Day 4 Masters Snooker


Day 4

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Welcome to the Betfair Masters from Alexandria Palace in London. Today

:00:35.:00:40.

is the last two years of the first round of the tournament. First up,

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and all Welsh affair between Matthew Stevens and Mark Williams.

:00:45.:00:50.

Williams is one of the game's great players. At the age of 37, have --

:00:50.:00:54.

some have suggested he is at the crossroads of his career. Here is

:00:54.:01:04.
:01:04.:01:09.

When Mark Williams acquitted after the UK Championships, he wasn't

:01:09.:01:14.

being serious. He is at a different stage of his career. I wasn't

:01:14.:01:18.

winning any more and I wasn't competitive. He is still top eight,

:01:18.:01:28.
:01:28.:01:32.

he is capable of winning My standard is going down. The

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standard is very high. There is nothing to worry about because if

:01:38.:01:42.

you can play well, you can play tournaments but it is taking it

:01:42.:01:46.

from the practice to the match table. And I haven't been doing

:01:46.:01:55.

that for a while now. What gets harder as you get older is you lose

:01:55.:01:58.

the desire to put the hours in required to get to the top of the

:01:58.:02:02.

game and to keep you competitive. With there being so many

:02:02.:02:06.

tournaments, it becomes hard to leave home, especially in his case

:02:06.:02:16.
:02:16.:02:31.

as he has a family. It is difficult Nobody knows better than me the

:02:31.:02:34.

ability of Mark Williams and he is as good as anybody out there and

:02:34.:02:37.

well capable of winning the tournament this week. He has won

:02:37.:02:42.

the Masters twice and he will be desperate to win this, despite the

:02:42.:02:51.

image she portrays that he doesn't care. -- he portrays.

:02:51.:02:58.

So, 2003, what sort of snooker animal was Mark Williams back them?

:02:58.:03:03.

He was very competitive. He potted the most pressure balls and that

:03:03.:03:07.

was the most important part of that. Difficult ones down the rail, he

:03:07.:03:10.

was immune to any of the tensions the other players were getting.

:03:10.:03:16.

Other strengths? He has a very quick snooker brain. He was always

:03:16.:03:22.

very clever tactically. He invented shot to nothings, what look like a

:03:22.:03:27.

risky pot but he could get the white ball into an area that was

:03:27.:03:32.

saved. Very clever. Moving onwards a decade, what type of player is he

:03:32.:03:37.

now? Heat is the same play in many respects other than the fact that

:03:37.:03:42.

there are more battle scars, he is older, and it is difficult not to

:03:42.:03:46.

doubt yourself after you have lost a few times a silly comes with

:03:46.:03:50.

baggage and matters about the only difference. Can he still went?

:03:50.:03:54.

is down to whether he can truly turn the clock back and be the

:03:54.:03:59.

animal he was back then. Mark's opponent is Matthew Stevens, his

:04:00.:04:04.

great friends, who has also won this title, 13 years ago when it

:04:04.:04:08.

seemed he had the snooker world at his feet. In eight appearances

:04:08.:04:13.

since, he has made his master's exit in the last 16, a record he

:04:13.:04:22.

will want to change. This is the tale of the tape. Williams has won

:04:22.:04:32.
:04:32.:04:33.

in the final of the UK Championship in 1999 and the final of the World

:04:33.:04:37.

Championship the following year. They've met once in the Masters

:04:37.:04:46.

back in 2004 and it was Mark John Virgo and Stephen Hendry with

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me now. When he won this title 13 years ago, it looked like he could

:04:51.:04:56.

achieve so much more, Matthew Stevens. What happened? He lost

:04:56.:05:01.

dedication and focus. It is no secret he enjoyed the life of the

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table too much. Now he has got his dedication back, the talent has not

:05:05.:05:11.

been in doubt. He is one of those under-achievers. John, this is a

:05:11.:05:17.

match with two seniors on a tour. Is there enough time for Matthew

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Stevens to start achieving what he should have done a? He is running

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out of time, but in my day they used to say you didn't peak until

:05:26.:05:33.

your mid-30s. Stephen changed all that! It has always been a hotbed

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of snooker, Wales, and these are the two main protagonists. Could be

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a great match. Has he got enough time? He has got enough time to win

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a big tournament, Matthew Stevens, because he has the ability. Well,

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it should be a great match. Rob Walker is ready to get things

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rolling. Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

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today we complete the line-up for the quarter-finals of this year's

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Betfair Masters and once again it is a cracking for a place in the

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next round. Please welcome a player of firmly back among the top 16,

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twice a World Championship finalist, he reached the semi his last season,

:06:19.:06:29.
:06:29.:06:53.

a UK champion, a Masters champion, Matthew, generous applause as we

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would have expected and you are back in a tournament that provided

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one of the great highlights of your career and you up to ring well.

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won it in 2000. My record has been very bad since then. We will see if

:07:09.:07:19.
:07:19.:07:21.

it were a change. Ladies and And his opponent, one of the finest

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players of the modern era. Twice a world champion, twice a Masters

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champion. His victory in 1990 it was one of the best in this

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tournament's history. -- 1998. Whisper it quietly, here comes the

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Welsh potting machine, Mark Marker, never easy when you're

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drawn against one of your best mates for a place in the quarter-

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finals. I'm knackered getting down the stairs, to be honest! We were

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wondering whether you would climb over the barrier this time. It is

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difficult to playing somebody a have grown up with. It was

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difficult playing each other always, but I want to beat him, it is the

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week it goes. Let's get it on. The very best of luck. -- it is the way

:08:36.:08:46.
:08:46.:08:48.

The first frame, Ladies and Gentlemen. Mark Williams to break.

:08:48.:08:52.

Mark Williams must have won the toss and he has decided to break.

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There is the trophy they are playing for. And very interesting

:08:58.:09:05.

match this. Both players fell off the radar for a while but they are

:09:05.:09:10.

slowly climbing up the rankings. Mark Williams, ranked seven,

:09:10.:09:19.

Matthew Stevens, 15. Interesting match. Two of the most gifted

:09:19.:09:29.
:09:29.:09:43.

I always find it tricky playing somebody I am friendly with. It is

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indeed. You need that competitive instinct. I always remember the

:09:50.:09:57.

World Championship final in 2000 when Matthew looked certain to beat

:09:57.:10:06.

He had a good lead and could not get over the line. Now, whereas the

:10:06.:10:13.

cue ball going? -- where it is the cue ball going? No harm done, but

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when you look at the record of the two players playing each other,

:10:17.:10:27.
:10:27.:10:27.

they played each other 14 times. Mark Williams is just ahead. Now,

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that cue ball, it was careless. This is an easy safety shot. It

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should have been anyway. It is in those head-to-heads, Mark Williams

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:10:50.:10:51.

The big one was in 2000, when it looked like Matthew was going to be

:10:51.:11:01.
:11:01.:11:15.

Mark Williams will be determined to have a good tournament and a good

:11:15.:11:24.

Masters. a think he played very poorly in the December Championship.

:11:24.:11:34.
:11:34.:11:55.

He just managed to find that red and play it well. He rolled it in.

:11:55.:12:05.
:12:05.:12:26.

He was always going to finish up on That was a nice confident pot in

:12:26.:12:36.
:12:36.:13:02.

the heart of the pocket. He is OK, He has made an effort to get up for

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the blue but being hampered, he needed a trace of sight and the

:13:09.:13:19.
:13:19.:13:24.

pink does not go. He could have got He was concerned about the pot. He

:13:24.:13:34.
:13:34.:13:59.

didn't make the most of that The reds are pretty well spread. He

:13:59.:14:04.

is not guaranteed to leave it safe. He may have to play at two Russian

:14:04.:14:14.
:14:14.:14:21.

That was a good effort. I don't know what he has leapt but... Could

:14:21.:14:31.
:14:31.:14:48.

He pleaded with an element of safety but he didn't play it for a

:14:48.:14:58.
:14:58.:15:34.

colour. It shows a slight lack of It will please him that he found

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the heart of the pocket. It is always a good feeling when you can

:15:39.:15:47.

do one of those. It means you're pushing the cue straight. In any

:15:47.:15:52.

match, apart from really easy pots, if you can pot your first one, you

:15:52.:16:02.
:16:02.:16:02.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:16:02.:16:54.

He is looking to cover the left That is pretty good. Yes, all the

:16:54.:17:00.

roads on the right half of the table. I cannot see at first glance

:17:00.:17:10.
:17:10.:17:27.

back to the baulk end. He is in a That could be a possibility. He may

:17:27.:17:33.

feel the black is in the way of that line. I dunno. He is looking

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

at something else. This is fraught with danger. Well, he will be

:17:48.:17:58.
:17:58.:17:58.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:17:58.:18:59.

pleased with that outcome. A little These type of frames will suit Mark

:18:59.:19:09.
:19:09.:19:18.

Matthew Stevens likes to get in there and when the frames. -- wind

:19:18.:19:28.
:19:28.:19:47.

The reason he is in a spot of bother, he cannot get back to the

:19:47.:19:53.

baulk End, and the red on the left- hand side of the cushion is so

:19:53.:19:57.

close, you couldn't play across double back up because you would

:19:58.:20:07.

get a double kiss. So he has got a problem. He could come off the side

:20:07.:20:11.

cushion and Nestle to the red near the top cushion, the one I

:20:11.:20:21.
:20:21.:20:29.

suggested earlier from Mark There is the view he has got. There

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is nothing there to get him back to baulk. With the red on the right

:20:34.:20:44.
:20:44.:20:46.

hand side as we look tight against He tried to pot his way out of

:20:46.:20:52.

trouble but that was asking a lot. Sometimes if you don't feel there

:20:52.:21:02.
:21:02.:21:04.

is a safety, go out fighting, if The main thing is to try to get

:21:04.:21:14.
:21:14.:21:20.

Well, would you believe that? Thought about everything but the

:21:20.:21:30.
:21:30.:21:48.

He wouldn't want to watch this shot We were talking just before this

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match started, the age of the players, that is the one thing, the

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first thing to go his concentration. That is not down to nerves or

:21:59.:22:04.

anything else, he was just thinking would ball to play on, which, was

:22:04.:22:14.
:22:14.:22:16.

going to follow the red and forgot It seemed to me... The longer you

:22:16.:22:26.
:22:26.:22:33.

play, the more times you slip into I must admit I found that near the

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end. You are always looking at where you want to put the cue ball,

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but then you realise you have It is a real shock to the system as

:22:47.:22:57.
:22:57.:23:04.

well. Invariably, the pots car so So, this is a decent chance, if he

:23:05.:23:14.
:23:15.:23:31.

He had to be careful not to over screw that. Because this cloth is

:23:31.:23:41.
:23:41.:23:49.

very reactive. And there you go. A lot of reaction on a cue ball. He

:23:49.:23:59.
:23:59.:24:19.

is on nothing now. Just as safety Mark Williams will be delighted

:24:19.:24:29.
:24:29.:25:06.

That was much too thick. That is This is his third chance. Can he

:25:06.:25:16.
:25:16.:25:30.

That is three excellent opportunities. He has not made the

:25:30.:25:40.
:25:40.:25:55.

most of them. What a chance for He would do well to win the frame.

:25:55.:26:05.
:26:05.:26:05.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:26:05.:27:49.

Only one colour on its spot right Nice angle on the black to stun off

:27:49.:27:59.
:27:59.:28:08.

I am surprised he played for that red. I thought he had an excellent

:28:08.:28:17.

angle. I was just about to say after that easy readiness earlier

:28:17.:28:22.

in the frame, he was sauntering around the table no problem and

:28:22.:28:29.

then he misses the black off the spot by a long way. He needs the

:28:29.:28:35.

red on the right cushion anyway, so I don't see the point of playing

:28:35.:28:45.
:28:45.:29:02.

He has potted Allen But he is not perfect, really. -- he has spotted

:29:02.:29:11.

the red. He is possibly playing for the blue. Maybe the yellow will

:29:11.:29:21.
:29:21.:29:44.

give him position on the awkward If he doesn't play for the brown,

:29:44.:29:54.
:29:54.:30:11.

playing the colours will not be as He'd say it cannon on the ground.

:30:11.:30:21.
:30:21.:30:53.

He overscrewed it a little bit. He is one of the few players, he tells

:30:53.:31:03.

me he does not using the rest. He is one of the for -- few players

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:31:13.:32:17.

There has been tension in this Yes, Matthew Stevens has had four

:32:17.:32:27.
:32:27.:32:44.

chances. Mark Williams could take a That was a strange choice of shot

:32:44.:32:54.
:32:54.:33:09.

for me. You can see how the brown Surely, he will not miss this one.

:33:09.:33:19.
:33:19.:33:20.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:33:20.:34:11.

Now he has an angle on the blue, it A chance to get his reputation back.

:34:11.:34:21.
:34:21.:34:24.

If he has the right angle, he could He might have run too far down the

:34:24.:34:34.
:34:34.:34:45.

table. Maybe thinking he cannot Just pink need it. Matthews had

:34:45.:34:55.
:34:55.:34:55.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:34:55.:36:25.

That was too hard. If you miss the He needs to get his pinks safe. It

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:36:35.:37:29.

Just cop beside jaw. That stopped It is what we call playing into a

:37:29.:37:39.
:37:39.:37:52.

Then it went! He will be delighted. He had plenty of chances. He went

:37:52.:38:01.

over the line with the blackened takes the first frame. At which you

:38:01.:38:04.

start to proceedings. We're going to break away from plate to show

:38:04.:38:11.

what they drop look like at the start of play today. -- draw.

:38:11.:38:17.

Neil Robertson is already into their last eight. He will play Mark

:38:17.:38:22.

Allen. Shaun Murphy is also through to the

:38:22.:38:29.

quarters where he will face John Higgins. Mark Selby is up against

:38:29.:38:35.

Stuart Bingham. And it is Mark Williams against Matthew Stevens.

:38:35.:38:40.

And Graeme Dott has booked his place where he will plague world No.

:38:40.:38:47.

Two Judd Trump. -- he will play. If you have any questions for the

:38:47.:38:57.
:38:57.:39:02.

boys in the studio, get in touch We are going to go back Cubbon --

:39:02.:39:12.
:39:12.:39:23.

After an edgy first frame, if you win it, it certainly can settle you

:39:23.:39:33.
:39:33.:39:33.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:39:33.:41:22.

down. Mark Williams missed a few I do not know if he will be tempted

:41:22.:41:32.
:41:32.:42:02.

Looking at the stubble. I think it has too much angle on it. -- this

:42:02.:42:12.
:42:12.:42:12.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:42:12.:43:25.

Referee mackerel -- referee That was an excellent shot. Find

:43:25.:43:35.
:43:35.:43:59.

contact. Nothing wrong with his He Glee to the top right-eyed a

:43:59.:44:09.
:44:09.:44:09.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:44:09.:44:50.

There is a wreck that has gone over the corner. He might be able to pot

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:45:00.:46:24.

He has played it gently enough to This is worrying. He played poorly

:46:24.:46:34.
:46:34.:46:39.

in the UK Championship. He does not He did not hit back convincingly at

:46:39.:46:49.
:46:49.:46:55.

He has missed a lot of pots that have not been difficult. That is

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:47:05.:47:46.

He is giving these chances to Matthew will be feeding on this.

:47:46.:47:56.
:47:56.:47:56.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:47:56.:48:43.

Particularly when you do not have You can forgive him for that, but

:48:43.:48:53.
:48:53.:49:00.

not for that one. And this one. This one, that is one then cost to

:49:00.:49:10.
:49:10.:49:42.

You watch some matches, many chances to win it. No two frames of

:49:42.:49:50.

Sue Carr are alike. Mark Williams is concerned at the moment. -- also

:49:50.:50:00.
:50:00.:50:03.

You are more concerned about the way you hit it. If you are not

:50:03.:50:13.
:50:13.:50:18.

hitting the ball correctly, that That will not win a match at this

:50:18.:50:28.
:50:28.:50:35.

Such a talent. You know him better than me, Steven, I have noticed, he

:50:35.:50:42.

has not been talking a good game. He has been talking himself down

:50:42.:50:52.
:50:52.:50:55.

and regards to what you will do in He seems to be resigned to playing

:50:55.:51:05.
:51:05.:51:05.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:51:05.:52:33.

He is striking Matthew down is well, He would love to win a frame in one

:52:33.:52:43.
:52:43.:53:11.

That was too much. He didn't get He has tried to develop the roads.

:53:11.:53:18.

I don't think he has. -- the reds. He is having a look but I think he

:53:18.:53:28.
:53:28.:54:03.

He will be very disappointed with This blue puts and 28 points in the

:54:03.:54:13.
:54:13.:54:44.

Two reds and two Blacks would be That was tricky. Years, it was the

:54:44.:54:48.

shot from the black to good position on the red. He didn't get

:54:48.:54:56.

into it. As you say, he leapt more angled than he wanted. -- he left

:54:56.:55:06.
:55:06.:55:14.

He will be disappointed with that. He needed more ankle. It looks as

:55:14.:55:24.
:55:24.:55:42.

Does he have any kind of angle? It That is too much. Now, will he be

:55:42.:55:52.
:55:52.:56:15.

tempted by the red down the That is a good pot. He made certain

:56:15.:56:19.

of the red rather than going all- out for good position on the black.

:56:19.:56:29.

It is a case of potting the black and then think about playing a

:56:29.:56:39.
:56:39.:57:06.

So, 20 points behind. A snooker Important to get the white touching

:57:06.:57:16.
:57:16.:57:16.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:57:16.:57:57.

I was just thinking, the yellow was not safe. Now he is having it

:57:57.:58:07.
:58:07.:58:37.

It is important he gets this in the There is no way he can win this

:58:37.:58:42.

frame without the pink. That is going to be the stumbling block if

:58:42.:58:52.
:58:52.:59:07.

That it's Matthew 11 points behind. He needs and including the pink to

:59:07.:59:17.
:59:17.:59:17.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:59:17.:00:09.

This looks good to me. This looks inch-perfect. The only reason I

:00:09.:00:15.

won't be, he is tight against the cushion. Canny pot the pink in the

:00:15.:00:25.
:00:25.:00:42.

middle and avoid the end off to the You can't really wind the angle

:00:42.:00:52.
:00:52.:01:07.

Keep your eye on the cue ball. Mark Williams will be very disappointed.

:01:07.:01:11.

Matthew Stevens needed chances, and they are coming thick and fast and

:01:11.:01:16.

he is leading 2-0. My view is taking advantage of the

:01:16.:01:23.

chances. -- Mathieu. What is going on? You've got to get your engine

:01:23.:01:26.

started and that is half the problem but it is a general trend

:01:26.:01:29.

that he is missing balls he didn't used to before. That is worrying

:01:29.:01:35.

for any player. We have seen Mark Williams not get off to great start

:01:35.:01:40.

but he doesn't let that affect him. He is a very clever player but it

:01:40.:01:48.

is not always the case. He has made breaks of 41 and 52 but he missed

:01:48.:01:53.

some balls. You can play matches where you miss some balls but he

:01:53.:01:58.

has missed so many. He has over cut slightly, and then he missed the

:01:58.:02:03.

one going straight into the pocket. Then maybe back off the spot. Now

:02:03.:02:08.

this one is much more difficult, but he has looked out of sorts.

:02:08.:02:13.

That is the case of the biter being bit. If I was judging it as a

:02:14.:02:17.

player, what is happening on Ms relatively shops is that he is

:02:17.:02:25.

getting some unwanted side on. When he is playing a shot with no side,

:02:25.:02:30.

he is accidentally getting side. If he was making these mistakes five

:02:30.:02:35.

years ago, we wouldn't call it into question, but he is making it now

:02:35.:02:38.

as a 37-year-old with people talking about the future of his

:02:38.:02:43.

career. Is there additional pressure on him because of that?

:02:43.:02:46.

John mentioned it in commentary, the first thing that goes his

:02:46.:02:52.

concentration. Balls you have to pay attention to, when you played

:02:52.:02:58.

that 10 years ago, they work in without you having to look at them.

:02:58.:03:03.

It is lack of confidence. Matthew is taking advantage. Not in

:03:03.:03:09.

total style, but he has done OK. He has potted the pressure balls. He

:03:09.:03:14.

can do no more than that and if you'd asked him, would you fancy

:03:14.:03:19.

being 2-0 up against Mark Williams at the start, he couldn't have

:03:19.:03:23.

guaranteed that. It is a good springboard for Matthew even though

:03:23.:03:33.
:03:33.:03:36.

Steve is right. Matthew Stevens hasn't perform to his best. In all

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

He looked at the possibility of the plant, but he needed the cue ball

:03:53.:04:03.
:04:03.:04:42.

There is a nice little flick. Having said that, he has run past

:04:42.:04:46.

the green, so he can pot this red but where does the colour come

:04:46.:04:56.
:04:56.:05:22.

There is no timing in his cue If you watch his back hand, it

:05:22.:05:32.
:05:32.:05:38.

comes out slightly. That tells me It is pure and simple lack of

:05:38.:05:48.
:05:48.:06:01.

confidence. It is one of them when You should be concentrating but you

:06:01.:06:11.
:06:11.:06:24.

should also be relaxed. Mark Well, these balls are everywhere.

:06:24.:06:34.
:06:34.:06:45.

Whoever gets the first red in could Mark Williams did not have a good

:06:45.:06:55.
:06:55.:06:59.

It doesn't make this red easy by any means. Well, it was in the

:06:59.:07:03.

heart of the pocket. So it is Matthew Stevens who gets the first

:07:03.:07:10.

chance, and it is a good one. These pots are a lot easier when you're

:07:10.:07:20.
:07:20.:07:37.

He thinks all he needs to do is keep putting because there is bound

:07:37.:07:47.
:07:47.:08:03.

It is easy to get tempted into playing for areas when the reds are

:08:03.:08:08.

spread like this, and then you can get into trouble. It is important

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

He would like that one back. He may be OK. He is looking to see whether

:08:36.:08:46.
:08:46.:08:54.

that red pots. He is having another He has got the red to the left

:08:54.:09:00.

middle. He may be OK if the ping goes to the right middle. But he

:09:00.:09:05.

would like to have the shot again. He played it thinking, I am bound

:09:05.:09:10.

to be on a red and unless you play for a position or shot, this is

:09:10.:09:20.
:09:20.:09:26.

He thinks this pink will pot but it is tight. It is one of those if you

:09:26.:09:31.

are straight behind it, I wouldn't expect him to miss it but it is a

:09:31.:09:41.
:09:41.:10:06.

He's OK. I am not certain... He is This red may go to the far left

:10:06.:10:16.
:10:16.:10:22.

He played it nicely. Is he on the pink? I assume he has because he is

:10:22.:10:27.

having a look at where the next red will come from. You can see he is

:10:27.:10:37.
:10:37.:10:37.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:10:37.:11:19.

Well, he is making hard work of this. To be fair, by the sound of

:11:19.:11:29.
:11:29.:11:30.

it, it was a heavy contact. I think he can only play for the pink. That

:11:30.:11:40.
:11:40.:12:02.

wasn't his intended next target. That was a tough one. Anything half

:12:02.:12:06.

difficult from either player, you are not fully convinced they will

:12:06.:12:11.

get it. What a great chance Matthew Stevens let go there. A lifeline

:12:12.:12:21.
:12:22.:12:49.

It is an hour's play so they should have warmed up. There are still

:12:49.:12:57.

scrappy. That only just went in. be fair to him, that wasn't a bad

:12:57.:13:03.

shot. That was another heavy contact. They seemed to be getting

:13:03.:13:13.
:13:13.:13:36.

In the context of the match, Mark Not only to avoid 3-0 down, but to

:13:36.:13:46.
:13:46.:13:52.

Well... There you go. Talk about concentration. There was another

:13:52.:13:57.

example. Just got down, he was walking around it, he didn't even

:13:57.:14:07.
:14:07.:14:13.

look at the pot. He assumed it was He has had a few shots run-off. I

:14:14.:14:20.

don't know what happened the. It didn't ever look in. It was always

:14:20.:14:30.
:14:30.:14:32.

It gets from bad to worse for Mark. Blessed with such a marvellous

:14:32.:14:36.

temperament, he is going to be tested to the fore this afternoon,

:14:36.:14:42.

you feel. With some of the pots he is missing, some players' heads

:14:42.:14:46.

would be down now, they'd be bright red. The shoulders would be

:14:46.:14:54.

slumping. You can never count him out. He will have to up his game

:14:54.:15:04.
:15:04.:15:17.

But success 72%, well below what is required. Long pot success is only

:15:17.:15:27.
:15:27.:15:48.

Know when near good enough. -- He played that very well. He is one

:15:48.:15:54.

of the few players in the world that can play that. Look at the

:15:54.:16:04.
:16:04.:16:10.

distance from the Bridgend to the The red sun nicely available to win

:16:10.:16:20.
:16:20.:16:38.

Decided to play for the red closest to the top cushion. It wouldn't be

:16:38.:16:48.
:16:48.:17:07.

my choice but he is looking for two This red will now put him 38 points

:17:07.:17:17.
:17:17.:17:24.

So, still nothing sparkling from Matthew Stevens, but as we said at

:17:24.:17:31.

the start of the frame, he doesn't have to produce anything sparkling.

:17:31.:17:36.

His opponent's not with it yet and the chances just keep coming and

:17:36.:17:46.
:17:46.:17:47.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:17:47.:18:50.

His opponent will not be coming This is Matthew's highest break of

:18:50.:18:57.

the match. Not bothered about the black. So, Mark Williams seems to

:18:57.:19:03.

be lacking in confidence, lacking in concentration, and he is taking

:19:03.:19:13.
:19:13.:19:16.

Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry, I grew up watching them and they were

:19:16.:19:24.

a good inspiration for me. Especially Jimmy White. I'm not as

:19:24.:19:32.

disappointed as he is losing in the world finals, but you can see how

:19:32.:19:36.

frustrated he must be. The way he handled himself when he lost all of

:19:36.:19:44.

them finals was fantastic. Stephen Hendry, K instinct. When he sees a

:19:44.:19:54.

chance, he just goes for it. He is a winner. I've watched him in the

:19:54.:19:59.

90s. He won all of those tournaments. Then to actually play

:19:59.:20:08.

him, you know, it gets frustrating after a while. Heat is just an

:20:08.:20:18.
:20:18.:20:20.

legend. -- he is just a legend. Well, we've got one of Matthew's

:20:20.:20:29.

heroes in the box. Did you have a good record against him, Stephen?

:20:29.:20:35.

had a few battles with Matthew in the Championship. Towards the end,

:20:35.:20:45.
:20:45.:21:13.

Mark trying to pot that long red The way Mark is playing so far, you

:21:13.:21:21.

don't fancy him winning from 3-0 down, and from 40 down -- 4-0 down,

:21:21.:21:27.

it would be a lost cause. There will be a midsession interval after

:21:27.:21:33.

this frame, so if he went down, two frames behind, he could get into

:21:33.:21:43.
:21:43.:21:51.

the practice room and start potting I agree with you, Stephen, if he

:21:51.:21:56.

loses this frame, it will be very difficult to get back. You can

:21:56.:22:01.

always see a way back if he has not done much wrong, but he has done a

:22:01.:22:11.
:22:11.:22:45.

If he doesn't win this frame, he So, first chance falls to Matthew.

:22:45.:22:55.
:22:55.:23:04.

Nice angle on the blue. There is a So he will be playing this one to

:23:04.:23:09.

the left middle. Even this early on, he will be looking for an angle on

:23:09.:23:19.
:23:19.:23:27.

It is best to try to get into the Paquin you've got a few loose reds.

:23:27.:23:32.

To have that little bit of insurance if the split doesn't work

:23:32.:23:42.
:23:42.:23:45.

He couldn't have struck that much better, he was lucky the way the

:23:45.:23:49.

cue ball has gone straight back in a straight line across the table.

:23:49.:23:59.
:23:59.:24:25.

It is amazing!. The red it stuck to Always difficult. The more pace,

:24:25.:24:33.

the harder they are. As I say, he was unlucky not to be on an easier

:24:33.:24:43.
:24:43.:24:43.

red than that. And this red is It is tricky when you're playing

:24:43.:24:53.
:24:53.:25:05.

Having to roll it in deadweight, not the type of opening shot Mark

:25:05.:25:09.

needs at the moment. He needs something easier than that at the

:25:09.:25:19.
:25:19.:25:30.

That was a poor shot. Last thing he wanted to do was to kiss the yellow.

:25:30.:25:35.

He can just about cut this green in, but it should have been easier than

:25:35.:25:45.
:25:45.:26:14.

He used the red to cut the pace of the cue ball. If he had potted the

:26:14.:26:18.

green, there would have been a different cannon and he would have

:26:18.:26:24.

been on the red. Heat over cut the green, and the cue ball took a

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:26:34.:27:14.

That was a good recovery. He has got to make the most of this, you

:27:14.:27:24.
:27:24.:27:42.

He will play some sort of cannon, I He is more comfortable stunning

:27:42.:27:52.
:27:52.:28:19.

balls in. So you have to play a This didn't go into the middle of

:28:19.:28:25.

the pocket which is why he is not perfect on the pink or the blue. He

:28:25.:28:35.
:28:35.:28:53.

As soon as a loose red is Has he gone far enough? These two

:28:53.:29:03.
:29:03.:29:40.

I think he played for the one just off the bunch. He has not confident

:29:40.:29:50.
:29:50.:29:59.

Oh! Gravity took over in the end. How did that drop? This black will

:29:59.:30:09.
:30:09.:30:09.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:30:09.:31:38.

Mr cannon. So this frame not over Never easy to judge these. It will

:31:38.:31:48.
:31:48.:32:16.

take a good shot to get get -- good At good recovery. He is not too bad

:32:16.:32:25.

on the green. 35 points behind. There is a possible 43 remaining,

:32:25.:32:30.

so he has points to play with. He does not need high value colours of

:32:30.:32:40.
:32:40.:32:52.

It is all going to be down to that hoc work RAST -- awkward last red.

:32:52.:33:02.
:33:02.:33:16.

The brown is close to the baulk cushion. It is all down to potting

:33:16.:33:26.
:33:26.:33:52.

Nicely played. Let himself just enough angle. To be able to hold

:33:52.:33:59.

for the yellow. The key shot is going TB the position from green to

:33:59.:34:09.
:34:09.:34:35.

He doesn't want to be too straight on the screen. He needs a slight

:34:35.:34:44.

angle so you can stun I grope towards the brown. -- stun towards

:34:44.:34:54.
:34:54.:35:21.

The cue ball is being cleaned. This is an important shot. He is playing

:35:21.:35:31.
:35:31.:35:39.

What a reprieve for Mark Williams. Considering he is 3 to nil in front,

:35:39.:35:49.
:35:49.:36:00.

that was very edgy. The way he He has got his first frame on the

:36:00.:36:10.
:36:10.:36:11.

scoreboard. It was a gift from At least Mark Williams can go into

:36:11.:36:16.

the lead in this session with a positive thought, not many. That

:36:16.:36:26.
:36:26.:36:34.

was gifted to him and he knows that. Have we seen a big moment? We could

:36:34.:36:39.

have done. Matthew was playing their knowing that Mark was

:36:39.:36:47.

struggling. The way he has played the brown there, look as if he had

:36:47.:36:53.

got there -- nervous. I could not see him missing this. There you go,

:36:53.:36:59.

he has done it. What a reprieve for our Mark Williams. He had put some

:36:59.:37:03.

side spin on as well to get away from the cushion. There was tension

:37:03.:37:11.

in that shot. He knew the significance of that if he had got

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

a bigger lead. You cannot keep them down and all that time. There was

:37:22.:37:27.

significance and that moment. first four frames have had strange

:37:27.:37:33.

Mrs. I looked at this match before and thought it was difficult to

:37:33.:37:38.

pick a winner. Mark is not playing as good as the use do. I thought it

:37:38.:37:46.

was a difficult match, it is about how they play today. Today it has

:37:46.:37:51.

been, a game of bizarre Mrs. Bad positional play and not what you

:37:51.:37:57.

would expect. -- misses. standard of play is not what we had

:37:57.:38:06.

expected. What do they do now in the short break? They can go on the

:38:06.:38:10.

practice table. It is more for comfort than anything else. If you

:38:10.:38:15.

have a fault in your technique, you are unlikely to cure that in 15

:38:15.:38:20.

minutes. The positions these two players come to, Matthew has not

:38:20.:38:26.

been in the limelight for long. Markets struggling to try and

:38:26.:38:33.

recapture form. Wondering what people are saying, it is not the

:38:33.:38:37.

type of thing Mark will normally do. Trying to analyse yourself as you

:38:37.:38:41.

play is a dangerous thing to do instead of just letting yourself

:38:41.:38:47.

play. Matthew is just playing. we look at this course, he has made

:38:47.:38:53.

some 50 breaks. There are some inexplicable ones in the middle of

:38:53.:39:00.

it. It is a strange performance so far. A standard may improve. This

:39:00.:39:05.

is the penultimate match. One more to go this afternoon -- evening.

:39:05.:39:12.

That is between Mark Selby up against Stuart Bingham. Mark Selby

:39:12.:39:17.

features in today's classic match. It is the final of the Masters in

:39:17.:39:27.
:39:27.:39:41.

2010. Mark Selby against Ronnie Ronnie had appeared N eight Masters

:39:41.:39:46.

finals, winning format of them. This was a rematch of the previous

:39:46.:39:56.
:39:56.:40:02.

year's final in which Ronnie had won. Mark Selby, he won a once and

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:40:12.:41:02.

This is that, he will not a holding Here we go again with Ronnie

:41:02.:41:12.
:41:12.:41:20.

This would be a good shot left- handed. Just to get on the last red.

:41:20.:41:30.
:41:30.:41:35.

Mark Selby now knows this is a good chance. You have to take your

:41:35.:41:45.
:41:45.:42:08.

We have had 122. 121. This is 74 There are a lot of players to have

:42:08.:42:18.
:42:18.:42:48.

If we are in for an absolute belter My goodness me, what a shot that

:42:48.:42:57.

was. Absolutely fantastic. Astonishing. This has been another

:42:57.:43:05.

classic break from Ronnie O'Sullivan. Both players making it

:43:05.:43:15.
:43:15.:43:48.

look very simple. Just doesn't get He was always going to leave

:43:48.:43:57.

himself a pot. What a sparkling encounter. 14 breaks over 50. Still

:43:57.:44:02.

mark found themselves behind. He had to dig deep to get something

:44:02.:44:12.
:44:12.:44:24.

out of this. Dig deep, he did. Well played. He made that look very

:44:24.:44:34.

simple. The quality in this final has been breathtaking. Well done,

:44:34.:44:44.
:44:44.:44:54.

Just a couple of pots away from winning this frame. And he missed a

:44:54.:45:01.

sitter. Has he got away with it? This, their first chance he has had

:45:01.:45:11.
:45:11.:45:33.

been three frames. Surely he cannot It is they're. -- there. That was

:45:33.:45:38.

asking a little too much. I cannot believe he has taken that on. We

:45:38.:45:48.

have a last frame shoot-out. The easiest black in the world to level

:45:48.:45:58.
:45:58.:46:14.

at 9-9. Mark Selby has performed a What do you think, more pressure

:46:14.:46:24.
:46:24.:46:30.

out in the arena year than saying? He needs some help. He has some Alp.

:46:30.:46:39.

What a comeback this has been. She must be delighted with Hearn.

:46:39.:46:49.
:46:49.:46:52.

Ronnie has finished his water. What does that tell us? That tension, he

:46:52.:47:02.
:47:02.:47:09.

It is all day, he was never going to leave anything. -- all right. He

:47:09.:47:18.

may attempt the double to clinch Her it is right in the middle of

:47:18.:47:28.
:47:28.:47:34.

Ronnie comes forward and shakes and hand of Mark Selby. It has been a

:47:34.:47:39.

remarkable final. He has been a remarkable comeback from the Jester

:47:39.:47:49.

from Leicester. Well done to both Players. Ronnie were shell-shocked

:47:49.:47:59.
:47:59.:48:04.

by this defeat. He made a swift Mark had every right to savour this

:48:04.:48:14.
:48:14.:48:19.

fabulous victory. Two Masters What a final that was, Mark Selby

:48:19.:48:25.

winning it for the second time in 2010. Can you win it for the third

:48:25.:48:30.

time this year? Someone who has won it three times his Cliff Thorburn

:48:30.:48:35.

from Canada. Three-times Masters champion and today he is

:48:35.:48:40.

celebrating his 65th birthday. We send them our very best wishes.

:48:40.:48:47.

Back to Mark Williams against Matthew Stevens. Mark Williams,

:48:47.:48:52.

some people are suggesting is that a crossroads of his career. He is

:48:52.:49:02.
:49:02.:49:18.

I am talking to my old friend, Mark Williams. Last time I saw you,

:49:18.:49:23.

you're not playing very well, you were going to retire. A cannot

:49:23.:49:30.

retire yet. You must have been hurting? Honestly, know. You said

:49:30.:49:33.

you were going to retire. because you were in there, that is

:49:33.:49:40.

the only reason I said it. I daren't say it like that. It is a

:49:40.:49:50.
:49:50.:49:51.

long way back. It is disappointing losing in the first round. What did

:49:51.:49:58.

you get up to? We went to the caravan. We spend a lot of time

:49:58.:50:08.
:50:08.:50:10.

down there now. We stayed over New Year and Christmas. You should come

:50:10.:50:20.
:50:20.:50:21.

down, you would enjoy it. How is the game? The game is good at the

:50:21.:50:29.

minute. Playing quite well in practice. Looking forward to it.

:50:29.:50:37.

used to play, we used to play lots of matches. You're playing Matthew

:50:37.:50:43.

Stevens. A Matthew is a proper friend. It is awkward playing him

:50:43.:50:53.
:50:53.:50:55.

back you get on with it. What is your best memory of the Masters?

:50:55.:51:00.

You have admitted it, I said you touch the black for 15 years. You

:51:00.:51:04.

admitted that on the television the other day. I was quite proud of you

:51:04.:51:14.
:51:14.:51:16.

coming out. You were about five stone in weight later. This is one

:51:16.:51:22.

of the major tournaments, you haven't won any of them since 2003.

:51:22.:51:29.

When was the last time you won any of them? I am retired. Have you

:51:29.:51:35.

still got it in you? I don't know, you tell me. Her in fact is you

:51:35.:51:43.

always look very good. How many hours a day have you been fitting

:51:43.:51:49.

into his set at right? Mind your own business. I think I have a

:51:49.:51:54.

couple of tournaments left in May. Do you think the standards have

:51:54.:51:58.

gone up or do you think your standard as gone down? My standard

:51:58.:52:08.

has gone down. The standard is very high. It is not anything to worry

:52:08.:52:14.

about, it is taking it from the practice table to the match table.

:52:14.:52:19.

I am not going to say it is going to happen tomorrow. All these

:52:19.:52:29.
:52:29.:52:31.

tournaments, do you enjoy them? Explain, why not? I think we should

:52:31.:52:41.
:52:41.:52:43.

all be around one -- in round one. You cannot play any Sheffield in

:52:43.:52:53.
:52:53.:52:56.

one match. It is not there. You have to have the same in every

:52:56.:53:04.

venue. The Alexander Palace, delight this venue? Nothing will

:53:04.:53:10.

ever beat the conference centre. That was an unbelievable place. The

:53:10.:53:18.

crowds were good. It is really good. It is a One table venue. You're

:53:18.:53:23.

playing the top 16 players. It is a good one to win. It is one of the

:53:23.:53:33.

few with the one-table set-up. There is no ranking point. Does

:53:33.:53:40.

that take the pressure off? No, not really. It does not matter where

:53:40.:53:44.

you end up, you start in the same round. I know nothing about the

:53:44.:53:54.
:53:54.:53:55.

rankings. I am just asking questions, badly. It is a big prize

:53:55.:54:00.

this week. He top prizes are really good. But it is difficult to win.

:54:00.:54:06.

The older you get, the harder it gets to win. What are your aims for

:54:06.:54:16.

the rest of the season? No, I have never had any targets. You do care.

:54:16.:54:25.

Is it an act? It is an act. want to when as much as anybody.

:54:25.:54:31.

do not have a target to win as many tournaments. I go out and play and

:54:31.:54:36.

a fine win, good. It makes no difference to me. Her you must be

:54:36.:54:41.

dying to win this tournament. You are as good as anybody here.

:54:41.:54:48.

that a compliment? It must be the first one you have ever given me.

:54:48.:54:54.

The prize-money is massive, I definitely know there is still a

:54:54.:54:59.

tournament or two let in May, it is about finding my practice farm and

:54:59.:55:08.

bringing it to their match table. - - left in me. Tell us you are going

:55:08.:55:14.

to win it. I am going to win it, you know that. There is a version

:55:14.:55:19.

of that which can only be shown after nine o'clock. A lot of it had

:55:19.:55:25.

to be edited out for this show. Before we talk about Mark Williams,

:55:25.:55:31.

heard him talk about the one to eight. What do you think about the

:55:31.:55:36.

changes to next season? If he had gone back to the history and that,

:55:37.:55:41.

lower-ranked players were asking for them to go back in. The top

:55:41.:55:48.

players would not have any of it. That was problems of politically in

:55:48.:55:58.
:55:58.:55:59.

the games. Things have changed now. I would have hated it. I would not

:56:00.:56:04.

change the world are the UK. From a ticket point of view and what

:56:04.:56:08.

people want to watch, it is a nightmare tippets stardom and front

:56:08.:56:16.

of the UK. People need to book a ticket to watch a match. We will

:56:16.:56:22.

have to see for the rest of it. You do not get the top 16 position, you

:56:22.:56:32.
:56:32.:56:33.

earn net. That is my view. On it. Let's get back to Mark Williams and

:56:33.:56:35.

Matthew Stevens. Mark Williams appears to be someone who rushes

:56:35.:56:40.

things off on the surface. You guys know them well. Deep down there is

:56:40.:56:46.

a burning desire to prove he has got it. He is a competitive animal

:56:46.:56:52.

on the table. He does not fester over it. That is the difference

:56:52.:56:57.

between some players. He was squirming in his chair earlier.

:56:57.:57:01.

Mark Williams is not the type of person to take things wrong with

:57:01.:57:07.

them. One of his virtues is his temperament and that is fantastic.

:57:07.:57:16.

I would have paid a lot of money for that myself. He has a great

:57:16.:57:26.
:57:26.:57:29.

opportunity here. Stevens is Mark Williams gets the fifth frame

:57:30.:57:39.
:57:40.:57:41.

underway. No more intervals. First I do not know if he went on the

:57:41.:57:51.
:57:51.:57:52.

practice table or not. He would have been tempted to do so. Mark

:57:52.:57:58.

Williams spent the entire interval at the practice table. Trying to

:57:58.:58:08.
:58:08.:58:17.

get his timing back. If nothing It is a good sign. He is trying to

:58:17.:58:27.
:58:27.:58:33.

Winning that last frame which she looked certain to lose would have

:58:33.:58:39.

given him I Group's thoughts. He has not had many. -- a good thought.

:58:39.:58:43.

It is hard to have positive thoughts when you are missing the

:58:43.:58:47.

kind of balls he has been missing. He is blessed with a tremendous

:58:47.:58:57.
:58:57.:58:57.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:58:57.:59:53.

This is the view from the baulk end It might not be too bad. He can

:59:53.:00:03.
:00:03.:00:33.

clearly get through for the right He didn't pot up the red because

:00:33.:00:38.

there was no value in it. He is looking for a good length with the

:00:38.:00:48.
:00:48.:00:48.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:00:48.:01:51.

He caught that much too thick. That hasn't reached the baulk line,

:01:51.:01:58.

never mind the baulk cushion. Matthew can knock this red into the

:01:58.:02:08.
:02:08.:02:19.

That was the one important thing he had to do and he has missed it. Has

:02:19.:02:29.
:02:29.:02:55.

It wasn't that difficult, it was a That red will not pass the back. It

:02:55.:03:05.
:03:05.:03:27.

was the only red that looked like Were the black is situated, it is

:03:27.:03:37.
:03:37.:03:42.

difficult to play the two reds It was going to have to beat her

:03:42.:03:52.

thin contact. -- it was going to have to beat a thin contact. And it

:03:52.:04:00.

has worked out absolutely perfect. He may have snookered mark on all

:04:00.:04:10.
:04:10.:04:12.

If he can get to the red closes to the centre pocket, he can roll-on

:04:12.:04:22.
:04:22.:04:32.

Perfection. Of course, Matthew still has the advantage in this

:04:32.:04:38.

safety exchange. The reds are nicely spread. The black is open as

:04:38.:04:48.
:04:48.:05:11.

is the pink. Can he come off this Mark feels more confident playing

:05:11.:05:18.

safe off this red. That was half an attempt at a pot. The main concern

:05:18.:05:28.
:05:28.:05:32.

was to get the cue-ball back to the Now this read in the corner, a lot

:05:32.:05:36.

will depend on the potting angle. It could not be much straighter,

:05:36.:05:46.
:05:46.:05:59.

There you see the distance. It is Well, that was a tremendous pot.

:05:59.:06:05.

The type of pot that we usually expect Matthew Stevens to knock it

:06:05.:06:14.

in but he is not that many in this match so far. But that was a

:06:14.:06:24.
:06:24.:06:48.

The black looks out of commission to both corner pockets but the pink

:06:48.:06:58.
:06:58.:07:12.

is open and the boot is open. -- of Straight to would have been better

:07:12.:07:22.
:07:22.:07:30.

but he is OK. He can stun across He didn't want to risk playing for

:07:30.:07:40.
:07:40.:08:09.

That was a very nice confident pot. He thought if he had found the gap,

:08:09.:08:19.
:08:19.:08:23.

he would get a choice of reds to Maybe losing that last frame before

:08:23.:08:26.

the midsession interval has made him concentrate a little bit more.

:08:27.:08:34.

He has been getting frames given to him, but he hasn't played his best.

:08:34.:08:44.
:08:44.:08:51.

He was kicking himself he didn't -- We've been soaking -- focusing on

:08:51.:09:01.
:09:01.:09:10.

Mark Williams misses but Stevens Mark Williams has been making

:09:10.:09:16.

costly mistakes. Now, he is fortunate because he didn't want to

:09:16.:09:22.

play the cannon. No way. He thought he was going to miss the reds,

:09:22.:09:32.
:09:32.:09:38.

having kissed them, he is lucky to People say, how do you line up the

:09:38.:09:43.

pots? If you watch Matthew Stevens, he looks at the point. He would

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

like to hit the pink. He didn't have to do much, just pot the pink

:09:54.:10:04.
:10:04.:10:38.

Sometimes you are more focused going into the final stages in the

:10:38.:10:45.

match. 3-0 up, the Winning Line was close. He knows Williams is not

:10:45.:10:50.

playing well, so keep the pressure on. He is trying to pick out the

:10:50.:11:00.
:11:00.:11:06.

It just about crept in and that could be the frame winner. He's got

:11:06.:11:11.

a nice angle on the blue. Any more pace, I don't think that would have

:11:11.:11:21.
:11:21.:11:45.

He doesn't want to risk those two reds near the cushion. He doesn't

:11:45.:11:54.

really need them. But this is probably the key shot coming up. He

:11:54.:12:02.

has got a nice angle on the blue. It is a nice little cannon on the

:12:02.:12:12.
:12:12.:12:29.

A red and the mean snooker's required stage. This is the highest

:12:29.:12:39.
:12:39.:12:39.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:12:39.:13:22.

He would have liked to have had it easier than this. It is not there...

:13:22.:13:30.

So, a 67 point lead with 67 remaining. It is a very good leader.

:13:30.:13:36.

Of course, any red that Mark Williams Potts, he's got to get on

:13:36.:13:46.
:13:46.:14:18.

the back otherwise it is snooker Matthew's intention, he has got the

:14:18.:14:21.

insurance of those two reds on the side cushion which Mark Williams

:14:21.:14:31.
:14:31.:15:07.

It might be worth taking this red I don't blame him for taking thud

:15:07.:15:13.

on. Half a chance now for Mark to start to make inroads, if he can

:15:13.:15:23.
:15:23.:15:59.

Knocked three times, but he knew Good pot. Now, he must have the

:15:59.:16:09.
:16:09.:16:10.

slightest angle to go for those two Every red must be followed with a

:16:11.:16:20.
:16:21.:16:27.

He played a little bit quickly for me. I think this red is on. If

:16:27.:16:31.

Matthew Rowles this in, he will go 52 points in front with 43

:16:31.:16:41.
:16:41.:17:01.

That confirms Mike -- Mark Williams will not get back to the table.

:17:01.:17:06.

Matthew Stevens did not when there frame in one visit, but he did make

:17:06.:17:12.

his highest break of 67. He has come out after the interval,

:17:12.:17:19.

business as usual, Mark Williams - a lot to think about. He trials, 4-

:17:19.:17:29.
:17:29.:17:32.

He is a phenomenally talented lad. A great player. He has won the UK

:17:32.:17:37.

and the Masters. Very, very tough to beat. He has got an arrogant air

:17:37.:17:41.

about him which gives him a lot of self-belief against anybody. He

:17:41.:17:51.
:17:51.:17:56.

He should have won the Championship before because he had the chances

:17:56.:18:03.

to do it. There is still time because he is another one flutters

:18:03.:18:13.
:18:13.:18:14.

back to form. He is a man that Matthew Stevens has always had the

:18:14.:18:19.

potential. He's probably wasted it a little bit but he has achieved

:18:19.:18:22.

some good things in the game and he goes out there and looks relaxed

:18:22.:18:28.

all the time. People enjoy watching him, the way he goes about his

:18:28.:18:33.

business, he doesn't mess about, doesn't show much emotion. He plays

:18:33.:18:43.
:18:43.:18:44.

I would not write him off yet. Matthew is showing signs he is

:18:44.:18:54.
:18:54.:19:01.

So, a lot of nice thoughts about Matthew. One of the nicest lads you

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

will meet. He really is. We say he is under-achieving, but, as we know,

:19:12.:19:17.

the man next to me, Stephen Hendry, who world were caught second to

:19:18.:19:22.

none in every department of the game, but you know as well as I do,

:19:22.:19:32.
:19:32.:19:37.

it is not about putting balls in No. In every sport, not just

:19:37.:19:44.

snooker, there's more than just being talented and gifted. It is a

:19:44.:19:52.

thin line that separates the great from the greatest. All the hard

:19:52.:19:56.

work, we know we watch these players and marvel at their ability,

:19:56.:20:01.

but all the hard work that goes in to be able to produce these

:20:01.:20:05.

performances, I think Matthew will be the first to admit that he just

:20:05.:20:15.
:20:15.:20:26.

stopped doing that. He didn't fully That is a lovely pot. He's got

:20:26.:20:36.
:20:36.:21:11.

every shot on a table, plenty of Just looking to see where he can

:21:11.:21:21.
:21:21.:21:28.

leave the cue ball without having Is it hard enough? He is just about

:21:28.:21:38.
:21:38.:22:02.

Reminds me of the way Jimmy cute. Really natural flowing cue action.

:22:02.:22:12.
:22:12.:22:14.

-- cute. Gets right through the cue When they are cueing well, like

:22:14.:22:21.

Jimmy, they can get the ball moving with no effort whatsoever. He

:22:22.:22:26.

purposely left himself below on that red so he could nudge a few

:22:26.:22:36.
:22:36.:22:52.

He played that one well as well. Certainly since the interval, he is

:22:52.:22:56.

looking as though he is capable of scoring better than he did in the

:22:56.:23:06.
:23:06.:23:32.

We heard a little groan because he You can sense when your opponent is

:23:32.:23:36.

not punishing your mistakes and Matthew will be thinking he can win

:23:36.:23:46.
:23:46.:23:53.

This needs to slow up otherwise he is on nothing. Just about. He is on

:23:54.:24:03.
:24:04.:24:08.

I think that frame he lost before the midsession interval was key.

:24:08.:24:12.

Just to make him say, hang on a minute, I'm getting plenty of

:24:12.:24:22.
:24:22.:24:37.

chances but they cannot get to my In playing this, you may decide to

:24:37.:24:47.
:24:47.:24:47.

nudge it and stump into the red. -- stun in to the reds. He only got

:24:47.:24:51.

one red but he finished inch- perfect on the blue. The only

:24:52.:24:58.

downside is the pink which is separated from the reds. He is

:24:58.:25:08.
:25:08.:25:18.

He will have to play it a very precise cannon. What would you do?

:25:18.:25:23.

It becomes more important to hit the pink fall in the face because

:25:23.:25:28.

it is so far from seeing reds. He played that well. Didn't hit it

:25:28.:25:38.
:25:38.:25:45.

hard enough. But he got the right If he did played it harder, he may

:25:45.:25:49.

not have felt he got the cannon as well on the pink and these things

:25:49.:25:59.
:25:59.:26:32.

come into your head but it is end He just needed to keep it safe.

:26:32.:26:40.

Surely, this will be a touching ball. It is not. Referee would have

:26:40.:26:50.
:26:50.:26:59.

declared it. Is it this time? Problem for Matthew is that if you

:26:59.:27:04.

go up to the baulk end, you've got to cover the red that is near the

:27:04.:27:14.
:27:14.:27:40.

baulk line otherwise your opponent Now, or where is the cue ball

:27:40.:27:48.

going? Not bad. If you don't cover the red near the baulk line, you

:27:48.:27:54.

make it easy. Having said that, there is a red in the middle of the

:27:54.:28:04.
:28:04.:28:14.

But now he decided to play the pot, applause, but he could be in a spot

:28:15.:28:24.
:28:25.:28:30.

That was an easy safety shot. was Matthew, I would have played

:28:30.:28:37.

that shot that Williams played. You think of problems that are not

:28:37.:28:47.
:28:47.:28:47.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:28:47.:29:44.

Well, a terrific pot but he is only That was unlucky. He played a very

:29:44.:29:54.
:29:54.:30:14.

If he missed that red, it was going You have just got to be careful,

:30:14.:30:24.

the reds are All-in the open. It would be a fairly comfortable

:30:24.:30:34.
:30:34.:30:35.

clearance if he were left in the balls here. He is only looking for

:30:35.:30:42.

a red mac and a colour. The main priority is hard to get its safe. -

:30:42.:30:52.
:30:52.:31:16.

He has played it see per. You will not see a better safety shot this

:31:16.:31:26.
:31:26.:31:36.

Sometimes you are tempted to take on a risky red mac. Sometimes you

:31:36.:31:46.
:31:46.:31:48.

cannot take that chance. That was a good reply from Mark. He is

:31:48.:31:55.

battling on and hoping to force a mistake. This is not a

:31:55.:32:05.
:32:05.:32:43.

straightforward return to the baulk That is the problem when the reds

:32:43.:32:48.

are so close. Well, it is not bad. I thought it was going to leave a

:32:48.:32:58.
:32:58.:32:59.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:32:59.:33:50.

red to the left hand corner, but Mark Williams has a pot in the

:33:50.:33:53.

right-hand corner. He will be automatically on the pink if he

:33:53.:34:03.
:34:03.:34:09.

pots it. I feel Eddie's t shot he has to take on. -- I feel it is a

:34:09.:34:19.
:34:19.:34:44.

Has he got it in him to pinch this frame? That is not bad, he is left-

:34:44.:34:54.
:34:54.:35:04.

handed so the red is on the right From what we have seen so far you

:35:04.:35:09.

would not fancy him to win the frame, but this could turn the

:35:09.:35:17.

match around if he wants to make the most of this opportunity.

:35:17.:35:20.

Sometimes a chance like this can bring the true quality out of a top

:35:21.:35:30.
:35:31.:35:31.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:35:31.:36:24.

He just wanted a little ones. It But that was a good shot. We have

:36:24.:36:34.
:36:34.:36:58.

What a pity! There was no necessity to play the screw. I thought he

:36:58.:37:01.

could have held the cue ball where the yellow was and the green is

:37:01.:37:11.
:37:11.:37:12.

near the pocket. I agree. He did not do it smoothly. If you are

:37:13.:37:22.
:37:23.:37:33.

struggling, you are better off just I did not expect him to miss it,

:37:33.:37:43.
:37:43.:37:43.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:37:43.:38:58.

but he has missed easier shots It was a difficult shot. It just

:38:58.:39:01.

got a rattle and it gives Matthew a chance. He is looking for the

:39:01.:39:08.

yellow and green and we know he is pretty poor fish and left hander. -

:39:08.:39:18.
:39:18.:39:38.

REFEREE: Chaired the volume in your ear pieces, please. -- check the

:39:38.:39:48.
:39:48.:40:05.

He has missed that by so far he has Carmened -- cannoned the brown safe

:40:05.:40:15.
:40:15.:40:51.

That was a lot to ask. Matthew Stevens has another chance. Just as

:40:51.:41:01.
:41:01.:41:05.

We gear believe it? Would you believe it? If Mark Williams can

:41:05.:41:15.
:41:15.:41:34.

pinch this frame this match will be If Mark Williams takes this frame

:41:34.:41:44.
:41:44.:41:50.

he has been gifted the frames that APPLAUSE.

:41:50.:41:55.

Somehow, he is only to married frames behind. Matthew Stevens will

:41:55.:42:01.

not be happy. There is more mileage in this match. Matthew Stevens

:42:01.:42:11.
:42:11.:42:17.

Extraordinary. It seems like from the very first frame, what is going

:42:17.:42:22.

on? I have never seen anything more bizarre in my life. They are

:42:22.:42:26.

missing balls they would never miss. There was a moment when Williams

:42:26.:42:31.

looked like vintage and he was going to clear it. There was a

:42:31.:42:36.

moment there were he needed to just drop it in, no need to screw it,

:42:36.:42:41.

and he misses it. And then Matthew Stevens presented with an easy

:42:41.:42:46.

chance. If you were going to be critical of Matthew Stevens, you

:42:46.:42:50.

would say that perhaps the reason he has not won more in my game is

:42:50.:42:55.

because there are different types of competitiveness. One element of

:42:55.:43:00.

it is the killer instinct. Some players would never miss that shot.

:43:00.:43:08.

Others occasionally did. What causes that, a lack of focus?

:43:08.:43:16.

some ways, there is not the tension of a big clearance. There is a

:43:16.:43:22.

party the same, I should get this. You do not commit the same way as

:43:22.:43:25.

you would to other shots. You mentally he's up even though you

:43:25.:43:30.

know you should not. There are players who do not kill you off as

:43:30.:43:35.

well as others. It is interesting listening to the commentary box and

:43:35.:43:41.

both of you, with what the shots have been taken on and the amount

:43:41.:43:50.

of times we have called it wrong, it is extraordinary. Some of it is

:43:50.:43:58.

ridiculous. Mark Williams should not have missed that yellow and

:43:58.:44:03.

Stevens should not have missed the brown. How Woolwich about? In an

:44:03.:44:13.
:44:13.:44:27.

Mark Williams gets frame seven on the way. He has had two of them

:44:27.:44:35.

presented on a plate. After Stevens missed a green, it was as though, I

:44:35.:44:40.

have played a bad shot and then I have come back and my mate has left

:44:40.:44:47.

me an easy brown. You do not think positively enough. Perhaps the

:44:47.:44:57.
:44:57.:45:23.

It is so frustrating, this game. You just cannot buy a pot sometimes.

:45:24.:45:33.
:45:34.:45:47.

Matthew Stevens has had so many chances. This match could have been

:45:47.:45:53.

6-0 in his favour. Sometimes, the balls do not forgive you and they

:45:53.:46:03.
:46:03.:46:40.

Matthew is looking at the possibility of a three ball plant.

:46:40.:46:47.

This is dangerous. He has decided against it and I do not blame him.

:46:47.:46:53.

There could be a bonus nestling behind the yellow. Not quite, I

:46:53.:47:03.
:47:03.:47:14.

don't think. I think Mark can just Beautifully played. Perfect on the

:47:14.:47:24.
:47:24.:47:24.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:47:24.:49:12.

The loose red on the left-hand side of the pack does pot to the left

:49:12.:49:17.

hand corner. He is having a good look to see where he can leave the

:49:17.:49:27.
:49:27.:49:44.

He will be opening up the reds. I Well, I did not expect him to miss

:49:44.:49:50.

that. He has opened up the reds and it is a chance for Mark Williams.

:49:50.:49:57.

Whether or not he is playing well enough to take it is another batter.

:49:57.:50:07.
:50:07.:50:40.

This is what happens when you do not time the ball right. It is very

:50:40.:50:50.
:50:50.:51:28.

difficult to get position, It is bad when you have got to try

:51:28.:51:38.
:51:38.:52:17.

hard on the easy shots. You cannot He has finished up with a nice

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:52:27.:53:49.

Well, he has won the frame on his own for the first time! The

:53:49.:53:58.

previous ones have been gifted when Matthew has missed the brown. Well,

:53:58.:54:08.
:54:08.:54:19.

he ms that badly has got a 64 point There is a bit of snooker left in

:54:19.:54:29.
:54:29.:54:34.

The only hero I really had growing up was bristly. I used to love his

:54:34.:54:39.

films and karate and all that stuff. He is the only one I have ever had

:54:39.:54:48.

out of everything pictures of or my wall, I never had anything else. I

:54:48.:54:53.

had all of the ones from enter the dragon. I just like everything

:54:53.:54:57.

about him. Mainly his films and stuff like that. Even now, are you

:54:57.:55:02.

get different documentaries about what happened and how he died. It

:55:02.:55:06.

has always interested me. Fitting he is probably a lot of people's

:55:06.:55:16.
:55:16.:55:49.

It is going to get him eventually, Matthew, that he has not won the

:55:49.:55:59.

match by now. Definitely it will be in his mind how badly Mark Williams

:55:59.:56:09.
:56:09.:56:37.

has played and it is only 43. -- He has hit it too thick, that is

:56:37.:56:47.
:56:47.:56:47.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:56:47.:58:08.

where the cue ball stayed in the In the last frame when he made the

:58:08.:58:14.

break of 59, that was his highest of the match. It was high for both

:58:14.:58:24.
:58:24.:58:24.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:58:24.:59:24.

He wants to play it a cannon here and catch the left hand side of the

:59:24.:59:34.

triangle of reds. He has just called them too thin, that is why

:59:34.:59:44.

he has lost the cue ball. He wanted to be figure on the age of the pack.

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:59:54.:00:47.

He could have done without the kiss on the yellow, but now he has

:00:48.:00:52.

flicked it in such a way, the cue ball is tight on the baulk cushion.

:00:52.:01:02.
:01:02.:01:03.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:01:03.:02:02.

I can't see a path back to baulk here. A little containing safety,

:02:02.:02:06.

probably the red just above the pink and drop down to the jaws of

:02:06.:02:16.
:02:16.:02:49.

this pocket. But I am not certain He tried to bend that with right

:02:49.:02:56.

hand side. Well, that little flicked on the green has helped

:02:56.:03:02.

slightly. If this red is straight, the one on the left-hand side of

:03:03.:03:10.

the table, with the black not being available, no value in going for

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

the pot. A slight angle, but very risky. Of course, in not taking

:03:21.:03:25.

that red on, he leaves it for Matthew if he doesn't play a good

:03:25.:03:33.

safety. This looks pretty good. He has pushed another red over the

:03:33.:03:43.
:03:43.:03:44.

The way Matthew is looking... Yes, he can get through to pot it. He

:03:44.:03:48.

still has the problem of avoiding the kiss on the second red. That

:03:48.:03:58.
:03:58.:04:19.

could stop him from getting good This cue ball needs to slow down. A

:04:19.:04:29.
:04:29.:04:33.

REFEREE: Foul. A good pot. I think he might have

:04:33.:04:41.

tried to play a cannon on that A good pot from mark and it looks

:04:41.:04:51.
:04:51.:05:12.

as though he has finished nicely on Well... I'm a little bit surprised

:05:12.:05:18.

he didn't play the blue. Having said that, you would never expect

:05:18.:05:23.

him to miss the brown under normal circumstances. But these haven't

:05:23.:05:33.
:05:33.:05:33.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:05:33.:06:40.

been normal circumstances today, it Getting to pink back on its spot is

:06:40.:06:50.
:06:50.:06:57.

going to make this break a lot Mark Williams will be so frustrated.

:06:57.:07:07.
:07:07.:07:08.

He has battled to get back to 4-3. A really good chance to make it 4-4.

:07:08.:07:18.
:07:18.:07:52.

Is he's straight enough on this red to play for the pink in the middle?

:07:52.:07:59.

Yes, no problem. He can just roll this pink into the left centre and

:07:59.:08:09.
:08:09.:08:14.

have two reds available into the He is 16 points behind now. Reds

:08:14.:08:22.

are in the open, four of them. He will need the awkward red near the

:08:22.:08:32.
:08:32.:09:11.

black. He will not be able to win A chance to possibly screw the

:09:11.:09:20.

white to cannons the red and black He would have left himself on this

:09:20.:09:30.
:09:30.:09:31.

red he's going to play if he had Glancing at the scoreboard, still

:09:31.:09:35.

two points in arrears. It is only going to get more difficult from

:09:35.:09:40.

now. He has the one close to the black, which he needs, and the one

:09:40.:09:50.
:09:50.:09:53.

It looks as though he has a nice angle on the pink to run through

:09:53.:10:03.
:10:03.:10:03.

and maybe disturb the red near the But he decided to just play for the

:10:03.:10:12.

loose red. I do feel that if you keep refusing these opportunities

:10:12.:10:18.

to bring the red you need into play, When you get a better chance? --

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:10:28.:11:10.

In goes the blue. I don't think there will be any heroics with this

:11:10.:11:15.

red along the top cushion. If he does play the pot, he will just

:11:15.:11:21.

roll it in and try to get the snooker. To play it with a lot of

:11:21.:11:31.
:11:31.:11:36.

pace to get on the pink would be Who it was foolhardy? It was such a

:11:36.:11:44.

tough pot. He was only ever going to get a colour after it, he was

:11:44.:11:54.
:11:54.:11:59.

never going to get an angle to He has not got the angle on the

:11:59.:12:06.

pink to disturb the red. He will just pot the pink. And then play a

:12:06.:12:16.

good safety. A possible snooker. At a glance at the score board, four

:12:16.:12:26.
:12:26.:12:42.

points behind. Right back into He is just looking to see if he can

:12:43.:12:46.

stunned the red full in the face and leave Matthew hampered by the

:12:46.:12:56.
:12:56.:13:00.

He doesn't want to knock the red Well, he is just about hampered

:13:00.:13:06.

enough to make this red difficult, but it is a pot and he shouldn't

:13:06.:13:12.

have left one. No, Mark Williams is the last player you would expect to

:13:12.:13:19.

make an elementary error like that. A lot of margin for error to get

:13:19.:13:28.

This is one of the most difficult shot. If you can imagine, you are

:13:28.:13:32.

looking down to stroke the cue ball and then the red is not in your eye

:13:32.:13:42.
:13:42.:13:44.

There you go. I was thinking he had to get down a bit more than that

:13:44.:13:48.

and he was making it look as though he didn't have to strike down. That

:13:48.:13:54.

is why he has miscued. He has gone over the top of the white. Why was

:13:54.:13:58.

he hitting it so hard? It looked like he was playing that with a lot

:13:58.:14:07.

of pace. Why not just pot the red? To the points are all square. The

:14:07.:14:17.
:14:17.:14:26.

This was for a few from Hawk-Eye. He definitely had to lift his

:14:26.:14:31.

bridge hand higher to get to the middle of the cue ball and he

:14:32.:14:39.

didn't go that high. I think that is why he didn't... He tried to dig

:14:39.:14:49.

at the end. He just went over the top. That was a terrific top -- pot

:14:49.:14:53.

on the yellow. One good positional shot from green to brown and he

:14:53.:15:03.
:15:03.:15:09.

Not bad for a left-hander. Brown and blue needed to square the match.

:15:09.:15:19.
:15:19.:15:28.

I didn't think I would be saying But that is going to be the case.

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

Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable what has happened here. We may have

:15:38.:15:48.
:15:48.:15:51.

He trailed 3-0, looked like going 4-0 behind, Stevens missed any easy

:15:51.:15:55.

brown and then he looked like going brown and then he looked like going

:15:55.:16:00.

5-1 behind, and now, unbelievably, it is all square.

:16:00.:16:05.

Car STUDIO:. Unbelievably we have a 4-4 stew --

:16:05.:16:10.

scoreline, but we've seen more mistakes. Arthur C Clarke in one of

:16:10.:16:19.

his mysteries hasn't had... This has been unbelievable. Very good.

:16:19.:16:23.

The most ridiculous session of snooker I think I've ever seen. I

:16:23.:16:28.

don't think Matthew has ever missed so many pots. Mark looks lacking in

:16:28.:16:36.

confidence and it's all square. degree shift in momentum. Yes. You

:16:36.:16:41.

don't necessarily get time to settle in the Masters. While you

:16:41.:16:44.

perhaps don't get so far is because you are playing against another

:16:44.:16:48.

great player and if you have a bad day, you're out of the tournament

:16:48.:16:52.

before you start. Mark Williams has got away with it to some degree.

:16:52.:16:57.

He's had a terrible start of this match and on another day he would

:16:57.:17:05.

be going back to Wales. But he can turn it around. He now has a chance.

:17:05.:17:08.

He was looking politely was out of the tournament, does the pressure

:17:08.:17:13.

come back? The process in the mind must be extraordinary. Matthew

:17:13.:17:18.

Stevens must feel like he is Stevens must feel like he is

:17:18.:17:20.

wobbling. Yes. Mark has probably settled any nerves from the early

:17:20.:17:25.

part. He has probably forgotten about that. Any player capable of

:17:25.:17:29.

turning it around like Mark Williams always has a chance.

:17:29.:17:39.
:17:39.:17:42.

you expect the unexpected now? Yes, but his pot success of 81%,

:17:42.:17:49.

Mark Williams, still has to improve for him to win the match, I think.

:17:49.:17:58.

But he is still in it and he can still win it. Long pot success, 37%.

:17:58.:18:03.

Well below what it should be. But if Matthew Stevens keeps making

:18:03.:18:13.
:18:13.:18:40.

mistakes, as he has started to do, It seems very simple to say, but

:18:40.:18:43.

the player that can stop missing easy balls is the player that will

:18:43.:18:53.
:18:53.:18:54.

That is what they used to say in the old amateur days. If you

:18:54.:18:59.

stopped missing easy balls, you wouldn't lose many matches. The way

:18:59.:19:04.

the game is now, you miss one ball and normally that is end of frame.

:19:04.:19:14.
:19:14.:19:15.

You have to admire Mark Williams still being in this match, the way

:19:15.:19:23.

he has played today. Yes. Great attitude. A lot of players missing

:19:23.:19:32.

the balls he had done... He would have seen them sat in the chair,

:19:33.:19:35.

squirming, red faced, shoulders drooped gone up a lot of head-

:19:35.:19:45.
:19:45.:20:01.

shaking going on. But we've not had Went down with lots of left-hand

:20:01.:20:06.

side to help the pace of the cue ball. He made the right contact on

:20:06.:20:12.

the pack, but unfortunately it was end of break. He is looking more

:20:12.:20:21.

Yes. When you go back to your seat and you've played the right shot,

:20:21.:20:27.

it you don't feel too bad. It is when you go back Teale sit after --

:20:27.:20:33.

back to your seat after you've missed a sitter... He knows now

:20:33.:20:38.

that he is right back in this match. I think there might be a gap here

:20:38.:20:48.
:20:48.:21:02.

to this red. Yes, there is. It just shows you, if he hadn't

:21:02.:21:06.

been hampered by the green, I don't think he would have had any problem

:21:06.:21:13.

with that red. He tried to widen the angle with a stun shot. He made

:21:13.:21:23.
:21:23.:21:32.

it more difficult because he had to What is happening? What is

:21:32.:21:42.
:21:42.:22:15.

Williams definitely looks the stronger now. I think Matthew can't

:22:15.:22:20.

get over the fact that he has an won this match already, John.

:22:20.:22:27.

would agree. It has just taken away his confidence. The two browns he

:22:28.:22:35.

has missed that could have given him a 6-0 victory. I think he is

:22:35.:22:45.
:22:45.:22:45.

just a bit bemused by what has Mark Williams is now two points

:22:45.:22:55.
:22:55.:23:05.

He can't believe he has finished straight on the blue. Either side

:23:05.:23:10.

of the blue would have been fined - - find because there's a red at the

:23:10.:23:17.

baulk end. Maybe he can forced a slight angle. The problem with that

:23:17.:23:23.

is you take all of the pace out of the cue ball. I think he might just

:23:23.:23:27.

have a red, but I don't think this is the one he played for. He needs

:23:27.:23:37.
:23:37.:23:41.

He did. As you say, Stephen, starting to look for a stronger of

:23:41.:23:51.
:23:51.:23:58.

I don't think mark will think that was a good shot. The cue ball

:23:58.:24:08.
:24:08.:24:11.

shouldn't have been this close to Straight enough on the red to be

:24:12.:24:17.

able to come for -- control the cue ball. This black isn't comfortable,

:24:17.:24:23.

though. The red below it is in his way a little bit for position. He

:24:23.:24:33.
:24:33.:24:33.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:24:33.:25:20.

had to just settle for a red into Just this black... And one more red

:25:20.:25:27.

and it looks a formality now. He will go 5-4 in front and just one

:25:27.:25:34.

frame away from a place in the quarter-final. The things you never

:25:34.:25:44.
:25:44.:25:58.

A fierce game is certainly looking a lot easier to Mark Williams now.

:25:59.:26:08.
:26:09.:26:22.

This is the highest break of the match, it supersedes the 67 that

:26:22.:26:27.

Matthew Stevens made in frame five. He got a bad contact, but it won't

:26:27.:26:32.

He got a bad contact, but it won't matter. How Matthew Stevens is

:26:33.:26:42.
:26:43.:26:51.

bemused to say the least. He is now As we keep saying, the turnaround

:26:51.:26:55.

of epic proportions. I just can't believe Mark Williams is 5-4 in

:26:55.:27:00.

front. Incredible. If he wins this match, it is one of the best

:27:00.:27:05.

performances of his career. He couldn't Pot 2 balls in a row. I

:27:05.:27:10.

couldn't see him winning this match. Matthew missed the easy brown to go

:27:10.:27:12.

Matthew missed the easy brown to go 5-1 up, and although you think it

:27:12.:27:18.

hasn't affected you badly, this is the one he missed to go 4-0...

:27:18.:27:24.

Subconsciously it does affect you. This was unforgivable. Since then

:27:24.:27:31.

his timing has gone. And that was another one where I thought he just

:27:31.:27:35.

rolled that in, he could have played a snooker, make certain. All

:27:35.:27:39.

of a sudden he is missing balls that Mark Williams was missing in

:27:39.:27:44.

the first part of the match. What is going to happen next? I don't

:27:44.:27:54.
:27:54.:28:07.

Not a bad break off shot, I don't know whether this red will cut into

:28:07.:28:17.
:28:17.:28:54.

An attacking safety shot by Matthew Stevens. There's always a risk in

:28:54.:28:58.

that shot off putting red balls over the corner pockets. He hasn't

:28:58.:29:08.
:29:08.:29:23.

potted a lot of these today. Can he Not like Mark Williams. 9 ft 6

:29:23.:29:33.
:29:33.:29:37.

between cue ball and object ball. What can Matthew Stevens made of

:29:37.:29:47.
:29:47.:29:49.

this chance? Can he focus on the shot so head? And it doesn't look

:29:49.:29:59.
:29:59.:29:59.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:29:59.:30:53.

This will really hurt him, if he There is always a little bit of

:30:53.:30:58.

competitiveness when these two made. More or less a who is the bells --

:30:58.:31:08.
:31:08.:31:09.

best Welsh player, if you like. For Matthew to have let it slip away,

:31:09.:31:19.
:31:19.:31:19.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:31:19.:33:17.

Position is not an issue as he has got the pink to the left. This is a

:33:17.:33:27.
:33:27.:33:41.

He has just got to go in and out of baulk now. He has got the line

:33:41.:33:45.

between yellow and brown. I have seen him play this before with

:33:45.:33:55.
:33:55.:33:57.

left-hand side. Does it run past the cluster or stick? It sticks on

:33:57.:34:03.

them. He played it off two cushions, he just did not get enough side on

:34:03.:34:13.

the cue ball. He has got a nice lead, 47 points. Possible 83

:34:13.:34:23.
:34:23.:34:44.

He wanted to cover the left hand side of the pack, I think. That was

:34:44.:34:54.

a good shot. It looks like he can get to the edge of this red, but he

:34:54.:34:59.

may be knocking one of the left corner. He can afford to leave

:34:59.:35:09.
:35:09.:35:17.

This is the type of shot you would expect Mark Williams to invariably

:35:17.:35:24.

Knockin. I am sure he will take it on. If it goes in, it could be the

:35:24.:35:34.
:35:34.:36:04.

He needs to play a good safety or snookered to force a mistake. Mark

:36:04.:36:09.

Williams knows his way around the table and with a 47. Lead, he knows

:36:09.:36:19.
:36:19.:36:27.

how to hold on to that. -- with a He is trying to sneak behind the

:36:27.:36:37.
:36:37.:37:02.

brown. It would not have been my Mark Williams has now scored 101.

:37:02.:37:12.
:37:12.:37:21.

More than Matthew Stevens. -- has I do not think this red cuts into

:37:21.:37:27.

the left middle. That is not to say it will not going to the left

:37:27.:37:37.
:37:37.:37:41.

He played a deep screw to get the cue ball back to the baulk my again.

:37:41.:37:51.
:37:51.:38:11.

He is very good at protecting, Mark Much too thick. The two reds on the

:38:11.:38:14.

right-hand side have covered one another but there is a red

:38:14.:38:20.

underneath the pink spot that will cut to the right-hand corner. And

:38:20.:38:28.

it is in. But now, he is army yellow and on the green. This is a

:38:28.:38:38.
:38:38.:38:38.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:38:38.:39:20.

This pink and one more red required for an amazing result. One more red

:39:20.:39:30.
:39:30.:39:38.

and a colour. If he pots the red he This will really heard Matthew

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

Stevens. -- hurt. The yellow, to go 61 in front with 59 remaining.

:39:51.:40:01.
:40:01.:40:03.

APPLAUSE. All, so close to the middle pocket!

:40:03.:40:10.

Ha has Matthew Stevens lost this? He has lost it for certain. He will

:40:10.:40:20.
:40:20.:40:29.

not be coming back to the table. Incredible victory. 4-1 down. One

:40:29.:40:36.

of the best victories of his career, I would suggest. Particularly

:40:36.:40:41.

because he has not played really, has the? He has played the last

:40:41.:40:51.
:40:51.:41:14.

As you say, every credit to him. OK, he had quite a lot of help from his

:41:14.:41:18.

opponent, but you have still got to pot the balls and in the last few

:41:18.:41:24.

frames he has really come on strong. There is probably not another

:41:24.:41:28.

player in the world who could have turned this match around the way he

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

was playing. I could not agree with you more. Doesn't matter about the

:41:38.:41:46.

green. Matthew Stevens shakes his hand, they have a laugh. He will be

:41:46.:41:54.

saying, how have you beaten me? This goal-line, Matthew Stevens was

:41:54.:42:00.

in a lead 3-1, it should have been 5-1, but he has lost 6-4. The two-

:42:00.:42:10.
:42:10.:42:11.

times champion has a place in the You have been saying, Steve,

:42:11.:42:16.

unbelievable. At one stage in this match did you think that Mark

:42:16.:42:21.

Williams was going to get back in? When Matthew Stevens missed that

:42:21.:42:29.

second relatively easy brown. From thereon, you could spell that --

:42:30.:42:35.

smell a possibility. If given enough chances, a player like Mark

:42:35.:42:41.

Williams will recover. Matthew Stevens, it is the back -- the type

:42:41.:42:46.

of match we want to go back to the dressing room and smash your cue

:42:46.:42:51.

into a million pieces. That would be one in 1,000 matches you would

:42:51.:42:56.

win, being so out of form and have your opponent gave you frame after

:42:56.:43:04.

frame. The last two, very good. What happened in that match, up to

:43:04.:43:11.

the last two frames, it is very, very store. -- saw.

:43:11.:43:17.

You were saying earlier about the lack of care instinct. Is that what

:43:17.:43:27.
:43:27.:43:32.

manifested today? Here is Mark coming into dare -- in it now.

:43:32.:43:39.

They were saying you were probably the only one who could have done

:43:39.:43:48.

this. I did not play it very well. Neither did Matthew. I do not think

:43:48.:43:58.
:43:58.:44:00.

I would have come back from 5-1. I stuck in there, and was trying 100%.

:44:00.:44:06.

Perhaps that is what got me through in the end. You were making 50 and

:44:06.:44:09.

40 breaks, but there was something missing. Can you put your finger on

:44:09.:44:19.

what it was? Everything! The table is so fast. If you have just a

:44:19.:44:24.

fraction of side, it goes off so far. The table was beautiful and it

:44:24.:44:28.

was just difficult to control the white. Even though I did not play

:44:28.:44:35.

very well I can still not 20s and 30s in. They also suggested perhaps

:44:35.:44:38.

that was one of your most satisfying victories, playing the

:44:38.:44:45.

way you were. Stephen did not say that as well, did he? It is easy to

:44:45.:44:48.

win when you are playing well. It is hard to win when you are not

:44:48.:44:55.

playing well. I was getting hammered out there, really. I'm

:44:55.:44:59.

over the moon that I stuck in and tried my best and managed to turn

:44:59.:45:05.

it round. You said earlier wrong that when you were missing some

:45:05.:45:10.

relatively simple shots, you were saying five years ago, nobody

:45:10.:45:13.

thought too much of it but the older you get, the more you miss

:45:13.:45:19.

and the more people pick up on it. Is that fair? You only have to look

:45:19.:45:25.

at Steve playing these days! It is difficult because you have been

:45:25.:45:29.

there and done it and now you are trying to recreate it and get back

:45:29.:45:34.

into the top end of things. Sometimes you need help. This could

:45:34.:45:39.

be the springboard? It could be. Coming into this tournament I

:45:39.:45:42.

practised really hard and probably playing in practice the best I have

:45:42.:45:50.

played four years, I was having 147s every single day, near enough.

:45:50.:45:59.

And then I went out there and I could not make 47! I just could not

:45:59.:46:07.

do it today. Is there reason, when you practice is so good? Can you

:46:08.:46:13.

have me boys? If I was you coach I could probably give you an insight,

:46:13.:46:23.

if you were hiring me. What sort of rate we do charge? I would do it

:46:23.:46:29.

for the love of the game. When you come into the game you are not

:46:29.:46:33.

trying in the same way as when you are trying to get back into form.

:46:33.:46:38.

Sometimes you try too hard or you try to monetary you're game as you

:46:38.:46:42.

are playing. It is very hard to judge. I think maybe one of the

:46:42.:46:50.

things I am doing is trying too hard. I might just be trying too

:46:50.:46:59.

hard, instead of seeing the shots and applying them. The victory was

:46:59.:47:05.

a bonus, anything else you get in the tournament you can relax.

:47:05.:47:09.

Matthew did help me out a lot really, he missed a lot of balls he

:47:09.:47:15.

would not normally miss. Perhaps I'd write him down a bit. If you

:47:15.:47:20.

know you practice is going well but you struggling -- you are

:47:20.:47:24.

struggling around the table, what more can you do before the next

:47:24.:47:29.

game? I am going to have a chat with Stephen after and gave him 50

:47:29.:47:34.

quid and hopefully he will sort me out! Is that the secret to success?

:47:34.:47:39.

He drives a hard bargain. He did not even try to knock me down.

:47:39.:47:46.

well done, Mark. Extraordinary match. Mark Williams is through to

:47:46.:47:56.

the quarter finals to pay either -- play either Mark Selby or bring him.

:47:56.:47:59.

Yesterday's match turned out to be the match of the tournament so far

:47:59.:48:09.

between Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins.

:48:09.:48:19.
:48:19.:48:22.

We did not expect those shoes, but Barry Hawkins took his chance,

:48:22.:48:32.
:48:32.:48:34.

Judd Trump will be delighted to go into the mid- session interval all

:48:34.:48:44.
:48:44.:48:47.

Barry Hawkins is really starting to cue well. In it goes, and perfect

:48:47.:48:56.

on the pink. A hot favourite to win a tournament is now at two behind.

:48:56.:49:00.

Barry Hawkins will be hoping that is the last time he has to break

:49:00.:49:10.
:49:10.:49:14.

Well played, good pot, excellent. That was Judd Trump at his best.

:49:14.:49:24.

Can he keep it going? He has played it well, he has played it very well.

:49:24.:49:29.

It is on about Barry Hawkins keeping himself together. Judd

:49:29.:49:33.

Trump will be disappointed to be out of the best there -- Betfair

:49:33.:49:43.
:49:43.:49:46.

Would you believe it? Pressure! Pink, to take us into the deciding

:49:46.:49:52.

frame. It is there, we are in for a decider. That is a marvellous

:49:52.:50:02.
:50:02.:50:08.

Judd Trump absolutely delighted, their favourite is eventually

:50:08.:50:18.
:50:18.:50:19.

through to the quarter final. If he My safety was not great. I was

:50:19.:50:24.

missing luck today. Hopefully I will get that back. Barry played

:50:24.:50:27.

well and made it a difficult game. Well I got myself in position and

:50:27.:50:35.

through the match away. I'm gutted, I had a great chance. A couple of

:50:35.:50:40.

times I thought he should clear-up and he did not. I just stayed calm

:50:40.:50:45.

and waited for my chances. Similarity in the way that the

:50:46.:50:50.

matches ended in respect with Barry Hawkins yesterday at missing the

:50:50.:50:53.

easy blue, and the way Matthew Stevens fell apart at the end of

:50:53.:50:58.

the match you today. Do you feel there is more a case of Barry

:50:58.:51:01.

Hawkins giving the match to Judd Trump or was Judd Trump taking it

:51:01.:51:08.

back? Midway through, when you could really have knocked a couple

:51:08.:51:15.

of nails into the coffin, so to speak, Barry Hawkins was in the

:51:15.:51:19.

line to clinch the match. It is a different thing. But getting over

:51:19.:51:26.

the line is what it is all about. In his interesting listening to

:51:26.:51:35.

Judd Trump after the match. I detected something in him when he

:51:35.:51:41.

was talking about what people expect him to do. It is almost as

:51:41.:51:47.

if he wants to prove it to people who died him. To be honest, heat-

:51:47.:51:53.

treated Mark Joyce with respect. He thought he had one. He found out a

:51:53.:51:59.

hard way he was not winning and got knocked out. Sometimes you have got

:51:59.:52:03.

to have a setback before you can appreciate what you have got. He

:52:03.:52:10.

finished well yesterday. I think he is top class. He is still young. He

:52:10.:52:17.

is going to learn. He is in there with Abeid shot on this tournament.

:52:17.:52:25.

-- a big shot. It is impossible to suggest he should be favourite at

:52:25.:52:32.

the moment. With the likes of John Higgins still in, and there are two

:52:32.:52:37.

players in this evening, Selby and Bingham, that could be a cracker.

:52:37.:52:42.

Mark Selby is very hard at the moment. Robertson is still end.

:52:42.:52:49.

do not think Selby is playing as well as he can. I thought in the UK

:52:49.:52:57.

he was not doing well. We have got some e-mails and tweets from the

:52:57.:53:04.

viewers. One says, do you think it is possible for someone to dominate

:53:04.:53:10.

the game at like Stephen Hendry did in the 80s and 90s? I know it has

:53:10.:53:16.

been asked quite a lot. Most people seem to suggest, know. You suggest

:53:16.:53:22.

know, but then you look at golf and someone comes through to dominate.

:53:22.:53:32.
:53:32.:53:34.

Perhaps we have not seen the next dominating force yet. Perhaps it is

:53:34.:53:38.

going to come from China. None of the current crop can dominate at

:53:38.:53:44.

the moment. The players have so little between them but that's

:53:44.:53:54.
:53:54.:53:55.

there is nothing between them. The other players know that when Ronnie

:53:55.:53:58.

O'Sullivan is at his best he is better than everybody else, but it

:53:58.:54:03.

is difficult. People are asking if Ronnie will come back for the World

:54:03.:54:13.
:54:13.:54:15.

Championship. The you have any idea? -- the you have. You do not

:54:15.:54:22.

know what Ronnie is thinking at the moment.

:54:22.:54:26.

I have another, can I tell us if the pros ever practice breaking

:54:26.:54:30.

off? That seems to be the only time when the balls are ever in exactly

:54:30.:54:40.
:54:40.:54:41.

the same place. I do practice breaking off. There are elements.

:54:41.:54:49.

You might think I have got a sad life. You do monotonous things on a

:54:49.:54:54.

practice table, similar to driving range practice. Breaking them off,

:54:54.:55:00.

no. Having said that, it is such an important shot. Every table is

:55:00.:55:07.

different. You are playing on a practice table and on a match table

:55:07.:55:15.

they are different. You cannot practice on the main table. There

:55:15.:55:21.

have been events were people have started to try all sorts of

:55:21.:55:29.

different breaks. Think about it, break them off, set them back up

:55:29.:55:37.

again, it is the recipe for madness. We were talking about Mark Williams

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

and how players concentration wavers as they get older. Once

:55:47.:55:52.

you're is wondering, is it the ability to mop the task that

:55:52.:55:57.

diminishes rather than a lack of concentration? -- MoD the task.

:55:57.:56:07.
:56:07.:56:10.

What was the question again? I reckon it is the opposite. I

:56:10.:56:15.

think it is the inability to focus. You have got outside things that

:56:15.:56:23.

flowed into your head. Oh, I have got to put the washing up. Did I

:56:23.:56:27.

put that bet on? When you are younger, you can absolutely focus

:56:27.:56:35.

and nothing else matters. you're also better. You would be

:56:35.:56:39.

playing in a club all day and you would never miss, all of a sudden

:56:39.:56:44.

you are playing matches and you are missing things you would never miss.

:56:44.:56:50.

When we were talking about focusing, is it easier to focus when you play

:56:50.:57:00.
:57:00.:57:01.

regularly? As you get older, do you have to make yourself focus?

:57:01.:57:05.

think so. It is something that comes naturally. When you're

:57:05.:57:10.

younger you are so intense on the moment. As you get older you get

:57:10.:57:19.

softer inside. Effectively, you start to mellow. That mellowing,

:57:19.:57:29.
:57:29.:57:30.

the testosterone prevent young man -- driven young man is full of fire

:57:30.:57:34.

and is the perfect sporting animal. On the snooker table it still

:57:34.:57:41.

applies. Perhaps as you get older you lose that.

:57:41.:57:48.

We are going to lead back on last night's match between Shaun Murphy

:57:48.:57:57.

and Ricky Ponting. It was a magician who made a fine start. --

:57:57.:58:07.
:58:07.:58:14.

Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis are He has lost the cue ball but I

:58:14.:58:18.

think he will be happy with the outcome, unless he has gone for a

:58:18.:58:27.

big gap. Is that a plant? Yes, there are two reds there that

:58:27.:58:37.

possibly are a plant. He has not even looked at them. He is looking

:58:37.:58:47.
:58:47.:58:50.

at them hour! -- now! It is a difficult shot to take but if he

:58:50.:58:56.

thinks there absolutely lined up... I'm just wondering if he takes the

:58:56.:59:05.

plant on, will he... Screw better for the black? Or try and get it

:59:05.:59:08.

safe also. You have got to fully commit and try and stay on the

:59:08.:59:18.

black. He is going for this and I guarantee he nails said. -- he

:59:18.:59:25.

kneels it. That was the only thing I was worried about. He hit it in

:59:25.:59:30.

with plenty of pace. He did not fully concentrate getting on the

:59:31.:59:36.

black and now he is faced with a tough cut back. He is bound to be

:59:36.:59:45.

He has over a carpet. He did not even get it in the jaws of the

:59:45.:59:54.

I was surprised when he played the plant. He did not have to he did

:59:54.:00:04.
:00:04.:00:15.

just that hard. -- to hit it just It is worth another look. He just

:00:15.:00:20.

really got into it too much and didn't get on the black as he would

:00:20.:00:30.
:00:30.:00:38.

It is one of those situations where you have so many choices, sometimes

:00:38.:00:42.

you can get yourself a bit confused! You are usually playing

:00:42.:00:46.

for one particular ball. All sorts of positional shots available to

:00:46.:00:56.
:00:56.:01:12.

It is amazing how this match has turned right around, isn't it?

:01:12.:01:18.

but 4-2 could splits on the pack of reds, Shaun Murphy could be in the

:01:18.:01:22.

press conference at the moment saying how well he has played, a 6-

:01:23.:01:32.
:01:33.:01:34.

OK, he missed the green in the frame before and he has missed that

:01:34.:01:38.

black off the spot, but he would consider himself a little unlucky

:01:38.:01:45.

the way things have worked out tonight. From Ricky Walden's

:01:45.:01:52.

perspective, what a great chance. He will have the momentum should he

:01:52.:02:02.
:02:02.:02:36.

get to 4-4. Nothing to lose in one The tip was very close to the cue

:02:36.:02:45.

ball there. Some players are a bit further away than that. It looks

:02:45.:02:48.

for a second like he is touching to White. Jimmy White is a bit like

:02:48.:02:58.
:02:58.:03:02.

that. He. The tip right down at the cloth. Occasionally you do touch it.

:03:02.:03:07.

He got himself engaged, Jimmy. Congratulations, Jimmy, if you are

:03:07.:03:17.
:03:17.:03:23.

Never as easy to clear them up as you think when they are scattered

:03:23.:03:29.

all over the table. The cue ball has to do a bit more mileage than

:03:29.:03:39.
:03:39.:03:53.

if they are all at the top end. He Even though he is not slow, he has

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:04:03.:04:57.

This match started out as a best of 11. He very shortly it is going to

:04:57.:05:06.

be the best of three. He could performances from Ricky -- a good

:05:06.:05:12.

performance from Ricky. He overscrewed that. He is 59 ahead

:05:12.:05:16.

with a possible 59, so that was careless to let the white run away.

:05:16.:05:21.

It is all about potting the red to clinch the frame and make the

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

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

:05:31.:06:12.

Just double checking the scoreboard, but he is well and truly safe. That

:06:12.:06:19.

makes absolutely sure. He has had breaks of 55, 49, which was a very

:06:19.:06:24.

important one in the previous frame. It doesn't matter about missing the

:06:24.:06:31.

blue. That was a very fine 65 break from Ricky Walden and all of a

:06:31.:06:40.

A terrific fightback from Ricky wall back, but Murphy won the next

:06:40.:06:45.

and was just one away from and the quarter-finals. Murphy is at the

:06:46.:06:55.
:06:56.:07:08.

He has overscrewed at a fraction, but he can always play on the blue

:07:08.:07:18.
:07:18.:07:19.

and get into the pack. That will be But he hasn't come quite far enough

:07:19.:07:26.

to do that. He might have to leave it. With the red in the open, it

:07:26.:07:31.

would have been a little bit of insurance. He has still gone into

:07:31.:07:38.

them off two cushions. It was much more difficult, but I think... Has

:07:38.:07:42.

he gone far enough to pot this and hold for the black? He is pretty

:07:42.:07:50.

good at this type of shot, but it is a delicate one. Can he pot it?

:07:50.:07:55.

Does he have the angle to miss the reds, come off the side cushion and

:07:55.:08:05.
:08:05.:08:16.

on to the black? He is taking the He has been devastating with the

:08:17.:08:26.
:08:27.:08:44.

A couple of good positional shots A third time lucky, going into the

:08:44.:08:54.
:08:54.:09:11.

pack. Does he go into the pack? Just about OK. He caught the red

:09:11.:09:21.
:09:21.:09:25.

Just about OK. He may not be able to hold for the black, but he can

:09:25.:09:35.
:09:35.:09:57.

A delicate little screw shot. It is Ricky can't do anything about this.

:09:57.:10:01.

He just has to hope that somehow Shaun can run out of position or

:10:01.:10:08.

slip up. But Shaun Murphy is not a player that would struggle to get

:10:09.:10:18.
:10:19.:10:40.

over the winning line, that's for The red at the back of the three

:10:41.:10:44.

reds is available into the same pocket he is taking this red. It is

:10:44.:10:51.

all looking very good for Shaun Murphy. And not looking so good for

:10:51.:10:57.

Ricky Walden, who made a terrific comeback. 4-1 down, it looked like

:10:57.:11:01.

everybody would have an early night, but he stuck in there. But it is

:11:01.:11:11.
:11:11.:11:35.

He might as well finish it off in style. Would you believe it? He has

:11:35.:11:41.

lost concentration, but barring snookers, Shaun Murphy has got

:11:41.:11:51.
:11:51.:12:20.

himself into the quarter-final and As long as he does pot the black...

:12:20.:12:24.

With the green, pink and brown down there, some excellent opportunities

:12:24.:12:34.
:12:34.:12:36.

He he only needs one. That was an unforgivable miss from Shaun Murphy.

:12:36.:12:41.

He thought the match was over. We have seen stranger things happen.

:12:41.:12:51.
:12:51.:13:10.

You could have knocked that black It is a snooker, but I think he can

:13:10.:13:14.

come off the side cushion near the middle pocket with a little touch

:13:14.:13:24.
:13:24.:13:31.

of side. Two cushions? Yes. He I would say... If I was Ricky

:13:31.:13:36.

Walden, I would be expecting him to hit it. A 10% chance he might miss

:13:36.:13:41.

it. Prior not saying it is nailed on to hit, but you would be hoping

:13:41.:13:45.

rather than anything. He has to get close to the middle pocket, if he

:13:45.:13:51.

goes the other side of the table it is difficult. He has to go two

:13:51.:13:59.

cushions on to the right hand side. The right hand side his best.

:13:59.:14:03.

my first line is too close to the middle pocket. He is going for more

:14:03.:14:13.
:14:13.:14:17.

Not saying he will not get it the other way, but I think it is a bit

:14:17.:14:22.

close... There's a possibility off the left-hand side that he goes

:14:22.:14:28.

around the back of it easier than the other side, I think. It is the

:14:28.:14:33.

more difficult route he is taking. I don't know. I don't like this. I

:14:33.:14:43.
:14:43.:14:49.

He has hit the brown, he has gone the wrong way. I think he may go

:14:49.:14:54.

wrong choice. The other was a natural angle with a touch of left-

:14:54.:15:04.
:15:04.:15:16.

Can he get on the black? He needs to. If he is going to win. It looks

:15:16.:15:22.

as if he could avoid cannoning the green. A gap between the green and

:15:22.:15:32.

the blue. Is it a bit thin for that? Perhaps he can't screw back

:15:32.:15:42.
:15:42.:15:47.

Just play the snooker then. never get a better chance, though!

:15:48.:15:54.

If he misses the green, he will come back -- up onto the black. He

:15:54.:16:03.

seems to be running it into the Is he playing for the pink? We

:16:03.:16:13.
:16:13.:16:31.

could have a possible re-spot to I think for Hall audience thought

:16:31.:16:41.
:16:41.:17:09.

he had missed that! -- the whole It could go down to a re-spotted

:17:09.:17:13.

black, but what about this black Shaun Murphy missed? What was he

:17:13.:17:23.
:17:23.:17:28.

You have to be careful with this brown. Doesn't want to end up there.

:17:28.:17:35.

Oh dear. There were a few ways of playing that and that wasn't one of

:17:35.:17:43.

them! A bit of hope for Shaun Murphy here. He couldn't have left

:17:43.:17:48.

it in a worse position. To leave it dead straight in line with the pink

:17:48.:17:58.
:17:58.:17:58.

and black. Dear me, a bit of Know when they're. That was a

:17:58.:18:06.

shocker of a brown. -- no where near. He might have got away with

:18:06.:18:16.
:18:16.:18:26.

it. He was a long way out with the No heroics from Shaun. Wasn't in

:18:26.:18:36.
:18:36.:18:45.

easy safety shot. Object ball Up and down, just past the pink is

:18:45.:18:50.

risky. He will have to play it that way, but tried to play the blue to

:18:50.:18:54.

the top cushion. If eclipse the pink, it goes towards the corner

:18:54.:18:59.

pocket. -- if it eclipse. He would like to be able to play a snooker

:18:59.:19:04.

behind the black, but in this situation, the main object is to

:19:04.:19:14.
:19:14.:19:34.

Play straight up and down... Inside He was going to try and play it off

:19:34.:19:41.

the right side and get behind the black, but a change of plan. That

:19:41.:19:50.

is a terrible shot from Ricky. REFEREE: Foul.. He declared a foul

:19:50.:19:57.

on himself. The match is over! I didn't see what happened. Ricky did

:19:57.:20:03.

declare a foul on himself. What a way to lose the match. Absolutely

:20:03.:20:09.

amazing. What happened? It just shows you the game of snooker, the

:20:09.:20:19.
:20:19.:20:19.

sporting conduct of the players is It was a valiant effort to fight

:20:19.:20:23.

his way back into this match from Ricky Walden, winning three frames

:20:23.:20:33.
:20:33.:20:34.

in a row. He is coming to the table, but it is definitely all over.

:20:34.:20:44.
:20:44.:20:49.

Yes, shaking hands. It has been a valiant effort, but just not enough.

:20:49.:20:53.

Shaun Murphy, in the end, had to Shaun Murphy, in the end, had to

:20:53.:20:56.

struggle his way through this match. He looked comfortable at 4-1, but

:20:56.:21:02.

in the end he goes through 6-4 and he is in the quarter-final. I put

:21:02.:21:08.

so much into the break leading up to that point. Concentration and

:21:08.:21:12.

adrenalin. When I potted the previous red, which took me over

:21:12.:21:17.

the line, so I thought, you just relax. And then I missed the

:21:17.:21:22.

easiest shot. I would have been sent home if I missed that as a 10-

:21:22.:21:28.

year-old. To miss it at 30 in the Masters is quite embarrassing.

:21:28.:21:34.

potted a good pink and I had the balls that my mercy. Co I ended up

:21:34.:21:39.

playing in -- I ended up in no man's land. It is my own fault. I

:21:39.:21:46.

executed a shot poorly. Devastated. I played the safety shot with the

:21:46.:21:50.

rest and as I came back I felt something brushed a calf off my

:21:50.:21:55.

shirt. I wasn't too sure what went on and I saw the black was hanging

:21:55.:22:00.

there. It was obviously a foul. There was no way I was not going to

:22:00.:22:04.

called a foul. Devastated to be that careless. There are only the

:22:04.:22:08.

best players in the world in this event. This tournament has such a

:22:08.:22:12.

history, probably second only to the World Championships. We are all

:22:12.:22:19.

trying so hard. Maybe over trying sometimes. I'm over the moon to be

:22:19.:22:24.

through. Well done to Shaun Murphy. Let's focus on the excellent

:22:25.:22:32.

sportsmanship shown by Ricky Walden. He es. -- yes. Snooker players,

:22:32.:22:37.

when they start playing, they don't cheat themselves. A bit like a game

:22:38.:22:42.

of patience. There is something to be admired in our game. If you

:22:42.:22:48.

touch something with your sleeve, you know immediately. Shaun Murphy

:22:49.:22:55.

is clearly one of the form players in the game at the moment. Yes.

:22:55.:22:59.

Wonderful scorer, great professional. What he has in the

:22:59.:23:03.

next round is somebody he has had trouble with. John Higgins is the

:23:03.:23:07.

master tactician. His Matchplay qualities a fantastic and Shaun

:23:07.:23:15.

will have to match him. What a match up. Exactly. Coming here,

:23:15.:23:20.

Shaun Murphy, having had a fantastic run in the UK

:23:20.:23:26.

Championship. Last night, it was very close to him being a 6-1 win

:23:26.:23:30.

and looking invisible. But he went into the pack a couple of times and

:23:31.:23:36.

didn't get a split. He is cueing beautifully. Ricky Walden did very

:23:36.:23:40.

well to get himself back into the match, but Shaun Murphy is through

:23:40.:23:50.
:23:50.:23:57.

to the quarter-finals. We can have play Northern Ireland's Mark Allen.

:23:57.:24:03.

Shaun Murphy overcame Ricky Walden and will face two time champion

:24:03.:24:09.

John Higgins. Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham played this evening. Mark

:24:09.:24:13.

Williams won the all Welsh battle this afternoon. Graeme Dott

:24:13.:24:17.

overcame Stephen Maguire to face overcame Stephen Maguire to face

:24:18.:24:22.

the world number two, Judd Trump, in the last eight.

:24:22.:24:25.

One outstanding match from the first round remaining at the

:24:25.:24:30.

Masters and that features the newly crowned UK champion, Mark Selby,

:24:30.:24:40.
:24:40.:24:42.

When I won the UK Championship, it was great. I had a little break

:24:42.:24:48.

after Christmas and won the PTC in Germany. I am confident. I've had a

:24:49.:24:56.

good start to the season. I've won three trophies. I've been

:24:56.:25:04.

practising and I'm up for it tonight. Stuart is a great player.

:25:04.:25:08.

I've known him for many years. I always rated him to a higher level,

:25:08.:25:12.

but he never really came through and achieved what he should have

:25:12.:25:19.

done. Over the last 18 months he has shown what a class player he is.

:25:19.:25:26.

He is the best player in the world. Back to world number one. He is

:25:26.:25:32.

probably the hardest player Al there at the moment. He every

:25:32.:25:36.

tournament we go into we want to win and the Masters is no different.

:25:36.:25:46.
:25:46.:25:47.

It would be great to win it again. It would mean everything to me.

:25:47.:25:53.

Over the years, I've seen Hendry winning it five times on the trot.

:25:53.:25:57.

The names, Paul Hunter, up Ronnie, Higgins, only the best players have

:25:57.:26:05.

won it. It is the world number-one and two time at Masters champion

:26:05.:26:15.
:26:15.:26:18.

Mark Selby against one of the most This match is available on the red

:26:18.:26:22.

button and on line this evening. He touched on Mark Selby at the UK

:26:22.:26:25.

Championship, he reclaimed the number-one spot, but you didn't

:26:26.:26:30.

think he played his absolute best. I thought he won with his be game

:26:30.:26:35.

and that is to his credit. We normally call him the Hoover,

:26:35.:26:40.

cleaning up. He is a fantastic match player and a brilliant

:26:40.:26:45.

competitor and his game that day, tactically, was good enough to win.

:26:45.:26:49.

One player who has benefited from the way snooker has changed in the

:26:49.:26:55.

last couple of years is Stuart Bingham. Yes. He benefited because

:26:55.:27:00.

he put in hours and hours of graft. He never stopped loving the game,

:27:00.:27:03.

even when he didn't seem to be going anywhere and looked like he

:27:03.:27:09.

would settle for his lot. Paul of a sudden, he kept on fighting and now

:27:09.:27:14.

he is in a situation where he is in the Masters, in the top seats --

:27:14.:27:19.

top 16 in the world, and he's a different animal now. Watching him

:27:19.:27:22.

wandering around the venue, he looks different in the way he

:27:22.:27:29.

carries himself. A player of enormous confident. He should have.

:27:29.:27:34.

There will not be many people with a head to head Greta -- record

:27:34.:27:38.

better than his against Mark Selby. He can have confidence tonight.

:27:38.:27:43.

What might we see this evening? expect great matches. You never can

:27:43.:27:48.

tell. From Stuart's perspective, this is an area he's not been in as

:27:48.:27:53.

much but he has had plenty of practice in the Premier League. You

:27:53.:27:57.

expect Mark Selby to come out all guns blazing and win, but it is not

:27:57.:28:03.

as clear cut as that. Who might win? Any more questions? That is

:28:03.:28:12.

really tricky. Expect the unexpected. Thank you. Don't forget,

:28:12.:28:16.

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