Who will wear the Crucible crown?
With the World Championship just around the corner, it only seems right to begin to assess the contenders for this prestigious title. With 19 tournaments having been played and Ronnie in his ascendency, O’Sullivan would seem the obvious choice and high likely to be the bookmaker’s favourite to clinch this 17 day marathon title. He has, sadly, outclassed all the other players on the tour when he has entered the 10 tournaments he has played and like a vintage wine has only got better with age. His capability to play different gears, has meant he has been able to outplay the top 16 and even Neil Robertson was unable to shake him off. Ronnie is a snooker machine and is in my opinion better than Reardon, Davis and Hendry in their pomp. This is largely due to being able to conquer age decline and maintain his overall game. A feat that not even the great Joe Davis was able to do.
Having mentioned Neil Robertson, it is only right to give him praise for his 11-4 final win in the China Open to beat Jack Lisowski. Robertson played a very high standard of snooker to win this match and was able to blast away Jack’s previous form to leave a player sheepish and sub standard. However, Robertson will need to have a double A game to reach the final of the World Championship and comfortably beat Ronnie in his draw meeting within the tournament or in the final.
Aside from these two players, one could pick Trunp, Selby Higgins, Ding,Day, Lisowski, Allen, Bingham and probably a few others that I have failed to mention who could potentially be in the mix due their rankings but unfortunately there is a big question mark with these bunch and that is the confidence factor. For me, these players should be winning multiple titles and haven’t. Their play isn’t bad but they are unable to go deep into a tournament and with the exception of Bingham fall flat when the question is asked.
The World Championship is a mental and stamina marathon. Played over 17 days, only the best player throughout can kiss the silver lady. On current form, it would be an enormous task for any of these bunch to make it. However to their credit, some have already raised this trophy and there does seem to be something at the Crucible that causes a player to kick into that required mindset to win big. Longevity is the key to winning this title and every player has it their game to win this prestigious event, otherwise why would they be a professional player in the first place?
My prediction is that Ronnie will definitely be in the final and on current form, it looks like Robertson will be his opponent. I may be proved totally wrong and another of the top 16 or even 32, may rise to the ascendancy. The gauntlet challenge has been set and the task is to purge O’Sullivan from the Championship. With him out of the equation, the road to victory becomes easier and either Robertson can beat him in the final or another can knock him out at an early stage and win in the final. The permutations of this challenge are multiple and like a Rubik’s cube is hard to solve, let alone triumph in.
Having mentioned Neil Robertson, it is only right to give him praise for his 11-4 final win in the China Open to beat Jack Lisowski. Robertson played a very high standard of snooker to win this match and was able to blast away Jack’s previous form to leave a player sheepish and sub standard. However, Robertson will need to have a double A game to reach the final of the World Championship and comfortably beat Ronnie in his draw meeting within the tournament or in the final.
Aside from these two players, one could pick Trunp, Selby Higgins, Ding,Day, Lisowski, Allen, Bingham and probably a few others that I have failed to mention who could potentially be in the mix due their rankings but unfortunately there is a big question mark with these bunch and that is the confidence factor. For me, these players should be winning multiple titles and haven’t. Their play isn’t bad but they are unable to go deep into a tournament and with the exception of Bingham fall flat when the question is asked.
The World Championship is a mental and stamina marathon. Played over 17 days, only the best player throughout can kiss the silver lady. On current form, it would be an enormous task for any of these bunch to make it. However to their credit, some have already raised this trophy and there does seem to be something at the Crucible that causes a player to kick into that required mindset to win big. Longevity is the key to winning this title and every player has it their game to win this prestigious event, otherwise why would they be a professional player in the first place?
My prediction is that Ronnie will definitely be in the final and on current form, it looks like Robertson will be his opponent. I may be proved totally wrong and another of the top 16 or even 32, may rise to the ascendancy. The gauntlet challenge has been set and the task is to purge O’Sullivan from the Championship. With him out of the equation, the road to victory becomes easier and either Robertson can beat him in the final or another can knock him out at an early stage and win in the final. The permutations of this challenge are multiple and like a Rubik’s cube is hard to solve, let alone triumph in.
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