Clash of the Titans
I just could not think of a better title for the snooker match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams. It is by no means an exaggeration when I say it was the final of the World Championship, even if one of them does not have the chance to actually be in the final anymore. Mark Williams said: ‘When you face him in a match, you never know which Ronnie O’Sullivan will turn up. Against me it is always the genius.’ And so it was. Mark Williams produced his best snooker in many years, very close to his very best from 2003 when he became World Champion for the second time. The better he was the better got Ronnie too. For every impossible pot of Williams, Ronnie produced one himself. Whenever one of them went a bit forward, the other one responded promptly. It was a match where the audience (mostly English) watched in awe what was happening on the table, even forgetting to shout the usual ‘Go Ronnie’ whenever their favourite came to the table. And that is saying something. I believe they would have cheered Mark Williams, had he won, without regrets. It was the typical case of an encounter where you would wish not to be a winner and a looser, for both of them where fabulous. I dare to say that these two could have beaten anyone else, be that Higgins or Hendry. And at the end of it the crowd was sorry to see Mark Williams go home, for their match is the one that basically ended the World Championships. Sure, there are other matches going on, someone will become the World Champion, possibly Ronnie O’Sullivan, but it does not really matter. It was clear in the following match – where Ronnie is playing Mark Selby in the Quarterfinal – that for Ronnie the tournament is over. He does not have any patience, he does not really care whether he wins or loses, and he is there because he has to, but his mind is already beyond all of this. He may beat anyone just out of inertia, but that would only be Ronnie O’Sullivan, the snooker player. Ronnie O’Sullivan, the genius, has left Sheffield, together with Mark Williams.
P.S. Once a year, at the World Championships I remember one of the players who would have been World Champions but did not live to do so. I am talking about Paul Hunter, of course. I have no doubt that he would have won it, he was soooo good. Had he lived, maybe, just maybe the genius Ronnie O’Sullivan would have stayed a bit longer, hoping to meet Paul Hunter in the final.
Attila Andrasy
28/04/2010
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Good title! The magic of the clash of titans was overwhelming, it has almost broken my heart. I have fallen in love with Williams' game in 2003 and I do believe he is the most spectacular player of these two. Probably the most intelligent one too, for he constantly invents new ways of potting the ball. Yet, Ronnie is the outstanding talent of the game. It was 'snooker from another planet' against pure talent. It could have ended both ways. Yet Ronnie won his final battle of the World Championship.
I remember Paul Hunter too, his game, his warm smile, his blonde hair, his last match ...