General Snooker Thread

[ONO]

I can't believe nobody has posted about this, at all. It's a brilliant final. Bit pissed that it's went on this long (Pushing back Have I Got News For You ). However, it's damn entertaining. Poor Dott has played some terrible shots, due to the pressure and all, as well as Ebdon, which is understandable. I want Dott to win. Ebdon bores the fucking shit out of me, and at this moment in time, Dott needs this frame, to win.

[Guest Heresy]

Look's like the bloke from Trainspotting is going to win.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

No Match Of The Day 2 last night cos of it

[Liam]

No Match Of The Day 2 last night cos of it

No, it was on, just at about half 12.

[TheArsenal]

It was a very boring final. And very poor quality. At least in comparison to previous years.

[brenchill]

GLOBAL AUDIENCE SET FOR SNOOKER SHOW

With the popularity of snooker growing in numerous regions internationally, this year's tournament is being broadcast to an unprecedented number of countries around the globe.

Fans in 77 different territories will be able to follow the action live from the Crucible thanks to host broadcaster BBC as well as Eurosport (Europe/Middle East/North Africa), Showtime Arabia (Middle East), CCTV (China), Shanghai Media Group (China), Now TV (Hong Kong/Macau) and Cineplex (Thailand).

Adam Kelly, Marketing Director of IMG Media, said: "Snooker is being seen by an ever-wider audience and this growth is set to continue for years to come. IMG Media takes great pride in the role it plays in developing this growth, alongside World Snooker."

Last year, BBC generated 138 hours of coverage, reaching over 27 million viewers in the UK, while Eurosport provided 144 hours, reaching 57 million people.

The growth in popularity of snooker internationally is also reflected in the vast and varied number of applications made to World Snooker's press office for media accreditation. Journalists from China, Latvia, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Denmark will be among those reporting from Sheffield.

There's also an international feel to the event on the table with a record four players from the Far East. Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Liu Chuang from mainland China and Marco Fu from Hong Kong are all aiming to become the only non-British or Irish player other than Cliff Thorburn to lift the famous trophy.

Canada's Thorburn will be present backstage at the tournament to mark the 25th anniversary of his 147 in 1983 – the first maximum break ever made in the Championship.

Familiar stars such as defending 888.com World Champion John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire and Steve Davis will also be battling for the title and £250,000 top prize.

The 888.com World Snooker Championship, which runs from April 19 to May 5, attracts many thousands of fans to the famous Crucible arena. The theatre is currently under-going a £15.3 million renovation project, but will re-open each year for snooker's most important tournament.

The Draw

I want O'Sullivan to add to his UK Championship win but my moneys on Stephen Maguire.

Edited April 18, 2008 by brenchill

[SilentBob2004]

I've loved snooker ever since I was a kid and am really looking forward to this years competition.

Should be a goodun. I'm always rooting for O Sullivan but there's always so many people that can win it. Sad that Jimmy White didnt qualify this year, wont be the same without him.

Looking at that draw there's a few potential fantastic matches in the 2nd round. Ding Junhui vs Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O Sullivan vs Mark Williams could be brilliant if those guys get through. Marco Fu would be a good opponent for Hendry as well, but from what i've seen of Junhui in the last 2-3 years he has the potential to be one of the best of all time.

Edited April 18, 2008 by SilentBob2004

[brenchill]

Maguire has potentially the easiest route to the quarter finals. Williams is meant to be back on form aswell. I hope O'Sullivan can bring his "A" game to the tournement but you never know what mindset he's going to be in and the China Open incident wasn't a good indication.

Edited April 18, 2008 by brenchill

[Dan]

Shaun Murphy FTW.

Met him about 5 years ago in a qualifying thing in Blackpool, top bloke, he was an unknown then and he made time to talk to us after the match.

[TheArsenal]

Ronnie on top form can beat anyone on the circuit. No question. But he so rarely finds top form and incidents like the China Open lewdness are hardly the way to prepare for a major tournament. All in all, I plan on watching as much snooker as possible over the next couple of weeks.

[brenchill]

Ah, I see the coverage is as awful as ever. Just show the fucking Snooker we don't care about a poem on the side of Shefield Hallam University or seeing Stephens practicing with one of his mates.

[SilentBob2004]

What did O Sullivan do at the China Open? Must've missed that one.

[brenchill]

What did O Sullivan do at the China Open? Must've missed that one.

[brenchill]

O'Sullivan is playing shockingly bad by his own standards. Unless he picks his game up I'm sticking with my belief that Maguire's going to win it.

[TheArsenal]

Liu is playing incredibly for someone who has never played at the Crucible before and someone who had to play 5 qualifiers and is provisionally ranked 95th for next year. While Ronnie's not on his A-game, this kid is taking it to him.

[brenchill]

Fair play to him but Ronnie just isn't at the races. Wenbo, another Crucible first timer, looked the real deal this morning against Doherty he's leading 7-2 hopefully he can close the game out.

[TheArsenal]

Ok, I'm back.... what did I miss?

Oh....

Ermmm... Go Ronnie!!

In other news - Doherty sucks.

[Gazz]

Jesus Christ Ronnie.

Give him a shot at least.

[brenchill]

He's completely unplayable when he's in this kind of form. I was hoping Maguire would get to the final to face Ronnie but a Carter/O'Sullivan final should be just as entertaining.

[TheArsenal]

Ronnie has really picked his game up against Hendry. In the quarters against Williams he played well, but not his usual standard. In this match he was absolutely breath-taking.