2019 World Snooker Championship Thread

[CaledonianCraig]

First topic message reminder :

The Crucible is alive again to the sound of cues smashing into the cueball for the 2019 Snooker World Championship.

On Day One the champion Mark Williams got off to a steady start to lead Martin Gould 6-3. Ding Junhui also leads 6-3 against Anthony McGill and Neil Robertson is home and hosed leading debutant Cypriot Georgiou 9-0.

[Duty281]

Proper stuff from Higgins - aggressive, attacking, authoritative. All the traits lacking in the first three sessions.

Best of 5 to get to the final!

[B.A. BARACUS]

B A Baracus - Hiigins has that knack of staying in contention in matches even though he 's struggling or a fair bit from his best. It is a trait Ronnie and Judd would kill for it really is.

Knack of grinding out victories or not, Higgins was given a lot of help with staying in contention in this match by his opponent, who played poor at crucial times and really should have done better with the opportunities he was given.

I'll repeat what i said yesterday, If Higgins was playing an opponent who was a good front runner or an established ranking event winner such as ROS, Trump, murphy, allen, bingham etc, he would have been spanked on the form he had showed so far in this semi
.
Aside from the frame when higgins made his century, gilbert had chances in all the other frames, higgins really played as poor as i've ever seen.

I predicted yesterday that gilbert would rue the chances he missed and it looks like that is the case at 14-14.

[CaledonianCraig]

Bizarre re-wrack that. Red over corner pocket and Gilbert in a tricky spot and Higgins suggests a re-wrack.

[CaledonianCraig]

Hmm you mean like the Ronnie beaten by an amateur here in the First Round? Or Murphy who lost comfortably to Robertson who himself lost to Higgins? Or the Bingham who himself lost to Higgins here? Or the Allen who bombed out early doors here.

[B.A. BARACUS]

I was watching a programme with Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan, where they were trying to reproduce some of their famous shots - including Alex Higgins famous shot.  On the whole it seemed to me that Jimmy White tended to be more successful.  I got to thinking, and it seemed to be agreed with the players, that Jimmy White was the more natural player when comparing the two - in that White had a better intuitive feel for shot making - while Ronnie O'Sullivan was more of a thinker and his special talent was in positional play (hence the high breaks and winning frames from a single visit).

Jimmy white was a fantastic talent, learnt his craft hustling in clubs and never had any formal coaching, just played on instinct and a feel for the game. He really should have achieved a lot more with the talent he was given, however was unfortunate to be playing in the eras of davis and hendry, two of the greatest to pick up a cue.

Still, his lack of tournament success can't be wholly attributed to his opposition, white himself was his own worst enemy and never dedicated himself in the way Davis and Hendry did. In terms of world championships, he probably should have won in 92 & 94, 92 especially was perhaps his greatest missed opportunity. 14-8 up in the final and he started to push the boat out, not a good idea when playing a prime Hendry, who won 10 on the spin and walked away the winner at 18-14.

[CaledonianCraig]

John Higgins with a break of 96 seals the 29th frame and from 12-7 down he leads 15-14.

[Duty281]

Another one visit win for Higgins who is starting to motor to the final. Four consecutive frames taken.

[B.A. BARACUS]

Hmm you mean like the Ronnie beaten by an amateur here in the First Round? Or Murphy who lost comfortably to Robertson who himself lost to Higgins? Or the Bingham who himself lost to Higgins here? Or the Allen who bombed out early doors here.

You are missing the point - ROS may have gone out in the first round but he is a proven winner, he had an off day, perhaps he was sick, he certainly looked like he was under the weather.

As for murphy, robertson & bingham, whether they won or lost is not the issue here, they lost because there opponent played better than them, i'll give higgins credit for his victories against bingham and robertson, however the player who beat them is not the same player who has faced gilbert thus far in this match - higgins has played absolutely garbage, i wouldn't even call it his B or C game it's more like his D game.

Gilbert should have been out of sight now, he had multiple chances to win each frame and he repeatedly failed to take advantage, the fact he was only 13-11 ahead yesterday is farcical the way higgins played, the only reason higgins stayed in the match is because gilbert gave him chance after chance.

Any of the above players would have routed higgins the way he played yesterday

[CaledonianCraig]

Gilbert in with a half chance.

[CaledonianCraig]

Hmm you mean like the Ronnie beaten by an amateur here in the First Round? Or Murphy who lost comfortably to Robertson who himself lost to Higgins? Or the Bingham who himself lost to Higgins here? Or the Allen who bombed out early doors here.

You are missing the point - ROS may have gone out in the first round but he is a proven winner, he had an off day, perhaps he was sick, he certainly looked like he was under the weather.

As for murphy, robertson & bingham, whether they won or lost is not the issue here, they lost because there opponent played better than them, i'll give higgins credit for his victories against bingham and robertson, however the player who beat them is not the same player who has faced gilbert thus far in this match - higgins has played absolutely garbage, i wouldn't even call it his B or C game it's more like his D game.

Gilbert should have been out of sight now,  he had multiple chances to win each frame and he repeatedly failed to take advantage, the fact he was only 13-11 ahead yesterday is farcical the way higgins played, the only reason higgins stayed in the match is because gilbert gave him chance after chance.

Any of the above players would have routed higgins the way he played yesterday

That is my point Ronnie on an off day cannot grind and battle to victory. It is not in his mental make-up. And sorry but absolute garbage? Pot success at over 90%? I'll leave it there and get back to watching a gripping semi.

[CaledonianCraig]

Great break this from Gilbert. We are back level at 15-15 with his break of 78.

[Duty281]

That's a brilliant break from Gilbert in testing circumstances. Best of three!

[B.A. BARACUS]

pot success is not a definitive measure of how a player is performing, he played rubbish, the pots he fluffed were beyond belief.

Ronnie on an off day can't grind out a victory?? the majority of ROS victories are when he is not on form, he admits it himself.

ROS on form is a rarity, i would say his victory over hendry in the 2008 world semi is an example of ronnie on form, he was unplayable.

ROS is his own harshest critic, when he was younger he would implode when faced with adversity or a lack of form - that certainly is not the case now.

He has learnt to win when not on form and has won countless matches when not playing well

[CaledonianCraig]

Lovely touch in amongst the balls at close range from Gilbert. Building towards possible frame-winning break.

[B.A. BARACUS]

poor positional play from gilbert, the balls were set perfect to win this frame and he could not take advantage, should be 16-15 up

[CaledonianCraig]

Crucial safety bout this.

[B.A. BARACUS]

gilbert should mop this frame up now

[CaledonianCraig]

16-15 to Dave Gilbert barring snookers. He is one frame away from his first World Final.

[B.A. BARACUS]

balls set nice for snookers, i wouldn't bet against this frame having another twist in it

[B.A. BARACUS]

gilbert playing with fire there, could easily have hit the pink there and given 6 points away

[B.A. BARACUS]

gilbert really needs to sink this red, the balls are set perfect for snookers and higgins is good enough to keep putting him in trouble

[B.A. BARACUS]

unbelievable, gilbert is in danger of throwing this frame away

[CaledonianCraig]

Enthralling frame this.

[B.A. BARACUS]

unbelievable tension, if gilbert loses this frame he will be sick as a parrot

[CaledonianCraig]

16-15 it is and Dave Gilbert is on the brink.

[Duty281]

Fantastic frame. Can Gilbert hold his nerve when/if a chance presents itself to get through to the final?

[B.A. BARACUS]

as ken doherty said, gilbert was put true the wringer there but he stood up to it

[CaledonianCraig]

Gilbert's safety shot goes awry. Chance for John Higgins.

[CaledonianCraig]

It's all happening here. The ref moving a red after dropping his ball marker. Higgins in an embryonic stages of a break.

[B.A. BARACUS]

ref has had a shocker there and at the worst possible time, higgins does not look happy

[CaledonianCraig]

This is now a golden chance to take us to a decider. On a break of 46 and counting.

[B.A. BARACUS]

you never saw len ganley or john street make ref errors like that...silly boy needs to keep his concentration

[B.A. BARACUS]

higgins showing his mettle here, hats off to him, this takes nerve and he has plenty of it

[CaledonianCraig]

What a break under the greatest of pressure. Frame in the bag and it is 16-16.

[Duty281]

This is one of the best breaks of the tournament. Marvellous under extreme pressure.

We get the final frame decider that this session deserves. Easily the best session of the entire match.

[B.A. BARACUS]

plenty of camera shots of higgins family, good job dennis taylor isn't commentating, cannot stand the way he fawns over the players wives & girlfriends

[CaledonianCraig]

Higgins does it in style with a break of 139.

[CaledonianCraig]

May the best man win.

[B.A. BARACUS]

it's been a classic in it's own way, not the best standard in terms of consistent quality but the drama and tension has been top drawer

[Duty281]

Quite glorious. Now Gilbert is acutely aware the precious margins involved: one error in the final frame and Higgins will clean up.

[CaledonianCraig]

Chance for Dave Gilbert.

[CaledonianCraig]

Brilliant long pot from Gilbert. A big chance now.

[B.A. BARACUS]

huge stroke of fortune there for gilbert, he needs to take a few deep breathe here and make the best of this opportunity

[CaledonianCraig]

Nerves jangling for him no doubt.

[CaledonianCraig]

And misses a tough Black. Chance now for Higgins.

[B.A. BARACUS]

chance gone and he's left higgins in

[CaledonianCraig]

And he is out of position. Tough pot if he wants to keep this going.

[CaledonianCraig]

Great pot in the middle pocket. Cool as you like. Still a lot of work to do from here though.

[CaledonianCraig]

This is just great stuff under monster pressure.

[B.A. BARACUS]

higgins has taken these well, looks composed and fully in control

[Sponsored content]