World Snooker 2018

[pineapple stu]

Those kind of comments annoy me alright, but to be honest I try just ignore them and it doesn't impact my enjoyment of, say, the final session last night.

Oldest and youngest champion, and 30 years in between. It's an amazing achievement that simply can't be matched in most sports. Yes, there's talk that there's a dearth of new players coming through which doesn't help. But the raw figures alone show how phenomenally talented he is, even now.

[Real ale Madrid]

I watched a few frames of the evening session of the UK Championship yesterday but didnt get to see the climax and O'Sullivan's win. He is, for me, the greatest to have ever played and I've always loved him - warts and all. He's been very open and candid about his mental health issues and also how his love for the game has been non-existent for some time. But his comments yesterday after winning, they kind of bother me. It devalues the game and the achievements a bit. I dont think its intended from him as he is just talking about himself, but it cheapens the achievements a bit.

Sorry, i have no idea how to articulate the point I am trying to make. He's given me a lot of joy over the years, I wish he could find the same joy from it himself and celebrate how good he is.

Ronnie was on the Overlap podcast last week talking about mental health - sponsored by SkyBet. I would never belittle anyone with mental health issues but surely some sort of awareness of how gambling contributes to mental health deterioration particularly someone who struggles themselves should make them think twice about what they contribute to.

Ronnie is the greatest to play the game but i have no trouble shouting against him. I just think he's all about the money these days and that's why he's playing. He wants to play in China were big crowds are but not in the UK - has no issues taking big money from Macau instead of playing the NI Open. Does analysis on Eurosport all the time which I find particularly odd given his apathy at times - he has his book - his tuition series which is a monthly sign up - he's a well oiled machine.

[culloty82]

TBF, it's also partially down to the sheer number of ranking tournaments (17) over the course of the snooker season, and, aside from the Triple Crown events, the top 16 players will always pick and choose the competitions in which they participate, so naturally enough, they'll focus on those which offer the most money. Trump is the most consistent modern player most likely to eventually knock Ronnie off his perch, but he's yet to maintain that level of performance in the Crucible.

[Mr A]

Jeez I think we all end up going through the motions a bit in our jobs from time to time, but it's absolutely extraordinary to be able to win tournaments when you feel that way though.