Day 4 Masters Snooker Highlights

The temperatures may be plummeting right now, but at least at

Alexandra Palace the thermostat is rising. At least in terms of the

quality of the matches. We are just about at the tail-end of the first

round business. World number one Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham just

coming to the end of their first round match for the last remaining

place in the quarter-finals. We will reflect on that match shortly,

but first, a quick look back on a franc lead head-scratching

encounter this afternoon between two decorated Welshman, Mark

Williams and Matthew Stevens. -- frankly. Two former Masters winners,

Great expectations. Williams could hardly be Pot 2 balls in a row,

gifting Matthew the first couple of frames. Matthew must have thought

Christmas had come early and ripped through the frames and into a 4-1

lead. But just as Stevens was imagining his first win in 10 years

over his great mate, frame six jolted him back to reality. Awful

misses on the green and the brown. That was the turning point.

Suddenly Williams remembered who he was, a double world champion, and

how he can play. He rattled off the next frame as well. Stevens was

still 4-3 ahead, but cracks in his confidence as wide as the Severn

Bridge began to yawn. His lead was gone. Having started so slowly,

there was no stopping Williams thereafter. A 6-4 win. From 4-1

behind, this was surely one of the most remarkably bizarre comebacks

Delighted to win. More happy with myself that I never gave him. Even

at 4-1 down, I never gave up, possibly trying too hard at times!

I somehow managed to win. I don't think anybody would have thought I

would win at 4-1 down. One of those matches, I don't really know how

I'm won. Relieved but a little bemused about how he managed to win.

He was free this evening to watch his next opponent. It was going to

be one of the top performers of the season, either Mr Bingham or Mr

We have the UK Championship just before Christmas which was great

and I had a break after Christmas and then came back and won the PTC

in Germany. I am confident. I've had a good start to the season.

I've won three trophies, the same as Mark. I've been practising and

I'm up for it tonight. Stuart is a great player, I've known him for

many years. I always rated him to a high level, but he never really

came through and achieved what he should have done. Over the last 18

months he has shown what a class player he is. He is the best player

in the world. He is back to world number one. He is the hardest

player out there at the moment. Every tournament we going to we

want to win and the Masters is no different. It would be great to win

it again. I will be trying my best. It would mean everything to me.

Over the years Hendry winning it five times on the trot, the names,

Paul Hunter, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Higgins, only the best players in

the world have won it. Mark Selby may be the newly crowned UK

champion and world number one, but the world Number Ten, Stuart

Bingham, has a winning record Bingham, has a winning record

against him. He beat Selby 6-0 in the Premier League this season.

Selby took the opener and now he has work to do in the second frame.

Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty are eager to get their teeth into this

Although it is the best of 11, if Stuart loses this second frame, it

When your opponent wins the opening frame with one visit, you want to

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

come straight back at him. He had a He might not be able to hold this,

that is why he was thinking about going all the way around the table,

but that would be quite difficult. He was undecided. He couldn't make

up his mind. He went down on the shot and then got up. He thought

about going all the way around the table and then just seemed to go

down and take his eye off the pot. He's just looking at the scores and

calculating. 15 ahead. Blackwood put him 22. He will just need two

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

He has missed a trick here, Mark Selby. He had a great chance to

stamp early authority on the match until he missed that black off the

spot if when he was a little bit A little exhibition shot. He is not

worried about the black. Stuart A solid opening knock from Stuart

and several more would follow. Bingham went three-1 up at the

interval. Could he keep the squeeze The white will be close...

REFEREE: Foul. Once it misses the blue from that angle, you know it

will go very close to the corner pocket. He has left a long pot for

Stuart. Already 32 points in the lead. He is usually pretty

He cued that very nicely and now a great chance. That red next to the

He has enough reds in potable positions to leave Mark Selby

needing a snooker. Worrying times for the Chester from Leicester. --

jester from Leicester. It all started so well this evening. He

looked in excellent form with that 63 break. It has been all Stuart

Bingham ever since. I suppose we new-look back at the second frame,

I know it was early in the match, but it was a bit of a turning point.

Mark Selby had a great chance to pinch it and that would have heard

Stuart Bingham. Bingham got his first frame on the board and since

then he hasn't looked back. He has cued very well and looked very

composed and confident. He started off nervous, no doubt about that.

Since that second frame, it has been Paul Stuart Bingham. But it

may have been different if Mark Selby had pinched that second frame

That was an excellent positional shot. He judged it absolutely

62 points ahead so just this red required. That is another frame on

the board. These are worrying times Yes. I think what he has to do is

think about that UK championship when he was 4-0 to down against

Neil Robertson and came back to win. He has to get himself positive. He

A possible six frames still to be played in this match. He will have

to win five of them to progress in It was funny, we walked over

together at about 6:40pm. Stuart arrived with a security man. He got

lost and finished up around the back, a security officer brought

him in. He certainly hasn't lost his way on the table, that's for

sure! Perfect angle to knock in the red and take the red off the

cushion. Knock it towards the left hand corner pocket and stay on the

He has knocked it into a safe That is a great shot. Excellent

You could see how much side he had on that white. Another exhibition

Four black's, four pink's, a blue and green. -- blacks, pinks. Just

as if he is having a practice session. He has become that type of

player. He can go into the match arena and play a similar game to

what he does in practice. Not many players are able to do that. But he

has developed into one of those. He is having a lot of fun at the

Well, where are you going to put the black, Stuart? Left-handed into

the corner pocket? No black, but the corner pocket? No black, but

what a start after the mid-session interval. He had one chance and he

made a break of 86. Look at that little smile, he's having a ball!

STUDIO: It is all getting very worrying for the world No. 1. But

what followed was a key frame and indeed a key safety battle. They

had been Pavey -- playing for 25 That is a few times that Mark Selby

has got away with it. He needs a little bit of good fortune, I

suppose. Has he found the gap again? Yes. He has found the

Cumberland Gap. You won't remember who sang that. Ronnie Donegan. --

I don't know if he made my old man's a dustman before that, but he

Well, the pace of the table. A natural angle to drop in behind the

It has been the longest frame of the match and Mark Selby has given

it everything and he looked as if he would maybe pinch the frame, but

He has it all to do, Mark Selby. Stuart will not bother about the

black. Stuart Bingham takes the black. Stuart Bingham takes the

frame and goes into a to a 5-1 lead. frame and goes into a to a 5-1 lead.

Looking great for Bingham now, but those of you who have seen Mark

Selby in action are only too aware that he never knows when he is

beaten and predictably he began the regard action, winning the next two.

REFEREE: Foul.. Mark Selby four. That is what he thinks of that

effort. He was trying to screw back into the baulk area, hoping to get

it safe if he missed the pot. When you hit it at that pace, very

little chance of knocking in the That was fairly thin, which is why

he could not get in good position. If he can roll in the brown, watch

where the white finishes. There's a In fact there's a couple of reds

that look like they are available into the left corner. That will do

He was going to run it through and he suddenly thought to himself, it

is the type of shot you get a kick on. He was down on the shot and

then got up and had be cue ball cleaned. Wouldn't it be ironic if

he now gets a kick? I don't know if cleaning the ball makes that much

It's as if he relishes this sort of situation, Mark Selby. He laughs

the fight. -- he loves a fight. has done it so many times. He has

done at a couple of times at the UK Championship. 4-0 down to Neil

Robertson just before Christmas. He If that red doesn't pot, the one

directly above the black, he now has a nice angle on the black to

Just about perfect. He can stun up through the gap now. He will have

He has just gone a little far. Which does make it quite difficult.

He just got into it too much. He may have to cannon the red towards

the left corner pocket because it is not straightforward with the

angle he has. I'm not sure if he can run it through and get on to

that red. Well, he could. But he is a bit close to the cushion. It is

amazing, when you go slightly out of position, it starts getting more

Good cueing. Looking good. He might have to use the pink as a little

He doesn't need the difficult red and all of a sudden Mark Selby is

I think this crowd at Alexandra Palace thought they were in for an

early night. I think a lot of people for that, but Mark Selby had

different ideas. -- people thought At 5-1 down, he was looking a bit

rattled, he missed a few long pots by a long way, but Stuart didn't

take advantage and now Mark Selby His highest break. 63 was his

highest, in the opening frame, And the fightback continues. Mark

Selby has had breaks of 57, 45 and Stuart Bingham hat to believe it,

but could he stopped Selby's momentum and the comeback by

plundering over the safety line in frame 10? Let's find out. --

Still cueing well. He has done it Almost a carbon copy off the

previous frame. Perfect on the black as well. Right into the heart

of the pocket. Let's see what split That is pretty good. He has a red

to the right corner and also her red into the right centre.

couldn't have played that any better. It was a terrible back to

go into. He stunned into it. He couldn't have played that any

His choice is the red into the left And again, as in the previous

frame... REFEREE: No more shouting out when

the players are at the table, thank Someone got the thumbs-up, but it

You don't mind a bit of noise and a bit of atmosphere, but you don't

want it on the shot. It is a little bit different to darts. They seem

to be able to carry on playing with noise, but this is a slightly

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

I just wonder, will Mark Selby choose to get the pink on spot? It

is in an awkward position, should he get an opportunity to split the

reds from the blue. That is a surprising shot. He is over on that

cue ball. At least 12 inches. looks to be straight on the green

but the red to the left of the pack is available to the right corner,

so he can screw back on that if he is dead straight and he is, as you

I do not think there is an available red after this one. He

needs a good angle on black or pink. We have said how fast this table is.

That was a great shot. The pink was in a terrible position to go into

the fans but he has left himself on a baulk colour. The green would be

the better one to go into the pack, you would feel. The brown is the

easier part, so it is the brown. Just to get somewhere near the

middle pocket on the right hand side and sped on to the reds...

There is this side, there is the pot, and there is the cannon.

think he is OK if he can get at He is pretty close to the left hand

cushion but does not have to do any work with the cue ball. He just has

to calm of the right hand cushion, back into the middle of the table

for a blue or pink. -- he just has This is great stuff, it has to be

said. Mark Selby was all at sea, but he has tried something up from

his bootlaces, I was going to say, but his new shoes. Those are the

ones that his wife bought him. I think at one stage she thought she

would be on her way home, but she is still there and that is her

sister next to her. She has seen her husband do this are many, many

occasions. He just never knows when They think the middle read of that

bunch of four dos pot into the This was the mess on the middle

pocket and it was a great chance, wasn't it? He will have to quickly

forget about that and he might have to get his mind set and get ready

for a decider. Mark Selby is not going to slip up here. He is back

Two of the things we used to say about this game, you need a lot of

determination but a great temperament. He has got both of

He may have to play a double. We are seeing all of the great

qualities of Mark Selby tonight. 60 He is thinking about that double

you were talking about. Stuart Bingham is thinking about a

deciding frame. Normally he would take the double on. This time he

does not. He keeps it tight. We did indeed have a decider. So,

whose nerve would hold? This time, Bingham finds himself in pursuit

He has to be careful, there is a red in that pack available into the

right Middle. What a fantastic shot! He will be happy with that,

Very difficult to get back down the table. He is really Hambridge. He

can go SEN of this black but he is having to bridge right over that

red. -- she can go then off this Mark Selby tapped the table with

his cue in acknowledgement because he knew that was not

straightforward. The only thing against Bingham was that he had to

For a moment I thought he was going to go behind Stuart Bingham and

leave a free ball. Can he get in behind those three colours? He has

got the yellow, blue and brown as his target. As long as he misses

Harleys the pace on this? He has opened the reds. He has headed a

little bit too hard. Has the brown come to his rescue? What a lot of

pressure on Ms. That was an aggressive shot. He knew he was

bringing reds into play, trying to get big you will be high in the

yellow and blue. He has left half a chance. He is looking to see, if I

pot this and leave myself on the pink, what would I leave? He has

got to fully commit to this. If he does not he will leave a pot. I am

not sure if there was something in his line of sight but he has walked

away from mid-table to compose himself. -- walked away from the

He knows the importance of this shot. He is having an little word.

Is he OK? There is maybe someone in the front row... After fighting

your way back and winning four frames in a row, there is a lot

winning on this pot. -- a lot What a superb pot that is. Under

the circumstances that was excellent. Fully committed, didn't

he? Just looking at Stuart Bingham's reaction, it was like a

little lot of -- not have their head to say, that was some shot.

That was nice to see, after what has happened. He is one of the

nicest lads in the game, Stuart Bingham. Boy, would this hurt, to

lose from 5-1 in front, especially after beating him 6-0. Idlib as if

he was going to do it again. -- it You could not see this at 5-1.

Stuart Bingham was in total control. Mark Bingham looked -- Mark Selby

looked completely out of sorts. He just managed to dig out something.

This does not surprise us, we have seen him do it in the past. We were

not expecting it against a player playing but wait Stuart Bingham was.

He is doing it again. There are still some two pot, but the black

is out of commission, the blue is off its place. Maybe he can get for

the pink List time. Yes, not a He is looking at those two reds in

the middle of the bunch. They do plant into the bottom right-hand

corner pocket. Would you believe it? There is still a bit of life

left in this match yet. It is the old saying, he took his eye off a

part, concentrating on Nick cannon and he was annoyed with himself and

Craig Whyte you so. -- quite rightly so. That would probably

have clinched the match for him but That was again were of a chance for

Stuart Bingham but what has happened in May last four frames

has taken quite a bit of the confidence away. In little shake of

their head. He is bemused. He is wondering how this match has

Mark Selby is not world No. 1 for He is not many more pots away from

securing one of his best comebacks. To do this against an inform Stuart

And there is the planned to help his cause. -- the plant. He just

52 ahead, 59 remaining. One more He must be looking up at his wife

and her sister and sighing, I told you I could do it! It is a great

feeling, it really is, to have made this sort of comeback. This is a

bit special. Every credit to Mark Well, that tells you how he's

feeling. What a match we have had here at the Alexandra Palace.

Smiles all round as Stuart Bingham congratulates Mark Selby. He was 5-

1 down, last five frames in a row, he has come back and won five

frames in a road to get into the quarter final, winning the match 6-

Those comebacks are definitely his trademark. You want quality? You

have got it in abundance in this Betfair Masters. When we let go

ahead to the quarter-finals, no fewer than five of the remaining

eight players are world champions West UK and Masters winners like

Either way, snooker extra is a long next with the Stevens-Williams