Day 3 Masters Snooker Extra

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

these two great champions and describing it all Dennis Taylor and

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

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

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

fantastic reception also. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cushion for comfort. 4.

APPLAUSE He has been playing quite a bit of

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

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

a club table. Well, should he have chose Tongo

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

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

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

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

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

played there! APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

fluency. 29. Nobody plays that shot any

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

same time. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

championship league recently. A tournament played behind closed

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

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

strokes it in. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cannon there. APPLAUSE

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

on a red. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

APPLAUSE Even that type of shot he was close

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

an early message to Mark Williams. 8.

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

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

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

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

firing straightaway. APPLAUSE

70. Doesn't matter about the brown. A

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

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

APPLAUSE I would say that Ronnie O'Sullivan

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

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

he might be happy with the safety there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

going to choose more than one cushion.

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

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

what, what a great shot! Great shot! CHEERING

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

that with the blue, the one to the right.

He needs to contain Ronnie at the moment.

APPLAUSE This would be a nice ball to knock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

for Ronnie. There is no easy safety shot because

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

albeit the black is still awkwardly placed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

thin. Oh, an excellent shot.

APPLAUSE Ronnie may have to move the black

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

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

position. Williams wishlings 1. APPLAUSE

-- Mark Williams This will be difficult for Ronnie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

be perfect. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

Williams has been watching the television he will know full well

that is the right shot to play. APPLAUSE

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

along the top cushion, the pockets look very big.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ronnie O'Sullivan back to the table. APPLAUSE

Ronnie will probably play this with pace.

CHEERING Well, that is all you need.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the pink. He will play it left-handed.

CHEERING Very good! That was an unbelievable

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

there. He leads two frames to nil. CHEERING

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

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

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

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

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

players played in the UK Championship when it was at Telford

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

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

unbelievable in the tactical department. Finest safety play I

have ever seen. Both were unbelievable in the tactical

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

black, though. Yes, I think Mark was probably

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

is tough. This is the first real chance that

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

always has been his concentration and his temperament.

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

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

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

you don't lose your class overnight. 15.

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

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

24. So it is not completely clear cut.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still some work to get over the line.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

it guess wrong. It looks great, but has he

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

that. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LAUGHS . APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

chalk off the tip. Mark Williams. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

people. Even for these top players in the

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

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

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

miscue. Has that changed the pattern of this match?

APPLAUSE Well, it has turned out nicely on

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the reds and getting onto the black, hopefully. He

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the table. Mark Williams 48. CHEERING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

but those days are You are thinking back to the World

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

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

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

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

APPLAUSE 1. He would like to see this yellow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

unlucky. LAUGHS

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

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

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

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

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

CHEERING 10. This is a very difficult red.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

do it. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

too hard. He had the perfect angle on the

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

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

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

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

have liked. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Couldn't have asked for better. APPLAUSE

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

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

the crowd. Has he got away with it. LAUGHTER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

closer to the cushion, which makes the clearances harder.

Oh, it went! APPLAUSE

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

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

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

Welshman. Doesn't matter about missing that.

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

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

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

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

reasonable chance, with not too much danger.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the way he started the match? APPLAUSE

Nicely recovered. Beautifully controlled. Didn't give

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

APPLAUSE What a recovery that was, he played

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

winning the highest break. It's irrelevant now.

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

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

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

Williams. He sent the red over the corner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

here? The black is in the open, the pink

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

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

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

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

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

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

also. Previous frame lasted just over 7

minutes. How long is this one going to last?

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

cue ball there. Finished dead straight on the blue,

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

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

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

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

the main burners are being ignited here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

long time. I think that Ronnie O'Sullivan can

get to this. Mark Williams took a risk trying to

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ronnie O'Sullivan. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

great shot. Well, acknowledged by a tap on the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

around in your Even the brickphone was not invented

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

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

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

a squeeze effect when you hit the first ball.

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

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

that. Puts the match on the cue ball

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

shouldn't be too difficult. Not that thin.

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

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

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

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

red this Oh, Ronnie O'Sullivan seems to have

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the baulk cushion. He can see enough of this.

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

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

APPLAUSE One good pot here and a cannon, and

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

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

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

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

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

though. Just a tricky little spotting

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

one of the top referees now. Another cannon needed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

potting angle. Moving that devil red, so, although

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

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

watch, he Great so see him back and playing

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

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

here. We've had five centuries so far in

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

O'Sullivan. And look at an exhibition shot to

finish it off here. This crowd enjoying every minute of

this. Mark Williams has got something to

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

his frame. Those two reds close to the back

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

just about. Getting a little bit more difficult

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

them. Not ideal cueing. He left a path for

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

plant. APPLAUSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bottom, thought he potted it, and all of

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

could have a decider. John Parrot gets his wish.

Absolutely fantastic from Mark Williams.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, twoe incredible -- two incredible screwbacks from Mark

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

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

the pink into play and this is a chance.

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

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

fluttering around. We mentioned earlier, the last time

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

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

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

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

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

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

he might be OK. Perhaps he knew that.

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

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

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

ball. He doesn't want to just cannon into

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

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

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

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

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

reds. Nope. Trying to cannon the pink. And

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

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

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

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

back down the table, between blue and brown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

contained. Yes, straightforward to get into the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the reds. He does need to get the cue ball

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

O'Sullivan can keep himself together here...

APPLAUSE It seems a strange thing to say,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If he can flick the red into play, he

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

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

APPLAUSE What a shot!

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

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

hard about that plant that he took on.

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

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

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

Doesn't matter He is deciding whether to go and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and visit an explosive new China.