beaten him TWICE).

[Odrl]

Right, semi-finals day today, and we have two really great prospects. :smile:

Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Neil Robertson:

I always look forward to the big matches between top4 players, and this season has hardly had any so far, which makes this one even more special. For two players who have had so much success between them over the last decade, these two have met surprisingly little. Their last meeting was over a year ago in the 2013 Champion of Champions, a high-quality match which O'Sullivan won 6-5. O'Sullivan has also won both of their matches over a long distance, 13-10 in the 2007 and 2012 World Championships. Their other matches haven't been as high-profile, although Robertson's 5-1 win in the final of the 2010 World Open was technically a ranking final, one of the darker days in snooker's recent history. :wink: They've also met in the Masters before, in the 1st round in 2010, and that was a real classic. Robertson played out of his skin to take a 3-0 lead, stealing the third frame on the black after a great fightback, only for O'Sullivan to return the favour and play four really strong frames to lead 4-3. Robertson then knocked in a total clearance of 140 to level the score, but O'Sullivan took the last two frames to win 6-4. I can only hope we get a match as high-quality as that one today. :smile:

Looking at this week's performances, both players have left a fairly good impression. O'Sullivan took advantage of Walden's mistakes to take a 5-1 lead, then had a little wobble in the second part of that match, but made a nice break in the last frame to avoid the decider. He played to a similar level against Fu, giving his opponent quite a few chances, but this time he didn't run into much resistance and won comfortably. He is clearly not at his best, but I would say he is still playing better than he did for most of the UK Championship, and we know how that ended. Robertson gave us two very different performances. His match against Milkins was one of the worst he has played in recent times, and he seemed to miss most pots that were a little bit tricky. He finished with two high breaks, but he had left Milkins in the balls in both frames, so he can count himself lucky to get the chance in the first place. On the other hand, his performance against Carter was some of the best snooker anyone has played all season, O'Sullivan included. Robertson made a couple of frame-winning breaks from very tricky positions, and his safety was superb throughout the match. It's hard to see how anyone can lose when playing like that, but of course today is a new day...

The thing is, at the moment O'Sullivan is the best player in the world as it is, but he is also the one player who can get away with an occasional mediocre performance, because everyone finds it so difficult to perform against him. He has a big psychological edge over most of his opposition, so he usually only needs a strong frame or two to really put his opponent under pressure and start dominating the match. His record in Masters finals is surprisingly even, but in semi-finals he has been bulletproof over the years. Having said that, if there is a player who doesn't get bullied by his opponent's reputation, it's got to be Robertson. He has such a great record in major matches over the years, and he's almost always held his own, win or lose. His main rival has mostly been John Higgins, but if you can beat a top-form Higgins you can probably beat anyone.

Whenever a player makes a really defeatist statement ahead of playing O'Sullivan, like Murphy, Ding and Trump have done recently, it always seems to turn into a really one-sided match, in O'Sullivan's favour of course. Robertson has done the opposite here, saying how confident he was feeling at the moment, but that's worked against him in the past. He usually plays his worst snooker when he starts thinking he should win. We will see. :smile: There is not much in it in terms of scoring at the moment, but Robertson has played the better safety this week, and his potting is superb, so I expect him to earn more chances. O'Sullivan has a habit of responding well when good snooker is played against him though, so I expect him to make a match of it. Robertson to win 6-4. :wink:

Shaun Murphy v. Mark Allen:

I am running out of time a little, so let's keep this one shorter. :smile: These two haven't had any really memorable matches in the past, which makes it an interesting pairing. Of course there was the semi-final of the World Open last season, which Murphy won 6-4 and went on to win the final as well. Looking further back they have mostly met in best-of-9 ranking matches, with a two-session match in the UK Championship thrown in as well, and Murphy has won all six. That's quite an impressive record, considering they have played snooker to a similar level in recent years.

Murphy was obviously the more impressive of the two yesterday, playing probably his best snooker outside of the PTCs for quite some time. He was impossible to keep away from the table, because his long-potting was so good, and he made a couple of good breaks at crucial times. He had the confidence to still go for his shots even when he was under pressure, same as in his first match, and that's a really good sign for him. Allen was brilliant against Higgins, responding very well after being hit with two centuries in the first two frames, and once again he showed great fighting qualities to win a frame where he needed a snooker. It turned the match in his favour, just like that semi-final against Williams in the International Championship, and it shows that Allen has really matured as a player now. At times this season he has played a poor match at the wrong time, like the Shanghai Masters final for example, and he could and should have gone out with that poor performance yesterday. But he has survived, and he probably won't play as poorly again.

I expect this to be a very open and attacking game, and probably high-scoring as well. Murphy looks slightly stronger at the moment though, and the head-to-head is very much in his favour, so I expect him to win, 6-4. :smile:


It promises to be a really great day of snooker. My only wish is that we avoid an O'Sullivan-Murphy final, because I want another great day tomorrow. :wink:

[cyberheater]

This one is too close to call.

Being a Ronnie fan. I obviously hope he wins.

It's going to be a great game.

[daffie]

As always the perfect start to any match reading Odrl's excellent write-up.

I slightly favor Robbo to win (best chance for a non one-sided final), but I'm sure it will be fireworks!

[cyberheater]

Okay. Looks like first frame to Robbo.

[daffie]

Not too shabby

[Ethanat]

Can't remember when was the last time Ronnie missed a frame ball like that.

[robertmac]

Wow !!!!!!