Day 6 Masters Snooker Extra

We are at the Masters at Alexandra Palace, the third of the

quarterfinals looked to be of the highest quality of the lot. It

features Neil Robertson and Mark Williams. Mark Williams has won the

title twice before. But not since 2003. Robertson has struggled of

late. This is his fourth quarterfinal and he is yet to go

through to the semifinal. Let's get through to the semifinal. Let's get

The fact that the brown is open to the right centre, he could win this

Good shot. Mark Williams will possibly play a similar shot. It

has not worked out that well. But That is probably one of the worst

shots that Neil Robertson has ever played. He had lots of options but

he has missed hit that completely. -- miss hit. He has got to be a

The only thing he could leave is a double on the red. To try and move

the red from that position was a At the moment Neil Robertson needs

a red, a black, all the colours. Mark Williams has given him the

I would say he does not want to hit the pink. The black is just as

tough from here. He might be able to avoid in and off. He will finish

on the yellow if he pots it. It is there. He has read it avidly. He

He is blessed with tremendous cue power. He will certainly need it

with the shot. -- this shot. Well played. Yes, he forced a little

angle there. What an opportunity It is amazing, Mark has dominated

the play, to lose a frame that is going to last 40 minutes will hurt.

That was a poor shot to leave Neil Robertson that last red. Being a

left-hander if he drops the blue in there is no problem with the pink.

I do not think they will be showing too many re-runs of this frame.

Neil Robertson will be delighted if he goes on to a hot this pink and

black and steal this frame. -- to pot. He is a pretty cool customer,

but this will hurt. This black will APPLAUSE Mark Williams with that

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poor shot on the last red loses the APPLAUSE It tells you how he is

feeling. Beautiful shot. With a few reds available it will clear the

path to the right. There is two available in the other corner. He

can now play on as well as the one on the right. This is a decent

chance. In the opening frame it was eight minutes before they had

potted a ball. If Mark gets going this frame might not last much

longer than that. He has just got to come around and get the two reds.

He needs to pot this red and black. If he gets a nice angle... It looks

just about perfect. If he plods this red it will bring more into

play. -- pots. I am a little bit surprised about that. He could do

with a cannon on the pink. He has played that perfectly. He is

terrific to watch when he is break- building, Mark Williams. He is so

good at knocking one or two balls out. He will go into the red when

he has the chance. If this is a new cue he is playing with he looks

really comfortable. He has got a nice few, not too many maple cues

now. A lot of the players used to use Canadian maple. A little bit

disappointed with that red. He wanted a better angle on the black.

He is going to have to deep screw of the outside cushion. Good effort.

He threw himself after that one. Get in there. That is enough to

secure the second frame. What an effort from the Welshman after the

40-minute opening frame which he looked favourite to take until he

played a careless shot at the end of it. Excellent hot on the black.

-- pot. He got 141 in his match against Judd Trump yesterday. So

far, that is the highest break of the tournament. What a great

response from Mark Williams, he has come right back in that frame. It

has lasted just six minutes. A little bit different from the

opener, it is 1-1. Time for a little read, you can read about

I think he is with his mother and father of there, his father is

certainly listening to me... Not quite. It was worth taking VAT on.

He looks like a young Neil Robertson with that blonde hair.

There is a vital chance for Neil Robertson, it is a good chance at

that. You need absolutely perfect cueing to pot those. He has let the

cue ball go a little too far. If he cuts the yellow in it is not as

easy to control the cue ball. Will he take a chance? This is

surprising. I thought he might take the chance to go into the pink and

reds. He felt the snooker was better. That is where he was, he

thought the snooker would pay better dividends rather than

risking the cut. I do not know how he does this. He holds the reds of

the table. APPLAUSE The blow has come to the rescue as you can see.

-- Blue. That was a bit of a result The yellow did not seem that

difficult. It was certainly worth We have not seen a Neil Robertson

special yet, we have seen a few long pots from Mark Williams. Let's

see how close he can get to this. It is the type of what he is so

good at. -- pot. He has not had to play many of them. That is a bit

more like the Neil Robertson we have been watching for the last

He has got a spring of that far cushion. He will look to get on the

blue after potting this red. Well... That was a surprising miss from

Neil Robertson. This is a delicate little shot. Good shot! Excellent

hot from Mark Williams. -- pot. That required a lot of skilled to

damp at the cue ball like that. -- skill to dab at the cue ball. That

is perfectly played. It is worth another look. You have got to get

their cue out of the way quickly, APPLAUSE Not the best angle. He

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might have just hot this and then That is a good hit, it is even

better now! He might have to come off the Schalke -- baulk cushion.

There was a bit sticking out, he was not far off potting it. It is a

red ball 5. -- fight. Whoever gets it should win the frame. He has

played that very well. Just about seen the outside of the red. --

seeing. Not quite, another chance for Neil Robertson for another one

of his long specials. He knows how close that was to going in behind

the black. That was the best he could do, I think he is straight

enough to drop the LA in the middle pocket. -- the yellow. He has

missed it. Maybe he got a heavy contact there. It looked like the

yellow skip off the table. That is very unfortunate for Mark Williams,

he may have handed this frame to Neil Robertson. He handed him the

first frame with a poor safety shot. On that occasion he was a little

unfortunate to get back contact. -- Again, there is the angle. I am not

sure if it will screw back. He is screwing back a vital bit, he is

going to leave a long pink. -- little bit. He must get on the

black also. He has done that beautifully. APPLAUSE. Believe it

or not it could be Mark Williams 3- 0, as it is Neil Robertson is

That is a bad break off shot from Mark Williams. We have seen a few

matches during the week where they have not hit the reds. Neil

Robertson said it is almost like a poisoned chalice, he always puts

his opponent in to break. I would say he has played that well. He has

made a two good clearances. Sometimes that is just what you

have to do. Amazing his highest break is only 35 and he is leading

2-1. He has not been a amongst the balls with a good chance to score

Possible hot -- pot here. That is what he has done. What a great shot

to start with. Terrific cannon, he Not too bad, he has got a red in

the right centre. I am not sure if that jumped or not. Maybe that was

bad cueing, we gave him the benefit of the doubt on the last one. It

definitely jumped a little. He could get in behind the yellow here.

He will have to get it just right. It seems he was playing to leave it

on the cushion, rather than risk trying to get the snooker on the

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yellow. I do not blame him for that. I am not quite sure what he has, I

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think he has got an angle. It is He will look to take the red that

is closest to the black. This is an easier red to take than the middle

pocket. He needs a couple of reds around the pink spot as well.

is a clever shot, isn't it? He can part this red, then another red,

then he's on the black. He can still get on the black from this

one. That red freeze the black art. A good opportunity for Neil

Robinson. -- frees the black up. He He looked away their after playing

that shot. More or lice to tell us he did not get that as he intended.

-- less. He can still get on a red year. -- here. Those four reds are

covering themselves into the pocket. These two are available. He has got

a choice of three reds to play on here. Next to the pink would not be

a bad one to get out of the way. It is a very good chance to go to the

mid-session interval 3-1 up. He did not play for this one, he came up a

bit short. It is one of those situations row you have got options.

There are always other reds available when you are sitting like

this. Already his highest break. It is coming at the right time for

Neil Robertson. The red in the corner pocket he would love to get

on that. That is just about perfect. Maybe a little bit straight, but it

should be OK. Ed is a good break so far from Neil Robertson. -- it is.

He has got to work his way around the black and blue. Just another

couple of reds and high value cars. That proved that both players are

cueing quite well. A few awkward frames but... Mark Williams will be

3-1 down and he could have been 3-1 ahead. This has been terrific from

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the Australian. He has made 193 APPLAUSE. Of he is pretty straight

on this the other, he would try and screw back, that will be perfect

He did not cue that very well. We have had it two tactical frames.

The Australian will be delighted to go to the mid-session interval

leading Mark Williams 3-1. looks like Neil Robertson started

off very slow, but he has got stronger as the match has unfolded.

-- it looks. He had a slight problem with the tip of his cue, it

just split at the bottom. There is no problem. I think they have

sorted it out for Neil Robertson. He said he missed the green for the

100 break because he was looking at it. Of course, the two boys I

mentioned, both former professional snooker players who work with our

We mentioned at the start of this match, two of the greatest potters.

I would have thought that the mark would have been slightly ahead, but

as you concede, Neil Robertson is 60%. -- as you can see. That is a

bit more like it. He has given himself a great chance with former

call five reds in the open. He got 4% for one good pot. Beautifully

cued, wasn't it. Perfectly off the blue. That is a nice angle. The red

just opened to the right of the black as we look. The bottom one

into the left-hand corner pocket. A good connection on back to bed. He

does not have to take it this long. It just was not perfect on the back.

Trying to get a nice angle on potting this red. The bottom right-

hand corner pocket, he came to have a look. It is so useful, that

extension to put on the who. It has been around for quite some time now.

-- to put on the tune mac. -- Vinay Kumar. --. He does not want any

sand paper on the tee. He could really damage it. Gary Wilkinson

has fixed the tip for him. Gary Wilkinson played in the world

seniors. At least they found some use for those passes. Sometimes

when the tip phrase it sticks out. That was possibly what was catching

his eye. Neil Robertson, 23. missed opportunity there. There are

still a few rates available. -- red balls. This is the first decent

chance that Mark Williams has had for some time. He made a frame on

the 78 break. If he can get into the bunch, not a good pack, but he

is just playing for the single red this time. He has left himself blow

so that he can spot it and run through the red balls, bring a few

more into play. He is going to run out of options very shortly. I

thought he may have gone into them before this. He has a nice angle on

the black. Sometimes if you do not take the opportunity when it

presents itself, that is what happens. You come straight on the

back and you have no angle to split the rates up. -- the red balls up.

That is a beautiful shot, bringing the Pinkie into play. It really was.

Have a look at this. The blue was available, but.... He is coming

around to look from this side and our camera keep shows that the pink

will pot. -- our camera shows. He is looking again. They were talking

about cues there and there was a gentleman that used the same cue

for 50 years. He used to do this. Fred would get down, not in and

clear up. And you would be stewing in your seat. -- gnocchi it in.

is always difficult when there is a red ball that close to wet. --

close to it. He played that beautifully. A chance to develop

some more reds. That last shot was a beautiful shot. You cannot

believe that, can you? Look at the gap. Get the camera to show us that

gap. It was quite amazing that he could get the Kim Jong Il straight

through their between the reds and knotted one. That was amazing. --

get the tune --. I think it is a free ball. BT is. The blue and the

pink. He cannot heat both sides. That is the reason it is a free

ball. The first read, he would have to hit that on the left side and he

would contact the pink for the blow. He cannot sneak behind the blue

ball, should he leave the cue ball down the right-hand side off the

table? Plenty of value should he wish to take the blue ball on.

Great shot. Excellent. APPLAUSE.. That was well worked out.

excellent shot. It needs a good split here. But he did not get it.

Quite a lot of power on the cue ball, but everything seemed to be

covering each other. When they are flat like that, the red balls, it

is tough to get the cue ball into a good spot. He could not have paid

it any better, really. Now we are going to see an Neil Robertson

special. Or is he going to play the safety shot? There is the answer.

Neil Robertson, eight. The green, the brown and the yellow. Not a bad

target. Pushing towards those colours. It is a little bit thin.

Still looking at the tip of the cue, but sometimes you are better to

forget all about it. That is a couple of fouls now from Mark

Williams. He is pretty good at keeping these safety shots, Mark.

It is better to me sit on another occasion and hit it too thick. It

is in line with the green spot, so it is just about right. Problems

now. That is two misses and he will be warned if he does not get it

this time. He will lose the frame. So that will be definitely a little

bit thicker this time. Now, which way is he going to play at? A

little bit thicker. That shows you the importance of catching that

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safety shot. One.. This match is slipping away slightly from Mark

Williams. In one of those situations, the first four frames.

This could have been 3-1 the other way. It is the first of six.. He

has had three quarterfinals in the Masters, Neil Robertson. But never

been to a semifinal. He is on his way, but there is still a bit to do.

I think he is definitely a Neil Robertson supporter. Of course,

you're lovely wife is from Australia, isn't she can? Yes,

Melbourne, a beautiful city. 22. 23. We heard the boy's talking at the

Forum in between this session about what a great temperament Neil

Robertson has. Both these players have a superb temperament. It has

certainly improved a great deal over the last few years. So much

more consistent. Winning that World Championship certainly gave him an

extra aura of confidence as well. He does walk around the table with

a sense of authority. He has become very consistent over the last few

seasons, even though he has missed that read, he will not mind because

that is another frame on the ball. Neil Robertson goes into a four

points-1 lead now. This could develop into a fascinating tussle.

APPLAUSE. The dreaded double key sit there. -- double-kiss. Getting

close to that long pot. It is a thin one, though. I think he put

all his concentration into trying to Cup Captain and did not

anticipate the white ball disappearing or so. -- cut that in.

Purports that pocket there? He might be saying. -- who bought that

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pocket there? APPLAUSE. Mark Williams is a lift near Robertson

there. APPLAUSE.. The cue ball knocking off the middle pocket has

certainly helped. He probably had enough pace on it, but that was a

useful knuckle as you say. The Mark Williams will be sitting in his

chair and kicking himself for believing that pretty straight

forward planned. He did not look at it himself otherwise he would not

have put the cue ball outside the table. Four. Just a little delicate

can and needed on the right of the two red balls. Straight forward to

drop the rate in and finish on the back. The natural angle would

taking into the gap of the red balls, to the left of the bunch.

Which, if he did play, he might get himself on to the blue. Let's see.

12. May be the pinker also pops. Because he is the wrong side of the

blue ball. And the pink does go, by the looks of things. It certainly

does. That was an excellent shot, wasn't it? APPLAUSE.. A couple of

options, pay for the back or the back of the blue ball. -- play for

the black ball or the back off the global. Just left of the pack, into

those two red balls. I always knew he would be on to these brews red

Bull. He wanted to contact, but I think he has got a good angle of

the top cushion. That is the shot that he could play. He has made a

mess of it, anyway. Trying to move the black ball to the opposite

corner. But missed. Match time just over the two hours. APPLAUSE.

had the perfect shot there with Mark playing the screw. Stephen

Hendry was talking about that in the studio a few frames back. Spot-

on. APPLAUSE.. Nine. Not only a terrific double, look at the angle

on the Blackpool. Forget the pink and red balls. That is beautiful.

16. What a chance. It has worked out a treat, hasn't it? I think the

pink was part of that as well. There you can see those two red

balls piled into the corner pocket, so everything in the open. 23.

is probably a little early to say, but that from Neil Robertson might

just prove to be a turning point in this match, that is if this man can

go on to close to just one frame behind. At the extension I thought

he was going to stun the dinner and go to the other side. He preferred

it to roll it and I still expected him to knock it in. 29. Points are

level, so the Blackpool to follow here. Should Mark Williams get the

next four reds and the high value colours, he will not be need that

to a red ball that is closest to the cushion. He may put Neil

Robertson in a position where he may need to snooker. So, just

concentrate on the open race. when he pot this one he will clear

the other one for the opposite corner. So, no need to play any

cannons. 46. Showing what he is made of here, the Welshman. 54. 4-1

down. It looks as if Neil Robertson was taking control. It is not

absolutely perfect. He came off the cushion further than he intended.

This red is now a little more difficult. He is looking at the one

near the cushion but he played for the one at the right of the cue

ball. He is going to have to take it up to the corner, not the middle

pocket. APPLAUSE. No heroics, just leaving the possibility. That is

what he is thinking about. The double he has gone for, but he is

not quite safe. 38 the difference. He only needs one snooker. I think

that is why he was debating whether to play the snooker behind the

black ball or to take the double on. All the colours required. While he

has floated a few of these pots, he could do with one to secured this

frame. No way near. Is he going to fluked a snooker? He is, but there

is a possibility, a slight chance if he comes off the cushion and

catchers that read correctly he could finish behind the brown ball.

But he would have to be spot on and so precise. And it is so difficult

to judge that. That is a bit of a run. Look at that. Has he flipped

up one back? Not quite. -- had a fluke for one back. 0 APPLAUSE.

Four. He gets a bit fed up at this stage. He knows that if Neil

Robertson's going to concede. Agony he is just one frame behind. --

suddenly he is. He has got the snooker from the break off shot.

That will never reach. If this red ball goes into the corner pocket,

that is a very JLS shot from Neil Robertson, because we know that he

can float one of these into the pocket. -- a careless shot.

APPLAUSE.. And that he is a number floater from the Welshman. A little

bit of noise in the crowd. Mark are getting up and down again. That is

what you should do, like a golf shot. Have a look at that little

beauty. Nine. Could have done with a little bit more backspin to get

that white away from the Ritz. is awkward now. -- away from the

red balls. He has overcut it. Difficult when you are breaching

over a few balls like that and trying to control the cue ball to

get on the pink. It is just that the split did not work out for him.

There is a possibility. I know he is going to play this rate, but he

could play these as a plant and bring more balls into play, but it

is a beat Risky. It is not the best shot he has ever played. This is a

tricky black ball. Going into a He played it well. He played it

He has just got a slight angle on the blue. Yes, just forcing it at

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We talked about Neil Robertson's temperament, just showing how good

it is here. There is the pot success rate, up to 90%. That is

where you want to be, up in the 90s, if you are there you are going

May need to cannon into that bunch, they will all clear themselves.

There is one available in the left corner. That is good thinking, to

play for the pink fair. Much more comfortable than having to do it

from the black. They may try and get high on the pink hair. -- here.

It does not look like he has cut the ankle for the pink at this time.

Yes, I think the heavy contact spoiled it for him. That's nicely

The one that he played previously still available. He has got a

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slight angle there. He is on that red. It is a delicate little screw

shot to get himself behind that red. Played it beautifully. He is going

to need red, carp, red. -- colour. This is perfect for him. It is a

great response from the Australian. Mark Williams closing the gap from

4-1, 4-3. Neil Robertson just showing us why he is a great

champion. If there is one title he would like to have on his CV, like

most players would, the Masters is the second biggest tournament.

Stephen Hendry always thought this was the second biggest. The 16 best

players in the world every year. It is a tough one to win. Every chance

of making a century break now. There has been 12 this year at the

Masters. Look at the reverse side. Played beautifully. He has already

made 34 centuries this season. 193 He has done it in style, hasn't he?

A madness -- magnificent century break. Neil Robertson, after losing

two frames, has now put himself one frame away from a place in the

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I do not know if he has seen one of his mates up there, he was having a

little smile at him. Where is the red going? I thought it was going

to spin across and go into the corner pocket. It just shows you

how laid-back Mark Williams is. He is 5-3 down and he is having a

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little smile. That was a good shot from Mark Williams. It was not dead

said in the middle of the pocket, but it could be made. -- dead set.

There are no easy safety shots. If he had a touch of an angle he could

That was dangerously close to the middle pocket but it was a pretty

good at -- plant. Perfect angle of the two cushions. That is a bit

surprising. It is still OK. He would love to get the black back on

its spot. Just overstretching a little bit. I thought he could have

rolled the blagging along the cushion. -- black in. He decided to

force it and go for the blue. An interesting choice. That was a good

pot. He just dropped the blue in. He managed to slow down that cue

ball. He played a similar shot with this blue. Well... That was very

unlucky, that was a fantastic shot. Have a look at the cue ball here.

Very unlucky. I am surprised he took the double on. He had a

straightforward shot to get the snooker in behind the green. Now

that he has missed the double, this is an easy snooker behind the brown.

Neil Robertson, we have seen him knock this type of pot in on many

occasions. He has been a little bit off with some of his long potting.

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He is still doing a little bit of work on that tip. Making sure there

is nothing sticking out. Players hold VQ in exactly the same way

Mark was a little bit short with the cue ball, he was hoping the

blue would come to his rescue. It really was pottable. Beautiful shot.

The cue ball stops for a second. The screw takes affect, perfectly

on the blue. You can see the little chalk marks on the table. See how

the ball stops and then spins? This next shot well open the reds up.

Every chance he will come back on the blue. You have got to knock the

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I think he has lost his little extension. That is the one that he

wants. That is one that just slots on to the end of the cue. Much

better to use urine -- your own tip. We still have them, we never see

them being used. I do not think there is any chalk on that it --

tip either. The cannon has worked out well for Mark Williams.

Beautifully played, wasn't it? It This is where he probably is at his

best. Not doing much with the cue ball. He has come up short, fat is

careless. That is very careless from Mark. All the way around the

ankles, has it got a finish? -- angles. Look at this. He has got it

That shot is what we call, around the Houses, he judged it to

perfection. Lovely shot, wasn't it? Very close to 47. It is typical of

Mark Williams, we have seen 119 by Neil Robertson to go 5-3. This is

how he responds with his back against the wall, he has done it so

many times. This will put him 55 point ahead with 51 remaining. He

does not want to miss this red. That is a good shot. He is letting

Neil Robertson no that he is still in this match, Mark Williams. He is

not going to go down without a fight. It looks pretty good. He has

made 280 in his career. Mark Williams will try and make sure of

the century here, just to give Neil Robertson something to think about.

What a shame. That is why he needed at 5-3 down. He gets one back and

is now just one behind at 5-4. Williams will have it in the back

of his mind that Neil Robertson has never been to the semifinal of the

Masters. Mark Williams has won it on two occasions. You just play the

frames as they come, frame by frame. That is a pretty good shot. Mark is

a little bit reluctant to come down the left-hand side of this table.

He has got to be careful he does not slide by the main bunch of reds.

If he goes past the pack of reds, he has got to be extra careful...

Good shot. Good shot. A cushion ball is called by the referee. Look

at the way he is bridging it, that is incredible. He is leading with

his elbow on the table, amazing. What a good shot that was. I think

he has covered all of the reds. Look at that. You do not see that

in the coaching manual. Of course, Mark can do that because he is

quite a tall lad. I could never get That is perfectly played, that has

given Mark something to think about at first glance. He cannot come off

the side cushion into the reds. He will have to go for the one that is

to the left of the black. He has got a problem here. Failing that,

it will have to be a two cushion This has got to be absolutely spot

on. He was thinking of nestling into the reds knew of the -- near

the pink. That is pretty good. He thought for a long time, I tell you

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Yeah, good shot. Pushing the red to the side cushion,

trying to create something for Mark Williams, from the left-hand side

of the table. It's on, as you can see, it's very, very difficult.

Yeah, very difficult when he can only just see the top of the cue

What a so the that is. APPLAUSE

-- What a shot that is. Not sure - I think he's trying to

get down that side. He wanted to get down the other side of the red.

It worked out very nicely for him. And Robertson is looking at this

long pocket. Under the circumstances - he's seen a 4-1

lead disappear. He's seen the 5-3 lead be reduced to just one frame.

I think that was the correct choice there. And he's played it well.

Yeah, I think he's managed to cover certainly this red down the right-

hand side of the table. Well, he may just be able to get the outside

Yeah, we've seen some very good tactical play. Look at the success

rate - just 1% between these two players. Neil Robertson just that

1% in front. Oh. Has he done any damage? Has he got away with it.

He's left the one to the middle. And maybe one available into the

left corner. So that was a tough shot that Mark took on there. The

If he takes this one into the corner, he's gonna have to push it

right through into the bunch of reds. It will open the bunch up.

He's avoided the bunch. I don't know if the blue passed the red, he

will have to take the yellow. just got heavy contact as well,

didn't he? Wanted to be another - at least a foot closer to the ball

Yeah, a couple of options there. He thought about playing the topspin

and pushing it through the reds, then he thought, "No, let's make

sure I get on a colour." Very close to that red. He's gotta

Well, it didn't go into the heart of the pocket, but it was a good

Just looking a couple of shots ahead, I'm not sure if that red at

the back of the bunch pots into the We know we've got the red near the

cushion that is available. It would be a bonus if that one at the back

And if not, he can go straight into the pink, and potting the blue,

that's gonna be a bit tight. So into the pink. And I don't see any

plants that possibly might be on, if he hits it pretty hard. There

might be one that goes towards the left corner pocket.

And that red is going towards that corner pocket. He should have had a

Just spotted one, though. Just have a look - on to the other red and in

off. It's a bit unlucky, but... It's always worth having a good

look around if you're gonna hit Is that gonna turn things right

around? Without that red going in, Neil Robertson doesn't have a great

chance to close the match out. And A bad miss from Mark Williams. He's

Yeah, very surprising. You don't see Mark Williams miss many like

that. A lot of pressure on it, it has to be said. To close the gap

He gifted Neil Robertson a great chance now to close out the match.

That was very surprising. Normally so cool under pressure, Mark

Possibly just took his eye off it slightly. Concentrating on the cue

ball. But he was doing precious Meanwhile, he's left himself

The fact that this frame could take him into his firps semifinal in the

Masters -- first semifinal in the Masters adds a certain amount of

That was a good shot. Never easy when you're bridging over a ball.

Would have loved to be straiter on this red, though. Yeah, it's

finished a little bit awkward there. The black's available only to the

one corner at the moment. To the left of the three there he needs to

slip out past that and on to the black. So it's not straightforward,

as you mentioned. Straight on this red would have been absolutely

perfect. Let's have a look if he can avoid that cannon. Yeah, well

A little bit of adrenaline creeping in to Neil Robertson's back hand.

He overshot the blue there. On the yellow, but travelled more of a

Yes. It's all about trying to keep close control, making things as

He might have to play a left cannon here, so he's gotta be a bit

careful. He would have preferred to have been straighter on this. He

wouldn't have had to bother with a The gentlest of cannons.

APPLAUSE Can he hold himself together and

get himself into his first-ever The winner of this match will play

the sensational Judd Trump. So we will have two left-handers in that

semifinal, regardless of who wins Yeah, just had a look at the score

there - 27 points ahead. So he wants blue, or at least two more of

these last four remaining reds. Well, Mark can only sit there and,

well, hope that something can go wrong in this spirited fight-back,

break to 78 to get himself just one frame behind. And he was looking

good until he missed that comfortable black.

Neil Robertson just slightly in a position which is not

straightforward, digging down on the cue ball. Just makes this pot a

little bit more difficult. Yes, he only needs one more red

after the blue. If he rolls the blue to try and get on this red to

the left of the black, he's gotta be careful. But I don't think it's

in off. I don't think he would cannon the pink. We'll find out

He hasn't hit it hard enough. I think it's gonna pull up. That's

what he was worried about. Wow. And no wonder he's puffing his cheeks.

A quick glance at the scoreboard. He knows - one more pot could see

him through to the semifinal. What a pot he's left with. This is

not easy. Playing that red into a blind pocket, as he looks down his

cue. APPLAUSE

This technique, smooth cuing there. It could be the end of the match

APPLAUSE That's definitely... Seals the

match. It all started with a very taictcal opening frame that --

tactical opening frame. It looked like he could take us to a deciding

frame. Great feeling, when you're walking around, knocking balls and

you have clinched the match, isn't it? Yeah. It will be his first

semifinal. What a mouth-watering prospect that will be.

APPLAUSE Mark Williams will come forward.

So the battle of the left-handers goes to the Australian. It was a

tough battle in the end, but he goes through to the semifinal,

goes through to the semifinal, winning 6-4. So Neil Robertson has

had to work very hard for that, pushed all the way by Mark Williams.

But problems with the tip of his cue. He's certainly gonna have to

spend Friday night into Saturday morning seeing if he can put a new