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MJW better than ever?

Postby freakmoomin

Im sure theres been lots of chat in the daily match threads, but not been lurking for a few days.

But while watching MJW against Higgins..... im not sure ive ever seen him better....memorys are a funny thing... but i always seen Williams as my fav player (Hendrys) bogey man.... that final black masters final poss started that thought? Cant remember.

But I honestly dont think even in his peak of like 98-04 that he played that solid?

I could easily be wrong tho as my memory is terrible.

What yoos think?

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby The_Abbott

He is so laid back someone better check for a pulse.

I honestly think he is so chilled he really doesn't care and goes for every shot and because there is no pressure he plays like Jimmy in practice

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Iranu

He’s been very good but he was better in 2018 let alone at his peak (which I don’t know enough about). He’s missed a few more sitters this week.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby TheRocket

Not better than ever but you could say he reinvented himself. He plays more power shots now and plays with more freedom than he's ever done. Which helps him a lot.
On the other side he misses more sitters than he did when he was younger which is understandable of course.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Andre147

Bit like Ronnie. They're obviously not the players they were when younger, but they reinvent themselves. MJW maintains his carefree attitude, and Ronnie fights harder than ever, win or lose.

Would love if MJW won a 4th WC.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby freakmoomin

Not starting any kind of whis best debate, but in my head im still like all at peak in a one off match....im a

Hendry>ROS>Higg>MJW

But that win against a decent higgins just got me re evaluating things a tad. As i say its just me not remembering stuff, but if Williams plays like that for the tourney i really think he will smash anybody... even trump.

Because of my Hendry thing....ive always seen that masters final black as the thing that kind of broke Hendry...and ive never really forgiven MJW......

But im kind of warming to him to win this now.... i think....

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby vodkadiet1

freakmoomin wrote:Not starting any kind of whis best debate, but in my head im still like all at peak in a one off match....im a

Hendry>ROS>Higg>MJW

But that win against a decent higgins just got me re evaluating things a tad. As i say its just me not remembering stuff, but if Williams plays like that for the tourney i really think he will smash anybody... even trump.

Because of my Hendry thing....ive always seen that masters final black as the thing that kind of broke Hendry...and ive never really forgiven MJW......

But im kind of warming to him to win this now.... i think....


That looks about right. Although I would have Higgins ahead of O'Sullivan.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Ck147

vodkadiet1 wrote:
freakmoomin wrote:Not starting any kind of whis best debate, but in my head im still like all at peak in a one off match....im a

Hendry>ROS>Higg>MJW

But that win against a decent higgins just got me re evaluating things a tad. As i say its just me not remembering stuff, but if Williams plays like that for the tourney i really think he will smash anybody... even trump.

Because of my Hendry thing....ive always seen that masters final black as the thing that kind of broke Hendry...and ive never really forgiven MJW......

But im kind of warming to him to win this now.... i think....


That looks about right. Although I would have Higgins ahead of O'Sullivan.

Stop it :)

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Johnny Bravo

freakmoomin wrote:Not starting any kind of whis best debate, but in my head im still like all at peak in a one off match....im a

Hendry>ROS>Higg>MJW

WRONG. Hendry would get crushed by both ROS and Higgins since he's safety and tactical game are very poor

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Juddernaut88

Mark Williams is playing some great stuff and certainly will take some stopping if he can keep this up.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Holden Chinaski

He really is a joy to watch when he plays like this. Just as entertaining as Ronnie, Jimmy and Alex, in my opinion.

He really has a unique style. Great shot-maker.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Holden Chinaski

Iranu wrote:
Holden Chinaski wrote:Who else would play a shot like that?

https://twitter.com/SportingLife/status ... 8393930753

Funny that he and Ronnie are basically saying the same thing about not wanting to grind it out and wanting to go out on their own terms.

They have both won everything and they are in their forties. I can understand they don't feel like grinding and that winning is not the most important thing anymore. They want to enjoy the game and play attacking snooker, rather than win in any way possible.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Empire State Human

Good to see MJW playing well again, although I think the Eurosport gang were over-confident about him continuing this form throughout the championship.

I predict he'll have a harder time against Selby then against Higgins. Higgins is more prone to play the 'correct' shot, trying to get a good cue ball in baulk for safety, leaving difficult long pots (which Williams kept knocking in), whereas Selby is more content to play 'nothing' shots, dabbing into the reds, simply leaving no pot at all, even if it doesn't leave his opponent in trouble. It's harder to keep cueing them straight among more broken play.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby vodkadiet1

Empire State Human wrote:Good to see MJW playing well again, although I think the Eurosport gang were over-confident about him continuing this form throughout the championship.

I predict he'll have a harder time against Selby then against Higgins. Higgins is more prone to play the 'correct' shot, trying to get a good cue ball in baulk for safety, leaving difficult long pots (which Williams kept knocking in), whereas Selby is more content to play 'nothing' shots, dabbing into the reds, simply leaving no pot at all, even if it doesn't leave his opponent in trouble. It's harder to keep cueing them straight among more broken play.


That is correct . Selby will not play into his hands.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby acesinc

Holden Chinaski wrote:Who else would play a shot like that?

https://twitter.com/SportingLife/status ... 8393930753


I will pop in here for an unusual quick Tuesday entry to answer this question. I saw this stroke on YouTube and the debate in the comments was whether or not it was a fluke. I think anyone with any Snooker intelligence at all will now see that it definitely was not a fluke and in fact to answer your question, Holden, there is an entire subcategory of players who would see and play "a shot like that". They are called English Billiard players.

The most important part of the stroke of course was the shot to nothing aspect of it to put White well into Baulk. But as any English Billiard player, even a fledgling one, will easily see, the Red he played at lies on a natural in-off line between the middle pocket and the Spot. This is English Billiards 101....a ball traveling this line making half-ball contact with a ball on the Spot has a high percentage chance of going into the top pocket. I would suggest that Mark Williams has played some Billiards in his time and can see these natural lines easily.

Anyone who plays the Game looking to improve would do well to take some time and learn at least a little bit about English Billiards. It will improve your game immensely, particularly cue ball control.

Edit: I just noticed....it's Monday. Worked all day yesterday, been missing nearly all of the WSC, so my brain isn't working correctly. I need to relax with some snooker. Hopefully a short game tonight.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby acesinc

Beside the obvious fact that he is my progeny, one of the very interesting aspects about playing against my son is that, like myself, he can also see these obscure lines on the table that very few other players seem to be able to see. One of the disappointments in my small club is that for the most part, all the players that come in watch the professional snooker on the internet (we don't have it on telly here) and then they try to replicate what they see the pros doing. THAT is not correct game play for amateur players. Amateurs should see and play unusual shots such as this, and picking out odd plants from the pack, and long sets to leave on a (relatively) safe Black, and four or five ball "snakes" maybe with a colour mixed in there somewhere. Oh, and doubles.....lots and lots of doubles. Pros don't play these sorts of shots too often because by necessity, they must generally remain conservative in their shot choice in case something goes awry. If they play a carefree stroke and it goes wrong, the opponent will clear the table. As amateurs, we should not be overly concerned with our opponent clearing the table (they won't), and so we ought to learn and experiment with these sorts of strokes, generally considered to be "unusual" but at low level game play, they should be more common.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Johnny Bravo

Holden Chinaski wrote:
Iranu wrote:
Holden Chinaski wrote:Who else would play a shot like that?

https://twitter.com/SportingLife/status ... 8393930753

Funny that he and Ronnie are basically saying the same thing about not wanting to grind it out and wanting to go out on their own terms.

They have both won everything and they are in their forties. I can understand they don't feel like grinding and that winning is not the most important thing anymore. They want to enjoy the game and play attacking snooker, rather than win in any way possible.

And that is the exact reason Selby is bad for the game

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby sundaygirl

TheRocket wrote:Not better than ever but you could say he reinvented himself. He plays more power shots now and plays with more freedom than he's ever done. Which helps him a lot.
On the other side he misses more sitters than he did when he was younger which is understandable of course.


This, players have to evolve and adapt

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby badtemperedcyril

We wont really know until he gets to the business end of the tournament.

As has been rightly stated, Mark has definitely reinvented himself with a new brand of snooker. The question will be whether he can maintain that casual approach when the stakes get high, like a semi-final or final of the World Championship. He will still come across as laid back, of course, but will he still be floating long pots in? Thinking back to his display last August in the 2020 Championship, he played like this then UNTIL Ronnie started applying the pressure on him and suddenly, the long ones weren't going in anymore.

I cant actually see him getting past Selby, assuming Selby gets past Allen.

Re: MJW better than ever?

Postby Iranu

badtemperedcyril wrote:We wont really know until he gets to the business end of the tournament.

As has been rightly stated, Mark has definitely reinvented himself with a new brand of snooker. The question will be whether he can maintain that casual approach when the stakes get high, like a semi-final or final of the World Championship. He will still come across as laid back, of course, but will he still be floating long pots in? Thinking back to his display last August in the 2020 Championship, he played like this then UNTIL Ronnie started applying the pressure on him and suddenly, the long ones weren't going in anymore.

I cant actually see him getting past Selby, assuming Selby gets past Allen.

He started missing them at the end of the second session against Higgins too.