The pretend IRA wonāt like that.
I donāt agree with the boring stereotype at all. Heās a tremendous tactician and has a real will to win, he never throws the towel in and as Tassotti said, heās a superb tournament player.
Not the most gifted player but a real grafter with a tremendous snooker brain, some of the safety shots he pulls off are mind boggling.
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Extremely tough mentally aswell
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Knowles was a very good player in that period and itās always hard for a first time winner to perform the following year.
Recent first time champions Graeme Dott, Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham all went out in the first round the year after they won it.
Selby has had at least one 10-9 scare in the first round before after winning it the previous year.
Itās often said that the first round is the toughest at the Crucible.
While the qualifiers werenāt at the Crucible, Joe Perry has had two fine wins in Sheffield in the last week and that was tremendous preparation for this match - preparation Selby didnāt have. Perry would have already been feeling at home, in a routine and match-hardened in the city.
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Selbys physical conditioning was always top notch as well. Always got him through some tough encounters
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Selby had a very poor season up until his win in China a fortnight ago. Stephen Maguire and Gentleman Joe were the two wildcards that all the seeds wanted to avoid.
I have a fancy for Neil Robertson to go well over the next fortnight. Heās had a tough time of it personally which has affected his performance on the table over the last 18 months, but heās been going well since missing out on qualifying for the Masters.
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Looking at the draw Iād fancy Robertson to make the last eight.
On paper he should play Ronnie OāSullivan there but OāSullivanās continued participation is obviously under serious threat given that heās 6-3 down to Stephen Maguire.
I wouldnāt write him off just yet. But OāSullivan isnāt really noted for comebacks and has always tended to win from the front.
The quarter-final could yet see a rematch of that 2010 final between Robertson and Dott. That would be a real one for the purists.
Mark Allen was seeded to meet Selby in round 2. While Joe Perry has to be respected after his tremendous win over Selby, the Antrim man will much prefer to be facing Perry.
The title could be going East this year.
Unreal
Havenāt had a bet on the outright market myself but would fancy Higgins in that quarter.
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The Rocket has won the opening 2 frames of the morning and now trails 6-5.
That missed red for Maguire with a 49 point lead in frame 11 for a 7-4 lead will most likely prove to be the turning point. Ronnie looking good here in frame 12 to level it at 6-6.
Jan Verhass is no Michaela Tabb
Maguire looked to have got a reprieve in Frame 12 picking up the snooker he needed to win the frame, but missed the difficult pink along the cushion and Ronnie square it up for 6-6. Two hammer blows for Maguire last two frames.
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Oh, Maguire unlucky there. Would have been a good frame to win there.
Ding and Hawkins into 15/2 and 14/1 from 12s and 20s without potting a ball il take that.
Ronnie comes from 3-6 down to win 10-7. Heāll take stopping now.
You rate Ronnie better than Hendry, Geoff?
Most people accept that to be the case, even Hendry himself.