Ronnie O’Sullivan’s capture of the first of this season’s PTC titles gives his army of fans hope that he is in good shape mentally for the campaign to come as well as reminding the snooker world that he remains a considerable talent.
O’Sullivan beat Joe Perry 4-0 in the final in just 52 minutes and compiled eight century breaks during the event.
Last season was largely one to forget for O’Sullivan. He played in only two PTCs, did not win a ranking title and slipped to 11th in the world rankings.
But he made what could well prove to be a key step in going to see Dr. Steve Peters, a psychiatrist, to work through his problems and that bodes well for the year ahead.
The test, of course, will come when the pressure is properly on. In Sheffield, there was no audience, no press buzzing around and O’Sullivan was left to get on with what he does best, namely playing.
That will obviously not be the case for most of the rest of the season but even this perfectionist will surely be buoyed by this fine start to the 2011/12 campaign.
Some say the PTCs are a lottery but I don’t agree. There is no skill required to win a lottery but snooker, whatever the title up for grabs, requires considerable skill and few players in the game’s history have possessed as much as Ronnie O’Sullivan.
So well done to him after what was another gruelling few days for the players. These PTC schedules are punishing but the reward is there at the end of it – O’Sullivan goes home £10,000 better off and playing in a way which suggests he can once again be a major force this season.
37 comments:
An excellent win for o sullivan and compiling 8 centuries along the way, a talent to be admired.
I dont think O'Sullivan will struggle when the pressure is on. He tends to raise his game for the big crowd and big money.
Its the off table stuff and his general feeling of wellbeing that I feel will be the big factor for him this year.
He will need to knock the long ones in consistently, but if he can do that, he can beat anybody
Good to see Ronnie on the up,Its these type of tournaments that Ronnie seems to lack the determination (although he seemed to lack determination all the majors last season). It depends in this long season whether he can keep his concentration this very long season. Though I think unlikely.
Would have liked to have seen Perry win, he's one of those players who is better than his achievements suggest. A good omen for Ronnie fans though; the relentless nature of the PTC format might suit him actually, 3/4 matches a day over a two day period with no hanging around. Just goes to show that with the exception of when he plays Higgins, Ronnie has got to be the favourite for every match he plays when he is focused and determined.
Good to see Perry in the final, he really needs the ranking points.
unlucky joe
Perry is a bottler. A nice cueist who hasn't had the results his ability warrants. Well ahead in frames and on a break, he had to pot only a couple more balls to knock Ronnie out of the Masters 1st round a couple of years ago. He fluffed it and Ronnie came back and won the match, then came through and won the tournament. It's another level to become a tournament winner and Perry hasn't achieved that yet. It's in the mind I think.
Think that should say no players have possessed as much skill as O'Sullivan!! Well, not if he is the greatest natural talent to play the game.
If he is in a good mental state then it won't matter what tournament he is in. Let's not forget he has won four UK Championships and three World Championships, so he can handle the heat of the biggest events.
One note of caution: Last year he reached the final of one of the early PTC events, and then missed the next ten that followed.
jamie talking nonsense again
what is natural about ronnie?
he practised for YEARS from a YOUNG AGE
natural talent is a stupid phrase to use about top snooker players
some have natural flowing effortless cuepower and technique. IT CERTAINLY ISNT SOMETHING THEY ARE BORN WITH.
i think if youre talking about shotmaking, alex higgins was much more "naturally talented" to use that stupid phrase than Ronnie is.
Hendry had the most skill to beat his opponent.
Skill isnt ONLY about being able to pot balls at 1 in 9 seconds or being able to pot a high % of difficult shots. Skill is EVERYTHING about the sport and how to play it. In that, Davis, Hendry and J. Higgins are more skillful than Ronnie.
It didnt take you long after Ronnie won a small tournament to crawl back up his bottom
Good to see O'Sullivan back.
6:12 unless you have something constructive to say attacking jamie Brannon serves no purpose whatsoever other then that, the points you made about natural talent are don,t make sense at all.
"Anonymous 6.12PM" / Wild........
Ooooooooo is that you in a panic now cos Ronnies got his head screwed on and is gonna make the rest of snooker pay this season !!!
O sullivan grafted when he was younger to get the cue action he has. That technique is what has given him the ability to play to such a high standard. He cues so well he doesnt need to focus so much on potting and can free his mind for positional play. He is a much better steve davis rather than an out and out potter altho that is how he chose to play for the first half of his career.
Jimmy white was the most naturL ever. his style or cue action cannot be taught
Alex higgins was actually very orthodox. His flailing follow thro and mid shot antics belied a regular style. He actually took a lot of time when down on the shot even if he did run between shots. His shot selection and off table lifestyle would have made it impossible for him to be sucessful in todays game. He had a lot of bottle though but at his best, which we never saw, he would make top 16 but no chance vs higgins hendry etc.
that'll be more people back on the ros bandwagon now hes won something...
I would agree that Alex Higgins had the the largest repertoire of shots, so there is an argument he is the most skillful player, but talent is a clear tangible concept in its own right. I don't buy "the talent is nothing more than practice/hard work" argument, because players clearly take their games to different levels with roughly the same amount of work. You can't describe Ronnie's ambidextrous abilities as anything other than raw talent, really, can you? Some people are born with natural aptitude, it's clear to see in all sports. It's the old socialist mantra that we are all born equal, and the concept has been disproven time and time again.
Reading through this is like being back on 606. And 6:12pm definitely isn't Wild whichever anon threw that accusation.
yes you can betsy
lots of sportsmen and women, for example tennis players, play with their WEAK hand.....
theyve done so after years of practice and reached the top, some of them
date krumm is one such tennis player, played venus the other day
theres at least one very top tennis player who plays with his weak hand. many think he is NATURALLY TALENTED.
i guess its just peoples interpretation of what natural is.
for me, alex h was far more "natural" than ronnie.
no it certainly was not wild and wild would love nothing more than to see ronnie focused and ready to go but wild as much as anyone knows Ronnie goes through different mindset from day to day but so far its positive.
Alex wasnt that natural. Just seemed like that compared to the snails he was playing. Jimmy, Ronnie and Drago are the most natural players ever.
Good to see ron back. Long live king ron.
anon 10.30pm i think your confused. speed of play doesn't really equal natural and believe me Alex in the 70s was faster than them anyway.
but when you look at alex he did everything wrong and still played to the standard he did that is natural.
Higgins seemed more flamboyant and skilful with amazing abilities simply because he was out of position so often. In fact, he played in a somewhat negative fashion, unconsciously playing for the cushion in case he missed a pot. You actually see that with some amateur and lower ranked pros, and it indicates a lack of confidence. Higgins was able to create the illusion of being a great potter but in fact he only potted a small % of difficult balls, but he gave himself so many opportunities cos he was out of position so often. You can't compare him ability wise with O'Sullivan, or Higgins, Hendry, Davis or even White. All of these players had a greater repertoire of shots but didn't need to use them so often cos their positional play was more precise. Higgins was just a breadth of fresh air cos he was different from all the rest, but he actually wasn't that good at the end of the day. Watch some old footage, not just highlights and see how sloppy his play was at times on the big stage. Best ever in any category, not a chance. I know Virgo is a big fan.
O'Sullivan is the most natural as he makes the game look easier than anyone who has played it, just like with the majestic Roger Federer in the tennis.
Not disputing he has worked hard to hone his game.
Guys seriously TV Never saw the best of Alex Higgins yes he adapted his game in the 80s but that was a shadow of how he used to play
1:55PM "but he actually wasn't that good at the end of the day"
What utter f'kin b*****ks Alex was a genius, end of!!
O'Sullivan is the most natural as he makes the game look easier than anyone who has played it, just like with the majestic Roger Federer in the tennis.
Not disputing he has worked hard to hone his game.
--------
so he has worked hard to LOOK natural.
gotchya Jamie.
Alex was far more natural, but people have short memories or are just blinkered by Ronnie to admit it
World Snooker has dropped the ball again (literally!) on the website.
1) They still haven't announced who got the second European spot on the tour (or if they have I can't find it).
2) We still don't know what the points schedule is for next season (or if it's on there I can't find it)
3) We've had the first event of the season, and yet they can't be bothered updating the ranking list (or if they have done I can't find it)
If there is one area we've seen a deterioration in since Hearn took over it is that disgrace of a website. Thank God for Pro Snooker Blog, which has to be said has initiated a lot of guesswork but what else can you do? The World Snooker admin is getting paid to do the job, but a free site that is run by someone who doesn't get paid does it a hundred times better. Why hasn't Barry Hearn fired whoever is administrating that site? It's an employer's market at the moment, a good time for employers to cut the slack.
Alex higgins has no place in the all time greats. There wasnt a peek about him until he died then all of a sudden he became a great player.
It was a toss up between him and Eddie charlton to who was the third best of the 70s. Fact.
By the end of the 80s, another 10 or 12 had passed him. He would struggle to break into the top 32 of all time now. anyone who thinks different is deluded. Look at the youtube footage dreamers.
It would be great to see the masters back in Ireland what an event that was.Im sure it would be very well supported we love our snooker over here.
The fact that Davis was slumming it in the top 16 at 50—only a shadow of his former self—shoots down the claim that a peak Higgins wouldn't make the top 32 today. Given the fact that the likes of Selby, Fu, Carter and Day have all cracked the top 8 in recent years disproves the myth the standard is higher than ever; basically any multiple world champion from the game's history would easily crack the top 4 today.
i love it when desperado OPINION posters post FACT at the end of their OPINION.
ok, if your opinion is ROS is the most natural youre entitled to it, the same as those who think alex was more naturally talented.
to me its a no brainer. alex all day long had much more NATURAL talent than any of them. im not saying he was better, but he had more NATURAL TALENT and anyone who disputes my OPINION will just have to pretend ive wrote FACT at the end and cant therefor reply.
betty
nobody gets the european spot there will only be 99 players if igor plays and 98 if he dont.
Spot on 3:51pm as for 10:44am your about as bright as a blackout. FACT!
1.47, could you not use a more original analogy for intelligence, or lack thereof, than "as bright as a blackout". It is used roughly once a fortnight by people like you, who cannot logically find a reply to a topic when shown to be wrong. It tells more about the intelligence of you than the poster you are unsuccessfully attempting to denigrade.
For the record, Higgins and Charlton ARE the 2 candidates for third best of the 70s. Reardon was first and Spenser 2nd. You are one of the many Alex worshippers who are totally deluded of fact- a bit like 1970/80s version of the ronnie fanboy.
Anyway ignorance is more to be pitied than scorned, so if you need any more lessons about whos who in snooker let me know. FACT.
sorry 156 i cant use big wurds and hav bad grammer but ive forgot more about snooker than u will ever know. phakt
Don't quite get where the argument that Charlton is joint third with Higgins is coming from. A world title and Masters speak for themselves. The only significant win for Charlton was the World Matchplay. He made a couple of world finals too, but to be fair he rigged the draw in one of them. Very good player, but a clear cut below Higgins. In fact, Higgins was pretty much on level terms with Spencer after their final for the remainder of the 70s, but obviously Spencer's dominance at the start of the decade shades it overall.
1:56pm "Reardon was first and Spenser 2nd"
As i said your as bright as a blackout his names Spencer...
frank spencer was better than eddie
Post a Comment