Snooker 2021

[Blue Jam]

Yaaaaaay it's Marcel!

Gliding about the table like he's on castors. Because he is. Being a robot and all.

[sevendaughters]

ah yes he's reffing J Robertson v Zhao, which seems to be the least punishingly average of tonight's fare. Rod Lawler is taking 35 seconds per shot, so he and Yuan Sijun have managed 5 frames in 3hrs.

[Blue Jam]

Jan Verhaas looks like a Bond villain's henchman.

And by "Bond villain" I mean one of Nigel Bond's enemies, obviously.

[sevendaughters]

Noppon Saengkham tests positive for COVID, giving Lyu Haotian a bye into Q4.

[sevendaughters]

the first player to appear in Q1 has made it to Q3 - Jamie Clarke defeats Jamie O'Neil. O'Neil was 5-0 up. What a crumble!

edit: only the third player in pro snooker history to lose a best of 11 from 5-0 up.

[sevendaughters]

amazing scenes at the end of the Yuan Sijun v Rod 'the Plod' Lawler. Deciding frame, Lawler runs 49 before halting. Sijun makes some difficult shots and needs final pink to wrap up. Dead straight, on the spot, and not even mid-distance. He wallops it so hard that the jaws are still rattling now. Lawler misses a simple pink. Some tentative Davis-Taylor stuff and then Lawler cuts the pink and finishes on a tricky black. Second Q1 player to make it to Q3. He'll play Liang Wenbo.

[EOLAN]

Jan Verhaas looks like a Bond villain's henchman.

And by "Bond villain" I mean one of Nigel Bond's enemies, obviously.

The image that Europsport use to promote Fergal O'Brien's matches on their app makes him look like an evil villain in a more grimy violent film than Bond. James or Nigel. Wouldn't dare mess with him.

[druss]

amazing scenes at the end of the Yuan Sijun v Rod 'the Plod' Lawler. Deciding frame, Lawler runs 49 before halting. Sijun makes some difficult shots and needs final pink to wrap up. Dead straight, on the spot, and not even mid-distance. He wallops it so hard that the jaws are still rattling now. Lawler misses a simple pink. Some tentative Davis-Taylor stuff and then Lawler cuts the pink and finishes on a tricky black. Second Q1 player to make it to Q3. He'll play Liang Wenbo.

Hopefully Liang can spare us seeing Lawler drudging things up at the crucible. I like Liang, feel like he will be back in the top 16 at some point, seems too talented not to be.

The image that Europsport use to promote Fergal O'Brien's matches on their app makes him look like an evil villain in a more grimy violent film than Bond. James or Nigel. Wouldn't dare mess with him.

Fergal looks more like a mafia boss to me.

[Blue Jam]

I think he just has an unfortunate tendency to pull faces when he's cueing:

[druss]

Yeah, skinny Tony Soprano there. Or skinnier, anyway.

[Blue Jam]

Woke up this mornin'
Got yo' self a cue

[sevendaughters]

Third Q1 player into Q3 as Lines Senior wrecks Luo Honghao.

Brazilian qualifier Igor Figuieredo in a decider against teen pop sensation Robbie Williams.

[sevendaughters]

Big Ig did it! Made up for him. He'll be against the speedy Thepchaiya un-Nooh.

[Blue Jam]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/56654344

Troll.

[sevendaughters]

I can safely say I have never seen anyone play this shot before

https://twitter.com/SnookerMate/status/1380499281312899077?s=19

[Blue Jam]

Yes, that's certainly inventive.

I'm at werk tomorrow, found myself a podcast for the afternoon's listening, sorted:

[sevendaughters]

I think Ronnie just watched the same episode of Masterchef as me.

Bai Langning demolishes Angles 'Alan' McManus to become the lowest ranked player (#115) still in the hunt.

[Blue Jam]

Why the FUCK aren't Eurosport showing James Cahill vs Gerard Greene? Seems like a good close match! Gwaaaaaaarn K-Hole, you can outdo Uncle Stephen here

[sevendaughters]

ALAN MCMANUS RETIRES!

[Blue Jam]

Awwww, bad luck Cahill but never mind, you still managed four more frames than Uncle Stephen at this stage.

[Flouncer]

Mark King is currently playing a young Austrian lad called Florian Nuessle, who just took the first frame with a lovely 84 break - some great shots in it; he looked very confident and up for it. I have a feeling this could be a good match.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Nuessle's up against the cushion

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I'm happy and I'm settled. What I will miss is being 4-4 and deciders. Those are the times that you really find out who you are."

Mediocre

[sevendaughters]

Big fluke by Nuessle to go 2-0 up against Mark 'Thunderthumbs' King.
https://twitter.com/147Magtr/status/1380811618498531328

[Flouncer]

Big fluke by Nuessle to go 2-0 up against Mark 'Thunderthumbs' King.
https://twitter.com/147Magtr/status/1380811618498531328

The black along the cushion to follow up was pretty impressive!

[Flouncer]

Did anybody see what's happened in the King/Nuessle match? I went for a shit and when I came back the match had been stopped mid-frame - there are no commentators on this match so I have no idea what's happened. The scoreboard said 'unscheduled break', no players in the arena and the ref was talking to someone backstage. The players have returned now and the match is continuing. I wonder what went on there.

[After the match the players were having a chat; you couldn't hear what was being said but Mark King was gesturing to his stomach, so I'm guessing there was some shitting serendipity and Mark urgently needed a dump at the same time I did.]

[Morrison Lard]

King keeps nipping off to the bogs. Ten bob bits.

Not sure why Nuessle follows him though.

[sevendaughters]

Unlucky Nuessle. Have to pin Teutonic hopes on Simon Lichtenberg now.

[sevendaughters]

Q2 is over, Q3 begins shortly. Of the 32 Q2 players who also appeared in Q1, 8 of them qualified for Q3

Some very big fish in Q3: Bingham, Dott, Stevens, Carter, Wilson, Zhou.

[Blue Jam]

Liking Zhou Yuelong's cute little robin redbreast waistcoat. Channeling Ding circa 2016. It's not quite up there with his Spider-Man suit but I approve.