Day 6 Masters Snooker

It is Friday night in London and, standing overlooking The City you

would say that if you're looking for entertainment then perhaps the

bright lights of the big smoke should be your pot of call, but you

would be wrong. Not this Friday night. If you are looking for

entertainment then a few steps will take you inside Alexander Palace,

home of the Masters, were two snooker greats screwed up and a

place in the semi-finals. Two men, who had been friends is back in the

day, Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy. When it first when they were 10 our

lives and, at the Willie Thorne Snooker Club and all those young

players would meet each we can give each other and good kicking. And

Mark and myself have all been -- always been good mates. Looking

back at my life as a junior I missed out on school and developing

those long-term friendships. But I cannot have done all my education

and carried on to become a snooker player as well. I do not think I

could have become bored. -- both. In any deeply competitive

environment it is hard to make friends with people who are, at the

end of the day, trying to take your land -- likelihood of you, so it is

hard to form friendships, but I am pleased to say that Mark is someone

who will be a friend for a long Me and Shaun Murphy go back a long

way, through the junior ranks. We seem to meet each other quite a lot.

But will was good talking to each other that we will meet in a big

final one-day, and it never seems to happen, because of the way that

the draw pans out. But that is the way it is. We're good friends, but

I am sure out there, we will play He is such a good player. You do

not become number one in the world, winning this tournament twice,

other events as well, without being a complete class act and very good

in all areas. I have to walk that he has a bad your Mac and that I

can exploit whatever weaknesses he shows. -- he has a bad day.

Friendship will be out of the window for 11 frames at least. Some

great talent on show. Yes, excellent cueing action, Shaun

Murphy, and Mark Selby has worked hard it is, it is very compact and

accurate, and two very good players. There records are interesting and

they probably have some in the over each other's. -- some in the --

envy. I think at some point they are going to put that right and

Mark Selby will go close in a World Championship. And Shaun Murphy

would like to get close to the Masters. Two great players and they

just have to play the balls and see how it comes out and could be

Masters champion this week. He let us join Rob Walker. Good evening

ladies and gentlemen. It is Friday night at Alexandra Palace, and this

is the last quarter final of the 12 Mike easy see Masters. There is one

place left up for grabs in the semi-finals. -- the 2012 gbc

Masters. Please welcome the world champion in 2005, UK champion 2008,

it is the pride of Manchester, Shaun "the Magician" Murphy.

MUSIC: "It's A Kind Of Magic" by And his opponent, one of the most

collar poor characters on the circuit. He has been in three of

the last four Masters finals, winner in 2008 in 2010. A world

champion finalist, a Welsh Open champion, Shanghai Masters winner,

the Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby.

Here we go, the last semi-final spot will be sealed tonight, will

it be Mark Selby or Shaun Murphy? To tell us, you are our

commentators, Steve Davis and John Good evening everybody. This

promises to be a titanic struggle. Between Shaun Murphy, world number

six, and Mark Selby, world number It is one of those matches you come

into, knowing you have got to play well if you're going to get a

result. Yes, and tried to get off All, probably more accurately, hope

to get off to a quick start. Could reply there, from Mark Selby --

Not a bad shot but there is a red I think he thought that wars in,

when that cue ball was halfway down the table. He played it with

confidence and now it has not gone in, it is an easy starter for his

opponent. That was impossible to keep safe if he missed it. The

first realistic chance, here, to He will be very disappointed there.

That was a straightforward pot. The last thing he wanted to do was

cannon the second red when there was plenty of room to avoid it. You

can forgive him, though. The first frame, the first couple of shots.

He felt that he couldn't play a safety shot, so he went all out for

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

There is one loose red at the bottom and two at the side but he

has got a nice angle here, to go into the cluster. He has gone into

them, and it could not have work though any better. What a chance he

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

has given himself here. -- it could Even though Mark did split the reds

open they are still all blocking each other, to some degree, so

He would like to be on the red just below the pink, but he certainly

has one to left middle. Usually, this many reds left you have more

One good positional shot off this black could seal the deal. Perhaps

the pink. Bit more of an angle than I thought, so, off the top cushion,

He found the gap. If he had caught that full ball he would have been

perfect, with the choice of three reds. He has got one now, and it is

a little bit tricky. Don't expect him to miss it, but he was hoping

for something a little bit easier than this. 53 points in the lead.

How this falls in terms of position could be key to the frame. Ryton

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

the heart of the pocket. -- right He was close of blue the cushion

than he would have liked for that red and that caused him to miss. He

just lost control of the cue ball. He knew that it was going to run

off the second red, and he had more of an eye on that and the pot. It

There's only one red very close to the cushion, at the far end of the

table and that would not be very difficult if you got right behind

it. Shaun Murphy has got plenty of That puts him 49 points behind,

with 67 remaining. He has got to make a big clearance from a

You sometimes get some moments of inspiration when you are sitting in

your seat thinking that the frame is all over, and then you get a

chance, and it seems like a bit of Looking further ahead and we should

do, that last red, if he got roughly behind it, it would not be

too bad a shot to play proposition for the green into the middle

pocket -- to play for position. It is tight on the cushion, so he

could screw back for a baulk colour to a baulk pocket. Anyway, there

are two reds left before that. has reduced his arrears. This could

be the key shot, to pot this blue and get position on the second-last

red. No, How's this? It looks good. He's just about OK I think, playing

for the green, although he may think he can pot the brown and one

off the baulk cushion, but with the green, he is guaranteed. Maybe the

brown will take him closer to the red. The closer he has to the red,

the easier it makes the pot. -- he is. He has had a look at the blue

as well. It is decision time. blue guarantees getting straighter

on the red. He has just got to watch the bump in the middle pocket.

He has missed the bump, but the more pace he puts into this the

harder it will be. Maybe there was a case was just rolling it in for

So close and yet so far. You will be very disappointed. He played it

dead weight, just to give it every chance to drop. Just a little bit

wide of the mark. And it means now that Mark Selby has had end let off,

just this red and a colour needed. Anything above the brown, the brown

or above, for this last red. Can't He is asking for the extension and

the extending rest. It is not that Can't he's just reach over and play

I have not seen a cue longer than You would need an engineering

degree to get this one back together! Look at all those joints.

While he was doing that, the crowd loved it, but Shaun Murphy has been

sat in his seat wondering what might have been of that red would

have dropped. The brown, to go 28 And so, I frame that could have

gone either way, looks certain to go the way of Mark Selby, but Shaun

Murphy had this chance. That last red just caught him hard. -- him

He had a little bit of a scare, Mark's will be, Shaun Murphy had a

chance but failed on the last red, so Mark's will be takes the first

Both players are chances, but Mark Selby Leeds 1-0. We can look back

to this afternoon when Neil Robertson overcame Mark Williams.

Robertson scored a century in the next frame and sealed the game two

frames later. I was 4-1 in front but I could quite easily have been

3-2 down and that was key for the match because it came back to 4-3.

I have got a good chance and that 4-t made a century, to go 5-t up,

then just waiting for a decent opportunity. That did not come

until 5-4. I potted the blue and split the reds of the weren't

thought that was it then a red top in the corner and he came to the

table but luckily missed a tricky black, and that was my chance to

take the match and that police to get through. Does this I at least

to get through. He will play Judd Trump in tomorrow's first semi-

final at 1pm. Back to Mark Selby this is Shaun Murphy, and Mark

Good shots needed here. Where has the cue ball gone? REFEREE: Foul.

He had a little bit of work to do with the cue ball but that is no

Good shot. Made it look easy. He Hmmm. Is he on this red to the

right corner? He is. He nearly overscrewed it. Shaun Murphy is a

good, better player, when he scores heavily when he gets in. He doesn't

fancy himself much in scrappy frames. He has a chance here to

score quite a few. I have already said that, and that is not the best

Nicely held for the right side of the baulk colours. A couple of

loose reds and it -- out. Snooker fans will know that the biggest

problem for Shaun Murphy is how to An early attempt, gone astray.

not certain I would agree with that. He had a red at the side and that

the bottom of the cluster, that would go. He could then cannon into

the cluster and still have that loose red. With hindsight it has

not worked out well but there was a possibility when the cue ball

collided with the side of the pack that it was going to be sent into

this right corner, but he would have hope for something better,

obviously. He did strike it very He didn't fancy playing the cue

ball back to the baulk end. That is the way the modern game seems to be

played. I think it was Stephen Hendry who first started that. The

first opportunity he would get to try and open up the reds and then

just rely and his ability to win the frame in one visit. I think

with the top players, they have different ways of going about

building a break. Some are fractionally more accurate in

percentage terms than others. You could argue that Shaun Murphy, it

was a risk to open them up, but it could have been another way to open

up the pack which would have been more secure. With the cue ball

travelling such a distance, it is not going to have the pace that it

A loose safety shot from Mark Selby. And how many times have you seen

that happen? It is not the start Both these players, on shots like

that, pull the cue all the way back to the end of their Bridge,

fascinating to watch. Some players We saw it again there, didn't we?

And he is more compact than he used I don't know what the black goes in

the same pocket as this red. It obviously doesn't, which is why he

He could have done with coming down the table a little further. But he

can still pot this one makes to the black. I was not sure if he could

get round the back of the black Looks as if he got a ball is there.

He certainly did not play for the pink. Now, does the pink, comix

You were right, if he did not get that he was bound to be running

into other reds. As we watch it again, he needed to pot it. A

It is not straightforward to win the frame that this visit, with

these two reds on the left-hand side cushion. Even the red to the

Does not look to have come very nicely on the paint. With four reds

in the open, you would like to think you would be virtually

The superb striker of the cue ball, Shaun Murphy. A lot of action, a

The blueprints and in front, so I will have to try and work without.

If he goes for low-value colours, he is going to require every one of

Confident shot. Held up nicely for the blue. Will he have worked out

this quickly that he will only need one of these two difficult ones if

At the moment, his hands are tied slightly, because the pink in the

blue where the only colours he Did you look at the scoreboard

March or just assume you were going As someone who sat in the

opposition chair quite a few times, I think you just thought you were

Now, he could not have judged that better. That was inch-perfect.

did take a quick glance at the scoreboard there. He is 26 in front.

The shell will make it 28 and he will still need the last two reds.

But that is nicely played. If he had played for the blue off that

previous red, he would have just they did one of these two difficult

So this is not over yet. The other way is, if he could get position of

the black from this red, he is actually playing the angle. He

could not cut the red in. I do not think he has got it. That red just

went too far. We were more concerned with the awkward one,

rather than wondering whether that Where is the cue ball going? That

is seen a safety shot from Mark. He could have played it find and just

contain things, but he was looking Yes, the way Mark Selby played it,

he was rather unlucky that the raid went on to the other side cushion.

But we Shaun Murphy missing, he is back in with a chance. Now, as in

the first frame, the awkward last He can play this unscrew the cue

ball down the table. He would get position on the colour and play a

safety shot at the same time should he miss. That was exactly what I

That was an excellent shot. But is very slight but have it peeking out.

He could get the say 50 can getting right behind it. -- get it safe. If

he gets right in behind it, it would kick the red light up the

The green is maybe slightly in the way. These and you cushions may be

a problem as well. He is going to have to hit this hard to prevent it

Say no more, but will he follow the He did get the name debt and but

for the kiss on the black, I think I think he's going to go for it if

That was a chance. He may have got away with it. It all depends

whether the red will go past the green. It major score. Not all of

the pocket is available. Shown as I think it is worth having a go at.

The slight but of insurance is that In the end, he decided not to go

for it. I do not blame him. They have both turned out in shots that

I'm sure Judd Trump would have There is Judd's parents there,

There was someone just about to applaud that shot. I agreed with

them, because I thought it was the air. Now, if he certain to get this

It needs to miss the pink. I was thinking that would be pretty good,

but he may have left enough of this red. Now, there you go. Could the

better of the red sticking out Nor, he cannot have it. He played

it nicely. It was one of those that you had to hit relatively full. But

you would have settled for that, if you could guarantee it would go

past the middle pocket and say. -- He will be delighted with this.

Very good. Is the black in the way We will put the line there and see.

There you go. Elaine says that the black is not in the way! But he

But he's going to have to trust to luck to get the safe. It is not

guaranteed. Good hit. It is not bad. I think this may be a pot bubble

Shaun is still holding on to his advantage. He would love to get 21-

Good pot. He is going to be on the pink. In a fashion. The reason I

say that is he has not got a good angle to get onto the yellow from

This requires a fantastic shot. you say, it would have been

Hockey, I am not sure that the green passes the pink, and Shaun

To get anywhere close to the green, this would after be a very slow

shot. The sale will put and 23 in front, but there would be 25

That is exactly what he did. But he could find himself in trouble after

He actually hit the wrong side of the yellow. This frame is not going

to be resolved until the situation That is why Shaun Murphy refused

the yellow. There could be a bout of safety play here until a player

thinks they can pot below and get position on the green. -- pot the

Yes, I think even if they could pot it and get close to the green they

would settle for that, because then they would have the chance of lean

But Shaun Murphy will not want to lose this one. That would really

hot. Just a fraction away from a It was OK. It was half an attempt

He has got wader with this. That Am not sure Mark Selby has each

shot to get on to it into the green pocket. The cue ball was going

That means that Shaun Murphy only needs the yellow to take the second

frame. And he can also play it as a shot to nothing. He can try and

what the law and also try and get I was surprised. He did not play it

with much confidence, considering it was a shot to nothing and frame

Mark Selby's body language suggests he has left a gap. If he did not

have that gap, this could have been Shown would expect to be able to

get this and hit the far side of the yellow, to keep the object ball

But I do not think he played it like that. Yes, it is a mistake.

Could this be another Can he get through to the green?

Not a problem. What a fantastic Another very clean strike of the

cue ball. He may have been trying to hit the brown, but he got so

much on it. Like you, I thought he This is this nice angle you're

talking about earlier. Now it is all about line and length. If he

can get the cue ball anywhere in order around that circle. I think

he can screw to that position. Nope, he has over done it. He tried to

Yes, I think he felt he could not get enough screw action to hold

All, we said it was not easy, but he has left it over the corner

Mark Selby will be very disappointed with that shot. A

relieved Shaun Murphy puts the disappointment of losing the first

frame behind in an wins the second. 1-1. Mark Selby will be kicking

himself about how he lost it. he had a chance earlier in the

frame. But he did not have the angle on the pink to stay for the

black. But if you are down to a black ball finished, that is

exactly every year we will want to leave the balls for your opponent.

It is a horrible shot. It is a big chance for Shaun Murphy after the

first frame, where he did have a chance to see get from Mark Selby?

Yes, we saw it today when Neil Robertson won a couple from Mark

Williams. It makes such a huge difference at this level. Who is

looking smoother and Cole were? Actually, Mark Selby has missed a

couple of short-sighted not ins Nothing in the first two frames has

really pointed me in the direction of either player. There has just

been that awed surprise miss coming in. Once again, a break off which

It always looks as if the player has hit the shot too hard when they

Fully committed their to the one through. He will be pleased with

He could more or less get over the line without these five reds matter

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

together. It would all depend on We are leaving the coverage on BBC2