Day 3

:00:15. > :01:22.# What comes around... Was into-macro good afternoon, our

:01:23. > :01:27.apologies, our sincere apologies to our late start this afternoon, we

:01:28. > :01:30.had a complete power outage here at Alexandra Palace in north London.

:01:31. > :01:33.Not just in the palace but in the entire surrounding area and when we

:01:34. > :01:37.find out who forgot to read the meter, they will be trouble! So we

:01:38. > :01:43.are making up for lost time this afternoon as we get the live play

:01:44. > :01:46.under on this third day of the Dafabet Masters here at Ally Pally.

:01:47. > :01:53.It is worth the wait, I can tell you. This is one of the juiciest

:01:54. > :01:56.ties of the first round. The 2011 Masters champion, Ding Junhui facing

:01:57. > :02:00.the man who was runner-up in this very arena a couple of years ago,

:02:01. > :02:04.Shaun Murphy. And Shaun having lost three stone over the last few

:02:05. > :02:08.months, is a lean, mean fighting machine. He is hoping for an upturn

:02:09. > :02:20.in his fortunes at the start of the New Year. This promises to be a

:02:21. > :02:24.cracking match. Stephen Hendry and we have got Ron Walker our MC out in

:02:25. > :02:29.the arena, he is generally put into his own electricity source, it is

:02:30. > :02:34.all yours, let's get going. Absolutely, thanks, Hazel. Good

:02:35. > :02:38.afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are back. Never has there been a

:02:39. > :02:43.greater sense of anticipation at the start of the first round match at

:02:44. > :02:47.the Dafabet Masters, two the very best in the world and even though

:02:48. > :02:51.they have been waiting for an hour and a quarter, they are now ready to

:02:52. > :02:58.rock and roll and entertainers in fine style. Please welcome, a player

:02:59. > :03:04.armed with new-found fitness and a new regime for the New Year. He also

:03:05. > :03:08.recorded his second career 147 earlier this month, a former world

:03:09. > :03:15.and UK champion, bidding this week for another super run to the Masters

:03:16. > :03:16.final, he is a class act on and off the baize, here's the magician,

:03:17. > :03:51.Shaun Murphy! Brilliant walk on music! And aids

:03:52. > :03:56.and gentlemen, his opponent, a national hero in China, what a

:03:57. > :04:00.season this fellow has had so far, winning the Indian open, the

:04:01. > :04:03.Shanghai Masters and the international championship. He

:04:04. > :04:07.joined the highest ranking of his career as world than the three,

:04:08. > :04:09.Masters champion in 2011, ladies and gentlemen, enter the Dragon, Ding

:04:10. > :04:42.Junhui! HAZEL IRVINE: Once again, best of 11

:04:43. > :04:45.friends here and I think everybody really rubbing their hands now in

:04:46. > :04:49.anticipation, this could be a cracking match and let's meet the

:04:50. > :04:52.commentary team this afternoon, a couple of likely lads, Dennis Taylor

:04:53. > :04:57.and John Parrott. Lovely to see you both. The first frame, Ding Junhui

:04:58. > :05:03.to break. COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon

:05:04. > :05:04.everybody stop we are back with live snooker after roughly an hour's

:05:05. > :05:16.delay. As Hazel said, this should be an

:05:17. > :05:22.absolutely cracking match. They are so evenly matched.

:05:23. > :05:30.First shot on the table and his judgement is pretty good, the white

:05:31. > :05:36.is very tight on the baulk cushion. The man in form, Ding, this year.

:05:37. > :05:42.Three ranking titles in a row. The first one to do it since Stephen

:05:43. > :05:45.Hendry almost 20 years ago. And it is the lean machine, Shaun Murphy

:05:46. > :06:01.that attempts this long pot. He looks very fit, doesn't he? Yes,

:06:02. > :06:06.and his game in good form as well. The new cue he has had for a while

:06:07. > :06:20.is certainly working well. This is a fantastic matchup. Two brilliant

:06:21. > :06:21.matches in the first round, Neil Robertson against Mark Allen as

:06:22. > :06:37.well, those two released it out. He would have rather not caught the

:06:38. > :06:47.middle pocket because he was coming round nicely for the black. Good

:06:48. > :06:48.cueing. Just hitting the jaw of the pocket the which has left him the

:06:49. > :07:21.wrong side of the blue. The crowds... Since the tournaments

:07:22. > :07:24.have started, they have been fantastic. Even though we have the

:07:25. > :07:28.power outage, they had still been in great form. They had to leave the

:07:29. > :07:34.arena and were brought back in again. It took me back to the 70s. I

:07:35. > :07:39.remember doing an exhibition in the miners strike and it was all lamps

:07:40. > :07:53.in the working men's club. Nobody knew how many breaks I made!

:07:54. > :08:03.It looks like the black is available. But not an easy shot. One

:08:04. > :08:10.of those shots that can define a match. We know how good he is at the

:08:11. > :08:27.top end of the table but he can get a lot of confidence from these.

:08:28. > :08:34.He decided to screw back for the blue and there is the length of the

:08:35. > :08:40.pot he was faced with. He felt like he was playing that if he did not

:08:41. > :08:41.get it in, the White was in a safe position so he is perfect on the

:08:42. > :09:47.blue. This is a great chance, I don't know

:09:48. > :09:54.if he has got the angle to play the red that is closest to the left

:09:55. > :09:59.corner pocket. This is what he has played right down at six o'clock if

:10:00. > :10:09.you use the cue ball as a clock face and just look at the backspin.

:10:10. > :10:18.The black and white poll showing at -- ball showing as it stops and

:10:19. > :10:25.picks up pace as it continue spinning. He has got rid of that red

:10:26. > :10:29.and now a great chance. He already looks like he is fine fettle, does

:10:30. > :10:57.Ding. These two have played on 15

:10:58. > :11:11.occasions, 8-6 to Shaun but Ding looks like he has the upper hand.

:11:12. > :11:19.They have only played once in the Masters and that was 2009 and Ding

:11:20. > :11:30.won. 6-4. It was at the same stage as this much is. -- this match is.

:11:31. > :11:33.Interesting the way Ding played that last shot, I thought he might have

:11:34. > :11:38.left it lower and played that red and then opened a few more out but

:11:39. > :11:41.he has decided to do it the other way, he needs a good cannon into the

:11:42. > :11:58.pack. You need to stun into these. Very clever, he used the left side

:11:59. > :12:01.of the bunch for a bit of assurance there. Yellow marker better shot

:12:02. > :12:07.than mine, that's for sure, he is perfect on the red in the middle and

:12:08. > :12:09.consequently he has opened up two reds in the back of a cluster so

:12:10. > :12:19.that was really well thought out. He is one of the game's guest

:12:20. > :12:27.break-builders now, Ding. 57 centuries last season, he is already

:12:28. > :12:35.on 39 this season. And that is the textbook stance that Ding has, a bit

:12:36. > :12:40.more traditional. With the art of Ding's break-building, it is very

:12:41. > :12:44.simplistic. Like anything, Dennis. When it is done well, it looks

:12:45. > :13:01.simple. Good stance, good cue action and keeps his head still.

:13:02. > :13:07.There is the stance, the forward foot ahead, some of them are square

:13:08. > :13:17.on but Ding is more like the old traditional stance, the Joe Day this

:13:18. > :13:19.type stance. -- Jo Davies. What a start, all great champions seem to

:13:20. > :13:34.start well. The opening red, if you get it in it

:13:35. > :13:35.gives you confidence and there is an example of it. His positional play

:13:36. > :14:16.has been exemplary. He is so good to watch, Ding, the

:14:17. > :14:33.way he goes about his break building.

:14:34. > :14:43.Just coming up to seven minutes for this frame winning effort. Yes, a

:14:44. > :14:46.great way to start the match. He could possibly make a total

:14:47. > :14:55.clearance, and keep Shaun Murphy sitting in his chair. I know Shaun

:14:56. > :14:57.is playing well, but the best way for Ding to keep him cold is to

:14:58. > :15:13.knock all the balls in. He might just have an angle here to

:15:14. > :15:22.screw back and to dislodge that red. Yes, he can do this.

:15:23. > :15:33.Well, does that red go past the yellow, or does he have to cut it

:15:34. > :15:40.into the other corner? He has had to cut it. Oh, no century break, but

:15:41. > :15:46.what a way to start. He knocked in a long red, and he had a frame winning

:15:47. > :15:50.break of 99. It is that kind of precision which

:15:51. > :15:54.Shaun Murphy knows he is going to have to counter this afternoon. King

:15:55. > :16:00.has done something that only you did 20 years ago, when three world

:16:01. > :16:05.ranking events in a road. For you, what has been the feature about his

:16:06. > :16:09.game that has clicked this season? It seems to be almost like the

:16:10. > :16:14.second coming of Ding. He seemed to go through a stage, a couple of

:16:15. > :16:19.years ago, when he did not seem to be enjoying it. This year I think he

:16:20. > :16:25.has changed his management. He seems happy, and if you are happy, you are

:16:26. > :16:28.going to play better snooker. Yes, he certainly seems happy away from

:16:29. > :16:33.the table. There were a couple of shots in that opening frame... The

:16:34. > :16:40.opening red, he cued a beautiful one. This one was a lovely shot. But

:16:41. > :16:51.there was one which started of that break, where he's screwed back up to

:16:52. > :16:55.the blue. This wasn't such a clever shot. He brought a couple of reds

:16:56. > :17:03.interplay, and he made sure that he was going into the pack in exactly

:17:04. > :17:09.the right place. That is the thing about break building, he is a very

:17:10. > :17:13.clever break builder. Lovely little cannons and everything, without

:17:14. > :17:15.having to smash them up. He looks so clean and so unfussy, and absolutely

:17:16. > :17:36.deadly. DENNIS TAYLOR: Yes, that is the red

:17:37. > :17:41.that we were talking about, it was a superb shot, to leave himself on the

:17:42. > :17:46.blue. JOHN PARROTT: Yes, talking about

:17:47. > :17:50.those three ranking victories, you could say they were certainly more

:17:51. > :17:55.meritorious than Stephen's. I hate to say that about my friend, but he

:17:56. > :18:00.has had extra matches to play to win those three tournaments. So, a

:18:01. > :18:03.fantastic performance. Just to win a single ranking tournament these days

:18:04. > :18:09.is good. So to win free on the bounce is very special. That was the

:18:10. > :19:08.view of the opening red that he had. But was too thick, a poor safety

:19:09. > :19:14.shot. I am not sure if Shaun can get past this red. There is one above

:19:15. > :19:32.the pink which will definitely go. He was close to the cushion, but

:19:33. > :19:38.thinner would have been better than thicker. This is not a

:19:39. > :19:44.straightforward pot. The fact that the other one was over the pocket,

:19:45. > :19:50.it was far enough away to make it difficult. And straightaway, Ding is

:19:51. > :19:54.in with a good chance. It is a funny game, Dennis, isn't it? Dean has

:19:55. > :20:01.played a pretty ordinary safety shot, and a couple of moments later

:20:02. > :20:07.finds himself with the balls at his mercy once again. Other times, you

:20:08. > :20:10.can play the best safety shot and end up losing the frame. A strange

:20:11. > :20:43.game at times. He is thinking quite a few shots

:20:44. > :20:45.ahead, working out around the black spot area what he can do in a few

:20:46. > :21:03.shorts' time. Eventually, he may be able to get on

:21:04. > :21:04.a red. He will be clearing the way to one particular pocket when he

:21:05. > :21:17.gets this one. Yes, it will be interesting to see

:21:18. > :22:10.how he goes about this. Now, can he bring this black

:22:11. > :22:12.interplay? He seems to have a good angle on it. He needs a little bit

:22:13. > :22:36.of good fortune. If he had hit that a little thinner,

:22:37. > :22:53.he might have knocked the black away.

:22:54. > :23:11.He played that well. And now, he is in business. That was a good shot.

:23:12. > :23:15.If he cues like he did in the first frame, I fear the worst for Shaun

:23:16. > :23:20.Murphy. This could be 2-0 in a blink. And as you mentioned, Ding

:23:21. > :23:22.had played a poor safety shot, but he covered the red which was over

:23:23. > :23:40.the pocket. And this is where psychology plays

:23:41. > :23:44.such a big part in the game. Shaun would have been expecting to be able

:23:45. > :23:48.to pot the one over the pocket. He knew he had to get that. It is all

:23:49. > :23:54.about positive thinking, and it is easier said than done, when you are

:23:55. > :23:58.working with a sports psychologist, they can tell you what to do, but

:23:59. > :24:00.when you get out into the bearpit, as Cliff Thorburn used to say, it is

:24:01. > :24:31.not always easy to pull it off. This is not absolutely

:24:32. > :24:33.straightforward yet. He just needs to make sure he gets on to the next

:24:34. > :24:51.red here. That should be fine. He played that

:24:52. > :25:01.in such a way that he has two choices. Yes, that is what a top

:25:02. > :25:06.professional dance. People think they are thinking five or six shots

:25:07. > :25:10.ahead, but it is only a few shots, because they are putting themselves

:25:11. > :25:17.in that kind of position, where they have a choice, so they can change

:25:18. > :25:20.their mind. Just looking, if he was on that red on the right-hand side,

:25:21. > :25:24.the advantage of that one would be that he would clear the path for the

:25:25. > :25:37.pink as well. The pink will definitely go after this... Perfect.

:25:38. > :25:54.You missed a trick once, Dennis, but I do not know what year it was!

:25:55. > :26:00.I think the best way to describe Ding's break building is to say that

:26:01. > :26:10.it is done with an economy of effort. Slightly over screwed that

:26:11. > :26:22.one. He put a bit of extra side on it. That should be OK, but he wanted

:26:23. > :26:41.to be straight on the pink. Now, is he on anything other than

:26:42. > :26:48.the one he has just cannoned? I do not think he is. That was the one

:26:49. > :26:54.thing which could have gone wrong. We were praising his break building,

:26:55. > :26:59.but the previous shot was not up to his usual standards. Sometimes, you

:27:00. > :27:06.trust a little bit to luck with the cannon. It is as if he wants to this

:27:07. > :27:22.into the middle pocket, rather than take it to the corner.

:27:23. > :27:30.We have often said it, if you play well, you get the luck with the

:27:31. > :27:32.balls, and there is an example. To hit the yellow like that is a

:27:33. > :27:49.massive slice of luck. He played for the red at the back.

:27:50. > :28:12.Yes, once again, he has got an alternate shot, though.

:28:13. > :28:29.And no real reason from this position where he should not up this

:28:30. > :28:43.frame. Well, he came up just one point

:28:44. > :28:44.short of the century in the opening frame. This will be another great

:28:45. > :28:59.chance. Just make sure of the frame first,

:29:00. > :29:11.and then concentrate on the possible century. What a start from this

:29:12. > :29:24.Chinese sensation. Shaun Murphy has had one go at pot, and that is about

:29:25. > :29:27.it, really. -- at a pot. That is what happens at this level, though,

:29:28. > :29:42.isn't it, Dennis? He is perfectly capable, he knows

:29:43. > :29:46.when his chance comes, he is going to score. Yes, that is where the

:29:47. > :29:50.temperament comes in, when you are sitting in your seat, watching your

:29:51. > :29:58.opponent make frame winning breaks, you have got to get yourself psyched

:29:59. > :30:02.up. You have got to hope that you can do the same to him. But at the

:30:03. > :30:10.moment, he has not had an easy chance, Shaun. Delicate little shot

:30:11. > :30:21.into the left middle pocket now. If this goes in, and he holds for the

:30:22. > :30:27.colour, he will get the century. Once again, very unlucky with

:30:28. > :30:40.regards to the century break, but one chance was all he needed. Ding

:30:41. > :30:44.now leads 2-0. I did say this could be one of the great ties of the

:30:45. > :30:55.first round. Let's just remind you of the luck of the draw so far. --

:30:56. > :31:07.them look -- the look of the draw so far. Marco Fu awaits the winner of

:31:08. > :31:12.the match we are watching. Tomorrow, Neil Robertson and Mark Allen meet

:31:13. > :31:18.for the fourth time at the Masters. Stephen Maguire resisted a last-gasp

:31:19. > :31:24.charge from Joe Perry last night. Tonight, it is the return of The

:31:25. > :31:42.Rocket, who missed the Masters last year.

:31:43. > :32:07.DENNIS TAYLOR: Off we go, then, with frame number three.

:32:08. > :32:21.A it on the thing side. He needs the brown to come to his rescue here.

:32:22. > :32:33.I hate to say it, but this is a chance.

:32:34. > :32:58.There are at least five reds available.

:32:59. > :33:15.Well, he played that as a shot to nothing. But he has left it. So, a

:33:16. > :33:25.first chance for The Magician, Shaun Murphy. He wanted to be a lot

:33:26. > :33:29.further out into the table there. Now, he is having to rely on a

:33:30. > :33:41.cannon. An example of Shaun being off the

:33:42. > :34:00.table. But he has played that beautifully.

:34:01. > :34:08.Well, he has misjudged that one, hitting it too hard. Yes, that was

:34:09. > :34:38.poor judgment. He just tried to hold for the red to

:34:39. > :34:53.the right of the bunch. But that was not an easy pot I any means.

:34:54. > :35:18.Dean can go straight into the pack off this black.

:35:19. > :35:25.Well, he cued right across that. He was playing your shot, John, but he

:35:26. > :35:31.missed the pot by a long way. That is the kind of shocked which saps a

:35:32. > :35:38.little bit of confidence away. Did not push the cue through in a

:35:39. > :35:45.straight line. And now, Shaun can do what John said, pot black, off the,

:35:46. > :35:56.into the bunch. And how is your luck? It has certainly opened the

:35:57. > :36:01.reds up... He played that nicely, and that is a massive let off for

:36:02. > :36:15.Shaun, because Ding has really missed an opportunity there. These

:36:16. > :36:17.are absolutely lovely. So, that was a big part of the frame and the

:36:18. > :36:27.match, really. He was definitely on top there,

:36:28. > :36:33.Ding, but he has let him go. Yes, it is very early on, first to six, but

:36:34. > :36:36.there are points in the match which can tell it all around. And maybe,

:36:37. > :37:03.that might be one of those moments. Yes, he has been playing with a new

:37:04. > :37:18.cue this season, Shaun. He made a maximum with it last week. He is

:37:19. > :37:21.really happy with it. Yes, he has been working with Chris Henry for

:37:22. > :37:28.the last few months, purchasing hard, working on his technique. I

:37:29. > :37:31.remember practising with Shaun when he first came on the scene, and I

:37:32. > :37:39.thought he had one of the best cue actions in the game.

:37:40. > :38:24.A lovely player to watch when he is flowing.

:38:25. > :38:29.And when he is in amongst the balls, he certainly does not hang around.

:38:30. > :38:55.He is very quick around the table. Yes, we may have had a late start

:38:56. > :39:04.here today, due to losing the power, but these boys are making up for it,

:39:05. > :39:09.Dennis. Yes, four frames to be played before the mid-session

:39:10. > :39:32.interval, and we have only been playing about 32 minutes.

:39:33. > :39:40.I think if you were starting off playing snooker, and you wanted to

:39:41. > :39:44.look at a few of the players, how they go about it, and how they cue,

:39:45. > :40:14.I am pretty sure Shaun would be at the top of the list.

:40:15. > :40:25.Shaun made 33 centuries last season. He has hit 16 this season. He will

:40:26. > :40:29.have to pull out a good pot here to give himself a chance of a century.

:40:30. > :40:40.No. Not quite. But he will not be too concerned.

:40:41. > :40:48.And this is Shaun Murphy ran it 10th appearance in the Masters. He did

:40:49. > :40:54.not fare too well at Wembley, but here at Alexandra Palace, his track

:40:55. > :40:57.record is strong. He has been runner-up in the past and he was a

:40:58. > :41:04.semifinalist last year. In fact, the Englishman has the superior record

:41:05. > :41:08.in the head-to-head. But it was Ding who prevailed most recently, in the

:41:09. > :41:14.Shanghai Masters, last year, en route to that historic winning run

:41:15. > :41:21.of three titles in a row. Gentlemen, very high quality and pretty quick

:41:22. > :41:27.so far? Yes, a great response by Shaun. He looked to have missed his

:41:28. > :41:34.chance, Ding surprisingly missed a red. What does Shaun have to do to

:41:35. > :41:41.counter what is clearly a very informed Ding? Well, he set out a

:41:42. > :41:45.marker to say, I am going to score just as much as you. I think that

:41:46. > :41:49.was a very important frame for Shaun Murphy. He had looked a bit nervous

:41:50. > :42:14.at the beginning of that frame. JOHN PARROTT: Only what we expected

:42:15. > :42:19.here this afternoon, two top-class players, who have both been in

:42:20. > :42:22.excellent form. It looked like it was going to be a great match, and

:42:23. > :42:37.so far, it is living up to the billing.

:42:38. > :42:51.DENNIS TAYLOR: He may not be on a colour, but I will tell you what,

:42:52. > :42:56.knocking that long red in will make Ding quickly forget about the one he

:42:57. > :42:57.missed in the previous frame. That will restore his confidence, without

:42:58. > :43:34.a doubt. Do not blame him for refusing the

:43:35. > :44:34.blue. It was awkward bridging. That was a safety shot he had to be

:44:35. > :45:13.careful with, he played that really well.

:45:14. > :45:21.That is the second one down that side of the table that Ding has hit

:45:22. > :45:25.on the thick side. I don't think it is too much damage but it is not

:45:26. > :45:30.putting any pressure on Shaun by having the cue ball tight on the

:45:31. > :45:49.bottom rail so he will need to brush up on that a little bit.

:45:50. > :47:03.That was the right way to play it, round the angles. As long as you got

:47:04. > :47:13.the cue ball there. It would be safe.

:47:14. > :47:49.To Riddick shot, superb, horrific safety shot. -- to Riddick shot --

:47:50. > :47:50.terrific. He was in a dangerous position there. But worked it to his

:47:51. > :48:02.advantage. Just looking at the situation, Shaun

:48:03. > :48:21.cannot, the backers in the way of the shot -- the black is in the way.

:48:22. > :48:28.He might have to take this pot on because there is no safety.

:48:29. > :48:43.What did I say about turning it to his advantage? What a pot that was.

:48:44. > :48:51.That is a Shaun Murphy special. One of the reasons that he is called the

:48:52. > :48:54.Magician. He certainly waved his magic wand there. That was the

:48:55. > :49:25.length of the pot. For the next shot, Ding may have the

:49:26. > :49:30.opportunity to play behind the green now. It was a brilliant shot he

:49:31. > :49:32.played last time so Shaun is taking the opportunity now to put him in

:49:33. > :49:41.the position. He had a good look, realise putting

:49:42. > :49:43.the cue ball on the left hand side was no good so he shoved it over the

:49:44. > :49:55.and what a good job he made of it. This time Ding can come off that

:49:56. > :50:14.side cushion that Shaun could have played, he has to be very precise.

:50:15. > :50:40.So close, that. He will have it put wax just a slight adjustment. -- put

:50:41. > :50:47.back so just a slight adjustment. You can see the line there. It is

:50:48. > :51:06.just a case of playing a contained safety here.

:51:07. > :51:08.He hasn't hit it hard enough this time.

:51:09. > :51:21.REFEREE: Foul and a miss. The one thing he had to do was make

:51:22. > :51:27.sure there was enough pace on the cue ball to reach that question.

:51:28. > :51:31.That is a big mistake. From what should have been an easy shot for

:51:32. > :52:00.somebody of Ding's abilities. The Blackwood be tied up, it will

:52:01. > :52:02.still be available into one corner pocket. -- the black won't be tied

:52:03. > :52:11.up. He can drop this in an comeback on

:52:12. > :52:32.the black I think. The drag shot is when you hit the

:52:33. > :52:37.white on the bottom and you can play with a bit more pace and it does

:52:38. > :52:40.take the pace out of it. It is a lovely shots to watch and it looks

:52:41. > :52:41.straightforward. Lots of people would not know that it has

:52:42. > :53:27.happened. It seemed an ideal opportunity to

:53:28. > :53:29.flick those two reds open. Not a plant, so he will come to those a

:53:30. > :54:08.little later. This is a delicate little cannon

:54:09. > :54:10.required. In between the two reds would be perfect for hitting one

:54:11. > :54:26.red. He has played it nicely. We thought this would be a great

:54:27. > :54:36.match, it is turning out to be a terrific battle. Ding breaks at 99,

:54:37. > :54:39.84 and two opening frames, Shaun with the third frame and now this. A

:54:40. > :54:56.nice subtle cannon required here. You do not need to make too many

:54:57. > :55:15.mistakes at this level. The last frame he had the... Two

:55:16. > :55:20.mistakes and that is it. It looks like 2-2 at the interval. And for

:55:21. > :55:23.all the world, it looks like we might go to a deciding frame the way

:55:24. > :55:33.both of these players are going. I think he has run out of position,

:55:34. > :55:43.he is quickly looking at the scoreboard. That spoiled the chance

:55:44. > :55:49.of a century break and still a six to seven possible points on the

:55:50. > :55:53.board, and luckily for Shaun here 68 ahead. He'll be kicking himself, he

:55:54. > :56:00.was to get this over and done with quickly. He will give himself some

:56:01. > :56:07.mental anguish if he is not careful. One red and one colour, it would

:56:08. > :56:36.have been over. They do not pay you for overtime in this sport.

:56:37. > :56:42.How would you know about overtime, JP? Your last job was as a school

:56:43. > :57:36.prefect! I was good at it, though! If you can knock this red end, we

:57:37. > :57:46.can go to the mid-session interval. -- knock this read in.

:57:47. > :58:03.Not many mistakes being made in this match.

:58:04. > :58:12.We'll hanker back to the third frame where Ding Junhui was 2-0 up, had

:58:13. > :58:18.Shaun Murphy on the rack and the mid range red, pots the black and splits

:58:19. > :58:22.the pack up, it was looking that trouble but he didn't and since

:58:23. > :58:34.then, Shaun has been in the ascendancy.

:58:35. > :58:57.Ding with the slight favourite for this tie but at the beginning, it is

:58:58. > :59:04.difficult to pick a winner. Doesn't matter about the red, they get the

:59:05. > :59:11.mid-session interval and are both in fine form winning their frames with

:59:12. > :59:16.one visit virtually, it is 2-2, game. As into-macro game on indeed.

:59:17. > :59:21.And Stephen is quietly spurring because this is the way you like

:59:22. > :59:30.your snigger. -- you like your snigger. This is what it is like --

:59:31. > :59:35.your snooker. It is cut and thrust. It looked pretty ominous for Shaun

:59:36. > :59:39.because Ding looked in great form. You mentioned that Ding missed one

:59:40. > :59:41.shot in the third frame which he really had badly and sometimes it

:59:42. > :59:45.does not matter if you miss a shot, it does not knock your company is

:59:46. > :59:50.too much, but that does and since then he has looked shaky. In terms

:59:51. > :59:54.of the way that Shaun is facing things, it was here when he was in

:59:55. > :59:57.the semifinal last year, you were in the commentary box against Neil

:59:58. > :00:03.Robertson where you identified some flaws last year in Shaun's game, he

:00:04. > :00:06.was getting to 40 and then saw him losing concentration throughout the

:00:07. > :00:14.bigger breaks. Seem to be sorting things out in that regard. He got

:00:15. > :00:22.out of position. He loses concentration, plays careless

:00:23. > :00:27.positional shots. I know he is working hard with Chris and I used

:00:28. > :00:32.to work with him and it looks like he is sorting it out. Chris Henry,

:00:33. > :00:36.his coach and he has been trying to improve matters. It has been a lean

:00:37. > :00:42.couple of months for Shaun Murphy, because since 2011, that was the

:00:43. > :00:45.last time he picked up a trophy and indeed as has been mentioned, he has

:00:46. > :00:50.been working to try to remedy things with Chris but frustrating times for

:00:51. > :00:57.him. But off the table, very different situation. He is very

:00:58. > :00:59.happy in his personal life and he has lost three stone 's and as ever,

:01:00. > :01:14.he is great company. You are considerably more svelte, a

:01:15. > :01:19.lot of work has gone in. What have you been up to? I got to a point in

:01:20. > :01:26.the summer where I just felt I was spiralling a little bit with my body

:01:27. > :01:31.and, you know, I am meant to be in the prime of my life and I decided

:01:32. > :01:36.to take a couple of steps to change and it has meant a complete rehash

:01:37. > :01:44.of my diet. I am not on a diet, but I have changed what and the way I

:01:45. > :01:48.eat. I have become more active. I just like living a better life.

:01:49. > :01:52.Stopped drinking certain drinks. Something that colour cannot be good

:01:53. > :01:59.for you! I suddenly discovered how good water is. Apparently! And yes,

:02:00. > :02:03.it has been a complete change. It has given me a new lease of life, I

:02:04. > :02:09.feel better about myself, I feel better when I put my suits on, when

:02:10. > :02:16.I go to work. I feel better. So far, I have lost somewhere near two

:02:17. > :02:20.stone. I am trying my best. I guess it will always be something I need

:02:21. > :02:25.to work on but these long matches are difficult when you are under

:02:26. > :02:30.pressure. And if you cannot be carrying around a bit more than you

:02:31. > :02:36.should be, it has got to be good. The first time I saw you, you may be

:02:37. > :02:39.most remarkable speech and you were full of self possession, I was

:02:40. > :02:47.amazed. You have always been very mature, almost mature beyond your

:02:48. > :02:54.years. I think it has been a benefit to me but from other people's point

:02:55. > :02:58.of view, other people have seen me as thinking I am about myself or

:02:59. > :03:02.untouchable and not in touch with certain people and maybe the younger

:03:03. > :03:09.culture that is now getting into snooker. I don't know, but I have

:03:10. > :03:14.certainly tried to take steps to be a little bit more rounded as an

:03:15. > :03:18.individual and not be so black and white about things. I look back at

:03:19. > :03:22.some of the things I have said in the past and think... I could have

:03:23. > :03:25.sat on the fence a bit more there. The first time I play that the

:03:26. > :03:29.Crucible, I had an interview afterwards and said I want to go

:03:30. > :03:33.down in history as one of the greats of the game and be in the same

:03:34. > :03:43.conversation as Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis and I was thinking, what

:03:44. > :03:47.was I thinking? Why say that? Do you think people thought you were all

:03:48. > :03:52.before your time? Guess, but growing up in a world of adults like I did,

:03:53. > :03:59.from being eight years old growing up in a snooker club which is a very

:04:00. > :04:04.adult culture, I grew up with men talking about things men talk

:04:05. > :04:11.about. And from eight, nine, ten, 11, was exposed to things that you

:04:12. > :04:18.don't find out about until your late teens and so perhaps when I grew up,

:04:19. > :04:22.I was in more mature than my years. I think there is a lot more to you

:04:23. > :04:29.than Mr clean cut but what I want to know is what is your idea of a wild

:04:30. > :04:35.night out or in? I like nothing more than having nothing on for a few

:04:36. > :04:40.years, -- days, calling my friends round for a few beers. That is

:04:41. > :04:45.good, but you are the antithesis of the tortured genius in snooker. I

:04:46. > :04:52.wondered how much it would frustrate you have the tortured genius and

:04:53. > :04:56.those who are a bit wild seem to be the ones that are taking to the

:04:57. > :05:04.hearts of the public. It doesn't bother me, looking back at one of my

:05:05. > :05:09.role models in snooker, Mr Steve Davis. People thought he was a bit

:05:10. > :05:16.untouchable and a bit interesting. Now everybody loves him. That tends

:05:17. > :05:19.to be the British way. The British culture at the time likes to latch

:05:20. > :05:26.onto the underdog and the bad boy. But in time, people do tend to come

:05:27. > :05:34.out liking the professional, the good guy. And I think hopefully,

:05:35. > :05:37.that is where I will be in a few years' time. He certainly is one of

:05:38. > :05:41.the game's good guys and what has been missing over the last few

:05:42. > :05:49.years, a killer instinct. How does he rediscover that winning

:05:50. > :05:58.mentality. He has never been a prolific winner, he has won the

:05:59. > :06:04.worlds but he has not won as many as people think you should have. These

:06:05. > :06:09.are the tournaments you need to be winning. Four world ranking titles

:06:10. > :06:14.he has won which is a slightly meagre return for a man of his

:06:15. > :06:18.talents. Significantly, 16 Major 's semifinals is where he has come

:06:19. > :06:24.unstuck and that is a telling statistic. Yes, quite a worrying one

:06:25. > :06:31.because it means you are not able to go that extra little bit that it

:06:32. > :06:35.takes to win. And it is something that may have been a decision to

:06:36. > :06:38.make and go with Chris Henry, the mental side and that is what

:06:39. > :06:43.separates the best from the very good, the metal ability to go that

:06:44. > :06:46.extra mile and win the tournaments. He is holding his own today, and

:06:47. > :06:50.great to see him performing like this. The last couple of days, we

:06:51. > :06:54.have been royally entertained in our Masters classes, our series of

:06:55. > :06:56.demonstrations for the intermediate players amongst you out there. We

:06:57. > :07:02.have been entertained by John Parrott, and Steve Davis, and now it

:07:03. > :07:09.is the turn of Ken Doherty, the art of Lake building. Go on, Rembrandt,

:07:10. > :07:13.what have you got? We will try a John Parrott safety play. Positional

:07:14. > :07:16.play yesterday, if you are in the club, this is about break-building,

:07:17. > :07:22.keeping this ball, the most important ball on the table, keeping

:07:23. > :07:27.it as closely to the object ball as possible and in this case, it will

:07:28. > :07:30.be read and then a colour. We are seeing the two great protagonists

:07:31. > :07:33.Ding Junhui and Shaun Murphy in those opening frames and how easy

:07:34. > :07:39.they make their break-building. They keep them cue ball very close to the

:07:40. > :07:40.next ball. This is just a little routine that some of the

:07:41. > :07:51.professionals may use. I will use five red Sea, we'll start

:07:52. > :07:55.with trying to part -- five red is here. Try to play five reds and by

:07:56. > :07:59.blacks and all the colours, if you do that, you can turn it up a notch

:08:00. > :08:04.and maybe take five pinks and then go on to blues and make it look

:08:05. > :08:08.either. But watch the cue ball, when you are practising, you want to keep

:08:09. > :08:15.this as close as possible to the next ball. We will try off a couple

:08:16. > :08:16.of reds and a couple of blacks. I have potted one, thank you very

:08:17. > :08:27.much. The crowd here anticipating a Ken

:08:28. > :08:32.Doherty miss as usual on the demonstrations! But again, keeping

:08:33. > :08:39.the cue ball as close to the black as possible.

:08:40. > :08:47.And there you see, it is quite an easy game. That was always in.

:08:48. > :08:56.You stay there, jazz, but worry about it. Who switch that? The other

:08:57. > :09:04.red! There you see, it is pretty easy. So

:09:05. > :09:14.I will turn it up a notch. Charles, hurry up! So you are in the club,

:09:15. > :09:19.why not try pinks. This also helps to put the pink into the centre

:09:20. > :09:20.pocket which is very important in break-building so keep the cue ball

:09:21. > :09:35.close to the pink. And I have put another red. That's

:09:36. > :09:42.what they do always on television, don't they? There you go. And there

:09:43. > :09:45.you see, a pink again into the middle and if you want to move it up

:09:46. > :09:47.a notch on to blues and then onto baulk colours, makes it an easy

:09:48. > :09:59.game, doesn't it? Thank you. An easy game for colourblind Ken

:10:00. > :10:03.Doherty! We are dissipating the arrival of Ronnie O'Sullivan, the

:10:04. > :10:08.four times winner of this event. Last year he was on his sabbatical

:10:09. > :10:11.away from snooker, this is his 20th appearance in this event but for the

:10:12. > :10:16.man he will be facing, it is his first, but Milken 's, he makes his

:10:17. > :10:24.debut this evening. -- Robert Milkins. Congratulations to Rob for

:10:25. > :10:28.being among the elite and for getting here. But I am not sure he

:10:29. > :10:33.would be looking at forward to this matchup. It was only a few weeks ago

:10:34. > :10:36.he was rather thrashed by Ronnie 6-0 in the UK Championships, says

:10:37. > :10:43.Stephen, what might we expect this evening? The only chance he has got

:10:44. > :10:47.and he has got to get chances, Ronnie Campbell people away but you

:10:48. > :10:51.are always going to get chances. At the UK he missed two unforgivable

:10:52. > :10:57.balls in the middle pocket and it cost him two frames. He needs to cut

:10:58. > :11:01.out his losses. The record books read 24 frames for O Sullivan, four

:11:02. > :11:08.for Milkins in their three matches, it does not make pretty reading for

:11:09. > :11:14.Milkins. How do you psych yourself up for some of the who has thank you

:11:15. > :11:17.so much? You cannot, it is horrible. It is almost impossible for him to

:11:18. > :11:24.come out of the match with any confidence. I don't know if he works

:11:25. > :11:28.with anybody, Terry? He can work with him to try to relax, one shot

:11:29. > :11:33.at a time and try not to miss easy balls. You have to say

:11:34. > :11:38.congratulations to Milkins, he had for five wasted years by his own

:11:39. > :11:47.admission a problem with drinking and gambling, he wasted his talents

:11:48. > :11:53.and so a fantastic achievement for him to have got here. I have never

:11:54. > :11:58.put him down as a top 16 player, but it shows how much he has improved

:11:59. > :12:02.and his game has improved. A cracking story. As for Ronnie, this

:12:03. > :12:06.event, clearly one of his favourites. What is it about this

:12:07. > :12:11.event that suits his mentality and his form? The best players like the

:12:12. > :12:16.biggest events, simple as that. The Masters, the world, the UK, Ronnie

:12:17. > :12:25.has won mode of them. It gets his juices flowing, he looks forward to

:12:26. > :12:28.them. Bet is probably -- it is properly the least hassle he can

:12:29. > :12:34.have. Everybody will be looking forward to seeing him. It is due to

:12:35. > :12:37.be on the red button and online later on so you will be able to see

:12:38. > :12:42.it. Back to focusing on this much, with Ding Junhui and Shaun Murphy.

:12:43. > :12:47.Ding Junhui is a superstar back in China and his every move is followed

:12:48. > :12:48.on Twitter, their version where he has got something like 3 million

:12:49. > :13:05.followers. Our version of Twitter, it has got a

:13:06. > :13:14.few million and so I have lots of fans. It is very nice and quiet. A

:13:15. > :13:17.good practice place, I like to stay half a year in China and have a year

:13:18. > :13:26.in England so I keep quiet because for me, it is not easy.

:13:27. > :13:33.When I am playing snooker, I will see my friends. I will have a chat

:13:34. > :13:46.or have a beer, go to the cinema. I didn't play well in the start of

:13:47. > :13:53.the season, in the few tournaments but I tried hard in the practice, I

:13:54. > :13:55.fixed some little problems with my techniques and I will feel better

:13:56. > :14:07.and have better concentration. I don't think too much about money.

:14:08. > :14:13.I have to keep myself doing well and then I work hard, make sure I play

:14:14. > :14:17.good. HAZEL IRVINE: He turned about the

:14:18. > :14:21.China open as an 18-year-old in 2005 and won it and since then, his

:14:22. > :14:27.population has been guaranteed. It is hard to overstate his success but

:14:28. > :14:31.how comfortable do you think he is with his status and his own skin?

:14:32. > :14:38.He's getting more used to it. The only tournament he does not seem to

:14:39. > :14:43.be able to perform in is the world championship. Because of the weight

:14:44. > :14:47.of expectation from China perhaps, I think the B expectation to win for

:14:48. > :14:51.himself, and then everybody else. I used to try to win it for Scotland,

:14:52. > :14:56.but I did not, I tried to win it for me. A Stephen Maguire said the other

:14:57. > :15:00.day, he said there is lots more to come and he said he seems finally at

:15:01. > :15:03.ease with himself and winning the titles and life is good for him, his

:15:04. > :15:08.talent and his fame, he seems to take it in his stride. The other

:15:09. > :15:14.players and noticing this. Yes, he seems more relaxed backstage, his

:15:15. > :15:18.English is getting better so he is enjoying it more and then he will

:15:19. > :15:23.play well. He has got a lovely sense of humour. He is back out again, and

:15:24. > :15:27.we are poised to frames apiece with Shaun Murphy in a match that all of

:15:28. > :15:29.us have been forward to and is living up to expectations, most

:15:30. > :15:32.certainly. Back to John Parrott and Dennis Taylor. More of the same,

:15:33. > :15:52.please gentlemen. In It was fabulous, wasn't it? I

:15:53. > :16:04.cannot wait. Just a few latecomers coming back to the seats.

:16:05. > :16:18.Note that this break. He needs the pro bowl to come to his rescue. That

:16:19. > :16:21.is three times he has caught the ball too thick coming back down the

:16:22. > :16:44.side of the table. He is going to just nestle into the

:16:45. > :17:17.bunch. REFEREE: foul under miss. Yes, talking about Ding Junhui we in

:17:18. > :17:21.China, we went for the meal with about 15 overs and when we came out,

:17:22. > :17:31.you would not believe the code which was outside. But I have always

:17:32. > :17:40.admired the overseas players coming to the United Kingdom. At the

:17:41. > :17:45.moment, the referee is just asking for a bit of help from the monitor,

:17:46. > :17:51.to make sure the ball is replaced in the rate position. But this is the

:17:52. > :18:20.shot which Shaun should be getting. That was a little bit hard. Yes, he

:18:21. > :18:28.should not have left him this shot. C what his confidence is like. He

:18:29. > :18:42.was not missing anything in the first couple of frames. Confidence

:18:43. > :18:55.back and 100% of the amount. Just a wee he played it, I thought he would

:18:56. > :18:59.have lately cue ball drift down the rate for one of the baulk colours,

:19:00. > :19:11.but he decided to hold it for the global into the middle.

:19:12. > :19:18.I think he was looking at maybe running north to cushions of this

:19:19. > :19:38.into the panic, but that is a very difficult shot. He is now coming

:19:39. > :19:43.round to look at that possibility. , because it is so close to the

:19:44. > :19:45.cushion, he cannot get to the bottom of the cue ball and play it as he

:19:46. > :20:04.would've liked to. This is delicate, it is not going to

:20:05. > :20:14.reach. He had to just drop the ten dead weight.

:20:15. > :20:29.Now, this is a chance to open them up, but he did not get enough screw

:20:30. > :20:32.on that. I am slightly surprised, because there was no real downside

:20:33. > :21:00.to him hitting that a lot harder. No, slightly hampered by the cueing.

:21:01. > :21:03.I just wonder of that middle pocket is effectively larger because of the

:21:04. > :21:22.Bolivia. That might tempt him to take on the pink. When for the

:21:23. > :21:31.corner and a good confidence pink. He did look at the possibility of a

:21:32. > :21:43.safety shot and Heath he can pour less and no get back on the ball

:21:44. > :21:49.blue, things could start opening up here. Yes, hitting the ball

:21:50. > :22:08.beautifully at the moment, Shaun. Well, he tried to get into the

:22:09. > :22:16.bunch. He was always going to have the chance of this red, so I do not

:22:17. > :22:19.think he had any need to apologise, but I think they're just shows how

:22:20. > :22:36.much power he has in that cue action.

:22:37. > :22:56.He will have to be very delicate. I do not think he is on anything. I

:22:57. > :23:04.think he should maybe have given that like a little more thought. He

:23:05. > :23:13.should probably have stunned onto that. Yes, I think you are right.

:23:14. > :23:47.No, what has he spotted? Not the best safety shot in the

:23:48. > :23:59.world. He should have been very tight on the baulk cushion and he

:24:00. > :24:02.has left a chance here for Ding. He has had a look to make sure he does

:24:03. > :24:15.not leave anything else on offer this, but you OK.

:24:16. > :24:23.Now, the kiss on the pink has left the red on. It was the only thing

:24:24. > :24:39.which could have left the ball on. Ding is not in the form that he was

:24:40. > :24:41.at the beginning of the match and, more worryingly, he is beginning to

:24:42. > :25:02.give Shaun plenty of chances. There is someone high up in the

:25:03. > :25:09.audience with a camera with the flash on it. There are three tables

:25:10. > :25:20.them to put the cameras and the phones are we and off.

:25:21. > :25:35.No real problem that he is on the wrong side of the blue, because

:25:36. > :25:42.there are so many reds available. There is a wide margin for error.

:25:43. > :25:50.You can see the right-hand side swinging it off the baulk cushion.

:25:51. > :25:55.Yes, I think he would've liked to beam slightly closer to this rate,

:25:56. > :26:05.but when you have a cue action like as, maybe he is not so worried, but

:26:06. > :26:08.it has cost him. Yes, you are absolutely right, there is no reason

:26:09. > :26:14.why he should not have been a lot closer to this. The game is all

:26:15. > :26:22.about trying to make it as easy as you can for yourself. This is a very

:26:23. > :26:30.important visit to the table for Ding. His standard has definitely

:26:31. > :26:32.dipped it. He will be looking for a frame winning contribution in the

:26:33. > :26:56.one visit. Straightaway, he has come up on the

:26:57. > :27:07.wrong side of this red, salty he will have to go up for the blue.

:27:08. > :27:12.Originally, that may be no bad thing, because looking at the pack,

:27:13. > :27:16.I think if he is going to go into them, he would be much better going

:27:17. > :27:46.into them from this, as opposed to people like. -- the black.

:27:47. > :28:03.He did not get the Canon. I think he hit the wrong red. He was fortunate

:28:04. > :28:14.to find this red into the centre. No, these are going to be the year

:28:15. > :28:41.for the taking. It was interesting the way he played

:28:42. > :29:06.that. He played that very slowly. It worked out all right. They are

:29:07. > :29:15.all beginning to clear out of each other's way. That is what it is all

:29:16. > :29:25.about, reducing the element of risk. He knows that when he pots one

:29:26. > :29:41.red, he will clear path for another one at the same time. It will be

:29:42. > :30:01.interesting to see what he plays here. It is all about the judgement.

:30:02. > :30:34.No, he will kick himself if he does not win the frame from here.

:30:35. > :30:48.So, to very easy red is available, which will be enough to leave Shaun

:30:49. > :31:06.at least newcomers required stage. -- snookers required.

:31:07. > :31:19.We felt that Ding had made a big mistake when he left that ball shot

:31:20. > :31:25.when he was going for the blue, but then Shaun played a similar shot and

:31:26. > :31:33.left himself too far away from that red. Yes, you really need to make

:31:34. > :31:43.the most of every opportunity. So, Shaun coming back to the table,

:31:44. > :32:18.but Edie Quire 's a lot of smokers. carrying on. From the point of view

:32:19. > :32:31.of Ding, that was exactly what the doctor ordered. It was a good way to

:32:32. > :32:49.let Shaun no he is still in a big match.

:32:50. > :33:09.That is not a bad snooker, given how the baulk colours are placed.

:33:10. > :33:13.Yes, we call him the Magician, but I think he will need to be to win this

:33:14. > :33:27.frame. It has been done before, but

:33:28. > :33:50.percentage-wise, it happens very rarely.

:33:51. > :33:57.When we say it is just for, that is assuming that the player does not

:33:58. > :34:02.fit any of them, you are obviously having to lay many more of them if

:34:03. > :34:07.they are hitting, for example half of them. But no, just a bit of

:34:08. > :34:42.rotting practice for Ding. He will just clearly is up in the

:34:43. > :34:47.straightforward way. There are a few players who like to bash the balls

:34:48. > :35:17.around and play exhibition shots, but that is not in his nature.

:35:18. > :35:33.There is both of them going end. If you mistakes from both players, but

:35:34. > :35:41.it is now 3-2 to Ding. A few interesting things happened there.

:35:42. > :35:46.When Ding Junhui we left that to ball shot and on the commission, we

:35:47. > :35:53.thought that he had given Shaun a big opportunity, but then Shaun did

:35:54. > :36:00.exactly the same. This was the shot. He simply did not let this hard

:36:01. > :36:06.enough. He still left himself with the shot, but all he needed to do

:36:07. > :36:15.was hit it slightly harder and the red would have been virtually

:36:16. > :36:19.unmissable. I still fancied him to knock this end and I am sure he did,

:36:20. > :36:28.but that was the big mistake. After that, he never get back to the table

:36:29. > :36:50.and lost the frame. But, he needs to simply forget about it.

:36:51. > :36:59.Not too bad, but he has not got the break shot to perfection today. He

:37:00. > :37:18.has left a possible pot. Now, where is this red going to

:37:19. > :37:30.finish. That was one very good slice of good fortune. You are not

:37:31. > :37:32.kidding. John may well come off the bottom cushion here and come right

:37:33. > :38:13.behind it. The interesting to see what sort of

:38:14. > :38:18.safety shot he plays here. You could take the red to the rate of the

:38:19. > :38:27.bunch and open the pack, make it a very attacking safety shot. But this

:38:28. > :38:34.was tough and I cannot believe that he has got away with this again. He

:38:35. > :38:36.is very lucky. I do not think that was the hate shot to take on, but

:38:37. > :38:50.what a result. A fairly easy safety shot. OK, you

:38:51. > :39:01.do not know we are all there reds are going to finish. The black

:39:02. > :39:34.finishing predators could mean a boat of safety play.

:39:35. > :39:51.He is just going to drop dead weight into the side of the pack. The

:39:52. > :40:00.referee said touching ball. It is easy for him to lean over and see

:40:01. > :40:05.that, he is about six foot five. A couple of the referees would need a

:40:06. > :40:16.set of stepladders to lean over and see that!

:40:17. > :40:24.As ever, it is not just about the red you are contacting, you have to

:40:25. > :40:32.be very careful not to promote one over the other corner. Well, he is

:40:33. > :40:37.having a very good run of the balls at the moment, to put it mildly.

:40:38. > :40:48.That is three shots in a row where he has got away with it.

:40:49. > :40:58.If he had not hit the bump, the red that he hit, which have been left on

:40:59. > :41:14.for Shaun. That is much better. Good pace on

:41:15. > :41:32.the cue ball. Yes, when you get these frames where

:41:33. > :41:35.there is a ball over the corner, the players tend to air on the side of

:41:36. > :41:45.caution and stay well clear of that pocket. What becomes important as

:41:46. > :41:54.covering the pocket on the other side and you can end up with a

:41:55. > :41:59.lengthy safety battle. Yes, he is quick to have to be careful that he

:42:00. > :42:07.does not deflect a red onto that black and put the black in.

:42:08. > :42:24.I mentioned LLP had played a few shots down that side of the table

:42:25. > :42:44.where he had not got the pace correct, but that was perfect.

:42:45. > :42:51.Shaun has got to be careful that he covers the red in between the pack

:42:52. > :43:15.and the blue. I do not know if he can contact

:43:16. > :43:20.enough of that red to be able to come across the table twice and put

:43:21. > :43:28.the cue ball back behind the brown and the green.

:43:29. > :43:50.No, he did not have the angle to do that. Now, will this red next to the

:43:51. > :43:55.pink pot? John is working every he could put the cue ball. He would

:43:56. > :44:02.like to play it in such a way that he would not leave any other red on.

:44:03. > :44:14.He has to avoid the red on the right-hand side of the table if he

:44:15. > :44:18.takes this on. Yes, maybe the thin client of off the side of the pack

:44:19. > :44:27.may be the order of the day here, a bit of patience. I do not blame him

:44:28. > :44:39.for that. There was a lot of technical difficulty in the long

:44:40. > :44:42.pot. I do not blame him for waiting. He might have to wait a while. The

:44:43. > :44:51.last frame was the longest of the match. This one is going to be, the

:44:52. > :44:55.way that the balls are now situated. And this of course, has come about

:44:56. > :45:08.because of the position of the black.

:45:09. > :45:18.Cannot get past the blue to clip off the reds. Shaun Murphy cannot see

:45:19. > :45:36.the red to the left of the bunch. How has he found the gap? How has he

:45:37. > :45:45.found that gap? To put the red over the pocket. That is unlucky. If you

:45:46. > :45:52.tried to do that, you couldn't. If he had laid it a bit harder, the red

:45:53. > :46:03.would have dropped in. Amazing. He is not having the best run of the

:46:04. > :46:06.balls in this game. The first time Shaun Murphy plays a shot like that,

:46:07. > :46:35.he puts the red over a whole. He cannot just drop it in because

:46:36. > :46:43.when the black is re-spotted, it will cover the reds. There is

:46:44. > :46:54.another red available, but he has hit it too hard. Not the greatest

:46:55. > :47:02.shot by Ding's standards. He needed to hit that a bit thicker. He was

:47:03. > :47:05.playing into an area, anywhere there and he would have a nice easy read.

:47:06. > :47:34.But he overhit it. It wasn't a great safety by Ding

:47:35. > :48:09.either. Chants missed. Hawk-Eye always gets it right. Ding

:48:10. > :48:15.has not got this right. I thought he was going to slip past the green. He

:48:16. > :48:23.has covered the red he sent over the pocket. At the moment it looks like

:48:24. > :49:07.Ding will win this frame no matter what happens.

:49:08. > :49:15.There was a possible part, but Shaun Murphy could not do much else. I

:49:16. > :49:23.know someone who would not this red in. He is sitting next to me, John

:49:24. > :49:41.Parrott. Let's see how Ding is off the cushion.

:49:42. > :49:59.Not bad. Very difficult shots from that position. He queued that

:50:00. > :50:27.beautifully. He left the cue do the work.

:50:28. > :50:32.Difficult to judge that, when you are playing a screw shot and canning

:50:33. > :50:48.off another ball. What is he looking at? None of those

:50:49. > :50:54.reds are available, surely? It is not the easiest to play safe off.

:50:55. > :51:03.Has to make sure he played that very thin.

:51:04. > :51:12.He has got away with that one as well! He is certainly testing Shaun

:51:13. > :51:17.Murphy's patients. He is blessed with a great temperaments, but with

:51:18. > :51:19.some of the things happening out there, some of the older players

:51:20. > :51:32.have been pulling faces. Having said that, he seemed to rush

:51:33. > :51:38.into that. I think that is because of what has been going on. He looked

:51:39. > :51:43.to just get down and have a go at a very difficult chance. No idea where

:51:44. > :51:49.the cue ball was going to finish. I think it was the right shot to play,

:51:50. > :51:56.but did not give it as much time that was required. It wasn't easy.

:51:57. > :52:00.When there is no guarantee for position, sometimes you don't

:52:01. > :52:51.concentrate hard enough. He may have to take the red in the

:52:52. > :52:56.centre at the moment. He has decided to take this one instead and screw

:52:57. > :53:15.it for either the pink or the blue. For all of the great play and the

:53:16. > :53:21.skill these boys have got, sometimes you cannot beat a good run of the

:53:22. > :53:58.balls. He has definitely had it in this frame, Ding Junhui.

:53:59. > :54:15.Well, that is an awful shot. I never thought I would ever see Ding

:54:16. > :54:17.playing that so bad. Overscrewed it. Shaun Murphy will not be believing

:54:18. > :54:33.that. This is what Hawk-Eye would have

:54:34. > :54:47.done. Congratulations Hawk-Eye, you are right.

:54:48. > :55:23.I am getting a bit fed up of that Hawk-Eye, John.

:55:24. > :55:34.That was a poor one. Did not get enough pace to get the red off the

:55:35. > :55:56.cushion and back into safety. It is another chance the Ding.

:55:57. > :56:05.What a shot he played there. Absolutely beautiful. What control.

:56:06. > :56:16.He played it so softly as well. It was a natural cannon.

:56:17. > :56:25.May have to come out round the angles for this. Could not avoid the

:56:26. > :56:27.cannon on the two reds behind the black. Has slightly underhit that

:56:28. > :56:59.one. Trickier shot than it looks. Has he got away with it again? He

:57:00. > :57:07.has covered everything. It is unbelievable. He is definitely going

:57:08. > :57:17.to pick some horses for me over the weekend.

:57:18. > :57:29.Ding's le shot when he screwed around the angles, he just underhit

:57:30. > :57:37.it. It is better to overhit it. Got to keep his patients here.

:57:38. > :57:48.How hard has he had that? That is a shocker. One of the worst safety

:57:49. > :57:52.shot I have ever seen Shaun Murphy play. I think he is getting

:57:53. > :58:23.frustrated with what is going on out there. Just hit it too hard. He has

:58:24. > :58:31.not played a good shot there, Ding. A little bit too much side. Should

:58:32. > :58:36.not be a problem for the green. A nice, natural angle. Stunt across

:58:37. > :59:31.and the red at the back of the bunch is available.

:59:32. > :59:44.He did not heed to hit that hard. It was a straightforward pot with a

:59:45. > :59:50.little bit of screw. We have seen a couple of those this afternoon. One

:59:51. > :00:02.early on in the third frame, he cued across. Little bit of a kick there.

:00:03. > :00:20.Seems like the only thing he hasn't had in this frame.

:00:21. > :00:25.He had to be careful though with a delicate little cannon. I think he

:00:26. > :00:40.is just about OK here. He has lost his rhythm at the

:00:41. > :00:52.moment. He is overhitting everything. Just last a little bit

:00:53. > :01:01.of composure. Ding let him off the hook and you have to punish those

:01:02. > :01:04.mistakes. Even though he was over 30 points behind, he should have

:01:05. > :01:13.punished Ding. It was one of those shots you had to be careful. Even if

:01:14. > :01:32.he was low on the shot, he would have had a chance at it. Chance

:01:33. > :01:35.gone. A very funny frame, this. In a perfect world he would like to move

:01:36. > :01:41.the pink off the side cushion and play into the baulk area, but he

:01:42. > :01:44.cannot do it. It is off the yellow but at the same time he does not

:01:45. > :01:47.want to put it in a safe position either. He will be kicking himself.

:01:48. > :02:05.That was a chance gone begging. The red to the right of the black,

:02:06. > :02:16.if he takes the pot on he could cannon into the black. Just a safety

:02:17. > :02:20.down the other side of the table. Knocking the brown off its spot is

:02:21. > :02:35.to Ding's advantage as well. The average shot time has gone right

:02:36. > :02:53.up. Pot success rate has dropped. But as

:02:54. > :02:59.John said, it has been a funny frame. All started when the Black

:03:00. > :03:09.was knocked over the right, corner pocket. We were already 26 minutes,

:03:10. > :03:27.the first three frames lasted just over 26 minutes.

:03:28. > :03:38.It is the old adage as well, when frames take this long, is when you

:03:39. > :03:43.lose them. If you put your concentration in it and then win it,

:03:44. > :03:52.at least you get reward. But if you put your concentration in it and

:03:53. > :03:59.lose, you get nothing. Might be able to take the red onto the right

:04:00. > :04:02.corner this time and get onto the back of the black. He is just

:04:03. > :04:07.looking at that now. He needs to avoid a cannon into the black. There

:04:08. > :04:25.is a couple of reds he can take to the right corner.

:04:26. > :04:36.Not even going to bother with either of them. He feels he can cannon into

:04:37. > :04:41.another ball, so keeping it tight. Not much to hide behind other than

:04:42. > :04:49.the green. He needs to get close to that. He has swapped them round, the

:04:50. > :04:58.red is safe, but the pink is back in play. Good shot. Look where the pink

:04:59. > :05:04.has finished, John. If the pink is not there, Shaun Murphy could have

:05:05. > :05:29.taken the red onto the right corner and avoid cannon in into the black.

:05:30. > :05:44.Just dead weight on to this top red. A very bad misjudgement. One thing

:05:45. > :05:51.he could not do was go that side of the red. Inside of it all day long,

:05:52. > :06:03.but not there. Missed the red by a long way. That has cost him the

:06:04. > :06:06.frame. In fact, I think Shaun Murphy will be glad to see the back of this

:06:07. > :06:19.frame because he has had no run whatsoever. If I was in, I would be

:06:20. > :06:27.splashing a bit of water on my face and start again. There has only ever

:06:28. > :06:49.looked like one winner in this frame, the way the balls have run.

:06:50. > :06:56.The difference is 53 and only 51 on the table. This was the delicate

:06:57. > :07:11.screw shot back caused Shaun Murphy the problems.

:07:12. > :07:20.Not much has happened in this frame. But he did have a chance there, you

:07:21. > :07:41.are absolutely right. It is the only frame where we have

:07:42. > :08:03.not had any breaks. The others were won with virtually

:08:04. > :08:10.just one visit. He is not bothered about that. He knew the frame was

:08:11. > :08:16.well and truly over. John Parrott, he is taking your advice and leaving

:08:17. > :08:21.the arena. That was a frustrating frame for Shaun Murphy. Ding will be

:08:22. > :08:26.delighted. Every other frame has had a 60 plus rake and that was the

:08:27. > :08:33.first scrappy one we have had an frustrating for Shaun Murphy?

:08:34. > :08:39.Ding got away with three or four chances with shops and safety shot.

:08:40. > :08:42.When he did get his chance, he overscrewed the red into the corner

:08:43. > :08:48.pocket and he will be kicking himself. It could be a pivotal frame

:08:49. > :08:52.because Shaun Murphy looks a bit despondent after that and frustrated

:08:53. > :08:55.as well. As long as it does not get to him. He is right getting out of

:08:56. > :09:01.the arena and putting water on his face. It has gone, he cannot do

:09:02. > :09:05.anything about it. But if he keeps thinking about it it could be the

:09:06. > :09:09.pivotal frame in the match. Hard for Shaun Murphy to keep his rhythm when

:09:10. > :09:16.so many things seemed to be con spiralling against him. He tried to

:09:17. > :09:24.follow a read through, and he got a bit of a kick. He had a long look at

:09:25. > :09:29.the cushion. Things were not going his way, but that is what happens in

:09:30. > :09:35.snooker. It is tough when things run against you, but you have to try and

:09:36. > :09:48.forget it. He was talking the other day about trying to have a better

:09:49. > :10:04.game to grind results out. I think he does have two better his game.

:10:05. > :10:12.With the top players, B there game is a lot better. If he gets that bad

:10:13. > :10:15.he will find more consistency. Even Ding, when he is not playing at the

:10:16. > :10:21.top of his form, he is a tough player to beat. That is what you

:10:22. > :10:26.have to do sometimes. It is not always going to be good, because

:10:27. > :10:29.sometimes you are not always on it, but it you give yourself

:10:30. > :10:34.opportunities it helps. We talked about Judd Trump and you likened him

:10:35. > :10:41.in some respects to Judd Trump, and if you are not at your fluent best

:10:42. > :10:48.you are not enjoying it. Is it able to train yourself? My temperament in

:10:49. > :10:52.scrappy matches was very poor. If I wasn't playing the way I wanted to

:10:53. > :11:03.play, I would be very down in my chair.

:11:04. > :11:35.Very interesting there. A The Games. Mine was my F game, John.

:11:36. > :11:47.Sometimes it is difficult to blank all that away. In snooker you have

:11:48. > :12:19.20 two balls -- 22 balls. Very strange things happen.

:12:20. > :12:28.Best of 11, first to 6. Not just quite a problem yet for Shaun

:12:29. > :12:41.Murphy. But he could do with this one. He was hoping to get in behind

:12:42. > :12:47.the yellow or at Lee's locked the path of this red to the left of the

:12:48. > :13:02.blue. The only thing is, the black is off its spot.

:13:03. > :13:17.That is why he tried to get back up the table. Surely he hasn't covered

:13:18. > :13:23.it again? It keeps on happening. Shaun Murphy has got to be patient

:13:24. > :13:34.and hope things can turn around and the run of the ball changes.

:13:35. > :13:49.That is to buckle of what happens when it is not running your way. --

:13:50. > :14:06.typical. Tough to take at the moment for Shaun Murphy, I should imagine.

:14:07. > :14:13.There is only one red available at the moment. He has got an angle so

:14:14. > :14:19.he should be able to get onto it. Could go into the pack of reds if he

:14:20. > :14:25.has a good enough angle, otherwise it is into that circle. It was into

:14:26. > :14:31.the reds. Not so lucky this time. That red does not pass the blue, I

:14:32. > :14:33.don't think. My go to the middle, but it is a thin one. If it passes

:14:34. > :14:44.the blue, he has got a chance. He had enough angle to get into the

:14:45. > :15:16.reds. The last frame lasted over 31

:15:17. > :15:20.minutes. But already, this could be a lengthy frame, because if you look

:15:21. > :15:27.at the blue and pink, right beside each other.

:15:28. > :15:41.Very court. So, heavily on, there is only one colour on the spot. How

:15:42. > :16:10.often do you see that? That was well played. But it does

:16:11. > :16:15.mean that the black is out of commission no completely, even

:16:16. > :16:28.though it was near the bottom cushion as it was.

:16:29. > :16:41.Nobody really likes these types of frames, from the ball school very

:16:42. > :16:48.court from the start. I think everyone likes to see the ball is

:16:49. > :16:56.open and people scoring, certainly the players do. But, it counts just

:16:57. > :17:08.as much as any other frame. It all adds up.

:17:09. > :17:13.Be a brave statement to say anything was a frame winning chance, with the

:17:14. > :17:27.balls set like this! But Shaun has this aid to bring the

:17:28. > :17:47.book black into play. I am just wondering whether this has

:17:48. > :18:12.got really right written all over it. -- re-rack.

:18:13. > :18:31.He is not thinking about putting this into the middle, is he?

:18:32. > :18:43.It is very close. What an effort that was.

:18:44. > :19:01.Yes, I thought that would just done in slightly at the end. We noticed

:19:02. > :19:15.earlier in the tournament that it was just pulling in slightly over

:19:16. > :19:20.there. No, he is looking at the plant, but this could definitely be

:19:21. > :19:37.missed, despite how close that Raiders to the centre.

:19:38. > :19:52.I think I would much sooner pay fair to play this with a swear of. He

:19:53. > :20:04.decided to take the one up into the top pocket. But that red will no cut

:20:05. > :20:19.in, even though the right is on the top cushion.

:20:20. > :20:31.You do not even think about the cue ball here. You simply just make sure

:20:32. > :20:43.that you get the pot and worry about the fight ball later.

:20:44. > :20:52.That is a result. He has not that red that he bumped into, back over

:20:53. > :21:11.that centre pocket. That last shot is unbelievable. To

:21:12. > :21:18.hit it at Bangor and then put it back over the centre pocket. It has

:21:19. > :21:28.to be said, he has had a fantastic run of the balls.

:21:29. > :21:36.Now, watch this again. Finishes raked over the centre. Absolutely

:21:37. > :21:58.lovely. Now, as he come far enough? That is

:21:59. > :22:05.tight. He had a choice of reds. He had this one or the one at the

:22:06. > :23:04.bottom of the pack. It looks as if he is just about OK.

:23:05. > :23:12.If the blue passes by the pink, which looks as if it does, he would

:23:13. > :23:29.have been hard pressed to play that any better.

:23:30. > :23:35.Obviously, it meant he could play the shot where he could just land

:23:36. > :23:42.the cue ball into an area, so that if he was not one, he would be on

:23:43. > :23:54.another. But not this time. An unexpectedness. He is such a good

:23:55. > :24:01.player into the middle pocket. That may just give Shaun a little bit of

:24:02. > :24:14.confidence. I think he just needs to score heavily in one visit. I do not

:24:15. > :24:21.think I have seen him this red eye that far. He appears to have totally

:24:22. > :24:27.lost his rhythm. He did not get near the pocket with this one. And sure

:24:28. > :24:39.enough, he has left a gap to this one up at the top pocket.

:24:40. > :24:47.Ding has to take full advantage year.

:24:48. > :25:06.He now knows that he has got Shaun and of the course.

:25:07. > :25:22.I wonder if he will try and get the pink back into play.

:25:23. > :25:34.He did try, but he missed the red. What a strange frame. But actually,

:25:35. > :25:42.he might not even have left anything again because of how close to the

:25:43. > :25:53.pink the cue ball is. John is looking at it. -- Shaun. If he

:25:54. > :26:10.cannot see that, that is another amazing get out for Ding. But having

:26:11. > :26:20.said that, Ding appears to have lost a little bit of confidence, as well.

:26:21. > :26:26.He has played a view careless ones. Yes, he seemed so concerned with a

:26:27. > :26:33.cannon, that he actually forgot to pot their red. He is not sure if you

:26:34. > :26:43.can see enough of this, he is asking the referee for advice! " how do I

:26:44. > :26:52.know? " Says they're free! I did not think he can see enough of

:26:53. > :27:24.that. We will shortly. If the pink moves.

:27:25. > :27:27.There is a little bit of a gap. But forgetting that, he will have to

:27:28. > :27:38.play a very good shot to get onto a colour. Yes, looking from here, it

:27:39. > :27:40.works as if it will easily pass, but just been that little bit further

:27:41. > :28:09.down the table, makes it court. he had to be on that occasion.

:28:10. > :28:15.Great, Shaun, it is time to go to work, after everything that has

:28:16. > :28:31.happened. If he can take this frame, it will be game on once again. Yes,

:28:32. > :28:43.as a jumping, you have to put all these things behind you and move on.

:28:44. > :29:05.There can be no complaints about this is a good chance.

:29:06. > :29:12.There's a couple of very court red. Those around the black are not badly

:29:13. > :29:48.placed. He me even play the cannon of this,

:29:49. > :29:57.just nudge the one to the left of the black out of the way. It

:29:58. > :30:06.actually looks as if he is going to run through and just can and the

:30:07. > :30:07.other one. The only thing with that is that he has pushed the red

:30:08. > :30:24.slightly closer to the cushion. Yes, it will be a mammoth effort to

:30:25. > :30:28.win the frame at this visit. But even just putting together a

:30:29. > :30:38.viewpoint, getting a bit of and fluency back.

:30:39. > :30:45.But this is certainly not straightforward.

:30:46. > :31:03.Now, this is the first of the court ones.

:31:04. > :31:16.He made absolutely sure. He did not want to force that.

:31:17. > :31:30.It did make that black much more difficult. Only just. They are all

:31:31. > :31:38.very delicate shot no. Here's another one coming up.

:31:39. > :31:46.Great shot. He has now got the angle to Kevin this red on the left-hand

:31:47. > :32:21.side. -- Kevin. It must be very tight. He was hoping

:32:22. > :32:32.to leave the red into the right middle. Yes, was interesting the way

:32:33. > :32:43.that he played that. Did he play it a little bit too hard?

:32:44. > :33:03.We will just show you that again. Yes, he had to just sit in behind it

:33:04. > :33:06.a little more. Well, not a great shot there, but in the context of

:33:07. > :33:26.what has gone before, he will be happy.

:33:27. > :33:34.He has just got past the middle pocket. Ding Newly made a mess of

:33:35. > :33:58.that. I think he missed an opportunity

:33:59. > :34:04.there to move the bone out. -- the broom ball.

:34:05. > :34:13.Yes, it's sitting on that side cushion is definitely in the favour

:34:14. > :34:21.of shone. A round of applause, but he did not mean to play that and

:34:22. > :34:24.apologises to Ding. He was meaning to send this rate round and leave

:34:25. > :34:42.the cue ball on the top pocket. So, 27 points and the difference, 27

:34:43. > :34:48.points on the table. We have heard everything on this match, surely be

:34:49. > :35:09.not going to have a re-spotted black?

:35:10. > :35:21.Excellent shot. Very clever, using the pink. No problem hitting it,

:35:22. > :35:23.but, as ever, it is getting it safe. He will be wanting to stop

:35:24. > :35:53.quickly. No, that is careless. He resorting

:35:54. > :35:55.to send DLO back-up the table. He has got that safe, but he could be

:35:56. > :36:10.in a spot of bother here. He needs an awful lot of side spin

:36:11. > :36:20.on this, to come of the cushion. Shaun only needs the yellow, so that

:36:21. > :37:22.was why he was tempted. He is knocking allsorts in. Well, he

:37:23. > :37:29.did stay patient and that patients stayed. It was that break of 56 that

:37:30. > :37:47.paved the way. He now trails for -3, but he is straight back in the game.

:37:48. > :37:50.Yes, he looks much happier now. Yes, Ding Mr couple of easy bowls into

:37:51. > :38:00.the middle just when it looked as if he was about to kill off the match,

:38:01. > :38:10.because it would have been 5-2. His composure seemed to go? Yes, he

:38:11. > :38:17.deftly was getting frustrated, but he finally made their most of it. He

:38:18. > :38:25.needed a bit of inspiration. At one point, he could not see the wood

:38:26. > :38:29.from the trees. Since the interval, the nature of the match is changed.

:38:30. > :38:40.It has become a little more bogged down, scrappy. Who is pulling the

:38:41. > :38:47.better snooker? Both of the players standard has dropped a lot, in terms

:38:48. > :38:51.of pot success. Nobody is going in there, potting the opening long ball

:38:52. > :38:56.and then cleaning up. It is getting very tense. This is the eighth

:38:57. > :39:11.frame. So, Shaun breaks off in the frame

:39:12. > :39:18.number eight. That last frame showed us why he has got such a very good

:39:19. > :39:24.temperament. He was on the end of a bit of misfortune, but he came

:39:25. > :39:35.through. He is right back in the match.

:39:36. > :39:47.Yes, the last two frames, the longest frames of the match, the

:39:48. > :39:55.bowls went very difficult. Prior to the interval, the frames were

:39:56. > :39:57.finishing in one visit. As you can see, the average frame time has now

:39:58. > :40:20.shot up. Not the best. A decent cue ball, but

:40:21. > :40:26.not collude to the baulk cushion, but more importantly, he has left

:40:27. > :40:54.this red down into the bottom left. And Emily Jones.

:40:55. > :41:15.But back: On the red has left them slightly awkward. I think it will be

:41:16. > :41:29.taking this on. But he has queued across a few. Yes, let us have a

:41:30. > :41:42.look at this one. That was much better. He made contact with the

:41:43. > :41:51.middle of the cue ball there. I am just wondering if he has actually

:41:52. > :41:58.landed on one. It is tight. He is now looking at the plant.

:41:59. > :42:10.I am pretty sure that the second red up that you can see, he could make

:42:11. > :42:22.with a little bit of side spin. But now he has looked at another one.

:42:23. > :42:37.Now it is the town of Ding to lose a little bit of composure. Now,

:42:38. > :42:46.Shaun, what have you done? What a chance he has let slip.

:42:47. > :42:59.Amazing. I didn't even know why he is plain that with stun. If he just

:43:00. > :43:54.runs through slightly, he is guaranteed to be on the black.

:43:55. > :44:04.There of a chance here for Shaun. Perhaps the run of the bowls is

:44:05. > :44:20.changing. All of the sudden, maybe things have

:44:21. > :44:46.turned around. I was about to say, that looked like

:44:47. > :44:52.a natural angle to get down there. OK, you could say he left a slightly

:44:53. > :45:02.tricky shot, but you did not expect him to miss that. Having got in

:45:03. > :45:26.position, he forgot to look at the object ball.

:45:27. > :45:48.I think he is just OK. Can just due to the side of the red. -- cue. Just

:45:49. > :45:56.had to be a little bit careful. It is when you follow through,

:45:57. > :46:00.sometimes the cue goes through. It gets thicker and you have to be

:46:01. > :46:14.careful. It is amazing how Ding has just lost

:46:15. > :46:31.his way. If you ask me at the minute who was

:46:32. > :46:37.hitting the ball better I would say it was Shaun, but he keeps making

:46:38. > :46:48.mistakes. But he is striking the ball with more authority than Ding.

:46:49. > :47:02.It is official, it is definitely running awkward.

:47:03. > :47:08.The fact that red is near the right corner pocket, looks like a safety

:47:09. > :47:28.shot is going to be more difficult. I think he intentionally try to

:47:29. > :47:34.cover that pocket with the pink. I think he played the slow pot and

:47:35. > :47:40.thought, if I miss it, I will cover it. His neck shot would have been

:47:41. > :47:54.interesting. It is tough out there at the moment.

:47:55. > :48:08.There is a possible part, if not to the corner, to the middle. -- pot.

:48:09. > :48:13.Ding needs to keep his composure. He is in the driving seat, but he knows

:48:14. > :48:22.he should have had this match closed out.

:48:23. > :48:32.He might be in the driving seat, but at the moment the car door is open.

:48:33. > :48:53.He is not very safe in the driving seat.

:48:54. > :49:08.At the moment it is by radar. He has just lost it. OK, he was on the

:49:09. > :49:11.cushion, but he still should have knocked that in. He has given Shaun

:49:12. > :49:17.another chance of a Shaun Murphy special. He knocked one in

:49:18. > :49:22.previously screwed back too far. He is looking at the pot in the left

:49:23. > :49:43.corner. Looking at a few options. DME! Is there anything else going to

:49:44. > :49:52.happen in this match you can think of? It clipped the pink into the

:49:53. > :50:12.pocket. Could he be any more unlucky? Incredible.

:50:13. > :50:51.This is hard to believe. Settle down now, please. He cannot pot a ball.

:50:52. > :51:00.This game would drive you mad. All he is looking for is a position on

:51:01. > :51:05.one colour. But with the reds spread like that, and look where the cue

:51:06. > :51:41.ball finished. It is amazing what can happen.

:51:42. > :51:49.There is no safety shot on and the pot is so difficult. I say there is

:51:50. > :51:57.no safety, but he could flick off the red and make it safe. Might be

:51:58. > :52:05.better than trying to pot dipper will read like this with what is

:52:06. > :52:13.going on at the moment. -- difficult read.

:52:14. > :52:30.I am not so sure it is the right shot to take the pot on here. But he

:52:31. > :52:31.has got to think of something. Hit the cushion first, send the red of

:52:32. > :53:02.the table. You said it would be ironic if he

:53:03. > :53:19.got down and knocked that in. I give up. I give up. He has to capitalise

:53:20. > :53:44.on it, that is just one pot. He has overcut it. Can you believe it? Mrs

:53:45. > :53:50.that yellow after potting that red. In Lancashire when the sort of

:53:51. > :55:02.things happen, they would say your head is in a jam jar.

:55:03. > :55:17.It is infectious at the moment. Sometimes that can happen.

:55:18. > :55:26.I am wondering what he thinks the white is. It is very reactive and he

:55:27. > :55:34.thinks there is something wrong with the cue ball. He overscrewed it

:55:35. > :55:46.completely. It is the same white they had before the mid-interval.

:55:47. > :55:51.Whatever it was, it was a poor shot. Especially with the yellow

:55:52. > :56:23.hanging over the corner pocket, it is even worse.

:56:24. > :56:37.He is going to need the green all the blue to come to his rescue. And

:56:38. > :56:42.it has, as you can see. Ding has got to get his focus back here, because

:56:43. > :56:51.he is still in the driving seat. If he wins this frame, he only needs

:56:52. > :56:57.one more for a place in the quarterfinal. It is all about

:56:58. > :57:00.composure. And the big difference in Ding these days, when things were

:57:01. > :57:06.going well you would see him slumped in his seat. You never see that

:57:07. > :57:15.these days. He has been working on that. He is now stood up here. It

:57:16. > :57:22.has been one of the strangest matches. It was very fluent with

:57:23. > :57:32.high scoring, but now it is hard work. Both players missing lots of

:57:33. > :57:40.opportunities. Losing position. Potting success has been down. There

:57:41. > :57:44.is a gap through here. Potting success has been down, like you said

:57:45. > :57:54.but he can get on the black if he knocks this in.

:57:55. > :58:07.You can't play a better shot than that. It was superb from Ding. Time

:58:08. > :58:13.to put all that has gone before at the back of your mind and just go on

:58:14. > :58:20.here and clinch the frame. The white is awkward. Pop that I get on the

:58:21. > :58:25.black was brilliant. Just seems the ones that have been difficult and he

:58:26. > :58:29.has needed a lot of concentration, he manages to do those. But some of

:58:30. > :58:47.the easy shots he has missed, you would never believe those.

:58:48. > :58:56.He has been a professional now for just over ten years. He has seen it

:58:57. > :59:02.all, Ding. He looked for all of the world, he had lost it completely.

:59:03. > :59:06.But the focus seems to be back with him again. No substitute for

:59:07. > :59:29.experience. Cannot help but think that the last

:59:30. > :59:43.shot Shaun Murphy had is going to be very costly indeed.

:59:44. > :00:09.His mind must be scrambled at the moment.

:00:10. > :00:46.That wasn't pressure, just a lapse in concentration.

:00:47. > :00:57.Not a straightforward run to the winning line. The fact all of the

:00:58. > :01:07.colours are off their spots with the exception of the pink. Just means

:01:08. > :01:13.you have a little more work to do with the positional side of things

:01:14. > :01:19.on this clearance. In an ideal world you would be playing on the brown.

:01:20. > :01:24.Knock this in, brown will run down to the baulk area. The way things

:01:25. > :01:48.have been happening today, keeping it simple might be a good idea.

:01:49. > :01:57.He has looked at the brown, but it means he will be a little bit

:01:58. > :02:02.further away from the yellow. If he takes the pink he can get closer to

:02:03. > :02:08.the yellow. Just depends how he feels. The brown on its spot might

:02:09. > :02:16.be much better, as John said. That is what he has decided on. But when

:02:17. > :02:20.the object ball is as close to the pocket, it is always tricky to

:02:21. > :02:30.control the cue ball. This is the key shot. In a perfect world he

:02:31. > :02:41.would have liked to have been low on the brown. Sean feels confident

:02:42. > :02:51.playing this way. -- Shaun. He played that well, it was one that

:02:52. > :02:58.could have gone wrong. He won't need the black. Brown, blue and the pink

:02:59. > :03:09.and we will be all square and problems for Ding.

:03:10. > :03:17.I think he has gone a very strong favourite in this match if it is all

:03:18. > :03:34.square. I think he is in better control of his cue action.

:03:35. > :03:43.What an amazing match we have got on our hands. Ding at the moment, has

:03:44. > :03:48.lost is way. Shaun Murphy is right back in it and is all square.

:03:49. > :03:54.Amazing match. So many twists and turns. What is

:03:55. > :04:00.happening? Ding has collapsed at the moment. Lost his composure. He is

:04:01. > :04:08.getting chance after chance and that red with the rest. Straightforward.

:04:09. > :04:13.You cannot believe it. There is this fantastic read, this is one of the

:04:14. > :04:22.good shots. But the rest, all he has to do is pot it and go on and win

:04:23. > :04:26.the frame. You cannot imagine this guy who has won three tournaments in

:04:27. > :04:30.a row can miss that. It seemed to be the harder shots he was in control

:04:31. > :04:38.of and the easy ones he was spelling all of the time? Out of the two

:04:39. > :04:43.players, Shaun is coping the best with playing badly. Ding is looking

:04:44. > :04:50.under pressure, looks irritated. Shaun looks calm in his chair when

:04:51. > :04:57.he misses a shot, but Ding looks gutted about it. Do you agree with

:04:58. > :05:04.John Parrott, Shaun Murphy is the stronger in this match washed and

:05:05. > :05:07.Mark absolutely. But two frames ago it was the other way around. It is

:05:08. > :05:13.amazing how the match can sometimes change on a ball, which so often

:05:14. > :05:19.happens. In this tournament we have seen more misses from players. I

:05:20. > :05:25.think it is the occasion, it is a huge tournament. The players want to

:05:26. > :05:32.do well. That is why you are seeing more misses than you would at other

:05:33. > :05:37.times. We have talked about the quality and the difference in

:05:38. > :05:43.quality. I wonder how much the tension and the occasion has

:05:44. > :05:48.contributed to that? They are here because they are the best players,

:05:49. > :05:54.they should be coping with it. It has led to a fantastic situation

:05:55. > :05:59.from our point of view. All square in this match, and if you are just

:06:00. > :06:03.joining us, it has been delayed because of a power cut here in North

:06:04. > :06:11.London. But this will keep us gripped all the way to the end of

:06:12. > :06:13.our transmission at 6pm. Better break off from Ding, getting

:06:14. > :06:40.the white almost into the cushion. Shaun stayed in the arena as Ding

:06:41. > :06:44.went out for a comfort rate. It is unusual to be asked for an autograph

:06:45. > :06:55.in the middle of a match, but the gentleman that he is, he signed it.

:06:56. > :06:58.We showed the interview with Hazel before the match, and he has been a

:06:59. > :07:32.model player since he has turned professional.

:07:33. > :07:50.That does not make a great deal of this -- difference. This wasn't a

:07:51. > :08:01.straightforward one, but he would normally knock that in. That is

:08:02. > :08:06.another one he would normally never miss. Then he potted a fabulous read

:08:07. > :08:11.and overcooked the yellow. But this is the one, this would have put him

:08:12. > :08:18.firmly in the driving seat. Started out the best of 11, now the

:08:19. > :09:23.best of three. There is going to be a gap, is

:09:24. > :09:32.there? Shaun has just held his hand up, so it is now his turn to have a

:09:33. > :09:41.run of the ball. He can play this off the angles here. Flick behind

:09:42. > :09:54.The reds, send it down the table. Played it directly onto it, same

:09:55. > :10:00.thing. I suppose we get so used to seeing the players making century

:10:01. > :10:07.breaks, 80 and 90 each visit, so when we see the frames we have seen

:10:08. > :10:12.this afternoon, it is unusual and we are quite shocked about it. Yes, it

:10:13. > :10:19.is great to see the big breaks and winning frames in one visit, but for

:10:20. > :10:24.the club players sitting at home, they enjoy watching this kind of

:10:25. > :10:30.snooker, because they think, " I could have missed that". It is not

:10:31. > :10:46.as easy as it looks, this. Superb! It really was. To dig down

:10:47. > :10:57.on the cue ball from that position and control the part, was excellent.

:10:58. > :11:01.-- pot. To get back control, he pushed the cue through in a

:11:02. > :11:05.perfectly straight line. Difficult shot, lots of concentration,

:11:06. > :11:07.straight into the middle of the pocket. It has been a very strange

:11:08. > :11:37.performance. It has been the symbol once today,

:11:38. > :11:45.like that. He may have taken his eye off it. His mind is in turmoil at

:11:46. > :12:05.the moment. Beautifully struck. I am not

:12:06. > :12:10.surprised, if he is not the best player in the world with the rest, I

:12:11. > :12:24.don't know who is. Hugh did beautifully. -- cued. 89% for his

:12:25. > :12:47.rest success. I don't know the one he missed. He is very good with it.

:12:48. > :12:54.Looks as if it has put the pink out of commission. The black is tied

:12:55. > :13:05.up. He could do with the blue back on its spot.

:13:06. > :13:11.This will get the blue back onto its spot. He could have the pink in open

:13:12. > :13:41.play in a couple of shots time. I don't think he is on a ball here.

:13:42. > :14:49.He plays a cannon and has finished on absolutely nothing.

:14:50. > :15:10.Poor shot from Ding. The opening red is simple, but it is all about

:15:11. > :15:14.getting onto a colour. Yes, he may attempt to hold for the black,

:15:15. > :15:28.knowing that he may have the pink in the middle if he misses it. He has

:15:29. > :15:37.got the gap and is OK. No, this is a serious chance to lead 5-4.

:15:38. > :15:50.He put so much right-hand side on that to slip past the red. Their

:15:51. > :16:20.natural angle would of seen him cash into them.

:16:21. > :16:31.He slightly under hit that. Wanted another couple of inches on that to

:16:32. > :16:43.leave him the easy black and then the red on the bottom cushion. But

:16:44. > :16:54.well played. He did well to hold the cue ball.

:16:55. > :17:15.No, he just requires a little stun across for the black.

:17:16. > :17:31.Yes, the opening pot was a cracker. A load of left-hand side there, so

:17:32. > :17:40.that he would avoid the cannon. Yes, a lot of things have happened

:17:41. > :17:42.today, he has missed a lot of balls and so has his opponent, but there

:17:43. > :17:50.is no doubt that Shaun is most definitely striking the ball better.

:17:51. > :17:55.I think a lot of this comes down to temperament. Shaun has the slightly

:17:56. > :18:07.better temperament, I think you would have to say.

:18:08. > :18:20.54 head anti-as one available into the bottom right.

:18:21. > :18:31.If he goes on to take this frame, it will still be interesting, because I

:18:32. > :18:36.still think that Ding will have plenty to offer. He will try and

:18:37. > :18:43.just come out and do what he did in the opening two frames. Something

:18:44. > :18:53.will have to change. He needs to find some form from somewhere. He

:18:54. > :18:58.has missed a number of chances. But is that the little bit of help you

:18:59. > :19:07.are talking about? He carelessly played that. He was trying to

:19:08. > :19:12.squeeze that. He has completely had the wrong side of it. That is very

:19:13. > :19:20.strange for someone of his quality to do that. He actually squeezed it

:19:21. > :19:30.away from the pocket even though they were quite close together. If

:19:31. > :19:36.he was playing as he had done in the first couple of frames of the match,

:19:37. > :19:40.you would actually fancy Ding to win this from here. But here is that

:19:41. > :19:49.attempted plant. A big misjudgement. These are the occasions when you

:19:50. > :20:21.find out about yourself. There is a player sitting in the

:20:22. > :20:26.studio with ten, Stephen Hendry, six times a winner of this tournament.

:20:27. > :20:34.He was in this position so many times.

:20:35. > :20:50.Yes, and as meat Ken was not too bad either.

:20:51. > :21:04.Now, Shaun has two sit and suffer and hope that Ding Mrs.

:21:05. > :21:58.But this would be a massive clearance.

:21:59. > :22:12.That was awkward. He needed an angle on the black, but not quite this.

:22:13. > :22:19.The cue ball slightly to the left would have been easier.

:22:20. > :22:35.Now, the way he has finished, I would expect him to screw back here

:22:36. > :22:40.to put himself on the red on the right-hand cushion. This would be a

:22:41. > :22:51.very big steel. If he does clean-up here, every

:22:52. > :22:57.credit to him. We are as this come from?

:22:58. > :23:08.He has over screwed it, but should be OK. That is clear he wanted to

:23:09. > :23:11.land it and know he will have to just drop this in with the

:23:12. > :23:21.extension. Well played. That is an excellent

:23:22. > :23:47.shot. Really has been good stuff so far,

:23:48. > :23:50.this break. The year low is just off its own spot, which makes things

:23:51. > :24:13.slightly more difficult. Yes, the natural angle will take

:24:14. > :24:23.this back up the table. I would have preferred to play for the blue. Now,

:24:24. > :24:41.tee shot coming up here. He is not going to be close to it.

:24:42. > :24:48.And he may be hampered. He may well need the spider. I will hark back to

:24:49. > :24:55.the previous shot. Why did he not make things simple for himself and

:24:56. > :25:01.go up for one of the baulk colours? I do not understand that. He comes

:25:02. > :25:13.off the side cushion and he will have a choice. He could have taken

:25:14. > :25:16.that and put it back onto its spot. Whatever one he had landed on, it

:25:17. > :25:21.would have given him a number of choices.

:25:22. > :25:33.All in all, he will be disappointed not to finish the frame there. I

:25:34. > :25:41.date Shaun cannot believe his luck. I suspect he thought the frame was

:25:42. > :25:54.all over. Now, he would love to be able to knock the pink safe here.

:25:55. > :26:05.That is a pretty good shot. The blue is covering the yellow. He did try

:26:06. > :26:15.to knock the pink safe, but he will settle for that. Rather fortunate to

:26:16. > :26:17.get the snooker behind the blue, because he was expecting the yellow

:26:18. > :26:27.to finish somewhere near the pink spot.

:26:28. > :26:51.Great shot to get that's where of on that. Just to clip it was great, but

:26:52. > :26:56.to miss the cannon and the way back was even better.

:26:57. > :27:07.Yes because on these fine cloth is, it is not so easy to put so much so

:27:08. > :27:27.whereupon it, as it was with the old Flickr ones. -- thicker ones.

:27:28. > :27:49.Shaun needs the yellow, the green and the bedroom.

:27:50. > :27:54.Still very exciting to watch Kim and even though some of the quality of

:27:55. > :28:10.the speaker has not been what we might have expected.

:28:11. > :28:17.He may try and double the yellow back-up, but this will have to be

:28:18. > :28:28.accurate. That is not bad. There is no value

:28:29. > :29:26.in Shaun taking this on. Not totally straightforward. Now,

:29:27. > :29:36.this is all about the pace. Not easy for Shaun.

:29:37. > :29:52.He cannot pot that, so another good safety shot required.

:29:53. > :30:04.And that is a useful cannon on the Brown.

:30:05. > :30:12.Earlier on, it was Ding who was getting all the bits of good

:30:13. > :30:23.fortune. Well, this could be a free ball as

:30:24. > :30:46.well. 23 now the difference. If there is

:30:47. > :31:09.no easy part on, he can get this replaced. Yes, this is the right

:31:10. > :31:16.decision. FDL was lying over the pocket, you would have not won ball

:31:17. > :31:24.into account and the yellow and then gone on to the yellow over the

:31:25. > :31:33.pocket, but the way they are sitting, there was no point. The run

:31:34. > :31:59.of the ball has changed. I thought he may have tried just coming down

:32:00. > :32:06.slowly and nestling on the yellow. Well played.

:32:07. > :32:12.Just needs to get good cueing here and he does not even need to worry

:32:13. > :32:34.about the round ball. He can have no complaints, Ding. He

:32:35. > :32:38.played some good shots there, but the last red that he played was a

:32:39. > :34:01.stinker, it has to be said. Ding is meeting to smokers, but the

:34:02. > :34:02.one thing in his favour is that the black sitting in that position makes

:34:03. > :34:24.it a very good target. Might be a chance here. This could

:34:25. > :35:21.be a chance for him to get in behind that lack.

:35:22. > :35:34.He has got a choice. He could take the double on here are actually go

:35:35. > :35:40.for the snooker behind the black. A decent shot therefrom Shaun. He

:35:41. > :35:44.deliberately move the black out from the cushion, to make it more

:35:45. > :35:53.difficult. But this is a pretty good attempt.

:35:54. > :36:52.Excellent. Now, he has made a bit of a hash of

:36:53. > :37:35.that. But he has fought the Brown. He was very fortunately. Anywhere

:37:36. > :37:51.else on the table and the blue would have been very tough.

:37:52. > :38:02.Would you have been tempted to pot the ball and then just play for one

:38:03. > :38:14.snooker? Yes, I was just thinking about that a minute ago. Yes, it is

:38:15. > :38:54.not be beyond the bounds of possibility you could get that.

:38:55. > :39:27.This is now the longest frame of the match, 33 minutes.

:39:28. > :39:36.I do not think Shaun Wilmington hitting the pink from here because

:39:37. > :39:41.it is in a good position for snookers and he would much rather

:39:42. > :39:46.see it out in the middle of the table.

:39:47. > :39:54.Decisions, decisions. But the blue and then take the snooker of the

:39:55. > :40:07.pink? Well, I definitely would have

:40:08. > :40:11.spotted that look for the one snooker to tidy. One is hard

:40:12. > :40:31.enough. All purely academic now. John is

:40:32. > :40:41.trying a long double into the corner pocket, a trick shot. Ding Leaves

:40:42. > :40:51.the arena, both players are. What a turnaround. Shaun has won three

:40:52. > :40:58.frames in a row and now leads 5-4. I should want you that we will be

:40:59. > :41:08.coming off here at six o'clock. This game will be broadcast on the red

:41:09. > :41:16.button. We have got a lot to discuss from that last frame. Firstly, why

:41:17. > :41:19.did he not pot the ball? I do not know if he has failed to look at the

:41:20. > :41:23.scoreboard and his concentration has gone. It was so easy to do that and

:41:24. > :41:33.then just rely on getting one snooker to tidy. I did not see him

:41:34. > :41:38.looking at the scoreboard. I wonder if he did not know the actual

:41:39. > :41:44.situation. That probably tells you a lot about his state of mind. Shaun

:41:45. > :41:55.broke down at 36 and looked for all the world as if Ding was going to

:41:56. > :42:01.clean up. Yes, John was absolutely spot on in commentary, he had to get

:42:02. > :42:11.the cue ball further up the table to get an easier positional shot. It

:42:12. > :42:17.was a terrible shot. You the body language that he was displaying

:42:18. > :42:24.would be a positive for Shaun. Does that help when you see that sort of

:42:25. > :42:29.behaviour? Sometimes, you do look after and just check what the body

:42:30. > :42:35.language of your opponent is like. You can see him looking up there. He

:42:36. > :42:44.is certainly not going to find any inspiration up there. It can give

:42:45. > :42:51.you a bit of a boost. Now, can Ding come back? I think he has thrown

:42:52. > :43:00.this match away. He should have been 5-2 ahead, but he has missed this

:43:01. > :43:06.up. He still has a chance, but I think Shaun is no looking very

:43:07. > :43:13.strong. Shaun needs just one more to book his place in the quarterfinal.

:43:14. > :43:18.As I said, we have to leave you, but please post the red button or go to

:43:19. > :43:21.the BBC spots website to see the conclusion of this match live.