Just thought I'd start a topic as there doesn't seem to be one.

All contributions welcome.


Go Ronnie!

Couple tight matches so far; Bingham/Carter esp. Shame to see Shaun Murphy out in first round, Robertson also. Would like to see Ricky Walden do well this year. Dunno about Ronnie, all depends if he can keep his head, not quite firing right in his first round match.

Is it on cth?

Is it on cth?

Don't know - I have it on True: 666 / 668 / 686 and sometimes other channels.

True's coverage is really excellent. Pity about the commentators (Willie Thorne, Peter Ebdon...).

Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Virgo are good (except for Virgo's "Where's the white ball going???").

Jesus H Christ! I'm getting so sick of these commentators. Willie Thorne was always known as a gabble-mouth, trying to predict exactly what the players were going to do, criticising when they do it wrong and now we have John Virgo trying to out-do him, talking non-stop. As for Virgo's "Where's the white/blue/pink ball going" that he shouts out... that is getting so old, it wasn't even funny the first time.

Now they are both talking even while the player is shooting. It's like having someone sitting next to you who won't stop talking.

If I could find somewhere on the BBC web site where I could tell them to shut the **** up, I would.

I only hope the final is commentated on by Steve Hendry, Steve Davis or Dennis Taylor, not these two idiots with verbal diarrhoea.

Jesus H Christ! I'm getting so sick of these commentators. Willie Thorne was always known as a gabble-mouth, trying to predict exactly what the players were going to do, criticising when they do it wrong and now we have John Virgo trying to out-do him, talking non-stop. As for Virgo's "Where's the white/blue/pink ball going" that he shouts out... that is getting so old, it wasn't even funny the first time.

Now they are both talking even while the player is shooting. It's like having someone sitting next to you who won't stop talking.

If I could find somewhere on the BBC web site where I could tell them to shut the **** up, I would.

I only hope the final is commentated on by Steve Hendry, Steve Davis or Dennis Taylor, not these two idiots with verbal diarrhoea.

Absolutely spot on..! Virgo in particular drives me mad. Does he ever shut the <deleted> up? For crying out loud give us a break/rest (pun intended). Time to hit the mute button yet again..

Stephen Hendry: "This game's all about scoring".

Jesus wept.

Never heard of this player before. What a great character and not a bad player either

Never heard of this player before. What a great character and not a bad player either

A great character indeed! Have a look at this video snip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HuCSS1gKaE?start=225&end=256&autoplay=1

Full video here:

UK Championship, Ronnie O'Sullivan against Mark Williams, first frame:

 

Dennis Taylor: "Another great safety shot from Mark Williams."

Ronnie O'Sullivan then pots the "safe" red.

 

Thanks Dennis, great commentary. 

 

 

 

.

 

I find the Ronnie-worship shown by the Eurosport commentators rather tiresome. Even in the final where he was outplayed by Mark Selby, every shot from Ronnie was treated as though it were a brushstroke by Picasso, whereas Selby's efforts were passed off like he's a postman delivering letters.

 

Selby's been ranked world number one at the end of every year since 2012, and his ranking points (994,942) are almost double the second-placed Stuart Bingham (518,929). He's streets ahead of the field.

 

I am a great fan of Ronnie, there's nobody better to watch on the green baize, but the commentators' star-struck attitude could do with some tempering.

 

It was a classic final, for sure.

On 12/5/2016 at 6:37 PM, RickBradford said:

Even in the final where he was outplayed by Mark Selby, every shot from Ronnie was treated as though it were a brushstroke by Picasso, whereas Selby's efforts were passed off like he's a postman delivering letters.

 

But that would be a pretty fair analogy. I don't know about Eurosport, but the guy is certainly deserving of all the respect and adulation he gets. As you surmise, there really is no-one like him and he has brought a massive amount to the game. All commentators are ex players - most world champs, on the BBC at least. One only has to listen how other players speak of the guy, Selby included, who basically says he's not like the rest of us that have to consistently work at it day in, day out. He can sit most of the season out and plop back in at will with little match time to take the top crowns. One has to be a cueist themselves to appreciate this kind of achievement.

 

Regards ranking points (and position), it is fairly arbitrary, depending on the number of tournaments one enters into. O'Sullivan would certainly rack them up if he entered them all and thus his No. 13 ranking is not a true reflection of his actual position, which is top 2 or 3. I like Selby a lot, he is right up there, but he is the archetypal snooker player with little flair. People want more nowadays.

 

Ronnie sees the table faster than the rest, often several shots ahead, moves on his shots, always looking to manouvre the white, strokes it like no other, then the left hand tons, etc. I guess those in love with the game just get turned on by it all, how easy he makes it look, and commentators can get carried away. He's up there with how Tiger and Federer were to their sports and we're lucky to have him.

 

Agree on JV though, he can be OTT, though part and parcel of it nowadays is to also to connect with the spectators via intercom. 

 

Good win at the Masters btw despite being nowhere near his best, beating the likes of Marco 'Foo' in the semis who is playing unbelievably well at the moment. I liked his tribute to Paul Hunter. Roll on the Worlds. 

 

/ edited Marco's surname because it got hit by TV's overzealous censor system. Jeez!//