World Championship Qualifiers 2016

Arthur Daley

http://www.rte.ie/sport/snooker/2016/0404/779366-tough-draw-for-irish-in-crucible-qualifying/

Amazing to see Ding, and indeed Ali Carter in here. To be whittled down to 16 who will get to the Crucible.

Joe_ Public

It's a shame to see Ali still stuck outside the top 16, such a talented lad. The snooker tour seems to be a bit of a grind these days with all the extra tournies, seems like he's stuck in a rut now after his health issues. Ding has no excuses, all the talent in the world but not producing it.

Anyway, looking forward to this. Fergal is playing well enough to make it through the qualifiers and interesting to see Brendan O'Donoghue from Tipperary is also one of the wild cards. Big ask to see him winning 3 matches against full time pros, but you never know.

Glenman

Ding lost out on a top 16 spot after Stephen Maguire made it all the way to the semi-finals in China. It's it hard to make it through the World Qualifiers as you have to win 3 matches even if your ranked 17th. Seems unfair. You would expect O'Brien to beat Davis in first round.

Of the legends, Davis, White, Doherty, O'Brien, Swail...will any make it through to the Crucible??

511

Are any of these televised? I hav a streaming link but prefer to watch it on HD.

bradolf pittler

3 Irish amateurs in the field.
Brendan O'Donaghue is 5-1 down to David Grace after the 1st session.
Josh Boileau currently 7-0 down to Matthew Stevens
Greg Casey will play Ding Junhui tomorrow.

Glenman

Doherty is past the first hurdle with a 10-6 win over Andy Hicks. He faces either Tian Pengfei or Hossein Vafaei Ayouri next. Never heard of either of them.

511

Gutted Jimmy White didn't get over the last hurdle. He made some great long shots but kept over-hitting his safety play.

bradolf pittler

Glenman wrote: »

Doherty is past the first hurdle with a 10-6 win over Andy Hicks. He faces either Tian Pengfei or Hossein Vafaei Ayouri next. Never heard of either of them.

Hossein Vafaei Ayouri is an Iranian player who is actually based in Navan so its a bit of an all Ireland affair.He's an excellent player but i'd expect crafty Ken to do the business although i wouldn't be suprised if Hossein caused an upset.

Joe_ Public

bradolf pittler wrote: »

Hossein Vafaei Ayouri is an Iranian player who is actually based in Navan so its a bit of an all Ireland affair.He's an excellent player but i'd expect crafty Ken to do the business although i wouldn't be suprised if Hossein caused an upset.

Have to say would love to see this young lad Hossein at the Crucible as he seems talented and the game desperately needs a few fresh names towards the top, but Ken will be a tough nut to crack as you suggest. At a guess they've probably practiced together a few times so Ken should be familiar enough with his game. Fancy a tight affair at the least.

Glenman

Doherty is doing well, he is 7-2 up going into tomorrow. If he wins he will face either Ryan Day or Alfie Burden in last qualifing round. Ken has a fair chance of making the Crucible.

Joe_ Public

Ken well in control. Alfie Burden had a bit of talent but never fulfilled it, been winning a few matches recently nonetheless; Day can be terrific or terrifically brutal on his day, no reason why Ken shouldn't beat either if it comes to pass. Disappointing to see Davy Morris fall on his sword to Angles McManus. Not sure of the maths, but think that may see him back to Q school if he wants to stay on tour next season.

Glenman

Peter Ebdon won 7 frames in a row for a great escape against fellow "Englishman" Gerard Greene.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/36020997

Finished after 2am, must have been exciting stuff!

So Ken is playing Ryan Day in the final qualifying round. A tough match.

syngindub

how come Ding needs to qualify?

Joe_ Public

syngindub wrote: »

how come Ding needs to qualify?

Because only the top 16 in the rankings are seeded through to the first round proper. Ding slipped to 17 after the China Open last month, ridiculous because he should be comfortably top 10, but only himself to blame. Can't see him ever winning a World title but still a horrible first round draw for whichever seed draws him.

Arthur Daley

I would wonder how much longer Steve Davis and Jimmy will bother with the tour. Nowhere near the crucible and they are not going to be happy being so far out of it now. Davis reached the quarters in 2010, but is pushing towards 60 now. got to be hard to be motivated outside the exhibition/seniors circuit for these genuine legends of the game now.

califano

Glenman wrote: »

Doherty is past the first hurdle with a 10-6 win over Andy Hicks. He faces either Tian Pengfei or Hossein Vafaei Ayouri next. Never heard of either of them.

Surprised you never heard of either especially Pengfei. Regular PTC player on the scene a few years now. Albeit more recognisable on the world snooker live scoreboard in PTC's rather than the live tv stages i suppose.

Arthur Daley

Not looking too good for Ken now. Lost 4 frames on the trot this evening

Arthur Daley

That's Ken out. 10-6 to ryan day

Arthur Daley

Arthur Daley wrote: »

I would wonder how much longer Steve Davis and Jimmy will bother with the tour. Nowhere near the crucible and they are not going to be happy being so far out of it now. Davis reached the quarters in 2010, but is pushing towards 60 now. got to be hard to be motivated outside the exhibition/seniors circuit for these genuine legends of the game now.

Well, the nugget has decided to call it a day. Mind you his father's funeral is only this week, so that seems to also have influenced his timing. Some longievety in the game to still have been competitive into his mid 50s, and the superlatives are over used, but Steve Davis is a true great that defines his sport.

ebbsy

Davis was nearly unbeatable in his day and is one of the greatest sportsmen ever never mind snooker.

He is also a good analyst.