Williamhill.com UK Championship Final Discussion !!

Skullman wrote:Done.

That's a fabulous picture Well done!

So is the no more than three smilies thing lifted or is that just one of the perks of being an Admin?

Updated to 10 for the festive period

Sonny wrote:Updated to 10 for the festive period

Skullman wrote:Done.

Very nice picture there Skull

I'm sure you chose it because it reflects how you felt after Walden made the MSI.

Snooker Overdrive wrote:

Sonny wrote:Updated to 10 for the festive period

Over usage for no apparent reason will be dealt with "Bah, humbug!"

Going to be close tomorroww 17 frames minimum

Jewell wrote:

PLtheRef wrote:Going to be close tomorroww 17 frames minimum

10-4 to Robertson.

I will be very surprised if such a one sided result happens to either player.

10-6 or above for me, hopefully in Robbo's favour.

So,the last 2 players standing in this tourney are Robbo n Selby,who would have thought that!.




I,m sure 80/90% think that Robbo will beat Mark today,i,ll go along with that too.




Selbs has done incredibly well to even get this far considering how he,s played,but credit to him for digging in and not giving up but i just can,t see him beating Robbo today.


As i like both about the same,i really can,t even say who i,d like to win,i guess i,ll just have to say,....



,......COME ON ROBBO,COME ON SELBY!.

Sonny wrote:Updated to 10 for the festive period

Bloody hell, it's about time. If you put two smilies in a post where you've quoted somebody, it makes you edit your post if they've put two smilies in as well.

I move for this to be permanent.

C'mon selby!

It's going to be slow-going. Hopefully the BBC will put on a highlights programme so I don't have to sit the whole way through this torture.

Anyone slightly disappointed by the cliché "I'm not playing that well" excuse by many players and commentators. Ken Doherty stressed the point about Mark Selby not playing well even though he made a 147! Selby's post match interview was the same, he bemoaned the fact he's not playing his A game. I'm sure he said the same thing last year when he won the event.

It just seems strange and ungracious when you have the talent to make a 147 break and then say you're not playing well. Most people will never make a 147 in the entire lives and yet Selby didn't seem that appreciative of his highest break. It doesn't make me warm to the guy.

Personally, I find the "I'm not playing that well" excuse rather tiresome. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the master at saying that but it's spread to other players. If Selby wins today and is "not playing that well" is it fair to conclude he's an undeserving winner? After all, if he's not playing well then he can't be that good. :P But as he can make a 147 but the rest of his play is not up to his super level - which he didn't produce in 2012's UK Championship - perhaps he should stop mentioning his 'poor' form and just be happy he's at the top of the rankings and not at the bottom!

For this reason I'd prefer Neil Robertson to win the final. But if Selby makes another 147 - then fair enough - he probably deserves to win.

snooker_loopy wrote:Anyone slightly disappointed by the cliché "I'm not playing that well" excuse by many players and commentators. Ken Doherty stressed the point about Mark Selby not playing well even though he made a 147! Selby's post match interview was the same, he bemoaned the fact he's not playing his A game. I'm sure he said the same thing last year when he won the event.

It just seems strange and ungracious when you have the talent to make a 147 break and then say you're not playing well. Most people will never make a 147 in the entire lives and yet Selby didn't seem that appreciative of his highest break. It doesn't make me warm to the guy.

Personally, I find the "I'm not playing that well" excuse rather tiresome. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the master at saying that but it's spread to other players. If Selby wins today and is "not playing that well" is it fair to conclude he's an undeserving winner? After all, if he's not playing well then he can't be that good. :P But as he can make a 147 but the rest of his play is not up to his super level - which he didn't produce in 2012's UK Championship - perhaps he should stop mentioning his 'poor' form and just be happy he's at the top of the rankings and not at the bottom!

For this reason I'd prefer Neil Robertson to win the final. But if Selby makes another 147 - then fair enough - he probably deserves to win.

Selby said he wasn't playing well because he wasn't playing well. Take away the 147 and the century to finish last night and the rest of it was crap from Selby and Walden. At least when Selby says he's not playing well he actually means it unlike O'Sullivan who could make 10 centuries in 10 frames and start his press conferences with "I'm not playing well".

147 is 1 frame out of 58 frames played by Selby.

Interesting to hear a lot of complaints about the format, shorter frames ect yet the final is the wn1 and wn2. Doesn't matter how much you tamper with something the cream always rises to the top.

I have a beard through not being at work all week. I look like a werewolf.

Might be nice to see the cream rise to the top with better TV coverage though.

Selby plays well when he needs to. He goes through the gears when his back is against the wall and Walden only looked dangerous twice, at 2-3 and 5-8 and both times Selby stepped it up.

He's hitting some nice shots, just the occasional surprising miss or dogged safety. Against Castle he had a brown which apparently a photographer moved on and put him off when he was about to go 2-2, then against Hawkins he over hit a safety in frame 2 leaving a pottable pink for 1-1 when 2-0 would've been 3-1 or 4-0.

Robbo is more consistent in his performances but I don't make him favourite for the final, he is always beatable but yes Selby has to be on his game.

Ayrshirebhoy wrote:Interesting to hear a lot of complaints about the format, shorter frames ect yet the final is the wn1 and wn2. Doesn't matter how much you tamper with something the cream always rises to the top.

that doesent make every tamper the right decition

over the years there's been many things that has happened to devalue the UK Championship a tad

Reduce the final from a best of 31
Reduce to Best of 11 in earlier rounds
Moving the event from venue to venue so it would be a BAD Mistake moving it from York.

But i think the Flat 128 and Bringing the 128 to the Venue has Worked the BBC Coverage and the inability to televise the Morning session has been a massive let down to the Tournament and something Barry Hearn has to try and address for next year.

Yea, they have played 6 matches so far - best of 11's & 17, there are going to be peaks and troffs.

A bit of history on the line here today!

Selby is looking to become the first man since Hendry to defend the UK title, a big achievement and something Higgins and O'Sullivan have not done. It would also push his major count up to 5, which is starting to become a very impressive total (Williams for example has 6)

Robbo is on the cusp of History, only the best of the best have won all 3 majors and a win today would push him close to the great category (only thing missing would be a 2nd World title). Many will say he is not a great but he is getting closer. As it stands imo he is in the same category as the likes of Ebdon, Doherty & Parrott – he can change that today.

A lot on the line for both players, I think we will see some big breaks but also a lot of tactical frames. 10-8 Robbo and it won't finish early

@wild, I don't agree with the changes myself, always loved the long format myself. Just saying in spite of all the tampering and yes down grading for sure we still have the 2 best players in the final.

Very excited have to say , was up watching the cricket all night as well

Selby has the superior Head to head but its 3-3 in Major Tournaments and the Last 3 times they have met Neil Robertson has won and all in 2013.

World Open Quarter Final Robertson won 5-3
China Open Final Robertson won 10-6
Australian Open Semi Final Robertson won 6-3

Wildey wrote:Selby has the superior Head to head but its 3-3 in Major Tournaments and the Last 3 times they have met Neil Robertson has won and all in 2013.

World Open Quarter Final Robertson won 5-3
China Open Final Robertson won 10-6
Australian Open Semi Final Robertson won 6-3

all comfortable wins as well

Of course the two before those 3 were Selby 6-4 from 4-0 down in the UK and 10-6 in the Masters final

I've seen more of Robbo than I have of Selby this week. Not sure why, that just seems to have been what was on when I was watching.

Robertson has played well in most matches. I understand that Selby hasn't been at his best form all week. Yesterday, the frames leading up to the 147 was a bit scrappy. But Selby seemed to turn it on.

You can't diss somebody who has played well below his best, and has got through to the final. Bear in mind all players have had to enter at the same stage, so he'd have to win more matches to reach the final than he normally would by playing 'badly'. That's the sign of a great player.

You can make Robertson a favourite, but I think Selby could certainly win this final. I wouldn't be surprised if it went all the way either, and made for a few tired people at work tomorrow.

SnookerFan wrote:
You can't diss somebody who has played well below his best, and has got through to the final. Bear in mind all players have had to enter at the same stage, so he'd have to win more matches to reach the final than he normally would by playing 'badly'. That's the sign of a great player.

Absolutely.

the sheer effort and will to win when your not playing at your best is more rewarding when you win a event even reach a final than if you was knocking in centuries for fun.

Come on Mark!

Hi guys.