Based on what we’ve seen so far Stephen Hendry and Jamie Cope should win at the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters today.
Hendry was the king of Wembley two decades ago, winning his first 23 matches in the Masters. Like the Beatles, he did it all in his twenties and had nothing to prove thereafter.
The six times Masters champion has a cast of his hands on Wembley’s walk of fame, the only snooker player to be afforded such an honour.
But all that is in the past. Hendry turns 42 tomorrow and his recent form has been woeful.
His decline his been gradual. He was still playing world class snooker in 2003, was runner-up in the 2006 UK Championship and a semi-finalist in the World Championship three years ago.
Since then there has been little to write home about. Hendry was right at the bottom of the betting pre-tournament and, despite all the shocks, has done little of late to suggest he can beat world champion Neil Robertson today.
Then again, the same could be said of Steve Davis in 1997 and he won the title.
Jamie Cope is the only debutant in the Masters this year. He takes his Wembley Arena bow tonight against Shaun Murphy, who is yet to do much in the Masters.
Cope is capable of excellent snooker but his temperament doesn’t always match his talent and the Wembley venue is huge with no place to hide.
We’ve had six results and the higher ranked player in each match has lost but I can’t see that trend continuing today.
7 comments:
We've seen what happened at the UK and now the Masters. Why does O'Sullivan bother turning up at all? He obviously doesn't want to be there. All he is doing is cheating the paying public, sponsors and tv viewers. In fact every one in snooker. He is bringing the game into disrepute by not giving of his best at all times. If he was a racehorse the jockey and trainer would have been done under the non-triers rule. Why doesn't he just clear off out of the game for good and give us all a rest. The game managed before he came on the scene and will manage again after he's long gone.
Also after watching Maguire banging his cue again on the table several times, it's about time referees had the power to deduct a frame (after a warning) for ungentlemanly conduct. Or is all this talk of bringing in the highest standards of behaviour and discipline just hot air by BH.
I would like to see Cope win, having played at the same club as him. However, his shot slection is naive and his B-game not up to scratch to win a tournament of this calibre.
Stephen Hendry acheivements in winning the majority of his titles in his twenties was astounding, however his failure to produce in his thirties is a stain on his CV.
I still think he should have felt that he had something to prove when he reached thirty, like maintaining his standards in the way that Phil Taylor has done in darts, who constantly found new challenges to motivate himself.
I think he must have ultimately felt he had stuff left to prove as he would have stuck to his original plan to retire. Personally, he seemed to lose his aura as soon as Williams,O'Sullivan and Higgins upped their game and helped to usher in an overall standard of play that was higher than the 1990's level of quality.
If O'Sullivan does not adopt a better attitude to matches then he will be struggling to win the local handicap event. Steve Davis was totally right to be infuriated by O'Sullivan's failure to return to the table for one snooker in frame 3, which was a pivotal turning point in his general effort towards a distinctly winnable encounter as Allen was not at his best, by a long chalk.
stain on his cv?
he has the best cv out of anyone.
you are retarded jamie!
I never said he didn't, but I don't accept that it doesn't matter that he has not had much success in his thirties like Higgins and O'Sullivan have had.
He is the greatest player of all-time, but not perfect, no player is.
It's only a minor point, perhaps stain was harsh, but I bet he thinks that it would have enhanced his legacy even further if he dominated as relentlessly as Phil Taylor has.
jamie brannon said...
I never said he didn't
I NEVER SAID YOU SAID HE DIDNT. JEEZ, HOW TO TRY TO TURN A HIGHLIGHTED STUPID POINT INTO SOMETHING IT ISNT.
He is the greatest player of all-time, but not perfect, no player is.
I NEVER SAID HE WAS. SORRY THINK THAT IS YOUR LINE *rolleyes
It's only a minor point, perhaps stain was harsh,
YES IT WAS HARSH. IN FACT IT WAS THAT STUPID I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE RETARDED.
I reckon you are probably the guy purporting to be Ken Doherty on Twitter, as you seem bored enough to do something like that.
It is equally pathetic to come on a quality blog just to throw around infantile insults rather than discuss snooker in a constructive manner.
I am not hurt by these comments as there empty, but I get bored by it, as amonst some of the insults there are some genuine points worth responding too.
if you keep on forgetting to tie your shoe laces jamie, youll trip up, or be tripped up.
you get both on here. the times you dont do it to yourself, others do it for you.
its your own fault people on here have got to know you and your silly opinions on lots of things, not forgetting how biased you are. nobody elses!
only people saying stupid statements get pulled up for making stupid statements.
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