UK Championship 2019 26/11 - 8/12 BBC/Eurosport

ArmaniJeanss

Butchered by Barry but still just about hanging on to it's status as second biggest ranking event, for viewers in this part of the world anyway.

Draw.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_UK_Championship

Seedings give a theoretical last 16 of
1. Ronnie v Ding.
8. Shaun Murphy v Kyren Wilson.
5. John Higgins v Bingham.
4. Robertson v Lisowski

---

3. Mark Williams v Maguire.
6. Selby v Gilbert.
7. Allen v Hawkins.
2. Trump v Perry.

Dream final of Higgins v Williams Ronnie v Judd a possibility.

Irish interest.
Ken and Fergal have winnable firstrounders but likely face Trump and Mark Williams in second round.
Youghal amateur player Ross Bulman faces Ronnie.

Gamblage
Generally available odds.

11/4 Judd Trump.
7/2 Ronnie.
11/2 Robertson.
10/1 Selby.
16/1 bar.

https://www.oddschecker.com/snooker/uk-championship/winner

TV coverage doesn't start until the second round at the weekend.

zuutroy

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

TV coverage doesn't start until the second round at the weekend.

Crap, I thought it was on Eurosport all week. Having withdrawals already with all the snooker that's been on lately.

Inviere

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

TV coverage doesn't start until the second round at the weekend.

Whats Hearn at with the likes of this? Get it on the bloody tv Baz!

Joe_ Public

This is the bbc, cant be bothered to show any snooker cos it doesnt suit them. Not even on the iplayer. Think eurosport might have first round matches on the player without commentary. Better than nothing anyway.

US2

Why do BBC even bother pretending they show snooker? Highlights on at an ungodly hour then every night .

Joe_ Public

Dave Gilbert first major scalp of tournament, big surprise way he's been performing.

Not such a big surprise to see Luca Brecel go down 5-6 to canny old Nigel Bond, really dived off the cliff of late has Luca, sad to see for such a gifted player.

Arthur Daley

US2 wrote: »

Why do BBC even bother pretending they show snooker? Highlights on at an ungodly hour then every night .

Tune in the red button channel

The Nal

Irishman Ross Bulman playing Ronnie tomorrow.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/snooker/2019/1126/1095328-ross-bulman-ready-to-take-on-the-rocket-in-york/

zuutroy

Eden Sharav has knocked Murphy out which opens things up a bit in Ronnie's half of the draw. Hope he's come to play this week and not mess around. I suspect maybe he has, but he lost to Dominic Dale the last time I thought that!

Joe_ Public

Surprising loss for murphy to a guy who hadn't won a single match all year before this. Kind of plateaud a bit since his early season purple patch it would seem.

Nice to get to see a bit of Ross Bulman, hope he can to himself justice here. Ken 4-5 behind to Mei Xeiwen, will be finishing up later on tonight i would guess.

Joe_ Public

Bulman actually getting chances here, but looks nervous. Entirely understandable.

The Nal

https://twitter.com/SportingLife/status/1200160857558278144

Joe_ Public

Wouldnt really defend ronnie on that but why take away the bonus? That was wrong thing to do imo. Hearn did the same in darts for the 9 darter and as far as i know there's only been one of those this season, or maybe thats just on tv? Either way, it smacks of just trying to save money while generating same level of publicity. Ronnie with all his millions is acting a bit of a dick but can see point he is making.

waynescales1

Hawkins made a 147 in Round 1 for which Irvine said there was a 15k bonus?

The BBC may not be perfect but you cannot beat that camera angle.

Joe_ Public

I think she must have meant the prize for highest break because the rolling bonus for 147 is gone, replaced by a shared £1m bonus pot in the event of 20 being achieved, though nobody actually believes it can be achieved anyway. Ronnie certainly not helping anyway!

waynescales1

Yeah you’re right, highest break.

Yeah, so they’ve to reach 20 147s without the player who has twice as many 147s as any other active player.

nkl12xtw5goz70

The highest number of 147s ever achieved in a single season is 13. I can't imagine seeing 20 anytime soon. It's a way of replacing the rolling prize with what is probably a relatively small insurance premium.

nkl12xtw5goz70

Two consecutive 6-0 wins for O'Sullivan as he moves into the last 32, where he'll play Saengkham or McGill. Can't see either of those players giving him much trouble either.

zuutroy

He was very normal in the interview. What's all that about?!

Joe_ Public

zuutroy wrote: »

He was very normal in the interview. What's all that about?!

And very businesslike in both his matches, not so much of the messing and occasional weirdness you see in early rounds of other tournaments. I conclude that its because he respects and loves this tournament more than any other, including the worlds so he's fully focused and behaving himself. So far at least!

Joe_ Public

Ah jaysus, marco in off the final black. Thats cruel. Does look to be coming back into a bit of form though which is nice to see.

Joe_ Public

Fabulous from marco, really hope he goes on to win it now!

waynescales1

6-5 to Fu. You just don’t get twists and turns or drama like this in the best of 7s.

zuutroy

They really wrecked this tournament. The matches on TV so far have been pathetic. Would much rather see good players play longer matches than these drubbings. Ronnie and Judd have won an aggregate 24-1 in their first two rounds. Robertson flattered Williams by giving him 4 frames last night. He was playing very poorly.

nkl12xtw5goz70

Agreed. The rounds of 128 and 64 are pointless, and it's no surprise that the top players resent having to play them. It's not good entertainment for the fans earlier to watch some young amateur getting a 6-0 drubbing from the likes of Ronnie. It benefits nobody.

Arthur Daley

There have always been early stages. And a fair few hammerings when it was first to 9. Although few whitewashes when you have to win 9. If the BBC didn't show the early rounds people would complain that the coverage was crap.

Back in the 80s/90s BBC coverage started at the last 16 and the matches were longer. I preferred that format myself for the UK. Sheffield shouldn't be the only time players routinely play long matches.

Joe_ Public

Really are just too many passengers on tour i believe. I see steve davis is back on his usual hobby horse of greatest ever standard but i for one anyway don't really see this great strength in depth. That fella who played judd the other day looked terrible and i see where he's drawn judd again in scottish open. Thats no good for anyone. Would prefer a 64 man tour with a competitive secondary tour but i guess barry knows best!

Joe_ Public

Arthur Daley wrote: »

There have always been early stages. And a fair few hammerings when it was first to 9. Although few whitewashes when you have to win 9. If the BBC didn't show the early rounds people would complain that the coverage was crap.

Back in the 80s/90s BBC coverage started at the last 32 and the matches were longer. I preferred that format myself for the UK. Sheffield shouldn't be the only time players routinely play long matches.

Can remember when there were around 10 qualifying rounds to get to the crucible, give or take! Think its a balancing act. Sure, give all players the opportunity to win matches and make money but, as we see with the champion of champions event, those small select events with the top players playing each other are what generate the most excitement. UK should never have been tampered with imo, but bbc pushed for it and hearn complied. Big mistake in my book.

Arthur Daley

Yeah, I think the coverage probably started at last 16 rather than 32, and a 2 day final first to 16. But still plenty of 9-1 9-2 etc.

Don't think it means any real difference to the players. Steve, Jimmy, Alex etc still had to turn up and play some no hoper in the last 64/last 32 for a week without tv cameras. And they were happy to do it.

Arthur Daley

Mark Williams 3-0 down and his form has gone off the boil from last year.

waynescales1

The problem with putting Trump or O’Sullivan on the TV tables is that they will usually be drawn against duds in Rounds 1-2 because of the seeded draw. So all you end up with in Round 1-2 are televised drubbings.

However, there have been plenty of competitive matches in the early rounds. The organizers should televise the matches that appear most interesting on paper when the draw is made, i.e. Fu v Wilson, Hawkins v McManus, instead of just showing the highest ranked player.