Ronnie O'Sullivan will start as a big favourite to beat Liang Wenbo and win the Shanghai Masters today.
He did, too, against Ricky Walden last season and was beaten 10-8.
However, Ronnie seems far more relaxed this year and willing to dig deep and be patient. He proved this in doing a job on John Higgins in the semi-finals.
This is a final featuring snooker's two leading mavericks so making predictions is futile.
What it does prove, though, as if anyone doubted it, is that China is fast becoming a powerhouse in the sport.
Liang has already overtaken Ding Junhui in the provisional rankings and his unique way of playing the game has been a breath of fresh air.
The great irony is that, had the strict rules of the sport been obeyed, he would have been scratched from the tournament having failed to obtain a visa to play his qualifying match at Prestatyn.
Liang has more than seized his second chance to make an impression on the tournament.
He needs to make a good start to the final. If he does, a shock result is not unthinkable.
12 comments:
On a side note, I was reading Shaun Murphy post match interview on world snooker wen site. Here's the quotes:
“He beat me today but if I had played better and not missed the easy balls then I would have won. He is a very good player and if plays properly he could win tomorrow. He needs to improve his safey and stop playing silly shots.
"He’s very entertaining and fun to watch - but this is about winning, not entertaining."
Ok, If it was me out there i wouldn't care about entertaining and try to win , but I get the feeling from his comments he should keep some things to himself. Wenbo type players are great for the game - add more excitment.
Shaun , this is your livelyhood, you should welcome the Wenbo type player and save us from your tedious comments.
He's not the first player to say something like that moments after defeat - far from it, although I don't recall many others getting such a bashing for it.
Interesting first session so far!
But... I think referee Eirian Williams made a mistake there toward the end of frame 4! Ronnie pushed the cue ball back onto the table with his cue before it would drop into a pocket. So, this was NOT an in-off! Therefore, Wenbo should have played on from where the cue ball stopped and Williams should not have put it back in the D.
I am aware this did not affect the outcome of the frame but it was exactly the same situation as the much debated Dott vs. Selby case at the Worlds. Strange as no one seemed to have noticed it this time...
Was O'Sullivan warned for chucking the balls around the table there? I couldn't quite hear his conversation with the referee but it looked like somehting like that was being discussed.
Dave - I didn't notice any conversation but I do think players should be warned for this so probably you're right.
What a Joke Eurosport is, lets not show the final 2 frames of the session for a Eurosport Crash episode...
Terrific!
They had to - contractually - go to the tennis at half past so took the decision to leave at the end of a frame rather than in the middle of one
Agree. Was annoyed that the last 2 frames were not shown, but instead, a repeat of the MotoGP race from last weekend that has been on repeat for the last few days. (Don't be mistaken - i'm a big fan of MotoGP too...)
Shame that that was due to contract terms.
Yes , it looked like Ronnie got a telling off for pushing balls about after his maximum attempt...
At least wenbo got a couple of frames fater that ,would like to see him get involved in the match ,but would still like to see Ronnie win it.
I think he stayed focused all week and got stronger in latter stages..just shows how good he is , didn't really play more than 80% all week and his looks to be running away with the title.
Dave, I think O'Sullivan was warned - if it was the warning - for punching the table with his fist after he missed. Eirian Williams clearly says "punching the table" at least three times during the conversation.
Unfortunately when the ref was talking to Ronnie the Eurosport commentator Mike Smith was talking over it, and neither he or Joe Johnson referred to the matter!
As for the cutting away from the match. Eurosport seems to negotiate some really wierd contacts, as this is not the first time something like this has happened.
Shaun is right, Wenbo leaves himself exposed and if Shaun had been on the ball Wenbo would have been out. It's possible to play a tight, exciting game as Jimmy proved when he got back into the top 16 in 2000, and as Ronnie has proven since working with Reardon. Mind you, people used to say it about Hendry all the time and it's only just started to catch up with him the last few seasons.
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