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.

[B.A. BARACUS]

this is ruthless scoring from higgins, looks a different player to the one who faced gilbert, to be fair to trump he hasn't done much wrong, he's just being outplayed by an opponent who is playing no miss snooker - reminiscent of a prime hendry

[CaledonianCraig]

Higgins punishes Trump in the best way possible with a one visit break of 101. He leads the Final for the first time at 4-3.

[Duty281]

This is Higgins at his ruthless best.

[B.A. BARACUS]

Perhaps only a prime ROS or selby could beat higgins playing like this. ROS has the game to outscore him and selby probably could grind his way to victory - any other current player would struggle.

[CaledonianCraig]

Higgins cannot take advantage of a fluked red. Chance for Judd to pot a ball for the first time in 35 minutes

[CaledonianCraig]

Good chance this for Judd.

[CaledonianCraig]

Trump shows his mettle and seals the frame in one visit with yet another century (the 4th in 8 frames). Really superb quality of snooker on show in that session and it is level at 4-4.

[B.A. BARACUS]

on another note, the BBC could do with having a refresh of the current commentary team. Mcmanus is rubbish and annoying in equal measure, for e.g. his habit of calling the spectators patrons.

Ken doherty is another one who should be shown the door, as should john parrott, peter ebdon, shaun murphy and dennis taylor, who is particularly poor.

Out of the current lot, i'd keep virgo, hendry, who is excellent and davis, who should stay in the studio as he is poor in the commentary box.

God only knows why they got rid of clive everton and willie thorne, clive everton in particular was top drawer.

[Duty281]

Very gallant response from Trump. He was never in good position for the early part of that break, but he saw it through. Great play from both this afternoon.

Nine frames this evening, so we're guaranteed a leader overnight.

[88Chris05]

A very high-quality session ends at four frames apiece, which seems a fair reflection. An air of inevitability whenever either man gets in with a decent scoring chance. Neither look like missing until the frame is done.

It all depends on how Trump does in the scrappier frames, which are bound to occur sooner or later. Set up beautifully for the second session.

[88Chris05]

on another note, the BBC could do with having a refresh of the current commentary team. Mcmanus is rubbish and annoying in equal measure,  for e.g. his habit of calling the spectators patrons.

Ken doherty is another one who should be shown the door, as should john parrott, peter ebdon, shaun murphy and dennis taylor, who is particularly poor.

Out of the current lot, i'd keep virgo, hendry, who is excellent and davis, who should stay in the studio as he is poor in the commentary box.

God only knows why they got rid of clive everton and willie thorne, clive everton in particular was top drawer.

Clive Everton was brilliant, and the perfect foil to the enthusiasm (sometimes overenthusiasm) of the other commentators, but his voice is totally shot these days. Problem is, his style was more classical in its nature and there's no real natural successor to him in that regard. Agree that Thorne was very good too, especially in tandem with Virgo, but it appears hiring Willie just comes with too much off-air baggage and the BBC just weren't having it anymore.

I actually don't mind McManus. He's still learning the ropes a little but there's some potential there. Agree that Doherty and Ebdon don't offer much. Parrott I can take or leave (I like his understated humour, but not his breakdown of the match). Dennis Taylor is well past it and it's about time the BBC retired him.

[CaledonianCraig]

It's Ken's speech impediment that bugs me. All this taught (thought), tink (think), tree (three) etc etc

There aren't any commentators who really bug me but agree that Steve Davis and John Parrot are better kept in the studio.

[CaledonianCraig]

Well I may not see much more live snooker now due to work so will leave it up to Duty and B.A. to carry on the live reports.

[Duty281]

Trump misses a simple green, and Higgins carves out a chance and clears up with a 125 break. Lethal. His 11th century of the tournament.

[Duty281]

All level again, but a lot scrappier. Trump needed three visits and a whole lot of power to clinch the frame, and Higgins missed chances as well.

[88Chris05]

6-5 to Trump. This match has been a joy to watch so far. Incredible standard and both players look devastating in the balls.

[Duty281]

Exhibition stuff from Trump. 135 break after Higgins missed a tricky one in the middle. 6 centuries in 11 frames...the record for a world final is apparently 8!

[Duty281]

Trump 7-5. Comfortably the longest frame of the match, after a decent tactical battle, though Trump should have won the frame much earlier. Higgins starting to miss pots consistently, and by quite big margins too.

[Duty281]

8-5 now, Trump's fourth frame in a row and he's starting to pull away. Secured with yet another century in trying circumstances, after Higgins lost the safety battle through an error.

Since Higgins' 125 break, the Scot hasn't had much table time.

[88Chris05]

Trump turning the screw as he moves 8-5 in front. Another one-visit frame and he looks the part. First signs of weariness from Higgins in the past couple of frames.

Vital for Higgins chances that he at least shares these last two frames. I think he'd take 7-10 overnight if you offered it him right now, given how Trump is playing. Higgins hasn't really had a good opening in the balls for a while so it'll be interesting to see how he fares under pressure when he does get a decent scoring opportunity.

[88Chris05]

Five on the spin for Trump as he goes 9-5 up. He's out playing Higgins in every department at the moment. Higgins might need Trump to have a dip to have a chance now. As I said above, Higgins desperately needs two frames before the end of play...And he's only got three frames left to try and get them.

[Duty281]

Another frame for Trump after some exceptional potting. Higgins had first look, but ran out of position.

9-5 - Trump will definitely be ahead overnight, but by how much? This lead is already starting to look very daunting.

[88Chris05]

Higgins butchers a long red, Trump steps in with 71 to go 10-5 in front. Higgins needs these last two frames. Non-negotiable, for me. If he doesn't then it's going to be a procession for Trump tomorrow.

[Duty281]

Some of the best attacking snooker I've ever seen. To do it in a world final is phenomenal. 10-5.

I know Higgins rescued himself from a five-frame deficit in the last round, but (with all due respect) this is an entirely different level of opponent.

[88Chris05]

And Trump moves to 11-5 in no time at all. This one is all over.

[Duty281]

It's a relentless onslaught, seven frames in a row. It was equal after ten frames! Since then, Trump has stepped it up to one of the highest levels I've ever seen in matchplay snooker.

[Duty281]

Couple of shots in this final frame from Higgins indicating how mentally frazzled he is...which isn't surprising!

[88Chris05]

And a quickfire 70 break puts Trump 12-5 up at the close of play. That session was an absolute demolition job. Higgins looks totally impotent and as Duty has said, there were some signs in that last frame that he's cracked, which you'd never think would be the case.

Trump was utterly brilliant tonight. A slight wobble with a couple of misses in frame 10, and if Higgins had been able to capitalise on them to go 6-4, it might have been different. But Trump's absolutely buried him from that point onwards. Hopefully Higgins can salvage some pride and at least take it to a fourth session tomorrow, but he ain't winning from here.

[Duty281]

Scrappy frame, but once Trump got in, there was little doubt about him clearing up, which he did. Absolutely stupendous. 8-1 in that session. One of the most dominant sessions in a world final. 12-5 overall.

And, unlike the semi-final, very little blame can be attached to Higgins for the way he is getting overwhelmed. Trump has played near-perfect attacking snooker. A joy to watch.

If the old master is to produce one of the greatest comebacks since 1985, he needs to pray Trump's level drops, and that he wins the next session by a minimum of 6-2. That would leave him 14-11 behind, and just on the cusp of a possible comeback going into Monday evening.

But, really, it's far more realistic that Trump wins the title before teatime with a session to spare.

[No name Bertie]

12-5 to Trump.

Is this going to be the beginning of the Judd Trump reign?   He is 29 turning 30 in August.  He only has two triple crown titles (2011 UK title, 2019 Masters) and no World Championship titles (second final appearance). If he wants to write his name in the history of the sport then the next five to ten years are surely going to be critical.  His rise (??) might herald the end of the likes of some players that are now in their forties. To date Trump has 613 century breaks and four 147s. He seems certain to finish his career with the most century breaks - but it is titles that really count.

With John Higgins he has been in three consecutive World Championship finals but he is not getting any younger and maybe he is not going to get many more chances to add to his record in the sport.  I thought with five World Championship titles that would cement his position in the very top tier in the history of the sport but maybe four World titles might be his career limit.

[B.A. BARACUS]

on another note, the BBC could do with having a refresh of the current commentary team. Mcmanus is rubbish and annoying in equal measure,  for e.g. his habit of calling the spectators patrons.

Ken doherty is another one who should be shown the door, as should john parrott, peter ebdon, shaun murphy and dennis taylor, who is particularly poor.

Out of the current lot, i'd keep virgo, hendry, who is excellent and davis, who should stay in the studio as he is poor in the commentary box.

God only knows why they got rid of clive everton and willie thorne, clive everton in particular was top drawer.

Clive Everton was brilliant, and the perfect foil to the enthusiasm (sometimes overenthusiasm) of the other commentators, but his voice is totally shot these days. Problem is, his style was more classical in its nature and there's no real natural successor to him in that regard. Agree that Thorne was very good too, especially in tandem with Virgo, but it appears hiring Willie just comes with too much off-air baggage and the BBC just weren't having it anymore.

I actually don't mind McManus. He's still learning the ropes a little but there's some potential there. Agree that Doherty and Ebdon don't offer much. Parrott I can take or leave (I like his understated humour, but not his breakdown of the match). Dennis Taylor is well past it and it's about time the BBC retired him.

Phil Yates would probably be the most suitable replacement for clive everton, extremely knowledgeable on cue sports in general and doesn't waste time waffling on about who he has been for dinner or played golf with recently, unfortunately he is plying his trade on eurosport and sky, when they cover 9 ball tournaments such as the mosconi cup - if memory serves me correct, he did used to be a regular on the bbc commentary team, however he moved on some time ago for whatever reason.

Stephen hendry is without doubt the best of the new crop, which is surprising because he was as dull as a bag of spanners when playing professionally. Commentating is definitely an art in itself and it's not always easy to predict who will be good until they pick up the mic, for e.g. i find the spaceman dominic dale on eurosport to be very good

[88Chris05]

12-5 to Trump.

Is this going to be the beginning of the Judd Trump reign?   He is 29 turning 30 in August.  He only has two triple crown titles (2011 UK title, 2019 Masters) and no World Championship titles (second final appearance). If he wants to write his name in the history of the sport then the next five to ten years are surely going to be critical.  His rise (??) might herald the end of the likes of some players that are now in their forties.  To date Trump has 613 century breaks and four 147s.  He seems certain to finish his career with the most century breaks - but it is titles that really count.

With John Higgins he has been in three consecutive World Championship finals but he is not getting any younger and maybe he is not going to get many more chances to add to his record in the sport.  I thought with five World Championship titles that would cement his position in the very top tier in the history of the sport but maybe four World titles might be his career limit.

Depends what you mean by 'reign', really. I think the game is too competitive these days for anyone to have a prolonged spell of five years or more where they consistently prove themselves a cut above the rest and win 50% or more of the biggest titles (ie, Worlds, UK, Masters) like Davis and Hendry did. There's just too much competition out there. It's one of the reasons I think Selby managing to win three world titles in four seasons was such a monstrous achievement.

But Trump has so much raw ability he could be the overall man to beat for the next few years, much like Selby was 2014-17, even if he's not absolutely dominating the trophy count. Depends on whether his performance yesterday is simply a peak, one of those days where everything comes together, or if it's a sign of what's to come on a more consistent basis - because while he's been the most devastating and heavy scorer in the game (along with O'Sullivan) for a while, he also looked the complete tactical player yesterday, picking the right shot and playing good safety. If he really has cracked that second part of the game at the highest level now, then I think he'll take some stopping.

He's definitely taken himself to a brand new level with that performance yesterday. Before the final started, though I picked Trump to win, I also said that Higgins at his very best would beat Trump at his very best over the longer format just about every time - but I'd never seen THAT version of Trump looking so good before. I may well have underestimated him, because any version of Higgins would have had his hands full with the version of Trump we saw yesterday.

As for Higgins, for me if he ends up with 'only' (!) four world titles, the period of 1998-2007 would be the really frustrating part in my opinion. Past his prime, he's done valiantly in making these three finals in a row, and if he loses all three it would be a bit of a surprise....But not as surprising as the fact that it took him nine years after winning his first to add his second, which nobody would have believed if you'd have said it in 1998-99 when he really was dominating (held all three of the majors at the same time). In particular, he really lost his way between 2001 and 2004, where he couldn't beat O'Sullivan for love nor money (aside from that stretch, their head-to-head has been remarkably even) and he missed out on a couple of world title opportunities that the 1998-2001 or 2007-2011 version of himself could easily have snapped up.

As crazy as it sounds, I do think a case can be made that Higgins has (and I do only mean ever so slightly!) underachieved in his career, because until very recently he was the only man who could go head-to-head with an in-form, motivated O'Sullivan and come out on top on a fairly consistent basis.

[Duty281]

Time to see if Higgins can get himself back into contention.

[Duty281]

Oh wow, 15 reds and 14 blacks, including an unbelievable double, before the 147 falls just short.

Great start from Higgins.

[88Chris05]

What an effort by Higgins. But it's strange, once he pulled out that unbelievable double, I just kind of 'knew' (one of those feelings) that he was going to miss that comparatively simple black off the spot. Ah well, great drama and just what he needed to give himself some confidence. 12-6 to Trump.

[B.A. BARACUS]

12-5 to Trump.

Is this going to be the beginning of the Judd Trump reign?   He is 29 turning 30 in August.  He only has two triple crown titles (2011 UK title, 2019 Masters) and no World Championship titles (second final appearance). If he wants to write his name in the history of the sport then the next five to ten years are surely going to be critical.  His rise (??) might herald the end of the likes of some players that are now in their forties.  To date Trump has 613 century breaks and four 147s.  He seems certain to finish his career with the most century breaks - but it is titles that really count.

With John Higgins he has been in three consecutive World Championship finals but he is not getting any younger and maybe he is not going to get many more chances to add to his record in the sport.  I thought with five World Championship titles that would cement his position in the very top tier in the history of the sport but maybe four World titles might be his career limit.

Depends what you mean by 'reign', really. I think the game is too competitive these days for anyone to have a prolonged spell of five years or more where they consistently prove themselves a cut above the rest and win 50% or more of the biggest titles (ie, Worlds, UK, Masters) like Davis and Hendry did. There's just too much competition out there. It's one of the reasons I think Selby managing to win three world titles in four seasons was such a monstrous achievement.

But Trump has so much raw ability he could be the overall man to beat for the next few years, much like Selby was 2014-17, even if he's not absolutely dominating the trophy count. Depends on whether his performance yesterday is simply a peak, one of those days where everything comes together, or if it's a sign of what's to come on a more consistent basis - because while he's been the most devastating and heavy scorer in the game (along with O'Sullivan) for a while, he also looked the complete tactical player yesterday, picking the right shot and playing good safety. If he really has cracked that second part of the game at the highest level now, then I think he'll take some stopping.

He's definitely taken himself to a brand new level with that performance yesterday. Before the final started, though I picked Trump to win, I also said that Higgins at his very best would beat Trump at his very best over the longer format just about every time - but I'd never seen THAT version of Trump looking so good before. I may well have underestimated him, because any version of Higgins would have had his hands full with the version of Trump we saw yesterday.

As for Higgins, for me if he ends up with 'only' (!) four world titles, the period of 1998-2007 would be the really frustrating part in my opinion. Past his prime, he's done valiantly in making these three finals in a row, and if he loses all three it would be a bit of a surprise....But not as surprising as the fact that it took him nine years after winning his first to add his second, which nobody would have believed if you'd have said it in 1998-99 when he really was dominating (held all three of the majors at the same time). In particular, he really lost his way between 2001 and 2004, where he couldn't beat O'Sullivan for love nor money (aside from that stretch, their head-to-head has been remarkably even) and he missed out on a couple of world title opportunities that the 1998-2001 or 2007-2011 version of himself could easily have snapped up.

As crazy as it sounds, I do think a case can be made that Higgins has (and I do only mean ever so slightly!) underachieved in his career, because until very recently he was the only man who could go head-to-head with an in-form, motivated O'Sullivan and come out on top on a fairly consistent basis.

Good post and i agree that as harsh as it sounds, an argument can be made that higgins has underachieved in his career to date, especially if he should lose this final.

It has to be said though, that the fact the class of 92, comprising higgins, ROS and williams are still competing at the highest level and sat at the top of the rankings, is testament to their ability and competitive nature, much like tennis with federer, nadal and djokovic, i think it will be a long time, if ever we see a trio of all time greats competing against each at the same time again.

The early 2000's were one of my favorite periods in snooker, the above trio and hendry were absolutely dominant and some of their head to head matches were classics. if higgins can be considered to have underachieved, the same can also be said of mark williams, who at the turn of the millennium was a remarkable player, who was winning everything in sight, unfortunately like higgins, he also went off the boil for a number of years and in terms of world titles wins, he should be on at least 4 or 5.

[88Chris05]

Higgins with a trademark counter-clearance of 59 to move to 7-12 down.

Now, Trump shouldn't be too nervous, and he's still in a dominant position. But that was the first frame in a long, long time where he's had a chance (a couple of good chances, actually) and hasn't made a frame-winning break from it.

[Duty281]

Higgins heist! Not punished for some poor safety play by his opponent, who struggled for position constantly, and the Scot counters and clears up.

[B.A. BARACUS]

judd needs to be careful here, the final of 2011 should be a warning to him, he was dominant during periods of that match too, only for higgins to come back and pinch the title

[88Chris05]

What a response by Trump. Knocks in a long red, makes 101 in no time at all. 13-7.

This is why he's just going to be too strong for Higgins. His long potting is just a joke. These safety shots by Higgins aren't too bad, but Trump just crunches them in from distance like nobody else. Can't do anything about that.

[Duty281]

The perfect reply with a 101 break, and back to a six-frame lead. Higgins needs this final frame before the interval.

[eirebilly]

I would not be writing Higgins off just yet, he is an old school match player and wont think he has lost until he has lost.

Trump, though, is more than deserving of a World title. Some may say its a long time coming but I feel he has only really matured as a player in the last 2-3 seasons.

[Duty281]

More scintillating attack from Trump to restore his overnight seven frame lead.

This session's started off very similar to yesterday evening - the first frame Higgins wins with a ton. The second is a scrap (though this time Higgins wins the scrap). Then three and four are taken by Trump who steps it up a gear.

Higgins needs to win the next mini-session 4-0, but that's next to impossible against an opponent on this form.

[88Chris05]

Higgins makes a pig's ear of the breakoff, which he's done quite a few times in this match. Trump helps himself to a 71 break to do the damage and move to 14-7. Just a stunning performance of potting and break-building.

Higgins needs a clean sweep of the last four frames to have any prayer here, and I just can't see how he's going to keep Trump out. He's potting everything.

[B.A. BARACUS]

shot of the championship - trump's long red against higgins, fantastic pot and considering the circumstances, i feel it turned the match in his favour as higgins could have gone ahead by two frames if he missed, should be a deserved winner.

[B.A. BARACUS]

steve davis and dennis taylor in the commentary box, time to switch over to eurosport i think

[B.A. BARACUS]

trump utterly dominant, i doubt any current player could compete with him playing like this, perhaps only ROS at his very best

[88Chris05]

Incredible. Higgins did nothing wrong in that frame. Played what looked like a water-tight safety, Trump spots a shot up in to a bulk pocket which nobody else did, knocks it in....And promptly makes 126.

It's 15-7.

[Duty281]

One of the most dominant performances in a world final. Another stupendous clearance from Trump. Nothing, really, that Higgins could have done about this.

[B.A. BARACUS]

trump could wrap this up with a session to spare, complacency may play a part, but somehow i cannot see trump resting on his laurels, he looks determined to pummel higgins every opportunity he gets

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