comment by Wetherbyterrier (U2075)

posted 4 hours, 22 minutes ago

I remember Jimmy v Hendry in the second round of the 88 world championship were Jimmy won 13-12, that was the start of that rivalry... Hendry was his nemisis
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Yes Jimmy beat Parrott at the Crucible before and after his final loss

Jimmy beat Henry at the Crucible before and after his final losses and his semi loss in 1995 (which felt like the final)

Jimmy beat Davis at the Crucible after his final loss

He beat them all but unfortunately never when it mattered most

I remember when Jimmy beat Davis 16 - 14 in the 1990 semi, I was elated, but Hendry laid in wait, Jimmy beat Parrot a couple of times at the Crucible before the 91 final, I remember that ridiculous first session, 7-0 to Parrott.. Hendry had 5 Crucible wins 4 finals, & the 95 semi, Jimmy won in 88 & the first round in 98.. Always the bridesmade...

With John, you can probably say Ronnie over the 30 years of rivalry. I had a look at his head to head vs Hendry, 18 matches each - 181 vs 180 frames in Johns favour, close! I am probably missing someone though.

I'm not sure if there is anyone else throughout his career who has 'had his number'. Although if you look more recently, I would say Judd has his number, annoyingly. I don't fancy him too much vs the other top players anymore. He has lost so many finals, but to a variety of opponents.

I think Ronnie’s issue is he shows Higgins far too much respect, always has done. Lauds him as the greatest player of all time. Nothing wrong with that but he seems to lose his killer instinct vs Higgins because of the respect he shows to him, needs to put it to one aside in matches and doesn’t often enough

Trump I think Ronnie just struggles with because he knows how good Trump is, Trump is rough in patches but he’s also a machine and has all the talent Ronnie has and Ronnie knows that.

So that why I find he always seems to stutter and never plays “flowing” vs these two. I think he rates and respects Williams and Robertson but knows he can beat them and they’re not as good as him so that’s why he usually still flows vs them, I think equally he’s arrogant enough to think he can beat everyone else so he “flows”, and then obviously the Selby Paradox. I don’t think he rates him that highly despite what he says he’s just a better more skilled version of Ebdon. He’s boring negative slow and that’s the worst kind of player Ronnie can play, so I don’t think he fears Selby I just think he can’t be facked with Selby most of the time so goes for broke every shot so he doesn’t have to endure a long match which is why he doesn’t beat Selby that much

But the only two people that generally make him stutter and either limp over the line or lose is Higgins and Trump

I think Trump has all the talent but naturally has some sort of mental block especially vs the top players. How many of the finals has he won have been vs a top player or not been a close nervy one frame victory. He always plays his best when he’s losing most of the time because he seems to just change mindset and relax, but in the big tournaments he just seems to have a “natural” mental block. Not in the context of his a bottlejob as he’s not and won 6-7 tournaments the other year but I just never feel confident when he plays a major player in a semi final or final. Don’t think he’s smart enough or mentally sound enough

But easily the best player in snooker currently just lacking a bit of robustness and savvyness a lot of the time

Viva, it's remarkable that it's 11 years since John won a triple crown title, his last World title....

Oscar, yea I agree, the way he talks about Higgins is a bit sickly really, & Judd had Ronnie's number to an extent, we'll see how the new season goes though, don't forget who Ronnie beat in the semi... & final at the world championship... Ronnie HAD Robbo'a number, but recently I think it's 4 out of 5 for Robbo,.. Neil really needs to perform at the world championship again... That is becoming embarrassing, no matter what he says

comment by Wetherbyterrier (U2075)
posted 22 hours, 20 minutes ago
Viva, it's remarkable that it's 11 years since John won a triple crown title, his last World title....
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I know, it is remarkable. 3 World finals and 1 Masters. He should have won that Masters vs Bingtao, and he threw away a lead vs Slowby. He has done nothing in the UK Championship for a long time.

Judd is a very talented player, but not as talented as Ronnie. Ronnie eclipses him when it comes to controlling a cue ball.

There was that recent spell where John was just on fire against Ronnie. Ronnie might have given him too much respect at times, but John was tying him up in knots and was clinical in taking his chances.

Ronnie got his revenge though in the WC semi, John didn't get going.

It's remarkable that Judd has managed to score over 800+ centuries with his cue action. He probably has one of the worst cue actions in the game but it works for him. I do fear though that when he gets to 40 it won't be as reliable and he probably will struggle so these next 5 years are imperative for him to win many major honours and clinch 2-3 world championships, a few Masters titles plus many other ranking titles.

Think the money these days makes it hard to get extra motivated for every tournament when you’ve won a few. So I don’t think they’ll ever be any regular domination again ever. Trump had a dominating year then a quiet year, Robertsons had similar

Similar to Darts really, there will never be a Phil Taylor. MVG teased it for a couple of years because he was hungry but now, couple of kids nice holidays loads of money in the bank, he wins 1-2 tournaments a year now, similar to Price last year but this year quietish etc etc

Makes it even more impressive of people back in the day when they just did it tournament after tournament after tournament.

Also I’m pleasantly but very surprised Ronnie is playing this mixed doubles tournament Lol should be fun though

It’s a not knock btw, Trump’s young should live his life up and enjoy it. But the point i’m making is when you had a season like he did the other year winning 6-7 tournaments making millions in prize money and sponsorship and the effort and time spent he put in and grafted he was always going to have a couple of more quiet years after

Same with Ronnie he’s naturally talented enough to still win without 110% dedication but that’s why the consistency drops

And like if Ronnie or Higgins wanted to practice 6-7 hours a day they’d be absolutely knackered for a couple of days after whereas Trump or Robbo could do it day in day out if they wanted as they’re 15 years younger. They’ve got a lot more if they want of limits they can practice for because their body can take it much better

It’s why it’s massive testament to the likes of Ronnie and Higgins still doing it, with Trump and Robbo’s talent plus the capabilities of what they could do in terms of amount spent practicing and needing less rest, you could argue they should be mopping the floor with Sullivan and Higgins etc everytime they play even Wilson

Oscar, Neil is only 6 years younger than Ronnie, Mark & John

Good to see Ronnie playing as well as ever in the wonderful Championship league 😂

I think I only watched 5 minutes of the Championship league last week and I got bored of it. I've just been watching Tennis and Cricket for the past week

Lol Arsenal me too, Amazing test cricket so far this year, a couple of Yorkshire lads doing the business, Roooooot is legend & could catch Sachin eventually, Jonny in the form of his life, I'm praying Norrie can beat Djokovic.......

Root and Bairstow have been on devastating form. Many questioned Bairstow 6 months ago in red ball Cricket but he's proved he is great in all forms of Cricket.
In terms of Tennis I'm hoping for a Norrie and Nadal final.

Anyone but Djokovic, Root could get close to Tendulkar's test record, he's got a good 5 years left yet

Djokovic is a caaaant.

😂👍

Happy summer folks! Hendry withdraws from Northern Ireland qualifiers.... He really should just retire, & play the seniors...

Ronnie has pulled out of the European Masters next week.

He's prepping for the doubles 😂