2013 World Snooker Championship

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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

(Seeded players are in brackets)

(1) Ronnie O'Sullivan v Marcus Campbell

(16) Ali Carter v Ben Woollaston

(9) Stuart Bingham v Sam Baird

(8) John Higgins v Mark Davis

(5) Shaun Murphy v Martin Gould

(12) Graeme Dott v Peter Ebdon

(13) Matthew Stevens v Marco Fu

(4) Judd Trump v Dominic Dale

(3) Neil Robertson v Robert Milkins

(14) Ricky Walden v Michael Holt

(11) Mark Williams v Michael White

(6) Stephen Maguire v Dechawat Poomjaeng

(7) Mark Allen v Mark King

(10) Ding Junhui v Alan McManus

(15) Barry Hawkins v Jack Lisowski

(2) Mark Selby v Matthew Selt

Black ball frame!!

Probably over now

I think Ricky's won all the close frames and that's probably why the scoreline reads that way.

Stuart got changed quickly...

This is it for Ricky. He's through 13-6 and I hope he makes the final

Not much snooker for tonights audience.

They haven't sent Virgo down to do some impressions, have they?

I certainly hope so!!

ryan86 wrote:Not much snooker for tonights audience.

They haven't sent Virgo down to do some impressions, have they?

No - but I hear they will do an exhibition!

They could Cliff and Terry out of retirement , that would pass a few hours per frame

Is Peter Ebdon still kicking about?

ryan86 wrote:Not much snooker for tonights audience.

They haven't sent Virgo down to do some impressions, have they?

I'm pretty sure I saw people leaving of their own accord after the snooker not sure they need forcing out.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Virgo impression session

There are a few on Youtube (I've just watched one). He's very good at Alex Higgins

Apparently Steve is out entertaining the crowd!!

The Special Juan wrote:There are a few on Youtube (I've just watched one). He's very good at Alex Higgins

There could be a problem with the younger fans not knowing who is doing . Todays players are a little bland so it would be hard distinguishing between them if he updated his act

Kenny wrote:I wouldn't mind seeing a Virgo impression session

Jeremy Beadle did a passable Virgo impression.

We could have Darts/Snooker match.

Ebdon/Pipe v Priestley/Griffiths.

Kenny wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:There are a few on Youtube (I've just watched one). He's very good at Alex Higgins

There could be a problem with the younger fans not knowing who is doing . Todays players are a little bland so it would be hard distinguishing between them if he updated his act

That's a good point. All I can really think of is Ebdon shouting "Come on!" and Maguire hitting the table.

Dave. wrote:We could have Darts/Snooker match.

Ebdon/Pipe v Priestley/Griffiths.

Love it!!

they could just get Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to come out and show everyone what we are missing

Well the reason Steve's not there is because he's the one doing all the missing.

I remember being gutted when, what must be coming up to 10 years ago, he lost the final at the UK Championship and narrowly failed at going Provisional No1. Not quite in the Tom Watson league of disappointment though.

He really would have went Provisional Number 1 if he won the 2005 UK Championship?

I've went back and checked, I was slightly mistaken, a win would have taken him to Provisional Number 3, behind Hendry and O'Sullivan.

So Ronnie will retire after this event. I've heard that before. Jog on, I hope Judd dismantles him.

The Special Juan wrote:So Ronnie will retire after this event. I've heard that before. Jog on, I hope Judd dismantles him.

Seconded.

Ronnie is slowly morphing into Phil Taylor. We've been hearing this tosh for a decade now. His schtick got tired a good while ago. Good luck to Trumpus!

Duty281 wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:So Ronnie will retire after this event. I've heard that before. Jog on, I hope Judd dismantles him.

Seconded.

Thirded. My money is on Judd.

I think Trump-O'Sullivan makes for an intriguing semi. Ronnie's safety has been hit and miss at times, and Trump of course can pot them from anywhere. Trump's safety has really impressed me this tournament as well.

Good, he can gtfo. I'm so sick of everything being about him, he's a flawed genius who I should feel sorry for, that he's "so much better than everyone else".

Saying that, he'll be back next time he needs the attention

I do have to say (with all my armour and tin hat on) that the state of snooker now talent-wise is pretty poor. I look at the semi-final line-up and sure O'Sullivan V Trump is box office but Walden V Hawkins in a world semi-final? Both have toiled for years and years obviously when there was far more strength in depth and got nowhere but now they are transformed into semi-finalists.

I said this a year or two ago and Ronnie fans went apoplectic but snooker is now not as strong as it was a decade or more ago.

My own view on it is that there are a lot of players of similar ability nowadays but very few stand-out dominant players. It's sort of the opposite of the start of the 00s; there are more contenders for titles these days (snooker's not ruled by Higgins, Ronald, MJW and Hendry) but at the end of their careers, will any be worthy of standing alongside those 4? I think Selby might but there's a long, long way to go.

Yes TSJ I would agree accept that there are NO dominant players. I think today and tomorrow is gi-normous for Trump. If he beats O'Sullivan he could be taking his first step to a dominant figure.

I think the best way to describe it is to compare it to tennis. Ignoring the different surfaces, Murray, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are miles ahead of everyone. There's no one like that in snooker at the moment the way Ronald, Higgins, Hendry and MJW were miles ahead of everyone a decade ago. Selby, Murphy, Trump and Robertson (and Ding) are all good players, but they just aren't those four. I don't want to criticise snooker too much though, the standards can't keep increasing.

Trump could become that dominant figure though. It depends on a few things.

I know he's young and is just beginning his spell at the top, but I don't think he's good enough. Still want him to win today though

I don't think he'll make it into the realms of Davis and Hendry level domination but I would say he has the game to be dominant in this era - if that makes sense.

Gotcha

This might be an interesting tournament from a "generations" point of view: Whitey's retired MJW (not officially) and Juddley can retire Ronald.

I bet that was deliberate. I'm onto you Ronald.

I still think Ronnie will win it

Maybe Kenny, but I wouldn't rule out Sir Ricky Walden yet. (Barry whooooo?)

Oh my, those long pots are wonderful.

Kenny wrote:I still think Ronnie will win it

I sincerely hope not. A World Champion who dedicates his life to saying how much he hates snooker. That is exactly what the sport doesn't need in the present day climate.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Kenny wrote:I still think Ronnie will win it

I sincerely hope not. A World Champion who dedicates his life to saying how much he hates snooker. That is exactly what the sport doesn't need in the present day climate.

I agree totally , but all things aside he is the better player so for me it boils down to Ronnie losing it rather then anyone else winning

If there's one thin Juddley has in abundance (more than any other player), it's luck.

Lets hope he gets some then

As much as centuries are nice, these frames make snooker special.

shot

re spotted black

Good start

Kenny wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Kenny wrote:I still think Ronnie will win it

I sincerely hope not. A World Champion who dedicates his life to saying how much he hates snooker. That is exactly what the sport doesn't need in the present day climate.

I agree totally , but all things aside he is the better player so for me it boils down to Ronnie losing it rather then anyone else winning

Of the two players here - perhaps. However, as we all know in the temperament and brains department Ronnie lacks and snooker is very important in those two departments in my opinion.

1 - 1

Come on, bang in a century now.

this could be a very good session of snooker ahead of us