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 ----  2018 was a big year for the old guard, with ancient stalwarts Mark Williams and John Higgins contesting the World Championship final, the former winning his third world title 15 years after his second, an incredible sporting feat that has only ever been matched by Lou Pickles. Some old fella called Ronnie also did alright last year. However, this is 2019, and while things never change at all, they also change very quickly. Williams is still suffering from a 12 month hangover of debauchery, public nudity, and Haribo, while Higgins perpetually struggles with Definitely Going To Retire Soon syndrome. There are still a few good players out there though - with the qualifiers starting up tomorrow, let's look at five of the main contenders this year.  Ronnie O'Sullivan needs no introduction, but he is an English professional snooker player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won five World Championships, a record seven Masters titles, and a record seven UK Championships, setting a record total of 19 titles in Triple Crown tournaments.[2][4] He shares the record for the most ranking titles (36) with Stephen Hendry, while his career earnings of over £10 million put him in first place on snooker's all-time prize-money list.[5] Winning the Tour Championship on 24 March 2019 made him the sport's current world number one, the fourth time in his career that he has held the top position and the first time he has been number one since May 2010. This is the longest gap between number one spells by any player in history.[6] Anyway, he recently compiled his 1000th century break, an astounding feat of skill and longevity which is certain to never be matched for at least five years. Ronnie's playing arguably the best snooker of his life, and is a solid favourite to finally hit that magic six mark and emulate his old mentor Ray Reardon.  Stuart Bingham, 2015 world champion, is enjoying an Indian Summer within an Indian Summer. His form dipped after becoming world champ, culminating in a three month period at the end of 2017 where he inexplicably failed to win a single match, but he's looked very good for chunks of this season, and he's another elder statesman looking to become champ once more.  Judd Trump, world champion loser, has had a season to justify Dennis Taylor's one-handed commentary, only surpassed by the man everyone says he's the new one of even though the old one is still the best one. A lot of smart money will be going on Trump to win his maiden crown, until he crashes out to Hossein Vafaei and said money looks slightly less smart.  Neil Robertson, 2010 world champion, has clawed his way back into snooker's elite, while coping with depression and a gaming addiction. The token Commonwealth contender heads to the Crucible with another tournament victory under his belt, and will be joining Bingham in hoping for a number 2 at the WC.  Mark Selby is sort of on the cusp of no longer quite being as good as he was, a la Davis in the early 90s and Hendry in the early 2000s, but he'll be looking to prove his best years aren't behind him. A fourth title would see him stake a claim to domination of a decade like those two, which is absurd to think about in this Ronnie-led modern era, but then jesters tend to deal in absurdity. Others to watch out for include the Chinese contingent, who may be something like six strong come day one, and ladies Reanne Evans and Ng On-yee, looking to become the first women to be patronised at a major event. Oh, and Jimmy White's still attempting to qualify. Will something magical happen on the 25th anniversary of his last and greatest attempt to claim the biggest prize in the game? No. OLD THREADS: 2018/2017/2016 HJB fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 9, 2019 19:27
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I can't get enough of are Dan 
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If you haven't watched the Trump - O'Sullivan match from the Tour championship last month you should. Proof positive that snooker is the best sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnIYhrE9oHU
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Apr 9, 2019 22:33
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Day One of qualifying has started. LIVE SCORES: http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/LiveScoring/Tournament/14072/betfred-world-championship-2019-qualifiers FULL MATCH LIST: http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Matches/Index/14072/betfred-world-championship-2019-qualifiers
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Apr 10, 2019 10:24
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in before my dude Pvt. Public wakes up and comes flying in here to call at least 2 competitors a oval office
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Apr 10, 2019 12:42
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HappyCamperGL posted:If you haven't watched the Trump - O'Sullivan match from the Tour championship last month you should. Proof positive that snooker is the best sport. This was such an unbelievable match. I watched it again just to make sure I hadn't dreamt it! DJExile posted:in before my dude Pvt. Public wakes up and comes flying in here to call at least 2 competitors a oval office I mean, let's be honest here. I love O'Sullivan, but he's clearly got the base qualities to be one. He's a lot better now than he used to be, to be sure. Hell, I hate the poo poo out of Andrew Pagett, but he's not even on the tour. And that's for personal reasons. I think you could make the case for Mark Allen being a full-on CAHNT. He's certainly a bit of a whiner, though he sees to have left a lot of that behind. He's a bit of a dick in person, but I don't really fault him for that as I hate the poo poo out of people in general. He's definitely said some poo poo that wasn't warranted, though his constant dogging of Hearn is at least funny if nothing else. Pvt. Public fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Apr 10, 2019 |
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Apr 10, 2019 20:51
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^ Ali carter is definitely a oval office. The Peter lines Vs Michael judge qualifying match started at 10am yesterday, and finished with a decider at the back of 3am this morning.  Edit - Lol https://twitter.com/Nick007J/status/1116235832741060609?s=20 HappyCamperGL fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Apr 11, 2019 |
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Apr 11, 2019 11:20
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The ladies are first up today, as are a couple of big names in Fu and Perry. Rory McLeod is the biggest casualty so far, denying us another chance for social media to erm loudly over his ISIS sponsorship. E: He has arrived 
HJB fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Apr 12, 2019 |
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Apr 12, 2019 10:08
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sadly it looks like marco fu could be missing out on the crucible for the first time since 2004. he's 9 - 6 down to the talented young chinese luo honghao. he's just not the same player since his eye condition developed. his fellow countrywoman ng on yee though is more than holding her own against 'angles' mcmanus - level at 6 each. HappyCamperGL fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Apr 12, 2019 |
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Apr 12, 2019 21:09
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Go Neil Robertson. He's finally playing well again.
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Apr 12, 2019 23:29
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Fu is indeed out, as is Ng On-yee who went 6-5 up before the Angles Grinder did its thing. Evans lost tamely but posted the high break of the match, which means nothing to anyone except the most hardcore gambler. Graeme "Wee" Dott starts his campaign this morning, who will always be one of my faves despite all evidence and logic.
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Apr 13, 2019 10:28
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a few more significant casualties. european masters champion jimmy robertson, and the persian prince hossein vafaei both lost. and ebdon looks to be on his way out much to the delight of everyone. more interestingly are amateurs james cahill, and michael judge who beat the hitman holt and xiao guodong. they now play each other on judgment day guaranteeing an amateur player will qualify for the crucible for the first time in i guess a very long time (or possibly ever can't be arsed checking). judge only got his wildcard as a last minute replacement for zhang jianking who couldn't sort out his visa in time.
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Apr 15, 2019 00:29
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Our Jimmy managed to fail to lose initially, but is now failing at failing to lose, as expected, and needs to win six frames in a row. Good luck with that. UPDATE: He failed HJB fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Apr 15, 2019 |
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Apr 15, 2019 20:38
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i think technical term for this snooker is 'lol hosed' edit - this one's a doozy too 
HappyCamperGL fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Apr 17, 2019 |
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Apr 17, 2019 19:47
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Ooo! Snooker thread. I'd been looking for one. So, how the gently caress do I watch this stuff in the US? Would like to follow it more but nobody in the US gives a poo poo so I basically can't. There's no easy legal option as far as I know. E: @above, that first snooker there is loving art. Resting Lich Face fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 05:09
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https://twitter.com/clusterofreds1/status/1118632209911619584 Here's the qualifiers. If this is accurate, I was spot on with my China estimate, so I'm smug about that. Sounds like the draw's coming up in an hour or so. I need to see Dennis' line for this, I live for it. Resting Lich Face posted:So, how the gently caress do I watch this stuff in the US? Would like to follow it more but nobody in the US gives a poo poo so I basically can't. There's no easy legal option as far as I know. Last time I did a thread I recall World Snooker had some coverage on their official YouTube and Facebook pages, so check those out from Saturday. ----
HJB fucked around with this message at 11:41 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 10:14
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Resting Lich Face posted:Ooo! Snooker thread. I'd been looking for one. apparently it's on 'dazn', whatever that is, in usa and canada. http://www.worldsnooker.com/dazn-to-broadcast-world-championship-in-usa/
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Apr 19, 2019 19:33
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Stay Dench, Or Get Xintonged. Quote this post when he wins the whole thing.
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Apr 20, 2019 13:38
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Ken Doherty is commentating on a Shorn Morphy game, mark that one off on your bingo cards.
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Apr 21, 2019 14:44
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The records are tumbling already. Brecel and Gary Wilson contested the longest ever frame in Crucible history, which fortunately was the decider, while Murphy has just completed only the second ever whitewash (the first being by his uncle from another grandmother, John Parrott), restricting Luo to 89 points, a record low. Apparently his high break of 25 is also a record low, so he leaves Sheffield with two accolades.
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Apr 22, 2019 10:45
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Luca Brecel is so inconsistent, it's frustrating. Sometimes I'm all "phwoar lookat that new Ronnie" and then he just... forgets how to play.
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Apr 22, 2019 20:45
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outside a couple of breaks selby has been gash again. but zhao xintong is gifting him this, he has the most incredible ability to smash in long pots from anywhere, and then miss the absolute simplest of shots straight after.
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Apr 22, 2019 22:16
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Ronnie's not a fan of the early rounds anyway, but his sheer disdain at having to play an amateur is showing through. He will absolutely announce his retirement again if he loses.
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Apr 23, 2019 11:10
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HJB posted:Ronnie's not a fan of the early rounds anyway, but his sheer disdain at having to play an amateur is showing through. He will absolutely announce his retirement again if he loses. Oh poo poo he's 5-8 behind??
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Apr 23, 2019 11:27
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Cahill just one frame from victory now. Edit - he did it! Faultless clearance for the young lad to win. First first round loss for OSullivan since Marco Fu in 03. HappyCamperGL fucked around with this message at 12:46 on Apr 23, 2019 |
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Apr 23, 2019 12:29
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Interest in this year's WC snooker now: 0.
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Apr 23, 2019 12:45
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Trump is a huge favourite now #outofcontext
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Apr 23, 2019 12:47
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HJB posted:Trump is a huge favourite now #outofcontext Well he's 6-3 down to Thepchaiya. Starting to look very good for Robertson. E - hard hitting investigative journalism from the guardian 
HappyCamperGL fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Apr 23, 2019 |
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Apr 23, 2019 17:19
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Been a good tournament so far, even if James "Party Pooper" Cahill ruined it for everyone.
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Apr 25, 2019 12:03
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That brown pot by Gary Wilson while hovering an inch over the blue with the rest. 
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Apr 25, 2019 22:11
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maybe those kebabs were a mistake afterall. https://twitter.com/markwil147/status/1121828896427712513
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Apr 26, 2019 19:28
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He's not retaining this year.
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Apr 27, 2019 21:20
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Ding's playing some shite.
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Apr 27, 2019 21:39
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Feeling very much like a Robertson-Trump final, with everyone else there to have fun along the way. Still can't stomach seeing Gary Wilson play face-on.
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Apr 27, 2019 22:07
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Players are still getting a lot of unexpected bounce from the cushions.
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Apr 28, 2019 11:54
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hawkins playing some godlike snooker this morning.
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Apr 28, 2019 14:06
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Though the Hawk's (first) 147 attempt kinda sums up his career.
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Apr 28, 2019 19:01
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Ali Carter is throwing a very slow tantrum.
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Apr 28, 2019 21:18
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goatface posted:Ali Carter is throwing a very slow tantrum. He really is the most annoying player with his Mr Angry act. Every little piece misfortune and the universe is against him. Then he gets a big slice of luck like that red along the rail to the yellow cushion that should never have dropped. Zhou has been really impressive though.
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Apr 28, 2019 22:37
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Ali's still floating, like a wasp. Wilson-Hawkins was excellent, and it's the earliest the latter has been knocked out since 2012 would you believe. Let's look at some pictures.   You can tell who I've been perving on 
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Apr 30, 2019 10:00
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Best/worst fluke I have ever seen.
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Apr 30, 2019 21:47
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