:00:00. > :00:39.Hello. At Alexandra Palace on Tuesday it was all about the return
:00:40. > :00:43.of The Rocket, the five Times Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
:00:44. > :00:50.He's rebooted his ambitions and it was another relaunch of his career.
:00:51. > :00:54.After an eight-month sabatical we hadn't seen The Rocket since his
:00:55. > :00:59.quarterfinal defeat at the Crusaders last April, but he was back to face
:01:00. > :01:03.a familiar foe, Welshman Mark Williams, a two Times Masters
:01:04. > :01:09.champion was also on the comeback trail after three years away from
:01:10. > :01:12.this event. A packed arena. Absolutely chock-full to welcome
:01:13. > :01:18.these two great champions and describing it all Dennis Taylor and
:01:19. > :01:22.Steve Dennis. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. First frame, Ronnie
:01:23. > :01:27.O'Sullivan to break. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the toss and he gets
:01:28. > :01:30.this match under way. It has to be said that Mark Williams got a
:01:31. > :01:36.fantastic reception also. APPLAUSE
:01:37. > :01:48.What can The Rocket produce after that lay-off? We know what he did
:01:49. > :01:54.when he won the world championship and didn't play for a season, came
:01:55. > :01:57.back and defended - well, won the championship again. Quite
:01:58. > :02:01.incredible. He had a longer match. He had a chance to bare himself in,
:02:02. > :02:06.the best of 19. This is only the best of 11, so he's got to get out
:02:07. > :02:10.of the starting blocks as quickly as possible because he's up against a
:02:11. > :02:15.tough opponent here, Steve. Yes, I think the adrenaline will be pumping
:02:16. > :02:18.for both of them. What a fantastic at tear to perform in, in your first
:02:19. > :02:29.match. Nerves could be jingling a bit. Arguably, you would think,
:02:30. > :02:35.possibly Mark Williams would be a little bit unused to this big type
:02:36. > :02:40.of crowd. He hasn't been performing in this type of atmosphere as often
:02:41. > :02:56.as Ronnie recently. But, if anybody can handle the pressure of something
:02:57. > :02:59.lick this, Mark Williams can. -- like this, Mark Williams can. Nearly
:03:00. > :03:03.got it safe apart from the red that he missed. Y, he thought that he
:03:04. > :03:08.could take this on. If he potted it, he could get on the pink. If he
:03:09. > :03:18.missed it he might get it safe, but he hasn't. He's left it on.
:03:19. > :03:29.Not often you get a terrific round of applause for a pretty
:03:30. > :03:33.straightforward shot, but everybody is buzzing here in the AllyPally.
:03:34. > :03:45.Yeah, the crowd are certainly up for this. It is not as nice as it could
:03:46. > :03:47.have ended up. Played that yellow very well, a bit too close to the
:03:48. > :03:57.cushion for comfort. 4.
:03:58. > :04:03.APPLAUSE He has been playing quite a bit of
:04:04. > :04:09.snooker. Some shows. A few legend shows. On two occasions I have been
:04:10. > :04:11.with him and he's made maximum breaks on both occasions. That is on
:04:12. > :04:20.a club table. Well, should he have chose Tongo
:04:21. > :04:24.into the pack there, he had the perfect angle -- chosen to go into
:04:25. > :04:33.the pack there, he had the perfect angle. It would have split the reds
:04:34. > :04:37.all over the place, unusual yes. -- all over the place. Unusualy, he
:04:38. > :04:43.didn't go into the pack. Looking to open the pack from the blue. Pink
:04:44. > :05:04.probably goes into the left corner. RANSMIT Well, what a shot he's
:05:05. > :05:06.played there! APPLAUSE
:05:07. > :05:10.How many players would even have thought of playing that. Looked like
:05:11. > :05:15.he was playing into the reds. He was playing to free the pink and black.
:05:16. > :05:18.He is a bit unlucky that the black has finished so close to the
:05:19. > :05:27.cushion. But what a clever shot that was. The whole here is there might
:05:28. > :05:30.be a red at the back of that bunch that goes through. He can drop the
:05:31. > :05:38.black in without forcing it. There is. It is amazing. He can sort of
:05:39. > :05:43.create a chance just in the blink of an eye lid, Steve. The most
:05:44. > :05:52.astonishing break builder we have ever seen in the game. One of his
:05:53. > :05:55.great strengths - such a quick brain that allows him to play with such
:05:56. > :06:15.fluency. 29. Nobody plays that shot any
:06:16. > :06:25.better than Ronnie O'Sullivan. He played it perfectly. 30.
:06:26. > :06:32.It wasn't easy to get the right side of the blue there. He was a bit too
:06:33. > :06:36.close for comfort to get the topspin on, but shouldn't have any trouble
:06:37. > :06:49.going in and out of baulk. Well, those colours always get in
:06:50. > :06:54.the way. I expected him to miss the yellow, but it can happen. The white
:06:55. > :06:58.seemed to be bouncing around there and just took a slightly different
:06:59. > :07:05.angle. He's picked out a shot to nothing, though. Not bad. A decent
:07:06. > :07:18.Ronnie O'Sullivan 35. A don't safety shot. Ronnie
:07:19. > :07:31.O'Sullivan, 35. Mark Williams would have been foring the worst there,
:07:32. > :07:35.but a reprove. -- reprieve. I think he might be able to get through to
:07:36. > :07:45.the red in the left corner. I am not sure. That is pretty tight, that.
:07:46. > :07:54.He feels as if he can see enough of the red to pot it. He may have to
:07:55. > :07:57.commit totally. I don't think there is a way of playing this safe at the
:07:58. > :08:05.same time. APPLAUSE
:08:06. > :08:13.I tell you what, that was a terrific long pot. So he's in fin form. When
:08:14. > :08:22.you are knock this type of shot in, you know you are cueing well. And
:08:23. > :08:30.rumour on the grapevine is in practice Ronnie O'Sullivan has been
:08:31. > :08:35.flying. He made an astonishing amount of century breaks in the
:08:36. > :08:36.championship league recently. A tournament played behind closed
:08:37. > :09:05.doors, but still competitive. He hit the 12 beautifully. A little
:09:06. > :09:09.bit underpaced, but... Not happy. The green is missable, but... He
:09:10. > :09:17.strokes it in. APPLAUSE
:09:18. > :09:24.20. Yeah, one of the big secrets of the game of snooker is being able to
:09:25. > :09:29.take your practice game onto the match table and it is not every
:09:30. > :09:37.player that can do that, but this is certainly one of them. He plays the
:09:38. > :09:43.game as if he was in his club practising. Having said that, he
:09:44. > :09:52.just ran slightly out of position. A bit unlucky with the cannon there.
:09:53. > :09:58.Yeah. He only needs one more red to leave Mark needing a snooker. So he
:09:59. > :09:59.will have to wait for another chance. Ronnie O'Sullivan with a
:10:00. > :10:10.cannon there. APPLAUSE
:10:11. > :10:16.Yeah, you could play this another 10 times and you would finish perfectly
:10:17. > :10:18.on a red. APPLAUSE
:10:19. > :10:29.A Mark Williams special! A bit of a problem, he can't get
:10:30. > :10:33.through to the blue, I don't think. He needs a colour, otherwise he will
:10:34. > :10:37.need a snooker. That is a bit unfortunate after that terrific pot.
:10:38. > :10:42.If he had been able to see the blue, he had a chance here. He might be
:10:43. > :10:46.committed to swerving this very fractional swerve. I don't think the
:10:47. > :11:03.roll-up is any good the him behind the green or brown.
:11:04. > :11:07.It is a judgement shot. He hasn't had much table time. It is very
:11:08. > :11:19.tough to get this right. Didn't take the swerve. It was very,
:11:20. > :11:24.very tough to judge that, but he had to pot the blue otherwise he was
:11:25. > :11:26.going the need a snooker and he does need a snooker at the moment.
:11:27. > :11:38.APPLAUSE Even that type of shot he was close
:11:39. > :11:45.to the cushion and he made it look ridiculously easy. So he is sending
:11:46. > :11:54.an early message to Mark Williams. 8.
:11:55. > :12:02.All Mark has done is pot an red and been unlucky not to drop on the
:12:03. > :12:06.blue. He hasn't had a chance really. I think Mark would have expected
:12:07. > :12:12.Ronnie to be playing sharp, coming into this. He would have proposed
:12:13. > :12:16.properly, Ronnie, but obviously Mark would have hoped that he wasn't
:12:17. > :12:16.firing straightaway. APPLAUSE
:12:17. > :12:33.70. Doesn't matter about the brown. A
:12:34. > :12:39.fabulous start for Ronnie O'Sullivan. He takes that opening
:12:40. > :12:40.frame quit comfortably and he leads Mark Williams by one frame to nil.
:12:41. > :13:11.APPLAUSE I would say that Ronnie O'Sullivan
:13:12. > :13:16.is a more dangerous snooker player here than the world championship. I
:13:17. > :13:21.know he's won this five times, but one table set-up right from the off,
:13:22. > :13:30.he might be happy with the safety there.
:13:31. > :13:35.He has got an easy red, but where will the angle come from? Naturally
:13:36. > :13:39.it will go to the reds and pinks. He could do with finding a gap the
:13:40. > :13:43.possibly get through for the blue, but keep an eye on the cue ball
:13:44. > :13:48.here. Hard, yeah. The harder he hits this, Dennis, the more it will stay
:13:49. > :13:51.in the pack, so he has got to hit it relatively soft. It still went into
:13:52. > :13:55.the pack. That was like a trap he couldn't get out of. That was very
:13:56. > :14:06.difficult, that. He would probably nominate the green, I would think.
:14:07. > :14:11.Any colour, he's got to hit it because a miss will be called. If he
:14:12. > :14:15.was to hit a ball colour, full ball, he would leave this red for the
:14:16. > :14:21.right corner. There is no colour available, so it wouldn't be all
:14:22. > :14:24.that bad. Wouldn't be so bad leaving Ronnie a sort of shot from the
:14:25. > :14:29.left-hand side of the table at that red, but he wouldn't necessarily
:14:30. > :14:32.want to leave him down in the green pocket area, otherwise perhaps
:14:33. > :14:38.Ronnie could get back down the table from putting it. The reason I
:14:39. > :14:42.mentioned green, it is the easiest angle to escape from the snooker but
:14:43. > :14:46.he knows he could leave that red. That is why he is taking longer on
:14:47. > :14:50.the shot here. He might have to have a couple of goes on this, if he is
:14:51. > :14:59.going to choose more than one cushion.
:15:00. > :15:11.He could try to catch the back side of the blue somehow. Yellow ball.
:15:12. > :15:15.Three cushions for the yellow. That is a pretty good effort. I tell you
:15:16. > :15:27.what, what a great shot! Great shot! CHEERING
:15:28. > :15:33.What an escape that was. Hitting the yellow on the edge meant he covered
:15:34. > :15:38.that with the blue, the one to the right.
:15:39. > :15:40.He needs to contain Ronnie at the moment.
:15:41. > :15:57.APPLAUSE This would be a nice ball to knock
:15:58. > :16:08.in for Mark Williams. Confidence builder if he should get it in.
:16:09. > :16:20.1. Now, the kiss on the red there, he's left himself the wrong side of
:16:21. > :16:23.the blue. If he hadn't can phoned that he would have been on the blue
:16:24. > :16:31.for the opposite middle pocket and had the correct angle. Having to
:16:32. > :16:36.power it Arn the table. Reel -- Around the table. Really, he might
:16:37. > :16:40.be snookered when the blue goes back onto its spot. A bit unlucky there.
:16:41. > :16:46.He was just a little bit too close to the blue to get the power on. I
:16:47. > :16:47.think perhaps if you asked him again he might have rolled through and
:16:48. > :17:01.left himself a longer reds. A bit short of pace. Can it sneak
:17:02. > :17:02.behind the green? No. That may be second best if it is awkward cueing
:17:03. > :17:30.for Ronnie. There is no easy safety shot because
:17:31. > :17:35.he is bringing over the green if he comes off the red. He has got to be
:17:36. > :17:38.accurate. He could get back down the table but that is awkward. Yeah.
:17:39. > :17:45.Just caught it too thin. You can do that when you are striking over a
:17:46. > :17:52.ball. Well, Mark Williams got a bit lucky there. He forced an error from
:17:53. > :17:57.Ronnie. That locks tight. He's got a red into the right corner, but I am
:17:58. > :18:02.not sure that he can reach, even though he is left handed.
:18:03. > :18:10.So, that is a tough shot at the best of times to get position on a
:18:11. > :18:12.colour. So whilst Ronnie has made a mistake there, he also may have got
:18:13. > :18:24.away with it. It is so easy to get a little bit of
:18:25. > :18:34.unwanted side on and that is why he hit it too thin. He just couldn't
:18:35. > :18:43.get himself out He had no shot. That was about the
:18:44. > :18:48.best he could do. You have got the take the pot on here, really. In
:18:49. > :18:56.this day and age, you don't get many chances. Doesn't have to play a pot,
:18:57. > :19:08.but the yellow locks inviting. -- looks inviting. Mark Williams. A lot
:19:09. > :19:15.of pressure on Mark with that pot there. As we say, three years since
:19:16. > :19:19.he's been at the Masters and he normally would knock that type of
:19:20. > :19:25.shot in, but there was a bit of pressure. A bit unlucky. Looked like
:19:26. > :19:30.he might have got away with it, so the chance falls to Ronnie. He
:19:31. > :19:36.played it quite a brave way - slow. It would have been easy to stunned
:19:37. > :19:41.it and punched it in. A bit of tension in the arm, that is usually
:19:42. > :19:46.an easier way. But committed fully, it looks to have paid the price,
:19:47. > :19:56.albeit the black is still awkwardly placed.
:19:57. > :20:07.6. Having said that, if the red above the black, as we look at the
:20:08. > :20:17.table, pots, it would be opening up the black into the right corner. 7.
:20:18. > :20:27.So if he can get ideally on that - the red to the left of the black, as
:20:28. > :20:33.we have just seen, plenty of chances to get blues before he gets to that
:20:34. > :20:41.situation. He could quite easily decide to just stay on the blue. As
:20:42. > :20:48.long as you keep getting the correct side of the blue, he's got, what,
:20:49. > :20:52.six comfortable reds. In fact the one next to the black is OK also.
:20:53. > :21:05.18. 19. He won't get on that red next to
:21:06. > :21:14.the black until he can guarantee the right position. The right position
:21:15. > :21:16.with the cue ball. He left himself a bit further away from this than he
:21:17. > :21:38.would have wanted. 24. 25. He's lost it a bit here. One
:21:39. > :21:42.could red after this blue could be back in prime position the right
:21:43. > :21:50.side of the blue. Still makes it look so easy, though. 30.
:21:51. > :22:04.I would play the red, two from the black now. He's got the blue. The
:22:05. > :22:12.yellow has offered a spot. Nothing to prevent the cue ball coming back
:22:13. > :22:20.up for those reds. That looks to be - well, he could have done with it a
:22:21. > :22:32.little bit further up the table. 36. He's got to play a pretty good shot
:22:33. > :22:35.now here. It was the angle he got on the prove red when he potted the
:22:36. > :22:39.blue didn't quit come far enough up the table, so all he could do was
:22:40. > :22:44.develop the black, which he didn't really want to be doing.
:22:45. > :23:01.Ronnie O'Sullivan, Excellent safety shot. Ronnie's
:23:02. > :23:05.break falling down. Effectively by not getting the right side of the
:23:06. > :23:11.blue enough times, but Mark Williams is left with an awful safety shot
:23:12. > :23:13.here. Whichever one he chooses, has danger. He's got to hit it very
:23:14. > :23:16.thin. Oh, an excellent shot.
:23:17. > :23:33.APPLAUSE Ronnie may have to move the black
:23:34. > :23:37.into play, which is in Mark Williams's favour, really.
:23:38. > :24:14.1. Superb containing pot. Couldn't Ghan tow position. -- guarantee
:24:15. > :24:23.position. Williams wishlings 1. APPLAUSE
:24:24. > :24:29.-- Mark Williams This will be difficult for Ronnie
:24:30. > :24:37.O'Sullivan to get safe from. Might have to trust to a bit of luck here.
:24:38. > :24:44.He's not shallow enough on this. Foul. A miss. Mark Williams, 4. He
:24:45. > :24:54.got away with that one, really. That is a very difficult cut. Yeah. He is
:24:55. > :24:58.having to play with so much swerve on the shot here to just land on
:24:59. > :25:03.that red that is near the cushion. Even then, he is not guaranteed to
:25:04. > :25:07.leave it safe. If he just nestled onto it, it wouldn't be all that
:25:08. > :25:15.bad. But, it is such a tough swvr. Yeah. -- swerve. The referee is
:25:16. > :25:23.making sure the white is in the right spot and Mark is quite happy.
:25:24. > :25:30.Can he judge it this time? It is so tough. He's missed the other side,
:25:31. > :25:39.has he? Miss. Mark Williams, 4. And Mark stays in his seat. That is the
:25:40. > :25:46.correct side to miss it on. The other side he could have stuck the
:25:47. > :25:56.reds up, so the adjustment was made correctly. Only 20 points behind
:25:57. > :25:59.now, Mark Williams. So for all of the good shots that Ronnie has
:26:00. > :26:01.played, he is still in with a good chance in this frame. This looks the
:26:02. > :26:11.be perfect. APPLAUSE
:26:12. > :26:18.With that shot, it is so difficult to judge the pace because the swvr
:26:19. > :26:23.takes all of the pace out of it. It is so easy to get that wron, but
:26:24. > :26:27.this - we have seen a lot of the balls go in along the cushion here.
:26:28. > :26:30.This will be interesting to so what happens with this red. This is
:26:31. > :26:32.dangerous, but they do hug the top cushion. We have seen that. If Mark
:26:33. > :26:35.Williams has been watching the television he will know full well
:26:36. > :26:43.that is the right shot to play. APPLAUSE
:26:44. > :26:50.I know Dennis, it is easy to sit here in the commentary box, but
:26:51. > :26:55.along the top cushion, the pockets look very big.
:26:56. > :27:07.9. The clth will get a little bit tighter. Yeah, but I think it is
:27:08. > :27:11.pulling to the top cushion. This makes a big difference. It gives the
:27:12. > :27:16.player as bit more confidence. Perhaps just that green in an
:27:17. > :27:20.awkward position. An awkward position for an ideal clearance. I
:27:21. > :27:25.tell you what, Steve, this could be a very early turning point - we are
:27:26. > :27:28.only in the second frame - but this could play a big part in this match
:27:29. > :27:34.if Mark Williams could get himself back all square. As you said, the
:27:35. > :28:08.groan is the key ball, but it is not that badly placed. What sort of
:28:09. > :28:17.angle has he got on this yellow? I am not sure. He can chance a slight
:28:18. > :28:25.angle. You see, if he can't get on the green, he can screw back behind
:28:26. > :28:30.the groan and play a snooker behind the pink if he can't lose an easy
:28:31. > :28:35.pot. He might decide to do this. He can take it into the middle pot, but
:28:36. > :28:41.the fact he's finished where he has. A big shot now. Not just potting the
:28:42. > :28:46.groan, but trying to get the right pace and direction on the cue ball.
:28:47. > :28:53.Of course, he can roll up beline the pink. I think he's got the angle for
:28:54. > :28:57.that. -- behind the pink. I think he's got the angle for that. That is
:28:58. > :29:03.Ronnie O'Sullivan back to the table. APPLAUSE
:29:04. > :29:11.Ronnie will probably play this with pace.
:29:12. > :29:18.CHEERING Well, that is all you need.
:29:19. > :29:27.Absolutely incredible. What a fluke that was. And that will hurt. Mark
:29:28. > :29:36.Williams is such a laid-back character. But, this player deserves
:29:37. > :29:40.that. That is amazing. He has been punished severely by not getting
:29:41. > :29:46.cbtly on the yellow. How cruel is that? -- correctly on the yellow.
:29:47. > :29:57.How cruel is that because it wasn't badly on the yellow! This locks
:29:58. > :30:01.good. If he misses the pink, well, it is a little bit more difficult
:30:02. > :30:06.now. Will he play this left hand? That is the question. He only needs
:30:07. > :30:09.the pink. He will play it left-handed.
:30:10. > :30:18.CHEERING Very good! That was an unbelievable
:30:19. > :30:23.fluke! Ronnie O'Sullivan. You have got to take the luck while it is
:30:24. > :30:29.there. He leads two frames to nil. CHEERING
:30:30. > :30:43.So Ronnie gets the third frame under way. A pretty good
:30:44. > :30:46.In fact, it is a very good breakoff shot. The red is out of the table
:30:47. > :30:49.preventing Mark from playing down that side. He still may do it, but
:30:50. > :31:12.he has got to watch that red. the safety game is fantastic. In
:31:13. > :31:17.fact, I think it is going back - I am going back 14 or 15 years, these
:31:18. > :31:21.players played in the UK Championship when it was at Telford
:31:22. > :31:26.for a couple of seasons. They played a match, it Mitt have been a smile,
:31:27. > :31:29.and it was some of the finest safety play I have ever seen. Both were
:31:30. > :31:36.unbelievable in the tactical department. Finest safety play I
:31:37. > :31:39.have ever seen. Both were unbelievable in the tactical
:31:40. > :31:43.department. A bit short of pace this time. Is there a gap for the red in
:31:44. > :31:47.the left-hand corner? Is there a possibility that the black will pot
:31:48. > :31:51.into the opposite corner? That is what Ronnie is around looking at. He
:31:52. > :31:58.may be able to find a gap for the black. You can see the black. He
:31:59. > :32:00.knocked a red like this in in the opening frame. But, he doesn't fancy
:32:01. > :32:13.it. Is this a possible plant? Ithink he would have took this red
:32:14. > :32:16.on, Steve, if there hadn't been other reds getting in the way of the
:32:17. > :32:24.black, though. Yes, I think Mark was probably
:32:25. > :32:33.reloved that he didn't because there was every chance he would have
:32:34. > :32:38.potted it, but Ronnie plays a far better percentage game than possibly
:32:39. > :32:42.people think he does. He's very fluent, obviously, but he's got a
:32:43. > :32:50.2-nil load. The last thing he wants to do is let Mark in cheaply. He is
:32:51. > :32:57.aware of that. Poor safety shot, but got away with it. He may have given,
:32:58. > :33:03.on first glance, Mark Williams a problem. There is a gap he can get
:33:04. > :33:19.through with a cue ball. Great shot. Successfully kept the
:33:20. > :33:20.cue ball away from the cushion the get himself a gettable pink, but it
:33:21. > :33:36.is tough. This is the first real chance that
:33:37. > :33:46.Mark has had in amongst the balls. 7. And one of his great strengths
:33:47. > :33:53.always has been his concentration and his temperament.
:33:54. > :34:03.And he could do with a sizeable contribution here. That would really
:34:04. > :34:09.settle him down. And in his prime, Mark Williams, was granite when it
:34:10. > :34:16.came to pressure. Yes, he's been out of the big stage for a while, but
:34:17. > :34:22.you don't lose your class overnight. 15.
:34:23. > :34:36.A sizeable break here would do him the power of good.
:34:37. > :34:46.So far so good. Four reds on the top cushion are a bit messy.
:34:47. > :35:02.24. So it is not completely clear cut.
:35:03. > :35:31.32. He's got a great attitude. I was listening to his pre-tournament
:35:32. > :35:34.interview and he was so laid back in the interview. He said, "Well, I
:35:35. > :35:39.might never win again, but I am back enjoying playing the game of snooker
:35:40. > :35:45.and whoever I have got to play, I will play and I will enjoy it", but
:35:46. > :35:56.he is still such a talent. He is still capable of winning ranking
:35:57. > :35:59.tournaments. Well, I have got tow say considering the fact he's gone
:36:00. > :36:03.2-nil down against one of the greatest flying machines you have
:36:04. > :36:08.ever seen in the game, how easy he's taken these and how precisely he's
:36:09. > :36:15.played his position - it has been add Mirable. -- add Mir available.
:36:16. > :36:21.Still some work to get over the line.
:36:22. > :36:37.Three reds in colours won't be enough. Mirable.
:36:38. > :36:44.Three reds in colours won't be enough. First weak shot. He came up
:36:45. > :36:49.a little bit short. He wanted a nice easy red. He might still get the one
:36:50. > :36:53.he wanted, but it could have been easier than this. Had to go up the
:36:54. > :36:58.other end of the table. If he had been straight on the red, he could
:36:59. > :37:03.have held the blue. It is about keeping nice, close control, but as
:37:04. > :37:07.long as you keep potting them, that is the can. Look where he is hitting
:37:08. > :37:13.the cue ball the create the backspin. Right down at the bottom
:37:14. > :37:20.of the cue ball. If you don't try that in your club, you probably - if
:37:21. > :37:27.you tried that at your club, you would probably rip the cloth.
:37:28. > :37:31.5 Just went through a little bit further than he intended. That is
:37:32. > :37:36.the stun run through. Probably the best shot in the game that players
:37:37. > :37:37.love to play, but it is so difficult the judge it absolutely correctly.
:37:38. > :38:01.Just too far. 64. And this red he would love to
:38:02. > :38:09.see be eaten up by the pocket, but it is a little bit further away from
:38:10. > :38:14.the cushion - Mark's trademark trick shot. It is not clever, really, if
:38:15. > :38:21.it guess wrong. It looks great, but has he
:38:22. > :38:30.got away He prefers that, Dennis, to using the rest. It looks weird.
:38:31. > :38:42.He only needs a red and, well, anything from the groan
:38:43. > :38:46.The underarm shot. He is so good at that and this time it didn't come
:38:47. > :38:52.off. There was a little bit of laughter there. I am not sure quite
:38:53. > :38:56.what was said. He's got a horrible shot here. He doesn't want to
:38:57. > :39:03.disturb the two reds on the side cushion. Could be forgiven for
:39:04. > :39:08.trying to play something a bit more adventurous, a two-cushion drop onto
:39:09. > :39:12.the three reds. Seems to be nice at the moment. He would be happy with
:39:13. > :39:26.that. APPLAUSE
:39:27. > :39:35.And glad wruly Ronnie is bringing all of those -- and gradually Ronnie
:39:36. > :39:39.is bringing all of those reds into play. If he catches the red
:39:40. > :39:45.correctly here, I don't know if he can take the pot on at the same
:39:46. > :39:52.time, but make sure he's got a good cue bull. Well, he did take the pot
:39:53. > :39:57.on. Mmm... I think he might have been better making sure he was
:39:58. > :40:15.finding the gap back down the table he is hoping the reds have. This is
:40:16. > :40:23.not a certainty. A great shot! He has been tribing the balls very
:40:24. > :40:28.positively, Ronnie. He strokes them in. May have been the shots he has
:40:29. > :40:35.been left in the match so far, but it seems lick he is hitting the ball
:40:36. > :40:37.with great authority. Mark will have been pleased to see that pink go to
:40:38. > :41:09.the side cushion. 5. Hampered slightly for the red to the
:41:10. > :41:11.right there. So he is choosing the one near the black.
:41:12. > :41:27.Amazing. It looked like the frame was all over not so long ago and the
:41:28. > :41:33.bulls were safe. All of a sudden, Ronnie O'Sullivan has got a bit of a
:41:34. > :41:41.chance here. 18. That last red was just fantastic. If he misses it,
:41:42. > :41:44.he's lost the frame. He just cued it beautifully.
:41:45. > :41:59.APPLAUSE Well... 26. From the side.. Cushion,
:42:00. > :42:04.that was a tough shot. Ronnie O'Sullivan is making this look like
:42:05. > :42:06.a walk in the park so far. Still a couple of difficult shots to go.
:42:07. > :42:18.LAUGHS . APPLAUSE
:42:19. > :42:23.These are pressure shots and he is giving himself a chance to win this
:42:24. > :42:24.frame. Mark Williams's only hope is the pink.
:42:25. > :42:31.APPLAUSE 35. I mean, When even he came to the
:42:32. > :42:40.table, you would have thought he's got no chance at clearing up. Foul.
:42:41. > :42:47.After all of that, can you believe what has happened? That is quite
:42:48. > :42:53.amazing. He was flying along and how often would you see, well, any
:42:54. > :42:57.snooker player do that. It just shows what can happen on that green
:42:58. > :43:02.base. You know, he played a screw back on the black a couple of shots
:43:03. > :43:07.before and then he played the red over the top of the other red and I
:43:08. > :43:11.wonder if he chalked the cow and perhaps he didn't just get enough
:43:12. > :43:19.chalk back on the tip at the rescue-back part. After a big
:43:20. > :43:22.rescue-back, you have got to be careful you haven't taken all of the
:43:23. > :43:29.chalk off the tip. Mark Williams. APPLAUSE
:43:30. > :43:32.Looks like he had a chance, but that uncharacteric miscue meant that Mark
:43:33. > :43:34.Williams took the third frame and now he is just one behind. 2-1 to
:43:35. > :43:54.Ronnie O'Sullivan. I think every match in the Masters,
:43:55. > :44:01.Steve, is good enough to be any final. Yes, it is a bit of a shock
:44:02. > :44:03.to the system for your first match to walk out in front of 2,000
:44:04. > :44:15.people. Even for these top players in the
:44:16. > :44:21.world. Mark Williams needed a bit of help in this match. No guarantee, of
:44:22. > :44:26.course, Ronnie O'Sullivan was going to clear the table with a pink safe
:44:27. > :44:31.on the side cushion, but he looked ominous and he's the help with a
:44:32. > :44:39.miscue. Has that changed the pattern of this match?
:44:40. > :44:44.APPLAUSE Well, it has turned out nicely on
:44:45. > :44:55.the green. Not certain to get it in, but ... Yeah, I think the whole
:44:56. > :45:00.crowd thought the white was going into the pocket, but it didn't and,
:45:01. > :45:08.as Steve said, left him a good angle on the green to get up to the reds.
:45:09. > :45:11.4, 5. He is just about OK. I'll show you the shot again. Looked like it
:45:12. > :45:16.would head into the corner pocket, but just caught the jaws. Didn't get
:45:17. > :45:21.the right side of the blue there, Mark. The red that is to the right
:45:22. > :45:22.of the pack helping him on this occasion and being a left-hander, it
:45:23. > :45:42.should be straightforward. I have got to say, Mark Williams
:45:43. > :45:49.lacks pretty sharp as well. -- looks pretty sharp as well.
:45:50. > :45:55.May not look as fluent as Ronnie O'Sullivan around the table, but
:45:56. > :45:58.he's always been one of the fastest players on the circuit, Mark
:45:59. > :46:04.Williams. His shots have always been pretty low. As he is getting amongst
:46:05. > :46:08.the ball now, as you can see, there is not much difference between the
:46:09. > :46:13.two players. If he makes this break easily, he will drop below 20
:46:14. > :46:17.seconds as well, I would think. A key shot coming up here, opening up
:46:18. > :46:27.the reds and getting onto the black, hopefully. He
:46:28. > :46:35.played it 27. So easy to underhit or overhit those shots, Dennis.
:46:36. > :46:46.He's underhit that. 34. By a little bit.
:46:47. > :46:54.Stillable to keep control. -- Still able to keep control. There is
:46:55. > :47:05.enough open reds here that he should be able to get over the line. He
:47:06. > :47:23.wants a bit more on that, but he's got the red into the middle. 42.
:47:24. > :47:34.43. Mud section interval coming up after this frame. -- mid section
:47:35. > :47:40.interval coming up after this frame. They are both in the 90s. Ronnie
:47:41. > :47:49.slight ahead but this is good from the Welshman here - it really is.
:47:50. > :47:58.He walks so slowly around the table, but, as Steve said, he is such a
:47:59. > :48:07.quick, fluent player. He has just got a great writhe -- rhythm around
:48:08. > :48:13.the table. Mark Williams 48. CHEERING
:48:14. > :48:22.The blue wasn't good. A bit short of pace. Yeah. Just bridging over those
:48:23. > :48:25.reds just caused him possibly to get a little tiny bit of side that he
:48:26. > :48:43.didn't intend on that. That is the first miss, really, from
:48:44. > :48:47.Ronnie. I am just wondering if that miscue still thinking about that. He
:48:48. > :48:51.just overcut it slightly. Still looking at the tip there, but I
:48:52. > :48:55.don't think he took anything. Sometimes you can take a little
:48:56. > :49:02.piece out of the tip, but it is fine. Well, we know from past
:49:03. > :49:05.experience that Ronnie is a bit of a word year when it comes to the tip
:49:06. > :49:26.of the cue. I know what you are thinking, Steve,
:49:27. > :49:30.but those days are You are thinking back to the World
:49:31. > :49:35.Championship many, many years ago and he had about 12 different tips
:49:36. > :49:43.on and he was known to bite the tip off and get a new one put on. Les
:49:44. > :49:47.Dodge used to come down from Southport and put Ronnie's tip on.
:49:48. > :49:48.He was a former professional that is still playing, Les.
:49:49. > :49:55.APPLAUSE 1. He would like to see this yellow
:49:56. > :50:22.go in. Kick. Took the pace out of the cue
:50:23. > :50:26.ball. We'll show it to you again. You can see the yellow. Ronnie
:50:27. > :50:32.anxiously looking over Mark's shoulder there. Wasn't a massive
:50:33. > :50:37.one, but Mark Williams's reaction immediately told us it was a kick.
:50:38. > :50:40.Yeah, he is still on the red that is near the pink. Without the kick, it
:50:41. > :50:43.would have been a straightforward shot. No underarm shot this time. He
:50:44. > :50:57.got the extension out. Nicely Can he see the black? That is the
:50:58. > :50:58.question. If he can, he will take this through. He can't. He is
:50:59. > :51:08.unlucky. LAUGHS
:51:09. > :51:19.A good throw. Can he get through just with the pink? I don't think
:51:20. > :51:31.so. If he can't, he may be tempted to put the black safe. He hasn't
:51:32. > :51:35.decided yet. There is a way of playing the black, sending the white
:51:36. > :51:36.ball off fur cushions and getting behint the green, but if this pink
:51:37. > :51:45.behint the green, but ifthis pink this pink goes... Oh, superb!
:51:46. > :51:56.CHEERING 10. This is a very difficult red.
:51:57. > :52:03.Should he choose to take it on with slightly awkward cueing.
:52:04. > :52:20.Mark Williams, 10. Nearly over the line, but not quite.
:52:21. > :52:39.1. A similar scenario to the previous frame. Ronnie in with a
:52:40. > :52:43.chance. Now, whats he well and truly forgotten about that miscue in the
:52:44. > :52:47.previous frame? That is the thing you have got to put to the back of
:52:48. > :52:55.your mind and forget about it. That is easier said than done. 7. No
:52:56. > :53:01.better player in the game than Ronnie O'Sullivan for knocking balls
:53:02. > :53:04.off of cushions during a break. Deciding when is the right time to
:53:05. > :53:06.do it. APPLAUSE
:53:07. > :53:20.He tried to flick this red out, knowing full well if he did miss it,
:53:21. > :53:25.he would be on a colour. Has he got a chance to do it again? Could he
:53:26. > :53:29.play the blue off of the top cushion and knock the red off the side and
:53:30. > :53:36.be guaranteed on the one to the right of the pink? He chose not to
:53:37. > :53:41.play it like that. I thought he could have. The angle there was.
:53:42. > :53:44.Perhaps he thought it was going to collide with the red if he hit it
:53:45. > :54:00.too hard. He had the perfect angle on the
:54:01. > :54:07.black to bring the red and the pink into play. He snookered himself on
:54:08. > :54:11.that. He is right back into the match, 1 good safety shot here, if
:54:12. > :54:14.he can get in behind the yellow and close to the cushion. Just want to
:54:15. > :54:20.hit the brown. It's safe, but it's not as he would
:54:21. > :54:35.have liked. APPLAUSE
:54:36. > :54:51.And the target now is the brown for the players with their safety shots.
:54:52. > :54:58.You know, if you get anywhere near in brown, a chance of getting the
:54:59. > :55:03.snooker behind the yellow or the brown, Mark can get through to this,
:55:04. > :55:05.and may cannon the black if he pots it. It's doesn't matter - it's all
:55:06. > :55:21.about the pot here. Well, an excellent pot, Dennis, and
:55:22. > :55:26.Mark has control of the table. You would assume... Putting a colour
:55:27. > :55:33.safe, unless he fancies the black in the middle. It's a frame-winner, but
:55:34. > :55:42.not guaranteed. You got to kick and it's gone wide. Well, I expected him
:55:43. > :55:49.to knock that in. He was cueing so well. The kick has spoiled it. Just
:55:50. > :55:54.jumped slightly and... The black went to the left. Very unfortunate
:55:55. > :56:01.there. You don't see him react very often, Mark, but he knew, if the
:56:02. > :56:07.black goes in, he is all square. He still may be, but he could have done
:56:08. > :56:12.without that heavy contact. Ronnie O'Sullivan is not in a bad position
:56:13. > :56:14.now. He's got to chance to play the first telling safety shot, and no
:56:15. > :56:26.balls are safe. Trying to use the blue or the yellow
:56:27. > :56:38.as a snookering ball... Looks to have poked its nose out. Perhaps it
:56:39. > :56:53.hasn't. No. And now... Mark Williams needs a nice slice of luck.
:56:54. > :57:02.Couldn't have asked for better. APPLAUSE
:57:03. > :57:15.Tell you what, Mark Williams and his preintru, he said he may have six
:57:16. > :57:19.people on his side in this arena. He is getting a terrific reception from
:57:20. > :57:27.the crowd. Has he got away with it. LAUGHTER
:57:28. > :57:32.Mark Williams... Should be able to play an easy snooker behind the
:57:33. > :57:37.black, putting cue ball far side of the black... Don't think there's
:57:38. > :57:44.anything else other than a very risky double. He has under hit it.
:57:45. > :57:51.That's an awful shot, at this level. I think they stuck it up. Oh, it's
:57:52. > :57:58.terrible. I don't know about stuck up, he is having to play left-handed
:57:59. > :58:04.but he is so good. Can he see enough of it? I don't think he can. A
:58:05. > :58:15.massive mistake by Mark Williams, not to have guaranteed what was a
:58:16. > :58:18.very easy snooker. If he does go 3-1 behind at the interval, it was down
:58:19. > :58:31.to that shot. He's had a bit of banter with the
:58:32. > :58:37.crowd, and the crowd has taken in the Welshman here. This is a pretty
:58:38. > :58:42.good result. If it pulls up, or hits the brown...
:58:43. > :58:49.Well, Mark Williams has got a chance to, perhaps, get that brown a bit
:58:50. > :59:01.closer to the cushion, which makes the clearances harder.
:59:02. > :59:06.Oh, it went! APPLAUSE
:59:07. > :59:20.Well, nowadays, we keep talk about Neil Robertson being the greatest
:59:21. > :59:27.potter the game has ever seen. Mark Williams is right up there. He is
:59:28. > :59:31.definitely one of the best potters the game has ever seen, this
:59:32. > :59:41.Welshman. Doesn't matter about missing that.
:59:42. > :59:45.Mark Williams the happier of the 2 blairs. He is off and we are all
:59:46. > :00:17.square at two frames all. He butchered that 1. And he got the
:00:18. > :00:20.pink and black out, certainly the black, awful out come from Mark
:00:21. > :00:24.Williams's perspective, from something that looked like it was a
:00:25. > :00:30.reasonable chance, with not too much danger.
:00:31. > :00:35.And now, Ronnie O'Sullivan needs to flick the switch, move through the
:00:36. > :00:42.gears... Didn't want to be collided with that red. If any player can go
:00:43. > :00:46.from zero to hero, it's Ronnie O'Sullivan.
:00:47. > :00:51.And usually, it doesn't take him very long to do it. This is
:00:52. > :00:59.fascinating to see how this frame is going to pan out.
:01:00. > :01:08.He's got another, what - maybe 3, four reds available to him.
:01:09. > :01:16.So let's see if he's got that focus back again and can he start playing
:01:17. > :01:22.the way he started the match? APPLAUSE
:01:23. > :01:53.Nicely recovered. Beautifully controlled. Didn't give
:01:54. > :01:58.it everything in the back spin department. Kept that cue ball in
:01:59. > :02:09.the middle of the table, that's the art of smashing into the pack. He
:02:10. > :02:14.was on All Blacks there, when he opened the reds up, there was ever
:02:15. > :02:19.chance he could have stayed on the reds, but he had to go for a baulk
:02:20. > :02:22.colour, because of where he finished up. It's a massive frame - he has to
:02:23. > :02:46.win this frame, Ronnie. And all of a sudden, normal service
:02:47. > :02:50.looks to have been been resumed, striking the ball beautifully. One
:02:51. > :02:56.of his great strengths, the ability to reel off frames very quickly. How
:02:57. > :03:04.well did he strike that, left-handed? He had to play with the
:03:05. > :03:09.top spin. Forcing top spin on the left-hand side, with the opposite
:03:10. > :03:19.hand. That was special. He made it look so easy. No reason now why he
:03:20. > :03:23.can't go on to secure the frame. But we're seeing what happened on a
:03:24. > :03:29.black earlier on, when he jumped over. This shot here, loads of top
:03:30. > :03:34.spin, loads of left-hand side, played to perfection. We don't
:03:35. > :03:40.usually think of Ronnie O'Sullivan in terms of having to fight his way
:03:41. > :03:46.back into a match, because he makes it look so easy. He is digging deep
:03:47. > :03:58.here and showing great character. And the range of shots is just
:03:59. > :04:02.wonderful, but... He hasn't come to this event just for a bit of match
:04:03. > :04:06.practice. When Ronnie O'Sullivan turns up for an event like this,
:04:07. > :04:07.he's come to win. So he would have put the preparation in.
:04:08. > :04:23.APPLAUSE What a recovery that was, he played
:04:24. > :04:27.a pretty poor shot to leave himself straight on the red, and to knock it
:04:28. > :05:02.in on that pace, off the back of the cushion, was quite something.
:05:03. > :05:09.Frame well and truly safe now. He's already made 802 century breaks.
:05:10. > :05:25.That is quite astonishing. And it hasn't taken him very long to
:05:26. > :05:46.knock these in. No rest there. I can tell you, the
:05:47. > :05:55.way he's taken this. , Possible 139 on, I assume he may play it as a
:05:56. > :06:04.137. I think the highest break is still 137. There's ?10,000 for the
:06:05. > :06:09.highest break price. I don't think he would think that 137 would end up
:06:10. > :06:14.winning the highest break. It's irrelevant now.
:06:15. > :06:26.That may be the end of break, but with what a fabulous century.
:06:27. > :06:36.4-2 behind, how does he respond? He had one chance and he made a century
:06:37. > :06:40.break. But he #12i8 trails to Mark Williams. -- he still trails to Mark
:06:41. > :07:07.Williams. He sent the red over the corner
:07:08. > :07:10.pocket. Not good. Got a good cue ball, but didn't think he would
:07:11. > :07:19.double the red over the corner, but he did. Oh, a bit unlucky. He tried
:07:20. > :07:25.some exhibition time shot there, with a lot of top spin. So lively.
:07:26. > :07:30.He played top spin, and hoping to stay on the black and it just kept
:07:31. > :07:36.on creeping towards. This is thin - surely he can't cut that in.
:07:37. > :07:43.Boy, this is some shot he is taking on here, I can tell you. Look at the
:07:44. > :07:55.angle from there. He's got it! What a shot!
:07:56. > :08:02.What a cutback that was. He's a bit unfortunate, but the looks of
:08:03. > :08:06.things, but dear me... They unfortunate, but the looks of
:08:07. > :08:26.come any thinner than that. You can't see enough of that, you
:08:27. > :08:31.need to get a bit of side on it. How unfortunate was that, once he pulled
:08:32. > :08:32.off that unbelievable cut back, very unfortunate not to drop nicely on a
:08:33. > :09:04.red. No nowhere to play safe. Has he picked out an area to make it
:09:05. > :09:14.difficult for Ronnie O'Sullivan? I think he has. So it's not colour
:09:15. > :09:18.cut. -- clear cut. May have looked reckless from Mark Williams but
:09:19. > :09:23.that's one of his greatest strengths, being able to work out an
:09:24. > :09:24.aggressive shot to nothing. Obviouslies, his reds goes. It's not
:09:25. > :09:40.as clear-cut a chance. How well did he strick that, though?
:09:41. > :09:45.Perfect, and he's got an angle to stun now between the bloun and in
:09:46. > :09:49.yellow. -- between the brown and the yellow. And after that century break
:09:50. > :09:51.in the previous frame, an early chance. What is in store for us
:09:52. > :10:06.here? The black is in the open, the pink
:10:07. > :10:14.is out of commission, but that won't concern Ronnie at this stage.
:10:15. > :10:26.Red, blue, and enough of the reds that are close to the black.
:10:27. > :10:34.He's got all the choices of reds, but I think if he can get to the
:10:35. > :10:39.ones near in black, it could help. He's going to leave that for the
:10:40. > :10:46.time being. This 1 here would have to clear the pink. Ask and still get
:10:47. > :10:49.through in the black, but removing that has opened the pink up somewhat
:10:50. > :11:11.also. Previous frame lasted just over 7
:11:12. > :11:45.minutes. How long is this one going to last?
:11:46. > :11:49.I think that kicked slightly. It's took a little bit of pace out of the
:11:50. > :11:59.cue ball there. Finished dead straight on the blue,
:12:00. > :12:05.because of that contact. Just see the red jumping bus still OK.
:12:06. > :12:24.And I mentioned, was having a chat with Mark Williams, he was saying
:12:25. > :12:27.how well is Ronnie hitting the ball. Not often you hear someone talk
:12:28. > :12:31.about their opponent, but the way he strikes the ball, fantastic. I think
:12:32. > :13:04.the main burners are being ignited here.
:13:05. > :13:09.Always risky when you're having to play cannons, but he had to do that
:13:10. > :13:11.time and it hasn't worked out for him. Needed a few more pots to
:13:12. > :13:18.secure the frame with 1 visit. A quick-fire 60 break but he's not
:13:19. > :13:43.over the line yet. Well that's unfortunate. He may be
:13:44. > :13:47.forced into taking a very difficult green now. Without the jaw of the in
:13:48. > :13:52.the middle pocket, he would have been a lot nicer on the colour, but
:13:53. > :14:02.because he's behind by so many, he's got to take this on. Great shot. I
:14:03. > :14:07.say a great shot, he's come up a bit short. But he put everything
:14:08. > :14:12.national into the pot there. -- into the pot there.
:14:13. > :14:17.But that black he cut in, that's one of the best shots iefr seen for a
:14:18. > :14:27.long time. I think that Ronnie O'Sullivan can
:14:28. > :14:53.get to this. Mark Williams took a risk trying to
:14:54. > :14:59.cut that red in. He could have played a nailed on safety shot.
:15:00. > :15:39.Kept the frame on the boil, but it's all over now.
:15:40. > :15:44.So it's amazing two frames behind in a matter of some 14 minutes he is
:15:45. > :16:02.all square. Got a bit of a kick on that, but he
:16:03. > :16:08.wasn't really concentrating on that. It was a magnificent effort. 60, but
:16:09. > :16:12.Mark Williams was very unfortunate, when he cut that back, that Ronnie
:16:13. > :16:27.O'Sullivan is back. It's four frames all.
:16:28. > :16:32.Yeah, a great buzz around the crowd again, after those two frames from
:16:33. > :16:39.Ronnie O'Sullivan. APPLAUSE
:16:40. > :16:48.They have been very stair, the crowd. Mark Williams has had a
:16:49. > :16:57.terrific reception also, with some of the snooker he's produced.
:16:58. > :17:01.Well, acknowledged by a tap on the table there, from Ronnie, for that
:17:02. > :17:08.great shot. Well, acknowledged by a tap on the
:17:09. > :17:09.table there, from Ronnie, for that great shot. A double-kiss. Oh, he's
:17:10. > :17:19.got away with it. Once he got that double kicks I
:17:20. > :17:27.think that Ronnie thought he would have left quite a few on. A little
:17:28. > :17:31.smile from Mark. We keep telling you how laid-back he is, this Welshman.
:17:32. > :17:35.Have a look at this. He's taking a selfie. That gentleman shouldn't be
:17:36. > :17:46.allowed to have that, but it shows you what Mark Williams is like.
:17:47. > :17:52.Imagine coming up and asking you for a selfie, steef, if it had been
:17:53. > :18:13.around in your Even the brickphone was not invented
:18:14. > :18:21.there, was it? What has he spotted here? Can it a plant, can he make it
:18:22. > :18:24.into a plant? No, he made it not into a plant. It was a plant until
:18:25. > :18:36.he overcooked it. He had it forward. It was just like
:18:37. > :18:39.a squeeze effect when you hit the first ball.
:18:40. > :19:13.Never easy. He didn't get on the red as he intended and difficult to
:19:14. > :19:15.judge when you're screwing back, hitting other reds. He overcooked
:19:16. > :19:29.that. Puts the match on the cue ball
:19:30. > :19:32.there. Once again, Mark Williams forced to play a thin escape,
:19:33. > :19:36.shouldn't be too difficult. Not that thin.
:19:37. > :19:45.Oh, he missed it completely. He missed a couple up and down the
:19:46. > :19:55.table, hasn't he? A lot of shots he played well, but... Yeah, Colin-up
:19:56. > :19:58.Fridays asking him to get the screen up, just to show him exactly where
:19:59. > :20:21.the cue ball was. Can he just catch the edge of the
:20:22. > :21:08.red this Oh, Ronnie O'Sullivan seems to have
:21:09. > :21:11.cut off paths back to the baulk area for Mark Williams, so what can Mark
:21:12. > :21:26.work out? To the top cushion? Yeah, I tend to say the top cushion,
:21:27. > :21:30.which it is on the snooker table. For people watching at home, it
:21:31. > :21:33.there's bottom cushion on the screen. I would say it's the cushion
:21:34. > :21:53.behind the black spot. And yeah. So what should we call it? The top
:21:54. > :22:00.cushion, the bottom cushion or the kuks behind the black? The black
:22:01. > :22:03.cushion and the baulk cushion. Let's make a committed decision. That's
:22:04. > :22:14.the baulk cushion. He can see enough of this.
:22:15. > :22:22.Not an easier starter for Ronnie. If he's got a slight angle, he can get
:22:23. > :22:26.on the black. He's just off straight. Not easy, this.
:22:27. > :22:33.APPLAUSE One good pot here and a cannon, and
:22:34. > :22:45.he's right in business again. So here we go. Ronnie is in first
:22:46. > :22:47.again. And he made breaks of 60 and 104 in the fro previous frames. That
:22:48. > :23:12.was a superb opening red. He started off this match looking in
:23:13. > :23:16.fine form. And as things are currently, it looks like he'll
:23:17. > :23:18.finish in fine form. You never know if there's another twist in the tail
:23:19. > :23:44.though. Just a tricky little spotting
:23:45. > :23:53.process. Colin hom Fridays, one of the top referees now. -- Humphries,
:23:54. > :24:02.one of the top referees now. Another cannon needed.
:24:03. > :24:16.Could have worked out better. A bit closer than he would have liked this
:24:17. > :24:25.red. Made it look very easy. Easy to jab at those ones.
:24:26. > :24:36.Looks like Ronnie O'Sullivan is going to get over the line here.
:24:37. > :24:41.Interesting to see how Mark Williams will perform on the back foot.
:24:42. > :24:46.Well, I suppose you can only perform if you get a chance. He is not
:24:47. > :25:00.getting any chances in these frames. OK, Ronnie didn't clinch the last
:25:01. > :25:05.frame with a break of 60 but he paved the way for it. But Mark has
:25:06. > :25:10.had preciousment to go at. He had the cutback the boys were talking
:25:11. > :25:16.about. And a fantastic cutback and unlucky not to drop on a red, but
:25:17. > :25:20.this is not far from being over this frame, just one more good shot. He
:25:21. > :25:25.hasn't played that too well. He's gotting to careful with the reds he
:25:26. > :25:30.is leaning over, a bait of a distraction. If he cannons his red,
:25:31. > :25:34.he's OK. If he drops in behind it, he is not OK. Just can get to the
:25:35. > :26:34.potting angle. Moving that devil red, so, although
:26:35. > :26:46.the frame is safe, he set the target of a possible 1000 century breaks in
:26:47. > :26:48.his career. He is 10097 -- 10097 shot of that. He is a delight to
:26:49. > :27:10.watch, he Great so see him back and playing
:27:11. > :27:15.like this, Mr UK and the champion of champions. He could have defended
:27:16. > :27:18.both of those titles but chose not to. He is back at his brilliant best
:27:19. > :27:31.here. We've had five centuries so far in
:27:32. > :27:51.this year's Masters. It's a... Four century breaks for Ronnie
:27:52. > :28:01.O'Sullivan. And look at an exhibition shot to
:28:02. > :28:10.finish it off here. This crowd enjoying every minute of
:28:11. > :28:25.this. Mark Williams has got something to
:28:26. > :28:42.think about. He can't get to the table.
:28:43. > :28:47.Who is going to be picking that little beauty up, next Sunday
:28:48. > :29:05.evening? That's the big question. Well, he's got a chance. It was a
:29:06. > :29:09.similar type shot that the one that Mark missed the other side of the
:29:10. > :29:18.table, in the previous frame. Now, what can the Welshman produce here?
:29:19. > :29:25.Carrot wants to see a deciding frame. I think that everyone would
:29:26. > :29:30.love to see that, but I don't think that Ronnie O'Sullivan would like a
:29:31. > :29:32.last frame. He wouldn't mind it, but he would rather get it over with in
:29:33. > :29:53.his frame. Those two reds close to the back
:29:54. > :30:01.have got to be sorted out. He could easy go wrong if they cannons on
:30:02. > :30:06.those. That goes the outside red, which is very handy.
:30:07. > :30:13.And a nice little settler to the start of this frame, for Mark
:30:14. > :30:23.Williams. He hasn't had much table time, so the way this is turned out,
:30:24. > :30:28.just getting his arm going... Going.... At some stage, he has to
:30:29. > :30:34.go into the pack. But he'll have a nice lead.
:30:35. > :30:43.This is his fourth black coming up, as you can see there.
:30:44. > :30:49.I think he can run through for the black again. Looking at that angle,
:30:50. > :31:03.just about. Getting a little bit more difficult
:31:04. > :31:05.now. The red goes through the gap near the pink... Tries to go into
:31:06. > :31:16.them. Not ideal cueing. He left a path for
:31:17. > :31:23.the blue this time, he'll quickly forget about all the blacks. It's
:31:24. > :31:30.handy - he could get his cue quite low there, saw a gap. He's a little
:31:31. > :31:35.bit underpaced, but he should be able to control that ball for the
:31:36. > :31:43.loose red. A bit short as well, but just about got there.
:31:44. > :31:51.He's an amazing player, Mark Williams, he really is. And this
:31:52. > :31:58.temperament is superb, as we mentioned a few times. He is the
:31:59. > :32:06.sort of player who can come out of the arena, he could have won the
:32:07. > :32:10.match six-0, or lost the match 6-0, and his expression would be the
:32:11. > :32:19.same. Is that a plant? That's massive, if it is.
:32:20. > :32:38.Well, that's so unfortunate, because the white has come back, no distance
:32:39. > :32:44.at all. And I don't think he can get to that plant that you mentioned
:32:45. > :32:50.there, Steve. Not certain. Yeah, he could squeeze it away from the
:32:51. > :32:54.pocket. But anyway... He was playing the 3-ball plant. There's a gap
:32:55. > :33:10.between those two reds, but it's risky to play it now.
:33:11. > :33:21.He can't really get a ball safe here. Can he just see enough off
:33:22. > :33:27.that? Possibliy. -- I don't think the plant is on. You have to play at
:33:28. > :33:32.a 3-ball plant. You can't play it if you can't see it. I think it'll
:33:33. > :33:36.squeeze away from the pocket. Perhaps he was playing the red all
:33:37. > :33:38.along. It wasn't just the plant. But it felt like he was playing for a
:33:39. > :33:43.plant. APPLAUSE
:33:44. > :33:50.Well, Mark Williams is now going to be forced, I think, to go up and
:33:51. > :33:52.down the table off the top cushion and try to thin snick one of those
:33:53. > :34:27.three reds in a line. Now he pushed one over in pocket and
:34:28. > :34:29.he hasn't covered it. One good positional shot here and we could
:34:30. > :34:42.have a deciding frame. He played the shot with loads of
:34:43. > :35:02.drag and bottom. He was walking. He thought he got it.
:35:03. > :35:10.Oh, well, if Ronnie O'Sullivan gets on the baulk colour easily there, he
:35:11. > :35:16.is favourite in the frame to win the match. Now what? Green is hard. A
:35:17. > :35:27.red begging to be pocketed though. How well has he done that. He made
:35:28. > :35:28.that look so easy, with the ball so close together, they are so
:35:29. > :35:43.difficult. Well, there's not a ball safe on the
:35:44. > :35:51.table. And that missed red from Mark Williams could be so costly.
:35:52. > :36:01.It looked almost a certainty to pot this he played it with lots of
:36:02. > :36:06.bottom, thought he potted it, and all of
:36:07. > :36:13.There's usually no better player in the game than a counterattacking
:36:14. > :36:27.part of Ronnie O'Sullivan's armory. The referee just wagging his finger
:36:28. > :36:30.at a spectator there. Got nearly 2,000 people in here, have been
:36:31. > :36:36.fantastic. They have had an absolutely superb match to watch.
:36:37. > :36:50.Just a little bit of work to be done with those three reds.
:36:51. > :37:03.And it's gone deathly quiet now at the Ally Pally.
:37:04. > :37:10.Can't do anything about it. You got to sit and watch and hope that
:37:11. > :37:23.something goes wrong for your opponent, the way he's played in the
:37:24. > :37:44.3 previous breaks, breaks of 104, 14, 117...
:37:45. > :37:50.He's underscrewed that. Just left himself the wrong side of the blue,
:37:51. > :38:07.so having to take the pink. Well, what sort of a cannon has he
:38:08. > :38:14.got here? It's not perfect, it's a little bit in between. 1 more good
:38:15. > :38:22.shot needed here. It's not there! It's not over just yet.
:38:23. > :38:31.It should have been, but he went slightly out of position there.
:38:32. > :38:37.Well, he knocked it in, he would have liked it a bit further away
:38:38. > :38:47.from the cushion than this. What a pressure pot this will be.
:38:48. > :38:52.One good screwback now, has he got more of an angle, perhaps... Yeah,
:38:53. > :39:08.one good screwback. Well, it looked like it was all
:39:09. > :39:12.over. What twists and turns we've had in this frame, Mark missed that
:39:13. > :39:17.sitter of a red, Ronnie looked like he was going to clean up, and clink
:39:18. > :39:25.the match... But we could have a decider. Ch the match... But we
:39:26. > :39:47.could have a decider. John Parrot gets his wish.
:39:48. > :39:57.Absolutely fantastic from Mark Williams.
:39:58. > :40:05.The are all square. Who is going to go through to the next round? That's
:40:06. > :40:06.the big question. We've got a deciding frame. It's five frames
:40:07. > :40:38.all. Oh, he's done that for the second
:40:39. > :40:42.time. The break off shot catching the blue, but at least it's not
:40:43. > :40:46.going to be costly. The black is not available. There's a possible pot.
:40:47. > :40:54.Just hitting it too thin. A big shot to take on. Especially if he's got
:40:55. > :40:57.to use his extension to pot the red and screwback there a baulk colour.
:40:58. > :41:24.Maybe, it's a bit of a stretch. That red is dead straight, I think,
:41:25. > :41:26.so Ronnie just turning it down. It's going to be available at any time.
:41:27. > :41:39.He's got to get a good cue ball. Well, he left that red that you
:41:40. > :41:41.mention, and there's a path around the back of the black. Mark Williams
:41:42. > :41:54.will take it on, that's for sure. But tensions rising. And he's got
:41:55. > :42:01.away with it. The red is going to run safe. Welcome to the twilight
:42:02. > :42:07.zone! Nothing like a twitching last frame. This is pottable, but it's
:42:08. > :42:08.got to be some sort of shot to get on any colour at all. Not worth
:42:09. > :42:20.playing, really. This is time for a clear mind...
:42:21. > :42:23.Surely this doublt cut in. Surely it's a safety shot. Is he playing
:42:24. > :42:42.the cut? It's off the cushion. It's going to be hard to make a spot
:42:43. > :42:49.off the blue. What sort of power can he generate here? Oh, he threw
:42:50. > :43:07.everything into it. What a great shot, what a great shot that was!
:43:08. > :43:12.Well, twoe incredible -- two incredible screwbacks from Mark
:43:13. > :43:18.Williams. He's got the pink into play. What superb cue power. The
:43:19. > :43:22.sort of stuff we usually see Judd Trump or Neil Robertson pray. He got
:43:23. > :43:30.the pink into play and this is a chance.
:43:31. > :43:38.That's still, he looks as cool as a cucumber out there, but inside,
:43:39. > :43:39.there's going to be a little bit of tension and a few butterflies
:43:40. > :43:53.fluttering around. We mentioned earlier, the last time
:43:54. > :44:00.they met, these players, 2014, the quarterfinal of the International
:44:01. > :44:05.Championship, mark won six-five. He played for the blue, but he's given
:44:06. > :44:11.himself a chance, should he want to, the open the pack up. He is betwixt
:44:12. > :44:17.and between thinking about whether he wants to open the pack. Winning
:44:18. > :44:22.softly, he didn't go in hard enough. He should have committed more. Does
:44:23. > :44:27.it go in the middle though? If he does, and he might get on the pink,
:44:28. > :44:40.he might be OK. Perhaps he knew that.
:44:41. > :44:48.You can see the look on his face. He is fired up, completely fired up.
:44:49. > :44:56.He's got to be careful with this one. Which he was. But he let the
:44:57. > :44:57.white ball run away. It's cuttable, this red, but no control on the cue
:44:58. > :45:13.ball. He doesn't want to just cannon into
:45:14. > :45:17.the red that's near the cushion there. That's what he's looking at.
:45:18. > :45:22.If he just hits that the wrong way, he won't finish on anything. It's
:45:23. > :45:30.hard to avoid that. It's a natural cannon. And he managed to get
:45:31. > :45:34.appeared the back of it. But he doesn't want to be straight on the
:45:35. > :45:36.blue. He needs a bit of angle and I think he's got it, to get up to the
:45:37. > :45:53.reds. Nope. Trying to cannon the pink. And
:45:54. > :46:00.the reds there. I said that Mark was as cool as a cucumber, this wife is
:46:01. > :46:05.here with him, and she won't be as cool as a cucumber. A delightful
:46:06. > :46:19.lady, and their three boys are at home, and they'll be watching this.
:46:20. > :46:22.It's a superbly controlled safety shot, although Ronnie has a path
:46:23. > :46:41.back down the table, between blue and brown.
:46:42. > :46:47.We did manage to find Joe, that is her in the audience. She will be so
:46:48. > :47:16.nervous. She's a lovely lady. Ronnie be happy to, I assume, get
:47:17. > :47:24.the red away from the black. Screw to the top cushion. Has he got the
:47:25. > :47:33.snooker. He is very quickly there to see... So Mark Williams could be
:47:34. > :47:39.argued, he asked for that. Perhaps he saw he had no other chance of
:47:40. > :47:47.safety, so... There was a clever shot. No easy
:47:48. > :47:54.escape to come out of and land on the reds. You would leave one on. He
:47:55. > :47:55.is going to swerve it a bit. Just to catch the edge of the red. Where
:47:56. > :48:06.does he put this? Well, he must have been in severe
:48:07. > :48:13.trouble to have to risk that type of shot. Great strike.
:48:14. > :48:19.He's on the green, is he? What a superb strike that was. Didn't look
:48:20. > :48:34.much, but off the cushion. Oh, he's not sure he can get to it.
:48:35. > :48:39.It's just the roll-up. A small reprieve for Mark Williams, because
:48:40. > :48:40.Mark can probably... Find a away into the pack to keep things
:48:41. > :48:53.contained. Yes, straightforward to get into the
:48:54. > :48:59.pack though, there's a couple of reds he could leave on.
:49:00. > :49:08.Coming off a couple of cushions, rather than directly into them. And
:49:09. > :49:16.that, is that hard enough? Yep, plenty of pace but he could still
:49:17. > :49:17.push it on. He might have, that wasn't a straightforward escape for
:49:18. > :49:48.Mark Williams there. I thought it was in, but all of a
:49:49. > :49:54.sudden it catches the right jaw. If he had been further out to the left
:49:55. > :50:00.of pocket, it would have gunpointed it. The near jaw is the one you
:50:01. > :50:05.don't want to hit. Especially on the match tables. Perhaps on a club
:50:06. > :50:23.table they would slide in. Advantage Mark Williams, but not much.
:50:24. > :50:31.I liked that shot a lot. Quite clever from Ronnie O'Sullivan. He is
:50:32. > :50:35.27 behind. He didn't want to use the back end of the black as a safety
:50:36. > :50:41.zone. He wants to get the game back to normality and he picked out a
:50:42. > :50:47.very good shot there, he really did. Mark Williams is obviously see the
:50:48. > :50:48.left-hand side of the pack, but what he's frightened of doing, opening up
:50:49. > :50:56.the reds. He does need to get the cue ball
:50:57. > :51:01.bang on the baulk cushion if he's going to play back down the table.
:51:02. > :51:07.He's having a quick look at the top of the table, to see where it's
:51:08. > :51:11.safe. You see there's all sorts of shots available to him. Such a
:51:12. > :51:16.clever shot he pick out there, Ronnie. It really was.
:51:17. > :51:23.Not sure if Mark Williams is considering playing a very slow half
:51:24. > :51:26.ball, or thin snick, to keep it onto the top cushion. He is studying up,
:51:27. > :51:42.perhaps he disregarded that. No it's a weird plant to be even
:51:43. > :51:48.considering. I think he's got to play a half ball safety and hope it
:51:49. > :51:52.doesn't open the reds up. I can't see any other shot. The cue ball is
:51:53. > :51:59.going to come down to roughly behind the yellow, and he's got to hope the
:52:00. > :52:05.balls don't go into a pottable position. But it's like a risk, he
:52:06. > :52:11.is umming up a risk. Not the 3-ball plant, the weird plant. The weird
:52:12. > :52:15.plant would have to be, the knock the red onto the cushion to make a
:52:16. > :52:21.plant. He can't see an easy safety shot. Surely not, surely not! He is
:52:22. > :52:32.turning it down! That's what Jo thinks of the plant!
:52:33. > :52:38., that was definitely the wrong choice. They thought long and hard,
:52:39. > :52:47.and boy, what a shot he tack on there -- he took on there.
:52:48. > :52:57.Well... It was always pushing to the top cushion.
:52:58. > :53:04.Surely the safety shot would have been a better option. Well, he knew
:53:05. > :53:11.if he pulled that tough plant off, he could have won the match.
:53:12. > :53:21.Now can Ronnie O'Sullivan... Pull himself together. Somebody's phone
:53:22. > :53:26.has got on. It's been terrific all afternoon and someone has forgot to
:53:27. > :53:27.turn the phone off. UMPIRE: Can somebody turn the phone
:53:28. > :53:38.off, please? Yeah, just going to say, if Ronnie
:53:39. > :53:38.O'Sullivan can keep himself together here...
:53:39. > :53:49.APPLAUSE It seems a strange thing to say,
:53:50. > :53:54.with a player like Ronnie O'Sullivan and all that he's won in the game,
:53:55. > :53:59.and even the greatest player of the game suffers from a little bit of
:54:00. > :54:10.pressure at times. He may well need the last red on the side cushion.
:54:11. > :54:28.Everyone wag looking forward to this match. They were looking forward to
:54:29. > :54:33.Ronnie O'Sullivan coming back after they eight-month lay-off. I didn't
:54:34. > :54:41.think we were going to get a fabulous match like this. It really
:54:42. > :54:44.has been very special. And you see, little things like that cannon, he
:54:45. > :54:48.is still just about OK. But that's a bit of a stretch.
:54:49. > :55:04.Fans nationing to see how he goes about moving that difficult red that
:55:05. > :55:17.Steve mentioned. Well, he's - he can get an angle on
:55:18. > :55:22.the second-last red and flick it into play. It's as simple as it
:55:23. > :55:27.could be, really. Under the circumstances. He still has to play
:55:28. > :55:32.the shot right, but perhaps a little bit wider than he would have wanted.
:55:33. > :55:35.If he can flick the red into play, he
:55:36. > :55:41.He's got to do it from the green. Needs to pull up. He doesn't want to
:55:42. > :55:44.be straight on the green, otherwise he can't get
:55:45. > :55:59.APPLAUSE What a shot!
:56:00. > :56:06.He was almost there. On the green. And he forced it over to knock the
:56:07. > :56:15.red out. That was a fabulous shot. So Mark Williams thought long and
:56:16. > :56:23.hard about that plant that he took on.
:56:24. > :56:29.And the referee, has to come back up again. What a match we've had here.
:56:30. > :56:49.Mark Williams has been superb. And ron any know will play the --
:56:50. > :56:50.and Ronnie now will play the winner of Ricky Walden and Mark Selby.
:56:51. > :57:01.Doesn't matter He is deciding whether to go and
:57:02. > :57:04.shake hands. He is having a think, he is not finished quite yet. But
:57:05. > :57:41.the Rocket is into the next round. Well, the brown is heading over the
:57:42. > :57:45.coverage pocket. He needs 3 snookers at the moment. It's been three years
:57:46. > :58:04.since Mark was here at the Masters. He doesn't want to leave just yet.
:58:05. > :58:15.And now we will get the handshake. Congratulations to the Rocket. It's
:58:16. > :58:20.been a fabulous match. These 2 have put on a fantastic show this
:58:21. > :58:25.afternoon at the Alexandra Palace. In the end, Ronnie O'Sullivan is
:58:26. > :58:29.back and he takes the match six frames to five. Well done to both
:58:30. > :58:32.players. So it's the Rocket, not exactly on cruise control, who goes
:58:33. > :58:43.through the quarterfinals. Great to see him back. And we'll be back on
:58:44. > :58:48.BBC Two, tomorrow, 1 o'clock, for the pen ultimate first round match.
:58:49. > :58:52.And a debutant this year, Liang Wenbo, who made us smile and
:58:53. > :58:54.thrilled us all at the recent UK championship. What a day it's been.
:58:55. > :59:00.Bye-bye for now. Let your New Year start with a bang
:59:01. > :59:06.and visit an explosive new China.