Quarter-Final: Mark Allen v Marco Fu - Part 1 Masters Snooker


Quarter-Final: Mark Allen v Marco Fu - Part 1

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Quarter-Final: Mark Allen v Marco Fu - Part 1. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello, good evening and welcome back to the Dafabet Masters 2017. The

:00:33.:00:40.

crowds are slowly coming into Alexandra Palace for tonight's match

:00:41.:00:45.

as Mark Allen takes on Marco Fu, runner-up in 2011, who is playing

:00:46.:00:49.

some magnificent snooker at the moment. The prize at stake is a

:00:50.:00:53.

semifinal clash against Ronnie O'Sullivan after another cracking

:00:54.:00:58.

afternoon here at Ally Pally. Quickly out-of-the-box, the long red

:00:59.:01:07.

suggested the Aussie was in fine form. Ronnie matched Robertson's

:01:08.:01:12.

position with a fabulous pot 2-level proceedings. In frame four Robertson

:01:13.:01:16.

with this effort, surely a contender for shot of the tournament, all

:01:17.:01:23.

square at the interval. The middle frames were uncharacteristically

:01:24.:01:25.

erroneous. First Ronnie opened the door for Robertson to take the lead.

:01:26.:01:33.

Before the world number seven returned the gift in the very next

:01:34.:01:37.

frame. 3-3 and little to separate them. Lady luck suddenly favouring

:01:38.:01:47.

the Londoner in his home tournament. Amazingly, not just once, but twice

:01:48.:02:06.

in two frames the Rocket now two up with three to play.

:02:07.:02:13.

Another wayward attempt by Robertson opened the door for O'Sullivan to

:02:14.:02:18.

seal the match and take his place in the last four for the fourth

:02:19.:02:21.

consecutive year, closing out a 6-3 victory.

:02:22.:02:40.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, two wins away from his seventh title, he will play

:02:41.:02:45.

the winner of tonight's clash between world number eight Marco Fu

:02:46.:02:50.

and Mark Allen, who lost to Marco Fu in the semifinal in 2011 and is

:02:51.:02:52.

looking for revenge tonight. Good evening to John Parrott. Good

:02:53.:02:59.

to see you, you were in the commentary box this afternoon for

:03:00.:03:02.

that match, it resembled a heavyweights slugging contest, and

:03:03.:03:06.

never really got going but it was compelling to watch. Fascinating

:03:07.:03:08.

nonetheless, both players have played better but if you said we

:03:09.:03:11.

would plate nine frames of snooker and not have a century break,

:03:12.:03:16.

Ronnie's highest break was 68, I would have been surprised.

:03:17.:03:19.

Fascinating, lots of Luke Somers and great safety and poor safety, but

:03:20.:03:22.

fascinating to watch. The 2013 Welsh Open which Allen won

:03:23.:03:43.

but finished 6-4. Interestingly, Marco Fu went on to lose in 2011.

:03:44.:03:49.

Ding Junhui was in the final. You have to say Marco Fu must start this

:03:50.:03:52.

match as favourite, given just how poor setting that win over Judd

:03:53.:03:56.

Trump was earlier in the week. He does, the bookmakers make him

:03:57.:04:00.

favourite but I think from the four quarterfinal matches I think this is

:04:01.:04:03.

the hardest one to pick a winner. Mark Allen is in great form. Anyone

:04:04.:04:08.

who beats John Higgins here is playing well and Marco Fu at the age

:04:09.:04:11.

of 39th, for him to play the best snooker of his career is a fantastic

:04:12.:04:24.

achievement and this could be 6-5. You have watched him closely, what

:04:25.:04:28.

is it about Marco Fu? Ronnie mentioned he has changed his

:04:29.:04:30.

technique. Has had an impact? I think it is confidence, he has

:04:31.:04:32.

always been a good player. Generally the top players have that bit of

:04:33.:04:35.

extra belief in themselves and he has got that. Fascinating game

:04:36.:04:38.

between Stephen Hendry and Mark Allen and Stephen said to him, when

:04:39.:04:41.

are you going to start winning majors and what will be the

:04:42.:04:46.

difference? -- interview. He said, I need to lose weight and it was

:04:47.:04:49.

refreshing honesty. Do you think somebody like that can have a

:04:50.:04:53.

massive impact? I think so, is particularly with the standards

:04:54.:04:58.

being so high. In Sheffield, 17 days, long schedules, long matches,

:04:59.:05:01.

it takes a lot out of you and you need a good level of fitness and it

:05:02.:05:05.

would help. The players are standing by. Let's is a good evening to RMC

:05:06.:05:09.

Rob Walker. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

:05:10.:05:13.

welcome to the climax of Day five of the Dafabet Masters, a meeting

:05:14.:05:16.

between two players who are both brilliant in their respective

:05:17.:05:19.

first-round victories and here they are going toe to toe for the right

:05:20.:05:24.

to take on O'Sullivan in the semis on Saturday. Here we go again at

:05:25.:05:26.

Alexandra Palace. Please welcome our first overall, a

:05:27.:05:42.

player bidding for his third Masters semifinal, here after that 6-5 final

:05:43.:05:46.

frame first round thriller over John Higgins, the winner of three ranking

:05:47.:05:50.

event titles, including last year's grand final, one of the best

:05:51.:05:53.

break-builders in the modern game, from Northern Ireland, he's Mark The

:05:54.:05:59.

Pistol Allen. And his opponent, a player in the

:06:00.:06:31.

best form we've seen from him in years. He won his third ranking

:06:32.:06:34.

event last month beating John Higgins in the Scottish open final

:06:35.:06:39.

from 4-1 down, his form in the first round win over Judd Trump was

:06:40.:06:44.

sublime on Tuesday. Can he produce it once again? Let's find out, as he

:06:45.:06:46.

comes from Hong Kong, Marco Fu! Good walk on music for Marco Fu but

:06:47.:07:17.

who will be the superhero tonight? Good evening to our own super

:07:18.:07:23.

heroes, John Virgo and Steve Davis. COMMENTATOR: Good evening, thank

:07:24.:07:28.

you. Interesting matchup, this. The world number eight, which is Marco

:07:29.:07:35.

Fu, against the world No 10 Mark Allen. Not much between them in the

:07:36.:07:40.

world rankings. The only thing I would say, Steve, is Marco is on a

:07:41.:07:47.

confident role at the moment -- confident roll. You can't beat a bit

:07:48.:07:50.

of confidence. Very impressive performances by both

:07:51.:08:03.

of these players in their first rounds. They will both come into

:08:04.:08:04.

this match with optimism. Lovely opening red from Marco.

:08:05.:08:24.

That's the type of balls he was knocking in relentlessly against

:08:25.:08:26.

Judd Trump at the latter stage of their match. He played really well

:08:27.:08:34.

there. And as Steve said there is nothing like confidence for his

:08:35.:08:43.

success. Hebe John Higgins in his own backyard. That's how well he has

:08:44.:08:52.

started to play. One of the best break-builders in the game. Has he's

:08:53.:09:02.

potted plant? I was going to say for a second he has underhit that but

:09:03.:09:06.

I'm not certain he played for this planet. It's possible, it's

:09:07.:09:07.

certainly makeable. He didn't get the pace of the cue

:09:08.:09:30.

ball right there. Sometimes when you are playing a plant your mind is

:09:31.:09:34.

distracted from getting the weight of the shot correct.

:09:35.:09:42.

We have been discussing it, John. Obviously Marco winning in Scotland

:09:43.:09:56.

recently. But with that, it seems there is a special air of confidence

:09:57.:10:01.

he has gained from somewhere. He is walking around the table, his chest

:10:02.:10:04.

poking around a bit more, he has more authority on the table, more

:10:05.:10:06.

presence. This is a fluke. Marco, you could

:10:07.:10:24.

see in the background, was getting out of his seat. He hadn't noticed

:10:25.:10:32.

the red going towards the pocket. He will be getting out of his seat now

:10:33.:10:35.

that he will find himself snookered behind the green.

:10:36.:10:43.

There was no way he had seen the planet. The came off two rates

:10:44.:10:53.

behind the pink and came off another one. It was a fluke. Twice across to

:10:54.:11:01.

get to the red near the top cushion. Will it slide? No, he hasn't judged

:11:02.:11:09.

it well. Would you have this replaced and take the red on? You

:11:10.:11:14.

would have to think Marco would get closer to the red, although it

:11:15.:11:17.

didn't look like he was guaranteed to be on. This is the shot he has

:11:18.:11:29.

got to play really. He played to cover up if he missed. He has left a

:11:30.:11:37.

sniff of this red. I don't know if Marco can play cushion first or go

:11:38.:11:45.

direct. Direct. It's the type of shot where you can't really turned

:11:46.:11:53.

that down. As a result of Marco playing a poor escape has led him

:11:54.:11:58.

hitting back into the balls. There is no rhyme or reason sometimes, is

:11:59.:11:59.

there? The way Marco scores when he gets in

:12:00.:12:15.

and around the black spot area, this is an excellent chance.

:12:16.:12:20.

We may see him play a little cannon on the five reds just below the

:12:21.:12:26.

pink. He is bound to be on the road to the opposite corner. -- on the

:12:27.:12:31.

red. That's the only red that's easy to

:12:32.:13:29.

get on. He wouldn't want to be too wide on it, he would want to be as

:13:30.:13:39.

straight as possible. There's a few little banana skins here, depending

:13:40.:13:43.

on what shot he chooses. The stun across for the loose red is the best

:13:44.:13:47.

option. He played through the gap and that is an excellent shot as

:13:48.:13:53.

well. The only danger with that was if he missed that cannon he would

:13:54.:13:59.

have been in no man's land arguably the correct shot. It has opened

:14:00.:14:01.

things up a bit more. Those three reds above the black, I

:14:02.:14:16.

would have thought the right-hand one goes to the corner, maybe it

:14:17.:14:22.

doesn't. But I think the right-hand one goes to the middle. Just

:14:23.:14:23.

covering one another at the minute. He has such an angle he may have to

:14:24.:14:37.

play another cannon. This time he's just caught it a fraction too thin.

:14:38.:14:47.

Has he got the plant? He just wanted to catch that red a little bit

:14:48.:14:52.

fuller. He would have been better off playing a three quarters for

:14:53.:14:57.

cannon harder. These reverse plants are not easy.

:14:58.:15:04.

Yeah. It's hard to judge sometimes. Well, that's two decent chances had

:15:05.:15:16.

now. And he's not made the most of them. So, here is a chance for Mark

:15:17.:15:21.

Allen, he comes to the table 32 points behind. He's plenty on.

:15:22.:15:35.

Didn't hit the centre of the cue ball there.

:15:36.:15:43.

He'll be very disappointed with that. A little bit of tension in the

:15:44.:15:48.

arm. Not an ideal position after this.

:15:49.:16:19.

You would expect him to get this yellow, but still these reds are not

:16:20.:16:22.

perfectly placed at the top. That's a little awkward. I don't

:16:23.:16:53.

know if he can cue past the brown for the yellow. It is the yellow he

:16:54.:16:58.

would have liked to have been on. He seems to be getting down quick.

:16:59.:17:02.

Maybe he can get to the centre of the cue ball. He's aware that brown

:17:03.:17:07.

- he's got to keep that cue straight.

:17:08.:17:13.

And all things considered, he's played this absolutely perfect. Good

:17:14.:17:15.

shot! Not perfect on this pink, but it

:17:16.:17:40.

might end up being OK for him if he can split these two reds apart. Lost

:17:41.:17:45.

the cue ball a bit. A thinner contact on the red than he thought

:17:46.:17:56.

he was going to get. So, this, all to intents and purpose, a match

:17:57.:18:03.

frame ball. It is missable. But I expect him to get it. Whichever one

:18:04.:18:06.

of the two he plays. 45 points, the lead. Still 67

:18:07.:18:23.

remaining. So he's going to need two reds, two colours to clinch the

:18:24.:18:25.

frame, this visit. And that was the problem he saw. He

:18:26.:18:42.

couldn't do much, being tight on the cushion. Knew he would run into the

:18:43.:18:44.

blue. But it is not bad. So, there you see it, 59 remaining.

:18:45.:18:58.

52 in front. With just 51 remaining. Three chances.

:18:59.:19:24.

Mark Allen obviously hasn't settled yet.

:19:25.:21:20.

He needed three chances. He'll be very pleased with how he's finished

:21:21.:21:33.

that frame. Mark Allen, well, never settled. So Marco Fu, comfortably

:21:34.:21:37.

takes the first frame, 1-0. Very neat and tidy from Marco Fu. On

:21:38.:21:48.

Tuesday Marco gave himself a mountain to climb. Tonight keen to

:21:49.:21:53.

get out of the blocks quickly? He came through it. But from Mark

:21:54.:21:56.

Allen's point of view, there was a shot there which was worrying. I

:21:57.:21:59.

know it was the first frame of a match, but id don't get anywhere

:22:00.:22:05.

close to this. At the start of a major quarter final you are trying

:22:06.:22:08.

to stamp your authority on it, to show your opponent you are there to

:22:09.:22:11.

play, that is not a great start from him. I saw in a couple of times in

:22:12.:22:17.

the match this afternoon, as soon as Marco missed that red, Mark was

:22:18.:22:20.

straight out of his seat. I wonder if matches like this, at a

:22:21.:22:25.

tournament like this, whether you can be too keen? I think and we've

:22:26.:22:32.

got one of the best men ever in the commentary box, Steve Davis used to

:22:33.:22:35.

win nearly every time. When you first chance comes it is important

:22:36.:22:39.

to take it. Marco was nervous there. Took three chances to win the frame.

:22:40.:22:42.

You have to stamp your authority in a match like this. Mark Allen will

:22:43.:22:46.

be kicking himself he didn't do it with that red. At the end of that

:22:47.:22:50.

frame as well, Marco looked so confident. You said he looked

:22:51.:22:54.

nervous. Looks confident at the end. It was good he cleared all the balls

:22:55.:23:01.

up as well to make sure he didn't get any more practise. We know the

:23:02.:23:06.

form Marco Fu is in. Mark Allen has to be less sloppy with the next

:23:07.:23:11.

frame. We finish here at 7. 30pm. But every ball is live on the BBC.

:23:12.:23:16.

All you have to do is hit your red butted on the or go via the BBC

:23:17.:23:22.

Sport app. The Premier League show starts at 7. 30pm. Back to the boys.

:23:23.:23:33.

The contact that was required, but if it doesn't bounce, does the green

:23:34.:23:41.

cover the path of this on the left-hand side of the table? If not

:23:42.:23:46.

there is a pot on here and there is a pot on.

:23:47.:23:53.

And stroked it in. As easy as you like! Lovely shot!

:23:54.:24:00.

A good chance to get into the reds. Perhaps not with screw, but with top

:24:01.:24:07.

spin this time. Played that very well.

:24:08.:24:21.

Certainly didn't have bundles of top spin, but he controlled the cue ball

:24:22.:24:26.

to stay in the middle of the table. Wonderfully well, didn't lose it.

:24:27.:24:31.

Unlucky, to some degree, how it has turned out.

:24:32.:24:36.

If Marco Fu makes the most of this opportunity I would say he's in a

:24:37.:25:06.

very strong mental position for the rest of this match.

:25:07.:25:15.

Giving your opponent a two-frame start, when he's feeling confident,

:25:16.:25:20.

Mark Allen's perspective is not the best start in the world.

:25:21.:25:24.

Nothing wrong with a safety shot from Mark Allen. Just left enough

:25:25.:25:26.

poking out. Nothing wrong with it. He got the

:25:27.:25:45.

contact. But of course to make the pot more difficult he needed to be

:25:46.:25:49.

tight to the baulk cushion. The green would have covered the angle.

:25:50.:25:56.

But not to be. He's got to sit down and watch this take shape. Four

:25:57.:25:59.

reds, four blacks. And he has made a maximum on four

:26:00.:26:12.

occasions, has Marco. He's one of the heaviest scorers in the game.

:26:13.:26:17.

He's fourth on the all-time list of century-makers.

:26:18.:26:28.

I think the chances of a maximum now may have just gone with that shot. I

:26:29.:26:35.

don't see how he can play for the black off this red. It was difficult

:26:36.:26:38.

to get top side of the red there. I think the pink goes. If it

:26:39.:27:04.

doesn't, that's a pretty poor effort.

:27:05.:27:08.

He's given it one look already. Walked away in disgust. Now he's

:27:09.:27:14.

going to play it, I think. Very nicely played. He's got the red

:27:15.:27:42.

in the left corner. Keeping the cue ball in more open

:27:43.:27:47.

play, I think, is the right thing to do.

:27:48.:27:48.

A good chance now. A good idea for you to press red

:27:49.:28:38.

button if you want to carry on. Mark Selby has the highest break of the

:28:39.:28:43.

match so far. 139. Marco Fu could beat that in the next couple of

:28:44.:28:49.

minutes. A 10,000 prize as well on offer for the highest break.

:28:50.:28:55.

Press red right now. Goodbye for now.

:28:56.:29:01.

If it ever came to pass that Mr Corbyn were the Prime Minister,

:29:02.:29:05.

Well, I think we're a basket case now. Have you seen Southern Rail?

:29:06.:29:11.

Have you seen the National Health Service?

:29:12.:29:14.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS