Yes, I agree. I hope he holds up.Trump out as well. Ronnie has to be the favorite now.
Goodness! The top players are dropping like flies. Gilbert came from a long way back. I gave up on his match to have breakfast.And David Gilbert has beaten Mark Allen in the third round of the Cazoo UK Championship.
Murph is still getting the steam he deserves....Matt Selt said in his interview, with Murph attending, “It’s nice to see the higher ranked player not talk nonsense after a loss.”Yes, I agree. I hope he holds up.
Matthew Selt knocked Judd Trump out in the third round. The 2019 Indian Open champion made 128 in the last frame and faces Barry Hawkins next. View attachment 618171The Ace in the Pack is the tenth former UK Champion to lose before the last 16.
Close, but not quite right.That's not the way snooker works. So far as I know, there is essentially no entry fee.
The field size is limited. In this case I think it is 128. The players who are "on the tour" have priority. After that the spots are filled by some kind of ranking criteria. The kid had played in "Q School" (qualification competition) and did OK but not well enough to get a tour spot. The amateurs -- players not "on the tour" -- can win prize money but do not get ranking points. The kid is going to get at least $8500 with a first round win.
Ronnie squeaked through that one. Whew!noppon s-k is no walk in the park for ronnie. been rock solid so far.
there are many upsets this tournament but it's also because the field is sharpened up, and they're not far behind these days. it's cutthroat competition. hicks, lines and woollaston are the biggest surprises to me.
In golf an amateur can NOT accept prize $$. The rules are pretty strict and clear. https://www.usga.org/rules/rules-of-amateur-status.html#!rule-03 Also, i'm pretty sure to play in a Monday qualif. you have to declare yourself to be a pro. You also have to pre-qualify(up to 150 players) just to play a Monday qualif(usually 25-50 players). Ways an am CAN play:https://www.amateurgolf.com/golf-to...ay-a-PGA-Tour-event-as-an-amateur--Here-s-howFirst of all his comparison with golf and tennis falls flat since there happens to be a variety of ways, other than Q-School that a so called "amateur" player can play in Tour events. They still have Monday qualifiers for many PGA tour events and separate qualifying prelims for ATP tennis tourneys. Even the Masters allows several amateur players to compete every year!
I don’t think that Si or any amateur there isn’t facing pressure. He may not be playing to keep his tour card, but he is hoping to do well enough to gain his card. I think he’d rather avoid going to qschool again. He’s also probably not making much money while off the tour, so the win probably meant way more to Si than it did to Shaun who likely drove back to the hotel in his Bentley.Murphy isn’t a sore loser. He’s always been a gentleman in defeat and victory. His comment was very poorly timed, and he knows that. His statement about Si not facing the same pressure as professionals was purely about that first round match, not about the pressures of life as an amateur in a foreign land, etc. Si is doing his thing and suddenly gets a call up to play in the UK Open. His spot on the tour isn’t at risk, he’s not playing for ranking points, success in the event won’t change his amateur status, even if he wins the event. He quite literally has absolutely nothing to lose. A number of other pros/former pros agree with him primarily because there is a very well established and grueling process for gaining the right to play in professional events, and topping up events sidesteps that process.
Sean also wasn’t targeting Si. He congratulated him after the match, he apologized to him for his comments detracting from his win. He was being critical of the process.
What a match that was between Jack Lisowski and Hossein Vafaei. Jack is the Lou Butera of snooker. I've never seen a snooker player play that fast. Hossein was more deliberate in his shooting style, and when he came with a miss, he just smiled, very cool, calm, and collected. This was a tense-filled frame at the end. It had the crowd going "ooh" for the good hots and then loud groans when the missed. Jack wins and moves to the quarterfinals. After the match, instead of scrambling out of the arena, both Jack and Hossein stuck around for the fans and signed autographs and took selfies with them. I like that!
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I couldn't get over how fast Jack shot. Wow! I've never seen a snooker player play at that pace, not even Ronnie. That last frame, though! What a nail-biter!i didn't want either of them to lose. great entertainment that match. i think the stats doesn't reflect lisowskis long potting ability
There was a time in MLB when the veterans would shun younger players who were called up from the minor leagues. That was the era of one year contracts and the veterans were worried the youngsters would take their job.I know there was a thread that already discussed this topic, but I found this interesting....
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‘It is not fair’: Murphy rails at amateurs in pro snooker … after defeat by amateur
Shaun Murphy crashed out in the first round of the UK Championship and said his 6-5 defeat by Si Jiahui was ‘not fair’ because amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournamentswww.theguardian.com
As it should be. They SHOULD be worried about their paychecks. Keeps them on their toes. You step up to the plate (pun intended) and improve and earn that big paycheck, or move aside and let someone else do it.There was a time in MLB when the veterans would shun younger players who were called up from the minor leagues. That was the era of one year contracts and the veterans were worried the youngsters would take their job.
I couldn't get over how fast Jack shot. Wow! I've never seen a snooker player play at that pace, not even Ronnie. That last frame, though! What a nail-biter!![]()
He’d be going back to qschool even if he won this tournament. This invitation was quite literally a free-roll.I don’t think that Si or any amateur there isn’t facing pressure. He may not be playing to keep his tour card, but he is hoping to do well enough to gain his card. I think he’d rather avoid going to qschool again. He’s also probably not making much money while off the tour, so the win probably meant way more to Si than it did to Shaun who likely drove back to the hotel in his Bentley.
If we translate this to pool, it’s not like 750 players trying to make a living at pool are under no pressure at all even though results don’t influence their playing chances much. Instead they scrape for every win. And that’s what these amateur snooker players are doing. These guys probably translate to an equivalent of 750-770 in Fargoratings. So it’s not like a 650 player with a full time career knocking out a top pro.