Predict Crucible Winner!

Glenman

Hi all snooker fans. BBC have a draw predictor on their website for the world championship where you can predict the winner of very match all the way to the final.
The link is Draw Predictor

I've predicted John Higgins as the winner and here is my Draw Prediction

Predict your own draw and winner and email it to yourself and post the link on this thread, and lets see if anyone can predict the entire draw and the eventual winner.
I don't think anyone predicted last year's draw and winner!

Glenman

dbnavan

Dont write off ken. He is playing well

**edit** my predicition according to bbc site, show a Ronnie and Ken Final. Would dream of seeing jimmy win it, but according predictions, he will be on his way to london after ebdon beats him in round 2

Culchie

Ken has a great draw .... all the heavyweights are in the other half, so he has every chance of at least making the semi-finals.

You can get him on betfair at 23/1 ... well worth a punt, and a run for your money I think.

Melion

I think Doherty has a great chance this year, he's playing his best snooker since 1997. His odds are very high for someone playing aswell as he is.

Cant disregard John Higgins though, he's playing brilliant aswell.

I just used the draw predictor and ended up with a Higgins - Doherty final with Ebdon and Hunter as the other semi-finalists

Culchie

I have a Doherty/Ronnie Final, with Hendry and Maguire the losing semi-finalists

legologic

There's gonna be some great close first round matches, tho' all my predictions bar 1 we're the same as Glenmans for those matches.

gerire

Doherty Predicts

Ken Doherty wrote:

Himself:
I’ve got a better chance of winning this year than I’ve had in the last couple of years. I’m up to number 3 in the provisional world rankings and this time last year I was struggling to stay in the top sixteen. I have a tough opening game against Barry Hawkins, one of the new kids on the block. Hawkins has had a very good season and is up to number 8 in the world. To my benefit, he hasn’t played in the Crucible Theatre yet which means it’ll be a whole new scenario for him. I’ve been playing well and I’ve won a tournament this year so I think I’m good value at a big price.


Ronnie:
I don’t think he has had the best of seasons. He lost a dramatic last frame to John Higgins in the Masters and that probably knocked a bit of the stuffing out of him. There are a lot of big names in the bottom half of the draw, including John Higgins and he could run into Mark Williams who beat him out in China, that’s if Mark Williams gets through his first round. These are 3 of the top players in the bottom quarter of the draw and only one of them will progress to the semi finals.

Higgins:
There is no doubting that he is the man in form but he won’t have an easy path. He has to get past an up and coming young guy in Mark Selby and if he comes through that, he’s got either Mark Williams or Anthony Hamilton and then possibly Ronnie O’Sullivan. He is definitely the man in form and over the duration of these longer matches, you have to fancy the form players to prevail.

Hendry
There is plenty of value in Steven Hendry. He’s in a tough part of the draw but he won’t meet the big names until the quarter finals when he could meet Steven Lee, who won the tournament in Wales. Over the longer distances of World Championship matches, you have to fancy Hendry to defeat the majority of his opponents and at least make the semi finals

Williams
He won’t have it easy in the first round with a tough-looking match against Anthony Hamilton. He will be full of confidence after his win in China and he has the proven quality to be a contender. He is in a difficult part of the draw so he will have to be at his best if he is going to add another world title to his CV.

Stephens
I could be playing against him in the second match, so hopefully he doesn’t has too much of a chance of winning! He won the first tournament of the year but he has had a terrible season since then. He lost in the final of the World Championship last year and I think that hurt him a lot and took away a lot of his confidence. He has only won one match in ranking tournaments this year and there’s a lot riding on his first match. If he doesn’t beat Joe Swail, he’ll be out of the top sixteen so he’s under an awful lot of pressure. He is proven quality, he’s a great player over the longer distances where he has enjoyed most of his success. He certainly can’t be discounted and although he has had a bad run of form, he is quality.

The Field:
There is always one player who comes out of the pack and has a good tournament like Shaun Murphy did last year. The likes of James Wattana and Peter Ebdon (World Champion 2002) always provide a bit of value. I do a bit of practice with James and he's playing really well at the minute. If he can get past Shaun Murphy in his opening match, he could be the value bet. Neil Robertson is another decent player with results to back that up. He’s a proven potter, he’s aggressive and he would be a good outsider at a massive price.

djmarkus

I would love either ken or mark williams to win, or indeed white.. 3 of my fav players

miju

i wouldn't usually bang a bet on Ken but personally I think he's on form enough to at least reach the finals

gerire

Live vide of Kens game online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

Currently 4-1 up, may go to 4-2 in this frame now though

[edit] He won that frame to move to 5-1. And should go to 6-1 now

adam_ccfc

I got a Doherty/Higgins final.

kc66

Higgins is now gone. A big first round surprise. Thanks god the odds were so short on him or I would have had a bet.

paul666

gerire wrote:

Live vide of Kens game online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

Currently 4-1 up, may go to 4-2 in this frame now though

[edit] He won that frame to move to 5-1. And should go to 6-1 now

I tried that link but it says ..This stream is available to UK users only.
is there any other online live feeds of the snooker

gerire

it worked for me anyway, I saw that text but it still played. Although I do have NTL which termionates in England, but my brother has Eircon BB and it worked grand for him too

Glenman

Well my predictions gone straight out the window anyway with the Higgins exit. Great to see Doherty in good form, go on Ken but he'll have a tricky 2nd round match against Mathew Stepens

Guru Maith Agut

Man on form at the moment seems to be Mark Williams. He's potting out of his skin in his match this afternoon against Anthony Hamilton!! He is going to make short work of Anthony in that vain (much as I can't stand the chap, he's such a cocky pr1ck for a professional of his age)! Even Hendry was never as conceipted as he is!
Personally I'd like to see Ronnie set the place on fire now. One of his major bogeymen (J Higgins) is gone and if he hits the form I know he has in him, then the latter stages of the tournament will make for a fantastic spectacle of snooker as all the cream rises to the top.
I'm even considering trying to get some tickets and head over on a cheap flight for a match... I've been there in the past and you just can't beat the atmosphere of being in the Arena, it's real edge of the seat stuff!

ChuckProphet

Guru Maith Agut wrote:

Man on form at the moment seems to be Mark Williams. He's potting out of his skin in his match this afternoon against Anthony Hamilton!! He is going to make short work of Anthony in that vain (much as I can't stand the chap, he's such a cocky pr1ck for a professional of his age)! Even Hendry was never as conceipted as he is!
Personally I'd like to see Ronnie set the place on fire now. One of his major bogeymen (J Higgins) is gone and if he hits the form I know he has in him, then the latter stages of the tournament will make for a fantastic spectacle of snooker as all the cream rises to the top.
I'm even considering trying to get some tickets and head over on a cheap flight for a match... I've been there in the past and you just can't beat the atmosphere of being in the Arena, it's real edge of the seat stuff!

Backed Williams at 14-1 with PP on saturday. Looking good value now with Higgins gone.

gerire

Did anybody see the Hendry Bond match yesterday? Fantastic comeback by Hendry, was delighted for bond that he held his nerve in the end after respotting the black

eirebhoy

I was backing the horses in the Sporting Emporium a couple of weeks ago and had just under €7 in my account when I was leaving. I stuck it on Ken at 22/1. Pity it was only €7.
Looking at the draw he has a great chance of getting to the final. Stevens has now guaranteed his place in the top 16 for next season and I'm sure that was his main aim. He has spent a lot of his time this year playing poker which is the main reason he's had such a bad season. I think Ken will beat him. He should beat Fu/Maguire too and then has a tough game against Murphy/Ebdon. Hopefully he'll keep his confidence/form.

djmarkus

whites gone.. pity

accensi0n

I ended up with a murphy-O'sullivan final

Glenman

At this stage it very difficult to predict the winner as it is every year which is good really considering the Hendry and Davis dominance of years past.

It seems a bit of a joke that the players are finding the table conditions so bad and yet nothing is being done about it yet. Hopefully playing conditions will be perfect following Sunday's cloth replacements.

I'm looking forward to the Steven's Doherty game tomorrow evening.

gerire

Id say Strachan aren't impressed over the lambasting their cloths are getting. These new 'Riley' tables, made by BCE, are no where near the high quality of the old gear real Riley used to put out. Its a pity but nobody is saying that they are good.

eirebhoy

Glenman wrote:

Hopefully playing conditions will be perfect following Sunday's cloth replacements.

The cloth is being replaced this morning.

Melion

God i wish i had money on Ken, hes up 12-8 against Matthew Stevens

Charles Darwin

Now he's done it. 13-8 to Ken. That's a good performance to beat Stevens. I think its Marko Fu next.

The Bollox

bad luck for Ryan Day, what a miss on his free ball.

it's great seeing Doherty on form again, I would love to see a Doherty - O'Sullivan final.

to go off topic for a minute, how is Doherty pronounced, I always say it like it's spelt, with a h sound, but the comentators pronounce like dock-erty

legologic

Thats cos they're english, it's just a regional thing. It's with the h-sound like daw-her-tee.

Doherty and Fu would be a good one. I'd expect an on-form doherty to win. Should be a good match regardless. Can't wait for the Williams O'Sullivan match!

smashey

I was watching Doherty on Sunday night when he failed to make contact with the black and lost the final frame of the session. He seemed to have a wry grin on his face as he left the arena and you could tell that his confidence is high.

Charles Darwin

I haven't had a chance to see Ken playing yet but a lot of people have been saying that he's playing really well. I'd love to see him do it again. He's the kind of fellow who could slow things up sufficiently to really piss off O'Sullivan, if they were to play in the final (like Ebdon did last year).

Here's what the BBC are saying about yesterday's final session

The Beeb wrote:

Ken Doherty took a stranglehold of the final session of his match with Matthew Stevens to win 13-8 and book a place in the World Championship last eight.
The pair were tied at 8-8 and a tense finale was on the cards, but Doherty, winner in 1997, did not give Stevens a sniff to win five frames on the bounce.

The Irishman, 36, made four breaks over 50, including a 69 and 67 in the 12th.

A three-ball plant in the 21st frame was the highlight of an outstanding performance from Doherty.

The Irishman explained how he overcame a miss on the black in the 16th frame to beat Stevens.

"I didn't sleep too well last night," said the 36-year-old, who will face Marco Fu in the quarter-finals.

"People were probably writing me off after I missed the black, but it didn't weigh me down.

"I settled into my stride and started to feel like I would make a high break or clear up every time I got in."

Stevens paid tribute to Doherty, after his opponent's impressive winning run of five frames to snatch victory.

"Ken scored heavily today and I didn't get much of a look-in," said the Welshman.

"I felt great all the way through the match and didn't do much wrong. He just played fantastic snooker.

"Maybe he doesn't make the highest breaks but he kept getting 40 or 50 ahead and then tying me up with his tactical play."

Glenman

Ken and Fu are 8-8 over night, it will be a tight finish tomorrow I expect but I also expected a tight last session against Stevens. If he makes the semis he will most likely be playing Peter Ebdon. He seem to be in some form.

It's good to see Mark Williams back in good form, he in my opinion is the best player in the world when he is on form.

Glenman

Well, Ken is out for another year. Fu fairly held his nerve at the end and Ken must be kicking himself for not taking those frame clinching chances towards the end.
Looks like a Fu versus Edbon semi. Not too exciting really.
And Dott in the other, even worse. At least either Ronnie or Williams will be left in it.

paul666

i hope its gonna be a ebdon - o sulivan final, oh the drama we had in their last final, remember ebdon taking plenty time to make the right shot selection, it drove ronnie crazy, remember when ronnie missed a shot and put his hands on his face and scraped himself,
if its a ronnie ebdon final we are definetly in for some good drama, no love loss between them 2

Glenman

Yeah, an Ebdon O'Sullivan final would be good. I remember he drove Ronnie crazy last year in the quarters with his go slow tactics.
Ronnie seems to be a bit edgy this year with the whole cue tip incident against Fu yesterday.
Did Ebdon beat Ronnie the last time he won thw World Title or who did he play in the final?

mewso

It would take a miracle for Ronnie to get through now after this morning. I'm happy for Dott myself, boring or not.