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Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby SnookerFan

Pink Ball wrote:Selbo could reach five, but Sullivan will finish up with six or seven.


That's kind of my opinion.

Getting to 5 is withing Selby's reach, but I don't believe Ronnie will finish on five.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Andre147

SnookerFan wrote:
Pink Ball wrote:Selbo could reach five, but Sullivan will finish up with six or seven.


That's kind of my opinion.

Getting to 5 is withing Selby's reach, but I don't believe Ronnie will finish on five.


+1

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby The_Abbott

Ronnie hates the longer formats so I don't see him winning another World title. Selby will win 2 more at least.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Andre147

The_Abbott wrote:Ronnie hates the longer formats so I don't see him winning another World title. Selby will win 2 more at least.


Hates?

His record in longer formats is some of the best ever so thats not true.

He's just not found his best game at The Crucible since 2013 thats all.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Johnny Bravo

Andre147 wrote:
The_Abbott wrote:Ronnie hates the longer formats so I don't see him winning another World title. Selby will win 2 more at least.


Hates?

His record in longer formats is some of the best ever so thats not true.

He's just not found his best game at The Crucible since 2013 thats all.



I half agree with the Abbott. Ronnie only hates Crucible long formats. And the reason he hasn't done well at the Crucible in recent years is his age. It's very hard to stay focused for hours upon hours at his age. He can play 7 or 8 frames fully focused, but it's hard for him to do 10 every day for 2 straight weeks.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby D4P

Badsnookerplayer wrote:A top form Selby beats ROS at the Crucible IMO


Probably, though I give ROS a (much) better chance now than in the past. Ronnie seems to be very motivated to win these days and to add to his records, and I also gather that his work with Steve Feeney is both helping Ronnie's game and (perhaps, more importantly) boosting his confidence. I think Ronnie is starting to believe he can win at the Crucible, more so than he has in the past...

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Badsnookerplayer

D4P wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:A top form Selby beats ROS at the Crucible IMO


Probably, though I give ROS a (much) better chance now than in the past. Ronnie seems to be very motivated to win these days and to add to his records, and I also gather that his work with Steve Feeney is both helping Ronnie's game and (perhaps, more importantly) boosting his confidence. I think Ronnie is starting to believe he can win at the Crucible, more so than he has in the past...

I agree.

I hope that Selby can find his top form and that they meet at the Crucible.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby D4P

Badsnookerplayer wrote:
D4P wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:I hope that Selby can find his top form and that they meet at the Crucible.


As painful and stressful as that would be to watch, it's clearly the most compelling matchup that snooker has to offer these days, and I would love to see Ronnie avenge his 2014 Crucible loss. Ronnie's SF win over Selby in Belfast was my favorite match of the season so far, but only because Ronnie won. It would have been a heartbreaker had he lost...

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Badsnookerplayer

That was a great match D4P. I was willing Selby to win, and was gutted at how he lost but it was a great match and up there with the most dramatic I can recall - particularly in the last frame which was insane.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby D4P

I was feeling gutted for Ronnie in the decider when it looked like Mark was going to close out the match. Even though I don't think Ronnie cared much about that tournament I think that beating Selby was a hugely important win for him. I think it would have been a big setback for Ronnie's mental health and confidence had he lost yet another big lead to The Torturer...

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby TheRocket

That ROS-Selby match in NI has definitely been in the Top3 of the greatest bo11 matches I've seen.

It was a very high quality match which was followed up by a dramatic 10th and even more dramatic 11th and deciding frame. But ROS was the deserving winner in the end.

It was kinda similar to the Higgins-Robertson match in the 2009 Grand Prix. Robertson scored very heavy in that match and went into a 5:3 lead. Higgins forced a decider and the match ended in a very dramatic way when both players missed the final black a few times with Robertson coming out on top in the end. Deservingly so.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby TheRocket

Just one more thing though. I looked at the stats and saw that no one in the Top16 has a leading H2H against Selby.

Except Ronnie O'Sullivan. That tells quite a lot. Selby is an extremely tough player for anyone to beat and Ronnie in fact does better against him than the other toppros do.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Andre147

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:It's the length of the whole tournament he struggles with more than the length of any match.


That I fully agree.

He prefers tournaments which are over in one week or sometimes even less like some ITV events.

He has often said in interviews the period between matches and sessions at The Crucible can make you tired more than the match itself and some doubts start to creep in, even if you have a lead going into the next session.

It takes a lot of mental stability to win that title.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Andre147

Badsnookerplayer wrote:This years WC will be his best chance whilst Selby is out of form, although he is looking better again recently.

A top form Selby beats ROS at the Crucible IMO


Not entirely true, but yes I would give Selby an edge in Crucible match against him, but purely because of Ronnie's age and longer format over 3 days. Selby should be in his prime form now, whereas Ronnie defies the odds of how old you can compete at the top.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Badsnookerplayer

Andre147 wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:This years WC will be his best chance whilst Selby is out of form, although he is looking better again recently.

A top form Selby beats ROS at the Crucible IMO


Not entirely true, but yes I would give Selby an edge in Crucible match against him, but purely because of Ronnie's age and longer format over 3 days. Selby should be in his prime form now, whereas Ronnie defies the odds of how old you can compete at the top.



Ronnie had a great season last year but it was notable that Selby and Robertson were well below their best (though Robertson has been for much longer). Had Selby maintained his form of 2016/17 then ROS would have likely won much less.Hypothetical of course as Ronnie can only beat who he is playing but some of his runs to finals were extremely weak. It would have been good to see him play some better players to add lustre to his wins.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Johnny Bravo

Badsnookerplayer wrote:
Andre147 wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:This years WC will be his best chance whilst Selby is out of form, although he is looking better again recently.

A top form Selby beats ROS at the Crucible IMO


Not entirely true, but yes I would give Selby an edge in Crucible match against him, but purely because of Ronnie's age and longer format over 3 days. Selby should be in his prime form now, whereas Ronnie defies the odds of how old you can compete at the top.



Ronnie had a great season last year but it was notable that Selby and Robertson were well below their best (though Robertson has been for much longer). Had Selby maintained his form of 2016/17 then ROS would have likely won much less.Hypothetical of course as Ronnie can only beat who he is playing but some of his runs to finals were extremely weak. It would have been good to see him play some better players to add lustre to his wins.


All top players have easy draws that lead to a ranking victory from time to time. However people rarely remember that, they just see that the titles, not the manner in which they were won.
Hendry has had the benefit of meeting the bottle White in 4 WC finals, yet few remember that, they just say he has 7 WC.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby SnookerFan

That's not the best example. People remember White losing to Stephen Hendry four times. White's losses in Crucible finals are legendary in the game.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Erza Scarlet

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Ronnie had a great season last year but it was notable that Selby and Robertson were well below their best (though Robertson has been for much longer). Had Selby maintained his form of 2016/17 then ROS would have likely won much less.Hypothetical of course as Ronnie can only beat who he is playing but some of his runs to finals were extremely weak. It would have been good to see him play some better players to add lustre to his wins.


Which draws last season were "extremely weak"?

You'd do well to remember Ronnie wasn't at his best at all in the 2016/2017 season and he was coming in to the 2017/2018 season ranked 14th.

English Open - Beat Higgins and played unbeatable Snooker in the final vs Kyren that it didn't matter who'd be on the opposite side of the match.
Shanghai Masters - Beat Williams, Higgins then Trump in the final. How is that weak?
UK Championship - Ronnie was let off by Akani and had an easier draw then the others but he beat Murphy who just came out fresh from beating Ronnie in the CoC final.
World Grand Prix - Ding is easy? Ding beat Ronnie prior to this match at the WC. Ronnie got one back. You'd do well to remember Ding has been Selby's rival for the past 2-3 years so if he's easy then Selby's had easy runs. You don't get to pick and choose.
Players Championship - Ding, Trump then Murphy in the final.

Re: Selby with more WCs than Ronnie?

Postby Badsnookerplayer

Erza Scarlet wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:Ronnie had a great season last year but it was notable that Selby and Robertson were well below their best (though Robertson has been for much longer). Had Selby maintained his form of 2016/17 then ROS would have likely won much less.Hypothetical of course as Ronnie can only beat who he is playing but some of his runs to finals were extremely weak. It would have been good to see him play some better players to add lustre to his wins.


Which draws last season were "extremely weak"?

You'd do well to remember Ronnie wasn't at his best at all in the 2016/2017 season and he was coming in to the 2017/2018 season ranked 14th.

English Open - Beat Higgins and played unbeatable Snooker in the final vs Kyren that it didn't matter who'd be on the opposite side of the match.
Shanghai Masters - Beat Williams, Higgins then Trump in the final. How is that weak?
UK Championship - Ronnie was let off by Akani and had an easier draw then the others but he beat Murphy who just came out fresh from beating Ronnie in the CoC final.
World Grand Prix - Ding is easy? Ding beat Ronnie prior to this match at the WC. Ronnie got one back. You'd do well to remember Ding has been Selby's rival for the past 2-3 years so if he's easy then Selby's had easy runs. You don't get to pick and choose.
Players Championship - Ding, Trump then Murphy in the final.


And which of those players were at the peak of their game that season?
Trump?
Murphy?
You'd do well to remember that. rofl

My point was that if Selby had been in any sort of form then Ronnie would probably have won less. I stand by that.