Day 5 Masters Snooker


Day 5

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Day 5. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

It is a great tournament. I have won it before. I have maybe won the

:01:09.:01:21.

world and the UK, the next is winning the Masters. I would like to

:01:22.:01:27.

have won it more times. I never seem to play well in advanced it is a

:01:28.:01:31.

tough draw. John is one of the greats of our

:01:32.:01:35.

game. He has been struggling. He is more than good enough to turn it

:01:36.:01:43.

around. Tough player. Mark is one of the favourites for every event. He

:01:44.:01:47.

will be favourite going into this match, rightly so.

:01:48.:01:55.

We already have one semifinalist. This afternoon, Shaun Murphy came

:01:56.:02:02.

from behind to beat Marco Fu and reaches third consecutive Masters

:02:03.:02:11.

semifinal. Murphy will play the winner of tonight's match in the

:02:12.:02:14.

first semifinal on Saturday afternoon. A great comeback.

:02:15.:02:22.

Delighted to say that I've been joined by Stephen Hendry who will be

:02:23.:02:26.

watching this evening's match with me. You were in the commentary box

:02:27.:02:31.

this afternoon, another fantastic fightback by Shaun Murphy.

:02:32.:02:33.

Positivity was the key to his victory? His concentration was poor

:02:34.:02:38.

at the beginning of the match, he looked quite flat in his chair but

:02:39.:02:46.

it took 4-1 behind to wake up. This evening's match, Mark Selby says he

:02:47.:02:52.

has to take his chances against John Higgins. His first four frames of

:02:53.:02:56.

his third round he was like that but then it was a game of two halves, he

:02:57.:02:59.

played poorly after that. John Higgins is one of the biggest names

:03:00.:03:03.

in the game so Mark Selby will be up for it. Selby also suggest that John

:03:04.:03:14.

Higgins is still a prospect. If I was John, I would be up for this

:03:15.:03:20.

match. I know you don't like making predictions but who do you think? I

:03:21.:03:25.

have a sneaking suspicion for my fellow Scotsman. The players are

:03:26.:03:29.

standing by, let's join our MC, Rob Walker. Good evening, ladies and,

:03:30.:03:35.

what's a night we have got in store for you here at the title-macro, a

:03:36.:03:40.

money metal matchup between two men who have contested the world

:03:41.:03:43.

championship final in 2007 and in between them, have lifted this

:03:44.:03:49.

prestigious Invitational Trophy five times. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

:03:50.:03:58.

Please welcome first of all, a player making his 20th consecutive

:03:59.:04:02.

appearance at the Masters. Winner of this one in 1999 he is without

:04:03.:04:07.

doubt, one of the finest sportsmen Scotland has ever reduced. Four

:04:08.:04:12.

times champion of the world, it is the Wizard of Wishaw, is John

:04:13.:04:13.

Higgins. JOHN HIGGINS - MUSIC: "Pencil Full

:04:14.:04:19.

Of Lead" by Paolo Nutini. And his opponent, a player who has

:04:20.:04:43.

won three of the last six Masters titles. He came through that six -

:04:44.:04:47.

five thriller against Mark Davis proving once again he rarely loses

:04:48.:04:51.

his cool on the big occasion. Shanghai Masters champion in 2011,

:04:52.:04:57.

he took the UK crown in 2012, he is the defending Masters champion, he

:04:58.:05:00.

is the Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby!

:05:01.:05:02.

Another terrific atmosphere hair at Alexander Palace. The last time

:05:03.:05:30.

these two played each other was in 2010 with Higgins coming out on top

:05:31.:05:34.

in the Welsh Open which he went on to win. A place in the semifinals

:05:35.:05:38.

against Shaun Murphy awaits them. We have a very good evening to our

:05:39.:05:49.

commentators Dennis Taylor... And John Parrott.

:05:50.:05:53.

John won the toss and has elected to break off. 20 consecutive

:05:54.:06:12.

appearances in the Masters, John. That is some going. That is a high

:06:13.:06:19.

level of consistency. Think the one word that would describe this

:06:20.:06:24.

encounter this evening would be" battle" because these two players

:06:25.:06:28.

certainly know their way around the snooker table. Tactically, they have

:06:29.:06:34.

seen everything but you feel it is about who scores this evening. That

:06:35.:06:38.

is the key for me, can you score? If one of them gets a chance, the way

:06:39.:06:42.

the name-7-macro have opened up here, they might just get it with a

:06:43.:06:48.

frame-winning effort. -- with the reds.

:06:49.:06:58.

Sit still, please. Sit still. Just a bit of movement in the crowd,

:06:59.:07:06.

everybody settling down to what could be an epic battle.

:07:07.:07:12.

That is worth another look, terrific cueing. That does your confidence

:07:13.:07:24.

the power of good. Can you put your camera away,

:07:25.:07:35.

please? The buck is clear into one corner pocket. -- the black is

:07:36.:07:44.

clear. John Higgins could have things in the clear around the black

:07:45.:07:46.

spot area in a few turns. I couldn't believe that statistic

:07:47.:08:01.

will at the biographies, they haven't played since 2010. When you

:08:02.:08:06.

consider how good they are and at the business end of the tournament,

:08:07.:08:09.

it is amazing that they haven't had an encounter since then.

:08:10.:08:27.

John has been slipping down the rankings somewhat. Another 12 at the

:08:28.:08:35.

moment. He is up against the world number two.

:08:36.:08:54.

He has been experimenting with a few different keys but he seems to be

:08:55.:08:58.

very comfortable with this one. Guess, it is amazing to think he had

:08:59.:09:03.

a spell for seven months or so where he never got past the last 16 in any

:09:04.:09:07.

event he was in. Somebody of his class, that is amazing. He does seem

:09:08.:09:12.

settled with this and already this is a good start. He seems to be

:09:13.:09:19.

hitting the ball quite nicely. He got through his first match against

:09:20.:09:20.

you at -- against Stuart Bingham. This might just get one red, one he

:09:21.:10:02.

will follow through. He hasn't really developed it but he

:10:03.:10:18.

has picked up or picked off all the easy reds. Starting to get a little

:10:19.:10:22.

bit more difficult now. Great technique, he always has

:10:23.:10:35.

habitat. I remember practising with him when he first turned

:10:36.:10:38.

professional, used to play at Stephen Hendry's club in Stirling.

:10:39.:10:51.

He achieved an awful lot. You talk about his technique, watch him use

:10:52.:10:54.

the cue when he plays, he lets the cue do the work with a good

:10:55.:10:59.

backswing. He comes quite a way back. All the time, plenty of work

:11:00.:11:04.

on the cue ball. He will come right back. Through. No danger of having a

:11:05.:11:14.

lack of power. If he is dead straight on this red, he will have

:11:15.:11:21.

the stun run-through shots which is one of the nicest in the game.

:11:22.:11:29.

He has got back up to have a think about it.

:11:30.:11:40.

He still played that delicate little stun shot. But this is a key shot

:11:41.:11:53.

coming up. Just looking to see if that red would go.

:11:54.:11:58.

He may have to put a trace of side. I would rather go into the bunch. He

:11:59.:12:05.

should avoid the cannon on the red on the top cushion here. I think he

:12:06.:12:06.

will just miss that. He decided to split the pack

:12:07.:12:18.

instead. It doesn't look like good at first glance. He couldn't have

:12:19.:12:23.

played much better. He just caught that read. If you missed that first

:12:24.:12:27.

read, he would have split them perfectly. He split them but he has

:12:28.:12:32.

finished awkwardly. Only a couple of pots away from securing the frame.

:12:33.:12:39.

When you are playing a cannon, you're never sure what will happen

:12:40.:12:45.

he only needed a few more pots. A bit unlucky there.

:12:46.:13:00.

He has got a good lead of 58 points but he is having a look to see if he

:13:01.:13:08.

will play this red, the cutback. The way the table is set up, there is

:13:09.:13:11.

only the one red behind the black that is difficult so he has to be

:13:12.:13:16.

careful here. A lead is nice of that size but it is not insurmountable

:13:17.:13:19.

the way the table is set up so he needs to be careful.

:13:20.:13:29.

A very good start for the Wizard of Wishaw. But he would have liked to

:13:30.:13:47.

have won the frame with that visit. He needs a bit more insurance here,

:13:48.:14:07.

he could do with another red safe. Otherwise he has got a shot to

:14:08.:14:11.

nothing to play here but the brown and green are a good target to get

:14:12.:14:13.

in behind. That is a handy little flick. The

:14:14.:14:35.

next shot is difficult here, with hampered cueing. Hitting down on

:14:36.:14:37.

bridging over. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. He got a

:14:38.:14:58.

bit of unwanted side, it's worked past the red. As he delivers the

:14:59.:15:02.

cue, probably caught it off centre, swerve it slightly away from the red

:15:03.:15:08.

and hit the black full ball and... Golden chance for John Higgins.

:15:09.:15:22.

Sometimes when you leave the ball in that position, it is better than a

:15:23.:15:30.

snooker. Very much so. Especially on these fine cloths, a bit of and

:15:31.:15:38.

unwanted side. It can go off. That little flick off the green was very

:15:39.:15:40.

useful. Here is the shot John played off the

:15:41.:16:35.

red on the table. This little flick of -- off the green. Current on the

:16:36.:16:47.

brown. That little nudge. It cueing awkward.

:16:48.:16:55.

It looks like he is hitting the ball pretty well. He hasn't made a

:16:56.:17:03.

mistake, he was just unlucky with the split on the reds when he broke

:17:04.:17:08.

down on 58. APPLAUSE.

:17:09.:17:13.

As they say in Lancashire, he is in fine fettle.

:17:14.:17:37.

Mark has not had a go at a shot, really. He got the awkward safety

:17:38.:17:50.

bridging over the brown. Oh! Mark Selby stays in his seat, what a

:17:51.:17:55.

start for John Higgins, a break of 58 and 39, he wins the opening

:17:56.:17:56.

frame. John Higgins picking up where he

:17:57.:18:04.

left off in his first-round match in beating Stuart Bingham. A solid

:18:05.:18:08.

start by your fellow countrymen. This is the sort of new expect from

:18:09.:18:14.

him. He has although the s almost been forgotten about. He is still

:18:15.:18:18.

one of the best two or three players in the world. He has had problems

:18:19.:18:21.

with his cube so he has not performed consistently but the long

:18:22.:18:25.

ready but it was superb and as you expect, practically won the frame in

:18:26.:18:29.

one visit. It is interesting coming into this tournament that he has

:18:30.:18:33.

said to the press that he is coming in as underdog. Nobody is expecting

:18:34.:18:37.

John Higgins to win this and it seems to suit him. It will be in the

:18:38.:18:43.

back of his mind thinking that he wants to prove these people wrong,

:18:44.:18:47.

he is one of the best people in the world and he is one of the few

:18:48.:18:51.

people ranked against Ronnie O'Sullivan. I wonder if he is fired

:18:52.:18:56.

up by your tip? Yellow marker I wouldn't want to jinx him. Back to

:18:57.:18:58.

the action. A few people may be underestimating

:18:59.:19:08.

John Higgins but Mark Selby will not be one of them. He knows how good a

:19:09.:19:15.

player he is and if John finds form, as the first frame showed. He is in

:19:16.:19:17.

for a real tough night. Just a few latecomers arriving.

:19:18.:19:32.

Finding their way to their seats. Shouldn't be a problem, just a

:19:33.:20:02.

little bit more pace. Find the same line.

:20:03.:20:09.

Just bring it up, Paul, I just thought it was behind the baulk. I

:20:10.:20:21.

thought it was just behind the baulk line. I think you probably have to

:20:22.:20:29.

play with a bit of a touch of side. He is never that far out.

:20:30.:20:36.

Maybe not so much as that, but he is OK.

:20:37.:21:24.

They have had a couple of classic encounters. 2009, John Higgins beat

:21:25.:21:33.

Mark Selby in the World Championship quarterfinal match and it was one of

:21:34.:21:36.

the best matches I've ever seen at the Crucible. Mark Selby, I said it

:21:37.:21:40.

afterwards and I stand by it, the best performance I have ever seen by

:21:41.:21:44.

anyone at the Crucible to get beaten. He was magnificent in that

:21:45.:21:49.

match and John Higgins from 12-10 behind, unbelievable performance to

:21:50.:21:53.

knock him out. So some great matches and of course, on the year that John

:21:54.:22:01.

became champion, he beat Mark as well. A bit of history even if it is

:22:02.:22:03.

not recent. It was never going to be easy to get

:22:04.:22:31.

back down the table. And he caught the first red... Certainly not as he

:22:32.:22:38.

intended. He didn't want to hit it as thin as that.

:22:39.:22:44.

He missed the red completely in frame one and that was not a great

:22:45.:22:52.

shot by Mark Selby. Against John Higgins, tactically you will have to

:22:53.:22:56.

be up to scratch because he puts you in positions on the table but are

:22:57.:22:57.

lots of trouble. All covering each other into the

:22:58.:23:17.

left corner. That might be a useful flick. No,

:23:18.:23:31.

not quite. Just making sure that he wasn't

:23:32.:23:47.

going to plant this red and send one over the right corner.

:23:48.:24:04.

If it does develop into a tactical match, it will be very interesting

:24:05.:24:11.

to see who will win that battle because they are both so good in

:24:12.:24:12.

that department. I think a lot of the matches that

:24:13.:24:23.

Mark Selby has been playing and winning, tactically he has been

:24:24.:24:25.

better than some of his opponents but it would be hard pushed to be

:24:26.:24:30.

better than this man in the tactical department so that is why I thought

:24:31.:24:33.

the scoring was important for Mark Selby at the start of the programme.

:24:34.:24:48.

Straight away, have a look at that shot he has played there. He has

:24:49.:24:54.

blocked off the escape route down the right-hand side of the table.

:24:55.:24:59.

And in the edition the black is in, it makes it difficult to get down

:25:00.:25:02.

the left side. He can just see the edge of the bunch of reds.

:25:03.:25:15.

Wow. What a difference that has made. If he doesn't finish behind

:25:16.:25:28.

that Green Day, there is a red on the right-hand side that is

:25:29.:25:32.

absolutely lovely. He did hold his hand up and apologise, he was trying

:25:33.:25:37.

to get on the baulk question. I don't know about that apologising,

:25:38.:25:38.

never did me any good! He has to be so precise with this.

:25:39.:25:48.

Twice across the table to land on the red and it is just to the right

:25:49.:25:52.

of the two on the question here. But he has to be spot on.

:25:53.:25:58.

What judgement. If he slips past that, he leaves the other red along

:25:59.:26:15.

the cushion and that was judged to perfection.

:26:16.:26:18.

That shot was no surprise. He thinks he has found his way out of trouble.

:26:19.:26:44.

It is not bad. This is definitely an example of

:26:45.:27:00.

chess with balls, this evening, with these two.

:27:01.:27:09.

They are probably the most difficult safety shots when the red is tied to

:27:10.:27:15.

the cushion. To hit it then is so difficult. And he hit it much

:27:16.:27:26.

thicker. -- to hit it thin. Without though what sort of form he is in,

:27:27.:27:33.

Mark Selby. He has not had a pot yet. This is his first attempt.

:27:34.:27:48.

Look at those three reds, the way they surround the black spot area.

:27:49.:28:04.

No use potting the black with the reds situated there. The pink will

:28:05.:28:06.

be OK. It is early in this match, I know,

:28:07.:28:31.

but I think Mark Selby Nice to score off this chance. An error from John

:28:32.:28:37.

with his excellent safety but he has to establish himself in this. The

:28:38.:28:45.

pink wasn't available into the left middle pocket he has got to the

:28:46.:28:50.

black but that will be tied up with those three reds so it is not

:28:51.:28:51.

straightforward just yet. The red that is on the extreme right

:28:52.:29:04.

of the table is a problem, I don't know whether the pink will pass

:29:05.:29:08.

that. He could play in reds in the middle off this black if he wanted

:29:09.:29:12.

to but he decided to play the cannon. The top one definitely goes.

:29:13.:29:16.

If the black potted after this, would be perfect. I dedicate well.

:29:17.:29:23.

-- I don't think it will. Just a little flick of the black. I

:29:24.:29:48.

think that red that is next to the black spot is still a problem. It is

:29:49.:29:53.

not quite high enough to remove in a minute. Things to think about. Not

:29:54.:29:58.

straightforward. Well, how many times have we seen

:29:59.:30:22.

that? He took his eyes off the pot will stop --. He was more concerned

:30:23.:30:34.

with the cue ball -- with the black than the cue ball.

:30:35.:30:52.

Well, he almost missed that. I did not think that was going in. Now it

:30:53.:31:03.

is John's turn for a scoring opportunity and a chance to apply

:31:04.:31:08.

more pressure. He is already leading. He has just seen his

:31:09.:31:14.

opponent make a mistake. Can he keep him in the chair?

:31:15.:31:25.

It is far from easy with the black out of commission. The pink is still

:31:26.:31:32.

awkward. It is available into the middle left pocket. Two reds

:31:33.:31:45.

blocking the pink into the right corner. That is why John is having a

:31:46.:31:51.

look around, to see what he can manufacture. Yes, that red on the

:31:52.:32:00.

right has been a problem. I am pretty sure Mark Selby would have

:32:01.:32:04.

played on the reds in the middle and would not have gone near the black

:32:05.:32:11.

for a few shots. He might just be OK. He has got a dead straight red

:32:12.:32:19.

into the corner. He has very little to do to leave the pink. He may be

:32:20.:32:25.

able to pot the back one of these two reds. Careless from John.

:32:26.:32:47.

There is a bit of tension out there at the moment.

:32:48.:33:23.

The pink is in the open. Not a bad chance. Both players missing fairly

:33:24.:33:28.

comfortable shots. If John had punished Mark after he

:33:29.:34:57.

missed that black, it could have been a telling part of the match.

:34:58.:35:05.

OK, the second frame, several left but these things can make a

:35:06.:35:16.

difference. Yes, I think it was so important that it just looked like

:35:17.:35:21.

he had not settled at all. Keeping the pressure on. The chances gone

:35:22.:35:32.

now for John. He will be sitting in his chair thinking that this frame

:35:33.:35:38.

is gone as well. If he is dead straight on this he will hold the

:35:39.:35:42.

spot. The pink will go on the blackspot. -- black spot. The

:35:43.:35:52.

referee checking. It will not make a great deal of difference. It would

:35:53.:35:57.

not have been a bad thing to hold the spot. Surely he is not snooker

:35:58.:36:10.

at? -- snookered. You could tell by the marker that it would go on its

:36:11.:36:15.

spot. But he may have to play this with a little touch of right-hand

:36:16.:36:16.

side to make the angle. I am just wondering if he will get

:36:17.:36:33.

the cannon on the red. If you place this with a little bit of side, you

:36:34.:36:41.

cannot storm this. -- storm. He is putting loads of right-hand side on

:36:42.:36:56.

this. It made the angle. Good shot. He just made the situation little

:36:57.:37:03.

bit more difficult there. This is pretty good from Mark Selby. He hit

:37:04.:37:10.

that red full ball. A clever shot. The blue will make absolutely

:37:11.:37:39.

certain. What happened there? OK, he needs a

:37:40.:38:10.

snooker. But he only needs one snooker. Let's have a look. The blue

:38:11.:38:15.

jumped slightly. John has a look at Mark. He has

:38:16.:39:00.

conceded. The early break of 42 paved the way for Mark Selby and he

:39:01.:39:08.

takes the frame. We are all square. Stephen, what is going on out there?

:39:09.:39:14.

Yes, Mark Selby did well to create a good chance. Then he missed a

:39:15.:39:23.

comparable black. This will annoy John because he is experienced. He

:39:24.:39:29.

knows the importance of capitalising on people's misses. The boys in,

:39:30.:39:37.

Terry were saying, careless, it is a bit tense. What is happening? --

:39:38.:39:43.

commentary. When you're playing a good player, you know how important

:39:44.:39:48.

it is to get a good start. John will know the importance of taking

:39:49.:39:51.

advantage. He will not get many chances. Neither player will get

:39:52.:39:58.

many chances. Each easiness is very important. You get the feeling that

:39:59.:40:07.

they need to settle down? Yes. I think they have tremendous respect

:40:08.:40:11.

for each other. They know if they miss easy balls, it is going to be

:40:12.:40:15.

frame. I don't think they are really tense.

:40:16.:40:38.

They are both cueing well. John had breaks of 58 and 39 in the opening

:40:39.:40:42.

frame. Mark never really had a chance. It was just the easy one

:40:43.:40:48.

that John missed. As Stephen Hendry says, at this level it is the easy

:40:49.:40:51.

ones that can cause so much damage. REFEREE: it is touching ball, but

:40:52.:41:26.

only that one. Touching ball.

:41:27.:41:46.

Even though it is touching ball, there is no path back up the table.

:41:47.:41:51.

It is a bit of a stalemate at the moment. I think the balls may be

:41:52.:42:00.

re-racked. The referee is looking at both players. John is going to do

:42:01.:42:07.

the same again. What do you think? Touching ball again. Yes, slightly

:42:08.:42:17.

different, this one. You can play away and around the angles with this

:42:18.:42:23.

one, if you have got the spider. It depends on whether he can cue this.

:42:24.:42:32.

He has to be careful. I have seen players pull that spider away and

:42:33.:42:41.

move everything. I was a bit premature there, wasn't I?

:42:42.:43:12.

Not a good sign for John. He knocked a cracking red in, in the opening

:43:13.:43:22.

frame. That was a little bit easier. These are shots that knock your

:43:23.:43:23.

confidence. How costly will that be? Well played. Nicely controlled. He

:43:24.:44:40.

has got a lovely angle if he wants to go into the pack. Hopefully that

:44:41.:44:52.

is not touching the red. Good news and bad news on that shot.

:44:53.:45:23.

The red on the right-hand side has blocked the path to the black.

:45:24.:45:39.

It will have to be a long blue if he wants to keep this going. Not a

:45:40.:45:50.

straightforward part -- pot and position. This needs good cueing. A

:45:51.:46:09.

bit of pressure on this. Well cued. Worth another look. He is a bit

:46:10.:46:13.

closer to the cushion with the cue ball than he would have liked. This

:46:14.:46:25.

tests your cue action. He cannot get his hand on the table, having the

:46:26.:46:31.

bridge on the cushion, as you can see. But he has got away with it. He

:46:32.:46:37.

has been very fortunate. Very fortunate. He has hit that red that

:46:38.:46:47.

badly, he has lost the cue ball as well. He hit that a little bit hard,

:46:48.:46:56.

didn't he? I am wondering if John can get in behind the brown. Not a

:46:57.:47:03.

bad effort. That is very unusual from John

:47:04.:48:06.

Higgins. Such an easy safety shot to push that red up and down. If he has

:48:07.:48:11.

got away with it, he has been very fortunate. That should not have been

:48:12.:48:16.

anywhere near the green. Most unlike him.

:48:17.:49:18.

He took that pot on. Always with the intention of getting the cue ball

:49:19.:49:32.

down into the baulk area. Not bad. Markers got away with that. Not

:49:33.:49:42.

half! If the red finishes anywhere else, he can put in all sorts of

:49:43.:49:48.

trouble. He could even have left a pot on. Where it has finished, it

:49:49.:49:52.

could not be more awkward. The trouble is, John does not want to

:49:53.:49:58.

play away to the other side of the cushion because it leaves Mark Selby

:49:59.:50:07.

with an easy shot. It never reached the red!

:50:08.:50:19.

Have it put back! He is not that delicate for such a big man! You can

:50:20.:50:41.

have a fresh air shot at snooker. How he didn't hit the red...

:50:42.:50:50.

Mark did not have much of an alternative really to play away. It

:50:51.:50:56.

should be easy for John to stun this read down the table. -- red. Yes.

:50:57.:51:07.

Are you a little bit surprised at the shot he played? Yes, it was as

:51:08.:51:15.

if Mark was thinking he did not want to get bogged down. He laid off a

:51:16.:51:21.

little bit. It was a poor shot to leave this available. Let's have

:51:22.:51:31.

another look at it. It is a problem now. There is no red near a cushion

:51:32.:51:39.

to land on. If he gets out of this, he will be doing very well indeed.

:51:40.:51:43.

If anybody can, Mark Selby can. He was in a real hole there, Mark.

:51:44.:52:01.

Self-inflicted, that one. John did not like the pot, so it was not as

:52:02.:52:05.

appetising as it looked from the commentary box.

:52:06.:52:16.

That is an absolutely brilliant shot. Brilliant. We saw one earlier

:52:17.:52:42.

in the match from John Higgins, and that was the equal of it. What a

:52:43.:52:51.

shot that was. Good eyesight from the referee to spot this. Let's have

:52:52.:53:00.

a look. It almost curled on and then came off again. It was amazing way

:53:01.:53:15.

that went. It must be a finger mark, Dennis.

:53:16.:53:23.

I will tell you what, he definitely does not need glasses if he can spot

:53:24.:53:31.

that. That was amazing. Well done, Yan. I suppose the best thing for

:53:32.:53:39.

Mark Selby is he did not leave it touching ball either. Another tricky

:53:40.:53:41.

one for John. We are expecting some classical

:53:42.:54:02.

tactical stuff from these two players. We have certainly had it so

:54:03.:54:08.

far. Some of the escapes have been absolutely top drawer.

:54:09.:54:22.

This is a thin one. He will try to get over behind the green. He could

:54:23.:54:29.

not do that. This is the best he could do from that position. The

:54:30.:54:36.

target is the green for the safety shot. Just watch John Higgins's cue

:54:37.:54:40.

ball here. He will play this with left-hand side, swing it over

:54:41.:54:49.

towards the baulk colours. It will be interesting to see which red he

:54:50.:54:53.

takes on. He has got a couple of options.

:54:54.:55:04.

There is no way Mark could get over towards the green from the position

:55:05.:55:49.

that he was in. John can do. He cannot really take the pot on. Has

:55:50.:56:00.

he hit it harder this time? Not far away. Oh, he is getting close, isn't

:56:01.:56:10.

he? Yes, it is one of these situations were Mark Selby knows he

:56:11.:56:13.

cannot play a shot to get around there as well. The only shot he can

:56:14.:56:18.

do is leaving John an opportunity to get behind that green and brown. It

:56:19.:56:23.

is the way the bowls are rolling at the minute. John is in the

:56:24.:56:29.

ascendancy in this particular tactical battle.

:56:30.:56:38.

Mark Selby is doing very well just to get out of trouble at the moment.

:56:39.:57:05.

Well, those good safety shots from John Higgins have paid off. He kept

:57:06.:57:12.

putting mark in trouble and Mark could not find the gap that time. A

:57:13.:57:20.

bit of a chance for John. Black is off its spot. The pink is at the

:57:21.:57:30.

other end of the table. Black will be back on its spot after this shot.

:57:31.:57:36.

A pretty good chance for John Higgins.

:57:37.:57:46.

Oh, my goodness me. What have you done there, John? I cannot believe

:57:47.:57:57.

he has played that shot. He was trying to come through the gap for

:57:58.:58:02.

the red and he has overhit it. I don't think he is on any ball. He

:58:03.:58:08.

will be absolutely kicking himself. What a chance he has let go begging.

:58:09.:58:27.

And that is where we end our live coverage on BBC Two. If you press

:58:28.:58:34.

your red button, you can continue to enjoy this match. We will be back

:58:35.:58:41.

with highlights at 11:20pm on BBC Two. My thanks to Stephen Hendry.

:58:42.:58:44.

From all of us, bye for now.

:58:45.:58:50.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS