Welsh Open match discussion

[matoski]

ronnie says in his interview - "i dont know if marks talented, he plays a very negative game. he doesnt take a ball on unless hes going to leave it safe."

I totally agree with Ronnie on this. Mark is a very slow player, he destroys the concentration of his opponents, makes them nervous waiting in their chairs while he "takes his time" and "composes". He is not much of a breakbuilder either. I never liked his negative style, although people think he's positive just because he makes goofy faces and makes a fool out of himself in front of the audience.

[Monique]

Ronnie was obviously disapponted after having practically thrown the match away from 8-5 up and also in the final frame.

When winning a match, Ronnie often talks about how it doesn't matter to him winning or losing, funny we never hear this after a loss.

Congratulations to Selby! A worthy winner!

Congratulations to Selby indeed for keeping his cool and being able to exert pressure when it mattered, and for winning his first ranker of course!
Of course Ronnie was disapointed ... much more than that: he was toroughly angry at himself because he was unable to sustain the way Marlk played. And unable to close it when he had the upper hand. Mark played exactly the type of game that bullies Ronnie. It is absolutely right: he wants to win, he does what needs to be done to achieve it. Without resorting to ungentlemanly conduct ...
As for what Ronnie says about not caring ... well... does anyone seriously think one can get to three finals in four rankers (up to now in this season) when one does not care about winning? Of course he cares ... In my opinion (and this is just my opinion), he's just trying to keep pressure lower by trying to convince - himself in the first place - that it's not that important. Wether he's convincing ... is another story

[Wim]

Finally Ronnie can only blame himself for loosing this match He was 3 frames ahead and had his chances. Blaming this defeat on Selby's style is not correct, he must be capable to finish a game like this. But I agree with what he says about Selby's style in general. And of course he likes to win.

[Black_cat]

And now I'm expecting a thread whose title should be in the lines of "Is Ronnie a bottler??" and where the poster would nominate all the MT finals Ronnie has reached after his brilliant 2004-2005 season (that included the Worlds, the Masters and three other rankers) and all the titles he's won, respectively.
Because it looks bad. 2 wins out of 7 attempts.
*sigh*

[missneworleans]

I can't understand all say Selby is playing badly and can't underastand how he wins and so on. He is a great player!

[Semih_Sayginer]

Considering Selby wants to play in the PL and that is 25 seconds per shot, I don't see how he could play in that.

when this was posted it was said that Selbys shot duration was averaging 26 seconds per shot

i dont think Selby would have a problem in speeding up by a second or two if it meant he was going to foul.

it may mean he wont be playing 100% comfortably at his own speed, but to say "I don't see how he could play in that.", even though its your opinion, which youre entitled to, i think he could quite easily play in that

[Wim]

when this was posted it was said that Selbys shot duration was averaging 26 seconds per shot

i dont think Selby would have a problem in speeding up by a second or two if it meant he was going to foul.

it may mean he wont be playing 100% comfortably at his own speed, but to say "I don't see how he could play in that.", even though its your opinion, which youre entitled to, i think he could quite easily play in that

It would be a good experience for him as well, even Steve Davis who tended to slow down his game those last years did very well in PL and even sometimes better than on the other events.

[Monique]

I think Selby could perfectly cope with it. Maybe he would show another facette of himself. Somehow I don't feel he's really a "slow" player. He's a defensive player, and sometimes ... plays mind games. And I'm not referring solely to yesterday's match here; what I have in mind in the WC final and the WC quarter also.

[The Boss]

I think Selby could perfectly cope with it. Maybe he would show another facette of himself. Somehow I don't feel he's really a "slow" player. He's a defensive player, and sometimes ... plays mind games. And I'm not referring solely to yesterday's match here; what I have in mind in the WC final and the WC quarter also.

That's why he's known as the Shark. More horses heads are needed to stop him in future

[The Statman]

One has to bear in mind that the shot clock requires a maximum of 25 seconds, not an average. The average would have to be less by three or four seconds.

However, I don't envisage that Selby would struggle to cope; I think he might go for a more straightforward safety rather than the exceptionally precise that he tries for – but with his opponent also under the same time constraints, that will probably not cause him any disadvantage.