2016 World Championship discussion

[jb134]

Remember when O'Sullivan won the Worlds and Ray Readon was in his corner? His game plan was less attacking and playing the percentage game. He resisted the urge to go for the do or die pots and played a safety instead to create an opening. To some degree his match plan/tactics was Selby like in many ways.

Reardon is probably the most underrated player of all time. You'd think snooker started with Steve Davis to listen to these clowns.

[the lone wolf]

IMO; many are discounting Ding's play in the final as representative of how Selby played the final.
Ding never really showed his A game from the semi-final in which he shot lights out.
If he had, then the long, drawn out strategic frames wouldn't have happened and Selby would have had to match Ding's potting game.
In the longer frames Ding decided to Match Selby like for like which was his mistake.
We've all (older players) pretty much done it. Play a younger player who knocks 'em in from the lamp shades, so what do we do. SLOW 'EM DOWN...
-
Ding also played the first session as if it was do or die. Another mistake - He should of grown into the final, but instead it became a match of Cat and Mouse, with too much pressure on Ding to catch Selby up - But hey, it's not like I could have done any better! :snooker:

[ken147]

I disagree about not "going toe to toe". I think he is in a minority of players in any sport with the intellect and lack of ego not to try to play his "A" game when it isn't there.

This era of snooker has many great players a number of whom are guilty of "pushing the boat out", trying to "pot themselves out of trouble" etc.

Selby does not do this, he plays according to how he is feeling and the situation at any given point. He is a winning machine at the moment and is amassing a significant number of major titles against a very high class level of opposition which speaks for itself.

As for the chap who used the word "unethical", really?!?

Remember when O'Sullivan won the Worlds and Ray Readon was in his corner? His game plan was less attacking and playing the percentage game. He resisted the urge to go for the do or die pots and played a safety instead to create an opening. To some degree his match plan/tactics was Selby like in many ways.

[Giggity1984]

I disagree about not "going toe to toe". I think he is in a minority of players in any sport with the intellect and lack of ego not to try to play his "A" game when it isn't there.

This era of snooker has many great players a number of whom are guilty of "pushing the boat out", trying to "pot themselves out of trouble" etc.

Selby does not do this, he plays according to how he is feeling and the situation at any given point. He is a winning machine at the moment and is amassing a significant number of major titles against a very high class level of opposition which speaks for itself.

As for the chap who used the word "unethical", really?!?

I agree with your comments. However, perhaps he could adjust his percentages a little and take a few more risks.

[jb134]

Selbys play isn't pretty at times but it's always pretty affective.
I think the frustrating thing with him is we all know he can do it, he can play fluently and stand toe to toe but he seems to chose not to, wether it's a mental thing from getting beat up on the table as a youngster by the heavier scoring contemporaries I dont know, but he's found a way to win, it's not my cup of tea and I can't watch him for too long but as a player and a winner you have to give him total respect.

I disagree about not "going toe to toe". I think he is in a minority of players in any sport with the intellect and lack of ego not to try to play his "A" game when it isn't there.

This era of snooker has many great players a number of whom are guilty of "pushing the boat out", trying to "pot themselves out of trouble" etc.

Selby does not do this, he plays according to how he is feeling and the situation at any given point. He is a winning machine at the moment and is amassing a significant number of major titles against a very high class level of opposition which speaks for itself.

As for the chap who used the word "unethical", really?!?

[alabadi]

for me Selby deserved to win , his determination and true grit is commendable.

his tactical nous is excellent, he knows his way around the table and when it comes to safety play its awesome.

those who say he spoils the game, too slow ...bla bla bla , don't appreciate the skill and mental strength he posses and how he can turn a losing position into a winning one.

he can mix it when needed which we have seen when the balls are presented to him he can make century breaks too. he plays whats in front of him and this is why he wins.

I am a fan of his and Ding too , either would have pleased me, however i felt he deserved it more for the hard work he put in to win it. he admits himself throughout the tournament he was playing with his B game and only a few sessions where his A game came to the fore.
that was enough for him to keep his nose in front when it mattered.


congratulations to him , i'm pleased he won. well done Selby

[Odrl]

After having a dreadful China Open I was left with a choice of either trying for the runner-up spot again or going for the win. As I already have the pink ball trophy from last year I chose the latter option, which meant I risked it all on the underdogs and hoped for the best. In trying to choose as different players from your picks as I could, I even dumped Ding (what a mistake, lol). In the end it turned out OK, since at least got the blue ball trophy for third. Too bad for cineramax though, he was on the podium for the whole season, only to miss out on it in the WC...

Congratulations for the 2-in-a-row, Odrl, but watch out next season, now I'm only missing my black ball trophy!

PS: How did you even think of buying Selby , I was sure he'd be beaten soon, as most of the season he was playing really bad (for his usual standards of play, of course). You gotta have some kind of insider info, so that you knew he was actually improving his mental skills instead of playing in the tournaments :tongue:

I actually chose Selby because he seemed like a fairly safe option. I had a decent lead to defend, so I just tried to go for players who seemed the least likely to lose in the early rounds. Selby had Milkins in his opening match, then the winner of White-Baird, so it looked very probable that he would reach the quarter-finals. I didn't actually think he would win the tournament. :smile: I chose O'Sullivan and Robertson by the same logic, as they had very favourable draws in the early rounds, and I took Wilson because he was ridiculously cheap. The other players I considered were Ding and Higgins, which means I would have probably won whatever I did. :smile:

In all honesty, I was incredibly lucky all season. There were 11 events in the season, and I had the winner in my team in 7 of them. I had Higgins in the Australian Open and the International Championship, Wilson in Shanghai, O'Sullivan in the Masters and the Welsh Open, Trump in China, and finally Selby in the WC. That's pretty good, considering you can't actually have more than one or two of the really expensive players at the same time. I couldn't have done much better really. My only really big mistake was completely misjudging Robertson's form progression this season. I had him in the early events, thinking he would start the season strongly again, like in 2013 and 2014 when he won the Wuxi Classic, but he only managed a couple of early exits. I then sold him ahead of the UK Championship, which he won, and bought him again for the WC. The horror. :smile:

The best of luck to you next season, but I fully intend to defend my title. :wink:

Maybe a silly question but where do I find these fantasy games ?

http://www.fantasy-point.com/home.php

I made a bit of an effort to invite more people at the start of the season, but unfortunately not many joined in, so we had very few players in the end. It's not a very sophisticated game, it's basically pick your players and count the points, but it's fun nonetheless. Hopefully there will be a few more of us next season. :smile:

[Rane]

After having a dreadful China Open I was left with a choice of either trying for the runner-up spot again or going for the win. As I already have the pink ball trophy from last year I chose the latter option, which meant I risked it all on the underdogs and hoped for the best. In trying to choose as different players from your picks as I could, I even dumped Ding (what a mistake, lol). In the end it turned out OK, since at least got the blue ball trophy for third. Too bad for cineramax though, he was on the podium for the whole season, only to miss out on it in the WC...

Congratulations for the 2-in-a-row, Odrl, but watch out next season, now I'm only missing my black ball trophy!

PS: How did you even think of buying Selby , I was sure he'd be beaten soon, as most of the season he was playing really bad (for his usual standards of play, of course). You gotta have some kind of insider info, so that you knew he was actually improving his mental skills instead of playing in the tournaments :tongue:

Maybe a silly question but where do I find these fantasy games ?

[_royle]

...

Finally, commiserations to my fantasy rival _royle for losing out on second place overall. First place was of course out of reach. :tongue: It was one of the few times that O'Sullivan didn't do much for me, and I completely misfired with Robertson, but of course Selby came to the rescue. :smile:
...

After having a dreadful China Open I was left with a choice of either trying for the runner-up spot again or going for the win. As I already have the pink ball trophy from last year I chose the latter option, which meant I risked it all on the underdogs and hoped for the best. In trying to choose as different players from your picks as I could, I even dumped Ding (what a mistake, lol). In the end it turned out OK, since at least got the blue ball trophy for third. Too bad for cineramax though, he was on the podium for the whole season, only to miss out on it in the WC...

Congratulations for the 2-in-a-row, Odrl, but watch out next season, now I'm only missing my black ball trophy!

PS: How did you even think of buying Selby , I was sure he'd be beaten soon, as most of the season he was playing really bad (for his usual standards of play, of course). You gotta have some kind of insider info, so that you knew he was actually improving his mental skills instead of playing in the tournaments :tongue:

[JimMalone]

What I like so much about Selby is that he thinks so much. Most of the time he finds the right shot, that also makes him such a strong tactician. If he is in a good break he obviousy tries to finish the frame with it as well. But he is wise enough to weigh up the risks and while some players go for shots that are easily to miss and which could cost them the frame, Selby then often decides to play a safety. With this he also plays to his strengths, because he knows what excellent safety game he has. He reminds me quite much of John Higgins in this aspect (and in many others).

[AJveits]

As I already mentioned, I don't like Selby at all, but damn, he must be the most well-rounded player out there.
His safety play was just brilliant, it was so frustrating for me to see as I was rooting for Ding.

[itsnoteasy]

Selbys play isn't pretty at times but it's always pretty affective.
I think the frustrating thing with him is we all know he can do it, he can play fluently and stand toe to toe but he seems to chose not to, wether it's a mental thing from getting beat up on the table as a youngster by the heavier scoring contemporaries I dont know, but he's found a way to win, it's not my cup of tea and I can't watch him for too long but as a player and a winner you have to give him total respect.

[shmeeko69]

My love and hate of Selby is similar to that of Davis back in the 80's.
Us Brits don't like a dominate winner of any sport, especially when their win of play is undesirable.
In future years, when Selby is less dominate, I guess he'll pick up more fans in the same way Davis did. I love Davis today as he is a true legend for our sport. Who knows, Selby popularity may just grow the same way?
----
Love him or hate him, Selby is the World Champion.
The 17 day Crucible challenge does not lie! :snooker:

I also felt like that with Davis in the 80's and Ebdon to a lesser extent in the 90's. I don't mind someone who dominates in any sport, but it has to be positive and something that puts the game in a good light.

[ken147]

Ding's time will come. He's shown a more relaxed and happy attitude at the crucible and seems to enjoy playing there. He is on the right path to his maiden WC. Well done to Selby he played to his strengths, put Ding in all sorts of trouble from his safety play and disrupted his rhythm limiting his free flowing heavy breaking building. Fair play to Selby.

[Giggity1984]

Strange how we latch on to certain things.

For me it was the amount of times Ding had the cue ball cleaned, even with no kick on the previous shot.

Or was that just me ?

I agree he does, but his break building and cue ball control is so fluent, that his frames don't last hours! I've always been a Selby defender on here in the past, but he ground that Tournament out a bit didn't he? Lol.