:00:34. > :00:44.Hello and a very good evening, welcome to Alexandra Palace and the
:00:45. > :00:55.2016 masters, quarterfinals day here and four former champions looking to
:00:56. > :00:59.land the coveted title once again. It is there, what a great shot, the
:01:00. > :01:04.defending champion is knocked out by the young man from Northern Ireland.
:01:05. > :01:13.In it goes and Barry Hawkins, it is the first time he has won a match
:01:14. > :01:21.Masters. Judd Trump beat Stephen Maguire six frames to four. You have
:01:22. > :01:28.to feel for Marco Fu. A nice easy evening for Neil Robinson. A
:01:29. > :01:32.tremendous performance. He runs out a winner -- Neil Robertson. Our
:01:33. > :01:37.fabulous match, Romeo Sullivan is back and he takes the match six
:01:38. > :01:46.frames to five. -- Ronnie O'Sullivan. A major result for John
:01:47. > :01:50.Higgins. Get in there! Get in. Stuart Bingham, he will be over the
:01:51. > :01:57.moon having won his first match here at the Masters. What a line-up, Mark
:01:58. > :02:00.Allen who made the semi-finals last year took on Barry Hawkins and
:02:01. > :02:05.tonight we will see that much shortly. Judd Trump against Neil
:02:06. > :02:14.Robertson pop -- promise to be a cracker. The current King Stuart
:02:15. > :02:18.Bingham against John Higgins. We start with a real cracker between
:02:19. > :02:47.Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Trust me Selby against O'Sullivan
:02:48. > :02:49.lived up to its billing. Ronnie O'Sullivan edge unit, we join it at
:02:50. > :03:09.the start of frame six. That is a better break from Mark but
:03:10. > :03:10.that was a good point because Ronnie, he jumped over the black
:03:11. > :03:23.against Mark Williams. Another tester for Ronnie
:03:24. > :03:48.O'Sullivan. Superb. 100% from both players, that is
:03:49. > :03:51.unusual after five frames. It was a better break off shot from Mark
:03:52. > :03:55.Selby because he did not hit the blue. The way Ronnie is going, it
:03:56. > :04:11.may be the only shot he plays in the spring. -- he plays in this frame.
:04:12. > :04:31.Above the blue line. Nicely positioned to get down on this
:04:32. > :05:05.red-macro. -- read. -- read-macro. -- red.
:05:06. > :05:16.Might be an idea to try and get on the pink off this red. To the left
:05:17. > :05:27.of the black. He will be left with a pack of red, he is going for the
:05:28. > :05:29.black. -- reds. He has played a lovely cannon, a delicate little
:05:30. > :05:44.cannon. A wonderful little shot, nicely
:05:45. > :05:49.controlled, brushing off the pack of reds and getting onto the right side
:05:50. > :05:56.of the blue and bringing another red interplay. He will need one more
:05:57. > :06:14.good split on the reds to win the frame from this position.
:06:15. > :06:24.He lost the second frame after making a 50 odd break but he bounced
:06:25. > :06:29.straight back with a 69 and in the frame after he missed a fairly easy
:06:30. > :06:40.shot. He was practising his back an, so... I think he would preferred to
:06:41. > :06:42.go into this, he is contemplating potting the red. It will need to go
:06:43. > :06:54.in macro the blue rather than the black. He has to be careful he does
:06:55. > :07:03.not hit them too hard and send in the red. It could have finished a
:07:04. > :07:08.little better than that, I am not sure, if one of the two reds goes,
:07:09. > :07:22.he is OK. Yes, just about. APPLAUSE. That pink was on, you
:07:23. > :07:30.know. The red slid off the pink. It may be in a pottable position, but
:07:31. > :07:36.he still has the black. Just about. Gravity took over there, Dennis! We
:07:37. > :07:42.will show you that one again. Just over four minutes to get to the
:07:43. > :07:48.stage. We always give it a mention when he made that maximum break back
:07:49. > :07:56.in 1997, five minutes and 20 seconds. He is the wrong side of the
:07:57. > :08:01.blue line as you can see. He has already got a substantial lead. It
:08:02. > :08:10.did not really matter all that much. He is 69 a head, 67. From the break
:08:11. > :08:32.off shot, he has sat in his chair. APPLAUSE. He has made a 70 break in
:08:33. > :08:38.over five minutes, he must be slowing down, Dennis! He has been
:08:39. > :08:42.superb. When you think about that maximum, how did he do it in that
:08:43. > :08:53.time? That was just out of this world. It may never be beaten, that
:08:54. > :08:55.record. It used to take Terry Griffiths that amount of time just
:08:56. > :09:24.to break off, didn't it? APPLAUSE. And nice little kiss on
:09:25. > :09:36.the red, the only thing that has been missing is the century break.
:09:37. > :09:48.That is his 805th century break in his career. A wonderful magnificent
:09:49. > :09:55.century for O'Sullivan, securing the sixth frame. He leads by 4-2. What a
:09:56. > :10:01.roar from the crowd in the Alexandra Palace. They shared the next two
:10:02. > :10:13.frames and we join it in frame nine, Selby on a break of 47. A good
:10:14. > :10:16.split. We may be looking for a four. You would think he was leading 5-3
:10:17. > :10:27.the way he is playing at the moment. And that could be very unlucky
:10:28. > :10:31.unless that red at the back of the bunch goes, he is very unfortunate.
:10:32. > :10:40.You could play that same shot another ten times and you would
:10:41. > :10:45.finish on at least one or two reds. Very unfortunate. It is hard to
:10:46. > :10:56.believe that he did not bring more reds into play there.
:10:57. > :11:08.Yes, that is very, very tight. And the fact he is 54 in front, if he is
:11:09. > :11:16.not absolutely sure that he can what this red, he has to put it in
:11:17. > :11:20.safely. He will need to play at a little touch aside. I think if he
:11:21. > :11:27.puts it dead straight behind the red he could potter it, because he could
:11:28. > :11:41.flip it a little bit stock Ken Pisi enough of the red? He is trying the
:11:42. > :11:45.double-macro. -- double. He has played it in a wonderful way, look
:11:46. > :12:06.where the cue ball has landed. He has played it very cleverly.
:12:07. > :12:23.Once again, he has still got a pott on.
:12:24. > :12:33.Needs good cueing this one, only a couple of pots away from getting
:12:34. > :12:39.another frame back. At 5-4, it is game on again. He has to cue this in
:12:40. > :12:42.and he is coming across the lab as well. This is a difficult shot, very
:12:43. > :12:59.very tough. Played it superbly well, that was a
:13:00. > :13:28.maximum shot. Oh, he did not quite get the cannon
:13:29. > :13:33.and he is not safe yet, there is still enough there for Ronnie
:13:34. > :13:37.O'Sullivan, he is a strong favourite in this frame now. If that little
:13:38. > :13:42.cannon had of work, it was the end of the frame.
:13:43. > :13:55.This was the one here, he just caught it at bit thinner than he
:13:56. > :14:00.wanted. As I mentioned, those colours with the blue up there, that
:14:01. > :14:13.is quite a good target to try and get in behind.
:14:14. > :14:41.Well, look how the reds are now. So, Ronnie O'Sullivan is not quite out
:14:42. > :14:46.of this frame yet, one mistake from Mark and there is a counterattack
:14:47. > :14:52.on. There is not ball safe on the table at the moment. I think he may
:14:53. > :14:57.be able to have a go into the left-hand corner pocket, there is a
:14:58. > :15:04.gap between red and blacks towards the end of the table.
:15:05. > :15:14.-- black. He needs a bit of luck here. Well, I tell you what, he has
:15:15. > :15:19.knocked so many long balls in an because he is so far behind, he will
:15:20. > :15:22.take this on. If this goes in, he has a bit of a chance.
:15:23. > :15:44.APPLAUSE. What a shot that is. Just look at the case he got on the
:15:45. > :15:48.red as well, purposefully played, freeing up the pink. That red that
:15:49. > :15:52.has gone close to the side cushion will not be a problem for Ronnie
:15:53. > :15:59.O'Sullivan because he is so good left-handed. Surely Mark Selby
:16:00. > :16:06.cannot make a 70 break and lose a frame? And of course it is not only
:16:07. > :16:11.the frame, it would be the match. You would not put it past his
:16:12. > :16:23.opponent, Ronnie O'Sullivan relishes this sort of situation.
:16:24. > :16:27.Did not want the kiss on the black, but he is OK. He can drop the pink
:16:28. > :17:12.in. That is a great shot, fantastic
:17:13. > :17:19.shot. A good angle as well. What a climax we could have two this match.
:17:20. > :17:23.Because the red is OK, Ronnie can switch hands if he drops in behind
:17:24. > :17:35.the last red and he has the perfect angle to do that. What a finish this
:17:36. > :17:37.could be. Market knows that this has finished a little awkward here. --
:17:38. > :17:57.Mark Selby. The blue, which was knocked up there
:17:58. > :18:03.at the start of the frame could be a little awkward, this next shot.
:18:04. > :18:13.To make sure he does not snooker himself with the blue. This has been
:18:14. > :18:26.absolutely sublime so far. This could be one of the best frames
:18:27. > :18:32.ever seen, having said that, he has not got on the browns as he wanted.
:18:33. > :18:39.He has to go all what -- all the way around the table now. -- brown.
:18:40. > :18:48.Where is the cue ball? Keep your eye on the cue ball.
:18:49. > :19:02.Where does he play at? In the middle or up into the corner. -- play it.
:19:03. > :19:14.It is there, but he still has a little bit to do. Another good shot
:19:15. > :19:30.needed, Mark Selby made a 70 break. Incredible! Absolutely incredible.
:19:31. > :19:34.Can you believe it? Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled off one of the
:19:35. > :19:37.finest clearances you could ever wish to see. Mark Selby made a
:19:38. > :19:42.magnificent 70 break and it looked like he would be one frame behind
:19:43. > :19:49.but in the end with that brilliant clearance, Ronnie O'Sullivan takes
:19:50. > :19:52.the match, fantastic match, 6-3. My concentration and my focus,
:19:53. > :19:58.everything that I could control was as good as it could be and I tried
:19:59. > :20:02.to stay present and if I missed the ball did try not to get too down on
:20:03. > :20:06.myself and waited for my next opportunity. As far as I was
:20:07. > :20:10.concerned, it was a first-class performance. I had a couple of
:20:11. > :20:16.chances before the interval and only missed one or two balls. When I did
:20:17. > :20:20.have the chance, I seem to run out of position I little bit and after
:20:21. > :20:25.the interval, Ronnie played a good frame and nicked one and after that
:20:26. > :20:34.I played well and it was so close to being 5-4 and if that is, it is game
:20:35. > :20:35.on again and Ronnie did well to win the match. Incredible stuff from
:20:36. > :20:40.Ronnie O'Sullivan here at Alexandra Palace. Steve Davis said was one of
:20:41. > :20:42.the greatest clearances of all time, some frame, match-winning
:20:43. > :20:50.performance from Ronnie O'Sullivan who will play either John Higgins or
:20:51. > :20:55.Stuart Bingham on Saturday evening. Now to the match between Mark Allen
:20:56. > :21:02.who will fancy his chances this year after coming so close last year. He
:21:03. > :21:07.took on Barry Hawkins earlier this evening. Hawkins is a Crucible
:21:08. > :21:13.runner-up in 2013 in a Masters quarterfinal for the first time.
:21:14. > :21:20.Mark Allen won the first, but soon found himself 3-1 down. Into frame
:21:21. > :21:36.five, Mark Allen to play, ten points ahead. Where is the red going? Is
:21:37. > :21:48.there a path through to that red? A little shake of the head. He cannot
:21:49. > :21:55.get through it directly and because it is near the side of the pockets,
:21:56. > :22:01.it is not unnatural to come off cushion first. If was right over the
:22:02. > :22:26.centre of the pocket, easy to come cushion first. Not when it is.
:22:27. > :22:33.He is just swerving it so he can get to the cushion first but he will
:22:34. > :22:38.have to catch the red thin if he is going to pot at. Well played. Could
:22:39. > :22:45.not have played it better, deserves everything he gets. This is the
:22:46. > :22:55.super shot, he had to play the swerve to get to the side cushion so
:22:56. > :22:58.he could hit the red then. He could not have played it any better. Big
:22:59. > :23:18.shot, this. Well! Played it dead weight and just
:23:19. > :23:46.managed to drop and I thought for a moment it was just a fraction wide.
:23:47. > :23:56.This black will put him six points in front.
:23:57. > :24:10.He has underhit that. Six points in front, he will need these four
:24:11. > :24:12.remaining reds to win the frame at this visit. And that is not helped
:24:13. > :24:32.in being well short. APPLAUSE. Just about run far enough
:24:33. > :25:10.so he can get to the yellow because I do not think the brown will go.
:25:11. > :25:49.Played for the choice of both reds in the centre. In off the side
:25:50. > :26:30.cushion for the blue. He was just in between playing
:26:31. > :26:41.this,. Had to take the cue ball in and out of the baulk field. Right in
:26:42. > :26:44.the heart of the pocket. This blue will put him at 29 points in front.
:26:45. > :27:05.With just 27 remaining. It looks like another frame has got
:27:06. > :27:08.away from Mark Allen. He was in first with a break of 40, ball
:27:09. > :28:07.positional shot broke down. It did not matter, that is more than
:28:08. > :28:14.half. Great work by Barry Hawkins. Three frame advantage, he leads 4-1.
:28:15. > :28:17.Hawkins made a pretty shaky start the match what was finding his
:28:18. > :28:28.rhythm. Let a show you what happened in the next frame. Mark Allen up the
:28:29. > :28:29.table on a break of 51. Got into it too much, wraps his knuckles on the
:28:30. > :28:42.side of the table. Obviously Mark Allen been a
:28:43. > :28:44.left-hander, that is the reason he needed an angle. He will not want to
:28:45. > :29:01.be playing that red with the wrist. I think he has got a choice, you
:29:02. > :29:09.either pot the pink or you can play snooker behind the pink.
:29:10. > :29:18.He decided to try and get in and block. I suppose the only upside for
:29:19. > :29:23.market is that the brown is reasonably safe. -- Mark Allen. 25
:29:24. > :30:06.ahead, 35 remaining. APPLAUSE. Now, Mark Allen had a
:30:07. > :30:15.quick look, does the blue cover the potting angle?
:30:16. > :30:23.I think Barry can definitely get past the blue, can he see enough of
:30:24. > :30:26.the red to pot at? I would suggest yes. He is looking at the potting
:30:27. > :30:43.angle -- popped it. If you are going to miss them,
:30:44. > :30:58.always a wrong side of hitting them to thin and this the result.
:30:59. > :31:27.And this is not guaranteed to hit this and get it safe.
:31:28. > :31:36.That is one way of playing it. Come off the right-hand side cushion and
:31:37. > :31:40.try and hit two cushions to hit the red. If you hit the red direct, you
:31:41. > :31:47.could go in fit. Well, he has courted thin. Barry
:31:48. > :32:31.will have a go at this. Surely not! It has run on. Allen has
:32:32. > :32:38.been a gift wrapped this opportunity.
:32:39. > :32:57.In actual fact, the yellow will do. He could have made a better fist of
:32:58. > :33:02.that. It is not going to be an easy yellow to go 28 points in front with
:33:03. > :33:30.25 remaining. It should not be a problem.
:33:31. > :33:35.And I would suggest it might relieve Mark Allen to get a frame on the
:33:36. > :33:45.board. After winning the first frame with 109, Toulouse four on the trot,
:33:46. > :33:51.it is tough. Yes, especially as Barry was in in that frame first. He
:33:52. > :33:56.missed that tricky black. If he had got that black, you would have
:33:57. > :34:02.thought it was definitely 5-1, the way the reds were situated. This is
:34:03. > :34:16.a very important frame for Mark Allen to
:34:17. > :34:37.As long as you can keep your opponent at four frames.
:34:38. > :34:45.Well, there was a bit of venom in that. He lost four on the trot but
:34:46. > :34:51.that is a bit more like it. He will feel a little bit better. But he is
:34:52. > :34:58.still two behind. Allen hanging on in there but
:34:59. > :35:08.Hawkins one frame 11 to make it 5-2. Into frame
:35:09. > :35:14.eight, Allen to play, 14 points behind.
:35:15. > :35:16.He did not make the best effort there, to get that safe. What has he
:35:17. > :35:28.left? The red to the right corner is there, to get that safe. What has he
:35:29. > :35:30.the easiest pot but position is not automatic because the cue ball is
:35:31. > :35:36.not going to be going into the other reds. The plant to the left pocket,
:35:37. > :35:39.he could be on the black, but I don't think he can be very close to
:35:40. > :35:45.the black. This is not straightforward. You may have to
:35:46. > :35:50.play some kind of hit and hope. The red in the corner, he is looking at
:35:51. > :35:57.the gap in the middle of those five reds. He would be delighted to get
:35:58. > :36:02.through that gap and get for the blue water pink.
:36:03. > :36:17.He got it. He got it. Well played. And the place he played it, he
:36:18. > :36:20.played for the gap. If you are uncertain, you play it with a little
:36:21. > :36:24.bit more pace so that if used to kiss into the reds, you can still
:36:25. > :36:47.get up the table. A perfect position will shop. -- positional shot.
:36:48. > :36:54.Not sure he played for this red he is taking on year. He needs to be
:36:55. > :37:00.careful he does not Snooker himself if he is playing for the pink. That
:37:01. > :37:09.is why he has played a more percentage shot. That could not have
:37:10. > :37:16.worked out better. He would love to play for the red just to the right
:37:17. > :37:20.of the black spot. He can play it in such a way that you are always going
:37:21. > :37:28.to have that read in the left corner.
:37:29. > :37:42.At the moment, he does not really want to be potting the black because
:37:43. > :37:47.that read to the right of the black will tie the black. I think he can
:37:48. > :37:59.hold for the pink year. Straight would have been better.
:38:00. > :38:12.It looks like he is going to play for the black.
:38:13. > :38:16.If the pink was on its part, it would not be a problem playing the
:38:17. > :38:24.black. If you pot the black, I think it goes on the pink spots so both of
:38:25. > :38:27.those colours could be tied up. Looking there, the black may
:38:28. > :38:53.actually go on its own spot if he potted.
:38:54. > :39:01.He just has to be careful here. Sometimes when the ball is right
:39:02. > :39:03.over the pocket, if you catch it a little bit thick, it can leave the
:39:04. > :39:11.cue ball glued to this black cushion.
:39:12. > :39:24.For safety, he is coming back for the blue. That was a nice little
:39:25. > :39:35.flick to leave himself on the pink. That certainly was a bonus.
:39:36. > :39:48.39 points, the lead now, he did not really have to play any cannons. To
:39:49. > :40:02.get the points required. He has under Hitler that. -- underhit that.
:40:03. > :40:06.He does not look composed to me. He looks a bit desperate to get over
:40:07. > :40:12.the winning line. Not as composed as he was earlier in the match.
:40:13. > :40:13.Understandable, to get to the semifinal, there is a lot of
:40:14. > :40:26.pressure out there. He was just able to drop it in and I
:40:27. > :40:27.think he can get through to the straight red when the paint is
:40:28. > :40:50.re-spotted. Now he can play, if he likes, to get
:40:51. > :40:59.on that red just to the right of the black spot. We just saw the side bar
:41:00. > :41:05.there saying 68 points, which is another 15, on top of what he has
:41:06. > :41:40.got now, Mark Allen will need a snooker.
:41:41. > :41:53.Played that nicely. Played that very well. And in potting this red now,
:41:54. > :41:58.he can bring those two reds just above the red he has just potted
:41:59. > :42:02.into play. Should be on the pink. He has played it a lot firmer than I
:42:03. > :42:09.would have done. But there you go. He still needs this blue and another
:42:10. > :42:17.red and colour. I don't know why he played it so hard. If he had played
:42:18. > :42:23.a soft screw, he would have been guaranteed to be on that pink. He
:42:24. > :42:30.just seems desperate to get over that winning line at the moment.
:42:31. > :42:35.This blue will put him 66 points in front but there is still 67
:42:36. > :42:57.remaining. He has played for the double. Has he
:42:58. > :43:03.gone too far with the cue ball? I am surprised he has played for this
:43:04. > :43:04.red. It is one of the safe ones. This double four a place in the
:43:05. > :43:21.semifinal. Not quite there yet. A big ask for
:43:22. > :43:25.Mark Allen, of course. He has got no points to play with. Just 67 on and
:43:26. > :43:50.he is 66 behind. He has left this red to the left
:43:51. > :44:04.centre, Mark Allen. There is a bit of pressure on it
:44:05. > :44:10.because the cue ball is going to, you would think, cannon ink into the
:44:11. > :44:12.walls at this end of the table. But it is match ball so I don't think he
:44:13. > :44:33.can refuse it. He is coming around to have a look
:44:34. > :44:33.at the angle. I agree with you, it is not as if the
:44:34. > :44:35.at the angle. I agree with you, it The two reds near the top cushion
:44:36. > :44:42.are not give me is an Mark Allen has got to get blacks of every red.
:44:43. > :44:46.Surely you have got to go for this. The longer he is thinking about it,
:44:47. > :45:05.the more doubt it is putting in his head.
:45:06. > :45:09.As I say, the problem for Mark Allen is, if he pot is a red, he has got
:45:10. > :45:41.to get a black with it. Trying to get the red and come on
:45:42. > :45:44.the black. That was a tough pot so here is another half chance for
:45:45. > :45:58.Barry to clinch it. He can take this red to the far
:45:59. > :45:59.right corner, stunned the cue ball, and that is the only ball he can
:46:00. > :46:12.leave. It is right in the middle of the
:46:13. > :46:17.pocket. And Barry Hawkins, who are Ben Te'o this year has not got past
:46:18. > :46:26.the third -- first round, he is in the semifinal. Mark Allen will be
:46:27. > :46:33.very disappointed. Started off well in the first frame, made a break of
:46:34. > :46:40.109, but he has been making mistakes and not really showing any
:46:41. > :47:11.consistency. And there is no way back to the table now.
:47:12. > :47:19.What a positional shot. When you are in the position Barry is in,
:47:20. > :47:33.everything seems to come easy. I think he has had enough. Foul?
:47:34. > :47:43.I hit the pink. Sorry, that was my fault.
:47:44. > :47:48.He potted the pink and the referee called foul. I don't know where he
:47:49. > :47:56.got that one from. Anyway, it does not matter. They shake hands and he
:47:57. > :48:01.will wish him well in the semifinal. Barry Hawkins absolutely delighted,
:48:02. > :48:04.as well he might, because Ben Te'o this year he never got past the
:48:05. > :48:16.first round but he runs out a comfortable winner. He wins 6-2.
:48:17. > :48:20.I played a few loose shots am ultra critical I need to improve
:48:21. > :48:24.that side but I need to -- I am over the moon to beat someone like Mark.
:48:25. > :48:29.Getting to the world final was unbelievable and to get to the final
:48:30. > :48:33.in the second biggest tournament we have got, on the BBC, will be
:48:34. > :48:37.another great achievement for me. I am not really even thinking of
:48:38. > :48:40.Saturday at the moment because I will have to play at the top of my
:48:41. > :48:45.game to get through but if I did I will be delighted.
:48:46. > :48:52.Well done, Barry Hawkins. He will play the winner of the match between
:48:53. > :48:54.Judd Trump and Neil Robertson. Judd Trump looking to make his first
:48:55. > :49:05.Masters final since 2012. John Higgins plays Stuart Binny in --
:49:06. > :49:12.Stuart Bingham. We shall be back with live coverage at 1pm on BBC Two
:49:13. > :49:14.and it is Judd Trump against Neil Robertson for us. We cannot wait.
:49:15. > :49:21.Goodbye for now.