Day 1 Masters Snooker Highlights

Hello again from Alexandra Palace. As the winter is biting across the

United Kingdom, this Betfair Masters is surely the antedate to

the cold. You can feel the reflected heat and tension to this

prestigious event. We were doing exactly that today and in the first

of the matches this year, it featured the last two men to lift

the sparkling crystal trophy. Neil Robertson, defending champion, and

stayed last person to win the trophy when it was at Wembley, Ding

Junhui. We can remind you of the key moments in this match, when the

We could not ask for a better start to the match than this. And Neil

Robertson looking very good as he takes the opening frame. Looking to

go across the double on three red. Just the start the defending

champion was looking for and his fists are pumping. This will test

his action. Well played. He is great when he gets going. Century.

Brilliant. He could not have played it better. It is all square.

Nothing between them. He is just sublime. He is back in front.

exceptional, playing these types of shots. Absolutely superb. And he

has levelled again. 3-3. And it is there. He is leading 4-3. He almost

avoided that and what a kiss on the black. He has got to play the

cannon. He needs it to break nicely and that looked inch-perfect. For

that trophy is still within reach. that trophy is still within reach.

He is trailing 5-4. That was his highest break of the match when he

needed it most but he is clinging on by his fingertips, as we pick it

up in frame ten. Ding Junhui looks up in frame ten. Ding Junhui looks

favourite for the frame and match. But he has hit the pink and ran out

of position and it is back to the table for Neil Robertson. Can he

extricated itself from this one? -- He played it and he has done it

pretty well. Not completely safe, He could not have done much better.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

He got very close to the pot. It A tremendous pot. But he has been

unlucky. It looked certain he was going to be on the black, possibly

the blue, but that kiss on the pink has given him a big pressure pot.

You feel he has got to take it on. His hopes of retaining this title R

Orme this shot. -- are almost this Fabulous pot. And the other thing

was when he played that screw back into baulk and the red in the top

cushion got removed and everything is in a possible position, if he

We saw him earlier doing a fist pump. I do not know what he is

That was earlier. In the second The shot here, if he can play it is

Well, that tells us that he is He is just having a look to see if

he is leaving the cue ball high. That is where he is leaving it now.

And what an opportunity this is. Taking it to 5-5 and into a decider.

And he holed it together here? -- Just five behind. Ding Junhui had

his chance. But just finished a bit short. If he had got on one of

those reds, it would have been over by now. But Neil Robertson is on

the wrong side of the blue. We were going on about it earlier about

being on the correct size but that was a poor position. He might be

able to stun this and leave the cue This plea to go 15 in front. Well

played, Robertson. He is putting Ding Junhui under pressure. The

title that he holds is still within his grasp of. We are going to a

REFEREE: The deciding frame. Ding Both players shook hands as they

came out. Has he left a possible red into the middle? The audience

are certainly up for the decider. Yes, but the top 16 players into

the melting pot and they do not like this. You will get lots of

final frame deciders. We have had lots of close matches this week.

There is little between the quality A kiss on the yellow will help.

That will help even more. He is nicely on the alive. First chance,

His brother, Mark, he will be getting excited. It is even worse

watching than playing, sometimes! He is playing better than he has

done. For quite a spell, in the last couple of frames he has been

excellent. 62 from know where to get the last decide it. -- nowhere.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

He has got a chance with the angle that he has got, to play for the

It depends how he feels. Maybe one more. Just trying to kick away.

think he was trying to play for an angle and got hold of the cue ball

a bit too much. He has ever done it. If you have a good angle once, he

But of course this going into the middle, releases the red just above

into the left corner pocket. It is I think that red is also available

into the bright medal. -- right That has amazed me. He has got a

red to play for, and coming off the top cushion... Willie Thorne used

to say, it was always going to be awkward and I thought, get on that

red and leave a nice angle on the It is a long pot up into the yellow

And when you can do that, what is there to worry about? Absolutely

beautiful. I agree with you. That was the one I least expected. But

he has recovered with a brilliant At the way he played it makes you

think that he will not be wilting in sight of the finishing line. It

is hard to see Ding Junhui getting back to the table. The match has

been swinging and it looks like the defending champion is getting very

That has got a massive bounce. Neil Robertson was stunned to see that

happening. It came off at nearly And under the circumstances, from

Hyde -- from 5-3 behind, he has been very positive. All of his pots

have been with a purpose. That is It has been a terrific match. We

have had a few mistakes but that is what makes it exciting. But we have

also had quality breaks. Mainly from Ding Junhui. A fraction one

way or the other, and Ding Junhui could have won this match. Neil

Robertson is just a couple away The defending champion looks like

he has got over this very big first You beauty! Everybody was asking

what he was going to do after that fist palm, and I think we have

found out. -- pump. There is And in a way, I suppose you can

imagine the relief, because they were obviously times, particularly

5-3 behind, when you thought that his reign was over. But it was not

to be. And there is no stopping him now. He has even got a perfect

He missed but Ding Junhui will shake his hand. He looked down and

out. He has got nothing to be upset about. Look at the delight from the

Australian. Absolutely over the moon. He is in the quarter-finals

for the title that he is defending. for the title that he is defending.

He has beaten Ding Junhui 6-5. knew that if I could get a chance I

was going to go for it. He had quite a bad break and he left me

with a chance in the middle and I made 90. I thought I maybe had a

made 90. I thought I maybe had a chance to win 6-4. And then I hit

the pink. There was not enough power to open the red. Sometimes

you get a bit unlucky. I do not you get a bit unlucky. I do not

know but it is all right. I am playing one of the best players in

the world and you have got to play well from the start. It is a great

audience and this is the second biggest tournament we have got by

some distance. This is the tournament everybody looks thought

to. It is great to be in the next round. I have got a few days off

and I can watch other players twitching under pressure. As what a

start. You beauty, indeed. It was Acis Doric match. That was the

first match of that type ever witnessed. -- a historic match. His

hopes of becoming the 4th man to defend his title is still intact.

He has got a chance to relax and he can watch the form of his next

potential opponent. He knew he would be playing mark, but which

pretty solid after four previous visits. But for Mark Davis, this is

his first time in this event since 2003. Mark Allen started in

exceptional style with a break of 136 on the way to a 4-2 advantage.

And that is where we will join them now in frame seven with Ken Doherty

DENNIS TAYLOR: He missed that completely. He was hoping to leave

himself a chance with the black. But he went across slightly and he

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

And he has not needed many chances I think he said something to the

referee. I think he said that he could do with being 6 ft tall. He

will need everything for this and he has asked for the biggest thing

that they can produce. And here is the extended rest coming out. It is

the full length of the table. It is not often you see players needing

the full 12 feet. He could probably You do not see that very often but

he had to get away from the rest very quickly! Sooner or later, it

He is still smiling. He cannot believe what just happened. He has

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

It is worth another look, I I am just wondering if that red at

the back is possible? He is looking at that. He did not finish as he

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

intended but he should be all right He might not take the black because

he will have to get back through the cap. Pink to the left centre

The red closest to the pocket will He just got but little kiss on the

red which it made it a little bit awkward. -- that little case. --

Without the kiss on the red he would have been nicely on the blue.

It is not straight forward for Mark The red next to the green may be

available to the same pocket that If the red would cope in to the

right corner, that would be a bonus. It could be made into a plant but

he will not necessarily play for If he thinks the plant is tricky he

can play across the table for the He has to be careful because the

plant is pointing to the left of He just squeezed the second red

slightly. No problem. Well negotiated for the planned but he

did not get the desired position on He could have easily played for the

He took the yellow to try to get into perfect position. That is a

fabulous positional shot. He could He played it to try and cover it if

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

He has left a great chance here. There was just a little bit of

tension there on that shot for Mark It will be a bit of a body blow if

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

he loses this frame and falls 3 He could not have played that any

better. Just for the blue and pink It was a frame that Mark Davis

badly needs it. He had a chance but he missed that red along the

cushion and Mark Allen took full advantage. Just one more frame

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

needed to go through to the next An excellent pot and he is on the

The an excellent opening red from Mark Davis. He must hit the pink

It is one of those situations where you completely take your eye off

the blue, concentrating so much on going into the pack. Just take your

He has left an easy starter for Mark Allen, but no easy colour. The

fact that the blue is off its spot He did not cannon the red that he

The chance is there now. This is the weight you would set them up

for a little practice session. -- It is only the second time that

these players have played each other. Mark Allen once 13-5 in the

He just lost cue ball closer slightly. The fact that he is a

He cannot get the bridge of the rest in the position that he wants.

Who put that cushion there?! If he pause right handed, and they would

not be a problem. -- there would It was tight on the cushion and he

put it in the heart of the pocket. He has had a couple of quarter-

finals in the Masters, and a semi- The Masters is without doubt one of

the most difficult tournaments to win because it is the top 16 that

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

That seemed to set him up and he has looked pretty comfortable ever

In the last frame, Mark Davis had a chance to get back to just one

frame behind, but I think he fears We have not been playing two hours,

so it has been pretty could so There were no ranking points

available in the Masters, it is just the top 16 that's take part.

It is one of the majors that everybody wants on their CV. No

century break but it is a very accomplished performance. He

started the night with a total clearance and finish with a break

of 80 and in the end it was quite a comfortable victory. He goes

comfortable victory. He goes through to the next round.

thought I was dominating early on but I could not really pulled away.

After the interval I continue to play pretty well and Mark Mr couple.

That is the difference, only a few shots. Consistency just is not

there and it is something I need to work on. There are only eight

players left when I come to play my next match. They're all good

players and anyone is capable of winning. There is no one left in

the Tom and that I have not beaten before. I have avoiding to pay for

an do not have that much money in the bank! Pink a snooker tournament

-- being a snooker player is not as cumbrous as it seems. These

weddings can be quite expensive! He will be playing Neil Robertson in