Champion of Champions

[DeanH]

Champion of Champions

great final
good come back
great suspense
nearly a decider

[jonny66]

It was a great final actually, not the best quality at times, but plenty of drama. Odd to think the next tournament kicks off in 2 and a half hours.

[JimMalone]

Good that Murphy finally won a longer match against O'Sullivan. May give him confidence for future encounters.

[Stevie1]

Yes he was the beter player on the day i think there is no one beter than Ronnie on his day he is mind blowing but Murphy took the mach to him and out played him and has nothing but respect for how good Ronnie is. But Ronnie was hurting last nite but could have shown Murphy bit more respect

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Ronnie was absolutely terrible last night (didn't see the first session). Worst I've ever seen him.

He looks nervous these days - i think his bottle is going, it certainly went on that green.

And all you clive Everton fan boys...he annoys the bejesus out of me, with that whiney voice and pre-prepared platitudes trotted out at inappropriate times...you can say what you like about tic tac Willie but he stays in the moment and delivers the goods when they need delivering.

[gavpowell]

He looks nervous these days - i think his bottle is going, it certainly went on that green.

Was that green not rather a difficult shot?

[alabadi]

i think it was a difficult shot, however for someone of Ronnie's Caliber he would pot that 9/10 . i thought he was nervous and pushing a bit.

he played the shot a tad too hard , which we all do when we are nervous. he knew as soon as it hit the back jaw it was coming back over the green pocket

[Shockerz]

Thought he played a few strange shots toward the end and he wasn't quite on it.

Cannot see anything but a hammering for Mr Murphy unless he goes up a gear.

Shows what I know.

Or he went up a gear!!

[Ronnie's tip]

I think ROS has now lost 5 of his last 7 finals?

European Masters - lost to Trump
Champions League - lost to Trump
Champion of Champions - lost to Higgins
UK Championship - lost to Selby
Masters - beat Perry
Hong King Masters - lost to Robertson
English Open - beat Wilson
Champion of Champions - lost to Murphy

He's definitely more vulnerable now. That being said I do think things went against him yesterday. Even if they 'evened out', by that time the match was virtually done. The last frame of the first session and the first frame of the last session changed the tide completely. ROS could have run away with it had he not potted the red with that blue, he looking great but never really recovered from the hit.

[jono*]

He lost to top top players in those finals

[Ronnie's tip]

He lost to top top players in those finals

Yeah, but he lost every time he came up against a top player.

[sealer]

It wasn't going his way and he got nervous. In the old days he would have lost 10 - 4.
He battled even though it seemed a lost cause. In reality he got a bit too straight on the pink then slightly to straight on the yellow and was a very tricky green away from making it 9 - 9 where he would be a favourite to make a century and grab the glory. It showed you what a small difference a ball makes in the end.

I think his attitude was great and if he keeps putting hours in he will turn the results around and become a serial winner again before the end of his career.

[OmaMiesta]

That green was definitely difficult under pressure, also I dont think he knew it was frame ball or he might have just potted it and took the cue ball down table rather than play for brown.

[Cue crafty]

That green was definitely difficult under pressure, also I dont think he knew it was frame ball or he might have just potted it and took the cue ball down table rather than play for brown.

That is a very good call, he dug down on it for perfect position when he didn't need. If just rolled it in he would still have been on the brown high. Always think of Ronnie as a player with a great snooker brain but I think it might have deserted him there.
https://youtu.be/H6OdFfvD12c

[Csmith]

It wasn't going his way and he got nervous. In the old days he would have lost 10 - 4.

This is a great point, he's much stronger mentally than he has ever been. In fact, it's been a while since he's threatened to retire.

It's important to note that the top players are getting better and better. Although no one is scoring as well as Ronnie on daily basis, the top players are able to match him more often in the finals. It isn't getting any easier out there. In one of those finals with Trump, Judd looked absolutely unplayable.

8 finals in the last year and a half is nothing to sneeze at.