2024 World Championships

The Golden Miller

As an aside, well sort of related to the quality of the field, I seen a video of Mark Williams son playing recently and potting everything. Chip off the old block it seems, and one for the future. But it got me thinking, do the like of even I suppose Hendry, have grown up kids? Or any of the players have kids who look promising?

I remember Davis saying his son loved the game but just wasn't good enough. It's surprising none of the now older players like Higgins or White etc had/have kids coming through with talent? Williams' young lad does seem a serious player though for the future. Knocking in table lenght long pots for fun, casually as you like. Never seen anything like it for such a young lad. His father is the greatest potter the game has ever seen though

tobefrank321

A lot of the top players have very fragile temperaments and just seem to collapse when under pressure at the World Championships. Brecel was a great underdog, but make him a favourite and he hates it. Selby seems a bit fragile, Trump has the talent but prone to imploding. Mark Allen should have beaten Higgins, his head to head was good outside the world championships where the pressure seems to get to him. There's no-one you could say these days has nerves of steel on a consistent basis.

TheHopeful

Very disappointed with todays results. Was really looking forward to a Trump v Ronnie semi.

Can't believe how bad Trump played. Surely they would have spoken about Jones style of play and how to counteract it. He just fell into Jones style of play for the entire match, and then the odd chance he got he couldn't put any decent breaks together.

Bingham played really well in fairness. And he only scraped through qualifying!

Hard to know what Gilbert will bring. Safety seems to let him down. Wilson for the title now I think.

B2021M

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122087700#Comment_122087700

I agree with your analysis. Bingham must be clear favourite now.

Is there an imbalance on the tour now with som many best of 7 matches hiding true talent that only comes through in longer matches?

sligeach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122087906#Comment_122087906

O'Sullivan is an attention seeking w####, always has been. And he doesn't half talk some amount of 8####X. Every year there's something with him, be it playing in his socks because his feet are sore, or a mug of hot water because his hands are cold.

This year I read the headline on BBC that he was "down in the doldrums". I don't click on anything to do with him. Then he's saying that he's not the greatest ever player, then he says he can win the WC title in his 50's. I heard Off The Ball saying he's doing some abstinence diet $###€, and I think I heard a clip of him saying he had the yips for a couple of years. Like that's some sort of poke at Hendry, "Hey look at me, I had the yips and the great I got over it". And this is all during this year's Championship. F###### hell, shut up and play the game!

sligeach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088058#Comment_122088058

I remember last year commenting here on the Welsh Open final between Shaun Murphy and Robert Milkins. The standard was shocking, I cannot state this highly enough. If ever there was a journeyman, Robert Milkins is it. People here tried to defend it and him. You had to have seen it, it was diabolical. The first 3 rounds were best of 7, then 9 for the quarters, 11 for the semi-finals and 17 for the final. In short format matches anything can happen. Over a longer format you will get exposed, Stephen Hendry said words to that effect during this year's WC tournament.

I would make Bingham favourite because he's been there, done it and has the temperament.

Wilson, I've never rated him, I've heard some commentators saying he's playing great, but is he though really? And I've seen him get destroyed before. You just knew he was going to get battered in the 2020 final against O'Sullivan. And remember how he got through the semi-final against Anthony McGill with a fluke in the deciding frame? Some say that was the most dramatic frame ever. Sure, perhaps, but the quality of snooker in it was awful, which added to the tension. McGill came so close to being in the final. He would have been battered as well. McGill didn't make it through qualifying this year.

B2021M

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088078#Comment_122088078

Yeah Wilson will probably crack against Bingham but he does score heavily.

Has anyone ever seen Dave Gilbert play a safety shot??

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122087906#Comment_122087906

O Sullivan is a fraud of a player?

Always tries to be controversial you say… 😎

Cienciano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122087759#Comment_122087759

Bit disingenuous, she spent about 5 minutes clearing the crowd and just said that at the end. Ronnie obviously still pissed off and the black ball incident.

Brian?

I think this has been a very enjoyable tournament so far. Can’t believe the negativity.

The tables are playing tight, which was what people said they wanted all year.

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088289#Comment_122088289

It's been great to watch. Really enjoying it

The Nal

O'Sullivan being a fraud of a player is the laugh I needed this morning.

Quality of the tournament dipped drastically after round 1 and shows no sign of stopping. Id imagine World Snooker and the TV stations are gutted. Ratings about to plummet.

Even though theres only 5 days left the eventual winner is only halfway through the tournament in terms of frames played

Arthur Daley

Of the 4 players left, 3 of them are decent or good to watch. Jak Jones matches have been of poor quality, some of that was him, some his opponent. Bingham is a nice watch when he is flowing, and Gilbert v Wilson should have some attacking snooker aover 33 frames.

Genghis

Always amazes me the impact Sight Right can have. Bingham has been nowhere this season and fading down the rankings for some time, he spends a bit of time on Sight Right and he is back to near his peak. Much like Williams in 2018.

Of those who are left, you have to fancy Bingham. He isvisibly enjoying the tournament, completely at home / in a great state of mind, and is confident that he will overcome the many errors he still seems to have in his game. Old dog for the long road counts for a lot.

I think Gilbert could be a challenger. I have watched him quite a bit through the qualifying rounds and he has been fairly fearless and free flowing. I knew he would beat Brecel, and wasn't surprised to see him continue that form. Yes, perhaps he has no safety game, but if he gets any kind of a run he can win through attaching play.

Wilson, I just don't know. He has been to 3 WC semi finals & 1 final before, which is remarkable for a player who has arguably not won a major tournament (Shanghai when ranking, German Masters and 3 others). He has gone very deep in the the World, UK and Masters but not ultimately come that close to winning any of them). I wonder has he a confidence crisis close to major winning lines and could collapse against a care free Bingham, or a free flowing Gilbert. I definitely agree he will never have as good a chance this year, I just wonder will he take it.

Jak Jones has done incredibly well, no onw would have expected him to beat Trump, I just wonder though if he might not survive another round having had such a milestone win.

So Bingham orif not Gilbert for me.

Sigma101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088289#Comment_122088289

I agree with you. I think it's the psychology of declinism, the belief that everything was better in the past. We forget some of the boring predictable World finals of the 90's for instance, but remember the excitement of the "black ball final". Or we think of Higgins in '82 and wrongly project that he always played like that. It's a distortion of the past experienced as people get older, a reflection perhaps of the ageing profile of people on boards.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089427#Comment_122089427

I mean lets not forget the good old days….

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089427#Comment_122089427

Davis Walloped Parrot, in a final and Hendry walloped Bond. Those are the two hammerings that stick in my mind.

From the comments on this thread from the more casual snooker watcher. It is clear Beyond Ronnie they lose interest. To them the likes of Bingham, Wilson and Gilbert are “boring”. And Jak Jones might as well be a fella that walked in off the street.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089677#Comment_122089677

Jones isn't far off a fella walked in off the street tbh. He's 30 years old and 44th in the world with a career high of 35. Best result until now has been a semi final at Gibraltar open. David Gilbert is a level above that, but still a complete journeyman. He's in his 40s ans currently 31 in the world with a career high of 10th in 2019. One career win in the champions league in 2021.

When two players like this make the semi final I don't think it's surprising that people are questioning the quality of the tournament.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089677#Comment_122089677

TBF 3 out of 4 semi finaists being qualifiers point to the bigger players not turning up this year. Only 52 centuries so far etc. Lowest standard in a good few years.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089986#Comment_122089986

the century count is not a fair metric. The pockets are playing exceptionally tight. Probably because of all the people moaning about how big they were.

waynescales1

Hard to believe Dave Gilbert is 42, if someone told me he was 29 I’d have believed them.

loyatemu

we had 2 surprise semi-finalists last year in Si and Brecel, but both are exciting attacking players - Brecel had long been tipped as a future champion and Si was a total unknown. Wilson or Gilbert winning it would be more reminiscent of, say, Dott's victory.

Spudman_20000

The way the tables have played has definitely suited the perspiration-type players and not the inspirational ones.

I guess it boils down to what type of snooker you prefer to watch. Big breaks or lots of frames that take a couple of 50- 60 point breaks to win.

weemcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122090087#Comment_122090087

It's almost like you can't win, people will just moan whatever happens in the game.

qwabercd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088078#Comment_122088078

In the last 14 matches of this year's tournament, the player who got to 5 first won the match. Flashscore won't let me go back further and this doesn't necessarily disprove your point, worth noting all the same.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089986#Comment_122089986

I am enjoying it be honest. Had a good few tense games. Big guns shocked. It has an air of the unknown to it in the last four.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122090621#Comment_122090621

Absolutely. Loving it. But no denying that's there's going to be a drop in viewership. Really hope Wilson wins it.

waynescales1

It's the one table set up at the Crucible, bound to be drama. Much easier to enjoy it if not focusing on who did/didn't qualify or the number of centuries made.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122090433#Comment_122090433

if it was the top 4 seeds we’d be told that snooker was fucked because it was so predictable

Brian?

My opinion is that the Worlds is almost a different game to the other tournaments. The “top” players struggle with the adjustment, but the qualifiers are playing best of 19 the week before.