Day 3 Masters Snooker Extra


Day 3

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Hello. At Alexandra Palace on Tuesday it was all about the return

:00:00.:00:39.

of The Rocket, the five Times Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:00:40.:00:43.

He's rebooted his ambitions and it was another relaunch of his career.

:00:44.:00:50.

After an eight-month sabatical we hadn't seen The Rocket since his

:00:51.:00:54.

quarterfinal defeat at the Crusaders last April, but he was back to face

:00:55.:00:59.

a familiar foe, Welshman Mark Williams, a two Times Masters

:01:00.:01:03.

champion was also on the comeback trail after three years away from

:01:04.:01:09.

this event. A packed arena. Absolutely chock-full to welcome

:01:10.:01:12.

these two great champions and describing it all Dennis Taylor and

:01:13.:01:18.

Steve Dennis. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. First frame, Ronnie

:01:19.:01:22.

O'Sullivan to break. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the toss and he gets

:01:23.:01:27.

this match under way. It has to be said that Mark Williams got a

:01:28.:01:30.

fantastic reception also. APPLAUSE

:01:31.:01:36.

What can The Rocket produce after that lay-off? We know what he did

:01:37.:01:48.

when he won the world championship and didn't play for a season, came

:01:49.:01:54.

back and defended - well, won the championship again. Quite

:01:55.:01:57.

incredible. He had a longer match. He had a chance to bare himself in,

:01:58.:02:01.

the best of 19. This is only the best of 11, so he's got to get out

:02:02.:02:06.

of the starting blocks as quickly as possible because he's up against a

:02:07.:02:10.

tough opponent here, Steve. Yes, I think the adrenaline will be pumping

:02:11.:02:15.

for both of them. What a fantastic at tear to perform in, in your first

:02:16.:02:18.

match. Nerves could be jingling a bit. Arguably, you would think,

:02:19.:02:29.

possibly Mark Williams would be a little bit unused to this big type

:02:30.:02:35.

of crowd. He hasn't been performing in this type of atmosphere as often

:02:36.:02:40.

as Ronnie recently. But, if anybody can handle the pressure of something

:02:41.:02:56.

lick this, Mark Williams can. -- like this, Mark Williams can. Nearly

:02:57.:02:59.

got it safe apart from the red that he missed. Y, he thought that he

:03:00.:03:03.

could take this on. If he potted it, he could get on the pink. If he

:03:04.:03:08.

missed it he might get it safe, but he hasn't. He's left it on.

:03:09.:03:18.

Not often you get a terrific round of applause for a pretty

:03:19.:03:29.

straightforward shot, but everybody is buzzing here in the AllyPally.

:03:30.:03:33.

Yeah, the crowd are certainly up for this. It is not as nice as it could

:03:34.:03:45.

have ended up. Played that yellow very well, a bit too close to the

:03:46.:03:47.

cushion for comfort. 4.

:03:48.:03:57.

APPLAUSE He has been playing quite a bit of

:03:58.:04:03.

snooker. Some shows. A few legend shows. On two occasions I have been

:04:04.:04:09.

with him and he's made maximum breaks on both occasions. That is on

:04:10.:04:11.

a club table. Well, should he have chose Tongo

:04:12.:04:20.

into the pack there, he had the perfect angle -- chosen to go into

:04:21.:04:24.

the pack there, he had the perfect angle. It would have split the reds

:04:25.:04:33.

all over the place, unusual yes. -- all over the place. Unusualy, he

:04:34.:04:37.

didn't go into the pack. Looking to open the pack from the blue. Pink

:04:38.:04:43.

probably goes into the left corner. RANSMIT Well, what a shot he's

:04:44.:05:04.

played there! APPLAUSE

:05:05.:05:06.

How many players would even have thought of playing that. Looked like

:05:07.:05:10.

he was playing into the reds. He was playing to free the pink and black.

:05:11.:05:15.

He is a bit unlucky that the black has finished so close to the

:05:16.:05:18.

cushion. But what a clever shot that was. The whole here is there might

:05:19.:05:27.

be a red at the back of that bunch that goes through. He can drop the

:05:28.:05:30.

black in without forcing it. There is. It is amazing. He can sort of

:05:31.:05:38.

create a chance just in the blink of an eye lid, Steve. The most

:05:39.:05:43.

astonishing break builder we have ever seen in the game. One of his

:05:44.:05:52.

great strengths - such a quick brain that allows him to play with such

:05:53.:05:55.

fluency. 29. Nobody plays that shot any

:05:56.:06:15.

better than Ronnie O'Sullivan. He played it perfectly. 30.

:06:16.:06:25.

It wasn't easy to get the right side of the blue there. He was a bit too

:06:26.:06:32.

close for comfort to get the topspin on, but shouldn't have any trouble

:06:33.:06:36.

going in and out of baulk. Well, those colours always get in

:06:37.:06:49.

the way. I expected him to miss the yellow, but it can happen. The white

:06:50.:06:54.

seemed to be bouncing around there and just took a slightly different

:06:55.:06:58.

angle. He's picked out a shot to nothing, though. Not bad. A decent

:06:59.:07:05.

Ronnie O'Sullivan 35. A don't safety shot. Ronnie

:07:06.:07:18.

O'Sullivan, 35. Mark Williams would have been foring the worst there,

:07:19.:07:31.

but a reprove. -- reprieve. I think he might be able to get through to

:07:32.:07:35.

the red in the left corner. I am not sure. That is pretty tight, that.

:07:36.:07:45.

He feels as if he can see enough of the red to pot it. He may have to

:07:46.:07:54.

commit totally. I don't think there is a way of playing this safe at the

:07:55.:07:57.

same time. APPLAUSE

:07:58.:08:05.

I tell you what, that was a terrific long pot. So he's in fin form. When

:08:06.:08:13.

you are knock this type of shot in, you know you are cueing well. And

:08:14.:08:22.

rumour on the grapevine is in practice Ronnie O'Sullivan has been

:08:23.:08:30.

flying. He made an astonishing amount of century breaks in the

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championship league recently. A tournament played behind closed

:08:36.:08:36.

doors, but still competitive. He hit the 12 beautifully. A little

:08:37.:09:05.

bit underpaced, but... Not happy. The green is missable, but... He

:09:06.:09:09.

strokes it in. APPLAUSE

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20. Yeah, one of the big secrets of the game of snooker is being able to

:09:18.:09:24.

take your practice game onto the match table and it is not every

:09:25.:09:29.

player that can do that, but this is certainly one of them. He plays the

:09:30.:09:37.

game as if he was in his club practising. Having said that, he

:09:38.:09:43.

just ran slightly out of position. A bit unlucky with the cannon there.

:09:44.:09:52.

Yeah. He only needs one more red to leave Mark needing a snooker. So he

:09:53.:09:58.

will have to wait for another chance. Ronnie O'Sullivan with a

:09:59.:09:59.

cannon there. APPLAUSE

:10:00.:10:10.

Yeah, you could play this another 10 times and you would finish perfectly

:10:11.:10:16.

on a red. APPLAUSE

:10:17.:10:18.

A Mark Williams special! A bit of a problem, he can't get

:10:19.:10:29.

through to the blue, I don't think. He needs a colour, otherwise he will

:10:30.:10:33.

need a snooker. That is a bit unfortunate after that terrific pot.

:10:34.:10:37.

If he had been able to see the blue, he had a chance here. He might be

:10:38.:10:42.

committed to swerving this very fractional swerve. I don't think the

:10:43.:10:46.

roll-up is any good the him behind the green or brown.

:10:47.:11:03.

It is a judgement shot. He hasn't had much table time. It is very

:11:04.:11:07.

tough to get this right. Didn't take the swerve. It was very,

:11:08.:11:19.

very tough to judge that, but he had to pot the blue otherwise he was

:11:20.:11:24.

going the need a snooker and he does need a snooker at the moment.

:11:25.:11:26.

APPLAUSE Even that type of shot he was close

:11:27.:11:38.

to the cushion and he made it look ridiculously easy. So he is sending

:11:39.:11:45.

an early message to Mark Williams. 8.

:11:46.:11:54.

All Mark has done is pot an red and been unlucky not to drop on the

:11:55.:12:02.

blue. He hasn't had a chance really. I think Mark would have expected

:12:03.:12:06.

Ronnie to be playing sharp, coming into this. He would have proposed

:12:07.:12:12.

properly, Ronnie, but obviously Mark would have hoped that he wasn't

:12:13.:12:16.

firing straightaway. APPLAUSE

:12:17.:12:16.

70. Doesn't matter about the brown. A

:12:17.:12:33.

fabulous start for Ronnie O'Sullivan. He takes that opening

:12:34.:12:39.

frame quit comfortably and he leads Mark Williams by one frame to nil.

:12:40.:12:40.

APPLAUSE I would say that Ronnie O'Sullivan

:12:41.:13:11.

is a more dangerous snooker player here than the world championship. I

:13:12.:13:16.

know he's won this five times, but one table set-up right from the off,

:13:17.:13:21.

he might be happy with the safety there.

:13:22.:13:30.

He has got an easy red, but where will the angle come from? Naturally

:13:31.:13:35.

it will go to the reds and pinks. He could do with finding a gap the

:13:36.:13:39.

possibly get through for the blue, but keep an eye on the cue ball

:13:40.:13:43.

here. Hard, yeah. The harder he hits this, Dennis, the more it will stay

:13:44.:13:48.

in the pack, so he has got to hit it relatively soft. It still went into

:13:49.:13:51.

the pack. That was like a trap he couldn't get out of. That was very

:13:52.:13:55.

difficult, that. He would probably nominate the green, I would think.

:13:56.:14:06.

Any colour, he's got to hit it because a miss will be called. If he

:14:07.:14:11.

was to hit a ball colour, full ball, he would leave this red for the

:14:12.:14:15.

right corner. There is no colour available, so it wouldn't be all

:14:16.:14:21.

that bad. Wouldn't be so bad leaving Ronnie a sort of shot from the

:14:22.:14:24.

left-hand side of the table at that red, but he wouldn't necessarily

:14:25.:14:29.

want to leave him down in the green pocket area, otherwise perhaps

:14:30.:14:32.

Ronnie could get back down the table from putting it. The reason I

:14:33.:14:38.

mentioned green, it is the easiest angle to escape from the snooker but

:14:39.:14:42.

he knows he could leave that red. That is why he is taking longer on

:14:43.:14:46.

the shot here. He might have to have a couple of goes on this, if he is

:14:47.:14:50.

going to choose more than one cushion.

:14:51.:14:59.

He could try to catch the back side of the blue somehow. Yellow ball.

:15:00.:15:11.

Three cushions for the yellow. That is a pretty good effort. I tell you

:15:12.:15:15.

what, what a great shot! Great shot! CHEERING

:15:16.:15:27.

What an escape that was. Hitting the yellow on the edge meant he covered

:15:28.:15:33.

that with the blue, the one to the right.

:15:34.:15:38.

He needs to contain Ronnie at the moment.

:15:39.:15:40.

APPLAUSE This would be a nice ball to knock

:15:41.:15:57.

in for Mark Williams. Confidence builder if he should get it in.

:15:58.:16:08.

1. Now, the kiss on the red there, he's left himself the wrong side of

:16:09.:16:20.

the blue. If he hadn't can phoned that he would have been on the blue

:16:21.:16:23.

for the opposite middle pocket and had the correct angle. Having to

:16:24.:16:31.

power it Arn the table. Reel -- Around the table. Really, he might

:16:32.:16:36.

be snookered when the blue goes back onto its spot. A bit unlucky there.

:16:37.:16:40.

He was just a little bit too close to the blue to get the power on. I

:16:41.:16:46.

think perhaps if you asked him again he might have rolled through and

:16:47.:16:47.

left himself a longer reds. A bit short of pace. Can it sneak

:16:48.:17:01.

behind the green? No. That may be second best if it is awkward cueing

:17:02.:17:02.

for Ronnie. There is no easy safety shot because

:17:03.:17:30.

he is bringing over the green if he comes off the red. He has got to be

:17:31.:17:35.

accurate. He could get back down the table but that is awkward. Yeah.

:17:36.:17:38.

Just caught it too thin. You can do that when you are striking over a

:17:39.:17:45.

ball. Well, Mark Williams got a bit lucky there. He forced an error from

:17:46.:17:52.

Ronnie. That locks tight. He's got a red into the right corner, but I am

:17:53.:17:57.

not sure that he can reach, even though he is left handed.

:17:58.:18:02.

So, that is a tough shot at the best of times to get position on a

:18:03.:18:10.

colour. So whilst Ronnie has made a mistake there, he also may have got

:18:11.:18:12.

away with it. It is so easy to get a little bit of

:18:13.:18:24.

unwanted side on and that is why he hit it too thin. He just couldn't

:18:25.:18:34.

get himself out He had no shot. That was about the

:18:35.:18:43.

best he could do. You have got the take the pot on here, really. In

:18:44.:18:48.

this day and age, you don't get many chances. Doesn't have to play a pot,

:18:49.:18:56.

but the yellow locks inviting. -- looks inviting. Mark Williams. A lot

:18:57.:19:08.

of pressure on Mark with that pot there. As we say, three years since

:19:09.:19:15.

he's been at the Masters and he normally would knock that type of

:19:16.:19:19.

shot in, but there was a bit of pressure. A bit unlucky. Looked like

:19:20.:19:25.

he might have got away with it, so the chance falls to Ronnie. He

:19:26.:19:30.

played it quite a brave way - slow. It would have been easy to stunned

:19:31.:19:36.

it and punched it in. A bit of tension in the arm, that is usually

:19:37.:19:41.

an easier way. But committed fully, it looks to have paid the price,

:19:42.:19:46.

albeit the black is still awkwardly placed.

:19:47.:19:56.

6. Having said that, if the red above the black, as we look at the

:19:57.:20:07.

table, pots, it would be opening up the black into the right corner. 7.

:20:08.:20:17.

So if he can get ideally on that - the red to the left of the black, as

:20:18.:20:27.

we have just seen, plenty of chances to get blues before he gets to that

:20:28.:20:33.

situation. He could quite easily decide to just stay on the blue. As

:20:34.:20:41.

long as you keep getting the correct side of the blue, he's got, what,

:20:42.:20:48.

six comfortable reds. In fact the one next to the black is OK also.

:20:49.:20:52.

18. 19. He won't get on that red next to

:20:53.:21:05.

the black until he can guarantee the right position. The right position

:21:06.:21:14.

with the cue ball. He left himself a bit further away from this than he

:21:15.:21:16.

would have wanted. 24. 25. He's lost it a bit here. One

:21:17.:21:38.

could red after this blue could be back in prime position the right

:21:39.:21:42.

side of the blue. Still makes it look so easy, though. 30.

:21:43.:21:50.

I would play the red, two from the black now. He's got the blue. The

:21:51.:22:04.

yellow has offered a spot. Nothing to prevent the cue ball coming back

:22:05.:22:12.

up for those reds. That looks to be - well, he could have done with it a

:22:13.:22:20.

little bit further up the table. 36. He's got to play a pretty good shot

:22:21.:22:32.

now here. It was the angle he got on the prove red when he potted the

:22:33.:22:35.

blue didn't quit come far enough up the table, so all he could do was

:22:36.:22:39.

develop the black, which he didn't really want to be doing.

:22:40.:22:44.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, Excellent safety shot. Ronnie's

:22:45.:23:01.

break falling down. Effectively by not getting the right side of the

:23:02.:23:05.

blue enough times, but Mark Williams is left with an awful safety shot

:23:06.:23:11.

here. Whichever one he chooses, has danger. He's got to hit it very

:23:12.:23:13.

thin. Oh, an excellent shot.

:23:14.:23:16.

APPLAUSE Ronnie may have to move the black

:23:17.:23:33.

into play, which is in Mark Williams's favour, really.

:23:34.:23:37.

1. Superb containing pot. Couldn't Ghan tow position. -- guarantee

:23:38.:24:14.

position. Williams wishlings 1. APPLAUSE

:24:15.:24:23.

-- Mark Williams This will be difficult for Ronnie

:24:24.:24:29.

O'Sullivan to get safe from. Might have to trust to a bit of luck here.

:24:30.:24:37.

He's not shallow enough on this. Foul. A miss. Mark Williams, 4. He

:24:38.:24:44.

got away with that one, really. That is a very difficult cut. Yeah. He is

:24:45.:24:54.

having to play with so much swerve on the shot here to just land on

:24:55.:24:58.

that red that is near the cushion. Even then, he is not guaranteed to

:24:59.:25:03.

leave it safe. If he just nestled onto it, it wouldn't be all that

:25:04.:25:07.

bad. But, it is such a tough swvr. Yeah. -- swerve. The referee is

:25:08.:25:15.

making sure the white is in the right spot and Mark is quite happy.

:25:16.:25:23.

Can he judge it this time? It is so tough. He's missed the other side,

:25:24.:25:30.

has he? Miss. Mark Williams, 4. And Mark stays in his seat. That is the

:25:31.:25:39.

correct side to miss it on. The other side he could have stuck the

:25:40.:25:46.

reds up, so the adjustment was made correctly. Only 20 points behind

:25:47.:25:56.

now, Mark Williams. So for all of the good shots that Ronnie has

:25:57.:25:59.

played, he is still in with a good chance in this frame. This looks the

:26:00.:26:01.

be perfect. APPLAUSE

:26:02.:26:11.

With that shot, it is so difficult to judge the pace because the swvr

:26:12.:26:18.

takes all of the pace out of it. It is so easy to get that wron, but

:26:19.:26:23.

this - we have seen a lot of the balls go in along the cushion here.

:26:24.:26:27.

This will be interesting to so what happens with this red. This is

:26:28.:26:30.

dangerous, but they do hug the top cushion. We have seen that. If Mark

:26:31.:26:32.

Williams has been watching the television he will know full well

:26:33.:26:35.

that is the right shot to play. APPLAUSE

:26:36.:26:43.

I know Dennis, it is easy to sit here in the commentary box, but

:26:44.:26:50.

along the top cushion, the pockets look very big.

:26:51.:26:55.

9. The clth will get a little bit tighter. Yeah, but I think it is

:26:56.:27:07.

pulling to the top cushion. This makes a big difference. It gives the

:27:08.:27:11.

player as bit more confidence. Perhaps just that green in an

:27:12.:27:16.

awkward position. An awkward position for an ideal clearance. I

:27:17.:27:20.

tell you what, Steve, this could be a very early turning point - we are

:27:21.:27:25.

only in the second frame - but this could play a big part in this match

:27:26.:27:28.

if Mark Williams could get himself back all square. As you said, the

:27:29.:27:34.

groan is the key ball, but it is not that badly placed. What sort of

:27:35.:28:08.

angle has he got on this yellow? I am not sure. He can chance a slight

:28:09.:28:17.

angle. You see, if he can't get on the green, he can screw back behind

:28:18.:28:25.

the groan and play a snooker behind the pink if he can't lose an easy

:28:26.:28:30.

pot. He might decide to do this. He can take it into the middle pot, but

:28:31.:28:35.

the fact he's finished where he has. A big shot now. Not just potting the

:28:36.:28:41.

groan, but trying to get the right pace and direction on the cue ball.

:28:42.:28:46.

Of course, he can roll up beline the pink. I think he's got the angle for

:28:47.:28:53.

that. -- behind the pink. I think he's got the angle for that. That is

:28:54.:28:57.

Ronnie O'Sullivan back to the table. APPLAUSE

:28:58.:29:03.

Ronnie will probably play this with pace.

:29:04.:29:11.

CHEERING Well, that is all you need.

:29:12.:29:18.

Absolutely incredible. What a fluke that was. And that will hurt. Mark

:29:19.:29:27.

Williams is such a laid-back character. But, this player deserves

:29:28.:29:36.

that. That is amazing. He has been punished severely by not getting

:29:37.:29:40.

cbtly on the yellow. How cruel is that? -- correctly on the yellow.

:29:41.:29:46.

How cruel is that because it wasn't badly on the yellow! This locks

:29:47.:29:57.

good. If he misses the pink, well, it is a little bit more difficult

:29:58.:30:01.

now. Will he play this left hand? That is the question. He only needs

:30:02.:30:06.

the pink. He will play it left-handed.

:30:07.:30:09.

CHEERING Very good! That was an unbelievable

:30:10.:30:18.

fluke! Ronnie O'Sullivan. You have got to take the luck while it is

:30:19.:30:23.

there. He leads two frames to nil. CHEERING

:30:24.:30:29.

So Ronnie gets the third frame under way. A pretty good

:30:30.:30:43.

In fact, it is a very good breakoff shot. The red is out of the table

:30:44.:30:46.

preventing Mark from playing down that side. He still may do it, but

:30:47.:30:49.

he has got to watch that red. the safety game is fantastic. In

:30:50.:31:12.

fact, I think it is going back - I am going back 14 or 15 years, these

:31:13.:31:17.

players played in the UK Championship when it was at Telford

:31:18.:31:21.

for a couple of seasons. They played a match, it Mitt have been a smile,

:31:22.:31:26.

and it was some of the finest safety play I have ever seen. Both were

:31:27.:31:29.

unbelievable in the tactical department. Finest safety play I

:31:30.:31:36.

have ever seen. Both were unbelievable in the tactical

:31:37.:31:39.

department. A bit short of pace this time. Is there a gap for the red in

:31:40.:31:43.

the left-hand corner? Is there a possibility that the black will pot

:31:44.:31:47.

into the opposite corner? That is what Ronnie is around looking at. He

:31:48.:31:51.

may be able to find a gap for the black. You can see the black. He

:31:52.:31:58.

knocked a red like this in in the opening frame. But, he doesn't fancy

:31:59.:32:00.

it. Is this a possible plant? Ithink he would have took this red

:32:01.:32:13.

on, Steve, if there hadn't been other reds getting in the way of the

:32:14.:32:16.

black, though. Yes, I think Mark was probably

:32:17.:32:24.

reloved that he didn't because there was every chance he would have

:32:25.:32:33.

potted it, but Ronnie plays a far better percentage game than possibly

:32:34.:32:38.

people think he does. He's very fluent, obviously, but he's got a

:32:39.:32:42.

2-nil load. The last thing he wants to do is let Mark in cheaply. He is

:32:43.:32:50.

aware of that. Poor safety shot, but got away with it. He may have given,

:32:51.:32:57.

on first glance, Mark Williams a problem. There is a gap he can get

:32:58.:33:03.

through with a cue ball. Great shot. Successfully kept the

:33:04.:33:19.

cue ball away from the cushion the get himself a gettable pink, but it

:33:20.:33:20.

is tough. This is the first real chance that

:33:21.:33:36.

Mark has had in amongst the balls. 7. And one of his great strengths

:33:37.:33:46.

always has been his concentration and his temperament.

:33:47.:33:53.

And he could do with a sizeable contribution here. That would really

:33:54.:34:03.

settle him down. And in his prime, Mark Williams, was granite when it

:34:04.:34:09.

came to pressure. Yes, he's been out of the big stage for a while, but

:34:10.:34:16.

you don't lose your class overnight. 15.

:34:17.:34:22.

A sizeable break here would do him the power of good.

:34:23.:34:36.

So far so good. Four reds on the top cushion are a bit messy.

:34:37.:34:46.

24. So it is not completely clear cut.

:34:47.:35:02.

32. He's got a great attitude. I was listening to his pre-tournament

:35:03.:35:31.

interview and he was so laid back in the interview. He said, "Well, I

:35:32.:35:34.

might never win again, but I am back enjoying playing the game of snooker

:35:35.:35:39.

and whoever I have got to play, I will play and I will enjoy it", but

:35:40.:35:45.

he is still such a talent. He is still capable of winning ranking

:35:46.:35:56.

tournaments. Well, I have got tow say considering the fact he's gone

:35:57.:35:59.

2-nil down against one of the greatest flying machines you have

:36:00.:36:03.

ever seen in the game, how easy he's taken these and how precisely he's

:36:04.:36:08.

played his position - it has been add Mirable. -- add Mir available.

:36:09.:36:15.

Still some work to get over the line.

:36:16.:36:21.

Three reds in colours won't be enough. Mirable.

:36:22.:36:37.

Three reds in colours won't be enough. First weak shot. He came up

:36:38.:36:44.

a little bit short. He wanted a nice easy red. He might still get the one

:36:45.:36:49.

he wanted, but it could have been easier than this. Had to go up the

:36:50.:36:53.

other end of the table. If he had been straight on the red, he could

:36:54.:36:58.

have held the blue. It is about keeping nice, close control, but as

:36:59.:37:03.

long as you keep potting them, that is the can. Look where he is hitting

:37:04.:37:07.

the cue ball the create the backspin. Right down at the bottom

:37:08.:37:13.

of the cue ball. If you don't try that in your club, you probably - if

:37:14.:37:20.

you tried that at your club, you would probably rip the cloth.

:37:21.:37:27.

5 Just went through a little bit further than he intended. That is

:37:28.:37:31.

the stun run through. Probably the best shot in the game that players

:37:32.:37:36.

love to play, but it is so difficult the judge it absolutely correctly.

:37:37.:37:37.

Just too far. 64. And this red he would love to

:37:38.:38:01.

see be eaten up by the pocket, but it is a little bit further away from

:38:02.:38:09.

the cushion - Mark's trademark trick shot. It is not clever, really, if

:38:10.:38:14.

it guess wrong. It looks great, but has he

:38:15.:38:21.

got away He prefers that, Dennis, to using the rest. It looks weird.

:38:22.:38:30.

He only needs a red and, well, anything from the groan

:38:31.:38:42.

The underarm shot. He is so good at that and this time it didn't come

:38:43.:38:46.

off. There was a little bit of laughter there. I am not sure quite

:38:47.:38:52.

what was said. He's got a horrible shot here. He doesn't want to

:38:53.:38:56.

disturb the two reds on the side cushion. Could be forgiven for

:38:57.:39:03.

trying to play something a bit more adventurous, a two-cushion drop onto

:39:04.:39:08.

the three reds. Seems to be nice at the moment. He would be happy with

:39:09.:39:12.

that. APPLAUSE

:39:13.:39:26.

And glad wruly Ronnie is bringing all of those -- and gradually Ronnie

:39:27.:39:35.

is bringing all of those reds into play. If he catches the red

:39:36.:39:39.

correctly here, I don't know if he can take the pot on at the same

:39:40.:39:45.

time, but make sure he's got a good cue bull. Well, he did take the pot

:39:46.:39:52.

on. Mmm... I think he might have been better making sure he was

:39:53.:39:57.

finding the gap back down the table he is hoping the reds have. This is

:39:58.:40:15.

not a certainty. A great shot! He has been tribing the balls very

:40:16.:40:23.

positively, Ronnie. He strokes them in. May have been the shots he has

:40:24.:40:28.

been left in the match so far, but it seems lick he is hitting the ball

:40:29.:40:35.

with great authority. Mark will have been pleased to see that pink go to

:40:36.:40:37.

the side cushion. 5. Hampered slightly for the red to the

:40:38.:41:09.

right there. So he is choosing the one near the black.

:41:10.:41:11.

Amazing. It looked like the frame was all over not so long ago and the

:41:12.:41:27.

bulls were safe. All of a sudden, Ronnie O'Sullivan has got a bit of a

:41:28.:41:33.

chance here. 18. That last red was just fantastic. If he misses it,

:41:34.:41:41.

he's lost the frame. He just cued it beautifully.

:41:42.:41:44.

APPLAUSE Well... 26. From the side.. Cushion,

:41:45.:41:59.

that was a tough shot. Ronnie O'Sullivan is making this look like

:42:00.:42:04.

a walk in the park so far. Still a couple of difficult shots to go.

:42:05.:42:06.

LAUGHS . APPLAUSE

:42:07.:42:18.

These are pressure shots and he is giving himself a chance to win this

:42:19.:42:23.

frame. Mark Williams's only hope is the pink.

:42:24.:42:24.

APPLAUSE 35. I mean, When even he came to the

:42:25.:42:31.

table, you would have thought he's got no chance at clearing up. Foul.

:42:32.:42:40.

After all of that, can you believe what has happened? That is quite

:42:41.:42:47.

amazing. He was flying along and how often would you see, well, any

:42:48.:42:53.

snooker player do that. It just shows what can happen on that green

:42:54.:42:57.

base. You know, he played a screw back on the black a couple of shots

:42:58.:43:02.

before and then he played the red over the top of the other red and I

:43:03.:43:07.

wonder if he chalked the cow and perhaps he didn't just get enough

:43:08.:43:11.

chalk back on the tip at the rescue-back part. After a big

:43:12.:43:19.

rescue-back, you have got to be careful you haven't taken all of the

:43:20.:43:22.

chalk off the tip. Mark Williams. APPLAUSE

:43:23.:43:29.

Looks like he had a chance, but that uncharacteric miscue meant that Mark

:43:30.:43:32.

Williams took the third frame and now he is just one behind. 2-1 to

:43:33.:43:34.

Ronnie O'Sullivan. I think every match in the Masters,

:43:35.:43:54.

Steve, is good enough to be any final. Yes, it is a bit of a shock

:43:55.:44:01.

to the system for your first match to walk out in front of 2,000

:44:02.:44:03.

people. Even for these top players in the

:44:04.:44:15.

world. Mark Williams needed a bit of help in this match. No guarantee, of

:44:16.:44:21.

course, Ronnie O'Sullivan was going to clear the table with a pink safe

:44:22.:44:26.

on the side cushion, but he looked ominous and he's the help with a

:44:27.:44:31.

miscue. Has that changed the pattern of this match?

:44:32.:44:39.

APPLAUSE Well, it has turned out nicely on

:44:40.:44:44.

the green. Not certain to get it in, but ... Yeah, I think the whole

:44:45.:44:55.

crowd thought the white was going into the pocket, but it didn't and,

:44:56.:45:00.

as Steve said, left him a good angle on the green to get up to the reds.

:45:01.:45:08.

4, 5. He is just about OK. I'll show you the shot again. Looked like it

:45:09.:45:11.

would head into the corner pocket, but just caught the jaws. Didn't get

:45:12.:45:16.

the right side of the blue there, Mark. The red that is to the right

:45:17.:45:21.

of the pack helping him on this occasion and being a left-hander, it

:45:22.:45:22.

should be straightforward. I have got to say, Mark Williams

:45:23.:45:42.

lacks pretty sharp as well. -- looks pretty sharp as well.

:45:43.:45:49.

May not look as fluent as Ronnie O'Sullivan around the table, but

:45:50.:45:55.

he's always been one of the fastest players on the circuit, Mark

:45:56.:45:58.

Williams. His shots have always been pretty low. As he is getting amongst

:45:59.:46:04.

the ball now, as you can see, there is not much difference between the

:46:05.:46:08.

two players. If he makes this break easily, he will drop below 20

:46:09.:46:13.

seconds as well, I would think. A key shot coming up here, opening up

:46:14.:46:17.

the reds and getting onto the black, hopefully. He

:46:18.:46:27.

played it 27. So easy to underhit or overhit those shots, Dennis.

:46:28.:46:35.

He's underhit that. 34. By a little bit.

:46:36.:46:46.

Stillable to keep control. -- Still able to keep control. There is

:46:47.:46:54.

enough open reds here that he should be able to get over the line. He

:46:55.:47:05.

wants a bit more on that, but he's got the red into the middle. 42.

:47:06.:47:23.

43. Mud section interval coming up after this frame. -- mid section

:47:24.:47:34.

interval coming up after this frame. They are both in the 90s. Ronnie

:47:35.:47:40.

slight ahead but this is good from the Welshman here - it really is.

:47:41.:47:49.

He walks so slowly around the table, but, as Steve said, he is such a

:47:50.:47:58.

quick, fluent player. He has just got a great writhe -- rhythm around

:47:59.:48:07.

the table. Mark Williams 48. CHEERING

:48:08.:48:13.

The blue wasn't good. A bit short of pace. Yeah. Just bridging over those

:48:14.:48:22.

reds just caused him possibly to get a little tiny bit of side that he

:48:23.:48:25.

didn't intend on that. That is the first miss, really, from

:48:26.:48:43.

Ronnie. I am just wondering if that miscue still thinking about that. He

:48:44.:48:47.

just overcut it slightly. Still looking at the tip there, but I

:48:48.:48:51.

don't think he took anything. Sometimes you can take a little

:48:52.:48:55.

piece out of the tip, but it is fine. Well, we know from past

:48:56.:49:02.

experience that Ronnie is a bit of a word year when it comes to the tip

:49:03.:49:05.

of the cue. I know what you are thinking, Steve,

:49:06.:49:26.

but those days are You are thinking back to the World

:49:27.:49:30.

Championship many, many years ago and he had about 12 different tips

:49:31.:49:35.

on and he was known to bite the tip off and get a new one put on. Les

:49:36.:49:43.

Dodge used to come down from Southport and put Ronnie's tip on.

:49:44.:49:47.

He was a former professional that is still playing, Les.

:49:48.:49:48.

APPLAUSE 1. He would like to see this yellow

:49:49.:49:55.

go in. Kick. Took the pace out of the cue

:49:56.:50:22.

ball. We'll show it to you again. You can see the yellow. Ronnie

:50:23.:50:26.

anxiously looking over Mark's shoulder there. Wasn't a massive

:50:27.:50:32.

one, but Mark Williams's reaction immediately told us it was a kick.

:50:33.:50:37.

Yeah, he is still on the red that is near the pink. Without the kick, it

:50:38.:50:40.

would have been a straightforward shot. No underarm shot this time. He

:50:41.:50:43.

got the extension out. Nicely Can he see the black? That is the

:50:44.:50:57.

question. If he can, he will take this through. He can't. He is

:50:58.:50:58.

unlucky. LAUGHS

:50:59.:51:08.

A good throw. Can he get through just with the pink? I don't think

:51:09.:51:19.

so. If he can't, he may be tempted to put the black safe. He hasn't

:51:20.:51:31.

decided yet. There is a way of playing the black, sending the white

:51:32.:51:35.

ball off fur cushions and getting behint the green, but if this pink

:51:36.:51:36.

behint the green, but ifthis pink this pink goes... Oh, superb!

:51:37.:51:45.

CHEERING 10. This is a very difficult red.

:51:46.:51:56.

Should he choose to take it on with slightly awkward cueing.

:51:57.:52:03.

Mark Williams, 10. Nearly over the line, but not quite.

:52:04.:52:20.

1. A similar scenario to the previous frame. Ronnie in with a

:52:21.:52:39.

chance. Now, whats he well and truly forgotten about that miscue in the

:52:40.:52:43.

previous frame? That is the thing you have got to put to the back of

:52:44.:52:47.

your mind and forget about it. That is easier said than done. 7. No

:52:48.:52:55.

better player in the game than Ronnie O'Sullivan for knocking balls

:52:56.:53:01.

off of cushions during a break. Deciding when is the right time to

:53:02.:53:04.

do it. APPLAUSE

:53:05.:53:06.

He tried to flick this red out, knowing full well if he did miss it,

:53:07.:53:20.

he would be on a colour. Has he got a chance to do it again? Could he

:53:21.:53:25.

play the blue off of the top cushion and knock the red off the side and

:53:26.:53:29.

be guaranteed on the one to the right of the pink? He chose not to

:53:30.:53:36.

play it like that. I thought he could have. The angle there was.

:53:37.:53:41.

Perhaps he thought it was going to collide with the red if he hit it

:53:42.:53:44.

too hard. He had the perfect angle on the

:53:45.:54:00.

black to bring the red and the pink into play. He snookered himself on

:54:01.:54:07.

that. He is right back into the match, 1 good safety shot here, if

:54:08.:54:11.

he can get in behind the yellow and close to the cushion. Just want to

:54:12.:54:14.

hit the brown. It's safe, but it's not as he would

:54:15.:54:20.

have liked. APPLAUSE

:54:21.:54:35.

And the target now is the brown for the players with their safety shots.

:54:36.:54:51.

You know, if you get anywhere near in brown, a chance of getting the

:54:52.:54:58.

snooker behind the yellow or the brown, Mark can get through to this,

:54:59.:55:03.

and may cannon the black if he pots it. It's doesn't matter - it's all

:55:04.:55:05.

about the pot here. Well, an excellent pot, Dennis, and

:55:06.:55:21.

Mark has control of the table. You would assume... Putting a colour

:55:22.:55:26.

safe, unless he fancies the black in the middle. It's a frame-winner, but

:55:27.:55:33.

not guaranteed. You got to kick and it's gone wide. Well, I expected him

:55:34.:55:42.

to knock that in. He was cueing so well. The kick has spoiled it. Just

:55:43.:55:49.

jumped slightly and... The black went to the left. Very unfortunate

:55:50.:55:54.

there. You don't see him react very often, Mark, but he knew, if the

:55:55.:56:01.

black goes in, he is all square. He still may be, but he could have done

:56:02.:56:07.

without that heavy contact. Ronnie O'Sullivan is not in a bad position

:56:08.:56:12.

now. He's got to chance to play the first telling safety shot, and no

:56:13.:56:14.

balls are safe. Trying to use the blue or the yellow

:56:15.:56:26.

as a snookering ball... Looks to have poked its nose out. Perhaps it

:56:27.:56:38.

hasn't. No. And now... Mark Williams needs a nice slice of luck.

:56:39.:56:53.

Couldn't have asked for better. APPLAUSE

:56:54.:57:02.

Tell you what, Mark Williams and his preintru, he said he may have six

:57:03.:57:15.

people on his side in this arena. He is getting a terrific reception from

:57:16.:57:19.

the crowd. Has he got away with it. LAUGHTER

:57:20.:57:27.

Mark Williams... Should be able to play an easy snooker behind the

:57:28.:57:32.

black, putting cue ball far side of the black... Don't think there's

:57:33.:57:37.

anything else other than a very risky double. He has under hit it.

:57:38.:57:44.

That's an awful shot, at this level. I think they stuck it up. Oh, it's

:57:45.:57:51.

terrible. I don't know about stuck up, he is having to play left-handed

:57:52.:57:58.

but he is so good. Can he see enough of it? I don't think he can. A

:57:59.:58:04.

massive mistake by Mark Williams, not to have guaranteed what was a

:58:05.:58:15.

very easy snooker. If he does go 3-1 behind at the interval, it was down

:58:16.:58:18.

to that shot. He's had a bit of banter with the

:58:19.:58:31.

crowd, and the crowd has taken in the Welshman here. This is a pretty

:58:32.:58:37.

good result. If it pulls up, or hits the brown...

:58:38.:58:42.

Well, Mark Williams has got a chance to, perhaps, get that brown a bit

:58:43.:58:49.

closer to the cushion, which makes the clearances harder.

:58:50.:59:01.

Oh, it went! APPLAUSE

:59:02.:59:06.

Well, nowadays, we keep talk about Neil Robertson being the greatest

:59:07.:59:20.

potter the game has ever seen. Mark Williams is right up there. He is

:59:21.:59:27.

definitely one of the best potters the game has ever seen, this

:59:28.:59:31.

Welshman. Doesn't matter about missing that.

:59:32.:59:41.

Mark Williams the happier of the 2 blairs. He is off and we are all

:59:42.:59:45.

square at two frames all. He butchered that 1. And he got the

:59:46.:00:17.

pink and black out, certainly the black, awful out come from Mark

:00:18.:00:20.

Williams's perspective, from something that looked like it was a

:00:21.:00:24.

reasonable chance, with not too much danger.

:00:25.:00:30.

And now, Ronnie O'Sullivan needs to flick the switch, move through the

:00:31.:00:35.

gears... Didn't want to be collided with that red. If any player can go

:00:36.:00:42.

from zero to hero, it's Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:00:43.:00:46.

And usually, it doesn't take him very long to do it. This is

:00:47.:00:51.

fascinating to see how this frame is going to pan out.

:00:52.:00:59.

He's got another, what - maybe 3, four reds available to him.

:01:00.:01:08.

So let's see if he's got that focus back again and can he start playing

:01:09.:01:16.

the way he started the match? APPLAUSE

:01:17.:01:22.

Nicely recovered. Beautifully controlled. Didn't give

:01:23.:01:53.

it everything in the back spin department. Kept that cue ball in

:01:54.:01:58.

the middle of the table, that's the art of smashing into the pack. He

:01:59.:02:09.

was on All Blacks there, when he opened the reds up, there was ever

:02:10.:02:14.

chance he could have stayed on the reds, but he had to go for a baulk

:02:15.:02:19.

colour, because of where he finished up. It's a massive frame - he has to

:02:20.:02:22.

win this frame, Ronnie. And all of a sudden, normal service

:02:23.:02:46.

looks to have been been resumed, striking the ball beautifully. One

:02:47.:02:50.

of his great strengths, the ability to reel off frames very quickly. How

:02:51.:02:56.

well did he strike that, left-handed? He had to play with the

:02:57.:03:04.

top spin. Forcing top spin on the left-hand side, with the opposite

:03:05.:03:09.

hand. That was special. He made it look so easy. No reason now why he

:03:10.:03:19.

can't go on to secure the frame. But we're seeing what happened on a

:03:20.:03:23.

black earlier on, when he jumped over. This shot here, loads of top

:03:24.:03:29.

spin, loads of left-hand side, played to perfection. We don't

:03:30.:03:34.

usually think of Ronnie O'Sullivan in terms of having to fight his way

:03:35.:03:40.

back into a match, because he makes it look so easy. He is digging deep

:03:41.:03:46.

here and showing great character. And the range of shots is just

:03:47.:03:58.

wonderful, but... He hasn't come to this event just for a bit of match

:03:59.:04:02.

practice. When Ronnie O'Sullivan turns up for an event like this,

:04:03.:04:06.

he's come to win. So he would have put the preparation in.

:04:07.:04:07.

APPLAUSE What a recovery that was, he played

:04:08.:04:23.

a pretty poor shot to leave himself straight on the red, and to knock it

:04:24.:04:27.

in on that pace, off the back of the cushion, was quite something.

:04:28.:05:02.

Frame well and truly safe now. He's already made 802 century breaks.

:05:03.:05:09.

That is quite astonishing. And it hasn't taken him very long to

:05:10.:05:25.

knock these in. No rest there. I can tell you, the

:05:26.:05:46.

way he's taken this. , Possible 139 on, I assume he may play it as a

:05:47.:05:55.

137. I think the highest break is still 137. There's ?10,000 for the

:05:56.:06:04.

highest break price. I don't think he would think that 137 would end up

:06:05.:06:09.

winning the highest break. It's irrelevant now.

:06:10.:06:14.

That may be the end of break, but with what a fabulous century.

:06:15.:06:26.

4-2 behind, how does he respond? He had one chance and he made a century

:06:27.:06:36.

break. But he #12i8 trails to Mark Williams. -- he still trails to Mark

:06:37.:06:40.

Williams. He sent the red over the corner

:06:41.:07:07.

pocket. Not good. Got a good cue ball, but didn't think he would

:07:08.:07:10.

double the red over the corner, but he did. Oh, a bit unlucky. He tried

:07:11.:07:19.

some exhibition time shot there, with a lot of top spin. So lively.

:07:20.:07:25.

He played top spin, and hoping to stay on the black and it just kept

:07:26.:07:30.

on creeping towards. This is thin - surely he can't cut that in.

:07:31.:07:36.

Boy, this is some shot he is taking on here, I can tell you. Look at the

:07:37.:07:43.

angle from there. He's got it! What a shot!

:07:44.:07:55.

What a cutback that was. He's a bit unfortunate, but the looks of

:07:56.:08:02.

things, but dear me... They unfortunate, but the looks of

:08:03.:08:06.

come any thinner than that. You can't see enough of that, you

:08:07.:08:26.

need to get a bit of side on it. How unfortunate was that, once he pulled

:08:27.:08:31.

off that unbelievable cut back, very unfortunate not to drop nicely on a

:08:32.:08:32.

red. No nowhere to play safe. Has he picked out an area to make it

:08:33.:09:04.

difficult for Ronnie O'Sullivan? I think he has. So it's not colour

:09:05.:09:14.

cut. -- clear cut. May have looked reckless from Mark Williams but

:09:15.:09:18.

that's one of his greatest strengths, being able to work out an

:09:19.:09:23.

aggressive shot to nothing. Obviouslies, his reds goes. It's not

:09:24.:09:24.

as clear-cut a chance. How well did he strick that, though?

:09:25.:09:40.

Perfect, and he's got an angle to stun now between the bloun and in

:09:41.:09:45.

yellow. -- between the brown and the yellow. And after that century break

:09:46.:09:49.

in the previous frame, an early chance. What is in store for us

:09:50.:09:51.

here? The black is in the open, the pink

:09:52.:10:06.

is out of commission, but that won't concern Ronnie at this stage.

:10:07.:10:14.

Red, blue, and enough of the reds that are close to the black.

:10:15.:10:26.

He's got all the choices of reds, but I think if he can get to the

:10:27.:10:34.

ones near in black, it could help. He's going to leave that for the

:10:35.:10:39.

time being. This 1 here would have to clear the pink. Ask and still get

:10:40.:10:46.

through in the black, but removing that has opened the pink up somewhat

:10:47.:10:49.

also. Previous frame lasted just over 7

:10:50.:11:11.

minutes. How long is this one going to last?

:11:12.:11:45.

I think that kicked slightly. It's took a little bit of pace out of the

:11:46.:11:49.

cue ball there. Finished dead straight on the blue,

:11:50.:11:59.

because of that contact. Just see the red jumping bus still OK.

:12:00.:12:05.

And I mentioned, was having a chat with Mark Williams, he was saying

:12:06.:12:24.

how well is Ronnie hitting the ball. Not often you hear someone talk

:12:25.:12:27.

about their opponent, but the way he strikes the ball, fantastic. I think

:12:28.:12:31.

the main burners are being ignited here.

:12:32.:13:04.

Always risky when you're having to play cannons, but he had to do that

:13:05.:13:09.

time and it hasn't worked out for him. Needed a few more pots to

:13:10.:13:11.

secure the frame with 1 visit. A quick-fire 60 break but he's not

:13:12.:13:18.

over the line yet. Well that's unfortunate. He may be

:13:19.:13:43.

forced into taking a very difficult green now. Without the jaw of the in

:13:44.:13:47.

the middle pocket, he would have been a lot nicer on the colour, but

:13:48.:13:52.

because he's behind by so many, he's got to take this on. Great shot. I

:13:53.:14:02.

say a great shot, he's come up a bit short. But he put everything

:14:03.:14:07.

national into the pot there. -- into the pot there.

:14:08.:14:12.

But that black he cut in, that's one of the best shots iefr seen for a

:14:13.:14:17.

long time. I think that Ronnie O'Sullivan can

:14:18.:14:27.

get to this. Mark Williams took a risk trying to

:14:28.:14:53.

cut that red in. He could have played a nailed on safety shot.

:14:54.:14:59.

Kept the frame on the boil, but it's all over now.

:15:00.:15:39.

So it's amazing two frames behind in a matter of some 14 minutes he is

:15:40.:15:44.

all square. Got a bit of a kick on that, but he

:15:45.:16:02.

wasn't really concentrating on that. It was a magnificent effort. 60, but

:16:03.:16:08.

Mark Williams was very unfortunate, when he cut that back, that Ronnie

:16:09.:16:12.

O'Sullivan is back. It's four frames all.

:16:13.:16:27.

Yeah, a great buzz around the crowd again, after those two frames from

:16:28.:16:32.

Ronnie O'Sullivan. APPLAUSE

:16:33.:16:39.

They have been very stair, the crowd. Mark Williams has had a

:16:40.:16:48.

terrific reception also, with some of the snooker he's produced.

:16:49.:16:57.

Well, acknowledged by a tap on the table there, from Ronnie, for that

:16:58.:17:01.

great shot. Well, acknowledged by a tap on the

:17:02.:17:08.

table there, from Ronnie, for that great shot. A double-kiss. Oh, he's

:17:09.:17:09.

got away with it. Once he got that double kicks I

:17:10.:17:19.

think that Ronnie thought he would have left quite a few on. A little

:17:20.:17:27.

smile from Mark. We keep telling you how laid-back he is, this Welshman.

:17:28.:17:31.

Have a look at this. He's taking a selfie. That gentleman shouldn't be

:17:32.:17:35.

allowed to have that, but it shows you what Mark Williams is like.

:17:36.:17:46.

Imagine coming up and asking you for a selfie, steef, if it had been

:17:47.:17:52.

around in your Even the brickphone was not invented

:17:53.:18:13.

there, was it? What has he spotted here? Can it a plant, can he make it

:18:14.:18:21.

into a plant? No, he made it not into a plant. It was a plant until

:18:22.:18:24.

he overcooked it. He had it forward. It was just like

:18:25.:18:36.

a squeeze effect when you hit the first ball.

:18:37.:18:39.

Never easy. He didn't get on the red as he intended and difficult to

:18:40.:19:13.

judge when you're screwing back, hitting other reds. He overcooked

:19:14.:19:15.

that. Puts the match on the cue ball

:19:16.:19:29.

there. Once again, Mark Williams forced to play a thin escape,

:19:30.:19:32.

shouldn't be too difficult. Not that thin.

:19:33.:19:36.

Oh, he missed it completely. He missed a couple up and down the

:19:37.:19:45.

table, hasn't he? A lot of shots he played well, but... Yeah, Colin-up

:19:46.:19:55.

Fridays asking him to get the screen up, just to show him exactly where

:19:56.:19:58.

the cue ball was. Can he just catch the edge of the

:19:59.:20:21.

red this Oh, Ronnie O'Sullivan seems to have

:20:22.:21:08.

cut off paths back to the baulk area for Mark Williams, so what can Mark

:21:09.:21:11.

work out? To the top cushion? Yeah, I tend to say the top cushion,

:21:12.:21:26.

which it is on the snooker table. For people watching at home, it

:21:27.:21:30.

there's bottom cushion on the screen. I would say it's the cushion

:21:31.:21:33.

behind the black spot. And yeah. So what should we call it? The top

:21:34.:21:53.

cushion, the bottom cushion or the kuks behind the black? The black

:21:54.:22:00.

cushion and the baulk cushion. Let's make a committed decision. That's

:22:01.:22:03.

the baulk cushion. He can see enough of this.

:22:04.:22:14.

Not an easier starter for Ronnie. If he's got a slight angle, he can get

:22:15.:22:22.

on the black. He's just off straight. Not easy, this.

:22:23.:22:26.

APPLAUSE One good pot here and a cannon, and

:22:27.:22:33.

he's right in business again. So here we go. Ronnie is in first

:22:34.:22:45.

again. And he made breaks of 60 and 104 in the fro previous frames. That

:22:46.:22:47.

was a superb opening red. He started off this match looking in

:22:48.:23:12.

fine form. And as things are currently, it looks like he'll

:23:13.:23:16.

finish in fine form. You never know if there's another twist in the tail

:23:17.:23:18.

though. Just a tricky little spotting

:23:19.:23:44.

process. Colin hom Fridays, one of the top referees now. -- Humphries,

:23:45.:23:53.

one of the top referees now. Another cannon needed.

:23:54.:24:02.

Could have worked out better. A bit closer than he would have liked this

:24:03.:24:16.

red. Made it look very easy. Easy to jab at those ones.

:24:17.:24:25.

Looks like Ronnie O'Sullivan is going to get over the line here.

:24:26.:24:36.

Interesting to see how Mark Williams will perform on the back foot.

:24:37.:24:41.

Well, I suppose you can only perform if you get a chance. He is not

:24:42.:24:46.

getting any chances in these frames. OK, Ronnie didn't clinch the last

:24:47.:25:00.

frame with a break of 60 but he paved the way for it. But Mark has

:25:01.:25:05.

had preciousment to go at. He had the cutback the boys were talking

:25:06.:25:10.

about. And a fantastic cutback and unlucky not to drop on a red, but

:25:11.:25:16.

this is not far from being over this frame, just one more good shot. He

:25:17.:25:20.

hasn't played that too well. He's gotting to careful with the reds he

:25:21.:25:25.

is leaning over, a bait of a distraction. If he cannons his red,

:25:26.:25:30.

he's OK. If he drops in behind it, he is not OK. Just can get to the

:25:31.:25:34.

potting angle. Moving that devil red, so, although

:25:35.:26:34.

the frame is safe, he set the target of a possible 1000 century breaks in

:26:35.:26:46.

his career. He is 10097 -- 10097 shot of that. He is a delight to

:26:47.:26:48.

watch, he Great so see him back and playing

:26:49.:27:10.

like this, Mr UK and the champion of champions. He could have defended

:27:11.:27:15.

both of those titles but chose not to. He is back at his brilliant best

:27:16.:27:18.

here. We've had five centuries so far in

:27:19.:27:31.

this year's Masters. It's a... Four century breaks for Ronnie

:27:32.:27:51.

O'Sullivan. And look at an exhibition shot to

:27:52.:28:01.

finish it off here. This crowd enjoying every minute of

:28:02.:28:10.

this. Mark Williams has got something to

:28:11.:28:25.

think about. He can't get to the table.

:28:26.:28:42.

Who is going to be picking that little beauty up, next Sunday

:28:43.:28:47.

evening? That's the big question. Well, he's got a chance. It was a

:28:48.:29:05.

similar type shot that the one that Mark missed the other side of the

:29:06.:29:09.

table, in the previous frame. Now, what can the Welshman produce here?

:29:10.:29:18.

Carrot wants to see a deciding frame. I think that everyone would

:29:19.:29:25.

love to see that, but I don't think that Ronnie O'Sullivan would like a

:29:26.:29:30.

last frame. He wouldn't mind it, but he would rather get it over with in

:29:31.:29:32.

his frame. Those two reds close to the back

:29:33.:29:53.

have got to be sorted out. He could easy go wrong if they cannons on

:29:54.:30:01.

those. That goes the outside red, which is very handy.

:30:02.:30:06.

And a nice little settler to the start of this frame, for Mark

:30:07.:30:13.

Williams. He hasn't had much table time, so the way this is turned out,

:30:14.:30:23.

just getting his arm going... Going.... At some stage, he has to

:30:24.:30:28.

go into the pack. But he'll have a nice lead.

:30:29.:30:34.

This is his fourth black coming up, as you can see there.

:30:35.:30:43.

I think he can run through for the black again. Looking at that angle,

:30:44.:30:49.

just about. Getting a little bit more difficult

:30:50.:31:03.

now. The red goes through the gap near the pink... Tries to go into

:31:04.:31:05.

them. Not ideal cueing. He left a path for

:31:06.:31:16.

the blue this time, he'll quickly forget about all the blacks. It's

:31:17.:31:23.

handy - he could get his cue quite low there, saw a gap. He's a little

:31:24.:31:30.

bit underpaced, but he should be able to control that ball for the

:31:31.:31:35.

loose red. A bit short as well, but just about got there.

:31:36.:31:43.

He's an amazing player, Mark Williams, he really is. And this

:31:44.:31:51.

temperament is superb, as we mentioned a few times. He is the

:31:52.:31:58.

sort of player who can come out of the arena, he could have won the

:31:59.:32:06.

match six-0, or lost the match 6-0, and his expression would be the

:32:07.:32:10.

same. Is that a plant? That's massive, if it is.

:32:11.:32:19.

Well, that's so unfortunate, because the white has come back, no distance

:32:20.:32:38.

at all. And I don't think he can get to that plant that you mentioned

:32:39.:32:44.

there, Steve. Not certain. Yeah, he could squeeze it away from the

:32:45.:32:50.

pocket. But anyway... He was playing the 3-ball plant. There's a gap

:32:51.:32:54.

between those two reds, but it's risky to play it now.

:32:55.:33:10.

He can't really get a ball safe here. Can he just see enough off

:33:11.:33:21.

that? Possibliy. -- I don't think the plant is on. You have to play at

:33:22.:33:27.

a 3-ball plant. You can't play it if you can't see it. I think it'll

:33:28.:33:32.

squeeze away from the pocket. Perhaps he was playing the red all

:33:33.:33:36.

along. It wasn't just the plant. But it felt like he was playing for a

:33:37.:33:38.

plant. APPLAUSE

:33:39.:33:43.

Well, Mark Williams is now going to be forced, I think, to go up and

:33:44.:33:50.

down the table off the top cushion and try to thin snick one of those

:33:51.:33:52.

three reds in a line. Now he pushed one over in pocket and

:33:53.:34:27.

he hasn't covered it. One good positional shot here and we could

:34:28.:34:29.

have a deciding frame. He played the shot with loads of

:34:30.:34:42.

drag and bottom. He was walking. He thought he got it.

:34:43.:35:02.

Oh, well, if Ronnie O'Sullivan gets on the baulk colour easily there, he

:35:03.:35:10.

is favourite in the frame to win the match. Now what? Green is hard. A

:35:11.:35:16.

red begging to be pocketed though. How well has he done that. He made

:35:17.:35:27.

that look so easy, with the ball so close together, they are so

:35:28.:35:28.

difficult. Well, there's not a ball safe on the

:35:29.:35:43.

table. And that missed red from Mark Williams could be so costly.

:35:44.:35:51.

It looked almost a certainty to pot this he played it with lots of

:35:52.:36:01.

bottom, thought he potted it, and all of

:36:02.:36:06.

There's usually no better player in the game than a counterattacking

:36:07.:36:13.

part of Ronnie O'Sullivan's armory. The referee just wagging his finger

:36:14.:36:27.

at a spectator there. Got nearly 2,000 people in here, have been

:36:28.:36:30.

fantastic. They have had an absolutely superb match to watch.

:36:31.:36:36.

Just a little bit of work to be done with those three reds.

:36:37.:36:50.

And it's gone deathly quiet now at the Ally Pally.

:36:51.:37:03.

Can't do anything about it. You got to sit and watch and hope that

:37:04.:37:10.

something goes wrong for your opponent, the way he's played in the

:37:11.:37:23.

3 previous breaks, breaks of 104, 14, 117...

:37:24.:37:44.

He's underscrewed that. Just left himself the wrong side of the blue,

:37:45.:37:50.

so having to take the pink. Well, what sort of a cannon has he

:37:51.:38:07.

got here? It's not perfect, it's a little bit in between. 1 more good

:38:08.:38:14.

shot needed here. It's not there! It's not over just yet.

:38:15.:38:22.

It should have been, but he went slightly out of position there.

:38:23.:38:31.

Well, he knocked it in, he would have liked it a bit further away

:38:32.:38:37.

from the cushion than this. What a pressure pot this will be.

:38:38.:38:47.

One good screwback now, has he got more of an angle, perhaps... Yeah,

:38:48.:38:52.

one good screwback. Well, it looked like it was all

:38:53.:39:08.

over. What twists and turns we've had in this frame, Mark missed that

:39:09.:39:12.

sitter of a red, Ronnie looked like he was going to clean up, and clink

:39:13.:39:17.

the match... But we could have a decider. Ch the match... But we

:39:18.:39:25.

could have a decider. John Parrot gets his wish.

:39:26.:39:47.

Absolutely fantastic from Mark Williams.

:39:48.:39:57.

The are all square. Who is going to go through to the next round? That's

:39:58.:40:05.

the big question. We've got a deciding frame. It's five frames

:40:06.:40:06.

all. Oh, he's done that for the second

:40:07.:40:38.

time. The break off shot catching the blue, but at least it's not

:40:39.:40:42.

going to be costly. The black is not available. There's a possible pot.

:40:43.:40:46.

Just hitting it too thin. A big shot to take on. Especially if he's got

:40:47.:40:54.

to use his extension to pot the red and screwback there a baulk colour.

:40:55.:40:57.

Maybe, it's a bit of a stretch. That red is dead straight, I think,

:40:58.:41:24.

so Ronnie just turning it down. It's going to be available at any time.

:41:25.:41:26.

He's got to get a good cue ball. Well, he left that red that you

:41:27.:41:39.

mention, and there's a path around the back of the black. Mark Williams

:41:40.:41:41.

will take it on, that's for sure. But tensions rising. And he's got

:41:42.:41:54.

away with it. The red is going to run safe. Welcome to the twilight

:41:55.:42:01.

zone! Nothing like a twitching last frame. This is pottable, but it's

:42:02.:42:07.

got to be some sort of shot to get on any colour at all. Not worth

:42:08.:42:08.

playing, really. This is time for a clear mind...

:42:09.:42:20.

Surely this doublt cut in. Surely it's a safety shot. Is he playing

:42:21.:42:23.

the cut? It's off the cushion. It's going to be hard to make a spot

:42:24.:42:42.

off the blue. What sort of power can he generate here? Oh, he threw

:42:43.:42:49.

everything into it. What a great shot, what a great shot that was!

:42:50.:43:07.

Well, twoe incredible -- two incredible screwbacks from Mark

:43:08.:43:12.

Williams. He's got the pink into play. What superb cue power. The

:43:13.:43:18.

sort of stuff we usually see Judd Trump or Neil Robertson pray. He got

:43:19.:43:22.

the pink into play and this is a chance.

:43:23.:43:30.

That's still, he looks as cool as a cucumber out there, but inside,

:43:31.:43:38.

there's going to be a little bit of tension and a few butterflies

:43:39.:43:39.

fluttering around. We mentioned earlier, the last time

:43:40.:43:53.

they met, these players, 2014, the quarterfinal of the International

:43:54.:44:00.

Championship, mark won six-five. He played for the blue, but he's given

:44:01.:44:05.

himself a chance, should he want to, the open the pack up. He is betwixt

:44:06.:44:11.

and between thinking about whether he wants to open the pack. Winning

:44:12.:44:17.

softly, he didn't go in hard enough. He should have committed more. Does

:44:18.:44:22.

it go in the middle though? If he does, and he might get on the pink,

:44:23.:44:27.

he might be OK. Perhaps he knew that.

:44:28.:44:40.

You can see the look on his face. He is fired up, completely fired up.

:44:41.:44:48.

He's got to be careful with this one. Which he was. But he let the

:44:49.:44:56.

white ball run away. It's cuttable, this red, but no control on the cue

:44:57.:44:57.

ball. He doesn't want to just cannon into

:44:58.:45:13.

the red that's near the cushion there. That's what he's looking at.

:45:14.:45:17.

If he just hits that the wrong way, he won't finish on anything. It's

:45:18.:45:22.

hard to avoid that. It's a natural cannon. And he managed to get

:45:23.:45:30.

appeared the back of it. But he doesn't want to be straight on the

:45:31.:45:34.

blue. He needs a bit of angle and I think he's got it, to get up to the

:45:35.:45:36.

reds. Nope. Trying to cannon the pink. And

:45:37.:45:53.

the reds there. I said that Mark was as cool as a cucumber, this wife is

:45:54.:46:00.

here with him, and she won't be as cool as a cucumber. A delightful

:46:01.:46:05.

lady, and their three boys are at home, and they'll be watching this.

:46:06.:46:19.

It's a superbly controlled safety shot, although Ronnie has a path

:46:20.:46:22.

back down the table, between blue and brown.

:46:23.:46:41.

We did manage to find Joe, that is her in the audience. She will be so

:46:42.:46:47.

nervous. She's a lovely lady. Ronnie be happy to, I assume, get

:46:48.:47:16.

the red away from the black. Screw to the top cushion. Has he got the

:47:17.:47:24.

snooker. He is very quickly there to see... So Mark Williams could be

:47:25.:47:33.

argued, he asked for that. Perhaps he saw he had no other chance of

:47:34.:47:39.

safety, so... There was a clever shot. No easy

:47:40.:47:47.

escape to come out of and land on the reds. You would leave one on. He

:47:48.:47:54.

is going to swerve it a bit. Just to catch the edge of the red. Where

:47:55.:47:55.

does he put this? Well, he must have been in severe

:47:56.:48:06.

trouble to have to risk that type of shot. Great strike.

:48:07.:48:13.

He's on the green, is he? What a superb strike that was. Didn't look

:48:14.:48:19.

much, but off the cushion. Oh, he's not sure he can get to it.

:48:20.:48:34.

It's just the roll-up. A small reprieve for Mark Williams, because

:48:35.:48:39.

Mark can probably... Find a away into the pack to keep things

:48:40.:48:40.

contained. Yes, straightforward to get into the

:48:41.:48:53.

pack though, there's a couple of reds he could leave on.

:48:54.:48:59.

Coming off a couple of cushions, rather than directly into them. And

:49:00.:49:08.

that, is that hard enough? Yep, plenty of pace but he could still

:49:09.:49:16.

push it on. He might have, that wasn't a straightforward escape for

:49:17.:49:17.

Mark Williams there. I thought it was in, but all of a

:49:18.:49:48.

sudden it catches the right jaw. If he had been further out to the left

:49:49.:49:54.

of pocket, it would have gunpointed it. The near jaw is the one you

:49:55.:50:00.

don't want to hit. Especially on the match tables. Perhaps on a club

:50:01.:50:05.

table they would slide in. Advantage Mark Williams, but not much.

:50:06.:50:23.

I liked that shot a lot. Quite clever from Ronnie O'Sullivan. He is

:50:24.:50:31.

27 behind. He didn't want to use the back end of the black as a safety

:50:32.:50:35.

zone. He wants to get the game back to normality and he picked out a

:50:36.:50:41.

very good shot there, he really did. Mark Williams is obviously see the

:50:42.:50:47.

left-hand side of the pack, but what he's frightened of doing, opening up

:50:48.:50:48.

the reds. He does need to get the cue ball

:50:49.:50:56.

bang on the baulk cushion if he's going to play back down the table.

:50:57.:51:01.

He's having a quick look at the top of the table, to see where it's

:51:02.:51:07.

safe. You see there's all sorts of shots available to him. Such a

:51:08.:51:11.

clever shot he pick out there, Ronnie. It really was.

:51:12.:51:16.

Not sure if Mark Williams is considering playing a very slow half

:51:17.:51:23.

ball, or thin snick, to keep it onto the top cushion. He is studying up,

:51:24.:51:26.

perhaps he disregarded that. No it's a weird plant to be even

:51:27.:51:42.

considering. I think he's got to play a half ball safety and hope it

:51:43.:51:48.

doesn't open the reds up. I can't see any other shot. The cue ball is

:51:49.:51:52.

going to come down to roughly behind the yellow, and he's got to hope the

:51:53.:51:59.

balls don't go into a pottable position. But it's like a risk, he

:52:00.:52:05.

is umming up a risk. Not the 3-ball plant, the weird plant. The weird

:52:06.:52:11.

plant would have to be, the knock the red onto the cushion to make a

:52:12.:52:15.

plant. He can't see an easy safety shot. Surely not, surely not! He is

:52:16.:52:21.

turning it down! That's what Jo thinks of the plant!

:52:22.:52:32.

, that was definitely the wrong choice. They thought long and hard,

:52:33.:52:38.

and boy, what a shot he tack on there -- he took on there.

:52:39.:52:47.

Well... It was always pushing to the top cushion.

:52:48.:52:57.

Surely the safety shot would have been a better option. Well, he knew

:52:58.:53:04.

if he pulled that tough plant off, he could have won the match.

:53:05.:53:11.

Now can Ronnie O'Sullivan... Pull himself together. Somebody's phone

:53:12.:53:21.

has got on. It's been terrific all afternoon and someone has forgot to

:53:22.:53:26.

turn the phone off. UMPIRE: Can somebody turn the phone

:53:27.:53:27.

off, please? Yeah, just going to say, if Ronnie

:53:28.:53:38.

O'Sullivan can keep himself together here...

:53:39.:53:38.

APPLAUSE It seems a strange thing to say,

:53:39.:53:49.

with a player like Ronnie O'Sullivan and all that he's won in the game,

:53:50.:53:54.

and even the greatest player of the game suffers from a little bit of

:53:55.:53:59.

pressure at times. He may well need the last red on the side cushion.

:54:00.:54:10.

Everyone wag looking forward to this match. They were looking forward to

:54:11.:54:28.

Ronnie O'Sullivan coming back after they eight-month lay-off. I didn't

:54:29.:54:33.

think we were going to get a fabulous match like this. It really

:54:34.:54:41.

has been very special. And you see, little things like that cannon, he

:54:42.:54:44.

is still just about OK. But that's a bit of a stretch.

:54:45.:54:48.

Fans nationing to see how he goes about moving that difficult red that

:54:49.:55:04.

Steve mentioned. Well, he's - he can get an angle on

:55:05.:55:17.

the second-last red and flick it into play. It's as simple as it

:55:18.:55:22.

could be, really. Under the circumstances. He still has to play

:55:23.:55:27.

the shot right, but perhaps a little bit wider than he would have wanted.

:55:28.:55:32.

If he can flick the red into play, he

:55:33.:55:35.

He's got to do it from the green. Needs to pull up. He doesn't want to

:55:36.:55:41.

be straight on the green, otherwise he can't get

:55:42.:55:44.

APPLAUSE What a shot!

:55:45.:55:59.

He was almost there. On the green. And he forced it over to knock the

:56:00.:56:06.

red out. That was a fabulous shot. So Mark Williams thought long and

:56:07.:56:15.

hard about that plant that he took on.

:56:16.:56:23.

And the referee, has to come back up again. What a match we've had here.

:56:24.:56:29.

Mark Williams has been superb. And ron any know will play the --

:56:30.:56:49.

and Ronnie now will play the winner of Ricky Walden and Mark Selby.

:56:50.:56:50.

Doesn't matter He is deciding whether to go and

:56:51.:57:01.

shake hands. He is having a think, he is not finished quite yet. But

:57:02.:57:04.

the Rocket is into the next round. Well, the brown is heading over the

:57:05.:57:41.

coverage pocket. He needs 3 snookers at the moment. It's been three years

:57:42.:57:45.

since Mark was here at the Masters. He doesn't want to leave just yet.

:57:46.:58:04.

And now we will get the handshake. Congratulations to the Rocket. It's

:58:05.:58:15.

been a fabulous match. These 2 have put on a fantastic show this

:58:16.:58:20.

afternoon at the Alexandra Palace. In the end, Ronnie O'Sullivan is

:58:21.:58:25.

back and he takes the match six frames to five. Well done to both

:58:26.:58:29.

players. So it's the Rocket, not exactly on cruise control, who goes

:58:30.:58:32.

through the quarterfinals. Great to see him back. And we'll be back on

:58:33.:58:43.

BBC Two, tomorrow, 1 o'clock, for the pen ultimate first round match.

:58:44.:58:48.

And a debutant this year, Liang Wenbo, who made us smile and

:58:49.:58:52.

thrilled us all at the recent UK championship. What a day it's been.

:58:53.:58:54.

Bye-bye for now. Let your New Year start with a bang

:58:55.:59:00.

and visit an explosive new China.

:59:01.:59:06.

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