My good friends from IMG Media, who produce the BBC’s snooker coverage, have once again invited me to lay myself open to public ridicule by revisiting a feature first run five years ago in which a bunch of experts were asked to predict which players would comprise the top eight in 2009.
Well, 2009 has come and with it the reckoning.
Actually, I did pretty well but the sting in the tail is that we have now been asked to look forward another five years and predict the top eight in 2014.
This will be shown during the coverage of the final so I won’t spoil things by giving away our various choices but was wondering what everyone else’s selections would be?
22 comments:
Hi Dave
I remember this piece and didn't most pundits say Judd Trump would be top eight?? First time I'd heard about him! Also, everyone correctly said Ronnie would be there and I think even Clive Everton said Hendry would be top eight too, so not all wrong in the end!
Graham
1 - S Hendry
2 - J Higgins
3 - R O'Sullivan
4 - M Allen
5 - S Murphy
selby
allen
day
carter
o'sullivan
maguire
murphy
walden
1. Selby
2. Cope
3. Allen
4. Walden
5. Maguire
6. Pengfei
7. O'Sullivan
8. Daniel Wells
1. Ding
2. Allen
3. Selby
4. White (not Jimmy, although we can hope)
5. Trump
6. Maguire
7. Carter
8. Day
Really looking forward to this as it was at the UK they did it. Hendry at 1, cant see that at 45.
my top eight is
1. Selby
2. Murphy
3.O'Sullivan
4.Ding
5. Allen
6. Maguire
7. Cope
8. Higgins
1. Trump
2. Allen
3. Robertson
4. Maguire
5. Liang
6. O'Sullivan
7. Brecel
8. Ding
I think O'Sullivan will retire before then. My guess, though not in order, would be Ding, Selby, Carter, Trump, Liang (just cause I like watching him), Murphy, Allen and Day. Do we think there is any chance the ranking list will be compiled over one season instead of two any time in the near future?
i dont think so ruthie
1. Maguire
2. Ding
3. Allen
4. Robertson
5. Selby
6. Trump
7. Murphy
8. Day
Probably hopelessly wrong, but 4/8 was a decent result last time... no-one predicted Day, Fu or Selby then, and there'll probably be someone equally surprising in 2014.
i predicted Fu back then
1. Cope
2. Allen
3. Ding
4. Selby
5. Robertson
6. Maguire
7. Day
8. Trump
Can you post what the choices were last time?
I was just thinking about that feature the other day! I'm sure there was at least one Chinese player other than Ding mentioned in the piece. I was trying to remember who...
I would say:
Ronnie (if still playing)
Selby
Carter
Maguire
Murphy
Day
Ding
Trump
Cope and Allen just outside the top 8 and possibly someone not yet on the Main Tour in the top 16.
1. Mark Selby
2. Stephen Maguire
3. Ding Junhui
4. Mark Allen
5. Judd Trump
6. As-yet unknown Chinese player
7. Neil Robertson
8. As-yet unknown European player
A bit awkward putting down two 'unknown' players I know, but I think China and Europe are the likely source of newcomers.
Somebody was asking earlier about the choices from last time. As it happens, whilst watching the feature, I was sad enough to make a note of who the pundits went for.
If I recall correctly, as well as Mr Hendon, the other pundits asked for an opinion were Dennis Taylor, Phil Yates, Clive Everton, and Philip Studd of 5 Live.
The obvious differences (compared to the rankings today) was that everyone put Paul Hunter in a future Top 8 - although this of course was before his cancer diagnosis, and very sadly, Paul is no longer with us.
Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter only got a handful of votes, whereas people like Mark Selby and Ryan Day got no votes at all.
Also, people like Ding and Judd Trump haven't quite kicked on to the top 8, but of course both of those are now quite prominent on the circuit, and Ding won his three ranking titles in the 18 months that followed this feature.
Taylor's choices were:
1. Stephen Maguire
2. Ronnie O’Sullivan
3. Mark Williams
4. Paul Hunter
5. John Higgins
6. Stephen Hendry
7. Ding Junhui
8. Judd Trump
Yates:
1. O’Sullivan
2. Maguire
3. Higgins
4. Hunter
5. Williams
6. Ding
7. Trump
8. Neil Robertson
Hendon:
1. O’Sullivan
2. Maguire
3. Robertson
4. Ding
5. Hunter
6. Shaun Murphy
7. Higgins
8. Hendry
Everton:
1. O’Sullivan
2. Maguire
3. Higgins
4. Hunter
5. Williams
6. Ding
7. Trump
8. Unknown Chinese
Studd:
1. Maguire
2. Hunter
3. Trump
4. O’Sullivan
5. Williams
6. Ding
7. Ali Carter
8. Murphy
1. Mark Allen
2. Davy Morris
3. Jamie Cope
4. Liang Wenbo
5. Judd Trump
6. Daniel Wells
7. Ryan Day
8. Quinten Hann
is Hann not still got at least 4 years of his ban left?
if so id say its impossible for him to be top 8
Dream top 8:
Hunter
Stevens
O'Sullivan
Hendry
Robertson
Higgins
Selby
Ding
I'd rather live in the past as you can see :P
Hann's ban ends in 2012 dunnit?
1. Liang Wenbo
2. Joe Johnson
3. Bobby Ball
4. Bonnie O'Hunnybuns
5. Banana Alan
6. Clive Liverpool
7. Bus Stop Pete
8. Krazy Karl
9. Jamie Don'tBet
10. Alex Borg
Pugh,
Pugh,
Barney Mcgrue,
Cuthbert,
Dibble & Grub
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