Day 2 Masters Snooker Highlights

Hello, good evening and welcome to highlights of the 2017 Dafabet

Masters, the best to my's match between Joe Perry Stuart Bingham to

come but first we had a dramatic day one at the Masters and this

afternoon's match did not disappoint in thrilling the Ally Pally crowds.

A thrilling first round tie, this one. All eyes on the inform John

Higgins. He was in control of the early proceedings taking a 2-0 lead

thanks to this century. But Mark Allen had beaten Higgins in two

previous Masters first round encounters, but he looked to have

temporarily lost the plot. However, he battled back into the game at

2-2. The next four frames were shared and then Allen missed the

frame ball. The first re-spotted black of the tournament soon

followed and Allen left no one in doubt he wanted the crowd on his

side. And then Higgins suddenly firing the Wizard of Wishaw showing

some of his magic and letting Allen and the crowd know he was back in

the game at 5-5. And then the final frame turned when Higgins missed a

key black due to a possibly bad contact. He was playing catch-up

after that and Allen closed out the match for a famous 6-5 win to The

Pistol. I just got a feeling something was

going to happen out there. You normally get the feeling your

opponent will never miss but he looked edgy today, John is one of

the best ever and can produce when he is feeling it but I had a feeling

something was going to happen. Tonight thinking about the missed

black and going into the pack, that's what happens in this sport.

You have good times and then you have bad times and this is a bad

time and you struggle to sleep for a couple of days and then go into the

next tournament. He sounds disappointed and John, if

you are up, many congratulations to Mark Alan through to the

quarterfinals. Another man facing sleepless nights over the coming

weeks, Stuart Bingham, who became a dad once again just two days ago. It

was touch and go whether I would make this, with him being born two

days ago. Something has clicked in me, I would miss this to see my

daughter being born. It is getting to that where the family side of me

is coming out and I'm doing everything I can for my family. It's

one of those moments I will treasure for the rest of my life. Hopefully I

can be the best sort of dad I can. I feel a bit tired now but I will be

giving it my all. I have a tough game with Joe first-round. Last year

I got to the semis and this year I will hopefully go one or two steps

further. We will see how I play, if I play well, great, if not, I go

home to my baby girl. I'm not putting everything on the match, I

will just see how it goes. Lovely news and congratulations to

the Binghams. Joe Perry leads 8-3 in head-to-heads but Bingham won the

most recent in the semifinal of the 2016 Grand Prix. We join the first

frame, commentary from Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty.

COMMENTATOR: That is a nice, what we call, a nice shot to nothing, if the

red goes in he has a chance on the brown and if he doesn't he has a

good safety. But he hasn't got a great angle. He might be able to

just force it. Yeah, he can do. No problem getting up, but not a lot

available, just that red to the left of the bunch. The one to the left of

the black might also be on so he has quite a bit to do here before it

becomes a reasonable chance. I think he has a slight angle on the

blue. Body language would tell us that, he's coming around to have a

look at it. The reds into the bottom left-hand corner pocket, there is

the angle onto the blue and there is a bit of right-hand side to help the

cue ball down to the reds around the pink spot. He would love to get that

pink back on its spot. If he gets the pink on its spot it will

certainly help his cause. If he could pot the red and play a cannon

onto the red below that he could play the pink into the right-hand

pocket. It looks like he has a slight angle, just stung into the

red -- stun. Nicely played, that will open things up. He played it to

perfection. People always ask you, how many

shots ahead are you thinking? Never really more than three. That was a

typical example. You called the shot and joke would have worked that out

a couple of shots ago, you are not thinking five or six shots ahead,

you are leaving yourself with options, so it's really more than

three shots ahead that you would be thinking. -- rarely more than three

shots. He doesn't really have to think about the black, the black is

well tied up. But these reds, when he starts picking them off, it will

open the gap to the next one. Just concentrate on trying to keep the

cue ball as close to his next pot as possible, it just makes it so much

easier. This table, it must be terrific to

play on. It is so fast that you just have to stroke the ball nicely, and

when you are playing well it is a treat to play on. If you're cue

action is off about this table can catch you out but these players are

the best 16 players in the world and they will relish playing on this

table -- your cue action. You could see him cueing down at the

bottom of the ball, at six o'clock, just screwing it back. Looking at it

you thought it might jump over it the way he was cueing so low. Just

look how low he is, right down at the cloth but he lifted slightly as

he came through. Yes, just lifted a little bit. A little bit of a heavy

contact on the cue ball. Some players do that, Jimmy White was a

great exponent of that, he addressed the ball very low, but then as soon

as he hits the cue ball it is sort of more or less towards the middle

of the white. That is a very well worked out break

and it came from that red, Cannes and the other out of the way and got

the pink back on its spot. -- the balls were tied up before he

came to the table. That is the frame ball. This red will stop his

opponent coming back to the table. Rob Walker introduces him as

gentleman Joe, and he does walk around the table like a gentleman,

he has a nice easy manner about him. He might try a little cannon on the

red and stay on the black and bring it into play.

It would be nice for this black to go in, possible chance of a century,

good shot, looks pretty good, well done. Not easy when bridging over

the red. Well, if he does go on to make a

century here, what a start to the match. Because, looking at the balls

when he came to the table you could not really see 30, 40 points.

He has made centuries last season, 16 so far this season. 232 in his

professional career. We have had six centuries so far

this year in the Dafabet Masters. When it's a certain century just

don't hammer this around to go for the pink, just make sure. Well done,

Joe Perry. Look at that shot as well. I'll tell

you what, you will not see many better centuries than this, that's

for sure. Well played, Joe Perry, he got half a chance, and didn't he

take it? Stuart Bingham had to sit and watch that magnificent century

break. Joe Perry leads 1-0. STUDIO: Utterly brilliant century break from

Joe Perry, fantastic start, then we had a bit of drama in frame two with

Joe potting the blue, the pink and the black to tie at 65-65 meaning

for the second time today at Ally Pally we had a re-spotted black.

COMMENTATOR: Stroked it in very nicely and Stuart Bingham, although

he looked favourite for a couple of minutes, we have a re-spotted black

and you just want to win the toss. You do. I know the shot you like to

play, the old up-and-down as many times as you like calling all

pockets. Funnily enough John Higgins attempted it a couple of times

today. Yes, we had a re-spotted black today. Now, what will Stuart

Bingham play? The normal shot, black on one side cushion and cue ball on

the other. That is a fantastic shot. He couldn't have played that much

better. That's pretty good.

Everybody loves a black ball finish. Good shot. I'm just wondering, will

Stewart attempt a double into the middle pocket. He's coming around to

have a look. He could play this as a possible shot bringing the cue ball

back up to the black spot. He has played the double. Oh!

This black will cut but if Joe takes it on he needs a little bit of

something on the cue ball because the white will go dangerously close

to the pocket there that he's just looking over. He has played it

inside, to avoid the in-off. Stuart Bingham looked like he was going to

level at 1-1. That this superb cut on the black means Joe Perry leads

2-0. STUDIO: Is Stuart Bingham will be

kicking himself at losing that. He needs to get on the board, here he

is at the table. COMMENTATOR: That would have felt

nice for Stuart Bingham, right in the heart of the pocket. Nice noise

off the back of the leather. Excellent opportunity now. Needs a

good break here, to get himself going. Pot success, menial, 74%. 94%

for Joe Perry. Highest break, 17. In two frames, that can happen. I'm

going to make a prediction, I think you will eat that high break, Ken.

-- I think he will beat. Under normal circumstances, you

would expect him to win the frame from this position, but when you are

too- zero down, a bit more pressure. Not enough table time, to get his

arm going. This is where he is at his best.

He judged that nicely. Nice little cannon, just holding for the red in

this corner pocket. Complete contrast to the previous frame,

where the balls went very awkward, getting tied up. That's why we had

an almost 44 minutes frame. The way Stuart Bingham is going, it won't

last very long, he's going along very nicely. Terrific break-builder,

when he gets going, Stuart. Just showing us here while he was

world champion just a couple of years ago. Lost the last frame on a

re-spotted black. Some players would have gone into the doldrums, not

Stuart. Straight back again with this effort. Every chance to clinch

the frame now with the one visit. Snooker needed, the pink to make

absolutely sure. Now just concentrating, seeing if the

That tells us this red pots into the corner pocket. Pink nicely into

play, as well. This is better stuff. From Stuart

Bingham. He will try to take the red off the right-hand side cushion.

We'll need that red to make a century. Nice century, 116 from Joe

Perry. How about this exhibition. Excellent shot. He will need another

good one here, to get on this red. Lovely shot.

We have had seven centuries so far in this year's masters. There is

another one. Coming just right time for Stuart

Bingham. And his supporters. ?10,000 for the highest break in

this year's masters. 121 at the moment, from Ronnie O'Sullivan. This

will put Stuart into the lead for that high break prize. Good response

from Stuart Bingham. This will make him feel much better. Highest break

of entire tournament so far. A target of 132. Boy, did the crowd

love that. Wonderful century from Stuart Bingham. He is off the mark,

still Joe Perry leads by 2-1. STUDIO: Wonderful response by Stuart

Bingham, Perry winning the next with a break of 77. Late show you what

happened in the next frame, Bingham to play, no score.

COMMENTATOR: Not a bad effort. What did you say about not leaving

anything? Got so close to the pocket. It lived in from there. --

looked in. A little straight on the red. Coming

round, to see whether he can roll the cue ball in for the red closest

to the blue. Although one right of the pink. Going to be the one just

right of the pink. Get on the black after that.

Nice shot. Played it well. Judged the cannon on the red nicely. He

will need another little nice cannon hair. Nestling on to the red above

it. Played that one perfectly, as well.

Some players may go into the pack from this particular black, not sure

whether Joe is one of these players. Likes to take the loose reds first.

Nice angle on the red here. Pot the red, just go off the corner of the

pack. One of those type of players, nudges reds out, instead of just

smashing them up straightaway. What you are saying, he is a nudger.

He is, very effective. Picking off all the loose ones. Only one more

easy red available, then he will have to get the cannon, hopefully

from the blue onto the pink, his best bet. Although having a look at

where he has finished, don't nobody can get that side of the blue now.

It will have to be off the black, slightly more difficult than coming

from the blue. Because of the way the reds are situated. So easy to

stick off the back of the reds. Easier to play it as a stand shot.

Needs to hit it pretty hard, and get some action on it.

It's not bad. Did not generate an awful lot of pace into the cue ball.

Possible red to the left centre, and right-centre. The way he has been

playing, you would fancy him strongly to knock one of those in,

wouldn't you curse has a lot to do with the cue ball. -- wouldn't you?

He has a lot to do with the cue ball.

There is a red that will go into the middle pocket.

This is the last thing that Stuart Bingham wanted to see. He thought he

had a free shot. Got so close to the opening attempt, thinking I will not

be able to leave anything. Got so close to the red is just wobbled,

and stayed there. It has to be said, Joe Perry, this evening looks very

good indeed. 116 in the second frame. 77 in the previous frame, and

already Stuart requiring a sneaker. Looks like he will take the frame

with one visit. Hard to beat a player when he's playing like this,

Ken. Looks pretty confident as well. He has got the cue ball under very

good close control. AJ, missing the red into the right-centre. Stuart

may come back to the table. Excellent break, Dennis. Barring a

sneaker, gone further ahead, 4-1. There was too much for Stuart

Bingham to do and Joe Perry making light work, two friends from the

quarterfinals, into the next frame and Stuart to play.

Those type of shots are always more difficult, especially when you are

one -- 4-1 behind. He has a choice here, he can try and

get on the loose red just above the green spot, or try and pot the green

and get on the red to the left of the pink.

He played that nicely. We spoke at the top of this match, Dennis, about

how fast this table is and it seems Joe Perry has adjusted very quickly

to the table. The very first game he made that wonderful 116 break. His

pot success is 94%. Pretty good. He has potted nine out of 13 long

pots he has gone for. Nice little pot into the centre, developing

another couple of reds from the pack.

He seems to enjoy playing Stuart Binny De Micheal Bingham because I,

like you, thought it would be pretty close given the record. So obviously

that gives you a bit of confidence -- Stuart Bingham. It's the first

time they have played in the Masters against each other.

Joe Perry's record in the Masters wouldn't be the best. I mean, he has

played nine matches and only won one match, a quarterfinal in one year,

2015, lost 6-4 that year to Mark Allen. When you consider the frame

Stuart Bingham has won, 132 break in the frame, he has been kept out and

it has been good, solid snooker from Joe Perry at the moment.

Yeah, if you wipe away the second frame that lasted 43 minutes and 43

seconds where the balls got tied up, the rest of it has been so

impressive. 116, 77 and 66. Even his shot time has speeded up as

well. It was about 23, 24 seconds. It's down to 20 now. Obviously

playing with a lot of confidence. He has looked very good at the moment.

Stuart Bingham is sitting in the chair and there is not much he can

do about it. No, he was pretty relaxed in the mid-session interval,

we were having a chat and he showed me a lovely picture of his daughter

born on the weekend. Michelle is in fine form as well. He would want to

do well here but he is not getting a chance. Look at that shot he has

just played. As we show you this cannon again,

that looks like a frame-winner. Already 47 in front, the red he can

and might still be on, the one at the back of the bunch of reds, and

it is, as you can see. He has played to get on that. I think the turning

point in this match, Dennis, was the wonderful fourth frame. Stuart was

in early, made a 32 break previously, got in, made a 32 break

and didn't capitalise, he missed the blue into the left-centre and Joe

Perry duly obliged with a wonderful 77 break to win the frame and it

turned the match on its head completely. Should have been 2-2 at

the interval, he is 3-1 up and, OK, he has got a horrendous contact on

that... But as we watch this have a look at the cue ball jumped and the

red. That was a wonderful break under the circumstances. That could

set the tone for the rest of this match at the moment. He still needs

the pink, the. So easy to have a heavy contact. -- would have been so

easy without a heavy contact. We will see how his concentration is

because it is a little bit more difficult with the rest.

He must really be enjoying this this evening, because he's missed

precious little in this match. The break goes to 85, pink and black

with two reds would be another century for Joe Perry. It really has

been top-quality stuff. He won his first ranking title in

2015, the players championship in Bangkok, Thailand. And he was

runner-up in last year's World Open. He got another heavy contact, but he

could go on and beat Stuart's high break of 132. That really would be

rubbing salt into the wound, wouldn't it? There is enough there,

he is on 99, the red will give him his second century in this match.

Very straight on the black, as you can see, so he will have to pull out

a cracking pot on the yellow if he's going to go on to beat the high

break that Stuart holds of 132. He doesn't beat the high break but only

one chance needed again and he made a century break. Joe Perry is one

frame away from victory. He leads Stuart Bingham 5-1.

STUDIO: Joke has played ever so well tonight, can he seal the deal now?

Let's show you what happens in the next frame, Stuart leading and

fighting to stay in this one. REFEREE: One. COMMENTATOR: It is not

straightforward by any means, he has the brown but he must somehow get

onto the yellow. So he has got to put a little bit of

action on this. Unless if the yellow goes... Yes, it does. That's better.

That is much better. But he has overscrewed it.

If he is going to go all the way round the table he has got to avoid

the black, he has got to avoid the pink and the blue is in a slightly

awkward position to drop back onto the yellow again. He has got to be

careful. If he does take the yellow into the green pocket he is going to

be coming off two questions, the cue ball going perilously close to the

left-centre pocket. Keep an eye on the cue ball here. He went the other

way and made it a little bit more difficult. Where is the white ball?

He doesn't want it in the pocket... REFEREE: Stuart Bingham, three. They

say it never rains but it pours, it was the positional shot onto the

yellow that caused Stuart the problem there and could that be his

last shot at this year's Dafabet Masters, seeing that white

disappear? Blue and pink will put him seven

points ahead with seven remaining so he is going to need the black as

well here. Oh! Well, well. He didn't play a good shot on the

brown. He left the wrong angle on the blue for himself.

Well, there is certainly nothing inviting about that shot. No wonder

he is scratching his head. He is having a look at the scores, blue

and pink required. I wonder if he will play the slow drag on the blue

into the corner pocket and if he misses it he might get the cover

with the pink. Very dangerous shot, though, at this stage. It is a

possibility. He could play a safety shot and mess it up completely so

there might be a bit of value in taking the blue down this cushion.

As I said he could play the safety shot and leave the blue up, so it

may have been the best choice just going for the blue there. It was a

difficult shot to play. There was certainly value in having a go at

that blue. If you're going to play the safety shot you've got to make

sure you get the object ball safe, and he didn't.

Pink is there. Is he on the black? What's a

-- what a kiss. The black is there. He's in the quarterfinal of the

Masters. Beating the former world champion. 6-1, finding himself in

the quarterfinals of the 2017 masters.

I haven't played like that since my good friend Neil Robertson.

I've not been practising enough, but I don't really blame myself for that

- the calibre's full up, because I'm privileged enough to be sort of

high-ranked. I've been playing a few events in China that not everyone's

in, and I've come home, and then it's a case of spending time with

family or going to practise. At the stage of my career at the moment,

it's - spend time with family. So practise took a bit of a hit.

Obviously then confidence takes a bit of a hit. Doubts creep in. And

it's just a bit of a snowball, really. Friday night at the Masters

- if tonight's anything to go by, the atmosphere will be, like,

incredible. It was brilliant tonight. So, quarterfinal, Friday

night in London - bound to be good. Looking forward to it. That's sort

of performance has given me a bit of confidence. Hopefully I'll go into

it with exactly the same mindset. Don't know if I'd have to do that or

not, but that will be my intention. Thing is, like you say, when he's on

his game, what he's done a couple of years ago when he won all those

tournaments, and at the start of this season, he started off well

again. Sometimes when he doesn't perform, he looks probably worse

than all the other top players when they don't perform, for some reason.

But when he's on, he's definitely one of the best we've ever had in

the sport. Ding Junhui next, then, for Joe

Perry, who played very, very well tonight. Incidentally, all eight

players over the past two days here at the Masters have made century

breaks. Let's hope that continues into the week. Snooker Extra is up

next with Hazel - extended highlights of Higgins versus Allen.

Then we are back with more live coverage at 1:00 on BBC Two as Marco

Fu and Judd Trump enter Alexandra Palace. From all of us here,

goodnight.