Snooker Championships

[Shaggy]

Well I don't know him but I know the snooker player, yeah. Watched him play several times.

[Craig_H]

O'Sullivan on a -3.5 frames handicap, against Mark Allen. 4/6 - thinking of lumping on.

Also thinking about O'Sullivan to win 3 out of the first 4 frames - evens.

To win 1st session - 4/7

Highest break in match - 2/5

-2.5 frame handicap - 2/5

Break over 50 in first frame - 1/3

To make 1st century in match - 4/9

Under 22.5 total frames - 1/2

[Warren]

Well I don't know him but I know the snooker player, yeah. Watched him play several times.

He should've won a lot more than he has he hit a 147 in the qualifiers for the 2006 world championships I think he was the first ever to do it, he's very tempremental but a nice bloke though.

[Shaggy]

Allen's a decent player and I wouldn't lump on ROS. Most of those look nailed on but Ronnie is so temperamental, and can sometimes take a while to warm to the task...especially in the longer games.

[Craig_H]

Allen's a decent player and I wouldn't lump on ROS. Most of those look nailed on but Ronnie is so temperamental, and can sometimes take a while to warm to the task...especially in the longer games.

All taken on board, but i dont fancy Allen to win 10 frames mate.

4/6 on O'Sullivan -3.5 looks good, dont you think?

[Pablo]

All taken on board, but i dont fancy Allen to win 10 frames mate.

4/6 on O'Sullivan -3.5 looks good, dont you think?

I agree with Shaggy they do seem a little skinny those odds, Allen is decent and Ronnie blows hot and cold.

[Craig_H]

I agree with Shaggy they do seem a little skinny those odds, Allen is decent and Ronnie blows hot and cold.

RoS has the motivation that his dad will be able to watch the 2nd week at the Crucible, i believe. He's vowed to win it for his dad.

When he's motivated and focused, nobody can touch him.

Surely -3.5 is a decent bet at 4/6. Best of 25 frames, can you see Allen winning 10?

[Liverpool]

I agree with Shaggy they do seem a little skinny those odds, Allen is decent and Ronnie blows hot and cold.

The one person who can stop Ronnie winning this is himself.

Wouldnt mind getting back into snooker, played for a fair few hours on Saturday, was bloodly awful.

[Shaggy]

All taken on board, but i dont fancy Allen to win 10 frames mate.

4/6 on O'Sullivan -3.5 looks good, dont you think?

Definitely but you just never know with him! I know a few people who've been stung by him not being in the mood.

[Craig_H]

Might just take RoS to win the match, straightforward. Lump on at 1/5.

[Shaggy]

He'll win 13-0 now. He's more than capable.

[Shaggy]

Might just take RoS to win the match, straightforward. Lump on at 1/5.

Hope you didn't - he's lost!!! 13-11, Ronnie is out.

[wiw]

haha no way

[Shaggy]

Mark Allen produced a superb display in the final session to seal a 13-11 win that ends Ronnie O'Sullivan's hopes of defending his world title.

O'Sullivan resumed the second-round tie 9-7 up, but an inspired Allen took the opening three frames to edge ahead.

The misfiring world number one looked to be on for a 147 maximum break in the next, but broke down on 105 to level.

After the next two frames were shared, Northern Ireland's Allen held his nerve to seal the biggest win of his career.

Allen, who will meet either Ryan Day or Nigel Bond in the quarter-finals, had heaped pressure on himself before the match by insisting he was capable of beating the three-time world champion, despite the bookmakers making him a clear underdog.

"A lot of people play Ronnie and they don't think they're capable of winning," he said after his first-round win over Martin Gould.

"I know that I'm capable of winning, it's just a matter of going out there and proving it on the day. Ronnie is favourite for many reasons, but favourites don't always win."

He lived up to his prediction, showing admirable coolness as the match reached its critical stage, and now looks to be a genuine contender to succeed O'Sullivan as world champion.

O'Sullivan certainly rated his opponent's chances of lifting the trophy in Sheffield, but he was less than impressed with his own form.

"He played brilliantly - if he keeps on playing like that he's got a great chance of winning the tournament," said O'Sullivan.

"But I half expected that. I didn't expect to get through my first round, to be honest. I'm not surprised - I think anyone would have beaten me playing on that type of form.

"I can't imagine he'll be jumping around and doing cartwheels after beating me with the way I played - I was very poor but that's the way it goes.

"If I'd have been 11-5 up I'd have still felt quite negative about it because I wasn't playing any good. It's not nice to play like that, but you just have to get on with it.

"Even if I'd have got through that one, it would have been the next match."

But O'Sullivan did find some solace in the chance to spend some time with his father, who is coming to the end of a long prison sentence and is being allowed short periods with his family to help readjust.

"I might watch some on TV, go home and see my kids, I've got my dad coming out so I've got all that to look forward to," he said.

"I'm excited about spending some time with my dad."

Allen, the world number 16 hit the ground running in the concluding session, making breaks of 59 and 69 to take the first two frames as O'Sullivan struggled to find top gear.

An O'Sullivan miss allowed Allen back into the frame in the next, and he took full advantage, taking it on a respotted black to really put the pressure on his illustrious opponent.

O'Sullivan showed his class in the last frame before the mid-session interval, sweeping to 105 with 14 reds and 13 blacks before missing a tricky black with his left hand with a maximum on the cards.

But the classy break was not the start of a sustained O'Sullivan fightback as Allen made runs of 47 and 36 to go 11-10 ahead.

O'Sullivan capitalised on an Allen in-off with a 67 to level again, and looked set to impose himself as he quickly moved 37-0 ahead in the next - but a missed black off the spot proved pivotal.

Allen calmly knocked in a break of 80 to leave himself on the brink, and he moved into the quarter-finals with aplomb after taking advantage of O'Sullivan's errors to take the last in two visits.

"To play one of your heroes at The Crucible was a dream come true, and that inspired me," the 23-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"A lot of people might have crumbled but I loved every minute of it. Even when Ronnie was making breaks I was thinking 'I'll get him next time'.

"That's what you play snooker for: playing the best players in the world, and I'm pleased I performed under pressure."

O'Sullivan had been attempting to become the first player to make a successful defence of his title since Stephen Hendry in 1996.

[Craig_H]

Hope you didn't - he's lost!!! 13-11, Ronnie is out.

Saw this result this morning, very surprised. I didnt go with it in the end, i decided to save the money for the man utd game later. Obviously nobody will believe me, but that's life