blahblah wrote: 04 May 2024, 22:07
To be kind, for a post or 2, Jak could be the next Hawkins at the Crucible.
Hawkins was a bit of a Davis throwback in that he wouldn't lose: opponents had to beat him and would often lose doing so....
But none of the 3 remaining deserve to be WC
Kyren’s been decent enough? He hasn’t won a Triple Crown event yet but his Crucible track record is impressive. Not a vintage year though, in any case…
forestfan wrote: 04 May 2024, 21:51
That was a long time after Alex Higgins though? (And that one must have finished at stupid o’clock am…)
Yeah, I found Henry kinda dull and had better things to do for a decade or 2
But I remember watching bits of that Final and it was shite.
We had the perennial “This is Jimmy’s year” era… I remember the one when he very nearly did it, it was the end of that awful Senna weekend so almost 30 years to the day. He had the deciding frame in his hands and missed, Hendry cleared up and he never got back to the final after that.
forestfan wrote: 04 May 2024, 21:51
That was a long time after Alex Higgins though? (And that one must have finished at stupid o’clock am…)
Yeah, I found Henry kinda dull and had better things to do for a decade or 2
But I remember watching bits of that Final and it was shite.
We had the perennial “This is Jimmy’s year” era… I remember the one when he very nearly did it, it was the end of that awful Senna weekend so almost 30 years to the day. He had the deciding frame in his hands and missed, Hendry cleared up and he never got back to the final after that.
You're young and optimistic; I'm old and cynical
After White lost a few finals, I decided that Alex had fooked his head at the Crucible with his awesome 69 (quite probably still the best Snooker break made, given the match and situation) and the deciding frame.
forestfan wrote: 04 May 2024, 22:09
Kyren’s been decent enough? He hasn’t won a Triple Crown event yet but his Crucible track record is impressive. Not a vintage year though, in any case…
His pitter patter approach to the shot and that horrible slow start to his cue going forward (when he's stressed it actually stops) really annoy me
And his interviews are duller than dull
But then I liked Kenny giving one or 2 word answers when he was managing Lpool
forestfan wrote: 04 May 2024, 21:51
That was a long time after Alex Higgins though? (And that one must have finished at stupid o’clock am…)
Yeah, I found Henry kinda dull and had better things to do for a decade or 2
But I remember watching bits of that Final and it was shite.
We had the perennial “This is Jimmy’s year” era… I remember the one when he very nearly did it, it was the end of that awful Senna weekend so almost 30 years to the day. He had the deciding frame in his hands and missed, Hendry cleared up and he never got back to the final after that.
You're young and optimistic; I'm old and cynical
After White lost a few finals, I decided that Alex had fooked his head at the Crucible with his awesome 69 (quite probably still the best Snooker break made, given the match and situation) and the deciding frame.
I certainly was young when Jimmy was in his prime… Alex had already passed his peak though I think he and Davis were the first two snooker players I was aware of.
forestfan wrote: 04 May 2024, 22:09
Kyren’s been decent enough? He hasn’t won a Triple Crown event yet but his Crucible track record is impressive. Not a vintage year though, in any case…
His pitter patter approach to the shot and that horrible slow start to his cue going forward (when he's stressed it actually stops) really annoy me
And his interviews are duller than dull
But then I liked Kenny giving one or 2 word answers when he was managing Lpool
So not for being a bad player, just one you don’t like very much…
Re. Kenny interviews, recall his rants about the Luton plastic. If they still had that we’d be done for
Was thinking, Jones’s run is somewhat reminiscent of that of the darts player Kirk Shepherd back in the day… he made his way to the final with a sub-90 average (mediocre even in those days) as better opponents played poorly, missed doubles and failed to put him away. He was brushed aside by John Part I think in the final and never really did anything again, despite being the (then) youngest finalist, that proved to be his ceiling.
I know Jak is a fair bit older than that and made the semis last year so maybe is going to be one of those who punches above his weight at the Crucible, but it does feel like he’s been gifted the opportunity here. Kyren should probably win with the best part of a session to spare but probably won’t pan out thay way, and could be a late finish.
Yeah, I could have fluked two finalists. Only picked Gilbert as I thought Brecel was vulnerable, and Bingham was cheap for someone who had a track record and a fairly open section of the draw. Certainly wouldn't have expected either to get past the quarter-finals though.
Still probably my best effort in this over the years!
So, are we heading for something along the lines of Davis’s 18-3 pummelling of Parrott, or does the underdog have a comeback in him? He’s played for about twice as long as his opponent in the preceding rounds…
Of course, Dennis Taylor lost the first session 8–0 in that legendary final.
Well, one of the stranger finals you’ll ever see… if it had ended on the three-miss rule, as was briefly possible, it might have been fitting!
Jak was kind of outclassed but hung in there as seems to be his way, and wasn’t sure Kyren would get over the line until he finally did. But in a way, more compelling than “one mistake and the frame is over” snooker.
I suspect the old guard will be back with a vengeance next season though.
That's it. It's all over. Had a few thoughts about the scoring system, but since the best possible entry had 5 lower-half players, I probably won't change it next year.
Thanks for playing. It wouldn't have been very exciting if I was on my own.
FS Record: Fantasy Advent Calendar 2012 Winner; The FISODAS Cup - Season 22 Winner; Ralfbergs EPL prediction game 2013/14 winner; FISO Goals 2022 & 2024
Congratulations to yorkshiredragon for winning the FISO m/l. For quite a while it looked like he was on to win the whole competition but slipped back to a very creditable 4th overall.