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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. |