2021 World Snooker Championship

[skogstokig]

World Championship: Why Mark Selby’s unswerving pursuit of greatness gives snooker grinding headache - Eurosport

Mark Selby's fourth world title victory was a rousing triumph for tactical excellence, but is such a brand of snooker good for the growth of the game?

www.eurosport.co.uk

recommended read. some big names weighing in on selby's style of snooker:

Davis – who was hardly the life and soul of the party himself back in the day – rather cruelly compared Selby to a villain from the Harry Potter canon of fiction called the Dementor, a sort of grim reaper figure. They are said to “glory in decay and despair, they drain hope and happiness out of the air around them” which pretty much summed up Selby’s mightily effective, but soul-destroying dismantling of fellow Englishman Murphy

ronnie:

O’Sullivan compared his old rival to a “boa constrictor” on Eurosport in his ability to tighten his grip on opponents with balls welded to cushions and Murphy left frozen in some sort of snooker Siberia.

hendry:

Hendry warmed to the theme on the Beeb by comparing Selby to a spirit-sucking “vampire” – 43 years after old Dracula himself Ray Reardon lifted his sixth world crown – amid some startling discussions that pronounced the Leicester man a master of the “dark arts”. It immediately brought you back to Harry Potter connotations with Murphy, known as the Magician after his 2005 world victory as a 150-1 qualifier, dispossessed of his wand by you-know-who, the Dark Lord of loo breaks.

“The claws are in and they are in deep, Mark Selby is like a snooker vampire. He sucks all the life and adrenaline out of you,” opined Hendry, the record seven-times Crucible holder.

stephen fry:

"Mark Selby is basically The Terminator," said snooker diehard, comedian and raconteur Stephen Fry on Twitter. "Listen. Understand. That Terminator is out there. It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with...it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear...and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.”

 

[garczar]

World Championship: Why Mark Selby’s unswerving pursuit of greatness gives snooker grinding headache - Eurosport

Mark Selby's fourth world title victory was a rousing triumph for tactical excellence, but is such a brand of snooker good for the growth of the game?

www.eurosport.co.uk

recommended read. some big names weighing in on selby's style of snooker:



ronnie:



hendry:



stephen fry:

Not a full-time fan but i do watch sometimes. I appreciate the guy's talent/drive but i couldn't watch him on a regular basis. Kinda like watching Bernhard Langer play golf. It gets old, to me anyway, pretty damn quick.

 

[pt109]

Not a full-time fan but i do watch sometimes. I appreciate the guy's talent/drive but i couldn't watch him on a regular basis. Kinda like watching Bernhard Langer play golf. It gets old, to me anyway, pretty damn quick.

Selby is almost at 700 career centuries....he’s got it all....a bit more like watching a top one pocket player...
...but I like that too.
Selby is being criticized for playing great winning snooker....even by Steve Davis, who’s whole career was like that.
....WTH?

 

[Bob Jewett]

....a bit more like watching a top one pocket player...

But not Tony Chohan.

 

[BeiberLvr]

Selby is almost at 700 career centuries....he’s got it al....a bit more like watching a top one pocket player...
...but I like that too.
Selby is being criticized for playing great winning snooker....even by Steve Davis, who’s whole career was like that.
....WTH?

Yep, he's #6 behind Hendry, Neil, Judd, Higgins and Ronnie.

But what's really impressive is that out of that group, Selby actually has the highest average when making a century. He actually has the highest average of any player with 300+ centuries to their name.

So the idea that he is only good at one thing (safeties) is false.

 

[pt109]

But not Tony Chohan.

If Ronnie O’Sullivan played one pocket.....

 

[Bob Jewett]

If Ronnie O’Sullivan played one pocket.....

He has actually played one pocket. He didn't shoot any of the right shots -- he just ran out. He thought it was an interesting game.

 

[sjm]

Guess I'm in the minority. While I agree that having a masterful grinder like Selby win every year might wear thin, the fact is that he backs up his extraordinary tactical skills with a whole lot of century breaks when wide open chances are available, thereby showing a complete skill set. I felt the contrast between his style and that of Murphy made for a great final.

Snooker lets both players tussle for the first good chance, and that's what makes it great. It then requires great skill to defend a winning position once it has been earned. Both players have a chance to win every single frame.

Players and teams having different approaches will prevail over time in the biggest spots in all the sports worth watching.

 

[Ratamon]

Yep, he's #6 behind Hendry, Neil, Judd, Higgins and Ronnie.

But what's really impressive is that out of that group, Selby actually has the highest average when making a century. He actually has the highest average of any player with 300+ centuries to their name.

So the idea that he is only good at one thing (safeties) is false.

View attachment 593989

Selby is a great break-builder but I’m not sure that table proves a lot. Many on that list start playing exhibition snooker once the frame is safe or a century has been made.

Mark Williams never bothered to continue potting beyond the snookers required stage. Doesn’t make him a poor break-builder


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[alphadog]

He has actually played one pocket. He didn't shoot any of the right shots -- he just ran out. He thought it was an interesting game.

Isn't that what Fats said about Mosconi?

 

[gregcantrall]

Interesting takes on the final match. I enjoyed it and couldn’t help but to root for Shawn. Such an display of incredible skills on the part of both was uh humbling.
There was one incredible shot by Murphy. Frozen in the middle of the head rail, he hit it with incredible power to make the pot and perfect shape. Had me thinking of Chris’s thread on frozen to the rail.

 

[Geosnookery]

Yep, he's #6 behind Hendry, Neil, Judd, Higgins and Ronnie.

But what's really impressive is that out of that group, Selby actually has the highest average when making a century. He actually has the highest average of any player with 300+ centuries to their name.

So the idea that he is only good at one thing (safeties) is false.

View attachment 593989

True.

Selby is an all around talented player.

Centuries need to be put in perspective. Some players like Williams and Jimmy White do trick shots once the game is out of reach. It’s similar with ‘147s’. A player like Selby or Williams go after middle table position early on ( blue ball) and not max out.

 

[Geosnookery]

He has actually played one pocket. He didn't shoot any of the right shots -- he just ran out. He thought it was an interesting game.

That’s like when he and Hendry were talking about playing 9 ball. Ronnie just shoots the next number ball. He doesn’t plan out any sequence. Having said this he claims Efren Reyes is the only Pool player that could have cracked into the to 32 Snooker rankings if he had dedicated himself to the sport.

 

[Ratamon]

True.

Selby is an all around talented player.

Centuries need to be put in perspective. Some players like Williams and Jimmy White do trick shots once the game is out of reach. It’s similar with ‘147s’. A player like Selby or Williams go after middle table position early on ( blue ball) and not max out.

Agreed. Percentage of wins in one/two/three/etc visits would be more appropriate. If anyone has seen these stats anywhere please share

 

[ShortBusRuss]

My opinion on that match is that Shaun Murphy completely gave it away in the end with that shot on the final red. He had Selby short stroking it a little on long shots, and he was 20-something points ahead.Eitherplay watson there'd and attempt the snooker behind the black, or play the red firmer and playthe black in the same pocket, to give a chance for either the red to rebound to a safe spot, or geta backdoor safe behind the black. If he wins that game, he almost certainly wins the championship, as he had Selby second thinking every shot. He basicallylaiditall outing a silver platter, and Selby still misplayed a few positional shots in the final runout.

So disappointed in Murphy's bullheadedness, where he mentioned in post match interviewthat"He has been playing this way since he was 13,and has no plans to stop."

In poker terms, that last red the way he shot it, was a totally negative Expected Value play. If you make it, you win one game.You miss it the speed he shot it, you lose a World Championship.

 

[pt109]

My opinion on that match is that Shaun Murphy completely gave it away in the end with that shot on the final red. He had Selby short stroking it a little on long shots, and he was 20-something points ahead.Eitherplay watson there'd and attempt the snooker behind the black, or play the red firmer and playthe black in the same pocket, to give a chance for either the red to rebound to a safe spot, or geta backdoor safe behind the black. If he wins that game, he almost certainly wins the championship, as he had Selby second thinking every shot. He basicallylaiditall outing a silver platter, and Selby still misplayed a few positional shots in the final runout.

So disappointed in Murphy's bullheadedness, where he mentioned in post match interviewthat"He has been playing this way since he was 13,and has no plans to stop."

In poker terms, that last red the way he shot it, was a totally negative Expected Value play. If you make it, you win one game.You miss it the speed he shot it, you lose a World Championship.

Murphy’s aggressive choices are what got him to that stage....ya gotta dance with the one you came with.
...and no one, including the Rocket, wants to get into a safety battle with Selby.

 

[alphadog]

Murphy’s aggressive choices are what got him to that stage....ya gotta dance with the one you came with.
...and no one, including the Rocket, wants to get into a safety battle with Selby.

He is a professional if the table warrants playing safe play safe.
Ronnie doesn't want to play safeties period.
Selby is not some immortal safety God. He just plays the game in such a way that most others don't care to. It is only gamesmanship if you let it get to you.

 

[BeiberLvr]

Top 20 Shots of the Championship

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