World Championship Qualifying

[FerruleFox]

He wasn't expected to win any of his 4 qualifiers so who knows..

Then again, maybe he's doomed to wilt under the heat lamps of the Crucible anyway and this is all just necessary experience for his maturity.

[AndrewB]

He picked up the danger man of the qualifiers, I'd say. Luca has already exceeded the expectations and will not be under any sorts of pressure to get a win in the arena as a 17-year-older. That can make a difference.

That said, he'll be the 5th 17-year-old to play at the Crucible, and the other four all lost...

[montoya10]

Not sure about that one... Yes, he lost in the 1st round of the World Open to Robert Milkins, but other than that, a quarter-final at the Welsh Open, a semi-final at the PTC Finals, and another final at the China Open. I would say that's a pretty good run ahead of the World Championship.

He picked up the danger man of the qualifiers, I'd say. Luca has already exceeded the expectations and will not be under any sorts of pressure to get a win in the arena as a 17-year-older. That can make a difference.
Still, an in-form Maguire will prove too much to handle, to be honest. But I'm looking forward to this one. One good match this could be (=

[nrage]

Not sure about that one... Yes, he lost in the 1st round of the World Open to Robert Milkins, but other than that, a quarter-final at the Welsh Open, a semi-final at the PTC Finals, and another final at the China Open. I would say that's a pretty good run ahead of the World Championship.

Hrm.. seems I was looking at an old page of results, missing the more recent ones

[Odrl]

Maguire has had a quiet year, aside from the German Masters where he made the final. Since then, he's lost to a number of lower ranked players..

Not sure about that one... Yes, he lost in the 1st round of the World Open to Robert Milkins, but other than that, a quarter-final at the Welsh Open, a semi-final at the PTC Finals, and another final at the China Open. I would say that's a pretty good run ahead of the World Championship.

[nrage]

Now that Luca Brecel has been drawn to meet Stephen Maguire in the main draw, it's gonna be an uphill battle for him. Buy hey who knows, may be just may be, Brecel will triumph in the end!

Maguire has had a quiet year, aside from the German Masters where he made the final. Since then, he's lost to a number of lower ranked players.. Maguire's ranking is probably about where I'd place him in the top-16 pack, so Brecel has drawn a middling seed in that respect, there are worse draws and better ones he could have had. Ultimately no draw was going to be easy for him - these are the best players in the world after all

[ongkia]

Now that Luca Brecel has been drawn to meet Stephen Maguire in the main draw, it's gonna be an uphill battle for him. Buy hey who knows, may be just may be, Brecel will triumph in the end!

[cebs]

I just had a feeling that Ronnie would draw Ebdon, I should have put a bet on that happening...

I saw the 100-1 odds on Luca last night and thought about putting a tenner on , maybe he'll get through a round or two and play Higgins in the Quarters but I can't really see him beating him but you never know.

Does Ronnie have a twitter account btw? I love to hear his reaction.

[CueInAction]

Full draw is below

Mark Allen v Cao Yupeng
Neil Robertson v Ken Doherty
Stuart Bingham v Stephen Hendry
Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins
Shaun Murphy v Jamie Jones
Steven Maguire v Luca Brecel
Judd Trump v Dominic Dale
Graham Dott Joe Perry
Ding Junhui v Ryan Day
Martin Gould v David Gilbert
Mark Williams v Liu Chang
Stephen Lee v Andrew Higginson
Ronnie O Sullivan v Peter Ebdon
Matthew Stevens v Marco Fu
Ali Carter v Mark Davis
John Higgins v Liang Wenbo

[nrage]

He has Maguire in round 1 it appears .. I would say he has a decent chance there perhaps.

[bobby1979]

Brecel 100-1 to win it. hmmmmmm
His safety looks a bit mad at times, but hell does he slap them in! He will find it very difficult against a Selby or a Robertson however...

[pottr]

King looked absolutely devistated to lose!

When Luca played the drop safety to leave Mark cueing over the Brown, he tapped the table in respect but you could see the panic behind his eyes... He wanted to win so badly.

King acted like a gentleman in defeat and wished Brecel the best, top man.

[PatBlock]

I don't like speculating but I wonder how much Barry Hearn or any other "corrupt" World Snooker insider paid Mark King to lose that match to Brecel..... That was simply the worst I have ever seen Mark King play, it was if he gave countless opportunities for Brecel to win the match.........

For someone who doesn't like speculating, you certainly pushed the boat out a bit there didn't you.
Another verse of "The Betting-Slip Blues" perhaps?

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[Guy3103]

Sometime prople have to think a little bit before saying what they think out loud... Brecel had to beat four experienced players to qualify and he did well. These players are human beings and if King didnt play that well it might be because he just seemed to have a bad day...

[LittleMissAlexa]

this could get ferret and statman in a lot of trouble you may find this deleted when they see it