Day 2 Masters Snooker Highlights

Welcome to highlight. Tonight we are concentrating on an all-

Scottish clash between Stephen Maguire and Graeme Dott, who

between them have made 20 appearances at this tournament but

as yet neither has been to the final before. We have known each

other for maybe 15 years now. We know each other's game, how good

each other art. It doesn't make any difference that we are both

Scottish. We are both mates off the table, but when we go on to play,

we will want to rip each other's heads off. After it is finished, we

will be mate again. -- mades. wouldn't say I was playing

consistently well of but I'm hoping it turns around at the right time.

It is a new year now, the first big tournament of the new year, so I

will try a bit harder and hopefully get some titles this year. I have

been struggling for the past few months, playing a really bad, in

the last tournament I reached the final in Germany, I started to show

a bit of form, hopefully I can bring it into this. I think Graeme

is probably one of the most underrated players in the top 16,

which he shouldn't be, because I think he has proved himself, he has

been world champion and two other finals in the World Championships,

so he is a handful. He is obviously a very good player, he is a very

aggressive player, there will not be as many safety battles against

him as against other players, I enjoy playing against him. Graeme

Dott made a quick start, winning the first two of frames before

Maguire level things up courtesy of a century. It is 3-3 as we join it

in frame seven. Dott is at the It looked as if he was going to

leave a red on, but he has got excellent length on the cue ball.

That was a top class safety shot. Not only has he covered that red,

he has covered the path down the left-hand side to the blue. He is

I suppose he could come off the side cushion and roll into the side

of the reds, but he would have to hit the correct one. Absolute dead

That is one way, but is he trying to get into the red behind the

That was never on. The miss is called, but not taken. Knock me

over with a feather, he has played that shot! I don't think he was too

happy with that himself. There was a chance playing your shot, but how

He will have to sit in his seat and suffer, I assume you try to get

down to the top cushion and hit the red of the top cushion, he has

He is a real tiger, is Graeme Dott. When he realises he has a chance to

I would like to have been the right side of the blue. Maybe the pink

He had stopped in his tracks. He thought he got a balance off the

third cushion. -- bounce. He is betwixt and between. If it had run

on a bit further, he would have been on a red to the left corner,

it stopped just a fraction short. In fairness, it is his positional

play, really. He has given himself But it never seems to affect Graeme

very much. I am looking at this match thinking that Stephen Maguire

is hitting the ball better than Graeme Dott, but I would never

count him out. He just keeps on Had it is another good pot, and he

He has options. He really is some competitive. -- competitor. He

would be one of those annoying boxers who you keep hitting, they

keep getting up and staring you in He has now decided to take the

I think there is a red to the left middle, he could have done with

that cue ball bouncing a little bit Cannon up to the red that is an the

pink spot would be absolutely When he went 3-2 down, it looked

like it was danger time for Graeme Dott. And here he is, looking like

It is Stephen Maguire he was under pressure now. -- who is. Yes, and

Graeme Dott is the type of player, who if he gets in first in the

frame, he is very hard to pick back. So the early stages a beach frame

of very important, you feel, for Stephen Maguire. -- the early

stages of each frame are very important. His highest break so far

in the match has been a 69, in He will be on 72, but it will be

If he clears the colours, it will An excellent response, this, from

being too does era in front, going three-two behind, you have to take

your hat off to him. He does it his way. Sometimes it isn't as pretty

as other players, but it is the As the doctor says, are, he has

gone for the four cushion! Didn't matter. What a good performance

this is up from Graeme Dott. Stephen Maguire looked to be

getting a full steam ahead but Dott Graeme Dott get his head back in

front, and Stephen Maguire is coming under extreme pressure. We

He has missed the reds with the plant. This may not be taken,

depends if Stephen feels he can pot the red and get position on the

colour. These reds are awkward. He is 28 behind. It would be a good

clearance from here, to win this He could hold comfortably for

yellow or green. They are not ideally placed, the reds. He will

do well to win the frame at this Would you believe it! I said it

would be difficult to win the frame, but I never expected him to miss

I and that was a lovely kiss! I didn't expect Stephen Maguire to

He was perfect on to the two reds. You as, the two awkward reds.

This was it, when I was saying it would be difficult for Stephen

Maguire, it was those two awkward reds that would only go in the

left-hand pocket. After finishing on the green, it was on. Now he is

complaining he got a bit of a bounce off the cushion. When you

are playing with a bit of track, it turned into a bit of top-spin.

think it did come off quicker but in fairness, the shot before should

not have been anywhere near where What compounded that it was he had

a choice of yellow or green, so there was no advantage in being

It has caused him to miss, so Stephen Maguire will get another

chance. I think they are both feeling it at the minute, they both

I bet he never thought he was getting another chance, Stephen

What is happening at the minute?! He has conceded. I know you're not

supposed to. But the frame is conceded. There is a rule you're

not supposed to concede while the game is still in play, so he might

finish up with a fine for that. But just the frustration of the

situation, these things happen. We will just watch it again. The cue

ball was coming down the table, he just flick it away and conceded.

Graeme Dott is now just one frame away from a place in the quarter-

Conceding that frame in such Amman may not have been the best decision

he has ever made, he may get a potential fine, but he did compose

himself to get back into the match by getting the next frame. We

Half a chance there for Graeme Dott. As soon as he is playing a shot

where he is having to hit a low centre at pace, he is not as

I tell you what, this is a test for your cue action, these are really

Brilliant. Absolutely. You couldn't have described did any better. A

superb shot. -- described it. Such a dangerous player. His own worst

enemy at times, but when he is on terms with himself, he can pot

That newly went wrong, but it is OK. Just managed to nudge the red

towards the left hand corner. Otherwise he would have been on

You may have noticed that he potted the red into the left-hand side,

just to widen the angle to come back for the black. The cue ball

Not quite how he played that, but He is OK. For a moment I thought he

had gone a little too far, but he can get through to the cue ball

It is the follow-through that is the problem there. You have to be

Graeme Dott just has to sit there patiently, hoping he gets a chance,

if not in this frame, then in the next one. That is what he will have

been thinking from the moment he was by-3 in front. He is just

thinking, I am bound to get a couple of chances. He didn't get

much of a chance in the last frame. That excellent opening red from his

opponent hasn't given him much of a chance in this one. He's on the

perfect angle on the blue to go into the pink and red, but what is

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds

the point? Try and keep it simple He will be disappointed with that

Stephen Maguire is still one frame behind, and he is straight on this

black, he shouldn't have been. He was able to force it across, at the

red to the left middle... Since he has conceded that frame before, who

started hitting the ball superbly well. -- he started. He will be

fined for giving game eight or way. But he has really cued Welten t got

that frame out of his mind. -- cued well since he got that frame out of

his mind. He is going to try and leave an angle on the blue to

He hasn't really gone far enough, he might be able to force it down,

but it is easier to stun it in and So this could be the key to the

frame. Can he get a good position on the colour, to bring a -- of the

reds into play? This is the last of He is asking for the cue ball to be

cleaned. I don't know if it was such a bad contact or he didn't hit

it hard enough. You can see the red jumped, it took all the pace out of

Just looking around to see if there are any plant in the cluster, I

can't see any. He can still get into these, but it is a much

He is just about on one. And he is looking for red and one more black

This will be some frame-winning contribution, when you consider the

red he started with. Just building himself up for this one. Red and a

That opening red was an absolute duty. Cueing across the table,

excellent. He deserves everything So that chance that Graeme Dott

felt was bound to come his way hasn't been this frame, I didn't in

the last. He will be hoping he gets his opportunity in the decider.

I said earlier, Stephen Maguire is going to have to play very well,

We have had six century breaks so far in the Masters this year. The

sick if one was this evening in the third frame, by Stephen Maguire. --

It looks as though he's going to make his second century. The

highest break so far is by Mark Allen, 100 and statistics. That

cannot be bettered here, but what a sensational break. -- 136. He just

needed the one opportunity. A tremendous pot on the red. And top

drawer, to win the frame in one visit. It sets us up for a decider.

Graeme Dott, waiting for that chance to clinch the match, he has

had two of frames and he has not had one. He will be hoping for an

opportunity in that all-important But such are the vagaries of

Absolutely superb. When he plays like that, you wonder who can beat

him. Sometimes, I only himself. But It was almost inevitable that we

would end up with a final frame decider command here it is. Graeme

Dott at the table. It is already a Whereas the cue ball going? --

where is the cue ball going? It just means that Stephen Maguire is

now a point in front. All the snooker has been hard fought, after

three hours and 48 minutes, there Looking at that scoreline, in 1972

when Alex Higgins beat Rex Williams in the semi-final, that was the

frame score. How things have changed. Of course, the match was

Alex, of course, went on to win it, And that red on the right-hand side

cushion is certainly the biggest ball in this frame. These two reds

now are pottable, if he can get on them. But the one on the right

cushion will be the key to this I think for pink has come to

Well, it does this red go past the black? Looking at Graeme Dott's

body language, I think it might. Yes, and he doesn't have to do

anything with the cue ball. If he just stuns it, he will definitely

be on the pink. But you can't put a lot of pace on this so you have to

It is not there. Well, funnily enough, he was looking up as the

red drifted away. We saw a ball like that on the first day. Neil

Robertson saying that a ball drifted away. Never really behind

the line of the shot so we can't confirm that. All I do now -- or

like do know it is Graeme Dott has Well, this is a far from easy pot.

If you're going to try to win this frame, you have to play on the

Don't get me wrong, this is a very tricky pot. But if you do want to

remove that red, you have to play Well, he has got the perfect angle

on the black. I don't know why he He can play to move this or drop

behind it. If he could roller to along the cushion, the pink would

be on. -- roll it. Played to knock it out. Just needed a fraction more

pace. Just a fraction harder and he would have knocked this red on.

Could not have played it better. always had the look of being in

important ball. Now the yellow has gone near the baulk cushion...

Still plenty to play for. A decent safety, a good length with the cue

ball. So important. He can push this up and down, but it is the

dreaded double-kiss he has to worry He missed the double-kiss and he

will be very happy with that result. Graeme didn't want that red to

bounce, but it is -- it has bounced slightly. But I wouldn't say it is

easy. The green will hamper his bridging. He feels as though he can

Over done it! Now, it is it potable coming off cushion first? Do it is

Stephen Maguire's turn to have some fortune. It is probably as awkward

as it could be, where the cue ball is. I still think Graeme Dott can

get past the pink and on to the cushion. But it could have been

Well, another chance for Graeme Dott, but the yellow is going to be

difficult. I don't care how he gets on it, it is going to be difficult.

Yes, it's the only hope Stephen He has played it really well. The

cue ball has gone a little further than he would have liked. You could

be very tempted to play safe here. Well, it's decision time. A big

decision. This is a big match. He has got every respect for his

opponent. This would be a real feather in his cap if he was to win

this one. He just needs the yellow Well, he tried to hedge his bets by

playing the screw. It has not turned out too bad. Not too bad, it

is an absolute result! Nearly a If he could see all of that,

Maguire, he would be stunning it and leaving Graeme Dott snookered.

Year, it is obviously tricky. I'm not sock -- I'm not sure how much

of this yellow he can hit. For one thing for certain, he has to get it

safe. Graeme Dott it just needs the That was about as good as he could

have done. It is the yellow ball fight because these balls are

The longest frame of the match, coming in at 35 minutes. We had a

34 minute first frame, but since Well played. Yes, absolutely. He

was in a spot of bother. The motor important thing was to get it safe,

but he has not put a lot of Well, a surprise, I thought he

might have played a more attacking shot. I am quite happy with that

shot. It is very tricky to get safe He went for it. No doubt about it.

Now, has Stephen Maguire got an angle to go for this yellow and

screw back to the green? This is a massive shot in the final frame of

a major tournament. There's a possibility of one of the best

shots he is going to play. The angle looks good to me, but this is

Just the pace that kept it out. Where's the yellow going? I don't

think Graeme Dott can pot the yellow, but it looks like a certain

snooker. Just the pace. He got back Well... He could obviously pot the

yellow. He jumped up in the air because he thought he could pot it

and avoid the kiss on the green. It There's a gap. I think there's just

a gap, but can he get the green safe? There's also a gap behind the

brown. Can he come around the That is what he has played for. So

close. Great effort. It was a great effort, wasn't it? 20 points in it

in favour of Graeme Dott. The green The way the balls are situated, as

John said earlier, whoever pots the next ball should win the match. It

is that close. 20 points the difference or not. That green is

not going past that brown. It has also finished in a very awkward

spot. If it was slightly higher up, Stephen Maguire would be playing a

safety behind the brown. Where it has finished his awkward. Difficult

This is tricky. Yes. If you overcut the green, it could kiss the brown

Not straight forward at all. Just to reiterate, it has just gone into

That is a tremendous shot. It really is. Just to get it as safe

That is a clever shot from Graeme. Very clever. Pushed the black onto

the top rail, making it as difficult as possible. Yes, if he

plays a cross double, your dreaded He went for it. So close. But he

has not left it. That was a heck of Well, green off the side cushion,

somewhere towards the black. But does he want to leave the green

near the black if he doesn't get the snooker? Stephen Maguire will

counter-punch with moving the black off the cushion. You have to think

about all of these things. If he pushes this green towards the black

and maybe go behind the brown. I Although the cue ball has just run

awkward. If it hadn't had got there, he would have left Stephen Maguire

What is happening here? The pink is going in. Oh no! 26 points behind

now and only 25 remaining. A snooker needed. Unlucky. Yes.

Desperately unlucky. He had to play the shot like he did. Look where

the green has finished. If he doesn't pot the pink, he has Graeme

Another thing about Graeme Dott but in the blacks safe is of course you

can't get a snooker behind it. He will do very well to get a snooker

here, Stephen Maguire. You usually want a colour near the cushion

somewhere. Well, in goes the green. Unbelievable. Stephen Maguire led -

- trailed 2-0, went 3-2 in front, 5-3 behind, had his chances,

couldn't take them and in the end Graeme Dott falls over the line and

Graeme Dott is through to the quarter-finals for the third

successive year and will play either Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins.

Time to show you what happened in the days of a match between John

Higgins and Ali Carter. K another fascinating match, as

they all are when you get the top Well, he has taken his eye off the

pot. That is just a lack of concentration. What a steal offices.

He has pinched another frame. Ali Carter could be 2-0 down, but he is

2-0 in front. That is the sign of a true champion. John Higgins making

a magnificent century break. He could make this. He has. He has now

got himself two frames ahead and he He is now just one frame away from

Very good, excellent shot. John Higgins, a twice winner of the

Masters, is through to the quarter final, winning 6-3.

final, winning 6-3. Ali is such a tough player to play

against and he plays all the shots I would play. He plays the right

game and he is such a tough player to play against. I'm over the moon

to have beaten him. The second day is done and dusted. Snooker extra