Snookerbacker

church66

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Snookerbacker
February 20, 2020
Race to The Crucible
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 11:00 pm

It won’t be long

Hello all, long time no see. As you will have probably gathered, blogging is now something of a come and go kind of pastime to me these days and I’m not planning on reviving the glory days any time soon. But I’m hanging on to this shrinking corner of the information superhighway for now for when the whim takes me to put virtual pen to virtual paper.

One thing that is guaranteed to whet my appetite however is the World Championship and with the cancellation of the China Open I’m hoping that the draw for the qualifiers will be made a bit earlier this year to really give us a chance to have a good old study. The qualifiers remains one of the best events of the whole season and this year with the return to the tiered system it promises to be a bit different and in my view also a bit fairer on those ranked just outside the top 16 who have worked hard to be where they are all season.

I’ve already had a few bets which I will list at the foot of this post, one of them is a bet I requested from Ladbrokes which reflects my current thinking on what might happen in April and May, in that I believe The Curse will rear it’s ugly head again and that we might see another year where perhaps the two finalists aren’t plucked from the top of the betting market.

As ever the crucial element of all bets is the draw which is why I’d never commit to backing the winner until we know the 32 players and where they line up in the draw, so as usual, I’ll be updating the field below after each of the 4 remaining tournaments ahead of the qualifiers to show how they would line up where it to start tomorrow.

I’ll firm up those whose position in the draw is certain in red. You can find the provisional rankings ahead of the big one here, with the Coral Tour Championship being the last tournament the players will have to jostle for their place in the top 16 ahead of the qualifiers starting on the 8th April.

First Round as things stand

Judd Trump (1) v Qualifier

Ali Carter (16) v Qualifier

Shaun Murphy (9) v Qualifier

Kyren Wilson (8) v Qualifier

John Higgins (5) v Qualifier

Barry Hawkins (12) v Qualifier

Jack Lisowski (13) v Qualifier

Mark Selby (4) v Qualifier

Mark Williams (3) v Qualifier

Stuart Bingham (14) v Qualifier

Dave Gilbert (11) v Qualifier

Mark Allen (6) v Qualifier

Ronnie O’Sullivan (7) v Qualifier

Ding Junhui (10) v Qualifier

Stephen Maguire (15) v Qualifier

Neil Robertson (2) v Qualifier

Bets placed so far: All Each Way – Dave Gilbert at 45/1, Graeme Dott at 190/1, Gary Wilson at 130/1, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at 190/1, Stephen Maguire at 100/1. Special Bet: Trump, Selby, O’Sullivan or Robertson not to make the final at 19/4.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
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Snookerbacker
February 24, 2020
The Players Championship
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:00 am

Full of old people and Tories

Tonight sees the start of the Coral Players Championship from the new venue of the Waterfront in cultural metropolis of Southport in Merseyside and it’s the top 16 from the one year list competing for a total prize pot of £385,000, all covered by the excellent team at ITV4.

The Hitman Michael Holt stole the last place in this from Ronnie O’Sullivan by winning the Shootout and this means Ronnie won’t be in competitive action again until he steps out at The Crucible in April, assuming that he doesn’t make the trip to Gibraltar in a couple of weeks time and decides that he is going to play in Sheffield.

As well as being worth watching as it’s on ITV, this event also sees a return to the Best of 11 format so it’s a little bit like The Masters in that respect, albeit starting out with the two tables. Following this there will just be the Gibraltar Open and the 8 player Tour Championship to go before all eyes turn to Sheffield for the showpiece of the year, the current seedings for which can be found here.

Here’s the draw for this week. The bets listed below are just for interest at half decent prices but I actually think this one will probably go to form and Judd and Robbo will probably meet in the final, which itself is available at 5/1.

(1) Judd Trump v Michael Holt (16) – Tuesday February 25 at 7pm

(8) John Higgins v Graeme Dott (9) – Tuesday February 25 at 1pm

(5) Ding Junhui v Stephen Maguire (12) – Monday February 24 at 7pm

(4) Mark Selby v Mark Williams (13) – Monday February 24 at 7pm

(3) Neil Robertson v Joe Perry (14) – Tuesday February 25 at 1pm

(6) Yan Bingtao v Kyren Wilson (11) – Tuesday February 25 at 7pm

(7) Mark Allen v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (10) – Wednesday February 26 at 1pm

(2) Shaun Murphy v David Gilbert (15) – Wednesday February 26 at 1pm

RECOMMENDED BETS: Stephen Maguire each way at 66/1, Dave Gilbert each way at 28/1. 35/1 on there being at least one century in every match.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
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https://twitter.com/snookerbacker/s...rbacker&ref_url=http://www.snookerbacker.com/
snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
11 Mar
OK. THE BIG QUESTION: I will monitor and report the results on a daily basis and (sorry) there will be no Ronnie O'Sullivan option. So all Ronnie fans should RT to see if he wins and to widen the responses.

Will the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible go ahead?
995 votes · 3 hours left
Show this thread

Replies
Kieren Rees
@kieren_rees
·
11 Mar
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Would think it will get delayed.
SnookerJudge
@SnookerJudge
·
11 Mar
Replying to
@snookerbacker
I'm in the No camp now. Think it will escalate enough in the next few weeks that everything will be called off.
Luke
@luke_uphill
·
11 Mar
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Limited crowd is what I’m hearing

http://www.snookerbacker.com/
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
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snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
12m
But Bazza wants the snooker to go ahead just a week later. Not possible Shirley?
Quote Tweet

The Open
@TheOpen
· 52m
It is with a heavy heart that we have to cancel The Open for the first time since WWII. We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do.
Statement: http://bit.ly/149thOpen
Show this thread
Replies
NJI47
@nj_147
·
6m
Replying to
@snookerbacker
One think I would say , I would imagine a lot more infrastructure how’s into golf than the crucible , especially if it’s behind closed doors ??
Ben
@BenDunnell
·
10m
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Was just thinking exactly the same. It's ridiculous to have even considered going for such an early date, let alone said so publicly. I wonder what Sheffield Theatres/International Venues think.
Conor McSharry
@Shrewzer
·
8m
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Behind closed doors I don't see why not. It's as TV friendly an event as you can have. Quarantine all entries and staff etc for 2 weeks beforehand.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
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... Behind closed doors I don't see why not. It's as TV friendly an event as you can have. Quarantine all entries and staff etc for 2 weeks beforehand.
There are tests that get results within an hour or so. Test everyone, every day.

Easy for me to say, though.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
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https://twitter.com/snookerbacker?r...rbacker&ref_url=http://www.snookerbacker.com/

snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
Part-time Snooker Blogger and Radio Pundit. Sighthound Nut. Politically gifted at offending people who get easily offended. Often told to #sticktosnooker

Quotes .


snookerbacker Speaking head in silhouette
@snookerbacker
·
3h
I've tried my best with the CL Snooker. But as a viewer I'm not a fan. Bookies must love it. Maybe I'm just a miserable ****er with things going on. I don't know. Good luck to those who are enjoying watching it. I have a fiver E/W on Bingham at 25's. Go on Stu.
snookerbacker Speaking head in silhouette
@snookerbacker
·
3h
Are snooker followers of mine watching the snooker?
snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
4h
My own opinion on Ronnie v Judd. Ronnie is by far the best player to ever pick up a cue, not even an argument, Judd can dominate now if he wants to. Jimmy is as natural as Ronnie as was Alex.

Snookerbacker being Snookerbacker and he isn't a fan of first to four frame or any short frame formats .
 

church66

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Snookerbacker
July 23, 2020
In Conversation With……Neil Robertson
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:29 pm
When I arranged the other day to give Robbo a call for a chat at 10am sharp this morning I knew, given his legendary organisational skills, that he’d be ready on the dot.

It turns out that this was rather speculative on my part when on answering he said ‘Hello?’ to which I responded ‘Neil it’s SB’ ‘Hey?’ ‘SB….you’ve forgotten haven’t you?’ ‘Aaaahh, yep I had sorry, just switched the iron on’

But being the accommodating chap he is he dropped everything, well hopefully not the iron, and our chinwag commenced. I asked him about his experience of lockdown, how he feels World Snooker have conducted things since they came back, his chances at The Crucible and a whole lot more….

SB: So Neil, how has lockdown been for you?

NR: Not too bad actually, it started towards the end of our season anyway with China being cancelled. I’d actually driven to Llandudno to play Ding when I got a call in the morning to say the tournament had been called off, could have saved me a drive, but I kind of thought even then that this could be for a few weeks, so I bought myself a fitness bike as although I am pretty healthy, I wanted to work on my physical fitness to help me with my game. As it looked like we were not going anywhere for a few months it seemed a good time to do it. There isn’t really anything on the table I can do to improve and I think with the top players once you’ve had around an hour and a half of practice you kind of start to get diminishing returns in what you can improve on as a snooker player but there is a lot you can do with diet and fitness to give you an edge, so that’s what I did.

I also played a lot of football with my son and spent a lot of time with Penelope and Mille. I gained a real understanding of all the things that are going on when I’m away travelling and really appreciate how hard it must be at times with the early mornings….

SB: You mean a proper job?

NR: Haha yeah, I’m like, please can I get back to practice? But the lockdown came at a good time for Mille too as I’d been away a lot having made the three finals on the trot after The Masters. I was really drained too as after I’d won the Grand Prix I had to go straight to the Welsh Open which I didn’t really want to play in, not because of the tournament as it’s a great event and I was defending champion, but having played for three weeks solid and made the three finals it’s a bit like going all the way in the World Championship and I was just spent. I got to the quarter finals but I don’t really know how. So yeah, in a way the lockdown has come at a good time for me and I’ve been able to use it in a positive way.

SB: Did you miss practising?

NR: For the first few weeks yes, my club was completely closed and I couldn’t get in there and after a while you start to worry a bit so I said to Django (Fung, Neil’s manager) that I really needed to start playing a bit so he let Judd and I use his office on alternate days, we didn’t see each other and there was only ever me or Judd there at any one time and we were both following all the guidelines, it’s not like I was driving to the beach or anything!

SB: To test your eyesight…

NR: Haha, no, nothing like that. The thing is you can’t just stop playing for four months and expect to pick it up where you left off. When you go back you might pick up a bad habit in your technique that takes time to iron out. I think you are seeing some of that in the qualifiers at the moment as the standard doesn’t seem so high just yet does it?

SB: Been watching the qualifiers?

NR: A bit yeah, I watched Jimmy the other day. I think the venue looks great on TV. I think snooker does well out of all this in terms of the way it looks on TV. When I played in the Championship League it was interesting to see what it could be like moving forward and I have to say that World Snooker have done an amazing job, that venue was incredible even with no crowd. But as for that horrendous test we have to do….

SB: I was going to ask you about that, just explain it?

NR: Well they have this swab which is like, nearly twice the length of your finger and first they put it down your throat so it touches your tonsils and then comes the gag reflex, then if that isn’t bad enough they ram one up your nose until it feels like it’s touching your brain, it’s just awful. The second time I had it at the Tour Championship I was in the middle of the second bit with my eyes watering everywhere and I sneezed and it dropped on the floor so I had to start all over again, I couldn’t stop sneezing. John Higgins was just around the corner and all he could hear was me gagging, spluttering and sneezing and when I’d finished he just looked at me and said ‘I think I’ll just go back to the car park and go home’.

SB: How do you feel about all this ‘bubble’ thing and being confined to barracks when you are at the tournament?

NR: The set up at Milton Keynes was amazing and they couldn’t have done it better. Every hour and a half or so they’d send up a snack box to your room and then you’d get your proper meal, they took everyone’s dietary requirements.

SB: So as a fellow weird vegan guy, what was it like?

NR: It was actually really good, I was very surprised.

SB: What kind of grub did they serve up?

NR: All sorts of things like wraps, curries, I had no complaints.

SB: They usually just lob falafels at us don’t they?

NR: Haha yeah, I thought when I was going in is it all going to be falafels and salad but it was really good. They’d sectioned off two storeys of the hotel for players and staff and had a taped area which you had to follow to walk to your match, it was all a bit surreal but very well organised. The only thing I found a bit silly was not being able to open our hotel window as we all need some fresh air. I don’t know if this will be the same in Sheffield as I haven’t read the pack yet so don’t know how strict it will be now. One thing I don’t agree with is that they are going to re-test the quarter finalists and if any of them fail they will be thrown out of the championship, which I think is pretty brutal and I’m sure will stop players wanting to go outside at all during the championship.

SB: Turning to Sheffield, I know you are pleased that there is going to be some sort of crowd in there, unlike Ronnie. How do you think it would have been had there been no crowd?

NR: When I played Maguire at the last event I’m glad after he beat me he said it was just like a practice session because that is exactly how it felt. We both felt like it was an exhibition, I lost the match with 98% pot success rate and he played brilliantly to beat me, but there was no pressure. Even in that match where I’d sit there and usually think, I’ve put him under pressure here and the audience are doing their ooo’s and aahh’s but in reality there was none. With that event because it was only top players there are also no financial pressures, we all just got along and used it as a way to get snooker back on the TV again but it lacked a competitive edge for me and I’d hate for that to happen in Sheffield.

SB: A bit like the football?

NR: I’d be interested to hear what some of the top footballers really think about there not being a crowd, as a TV spectacle it’s just not the same at all. Usually when I’m watching Chelsea I’d have it on louder and louder but now it’s just kind of on in the background while I’m doing something else. In terms of The Crucible, going into the World Championship you’d usually narrow down the list of possible winners to around 6 or 7 but with no crowd I think that number doubles. Once you get down to the one table, which I know I’m overdue being back at again, there are only a small number of players that can win it from there with 1000 people in The Crucible watching on, take that away and it’s a massive leveller. It’s like someone like Ronnie, once he gets to the one table in any event more often than not he’ll finish the job and the crowd has a lot to do with that. He thrives in that situation and I like to think I do too. In a smaller crowd your opponent can still feel under pressure if you are really giving them a beating but they don’t get embarrassed and uncomfortable so it’s a different level of pressure you can apply with a big crowd watching on.

SB: Are there any qualifiers that you’d quite like to avoid in Sheffield?

NR: Joe (Perry) is the obvious one. It’s funny as we’ve managed to avoid each other every single year so I’m kind of waiting for it, now I’ve said it to you it will probably happen. But really I don’t mind who I play first, I’ve been working on one element of my game which I felt might have let me down there in the past, I’ve played Rob Milkins there a couple of times and he has outdone me in the safety department so I need to concentrate on that and not just rely on my scoring kicking in. When you get to the longer matches you get a chance to settle and I generally trust myself in those to eventually find my first gear and start scoring heavily but in the first round you don’t get that time. I think I need to improve on that and make it harder for my opponents from the off, I can’t keep making excuses like bad luck or bad draw for not doing better there than I have. You can’t just win it by free scoring all the time, even Judd last year had to tailor his game and his safety was a big reason why he won it.

SB: So you rate your chances this year?

NR: Yeah, I’ve done all I can in terms of getting myself physically fit and tweaking parts of my game, practice is going well. There’s no excuses like ‘had a long hard season’ which perhaps in the past I’ve subconsciously thought, maybe in the past my mind has said ‘it’s ok to lose, you’ve had a good season’, not that I have been thinking that but when your subconscious starts knocking at the door that’s when you can lose a bit of focus. I think that might have happened to me last year against John.

SB: One final random question from my mate Dec. He asked me to ask you if the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong the best venue you have ever played in?

NR: Is that where I beat Ronnie in the final? Well, that is an experience I don’t think I’ll ever have again in snooker. 3000 people there for every match, constant noise, cheering even the most basic shot. The closest we get to it now is in the Tempodrome which is awesome but this place, it’s the best I’ve ever played in for sure.

SB: Well thanks for your time Neil and best of luck in Sheffield. I hope that’s not your Crucible shirt under that iron…..careless.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snookerbacker Part 1 .

http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Snookerbacker
July 29, 2020
World Championship Preview – 45/1 Williams Can Strike Again
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:13 pm

He’s back, but so is The Curse

It’s finally here, after months of waiting and wondering if it would ever get off the ground the World Championship from the iconic Crucible Theatre is upon us and we’re even squeezing in a few hundred people to cough and watch it.

It starts on a Friday this season, which I for one prefer. In the future when things are back to something like normal I’d like this to continue as it seems a little dated to traditionally finish on the Monday in May which is only a bank holiday in the UK and means that some of our global audience have to take a day off work or miss some of the final. But that’s an argument for another time, for now let’s just enjoy this and be thankful that we’re getting to see it at all.

Now before moving on, there is something I need to get off my chest, I’m not one to believe that some bloke waved his magic wand and created the Earth and all who dwell upon it several thousand years ago. I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that thinks once we pop our clogs we get to sit on a fluffy cloud surrounded by angels. But if you ask me to deny the existence of The Snooker Gods, even an old sceptic like me cannot bring himself to say the words. Yes, ladies, gentlemen and non-binary gender fluids everywhere I am here to say that I believe in The Crucible Curse and this year for the first time since 2016:

The Curse is Back.

Looking back through history we find that first time Crucible champions do not win the title the following year, it’s just a snooker fact. All the greats of the modern game have tried and failed, 19 of them in total, stretching back to John Spencer in 1978 who went down in the Last 16 to Perrie Mans. It wasn’t Spencer’s first world title defence, but it was his first and last win at The Crucible that started this anomaly that has now become etched in snooker folklore.

So when exactly did ‘The Curse’ begin to be discussed? Well, I believe this to have originated in 1982 when the mostly unbeatable Steve Davis was dumped out first round by The Bolton Stud, Tony Knowles. Davis was a cast-iron certainty to lift the title but turned up playing like a man with no eyes. The Snooker Gods had weaved their spell and there was nothing the hapless Nugget could do about it. Five others have failed to get over the first hurdle as defending champion, including Stuart Bingham, the latest recipient of the Snooker Gods torture treatment.

After Stephen Hendry won his first title in 1990, the world was convinced The Wonder Bairn could break the Snooker Gods hold and smash the curse, but Brummie Biker Steve James had other ideas and sent him packing in the Quarter Finals.

Even The Rocket couldn’t defy the Gods, after his first title he tried his best but this time it was Hendry himself, now on the payroll of the Gods who had caused him such misery a decade earlier, who made sure that Ronnie wouldn’t do what he couldn’t in a bad tempered semi-final.

Perhaps surprisingly the two who have come closest to the impossible are Joe Johnson and Ken Doherty who won 14 and 12 frames respectively in the final the year after they lifted the trophy. So it would appear that this is the absolute limit the Gods will stretch to before hitting the brakes. Rumour has it they took more pleasure in these two than any of the others, dangling the curse in front of the champion’s eyes only to snatch it back with a grin.

Judd Trump this year becomes the 20th man to try and defy gravity. It’s been a funny old year and no mistaking, Judd is more mature in years than most of the other first time Crucible winners, but why should we even begin to believe that he can do what 19 others before him couldn’t?

There may be restricted seating this year at The Crucible, but the Snooker Gods don’t need a ticket.

Now let’s take a look at the matches one by one, after a string of surprises in the qualifying and five debutants in the field, are we going to see an unlikely winner this year or will it play out to form now the real big guns are involved?
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snookerbacker Part 2 .

http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Snookerbacker
July 29, 2020
World Championship Preview – 45/1 Williams Can Strike Again
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:13 pm

TOP HALF – TABLE 1

Judd Trump (1) v Tom Ford (Friday 10am & 7pm)

Opening proceedings on Friday morning on Table 1 as is customary, is the defending champion and what a season Judd has had as World Champion and snooker’s number one. Title after title and ton after ton, he needs just two more here to emulate Neil Robertson’s century of centuries in a single season and surely if he were to progress here that will be as good as in the bag. Standing in his way is the experienced Tom Ford, making his fourth Crucible appearance, the previous three all ending at this stage. They actually played each other in this round in 2014 and Judd edged it 10-8 so Ford clearly doesn’t have that big a problem with the venue despite never winning here. But have the Snooker Gods been in touch with him? Will Judd follow the fate of the last first time defender Bingham and lose first round? I’m not too sure he will, he’s won their last three encounters and I think Ford is probably one of the players he’ll feel comfortable going out against.

Prediction: Judd 10-6.

Yan Bingtao (16) v Elliot Slessor (Sunday 10am, Monday 2.30pm)

Slessor was highly impressive in qualifying and was clearly delighted to be through to The Crucible for the first time, even promising to marry his girlfriend as a result (I assume he asked her first). Traditionally debutants can struggle the first time they come here and the general concensus amongst the seasoned pro’s is that if you are going to hand pick a first opponent you want one who hasn’t been there before. But despite being the seeded player, Yan’s experience of the Crucible only amounts to one match, a tight one against Shaun Murphy which he narrowly lost so I’m sure he’ll be itching to get his first win at the venue too. There is nothing to go on in terms of head to heads and I’m sure the qualifier will have his backers given he’ll be match sharp from this week, but I’m going to side with Yan as I think he might be the cursed fly in the ointment in Round 2 for Judd.

Prediction: Yan 10-8

Stephen Maguire (9) v Martin Gould (Tuesday 2.30pm, Wednesday 7pm)

Now and again snooker throws up some strange anomalies in the head to head statistics and here we have a case in point. Maguire has never beaten Gould outside of the practice style setting of the Championship League. Five meetings, including one way back in 2003 in the qualifiers for this and Gould has won them all, most recently in this season’s European Masters. Gould has had a dreadful couple of seasons but qualified in style beating Graeme Dott with a bit in hand playing much like his old self. He hinted afterwards that he’d had a few off the table issues and said he’d fallen out with snooker but that the lockdown had helped him refocus, helped by his discovery that you can actually buy spectacles to play snooker in rather than peeping over the top of his little round ones. Despite Mags coming here full of confidence since his big money win in Milton Keynes I think Gould might just pip this one given his momentum coming into it.

Prediction: Gould 10-8

Kyren Wilson (8) v Anthony Hamilton (Friday 2.30pm, Saturday 7pm)

It’s always nice to welcome back a face that’s been missing the top event for too long and that happens here with Hamilton, the man with the undisputed best nickname in the business. The Sheriff of Pottingham has been drawn against some people’s idea of a genuine outside contender for the title in Kyren Wilson. Hamilton I’m sure is one who benefited from the changed format of the qualifiers, he freely admits he finds a series of longer matches a struggle so that’s always a concern for his supporters in this event in particular. That said, he’s qualified relatively stress-free and scored pretty well so I’m sure will give Wilson a decent game. Kyren’s had an average season by his standards but he’s made a couple of finals, had a warm up in Milton Keynes so I think may just have The Sheriff’s measure here. Incidentally, check out that match they played in China in 2016 in the head to heads, 6 successive centuries!

Prediction: Wilson 10-7

Anthony Hamilton has now withdrawn because of concerns about the safety of the venue and his underlying health condition. Kyren Wilson receives a bye to the second round.

John Higgins v Matthew Stevens (Saturday 2.30pm, Sunday 2.30pm)

As you’d expect these two have had some right old tussles over the years including three meetings here, with Higgins leading those 2-1. Surprisingly though they haven’t faced each other in a main event for 6 years. Stevens came through the qualifiers despite claiming he only had 9 hours practice in the months of lockdown just before the match and admitted himself he was surprised at just how well he played. He’s honest enough to say that he is coming here with low expectations but that may be the way he motivates himself these days. I’m sure he won’t be phased drawing Higgins as he tends to perform best against the better players and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he sprang a shock here and had a run like he did a few years back to the one table situation (I hope so as I discovered a small each way bet I placed for this on him that I’d forgotten about at 650/1 as well as ones on Hamilton and McManus at the same price). Anyway, I suppose the sensible money will be on the runner-up from the last three years but I think this could be the tie of the first round.

Prediction: Higgins 10-9

Dave Gilbert (12) v Kurt Maflin (Saturday 10am, Sunday 7pm)

Gilbert was just a few pots and a bad contact away from the final last year in a dramatic final frame decider against Higgins, who he could possibly meet in round 2 again this year. He’s drawn Kurt Maflin who absolutely trounced an out of sorts Matt Selt to qualify after a nervy decider saw him overcome the dangerous Joe O’Connor prior to that. The two have never met over anything more than a best of seven and Gilbert has won all four of their meetings to date. Kurt’s making his second appearance here after taking defending champion Selby to a decider in 2015 in what was a memorable match, can he go one better here? I don’t think so, I think Gilbert will win the tactical battles here and probably that will give him the edge in both sessions.

Prediction: Gilbert 10-5

Jack Lisowski (13) v Anthony McGill (Monday 10am & 7pm)

Played 18, lost 2 is the impressive frame record to date of Anthony McGill who appeared to back to his best at the qualifiers having ditched the skinhead and beard pirate look and gone back to the much more suitable fresh faced carrot top. He really was impressive this week and we know he loves this venue as he’s proved it in the past and I’m sure he was one of the names high on the list of ones no seed wanted to play first. We’ve not seen a great deal of Jack Lisowski this season but he’s done enough to maintain his top 16 place by virtue of a strong season beforehand, he lost as a seed last year in the first round to Ali Carter and has drawn another strong player here. I think he’ll need to find some of his early season form to stay with the Scot here.

Prediction: McGill 10-6

Mark Allen (4) v Jamie Clarke (Tuesday 10am & 7pm)

What an achievement for Jamie Clarke making it here, he’s struggled since turning professional but those in the know can see what a talent he has and he finally let that shine through last week to set up a tie with Mark Allen. All I hope is that he really enjoys an experience he has been yearning for since he first picked up a cue. It’s a very tough draw obviously, Allen has been one of the most consistent performers over the last couple of seasons and if he gets an early hold on the match this could be quite a straightforward win for him. My heart, of course says Jamie can do it, but in my head it has to be Allen. Go on Clarkey!

Prediction: Allen 10-4
 

church66

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Snookerbacker
July 29, 2020
World Championship Preview – 45/1 Williams Can Strike Again
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:13 pm

BOTTOM HALF – TABLE 2

Mark Williams (3) v Alan McManus (Friday 7pm, Saturday 7pm)

Who says snooker is a young man’s game? This fresh faced pair were first lining up to outdo each other 27 years ago at The Hexagon in Reading and now here they are, Williams still seeded third in the world back at the biggest stage, what an amazing achievement. The roller coaster of Williams career can best be summed up in their last meeting, which was in this tournament but in the qualifying venue in 2014 where Angles won 10-8 against a seemingly finished MJW. Fast forward to four years later and Williams would be World Champion again and who is to say he’s finished with this great title yet? He’s been practising hard for weeks now after briefly flirting with the idea of semi-retirement which is now out of the window as he discovers that without snooker, he gets bored quite easily. I actually think he’s a contender again in this and I think he’ll start with a comfortable win here, I made him my headline pick when he won it last so I’m going for an unlikely double.

Prediction: Williams 10-5

Stuart Bingham (14) v Ashley Carty (Friday 10am, Saturday 10am)

I’m going to sound a bit like Dennis Taylor here when I claim that I cannot actually recall ever watching Ashley Carty play, he seems to have been just one of those players that somehow has flown under my radar, but wins over Ross Muir, Jimmy Robertson and Rob Milkins clearly show that he is a player with a lot in the tank. He faces Masters champion Bingham who I think will probably be pleased to have drawn someone so inexperienced of this venue. They’ve never played each other so it’s a learning curve for both of them but given Ballrun’s vast experience here, you’d really not expect anything other than a comfortable win for him.

Prediction: Bingham 10-3

Ding Junhui (11) v Mark King (Friday 2.30pm, Saturday 2.30pm)

Fans of rhyming match ups will be delighted at this one. Ding finally managed to get to the UK where he had to self-isolate for 2 weeks and has now been back putting in the hours at his new self-named academy in his adopted home of Sheffield. He’s had a very strange season, couldn’t hit a bulls arse with a shovel for 80% of it and then somehow goes and wins the UK Championship. I think he comes into this less fancied than any previous year in the last decade and I think that and the reduced crowd are in his favour. As for Kingy, after a bizarre encounter in the qualifiers with Ian Burns he’ll be delighted to be back here for the first time in seven years, another old face returns. His record against Ding isn’t good and I don’t think there is any reason to suggest he’ll turn that around at all here.

Prediction: Ding 10-6

Ronnie O’Sullivan (6) v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Sunday 2.30pm, Monday 10am)

The stand out match for speed junkies this one between the two fastest cuemen in the world according to the average shot stats. It’s weird really because I don’t ever really think of Ronnie as being purposely fast, he just seems to dance and glide around the table whereas Un-Nooh sometimes looks like he’s running. Anyway, Thepchaiya will relish this in my opinion, arguably he could have changed the course of history last year and beat Judd in the first round and but for one shot he missed to go 8-4 up he may have completed the job. The burning question as ever is which Ronnie will show up? The dedicated version who has been picking off titles for the last few seasons or the sickly, sulky one who lost last year to Cahill. It’s impossible to tell but if he’s not at somewhere near his best here, he may well be sent packing again before he’s even unpacked. Front row spectators beware of flying balls, crash helmets may be required.

Prediction: Un-Nooh 10-7 *ducks for cover

Mark Selby (7) v Jordan Brown (Monday 7pm, Tuesday 2.30pm)

Another player who hasn’t been himself and comes into this, like Ding, as unfancied to win it as I can remember is Selby. Again however, like Ding, flying under the media radar may help him settle and rediscover the form that he appears to have lost just recently. His biggest assets have always been his tactical play, willingness to scrap and consistency but we’ve only seen flashes of the old Jester for the past year or so, despite him still picking up the odd trophy here and there. Jordan Brown came through three matches in qualifying including an impressive win over Ryan Day, pulling clear when it looked to be going close. He’s someone I know is highly rated by his pal Mark Allen but someone, like Carty, who I have seen little or nothing of on the baize, I think I’ve passed the BBC commentary audition now.

Prediction: Selby 10-6

Shaun Murphy (10) v Noppon Saengkham (Monday 2.30pm, Tuesday 10am)

It’s been a sad time for Shaun Murphy over the past few weeks off the baize so it would be understandable if snooker were not his top priority at the moment, but often it can work as a welcome distraction for issues off the table so very much like the wounded animal, Murphy might well channel all his energy into his snooker for a fortnight, stranger things have happened. Noppon comes here for the second time having only taken 4 frames off Neil Robertson on his debut. He coasted to victory over Eden Sharav to get here but I notice in both his wins his scoring wasn’t exactly spectacular and he’ll have to up his game considerably to get anywhere near Murphy here assuming Shaun is up for the fight.

Prediction: Murphy 10-3

Barry Hawkins (15) v Alexander Ursenbacher (Tuesday 7pm, Wednesday 2.30pm)

I was so impressed last week watching Alex, his manner around the table was so measured and assured and I’m delighted he qualified, he seems like a really nice lad too and speaks perfect English. Here he faces one of the more consistent performers in recent years at The Crucible Hawkins, the bad news is that they’ve played each other twice and Barry has whitewashed Alex on both occasions, the slightly better news is that they were both 7 years ago and Alex is now a very different player than then. By his own high standards Hawkins has had a poor season, losing early in all the big events and that’s why he finds himself clinging on to his top 16 place. If Ursenbacher can keep his cool and stay with Hawkins in the first session I think this might go close, it all depends how the Swiss man takes to the venue, all I can say is that I’m pleased there is at least one member of the Backer family in attendance this year.

Prediction: Hawkins 10-8

Neil Robertson (2) v Liang Wenbo (Sunday 10am & 7pm)

I’m not going to labour the point but Liang Wenbo, as talented as he is, needs to start playing snooker honestly and owning up to fouls that the referee doesn’t see. He did it again in the decider against Fergal and I for one am sick of it. Right, that’s that dealt with. The last time these two met on the really big stage was when Robbo beat Liang 10-5 to claim the UK title and they have had a few tussles through the years so this is no stroll in the park for Neil. When I chatted with him earlier this week, Robbo gave a hint as to how he was going to approach his first round match and touched on his awareness of his own poor recent record here and why he thinks that is. If his ‘safety first’ approach is what he takes here it’s likely to frustrate his emotional opponent and that could be the key to this match as however good Liang can be, he does make a lot of mistakes, I think Robbo or Murphy will make the one table from this section.

Prediction: Robertson 10-5

Recommended Bets on the first round: Martin Gould and Anthony McGill double pays over 7/1. Accumulator on all five of the following with +4.5 frames on the handicap – Slessor, Gould, Stevens, Hamilton, Un-Nooh pays over 19/2.

Recommended Outright: Mark Williams each way at 45/1. Mark Allen each way at 16/1. Anthony McGill each way at 125/1.

Previously advised (January): Dave Gilbert at 45/1 now 28/1. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at 190/1 now 66/1. Stephen Maguire at 100/1 now 25/1.

I’ll find others over the coming 48 hours and will put any I think may be of interest up on Twitter.
 

church66

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July 28, 2020
World Championship: The Fate of the Favourites – A Potted History (NEWLY EDITED)
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 12:00 pm

This year’s favourite

With the World Championship just around the corner, it’s once again time to revamp an old archive post and take a look at how well the favourites at the bookies at the big event have fared down the years.

When you look back at the history books you find that the bookies have given remarkably few players the accolade of World Championship favourite as the years have passed, Ronnie O’Sullivan has now held that accolade a record 13 times in his career, but this year it’s the turn of defending champion Judd Trump to head the bookies lists and defy The Crucible Curse.

Anyway, to the history and nostalgia bit.

The 80’s were predictably dominated by Steve Davis, who started favourite for this and every other championship every year from 1981 to 1989. That honour/pressure then reverted to Stephen Hendry, whose 90’s titles mostly justified favouritism, though interestingly he did win one when not the strongest fancy in the field, just as Ronnie has done many times since.

It was then the turn of O’Sullivan to assume the mantle of the man the bookies both loved and feared, he started favourite for the title 9 times between the years 2000 and 2009, since when we’ve seen other names start as the bookies one to beat, until six years ago when Ronnie was back at the top of the odds list where he remained until 2017, when Selby headed up the market, before Ronnie returned to favouritism again last year.

So how have they got on? Well, after painstaking research I think I have managed to capture every favourite since 1981, the year a red-hot, red-haired favourite started his 80’s reign of baize dominance.

1981 – Steve Davis (Winner). Despite never having won the World Championship, Davis came into the sport’s main event as a hot favourite. He was to justify the bookies faith in him, beating Doug Mountjoy in the final after seeing off his main challenger that year, reigning champion Cliff Thorburn, in the semi-finals.

1982 – Steve Davis (1st Round Loser). This was the first year that the championship adopted its current format of 32 players in Round 1, it also interestingly started on Friday evening in a bid to boost ratings. This format change resulted in the biggest shock of the decade, Davis, an odds-on favourite and winning machine, suffering the newly found ‘Curse of the Crucible’ and losing the Friday session 8-1 before going out first round 10-1 to Bolton Stud Tony Knowles. Alex Higgins picked up the trophy and his daughter Lauren in one of the sports most memorable championships.

1983 and 1984 – Steve Davis (Winner/Winner). The bookies love affair with Davis continued as he put the Knowles defeat out of his mind to win the championship and almost everything else for the next two years. He had just one close match in ’83 against Dennis Taylor but other than that dominated the tournament, winning the final with a session to spare. 1984 wasn’t such a procession and saw the up and coming Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White nearly carry off a great final comeback, but Davis prevailed 18-16 in the first of Jimmy’s many final defeats.

1985 and 1986 – Steve Davis (Runner Up/Runner Up). Davis was still starting World Championships as very short priced (in ’85 he was odds-on) favourite but his backers suffered a temporary disruption to normal service in the period that Steve was basically winning almost everything else, re-writing the record books and making stacks for him and his manager Barry Hearn. Defeat on the final black at the hands of Dennis Taylor (who never really mentions it these days) and a year later to rank 150/1 outsider Joe Johnson meant he’d failed twice more to justify the bookies faith in him. But at least his loss to Dennis and his upside down glasses in front of a record sporting viewing TV audience in that famous final did inspire a great verse of Snooker Loopy. Every cloud….

1987, 1988, 1989 – Steve Davis (Winner/Winner/Winner). Despite what went before, the bookies and nearly everyone else on the planet knew we hadn’t seen the end of Davis. He remained short priced favourite and his magnificent treble meant he was the first player of the Crucible era to win three on the spin. Final wins over Johnson who remains the man who has come closest to breaking the first time champion Crucible Curse (2 frames ahead of Ken Doherty), Terry Griffiths and an absolute steamroller job on John Parrott cemented his place as the king of 80’s snooker. But the bookies were sensing this might be his swansong…..
 

church66

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Snookerbacker Part 2 .

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July 28, 2020
World Championship: The Fate of the Favourites – A Potted History (NEWLY EDITED)
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 12:00 pm

1990 – Stephen Hendry (Winner). Young Scot Hendry started the 1990 Championship as UK and Masters Champion, having beaten Davis over the longer distance in the UK Final. The bookies had once again called it correctly and The Wonderbairn’s first title was secured, the final saw a win over his early 1990’s sparring partner, the luckless Jimmy White.

Hendry was usually pretty reliable, with the odd blip.
Hendry was usually pretty reliable, with the odd blip.

1991 – Stephen Hendry (Quarter-Finalist). The Curse of the Crucible? Not on your nelly, the bookies laughed off this idea by making winning-machine Hendry a firm favourite to retain his title. But dark forces were at work as Brummie Biker Steve James unexpectedly ran over Hendry in the Quarter Finals. Scouser John Parrott was to take his one and only title defeating that man Jimmy White in the final.

1992-1996 – Stephen Hendry (Winner, Winner, Winner, Winner, Winner). There’s not really much more to add to that is there? Starts hot favourite every year and wins five on the bounce, beating Jimmy a further 3 times (don’t mention 1994) as well as Nigel Bond and Peter Ebdon. This was truly a period of pure dominance, the like of which we will probably never see again.

1997 – Stephen Hendry (Runner-Up). Hendry’s quest for a six-timer may have been what the bookies thought would happen, but the ever-popular and jovial Ken Doherty had other ideas and defied the odds to prevail 18-12 to let Stephen know for the first time what it felt like to be the runner-up.

1998 – Stephen Hendry (1st Round Loser). Hendry became only the second bookies favourite ever to lose in Round 1. His match up against Jimmy White giving Jimmy the chance to shine one last time against his old foe, unfortunately for him in the first, not the last round. Sadly for his millions of fans he couldn’t sustain the form and it was John Higgins who won his first world title and became instantly many people’s idea of the next man in line to dominate snooker, beating the valiant reigning champion Doherty in the final.

1999 – John Higgins (Losing Semi-Finalist). Holder of the UK Championship and the Masters as well as defending champion, Higgins was surely the one to break the Crucible Curse? But it wasn’t to be as Hendry returned to reclaim the rights to the decade that belonged to him, for once not as the bookies main man, he defeated Mark Williams to claim his record-breaking seventh title. What an amazing achievement this truly was from the sport’s greatest ever champion.
 

church66

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Snookerbacker Part 3 .

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July 28, 2020
World Championship: The Fate of the Favourites – A Potted History (NEWLY EDITED)
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 12:00 pm

2000 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (1st Round Loser). A new name at the top of the bookies list was now materialising. But the explosive talent of Ronnie O’Sullivan, a marginal favourite in an open betting heat which also saw Higgins, Williams and Hendry well backed was beaten first round. Who by you may ask? Snookerbacker Classic Champion 2013, David Gray, that’s who. It was Welshman Mark Williams who was to claim his first World Championship with a win over fellow Taffy Matthew Stevens.

2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Winner) / John Higgins (Runner-Up) – Joint Favourites. The bookies couldn’t split them and in the end only four frames could in a year that went true to form. O’Sullivan taking his first World Championship after his two closest contemporaries Higgins and Williams. Williams himself falling foul of the old Crucible Curse, losing in the second round to Joe Swail.

2002 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Losing Semi-Finalist). Those bookies never learn do they? The Crucible Curse is real and Ronnie proved that again in 2002. He lost in the semi-finals to Hendry, who reached an incredible ninth world final. He couldn’t make it a historic Hendry the Eighth though and lost to Peter Ebdon in a dramatic decider to avenge his final defeat of 1996. This was to be Stephen’s last final, even he couldn’t maintain this level consistently anymore.

2003 – 2007 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (1st Round Loser/Winner/Losing Quarter Finalist/ Losing Semi-Finalist/Losing Quarter Finalist). Through the years Ronnie has proved himself the most prolific, least successful favourite in Crucible history. No other player has failed to justify favouritism more times than him. Only once in this five year sequence did he justify the punter’s confidence, making him, at least until recently, someone who was proving very costly to back at The Crucible. Two new champions in this era emerged in the form of Shaun Murphy in 2005 and Graeme Dott in 2006.

2008 – John Higgins (Round 2 Loser). Higgins failed to justify the renewed faith the bookies put in him in 2008 and instead, Ronnie, now not quite the warm order he had been the previous 8 years was to claim his third crown, defeating Ali Carter in a fairly one-sided final, this continued a bad run for favourites during the Noughties.

2009 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Round 2 Loser). This was the last year until his resurgence more recently that Ronnie started clear favourite, he lost early on again, this time in an epic match against Mark Allen. This meant that of the nine times Ronnie had started Crucible favourite with the bookies, he had only won the title twice. Perhaps he preferred being the underdog? John Higgins claimed the title a third time to draw level with O’Sullivan in championship wins.

Rocked Higgins in 2010.
Rocked Higgins in 2010.

2010 – John Higgins (Round 2 Loser). This was the year which saw Neil Robertson storm to victory and the pre-tournament favourite and defending champion get himself into something of a pickle with the newspapers. Steve Davis time-travelled in a DeLorean into this year from the 80’s to claim Higgins’ scalp in Round 2, which still remains an amazing Crucible tale. Robertson beat Graeme Dott in a marathon final, played unfortunately under something of a cloud in dark days for the sport. But in brighter news, his 14/1 triumph paid for a large chunk of mine and Mrs SB’s wedding making him a firm favourite of ours, even if he wasn’t with the bookies.

2011 – John Higgins (Winner). It was an altogether different Higgins who entered the arena in 2011, having returned from his ban and after the loss of his father he had looked in superb form with a new found determination and purpose to his game. From the off he looked like justifying the bookie’s faith in him and he duly did in true Higgins style, breaking the pattern of losing favourites along the way and beating a new kid on the block, Judd Trump, in the final. He now led Ronnie 4-3 in title wins in their own personal battle.

2012 – Judd Trump (Round 2 Loser). Judd’s Crucible performance the previous year and the fanfare which surrounded him was enough to convince the bookies that he should start favourite marginally ahead of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan however proved too good for the field and under the influence of Dr Steve Peters looked a different player to the unreliable and inconsistent one of the previous decade or so. Bear in mind however that he wasn’t favourite to win or widely fancied with many citing his inability to stay focused for the full duration of the tournament. After his triumph, clearly exhausted, he vowed to have a lot of time off, a promise he was to keep. He once again beat Ali Carter in a final which he described afterwards as being the best he had ever played.

2013 – Mark Selby / Neil Robertson / Judd Trump (Round 2 Loser/Round 1 Loser/Losing Semi-Finalist). O’Sullivan’s now legendary return to the baize after a season off saw him take his fifth title largely untroubled and never headed in any match, this also meant he overtook Higgins again in their own game of world championship leapfrog. He was available as long as 9/1 a few weeks before the tournament and many claimed he had ‘no chance’ of simply returning after a year off and winning again. But he did just that, beating Barry Hawkins in the final.

2014 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Runner-up). As Ronnie attempted the treble the bookies by now had wised up to him and made him the shortest priced favourite for many years. He’d been playing more events and going into this in strong form, unlike the previous year when he hadn’t played at all in the run up. But it wasn’t to be and the final against Mark Selby was to prove one step too far for The Rocket as Selby became the first new champion since Robertson. Ronnie yet again was a losing favourite.

2015 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Losing Quarter Finalist). Again being favourite at the bookies did Ronnie no favours, he was to come unstuck against the eventual champion Stuart Bingham in the Quarter Finals after a mentally fragile first week when most saw the signs that he wasn’t quite up to the job. Losing as the bookies favourite was now becoming a very annoying habit for him and his backers. Selby in the meantime was the latest victim of The Crucible Curse.


It’s been quite a while…

2016 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Round 2 Loser). The bookies again made Ronnie favourite following a mercurial display in the Welsh Open and rumours of him hitting the practice table hard in the run up. But this time the man who he beat to win dare we think it, his last world title Barry Hawkins, was his conqueror in Round 2. It was the World Number 1 Mark Selby who ended up with the trophy in his hands for the second time, beating first time finalist Ding Junhui 18-14. It was another ‘Curse’ year, Stuart Bingham beaten by Ali Carter on Day 1 this time in a decider.

2017 – Mark Selby (Winner). Selby came here as the standalone favourite on the back of a mediocre season by his own standards but having won the China Open a few weeks earlier. Judd Trump was touching joint favourite with a couple of firms keeping faith or wanting bets just like in 2013. The match of the tournament was Selby’s semi-final win over Ding Junhui, who was beginning to look like it might be his time after a memorable win in the Quarter Final over Ronnie O’Sullivan. But Selby’s granite proved too much for him and in the end also for a tired looking John Higgins who again featured in the final after a few years away from the one table set up. Selby coming back after a first day slump 18-15, landing the 7/2 favourites tag for the first time since his opponent did it in 2011.

2018 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Round 2 Loser). Once again, O’Sullivan returned to the mantle of favourite and once again, he failed to justify it. A fine season leading into the big one had his fans hopes up but once he got to Sheffield he once again came up short, losing a bad tempered match to Ali Carter, who gained some revenge for the two final defeats Ronnie had inflicted on him. The winner however was another ‘Phoenix from the Flames’ in the shape of Mark Williams, who miraculously completed one of the sports great comebacks and beat his fellow veteran John Higgins in a pulsating final. The less said about the press conference afterwards, the better.

2019 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (Round 1 Loser). Again the mantle of bookies favourite proved the undoing of O’Sullivan, paired against amateur James Cahill in Round 1 most expected a flying start for the bang in form Rocket, but it wasn’t to be. He claimed later to be feeling unwell but in reality he would have had to produce some consistently spectacular stuff to see off the eventual winner and first time champion Judd Trump, who stormed to victory with some stunning snooker.

So, the figures as they stand are since 1981:

Winning Favourites (Including Joint Favourites): 15

Losing Favourites (Including Joint Favourites): 25

Most Successful Favourites: Steve Davis (6 wins out of 9 attempts) and Stephen Hendry (6 out of 9).

Least Successful Favourite: Ronnie O’Sullivan (2 wins out of 14 attempts).

Most Successful Non-Favourite: Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins (all 3 times winner when not favourites)

Clear Favourites who have lost in Round 1: Ronnie O’Sullivan (three times), Stephen Hendry (once), Steve Davis (once).

Co/Joint Favorites who have lost in Round 1: Neil Robertson (once).

Victims of The Crucible Curse: John Spencer (1978), Ray Reardon (1979), Terry Griffiths (1980), Cliff Thorburn (1981), Steve Davis (1982), Alex Higgins (1983), Dennis Taylor (1986), Joe Johnson (1987), Stephen Hendry (1991), John Parrott (1992), Ken Doherty (1998), John Higgins (1999), Mark Williams (2001), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2002), Peter Ebdon (2003), Shaun Murphy (2006), Graeme Dott (2007), Neil Robertson (2011), Mark Selby (2015), Stuart Bingham (2016)…..

Defeaters of The Crucible Curse: NOBODY. EVER.
 

church66

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Quote .

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August 4, 2020
World Championship Second Round Preview
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 5:12 pm

Just gone favourite

In possibly the strangest ever snooker tournament environment we head to the second round. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it’s been on TV and I much prefer the ‘no crowd’ to the deserted and rather sad look of the first day when they let a few punters in, before rightly being made to come to their senses and prove that Anthony Hamilton actually had a point.

The highlight of the first round was Ronnie’s clinical dismantling of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a record breaking 108 minutes, quite a bit shorter than the time it took Fergal O’Brien to win a decider against Dave Gilbert in the qualifiers a few years back at daft o’clock.

With Ronnie clearly enjoying the solitary nature of this year’s championship he’s now vying for favouritism with Judd. Given the level of his performance so far we have to ask, are the others mere bit players on the way to his inevitable 6th title?

Let’s take a look at how the draw is shaping up, click on the match for the head to head statistics.

Judd Trump v Yan Bingtao (Thursday 2.30pm/Friday 10am and 7pm)

The defending champion managed to dodge the opening salvo from the Snooker Gods with a solid, rather than dazzling performance against Tom Ford, who in reality didn’t punish him enough in the opening session when he had the chance to. By contrast, Yan Bingtao’s passage was a real ‘game of two sessions’; running away with a seemingly unassailable lead against Slessor only for him to be put through the ringer before falling over the line. The head to heads are pretty emphatic here and when they’ve met in the past Yan has got nowhere near Judd. I did think he might be the fly in the ointment this year where Judd’s defence is concerned after watching the first round I doubt, even if he gets close this time, he’s got the temperament to get over the line so I’ll take the champion to live to fight another day.

Prediction: Judd 13-6

Stephen Maguire/Martin Gould v Kyren Wilson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

TO FOLLOW

Prediction:

John Higgins v Kurt Maflin (Wednesday 2.30pm/Thursday 10am and 7pm)

Kurt Maflin’s match against Dave Gilbert was a cracking first round encounter. Kurt’s scoring prowess has never been in doubt and with four tons and a 97 he proved this part of his game is in great shape. Where I thought he might lose out was in the tactical department and on the whole he did in the first session but he then dictated the pace of the match towards the end and was a worthy winner. Higgins played a typically Higgins type of match to beat Matthew Stevens and picked up the scraps he was left by his opponent’s countless mistakes. The only way I think Kurt can win here is to go all out attack and take an early lead, I think if Higgins gets an early foothold into the match Kurt will find it hard to match him tactically and peg him back. Higgins has a habit of late of building on each performance here and Kurt can’t really play much better than he already has, so I’m sticking with Higgins.

Prediction: Higgins 13-10

Anthony McGill v Jamie Clarke (Friday 2.30pm/Saturday 2.30pm/Sunday 7pm)

Those who have followed this blog for a few years will know how much I have bigged up Jamie Clarke in the past. He’s an incredibly talented player who up until now, has not realised his potential. How times have changed. His performance against Mark Allen was nothing short of tremendous and he outplayed a player who was at the top of his game. McGill meanwhile was taken to a decider by seeded player Jack Lisowski so this sees a match up of two qualifiers who seem to be at the top of their game at the moment, perhaps a Joe Johnson style fortnight may be on the horizon for one of them. They have met once as professionals, a meeting which Jamie won in a decider and I’d predict that this will probably go very close to the distance too. I’m not going to make a score prediction on this, but needless to say, I hope Jamie wins.

Prediction: Over 22 frames in the match at 6/4.

Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham (Wednesday 7pm/Thurday 2.30pm/Friday 10am)

Williams survived an early onslaught by Alan McManus and produced some very decent stuff in the second session to pull away having been fortunate to escape the first session only a frame behind. Bingham didn’t play well at all in his first rounder apart from a burst of four frames to more or less seal the win at the start of the second session against Ashley Carty, who he then let back into it before himself falling over the winning line in an uncharacteristically nervy display. There’s no real clues in the bald head to bald head stats as they seem to just beat each other so I have to go on the evidence of the first round and I am quite surprised that Bingham is favourite with the bookies on the strength of that.

Prediction: Williams 13-9

Ding Junhui v Ronnie O’Sullivan (Friday 7pm/Saturday 2.30pm/Sunday 7pm)

We come to the latest instalment of this soap opera of big stage encounters with Ding squeezing through a decider against Mark King in contrast to the mercurial Rocket who breezed past Un-Nooh in next to no time. As I alluded to in the opening sentences above it’s clear that O’Sullivan loves this set up, he can come and go as he pleases and doesn’t have to put up with all the drunks and anoraks around Crucible Square and beyond constantly shouting his name and wanting a selfie. The basic premise of this is, if he plays at the level he did in the first round it’s going to take a special performance to beat him, he did make mistakes against Un-Nooh and a better player might have got a bit closer but I’m not sure anyone would have beaten him. Their last meeting saw Ding knock Ronnie out of the UK on the way to his only tournament win of the season so Ronnie I’m sure will want to put that right.

Prediction: Ronnie 13-6

Mark Selby v Noppon Saengkham (Thursday 10am and 7pm/Friday 2.30pm)

Considering Noppon is relatively new to the tour he seems to have played Selby a lot over the space of a few short years. It’s fair to say that in terms of head to heads Selby has Noppon’s number, but is The Jester quite the player we normally see at The Crucible? He scrapped as only he can to win his first rounder whilst Noppon was very solid in his clinical beating of an out of sorts Shaun Murphy. the head to head is a worry for anyone who thought initially, as I did, that Noppon had a really strong chance in this match but thinking on it overnight I think he’s probably the type of player that Selby can easily dictate the pace of the match too. I do think Noppon has a strong temperament but I also think that he relies on higher seeded players having a bit of an off-day to progress, I’m not sure he’ll be up for a scrap, which he’ll have to be if he stands any chance here.

Prediction: Selby 13-11

Barry Hawkins/Alexander Ursenbacher v Neil Robertson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

TO FOLLOW

Prediction:
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Update .

http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Quote .

"Snookerbacker
August 4, 2020
World Championship Second Round Preview
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 5:12 pm

Just gone favourite

In possibly the strangest ever snooker tournament environment we head to the second round. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it’s been on TV and I much prefer the ‘no crowd’ to the deserted and rather sad look of the first day when they let a few punters in, before rightly being made to come to their senses and prove that Anthony Hamilton actually had a point.

The highlight of the first round was Ronnie’s clinical dismantling of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a record breaking 108 minutes, quite a bit shorter than the time it took Fergal O’Brien to win a decider against Dave Gilbert in the qualifiers a few years back at daft o’clock.

With Ronnie clearly enjoying the solitary nature of this year’s championship he’s now vying for favouritism with Judd. Given the level of his performance so far we have to ask, are the others mere bit players on the way to his inevitable 6th title?

Let’s take a look at how the draw is shaping up, click on the match for the head to head statistics.

Judd Trump v Yan Bingtao (Thursday 2.30pm/Friday 10am and 7pm)

The defending champion managed to dodge the opening salvo from the Snooker Gods with a solid, rather than dazzling performance against Tom Ford, who in reality didn’t punish him enough in the opening session when he had the chance to. By contrast, Yan Bingtao’s passage was a real ‘game of two sessions’; running away with a seemingly unassailable lead against Slessor only for him to be put through the ringer before falling over the line. The head to heads are pretty emphatic here and when they’ve met in the past Yan has got nowhere near Judd. I did think he might be the fly in the ointment this year where Judd’s defence is concerned after watching the first round I doubt, even if he gets close this time, he’s got the temperament to get over the line so I’ll take the champion to live to fight another day.

Prediction: Judd 13-6

Stephen Maguire/Martin Gould v Kyren Wilson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

TO FOLLOW

Prediction:

John Higgins v Kurt Maflin (Wednesday 2.30pm/Thursday 10am and 7pm)

Kurt Maflin’s match against Dave Gilbert was a cracking first round encounter. Kurt’s scoring prowess has never been in doubt and with four tons and a 97 he proved this part of his game is in great shape. Where I thought he might lose out was in the tactical department and on the whole he did in the first session but he then dictated the pace of the match towards the end and was a worthy winner. Higgins played a typically Higgins type of match to beat Matthew Stevens and picked up the scraps he was left by his opponent’s countless mistakes. The only way I think Kurt can win here is to go all out attack and take an early lead, I think if Higgins gets an early foothold into the match Kurt will find it hard to match him tactically and peg him back. Higgins has a habit of late of building on each performance here and Kurt can’t really play much better than he already has, so I’m sticking with Higgins.

Prediction: Higgins 13-10

Anthony McGill v Jamie Clarke (Friday 2.30pm/Saturday 2.30pm/Sunday 7pm)

Those who have followed this blog for a few years will know how much I have bigged up Jamie Clarke in the past. He’s an incredibly talented player who up until now, has not realised his potential. How times have changed. His performance against Mark Allen was nothing short of tremendous and he outplayed a player who was at the top of his game. McGill meanwhile was taken to a decider by seeded player Jack Lisowski so this sees a match up of two qualifiers who seem to be at the top of their game at the moment, perhaps a Joe Johnson style fortnight may be on the horizon for one of them. They have met once as professionals, a meeting which Jamie won in a decider and I’d predict that this will probably go very close to the distance too. I’m not going to make a score prediction on this, but needless to say, I hope Jamie wins.

Prediction: Over 22 frames in the match at 6/4.

Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham (Wednesday 7pm/Thurday 2.30pm/Friday 10am)

Williams survived an early onslaught by Alan McManus and produced some very decent stuff in the second session to pull away having been fortunate to escape the first session only a frame behind. Bingham didn’t play well at all in his first rounder apart from a burst of four frames to more or less seal the win at the start of the second session against Ashley Carty, who he then let back into it before himself falling over the winning line in an uncharacteristically nervy display. There’s no real clues in the bald head to bald head stats as they seem to just beat each other so I have to go on the evidence of the first round and I am quite surprised that Bingham is favourite with the bookies on the strength of that.

Prediction: Williams 13-9

Ding Junhui v Ronnie O’Sullivan (Friday 7pm/Saturday 2.30pm/Sunday 7pm)

We come to the latest instalment of this soap opera of big stage encounters with Ding squeezing through a decider against Mark King in contrast to the mercurial Rocket who breezed past Un-Nooh in next to no time. As I alluded to in the opening sentences above it’s clear that O’Sullivan loves this set up, he can come and go as he pleases and doesn’t have to put up with all the drunks and anoraks around Crucible Square and beyond constantly shouting his name and wanting a selfie. The basic premise of this is, if he plays at the level he did in the first round it’s going to take a special performance to beat him, he did make mistakes against Un-Nooh and a better player might have got a bit closer but I’m not sure anyone would have beaten him. Their last meeting saw Ding knock Ronnie out of the UK on the way to his only tournament win of the season so Ronnie I’m sure will want to put that right.

Prediction: Ronnie 13-6

Mark Selby v Noppon Saengkham (Thursday 10am and 7pm/Friday 2.30pm)

Considering Noppon is relatively new to the tour he seems to have played Selby a lot over the space of a few short years. It’s fair to say that in terms of head to heads Selby has Noppon’s number, but is The Jester quite the player we normally see at The Crucible? He scrapped as only he can to win his first rounder whilst Noppon was very solid in his clinical beating of an out of sorts Shaun Murphy. the head to head is a worry for anyone who thought initially, as I did, that Noppon had a really strong chance in this match but thinking on it overnight I think he’s probably the type of player that Selby can easily dictate the pace of the match too. I do think Noppon has a strong temperament but I also think that he relies on higher seeded players having a bit of an off-day to progress, I’m not sure he’ll be up for a scrap, which he’ll have to be if he stands any chance here.

Prediction: Selby 13-11

Barry Hawkins/Alexander Ursenbacher v Neil Robertson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

TO FOLLOW

Prediction:

Martin Gould v Kyren Wilson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

The superior head to head pointed out on the initial preview proved to hold firm for Martin Gould’s chances against Maguire and here he faces the presumably rusty Kyren Wilson, the beneficiary of a rare Crucible bye in the first round following Hamilton’s now infamous withdrawal. I was really impressed with Gould in the qualifiers and also against Maguire, he looks back to being a top 16 player rather than the lowly depths he’s been struggling in for the past two seasons. His confidence is high, his game is sharp and I think he has the look of someone who is back in love with the game. Just on the strength of his recent performances and the fact Kyren might need the first session to settle, I’d back him again at around 2/1.

Prediction: Gould 13-11

Barry Hawkins v Neil Robertson (Saturday 10am and 7pm/Sunday 2.30pm)

For the second season running Hawkins let us all down again on the century in every match bet so he’s not exactly popular amongst snooker punters as things stand, but Barrry remains extremely hard to hold a grudge against for long as he’s such a nice chap. They met over the best of 25 here back in 2015 in a memorable match won by Hawkins in a decider so if this is anything like that we’re in for a real treat here. Robbo is a strong favourite for this and played very well to hold Liang at bay in the first round with his customary heavy scoring, I do think this will be closer than the odds suggest though so anyone who agrees can have a good look at Hawkins to win and the handicap odds. But I’m going to stick with Neil, but not by much.

Prediction: Robertson 13-12
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
http://www.snookerbacker.com/

August 10, 2020
World Championship Quarter Finals Preview
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:07 am

There might be nobody there but it’s still dramatic

After a dramatic evening on Sunday we now move into week two at The Crucible and that can mean just one thing, it’s Quarter Final time. Can Judd continue to fend off the Snooker Gods or this time, is it for real?

Click on the match for the head to head statistics.

Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson

(Monday 10am/7pm, Tuesday 2.30pm)

So here we go. With the greatest of respect to Tom Ford and Yan Bingtao they are not exactly renowned for closing high pressure matches out against big players and that means Judd is still here. This time he faces what I’d say is his first real test as defending champion in the form of Kyren Wilson who is currently sporting a throwback to the 80’s hairstyle as opposed to Judd’s morphing into Terry Griffiths. Strange days we live in. Anyway, enough tittle-tattle, these two know each other’s games inside out and we can expect an attacking affair I’m sure. Kyren had a bit of a wobble at the end against Gould but considering it must have been strange for him starting his campaign so late in the championship was impressive in holding the bespectacled one at bay. So is this the round where the Snooker Gods make their presence known, well yes, I think it is. The head to heads give Kyren a slight advantage and to me Judd isn’t really at the top of his game at the moment and if Kyren can get an early lead I think he can keep the champion at arms length and do The Snooker Gods dirty work for them.

Prediction: Kyren 13-10.

Kurt Maflin v Anthony McGill

(Monday 2.30pm/Tuesday 10am/7pm)

We are once again assured a qualifier will be reaching the one table situation as these two play for just that reward. Maflin has been superb throughout the event and arguably second only to O’Sullivan. He held himself together very well to beat John Higgins and has had a few days off to prepare for this. On the flip side an absolutely knackered McGill came out of a bad-tempered match with Jamie Clarke on the wrong side of midnight and has had just a few hours to get his head around the fact that it’s straight back to his seat again this afternoon. I’ll not dwell on the circumstances that saw a fightback from the Scotsman in the last round when he seemed to be heading for a hiding but he’s not scoring as well as he usually does, he’s missing a lot of pressure balls that Maflin isn’t and it would be foolish to suspect that over this length of match he doesn’t have to significantly improve to stand a chance.

Prediction: Maflin 13-8

Mark Williams v Ronnie O’Sullivan

(Monday 2.30pm/Tuesday 2.30pm/7pm)

The two greats of the game go toe to toe at The Crucible for the fifth time with Ronnie having won all of their previous encounters here. After a measured and clinical performance in the first round, O’Sullivan was back to his barking mad self in Round 2 and his interview with Rob Walker after the match was something to behold, he claimed that snooker was just a hobby, he still doesn’t like the World Championship but he likes it better this year because he’s not being bothered by people and that he’d have to lose several limbs to lose to some players who are professional these days. Williams showed his trademark bottle in finishing off Bingham who claimed after the match that the Welshman would have to significantly up his game if he was to stand any chance of winning it again this year. All in all on paper this has a comfortable O’Sullivan win on his way to a sixth title written all over it, but as we know, anything can happen on a snooker table measuring 12 bee 6.

Prediction: O’Sullivan 13-7

Mark Selby v Neil Robertson

(Monday 10am/7pm, Tuesday 10am)

Five from the last six meetings between this pair have been won by Robertson but they do usually have quite a battle so the bets on the overs in terms of frames here would be following a largely solid form book. Selby is beginning to show shades of the old Jester and hit three tons on his way to a deciding frame win over the impressive Noppon, while Neil closed out an impressive final session against Hawkins having had a blip in the middle of the match. The one thing these two have in common is that they never know when they are beaten, their mental approach to the game cannot be faulted when they are both at their best though for me Selby can be a bit harder on himself sometimes than Robbo. I know Robbo is taking a very measured approach to the championship this year and focusing on all elements of his game instead of just relying on his scoring to kick in at some point. This will be a cracking match and I’m convinced it could go very very close indeed. But just based on overall performance so far I’m going to take Robbo to nick it.

Prediction: Robertson 13-11

Recommended Doubles and Treble: Wilson, Maflin (-2.5) and over 21 frames in Selby/Robertson. Treble pays over 9/1 at Boyles.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Mark Williams v Ronnie O’Sullivan

(Monday 2.30pm/Tuesday 2.30pm/7pm)

The two greats of the game go toe to toe at The Crucible for the fifth time with Ronnie having won all of their previous encounters here. After a measured and clinical performance in the first round, O’Sullivan was back to his barking mad self in Round 2 and his interview with Rob Walker after the match was something to behold, he claimed that snooker was just a hobby, he still doesn’t like the World Championship but he likes it better this year because he’s not being bothered by people and that he’d have to lose several limbs to lose to some players who are professional these days. Williams showed his trademark bottle in finishing off Bingham who claimed after the match that the Welshman would have to significantly up his game if he was to stand any chance of winning it again this year. All in all on paper this has a comfortable O’Sullivan win on his way to a sixth title written all over it, but as we know, anything can happen on a snooker table measuring 12 bee 6.

Prediction: O’Sullivan 13-7

Shock horror folks , Snookerbacker has tipped up against his original selection :

July 29, 2020
World Championship Preview – 45/1 Williams Can Strike Again
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:13 pm :

http://www.snookerbacker.com/
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Quote .

" Snookerbacker
August 12, 2020
World Championship Semi Finals
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 9:01 am

A situation of one-tableness – Oi!! You lot!! Get out!! Who let you in?

With five days to go until we know the destination of the famous trophy for the next eight months, or if the rumours circulating I’ve heard are true, twelve months, it’s down to the fabled one-table situation for the semi-finals.

The usual cliches will be trotted out and the BBC team will once again point out how it’s quite amazing how much the arena changes from what the players are used to and that it’s almost like playing in a different venue. Ken will probably quip that you need a taxi from your seat to the table after being so cramped up to get here and we’ll all laugh politely because that’s just what we do.

Once again we find a qualifier in the last four in the shape of Anthony McGill so at least we get to listen to The Smiths at least four more times before Kyren raves out to Sandstorm. In the bottom half, it’s one of the best match ups we can hope for as snooker’s very own Rock ‘N’ Roll star Ronnie faces a man who really isn’t an underdog, Selby, see what I did there? (by the way Mark, I know you like the song and that bloke called Peanut – I blame the parents – but mate, come on, the singer isn’t exactly an angel is he?)

OK, let’s take a look at what I think will be two very different semi-finals, click on the match for the head to head.

Kyren Wilson v Anthony McGill

It’s interesting that a lot of people are saying that this is a bit of a surprise semi-final, when really it isn’t all that shocking. Kyren’s record against Judd always suggested he might be the dark force that invoked The Curse this year and so it came to pass, while anyone who watched the qualifiers would have deduced, as I did in my initial preview that McGill was probably the best out of the lot and has a Crucible pedigree to boot, I even flagged up the 125/1 each way bet in said initial preview, so I don’t think this match up is a surprise at all really. It’s no surprise of course that Kyren starts the match a very heavy favourite after his win over Judd but that will suit Anthony down to the ground. McGill has a superior head to head which raises an eyebrow or two, especially if you consider that two of Kyren’s three wins against him came in 6-Red format, discount those and McGill leads 4-1. These two have very similar games which means they probably enjoy playing each other as they can second guess what the other player is going to do and if McGill takes to the one-table set up, which I have no reason to think he won’t, I think he’s in with a fighting chance, I definitely wouldn’t be lumping on Kyren at 1/4 put it that way.

Recommended Bet – Over 29 frames in the match at 6/4

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Mark Selby

All eyes will be on this one, the old tortoise and the hare race is run again over a gruelling three days and four sessions as these two grapple with each other again over the long distance and we all know who won that race don’t we? Ronnie came off his match with Mark Williams in typical self-deprecating mood and announced to the world that they should ‘lump on’ Selby as there is nobody left that can beat him over this distance. There is obviously an element of kidology in there but in the past when Ronnie has made these kinds of predictions they have tended to come true. Selby looks to be almost back to his best and is getting better with every match, Ronnie seems to be playing at a consistently high level and remains mesmerising both on and off the table. Selby did a Selby on Neil Robertson and he’s more than capable of doing exactly the same to Ronnie, but one ray of light the G’Woarn Ronnie Belle…errmm Brigade can take from this is that Ronnie has said in conversation with Hendry over lockdown that if he could play one match again it would be the final that Selby beat him in, well now’s his chance. By the way, as I write you can still back Selby at 10/3 to lift the trophy.

Recommended Bet – Both players to make 3 or more centuries at 5/2 ."
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snookerbacker Tweet .

https://twitter.com/snookerbacker/status/1294377749109510147 :


Paul Rollinson
@7_rollo
·
7h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Needs to win tomorrow or it's all for nothing
@ronnieo147
Robbie Pender
@robbiepender
·
7h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Without a shadow of a doubt, combined they are the best ever semi finals #whoneedsacrowd
Steve E. Edge
@TheEdgeTweets
·
7h
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@snookerbacker
Agree from downunder Upside-down face
147apparel
@147apparel
·
7h
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Were you saying that in the 30th frame? Rolling on the floor laughingRolling on the floor laughing
⛰ Erasmus Montanus ⛰
@moodymoomooh
·
7h
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@snookerbacker
Collision symbol What a snooker day Collision symbol
Gary The No-Trash Cougar
@notrashcougar
·
7h
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Despite being an absolute, bonafide mentalist.
Micky Ogden
@RamrodStuds
·
7h
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Pretty much as I'd predicted, except Ronnie won.
Marlon Solomon
@supergutman
·
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Yeah, bellend though.
Skippy
@Exsnookerpro
·
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I agree with your first two sentences.
miami cb
@biddleo1
·
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TST is the goat
Craig Rolph
@CraigRolph
·
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The best snooker player ever by a mile, and Ronnie would agree, is Mr Stephen Hendry.
Flag of BelgiumBuffaloDDRFlag of Belgium
@buffalo_ddr
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Bang on backer
Callum Somers
@Somers_10
·
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Poor interview from
@markjesterselby
. Sounded like sour grapes at the end. Disrespectful for bashing them around when in a snooker? Can only favour Selby and helped him wins a couple of frames
Daniel Karmy
@dank6710
·
7h
No, Selby was spot on. For all Ronnie said about Joe Davis...the great man would have been disgusted by that sort of behaviour. No other sportsman who openly slagged off his fellow professionals, or took the piss out of his opponent playing that way, would get away with it..
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
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Snookerbacker Tweets

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PaulM Flag of Ireland
@MurphyPaul79
·
7h
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Here’s to #6
Buster
@Buster_comedy
·
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It’s like he does it just to test himself,it’s unbelievable!!
JRRFisheresq
@JeremyF79404326
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Simply the best player we have ever seen #RonnieOSullivan
Capra falconeri Horse
@rims_007
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Strongly agreed
lee hollywood
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That was scary
David Lia
@DavidLia11
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His cue action is pretty bad though Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweatSmiling face with open mouth and cold sweat
chris atrill
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Wow!
Gareth
@romfordslim1477
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I said he wouldnt get to the final hands up i was wrong
⛰ Erasmus Montanus ⛰
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Me too. The one I hope for usually loses, so I went with some reverse psycology this time.
monkeyboy
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Selby sore loser but amazing match
Paul Rollinson
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Needs to win tomorrow or it's all for nothing
@ronnieo147
Robbie Pender
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Without a shadow of a doubt, combined they are the best ever semi finals #whoneedsacrowd
Steve E. Edge
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Agree from downunder Upside-down face
147apparel
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Were you saying that in the 30th frame? Rolling on the floor laughingRolling on the floor laughing
 
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