Redcafe Snooker

[ChrisNelson]

One of the worst frames I've ever seen. Both so nervous and some terrible shots.

Trump along with Ronnie an awesome front-runner but looks nervous when behind, I'm not sure he's got a comeback in him here.

 

[Ekkie Thump]

Selt held it together really well this frame. Excellent break. Trump out.

Edit: Total clearance! (128)

 

[DavidDeSchmikes]

Brecel with a 6-0 win over Maguire. Didn't realize Higgins was out already as well. Tournament opening up for O'Suillvan

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Brecel with a 6-0 win over Maguire. Didn't realize Higgins was out already as well. Tournament opening up for O'Suillvan

Delighted for Luca. I'd love to see him finally kick on and start getting up towards the top 16 again as he certainly has the potential.

Similarly, I'm desperate to see Jack Lisowski finally win a tournament. His section of the draw has also opened up without Selby and Higgins. A lot of players now with similar abilities so a real opportunity for one of them to reach the UK Championship Final. Would love it to be Jack.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Delighted for Luca. I'd love to see him finally kick on and start getting up towards the top 16 again as he certainly has the potential.

Similarly, I'm desperate to see Jack Lisowski finally win a tournament. His section of the draw has also opened up without Selby and Higgins. A lot of players now with similar abilities so a real opportunity for one of them to reach the UK Championship Final. Would love it to be Jack.

We both know what will happen with Jack Lisowski he will bottle it at some point (possibly the final) then complain that the media and fans are putting pressure on him by talking about him as the best player not to win a major tournament!

 

[Bertie Wooster]

We both know what will happen with Jack Lisowski he will bottle it at some point (possibly the final) then complain that the media and fans are putting pressure on him by talking about him as the best player not to win a major tournament!

Yeah, sadly that's very true.

Following him is like following United at the moment - the potential for success is there so I keep having false hopes but in my heart of hearts I know he'll keep falling short when it matters.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

‘Wrong’ hand, check side, two cushions under massive pressure. Genius at work.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Wilson against Brecel should be a fantastic semi-final.

Great performance today by the Warrior to beat Ronnie in a final frame decider.

A very strange tournament but still should have a bit left to offer.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Jack's done it again.

He could have won all the first six frames, but after losing so many tight ones in a row his fragile mentality was unlikely to recover.

That bloody unlucky split when he was 61-0 up in the first frame after the interval felt a huge moment at the time, and proved so. After losing two frames he could / should have won before the interval, he needed to restore momentum after it and was on course to do it - instead another tight frame lost at the death just continued the swing over to Zhao.

Delighted to see Luca in the semi final. He's playing really well this week, although it'll take something special to beat Wilson.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Delighted to see Luca in the semi final. He's playing really well this week, although it'll take something special to beat Wilson.

Well I said it would take a special performance for Luca to get passed Kyren Wilson - 3 centuries from him in the first 6 frames and he's still not in the lead! Great standard from both players so far.

EDIT: And almost a 4th century - and now he is in the lead. Come on Luca!

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Luca!

What a performance. 4 centuries, a 97 and an 80. Best I've ever seen him play.

 

[DOTA]

Good fun at the end with that break.

 

[esmufc07]

Anybody watching the final?

 

[DOTA]

Anybody watching the final?

Yeah. Would love for a close one but I'm expecting the end to be very soon.

 

[Wilt]

Anybody watching the final?

Yes, shame about the ‘Rent a Moron’ audience.

 

[SirAnderson]

Brilliant from Zhao!

 

[esmufc07]

Nice interview

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Another day, another Snooker tournament.

Unfortunately just seen Neil Robertson (and Mark Williams) have withdrawn. Robbo with Pulsatile Tinnitus, so not sure if he'll be ready for the World Grand Prix either. Always a shame to lose one of your favourites before the tournament even starts, and I wish him all the best.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Barry Hawkins appears to have suffered a major hangover from York.

Semi-finalist at York, he's just lost 0-4 to Pang Junxu in the first round of the Scottish Open.

Of the finalists, Luca Brecel faces a very tough opener against Joe Perry.

Remarkably, Zhao Xintong didn't qualify so won't be playing at Llandudno (where it's been relocated from Glasgow).

 

[Bertie Wooster]

After Neil Robertson's withdrawal, Jack Lisowski now knocked out in the heldover qualifier. Not a great start to the tournament for me.

It's two games running that Jack has kept losing all the close frames - did it in four frames running v Xintong; and, today, 3 of the 4 frames he lost were on the colours after scoring 48, 49 and 50 points in the frames. He really needs to win more of those types of tight frames rather than just the one visit big breaks.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Ding out too on day one and Ronnie being held 2-2 by Dominic Dale.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Ding out too on day one and Ronnie being held 2-2 by Dominic Dale.

Ronnie finally clicked into gear and won 4-2 with breaks of 77 and 132, but those first 4 frames were an awful standard and Dale, who also led 50 odd nil in the 5th frame, will really feel like it's a missed opportunity.

 

[ChrisNelson]

The sooner Ronnie retires, the better... fancy saying this about the sport that's made you rich and famous.

Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan advising children not to play snooker 'a disgrace', says John Higgins

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/59584542

Six-time world champion O'Sullivan said that he would not recommend children pursue a career in snooker.
He also said he would not want his own children to play the sport, adding that he would "prefer them to play golf, football or tennis".

 

[DOTA]

The sooner Ronnie retires, the better... fancy saying this about the sport that's made you rich and famous.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/59584542

Six-time world champion O'Sullivan said that he would not recommend children pursue a career in snooker.
He also said he would not want his own children to play the sport, adding that he would "prefer them to play golf, football or tennis".

If I'm being really charitable then I'd suggest that in order to get this written in an article...

The 46-year-old also spoke of the difficulties that lower-ranked players face with lack of prize money and suggested that expenses should be covered for first-round losers.

Higgins, also 46, agreed with O'Sullivan's comments on prize money but criticised the Englishman's view on children taking up snooker and said he "should know better".

you have to say some headline thing that draws clicks alongside it.

But it's also entirely possible he was just bored and wanted attention, as is often the case with him, and the comments about prize money at the bottom were merely justification added on.

 

[V.O.]

Ronnie just enjoys talking shite and getting a reaction out of people. Par for the course.

 

[ChrisNelson]

If I'm being really charitable then I'd suggest that in order to get this written in an article...


you have to say some headline thing that draws clicks alongside it.

But it's also entirely possible he was just bored and wanted attention, as is often the case with him, and the comments about prize money at the bottom were merely justification added on.

Bored and wanted attention is Ronnie in a nutshell sadly.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

Don’t see anything wrong with those comments to be fair.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Don’t see anything wrong with those comments to be fair.

You don't see anything wrong with the most famous person in the sport, a 6 time World Champion and without a doubt the biggest box office there is in snooker, telling the next generation of potential players to play another sport?

I give up.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

You don't see anything wrong with the most famous person in the sport, a 6 time World Champion and without a doubt the biggest box office there is in snooker, telling the next generation of potential players to play another sport?

I give up.

I heard plenty of footballers say they don’t want their sons to be professional football players. Van Gerwen also said he rather want his kid to be a footballer. If it’s his honest opinion then it’s fine with me. Should he lie in the name of snooker?

 

[DOTA]

I heard plenty of footballers say they don’t want their sons to be professional football players. Van Gerwen also said he rather want his kid to be a footballer. If it’s his honest opinion then it’s fine with me. Should he lie in the name of snooker?

No but they could keep their trap shut. It's an option. Not for Ronnie, obviously, but for most of us.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

No but they could keep their trap shut. It's an option. Not for Ronnie, obviously, but for most of us.

He had a good argument as to why he would advise young children to persue others sports though. He didn’t say snooker is a shit sport or anything. Just that besides the top level players its hard to earn a living which is true.

 

[DOTA]

He had a good argument as to why he would advise young children to persue others sports though. He didn’t say snooker is a shit sport or anything. Just that besides the top level players its hard to earn a living which is true.

I really find it hard to believe that there are a load of kids who could conceivably make it either as professional snooker players or professional footballers and require advice on which path to take.

I think all he's really achieving is lowering the hopes of the kids who dream of being a professional snooker players. Which, like, I guess you can argue kids should have realistic expectations but people don't usually defend me when I go round telling kids life is meaningless and everyone they love will die.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

I really find it hard to believe that there are a load of kids who could conceivably make it either as professional snooker players or professional footballers and require advice on which path to take.

I think all he's really achieving is lowering the hopes of the kids who dream of being a professional snooker players. Which, like, I guess you can argue kids should have realistic expectations but people don't usually defend me when I go round telling kids life is meaningless and everyone they love will die.

Crossovers between sports are fairly regular. Maybe not snooker/football but snooker/golf for instance is not so weird, is it?

 

[DOTA]

Crossovers between sports are fairly regular. Maybe not snooker/football but snooker/golf for instance is not so weird, is it?

I could be wrong but I can't see it. Being able to say make a century in snooker and maintain whatever a similarly difficult to attain handicap in golf would be just strikes me as much more unlikely combination than being that level at like tennis and football.

 

[Eendracht maakt macht]

I could be wrong but I can't see it. Being able to say make a century in snooker and maintain whatever a similarly difficult to attain handicap in golf would be just strikes me as much more unlikely combination than being that level at like tennis and football.

Anecdotal I know but I play carom billiards with friends from football and all of the best footballers are the best billiards players too. When we play against other teams the best players more often than not were great in some other sport too before they went om to play billiards.

 

[ChrisNelson]

I think it just makes him look an even bigger idiot than normal. I know in the past there have been mental health concerns over Ronnie and I accept that having your dad sent away for murder will feck you up a bit.

But most of the time it's just him trying to hog all the attention.

And his interviews become more car crash by the year.

On one interview he will say he's enjoying his snooker again etc... then the next day he's not bothered if it all ends tomorrow.

But this is a new low. This is the guy who, a couple of years ago came out with the 'numpties' phrase to describe lower ranked players who were struggling to compete on tour.

This is the guy who has criticised the standard of young British talent in the sport and said that the future lies with the Asian players (let's not forget that although Zhao took advantage of the seeds imploding at the UK Championship, he failed to qualify for the Scottish Open and Yan is proving to be rather inconsistent).

But what does he expect? All of the young British players he has a pop at look up to him as their ultimate idol and the player they want to be later in their careers.

If that same player is telling people to not even bother.... well I'm flabbergasted. I just think he's a very silly and ungrateful man.

 

[ChrisNelson]

Another bad day for the big names yesterday with Selby and Trump being dumped out.

Trump's match finished really late, he was beaten by Dave Gilbert in a final frame decider, and an epic one at that.

Both players missed simple shots and Trump really should have won it in the end but Gilbert held his nerve in the final clearance.

Draw in bracket order, with the QF's today:

McGill v Maguire
Brecel v Selt
O'Sullivan v Li Hang
Higgins v Gilbert

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Great effort by Luca Brecel to reach consecutive finals.

He'll start as a big underdog tomorrow but it's been a great couple of tournaments for him - sending him up from #40 in the ranking to #17, and currently 2nd in the 1 year list.

 

[Gringo]

Surely Higgo can't lose another final

 

[jeff gurr]

Personally I would like to see Luca Brecel win !! Good for snooker to have young players upsetting the old guard.