2019 Grand Prix

[Mark187187]

Not likely. First half of both sessions he had chances to gain the advantage. Trump was lucky to get 2-2 this afternoon, and probably should have lost the first 4 this evening.

[Cue crafty]

I like Ali but feel he needs to stop listening to the Emperor. "Yes Luke good! Release your anger so you can join me on the dark side!! Which in Ali's case is the bus stop back to Chingford...

[neuronic]

I have also, recently ... but I don't look like Mr Angry :wink:

Well, cudos to you then... some people struggle when life kicks them into the balls repeatedly

Looks almost over now, I don't see Mr. Sourface coming back from 6:9...

[DeanH]

The man's been through so much sh**, he has every right to look pissed the rest of his life...^^

I have also, recently ... but I don't look like Mr Angry :wink:

[Mark187187]

Agreed, but he was like this already 😋

[Cue crafty]

The man's been through so much sh**, he has every right to look pissed the rest of his life...^^

True, don't get angry get even!!

[Mark187187]

I remember when he got his 147 at the crucible. Ebdon tried to shake his hand, and ali nearly pulled his arm off. Then he beat his chest like King Kong, and beat the air like he'd just knocked Mike Tyson out.

[neuronic]

The man's been through so much sh**, he has every right to look pissed the rest of his life...^^

[Cue crafty]

I reckon Carter would look p1ssed off even if he won

Lol! He does appear to be his own worst enemy. In all sport there is a fine line between tenacity and petulant temper... to me more often than not Carters temper has made him lose.
For someone who has played all his life he is for me terrible at "accepting the rub of the green".

He's fighting well tonight and making it interesting but I expect to see him erupt at some point if Judd gets a few lucky strokes!

[neuronic]

I'm really enjoying this... great safety play from Ali right now, from both players, actually. Tense.

[Odrl]

So Selby's average shot time is 29 seconds max this season, yet you say 25.7 seconds isn't particularly slow. Well that's only 4.3 seconds away from 30 which gets him on the slowest list.

Just to be clear, 25.7 seconds is his average shot time in the 12 matches where he was slower than his opponent. His average shot time in all matches he's played this season is listed as 23.23 seconds (it differs slightly from CueTracker, for some reason), which puts him at number 52 among the 125 players listed. You can see the full list here. He is also within half a second of John Higgins, who I think everyone will agree is a reasonably fast player.

As I said before, 45 different players have played matches with an average shot time of over 30 seconds this season, according to the list that was posted in December. Lee Walker is by far the worst offender with 16 such matches, followed by Martin O'Donnell with 12, Lu Ning with 11 and Peter Ebdon with 10. The other players on the list are all somewhere between 1 and 9 matches. You can see the list here. Selby's name does not appear. :wink:

You can quote time stats all you like but when Selby takes two minutes to play a run of the mill safety and mucks about with do I or don't I need an extension/mini butt/rest and tries them all out, it's because of the state of the match, his own form and the form of his opponent, and gamesmanship is what he's doing. If he isn't doing it now because of the clampdown then great, but he's still taking over 25 seconds a shot average and that's painfully slow in my book, and if his opponents are as slow as he well that's probably because he's tied up a frame looking for a re-rack or got them in roll up snookers with umpteen misses played.

Well, either he has periods where he is remarkably fast to bring his average shot time down and compensate for all the time wasting, or he is simply not doing it to the extent you are implying. Your dislike of Selby is well documented, and I seem to remember you saying on several occasions that you don't actually watch his matches if you can help it, so I am not surprised you remain unconvinced. I don't think there are any stats that could change your mind, so there really wouldn't be any point in quoting any more of them. :smile:

True I don't like his style of snooker, but when he's on form and his opponent isn't he flies so as far as I'm concerned it's deliberate.

Well yeah, but surely that is completely logical and true of virtually every player, is it not? If you are playing one-visit snooker you will play quickly and fluently, and if you play crap it will be slow and tedious. The difference between Selby and most other players though is that Selby still makes the right decisions and keeps his composure even when he is not playing his best (or at least he did prior to this season), and he never mentally gives up in matches. That means he wins a few more of them than some people think he should, and he gets his share of unwarranted hate as a result.

Now, there are a few players who will still play extremely fast and never adjust their pace even when they struggle, Robert Milkins for example, but I don't consider that to be a particularly positive characteristic, nor does it have anything to do with sportsmanship.

[Mark187187]

I reckon Carter would look p1ssed off even if he won

[Guitarnolife]

Great tense! Hoping for a decider really

[DeanH]

Don't mind a bit of a come back but would prefer JT to win - nothing special about that just preference

[kligu]

Anyone else here hoping for a Carter comeback tonight? I can well remember their last 16 match at the Crucible in 2012. Trump missed a sitter with the extended rest in the decider after having led 12-9. Ali compiled an eventually match-winning break. But Judd nearly got the three snookers he needed. What a decider that was!