Day 8 Masters Snooker


Day 8

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Day 8. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Welcome to historic Alexandra Palace, perfect for our live

:00:46.:00:50.

coverage of the Masters. This People's Palace was purpose-built

:00:50.:00:53.

for entertainment and that is exactly what you're going to get

:00:53.:01:00.

today. The atmosphere of this place is electric, and even though local

:01:00.:01:04.

favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan exited earlier in the week, this London

:01:04.:01:14.

crowd are passionate about snooker. Expect the roof to be raised today.

:01:14.:01:18.

These are the guys who have had the crowds flocking here this week. The

:01:18.:01:23.

Masters is open only to the top 16 players so big names are guaranteed.

:01:23.:01:29.

They have not let us down with entertainment. Today two of the

:01:29.:01:33.

biggest stars of the game will be battling it out. They will be

:01:33.:01:37.

battling it out for part of the Triple Crown and one of the biggest

:01:37.:01:43.

tournament in the world, the Masters. I was fortunate enough to

:01:43.:01:47.

win this on six occasions, but today we will see a brand new name

:01:47.:01:54.

engraved on the trophy. Prepare to be entertained. Good after noon.

:01:54.:02:01.

Masters Sunday in January, in front of the capital crowd. 10 minutes to

:02:01.:02:07.

go until the start of this Masters final. We will find out who will

:02:07.:02:10.

become the 20th man in the history of this great event to win a very

:02:10.:02:15.

special title, and the first to do so at Alexandra Palace, Allen new

:02:15.:02:20.

venue for the tournament. The rivalry has the makings of a

:02:20.:02:27.

classic because it is England against Australia. Shaun Murphy

:02:27.:02:37.

meets Neil Robertson. Look at the delight on his face. It is great to

:02:37.:02:42.

be in the final after my World Championship win. I have had a lean

:02:42.:02:49.

spell since so it will be fantastic to kick-start another run of

:02:49.:02:58.

victories. There is only 20 odd people who have ever won this

:02:58.:03:03.

championship since it started, only seven who have won the world UK and

:03:03.:03:08.

the Masters, so it is a small group. You can't be invited in, you have

:03:08.:03:13.

got to win your way in. If I can do the business, it will be pretty

:03:13.:03:20.

massive. When Shaun gets going, he is almost impossible to stop. When

:03:20.:03:24.

he gets into good scoring positions, he can score as quickly as anyone.

:03:24.:03:29.

He is a class act. He was a big roar when he first started but he

:03:29.:03:33.

has developed into an all rounder and has this massive record of

:03:33.:03:38.

never having lost in a major final. I am hoping to change that, between

:03:39.:03:44.

you and me! They are both former Crucible champions and both have an

:03:44.:03:49.

attacking style and swagger around the table. In the year that they

:03:49.:03:54.

will both turned 30, they have both achieved so much already. Shaun

:03:54.:03:59.

Murphy was a world champion at only 22, the second youngest in history,

:03:59.:04:04.

and Neil Robertson is already one of the most successful players ever

:04:04.:04:14.
:04:14.:04:20.

When you see some people walking around the table, you take an

:04:20.:04:30.
:04:30.:04:32.

instant dislike to them. That look of arrogance, it reminds me of...

:04:32.:04:38.

Stephen and Neil. If it is a complement. He definitely has an

:04:38.:04:43.

aura about him when he is walking around. I have said a couple of

:04:43.:04:50.

times that Neil has become quite a prolific winner. If you win three

:04:50.:04:55.

tournaments in a season, you have had a fantastic season, so such an

:04:55.:05:00.

improved player, I think. From five or six years ago. Now, just a

:05:00.:05:08.

proven winner. When you are playing the likes of me, you know he will

:05:08.:05:16.

not crumble. No, I have known Neil quite a few years now. He moved to

:05:16.:05:19.

Leicester and we lived together for a period of time when he was first

:05:19.:05:25.

on the tour. I used to practice with him a lot, and back then he

:05:25.:05:30.

was a great potter, still is today, but used to push the boat out too

:05:30.:05:35.

much. He has even said that to me, that that is why he probably fell

:05:35.:05:39.

off the tour because he was taking on too many shots. The last few

:05:39.:05:45.

years he has won the World Championships, proved what a class

:05:45.:05:49.

player hears. I could switch the TV on and you would know if he was

:05:49.:05:54.

winning or losing because he has a great temperament. Dropping off the

:05:54.:06:00.

tour a couple of times, we know the storyline. What happened that

:06:00.:06:07.

changed your game around? I think in some ways I was a late developer.

:06:07.:06:11.

One of the problems I had was living in Australia and not playing

:06:11.:06:16.

with a lot of world class players. The standard of amateur snooker in

:06:16.:06:20.

Australia is very high but it is a completely different level to

:06:20.:06:24.

playing with professional players. Something I lacked was there I was

:06:24.:06:28.

always flying over from Australia to the UK, and playing tournaments

:06:28.:06:34.

with very little match practice. It changed to me when I moved to

:06:34.:06:39.

Cambridge in 2003, when I was practising with Joe Perry every day,

:06:39.:06:44.

and players like Mark King. I was learning a lot of match snooker.

:06:44.:06:52.

fancies the job. In an interview, it is always positive. No moaning.

:06:52.:06:56.

What he has got that I am most just about, you think you have played a

:06:56.:07:01.

decent safety and he will pot it and take the white ball the way

:07:01.:07:07.

back to the baulk. The correct answer to this is there is no point

:07:07.:07:11.

in improving, I am perfect as it is - but what part of the game would

:07:11.:07:16.

you improve? Probably my biggest focused this season was to improve

:07:16.:07:22.

my consistency. Watching somebody like Mark play in the last two

:07:22.:07:27.

seasons, he is always in the semi- finals and finals, I have been a

:07:27.:07:32.

little bit inconsistent. I can win a tournament and then go quiet a

:07:32.:07:36.

few tournaments. This season was just to practise really hard and

:07:36.:07:46.
:07:46.:08:00.

try to get to the later stages as I tend to be at the front of things.

:08:00.:08:05.

I wouldn't say I am a leader of people but I have probably got a

:08:05.:08:13.

bit of OCD. I was born in the wrong era. I would like to have been

:08:13.:08:18.

around in the 30s, pin-striped suits, gangsters in New York. That

:08:18.:08:23.

would have suited me down to the ground. I think I will always be

:08:23.:08:26.

just a little bit fat, I am not bothered to tell the truth. I am

:08:26.:08:31.

trying to lose weight and be healthy, I am running the Sheffield

:08:31.:08:37.

half marathon with a few other lads, but I am happy with myself. I am

:08:37.:08:41.

teaching myself piano, learning languages, trying to fill my time.

:08:41.:08:46.

It takes a second to say please and thank you, but you would be

:08:46.:08:50.

surprised how many people forget about it. Just to say thanks to

:08:50.:08:55.

somebody. I'm not too good at getting over things when they have

:08:55.:09:00.

gone wrong, which is important as a snooker player because things are

:09:00.:09:05.

going wrong all the time and I don't cope with that very well. I

:09:05.:09:10.

am a passionate person, I care about it. It is my biggest laugh,

:09:10.:09:19.

and when it goes wrong it hurts. We are in very good hands and the

:09:19.:09:24.

commentary box this afternoon with former UK champion John Virgo and

:09:24.:09:28.

has six times winner of this event, Stephen Hendry. What makes the

:09:28.:09:33.

Masters final so special? Obviously we are at a brand new venue, new

:09:33.:09:37.

for everybody, but it is still the best in the world competing and you

:09:37.:09:43.

want to prove yourself. John, what has impressed do so far about the

:09:43.:09:48.

form of our finalist this week? They have both had good start and

:09:48.:09:52.

they have built on Mark. That will not happen today because somebody

:09:52.:09:57.

will have a bad start so it will be interesting to see how they react.

:09:57.:10:00.

On the performances so far, you would have to say the best players

:10:00.:10:06.

are here. Neil Robertson has never lost a major final, and as for

:10:06.:10:11.

having -- heavy scoring - Shaun Murphy has had six centuries this

:10:12.:10:17.

week. The scoring is so important these days, you must win frames as

:10:17.:10:22.

quickly as possible in one visit so I will be going with Shaun. I agree

:10:22.:10:30.

with Stephen. Stevens set the bar with attacking play. I have noticed

:10:30.:10:34.

Shaun Murphy is attacking a bit more and it is a fine dividing line

:10:34.:10:38.

whether they go in or not, but if they do I would agree with Stephen

:10:38.:10:42.

and go for Shaun. The house is waiting for the final to get under

:10:42.:10:49.

way. Good afternoon, ladies and

:10:49.:10:52.

gentlemen. After seven days of world class and Snooker it is time

:10:52.:10:57.

for the big one. Welcome to the final of the Masters. Both players

:10:57.:11:01.

waiting at the top of the stairs are on their first final here, so a

:11:01.:11:05.

new chapter of snooker history is about to be written at Alexandra

:11:05.:11:15.
:11:15.:11:26.

Palace. Without any further red do, Please welcome a class act on and

:11:26.:11:30.

off the baize. What a week he has had, knocking out the world number

:11:30.:11:36.

one, the reigning world champion, on his route to the final. A world

:11:36.:11:40.

champion, a UK champion, here bidding for the ultimate snooker

:11:40.:11:50.
:11:50.:12:21.

hat-trick - the pride of Manchester, And his opponent, an Australian

:12:21.:12:25.

whose attitude on and off the table has endeared him to audiences

:12:25.:12:30.

around the world. Are simply superb long potter who has never lost a

:12:30.:12:36.

major final. Sinks ranking event titles in all, including the world

:12:36.:12:41.

championship in 2010. Beating Mark Williams and Judd Trump en route to

:12:41.:12:48.

this final, can you hear the rumble - it is the thunder from down under,

:12:48.:12:58.
:12:58.:13:20.

A great atmosphere in the room. The best of 19 frames today, eight to

:13:21.:13:30.
:13:31.:13:36.

play this afternoon. Settle back Shaun Murphy just waiting, as usual,

:13:36.:13:42.

for the opposing player to fill his glass with water. When you are

:13:42.:13:50.

first out, you're all right. You have already filled your glass.

:13:50.:13:55.

Smiling right now but that will soon be forgotten, the best of

:13:55.:14:02.

enemies. Yes, a packed crowd here. I have been very impressed with his

:14:02.:14:12.
:14:12.:14:23.

then you at Alexandra Palace. The Eight frames will be played in this

:14:23.:14:31.

first session this afternoon, and the remaining frames played to a

:14:31.:14:41.
:14:41.:15:01.

Of course, being best of 19, 10 is the target to lift that wonderful

:15:01.:15:11.
:15:11.:15:20.

Just catching the brown, which has left the cue ball on the baulk line.

:15:20.:15:24.

Stephen, both of these players seemed to have had very good starts

:15:24.:15:29.

to the matches but it will be interesting to see if one gets

:15:29.:15:36.

behind. Yes, so important in a final. He would love to get off to

:15:36.:15:44.

a good start. The last thing you want to be doing is chasing. I used

:15:44.:15:54.
:15:54.:16:03.

to think you can always win the Has he been lucky? Don't think so,

:16:04.:16:12.

left a nice easy starter for Shaun Murphy. He thought it would be a

:16:12.:16:22.
:16:22.:16:29.

A typical first shot really. Getting into the cue ball far too

:16:29.:16:36.

much, which is why he is so close to the blue. I think the adrenalin

:16:36.:16:45.

was pumping. Hit that far too hard. As I mentioned yesterday, one of

:16:45.:16:55.
:16:55.:17:00.

the best players in the world with That's how good, he avoided the

:17:00.:17:08.

commentator's curse! Once again, a fraction too far. He played for the

:17:08.:17:14.

red to the left corner, he is not on it. If he is not on that, it

:17:14.:17:24.
:17:24.:17:33.

A little bit disappointed but I understand, as I say, first frame

:17:33.:17:43.
:17:43.:17:48.

Neil has got a tough safety shot but he will be delighted that last

:17:48.:17:54.

shot only cost him for points, especially the way Shaun has been

:17:54.:18:04.
:18:04.:18:24.

Much too thick. I suppose it is better at the ball turned, but

:18:24.:18:30.

there is still a red on to the left corner. I think he can swing the

:18:30.:18:40.
:18:40.:18:45.

cue-ball background the back of the That is handy. That is very handy,

:18:45.:18:53.

a lovely little flick off the blue. He may decide to play the blue and

:18:53.:19:03.
:19:03.:19:11.

It was such a big target, he will be disappointed he didn't catch

:19:11.:19:16.

them more fully than not. He certainly wasn't aiming for the

:19:16.:19:26.
:19:26.:19:50.

right hand red of that cluster. It Go into them again, Stephen? He has

:19:50.:19:57.

a big angle, so go into the pack if only to stop the pace on the white.

:19:57.:20:05.

Nobody could have foreseen that, that was unlucky. To knock that red

:20:05.:20:14.

in, it was six inches away from the pocket. It would have been a tough

:20:14.:20:21.

pot this commission Mark Waugh at a lovely opening now for Neil. Shaun

:20:21.:20:26.

has had the first chances, but it is Neil who comes to the table with

:20:26.:20:31.

the reds split, having made the most mistakes so far. It was the

:20:31.:20:36.

dreaded run of the ball which stopped Shaun in his tracks, now he

:20:36.:20:46.
:20:46.:21:22.

will sit in his seat and suffer. Overdid it slightly but in all

:21:22.:21:32.
:21:32.:21:45.

honesty he should have been better When you are a bit edgy, as both

:21:45.:21:49.

players obviously are, you want to play a couple of nice positional

:21:49.:21:56.

shots. A couple of shots in a row in perfect position soon settles

:21:56.:22:06.
:22:06.:22:12.

Even a shot as simple as that. The fact he is perfect on the red will

:22:12.:22:22.
:22:22.:22:31.

And again, he will have to use the three reds to kill the pace of the

:22:31.:22:41.
:22:41.:22:49.

white. Concentrating that much on the cannon, he took his eyes off

:22:49.:22:59.
:22:59.:23:17.

the pot. An edgy start from both It is one of those frames, John,

:23:18.:23:26.

were whoever makes the last mistake will be the one who is punished.

:23:26.:23:31.

always get the feeling about this type of frame, that if you win it

:23:31.:23:35.

you put the mistakes to the back of your mind. If you lose it, they can

:23:35.:23:45.
:23:45.:23:53.

Obviously if he was more straight on the blue, he would play for

:23:53.:24:03.
:24:03.:24:09.

I don't think he meant to kiss that red. Still got a red to the right

:24:09.:24:19.
:24:19.:24:44.

All square on points. Trying to bring these reds into play, and he

:24:44.:24:50.

has sneaked round the back of them. The only possible red will now be

:24:50.:24:55.

hampered by the yellow. I don't blame him for playing the cannon.

:24:55.:25:02.

No, it was the right shot. Give him another 10 shot at that, I bet he

:25:02.:25:12.
:25:12.:25:12.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:25:12.:25:55.

That's careless. Has the blue come I suppose in a way it wouldn't be

:25:55.:26:01.

the hardest red to cover. You could push this red down and use the pink

:26:01.:26:09.

and those two reds as a cover. It wouldn't be the easiest safety shot

:26:09.:26:19.
:26:19.:26:23.

He played to move it. Unlucky to knock the black in, but I don't

:26:23.:26:29.

think that would have been my choice. A fee played the plant dead

:26:29.:26:39.
:26:39.:27:01.

weight he would have covered it, Nicely played. Didn't have to do

:27:01.:27:05.

much with the cue ball to get position on the brown, but he still

:27:05.:27:10.

needs these reds next to the pink if he is going to win the frame at

:27:10.:27:17.

this visit. It will not be easy but he has played an excellent

:27:17.:27:21.

positional shot. If he can leave himself a nice angle - that is why

:27:21.:27:26.

he is coming round the table, just looking at the angle he would like

:27:26.:27:36.
:27:36.:27:56.

That looks perfect. If this goes Unlucky. I don't think the red

:27:56.:28:00.

passes the blue, and this red into the left corner is a little bit

:28:00.:28:07.

tricky. He still needs both the reds. Could have worked out better,

:28:07.:28:13.

that. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but he has an easy

:28:13.:28:21.

snooker if he hits this red full in the face. Feb you can say it,

:28:21.:28:26.

Stephen. You are in the commentary box now! But yes, the snooker looks

:28:26.:28:31.

to be the shot. The red is risky and I think he is taking your own

:28:31.:28:41.
:28:41.:28:56.

Both percentage wise, without doubt the best shot. If we were a few

:28:56.:29:01.

frames into this final, he might have taken that red on, but the

:29:01.:29:06.

first frame is so important. That is why, as we said, taking a

:29:06.:29:13.

percentage route. Yes, and what made this a little bit different is

:29:13.:29:23.
:29:23.:29:28.

that red by the blue, at the moment, I don't know if Neil Robertson will

:29:28.:29:37.

want play on that red near the blue. It looks like he will do. Always

:29:37.:29:41.

difficult to judge getting out of the snooker when the cushion comes

:29:41.:29:51.
:29:51.:30:12.

JOHN VIRGO: he has got to play this deadweight or else he could leave

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

the red. If he hit it as he likes, He has missed it. That will be

:30:30.:30:40.
:30:40.:30:50.

What a difference that makes. Now, Shaun Murphy just requires one red

:30:50.:30:58.

and a colour. But he has had a bit of practice. You think he has to

:30:58.:31:08.
:31:08.:31:08.

hit it this time. And that diversion from the middle pocket

:31:08.:31:18.
:31:18.:31:26.

has made it safe. He will settle Now, will Shaun Murphy it fancy the

:31:26.:31:32.

long straight one? No, he is opting not to. He is taking the cautious

:31:32.:31:42.
:31:42.:31:47.

He needs their brown to come to his rescue. I am not sure that it has.

:31:47.:31:57.
:31:57.:32:10.

And even if he did not get on to a colour, there was always going to

:32:10.:32:20.
:32:20.:32:41.

I would not be refusing this. But he is. Neither player is taking any

:32:42.:32:51.
:32:52.:32:52.

Yes, we said the same air earlier when Shaun Murphy refused a pot.

:32:52.:33:02.
:33:02.:33:18.

Had it not been the first frame, I It looked as if he was close enough

:33:18.:33:25.

to the green to prevent the one cushiony skate, but he was not. But

:33:25.:33:35.
:33:35.:33:40.

This red will pot past the black. It is not easy. But there is an

:33:40.:33:50.
:33:50.:34:03.

He is now the new favourite for this frame. He needs a colour and

:34:03.:34:13.
:34:13.:34:28.

Of course, if he pink was on its spot, you would think this was a

:34:28.:34:38.
:34:38.:34:41.

OK, been left handed, the pink is on the right hand of the table for

:34:41.:34:51.
:34:51.:35:07.

He's going to pot the blue in the middle and come off the top and

:35:07.:35:17.
:35:17.:35:39.

Last night, we saw a similar shot from John Higgins. The one thing

:35:39.:35:47.

you do not want to do is get into their shot too much. John Higgins

:35:47.:35:51.

did exactly the same last night, when it looked for all the world as

:35:51.:36:01.
:36:01.:36:14.

He is trying to get the white in He could not do that. OK, he has

:36:14.:36:24.
:36:24.:36:39.

got the white safe, but there is no It has just bounced off the baulk

:36:39.:36:49.
:36:49.:36:57.

I thought for a moment that was not going to reach the side cushion. It

:36:57.:37:07.
:37:07.:37:11.

I thought he would come off the top cushion first and send the pink

:37:11.:37:21.
:37:21.:37:22.

But this is a mistake from Shaun. He was trying to force around the

:37:22.:37:28.

ankles and should have made a better jaw of it than that. But

:37:28.:37:38.
:37:38.:37:46.

Neil Robertson needs both of these You would not think Shaun Murphy

:37:46.:37:54.

will be getting another chance. In goes the black. It was a frame

:37:54.:37:58.

which was packed with errors. But it was Shaun Murphy who made the

:37:58.:38:08.
:38:08.:38:10.

last one. Neil Robertson takes the Neil Robertson has been very good

:38:10.:38:18.

in that respect all week. John Parrott is with me in the studio.

:38:18.:38:27.

Taking a watching brief in the cues own is Steve Davis. I think he is

:38:27.:38:37.
:38:37.:38:45.

Well, he was almost showing off! If you have got any comments for Steve,

:38:45.:38:55.
:38:55.:38:59.

Now, at regarding the build up to this final. Both of them had heavy-

:38:59.:39:07.

duty semi-finals yesterday. Yes, all this there they both had great

:39:07.:39:15.

results. Neil Robertson got revenge on Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy, to

:39:15.:39:20.

beat John Higgins any time is fantastic, but two beaten in the

:39:20.:39:30.
:39:30.:39:31.

semi-final of the Masters was Now, Shaun Murphy has lost the

:39:31.:39:35.

first frame in three out of his first four matches, but gone on to

:39:35.:39:45.
:39:45.:39:46.

win. But what do you feel about his shot selection? Yes, it was one

:39:46.:39:50.

paid you want to put the pink slightly lower than the cue ball.

:39:50.:39:55.

But he went round the ankles and mishit it. I agree with what the

:39:55.:40:03.

guys were seen in the commentary box, up when you are playing

:40:03.:40:08.

someone who is playing high-quality match play like Neil Robertson, you

:40:08.:40:12.

know that if the frames go very scrappy, and Neil Robertson

:40:12.:40:22.
:40:22.:40:43.

JOHN VIRGO: That looks like a He was having a look to see if

:40:43.:40:49.

there Read would actually cotton to the middle pocket. He cannot get

:40:49.:40:59.
:40:59.:41:17.

Deciding to just come off the side There is that red. I do not think

:41:17.:41:27.
:41:27.:41:40.

He got down as if he was going to play this, but he is now having

:41:40.:41:50.
:41:50.:42:25.

second thoughts. There is a few Cheers, guys! John Virgo rocks! I

:42:25.:42:35.
:42:35.:42:46.

STEPHEN HENDRY: They must have heard juicing in the other day. --

:42:46.:42:56.
:42:56.:43:09.

He did not play that very well. He hit the brown fill in the face. A

:43:09.:43:19.
:43:19.:43:30.

dangerous thing to do, with the Nice cueing. That was worth

:43:30.:43:35.

mentioning, because when you have to put more piece into the shot, it

:43:35.:43:45.
:43:45.:43:46.

He will not be that happy with the shot. He is a lot closer to the

:43:46.:43:56.
:43:56.:44:09.

There is always a danger that, when you're not in position, you say to

:44:09.:44:19.
:44:19.:44:29.

There was the option of playing for the red at the end of the cluster.

:44:29.:44:34.

He has played for it, but once again, he is a bit tight on the

:44:34.:44:44.
:44:44.:45:04.

But no problem. This time, surely He aimed very low down on the cue

:45:04.:45:14.
:45:14.:45:17.

ball. I think the stunned Short is Yes, the white seems to go forward

:45:17.:45:27.
:45:27.:45:35.

He did not play the pot. He tried his best to get back to the baulk

:45:35.:45:45.
:45:45.:45:46.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:45:46.:46:29.

end of the table. But he has not This is his view of it. He

:46:29.:46:38.

attempted to just nestle into these two eggs. That was careless. --

:46:38.:46:48.
:46:48.:46:48.

these two reds. That was careless. He will have another go and they

:46:48.:46:58.
:46:58.:47:05.

would be surprised if he did not I think he just has to get slightly

:47:05.:47:15.
:47:15.:47:28.

Now, could he actually see any red full ball. Let us listen to the

:47:28.:47:38.
:47:38.:47:43.

referee here. Let us hear what he Not, he did not give him a warning,

:47:43.:47:49.

so obviously he could net not get through to hit a red full ball.

:47:49.:47:54.

Otherwise, he would have been warned, because after three misses

:47:55.:48:04.
:48:05.:48:14.

when you are not snookered, you Well, we just don't have time to

:48:14.:48:24.
:48:24.:48:28.

So, he just tried to play a containing safety, and all things

:48:28.:48:38.
:48:38.:48:42.

considered, I think he has done a I think sometimes the referees

:48:42.:48:46.

don't fully explain it to the players and assume that they know

:48:46.:48:56.
:48:56.:48:56.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:48:56.:49:42.

Too thick. He has left the red on The black is tied up and the pink

:49:42.:49:52.
:49:52.:50:01.

is tied up. He has got to try and In an effort to do that, it caused

:50:01.:50:11.
:50:11.:50:11.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:50:11.:51:03.

Now, this has opened a frame-up. That is an excellent safety shot

:51:03.:51:13.
:51:13.:51:15.

I was watching Neil Robertson walking down and having a look at

:51:15.:51:25.
:51:25.:51:33.

But he got it much too full. Now, the table is in a much better

:51:33.:51:37.

position for break-building opportunities. The black is now in

:51:38.:51:47.
:51:48.:52:01.

It is Shaun Murphy that gets a good chance now. The black is certainly

:52:01.:52:10.

available into the bottom left-hand This is the sort of opportunity

:52:10.:52:20.
:52:20.:52:28.

that he was grabbing with both It is always nice when you have to

:52:28.:52:38.
:52:38.:52:42.

play that shot that you have the He can now play this unscrew off to

:52:42.:52:52.
:52:52.:53:03.

He decided to play for this red, because I think this is the one

:53:04.:53:08.

that is stopping the black potting into the bottom right-hand corner

:53:08.:53:12.

pocket. The black will now be available in to both of the bottom

:53:12.:53:22.
:53:22.:53:27.

Anyway, there is plenty of room for He will want to win the frame at

:53:27.:53:35.

this visit. He had a few chances in the first frame. The Balts are

:53:35.:53:45.
:53:45.:54:02.

perfect here. This is a real Those to red so near the top

:54:02.:54:06.

cushion a just cause in a little bit of a problem. He does not want

:54:06.:54:16.
:54:16.:54:21.

He has under had that slightly and two I do not think he can stay on

:54:22.:54:31.
:54:32.:54:39.

the black. But that was a decent That could have gone wrong, but he

:54:39.:54:49.
:54:49.:54:52.

Neither player has had the cue ball on a string when they have been in

:54:52.:55:02.
:55:02.:55:17.

I do not think the pink will re- spot on its own spot, so it will go

:55:17.:55:27.
:55:27.:55:27.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:55:27.:56:16.

27 points the lead. These two reds with colours will leave him 46

:56:16.:56:26.
:56:26.:56:46.

But it will not be over until he That looks inch-perfect to me. The

:56:46.:56:56.
:56:56.:57:09.

split will put and 43 in front, Yes, there was a chance of

:57:09.:57:19.
:57:19.:57:26.

developing both of them, but they do not think he is on anything now.

:57:26.:57:31.

I am not saying the pinky earlier was a wrong shot, but he if he had

:57:31.:57:39.

stayed on the black, Neil Robertson would now be requiring a snooker.

:57:39.:57:49.
:57:49.:57:49.

The referee has called a touching He would loftily a snooker on both

:57:49.:57:59.
:57:59.:58:08.

He will be disappointed with that. Do not get me wrong, it was not an

:58:08.:58:18.
:58:18.:58:54.

easy shot, but was an opportunity He did not feel he could do

:58:54.:59:01.

anything else, but it has been covered by the blue. In an ideal

:59:01.:59:08.

world, he would stun this red near him up the table and snooker Shaun

:59:08.:59:17.

Murphy behind the yellow. If he plays the pot and does not get on

:59:17.:59:27.
:59:27.:59:37.

the black, he will require a That was a big ask, and that is

:59:37.:59:47.
:59:47.:59:49.

surely end of frame in favour of The first frame was a scrappy

:59:49.:59:57.

affair which took 23 minutes. This is only just less than 20 minutes,

:59:57.:00:07.
:00:07.:00:15.

but a bit more solid snooker, This match has all the makings of

:00:15.:00:25.

Certainly wants these early nerves go from the cue arm, we are going

:00:25.:00:35.
:00:35.:00:58.

The brown did not going, but it did not matter, the frame was over

:00:58.:01:02.

before then, so both players have had a chance to settle. We are in

:01:02.:01:06.

for a cracking match, I do believe, but that was better from Shaun

:01:06.:01:11.

Murphy, who will sit a lot more comfortably at 1-1. An interesting

:01:11.:01:16.

thing. We have two eyes, but we only see one picture, so when you

:01:16.:01:21.

are playing snooker, there is a problem. Where do you put your eyes

:01:21.:01:26.

over the cue? You would think the middle, one either side. That is

:01:26.:01:30.

how Shaun Murphy thinks, but Neil Robertson has another wave. He is

:01:30.:01:35.

completely over his right eye. The question is, has Neil Robertson got

:01:35.:01:39.

a dominant eye? Or is that the way he has just got used to playing the

:01:39.:01:43.

game? The question also is, if Neil Robertson has a dominant eye, and

:01:43.:01:48.

everybody has one, then why hasn't Shaun Murphy? They should not be in

:01:48.:01:54.

the middle! I could not agree more, talking about a dominant eye, and

:01:54.:01:57.

the fact that Shaun does not actually cue the way most other

:01:57.:02:03.

players do. How did you do it? How did you see it? I am, and left eye,

:02:04.:02:08.

which is similar to John Virgo, who is in the commentary box. -- I am a

:02:09.:02:14.

dominant. My right eye is pretty poor, I used my left eye. As John

:02:15.:02:19.

visibility begins to decline with age, and it comes to us all, but

:02:19.:02:23.

has that impact on a snooker player? Are there any dramatic

:02:23.:02:27.

examples of it? I found it took a little bit longer to focus on the

:02:27.:02:33.

longer shots, just a little bit longer. When you were 18 or 19, he

:02:33.:02:38.

will do it straight away, but in your 30s you have to look up and

:02:38.:02:42.

take a little bit more time. problem about Shaun Murphy sighting

:02:42.:02:45.

the ball at that point. Your impressions of that last frame,

:02:45.:02:50.

John? He started scoring like he has been all week. His scoring has

:02:50.:02:54.

been superb, and he strikes the ball so beautifully with that cue

:02:54.:03:00.

action. When I came here this week, people said, last 16, he will win?

:03:00.:03:04.

Quarter-final, semi-final, the final, I don't know, and you employ

:03:04.:03:14.
:03:14.:03:16.

JOHN VIRGO: To be fair to John, I do not think many of us know,

:03:16.:03:24.

because it is such a closely I think what will be the test for

:03:24.:03:30.

either player, if it does a couple of frames behind. As I said earlier,

:03:30.:03:34.

both players in their matches have always had a leader and a little

:03:34.:03:42.

bit of a cushion to rely on. Or it could just go frame for frame, and

:03:42.:03:46.

then it is about to hold their nerve in the closing stages better

:03:46.:03:56.
:03:56.:04:29.

than the other. It could be that Both players had a go at a long

:04:29.:04:34.

ball, both players quite a distance away, but Neil has been the unlucky

:04:34.:04:44.
:04:44.:05:04.

There we go, that is picking out what Steve is said. To me, he is

:05:04.:05:12.

looking through the right eye there. Certainly, you would think the

:05:12.:05:17.

dominant eye for Shaun is the right eye. Only Steve Davis could get us

:05:17.:05:27.
:05:27.:05:49.

involved in this! I know, leave me Well, he went into them very

:05:49.:05:55.

aggressively, but has he been unlucky? He would settle for just

:05:55.:06:00.

rolling the red to write medal, but I do not think he can do that. --

:06:00.:06:05.

Write Middle. Very unlucky, he went in well, and they seemed to be

:06:05.:06:09.

opening up nicely enough. He found a decent gap. I suppose you could

:06:09.:06:15.

say a little bit more pace required, but he is unlucky if he is not on

:06:15.:06:21.

the red to the middle, and he is not. Yeah, if you asked him, the

:06:21.:06:25.

cue ball went exactly where he wanted it to. Very unlucky not to

:06:25.:06:30.

be on a red. Sometimes you go into the pack and you do not hit then

:06:30.:06:33.

the way you want, and you still have a moan that you do not deserve

:06:33.:06:43.
:06:43.:06:51.

to be on one, but he played it Well, he had to settle for the

:06:51.:06:56.

safety and it is... Well, good length for the cue ball, but he

:06:56.:07:00.

could leave this red to the right corner. Although having looked at

:07:00.:07:06.

it, it is very straight. If it had a slight angle, you could see Neil

:07:06.:07:11.

trying to force the cue ball back at the table, but he can only roll

:07:11.:07:21.
:07:21.:07:33.

this in dead weight if he plays the Are a fraction to the right, and it

:07:33.:07:37.

would have followed him with the white as well. He would not touch

:07:37.:07:41.

been too disappointed by that. one thing was to get the red away

:07:41.:07:45.

from the corner pocket. That is why I always stress the importance of

:07:45.:07:49.

getting good length with the cue ball near the baulk cushion,

:07:49.:07:53.

because if he had his hand on the table, he could have screwed back

:07:53.:08:03.
:08:03.:08:18.

or anything. But once you are tight, Well, that is a pretty good safety.

:08:18.:08:22.

I do not think there is an escape route down the left-hand side. If

:08:22.:08:27.

he plays down the right, he has to be very wary of the red near the

:08:27.:08:31.

cushion. It could be a blocker for anything that is not quite hit

:08:32.:08:41.
:08:42.:09:07.

Well, he found a good bath and a decent length, excellent shot. --

:09:07.:09:15.

could have. So a spot of bother, found a good escape route. OK, it

:09:15.:09:24.

looks as though this red to the left corner is on. Possibly a

:09:24.:09:28.

slight angle on it to pot it and play for the black, but it is a

:09:28.:09:38.
:09:38.:09:47.

dangerous shot. If he goes for it, Well, he did not even hit the red

:09:47.:09:57.
:09:57.:09:57.

on the right side there. A long way Sometimes you can hit them better

:09:57.:10:01.

than that, not going and get a double kiss. I do not think he has

:10:01.:10:11.
:10:11.:10:37.

Good shot, imperative that he covered the red near the baulk line,

:10:37.:10:47.
:10:47.:11:01.

If he had come off that side cushion and hit the red half-ball,

:11:01.:11:06.

he would send the red up this end and leave the cue ball up that end.

:11:06.:11:16.
:11:16.:11:16.

That is pretty good. Well, there's always a red that seems to get

:11:16.:11:22.

knocked out. It was looking very good, and then all of a sudden a

:11:22.:11:28.

red came out, and it is going to the right corner, leaving him

:11:28.:11:38.
:11:38.:12:08.

perfect on the black. There is That was well judged, inch perfect

:12:08.:12:18.
:12:18.:12:34.

Already, with a 29 point lead, I expect him to win the frame at this

:12:34.:12:41.

visit, the way peoples are situated. I suppose the only downside was the

:12:41.:12:45.

pink and blue being together. But with the black available into both

:12:45.:12:55.
:12:55.:13:17.

corners and the reds nicely in the Definitely the quicker of the two

:13:17.:13:27.
:13:27.:13:27.

in amongst the balls, Shaun Murphy. There you go, five seconds per shot,

:13:28.:13:36.

quicker than Neil. Some of that is due to the fact that Neil has not

:13:36.:13:39.

been in ideal positions, so he has had to think about things more, but

:13:39.:13:49.
:13:49.:14:06.

Well, for the first time, he has just run slightly out of position.

:14:06.:14:15.

He could not play for the black off He will have to go for a baulk

:14:15.:14:20.

colour, and once the cue ball has to travel distances, things can go

:14:20.:14:30.
:14:30.:14:39.

57 points is the lead now. I think he can run through here for the

:14:39.:14:49.
:14:49.:14:53.

He and this black and one more red would have secured a frame.

:14:53.:15:03.
:15:03.:15:19.

Pot the red to go 66 ahead with So Neil Robertson knows he is not

:15:20.:15:27.

going to get anything out of this frame now. Shaun was nicely on the

:15:27.:15:33.

green, which means Neil, even if he had a chance, would not come back

:15:33.:15:43.
:15:43.:15:44.

to the table, and it is unlikely Yes, an early warning sign for Neil,

:15:44.:15:52.

65 in the last frame from Shaun, 64 and counting here, so he does not

:15:52.:16:02.

want to let Shaun get into his Yes, and I suppose worrying

:16:02.:16:08.

slightly for Neil Robertson and his fans that he has had a few chances

:16:08.:16:13.

but his highest break is only 30. He knows he will have to improve on

:16:13.:16:20.

that. No panic yet, best of 19. There will be a midsession interval

:16:20.:16:30.
:16:30.:16:41.

after this frame. So time, after Is probably one of the best players

:16:41.:16:48.

in the world with the rest. -- he is. Well, tremendous shot with the

:16:48.:16:53.

rest! I have got to be honest with you, I never really noticed, but I

:16:53.:17:03.
:17:03.:17:08.

see where you are coming from. He Yeah, why he does well with the

:17:08.:17:12.

rest is that his cueing action is almost identical to his cueing

:17:12.:17:19.

action with his bridge Hand, which a lot of players do not do. That is

:17:19.:17:24.

the way they say to play with the rest. As you say, it is almost the

:17:24.:17:33.

same as when you get your hand on Now, this blue for a terrific

:17:33.:17:43.
:17:43.:17:45.

Well played! Very well played. Just one knows positional shot is all it

:17:45.:17:52.

took, and it wasn't that bad. His gathering a head of steam here. The

:17:52.:17:59.

cue ball needs to slow up a touch, slowdown, slowdown! Oh, what a

:17:59.:18:07.

shame! Anyway, we got the century, and that will suit Shaun Murphy.

:18:07.:18:11.

Neil Robertson, just a little bit to think about, it is early days,

:18:11.:18:16.

but it is 2-1, Shaun Murphy. Just days there of a chance, and

:18:16.:18:22.

you will make his 7th century of the week. -- just a sniff of a

:18:22.:18:28.

chance. Stephen said about keeping his head perfectly still, but the

:18:28.:18:35.

cue goes through like a laser. There are various theories on how

:18:35.:18:37.

to cue the snooker ball, some people what to be compact, the

:18:37.:18:41.

close in. He has practised for hours and hours, he can take it

:18:42.:18:45.

back as far as he likes in a straight line. When he comes

:18:45.:18:49.

through, there is no effort in it, and there is plenty of work on the

:18:49.:18:55.

cue ball, beautifully cute. In 2005 he basically blasted everyone off

:18:55.:19:00.

the table, going for all of his shots as a 120-1 outsider, a

:19:00.:19:03.

qualifier, and everyone said, he cannot keep playing like that, and

:19:03.:19:07.

he has modified his style a little bit. The EC more echoes of that

:19:07.:19:14.

kind of form now? -- do you see? think we can see more of that. It

:19:14.:19:19.

was a ridiculous display in 2005, he went for everything, but he is

:19:19.:19:24.

close to it. Scoringtwice, this is the best I have seen for a long

:19:24.:19:29.

time. He did the same thing as Martin Gould and Mark Selby, he

:19:29.:19:34.

seems to love to be a front runner. What makes him so strong in that

:19:34.:19:38.

position? He is just in great form. He cannot always know when you are

:19:38.:19:45.

going to have that form, you just have to go with it. He has come

:19:45.:19:48.

here through various events, played himself into great form, and this

:19:48.:19:52.

week he is hitting the ball as good as I had seen him. He has got to

:19:52.:19:57.

make the most of it. And from Neil Robertson's point of view, not a

:19:57.:20:02.

guitar break. He will want to go into the interval at 2-2, you do

:20:02.:20:12.
:20:12.:20:19.

not want to be behind from the JOHN VIRGO: Well, a decent break

:20:19.:20:29.
:20:29.:20:32.

off, you have got to say that now Not on this occasion. Yes, the

:20:32.:20:36.

break-up has become such an important shot in the game of

:20:36.:20:42.

snooker nowadays. -- break-off. All the players are so good at potting

:20:42.:20:52.
:20:52.:21:11.

Well, a terrific opening red. Now then, can he get his hand on the

:21:11.:21:20.

table and score heavily? He himself a bit of confidence? -- give

:21:20.:21:30.
:21:30.:22:09.

Well, how many times do we see that You think, should I play the run

:22:09.:22:15.

through all the screw shut? And the cue ball invariably finishes tide

:22:15.:22:19.

against the cushion! He is very straight on his black, so unless

:22:19.:22:23.

there is a red he can get on just by rolling the black in, it is

:22:23.:22:29.

difficult. Oh, and he has missed the black anyway! Does this red go

:22:29.:22:38.

to the right Medal? -- metal. Well, it does, but he hit the black so

:22:38.:22:48.
:22:48.:22:59.

badly that this red is now A terrific pot. OK, he is unlucky

:22:59.:23:03.

not to be on the black, but that shows you the confidence that Shaun

:23:04.:23:13.

is playing with, no hesitation. That was a tough pot. As I say, not

:23:13.:23:17.

on the black, but he can certainly get through to the blue. He is just

:23:17.:23:27.
:23:27.:23:39.

having a look at what reds are Well, it is a good effort. He has

:23:39.:23:46.

just overran it a little bit. I think he was thinking he may be on

:23:46.:23:51.

a red to the left middle, there you go, but as you can see, he has run

:23:51.:24:01.
:24:01.:24:21.

He has made a good job of that, Yeah, good weight, to snooker

:24:21.:24:27.

someone from that position. Well nigh impossible! But he has

:24:27.:24:37.
:24:37.:24:42.

Not touching ball. If it had have been, the referee would have

:24:42.:24:52.
:24:52.:24:58.

A big day of the referee, of course, his first ever Masters final, a big

:24:58.:25:08.
:25:08.:25:23.

moment. Piers from Sheffield, the Well, I was going to say, he caught

:25:23.:25:28.

that safety a little bit too thin, but that is a bonus. He tried to

:25:29.:25:35.

find the baulk cushion, really. But he caught it a little bit too thin

:25:35.:25:44.

off the baulk cushion, snooker behind the green on Wall reds. --

:25:44.:25:54.
:25:54.:25:59.

As he made a mistake here? Has he Well, there is a red in line with

:25:59.:26:04.

the cue ball, but are they too close together. They are very close

:26:04.:26:13.

The referee will be keeping a close eye on this one, looking for the

:26:13.:26:23.
:26:23.:26:24.

I will tell you what, that was a heck of a shot, that was. I mean,

:26:24.:26:34.
:26:34.:26:37.

to get that amount of run-through. Yes, I bet the referee had his

:26:37.:26:41.

heart in his mouth there, he didn't want to have to make a dodgy

:26:41.:26:45.

decision in the final, his first Masters final. He has refereed

:26:45.:26:55.
:26:55.:27:03.

Yes, I think with that shot of Neil, it was the advantage of being a

:27:03.:27:13.
:27:13.:27:17.

left-hander. I would not have Obviously, this red just above and

:27:17.:27:27.
:27:27.:27:33.

to the right of the black will go Not perfect. Every time he has been

:27:33.:27:40.

into there, he has struggled with his positional play. Over 19 frames,

:27:40.:27:48.

you cannot keep putting yourself in What makes this shot a little bit

:27:48.:27:51.

more difficult, the yellow is not on its part, but it is in the path

:27:51.:27:55.

where he would like to send the cue ball. If he decides to come down

:27:55.:28:00.

the right-hand side of the table... Playing below, that cuts out that

:28:00.:28:06.

problem but still a good shot needed. -- the yellow. It is all

:28:06.:28:16.
:28:16.:28:34.

about the line and length. The cue That is one of the best position of

:28:34.:28:41.

charge he has hit today, a tough shot from the jaws of the pocket.

:28:41.:28:46.

He would like to go into the two reds below the blue fall in the

:28:46.:28:56.
:28:56.:29:09.

Now then, how does he play this? Does he play it with pace, or does

:29:09.:29:14.

he feel he does not need to inject that much pace into the cue ball?

:29:14.:29:24.
:29:24.:29:39.

He needs to be on a red, that is That is pretty good. It is not

:29:39.:29:47.

banned. I thought it might go slightly wrong. He appears to have

:29:47.:29:52.

the perfect angle, so does not have to do much with this. But he needs

:29:52.:30:02.
:30:02.:30:25.

Played it confidently and the frame He will now be looking to level the

:30:25.:30:35.
:30:35.:30:42.

match at 2-2. Actually, I think he missed the cannon, but he missed it

:30:42.:30:46.

by so far, that he may be was not even going for it in the first

:30:46.:30:56.
:30:56.:31:08.

That is now his highest break of You would expect a lot more during

:31:08.:31:14.

the course of the match. In fact, it would not surprise me if he hit

:31:14.:31:19.

a century break here. He is just checking with the scoreboard to see

:31:19.:31:29.
:31:29.:31:34.

If he stayed on the black, it would leave him with 79 points after all

:31:34.:31:38.

the reds had gone and then the 27 points for the colours would get

:31:38.:31:48.
:31:48.:32:11.

It means both players have now settled in and got used to the pace

:32:11.:32:16.

of the table. They have got rid of these a genius that where apparent

:32:16.:32:26.
:32:26.:32:44.

in the first frame, particularly. - As long as you have reached 73 by

:32:44.:32:54.
:32:54.:33:07.

the time you get to the course, you As a left-hander, I always feel

:33:07.:33:10.

that the yellow is the easiest ball to get on, because you have a much

:33:11.:33:20.
:33:21.:33:23.

Yes, you can always get your hand at on the table. And he will want

:33:23.:33:30.

to clean up these colours and get a century. He will want to sure Shaun

:33:30.:33:40.
:33:40.:33:42.

Murphy that if he makes any Yes, it is the psychological game

:33:42.:33:46.

and he wants to sure this packed crowd at the Alexandra Palace that

:33:46.:33:56.
:33:56.:34:04.

Shaun Murphy made 102 in the last This will be the 20th century break

:34:04.:34:12.

of this year's Masters. Any doors. 102 from Shaun Murphy - anything

:34:12.:34:22.
:34:22.:34:24.

you can do, I can do better. 2-2 at Impressions of the way that Neil

:34:24.:34:32.

Robertson has dug in? As I said yesterday, I have seen him play

:34:32.:34:38.

better, but I have not seen him compete better. This week, he has

:34:38.:34:44.

been magnificent in that department. He has gone up an extra gear and

:34:44.:34:51.

made that century break. In the early part of that match, Neil

:34:51.:35:00.

Robertson seemed fractionally off or any positional sense at first?

:35:00.:35:04.

Yes, when Shaun Murphy is and the balls, everything has looked a much

:35:04.:35:12.

easier. But he is in their competing and now starting to score.

:35:12.:35:16.

And as John Virgo said in the commentary, we should be in for a

:35:16.:35:26.
:35:26.:35:28.

cracker. A few of the press boys have apparently had a bet that

:35:28.:35:36.

there will be six centuries in this match. It was 22-1. We have now had

:35:36.:35:46.
:35:46.:35:48.

two of them. We will keep an eye on Now, we saw a few shots off the

:35:48.:35:55.

cushion. First thing, do not panic if you're on the cushion. Firstly,

:35:55.:36:03.

make sure that you shock the cue very good all round the tip. OK,

:36:03.:36:10.

this is a bird's-eye view. We are told to keep the cue as level to

:36:10.:36:20.
:36:20.:36:21.

the table, as parallel to it, as possible. The trouble was, this is

:36:21.:36:29.

what happens. But I say you should check the cue up in the air, so you

:36:29.:36:39.
:36:39.:36:46.

can see a bit more of the cue ball. Nice one. He will do well if he

:36:46.:36:55.

keeps practising! In 1975, the first Masters tournament to place.

:36:55.:37:02.

We have seen some incredible matches down the years. One in

:37:02.:37:12.
:37:12.:37:16.

particular, 1998, the final, Mark The No. 1 ranked player in the

:37:16.:37:24.

world, Stephen Hendry! Stephen dominated in the 1990s in a fashion

:37:24.:37:34.
:37:34.:37:34.

we will probably never see again. Mark Williams! Mark was very much

:37:34.:37:39.

her racing start at this moment. He had won some ranking events, but

:37:39.:37:49.
:37:49.:37:49.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:37:49.:38:34.

Hendry is contemplating the pink. This ever have shown what a class

:38:34.:38:44.
:38:44.:38:46.

the and fluent player Mark Williams Atypical Stephen come back. Having

:38:47.:38:52.

looked out of touch in the last frame, his concentration comes

:38:52.:39:02.
:39:02.:39:17.

together. Magnificent. He goes back He is left-handed, but will not be

:39:17.:39:24.

able to stretch over that far. This is now a critical pot. He has to

:39:24.:39:33.

commit himself to dropping it in dead weight. He is OK. A great roar

:39:33.:39:41.

from this conference centre crowd. He is going to the mid-session

:39:41.:39:51.
:39:51.:40:02.

interval trailing by 5-3 to Stephen He is getting very good at those!

:40:02.:40:12.
:40:12.:40:26.

There is the 100. Mark Williams He is taking these other 21 to the

:40:26.:40:36.
:40:36.:41:06.

The reds have opened up nicely. He is back in once again. He would

:41:06.:41:14.

have loved to have made another century. But very impressive. He

:41:14.:41:24.
:41:24.:41:39.

At 9-6 ahead, surely Stephen was He has gone a little bit too far.

:41:39.:41:44.

He is going to have to come right round the ankles to get back on to

:41:44.:41:54.
:41:54.:42:20.

It was a difficult shot. It was a A mighty roar from the Wembley

:42:20.:42:27.

Conference Centre. Mark Williams is still in this match. He now trails

:42:27.:42:37.
:42:37.:43:04.

A tremendous roar from the Wembley Two more pots and we will have a we

:43:04.:43:14.
:43:14.:43:30.

Perfect. Listen to the roar of the A wry smile on Stephen Henry's face.

:43:30.:43:40.
:43:40.:43:42.

We're going to have the re-spotted He's going to put the black on to

:43:42.:43:52.
:43:52.:43:53.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:43:53.:44:48.

the side cushion. Now, will Mark You cannot get any closer. But the

:44:49.:44:58.
:44:59.:45:01.

one Stephen is left with. He is It is not 10, but I think you will

:45:01.:45:11.
:45:11.:45:15.

The scheme has got away from Stephen Hendry. It was not easiest

:45:15.:45:25.
:45:25.:45:32.

A tremendous cheers. Mark Williams from Wales has never been in front

:45:32.:45:42.
:45:42.:45:57.

in this final. By a slow roll It was a fantastic victory for Mark.

:45:57.:46:04.

He then won the World Championship and became No. 1 in the world.

:46:04.:46:14.
:46:14.:46:15.

bet that brought back a few memories? Yes, all of them bad!

:46:15.:46:24.

assume most of the crowd were cheering on Mark? Yes, most of them.

:46:24.:46:33.

Now, looking at that final shot. The black was relatively straight.

:46:33.:46:41.

What was going through your mind? thought this was it, I am going to

:46:41.:46:51.
:46:51.:46:55.

win the tournament. I still say the You where playing across two lanes

:46:55.:47:05.
:47:05.:47:06.

of slate. I know about excuses. You are going to play this, but you

:47:06.:47:10.

could not play it too hard, because there was a possibility the white

:47:10.:47:18.

ball could have carried on through into the middle pocket. So when you

:47:18.:47:28.
:47:28.:47:30.

got down to play this, where you shaking? Absolutely. At what stage

:47:30.:47:38.

when you hit it did you think you had missed it? For actually as soon

:47:38.:47:48.
:47:48.:47:55.

I missed it in the other side. Williams is going to be at home

:47:55.:48:05.
:48:05.:48:09.

gloating about this. I can just see If you do joint or commentary team

:48:09.:48:17.

Stephen Hendry, this is the sort of nonsense you have to put up with.

:48:17.:48:23.

Finally, Steve Davis was able to focus on the black ball finish

:48:23.:48:33.
:48:33.:48:37.

other than his defeat in the 1985 Sport Relief is back and it is your

:48:37.:48:41.

chance to be part of the biggest cheers of support. We want the

:48:41.:48:48.

whole nation to get together and raise a whole lot of cash. We will

:48:48.:48:55.

help the world poorest countries on March 25th. We want one million

:48:55.:49:03.

people to take part. Of course, you can raise money by buying these

:49:03.:49:11.

lovely socks or T-shirts. There will be jaw-dropping celebrity

:49:11.:49:17.

challenges and loss of star studded entertainment. A row over you

:49:17.:49:25.

decide to do it, go the extra mile for Sport Relief. I thing that went

:49:25.:49:35.
:49:35.:49:39.

John Parrott is already in training for the Sport Relief marathon. And

:49:39.:49:45.

Shaun Murphy is training for a half-marathon. Several other

:49:45.:49:55.
:49:55.:49:55.

snooker players are taking part, including Steve Davis. Now, we

:49:55.:50:00.

welcome the All Ireland jewel in the commentary box of Dennis Taylor

:50:00.:50:10.
:50:10.:50:22.

We know that there is going to be a new name won the trophy at the end

:50:22.:50:26.

of this evening. Will it be Shaun Murphy or the Australian Neil

:50:26.:50:36.
:50:36.:50:58.

KEN DOHERTY: Yes, the atmosphere here has been absolutely electric.

:50:58.:51:08.
:51:08.:51:13.

The crowds have really turned out It has been building up nicely,

:51:13.:51:23.
:51:23.:51:43.

hasn't it? In the last two frames, That case on the lock might have

:51:43.:51:48.

left a shot for Shaun. If he had not got that Kenan on the yellow,

:51:48.:51:58.
:51:58.:52:19.

Yes, it was a great pot. He was very unfortunate to go in-off. He

:52:19.:52:29.
:52:29.:52:43.

has now left the half chance here Both players are among the best in

:52:44.:52:53.
:52:54.:53:09.

Bury St cueing. He is a bit unlucky there. This summer red is hampering

:53:09.:53:19.
:53:19.:53:20.

him and preventing him from getting But he could not Forcett and it

:53:20.:53:26.

looks like he has dropped on absolutely nothing, unless there is

:53:26.:53:31.

a plant owned. It could not have finished more awkward, that last

:53:31.:53:41.
:53:41.:53:58.

positional shot. So, just a safety Yes, good shot from Neil Robertson.

:53:58.:54:08.
:54:08.:54:12.

He has covered those reds won the It is a part of his game that he

:54:13.:54:20.

has worked on, Dennis. We saw against Judd Trump that he played

:54:20.:54:26.

very good matchplay snooker. There was top quality safety play. He has

:54:26.:54:36.
:54:36.:54:37.

certainly improved of the last Yes, John Virgo was talking about

:54:37.:54:43.

it. In his first appearance at the Masters, he played Jimmy White and

:54:43.:54:50.

back then, Neil was an out and out potter. Back then, Jimmy beaten

:54:50.:54:54.

quite easily. But now he is one of the players to beat in any

:54:54.:55:03.

tournament, he really is. He is a very accomplished all-rounder. He

:55:03.:55:13.

showed that there with that very He is certainly one of the greatest

:55:13.:55:23.
:55:23.:55:23.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:55:23.:56:08.

He could not get behind the yellow and brown that time, but wanted the

:56:08.:56:11.

cue ball as close to that top cushion as possible. Shaun has to

:56:11.:56:16.

be careful here that the red does not spring over the bottom right-

:56:16.:56:22.

hand pocket here. That is exactly what can happen. He needed that

:56:22.:56:32.
:56:32.:56:45.

It has covered the one on the right, Now, I am just wondering if he can

:56:45.:56:49.

hold for the black here. Is he going to take the bull by the

:56:49.:56:58.

horns? He played for the black and played it beautifully. Very

:56:58.:57:08.
:57:08.:57:09.

He is in the right frame of mind. That is the way you have got to

:57:09.:57:13.

think in this game. You have got to think, if I knock this then, I am

:57:13.:57:19.

going to have a great chance. There is a tendency that players get

:57:19.:57:29.
:57:29.:57:50.

negative and think, if I miss this, Would you believe it? That is not

:57:50.:57:56.

the position you would want to be in. It makes the black a lot more

:57:56.:58:06.
:58:06.:58:09.

I do not think Keet even has the angle to just be able to Wollerton

:58:09.:58:19.
:58:19.:58:32.

That is a good shot. That was the best he could do. He did as well as

:58:32.:58:41.

he could have from a position. The red on the right inside of the

:58:41.:58:51.
:58:51.:59:00.

table is likely in his way and he That is well played. Very well

:59:00.:59:10.
:59:10.:59:38.

controlled. He is now back in prime He would have liked to have been

:59:38.:59:48.
:59:48.:00:02.

The pink spot is not available, so it goes on the highest available,

:00:02.:00:12.
:00:12.:00:12.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:00:12.:00:53.

Well, that was an excellent pot, and he had been very, very unlucky.

:00:53.:01:00.

And you would expect, the way the bunch was scattered, that tight

:01:00.:01:04.

together, that he had to be on one of those red, and that is very

:01:04.:01:14.
:01:14.:01:21.

unfortunate. That looks like end- And not all that easy to get the

:01:21.:01:25.

cue ball up into the blog area. The yellow, brown and pink are

:01:25.:01:30.

perfectly placed, but he has finished so close to that red, it

:01:30.:01:34.

is difficult to get enough side to get back at the table. If it had

:01:34.:01:39.

been touching, it would have been a lot easier. Even if it had not been

:01:39.:01:44.

touching, he would have to find a path for the way around the table.

:01:44.:01:54.
:01:54.:01:55.

It could not have finished any Especially with a 48 points

:01:55.:02:00.

advantage, one could split and the frame was his. This is all he can

:02:00.:02:10.
:02:10.:02:13.

Even then, he has left a possible pot to the left middle pocket, and

:02:14.:02:20.

I think the natural angle will take the white Past the blue. I think it

:02:20.:02:26.

might also miss the green, so if he does pot this and can avoid the

:02:26.:02:36.
:02:36.:02:44.

blue and the green, he could finish And the brown, well, it is not a

:02:44.:02:50.

lot of use, because it is the wrong angle to get to the red. A good

:02:50.:02:55.

snooker here could be the order of the day with the reds situated as

:02:56.:03:05.
:03:06.:03:13.

they are, even though he is 47 Yes, quite a clever little shot,

:03:13.:03:19.

because Shaun knows full well, 47 points behind, he wants the green

:03:19.:03:25.

away from the commission if he gets another opportunity. Just looking

:03:25.:03:31.

at it, Ken, there is no shot to lay on a red. Sometimes you are better

:03:31.:03:36.

off just hitting it hard off the side cushion and hoping. How does

:03:36.:03:44.

he land on one and leave it safe? There is no shot on to do that.

:03:44.:03:48.

he may just come off the side cushion inside the green here. Hard

:03:48.:03:58.

as you can, close your eyes and But I think that is his only shot,

:03:58.:04:08.
:04:08.:04:17.

Has he got one safe? Has he got them all safe? If this red does not

:04:17.:04:22.

pass the one on the pink spot, he has got it relatively safe, and it

:04:22.:04:27.

doesn't. He will take that. There is still a red to the right corner,

:04:27.:04:32.

but that is not the easiest shot in the world. He has had a right

:04:32.:04:42.
:04:42.:04:58.

Big-shot coming up. A beauty, it is Just have a look at this, how about

:04:58.:05:02.

that? He cued that, so much pressure, knowing that if he missed

:05:02.:05:12.
:05:12.:05:19.

it, it is framed over. Now he has The red that is not tight on the

:05:19.:05:25.

cushion, just to the right side of the table, that is going to be a

:05:25.:05:35.
:05:35.:05:35.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:05:35.:06:20.

Yes, and this is the type of positional where professionals at

:06:20.:06:27.

this level will be thinking two or Crewe or possibly four shots ahead.

:06:27.:06:33.

There is no doubt what is getting on in his mind, getting a good

:06:33.:06:39.

position on these colours and the red that is close to the cushion.

:06:39.:06:43.

That looks like the only problem ball at the moment. I know he has

:06:43.:06:48.

the angle on the red, but it might be better to get a nice angle on

:06:48.:06:57.

I am not quite sure where he tried to move its there. But he is still

:06:58.:07:06.

Yes, always a bit risky moving a red when potting a red, always

:07:07.:07:12.

better doing it from a colour. And that is what he tried to do there,

:07:12.:07:16.

believe it or not, so it has all gone slightly wrong for Shaun

:07:16.:07:22.

Murphy, he could still cut this in, or can he? Maybe it is too thin. He

:07:22.:07:32.
:07:32.:07:41.

Well, he has hit its tooth in, so he has led a golden opportunity

:07:41.:07:46.

slip away. -- too thin. He did not get it right when trying to

:07:46.:07:56.

Yes, and now Neil Robertson is in a similar situation. He could try to

:07:56.:08:00.

cannon the other red into play, but he would be taking a chance on

:08:00.:08:04.

where the cue ball would finish. He may rely on a little bit of luck

:08:04.:08:14.
:08:14.:08:22.

Oh, dear! He nearly potted the I think he thought he might have

:08:22.:08:26.

been going to flick the red and then the black, but he went

:08:26.:08:33.

straight into the black and nearly But those colours are nicely placed

:08:33.:08:43.
:08:43.:08:47.

to get a sticker in behind. -- If you could see the pain here, it

:08:47.:08:54.

would be straightforward, but I think the blue is covering the pink.

:08:54.:08:59.

There you see it, he can play the pink half-ball off the top cushion,

:08:59.:09:09.

side cushion, a big target to cover this last red. He has gone for the

:09:09.:09:19.
:09:19.:09:30.

blue. I am not sure why he is not The only reason I can think is the

:09:30.:09:34.

fact that he is 12 points in front, and he may be wants to keep that

:09:34.:09:44.
:09:44.:09:50.

high-value colour in a safe Oh, he has not fluked it, has he?

:09:50.:09:54.

No. So Neil Robertson can score enough without needing that awkward

:09:55.:10:04.

Shaun just took the chance to bring the black into play, but he did not

:10:04.:10:14.
:10:14.:10:30.

I think the green may pot into the right corner in a few shots' time,

:10:30.:10:36.

but this hasn't dropped absolutely perfectly for Neil. No. If he had

:10:36.:10:40.

been straight on the brown, it would have been straightforward,

:10:40.:10:45.

but he has not got the perfect angle on his brown to get on a

:10:45.:10:49.

yellow nicely. He is looking to see if he can drop it in and nudged the

:10:49.:10:59.
:10:59.:10:59.

low towards the left-hand corner He could also possibly play a

:10:59.:11:09.
:11:09.:11:17.

cannon on to the pink and green. It Yes, and if he plays for the gap,

:11:17.:11:22.

he could quite easily snooker himself. If he tries to pot the

:11:22.:11:32.
:11:32.:11:33.

brown and goes into the gap, so a He has played for the gap. If it

:11:33.:11:40.

pulls up, he is OK. I say he is OK, but can he get to the green? That

:11:40.:11:50.
:11:50.:12:02.

is the problem. Well, he may be Well, he has played to leave it for

:12:02.:12:12.
:12:12.:12:43.

Beautifully played! Never easy into Well, we have just had two century

:12:43.:12:47.

breaks in the two frames before, not in this one, but it was quite

:12:47.:12:51.

an exciting frame. Shaun Murphy had his chance, but the Australian gets

:12:51.:12:57.

himself into the lead, 3-2. Yes, the first time he has been in

:12:57.:13:01.

the league since the opening frame, and I know you have been watching

:13:01.:13:05.

this match avidly, your impressions of the way it has been going so far.

:13:05.:13:09.

As befits the final, both players are vying for table time and

:13:09.:13:14.

getting a fair bit each. We had seen in some of the other matches,

:13:14.:13:19.

one player would get off to a good start, so for the fans it is nice

:13:19.:13:23.

to see this, it makes it more of a game of chess in the mind. It is

:13:23.:13:27.

exactly that, there has been a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing. Key

:13:27.:13:32.

shots in that one? We say chairs with balls, there was a mistake and

:13:32.:13:38.

Shaun Murphy's shot, and that first and you think it is going to go in,

:13:38.:13:42.

but this is the one that loses in the frame. -- at first hand. He

:13:42.:13:48.

tries to bring the black into play, hoping the red goes safe, and there

:13:48.:13:51.

was still plenty to do, but Neil Robertson made a good clearance of

:13:51.:13:56.

got enough of the balls to take the frame. Both players realise they

:13:56.:13:59.

are in the kind of form that they will be able to pounce on any

:13:59.:14:05.

mistake. How does that dictate your thinking when you are making shots?

:14:05.:14:09.

Ah, well, you just play the table, you play the shot. You are happy

:14:09.:14:12.

that you are in good form, you would not have got to the final

:14:12.:14:16.

otherwise. New line aware that the other guy has been playing pretty

:14:16.:14:20.

decent as well. -- You are aware. If you have not watched too much of

:14:20.:14:24.

the other half of the draw, you might wonder whether your heart was

:14:24.:14:28.

playing a better standard, but I think they both know that they are

:14:28.:14:35.

pitting their wits against somebody of equal stature. It is Robertson

:14:35.:14:45.
:14:45.:14:50.

once again with his nose in front, DENNIS TAYLOR: He has not quite got

:14:50.:14:55.

the cue ball close to the cushion, so it has left a possible shot to

:14:55.:15:02.

nothing. I think he can avoid the black iffy parts this. -- if he

:15:02.:15:07.

parts this. He made sure that he did not cannon the black, but he

:15:07.:15:11.

has cannoned the brown. Having said that, this red into the right

:15:11.:15:21.
:15:21.:15:21.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:15:21.:16:02.

Very evenly matched, as we said. In all departments, I suppose, the

:16:02.:16:06.

safety success rate, Shaun is just slightly ahead, the pot success

:16:06.:16:10.

rate, just 1% is the difference, and when you get into the 90s you

:16:11.:16:20.
:16:21.:16:41.

4% is the difference with table An interesting one, Neil Robertson

:16:41.:16:45.

scoring less points than Shaun Murphy, but he has a one frame

:16:45.:16:52.

That was an awkward safety for Shaun Murphy, hampered by the brown,

:16:52.:17:01.

and it has given a chance. Shaun had a very tough shark indeed there.

:17:01.:17:05.

That is almost dead straight, Neil could do with screwing the white

:17:05.:17:15.
:17:15.:17:18.

Look at that, look at the power, he has got too much, and that is

:17:18.:17:22.

probably the new tip. I was talking to Anne at the midsession interval,

:17:22.:17:28.

and he has had three tips put-on. - - Neil. This one felt really good,

:17:28.:17:35.

but it is probably too good if you get that sort of action on it.

:17:35.:17:40.

Because the tip that he used, I do not know what it was, it usually

:17:40.:17:45.

took two or three days to get used to a new one. Normally they are

:17:45.:17:55.
:17:55.:17:56.

quite soft, hard they? It does take a few days. -- aren't they? One of

:17:56.:18:06.
:18:06.:18:30.

the lads at his club cut the tip in I do not think those two are a

:18:30.:18:35.

plant, Neil is having a look. Maybe they are, I am not sure. They are

:18:35.:18:40.

not too far away, but I do not think he can see enough of the

:18:40.:18:50.
:18:50.:18:50.

He is prevented from hitting the first red as he would need to make

:18:50.:19:00.
:19:00.:19:04.

Oh, he has put the red over the middle, that is careless. That is

:19:04.:19:10.

very careless. There might be an in-off to the corner pocket, but

:19:10.:19:15.

that red should not have been going anywhere near there. That has

:19:15.:19:19.

confused kneels lightly. He did not anticipate that one finishing over

:19:19.:19:25.

the middle. -- that has confused Neil slightly. It is all about the

:19:25.:19:35.
:19:35.:19:45.

cue ball. He has got to avoid the Not quite sure whether the yellow

:19:45.:19:51.

passes that round here. No, it doesn't. -- the brown. He has the

:19:51.:20:01.
:20:01.:20:08.

possibility of the green, but it is He has played all week in a very

:20:08.:20:14.

positive frame of mind. That is why he is taking this green on. But it

:20:14.:20:24.
:20:24.:20:24.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:20:24.:21:27.

That has finished nowhere. It was awkward, that, he could not play a

:21:27.:21:31.

cannon on the two reds that were close together, he decided to go

:21:31.:21:36.

into than, and he got plenty of action, but he could not spin the

:21:36.:21:46.
:21:46.:22:19.

white any further, the two reds Oh, that has rocked back, is it

:22:19.:22:29.

Well, it is certainly touching one of them. The referee was just

:22:29.:22:34.

pointing out which one it is, Brendan Moore doing a great job in

:22:34.:22:38.

his first final at the Masters. He has been looking forward to it all

:22:38.:22:45.

week. But even though it is a touching ball, there is no easy

:22:45.:22:55.
:22:55.:22:59.

path through all those reds to get He is having to use the other end

:22:59.:23:09.
:23:09.:23:42.

Yes, ideally, Neil Robertson would like to get the cue ball as close

:23:42.:23:47.

to the baulk cushion as possible, possibly behind the brown to try

:23:47.:23:52.

and block the reds down the right- hand side of the table. But he is

:23:52.:23:57.

looking to put it in the green pocket as well. I think they are

:23:57.:24:01.

just sitting so awkwardly that he cannot get the cue ball over behind

:24:01.:24:11.
:24:11.:24:13.

That is about all he could do, get it as close to the jaws of the

:24:13.:24:23.
:24:23.:24:30.

Yes, that is an excellent pace on This red close to the left hand

:24:30.:24:36.

side cushion is probably easiest to play the safety off, just a half-

:24:36.:24:42.

ball. But he has got to be careful, that red will be going into other

:24:42.:24:46.

reds, and he does not want to knock anything over towards his right-

:24:46.:24:53.

hand pocket. It is always very difficult when the play from the

:24:53.:25:03.
:25:03.:25:04.

Well, he nearly knocked the black in, but he has got a good cue ball.

:25:04.:25:12.

There was a couple of choices to get back, and the only downside to

:25:12.:25:22.
:25:22.:25:58.

that one was the black has gone Yeah, the fact that the Greene is

:25:58.:26:04.

on the side cushion, the black and the other cushion, OK, the red are

:26:04.:26:10.

nicely placed, it is an awkward frame, and we might see quite a bit

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:26:20.:27:08.

of tactical play here just to sort If either player leaves an attempt

:27:08.:27:13.

at a long red, there is still no colour available. I mean, a couple

:27:13.:27:17.

of reds will go to this left corner pocket, but where would the colour

:27:17.:27:27.

they? -- Be? He is looking at the one past the black, but he will be

:27:27.:27:30.

attempting to screw back to the safety zone also. That is what he

:27:30.:27:40.
:27:40.:27:40.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:27:40.:29:14.

was thinking of, but I think he has Where is this red going? Where is

:29:14.:29:24.
:29:24.:29:39.

It is not straightforward to pot that red. Over the corner pocket.

:29:39.:29:49.
:29:49.:30:20.

He does have the red into the That was staff. It might have

:30:20.:30:27.

looked easy, but when you have that distance between the two balls...

:30:27.:30:33.

He wasn't far away. He may have covered the one to the left but

:30:33.:30:43.
:30:43.:30:53.

It might be easier to get the one to the right. The colours are all

:30:53.:31:03.

awkward on this table. And there's no guarantee that an attempt at the

:31:03.:31:12.

red to the right-hand pocket would mean he can get back up the table.

:31:12.:31:18.

He might be able to avoid the reds closest to the pink spot. Hopefully

:31:18.:31:28.
:31:28.:31:33.

he would land on the yellow or He hasn't and he needs the cue ball

:31:33.:31:43.
:31:43.:31:45.

to slow up. What a situation. That was a tough pot to take on for the

:31:45.:31:55.
:31:55.:32:02.

Not a great deal to think about here. You either take the pot on or

:32:02.:32:12.
:32:12.:32:31.

A problem now for the Australian. He might have to think for a while

:32:31.:32:38.

about this shot. If he plays off the side cushion, he will do well

:32:38.:32:48.
:32:48.:33:07.

to hit that red there between the REFEREE: A foul and a miss.

:33:07.:33:15.

That can always happen. The new tip has been so good for Neil. But you

:33:15.:33:21.

can always miscue. Have three, he hasn't done any damage to his new

:33:21.:33:31.
:33:31.:33:45.

In the final against Mark Williams, he took the same shot and took a

:33:45.:33:55.
:33:55.:34:03.

He was in a top spot to try and get close to that. Not quite sure why

:34:03.:34:13.
:34:13.:34:45.

he didn't take the red out of baulk That was the position, but look on

:34:45.:34:51.

where the cue ball was. He could easily have potted that. Very

:34:51.:35:01.
:35:01.:35:07.

The only problem with taking the pink here, it could tie it up.

:35:07.:35:14.

Maybe not. The pink could still be available in to the right-hand

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

corner. But does he have that angle He should have been able to but not

:35:35.:35:45.
:35:45.:36:07.

A terrific recovery and it is amazing - he can and that shot over

:36:07.:36:11.

the middle pocket and it did not matter where poppy finished with

:36:11.:36:17.

the cue ball. He would have that back. Mind you, a good pot on the

:36:17.:36:27.
:36:27.:36:29.

red. So he probably deserves to Oh! Can you get your breath? Look

:36:29.:36:39.
:36:39.:36:51.

of where that has finished. A tough I don't think the one next to the

:36:52.:37:01.
:37:02.:37:17.

pink goes to the right corner. If you hit the pink and the red at

:37:17.:37:23.

the same time, it is a foul ball. But there did not look to be much

:37:23.:37:33.
:37:33.:37:35.

in that. Just the red first. Good replay. And good from the referee.

:37:35.:37:45.
:37:45.:38:00.

We have had the two century breaks but also tension creeping in. This

:38:00.:38:06.

is a big day for these two boys. One will be crowned champion at the

:38:06.:38:12.

end of the day's play. It is just a matter of, who will grab hold of

:38:12.:38:22.
:38:22.:38:53.

this match by the scruff of the A big frame for Shaun Murphy here.

:38:53.:39:03.
:39:03.:39:32.

Eight frames to be played in this session. And then a possible 10

:39:32.:39:42.
:39:42.:40:02.

Yes, I think both players will feel coming into these eight frames, any

:40:02.:40:10.

advantage going into the session, either would be happy with.

:40:10.:40:20.
:40:20.:40:32.

Anything above would have been a We have got a packed house here at

:40:32.:40:39.

Ally pally. The crowds have been fantastic for the last week. And a

:40:39.:40:43.

greater amount of snooker to be played in this final. Still can't

:40:43.:40:53.
:40:53.:41:06.

Maybe Neil Robertson could have opened up a two-frame advantage

:41:06.:41:16.
:41:16.:41:42.

He only needed that red. And a quick glance at the scoreboard, so

:41:42.:41:52.
:41:52.:42:27.

the brown to make absolutely Neil nods to the referee and

:42:27.:42:33.

concedes, so nothing to pick between these two players. Shaun

:42:33.:42:40.

Murphy is level at 3-3. HAZEL IRVINE: And this is becoming

:42:40.:42:43.

increasingly hard fought, particularly in the frames where

:42:44.:42:48.

the black, blue and pink were safe and there was a pink from Shaun

:42:48.:42:53.

Murphy which was a key shot? Yes. And we see the player that makes

:42:53.:42:59.

the last error is the one that goes on to lose the frame. And it was a

:42:59.:43:03.

frame of errors. But from Shaun Murphy's perspective, that frame

:43:03.:43:08.

was just as important and valuable as the 100 and to break he made.

:43:08.:43:18.
:43:18.:43:18.

And that is the way to look at it. -- 100 and to break. You just have

:43:18.:43:25.

to graft away sometimes when the balls don't go right. And it is

:43:25.:43:27.

something that Neil Robertson in particular has learned over the

:43:27.:43:33.

last couple of seasons, because he was very much all-out in his

:43:34.:43:41.

attack? Yes. We saw a couple of typical Mark Williams frames and

:43:41.:43:46.

his game was one of the best I have seen, and Robertson outdid him, so

:43:46.:43:55.

he has really applied himself very well all week. If you stick another

:43:55.:44:01.

one on the ball to your name, your fine. Sometimes the players that

:44:01.:44:05.

making look very easy win a number of frames in a relaxed, comfortable

:44:05.:44:09.

manner, and they don't have much practice at winning a scrappy

:44:09.:44:14.

frames, so sometimes it takes them a while to have get to enjoy in

:44:14.:44:17.

that type of snooker. But as players get older, they usually

:44:18.:44:23.

start to understand that there is a sort of beauty in a scrappy frame

:44:23.:44:29.

as well. Not necessarily for the fans! For the general public. But

:44:29.:44:32.

for the snooker fans, when we have had opinion polls on the snooker

:44:32.:44:37.

they like, it is surprising the number of people that like the

:44:37.:44:41.

tactical battle as opposed to the century break after century brick

:44:41.:44:46.

type of snooker. So you have to play all types of snooker to win.

:44:47.:44:56.
:44:57.:45:00.

And your chances are a lot less if you don't have age B again. -- 8 B

:45:00.:45:10.
:45:10.:45:14.

game. There was a purpose there every time in those scrappy frames.

:45:14.:45:18.

An Mullins that it is of more interest to see how players cope

:45:18.:45:22.

with it than the others. That is where you can judge what is going

:45:22.:45:29.

on. It is turning into a very hard fought final, as we have been

:45:29.:45:39.
:45:39.:45:46.

saying. This is the penultimate DENNIS TAYLOR: Not a bad pace with

:45:46.:45:55.

the break-up shot. A possible red, which is the one he is looking at.

:45:55.:46:05.
:46:05.:46:11.

If it goes in, he could get himself Pretty good effort. A little smile

:46:11.:46:21.
:46:21.:46:21.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:46:21.:47:16.

there. He knows he cued that very I am surprised he played that

:47:16.:47:20.

because it has knocked the blacks safe. He could have taken the

:47:20.:47:30.
:47:30.:47:42.

chance of opening up the reds. Now That is bringing the red up as well,

:47:42.:47:49.

but even if poppy can get through to it, there is no black to play on.

:47:49.:47:59.
:47:59.:48:22.

He has now knocked the blue safe. It hasn't worked out too bad. He

:48:22.:48:28.

can pot the green and those three reds to the left of the pink do

:48:28.:48:38.
:48:38.:48:50.

popped into the bottom left-hand The pink spot looks occupied so

:48:50.:48:54.

that is the only chance he will have, with the pink going on to the

:48:54.:49:04.
:49:04.:49:10.

But, hey, there is nothing wrong with winning a frame with reds and

:49:10.:49:20.
:49:20.:49:27.

One thing about his position is that he will try to keep the pink

:49:27.:49:37.
:49:37.:49:41.

on the black spot as long as I can see another possible four,

:49:41.:49:51.
:49:51.:50:07.

With the two at the back of the bunch, when he clears one, it will

:50:07.:50:17.
:50:17.:50:34.

He left back a little bit short on the position side. Now it is a

:50:34.:50:44.

change of plan. If teapots this and screws back, he will probably freed

:50:44.:50:54.
:50:54.:51:04.

The fact that he's a left-hander will make its right meet you --

:51:04.:51:14.
:51:14.:51:25.

slightly easier, but he will That is a beauty. Excellent shot.

:51:25.:51:35.
:51:35.:52:08.

A couple of these reds go into the The pink spot is still held sober

:52:08.:52:18.
:52:18.:52:18.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:52:18.:53:20.

pink will go back on the black spot. He has got to be careful again. He

:53:20.:53:25.

has run into reds and that could open up the pink spot again. That

:53:25.:53:35.
:53:35.:53:40.

is just what he is contemplating He has overscrewed that. He needs

:53:40.:53:46.

to finish lightly on the green. He hasn't, so he will probably tuck in

:53:46.:53:53.

tight behind the green. And this is the angle he is faced with. Plenty

:53:53.:54:03.
:54:03.:54:09.

of cue power to pot miss and screw What about that for a bit of cue

:54:09.:54:19.
:54:19.:54:29.

I thought this would be a scrappy frame with the blue and black safe.

:54:29.:54:36.

He has have two greens and six pinks. He is not far from clinching

:54:36.:54:46.
:54:46.:55:03.

Probably because he was on the cushion most of the time when he

:55:03.:55:13.
:55:13.:55:27.

This has been an excellent break A terrific effort from the

:55:27.:55:37.
:55:37.:55:49.

Australian. Every credit to him for It is not often that you see this.

:55:49.:55:56.

He decided to develop the black but the frame is safe. Why not try and

:55:56.:56:06.
:56:06.:56:14.

Paint is his favourite colour! What an effort from the Australia. --

:56:14.:56:19.

pink it is his favourite. HAZEL IRVINE: Does one more frame

:56:19.:56:24.

to be played this afternoon in the session. If you are waiting for Ski

:56:24.:56:32.

Sunday, it will be after this session. It will be along very

:56:32.:56:40.

surely with Graham and Ed. Always worth waiting for. That was tough,

:56:40.:56:44.

particularly without that -- with the black out of commission?

:56:44.:56:48.

Exceptionally difficult. When you look at the table, you thought it

:56:48.:56:53.

would be a scrappy frames. To make a break from there was superb.

:56:53.:56:58.

Mostly pinks and Greens? A bit of everything and seriously good

:56:58.:57:05.

cueing. Brilliant to make that break like that. Impressions,

:57:05.:57:10.

Steve? Yes, Neil Robertson has every part of his game in good nick,

:57:10.:57:15.

really. And it is the nice thing about her player with a good,

:57:15.:57:18.

balanced game. They can play tactically and then break out of

:57:18.:57:22.

that and get into way frame and a rhythm very quickly. And some

:57:23.:57:29.

players struggle to do that. That is one thing... He has had

:57:29.:57:34.

criticism for being slow, quite wrongly, in my opinion. I don't

:57:34.:57:40.

think he is a slow player. But he can mix it when he wants to.

:57:40.:57:45.

momentum of this match has swung to and fro. Murphy started more

:57:45.:57:50.

strongly in early part of the match but Neil Robertson has hung on and

:57:50.:57:58.

clung on. If you wins this frame, he will be very happy with his

:57:58.:58:08.
:58:08.:58:10.

DENNIS TAYLOR: Will we be all square going into this evening's

:58:10.:58:20.
:58:20.:58:31.

Does that red pot, the one he missed? It looks to be very close

:58:31.:58:41.
:58:41.:58:46.

Both have played well through the week here but probably Shaun Murphy,

:58:46.:58:51.

the standard he has produced has been quite remarkable. Some of the

:58:51.:59:01.
:59:01.:59:02.

best snooker I have seen him play But can he convert that in the

:59:02.:59:07.

final? He is up against a very gritty Australian who wants this on

:59:07.:59:16.

his CV very much. He has been world champion. He has been in six finals

:59:16.:59:24.

and has won every one. Quite a record. We saw what his match

:59:24.:59:34.
:59:34.:59:40.

against Judd Trump meant to him. Years, nothing wrong with showing

:59:40.:59:46.

your emotions are urn, the first man to do that was the man with the

:59:46.:59:51.

pony tail, Peter Ebdon, he used to shout around the table, so that

:59:51.:00:01.
:00:01.:00:18.

celebration was a mini Peter Gordon While we are watching this little

:00:18.:00:21.

tactical battle, we can show you what it meant to Neil Robertson

:00:21.:00:28.

when he beat Judd Trump. And he was looking at the crowd, nothing wrong

:00:28.:00:38.
:00:38.:01:11.

with showing your emotions like He has got a bit of a chance, Shaun

:01:11.:01:15.

Murphy, although the pink is awkward, the black is near the

:01:15.:01:25.
:01:25.:01:39.

cushion. I'm not sure if he can Good cueing there. OK, it is still

:01:39.:01:44.

a little bit awkward, he asked to play it with a little bit of pace

:01:44.:01:54.
:01:54.:02:01.

That was a better shot than it looked, very, very tricky on the

:02:01.:02:11.
:02:11.:02:41.

Just coming around to see whether that red at the extreme right of

:02:41.:02:51.
:02:51.:02:54.

the pack will go into the bottom I will tell you what, Ken, it has

:02:54.:02:58.

been a good standard, this final, both players making century breaks,

:02:59.:03:08.
:03:09.:03:17.

good tactical play, not that many He did not come high enough for

:03:17.:03:21.

this red into the corner, but the red of the right of the pack will

:03:21.:03:27.

go into the right send-up. He would have loved to be a little bit

:03:27.:03:31.

straighter on that to screw back for the black. He may have to go up

:03:31.:03:41.
:03:41.:03:48.

Well, he has held for the pink into the Left Centre, but I'm not sure

:03:48.:03:54.

whether he has an angle to bring more red into play here. Oh, that

:03:54.:04:04.
:04:04.:04:04.

is an excellent shot, Suva shut! He had to force the end of the pink. -

:04:04.:04:14.
:04:14.:04:24.

Still on the pink, trying to maybe hold for the black also there.

:04:24.:04:33.

Shaun in fact did hold the highest break for a while, 139, until Judd

:04:33.:04:42.

Trump made a break of 140, to be superseded by Ronnie's I break of

:04:42.:04:50.

141, �15,000 for the Highbury. -- high break. Absolutely nothing for

:04:50.:04:55.

a maximum if you make it here at the Masters, I think they use the

:04:55.:05:00.

maximum break now, it is a roll over, �5,000 in a ranking event. If

:05:00.:05:10.
:05:10.:05:16.

it is not won, it carries on and I will not mention it again, Ken,

:05:17.:05:21.

the days of the beautiful sports car for the maximum break when you

:05:21.:05:26.

missed the black off the spot. cannot remember it, Dennis! I did

:05:26.:05:36.
:05:36.:05:38.

not like that car anyway. It was Now, does this red go into the

:05:38.:05:48.
:05:48.:05:55.

right centre? He has gone slightly Shaun marches around the table,

:05:55.:06:05.
:06:05.:06:10.

He has thought hard about this one, he knows the importance of it, 46

:06:10.:06:20.
:06:20.:06:24.

points in front, over one minute's He finished up playing it because

:06:24.:06:28.

of the position on the pink, and he was only going to leave the red

:06:28.:06:38.
:06:38.:06:51.

Well, if Neil can leave the cue ball exactly where the red is now,

:06:51.:07:01.
:07:01.:07:17.

Yeah, he did not quite hold it as he intended. There is a path back

:07:17.:07:27.
:07:27.:07:31.

down the table as long as Shaun Well, he got almost a half or

:07:31.:07:41.
:07:41.:07:48.

contact, so that is a mistake. -- Let's have a look, he hit it a bit

:07:48.:07:58.
:07:58.:08:02.

thick, but he has been fortunate to He is just looking to see if he

:08:03.:08:06.

could possibly avoid the black, but it looks a natural cannon onto the

:08:06.:08:13.

black. Maybe, if he does take this one into the right corner, he was

:08:13.:08:16.

looking at the possibility of cannoning into the black. Change of

:08:16.:08:26.
:08:26.:09:03.

Is OK. -- he is OK. The blue will Well, what a chance. Shaun Murphy,

:09:03.:09:08.

had he not that long red in, would definitely have levelled at 4-4. --

:09:08.:09:18.
:09:18.:09:22.

Yeah, he will be fearing the worst, sitting in his chair there. A great

:09:22.:09:27.

opportunity for a counter attack from Neil Robertson. He knows he

:09:27.:09:37.
:09:37.:09:43.

should have won the frame at that Once again, he has just got to be a

:09:43.:09:45.

little bit careful when he plays the cannon that he does not slip

:09:45.:09:55.
:09:55.:10:08.

out of position. That is why he is He may elect to get the black back

:10:08.:10:18.
:10:18.:10:49.

That would certainly make things a Neil has been travelling back to

:10:49.:10:59.
:10:59.:11:09.

His lovely wife and their son Alexander Park coming this evening.

:11:09.:11:14.

His wife is a Norwegian, I think he spent a little bit of time there

:11:14.:11:24.
:11:24.:11:27.

Now, can he get that two-frame advantage? They are there for the

:11:27.:11:37.
:11:37.:11:37.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:11:37.:12:22.

taking, can he held himself The shot that Shaun played in the

:12:22.:12:27.

end, he thought about for over a minute, he thought it was the safer

:12:27.:12:33.

option, but he has got to sit there, and he knows that Neil is quite

:12:33.:12:43.
:12:43.:12:50.

The back red parts, and that clears the path for the other one. He is

:12:50.:12:55.

OK if he drops this in. What a massive frame this could turn out

:12:55.:13:05.
:13:05.:13:08.

to be Paul Neil Robertson if he These are the type of frames that

:13:08.:13:12.

really hurt your opponent. Shaun, for all the world, looked like he

:13:12.:13:22.
:13:22.:13:27.

was going to win that frame at that And this is the long red he missed

:13:27.:13:37.
:13:37.:13:49.

He is just sitting there thinking. Now, this is not quite as easy as

:13:49.:13:59.
:13:59.:14:13.

it could have been. No problem with Well, he has just come up a little

:14:13.:14:18.

bit short. He played to leave a nice, easy polluted justice done it

:14:18.:14:28.
:14:28.:14:29.

in and leave a straightforward Can you believe it? He took his

:14:29.:14:33.

high off the easy pot of the blue because he did not get on it as he

:14:33.:14:38.

intended, so can you believe it? Shaun Murphy was thinking, I am

:14:38.:14:42.

definitely going to be two frames behind, the concentrated on what he

:14:43.:14:46.

was doing with the cue ball and forgot about the pot. It is amazing,

:14:46.:14:51.

the number of times it happens. The only consolation is that the blue

:14:51.:15:01.
:15:01.:15:02.

He gets right across the table. He played to miss the blow and leave

:15:02.:15:10.

the green for the other corner. It is getting tense out there. Yes,

:15:10.:15:16.

and can he pot this green, cannoned into the blade -- blue and hold the

:15:16.:15:24.

cue ball for the brown? It is very He may be able to use the ball to

:15:24.:15:34.

stop the cue ball going up the Well, this is just pure tension now

:15:34.:15:38.

from both players. They know the importance of this final frame of

:15:38.:15:43.

the session. Shaun was handed a lifeline. He played to leave the

:15:43.:15:47.

green for the other corner and cannoned into the blue. But the

:15:47.:15:57.
:15:57.:16:06.

Neil is 12 points in front, so if he could pot the green and brown,

:16:06.:16:13.

Shaun would need a snooker, so it could play a key role. It looks as

:16:13.:16:18.

if you've got right in behind it, you could drop it in, but that is

:16:18.:16:24.

what Shaun is faced with before he gets a chance to do that. Well, the

:16:24.:16:28.

green is far away from the cushion, maybe Shaun can get in behind it

:16:28.:16:38.
:16:38.:16:43.

Well, there is a possible pot, he can avoid the pink and black. It is

:16:43.:16:48.

a big shot to take on, but it could give in this frame. I'm not sure

:16:49.:16:52.

whether he would cannon the pink if he attended the pot. He might

:16:52.:17:02.
:17:02.:17:10.

Yeah, looking at the angle, if he did play it with any pace, it would

:17:10.:17:20.
:17:20.:17:20.

If he fails, the blue is safe, Dennis. It would be worth having a

:17:20.:17:30.
:17:30.:17:36.

No. That is apt, he has played a cracking shot here, he really has.

:17:36.:17:43.

-- that is a beauty. An excellent attempt, not quite a snooker. Shaun

:17:43.:17:53.
:17:53.:17:53.

can see the screen. -- this green. An excellent attempt, but this is a

:17:53.:18:03.
:18:03.:18:11.

Very difficult, as you say, Ken, to get a snooker behind the black. You

:18:11.:18:15.

would automatically double it up towards the right corner pocket.

:18:15.:18:25.
:18:25.:18:31.

How is your judgment? Quite good! The pink may be the snooker. Very

:18:31.:18:38.

well played. As you said, the green was going towards the corner pocket.

:18:38.:18:42.

Look at how well he held the cue ball. He took a chance, but it has

:18:42.:18:52.
:18:52.:19:01.

Well, believe it or not, it is a similar shot the other side of the

:19:01.:19:04.

table for Shaun Murphy. He is looking to see if he can get the

:19:04.:19:13.

gap. It is slightly easier to get What they shot this could prove to

:19:13.:19:21.

be. Oh, a long way off! Where is the green going? Well, the blue is

:19:21.:19:25.

into play, and that is not bad, because it will block the pocket

:19:25.:19:30.

for the green. There you can see it, well, everything is happening here

:19:30.:19:39.

It is as if it is a little bit embarrassed after that attempt, but

:19:39.:19:49.
:19:49.:20:03.

Well, he could try and ship the green. I'm not sure whether Shaun

:20:03.:20:09.

has a problem with his tip there. He could possibly check the green

:20:09.:20:13.

and get the cue ball back up towards the brown. That is a

:20:13.:20:18.

possibility. The one thing he has got to be very careful of here,

:20:18.:20:24.

just making sure that the green is safe. He does not want to take a

:20:24.:20:28.

chance of knocking it around the table. He has to make sure the

:20:28.:20:38.
:20:38.:20:55.

That is the shot he has played, and Well, just a little bit sticking

:20:55.:21:00.

out, he is a fraction away of getting a good snooker there. But

:21:00.:21:05.

the only problem is, if he flicks his green, he could leave it on for

:21:05.:21:15.
:21:15.:21:32.

He would have to knock the green on to the side cushion, because of the

:21:32.:21:42.
:21:42.:21:52.

Oh, that doesn't look good to Naval Staff -- to me. I do not think he

:21:52.:21:57.

intended to hit it that they. 12 is the difference, just green and

:21:57.:22:07.
:22:07.:22:39.

Well, Neil Robertson made an earlier break of 60, but Shaun

:22:39.:22:49.
:22:49.:22:49.

Murphy could quite easily have Blue to make absolutely certain of

:22:49.:22:59.
:22:59.:23:13.

It does not matter whether it drops on not. It has been a fascinating

:23:13.:23:18.

session, these two players are giving us a great final, but that

:23:18.:23:21.

made century breaks, but in the end Neil Robertson will be delighted to

:23:21.:23:25.

have taken that last frame, and he goes into the evening session

:23:25.:23:30.

leading 5-3. Well, the thunder from Down Under

:23:30.:23:34.

is rumbling, but can the magician make that then they go away? That

:23:34.:23:40.

was a big steel at the end. Certainly was, application was

:23:40.:23:44.

fantastic, great matchplay. A weird for a late-night? Oh I do not know,

:23:44.:23:49.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS