2019 Coral Cup - ITV4's Trilogy of Events

Inviere · 10-03-2019 10:05am

This Australian thing with Ronnie is painfully unfunny. That said, he seems to be playing well, total destruction of Allen last night.

hetuzozaho · 10-03-2019 1:09pm

Inviere wrote: »

This Australian thing with Ronnie is painfully unfunny. That said, he seems to be playing well, total destruction of Allen last night.

Yeah Ronnie played some good stuff. Looking forward to today.

The interview after was awful. So disrespectful to all the lads in the studio.

Inviere · 10-03-2019 2:02pm

hetuzozaho wrote: »

Yeah Ronnie played some good stuff. Looking forward to today.

The interview after was awful. So disrespectful to all the lads in the studio.

You could see the forced smiles and almost taste the cringe...

Just about to kick off now. Cmon Neil!

hetuzozaho · 10-03-2019 2:43pm

Inviere wrote: »

You could see the forced smiles and almost taste the cringe...

Just about to kick off now. Cmon Neil!

Haha yeah, so cringe. And he goes on about the respect he has for Hendry and showed him none then. You could tell Hendry wanted to talk snooker with him seriously. Would have been nice to listen to from my point of view.

He's arguing with the ref again

and look he is correct, but think theres a nicer way to go about it, bit subjective I know. Just makes it all a bit uncomfortable. These days I wonder does he enjoy that a bit during the match, helps him up his game/focus ?

Hopefully Robertson gets a frame now to make a match of it anyway.

AllForIt · 10-03-2019 3:19pm

hetuzozaho wrote: »

He's arguing with the ref again and look he is correct, but think theres a nicer way to go about it, bit subjective I know. Just makes it all a bit uncomfortable. These days I wonder does he enjoy that a bit during the match, helps him up his game/focus ?

I was going to suggest the opposite. I don't see how winding oneself up and getting aggro could help his focus. It's interval now and no doubt the incident will be on his mind. Doesn't seem to have affected him though.

hetuzozaho · 10-03-2019 3:26pm

AllForIt wrote: »

I was going to suggest the opposite. I don't see how winding oneself up and getting aggro could help his focus. It's interval now and no doubt the incident will be on his mind. Doesn't seem to have affected him though.

Yeah personally it wouldn't help me so I agree with ya from that perspective.

Great 4 frames from him anyway.

Come on Neil, I want a final frame decider tonight!

Arthur Daley · 10-03-2019 3:38pm

There was always going to be something today between Ronnie and that ref. Think the ref. is a bit intimidated, which may contribute to the mistakes, and there might have been a case to give the final to someone else.

Unless you think a bit of edge and argy bargy is good box office, of course

hetuzozaho · 10-03-2019 3:44pm

Well done Neil. Gets one on the board

AllForIt · 10-03-2019 4:54pm

hetuzozaho wrote: »

Well done Neil. Gets one on the board

Hopefully he can take this last one of the session. I though he played brilliantly against Trump so I think a comeback is possible if he does take this last frame.

Joe_ Public · 10-03-2019 4:58pm

Thought it was especially helpful of ronnie to graciously help the referee with the repositioning given he said it wasn’t his job a couple of days ago!

But seriously...hendry made good point, ref got it wrong but if he was taking undue care to respot then ronnie possibly have a go for being too slow. He’s under a bit of pressure out there.

AllForIt · 10-03-2019 5:06pm

Would be cool if he made the 1K break to win the tournament at the same time.

Frank O. Pinion · 10-03-2019 6:01pm

That ref is hopeless. If you can't re-spot the black correctly when a player is among the reds, (and place it incorrectly not once, but twice), maybe this isn't the job for you.

You could tell Hendry was implying he'd be pissed off about it too, but didn't put it in those words.

RebelButtMunch · 10-03-2019 7:55pm

Ronnie seems to be on a mission to stamp his dominance all over everyone

waynescales1 · 10-03-2019 8:22pm

This referee... 12-13 reds in one pocket, almost spilling back out onto the table and he doesn’t distribute them among the other pockets. When he picked the last pink out of the pocket it was visible from above the table.

Nice century from Robertson.

zuutroy · 10-03-2019 8:25pm

waynescales1 wrote: »

This referee... 12-13 reds in one pocket, almost spilling back out onto the table and he doesn’t distribute them among the other pockets. When he picked the last pink out of the pocket it was visible from above the table.

Nice century from Robertson.

He's really bad. Couldn't replace a simple white there.

Arthur Daley · 10-03-2019 8:34pm

We were on for 1,000 centuries there. But tough red

zuutroy · 10-03-2019 8:37pm

Arthur Daley wrote: »

We were on for 1,000 centuries there. But tough red

Surprised he didn't try to bring it out at some point.

Joe_ Public · 10-03-2019 8:38pm

Have a feeling he’s saving the tons thing for either the winning frame or even another time....could be wrong, just a feeling

zuutroy · 10-03-2019 8:43pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Have a feeling he’s saving the tons thing for either the winning frame or even another time....could be wrong, just a feeling

Surely tonight is more attractive than the first round of the tour championship on a Thursday afternoon.

Arthur Daley · 10-03-2019 8:46pm

Well we get an interval anyway

Joe_ Public · 10-03-2019 8:50pm

zuutroy wrote: »

Surely tonight is more attractive than the first round of the tour championship on a Thursday afternoon.

Yeah definitely...why i said he’ll try to win the match with the ton tonight if he can, that would be best case scenario for it. I didn’t think he tried very hard on the last red in that last frame he won tbh. Like i said, i could be wrong and he does it next frame.

waynescales1 · 10-03-2019 9:29pm

Absolutely amazing. I enjoyed that quite a bit I must say.

Arthur Daley · 10-03-2019 9:30pm

That was cool

hetuzozaho · 10-03-2019 10:34pm

Fantastic finish to a very enjoyable week of snooker for me.

Frank O. Pinion · 10-03-2019 11:56pm

Incredible win and finish. Nearly stole the high break prize of £5,000 from Robertson at the end, if he didn't foul the white. That's O'Sullivan's 35th ranking title, one away from Hendry's record of 36, which you have to imagine he'll break before the end of 2019. Possibly this season, if he can win the Tour and World Championships. Nice speech from Ronnie afterwards too, he was clearly loving the crowd's enjoyment of his 1000th century.

Here's how the Top 8 are ranked now for the Tour Championship:

1. Mark Allen - £394,000
2. Ronnie O'Sullivan - £353,500
3. Judd Trump - £307,000
4. Neil Robertson - £305,500
5. Mark Selby - £246,500
6. Mark Williams - £223,500
7. Stuart Bingham - £188,000
8. Kyren Wilson - £187,500

Only the Gibraltar Open can effect the rankings before then. The top 6 are guaranteed their spots and aren't playing in Gibraltar. Bingham and Wilson are, plus current #9 for the season, David Gilbert (£182,000). Top prize is only £25,000 in Gibraltar, but depending on how deep they go or how early they lose, any two of the three can make the Tour Championship. Of course, whoever ends up #7 will have to play...Ronnie.

Arthur Daley · 11-03-2019 12:02am

It's Ronnie's night but Robertson has really turned it around to be number 4 for the season marginally behind Trump. Remember a couple of years back he dropped out of the top 16 and missed the Masters. Shaun Murphy will need to find the same trick up his sleeve.

zuutroy · 11-03-2019 9:24am

Think most of Robbo's decline was down to personal problems though, rather than just having form desert him.

hetuzozaho · 11-03-2019 12:18pm

zuutroy wrote: »

Think most of Robbo's decline was down to personal problems though, rather than just having form desert him.

Yes he spoke about it I believe, I remember reading it somewhere. Fair play to him.

Frank O. Pinion · 17-03-2019 11:35pm

The third and final leg of the Coral Cup starts Tuesday afternoon on ITV4, the inaugural Tour Championship. Top prize is £150,000. Someone will also be awarded the Coral Cup, for the player with the most total prize money from the Coral Series overall.

Predictably, the Gibraltar Open did not have any impact on the Top 8 rankings, listed above. #1 plays #8, #2 plays #7, etc.

Quarter-Finals (Best-of-17)
Tuesday, 1pm: Neil Robertson v Mark Selby (1st session)
Tuesday, 1pm: Judd Trump v Mark Williams (1st session)
Tuesday, 7pm: Ronnie O'Sullivan v Stuart Bingham (1st session)
Tuesday, 7pm: Neil Robertson v Mark Selby (final session)
Wednesday, 1pm: Mark Allen v Kyren Wilson (1st session)
Wednesday, 1pm: Judd Trump v Mark Williams (final session)
Wednesday, 7pm: Mark Allen v Kyren Wilson (final session)
Wednesday, 7pm: Ronnie O'Sullivan v Stuart Bingham (final session)

Semi-Finals (Best-of-19)
Thursday, 1pm: Trump/Williams v O'Sullivan/Bingham (1st session)
Thursday, 7pm: Trump/Williams v O'Sullivan/Bingham (final session)
Friday, 1pm: Allen/Wilson v Robertson/Selby (1st session)
Friday, 7pm: Allen/Wilson v Robertson/Selby (final session)

Final (Best-of-25)
Saturday, 7pm: ? v ? (1st session)
Sunday, 1pm: ? v ? (2nd session)
Sunday, 7pm: ? v ? (final session)

waynescales1 · 18-03-2019 9:39pm

Almost like a mini world championship this competition. Each of those matches looks very interesting. Any of the 8 could win it.

Frank O. Pinion · 19-03-2019 5:46pm

Williams and Trump split their session, 4-4. Robertson won the first two against Selby, who then won the next six to lead 6-2 going into their final session tonight.

If Ronnie wins this tournament he becomes the new official world #1, knocking Selby off his throne.

Inviere · 19-03-2019 6:11pm

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

If Ronnie wins this tournament he becomes the new official world #1, knocking Selby off his throne.

A throne he's held for what, 4 years or so? Amazing feat if Ronnie can do it. Imagine, hits #1 ranking spot, wins at the Crucible one last time, and calls it a day at the very top of the game.

zuutroy · 19-03-2019 8:03pm

Great trolling with the referee assignment.

Edit: not him, nevermind!

Arthur Daley · 20-03-2019 12:06am

Black ball finish to Selby Robertson

Arthur Daley · 20-03-2019 12:07am

And Robertson takes it.

There is nothing like a proper length snooker match sometimes

Joe_ Public · 20-03-2019 12:10am

Arthur Daley wrote: »

And Robertson takes it.

There is nothing like a proper length snooker match sometimes

Absolutely. That was hugely enjoyable match, a real grind fest but the tactical side is great to watch sometimes. Epic last frame. Don’t get that with best of 7s.

AllForIt · 20-03-2019 5:07pm

I felt rather sick to see Williams loose that match especially after potting that great all or nothing long red to give himself a great chance to win the frame and match. He was quite clearly over-stretching for that last red and wasn't at all surprised he missed it.

As other have said it's great to see longer matches and comebacks in some matches. I noticed although I may be wrong that there seems to be much less final frame decider's when it's best of 9 or 11 which is a shame.

Frank O. Pinion · 20-03-2019 5:20pm

These multiple session matches outside a final are great to see again, full of drama. Trump wins the decider, and the match 9-8, after being down 8-5 to Williams.

On the other table, Wilson continues to struggle with his form and lost the session 6-2 to Mark Allen. Although, I'd have more faith in a Wilson comeback tonight, than Bingham against Ronnie.

Joe_ Public · 20-03-2019 5:30pm

That was another cracking match today. Think all snooker fans are agreed, long form gives you so much better matches.

Only criticism I would offer is this should really be a one table situation with just 8 players. I don’t understand why it isn’t. Also, this is what the uk championship used to be like before they crippled it.

Frank O. Pinion · 20-03-2019 11:15pm

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

Quite fitting that the final four of this Top 16 tournament are four of the Top 5 players all season. The semi-finalists are the best players of the season.

Same final four as the Players Championship. Again, quite fitting that the final four of this elite 8 tournament, are the Top 4 ranked players of the season.

ArmaniJeanss · 21-03-2019 11:44am

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Only criticism I would offer is this should really be a one table situation with just 8 players. I don’t understand why it isn’t.

Commercial TV stations dislike it I guess, as there's a huge chance you'll have sessions with only two or three frames.
Having two matches at once increases the chances there'll be snooker to show. Mixing the start times as they did also meant they were guaranteed a full session of snooker on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon.

Nothing much can be done once it gets to the semi-finals and final though.

Joe_ Public · 21-03-2019 11:59am

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Commercial TV stations dislike it I guess, as there's a huge chance you'll have sessions with only two or three frames.
Having two matches at once increases the chances there'll be snooker to show. Mixing the start times as they did also meant they were guaranteed a full session of snooker on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon.

Nothing much can be done once it gets to the semi-finals and final though.

Fair response and I’d definitely accept it up to a point. Tv is essential for the sport, of course, but going down the road of pandering to tv bosses and allowing them control over schedules is a slippery slope imho. That’s a big part of the reason the UK Championship was eviscerated and I’d fear for the worlds too going forward.

ziggyman17 · 21-03-2019 1:01pm

This week so far proves that the longer format makes more exciting and better games, especially when the top players play each other. Great tournament so far,

Joe_ Public · 21-03-2019 3:45pm

Trump is seriously purring this afternoon. Seems to revel in playing Ronnie.

Frank O. Pinion · 21-03-2019 4:38pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Trump is seriously purring this afternoon. Seems to revel in playing Ronnie.

Yeah, 6-2 to Trump. Not as bad as the 7-1 lead in The Masters, but still an uphill battle for Ronnie tonight.

AllForIt · 21-03-2019 9:21pm

Bi*ch of a kick there for Ronnie in Frame 11. Really fancied him to clear up and pull it back to 5 - 6 but 4 - 7 as it stands to Trump, as a result of that kick I feel. Ronnie defiantly playing better than the afternoon session and Trumps highest break is still only 63 so not sure how this one is going to go. Could be very close.

Btw, does McManus have a nickname? If not I propose Alan 'the value' McManus.

Arthur Daley · 21-03-2019 9:28pm

Dennis Taylor anyway calls him 'angles' McManus a lot. You have to be in the humour for him. He can bang on a bit. Real Trump v Ronnie style frame here currently..... Balls tied to the cushion, nip and tuck.

Joe_ Public · 21-03-2019 9:29pm

Angles.....for his apparent knowledge of the various angles round the table. One of the best analysts on any of the channels for me. Angles, Foulds & Hendry different gravy to the rest far as I'm concerned.

Joe_ Public · 21-03-2019 9:31pm

Expected ronnie to get that brown, that could be very costly miss, though not straightforward clear up for judd.

waynescales1 · 21-03-2019 9:50pm

Angles is quality.

If it wasn't for that kick in Frame 11 I think it'd be 6-6 here. Hopefully O'Sullivan gets the first frame after the interval to set things up nicely.

Long matches involving the game's best players, so much better than best of 7.

2019 Coral Cup - ITV4's Trilogy of Events

Comments