Quarter-Final: Trump v Robertson

:01:14. > :01:21.Hello, good afternoon, welcome to Alexandra Palace, home of the 2016

:01:22. > :01:27.Dafabet Masters. It is a beautiful day in North London, will it be good

:01:28. > :01:30.for two of the four men looking to book their place in the semifinals

:01:31. > :01:35.of this tournament to join Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins? By

:01:36. > :01:41.Sullivan reached the last four with an impressive 6-3 win over former

:01:42. > :01:44.number one Mark Selby, the match-winning clearance described by

:01:45. > :01:48.Steve Davis as the greatest of all time. In the evening quarterfinal,

:01:49. > :01:54.Barry Hawkins one only his second match here at the Masters, beating

:01:55. > :01:58.Mark Allen 6-2 to book his place in Tamara's first semifinal. Wilkins

:01:59. > :02:04.will play the winner of the quarterfinal today between Judd

:02:05. > :02:07.Trump and Neil Robertson, it it is Trump's first quarterfinal here at

:02:08. > :02:11.the Masters since 2013 but he takes on winner of the champion of

:02:12. > :02:15.champions and winner of the Championship in York, Neil

:02:16. > :02:20.Robertson, and for many, the man to beat.

:02:21. > :02:25.The target on my back must be the same size as the table. Nobody on

:02:26. > :02:29.the tour likes to the one guy cleaning up. I am fully aware I am

:02:30. > :02:35.the target and everybody wants to beat me now and stop the run I am

:02:36. > :02:40.on. I feel like this is a tournament I should be winning here and to be

:02:41. > :02:44.remembered as a great player, either have to win these tournaments. I

:02:45. > :02:49.have only got to one semi which is not good enough.

:02:50. > :02:54.I definitely have that confidence were I am walking around the table,

:02:55. > :02:59.I know if I am playing well, I will create my own chances.

:03:00. > :03:05.The confidence is nowhere near what it was when I first broke through. I

:03:06. > :03:10.think my all-round game is 100 times better but the confidence is the big

:03:11. > :03:14.thing stop it is going to be a really top match, we have had more

:03:15. > :03:20.top bottles of years. He has not got the best record you so I am sure he

:03:21. > :03:24.has all the motivation he needs, not just plainly to try to get a good

:03:25. > :03:28.result this week. The London crowd get into it more and it gets you all

:03:29. > :03:33.for it and sometimes I want to win so badly here that I tried to hard

:03:34. > :03:35.as I take you long and I think too much, it is getting that compromise

:03:36. > :03:40.back and enjoy myself, not worry about losing and putting on a show

:03:41. > :03:45.but also getting through to the next round.

:03:46. > :03:49.Judd Trump has one of the most explosive games in World Snooker

:03:50. > :03:53.today with an ability to blitz his opponents. Has not won a tournament

:03:54. > :03:58.since March and he will need to bring his a game to get past

:03:59. > :04:01.today's, double opponents. You'll Robertson in my opinion is that best

:04:02. > :04:06.long putter in the game and one of the best break-builders. What I like

:04:07. > :04:09.most, he is one of the greatest winners, able to save his best form

:04:10. > :04:13.for the biggest events. Expect fireworks. It is going to be

:04:14. > :04:20.a cracking afternoon at Alexandra Palace. But some's 11 appearances at

:04:21. > :04:27.the Masters, the Shaun Murphy 2012 to win loss last year. The

:04:28. > :04:32.Australian won the last meeting in a European tour event last season. The

:04:33. > :04:35.players are ready, let's join our MC, Rob Walker.

:04:36. > :04:41.Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. There has been so much

:04:42. > :04:45.banter into the build-up of this match, it is a rerun of a great

:04:46. > :04:48.semifinal in 2012, a cussing sporting rivalry. It is England

:04:49. > :04:54.against Australia for a place in the semifinals and this -- at this

:04:55. > :05:03.year's Dafabet Masters. APPLAUSE.

:05:04. > :05:08.Please welcome the most exciting player of his generation. Winner of

:05:09. > :05:14.four ranking titles including the UK and International Championships.

:05:15. > :05:19.When he is in the groove and in the balls, he is great to watch. Here he

:05:20. > :05:23.is with his own brand of naughty Snooker, the ace in the pack, Judd

:05:24. > :05:48.Trump! WALK-ON MUSIC.

:05:49. > :05:56.And his opponent, what an impact he has had since his arrival from

:05:57. > :06:01.Australia just over a decade ago. World champion in 2010, Masters

:06:02. > :06:05.winner in 2012 and he is on a roll this season, having already won the

:06:06. > :06:11.Champion of champions and UK title. Ladies and gentlemen, can you hear

:06:12. > :06:37.the Thunder from Down Under? Here comes Neil Robertson! WALK-ON MUSIC.

:06:38. > :06:43.Just one previous meeting at the Masters in the semifinals of the

:06:44. > :06:49.2012 event that Neil Robertson beat Judd Trump by 6-3 and this will be

:06:50. > :06:57.great. Sit back, relax and enjoy the company of John Virgo and Steve

:06:58. > :07:02.Davis. Good afternoon, everybody. As John Parrott said, look out for some

:07:03. > :07:08.fireworks. This has all the makings of a classic match. Not able to

:07:09. > :07:13.choose between them. When you look at the records, in some of the

:07:14. > :07:28.longer matches, Judd has the slight edge on Neil Robertson. Yes, but it

:07:29. > :07:34.has been very tight. What is certain is the reds players have been

:07:35. > :07:41.regular features on our major tournaments -- these players. In the

:07:42. > :07:46.final stages. So you would expect them to be experienced enough to get

:07:47. > :07:53.off to a good start. Not to be overwhelmed by the occasion of the

:07:54. > :08:02.Masters. Yes, the new breed. A packed house, great atmosphere. Both

:08:03. > :08:03.players great potters. You are going to see outstanding shots played

:08:04. > :08:17.today. Just playing the containing safety

:08:18. > :08:23.but did not catch it quite right so he may have left a pot for Judd

:08:24. > :08:31.here. Just sticking out of the main cluster. I do get to the far right

:08:32. > :08:48.or this led to the corner and a cannon to the right of the black. --

:08:49. > :08:52.red. Not quite, half a chance. And sometimes at this level, those half

:08:53. > :09:17.chances can make the difference between winning and losing a frame.

:09:18. > :09:24.Not easy for Neil Robertson to play this loose red in the bottom half of

:09:25. > :09:30.the table and guarantee any path back to the top of the table. It

:09:31. > :09:41.could collide with brown or green. That red does pot into the middle

:09:42. > :09:49.pocket even at that angle. When you'll Robertson has left that, he

:09:50. > :09:55.is hoping if Judd does get it, he gets on a colour.

:09:56. > :09:58.Somebody's earpiece is quite loud, could you check them and turned them

:09:59. > :10:04.down? Thank you. Strange choice of shocked

:10:05. > :10:10.to read an opportunity to leave this red. It would have been better had

:10:11. > :10:25.he got it tight on the baulk cushion. Yes. As you say, Steve, he

:10:26. > :10:27.was not guaranteed a colour. He played it well but a surprising

:10:28. > :10:59.choice of shot from Neil. Where has the cue gone? It is tough

:11:00. > :11:08.to get it in their past the yellow. I know, it is amazing. It must have

:11:09. > :11:10.checked a bit off the first cushion. Normally, you would think the yellow

:11:11. > :11:37.wood block the path. I don't think... Maybe he can play

:11:38. > :11:44.with just a trace of side to get to the potting angle.

:11:45. > :11:56.That trademark alignment of Judd Trump, looking like he was aiming to

:11:57. > :12:00.miss the red to the top cushion to start with and then he readjusted

:12:01. > :12:07.and he missed it to the side. Top weight of Lake Snooker going across

:12:08. > :12:10.the line of the shot, but it works for him -- a tough way to play

:12:11. > :12:18.snooker. Keep an eye on the straight cueing. Robertson.

:12:19. > :12:28.That is an easier way to play, I feel! Yes, I don't think anybody in

:12:29. > :12:35.the game wishes the cue a straight as Neil. -- pushes. That is why he

:12:36. > :12:41.is one of the best potters in the game. A bit careless, that. From

:12:42. > :12:45.Judd. That might be the slight difference between the two players.

:12:46. > :12:49.If it came to a tactical battle which I do not expect it to, but it

:12:50. > :12:55.just slightly favours Neil Robertson. If you look at longevity

:12:56. > :12:58.within the game, I would say that Neil Robertson's straight cueing

:12:59. > :13:20.holds him in better stead. Judd did come into the studio after

:13:21. > :13:21.his first match and he was sort of saying he was not especially

:13:22. > :13:36.confident at the moment. Yes, it has been a long time between

:13:37. > :13:48.drinks. With regards to winning events. He has taken a bit of a risk

:13:49. > :13:50.here. Yes, this looks like a gift. Not sure what he was playing. Surely

:13:51. > :14:19.not that. The reds have spread out a bit but

:14:20. > :14:24.there are a lot of them and not easy to guarantee position. Although if

:14:25. > :14:29.he was to open them up, he would feel a bit aggrieved if he did not

:14:30. > :14:51.get on something. He will settle for that.

:14:52. > :15:02.Just having a look. He has already looked past this red and probably he

:15:03. > :15:06.will run through for the black. Just looking at the sort of angle he

:15:07. > :15:16.needs on the black. He may be playing for the pink here. He

:15:17. > :15:20.decided to go back for the blue but with the red, having to avoid the

:15:21. > :15:26.second, I do not see how he could have got the right side of the blue.

:15:27. > :15:46.No, it was tough. He was loath to tie up the pink.

:15:47. > :15:50.He would have liked the cue ball to come of that second cushion a bit

:15:51. > :16:18.wider. Well, he will be usually -- well, we

:16:19. > :16:21.have been eulogising about his straight cue, that was not very

:16:22. > :16:28.straight. That little piece you put on the end of the cue is not massive

:16:29. > :16:37.but it does change the throw of a shot, the dynamic of the cue. Nicely

:16:38. > :16:47.played. He controlled the cue ball, affect on the black. -- perfect.

:16:48. > :17:06.He does not want that cue ball going to close to the cushion, it is just

:17:07. > :17:24.about all right. That was not an easy black so he did

:17:25. > :17:33.not risk very much the positional side of things but he has to put

:17:34. > :17:40.into the middle, obviously. He was out opposition enough that it was

:17:41. > :17:46.admissible. -- out opposition. He has had a couple of mistakes to

:17:47. > :17:53.begin this all-important match for a place in the semifinals. That is not

:17:54. > :17:57.the greatest shot. That has got a bit of side spin, that is handy, I

:17:58. > :18:11.thought it would end up on the side cushion.

:18:12. > :18:26.Well! This is a surprise! Not too sure that was totally his fault. A

:18:27. > :18:34.puzzled look on his face, that is for certain. Isn't it funny? You

:18:35. > :18:39.expect a match and I suppose the reds came out expecting the match to

:18:40. > :18:44.be a bombardment, you never know what is going to happen any snooker

:18:45. > :18:53.table. No, as we always say, no two frames alike. But both players a bit

:18:54. > :19:02.tight in the arm. It is a big match. They respect one another's ability.

:19:03. > :19:21.He struck that well. I think he has just got a slight angle on the blue.

:19:22. > :19:26.You would have liked more. He has not got many opportunities to go

:19:27. > :19:33.into the pack. And that is always going to be a risk, coming from that

:19:34. > :19:34.side, but he has got a good result. Just got enough pace on that cue

:19:35. > :19:56.ball. Now, can he dropped this blue in and

:19:57. > :20:04.go for the red? He can do it comfortably. He has already spurned

:20:05. > :20:28.one decent opportunity. Can he make the most of this one?

:20:29. > :20:40.He just seems to be now getting the cue through a lot better. Not the

:20:41. > :20:56.right side of the blue this time. He decided to go in and out of

:20:57. > :21:01.baulk, I am not certain that was a good idea. No, it if he could just

:21:02. > :21:07.screw back, he would have left himself a possibly easier one. As he

:21:08. > :21:19.is left-handed, that makes this shot a lot easier. That is why I thought

:21:20. > :21:24.he would play that red. He was only fractions away to snooker himself

:21:25. > :21:31.behind the blue, so it was a risk playing in and out of baulk on such

:21:32. > :21:36.a straight blue. I agree, he looks like he is all of a sudden settling

:21:37. > :21:41.his cueing down in what could be an all-important first frame.

:21:42. > :21:49.Especially as both players looked a bit tense. This blue and one more

:21:50. > :22:00.red to leave Neil Robertson needing snookers. This red will put 1039

:22:01. > :22:06.points in front, just 35 remaining. -- will put him 39. Bless you!

:22:07. > :22:23.Somebody sneezed just on the shot. But it did not put him off! As you

:22:24. > :22:28.should do when something distracts you, at get up and go through your

:22:29. > :22:38.routine again. Neil Robertson missed a black of the spot. That is usually

:22:39. > :22:42.a costly thing to do at this level. And as Steve and I just remarked, he

:22:43. > :22:52.just seems to be getting the cue nice and smooth now, Judd Trump.

:22:53. > :23:00.Well, two snookers needed, you would think being the first frame, Neil

:23:01. > :23:06.Robertson would carry on. Relatively nice little area behind black and

:23:07. > :23:12.pink at some stage, not sure he could get it from the shot. He will

:23:13. > :23:20.have to be tight behind one of them. Yes, my mistake, it it is three

:23:21. > :23:30.snookers at the moment, 34 point snookers required. -- three, four

:23:31. > :23:45.point. More likely to need a free ball.

:23:46. > :24:00.That object ball was so close to the cushion, he realised by claiming it

:24:01. > :24:06.with the top spin, it would check. That is what it did and he had right

:24:07. > :24:11.hand side on the cue ball, it could not have worked out better. Judd

:24:12. > :24:14.just has to be careful he does not leave a free ball. Good hit. Very

:24:15. > :24:25.good hit. Neil Robertson will not be potting

:24:26. > :24:58.this red. It just ran past. He has got the

:24:59. > :25:04.double! And that is the end of any thought of Neil Robertson getting

:25:05. > :25:10.the snookers now, he will not be coming back to the table in this

:25:11. > :25:17.first frame. A little bit of Judd's naughty snooker now. Didn't he cue

:25:18. > :25:20.that beautifully? It is funny, the first shots he played, I thought

:25:21. > :25:27.maybe he is not quite on it today. Neil Robertson missed the black off

:25:28. > :25:33.the spot and it seems to have invigorated Judd somewhat. I think

:25:34. > :25:37.that can happen. You can walk out and play some rotten shots and feel

:25:38. > :25:45.rubbish. And then your opponent lets you off the hook, you get some nice

:25:46. > :25:56.starters under the belt and the next minute, you are a world-beater.

:25:57. > :26:02.Well, he has certainly entertained the crowd with this little break!

:26:03. > :26:08.That was a seven cushion positional shot! Fantastic. It is a pity but in

:26:09. > :26:14.the end, it started a bit scrappy but when Neil Robertson missed a

:26:15. > :26:16.black, he seemed to inspire Judd and he flew away with it. He wins the

:26:17. > :26:25.first frame 1-0. Usually tense encounters between

:26:26. > :26:30.these two but a shaky start. That was an entertaining first frame.

:26:31. > :26:35.Yes, sometimes it just sets the tone for the match, first frame. Stephen

:26:36. > :26:39.in the commentary box was one of the best at winning that first frame and

:26:40. > :26:43.it is very important and I have seen Neil Robertson missed more balls in

:26:44. > :26:48.the opening frame than I have seen in the last six matches he has

:26:49. > :26:52.played, he has been flawless mostly. He looked nervous so although he won

:26:53. > :26:56.the Champion of champions in the UK, he knows this is dangerous and

:26:57. > :27:04.potentially a stun in his shoe. What is your assessment of the opening

:27:05. > :27:07.exchanges? The same ash -- as John. Disappointed with Neil Robertson,

:27:08. > :27:10.one of the greatest winners and very reliable at starting quickly in

:27:11. > :27:15.major events. That can affect you, the start he has had and it can take

:27:16. > :27:19.a couple of frames to get going. Judd is an inspirational player and

:27:20. > :27:23.the last thing you want to do is give him confidence. Like Jimmy

:27:24. > :27:27.White, if you do not take your chances and let him know you are

:27:28. > :27:32.there to play, it will be a tough afternoon. Neil Robertson thinks, it

:27:33. > :27:36.you are not afraid of me and I think Judd thinks he can beat Neil

:27:37. > :27:40.Robertson and that is why he has a good record. He needs to get going

:27:41. > :27:43.in this match early on and on the next frame because Judd is the type

:27:44. > :27:51.to just run away. When you see and hear Judd, talking about not going

:27:52. > :27:55.out any more and concentrating on his game, DC a different Judd Trump?

:27:56. > :27:58.If he wants to be the best in the game and be number one and win more

:27:59. > :28:18.titles, he has to dedicate himself to the game.

:28:19. > :28:29.Decent break-off shot from Neil Robertson. Judd on all reds. It is a

:28:30. > :28:34.pack with loose reds on either side, it is not straightforward to come

:28:35. > :28:46.off the side cushion and nestle into them. You have to be a little

:28:47. > :28:51.careful here. Good break off as well and it did not tie up the black.

:28:52. > :29:03.Although that is not exactly easy to control. Speculative play from Judd,

:29:04. > :29:08.getting the light and he will have another couple of attempts. He will

:29:09. > :29:13.be happy with that first attempt, it will be quite close. You expect him

:29:14. > :29:18.to readjust with the second. The one thing you wary of, especially on the

:29:19. > :29:27.first is catching the 59 -- red too thick.

:29:28. > :29:45.He could not have played that better. Well played.

:29:46. > :30:04.Much too thick, and very fortunate. Having caught that red so thick and

:30:05. > :30:09.gone into the jaws, very lucky not to leave a red on. Touching ball is

:30:10. > :30:45.a help to Acra Temple one. A little bit short of pace, but the

:30:46. > :30:55.yellow has come in very handy. It looks like once again Judd is

:30:56. > :31:02.snookered on Allred 's but not too hard to come into the reds just

:31:03. > :31:06.below the pink. -- snookers on all reds.

:31:07. > :31:20.Neil Robertson could risk trying to get tight behind the yellow, but

:31:21. > :31:36.it's still going to be hard to force an opening. Arguably he could play a

:31:37. > :31:42.shot that gets Judd to open a few red balls up. You could swerve

:31:43. > :31:46.around the pack but it is a tough judgment shot. You could catch it

:31:47. > :31:50.too thick. So he is going up and down. That is risky as well. So well

:31:51. > :31:52.played. APPLAUSE

:31:53. > :32:10.That was another terrific shot. To judge it so well coming off a

:32:11. > :32:19.cushion, excellent. This red is going to be pottable to the bottom

:32:20. > :32:23.left corner, and kissing the yellow makes it that much easier. Judd with

:32:24. > :32:27.his hand on the table can manoeuvre the cue ball.

:32:28. > :32:43.Well, from such a thin cut to actually get a bit of screw back on

:32:44. > :32:48.there to hold the cue ball was superb. One of the strengths of Judd

:32:49. > :33:26.Trump's game, he gets a lot of action on the cue ball.

:33:27. > :33:34.Coming down for the black. I can only assume that that red that is

:33:35. > :33:39.just above and to the right of the black spot will go into the opposite

:33:40. > :33:50.corner here. Of course that is very handy for Judd. Now of course he has

:33:51. > :33:52.got the black on its spot and available into both corners, this is

:33:53. > :34:10.an excellent opportunity. You always need a bit of luck when

:34:11. > :34:18.you go into them, and having a look at his body language, what is he on?

:34:19. > :34:29.He could just get through to that red. He had to play it with a trace

:34:30. > :34:45.of right-hand side just to turn the red over slightly. Played it well.

:34:46. > :34:56.No need to go into the reds again from that shot. There would have

:34:57. > :35:05.been a bit of danger involved in that.

:35:06. > :35:12.A little bit straighter on the blue would have been ideal. As Steve

:35:13. > :35:19.said, he didn't really need to have to play any more cannons. OK, he's

:35:20. > :35:24.on this red, but it was all about the positional play. If he had got

:35:25. > :35:27.that, pot one red and clear the path for another.

:35:28. > :35:34.But he landed on a red. This is a frame-winning opportunity, no doubt

:35:35. > :35:45.about that. We know that Judd is not frightened

:35:46. > :35:52.of winning! It would be an interesting scenario to have the

:35:53. > :35:59.player in form asked a few questions here, at 2-0 down, should that be

:36:00. > :36:01.the case. He can't keep in form all season. Somewhere down the line, the

:36:02. > :36:15.wheels have to fall off. I suggest, John, he has to get his B

:36:16. > :36:22.game going as we say. He's certainly capable of that. And when we say the

:36:23. > :36:27.B game, of course he is a very good all-round player, but I don't think

:36:28. > :36:28.he's going to get any more opportunity to do anything more in

:36:29. > :36:34.this frame. So, a red and a black, that is all

:36:35. > :36:52.that is needed. APPLAUSE

:36:53. > :36:57.And amazingly enough, that is his highest break of the tournament so

:36:58. > :37:01.far! It's hard to believe with someone like Judd, a big scorer at

:37:02. > :37:10.the best of times. There is Jud's brother Jack and his

:37:11. > :37:37.girlfriend. Well, you would be amazed if he did

:37:38. > :37:42.not make the century year. But this has been excellent play from Judd.

:37:43. > :37:43.He was in trouble a couple of times and played two excellent escapes

:37:44. > :38:02.from snookers. Well, they both looked wobbly at the

:38:03. > :38:08.start of this match, but Judd is now free of that. He's just having a

:38:09. > :38:13.look at the scoreboard. The highest break at the moment is held by Mark

:38:14. > :38:19.Allen at 137. And he can better that. Well, he could have done if he

:38:20. > :38:23.had got pink or black. If he gets the blue, he can only equal the

:38:24. > :38:29.highest break. That's why he's playing the black! Not bothered

:38:30. > :38:39.about the hundred, he's trying to beat the 137. He's got it, you know!

:38:40. > :38:43.He's got it! But he will need another good shot on this last red.

:38:44. > :39:01.Possible 139. What a pity. Well, he gave it his

:39:02. > :39:06.best shot. He kept Neil Robertson in his seat for most of that frame. A

:39:07. > :39:10.couple of great escapes early on. And Judd Trump marches on, 2-0.

:39:11. > :39:17.So still Mark Allen has the highest break of the tournament so far, 137.

:39:18. > :39:21.We will talk to Stephen and John about that frame in a moment. But we

:39:22. > :39:26.like to have a bit of fun here at the Masters on our coverage. Someone

:39:27. > :39:31.in the audience handed our MC Rob Walker a photograph of one of our

:39:32. > :39:35.team today. That is Steve Davis who is looking very slender standing

:39:36. > :39:39.next to a horse! The man handed the photo to Rob Walker and said it's

:39:40. > :39:43.basically his dad on horseback. Steve, we're just wondering what on

:39:44. > :39:47.earth you are doing in a Coventry City shirt next to a horse! You're

:39:48. > :39:53.also wondering what those two pieces of cotton hanging from my shorts

:39:54. > :39:58.are! I think back in the 80s, before the FA Cup final they used to have a

:39:59. > :40:03.celebrity football match. Dennis Taylor played in it, loads of

:40:04. > :40:16.celebrities. I think it was Coventry versus Tottenham. 3-2, Keith

:40:17. > :40:19.Houghen. I played with Rod Stuart! He lent me his shin pads! You were

:40:20. > :40:26.probably the only one they would fit! He passed the ball to me and I

:40:27. > :40:31.kicked it out into touch because I was rubbish, and he never passed me

:40:32. > :40:39.the ball again! Breaking news everybody, Rod Stewart handed Steve

:40:40. > :40:41.Davis his shin pads! Tell you what, Coventry have never been so glad

:40:42. > :40:50.they didn't sign him! Fantastic frame, brilliant

:40:51. > :40:56.performance from Judd, and for the first time in a good while, Neil

:40:57. > :41:00.Robertson is under the cosh. Back to the man with fantastic legs!

:41:01. > :41:08.COMMENTATOR: I wasn't going to speak first! Yeah, it's going to be

:41:09. > :41:13.interesting now. We keep saying that Neil Robertson has been the man of

:41:14. > :41:18.the season. As Steve alluded to an John Parrott has just done there,

:41:19. > :41:22.he's being asked the question here. OK getting results when everything

:41:23. > :41:31.is running your way, but can he get a foothold in this match?

:41:32. > :41:42.He likes a challenge. Also on some occasions when he has had to dig in,

:41:43. > :41:43.he has slowed things down. Not necessarily deliberately, but just

:41:44. > :41:56.perhaps making double sure. No player likes to have to disrupt

:41:57. > :41:58.the pace of the game, but if your opponent is flying, sometimes it's

:41:59. > :42:35.needed. I would suggest, John, that from 2-0

:42:36. > :42:40.behind, as a player, you wouldn't necessarily want to take on too many

:42:41. > :42:45.50-50 risky shots and present your opponent with a 3-0 possibility, you

:42:46. > :42:53.want to make sure of the pot and get started at the very least. Yes, and

:42:54. > :42:56.particularly with the form that Judd has shown in the second half of the

:42:57. > :43:05.first frame and that last frame, he is in a mood where one chance would

:43:06. > :43:10.be all he needed. As you say. But Neil, that is the strength of him,

:43:11. > :43:20.his all-round game. He's going to have to start to play his way into

:43:21. > :43:27.this match. As he knocked that red over the middle? Well, it's just run

:43:28. > :43:35.far enough. -- has he? It is not pottable. But it looks for all the

:43:36. > :43:43.world like this frame is a safety battle to the top cushion, the black

:43:44. > :43:50.cushion. Unavoidable, now. It is who dares risk one into the middle

:43:51. > :43:56.pocket. That is a very good safety shut, though. Oh! It just goes.

:43:57. > :44:00.That's the type of shop I was talking about, really you don't want

:44:01. > :44:08.to be playing this shot. On another day perhaps you would go for it.

:44:09. > :44:16.Well, he's playing the safety. He needs a good length here with this

:44:17. > :44:19.cue ball. He needs to find the baulk cushion.

:44:20. > :44:27.He is judged it well. I don't know whether he gets that much advantage

:44:28. > :44:43.out of the shop. -- he has judged it well. -- out of the shot.

:44:44. > :44:57.Even more of a tempter into the middle pocket. A round of applause,

:44:58. > :45:04.he got the cue ball bang on the baulk cushion. The red closes to the

:45:05. > :45:08.brown doesn't go in the middle pocket. The other does, but I don't

:45:09. > :45:10.see where the colour comes from. A risky pot with no reward, I don't

:45:11. > :45:18.think he would take it on. risky pot with no reward, I don't

:45:19. > :45:29.safety. Yeah, not automatic by any means.

:45:30. > :45:41.Hard to see one from here. I assume the red goes past the brown into the

:45:42. > :45:48.green pocket, so he could just replace the cue ball with the red on

:45:49. > :45:50.the left side cushion. Obviously if you cannot see a safety shut then

:45:51. > :46:06.this red becomes more viable. Deserves a bit of thinking. This is

:46:07. > :46:11.the type of shot, I think, where whilst they talk about things like

:46:12. > :46:15.shot clocks, it would ruin the game of snooker. Because you need to

:46:16. > :46:22.think about a shot like this. The crowd know it's a big moment in the

:46:23. > :46:28.frame. Yeah, and in the majors. OK, maybe there is room for shot clocks

:46:29. > :46:33.in different types of tournament. He's gone for it and eight horrific

:46:34. > :46:38.pot! Considering he was tied up against that baulk cushion, it was

:46:39. > :46:52.worth the wait. -- a terrific bop. A shot clock would have ruined the

:46:53. > :46:56.moment there. It made it all the more special. What a great shot. Now

:46:57. > :47:16.is a great chance. It was funny, as you said, there was

:47:17. > :47:22.no easy safety on. He was almost forced into playing the pot. How

:47:23. > :47:27.many times do we see that? When a player can see no alternative but to

:47:28. > :47:39.take a risky pot on. It was a great shot. I assume the black goes into

:47:40. > :47:52.the right corner. It makes things a lot easier if it does.

:47:53. > :47:59.It does, but that red to the left corner obviously not straight enough

:48:00. > :48:07.to drop it in and to be on the black. So this is the alternative.

:48:08. > :48:13.He's OK, because there is a red available which he would like to

:48:14. > :48:17.just pot the blue, screw back a couple of inches, leave himself

:48:18. > :48:22.straight on the red in the open, just roll that in and be on the

:48:23. > :48:29.black into this pocket that he is playing the blue.

:48:30. > :48:37.If he wins the frame in this visit, you can't praise him enough. Act

:48:38. > :48:44.against the wall, horrible opening read. -- back against the wall,

:48:45. > :48:49.horrible opening red. Digging himself out of a hole here. Yes, it

:48:50. > :48:54.will still take some doing to win the frame at this visit, but we were

:48:55. > :49:01.asking what would be his response to losing the first two frames... He

:49:02. > :49:07.obviously wants to play for the red just to the right of the black. Once

:49:08. > :49:10.he clears that out of the way, the black is available into both

:49:11. > :49:59.corners. So, immediately on that red.

:50:00. > :50:07.That little cluster of five in between the pink and black, he's

:50:08. > :50:12.going to have to bring those into play if he's going to win the frame

:50:13. > :50:24.at this visit. Three reds and three blacks will not be enough.

:50:25. > :50:37.He should be going into them now. I thought he would screw into them and

:50:38. > :50:49.with the back spin he could hold for more reds. Perhaps he could use the

:50:50. > :50:54.pink to open them up with. A screw back into the pack their would have

:50:55. > :50:59.guaranteed the cue ball would stay up the top part of the table.

:51:00. > :51:08.There must be something goes that I can't see, here. I can only assume

:51:09. > :51:14.that the pink will go back on its own spot and the is a red available.

:51:15. > :51:23.-- the pink will not go back on its own spot. He can not really studied

:51:24. > :51:30.from over it, he has to leave himself an angle to get off the side

:51:31. > :51:34.cushion. Well, there you go. I honestly think that he chose the

:51:35. > :51:38.wrong choice, there. He wanted to keep it all very neat but the

:51:39. > :51:42.problem was, as you said, he had a good angle to play on the pink to

:51:43. > :51:47.run into the reds. Why play for the pink as he did and leave himself

:51:48. > :51:53.hampered? He has left himself open for the counterattack here. I think

:51:54. > :52:02.if he had played it again ten times and screwed into the pack off the

:52:03. > :52:08.black, he would have got a good percentage of good outcomes. Yes,

:52:09. > :52:14.it's a case of just trying to be a bit too precise. Well. There's

:52:15. > :52:20.another problem now because he has not got the right angle on this

:52:21. > :52:24.blue. Just a slight angle. Can he run it in-off the side cushion and

:52:25. > :52:32.across to disturb the four reds? No, he's missed the line.

:52:33. > :52:35.Judd thought the cue ball was going in. I didn't!

:52:36. > :52:41.CHUCKLES Yeah, just striking down, probably

:52:42. > :53:03.widened the angle a bit. Excellent length on the safety. Judd

:53:04. > :53:05.will just be glad to still be in this frame. 33 points behind but

:53:06. > :53:36.there are 67 remaining. Nicely controlled. I mean, Judd

:53:37. > :53:40.would love to get this red away, the one that is near the middle pocket,

:53:41. > :53:56.but I'm not certain he can guarantee a good safety off that red.

:53:57. > :54:03.So he has decided to play a containing one, but it was never

:54:04. > :54:07.going to be that good, to me, unless he got the cue ball tight to the

:54:08. > :54:13.cushion, and I can't see Neil Robertson here refusing the pot.

:54:14. > :54:23.Because that is his insurance, that awkward red near the side cushion.

:54:24. > :54:33.Well, he is nearly over the line. But he needs another red to get

:54:34. > :54:39.going, obviously. A fair way out, but was concentrating on a good cue

:54:40. > :54:46.ball. But this is a chance for Judd Trump. Going back to that part with

:54:47. > :54:52.the splitting of the reds, I think he might have been able to get over

:54:53. > :54:59.the line with those reds and he felt he didn't need to go into the pack.

:55:00. > :55:09.That's a great shot from Judd Trump. And now only that red by the Centre

:55:10. > :55:18.pocket is saving Neil Robertson from, at this level, another loss.

:55:19. > :55:29.Can Judd Trump somehow get that red off, and retain position? I think

:55:30. > :55:33.that is the important thing, retain position. With the red being so

:55:34. > :55:38.close, it's quite easy to push it past the middle pocket. Well, I

:55:39. > :55:44.think he was looking for an angle on the yellow to maybe try to nudge

:55:45. > :55:53.that red into play. Too straight on the yellow to attempt that now. So,

:55:54. > :56:12.the red on the side cushion could be the key to this frame.

:56:13. > :56:28.Might come down for a baulk colour if he can. But even so, as you say,

:56:29. > :56:33.John, if he doesn't get the red off vacation... He needs an angle on the

:56:34. > :56:38.yellow or brown, which is guaranteed.

:56:39. > :56:44.Probably worthwhile hitting this harder, to try to push it up the

:56:45. > :56:53.table. It would be very hard to try and get it to stay over the middle.

:56:54. > :56:58.Well, he's notched it is an absolute fraction of the cushion, which would

:56:59. > :57:05.make it a little bit easier. What a shock this would be.

:57:06. > :57:17.Well, he looked away in disgust. That was a half chance. Neil

:57:18. > :57:19.Robertson comes back to the table. Look at Judd the thing away, he knew

:57:20. > :57:28.that was an opportunity. Neil Robertson 15 points in front.

:57:29. > :57:33.But this is no easy shot. And being a left-hander... I'm not sure he can

:57:34. > :57:35.see all of the ball either. The bump of the middle pocket might be in the

:57:36. > :58:00.way. Gosh it's hard to say, isn't it? I

:58:01. > :58:07.think it's one of those, you would only know if you were right behind

:58:08. > :58:15.the shot. We will soon know but a tough pot anyway. He didn't play the

:58:16. > :58:20.pot, he played the safety. Well, it wasn't a bad case on the black from

:58:21. > :58:27.the red, was it? Controlled the cue ball well. Must have been a bit

:58:28. > :58:31.worried possibly about double-kissing.

:58:32. > :58:43.It was pretty tight for the double-kiss. There is a gap. The

:58:44. > :58:48.only thing is, the King at that, -- looking at that...

:58:49. > :58:57.He is asking Neil to have a look. I've never seen that one before!

:58:58. > :59:02.Does he not trust the referee's eyesight rest room at its normally

:59:03. > :59:06.the referee that keeps an eye on it. APPLAUSE

:59:07. > :59:18.I have never seen that before! I didn't really think there was much

:59:19. > :59:22.chance of Judd missing it really. He gave it a fair portion of it. He

:59:23. > :59:32.hasn't got it safe. A chance for Robertson. Yes! Right in the heart

:59:33. > :59:38.of the pocket. With that gap which he had, he was always hitting, for

:59:39. > :59:43.him, the wrong side of the red, and you can't leave Neil Robertson that

:59:44. > :59:48.type of long pot. He invariably knocks them in. OK he hasn't been

:59:49. > :59:51.doing so this match, but that wasn't going to last, and now just yellow

:59:52. > :59:56.and green needed to get his first on the board.

:59:57. > :00:02.Played a lot better this frame. But having missed an easy enough pink,

:00:03. > :00:05.he gave Judd a chance of getting back into it.

:00:06. > :00:26.Judd frame is over now. -- Judd knows this brain is over now.

:00:27. > :00:34.The next frame will be the one before the mid-session interval so

:00:35. > :00:43.he's going to take on a bit more importance. And Neil Robertson

:00:44. > :00:48.knocks it in so Judd Trump had a chance, he was disappointed, but a

:00:49. > :00:52.good long pot from Robertson and he gets a score on the scoreboard but

:00:53. > :00:59.he still trails 2-1. We said it would be top class

:01:00. > :01:07.snooker and we are seeing great shots. Not much better on this.

:01:08. > :01:14.His opponent has just had 100 from his miss mistake -- less mistake and

:01:15. > :01:21.he misses this and he could easily be down. What a shot that was off

:01:22. > :01:25.the cushion. We are not seeing the top-class snooker we expected from

:01:26. > :01:29.these two. Yes, it is very interesting matchplay.

:01:30. > :01:37.Robertson normally likes to prance around and to boss matches, with

:01:38. > :01:42.real authority, he has not got that yet. Another great shot that last

:01:43. > :01:49.red, his long potting is always so reliable and to win that, it is a

:01:50. > :01:55.very important frame. When you play Judd, it is not uniform. You cannot

:01:56. > :02:00.boss a match? The shot that other players do not play or do not get,

:02:01. > :02:07.so the game does not have the same uniformity. If you face a good

:02:08. > :02:11.matchplay, you say, he will play this. Judd does something different

:02:12. > :02:18.and unexpected and he's attacking today. The safety has improved. And

:02:19. > :02:24.he just attacks and he's not worried about playing Neil Robertson. What

:02:25. > :02:28.we saw at the UK Championship in York was very much Neil Robertson

:02:29. > :02:31.going around the table in complete control of matches. Yes, but this is

:02:32. > :02:42.a different opponent with a good record against him.

:02:43. > :02:53.That is the trophy that one of these players will be hoping to get their

:02:54. > :02:56.hands on. Neil Robertson has already lifted it once. Judd Trump yet to

:02:57. > :03:12.win a Masters. He caught that much too thick and

:03:13. > :03:16.that is why the cue ball has not gone back to the other half of the

:03:17. > :03:31.table so a nice easy starter for Neil Robertson here.

:03:32. > :03:47.Black got a bit tied up during the shot.

:03:48. > :03:55.Red to the right of the black, that will be nice to get on and the

:03:56. > :03:57.correct angle, he could get black out straightaway if he gets right on

:03:58. > :04:23.the red. Great shot to get the correct side

:04:24. > :04:55.of the blue. And now nicely on this red, to get

:04:56. > :05:04.the black on the spot. And both corners. We asked what the response

:05:05. > :05:12.from Neil Robertson was going to be and it looks like a positive one. He

:05:13. > :05:21.did not waste much time getting that black back into open play. Not a

:05:22. > :05:43.fantastic pack. At the moment. There's a loose red at the bottom of

:05:44. > :05:46.the pack. He could play to leave himself low on that. Release some

:05:47. > :06:03.reds. It depends. I think he feels that there's a lot

:06:04. > :06:11.of chance of losing the cue ball. On the shot.

:06:12. > :06:20.That is why he did not hit it with much pace. Is he on the red? That is

:06:21. > :06:26.what he has played for. It is tight. He may have to just play with a bit

:06:27. > :06:39.of a trace of a right-hand side and just turn this red over.

:06:40. > :06:49.I am not sure he's happy with it. He's going for it.

:06:50. > :07:06.He made that with side spin. You can see where the cue ball hit the red,

:07:07. > :07:08.it was not going to pocket on the right-hand side. Flicked left. Great

:07:09. > :07:25.judgment. Another good shot. To force that

:07:26. > :07:33.angle. Coming round from two cushions, absolutely perfect on the

:07:34. > :07:50.red. Just lining up the pink. That is to try and open the reds here.

:07:51. > :08:05.If he's going to play this with any pace, which he has got to, he has to

:08:06. > :08:11.be pretty accurate with the pink. And he was and it has worked out

:08:12. > :08:15.absolutely perfect. He has not a red to the side of the black, he has

:08:16. > :08:20.finished with a red to the left corner. He could not have played it

:08:21. > :08:30.any better. Even the pink does not hamper is cueing. -- his cueing. I

:08:31. > :08:42.would be amazed now if we are not going into that mid-session interval

:08:43. > :08:46.two games all. This is so impressive from 2-0 down. And back against the

:08:47. > :09:49.wall in the third frame. So 59 points is believed. Not

:09:50. > :09:54.certain, those two reds close together just below the pink, I do

:09:55. > :10:02.not know whether the left-hand one of them will go to the right corner.

:10:03. > :10:08.If it does not, he may have to be thinking, and I don't think it does.

:10:09. > :10:13.So he has got to be thinking of potting this red and getting a nice

:10:14. > :10:26.angle on a 20 mile -- any colour to get the reds into play. He needs

:10:27. > :10:32.another red, to the middle. Maybe. He looks to have a decent angle on

:10:33. > :10:33.the black to get it relatively close to the middle, should that be the

:10:34. > :10:44.choice. And that is what he has played. I am

:10:45. > :10:51.looking at his body language and I think he's happy with the result.

:10:52. > :10:56.This would put 1068 points in front with just 67 remaining. -- put him

:10:57. > :11:14.68. Clue as a whistle. -- clean. All

:11:15. > :11:21.square. Trump got off to a flyer and he raced to a 2-0 lead. But we all

:11:22. > :11:29.knew that dirty ball, the way he has been playing this season, would

:11:30. > :11:35.start firing on all cylinders sooner or later -- Neil Robertson. So both

:11:36. > :11:37.players will go into the mid-session interval with good thoughts to take

:11:38. > :11:55.from these first four frames. I suppose Judd would be the more

:11:56. > :12:05.disappointed, having held a 2-0 lead. Yes. And also, perhaps Neil

:12:06. > :12:13.Robertson feeling like he's Superman, that he's never going to

:12:14. > :12:17.be taken apart. That he has the ability in all departments of the

:12:18. > :12:22.game, from any position. That is always a nice feeling. We keep

:12:23. > :12:28.saying he has been the man of the season so far, winning the Champion

:12:29. > :12:37.of Champions, the UK Championship. And he's such a beautiful cue and

:12:38. > :12:46.Potter and a good all-round game, as he has proved to claw his way back

:12:47. > :12:52.into this match. He hit the first red and it did not stop him getting

:12:53. > :12:58.to the potting angle so still a chance of a century, we have already

:12:59. > :13:07.seen one in the second frame from Judd Trump. And a chance of a big

:13:08. > :13:13.break here. If the pots the blue, there's a possible 140. And as I

:13:14. > :13:29.said earlier, the highest break at the moment is held by mark Allen. --

:13:30. > :13:40.Mark Allen. 137. Not often these days -8 is by the end of the

:13:41. > :14:00.tournament get less than 140. -- the high break is.

:14:01. > :14:04.That was the 15th century of the tournament. The black and the six

:14:05. > :14:44.remaining colours for a 139. Stephen Hendry, in the studio before

:14:45. > :14:51.the spring, said Neil at the moment has not been strutting round the

:14:52. > :14:57.table. He's strutting round it now. This has been a marvellous break, he

:14:58. > :15:07.never put a foot wrong. And this black and the high break prize is

:15:08. > :15:14.?10,000. And that is it! 139! And Neil Robertson absolutely responded

:15:15. > :15:19.as we knew he would do, Judd Trump led by 2-0, Neil Robertson one a

:15:20. > :15:25.second scrappy frame but nothing scrappy about that. The highest

:15:26. > :15:29.break of the tournament. Interval, two games each. 139 the highest

:15:30. > :15:35.break of the tournament so far and it is Neil Robertson with a ?10,000

:15:36. > :15:39.in his back pocket. Mark Allen came and he has to get an evening flight,

:15:40. > :15:47.he got beat us made. He was watching and Judd broke down so he thought,

:15:48. > :15:55.that is handy, and he took ?10,000! That is what you expect from Neil

:15:56. > :16:02.Robertson Mr Mark --? Yes, he's supposed to sense danger and react

:16:03. > :16:07.to it. That is a lot more like it, more what you expect from him.

:16:08. > :16:13.The tactic is to keep Judd quiet but that is incredibly difficult.

:16:14. > :16:16.You have to do what he did there, that is to school. He had chances in

:16:17. > :16:22.the first frame which he did not take but that is what he should be

:16:23. > :16:26.doing. He was doing that in the Champion of Champions, every time he

:16:27. > :16:30.got an opportunity, severe punishment and that is Neil

:16:31. > :16:33.Robertson at his best. Are you surprised when you look at the roll

:16:34. > :16:38.of honour at the Masters that Judd has not made finals and won this

:16:39. > :16:42.tournament? He has not won anywhere near what he should. He's at the

:16:43. > :16:46.right age to dominate snookered if he wants to, his mid-20s. He has

:16:47. > :16:52.another ten, 15 years in the game and he needs to watch out he does

:16:53. > :16:56.not miss the boat. What is it, what is his problem? I think probably the

:16:57. > :16:59.style of play on occasions has held him back a bit, sometimes a bit too

:17:00. > :17:05.open, his safety play has improved. When he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in

:17:06. > :17:09.the final, I thought that was it and the kick-start to get going, he had

:17:10. > :17:14.been getting closer in finals. He got him and I thought, kicked on now

:17:15. > :17:18.and it has not happened. He's at his peak, it should be the next five

:17:19. > :17:22.years, winning events. He needs to start converting. But you are

:17:23. > :17:29.playing the best here. For the moment, thank you. While the players

:17:30. > :17:34.have a cup of tea, let's hear from Judd Trump, he has been talking to

:17:35. > :17:37.Ken -- to Ken Doherty. You are a man who plays with a lot

:17:38. > :17:43.of confidence, you go for shots and you try to entertain. What has been

:17:44. > :17:46.missing the last couple of months? The standard is so high. As soon as

:17:47. > :17:53.you lose a game or a couple of games in a row through no fault of your

:17:54. > :17:56.own, there's no easy draw. You have people playing really well now. You

:17:57. > :18:01.start in the first round and it is hard to get a run going. You have to

:18:02. > :18:07.win a lot of matches to get to the last 16 and then you play people you

:18:08. > :18:13.would normally only have one game to play before. It is very hard to keep

:18:14. > :18:20.the momentum for seven games in a tournament. You are a top player and

:18:21. > :18:23.every time, you are one of the favourites to win any tournament. Do

:18:24. > :18:27.you feel you have that confidence you might have had a couple of years

:18:28. > :18:31.ago, are you trying to search to get it back a bit? The confidence is

:18:32. > :18:36.nowhere near what it was when I first broke through. My all-round

:18:37. > :18:41.game is 100 times better but the confidence is the big thing for me,

:18:42. > :18:48.I do need that confidence. If I can get that back, I can go through a

:18:49. > :18:51.season winning four or five events. When you look back at the World

:18:52. > :18:56.Championship nine months ago, that semifinal, had you got through and

:18:57. > :19:00.you had won the World Championship, do you think those matches linger in

:19:01. > :19:05.the back of your mind or do you look back and say that has gone now, look

:19:06. > :19:12.forward? No, that was a great chance to win it. And in the end, the

:19:13. > :19:17.reason I lost was I put too much pressure on myself. The only reason

:19:18. > :19:23.I lost that and 90% of the Games I lose is because I feel I should not

:19:24. > :19:29.be losing. I have set an expectation of myself that a lot of the times,

:19:30. > :19:36.it is a hindrance and I need to let that go. These players in the

:19:37. > :19:41.Masters, for me, every game is 50-50. So for me, it is better I

:19:42. > :19:47.have not put as much pressure on myself. Sometimes I feel like I am

:19:48. > :19:52.playing people I should beat quite easily and when it gets close, I get

:19:53. > :19:57.a bit embarrassed and get bad thought I should not be getting

:19:58. > :20:01.through my head. I should go back to when I was enjoying it at 21-22 and

:20:02. > :20:08.go for my shots rather than trying to win too much. Is it the fact that

:20:09. > :20:11.you were -- you are an entertainer and you put yourself under more

:20:12. > :20:16.pressure to entertain the crowd and go for shots that sometimes cost you

:20:17. > :20:23.matches? Yes, some of the shots I go for can be real confidence dentist

:20:24. > :20:33.if I miss them or I50 macro them badly but if they go in, I am

:20:34. > :20:36.playing perfectly. Or I cue them. It can be hard but it is what I am

:20:37. > :20:42.about and I probably will never change it. I play a bit more

:20:43. > :20:47.defensive than I used to but if I can get my confidence back to where

:20:48. > :20:53.it was, I will change my game to where it was. Do you sometimes have

:20:54. > :20:57.to live up to that title? All the time, basically? No, I just feel

:20:58. > :21:02.like there's a gap now, I feel like even though a lot of the players are

:21:03. > :21:09.playing well, if I can improve to the next level, I can sort of take

:21:10. > :21:13.the game by storm and when four or five events. At the moment, not

:21:14. > :21:17.practising hard enough and a lot of things I needed to change, my

:21:18. > :21:22.technique would slip up under pressure and I would get twitchy. I

:21:23. > :21:29.went away and I worked at that and hopefully that is sorted. Judd

:21:30. > :21:34.Trump, around the circuit, you quiet, shy, and assuming. What are

:21:35. > :21:41.you like away from the table, what do you like to do? We know you like

:21:42. > :21:46.flash cards! Nice holidays! I have kind of gone off that a bit. I have

:21:47. > :21:52.met toward a little bit and now I am trying to invest my money. Hopefully

:21:53. > :21:57.the next thing is a nice big house I can stay in for a while. Other than

:21:58. > :22:01.that, I like to enjoy myself. I do not go out as much now, I like to go

:22:02. > :22:07.shopping and to watch other sports and take inspiration from the

:22:08. > :22:11.leaders of other sports. If you follow you on Twitter, it you used

:22:12. > :22:20.to post a lot at parties. You comment down now, a more mature

:22:21. > :22:25.side? -- are you calming down. I have wasted a lot of money on that

:22:26. > :22:29.lifestyle. It is not going out in London as much as I used to, I used

:22:30. > :22:34.to go out every week and now I have been out one since my birthday in

:22:35. > :22:41.August. I am still 26 and if you look at the ages of a lot of the top

:22:42. > :22:44.players, still 35, 40, so I feel I have a lot of time left in the game

:22:45. > :22:49.but I want all my achievements out of the way so I can relax from 30

:22:50. > :22:54.onwards rather than trying to win the World Championships later in

:22:55. > :22:59.life. As somebody had a more comment influence on you? Not really. I go

:23:00. > :23:04.through spells. -- calming. Defeat in the last tournament, it's sunk in

:23:05. > :23:10.and was not practising hard enough. A lot of the other players have

:23:11. > :23:17.overtaken me and I feel everybody is working much harder than I am. So I

:23:18. > :23:22.went away after that and I decided to practise every single day, even

:23:23. > :23:26.just for one hour, even over Christmas and on days off. Just to

:23:27. > :23:30.get my mindset that I know I am working harder than everybody else

:23:31. > :23:33.so when it comes to the nitty-gritty, I have the confidence

:23:34. > :23:41.I have worked harder and I deserve this more. Will the nerves still be

:23:42. > :23:46.there? Always. At the end of the frames, I really enjoyed... I watch

:23:47. > :23:52.a lot of snooker and television and I think sometimes it can be a bit

:23:53. > :23:58.slow at times. Just for the crowd to shout out and get involved, I know

:23:59. > :24:03.the crowd get a bit of excitement and that gets me going as well. Good

:24:04. > :24:09.luck. Thank you. Fascinating interview. What happens

:24:10. > :24:15.in Vegas stays in Vegas, a couple of references to parties Judd has

:24:16. > :24:20.posted on Twitter. Interesting to hear his thoughts during the match.

:24:21. > :24:23.How did you handle the big match environment? I just loved it, all I

:24:24. > :24:27.wanted to do was placed on ago. Everybody is different and if you

:24:28. > :24:32.want to enjoy life, fair enough. If you want to be the best and dominate

:24:33. > :24:36.the game. When Judd got to the final of the world, he had a real

:24:37. > :24:40.opportunity to take the game by the scruff of the neck. It sounds like

:24:41. > :24:45.he has wasted his career a bit. Says he's looking at other players

:24:46. > :24:48.working harder than him and he does not practise enough, it is what you

:24:49. > :24:53.want. There's plenty of time later in life to enjoy these things but in

:24:54. > :24:58.any sport, you have to sacrifice and dedicate yourself 100%. But in many

:24:59. > :25:02.sports, you hear about psychologists working with players of all sports

:25:03. > :25:09.these days. Especially individual sports. Does Judd need to look at

:25:10. > :25:12.that side? It must be alarming for any Judd fans hearing about his

:25:13. > :25:17.thoughts during the game and he gets shaky and cannot handle the moment.

:25:18. > :25:22.At his age, he has no need for a sports psychologist and it should be

:25:23. > :25:26.automatic, his focus in the arena. He has all the talent in the world

:25:27. > :25:29.to dominate this game. I started talking to people later on when I

:25:30. > :25:34.wanted to recreate that feeling of what I had in my mid-20s. He should

:25:35. > :25:39.be at his peak and winning three or four titles a season. Especially

:25:40. > :25:44.given his reputation of being the great entertainer, you would be

:25:45. > :25:48.thriving on venues like this. Absolutely. Doing something the get

:25:49. > :25:52.well paid for and these events, it you cannot wait to get out there,

:25:53. > :25:59.that is what I was like, it is another title. Thank you. Let's

:26:00. > :26:02.cross to John Parrott who has picked up on things from the opening

:26:03. > :26:06.frames. Fantastic match between Neil

:26:07. > :26:10.Robertson and Trump and a couple of interesting opening sessions and we

:26:11. > :26:14.will help you with a couple of opening shots. The first was Neil

:26:15. > :26:15.Robertson, he played a pink into the corner pocket and look at what

:26:16. > :26:24.happened. He played across the ball, got

:26:25. > :26:31.unwanted side and he flicked the pink onto the top jaw. What you need

:26:32. > :26:37.to do? When you play your ordinary shot, you have your cue near the end

:26:38. > :26:40.of the cue. Not for this. You shorten it for more control. The

:26:41. > :26:47.biggest thing you need to do over the ball is to ensure when you have

:26:48. > :26:51.worked out your angle, you are right on the line of the shot and in the

:26:52. > :26:57.centre of the keyboard. You cannot do much with this, you just have to

:26:58. > :27:02.raise the cue and drop it onto the ball and ensure you are right on the

:27:03. > :27:06.angle. It is a half ball pot and it should not be to the left or the

:27:07. > :27:10.right but in the centre as you hit down and it should stay in the

:27:11. > :27:16.centre. Any unwanted side flicks the ball away. It is about half ball. I

:27:17. > :27:21.flicked it and raise it in the, and now I know I cannot do anything else

:27:22. > :27:26.but drop the cue on the ball and bounce it off and it should go like

:27:27. > :27:31.that. Another great shot in the break Eddie ball made, this is very

:27:32. > :27:42.clever, it is the use of side to carry on. Look at what he plays.

:27:43. > :27:46.What he has done, he has flicked a load of right-hand side on the ball

:27:47. > :27:52.and when it contacts with the object ball, as it spins, it flicks the red

:27:53. > :27:58.to the left. You sometimes think, this is really tight. You have to

:27:59. > :28:04.put a loaded right-hand side on, hit as much of the red as you can

:28:05. > :28:09.without contacting the first red, it should spin and throw it to the

:28:10. > :28:14.left. A load of side on it. Play as much as you can, flicked it over. It

:28:15. > :28:25.misses! We will have another go. We need to get a bit more side on it. A

:28:26. > :28:29.bit more side. Just to flick it over, as much as you can see. It

:28:30. > :28:35.goes over. And in it goes, something like that. Unfortunately, it you do

:28:36. > :28:40.not get two attempts! Good to see Charles powerful

:28:41. > :28:44.manager! Thank you very much. 2-2 between Neil Robertson and Judd

:28:45. > :28:49.Trump. Players will be out shortly but we have another cracking match

:28:50. > :28:53.this evening as twice Masters champion John Higgins takes on

:28:54. > :29:00.Stuart Bingham. Stuart Bingham has come into this tournament asking of

:29:01. > :29:02.the Crucible? -- has come into this tournament as the King of the

:29:03. > :29:13.Crucible! World champion. Fully deserves

:29:14. > :29:17.everything from snooker on and off the table. It goes to show you do

:29:18. > :29:21.not have to be in your early 20s to be world champion. The people's

:29:22. > :29:27.champion as well, a lot of fans wanted him to win. My family wanted

:29:28. > :29:31.him to win. The probably highest quality final the World

:29:32. > :29:35.Championships has ever seen. When you think of something like that,

:29:36. > :29:41.you have to give him every credit for that. He works hard, great

:29:42. > :29:45.scorer, we have had our history off the table but great guy. Great

:29:46. > :29:49.player, showed his capability last year being world champion and

:29:50. > :29:54.probably one of the friendly skies on the tour. He can be annoying, he

:29:55. > :29:58.has these traits, to come behind you and to flick your ear! Do annoying

:29:59. > :30:03.things like that! It is all right if you are in a good mood. In a bad

:30:04. > :30:10.mood, go away, Stuart! Playing some of the best snooker of his life and

:30:11. > :30:15.he's getting the he deserves. I am not saying anything nice about him

:30:16. > :30:17.because I do not like him! What can you say? He has given us all hope,

:30:18. > :31:28.if he can win it! Just grind away and form will come

:31:29. > :31:33.back. Let's look ahead to the afternoon match. How'd you see this

:31:34. > :31:38.going? Neil Robertson, I can only see him getting stronger so Judd

:31:39. > :31:42.Trump needs to keep scoring and keep out the unforced errors. Thank you,

:31:43. > :31:56.we are about to get under way, let's join Steve Davis and John Parrott.

:31:57. > :32:04.So Judd Trump gets the fifth frame under way. No more intervals. We

:32:05. > :32:17.play to the finish now. The best of 11, the first to 6 frames. Nice

:32:18. > :32:30.clean opening red and it looks like it. Short of the baulk which gives

:32:31. > :32:39.him a choice of colours. So an early chance as Judd decides to reach for

:32:40. > :32:44.his glass of water. He might get a chance to drink quite a bit of it.

:32:45. > :32:51.Not a bad safety shot. Not a bad opening break. This was too hard. He

:32:52. > :33:30.has overscrewed it. He's on nothing. That is a surprising choice of shot.

:33:31. > :33:34.He did not want to come off the main bunch of reds and bring the reds

:33:35. > :33:42.into play. And keep it tight. No pressure on Judd whatsoever. All

:33:43. > :33:46.that considered, that is not the best shot from Judd. Maybe he could

:33:47. > :33:59.not have got behind the yellow, that he should have had this cue ball

:34:00. > :34:05.tight to the baulk cushion. That shot was interesting. He has decided

:34:06. > :34:14.once again not to open the pack and risk leaving Judd and easy starter.

:34:15. > :34:55.Great pot! He caught it to them. He will play a cannon he and he has

:34:56. > :34:58.played it perfect. So well that he does not need to play another

:34:59. > :35:05.cannon. He just needs to rely on good tubal control. For a

:35:06. > :35:15.match-winning contribution. Don't get ahead of yourself, sorry,

:35:16. > :35:31.frame-winning contribution. Nicely on the blue.

:35:32. > :35:39.It wonderful shot to split the pack. So much back spin on the cue ball.

:35:40. > :35:52.It powered back to the reds. It opened that up beautifully. It did

:35:53. > :36:04.not really hit them that hard. So much back spin on it. He will be a

:36:05. > :36:10.little bit disappointed with that. It should have been straight on that

:36:11. > :36:17.red and played for the black. The cue ball travelling up and down the

:36:18. > :36:23.table. You can lose control of it. And in many ways, the baulk colours,

:36:24. > :36:25.yellow and green, they are better suited to getting up the table than

:36:26. > :36:50.the blue sometimes. He played for a choice of reds. He

:36:51. > :36:59.always knew if the overhit it slightly, he would have one to the

:37:00. > :37:04.left. As we were saying, such a good pack Raker that he does not have to

:37:05. > :37:08.play any more cannons. Just keep good control with the cue ball. And

:37:09. > :37:49.the frame is at his mercy. You would not expect him to miss

:37:50. > :37:54.this. It depends whether it is natural to drop it in on the black.

:37:55. > :38:12.He's going back up to the blue again. Good clean pot. He just about

:38:13. > :38:24.got the angle required. Red Andy colour required. -- and A. 57 ahead,

:38:25. > :38:31.67 remaining. I think his heart was in his mouth for a second. It was

:38:32. > :38:39.onto the jaw, that is why he stayed down. Just enough of the pocket to

:38:40. > :38:47.go in. And that black should be the clincher. 65 ahead now, 59

:38:48. > :39:00.remaining. But he would love to pot this and keep Neil Robertson in his

:39:01. > :39:05.chair. And in it goes! Neil Robertson got a bit negative with a

:39:06. > :39:15.couple of safety shot early in this frame. Whether it was a game plan

:39:16. > :39:21.just to keep the balls tight. But somebody like his -- like Judd Trump

:39:22. > :39:28.and his cue power, he got a nice angle and he opened up the reds

:39:29. > :39:34.beautifully. Good standard, Steve. The third century of the match. Yes,

:39:35. > :39:42.it is turning into a cracking match. We thought it would be, and that was

:39:43. > :39:45.after a nervy opening frame. No chance of the highest break of the

:39:46. > :39:53.tournament with this break. Expect something naughty, John, especially

:39:54. > :40:02.after that to chat with Ken Doherty. Let's see the 101st. Well played.

:40:03. > :40:04.Very well played. -- the 100, first. A great opening cue, tight under the

:40:05. > :40:21.cushion. I don't think there has been

:40:22. > :40:28.anything naughty on the screen. A good start with brown, I feel. -- on

:40:29. > :40:33.this green. I think if you played it too hard, you would not get position

:40:34. > :40:38.on the brown. Drop in the green, get position on the brown. It looks like

:40:39. > :40:41.he has played for the brown in the middle. This is where the Nautilus

:40:42. > :40:57.begins! -- naughtiness. A bit of an anti-climax but he did

:40:58. > :41:04.what was necessary. Neil Robertson, I do not know about his tactics, but

:41:05. > :41:06.that was an excellent century from Judd Trump and he's in the lead

:41:07. > :42:17.again. This time, 3-2. Judd with a smile on his face. That

:42:18. > :42:22.is why he was saying he was lacking a bit in confidence. As we saw with

:42:23. > :42:28.those statistics. The best form and is this season is runner-up in the

:42:29. > :42:32.Shanghai Masters. With his ability, you expect him to have won something

:42:33. > :42:46.this season. He may be saving his best for the second-half.

:42:47. > :42:58.You can only try your hardest on the table. In any given match. You

:42:59. > :43:02.cannot make things happen. But as we discussed in the interval, you can

:43:03. > :43:12.work hard in practice, you can give yourself the best possible chance.

:43:13. > :43:17.To convert a tournament. He has nearly got this behind the yellow.

:43:18. > :43:24.It is tempting for Neil Robertson. It would be better if the red behind

:43:25. > :43:31.the black was not there, and escape path. He cannot get past it. So a

:43:32. > :43:39.problem now for Neil Robertson. He can hit the red but cannot get to

:43:40. > :43:48.the potting angle. And as you say, he's just looking at replacing the

:43:49. > :43:54.cue ball. But with that red. To play it hard, it is tough. Similar to

:43:55. > :43:56.what John Parrott was talking about. Making the shot with a bit of side

:43:57. > :44:09.spin. But he does not fancy it. A lot easier to get the ball to turn

:44:10. > :44:16.over if you are close to them about from that distance... Does it reach?

:44:17. > :44:21.Not quite. He got it close enough to stop judge from porting a red into

:44:22. > :44:28.the middle pocket. For a bit of time there, I thought he may have made a

:44:29. > :44:39.glaring error. Colin Humphries has got to get this absolutely dead on.

:44:40. > :44:45.Because that red was available, only just. I think he will play exactly

:44:46. > :44:50.the same shot. Just explain about the miss rule. If he can see that

:44:51. > :44:57.red full in the face, if he doesn't hit it that time, will he get one?

:44:58. > :45:00.Yes, if he can hit a full all. Well, he will hit them this time, that's

:45:01. > :45:22.plenty hard enough. Hard to get out of this at the

:45:23. > :45:28.moment. Perhaps Neil Robertson can place in-off a red, with awkward

:45:29. > :45:31.bridging. When Neil got out of this his seat, he would have been hoping

:45:32. > :45:37.for the word from the referee of touching ball, which it wasn't. He

:45:38. > :45:42.had to go is at that, but it's not a foul for and has shot in snooker. A

:45:43. > :45:54.twitchy one for the first one. Just did it as a guide! There you go...

:45:55. > :45:54.Oh! A bit harder than he wanted. This has resolved the stalemate,

:45:55. > :46:07.anyway. The one thing I did notice that the

:46:08. > :46:11.World Championship, last season, I felt that Judd Trump's all-round

:46:12. > :46:15.game was improving. His tactical mouse,

:46:16. > :46:24.-- his tactical nous, if you like. As we say when watching the stats

:46:25. > :46:37.between frames, he hasn't been getting the best of the battles. I

:46:38. > :46:39.don't think you can be just a potter and break-builder now, to get

:46:40. > :47:08.consistent results. I don't think the two ball plant is

:47:09. > :47:15.on. It could be made, but it is risky. It is too far off line really

:47:16. > :47:19.to be able to make that. At least Neil Robertson thinks so. I wonder

:47:20. > :47:38.if Judd Trump thinks the same! Not even considering it. That could

:47:39. > :47:42.be made as a potential plant. He will be more concerned he doesn't

:47:43. > :47:47.want to knock a red towards this middle pocket. He doesn't need the

:47:48. > :47:53.bump of the middle pocket! Well, sometimes it can work out as a bad

:47:54. > :48:16.hump, but he may not have left anything. A little bit fortunate.

:48:17. > :48:27.Very difficult to get that cue ball tied to the baulk cushion, as he was

:48:28. > :48:33.so close to the cushion as he was hitting the white. So no real

:48:34. > :48:37.pressure here on Judd. This looks a good length.

:48:38. > :48:51.It was an excellent safety shot, and considered quite unlikely really to

:48:52. > :49:01.have kept the black safe. He was trying to open things up with that

:49:02. > :49:09.safety shot. He still put it a bit on Neil Robertson, who has got an

:49:10. > :49:12.ultra-thin red. Never nice. We saw Shaun Murphy missed three of these

:49:13. > :49:19.on the trot earlier in the tournament. Yes, and funnily enough

:49:20. > :49:27.last evening Mark Allen did exactly the same with a red on the side,

:49:28. > :49:34.just like that. The table doesn't have to roll off that much for it to

:49:35. > :49:38.be missed. No table on the planet has ever been totally level.

:49:39. > :49:45.And of course, if he catches the red he is playing a fraction too thick,

:49:46. > :49:55.he will run into the red that is on the left-hand side cushion. So he's

:49:56. > :50:01.got to hit it thin, but... It was this almost similar shot that Shaun

:50:02. > :50:08.Murphy forfeited a frame. And Mark Allen, last evening, missed it

:50:09. > :50:15.twice. As I say, he doesn't want to hit it too thick, but he wants to

:50:16. > :50:22.hit it. And he has not hit it! Foul and a miss, Judd Trump four. No way

:50:23. > :50:26.Judd will get out of his seat now. They were questioning whether Shaun

:50:27. > :50:30.Murphy should have played the shot for the third time. Mark Allen

:50:31. > :50:33.suggested that perhaps he would not have -- should not have risked

:50:34. > :50:40.missing it again, so we'll Neil Robertson play the same shot, or

:50:41. > :50:44.choose a more containing safety. Funnily enough, that incident last

:50:45. > :50:50.night when Mark Allen missed the red twice, he then went and hit a red

:50:51. > :50:57.full ball and did not get it safe, so Barry Hawkins ended up clinching

:50:58. > :51:00.the frame and match. That was the warning, "If you don't hit a red

:51:01. > :51:09.this time, you forfeit the frame. Those quote so he's not playing the

:51:10. > :51:16.thin one now. He will certain -- he is making certain he hits this red.

:51:17. > :51:24.Now, where is that cue ball going to finish? Well, I think there is a red

:51:25. > :51:29.to the middle. I think there is just a red to the middle. There is one to

:51:30. > :51:33.the corner, but being hampered as he is, it doesn't make it easy. That is

:51:34. > :51:44.why he didn't want to play that kind of shot, but he was forced into it

:51:45. > :51:47.because of the two misses. Yes, he played a very positively. I thought

:51:48. > :51:52.he could have trundled the ball towards the pocket, make it hard for

:51:53. > :51:56.Judd Trump, but in a different way he has made it very awkward for Judd

:51:57. > :52:03.Trump. That red just below the pink, for me, definitely goes to the right

:52:04. > :52:10.middle. It's a bit more of a cut than it looks, but... Well, never in

:52:11. > :52:12.doubt was it? Has he got on the black? That is the question. He's on

:52:13. > :52:41.the black! Not the easiest of opportunities,

:52:42. > :52:53.this, mainly because the black is now unavailable. Wait a minute, the

:52:54. > :52:58.black pearls go. It didn't look as though it did go, but it does go to

:52:59. > :53:04.the opposite corner to this red. You wouldn't play for it off this red, I

:53:05. > :53:09.would have thought. But to get back up for the blue, he's got to play

:53:10. > :53:13.this with quite a lot of right-hand side on the cue ball. He did play

:53:14. > :53:17.for the black and he has judged it to perfection! Beautifully played.

:53:18. > :53:30.Turned out to be an absolute natural. So now it's a chance.

:53:31. > :53:46.Judged the cannon perfectly. At the moment, the black is still only

:53:47. > :53:51.available into the right corner. Putting this red to the right corner

:53:52. > :53:56.won't release the black, but if he gets rid of the other red, the black

:53:57. > :54:01.will be available to both corner pockets. He can play for the red to

:54:02. > :54:03.the left of the black this time. What a chance this has turned out to

:54:04. > :54:35.be. I don't suppose Neil Robertson in

:54:36. > :54:38.his wildest dreams would have thought when he went for that red

:54:39. > :54:44.with pace down the left cushion as his third attempt after two Mrs that

:54:45. > :54:49.he was going to get the black into play. He missed it by some distance

:54:50. > :54:54.and look how that cue ball went around there and this red bumped

:54:55. > :55:01.into it and the black was opened up. A careless positional shot, it

:55:02. > :55:07.appears, from Judd. He has tied up the pink and black now. So from what

:55:08. > :55:09.looked like a good opportunity, he would now do well to get past the

:55:10. > :55:31.winning line at this visit. Even more so now. He will be very

:55:32. > :55:42.disappointed with his last two shots. Last three shots. As you can

:55:43. > :55:47.see, there is a straight red here. If it were just off straight and he

:55:48. > :55:50.could nudge the pink and black into Blakey may be tempted, but it will

:55:51. > :56:00.only be a safety. And not the best of safeties. So maybe he was just a

:56:01. > :56:05.little upset at breaking down, and he has not hit that at all. This was

:56:06. > :56:08.the shot, where he finished upholding the black spot and he was

:56:09. > :56:19.trying to play a little stunt run through. He misjudged it.

:56:20. > :56:30.You just saw his reaction, he was disgusted at holding the black spot.

:56:31. > :56:41.Neil Robertson once again playing very thin on the red, trying not to

:56:42. > :56:49.disturb much from his safeties. It nearly is a plant. This is a far

:56:50. > :56:52.better safety shot, cutting off the route back down the table.

:56:53. > :57:11.It's tough playing Finn safety -- thin safety. This isn't as thin as

:57:12. > :57:24.the last time. Yeah, that was an excellent safety

:57:25. > :57:34.shot, his best for some time. This time Judd, who has a chance of

:57:35. > :57:38.playing a thin one onto the black, I was going to say that but he won't

:57:39. > :57:44.want to disturb the black from this position, I think the green is

:57:45. > :57:48.stopping him. He's just a bit wary. There is a gap between the yellow

:57:49. > :57:53.and green to play this red, but if he hits it thin on the left-hand

:57:54. > :57:57.side as we look, he would be sending it towards the corner. If he tries

:57:58. > :58:02.to play it safe of the one tied to the cushion, if you catch these too

:58:03. > :58:07.thick, he would come up the table with the white. Oh! He has hit that

:58:08. > :58:08.beautifully. He has hit that absolutely beautifully. Tremendous

:58:09. > :59:14.safety, well played. Well, he's giving this plenty of

:59:15. > :59:19.thought. He can get through to this aggro crimson on the top cushion,

:59:20. > :59:25.but these are very difficult to get safe off. If you don't hit them thin

:59:26. > :59:35.enough, the cue ball goes nowhere. There is my old mate Patsy Fagan.

:59:36. > :59:41.He's keeping it a secret, but he is 65 today. You don't look it, Pat!

:59:42. > :00:03.1977 UK champion. Great player. Well, he took a long time to decide

:00:04. > :00:17.on the shot and he messed it up completely. That is putting it

:00:18. > :00:22.mildly! Broke the black up again. He obviously wasn't playing the pot,

:00:23. > :00:31.said he needed to hit it a lot thinner than he did. Good black.

:00:32. > :00:33.Looked easy, but was missable. Particular you when you're playing

:00:34. > :00:38.those delicate little screws, you have to be careful on these

:00:39. > :00:43.superfine cloth is that the cue ball doesn't slide away. He would be

:00:44. > :00:48.pleased to see that go in. He's not inch perfect but I think there is a

:00:49. > :00:54.gap. That's what he will be playing for. For the blue, I think. Yes,

:00:55. > :00:55.either blue or pink. He wouldn't want to risk trying to play for the

:00:56. > :01:29.black. Could have gone funny on the blue.

:01:30. > :01:33.He's played that well. If it was straighter he could have played for

:01:34. > :01:39.the red that is just up and the left of the pink spot. One of them will

:01:40. > :01:49.go to this right corner. That will give him good position on the black.

:01:50. > :02:01.Has he gone far enough? Yes. He's just about OK.

:02:02. > :02:08.For a split second there Neil Robertson would have been hoping by

:02:09. > :02:23.Judd Trump's body movements that he'd not got on it.

:02:24. > :02:33.Now, he's only a few pots away from the winning line in this frame now.

:02:34. > :02:36.Won the first two frames, Robertson came back in good fashion.

:02:37. > :02:37.Particularly, to make it two each with the highest break of the

:02:38. > :02:47.tournament so far, a 139. It's Judd Trump who really has been

:02:48. > :02:52.winning the safety exchanges, which has turned this round slightly. It

:02:53. > :02:54.looks like - well, for certain now, Judd will win another two frames in

:02:55. > :03:19.a row. Potential century. UMPIRE: Turn that

:03:20. > :03:21.phone off please! Wasn't so much the fun ring, it was just such a bad

:03:22. > :03:53.ringtone. Play the run through. Disturb these

:03:54. > :04:05.reds near the top cushion. He didn't have to play it with too much pace,

:04:06. > :04:09.and judged it to perfection. Already had three century breaks in the

:04:10. > :04:14.first five frames. Every likelihood we could see a fourth one here. The

:04:15. > :04:26.standard just gets higher and higher.

:04:27. > :04:35.You can say it's a nailed on century.

:04:36. > :04:47.Oh, he's played the cannon and missed it. So, good pot needed on

:04:48. > :04:58.this red. Oh, and got. Sweet as a nut.

:04:59. > :05:05.Don't let us down, Judd, just drop this in, bound to be on the black.

:05:06. > :05:15.Well, played. May have to go in and out of baulk and find the gap in

:05:16. > :05:21.between the yellow and the brown. Oh, he's took his eye off the black.

:05:22. > :05:27.You said that we were going to ruin, it Steve. Well, it didn't really

:05:28. > :05:34.matter, no century, another frame for Judd Trump. Once again, two

:05:35. > :05:38.frames in front. 4-2 this time. 2 would have been 373 career century

:05:39. > :05:43.breaks had he got that 100. John, I don't know how you feel about Neil

:05:44. > :05:51.Robertson, he has a smile on his face when the mobile phone rings off

:05:52. > :05:58.he is probably thinking - I might lose this today? A couple of shots

:05:59. > :06:02.were #12r5e7bg. This red here. It's a difficult pot to play at dead

:06:03. > :06:07.weight. Trying to play it the way he has done it there is asking for the

:06:08. > :06:13.absolute ultimate. If he plays that dead weight, he pots the red, he can

:06:14. > :06:17.play a safety shot if he doesn't he leaves it in the jaw of the pocket.

:06:18. > :06:24.The second one, this one we will see now. This is bizarre. He is playing

:06:25. > :06:28.this shot here. Miss-hit it. So much difficulty on it. He flicked the

:06:29. > :06:32.black into play. If he comes off the side cushion and drops on that red

:06:33. > :06:37.he left Judd a red near the top which is hard to pot. No pink and he

:06:38. > :06:42.can't on the blue. He would only leave him one red. You can't do that

:06:43. > :06:47.when you are playing Judd Trump He has been put under pressure. Judd

:06:48. > :06:57.had a century. He could have had another century. On the balls he is

:06:58. > :07:02.devastated. Ing. It doesn't matter who you are, you are pressure. When

:07:03. > :07:06.you are looking at the match as it stands now do you think Judd has

:07:07. > :07:11.enough to go on and win in? We know what Neil Robertson does he gives

:07:12. > :07:15.himself a difficult mountain to climb and hauls himself back into

:07:16. > :07:19.it? This is the biggest test in a long time hechl hasn't had the

:07:20. > :07:24.bitter pill of defeat for a long, long time heaven won the Champion of

:07:25. > :07:30.Champions he won the UK. He doesn't know what it's like to lose a match.

:07:31. > :07:36.It looks like he will lose this one. Judd Trump is playing vital stuff.

:07:37. > :07:42.You have room for error, Judd Trump goes 5-2 he is up against it. Judd

:07:43. > :07:45.is low in confidence, nothing can affect your confidence like

:07:46. > :07:46.something what he is doing against Neil Robertson today. Here comes

:07:47. > :07:59.Judd. Thank you, frame seven, Judd Trump

:08:00. > :08:11.to break. Judd just left the arena after that

:08:12. > :08:14.frame. A grim mass there as he played that. It seems every time he

:08:15. > :08:26.breaks off he loses this half-ball pot to the corner. He's done it

:08:27. > :08:35.again -- grimace. Such a dangerous thing to do with a Potter of Neil

:08:36. > :08:41.Robertson' quality. With the black available into both corners, it's a

:08:42. > :08:44.decent chance. If you remember, in the frame after the mid-session

:08:45. > :08:49.interval, Neil knocked a similar one in. Played the yellow, overscrewed

:08:50. > :08:55.it, and run out of position. But I think the positional side of this

:08:56. > :09:49.shot is a little bit easier than it was in that fifth frame.

:09:50. > :09:58.Just underscrew that a little bit. I wouldn't expect him to miss it, but

:09:59. > :10:02.he'd like to have been straighter. If he's straighter he has more

:10:03. > :10:07.control of the cue ball. He has got into it too much much it's not a

:10:08. > :10:10.great angle on the blue. If he was right handed the green would be the

:10:11. > :10:16.ball toll play, but he's run out of position. Good shot needed to keep

:10:17. > :10:45.this break going now. Well, he struck that absolutely

:10:46. > :11:22.beautifully. Now, back in position. In potting this red, he should be

:11:23. > :11:28.able to open up some more reds into play. He's got to guarantee being on

:11:29. > :11:34.a colour. It looks like he's chosen the black. Trusting to luck a bit,

:11:35. > :11:41.but I think he'll... I think he'll settle for that. He's a very

:11:42. > :11:45.aggressive way of going about it. -- it's a very aggressive way of going

:11:46. > :11:48.about it. Possibly could have played it softer and run through for the

:11:49. > :11:51.black into the left corner. It wouldn't have been guaranteed. But a

:11:52. > :12:27.fair bit of pressure on this black. Yeah, played it well. Now, is he on

:12:28. > :12:50.this red to the right corner? Given it the one eye! -- giving.

:12:51. > :12:59.I said at the time, when Judd Trump broke off, he grimaced, he left him

:13:00. > :13:01.that long red on, and that could be the only shot that Judd's going to

:13:02. > :13:09.get now. This was the break off shot. Now,

:13:10. > :15:21.this side of the baulk colours. As you saw, that cue ball

:15:22. > :15:21.sort knew, as soon as he hit it, that

:15:22. > :15:34.he'd left a long pot on. This be the frame winner. It's hard to

:15:35. > :15:50.see Neil missing here. be the frame winner. It's hard to

:15:51. > :16:11.red and the black would put him 72 points in

:16:12. > :16:17.red and the black would put him 72 himself a share of the (inaudible).

:16:18. > :16:19.Can't get on the black off this red, but still a good chance of another

:16:20. > :16:55.century. That cue action, Neil Robertson

:16:56. > :17:01.right over his right eye. The cue dead in line with that. Plenty of

:17:02. > :17:12.right handed players are over their left eye.

:17:13. > :17:29.Arguable whether that's nature or nurture.

:17:30. > :17:36.Red and black, Judd Trump's had two centuries already in this match.

:17:37. > :17:47.This would be Neil Robertson' second.

:17:48. > :17:58.Top quality. Even the break off shot is now becoming a poison chalice, if

:17:59. > :18:02.you don't get it right. As I always say - no matter how good you are, if

:18:03. > :18:06.you're sat in that seat, there's nothing you can do about it. OK the

:18:07. > :18:09.red didn't matter. He has already made the highest break of the

:18:10. > :18:15.tournament. He reduces arrears now to one. Judd Trump leads 4-3. 21

:18:16. > :18:19.century breaks for Neil Robertson this season. We said at the start of

:18:20. > :18:24.the programme it would be high quality. A slow start, look at this,

:18:25. > :18:30.John? Honestly, these boys are good, aren't they? They really are good.

:18:31. > :18:38.The standard they are producing is exceptional. I mean, absolutely

:18:39. > :18:44.magnificent scoring. The standard is just stealar. 139 the highest break

:18:45. > :18:50.of the tournament. Steve says he will share it with himself. It's

:18:51. > :18:54.terrific stuff Yeah. What I like about Robertson, although he didn't

:18:55. > :18:58.do it that time, Judd Trump will play the exhibition shots at the end

:18:59. > :19:01.of the break, Neil wants to clear the table every time hechl is an

:19:02. > :19:06.animal when it comes to potting every single ball. He will be

:19:07. > :19:09.irritated he missed that red there. John mentioned the breakoff, it's

:19:10. > :19:15.important and sometimes you can't, whatever you do, you can't get it. I

:19:16. > :19:18.remember playing Steve in a UK semi-final I lost four frames off my

:19:19. > :19:23.break. In the end I said to the referee, I would drop you a few

:19:24. > :19:26.quid, can you leave the triangle on. No matter where you put the cue ball

:19:27. > :19:30.he kept clearing up. It's so important. Sometimes the way the

:19:31. > :19:34.cloth slides you can't get the cue ball behind it. It's massively

:19:35. > :19:37.important. As you see it there. None of the players have complained about

:19:38. > :19:44.the conditions here at Alexandra Palace. You remember about the talk

:19:45. > :19:49.in the UK Championship in December? Nowhere near as many kicks. The

:19:50. > :19:57.conditions look excellent. Obviously, that's proving it today.

:19:58. > :20:09.Can he avoid the kiss on the black? Now, the red's gone in. He wants it

:20:10. > :20:18.to stop short of the baulk line, I don't think it will. He wants a kiss

:20:19. > :20:23.on the yellow. Just too hard. Now he would expect to roll behind the

:20:24. > :20:28.yellow you will not get much out of it, that is the only thing, with the

:20:29. > :20:33.packed cluster as they are. Well judged to decide that he could get

:20:34. > :20:38.past the black with the cue ball. As you say, John, unlikely to get any

:20:39. > :20:58.advantage from this. Touching ball has been declared by

:20:59. > :21:05.the referee. That makes it much easier for Judd to play another good

:21:06. > :21:06.safety. He'd like to cut off the edge of the reds, if he could, with

:21:07. > :21:47.the green. And may well have done. A touch short. If he could have cued

:21:48. > :21:52.past the red he maybe would have played the red, that's to the right

:21:53. > :21:57.of the blue. Just asking for the screen up because he couldn't

:21:58. > :22:01.remember where the cue ball was. No, it's a bit further over. Oh, a bit

:22:02. > :22:09.further. Judged it better that time. No

:22:10. > :23:26.touching ball. Just got to be careful here that you

:23:27. > :23:30.don't just slide past these reds, otherwise you could leave the red,

:23:31. > :23:38.that's just to the right of the black. Oh, he nearly slid past them.

:23:39. > :23:49.A fraction harder and he'd have left the red.

:23:50. > :24:05.Very difficult for Judd to get the whole pack hidden from this shot. So

:24:06. > :24:10.getting the cue ball down into the corner. Will Neil Robertson try to

:24:11. > :24:13.open the pack and play a safety shot? Or, is he still trying to

:24:14. > :24:24.contain the situation? He's loathe to open the pack, isn't

:24:25. > :24:27.he? Could he be forgiven for spreading them all over the place,

:24:28. > :24:34.but you just don't know where the reds are going to go. He's playing a

:24:35. > :24:36.very precise type of safety, not risking any unwanted reds going

:24:37. > :24:49.towards the corner pocket. Careless that from Judd. So, he's

:24:50. > :24:55.left a chance of a pot, that brown will make it slightly awkward

:24:56. > :24:59.cueing. He's refusing it just because the brown's going to hamper

:25:00. > :25:07.him. Trying to get this cue ball in behind the brown. Not quite. Good

:25:08. > :25:13.length. I can understand the applause.

:25:14. > :25:27.The snooker would have been the better result for Neil. He's got

:25:28. > :25:31.enough of the side of the pack to flick off, but the red is inviting,

:25:32. > :25:37.should he get it in. An element of safety to the top cushion. He's hit

:25:38. > :25:39.it well, but he hasn't got away with it. Although this is a lot more

:25:40. > :26:10.difficult than it looks. - on TV. Well, just got a slight angle, but

:26:11. > :26:13.he doesn't have to do much. Roll the blue in, there is a red, just up

:26:14. > :26:24.from the pink, leave himself straight on that. A nice run through

:26:25. > :26:32.for the black. So first chance. First good chance.

:26:33. > :26:45.The way these two players have been scoring today, you expect them to

:26:46. > :26:50.get sizeable breaks. Wouldn't be able to play for the black here.

:26:51. > :26:57.Probably didn't want to, probably thinking, leave a nice angle on the

:26:58. > :27:05.blue and cannon into them. He could have done with a little more angle

:27:06. > :27:09.than this. Just underthat slightly. Well, if he tries to go into the

:27:10. > :27:14.pink direct to play the cannon he's going to have to generate the pace

:27:15. > :27:16.and may decide to run round off two cushions. You've got to hit this

:27:17. > :27:30.hard. Couldn't have hit that any better.

:27:31. > :27:38.Should have got more reds open there. Count yourself a bit unlucky.

:27:39. > :27:50.Can he spot one through the gap? That would be handy. A plant. Oh...

:27:51. > :27:59.Well, if it goes, he can screw back for the black.

:28:00. > :28:08.He put his hand up to apologise to Judd after this red went in because,

:28:09. > :28:17.basically, he was lucky to find that plant.

:28:18. > :28:22.Yeah, swings and roundabouts really. He hit the blue so well he could

:28:23. > :28:32.have opened up more reds. Is this going to be another

:28:33. > :28:40.frame-winning contribution? We've had so many here today. Power

:28:41. > :28:46.snooker. This is why it's so hard to pick winners in these matches. You

:28:47. > :28:53.know, last frame Judd just broke off, left a long red and bouts of

:28:54. > :28:58.safety in this. Now Neil's in. Just gone slightly awkward. I don't think

:28:59. > :29:06.the blue goes to the right middle. Or does it?

:29:07. > :29:27.He tried to get perfect on the red by the blue and, once again, he

:29:28. > :29:34.played on the yellow earlier and overscrewed it. Overscrewed it by

:29:35. > :29:37.some way. So, well out of position now and not a frame-winning

:29:38. > :29:41.contribution unless he can pull out something special. Good pot needed

:29:42. > :29:53.here. Oh, and got. Now, what's the cue

:29:54. > :29:55.ball control like? Not very good. He thought, pot the red, bound to be on

:29:56. > :30:07.the black. He's overhit it slightly. Looks like he's lined up the black.

:30:08. > :30:25.Surely not. A monstrous blue to take on. Thought

:30:26. > :30:31.he was talking himself into the black for a second, there. Top

:30:32. > :30:41.players love to cut their losses and play safe. -- loath to cut their

:30:42. > :30:46.losses. But sometimes it is the right thing to do. He has a nice

:30:47. > :30:50.half ball off the green to get the cue ball in behind the brown. He

:30:51. > :31:01.played it perfectly. Not only got the snooker but got the

:31:02. > :31:27.cream safe as well. He was not far away but the only

:31:28. > :31:31.problem with that shot, you are going to go mighty close to the pink

:31:32. > :31:36.if you are coming off the three conditions. Those three reds to the

:31:37. > :31:42.left of the pink, he is frightened of nestling up to them, he could

:31:43. > :31:49.leave a pot on the red to the right of the blue. But he's got to get

:31:50. > :31:56.very close to the pink. He's mistrusted now completely. --

:31:57. > :31:59.misjudged it. So that, you would think, is the end of this frame.

:32:00. > :33:09.It's going to be all square again. Screwed it a little further than he

:33:10. > :33:13.would have liked but shouldn't cause a problem. You'd think he would be

:33:14. > :33:29.going up for the yellow, here. To reds to the left of the pink

:33:30. > :33:33.available to the right corner, he would rather play for them than the

:33:34. > :33:37.one close to the blue, you could snooker yourself, as he has done

:33:38. > :33:40.already on that type of shot. But now in prime position, can't see him

:33:41. > :34:27.missing from here. That applause signals that he's got

:34:28. > :34:30.to the snooker is required stage. And that pink going in means there

:34:31. > :34:41.is no way back to the table now for Judd. It has been a real topsy-turvy

:34:42. > :34:47.match, hasn't it? Judd Trump won the first two frames, then Neil won two,

:34:48. > :34:56.and then again. It is getting more and more important, with the target

:34:57. > :35:02.at six. 4-4. Can somebody win two frames on the trot? In the near

:35:03. > :35:13.future. That would put them over the line. Still no real signs of who it

:35:14. > :35:20.may be. Doesn't matter about the red, the frame was well and truly

:35:21. > :35:22.over. So Judd Trump keeps getting his to frame advantage, Neil

:35:23. > :36:29.Robertson keeps clawing it back. Still all to play for, 4-4.

:36:30. > :36:35.Neil Robertson handles these big occasions so well, doesn't he?

:36:36. > :36:39.Considering he has been playing catch up all afternoon, a fantastic

:36:40. > :36:43.performance. Just wonder whether he can get his nose in front. He has

:36:44. > :36:47.done remarkably well. Every time he's been asked the question he's

:36:48. > :36:54.had a response. Every frame has been very one sided, one player getting

:36:55. > :36:58.in and dominating the other. If it goes to form then Judd should win

:36:59. > :37:02.the next two frames. It will be interesting to see his reaction. Do

:37:03. > :37:07.you get the feel momentum is shifting with meal or you simply

:37:08. > :37:11.cannot call? It has gone from a Best of 11 to a best of three and a toss

:37:12. > :37:16.of a coin. Both can score heavily. You've just got to hope it's your

:37:17. > :37:21.day. At the level we are at it really is anybody's game. He breezed

:37:22. > :37:26.past Marco Fu and in many ways that was not the ideal operation. Really

:37:27. > :37:31.tough to call. This is what you expect with matches like this, it's

:37:32. > :37:35.the best players in the world. When the players are getting in, they

:37:36. > :37:40.just don't look like missing. The balls are going nicely as well which

:37:41. > :37:45.is making for the high breaks. As John Virgo said in commentary, do

:37:46. > :37:49.break off is becoming so important. If you let one of these players in,

:37:50. > :37:56.it can cost you the friend. Given it is such a massive match, when one of

:37:57. > :38:00.them wins, do you get the feeling that suddenly the momentum is then

:38:01. > :38:05.with you in the build-up to the latter stages of the tournament? It

:38:06. > :38:10.will give the win unbelievable belief. Both these players have the

:38:11. > :38:11.utmost respect for each other and whoever wins, this is a great result

:38:12. > :38:28.for whoever wins. Here we go, then. COMMENTATOR: Once again has left the

:38:29. > :38:33.half ball red on. He may have to dig down a bit here, making the pot more

:38:34. > :38:42.difficult. And that's what makes the difference. Where's the Red Bull

:38:43. > :38:47.going? -- red ball. Well. Just shows you. That one he couldn't floating,

:38:48. > :38:51.had to do a little bit with the cue ball and it made all the difference

:38:52. > :39:25.to the pot. So, first chance to Judd Trump.

:39:26. > :39:35.Beautiful. The perfect weight. Hit so crisply. Giving himself the

:39:36. > :39:41.chance to win arguably the most important frame of the match so far.

:39:42. > :39:51.Whoever wins this has two bytes to get over the line.

:39:52. > :40:05.-- has two bites to get over the line.

:40:06. > :40:13.Early days, of course. But if you were going to place balls all over

:40:14. > :40:18.the table, there's always the possibility of a 147. But I think

:40:19. > :40:24.winning the frame is the prime concern first. Oh, absolutely. And

:40:25. > :40:30.Judd was a little disappointed he didn't get a better angle on this

:40:31. > :40:41.red. There are other reds available, but of course they are miserable. --

:40:42. > :40:44.missable. The red into the right corner would be the one to play for

:40:45. > :40:51.the black but he must feel as if he can get on the black quite easily.

:40:52. > :40:56.Slightly awkward cueing, Longbridge. But he's happy that he's going to be

:40:57. > :40:58.able to control it. Screw through the gap between the two reds, is

:40:59. > :41:10.that the plan? Welcome its risky. He's going for the blue. The frame

:41:11. > :41:13.is the priority. It just went a little bit awkward, when you are

:41:14. > :41:20.close by that it is difficult to get top spin. If he sends this cue ball

:41:21. > :41:28.in and out of baulk he's got to avoid the kiss on possibly be green.

:41:29. > :41:34.-- on possibly the green. Always difficult with that type of shot to

:41:35. > :41:41.get the necessary top spin. So this could be the key to the frame. Right

:41:42. > :41:55.in the heart of the pocket. Never any doubt. Not ideally placed on the

:41:56. > :41:59.black, he's got to have some action on this cue ball, which is not a

:42:00. > :42:03.problem for him, but I don't think he is judged the pace right. Got

:42:04. > :42:07.away with it a fraction. I was going to say it looked for a moment he

:42:08. > :42:15.would be on nothing, but he's got a choice of reds. You'd think the one

:42:16. > :42:22.to the left middle is better. He's plainly the right. -- he's playing

:42:23. > :42:36.the one to the right. Perfect position.

:42:37. > :42:41.Didn't hit that in the middle of the pocket. This is not the red he

:42:42. > :42:57.played for, I can assure you. Not wasting much time, here. Letting

:42:58. > :43:05.his ability and natural talent do the work. This is what you practice

:43:06. > :43:11.for, so that when it comes to the match you can flow.

:43:12. > :43:18.Average shop time for Judd Trump is an astonishing 16 seconds -- shot

:43:19. > :43:35.time. He's just not finding perfect

:43:36. > :43:40.position at the moment, I've got to say that. He should have been

:43:41. > :43:46.straight on the pink. Played the black before that didn't go in the

:43:47. > :43:55.middle. Fortunate kiss on the red that left it on. He may be just

:43:56. > :44:01.feeling it. He's only a few pots away. That's OK, but does the black

:44:02. > :44:06.go? I don't think it does. And if it doesn't... It's very tight. I think

:44:07. > :44:13.he's going to have to play the pink, and there is pressure on this. If it

:44:14. > :44:19.goes in, it's a frame-winner. If he misses it, chance for Robertson to

:44:20. > :44:26.counterattack. Tremendous shot. Absolutely top-class. We've seen

:44:27. > :44:36.some snooker today, Steve. Shot of the match so far. So easy to have

:44:37. > :44:45.missed that intention. -- missed that through tension.

:44:46. > :44:55.In goes the black. Snooker is required. And if we're thinking

:44:56. > :45:00.about it, Neil Robertson made a 139 in frame four. There's a possible

:45:01. > :45:39.141 on here. Marvellous performance here by Judd

:45:40. > :45:55.Trump. This is really going to set up the next frame nicely.

:45:56. > :45:58.If he can convert this into a century break it would be five

:45:59. > :46:13.centuries in nine frames. Oh, superb shot. Could have just

:46:14. > :46:20.done with running past the pink but if he place the red and the pink

:46:21. > :46:27.he's still got a 141. Neil Robertson was trying to look round Trump's

:46:28. > :46:41.body. His third century of the match. Sensational stuff from the

:46:42. > :46:47.Juddernaught. And he knows now, red, black and all the colours for the

:46:48. > :46:51.highest break of the tournament. And he knows because he sat in his chair

:46:52. > :46:57.and watched Neil Robertson make the 139 in the fourth frame. Right in

:46:58. > :47:02.the middle of the pocket. Just the six colours standing between Judd

:47:03. > :47:19.and the high break. All this practice over Christmas

:47:20. > :47:24.Judd was talking about with Ken, paying off here. And of course a

:47:25. > :47:32.double whammy for Neil Robertson. Not saying this break will stand by

:47:33. > :47:35.the end of the tournament, but he is almost taking ?10,000 out of Neil

:47:36. > :47:52.Robertson's pocket here if he can pot these three remaining balls.

:47:53. > :48:02.Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Judd Trump's third century of the

:48:03. > :48:06.match and not only is it his third, it's the highest break of the

:48:07. > :48:13.tournament, beating Neil Robertson's 139 with a 140. Absolutely

:48:14. > :48:17.tremendous. And he now is one frame away from a place in the semifinal.

:48:18. > :48:22.STUDIO: You are watching not just one of the matches of the tournament

:48:23. > :48:28.but one of the matches of the season. When you see Judd play like

:48:29. > :48:32.that, the talent, it is criminal that he hasn't won the amount of

:48:33. > :48:35.tournaments he should have done. As we were discussing. Exactly, because

:48:36. > :48:40.he's got the game to dominate the sport. One of the shots he played at

:48:41. > :48:45.the start of the frame, you could argue only Judd could play this

:48:46. > :48:49.shot. EQ power and the control with the Czech side. Perhaps those

:48:50. > :48:54.Sullivan could play that, but he wouldn't even play it now. That just

:48:55. > :48:59.shows the talent of the man, phenomenal shot. Played so

:49:00. > :49:02.positively. But what about the pink into the middle pocket? So much

:49:03. > :49:07.pressure on it, if you miss, you are throwing the game away possibly. And

:49:08. > :49:11.the cueing on that was superb. He deserved everything he got after

:49:12. > :49:19.that. A little slap to his opponent's chops with a 140. Losing

:49:20. > :49:22.?10,000. During the mid-session interval we were talking about

:49:23. > :49:26.Judd's psychological state. He admitted in the interview with Ken

:49:27. > :49:30.Doherty that he has these thoughts that come in during pressure

:49:31. > :49:36.moments. Now we will learn all about his big-game mentality. Sometimes

:49:37. > :49:39.you can second-guess yourself. When you are playing somebody as good as

:49:40. > :49:43.Neil Robertson and there is a rivalry there, you are focused from

:49:44. > :49:47.ball one and everything else goes out the window. If you are not, you

:49:48. > :49:53.are not doing your job properly. Here we go, frame ten, stand by.

:49:54. > :49:59.COMMENTATOR: This looks like a better links off the break of shot,

:50:00. > :50:08.but there is still this red available. Made more difficult with

:50:09. > :50:11.the good length of the cue ball. There is an element of shot to

:50:12. > :50:21.nothing about just rolling that red into the left corner, and only being

:50:22. > :50:31.able to leave up. He's spotted one into the opposite corner that is the

:50:32. > :50:39.same equation. Quite a way out, there. Think he played the pot. I

:50:40. > :50:42.think he did play the pot. Probably making certain the one thing he

:50:43. > :50:50.didn't want to do if he missed it was career into the other reds. And

:50:51. > :50:56.it was tight, wasn't it? To in and get position on the plaque.

:50:57. > :51:00.-- the black. Neil Robertson is desperately looking for an

:51:01. > :51:10.opportunity. We know what he will do if he gets one. But who is going to

:51:11. > :51:19.win this vital safety battle? Potential for the black to get tied

:51:20. > :51:21.up a bit, here. Thought he could have played the pack, are far better

:51:22. > :51:35.shot. Still could get a bit messy, this

:51:36. > :51:38.frame. Neil Robertson has a big target behind the green and brown.

:51:39. > :51:57.Shifting the reds around a bit. He's covered the escape down the

:51:58. > :52:02.right-hand side of the table. So that gives Judd a slight problem.

:52:03. > :52:06.The obvious one is to come off the side cushion and just nestle into

:52:07. > :52:15.that little group of three just below the pink. That's the one. But

:52:16. > :52:21.it's one of those, as we say Sunday Times, you've got to be careful. --

:52:22. > :52:27.as we say so many times. You've got to judge it to perfection. Is he

:52:28. > :52:35.going to reach? Foul and a miss, Neil Robertson four. Does anything

:52:36. > :52:48.go? If it doesn't he will have it replaced. There is a gap for the

:52:49. > :53:01.red. Definitely goes. He's not convinced. Never been one for

:53:02. > :53:07.looking from behind the pocket. A lot of players do like to check from

:53:08. > :53:21.that angle. So he's got enough room for manoeuvre, here. He just flicked

:53:22. > :53:30.the red but he's still got it. He wins the safety exchange. And he

:53:31. > :53:33.gets first chance. Didn't flick the red. Waiting for my glasses to come

:53:34. > :54:19.through. He's obviously thinking about where

:54:20. > :54:25.the pink is going to go when it's we spotted.

:54:26. > :54:36.-- respotted. Now, where does the pink go?

:54:37. > :54:42.Comfortable goes on its own spot. Available to the right corner? No.

:54:43. > :55:03.So it is tied up, out of commission. He tried to stun a cross for the

:55:04. > :55:09.black and I don't think he stunned far enough over. Yes, mistakes.

:55:10. > :55:18.Court that a bit thicker than he wanted. Had a bit more room to play

:55:19. > :55:38.with with the pocket. Big blue to take on, now.

:55:39. > :55:51.Such a good potter, though. Not many balls are safe on the table when

:55:52. > :55:55.Neil Robertson is playing. Has he got an angle to be able to get on

:55:56. > :56:02.the black at the top cushion? Looks like he has. And plotting this red

:56:03. > :56:05.clears the black spot. So it could not have worked out any better --

:56:06. > :56:12.potting this thread. Don't tell me another century break.

:56:13. > :56:21.What a performance that would be. Well this is just an incredible

:56:22. > :56:44.standard. Didn't feel as though he could play

:56:45. > :56:53.for the black, there. Isn't perfect on this blue. One thing you want to

:56:54. > :56:57.try and avoid if you can is playing cannons, because then it can go

:56:58. > :57:02.wrong. And the yellow, which is a straight one which he could play, he

:57:03. > :57:08.has overscrewed that shot a couple of times. Not ideal position. He is

:57:09. > :57:18.too wide on the blue to make this comfortable. Potting the blue and

:57:19. > :57:27.screwing into the pack as you say is trusting a bit to luck. Difficult to

:57:28. > :57:34.see exactly those two reds above the black, how they are placed.

:57:35. > :57:52.Certainly out of position, that's for certain.

:57:53. > :58:04.I assume that this bottom red of the two will go. This is tough but I

:58:05. > :58:13.think he will get it. Oh, well played. Yes. It's such a high

:58:14. > :58:19.standard. You don't expect these players to miss the pressure shots,

:58:20. > :58:25.do you? Today it's just been superb. And every time you think that

:58:26. > :59:09.somebody could wobble slightly, they just put in another tremendous shot.

:59:10. > :59:20.Well, short of ideal. He's going to have to leave himself further away,

:59:21. > :59:32.and for the left-hander, a bit more difficult.

:59:33. > :59:58.Well, this time, slight angle on the blue, so you'd think he'd play for

:59:59. > :00:07.the red on the left-hand side of the table, here. He's looking for a

:00:08. > :00:09.couple of reds and a couple of colours after this blue, to take us

:00:10. > :00:21.to a decider. I think he's just about OK to stun

:00:22. > :00:25.this in, across the face of the black for the black into the same

:00:26. > :00:35.pocket. Oh, he's underhit it. He's under hit it. A quick glance at the

:00:36. > :00:46.scoreboard. He still needs the black and one more colour, and one more

:00:47. > :00:48.red, sorry. It's gone wrong. Still a good chance of getting the black,

:00:49. > :01:08.but the position makes it harder. What a marvellous shot that was. You

:01:09. > :01:17.just can't fault them, can you? It's been an exhibition of snooker of the

:01:18. > :01:24.highest standard. That's the ball that puts him 68 points in front,

:01:25. > :01:35.with just 67 remaining. It's one chance snooker all the way. Well,

:01:36. > :01:37.John, whoever loses this match has got every right to kick the dressing

:01:38. > :01:57.room door in. Another lovely pot. That means that

:01:58. > :02:01.Judd will not be coming back to the table. We are definitely into a

:02:02. > :02:14.decider. It would be nice to see another century.

:02:15. > :02:38.Needs a good angle off a colour here to split the three reds up.

:02:39. > :03:01.Well, pity, century, but quite understandably now both players are

:03:02. > :03:08.going to leave the arena. It's all square. We've got a deciding frame

:03:09. > :03:13.to look forward to. Who will it be? Well, hard to say.

:03:14. > :03:17.STUDIO:. We are not surprised there going out of the arena for a few

:03:18. > :03:21.minutes. I don't know if your heart is pounding, who the players must be

:03:22. > :03:25.going through right now. Incredible snooker? I'm not prone to

:03:26. > :03:30.exaggerating. This is one of the best matches I've ever seen. It's of

:03:31. > :03:34.an unbelievable standard with two players playing as good as they can

:03:35. > :03:39.play. It is one visit snooker, as John said in commentary, it's such a

:03:40. > :03:44.high standard. One goes and punches, the other one counter punches. So

:03:45. > :03:49.many frames won with no reply. Big score zero. Every frame is one

:03:50. > :03:53.sided. I thought he lost the break there. Stun over for the black, Neil

:03:54. > :03:58.Robertson, he played a brilliant shot on the blue. A tough shot.

:03:59. > :04:04.Really thin. Come down the table. Misses the middle pocket it comes

:04:05. > :04:15.there. Finishes on the bottom. The angle is perfect. Run through for

:04:16. > :04:19.the black. Amazing stuff? Whoever wins this match, how will they keep

:04:20. > :04:23.that up for the next round? Whoever loses they will go home in the car,

:04:24. > :04:27.it will be a quiet car journey going home if they lose this match. That

:04:28. > :04:32.is what they said in commentary? If you lose in this match, what are you

:04:33. > :04:38.going to think. What have I to play to win? It has been sensational. The

:04:39. > :04:44.final frame, what do you think? Have you got a coin. We say it's a coin

:04:45. > :04:50.toss, it is, whoever gets in first will win it on one visit.

:04:51. > :04:53.Absolutely. It's a funny game. Through this Neil Robertson never

:04:54. > :04:57.had his nose in front in the whole match. When it comes to the winning

:04:58. > :05:04.line he does it. We have seen him do it so May many times? Yeah not many

:05:05. > :05:10.times against someone playing with Judd Trump. He's been brilliant this

:05:11. > :05:16.afternoon. Judd has been magnificent. It's a coin toss. What

:05:17. > :05:20.goes through the mind as you approach this final-frame decider? I

:05:21. > :05:24.mean, I don't know who will break off. The break off will be

:05:25. > :05:30.important, for a start, not to leave a long red. We always say it, one

:05:31. > :05:33.chance. Especially today when these guys are winning - Listen to that

:05:34. > :05:38.cheer the players are getting here. Incredible. As I say, I don't know

:05:39. > :05:41.what they paid for their tickets today, whatever it is I would have

:05:42. > :05:46.paid double. This has been fantastic. In 2009 Judd Trump was

:05:47. > :05:51.knocked out of the Masters by Mark Allen in a wildcard round. Made the

:05:52. > :06:02.semi-finals in 2012 losing to Neil Robertson. Quarter-finals in 2013,

:06:03. > :06:05.2014 and 2015 last 16. He's one frame away from a place in the

:06:06. > :06:08.semi-finals. COMMENTATOR: OK, he may have left

:06:09. > :06:13.this red to the corner, but the black is tied up. Neil Robertson

:06:14. > :06:27.won't be knocking one in-off the break here.

:06:28. > :06:35.It's a tough school when you have to say that, to get it safe off the

:06:36. > :06:41.break is so important. He would be delighted to say see the way they

:06:42. > :06:48.panned out. Early red into the baulk area. Judd really would want to

:06:49. > :07:02.clear the black. It's a positive thing to do.

:07:03. > :07:10.Looks like this is going to turn into a bit of a tactical affair, at

:07:11. > :07:13.this end of the table. Now, normally, a couple of seasons ago,

:07:14. > :07:17.you would have favoured Neil Robertson in this situation, but, as

:07:18. > :07:33.I said earlier, I think Judd's all round game has improved so much.

:07:34. > :07:40.Hit it nicely. Normally you would want want to cover the red on the

:07:41. > :07:46.baulk line. With the other red in that half of the table, it wasn't

:07:47. > :07:51.that important. If Neil plays this red, which he is doing, careful he

:07:52. > :07:57.doesn't leave the other red, or a chance of it, to the middle.

:07:58. > :08:15.That was a risk. Yeah. It could have gone in-off as easy as you like.

:08:16. > :08:22.Not looking at the cut the red into the middle pocket a an element of

:08:23. > :08:26.shot to nothing. What a shot that would be. I don't think it's on,

:08:27. > :08:31.surely not. Hi looked at it. I don't think he can risk playing back to

:08:32. > :08:35.the baulk end. No. Off another red. The cue ball goes towards the blue

:08:36. > :08:37.anyway. Still maybe playing to the top cushion. He's tried it. What a

:08:38. > :08:48.shot. Unbelievable! What a shot! Opportunism at the very best. Can he

:08:49. > :09:08.knock this black in? It's not ideal. It's there. What an opening red.

:09:09. > :09:20.Now, deciding frame. A different kettle of fish. He gets first

:09:21. > :09:35.chance. A chance from nothing. Nothing.

:09:36. > :09:43.Reds are very tightly bunched. It looks like he's got a fantastic

:09:44. > :09:44.opportunity to get the absolute perfect tangle on the blue, to smash

:09:45. > :09:59.them all over the table. Yeah, pink spot not available. Has

:10:00. > :10:03.to go as close to the spot it can in direct line with the middle of the

:10:04. > :10:09.top cushion. Checking the two reds close to the pink and not a plank

:10:10. > :10:12.into the corner pocket, some sort of weird plant to have happened, two

:10:13. > :10:15.shots from now, that wouldn't be great. Perfect angle on the red to

:10:16. > :10:20.get nicely on the blue. Here's the smash. Doesn't look as though

:10:21. > :10:34.there's a plant to one of the corners, so he can go for this

:10:35. > :10:38.full-blooded. Well, a little bit too much backspin on the cue ball. Hit

:10:39. > :10:42.the red full, the cue ball went away from the reds. He should have

:10:43. > :10:44.stunned that more than have a little bit backspin. At the's got a red,

:10:45. > :11:01.but it's not straight-forward. That was a brilliant shot. He can

:11:02. > :11:06.count himself a little bit unlucky he's lost the cue ball to the side

:11:07. > :11:07.cushion. The pressure pot on the blue, no guarantee of position

:11:08. > :11:24.either. Needs to commit. Well, how did that drop? It came out

:11:25. > :11:31.once, and twice. Neil Robertson must have thought he missed it. I think

:11:32. > :11:40.Judd thought he'd missed it. Tension. Not in the centre. It was

:11:41. > :11:47.still a good strike. Judd Trump must be feeling the heat here. This is so

:11:48. > :12:03.exciting. It doesn't look like he's feeling it though.

:12:04. > :12:14.A chance now. That opens things up nicely. Played superb throughout the

:12:15. > :12:15.match. Just got to hold himself together now for this last

:12:16. > :12:27.opportunity. What a fantastic exhibition of

:12:28. > :12:41.snooker from both players. But, Judd Trump now has the chance to sew it

:12:42. > :12:46.up here and now. Trying to keep the nerves under wraps. There's the

:12:47. > :12:56.Judd's family, Judd's father there, and his mother. Just looking like

:12:57. > :12:58.he's not going to miss, but you never know, there's a twist in the

:12:59. > :13:09.tail. He's kept his rhythm up so well.

:13:10. > :13:14.Yeah. Fair point, fair point. It's easy sometimes to over think it a

:13:15. > :13:19.little bit in moments like this. Is but, he's obviously not perfect on

:13:20. > :13:28.this pink. Otherwise, he'd have played it by now. The girlfriend,

:13:29. > :13:34.she's knew to this game. A terrible watch sometimes.

:13:35. > :13:47.A bit short of pace. First mistake. Neil Robertson paying close

:13:48. > :13:50.attention. He spotted it. This red ball would cut it, but it will run

:13:51. > :13:56.into another red. Can he get position? Can he get position? If

:13:57. > :14:01.that red runs past the middle he'll be on the black. And he's on the

:14:02. > :14:08.black! Neil Robertson fearing the worse. Bit fortunate there, but...

:14:09. > :14:12.Oh, and another mistake. Quickly coming round to see if it goes.

:14:13. > :14:18.Surely, he's not snookered himself? He needs one more red. And a colour.

:14:19. > :14:23.If he can swerve it he might be tempted. He has to cut into the left

:14:24. > :14:29.corner. Oh, he'd be tempted by swerving that. You can't believe...

:14:30. > :14:34.I mean Judd couldn't believe when he rolled the black in he was going to

:14:35. > :14:43.nudge the blue. A swerve. I fancy he gets it. He does get it. But he

:14:44. > :14:48.needs now the blue. He dropped one in like this before, it nearly

:14:49. > :14:55.stayed out. This to go 68 points in front with 67 remaining. No problem

:14:56. > :15:00.this time. And a punch of the air. What a match this has been from both

:15:01. > :15:05.players. One of the greatests games we've ever seen in Masters history

:15:06. > :15:08.and any other tournament I've seen. You see him Shaning shaking like a

:15:09. > :15:14.leaf on that. The pressure got to him. How well did he he Perry form

:15:15. > :15:19.to get over the winning line? There's the reaction. That's what it

:15:20. > :15:26.meant to him. Now, he just needs to compose himself and roll this red

:15:27. > :15:31.in. And that will dot the i's and cross the t's. There is no way back

:15:32. > :15:35.for Neil Robertson now. Neil Robertson has been the player of the

:15:36. > :15:44.season, but Judd Trump has proven, when he's on form, he can beat

:15:45. > :15:49.anybody. It's taken, John, a performance of this magnitude to

:15:50. > :15:55.knock Neil Robertson out of his winning ways. Fair point. Neil

:15:56. > :16:03.Robertson most of the season has been looking unbeatable. But this

:16:04. > :16:06.boy is so talented. As I say, at the World Championship last season, OK

:16:07. > :16:14.he lost in the semi-final to Stuart Bingham. I thought his all round

:16:15. > :16:18.game had come up a notch or two. He wasn't attacking all the time. Which

:16:19. > :16:29.was probably a little bit of a weakness. Now just dotting the eye's

:16:30. > :16:33.and crossing the t's. Will it be six centuries in 11 frames? What a

:16:34. > :16:37.strike rate that is. Unbelievable. Four centuries for Judd, if he can

:16:38. > :16:41.do it. What a beautiful strike again. Can't hit the Balkh better

:16:42. > :17:08.than this. As good a break as you will see to

:17:09. > :17:13.win a match. The opening red was superb and to hold himself together,

:17:14. > :17:19.after all that's happened, what a credit to this player. Yes. If he

:17:20. > :17:23.was suffering from a slight lack of confidence coming into this

:17:24. > :17:29.tournament, he won't any more. He's the real deal. There's no doubt

:17:30. > :17:34.about that. And, as we say, it's taken this type of performance to

:17:35. > :17:41.beat Neil Robertson. His fourth century of the match. It has been

:17:42. > :17:47.absolutely sensational. A standing ovation from everybody in the

:17:48. > :17:51.Alexandra Palace. From one of the greatest matches you will ever seen

:17:52. > :17:56.and one of the greatest finishes you will ever see. Judd Trump, I take my

:17:57. > :18:01.hat off to you, what a performance. Neil Robertson was good, but Judd

:18:02. > :18:08.Trump was just a little bit better. He's in the semi-final. He win as

:18:09. > :18:12.classic 6-5. STUDIO:, the whole of Alexandra

:18:13. > :18:15.Palace up on its feet. John even in here, in this the studio, you felt

:18:16. > :18:19.expelled to applaud both players? It's been a privilege to sit here in

:18:20. > :18:23.the chair and watch that this afternoon much you will not see

:18:24. > :18:27.better match play snooker ever. It was a magnificent match. Two players

:18:28. > :18:30.at the top. How he won the frame off the first red is just unbelievable.

:18:31. > :18:35.Neil Robertson played the safety shot. Put him on the bottom cushion.

:18:36. > :18:38.He has lost the frame and match off an unbelievable shot. What is it

:18:39. > :18:44.about these Friday afternoon sessions? Two years ago Ronnie

:18:45. > :18:51.O'Sullivan absolutely smashed Ricky Walden 6-0 over after 47 minutes.

:18:52. > :18:56.John said this was one of the best matches he has seen, to John

:18:57. > :19:01.Parrott? Proper snooker. Two of the two players in the game. I've never

:19:02. > :19:06.seen a match with so many frames 1-0. Congratulations Judd. Epic

:19:07. > :19:12.performance well done. Thank you. How are you feeling? Nervous? Before

:19:13. > :19:17.the first-round I was really nervous. I was looking for a little

:19:18. > :19:20.bit of form. When I got out there I knew I was playing well and could

:19:21. > :19:25.relax a little bit. Neil kept coming back at me. He never seems to miss a

:19:26. > :19:29.ball. Yeah, in the last frame I wasn't too nervous at the start.

:19:30. > :19:33.Auto I managed to keep it together and just - What about the opening

:19:34. > :19:40.red? Where did that come from? The clip back in the middle pocket. Let

:19:41. > :19:44.us look at this. It's unbelievable. The one, did you think you had

:19:45. > :19:48.missed the blue in the middle? Yeah I thought I missed it. A massive

:19:49. > :19:52.gulp from the audience. As soon as that went in I thought in my head,

:19:53. > :19:55.come on Judd this is meant to be. You had your life line. That could

:19:56. > :20:02.easily not gone in. You have to take these now. Don't mess up. Don't

:20:03. > :20:08.twitch. Yeah. We counted three fist pumps, we think? Yeah. A lot of

:20:09. > :20:12.energy in that fist pump? I don't normally celebrate. My lack of form

:20:13. > :20:15.and playing like that and such a big tournament I learnt to appreciate

:20:16. > :20:19.how much it means to me now. When I was younger I thought - oh, this

:20:20. > :20:23.will keep going forever I will play well. When you go for through a bad

:20:24. > :20:28.spell and come back like that, and I played how I did with Neil on the

:20:29. > :20:33.BBC, it's - I appreciate how well I played and all the effort I played

:20:34. > :20:37.in. Where has that come from today? The other day you said you weren't

:20:38. > :20:40.confident why today against Neil Robertson, who has been the best

:20:41. > :20:45.player on the circuit this season? To tell you the truth if I'm the

:20:46. > :20:49.underdog I seem to play well. If I'm big favourite I put too much

:20:50. > :20:54.pressure on myself. Today when someone goes - Neil should be

:20:55. > :20:57.beating you, it spurs me on. I think in my head, no-one should be

:20:58. > :21:03.favourite against me. When I've got something to prove I seem to live up

:21:04. > :21:07.to the how good I am. I need to be able to do it against everyone. I

:21:08. > :21:14.need to do it every single game now. It's about time you are winning more

:21:15. > :21:20.of these, isn't it? Yeah. Playing like that, it's consistency. I could

:21:21. > :21:32.play terrible next round, knowing me. Sports psychologists turn off

:21:33. > :21:36.now. I don't think like that. I know how well I played. I worked harder

:21:37. > :21:41.than anyone over the Christmas period. I'm 26 it's about time I

:21:42. > :21:44.start winning sessions. All week you have been saying, you have almost

:21:45. > :21:47.changed and customised your lifestyle. Why is that? Is that

:21:48. > :21:52.because you are listening to these chaps in the studio saying, Judd

:21:53. > :21:58.Trump, remarkability ability a has to do at the top events? I have done

:21:59. > :22:03.it to the opposite of how Stephen and John did it. I have lived my

:22:04. > :22:07.life now off the table. I've done all the partying I want to do.

:22:08. > :22:11.Getting old, that's what that is? Yeah. Now I don't enjoy it as much.

:22:12. > :22:15.I feel I'm still young enough to be able to, if I really dedicate myself

:22:16. > :22:21.I can dominate the game. I really do feel like that. And, Neil played

:22:22. > :22:26.tremendous today. I still managed to get through. The I proved a lot to

:22:27. > :22:32.myself today. Hopefully, I can keep that up. What does it mean to beat

:22:33. > :22:36.somebody like Neil Robertson? A great win for me. Neil has won the

:22:37. > :22:41.last two tournaments and everyone made him favourite coming in today.

:22:42. > :22:43.For me that was a big win. Judd, it's been absolutely, a privilege

:22:44. > :22:48.watching you this afternoon. Thank you very much. Epic performance.

:22:49. > :22:52.Good luck against Barry Hawkins. We have another cracker this evening as

:22:53. > :23:03.John Higgins, twice a Masters Champion, takes on the current King

:23:04. > :23:06.of the Crucible, Stuart Bingham. John Higgins, four times world

:23:07. > :23:12.champion, winning major ranking events for over ten years now. In my

:23:13. > :23:17.book, pound for pound, the best overall match player we've ever had

:23:18. > :23:21.in the game. One of the toughest players I think I've ever played or

:23:22. > :23:25.ever likely to play. A great all round game. A sort of watched him

:23:26. > :23:29.since he turned professional been playing him ever since. Without a

:23:30. > :23:34.shadow of a doubt, every department of his game, just so tough to beat

:23:35. > :23:39.when he's on top form. Loves the big occasion. Played his big snooker

:23:40. > :23:43.towards the end of the tournament. Even his tactical game, you would

:23:44. > :23:48.learn so much playing him from his tactical game. Everything was spot

:23:49. > :23:52.on. One player, under pressure, on the big occasion to clear up three

:23:53. > :23:57.reds left and you had to put your house on it - he's the person? He

:23:58. > :24:00.certainly is. So much going for him. Hard to believe that there are

:24:01. > :24:03.players now that outplay him. Perhaps the fact he has been round

:24:04. > :24:08.so long he perhaps isn't as motivated as he used to be. He is

:24:09. > :24:15.still winning events he achieved everything in the game that he could

:24:16. > :24:18.want to, I'm sure. We talk about will Ronnie break yourself and

:24:19. > :24:22.Steven's record of World Championship wins. The same could be

:24:23. > :24:25.said of John. He still has the game to compete with anybody in any event

:24:26. > :24:28.around the world. It's that thing I think this of - is he prepared to

:24:29. > :24:35.put in the work required that he used to put in 15 years ago How can

:24:36. > :24:42.we rip him to shreds? What is wrong with him It's hard to find

:24:43. > :24:46.weaknesses at all, as a watcher and snooker lover. As someone who shook

:24:47. > :24:50.his hand and played played him like we all have. I'm not sure. You

:24:51. > :24:57.think, John Higgins, that's a problem. Maybe if he concentrated on

:24:58. > :25:01.his time away from the table, his general fitness, and stuff like

:25:02. > :25:04.that, that might have helped him. Maybe his concentration may have et

:25:05. > :25:09.will him down as the older he gets, like it does with us all. If he had

:25:10. > :25:13.a sort of concentrated on his fitness that he'll still be up there

:25:14. > :25:17.in the top five or six players in the world right now. He earnt the

:25:18. > :25:18.right to chill out a little bit and earnt the right to spend more time

:25:19. > :25:32.with his family. He will get past. These two players met here at the

:25:33. > :25:38.Masters in round one in 2014, Higgins won 6-2. 2012 for Stuart's

:25:39. > :25:48.last wing over Higgins. Eight career wins for Higgins to Bingham's two.

:25:49. > :25:52.Playing Stuart, world champion in London, he has a lot of family and

:25:53. > :25:57.friends down here supporting him. A game you look forward to. Great to

:25:58. > :26:03.play the world champion in a big tournament like the Masters. He's

:26:04. > :26:10.one of the best players that's picked up a cue. His all round game

:26:11. > :26:15.is perfect. When he is on song, he is hard to beat, the same as Ronnie.

:26:16. > :26:22.Obviously, I would love the challenge and looking forward to. I

:26:23. > :26:25.feel as if I'm hitting it good, I can't complain. Coming into the

:26:26. > :26:29.tournaments in the last two or three years I've been losing early and the

:26:30. > :26:33.form has been really bad. I'm thinking - is this the way it's

:26:34. > :26:37.going to go? It's great to come back and play the way I know I can play.

:26:38. > :26:45.Good to come to tournaments thinking you can do something now. My form

:26:46. > :26:52.this season hasn't been great. It ain't been bad, it ain't been great.

:26:53. > :26:56.In certain patches, I was on for a maximum one frame, a couple of

:26:57. > :27:00.frames later I couldn't pot a ball. Hopefully I need to pick my game up

:27:01. > :27:06.to what it was at the World Championships to have a chance of

:27:07. > :27:09.winning tonight. We have seen a cracker this afternoon between Judd

:27:10. > :27:13.Trump and Neil Robertson. Over to you Bingham been and John Higgins to

:27:14. > :27:19.entertain us. Copy that, match that? Interesting one. John Higgins was

:27:20. > :27:27.excellent in his first-round match. He had to play well to beat his

:27:28. > :27:33.opponent. Stuart Bingham played Ding. He is bereft of confidence,

:27:34. > :27:37.not the same player as he was the season before. He has built his

:27:38. > :27:41.confidence up, winning a match he should be better. He is up against

:27:42. > :27:45.it with John, one of the best match players. Stuart has had plenty of

:27:46. > :27:48.time to build up to this quarter-final will that affect what

:27:49. > :27:52.happens this evening Sometimes it's not good to have a big break. It

:27:53. > :27:56.feels like you are starting over again. He will have to be on it

:27:57. > :28:00.tonight am we have seen scoring of the highest quality. John had three

:28:01. > :28:03.centuries in his match. He is scoring heavily when he is in as

:28:04. > :28:13.well. You have to fancy John tonight the way he is playing. I don't give

:28:14. > :28:18.Bingham much of a chance. What about experience? Stuart has a poor

:28:19. > :28:24.record, John Higgins has won it, he knows what this venue brings, 7.00pm

:28:25. > :28:31.live TV cameras? Higgins, top match play from John. Stuart, it has been

:28:32. > :28:35.weighing on him, world champion this year, he hasn't played that badly,

:28:36. > :28:38.you don't have to be much of it at the level you are playing at not to

:28:39. > :28:41.get results. More confidence with him winning his first-round match.

:28:42. > :28:47.He will be second favourite for this tonight. Maybe he will relax and

:28:48. > :28:51.play better. That might help him. He won't be favourite going in, maybe

:28:52. > :28:56.nothing to lose, relax and play his natural game. Barry Hawkins against

:28:57. > :29:00.Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan plays the winner of tonight's match. Who

:29:01. > :29:04.will lift this title? Whoever wins it will have to play well. If that

:29:05. > :29:09.is the czarred standard we saw this afternoon, good luck with that one.

:29:10. > :29:14.Stephen? A name out of you this afternoon I'm going to go. Judd

:29:15. > :29:19.might find tomorrow's match might be an anticlimax. He he will win it. He

:29:20. > :29:24.will be tough to beat if he plays like that. That is it from us this

:29:25. > :29:27.afternoon our time here on BBC Two. Hazel will be back at 7.00pm with

:29:28. > :29:32.live coverage from Alexandra Palace. Thank you rough very much indeed for

:29:33. > :29:45.watching. From all of us here, goodbye. -- thank you very much for

:29:46. > :29:55.watching. From all of us here, goodbye.