Day 6

:00:36. > :01:28.Hello, good afternoon, welcome to Alexandra Palace and the fans are in

:01:29. > :01:32.and we have a great crowd today ready to see the world champion

:01:33. > :01:37.Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on Ricky Walden. The Rocket has won the

:01:38. > :01:44.Masters for times and is one of six players still remaining in this year

:01:45. > :01:47.'s draw. After his dramatic 6-5 late-night win last night, Mark

:01:48. > :01:52.Selby is through to the semifinals but he will meet Shaun Murphy, the

:01:53. > :01:59.winner over Marco Fu. Tonight, the Robertson plays Stephen Maguire, but

:02:00. > :02:03.this afternoon, it is all eyes on Ricky Walden and Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:02:04. > :02:07.that is our live match. We are delighted to say that Stephen Hendry

:02:08. > :02:12.is here with me this Stephen, you can feel the atmosphere changing in

:02:13. > :02:18.any snooker venue when Ronnie O'Sullivan is in town. Yes, he is

:02:19. > :02:22.the best player in the world, that is why people flock to see him, he

:02:23. > :02:28.has got star quality, just like Tiger Woods in golf, everyone wants

:02:29. > :02:36.to see him. How does Ricky Walden tackle the crowd effect here? He has

:02:37. > :02:38.two just enjoy it, he knows that he is the underdog, he has beaten

:02:39. > :02:43.Ronnie O'Sullivan before, this is a bit different, laying Ronnie

:02:44. > :02:47.O'Sullivan in London, he will have 99% of the support, Ronnie

:02:48. > :02:52.O'Sullivan, but it is a dislocation, it is all about how you cope with

:02:53. > :02:56.it. It would be fascinating to see how he copes with it, but the

:02:57. > :03:01.majority of this crowd, they want to see Ronnie O'Sullivan win, they want

:03:02. > :03:07.him to put on a great show, so how does Ricky Walden cope with this? He

:03:08. > :03:13.has two just block everything out, try and enjoy it, try and work on

:03:14. > :03:18.his own game, but the crowd wants this to be a good game, they do not

:03:19. > :03:26.want it to be all one-sided. But you get the feeling that the defeat by

:03:27. > :03:31.Barry Hawkins is firing him on? Yes, if you cannot perform today, then,

:03:32. > :03:34.where do you go with your career? Do you think, whenever a top player

:03:35. > :03:41.plays you in a top venue, I will collapse, no, you have to get on

:03:42. > :03:43.with it. Thank you. It is set up beautifully, Ronnie O'Sullivan about

:03:44. > :03:53.to play his 54th match at the Masters. Ronnie O'Sullivan is a

:03:54. > :03:57.genius. Is he good for the game? He has been absolutely great for the

:03:58. > :04:02.game, following in the likes of Alex Higgins, Jimmy White. He is the man

:04:03. > :04:08.that gets people in, creates an atmosphere, he is absolutely superb.

:04:09. > :04:12.He has a few problems off the table, we all sit back and say, well, hang

:04:13. > :04:16.on, if we were that good, why would we not want to play? But obviously

:04:17. > :04:20.he has got some demons that occasionally come about, but he has

:04:21. > :04:23.been one of the greatest things to happen with the game in the last few

:04:24. > :04:29.years, and he has kept the game in the spotlight for it belongs. For

:04:30. > :04:31.me, the Rocket has taken over the great Stephen Hendry and I would say

:04:32. > :04:37.that he is now the greatest player to ever pick up a snooker cue, and a

:04:38. > :04:39.lot of it is because of that technique on a right-handed,

:04:40. > :04:44.left-handed. It doesn't matter which hand he plays with, you just cannot

:04:45. > :04:49.force that technique. I think Ronnie O'Sullivan is almost up there with

:04:50. > :04:53.John Higgins as far as the tactics around the table. When he is right,

:04:54. > :04:56.he is not great, but when he is not right, he tries too hard in the

:04:57. > :05:02.safety department, but when he does try, he is unbelievable. In the

:05:03. > :05:07.break-building department, he gets closer and closer to Stephen Hendry,

:05:08. > :05:12.Stephen Hendry has made over 700 centuries, I think Ronnie O'Sullivan

:05:13. > :05:15.is just about 100 centuries behind Stephen Hendry, so there are plenty

:05:16. > :05:21.of years left for him to overtake that record, the thing is, will you

:05:22. > :05:25.be around long enough? Would he go on? When he retired? I think what he

:05:26. > :05:32.wants to do is to equal if not better Stephen Hendry's record of

:05:33. > :05:36.titles. I think that is his goal, and I think you can achieve it. If

:05:37. > :05:44.he wanted, he can have it, because as I said before, he is a genius.

:05:45. > :05:53.Ronnie O'Sullivan as was the man to beat in my eyes, he has shown that

:05:54. > :05:56.in the World Championships. There is no better player to play than Ronnie

:05:57. > :06:03.O'Sullivan, so I am looking forward to it. It is good that he has got

:06:04. > :06:07.the support in his hometown, he is the best that there is, so you just

:06:08. > :06:12.respect that and try to embrace it, really. Even if they have got their

:06:13. > :06:21.favourites, they will always appreciate good snooker. We have had

:06:22. > :06:26.a couple of good matters, and I know that my game hopes up, so hopefully

:06:27. > :06:33.I can go out and do well. -- I know that my game holds up. It is a high

:06:34. > :06:37.standard tournament, so we know there will be tough games, it is

:06:38. > :06:45.high pressure, big crowds, it is on TV.

:06:46. > :06:48.Delighted to be joined in the commentary box by the two men that

:06:49. > :06:55.will be watching this afternoon, Dennis Taylor and John Parrott.

:06:56. > :07:02.John, a fascinating encounter, a great atmosphere, a packed arena as

:07:03. > :07:06.usual on the Rocket is in town. Fantastic, he is a London boy, he

:07:07. > :07:10.comes and plays matches, he goes back to his home and he can come in,

:07:11. > :07:15.it breaks up the tournament, so it suits him. This is a fantastic match

:07:16. > :07:21.up, he is paying somebody that can score very heavily. He had the

:07:22. > :07:28.outstanding performance, 6-1 against Robert Milkins. Yes, Ronnie

:07:29. > :07:32.O'Sullivan needs to start well, on two frames at the start of the

:07:33. > :07:37.matches, he did not start that quickly, he will need to start

:07:38. > :07:42.quickly. Dennis, Ricky Walden, a player that you know quite well,

:07:43. > :07:46.what does he have to do today to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan? He has two

:07:47. > :07:53.do what he did when he won his first ranking tournament out in China,

:07:54. > :07:57.they have only played twice, it tells you something, I think Ronnie

:07:58. > :08:01.O'Sullivan's game suits Ricky Walden, he is a fast player as well,

:08:02. > :08:07.and if you look at the cue action, they are similar, and have similar

:08:08. > :08:10.styles, so can Ricky Walden cope with this crowd? This would be

:08:11. > :08:12.unbelievable. He should have got into the final of the World

:08:13. > :08:19.Championships, he let Barry Hawkins off the hook and he got his revenge

:08:20. > :08:21.on Barry Hawkins here. How much of the first-round victory over Barry

:08:22. > :08:26.Hawkins, how much confidence will that give Ricky Walden today? I

:08:27. > :08:31.think Ricky Walden he hung in, and he hung in, and he got the victory

:08:32. > :08:36.ended as breadwinner, and he deserves tie against Ronnie

:08:37. > :08:40.O'Sullivan. It will be fascinating. The players are already backstage,

:08:41. > :08:43.here is our MC, Rob Walker. Thank you.

:08:44. > :08:48.Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, what an eagerly

:08:49. > :08:51.anticipated quarterfinal that we have here, there is no doubt that

:08:52. > :08:57.Ally Pally is the hottest ticket in town this afternoon! CHEERING

:08:58. > :09:10.Prepare for the fireworks! Please welcome, a player who came through

:09:11. > :09:13.as 6-5 thriller against Barry Hawkins on Wednesday night for his

:09:14. > :09:20.first Masters win, twice a ranking event winner in China and a superb

:09:21. > :09:22.run to the World Championship semifinal last season, is the pride

:09:23. > :09:30.of Chancellor, here comes Ricky Walden.

:09:31. > :09:50.MUSIC: "Ball And Biscuit" by White Stripes.

:09:51. > :10:02.Now, his opponent, a player of the first raise this trophy back in

:10:03. > :10:05.1995, he looked ominously good in his win over Robert Milkins on

:10:06. > :10:10.Tuesday night, he is the most naturally gifted player ever to

:10:11. > :10:13.grace the modern game, he is the reigning world champion, blink and

:10:14. > :10:19.you were missing, the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan! -- you will miss them.

:10:20. > :10:30.MUSIC: "A Man Should Better Himself" by George Lam.

:10:31. > :10:43.CHEERING APPLAUSE

:10:44. > :10:50.There is no doubt that this is one of the UK's top sports stars, the

:10:51. > :10:59.atmosphere inside this arena is electric. 1-1 in Korea wins,

:11:00. > :11:04.head-to-head, the last time they met was in the Shanghai Masters in 2008,

:11:05. > :11:22.good afternoon to Dennis and John. -- career wins. DENNIS TAYLOR: good

:11:23. > :11:23.afternoon. Good afternoon to everyone watching, Ronnie gets the

:11:24. > :11:38.first frame under way. We'll Ricky Walden be able to cope

:11:39. > :11:48.with this large Ally Pally crowd, a very talented player. -- will Ricky

:11:49. > :11:52.Walden. Look at this crowd. He will definitely be trying to get a good

:11:53. > :11:56.start, playing against the Rocket in an atmosphere like this, look at

:11:57. > :11:58.that wonderful auditorium, trying to put some pressure on him

:11:59. > :12:05.straightaway to let him know that you are here to play. He has got the

:12:06. > :12:21.capabilities as a heavy scorer. All about having a good start, for me.

:12:22. > :12:35.What a start this is from Ronnie. That was a superb red. He took his

:12:36. > :12:39.eye off the black. Concentrating on the cue ball. One early chance for

:12:40. > :13:02.Ricky Walden. Ricky is what we call a very busy

:13:03. > :13:06.player. He walks around the table, he chalks his cue more than any

:13:07. > :13:10.other player, he has got some mannerisms like that. But great to

:13:11. > :13:17.watch when he is in the balls. He really is.

:13:18. > :13:27.A little bit nervous. He dropped the chalk. One of the nicest lads you

:13:28. > :13:29.could ever wish to meet, Ricky. Back living in Chester, where he was

:13:30. > :14:28.born. Not the best angle on the black. He

:14:29. > :14:41.needed more angle to get into the reds, you cannot do that now.

:14:42. > :14:46.Playing for the Roos -- loose one. I thought he screwed that back far

:14:47. > :14:50.enough. Could have done a little bit more on the cue ball to widen the

:14:51. > :15:00.angle. It makes the pot a bit more difficult. More controlled.

:15:01. > :15:05.A key shot, a full ball on the pink, trying to make sure there are

:15:06. > :15:13.no possible plans, no point in getting down and hitting the pink

:15:14. > :15:28.and knocking in the plant. -- plants.

:15:29. > :15:37.If you hit the pink half all, the odds are, you will run out of

:15:38. > :15:44.position. -- half ball. That is what has happened. It is a funny shot,

:15:45. > :16:01.you have to play hard on the cue ball to get to the pink.

:16:02. > :16:06.Not a bad start from Ricky, but he would be after a few more to punish

:16:07. > :16:27.that mistake by Ronnie. It is amazing they have only played

:16:28. > :16:35.each other twice. Ricky turned professional in 2000. It is amazing

:16:36. > :16:44.the way the drawers happen, I have played players 56 times in one

:16:45. > :16:55.season. Pretty strange. -- five or six times in one season.

:16:56. > :17:13.A good pot but not a favourable kiss on the brown.

:17:14. > :17:22.May have to play the two-cushion escape to get away from the reds. I

:17:23. > :17:33.think that is what he is looking at. Just nestling into the bunch. Not

:17:34. > :17:46.bad. I don't think there is any value

:17:47. > :17:56.taking the red that is closest to the black. You can get a good safety

:17:57. > :18:00.shot from it as well. Yes, Ronnie spotted that straightaway. Ronnie

:18:01. > :18:03.has got such a quick brain. That is why he did not play at the

:18:04. > :18:10.two-cushion and try and get back up the table. He knew this would not

:18:11. > :18:21.pot. But this looks good. It looks very good. Oh, not quite. This could

:18:22. > :18:26.be a shot to nothing. To read is on the right-hand side, the bottom one

:18:27. > :18:41.in play. -- two reds on the right-hand side. A great shot.

:18:42. > :18:53.Not only a great pot, but he has dropped on the brown. That was

:18:54. > :19:00.picked out there. Now we find out what sort of form Ronnie is in this

:19:01. > :19:18.afternoon. That is a dos and chants. -- a decent chance.

:19:19. > :19:34.Did not have to hit those too hard, it finished OK.

:19:35. > :20:31.This is a wonderful chance. The first red was top class.

:20:32. > :20:42.Just, political bit short, he will have to use the odds are red here.

:20:43. > :20:50.-- a little bit short. It could be a thick contact if he plays the

:20:51. > :20:54.run-through. It was a thick contact. Already, it is good to save both

:20:55. > :21:06.players are looking in pretty good stroke. -- good to say. It is set up

:21:07. > :21:11.for a nice game, this. Against Ronnie, if you do get a chance, you

:21:12. > :21:18.have to try to clinch the frame, because you will not get many

:21:19. > :21:46.chances. Look at that shot control with his left hand.

:21:47. > :21:56.Playing for a baulk colour, because it much easier to rue -- regain

:21:57. > :22:04.position. And he's playing beautifully at the moment. He makes

:22:05. > :22:09.it look so easy. He has not done a lot wrong here, Ricky Walden. Just

:22:10. > :22:10.take clip in the corner, position on the brown, and the rest has been

:22:11. > :22:29.textbook. Not the best time to get a heavy

:22:30. > :22:33.contact, that was a bit unlucky. You could see the green jumper. He is

:22:34. > :22:45.quite close to the brown. This is age allocate cut back. He only needs

:22:46. > :23:03.this brown. -- this is a delicate cut back.

:23:04. > :23:13.Just under 12 minutes for this. Like to see a little bit more of this

:23:14. > :23:18.kind of snooker. Both players cueing well. Ricky Walden went slightly out

:23:19. > :23:24.of position, a break of 38, Ronnie O'Sullivan cleared up with a 79 and

:23:25. > :23:29.he leaves 1-0 stop we have seen lots of matches in the Masters so far but

:23:30. > :23:33.they have gone to a final decider, but fans had been saying, they are

:23:34. > :23:40.scrappy affair is, this guy is proving why the crowds love to turn

:23:41. > :23:45.up and see him. He made it look so easy, he was behind in that frame,

:23:46. > :23:51.he pulled out a magnificent red, and Ricky Walden is a bit unlucky. A

:23:52. > :23:56.really good safety shot, a couple of inches and Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has

:23:57. > :24:01.the snooker on all ages. He had a shot to nothing, but he did not play

:24:02. > :24:06.it as a shot to nothing, he was above the baulk line to put the

:24:07. > :24:12.brown and make the break, but how easy he was to make that break.

:24:13. > :24:16.Ricky Walden was looking good, he did not look overawed by the

:24:17. > :24:21.situation. It looks like he is up for it. A bit unfortunate to stick

:24:22. > :24:28.that red out, but after that, you knew what was going to happen. Here

:24:29. > :24:36.we go, 1-0 to the Rocket, back to Dennis and John. Ricky's turn to

:24:37. > :24:44.break off. Obviously, it is important to get a good break of

:24:45. > :24:49.shot in the form of Ronnie O'Sullivan, the form he has been

:24:50. > :24:55.showing there. That was careless, but he got away with it. But quite

:24:56. > :24:58.in the middle of the table could have left a chance. -- though quite

:24:59. > :25:36.in the middle of the table. Just cant get past the pink. Just a

:25:37. > :25:46.little bit of the red sticking out to the right of the pink.

:25:47. > :25:53.Ricky could not bring the cue ball back to the left-hand side, but if

:25:54. > :25:58.he can get the cue ball over to the side, he can block off at least half

:25:59. > :26:03.of the table, because the pink is covering the red. Trying to swing

:26:04. > :26:20.the cue ball around straightaway. A beautiful shot.

:26:21. > :26:26.There doesn't look to be an escape route, so he might have to come off

:26:27. > :26:36.the side cushion and go for the red to the right. Not a lot else

:26:37. > :26:47.delicate little shots to land on the red.

:26:48. > :27:08.That was looking good. Got the double-kiss, but I think he is OK.

:27:09. > :27:14.He did pretty well to extricate himself from that position. There

:27:15. > :27:22.was a lot of trouble, so that was all he could do. Contain and safety.

:27:23. > :27:28.Once again, Ronnie trying to keep the pressure on. The red on the

:27:29. > :27:32.right-hand side that is on its own, the one that Ricky will play off, if

:27:33. > :27:39.you try to play this on the thin side and hit the jaws, you can move

:27:40. > :27:41.the cue ball down. Well negotiated, and he has cut off the path to the

:27:42. > :27:57.right-hand side. It looks like this frame could be

:27:58. > :28:07.the totally opposite to the opening frame. Just to visit, break of 38,

:28:08. > :28:21.then 79, but the ball is gone awkward here.

:28:22. > :28:35.He caught that a bit too thick, it has freed the pink. The type of shot

:28:36. > :28:39.you can do that, but a swerve on the wall, unfortunately pushed out the

:28:40. > :29:03.white and called it thick. I think there is a path back for Ronnie.

:29:04. > :29:07.Usually, the first shot you see when you come to the table is the correct

:29:08. > :30:23.shot, and he is back at that again. What a pot, but much more

:30:24. > :30:36.importantly what a cannon to finish. That was a great pot. A nice little

:30:37. > :30:51.bit of fortune there. Plenty of people in the audience today.

:30:52. > :30:57.Someone who used to play for Everton, Sunderland and West Ham.

:30:58. > :31:16.You mentioned two good teams there. Nice to see both teams from

:31:17. > :31:27.Merseyside doing well. The table looked very awkward, but all of a

:31:28. > :31:44.sudden it has opened right up. There is Damien Hirst. He loves his

:31:45. > :31:52.snooker. Very much one artist to another. That is what this boy is on

:31:53. > :31:58.the table. He is the only player I would use the word genius about. I

:31:59. > :32:03.said that at the top of the show. That he has overtaken Stephen

:32:04. > :32:09.Hendry. I never thought anybody would be better than Stephen Hendry.

:32:10. > :32:13.What Ronnie did to come back after not playing for a year and win the

:32:14. > :32:23.World Championship was out of this world.

:32:24. > :32:31.I never thought anybody would be better than the great Eve Davis, but

:32:32. > :32:35.even Hendry took that mantle -- better than Steve Davis but Stephen

:32:36. > :33:00.Hendry took that mantle. He is so ambidextrous. Stephen

:33:01. > :33:06.Hendry brought a video on his phone back from China which was

:33:07. > :33:15.unbelievable, easily -year-old -- a three year old who potted all of the

:33:16. > :33:18.balls on the table. One right hand, one left hand, switching hands. I

:33:19. > :33:38.have never seen anything like it. Going about his business

:33:39. > :33:41.beautifully. The cue ball seems to be on a string. The scoreboard

:33:42. > :34:08.changes so quickly. It did not look on a break at the

:34:09. > :34:15.start of this. The balls were very awkward. I thought it was going to

:34:16. > :34:23.be an opposite frame to the opening frame but it turns out he is winning

:34:24. > :34:26.it with one visit. I thought Ricky Walden needed a good start in this

:34:27. > :34:37.match but it would also be interesting to see what Ronnie would

:34:38. > :34:53.start like. He is right on it today. This is very impressive.

:34:54. > :35:14.It is going to be tough to make a century the way the balls are

:35:15. > :35:30.sitting, but you would not put it past him. He has caught linear jobs.

:35:31. > :35:51.That is so impressive again. The only needed one chance. He made that

:35:52. > :35:58.fabulous ADE break and Leeds 2-0. . He is too so -0 down. He made a

:35:59. > :36:01.safety shot. He is sitting in his chair and Ronnie O'Sullivan when he

:36:02. > :36:06.came to the table, he has a test on the black, within a few shots he has

:36:07. > :36:11.opened the game up and made that sizeable break from nothing. Ricky

:36:12. > :36:19.Walden can consider himself very unlucky. He has not missed many

:36:20. > :36:23.pots. There is not much you can do. Ronnie looks very focused and up for

:36:24. > :36:29.it and that is a danger for anybody. It looks inevitable that

:36:30. > :36:37.way it is going. He is porting which can sometimes be a weakness. It may

:36:38. > :36:45.not be a long afternoon for Ricky, but it might not be enjoyable. You

:36:46. > :36:48.discuss that in the commentary box, the overwhelming majority of this

:36:49. > :36:55.crowd want to see Ronnie put on a show and win today, so Ricky had to

:36:56. > :37:01.get a frame. Any time playing him is difficult but when you are playing

:37:02. > :37:07.him in London in a big tournament like this, particularly at the

:37:08. > :37:10.Masters, you have the big crowd, you know Ronnie O'Sullivan is going to

:37:11. > :37:19.be up for it because he lost this event, he has won it four times --

:37:20. > :37:23.he longs this event. You are playing against the crowd. It is a different

:37:24. > :37:37.scenario when you're him anywhere around the world was. Ricky Walden

:37:38. > :37:41.is getting used to the big time. Ricky is not overawed by Ronnie.

:37:42. > :37:47.Going back to the first frame, he had the chance and he did not get a

:37:48. > :37:53.good split on the pack. He has done nothing wrong so far, but you do not

:37:54. > :37:57.have to do much wrong. It is always going to be tough whenever you play

:37:58. > :38:03.him. He has to get a frame on the board very quickly. Even if it has

:38:04. > :38:06.3-1 at the interval, he will be buoyed by getting a frame on the

:38:07. > :38:12.board. You do not settle down until you get that first frame. It will

:38:13. > :38:18.give him a bit of confidence. There is a long way to go. There are

:38:19. > :38:22.ominous signs at the moment because of the way Ronnie O'Sullivan is

:38:23. > :38:28.playing. He steam-rolled opponents. You have to get to him very early.

:38:29. > :38:34.When he is focused, on form, it could easily be 6-1, Ricky does not

:38:35. > :38:45.have to do much wrong if Ronnie is porting the long balls. When we

:38:46. > :38:50.arrived here today, the fans were here early, they want to get a

:38:51. > :39:01.glimpse of Ronnie, you can see why the crowds flock, this guy is one of

:39:02. > :39:05.UK's board's top ambassadors. We love the game. If we had to pay into

:39:06. > :39:11.snooker, which we probably would not do, being from Ireland and Scotland,

:39:12. > :39:17.the only one we would pay to see is Ronnie O'Sullivan. I was talking to

:39:18. > :39:22.a few fans and I asked them what they thought and they looked at me

:39:23. > :39:28.as if I had two heads. As if to say, that is a stupid question. Great

:39:29. > :39:34.anticipation, a great atmosphere. The way he goes about the game is

:39:35. > :39:37.fantastic. That is a bit of a sad indictment of the way the game is

:39:38. > :39:48.that the moment if you would only need to see Ronnie. If you look at

:39:49. > :40:06.other sports, every sport has one superstar and Ronnie is snooker's.

:40:07. > :40:14.I do not think Ken would pay to see anything! He still has his first

:40:15. > :40:39.Communion money. He needed then contact, but not that

:40:40. > :40:46.in the. -- thin. He should be able to make an adjustment. He has to be

:40:47. > :40:57.careful he does not like this red across towards the opposite corner

:40:58. > :41:06.pocket. It has danger written all over it. If you do not get it thin.

:41:07. > :41:33.Tough shot. A straightforward safety for Ronnie.

:41:34. > :41:50.That might come up behind the yellow. That is a bonus. He did not

:41:51. > :41:58.intend it to. Stephen mentioned about Ronnie's long game looking

:41:59. > :42:02.good. He has had 79 and 88, so he is scoring. All sorts of tactical

:42:03. > :42:30.battles he is going to win as well. REFEREE: A Farrell and a mess. --

:42:31. > :43:02.foul and a miss. Very awkward, the pink tide up. The

:43:03. > :43:25.black hamper also. -- hampered. They were awkward in the previous

:43:26. > :43:49.game and he still managed to make 88.

:43:50. > :44:01.Has he overscrewed that? Slightly. A tough shot if he takes it on. A bit

:44:02. > :44:21.tricky. A bit tricky, but didn't he make it

:44:22. > :44:24.look easy? The fact he was heading up the table with the cue ball, he

:44:25. > :44:36.was always going to have the chance of dropping onto one of those

:44:37. > :44:47.colours. Amazing. Straightaway he has the balls in a good position.

:44:48. > :44:54.Both players were out for nearly five minutes in that last frame,

:44:55. > :44:56.that is unusual. I do not know whether Ricky wanted to settle

:44:57. > :45:31.himself down. He nearly missed that. There was a bit of a problem with

:45:32. > :45:40.one of the badges that Ronnie had and it had to be re-stitched. That

:45:41. > :45:51.is why we had a five minute break. He hardly hit that and look at where

:45:52. > :45:54.the White has finished. He knew if he overscrewed for leukaemia and he

:45:55. > :46:33.was going to be onto one of the colours. -- for blue.

:46:34. > :46:51.He can do nothing about it. Except sit back and admire.

:46:52. > :47:05.This is quite tight, just enough room.

:47:06. > :47:12.He is really that good at the minute. You cannot hit it any better

:47:13. > :47:44.than this. It is wonderful to watch. Look at how quickly the scoreboard

:47:45. > :48:14.changes. It is so difficult to play against.

:48:15. > :48:28.We have only been going just over half an hour.

:48:29. > :48:42.Another frame one in one contribution -- won. It only needed

:48:43. > :48:53.one visit and Ronnie O'Sullivan with a break of 72 goes 3-0 into the lead

:48:54. > :49:00.in just over half an hour. Ricky is doing precious little wrong. Just

:49:01. > :49:12.one mistake. He did not get enough side on it. He landed on the pink.

:49:13. > :49:25.As he walked away, he knew he had left a golden opportunity. Ronnie

:49:26. > :49:31.steps in with this opening red. Another frame goes west. Ricky has

:49:32. > :49:41.to try to get this one. He needs this. He needs to go into the

:49:42. > :49:46.interval 3-1. 4-0 would not be a happy interval. That is the trophy

:49:47. > :50:03.they are playing for. A better break off with regards to

:50:04. > :50:37.the pace of the cue ball. I am not having that one. That is an

:50:38. > :50:49.amazing shot. Watch this. He swerved around the brown. He holds his hand

:50:50. > :50:50.up to apologise. They said things happen for you if you are playing

:50:51. > :51:08.well, and he is playing well. No matter how good you are, you

:51:09. > :51:24.cannot pool off a shot like that, he pulled it off, but he holds his hand

:51:25. > :51:25.up to acknowledge. Already four reds available for Ronnie after

:51:26. > :52:49.this. On the angles, bottom red, again,

:52:50. > :53:11.beautifully played. Not the best of a bunch to go into.

:53:12. > :53:18.He will probably stop it rather than screw it. He usually plays that shot

:53:19. > :53:33.so well. Does this red go past the other into

:53:34. > :54:02.the middle? Surely not. Can he make the porting angle on the

:54:03. > :54:14.pink? It is phenomenal. There is no other word. Not only to pot the red,

:54:15. > :54:17.but to leave the pink, it was sold fight to get on the pink. -- so

:54:18. > :54:44.tight. Ricky cannot believe it. You are watching the best player who

:54:45. > :54:58.ever lived playing at his best and it is a treat.

:54:59. > :55:15.A bit of a distraction, he spotted something on the cue ball.

:55:16. > :55:24.The referee has to be on his toes, when you have somebody as quick as

:55:25. > :55:51.Ronnie. You have to get out of the way as well.

:55:52. > :56:03.He is already the tournament favourites. Who is going to beat

:56:04. > :56:07.him? He really is that good. I think the only person who can beat him is

:56:08. > :56:21.Ronnie O'Sullivan. Sometimes his game is not as good as

:56:22. > :56:31.it can be, but when it is like this it is very special.

:56:32. > :56:53.This has been just wonderful. He has made 28 centuries this reason so

:56:54. > :57:05.far. -- season. That is his 724th century break. Believe it or not. He

:57:06. > :57:17.is now only 30 centuries behind even Hendry's record. -- Stephen Hendry.

:57:18. > :57:19.Whatever people have paid for their ticket, they are getting great value

:57:20. > :57:42.for money. This is very special. That was the

:57:43. > :57:53.14th century we have had at this year's masters.

:57:54. > :58:11.Perfect, absolutely perfect. You have just witnessed an unbelievable

:58:12. > :58:14.session snapper. -- of snooker. A clearance of 131 and Ronnie leads

:58:15. > :58:32.4-0. You are watching a master at work,

:58:33. > :58:36.this is terrific. It is perfect. The first frame we have talked about,

:58:37. > :58:40.Ricky looked good, but since then it has been the Ronnie O'Sullivan

:58:41. > :58:52.show. There is nothing Ricky can do, apart from sit there, and not at my,

:58:53. > :58:56.but this guy is nailing it. You are seeing snooker in its coldest form

:58:57. > :59:03.when a guy is sat in his chair and can do nothing about it. Ronnie had

:59:04. > :59:08.a delicate red into the centre. You get those days where the pockets

:59:09. > :59:13.look huge and you think, I am never going to miss. It is one of those

:59:14. > :59:18.days for Ronnie. Does it help having the crowd behind him because every

:59:19. > :59:24.difficult, not even difficult, pot that goes in, there is a massive

:59:25. > :59:37.cheer which are marked -- massive cheer? Yes. He does not enjoy it as

:59:38. > :59:42.much if it is not the perfect setting. If you are Ricky in the

:59:43. > :59:47.dressing room you must be feeling absolutely gutted. What do you do?

:59:48. > :59:54.You think, there is nothing I can do. You will when you come back out

:59:55. > :00:04.you get a chance. It looks like 6-0 to me. It is for-0. Ricky Walden has

:00:05. > :00:05.it all to do. On the BBC tomorrow we have lots of football to look

:00:06. > :00:27.forward to. Mr Lineker will have something to

:00:28. > :00:30.say about that. Saturday 10. 20pm Arsenal versus Fulham. What a mighty

:00:31. > :00:33.afternoon it could be for Manchester City. They are taking on Cardiff

:00:34. > :00:41.City. Back to the snooker. World number

:00:42. > :00:47.one, Neil Robertson takes on Stephen Maguire this evening.

:00:48. > :00:52.Of course, Stephen Maguire was beaten by Neil Robertson in

:00:53. > :01:02.December. The Scott is gunning for revenge. Our panel of experts on Mr

:01:03. > :01:08.Maguire. Stephen Maguire has got a fantastic

:01:09. > :01:12.technique. A good solid all-round technique. He has the ability to hit

:01:13. > :01:18.them softly when needed, but he does like to hear the ball hit the back

:01:19. > :01:22.of the pocket a little bit like John Parrot. Now and again, you see him

:01:23. > :01:25.banging his hand on the table and that cost him matches in the past,

:01:26. > :01:28.but on the other hand it won him matches because sometimes giving a

:01:29. > :01:32.little bang on the table, getting yourself more aggressive, it helps.

:01:33. > :01:37.It has done for Stephen Maguire. Dedication. I don't know, he seems

:01:38. > :01:40.to be going missing often for me and it is a great shame because all the

:01:41. > :01:46.ability in the world. Dedication, I don't see him practise all the saoum

:01:47. > :01:53.so I can't be a judge of that, but he could do better. With all the

:01:54. > :01:58.players in the game, Stephen Maguire is up there in the safety

:01:59. > :02:03.department. He is one of the players that likes to play the aggressive

:02:04. > :02:07.shots. Play for safety and that will play him in good stead. When you

:02:08. > :02:12.think you won the UK championship, I thought he would go on to lift the

:02:13. > :02:17.world title or the Masters, but that consistency let him down and he went

:02:18. > :02:22.quiet for a couple of seasons, but make no mistake, Stephen Maguire can

:02:23. > :02:31.lift the world title or the masters. He can bully people on the table. A

:02:32. > :02:37.good safety game. Very aggressive. Very good potter. All the

:02:38. > :02:42.ingredients. Now, we talked about temperament and we talked about

:02:43. > :02:47.dedication, he has got to do it on the table. Come on, Stephen, step up

:02:48. > :02:55.and do it. . Stephen Maguire carrying the hopes

:02:56. > :03:01.of Scotland at the Masters. He has a good record against the Australian.

:03:02. > :03:06.Interestingly, he hasn't beaten the Aussie since 2009. Stephen, it was

:03:07. > :03:12.straightforward for Neil Robertson in York. 6-2 and he cruised into the

:03:13. > :03:16.next round? Yeah. Players play each other so many times these days, the

:03:17. > :03:21.top players. They would forget past matches. So yes, it will be an

:03:22. > :03:25.interesting one tonight. Stephen Maguire probably played better than

:03:26. > :03:27.Neil did in his, but the fact that Neil should have been out and got

:03:28. > :03:30.through, sometimes that inspires you. What was interesting about his

:03:31. > :03:35.post-match press conference that Stephen Maguire carried just after

:03:36. > :03:40.his win over Joe Perry, he said he switched off at 5-1 # and that

:03:41. > :03:43.caused him a few problems. He can't do that against Robertson tonight?

:03:44. > :03:49.No, a few players have done that. The best of 11. I don't know whether

:03:50. > :03:53.the match is longer. They play a lot of best of sevens these days. It is

:03:54. > :03:58.a long match, but they seem to have seen the winning line and took their

:03:59. > :04:02.foot off the gas and he can't do that against Robertson. It is 66

:04:03. > :04:06.centuries this season for Neil Robertson. What impressed you most

:04:07. > :04:10.about the way he has been going around the table? It is his

:04:11. > :04:15.attitude. He plays snooker superbly well. His long game is incredible,

:04:16. > :04:22.but his attitude is first class. He turns up at every tournament

:04:23. > :04:29.believing he can win. Thank you very much indeed. That's tonight at 7pm.

:04:30. > :04:33.Now, it is all about the Swerve. Over to Ken Doherty. He is going to

:04:34. > :04:40.give you a masterclass. Well, I don't know about a masterclass. Yes,

:04:41. > :04:47.the swerve, in snooker terms, it is a Stephen Hendry shot. He was always

:04:48. > :04:50.good at swerving. Ironically when the balls are quite close like this.

:04:51. > :04:55.The swerve, you don't have to hit the ball so hard. The softer you

:04:56. > :05:01.actually swerve the ball, the more swerve you get, the softer you hit

:05:02. > :05:05.the ball, the more swerve you get. I'm snookedered as -- snookered as

:05:06. > :05:11.you can see. Watch the spin I get on the cue ball to get around the blue

:05:12. > :05:13.and pot the red. Simple as. APPLAUSE

:05:14. > :05:17.Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I got one! I got one! If there

:05:18. > :05:20.is a bit more distance between the balls, you have got to hit it a

:05:21. > :05:25.little bit harder because you don't want to hit it too soft because you

:05:26. > :05:32.will get too much swerve and you will miss the cannon. Down on the

:05:33. > :05:37.cue ball. Raise the butt of the cue hit it harder and there you go.

:05:38. > :05:42.That's what happens when you hit the ball too soft. I was coming to the

:05:43. > :05:47.next one. When you hit it a little bit harder, you try and hit it a

:05:48. > :05:52.little bit harder. Raise the cue at the back and there you go and that's

:05:53. > :05:57.the swerve! APPLAUSE

:05:58. > :06:04.OK. One last shot. Sometimes we will see in lots of games, where you are

:06:05. > :06:08.snookered up here. I know John Parrot has shown us a lot of good

:06:09. > :06:12.safety shots. The player lands into the pack. It is touching ball. OK.

:06:13. > :06:18.Lots of players we will see in the club or even some of the

:06:19. > :06:21.professionals play this shot off two cushions and maybe snooker him

:06:22. > :06:25.again. What's the point? It is an easy shot back into the pack. If you

:06:26. > :06:30.are playing in a club competition and you have got a touching ball,

:06:31. > :06:34.why not play it down here? Look. Right into the corner pocket. OK,

:06:35. > :06:40.you have left them on the red, but you have forced them into hitting

:06:41. > :06:46.the reds and maybe open them and give yourself a chance to win the

:06:47. > :06:49.frame or a lone ot. That's a -- pot. That's a masterclass. I got one

:06:50. > :06:56.right. Did you notice how he swerved out of

:06:57. > :07:01.the studios. That's where he belongs. He said you swerve when it

:07:02. > :07:06.comes to paying at the bar! I have got no comment! No comment to make.

:07:07. > :07:11.Thank you very much indeed. Well played, Ken. One of the nicest

:07:12. > :07:15.players on the circuit, whenever you bump into Ricky Walden he always has

:07:16. > :07:18.time for you, whether it is talking about snooker, how he is feeling and

:07:19. > :07:20.about football and JP has been to meet him.

:07:21. > :07:29.You must be delighted that you are still here? Yes, still going. I have

:07:30. > :07:33.come through a tough, tough game. You played him in the World

:07:34. > :07:37.Championship semifinal, but he is a good match player. Yes, he has

:07:38. > :07:42.improved so much. He has become a top, top player. He scores heavily

:07:43. > :07:47.and stuff and pots good long balls on his tactical games. I just hung

:07:48. > :07:51.in there last night and I managed to come through. Now, as a Liverpool

:07:52. > :07:58.fan, you will love this, you know who was tweeting about you last

:07:59. > :08:03.night? No. A player. He said you showed great mental strength? He was

:08:04. > :08:09.one of the mentally strong guys. It is nice. That's nice he is watching,

:08:10. > :08:13.isn't it? They call you the quiet man of snooker. Is that deserved?

:08:14. > :08:18.Maybe on the snooker table, but when I'm out in Vegas, are not so much.

:08:19. > :08:23.Maybe that's a good thing that I keep it quiet. You have got to a

:08:24. > :08:30.trip to Vegas coming up? We're going to go to Vegas in a couple of weeks

:08:31. > :08:35.ago. A stag do kind of thing. It is not an official stag do, but it will

:08:36. > :08:39.count as me stag do. That will teach you not to qualify? That's right.

:08:40. > :08:44.This is your third time at the Masters, what did you make of it the

:08:45. > :08:49.first time you played here? The first time, I was so, so nervous. I

:08:50. > :08:53.came as a wildcard. I played Mark King and I came through that game,

:08:54. > :08:57.but I don't really refer too much about it apart from being nervous.

:08:58. > :09:02.It was a tough, tough game. Like any venue you come to, you always feel

:09:03. > :09:06.edgy, kind of thing. It is a great, great tournament and I'm happy to be

:09:07. > :09:10.involved. Why is it a great tournament? I think the crowd

:09:11. > :09:14.really. It is more rowdy and it is a little bit more electric. You have

:09:15. > :09:18.got Ronnie and they come in their droves to see him and stuff and I

:09:19. > :09:21.think the other lads benefit seeing so many punters coming through the

:09:22. > :09:26.door. The other thing as well, you have the top 16 players so you know

:09:27. > :09:30.if you have a good run, you can get through and win it. You have beaten

:09:31. > :09:33.as good as there is? The tough round is always tough. The 16 lads are the

:09:34. > :09:37.best players in the world and they are meeting from the off. High

:09:38. > :09:40.pressure game to start really and that adds to the tension. Now, you

:09:41. > :09:47.have won two ranking events, but they have been abroad, haven't they?

:09:48. > :09:51.Yeah. Any reason why? No, I don't think so. There is reasons why that

:09:52. > :09:55.might be, but I don't really look into it too much myself really. The

:09:56. > :09:59.conditions are dimp in China -- different in China. Maybe people

:10:00. > :10:05.aren't as tuned in there and I took that opportunity. From my point of

:10:06. > :10:09.view, they have been tough finals against Stewart Bingham and Ronnie

:10:10. > :10:12.O'Sullivan. China is a growing market and that's where most of the

:10:13. > :10:15.tournaments are now so you need to be able to win out there which is

:10:16. > :10:19.what I've done. You think you have got more left in the locker. What

:10:20. > :10:23.does Ricky Walden have to do to get to the next level? I'm just working

:10:24. > :10:27.on a few things. I know my game on the day is as good as there is out

:10:28. > :10:31.there, but it is trying to get it out there week in week out which is

:10:32. > :10:34.something I've struggled to do. I practise hard. I work hard. I try

:10:35. > :10:37.and change a few things. Maybe I need to start changing and stick

:10:38. > :10:42.with it for a little longer to get into the groove, you know. I've

:10:43. > :10:48.tinkered with it and changed my cue and my tech nook and -- technique

:10:49. > :10:57.and I'm hungry to get to the top of the game that I'm maybe tweaking 250

:10:58. > :10:59.250 many things. Everton or Liverpool Champions League spot? I

:11:00. > :11:09.have been impressed with every tonight, but we're going to edge it.

:11:10. > :11:13.We're going to sneak into it. All the best. Yes, he does like his

:11:14. > :11:18.football. He is a big fan. Ken, let's ask you about where Ricky

:11:19. > :11:25.Walden is right now. He says he is hungry to get to the top. How far

:11:26. > :11:28.away is he? Not far at all. I think that rung to the World Championship

:11:29. > :11:31.will give him confidence. He is disappointed not getting to the

:11:32. > :11:36.final because he was dominating early on and he tapered off, you

:11:37. > :11:39.know. I think tiredness, fatigue, pressure got to him a little bit. I

:11:40. > :11:43.think the experience of that, even though it was like a battle, but

:11:44. > :11:47.getting to the semifinal is a great experience as well. It will stand

:11:48. > :11:52.him in great stead. He has proven himself on the big stage. I think he

:11:53. > :11:59.needs that, you know, are to consistently be at the business end

:12:00. > :12:03.of tournaments and have beaten O'Sullivans and take it to the next

:12:04. > :12:07.level. Stephen, how far away is Ricky Walden? Ken is right. He needs

:12:08. > :12:12.to be beating the top three players regularly to get himself up there.

:12:13. > :12:17.He won two ranking events which a lot of people haven't done. He has

:12:18. > :12:22.been a winner, but he needs to be, these events, the UK, the Masters,

:12:23. > :12:26.he needs to be up there. Ricky Walden 4-0 against Ronnie

:12:27. > :12:33.O'Sullivan. The players are due out shortly. Let's hear more from The

:12:34. > :12:38.Rocket. He won his first ranking title at the age of 17. Let's hear

:12:39. > :12:50.about his other hobby, that's running and that's the title of his

:12:51. > :12:54.autobiography. There is always pressure on me to do

:12:55. > :13:01.wm and I learnt to play with that type of pressure, if you like, ever

:13:02. > :13:04.since I was a junior. I was used to winning tournaments,

:13:05. > :13:08.you know, if anything, winning the tournament it was kind of like

:13:09. > :13:14.relief at the end of it. Everyone is excited. You won the World

:13:15. > :13:19.Championships, to me, it was, "Thank god, that's over." I turned up and I

:13:20. > :13:24.won a five mile race. I was buzzing. I dreamed, you know, that was the

:13:25. > :13:31.first race I had done when I started running, I came 100th out of 200.

:13:32. > :13:35.Six years on, I won it. I was pretty chuffed with myself. So in some ways

:13:36. > :13:41.I have got more of a sense of achievement out of my running than

:13:42. > :13:48.snooker. If I didn't win, it was seen as, you know, I have probably

:13:49. > :13:52.not fulfilled my true potential or everyone's expectations of me. I

:13:53. > :13:53.think I got more satisfaction out of running and doing good races than I

:13:54. > :14:08.have done out of my snooker. I used to get miserable that I had

:14:09. > :14:14.to leave from home because of my running. I connected with a lot of

:14:15. > :14:18.running clubs where the snooker was. Snooker, tournaments became a chance

:14:19. > :14:25.to explore different running clubs so in a way snooker became a hobby

:14:26. > :14:29.for me about 2004, about 2005, as long as I had my running kit. I

:14:30. > :14:37.would take my cue and running would come first. It got me to the snooker

:14:38. > :14:42.tournaments in a way. We were playing at the top level, if you

:14:43. > :14:49.don't perform then someone, a top player, will take you out. I don't

:14:50. > :14:57.care whether it is Usain Bolt or Tiger Woods. If Usain Bolt don't run

:14:58. > :15:03.9.6, they are running 9.7. You have to go out there and produce the

:15:04. > :15:08.goods. Fans favourite, fans love him. You are on Twitter aren't you,

:15:09. > :15:11.on social networking. I'm looking at the Twitter account now and Ronnie

:15:12. > :15:14.O'Sullivan is trending right now which means he is one of the most

:15:15. > :15:22.talked about issues in the whole of the United Kingdom right now? Yeah.

:15:23. > :15:28.If anybody is watching this, it is great to watch. It is sport at its

:15:29. > :15:32.highest level played at its best and there is no better protagonist than

:15:33. > :15:41.Ronnie O'Sullivan in a game like that. A word from you? Walden can

:15:42. > :15:47.only hope the interval has taken his focus away. Are you boys on Twitter?

:15:48. > :15:54.Not anymore, Jason. I don't think JP is a tweeter.

:15:55. > :16:04.Not the best break. He is in the pocket. It is now a good break shot.

:16:05. > :16:12.Well, can you get your breath? Even when he plays a poor shot. When you

:16:13. > :16:16.are trying to get the white is behind the green tight on the

:16:17. > :16:25.cushion and have a look how he got there.

:16:26. > :16:33.I just popped my head into the practise arena and Ricky Walden was

:16:34. > :16:35.there with his manager practising away right up until walking back

:16:36. > :16:47.into the arena. That's OK. Anymore pace and he would

:16:48. > :17:49.have left this red on. Not just a great buzz in the

:17:50. > :17:53.auditorium today, we were in the lounge, and everybody is coming in

:17:54. > :17:57.and a wonderful crowd there. They are coming in the lounge and saying

:17:58. > :17:59.how well Ronnie had played and everyone is just amazed about his

:18:00. > :18:14.talent. But as Stephen Hendry mentioned in

:18:15. > :18:19.the studio there, the only chance that Ricky has is if the interval

:18:20. > :18:22.might change things around and sometimes it does. We have seen it

:18:23. > :18:24.happen in plenty of the matches here this week when a player has been

:18:25. > :19:03.dominant before the interval. It is not easy to get nicely on to a

:19:04. > :19:20.red. I think if he screws the blue in and

:19:21. > :19:23.comes back, I think he should be OK. But he can get through to the brown

:19:24. > :19:26.also and that will maybe get him back up the table a little bit

:19:27. > :19:32.easier than that straight blue you're looking at. That's just about

:19:33. > :19:47.perfect. Yes, a lovely clean pot that around

:19:48. > :20:07.the angles again. Potting 97%. It must just be the black he missed

:20:08. > :20:11.in the first frame, the only on Everything else has been straight in

:20:12. > :20:21.the middle of the pocket. That was a strange little stat for Ricky Walden

:20:22. > :20:25.100% pot success rate. He potted 11 balls out of 11 Ricky and that was

:20:26. > :20:31.in the opening frame when he made the break of 58 and since then he

:20:32. > :20:40.hasn't scored in the last three frames.

:20:41. > :20:53.And who is to say as to whether he will score in this frame the way

:20:54. > :21:09.that has finished? Yes, Ricky Walden, this is looking serious.

:21:10. > :21:15.Black only available into one pocket at the moment. That doesn't seem to

:21:16. > :21:23.be the perfect angle on the red. Let's have a look. He can manoeuvre

:21:24. > :21:33.the cue ball somewhat. But not straightforward. It has gone a

:21:34. > :21:37.little awkward this, hasn't it? It is just getting that cue ball out of

:21:38. > :21:42.the area. The reds are all sort of close in. He has decided to flick

:21:43. > :21:52.past them and play the pink instead and the back red will pot.

:21:53. > :21:57.Yeah, in a couple of shots time if he can get on that red that's to the

:21:58. > :22:11.left of the black, it will clear things.

:22:12. > :22:24.He doesn't necessarily have to play for that red that I mentioned. There

:22:25. > :22:37.is enough reds available here to clinch the frame.

:22:38. > :22:43.And there is a delicate little shot to get on that red that was

:22:44. > :22:46.hampering the black to one pocket and it is looking pretty ominous

:22:47. > :23:07.again here, JP. Yes, this is the best performance I

:23:08. > :23:14.have seen for a long, long time from anybody. It logical is that -- it

:23:15. > :23:21.really is that good. The touch, the finesse, the positional play. He

:23:22. > :23:59.simply can't hit the ball better than thisment -- this.

:24:00. > :24:23.The frame is already over in a matter of five-and-a-half minutes.

:24:24. > :24:36.Double. No double, but Ronnie O'Sullivan has come out after the

:24:37. > :24:38.mid-session interval and he only needed one more chance and that

:24:39. > :24:52.break of 77 gives him a 5-0 lead. You have to have a lot of sympathy

:24:53. > :24:58.for Ricky Walden. It is 43 minutes and seven seconds and counting since

:24:59. > :25:00.his last pot. It is incredible stuff. It is like Ronnie O'Sullivan

:25:01. > :25:11.has to be somewhere else today because he is in a hurry. He is

:25:12. > :25:15.playing in sync with his cue action. You feel sorry for Ricky Walden

:25:16. > :25:21.because he started off the match really well. If he had won the first

:25:22. > :25:26.frame on that first visit, we might have had a different completion on

:25:27. > :25:32.the match. Mark Selby, you know, have gone right down to the wire as

:25:33. > :25:38.rival players. Are they sitting there and watching this guy and

:25:39. > :25:44.thinking, "Oh my goodness, we have to come up against this fella." They

:25:45. > :25:46.will be taking notice. Last year Ronnie wasn't here. This year they

:25:47. > :25:53.have got the problem and it will be at the back of every player's mind.

:25:54. > :25:57.Ken, you see a big difference in Ronnie O'Sullivan? What I would say,

:25:58. > :26:02.the other players are looking on, but they know the game inside out.

:26:03. > :26:07.They know every game is different. O'Sullivan is playing well, but

:26:08. > :26:10.those type of players had success against O'Sullivan, I don't think

:26:11. > :26:14.they will be scared of them, but Ronnie is up for it, and he is the

:26:15. > :26:19.man to beat. There is no doubt about that in this tournament.

:26:20. > :26:21.A nice moment John and Denis with the crowd giving Ricky a round of

:26:22. > :26:33.applause. Yes, Jason, it was terrific. He got

:26:34. > :26:39.a brilliant reception from the crowd before he broke off and then well,

:26:40. > :26:44.what does Ronnie do, he knocks in a long red and gets himself on the

:26:45. > :26:52.black and off we go again. They have been terrific all week here. They

:26:53. > :26:56.have been fair to every player if they have produced the goods, they

:26:57. > :27:03.are getting the reception from this super crowd. We need crowds like

:27:04. > :27:08.this at the game. It is great to see. They have certainly been

:27:09. > :27:11.treated to something very, very special this afternoon. This really

:27:12. > :27:21.is snooker from the gods. Already this looks ominous. It

:27:22. > :27:48.really does. Well, the fact that he screwed back

:27:49. > :27:53.from the black tells you something. I wonder is he after another record

:27:54. > :28:03.that the gentleman in the studio holds, Stephen Hendry has 11 maximum

:28:04. > :28:08.breaks as Ronnie O'Sullivan has? No special prize for a maximum here

:28:09. > :28:17.just the high break prize which carries ?10,000.

:28:18. > :28:32.So the red nicely on the black. And well, it is not nicely on the black

:28:33. > :28:38.to go into them here. But he has got the one loose red that he is coming

:28:39. > :28:45.around to see if he can leave himself on that. It is not possible,

:28:46. > :29:01.surely. He couldn't finish with a maximum break.

:29:02. > :29:10.Oh, he has gone too far. He might be able to clip it in and catch the

:29:11. > :29:16.edge of the bunch. Well, it is a tricky shot this. But if it goes in,

:29:17. > :29:29.it will be a big chance because these reds will get splattered. I

:29:30. > :29:44.think he can, John. Well, it was a great effort. He just

:29:45. > :29:49.ran slightly out of position there with the frame. The frame is not

:29:50. > :30:27.safe just yet. Come on, Ricky. Well, Ricky only knows too well that

:30:28. > :30:48.one more mistake and that's the end of this year's masters for him.

:30:49. > :30:54.It has been said before this afternoon, but it is worth

:30:55. > :30:57.repeating, Ricky Walden is a seriously good player and he has

:30:58. > :31:00.just run into something very special this afternoon. There is not a lot

:31:01. > :31:05.he could do in most of the frames. There has been long reds potted by

:31:06. > :31:10.Ronnie and it has been all over in one visit. It can happen at this

:31:11. > :31:14.game, Denis. It is not like golf, when someone makes a birdie, you can

:31:15. > :31:18.make a birdie. When the cue ball is not in your hand, you are in trouble

:31:19. > :31:24.when you are playing someone as good as O'Sullivan.

:31:25. > :31:32.Yeah, I don't think Ricky is going to be too disappointed. OK. If he

:31:33. > :31:37.gets whitewashed 6-0, he still can't be disappointed because he has done

:31:38. > :31:40.nothing wrong. He made a 38. The pack didn't open nicely for him and

:31:41. > :31:54.that's it. He hasn't had another chance really.

:31:55. > :32:00.It is just all departments with Ronnie. The long game is good.

:32:01. > :32:04.Safety is good. His pressure on everything, every time he comes to

:32:05. > :32:15.the table. He is just getting so little

:32:16. > :32:23.opportunity that you can't get any rhythm. No flow in your game.

:32:24. > :32:35.He is just tying his laces there, Ricky.

:32:36. > :32:44.He is being very disciplined there, Ronnie. Could have taken that red

:32:45. > :32:52.on, but he played the correct shot. OK, the cannon on the brown spoiled

:32:53. > :32:55.it somewhat, but whichever pot Ricky takes on. He looked at both reds

:32:56. > :33:06.there. You would feel he would have to get it. He is playing the safety

:33:07. > :33:13.shot. It is not a good one. That could be Ricky's last shot in this

:33:14. > :33:18.year's Masters. Yes, the only good news I suppose is the red went next

:33:19. > :33:28.to the pink unless it pots. If that pink pots in there that could be the

:33:29. > :34:18.end. Obviously after that shot, it does.

:34:19. > :34:26.It is going to be very interesting to hear Ronnie's interview. I hope

:34:27. > :34:34.he doesn't say, "I didn't play too badly today. I was struggling a

:34:35. > :34:42.little bit." He is the sort of character, Ronnie, he may not get

:34:43. > :34:48.too excited. I've watched snooker for many, many years. I have seen

:34:49. > :34:52.Ronnie do unbelievable things on the table, but this is up there with his

:34:53. > :35:00.best performance you would have to say. You just cannot play any better

:35:01. > :35:08.than this, John. No. It has been a virtuoso exhibition. That good.

:35:09. > :35:14.Ricky Walden, well he can't be too disappointed, he just didn't get a

:35:15. > :35:17.shot. Well, the only good thing from Ricky's point of view, he had the

:35:18. > :35:27.best seat in the house to watch this. He is one of the nicest lads

:35:28. > :35:29.you will ever wish to meet, Ricky Walden, but he ran right into a

:35:30. > :35:54.genius here this afternoon. He lost position. Well, Ricky Walden

:35:55. > :36:00.shakes the hand and says to Ronnie, "Well played." Unbelievable from The

:36:01. > :36:07.Rocket, he had breaks of 89, 72, 134, 77, 56 and 39. That is one of

:36:08. > :36:16.the best sessions of snooker you can ever wish to watch. 6-0 to The

:36:17. > :36:22.Rocket. That was just epic. That's the only

:36:23. > :36:26.word to describe Ronnie O'Sullivan's performance this afternoon? Awesome.

:36:27. > :36:29.Absolutely awesome. One of the best displays probably the crowd has ever

:36:30. > :36:35.seen at the Ally Pally and you would have to feel sorry for Ricky Walden.

:36:36. > :36:43.He ran into is O'Sullivan who was on fire and everything he looked at

:36:44. > :36:48.went in. He was totally in sync with his cue action and you couldn't

:36:49. > :36:57.fault him on that performance. Often we put up a series of clips to show

:36:58. > :37:02.people. You would put up a clip of this man's performance, 58 minutes.

:37:03. > :37:05.We were on air to 6pm! Thank you very much indeed. I don't know what

:37:06. > :37:12.we're going to do between now and 6pm! Ken was saying, are you in a

:37:13. > :37:19.rush? Have you got somewhere to go? Stephen and Ken can go out there!

:37:20. > :37:23.What is it about this venue, the crowd loves you, everyone loves you.

:37:24. > :37:28.What is it like out there? Are you feeling the love? Yeah, absolutely.

:37:29. > :37:34.I'm from London, I suppose. I'm from around this area. I suppose I'm

:37:35. > :37:38.looked upon as the home player if you like. It is great support. But

:37:39. > :37:42.they support all the players. It is just a fantastic event. It is one of

:37:43. > :37:46.those tournaments when you are turning pro, it is your dream to

:37:47. > :37:51.compete. The crowd know that as well. It is one of them special

:37:52. > :37:56.events really. Magnificent. The way you're playing today, it is one of

:37:57. > :38:00.the best performances we have seen. You never missed the ball? I scored

:38:01. > :38:06.well. I potted long ones for a change which was good. The safety

:38:07. > :38:11.was OK. I got a few snookers. It was an accident!

:38:12. > :38:19.A little birdie told me you had been practising up in the academy for

:38:20. > :38:23.this! You can't go anywhere, Ronnie. I was up there for a few days

:38:24. > :38:27.practising. I enjoy it up there. It was good to get away from home and

:38:28. > :38:31.get the head down and get away from the distractions of home sometimes.

:38:32. > :38:37.There was a lovely moment when Ricky had a round of applause there before

:38:38. > :38:40.he broke off. You didn't allow him to get into the match at all? Yeah,

:38:41. > :38:44.but that's snooker. I had that plenty of times. I played him

:38:45. > :38:48.numerous times and you sit there as a passenger and sometimes it is a

:38:49. > :38:56.good, good seat to have when someone is playing, watching him and John

:38:57. > :39:00.Higgins play. It can be embarrassing there, but at some point you have

:39:01. > :39:04.got to go, "This guy is on fire." It is good to watch. I'm not saying

:39:05. > :39:09.that's how Ricky felt. What I'm saying is I've been on the receiving

:39:10. > :39:14.end of a few of them. How is the running going? Not too bad. I'm

:39:15. > :39:18.putting a bit of weight on though. Are you still running? Yeah, I will

:39:19. > :39:22.always run. It is something I enjoy. It is something I like to do. I have

:39:23. > :39:27.been trying to put a few hours on the practise table. I wasn't happy

:39:28. > :39:31.with my form for the last five or six weeks. I thought the only way to

:39:32. > :39:35.get it right is to put a few hours in. What have you got planned for

:39:36. > :39:40.this afternoon? I suppose I can go and pick the kids up! It is nearly

:39:41. > :39:45.time! Ronnie, it is a pleasure to see you. A magnificent performance.

:39:46. > :39:52.The only word I can use off the back of your victory was epic. He said

:39:53. > :39:58.awesome. Congratulations. Well done, seeing as we are on air until 6pm.

:39:59. > :40:03.We are going to show you snooker from last night. Mark Selby taking

:40:04. > :40:05.on John Higgins. We are going to pick up the action from the third

:40:06. > :40:14.frame. How is the cue ball? Oh, it is

:40:15. > :40:50.nearly brilliant. There is no way Mark could get over

:40:51. > :41:00.towards the green from the position he was in. John can do. I'm just

:41:01. > :41:05.wondering, I can't really take a pot on to play of nothing. Play the two

:41:06. > :41:09.reds that are together and try and get a little bit better than the

:41:10. > :41:21.previous shot. Has he hit it harder this time? Not far away. Oh, he is

:41:22. > :41:25.getting close, isn't he? Mark Selby knows he can't play his

:41:26. > :41:29.shot to get around that himself and every time he plays, the only shot

:41:30. > :41:32.he can do is leaving John an opportunity to get behind the green

:41:33. > :41:39.and brown. It is just the way the balls are rolling at the minute.

:41:40. > :41:41.John's in the ascendancy in this tactical exchange. Sometimes there

:41:42. > :41:43.is nothing you can do about it. You just have to hope they don't get

:41:44. > :41:54.behind there. He is doing very well just to get

:41:55. > :42:17.out of trouble at the moment, Mark Selby.

:42:18. > :42:24.Well, those good safety shots from John Higgins has paid off. He kept

:42:25. > :42:31.putting Mark in trouble and Mark just couldn't find the gap that

:42:32. > :42:35.time. So a bit of a chance for John, although the black is off its spot

:42:36. > :42:42.and the pink is up the other end of the table.

:42:43. > :42:49.And black will be back on its spot after this shot. So a pretty good

:42:50. > :43:06.chance for John Higgins here. Oh my goodness me, what have you

:43:07. > :43:12.done there, John? I can't believe he played that shot. He is just trying

:43:13. > :43:16.to pot that, come there through the gap for the red on the left-hand

:43:17. > :43:21.side and he over hit it. I don't think he is on any ball. He will be

:43:22. > :43:42.absolutely kicking himself. What a chance he let go begging there.

:43:43. > :44:02.It never ceases to amaze you what can happen on the green bays. He

:44:03. > :44:11.just overhit that. -- over hit that. There is no easy safety. If someone

:44:12. > :44:17.actually asked you Denis to play a shot where you could put why you

:44:18. > :44:25.have in that much trouble, you would be hard-pressed to pick one. It is

:44:26. > :44:50.amazing. What a let off for Mark Selby that was.

:44:51. > :45:07.A chance for Mark to get the cue ball up behind the green. Not quite

:45:08. > :45:17.there, but still a desent shot. He is going to play past the blue.

:45:18. > :45:19.There is a chance here behind one of the ball colours off this if he gets

:45:20. > :45:41.it right. He got a good cue ball, but knocked

:45:42. > :45:45.a red over a corner pocket. It is not easy to control this. He should

:45:46. > :45:47.be able to find the gap back down the table. Well, if he is too hard

:45:48. > :46:04.for the blue, the colours are there. He doesn't want to be over that

:46:05. > :46:08.side. He wanted to be anywhere around the green spot area and he

:46:09. > :46:18.was perfect. It is a funny shot that, you play it thinking and you

:46:19. > :46:23.bring you the cue down and you think you are on a colour and you are on

:46:24. > :46:27.nothing. So both players will be dus appointed with the -- disappointed

:46:28. > :46:31.with the last couple of minutes. John particularly when he was in

:46:32. > :46:37.amongst the balls there and Mark not to be on a ball colour so one chance

:46:38. > :46:42.each gone begging. John looking for a path to land on the red behind the

:46:43. > :46:49.black, the one that's near the cushion because all the other reds

:46:50. > :46:53.are in open play. So an important escape here. I don't think he can

:46:54. > :46:59.get twice across the table because there is a red in the way either

:47:00. > :47:02.side. Yeah, definitely. That one on the left-hand side of the black is

:47:03. > :47:06.the big problem. If that wasn't there, he would be coming off the

:47:07. > :47:10.side cushion and playing on to that one, but as I say, that one on the

:47:11. > :47:29.left of the black is the size of a football at the moment for John.

:47:30. > :47:43.Well, if this red keeps on running, he is going to block the path. It is

:47:44. > :47:46.amazing he only hit one ball there. He thought they were going to be

:47:47. > :47:50.flying all over the table. Yes, couldn't see a way out and just

:47:51. > :47:56.played that, but funny enough this is not a gimme what he left Mark

:47:57. > :48:03.Selby, but he made it look simple, that's a beautifully struck shot.

:48:04. > :48:07.That was tough. Excellent cueing. And really the balls here around the

:48:08. > :48:13.black spot and it should have been John's. I don't expect - there are

:48:14. > :48:19.plenty of reds left after this and I think these will all be going. It is

:48:20. > :48:28.just like you are playing a little practise routine these reds at the

:48:29. > :49:28.moment. Really well cued this. Right into the centre of the pocket.

:49:29. > :49:31.It came off the cushion for the reds in the other corner, but he always

:49:32. > :49:38.knew he had this one if he didn't get on those.

:49:39. > :49:45.So this is a frame that both players had chances initially that went

:49:46. > :49:52.begging. But these are absolutely lovely now for Mark Selby. He has a

:49:53. > :50:17.49 point lead. A couple of reds. A couple of colours will see him over

:50:18. > :50:30.the line in this frame. So just this red will do it. I don't expect any

:50:31. > :50:38.problems here at all. John Higgins has had his chance here. A brilliant

:50:39. > :50:43.competitor, Mark Selby is. Even when he is not at his absolute scoring

:50:44. > :50:48.best which happened a fair few times in the big tournaments, he just

:50:49. > :50:52.plays the right shot and competes every time he takes his cue out of

:50:53. > :51:23.the case. He is very, very tough to beat.

:51:24. > :51:30.There is not enough to make a century break, but it is always nice

:51:31. > :51:36.if you can clear up and keep your opponent firmly in his seat. And

:51:37. > :51:41.things really have changed around since that second frame when John

:51:42. > :51:43.missed the red when he was bridging over into one into the corner. It

:51:44. > :52:07.has been all Mark Selby since then. So it is two in a row for Mark Selby

:52:08. > :52:59.and with the aid of that 70 break he now leads 2-1.

:53:00. > :53:06.Yes, just too pacy and you can't afford to leave this red for Mark

:53:07. > :53:10.Selby. Not after he knocked the 70 in in the previous frame. That white

:53:11. > :53:12.should have been close to the ball cushion. So an early chance and the

:53:13. > :53:34.reds are nicely open. I thought he was a little bit closer

:53:35. > :53:57.than that. Yes, I think so far, he missed one

:53:58. > :54:02.or two long ones, Mark. They are the ones that can change matches as well

:54:03. > :54:07.and give you a bit of confidence, but it has not quite happened yet

:54:08. > :54:17.and this is a chance for John. It is open to the green pocket. I fancied

:54:18. > :54:51.him to pot that. What a superb shot that was. I can't

:54:52. > :55:01.tell you how difficult they are. Beautiful. Yeah, the little bit of

:55:02. > :55:05.right-hand side helped that one. It will be that little bit more

:55:06. > :55:07.difficult as well because it is just slightly off the cushion and he

:55:08. > :55:20.really did hit that beautifully. Yes, this was Mark's attempt at the

:55:21. > :55:33.red I thought he would knock in. Well, he could have left something a

:55:34. > :55:35.little bit easier, but I still expected John to knock that long red

:55:36. > :55:46.in. It is difficult to judge that type

:55:47. > :55:52.of shot. He has done reasonably well with it. It is one of those little

:55:53. > :55:56.cutbacks. It is always difficult to judge it spot on. So a delicate

:55:57. > :56:17.little cutback here. Well, if he is on this red, it is a

:56:18. > :56:23.great chance. You can play up from the blue here.

:56:24. > :56:34.Yes, that black was a lovely shot. Never easy. Cut back. Blind pocket.

:56:35. > :56:38.He needs to put a little bit of control on. He is not guaranteed

:56:39. > :56:41.where the cue ball is going. Sometimes you can take your eye off

:56:42. > :56:52.those. Really nicely controlled this was. And never anywhere else, but in

:56:53. > :56:56.the pocket. It is a shot like that that caused Barry Hawkins a frame

:56:57. > :57:28.last evening. A similar type shot. A little stun run through there. He

:57:29. > :57:33.held the cue ball a little bit too much. A bit closer to the cushion.

:57:34. > :57:37.It makes the cueing a bit more difficult. Cueing down on this. Once

:57:38. > :58:20.again though, really well struck. Not bad. A choice of reds. There is

:58:21. > :58:25.Vicky in the audience. She was a little bit concerned the way John

:58:26. > :58:30.Higgins set off, but she knows there is every chance her husband can go

:58:31. > :58:33.to the mid-session interval 3-1 up. But having said that, slightly out

:58:34. > :58:41.of position here and needs one more good pot. Yeah, it was the cannon

:58:42. > :58:46.before I was a little bit surprised with. He chose to play a different

:58:47. > :58:49.one. So just slightly lost the cue ball, but you would expect Mark to

:58:50. > :59:46.knock this in. Taking these particularly well so

:59:47. > :59:51.far. As I say, when he looks close in amongst the balls, it doesn't

:59:52. > :59:56.look like there will be too many mistakes from Mark. Only one or two

:59:57. > :00:01.long pots this evening caused him a bit of trouble. As for John Higgins,

:00:02. > :00:06.he has not kept the pressure on Mark Selby. He had a couple of chances.

:00:07. > :00:11.OK, it wasn't the gimme that red into the yellow pocket, but John

:00:12. > :00:18.Higgins of old would have knocked it in, that's for sure.

:00:19. > :00:27.. So little between the player, shots like that make all the

:00:28. > :00:32.difference. He is playing now, the way he played

:00:33. > :00:39.when he won three master, what a record when you think he has been in

:00:40. > :00:45.four finals in six year, and won it three times. You know who was the

:00:46. > :00:51.first one to win back-to-back Masters, JP? No, I am. I am going to

:00:52. > :00:56.tell you, it is his birthday, he might be watching on television.

:00:57. > :01:05.Cliff Thorburn, 66 today. He was the first to win back-to-back master, 85

:01:06. > :01:07.and 86 I think it was. Fantastic achievement. -of- happy birthday to

:01:08. > :01:41.the grandad. If you are watching. He had a break of 70 in the previous

:01:42. > :01:48.frame, and John is going to have to regroup, maybe go on the practice

:01:49. > :01:52.table. He set off cueing so well, knocked a cracking long red in, ever

:01:53. > :01:57.since he missed that one on the second frame, he hasn't really had

:01:58. > :02:02.much of a chance. Just that last frame, Denis, this is

:02:03. > :02:06.the one he has missed in the second frame. Definitely didn't help him.

:02:07. > :02:15.And losing position in that last frame was crucial, really. He had a

:02:16. > :02:20.great chance. He let that go. Since then, it has all been Mark Selby.

:02:21. > :02:25.This is more like Mark Selby. We mention about his B game being so

:02:26. > :02:34.good, his A game is pretty special. When he starts scoring, 70, 80s,

:02:35. > :02:40.100s every shot, you are in big trouble.

:02:41. > :02:47.Not going to be easy to make the century break with the red frozen

:02:48. > :02:49.the baulk cushion up there. He has made 29 centuries this season so

:02:50. > :03:02.far. Made 36 last season, so this is the

:03:03. > :03:07.shot. He had an angle on the black, he will want to get as close to that

:03:08. > :03:09.red, not tight on the cushion. Leave himself an angle. Just watch this

:03:10. > :03:12.for a positional shot. Watch the white reverse side. Needs

:03:13. > :03:36.to miss the blown. No century break, but Mark Selby

:03:37. > :03:40.lost the opening frame, but he has done very little wrong since, he has

:03:41. > :03:46.took three frames in a row and with that break of 98 he boss to the

:03:47. > :03:52.mid-session interval leading 3-1. So Mark Selby two frames in front. We

:03:53. > :03:56.will know vow what happened in frame -- show you what happened in frame

:03:57. > :04:01.five. There is no score. Might be able to see enough of one to flick

:04:02. > :04:04.it into the left corner and play the safety shot. This one, it is

:04:05. > :04:28.sticking out a little bit. That is the one.

:04:29. > :04:35.The cueing is slightly more awkward. Not 100% convinced he can get by.

:04:36. > :04:39.Just having a check on that. Also the other problem. He won't be able

:04:40. > :04:42.to get the cue ball out because there's a red to the right of the

:04:43. > :04:47.one he's going to pot that will stop that. Not particularly appetising

:04:48. > :04:52.this. One of those that might be a shot, you have got to pot the red

:04:53. > :05:23.and play the next shot safety-wise. Can't see him scoring many off this.

:05:24. > :05:45.It drifted to the right. Why not play the pot and play a safety?

:05:46. > :05:51.Strange one that. Must have been tighter than we

:05:52. > :05:56.thought. And this is an awkward shot that John is faced with. He has the

:05:57. > :06:01.extension on the rest, the extension on the cue, he has got to get it out

:06:02. > :06:11.of the way pretty quick, because the white has to come back towards him.

:06:12. > :06:30.He might possibly... Well, look at this! He caught a salmon with that

:06:31. > :06:42.last week! John is not nervous.

:06:43. > :06:43.Couldn't stop that wobbling round there, it was difficult to control

:06:44. > :06:47.the cue ball. There is extensions all over the

:06:48. > :07:06.place here! Tricky little shot this. Once again,

:07:07. > :07:10.one of those pots into a blind pocket. It is just dead weight,

:07:11. > :07:11.nothing on the cue ball really, but the pot itself.

:07:12. > :07:24.It needs to be got. Well played. He will know the importance of this

:07:25. > :07:30.frame, going 4-1 to Mark Selby will start to look pretty difficult, so

:07:31. > :07:38.win this one and get back to one behind.

:07:39. > :07:52.A good chance this. A few reds in the open.

:07:53. > :07:59.Well, that is not what he intended. The black's away up on to the yellow

:08:00. > :08:02.spot. He didn't want to hold the black

:08:03. > :08:04.spot there, now he will have to force this in to get up for the

:08:05. > :08:14.blow. -- blue.

:08:15. > :08:19.We call it a spot because they always used to put spots on the

:08:20. > :08:23.snooker table, and nowadays on the cloth you put a little cross there.

:08:24. > :08:30.The spots are there to protect the cloth, if you put the cross on a

:08:31. > :08:32.club table, it will, there will be a hole there in a matter of a week or

:08:33. > :08:45.so. Might just be OK, the one at the

:08:46. > :08:50.back of the little bunch of reds, there is a gap through to that.

:08:51. > :09:05.He was playing up for the black to get that down to table as quickly as

:09:06. > :09:10.possible, come a bit too far, maybe a case of taking the brown and

:09:11. > :09:14.keeping the break going before that. He could take the black but it is a

:09:15. > :09:28.lot thinner and a more difficult pot. It might just be the brown.

:09:29. > :09:35.I mean, to pot the brown and try and free the pink and reds, they are not

:09:36. > :09:47.ideally situated. He deserves to be on a red the way

:09:48. > :09:51.he played that. At first glance he is very unfortunate. I think he has

:09:52. > :09:55.covered everything into the left corner he couldn't have played that

:09:56. > :09:57.any better and he certainly deserved a better outcome than that, that

:09:58. > :10:04.looks very tight to me. Left-hand side off the cushion. Into

:10:05. > :10:08.the pink. Very unfortunate.

:10:09. > :10:14.You are not kidding! I mean the thing is, if he can't see the red,

:10:15. > :10:18.he would be playing ball and I cross the table and he might be able to

:10:19. > :10:20.get on the pink. Be it is obviously too tight.

:10:21. > :10:30.-- plain-ball. Really unlucky that. He is got to be

:10:31. > :10:35.a bit careful here, he is back looking at it again, he has an easy

:10:36. > :10:44.safety shot to play the white up to the yellow. But if it doesn't pot,

:10:45. > :10:49.it doesn't pot, and... Usually your first instinct is correct.

:10:50. > :10:55.John Higgins, what you doing? He tried to convince himself there that

:10:56. > :10:58.he could pot that, and he had to play it with pace. He had an easy

:10:59. > :11:10.safety shot on. I think he was so disappointed where

:11:11. > :11:30.the white finished he tried to convince himself he could pot that.

:11:31. > :11:36.He will be kicking himself. He would have loved to have stole himself

:11:37. > :11:41.there and played the correct shot, which was down the table, but you

:11:42. > :11:45.have done it now. Just have to hope that Mark Selby isn't proficient

:11:46. > :12:03.with the rest, because if this black goes in it is a fabulous chance.

:12:04. > :12:13.APPLAUSE That depends whether he, there is a

:12:14. > :12:15.couple of reds available, he can get through to the one he wanted. Just a

:12:16. > :12:27.stun shot again to leave the black. Can he make John Higgins pay for

:12:28. > :12:36.that strange shot that he took? He didn't think he could pot it, then

:12:37. > :12:39.he thought "I might be able to pot it," but...

:12:40. > :12:44.That is not the best shot he has ever played. He would like that one

:12:45. > :12:58.back again! Just wondering whether the red to

:12:59. > :13:05.the left of the cue ball pots. It does indeed.

:13:06. > :13:14.Apparently, there is a bit of a downpour at the moment, so I am

:13:15. > :13:20.wondering if, yes, it is rain on the roof.

:13:21. > :13:28.Believe it or not, we once had a snooker match stopped, rain stopped

:13:29. > :13:34.play. Fred Davis against Alex Higgins in Manchester, there was a

:13:35. > :13:36.lovely photograph of the boys with an umbrella.

:13:37. > :13:40.It came in through the roof. Leaked in through the roof. I am sure that

:13:41. > :13:48.won't happen here. It is raining on his parade after

:13:49. > :13:59.that shot! He will be disappointed there, that

:14:00. > :14:57.was a good chance. 43 is not the best for Selby Seb but

:14:58. > :15:02.John is not up to his usual standards.

:15:03. > :15:10.-- Mark Selby. He has another chance here, although the white is going to

:15:11. > :15:14.be almost tight on the cushion, you would think he doesn't have to play

:15:15. > :15:19.this with too much pace, because the way he will canon the other red, you

:15:20. > :15:23.would think he has every chance of finishing on pink or black. Just

:15:24. > :15:28.doesn't want to get the canon from behind. Keep the cue ball trapped.

:15:29. > :15:33.So interesting to see what happens off this.

:15:34. > :15:39.He didn't need to hit it that hard and he would have finished on pink

:15:40. > :15:45.or black, I am surprised he played it at that pace. Just wondering

:15:46. > :15:50.whether he was worried about getting the canon from behind.

:15:51. > :15:57.I agree with you, why hit it that hard?

:15:58. > :16:07.He has second best, he has Mark in all sorts of trouble here.

:16:08. > :16:16.But there is not many better at knowing the angles than Mark Selby.

:16:17. > :16:18.We have another Scot Alan McManus was brilliant but this fellow knows

:16:19. > :16:36.his way round the table. Have a look at this! In fact, the

:16:37. > :16:38.last tournament I called him SatNav Selby. He knows his way round so

:16:39. > :16:50.well. Brilliant. There has been two or

:16:51. > :16:55.three of them, this evening. People have got out of difficult situations

:16:56. > :17:24.and every one has been playing to perfection.

:17:25. > :17:32.Obviously that red in the baulk area makes it trick yerk Mark is having a

:17:33. > :17:38.look to see if he leaves the cue ball over by the green pocket, and

:17:39. > :17:41.keep that covered. -- trickier. He decided to play the red up and down

:17:42. > :17:50.and leave that cue ball in the corner.

:17:51. > :18:31.Well played. Excellent that shot. All about the

:18:32. > :18:44.cue ball. It is difficult to get the cue in

:18:45. > :18:49.there and dig down into the back of the white, even if he hits that red

:18:50. > :18:52.he can't bring it back in the baulk area. Couldn't have played that much

:18:53. > :19:21.better John Higgins. Here we go. He has the butt of the

:19:22. > :19:27.cue up in the air. This will be a good shot.

:19:28. > :19:35.Well, it wasn't a bad effort, but he has left a possible pot. These are

:19:36. > :19:49.the sort of shots that John Higgins used to knock in.

:19:50. > :20:15.Where is this red going? Seems to hit that harder than he needed. That

:20:16. > :20:24.is the type of shot John used to knock in with regularity.

:20:25. > :20:31.Yes, some of his long game this evening is causing him problem, and

:20:32. > :20:36.giving Mark Selby chances. He really shouldn't be getting them.

:20:37. > :20:41.There is one he has missed. Surprise.

:20:42. > :20:46.Another little turning point, maybe, in this match. We had one in the

:20:47. > :20:50.second frame, when John missed one into the right corner.

:20:51. > :21:52.Could this be another? So a 23 point lead already. Balls in

:21:53. > :22:00.the middle of the table. John Higgins... He could accrue a very

:22:01. > :22:02.useful lead if not the frame. He will be disappointed if he doesn't

:22:03. > :22:18.win the frame from this. I bet he can't believe he is back at

:22:19. > :22:30.the table. After he missed that long pot.

:22:31. > :22:36.Shouldn't be a problem, stun the green over for the red in the baulk

:22:37. > :22:38.area. Make sure he doesn't touch that blue. Well, he is going to play

:22:39. > :23:07.the run through up and down. Still keeps his head so still on the

:23:08. > :23:10.shot, John Higgins, there is nothing really changed with his cue action

:23:11. > :23:23.of the years. -- over the years. It was a frame he badly needed and

:23:24. > :23:32.he was handed a lifeline and Mark Selby missed that. Co-fortable red

:23:33. > :23:39.into the left middle possibility. -- comfortable.

:23:40. > :23:55.Just the black to make absolutely sure.

:23:56. > :24:49.Red REFEREE: Foul. Mark Selby four. So

:24:50. > :24:53.Mark Selby concedes the frame and John Higgins,ed by that break of 43

:24:54. > :24:57.takes the fifth and he is only one behind at 3-2.

:24:58. > :25:03.STUDIO: We will show you what happened in frame six, but the

:25:04. > :25:07.reason you are watching extended highlight of that match from last

:25:08. > :25:12.night is because this afternoon Ronnie O'Sullivan dismantled Ricky

:25:13. > :25:18.Walden's Masters dreams by winning 6 frames to nil in just 58 minutes and

:25:19. > :25:20.31 seconds, it was a wonderful performance from Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:25:21. > :25:41.So, back to Selby-Higgins. Had he potted that red I don't think

:25:42. > :25:54.he would have canoned the one he did, but he has got away with it by

:25:55. > :25:58.the looks of things. He might be taking this on and round

:25:59. > :26:04.for the black, he is, and he has played it perfectly, he needs to

:26:05. > :26:09.pull up though, needs to pull up. He is unlucky I think.

:26:10. > :26:47.Just a fraction off being perfect. I would have been a good chance. A few

:26:48. > :26:50.reds if the open round the black spot.

:26:51. > :26:58.Couple of canons later there would have been a really good chance.

:26:59. > :27:29.That is pretty good. It is awkward when the red is near the cushion.

:27:30. > :27:36.Might just be able to see enough of the red to the right of the pink.

:27:37. > :27:40.To swing this round the angles. I think he can head up to the yellow

:27:41. > :27:44.if he gets this right. Plenty of left-hand side on it.

:27:45. > :27:47.It is one of those you have to hit right. You get this thick, there

:27:48. > :27:58.could be reds going towards corps here.

:27:59. > :28:02.-- corner pockets here. Or blues.

:28:03. > :28:09.It is amazing, there is never too frames the same. Have a look at the

:28:10. > :28:13.patterns of the reds there. Three reds together, three reds together,

:28:14. > :28:17.and then the black. It is like some sort of sign.

:28:18. > :28:19.It is like one of those little blow up balloons you make, like a little

:28:20. > :28:32.animal. The ones I make are like that.

:28:33. > :28:40.That is a UN on my Denis, you are seeing crop circles now!

:28:41. > :29:02.-- a nun on me. -- a new one on me.

:29:03. > :29:25.Not what he wanted. They are awkward little shots those. The harder you

:29:26. > :29:31.hit those, the more the cue ball gets trapped. Doesn't get any pace

:29:32. > :29:36.on it P if it had been closer to the baulk cushion it is a shot he could

:29:37. > :29:38.have played with bottom on, where it finished was a bit awkward, it was

:29:39. > :29:45.more difficult than it looked. Of course, now there is not a lot to

:29:46. > :29:52.play to get in behind the yellow is out of commission, the brown right

:29:53. > :29:54.side of the table. Just a matter of trying to get close

:29:55. > :31:40.to the cushion. This tactical battle will need a bit

:31:41. > :32:12.of sorting out. Not a lot to play in behind.

:32:13. > :32:27.A bit of a chance here. If he's got a slight angle, he could screw back

:32:28. > :32:33.for the pink. He's got enough angle to do that.

:32:34. > :32:40.Hitting above centre so it's the top spin. Thought he might have played

:32:41. > :32:50.on the black. A bit congested, the right hand side

:32:51. > :32:56.of the black, but he hit that nicely to get where he did. There'll be a

:32:57. > :33:03.gap through to the extreme red on the right. Just hold the cue ball

:33:04. > :33:09.virtually where that is, obviously pot the black. Should be on that red

:33:10. > :33:37.on the right hand side. Oh, dear, me. I don't think he's got

:33:38. > :33:45.away with it. It's been a boift an awkward frame. Maybe he's losing a

:33:46. > :33:47.bit of concentration. The scrappy frames are just as important as the

:33:48. > :34:04.ones that are made with one visit. He couldn't have played that any

:34:05. > :34:10.better. All sorts of chowses here. There's four Reds available. Near

:34:11. > :34:18.the black. An angle to go into the pink. It's just what he feels like.

:34:19. > :34:21.He's going to try and get the black opened up into both corner pockets.

:34:22. > :34:26.Only available into one at the moment. But there's a shot on after

:34:27. > :34:28.this if he gets a good angle on the black to play a delicate little

:34:29. > :34:45.cannon. If he gets the cannon correctly

:34:46. > :34:50.here, he's in business. Bottom side near the cluster of Reds as well.

:34:51. > :35:21.That's going to be available. You could always open a few of them out.

:35:22. > :35:39.He won't leave anything. Important shot this is into the middle pocket.

:35:40. > :36:06.Just having a look there. Pretty sure the bottom cluster is potable

:36:07. > :36:22.now near the pink. Needs be high on this so he can pot

:36:23. > :36:26.it. The block only tops in the left hand pocket as we look at it. That

:36:27. > :36:29.was almost straight and look at the angle he forced. Something that he

:36:30. > :36:47.couldn't have done. A bit of left hand side on that. He

:36:48. > :36:49.swung it off the cushion to widen the angle up, to come back and

:36:50. > :37:04.cannon the Reds out. Got a long straight red up into the

:37:05. > :37:06.corner past the green but he refers the one that's to the right of the

:37:07. > :37:23.black. That's made a mess of everything.

:37:24. > :37:29.The last shotted, he was unlucky where he finished. Now, this is such

:37:30. > :37:33.a tough shot from the cushion. That should tell us a lot about how

:37:34. > :37:35.he's feeling as well. Lots of pressure on this. Not bad, is the

:37:36. > :37:50.answer. What a good shot that was. A JP special. One of the best John

:37:51. > :38:10.Parrott from that position. John Higgins played it beautifully.

:38:11. > :38:20.Very important for John to keep the pressure on Mark. He's gone off the

:38:21. > :38:23.mark a bit since the break, Mark Selby. Had a few chances he's not

:38:24. > :39:27.taken. A bit unlucky do slip past that, but

:39:28. > :39:43.well past the winning post in this frame.

:39:44. > :40:01.A bit of wizardry there from the wizard of Wishart.

:40:02. > :40:08.A little exhibition-type shot there. He's gone for a double, a treble.

:40:09. > :40:15.Two in a row, he breaks a 43 and 69 and we are all square at three

:40:16. > :40:21.frames each. As Dennis says, John Higgins has won

:40:22. > :40:25.two frames on the bounce. Could he take the next and edge close to

:40:26. > :40:31.victory? Let us show you frame 7, Higgins back at the table, no score.

:40:32. > :40:54.Beautifully played. A shot though that Mark Selby shouldn't have left.

:40:55. > :41:03.His shot was just a little thinner than he anticipated.

:41:04. > :41:09.If he gets a good angle on the black, it would be a good time to

:41:10. > :41:13.two into the pun W that red to the right of the black as a bit of

:41:14. > :41:35.insurance. You are absolutely right. It's amazing how many times you see

:41:36. > :41:36.play aers at this level do it. I'd have been doing what you said if he

:41:37. > :41:42.could have gotten the angle. You have got to trust the luck a

:41:43. > :41:56.little bit. It's a shot you really do need to

:41:57. > :42:00.hit. The pink. There is a gap between the pink and the red so you

:42:01. > :42:02.have got to make sure you get this full in the face if you are going to

:42:03. > :42:19.play it hard. Played it well. A bit unlucky. Look

:42:20. > :42:23.where the pink has gone and look where the black finished up.

:42:24. > :42:27.Beautiful split but it knocked the black awkward and the pink awkward.

:42:28. > :42:35.The punk was in the open, all of a sudden the red landed on it.

:42:36. > :42:40.I think the black may pot here but it's a little trickier than it would

:42:41. > :42:57.have been. Trying to hold for the black. John

:42:58. > :43:01.didn't fancy playing for it. Tried to get top spin in. Always

:43:02. > :43:05.difficult, especially using the extended rest there to get the

:43:06. > :43:42.momentum on the cue ball. So he's a bit low on this blue.

:43:43. > :43:51.To knock both of them in to such awkward positions, very unlucky. The

:43:52. > :43:54.only good news is here, he's gotten away with that one because I don't

:43:55. > :43:58.think he's left anything. You are absolutely right, John, they are all

:43:59. > :44:15.covering each other, as you can see from that picture.

:44:16. > :44:27.Going to take this pot on along the cushion and head up towards the

:44:28. > :44:32.yellow. If it goes in, gl a bonus. Great shot. Second one of those he's

:44:33. > :44:39.potted this evening and that was more difficult than the first. So

:44:40. > :44:44.touch on these Championship pockets. He knew he may not finish on a

:44:45. > :44:51.colour but he knew he could do this if he knocked the red in. That's

:44:52. > :44:54.given him the advantage. Look at the way he's played that as well, Dennis

:44:55. > :45:01.he's played three quarter ball to the left hand side to stop John

:45:02. > :45:04.Higgins going across the table. That would have made his escape from the

:45:05. > :45:13.snooker easily, so he's purposely played the cue ball to that side of

:45:14. > :45:16.the yellow. He'd have to go twice across to get rid of that red there

:45:17. > :45:37.and that's not easy to judge. I don't like this shot. Why did he

:45:38. > :45:42.not attempt to go twice across the table. That looked very difficult to

:45:43. > :45:46.get awhich with it there. I honestly don't know what he's played there,

:45:47. > :45:50.Dennis, I really don't. It's so unlike John Higgins, A to play a

:45:51. > :45:56.shot that looks like the wrong one, but to play so it badly. I mean it's

:45:57. > :46:00.a natural angle for Mark Selby to run this through. OK, this black

:46:01. > :46:04.isn't over the hole, but you would expect him to knock this in and he's

:46:05. > :46:24.just presented Mark with a fantastic chance.

:46:25. > :46:33.Here is John's escape again. What is he trying to do? I don't really know

:46:34. > :47:53.which red he's played on there. Second look and I still don't know.

:47:54. > :48:10.Not an easy run, the winning line in this frame from this position.

:48:11. > :48:17.A little trickier, the black. The good news is, he can play a little

:48:18. > :48:24.flick cannon on the three Reds here. Plays the outside one, he'll open

:48:25. > :48:52.them all up to play. Yes, there you go.

:48:53. > :49:03.The only real awkward shed the one next to the pink.

:49:04. > :49:10.Went past the winning post. If he can keep knocking these in, he won't

:49:11. > :49:54.need that red. Needs the black tworks more Reds

:49:55. > :50:09.with blacks. John will need a snooker.

:50:10. > :50:22.He's made it difficult now for himself.

:50:23. > :50:31.The cue ball's gone more to the right. Didn't get that absolutely

:50:32. > :50:35.straight in. Another black and he would have been 44 in front with 43

:50:36. > :50:39.on the table. He's going to have to go all the way around the table if

:50:40. > :50:47.he's going to try and get on that red. No angle to do that, so it's

:50:48. > :50:52.just a safety shot. Looked as if he was going to clinch the frame there.

:50:53. > :51:06.Mentioned it earlier, didn't you? You said there's no such thing as an

:51:07. > :51:10.easy shone snooker table that's why. Er shot on the snooker table that's

:51:11. > :51:19.why. Even if he doesn't finish on a

:51:20. > :51:22.colour, if he could pot this, he could put Mark in all sorts of

:51:23. > :51:39.trouble. Put him tight up behind the brown

:51:40. > :51:41.and he might get a few from this position, especially if he gets

:51:42. > :52:03.tight to the brown. We have seen already how good he is.

:52:04. > :52:27.This will have to be very special. The targets are so small.

:52:28. > :52:37.John won't take it on because he can't get on the black. 31 behind.

:52:38. > :52:56.There is a slight angle there with it.

:52:57. > :53:06.Except lent shot. I don't think he's got an angle to move that red. --

:53:07. > :53:13.excellent shot. He forced the angle. I didn't think that was on, but if

:53:14. > :53:18.he hit it any harder, it would have swung away from the red. Good chance

:53:19. > :53:32.of getting a snooker here though, behind the pink.

:53:33. > :53:37.Does he play this dead weight to land on the red or does he play it

:53:38. > :53:43.with pace and try to put distance between object ball and cue ball.

:53:44. > :53:52.Might play it with pace. If he hits that ball, he could send it up the

:53:53. > :54:21.table. That's the sort of line he'd have to take to do that.

:54:22. > :54:27.Good innovation we have used here. A few years ago, they didn't have

:54:28. > :54:34.this. Seems obvious to use the facility that was there. Absolutely.

:54:35. > :54:37.You cath you can guarantee that the blue is not near the cushion. John

:54:38. > :54:44.Higgins wouldn't have pushed it out of play when he played the snooker

:54:45. > :54:59.before because he needs the ball balls. Doesn't look too bad now.

:55:00. > :55:04.I've got a line up previous previously. The white is near enough

:55:05. > :55:09.spot on. He'll be playing the same spot again. I think they've got the

:55:10. > :55:11.blue better now. Certainly away from the cushion a little bit more than

:55:12. > :55:21.it was just before. Played the same shot again. I think

:55:22. > :55:25.he'd play it with pace because if he does hit it full ball, he could send

:55:26. > :55:27.the red back up the table. Let's see if he can get near to the line this

:55:28. > :55:37.time. Tell you what, he'll settle for

:55:38. > :55:50.that. He holds his hand up. That could have gone anywhere.

:55:51. > :55:56.Couple of shots he can play. He might clip off this and put it at

:55:57. > :55:58.the side of the cushion and try to line it up with the blue, keep the

:55:59. > :56:23.snooker. Nothing wrong with that. Mark just having a look to see where

:56:24. > :56:31.he can get the red out to. He's got to hit it very thin. Having to look

:56:32. > :56:32.to see where if red geesing to two. If he can he get white, he's hitting

:56:33. > :56:44.the cushion first now, isn't he? ? Tell you what, that was almost a

:56:45. > :56:52.terrific shot there. He misses the pink. Really well thought out, that.

:56:53. > :57:17.Very clever. Needed that cue ball tight on the

:57:18. > :57:22.cushion and the black prevented that so this is a bit of a chance. It's

:57:23. > :57:32.far from easy under the circumstances. I suppose from what

:57:33. > :57:36.we have seen so far this even evening, his long game hasn't been

:57:37. > :57:44.up to scratch but this is seriously tough. Good cueing for this one.

:57:45. > :57:47.Where's the red going to finish? He's going to leave it up by the

:57:48. > :57:52.looks of it if it misses the green. Oh, what a result he's had there!

:57:53. > :57:54.What a result. If he misses the green with the red, he sticks the

:57:55. > :58:10.lot up. Once it hit that cushion, it misses

:58:11. > :58:16.the green, he sticks it up. But there we go.

:58:17. > :58:23.He had a chance there to play that shot. He's just got the red too

:58:24. > :58:29.thick. The big target there behind the pink with the cue ball but

:58:30. > :58:33.because he hit the red thick, he'd thrown the white wider. Good news

:58:34. > :58:38.is, he hasn't left the red in a potable position. Thought he'd get

:58:39. > :59:21.closer than that. That was a much better shot. A

:59:22. > :59:23.couple of balls that John's knocked in when the cue ball has been frozen

:59:24. > :59:29.on the cushion. Never been in front in the match so

:59:30. > :59:45.far, John Higgins. Did win the first frame, but he lost

:59:46. > :59:47.three in a row. But this would be three in a row for him if he could

:59:48. > :00:02.take it. I suppose the only good news for

:00:03. > :00:06.Mark Selby before with the shot he played was the green came down the

:00:07. > :00:08.table. If it would have been on its spot, it would have been definitely

:00:09. > :00:14.all over. Yellow to green and green back to

:00:15. > :00:35.brown here. It's not all over yet. Has to get past the blue. This is

:00:36. > :00:38.the shot. This is the key shot, as John looks round at the score board.

:00:39. > :00:43.It's in a funny position as well this green. It's one of those ones

:00:44. > :00:55.you would love to stun it in but the middle pocket might be in the way.

:00:56. > :01:18.He needs all the balls. He's the wrong side of the blue but he should

:01:19. > :01:33.be OK. He hasn't had enough side on it. He

:01:34. > :01:39.hasn't played it with enough side. If he pots the pink, Mark Selby will

:01:40. > :01:43.be automobile to tie. What did he do with that blue? He cannot believe it

:01:44. > :01:47.himself. The only thing he couldn't do there was not get into the cue

:01:48. > :01:51.ball. He's got to try and pot the pink now and cannon the black,

:01:52. > :01:56.that's the only way he can get on the black.

:01:57. > :02:07.And he's missed the cannon. Tried to flick the black out. Unbelievable.

:02:08. > :02:14.He cannot believe it, John. He's just looked at the sky and he cannot

:02:15. > :02:18.believe what he's done. If you'd have said to him play the blue and

:02:19. > :02:20.put yourself if an awkward position, he couldn't have done a better job

:02:21. > :02:28.of it! Hit it thinner than he needed. But

:02:29. > :02:47.it's not an easy pot by any means. The things you can do when you're

:02:48. > :02:54.under pressure. Playing gets addled, it's a bit fuzzy, you make poor

:02:55. > :03:02.decisions -- brain gets addled. This is a massive shot. Wasn't easy.

:03:03. > :03:15.In fact, he's in a position here, if he doesn't pot this, every chance he

:03:16. > :03:40.can stick it up. Big, big shot. The thing in John's faink, he gets

:03:41. > :03:44.two bites of the cherry -- in John's favour. I think Mark Selby is going

:03:45. > :03:47.to try to double this back into the right corner and bring the white

:03:48. > :03:55.back up the table by the looks of it.

:03:56. > :04:00.Well, he had the safety in mind as well. Look where he put the cue

:04:01. > :04:21.ball. Well, this is a fabulous return

:04:22. > :04:29.safety shot. That's the best shot of the match. Seriously, that's the

:04:30. > :04:38.best shot of the match. Absolutely wonderful judgment.

:04:39. > :04:57.And that's not too bad either, I can tell you.

:04:58. > :05:03.Brilliant. Wall to wall to wall. Three consecutive shots all top

:05:04. > :05:41.class. That's OK. It's going to be hard

:05:42. > :05:46.enough. John's got a shot here where you send a black all around the

:05:47. > :05:50.angles and hopefully get it on that ball cushion. Keep your eye on the

:05:51. > :05:57.black, see how many cushions it hits. Where's the white... Look

:05:58. > :06:07.where he's got the black! This is some of the best standard of

:06:08. > :06:10.safety play on a black that I've seen for a long, long time. Both

:06:11. > :06:27.players superb. Oh, he hasn't hit it hard enough

:06:28. > :06:36.this time. This is the chance that John Higgins has been waiting for.

:06:37. > :06:46.After that fabulous safety battle on the black, just this needed.

:06:47. > :06:54.And in the black goes. Mark Selby had a break of 56. It wasn't enough

:06:55. > :06:59.and John Higgins wins that frame on the black ball fights and he's back

:07:00. > :07:02.in the lead for the first time since the opening frame, 4-3.

:07:03. > :07:07.The Scot in the lead but then they share Ed the next two frames, so

:07:08. > :07:12.Selby at the table in the next frame and he's five points ahead.

:07:13. > :07:26.-- shared the next two frames. He might have got it behind the blue

:07:27. > :07:31.but not the pink. Oh, he hasn't. Oh! Chance John Higgins.

:07:32. > :07:39.Setting himself up for this difficult, long

:07:40. > :07:56.Oh, he's potted the cracking red but he's not on the green, he's going to

:07:57. > :07:58.have to play the snooker. He needs toe get this absolutely dead tight

:07:59. > :08:10.if he can. He didn't, but OK it's still a

:08:11. > :08:14.snooker, Dennis, but... Tell you what, John Higgins was a few inches

:08:15. > :08:22.away from getting himself into the semi-final. That great red, if it

:08:23. > :08:25.had have dropped away from the green and brown...

:08:26. > :08:28.This was a good pot and he just come right on to the green. A bit

:08:29. > :08:37.unlucky. Played it this way to get distance.

:08:38. > :08:51.Very good shot. There might be a chance to get the

:08:52. > :08:57.snooker behind the pink but he can play it thin off the yellow on the

:08:58. > :09:03.left side if he wants. But that's the one he plays. Is he hard enough?

:09:04. > :09:10.Still a good shot. He had a chance of getting the snooker there.

:09:11. > :09:32.It's been a fabulous frame, this. A little bit of everything.

:09:33. > :09:41.Not a particularly appetising pot that one, is it? No. I think he

:09:42. > :09:47.might be sending this one around the angles.

:09:48. > :10:05.It's not bad. Might get the snooker. Else to escape from. Even someone

:10:06. > :10:07.like Mark Selby, he at times, you're never absolutely sure where the

:10:08. > :10:27.object ball's going to finish up. He's almost potted that. He

:10:28. > :10:32.mis-hitted that. That was not the way he intended to get out of the

:10:33. > :10:50.snooker. Almost potted it and almost snookered him.

:10:51. > :11:04.Wow, what a shot he's taken on there! What a thin yellow he took on

:11:05. > :11:07.there. I don't think Mark Selby thought he was going to try and put

:11:08. > :11:18.that in. I didn't think he was going to take that on. What a shot! Oh,

:11:19. > :11:22.and that is unbelievable. He's potted the most fabulous yellow to

:11:23. > :11:27.get himself on the green, to put himself in the semi-final, and look

:11:28. > :11:34.what happens. Oh, that is just so cruel. It really is.

:11:35. > :11:40.The things that can happen in this game. That was an absolutely

:11:41. > :11:55.brilliant yellow. All set to go and he has a kick like a mule.

:11:56. > :12:01.Looks as if it's a bit too thin for Mark Selby to hold with the

:12:02. > :12:05.brouvenlt you would have to play it with so much more left hand side,

:12:06. > :12:08.making the pot that much more difficult. He can square it and come

:12:09. > :12:15.back in line with the black possibly. Boy it makes the pot so

:12:16. > :12:19.much tougher -- to hold with the brown. It's not that easy to play

:12:20. > :12:27.safe, is it? It's not one of those you can run down the table easily.

:12:28. > :12:37.Is he playing it with the side He is and that's what can happen. He got

:12:38. > :12:43.on the brown but he had so much side on that, on these lively cloths, it

:12:44. > :12:49.maybes the pot so much more difficult.

:12:50. > :13:02.-- makes the pot so much more difficult.

:13:03. > :13:21.He needs the brown, he needs the blue and he needs the pink.

:13:22. > :13:29.That is just pure pressure. Is he going to fluke a snooker behind the

:13:30. > :13:45.blue? No. But he hit that so hard. That was just...

:13:46. > :13:49.There's nothing gone in this situation.

:13:50. > :13:58.What a pot that is! Under the circumstances, he stroked

:13:59. > :14:18.that into the pot beautifully. Not going to be perfect on the pink.

:14:19. > :14:22.He's going to have to cut this in with the rest. OK, the black is

:14:23. > :14:36.safe, takes a little pressure off the pot, but it's not a given.

:14:37. > :14:43.I don't blame him coming round looking at the angle. Not

:14:44. > :15:02.guaranteed, this. It's there. John Higgins played a

:15:03. > :15:06.poor round and Mark Selby's not done with yet, he's taken the frame and

:15:07. > :15:10.we are all square. We are down to a one frame shoot out.

:15:11. > :15:14.So, incredibly, another match of this year's Masters goes the

:15:15. > :15:17.distance. Which one of those heavyweights will hold their nerve?

:15:18. > :15:29.Let's find out, Selby at the table, he's five points behind.

:15:30. > :15:37.Oh, he's missed it. This could be a free ball as well.

:15:38. > :15:45.It's not only a free ball. The flick off the brown has left him with a

:15:46. > :15:50.pot. But of course, at first it looks good but the two Reds aren't

:15:51. > :15:55.pretty. If he can get on the colour off the brown though.

:15:56. > :16:02.He's trying to get over into the spot that you mentioned and he's

:16:03. > :16:05.come up up a bit short. If that runs a bit further across the table, he

:16:06. > :16:09.would have had the angle to get to the reds. He's going to have to

:16:10. > :16:15.leave a tricky one along the cushion and would you want to thank you

:16:16. > :16:22.thatten at this stage? Yes, any angle bar straight.

:16:23. > :16:33.-- take that on at this stage? Well, he has created a bit of angle there.

:16:34. > :16:38.Two ways of playing this. He can play it with a bit of pace, get up

:16:39. > :16:45.the table, if he pots it he can put Mark in all sorts of trouble. Do you

:16:46. > :16:57.try and drop it in? He's 17 points in front.

:16:58. > :17:04.No. But he's trying to cover it. He played it in such a way that he

:17:05. > :17:09.tried to cover it but I don't think he has. Has he? He's covered it but

:17:10. > :17:15.I think he might be able to pot this off the cushion.

:17:16. > :17:28.If anybody can pull this off, it's Mark Selby. Yes.

:17:29. > :17:41.I don't think there is an angle to get back on the red. I think he's

:17:42. > :17:46.dropped in a place where he can't do it. Yellow looks like it's straight,

:17:47. > :17:51.no good, too much angle on the blue, unless he plays the blue and plays a

:17:52. > :17:55.cannon on the red to try and knock it out. But then you've got a bit of

:17:56. > :18:00.luck there. What about bringing the green into play and getting the

:18:01. > :18:02.snooker? Yes, might be his alternative. He's looking at the

:18:03. > :18:14.brown. That'll take some cue action. He's got so many choices here. I

:18:15. > :18:17.think if he can bring the green into play. Looking at this table, I think

:18:18. > :18:42.you're dead right. A 16-point advantage doesn't mean a

:18:43. > :18:49.great deal because the colours are all now available. Not quite a

:18:50. > :18:56.snooker, but boy does he need a thin edge here.

:18:57. > :19:08.You know, with Mark Selby and his knowledge, that he could quite

:19:09. > :19:14.easily hit the cushion and possibly get the snooker behind the black.

:19:15. > :19:22.Just got to make sure he gets the red thick enough, that the cue ball

:19:23. > :19:26.doesn't get lost, but not too thick that it hits the black with the red.

:19:27. > :19:57.Not totally straightforward. Not a straightforward safety shot.

:19:58. > :20:11.Just thinking, do you talk this on? I'm sure John will suss something

:20:12. > :20:19.out if he wants to play safety, but nothing straightforward.

:20:20. > :20:32.If there's no safety shot on, he'll have to have a go at it.

:20:33. > :20:42.Well, I never thought that that was pottable, but...

:20:43. > :21:08.This is a shot you would be setting up in practice.

:21:09. > :21:16.It's a good pot. He didn't want to bang on the ball cushion.

:21:17. > :21:21.Unbelievable that these things can happen. That bounces another three

:21:22. > :21:44.or four inches, it's probably game over.

:21:45. > :21:50.Trying to get all the way around the angles here, so he needs to pull out

:21:51. > :21:55.an absolute cracker here. That is a very big second prize he's

:21:56. > :21:58.just had. You can hit that blue and finish anywhere. He's finished in a

:21:59. > :22:03.spot where if he knocks the owe low in, he's going to be on the green.

:22:04. > :22:09.That wasn't the worst kiss I've ever seen. -- yellow in, he's going to be

:22:10. > :22:18.on the green. You are not far wrong, John. If he

:22:19. > :22:28.misses the blue, he's going to be over the left side of the table.

:22:29. > :22:35.The tension here at the Alexandra Palace is quite something at the

:22:36. > :22:48.moment. What a conclusion to this quarter-final.

:22:49. > :22:56.Well, everything's happened. The yellow wobbled four or five times,

:22:57. > :23:03.it's dropped in, but because of the way he potted it, he hasn't finished

:23:04. > :23:05.on the green. Seven points the difference as we show you this

:23:06. > :23:21.yellow. What else are we going to see? ! It

:23:22. > :23:25.looked as if it would be on the green there, but it haltn't turned

:23:26. > :23:29.out that way. -- hasn't turned out that way.

:23:30. > :23:56.It's knocked the blue awkward and the pink awkward, but the pink is

:23:57. > :24:02.not absolutely safe and he's got a chance here of the green. I think

:24:03. > :24:14.the blue came to John's rescue there. That's the massive bonus.

:24:15. > :24:26.It's a good shot anyway, but to get position bang on the brown and flick

:24:27. > :24:30.the blue out, is asking a lot. Over cut it.

:24:31. > :24:40.Is he going to be hampered? The green past the brown.

:24:41. > :25:22.He's going to play the slow roll behind the brown. No, he's not.

:25:23. > :25:51.Not the best shot that John's ever played.

:25:52. > :26:01.It's all about the brown. Fancy him to pot the green, but how is he

:26:02. > :26:14.going to finish on the brown, that's the question.

:26:15. > :26:23.That is just a brilliant shot. I don't know whether he can move the

:26:24. > :26:30.blue but that was a brilliantly controlled shot on the green. Have a

:26:31. > :26:35.look at the score board. If he pots the brown, it's five five, 69 points

:26:36. > :26:45.each. You can't get any closer than that. What a quarter-final.

:26:46. > :26:49.Just over four hours of fascinating snooker from these two great

:26:50. > :26:58.players. There's all sorts of things he could

:26:59. > :27:02.do here. He hasn't got the anningle to cannon the blue out. It's in a

:27:03. > :27:13.really awkward spot for removing that blue. He's having a look. Is he

:27:14. > :27:16.looking at the back double? If he's playing that, he's playing the white

:27:17. > :27:21.up and down the table to get on the pink. When he pots this, the

:27:22. > :27:30.situation is both players need blue and pink.

:27:31. > :27:37.He'll be playing the back double now. Cross double maybe. I don't

:27:38. > :27:44.think so. He's surely going to play safe. He's looking at it. There's

:27:45. > :27:47.his... He's looking at doubling that screwing off the cushion to get

:27:48. > :27:51.behind the pink. What a shot this would be to pull off. If he pull us

:27:52. > :27:56.this off, it would bring the house down. This to keep himself in this

:27:57. > :28:11.year's Masters. Is he on the pink? What a shot he's

:28:12. > :28:16.played there. Oh, my goodness. What a shot that was. Now, Dennis, do you

:28:17. > :28:22.play this pink? The middle pocket? What a shot on the blue! ? I fancy

:28:23. > :28:25.the top pocket as we see the white come round. He's looking at the

:28:26. > :28:30.angle to the middle pocket, he's looking at the angle to the corner,

:28:31. > :28:38.he's going for the middle. Here we go.

:28:39. > :28:48.Absolutely amaze amazing. Mark Selby just could couldn't get up. He was

:28:49. > :28:53.5-3 down. He's won three frames in a row and

:28:54. > :28:58.what a finish, Mark Selby still in this year's Masters. He beat John

:28:59. > :29:01.Higgins 6-5. We were here in the venue last night

:29:02. > :29:06.and there was a huge amount of relief in the Mark Selby camp there

:29:07. > :29:10.because it looked in doubt half way through. He came in for a chat

:29:11. > :29:13.during the highlights and he said he didn't know what happened, just fell

:29:14. > :29:18.asleep during the game? Yes, but what a finish. Not many players in

:29:19. > :29:23.the game come back from 4-3 down to beat John Higgins. I know John

:29:24. > :29:27.Higgins not at his extreme best but still a great player. What a finish

:29:28. > :29:31.that. Blue was amazing to get that close to the pink. Not only the shot

:29:32. > :29:35.itself but the way he worked it out. A lot of players might have played

:29:36. > :29:38.the cross double but he knew he had to get over to that side for the

:29:39. > :29:46.pink and he absolutely couldn't have played that any better. Do you fancy

:29:47. > :29:50.Mark Selby to beat the next player? People just can't beat him at the

:29:51. > :29:54.moment. John Higgins, that will hurt him because a few years ago, he

:29:55. > :29:57.would have won that. If you are getting in from work, we have a

:29:58. > :30:03.treat for you. We are going to show you what happened in the match this

:30:04. > :30:08.afternoon between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ricky Walden. The Rocket raced

:30:09. > :30:10.into a 3-0 lead. Here are the early stages of frame four, Ronnie at the

:30:11. > :30:24.table. He couldn't pop that. He swerved

:30:25. > :30:31.that. That's an amazing shot. Watch this here.

:30:32. > :30:39.He swerved around the ball. He held his hand up to apologise, I thought.

:30:40. > :30:44.They say things happen for you when you are playing well, boy, is he

:30:45. > :30:53.playing well. He did put his hand up to say sorry about that one, but he

:30:54. > :30:58.won't be if he follows it with 80. No matter how good you are, you

:30:59. > :31:03.can't pull a shot like that off. He pulled it off but held up his hand

:31:04. > :31:12.to acknowledge it was a bit of good luck.

:31:13. > :31:16.Already four reds are available for Ronnie after this, before he has to

:31:17. > :33:01.move the pack. Not the best of a bunch to go into.

:33:02. > :33:05.He probably stung it rather than screw it.

:33:06. > :33:07.Well he did screw it this time. I don't think he's on a red. Usually

:33:08. > :33:25.plays that shot so well. Does this red go past the oter into

:33:26. > :33:54.the middle? Surely not. Can he make the potting angle on the

:33:55. > :33:56.pink? APPLAUSE

:33:57. > :34:02.Phenomenal. There really is no other word.

:34:03. > :34:09.Not only to pot the red but to leave the pink. It was so tight to get on

:34:10. > :34:13.the pink. Ricky just can't believe what is

:34:14. > :34:35.going on here. Well, he can believe it, he is watching it but...

:34:36. > :34:49.Well, you are watching the best player that ever lived, playing his

:34:50. > :34:54.best and it is a treat. Just a bit of a distraction there.

:34:55. > :34:59.He spotted something on the ball. Maybe where he has gone to strike

:35:00. > :35:06.it. Paul Collier, well he has to be on

:35:07. > :35:10.his toes, the way that Ronnie is playing. It is an art refereeing

:35:11. > :35:24.when you have someone as quick as Ronnie, but Paul is one of the top

:35:25. > :35:27.referees. We have had everything. Only a

:35:28. > :35:41.century break. He flicked that out there, trying to

:35:42. > :35:47.get on the pink, but the black will do. I mean, he is already the

:35:48. > :35:51.tournament favourite but if he plays like this, who is going to beat him?

:35:52. > :35:57.It really is that good. Irthink that the only one that can

:35:58. > :36:11.beat Ronnie O'Sullivan this week is Ronnie O'Sullivan! Yep. Sometimes

:36:12. > :36:22.his game isn't as good as it can be but when it's like this, it really

:36:23. > :36:28.is something very, very special. He's already on 93. This has been

:36:29. > :36:36.just wonderful. He's made 28 centuries this season so far.

:36:37. > :36:50.APPLAUSE That is Ronnie O'Sullivan's, believe

:36:51. > :37:00.it or not, 724 ht century break. Yes, I just said there 724 century

:37:01. > :37:07.breaks. Now only a matter of centuries behind the great Steven's

:37:08. > :37:11.record. So whatever the people have paid

:37:12. > :37:12.today for the tickets, they are getting great value for money,

:37:13. > :37:38.because this is very special. That was the 14th century. A little

:37:39. > :37:42.exhibition shot to finish it all off.

:37:43. > :37:50.This looks perfect. Absolutely perfect.

:37:51. > :37:56.APPLAUSE? Well, you have just witnessed an

:37:57. > :38:07.unbelievable session of snooker! The crowd erupt here at the Ally Pally

:38:08. > :38:13.and Ronnie O'Sullivan with four-frame and winning breaks.

:38:14. > :38:21.An utterly outstanding performance from the world champion. Ronnie

:38:22. > :38:24.O'Sullivan needing 19 minutes to finish off Ricky Walden. Job done,

:38:25. > :38:39.the Rocket is into the last four. Well done to Ricky. He's been

:38:40. > :38:43.playing well. I am just pleased I got through to be fair. So, yes, I'm

:38:44. > :38:48.happy. Obviously it is disappointing. You

:38:49. > :38:55.want to play a good shift of snooker. Obviously I was not able to

:38:56. > :39:01.do that. He was pretty impressive. I was just concentrating on each

:39:02. > :39:05.ball, each frame. Trying to stay in the grove, the concentration. Just

:39:06. > :39:11.trying to stay with every moment, every frame. To be as professional

:39:12. > :39:16.as I can. That is the first time I have ever felt helpless on a snooker

:39:17. > :39:19.table. I didn't get a go or have a shot, really. I took a real good

:39:20. > :39:25.beating there. It was a real good beating. 5 a 6

:39:26. > :39:29.unanswered points. That is a new world record.

:39:30. > :39:34.Yes, it was awesome, epic. Probably the best of all of the times I have

:39:35. > :39:39.come to the Masters, probably the best performance I have seen from

:39:40. > :39:44.anybody. 56 minutes, beating one of the best players in the game. It was

:39:45. > :39:50.just, words are hard to describe it. A bit of sympathy for Ricky. The

:39:51. > :39:55.only time he has felt helpless in a venue like this? Have to feel sorry

:39:56. > :40:00.for him a little. He was looking forward to the occasion, but that is

:40:01. > :40:06.sport. Especially in snooker. If you are not at the table, there is

:40:07. > :40:10.nothing to do with it. Even Ronnie O'Sullivan will not always play that

:40:11. > :40:21.well. That was an incredible play today. And also high lighted -- and

:40:22. > :40:29.also high lighting one of the great sports stars in this country?

:40:30. > :40:33.Absolutely. He is box office. Whatever they paid in today, it it

:40:34. > :40:37.was money well spent. I know that they were short-changed with the

:40:38. > :40:41.time but not with the performance. They will not witness that for a

:40:42. > :40:46.long, long time. It was amazing. Amazing. Let's show

:40:47. > :40:51.you how the draw is looking as we reach the latter stages of the

:40:52. > :41:11.matches. This is the quarter-final draw: So

:41:12. > :41:17.let's talk about Robertson taking on Maguire. Of course the Scot is a man

:41:18. > :41:22.that the Aussie knows all about. The first seven or eight times we

:41:23. > :41:26.played, I beat him once. I have gotten the better of him in the last

:41:27. > :41:31.four to five times. He was the sort of player I was looking at, thinking

:41:32. > :41:37.I have to change my game. To develop a safety game. He was far too good.

:41:38. > :41:42.In some way it is is thanks to him that my game developed so much. I

:41:43. > :41:45.felt like he outplayed me in all departments whenever we played. He

:41:46. > :41:49.is a bit of a bully around the table when he is playing well. He is very

:41:50. > :41:54.imposing when he is playing great. He has a bit of a temper but it

:41:55. > :41:59.really works for him. Sometimes he can be playing terrible in a match.

:42:00. > :42:06.Then he can punch the table and break his hand, almost, then play

:42:07. > :42:11.three or four flawless frames. He will be keen to make amends to the

:42:12. > :42:18.UK Championships and keen to start winning big tournaments.

:42:19. > :42:22.I have won the UK Championship championship. It is hard to follow

:42:23. > :42:28.that up. To win the Masters, I mean, mark Selby did it last year. Very

:42:29. > :42:32.few players have done it. I am not under pressure to keep it going. It

:42:33. > :42:36.is on myself because I want to win the tournament.

:42:37. > :42:41.Well, it was all straightforward for Neil Robertson against Maguire. Are

:42:42. > :42:47.you expecting the same match tonight? I think that they will not

:42:48. > :42:53.look back at past results. Steven, that would hurt him. He played well

:42:54. > :42:58.in the first-round match. One of the thing, Maguire won the big

:42:59. > :43:08.tournaments earlier on but he has not done as well as he should have

:43:09. > :43:14.done. What is your impress of o? Consistency. He has surpassed Judd

:43:15. > :43:19.Trump, but his all-round play, the match-play, he had to improve on the

:43:20. > :43:23.safety game as the past matches again Maguire, the safety was not

:43:24. > :43:29.good enough. He has improved that immensely. Now he is the toughest

:43:30. > :43:37.player to beat on the circuit. And briefly, Neo Robertson, mark

:43:38. > :43:42.Selby, they were aware of what Ronnie has done, what is that like?

:43:43. > :43:47.They will not be scared. They will fancy themselves unbeaten, but when

:43:48. > :43:51.someone plays that well, 600 points unanswered, you cannot ignore that,

:43:52. > :43:57.but they will look forward to the challenge. Seg by has a good record

:43:58. > :44:04.in this challenge. And Robertson is the world number one. He will want

:44:05. > :44:07.to show his best. Who do you fancy? Never discount Maguire, he is a

:44:08. > :44:13.tough match player. So you can watch that live on the

:44:14. > :44:20.BBC. Hazel will be back. And then you can press the red button and

:44:21. > :44:25.watch the match live via the BBC sports website. Thank you very much

:44:26. > :44:35.to Ken Doherty, and Stephen Hendry. A fantastic game, Trevor -- Ronnie

:44:36. > :44:40.O'Sullivan beating Ricky walled ren. Ladies and gentlemen, you have been

:44:41. > :44:58.watching the Ronnie O'Sullivan Show. Goodbye for now.