A
tournament which began with a chorus of complaints will end in a grandstand
finish when world no.1 Neil Robertson meets world no.2 Mark Selby for the UK Championship
title in York today.
These
two tough, dedicated match players have made it through the melee of six rounds
of snooker at the Barbican Centre to set up what seems likely to be a close,
high quality final.
If
Selby wins he will replace Robertson at the head of the rankings and become
only the third player and the first since Stephen Hendry in 1996 to successfully
defend the UK crown.
If
Robertson wins it will be the sixth successive ranking title won by a non-Brit
and he will become the eighth player after Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Alex
Higgins, Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan to have won
the world, UK and Masters titles – snooker’s triple crown.
Robertson
and Selby somehow avoided each other in draws for years but have played a fair
amount over the last couple of seasons, including a right old grind in York
last year when Selby recovered from 4-0 down to win 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
Despite
a late night semi-final, Selby also beat Robertson 10-6 in the Masters final, a
scoreline reversed by the Australian in the China Open final earlier this year.
They
are evenly matched in temperament and style, though despite Selby’s maximum
yesterday, Robertson has scored more heavily.
Most
bookmakers have made him slight favourite but it would be a surprise if either
player won be a large margin.
There’s
£150,000 for the winner. It’s been a long tournament – probably too long – but we
are left with what could be a classic final featuring two players imbued with
the qualities needed to win the game’s biggest titles.
Robertson
and Selby are two of snooker’s real fighters and this will be a fight to the
finish.
4 comments:
Great break right enough David although, Mark used an extension, as opposed to the rest, whilst potting the final pink.
Director didn't exactly cover himself in glory with his shot of the final black.
Apologies for harping on about it but, once again (in sharp focus) over complicated and unnecessary use of too many cameras.
Full table view would have captured the whole shot perfectly adequately.
re the final black - bit surprised they couldn't get a replay from another angle, as my understanding is the system records pictures from all the cameras simultaneously so the producer can instantly select any camera for a replay.
But in fairness to the production team, it must be very difficult to concentrate on hour after hour of live television. I know I couldn't.
Yes, all the cameras are being fed live onto an EVS system, which means all the different angles are being automatically stored in a computer, and they can roll a replay from them at any time.. the operator then selects the best of the alternative angles at the end to archive for later use.
They did show a replay of the black from the overhead camera, and I assumed that via editing they would cut to the shot earlier when the break was replayed, but it was left 'as broadcast' strangely. I would have wanted to change that cut for any replays, as it did spoil the tension somewhat.
Doubtless it does demand much concentration. That said, its only as complicated as the director decides to make it.
Far better to keep it simple, especially on big shots.
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