The Snookerfanatic Awards 2009
Best Player: John Higgins
Has to be really? Crowned World Champions for the third time in May with a comprehensive 18-9 win over Shaun Murphy. Although he failed to win any other tournaments, he made the finals of both the China Open and UK Championship. Incredibly consistent, Higgins has been the man of 09.
Best Match: John Higgins 13-12 Mark Sely
It had everything. Breathtaking quality. Two players at their best. A few lucky moments, turning points and a deciding frame finish. Higgins came out on top, in spite of Selby hardly putting a foot wrong.
Most improved player: Ding Junhui
Might sound like a strange choice, having been one of the stories of 2005 and 2006. But Ding has been non existent the last few seasons, with many wondering if he was simply a flash in the pan. Thankfully, we've been proven wrong, and the brilliant Chinese player seems to have turned a corner. Runner-up at the Grand Prix, Ding went on to win the UK Championship for the second time yesterday.
Best Comeback: Ronnie turning an 8-2 deficit into a deciding frame thriller
Higgins had mauled the Rocket, and at 8-2 he found himself just one frame from victory. Incredibly, despite some controversy along the way, Ronnie showed why he has been the player of the decade by winning 6 frames in a row against the strongest player mentally on the planet. Higgins finally won in the end, but what a fright he got.
Most disappointing player: Judd Trump
The supremely talented young potter still seems a long, long way from realising his potential, and that's a major pity. Outside of a Premier League win over Ronnie O'Sullivan, Trump has had few positives, and blowing a commanding lead over Stephen Lee, thus failing to qualify for the World Championship again, was a massive disappointment. 2010 could tell alot in terms of where Judd Trump is going.
Best performance: Mark Allen v Ronnie O'Sullivan
Perhaps another surprise for 606 writers, but few would have given the Ulsterman much chance. Allen played very well throughout, and under the most intense pressure knocked out the World Champion and World Number One on the biggest stage of all.
Posters of the year: Sickpotter and Oneball
Sickpotter is by far the most eloquent of the Hendry fan's, very reasoned in his debating, a cracking poster. Oneball is another solid writer, produces good articles and of course, has now founded snookerfanatic, a forum with massive potential.
And finally:
Player of the decade: Ronnie O'Sullivan
He didn't dominate like a Davis or Hendry, but he has been, in my opinion, by far the best player of the noughties. He finally realised his potential in 2001 by defeating John Higgins 18-14 in the World Championship final, and he looked faultless all through. Later that year, he hammered Ken Doherty 10-1 with a brilliant UK Final display. In 2004, he absolutely blitzed the opposition to retain his World title, his 17-4 semi-final win over Hendry showing just how far ahead of the rest he could be on his day. Ronnie dominated during 2005, hammering John Higgins 10-3 in the Masters final and winning 3 other ranking events, but came unstuck against Peter Ebdon in a controversial World quarter-final. It began a lean period for the Rocket, but by 2007 he was back. He destroyed Ding Junhui 10-3 with another breathtaking display in the Masters final, and hammered Stephen Maguire 10-2 in the UK Final. Another semi-final crushing of Hendry saw him take his third World Title of the decade in 2008.
Three World Titles. Two UK titles. Three Masters titles. 15 ranking titles. The best of the 00's.
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Tubberlad - Posts: 5009
- Joined: 02 October 2009
- Location: Ireland
- Snooker Idol: Ronnie OSullivan
- Highest Break: 49