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It's terrible, biggest problem is not even that it's low but those perspective correction lenses they mount on cameras, that's way too much correction imho. It looks unrealistic at best.Originally Posted by DeanH View PostAnyone else consider the main camera angle too low? Difficult to judge the positions and angles
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Yes. The table's almost square! McGill had a pink to centre early in Frame 7 and I was convinced it would have been red first from the angle but I was wrong!!!!!Originally Posted by DeanH View PostAnyone else consider the main camera angle too low? Difficult to judge the positions and anglesLeave a comment:
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Anyone else consider the main camera angle too low? Difficult to judge the positions and angles
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Just a few words before this starts then...
I am looking forward to this event. It has a better field and format than the Champion of Champions, so I think it's fair to say it will be the second most important invitational event of the season, behind the Masters. I'm not sure what to think about this becoming a ranking event next season... On one hand, the calendar desperately needs more proper ranking events with matches of at least medium length, but on the other hand, I think there is a place on the calendar for a major invitational event such as this one as well.
The field this week is world-class, only missing Ronnie O'Sullivan really. I think it would be pointless trying to predict who will reach the business end, since it could be virtually anyone, but let's have a look at the pairings anyway...
Quarter 1:
Mark Selby v. Anthony McGill
Mark Allen v. Ricky Walden
An interesting match between Selby and McGill, the man of the moment against one of the best players from the summer part of the season. McGill of course beat Selby when he was defending champion at the Crucible in 2015, and did so in great style. Selby got some revenge in the International Championship later that year, but I think McGill is a much stronger player than he was at this time a year ago, so I'm looking forward to this one. It should be a high-quality affair, particularly in the safety exchanges. We saw last month how hard it is put a few good events together in successive weeks. Trump made a pretty good job of it, but he was clearly tired mentally and physically towards the end of the month, so I suspect Selby will find it hard to reproduce his form from Daqing as well.
Allen and Walden have met each other in quite a few big matches over the last five years or so, and the head-to-head between them is very close. The final of the 2014 International Championship was a very good match and arguably Walden's best-ever performance on the big stage, particularly the last three frames when he pulled away to win 10-7. They also played in the final of the PTC Finals last season, but that match wasn't quite as good. It was Walden who took the early lead, before Allen found his form and dominated the match for a 10-6 victory. We have two unpredictable and somewhat inconsistent players here, so this one could go either way. Neither player has done anything notable this season yet. Allen even failed to qualify for the recent International Championship, so he has had to travel to China for this event specifically, while everyone else has presumably stayed behind from last week. Slight edge to Walden perhaps.
Allen and Selby always seem to produce classic matches when they play each other, so this is a match I would quite like to see in the quarter-finals. In fact, all four of their previous best-of-11 matches went 6-5, and all were great entertainment. As for that "pointless prediction" of mine, I will actually go for Walden in this quarter. :smile:
Quarter 2:
John Higgins v. Mark Williams
Judd Trump v. Allister Carter
Ah yes, another round of the good old Higgins-Williams rivalry. Actually, if there is one player who doesn't quite impress me in this field, it has to be Williams. He hasn't really been close to winning any sort of big tournament in the last season or two, so it's a bit of a mystery to me how he's managed to get above someone like Hawkins in the rankings. Higgins, on the other hand, has been a model of consistency this season, reaching the quarter-finals in four of the six events he's played in, with last16 exits in the other two. He too has not been particularly close to actually winning anything though. Their meeting in the World Open this season was their first meeting of any note since 2011, and it was Higgins who won fairly comfortably. My suspicion is that something similar might happen here.
Trump has had quite a rivalry with the two old-timers in this section recently, but Carter is an opponent he hasn't played a lot. The one big match between them of course was at the Crucible in 2012, when Carter came from 12-9 down to win 13-12, and there was quite a bit of needle between them. The closest they came to having a proper rematch was in the German Masters last season, Trump winning 5-0. They are both tournament winners this season, so they come here with confidence and good recent form. As I said though, Trump looked tired at the end of what was a very strong October for him, so Carter could have a good chance here.
I'm sure Higgins isn't particularly happy to find himself in a quarter with Trump and Carter, two players who have both beaten him more than once in televised events this season. Traditionally he still has a pretty good record against them though, and I would put him as the favourite to advance on this occasion.
Quarter 3:
Shaun Murphy v. Joe Perry
Ding Junhui v. Marco Fu
Murphy and Perry have played each other quite a bit over the years, but only a few times in the major events. The most memorable recent match is of course that thrashing in the 2015 World Championship, when it looked like Murphy would win with a session to spare at one point, before Perry battled to a 13-5 defeat. Murphy was playing great stuff at the time and was one of the best players that season, but recently he has not really been at the top of his game, and it was Perry who won when they played in the World Open this season. Could go either way.
Ding has a pretty strong record against Fu, so I think he should be favourite to win. The final of the 2013 International Championship between these two was one of the very best matches I have ever watched, so I can only hope for something similar here. Ding won that match 10-9, and he also has wins over Fu in the Masters final and in the World Championship. That said, he was all over the place on Sunday and didn't seem to have any fight in him in the final, so I am not sure what kind of mental state he is in at the moment. He is not really the kind of person who just plays the next event as if nothing had happened. Can he redeem himself with a good performance here?
Tough quarter to call. Murphy has won more matches than he's lost against Ding, but neither player is guaranteed to win their opening match here. Ding has reached the final in two of the three biggest events this season though, so he probably has to be the favourite in this format, regardless of what happened two days ago.
Quarter 4:
Neil Robertson v. Michael Holt
Stuart Bingham v. Liang Wenbo
Robertson against Holt is another interesting 1st round match. Holt's win in the 1st round at the Crucible marked the beginning of a very successful period for him. He first reached the final of the Riga Masters, losing to Robertson, then reached quarter-finals in both Shanghai and Daqing, so he is clearly a dangerous opponent at this point in time. Robertson's results haven't been bad either, but I think he would have expected a little more, and he showed a bit of frustration last week when he was losing heavily against Perry. He is generally strong in the slightly longer matches though, so I expect a good performance from him.
Bingham and Liang played a good match in the semi-finals of the English Open this season, Liang winning in the decider after being behind all match. Liang also won a close match between them in the German Masters two seasons ago. This is a really tough one to call... Bingham has been one of the best players over the last month or so, reaching three semi-finals in a row, while Liang won his biggest title to date in the English Open, so they are both playing strongly at the moment. They also seem to enjoy the best-of-11 format, although Bingham has found ways to lose from in front quite a few times. Liang is ahead on the head-to-head, but Bingham has a stronger record in China, so it's another one that's almost impossible to call.
And when it doubt, just go for the big name to come through. Therefore I will go for Robertson in this quarter. :smile:
Possible SF line-up:
Ricky Walden v. John Higgins
Ding Junhui v. Neil Robertson
Finally managed to keep it brief for once. :smile: Should be a great tournament. I won't be getting up tomorrow morning though, I will have a sleep and watch it delayed instead. :smile:Leave a comment:
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ROS was invited but declined, MJW invited instead
http://www.worldsnooker.com/williams...nship-line-up/Leave a comment:
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The article (linked above) explains the invites for this introductory invitational event, to me it shouts - the Chinese sponsors/money-men got their choice to maximise ticket sales/TV coverage/etc. I would think ROS was asked but declined(?) as he was 9th or 10th.Originally Posted by trains View PostLeave a comment:
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As its a Chinese event they should have found places for players like Zhao Xintong Zhou Yuelong and the Thai Thepchaiya Un Nooh.
McGill is there because of the Indian Open where it looks like quite a lot of players didn't enter.Leave a comment:
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