Snooker [Latest - UK Championship, Barbican Centre, York 26 November to 8 December)

[Prince Myshkin]

I'll get the chance to watch it tomorrow. Missed it today unfortunately.

[Reilly]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22376834

 

I know he says it all the time but its pretty annoying, if he gets number 5 this year there's every possibility he'll match or beat Hendry's record in the next handful of years. Even towards his 40s in the next few years he'll still probably look as sharp as anyone, he runs several miles everyday so he'll always have that advantage over other players who get on past their peak.

[busybeeburns]

he's been playing 20 years professionally, why he can't do another 5 years on the circuit seems a bit selfish to snooker. I reckon there's another 2 world championships for him, not including this years, if he keeps going. unless of course he can't be bothered keeping up with the travelling to compete in all the chinese events to keep himself in the top 16 if he doesn't win on Monday. All the ranking events next year start with 128 players in the first round which means more matches to get to the same level of financial achievement. And there's his family, maybe he's stopping for them, but why not just say so.

[Prince Myshkin]

I think because I don't follow the sport religiously it means I can get a little bit of enjoyment from his supposed lack of interest in snooker.

 

Watching now. Trump just got it back to 7-9 after a very interesting game at the end of the second session.

[Reilly]

It made me wonder what the hell Ronnie's talking about when he started going on and on about needing a regular income, he's got several million from tournaments alone, if his kids are going to private schools that is costly but nowhere near worth worrying about for him as long as he hasn't blown all of it somehow.

 

And even then, he realises snooker is now paying his wages but is considering quitting to do some other work to keep the regular income, I don't think working on a farm like he has been is going to make half a million pound a year to keep up standards.

[busybeeburns]

Walden Hawkins 2nd session is extremely scrappy, I can't believe we're watching a WSC semi final here with all these easy balls missed!

[Reilly]

I stop paying attention after a while of shit play, I mean sometimes its interesting and dramatic in a tense game, but this is just amateur.

[busybeeburns]

 

World Snooker Championship 2013: Hawkins beats Walden

 

Barry Hawkins recovered to beat Ricky Walden 17-14 in his World Championship semi-final and set up a final against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible.

 

Hawkins, the world number 14, was 12-8 down at one stage but won nine of the last 11 frames, including a run of eight in a row, to prevail.

 

Before this year, the Englishman had never gone beyond the second round. And he will be a huge underdog against defending champion O'Sullivan, who has not been beaten in four finals.

 

O'Sullivan leads Hawkins 4-1 in head-to-heads and if Hawkins does manage to cause an upset it would rank alongside Joe Johnson's 1986 world final win over Steve Davis in his prime as the biggest in the tournament's history.

 

"I can't believe it - I am in bits," said Hawkins, who won this season's Australian Open and was also a semi-finalist at the German Masters.

 

"The way I started off in this match, I lost my way completely. My cueing went and I just did not settle. I kept digging deep and I kept fighting. Things started turning around and I found my game.

 

"I've got nothing to lose now. I'm just going to go out and enjoy it and see what happens."

 

Beaten semi-finalist Walden added: "Barry started to play better towards the end of the match. He deserved to win in the end.

 

"I'll look back and take the positives but just now it's a bit sore.

 

"If Barry gets off to a good start in the final he can definitely keep Ronnie at bay."

 

Walden, the world number 13, led his compatriot 6-2 after the first session, when Hawkins was so out of sorts he received an ironic cheer on passing 40 for the first time.

 

But having gone 12-8 down in the second session, the 34-year-old from Kent proceeded to turn the match on its head. The left-hander cut the gap to three courtesy of a break of 104 before nicking a gruelling 56-minute frame to make it 12-10.

 

Hawkins, who has been working with former world champion and mental guru Terry Griffiths, also ground out the next before making a break of 66 to draw level heading into the final session.

 

He then won the first frame of the evening session on a re-spotted black, added the next despite a break of 56 from Chester's Walden, and a 60 in the 28th frame left him one frame from the final, before Walden found some form to win the next two racks and reduce the deficit to two frames.

 

But at 16-14, Walden was in the balls when a terrible piece of luck saw him knock in a red having potted the blue, allowing Hawkins to finish off the match.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22386595

[busybeeburns]

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Judd Trump to reach World final

 

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan reached his fifth World Championship final with a comfortable 17-11 victory over Judd Trump at the Crucible.

 

O'Sullivan led 14-10 after the first two sessions, although Trump played his part in some gripping exchanges.

 

But Trump's mistakes caught up with him on Saturday, with O'Sullivan winning three of the four frames played.

 

O'Sullivan will play Barry Hawkins, who beat Ricky Walden 17-14, in the final, which starts at 14:00 BST on Sunday.

 

"I'm quite surprised really to be sitting here talking about another world final," said O'Sullivan.

 

"I don't think either of us played anywhere near our best, there was a lot of tension out there. It was the newcomer, the future of the game, against someone who's been around a long time, who wears his heart on his sleeve.

 

"I might say some things that frustrate people sometimes but my fans always get behind me because they know I try my hardest every time I go out there."

 

Trump said: "I'm not going to make excuses, Ronnie played the better snooker. He's so much better than most of the other players.

 

"Match practice doesn't come into it; he's so good in the balls that he's never far away, so he's never got any pressure on himself. He's never out of position.

 

"If you watch him play the crowd hardly ever seem to clap because he's always perfect, whereas me and the other players are always having to pull out good pots.

 

"I don't think there was a lot in it. I've made the most centuries this season and if I was scoring like I have been it would have been a different outcome.

 

"I thought my safety was better than his and I created a lot more chances but he mopped up over and over again and hardly missed a ball.

 

O'Sullivan, 37, has never lost a Crucible final and will be a red-hot favourite to make it five world titles whether it is Walden or Hawkins who wins the other semi, which finishes on Saturday evening.

 

O'Sullivan has not been behind at any stage in the tournament so far, carving through the field despite the fact that he has barely played any competitive snooker since winning the tournament last year.

 

World number three Trump, runner-up in 2011, was expected to be the man to push him close and the 23-year-old was brimming with confidence before the match started.

 

And given the break-building pedigree of both players and the pre-match intrigue - O'Sullivan said he was likely to retire after the tournament, win or lose - the match was expected to produce plenty of fireworks.

 

Remarkably, there was only one century break in 28 frames, but the lack of heavy scoring did not make the encounter any less dramatic, with every session brimming with high-quality snooker and tension.

 

The pair were locked at 4-4 after the first session on Thursday before O'Sullivan won both sessions 5-3 on Friday.

 

Friday's evening session had pretty much everything, including a century break from Trump, some fine safety exchanges and an "improper" gesture from O'Sullivan, which drew a verbal warning from referee Michaela Tabb.

 

And it was also the session which demonstrated best the difference between master and pretender, with Trump making mistakes at crucial moments and O'Sullivan stepping up time and again to punish him.

 

Perhaps the best example of this was in frame 20, when Trump, with the balls at his mercy, fouled the yellow with the rest and O'Sullivan cleared up to make it 12-8.

 

The first frame of Saturday's final session followed this pattern, with Trump missing a cut-back red on 50 and O'Sullivan clearing up for 15-10.

 

Trump was in the balls again in the next frame but snookered himself on his intended colour and again O'Sullivan made him pay to stand one frame from the final.

 

The Bristol player showed his mettle to take the next frame with a break of 77 but O'Sullivan took the next to wrap up the victory and give himself the chance to defend the world crown for the first time in his career.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22400372

[busybeeburns]

Ronnie wins the first two and Hawkins the next three, if this continues we'll be in for a treat

[busybeeburns]

First session: Hawkins 3-5 O'Sullivan

[busybeeburns]

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan reconsiders retirement from snooker

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan appeared to perform a dramatic about-face ahead of his fifth World Championship final, declaring he could not afford to retire.

 

On Wednesday, O'Sullivan, 37, suggested he might walk away from the sport after this year's event. But after his semi-final win over Judd Trump he said: "I don't know where all the money's gone but I'm not in a position to retire."

 

In the final O'Sullivan plays Barry Hawkins, who beat Ricky Walden 17-14. However, the four-time world champion, who said he was having personal issues with his ex-girlfriend, added: "In an ideal world I'd love to go out there and play. But any of this money that's coming to me I have to pay out straight away to keep the wolf from the door. I've been backed into a corner. I've spent £250,000 on lawyers' fees over the last three years, plus the court orders and this, that and the other, so there's no point in me playing, I might as well be skint. I'm not good at dealing with pressure, so sometimes it's easier for me to say: 'You know what, I'm not playing that game, see you later.' Maybe I'm better off on a barge on a canal somewhere."

 

O'Sullivan won prize money totalling £449,430 during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, including £250,000 for clinching his fourth world crown at the Crucible 12 months ago - he will win another £250,000 if he successfully defends his title.

 

His career earnings are reported to be in excess of £6m, second only to seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry. O'Sullivan, who has nine tournaments left on his World Snooker contract, said he would be happy to play in some of the more fringe events on the tour. "I like playing in the PTC [Players' Tour Championship] events, the smaller events, because that is pure snooker," said O'Sullivan, who has never lost a final at the Crucible.

 

"But this is different - all my family are going to want to come up, there's masses of pressure. If circumstances were different I'd embrace it, but I'm backed into a corner. "That's why I ended up working on a farm during my year off. Believe me, I didn't want to work on a farm, I just had enough of it all."

 

O'Sullivan said he had been close to breaking point at times during this year's event, despite having never trailed in any game, but added his new-found mental strength and experience had carried him through.

 

"It hasn't been plain-sailing for me," said O'Sullivan, who has barely played any competitive snooker since winning the world title last year. "It doesn't seem like you're being pushed but believe me, there are times out there when you're so close to cracking. And something will happen which will give you a bit of belief and you'll pull away.

 

"I'm a much more difficult opponent to beat these days. Years ago I probably would have thrown in the towel in the second round. But I'm managing to get the best out of myself on any given day. "It's been good enough to get to the final, and please God it will be good enough to get me through one more match."

 

O'Sullivan will be a strong favourite in the final when he takes on Hawkins, whose previous best at the Crucible had been two second-round appearances.

 

Asked what chance Hawkins, or his semi-final opponent Walden, had of beating O'Sullivan, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry said: "None. I'm frightened it will be a procession."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22413601

[Reilly]

Can anyone explain what happened at the end of the session where Ronnie and Barry were discussing something? I just caught it but didn't hear what it was about.

 

I missed this afternoons play.

[Prince Myshkin]

They were agreeing the table was shit. It was amicable. Wasn't an argument.

[busybeeburns]

I believe they were discussing the cloth not being tight enough after they replaced for the final. Didn't stop Ronnie registering back to back centuries!

 

It's now 6-4 to Ronnie

[Reilly]

I said they were discussing it I never said it was an argument jesus stop trying to make arguments out of nothing!!1

 

That's weird, surely it's the same table they've been using the last few days and beyond.

[Reilly]

I believe they were discussing the cloth not being tight enough after they replaced for the final.

 

Ah ha.

[busybeeburns]

Not sure if they've done anything about it in between sessions though, I've not heard it being mentioned

[busybeeburns]

I think the commentary about Sheila from Dronsfield's scones have unsettled the crowd :lol:

[Reilly]

Indeed, I hate to be a killjoy because I like the crowd being able to listen to the commentators and when they interact with the crowd, but inevitably there will be an incident where they'll let a joke slip before an important shot that totally knocks the player off (Which kindof happened this evening except the shot wasn't huge at the time, but it shouldn't really matter). After all, even though the players know the crowd are laughing at the commentary on their earpieces, its confusing to be standing there in silence, focusing, with nothing happening and then suddenly there's a burst of laughter all around you.

[busybeeburns]

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan leads Barry Hawkins in World final

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan leads Barry Hawkins 10-7 after the first day of the World Championship final at the Crucible.

 

But so far it has not been the walkover many had predicted, with Hawkins making the defending champion sweat for the first time in the tournament. Four-time winner O'Sullivan, 37, made four century breaks to surpass Stephen Hendry's previous record of 127 at the venue. But world number 14 Hawkins was not overawed, making four half-centuries and one century of his own.

 

Asked beforehand what chance Kent left-hander Hawkins, 34, had of winning the final, seven-time world champion Hendry answered: "None."

 

And when O'Sullivan won the first two frames with breaks of 74 and 92, it looked like the procession that Hendry had predicted might transpire. However, Hawkins, who had never progressed beyond the second round at the Crucible before this year and who was an 80-1 shot before the tournament started, hit back with runs of 88 and 81 to level.

 

And when Hawkins nicked the next frame to take a 3-2 lead into the mid-session interval it was the first time O'Sullivan had trailed in the tournament. But O'Sullivan soon regained his poise, reeling off the next three frames and drawing level with Hendry's record with consecutive runs of 113 and 100.

 

Both players were unhappy with the cloth during the first session but that did not affect the quality of play, with six breaks above 50 and two centuries. That being the case, no alterations were made. Hawkins took the first frame of the evening session but O'Sullivan, who has never lost a Crucible final, had restored his two-frame cushion by the mid-session interval. However, the rest did Hawkins good.

 

Indeed, when Hawkins knocked in breaks of 83 and 133 to draw level at 7-7 O'Sullivan, who has barely played any competitive snooker since last May's Crucible triumph, looked rattled for the first time in this year's event. But O'Sullivan stayed calm under fire, retaliating with back-to-back breaks of 103 and 106. Of the 52 century breaks made in this year's tournament so far, O'Sullivan has made 11 of them.

 

And the final frame of the evening could prove to be a crucial one, with Hawkins having chances to win it only for O'Sullivan to nick it on the black and increase his overnight lead to three frames.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22421611

[busybeeburns]

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Barry Hawkins to retain World title

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan won his fifth World Championship crown with an 18-12 victory over a game Barry Hawkins.

 

Defending champion O'Sullivan played magnificently, compiling a new record of six centuries in a Crucible final. But world number 14 Hawkins, who many thought would be blown away, played his part with some quality snooker himself.

 

O'Sullivan is only the third man to retain the title at the venue and his victory will go down as one of the great sporting comebacks. Te 37-year-old had played one competitive match - last September - since winning his fourth world title last year. Asked beforehand what chance Kent left-hander Hawkins had of beating O'Sullivan, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry said: "None."

 

But Hawkins, an 80-1 shot before the tournament started, was not overawed on Sunday, playing his part in two high-quality sessions. But O'Sullivan played some of his most fluent snooker of the tournament, making four century breaks to surpass Hendry's previous record of 127 at the Crucible. Hawkins, 34, nicked the first frame on Monday but, as has been the case throughout the tournament, O'Sullivan immediately responded, rattling in a break of 76 to make it 11-8.

 

The next frame was key, a superb clearance of 55 putting O'Sullivan 12-8 up, although Hawkins rallied with a break of 90 to make it 12-9. A run of 133 in the next frame saw O'Sullivan become only the fourth player, after Hendry (1997), John Higgins (1998) and Matthew Stevens (2000), to make five tons in a Crucible final. And when O'Sullivan won frame 23 to go 14-9 ahead it appeared that Hawkins's resolve was wilting.

 

But Hawkins, who had never been beyond the second round before this year, made it 14-10 courtesy of a break of 67, only for O'Sullivan to hit back with a record-breaking clearance of 124. Hawkins mustered his second century of the final, a classy run of 127, to make it 15-11 and followed up with a break of 66 for 15-12.

 

But once again O'Sullivan found another gear, pouncing on a missed red along the cushion by Hawkins and knocking in a break of 77 for 16-12. A break of 88 left O'Sullivan needing one more frame to win the match and he took it with a run of 88 to finish in style.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/22421611

[Reilly]

That was inevitable, I just wanna know how Ronnie blew all his money.

[Sam1036]

Visiting the Crucible

 

My visit to Crucible :) with pics.

[busybeeburns]

great stuff thanks! :D