UK Championships

Setun

Anyone been watching the White v Hendry match? They're a bit all over the place with pots/misses but it makes for bloody good television. Really enjoying it so far!

zack01

It's what snooker is all about, these two boys can't miss a ball in practice but put them on the match table and a add a bit of pressure and it changes completely. Fascinating stuff indeed.

_feedback_

Yeah, I'm lucky to have a UK IP in work - so have it on in the background from BBC website.

Fairly messy stuff, but great to watch.

Hendry couldn't believe some of the shots he was missing yesterday!

snooker_news

Really disappointed that Jimmy White didn't make it through to the last 16, he's scrappy at times but great to watch. At least there was one big upset in the first round, I don't think anyone would've predicted that Stuart Bingham would knockout O'Sullivan to go through to second round having started the day 6-4 behind.

Here are the UK Championship second round fixtures. Should be interesting to see how far Bingham goes, while O'Sullivan wasn't at his best all credit to Bingham for his performance.

zack01

Yes a real pity Jimmy went out, he still is an attraction and everyone loves him. But Hendry v Williams will be a good match, Hendry will have to ip his game and cut out the unforced errors.
To be honest I wasn't really surprised Bingham beat O'Sullivan, Bingham has being playing a lot of snooker lately, he's played in all twelve PTC events this season and once Ronnie started throwing his cue arm about there was only going to be one winner.

This has the makings of a great week, a lot of the big boys are still there and with the longer matches im sure we'll see some great snooker.
Something tells me John Higgins will win though.

flaers123

zack01 wrote: »

Yes a real pity Jimmy went out, he still is an attraction and everyone loves him. But Hendry v Williams will be a good match, Hendry will have to ip his game and cut out the unforced errors.
To be honest I wasn't really surprised Bingham beat O'Sullivan, Bingham has being playing a lot of snooker lately, he's played in all twelve PTC events this season and once Ronnie started throwing his cue arm about there was only going to be one winner.

This has the makings of a great week, a lot of the big boys are still there and with the longer matches im sure we'll see some great snooker.
Something tells me John Higgins will win though.

can ye watch snooker free in this

fryup

Higgins is through to the QFs:(

the taught of that *cheatin fox winning the tournament sickens my stomach

*and i don't care about the regulation boards verdict

Setun

zack01 wrote: »

Yes a real pity Jimmy went out, he still is an attraction and everyone loves him. But Hendry v Williams will be a good match, Hendry will have to ip his game and cut out the unforced errors.
To be honest I wasn't really surprised Bingham beat O'Sullivan, Bingham has being playing a lot of snooker lately, he's played in all twelve PTC events this season and once Ronnie started throwing his cue arm about there was only going to be one winner.

This has the makings of a great week, a lot of the big boys are still there and with the longer matches im sure we'll see some great snooker.
Something tells me John Higgins will win though.

My money would be on Higgins to win too - he's definitely got a hunger for the game after the recent mess.

Williams is currently playing fantastically though, just knocked in a beautiful pink.

eric hoone

See Hendry? Where has his game gone? Does the rot go back to his cue breaking seven years ago? Williams looked mortified to beat him in such a poor match.

_feedback_

It's only the opening frame in Higgins / Maguire but John Higgins seems to be in great form again. Maguire can fall apart easily too if he's under pressure.

AnneFrank

elviscostello wrote: »

It's only the opening frame in Higgins / Maguire but John Higgins seems to be in great form again. Maguire can fall apart easily too if he's under pressure.

he must have a bet on himself so the cheat

_feedback_

fryup wrote: »

Higgins is through to the QFs:(

the taught of that *cheatin fox winning the tournament sickens my stomach

*and i don't care about the regulation boards verdict

AnneFrank wrote: »

he must have a bet on himself so the cheat

I enjoy reading / discussing the game, no matter who's playing. Maybe the few of us that read / post here should try to leave all that stuff in its own thread and enjoy the snooker?

Setun

elviscostello wrote: »

It's only the opening frame in Higgins / Maguire but John Higgins seems to be in great form again. Maguire can fall apart easily too if he's under pressure.

Maguire came back nicely there but it looks like it might be all-square going into the mid-session interval.

_feedback_

Daddio wrote: »

Maguire came back nicely there but it looks like it might be all-square going into the mid-session interval.

Yep, he made a mess of a couple of relitavely easy blacks, but apart from that he is looking good too. Might be in for a good game here!

As I typed that he missed an ok looking red.

Looking like it might be 2-2 on the other table too.

Setun

The regular bbc coverage has just finished up - raging I can't keep up with the game because it was getting very good there.

Maguire is looking good though, will definitely be a close match.

_feedback_

I just suggested leaving that stuff in it's own thread AnneFrank. That's all.

Looks like we're in for another good evening this evening. These games are hard to call, nearly every one is a close score line!

AnneFrank

eric hoone wrote: »

See Hendry? Where has his game gone? Does the rot go back to his cue breaking seven years ago? Williams looked mortified to beat him in such a poor match.

ah no Eric it's a natural progression,Once your past 35 your eyesight is not the same,but more importantly your "bottle" is not the same,and it's bottle that wins matches in the pro events,in the balls hendry could still knock in centries but long potting is gone and when the pressure is on he cracks just like White and davis before him,Its just part of the process,in saying that Hendry is the greatest player i have ever seen,Yes O'sullivan is more talented but overall Hendry is the best ever,I'll never forget a final between Osullivan and hendry years ago and it was the final frame,hendry came out and made a 147,he was a genius at his very best,id love to see him catch former glories but it'll never happen

AnneFrank

elviscostello wrote: »

I just suggested leaving that stuff in it's own thread AnneFrank. That's all.

Looks like we're in for another good evening this evening. These games are hard to call, nearly every one is a close score line!

fair enough Elvis i wont mention it again,I do love the game aswell and am looking forward to later too,

zack01

AnneFrank
The problem with the likes of Hendry etc has nothing got to do with bottle. These guys have so much experience at the table from winning and losing tournaments, to making televised maximum breaks to coming back from near impossible situations to win matches.Bottle will never be an issue with him, the problem with Hendry is his concentration. In his prime Hendry won 7 world titles and countless othe ranking events, with the majority of these events held over a week and the worlds held over 17 days his concentration powers were immense.
In recent years however this has waned dramatically, how often do we see Hendry now pot a fantastic long red only for him to miss the following easy black of the spot?
On top of that snooker is no longer a top priority in Hendry's life, he's married has two children and lives in Auchtrander in Scotland which in itself is a fair trip to each event.
To even suggest that Hendry cracks in matches now is ridiculous, sure he'll keep competing but with him now on the verge of dropping out of the top 16 you have to wonder will he consider retirement soon.
The thought of having to pre qualify for all those events he used to win so regulary in the quiet of the academy in Sheffield I for one don't think will appeal to him.
Agreed Hendry is the greatest ever, his achievements will never be matched, O ' Sullivan is the most natural more so than White and Higgins combined unfortunatly the one thing O' Sullivan lacks Hendry had in abundance and that's discipline.

stephenk123

i suppose ye saw the murphy-robertson match what did ye think? i thought it was a very good match. murphy is such a good long potter he also has v good positional play most of the time lol anyway let me know what ye thought and who are yere favorites for the tournament

_feedback_

I had some other stuff going on last night, so didn't catch much of it.

Murphy seems to be in good form though. Williams is getting through despite playing badly at times.

What has Allen been like? What's his chances against Higgins?

Glenman

elviscostello wrote: »

I had some other stuff going on last night, so didn't catch much of it.

Murphy seems to be in good form though. Williams is getting through despite playing badly at times.

What has Allen been like? What's his chances against Higgins?

I admire what Williams has done, he confessed a few years ago that he was a lazy git but he has dug deep and practiced hard. You only get out what you put in. I haven't seen any of the snooker this week but plan to watch it over the weekend. Allen is a class player but I hope it will be Higgins v Williams in the final.

Setun

Anyone care to give me a quick run-down of what happened in the evening sessions yesterday? As far as I know Robertson and Joyce went out, but how did they play?

AnneFrank

zack01 wrote: »

AnneFrank
The problem with the likes of Hendry etc has nothing got to do with bottle. These guys have so much experience at the table from winning and losing tournaments, to making televised maximum breaks to coming back from near impossible situations to win matches.Bottle will never be an issue with him, the problem with Hendry is his concentration. In his prime Hendry won 7 world titles and countless othe ranking events, with the majority of these events held over a week and the worlds held over 17 days his concentration powers were immense.
In recent years however this has waned dramatically, how often do we see Hendry now pot a fantastic long red only for him to miss the following easy black of the spot?
On top of that snooker is no longer a top priority in Hendry's life, he's married has two children and lives in Auchtrander in Scotland which in itself is a fair trip to each event.
To even suggest that Hendry cracks in matches now is ridiculous, sure he'll keep competing but with him now on the verge of dropping out of the top 16 you have to wonder will he consider retirement soon.
The thought of having to pre qualify for all those events he used to win so regulary in the quiet of the academy in Sheffield I for one don't think will appeal to him.
Agreed Hendry is the greatest ever, his achievements will never be matched, O ' Sullivan is the most natural more so than White and Higgins combined unfortunatly the one thing O' Sullivan lacks Hendry had in abundance and that's discipline.

Concentration could be part of the problem but so is his bottle in my opinion,When ever he gets into a decent position in a match his arm starts twitching and he miss's easy balls, concentration doesnt do this it's nerve plain and simple,I know this because i've played the game for years and years,You can see it in his eyes and Davis has spoken about it many times.They can bang in centuries on the practice table which trust me takes concentration,but they cant bring it to the match table,I guess it's a bit of a mix with both but more bottle than concentration for me.

AnneFrank

zack01 wrote: »

It's what snooker is all about, these two boys can't miss a ball in practice but put them on the match table and a add a bit of pressure and it changes completely. Fascinating stuff indeed.

Your own quote would suggest it's bottle Zack,like i say you cant knock in every ball in practice with poor concentration trust me i wish it was that easy !Do you play the game ?

zack01

I played for twenty years, mainly in the UK, won a few pro ams, never tried my hand at it full time, best I did here was a couple of semi's in the ranking events but that was mid '80's! Even now when I take the cue out I miss the easy balls but seem to pot the hard ones.
That's why I'm convinced it's mainly concentration with the older boys, of course when you add in the bit of pressure it makes concentration harder but to think Hendry bottles it? No not for me, but look it's only my opinion and AnneFrank that's what makes the game so fascinating!

cherryghost

Allen looking strong in recent games. Hope he can go right to the end

AnneFrank

zack01 wrote: »

I played for twenty years, mainly in the UK, won a few pro ams, never tried my hand at it full time, best I did here was a couple of semi's in the ranking events but that was mid '80's! Even now when I take the cue out I miss the easy balls but seem to pot the hard ones.
That's why I'm convinced it's mainly concentration with the older boys, of course when you add in the bit of pressure it makes concentration harder but to think Hendry bottles it? No not for me, but look it's only my opinion and AnneFrank that's what makes the game so fascinating!

really fair play Zack your a better player than me so i wouldnt be of that level to play in a pro am,I havent played in a couple of years but after reading through these threads it has inspired me to take out the cue again,and yes your right we all have opinions the game wouldnt be the same with out them !!I'll avoid playing anyone called Zack in the local snooker hall !!

zack01

Don't worry your safe, I'd struggle to make a 30 now!!
But it's great to hear more people taking up the game again.
Enjoy!!

Setun

cherryghost wrote: »

Allen looking strong in recent games. Hope he can go right to the end

Agreed, haven't seen much of him before but I think we'll see plenty of him in the future.

jimpeterson

Does anyone know the frame scores so far for Higgins v Allen or where to find them?

LuckyGent88

its 4 all at the mid session interval. some good breaks with the best coming from Allen in the second frame with a 130. match resumes at 7

stephenk123

such a pity allen went out i am a big fan of his, but i suppose he went out to a better player. looking foward to the williams murphy game hopefully williams will up his game.

LuckyGent88

5 frames to 3 in favour of Williams at mid session interval.

syngindub

6-6, Murphy starting to take control of this match. Williams long / mid range potting is a complete disaster

syngindub

Amazing comeback by Williams to make a real match out of it.
Never gave in and bringing the match into a decider.
This is great stuff. you can stick your x factor

ishvalian

Fantastic finish to the game, i have to admit that I cheered a little when Williams finally managed to pot the red after 70 minutes or so of not potting anything. Great to see him pot a few long ones towards the end also. That will hopefully have his confidence up for the game against Higgins.

Setun

Excellent match. That'll go down in snooker history as being one of the game's best comebacks - although there were only three frames in it, going by the stats it looked a clear certainty that Murphy had it. Unbelievable temperment shown by Williams, but he'll have to up his game tomorrow if he's to catch Higgins.

syngindub

thats my sunday sport sorted anyway.
the missus & kids won't be happy

Arthurdaly

Delighted for Williams and good to see him back at the top of the game, lets hope he puts that cheating ****** higgins!

LuckyGent88

Williams now only 1 frame away from his 3rd UK Championship. Will be a cracking victory for him.

LeeroyJones

CRACKING 17TH FRAME!!!

kc66

Down to the wire. What a comeback this could be. Very high standard

kenon

Brilliant game of snooker.

It will be devastating for Williams if he loses this.

FlawedGenius

9-9. Be amazing if Higgins wins this after the year hes had:eek: Id say he let Williams win the first few frames;)

LuckyGent88

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Williams now only 1 frame away from his 3rd UK Championship. Will be a cracking victory for him.

Think i was a small bit presumptious about the outcome. Higgins has all the momentum now.

x in the city

and not a bung in sight....

Mars Bar

What a shot on the brown! :eek:

Well done Higgins!

x in the city

mark williams

wtf!!!!

talk about a FAIL..¬


he really should have won that, he will drink himself to death tonite id say

Quandary

delighted for John - awesome comeback and even better considering the circumstances....

ebbsy

Williams will be haunted by that for a long time to come, especially getting a break over 60 and still losing that frame.....