Day 6 Masters Snooker


Day 6

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Good afternoon, welcome to Palm Court, just outside the main arena

:00:37.:00:41.

here at Alexandra Palace, and this is where the spectators who will be

:00:41.:00:46.

going in to watch will be gathering, having a bite to it on drink, then

:00:46.:00:49.

collecting their commentary headsets, maybe even buying a

:00:49.:00:54.

souvenir of tier, a T-shirt that. Some of the players' names

:00:54.:01:01.

emblazoned on those T-shirts, Whirlwind, Rocket, and the thunder

:01:01.:01:05.

from down under. That is Neil Robertson, and he will be starring

:01:05.:01:11.

in the third of our BGC Masters quarter-finals today. As for his

:01:11.:01:15.

opponent, Mark Williams, the Welsh potting machine does not quite fit

:01:15.:01:19.

and eight T-shirt, so he is not there, but if you have a pithy one-

:01:19.:01:25.

liner, send it in, keep them clean! But of course he is one of only

:01:25.:01:30.

three former champions left in this year's Masters draw, along with

:01:30.:01:35.

Mark Selby and of course John Higgins. As for Mark, he might be a

:01:35.:01:40.

two-time winner, but not since 2003 has seen lifted the trophy, and

:01:40.:01:47.

went the Welshmen love to put that right this year! -- wouldn't. The

:01:47.:01:52.

world number two has hit top gear a few times this season with somewhat

:01:52.:01:57.

tips along the way. He will be read up this afternoon, though. Can

:01:58.:02:01.

former world champion Robertson finally get past the quarters here?

:02:01.:02:11.
:02:11.:02:12.

We will assess the repercussions of Judd Trump's emphatic win over

:02:12.:02:20.

Ronnie yesterday, has the torch Freewheeling through his quarter,

:02:20.:02:27.

that is what Shaun Murphy hopes as the Look ahead to his match against

:02:27.:02:30.

friend and Master specialist Mark Selby. -- as he looks ahead. An

:02:30.:02:33.

ambitious players from around the world are preparing as we reveal

:02:33.:02:39.

details of the new improved cue School, a passport to

:02:39.:02:44.

professionalism. Our game this afternoon is, at least on paper,

:02:44.:02:48.

the most closely matched of all the quarter-finals, because it features

:02:48.:02:52.

Williams, the world number two, against Robertson, four in the

:02:52.:03:02.
:03:02.:03:10.

world at the moment. Let's hope it Mark is world number 2 at the

:03:10.:03:14.

moment, he has got to a couple of quarter-finals this year, so we has

:03:14.:03:17.

been consistent, although in the last couple of months he has not

:03:17.:03:21.

played as well as he would have liked. He looked pretty solid

:03:21.:03:26.

against Stephen Maguire, he is a very tough player, very good safety,

:03:26.:03:36.
:03:36.:03:42.

so you have to work hard to get a I think Neil Robertson is probably

:03:42.:03:46.

one of the best cueists and strikes the ball better than anyone at

:03:46.:03:56.
:03:56.:04:03.

there. It is just a fantastic Yes, and someone who knows all that

:04:03.:04:08.

winning the Masters is Stephen, six of them? A bit greedy! This is a

:04:08.:04:13.

very attractive match. Yes, when you get to the quarter-finals and

:04:13.:04:17.

the semi-finals, in the first round no-one sparkled, but this is a

:04:17.:04:24.

really tough match to call all stop in 2007, Neil Robertson won 6-0.

:04:24.:04:28.

Mark was on the edge of dropping down the rankings. Obviously, he is

:04:28.:04:34.

back now, an established player. They played a few weeks ago in

:04:34.:04:38.

Shanghai, Mark turned it around. I say, he has got back to number

:04:38.:04:43.

one in the world, and it is such a hard match to call. They are great

:04:43.:04:48.

players, Neil Robertson has never won this event, so will he be

:04:48.:04:53.

determined. Mark has been using a new cue since the beginning of the

:04:53.:04:59.

year to improve his long game. Talking about a long games, Neil is

:04:59.:05:05.

down to 40 per so -- 44%, very unusual for him. You would expect

:05:05.:05:09.

in do not in closer to 90% of them. But nobody play their best in the

:05:09.:05:14.

first-round. What is your gut feeling? He is a friend of mine, I

:05:14.:05:20.

am saying Williams. No, Stephen Hendry goes for Mark Williams,

:05:20.:05:24.

whatever next?! That is what friends are for, loyalty to the

:05:24.:05:27.

last. We shall see how that progresses, and they are playing

:05:27.:05:31.

for the right to face Judd Trump in the semi-final tomorrow, a very

:05:31.:05:38.

intriguing match. The players are ready for anything. Good afternoon,

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ladies and gentlemen, it is day two of the quarter-finals here at the

:05:43.:05:47.

BGC Masters, and a match of truly international flavour now. Will it

:05:47.:05:51.

be Wales or Australia into the semi-final against Judd Trump

:05:51.:05:58.

tomorrow afternoon? Please welcome one of the best long putters in the

:05:58.:06:03.

game, he is six out of six for ranking event finals, including the

:06:03.:06:07.

2010 world championship, beating Mark Allen in the first round, the

:06:07.:06:10.

Aussies in the crowd are licking their lips in anticipation, because

:06:10.:06:20.
:06:20.:06:35.

here comes the thunder from down And his opponent, one of the finest

:06:35.:06:39.

Welsh players over the last two decades, twice a world champion and

:06:39.:06:45.

twice a winner of the Masters in 1998 at 2003, beating Stephen

:06:45.:06:48.

Maguire in the first round here, he is one of the most laid-back

:06:48.:06:54.

players you could meet, the Welsh party machine, Mark Williams! --

:06:54.:07:04.
:07:04.:07:17.

Mark shaking the hands of one of our regular visitors to the snooker,

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great to see Tom here again. This afternoon we welcome a few have

:07:22.:07:26.

raised a few finals in that time, it is our All-Ireland combination,

:07:26.:07:32.

Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor. afternoon, Hazel, good afternoon to

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everyone at home, and we are really looking forward to this battle of

:07:36.:07:41.

the left-handers. Two of the greatest potters the game has ever

:07:41.:07:45.

seen, and we have got another left- hander in the semi-final in young

:07:45.:07:50.

Judd Trump, so it seems to be the left-handed players Bill are the

:07:50.:07:57.

best potters. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, third frame. Neil

:07:57.:08:07.
:08:07.:08:16.

So it is Neil that gets his quarter-final under way. And just

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looking at the break, look where he has got the cue ball. They were

:08:20.:08:24.

struggling to get it behind the yellow, and now it is behind the

:08:24.:08:31.

brown. Is this a new cloth? I don't think so. I think the cue ball had

:08:31.:08:34.

a lot of spin on it. The ASLEF they have a chance here for Mark

:08:34.:08:44.
:08:44.:08:47.

Williams. -- he has left a half Well, this red is coming back out.

:08:47.:08:52.

It needed to go to let Mark Williams off the book there, and it

:08:52.:08:56.

has gone safe. I am not sure whether Neil Robertson will attempt

:08:57.:09:06.
:09:07.:09:29.

to take it to the bottom corner It is certainly a part of his game

:09:29.:09:33.

that has improved over the last couple of seasons, Neil Robertson,

:09:33.:09:38.

fantastic parter but it has become quite astute in the safety

:09:39.:09:44.

department. Not too many better safety players and Mark Williams,

:09:44.:09:54.
:09:54.:09:56.

either. He has got a great snooker Yeah, I mention the cloth. In fact,

:09:56.:10:00.

they are going to change it after this evening's play, so we will

:10:00.:10:10.
:10:10.:10:33.

have a brand new plot for the semi- That is absolutely spot on there,

:10:33.:10:38.

and he might have evening, the poorly reds. I do not know if there

:10:38.:10:42.

is a little bit sticking out down the right-hand side. -- he might

:10:42.:10:48.

have even covered all the reds. I am just looking at the natural

:10:48.:10:52.

escape into the right side of the pack there, the green is in the way

:10:52.:11:02.
:11:02.:11:06.

to come off the side cushion and He has a slight problem. If he goes

:11:06.:11:10.

to the left side of the table, he will leave a pot on. He might have

:11:10.:11:15.

to go twice the cross for com off the right hand side top cushion,

:11:16.:11:25.
:11:26.:11:34.

Pretty good attempt. One day the double shot that was what the

:11:34.:11:44.
:11:44.:11:49.

swerve. -- What a beautiful shot. I tried to demonstrate that on the

:11:50.:11:57.

practice table, and I could not do it! But that was a perfect example

:11:57.:12:04.

This is showing you the swerve shot, striking down, loads of sight, it

:12:04.:12:09.

bounces before you get to the red. You cannot jump it over the object

:12:09.:12:19.
:12:19.:12:25.

Another very clever shot, wasn't it? Yes, he has got the path into

:12:25.:12:31.

the bunch this time passed the brown. This is a very clever shot

:12:31.:12:41.
:12:41.:12:47.

It looks as if he is going to play a similar shot again, just

:12:47.:12:52.

depending on the yellow. Yes, the two commissioners gave, as I

:12:52.:13:00.

mentioned, the outside cushion and the top cushion, he has not four or

:13:00.:13:10.
:13:10.:13:22.

five red he could possibly clip. -- Yes, we are having a Mini Master

:13:22.:13:28.

Class and how to swerve your way out of a snooker. We talked about

:13:28.:13:32.

two of the greatest long potters in the game, 5 1/2 minutes and we have

:13:32.:13:42.
:13:42.:13:45.

not seen a ball potted! But we have Not quite this time. Yes, it was a

:13:45.:13:49.

good attempt. He was not happy putting the cue ball on the top

:13:49.:13:58.

cushion and wanted to try to get it Just a fraction harder and it would

:13:58.:14:08.
:14:08.:14:23.

He would love to be able to hit the reds on the right hand side of the

:14:23.:14:33.
:14:33.:14:33.

As you see there, he would have to swerve to hit the outside of that

:14:33.:14:38.

red there. He is a little bit concerned about coming down the

:14:38.:14:48.
:14:48.:14:57.

Well, he has played that very, very Well, he is looking at this one up

:14:57.:15:07.
:15:07.:15:23.

We thought he would leave that red safe, screwing the cue ball back to

:15:23.:15:27.

the baulk area, but he did not anticipate that cannoned into the

:15:27.:15:32.

brown, so the first chance goes to the Welshman. After a bout of

:15:32.:15:42.
:15:42.:15:52.

safety, he would want something Well, I think this is the longest

:15:52.:15:58.

we have been this week without the first red being parted, coming up

:15:58.:16:08.
:16:08.:16:15.

It was worth waiting for, Dennis! Yes, a nice round of applause, I

:16:15.:16:19.

think the crowd were relieved to see a red go in, but it has been

:16:19.:16:26.

good tactically. One or two of the frames might be over in eight

:16:27.:16:32.

minutes. Great to see the big breaks, but remember we did a

:16:32.:16:36.

little survey, and a lot of people enjoy the tactical side of the game

:16:36.:16:46.
:16:46.:16:55.

That is a mistake, though. He should have had a nice easy one,

:16:55.:17:05.
:17:05.:17:12.

Just getting a little bit messy at the table, only the green and blue

:17:12.:17:22.
:17:22.:17:22.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:17:22.:18:34.

on their own spots, which is quite There is not a lot to play behind

:18:34.:18:44.
:18:44.:18:57.

with the yellow and brown off their Bringing the pink back up onto it

:18:57.:19:01.

spot will certainly help the situation, but that was a good pot

:19:01.:19:11.
:19:11.:19:12.

Funnily enough, Neil Robertson had a look at that red before just to

:19:12.:19:18.

see if it was on. He got a good pupil, 10 out of 10 for that cut. -

:19:18.:19:28.
:19:28.:19:42.

Well, that is pretty poor, I think, if he is straight. I do not think

:19:42.:19:52.
:19:52.:19:52.

he can bring anything into play. There might be a planned honour.

:19:52.:19:56.

There is a little bit of distance between them, but that could be

:19:56.:20:02.

made. -- a plant on there. It is the two to the left that he is

:20:02.:20:12.
:20:12.:20:30.

Well, those last two read at the bottom of the pack, you can make

:20:30.:20:35.

these into a possible plant onto the red over the corner pocket. He

:20:35.:20:45.
:20:45.:20:49.

is just having a look at the angle But he can play it in such a way

:20:49.:20:52.

that he would have the pink into the right centre and still

:20:52.:21:02.
:21:02.:21:02.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:21:02.:22:01.

Do you think you'll take the opportunity to go into the reds?

:22:01.:22:07.

would not be a bad idea, it will be interesting to say what he does

:22:07.:22:17.
:22:17.:22:19.

That is OK with the red going up over the other corner pocket. He

:22:19.:22:25.

can pot the pink, and that will be available. He did not quite get

:22:25.:22:30.

into the red, as you suggested, but he was hoping to finish on the

:22:30.:22:40.
:22:40.:22:40.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:22:40.:23:35.

He just floats the ball into the He has purposefully left a nice

:23:35.:23:44.

angle on the blue. He can go in and disturb the pack of reds year. --

:23:44.:23:48.

here. I thought he was going to hit it with a lot more pace, and that

:23:48.:23:53.

is very surprising, because he could have gone in with more pace

:23:53.:24:00.

than that. He obviously thought he was nothing that red that came over

:24:00.:24:04.

towards the black towards the pocket, but I think he should have

:24:04.:24:13.

gone in with a lot more pace than Yes, it certainly has not worked

:24:13.:24:23.
:24:23.:24:24.

As I say, there's nothing over the left-hand side of the table to play

:24:25.:24:32.

behind. The yellow is too close to So that is a good chance that has

:24:32.:24:42.
:24:42.:25:03.

Yes, he is a bit concerned about leaving that red that is just to

:25:03.:25:13.
:25:13.:25:52.

A little thin one to get the cue ball somewhere near the yellow. The

:25:52.:25:58.

only problem with that is he might cut this red over the left corner

:25:58.:26:08.
:26:08.:26:10.

pocket if he plays that shot. He If he got the white near the yellow,

:26:10.:26:20.
:26:20.:26:37.

He wanted it tight on the cushion. He has got a couple of options. He

:26:37.:26:47.
:26:47.:27:03.

could take this red on the left- He might just play over to the

:27:03.:27:07.

yellow. I do not think he can get in behind it, and it is too risky

:27:07.:27:17.
:27:17.:27:19.

to try to nestle in behind the It is touching a yellow, but that

:27:19.:27:22.

won't matter, because Neil Robertson is playing away from it.

:27:22.:27:32.
:27:32.:27:32.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:27:32.:28:33.

In fact, it is not touching. It It is amazing, Dennis, isn't it? We

:28:33.:28:40.

spoke of these two lives, but it has all been about safety so far in

:28:40.:28:50.
:28:50.:29:09.

this frame. It is amazing how a Leaving the cue ball close to the

:29:10.:29:19.
:29:20.:29:27.

yellow has made this more awkward He has come up a little bit short,

:29:27.:29:31.

so will Neil Robertson be tempted? We have seen a lot of tactical play,

:29:31.:29:39.

so the players are not fully in their stride just yet. I am not

:29:39.:29:43.

quite sure what this red is touching the cushion, the one

:29:43.:29:47.

nearest the black. If it is touching the cushion, it makes this

:29:47.:29:53.

pot a little bit easier. If he were to hit the cushion just before the

:29:53.:30:03.
:30:03.:30:08.

ball, it would take him by the Well, that is unlucky. If he has

:30:08.:30:16.

covered the black, he is very It was a good pot, and without that

:30:16.:30:21.

little cannon on the red, he would have been on the black. Very

:30:21.:30:31.
:30:31.:30:31.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:30:31.:31:24.

He is just a little concerned that if he plays off either of those

:31:24.:31:30.

rents he could leave one over the left side. That is why he is giving

:31:30.:31:40.
:31:40.:31:52.

We have mentioned that red on the left of the table a few times. If

:31:52.:32:02.
:32:02.:32:06.

he did potter, he would slipover What a great shot that was.

:32:06.:32:14.

Fantastic judgment. It was the gentlest of shots. He played it to

:32:14.:32:24.
:32:24.:32:40.

It is amazing. It looked as if that was a snooker. The pink has covered

:32:40.:32:50.
:32:50.:33:00.

the red down at the spot rate and This opening frame may turn out to

:33:00.:33:10.
:33:10.:33:43.

What a beauty that was. There is certainly nothing wrong with his

:33:43.:33:53.
:33:53.:34:06.

eyesight. He hardly moved the red. That is pretty good as as well.

:34:06.:34:16.

Excellent shot. Mark is coming around to see if this goes into the

:34:16.:34:26.
:34:26.:34:27.

bottom right-hand pocket. It certainly does. Excellent pot. But

:34:27.:34:37.
:34:37.:35:03.

Kneelers coming around to have a look. If he could hit this cushion

:35:03.:35:13.
:35:13.:35:14.

first, he could possibly pot this red. Having said that, if he took

:35:14.:35:24.
:35:24.:35:30.

this on, the white would head-on He has played that well, but having

:35:30.:35:36.

said that, there is one sticking out. A little bit more pace would

:35:36.:35:46.
:35:46.:35:56.

He is probably the best we have ever had in the game at that table

:35:56.:36:06.
:36:06.:36:08.

shot. He yes, it is a trademark shot. He is playing with a new cue.

:36:08.:36:16.

He felt his old one was not up to scratch last season. He is using a

:36:16.:36:26.
:36:26.:36:26.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:36:26.:38:10.

Could not do much more than that. It is not easy to pot the yellow

:38:10.:38:14.

and get up for these two reds, which is why he is looking at the

:38:14.:38:24.
:38:24.:38:24.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:38:24.:39:45.

He has left this red. Excellent pot again. He has spotted five or six

:39:45.:39:55.
:39:55.:39:59.

reds today and not once has he been Excellent cueing. The scheme is

:39:59.:40:09.
:40:09.:40:32.

possible but it comes with a high That is a surprise. I think he

:40:32.:40:36.

thought he could roll in the game and it would leave that red next to

:40:36.:40:46.
:40:46.:40:50.

the pink available. But there is not enough of that red sticking out.

:40:50.:41:00.
:41:00.:41:10.

It has actually turned out to be Clova shot from Neil Robertson,

:41:10.:41:20.
:41:20.:41:25.

bringing the black into play. Mark will not want to get the red so

:41:25.:41:35.
:41:35.:41:46.

close to the black or else we might I am sure Mark Williams will

:41:46.:41:56.
:41:56.:42:03.

attempt the double. It was worth the risk. Now, I wonder if Neil

:42:03.:42:08.

will return the compliment and try and get closer to the double on the

:42:08.:42:18.
:42:18.:42:18.

other side of the table. There is every chance that the red will go

:42:18.:42:28.
:42:28.:42:37.

safe even if he does not get the The only problem with this is that

:42:37.:42:47.
:42:47.:43:00.

he has once again left Mark The fact that the brown is no for

:43:00.:43:04.

the middle means that with one chance, Neil Robertson could win

:43:04.:43:14.
:43:14.:43:29.

Good shot. Mark Williams well trained players are more shot. That

:43:29.:43:39.
:43:39.:44:09.

has not worked out so well. He has That is probably one of the worst

:44:09.:44:13.

shots Neil Robertson has ever played. He had a lot of options and

:44:14.:44:22.

made a mess of it completely. It looks a natural to come in the pink

:44:22.:44:32.
:44:32.:44:44.

if he pots this, so he has to watch Yes, he avoided the pink. I thought

:44:44.:44:50.

the only thing he could leave there was a double on the red. To try and

:44:50.:45:00.
:45:00.:45:11.

move from that position was highly At the moment, Neil Robertson needs

:45:11.:45:16.

a red, the black and all the colours to win by one point. Mark

:45:16.:45:23.

Williams has given him the opportunity to do that. But he does

:45:23.:45:33.
:45:33.:45:35.

not want to hit this pink. I thought he could have snookered

:45:35.:45:45.
:45:45.:45:45.

himself on the black if he did, but in fact, this is just as tough. He

:45:45.:45:55.
:45:55.:46:04.

should finish on the yellow if he Now, if he is really Street, how

:46:05.:46:14.
:46:15.:46:27.

The he is blessed with tremendous cue power and needed at all of it

:46:27.:46:37.
:46:37.:46:38.

there. He forced a little angle there and used all of the pocket.

:46:38.:46:48.
:46:48.:47:00.

What a chance the snow was for him It is amazing, Mark has dominated

:47:00.:47:05.

the play and to lose a frame which is going to last almost 40 minutes

:47:05.:47:15.
:47:15.:47:20.

Been the left-hander, if he drops the ball and, they will be no

:47:20.:47:30.
:47:30.:47:39.

I do not think they will be showing too many re-runs of this frame. But

:47:39.:47:43.

Neil Robertson will be delighted. He just needs pink and black to

:47:44.:47:53.
:47:54.:47:59.

We keep seeing how cool customer Mark Williams has, a very laid-back

:47:59.:48:09.
:48:09.:48:25.

The balls went rather awkward. But in the end, that poor safety shot

:48:25.:48:35.
:48:35.:48:38.

from Mark Williams cost him. Neil It was not quite what we expected.

:48:39.:48:44.

At 40 minutes, it was the longest frame of the tournament. In fact,

:48:44.:48:48.

yesterday, the first four frames of the Judd Trump against Ronnie

:48:48.:48:57.

O'Sullivan actually took two minutes longer than that frame.

:48:57.:49:02.

was strange. Market dominated the frame. There where a lot of great

:49:02.:49:12.
:49:12.:49:14.

individual pots, but Ma played a Yes, he was trying to get the

:49:14.:49:19.

snooker behind the pink, but the priority always has to be to get

:49:19.:49:26.

the object ball safe. Mark Williams as one of the best players have a

:49:26.:49:36.
:49:36.:49:40.

it winning a scrappy frames, but not there. We are off and running.

:49:40.:49:50.
:49:50.:49:50.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:49:50.:50:43.

It has taken some time, but here we DENNIS TAYLOR: That tells you how

:50:43.:50:53.
:50:53.:51:05.

Now, this will clear approve for two other reds into the bottom

:51:05.:51:15.
:51:15.:51:21.

left-hand corner. This is a decent In the opening frame, it was eight

:51:21.:51:31.
:51:31.:52:02.

minutes before a ball was even He is coming round to have a look

:52:02.:52:12.
:52:12.:52:17.

at these two reds at the bottom of He may try and get on the red at

:52:17.:52:27.
:52:27.:52:35.

A that looks about perfect. This will certainly bring a lot more

:52:35.:52:44.

reds into play. I am a little surprised he did not play there

:52:44.:52:54.
:52:54.:53:05.

He has played that perfectly. He is terrific to watch when he is break-

:53:05.:53:15.
:53:15.:53:51.

building, Mark Williams. He will go If this is a new cue he is playing

:53:51.:54:01.

with, he looks very comfortable with that. There are not so many

:54:01.:54:11.
:54:11.:54:28.

A little bit disappointed with that. He was hoping for a better angle on

:54:28.:54:35.

this black. He is going to play with deep screw off the side

:54:35.:54:45.
:54:45.:54:49.

cushion. Good effort. Excellent shot. He absolutely threw himself

:54:49.:54:59.
:54:59.:55:04.

That is enough to Secure this second frame and what any for this

:55:04.:55:14.
:55:14.:55:22.

Excellent pot and the black to keep the break going. There is a

:55:22.:55:32.

possible 144. Ronnie was of any 141 in his match against Judd Trump

:55:32.:55:42.
:55:42.:55:47.

yesterday. So far, that is the Well, he got slightly out of

:55:47.:55:52.

position. But good response from Mark Williams. That frame just

:55:52.:56:02.
:56:02.:56:03.

lasted six minutes. It is 1-1. The first frame, the balls went very

:56:03.:56:09.

awkward indeed. There was a lot of tactical play. But it did not

:56:09.:56:13.

affect Mark Williams. The way he started as rain with this long

:56:13.:56:23.
:56:23.:56:46.

opening pot. Yes, beautiful, wasn't At the end, he was looking at a

:56:46.:56:54.

possible plant just after he missed that black. He was clearly thinking

:56:54.:57:04.
:57:04.:57:23.

about trying to overtake that 141 People all watching the awning

:57:23.:57:29.

frame may be went and made a cup of tea and came back to find that the

:57:29.:57:39.
:57:39.:57:39.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:57:39.:58:27.

Can you boil a kettle and six-and- New Robertson just has to avoid the

:58:27.:58:33.

black here and the way back down the table. We know, he could not

:58:33.:58:43.
:58:43.:58:53.

avoid it. But I'm sure he will have Because he has the red close to the

:58:53.:59:03.
:59:03.:59:03.

right town-centre, he just has to concentrate on the pot. That was

:59:03.:59:13.
:59:13.:59:20.

the blue you would have expected I like this shot. He could have

:59:21.:59:30.
:59:31.:59:32.

potted the other one, but was keen to get the blue back on to its spot.

:59:32.:59:36.

I thought he might try and develop something there, but instead he

:59:36.:59:44.

just played for the single red into the middle. But he has left himself

:59:44.:59:50.

little awkward on it. He was wanting to leave a good angle on

:59:50.:59:57.

the Bluetooth going to the pack. But he is going to have to come in

:59:58.:00:07.
:00:08.:00:09.

and out of baulk. There was a pretty good effort. But look where

:00:09.:00:17.

the cue ball finished. He is virtually snookered. But unlucky

:00:17.:00:27.
:00:27.:00:27.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:00:27.:01:22.

Kick, all of reds he can go at here. -- a car or of reds. The one

:01:22.:01:32.
:01:32.:01:38.

He has played that well. He forced He would love to get top side of

:01:38.:01:48.
:01:48.:01:54.

this blue, a nice angle on the blue, He just did not get into it enough,

:01:54.:02:02.

did he? From me, that was quite quo. He did not get any action. He was

:02:02.:02:12.
:02:12.:02:20.

hoping to leave the blue into the And he could have done with

:02:20.:02:25.

bringing it a little bit further up the table to pot this red and

:02:25.:02:28.

develop the black. He could still do that, but he might have to use

:02:28.:02:36.

the rest. I do not know if he can reach over to this. No. If the pots

:02:36.:02:41.

this red and screws into the reds just below the pink, he can hold

:02:41.:02:51.
:02:51.:02:56.

the cue ball for the black into the He just did not get enough screw on

:02:56.:03:06.
:03:06.:03:31.

the cue ball. That is the end of I am just wondering if he can take

:03:31.:03:36.

a pot on to the left corner and find the gap between the black and

:03:36.:03:46.
:03:46.:03:53.

red. There is a red just two from Well, he got the main part of the

:03:53.:04:03.
:04:03.:04:14.

shot, but he did not find the gap Oh, dear me! Well, he was hitting

:04:14.:04:19.

very low on that, and he seemed to have a little touch of left hand

:04:19.:04:23.

side on it. On that type of shot, you want to be hitting the white

:04:23.:04:26.

right at the centre and the bottom. I do not know whether the site

:04:26.:04:36.
:04:36.:04:44.

affected that shot. It could well I think some players do not realise

:04:44.:04:54.
:04:54.:05:01.

they are playing with a touch He may be just prefers to play

:05:02.:05:08.

those shots with a little bit of side, but it pushed the cue ball

:05:08.:05:18.
:05:18.:05:31.

Well, that was a good attempt, but Sometimes you can squeeze them if

:05:31.:05:35.

they are touching. If he hits the first red on the left-hand side as

:05:35.:05:40.

we look at it, it could straighten the second red up, believe it or

:05:40.:05:50.
:05:50.:05:51.

not. The plant does not look on, Just a little bit of a gap there,

:05:51.:06:01.
:06:01.:06:01.

It is going to the left side of the pocket as we look at it. He would

:06:02.:06:05.

have been hit the first red on the right hand side, but it has the

:06:05.:06:15.
:06:15.:06:15.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:06:15.:07:05.

opposite effect. Maybe it is not on. Yes, time for a little read, read

:07:05.:07:15.
:07:15.:07:37.

His dad is certainly listening to me. Not quite. It was worth taking

:07:37.:07:47.
:07:47.:08:17.

Well, he looks like a young Neil Robertson, doesn't he? Still

:08:17.:08:26.

Now, this is a chance for Neil Robertson, and it is a good chance

:08:26.:08:36.
:08:36.:08:51.

He needed absolutely perfect cueing He has let that due ball run just a

:08:51.:08:56.

little bit too far. It just means if he cuts the yellow in, not as

:08:56.:09:01.

easy to control the cue ball. just wondering whether he will take

:09:01.:09:09.

the chance... Well, he is refusing the pot, that is surprising. I

:09:09.:09:15.

thought he might take the chance to go into the pink and reds. Yes, if

:09:15.:09:20.

you are this side of the Bach line, you can always spot one of the

:09:20.:09:24.

baulk colours, the green or the yellow in this instance, but he

:09:24.:09:34.
:09:34.:09:54.

Yes, that is where he was. The white is just this side of the

:09:54.:09:58.

baulk line, but he thought the snooker might pay better dividends,

:09:58.:10:08.
:10:08.:10:12.

I do not know how he does this, he holds the rest off the table. That

:10:12.:10:22.
:10:22.:10:30.

takes a bit of strength in your Well, maybe he has covered that red.

:10:30.:10:35.

The Blue has come to the rescue, as you can clearly see, so that was a

:10:35.:10:45.
:10:45.:10:53.

Neil is maybe thinking he should have potted the yellow. It did not

:10:53.:10:59.

seem that difficult, he was above the baulk line. Certainly worth

:10:59.:11:09.
:11:09.:11:29.

We have not really seen a Neil Robertson special in this match

:11:29.:11:37.

shed. We have seen a few long pots from Mark Williams. Let's see how

:11:37.:11:47.
:11:47.:11:58.

close he can get to this type of That is a bit more like the Neil

:11:58.:12:01.

Robertson we have been watching for the last few seasons, brilliant

:12:01.:12:11.
:12:11.:12:31.

He got the spring off that baulk cas and there, but it has worked

:12:31.:12:38.

out OK. -- baulk cushion. He would love to get on the blue after

:12:38.:12:42.

potting his red, because it would open up the two reds at his bottom

:12:42.:12:52.
:12:52.:12:53.

corner pocket. Well, another surprising is from Neil Robertson.

:12:53.:13:03.
:13:03.:13:18.

Has he got it? Good shot, excellent pot! He just felt the one of the

:13:18.:13:21.

right hand corner pocket was difficult to cure over the reds.

:13:21.:13:28.

Excellent pot from Mark Williams. That required a lot of skill just

:13:28.:13:38.
:13:38.:13:54.

That is perfectly played. It is worth another look. Look how close

:13:54.:14:03.

he was, he had to get the cue out of the way quickly. And he did! So

:14:03.:14:13.
:14:13.:14:42.

he is a floater and now he is a Not the best angle, he would really

:14:42.:14:52.
:14:52.:14:52.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:14:52.:15:34.

have to power this to move the red, That is a good hit. It is even

:15:34.:15:42.

I wonder if there is a little bit sticking out there, because if

:15:42.:15:51.

there is, it might be a guide to Well, there was another sticking

:15:51.:16:01.
:16:01.:16:05.

out, and he wasn't far off potting Well, it is a red ball fight, you

:16:05.:16:09.

would have to say. Whoever pots this last red, the way the colours

:16:09.:16:19.
:16:19.:16:26.

are situated, you would think would It can just about see the outside

:16:26.:16:36.
:16:36.:16:43.

Now is the pace on this? It could be in behind the black... Not quite,

:16:43.:16:48.

and a chance for Neil Robertson for another one of his long specials.

:16:48.:16:58.
:16:58.:17:24.

He knows how close that was to That is about the best he could do,

:17:24.:17:27.

but I think he is about straight enough on the other to drop it into

:17:27.:17:35.

the middle pocket. -- the yellow. Oh, he has missed it! I do not know

:17:35.:17:40.

whether it kicked or whether he just cued it poorly. Maybe he did

:17:40.:17:50.
:17:50.:17:52.

Yeah, it looked like the yellow it did lift off the bed of the table

:17:52.:17:56.

there, didn't it? Neil Robertson is getting the cue ball cleaned, an

:17:56.:18:00.

indication that it got a kick. Very unfortunate for Mark Williams,

:18:01.:18:08.

because it looks like it may have handed the frame to Neil Robertson.

:18:08.:18:13.

Yes, he handed him the first frame with a poor safety shot, but on

:18:13.:18:23.
:18:23.:18:41.

that occasion it was unfortunate to It does not want to be straight on

:18:41.:18:46.

his blue. He will have to come in and out of baulk. We will see some

:18:46.:18:56.

I'm not sure whether he will screw back to leave the long pink here,

:18:56.:19:06.
:19:06.:19:13.

but he has the cue power in his For a big shock for Neil Robertson.

:19:13.:19:23.
:19:23.:19:33.

-- a big shot. He must get on the Well, believe it or not, it could

:19:33.:19:37.

be 3-0 in favour of Mark Williams, but Neil Robertson will be

:19:37.:19:42.

pleasantly pleased with what has happened at there, and he leads 2-1.

:19:42.:19:48.

Once again, a very nice little steel from Neil Robertson, and that

:19:48.:19:52.

is getting costly for Mark Williams. He must be stewing in his chair

:19:52.:19:57.

when that happens. Yes, given the benefit of the doubt, it was a bad

:19:57.:20:02.

contact, because Neil had the white cleaned, so a little bit

:20:02.:20:07.

unfortunate, but it could have been 3-0. We have had a couple of e-

:20:07.:20:11.

mails. You mentioned that Mark Williams is playing with a new cue.

:20:11.:20:17.

One from Alexander Williams in Edinburgh, hello, can you tell us

:20:17.:20:21.

why he might be playing with a new cue? What effect will it have on

:20:21.:20:27.

him? It taught me that he was not happy with his long game.

:20:27.:20:30.

Everything over six foot, he said he could not pot. His old quay was

:20:30.:20:35.

a little bit thicker. If you have got any side, with these parts, it

:20:35.:20:40.

pushes the white to the side a bit more. -- clots. I said to him, he

:20:40.:20:45.

went from 47th up to number one and now you want to change your cue? I

:20:45.:20:50.

was quite surprised. Do think it will play dividends? His long game

:20:50.:20:57.

has been quite good today. He missed a long blue, and every

:20:57.:21:01.

player uses a little bit of side, but he missed it by a long way into

:21:01.:21:06.

the yellow pocket, I think. It will take a bit of getting used to.

:21:06.:21:09.

does that decision say to you, John? What does that decision tell

:21:09.:21:15.

you? It is like golfers, there is always something different. He

:21:15.:21:17.

might have had a session where he missed a couple of balls and

:21:18.:21:22.

decided that was it. Ace in the cue has been a living thing, it is

:21:22.:21:26.

timber, and they all played differently. -- a snooker cue. You

:21:26.:21:30.

have had enough in the last few years. I am constantly searching

:21:30.:21:35.

for something to match my original cue which was smashed. I had my

:21:35.:21:39.

best on stolen and never really replaced it. A couple of good cues

:21:39.:21:42.

were made for me, but they were never as good as the one I had. You

:21:42.:21:47.

have the utmost trust in it, faith in it, you know every shot you play,

:21:47.:21:53.

it is capable of doing it. At his trial and error. He may try three

:21:53.:21:56.

or four before he got the one he wants. You have got our faith in

:21:56.:22:00.

what you are using. And they then the airlines that you travel with,

:22:00.:22:05.

because yours was smashed coming through an airport. 4th that got me

:22:05.:22:10.

a few quid! You are not doing too badly, whichever cue you use. We

:22:10.:22:15.

are going back, but the last one before the interval here, and just

:22:15.:22:19.

assess from Neil Robertson's perspective, the way he is playing,

:22:19.:22:22.

because he has had to be sharp about the final stages of the

:22:22.:22:26.

frames we have seen so far. In general terms, how does he look

:22:26.:22:32.

today? He has competed, which is the big thing. He missed a long red,

:22:32.:22:37.

I am harping on about it, but it is so unusual for him. I am looking at

:22:37.:22:41.

that and thinking, I do not know whether I fancy him at the minute.

:22:41.:22:44.

Against Mark Allen, Mark but the few opportunities from businesses

:22:44.:22:49.

on long parts, so that is one department he will have to improve

:22:49.:22:54.

on, but his overall competitive instinct is very solid. Did you

:22:54.:22:59.

notice that efficiency, Stephen? Yes, he missed a long red in that

:22:59.:23:04.

frame and he did not play it positively. When he pots balls, the

:23:04.:23:09.

really hits the back of the pocket with a thud. It is a big part of

:23:09.:23:13.

his game. If he is not happy, it will affect him, but he is

:23:13.:23:17.

competing well. He must be delighted at 2-1 up. Against Mark

:23:17.:23:22.

Allen, he was absolutely pin-sharp when it came to clearing up. His

:23:22.:23:26.

competitive instincts were not dulled, for all of the prospective

:23:26.:23:31.

deficiencies. His short game is spot-on. His cue-ball control was

:23:31.:23:34.

fantastic, and when he had the chance to win, he did that. It

:23:35.:23:38.

drains are new. If you feel there is a department that is not working

:23:38.:23:42.

properly, you have to be strong mentally to put it to one side. You

:23:42.:23:47.

can bet your bottom dollar, if there is a Shaji do not fancy, that

:23:47.:23:52.

is the one that is in front of you. -- a shot you do not fancy. Talking

:23:52.:23:56.

about intervals, Neil Robertson had quite a long interval there, four

:23:56.:24:03.

minutes he was out of the arena. Quite unusual. Maybe just composing

:24:03.:24:06.

in tsar after winning that frame that he thought he was going to

:24:06.:24:16.
:24:16.:24:31.

Not a bad break-off shot from Mark Yes, the break in this match has

:24:31.:24:35.

been very good. We have seen some matches during the week when they

:24:35.:24:45.
:24:45.:24:48.

have not hit the left-hand side of In fact, Neil Robertson said it is

:24:48.:24:54.

almost like a poisoned chalice, the break-off, because he puts his

:24:54.:25:04.
:25:04.:25:09.

But here, I totally agree with John Parrott. He is competing. He is not

:25:09.:25:14.

playing that well in the frames he has won, but he has made two good

:25:14.:25:21.

clearances. Sometimes that is something you just have Dudu. --

:25:21.:25:28.

half to do. Yes, it is amazing, his highest break is only 35, and he is

:25:28.:25:32.

leading 2-1, but he has not really been in amongst the balls with a

:25:32.:25:42.
:25:42.:25:54.

A possible pot here, but I do not think he can avoid a cannon on the

:25:54.:25:59.

reds, so he may play it in such a way to stay on the black. And that

:25:59.:26:05.

is what he has done. He has spotted two reds, he needs that to go in.

:26:05.:26:10.

If that a state over the pocket, it would have blocked it, but what a

:26:10.:26:15.

great shot to start with. -- if it had stayed over the pocket.

:26:15.:26:25.
:26:25.:26:33.

Terrific shot, terrific cannon, and That is not too bad. He has got a

:26:33.:26:43.
:26:43.:26:45.

Well, that is a surprise. I am not sure if that jumped or not. Maybe

:26:45.:26:51.

it is just bad cueing. Let's have a look at this. The white definitely

:26:51.:27:01.
:27:01.:27:15.

He could get in behind the yellow here. He will have to get it just

:27:15.:27:25.
:27:25.:27:25.

I think he was just plain to leave it on a cushion and cover this red

:27:25.:27:29.

with the blue, rather than risk the snooker on the yellow. I do not

:27:29.:27:39.
:27:39.:27:39.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:27:39.:29:22.

The judge that very well, Neil He has not another red on his left

:29:22.:29:32.
:29:32.:29:32.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:29:32.:30:32.

hand corner pocket. I think he has He would like to take the red that

:30:32.:30:37.

is closest to the black spot, but on this occasion, there is an

:30:37.:30:45.

easier red to the middle pocket. Topside, or the blue, imperative.

:30:45.:30:55.
:30:55.:31:15.

There are a couple of reds around The it is a clever shot. -- that is.

:31:15.:31:21.

Maybe that other red does not go. I thought he could pot the red past

:31:21.:31:31.
:31:31.:31:40.

the black also he still can get on That frees the black up into that

:31:40.:31:44.

left hand corner pocket now, as well. It is a good opportunity for

:31:44.:31:54.
:31:54.:31:56.

Neil Robertson. A frame-winning chance, at this visit. He is on the

:31:56.:32:02.

red nicely to the middle pocket. He will try and hold for the pink to

:32:02.:32:12.
:32:12.:32:24.

He looked away, after playing that shot, more or less as if to tell us

:32:24.:32:29.

that he did not catch that as intended. He is a little straight,

:32:29.:32:39.
:32:39.:32:43.

Just those four reds, all covering each other into the right hand

:32:43.:32:53.
:32:53.:33:07.

He has a choice of three reds to play on. The one next to the pink

:33:07.:33:11.

would not be a bad one to get out of the way, but he does not have to

:33:11.:33:18.

play for that. He has a very good chance to go to the mid-session

:33:18.:33:28.
:33:28.:33:33.

He didn't play for this one, it came up a little bit short, but it

:33:33.:33:39.

is one of those situations where you have got options. There are

:33:39.:33:49.
:33:49.:34:03.

always other reds available in a Already his highest break. Coming

:34:03.:34:13.
:34:13.:34:19.

at the right time for Neil The red nearest the bottom right-

:34:19.:34:22.

hand corner pocket, he would love to get on that and free the black

:34:22.:34:32.
:34:32.:34:59.

Just about perfect. Maybe a little It is a good break, so far, from

:34:59.:35:09.
:35:09.:35:16.

He has certainly opened things up. A 44 point lead. Just needs another

:35:16.:35:26.
:35:26.:35:54.

couple of reds and high value Both players are cueing quite well.

:35:54.:36:04.
:36:04.:36:05.

Having had a couple of awkward Mark Williams will be going into

:36:05.:36:11.

the mid-session interval 3-1 down, and it could easily have been 31 --

:36:12.:36:21.
:36:22.:36:25.

3-1 ahead. This has been terrific, from the Australian. He has made

:36:25.:36:35.
:36:35.:37:06.

We have had 12 centuries so far in Just showing you what sort of

:37:06.:37:16.
:37:16.:37:20.

Seems to be pretty straight on this yellow, so you will be trying to

:37:20.:37:30.
:37:30.:37:55.

screw back. A little bit further He didn't cue that the very well,

:37:55.:38:00.

so he didn't get the century break but we have had two tactical frames

:38:00.:38:03.

and one frame with one visit, and the Australian will be delighted to

:38:04.:38:12.

go to the mid-session interval You wonder how Mark Williams is

:38:12.:38:17.

going to you that part of the session. What is your opinion?

:38:17.:38:24.

Robertson is reaping his benefits from the previous two frames which

:38:24.:38:28.

she pinched at the end. His safety play has not been as sharp as it

:38:28.:38:35.

normally is. He has put reds over the pocket as he didn't that frame.

:38:35.:38:38.

When you look back at Neil Robertson's history in this event,

:38:38.:38:44.

he has never managed to get past the quarter-final. He would say the

:38:44.:38:47.

opponents he came up against her managed to raise their game at the

:38:47.:38:51.

right time. What is your view of that record as a man who has won it

:38:51.:38:56.

six times? He will be disappointed he has not done better. He has been

:38:56.:39:00.

world champion, he likes the big stage. He will want to prove

:39:00.:39:03.

himself against the other best players in the world, so he will

:39:03.:39:09.

want to improve that record quickly. In terms of consistency this season,

:39:09.:39:13.

he reckons he is 50% a better player than he was 12 months ago.

:39:13.:39:17.

How do you rate the way he has gone about his business over the last

:39:17.:39:21.

few months? He has become a fantastic competitor who gives

:39:21.:39:26.

every match 100%. He never seems to lose a match that you would expect

:39:26.:39:35.

him to lose. The people he loses to our other top players, as it were.

:39:35.:39:39.

He is a fierce competitor. He's giving the PTC tournaments 100% as

:39:39.:39:43.

well. He's quite an analytical character. After he was beaten by

:39:43.:39:48.

Judd Trump in the UK Championship, Judd Trump commented that Neil

:39:48.:39:54.

Robertson had played quite slowly. I think he is determined to speed

:39:54.:39:57.

up and play his natural game against opponents. He seemed to do

:39:57.:40:01.

that against Mark Allen in the first round. I would not say that

:40:01.:40:05.

he is a slow player, but he does give the game respect and he is

:40:05.:40:10.

always looking at ways to improve his game. He's very knowledgeable

:40:10.:40:14.

about snooker, all the results and statistics. There is nothing

:40:14.:40:20.

lacking, in respect of getting to the top, where he wants to be.

:40:20.:40:24.

looking to continue his form in this one, 3-1 up against Mark

:40:24.:40:29.

Williams. This time yesterday afternoon we watched a devastating

:40:29.:40:34.

performance by Judd Trump against his idol, Ronnie O'Sullivan. What

:40:34.:40:44.

will be the repercussions, do we think, of this? It is the Rocket,

:40:44.:40:54.
:40:54.:40:59.

Ronnie O'Sullivan. He's the ace in Judd Trump takes the opening frame,

:40:59.:41:09.
:41:09.:41:30.

The great Ronnie O'Sullivan looks a What a Fabulous clearance from

:41:30.:41:38.

young Judd Trump. He leads Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-0. This is a tough.

:41:38.:41:48.
:41:48.:41:48.

That is sensational. This is a big, He needs this to come away from the

:41:48.:41:58.
:41:58.:42:12.

He has conceded, so Judd Trump now leads by five and one. -- 5-1. What

:42:12.:42:18.

an effort from Ronnie O'Sullivan - she is 5-1 down, and what does he

:42:18.:42:28.

do? He makes the highest break in That is careless. Judd Trump was

:42:28.:42:33.

looking for one chance, to close this match out. It has been a

:42:33.:42:38.

fabulous display of snooker from this young man, the rising star of

:42:38.:42:44.

snooker, gets himself into the semi-final of this year's Masterson,

:42:44.:42:54.
:42:54.:42:55.

When I go one or two frames ahead I have the confidence to keep

:42:55.:43:01.

knocking balls in and scoring over and over again. And did you make a

:43:01.:43:05.

good that in the past four frames. Even then second session I hardly

:43:05.:43:10.

missed a ball, so I think that is all part of the confidence.

:43:10.:43:14.

credit has to go to him, he played a good game. There is nothing you

:43:14.:43:21.

can say. That 60-odd break in the last frame put me under pressure.

:43:21.:43:27.

He played a good match. Ronnie O'Sullivan went down fighting and

:43:27.:43:36.

there was no disputing the quality of that 141. A respected snooker

:43:36.:43:40.

journalist we did after that match, torch passed. I think we know what

:43:40.:43:46.

he meant. Was that a significant result for the game of snooker?

:43:46.:43:49.

was significant for Judd Trump, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in front

:43:49.:43:55.

of a big London crowd. But I thought Ronnie O'Sullivan looked a

:43:55.:43:59.

little bit flat. He missed an easy black in the first frame which must

:43:59.:44:03.

have given Judd Trump confidence. The speed and fluency with which

:44:03.:44:08.

Judd Trump played, 42 minutes, it was quite extraordinary to watch,

:44:08.:44:14.

those first four frames. confidence is using out of them. No

:44:14.:44:20.

fear whatsoever. He just went from strength to strength. In terms of

:44:20.:44:23.

the Masters and favourites in London, you would have the likes of

:44:23.:44:28.

Alex Higgins passing the mantle to Jimmy White, who passed it to

:44:28.:44:33.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, visit the being passed to Judd from? He has a run

:44:33.:44:36.

the gauntlet down to the rest of them. He is saying that I am going

:44:36.:44:39.

to try and win every single tournament, and you guys have got

:44:39.:44:46.

to try and stop me. How do you guys in the Media Room assess the super

:44:46.:44:53.

the King's of that victory? Hector, is at the changing of the Guard,

:44:53.:44:58.

the way that Judd Trump has come along? It has felt like that since

:44:58.:45:02.

the World Championships. He's backing it up with a great run at

:45:02.:45:08.

the Crucible, then the UK, then another good run here. It seems to

:45:08.:45:12.

be a real opportunity. Ding Junhui is a couple of years older but

:45:12.:45:16.

there is no problem winner around in his age group, and he has got

:45:16.:45:20.

every chance of doing great things over the next few years. You have

:45:20.:45:24.

seen a few snooker balls over the years. This boy is very impressive

:45:24.:45:28.

and has had a rapid rise. It is less than one year ago that people

:45:28.:45:33.

were beginning to wonder whether Judd Trump would realises huge

:45:33.:45:38.

natural talent on the big stage, and then, suddenly, it all clicked

:45:38.:45:42.

and China where he won the China Open. And that seemed to give him

:45:42.:45:46.

the match play confidence he was lacking, and he has dazzled

:45:46.:45:49.

everyone with his sporting at the World Championship, and came within

:45:49.:45:54.

an ace of winning it, and has gone from strength to strength. Twice

:45:54.:45:59.

beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in major events, back-to-back. The world is

:45:59.:46:04.

his oyster. He has back it up, here, and he seems to bring his practice

:46:04.:46:09.

game to the main table which is an art in itself. He plays without any

:46:09.:46:14.

fear. That is the audacity of youth. He has played really well, played

:46:14.:46:18.

incredibly well to beat Mark Allen in the UK Championship. What is

:46:18.:46:21.

exciting about them is that he knows he can still improve and he

:46:22.:46:26.

wants to do that, he does not want to win just a couple of titles, he

:46:26.:46:30.

wants to be a legend, and I think there are exciting times ahead for

:46:30.:46:35.

him. Is heavy best player in the world and can he won the World

:46:35.:46:39.

Championship? In terms of confidence, he is the best player

:46:39.:46:43.

in the world, but I still think John Higgins could stop him winning

:46:43.:46:48.

the World Championship. The way that Judd Trump attacks the game of

:46:48.:46:52.

snooker is going to inspire youngsters to take up this sport.

:46:52.:46:57.

Just as he was inspired by the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and icy

:46:58.:47:02.

up and Stephen Hendry! There are lots of avenues opening up into the

:47:02.:47:07.

professional game for youngsters, not least the finding -- the

:47:07.:47:11.

founding of the qualifying school, which takes place each year after

:47:11.:47:14.

the World Championships in Sheffield. Ambitious players from

:47:14.:47:20.

all round the world are buying for a place on the main snooker tour.

:47:20.:47:24.

The model a similar to that of professional golf, which has been a

:47:24.:47:28.

terrific success. And the graduates are going to earn a two-year

:47:28.:47:32.

exemption to play on the tour, and the size of the tour is going to

:47:32.:47:39.

increase significantly from 96-128 players. The chairman of the

:47:39.:47:45.

governing body, Jason Ferguson, is with us now. It is great to have a

:47:45.:47:49.

success story to reflect upon. Tell us why you have decided to expand

:47:49.:47:56.

the exemption from one year to two years? It is down to players having

:47:56.:48:00.

a settling-in period. A large number of players have come on to

:48:00.:48:04.

the tour over the years to a plate for one year, perhaps not quite

:48:04.:48:08.

settled in, there's lots to think about, there is the number of

:48:08.:48:12.

players travelling around the world, living away from home, all these

:48:12.:48:17.

things have affected people, players playing on the tour, so the

:48:17.:48:20.

two-year exemption means a player has won here to settle down and

:48:20.:48:24.

will not fall off the tour if he does not get ranking points. He was

:48:24.:48:28.

the onto an extra season and after that his place will come up for

:48:28.:48:34.

renewal. I mentioned the golf model, and it is rather similar. But you

:48:34.:48:41.

are having to expand the tour, 128 players. If we look at the

:48:41.:48:45.

expansion of snooker worldwide and look at the numbers, 96 players on

:48:45.:48:49.

the tour currently, to increase the opportunity for players not just

:48:49.:48:56.

from England but from overseas, we have to make more in roads. 128 is

:48:56.:49:01.

the next step. Fascinating to see people from all over the world with

:49:01.:49:06.

great interest in this game coming to take part. What was there for

:49:06.:49:09.

this one place you have had applications for? It is incredible,

:49:09.:49:15.

it is very strong in the Far East. You lying last year qualified and

:49:15.:49:25.
:49:25.:49:27.

make his debut at the has a place in the top 64 and the world -- Yiu

:49:27.:49:35.

Liang. These opportunities were not open to you when you came through

:49:35.:49:41.

as a young player, Stephen. It is a fantastic opportunity. It is

:49:41.:49:44.

difficult for players to come from other countries to a strange

:49:44.:49:48.

country to play snooker, but the opportunities are phenomenal.

:49:48.:49:53.

terms of the number of applications you have had for the last two you

:49:53.:49:59.

schools what was it by the end? is in the hundreds. Anything is

:49:59.:50:04.

possible this year, with the growth that we have seen. In terms of the

:50:04.:50:08.

country producing most numbers of applications, what would it be?

:50:08.:50:16.

Good question. China, probably, India is also strong, particularly

:50:16.:50:22.

the Far Eastern nations, but snooker is very popular here in the

:50:22.:50:27.

UK. Just when you have been thinking about taking a break after

:50:27.:50:29.

the World Championships at the Crucible, you plough on for another

:50:29.:50:39.

month. 13th May is the start of cue school. We will be taking entries

:50:39.:50:43.

for the event. Stephen knows what a tough schedule it has been this

:50:43.:50:47.

year. That has left him quite ball at times. It is quite a gruelling

:50:47.:50:56.

schedule. -- quite vocal. If you want to take part in the cue school,

:50:56.:51:03.

you can do so through the World Snooker website. Look out for the

:51:03.:51:07.

opportunities in that. That is something special coming your way

:51:07.:51:11.

in May, but something very special us coming your way in March. This

:51:11.:51:19.

is it. 2012, the you that sport gets serious. Sport believe his

:51:19.:51:24.

back and it is your chance to be part of the UK's year of sport. We

:51:24.:51:28.

want the nation to get together and get active, and raise lots of cash.

:51:28.:51:32.

You can get behind it, changing lives across the world's poorest

:51:33.:51:38.

countries by doing the Sport Relief march on March 25th. We want 1

:51:39.:51:45.

million people to take part. can't I be in the front? Ear is a

:51:45.:51:49.

horse. A you can raise money by buying these lovely socks or one of

:51:49.:51:54.

these lovely teachers. There are jaw-dropping celebrity challenge is

:51:54.:51:57.

leading up to an unmissable star- studded night's entertainment,

:51:58.:52:02.

kicking off Sport Relief weekend. However you decide to do it, go the

:52:02.:52:12.
:52:12.:52:15.

extra mile for Sport Relief. thought that went all right. Argh!

:52:15.:52:19.

Sport Relief - who will be your other half? Back to the matters in

:52:19.:52:26.

hand. West discuss the fortunes and the frame of a certain well-known

:52:26.:52:36.
:52:36.:52:56.

Australian a bit more, shall we? -- It remains me of... Stephen? It is

:52:56.:53:03.

a complement. He has definitely got an all around them, when he walks

:53:03.:53:09.

around. And Neil has become quite a prolific winner. The days of us

:53:09.:53:13.

winning five or six or seven tournaments a season have long gone.

:53:13.:53:18.

If you 11 or two, you have had a fantastic season. He is such an

:53:18.:53:24.

improved player from five or six years ago. He is a proven winner.

:53:24.:53:28.

When you're playing him, you not necessarily going to be playing in

:53:28.:53:31.

the final stages of events, you know that he is not going to

:53:31.:53:36.

crumble. I have known Neil for quite a few years. He came to

:53:36.:53:40.

Leicester 10 or 11 years ago agree with together for a period of time

:53:40.:53:50.
:53:50.:53:54.

when he was forced on the tour. -- and we lived together. The first

:53:54.:53:57.

season he said to me that was why he fell off the tour, because he

:53:57.:54:02.

was taking on too many shots. In the last few years he has proved

:54:02.:54:06.

what a class player he is, winning the World Championships. You can

:54:06.:54:11.

switch the TV on, you wouldn't know if he was winning or losing, he has

:54:11.:54:19.

got a great temperament. Dropping of the tour at of times, you were

:54:19.:54:25.

on your uppers, but what happened that change your game around?

:54:25.:54:32.

some ways, I was a late developer. One of the problems I had was

:54:32.:54:36.

living in Australia and not playing with a lot of world-class players,

:54:36.:54:40.

although the standard of amateur snooker is very high, it is a

:54:40.:54:43.

completely different level to playing top professional players.

:54:43.:54:47.

Something I always lacked was that I was always flying from Australia

:54:47.:54:52.

to the UK, to play in tournaments, with very little match practice. It

:54:52.:55:00.

seemed to change for me when I moved to Cambridge in 2003. Seeing

:55:00.:55:04.

players like Mark King, every day, and learning a lot of good match

:55:04.:55:12.

play snooker, and building on that. It is all positive in interviews.

:55:12.:55:17.

There is not much morning. When I am playing him I am most jealous

:55:17.:55:24.

because you think you have played a decent safety shot, and he plays a

:55:24.:55:28.

poor and screws that white all the way back to the baulk area. It is

:55:28.:55:35.

fantastic. What part of your game which you try and improve? Probably

:55:35.:55:42.

my biggest focus this season was to improve my consistency. Watching

:55:42.:55:46.

somebody like Mark Tapley the last few seasons, he is always in semi-

:55:46.:55:56.
:55:56.:55:56.

finals and finals -- like Mark play. This season was just to practise

:55:56.:56:06.
:56:06.:56:07.

hard, and get to the later stages It is fair to say that Neil

:56:07.:56:15.

Robertson has achieved sustained excellence, all season long. Mark

:56:15.:56:21.

Williams has treated at the interval, 3-1 down, could have been

:56:21.:56:27.

3-1 up myself. We asked you to come up with a one-word nickname for

:56:27.:56:35.

Mark Williams that could be put on a teacher. When you're has said,

:56:35.:56:41.

the floater, but another has said the wall, because he is hard to

:56:41.:56:50.

break down and he does not crumble Players back from their mid-session

:56:50.:56:56.

interval. The photo? The wall? I think we can find something better

:56:56.:57:06.
:57:06.:57:09.

than that. -- The Floater. Yes, he is 3-1 down, Mark Williams, he

:57:09.:57:14.

could easily have been 3-1 ahead. But Neil Robertson has got stronger

:57:14.:57:22.

as this match has unfolded. He had a slight problem with the tip of

:57:22.:57:29.

his cue. I was in the tournament of this. Mark and Gary were doing a

:57:29.:57:34.

little bit of work on the tip. It has just split at the bottom, but I

:57:34.:57:44.
:57:44.:57:48.

It was split at the lip. He said that he missed the green for the

:57:48.:57:57.

100 break because he was looking at it, and it distracted him a little.

:57:57.:58:01.

Mark Clarke and Gary Wilkinson both former professional snooker players

:58:01.:58:11.
:58:11.:58:41.

who went for the association now. - We mentioned at the start of this

:58:41.:58:47.

match, two of the greatest long potters and the game, but the long

:58:47.:58:50.

pot success rate, I would have thought Mark Williams would be

:58:51.:59:00.
:59:01.:59:04.

slightly ahead, but usually at 60%. -- he is only at. Make that 61!

:59:04.:59:08.

That is more like it. He has given himself a great chance, with four

:59:08.:59:18.
:59:18.:59:28.

You get 4% for one good pot! Beautifully cued and will help, for

:59:28.:59:38.
:59:38.:59:47.

That is a nice angle on this black. Just nudged the red up and to the

:59:47.:59:52.

right of the black. If he can nudge that one added the way, the two

:59:52.:59:55.

there is there are close together, the bottom one will pot to the

:59:55.:00:00.

bottom left-hand corner pocket. He doesn't have to take it this time.

:00:00.:00:10.

He still has the loose red. Just wasn't perfect on the black, so

:00:10.:00:20.
:00:20.:00:38.

again, try to get a nice angle from Well, he came around to see if the

:00:38.:00:48.
:00:48.:00:53.

pink pots into the bottom right- It is so useful, that extension to

:00:53.:01:02.

the cue. It has been around quite some time now. And there is working

:01:02.:01:07.

on the tip again. That is his past to get into Alexandra Palace that

:01:07.:01:11.

he is using, it is shiny, he does not want any sandpaper on the tip,

:01:11.:01:16.

because where it is split, he could really damage it. That is why he

:01:16.:01:26.
:01:26.:01:29.

It is not even his pass, Dennis! is Gary Wilkinson's pass, who fixed

:01:29.:01:34.

the tip for him! He played in the world seniors, is still playing a

:01:34.:01:44.
:01:44.:01:52.

little bit. He was a World At least he found some news for

:01:52.:01:59.

those passes, Dennis. It came in handy. Sometimes, when the tip

:01:59.:02:02.

phrase, it just sticks out, and that is maybe what was catching his

:02:02.:02:12.
:02:12.:02:37.

A missed opportunity there. There And really this is the first decent

:02:37.:02:42.

chance that Mark Williams has had for quite some time. He made a

:02:42.:02:45.

frame-winning 78 break in the second frame, and if he can get

:02:45.:02:55.
:02:55.:02:56.

into the bar and sheer, plenty... Into the bunch here, he has let

:02:56.:03:04.

himself low on it. He can pot it and run through the red, bring a

:03:04.:03:08.

few more into play. He is going to run out of options very shortly. I

:03:08.:03:13.

thought he might have gone into then a couple of shots ago. He had

:03:13.:03:18.

the opportunity, even off the first red, a nice angle on the black. He

:03:18.:03:23.

chose to take the open red, and as he said, if you do not take the

:03:23.:03:28.

opportunity when it presents itself, that is what happens. You come

:03:28.:03:31.

straight and the black and you have no angle to split the reds. A

:03:31.:03:41.
:03:41.:03:42.

missed opportunity. OK, he may keep the break going here... A beautiful

:03:42.:03:45.

little shot to bring the pink into play, it really was, have a look at

:03:45.:03:55.
:03:55.:03:59.

OK, the blue was available. That pogo, Mark, I think. -- that will

:03:59.:04:07.

He is coming around to have a look from this side. Our camera clearly

:04:07.:04:17.
:04:17.:04:26.

He is looking again. They were talking about cues, and there was a

:04:26.:04:31.

gentleman that used the same cue for 50 years, the great Fred Davis.

:04:31.:04:35.

He used to do this, and you would think the ball would not go, and

:04:35.:04:40.

then fed would get down, knock it in and clear it up. You would be

:04:40.:04:48.

stewing in your seat! But he feels that pink does not pot. It is

:04:48.:04:58.
:04:58.:05:00.

always difficult when there is a He has played that beautifully.

:05:00.:05:04.

That was an excellent shot, and a lovely angle on his red to develop

:05:04.:05:14.
:05:14.:05:17.

Well, that last shot was a beautiful shot. Well, you cannot

:05:17.:05:21.

believe that, can you? Look at the gap the cue ball has come through

:05:21.:05:31.
:05:31.:05:41.

Quite amazing that he could get the Well, as the underhit this? Is it

:05:41.:05:51.
:05:51.:05:51.

going to reach? REFEREE: Foul. think it is a free ball. Free ball.

:05:51.:05:57.

It is a free ball. The one to the right of the bunch, he cannot hit

:05:57.:06:05.

both sides of that, so it is a free ball. The first red you are looking

:06:05.:06:09.

at, he would have to hit that on the left side to contact the pink

:06:10.:06:14.

or plume. He could roll up to the brown. You cannot snooker behind a

:06:14.:06:18.

free ball, but you can push it to one side and leave the cue ball

:06:18.:06:22.

behind the yellow. There may be value in taking the blue one. He

:06:22.:06:25.

could leave the cue ball down their left hand side of the table. He

:06:25.:06:29.

definitely would not be leaving a red. There is plenty of value if he

:06:29.:06:39.
:06:39.:06:49.

Great shot! Excellent pot. And he has got the perfect angle on the

:06:49.:06:55.

black. That was well worked out. Excellent shot. Now he needs a good

:06:55.:07:05.
:07:05.:07:12.

He got a lot of power on the cue ball, but everything seemed to be

:07:12.:07:18.

covering each other here. Yeah, when they are flat like that, the

:07:18.:07:24.

reds, it is tough to get the cue ball into a good spot. He could not

:07:24.:07:29.

have played it any better, really. Now, are we going to see a Neil

:07:29.:07:38.

Robertson special? His ego to play the safety shot? -- Is he going to?

:07:38.:07:48.
:07:48.:08:07.

Well, the green, brown and the yellow are not a bad target now to

:08:07.:08:12.

try to get in behind, and Neil cancelling the cue ball off a

:08:12.:08:22.
:08:22.:08:23.

couple of cushions over towards the He called it a little bit thin. --

:08:23.:08:31.

Court. -- he caught it. Still looking at the tip, but sometimes

:08:31.:08:34.

you are better just to try and forget all about it and decide

:08:34.:08:44.
:08:44.:08:44.

after the match what you are going REFEREE: Foul. That is a couple of

:08:44.:08:54.
:08:54.:09:21.

rolls now from Mark Williams. -- Problems now. That is two misses,

:09:21.:09:26.

and he will be warned. If he does not hit it this time, he will lose

:09:26.:09:35.

the frame, so it will definitely be a little bit thicker this time.

:09:35.:09:41.

have got to warn you, Mark. You have got to hit it this time.

:09:41.:09:51.
:09:51.:09:53.

Yes, a little bit thicker! It shows you the importance of catching the

:09:53.:10:03.
:10:03.:10:03.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:10:03.:11:08.

Well, this match is just slipping And it is one of those situations,

:11:08.:11:14.

the first four frames, it could have been 3-1 the other way. It is

:11:14.:11:24.
:11:24.:11:35.

He has had three quarter-finals in the Masters, Neil Robertson, never

:11:35.:11:39.

been to a semi-final. He is on his way here, but there is still quite

:11:39.:11:49.
:11:49.:12:00.

Yes, I think he is definitely a Your lovely wife is from Australia,

:12:00.:12:05.

isn't she? Yes, from Melbourne, where Neil Robertson is from, a

:12:05.:12:15.
:12:15.:12:23.

We heard the voice talking at the Forum in between this session, when

:12:24.:12:27.

they were talking about what a great time romance Neil Robertson

:12:27.:12:34.

has, both these players. -- a great temperament. He has certainly

:12:34.:12:39.

improve the lot, as Stephen Hendry has said, in-form over the last few

:12:39.:12:44.

years. He has become so much more consistent, and winning the World

:12:44.:12:48.

Championships certainly gave him an extra aura of confidence as well.

:12:48.:12:52.

He does walk around the table, doesn't he, with a sense of

:12:52.:13:00.

authority? But he has become very consistent over the last few

:13:00.:13:04.

seasons, even though he has missed that red, because he will not mind,

:13:05.:13:08.

that is another frame on the board. Mark Williams has got problems at

:13:08.:13:16.

the moment, as Neil Robertson goes into a 4-1 lead now. Yes! That is

:13:16.:13:24.

Gary Wilkinson, not Neil Robertson. At least I got that one right! I

:13:24.:13:29.

was talking to Patsy Fagan in the audience, but it was not him! We

:13:29.:13:33.

had a bit of a laugh about that afterwards in the players' room.

:13:33.:13:38.

But Mark has got a few problems now, 4-1 down, but he could quite easily

:13:38.:13:43.

have been leading. That is just how the friends have gone, a couple of

:13:43.:13:48.

tactical frames, but both players starting to cue well now. It is

:13:48.:13:52.

Neil Robertson who is taking control slightly. I was a bit

:13:52.:13:55.

surprised with Mark Williams. He had a couple of opportunities to go

:13:55.:14:00.

into the pack, a perfect angle on the black, and he just chose to

:14:00.:14:05.

take the loose reds first, and sometimes he must take the

:14:05.:14:15.

opportunity when it presents itself. He has ruined that now. It is 3-1

:14:15.:14:23.

there, but it is actually four-to- one. That beautiful Waterford

:14:23.:14:26.

crystal trophy just disappearing out of your picture, that is for

:14:26.:14:36.
:14:36.:14:45.

Along with the small sum of Yes, that is the new trophy, isn't

:14:45.:14:53.

it? The old one had been there for quite a few years, Stephen Hendry,

:14:53.:15:03.

won it six times, was given the trophy to keep. But it is this new

:15:03.:15:13.
:15:13.:15:20.

Made in the old Emerald Isle, Oh, what a shot that was! Look at

:15:20.:15:26.

where he has got the cue ball, that is amazing. That is why they call

:15:26.:15:28.

in the thunder from down under, because of the way he knocks these

:15:29.:15:38.
:15:39.:15:56.

I would rather you say that than They were talking at the midsession

:15:56.:16:00.

interval about Neil, you know, travelling from Australia. It took

:16:00.:16:04.

him a while to settle down. The other great Australian player,

:16:04.:16:09.

Eddie Charlton, made over 100 ships back and forwards from Australia to

:16:09.:16:15.

play this great game of snooker. -- trips. In fact, in the 1940s, the

:16:15.:16:19.

great Joe Davis, there is a lovely photograph of him having to play in

:16:19.:16:24.

Australia, catching the ship. It took six weeks to get there, no

:16:24.:16:32.

practice for six weeks? Well, I suppose you could have a snooker

:16:32.:16:42.
:16:42.:16:42.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:16:42.:17:41.

table on the ship, but everything This is definitely a must when

:17:41.:17:45.

frame for Mark Williams, 5-1, he would not be out of it completely,

:17:45.:17:55.
:17:55.:18:30.

but what a mountain to climb that Both players and certainly that the

:18:30.:18:34.

pace of the table. They have got the cue-ball tight on the baulk

:18:34.:18:44.
:18:44.:18:48.

That last shot is the key to playing snooker, you pause with the

:18:48.:18:52.

cue and deliver it in a straight line. That was a perfect example of

:18:52.:18:58.

it there. Let's have a look at this. Fall the cue back, stop, straight

:18:58.:19:08.
:19:08.:19:09.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:19:09.:20:15.

He needs another thin on here, and a half for contact to take the cue

:20:16.:20:23.

ball away from the pocket. -- half- ball. He caught it a little bit

:20:23.:20:28.

thick this time. So a chance for Mark Williams, and the black is

:20:28.:20:31.

available into the left corner. This is the best chance that Mark

:20:31.:20:39.

Williams has had for quite some He could do with a sizable

:20:39.:20:44.

contribution here. They are all there for him. They are nicely

:20:44.:20:54.
:20:54.:20:54.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:20:54.:21:49.

Just coming around to see what kind And again, it looks very, very

:21:49.:21:59.
:21:59.:22:00.

That is a poor shot by Mark Williams' standard. He needed to be

:22:00.:22:07.

a little bare lower for a nice, straightforward black. -- a little

:22:07.:22:17.
:22:17.:22:32.

bit lower. Oh, that has worked out He has got a perfect angle if he

:22:32.:22:37.

can just nudge the red that is closest to the black out of the way.

:22:37.:22:47.
:22:47.:23:04.

Here is an opportunity now into the He does that quite a lot, he likes

:23:04.:23:09.

to pick them off. He could have developed some more reds there, but

:23:09.:23:19.
:23:19.:23:21.

Yes, I think maybe the fact that he is now 40 points in front, he

:23:21.:23:25.

thought he could clinch the frame without risking a cannon. That

:23:25.:23:35.
:23:35.:23:40.

He is just struggling a bit now for position. He will have to go back

:23:40.:23:50.
:23:50.:23:51.

up for blue. Or can he holed and You see, this is the problem,

:23:51.:23:55.

Dennis, it was the wrong shot. He should have opened the reds with

:23:55.:24:00.

the black. As in the last frame, it is costing him frames, and these

:24:00.:24:03.

are positions that normally you would see him make a frame-winning

:24:03.:24:07.

break, but he is not taking the opportunities to split the reds,

:24:07.:24:16.

That is second prize, he has got a 46 point lead, but he will be very

:24:16.:24:21.

disappointed with that contribution. This was a shocker, wasn't it? As

:24:21.:24:25.

you said, he could have played up for the blue and eliminated the

:24:25.:24:35.
:24:35.:25:01.

possibility of sniggering himself Hull, he has just... He has just

:25:01.:25:04.

jammed a little bit at that one. OK, it was always going to cover the

:25:04.:25:14.
:25:14.:25:19.

A problem for Neil. He is so close to the red he cannot come across

:25:19.:25:26.

the cushion and try to pot the red. He has got quite a problem here.

:25:26.:25:36.
:25:36.:25:40.

How does he cover that red that is Even though Mark Williams would

:25:40.:25:50.
:25:50.:25:55.

like to have seen the red drop, he That is touching. That might just

:25:55.:26:04.

help Mark Williams. He can pot the red with the black, because he is

:26:04.:26:09.

touching. Not often you see that, but added that turnout for Mark

:26:09.:26:15.

Williams? He was on a straight away, a lot of people were working out

:26:15.:26:20.

what was going on. He was hitting the red, a clever shot. I do not

:26:20.:26:24.

think I have ever seen that before in that sort of a situation, so

:26:24.:26:34.
:26:34.:26:45.

I bet Neil Robertson never thought It is funny, that, Dennis, in all

:26:45.:26:48.

the years I have been playing snooker, I do not think I have ever

:26:48.:26:58.
:26:58.:27:01.

seen that before. He knew straight Well, we said it was a frame that

:27:01.:27:09.

he badly needed. He has got it, and he is doing it in style. An earlier

:27:09.:27:16.

47 break paved the way, and he didn't even bother there. He knows

:27:16.:27:20.

that Neil will stay in his seat, so Mark Williams won the frame he

:27:20.:27:25.

badly-needed, and now he is just two frames behind, still 4-2 in

:27:26.:27:30.

favour of the Australian. Yes, a rather unusual situation in

:27:30.:27:34.

that last frame, but Mark Williams alive to it right away. For years I

:27:34.:27:38.

have played the game and watched it, I have never seen that happen, and

:27:38.:27:43.

there! Most unusual, Neil Robertson had no choice so he decided to roll

:27:43.:27:48.

up to the red. It's just rolled back on to it, touching ball. He

:27:48.:27:52.

knew straightaway what the situation was, because Mark looked

:27:52.:27:56.

down, played the black on to the red, knocked it in and won the

:27:56.:28:00.

frame. Have you seen it before? have never seen it before, it will

:28:00.:28:03.

be interesting to see how many players would have been alive to

:28:03.:28:08.

that. None of us in the commentary box have seen it happen. It shows

:28:08.:28:13.

he is still alert and focused. still end the match after that, he

:28:13.:28:18.

badly needed that one. He will not go away, he is a great competitor,

:28:18.:28:24.

he laughs and jokes, scrappy frames, but they all count the same to Mark

:28:24.:28:29.

and he tries as hard as he can. has been there or thereabouts in

:28:29.:28:32.

the main ranking tournaments. He was run up in the first couple in

:28:33.:28:37.

Australia and Shanghai, but you know him very well, how

:28:37.:28:41.

disappointing will those performances have been to him?

:28:41.:28:44.

would not show it, they would try to give up the bravado that he

:28:44.:28:49.

normally does, but he will have been gutted to lose in Australia,

:28:49.:28:54.

the UK against John Higgins where he was 8-5 up as well. Those ones

:28:54.:28:58.

hurt, when you should have won. first time it happens to you, when

:28:58.:29:03.

it has never happened before, when you do not worry about it, you

:29:03.:29:06.

start waiting for the second and third time. It does prey on your

:29:06.:29:10.

mind, it is one of those ridiculous times. The first time it happens,

:29:10.:29:14.

you do not believe it, but then you start looking in the rear-view

:29:14.:29:18.

mirror. Whereas the reverse is probably true of Neil Robertson, we

:29:18.:29:22.

are getting ahead of ourselves, but he has been in six world-ranking

:29:22.:29:27.

finals and won the lot. He has not gone through that self-doubt thing

:29:27.:29:33.

so far. A tremendous conversion rates. OK, here we go, not in the

:29:33.:29:40.

final, a long way to go before that. There certainly is, Hazel, and this

:29:40.:29:45.

could develop into a fascinating tussle here. You have had a good

:29:45.:29:55.
:29:55.:30:02.

conversion rate as well, Dennis, The old euro is everywhere. It used

:30:02.:30:12.
:30:12.:30:41.

to be the punt where you came from. The dreaded double-kiss, there. He

:30:41.:30:51.
:30:51.:31:04.

didn't get close to that attempt at I think he puts all his

:31:04.:31:08.

concentration into trying to cut that in and didn't anticipate the

:31:09.:31:18.
:31:19.:31:19.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:31:19.:32:52.

white disappearing, also. Who put Surely that is not a plant that

:32:52.:33:01.

Mark Williams has left you Robertson here? -- Neil Robertson.

:33:01.:33:09.

Not only did he get the plant, but the cue ball coming off the knuckle

:33:09.:33:18.

of the middle pocket has certainly He probably had enough pace on that

:33:18.:33:24.

to come in and out of all, but that was a useful bottle knuckle, as you

:33:24.:33:34.
:33:34.:33:37.

said, Ken. -- little knuckle. Williams will be sitting in his

:33:37.:33:43.

chair, kicking himself for leaving that straightforward plant. He did

:33:43.:33:46.

not see himself or otherwise he would not have put the cue ball up

:33:46.:33:56.
:33:56.:34:17.

Just a delicate cannon needed here It's straightforward here, just to

:34:17.:34:22.

drop the red in and finish on the black. His natural angle would take

:34:22.:34:30.

him into the gap between the reds to the left of the bunch. But he

:34:30.:34:40.
:34:40.:34:45.

might get himself onto the blue. It looks like the pink also pots.

:34:46.:34:55.
:34:56.:35:03.

He has the wrong side of the blue. That was an excellent shot, the

:35:03.:35:13.
:35:13.:35:25.

He has a couple of options. He can play for the black or back up, for

:35:25.:35:35.
:35:35.:35:41.

the blue. That looks just about He may not elect to go into the

:35:41.:35:51.
:35:51.:36:00.

pack, he could go for those two He wanted a slightly fuller contact,

:36:00.:36:05.

but he has got a couple of ways to get an angle on the black. He might

:36:05.:36:13.

just stun it in-off the top cushion. That is the shot that he could play.

:36:13.:36:23.
:36:23.:36:49.

Well, he's made a mess of it. That That the average shot, there, with

:36:49.:36:53.

Mark playing the screw with that little bit of side. Stephen Hendry

:36:53.:37:03.
:37:03.:37:14.

was talking about that in the Not only a terrific double but a

:37:15.:37:19.

good angle on the black to get the pink and reds I it. That is good at

:37:19.:37:29.
:37:29.:37:34.

all. -- beautiful. What a chance. It has worked out at root, and I

:37:34.:37:44.
:37:44.:37:51.

think the pink pots as well. -- it Those two reds bought into this

:37:51.:38:01.
:38:01.:38:15.

That miss from Neil Robertson might prove to be a turning point in this

:38:15.:38:25.

match, if this man can close it down to just one frame in it. I

:38:25.:38:35.
:38:35.:38:54.

Points all level. The black to follow, here. Mark will not need it

:38:54.:38:59.

that red that is closest to the left-hand cushion if he can get the

:38:59.:39:06.

next four reds and high value colours. Just concentrate on the

:39:06.:39:13.

open reds. When he pots this, he's going to clear the other to the

:39:13.:39:23.
:39:23.:39:33.

opposite corner. There is no need He is showing what he's made of

:39:33.:39:43.
:39:43.:39:45.

here, the Welshman. 4-1 down. Looked as if Neil Robertson was

:39:45.:39:55.
:39:55.:39:59.

It just came off the cushion further than he intended. This red

:39:59.:40:03.

is a little more difficult. He's looking at the one up the cushion

:40:03.:40:07.

but he played for the one to the right of the cue ball and it should

:40:07.:40:10.

have been comfortable for the middle, but he's going to have to

:40:10.:40:20.
:40:20.:40:32.

take it up into the corner. It is No heroics, just leaving the

:40:32.:40:36.

possibility of taking on the double. He doesn't have to play a snooker.

:40:36.:40:42.

That is what he is just thinking about. He has gone for the double,

:40:42.:40:49.

but he's not quite safe. 38, the difference. Neil Robertson only

:40:49.:40:59.

needs one snooker. That is why he was debating whether to play the

:40:59.:41:09.
:41:09.:41:13.

snooker behind the black or take One for. Snooker, red, black and

:41:13.:41:23.
:41:23.:41:27.

all the colours required for Neil. -- one four point snooker. He has

:41:27.:41:33.

floated a few of these pots in, and he could do with another, to secure

:41:33.:41:38.

this frame. Where is it going to finish? Is he going to fluked a

:41:38.:41:45.

snooker? He is, but there is a possibility there is a slight

:41:45.:41:49.

chance if he catches the red correctly off the cushion, he could

:41:49.:41:54.

finish in behind the brown, but he would have to be spot-on, so

:41:54.:42:04.
:42:04.:42:04.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:42:04.:42:46.

That is a bit of a one! Look at that. Has he fluked a snooker back?

:42:46.:42:56.
:42:56.:43:30.

He has won two in a row, and from 4-1, you suddenly one frame behind,

:43:30.:43:36.

at 4-t. Memories of the opening day with Ronnie assault and against

:43:36.:43:40.

Ding Junhui, we had a grandstand finish in that game as well. This

:43:40.:43:44.

is a great comeback from Mark Williams, made by a terrific long

:43:44.:43:51.

red. Surprised at nil lead in this, this is a cracking shot, cue the

:43:51.:44:01.

beautifully, straight into the pocket. He came back and went on in

:44:01.:44:07.

float mode. Typical Mark Williams break, something out of nothing.

:44:08.:44:11.

was going to say that he looked focused, but he never looks so

:44:12.:44:16.

focused, Mark Williams! Terrific break and he has got himself right

:44:16.:44:23.

back in it. You have played him on a number of occasions and it is

:44:23.:44:26.

tricky, being a friend of us, but there are many points you can gauge

:44:26.:44:32.

from his body language about how he is feeling out at the table?

:44:32.:44:39.

more calm that he looks, the better he is playing. When he is showing

:44:39.:44:48.

no emotion, that is when he is better. The machine is ticking

:44:48.:44:58.
:44:58.:45:00.

along will now. Expressionless. -- And he has got the snooker from a

:45:00.:45:10.
:45:10.:45:18.

break-off shot. That will never REFEREE: file, and a miss. -- Foul

:45:18.:45:28.
:45:28.:45:34.

and a miss. There is another photo from the Welshman. -- floater.

:45:34.:45:44.
:45:44.:45:47.

There was a little bit of noise in the crowd there. How well cap that

:45:47.:45:57.
:45:57.:46:10.

little beauty. -- have it look at Could have done with a little bit

:46:10.:46:16.

more backspin to get that wiped away from the reds. This is awkward,

:46:16.:46:26.
:46:26.:46:52.

now. -- that white. He has overcut The split didn't work out for him.

:46:52.:46:55.

There is a possibility that he could play that as a plant and

:46:55.:46:59.

bring more reds into play, but it is a little bit risky from that

:46:59.:47:07.

That is not the best rest shot he has ever played. This is a tricky

:47:07.:47:17.
:47:17.:47:29.

black. Going into a blind pocket, These are no gimmes. Played it well,

:47:29.:47:39.
:47:39.:48:00.

pleaded very well. -- played it Has just got a slight angle on the

:48:00.:48:07.

blue. I think the red that is on the pink spot will pot. Just

:48:07.:48:17.
:48:17.:48:17.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:48:17.:49:06.

We spoke about Neil Robertson's temperament. He is just showing how

:49:06.:49:16.
:49:16.:49:29.

His pot success rate is up to 90%. That is what you want to be, into

:49:29.:49:39.
:49:39.:49:54.

There is no need to cannon into that bunch of four. They will all

:49:54.:49:58.

clear each other as he pots this. There is also one that is available

:49:58.:50:08.
:50:08.:50:24.

That is good thinking, to play for the pink. Getting on this red was

:50:24.:50:31.

much more comfortable than having to do it from the black. He will

:50:31.:50:38.

have to get high and the pink because then he can develop the two

:50:38.:50:48.
:50:48.:50:51.

which to the left of the red below It does not look like he has the

:50:51.:50:58.

angle for the pink at this time. These to be a few inches higher up

:50:58.:51:08.
:51:08.:51:26.

I think that heavy contact has spoilt it for him, and the one you

:51:26.:51:34.

suggest it is a change of plan. That is nicely played. Certainly,

:51:34.:51:40.

one of those reds is available to the left middle. The one furthest

:51:41.:51:50.
:51:51.:52:01.

Now, the one that he played to get on previously is still available.

:52:01.:52:06.

I'm not sure if there is enough angle to do it from the brown. He

:52:06.:52:16.
:52:16.:52:19.

might have to take the yellow. He He is on that red. He couldn't have

:52:19.:52:26.

hit that much better. Nice angle on the red, as well. Stun into those

:52:26.:52:29.

two reds and screw back and stay on the pink, also bringing these reds

:52:29.:52:39.
:52:39.:52:50.

That is not the best shot he has played. He wanted to be doubt

:52:50.:52:57.

straight on this pink, just to drop it in. He might have to play or for

:52:57.:53:02.

that red on the left hand side of the table and being left handed, he

:53:02.:53:06.

can just stun or work for that one. It is a delicate little screw shot,

:53:06.:53:16.
:53:16.:53:21.

to get himself over for that red. Played beautifully. He is going to

:53:21.:53:31.
:53:31.:53:36.

need red-collar-red. -- red-colour- red. Being a left-hander, this is

:53:37.:53:42.

perfect for him. Egg right response from the Australian. Mark Williams

:53:42.:53:52.
:53:52.:53:53.

closing the gap from 4-1,-4-t, -- 4-3. And Neil Robertson shows why

:53:53.:54:03.

he is a great champion. This is one title he would love to have on his

:54:03.:54:13.
:54:13.:54:16.

CV, as most players would, the Masters. Lots of players outside

:54:16.:54:21.

the UK feel that this is the second biggest. I know that Stephen Hendry

:54:21.:54:28.

always thought it was the second biggest. The 16 best players in the

:54:28.:54:38.
:54:38.:55:02.

world, every year. It is a tough Every chance of making a century

:55:02.:55:10.

break now. We have had 12, so far, this year, in the Masters. Neil

:55:10.:55:17.

Robertson has had one up until now. And look at the reverse side,

:55:17.:55:27.
:55:27.:55:27.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:55:27.:56:15.

He has already made 34 centuries He has done it in style with that

:56:15.:56:18.

might have a son century brick, and lots of variation with the colours

:56:18.:56:23.

he has potted, but he has potted a lot, Neil Robertson, after losing

:56:23.:56:29.

two frames, takes that frame and prison cell just one frame away

:56:29.:56:39.
:56:39.:56:48.

from a place in the semi-final. -- I think I'm quite a nice person. I

:56:48.:56:54.

am a good listener, Alan to listen to people and give people advice

:56:54.:57:01.

and stuff like that. My mum always caused me before every match. That

:57:01.:57:05.

is my thing. It does not matter what time it is, she will always

:57:05.:57:15.
:57:15.:57:17.

leave a message for me. You want me to do it, studiously? OK. My friend

:57:17.:57:22.

and I work but how to do it when we were eight years old, in school. I

:57:22.:57:27.

am quite lazy. I forget to do things. I don't do it on purpose, I

:57:27.:57:36.

just forget. I love playing computer games. Just escaping. I

:57:36.:57:46.
:57:46.:57:49.

can play games for 10 are straight, no problem. -- 10 hours. I had the

:57:49.:57:53.

all country phoning me up, it seemed, that was a lot of

:57:53.:57:56.

expectation to career and my showbiz, before the World

:57:56.:58:06.
:58:06.:58:08.

Championships. -- expectation to He carried the pressure of that

:58:08.:58:12.

world title a couple of years ago, Neil Robertson, and since then, has

:58:12.:58:18.

been very consistent, six out of six in major finals. One of the

:58:18.:58:21.

most successful players from outside the British Isles who has

:58:21.:58:26.

ever played the game. He's just one frame away from a breakthrough in

:58:26.:58:30.

this tournament. He has never got past the quarter-final stage in the

:58:30.:58:40.
:58:40.:58:40.

Masters before. Is he about to take Yes, Hazel, he has put himself in a

:58:40.:58:48.

great position to do that, but his opponent, Mark Williams, we know

:58:48.:58:52.

what he is capable of. He will never give up, that is for sure.

:58:52.:59:02.
:59:02.:59:14.

But he has got to win three frames I don't know whether he has seen

:59:14.:59:21.

one of his friends up there, he was having a little smile at him. Where

:59:21.:59:27.

is this red going? I thought it was going to spin across into one of

:59:27.:59:34.

the corner pockets. It just shows you how laid back Mark Williams is.

:59:34.:59:39.

He's 5-3 down in the Masters, and he is having a little smile at one

:59:39.:59:49.
:59:49.:59:49.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:59:49.:00:46.

of his friends and the audience. -- Good shot from R Williams. My was

:00:46.:00:51.

just coming round to look and see if these two reds down former plant

:00:51.:01:01.
:01:01.:01:12.

into the bottom right-hand pocket. There is no easy safety shot, which

:01:12.:01:22.
:01:22.:01:34.

He did make it into a plant. The cue ball was dangerously close to

:01:34.:01:42.

the middle pocket. But look at the angle he has and the blue now. He

:01:42.:01:46.

could play for a loose red, but it is the perfect angle to split the

:01:47.:01:56.
:01:57.:02:01.

A little bit surprising. He would love to get that black back on to

:02:01.:02:11.
:02:11.:02:28.

Just over stretching full little bit. I thought he could have held

:02:28.:02:33.

for the black and just shouldered them along the cushion. But he

:02:33.:02:38.

decided to Forcett and going for the blue. It was an interesting

:02:38.:02:48.
:02:48.:02:48.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:02:48.:03:46.

Good pot, but just the wrong side That cue ball needed to slow down.

:03:46.:03:56.
:03:56.:04:04.

Just about OK. He will play this He played it straight up and down

:04:04.:04:14.
:04:14.:04:18.

and that was very unlucky. There He was very unlucky not to have an

:04:18.:04:27.

easy red to go at. But I am surprised he took the double on. He

:04:27.:04:35.

had a straightforward shot to get a snooker. You see, there is an easy

:04:36.:04:44.

snooker in their behind the brown. Annual has not the staple shot and

:04:44.:04:50.

in many occasions. But he has been a little bit off with some of his

:04:51.:05:00.
:05:01.:05:34.

long potting. That was not as He is still doing a little bit of

:05:34.:05:44.
:05:44.:05:47.

work on the tip of his cue. There was a little bit sticking out any

:05:47.:05:55.

is just making sure he does not see that when he looks down the cue.

:05:55.:06:01.

The players will be due in exactly the same position each time. The

:06:01.:06:11.
:06:11.:06:43.

use the same part of the cue every Mark was shot with that cue ball.

:06:43.:06:53.
:06:53.:07:05.

Beautiful shot. It was a good example of Neil Robertson's cue

:07:05.:07:15.
:07:15.:07:18.

You see the cue ball stopping for a second and then the screw back

:07:18.:07:28.
:07:28.:07:29.

takes effect and he came back for the blue. This is an example of the

:07:29.:07:39.
:07:39.:07:43.

screw shot, hitting down on the Now, the snake shop will certainly

:07:43.:07:53.
:07:53.:08:01.

open up the red. -- this next shot. There was every chance he could of

:08:01.:08:11.
:08:11.:08:11.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:08:11.:10:13.

develop the pink, but you have to He has lost his little extension.

:10:13.:10:23.
:10:23.:10:25.

He was at the wrong end of the table. That is the one he wants.

:10:25.:10:29.

This won just six into the cue. A lot of players have ones which

:10:29.:10:39.
:10:39.:10:40.

actually screwing. It is much better to use your own Pep. -- you

:10:40.:10:50.
:10:50.:10:57.

You can see the half but there, but there really just for sure nowadays.

:10:57.:11:07.
:11:07.:11:17.

Beautifully played. The soft stone shot on the blue. He avoided going

:11:17.:11:27.
:11:27.:11:29.

It is just a serious offer little stunner shots and beautiful control

:11:29.:11:39.
:11:39.:11:47.

This is where he is probably at his best. He is not having to do much

:11:47.:11:54.

with the cue ball. But he has put a fantastic touch around the pink and

:11:54.:12:04.
:12:04.:12:06.

But he has come up shot. That is careless. That is very careless

:12:06.:12:16.
:12:16.:12:35.

remark. -- From mark. How is this That shot was what we call around

:12:35.:12:45.
:12:45.:12:47.

the houses. And he judge it to perfection. That was another lovely

:12:47.:12:57.
:12:57.:12:59.

shot, wasn't it? The break now goes to 47. It is typical of Mark

:12:59.:13:07.

Williams. He has seen a break of 119 from his opponent to go 5-3

:13:07.:13:12.

down. And this is the way he responds. He has done it so many

:13:12.:13:21.

times. Now 54 points with only 51 remaining, but he just has to be

:13:21.:13:27.

careful that this red does not mess. But that is a good shot. This has

:13:27.:13:37.
:13:37.:13:46.

He is letting Neil Robertson know that he is still in this match and

:13:46.:13:56.
:13:56.:14:06.

is not going to go down without a He has made 285 century breaks

:14:06.:14:12.

during his career. He would have made a lot more, but often, when he

:14:12.:14:15.

has got a free one, he does not appear to be particularly bothered

:14:15.:14:24.

about reaching three figures. But this has been good to give Neil

:14:24.:14:29.

Robertson something to think about. And look at how they played at!

:14:29.:14:37.

That was a shame, it would have been nice to have seen a century.

:14:37.:14:40.

But there was a great seven-day break, which brews are now just one

:14:40.:14:50.
:14:50.:14:51.

frame behind at 5-4. A that underlined Dennis's.. What do you

:14:51.:14:59.

make of his response to this pressure situation? Neil Ashley had

:14:59.:15:09.
:15:09.:15:09.

a couple of half-chances. It amazing how often someone does not

:15:09.:15:18.

take their chance when they are only needing one frame. But this is

:15:18.:15:22.

a marvellous shot. He had to take their cue ball writer around the

:15:22.:15:29.

table. You could not have played this better. For cushions. Great

:15:29.:15:37.

shot. The chances you have to go over the line 10 to diminish when

:15:38.:15:44.

again gets as tight as this? you're hoping for is just one good

:15:45.:15:54.
:15:55.:15:55.

chance. That is all you are looking for. It certainly has. It is going

:15:55.:16:04.

Mark Williams may have in the back of his mind and Neil Robertson has

:16:04.:16:13.

never been beyond the stage in the Masters. But you have to just play

:16:13.:16:23.
:16:23.:16:33.

the frames as they come, frame by That is a pretty good shot. The

:16:33.:16:41.

snooker was a bonus, but it was a good cue ball. Mark is looking to

:16:41.:16:47.

come down the right hand side of the table. It should be pretty

:16:47.:16:50.

straight for words. But obviously he does not want to slide off the

:16:50.:16:58.

pack, as there are a couple of reds below that, which will pot. He

:16:58.:17:08.
:17:08.:17:23.

could leave one of the mourned, so There was no touching ball called

:17:23.:17:33.
:17:33.:17:37.

by Jan Verhaas, or referee. Market may be able to get away up the

:17:37.:17:47.
:17:47.:17:52.

table. Look at the way he is And what a good shot it was. Look

:17:52.:18:02.
:18:02.:18:16.

You will not see it in the coaching manual, Dennis! Of course, Mark can

:18:16.:18:26.
:18:26.:18:26.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:18:26.:19:07.

That is perfectly played and has given Mark something to think about.

:19:08.:19:14.

At first glance, I am not sure if he can come off the side cushion

:19:14.:19:24.

into the red, because he would probably leave a pot on. He might

:19:24.:19:29.

have to try and nestle on the one to the left of the black, but that

:19:29.:19:36.

also is difficult. Failing that, it may have to be a to cushion escape

:19:36.:19:46.
:19:46.:19:56.

to lean on their red he's just This has got to be absolutely spot

:19:56.:20:05.

on. He was thinking of nestling into the red near the pink, but it

:20:05.:20:15.

has changed his mind. That is pretty good. He thought for a long

:20:15.:20:23.

time about it, but I tell you what, surely this red does not pot at the

:20:24.:20:33.
:20:34.:20:34.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 71 seconds

:20:34.:21:20.

back of the pack? Can he see enough Good shot, pushing the raid to the

:21:20.:21:30.
:21:30.:21:30.

side of the table. As you can see, this is very difficult. Made even

:21:30.:21:33.

more difficult by the fact that he can only just see the top of the

:21:33.:21:43.
:21:43.:22:09.

I am not sure he actually meant to go down the up side of the red.

:22:09.:22:14.

Neil Robertson is now looking at this long pot. But that is very

:22:14.:22:24.
:22:24.:22:24.

risky, under the circumstances. He has seen a 4-1 lead and the 5-3

:22:24.:22:29.

lead reduced to just one frame. I think that was the correct choice.

:22:29.:22:39.
:22:39.:22:47.

I think he has managed to cover this red down the right-hand side.

:22:47.:22:51.

He may be able to just catch the outside edge with a little bit

:22:51.:23:01.
:23:01.:23:04.

We have seen some very good tactical play. In the safety

:23:04.:23:13.

success, there is just a tiny margin between the two players. Has

:23:13.:23:21.

he done many but damage or got away with it? There may be one available

:23:21.:23:31.
:23:31.:23:44.

into the middle and the left corner. If he takes this into the corner,

:23:44.:23:49.

he is going to have to push right through the red. Or is he going to

:23:49.:23:59.
:23:59.:24:00.

screw back? Yes, he avoided the bunch. They do not think the blue

:24:00.:24:04.

will actually pass that red into the middle. I think he will have to

:24:04.:24:14.
:24:14.:24:17.

He thought of a couple of options, such as playing it with top spin

:24:17.:24:27.

and pushing right through the pack of red. He is very close to that

:24:27.:24:37.
:24:37.:24:44.

It did not ball into the heart of the pocket, but was a good pot

:24:44.:24:54.
:24:54.:25:15.

He is looking a couple of shots ahead. I am not sure if that red at

:25:15.:25:18.

the bottom of the bunch will pour into the bottom right-hand corner

:25:18.:25:28.
:25:28.:25:31.

We can see the raid near the cushion is available, but it would

:25:31.:25:41.
:25:41.:25:42.

be a bonus if that red at the back of the pack was born. If not, he

:25:42.:25:52.
:25:52.:26:01.

I do not see any possible plants. That red is going towards the

:26:01.:26:10.

pocket. He should have checked that. I just spotted one just before he

:26:10.:26:17.

played the shot. It is a bit unlucky, but it is always worth

:26:17.:26:21.

having a look around if you're going to go into the pack at that

:26:21.:26:31.
:26:31.:26:46.

Now, is that going to turn things right around? Neil Robertson had

:26:46.:26:55.

the great chance to clinch the match. And he still has a chance.

:26:55.:27:02.

That is a bad miss from Mark Williams. He has missed precious

:27:02.:27:12.

little like that. Yes, very surprising. You do not see Mark

:27:12.:27:16.

Williams miss many blacks like that. There was a lot of pressure on it,

:27:16.:27:26.
:27:26.:27:37.

He has now drifted Neil Robertson a great chance to close out the match.

:27:37.:27:47.
:27:47.:27:52.

That was very surprising. Normally, He possibly just took his eye off

:27:52.:28:02.
:28:02.:28:08.

it slightly. He was concentrating Meanwhile, Neil has left himself

:28:08.:28:18.
:28:18.:28:19.

hampered slightly. The fact that this frame could take him into his

:28:19.:28:23.

first Masters semi-final against a certain amount of pressure to the

:28:23.:28:33.
:28:33.:28:39.

That was a good shot. Never easy when you're having to bridge over

:28:40.:28:49.
:28:50.:28:56.

The black does going to this bottom right-hand corner pocket. He would

:28:56.:29:04.

like to have been straight to run this red. Yes, the black is only

:29:04.:29:13.

available into one of these two pockets at the bottom of the table.

:29:14.:29:23.

It is not straightforward. Let us see if he can avoid the cannon on

:29:23.:29:33.
:29:33.:30:10.

to the other balls. Yes, well A little bit of adrenalin creeping

:30:10.:30:15.

into Neil Robertson's game. He should have been on the blue there.

:30:15.:30:25.
:30:25.:30:32.

Yes, it is all about keeping close control and keeping things as easy

:30:32.:30:42.
:30:42.:30:58.

He might have to play a little can in here, so he will have to be

:30:58.:31:08.
:31:08.:31:17.

careful. He would prefer to have The gentlest of cannons. Making

:31:17.:31:21.

sure that did not slip out of position. Can he hold himself

:31:21.:31:28.

together and get himself into his first ever Masters and the final? -

:31:28.:31:38.
:31:38.:31:38.

- semi-final. The winner of this match will play the sensational

:31:38.:31:46.

Judd Trump, so we'll have two left- handers in that semi-final,

:31:46.:31:56.
:31:56.:32:06.

Just looking at the score, there, he wants the blue, and at least two

:32:06.:32:16.
:32:16.:32:31.

Mark Williams can only sit there and hope that something will go

:32:31.:32:35.

wrong. He had a spirited fightback to get himself to just one frame

:32:35.:32:42.

behind, and he was looking good until he missed that comfortable

:32:42.:32:49.

black. Neil Robertson has just slightly ran out of position.

:32:49.:32:54.

Digging than on the cue ball. Just makes this pot a little bit more

:32:54.:33:01.

difficult. Yes, he only needs one more red after the blue. You see,

:33:01.:33:05.

if he rolls the blue to try and get on this red to the left of the

:33:05.:33:10.

black, he has got to be careful, but I don't think that it is an in-

:33:10.:33:15.

off, and I don't think that he would cannon the pink. We will find

:33:15.:33:24.

out, it was an in-off, and that is what he was worried about. No

:33:24.:33:31.

wonder he is puffing out his cheeks. A quick glance at the scoreboard.

:33:31.:33:38.

He knows that one more pot could see him through to the semi-final.

:33:38.:33:44.

Not easy, the cue ball in the jaws of the pocket, playing a red into a

:33:44.:33:52.

blind pocket, as he looks than his cue. Well played. Make sure of the

:33:52.:34:02.
:34:02.:34:03.

red. He relied on his technique and smooth cueing, and it could be end

:34:03.:34:11.

of the Masters now for Mark Williams. That definitely feels --

:34:11.:34:18.

seals the match. Started with at tactical opening frame that lasted

:34:18.:34:22.

40 minutes, but there has been some great snooker, and a great

:34:22.:34:30.

fightback from 4-1 down, and from 5-3 behind, it look like he could

:34:30.:34:34.

take it to a deciding frame. It is a great feeling when you're walking

:34:34.:34:39.

round knocking the balls in, and you have clinch the match. That

:34:39.:34:44.

will be his first Master semi-final, and what a mouth-watering prospect

:34:44.:34:49.

that will be. Mark Williams comes forward and congratulates Neil

:34:49.:34:53.

Robertson, the gentleman that he is. So the battle of the left handers

:34:53.:34:58.

goes to the Australian. It was a tough battle, but he is through to

:34:58.:35:08.
:35:08.:35:08.

the semi-final, winning 6-4. Thank you, Gary. I am not quite sure who

:35:08.:35:13.

that was, it was Gary Wilkinson! I am not sure what he's doing with

:35:13.:35:23.

Gary's I d. Neil Robertson, through at last to a Masters semi-final. He

:35:23.:35:28.

was made to work all the way, even in the final frame, the position

:35:28.:35:34.

just a fraction off. It was a great break, he was never right, all the

:35:34.:35:39.

way through it, the first seven aureate positional shots, all just

:35:39.:35:44.

slightly off her. It was a very high-quality break in the

:35:44.:35:49.

circumstances to win the match, exceptional. How did you rate his

:35:49.:35:52.

performance when Mark Williams was beginning to creep back into it?

:35:52.:35:56.

was a great break to get over the line. You have to keep your

:35:56.:36:01.

concentration and focus in that position. Mark had a great chance,

:36:01.:36:05.

a tricky black, but one you would expect him to get, and Neil

:36:05.:36:08.

Robertson was quick to get out of his chair, and focus his

:36:08.:36:14.

concentration on it. When you are playing as good as Neil Robertson

:36:14.:36:17.

is playing, when the Maxwell a chance to get over the line, they

:36:17.:36:27.
:36:27.:36:33.

Well done, congratulations. At 3-1, I made a 90 break to go 3-1 up, but

:36:33.:36:42.

in practice before the match, it just flared up. Cannibal Kinson had

:36:42.:36:49.

to try and repair the to put the cue as well as he could. He must

:36:49.:36:55.

have been difficult seeing that. He has come I could see the to put the

:36:55.:36:59.

cue going hello! I am relieved but I am going to have to change the

:36:59.:37:05.

cue tip tonight. A have you got any old ones order you have to put a

:37:05.:37:13.

new one on? I think I should have won ready. But I haven't done it.

:37:13.:37:19.

We know what you're going to be doing tonight, then. Yes, I'll get

:37:19.:37:24.

someone to put one on. Hopefully, I can play it in before tomorrow,

:37:25.:37:29.

because it is hard playing with a new tip it is a player's worst

:37:29.:37:36.

nightmare. You have got that work to do, regardless. That has got to

:37:36.:37:42.

be a source of satisfaction, region that semi-final. Like I said in the

:37:42.:37:46.

interview before the tournament, I have lost to Mark Allen last year,

:37:46.:37:50.

he played great against me, I have lost to Stephen Maguire when he was

:37:50.:37:56.

at his best, and Ronnie O'Sullivan in an unbelievable Mall --

:37:56.:38:03.

unbelievable match at couple of years ago. That was one of the best

:38:03.:38:08.

matches I saw last year. Unbelievable. And the one against

:38:08.:38:14.

Stephen Maguire was five centuries in a row, between us. He pushed you

:38:14.:38:20.

all the way, you had gone from 4- 1,-5-3, what did you think when he

:38:20.:38:26.

began to claw it back? I had a couple of chances. He made a break

:38:26.:38:30.

in about three minutes. I had a good century, I potted some good

:38:30.:38:35.

balls under pressure during that century break. From there, you

:38:35.:38:42.

expect to have one decent chance at 5-3, and it came. He missed the

:38:42.:38:49.

black after I potted the blue, so why was very fortunate to take that.

:38:49.:38:53.

We're looking forward to your match against Judd Trump. How much are

:38:53.:38:59.

you looking forward to a repeat of the UK semi-final? That was a

:38:59.:39:05.

cracker. Judd Trump said that I was trying to slowing up, but that was

:39:05.:39:08.

not the case. I am not going to play attacking stuff when I am not

:39:08.:39:13.

playing very well, just try to get back into the match, which I did.

:39:13.:39:18.

Tomorrow, it did then so my cue to his. I would to have to graft you

:39:18.:39:28.

down, Judd Trump! I like to play attacking snooker. I thought I

:39:28.:39:33.

played reasonably quick, but there you go. If I get amongst the balls

:39:33.:39:39.

I will play quickly, I will take as long as I want if I need to.

:39:39.:39:44.

being well with the cue tip, providing things are going well in

:39:44.:39:48.

that department, what is the best way of playing Judd Trump? Too many

:39:48.:39:51.

neutrals, he seems to be unstoppable at the moment, because

:39:51.:39:56.

of the confidence he has acquired. You have won a big championship, it

:39:56.:40:03.

does help, doesn't it? I won the World Open after the World

:40:03.:40:07.

Championship, so one three out of five BBC tournaments and nine

:40:07.:40:14.

months. I thought, I am going to win everything, the UK, the Masters.

:40:14.:40:19.

But, he is playing really well and is full of confidence, but getting

:40:19.:40:24.

opportunities against him. Ronnie O'Sullivan had opportunities. The

:40:24.:40:31.

early part of the match is key. He's not known to come back from

:40:31.:40:37.

behind in a match. Judd Trump is just annihilating everyone by

:40:37.:40:42.

getting out in front, a great front-runner. Watching the match

:40:43.:40:47.

against Ronnie O'Sullivan, the funny thing is, you don't want to

:40:47.:40:51.

walk away from the match thinking you played the defence of stuff, to

:40:51.:40:54.

try and win. Ronnie O'Sullivan could have played more safety shots

:40:54.:40:58.

and the Judd Trump in more trouble but he kept playing attacking shots,

:40:58.:41:04.

aggressive shots. That is the thing. Ronnie would not want to walk away

:41:04.:41:08.

from that match as the one he tried to slow down or play the majority

:41:08.:41:17.

of the safety shots. You have to play your own game. Judd Trump is

:41:17.:41:22.

obviously on the crest of a wave, but, as Neil says, the start of the

:41:22.:41:26.

match is very important, and I can remember Judd Trump coming from

:41:26.:41:32.

behind in many matches. I looking forward to. Which makes the opening

:41:32.:41:37.

few frames absolutely critical and a match like this. My advice is, if

:41:37.:41:42.

there is a local snooker club, I bet there is asked that you can

:41:42.:41:49.

nick, someone logo will give you a tip that has been broken in. --

:41:49.:41:56.

someone wall. It is not the worst idea. A you said before this match

:41:56.:42:01.

that if anybody comes along winning the Australian colours... I was

:42:01.:42:06.

going to buy them a pint and there was hardly anyone there! It will

:42:06.:42:12.

you extend the invitation tomorrow? Yes, I will, I will. I promise I

:42:12.:42:17.

will put money behind the bar, and you can all flood to, but you have

:42:17.:42:26.

got to wear an Aussie shirt. Or a Chelsea Jersey. I and you very much,

:42:26.:42:30.

Neil. I hope you get successful with the grafting tonight on that

:42:30.:42:35.

cue tip. Well played again, to date. But Portugal, we can reflect on

:42:35.:42:40.

last night were recorder failed between two scores, John Higgins

:42:40.:42:45.

and Graeme Dott, both former world champions. This was a hard-fought

:42:45.:42:52.

encounter. It was not slow, as some people might up thought, it rattled

:42:52.:42:56.

along at quite some pace, but it was John Higgins who established a

:42:56.:43:03.

5-3 lead, including a break of 109. Could this be the concluding frame

:43:03.:43:13.
:43:13.:43:14.

John Higgins breaks off in frame nine. He probably feels he should

:43:14.:43:19.

have won this match by now. He had chances than the last rain,

:43:19.:43:29.
:43:29.:43:42.

particularly on the yellow. -- He tried to play it, and the only

:43:42.:43:46.

red he could leave is the one that he tried to play. It rattled the

:43:46.:43:56.
:43:56.:44:08.

jaws, hit the black. And an ideal This already looks like a good

:44:08.:44:14.

chance. He would like to have been further down for this red. Once he

:44:14.:44:24.
:44:24.:44:50.

That is as good a positional shot He wanted to be straighter after

:44:50.:44:57.

that blue, but what a good recovery that was. Just wonder whether he

:44:57.:45:01.

will play the shot where he can cannon into the reds and screw it

:45:01.:45:11.
:45:11.:45:11.

of the pack, tried to develop a couple of reds. -- screw out. He

:45:11.:45:15.

decided to wait, and plea of this one. There is a choice of the pink,

:45:15.:45:24.

if he wants it. -- play off. He's going to have to move the reds and

:45:24.:45:34.
:45:34.:45:50.

The referee asking John Higgins to give him a second. The pink spot is

:45:50.:45:56.

not available, and he is trying to find a space for it in a direct

:45:56.:46:04.

line between the spot and the top cushion. He can just about get

:46:04.:46:14.
:46:14.:46:15.

And that little nudge off the second red letter nicely on the

:46:15.:46:25.
:46:25.:46:36.

black. -- left him nicely. He could play the run-through and flicked

:46:36.:46:46.
:46:46.:46:46.

off the back. The choice is up to That has the advantage of that shot,

:46:46.:46:50.

he can clear a nice, full-blooded screw back, and all the reds will

:46:50.:46:57.

open up. Well played. Or he can play it with a slight amount of

:46:57.:47:02.

left-hand side to check it, to stay on the black. And he has played

:47:02.:47:12.
:47:12.:47:13.

that inch-perfect. Just watch the cue ball, he just check it. --

:47:13.:47:20.

checked it. If you have got a nice angle on the ball, you can do

:47:20.:47:24.

anything. It is when you keep running out of position that it

:47:24.:47:28.

finds you out, as it has done a few times for John Higgins this evening,

:47:28.:47:33.

but, in the main, for Graeme Dott. That has been the main difference

:47:33.:47:39.

this evening. Cue ball control. When John Higgins has made a break,

:47:39.:47:46.

it has been far better than Graeme Dott's. It is just the way it

:47:46.:47:52.

happens on certain evenings. He has not been at his best, where the cue

:47:52.:48:02.
:48:02.:48:04.

These balls could not be sitting better. Graeme Dott will be

:48:04.:48:14.
:48:14.:48:16.

thinking he is out of this you's Masters. --this year's. John

:48:16.:48:26.
:48:26.:48:31.

Higgins is going to keep this break He decided not to play the cannon

:48:32.:48:36.

into the pink and two reds. I thought that would have left them

:48:36.:48:43.

on the red to the left middle, that is now on, to the left corner. No

:48:43.:48:49.

problem, he has played it well enough. We said at the start of

:48:49.:48:54.

this match that Graeme Dott has never been further than a quarter

:48:54.:49:04.
:49:04.:49:07.

final. He is going to have to try Of course, this Masters tournament,

:49:07.:49:11.

the top 16 players in the world, the last few seasons we have had

:49:11.:49:17.

some wild cards, but usually, it was a reward for players being in

:49:17.:49:27.
:49:27.:49:36.

Another example of why John Higgins is the great champion he is. They

:49:36.:49:43.

know how to close matches and it. An opportunity presented itself.

:49:43.:49:48.

Has he ever looked like missing? I don't think so. That puts him 72

:49:49.:49:58.

ahead with 67 remaining. And an easy red coming up. It looks like

:49:58.:50:08.
:50:08.:50:14.

the an Dott will not come back to We mentioned and there this evening

:50:14.:50:19.

that all we needed was some heavy of scoring, and John Higgins has

:50:19.:50:28.

provided that, 7-5, 6-4, 109, and the ninth frame, 80, and counting.

:50:28.:50:38.
:50:38.:50:48.

He has certainly turned it on. He Just misjudged the case, as we look,

:50:48.:50:54.

there was a great black. We could have the second century of the

:50:54.:51:03.

evening. It is always the same. When you pass the winning line, the

:51:03.:51:09.

pockets, but they get bigger? That is a pity, but John Higgins will

:51:09.:51:13.

not be concerned about that. Graeme Dott shakes his hand. He will be

:51:13.:51:18.

disappointed. He had a chance early on in the match but did not score

:51:18.:51:21.

heavily enough, and the world champion goes through to the semi-

:51:22.:51:31.
:51:32.:51:33.

final, a comfortable winner in the I was lucky that Graeme Dott did

:51:33.:51:38.

not play his best. I thought it was going to go 6-4, 6-5, either way,

:51:38.:51:42.

but he missed a couple and their manage to get in and get a couple

:51:42.:51:46.

of decent breaks. I had a few chances when I went in front and I

:51:46.:51:54.

was getting a little bit anxious. But when Graham won it to go 5-t, I

:51:54.:51:58.

thought, here we go. He missed a long red at the start, and I

:51:58.:52:03.

managed to do a good break in the last frame. Very happy to get to

:52:03.:52:10.

the semi-finals. The venue is great. Just looking forward to it. Clean

:52:11.:52:18.

on the Saturday night, so I am looking forward to it. -- plain on

:52:18.:52:24.

-- plain on. He never got on with Wembley, but he is loving it here

:52:24.:52:32.

at Alexandra Palace. He seems to be warming up. He has always a quiet

:52:32.:52:36.

periods and seasons where it does not go missing, but he is not in

:52:36.:52:40.

the semi-finals and finals. But he can come good and could go through

:52:40.:52:45.

to the end of the season at the World Championships, winning two of

:52:45.:52:53.

three tournaments. He did say he has trying to get that lucky blue

:52:54.:52:59.

sure of his dry cleaned. His wife brought him two black shorts, too

:52:59.:53:04.

thick and heavy to play in, sole he has been struggling in the clothing

:53:04.:53:11.

department. I think it is the least thing he has got to worry about.

:53:11.:53:18.

But what a consumer professional. When he has a chance to finish off

:53:18.:53:22.

the match, the percentage of times that he does it, is unbelievable.

:53:22.:53:27.

He simply knows how to win, even when he is not at his best. He is

:53:27.:53:32.

not quite at his best at the minute, but he still won that match last

:53:32.:53:37.

night. That match rattled along and it was enjoyable for that. I said

:53:37.:53:42.

it would be hard and gruelling, but as ever, it was quick and they both

:53:42.:53:46.

got on with it. John Higgins through, and he will play the

:53:46.:53:51.

winner of the match between world number one Mark Selby, and Shaun

:53:51.:53:57.

Murphy. Shaun Murphy is attempting to become only the eight player to

:53:57.:54:01.

win the Korea Triple Crown, the world title, the UK, and the only

:54:02.:54:11.
:54:12.:54:22.

one that is missing, the Masters. - - Career Triple Crown. MUSIC: The

:54:22.:54:31.

Kinks - Days. I must have been 10 or 11 when I first met Mark at the

:54:31.:54:35.

Willie Thorne Snooker Club. All the junior players would meet weekly,

:54:35.:54:40.

and give each other a good kicking. Mark and myself half board become

:54:40.:54:47.

good mates. -- have both become. Looking back at my life as a junior,

:54:47.:54:52.

I missed out on being at school and developing those long-term

:54:52.:54:55.

friendships, but I don't think I could have done all my education

:54:55.:55:00.

and all of that, and carried on to become a snooker player. I do not

:55:00.:55:09.

think I could have done both. I think, in any deeply competitive

:55:09.:55:16.

environment, it is hard to be good friends with people who are, at the

:55:16.:55:21.

end of the day, trying to take your livelihood of you, but I am pleased

:55:21.:55:30.

to say that Mark is a person who will be a friend were long time. --

:55:30.:55:35.

for a long time. Me and John go back a long way, through the junior

:55:35.:55:40.

ranks. We seem to make each other quite a lot in the last few years

:55:40.:55:44.

at the senior tournaments and we always joke that we will meet in a

:55:44.:55:48.

big final but it never seems to work, with the way that the door

:55:48.:55:53.

pans out. But that is that way it is. We're good friends. But we're

:55:53.:56:03.
:56:03.:56:09.

both going out there, we both want He is such a good player. You do

:56:09.:56:14.

not become number one in the world, winning this tournament ways, other

:56:14.:56:18.

events as well, with that being a class act and very good in all

:56:18.:56:24.

illness. I hope that he has a bad day, and I can exploit whatever

:56:24.:56:33.

witnesses he shows on the day. great friends and some fantastic

:56:33.:56:39.

haircuts from the past, particularly from Mark Selby! So

:56:39.:56:48.

far, Shaun Murphy has the better record, 5-4 in terms of victories.

:56:48.:56:55.

And that includes the final that he beat him and last week in a small

:56:55.:56:58.

tournament. It gives him a bit of confidence coming into this one.

:56:58.:57:04.

How do you see this match going this evening, Stephen? The bookies

:57:04.:57:07.

make Mark Selby a strong favourite but I cannot separate them. I think

:57:08.:57:16.

it is going to be very tight. Two great cueing actions,

:57:16.:57:20.

especially Shaun Murphy, he seems to have been born with it and it is

:57:20.:57:26.

exemplary, but Mark Selby also has a great, compact cueing action.

:57:26.:57:32.

Shaun Murphy has gone through in straightforward terms, but it was

:57:32.:57:37.

against the believe that Mark Selby was for hiding 0, and by five and

:57:37.:57:44.

one up and then still conspired to be pushed hard, 6-4 in the end.

:57:44.:57:49.

will want to prove himself after that. What kind of match I'll be in

:57:49.:57:53.

for this evening? It will be top quality. I think there will be

:57:53.:57:57.

heavy scoring. They will not get bogged down that long safety

:57:57.:58:01.

battles. I think it will be a really good match. I am sure that

:58:01.:58:07.

you'll be watching it at some point. I will indeed. 7 o'clock, John

:58:07.:58:14.

Parrott will be here with Rishi Persad. I hope you can join them

:58:14.:58:18.

for that one. 7 o'clock is when they get going with the last of the

:58:18.:58:22.

quarter-finals. Mark's will be against Shaun Murphy. If you have

:58:22.:58:26.

other of things to do on a Friday night, then don't forget, the

:58:26.:58:36.
:58:36.:58:38.

highlights are on little bit her Mayor this evening at a little 5pm.

:58:38.:58:44.

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