Betfred World Championship (Sun April 26th) Last 16 !!

Honestly, who cares about the pockets. It's the same for everyone. Someone might knock in a 147. You going to say "but the pockets?!"

Back to normality, I have a bad feeling Murphy will beat Perry then go all the way. He's in top form.

Skullman wrote:

Roland wrote:Anyway, morning and evening matches both very tasty. Joe Perry is being talked up form wise so let's see if he can handle Murphy, and Fu and Judd battling to see who will take on Ding next. Don't write Fu off in that although Judd will be favourite.

Judd just seems like the kind of guy Marco seems to struggle to outclass, like Murphy. It's telling that they both rarely lose to him in big events. Especially since Judd's got a lot tighter recently.

Marco is capable of stepping up to a very high level when facing a top player so he's always dangerous. I expect Judd to win because he's been playing so well lately but as we've seen already anything can happen. Everyone is starting to talk about Ding v Judd already.

Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Roland wrote:

Skullman wrote:

Roland wrote:Anyway, morning and evening matches both very tasty. Joe Perry is being talked up form wise so let's see if he can handle Murphy, and Fu and Judd battling to see who will take on Ding next. Don't write Fu off in that although Judd will be favourite.

Judd just seems like the kind of guy Marco seems to struggle to outclass, like Murphy. It's telling that they both rarely lose to him in big events. Especially since Judd's got a lot tighter recently.

Marco is capable of stepping up to a very high level when facing a top player so he's always dangerous. I expect Judd to win because he's been playing so well lately but as we've seen already anything can happen. Everyone is starting to talk about Ding v Judd already.

Yes Fu is still capable if spells of brilliance, but unfortunately for him these days in recent times only last a few frames. So in a Best of 25 match, even if he has some of those spells, I don't think those will be enough to stop Judd going through. 13-8 or 13-9 win for Judd I think.

GJ wrote:Casey

Hard luck mate a sore one

Aye, it's a tough one after he had been in control for most of the match.

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

don't know abou Roland, but I would go with Judd. I would absolutely love though if Ding won it, apart from Ronnie, he's my main player to back this week.

Casey wrote:

GJ wrote:Casey

Hard luck mate a sore one

Aye, it's a tough one after he had been in control for most of the match.

What do you reckon he needs to on improve on, Case?

DavieMac wrote:Honestly, who cares about the pockets. It's the same for everyone. Someone might knock in a 147. You going to say "but the pockets?!"

Back to normality, I have a bad feeling Murphy will beat Perry then go all the way. He's in top form.

On the pockets thing, I don't know about anyone else but when I play on a table with slightly bigger pockets than I'm used to, I go for more shots. There aren't a silly number of centuries going in and the balls don't drop unless you've got the right pace so there isn't a problem for me. It should encourage players to go for a few more. Of course there will be tighter tables out there because if you make the World Championships the tightest pockets of the season then the standard will go down and people will think the players are playing rubbish.

Casey wrote:

GJ wrote:Casey

Hard luck mate a sore one

Aye, it's a tough one after he had been in control for most of the match.

A big turning point was the last frame of the second session. Allen potted frame ball but Hawkins got the snooker and won the frame on the black.

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Given how the German Masters final went last year and how Ding outclassed Judd in matchplay, I'd fancy Ding. And I'd fancy him to beat Ronnie after that as well.

Andre147 wrote:

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

don't know abou Roland, but I would go with Judd. I would absolutely love though if Ding won it, apart from Ronnie, he's my main player to back this week.

I had an lengthly discussion about this with another user this morning. He said that Ding currently doesn't stand a chance against Trump, while I argued that Ding would definitely improve and give him a match.

Roland wrote:

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Given how the German Masters final went last year and how Ding outclassed Judd in matchplay, I'd fancy Ding. And I'd fancy him to beat Ronnie after that as well.

I would normally not give Ding a prayer against Ronnie, but over a 33 frame match he would have enough time to allow for a nervy start. Not to mention that he's looking more composed here than he ever has before and seems to be enjoying himself.

DavieMac wrote:

Casey wrote:

GJ wrote:Casey

Hard luck mate a sore one

Aye, it's a tough one after he had been in control for most of the match.

What do you reckon he needs to on improve on, Case?

Good question. I would say consistency, he has all the tools and his safety has improved a lot over the last two years. He can go from brilliant to below par very quickly and that showed tonight. Earlier in his career he seemed more pumped during matches, he seems to have lost some of that, I would like to see that back. Then there is his fitness, but let's not go into that.

Roland wrote:

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Given how the German Masters final went last year and how Ding outclassed Judd in matchplay, I'd fancy Ding. And I'd fancy him to beat Ronnie after that as well.

Trump improved a lot since that match though. I think Trump has to be considered at very least a slight favourite.

Personally I would love a Ronnie v Ding semi final.

Pink Ball wrote:

Roland wrote:

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Given how the German Masters final went last year and how Ding outclassed Judd in matchplay, I'd fancy Ding. And I'd fancy him to beat Ronnie after that as well.

I would normally not give Ding a prayer against Ronnie, but over a 33 frame match he would have enough time to allow for a nervy start. Not to mention that he's looking more composed here than he ever has before and seems to be enjoying himself.

That's key, he definitely seems to be enjoying himself and is very relaxed and confident. What he said in his presser after the Davis match about playing the right shot spoke volumes. Ronnie isn't with Steve Peters at the moment and you can tell. He's not as level headed as he's been the last 3 years plus he's more capable of a bad session the older he gets and Ding is at the top of his game and I believe he believes he can beat Ronnie. He's got the game, he's capable of frightening things on the snooker table. But then so is Judd.

I hope Ding wins it. He's a sound bastard but has to put up with a lot of subtle racists calling him a robot, characterless etc. A lot of the English Defence Leaguers that a snooker player attracts. Would put them in their place.

Judd (if he gets through) or Ding certainly don't have it easy to get a first World title, do they? First each other, then Ronnie and probably Robbo to top if off.

Snooker Overdrive wrote:

Roland wrote:

Snooker Overdrive wrote:Who would win a potential Trump v Ding quarter final, Roland?

Given how the German Masters final went last year and how Ding outclassed Judd in matchplay, I'd fancy Ding. And I'd fancy him to beat Ronnie after that as well.

Trump improved a lot since that match though. I think Trump has to be considered at very least a slight favourite.

Personally I would love a Ronnie v Ding semi final.

I don't see how he's improved that much because the way he beat Rod Lawler in the semi-final was some of the best snooker I've ever witnessed live. He was playing really well but Ding controlled it and don't forget this was in his run of 5 rankers in a season and he's now back in that form. I love Judd but I do honestly think Ding will have him something like 13-9 or 13-10.

Pink Ball wrote:I hope Ding wins it. He's a sound bastard but has to put up with a lot of subtle racists calling him a robot, characterless etc. A lot of the English Defence Leaguers that a snooker player attracts. Would put them in their place.

It's easy to call him that for ages because he didn't speak English. I speak another language (very mediocrely) and native speakers of that language see me completely differently than English speakers do.

Pink Ball wrote:I hope Ding wins it. He's a sound bastard but has to put up with a lot of subtle racists calling him a robot, characterless etc. A lot of the English Defence Leaguers that a snooker player attracts. Would put them in their place.

Pisses me off the whole robot thing. He's a genius. He's a complete one off. His cue ball control, all his little top spin shots, controlled stun shots off angled pots and cushions and most of all the way he works out how balls will move after contact. You rarely see him go into the reds and not land on one. Judd is from the smash them and hope to land on one brigade and they go wrong just as much as they do right.

Roland wrote:I don't see how he's improved that much because the way he beat Rod Lawler in the semi-final was some of the best snooker I've ever witnessed live. He was playing really well but Ding controlled it and don't forget this was in his run of 5 rankers in a season and he's now back in that form. I love Judd but I do honestly think Ding will have him something like 13-9 or 13-10.

Matchplay wise he has got noticeably better. The safety game's always been there (I still remember the way he outclassed Robbo in the final of the IC a few year back now) but he's now seems more willing to use it and that seems like half the battle.

As a Ronnie fan I would be a lot more confident against Ding than against Trump in a potential semi final.

Trump is just so aggressive, his long potting is scary as hell and his scoring power is frightening once unleashed. Ding is a bit more predictable and Ronnie has a clear psychological advantage. Neither would be easy of course and I wouldn't be surprised if Ronnie lost in the semi finals against either of them but Ding would suit Ronnie more than Trump.

Roland wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:I hope Ding wins it. He's a sound bastard but has to put up with a lot of subtle racists calling him a robot, characterless etc. A lot of the English Defence Leaguers that a snooker player attracts. Would put them in their place.

Pisses me off the whole robot thing. He's a genius. He's a complete one off. His cue ball control, all his little top spin shots, controlled stun shots off angled pots and most of all the way he works out how balls will move after contact. You rarely see him go into the reds and not land on one. Judd is from the smash them and hope to land on one brigade and they go wrong just as much as they do right.

Not even his play though. In terms of emotions, he actually shows more than most players. Another thing I've noticed in him against Davis and Higgins, whenever he's facing a crunch ball in a crunch frame, a potential turning point, he's nailing them. Centre of the pocket. Okay, maybe his concentration wavered a little in the last frame against Higgins today, but that's when he had three snookers to spare, so it's a bit understandable.

Roland you also said exactly the same thing regarding Ding when he faced Ronnie at Welsh Open Final. At the time you said you really fancied Ding because he had learned a lot from that CoC defeat and you fancied him beating Ronnie, and guess what, Ronnie hammered Ding 9-3.

Then at CoC this season Ronnie also beat him 6-4.

I would expect nothing less if they meet in a semi again, he's playing nowhere near enough his best, ok good performance v Higgins, but against Ronnie he always crumbles. Might have a good start yes, but then if winning line comes closer he always crumbles v Ronnie.

So your theory that Ding would beat Ronnie in a potencial semi-final doesnt do it for me as I think it's exactly the same situation as that Welsh Open Final when you also believed he was ready to win and he didn't.

Trump for me is the only one capable of stopping Ronnie reaching the Final. But I know full well Ronnie isnt playing well, he'll have to improve yes but no way would he lose a Best of 33 match v Ding. Against Judd though, yeah I would favour Judd to win it.

Skullman wrote:

Roland wrote:I don't see how he's improved that much because the way he beat Rod Lawler in the semi-final was some of the best snooker I've ever witnessed live. He was playing really well but Ding controlled it and don't forget this was in his run of 5 rankers in a season and he's now back in that form. I love Judd but I do honestly think Ding will have him something like 13-9 or 13-10.

Matchplay wise he has got noticeably better. The safety game's always been there (I still remember the way he outclassed Robbo in the final of the IC a few year back now) but he's now seems more willing to use it and that seems like half the battle.

Yes his all round game is getting better recently I suppose and he's capable of the sorts of bursts of frames that nearly won him the UK final. But remember how fragile he looked at the start when Ronnie was dazzling him? Ding dazzles as well and he won't bottle it so Judd will have to play at the top of his game to win. He's under a lot of pressure to win this year. So is Ding but Ding seems happy with it.

Andre147 wrote:Roland you also said exactly the same thing regarding Ding when he faced Ronnie at Welsh Open Final. At the time you said you really fancied Ding because he had learned a lot from that CoC defeat and you fancied him beating Ronnie, and guess what, Ronnie hammered Ding 9-3.

Then at CoC this season Ronnie also beat him 6-4.

I would expect nothing less if they meet in a semi again, he's playing nowhere near enough his best, ok good performance v Higgins, but against Ronnie he always crumbles. Might have a good start yes, but then if winning line comes closer he always crumbles v Ronnie.

So your theory that Ding would beat Ronnie in a potencial semi-final doesnt do it for me as I think it's exactly the same situation as that Welsh Open Final when you also believed he was ready to win and he didn't.

Trump for me is the only one capable of stopping Ronnie reaching the Final. But I know full well Ronnie isnt playing well, he'll have to improve yes but no way would he lose a Best of 33 match v Ding. Against Judd though, yeah I would favour Judd to win it.

Firstly, I'd say Ding didn't play too great against Ronnie in the cockerel semi-final. But only lost 6-4. As for the Welsh Open final, I didn't give him a prayer. He got off to a terrible start. If you go 4 or 5 down in a first to 9 or 10, you're shagged, especially against Ronnie. 4 or 5 down in a first to 17 is a lot more manageable. He'd hit a purple patch at some point. He's already looking like he's finally relaxed at the crucible, why not jump the other fence next week if he has to face it? I also don't think Ronnie's as good now as he has been over the last three years, and Ding is playing far better than he has at any point this season.

Andre147 wrote:Roland you also said exactly the same thing regarding Ding when he faced Ronnie at Welsh Open Final. At the time you said you really fancied Ding because he had learned a lot from that CoC defeat and you fancied him beating Ronnie, and guess what, Ronnie hammered Ding 9-3.

Then at CoC this season Ronnie also beat him 6-4.

I would expect nothing less if they meet in a semi again, he's playing nowhere near enough his best, ok good performance v Higgins, but against Ronnie he always crumbles. Might have a good start yes, but then if winning line comes closer he always crumbles v Ronnie.

So your theory that Ding would beat Ronnie in a potencial semi-final doesnt do it for me as I think it's exactly the same situation as that Welsh Open Final when you also believed he was ready to win and he didn't.

Trump for me is the only one capable of stopping Ronnie reaching the Final. But I know full well Ronnie isnt playing well, he'll have to improve yes but no way would he lose a Best of 33 match v Ding. Against Judd though, yeah I would favour Judd to win it.

It's all theory I know and I've laid out my arguments but then I also placed bets (rare for me) on Selby to win at 7/1 and Dott to beat Bingham and look where that got me. Put it this way: Ding will beat Ronnie in a big match eventually and he's ready now and where better place to get that all important victory over him than the Crucible?

Andre147 wrote:Roland you also said exactly the same thing regarding Ding when he faced Ronnie at Welsh Open Final. At the time you said you really fancied Ding because he had learned a lot from that CoC defeat and you fancied him beating Ronnie, and guess what, Ronnie hammered Ding 9-3.

Then at CoC this season Ronnie also beat him 6-4.

I would expect nothing less if they meet in a semi again, he's playing nowhere near enough his best, ok good performance v Higgins, but against Ronnie he always crumbles. Might have a good start yes, but then if winning line comes closer he always crumbles v Ronnie.

So your theory that Ding would beat Ronnie in a potencial semi-final doesnt do it for me as I think it's exactly the same situation as that Welsh Open Final when you also believed he was ready to win and he didn't.

Trump for me is the only one capable of stopping Ronnie reaching the Final. But I know full well Ronnie isnt playing well, he'll have to improve yes but no way would he lose a Best of 33 match v Ding. Against Judd though, yeah I would favour Judd to win it.

A bold statement. I like it

Although I wouldn't go as far as Ding having no chance of beating Ronnie but I would confident as a Ronnie fan going into that match.

Roland wrote:

Andre147 wrote:Roland you also said exactly the same thing regarding Ding when he faced Ronnie at Welsh Open Final. At the time you said you really fancied Ding because he had learned a lot from that CoC defeat and you fancied him beating Ronnie, and guess what, Ronnie hammered Ding 9-3.

Then at CoC this season Ronnie also beat him 6-4.

I would expect nothing less if they meet in a semi again, he's playing nowhere near enough his best, ok good performance v Higgins, but against Ronnie he always crumbles. Might have a good start yes, but then if winning line comes closer he always crumbles v Ronnie.

So your theory that Ding would beat Ronnie in a potencial semi-final doesnt do it for me as I think it's exactly the same situation as that Welsh Open Final when you also believed he was ready to win and he didn't.

Trump for me is the only one capable of stopping Ronnie reaching the Final. But I know full well Ronnie isnt playing well, he'll have to improve yes but no way would he lose a Best of 33 match v Ding. Against Judd though, yeah I would favour Judd to win it.

It's all theory I know and I've laid out my arguments but then I also placed bets (rare for me) on Selby to win at 7/1 and Dott to beat Bingham and look where that got me. Put it this way: Ding will beat Ronnie in a big match eventually and he's ready now and where better place to get that all important victory over him than the Crucible?

Well yeah your theory wasnt correct for Welsh Open Final so maybe he'll beat Ronnie this time if they meet there.

I don't believe he will, but if he does I'll be the first or one of the first here to cingratylate Ding and overcome his hoodoo when facing Ronnie.

One important aspect to note, you will like this one Ronnie this season has lost agaisnt players he had a great record against, namely Murphy, Stevens and especially MJW.

Can Ding be next?

Swapping to the other half of the draw, who can people see stopping Robbo? I don't see Hawkins managing and things like the Masters final only happen once IMO.