Day 2 Masters Snooker

Yes, the fast cars, the flamboyant fashion sense and the fabulous

shotmaking. We can only be talking about Judd Trump. He is in Alexandra

Palace today. We will see his first-round match against Marco Fu

live on the second day of the Dafabet Masters. Opening day was a

surprise. Defending champion Mark Selby went from cruise control to

full blown scramble against Mark Davis. This is what happened.

He would look elegant in a bin liner. That looks good to me. Mark

Selby has won all four frames. I took my chance well. I seemed to

control the match to go in front, which I was happy with.

Well done, Mark Davis. He keeps his hopes alive.

The first century in the UK Masters this year. A fabulous clearance from

the likeable Mark Davis. He is still behind.

I was proud of myself for coming back the way I did. From 4-0 down is

a long way back. It is a mountain to climb against Mark.

What a comeback for Mark Davis. We have got a one frame shoot out.

The tension seems to reverse and the pressure seems to reverse a little

bit. At one stage I was looking as though I was coasting. Then Mark

came back and then he had a chance to win.

It will be a very relieved Mark Selby. A great opening first-round

match. At the end of the day you either win

or you lose. To go out in the first round would

have been disappointing, especially being 4-0 in front. But I am through

to the next round. Dare I say it, but that was a game

of two halves? It was! It nearly went into extra time. It so often

happens. You are leading 4-0 at the interval, the other guy gets a new

lease of life and suddenly you are on the back foot. Perhaps Mark Davis

relaxed a bit after the interval? When you are that far behind,

sometimes you loosen up a little bit. You start to play quicker. You

feel like the game has gone from you. You sort of throw caution to

the wind a little bit. He made that wonderful 136 break and that got him

going. The pressure got to Mark Selby. It was quite exciting. Mark

Selby had to restart the engines and he did it well? He did. He has great

survival instinct. He has a great match player. He just about scraped

over the line. Last night, John Higgins took

control of his match against Stuart Bingham. For breaks over 50. He has

been tinkering with queues in turmoil over the last six months.

Using his third cue of the season, definite signs of improvement.

When you have not won any decent matters, you begin to get the nerves

a little bit. I'm happy enough. I played a lot better -- a lot better

than I have been doing in recent months. That is the pleasing thing.

Maybe I over tried. I have been playing well in the ranking events.

I came into this on a bit of form. Maybe the Christmas break did me no

good, really. My Nan was in the crowd tonight and she couldn't beat

me! If you were to win, you would

probably have to beat Selby and then another strong favourite. I have

only won one match. A long way to go.

The draw looks like this. We are positively bounding into our

second afternoon here at Ally Pally. A venue that has proved so popular

among all of the players and the spectators in the last couple of

years. Not that Marco Fu would know something about that. We have not

seen Marco in the Masters since he reached the final in 2011. The

mercurial Marco remains something of an enigma.

Marco probably lacks a little bit of self belief. He burst onto the scene

in his first season and got into the final of the UK Championship.

Everybody thought he was a rising star from the East who would go to

the top. Then he suddenly disappeared for a while. He has got

to get that self belief because he has certainly got the talent. Marco

is blessed with exceptional temperament. Not got the greatest of

ability. He has hot streaks. When he is hot, he is very hard. When he is

not, you get speed very consistently. I have great respect

for the overseas players. To live out of a suitcase, and Marco has

been doing that for many, many years, it is not easy. But now he is

married, he is settled, he is living in England, and I think is game will

improve. Marco Fu has a very unique technique. There is no real cue

action. He points out the cue ball. He does not federate. His head moves

slightly. When he delivers the queue, it goes through in a straight

line. It is certainly a technique all of his own. The reason he goes

in and out of form is because of the cue action. He must pass to further

the ball a few more times and then he can be more consistent. One of

the nicest players on the circuit. Always there to sign an autograph.

He is one of nature's nice guys. He deserves every credit. He is an

absolute credit to the game. And on parade with me very shortly,

I will be talking to the likes of two former world champions. Judd

Trump would love to be a world champion. He has largely had a

season to forget so far. The oath the New Year will bring him some

fresh impetus. -- he is hoping the New Year will bring him some fresh

impetus. I have got to world champions here. Ken Doherty and

Steve Davis. Ken, a pretty average season for Judd Trump so far. He has

not been beyond the top 16 stage in any major event. Quite incredible,

that statistic. We have all gone through confidence breaches.

Certainly his confidence is pretty low. He does not seem to be scoring

as much as he has done in previous years. He was a whisker away from

winning the world championship. That would have changed from completely.

He has done well in recent seasons. He needs a kick-start. He is like a

few players in the top 16. He needs a really good run in a tournament

like this. These are the type of tournaments that appeal to Judd

Trump. Big crowds, TV, lots of attention. He loves the limelight.

He loves to shine in this type of arena. Hopefully that will inspire

him. We would love to see him return to the way he played. He is a great

entertainer with fantastic ability and always plays entertaining shots

for the crowd. He warmed up well in Essex last week. He made for big

centuries. You just feel he is may be due a good run? Yes. It doesn't

take much for a player to turn the corner. Judd Trump's style, when he

came first of all, was pretty daredevil stuff. That is a tightrope

to walk. One minute is very attacking and the next minute it is

almost suicidal. It is easy to be the style of Marco Fu to have a more

consistent season. Judd Trump will somewhere down the line mature into

the winner that we know we will be. He is the best of his era in his age

group. Somewhere down the line everything will fall into place.

Marco Fu, winner of the Australian Open earlier this season. A

fantastic achievement for him. Another two finals within ten

months. He has a great 2013. It was topped off by that really

embarrassing victory to an amateur in the UK Championship. That is the

funny thing about Marco. Sometimes he can win a tournament and in the

next tournament he can go out in the first round. The two styles of play

here, poles apart. That is what will make today a fascinating contest.

Which Marco Fu will turn up? We don't know. When he is honoured, he

is a handful for anybody. He has a fantastic all-round game. A dominant

record for Judd Trump against Marco Fu. After a couple of weeks at the

darts, it is about snooker at last for our MC, Rob Walker.

Thank you. What a way to spend a Monday afternoon in January. Forget

about work, sit back, relax and enjoy! This is the Dafabet Masters.

We have two of the best players in the world ready to entertain you.

Please welcome a player whose rise back up the ranking brings his first

appearance at the UK Masters for three years. Runner-up at Wembley in

2011, Australian open champion, back among the word's top ten. From Hong

Kong, Marco Fu! Marco, a warm reception. Your first

appearance at Ally Pally and a fresh stage to perform on tee Yes, it is

nice to be back. It is sad to have to miss two years in a row. Really

looking forward to this year's championship. He is back. Ladies and

gentlemen, Marco Fu! And his opponent, one of the most

exciting young players on the circuit. Winner of the China open

and the UK Championship in 2011. Semifinalist here two years ago,

Heery comes with his own brand of naughty snooker, the pride of

Bristol, the ace in the pack, Judd Trump!

Jud, another great round of applause for you. You have been involved in

some epic Masters matches and this could be another? I hope so. A man

of few words. He is clearly ready, Judd Trump!

So everybody is ready. It is time to join our commentators on the 13th of

January, a significant day for the man alongside John Virgo. Yes,

Stephen Hendry is another year older today. I will say no more than that

except to say happy birthday, Stephen.

Yes, he is trying to keep it quiet. So, Judd Trump gets this first-round

match underway. And a good length with the cue ball. He has got to

start producing now, Judd. He is the best of his era. He has got to start

proving it on the table. When he lost in the World Championship final

two John Higgins, you thought it was going to be the start of something

big but it has not materialised. He has got one of the toughest

competitors on the circuit, when he is on his game, in Marco Fu?

Absolutely. As the boys were saying in the studio, he is either a world

beater or you just do not from him. Tremendous scorer when he is playing

well, Marco Fu. Fantastic in among the pink and the black. I agree with

you talking about Judd. This is one of the tournaments you have to win

if you think you are among the best in the world. He did not play the

best safety shot there, Judd Trump. Marco Fu has left a red to the far

right corner. He would not have to do much with the cue ball to get

position on the black. The first frame, the first points,

always a secular. -- always good to settle. He played it nicely. He did

not have to do anything with the cue ball. What can he make of this

opportunity? Is amazing, the red that Marco

missed. It is amazing how its dense the confidence a little bit. These

are parts that professionals expect to get.

Yes, you can bet your life that on the practice table he was practising

that type of shot. But he missed it on the big stage. It could be very

costly. Very soon Judd will be thinking of a

way to get an angle on the collar. -- the collar. The banks but is not

available. Judd is looking for an angle on the

blue. He will be disappointed. He will have to play for the one open

red now. He should have had more angle on the blue than this. He is a

bit straight on this red. It will not be easy to get a good angle on

the blue. Top spin on the cue ball. He has

gone into the red is absolutely superbly. They could not have opened

any better. A good shot. It is important to miss the pink

when he went into the pack. Oh, so careless. So very, very

careless. He was absolutely perfect on the red. He must've been thinking

about the next shot. I was going to say, John, how

composed it looks around the table. And then he does that. If you do not

focus on the shot, you put a tiny bit of side on. It is easily done.

I can't believe he actually played for this. He will be just glad to be

at the table, Marco. I am sure when Judd broke the balls as he did, he

would have thought, frame over. He played that well.

Back-up for the blue. No problem. Absolutely perfect.

I don't know if the pink pots to the corner. I don't think it does.

He has just let that cue ball drift a few inches too far.

He dropped that in dead weight. But once again, he is not perfect. So

Judd Trump may see a chance to get back to the table.

Not there. Now, has he covered the red over the corner? That is what

Marco will be looking at. I don't think he has. No. Judd can clearly

get through to this red. So he has still got a 13 point lead, has Judd.

It is straight and he is just a bit concerned. The one thing he does not

want to do here is pinch a little bit of the pocket and missed the

red. He can screw back. He has got plenty of few power. -- plenty of

cute power. Do not miss the pot. The lead is 28 points, 35 leading.

-- remaining. Frame ball missed! He will be disappointed to miss

that. He played it nicely. Absolutely inch

perfect on the black. Marco Fu is the new favourite for this frame

now. He has overhead that. Can he get

past the brown? -- he has overheated.

He played that nicely. Just chose to make sure the pot was a little bit

further away from the green. Four remaining colour is needed.

This will be a bit of a blow to the confidence of Judd Trump. He has had

two good chances to win this first frame. That is perfect on the blue.

He could not have put it better with his hand. Inch perfect on the pink.

Black for the first frame. And in eight goes! That will be a blow for

Judd Trump. It looked as though he was going to win the frame. Marco

had a chance, missed, Judd Trump was in again. But he missed a vital

frame ball red. Marco Fu takes the first frame. And Marco looks as if

he is in position to take advantage of any mistakes. Very unusual we

have seen two cracking mistakes from Judd Trump? Yes, it could be

carelessness. Every now and again you mishit a ball. He looked so

good, didn't eat Ken? Yes. That was the frame ball. You're concentrating

just on the red. He should not be thinking of position. You don't

expect him to miss that. As the lads in commentary said, they are solar

plexus blows to your confidence. He had the frame at his mercy twice. I

guess it is how it affects him. He is quoted this week as saying that

he admires somebody like Mark Selby you can put mistakes behind him and

crack on with things. He does not seem to be able to achieve that? No.

If that is the case, he should not make mistakes. He has got himself up

for the match. He has got off to a flying start. He built himself a

frame winning opportunity. It looked as if he had done the hard work. You

still have to concentrate on the easy ones. That in itself is an art

form. It is indeed. He starts from one behind now.

A little bit unfortunate. Hoping to be on a ball colour there.

Judd has taken a blow there. He used to go for everything, but he's

certainly learnt a few lessons over the last season or two, that us just

can't pot everything. The two balls he's missed in there, it cost him

the first frame. This is definitely one he would have

taken on even last season, but he's giving it thought.

He went for it and missed it. To me, that red was more difficult than the

blue. The blue was on the table. It was a shot that few would expect to

get. You are striking down like that, and

particularly it's a very acute angle, then you've got to be so

accurate. Here's the shot. I know it's risky,

but the natural game is to attack. If he makes himself play defensive I

think it affects his confidence and his game.

Fair comment and maybe if he had won the first frame, like he should have

done, maybe he would have thought about the blue.

He couldn't have played that any better than that. One in there in

the corner. He would have been you cannily why if he didn't. -- unlucky

if he didn't. What a chance this is. One of the arts is mentioned in the

studio as we watch that split again, it's don't miss easy shots.

If you don't miss the easy pots, particularly when you're in, you

won't lose many frames. I can't believe he missed that. I

don't know why he's hit that. That wasn't in -- was into a blind

pocket. Possibly forgivable, but one we expected him to get. He needs to

make the most of this opportunity. Clear leer straightaway, he's missed

the cannon that he played. He does need to win this though, to

erase the memory of the first frame. Won't be happy with that positional

shot. Ham pered by the red near the cushion -- hampered by the red near

the cushion, so it makes it more awkward. Striking down.

Was he trying to pinch a bit of the pocket there to avoid the cannon on

the red? I don't know. Whatever happened, he maybe just hit across

it slightly. He has a bit of body movement there

and tremendous cue power, so doesn't need to use the body.

Let's look at that shot again. He just had a slight move on the head,

but probably brought on by the first frame. He's had a couple of misses

and it sticks in your head and... He has a short cue action and

doesn't possess a lot of cue power, so having to run the cue ball up and

down the table, it's not the easiest thing for him.

It's the perfect cue action if you wanted one, from when you're in and

around the black and pink areas, like Stephen mentioned at the start

of this match. It's very economical. Nothing can go

wrong, really. It's just the long game that's perhaps his weakness,

consistently missing long balls probably.

This black will put him one in front, so he's going to need the

four remaining reds, so it's not going to be easy to win the frame at

this visit. If he's dead straight on this red,

tradition going to be awkward. He certainly played that one with

plenty of action on the cue ball. All he needs is another good shot

now to keep it going. He did play the red on the far left.

It's the only one he can play, the one he's leaving, so if he fancied

the long, straight red, I won't blame him.

Sometimes in these type of situations patience is what can

stand you in good stead and of the two, I favour Marco more than Judd.

An important facet of this match is how trump copes with the tactical

side and that's an excellent shot. That's what they do on mast of the

day. Look at all that space in the shaded area. There you go, he's

snookered on all reds -- Match of the Day. Look at the space in the

shaded area. There you go, he's snookered on all reds.

Oh, well, that's unlucky. He wanted to hit the red and send it up the

table, but to catch it that thin and going off, he can consider himself

very unfortunate there. You could have a thousand attempts

on that and you wouldn't do it again.

I think it's value trying to move the red away from the cushion. He's

need it to win the frame. Tsh he'll need it to win -- he'll need it to

win the frame. Couldn't have played it any better than that. A chance to

win the frame. He can go ten in front and then the

yellow, green and brown. One of them with a colour.

Then the three ball colours and he won't need the blue to finish the

frame. He'll be well past the number of snookers required.

That would leave his opponent needing a snooker to tie.

There you see it, 23 ahead. 18 remaining.

It must be said, Marco Fu is unlucky when he got out of the snooker, but

he had his chance earlier to maybe clinch the frame.

One snooker, not the tallest order and has done quite well there. At

this level, it's not only the snooker, but you have to make it

very difficult to hit. He'll want to get in off two

cushions here and get right in behind the blue. Knocking it over

the corner. I think that's end of frame. It will be a relieved Judd

Trump. Well, just a little bit of an

exhibition shot. He'll be mightily relieved. Still not without a

mistake or two, but Marco Fu unlucky when it went in off the red. It's

one apiece. There was a time in that frame, Stephen, when Marco was on 39

and I said at the time, it's difficult, but there was a red on

the Baulk Line, which if you could just explain the value in going for

it. As you say, it's the only red he can leave, but he's made 39, so he's

feeling comfortable, so why not take it on? It's difficult if Judd's just

missed, but you pot that red and you stun the white. If you pot it,

you're perfect on the yellow to cannon the brown and it's a free

opportunity. Very surprised. In the end, he decided to, if you like,

take the easy way out. OK, good safety. But sometimes you just have

to grasp the nettle and you got the feeling there that Marco just ducked

the issue and if pots the red then you're automatically on the yellow

and then he was unlucky, but Judd played a marvellous shot. Off the

green. This green here. Got to be very careful with the cannons,

because you can knock the red away in the cushion, but he hit it

absolutely perfect and knocked it on to the middle. Perfect timing on the

green, because even if he missed the cannon on the red, he would have the

other red. A lot of times you can knock the red past the middle

pocket. Again, as you say, he'll be relieved it's one each.

I always believe that to player really settles until he gets his

first frame on the scoreboard. They've both had one and both

missed. Probably Judd has missed more than Marco at the moment. But

all set fair now for a good match. Shouldn't be a problem for Marco to

rest into the bunch here. Well, he put too much weight in

there? Has he left the red for the middle? He has.

Heavy contact to stop the cue ball going throw as he would have liked.

He can't play the pink. He will able to hold nicely for the red, same

pocket as the blue. It's one of those. You would like to

run through for the black, but if you don't get the kiss you could

finish up with nothing. We'll see how he plays it. Didn't want to take

that risk, so played it for the pink and played it nicely.

Just checking what's available. Probably seeing if the pink goes to

the right corner. It looks as though it does from

that. He's on the black. Didn't expect to

kiss that red as far as he did. Not the perfect angle, but forced

it. Without any effort, really. Absolutely inch perfect on this red.

There is one loose red, but time to go into it, do you think? It's an

awkward pack and angle on the black. He couldn't catch the bunch full

there. Here here That's why he puts on a stun shot.

It worked out nicely. He's loosening the red slightly. They'll be a lot

better to go into next time around. He could go in off the pink.

He played it really well. This is a really good opportunity now to

clinch this third frame. Possibly that easy red that he

missed in the first round will sharpen him up now, because he won't

let that happen again. He doesn't strike the white

properly. Edon't think he'll do that again

after doing it the once. Yeah, he would consider that red

that we saw that he missed as unmisable, but we although, we have

played this game, there's nothing unmisable, so as you say, it

sharpens the mind and this red is the frame clincher.

He's in the snookers required stage. If he pots that red, he wouldn't

expect Marco Fu to come back to the stable.

Just thinking back to how Judd got into this frame, it was a little

snooker. Marco just overhit it by an inch or two. Missed a red to the

middle. He has been sat down ever since. An excellent break of 87 and

Judd Trump puts the first frame defeat behind him.

We have seen a couple of errors from Judd Trump along the way. We have

also seen flashes of the brilliant player he is capable of? You would

have two say that it is a really good performance since that first

frame. Sometimes you can get unnerved for a couple of frames. He

has settled back in and shown good composure. He plays some fantastic

shots. He has got such good cue power that he can split the pack

from virtually no angle. He scores very quickly. That is always a great

asset. He has always said that all like Mark Selby, who can really

graph and work hard, mentally as well, his assets have got to be the

speed at which he can blow you away with big breaks? Yes. If that is the

style that you play, you must play to your strengths. Another strength

he has got is that he has proven that he is not found wanting in

these big venues. You would imagine that they won table set up at the

Masters -- the one table set up at the Masters, if you're going to get

a break, it could be here. Not the best break of shot. Not bad

at all. A good long part, it has to be said. Catching the brown half

ball has left him in nice position. Yes, that was almost a carbon copy

of the one he knocked in in the previous frame. You have to sharpen

up his break off. -- he will have to sharpen up his break off.

He was willing that to stop. A good kiss on the brown to keep it going.

The cue ball just pulled up in time. Strader on the red would have been

ideal but he has played a nice shot. -- straighter.

He will have to do something new with his break off. In the meantime,

Judd has been a bit unlucky. Potted the red and tried to open the other

reds. The only ball he can pot is this black. And this is tricky. Not

quite. He just over cut it. But he may not have left much. Maybe the

red closest to the cue ball is the one that can be cut into the right

corner. Tough for a right-hand player, never mind a left-handed

player. Just a fraction out. I am sure this red can cut. He does not

have to do anything with position. Right in the heart of the pocket. He

is on the black. We always say, it is very difficult when the ball is

in the jaws of the pocket to absolutely be certain where the cue

ball is going to finish. Yes, the worst thing that could happen is if

he pot the black -- the cue ball thick. That was pretty good. If he

potted the black thick, the cue ball would have died. That was a better

shot than it looked. He is a little bit betwixt and

between here. He is not perfect on any of the Reds. That just

illustrated the difference in cue power between the two players. I

don't think Judd would have had any problem finding that gap and getting

the red to the right corner. He just did not get any pace on the cue

ball. That poor positional shot cost him

in the end. He will be very disappointed. The positional shot

prior to that red has put him back in his seat.

It was always going to be difficult to swing it around of the two

cushions. He has not done it. This is not an easy part. He will take it

on. -- NEC pot. This is a good chance now. His long

potting has been excellent so far in this matter. -- in this match. A

very high standard. Absolutely. I always think mid-60s for 70% is very

good. But 86%, that is exceptional. He just needs that one good pot to

keep this break going. He has got a choice. Read to the right middle or

the left middle. -- red. He knows that just one good pot now

and the frame is at his mercy. The mid-session interval after this

frame. After losing the first frame in the way he did, he will be over

the moon with a 3-1 lead. But not at this visit.

He will be disappointed with that. Having said that, it was very

important he covered the red near the balk line. He has left a pot

here. Just aiming to the left-hand Joel.

-- job. There is a possibility this red will pot. And in it goes. That

is absolutely perfect. That was the problem with Judd's choice of shot.

He yet as an opponent -- he gave his opponent have a chance. It was not

an easy shot. Have a chance sometimes is what can win or lose

friends at this level. -- frames. A little bit short of what he

intended. The red below the pink may be available into the right corner.

He does not have to do a lot with the cue ball. In potting this one he

releases the other red. This red, when he parts it, will put the

points all level. -- when he pot said. When you look at the

situation, he will need the remaining four reds to clinch the

frame at this visit. It is not a formality by any means. A bit of

work to be done. He wanted to avoid the pink there.

That is why he has lost the cue ball a little bit.

It looks as though he has got a good angle here. Sometimes people prefer

to stun them in rather than roll them in. He's playing it just below

centre. He was going back for the blue. I don't understand that. It

looked perfect. The more pace you play in those kind of shots, the

more accurate you have to be. Yes, pink or black looked easier options

than screwing back for the blue. He is looking at the red on the

left-hand side cushion. I can only assume that it must be tied to the

cushion. Is he thinking of taking the pot on? I think he is. It is

tight to the cushion. It would not be the biggest surprise if he

knocked this in. Over one minute of thinking time but this is a big

shot. No. Hit the red first. But he will be very pleased with the

outcome. I remember the days they used to put their hand up and

apologise, you know. They don't do that any more. Why say sorry if you

are not? Fair comment. Say sorry and then clear of. -- clear up. Marco is

in a spot of bother here. It is the same old story. He will need some

luck on his side. I think if he can come off the side

and the baulk cushion, he will be OK. Yes, absolutely. I don't think

you want to be playing this too hard. If you miss that red, you will

possibly miss the other one. It is made a little bit more difficult by

the fact that he has to use the spider. Try to come off the two

cushions, hit the red fall in the face and knocked towards the baulk

cushion or the baulk line. He has played it dead weight. That was the

problem playing it dead weight. If you did not hit it full in the face,

you are more than likely going to leave it. That is exactly what he

has done. Yes, if you have got your hand on the table it is much easier

to play that shot. On the face of it, the red near the

baulk line is perfect. Two straight on the Brown. A little bit too much

angle on the green. He managed to hold it well. It will

all come down to what will be the awkward last red.

He got the Canon. But I always called Eddie Charlton. Never try to

move a red off a red because if you do, you are never certain to be on

the colour. Old steady Eddie was right.

Excellent cue ball but he missed the part. -- pot. It was a great

attempt. Just a fraction and with the black. Excellent cue ball, as

you say. Now it is his opponent who can reap the benefits.

A quick glance at the scoreboard for a Marco. He is seven points in the

lead. This is not going to be a formality to win the frame. I think

he is playing the snooker. Yes, he just has not got that shot in his

armoury, her seat? Judd Trump would have played it. Absolutely. Fair

play. He knows his limitations. This is not the most difficult of hits.

It depends how he wants to play it. He decided to play it off one

caution. He had a bit of luck. It is not a snooker but this is not

the easiest safety shot by any means. The double kiss is on. I

don't think you can get to the left-hand side of the yellow. And if

he can only get to the right-hand side of the yellow, and tries to

play it up and down the table, it could run into the green. He will do

well to get this safe. Well, he tried the thin one. In a way he was

a little bit lucky that he missed the bump in the middle pocket. He

could have left a free ball. Michaela said to him there that he

would have do help her out. What do you want to borrow? A fiver? ! That

is where it was. And that is where it is now. He is still playing the

thin one. He has missed it again. Now I am not certain whether he can

be warned here. I am not certain he can see all of the yellow. Let's see

what Michaela says. She has warned him. I thought the

rule was that you could hit both sides of the ball.

REFEREE: full contact. It puts more pressure on the safety

shot now. Just playing it have ball on the right-hand side, there is a

danger it could run the green. Listen, hit the yellow and hope for

the best. You would not want to lose the frame by missing it for the

third time. Surely not. His interpretation of the rule was

that he had to see both sides. I did. I thought it was a free ball

situation. Anyway, he has had a result. He has not the brand safe.

That is a little bit of extra insurance for Marco. -- the Brown.

Maybe not. Marco needs the Brown as well. So this frame has turned on

hit bed completely now. -- on its head. That is not the best shot.

Kenny get through to pot this yellow? I think he can, just. In the

end he decided not to play the pot. Maybe he could not see enough.

We all love the potting and break building, but there is nothing like

a close finish to a frame. Good hit. You would have two say that Marco is

slight favourite. -- to say. Excellent safety shot. Yes, and

Marco cannot get through it. So coming off the cushion, lots of

right-hand side. That was an excellent escape. A

controlled escape. A chance for Judd. He can double the yellow to

dislodge the Brown here. He would be unlucky to stick the yellow in the

middle. Well short of pace there. He has not

really left anything for Judd to have a go at here.

Just a fraction too hard there. But it is safe enough.

He thought better off it and I can't blame him and he's played that

really well. Good shot. If you can hear some noise, that is

the rain we are getting outside the Alexandra Palace.

I think the one-cushion escape across the table, the blue might

just be blocking that. He has to be careful about the

speed, maybe bringing the brown into play. If he plays a dead weight

he'll be snookered again. Judd just having a think whether he

should have him playing it again. I see no reason why not, to be honest

with you. That's the line and just a little bit short of pace.

Even if he hits the yellow, it leaves the cue ball close to the

yellow and Judd could possibly gain another advantage.

If he leaves it like that then Judd could play the snooker behind the

brown. He's got the line. These four points really add up

particularly at the end of a frame. I've got to be honest, I would play

this with a bit more pace. Has he got the line? He has, but he

could be in trouble again here. Just a little screw back. Get the

cue ball back behind the brown. He was always leaving himself open

to be snookered again. That was a good hit, but it's not

getting out of the snookers, can you get them safe? That brown always

looked like it would be the key ball in this game.

It certainly looks as though it's going to be now.

Because he had that in his mind that's why he played that little

extra pace and he's snookered himself, I think. I don't think he

can get through the directly to the green -- get through directly to the

green. Just five points in it. This frame still in the balance.

Purposely playing that with pace and go knee the pocket and bounce off

the top cushion. He was maybe thinking of a snooker behind the

brown, but the most important thing is to get the green safe and he's

done that. Cue ball. Oh. It's going to have to

be a good clearance if smin gets in. Absolutely. I was thinking just

before Marco went in off, that he was the favourite, because he didn't

need the pink. Now, having gone in off, he'll need the pink. He can't

win it with just green, brown and blue.

Both players putting an aust lot of effort into this frame. -- awful lot

of effort into this frame. That makes it all the more important. If

you put the effort in then you want the reward of winning, but it's hard

to say who's going to win it at the moment.

We always say on many occasions, no two frames of snooker are alike,

after the first two or three, I never saw a frame like this coming,

a long, drawn-out affair. Judd Trump doesn't play many a frame

and takes this long. He either wins it or his opponent

wins it. It's fair to say that Marco hasn't

really left Judd an opportunity at this green. I'm certain if he had

half a chance he'd be going for it, but he won't be playing it off this.

It's just too tough. It looks a nice target behind the

brown, to come off the ball cushion, with you you'll have to play quite a

bit of pace on the green. You would think he would possibly

try to get the snooker behind the black, but it depends how he sees

it. A lot of choice here for Judd. He

misses being caught, but it's an easy snooker to lay behind the brown

here. I could see value in Judd playing this and just rolling the

green on and off the cushion. Snooker behind the brown surely is a

formality? It's by the pocket where the green

is. A chance of flipping the green, of

course, but... Perhaps trying to push the green to

the ball cushion. A bit of pace. If Judd could have got his hand on the

table he wouldn't have accepted the miss, but Marco has been

disappointing on the way he's getting out. If you've got a

one-cushion escape you would expect to hit it. He's trying to hit it off

two. I think he may have the angle to

screw into the brown and bring the brown into play.

Green, brown and blue needed for a 3-1 lead at the mid-session

interval. Oh, well. And you could see if he

had hit that green in the middle of the pocket he would have brought the

brown into play. But he's missed it. He hit it in the wrong side. If he

had hit it in the middle he would have definitely got the cannon. He

seems to have overhit that to me. When it comes to potting something,

the time has left you. Yeah, fair comment. Disappointed.

All square to level at the mid-session interval.

The biggest chance of getting the pot is if you play it dead weight to

give it every chance of dropping. If you miss it, you've lost the frame.

Five points the difference, so if Judd did miss the pink on this

attempt, it wouldn't cost him the frame. Trn

A miss will be called. Obviously, it will be accepted. He's got to hit it

this time. If he doesn't hit it this time, he'll need a snooker.

Well, he did. Where's the cue ball going? Where's the cue ball going?

I don't want to be harsh, but if it had gone in off there, it would have

been his own fault. I can't believe he's refused the pink. I would say I

wouldn't have sympathy. It's a half-ball pot. How can you refuse

it? I agree he shouldn't have ever gone for that cross pink, but this.

It's unbelievable that he turned that down.

Can Judd get it safe? It needs to run past the middle. Good shot.

The cue ball is close to the corner again. This time it's in.

If you don't go in and you get close, they stay in the jaws. What a

thriller this frame's been. We've had everything.

But not a result as yet as he come into the 50th minute.

He has to be careful with the double kiss.

Once again, as we mentioned before, if he's playing the pink up and down

the table, he's got to be very careful of the double kiss.

I don't think it's one he can play cushion as you can't get right in

behind it. He needs to be careful here.

Needs a good length for the pink. It's not a bad length. I don't think

it will be tempting Marco Fu to play the cut. It's cuttable.

He went all out for the snooker and that's a risky thing to do. Because,

what you do in that respect, is going to make the cue ball as object

ball close together. It makes it easier for the opponent. He may be

thinking will he play the double. Maybe too risky. The double is on.

He played the snooker, but just not there.

That's excellent. He won't be able to get in behind this one. The up

and down, as we have said a few times, always be wary of the double

kiss. Played it well. Been impressed with

trump's safety and patience in the frap. Yes, hes competed with Marco.

-- patience in the frame. Yes, he's competed with Marco. This is a bit

pacey. This is a little bit pace y, is it? -- pacey, is it? It shouldn't

cause a trouble for Marco to maybe play a better safety. Possibly get a

snooker. The big problem here is the double

kiss, whatever way you play this. It's safe enough not to tempt Judd

for going for the pot. Coming up to 55 minutes. It needs to

run past the black if it's going to be any good. It hasn't. But after a

couple of half chances Marco has refused, I don't think he'll be

taking this one on. It looks quite an easy shot to play thin off the

left-hand side of the pink, put the pink off to the side cushion.

He did go to it and he knocked it. It just shows you sometimes it's the

shot that you fancy determines what you go for. Excellent pot on the

pink. What a frame that was! And Marco Fu will be well pleased to go

to the mid-session interval all square. 2-2. All 55 minutes and 22

seconds longer than the previous three frames put together. What a

frame. Ironically, he went for that one, which was the more difficult

shot than the one he turned out? Much more difficult than the one he

refused. It's hard to believe, to be honest. Sometimes, it comes back to

you. When you have this shot - it's not a very difficult shot, because

it's just a half-ball shot into the green pocket. You stun it off the

side cushion. You'll leave the cue ball on the ball cushion and it's

it's a straightforward shot. I couldn't believe he would refuse

that. Sometimes when you refuse balls like that we have a saying in

snooker that balls never forgive you. It could have easily lost that

frame. He would be kicking himself in the dressing room if he had have

lost. Then he takes on that pink that you wouldn't. John Virgo didn't

expect him to take that one on. Rightly so. Difficult shot. He cued

it in. I think we asked the question about Marco, his highs and lows, he

might win and then out in the first round. If he was a lot more positive

and I think he would win a lot more matches and be at the business end

of a lot more tournaments. The fact he goes into his shell a lot more,

that he doesn't have the elusive confidence that some of the other

top players do, belief and confidence in themselves, to go for

those type of shots and be more positive and take more on, because

when he gets in among the balls he's really good. We know that from the

amount of centuries he has, but he's not just positive. He doesn't look

like he has the belief. There's a fine line, though, because Stephen

and John were saying that Marco knows his limitations and knows how

to play in a conservative manner, because he didn't have the cue

power, so clearly you think he's airing on the side of caution rather

than going for it? I have refused a lot of balls in my time and when I

look back, I would kick myself and thought, "I should have been more

positive." I would say to him that it's good to know your limitations

and good to know he doesn't have the cue power that Judd Trump has, so

because of that and sometimes because you're out there and not

confident and because of that just in that certain shot that you don't

like, OK, you have to say, "I don't like this shot." Others may find it

easier, but sometimes it just has to be a little more positive and

believe in himself. When you look at him going around the table he looks

relaxed and assured, but he doesn't give off the air of confidence like

Judd and O'Sullivan and the likes of Selby and Robertson, when they're

walking around the table he command the table, as if they own it. Marco

doesn't command that sort of confidence or breathe that

confidence or give off the great vibes that some of the others do.

It was a long frame but it was worth the wait in the end for the closing

pink. As for tonight's offering, it pits Scotland's world number five

Stephen Maguire against Cambridge's Joe Perry. This is not an easy one

to call. We will hear how the Scot feels about it. Can coddle with him

earlier. It is a wonderful title. It is

steeped in history. We would have grown up on images of the UK Masters

over the years. It holds a lot of nostalgia and prestige for a lot of

players? Yes. I remember watching it on TV when it on TV when a Borders

at Wembley. -- when it was on TV at Wembley. That is the best venue I

have ever played in. All of the players were gutted when the final

left it. Behind the World Championship, that was the

tournament to probably watched the most. You have only been to the

semifinal in this event only twice. For someone of your stature and

experience, and a multiple winner on the tournament schedule, this is one

tournament you really want? Definitely. Two semifinals but I

have been trying! It is a tough school out there. I don't beat

myself up. I think Ronnie beat me in my first semifinal. Mark Selby beat

me in the other. He seems to win this every second year! No

complaints about how I have played. When people look at you on the TV,

sometimes you are one of those players who does not hide your

emotions. When you wrap the table, is that an expression of frustration

is it to get your juices going, to get yourself going? I don't really

know! I cant keep it down inside. I have tried that. Anybody can sit

there and not show emotion but inside they are boiling. I feel it

is easier for me to let it out. I honestly don't think it affects me

sometimes. I let it go. I still get embarrassed when I do it. But after

that I feel, it was just a release. I have seen myself playing better

straightaway. It helps you a little bit? I think so. I don't mean to do

it on purpose because I think it looks terrible. I do think it looks

bad. It is one way of intimidating your opponent. You looked like a

caged animal sometimes. That is why I have got so much bigger! Like I

say, it is not nice. Snooker is a gentleman's game. It does not look

good on TV and it does not feel good. But of I think it helps and I

think it is putting you off...! You are certainly a character. Your

opponent, Joe Perry, how do you rate him? He has crept into the top 16.

Good performances in recent years. We have spoken about him many times.

He has benefited from familiarising himself with a lot of the top

players. Having a good season. Yes. He has won and Asian PTC at the

start of the year. It has kick-started his season. He won a

group of the weekend against six other great players. He is cueing

well. He is one of the players who has been helped by the changing of

the system. I don't think he misses many tournaments. He is always hard.

He is in and out of the top 16. What would it mean to Stephen Maguire to

not only beat Joe Perry, but to go on and be Masters champion along

with the UK Championship? Yellow it would be fantastic. The UK

Championship is like 100 years ago. I cannot really remember it.

Although I have been one of the top players, top eight or whatever, I

have not been one of those players who has won a lot of tournaments

compared to some of the other guys. For me, winning a major just now,

especially this week, would be better than winning the UK. All the

very best. Thank you. Maguire's winning record against Joe

Perry is pretty dominant. Significantly, they faced each other

three times at the Crucible in the World Championship, and it was Joe

Perry who prevailed in a crucible quarterfinal before narrowly missing

out on the final. That was in 2008. They have a bit of history. When we

assess Joe Perry's season, Stephen Maguire referred to Asia and that

was the first time he won an event. What has changed for him in recent

months? Winning the tournament will have given him great confidence. He

has always been a perennial quarterfinalist, semifinalist. He is

a very consistent performer. He has got a very good all-round game. He

practices with Neil Robertson quite a lot. Until you get that first win

under your belt, you have that feeling that you can do it against

the big guys. That is what he needed more than anything. He has done it

against some of the big guys. He beat Judd Trump 3-0 in 30 minutes in

the league last week, having beaten Neil Robertson in the semifinal. You

said that was a minor event and this is where it counts? Yes, it is a big

difference playing there when there is nobody watching. OK, you still

have to perform but it is a world apart from playing in front of a

thousand people, the BBC are there. Because of the prestige of the

Masters as well, it is a different scenario. Joe Perry, in fairness,

has got a lot of experience and has been around a long time. He will not

be fazed. Sometimes even the top players can be unnerved going out

there. We are not calling it then? No! Splinters! Sitting on the fence.

It is time for a Masters class. Yesterday afternoon you will have

seen John Parrott beautifully carrying out an exhibition of safety

play. It was inventive and impressive. What has Steve Davis got

up his sleeve? This week we have decided to give

you an insight into the practice routines the top players

incorporate, that can be of use to the proficient intermediate players,

players who can make a 30 break and want to improve. There is a proviso.

I will tell you about the concepts involved, not about whether I get

the shots right. It is nothing to do with that whatsoever. Let's take two

players of illegal technical, mechanical ability. What separates

them is their understanding of positional play. Let's look at a

typical example of an easy situation. Two Reds and a colour on

the table. Here is a typical situation of what people do wrong.

They pot the red. They think too much about potting the black and not

enough about positional play. They pot the black. And they leave

themselves the wrong side of the red. To pot the red and get back on

the black, the cue ball has to go all the rate around the table -- all

the way. If they were on the right side, it would make it simpler.

Positional play is making sure you are the right side of the ball. Take

this situation here. You need a blue and a black. You part the red, you

leave the cue ball short of the blue rather than the other side. Now you

are assured of the blue. The cue ball has to do more mileage. How do

you try to encourage yourself to make the right decisions when it

comes to positional play? The one thing, if there is one thing you

should think of, before you play the shot, decide what side of the next

ball you want to be on. Let's take a way of trying to train your brain to

do this properly. Here is a setup we see lots of the top players

incorporate into their game. It is not the line-up. It is a staggered

line-up. All of these raids only part into one corner pocket. If you

part that read into that corner pocket, it releases that red into

that pocket. Start off with four raids or three reds. Pot the red.

Think where you want to put the white ball for the black. Think what

you want to put the white ball for the following red. This is where it

could go wrong. Pot the red. Get an angle on the black. Successfully got

an angle on the black. I would like to be here. Let's put it here. I

have now got to get the cue ball that side of the red. If I get low I

fail. I have to get the white ball high and off of the table. -- high

enough up the table. Concentrate on getting the right side. Even though

I am further than I would like, I still have a chance of potting this

red and getting back on the black. Make sure I get an angle on the

black. Once again, they have got to pot this black and get the right

side of this red. The wrong side is no good at all. When you can do this

proficiently, increase the amount of raids. And in the end, once you can

do the 15 you are at professional level. Back to you, Hazel!

This game is a lot more complicated than you think. A lot of thinking

required. How do I follow that? ! We are returning to the Judd Trump and

Marco Fu match shortly. There have been worrying signs creeping into

Judd Trump's game in recent years, in essence of snatching defeat from

the jaws of victory in a couple of matches. It is something I spoke to

about. -- to him about. We know about your

strengths as a player but you would probably acknowledge some of your

weaknesses as well. You are accused of losing focus and in fact, even a

lack of respect for your opponents. How do you respond to that? The

Times I have lost with a big lead, I have never really thrown it away in

my opinion. The other players played some good stuff to come back,

especially last season against John in Shanghai. I had a big lead and he

played faultless snooker. I am quite good at just forgetting what

happened and moving on. I have had a lot of criticism towards respect for

other players. In my opinion, I give everyone the same respect. If I play

well and practice well, I going to play my best and win. You have to

have that self-confidence. You cannot fear anybody. If you start

thinking like that, you would get beat every time. I am probably

thinking about that match against Mark Joyce. There was a five ball

plant and you took it on. You are immediately accused of a lack of

respect. You took a lot of flak, didn't you? Yes, there was quite a

lot of criticism after that might -- after that match. I would have taken

it on against anyone. I don't play the name. I just play who is put in

front of me. I don't put any respect because I have played players like

Ronnie in the past and he has played badly. Then you play somebody you

have never heard of and they play the best they have overplayed. Does

your mind wander? Do you lose concentration? Yes, I go into some

tournaments and I am so plugged into what I have to do, and in other

tournaments I find it hard being set in the chair with my mind wandering.

If, for some reason, I don't think the crowd is loud and is not getting

involved, I find it hard to get motivated and lose concentration.

What have you done to try to remedy that?

I think, for me, if I lose important frames, I normally stay in my seat.

I need to leave the arena and get my motivation back. In a lot of the

games I lose, I lose a lot of frames in succession. For me, I need to

sort that out this year and just completely refocus and have a little

chat to myself. I shouldn't be doing what I am doing and just get back in

there and get motivated again. Dare I say, Steve Peters? Sport

psychology. Would you ever go down that route? I would never say never.

But for me... I like self-motivation and I like teaching myself what I

should be doing. I don't like being told what to do. That is probably

the worst thing I could ever imagine, somebody telling me what I

should be thinking. In my opinion, I think he should know that yourself.

He is a very interesting man to talk to. When he has tended to lose

things, he has lost a number of frames in a row. He was four - two

ahead against Mark Allen and lost 6-4. That is the kind of collapsing

concentration he is trying to forget about. It is pertinent in that he

has only just lost that frame which took an hour? Yes, playing someone

like Mark Allen will always be tough. Players of his ilk who can go

on a bit of a run. It is against the other players that I would be

worried about. Some of the shots he would have played. OK, he has got

supreme confidence and ability. You have to say that is a great asset to

have. But sometimes when they are not going in, you have do have a

back-up game. His back of the game would not be up to scratch as some

of the other players. -- is back-up game. Sometimes that has been his

fault at times. That is why he has come unstuck. I played him recently

in an event during the summer. I think his safety is excellent. When

he put his mind to it. As far as sorting out why you lose frame after

frame, I don't think it is as easy as sitting down and trying to work

it out. It is about shot selection, getting that right. You take John

Higgins, who makes the most of every shot. That is perhaps the solution.

It is difficult to sort out. Plenty to talk about in the career of Judd

Trump and indeed in this match. The first to six frames will reach the

quarterfinal. Back to Stephen and John.

Very interesting interview with Judd Trump. You always get a chance. It

is very rare in a frame that you do not get a chance. When you get them,

you have got to take them. And Judd has had a few opportunities

in frames he has lost already in this match. But he will be happy

with that break off shot. A missed call accepted by Judd.

Asking Micaela to reposition the cue ball. -- Michaela. Players will

never ever on this side of thickness with this kind of shot. -- will

never air on the side of thickness. He has headed a bit thick. Having

hinted thick, lucky not to leave easier. -- not to leave any thing

easier. It was so difficult that Judd

decided to play the safety. That is a good safety. It is such a fine

line between attack and defence. You feel if it turns into a tactical

battle, you favour Marco Fu. I don't know if this red that is

sticking out will pot. If it doesn't, you will have it re-placed.

Oh, I miss cue. And now the warning. He will be warned. He does not want

to miss cue this time, otherwise he will lose the frame.

REFEREE: I have got to warn you know that if you do not hit a ball, you

will lose the frame. He hated this time. -- he hit it

this time. Judd has knocked a few of these in

today. But not that one. Much too thick. He may have left this read.

He has. -- this red. How easy it can turn around. That was a chance. You

always get a chance. He played it nicely. This is where

he is at his best, Marco Fu. He will be looking for an angle on

the black after this red. He is not on anything easy now. He

does not get enough pace into those type of shots. We have seen Ronnie

O'Sullivan play that and the cue ball keeps travelling back into the

Reds. There is a possibility of a red to the right middle but it is

hampered. How very good pot will stop -- a

very good pot. He is just about on the black.

And a good recovery. Now back in good position.

A nice angle on the brown to come off one caution and into the bunch.

Yes, he looks to have the perfect angle but decided to play one red.

Potting it will bring a couple of more raids into play. The tank is --

occupying the red spot. -- the pink is occupying the red spot.

Cue ball close to the middle. The bump is OK. Both the blue and the

pink will be possible because they are not touching.

And now an nice angle on the blue to run through. He will probably play

for this red that this closest to the corner pocket. -- that is

closest. He decided to to stun down the line. He will still play for the

red, which clears both corner pocket. This is an excellent chance.

He should have been better on this red so he could run through for the

black. He will have to go for blue or pink now. That was careless. But

no harm done. And now back in perfect position.

Potting this red will release the Reds just next to it. 59 points the

lead. That means there are snooker is required. He is nicely on the

black. Eight -- he will fancy a century here. When he does getting

around the or the black... Once again, not happy with that. It

should not cost him. This is a funny old game, it didn't

seem so long ago that Michaela Tabb was warning him about forfeiting the

frame. He finished up with a good safety shot, Judd Trump was up and

he sat down her sins. -- ever since. Highest break so far in the

Masters. Mark Davis with a break of 136, ?10,000 for the highest break.

A clearance now would be a break of 138, that would be the highest

break, and the front runner for that ?10,000 prize. The already has been

three centuries, but as many as you would normally expect. But of

course, we're only into the second day.

Not really on the right side of the blue here, he will have to send the

cue ball in and out of baulk. He needs to bounce off the top

condition. -- cushion. This, for the frontrunner in the high break prize.

In it goes, and that was Marco Fu at his best. He gets around the pink

and the Black and that cue action is tailor-made for it, and he wins the

first frame after the interval and now is leading by 3-2. Tool more

contrast and ways to win a frame, you could not have seen anything

like that. That is the two sides of Marco Fu for you! Yes, I have played

him in the past, sometimes he doesn't seem like he is doing much,

but he is very efficient and he has great big building records. For that

reason, he doesn't look like the most gifted player, doesn't look

like he has the most flair, but he does, he just doesn't look that way.

That is how he puts you out of your stride sometimes. Yes, he has

cannons and touches around the black, he has a wonderful touch, he

is lacking in Kew power, but what he has in abundance is the touch on the

field, and that is why he is one of the best break-builders in the

game, he has got 312, 313 centuries in his career, which is a huge

amount when you consider some of the other players. He is very, very

good, but contrast, that is the good and the bad of Marco Fu. Ken was

touching on how Marco made you feel when you played him, he said that he

had a tendency to rush, you had a tendency to rush because his dial

was so consistent. He saunters around the table, because he is so

relaxed, Judd Trump tries to get to the table and win the frame very

quickly, because he knows that if he does not, it will get dragged dead,

more times than not, so if an testicle encounter. -- so a

fantastic encounter. Judd Trump just below 90%, he needs

to raise that. Not entirely sure what he had in

mind there. He has been pretty fortunate. That red, he hit that are

so thick. -- hit that so thick. Judd Trump cannot afford to miss these

chances. Do not miss the easy balls, if you do, you are just asking for

trouble. A little bit of frustration from

Judd Trump, he came to the table, and when Marco first played that

shot, he probably expect to an easy chance. Still expecting him to pot

these. This red in the left corner, it will

cannon into some other balls, so you have to play it with pace, and he

doesn't have the most Kew power in the world. -- cue power. It seems

that he has two put a little bit of shoulder in this to really get that

type of pace. There really is a contrast in the

cue action. The power is really phenomenal. Great cueing. Just

having a look to see if he can get in and out of baulk, and a

possibility, he would be thinking, that he could maybe bring the pink

and the black back into play. That is the line that he is looking at.

He might have gone into the cue ball a bit too much. He will be

disappointed. But I do not think that was the line that he was

trying, in all honesty. If he was playing into the pack, that is the

wrong shot, because you will just block things up even more. He

misjudged it a bit. I think he wanted to play your shot to bring

the pink and the black into play. Looking at this red, he is looking

to play it right-handed at the moment. He does not need to get

frustrated here, he does not want to be doing that. I said earlier on in

the match, patients could be the key to winning or losing. -- having

patients could be the key. -- patience. He has got an easy safety

shot here. He has got a plant. It is a tough one.

He played that well. He is not too bad. He finished off with a slight

angle on the blue, just what he was looking for. Rather that, for me,

than the plant. It looking like he is just about

going for this red that is closest to the right-hand corner, but can he

avoid the kiss to get back up to the blue. He could quite comfortably.

Just a little bit short of pace. The reason he was like that, he was a

bit worried, if he played with pace, the cue ball could have connected

with the red in the top cushion if it was swinging wide. The red left

to the yellow is available, but he cannot just go for it. If he was

straight on the blue, he could go for it.

He has played that well. That is a good shot.

Until he gets the pink and the black in play, it will be a big ask to win

this frame in this visit. Not good. Possibly could cut this

red back to the right corner, but this is a tough one.

He has got it. Will he be on a colour? Not quite. Snooker it behind

the brown. That is the obvious choice.

If he could cut down the escape down the right-hand side of the table,

which it appears that he could do, that will be quite a. Marco is not

certain to get this safe. -- that will be quite a talent.

He could not have played it much better than that. That was a good

shot. It would be easy for Judd Trump to put him back in trouble.

The brown is the target, but it looks pretty good. It looks very

good. Just over run a little bit. But Marco has got to catch this

safety just right. He hasn't done, there is a red

available right here. That is the red here's looking at, I

think he can swing around the angles for the blue-collar or the baulk

colour. -- for the blue colour. His long potting is going off the boil

at the moment. That is not a good sign.

Judd Trump is still below what is required in the part success

department. -- the pot success department. A nice rub off the

brown, it gives him a better safety shot.

It is not easy to play the escape route down the right-hand side of

the table. That is what he attempted, I cannot

believe it that he gets away with that. If he gets away with that, he

is very fortunate. He did not even hit that with much conviction,

Marco, there was no strike in the ball at all. You can only assume he

was playing to hit the red wafer thin, and that would have got the

pace, but he was much too thick. I think the red just above the pink

will just about going to the corner pocket. -- go into the stop it is a

dangerous shot to play. He could have left something a lot

easier than this. He is second guessing himself a

lot, he seems to be going up and down and up and down. He had a long,

drawn-out frame before the mid-session interval, and Marco kept

him off the frame, so he is airing on the side of caution, so if he is

going to do that, he needs to play better safety shot than he is doing

now. You can tell by Marco's reaction

what he's thinking that shot. -- thinking of that shot. A much

thinner cut than he was hoping for. The pink and the black are tied up

again. Cue ball! No excuse for that. That middle pocket has always been

there! Every table I've ever played on any way!

The three reds, trying to bring the pink and black interplay. -- into

play. That will be half ball on bad bread. -- on that red. Left-hand

side of the two cushions. That is a good safety shot. It

wasn't the most positive one he could have played. When you play

safe, you try to put pressure on your opponent. It would have been a

lot more pressure on Marco to get it safe. Just short of pace and UA, it

doesn't look to difficult, this. The red on the left-hand side of the

table, it shouldn't be a problem, you would have thought. He has it it

is much too thick. -- hit it much too thick. He is unlucky that he

didn't leave anything easier than he has done. Good pot. That is more

like it from Judd Trump. You can see the way that the balls are situated,

it is not the best opportunity. He could stun the ball off the baulk

cushion. He could go for the three reds behind.

Just coming around to have a look, I think he played the red on the side.

He is making certain that the pink and the black are not a plant in the

corner. That is a good shot. That is a good

shot. There is nothing wrong with that.

It is not going to be easy for Marco Fu to get this cue ball back to the

baulk end. Just playing the containing safety

shot. Just get the feeling at the moment that Marco Fu is calling the

shots, so to speak. I think Judd Trump is just not imposing himself

enough. The game is being played exactly the way that Marco Fu wanted

to be played. Judd Trump needs to play his natural game, just let

loose. I know that you have to pull the reins in a little bit, but I

think he has got to play to his strengths. His average shot time is

probably a little bit less than normal for Marco, but Judd Trump,

usually about 19 second, 20 seconds for a shot, so, just emphasises what

you are saying, it is being played at Marco's pace as the moment. -- at

the moment. Tried to drop it in. He was not

interested in position. He thought he would drop it in and play safe,

but he got a dreaded double-kiss. This red is possible, I do not know

if Judd Trump will continue to take the chance here and try to disturb

the three reds below the pink and the black and possibly bring the

pink and the black into play will -- interplay. -- into play. Judd Trump,

he needs something a bit more positive here. That is what he did.

Just about pulled up in time. But these are admissible.

He just tried to make certain of the pot. He has just got no position.

Disappointing. Well, a good pot. I think the pot

was an afterthought. He was more concerned about getting the cue

ball. The red going in was a bonus. He would like to cover the red with

the brown and the blue. Is there a gap?

There is always a gap. But there is not a gap that can see him hitting

the edge of the red, so in other words, you cannot get the cue ball

back to baulk. Judd Trump was a bit disappointed when he played the

yellow, that he has left the yellow in a possible position. At the

moment, he is just second guessing himself. He is trying to play

hired, but it is not in his nature. -- play hard. You are forcing Marco

to play safety, the are already safe. -- the Greens are already

safe. That slid off the third cushion, and

it has left a pot on here. It might be difficult to get on a colour. If

it is, just part the red and play safe. -- pot the red. Still needs

two reds and two colours to Clint this frame. -- clinch this frame.

Absolutely no heroic. -- heroics. But once again, try to put that cue

ball into the middle of the baulk cushion. I was like to leave the

blue and the brown on the table. Find the yellow of that coercion,

and you will leave your opponent in trouble. -- the yellow off that

cushion. That is the shot, he played it well.

Did not want to hit that read on the way up, but that is exactly what he

has done. So, just taking them one at a time,

but it is enough. If he puts the cue ball anywhere on the right-hand side

of the table, he would get the snooker. A big favourite no, Judd.

And now that Marco has missed the snooker it will surely be a free

ball. So, he will probably try and pot the blue, it will count as a

red. Marco is having a look, he does not think it was a free ball. He is

asking the referee to check. The reason the referee has put a red

next to the red, hot she is doing, can you hit the red on the left-hand

side fool ball. I do not think it will make a great

difference to the outcome of the frame. If he has not got this, he

will simply play the snooker. Apology accepted. He is quite

entitled to question the referee. And that is a snooker.

That should be the end of the frame. It is not seen as gentlemanly

to concede the frame home your opponent is back at the table, but

having said that, he is only made you looking for one snooker. But not

after this. He has said that is enough. He has conceded no. So, Judd

Trump did not do it in typical fashion, but he did it in matchplay

and we are now tied at 3-3. We were talking about the fighting qualities

that Judd has shown and I think that will be refreshing for his

supporters? Yes, I think he has learned a lot over the last couple

of years. A couple of years ago, I think he meant have lost his

patience and lost that frame. He has got a little more patient. It was a

typical Marco Fu frame, if you want. As Stephen said, he does not

want to play Marco Fu game, he wants to play his own game. But having the

patience, and waiting for the right time to try and play your natural

game is a better way of doing it. Then, it will come naturally, as

opposed to you trying to force it. A long did it take you to learn to

play like that? I suppose, we were naturally safety orientated, may be

more inclined to play the cat and mouse way. The likes of players like

Judd, we would want them to play into our hands by getting

frustrated. Actually, he does have a great safety game. He is not far

away from moving up a level. OK, back to the action, 3-3. Yes, I

think we the reason we analyse Judd so much is that because he has so

much talent, fight out the results not coming? When the results do not

come, people obviously question why. But that was a bit careless

from Marco, I think he may have left one. No, he has not had a good

record in this match at getting out of snooker 's. He has had a tendency

to leave something on. But I think the big difference

between the two players is, a bit like myself, Judd is very concerned

with the way that he achieves victory. If he does not play well,

he is not happy. Yes, other players just put these matches behind them

and say, well I got over the line. This is a decent opportunity for

Judd. This is a very important seventh frame. Remember, it is the

first to win six frames. He just missed the Canon. It just

went past it. I am not certain he can retain

possession on the black. It looks as if he could.

Now, what sort of an angle as he left, not too bad.

But once again, he is slightly straighter than he would like.

He will have to either run through the cluster or play this crew shot

at. Decided to play it with a lot of

peace. It means there is now a little bit of pressure on this

blue. He used all of the pocket the. You

could see he was not happy. Slight movement there. That was one of

these that you would have gone back to your seat very unhappy. But he

just about got away with it. As we all know, at this game, you cannot

take anything for granted. This was the one. It was maybe

unintentionally, he is hitting across the ball slightly.

It would be nice to see a century break. His opponent has already made

one. He cannot be a tie-break of the

tournament here. He played a van and a short, trying

to move the red. There was no real need for it.

What a pot that was. What a shame. All, he has ported it in the wrong

pocket! Was the black trick shot or a

complete fluke? I would hazard a guess that there are very few

players who could have ported that final red at that speed. He is

really beginning to show off all of his talent. This just needs to slow

up slightly to be perfect. Here is another deep screw shortcoming up

and down the table. What a wonderful finish. He did that

in style. He now leads 4-3. This is my trainer flexion that I

took two is being with me. This is a picture of my cards. This is a

photograph of some work I am doing for my sponsor. This is me and Jack

the other day. This is me at the ceremony at the Shanghai Masters.

This is me pouring champagne over my friend in my beer. This is me and

Jack Whitehall. The real Judd Trump. And we saw a

bit of it there in that last frame. Look at the power. This speed of

it, as well. Absolutely fantastic. It is great the way he can express

himself, very similar to the way Jimmy White would do once he had the

frame one. It is wonderful to watch. Yes, and a few years ago, when John

and was just emerging, he was scathing the life out of players by

plane like that. If he is in it and it at the final stages and has got

his arm loose, he will be a big threat. He could excel in the latter

stages. Marco had to sit out that last

frame. He will be hoping he gets a chance. That is the strange thing

about snooker. In the third frame, he got that tie-break and has never

really had much of an opportunity since.

He missed that, but he struck that really well.

It was the cue ball which brought the fight back to the baulk and.

Marco, as good a pot as he has played all day. He now has a nice

angle on the blue. We saw the cue coming off the bench

and a little bit, but that is what he has to do to get the required

power. That was a good idea. He played the

cannon into the black. He has got a nice angle on the blue

to cannon into the pink. Nope, decided to just play for the red.

And it is perfect, as you can see, he can just not listen and then take

the black into the opposite corner. Judd would probably Mark the cue

ball right into the pack. Actually, he has played that exactly the same

way as I said Judd would. nearly one hour, it has been a very

good standard. Yes, the frames have really picked up and saw as the pot

percentage. His percentage is good enough to win

most matches, but he finds himself for-3 behind.

A lot will depend on the angle. He may be able to take the blue into

the top right and screw right back no, decided to play for the single

one. As long as he is not straight, he will be OK. But it is imperative

that he now gets a good angle for the black. So, this could be the key

to the frame. If the Reds break nicely, he should win this. No, he

did not get into the cue ball. He did not get enough action on it.

into the pack, but left it till the last minute.

The referee took so long to call that that I thought that maybe he

had actually made contact with it. But now, 58 Hain, he cannot afford

to give too many points away. That is where it was and that is

where it is now. That works pretty good to me.

He will not get a warning, because he clearly cannot make fool

contact. But he is now 62 points behind. Is

he thinking that was rolling off slightly?

Well played. It was so important. OK, he is not perfect with regard to

the length of the cue ball, but what he did not want to leave was any

sort of chance for Marco to win the frame here.

It is one of these frames that, although Marco is 62 points in

front, there is not a single colour safe. However, one of the Reds has

now gone say. That was a good shot. That is handy. The only one that

Marco can hit is the one that he put on the left-hand cushion, which she

does not want to play. There is not much of an alternative.

I do not think that is a smoker. But there's a little bit of pressure

here, because Marco can clearly get through to the one on the left hand

side of the table. I think he will have to play that one on the left

hand cushion. He has given away 62 points in the

foul short today, that is a lot. He got it right and it has worked

out well. As a bonus, he has not the pink relatively safe.

You would think he would be banned to be on a colour.

Earlier, we were seeing that all of the colours were out in the open,

but now the pink and black are slightly more court.

Don't think too far ahead in these circumstances, just try to

concentrate on reducing the deficit. That is always at the back of your

mind, when you are at the cushion. You need to be more intent on trying

to reduce the deficit here and getting back into the frame.

Normally, we would say that red on the left-hand side of the table is

OK for a left-handed player, but it is not going to be an easy pot, no

matter what. Just playing for the other two reds

in the middle of the table now. A quick glance at the scoreboard, 29

points behind. He has looked at the possibility of playing the red in

the middle of the table and playing that cannon onto the red.

Will he be on the colour? Just about on the blue. Just about. He has

released that red, he has made it easier to get to. He could possibly

play for the blue, play off the two cushions to get to that other red on

the right corner. The blue is just to find an angle.

The top cushion, the side cushion, a touch of right-hand side.

Well, whatever you do, do not miss the blue. That now means that Marco

Fu comes to the table 28 points in front on the scoreboard.

So, this black could leave a snooker.

36 point two lead, 35 remaining, he is playing a double here, if it goes

in, you would think Judd Trump would not bother coming back to the table

and it would be all square. It would be for-4. -- it would be four

apiece. First priority for Judd Trump is to

hit this red and get it safe. Well, he can part it, get position on the

black, maybe. -- pot it. He has got to pot the black, otherwise he will

need more than one snooker. He would always be in-off in the

middle years ago. In goes the black, one snooker needed. Could he stunned

beyond the pink and sent the yellow and down the table? Does not have to

send it to far? -- very far. Nearly got the double-kiss, but it

has worked out well, he has got the snooker he needed. As we have seen

in this match, this has not been Marco's strength today, escaping

from snookers. He flicked the pink but managed to avoid the double-kiss

on the yellow. The problem is, you try to get a

little stunned behind the green and get to the right-hand corner. If you

do not get the snooker, make certain you get the object ball safe.

Do not go all out for the snooker and give your opponent the chance

for potting the ball if you get it. He has got the snooker, you would

not think it would be difficult to hit, just the one cushion to escape

at this level. That leaves Marco with the

advantage. Looks like a good line. It could be

just a little bit narrow. Did not want tonight that pink onto

the cushion. That was one of Judd Trump's best chances of winning a

snooker, that pink. Not quite certain what Judd Trump to

play there, but whatever it is, it has cost him this frame. -- Judd

Trump played. If he popped that, his opponent

comes -- concedes. He wasn't going to keep this an easy

pot. He has missed out with the rest, and

I think that will be enough for Judd Trump to concede. Marco Fu has

pulled back. It could have gone either way, but it is four apiece.

If we look back on that frame, Stephen, when Judd Trump was on the

blue, in an effort to try and clear up, you said maybe he could play the

blue and come off to cushions, but you also questioned if he was too

thin on the blue? I would suggest the way he played it, it was too

thin to play that shot. As you can see, he misses the blue fin, so if

it was thicker, then the shot was on. But he did not seem to play with

enough pace. If he makes contact with that red like you did, then it

would always be safe, so whether it was trying to hold on the red for

the opener, I do not know, but it was a strange way to play it. As you

alluded to at the time, the pink had gone safe, and all of sudden, a

thought, this is a frame-winning chance and you have got those

awkward balls at the back of a, and you do not attack like you normally

would, do you? -- at the back of your mind. Yes, as you rightly said,

you need to get the point on the board first, but with the safe

balls, they are always in the back of your mind, and that is annoying,

because you know that you want to win the frame at one visit, and

these are the kinds of things that will stop you. If he had got out in

the open at the start, you would have fancied him to end the frame.

This match is piling up very nicely now. Four apiece. Really hard to say

who is going to win this frame, because you still feel that Marco

Fu, when he gets in a month balls, he is capable of winning the frame

in one visit. -- gets in amongst the balls. A lovely opening red from

Marco Fu. He queued that beautifully. -- cued.

The black is available at the moment. I do not know what will

happen when it is re-spotted, but if he can get a nice angle on the

black, then he might be able to nudge just above it.

Concentrating so much on trying to come low on the back, he took his

eye off the pot. -- low on the black. Will be disappointed to have

missed that. The fact he is looking at this red

means that he can play a safety shot down the left-hand side of the

table, which is an advantage. You would just be concerned about

knocking a red to the right corner. He has hit the pink. He has hit the

pink. There could not have been much of a gap.

Say again. Where is it going? That red, it's slightly moved, but I do

not think that it will affect the shot. It is this gap here. Closer to

the red. That is where it was. That red looks perfect to me. That red

isn't really the important thing here. Judd Trump thought was a gap,

whether he was right or wrong, he hit the pink. How does that look?

Yes? That is where it was. That is for it is now. How you OK with that?

Just a fraction. I think he is trying to swerve to make that gap.

Now, you look at that and you can understand why he hit the pink. Are

you both OK with that? Yes? Thank you. He cannot swerve it too much,

because he will be hitting the blue. He has a problem here. A change of

shot. The deep screw, it needs a bit of

luck here. I tell you what, he has had a bit.

Well, that was a brave shot to take on. I thought Judd Trump may be had

got away with that. Playing its like that, it was a dangerous way to play

it, but in its drops, and he is just about on the yellow.

But he missed the yellow. So, the dangerous pot red which was a good

one, that was all he got, the one point. He would be disappointed.

The red is in the baulk line, you would love to play that for the

blue. Leaving a blue there would be an easy way to go into the red.

The red just above the black is available. I don't think you can get

position on it on the way that he could pot it and move just to the

black. Just going to play some precise

positional shots here. I do not think that is one of them.

I think that could be the end of rape. -- end of break.

In all honesty, I am not certain if he had to run past the reds macro,

he would have been just above the red above the black. It is a strange

choice of shot. He has finished up on nothing, it appears. Take your

medicine and just play a good safety shot. Trying to get in behind the

brown if he can. I will tell you what, he made a pretty good job of

that. That was well played. He is having a three place, because

he has not left anything. There are a couple of frames three would have

thought Judd Trump has got something that wasn't too difficult a

snooker, but Marco Fu has gotten out of it, and that has been the end of

the frame. He has got a good line, but he does not want to overheat

this. He could hit on to the corner. Good pace, but does it leave

anything? No, he has played it well. Safe enough.

That is a decent safety shot. That is well played. I do not know if

Marco can get through to one of the reds in the middle of the table? The

problem is, if he can, once you start playing from the red off an

ear cushion, and he cannot get near to the pink, and you have got the

one down the right-hand side of the table. Too dangerous to play the pot

here. Just playing a containing safety shot. Just stopped in his

tracks there. Is the red available to the middle? No, I do not think

so. No. It was the right-hand one, I would be very surprised if Marco Fu

hadn't spotted that one if it was pottable.

Marco now looking at the possibility of a plant. He is not far off. Not

far off at all. There is enough of a gap between the two reds to make

this. He did not fancy it, but playing safe, as I said, the red

near the cushion, it can go up the table near the cue ball.

That green makes the cueing awkward for job Trump. That's macro for --

that green makes this cueing awkward for Judd Trump.

There is a chance here. The red just to the left of the pink, you can get

through to it and he can play it as a shot for nothing. A clear shot

back to the baulk end, but he would be thinking about the pot here.

He is looking down the right-hand side of the table, decided to play

the pot on this, he needs to get it. Tremendous shot. And perfect on the

blue. What a good shot that was. You can see, visibly, how he raises

his head to get the power. The timing was there.

He has done pretty well, Marco Fu. Judd Trump made that 120 with the

exhibition shots. He could easily be intimidated by that, but he has come

back strongly. She was a great temperament. He has impressed me in