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How well. It was here in this very room that television programmes | :00:15. | :00:19. | |
first began. This was where the first regular television service | :00:19. | :00:24. | |
began broadcasting for the BBC studios in the Alexandra Palace in | :00:24. | :00:31. | |
north London. The year was 1936 and accents like main wealth and on the | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
ground back then. The way pictures where produce when they are far cry | :00:37. | :00:43. | |
from what we do today. Cumbersome cameras, gigantic valves and sue | :00:43. | :00:50. | |
each generators - it looked more like a power station. But some | :00:50. | :00:57. | |
things were familiar. They are slapping on the make-up! In these | :00:57. | :01:04. | |
early days of TV, even jaw Davis was the young star. He had a long | :01:05. | :01:11. | |
wait until his spot could be seen it in colour. This continued to be | :01:11. | :01:19. | |
a main transmitting Centre until 1956. Now, 76 years on from that | :01:19. | :01:24. | |
first historic transmission we are back in Alexandra Palace. We are | :01:24. | :01:32. | |
going to bring you a transmission, minus the received pronunciation. | :01:32. | :01:40. | |
It is all faster moving and a bit less formal. And there is the Steve | :01:40. | :01:50. | |
:01:50. | :01:51. | ||
Davis, rather than a shot day this. Alexandra Palace marks a brand new | :01:51. | :02:01. | |
:02:01. | :02:01. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :02:01. | :03:15. | |
We have swapped one iconic London at one mark a - Wembley, which | :03:15. | :03:21. | |
stage the Masters for 31 years, for one another. The Masters is the | :03:21. | :03:27. | |
most prestigious Invitational event. Only the top 16 players in the | :03:27. | :03:37. | |
world are invited to take part. Here is the full draw. It is | :03:37. | :03:44. | |
raining champion the Ding Junhui, facing four-time winner Ronnie | :03:44. | :03:54. | |
:03:54. | :03:54. | ||
O'Sullivan. The new poster boy of snooker, Judd Trump takes on Stuart | :03:54. | :04:02. | |
Bingham. Aiming to court one better than last month in York, Mark Allen | :04:02. | :04:10. | |
takes on that Neil Robertson. Twice a winner of this event, but not for | :04:10. | :04:20. | |
:04:20. | :04:22. | ||
nine years, Mark Williams plays Stephen Maguire. Mark Selby again | :04:22. | :04:25. | |
Stephen Lee is a repeat of the 2000 in the final and Stephen Lee will | :04:25. | :04:31. | |
be hoping for a different outcome this time. Martin Gould makes his | :04:31. | :04:38. | |
debut in this event against Shaun Murphy. Everyone hopes Ali Carter | :04:38. | :04:47. | |
rediscover some of his snooker mojos soon. He takes on Graeme Dott. | :04:47. | :04:52. | |
Reigning world champion John Higgins takes on the master at -- | :04:52. | :05:00. | |
Matthew Stevens, who is back after a five-year absence. This | :05:00. | :05:06. | |
afternoon's opening match is a sell-out by the middle of last | :05:06. | :05:15. | |
month. No wonder. It is a repeat of the 2007 final between it Ding | :05:15. | :05:19. | |
Junhui been comforted by and Ronnie was Solomon after beating him that | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
in an emotionally draining match. Five years on, the fortunes of both | :05:25. | :05:35. | |
:05:35. | :06:13. | ||
I do not think he had to hit it at that pace. He hit it much too hard. | :06:13. | :06:23. | |
:06:23. | :06:24. | ||
Ronnie O'Sullivan wins that on the I think that last frame has not a | :06:24. | :06:31. | |
bit of the stuffing out of Ding Junhui. He really is amazing this | :06:31. | :06:41. | |
:06:41. | :06:46. | ||
He what formwork to shake the hand of Ronnie O'Sullivan. I think he | :06:46. | :06:56. | |
:06:56. | :07:01. | ||
thinks the match is over, but it is He is a class act, this boy. I just | :07:01. | :07:11. | |
:07:11. | :07:30. | ||
Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the Masters! The most talented snooker player we | :07:30. | :07:36. | |
have I ever seen that produces the business. You have to feel sorry | :07:36. | :07:41. | |
for the young man From Shanghai, but what a performance from Ronnie | :07:41. | :07:51. | |
After a few worrying years for Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ronnie | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
O'Sullivan was back to his very best back then. He followed it up | :07:55. | :07:59. | |
at the end of the year with a great performance in the United Kingdom | :07:59. | :08:05. | |
championship. The following year, he won the World Championship in | :08:05. | :08:08. | |
2008. It look like Ronnie O'Sullivan was back to his | :08:08. | :08:15. | |
brilliant best. As for Ding Junhui, he must have turned up thinking he | :08:15. | :08:22. | |
was the best player in the world. To be dismantled so comprehensively | :08:22. | :08:32. | |
:08:32. | :08:34. | ||
must have come as a terrible shock to his system. After that 2008 | :08:34. | :08:38. | |
World Championship victory, the Ronnie was a love and the trophy | :08:38. | :08:43. | |
cabinet has late slightly beer. Yes, he did when the 2009 Masters, but | :08:43. | :08:51. | |
the big tournaments have eluded him since. The reason? The standard | :08:51. | :08:54. | |
this and we got a lot better and also, Ronnie has seemed | :08:54. | :09:02. | |
increasingly disillusioned with the game. After that final, Ding Junhui | :09:02. | :09:09. | |
found himself on the slump. In 2009, there was recovery when he reached | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
the final against Neil Robertson. Although he was beaten | :09:13. | :09:19. | |
comprehensively, it was a step in the right direction. Then, he beat | :09:19. | :09:29. | |
:09:29. | :09:29. | ||
John Higgins to beat the United Kingdom championship. And what of | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
Ronnie O'Sullivan this season? He has been beaten more often by it | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
more minor players and opting out of the lot of tournaments. His | :09:39. | :09:45. | |
ranking has suffered. The big question is, is Ronnie has all been | :09:45. | :09:54. | |
going to channel all his energies into the game of snooker? So, Ding | :09:54. | :09:59. | |
Junhui back at the top of his game. He is the reigning champions, but | :09:59. | :10:05. | |
there is one burning question. Can he put the ghost of his past with | :10:05. | :10:12. | |
erroneous of and behind them this afternoon? Since we were with you | :10:12. | :10:21. | |
in your kid last month a lot has been happening. There were four | :10:21. | :10:26. | |
maximums in three competition days, two of them by Ding Junhui. I am | :10:26. | :10:33. | |
joined here by Dennis Taylor and Stephen Hendry. Yes, he has looked | :10:33. | :10:38. | |
in fine form. To make two maximum breaks is amazing. Ronnie | :10:38. | :10:45. | |
O'Sullivan has 12 maximums breaks. The gentleman behind me has a love- | :10:45. | :10:49. | |
in. Be a miss here this afternoon is going to be incredible. It does | :10:49. | :10:56. | |
not get any better than that. Everyone wants the master spy on | :10:56. | :11:01. | |
their CV. It is the top 16 and the toughest tournament in the world to | :11:01. | :11:08. | |
win. Stephen, this is your first time in 24 years that you're not | :11:08. | :11:15. | |
playing at the Masters. Ronnie O'Sullivan is 16 in the world | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
rankings and only just great an invitation. How big this season is | :11:20. | :11:26. | |
this? I am sure Ronnie will not want to go and have to try and | :11:26. | :11:36. | |
qualify, just like I am having to do. But this is a big one. This was | :11:36. | :11:46. | |
:11:46. | :11:46. | ||
always second on my list to win. Why was that? As Dennis said, it is | :11:46. | :11:50. | |
the best 16 players and the world and you want to prove yourself | :11:50. | :11:56. | |
against the other 15. This is the first time I have been in this | :11:57. | :12:05. | |
venue and it looks sensational. is the sell-out crowd of 1,500 here | :12:05. | :12:08. | |
at Alexandra Palace and I know that a working see Rob Walker is pretty | :12:09. | :12:17. | |
keen to get on with the game as well. Good afternoon. A new name | :12:17. | :12:21. | |
and the new venue. Welcome to the Alexander Palace for the BGC | :12:21. | :12:31. | |
:12:31. | :12:41. | ||
Masters. Let us get the boys on the Please welcome, the most naturally | :12:41. | :12:48. | |
gifted player ever to grace the modern game. He has played in the | :12:48. | :12:55. | |
Masters final four times as a winner. Here comes the Rocket, or | :12:55. | :13:05. | |
:13:05. | :13:27. | ||
Ronnie O'Sullivan it. Ronnie, what a fantastic reception. | :13:27. | :13:34. | |
This tournament has been very special to you in the past? Yes, | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
egg it has and I are looking forward to playing in this new | :13:38. | :13:48. | |
:13:48. | :13:49. | ||
And please welcome his opponent, a national hero in China. The winner | :13:49. | :13:55. | |
of four ranking event titles. He enjoyed the sensational run to the | :13:55. | :14:02. | |
final 12 months ago, please welcome the defending champion, to Enter | :14:02. | :14:12. | |
:14:12. | :14:29. | ||
The Dragon, Ding Junhui! This is what world-class snooker is | :14:30. | :14:34. | |
all about - a world-class opponent and the great reception from the | :14:34. | :14:44. | |
crowd. Are you confident you will be able to live up to this question | :14:44. | :14:54. | |
:14:54. | :15:04. | ||
As is the tradition, the defending champion plays in the first match. | :15:04. | :15:14. | |
:15:14. | :15:24. | ||
REFEREE: Friend No. 1, Ding Junhui What a reception both players got | :15:24. | :15:33. | |
from the crowd. It should be a terrific final in any tournament. | :15:33. | :15:39. | |
Yes, the fact that Ronnie has slipped down the rankings means | :15:39. | :15:44. | |
that Ding Junhui is rather unfortunate to find himself paired | :15:44. | :15:54. | |
:15:54. | :15:58. | ||
with Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first There is the crowd at the Alexandra | :15:58. | :16:04. | |
Palace. I am sure it will be similar set of supporters who used | :16:04. | :16:14. | |
:16:14. | :16:30. | ||
First mistake from Ding Junhui. There was a poor safety shot. They | :16:30. | :16:35. | |
will have to see if Ronnie can knock this first ball in into the | :16:35. | :16:45. | |
:16:45. | :16:57. | ||
Obviously, there was enough room to hold for the pink, so not a mad | :16:57. | :17:07. | |
:17:07. | :17:17. | ||
early opportunity. -- a bad early This is the first time they have | :17:17. | :17:23. | |
seen it either of these days this year. Neither of them played at the | :17:23. | :17:33. | |
:17:33. | :17:33. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :17:33. | :18:13. | |
event in Munich at the start of This table looks pretty lively. It | :18:13. | :18:23. | |
:18:23. | :18:23. | ||
always has fairly fast at the Masters. That was the reason for | :18:23. | :18:33. | |
:18:33. | :18:39. | ||
the mess. He ran slightly out of You cannot help but feel a little | :18:39. | :18:44. | |
bit nervous on an occasion like this. But both these players are | :18:44. | :18:49. | |
bigger occasion players. It will not take them long to get into | :18:49. | :18:59. | |
:18:59. | :19:11. | ||
A surprising us from Ding Junhui, but he has not left anything. There | :19:11. | :19:20. | |
is a red up next to the law, but that is very risky. He is looking | :19:20. | :19:25. | |
at leaving the white ball down on the baulk cushion so that he come | :19:25. | :19:35. | |
:19:35. | :19:59. | ||
He has got that in the pocket. The doors open just before midday and | :19:59. | :20:05. | |
the crowd can in quickly - not quite that quickly! Within 20 | :20:05. | :20:11. | |
minutes, the place was absolutely full. The first people in get the | :20:11. | :20:21. | |
:20:21. | :20:24. | ||
best seats. There is no speedy boarding here! Now, has he come | :20:24. | :20:34. | |
:20:34. | :20:40. | ||
Nor, at their you can see it. It is a risky one. If he does pot it, he | :20:40. | :20:50. | |
:20:50. | :20:53. | ||
should finish on the black. He has definitely settled the | :20:53. | :21:03. | |
:21:03. | :21:31. | ||
He might have to play a delicate little cannon. But he took his eye | :21:31. | :21:38. | |
off the pot. It is amazing how often that happens. That will annoy | :21:38. | :21:48. | |
a Ronnie O'Sullivan to miss a pot like that. You can count on one | :21:48. | :21:53. | |
hand the number of blacks off the spot that Ronnie O'Sullivan will | :21:53. | :22:02. | |
miss in the course of the season. So, at Ding Junhui has got the | :22:02. | :22:07. | |
first good chance of this frame. He is rather fortunate that he is | :22:07. | :22:17. | |
:22:17. | :22:21. | ||
coming to the table when Ronnie has Yes, if Ronnie had got matt-black, | :22:21. | :22:29. | |
he would be taking all these. It is a terrific chance now for the | :22:29. | :22:39. | |
:22:39. | :22:44. | ||
As we said, he has hit took maximum breaks in the last couple of days. | :22:44. | :22:51. | |
And congratulations to use even, I hear you qualified for the big | :22:51. | :23:01. | |
:23:01. | :23:06. | ||
event in China yesterday? Yes, I did, thank you. Yes, I think these | :23:06. | :23:15. | |
events in Sheffield you can watch on the internet. That is the reason | :23:15. | :23:20. | |
you're seen so many maximum breaks - the players are playing so much | :23:20. | :23:29. | |
snooker. Yes, I think Ding Junhui made them in consecutive days, | :23:29. | :23:39. | |
:23:39. | :24:17. | ||
which I presume has never been done He does not want to be absolutely | :24:17. | :24:24. | |
straight on the black. I think the back red of these the below the | :24:24. | :24:33. | |
pink will call into the right-hand bottom corner. That is OK. He will | :24:33. | :24:38. | |
develop the other two reds off this. It is just a matter of what colour | :24:38. | :24:48. | |
:24:48. | :24:59. | ||
he can finish on here. A prisoner The one on the left side is now the | :24:59. | :25:09. | |
:25:09. | :25:12. | ||
only difficult red on the table. The two up by the yellow are not | :25:12. | :25:22. | |
:25:22. | :25:41. | ||
He looks to be a bit straight on the split. So, he has played for | :25:41. | :25:47. | |
the difficult red and this is now the key ball. He does not have to | :25:47. | :25:57. | |
:25:57. | :25:59. | ||
force the thin, but can just drop it in the softly. Yes, if he did | :25:59. | :26:03. | |
not need all three of the reds he would definitely have played for | :26:03. | :26:11. | |
the easier ones up the table, but he does need all three of them. On | :26:11. | :26:21. | |
:26:21. | :26:29. | ||
a brown new cloth, if you play he's He now has the natural angle on the | :26:29. | :26:37. | |
black and does not have to put it in a spin on the white ball. Yes, | :26:37. | :26:47. | |
:26:47. | :27:07. | ||
it should end up somewhere near the Absolutely amazing. He was thinking | :27:07. | :27:13. | |
about developing the other red and took his eye off the pot. He was | :27:13. | :27:23. | |
:27:23. | :27:31. | ||
concentrating on the cannon on the Although it is the best of the love | :27:31. | :27:41. | |
:27:41. | :27:46. | ||
and frames, thus opening frame He has come up a little bit shot. | :27:46. | :27:55. | |
This is an awkward shot. It is difficult to pick up the angle when | :27:55. | :28:05. | |
:28:05. | :28:18. | ||
you are this close to the object The yellow been off its spot makes | :28:18. | :28:28. | |
:28:28. | :28:51. | ||
He will probably stunner cross for Still glancing around at the | :28:51. | :29:01. | |
:29:01. | :29:09. | ||
scoreboard to see exactly what he Just blue and pink for a frame that | :29:09. | :29:19. | |
:29:19. | :29:35. | ||
I think Ronnie probably thought he Well! Ding missed that very easy | :29:35. | :29:42. | |
one to give Ronnie O'Sullivan the opening frame, and he leads 1-0. | :29:42. | :29:47. | |
HAZEL IRVINE: And here in our bobble studio, we have a Grandstand | :29:47. | :29:51. | |
view of the match table and everything going around. We have | :29:52. | :29:55. | |
been enjoying the pre-match warm-up because you might know that Rob | :29:55. | :29:59. | |
Walker gets the crowd going by having a walk-on rehearsal for the | :29:59. | :30:04. | |
players. And guess who was playing the pot of Ronnie O'Sullivan! Yes, | :30:04. | :30:09. | |
that is Ronnie O'Sullivan. That is Ronnie junior, at Ronnie's young | :30:09. | :30:14. | |
son. And here becomes, editor overwhelmed by the noise. But once | :30:14. | :30:18. | |
he found his bearings, he eventually settled into his dad's | :30:18. | :30:26. | |
chair. There's his grandmother and his sister, Lily, on their mother's | :30:26. | :30:33. | |
need. He has rather upstaged his father already! -- on her mother's | :30:33. | :30:40. | |
knee. I came in very early to see some prix records and the venue | :30:40. | :30:47. | |
looked great but you never get to see the atmosphere, but 1,500 | :30:47. | :30:51. | |
people in here is fantastic. What do you think of what we have seen | :30:51. | :30:57. | |
so far, Steve? It is great to see a full house. Obviously, Ronnie | :30:57. | :31:07. | |
O'Sullivan play. And tonight, over 1,000 tickets already sold. It | :31:07. | :31:10. | |
looks good for the future of snooker and events like this are | :31:10. | :31:16. | |
important. I am sure Ronnie appreciate that his family is here | :31:16. | :31:26. | |
:31:26. | :31:26. | ||
to watch him. Back to the table. DENNIS TAYLOR: Just a few people | :31:26. | :31:34. | |
getting back into their seats. A few late comers. That is if they | :31:34. | :31:44. | |
:31:44. | :31:44. | ||
can find a seat this afternoon. It is first come, first served. And | :31:45. | :31:50. | |
there's Ronnie's family, with his mother, Maria. His two lovely | :31:50. | :32:00. | |
:32:00. | :32:05. | ||
A pretty good break-off shot, Stephen? Yes. He has covered it | :32:05. | :32:10. | |
with the brown. He has got a red on the right hand cushion and | :32:10. | :32:16. | |
obviously a very tough pot. If he misses, he will leave Ronnie right | :32:16. | :32:21. | |
in amongst the balls. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and go for | :32:21. | :32:31. | |
:32:31. | :32:36. | ||
The natural angle to come off the cushion and into the bunch, look at | :32:36. | :32:46. | |
:32:46. | :32:55. | ||
the yellow. That is why he is not Groaning from the crowd. He always | :32:55. | :33:02. | |
knew he would leave some pot on for Ronnie. A slight shot to nothing | :33:02. | :33:05. | |
and did not play for position on the black, which would have meant | :33:05. | :33:15. | |
:33:15. | :33:27. | ||
hitting the shot a lot harder to go Didn't even get in the jaws of the | :33:27. | :33:34. | |
pocket. Ding was in trouble and all of a sudden, Ronnie not getting | :33:34. | :33:44. | |
:33:44. | :34:20. | ||
close to that pot and it is Ding Not a guaranteed position here. He | :34:20. | :34:30. | |
:34:30. | :34:45. | ||
will have to play the cannon on the The overhead camera just showing | :34:45. | :34:55. | |
:34:55. | :35:14. | ||
you that cannon, which didn't work It is quite amazing. The players | :35:14. | :35:22. | |
from the Far East are terrific at potting the round -- the balls into | :35:22. | :35:29. | |
the middle pocket. I don't know... They just seem to have no problem | :35:29. | :35:39. | |
:35:39. | :36:01. | ||
A good red to remove here. That He has given himself a bit of a | :36:01. | :36:11. | |
:36:11. | :36:29. | ||
problem here, Stephen? Yes. Again, A little bit of tension out there. | :36:29. | :36:34. | |
Neither player has really settled. A pretty good opening frame but a | :36:34. | :36:44. | |
:36:44. | :36:58. | ||
few easy pots missed by both A good plant there with a fair bit | :36:58. | :37:07. | |
of distance between the reds. And he has judged that pretty well. | :37:07. | :37:17. | |
:37:17. | :37:19. | ||
Slightly hampered but good pace on He looks a bit rusty because he | :37:19. | :37:29. | |
:37:29. | :37:30. | ||
hasn't played since the Second It might take him a bit of time to | :37:31. | :37:40. | |
:37:41. | :37:52. | ||
As we mentioned earlier, that is the reason Ronnie has dropped out | :37:52. | :38:01. | |
of being number six -- in the 16th in the world -- in the top 16 in | :38:01. | :38:11. | |
:38:11. | :38:28. | ||
Not a bad safety shot. No colour to play behind because of the yellow, | :38:28. | :38:36. | |
so you just want to get the white as close to the cushion as possible. | :38:36. | :38:46. | |
:38:46. | :38:46. | ||
He might be able to swing this wide a round the angles. -- this white | :38:46. | :38:56. | |
:38:56. | :39:04. | ||
That might be too close to the pocket. If the red over the pocket | :39:04. | :39:14. | |
:39:14. | :39:16. | ||
were slightly to the left, it would He could quite easily double-kiss | :39:16. | :39:22. | |
this if he doesn't get it right. He has got to get it right into the | :39:23. | :39:32. | |
:39:33. | :39:46. | ||
It looked easy and he got the double-kiss. They are surprised he | :39:46. | :39:56. | |
didn't look at the one near the cushion. He played a nothing of | :39:56. | :40:06. | |
:40:06. | :40:06. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :40:06. | :40:47. | |
shot in the end. Yes, and the This is the third time these | :40:47. | :40:53. | |
players have played in the Masters. They were talking in the studio | :40:53. | :41:03. | |
:41:03. | :41:03. | ||
about the 2007 final when Ronnie won. It is 16 frames for warning | :41:03. | :41:08. | |
name and only four for Ding. Not that the players will be thinking | :41:08. | :41:17. | |
about that. But that is what the statistics tell us. Definitely both | :41:17. | :41:24. | |
players will have a lot of respect for each of a's game. -- to each | :41:24. | :41:34. | |
:41:34. | :41:55. | ||
I am sure both of these players will settle down and give us a | :41:55. | :42:05. | |
:42:05. | :42:16. | ||
Sometimes it takes just one player to do something special to spark | :42:16. | :42:26. | |
:42:26. | :42:29. | ||
That is where I went wrong play new, Stephen. I didn't miss enough to | :42:29. | :42:39. | |
:42:39. | :42:57. | ||
Can he get on to the two reds? If the green would go, it would be a | :42:57. | :43:03. | |
better angle to get up to the reds. He has got to it is pretty hard to | :43:03. | :43:13. | |
:43:13. | :43:13. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :43:13. | :44:01. | |
At present, he is just favourite to Worth a risk, that double. And then | :44:01. | :44:11. | |
:44:11. | :44:11. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :44:11. | :45:08. | |
A nice easy red to leave your Ding stays in his seat, so the best | :45:08. | :45:11. | |
possible start for Ronnie O'Sullivan. He can't do any better | :45:11. | :45:18. | |
than winning the two opening frames. He leads 2-0. Both players still a | :45:18. | :45:23. | |
bit edgy and quite understandable with the new venue. Ding has missed | :45:23. | :45:29. | |
a few chances. He had an awkward chance there where I thought he had | :45:29. | :45:32. | |
a bigger pocket, and in the end, this is the situation we are faced | :45:32. | :45:38. | |
with. I thought the red to the cushion would go in. In the end, | :45:38. | :45:45. | |
Ding decided to try to knock the one in over the pocket. And then he | :45:45. | :45:51. | |
got the double a kiss. We will just show you the shot there. Pretty | :45:51. | :45:57. | |
awkward, Stephen? Yes. Both players are making mistakes, but | :45:57. | :46:01. | |
unfortunately for Ding, he has made the last mistakes and it has left | :46:01. | :46:07. | |
Ronnie with the upper hand and able to make the break. Ronnie doesn't | :46:07. | :46:14. | |
look as sharp as he can look. As you said, he had a break over | :46:14. | :46:18. | |
Christmas and the new year and has not played in a championship. Ding | :46:18. | :46:28. | |
:46:28. | :46:29. | ||
has played in the PTC events. He will be wanting to do well. Just | :46:29. | :46:39. | |
:46:39. | :46:45. | ||
getting people into their seats as Of course, there used to darts here, | :46:46. | :46:55. | |
:46:56. | :46:59. | ||
Dennis. -- they are reduced to darts. Quite a bit quieter! | :46:59. | :47:04. | |
terrific crowd here and it always is in London. And a very fair crowd. | :47:05. | :47:11. | |
They tend to favour people like Ronnie, Jimmy White, Steve Davis. | :47:11. | :47:16. | |
But if their opponents produce the goods, they get the respect. And a | :47:16. | :47:26. | |
:47:26. | :47:33. | ||
A Ronnie O'Sullivan special, that. You can't have cue the ball better | :47:33. | :47:43. | |
:47:43. | :47:56. | ||
He can't do better than that with his long pot success rate. Yes. One | :47:56. | :48:01. | |
part of his game that he never seems to be happy with but four out | :48:01. | :48:11. | |
:48:11. | :48:11. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :48:11. | :48:52. | |
That red will still pot when the He has done the same as he did in | :48:52. | :48:57. | |
the first frame with that red. He now has a thinner pot than he would | :48:57. | :49:07. | |
:49:07. | :49:42. | ||
Not the best angle to go into them For one to the left of the pink | :49:42. | :49:52. | |
:49:52. | :50:07. | ||
It is not going to be easy. He has made 12 maximum breaks on | :50:07. | :50:14. | |
television. He might be able to get into the angle to take one in the | :50:14. | :50:20. | |
middle but couldn't have finished more awkwardly there. About an inch | :50:20. | :50:25. | |
too straight on the black to make going into the pack easy. Had to | :50:25. | :50:35. | |
:50:35. | :50:50. | ||
force it a bit. But still unlucky If Brendan Moore started the | :50:50. | :50:56. | |
opening match and he will be doing his first ever final. He will be | :50:56. | :51:06. | |
:51:06. | :51:17. | ||
Ronnie will be irritated with this end of break. You can bet your | :51:17. | :51:21. | |
bottom dollar that he was thinking about a maximum and to be the first | :51:22. | :51:31. | |
:51:32. | :51:44. | ||
A 48-point advantage. But the way the reds are, this frame is far | :51:44. | :51:54. | |
:51:54. | :52:16. | ||
He doesn't want to go three down. And that was close to the pocket! | :52:16. | :52:26. | |
:52:26. | :52:40. | ||
Tight on the jaw of the pocket but A pretty good effort it! One red | :52:40. | :52:45. | |
has gone on the cushion, which is a bonus for Ronnie, but the chance | :52:45. | :52:55. | |
:52:55. | :53:28. | ||
What about that for a shot into the middle pocket to get the cue ball | :53:28. | :53:38. | |
:53:38. | :53:38. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :53:38. | :55:11. | |
He didn't get into the cue ball as Just finished a little straight on | :55:11. | :55:17. | |
the black. A quick glance at the pink but where the reds are, he | :55:17. | :55:27. | |
:55:27. | :55:34. | ||
doesn't have too much to do with It would be nice for him to bring | :55:34. | :55:44. | |
:55:44. | :56:17. | ||
A little cannon onto the red might The only problem now is the one red | :56:17. | :56:27. | |
:56:27. | :56:30. | ||
we mentioned, near the right hand And a Stephen mentioned, this is | :56:30. | :56:40. | |
:56:40. | :57:08. | ||
such an important frame for Ding to Ding might try to move this off | :57:08. | :57:14. | |
that shot. You would think he would finish on a colour if he didn't | :57:14. | :57:24. | |
:57:24. | :57:31. | ||
move it. Let's see what he decides Not bad. If he can get to the brown, | :57:31. | :57:38. | |
he is OK, but it has dropped right on the yellow. He was so close to | :57:38. | :57:47. | |
bringing it into play. But has it gone too far? I think it might have. | :57:47. | :57:57. | |
:57:57. | :58:03. | ||
If he hits the red full ball, he Other players might think | :58:03. | :58:07. | |
differently but I wouldn't have played that shot. But maybe that is | :58:07. | :58:17. | |
:58:17. | :58:19. | ||
I believe you! Seven-times world champion, six times Masters | :58:19. | :58:29. | |
:58:29. | :58:51. | ||
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! They don't come any better than | :58:51. | :59:01. | |
:59:01. | :59:20. | ||
It all looked pretty straightforward for Ronnie | :59:20. | :59:25. | |
O'Sullivan. But having said that, Ding Junhui has all were screwed | :59:25. | :59:33. | |
out. Ronnie hit six red and six blacks and was very unlucky to | :59:33. | :59:43. | |
:59:43. | :59:57. | ||
stick on to the pack and not leave The problem was resolved. The brown | :59:57. | :00:07. | |
:00:07. | :00:30. | ||
and blue will give him his first There where a few misses in the | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
opening two frames, but there was very little mist in that frame. It | :00:36. | :00:41. | |
was unlucky for Ronnie O'Sullivan to stick one to the pack of red, | :00:41. | :00:51. | |
:00:51. | :00:59. | ||
but Ding Junhui is on the board. 2- That was terrific cueing. Yes, | :00:59. | :01:08. | |
because if he missed this, he could have gone three frames behind. He | :01:08. | :01:13. | |
deserved what he got there. We can safely say that both players have | :01:13. | :01:21. | |
now settled down in the match. is a new venue and a different kind | :01:21. | :01:30. | |
of atmosphere. In some respects, Ding Junhui was slow off the blocks. | :01:30. | :01:36. | |
Yes, Stephen made a very good point in commentary about match sharpness. | :01:36. | :01:42. | |
You cannot substitute what you do in practice compared to what you | :01:42. | :01:49. | |
can do it in a match. In the first couple of frames, Ding Junhui | :01:49. | :01:54. | |
missed a couple of opportunities. He missed the boat a little bit. | :01:54. | :02:02. | |
But he has settled down a bit. Ronnie was clearly suffering before | :02:02. | :02:12. | |
:02:12. | :02:12. | ||
Christmas. He was suffering from a virus. Yes, we now have gone from | :02:12. | :02:15. | |
player saying they have not got enough match practice a couple of | :02:15. | :02:19. | |
years ago to them now say now that there is far too much tournament | :02:19. | :02:29. | |
:02:29. | :02:49. | ||
DENNIS TAYLOR: There is a little gap to snick off the prick of red. | :02:49. | :02:59. | |
:02:59. | :03:06. | ||
Me think the black is available in to the bottom right-hand corner, | :03:06. | :03:13. | |
but the black ball will not be available. He will have to play for | :03:13. | :03:23. | |
:03:23. | :03:26. | ||
the blue off this one. He seemed to Harley touch that, but the action | :03:26. | :03:33. | |
he got off that was amazing. He put a lot of left-hand side on that, | :03:33. | :03:43. | |
:03:43. | :03:50. | ||
which allowed the weight to spin If he is dead straight on that, it | :03:50. | :03:59. | |
opens the black up. He is perfect. You can see, that the tip of the | :03:59. | :04:05. | |
cue comes back nearly two his thumb when he plays these screw shot. He | :04:05. | :04:15. | |
:04:15. | :04:51. | ||
It looks as if both players have settled down now. In the last frame, | :04:51. | :05:01. | |
:05:01. | :05:02. | ||
there was very little nest by either of them. -- missed. The | :05:02. | :05:12. | |
:05:12. | :05:14. | ||
Masters has always been it the The mid-session interval was coming | :05:14. | :05:21. | |
up after this frame. Ronnie would be very pleased if he could get any | :05:21. | :05:31. | |
:05:31. | :05:36. | ||
There is his pot success rate. Any time you get into the Nineties, you | :05:37. | :05:46. | |
:05:47. | :06:05. | ||
You could hear a pin drop at the moment. There are 1,500 people in | :06:05. | :06:10. | |
here. It is the capacity crowd for the first match of this year's | :06:10. | :06:20. | |
:06:20. | :06:20. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :06:20. | :07:24. | |
It has just taken over four minutes for this effort. He has almost | :07:24. | :07:34. | |
:07:34. | :07:39. | ||
clinched the frame. He is a few It is not often that you see a | :07:39. | :07:43. | |
frame-winning break without Ronnie doing some sort of shot to develop | :07:43. | :07:53. | |
:07:53. | :07:54. | ||
the reds, but he has not had to do that and this one. There is Ronnie | :07:54. | :07:59. | |
Jnr, who we saw been introduced before play started. We saw him | :07:59. | :08:09. | |
:08:09. | :08:11. | ||
coming down the stairs with his The frame is safe and this could be | :08:12. | :08:17. | |
the first century we have seen at Alexandra Palace. Not now, but he | :08:17. | :08:26. | |
will not bother too much about missing the pink. So, two frames | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
were a bit edgy for both players, but the second to were a lot better. | :08:32. | :08:41. | |
:08:42. | :08:42. | ||
Ronnie goes to the interval leading Who looks the better player in | :08:42. | :08:51. | |
touch? We saw that in that frame. That was a beautifully constructed | :08:51. | :08:56. | |
break from Ronnie. Going back to this venue and the Masters itself, | :08:56. | :09:01. | |
every match is like a final. With the one-table set-up, all eyes are | :09:01. | :09:09. | |
on you. In most other tournaments, by the time you get to one table, | :09:09. | :09:15. | |
you are usually in the latter stages of a tournament. As yet, | :09:15. | :09:25. | |
:09:25. | :09:28. | ||
Ding Junhui has not fulfilled his potential this season. You wonder | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
if it helps that Ronnie is in front of the home crowd. How much do you | :09:33. | :09:43. | |
think key phrase with this sort of support? Yes, I think he likes the | :09:43. | :09:47. | |
fact that he has got a normal routine. He does not have to stay | :09:47. | :09:57. | |
:09:57. | :10:02. | ||
another tell, but simply goes home. We were talking before about this | :10:02. | :10:06. | |
is a bit of the crossroads for Ronnie O'Sullivan in his career. He | :10:06. | :10:13. | |
has now just ranked No. 16 in the world. He was seeing himself that | :10:13. | :10:20. | |
he thinks he has to win that either the big tournaments in Germany or | :10:20. | :10:26. | |
Wales to actually be in the top 16. It would be unthinkable that, after | :10:26. | :10:35. | |
19 years, he might disappear from the top 16, isn't it? Yes, but it | :10:35. | :10:40. | |
is a problem facing a lot of the players now. If you do not playing | :10:40. | :10:48. | |
enough events, then you will have this. If you do not want to stay | :10:48. | :10:52. | |
away from home and do the travelling, you are going to be | :10:52. | :10:56. | |
penalised by the current ranking system. Other players to play in | :10:56. | :11:05. | |
everything, will get the advantages from it. In fact, he was just about | :11:05. | :11:10. | |
one frame away from being knocked out of the top 16. These are | :11:10. | :11:20. | |
:11:20. | :11:20. | ||
challenging times for Ronnie. all I am saying is that he has to | :11:20. | :11:24. | |
qualify for the World Championships, there will be a few people up | :11:24. | :11:28. | |
sitting at home saying to themselves, goodness, I do not want | :11:28. | :11:37. | |
to draw him in the qualifying round! The winner of the last | :11:37. | :11:42. | |
ranking event was Stephen Maguire and he will be in action this | :11:42. | :11:47. | |
evening. He is a player who is coming back to form and is up | :11:47. | :11:53. | |
against Mark Williams, a two-time event of this event, but not since | :11:53. | :12:03. | |
:12:03. | :12:19. | ||
2003. Let us get a bit of I get on with anyone. I just like | :12:19. | :12:27. | |
to have a laugh. Most of the people are all like that. When you are out | :12:27. | :12:33. | |
there playing, it does not make a great deal of difference. I just | :12:33. | :12:43. | |
:12:43. | :12:49. | ||
concentrate on the balls on the table. I liked speed. Nothing gives | :12:49. | :12:52. | |
you the table speed and acceleration that you can get from | :12:52. | :13:00. | |
a motorbike. I used to play a lot of Badminton, three or four times a | :13:00. | :13:07. | |
week. But apart from that, I do not have any hidden talent. And I am | :13:07. | :13:17. | |
:13:17. | :13:17. | ||
not very good at that these days! Their games you're going to enjoy | :13:17. | :13:24. | |
it are against the likes of Ronnie was solvent. These are the ones | :13:24. | :13:34. | |
:13:34. | :13:49. | ||
Getting the balance right between been far too nice to be a top-class | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
competitor and having to go on for anger management sessions is a | :13:53. | :14:02. | |
tough one! Yes, Stephen is a different type of guy. But it | :14:02. | :14:06. | |
definitely works for him. He expresses himself on the table, | :14:06. | :14:13. | |
which is fantastic to see. If he is not happy, he is not worried to let | :14:13. | :14:18. | |
everyone see. He can be intimidating. He is an awesome | :14:18. | :14:25. | |
player. If I like to see people expressing emotion. In the past, it | :14:25. | :14:30. | |
was not the done thing, but as long as they can control it, I have no | :14:30. | :14:37. | |
problem with that. Yes, me personally, I would not want to do | :14:37. | :14:41. | |
that, but it does seem to help him. The last couple of seasons he has | :14:41. | :14:46. | |
not really lived up to his potential. I saw an interview a | :14:46. | :14:55. | |
couple of years ago when he thought he would dominate the spot. He just | :14:55. | :15:02. | |
seems to have lost his way a little bit. Has he lost his way because | :15:02. | :15:10. | |
other players have got better or because he has stagnated? He used | :15:10. | :15:15. | |
to practise for cause and hours. I do not know if he is quite is | :15:15. | :15:20. | |
dedicated. Maybe he is not quite as in love with the game as he once | :15:20. | :15:28. | |
was. When you see his reaction round the table, he must have some | :15:28. | :15:34. | |
sort Buchholz and his cues have taken a bit of abuse! He did not | :15:34. | :15:38. | |
used to do that. Maybe it is frustration with him not winning | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
matches he thinks that he should be. But as regards a powerful presence | :15:43. | :15:53. | |
:15:53. | :15:55. | ||
round the table, there are very few players like him. Yes, a lot of | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
players have come through at the same time and Stephen was leading | :15:58. | :16:03. | |
the race out of all of us. He was the one winning tournaments before | :16:03. | :16:09. | |
any of us. He won the United Kingdom championship and the look | :16:09. | :16:12. | |
like he would dominate the game for 10 years if he kept playing like | :16:12. | :16:17. | |
that. It is probably just finding that balance between getting to the | :16:17. | :16:22. | |
point where it is bad for your game, in terms of temperament wise. On | :16:22. | :16:29. | |
the table, when he was working with Terry Griffiths, Terry seemed to | :16:29. | :16:38. | |
Camb him down. Now, he is perhaps doing it at the wrong time. May be | :16:38. | :16:45. | |
upon us are getting positive feedback from it. -- opponents are | :16:45. | :16:52. | |
getting positive feedback. And that match will be live on the red | :16:52. | :17:02. | |
button from 7pm. You can see highlights tonight at midnight. | :17:02. | :17:08. | |
Stephen Maguire has never made the winner's circle here, but he has | :17:08. | :17:16. | |
got a very good record against Mark Williams. Yes, I do not know if | :17:16. | :17:19. | |
many of these matches were played in the period when Mark Williams | :17:19. | :17:24. | |
was really struggling. Mark Williams is one of my favourite | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
players to watch and if you have got a record like that, you could | :17:28. | :17:38. | |
:17:38. | :17:38. | ||
be proud of it. Now, Mark Williams is number two in the world. The way | :17:38. | :17:42. | |
he has resurrected his career, how would you fancy his chances at | :17:42. | :17:52. | |
:17:52. | :17:53. | ||
Alexandra Palace? He is such a great competitor. A winner of this | :17:54. | :17:59. | |
magnitude would really put him right back in the picture. At the | :17:59. | :18:05. | |
moment, he has yet to confirm himself fully as the best in the | :18:05. | :18:15. | |
:18:15. | :18:18. | ||
world. He is not far from it. should be quite a match? Yes, with | :18:18. | :18:28. | |
Stephen Maguire just winning in Germany it should be good. Now, the | :18:28. | :18:37. | |
Alexander Palace has been a busy place in the past couple of weeks. | :18:37. | :18:40. | |
It hosted the World Darts Championship in the past couple of | :18:40. | :18:48. | |
weeks and one player who was glued to the television screen is Martin | :18:48. | :18:52. | |
Gould. He had even thought of taking it up professionally of | :18:52. | :19:02. | |
:19:02. | :19:06. | ||
things did not go so well on the Isle of darts. I do not play it as | :19:06. | :19:15. | |
much as I like. I get the odd game here and there. I love going to the | :19:15. | :19:20. | |
darts. I love the whole atmosphere and the way the crowd interacts. | :19:20. | :19:29. | |
Whenever it is on the telly, I always make sure I watch it. This | :19:29. | :19:39. | |
:19:39. | :19:39. | ||
is for the title, double Ten. It is they're! Phil Taylor is an awesome | :19:39. | :19:45. | |
sportsman. His will to win is amazing. He still dedicates eight | :19:45. | :19:55. | |
:19:55. | :20:00. | ||
on main cause of the in practice to winning. Double top! Yes! It is | :20:00. | :20:10. | |
:20:10. | :20:13. | ||
that sort of dedication I like to see and a top sportsman. I would | :20:13. | :20:17. | |
say this will like to give the Daks tour in go. I know I would need to | :20:17. | :20:22. | |
put a lot of work in, but I would love to play again some of the big | :20:22. | :20:30. | |
boys. Or fly, Phil Taylor will still be around when I make it. I | :20:30. | :20:38. | |
would love to put myself against Phil Taylor. I have a D cup loss | :20:38. | :20:44. | |
bankings from Shaun Murphy, but I know if I can get on to my game | :20:44. | :20:54. | |
straight away, I should be all right. Martin will be putting the | :20:54. | :21:04. | |
:21:04. | :21:05. | ||
it darts away tomorrow evening. By game is on BBC2 tomorrow. Now, | :21:05. | :21:10. | |
talking of darts, we have the other World Championship final at the | :21:10. | :21:20. | |
:21:20. | :21:21. | ||
Lakeside this evening. So really there Neelie man. Double 10! He has | :21:22. | :21:30. | |
got it! It means absolutely everything for Tony O'Shea. He is | :21:30. | :21:38. | |
back in his second World Championship final. I have got some | :21:38. | :21:43. | |
experience at least in playing at the Lakeside final. Even the life | :21:43. | :21:50. | |
lost, I think I learnt from a drop from it. That semi-final was tough. | :21:50. | :21:59. | |
It was 5-5. I think I learned from it. I think if I am in another | :21:59. | :22:09. | |
:22:09. | :22:10. | ||
final it will be a different story. Game, Short and the match! The coal | :22:10. | :22:20. | |
:22:20. | :22:24. | ||
fire goes all the way to the final! -- the qualifier. The language | :22:24. | :22:29. | |
barrier has been a major bonus for him. No one has been able to get | :22:30. | :22:36. | |
into his head! You can see stuff to other players and it gets under | :22:36. | :22:46. | |
:22:46. | :22:52. | ||
their skin, but not to him. TRANSLATION: I am just going to go | :22:52. | :23:01. | |
out there and be myself. How the crowd are loving this! The crowd | :23:01. | :23:11. | |
:23:11. | :23:15. | ||
are all singing. During the tour, I have lost in everything. I even had | :23:15. | :23:21. | |
any nine dart finish and still lost. To actually win one would mean I | :23:21. | :23:31. | |
:23:31. | :23:32. | ||
could retire happy man. There it is, at quarter to six on BBC2. What a | :23:32. | :23:40. | |
story we have had at the Lakeside this week. I am very looking | :23:40. | :23:49. | |
forward to that. I am sure Steve and John are as well. Yes, I have | :23:49. | :23:59. | |
:23:59. | :24:02. | ||
started playing a bit. I play against my son. Let us get back to | :24:02. | :24:09. | |
the snooker. Ronnie O'Sullivan is in a good position, 3-1 ahead, with | :24:09. | :24:17. | |
the first to six frames the winner. What does Ding Junhui have to do? | :24:17. | :24:26. | |
The alarm bells up are already ringing if you are 3-1 down. He | :24:26. | :24:30. | |
really just has to see her things can go his way. Ronnie O'Sullivan | :24:30. | :24:40. | |
:24:40. | :24:41. | ||
is a good front runner. How would you have been if your children were | :24:41. | :24:50. | |
sitting in the front row? I would not like to have been in that | :24:50. | :24:54. | |
situation. My wife used to come and watch me, but I'm not sure they | :24:54. | :24:59. | |
would have liked the children there. There may be a bit too much emotion | :24:59. | :25:09. | |
:25:09. | :25:28. | ||
I do not think that the plant. I think he is just playing the safety | :25:28. | :25:38. | |
:25:38. | :25:45. | ||
This gives Ding Junhui the have a chance. This is the type of shot | :25:45. | :25:55. | |
:25:55. | :26:11. | ||
He pleaded with the slight element of safety, coming back for the | :26:11. | :26:21. | |
:26:21. | :26:24. | ||
yellow. But he is still a nice The black does not pot into the | :26:24. | :26:33. | |
left corner. He will possibly play for the pink into the left of | :26:33. | :26:43. | |
:26:43. | :26:52. | ||
He is actually going to play from the one and the rate. That is very | :26:52. | :26:56. | |
difficult to screw back of a completely straight ball with the | :26:56. | :27:06. | |
:27:06. | :27:10. | ||
He did not quite get into it. He finished OK. He has got the blue | :27:10. | :27:20. | |
:27:20. | :27:34. | ||
into the bottom -- the top right- If he gets a nice angle off the | :27:35. | :27:40. | |
boat, he could play up for the one next to the black next time round. | :27:40. | :27:50. | |
Has he got the angle? There is just a teeny bit. He has got to be | :27:50. | :27:55. | |
careful of the red just to the left of the pack. In fact, he is just | :27:55. | :28:00. | |
plain for the one next to the pink. He will hope this helps to clear | :28:00. | :28:10. | |
:28:10. | :28:20. | ||
the pink. This is not an ideal That is the much better angle. He | :28:20. | :28:27. | |
played the shot in such a way that he would be all key if he had | :28:27. | :28:35. | |
cannoned the left red of the bunch. But this has gone a little awkward. | :28:35. | :28:39. | |
If he had played this with more pace, he could have cannoned into | :28:40. | :28:49. | |
:28:50. | :28:50. | ||
it. I wonder if he just under threat that. Anywhere up here that | :28:50. | :28:57. | |
red he is going to have to pot no would have been perfect. Yes, you | :28:57. | :29:01. | |
would think without sure you would air on the side of hitting it too | :29:01. | :29:06. | |
hard, because if he ran into it, it would have kept the white any | :29:06. | :29:16. | |
:29:16. | :29:19. | ||
That was the only problem. When you run out of position there is always | :29:19. | :29:24. | |
the risk that this sort of thing can happen. It was the previous | :29:24. | :29:34. | |
:29:34. | :29:51. | ||
shot from the blue to the red that REFEREE: Foul, and a miss. Ronnie | :29:52. | :30:01. | |
:30:02. | :30:16. | ||
This is the shot we we're talking about. He under her at it and | :30:17. | :30:26. | |
:30:27. | :30:27. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :30:27. | :32:00. | |
There was Neil easy safety shot and you cannot put a ball better than | :32:00. | :32:10. | |
:32:10. | :32:39. | ||
that. -- there was no easy safety Half the average shot time of 17 | :32:39. | :32:49. | |
:32:49. | :32:58. | ||
and 18 seconds, that is pretty And look at the average frame time. | :32:58. | :33:01. | |
And this one is not going to last much longer, you would feel, the | :33:01. | :33:11. | |
:33:11. | :33:19. | ||
It didn't matter what angle he finished on the black. Two reds | :33:19. | :33:29. | |
:33:29. | :33:38. | ||
The last red, the one he potted, he switched to his left hand. If you | :33:38. | :33:47. | |
asked if they could have any talent, any other player, that is what they | :33:47. | :33:52. | |
would say, to be able to switch hands like that. It is an amazing | :33:52. | :34:00. | |
talent. Lots of modern players are good with either hand, but going | :34:00. | :34:06. | |
back to my day, no the Fred Davis, could switch hands. -- maybe Fred | :34:07. | :34:16. | |
:34:17. | :34:24. | ||
He looks to be taking complete control of this match. He is doing | :34:24. | :34:34. | |
:34:34. | :34:34. | ||
precious little wrong at this moment. The first long red he | :34:34. | :34:42. | |
potted deserved to win any frame - and on our shot. -- phenomenal | :34:42. | :34:50. | |
shocked. This is the one that Stephen was talking about. That is | :34:50. | :35:00. | |
:35:00. | :35:04. | ||
The blue, and one more red. That will be enough to leave Ding Junhui | :35:04. | :35:14. | |
:35:14. | :35:21. | ||
It has gone wrong. This red doesn't pass the other red into the middle. | :35:21. | :35:26. | |
It is amazing. A shake of the head, it is incredible what can happen at | :35:26. | :35:33. | |
times. Slightly too much to check on the white ball, to square up the | :35:33. | :35:43. | |
:35:43. | :35:51. | ||
That was a frame-winner, if ever you have seen one. That was not an | :35:51. | :36:01. | |
:36:01. | :36:06. | ||
easy shot. That last red that he Gasps from the crowd, but he won't | :36:06. | :36:11. | |
bother too much about that, the difference, 44, Ding Junhui comes | :36:12. | :36:21. | |
:36:22. | :36:29. | ||
to the table, but he has a lot to I don't blame Ding Junhui for | :36:29. | :36:34. | |
carrying on, the way that the balls are situated. If he was able to get | :36:34. | :36:44. | |
:36:44. | :36:58. | ||
a snooker and a free ball art of it. Too much side. I think he will have | :36:58. | :37:05. | |
all look at Ronnie. Ding Junhui concedes the frame, and Ronnie | :37:05. | :37:11. | |
O'Sullivan looking very comfortable as he extends his lead to 4-1. | :37:11. | :37:16. | |
Ronnie, looking increasingly comfortable, and no wonder, because | :37:16. | :37:21. | |
his Achilles heel has been a long potting but that the opening red | :37:21. | :37:30. | |
did not display any of that. That is just absolutely crazy. To knock | :37:30. | :37:34. | |
that in as clean as a whistle, it is a ridiculous pot, and it | :37:34. | :37:39. | |
deserves to win any frame. forget how quickly he can play. | :37:39. | :37:43. | |
Sometimes with all his troubles we have been discussing that, but when | :37:43. | :37:47. | |
he is in the group like this, it is a great pleasure to watch. | :37:47. | :37:51. | |
always chooses the right positional shot and very quickly. The time | :37:51. | :38:00. | |
taken between shots is very quick. He has got such a quick brain. Once | :38:00. | :38:05. | |
he is amongst the balls, no time taken at all to work out the | :38:05. | :38:09. | |
correct positional shot, all the time. We have spoken about the | :38:09. | :38:13. | |
record between these two. Ding Junhui has lost the last four | :38:13. | :38:17. | |
matches against Ronnie O'Sullivan, including that final, but most | :38:17. | :38:23. | |
recently, the Premier League, it was the final and Ronnie O'Sullivan | :38:23. | :38:29. | |
blew him away, 7-1. When back to their opening session, he missed | :38:29. | :38:33. | |
the boat. In the first couple of frames and Ronnie was not settled | :38:33. | :38:38. | |
and he missed a couple balls. He was not that shark. Ding Junhui had | :38:38. | :38:41. | |
a chance to stamp himself on the match and he did not take it. He's | :38:41. | :38:49. | |
now a 4-1 behind, and Ronnie has warmed up. On a one-table set-up at | :38:49. | :38:53. | |
a big venue like this, Ronnie has caught the eagle eye on things, | :38:53. | :39:03. | |
:39:03. | :39:09. | ||
Frame number 6 is a must win frame That is a good break off from | :39:09. | :39:14. | |
Ronnie O'Sullivan, trying to get the cue ball as tightly as possible | :39:14. | :39:24. | |
:39:24. | :39:27. | ||
There was no escape back-up to the safety zone for dinner, there. -- | :39:27. | :39:37. | |
:39:37. | :39:39. | ||
for Ding. All three of Ronnie's break-off shots, you could barely | :39:39. | :39:44. | |
get a 10 pence piece between them. It is such an important shot these | :39:44. | :39:53. | |
days, the break-off shot with all these good, long potters. He is | :39:53. | :39:57. | |
looking at the possibility of cutting this in, to the path around | :39:57. | :40:07. | |
:40:07. | :40:20. | ||
the back of the black can reds. -- I don't think the shot is available | :40:20. | :40:26. | |
for Ronnie, the red to the left- hand corner. Maybe he can avoid the | :40:26. | :40:33. | |
red to the left of the black, we will soon find out, well, he could! | :40:33. | :40:39. | |
That shows you how confident Ronnie O'Sullivan is, trying to develop | :40:39. | :40:43. | |
the black, he knew that he could not miss the cannon, but this is a | :40:43. | :40:53. | |
:40:53. | :40:54. | ||
If that black was tight to the cushion it would have made the shot | :40:55. | :40:59. | |
easier. The fact that it was slightly off made a really tough | :40:59. | :41:06. | |
shot. If you hit the ball and the cushion at the same time it has got | :41:06. | :41:09. | |
more chance of clinging to the cushion, but when it is slightly | :41:09. | :41:19. | |
:41:19. | :41:21. | ||
off the cushion, it is a more He could do with getting on to that | :41:22. | :41:26. | |
red that is near the black spot, it is or what, if he wants to pot the | :41:26. | :41:31. | |
black, it could tie things up, but he cannot do much about it at the | :41:31. | :41:39. | |
moment, because he is on the wrong side of the blue at the moment. | :41:39. | :41:47. | |
That flick on the green looks as if its spot of things. -- it spoiled | :41:47. | :41:57. | |
:41:57. | :42:12. | ||
things. If it missed the green, he Some slight desperation playing for | :42:12. | :42:20. | |
an shot of that red, wasn't there? He took a bit of a chance. It | :42:20. | :42:25. | |
wasn't the best shot in terms of results, getting the red away from | :42:25. | :42:30. | |
the black spot, but there were other reds he could have played | :42:30. | :42:40. | |
:42:40. | :42:43. | ||
four, there. -- played for. That was not as risky as it looks. If he | :42:43. | :42:48. | |
drops that red in, the plaque is over the other pocket. There was | :42:48. | :42:58. | |
:42:58. | :43:06. | ||
Pretty good. He can see the reds to the left side of the pink but he | :43:06. | :43:10. | |
would have to hit it then Lee, so that he did not cannon into the | :43:10. | :43:20. | |
:43:20. | :43:33. | ||
black -- have to hit it thinly. Can I think he has covered the black. | :43:33. | :43:39. | |
It was a tough plant. You can see where he has played the cue ball. | :43:39. | :43:45. | |
He couldn't have played it much better. He can just about see the | :43:45. | :43:54. | |
black and going to the reds. Now, the black is going to be tied up. | :43:54. | :44:01. | |
That is the only problem. Did not quite get into the reds as he | :44:01. | :44:11. | |
:44:11. | :44:17. | ||
anticipated. Still pretty awkward, It is even more awkward now, but | :44:17. | :44:27. | |
:44:27. | :44:27. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :44:27. | :46:03. | |
the black shot was difficult, APPLAUSE that is unlucky. | :46:03. | :46:13. | |
:46:13. | :46:24. | ||
Good pot Mac, could cannon -- good Black's the only colour he can see. | :46:24. | :46:27. | |
I'm not sure he can get past the red to come off the baulk cushion | :46:27. | :46:31. | |
and just come past the green, that would not be a bad choice, but he | :46:31. | :46:41. | |
:46:41. | :46:45. | ||
is swerving, just to play the yellow. Just as good. That is what | :46:45. | :46:48. | |
you call a Chinese snooker where you are in front of the colour, | :46:48. | :46:58. | |
:46:58. | :46:58. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :46:58. | :47:44. | |
rather than behind it. Makes it all Hasn't been all that much tactical | :47:44. | :47:50. | |
play. It has been quite an open game. But both players playing so | :47:50. | :47:56. | |
their safety shots. If there is no easy safety shot he might have to | :47:56. | :48:03. | |
have a go. It is a supreme test of cueing, here. Have to keep so still | :48:03. | :48:13. | |
:48:13. | :48:22. | ||
on these shots when you are up That has to go down as another long | :48:22. | :48:26. | |
pot, and what a cracking pot with the cue ball tight to the cushion. | :48:26. | :48:33. | |
He has missed very few long pots in this first round match. And look at | :48:33. | :48:38. | |
the action, never touched the cushion, OK, he has cannoned the | :48:38. | :48:42. | |
blue to spoil it slightly, but it was effortless, how he got that cue | :48:42. | :48:46. | |
ball to come back, with quite some distance between cue ball and | :48:47. | :48:53. | |
object ball. It does not touch the cushion, the white stops, and | :48:53. | :48:56. | |
without the cannon on the blue, it would have been perfect. Left- | :48:56. | :49:06. | |
:49:06. | :49:31. | ||
Just showing you that backspin, when you hit that ball, and the | :49:31. | :49:36. | |
white stops and then spins back. You can see there, with at spotted | :49:36. | :49:46. | |
:49:46. | :49:49. | ||
cue ball, what happens. -- that spotted cue ball. Six-and-a-half | :49:49. | :49:59. | |
:49:59. | :50:00. | ||
feet, without any effort whatsoever, Definitely starting to run away | :50:00. | :50:05. | |
with this match, now, Ronnie. He looks by far the most comfortable | :50:05. | :50:10. | |
among the balls. His positional play is by far the best of the two | :50:10. | :50:20. | |
:50:20. | :50:31. | ||
As I mentioned, each time they have played in the Masters, Ronnie has | :50:31. | :50:39. | |
had the better of Ding Junhui on those occasions. This Gordon knows | :50:39. | :50:45. | |
matches is 16 frames to Ronnie, four frames to Ding Junhui. Has | :50:45. | :50:55. | |
:50:55. | :51:00. | ||
Ronnie O one out of position, here? -- Ronnie run. All is not lost just | :51:00. | :51:08. | |
yet for Ding Junhui. We know that he is a pretty good pressure player. | :51:08. | :51:14. | |
The trainees sensation. Can he pull something out of the bag, here? -- | :51:14. | :51:24. | |
:51:24. | :51:28. | ||
And that is what might just be the sort of thing that can turn things | :51:29. | :51:34. | |
around. He still has a difficult red to the left side of the table, | :51:34. | :51:39. | |
but could that be a turning-point? He might be able to bring the red | :51:39. | :51:46. | |
into play. Always a risk that you can leave the cue ball close to the | :51:46. | :51:56. | |
:51:56. | :52:00. | ||
These are tough shots across the table from another cushion. That | :52:00. | :52:07. | |
was a much better shot than it looked. And what a chance. Ronnie | :52:07. | :52:11. | |
will be kicking himself if he loses this frame from that careless | :52:11. | :52:21. | |
:52:21. | :52:30. | ||
There are no problems at any point in this frame, but we know what | :52:30. | :52:40. | |
:52:40. | :52:45. | ||
pressure can do, especially when 4-2, instead of 5-1, that is a vast | :52:45. | :52:55. | |
:52:55. | :53:03. | ||
No problem getting on the yellow as long as she does not overscrew it. | :53:03. | :53:13. | |
:53:13. | :53:35. | ||
A difference of about a millimetre in position from Ronnie between 5-1, | :53:35. | :53:45. | |
:53:45. | :54:07. | ||
Ding Junhui showing how good he is under pressure. That was terrific. | :54:07. | :54:13. | |
He narrows the gap but he still two frames behind. It looked as if | :54:13. | :54:18. | |
Ronnie was walking away with the match and he was in prime position, | :54:18. | :54:23. | |
and this game is all about fractions, at times, and there was | :54:23. | :54:27. | |
a shot where he played the black, you cannot see a problem, but the | :54:27. | :54:33. | |
white just seemed to keep on running. Stephen mentioned mm. And | :54:33. | :54:38. | |
that is what stopped him from winning the frame. Anywhere around | :54:38. | :54:47. | |
where Hawkeye has played the shot and it is perfect. It is incredible. | :54:47. | :54:53. | |
I mentioned that he was going to run away with the match, but could | :54:53. | :55:03. | |
that flick be a turning point? -- fluke. I wonder if that stroke of | :55:03. | :55:10. | |
luck from Ding Junhui could be classified as a turning-point. | :55:10. | :55:13. | |
is funny as a snooker player, sitting in the chair, when that | :55:13. | :55:18. | |
happens, how and why do you get when the crowd clap? You are | :55:18. | :55:22. | |
sitting there thinking, did they clap because they thought it was a | :55:22. | :55:27. | |
good shot or because they are Ding Junhui supporters, or is it just | :55:27. | :55:33. | |
excitement? And you sit there, winning yourself up! What is you're | :55:33. | :55:39. | |
reading of how this match is now falling? I thought at 55 and one | :55:39. | :55:44. | |
that was all over. But, sometimes that can just be a spark to the | :55:44. | :55:49. | |
other player. He still in it, at 4- 2, he is very much in the match, | :55:49. | :55:59. | |
:55:59. | :56:06. | ||
You cannot beat a little flute at the right time. -- fluke. Funny | :56:06. | :56:12. | |
listening to Steve Davis talking about the crowd clapping for a | :56:12. | :56:18. | |
fluke. I think it was just the way the ball went in the pocket that | :56:18. | :56:27. | |
got the band of applause. -- round of applause. Talking about being | :56:27. | :56:31. | |
focused when you are out there, I remember against Steve Davis and | :56:31. | :56:35. | |
the World Championships, he missed a ball which jumped and ran along | :56:35. | :56:41. | |
the cushion and drop into the pocket, the crowd was up in arms, | :56:41. | :56:44. | |
and Steve Davis just walk around the table as if nothing had | :56:44. | :56:54. | |
happened, and cleared up. Focused! He was miserable round the table, | :56:54. | :57:04. | |
:57:04. | :57:16. | ||
wasn't he?! That is rich, coming That is a very good safety shot. | :57:16. | :57:26. | |
:57:26. | :57:48. | ||
Shows the advantage of getting the white tight to the baulk cushion, | :57:48. | :57:54. | |
forcing that mistake from Ding Junhui. If that was a couple of | :57:54. | :57:57. | |
inches of the baulk cushion there would have been no problem getting | :57:57. | :58:07. | |
:58:07. | :58:11. | ||
the white ball back to ball. -- baulk. It has always been the name | :58:11. | :58:15. | |
of the game. There are some fantastic potters and the game | :58:15. | :58:21. | |
these days. But in a good tactical game, it police such a key part of | :58:21. | :58:26. | |
the success of the game of snooker, -- it plays such a key part. And | :58:27. | :58:35. | |
Ronnie has that element to his game. Ding Junhui, from tight on the | :58:35. | :58:40. | |
cushion, try to hit that a little bit the cure. He just caught it too | :58:40. | :58:50. | |
:58:50. | :58:50. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :58:50. | :59:37. | |
Has he done it again? We are talking about mm and that looks | :59:37. | :59:45. | |
like he has landed on a red again. Once again, frictions make all the | :59:45. | :59:55. | |
:59:55. | :59:59. | ||
difference. I think he was hoping Can he get past the blue to be red | :59:59. | :00:06. | |
it up at the other end? Ronnie did not have any shot on, so that was | :00:06. | :00:16. | |
:00:16. | :00:31. | ||
all he could do. I think he can see The two lapses in positional play | :00:31. | :00:41. | |
:00:41. | :00:42. | ||
from Ronnie O'Sullivan is very unlike him. He is so often in | :00:42. | :00:50. | |
pinpoint position every shot. that will certainly irritate him as | :00:50. | :00:58. | |
well. That was not an easy safety shot, but suddenly, this match is | :00:58. | :01:08. | |
:01:08. | :01:11. | ||
It is not as bad as it looks. He is not fully hampered. He can get past | :01:11. | :01:21. | |
:01:21. | :01:27. | ||
You talk about fractions. Even the air, a fraction made all the | :01:27. | :01:34. | |
difference. If the white ball had just been slightly to the left-hand | :01:34. | :01:44. | |
:01:44. | :01:44. | ||
side, he would have been badly hampered for the pink. Now, we know | :01:44. | :01:50. | |
what Ding Junhui is like when he gets on the run. He can knock off a | :01:50. | :02:00. | |
:02:00. | :02:20. | ||
That is an a shot, Stephen, trying to get the black back into play. He | :02:20. | :02:25. | |
has left himself where he can at Port this and leave the blackthorn. | :02:25. | :02:34. | |
It was definitely a deliberate shot he played there. Actually, Dennis, | :02:34. | :02:39. | |
I do not think he will play for the black. I think the two reds were | :02:39. | :02:47. | |
just hampering that. His prayers break to be is just 58, which is a | :02:47. | :02:53. | |
like Ding Junhui any match where six frames have already been played. | :02:53. | :02:58. | |
I know he has lost four of these frames, but you expect him to have | :02:58. | :03:05. | |
made a bigger break than that. But maybe that last frame will give him | :03:05. | :03:09. | |
a little boost. He certainly looks more comfortable and his striking | :03:09. | :03:19. | |
:03:19. | :03:43. | ||
He just had enough angle. I thought he was straight there. But he was | :03:43. | :03:53. | |
:03:53. | :04:01. | ||
He is having to leave that black alone, because of the red balls | :04:02. | :04:11. | |
:04:12. | :04:22. | ||
Ding Junhui will be celebrating the Chinese New Year at the end of this | :04:22. | :04:32. | |
:04:32. | :04:35. | ||
The do like you in that part of the World, Steven. You are heading out | :04:35. | :04:44. | |
there at the end of the month? Snooker has become a huge spot in | :04:44. | :04:52. | |
China and a lot of it is down to this player we're watching here. -- | :04:52. | :05:02. | |
:05:02. | :05:07. | ||
I remember going out for a meal with Ding Junhui and his sponsors | :05:07. | :05:12. | |
and the whole village came out to see him. He got absolutely more | :05:12. | :05:19. | |
bitter. It is a beautiful part of the world that we are taking the | :05:19. | :05:29. | |
:05:29. | :05:35. | ||
World Open to. It is the Hawaii or A I do not know if he can reach | :05:35. | :05:45. | |
:05:45. | :05:46. | ||
round. He need need the extension. He might be able to. It is the | :05:46. | :05:56. | |
:05:56. | :06:07. | ||
He is now 30 points in front. All of a sudden, it is the completely | :06:07. | :06:14. | |
different ball game. Yes, you can just tell by the way Ding Junhui is | :06:14. | :06:19. | |
walking round the table. His positional play has become much | :06:19. | :06:29. | |
better and we suddenly have EDM or on our hands. He puts his head in | :06:29. | :06:39. | |
his hands. He did not intend to come in-off the black. -- can in- | :06:39. | :06:49. | |
:06:49. | :06:56. | ||
Now, this is a big pocket if Ronnie fancies taking the red right up the | :06:56. | :07:01. | |
cushion, because of where the black has finished. It looked as if Ding | :07:01. | :07:06. | |
Junhui was going to take this frame and be only one frame behind. | :07:06. | :07:12. | |
Ronnie has had a look at this red. There is no straightforward safety | :07:12. | :07:22. | |
:07:22. | :07:29. | ||
shot. He has played it. And he has got it. CHEERING & APPLAUSE. That | :07:29. | :07:39. | |
:07:39. | :07:55. | ||
was a big pocket and that is why he Of late has just run it a little | :07:55. | :08:05. | |
:08:05. | :08:15. | ||
bit further to the right hand I still fancied him to get that. | :08:15. | :08:24. | |
But that has handed be framed to Ding Junhui. He will be relieved. | :08:24. | :08:29. | |
He may have felt he had missed the boat, but Ronnie did not take full | :08:29. | :08:39. | |
:08:39. | :08:42. | ||
advantage. I think Ronnie was about to concede, but we all now get the | :08:42. | :08:46. | |
fine if we concede when there are still enough points on the table | :08:46. | :08:53. | |
for a frame to be one, so he did not. I found that to my cost when I | :08:53. | :09:02. | |
played against John Higgins earlier in the season. I heard you got | :09:02. | :09:12. | |
:09:12. | :09:14. | ||
fined 250 quid! A left-handed shot there from Ding Junhui. I do not | :09:15. | :09:22. | |
think he expected to pot it! Quite amazing, that one flick in the | :09:22. | :09:27. | |
previous frame may have turned this match right around. Ronnie | :09:27. | :09:31. | |
O'Sullivan is still in the lead, but it looked for all the world as | :09:31. | :09:37. | |
if he was going to be ahead 5-1, but all of a sudden, there is only | :09:38. | :09:42. | |
one frame of a difference. The opening day of the Masters, the | :09:42. | :09:49. | |
first match and who is to say it may not now call the way? Now, at | :09:49. | :09:55. | |
Ronnie O'Sullivan has seen that a couple of inches have made all the | :09:55. | :10:04. | |
difference in the last couple of frames. It is now 4-3 to the Rocket. | :10:04. | :10:10. | |
Yes, it was looking like a stroll in Alexandra Park for Ronnie | :10:11. | :10:20. | |
:10:21. | :10:21. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :10:21. | :12:49. | |
He was a little bit unlucky to find the gap, there, something that | :12:49. | :12:59. | |
:12:59. | :13:12. | ||
might cause Ronnie to lose a little Not so much self-confidence, but | :13:12. | :13:17. | |
his attitude seems to change when he makes a few mistakes. He is his | :13:17. | :13:27. | |
:13:27. | :13:34. | ||
You just get irritated by a little mistakes you make. That last red to | :13:34. | :13:41. | |
the middle that he missed was a little bit reckless. It is so | :13:41. | :13:49. | |
important in snooker to control your emotions. That can give Ding | :13:49. | :13:59. | |
:13:59. | :14:04. | ||
Junhui nothing but confidence to So still not a good chance, by any | :14:04. | :14:14. | |
:14:14. | :14:42. | ||
The pink may be able to go on the He can play for the blue without | :14:42. | :14:52. | |
:14:52. | :14:53. | ||
any problem. But, I think the pink, I don't think that it goes to the | :14:53. | :14:58. | |
left corner. He has had a look at that. It is quite all want. This | :14:58. | :15:08. | |
:15:08. | :15:39. | ||
will need a little bit of sorting He would like to have another go at | :15:39. | :15:49. | |
:15:49. | :16:01. | ||
We clever, if he played it that way. He has left the red near the corner | :16:01. | :16:07. | |
pocket and he has covered it. thinking that was possibly a little | :16:07. | :16:17. | |
:16:17. | :16:17. | ||
bit careless, but that is to his I'm sure he didn't play to leave | :16:17. | :16:21. | |
the red there, you didn't have thought so, but that is how it has | :16:21. | :16:31. | |
:16:31. | :16:34. | ||
turned out. It has made it awkward That is what Ronnie is looking at. | :16:34. | :16:44. | |
:16:44. | :16:57. | ||
He cannot get to that red near the With the safety shot, he has forced | :16:58. | :17:03. | |
the red, and the one you can see over Ding Junhui's right shoulder | :17:03. | :17:06. | |
as the one that this winter have caused the problem with the safety | :17:06. | :17:16. | |
:17:16. | :17:34. | ||
-- that is going to have caused the That is position for you, there. | :17:35. | :17:44. | |
:17:45. | :17:45. | ||
Can he just flipped that without going in-off? -- flick that. That | :17:45. | :17:55. | |
:17:55. | :18:15. | ||
This is a pretty good tactical Ding Junhui has pulled another good | :18:15. | :18:25. | |
:18:25. | :18:36. | ||
He hit that much thicker than intended. He will have to be a | :18:36. | :18:40. | |
little bit careful with the cue ball. If he plays it with a little | :18:40. | :18:45. | |
touch of side, he might go between the gap between the pink and red. | :18:45. | :18:55. | |
:18:55. | :18:55. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :18:55. | :19:42. | |
So we should finish up between pink Riffing there was probably the | :19:42. | :19:48. | |
loudest easily have of her hair and. There are 1,500 people in there, | :19:48. | :19:58. | |
:19:58. | :20:00. | ||
but when you have to sneeze, you That has just developed a couple | :20:00. | :20:10. | |
:20:10. | :20:21. | ||
I think where Ding Junhui has improved is his temperament. It was | :20:21. | :20:29. | |
suspect for a while. Yes, he has matured a lot as the player and | :20:29. | :20:38. | |
competitor. We talked a lot about a final he lost to Ronnie and broke | :20:38. | :20:44. | |
down afterwards, but he has definitely matured. He did have a | :20:44. | :20:54. | |
:20:54. | :20:54. | ||
but have a reputation as throwing the ball in, but not now. -- | :20:54. | :21:04. | |
:21:04. | :21:06. | ||
Can you believe it, the cue ball. It did not go in the pocket, but he | :21:06. | :21:12. | |
was hoping to flick the red next to the black and open things up. But | :21:12. | :21:22. | |
he managed to find the gap. But that is a bonus to knock the pink | :21:22. | :21:31. | |
safe. He is the strong favourite at the moment. But we do know that a | :21:31. | :21:38. | |
frame can suddenly opened up within the space of a couple of shots. | :21:38. | :21:44. | |
This might just be the occasion. What a beautiful shot. Ronnie | :21:44. | :21:50. | |
O'Sullivan could suddenly open up all the game. If this make shot | :21:50. | :21:56. | |
works out, we could have a lot of balls in play. Have a look at that. | :21:56. | :22:06. | |
:22:06. | :22:21. | ||
Suddenly, the game changes with This is a huge frame under the | :22:21. | :22:27. | |
circumstances. Ronnie was all done should have gone 5-1 in front. He | :22:27. | :22:35. | |
has taken the more difficult of the red. This is the sort of situation | :22:35. | :22:42. | |
that Ronnie relishes. We have seen him producing some of his best | :22:42. | :22:47. | |
snooker of when his back is against the wall. It certainly is in this | :22:47. | :22:57. | |
:22:57. | :23:22. | ||
He just under standard that. He wanted to be six inches further | :23:22. | :23:32. | |
:23:32. | :23:52. | ||
This is where his left handed play OK, the red was not easy, but with | :23:52. | :23:57. | |
the type of talent he has, you do not expect him to miss that people | :23:57. | :24:07. | |
:24:07. | :24:21. | ||
He has got a nice angle to come off the top cushion and bring the white | :24:21. | :24:27. | |
between these two reds. He has played it perfectly. Absolutely | :24:27. | :24:35. | |
spot on. Could not have played that better. He left himself on either | :24:35. | :24:45. | |
:24:45. | :24:51. | ||
I am surprised he did not take the red down the cushion, because he is | :24:51. | :25:01. | |
:25:01. | :25:06. | ||
not guaranteed to get on it as But at least he does not have to do | :25:06. | :25:16. | |
:25:16. | :25:36. | ||
anything fancy with the fleet. -- The comeback continues. It really | :25:36. | :25:46. | |
:25:46. | :25:55. | ||
is a terrific performance from Ding Just a couple of little positional | :25:55. | :26:02. | |
shots has caused the problem and of course that lucky sure what he got | :26:02. | :26:10. | |
in frame six made all the difference. Now, it is now down to | :26:10. | :26:18. | |
just been the best of three frames. From 4-1 down, Ding Junhui is now | :26:18. | :26:28. | |
back all-square, 4-4. The boys made a good point in character -- in | :26:28. | :26:38. | |
:26:38. | :26:39. | ||
commentary about Ding Junhui so character. We look back at that | :26:39. | :26:49. | |
:26:49. | :26:50. | ||
final, but he is much tougher nowadays? Yes, if that frame had | :26:50. | :26:54. | |
gone 25-1, it would have been all over. But there is no doubt he is a | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
much tougher character these days. When he arrived, in snooker terms, | :26:59. | :27:05. | |
he was way ahead of his time as regards his age. And at the moment, | :27:05. | :27:13. | |
he is looking the more likely winner. Ronnie has continued to | :27:13. | :27:19. | |
play his game and has looked terrific in the balls, but he has | :27:19. | :27:26. | |
just drifted out of position a couple of times. It must be | :27:26. | :27:34. | |
frustrating, when you feel you're cueing Gorky, but he is now any | :27:34. | :27:44. | |
:27:44. | :27:44. | ||
fight where it could have been an easy canter and a 6-1 victory. | :27:44. | :27:54. | |
:27:54. | :27:55. | ||
difficult is that when you feel you had a much in your grasp? Yes, it | :27:55. | :28:05. | |
:28:05. | :28:06. | ||
can be irritating. How do you assess this match now, John? Well, | :28:06. | :28:10. | |
Ding Junhui is looking the stronger, but you would never write off | :28:10. | :28:20. | |
:28:20. | :28:29. | ||
Ronnie O'Sullivan. Honestly, it is Could we possibly have the deciding | :28:29. | :28:36. | |
frame in the first match ever played at Alexandra Palace? We will | :28:36. | :28:46. | |
:28:46. | :28:51. | ||
Not the best break off shot. Nor, it came up further than I thought. | :28:51. | :29:01. | |
It is the fast cloth. But if he pots this, he will go into the pink | :29:01. | :29:09. | |
and red. That is why he was trying to screw it. It made the pot a lot | :29:09. | :29:19. | |
:29:19. | :29:21. | ||
If he had played it plain that ball, he would have could be up into the | :29:21. | :29:31. | |
:29:31. | :29:50. | ||
Now, how confident its best young The benefits are obvious. Keep your | :29:50. | :30:00. | |
:30:00. | :30:12. | ||
head still and run the cue right That was not easy. It was the | :30:12. | :30:16. | |
correct shot to play and the confidence was there, but it is the | :30:16. | :30:26. | |
:30:26. | :30:52. | ||
tough shot when the white ball is Now, what is the angle like? | :30:52. | :31:02. | |
:31:02. | :31:41. | ||
Not a good chance just yet. The reds are awkward. They will need a | :31:41. | :31:51. | |
:31:51. | :31:55. | ||
He is looking at the possibility of the pink here, because he is | :31:56. | :32:02. | |
straight on the black. He is virtually straight on the pink and | :32:02. | :32:09. | |
will have very little to do with the cue ball. Now, the pink will | :32:09. | :32:14. | |
probably have to go up and the browns bought, as that is the only | :32:14. | :32:24. | |
:32:24. | :32:32. | ||
As you say, it was difficult for the pack to be split. Ronnie just | :32:32. | :32:36. | |
overscrewed it slightly. There is a natural angle to come and behind | :32:36. | :32:46. | |
:32:46. | :32:49. | ||
this red. Has he put it hard enough? He may be able to pot it up | :32:49. | :32:59. | |
:32:59. | :33:18. | ||
into the top left-hand pocket past Good recovery. They are not easy to | :33:18. | :33:28. | |
:33:28. | :33:38. | ||
judge when the cue ball and the He might have to play for the black. | :33:38. | :33:48. | |
:33:48. | :33:59. | ||
As Stephen said, it is much easier It is amazing well that white has | :33:59. | :34:09. | |
:34:09. | :34:26. | ||
finished up. It is almost like Not the best. He needs the yellow | :34:26. | :34:36. | |
to come to his rescue, and it Ding Junhui can get through to the | :34:36. | :34:43. | |
potting angle. If he plays this with a lot of screw, he can stop | :34:43. | :34:53. | |
:34:53. | :35:00. | ||
the white somewhere near where the Similar to the pot that he potted | :35:00. | :35:04. | |
previously when Stephen said keep your head still and pushed the cue | :35:04. | :35:09. | |
for in a straight line. That is the key to knocking that type of shot | :35:09. | :35:19. | |
:35:19. | :35:41. | ||
What a killer blow this will be for Just missed the cannon into the | :35:41. | :35:48. | |
reds. Otherwise, the frame would have been his. It was amazing how | :35:48. | :35:58. | |
:35:58. | :36:01. | ||
that arc around the reds. -- arced. If he had struck the white just | :36:01. | :36:08. | |
slightly lower, that would not have happened. I do not think this red | :36:09. | :36:14. | |
gets up past the brown, and he is completely out of position. No | :36:15. | :36:21. | |
wonder he has scratched his head, that is trouble with -- probably | :36:21. | :36:31. | |
:36:31. | :36:34. | ||
the luck -- the worst shot he has Didn't fancy that. That was a shot | :36:34. | :36:44. | |
:36:44. | :36:45. | ||
to nothing. Be only red he could leave was the one he took on. -- | :36:45. | :36:55. | |
:36:55. | :37:11. | ||
That last shot he played was one of the toughest shots in the game. He | :37:11. | :37:16. | |
played it with a lot of screw, and did not let the red run back up the | :37:17. | :37:22. | |
table. Very few players can hit that shot as softly as that and | :37:22. | :37:27. | |
still get the required effect on the cue ball. Tremendous timing and | :37:27. | :37:37. | |
:37:37. | :37:39. | ||
Bit of a three shot, this, he can take on the pot, it would be an | :37:39. | :37:49. | |
:37:49. | :37:56. | ||
automatic safety shot, he would That is just a stunning pot. Under | :37:56. | :38:06. | |
:38:06. | :38:19. | ||
the circumstances. What has gone on Ronnie, if he wins this match, he | :38:19. | :38:22. | |
will have plenty of negatives to say about his game today, but I | :38:22. | :38:27. | |
don't think I have seen him pot as many long balls as this. It has | :38:27. | :38:31. | |
been his Achilles heel for the past couple of seasons, and Ronnie would | :38:31. | :38:35. | |
be a Foster tell you that his long potting has not been up to scratch, | :38:35. | :38:45. | |
:38:45. | :38:54. | ||
but he has something like 77% long He just showing what he has -- what | :38:54. | :39:04. | |
:39:04. | :39:06. | ||
he is made of, as well. Looked like he was going to lead 5-1. Then Ding | :39:06. | :39:11. | |
Junhui took three in a row, but the pressure is now firmly back on the | :39:11. | :39:21. | |
:39:21. | :39:28. | ||
showbiz of Ding Junhui now. -- the That was a frame that Ronnie | :39:28. | :39:33. | |
O'Sullivan needed badly after winning three in a row. He just | :39:33. | :39:39. | |
needs one more frame for a place in the second round. Just one more | :39:39. | :39:43. | |
required, and it seems to have jolted Ronnie O'Sullivan into | :39:43. | :39:48. | |
action, Ding Junhui coming back. Interesting, about for long potting | :39:48. | :39:52. | |
percentage. Ronnie O'Sullivan's statistics very good compared with | :39:52. | :39:58. | |
the last couple of years. To come - - to some degree, the statistics | :39:58. | :40:03. | |
are luck. If you hit the ball well, sometimes it does not going, | :40:03. | :40:10. | |
sometimes it does. The statistics between 90, 70 and 60 can be in the | :40:10. | :40:15. | |
last of the gods because of the type of shot that you get. But | :40:15. | :40:18. | |
Ronnie O'Sullivan's cueing action is excellent, and I know that he is | :40:19. | :40:23. | |
never happy with it, but that type of cueing is of a standard that can | :40:23. | :40:28. | |
win a tournament. The top rate in this match has only been 76, but it | :40:28. | :40:38. | |
has been no less watchable for that. -- the top break. A bit of drama, | :40:38. | :40:48. | |
:40:48. | :40:48. | ||
that is what you want on a Sunday You cannot beat a bit of drama, and | :40:49. | :40:58. | |
:40:59. | :41:03. | ||
we have it on the opening day of Willie Thorne, myself and Tony | :41:03. | :41:07. | |
O'Shea did a thing with Sport Relief, dressed up as rockers, | :41:07. | :41:17. | |
:41:17. | :41:25. | ||
dancing about to enjoy Smith and a c-b C. -- --to Aerosmith and AC-DC. | :41:25. | :41:35. | |
:41:35. | :41:57. | ||
It made a few quid for charity. Ding Junhui knows he may be sitting | :41:57. | :42:04. | |
there for a while because the reds are nicely placed. The black is not | :42:04. | :42:07. | |
tied up. It is available into one corner pocket. This is not a bad | :42:08. | :42:17. | |
:42:18. | :42:18. | ||
chance for Ronnie O'Sullivan. Ronnie has always been fantastic at | :42:18. | :42:28. | |
:42:28. | :42:31. | ||
closing a match out when he gets He's just seems to put that little | :42:31. | :42:41. | |
:42:41. | :43:08. | ||
extra amounts of concentration into He has such a quick ring, Ronnie | :43:08. | :43:18. | |
:43:18. | :43:26. | ||
Those are the shots that are key to break-building, delicate little | :43:26. | :43:36. | |
:43:36. | :44:04. | ||
stun and screw shots, and he is a One of the greatest break-builders | :44:04. | :44:10. | |
that the game has ever seen. 660 century breaks. The only person in | :44:10. | :44:16. | |
front of him is the one sitting next to me year, Stephen Hendry. | :44:16. | :44:21. | |
Just over 700, Stephen. Would you know the answer? How many centuries | :44:21. | :44:29. | |
have you made in your career? is round about 760-770, something | :44:29. | :44:37. | |
like that. This is a key shot coming up for Ronnie O'Sullivan, of | :44:37. | :44:42. | |
the cannon works out, we have seen a few missed, when he took his eye | :44:42. | :44:52. | |
:44:52. | :45:16. | ||
What is he looking at, the plant? The alarm bells are ringing now for | :45:16. | :45:26. | |
Ronnie doesn't have to do a lot with the cue ball to open up those | :45:26. | :45:36. | |
:45:36. | :45:38. | ||
It was a great fightback from Ding Junhui, and it is not over just yet, | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
but you always knew that Ronnie O'Sullivan was capable of doing | :45:42. | :45:47. | |
this. He lost three frames in a row, in the last frame he had a 51 break | :45:47. | :45:57. | |
:45:57. | :46:03. | ||
Three more reds available. He does not have to Korea into the reds | :46:03. | :46:13. | |
here. -- career. Doesn't want to risk the cannon when he can win a | :46:13. | :46:19. | |
frame without doing that. The red to the right of the pink is | :46:19. | :46:29. | |
:46:29. | :46:32. | ||
He can play for that red now, just next to the pink. He is just | :46:32. | :46:42. | |
:46:42. | :46:46. | ||
showing us here why he has won this Needs to pull up a little bit | :46:46. | :46:56. | |
:46:56. | :47:02. | ||
calmer and it has, just! This time, the fractions were in Ronnie's | :47:02. | :47:12. | |
:47:12. | :47:16. | ||
favour. This time, it has been a great opening match for this year's | :47:16. | :47:26. | |
:47:26. | :47:32. | ||
Masters. Great venue. And I am sure This is the title that every player | :47:32. | :47:39. | |
wants on their CV. Defending champion Ding Junhui knows that it | :47:39. | :47:46. | |
is the end of this year's Masters, for him. It look like a walk in the | :47:46. | :47:51. | |
park for Ronnie O'Sullivan, until that three frame spell where Ding | :47:51. | :47:58. | |
Junhui got himself right back into it at 4-4, but, in the end, Ronnie | :47:58. | :48:04. | |
O'Sullivan has kept his concentration and focus. He has | :48:04. | :48:14. | |
cued well. He has done very little wrong, after the two opening frames. | :48:14. | :48:20. | |
And, when it be nice if he could go out with the first century ever | :48:20. | :48:24. | |
made at Alexandra Palace? Can he knock this difficult red into the | :48:24. | :48:34. | |
:48:34. | :48:35. | ||
corner? Getting there, please! Well done! The first ever a century | :48:35. | :48:45. | |
:48:45. | :48:48. | ||
break is made at the Alexandra He is doing what all great | :48:48. | :48:56. | |
champions seem to do. Every shot is being cheered, now. That is not | :48:56. | :49:01. | |
taking anything away from Ding Junhui. This crowd have appreciated | :49:01. | :49:06. | |
his play. He has nothing to be ashamed of. He has put up a | :49:06. | :49:16. | |
:49:16. | :49:34. | ||
All the way around the angles to It didn't go in, but what a way to | :49:34. | :49:39. | |
finish, like a true champion! Both players have given us a great | :49:39. | :49:44. | |
opening match in this year's masters. And Ronnie O'Sullivan | :49:44. | :49:47. | |
raises his hand to this affair crowd and goes out a winner, | :49:47. | :49:57. | |
:49:57. | :49:58. | ||
finishing in style with that 125 Great to see the welcoming party | :49:58. | :50:08. | |
there, Ronnie Jnr, giving his father a well deserved hug. Ronnie, | :50:08. | :50:13. | |
a four-time champion of this event was more than equal to it. He has | :50:13. | :50:18. | |
knocked in his 50th century at the Masters. He is about to join us. | :50:18. | :50:24. | |
Impressions of the way that he was able to block one India and finish | :50:24. | :50:30. | |
this at 4-4. He did not look on the pressure. Ding Junhui was under par, | :50:30. | :50:37. | |
but he still thought very well, very hard. Ronnie was cueing very | :50:37. | :50:44. | |
well, generally. There are a lot of things needed to be a top champion | :50:44. | :50:48. | |
snooker player. If you ever want an indication of how to closer match | :50:48. | :50:57. | |
out, particularly the last frame, it was exemplary. Well, it is a | :50:57. | :51:02. | |
great privilege to welcome Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ronnie O'Sullivan | :51:02. | :51:12. | |
:51:12. | :51:14. | ||
Jnr! Congratulations. 4-4, after that amazing fluke from Ding. | :51:14. | :51:19. | |
fought well enough, potted the black, overscrewed, and it was | :51:19. | :51:21. | |
there for, game over, you lose a frame like that to someone like | :51:21. | :51:25. | |
Ding Junhui and he can punish you. And that is what happened, I lost a | :51:25. | :51:31. | |
couple of frames but my head went, really, and when he took it back to | :51:31. | :51:39. | |
4-4, I thought, there is a bit of pressure in there. But after that | :51:39. | :51:46. | |
it was a different game. Almost upstaged by this young man! There | :51:46. | :51:52. | |
you are, can you see the telly? This is you been into just as your | :51:52. | :52:02. | |
dad! I think it got a bit noisy, didn't it? It was really noisy! | :52:02. | :52:09. | |
you get the that of a fright? He is shaking his head. What did you | :52:10. | :52:18. | |
think of his performance, Ronnie? This performance, it is the best | :52:18. | :52:25. | |
feeling in the world for me, to see him. It was nice for him to see me | :52:25. | :52:30. | |
play. It is nice to have him here, I think he enjoyed it. It was a | :52:30. | :52:36. | |
tough match, to be fair. Ronnie Jnr, are you proud of your dad? Did he | :52:36. | :52:41. | |
play well? It is a big season for you, Ronnie, we have been talking | :52:41. | :52:48. | |
about that, coming to Alexandra Palace, brand new venue, and the | :52:48. | :52:55. | |
first of a century here, and you're 58, at the Masters. That is | :52:55. | :52:59. | |
different to Wembley, but it is a great crowd and a fantastic | :52:59. | :53:07. | |
atmosphere. It was good. Have you always felt more at home playing in | :53:07. | :53:13. | |
front of a London crowd? I enjoy playing anywhere, to be fair. If it | :53:13. | :53:17. | |
is a packed audience it is quite easy to get motivated and to enjoy | :53:17. | :53:27. | |
it. Today, it was busy and it help you play you're best snooker. | :53:27. | :53:31. | |
talking to Steve and John about having their family in a front row. | :53:31. | :53:37. | |
It must be a little bit off-putting. They were moving about and laughing, | :53:37. | :53:43. | |
having a jolly day out, and by missed the red in the second frame | :53:43. | :53:50. | |
and all I could see was these, moving. Keep still, I said. Making | :53:50. | :53:58. | |
do a bit of work! Get him up there where I cannot see him! Absolutely. | :53:58. | :54:05. | |
And is there something you are going to keep doing? Today, it is | :54:05. | :54:12. | |
the weekend and they are going back to their mum's tonight. They might | :54:12. | :54:18. | |
come to a final if their mum lets them. Is he a snooker player? | :54:18. | :54:23. | |
not bad at golf. I think he is going to be a bit more of a mark | :54:23. | :54:33. | |
:54:33. | :54:36. | ||
soccer bout, he is a bit of a geek! -- Mark Zuckerberg. It has been a | :54:36. | :54:45. | |
delight to see both here. Come back and visit us again, Ronnie Jnr. You | :54:45. | :54:49. | |
mentioned the next match, either against Judd Trump or Stuart | :54:49. | :54:56. | |
Bingham. It is not getting any easier. The standard is so low! | :54:56. | :55:01. | |
came up against Judd Trump and said he was the most dangerous players | :55:01. | :55:04. | |
who have ever played. How healthy is it for the sport that you have | :55:04. | :55:09. | |
got yourself and people like Judd Trump coming through? He is a | :55:09. | :55:12. | |
fantastic player. I am fortunate enough to practice in the same | :55:12. | :55:17. | |
police that he does, trying to pick up a few things, because I have | :55:17. | :55:21. | |
never seen anyone pot so well, to be honest. You see it now and again | :55:21. | :55:30. | |
but I see every day. Have you been working on your long game? | :55:30. | :55:35. | |
statistics-day were very high. is OK, just from watching Judd | :55:35. | :55:42. | |
Trump, and Neal, and Dean. They are all very open and I get stuck | :55:42. | :55:47. | |
sometimes, and with the long ones, you have just got to pull it back | :55:47. | :55:51. | |
and open your hand, and cue straight through, whereas I was | :55:51. | :55:56. | |
steering it, for years. I'm sure they are learning more from you | :55:56. | :56:00. | |
than you from them, but can you be inspired by the generation of | :56:00. | :56:05. | |
players? They are very committed and dedicated and wake up every day, | :56:05. | :56:12. | |
full of it. I am still dedicated. I still don't see anyone playing as | :56:12. | :56:22. | |
:56:22. | :56:22. | ||
hard as me, practice-wise. Some of them are like part-timers, got | :56:22. | :56:26. | |
their mobile phone on, using Twitter, but funny, it is just this | :56:26. | :56:32. | |
this. All of those days of six years, chained to the table, | :56:32. | :56:35. | |
probably is not healthy. I think they a showing me that you don't | :56:36. | :56:40. | |
have to do that every day, you can have a few days off, just chilling | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
out, and you have just got to trust that it is there or on the day, | :56:44. | :56:52. | |
sometimes. This is an event you have loved over the years, but this | :56:52. | :56:56. | |
is something of a crossroads for you in your career, you have either | :56:56. | :57:02. | |
got to win the German Masters or the world's to get to be going to | :57:02. | :57:07. | |
the Crucible. That situation must be discontented than -- | :57:07. | :57:13. | |
disconcerting. I am too good to be playing in the qualifiers, but I | :57:13. | :57:18. | |
was ready to retire last year, this time last year, now I have met | :57:18. | :57:23. | |
Steve Peters, who knew no well, and I didn't think he would be able to | :57:23. | :57:29. | |
help me, but he has, I have had a couple of blips along the way, but | :57:29. | :57:34. | |
I have been honest with him, and I have found out I want to play | :57:34. | :57:39. | |
snooker but on my terms, and not travelling 29 weeks of the year, | :57:39. | :57:43. | |
living out of a suit case, it is quite lonely, especially when you | :57:43. | :57:48. | |
have got these at home. I am not going to do that. If I have to | :57:48. | :57:52. | |
qualify, I have to qualify. That is the nature of how my life is. I | :57:52. | :57:57. | |
still want to play snooker, but on my own terms, otherwise you end up | :57:57. | :58:03. | |
feeling sad and lonely in yourself. If you haven't got children, that | :58:03. | :58:08. | |
is different. I used to love living in hotels, this is what is | :58:08. | :58:12. | |
important, and if I can get a bit of both, that is what I am going to | :58:12. | :58:19. | |
do. I am not going to be playing the circuit, because I could get | :58:19. | :58:22. | |
miserable and go down that route before I have not got certain | :58:22. | :58:27. | |
things in my life. By working with Steve, I still want to play, but it | :58:27. | :58:33. | |
is just getting the balance of everything. You had better get this | :58:33. | :58:39. | |
young man off, I am sure that the swing park or something exciting is | :58:39. | :58:45. | |
waiting. Thank you for coming in, it has been great to meet you again. | :58:45. | :58:54. | |
Thank you. This young man's bad. He is saying bye-bye! Obviously, he is | :58:54. | :58:58. | |
one of the King's of snooker, who has made 12 maximum breaks in his | :58:58. | :59:04. | |
career. We have been going through the statistics. There have been | :59:04. | :59:08. | |
eight maximums made this season, four of them in the last beer for | :59:08. | :59:13. | |
weeks, an astonishing rate of scoring, and, did you know, that is | :59:13. | :59:17. | |
one fewer than in the wall of the 1980s. That shows you the quality | :59:17. | :59:22. | |
there is at the moment. We thought you might Willis a chance to see a | :59:22. | :59:26. | |
match with a maximum break, and who better to show you the art of said | :59:26. | :59:36. | |
:59:36. | :59:36. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :59:36. | :00:57. | |
DENNIS TAYLOR: yes, it was just too And that is the the red and the 5th | :00:57. | :01:07. | |
:01:07. | :01:30. | ||
It is important off this red to leave a nice angle on the black... | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:45. | ||
And has t o be done that slightly? Just wondering if he can get that | :01:45. | :01:55. | |
:01:55. | :02:23. | ||
into the left centre... I think he One more red and the frame is safe. | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
But Ronnie has other things on his mind and so does everybody in the | :02:27. | :02:37. | |
:02:37. | :02:39. | ||
John, I know you have commentated on a maximum before but I haven't | :02:39. | :02:46. | |
and I am starting to get very excited here. It is a matter of | :02:46. | :02:56. | |
:02:56. | :03:04. | ||
�147,000 on offer this year for a Yes, and I think those two reds | :03:04. | :03:14. | |
:03:14. | :03:15. | ||
will pot into the left corner. And they will now! It is OK! A great | :03:15. | :03:25. | |
:03:25. | :03:48. | ||
Four minutes for the century. He just have the angle on the black | :03:48. | :03:58. | |
:03:58. | :03:58. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :03:58. | :04:51. | |
What a fantastic maximum break that is! Ronnie O'Sullivan is delighted. | :04:51. | :05:00. | |
The crowd is delighted! I am delighted! Five minutes for an | :05:00. | :05:04. | |
unbelievable maximum break. The players are over from the other | :05:04. | :05:10. | |
side of the screen! Sensational! HAZEL IRVINE: Would you believe | :05:10. | :05:16. | |
that was 15 years ago, 1997, and the fastest century ever recorded. | :05:16. | :05:23. | |
It was over in the blink of an eye. Yes. The first thing I said to | :05:23. | :05:28. | |
Steve... How quick he is cueing. So quickly. That will never, ever be | :05:28. | :05:32. | |
beaten. I don't care, as long as I am living, that will never be | :05:32. | :05:37. | |
beaten. I reckon he could have shaved five seconds of pot that if | :05:37. | :05:44. | |
he hadn't been so indecisive about a couple of the shots! -- five | :05:44. | :05:53. | |
seconds off that. I am going for the third red... For that must have | :05:54. | :06:00. | |
been excruciating for those watching. Maybe not. I wonder if | :06:00. | :06:06. | |
somebody still has the chalky threw into the crowd. Yes. Let's fast | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
forward to the Masters at Wembley. Ding Junhui and it was against | :06:10. | :06:15. | |
Anthony Hamilton. And Ding was still a teenager at the time. | :06:15. | :06:21. | |
Remember this? JOHN VIRGO: Can you see enough of | :06:21. | :06:31. | |
:06:31. | :06:33. | ||
this? I would suggest so. He has Beautiful control of the cue ball | :06:33. | :06:43. | |
:06:43. | :06:43. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :06:43. | :07:54. | |
He checked the cue ball perfectly He knew it was a big ask there. He | :07:54. | :08:01. | |
did cue it perfectly. He just needed an ounce more weight and | :08:01. | :08:11. | |
:08:11. | :08:15. | ||
this black is tricky if he takes it This is a real difficult shot. And | :08:15. | :08:19. | |
I am just looking at the potting angle and I don't think it is one | :08:19. | :08:29. | |
:08:29. | :08:33. | ||
Right in the heart of the pocket and he didn't have to do much else | :08:33. | :08:39. | |
other than concentrate on the pot. A terrific shot. But it did help | :08:39. | :08:49. | |
:08:49. | :09:01. | ||
that he could just play it plain A terrific chance now for Ding | :09:01. | :09:11. | |
:09:11. | :09:16. | ||
Junhui to go one frame a way from a Not a lot Anthony Hamilton could | :09:16. | :09:26. | |
:09:26. | :09:52. | ||
Still a terrific opening red from That was not the intended position | :09:52. | :09:59. | |
he intended to leave from the black. But again, he made light of the | :09:59. | :10:09. | |
:10:09. | :10:26. | ||
difficulty. A little screw on the A precision cannoned. He has played | :10:26. | :10:36. | |
:10:36. | :10:37. | ||
When people talk about him, as you said earlier on in commentary, he | :10:37. | :10:41. | |
is aiming this year to be the youngest ever professional circuit | :10:41. | :10:48. | |
champion. And he is improving every season I have seen him. His choice | :10:48. | :10:58. | |
:10:58. | :10:59. | ||
He probably believes, as most young players do, that he can pot | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
anything on the table. But that dividing line between what is | :11:03. | :11:13. | |
:11:13. | :11:17. | ||
Anthony Hamilton is not bad but this young lad is getting better | :11:17. | :11:27. | |
:11:27. | :11:35. | ||
I can see the possibility of this seal man dominating for many years. | :11:35. | :11:41. | |
I know we have the great talent of Ronnie O'Sullivan, which, after | :11:41. | :11:46. | |
York, are not too certain what will happen in the tournament. It will | :11:47. | :11:56. | |
:11:57. | :12:03. | ||
be interesting to see. -- I am not And I think the Chinese revolution, | :12:03. | :12:09. | |
of which he is the standard bearer, is supported by large numbers of | :12:09. | :12:17. | |
other Chinese players who are developing into top-quality | :12:17. | :12:27. | |
:12:27. | :12:42. | ||
Three already on the world-ranking He made a century break in the last | :12:43. | :12:52. | |
:12:53. | :12:56. | ||
frame and every reason to suspect The only thing I can't fault him on, | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
his positional play. He just couldn't get on the table. But not | :13:00. | :13:10. | |
:13:10. | :13:32. | ||
And now all blacks. He is attempting a 147. If he could make | :13:32. | :13:42. | |
:13:42. | :13:46. | ||
one here, it would be worth Not a bad chance. It is just those | :13:46. | :13:52. | |
two reds on the table together. They don't look available into the | :13:52. | :14:02. | |
:14:02. | :14:16. | ||
A possible stumbling block. He will Once again, not the ideal angle to | :14:16. | :14:22. | |
play the cannon but he might be forced it to play it. He is just | :14:22. | :14:25. | |
looking at them -- the availability of these reds into the corner | :14:25. | :14:35. | |
:14:35. | :14:54. | ||
I didn't think it was a bad choice but the problem is, of the two reds, | :14:54. | :15:04. | |
:15:04. | :15:41. | ||
In the 30 tree-year history of the Masters, there's been only one | :15:41. | :15:48. | |
maximum. -- 33-year. That was down the road at the conference centre | :15:48. | :15:58. | |
:15:58. | :16:04. | ||
He underhit it but it is not that bad. Should have been better, in | :16:04. | :16:14. | |
:16:14. | :16:20. | ||
He played that with a lot of right- hand side and controlled it pretty | :16:20. | :16:30. | |
:16:30. | :17:00. | ||
well. Still not perfect on the He needs an angle on this black and | :17:00. | :17:10. | |
:17:10. | :17:16. | ||
it is straighter than he would like. Perfect from the yellow and this is | :17:16. | :17:26. | |
:17:26. | :17:31. | ||
Couldn't have played it better. It looks like a formality, Clive, but | :17:31. | :17:41. | |
I can assure you, it is anything Yes, it is a test of nerve now more | :17:41. | :17:51. | |
:17:51. | :18:09. | ||
than technique. But Ding's nerve He doesn't want to be the wrong | :18:09. | :18:14. | |
side of this pink but it looks like he's just straight enough to screw | :18:14. | :18:24. | |
:18:24. | :18:41. | ||
A 147 maximum for Ding Junhui. Only the second in the history of the | :18:41. | :18:43. | |
Masters. HAZEL IRVINE: It still makes you | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
smile every time you see one of these. It was considerably harder | :18:47. | :18:56. | |
won that one than Ronnie's. Yes. It is interesting how recently, on | :18:56. | :19:06. | |
some of the blogs, whether they think the 147 is as valued as it | :19:06. | :19:10. | |
was, not just in prize money but in how a dispute. We have many more | :19:10. | :19:17. | |
tournaments and smaller tournaments, and we are getting more 147s. The | :19:17. | :19:22. | |
argument is, that you shoved it back up, you would not see quite so | :19:22. | :19:29. | |
many. But you were amazed by that's that that there was one few in this | :19:30. | :19:35. | |
season than a whole of the 1980s. That tells you how did the | :19:35. | :19:38. | |
tournament is now because you have so many players capable of making | :19:38. | :19:48. | |
:19:48. | :19:50. | ||
them. And there was a question on. Is the other day on maximums. | :19:50. | :19:58. | |
also talk of how it is harder because the pocket a tighter than | :19:58. | :20:04. | |
they have ever been. And before, the pockets were possibly cut | :20:04. | :20:09. | |
differently or slightly bigger, weren't they, John? Yes. And you | :20:09. | :20:14. | |
are talking about the old oak table from 1984 at the Masters at Wembley. | :20:14. | :20:20. | |
And I am sure you remember this one. Very, very famous. Cook Stevens | :20:20. | :20:30. | |
:20:30. | :20:30. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :20:30. | :21:52. | |
against Jimmy White in the final A little kick in the side of the | :21:52. | :22:02. | |
:22:02. | :22:10. | ||
table there. He didn't want the That has turned out well. A few | :22:10. | :22:20. | |
:22:20. | :22:20. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :22:20. | :24:04. | |
That shot was perfectly straight on And what a useful plant that was to | :24:04. | :24:14. | |
:24:14. | :24:22. | ||
Kirk. It has enabled him to open up Yes. A good shot, Rex, getting both | :24:22. | :24:32. | |
:24:32. | :24:32. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :24:32. | :25:41. | |
And this time, a nice angle on the black to go into the pack of reds, | :25:41. | :25:51. | |
:25:51. | :26:13. | ||
He has decided to take that one I think we will see him trying to | :26:13. | :26:23. | |
:26:23. | :26:35. | ||
A very good split. But whether he can get through to the centre... He | :26:35. | :26:43. | |
is having a look now. One good pot here and he will be in with a | :26:43. | :26:53. | |
:26:53. | :27:09. | ||
splendid chance even of a very good This is not an easy black but he | :27:09. | :27:19. | |
:27:19. | :27:26. | ||
has got to be on a red, should he One would have to say this is a | :27:26. | :27:36. | |
:27:36. | :27:42. | ||
definite chance here. For a very, Yes, and he should be aware now | :27:42. | :27:52. | |
:27:52. | :27:59. | ||
that he has won the frame. So it is Make no mistake, he is very aware | :27:59. | :28:09. | |
:28:09. | :28:32. | ||
there is the possibility of a We have seen the maximum made | :28:32. | :28:42. | |
:28:42. | :28:43. | ||
before but I don't think... We have seen any player with a better | :28:43. | :28:49. | |
opportunity than this. The reds, the colours, are beautifully placed. | :28:49. | :28:59. | |
:28:59. | :29:04. | ||
Let's just say good luck to him. And a lovely shot. Beautifully | :29:04. | :29:14. | |
:29:14. | :29:14. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds | :29:14. | :31:08. | |
He has been set an example by the And he's perfect. He is perfect. | :31:08. | :31:14. | |
Tremendous applause from the audience and, with the best will in | :31:14. | :31:19. | |
the world, me a if only they would give him a little bit of hush, now. | :31:19. | :31:28. | |
A good time to make contact with the pink. And now, he has a tricky | :31:28. | :31:38. | |
:31:38. | :31:41. | ||
shot, with the rest. I think the angle is the main problem, and that | :31:42. | :31:51. | |
:31:52. | :32:15. | ||
he has got to use the rest. And Not quite far enough, so this | :32:15. | :32:20. | |
demands a really good shot. He has got to pot the green and go all the | :32:20. | :32:25. | |
way around the table, so the angle is there, but he will need just a | :32:25. | :32:30. | |
little bit of luck to get on to the brown and enable him to get back on | :32:30. | :32:40. | |
:32:40. | :32:46. | ||
Just look at this! It is almost perfect. And just look at the | :32:46. | :32:56. | |
:32:56. | :33:10. | ||
audience, they are enraptured by And young Kirk will need nerves of | :33:10. | :33:20. | |
:33:20. | :33:32. | ||
He would like to have come forward a couple of inches to make it | :33:32. | :33:42. | |
:33:42. | :33:46. | ||
This is where he wants a little bounce off the cushion. It isn't | :33:46. | :33:56. | |
:33:56. | :34:12. | ||
there, yet. A little pause, for In it in! Lovely, secure! -- Get in, | :34:12. | :34:20. | |
lovely, super! Good heavens above, Rex, isn't that marvellous? I am so | :34:20. | :34:30. | |
:34:30. | :34:36. | ||
pleased for Kirk Stevens. History made at the Old Conference | :34:36. | :34:41. | |
Centre. You boys were smiling all the way through that, you were | :34:41. | :34:46. | |
saying, I would not have played it like that. There is such a | :34:46. | :34:50. | |
difference in the positional play. A couple of times when he did a | :34:50. | :34:55. | |
open the pack first, it is 27 years ago and were digging them up about | :34:55. | :35:00. | |
positional shots. What a lovely piece of furniture that table was. | :35:00. | :35:06. | |
And he still lost. Jimmy White made a 100 break in the next rain. The | :35:06. | :35:10. | |
pockets were not that much bigger. Break-building was not so | :35:10. | :35:15. | |
sophisticated then. It was a brilliant break to make. Giving the | :35:15. | :35:20. | |
referee a cuddle after. Great to see those moments because those | :35:20. | :35:27. | |
were the building blocks for what we see now. And, for one moment we | :35:27. | :35:30. | |
thought they had faded the commentary out, but they did not | :35:30. | :35:36. | |
say much in those days. Completely different styles, in many respects. | :35:36. | :35:40. | |
We have been thinking about this, it is there the years last week's | :35:40. | :35:46. | |
issue made the first televised 147. Do you remember it, vaguely? | :35:46. | :35:56. | |
:35:56. | :35:58. | ||
have seen the video a couple of times! Up it was, before that there | :35:58. | :36:02. | |
had been 147 breaks in exhibition play, John Spencer doing one, in an | :36:02. | :36:09. | |
ITV event, in the 70s, but the camera and went on a tea break! It | :36:09. | :36:13. | |
has been built up to the stage now where we are going to get an | :36:13. | :36:18. | |
abundance of them. Still well worth playing for, as long as you when | :36:18. | :36:26. | |
the frame! You made one in competitive play, John. Thanks for | :36:26. | :36:29. | |
that! I played in the Premier League, and made the maximum. The | :36:29. | :36:36. | |
prize the previous year was a car, but were still �5,000, which is a | :36:36. | :36:42. | |
lot of money, but in the last frame, Stephen Hendry equalled it against | :36:42. | :36:49. | |
Willie Thorne, and took �2,500 off me! It shows you the standard we | :36:49. | :36:54. | |
have achieved that we have had eight of them so far, this season. | :36:54. | :36:58. | |
The defending champion Ding Junhui is out if you're just joining us. | :36:58. | :37:02. | |
How well as that form when to stand Ronnie O'Sullivan for the remainder | :37:02. | :37:08. | |
of the championship? I think Ronnie O'Sullivan looks to be in good nick. | :37:08. | :37:14. | |
He responded well. Cueing action, he has not got a care in the world. | :37:14. | :37:20. | |
This evening? Two very high-quality players. An interesting match, and | :37:20. | :37:26. | |
I am surprised about that statistic with Stephen Maguire and Mark | :37:26. | :37:33. | |
Williams. How do you do this one, Steve? It is nice for Stephen | :37:33. | :37:38. | |
Maguire to get back in form. But Mark Williams, you can never write | :37:38. | :37:43. | |
him off. He has been in the final stages of a couple recently. Thanks | :37:43. | :37:52. | |
very much. I hope you have enjoyed it at home. We will leave -- we | :37:52. | :37:56. | |
will be back at the tonight with highlights of the Williams-Maguire | :37:56. | :38:03. | |
match. So far, at Alexandra Palace, the John belongs to Ronnie | :38:03. | :38:08. | |
O'Sullivan, both of them, in fact. Goodbye from Alexandra Palace, the | :38:08. | :38:18. | |
:38:18. | :38:42. |