The Final : Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins

Jewell wrote:The good thing about Ronnie winning the final is it would finally shut up that idiotic turd GJ. I've never heard so much deluded CDL nonsense get spoken in my entire life.

Barry to win? Ha! Even the I am some hammers don't give him a prayer.

Yes, I often don't like to say a player has no chance whatsoever and so on cause you never know what's around the corner and another day is another day, another match is another match, but in this case Ronnie is without doubt the favourite and will prove it on the table. Barry won't stand much of a chance. To start, Barry has started most of his matches very badly without settling in early, and I think this will be no different and he is bound to be very very nervous related to the occasion of a big world final against Ronnie. His safety too will have to be spot on, as Ronnie has proved that his long balls in this tourney have probably been the best we have seen from him at the Worlds. In amongst them, Ronnie too has been as good as ever, and won't make that many mistakes like Walden made for instance.

So, in short, Barry would have to play the snooker of his life from frame 1, which I don't see happening,

And all the haters now can't stand the fact that he's going to retain his title after being a year out, an incredible incredible feat that I think only Ronnie could have pulled off, maybe too Higgins like he did after his 6 month ban, but I have some doubts. And then all his haters use his recent quotes as an aditional excuse for him not to win this year's Worlds.OK much of those things he said are a bit nonsense and he too can be a bit of a CDL at times, but that has little to do on what he actually performs on the snooker table, and that's what counts really.

Ronnie hasn't played his best snooker in this tourney, cause he hasn't had too cause he put pressure on his opponents, but the thing is his feat of winning a 5th World Crown shouldn't be discredited and therefore deserves respect, like everyone does when one wins a world title, a feat never easy to achieve.

All this talk cause I really can't see Barry winning, which doesn't mean I don't give him respect as a player, very much on the contrary.

I remember someone on 606 back in 2007 saying Hawkins would be a World Champion.

Oh how we laughed

Well done Ronnie on winnin your 5th world title!.




I find it very amusing when certain followers,fans,others in general like to harp on how <easy> Hendry had it in the 90,s.
If anyones had it <easy> then it,s been Ronnie who,s had/havin it easy.




He had a dire Campbell to start with,then he played Carter,a player who almost always plays mediocre to rubbish against Ronnie,a player who,s never ever beaten him,talk about havin byes.


Then he had an out of sorts Bingham,which was followed by a over-par,rubbish Trump!.



A Wonderful super high standard i must say.



Anyone with even only have an ounce of a brain knows that the standard has been very weak for a good while now and that most of Ronnies oponnents have played very mediocre to rubbish against him,so don,t give us the bulls**t that Ronnies had it tough and that the standards are so high these days,he,s been extremely lucky!.



Dont get me wrong,Ronnie has played very good snooker in this worlds and is above the rest of the crop,but as we all know he hasnt been put under any pressure at all and it,s not as if his opponenents didn,t get any chances,they all had there share but as usual can,t make the most of them.



It,s intrestin to note that when Ronnie plays,there,s always a lot of talk how well Ronnie played,how his opponents played against him is concerned,well thats rarely noted,if it was Hendry,then it,d get put down to there bein no or weak competition.
Or it,s often the case when others players win,they often get praised for how good,great they played,you rarely hear that they won cause the opponent(s) played weak though.



Many players of the 90,s could compete and cope with the current crop,to call the 90,s weak is just pure ignorance.



I,ve said it before and i,ll say it again,there were high standard matches throughout the 90,s just like in the 00,s to try and label those decades weak or weaker is absolutely insane!.



The way some commentators and some other dumplings ramble on,it,s as if all the players clear up in one visit,knock in break after break,rarely lose position,in fact,that they hardly miss a pot theeesse days!!,yeah right,the standards so hiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh these days.Talk about hypeing up.



Ronnie came absolutely fresh into this tourney,and as Carter said,he,s been practising just like everyone else,so it,s no surprise that he,s produced.



I also find it laughable when most of the players try and blame there loses on the high standards,hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa,yeah,great excuse,the truth is,it,s not cause the standards are so higgggghhh theeeeesssse dayyyyys,it,s cause they,re not bl**dy consistent enough.




Ronnie really does now have a chance to be regarded as the greatest ever snooker player,but he,s still got a good few centuries to make and he,s got at least another few titles as well as 2 world titles to win to be regarded that.





Anyway,thats my bit for now,and yes,once again i will congratulate Ronnie.



Well done Ronnie on winnin your 5th Worlds,your way ahead of the rest,just like Hendry was in the 90,s!.



I will be the first to take my hat off to Ronnie and call him the greatest ever snooker player,if he pulls it off and wins at least 7 world titles.

So, it all comes down to this.

It's the Crucible Final, people.

nice_shoes_ken wrote:
I would strip naked and run around my block if he did.

Come on Barry!!!

That reminds me. Has Wild done his duty round the high streets of Wales yet?

Whilst my computer has decided to connect to the internet for once, I'd like to say how nice it was to see Hawkins win last night. When Rob Walker interviewed him, he didn't know where he was. It meant so much to him to reach the Crucible final.

Also, when the camera cut to his dressing room, a more casual looking Ricky Walden ran in to congratulate him, and seemed generally pleased for his opponent.

Both men are a credit to the sport.

All the Hawkins pickers can cash in big at the bookies, back up these bold claims with cold hard cash. Even William Hill has him at 11-2......or is it empty bravado?

Lucky wrote:All the Hawkins pickers can cash in big at the bookies, back up these bold claims with cold hard cash. Even William Hill has him at 11-2......or is it empty bravado?

exactly right, Bazza is a fine player, gritty and has made some great clearances and taken chances against superior players........BUT if you are so sure then put your money where your mouth is. 11/2 in a 2 horse race is good odds, especially given the almighty backing Baz is getting on here.

The Final : Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins

I think there's more chance of Barry from Eggheads winning the final...



but good luck to the Hawkster. I hope he beats Ronnie 'I can't decide to quit' O'Sullivan!

This is it. The Final of the World Championship.

Both players can write history but only one will get all the glory. Whoever wins it would be an incredible story.

Barry Hawkins the nice, hard working lad who against all odds wins the title against the defending champion. That would be like a fairytale.

On the other hand, Ronnie O'Sullivan the first player to defend a World title since Stephen Hendry in 1996 after taking a year long break from professional snooker at an age most players decline.

Only one story will come true.


I heard the last couple of days a lot of people say it wouldn't be a big deal to come back after such a long break. But I remember reading a post from Wild where he said that the World Champion is always an in form player who won a lot of titles in the season. Who is right?



To be honest I don't see Barry Hawkins having a chance of beating Ronnie over 35 frames. But this has less to do with Barry but the fact I can only see 3 players beating Ronnie in a World final: Stephen Hendry in his prime, John Higgins at his best and maybe Mark Selby playing out of his skin.

O'Sullivan is a proven champion and he won't let such an amazing opportunity slip. It's the best chance he'll ever get to defend a World title.

This year is the first time I really think about the possibility of Ronnie matching Stephen's magnificent 7. Unthinkable just 2 years ago after he lost after a terrible season to John Higgins.

In the unlikely case of Ronnie losing tomorrow that means he's won it four times and been runner up once . Does anyone else know who holds this distinction ? I'll give you a clue

GrumpyMrDavros wrote:In the unlikely case of Ronnie losing tomorrow that means he's won it four times and been runner up once . Does anyone else know who holds this distinction ? I'll give you a clue

And he lost in the 2001 world champs for Ronnie to take his maiden world title win.

Snooker Overdrive wrote:This is it. The Final of the World Championship.

Both players can write history but only one will get all the glory. Whoever wins it would be an incredible story.

Barry Hawkins the nice, hard working lad who against all odds wins the title against the defending champion. That would be like a fairytale.

On the other hand, Ronnie O'Sullivan the first player to defend a World title since Stephen Hendry in 1996 after taking a year long break from professional snooker at an age most players decline.

Only one story will come true.


I heard the last couple of days a lot of people say it wouldn't be a big deal to come back after such a long break. But I remember reading a post from Wild where he said that the World Champion is always an in form player who won a lot of titles in the season. Who is right?



To be honest I don't see Barry Hawkins having a chance of beating Ronnie over 35 frames. But this has less to do with Barry but the fact I can only see 3 players beating Ronnie in a World final: Stephen Hendry in his prime, John Higgins at his best and maybe Mark Selby playing out of his skin.

O'Sullivan is a proven champion and he won't let such an amazing opportunity slip. It's the best chance he'll ever get to defend a World title.

This year is the first time I really think about the possibility of Ronnie matching Stephen's magnificent 7. Unthinkable just 2 years ago after he lost after a terrible season to John Higgins.

Good post!!!!

It is hard to say if Ronnie will make 7 worlds or not given his tactical campaign in press conferences?

I love to watch Ronnie and i would love to see him win them.

It would not be an impossibility.It certainly wouldnt be that easy to do no matter how good he is..

Ronnie has took the majority of the season off and the players have not been used to playing him all season.

I think you will find he has carved out an advantage here.

Come on Barry.

SnookerFan wrote:Come on Barry.

Optimistic then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you had ever played the game you would understand that Barry has very little chance in terms of defeating Ronnie.

Of course we will see in due course.

Would've preferred Walden in the final, at least he's beat Ronnie there before. This will just be a cakewalk

ttol wrote:Would've preferred Walden in the final, at least he's beat Ronnie there before. This will just be a cakewalk

Same as,Walden just stitched himself up a few times and the run of the ball went against him.

I like Barry Hawkins but last nights win was not sall that convincing for me.

I was gutted for Walden tbh.

GJ wrote:

Skullman wrote:Come on Barry. You're definitely good enough to get to double figures.

he will win it

The power of "Prediction Contests" strikes again.

Anyone got any theories as to how on earth Hawkins can win it ? Obviously he won't win by potting more balls/winning more frames > The only way he can win it is if Ronnie has a breakdown of some sort and retires in the middle of a match like he did against Hendry in the 2006 UK

I've really got the feeling this will be a facrcical one sided final . Happy to be proved wrong however

Hawkins WILL win the opening frame, you heard it first here

Ronnie has won 12/12 opening frames at start of sessions or after intervals so far in the tournament so the run has to end at the unlucky 13th time.

Well played Hawkins

Today is the day, that Hawkins proves his class.

I predict 5 century breaks from Barry today.

Right so we're defining a Hawkins win as winning one frame ?

I'd define it as going to a fourth session but I think the 18-3 record defeat is in danger and the Rocket might not have to be playing all that well to achieve it

I bet Hendry is upset that that Ronnie played his greatest ever snooker against him in 2004 and 2009 . That said Ronnie would have walked the tournament in 1999 and 2002 if he hadn't met an on form Hendry in the semis so I guess what goes around comes around etc

Only way Hawkins can win is if Ronnie is docked 17 frames for that gesture. And even then it would be a struggle.

6-2 at least, First session to Ronnie

Come on Barry. Just play for a decent scoreline (17-8/9/10) rather than trying to win the match.

Off topic but does anyone think this bloke



looks like Zelda from Terrahawks



LET'S GET THE BOYS ON THE BAIZE

What times Auntie Beebs coverage start at?

Witz78 wrote:What times Auntie Beebs coverage start at?

Beenb starts at 2pm

Eurosport don't seem to be showing the full match.

cheers mate

time for a walk round the block then since the suns splitting the sky here

By the way, this is what happened the last time Ronnie played Barry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyLu0xY3dyo