Day 3

:00:38. > :00:43.Hello, it is day three of the Masters at Alexandra Palace. This

:00:43. > :00:48.must be the most impressive players lounge in the world. A perfect

:00:48. > :00:55.place for something sparkling after victory. There is not much time for

:00:55. > :01:03.relaxing. Our first round matches have been coming thick and fast.

:01:03. > :01:08.Four of the 16 contenders for whom the champagne is on ice, have left.

:01:08. > :01:18.They have packed their bags and gone home. Defending champion Ding

:01:18. > :01:19.

:01:19. > :01:24.Junhui jumped on a aeroplane to the Far East for the Chinese New Year.

:01:24. > :01:31.There is an enticing quarter-final against Judd Trump on Thursday. He

:01:31. > :01:36.beat Stuart Bingham. Mark Allen lived up the UK final last month,

:01:36. > :01:41.but fell short. A great match in prospect tonight against Neil

:01:41. > :01:50.Robertson. Double Masters winner Mark Williams at to work hard to

:01:50. > :02:00.get into the quarters against Stephen Maguire. This is Mark

:02:00. > :02:01.

:02:01. > :02:04.Selby's favourite event with two wins in the last four years. Shaun

:02:05. > :02:11.Murphy's match against Martin Gould took place last night. We will

:02:11. > :02:15.reflect on it later. Neither Ali Carter and Graeme Dott have enjoyed

:02:15. > :02:21.their previous visits to the capital. They have not been further

:02:21. > :02:31.than the quarters. They play tomorrow night. And we are

:02:31. > :02:36.preparing for John Higgins against Matthew Stevens today. With three

:02:36. > :02:40.Masters titles between them, John Higgins against Matthew Stevens

:02:40. > :02:49.today. It is great that Barry Hearn got two specially-commissioned

:02:49. > :02:54.paintings of the boys to make them feel at home. The world champion

:02:54. > :03:02.admits he has not enjoyed a capital time in this event of late. Made

:03:02. > :03:11.the change of venue inspire him? -- Navy. Welcome back Matthew Stevens.

:03:11. > :03:19.He lifted the trophy in 2000. We will reflect on sparkling play with

:03:19. > :03:23.Shaun Murphy as he bids to at the Masters to his UK and world crowns.

:03:23. > :03:31.After his pugnacious performance in pushing Judd Trump in York before

:03:31. > :03:35.Christmas, will Mark Allen fancy his chances? Ken Doherty will be

:03:35. > :03:43.sent to the Cue Zone that later, answerable to you and your

:03:43. > :03:48.questions. The afternoon match feels like a blast from the past.

:03:48. > :03:53.It is not long since John Higgins and Matthew Stevens met one another

:03:53. > :04:00.in the later stages of big events. But Matthew dropped out of the

:04:00. > :04:04.elite 16 and so has not appeared in the Masters since. The move to

:04:04. > :04:10.north London might suit John Higgins. His record at Wembley

:04:10. > :04:20.Arena was pretty terrible. In four of the last five years, he has gone

:04:20. > :04:22.

:04:22. > :04:32.out in round one. The atmosphere is fantastic. Ronnie O'Sullivan was

:04:32. > :04:38.

:04:38. > :04:43.playing. That is a big match. A big crowd expects a lot. It is better

:04:43. > :04:52.to play in front of a big crowd than nobody. I always felt I was

:04:52. > :05:01.over awed. I do not know why. I have won a couple of times, but

:05:01. > :05:11.overall, I felt over audit in the arena. -- over awed. I was

:05:11. > :05:13.

:05:13. > :05:20.delighted with the change. Matthew has won of this before. He is back

:05:20. > :05:29.into the top 16. He is playing the way he can play. He deserves to be

:05:29. > :05:35.in the tournament. Stephen Hendry clearly loved Wembley. It is

:05:35. > :05:38.strange to hear somebody for such as John Higgins to say he was

:05:38. > :05:46.overwhelmed by the venue. credible, especially when you look

:05:46. > :05:50.at those success he has had in his career. It is surprising to hear

:05:50. > :05:55.that the second biggest tournament, with the best players, that he was

:05:55. > :06:01.overawed by big venues. Four of the last five years, to go out in the

:06:01. > :06:07.first round, I can only think he is celebrating too much at Christmas!

:06:07. > :06:13.Will be change help? It is a clean slate for everybody. It is a brand

:06:13. > :06:20.new tournament. The top 16 changes all the time. It is not familiar

:06:20. > :06:26.faces now. Everybody starts with the brand new tour. A everybody is

:06:26. > :06:31.delighted to see Matthew Stevens back. He made his first maximum the

:06:31. > :06:36.same day Ding Junhui made a maximum in a small event. How close is

:06:36. > :06:43.Matthew to his former glory days? He has always been in the top eight.

:06:43. > :06:48.His technique and style of play is fantastic. He is a natural talent.

:06:48. > :06:54.It is incredible. A tremendous waste of talent to see him go out

:06:54. > :06:59.of the 16 and into the wilderness. He is back where he belongs.

:06:59. > :07:06.said that he values being back in the 16th more than ever. The

:07:06. > :07:16.calendar has expanded, he does not have to expend energy qualifying.

:07:16. > :07:20.Something you do. I am here, there and everywhere. It is tough. I am

:07:20. > :07:27.finding it really tough. I am enjoying playing a lot of snooker,

:07:27. > :07:31.but it is tough. Yes, if you get back into the 16, the second time,

:07:31. > :07:41.you appreciate it more. I'm sure they will serve up something decent

:07:41. > :07:41.

:07:41. > :07:48.today. You are in the studio today. He will be commentating today? I am

:07:49. > :07:52.delighted to be joined by Steve Davis and John Virgo. The

:07:52. > :07:58.bookmakers and the history suggests a John Higgins' victory. But

:07:58. > :08:05.Matthew Stevens is capable of beating anybody on his day.

:08:05. > :08:12.Yes, it is reward for hard work and getting back into the top 16. He is

:08:12. > :08:16.playing the world champion. It will not be easy.

:08:16. > :08:22.After fantastic season, it has not kicked off for John Higgins this

:08:22. > :08:27.year. It is understandable. He put every

:08:27. > :08:32.effort into last season. John Higgins is always dangerous. He is

:08:32. > :08:38.the greatest player that has ever held a cue. I think the venue might

:08:38. > :08:43.suit him slightly better than Wembley. It is more intimate. He is

:08:43. > :08:48.up against a player coming back to form. Probably because he has been

:08:48. > :08:53.playing more snooker recently. Some of the PTC events have helped

:08:53. > :09:00.Matthew Stevens. I do not think he is ever outclassed on a snooker

:09:01. > :09:05.table. A prediction? Close. I think Matthew will get every

:09:05. > :09:14.chance. I think the venue will suit him off.

:09:14. > :09:24.A we are looking forward to it. Over to Rob Walker. Good afternoon.

:09:24. > :09:24.

:09:24. > :09:31.It is the battle of the Celts. There is any room for one of them

:09:31. > :09:36.in the quarter-finals. -- only room. Please welcome one of the finest

:09:36. > :09:41.Welsh players to grace the game over the last two decades. Twice a

:09:41. > :09:46.World Championship finalist. He won the Masters in 2000. Making his

:09:46. > :09:56.first appearance here five years after getting back into the top 16,

:09:56. > :10:20.

:10:20. > :10:24.the Welsh Dragon, Matthew Stevens. If that was almost as good as

:10:24. > :10:31.Freddie's a few moments ago. How nice is it to be back on the big

:10:31. > :10:39.stage. Fantastic. It has been horrible watching it on the

:10:39. > :10:49.television the last few years. A lot of hard work has paid off.

:10:49. > :10:56.

:10:56. > :11:01.And his opponent. One of the finest exports in Scotland. When up of 24

:11:01. > :11:11.ranking events and twice winner of the Masters in 1999 and 2006, the

:11:11. > :11:28.

:11:28. > :11:32.reigning champion of the world, the Wizard of Wishaw, John Higgins! A

:11:32. > :11:38.great reception. You have had fabulous moments in the Masters.

:11:38. > :11:45.Probably happy to be at Ally Pally. The first two days and the crowd

:11:45. > :11:51.today, it is great. It will be a good game. It certainly will be.

:11:51. > :11:58.John Higgins! HAZEL IRVINE: You heard mention of

:11:58. > :12:06.Freddie. That is so his son, Freddie, who played the pot of his

:12:06. > :12:08.dad in the rehearsal. -- part. Which one of them can rekindle the

:12:08. > :12:18.Which one of them can rekindle the Magic today. Back to Steve Davis

:12:18. > :12:25.and John Virgo. JOHN VIRGO: This promises to be a

:12:25. > :12:32.cracker. As we said, although John Higgins is the world champion,

:12:32. > :12:42.Matthew Stevens, of course, he is one of the best players to come out

:12:42. > :12:53.

:12:53. > :13:03.There will be nerves out there, probably more from Matthew than

:13:03. > :13:08.

:13:08. > :13:17.Yes, I suppose Matthew has been of the big stage more than John

:13:17. > :13:27.Higgins, although, Matthew has been having experience in the Premier

:13:27. > :13:42.

:13:42. > :13:52.League recently, and that can stand That is always the problem with

:13:52. > :13:54.

:13:54. > :14:04.that shot. If the red does not go A comfortable starter for John

:14:04. > :14:31.

:14:31. > :14:41.Ideal situation here to pot the red and get the far side of the blue

:14:41. > :14:45.

:14:45. > :14:51.and pot the blue and smashed into He has underhit that by a fair way,

:14:51. > :14:56.at this level. The first couple of shots at the new table. You do not

:14:56. > :15:06.know exactly the speed. He will have to choose a different shot.

:15:06. > :15:09.

:15:09. > :15:19.The loose red looks favourite. This He could have done but the cue ball

:15:19. > :15:26.

:15:26. > :15:32.bouncing off the cushion. This is a Yes, always tricky, that. He did

:15:32. > :15:42.not make the most of that opportunity. It is early in the

:15:42. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:05.match. Getting used to the pace of The red he ran off, he could not

:16:05. > :16:09.play off that and go back to the baulk end, otherwise he would have

:16:09. > :16:19.done. Just a containing safety, but it gives the advantage to John

:16:19. > :16:20.

:16:20. > :16:24.Just before these matches start, for a bit of fun, Rob Walker

:16:24. > :16:34.usually get somebody to volunteer to represent and look at this.

:16:34. > :16:36.

:16:36. > :16:46.Freddie, Matthew Stevens' sound. Eight years of age. -- his son. I

:16:46. > :16:49.

:16:49. > :16:54.wonder if he will walk down for He looked relaxed and laid back,

:16:54. > :17:04.just like his father. That was a good safety shot from Matthew

:17:04. > :17:13.

:17:13. > :17:19.Caused the mistake. John Higgins will be delighted to see it going

:17:19. > :17:23.into the pocket rather than staying at the top half of the table.

:17:23. > :17:31.is somebody in this area whose earpiece is ready now. Can you turn

:17:31. > :17:39.it off? I think he hit the wrong red. That is why he caught the

:17:39. > :17:44.second red too thick. If it did not go in the pocket, it would have

:17:44. > :17:54.been an easy starter for Matthew. This is tough, particularly early

:17:54. > :18:07.

:18:07. > :18:17.Shots like this, you try to play with safety in mind, but I am not

:18:17. > :18:30.

:18:30. > :18:40.Unfortunately, he missed by the I think there is tension in his cue

:18:40. > :19:01.

:19:01. > :19:11.He will be hampered. As long as he does not have to do a lot with the

:19:11. > :19:29.

:19:29. > :19:39.Just dropping it in gave him an option of two reds. He would like

:19:39. > :19:50.

:19:50. > :20:00.It would enable him to manoeuvre This is a decent chance, the way

:20:00. > :20:11.

:20:11. > :20:21.This red clears the path for the black into the same pocket, which

:20:21. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:07.will be an important part of the He could have done with an angle on

:21:07. > :21:11.

:21:11. > :21:16.He had the option of playing the red below the black. If he had a

:21:16. > :21:26.nice angle, he could have played for one of the reds in the middle

:21:26. > :21:56.

:21:56. > :22:06.That has put him in perfect position to win the frame at this

:22:06. > :22:44.

:22:44. > :22:54.visit, and he would be disappointed Just this red and another black.

:22:54. > :23:02.

:23:02. > :23:12.That will put him 69 points in He has been quickly into his

:23:12. > :23:18.

:23:18. > :23:22.A nice pace around the table. He has made light work of the break.

:23:22. > :23:29.With Matthew Stevens yet to get close to the pocket. This is a nice

:23:29. > :23:33.start for John Higgins. Yes, it does not matter how much experience

:23:33. > :23:42.you have got, it is nice to get your hand on the table for the

:23:42. > :23:52.first frame. There is every possibility he -- he could start

:23:52. > :24:21.

:24:21. > :24:30.The safety mistake is completely forgotten. It is amazing this game.

:24:30. > :24:36.You can play a poor safety but as we said at the time, fortunate not

:24:36. > :24:41.to leave Matthew an easy opening. Matthew's long pot was a long way

:24:41. > :24:49.away. Matthew knows that John Higgins is playing well and only

:24:49. > :24:59.his best is good enough. Sometimes that can relax you. That is a pity.

:24:59. > :25:05.

:25:05. > :25:09.No century. Very convincing from HAZEL IRVINE: As statement of

:25:09. > :25:14.intent from the world champion. Welcome to the studio. We have a

:25:14. > :25:18.terrific view. Lovely to have you both in here. From the point of

:25:18. > :25:23.view of Matthew Stevens, he knows what John is all about. There were

:25:23. > :25:26.a couple of long pots that were a a couple of long pots that were a

:25:27. > :25:34.long way off. He looks the more rusty of the two. This cost him the

:25:34. > :25:40.frame. He was a long way off. He is normally good at long pots. He let

:25:40. > :25:45.John in. He looks rusty. You would expect, after a five-year absence

:25:45. > :25:52.from this tournament, there would be nerves. But enthusiasm to be

:25:52. > :25:59.back. Both will have nerves. The long shots are so important in the

:25:59. > :26:05.game. How debilitating is it when you miss a couple in the first

:26:05. > :26:10.frame? He had a look at the camera month. He was not happy with the

:26:10. > :26:17.position of the cameraman. It knocks your confidence for the next

:26:17. > :26:24.time you get one. JOHN VIRGO: Matthew has broken off,

:26:24. > :26:34.and it is not the best break-off shot. He has not found the baulk

:26:34. > :26:39.

:26:39. > :26:49.cushion. A shot to nothing for John Matthew was a little put off by

:26:49. > :26:56.some of the photographers behind There is also residue crowd around

:26:56. > :27:06.that area. There are press photographers behind the black

:27:06. > :27:31.

:27:31. > :27:35.right-hand pocket. That might have If he misses the pink he might be

:27:35. > :27:45.on the red. I do not know whether he played for that gap, but he will

:27:45. > :28:13.

:28:13. > :28:23.He has choices of what to do. I imagine he would try to disturb

:28:23. > :28:35.

:28:35. > :28:45.There was a lot of back spin on that. That has worked out. He has

:28:45. > :29:00.

:29:00. > :29:05.He has opened enough reds to make a frame-winning opportunity. He

:29:05. > :29:15.always gets behind the line of the pot and tries to pick out the spot

:29:15. > :29:45.

:29:45. > :29:51.He is on a colour. This is a good So far, this has been a great way

:29:51. > :30:01.to shake off any nerves. Once he has been amongst the balls, he has

:30:01. > :30:05.

:30:05. > :30:10.Decided not to play for the pink because he thought he might get

:30:10. > :30:20.tied up. The problem with the blue, he needed to be off straight and he

:30:20. > :30:20.

:30:20. > :30:30.has gone through too far. He has to He will probably try to play on the

:30:30. > :30:49.

:30:49. > :30:53.Exactly as you said. He could not Now he is better on the blue, he

:30:53. > :31:03.can control the cue ball. He does not have to have that running a

:31:03. > :31:06.

:31:06. > :31:16.As Stephen Hendry said, he has got a top 16 game and when he starts

:31:16. > :31:27.

:31:27. > :31:30.flowing, he plays already well. -- He has won this tournament before

:31:30. > :31:36.and he was the runner-up at the championships when it looked like

:31:36. > :31:46.he was going to be the winner. A final frame slip against Mark

:31:46. > :31:52.

:31:52. > :31:58.Williams. He is not on this black. He was playing to come past that

:31:58. > :32:08.red. But he got a kick and that slowed the cue ball. Short of

:32:08. > :32:18.distance. You can see the black to the left of the table. It was heavy

:32:18. > :32:21.

:32:21. > :32:31.contact. I do not think he has got a lot. He has got a 45 point lead.

:32:31. > :32:42.

:32:42. > :32:46.It might get past the pink. But 45 points on the board but with the

:32:46. > :32:56.situation of the balls, it that John Higgins gets among them, it is

:32:56. > :33:17.

:33:17. > :33:21.The only red he can get to is on the left side of the table. I

:33:21. > :33:29.suppose he could play the containing safety and try and leave

:33:29. > :33:35.the cue ball by the top cushion. Judd Trump and Neil Robertson would

:33:35. > :33:45.be playing that shot back into baulk. Stevens has got plenty of

:33:45. > :33:49.

:33:49. > :33:56.cue power but he is looking for He played the deep screw back to

:33:56. > :34:02.baulk and could not have played it better. And Stevens two Judd Trump

:34:02. > :34:12.and Neil Robertson. -- include Stevens with Judd Trump and Neil

:34:12. > :34:19.

:34:19. > :34:24.Of course, you have got to get close. If you do not, there is a

:34:24. > :34:31.chance the red will come back up the table with the cue ball. John

:34:31. > :34:41.Higgins has got the advantage in this safety battle. Matthew smiled

:34:41. > :35:03.

:35:03. > :35:12.to himself. He will have to play a Again, he got close enough to keep

:35:12. > :35:22.the red at this end of the table. I do not think he has left a pot.

:35:22. > :35:24.

:35:24. > :35:33.Expect him to find the baulk with Just a little bit fast but he has

:35:33. > :35:39.not left an easy shot for his opponent. If he was straight on the

:35:39. > :35:46.red, he could play a pot and get through. He will look at that

:35:46. > :35:56.option. I was thinking of running back to baulk. But if he feels he

:35:56. > :36:01.

:36:01. > :36:11.If he plays dead weight towards the pocket, you would be lucky to lead

:36:11. > :36:13.

:36:13. > :36:17.If you play like that, anything can happen. And it has done. He held

:36:17. > :36:27.his hand up and apologised to John Higgins. He has got a chance to the

:36:27. > :36:41.

:36:41. > :36:51.middle pocket. Another one that was Half a chance. John will be

:36:51. > :37:12.

:37:12. > :37:18.He is playing of this red and knocking to the top cushion. But he

:37:18. > :37:28.is not close to the top cushion. The reds are looking a bit awkward.

:37:28. > :37:59.

:37:59. > :38:03.If he wished, he could play the That was a good choice. Keeping the

:38:03. > :38:09.heat on Matthew Stevens but more reds going safer. He will be happy

:38:09. > :38:14.for that to get to the side cushion. That is the problem. John Higgins

:38:14. > :38:24.had the advantage but the longer it has continued, the reds are going

:38:24. > :38:28.

:38:28. > :38:37.sake and it takes a bit of pressure That was a great pot and it took

:38:37. > :38:47.the pressure off. It was not a case of making a mistake and the frame

:38:47. > :38:59.

:38:59. > :39:09.being there for his opponent but a He has got a 50 point lead. He

:39:09. > :39:16.

:39:16. > :39:25.Usually we say that we do not want to be too straight but he does want

:39:25. > :39:30.to be straight here. Just slightly the wrong angle. A little bit

:39:30. > :39:40.careless. Can he screw back and nudge off the reds to get position

:39:40. > :39:43.

:39:43. > :39:53.on black or possibly pink? He needs He could do it without that. That

:39:53. > :40:01.

:40:01. > :40:11.was better than it looked. Pot this red to go 67 ahead with 59

:40:11. > :40:39.

:40:39. > :40:46.He thoroughly deserves this frame. He was unlucky to get a kick that

:40:46. > :40:56.ended the break at 45. But a great standard of playing has got him

:40:56. > :41:02.

:41:02. > :41:09.this frame ball stopped 1-1. --. 1- We take it all back. Long potting

:41:09. > :41:13.was sensational. He is settled now. It has taken him a while to get

:41:13. > :41:20.into his stride. A tremendous action and a great effort to get

:41:20. > :41:25.back to baulk. He will have to apologise to be cameraman. A great

:41:25. > :41:34.example of fantastic action. does look very sharp among the

:41:34. > :41:38.balls. He is one of these players that is a player's player. He is in

:41:38. > :41:44.and around the balls and he plays the right shots and opens them up

:41:44. > :41:49.quickly. Very fluent and nice to watch. Easy on the hype. Speaking

:41:49. > :41:55.on behalf of a lot of players, it is good to watch him play it. He

:41:55. > :42:03.has got a good standards that he should be playing to. This match is

:42:03. > :42:09.actually a version of therapy for you. You were both in the final on

:42:09. > :42:16.consecutive years. It was a fantastic final. He was just as

:42:16. > :42:26.good as I was. Then I missed the black. All done and dusted. Water

:42:26. > :42:30.

:42:30. > :42:40.under the bridge! It is not! JOHN VIRGO: It will never be water

:42:40. > :42:43.

:42:43. > :42:53.under the bridge, Hazel Irvine. At a different venue, maybe he does

:42:53. > :42:55.

:42:55. > :43:05.not have too many nightmares about Certainly a chance of this pot. It

:43:05. > :43:05.

:43:05. > :43:15.depends how he wants to play it. Stun around the back of the black?

:43:15. > :43:40.

:43:41. > :43:50.As we have often said, there is so much skill in this game. But you

:43:51. > :43:57.

:43:57. > :44:04.have got to get position at vital That was a very attacking safety.

:44:04. > :44:14.He is not quite tight on the baulk cushion. But he has opened the reds

:44:14. > :44:27.

:44:27. > :44:37.up and asked the question of John John Higgins will be disappointed.

:44:37. > :44:37.

:44:37. > :44:47.He has not left anything easy. But he has not put Matthew in any

:44:47. > :44:55.

:44:55. > :45:01.trouble and the reds are nicely Choosing safety. Four-cushion. Side

:45:01. > :45:09.spent. A bit heavy. Has it got behind the green? It has not. He

:45:09. > :45:16.will not be pleased with that I did. -- I but. We have got a chance with

:45:16. > :45:26.the red at the middle pocket. Matthew looked at it. John is

:45:26. > :45:39.

:45:39. > :45:49.Screw back for one of the baulk Be danger is if he tries to screw

:45:49. > :45:50.

:45:50. > :45:54.back, he could go in and off. It was not the best safety but he has

:45:54. > :46:04.not left an easy safety which is why he is forced into playing this

:46:04. > :46:10.

:46:10. > :46:20.Well, that was terrific. At that pace, to be accurate, look at that.

:46:20. > :46:51.

:46:51. > :46:56.He will be upset with that. He He will be very disappointed with

:46:56. > :47:01.the outcome of that position. Just four points scored after that

:47:01. > :47:11.excellent long red. He has tended Matthew Stevens with an escape

:47:11. > :47:12.

:47:12. > :47:15.route. I think he will be taking We can see that big gap through the

:47:15. > :47:25.reds and the pot into the right corner. Down the table with the cue

:47:25. > :47:37.

:47:37. > :47:47.A little bit inconsistent and when you miss by that far, the reds can

:47:47. > :48:04.

:48:04. > :48:10.go anywhere. Fortunately, one has An easy starter for John Higgins.

:48:10. > :48:17.Just checking to see if he can get past the black. He is not really on

:48:17. > :48:27.the baulk colours. He has run too far. Bridging above the yellow

:48:27. > :48:31.

:48:31. > :48:36.makes the brown more difficult. black is not available. It is very

:48:36. > :48:44.rare we see John Higgins have excellent chances and just score

:48:44. > :48:51.five. Both times he has just run slightly too far. The table playing

:48:51. > :48:56.a bit quicker than the practice table. We saw with Ronnie

:48:56. > :49:06.O'Sullivan, he ran too far with a couple of positions. It does not

:49:06. > :49:08.

:49:08. > :49:15.look far on television. But it has gone a bit scrappy. Certainly, John

:49:15. > :49:25.Higgins with the advantage. Is it time for line drawing, John? Can

:49:25. > :49:29.

:49:29. > :49:39.you see one? Yes, I can. The one where I think he can get sake is to

:49:39. > :49:46.

:49:46. > :49:54.hit that red but can he get there? He will do well not to lead a pot

:49:55. > :50:04.here. Hit and hope. Where is the red going. It was a superb shot. He

:50:05. > :50:08.

:50:08. > :50:13.stuck it up between the brown and He tried to hit the red off baulk.

:50:13. > :50:17.He hit it reasonably well but was just unlucky that it went right

:50:17. > :50:22.about the pocket and considering it was above the pocket, that was an

:50:22. > :50:28.excellent position from John Higgins. He would like to have hit

:50:28. > :50:38.it on the other side and then the red would not have caught the jaw

:50:38. > :50:47.

:50:47. > :50:53.Be Blake -- break is slightly unusual. He does not necessarily

:50:54. > :51:03.want to pot the black. Ideally he would be paying for pink and blue.

:51:04. > :51:22.

:51:22. > :51:31.If he was to pot the black it would go back to the spot and might be

:51:31. > :51:35.out of commission. The pink only pots into one corner. Not the

:51:35. > :51:45.perfect chance but one that you think he would convert into a

:51:45. > :52:06.

:52:06. > :52:12.He judged that nicely. Just about Of course, be black, which he will

:52:12. > :52:22.not want to be potting, it is blocking the right hand corner for

:52:22. > :52:22.

:52:22. > :52:32.at least two or three reds. doesn't need the black. He might as

:52:32. > :52:55.

:52:56. > :53:01.well pot the black and put it among And that is why he has decided to

:53:01. > :53:05.play the black. He will not be bothered about that getting tied up.

:53:05. > :53:12.He has got enough reds and knocking the black away made a couple of

:53:12. > :53:21.reds available to the right corner. The black might be available but he

:53:21. > :53:31.has got a 32 point lead. He might as well concentrate on be reds in

:53:31. > :53:31.

:53:31. > :54:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:54:52. > :54:57.the open and the pink. That should A couple more loose reds and if he

:54:57. > :55:07.cleared them, he would be over the line. Name need to disturb any

:55:07. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :55:36.He played for the pink. He is looking for the pink. Just the red

:55:36. > :55:49.

:55:49. > :55:54.to get 60 points in front with 59 Every time he red is potting, that

:55:54. > :56:02.reduces the points on the table by eight points. It was not

:56:02. > :56:09.straightforward but he has taken his chance very well. Pot the blue

:56:09. > :56:17.and cannon the reds to the right of the black, that is the best option.

:56:17. > :56:27.But he did not play the cannon. This red obviously does. -- is

:56:27. > :56:30.

:56:30. > :56:40.If that had gone in, I think Matthew Stevens would have remained

:56:40. > :56:46.in his chair, regardless. Still a chance for Matthew Stevens.

:56:46. > :56:54.couple of snookers kneaded but it would not be the first time. --

:56:54. > :57:01.needed. You have just got the feeling that if John Higgins rolled

:57:01. > :57:11.the red in, his opponent would not have come back. He has set him up.

:57:11. > :57:20.

:57:20. > :57:30.He has screwed back and played for Another example of a player playing

:57:30. > :57:41.

:57:41. > :57:49.a pot and screwing back to the If he does not cover this, I think

:57:49. > :57:59.Matthew will concede. He has done that. That is enough. John Higgins

:57:59. > :58:12.

:58:12. > :58:20.is comfortable. A good break. A bit I did not know if the temper comes

:58:20. > :58:26.out. My wife is big on star signs. I am eight tourists and she says I

:58:26. > :58:31.am a typical tourist. It might affect you a little bit more. The

:58:31. > :58:41.young players are just potting everything and they do not show

:58:41. > :58:47.

:58:47. > :58:51.nerves. I always loved the American Civil War and the films about that.

:58:51. > :58:59.Civil War and the films about that. I eat too many crisps. That is why

:58:59. > :59:09.I am putting weight on. I sleep on planes. Snoring. Terrible. I have

:59:09. > :59:14.woken up a few times. Any time that he win a tournament. Obviously the

:59:14. > :59:24.World Championships are special. But just winning, any time you are

:59:24. > :59:31.

:59:32. > :59:36.winning, that is special. You My colleagues were nodding in

:59:36. > :59:44.agreement about snoring on aeroplanes. I am guilty of that

:59:44. > :59:54.myself. Some interesting little confessions from John Higgins, the

:59:54. > :59:55.

:59:55. > :00:04.four-time world champion. He has JOHN VIRGO: Middle session interval

:00:04. > :00:14.after this frame. He will be delighted to level it, Stevens. Not

:00:14. > :00:27.

:00:27. > :00:37.the best break. He has left the He caught it too thick. A little

:00:37. > :00:42.

:00:42. > :00:49.bit fortunate. The blue has come to It was not far off being a great

:00:49. > :00:56.pot. Judging by the pace he played it at and the angle, he was totally

:00:56. > :01:06.committing to the shot by playing short of the baulk colours. Matthew

:01:06. > :01:28.

:01:28. > :01:38.will go for a pot. He has a couple REFEREE: foul. John macro he called

:01:38. > :01:41.

:01:41. > :01:51.the foul on himself. That is what JOHN VIRGO: I could not see it

:01:51. > :02:13.

:02:13. > :02:23.myself, but as a player, you can Not exactly as he played it.

:02:23. > :02:41.

:02:41. > :02:46.I assume the black has not been moved off its spot. John has to

:02:46. > :02:56.make sure it has not because he wants to know exactly where the

:02:56. > :03:17.

:03:17. > :03:27.It will pass the black and open it up. Matthew took on the long red.

:03:27. > :03:28.

:03:28. > :03:33.He was a fraction out, but this John Higgins has looked very

:03:34. > :03:40.capable when he gets around the black spot area. He looks capable

:03:40. > :03:49.of pinching the frame in one visit. And whether he can win in this

:03:49. > :03:54.visit, is in the lap of a shot where he pot the black and goes

:03:54. > :04:04.into the pack of reds. It is a fairly tough had to go into to

:04:04. > :04:23.

:04:23. > :04:33.Off the black, anyway. Is there I am not certain where the pink

:04:33. > :05:01.

:05:01. > :05:11.He can probably play this with A hard stun shot with a bit of

:05:11. > :05:18.

:05:18. > :05:28.That was the danger with that shot. If you caught the reds too thick,

:05:28. > :05:45.

:05:45. > :05:52.Unless he takes on the risky blue, Not perfect with the green, but

:05:52. > :05:56.good enough. When you put a baulk colour safe, it is worth taking

:05:56. > :06:03.into consideration which hand your opponent plays with. For a right-

:06:03. > :06:13.handed player, but the green safe, on that side of the table. -- put

:06:13. > :06:21.

:06:21. > :06:27.This is a pretty good safety. What would you do with Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:06:27. > :06:31.Steve? That is another story when somebody is as good as him with

:06:31. > :06:41.both hands. You have to make sure you get everything safe! Luckily,

:06:41. > :06:45.

:06:45. > :06:55.he can get to the red. By did not That kiss could not have been any

:06:55. > :07:02.

:07:02. > :07:12.I do not think he will move the yellow now. He will probably try to

:07:12. > :07:43.

:07:43. > :07:49.He has played it perfectly. A big Matthew is looking at it...

:07:49. > :07:54.Desperation, he is looking at, really! Is he looking at the two-

:07:54. > :08:04.cushion plant into the middle pocket? What a great shot this

:08:04. > :08:28.

:08:28. > :08:32.That was a great, great effort. And But, now, this fourth frame, the

:08:32. > :08:42.one before the mid-session interval, is at the mercy of the world

:08:42. > :08:49.

:08:49. > :08:57.When Ken Doherty asked us earlier in the commentary box, mentioning

:08:57. > :09:07.the fact that this then you might suit John Higgins more, rather than

:09:07. > :09:16.

:09:16. > :09:22.the big Wembley venues, it is more I remember when he beat Ronnie

:09:23. > :09:31.O'Sullivan in the final. One of the great matches. Of any tournament,

:09:31. > :09:41.never mind the Masters. The He did produce some great stuff at

:09:41. > :09:51.

:09:51. > :09:55.Also, it would be unthinkable if John Higgins did not go through the

:09:55. > :10:05.whole season without winning something. Absolutely. His all-

:10:05. > :10:20.

:10:20. > :10:25.round game, as you alluded to, it Stephen Hendry had such a record at

:10:25. > :10:34.the Masters. Maybe he is comparing what Stephen Hendry did and what he

:10:34. > :10:44.should be doing. Stephen Hendry was practically unbeatable here. Or,

:10:44. > :10:51.

:10:51. > :11:01.fair! We are at the Alexandra John Higgins had the majority of

:11:01. > :11:05.

:11:05. > :11:12.He is looking decent on the shot. He has a nice rhythm. Any nerves

:11:12. > :11:15.have gone. That is the end of that frame. 3-1 at the interval. John

:11:16. > :11:17.Higgins will be pleased with his Higgins will be pleased with his

:11:17. > :11:23.Higgins will be pleased with his Higgins will be pleased with his

:11:23. > :11:26.morning's work. HAZEL IRVINE: John Higgins goes

:11:26. > :11:33.back to the dressing room. What has been the difference between the

:11:33. > :11:39.two? John has had the upper hand in the safety exchanges. His safety

:11:39. > :11:44.has been a more clinical. He has found the tricky spots. He had a

:11:44. > :11:52.great shot to snooker Matthew in the last frame. Matthew tried the

:11:52. > :11:56.plant from two cushions which did not work out. John Major an

:11:56. > :12:01.interesting point in commentary as regard to the standard and you set

:12:01. > :12:06.for Scottish players. Five in a row and then a couple of years later,

:12:06. > :12:11.you won it for a sixth time. He is chasing you in the world titles

:12:11. > :12:17.department, too. His is good to have somebody to set your standards

:12:17. > :12:26.by five. -- it is good. I had Steve Davis. I wanted to better his

:12:26. > :12:36.records. It is healthy. Absolutely. We have dispatched Ken Doherty to

:12:36. > :12:39.the Cue Zone. He wants to get the cue in hand. We have been getting

:12:39. > :12:47.messages four-year and there are a lot of people with questions. The

:12:47. > :12:51.first is from J Prince. He wants to know how to play a swerve shot. He

:12:51. > :12:56.said that no matter how much he tries, it does not work.

:12:56. > :13:01.Here we are in the Cue Zone. We will put the red over the middle

:13:01. > :13:08.pocket. This swerve shot can be complicated. We are snookered by

:13:08. > :13:14.the blue. You address the cue ball. Raise the butt of the cue slightly.

:13:14. > :13:20.Not too much power. The harder you hit it, the last word. Hit down on

:13:20. > :13:27.the cue ball. Look at the cue ball. There you go. And of course, you

:13:27. > :13:36.are going to miss as well! That was just a demonstration. Down on the

:13:36. > :13:41.cue ball, slight swerve. And over swerve it. You get the idea!

:13:42. > :13:48.HAZEL IRVINE: The next message is from Ricky, who asks, can you

:13:48. > :13:53.please ask if Ken can explain how to do the stun run-through. He said

:13:53. > :14:00.this takes years to perfect. Again, we will take the blue.

:14:00. > :14:05.Address the cue ball in the middle and just a slight bit of power.

:14:05. > :14:11.Watch the cue ball after I have caught the blue. I wanted to travel

:14:11. > :14:20.past the red. Just a little bit of power.

:14:20. > :14:25.Pretty simple. Thank you very much. The next is from Catherine. It is

:14:25. > :14:29.cheeky. How are you supposed to cope with the full-size table if

:14:29. > :14:35.you are short? Back is a good question. When I

:14:35. > :14:41.started at 11, I used a biscuit tin. I was small. I stopped using it a

:14:41. > :14:47.couple of years ago! We have a box. If you are short, you could use a

:14:47. > :14:50.box. When I started beating players, somebody stole the biscuit tin. You

:14:50. > :14:55.could use something like that to start with.

:14:55. > :15:00.Stephen, did you ever use the biscuit tin? I did not. It helped

:15:00. > :15:07.me with my rest play. I was using the rest every second shot and over

:15:07. > :15:11.the years I got very good using the rest. We have another that does not

:15:11. > :15:17.require a demonstration. It is from Chris Jones. Do the guys think that

:15:17. > :15:23.the days of one man dominating a snooker season has gone? Stephen

:15:23. > :15:27.Hendry dominated the years, what are your feelings? Certainly, the

:15:27. > :15:33.years of the prolific winner have gone. What I disagree with with

:15:33. > :15:41.Steve Davis, I think the standards of the top players are much the

:15:41. > :15:46.same as the last 20 years. I think we can still hold our own. But down

:15:46. > :15:50.the rankings, the standard has gone up. If you play number 32, he will

:15:50. > :15:56.be a fantastic player. So it is difficult to dominate because so

:15:56. > :16:03.many players are at a high standard. Judd Trump said after the UK

:16:03. > :16:09.Championship that he clearly won that by not playing at his best. I

:16:09. > :16:15.think he feels he has an eight-year start on the gap to the better

:16:15. > :16:21.players. I think he fancies the job of dominating this. If he sets his

:16:21. > :16:27.career out and his life out, and he is determined to do it and he is

:16:27. > :16:34.disciplined, he has a great chance. He is the youngest of the top 16.

:16:34. > :16:40.He has a fantastic future. That is interesting. Thank you for your

:16:40. > :16:45.messages. We will ask in due course for more answers to your questions.

:16:45. > :16:50.This evening, we have a match between Neil Robertson and the man

:16:50. > :16:55.who performed heroics last month at the UK Championship, knocking in

:16:55. > :16:59.four centuries in the final of the UK against Judd Trump. That week in

:16:59. > :17:04.your key made headlines for other reasons. You remember his comments

:17:04. > :17:09.about Barry Hearn and the running of the game. That is ongoing. Those

:17:09. > :17:13.two have had the meeting. I am not sure if they resolved their

:17:13. > :17:20.differences. Barry Hearn said it was a frank and friendly exchange

:17:20. > :17:25.of views. He has withdrawn his threats about legal action over

:17:25. > :17:32.those comments. But Mark Allen, clearly, he is still making

:17:32. > :17:37.headlines. I suppose if you read the headlines,

:17:37. > :17:38.we have settled our differences. But, there are still a few areas

:17:38. > :17:43.But, there are still a few areas But, there are still a few areas

:17:43. > :17:48.where I am not happy. But we have chatted about it and got things of

:17:48. > :17:55.our chest and we will move on from there. There will be things Barry

:17:55. > :17:59.does that I will not agree with, but we get on with it. The way I

:17:59. > :18:04.work will not appeal to everybody. I have to take the view for the

:18:04. > :18:10.sport. Every individual, Mark Allen, Ronnie O'Sullivan, will take a view

:18:10. > :18:13.on how it affects them. I cannot have that. I have to look at what

:18:13. > :18:19.takes it forward to the global celebration of snooker I believe it

:18:19. > :18:25.can become. I think I know the way through. But we have to be creative.

:18:25. > :18:30.We have to take risks. They can come with a screaming, or they can

:18:30. > :18:38.go back to the billiard halls and eke out a living. Snooker is one of

:18:38. > :18:45.the fastest growing sports. I know where he is going and his plans for

:18:45. > :18:51.the sport. I am not 100% sure he will achieve those plans, but he is

:18:51. > :19:01.confident he will. I will play my snooker and let him do what he does

:19:01. > :19:03.

:19:03. > :19:07.best. It was disappointing to lose. I came out of it with positives. I

:19:07. > :19:12.was two frames away from winning the second biggest tournament. And

:19:12. > :19:17.the way I played in the final session, it was up there with the

:19:17. > :19:22.best I have played on television. I am still disappointed to lose. This

:19:22. > :19:30.tournament should be good. The venue looks good. Ticket sales have

:19:30. > :19:37.been good and the crowd should create a good atmosphere. Playing

:19:37. > :19:45.one of the form players it is tough. I will look back on a previous

:19:45. > :19:54.match and use it. I got engaged on Christmas Day. Everything is going

:19:54. > :20:03.very well. We will go abroad to get married. She has a big family. As

:20:04. > :20:09.long as I am there and she is there and our families, that is ideal.

:20:09. > :20:14.Congratulations. That is lovely news. He will have to learn some

:20:14. > :20:20.money if he is to take the whole family somewhere to get married.

:20:20. > :20:25.The spat with Barry Hearn seems to have been smoothed over. Everybody

:20:25. > :20:32.is entitled to their opinion. But, I think before the board meeting in

:20:32. > :20:37.December, Barry and Mark sorted out their differences. Barry gave his

:20:37. > :20:41.version of his vision for the future of snooker. I think 99% of

:20:41. > :20:47.snooker players on the circuit are happy with what is going on. The

:20:47. > :20:52.PTCs are not ideal for everybody, us included, but the future of the

:20:52. > :20:58.sport is bright. Two years ago it looked very grim. Since Barry has

:20:58. > :21:03.taken over, it looks positive. He has opened snooker in new

:21:03. > :21:10.territories, such as Brazil. There are good things happening. It looks

:21:10. > :21:15.a lot better. He would admit that maybe tweaks the need to be made.

:21:15. > :21:20.As for this match, between Mark Allen and Neil Robertson, it is a

:21:20. > :21:24.repeat of the quarter-finals last year. Neil Robertson is having a

:21:24. > :21:29.very good, if slightly underrated season, if you look at the world

:21:29. > :21:33.ranking events, he is number-one ranked after his performances in

:21:33. > :21:38.those events. He feels he is playing strong day. He is

:21:38. > :21:44.consistent. He loves the big stage. We all do, but he loves to perform

:21:44. > :21:54.in front of big crowds. Mark Allen is coming off the back of his

:21:54. > :21:55.

:21:55. > :22:01.performance as a professional, his best. It was the best I saw him

:22:01. > :22:06.play. Arguably, he played the best snooker of the night session.

:22:06. > :22:12.wonder what that does, looking back at a session like that, knowing you

:22:12. > :22:17.can handle yourself on the big occasion? He will be disappointed

:22:17. > :22:22.not to have won. Unless you get their hands on the trophy... I

:22:22. > :22:29.think he will take the positives out of it. I would say look at how

:22:29. > :22:33.well you played. Learn from it. Be more confident. It will give him

:22:33. > :22:41.more confidence. It is great to play well in a major final, with so

:22:41. > :22:45.much at stake. It is comforting. I am sure it will hold him in good

:22:45. > :22:50.stead. I am sure he has more admirers after that performance in

:22:51. > :22:55.York. If you want to see Mark Allen York. If you want to see Mark Allen

:22:55. > :23:00.against Neil Robertson, you can do so on the red button. There will be

:23:00. > :23:04.highlights thereafter. That is at 11:20pm tonight. Some very good

:23:04. > :23:09.snooker in prospect this evening. And indeed for the rest of the

:23:09. > :23:14.afternoon. We have two former champions of the event. John

:23:15. > :23:22.Higgins is in front at the moment, 3-1. We can get back out there and

:23:22. > :23:24.see how it pans out. Before we do that, we can have a look at how

:23:24. > :23:34.that, we can have a look at how that, we can have a look at how

:23:34. > :23:35.

:23:35. > :23:41.Matthew Stevens is viewed by his fellow professionals.

:23:41. > :23:51.A lot of players in the game are predicting that -- were predicting

:23:51. > :23:52.

:23:52. > :23:55.that Matthew would go down the pan. He proved them wrong. He is similar

:23:55. > :23:59.to Mark Williams, he slipped down the rankings. We did not know if he

:23:59. > :24:06.would come back. He showed what a great player he is an showed his

:24:06. > :24:10.class and get -- got back into the top 16. He is one of the greatest

:24:10. > :24:17.players but he has under-achieved. I thought he would win numerous

:24:17. > :24:22.tournaments. He has, but not as many as I thought. Before he got

:24:22. > :24:29.back into the 16, I said it was the biggest waste of talent in the game.

:24:29. > :24:34.His talent has no limit. His game has everything. He might not win

:24:34. > :24:42.what his talent deserves, we will have to wait and see. He is a top

:24:42. > :24:46.player again. I hope he fulfils that and wins tournaments. He is a

:24:46. > :24:53.fantastic player to watch. When you are on the receiving end and he is

:24:53. > :25:01.playing well... But I love to watch him. It feels like his ability is

:25:01. > :25:04.so strong. He is probably a player who perhaps was getting

:25:04. > :25:09.disheartened with the game. When we had half a dozen tournaments each

:25:10. > :25:15.season. Basically, he would have three months of. What can you do in

:25:16. > :25:20.that time? It is hard to practise for that amount of time without

:25:20. > :25:25.playing in a tournament. I think he has benefited from playing in all

:25:25. > :25:29.these tournaments. It is forcing him to play. He is probably playing

:25:29. > :25:35.more now than in the last five years. He is a wonderful talent and

:25:35. > :25:41.player. He is absolute class around the table. It is great to see him

:25:41. > :25:46.playing well. His rankings are heading in the right direction.

:25:46. > :25:53.of the best players never to have won a World Championship? Without

:25:53. > :26:00.doubt. Matthew enjoy his life. He has a good time. Who can blame him?

:26:00. > :26:10.Everybody is different. Doing nothing but playing snooker seven

:26:10. > :26:13.days a week, everybody is different. But he takes his snooker seriously.

:26:13. > :26:19.But he takes his snooker seriously. HAZEL IRVINE: He comes John and

:26:19. > :26:25.here comes Matthew. Plenty to talk about with these boys. It is a

:26:25. > :26:29.familiar and comfortable line-up. It takes us back when these two

:26:29. > :26:36.were contesting in the later stages of tournaments. It is good to see

:26:36. > :26:46.them here. John Higgins 3-1. The first to six will get into the

:26:46. > :26:46.

:26:46. > :26:55.quarter-finals. John -- JOHN VIRGO: No need to tell you that Matthew

:26:56. > :27:01.Stevens has got to produce in these first couple of frames. They are

:27:01. > :27:11.very important. You do not want somebody of the class of John

:27:11. > :27:11.

:27:11. > :28:48.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:28:48. > :28:58.Higgins stretching a big lead. The That was basically as played. I

:28:58. > :29:04.

:29:05. > :29:09.think there may be a possibility of It is the type of shot that years

:29:09. > :29:17.back people said was risky. But the only red back-row you leave on is

:29:17. > :29:27.the one you miss. -- red you leave. John Higgins decides to play the

:29:27. > :29:29.

:29:29. > :29:39.The pot success is incredible. You have to be 90% at least, I say, 91%

:29:39. > :29:46.

:29:46. > :29:56.John Higgins, 74% Matthew Stevens. Matthew's long pot success is far

:29:56. > :29:56.

:29:56. > :30:06.too low. And his safety success will not be so good after that. He

:30:06. > :30:15.

:30:15. > :30:25.He has just about got away with Unless John Higgins can pick

:30:25. > :30:38.

:30:38. > :30:48.something out. I do not see That was a great effort, it really

:30:48. > :30:53.

:30:53. > :30:57.31 minutes since Matthew Stephen's last potted a ball. I can't

:30:57. > :31:03.remember if it was the frame before the interval, but Matthew played a

:31:03. > :31:07.safety shot and I thought it was an attacking safety shot, it opened

:31:07. > :31:12.the reds and got a good length, but having watched some more of his

:31:12. > :31:19.safety shots, I think it was not on purpose that he did that. He might

:31:19. > :31:26.be slightly hitting across the ball here. He looked very good in the

:31:26. > :31:36.frame that he won but I suppose we all do! If you don't look good in

:31:36. > :31:41.

:31:41. > :31:51.the ones that you win, you are in He was always screwing back to the

:31:51. > :31:51.

:31:51. > :31:59.baulk end, but now the red has gone with it, and he has missed it.

:31:59. > :32:09.don't have to be far-off the middle the ball to miss those on these

:32:09. > :32:09.

:32:09. > :32:18.fast cloths. Didn't get away with it. John Higgins, back in the

:32:18. > :32:23.office. Obviously the interval could have changed things but you

:32:23. > :32:29.would expect John Higgins to score some here. The players have the

:32:29. > :32:34.choice of either a chilling out or going to the practice table. I was

:32:34. > :32:41.in the players' room for a short spell, I saw Matthew in there but I

:32:41. > :32:50.didn't see John. He won to his dressing room, I saw him with a tea

:32:50. > :32:56.or coffee, going to his dressing room. Of course he is a confirmed

:32:56. > :33:06.winner, John Higgins. You can't afford to give him too much rope,

:33:06. > :33:10.

:33:10. > :33:15.he is not frightened of the winning line. Sometimes you don't realise.

:33:15. > :33:25.When I saw the pot success from Matthew, he has got to improve on

:33:25. > :34:01.

:34:01. > :34:11.that, big-time, to have any chance Just about OK. Newly over -- Nearly

:34:11. > :34:19.

:34:19. > :34:29.With so many reds around the black, he has got to be pretty careful to

:34:29. > :34:43.

:34:43. > :34:49.keep in good could -- in good Purposely played the cannon, left

:34:49. > :34:56.himself nicely on the red. He could play for the pink, or he might even

:34:56. > :35:02.decide to play for the blue here. A slight problem, if you play for the

:35:02. > :35:12.pink you have to be perfect, but he got down quick enough so he must be

:35:12. > :35:17.nicely on it. And he was. Lack of course only available into the left

:35:17. > :35:27.corner, but this is a real good chance. He has looked solid enough

:35:27. > :35:41.

:35:41. > :35:45.when he has got in amongst the Lost position on the black but the

:35:45. > :35:55.pink is always available, and this will be a nice frame for John

:35:55. > :36:02.

:36:02. > :36:12.That was missable. A lifeline for Matthew Stephen's in this match.

:36:12. > :36:48.

:36:48. > :36:54.A lot of work to do to win this in one visit. At this level, you

:36:54. > :37:02.expect him to win from here. made a good start. He got perfect

:37:02. > :37:10.position on the blue, but he might have on the hit that slightly. He

:37:10. > :37:20.has got to manoeuvre this cue ball and find the black. As you see,

:37:20. > :37:37.

:37:37. > :37:47.those four reds will make this Couldn't have played that much

:37:47. > :37:57.

:37:57. > :38:02.Could have played that one slightly better. He may have this red that

:38:02. > :38:09.is closest to the cue ball, it may cut into the right corner but it is

:38:09. > :38:13.anything but easy. He killed the white ball a bit. He didn't really

:38:13. > :38:23.get enough off the cushion. He was trying to get a bit more movement

:38:23. > :38:24.

:38:24. > :38:30.with the cue ball. Tough to reach from here. Obviously that is a long

:38:30. > :38:40.reach, even with an extension on the cue. He wants to go for it,

:38:40. > :38:41.

:38:41. > :38:51.that is for certain. He can cut it. Yes, but it is a long way away. It

:38:51. > :38:51.

:38:51. > :38:55.is a Tipperary shot! He might need an extension on an extension.

:38:55. > :39:00.two reds that are in line to the black, the bottom one will go to

:39:00. > :39:06.the left corner. It is very risky, but I think that is what he has

:39:06. > :39:16.decided to play. He has had a locker tip, put it that way. I

:39:16. > :39:22.

:39:22. > :39:32.think it goes, but if he takes it Well played. That was a terrific

:39:32. > :39:41.pot. He would have wished the cue ball stopped may be a foot earlier

:39:41. > :39:46.but nevertheless that is a big hurdle he has got over there.

:39:46. > :39:55.from the other red that he collided with going safe on the cushion, it

:39:55. > :40:01.could have been a frame-winning shot. Still some work to do, but

:40:01. > :40:09.less work. Once he gets a rhythm going, Matthew Stevens, he looks a

:40:09. > :40:19.completely different player. Never struggled amongst the balls. A

:40:19. > :40:19.

:40:19. > :41:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:41:36. > :41:46.He will be disappointed with that. He played for the red in the left

:41:46. > :41:50.

:41:50. > :42:00.corner, now he will have to play If he pots it, it should be on the

:42:00. > :42:03.

:42:03. > :42:13.black. Tricky. What sort of an angle has he got on this black?

:42:13. > :42:36.

:42:36. > :42:44.It now desperately looking for an angle on this black to either

:42:44. > :42:54.disturb this awkward last red... I think he has come a little bit too

:42:54. > :43:00.straight. He has played a beautiful shot, deep screw. He would like to

:43:00. > :43:07.play this left handed. He is overstretching, the red around the

:43:07. > :43:16.black needed. A great shot, there was a lot of pressure on that one.

:43:17. > :43:26.This to go 29 points in front, with 27 remaining. Well played, Matthew

:43:26. > :43:36.Stevens. He needed to take that opportunity, and he has. The yellow

:43:36. > :43:42.

:43:42. > :43:47.His back was firmly against the wall and this is a tremendous reply.

:43:47. > :43:54.OK, he was given the opportunity by his opponent, missing the pink in

:43:54. > :44:02.the middle, but he has done well to take this. The pink was not far-out,

:44:02. > :44:09.but far enough at speed. What a difference 4-1 or 3-2 makes. That

:44:09. > :44:19.is careless, isn't it? He was not trying to do a lot with the green.

:44:19. > :44:40.

:44:40. > :44:44.If he wants to play this at speed, he has got to find a route where he

:44:44. > :44:50.does not risked leaving a free ball. He can go on the outside position,

:44:50. > :44:54.but slowly. Dangerous if he plays this at speed. The problem is, if

:44:54. > :45:00.you don't play this at speed, you set yourself up to be snookered

:45:00. > :45:06.again. Anyway, that is out of the equation. We see it so many times

:45:06. > :45:11.when players just need that one ball to keep their opponent in his

:45:11. > :45:18.seat and they miss it. I know they think the frame is over, a couple

:45:18. > :45:24.of snookers kneaded but you are never certain to be over. That is

:45:24. > :45:29.another excellent snooker from John Higgins, it really is. At actually

:45:29. > :45:39.it is debatable whether going off the side cushion is the best way

:45:39. > :45:41.

:45:41. > :45:48.here. Baulk cushion. That is the way I would prefer to play it. I

:45:48. > :45:53.know what you are saying. Straight up-and-down is better for me.

:45:53. > :45:59.can't be missed because there was so much room around of the green.

:45:59. > :46:03.All of a sudden, that easy green he missed, when he didn't think it was

:46:03. > :46:13.important, can turn around to bite him because there was only one

:46:13. > :46:14.

:46:15. > :46:20.snooker needed. It was one of those shots, if you said "he was �100,

:46:20. > :46:30.don't miss the shot", he would not have missed it. If I offered you a

:46:30. > :46:34.

:46:34. > :46:42.fiver, you wouldn't have missed it! I would settle for two pounds 50. A

:46:42. > :46:49.straight swerve? Yes, right down the line of it, I can tell you it

:46:49. > :46:55.is a big swerve. The problem is now he has all these negative thoughts

:46:55. > :47:05.in his head. The middle pocket maybe in the way, off the left side

:47:05. > :47:08.

:47:08. > :47:18.Ken Doherty was explaining this in the interval, he didn't do it as

:47:18. > :47:23.well as that! Well played. It was excellent. The idea of that shot is

:47:23. > :47:33.not to hit it too hard. Otherwise you give more chance for that spin

:47:33. > :47:39.to grip on the cloth. If he had hit it hard, the spin would not have

:47:39. > :47:47.had time to come into effect. One snooker, and John Higgins is a

:47:47. > :47:51.master of this. Purposely potting the green. He could play a good

:47:51. > :48:01.safety shot, or get the green, so now he will concentrate on the

:48:01. > :48:11.brown. The snookering all will be the black. A bit short of pace, he

:48:11. > :48:17.

:48:17. > :48:26.The one thing you must do is make certain you get the object ball

:48:26. > :48:33.safe. And he didn't, and now a very relieved Matthew Stevens, I would

:48:33. > :48:42.suggest, because this is a frame that could have got away. Where

:48:42. > :48:52.will the cue ball finish? I think that was a relief, the way he

:48:52. > :49:00.

:49:00. > :49:07.bashed the ball. 28 behind, so basically two 5 point snookers to

:49:07. > :49:12.tie. John Higgins will be disappointed to have lost this

:49:12. > :49:19.frame. He had a great chance. He has lost it now, that is for

:49:19. > :49:23.certain. Matthew made an excellent break of 65. He has had a few

:49:23. > :49:30.nervous moments since, but he needed to win the first frame after

:49:30. > :49:35.the mid-session interval. Just one behind at 3-2.

:49:35. > :49:38.That was a key frame for Matthew Stevens, who is attempting to win a

:49:38. > :49:45.match for the first time on television at the Masters for 12

:49:45. > :49:50.years. He's four this title in 2000, but ever since he has been bundled

:49:50. > :50:00.out on every occasion since round one. No wonder he is so keen to

:50:00. > :50:06.make a men's. It is nice to be back. I have not played for five years

:50:06. > :50:11.and I had to qualify to get back in the top 15. It is nice to be back

:50:11. > :50:16.playing against the big boys again. It does seem a bit different to

:50:16. > :50:21.Wembley but the crowds have been great so far when I watched it on

:50:21. > :50:25.television so hopefully it will be no different today. He is probably

:50:25. > :50:31.arguably the best match player there has ever been, and he is a

:50:31. > :50:37.formidable opponent. He has one of the best all-round games. He pots

:50:37. > :50:47.as many long balls as anyone else and his safety game is good so it

:50:47. > :51:00.

:51:00. > :51:07.could be hard work. But if I play He will be looking for a good

:51:07. > :51:14.safety shot here. This is pretty good, but he has left a chance with

:51:14. > :51:24.this red to the left corner. He may be able to drop it in dead weight

:51:24. > :51:40.

:51:40. > :51:48.Good shot, and nailed the cue ball perfectly. I sometimes wonder these

:51:48. > :51:54.days if the break off shot is not a poisoned chalice! This is a fine

:51:54. > :51:59.line at this level. That was a good break off from Matthew, but one

:51:59. > :52:09.good pot and there is nothing he can do now. He has just got to sit

:52:09. > :52:11.

:52:11. > :52:17.in his seat and watch. As I say, it was pretty good. Ronnie O'Sullivan

:52:17. > :52:27.always says you have got to get a foot this side of the baulk line to

:52:27. > :52:33.

:52:33. > :52:41.Are nicely controlled pot by John Higgins. Also an element of safety

:52:41. > :52:51.in that, if he had missed it. The reds are not tightly-packed. It

:52:51. > :53:00.

:53:00. > :53:10.would be very easy to come unstuck Nudging the ball out, that was

:53:10. > :53:30.

:53:30. > :53:35.nicely done. He may be able to get Every player has his own way of

:53:35. > :53:44.going about disturbing reds under opening up the pack. Some like to

:53:44. > :53:52.career into them. John Higgins in this instance has so far just

:53:52. > :53:59.nudged a few out. It is very difficult to teach. Each pack of

:53:59. > :54:03.reds has its own signature. If you don't go into them hard, like John

:54:03. > :54:11.did with the last black, at some stage you have got to disturb them

:54:11. > :54:21.again. I do think the modern day way of the first chance you get,

:54:21. > :54:25.

:54:25. > :54:35.smash them across the table, has Now the opportunity he has been

:54:35. > :54:35.

:54:35. > :54:42.waiting for - pot the blue, cannon the pink full in the face. Just

:54:42. > :54:52.didn't catch the pink fully enough, and it is not perfect. A bit of a

:54:52. > :54:58.disappointed look from John, as he walked around the table. Not happy

:54:58. > :55:04.with that one. A tough shot coming up now, and he knows that Matthew

:55:04. > :55:09.Stevens is there, ready and waiting, should he make a mistake. And after

:55:09. > :55:19.messing up the break in the last frame, perhaps even a bit more

:55:19. > :55:27.

:55:27. > :55:37.He has got away with it. Or has he? Can Matthew Stevens caught the red

:55:37. > :55:52.

:55:52. > :56:02.Can he get past the black? It looks like a thin one. If the problem is,

:56:02. > :56:08.

:56:08. > :56:15.he has to put right hand side on it, A good safety. A excellent. Just

:56:15. > :56:25.needs to run on a bit, and it is pretty good. If I think John has an

:56:25. > :56:40.

:56:40. > :56:45.I don't think he has got the snooker. He can just get through to

:56:45. > :56:52.the edge of this red to get the cue ball back to baulk. He has to be

:56:53. > :57:02.careful not to knock the cue ball over here... That was an excellent

:57:03. > :57:24.

:57:25. > :57:30.shot. Just could have done with it That is about the best you can do

:57:30. > :57:36.only that, so no real pressure on Matthew Stevens. He has the chance

:57:36. > :57:45.to play a good safety. I and just wondering if he will think about

:57:45. > :57:50.the pot here. Does it go? problem with this type of shot,

:57:50. > :58:00.because you are just slightly more than half ball, the red could go

:58:00. > :58:00.

:58:01. > :58:10.back up the table with the white. He did play the pot. It is not a

:58:11. > :58:29.

:58:29. > :58:39.That is an excellent shot. That was so difficult. Hampered as he was,

:58:39. > :58:50.

:58:51. > :58:57.he could not have played it any The safety shot goes astray from

:58:58. > :59:07.Matthew Stevens but has he done any damage? At first sight, no, until

:59:08. > :59:20.

:59:20. > :59:27.you see what John Higgins is lining He will be very disappointed with

:59:27. > :59:31.the positional side of that. Especially if he considered it was

:59:31. > :59:41.nailed on as a pot, but he has got the yellow into the middle. He may

:59:41. > :00:00.

:00:00. > :00:06.He forced the angle more than anything, and that was a very good

:00:06. > :00:12.accurate pot. We talk about heavy contact, but when you hit the ball

:00:12. > :00:17.at that pace the cue ball can leave the table, and it is always the

:00:17. > :00:22.object ball. Just a bit close to the cushion for comfort. Yes, this

:00:22. > :00:32.is very missable. He has a choice of reds - one into the middle, one

:00:32. > :00:42.

:00:42. > :00:52.into the corner. The middle pocket He is on the black. He will take it

:00:52. > :01:00.

:01:00. > :01:10.He had the perfect gap and he controlled the cue ball. The frame

:01:10. > :01:15.

:01:16. > :01:19.is at his mercy. 65 ahead, 83 A bit lucky when he missed that red

:01:19. > :01:29.earlier that he did not lead Stevens an opening. We could have

:01:29. > :01:40.

:01:40. > :01:45.Usually when it you miss when it you are in, as John Higgins did in

:01:45. > :01:55.the last frame when he missed the pink, he left an easy opening and

:01:55. > :02:01.

:02:01. > :02:05.Matthew Stevens won the frame but If you are playing for a red and

:02:05. > :02:15.you play for a colour, you might not be on another red but if you

:02:15. > :02:21.

:02:21. > :02:28.miss, you do not know where the Yes, that was a very small.! --

:02:28. > :02:38.point! He tried to disturb this but he has not developed. Unless he

:02:38. > :02:42.

:02:42. > :02:52.cuts the red back. But the frame is He has conceded. John Higgins opens

:02:52. > :02:58.

:02:59. > :03:05.And when we were in a situation earlier and Matthew Stevens had to

:03:05. > :03:09.earlier and Matthew Stevens had to play a big shot, just watch. You

:03:09. > :03:17.cannot hit that too hard but when you strike down, the ball leaves

:03:17. > :03:24.the table and the right hand side, that is spinning. He is certainly

:03:24. > :03:28.getting some action. Look at the ball, spinning, spinning. The

:03:28. > :03:38.slower you hit it, the more chance you did that the grip to take

:03:38. > :03:39.

:03:39. > :03:43.Ken Doherty said that is exactly what I did at the interval. In the

:03:43. > :03:51.grand scheme of this match, this is the nitty-gritty. What is

:03:51. > :03:56.separating the players? It was a fantastic break to get to 3-2. John

:03:56. > :04:03.missed a difficult red and was fortunate to get away with it. If

:04:03. > :04:07.he let a chance, Stevens would have taken it. Your perspective? I think

:04:07. > :04:14.John is more consistent with the balls and the safety. The all round

:04:14. > :04:20.game comes into play. Particularly when it gets a bit tight. John is a

:04:20. > :04:25.bit more consistent. But Stevens has flashes of brilliance and when

:04:25. > :04:31.he gets a chance like he did in the previous frame, he took it. But

:04:31. > :04:35.when it comes down, John plays clever shots and but smack you in a

:04:35. > :04:40.difficult situation. Not straight forward safety shots but he is

:04:40. > :04:48.trying to put him in a situation where it is difficult. When he

:04:48. > :04:55.dances, if he does miss, he keeps the pressure on all the time.

:04:55. > :05:00.looking at that, 85 % for John Higgins and 74 %, Matthew Stevens.

:05:00. > :05:10.It really is just a slight lead and that is manifesting itself. Two

:05:10. > :05:29.

:05:29. > :05:33.JOHN VIRGO: John Higgins gets frame Sat next to the scorer, Mark Allen.

:05:33. > :05:43.He is trying to get a feel for the new venue for his match tonight

:05:43. > :05:53.

:05:54. > :06:03.That should be a cracker. Watch As was that. Struck you should

:06:04. > :06:04.

:06:04. > :06:09.leave. Not lacking few power, Michie Stevens. -- Matthew Stevens.

:06:09. > :06:19.Missing the brown into the pocket but a shot he had to default. A

:06:19. > :06:26.

:06:26. > :06:36.A bit of noise in the crowd. Fortunately he has got time. But

:06:36. > :07:05.

:07:05. > :07:11.pressure on this shot. But well 8 little trace of unwanted side.

:07:11. > :07:17.That has been a problem since the game began. You think you are going

:07:17. > :07:27.to help it. A bit of left-hand side and pushed it across. Just a

:07:27. > :07:36.

:07:36. > :07:40.What a let-off. He has not left an easy red which he could have done.

:07:40. > :07:50.He will be pleased to be back at the table and that miss cost

:07:50. > :07:50.

:07:50. > :08:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:08:53. > :09:01.The idea was to hit one red onto the other and screw back to the

:09:01. > :09:07.baulk. It has just about worked. was a fantastic shot. He was in all

:09:07. > :09:13.sorts of trouble. He would have considered himself unfortunate it

:09:13. > :09:18.that red had stuck but he got away with it. He deserved it. It is

:09:18. > :09:27.these types of shots which you must understand as a top player. Play

:09:27. > :09:37.the percentage game. He might have put Matthew in a bit of trouble. I

:09:37. > :09:40.

:09:40. > :09:46.am sure he can get to the back of Not as much trouble as it looked.

:09:46. > :09:56.Great shot. I thought, looking at the body language bit for the shot,

:09:56. > :10:12.

:10:12. > :10:18.I thought he was in trouble. Four- That is the thing for John Higgins.

:10:18. > :10:25.That is one of the best safety shots Matthew Stevens has played.

:10:25. > :10:33.John Higgins replies with an even better safety. That is what makes

:10:33. > :10:43.it tough. Even though players are very good off the cushion, when you

:10:43. > :10:52.

:10:52. > :10:57.get it tight on the cushion, it He needs to avoid kissing the blue.

:10:57. > :11:05.And the brown, if he can. A decent effort but a possibility of a red

:11:05. > :11:15.to the left corner. I think he can find a path for the cue ball. He

:11:15. > :11:29.

:11:29. > :11:39.He played it nicely and firmly screwed back in and out of baulk.

:11:39. > :11:43.

:11:43. > :11:47.That was all he was left with that. A snooker. When it rolling the ball

:11:47. > :11:53.to the yellow like that, John Higgins prefers to play below

:11:53. > :12:03.centre. He can hit the cue ball a bit harder and kill the white. Some

:12:03. > :12:10.players like that shot but others He is playing the two-cushion

:12:11. > :12:17.escape with pace. I think I would have tried to come off two cushions

:12:17. > :12:27.and get just below the black. Give that a chance. I think as a safety

:12:27. > :12:44.

:12:44. > :12:51.shot that was too aggressive. He He got down pretty quickly on that

:12:51. > :13:01.shot. He should have looked for a place to drop. That was very

:13:01. > :13:04.

:13:04. > :13:10.The Daily thing in his defence was the middle pocket. -- the only

:13:10. > :13:17.thing. But he could have gone the other side with a lot of side spin

:13:17. > :13:24.and made the angle but whatever, I think his choice was adventurous.

:13:24. > :13:34.But it could be costly. But the computer does not know the system

:13:34. > :13:41.

:13:41. > :13:51.He will not be happy with that. Mainly because when he pots the

:13:51. > :13:53.

:13:53. > :13:57.black, he cannot avoid the red. Can he control the cue ball? Well! It

:13:57. > :14:07.seemed to stay there for ages. Matthew must have thought it was

:14:07. > :14:13.

:14:13. > :14:20.going to stop but gravity took over I have noticed on a few of these

:14:20. > :14:29.tables that we have played on, it does appear like the fall of the

:14:29. > :14:34.slate not been as sharp as it has been on some occasions. It can be

:14:34. > :14:44.very sharp or it can be very rounded. That makes a difference to

:14:44. > :15:15.

:15:15. > :15:21.We could do a whole feature on that. Of course, if he was to win this

:15:21. > :15:27.frame, he would be one away from victory in this match. That would

:15:27. > :15:31.really mean trouble for Matthew. He will be a bit disappointed. He knew

:15:31. > :15:40.when he came out today that's nothing but his best would be good

:15:41. > :15:46.enough against John Higgins. He has not quite produced. Understandable.

:15:46. > :15:56.It is a long where way from the spotlight. I am not counting him

:15:56. > :16:04.

:16:04. > :16:14.out just yet. But he needs to raise That 79 % is not good enough at

:16:14. > :16:44.

:16:44. > :16:54.He ran too far. A change of Just about retained position. But

:16:54. > :16:54.

:16:54. > :17:04.not as he would have liked. One good pot getting across the line.

:17:04. > :17:04.

:17:04. > :18:00.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:18:00. > :18:06.Played that nicely. Black to get 59 Not quite dead but the frame is

:18:06. > :18:12.over. Matthew Stevens did not get a chance. He played an adventurous

:18:12. > :18:22.escape but did not succeed. John Higgins in two visits has an won

:18:22. > :18:22.

:18:22. > :18:27.that frame comfortably. 5-2 in front. That was all from that

:18:27. > :18:31.escape from Matthew Stevens from behind the yellow. He decided to

:18:31. > :18:38.play the two-cushion escape. Looking at the table, we were

:18:38. > :18:44.talking about getting behind the black. Perhaps just before the

:18:44. > :18:52.middle jaw of the pocket and it would possibly have gone up. I did

:18:52. > :18:58.it was worth a try. But he did not, did he? It was a very tough shot to

:18:58. > :19:08.judge. It was a bit thick and he had an excellent chance, John

:19:08. > :19:18.

:19:18. > :19:21.Higgins will stop --. It needed a That trophy is looking quite a long

:19:21. > :19:31.way away for Matthew Stevens at the moment. One frame needed for John

:19:31. > :19:36.

:19:36. > :19:46.Higgins. He has caught that break much too full. The cue ball is not

:19:46. > :20:04.

:20:04. > :20:10.close to the baulk cushion. Could He does not let you down often but

:20:10. > :20:16.that type of shot, John Higgins. Matthew Stevens was frustrated with

:20:16. > :20:20.the break. His safety has not been up to scratch. He has not played

:20:20. > :20:25.badly but he will be disappointed with the accuracy of these types of

:20:26. > :20:35.shots. You must keep a player like John Higgins nailed to the bottom

:20:36. > :20:45.

:20:45. > :20:51.I can only assume that the break, he was playing with left-hand side

:20:51. > :20:59.and he might have played it with too much. We had a little bit of

:20:59. > :21:09.movement. That is what he has done with a lot of safety shots, he has

:21:09. > :21:09.

:21:09. > :21:15.not pushed through straight like he He has worked very hard to get back

:21:15. > :21:21.into the top 16 and to get a place at the Masters. But that is not the

:21:21. > :21:31.end, is it? You have got to play well because you are in the real

:21:31. > :21:58.

:21:58. > :22:08.Pink spot available. We do not have any other spot available. In a

:22:08. > :22:12.situation like this the blue would be a nice ball to break the pack.

:22:12. > :22:22.He has not chosen to play that shot and I would imagine he is going to

:22:22. > :22:31.

:22:31. > :22:41.Not marvellous but one has put the nose out. Just click of them up

:22:41. > :22:41.

:22:41. > :22:51.more than anything. -- flicked off them. He has got a little bit to do

:22:51. > :22:57.

:22:57. > :23:04.with the cue ball. He might be able Where is the red ball going?! You

:23:04. > :23:14.cannot believe it. That is the last thing Matthew needed. Not after the

:23:14. > :23:14.

:23:14. > :23:22.position that he is in. The dreaded fluke. A chance to smash into the

:23:22. > :23:32.reds if he wants as well. It could be a fatal blow. But John did the

:23:32. > :23:39.

:23:39. > :23:43.honourable thing. Yes, he missed As soon as I saw it get near that

:23:43. > :23:53.brown, I thought, it is going in the pocket. It did. But he did not

:23:53. > :23:57.

:23:57. > :24:02.A very attacking safety shot. He has opened up all the reds. He has

:24:02. > :24:12.got a lead and Matthew must produce something here. I am not sure if he

:24:12. > :24:17.

:24:17. > :24:27.can play a part but if he cannot, It is coming up to 17 minutes since

:24:27. > :24:29.

:24:29. > :24:35.he last potted able. -- a ball. Well at get back to baulk? He is

:24:35. > :24:39.looking at the two red. They are not far from a plant. A little gap

:24:39. > :24:49.in between but it is one of those, if you take it on, he has got to

:24:49. > :24:53.

:24:53. > :25:03.A red went back to baulk. That could be his last shot in the

:25:03. > :25:03.

:25:03. > :25:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:25:52. > :26:00.It is looking like a comfortable path through to the next round for

:26:00. > :26:10.John Higgins. Not something you always get at the Masters. But they

:26:10. > :26:32.

:26:32. > :26:42.One good pot a way, perhaps? Lost position slightly. You would expect

:26:42. > :26:51.

:26:51. > :26:59.You can tell when a player is a bit edgy, when they hit harder than

:26:59. > :27:09.necessary. It is not like him to be frightened of the winning line. He

:27:09. > :27:11.

:27:11. > :27:16.did not hit that smoothly at all. A last chance for Matthew. If the

:27:16. > :27:26.black had been on the spot it would have been a very realistic chance.

:27:26. > :27:31.

:27:31. > :27:37.It is a bit harder because of that He cam pot the red and get the

:27:37. > :27:40.black on the spot but it is a risk. Would you want to risk the black?

:27:40. > :27:50.That is where the difference is between the practice tables and

:27:50. > :27:51.

:27:51. > :28:01.for the black, all day long. He has taken the chance. A little bit

:28:01. > :28:04.

:28:04. > :28:07.straight on hit. How is it looking? Straight enough. He can play for

:28:07. > :28:17.one of the reds in the middle pocket if he cannot escape from the

:28:17. > :28:22.

:28:22. > :28:27.A lot harder than he would have liked on this red. But with his

:28:27. > :28:34.back to the wall, not exactly caution to the wind, but before it

:28:34. > :28:41.and see what happens. -- but see what happens. He will not be happy

:28:41. > :28:48.with that. I said that could be his last chance. I do not think he has

:28:48. > :28:58.got away with that. He has left a nice and easy starter. John Higgins

:28:58. > :29:04.

:29:04. > :29:10.has got a 29. Lead coming to the He will be a bit disappointed. But

:29:10. > :29:19.he is on the comeback trail and it is great to see him back. He just

:29:19. > :29:22.has to sharpen up a little bit more. I have referred to his safety. A

:29:23. > :29:32.couple of shots might need a little bit more thought and would have

:29:33. > :29:53.

:29:53. > :29:56.helped. But he has got all the Just basically this red. You would

:29:56. > :30:06.be surprised if Matthew Stevens had a chance to come back to the table

:30:06. > :30:18.

:30:18. > :30:22.I think what we have got is what we expected from John Higgins. It was

:30:22. > :30:29.a thoroughly professional performance. Taking advantage of

:30:29. > :30:32.mistakes and that is what he has done. You cannot argue with this

:30:32. > :30:42.performance from John Higgins. Pretty solid for the First round.

:30:42. > :30:49.

:30:49. > :30:59.He will be pleased he got past this Going through the gears as the

:30:59. > :31:06.

:31:06. > :31:14.tournament progresses, that is what The yellow will not go in, but

:31:14. > :31:19.Matthew is on his way back, just needs to tighten up a bit. John

:31:19. > :31:22.Higgins does not need to use too much excess energy, as he goes

:31:22. > :31:28.through to the quarter final. Would you believe that is his first

:31:28. > :31:32.victory at the Masters since 2009. He made a run to the semi-finals

:31:32. > :31:37.there, but we have been talking about his record. He has not been

:31:37. > :31:44.happy with his last few years and he will be relieved. Ken and

:31:44. > :31:50.Stephen, your assessment of the way he played? No not his best. We are

:31:50. > :31:56.used to seeing him make more century breaks, but he was solid.

:31:56. > :32:00.don't think... I mean he will be happy to have won. A bit like Judd

:32:00. > :32:05.Trump yesterday, happy to have got through but he didn't make any

:32:05. > :32:09.great waves. I don't think he will be best pleased with the way he won

:32:09. > :32:15.but he will be happy with the result. John Higgins is so

:32:15. > :32:20.consistent, he plays the right shots. As they said in commentary,

:32:20. > :32:28.when the pressure is put on him, he can move through the gears and he

:32:28. > :32:34.does it easily and politically. could have been 4-1, and suddenly

:32:34. > :32:44.he was being pushed. That is what he is so good at. Yes, when he sees

:32:44. > :32:49.the winning line, there is never any doubt in his mind who will win.

:32:49. > :32:56.And he had a lot of good luck! were just saying your first victory

:32:56. > :33:01.at the Masters since 2009. Obviously I played OK. I missed a

:33:01. > :33:09.few, I was a bit nervous at the end. Obviously the last game I played

:33:09. > :33:14.was at the UK Championships. I was lucky Matthew missed his shot. When

:33:14. > :33:21.you have missed a chance like that, you always think your opponent will

:33:21. > :33:26.clear up. Nevertheless, we were just saying you had a chance to go

:33:26. > :33:34.4-1 ahead, but you seemed to be able to find something to Paul away.

:33:34. > :33:43.I knew that the pink was a big shot. I knew then after that you are

:33:43. > :33:47.really in control of the game, and that is your chance. Matthew didn't

:33:47. > :33:53.play great, he potted some long balls but he missed a couple he

:33:53. > :33:57.never normally will miss. I know you have won this a couple of times

:33:57. > :34:02.but it is not one of the tournaments you have played

:34:02. > :34:11.consistently it in over the years. Is there a reason for that? Is it

:34:11. > :34:15.because it is January, after Christmas? Too much turkey! I just

:34:15. > :34:21.could never settle down. When it went to Wembley Arena, this is a

:34:21. > :34:29.lot better atmosphere. You are more enclosed. I don't know, I am

:34:29. > :34:35.delighted I have won it twice. knew consider the crowd in there

:34:35. > :34:39.today, you were enthusiastic about finding out what it was like, but

:34:39. > :34:45.there are 1500 seats in here. What does it feel like in the arena?

:34:45. > :34:52.feels a lot better. You are not as enclosed as at the Crucible but

:34:52. > :34:57.more so than at Wembley Arena. I think it is great. It is fantastic.

:34:58. > :35:02.I love for the conference centre, I have had great success there, but

:35:02. > :35:06.you always like it when the crowd is closer. So many people have come

:35:06. > :35:11.here and the crowds have been fantastic. That is always a great

:35:11. > :35:16.welcome for the players. There is nothing worse than playing in an

:35:16. > :35:26.empty venue. Even the importance of this tournament, it is difficult to

:35:26. > :35:28.

:35:28. > :35:32.get excited about those games. It gives every player more to get

:35:32. > :35:37.excited about. Is it difficult to come back and relying your goals

:35:37. > :35:43.and ambitions after such a successful time? I always thought

:35:43. > :35:48.something like that would happen because you put a lot of mental

:35:48. > :35:53.preparation in to it, but I always knew there would be a dip. At the

:35:53. > :35:58.start of the season, it takes a while to get yourself into it. In

:35:58. > :36:03.the tournaments, all the players are a bit off in the air, trying to

:36:03. > :36:13.keep yourself as fresh as you possibly can. Everybody always

:36:13. > :36:18.looks at the world championship, it is only natural. Look no, it is

:36:18. > :36:26.great the amount of tournaments we have got to enter into, but the

:36:26. > :36:31.older players with a family, you will probably pick and choose your

:36:31. > :36:35.tournaments. Younger players like Judd Trump will be loving it, but

:36:35. > :36:42.all the players will be choosing more. Are you consciously stepping

:36:42. > :36:52.up your preparation ahead of the bigger ones? Yes, we have three or

:36:52. > :36:53.

:36:53. > :36:59.four big events, the Welsh and the China open, and a brand new event

:36:59. > :37:04.just off China as well. Some big events to sharpen up your game for

:37:04. > :37:10.the World Championship, and this one as well have course. We were

:37:10. > :37:18.chatting to Stephen in the interval about someone who wrote in and

:37:18. > :37:23.asked if anyone would dominate as Stephen has over the years, and

:37:23. > :37:27.Judd Trump was suggested. What is your view on his potential?

:37:27. > :37:34.likes of him will bring through people like Mark Allen quicker,

:37:34. > :37:39.Mark Selby, they have been there for a few years. Mark Selby is the

:37:39. > :37:44.world number one, but they were the people who a lot was expected from,

:37:44. > :37:50.but now Judd Trump has taken the limelight. It won't affect the

:37:50. > :37:54.likes of the older players because we have been there for so long. He

:37:54. > :38:01.say hat off to Judd Trump, but people like Mark Allen will be

:38:01. > :38:11.jealous because he is getting all up the plaudits right now, rightly

:38:11. > :38:12.

:38:12. > :38:16.so. I know Judd Trump has a lot of years on him, but the standard is

:38:16. > :38:23.very high. Not only at the top, but all the way down. It will be

:38:23. > :38:27.difficult for someone like Judd Trump, marker learnt or even Mark

:38:27. > :38:33.Selby to dominate in the way some players have before. There are too

:38:33. > :38:39.many good players now, all the way down the list. I don't think the

:38:39. > :38:45.snooker standard has got that much better than the 90s, but the

:38:45. > :38:49.standard ball the way down is much higher. Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy,

:38:49. > :38:53.although they are quite high up the rankings, they have got to step up

:38:53. > :39:00.and start winning. Mark Selby has never been a prolific winner of

:39:00. > :39:07.tournaments. The way the rankings change so quickly, if you are not

:39:07. > :39:17.getting results quickly, you see them go down. Ali Carter and Graeme

:39:17. > :39:17.

:39:17. > :39:21.Dott is your next opponent. An interesting match. Obviously the

:39:21. > :39:27.way Graeme Dott has played, this is the best he has started off this

:39:27. > :39:31.season. He got to the Brazilian open final and has been very

:39:31. > :39:39.consistent in other events. The way he has been playing, he has got to

:39:39. > :39:47.be favourite for that match. As you say, if Ali Carter can get his head

:39:47. > :39:53.right, he can be a contender. you stay? Dinner tonight, he just

:39:53. > :39:58.doesn't know it yet! Lovely to see you. We have some time before we

:39:58. > :40:03.are due to come off there so we will reflect on last night's match.

:40:03. > :40:13.We will pick this up one frame apiece. This is an intriguing match,

:40:13. > :40:17.

:40:17. > :40:27.and it is John Parrott and Dennis Taylor: this one. -- commentating

:40:27. > :40:32.

:40:32. > :40:42.He tried it, simply because he knew he was not going to leave anything

:40:42. > :40:53.

:40:53. > :41:03.I'm not sure if the red goes into the middle pocket. He can get

:41:03. > :41:12.

:41:12. > :41:22.through to that one. And what a Just signs that Shaun Murphy is

:41:22. > :41:22.

:41:22. > :42:17.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:42:17. > :42:23.starting to cube a little better. - He had an option, one in the right

:42:23. > :42:33.hand middle, but this one to the left corner is perfect. He will

:42:33. > :42:46.

:42:46. > :42:54.leave himself on the black. He's For you can count on one hand in

:42:54. > :43:04.the world of snooker people who cue better than this man. Absolutely

:43:04. > :43:09.

:43:09. > :43:14.Just before I finished playing, I remember having three days practise

:43:14. > :43:19.with Shaun. He had not long turned professional and he used to play

:43:19. > :43:24.with a strange tip, one that was really spongy. In fact it was

:43:24. > :43:30.faulty, but he used to play with this. I remember thinking he could

:43:30. > :43:34.cue the ball as nicely as any player I had ever seen. People who

:43:34. > :43:43.are interested technically in the game, watch how far he takes the

:43:43. > :43:47.cue back. It does all the work. Plenty of time, get your arise

:43:47. > :43:57.transferred on to the object ball, but it also gives you a tremendous

:43:57. > :43:57.

:43:57. > :44:39.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:44:39. > :44:47.amount of cue power. It is very It is lovely to watch the way he

:44:47. > :44:57.break builds. He made 36 centuries last season, and 22 already this

:44:57. > :45:16.

:45:16. > :45:26.season. He is getting plenty of That was a great example of how to

:45:26. > :45:39.

:45:39. > :45:42.He is hitting it very well now. I know we half-back, but missing that

:45:42. > :45:52.green from Martin might have changed this match a little bit. He

:45:52. > :46:03.

:46:03. > :46:07.started off very well, but he let How many times does it happen that

:46:07. > :46:12.you miss a shot like that and you never get another chance. Martin

:46:12. > :46:20.will be hoping that is not the case here this evening, but Shaun Murphy

:46:20. > :46:30.is starting to look very fluent. It is not going to be easy to make a

:46:30. > :46:36.

:46:36. > :46:46.That is perfectly played, a terrific shot. He could flick the

:46:46. > :46:49.

:46:49. > :46:59.other red out when he pots this in. Just about! I don't think he can

:46:59. > :47:05.

:47:05. > :47:15.move this red but he can screw up in behind it. He could, but he

:47:15. > :47:42.

:47:42. > :47:49.screwed in behind it! I'm no a man That is another century. Ronnie

:47:49. > :47:57.O'Sullivan still has the highest break, a break of 125. If he could

:47:57. > :48:03.pot the brown and develop the blue, he could equalled that high break.

:48:03. > :48:13.He played to leave it down the cushion. We know he will have no

:48:13. > :48:15.

:48:15. > :48:21.problem getting back on to the pink with his cue action. He did make

:48:21. > :48:28.the century, and he gets himself 2- 1 in front.

:48:28. > :48:33.Shaun Murphy clearly in good nick and he knocked in and 82 en route

:48:33. > :48:37.to a 4-2 advantage. We are going to join them again in frame seven

:48:37. > :48:47.early on. This is not a straight forward

:48:47. > :48:48.

:48:48. > :48:58.escape shot here. I think there is a gap on the one to the right of

:48:58. > :49:12.

:49:12. > :49:17.I wonder if the black will pot. Where he has the tip of his cue, if

:49:17. > :49:21.he could pot the red, you can see the black would be available but he

:49:21. > :49:28.will have to pot that because he would put Shaun Murphy right in

:49:28. > :49:33.among them. This, in the context of the match, is a massive shot. If he

:49:33. > :49:43.knocks this in, it could be a frame winner, but otherwise he could lose

:49:43. > :49:45.

:49:45. > :49:50.the frame. Martin will need a little bit of good luck. He will

:49:50. > :49:55.need his opponent to miss. He may have to take one into the middle

:49:55. > :49:59.pocket because he didn't get the cue ball where he wanted. If he had

:49:59. > :50:09.potted that red, he would not have finished on the black. This should

:50:09. > :50:19.be pretty comfortable. The chance is certainly there. There was a lot

:50:19. > :50:35.

:50:35. > :50:39.riding on that last shot that It is not bad. He has the one into

:50:39. > :50:44.the middle pocket and he can get on to the black. He will come round to

:50:44. > :50:54.make sure, but we know from the picture we showed you recently that

:50:54. > :51:18.

:51:18. > :51:28.The red immediately above the black spot will be moved now, so all the

:51:28. > :52:07.

:52:07. > :52:17.while he is developing the reds Finished a little awkward. He is

:52:17. > :52:37.

:52:37. > :52:41.Not a problem. He has got himself back into positive mode here. He

:52:41. > :52:51.looked a bit shaky from the frame before, but he has recovered well

:52:51. > :52:56.

:52:56. > :53:01.You can get matches were your long potting is off, but once you get

:53:01. > :53:06.amongst the pink and black, there is not really a problem. Simply

:53:06. > :53:16.because you are not having to force anything. It is all pretty close

:53:16. > :53:34.

:53:34. > :53:39.There is the thing to do - when in doubt, get back up off the shot. It

:53:39. > :53:49.is a bit like a golf shot, if you carry on when you haven't made your

:53:49. > :53:50.

:53:50. > :53:58.mind up, you usually make a mess of it. If you start again, just

:53:58. > :54:08.working out what to do. Those three reds on the right side of the table

:54:08. > :54:15.

:54:15. > :54:24.He can just leave the white in the middle of those three reds and he

:54:24. > :54:30.will have a few options available. That is just about perfect. He can

:54:30. > :54:40.drop this black in. If he can avoid the cannon, it will be better. He

:54:40. > :54:43.

:54:43. > :54:53.will just finish in the middle of the three reds. He has stunned it

:54:53. > :55:09.

:55:09. > :55:16.We said at the start of this break, Dennis, that was a massive red that

:55:16. > :55:23.Martin was taking on. When it came to fruition, it is either one of

:55:23. > :55:32.those that you get and you take the frame, or you miss and you lose the

:55:32. > :55:42.frame. Here is the long red, and he has had to watch as Shaun Murphy

:55:42. > :55:47.

:55:47. > :55:51.That shot we are talking about, it is the type of shot, if you are

:55:51. > :55:56.working with the sports psychologist, and there are a lot

:55:56. > :56:00.coming into the game, you have got to think if final kick in I am

:56:00. > :56:10.going to win the frame, but it is sometimes the case that you think

:56:10. > :56:26.

:56:26. > :56:35.He has had 107, 59, 82, and three frames in a row. That one just went

:56:35. > :56:45.a bit too far. He wanted to pot it missed a few balls this evening but

:56:45. > :56:47.

:56:47. > :56:52.his scoring has still been very good. I don't think that will go in.

:56:52. > :56:57.Martin has made one mistake and that is all that talk. Shaun Murphy

:56:57. > :57:07.extends his lead to 5-2, just one away from a place in the quarter-

:57:07. > :57:15.

:57:15. > :57:20.REFEREE: Don't call out when I think this cloth is slipping

:57:20. > :57:28.quite a bit. They are not getting round behind the yellow. It has

:57:28. > :57:32.been prominent all night, this red. The trouble is, Martin has not

:57:32. > :57:42.potted to many of them. He is looking a little bit disillusioned

:57:42. > :57:43.

:57:43. > :58:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 81 seconds

:58:31. > :58:38.Her absolutely spot-on. A couple of reds to the left, one to the right.

:58:38. > :58:44.No need to play it any cannons yet. He could go into the pink if he

:58:45. > :58:49.wanted to, but there are three reds available. So, it is into the pink.

:58:49. > :58:54.He has finished on one, but it could have been a lot better. He

:58:54. > :59:04.didn't quite hit the pink full ball. If this one goes into the middle,

:59:04. > :59:15.

:59:15. > :59:21.I am not so sure that one in the centre goes, to be honest with you.

:59:21. > :59:26.It is not like the old days, with the nap on the jaw when you could

:59:26. > :59:35.bend it in. That is because the cloth is so thin, there is not that

:59:35. > :59:40.much nap on the cloth. Shaun Murphy will be trying to get this match

:59:40. > :59:46.over with as quickly as possible. They played in the UK, and it

:59:46. > :59:49.looked like he was winning quite comfortably. I know that because

:59:49. > :59:54.Willie Thorne had booked his table for dinner and it looked like his

:59:54. > :00:01.commentary stint was over. Then Martin came back and made it a

:00:01. > :00:11.tough match, 6-4 in the end. Willie was late for dinner, so he won't

:00:11. > :00:30.

:00:30. > :00:40.That is a classic of Shaun Murphy's cue action. Watch the cue ball. It

:00:40. > :00:56.

:00:56. > :01:00.stops and then it keeps on spinning. He scores heavily, Shaun Murphy. He

:01:00. > :01:05.has missed one and two balls he would not expect him to miss, but

:01:05. > :01:15.when he is in amongst them, he looks like he will score and he has

:01:15. > :01:17.

:01:17. > :01:22.That was an interesting shot. By thought he was going to play up for

:01:22. > :01:28.the blue. If he had a choice again, he would do. It has not quite

:01:28. > :01:38.worked out. He has hampered himself. I do not know what shot he played.

:01:38. > :01:49.

:01:49. > :01:58.He left himself high on the black. The only shots he has missed are a

:01:58. > :02:06.couple of long ones. But not this time. He still has to make another

:02:06. > :02:16.one. He already looked to see if he potted the blue, there was a gap

:02:16. > :02:23.

:02:23. > :02:33.That was no problem. He is pretty good with the rest. He does not

:02:33. > :02:45.

:02:45. > :02:55.That is the type of shot he hits as good as anybody in the game. He

:02:55. > :03:02.

:03:02. > :03:07.gets so much work out of the cue Aside from the positional shot, a

:03:07. > :03:17.couple of shots ago, this has been excellent. It required a long blue

:03:17. > :03:19.

:03:19. > :03:23.If you asked if he is capable of winning the Masters, it would be a

:03:23. > :03:29.resounding yes. There are so many good players here at Alexandra

:03:29. > :03:39.Palace, but he has the capability. Every tournament he enters he

:03:39. > :03:46.

:03:46. > :03:56.should think he has a chance of His eighth appearance in the

:03:56. > :04:10.

:04:10. > :04:15.Masters. He has lost in four That is the one that means that

:04:15. > :04:22.Martin Gould will be going out in the first round. It is his first

:04:22. > :04:29.Masters. It started well for Martin Gould. That one green we mentioned

:04:29. > :04:39.on numerous occasions seemed to turn the match around. Just coming

:04:39. > :04:44.

:04:44. > :04:54.There he is into the Nineties with his pot success rate, which is what

:04:54. > :05:12.

:05:12. > :05:22.Another terrific crowd in this evening at the Alexandra Palace,

:05:22. > :05:33.

:05:33. > :05:41.125 is the highest break so far. We are only in day to. Shaun Murphy

:05:41. > :05:51.had 107 in the third frame. -- des two. His scoring has been

:05:51. > :05:55.

:05:55. > :06:00.impressive. 107, 59, 82 and these If you cannot score heavily in the

:06:00. > :06:10.modern game, you will not win anything. At the moment, this is

:06:10. > :06:27.

:06:27. > :06:31.If he could clear the colours up it would set the target. It would take

:06:31. > :06:41.a little bit of beating, but the standard is so high these days,

:06:41. > :06:49.

:06:49. > :06:54.even 139 might not take the high Fabulous cueing in this break. As

:06:54. > :07:03.he maintains -- if he maintains the scoring form, he will be difficult

:07:03. > :07:06.to play. This has been an excellent break. Yes, it is the fourth time

:07:06. > :07:15.these players have match. Martin Gould looked like he would break

:07:15. > :07:20.the run. It was not to be. He started well, but Shaun Murphy, the

:07:20. > :07:27.former world champion, applauds the crowd. Rightly so, because he has

:07:27. > :07:28.finished in style. He takes the finished in style. He takes the

:07:28. > :07:33.finished in style. He takes the match 6-2.

:07:33. > :07:37.Just pleased to get into the next round. This is not an event that is

:07:37. > :07:42.good for me historically, which is a shame, because it is a great

:07:42. > :07:48.tournament. Maybe the new venue will be a new start. I was pleased

:07:48. > :07:53.I was able to entertain the crowd. It could have been worse. The

:07:53. > :07:58.London crowd are unique in their appreciation for snooker. They love

:07:58. > :08:04.snooker. It is great, as a sportsman and entertainer, to go

:08:04. > :08:09.where you are wanted. The crowds do not mind if it is tactical.

:08:09. > :08:14.Everybody loves to see the breaks going in. Tonight, bit of

:08:14. > :08:19.everything. HAZEL IRVINE: Everybody love to see

:08:19. > :08:24.that 139. Two centuries. A lot of players are feeling you start, new

:08:25. > :08:29.chance. There is no reason why Shaun Murphy cannot win this event.

:08:29. > :08:38.No reason whatsoever. We were talking about how well he cues the

:08:38. > :08:43.ball. He is one of the best cueist in the game. -- cueists. It is only

:08:43. > :08:49.a matter of time. He is consistent. He is one of the top players in

:08:50. > :08:54.every tournament we have. He has always been consistent. But

:08:54. > :08:58.beautiful cueist. He gets on with it. He is not as slouch in any

:08:59. > :09:06.department. He is tough to beat when he is on top of his game.

:09:06. > :09:13.has he got stuck at the quarter- final stage? Four? He is high up in

:09:13. > :09:17.the rankings. He has won the world and UK, but he is not a prolific

:09:18. > :09:22.winner. Perhaps it is something he has to look at. When he gets in

:09:22. > :09:29.front, he is tremendous at dominating an opponent.

:09:29. > :09:35.mentioned he had won the UK and the world. I have a question. Seven

:09:35. > :09:40.players have won the triple crown, the UK, the world and the Masters.

:09:40. > :09:48.Not necessarily in one season. Somebody has done it in the studio!

:09:48. > :09:54.But, the seven men, Stephen Hendry. John Higgins. Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:09:54. > :10:00.Steve Davis. Mark Williams. Neil Robertson? No. We are talking Alex

:10:00. > :10:10.Higgins and another. A man you know very well. DENNIS TAYLOR: --

:10:10. > :10:12.

:10:12. > :10:16.Dennis? Terry Griffiths. Shaun Murphy is trying to join the

:10:16. > :10:22.exclusive club. It does mean something special. He few needed

:10:22. > :10:27.any extra motivation, it is something. That is what Shaun

:10:27. > :10:31.Murphy is aiming for. Tonight, we have a cracker in prospect between

:10:31. > :10:35.Mark Allen and Neil Robertson. If you look at the record between

:10:35. > :10:39.you look at the record between these men it is 3-2 in the series

:10:39. > :10:47.between them so far. They have met three times in the last year and

:10:47. > :10:53.Neil Robertson has won two of those matches. Significantly, at the

:10:53. > :11:01.Masters in 2011. To left-handed players. What are your feelings

:11:01. > :11:07.about this? It will be close. It could be either way. It depends on

:11:07. > :11:11.Mark Allen and how much confidence he derived from getting to the

:11:11. > :11:12.final of the UK. It will be a tough final of the UK. It will be a tough

:11:12. > :11:13.final of the UK. It will be a tough final of the UK. It will be a tough

:11:13. > :11:16.match to call. Let's get into the match to call. Let's get into the

:11:16. > :11:26.match to call. Let's get into the match to call. Let's get into the

:11:26. > :11:33.

:11:33. > :11:40.I am quite a nice person. I am a good listener. I am willing to

:11:41. > :11:46.listen and give advice, things like that. My mother always telephones

:11:46. > :11:53.before a match. That is the thing. It does not matter what time it is.

:11:53. > :12:02.Even if it is 4am. She always leaves a message or gives me a call.

:12:02. > :12:08.D what we did it? Seriously? OK. -- do you want me to do it? My friend

:12:08. > :12:18.and I work out how to do this when we were eight years old. I am lazy.

:12:18. > :12:27.I just forget. I love to play video games. I love to escape. I can play

:12:27. > :12:33.games for ten hours straight. The World Championships, that was the

:12:33. > :12:43.most nervous. But the whole country, there was expectation. There was a

:12:43. > :12:48.

:12:48. > :12:52.lot to carry on my shoulders. Neil Robertson is always candid.

:12:52. > :13:01.The one thing he needs before he plays a match is a call from his

:13:01. > :13:09.mum. What did you need? I did not have superstitions or special

:13:09. > :13:15.routines. Probably a slap around the head to wake me up! It has been

:13:15. > :13:21.a pleasure to be with you. Thank you for your contributions. The

:13:21. > :13:28.highlights are later on, of the match tonight, but you will be able

:13:28. > :13:32.to see that match live on the red Barton. At 11:20pm, the highlights.