Day 6, Part 2 Masters Snooker

A welcome to the last quarter-final match at this year's BetFair

Masters. There is a decent crowd here despite the all weather and

they are here to see Mark Selby and Mark Williams battle for the one

remaining spot in the semi-finals. Both men will feel fortunate to be

here having looked as if they would make their exit in the last round

but they both produced a stunning Would you believe that?! Mark

Williams, still with a lot to think That was a fantastic pot. Up

beautifully played, and perfect on And a two-time champion booked his

That is another good pot. He's having a ball at the moment! Stuart

Bingham takes the frame and goes into a 5-1 lead. He has just gone

off the ball in the last couple of He says, I told you I could do it!

He was 5-1 down, he has won a five in a row to get himself into the

The buzz word of this tournament has been comeback. A I don't think

we have ever seen so many 6-5 results in the tournament's history,

and so many top-class players pulling it out of the fire. And two

players who will perhaps feel they have a second chance tonight.

Because of the chance there is no real track record, there is no way

of predicting he will be the winner of this match. If you were looking

for a clue, perhaps the fact is that Mark Selby is the UK champion

and has more career momentum as we speak, but Mark Williams has the

Williams has a better head-to-head record against the man from

So we're all set for what promises Thank you for. It is freezing cold

outside but it is warming up nicely here, because it is Friday night,

we are in Alexandra Palace and this is the very last session of snooker

before semi- final Saturday here at the BetFair Masters. What a way to

round off a Friday night! Please welcome, a player who first raised

this tournament 18 years ago. Twice a winner in 1998 and 2003, a double

world champion, a prolific ranking event winner, one of the best his

country has ever produced. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the Welsh

potting machine, here comes Mark You have been around at the top for

such a long time now. A gritty comeback against Matthew Stevens,

you have got to be in it to win it? Yes, I didn't play very well in the

first game, but it is a great crowd in tonight and I'm playing the

number-one player in the world. If you can't get up for this, then you

are struggling. Best of luck, ladies and gentlemen, Mark

And his opponent, a player who has enjoyed some of his finest moments

at the Masters. Twice a winner at Wembley. He produced a comeback

worthy of a champion from 5-1 down on Wednesday. The reigning UK

champion, the current world number one, he is at the the Jester from

There is almost nothing to lose tonight, because of 5-1 down

against Stuart, many people were thinking you're campaign was over.

Yes go about to be fair, I didn't do much wrong, he played great, but

from 5-1 I hit the next couple of frames and then I played well.

was the mark of a champion, best of So here we go, the world No. 1 and

two-time Masters champion, Mark Selby, against and another a two-

time Masters winner, Mark Williams. A pair of fine Irishman awaiting do

COMMENTATOR: A good evening to everyone watching the atmosphere in

here, it is fantastic. A great So with the snow doesn't stop the

And what a match which could be in for here. Yes, I must say I'm

looking forward to this. A great atmosphere in here, they got a

grade welcome as they came down that beautiful stairs. -- there is

This is going close to the corner A bit of a loose one from Mark

Williams to start off. Both players didn't really play well, it has to

be said, in their first round matches. But both had great

comebacks in the end. We commentated on the match between

Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham, he made that remarkable comeback from

a 5-1 down. And of course Mark I'm sure both players will not want

to get off to the same start they got off to in their first round

matches. You feel they could relax a bit now, because both of them

could have been back home watching I suppose Mark Selby would be the

firm favourite, but it is Mark Williams who has one -- won are

five times against Mark Selby's three wins. As he said in his

interview, if you can't get up for this match against the current UK

I think they are two great players but they are also two players who

can win with their B game, they still know how to win when they're

not playing at their best. Absolutely, it is the mark of a top

player. Mark Selby is already at the top of the tree, world number

one, but Mark Williams has been Sometimes when you play in a

tournament, and you have a match like both players did in the first

round, it does inspire you. It gives you that little bit of a lift.

It is something Mark Williams will hope will kick-start his season, he

has been struggling of late. But talking to his friends last night,

he has been playing superbly in practice. Just struggling Ronnie

get out on the table, but I'm sure it is there, it is just a question

Well, he caught that all wrong. He has done well to get the white back

that far, because he wanted a far And nice, smooth pot there. The

blue is off its spot so he is OK, he has got a red off its corner,

the red goes straight in the centre The pink is tied up, he has got a

bit of angle with this red but he still has a bit of work to do to

get out for the black or blue as you can see from that angle. He

might be able to cut the black in, but he is running away from the

reds here, so that wasn't the best So in theory he would only get an

He will be disappointed he is not going to make more from this

opportunity. It looks like a very Looks as though he is taking this

one on. I tell you what, he might be rather lucky here. Once he got

the cannon he could have left a lot on. He might just be able to get

through to cut the one into the middle pocket, but once he missed

the pot and cannoned into the reds comedy would have thought he was

going to put Mark Williams right in He was a little fortunate there,

This was the attempt at the difficult pot but once he can and

that red and the other reds, and freed the black, he could have left

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds

Just got to be careful of those two reds on the left-hand side of the

Got to be careful that he does not He needs the green to come to his

And it has. He held his hand up to apologise. He's trying to get the

white tight on the baulk cushion and that was a bonus here. Yes, he

was always afraid of four playing that red. It may go over this

This is a bit risky. He could be leaving a red into this pocket here

if he does not connect properly, Both are very, very clever players.

You can't see a lot of evidence of that tonight and it's going to be

hard for both players to carve out openings. They're big game is so

good but there safety game, their knowledge of the angles around a

table, it's going to be hard. To carve out an opening against each

other. That last little shot Mark Selby played, he had to be

absolutely spot-on with it because he could have left a red, but he

played it beautifully. Let's show you it again. Look how he judged it,

Might be able to take this pot on. There is a gap between the two reds

near the black spot. If he pots He could not played that much

better. I bet his heart skipped a few beats before that cue ball

Has he got enough pace on that? I don't think it is going to reach

but it is the escape, the sort of shot you know the angles

automatically there. Just needs to Better pace this time. This looks

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds

Well, he's got a couple of half chances here. Straight red. The

second red down from the pink does pot. Yes, the one in the circle is

a free shot, isn't it? He is so good with a particular shot, isn't

He got a little kiss off the red Nice friendly game, this is. Not as

easy, this time, because the escape route the last time, the pack was

intact. Now it is spread out so he has got to try to get to the red

closest to the cushions. He's: offer four questions possibly.

There is one. But there is two. There is three, there is four.

There is the hit on the red for sub not what he intended but he will

take that. If he might have left the pot but is there a colour

available? He can get the potting angle to the left middle but if the

black was near the pocket, he would take it on. I don't know if he can

pot this and miss the cannon on the pink. If he could do, he could run

up towards the blue and find that little gap there. He has done. Well

played. So that last shot, Mark Selby didn't get away with it. He

So plenty of reds available. But only the blue in a good spot at the

He did not get into that, did he? He needed to get into that a little

bit more. More top on the blue. I suppose, being a left-hander, if

he drops the blue and has the one to the right of the little group of

It might come down the right-hand side of the table, to the right of

the pink. It is in open play. He would love to get on that. This

looks just about perfect. I'm almost sure this pink goes into the

He is one of the best in the business, when the balls are a

little awkward. He seems to keep pulling pots out and can make

breaks from positions where it just does not look on. He might just try

to free the pink here with a little cannon. He wanted to hit it full

ball. He has lost height. He could still pot one to the right of the

That is the one I thought he could pot but he has taken the one near

He would have loved to have been straighter on the blue. If you are

a left-hander, it is more straightforward. The black is not

That is a poor shot. He will be disappointed. A good chance for

Yes, I expected him to get that. And that would have, more or less,

given him the frame, you would have And now the chance is there for

Mark Selby to get right back into this opening frame. The only colour

He has not played the best shot. This black is quite tricky on the

cushion. He has got to inject a bit He has played it well. Played it

very well. That was a really good Both players making mistakes. That

was a much easier pot than there one Mark missed. I think he took

his eye off the pot there, concentrating getting on the black.

And because it was a little bit tighter there, he had to get the

white in the correct position to Doesn't want to land behind the

green here. Just about OK. Brown will get him up to the reds. The

blue is an easier pot but he has got a lot further to travel from

the blue. Brown is much better. He has missed it again. Can you

believe it? So both players looking a little anxious here in this

opening frame. That is two clear- cut chances that Mark Williams has

thrown away. I don't know if he got a heavy contact there. The cue ball

is being cleaned. Well, maybe he It usually would straighten up and

go the other side of the pocket if He has got a chance to get back in

He did have a little look earlier. He would love to leave the cue ball

potting the pink in the same position it's in now because it

would give him a lovely angle on the red to take out the next red

which is not really close but it There is still plenty of room

behind the red, but he did have a look at leaving that possible angle.

Yes, he has got a margin for error here, if he stands in behind the

red he can leave it for the middle awful the corner, so he has got a

But he wants an angle on the colour to be able to get up for the

difficult yellow. If he doesn't get far enough up the table, look at

the brown and blue, he would be So it is a thin black to get him

back up to the yellow. So he can go off a couple of cushions or

straight up and down the table, depends how he feels. The only

problem is, if he comes off top cushion and right hand side cushion,

he has got to avoid the contact on the green. He's may be better off

coming off one cushion. That is what he is looking at now. If he

comes straight up, off the top cushion, he has got to come up

almost in a straight line. He's just going to play a snooker, this

He could have potted the black and gone right up that line and left

the yellow, but decided to play the Not sure if he has got enough angle

to pot this, screw across it to spin it towards the green. Looks as

We have had lots of misses in this tense opening tussle between these

It is a bit of a nervy start from both players. Though important to

get that first frame on the board, the first frame of the match. Not

sure if he can play it half ball. Bring the yellow up. Trend get the

cue ball behind the black. -- try A big target now behind the black

He didn't want to risk it. The only problem with that shot is you're

giving the advantage to your opponent. He could be in a lot of

As I said, a huge target behind the But he has gone the other way and

put the cue ball in a perfect position. That is a great shot.

That was the only problem, playing a containing safety shot, in his

Even if he swerves this, he still And the one cushion get out order

to cushion get that -- get out that he is looking at, they are all

He's going to have to bend it quite a bit to get round both the black

and the -- brown and the blue. No matter how good you wire at

escaping from snookers, you need a bit of good fortune to knock this

You just go to hit it and hope for the best. -- you have just got to.

That is a little bit straight, so he can't leave the green for the

And the pot, no use to Mark Selby here, because the green will not

pass the blue. He tried to leave the green for the middle, or corner

pocket, but... Just wondering, trying to pot this yellow into the

top right-hand corner pocket, try and screw back into the opposite

I wonder if he will play cushion first here. Trend leave the cue

ball exactly where the yellow was. He played the same type of shot

previously, but it was a little bit easier. He still can do that, he

This frame, coming up to the half Is that going to reach? I don't

think so. A because he wants to just land on it, if he clipped it

on the left-hand side, as we look He has got the line right, but he

doesn't want to hit it with any pace, so quick light at the

scoreboard. -- a quick glance. 19, It is one of those situations where

the extra eight. Doesn't really make much of a different, because

of the position of the balls, you would expect either player to win

the frame. Another good shot from This is just the evidence... He

knows his way around the table. there is enough room to slip round

the back of this yellow, he would Mark Williams needs a yellow and he

needs the green to leave Mark Selby needing a snooker. Not a good angle

here to take the pot on and try and get on the green, he is looking at

It was never going to be easy to get on the green. But I'm just

wondering here, if he played two shots in one, he could take the

double in the green and screw into the brown. He could play a straight

forward snooker, but I am wondering if he will play two shots in a one

he and attempt the double and a snooker. Might be worth the risk,

that. This is what he has done. Hasn't got the double, but has got

Needed to run just another six or so inches to be safe here. Maybe

worth taking this pot on for Mark I thought he would have just rolled

it, it is more difficult when you play it the way he did, because he

only needed the green. As it has turned out, it is not that bad but

he could have stuck the green up. I thought he could have played it

plain ball, he is so good at that There was a possibility of getting

a snooker here, he could send the green up and down the table and

from the white up and down towards the black. He'd usually pretty good

at that type of shot. You have got to keep the object ball safe as

He can't really risks sending this around the angles, because if he

plays it as if he was trying to double the green into the right

hand pocket, he could cannon into the brown, so he has to be careful

here. That is why he has gone the way he has and he has played it

And there is another one. Very well Not a lot to separate these two in

I bet they were both good at hiding Sikh! Well, he hasn't he did green

this time. -- hit the green. He missed that pink, so a key shot

But he has played it well. I think we could be in very long opening

frame. Neither player wants to take a risk here, because

psychologically, it is a good frame Good shot. Just gone past the

middle pocket. If he's going to take it on, it's going to be into

the corner pocket. It is a tough one. Well, he can't take this one

on. The one he refused was easier A chance here to possibly get a

snooker behind the brown and double He has played it well. He has

Perfect picture there of the swerve Amazing how he got between the

green and black into the pocket there. He can only tie now, so as

Amazing how he missed the black and the green and found the pocket.

referee can't call a miss because he can only time now. -- tie now.

Every possibility of starting as much now with a re- spotted black,

it's on the cards. Mark won't be Clever shot from Mark Selby. Got to

the green in the middle of the table but the blue is blocking the

Could be in trouble here, Mark. The green up into the middle of the

baulk cushion. The cue ball behind Yes, you see, when you are close to

the cushion, it a little bit more difficult. It may have been a free

ball as well. Well, that's a double whammy. He couldn't actually have

called a miss there because he's 25 points ahead. The referee should

not have called a miss because this 25 points left on the table. He has

called a free ball so he shouldn't go behind the pink but he could

It's definitely worth taking the blue, surely, try to cut to the

blue in, miss the middle pocket on the left-hand side and try to get

up close to the green. Or get the green off the cushion. The angle is

certainly there. It might just be a little bit short. It looks a bit

This is a big pocket, isn't it, Dennis? This is a big chance for

Mark Selby. This blue is helping his cause here. Makes his pot a lot

Purposely didn't play the direct pot. Off the cushion was so much

OK, it's the opening frame. The best of 11. But, from a

psychological point of view, this is going to hurt Mark Williams

because he had two or three chances This should not be a problem

So both players are a little bit edgy in this opening frame. Both Mr

The longest frame of this match but Mark Selby, he will be delighted to

have taken it in the end. He leads 42.5 minutes for what opening frame.

Although it may not have looked to be a fluent one, Steve, it was

definitely one of great safety play. High-calibre safety, tactics and

years of experience went into so many of those shots towards the end.

They were both playing cat-and- mouse to force a good opening from

their opponent. It didn't come for a long period of time but the

safety was unbelievable. In the early part of the frame, Mark

Williams looked good and then he fell down. It was not clear cut who

have the dominance but, in the end, so many clever shot. In the end,

Mark Selby turn down a couple of 50-50 chances in preference for a

safety shot in order to get a better leave from his opponent, and

finally he got one. A great shot off the blue. But he still cleared

up well, potted the brown. Marvellous frame of snooker. Not

quick snooker, by any means, but that was fascinating. You mentioned

Mark Selby and the fact he took a long time before he decided to go

for it. That is the sort of thing which comes from experience and

that's what we have got. It's also conference in your own ability

because anybody can go for every 50-50 ball and Gamble but actually,

you realise there's times to gamble and not to gamble, and the first

frame against equality opponent is not the time to gamble. If both

players are getting each other in snooker's, there's an element of

luck and when you escape from the snooker, where it's going to end up

but is also an element of skill playing an escape at the right

speed, so you can maximise your chances of sticking your opponent

up and a general, great standard. Mark Williams looking more fluent

at the start of the match. Then falling apart. He struggled earlier

on against Matthew Stevens. I think they both look in great form. Even

though it may not be obvious from that particular frame, I think it's

COMMENTATOR: Well, let's see if he can knock this long one in. It's a

free shot, the only one he could Nicely on the black. The red he

attended has gone into the bunch Two ways of playing the safety shot,

thin of the pack or thick off all the pack, open them up a bit more,

make sure you get a good cue ball. It just depends how you feel. It is

But he has not cover this red which That was a very good shot and an

interesting choice there. He missed a similar blue in the opening frame.

Plus the fact the yellow was there much more difficult pot in a better

position. Purposely played for the yellow here. Trying to split the

It is a nice but, he has been a bit unlucky not to free the cue ball

Could have been a lot kinder for him, offered the yellow, knocking

Yes, he was unlucky when he tried to split the pack. Played exactly

the same sort of shot and got a slightly different result but, on

that occasion, it did not work out and it knocked the black safe. Very

It just ran up a little bit far, for this blue. The blue is a bit

easier to go in off the bunch but the only problem is, if for the

pink was tighter to the reds, this would be a lot easier from the blue.

The fact that it is a few inches away from the reds makes it a

little bit more difficult, so Not too bad. Is that red in the

middle of the bunch? Would it go? He is walking around to have a look

And this time, Mark knocked the pink on the other side of the table

so the split from both players was So, at the moment, he's only got

the blue and the baulk colours to There are two reds. I'm not sure if

there is a plant. It's gone slightly to the right of the pocket.

The red just to the left of his arm, A long way to go in this match. We

could be in the saddle for while this evening, the way that opening

RISHI PERSAD: A high quality match in progress but I'm afraid we've

got to go for now. However, Mark Selby and Mark Williams will

continue their quarter-final battle and you can followed online or