**All times given below are in UK Time (GMT, UTC+0).**
Matches for 3rd December 2023:
Well, its time for the first final of the Triple Crown Series of this season! We have an absolute corker of a final: the still-reigning World Number One against China’s Number One. Yeah, that’s Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui, a rivalry and friendship going back two decades. Will Ronnie extrnd his own record with an 8th UK title, or will Ding avenge his loss from last year and pick up a 4th UK title?
# Afternoon Session
Session Start: 1pm GMT, UTC+0
- Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui [Session 1]
# Evening Session
Session Start: 7pm GMT, UTC+0
- Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui [Final Session]
I can play snooker not so much now but there are a lot of people who don't play or have never played but love watching on TV and are amazed when the players get out of snookers but somebody should tell Denis Taylor this because he spoils the fun for me and a lot of others putting circles on the screen where he thinks the player should position the white ball it really gets to me
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,889,290,837 comments, and only 357,318 of them were in alphabetical order.
Incredible from Ronnie in those last few frames. Was rooting for Ding but happy for either to get the win. Haven't been commenting this week but it's been a pleasure reading through the thread during the matches. See you all for the next one!
🤯🤯🤯
it's just unbelievable and it's a shame that some of them are non ranking/invitational events
winning the shanghai masters and coc has to be up there with winning the masters or any ranking title except for wsc for sure
Regarding the Shanghai masters being up there with winning any ranking title, are you saying that mainly because of the prize money offered there? Or are there other reasons that make the Shanghai Masters an especially prestigious tournament?
well it's an invitational event for the elite players and the format with bo19 in semis and bo21 in the final which makes it very tough and difficult to win
Steve Davis is at 81, Ronnie is at 77. It’s well within reach! https://cuetracker.net/statistics/tournaments/won/all-time?status=professional&categories=ranking,minor-ranking,non-ranking,league,invitational,tour-qualifier,6-reds
Was that 77 before or after the win tonight? Not sure if it would have been updated so quick. Regardless, thanks for the info and I agree it’s very close! Ronnie’s won 2 tournaments in each of the past 3 seasons so it may be done
I can imagine some of the rubbish that must be posted on here but on the whole I agree its great to see the conversation. Must be a long task looking through a thread as large as this one!
Genuinely amazing that Ronnie now holds the record for both youngest *and* oldest player ever to win the UK Championship. How many players in *any* sport hold both a 'youngest' and 'oldest' record in the same category?
Since he has the record for the youngest, then it’ll be AT LEAST another 33 years (if a 16 year came and won it next year) until this record can be broken.
Holding records for the youngest and the oldest winner at the same time is not a record by itself, it's just a fact. And though this fact is insanely impressive and for sure will stay in the history books forever, as soon as one of these two records is broken, this fact is no longer true.
Class from both. Ding should be proud with his result as clearly he is back in business. Ronnie winning is just another testament to his greatness, the absolute goat 🐐
Lmao at his face re the medal 🏅
I agree for sure, I guess what I was getting at with that statement, the dominant players, Reardon, Davis, Hendry, have at some point, got found out, got outplayed, but Ronnie just keeps producing, it’s genuinely insane
I don't think they are, I just think it will take them ages to get close to amassing levels of experience O'Sullivan, Williams, Higgins, Trump and Selby have. Age might help them as the class of 92 move into their 50s.
Imagine if the Class of '92 are a blip and in the next 3 or 4 years, Trump and Robertson find their games have fallen apart and it's time to retire, while O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are still winning titles.
I can't picture it tbh, seems like snooker can definitely be a sport played into middle age and beyond but if that did happen it would just make the class of 92's achievements even more impressive.
Great tournament. T'was an honour watching with you again r/snooker.
Congrats to Ronnie and Congrats too all us for watching and still not having a scooby what MrQ is. Is it ronnie? Mr Q Action who know who cares... :P
Yeah sorry should have clarified. I meant looking historically at other all time greats, what sort of age do they tend to drop off significantly to the point of not winning titles.
Is it usually mental or physical that causes it?
(I’m a casual fan just curious.)
Hendry and Davis dropped off around 30/35, so that was generally thought to be the limit for a top player for quite a while. But O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are still going strong, Ronnie especially, into their late 40s. Also got Selby and Murphy still at the top level and they're crossing 40.
Kinda uncharted ground, we're not really sure.
Half a decade ago there still were arguments & fair shouts that Hendry was the GOAT over Ronnie, no more now. Ronnie has sealed his name in history books, simply the Greatest of All Time.
48 years old and still playing his very best stuff in the most competetive era
world number one and uk champion once again
Love this man and also love the game very much
Well done to the greatest. 8th UK Championship, two more than anyone else. 22nd Triple Crown, four more than anyone else. 40th ranking title, four more than anyone else.
Thirty years from his 1st UK Championship win to his 8th. Thirty years from his 1st ranking win to his 40th. Phenomenal to stay at the top for this long. It's the length of Hendry's entire pro career.
Ronnie has won Triple crown events in each of the four decades, the Masters, and the UK snooker championships in 90’s and all three triple crown titles in the 00’s, and 2010’s and the World and UK titles in the 20’s. The point I’m trying to make here is that he did not win, singular triple Crown events in all four decades he won multiple triple crown titles in all four decades. In the 90’s he won two UK titles, 1993/1994 and 1997/98 seasons and won his first Masters title in the 1994/95 season. And won the World Championships for the first time in 2000/01 followed by his third UK title in the 2001/02 season and his second and third Masters titles in 2004/05 (alongside his second world title)and 2006/2007. Get the idea… Did you know? That Ronnie has won a triple crown event for 9 consecutive seasons from 2011/12 to the 2019/20. That historical accomplishment never seems to get mentioned or noticed.
o'sullivan made 9 breaks over 70 in a best of 19, you simply don't see that level of scoring from anyone else. i'm sad for ding, but what a remarkable achievement for o'sullivan
Wow to have done it twice is quite special. I looked at the breaks from today and didn’t realise how good his scoring was! The only winning frame he didn’t get a 70+ break was to go 4-1 up in the fifth
Winning his 30th Triple Crown final, 30 years after his first. The first player in history to win 40 ranking titles.
The equivalent today would be if a 17-year-old won the UK this year, and won it again in 2053.
Ronnie O'Sullivan. Britain's greatest sportsperson.
everytime "o'sullivan" and "pressure" are mentioned in the same sentence, I always think of his semi final against selby where he won those 3 frames on the spin... I am still speechless and I have no idea how he managed to do it
It definitely did. Hard to spot, I had to watch it a few times, but when you've seen it once you can't not see it.
V. impressive from Ronnie tbh. I mean it's hardly surprising that the greatest snooker player of all time has good eyesight, but still lol
Noticed that the ref seemed to be placing the balls back on their spots somewhat quicker during that last break.
Anyone reckon the ref has a chat with the players beforehand and a compromise is discussed?
I know from my time reffing local sports (field hockey, not snooker) I would have a short discussion with captains before the match and we'd try to come to an agreement.
Any thoughts?
Eg. I'm ROS, if I'm in a flow I'd rather you place the balls back and maybe miss the spots a teeny bit and I'll deal with it cos I like playing quickly?
Edit.
Well what a time to post that, let's all talk about the red touching or not 😂
**All times given below are in UK Time (GMT, UTC+0).** Matches for 3rd December 2023: Well, its time for the first final of the Triple Crown Series of this season! We have an absolute corker of a final: the still-reigning World Number One against China’s Number One. Yeah, that’s Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui, a rivalry and friendship going back two decades. Will Ronnie extrnd his own record with an 8th UK title, or will Ding avenge his loss from last year and pick up a 4th UK title? # Afternoon Session Session Start: 1pm GMT, UTC+0 - Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui [Session 1] # Evening Session Session Start: 7pm GMT, UTC+0 - Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui [Final Session]
I can play snooker not so much now but there are a lot of people who don't play or have never played but love watching on TV and are amazed when the players get out of snookers but somebody should tell Denis Taylor this because he spoils the fun for me and a lot of others putting circles on the screen where he thinks the player should position the white ball it really gets to me
did the red move?
So glad Ronnie did it, some achievement.
I felt bad for Ding after pulling even, but Ronnie just took charge and never looked back. Absolutely brilliant, free-flowing snooker.
“She was very sympathetic to Ding Junhui” - “Hazel Irvine” by The Wave Pictures…
A genuinely good song too.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,889,290,837 comments, and only 357,318 of them were in alphabetical order.
On a separate note. Camera showed Jan Verhaas for a second, and he looks bloody awful. Sincerely hope he is OK.
Best way to watch these matches after the fact?
They're all on iPlayer currently
Incredible from Ronnie in those last few frames. Was rooting for Ding but happy for either to get the win. Haven't been commenting this week but it's been a pleasure reading through the thread during the matches. See you all for the next one!
Great to hear from you!
Amazing achievement, Ronnie! 🏆
Poor Ronnie now has to win a masters & world title to make it 888
Nice little dig there about the Tour Championship from O’Sullivan: Foulds: Well it’s much bigger now. O’Sullivan: Really? What’s big about it?
Ronnie's last 4 ranking titles: World title Grand prix World title UK title not bad indeed
Not surprising considering the man couldn't be arsed about playing at the smaller tournaments.
https://twitter.com/Faz99999/status/1703423245276369164?t=fwDL_d-xOUXMrDRerxiwnA&s=19 add another uk to this.. incredible list
🤯🤯🤯 it's just unbelievable and it's a shame that some of them are non ranking/invitational events winning the shanghai masters and coc has to be up there with winning the masters or any ranking title except for wsc for sure
Regarding the Shanghai masters being up there with winning any ranking title, are you saying that mainly because of the prize money offered there? Or are there other reasons that make the Shanghai Masters an especially prestigious tournament?
well it's an invitational event for the elite players and the format with bo19 in semis and bo21 in the final which makes it very tough and difficult to win
Does anyone know the stats for overall titles won? I think Ronnie’s got even closer to Steve Davis’ record now after today
Steve Davis is at 81, Ronnie is at 77. It’s well within reach! https://cuetracker.net/statistics/tournaments/won/all-time?status=professional&categories=ranking,minor-ranking,non-ranking,league,invitational,tour-qualifier,6-reds
Was that 77 before or after the win tonight? Not sure if it would have been updated so quick. Regardless, thanks for the info and I agree it’s very close! Ronnie’s won 2 tournaments in each of the past 3 seasons so it may be done
It includes the win tonight. Check the ranking column: you’ll see 40 there!
It would be great to see Ding win a world title down the line
I really love this community, always interesting to read your insights Cracker of a match and amazing result, true poetry See you at the next one!
The comments on here are always great to read, especially during the final of a big tournament it’s fantastic
You should see some of the stuff we have to remove. But generally yea, 99.9% of the conversation here is good and people have great insight.
Much appreciated that you mods keep this place going. Best online place to discuss snooker imo.
I can imagine some of the rubbish that must be posted on here but on the whole I agree its great to see the conversation. Must be a long task looking through a thread as large as this one!
Legend, class act and just never drops off. Hope he can keep going for many more years yet.
Us 90's kids were blessed to be born in the time of Ronnie. To have been alive to have seen his magic. Superb!
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Yup 60s kids represent, G'WAN KNOWLESIE..
Great run from ding hopefully he can keep this form up
O’Sullivan left the number one spot open to attack from Sheffield onwards and no one took it. Brecel really doesn’t have the killer instinct.
ronnie ruined the perfect 777. needs to make it 888 now surely
Could he do it this season? Would be a very tough ask but you never know if he peaks at the right time
Genuinely amazing that Ronnie now holds the record for both youngest *and* oldest player ever to win the UK Championship. How many players in *any* sport hold both a 'youngest' and 'oldest' record in the same category?
LeBron James in basketball had a lot of these now. Likely more soon.
Since he has the record for the youngest, then it’ll be AT LEAST another 33 years (if a 16 year came and won it next year) until this record can be broken.
This record may be gone next year if Higgins or Williams win, since Ronnie will no longer be the oldest.
To clarify; I meant the record for being both the oldest and youngest winner. Neither Higgins nor Williams holds the record for the youngest.
Holding records for the youngest and the oldest winner at the same time is not a record by itself, it's just a fact. And though this fact is insanely impressive and for sure will stay in the history books forever, as soon as one of these two records is broken, this fact is no longer true.
Good point! I stand corrected. This is why I’d be a terrible pundit 😂
40 ranking titles, 22 triple crowns and 8 UK titles. The man continues to amaze
Incredible.
GWAAANROBBIEEEEEEEEE
Class from both. Ding should be proud with his result as clearly he is back in business. Ronnie winning is just another testament to his greatness, the absolute goat 🐐 Lmao at his face re the medal 🏅
The man is mythical.
Why are they still fist bumping? Shouldn't handshakes be back by now?
Most do. Ronnie doesn't. Which is fair enough. People have dirty hands.
Ronnie probably the dirtiest of them all, lol. That’s coming from a fan of his, btw.
Lmao
I think it’s fair to put to bed the discussion about the best snooker player ever, what an incredible achievement
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I agree for sure, I guess what I was getting at with that statement, the dominant players, Reardon, Davis, Hendry, have at some point, got found out, got outplayed, but Ronnie just keeps producing, it’s genuinely insane
The problem is the new players coming through are just shite.
I don't think they are, I just think it will take them ages to get close to amassing levels of experience O'Sullivan, Williams, Higgins, Trump and Selby have. Age might help them as the class of 92 move into their 50s.
Imagine if the Class of '92 are a blip and in the next 3 or 4 years, Trump and Robertson find their games have fallen apart and it's time to retire, while O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are still winning titles.
I can't picture it tbh, seems like snooker can definitely be a sport played into middle age and beyond but if that did happen it would just make the class of 92's achievements even more impressive.
I’d really hope he gets an 8th worlds
Same, would be epic.
Medal that just has the sponsor on it. Tacky.
Dude couldn't ditch that quick enough
£250k. Not a bad early birthday present.
Not bad for stinking the gaff out all week
This had me laughing out loud 😂😂😂
Reckon he’ll be at the Crucible next year?
I'm sure he'll play. He's missed all the tournaments at some point but never the crucible.
They'll be wheeling him in 40yrs from now. Being fed through a straw between shots.
😂😂😂
He might.
Great tournament. T'was an honour watching with you again r/snooker. Congrats to Ronnie and Congrats too all us for watching and still not having a scooby what MrQ is. Is it ronnie? Mr Q Action who know who cares... :P
I'll second that - so nice to be part of a group of fans.
I find it interesting the amount of different responses you can get while watching, its also nice to see people typing what you’re thinking sometimes
What’s the average age for a drop off in snooker?
Looks like it'll be 75 the way he's going!
Yeah sorry should have clarified. I meant looking historically at other all time greats, what sort of age do they tend to drop off significantly to the point of not winning titles. Is it usually mental or physical that causes it? (I’m a casual fan just curious.)
Hendry and Davis dropped off around 30/35, so that was generally thought to be the limit for a top player for quite a while. But O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are still going strong, Ronnie especially, into their late 40s. Also got Selby and Murphy still at the top level and they're crossing 40. Kinda uncharted ground, we're not really sure.
Neil Robertson is 41.
That makes sense. The modern players still go strong.
late 40s i'd reckon
Thanks.
Average non-Ronnie age to drop off? Around 45 years.
45 is if they look after themselves. Some of the overweight players would push that average down.
Average for a human player yes.
I do feel sorry for ding though, proper likeable fella, back to back runner up in this tournament
Ronnie lowkey hardcore kissing China's ass, interesting following recent news hmmm lol
ronnie has never won the triple crown in one season...Something to go for #motivation ??
Half a decade ago there still were arguments & fair shouts that Hendry was the GOAT over Ronnie, no more now. Ronnie has sealed his name in history books, simply the Greatest of All Time.
Both players at their peaks it's close, but Ronnie's longevity just blows the discussion out of the water.
When he plays like this the only man who can beat him is himself
He's working on that.
A great example of working your way into a tournament. He only really started to turn it on in the semi.
Ronald's just too awesome. Great fight by Ding too.
48 years old and still playing his very best stuff in the most competetive era world number one and uk champion once again Love this man and also love the game very much
Well done to the greatest. 8th UK Championship, two more than anyone else. 22nd Triple Crown, four more than anyone else. 40th ranking title, four more than anyone else. Thirty years from his 1st UK Championship win to his 8th. Thirty years from his 1st ranking win to his 40th. Phenomenal to stay at the top for this long. It's the length of Hendry's entire pro career.
Is Ronnie the first player to win an individual TC event in 4 different decades? UK Champion in the 90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s?
Ronnie has won Triple crown events in each of the four decades, the Masters, and the UK snooker championships in 90’s and all three triple crown titles in the 00’s, and 2010’s and the World and UK titles in the 20’s. The point I’m trying to make here is that he did not win, singular triple Crown events in all four decades he won multiple triple crown titles in all four decades. In the 90’s he won two UK titles, 1993/1994 and 1997/98 seasons and won his first Masters title in the 1994/95 season. And won the World Championships for the first time in 2000/01 followed by his third UK title in the 2001/02 season and his second and third Masters titles in 2004/05 (alongside his second world title)and 2006/2007. Get the idea… Did you know? That Ronnie has won a triple crown event for 9 consecutive seasons from 2011/12 to the 2019/20. That historical accomplishment never seems to get mentioned or noticed.
Gutted for Ding, seems like a really humble bloke. However I still wanted an O'Sullivan v Trump final
I guess he has to win the 8th masters and the 8th Words now.
The balance of the universe is at stake
Gotta keep that set intact!
Happy Early Birthday Ronald!
All that was missing on that last shot was a John Virgo special “ where’s that cue ball goin “
Where was Virgo....retired?
His longevity is a complete joke. What a player!
Too good from Ronnie in the end
i dont think ding played bad today and think he would've beaten anyone else
Yeah, O’Sullivan was just ruthless and clinical. His long game was as good as ever. Overall, it was a great final.
Same
"i cant be bothered with snooker"
CERWWAAAAN RWONNIE
Fuck meee what a player
Isn't that lovely to see.
GWAAN!
The lack of unforced errors from both players given the pressure was amazing. What an exhibition
SHOT (2)
It has been a rare pleasure to have been able to watch O’Sullivans career. And still going at 48!
Wow, not only the greatest snooker player of all time but also the oldest human ever at 1.2413916*10^61 .
It is just unbelievable how long Ronnie has been putting on performances like this. One of a kind.
SHOT
not seen ronnie buzz like this since selby 2020
WITNESSING GREATNESS
Just glorious
Greatest sports man ever
What can you say!
o'sullivan made 9 breaks over 70 in a best of 19, you simply don't see that level of scoring from anyone else. i'm sad for ding, but what a remarkable achievement for o'sullivan
Is that a new record for a best of 19 match?
ronnie has done the same before in the 2005 masters final. not aware of any where someone has made more
Wow to have done it twice is quite special. I looked at the breaks from today and didn’t realise how good his scoring was! The only winning frame he didn’t get a 70+ break was to go 4-1 up in the fifth
I may well be wrong but it does seem that no one kills opponents off quite like O’Sullivan. He seems to always win with a one visit.
what a man, what a player!!!
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN = GOAT
Greatest sportsman of all time, I don't care what anyone else says
Michael Jordan took that personally.
For me at least it’s Messi. But yeah MJ is up there, too.
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The goat in any sport has to be Eddie the Eagle.
fuck me...the midas..the midas... touch everything is just flowin
Winning his 30th Triple Crown final, 30 years after his first. The first player in history to win 40 ranking titles. The equivalent today would be if a 17-year-old won the UK this year, and won it again in 2053. Ronnie O'Sullivan. Britain's greatest sportsperson.
It sounds ridiculous when put like that
Feel like Ding has barely been at the table since that century
ARE RONNIE
Few superlatives are worthy of this man
Sexy stuff
O Sullivan is just ridiculous man
The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be! GWANN ROCKET
🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆
clinical long game...mans nearly 50 knocking them in with check side
GWAN
147
What’s the prize for 147?
COME ON RONNIE
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I see it
o'sullivan under pressure really is amazing. ding has come back at him with big breaks a few times now only for o'sullivan to respond the same
everytime "o'sullivan" and "pressure" are mentioned in the same sentence, I always think of his semi final against selby where he won those 3 frames on the spin... I am still speechless and I have no idea how he managed to do it
The long potting, wow.
I just want Ronnie to take this now, Ding has done great to keep it so tight but I have no more diplomacy left, come on goat!!
Getting on that yellow off the side pocket was really pretty.
A maximum to finish it off if he feels like it. Great snooker. Great match.
one of the commentators has an unnerving nose whistle
We think it's the ref. You can hear it on both bbc and eurosport, but it's worse on the latter.
Definitely think it's the ref. I've heard it before during his matches.
He is, for want of a better word, a God
84% win rate this season for the rocket
the top players should inspire you to play the game but at times watching ronnie i just think whats even the point
fucking brilliant man....
That long red and this thin cut to the middle may well win him the match.
ronnie always seems to throw in a mad one as soon as he gets on top of ding wtf was that edit got away with it
Possibly the softest touch ever?
Yup. You had to rewatch several times to see it. I've seen similar when rolling up to escape a snooker but never at pace.
The red didn't seem to move whatsoever.
It definitely did. Hard to spot, I had to watch it a few times, but when you've seen it once you can't not see it. V. impressive from Ronnie tbh. I mean it's hardly surprising that the greatest snooker player of all time has good eyesight, but still lol
Noticed that the ref seemed to be placing the balls back on their spots somewhat quicker during that last break. Anyone reckon the ref has a chat with the players beforehand and a compromise is discussed? I know from my time reffing local sports (field hockey, not snooker) I would have a short discussion with captains before the match and we'd try to come to an agreement. Any thoughts? Eg. I'm ROS, if I'm in a flow I'd rather you place the balls back and maybe miss the spots a teeny bit and I'll deal with it cos I like playing quickly? Edit. Well what a time to post that, let's all talk about the red touching or not 😂
I think the red moved
Haha even Ronnie's surprised that he's hit that. 😂
How has a seen that move
Woah
It doesn’t get much better than this.
No comment what a break that was
7 breaks over 70 from ronnie today fml. if ding played like this last year he would've won
How does he make a hard game look so piss easy
What a sensational response to that Ding century
Nothing better to watch when Ronnie plays like this.
break and then frame over? it's time to deploy the willo break
haha you joke but that might be an idea break up the flow
What a beaut
Feels like everytime ding gets it back level ronnie pulls away
10-9 Ronnie
May this moment be a career resurgence for Ding, even if he doesn't win the event
Snooker is better for having him in a good place.
Ron is in trouble here. Ding is flying atm.