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

Well, we certainly hope this year's BGC Masters final lives up to that

:01:43.:01:47.

particular billing, and so indeed does this very lively and

:01:47.:01:53.

boisterous sell-out crowd at Alexandra Palace! Oh, yes! You know,

:01:53.:01:58.

it was here in 1936 that the world's very first regular

:01:58.:02:04.

television service began broadcasting from the BBC studios,

:02:04.:02:08.

and 76 years on, we have got another significant occasion on the

:02:08.:02:12.

television as we prepared to salute a brand new Masters champion. This,

:02:12.:02:18.

of course, is the most significant Invitational event in snooker. But

:02:18.:02:21.

will it be Australia's Neil Robertson, going for a magnificent

:02:22.:02:26.

seven tonight? He has not been beaten in any of his previous six

:02:26.:02:30.

major finals. Or would be England's Shaun Murphy, going for the Korea

:02:30.:02:36.

Triple Crown this evening, the world, UK and Masters titles? It is

:02:36.:02:39.

anything like this afternoon's opening session, it is going to be

:02:40.:02:47.

We expected a tense and exciting final, and the first session live

:02:47.:02:53.

up to all expectations. With just pink and black on the table, a

:02:53.:02:56.

loose safety shot from Shaun allowed Neil Robertson to clear the

:02:56.:03:02.

table and take the opening frame. Murphy levelled in a frame two, a

:03:02.:03:09.

great opening red led to a century break and a lead. Robertson

:03:09.:03:13.

responded immediately, and attacking blue split the pack, and

:03:13.:03:23.
:03:23.:03:25.

With one red left on the table, another careless safety from Shaun

:03:25.:03:35.
:03:35.:03:38.

allowed Neil Robertson to clear the Murphy then levelled at 3-3, but it

:03:38.:03:44.

was a Robertson's missed pink that let the Magician in again. But the

:03:44.:03:49.

Melbourne Machine bounced back, a great 72 lidded with superb pots

:03:49.:03:56.

gave the Australian the lead. He was starting to stamp his authority

:03:56.:03:59.

on the session, and more great tactical play led to another Murphy

:03:59.:04:09.
:04:09.:04:11.

5-3, Neil Robertson, after the first session, and tonight a

:04:11.:04:21.
:04:21.:04:27.

maximum of 11 frames to decide the Ladies and gentlemen, please

:04:27.:04:37.
:04:37.:05:16.

welcome the 2005 world champion, And please mark than his opponent,

:05:16.:05:21.

one of Australia's finest exports, 2010 champion of the world, the

:05:21.:05:31.
:05:31.:05:53.

Thunder from Down Under, Neil You get the feeling everyone is up

:05:53.:05:58.

for this, first to 10 will become the new champion, and all set in

:05:58.:06:01.

the commentary box for the first part of the evening is six-times

:06:01.:06:04.

Masters winner Stephen Hendry and former UK champion John Virgo. That

:06:04.:06:10.

evening. JOHN VIRGO: Good evening, Hazel,

:06:10.:06:15.

and what an atmosphere, the luck on Neil Robertson's face as he came

:06:15.:06:19.

out, gasping for air! The crowd were on their feet before the

:06:19.:06:25.

players came down the stairs, amazing. Thank you, ladies and

:06:25.:06:30.

gentlemen, the 9th frame, Shaun Murphy to break. Of course, that is

:06:30.:06:34.

the trophy they are playing for, as Shaun Murphy gets this evening's

:06:34.:06:40.

session under way, trailing by 5-3, and it is not the best of brakes.

:06:40.:06:48.

The first to 10 will take that But what a reception for both

:06:48.:06:53.

players! Yes, this is why we all play the game, to come out and play

:06:53.:06:56.

in an atmosphere like this, the final session of the Masters, that

:06:56.:07:02.

is what it is all about. And there it is, and we couldn't have a finer

:07:02.:07:12.
:07:12.:07:51.

He needs a good kiss somewhere, and And there is a legend in the

:07:51.:07:58.

audience, Jimmy whirlwind White, he won this title in 1984? He doesn't

:07:58.:08:08.
:08:08.:08:08.

look that told to me! -- that old. Yes, a few great battles with Jimmy

:08:08.:08:14.

in front of 80,000 people at the Old Conference Centre at Wembley,

:08:14.:08:24.
:08:24.:08:34.

that was an experience! Yes, I can He played that shot nicely, a nice

:08:34.:08:39.

angle on the black here. He may have to play a little cannon just

:08:39.:08:49.
:08:49.:08:54.

to hold the cue ball, but perfect The reason he did not hit it harder

:08:54.:08:59.

than that was there was a space between the loose red and the pack,

:08:59.:09:03.

so he was not guaranteed to get a good split. And it is the first

:09:03.:09:11.

frame, he needs to get his cue arm Yes, and I got the feeling from the

:09:11.:09:15.

start of the evening, Stephen, that these first two frames would be

:09:15.:09:21.

very, very important. All week we have seen that whoever builds up

:09:21.:09:28.

that lead has taken some pegging back. He took the chance there, but

:09:28.:09:38.
:09:38.:09:45.

He would like to take this red one that he is looking at, to the left

:09:45.:09:49.

of the blue spot, but the red over the right middle is going to stop

:09:49.:09:56.

him doing that. He could screw down to the black end. He is looking at

:09:56.:10:06.
:10:06.:10:15.

cutting this read in, it is a fine Well, he was not good on the red,

:10:15.:10:19.

but I thought he would have got closer to the pot than that, so a

:10:19.:10:29.
:10:29.:10:43.

It needs to slow up. He just overran it. I suppose it could have

:10:43.:10:53.
:10:53.:10:54.

been worse, he could have been Tricky little cut back early on,

:10:54.:10:58.

but right then the heart of the pocket, that will make him feel

:10:58.:11:08.
:11:08.:11:43.

Well, he is on his red with an angle to come back down for the

:11:43.:11:53.
:11:53.:11:59.

The red thought about it! But right in the heart of the pocket with the

:11:59.:12:07.

I am not certain before whether the red he played in the middle,

:12:07.:12:11.

whether he actually played for that red. I would have thought he would

:12:11.:12:15.

have played a cannon and tried to stay at this end. No problem, now

:12:15.:12:25.
:12:25.:12:38.

Well, I think he would have rather been on the red that is near the

:12:38.:12:44.

top cushion, but he has got second prize here. But the problem is,

:12:44.:12:49.

with the blue not being on its spot, does he play for a baulk colour?

:12:49.:12:59.
:12:59.:13:02.

Just seeing if the pink is potable It is, and he may be able to stun

:13:02.:13:12.
:13:12.:13:15.

He played it nicely. But we know that the pink does go to the left

:13:15.:13:25.
:13:25.:13:41.

I was thinking the pink did go, but... Well, he can certainly clear

:13:41.:13:51.
:13:51.:13:56.

But once you go up for the baulk colours and the cue ball starts

:13:56.:14:00.

travelling, then it is not that easy to get good position on the

:14:00.:14:05.

next shot. No, and he wanted an angle on the green to play for the

:14:05.:14:09.

red next to the pink war, off 1 cushion and disturb the five reds

:14:09.:14:19.
:14:19.:14:21.

that are in the pack. -- or come up We know he is pretty good with the

:14:22.:14:31.
:14:32.:14:51.

He cannot get better than that, rare success, 100% for Shaun Murphy.

:14:51.:14:58.

It has just got a little bit There was always a danger that he

:14:58.:15:03.

could push a red down to tie the black Cup. He is on the blue in a

:15:03.:15:13.
:15:13.:15:31.

fashion, but where does the next Well, is there enough room to get

:15:31.:15:41.
:15:41.:15:50.

to the red just below the pink? It No, he could not do anything, just

:15:50.:15:54.

settling for the extra five points on the blue and gone for the safety.

:15:54.:16:00.

And a good length it was, 28 points lead, he will feel a little bit

:16:00.:16:10.
:16:10.:16:10.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:16:10.:16:56.

I think he can get through to clip Well, a few boos and ours, but

:16:56.:17:02.

Shaun is well aware that the pink was not set for the corner pocket.

:17:02.:17:06.

There is a little tap on the table there from Neil Robertson, which

:17:06.:17:16.
:17:16.:17:33.

tells me he could be snookered on Well, according to that shadow, he

:17:33.:17:38.

is no good on the reds. There is certainly no pat back to baulk. He

:17:38.:17:43.

could only get that off the red in the middle of the table. A spot of

:17:43.:17:49.

bother here, he can think, OK, it is an easy enough escape route, but

:17:49.:17:54.

if he comes down the left-hand side of the table, he will have to be

:17:54.:18:04.
:18:04.:18:08.

Well, he'd just missed it, I thought he'd judged it to

:18:08.:18:16.

perfection, but it was a little bit wide. If he wants to com off the

:18:16.:18:21.

two cushions, Stephen, I think that pink could be in the way. If he

:18:21.:18:25.

hits the same line but a little bit harder, he could leave this bottom

:18:25.:18:32.

red on. Yes, his intention is to come off the side cushion, top

:18:32.:18:42.
:18:42.:18:48.

cushion and hit the red, but the Well, he found at that time, but

:18:49.:18:58.
:18:59.:18:59.

once again that was better, but He will not be warned, of course,

:18:59.:19:05.

because he is no good on all reds, and he can have as many snookers as

:19:05.:19:15.
:19:15.:19:26.

he likes until we get to the In doing that, surely he has left

:19:26.:19:33.

Dave red. Shaun Murphy is 36 points in front, and he looks to have a

:19:33.:19:43.
:19:43.:19:58.

reasonable angle on the red to get A great chance now, this is a

:19:58.:20:08.
:20:08.:20:16.

massive frame for Shaun Murphy, the Red, Kohler, red would be more than

:20:16.:20:24.

enough. -- colour. As you see, first to 10th. Yes, it was really

:20:24.:20:33.

important that he won this first frame. Both of these players are

:20:33.:20:37.

winners, and if they get a three or four-frame advantage, they are not

:20:37.:20:47.
:20:47.:20:55.

That pink puts in 57 in front with just 43 remaining. I would be

:20:55.:20:59.

surprised if Neil Robertson came back to the table. Well, he will

:20:59.:21:05.

not now, because this red goes. So just the start Shaun Murphy was

:21:05.:21:15.
:21:15.:21:19.

Neil Robertson does concede, so the first frame we said was important,

:21:19.:21:24.

probably more important to Shaun Murphy. He wins it and just trails

:21:24.:21:29.

by one, 5-4, Robertson. For company in the studio, two men

:21:29.:21:33.

who have graced five Masters finals and are now part of Masters's

:21:33.:21:38.

folklore in their own special way, Ken Doherty and Steve Davis. A

:21:38.:21:42.

terrific start for Shaun Murphy, really important to have done so.

:21:42.:21:46.

Yes, in the situation he found himself in, I do not think he

:21:46.:21:50.

probably felt he deserved to be 5-3 behind, it was a close-fought

:21:50.:21:54.

session. What can you do? You have got to hope you win the first. It

:21:54.:21:58.

never normally goes that way, when you are hoping, but it is a nice

:21:58.:22:02.

start for him. What about the reception for both players?

:22:02.:22:08.

Amazing! As Stephen said, that is what you play snooker for, to have

:22:08.:22:12.

a feeling of that. Even watching it, watching it here, it makes the

:22:12.:22:17.

hairs on my neck stand up. The crowd has been brilliant all week.

:22:17.:22:22.

As the said, a great start for Shaun Murphy. Towards the end of

:22:22.:22:25.

the session earlier, he was losing his way a little bit, he should

:22:25.:22:29.

have won that last frame to level at 4-4, but he did a really good

:22:29.:22:34.

friend there and his back in the game. Reality hits, it is a

:22:34.:22:37.

different feeling from the afternoon session. Yes, but

:22:37.:22:41.

sometimes a session with no finish can go that way. I think the

:22:41.:22:45.

adrenalin will kick in a couple of notches, and the standard will

:22:45.:22:49.

potentially be better. You cannot guarantee have the balls will go,

:22:49.:22:59.
:22:59.:23:06.

but I think they will rise to the JOHN VIRGO: Yes, applause for the

:23:06.:23:09.

good-length off the break-off shot. It doesn't seem to mean a lot these

:23:09.:23:18.

days. I had seen these rolled in a And there you go, we did not have

:23:18.:23:28.
:23:28.:23:28.

Yeah, it just seems to be a shot that is just normal for people to

:23:28.:23:35.

take on these days. A really tough pot from the baulk quotient. --

:23:35.:23:41.

cushion. That is a good shot. He played the cannon perfectly to

:23:41.:23:51.
:23:51.:23:59.

The red over the middle will help him if he comes out of position.

:23:59.:24:03.

This is a terrific chance, but when you pot an opening red like that,

:24:04.:24:13.
:24:14.:24:18.

He may choose to screw through the gap. He has played the more

:24:18.:24:28.
:24:28.:24:45.

cautious shot, but still a good Two straight this time to go into

:24:45.:24:55.
:24:55.:24:56.

He will be going for the loose red to the left corner. Yes, and he

:24:56.:25:06.
:25:06.:25:07.

The red to the left middle will be the only available red after this

:25:07.:25:17.
:25:17.:25:22.

Well, I suppose he is left with an opportunity to knock one red 1 to

:25:22.:25:32.
:25:32.:25:35.

the other here. I do not think he As you say, he played a little bit

:25:35.:25:39.

more conservatively a couple of blacks argot, and it can catch you

:25:39.:25:49.
:25:49.:25:51.

The red looks as if it is right in the jaws of the middle pocket, but

:25:51.:25:56.

it is not quite. I always think these shots are made easier if you

:25:56.:26:04.

do not have to do a lot with the There you go, you say! Take nothing

:26:04.:26:14.
:26:14.:26:18.

Shaun could count himself pretty unlucky that that was all he had to

:26:18.:26:22.

go at after splitting the pack really well. He played it with a

:26:22.:26:27.

degree of safety. He knew where he was leaving the white, only leaving

:26:27.:26:34.

the two red he was playing. Neil is certainly not looking at any pots

:26:35.:26:44.
:26:45.:26:45.

Yes, he has had a look at the red on the side cushion. I do not know

:26:45.:26:55.
:26:55.:27:01.

if you could play the double as a Assuming that was the only red he

:27:01.:27:11.
:27:11.:27:44.

Well, he played the pot, and whenever you are that far away from

:27:44.:27:50.

potting it, that red is going to run loose, and it has knocked a red

:27:50.:28:00.
:28:00.:28:09.

Now, Izzy on a colour? That was the danger with that red. Because it

:28:10.:28:13.

was a finish contacts, he was not quite certain of the line of the

:28:13.:28:23.
:28:23.:28:24.

He has only got the green, really, if he is going to play any kind of

:28:24.:28:34.
:28:34.:28:42.

This will certainly show us how confident he is feeling, or whether

:28:42.:28:47.

he wants to take a risk. The green has potable into the left pocket as

:28:48.:28:57.
:28:58.:29:17.

we look at it, but it is putting Tremendous! And courageous, and he

:29:17.:29:27.

deserved a better result than he has got. He is nestled on the red.

:29:27.:29:37.
:29:37.:29:37.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:29:37.:30:47.

He played that well. If the pink He played that nicely and just

:30:47.:30:57.
:30:57.:30:59.

about got the right angle on the The black's available to the right

:30:59.:31:09.
:31:09.:31:47.

STEPHEN HENDRY: They are so closely matched, these two players, in

:31:47.:31:52.

terms of break-building, potting. Unless somebody plays incredible

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

snooker, you can see us going all The thing is, when you get chances,

:32:06.:32:10.

and Shaun may be sitting in his seat thinking he is unlucky, but

:32:10.:32:20.
:32:20.:32:24.

when you have got chances, you must But this frame it isn't over by a

:32:24.:32:34.
:32:34.:32:52.

long chalk. Just seeing if the red A good shot there, but now the hard

:32:52.:33:02.
:33:02.:33:23.

I don't think the red pots to the left centre. A couple of options.

:33:23.:33:32.

My preferred one would be to follow the two cushions, but I am right

:33:32.:33:42.
:33:42.:34:04.

In the end, he chose neither. don't think that red, as it lies,

:34:04.:34:14.
:34:14.:34:27.

Once again, he is having a look. It doesn't look available to me. I

:34:27.:34:37.
:34:37.:34:54.

don't think that is on. Well, he He still needs two reds and two

:34:54.:35:00.

colours. And there you go. They say the camera never lies. It didn't

:35:00.:35:10.
:35:10.:35:33.

look on but he couldn't have hit it The plan would be OK, putting him

:35:33.:35:43.
:35:43.:35:47.

in front. But he can spot the blue And this all came from plain that

:35:47.:35:57.
:35:57.:36:08.

tremendous long green. -- from Yeah, you said, Stephen, it was

:36:08.:36:18.
:36:18.:36:25.

putting all his eggs in one basket. Since then, because the balls

:36:25.:36:28.

weren't perfect by any means, but he has played absolutely

:36:28.:36:38.
:36:38.:36:46.

You could say Shaun Murphy was unlucky. But at this level, when

:36:46.:36:53.

players are at the top of the game, you might get one, if you are lucky,

:36:53.:37:03.
:37:03.:37:13.

two chances. Now we have pink and And that's the third century in

:37:13.:37:18.

this match so far. Great standard! And that was a tremendous break

:37:18.:37:28.
:37:28.:37:30.

from Neil Robertson. That green was 2012 - the year sport gets serious.

:37:30.:37:34.

Sport Relief is back and it is your chance to be part of the UK's

:37:34.:37:38.

biggest fear of sport. We want the nation to get together, get active

:37:38.:37:43.

and raised a whole lot of cash. can get behind it, really changing

:37:43.:37:49.

lives across the world's poorest countries by doing a run on Sunday

:37:49.:37:54.

March 25th. And this year, we want a one million people to take part.

:37:54.:38:02.

Why can't I be in front? It is a horse! You can get these T-shirts

:38:02.:38:06.

and we will have claw -- claw dropping celebrity challenges as

:38:06.:38:15.

well. However you decide to do it, go the extra mile for Sport Relief.

:38:15.:38:25.
:38:25.:38:28.

HAZEL IRVINE: Ken and Steve have already pre- ordered their socks! I

:38:28.:38:32.

am sure you will be running. In terms of this match, these two

:38:32.:38:37.

players, so evenly matched in so many ways. If popular cat a graphic

:38:37.:38:43.

that compares their respective careers, -- if you look at a

:38:43.:38:48.

graphic, in terms of their ranking titles, well, the Aussie is one of

:38:48.:38:54.

the most decorated players outside these shores. Not too much between

:38:54.:39:00.

them at all, Steve? Not at all. The differences between the players in

:39:00.:39:04.

this final will be decided on perhaps who is the most aggressive

:39:04.:39:08.

and gets the results because of it, because the game is becoming a case

:39:08.:39:13.

of percentages that are changing, and the first chance you get, even

:39:13.:39:18.

if it is risky, has to be taken. You cannot sit back and wait for

:39:18.:39:22.

your opponent to make mistakes. Both trying to establish themselves

:39:22.:39:26.

as the winners in the next phases of their careers. Absolutely. And

:39:26.:39:33.

what a great game at Neil Robertson took on. But very little between

:39:33.:39:38.

these two. They really are going at it and it will be a tough one to

:39:38.:39:48.
:39:48.:39:51.

JOHN VIRGO: That was very similar to the one Shaun Murphy world in in

:39:51.:40:01.
:40:01.:40:05.

the last frame.Just could not find I know you changed the attitude of

:40:05.:40:10.

players, Stephen, with this attacking approach, but it has

:40:10.:40:19.

become even more so now. Yeah. All the top players play a very similar

:40:19.:40:29.
:40:29.:40:34.

Players of the likes of Judd taking it to extremes now. But very few

:40:34.:40:44.
:40:44.:40:55.

defensive players. A good safety Couldn't have been any closer. In

:40:55.:41:00.

fact, he is probably thinking if he had his time over, it could have

:41:00.:41:10.
:41:10.:41:17.

gone in, played a bit softer, I am surprised he didn't do that.

:41:17.:41:27.
:41:27.:41:42.

If you are going to go for it full- Disappointed with that. Not unlucky.

:41:42.:41:52.
:41:52.:42:06.

That middle pocket is always there. Hmm, that is a mistake. Will the

:42:06.:42:14.

yellow rescue him? No. I am sure he played to hit that red onto the red

:42:14.:42:24.
:42:24.:42:24.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:42:24.:43:08.

A great shot. That wasn't easy. He Something has put him off playing

:43:08.:43:14.

that. Whether he felt there was a plant somewhere and he was

:43:14.:43:20.

frightened of knocking it in. I couldn't see one myself, but there

:43:20.:43:25.

you go. That can be the only reason because you will never get a better

:43:25.:43:35.
:43:35.:43:50.

I suppose if Bock he thinks there is a plant there, maybe he can play

:43:50.:44:00.
:44:00.:44:05.

the blue and avoid the kiss on the He did play on the pink and nothing

:44:05.:44:12.

went in, so it does make you wonder why he didn't play it previously.

:44:12.:44:16.

Maybe he is just more comfortable putting the blue into the right of

:44:16.:44:26.

centre than the left. Or maybe he thought, I will get the blagging

:44:26.:44:36.
:44:36.:45:01.

interplay before the cannon. -- get He didn't catch the cannon as he

:45:01.:45:11.
:45:11.:45:48.

would have expected, but no Could play another little cannon

:45:48.:45:52.

similar to the one before. Just looking to see what else is

:45:52.:46:00.

available. But he might well be able to roll the black in and find

:46:00.:46:10.
:46:10.:46:25.

But he will be seeing this as an opportunity to win the frame and

:46:25.:46:35.
:46:35.:46:36.

this visit, no doubt about that. Is there a red goes to this left

:46:36.:46:46.
:46:46.:46:59.

He will be disappointed there. He He is well on his way to making

:46:59.:47:02.

another century and you don't like to be interrupted when you are in

:47:02.:47:12.
:47:12.:47:17.

That is all he had left, the safety, so he will be very disappointed.

:47:17.:47:24.

Very similar to the last frame. But in the last frame, Shaun Murphy

:47:24.:47:34.
:47:34.:47:47.

made a break of 32 and never got Tremendous pot! Needs to be on a

:47:47.:47:57.
:47:57.:48:16.

colour. A flick on the blue will be He decided to play the cannon, for

:48:16.:48:26.
:48:26.:48:49.

some reason. Just about on the Well, it looked as though it could

:48:50.:48:55.

be a replica of the last frame, but just looking at that, I am not

:48:55.:49:00.

certain whether that red would have gone because it seemed to rub off

:49:00.:49:10.
:49:10.:49:10.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:49:10.:49:52.

Just look at this. Maybe it didn't World... Unbelievable! And of

:49:52.:49:58.

course, because they have set such a high standard in this match and

:49:58.:50:03.

the tournament, it is a shock for us and for them when they miss

:50:03.:50:13.
:50:13.:50:20.

Of course, the way the reds are situated, it is difficult to

:50:20.:50:26.

envisage Shaun winning this frame in one visit. But, while he wore at

:50:26.:50:36.
:50:36.:50:45.

the table, there's always a chance. That has gone wrong. I think he

:50:45.:50:49.

perhaps thought he could screw back and disturbed two of the reds, but

:50:49.:50:59.
:50:59.:51:06.

just hitting one full in the face Could disturb both, he would have

:51:06.:51:16.
:51:16.:51:29.

He would be too happy with that. -- he won't. He has got to find the

:51:29.:51:34.

baulk cushion. Can't afford to leave Neil Robertson long pots like

:51:34.:51:44.
:51:44.:52:09.

He doesn't let you down very often with his long potting game. 73% -

:52:09.:52:19.
:52:19.:52:34.

The cue ball need to run on, and a lot at that. Certainly not on the

:52:34.:52:44.
:52:44.:52:49.

He might have this red on the left- hand side cushion that will cut

:52:49.:52:53.

down the cushion into the pocket, but he was looking for something

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

But he might be forced to play it, because I don't see an easy save t

:53:04.:53:13.
:53:14.:53:18.

I think he's just looking where he can leave the white should he miss

:53:18.:53:28.
:53:28.:53:43.

Not such a positive safety, and he gives Shaun the upper hand here.

:53:43.:53:49.

Shaun will be mighty relieved to come back to the table. That safety

:53:49.:53:59.
:53:59.:54:26.

shot he played last visit didn't He has put another red safer. But

:54:26.:54:36.
:54:36.:55:07.

Well, nobody could clear up from Good length, but only the one loose

:55:07.:55:11.

red, so you wouldn't think this puts a lot of pressure on the

:55:11.:55:21.
:55:21.:55:21.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:55:21.:56:35.

safety shot for Neil. That 25-point You can only sit back and admire

:56:35.:56:42.

his potting ability! I just looked at his face. Great pot... He may

:56:42.:56:52.
:56:52.:56:56.

not be on the pink. Certainly, the Guess who that little one belongs

:56:56.:57:06.
:57:06.:57:11.

to. Alexander Robertson. He is That is definitely a case of like

:57:11.:57:21.
:57:21.:57:26.

father, like son. The Stephen's son had a shock of blond hair as well,

:57:26.:57:36.
:57:36.:57:42.

That is his wife. You always get embarrassed having to watch this. I

:57:42.:57:48.

am talking about her. And trying to put his way out of trouble here. He

:57:48.:57:55.

has been a little bit fortunate. He could have left that red near the

:57:55.:58:05.
:58:05.:58:05.

yellow and it would have been an But there on reds to the left

:58:05.:58:09.

corner but they are a bit more difficult than the one next to the

:58:09.:58:19.
:58:19.:58:40.

yellow would have been. He just has That was so far away from the

:58:40.:58:50.
:58:50.:59:10.

intended pocket, it could have gone This time, he has left the easy

:59:10.:59:17.

starter for his opponent. 26 points is the lead. He still needs three

:59:17.:59:27.
:59:27.:59:31.

of these remaining reds, so it is Bake at contact. -- a bad contact.

:59:31.:59:40.

He played to take third yellow or green, but we saw the cue ball

:59:40.:59:45.

leave the bed of the table. If he is going to continue this break, he

:59:45.:59:50.

will need a thin cut on the green. It is fine for him, being a left-

:59:50.:00:00.
:00:00.:00:22.

hander, it is not a problem. The Yes, nicely played. There was not

:00:22.:00:29.

as much pressure on that shot, just by virtue of the fact that he was

:00:29.:00:33.

left an easy starter, all right, but you would not fancy your

:00:33.:00:37.

opponents to possibly win the frame if you missed the yellow. But it is

:00:37.:00:42.

certainly a chance for Neil to clinch the frame now. He just wants

:00:42.:00:52.
:00:52.:00:54.

I do not know about the potting angle on this, he can possibly

:00:54.:01:04.
:01:04.:01:06.

avoid the green. Can he avoid the Well, in the end he used the green.

:01:06.:01:10.

He has not judged the cannon as well as he would have liked, and he

:01:10.:01:15.

will do well to keep it going now, 30 points is the lead, but still 43

:01:15.:01:25.
:01:25.:01:34.

They could possibly play the pink, stun the white in behind the blue

:01:34.:01:42.

for a snooker on both reds. Alternatively, just roll to the

:01:42.:01:48.

blue, a certain snooker. You are right, John, that is a better one.

:01:48.:01:58.
:01:58.:02:00.

I was thinking to put the pink saved us are, you see. Yeah!

:02:00.:02:10.
:02:10.:02:12.

safe as well. I will not commentate But he is in a spot of bother here

:02:12.:02:18.

now, because, well, you would think if the hit this red full, you would

:02:18.:02:28.
:02:28.:02:30.

If you just miss it, as he has done, missing it like that, Neil

:02:30.:02:34.

Robertson I do not think he will have it replaced, but he will be 35

:02:34.:02:39.

points in front with 35 remaining if he can pot this red and get

:02:39.:02:49.
:02:49.:02:56.

position on a colour. That is all Well, you could hear the sigh, he

:02:56.:03:06.
:03:06.:03:10.

And why would he be happy with it? It left off the table. He obviously

:03:10.:03:20.
:03:20.:03:24.

has not run through far enough to You see, he is not on the pink.

:03:24.:03:27.

Without the heavy contact, he may have been able to run through. Yeah,

:03:27.:03:32.

I can understand in not wanting to take a chance on the green, because

:03:33.:03:36.

if he missed it, there is an easy safety shot for Shaun Murphy.

:03:36.:03:45.

Remember, he can still tight. -- tie. If he comes off the yellow

:03:45.:03:50.

half-ball, right-hand side, there is a big blocking area behind green

:03:50.:03:58.

and brown. He will be disappointed He will be disappointed he hit it

:03:58.:04:01.

like that, and if he got the snooker with the yellow, stopping

:04:01.:04:05.

Shaun hitting the left-hand side of the red, he has been very lucky. He

:04:05.:04:15.
:04:15.:04:24.

He played that cue ball behind the You cannot beat a bit of luck that

:04:24.:04:33.

this game, for the skill that is I think he can get through the gap

:04:33.:04:43.
:04:43.:04:47.

and hit the red, but can he get it REFEREE: Foul. He has hit the black,

:04:47.:04:51.

hit the black, so just that the moment the run of the ball his

:04:51.:04:56.

favourite Neil Robertson. The hit the black on the way up. -- is

:04:56.:05:06.
:05:06.:05:13.

And that red means that this train is now well beyond the reach of

:05:13.:05:22.

After the next frame, there will be a midsession interval, and Shaun

:05:22.:05:26.

Murphy has conceded. He will need to get that one, he would have

:05:26.:05:31.

thought. Neil Robertson will leave the arena, built himself up for the

:05:31.:05:36.

last frame before the midsession interval, but he leads 7-4.

:05:36.:05:41.

Two in a row for Neil Robertson, and you get the feeling that

:05:41.:05:43.

chances for Shaun Murphy are not being taken. It seems to be

:05:43.:05:48.

slipping away from them. Slightly, yeah, he is not taking full

:05:48.:05:52.

advantage of the chances he is getting. This is a massive frame

:05:52.:05:57.

for Shaun Murphy. He must win this, I feel. We have seen some good

:05:57.:06:02.

breaks from him, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you feel

:06:02.:06:07.

Neil Robertson has... Not that he has more experience, but he is more

:06:07.:06:11.

astute in that department. His winning a lot more of these

:06:11.:06:15.

craggier frames than Shaun Murphy. What have you noticed about Shaun's

:06:15.:06:19.

strengths and weaknesses this week? It is something that he has tried

:06:19.:06:22.

to work on the past, talking generally about safety play, and I

:06:22.:06:26.

do not think it was mentioned earlier in the week, is much more

:06:26.:06:30.

free amongst the balls, and John Virgo has said in commentary that

:06:30.:06:35.

he prefers to see Shaun knocking them in. You cannot force that,

:06:35.:06:39.

otherwise you are playing kamikaze snooker, so hard you get in amongst

:06:40.:06:42.

them we are playing against someone like Neil Robertson, who can score

:06:42.:06:48.

as well as you in the open frames but can keep it tight when needed?

:06:48.:06:52.

That is difficult, and that is the problem the top players face, shot

:06:52.:06:55.

selection and how they Gallard playing the stylish new get that

:06:55.:07:00.

John Higgins has done so for many years. -- how they go about. You

:07:00.:07:05.

try to become more attacking? It is a tough one, but everyone has to

:07:05.:07:10.

try to improve themselves. We had seen John Murphy as a renowned

:07:10.:07:14.

front-runner, brilliant when he is ahead. -- Shaun Murphy. He said he

:07:14.:07:18.

was inspired by the way that Judd Trump has come to the fore, that he

:07:18.:07:22.

was going to go for more shots, but you cannot just keep going for them

:07:22.:07:26.

all the time. Sometimes you have to know when to tighten up and play

:07:26.:07:31.

the safety, because it is not just pots that win frames, because a

:07:31.:07:34.

clever safety shot can win in a frame. We saw a clever Neil

:07:34.:07:39.

Robertson was. When the opportunity came about, he knew when to snooker,

:07:40.:07:44.

went to wait, and he is winning a lot of these frames. It is a bed

:07:44.:07:47.

like people that are streetwise compared to people that are

:07:47.:07:52.

slightly naive. -- it is a bit like. I'm not saying that he is naive, we

:07:52.:07:56.

are talking about the top level, being Coldra critical. Some people

:07:56.:08:00.

have a sense of how to play that type of game, and others seem to be

:08:00.:08:05.

a little bit more open, and that is the problem. How to improve

:08:05.:08:08.

something that is not necessarily anything you can grasp as a

:08:08.:08:13.

concept? Neil Robertson has led to do that, because a few years ago he

:08:13.:08:17.

was going for everything, and many people were saying, you have got to

:08:17.:08:21.

tighten up, changed the way you approach the game. There is a

:08:21.:08:25.

difference between tightening up and having a sense of danger. It is

:08:25.:08:29.

a fine dividing line. I do not think Shaun Murphy can win is by

:08:29.:08:34.

tightening up now, but at certain stages in certain frames, he has to

:08:34.:08:39.

be aware that going for the pot is not always the right shot, do you

:08:39.:08:45.

know What I Mean? He has to be more clever. Neil Robertson has learned

:08:45.:08:49.

that, and Shaun Murphy has to learn it against players like this.

:08:49.:08:53.

Murphy came in and joked that one of the key moments in the last

:08:53.:08:57.

frames of yesterday's match, one of these huge career defining shots,

:08:57.:09:01.

and I missed it! He laughed at himself, but you have got to learn

:09:01.:09:05.

from these things. He has also got to keep his game together, and the

:09:05.:09:09.

way for him to go forward is to keep going for the shots, because

:09:09.:09:13.

that is the way he can play his best snooker. And he can overpower,

:09:13.:09:23.
:09:23.:09:28.

if he gets a roll-on. Last one JOHN VIRGO: Yes, very interesting

:09:28.:09:34.

analysis from fees and Steve. I think it is too late now for Shaun

:09:34.:09:38.

to tighten up, he has got to play his attacking game, but he has to

:09:38.:09:43.

improve his poor success, which is down at 87%. It needs to be at 90%

:09:43.:09:48.

and above. Yes, he has had chances, it is not that he has not been at

:09:48.:09:53.

the table. In the last frame, he potted a yellow and chose to play

:09:53.:09:57.

the cannon when there were open reds, and it did not work out. But

:09:58.:10:01.

there is another example, he says he has not been tight enough either,

:10:01.:10:11.
:10:11.:10:12.

he keeps on leaving Neil these long He has got to improve 50% sign if

:10:12.:10:18.

he wants to win this match. Yes, he had the start he wanted, winning

:10:18.:10:28.
:10:28.:10:30.

the first frame, but he has not Well, that is a bonus, flicking

:10:30.:10:38.

that red away from that black. It Trying to swim around but black and

:10:38.:10:48.
:10:48.:11:05.

red, that little flick, that was a He is the cue ball going to run?

:11:05.:11:12.

Just about. The problem is with it, although he is on his red, the

:11:12.:11:16.

black, I do not think it is available to the left corner, so

:11:16.:11:26.

therefore he will have to go up for a blue wall baulk, off this red. --

:11:26.:11:36.
:11:36.:11:37.

DNA, it seems that it is every other shot at the moment! -- dear

:11:37.:11:46.

me. Mind you, it is the jumps Well, that is amazing, but we were

:11:46.:11:51.

talking the other day, Stephen, sometimes you feel these bad

:11:51.:11:55.

contacts but just because you have not hit the ball smooth enough.

:11:56.:12:00.

think the vast majority are caused by that, not during it as smooth as

:12:00.:12:10.
:12:10.:12:15.

you can. But as players, we always Well, he will be claiming that miss

:12:15.:12:25.
:12:25.:12:26.

on the kick, but has been lucky and not got on the red? No, he has not.

:12:26.:12:36.

And he missed that by quite a way, probably disappointed that he was

:12:36.:12:40.

not better on the blue. Shaun, you have got to take these

:12:40.:12:50.
:12:50.:12:51.

You are playing catch-up, and this Shaun will kiss the right hand side

:12:51.:13:01.
:13:01.:13:04.

of those two reds that are just He just caught it slightly less

:13:04.:13:08.

than half for, that is why he has lost the right up to the baulk end

:13:09.:13:15.

of the table. -- half-ball. He needed to catch that red pick-up.

:13:15.:13:25.
:13:25.:13:26.

little bit of unintentional side as He needed to get that, well played,

:13:27.:13:36.
:13:37.:13:39.

well played! There was extra And again, a lovely angle on the

:13:39.:13:49.
:13:49.:14:04.

black. I feel sure Shaun will play He did not do as you suggested, but

:14:04.:14:09.

he cannot afford, particularly in the frame score position he is in,

:14:09.:14:14.

to miss the black off the spot. Particularly after the red he

:14:14.:14:24.

knocked in, he could not have had Perhaps he had his eye on the

:14:24.:14:29.

cannon more than the pot. He took his eye off the pot, it is easy to

:14:29.:14:34.

do. We are seen it many, many times, but he is in the position now where

:14:34.:14:39.

he cannot afford too many mistakes, and this red that is closest to the

:14:39.:14:43.

cue ball, I'm sure Neil Robertson is considering whether he can play

:14:43.:14:46.

the pot here. It might be that close that he feels he would get a

:14:46.:14:51.

push shot, but it is certainly an opportunity. If he potted it, would

:14:51.:15:01.
:15:01.:15:15.

There is no easy path back to the Well, he just decided to merge into

:15:15.:15:19.

it. If it is a touching ball, the referee will declare it, but he

:15:19.:15:29.
:15:29.:15:39.

I used to hate playing these little shots, I just felt there was no end

:15:39.:15:46.

to it. That is a touching ball now, I think. A little bit careless,

:15:46.:15:50.

that is, to leave a touching ball there. Oh, it is not a touching

:15:50.:15:59.

As I say, if it isn't that Trimble, then the referee will always

:15:59.:16:06.

declare it. -- if it is touching ball. It looked to be certain, but

:16:06.:16:16.
:16:16.:16:25.

It is an easy safety to leave the But players are reluctant to do

:16:25.:16:30.

that because it has the advantage to your opponents. Shaun can now

:16:30.:16:36.

play a shot to the baulk, thin off the red to the furthest right on

:16:36.:16:46.
:16:46.:16:47.

Well, as he spotted something to the left middle? I don't think so,

:16:47.:16:52.

just a safety. It is the type of safety you would like to stop the

:16:52.:16:55.

escape route down the right hand side. The reason I say that, if

:16:55.:17:01.

Neil Robertson, as he possibly has to do here, plays down the left-

:17:01.:17:04.

hand side, there is a chance of pushing something towards the right

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

The court it that a key Neelie hit the black. -- the court it. -- he

:17:17.:17:22.

courted that thick that he merely hit the black. It is easy, playing

:17:22.:17:27.

the safety down the right-hand side, because there is no path to the

:17:27.:17:37.
:17:37.:17:40.

The last thing either player needs is for red to get congregated

:17:40.:17:43.

around the black. If it looks like getting that way, I will let you

:17:43.:17:53.
:17:53.:18:12.

know and you can go and make a cup Snookered on all riots, he has got

:18:12.:18:22.
:18:22.:18:34.

This is what Hawk-Eye confirms, that he is no good on all reds, and

:18:34.:18:39.

they are loose enough for it not to be a formality just to come off a

:18:39.:18:43.

couple of cushions and nestle into them. If you misjudge its likely,

:18:43.:18:50.

you could leave a red one. He is in a spot of bother here, Shaun.

:18:50.:18:57.

think he would like... The ideal shot would be to land on the red

:18:57.:19:07.
:19:07.:19:10.

He could not have played it better, could not have put that any better!

:19:10.:19:19.

And if he has covered the escape down the right-hand side of the

:19:19.:19:27.

table with the blue, he deserves it. And the blue could be blocking the

:19:27.:19:37.
:19:37.:19:46.

run back to baulk down the right He might just be able to bend that

:19:46.:19:52.

pupils likely to get a thin edge of the red. -- that cue ball slightly.

:19:52.:20:00.

If he cannot, he is in a spot of But he plays with a trace of left-

:20:00.:20:07.

hand side on that cue ball to swerve around two hit the red that

:20:07.:20:17.
:20:17.:20:23.

is on the right-hand side of the Yeah, he just had that option. But

:20:23.:20:28.

I tell you what, he played it superbly. And Shaun Murphy once

:20:28.:20:38.
:20:38.:21:11.

That is sorely felt they could do, he could not find a path back to

:21:11.:21:15.

baulk, played the containing safety, but is there now a red that will

:21:15.:21:24.

tempt Neil Robertson? Easy safety shot. But his there a red that of

:21:24.:21:31.

pot that he feels is worth the risk? -- but his there a red that

:21:31.:21:39.

will pot that he feels is worth the risk? He is looking at this great

:21:39.:21:49.
:21:49.:21:53.

red to the middle. These need good What a pot! What a pot that was. He

:21:53.:22:02.

has potted some tremendous balls He is on the black. He will be

:22:02.:22:06.

running into the red after he has potted the black. It depends if he

:22:06.:22:12.

can judge it now to get onto the next red, because the way they are

:22:12.:22:15.

situated, with all the colours in play, this is an opportunity to go

:22:15.:22:25.
:22:25.:22:29.

into the midsession interval with a Well, he could easily avoid that.

:22:29.:22:39.
:22:39.:22:41.

I think it may still just be available, but he has got the pink,

:22:41.:22:51.
:22:51.:23:04.

the blue is adjacent to a pocket, Well, since losing the first frame

:23:04.:23:10.

tonight, Neil has really stamped his authority on this match now.

:23:10.:23:20.
:23:20.:23:26.

A tremendous record in finals, six out of six. Yeah, that is an

:23:26.:23:36.
:23:36.:23:56.

Yes, it is something you cannot teach, the ability to feel

:23:56.:24:06.
:24:06.:24:14.

comfortable under the most That is certainly going to help his

:24:14.:24:19.

cause in winning this frame, the black available into both corners.

:24:19.:24:26.

He will be surprised if he does not take the post of this opportunity.

:24:26.:24:36.
:24:36.:24:36.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:24:36.:25:18.

The kiss on the red has not If you were in Shaun's position,

:25:18.:25:23.

you would be looking at your opponents saying, are there any

:25:23.:25:31.

weaknesses in his game? Unfortunately, on three counts,

:25:31.:25:41.
:25:41.:25:49.

He looks 100% focused on what he Yeah, as I said, I think in the

:25:49.:25:55.

last frame, when Shaun won the first frame this evening, I felt

:25:55.:26:03.

that was a chance, and in that all- important next frame, he made a

:26:03.:26:07.

break of 32 in the 10th frame, a break of 32, went into the reds,

:26:07.:26:13.

went a little bit awkward. There was a red over the middle, he

:26:13.:26:17.

played the plant, it did not going, and he has never really had a

:26:17.:26:27.
:26:27.:26:32.

chance since then. Neil won that And he got a 35 break in the last

:26:32.:26:39.

frame, a scrappy affair. As the guys were saying in the studio, you

:26:39.:26:44.

just feel that he can play the scrappy frames a little bit better

:26:44.:26:54.
:26:54.:26:57.

So this puts him 57 points in front with just 51 remaining. Shaun

:26:57.:27:01.

Murphy will go to the midsession interval with an awful lot to think

:27:01.:27:11.
:27:11.:27:19.

And I think what Shaun will be thinking, have to do better, can do

:27:19.:27:25.

better, must do better! You never know, sometimes the interval can

:27:25.:27:35.
:27:35.:27:42.

change things, and if there was no Yes, nice shot to develop the red.

:27:42.:27:51.

Every possibility now of another He has already made two in this

:27:51.:28:01.
:28:01.:28:02.

Well, just a flick on a blue that he did not need. Snookered by the

:28:02.:28:12.
:28:12.:28:13.

Well, no century, but Neil Robertson will not mind that. Shaun

:28:13.:28:15.

Murphy and Neil Robertson go back to their dressing rooms with

:28:15.:28:19.

different degrees of thought. Neil Robertson will be delighted, four

:28:19.:28:25.

frames in front, 8-4, the need two more for the title.

:28:25.:28:29.

Yes, he is edging very much closer to his first Masters title. As he

:28:29.:28:33.

goes through to the media room for a cup of tea, I'm sure it will

:28:33.:28:37.

taste rather sweet at this point in time. Assess how the men have

:28:37.:28:42.

attacked the first part of this final session. Well, Shaun Murphy

:28:42.:28:46.

started off free-flowing, but all the sudden Neil Robertson put the

:28:46.:28:51.

brakes on that very quickly, and he has given Shaun Murphy a master

:28:51.:28:56.

class in all departments, and particularly in match play. But his

:28:56.:29:00.

parting, his safety has been superb. I mean, Shaun Murphy had him in a

:29:00.:29:05.

lot of trouble, but have a look at his pot to the middle. You have got

:29:05.:29:09.

to be so accurate with this, cueing right beside the black, and he went

:29:09.:29:19.
:29:19.:29:25.

Can you see any way back for Shaun at the moment? Anything can happen,

:29:25.:29:29.

but what is interesting is which of these players threatened to win

:29:29.:29:35.

this Masters. Not just this final, but the season so far. And no

:29:35.:29:39.

ranking event, but also what has happened is, Shaun Murphy has won

:29:39.:29:44.

in Brazil at his small invitation event, but Neil Robertson has been

:29:44.:29:50.

pretty devastating in the PDCs. So I always felt he was in good form

:29:50.:29:54.

and threatened to be doing something this season. Shaun Murphy,

:29:54.:29:58.

on the other hand, has been getting himself a bit fit, and that helps

:29:58.:30:02.

the situation. So it was interesting to see who would come

:30:02.:30:08.

through but it just might be on the day but Neil does look very strong.

:30:08.:30:13.

Neil Robertson has amassed more ranking points than anybody, so

:30:13.:30:19.

effectively he is number one of above anybody? He is, and he has

:30:19.:30:23.

been one of the hardest players to beat now. It has given him that

:30:23.:30:27.

aura of confidence. Shaun is similar in that respect but they

:30:27.:30:31.

seem to have a great aura of authority when they are going

:30:32.:30:36.

around, but his improvement in all aspect of the game has been

:30:36.:30:41.

remarkable over the last two seasons. Shaun Murphy is still in

:30:41.:30:46.

this match. The interval has come at a good time for him. He could

:30:46.:30:51.

come out and win a couple of good frames in succession but every

:30:51.:30:54.

single shot he plays now matters. This is a great occasion for both

:30:54.:30:59.

players and they will have to go somewhere in their careers to match

:30:59.:31:05.

the titles of Stephen Hendry, but second is Ronnie O'Sullivan. Like

:31:05.:31:10.

Stephen, he has appeared in 19 finals. Four titles and five

:31:10.:31:14.

defeats in finals. But Ronnie is looking a bit precarious at the

:31:14.:31:19.

moment in the world rankings. And don't forget, it is only the top 16

:31:19.:31:25.

who are invited to play in this event. He is always a huge

:31:25.:31:28.

favourite with the London crowd, but is it inconceivable, I don't

:31:28.:31:34.

think so, as to whether he might earn an automatic invitation at

:31:34.:31:39.

here next year? It is the Rocket, Ronnie

:31:39.:31:49.
:31:49.:31:52.

He is probably the best player I have ever played. A one-off, really.

:31:52.:31:58.

He will always be loved how he plays the game. As far as I am

:31:58.:32:03.

concerned, Ronnie is the best out there. It might not be on stats or

:32:03.:32:09.

titles, but in terms of talent and the ability to play snooker, she is

:32:09.:32:18.

the best. -- he is the best. He has rarely achieved what a lot of other

:32:18.:32:23.

players would give their right hand for, so in many ways, he might be

:32:23.:32:27.

flawed, but overall, I would say he is very proud of what he has

:32:28.:32:37.
:32:38.:32:42.

achieved. A wonderful, wonderful His first ever major tournament and

:32:42.:32:52.
:32:52.:33:03.

I have had to look after the family, and that is something that is

:33:03.:33:08.

important to me. When my dad does come home, everything will be there

:33:08.:33:14.

for him. He put everything in front of me when I was a kid. Losing, it

:33:14.:33:20.

was a horrid, horrid feeling. And I missed him. But I know one day, he

:33:20.:33:30.
:33:30.:33:41.

I would like to thank the WPBSA for giving me the opportunity to

:33:41.:33:47.

continue playing the game that I love. I give them my assurance that

:33:47.:33:53.

from here on, I will use my very best endeavours to be a model

:33:53.:34:03.
:34:03.:34:28.

# I'm a rocket man... When I was a kid, I used to love

:34:28.:34:32.

playing games and used to get enjoyment out of it. I just don't

:34:32.:34:36.

seem to get the enjoyment out of it and I would give everything to

:34:36.:34:46.
:34:46.:34:46.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:34:46.:35:34.

I'm seriously thinking about having a year off and if I am quite happy,

:35:34.:35:44.
:35:44.:35:50.

I might have another year off. We Shock! It is the last thing you

:35:50.:35:56.

expect somebody to do but I think Ronnie's appeal is... He obviously

:35:56.:36:01.

comes over as a fragile character who wears his heart on his sleeve

:36:01.:36:11.
:36:11.:36:34.

and that appeals to the public. It is nice to get a trophy. It has

:36:34.:36:39.

been a long time, three years. But I was never bothered about it! I

:36:39.:36:43.

wasn't because the standard is so good and I just enjoy competitive

:36:44.:36:52.

matches. I think winning... If you like the game, it is over. He has

:36:52.:37:00.

done it! What an unbelievable break that was! It just doesn't get any

:37:00.:37:10.
:37:10.:37:28.

better than that! The man is a That cost me �250 and a letter

:37:29.:37:33.

through the letterbox. But I have had a few of those! They can keep

:37:33.:37:43.
:37:43.:38:19.

Come on, Ronnie! Pot the black! Unbelievable! Have you ever seen

:38:19.:38:26.

anything like that in your life on a snooker table?!

:38:26.:38:36.
:38:36.:38:46.

Does the sport need Ronnie O'Sullivan? Absolutely it does.

:38:46.:38:52.

Does Ronnie O'Sullivan need the sport? I believe so. Sometimes it

:38:52.:38:56.

is very difficult when there are lot of tournaments nowadays, and if

:38:56.:39:02.

you don't play in 80% of them, you cannot qualify, and that was

:39:02.:39:06.

pressure on me but I have accepted I will have to qualify and if that

:39:06.:39:11.

is the way it goes, as long as I am enjoying it and playing, I will be

:39:11.:39:16.

doing it. With somebody of immense ability, natural ability, that

:39:16.:39:23.

Ronnie possesses, I am sure that he will come back. Ronnie O'Sullivan

:39:23.:39:28.

at his best mentally was many years ago, and coming to terms with how

:39:28.:39:34.

he feels now has been quite tough for him, but when he gets that

:39:35.:39:39.

right, and he is close to getting it right, he is dangerous again.

:39:39.:39:44.

You know, when you have got family and it stuff like that, when you

:39:44.:39:48.

have a normal job, they feed your soul when you get home, but when

:39:48.:39:52.

you're in a hotel run, you don't get to see much of them anyway and

:39:52.:39:57.

that plays on your mind. Everyone is different but I have realised

:39:57.:40:02.

that will not make me happy and content. It is just about managing

:40:02.:40:05.

my time and getting a bit of everything, and you know, as long

:40:05.:40:10.

as that means you are happy doing what you're doing, that will equal

:40:10.:40:20.
:40:20.:40:23.

HAZEL IRVINE: The Life and Times of Ronnie O'Sullivan. When he came

:40:23.:40:27.

here last Sunday with his son, Ronnie junior, I thought he seemed

:40:27.:40:32.

more at peace with his game than ever, which was great to see. He

:40:32.:40:38.

also seems content to drop down the rankings, if indeed it will happen,

:40:38.:40:43.

and deal with it. What is your view? The most important thing

:40:43.:40:48.

foreign name is to be happy, and being happy helps him play better

:40:48.:40:53.

snooker. -- the important thing for Ronnie. He has two young children

:40:53.:40:56.

so he wants to try and spend quality time with them and you can

:40:56.:41:01.

understand that. I understand that being a parent myself. But he is

:41:02.:41:05.

the most naturally gifted player that has ever played the game and

:41:05.:41:09.

possibly ever will. We love watching him play and playing him.

:41:09.:41:14.

It is an experience and we certainly hope he will be back.

:41:14.:41:18.

Barry was quoted the other day as saying his snooker is like Frank

:41:18.:41:23.

Sinatra. There is always another game in him! And if he does drop

:41:23.:41:28.

out of the top 16, and nobody is suggesting he will, were he to, how

:41:28.:41:32.

do you feel his path will be through this very difficult

:41:32.:41:38.

process? The answer is, as difficult as you want to make it.

:41:38.:41:43.

If he went into the next bracket down, he would have to play one

:41:43.:41:47.

match extra to get to the television stages of ranking events.

:41:47.:41:50.

That is not too parable as long as you are prepared for the battle

:41:50.:41:57.

ahead. -- too terrible. You have got to fight your cause against

:41:57.:42:03.

somebody else. For Ronnie as a player, probably, he values as a

:42:03.:42:07.

commodity himself. So he is not prepared to play for us more money.

:42:07.:42:12.

But snooker is not yet big time. So if he decides to play those events,

:42:12.:42:17.

it is down to how much he values that performance. But how much he

:42:17.:42:24.

plays for the season is important as well. And his new schedule for

:42:24.:42:31.

players is very testing? Yes. Particularly the PGCE. It is one

:42:31.:42:36.

man and his dog, and sometimes even the dog doesn't turn up! But that

:42:36.:42:40.

is what you have to do. You have to go through that, and for Ronnie,

:42:40.:42:45.

that will be a real tour. Let's hope he does stay in the top 16

:42:45.:42:53.

because otherwise he will have to forego playing the championship.

:42:53.:43:00.

Alexandra Palace was built as a people's Palace in the 1870s have.

:43:00.:43:10.
:43:10.:43:26.

We have been very aware of his role The Alexandra Palace first opened

:43:26.:43:31.

in 1873 as a people's Palace to provide the Victorians with a

:43:31.:43:35.

recreation centre on a monumental scale. Covering seven acres in

:43:35.:43:39.

total, it included exhibition rooms, a theatre, banqueting and concert

:43:39.:43:46.

areas and a great hall, which can seat at 12,000 people. In 1935, the

:43:46.:43:53.

BBC least the eastern part of this building, from where their public

:43:53.:43:58.

transmissions were first made. It is really like stepping back in

:43:58.:44:08.
:44:08.:44:12.

time from those first pioneering Hello! Welcome to the BBC! This

:44:12.:44:16.

television thing is a kind of purr, though I don't think it will ever

:44:16.:44:23.

replace the wireless! Snooker will now be on the television. It is a

:44:23.:44:31.

poor man's billiards played by riff-raff.

:44:31.:44:37.

Robert is head of BBC history and a lead the -- leading experts on the

:44:37.:44:45.

BBC's ventures into new areas. Nobody quite knew if the television

:44:45.:44:51.

would work. Let us catch a brief glimpse of the studios and

:44:51.:44:54.

television walls and see what television can do and how it does

:44:54.:45:04.
:45:04.:45:05.

it. The radio frequency power is converted and produces the waves.

:45:05.:45:09.

The transmitter mast that needed to be built, you only have to build a

:45:09.:45:12.

bit more on top of the building already there in order to reach the

:45:12.:45:19.

relevant hide. Alexandra Palace is the home of the first ever

:45:19.:45:23.

continuous, high-definition television in the world. Vision and

:45:23.:45:27.

sound are on... The station goes on the air. A so, for the first time

:45:27.:45:32.

you had a real service, so you could look in the Radio Times of

:45:32.:45:35.

the day and see the hours of broadcasting and make a date to

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

watch it. Now, we might well see some backstage scenes as these. Our

:45:45.:45:54.

visit to her is captain of the English Ryder Cup team of last year,

:45:54.:46:04.
:46:04.:46:05.

1936. -- our visitor. A beauty! Before you know where you are, you

:46:05.:46:11.

have opera, ballet, first outside broadcast, boxing on air and

:46:11.:46:19.

snooker. Snooker! How will we broadcast this? I think I will

:46:19.:46:28.

leave it to the boffins. They will call P fools on their health. They

:46:28.:46:35.

were a bunch of boffins developing this strange magic. -- on the hill.

:46:35.:46:40.

Having said that, only a few people could afford to buy a television or

:46:40.:46:46.

access it. About 400 people, and that was within a radius of 10

:46:46.:46:51.

miles or so of the transmitter, so it was a real luxury item of its

:46:51.:46:55.

stable stop so within a year of broadcasting starting, television

:46:55.:47:01.

starting, we have the first snooker game. Looks easy enough, doesn't

:47:01.:47:09.

it! It was a real winner for the BBC. Good afternoon, everybody. How

:47:09.:47:13.

are you? It was captured in a very formal way, so the presenters of

:47:13.:47:18.

the day would whether Classic dicky bow for the men, and the women were

:47:18.:47:23.

all in evening dress, and it was very much a tone that the BBC was

:47:23.:47:28.

delivering in a quality, appropriate service of the nation.

:47:28.:47:37.

Quite right up, old boys! We can't have those Irish, Scots and,

:47:37.:47:41.

goodness forbid, Liverpudlians in front of the camera! It wouldn't

:47:42.:47:46.

do! Television left Alexandra Palace in the end because it was

:47:46.:47:50.

not a bespoke building. The television mast was built right

:47:50.:47:53.

next to the studios, so you had constant interference with the

:47:53.:48:00.

signal. From early post-war, there was a Hunt on for an appropriate

:48:00.:48:03.

new venue to build a bespoke television centre, and that

:48:03.:48:07.

eventually happened with the creation of Television Centre,

:48:07.:48:14.

which was opened in 1960 in Shepherd's Bush. So it seems the

:48:14.:48:19.

Ally Pally, television and snooker have all changed quite a bit over

:48:19.:48:24.

the last 75 years. But some things remain the same. Just check out

:48:24.:48:30.

Hazel's first screen test. We found this in the archives. And so,

:48:30.:48:34.

ladies and gentlemen, Ensis first television transmission from

:48:34.:48:39.

Alexandra Palace. We will be on again at the televised time. Until

:48:39.:48:49.
:48:49.:48:56.

HAZEL IRVINE: ah, yes! Scots, Liverpudlians and riff-raff from

:48:56.:49:00.

Romford all representing us on broadcast. It will never catch on,

:49:00.:49:06.

Willett, Steve? And who would have known that snooker would be used to

:49:06.:49:12.

promote colour television. It has been fascinating. And how important

:49:12.:49:17.

has this been as a venue? It can host a lot of different things and

:49:17.:49:21.

have facilities are good for everybody. As a venue, it has

:49:21.:49:26.

potential. Not just for one table, but for more than one. It might not

:49:26.:49:29.

have the character of the Conference Centre, which was a

:49:29.:49:33.

totally different shape and was in the round, to some degree, but it

:49:33.:49:37.

still has a lot going for it. A great view for everybody in this

:49:37.:49:43.

room. Yes. And watching a 40-inch plasma screen these days, things

:49:43.:49:49.

have changed since 1936 or stop in a players' room, Ken has managed to

:49:49.:49:55.

find some rather nervous players! Yes. I am joined by Neil

:49:55.:49:59.

Robertson's better half and young son, Alexander, who seems to be

:49:59.:50:05.

enjoying the experience. Yeah. So far, so good. As long as he has

:50:05.:50:10.

somebody to play with, he is happy to run around. It is the first time

:50:10.:50:15.

he has been to see his father. is he coping? He is quite happy,

:50:15.:50:25.
:50:25.:50:30.

You must be very happy with Ben Neil -- with the way Neil has

:50:30.:50:37.

played so far tonight? Very good. You off from Norway. How is the

:50:37.:50:45.

popularity of snooker in Norway? is definitely growing, and it is

:50:45.:50:49.

getting more and more popular. chance of young Alexander following

:50:49.:50:59.
:50:59.:51:02.

in his father's was debt? Maybe! We Alexander doesn't seem too bothered.

:51:02.:51:07.

Just playing around in a players' lounge. I am sure he will be

:51:07.:51:11.

watching. Certainly, his wife will be watching as we get down to the

:51:11.:51:21.
:51:21.:51:22.

nitty gritty of this year's final. John has managed to get rid of that

:51:22.:51:32.
:51:32.:51:34.

achieve tweet suit and has joined Dennis indie commentators' box. --

:51:34.:51:44.
:51:44.:51:49.

DENNIS TAYLOR: In other good boy, shot from Shaun. -- another good

:51:50.:51:59.
:52:00.:52:14.

That has gone a little awkward. The blue up the other end of the table

:52:14.:52:21.

and a black off this back cushion. But there is a shot for Shaun. But

:52:21.:52:31.
:52:31.:52:46.

Definitely a must-win frame for Shaun. Neil Robertson has been

:52:46.:52:54.

sensational this evening. A century break, a terrific match play, had a

:52:54.:53:03.

76 match before the interval. has bream pretty solid all week. --

:53:03.:53:13.

It is not always winning the frames you should do, it is winning the

:53:13.:53:17.

frames you shouldn't. And he has certainly competed brilliantly this

:53:17.:53:27.
:53:27.:54:06.

You can see there's a long, straight red there but not an easy

:54:06.:54:16.
:54:16.:54:19.

With the back but being on its spot, not the greatest shot in the world.

:54:19.:54:29.
:54:29.:54:50.

If the pink pots into the left corner, he can leave the wide where

:54:50.:55:00.
:55:00.:55:09.

the red is, or screw it back a If the pink goes on to the black

:55:09.:55:19.
:55:19.:55:26.

He could play on the black even if the pink it goes back on the spot

:55:26.:55:36.
:55:36.:55:59.

He could do with a sizable contribution here, just to get that

:55:59.:56:09.
:56:09.:56:19.

It is nice to win these back quickly, see the scoreboard change

:56:20.:56:29.

more quickly. It might just be OK, that. Does it pass the pink? If it

:56:29.:56:39.
:56:39.:56:42.

doesn't, he has got a bit of a The one to the left of the cue ball,

:56:42.:56:47.

he has had a look to see if that goes into the left corner. It might

:56:47.:56:57.
:56:57.:57:14.

pot. Much easier if he was directly When you are cutting them back like

:57:15.:57:19.

that, it is very difficult. He was very close to the pot and I thought

:57:19.:57:26.

it was in. It just caught the jaw, and that is what happens on these

:57:26.:57:36.
:57:36.:58:03.

It will probably be easier to get He had to be a little careful with

:58:03.:58:07.

that shot in case the red went into the path of the black, so he

:58:07.:58:17.
:58:17.:58:17.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:58:17.:59:08.

Well, there is Alexander, there's son, with his lovely mum, Mille. It

:59:08.:59:18.
:59:18.:59:54.

is time for bed, by the looks of He has got a little bit of sorting

:59:54.:00:02.

out to do here. A lot of those reds of locking each other. -- are

:00:02.:00:08.

blocking. It shouldn't be a problem from this position. Yes, you would

:00:08.:00:11.

need a little half-ball angle on the black to cannoned into the

:00:11.:00:15.

three reds on the left, and that would leave the other two into the

:00:15.:00:25.
:00:25.:00:31.

He is one good cannon away from That is the cannon that John is

:00:32.:00:36.

talking about. If he can get nicely on the black, he will open all the

:00:36.:00:46.
:00:46.:00:51.

That is just about perfect. If he hits that metal red of the three,

:00:51.:01:01.
:01:01.:01:04.

he should leave all those red Maybe just a little bit more pace

:01:04.:01:12.

Funnily enough, either one or the other, a little softer or a little

:01:12.:01:15.

bit more pace. Where he has finished here is a little bit

:01:15.:01:25.
:01:25.:01:31.

He has to be careful with his That was very well played, that,

:01:31.:01:36.

you could see the way he moved his cue away as quick as possible.

:01:36.:01:41.

how close he was to the red! It shows you the precision of this

:01:41.:01:51.
:01:51.:02:09.

He really has played superbly well Yes, he plays superbly well in

:02:09.:02:15.

every final, he has been in six of them so far and never lost one.

:02:15.:02:20.

that is a great confidence booster, isn't it? When you know that you

:02:20.:02:23.

have won all six finals that you have competed in. That is quite a

:02:23.:02:32.

The kick did not affected this time, I will show you the shot again. You

:02:32.:02:42.
:02:42.:02:42.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:02:42.:03:29.

He is not going to need the difficult reds, just these two Liz

:03:29.:03:39.
:03:39.:03:54.

reds with colours will leave the Yes, his good friend Joe Perry, who

:03:54.:03:59.

has been driving Neil into the tournament this week, good to see

:03:59.:04:02.

him back in form, he told me earlier in the week that he had

:04:02.:04:07.

never seen anything like Anne practising, that he was in

:04:07.:04:10.

unbelievable form, and he has brought it to the match table all

:04:10.:04:17.

week. -- Neil. The art is the secret, John, isn't it? Not many

:04:17.:04:21.

players can bring their practice game on to the match table. Neil is

:04:21.:04:31.
:04:31.:04:32.

53 ahead, just glancing around to confirm that. She must be

:04:32.:04:36.

absolutely delighted, she is very nervous, but her husband is doing

:04:36.:04:46.
:04:46.:04:50.

Good effort, Shaun Murphy does not get out of his seat, so the Thunder

:04:50.:04:53.

from Down Under continues, and he takes that frame with a fabulous 76

:04:53.:05:03.
:05:03.:05:04.

Well, JP, that was a big, big frame for Shaun Murphy. He got in first,

:05:04.:05:09.

and he just finished a little bit awkward. If he had been behind his

:05:09.:05:14.

red, he would have spotted it. Cutting it into a blind pocket,

:05:14.:05:18.

very difficult, and he just catches the top jaw. On these match tables,

:05:18.:05:23.

that is not going to go in. He is unlucky, because he would have

:05:23.:05:27.

taken the other red into the corner, but he was hampered. After that,

:05:27.:05:33.

what can you say about Robertson? He has just minded his work, as Mr

:05:33.:05:36.

Pullman used to say, and of course he has made frame-winning

:05:36.:05:41.

contributions. Shaun is a model professional, he still looks fairly

:05:41.:05:46.

relaxed, looking around there, and he certainly will not give up, that

:05:46.:05:54.

is for certain, but what a tall order. Well, he looks in good mood,

:05:54.:05:58.

doesn't he? Can he get a chance, and can he string a few frames

:05:58.:06:02.

together and fight his way back into this final? It is going to be

:06:02.:06:09.

tough. That is the beautiful water that crystal trophy for the winner.

:06:10.:06:15.

-- Waterford. Yes, I think it has been great year this week in the

:06:15.:06:18.

intervals, people have come down and had their photograph taken with

:06:19.:06:24.

the trophy. It has been a good idea, and innovation. Some nice

:06:24.:06:34.
:06:34.:06:35.

So Neil gets this frame and a wave. He will be hoping it is the last

:06:35.:06:45.
:06:45.:06:54.

Well, just listen to the crowd! Well, they certainly appreciated

:06:54.:06:59.

that long pot. They want some more of this final, they do not want it

:06:59.:07:03.

to finish just yet, and maybe Shaun will relax a little bit now and

:07:03.:07:13.
:07:13.:07:52.

show us what he has shown us all It needs to run, that cue ball,

:07:52.:08:02.
:08:02.:08:33.

Well, that is a pretty positive Andy has got to play near-perfect

:08:33.:08:43.
:08:43.:08:46.

snooker. He cannot afford many He did not want the kiss there, but

:08:46.:08:56.
:08:56.:09:17.

he has got that one up near the Well, a little further back, he

:09:17.:09:21.

would have taken the yellow and gone straight into the red behind

:09:21.:09:31.
:09:31.:09:41.

Mark, it is a pretty good start, but it looks like he's going to

:09:41.:09:45.

have to play a safety. He looked at the potting angle, it is a very

:09:45.:09:51.

thin one. 33 in front, stick a good safety in, but that is not a good

:09:51.:09:58.

safety. He should have been over behind the green or brown there.

:09:58.:10:02.

Sometimes, if you leave your opponents at the side of the pack,

:10:02.:10:05.

you might get him to knock one over the corner, but the way Neil

:10:05.:10:11.

Robertson has played today, that has not happened very often.

:10:11.:10:16.

Neil needs the reds opened because he is 33 behind, so he will risk

:10:16.:10:26.
:10:26.:10:38.

That has certainly opened a good Has he nestled on to that yellow to

:10:38.:10:43.

prevent Shaun getting to the red down the left side of the table?

:10:43.:10:53.
:10:53.:11:09.

Another test for his cueing action, You cannot hit them any better than

:11:09.:11:19.
:11:19.:11:28.

that. Two fracking pots in this His nickname is the Magician, Rob

:11:28.:11:34.

Walker introduces him as the Magician. Can he weave a little bit

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

of magic with that one in his hand? He is on the march, that is for

:11:44.:11:50.

sure. He does march around the table when he gets going, Shaun.

:11:50.:11:56.

Yes, just wondering whether this is an attempt just to try and get

:11:56.:12:04.

himself into a better rhythm, try to knock a few frames off quickly.

:12:04.:12:07.

It really is more or less desperation stakes at the minute,

:12:07.:12:12.

he cannot afford a mistake, as he said. He may be deciding to play as

:12:12.:12:22.
:12:22.:12:44.

quickly and fluently as he can, to Yeah, you're a bit of pride kicks

:12:44.:12:49.

in when your back is against the wall, 9-4, you want to go out there

:12:49.:12:55.

and show the audience what you can do. He is certainly doing that here.

:12:55.:13:00.

He is hitting the ball as well now as we have seen in the whole of the

:13:00.:13:10.
:13:10.:13:12.

Yes, cueing really well. When it has come to the tactical and safety

:13:12.:13:22.
:13:22.:13:30.

battles today, Neil Robertson has He has already made two centuries

:13:30.:13:36.

in his final. Shaun has had one. And this could be his second. Well,

:13:36.:13:46.
:13:46.:13:49.

there's not enough on to make a Well, just enough if he can clear

:13:49.:13:59.
:13:59.:14:30.

The Little cannon has not worked out, so it will have to be a double

:14:30.:14:40.
:14:40.:14:41.

to continue the break. He may even No double, no treble, he has done

:14:41.:14:46.

what he had to do. Shaun Murphy, with breaks of 33 and 52 in quick-

:14:46.:14:54.

fire time, of course one frame back, He has certainly speeded it up a

:14:54.:14:58.

bit, you were reflecting on a match in days of yore when actually

:14:58.:15:01.

speeding the pace up might have helped. I remember watching Steve

:15:01.:15:06.

Davis play against Eugene Hughes in the Grand Prix, he was four-to-one

:15:06.:15:10.

down or something, and all of a sudden Steve was running around a

:15:10.:15:15.

table. When it got to 4-4, he slowed right back down and lost 5-

:15:15.:15:20.

4! But it was the psychology, as John said in commentary, he is

:15:20.:15:24.

trying to get into a little red and. When he gets in and around the

:15:24.:15:30.

ball's like that, he can really speed up and pot them fluently. He

:15:30.:15:34.

has to score quickly, get frames on the board, and then try to exert a

:15:34.:15:37.

little bit of pressure on Neil Robertson. He has got nothing to

:15:38.:15:43.

lose, he has got to go for it. but no point in plain totally

:15:43.:15:47.

outrageous shots, because he knows that if he plays a decent game and

:15:47.:15:51.

gets his rhythm, he can still turn over a few frames on the trot. The

:15:51.:15:57.

problem is that the guy in front is playing great stuff, so it needs

:15:57.:16:02.

him to completely seize up, effectively. Back we go, is this

:16:02.:16:07.

the frame that will clinch it? Thank you, frame 15, Shaun Murphy

:16:07.:16:17.
:16:17.:16:32.

Not a bad break-off. This red to the right of the blue does not look

:16:33.:16:38.

to be a good ankle to try and pot to get on to the black. As a shot

:16:38.:16:48.
:16:48.:17:04.

It is totally the wrong angle to And that is coming up short, and we

:17:04.:17:08.

know what Shaun Murphy did in the previous frame with this type of

:17:08.:17:17.

Yes, Neil will be very disappointed with that. He will be playing a

:17:17.:17:27.
:17:27.:17:34.

rock-hard if frame of matchmaker to So he has had a reprieve there,

:17:34.:17:42.

Neil Robertson. Well, from Shaun's point of view, at least that red

:17:42.:17:52.
:17:52.:17:52.

went into the bunch and kept Once again, he has not really

:17:52.:17:57.

played a good safety, a good telling safety. It is looking for

:17:57.:18:02.

one good chance, that is all he is looking for. But Shaun will make it

:18:02.:18:12.
:18:12.:18:23.

Not the best. Neil Robertson special coming up, but not

:18:23.:18:27.

guaranteed to get nicely on a colour. I think he can get around

:18:27.:18:37.
:18:37.:18:44.

the back of the two reds and the I could see him missing that, there

:18:44.:18:47.

was a little bit more to that than first thought. It was not one that

:18:47.:18:57.
:18:57.:19:15.

He wanted to play it with a little Just enough of the red sticking out

:19:15.:19:19.

to pass the yellow and get back down to the left of the bunch of

:19:19.:19:29.
:19:29.:19:35.

reds. Let's see if Neil can get in He has pushed the red over the

:19:35.:19:40.

corner. But Shaun will have to get up on to the blue. Pink and black

:19:40.:19:45.

are tied up, but I think he has got the angle to do that. He still

:19:45.:19:55.
:19:55.:19:55.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:19:55.:20:39.

Beautifully cued yet again, and he deserves to be on something. That

:20:40.:20:45.

was a great shot. Do you know, there might be a shot on, a shot to

:20:45.:20:55.
:20:55.:20:56.

pot this red and leave himself on No, he could not play the cannon

:20:57.:21:00.

that I thought. He tried to develop the black, but it was always going

:21:00.:21:05.

to be difficult. This will be a test of cue action if you take the

:21:05.:21:15.
:21:15.:21:38.

blue. He knows full well there is a Some of the hot sea has not been in

:21:38.:21:41.

the last couple of frames, quite incredible under these

:21:41.:21:45.

circumstances, and he played to get on the red above the black. He

:21:45.:21:49.

looked at it before he took that difficult blue on, because he was

:21:49.:21:53.

trying to leave the black, but he has over screwed it slightly. But

:21:53.:22:03.
:22:03.:22:05.

Well, the black must go past that red, amazing, it does not look like

:22:05.:22:15.
:22:15.:22:20.

That makes that blue even more of a Well, he deserves everything he

:22:20.:22:25.

gets for this break. Two fabulous shots on the blue. The second one

:22:25.:22:35.
:22:35.:23:08.

Shaun Murphy has always been a big occasion player. He just loves

:23:08.:23:18.
:23:18.:23:21.

When they had the school of excellence, when he first turned

:23:21.:23:28.

professional, he was one of the players there. He has always worked

:23:28.:23:34.

very hard, not only on his game, but on everything connected with

:23:34.:23:40.

the game, interviews. He has been a model professional throughout his

:23:40.:23:50.
:23:50.:23:51.

And one of the finest cue actions in the game, and he is proving that

:23:52.:23:59.

Yes, the long blue he not been before, most players would have

:24:00.:24:03.

been happy to stun, never mind the screw back five football whatever

:24:03.:24:11.

it was. -- foot or whatever it was. He is worth another look, have a

:24:11.:24:16.

look at the cue ball, it stopped and then spun back. Beautiful

:24:16.:24:26.
:24:26.:24:32.

Well, he won the last frame in just over eight minutes. This frame has

:24:32.:24:39.

just been going 80 minutes, and he is almost at the winning line. -- 8

:24:39.:24:48.

Neil cannot do anything about this. He is still waiting for that one

:24:48.:24:58.
:24:58.:25:01.

Mille there, I am sure she will still be as excited as she was. In

:25:01.:25:05.

fact, it is worse for the people watching than when you are out on

:25:05.:25:13.

the table, John, isn't it? Yes, This is great stuff at the moment

:25:13.:25:18.

from Shaun Murphy. He made his mind up to be positive, and it is one

:25:18.:25:22.

thing being positive, it is another thing knocking in blues like that.

:25:22.:25:30.

And it looks like, in the space of something like 20 minutes, he is

:25:30.:25:40.
:25:40.:25:54.

going to have won a couple of Neil Robertson has not had a pot

:25:54.:26:01.

for nearly 90 minutes. He has not been at the table, that is why. --

:26:01.:26:11.
:26:11.:26:38.

Have a look at his shot. Oh, that is unlucky again. He almost had a

:26:38.:26:46.

century in the previous frame, and but for that unfortunate cannon, he

:26:46.:26:55.

would have had won here. That is two quick-fire famously has won,

:26:55.:27:05.
:27:05.:27:09.

that one with a break of 86, and he Suddenly we are thinking of great

:27:09.:27:13.

comebacks, let's not get too excited, but two very quick frames,

:27:13.:27:18.

and deftly done by Shaun Murphy. He has consciously speeded things up,

:27:18.:27:24.

and it has worked. So exciting my microphone fell off! It crossed my

:27:24.:27:28.

mind, sometimes when you play, this might come out wrong, but you

:27:28.:27:32.

brainwash yourself into playing the part of a hero. It can happen at

:27:32.:27:36.

the end of a session, but it looks like Shaun was trying to convince

:27:36.:27:40.

himself that he was playing the part of the underdog, the civic

:27:40.:27:46.

hero, and all of a sudden he has talked himself into this.

:27:46.:27:53.

telephone boxes in sight! He looks more free, the way he is cueing.

:27:53.:27:57.

did say that, but he took on a tremendous blow. Most players would

:27:57.:28:01.

probably just try to stand it in. Just look at how well he cued this,

:28:01.:28:08.

just look at the reaction he gets on the cue ball. Just exactly what

:28:08.:28:12.

he needed, a couple of quick frames, and he needs another one. Do you

:28:12.:28:16.

can sense this crowd beginning to think that they might be on to

:28:16.:28:26.
:28:26.:28:30.

It is amazing, every frame this red seems to finish up this side of the

:28:30.:28:40.
:28:40.:28:44.

table, and this time Shaun can have That red has finished in a nice

:28:44.:28:48.

spot. The one he had missed, if it had not stopped, Neil Robertson

:28:48.:28:53.

would have had a free shot to pot the one just above the white, but

:28:53.:28:57.

that red has covered it. And he cannot play down into the baulk

:28:57.:29:02.

area for a safety shot high enough. The cue ball will get left at this

:29:02.:29:12.
:29:12.:29:31.

Shaun does have a chance to play into baulk here. He will be leaving

:29:31.:29:41.
:29:41.:29:49.

Neil the chance if he is going to Yes. He didn't want to get one of

:29:49.:29:55.

those funny frames. The moment he is on a roll, he just wants to get

:29:56.:30:05.
:30:06.:30:19.

the balls into the open. Keep Shaun knew he was handing the

:30:19.:30:24.

advantage to Neil there, but it was purely to get the came back to

:30:24.:30:29.

normal. He needs a good save here, and would be cue ball close to the

:30:29.:30:39.
:30:39.:30:55.

cushion, he has got to be careful. DENNIS TAYLOR: He has hated much

:30:55.:31:03.

too thin. -- hit it. He has been kept off the table for 20 minutes

:31:03.:31:09.

and this is a Neil special coming up here. Let's see how well he cues

:31:09.:31:19.
:31:19.:31:31.

That will do. When you haven't pot of the ball for 20 minutes, that is

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

a pretty good one to come out with. That has come up a bit short but he

:31:49.:31:59.
:31:59.:32:06.

could bring other reds into play Not sure if he has to nudge them

:32:06.:32:16.
:32:16.:32:21.

He didn't want to stick in the reds, and I don't blame him for that.

:32:21.:32:31.
:32:31.:32:52.

Pretty prudent. When in doubt, come That has just spoiled it a little

:32:52.:32:58.

bit, that. He still has the red to the left of the pink. But it you

:32:58.:33:08.
:33:08.:33:12.

want to make it as easy as possible, It looks as if he is back, cueing

:33:12.:33:19.

well again. Played for the middle pocket but may have to take it up

:33:19.:33:29.
:33:29.:33:37.

Reporting at the minute. An excellent red across the cloth. --

:33:38.:33:47.
:33:48.:34:03.

He is one shot a way here from having a great chance to win the

:34:03.:34:13.
:34:13.:34:15.

frame. It has turned out very nicely! As you said, John, one good

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:34:26.:35:17.

shot and he has got a chance to Ooh! He hit that thicker than he

:35:17.:35:21.

intended with a lot of drag and he is now hampered on that side

:35:21.:35:26.

cushion. OK, he can drop the back in and come to the left of the red

:35:26.:35:33.

with the pink. But caught that on the thick side. Just show you that

:35:33.:35:43.
:35:43.:35:43.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:35:43.:36:41.

He's going to have to disturb the The pack store remains pretty solid,

:36:41.:36:51.
:36:51.:37:09.

so he might have to play this again. He can't do much about this. He has

:37:09.:37:19.
:37:19.:37:21.

played two perfect frames to keep Oh! What a beautiful shot! But

:37:21.:37:27.

where is the red going?! 4 all the world, it looked as though that red

:37:27.:37:35.

would drop in after that beautiful shot! -- for all the world.

:37:35.:37:40.

Everybody thought the red would go in. He must have died a 1,000

:37:40.:37:50.
:37:50.:37:57.

The chance is there. He has got a pink, the black. He has looked at

:37:57.:38:07.
:38:07.:38:25.

Good shot. The right shot as well. And he's got things to do here. It

:38:25.:38:35.
:38:35.:38:41.

He was the 2010 world champion, the 2010 World Open champion. He is on

:38:41.:38:48.

the verge now of adding the Masters to his CV. The one that everybody

:38:48.:38:58.
:38:58.:39:03.

This year has been Shaun Murphy's vest here at the Masters. Shaun

:39:03.:39:07.

probably played the best snooker throughout this year's Masters, but

:39:07.:39:17.
:39:17.:39:28.

it is the Australian that has been There is 67 left on the table, he

:39:28.:39:38.
:39:38.:39:39.

is 70 points behind, he needs one Yes, he will be pretty frustrated

:39:39.:39:46.

he did not get that. The red over the centre pocket was not a great

:39:46.:39:49.

shot, but he left himself mid- range with the rest and did not get

:39:49.:39:59.
:39:59.:40:11.

He needs the brown to cover this It must be pretty tight if Neil is

:40:11.:40:16.

around looking from this end of the table. What was he looking at? That

:40:17.:40:26.
:40:27.:40:36.

This will secured the final. Well done. He knows it! He has played a

:40:36.:40:45.

fabulous final, has the Australian, It was always going to be a great

:40:45.:40:51.

final between these two players. Shaun Murphy has played exemplary

:40:51.:40:59.

But there is no better feeling in the world, when you are walking

:40:59.:41:06.

around the table and you know you have won your first Masters title.

:41:06.:41:10.

Well, he deserves it, Dennis, the quality of his match play all week

:41:10.:41:15.

has been superb. He has competed as good as anybody. That was nice to

:41:15.:41:19.

see, Shaun Murphy having hair little smile. He knows what this

:41:19.:41:29.
:41:29.:41:30.

I am sure Shaun Murphy will win this great title, but at the moment

:41:30.:41:35.

the arena belongs to Neil Robertson. It is a superb feeling, it really

:41:35.:41:43.

He cannot but the balls back on as parts quick enough? Well done to

:41:43.:41:49.

the referee, his first Masters final. This is what we love to say,

:41:49.:41:59.
:41:59.:42:00.

it really is. He might as well And this Alexandra Palace crowd

:42:00.:42:03.

have enjoyed every minute of this. They have been fabulous throughout

:42:03.:42:08.

the week. Shaun Murphy, the gentleman that he is, comes forward

:42:08.:42:12.

to congratulate Neil Robertson. A super final, but the Australian was

:42:12.:42:18.

too solid, and doesn't he looked delighted! It is he who let the

:42:18.:42:28.
:42:28.:42:41.

2012 BGC Masters title. Well done Two wonderful players. And a family

:42:41.:42:50.

Well, we are not going to interrupt this family gathering right now,

:42:50.:42:54.

but I will have a word with the run-up, Shaun Murphy. I know this

:42:54.:42:58.

was such a special occasion for you to be involved in, I know you are

:42:58.:43:01.

disappointed, but can you explain what the difference was this

:43:01.:43:07.

evening? Yeah, the lad is class! He is a credit to his family, his

:43:07.:43:11.

country and a credit to our game. We are lucky to have somebody like

:43:11.:43:15.

Neil involved, he is a true pro, and he was better than me on the

:43:15.:43:21.

day. Shaun, you have shown tremendous class all week, though,

:43:21.:43:25.

that night before you came out and rattle of two very quick frames,

:43:25.:43:33.

did you think you were on to something? Yeah! But he stuck one

:43:33.:43:37.

of his trademark long reds in, and that was my last shot. He is very

:43:37.:43:41.

difficult to keep off the table, as he has proven, very good in all

:43:41.:43:46.

departments. He is a worthy winner. I am sure you can take a huge

:43:46.:43:50.

amount of confidence going forward, but what you make of Alexandra

:43:50.:43:53.

Palace and in particular the support you have received all week?

:43:53.:44:01.

It has been amazing, absolutely It has just been... It has been a

:44:01.:44:05.

first rate. We get to play in some fantastic venues around the world,

:44:05.:44:09.

and this is right up there with the Crucible, the crowd have been

:44:09.:44:14.

absolutely amazing. It is just fantastic. I know the Korea trouble

:44:14.:44:21.

town is on hold for now, but you will get it,. Congratulations, Our

:44:21.:44:30.

Up, Shaun Murphy. Well... Congratulations, Neil, and

:44:30.:44:32.

congratulations to your dad, Alexander, this is a very big day

:44:33.:44:36.

for the family. First of all, very many congratulations on the way

:44:36.:44:40.

that you have played. I know this is a special day for you, the 2012

:44:40.:44:44.

Masters champion, only the 4th overseas player to do this, what

:44:44.:44:50.

gave you the edge today? I think that, you know, a good start was

:44:50.:44:54.

really important. I think that Shaun dominated the early stages of

:44:54.:44:58.

the first session. He had a bad run of the ball, so I was quite lucky

:44:58.:45:04.

to be in mayor at 3-3. And then after that, I think I played really

:45:04.:45:08.

good match snooker, scored heavy when I was in, and you have to do

:45:08.:45:12.

that against Shaun, because if you let him in front, he runs all over

:45:12.:45:16.

you. Seven wins out of seven in major finals, that must give you a

:45:16.:45:20.

lot of confidence. Alexander wants to grab the microphone. I could not

:45:21.:45:27.

agree more! How special is its title for you? It means a lot.

:45:27.:45:30.

After the World Championship, this is the tournament I really wanted

:45:30.:45:33.

to win. You have to beat all the top players in the world, and my

:45:33.:45:38.

path to the final has not been easy, but I have stuck at it and played

:45:38.:45:42.

some really good stuff. Yeah, I am absolutely over the moon. Everybody

:45:42.:45:46.

in Australia will be watching this now, so thank you to all the

:45:46.:45:56.
:45:56.:45:58.

support I get, and the crowd was You have shown such consistency,

:45:58.:46:00.

Neil, and I wonder if you knew something like this was coming

:46:00.:46:06.

around the corner for you? At the start off the season, I started to

:46:06.:46:09.

get to the later stages of the events, and they did a bit

:46:09.:46:15.

disappointing in the UK and a couple of BGCs. But the master has

:46:15.:46:19.

made this season for me and I can't wait to build on this and go

:46:19.:46:23.

forward to other championships. think Alexander would like to save

:46:23.:46:27.

a few words. What do you think of your daddy? I think that means a

:46:27.:46:32.

pretty blooming good! Neil Robertson is a Masters champion and

:46:32.:46:37.

we salute you. It is an earlier Australia Day present for your

:46:37.:46:47.
:46:47.:46:47.

country. Congratulations. Well done. And now, pay-day! Ladies and

:46:47.:46:55.

gentlemen, please welcome at your presentation party. Welcome Barry

:46:55.:47:05.

Hearn, the chairman of World Snooker. Ladies and gentlemen, the

:47:05.:47:10.

run up, he has had a magnificent week, Shaun Murphy!

:47:10.:47:20.
:47:20.:47:38.

And the winner, receiving a cheque for �150,000, the trophy and the

:47:38.:47:48.
:47:48.:47:54.

title BGC e Masters champion 2000 wealth, Neil Robertson! -- 2012.

:47:54.:48:04.
:48:04.:48:11.

Your champion, Neil Robertson! HAZEL IRVINE: Neil Robertson it is,

:48:11.:48:17.

who, as I said earlier, is the 4th overseas player to win this and he

:48:17.:48:21.

just has to claim the UK Championship title to get the

:48:21.:48:26.

triple crown. One piece of a puzzle missing for him, just as there is

:48:26.:48:32.

for Shaun Murphy. But, as we said, the Robertson family are now able

:48:32.:48:37.

to get together to celebrate. And, Ken and Steve, we have seen these

:48:37.:48:46.

family gatherings with the players and they are so special? Yes. They

:48:46.:48:51.

are beautiful. Perhaps off to both players. It has been a fantastic

:48:52.:48:54.

final. And both players, particularly Shaun Murphy,

:48:54.:49:00.

magnanimous in defeat. A great player on top of his form in every

:49:00.:49:03.

single department and a worthy winner was Neil Robertson, who

:49:03.:49:07.

played two per snooker. What can we expect from Neil for the rest of

:49:07.:49:12.

the season? We are into the ranking events. I think he will probably

:49:12.:49:17.

feel he is in very good shape going into the World Championship. Of

:49:17.:49:22.

course, remember, you lost to Judd Trump in the World Championship

:49:22.:49:30.

last season and who knows what could have happened if he had won

:49:31.:49:37.

that? Neil is one of the most accomplished players in the game.

:49:37.:49:40.

The best all-rounder alongside John Higgins and that is the kind of

:49:40.:49:46.

snookered you have to play to win championships. He says he feels he

:49:46.:49:51.

is a 50% better player than when he even won the world title. I would

:49:51.:49:57.

agree. Particularly in this match but also against Judd Trump. His

:49:57.:50:00.

overall matchplay snooker has risen considerably and he has become so

:50:00.:50:09.

tough. His safety was spot on and every time he got a head, Shaun's

:50:09.:50:13.

safety has to get up to the Neil Robertson standard, because he was

:50:13.:50:16.

spot on with the safety and kept the pressure on. And when he got

:50:17.:50:21.

the opportunities, he took them with aplomb. He really deserves to

:50:21.:50:25.

be champion. Would you agree that might be the missing ingredient for

:50:25.:50:30.

Shaun Murphy? Only might be. I don't think Shaun should well too

:50:30.:50:34.

much on edge. The way he plays snooker is fantastic and while he

:50:34.:50:38.

will be disappointed, he should not start analysing too much. He plays

:50:38.:50:43.

a great game and on his day, he is unbeatable. The trouble is, there

:50:44.:50:49.

are many other players good on their day these days. We have had

:50:49.:50:53.

judged from winning the UK, Neil Robertson coming back to win this

:50:53.:50:57.

one. Snooker is in pretty good nick? Absolutely. And so many

:50:57.:51:01.

players playing to a pretty good standard. And it will be

:51:01.:51:04.

interesting as the season comes to the World Championship and close

:51:04.:51:09.

with the World Championship, who will be the guys are vying for that

:51:09.:51:12.

championship? Great to see so many of them playing at the top of their

:51:12.:51:17.

form. And we will be with you back again at The Crucible. 21st April,

:51:17.:51:21.

I believe it starts. A few months to get ready for that. Thank you

:51:21.:51:25.

very much for your company this week. It's been a great success, a

:51:25.:51:30.

rip-roaring success! We're looking forward to coming back here to Ally

:51:30.:51:33.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS