Sad to see that all five Welsh players who got through to the final qualifying stage for the World Championship got beaten. Is Ryan Day the only Welshman at the Crucible?
+ Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
Who knows, anyone of these can win it.
Selby over long distance is up there for me, trump has been on fire the last few tournaments, certainly in with a shout.
Neil Robertson has been quiet this season but I always dark horse bet him .
No Mark Williams this year, ranked 17th so had to qualify and didn't. Though according to his Twitter he doesn't seem to care, he plays more bingo in his local club now.
Sad to see that all five Welsh players who got through to the final qualifying stage for the World Championship got beaten. Is Ryan Day the only Welshman at the Crucible?
Amazing turnaround from McLeod this afternoon. Judd 4-0 up at the interval, Rory turns it around to go into tomorrow leading 5-4, incredible.
Day well beaten 10-4 and out of the tournament. I have not watched any of this. I used to love the World Championships but none of the Welsh players are up to it these with poor old Matthew Stevens hurtling down the rankings.Not one Welshman through to the second round for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Anyone watch Murphy v O'Sullivan yesterday? Murphy's shot to pot the red over the pocket was sensational with reverse side from behind the pink
Just found a link https://youtu.be/T1xcMC4Wk6Y
Not watched snooker for years now and even when I did watch it in the days of 3/4 channels, the world championships was the only tournament worth a look.
I remember the hours of being gripped by the likes of Cliff Thorburn (his amazing televised 147) and Terry "no rush" Griffiths. Ray "Dracula" Reardon and other Welshman Doug Mountjoy. All household names.
One could even sit through super boring Eddie Charlton!
This year, I have watched a handful of frames at various times involving a variety of players but Ronnie O'Sullivan is the only one that makes me watch for any length of time.
Yes, there are many who are technically gifted and mentally strong, but this guy seems to be on another level. He has so much stage presence. He wants to entertain.
Sport (and I use the word loosely in this case) in general is not just about winning these days, it's how you perform and not acceptable to just win.
Not sure how popular snooker in this day and age, doubt it's anywhere near the 70's&80's figures, but if O'Sullivan gets beat (he's currently 3 frames adrift) I for one shan't be watching any more of it. I suspect many more won't be either.
I'd be interested to know if many remember the days I describe felt the same way, and are still as gripped by the game as people were back then.
Also, if there was ever a man as gifted and entertaining as Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Jimmy White was the Ronnie O'Sullivan equivalent back then I suppose.
Back in those days, snooker was able to offer live sport for something like fifteen hours a day to a country not used to such a thing - it was the right game at the right time. Darts gained popularity at the same time for the same reason, but, after a few years it's popularity began to decline and it was very much second best to snooker for a long time.
Although I just don't get the attraction of modern darts myself and very rarely watch it, the game has done really well to overcome that decline it suffered and has emerged stronger in a way snooker hasn't been able to match. Others on here would know better than me, but it seems that darts has become more popular than snooker mainly because of the personalities of some of the players and the fact that the crowd seem to be having such a good time - in some ways the darts itself is incidental.
On the other hand, snooker takes itself seriously and wants to be seen as a "proper" sport in a way that darts perhaps doesn't and it suffers for this in a way that darts doesn't in this age of wall to wall live sports coverage. Back in the eighties, I'd be up till 2 in the morning watching Terry Griffiths v Cliff Thorburn like the rest of the country appeared to be, but now I just pop into televised snooker to watch a frame or two every now and again - I still prefer snooker to darts, but it's far from being a must watch at this time of year.
Last edited by the other bob wilson; 26-04-17 at 06:45.
If we are talking popular in the U.K., then yes darts is popular and more so than snooker.
Go to China and there were 250 million viewers for the World Snooker Semi Final last year. Just under a quarter of China's 1.3b population, now that is popular! Equivalent of getting 15-16 million viewers here, just as much as the Euro 16 final got in the summer.
It is growing every year, but I feel the "grassroots" of the game is very poor in this country. If it is not easily accessible by kids it will not grow. Snooker clubs are dark and shady places normally occupied by 40 and 50 year olds coughing and spluttering after having 10 fags in the past hour. I know there are a few Snooker clubs in South Wales advertising that they are "family friendly", but if I had a young girl I'd be unsure whether I'd like to take her to such a place.
I should note that I still go to Snooker clubs 2-3 times a month.
The darts decline was in part due to the BDO, which is why its top players left en masse to form what has become the PDC. The best players wanted more TV tournaments but the BDO wouldn't oblige. Similar nearly happened with World Snooker. No doubt the PDC's biggest moment was when Barney swapped sides and now the BDO is a feeder organisation for the PDC.
No doubts that one of the reasons for the success of the PDC is due to having a good time. For years at the Lakeside, people would dress up in silly costumes. I've been to several World Championships, exhibitions and the like and love going. The PDC World Championship has been nominated in the 2017 Sports Business Awards for Best Matchday or game experience (going to watch Cardiff City has also been nominated along with 5 other events). The viewing figures for the World Final make it the second most watched sport on Sky.
I like the tension of darts. I'm not sure there are lots of characters in darts, in some ways it is becoming like snooker where younger players coming through are focused professionally on the game. Some of snooker's great characters have been that mainly through the way they play. White and O'Sullivan have been mentioned for obvious reasons, they are two very attacking players who make the game exciting. I don't think darts players can be described as attacking or defensive! Some throw quicker than others, sadly I've heard of at least one player who is a very slow thrower getting abuse for it. Darts is certainly more gladiatorial.
People don't appreciate how hard snooker is.
Harder to play than Darts.
O'Sullivan is great to watch, but he don't half talk shit
Mark Selby has been brilliant, has to be said. Ding is running him close this evening mind 16-15 so far
Selby through, 17-15, hard on Ding but Selby was excellent
Higgins been brilliant so far, on his way to 6-2
Selby bores me to tears
This years final
The cheat V The grinder