Player Profiles, Part I: The Top 8
In an effort to increase the value of this topic and futile attempt to increase the non-existent discussion, here’s my take on the Top 8 of the Snooker Fantasy Players. Please note, this is not the current world ranking Top 8, as it’s mainly a made up analysis for this league, similar to the power rankings of Korean Brood War pros on Teamliquid, not some form of article series about snooker in general.
#1 Ronnie o’Sullivan
What can be said about the wunderkind of snooker, that wasn’t already repeated ten thousand times elsewhere? Hate him or love him, o’Sullivan is the main reason snooker is so popular for non-snooker enthusiasts, as his antics loosen the atmosphere for people not familiar with the strict codes and regulations that make the game seem so boring on first glimpse. Anyhow.
Despite claiming he would quit snooker forever a couple of times, o’Sullivan made an effort to come back in full form and re-take his spot as leader of the snooker world last season. In the previous year the English player made efforts to get his temperament under control and most certainly improved in this aspect of his game. His break downs seemed to disappear and he more often made use of his B-play, rather than giving up and frown at the balls, until he’d eventually lose to an underperforming opponent. This, his Achille’s heel, was the main reason players like Selby could overthrow him in the past.
As result, o’Sullivan became the fifth player in history to take fife trophies in one season – the other ones being Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and someone I have forgotten (Murphy?). Even though the number of tournaments increased and this record is nothing like Hendry’s dominance in the 90es, it’s still a mile stone he can be proud of. He also overtook Steve Davis and later John Higgins in terms of “ranking tournaments won” – now he closes in on the magical 36 trophies of Stephen Hendry.
Among the tournaments o’Sullivan took were several high class events, most memorable though: The UK Championships, one of the prestigious triple crown trophies.
To be perfectly fair: Sullivan never truly won “in style”, most of his opponents were tired and made use of their B or even C-games. Yet, it does take a lot of skill to take down the elite class five times, while scoring still more than fifty centuries.
As for the cost/benefit ratio goes: I’m not certain it’s wise to purchase a 16 point player ever, regardless of finishes. In Sullivan cases this seems even more stupid, as Sullivan never enters all tournaments, but focusses his energy on the top level arenas, such as the tripple crown venues. However, you can be sure he will be one player to take all potential bonus points – tour won, centuries and so on, possibly one or two maximums along the way.
#2 Mark J Williams
Another titan oft he scene and the winner of the single handedly greatest crucible final of the new century. It was a miracle that Williams not only qualified via ranking points for the last WC, given that he couldn’t even qualify in 2016; yet he made it through the grid and played better and better as the tournament progressed, ending in an extreme show of what can be done if you have nerves of steel – his final break will certainly go down in history and will have a top 10 place of my snooker memories forever.
Regardless, Williams also won three other tournaments, coming close to the “five tournament” record, if you would count the 6-Reds World Championship as ranking title (which it should be in this case). Aside from that, Williams broke through the Top16 barrier in no time, as he steadily gathered momentum and rarely dropped out before the quarter finals. A great season for a great sportsman and a legend of the game.
As player he’d be worth looking at if he would be around the 12 point margin – he plays everything, he finishes high, he scores centuries and is known to white wash quite some players on his way. Yet, 14 points are a risky investment, it’s never a certainty what happens with a player who won the World Championships.
#3 Mark Selby
The everlasting world number one took two major titles in the past year – both the international championship and the china open. Aside from that, he did so-so, but finished in the top 4 of the “one year ranking” and scored heavily with more than fifty centuries.
For any professional such a track record is an all-time high and the best they can hope for. For Selby this was the worst year of the past five years, as he underperformed to put it mildly. According to Steve Davis, this year will determine how Selby will do for the rest of his career: A bad season is a given, even for an outlier in the world of the greatest talents. If he can recover, it might be the start of another three or more years of Selby dominance. It might also be what happened to Mark J Williams after his second world championship win: a ten year slump with lots of pressure to come back from the dead.
Being worth 13 points Selby seems a bit of a gamble. If he recovers and delivers another 2016-like season, he’ll be fully worth it. 50+ centuries during the season can be expected, as well as all-time entries and a ton of trophies, including being a major favourite in anything, regardless of venue or opponent. Even if it doesn’t play out, 13 point players can be swapped for other players via transfer potentially.
#4 John Higgins
The scot, ranked third in the all-time list after Hendry and Sullivan, did very well himself. He is the “well, what now?” to anyone claiming seniors can’t dominate. Three titles and being runner-up in the World Championships for a second year silence all doubts of what this player is capable of. Also, the energy and commitment to the sport is non comparable – the only player to come close to Higgins might be Selby’s attitude.
As for an analysis: John Higgins is one of the players who could lead any pro-team. He will certainly not do badly, it’s Higgins – the man is pure discipline in any situation. He’ll enter every tour and never fail hard. He’ll also stomp people not giving their best, and in most cases, even those who show their greatest performance. To quote Hendry: “Usually, you want to be in front with two or three frames, against John Higgins you don’t want to lead and have him start a come back, no matter what cost”.
#5 Ding Junhui
The Chinese Dragon is the silent player in the background and has been for years. If you look at his record, it’ll become clear that he is one of the greatest of all times. He didn’t do well last season on first glimpse, then you’ll realize he barely played but still managed to snatch a major title. That’s the beauty of Ding – if he shows, he shows good results, he rarely fails and never fails too hard. Yet, he shows nerves on occasion.
As part of the Pro team Ding is always a bit of a gamble. He can easily produce five tournaments won, there’s no opponent he can’t beat – the problem is that Ding rarely plays so much and prepares for special venues. I really have a hard time judging this character.
#6 Judd Trump
Judd Trump had a somewhat good season, as he won a trophy. Trump entered almost all venues and showed good performances, but never seemed to have the drive to win as much as possible, rather than just maintaining his place among the absolute elite. Along the way he rarely exploded and showed that he could easily be the next leader of his generation; as tragic as it sounds, the matches he showed his absolute best are the ones I remember him being defeated harshly, especially when facing John Higgins.
Trump is a solid pick for any pro-team, as he usually never gets torn apart in the first round and wins his matches. He gets a lot of white washes, is a candidate for “highest break”, as well as maximums and tournament wins.
#7 Shaun Murphy
This one is particularly surprising. He is a steady player, but he fails to show his class for a few years now. He is good enough to never drop out early and hand out a few white washes, but seemed to have lost his way when it comes to explosions during major events and against the leading players. Yet, he never falls down, never gets demotivated and is a player to count on. Last year he made back-to-back appearances in finals of minor tours and eventually won a trophy of his own.
With ten points, Murphy is worth to be considered as part of a team, yet I’m not sure if so many points should be focused on Murphy alone – he does not do crazy things often enough to justify the cost/benefit ratio.
#8 Ryan Day
A player who finally won his first trophies last year – not one, but three, two of them within 14 days against the absolute best this game has to offer. Day has been one of the players to tragically lose any finals and never win, yet, last year he overcame that and it showed in the Fantasy rankings: tons of won matches, white washes and centuries.
However, hard to say if he can reproduce this kind of form a second year in a row. Looking at his record: Day was never a bad investment, not a high risk, but back then his evaluation was in between 3 and 6 points, depending on the year. This time he is worth ten, and with that should be one of the absolute “stars” of any team. Is that a sound investment? I’m not entirely convinced.
