First Round: John Higgins v Mark Allen

:00:34. > :00:42.Good afternoon. Since 1975, the Masters has been producing some

:00:43. > :00:48.unforgettable moments from Kirk Stevens's white suited 147, two Mark

:00:49. > :00:56.Williams's triumph over Stephen Hendry, to Ken Doherty's black for a

:00:57. > :01:00.maximum, to Paul Hunter's wrote back to the wall comebacks. And just when

:01:01. > :01:08.you thought it couldn't get better, came the first day of this year 's

:01:09. > :01:10.DAFABET Masters. No few sharp intakes of breath, all in pursuit of

:01:11. > :01:17.this little beauty. Away we go for what should be a

:01:18. > :01:32.fascinating week of snooker. He thought he would have a go at

:01:33. > :01:37.that, but surely that was the wrong choice of shot.

:01:38. > :01:39.What a chance this is. A little bit of pressure on it, as you can

:01:40. > :01:50.imagine. No! Can you believe it?

:01:51. > :01:56.Ronnie thought he was out, the anger Wenbo, how did he miss putting the

:01:57. > :02:01.black in? We have a deciding frame. That's probably the best part of

:02:02. > :02:04.this match so far. You can't take it away from the

:02:05. > :02:10.defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan. And he goes through to

:02:11. > :02:16.the next round, beating Liang Wenbo 6-5.

:02:17. > :02:25.Slow down, slow down, slow down, cue ball. Slow down, slow down.

:02:26. > :02:33.He's playing it to the left middle. Get in, you beauty. I'm lucky. Ding

:02:34. > :02:40.Junhui will be very disappointed. -- unlucky.

:02:41. > :02:49.Watched the right middle pocket. Watch the right middle pocket. Oh!

:02:50. > :02:52.In goes black. Sheik of the hand. He moves into the second round. He

:02:53. > :03:03.beats Kyren Wilson 6-3. Wenbo's twitch on the black that

:03:04. > :03:10.would have given him between will be seared in his memory. O Sullivan's

:03:11. > :03:16.and instinct kicked in after that after that emphatic century to win

:03:17. > :03:20.the decider 6-5. After Ding's near miss, he finished the job 6-3,

:03:21. > :03:27.despite admirable resistance from Kyren Wilson. Would you believe that

:03:28. > :03:31.it was Ding's first victory ever at Alexandra Palace, and his first

:03:32. > :03:35.victory since lifting the trophy at Wembley Arena in 2011.

:03:36. > :03:42.You have seen a lot in this tournament, but as opening days ago,

:03:43. > :03:44.that was pretty close to the top, wasn't it?

:03:45. > :03:51.It certainly was. When we look at the situation, you could argue it

:03:52. > :03:58.being unfair on Liang Wenbo, but we had an emergency board meeting last

:03:59. > :04:03.night. The black has been officially upgraded to a twitch. And who would

:04:04. > :04:10.miss a final black Rose! No names on that one. Ronnie felt

:04:11. > :04:13.sorry for him, clearly. John, does it go down as one of the most

:04:14. > :04:18.infamous misses in the sport? Honestly, he must have got to sleep

:04:19. > :04:22.last night and thought it was a nightmare. But he has woken up this

:04:23. > :04:28.morning and it is not a nightmare. On these tables, when you play these

:04:29. > :04:31.shots, you can't hit the near one. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a

:04:32. > :04:36.twitch. For Ding Junhui, he could have been

:04:37. > :04:40.the first man to make two maximums in the first round. I think it was a

:04:41. > :04:45.12th red to get position on the black. He was scrapping a long way

:04:46. > :04:48.to get it going. This was a brilliant shot.

:04:49. > :04:51.He went around the table. It was a break where you think to yourself,

:04:52. > :04:59.no, he is not going to do it, then yes, he is going to do it. He just

:05:00. > :05:02.lost position. We saw earlier, he had three foot to play the cue ball,

:05:03. > :05:08.I thought he would get the maximum. A theatrical start at Alexandra

:05:09. > :05:12.Palace in London. Let's see what Masters Monday brings for us. It

:05:13. > :05:16.features two men that have already made maximums this season, the world

:05:17. > :05:22.number three John Higgins, and become bitter, fiery Mark Allen, who

:05:23. > :05:25.made his first at the UK Championship a few weeks. Despite

:05:26. > :05:29.the fact that Higgins at having a fabulous season with two big

:05:30. > :05:33.back-to-back wins and a runner up spot at the recent Scottish open

:05:34. > :05:38.before Christmas, he is only just ahead in the head-to-head series.

:05:39. > :05:43.7-6, and despite beating the Antrim man twice already this season, Allen

:05:44. > :05:48.has knocked the Scott out of the Masters on two previous occasions

:05:49. > :05:51.they have met. It was at this last 16 stage. Higgins understandably

:05:52. > :05:56.wary in his pursuit of yet another triple Crown triumph.

:05:57. > :06:01.I would dearly love to do well here. I would love to get through the

:06:02. > :06:06.weekend. I have not done that for a fuel year 's. It would be great to

:06:07. > :06:10.get through the weekend, and see what happens. Obviously, there is a

:06:11. > :06:13.long way to go, and Mark is such a tough competitor to play against. I

:06:14. > :06:17.have do enjoy it and see where it takes me.

:06:18. > :06:22.John is a two-time winner of the Masters. Finding form in the last

:06:23. > :06:25.three months, but his record in this event has been strangely

:06:26. > :06:28.inconsistent. That is something you can possibly identify with.

:06:29. > :06:35.I think this is his own individual event that comes out of the blue.

:06:36. > :06:40.I don't think the track record during the season counts as much.

:06:41. > :06:45.There might be some players who are better placed to come straight into

:06:46. > :06:49.a big arena and play great straightaway, and others need to

:06:50. > :06:55.ease into it. Maybe we are trying to read into it too much.

:06:56. > :06:58.Three titles here, a lot of people said you should have had more

:06:59. > :07:03.success in this one over the years. Everyone is on offer in the first

:07:04. > :07:08.round, anybody can beat anybody. John Higgins tends to like this then

:07:09. > :07:10.you better than he did when the arena.

:07:11. > :07:14.He did not have a good record there, he didn't like the venue very much.

:07:15. > :07:18.When he went to the Crucible first time, he did not like that either,

:07:19. > :07:25.but he likes it more that he has won their more times. Mark Allen lost

:07:26. > :07:30.position in a couple of frames against him last time, and John got

:07:31. > :07:34.out of it. But this will be close. Mark loves this event. A decent

:07:35. > :07:38.record, twice a semifinalist, only once going out in the opening round.

:07:39. > :07:40.Why does it right in this atmosphere?

:07:41. > :07:47.He is a big occasion player. He likes being the centre of attention.

:07:48. > :07:51.As ever in the Masters, they have a stage for themselves. That is one of

:07:52. > :07:57.the beautiful thing about this event. It feels like a final in

:07:58. > :08:01.every session. Normal service is resumed, the best MC in the business

:08:02. > :08:06.of Rob Walker is back, take it away. Happy 2017 to you.

:08:07. > :08:12.Same to you, Hazel. I am delighted to be back at one of snooker's top

:08:13. > :08:16.tournament. What a great start yesterday here at the DAFABET

:08:17. > :08:21.Masters, Ronnie being taken all the way, and being going close to the

:08:22. > :08:26.maximum. We are set for another afternoon of entertainment here at

:08:27. > :08:41.the magnificent Alexandra Palace -- Ding. APPLAUSE

:08:42. > :08:51.Please welcome one of the most exciting break-builders in the

:08:52. > :08:56.modern game. Winning last year 's grand final, semis at the Masters

:08:57. > :08:59.two years ago, making the last four in the Champion of champions earlier

:09:00. > :09:02.in the season, the pride of Northern Ireland, here comes Mark The Pistol

:09:03. > :09:35.Allen. And His Opponent, A Player That Has

:09:36. > :09:39.Returned To His Very Best Form In The Last Few Months, Winning The

:09:40. > :09:43.China Championship And The Champion Of Champions In November, Runner Up

:09:44. > :09:53.In The Scottish Open Just Before Christmas Centres By, Twice Winner

:09:54. > :10:10.Of The Masters, The Wizard Of Wishaw John Higgins. APPLAUSE

:10:11. > :10:19.HAZEL IRVINE: Another 11 frame up this afternoon, we will be in the

:10:20. > :10:24.company of Stephen Hendry and John Virgo. Good afternoon.

:10:25. > :10:33.COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Good afternoon, Hazel.

:10:34. > :10:40.This, to me, when the draw was made, was always going to be one of...

:10:41. > :10:42.REFEREE: Can we have the commentary off, please.

:10:43. > :11:02.COMMENTATOR: Sorry, guys. REFEREE: Paul, can you ring the

:11:03. > :11:35.office? We are still hearing the commentary.

:11:36. > :11:40.COMMENTATOR: We just had a slight problem there with the commentary

:11:41. > :11:44.feed coming out into the audience, we don't want to put the players. I

:11:45. > :11:46.was going to say, when the draw was made, this was one of the matches of

:11:47. > :12:08.the first round, for me. Yeah, this has got all the

:12:09. > :12:13.ingredients to be a 6-4 or a 6-5. If a player could win 6-1, it would be

:12:14. > :12:17.John Higgins, with the form he is showing.

:12:18. > :12:25.But I think it will be close. You can see the virtual reality

:12:26. > :12:28.view, no path back to baulk, he has to come off the side cushion. No

:12:29. > :12:44.room to run. REFEREE: Foul and a miss.

:12:45. > :12:46.Not able to see John Higgins leaving a chance. He just needs a little bit

:12:47. > :13:21.more pace into the cue ball. Just about missed the pink, but

:13:22. > :13:30.touching Ball has been declared by our referee, so a nice, easy return

:13:31. > :13:34.to ball for Mark Allen. This shot, I would be surprised if

:13:35. > :13:37.he played the snooker here, Mark Allen. You can see where the reds

:13:38. > :13:42.are, you can never gain an advantage with that. I would prefer to put the

:13:43. > :13:46.ball into the jaws of the green pocket, and forced John into playing

:13:47. > :13:54.a safety. Every chance of catching one thick there. You wouldn't expect

:13:55. > :13:59.to make a mistake here, and he hasn't done. Excellent shot.

:14:00. > :14:05.That's what John Higgins will do to you.

:14:06. > :14:10.Absolutely. That's a wonderful safety shot. Now all of a sudden,

:14:11. > :14:24.Mark Allen has got a problem. Didn't catch it quite right, but

:14:25. > :14:36.doesn't appear to have left anything easy.

:14:37. > :14:45.You have, as Steve Davis alluded to in the pre-match chat, there are no

:14:46. > :14:53.easy games, these are the top 16 players in the world. From round

:14:54. > :15:01.one, one-table situation, big crowd, always a great atmosphere.

:15:02. > :15:06.And it's really settled in at the Alexandra Palace. When we first

:15:07. > :15:12.started at the Wembley conference Centre, you thought, that couldn't

:15:13. > :15:14.be matched, but this has certainly, well, the Masters has found a new

:15:15. > :15:45.home, no doubt about that. This is a poor shot from John

:15:46. > :15:48.Higgins. I thought he might have been tended to play a figure contact

:15:49. > :15:58.of the bunch there, try to open them up a little bit. It is unforgivable

:15:59. > :16:00.to kiss the yellow, really. This looks a good cue ball from Mark

:16:01. > :16:27.Allen. The black becoming more and more

:16:28. > :17:03.locked up. Just a fraction too hard. The idea

:17:04. > :17:07.there was to try to stop the opponent playing safe down the

:17:08. > :17:08.right-hand side of the table as we look, but he's not done that, as you

:17:09. > :17:25.can see. Well, John has now stopped that

:17:26. > :17:29.escape down the right-hand side, and it is a little bit congested on the

:17:30. > :17:39.left-hand side. You have to catch the red very thin to get a return to

:17:40. > :17:44.baulk. Just letting the REFEREE: Have a look, which suggests to me

:17:45. > :17:45.that he is going to play this very thin safety, and it's got to be

:17:46. > :17:50.thin. Couldn't have played it better, good

:17:51. > :18:25.shot. REFEREE: Foul.

:18:26. > :18:29.Better of rattling it in-off the jaws and staying this end.

:18:30. > :18:42.It was one of those, like Mark Allen played previously, had to be caught

:18:43. > :19:06.very thing, but as I say, fortunate for going off.

:19:07. > :19:43.A little bit thick, but nothing really left.

:19:44. > :20:04.Court that too fin. Where is the cue ball going? -- Finn thin.

:20:05. > :20:18.Now, this time, John has sent one over to the corner. Does the blue,

:20:19. > :20:31.to his rescue? It doesn't, so first chance of a pot.

:20:32. > :20:37.Stopping short of the baulk line, will he be on a colour? Just

:20:38. > :20:43.stopping in time. He is on the green.

:20:44. > :20:51.The couple of roads above the black spot, if you bring the cue ball

:20:52. > :20:56.down, you have a choice of those to the right. He will have to play the

:20:57. > :20:58.one closest to the black spot. He needs the cue ball to stop again.

:20:59. > :21:12.Yes, that's perfect. I noticed yesterday, Stephen, these

:21:13. > :21:19.clocks are playing very, very quick. In a way, it is an advantage to have

:21:20. > :21:28.the first chance. It gives you a chance to get used to

:21:29. > :21:32.the pace of the table. A slippery, fast table suits Mark

:21:33. > :21:40.Allen's game. The way he plays snooker, a very compact cue action.

:21:41. > :21:43.Oh, he's missed that pink. He won't be happy about that. Very

:21:44. > :21:55.surprising. He maybe took his eye off the pot.

:21:56. > :21:59.Watching the cannon on the red. I know it's early in the first frame,

:22:00. > :22:10.but these players, you don't expect them to take time to warm up.

:22:11. > :22:21.He got the cannon, but didn't catch the red full enough, so he will only

:22:22. > :22:47.get one point from that mistake. REFEREE: Yellow ball.

:22:48. > :22:55.Just got to be a little bit wary when playing across the double here,

:22:56. > :23:00.that you don't catch it to click and get a double-kiss.

:23:01. > :23:03.No, he played it well. If it runs and the green covers the escape

:23:04. > :23:05.route down the right side of the table, it is very good. But not

:23:06. > :23:33.quite hard enough. Now, can he get past the green to

:23:34. > :23:40.play safe down the right-hand side of the table? I'm not certain he

:23:41. > :23:44.can. That's looking down the left side of the table. I just wonder

:23:45. > :23:50.whether he can get past the green to hit one of the reds around the pink

:23:51. > :23:51.spot area. If he can't, well, he can't, obviously. He's coming off

:23:52. > :24:12.the side cushion. And not touching, which is

:24:13. > :24:17.important. If it was touching, it would be straightforward safety.

:24:18. > :24:54.Just not touching either red. Too thick on the safety. But of

:24:55. > :25:00.course, we have had too much safety now, the reds are clustered

:25:01. > :25:03.together. The Blackett out of commission. The pink is out of

:25:04. > :25:15.commission. The portable red is now covered by the blue. -- pottable.

:25:16. > :25:23.I think it was John's intention to bring the black back into play. He

:25:24. > :25:25.has a good cue ball, don't get me wrong. He would have liked to have

:25:26. > :26:01.released the black. Now, then. We'll John Higgins be

:26:02. > :26:10.tempted. There is a red two up from the black, which is cut able. No. It

:26:11. > :27:13.is too whiskey. -- risky. Playing the double. Oh, and not far

:27:14. > :27:27.away. Noted, Stephen, as one of the best Doublers in the game.

:27:28. > :27:31.Yes, one of the best I have seen. Well, that was half the chance.

:27:32. > :27:36.That's why, of course, players don't like playing the double. If you hit

:27:37. > :27:38.the wrong jaw comic you can leave a pot on, which it did. But Mark

:27:39. > :27:55.couldn't take advantage of it. Well, as you can see, this would be

:27:56. > :28:01.a very good pot, this. Only half the pocket is available.

:28:02. > :28:09.Couldn't have played it better. What a good shot that was.

:28:10. > :28:12.Well, there is obviously one to the left of the black that would go. He

:28:13. > :28:18.would like the one to the right of the black to be pottable.

:28:19. > :28:28.Yeah, it really helps a positional side of the shot if both reds go.

:28:29. > :28:29.Didn't play to have the cue ball anywhere near to the yellow. He's

:28:30. > :28:53.OK. Always got to be careful with this

:28:54. > :29:01.type of shot. Don't take your eye off the pot. He's not certain to be

:29:02. > :29:07.on a red. O'Connell well, that's a bonus. The

:29:08. > :29:20.black now goes on the pink spot. He will settle for that. -- own, well.

:29:21. > :29:31.This is the red he intended to be on, so he's played it. He's got that

:29:32. > :29:38.read nicely in the open on the black spot, but still a lot of work to do.

:29:39. > :29:50.Only one loose red to play for. -- he's got that red.

:29:51. > :30:04.Certainly reinvented himself this season, hasn't he, Stephen, John?

:30:05. > :30:10.Yeah, that six-week or two-month period before Christmas was

:30:11. > :30:15.incredible run of form, with those two Invitational events

:30:16. > :30:22.back-to-back, and getting to the final of the Scottish open. It was a

:30:23. > :30:26.disappointing end, losing eight frames in a row against Marco Fu, so

:30:27. > :30:34.you don't know whether he just ran out of steam or what. Perhaps in the

:30:35. > :30:41.break over Christmas and the New Year he has recharged the batteries.

:30:42. > :30:47.Just about stopped in time. I think it has, anyway. Yeah, his

:30:48. > :30:53.performance in the Champion of champions where he beat Ronnie

:30:54. > :31:21.O'Sullivan from 7-7, the last three frames was vintage John Higgins.

:31:22. > :31:33.A bit fortunate to be on this red. That's not as he played it. To get

:31:34. > :31:37.the second kiss was a bonus. There is a lot of things can go wrong on a

:31:38. > :31:47.snooker table so when you have a bit of luck, take full advantage.

:31:48. > :31:52.66 points he needs to get to, so another 26 from here, but easier

:31:53. > :32:40.said than done. Considering where the balls were,

:32:41. > :32:45.that was an excellent 46 break. Striking down, as he was, you could

:32:46. > :33:28.see the cue flick up in the air, but he's not left anything.

:33:29. > :33:35.Might have taken the risk of going for that there to the left hand side

:33:36. > :33:37.of the pocket. The cue ball down towards the black. It wasn't going

:33:38. > :33:51.to leave anything. APPLAUSE.

:33:52. > :33:58.Well, it's OK, but if he's left a path to the red on the left hand

:33:59. > :34:05.side, which he has, problem for John to get the cue ball back to the

:34:06. > :34:11.baulk end. I don't think Mark minds John seeing this red, it means he

:34:12. > :34:14.gets it away from the cushion, being 34 behind. He could be in trouble.

:34:15. > :34:25.Big target behind brown and green. A bit surprised the way John played

:34:26. > :34:30.that. I think he didn't really want to bring it away from the cushion.

:34:31. > :34:35.He thought, if I'm bringing it away, I'll try and knock it and tie it up

:34:36. > :34:37.with the other reds. He was never going to gain any great advantage

:34:38. > :34:48.playing it like that. But one of the best tacticians in

:34:49. > :35:00.the game, John Higgins, so I don't like to question his shot choice.

:35:01. > :35:03.Yes, I'm certainly not going to question anyone in the tactical

:35:04. > :35:11.department. But he won't be happy with that one. A choice of reds here

:35:12. > :35:16.to either corner. On to the left is possibly the easier pot but where is

:35:17. > :35:22.the cue ball going? Looks certain to run into one of the reds near the

:35:23. > :35:24.top cushion so you'd be trusting him to look for the position. This the

:35:25. > :35:45.more difficult pot. A bit edgy in this round to me Mark

:35:46. > :36:02.Allen. Three pots now by quite a distance.

:36:03. > :36:08.Somebody is taking their seat. I thought they had stewards on the

:36:09. > :36:14.door stopping people coming in in the middle of a frame.

:36:15. > :36:40.APPLAUSE. He's going to be on the blue.

:36:41. > :36:51.Quite easy to get into the cue ball too much there and cannon the brown.

:36:52. > :37:01.Great chance to win the opening frame. Yes. Two reds and two colours

:37:02. > :37:39.would be enough. This red and one more colour would

:37:40. > :37:47.need his opponent needing snookers because after this, there's only 51

:37:48. > :38:06.remaining. So this black to go 54 points in the lead. With 51 left.

:38:07. > :38:18.Quick glance at the score board. At the moment, only one snooker

:38:19. > :38:26.required. And John Higgins may have got that snooker himself. OK easy to

:38:27. > :38:50.hit but it will certainly encourage Mark Allen to play on here.

:38:51. > :38:56.Very important there, he didn't leave Mark Allen a pot. He'll be a

:38:57. > :39:03.wee bit annoyed that he hasn't finished this frame off. This frame

:39:04. > :39:06.could go on for another 15-20 minutes now. It's already

:39:07. > :39:17.approaching the half hour mark. I would like to have a little birth

:39:18. > :39:22.bet though that this is going to be the longest frame of the match. I

:39:23. > :39:23.expect both players to pick it up. They're both scorers when they get

:39:24. > :39:37.in. It's a typical first frame. As you say, he'll be a little

:39:38. > :39:46.annoyed because he should have been on the red that kept his opponent in

:39:47. > :39:53.his seat. Snooker quite easy to hit but he doesn't really want to leave

:39:54. > :40:01.a pot on. And he has done. So that will encourage Mark now to at least

:40:02. > :40:03.pot two of the reds with blacks. A bit annoyed there. He wanted to

:40:04. > :40:27.catch that thinner. Is he going to play the pot here? I

:40:28. > :40:39.think he's going to send the red around the table. Played the pot. A

:40:40. > :40:57.decent one. Those baulk colours are in good positions.

:40:58. > :41:08.What you would try to do if you could is get the cue ball tight in

:41:09. > :41:25.behind one of these baulk colours. Not bad. .

:41:26. > :41:39.A little bit of room around this red. He had the one cushion escape.

:41:40. > :41:44.At this level, if you leave the one cushion escape, you don't expect

:41:45. > :41:47.your opponent to miss. Now, can he get enough bite in this cue ball to

:41:48. > :42:07.stun the cue ball behind the brown? The red could career into the green

:42:08. > :42:11.if he played that. If he tries to stun behind the green, good cueing

:42:12. > :42:14.needed. He's trying to drop in behind it. He's played it pretty

:42:15. > :42:21.well. The fact that John Higgins is

:42:22. > :42:33.getting down quickly, the one cushion escape is on.

:42:34. > :42:46.That's a bonus. He's got the snooker back.

:42:47. > :42:54.It's easy to hit - needs to get it safe. Well, said easy to hit. That's

:42:55. > :42:58.careless. He's hit the black, probably left a free ball, touches

:42:59. > :43:04.the white, concedes. So it was a long, drawn out affair. And a little

:43:05. > :43:07.bit of tension, you could see, in Mark Allen, but John Higgins won't

:43:08. > :43:13.mind, he's got the first frame on the score board. 1-0.

:43:14. > :43:19.32 minutes opening frame. Cagey stuff. John through in the end.

:43:20. > :43:23.One of the best match-players in game and he always plays the right

:43:24. > :43:26.shots and generally plays to a very high standard which is why he's won

:43:27. > :43:32.the matches that he has over his career. A bit of a renaissance in

:43:33. > :43:36.his career, played brilliant this season and, as ever, he's a match

:43:37. > :43:41.for anybody. A proper renaissance. World number three, up from six at

:43:42. > :43:46.the start of the season, the highest ranking since winning the title back

:43:47. > :43:51.in 2011, that's season 2011-12. A couple of dips along the way, but

:43:52. > :43:55.the longevity of the man is striking? Especially as you think as

:43:56. > :43:59.you get older you don't handle the pressure matches as well. It's a

:44:00. > :44:04.tightrope walk out there and these match tables are incredibly tricky

:44:05. > :44:08.to play on, slippery as well. Watching the likes of John, he knows

:44:09. > :44:17.how to cope with these types of tables. Even though he's supposed to

:44:18. > :44:20.have a long back swing, a long pull back far longer than Mark Allen's

:44:21. > :44:26.which is short and sharp and works well on these tables, I spotted that

:44:27. > :44:31.John Higgins has his bridge hand close. The closer you have your

:44:32. > :44:34.hand, that means you stop yourself pulling the cue back so far and you

:44:35. > :44:36.could have a shorter back swing which is more controllable on the

:44:37. > :44:42.faster cloths. OK. Technical tips. Now it's frame

:44:43. > :44:53.two! Good tip that from Steve. Didn't

:44:54. > :45:02.really help Mark Allen in that first frame. Stephen mentioned that he's

:45:03. > :45:08.good on a quick table in and around the pink and black spot area. But he

:45:09. > :45:11.missed that during that frame which probably knocked his confidence a

:45:12. > :45:24.bit. I'm sure he'll put that behind him now.

:45:25. > :45:35.When we talk about this super fine cloths, I can only equate it to

:45:36. > :45:42.playing this in the middle. Not quite. I was just going to say, I

:45:43. > :45:47.can only equate it to playing golf. I remember once playing in Dubai and

:45:48. > :45:52.the greens were so fast and you feel when you're putting you're sort of

:45:53. > :46:07.half quitting on the shot just to keep control of it.

:46:08. > :46:17.I wonder if John will risk the cannon here.

:46:18. > :46:19.Good, solid pot. But now he's got the problem of covering that red

:46:20. > :46:36.that's over the left corner. Talking about the cloths again, if

:46:37. > :46:40.you put this in a club, it would last a week. They are so super fine

:46:41. > :46:45.and slippery but they lose their edge after just a few days' play.

:46:46. > :46:55.They're not economical. Not compared with the cloths in the

:46:56. > :46:59.Snooker Club, and I'm not having a go because they have to last six,

:47:00. > :47:03.nine months. They've gone for a rerack immediately. A good idea

:47:04. > :47:12.really. Didn't look as though there was going to be a sudden end to

:47:13. > :47:18.that. Steve was talking about the cue action of Mark Allen and he's

:47:19. > :47:22.right, a little jabby sort of action. But as we saw in the first

:47:23. > :47:27.frame, he was in, first one in, and he had this pink to the middle and

:47:28. > :47:36.just watch his cue action, a little short. Brings it back. And then

:47:37. > :47:44.pushes it through. But to miss that and that would have been really a

:47:45. > :47:51.knock to his confidence. If we get a Hans to see John Higgin's action,

:47:52. > :47:55.it's pretty similar. Most of the top players these days, the tip of the

:47:56. > :48:03.cue comes back to virtually between their thumb. Their thumb and

:48:04. > :48:07.forefinger. So it's not a common cue action these days, Mark Allen's.

:48:08. > :48:13.It's very effective when he gets going.

:48:14. > :48:21.A tap on the table from John Higgins.

:48:22. > :48:33.Going to play the snooker with pace. He is. Caught the blue. Couldn't

:48:34. > :48:35.have played it much better. Can Mark have a two at the red and avoid the

:48:36. > :48:47.kiss on the black? He could. Now, the cue ball needs to

:48:48. > :48:52.run in and out of the baulk, needs to miss the green. He could have a

:48:53. > :48:54.cut on the brown. Obviously an easy snooker but I don't think he's going

:48:55. > :49:07.to get much advantage from that. Obviously he doesn't fancy the

:49:08. > :49:24.brown. He's covered the left hand side

:49:25. > :49:25.escape. But... What did he say, rerack? !

:49:26. > :49:40.LAUGHTER. There was never really any danger of

:49:41. > :49:45.John leaving him anything. Yes. A better shot would have been putting

:49:46. > :49:47.the cue ball on the baulk cushion somewhere. He was never going to

:49:48. > :50:05.gain advantage from that shot. It's difficult. It would have been

:50:06. > :50:18.easier from where he was a second ago.

:50:19. > :50:26.You can see the edge of the red on the left hand side of the table. But

:50:27. > :50:29.you have to be careful, if you catch it too thick you could not go

:50:30. > :50:44.towards the corner. Played it nicely but he may have

:50:45. > :50:51.left a pot on. Just run far enough...

:50:52. > :50:56.The applause was justified from the audience. Doesn't want the double

:50:57. > :51:39.kiss. Got the double kiss. Choice of pink or black. Pink is an

:51:40. > :53:28.easier pot and position. Excellent opportunity. I don't know

:53:29. > :53:31.whether he feels the need to go into them.

:53:32. > :53:48.Because there is a red on the right hand side of the table. That's the

:53:49. > :54:03.one he's going to play for. He's got 39. He needs another 30 points. Then

:54:04. > :54:08.the frame will be safe. But to do that, although there is still one

:54:09. > :54:12.more loose red available, he's going to have to disturb that cluster at

:54:13. > :54:23.some time to win the frame at this visit.

:54:24. > :54:28.John Higgins' head visibly shakes. A couple of players, like Mark Selby,

:54:29. > :54:50.there's a bit of movement there too. Gone into them and it couldn't have

:54:51. > :55:44.worked out better. Surely he'll win the frame now.

:55:45. > :55:54.APPLAUSE. One of the best scores a game of

:55:55. > :55:57.snooker has ever seen if he gets in amongst that black ball and plays

:55:58. > :56:09.the right shot. Knows exactly when the right time is

:56:10. > :56:26.to go into the bunch. 656 century breaks he's made in his

:56:27. > :56:41.career, third on the all-time list. I looked at the score board there. I

:56:42. > :57:05.don't know why he's on 87. There was an air of inevitability

:57:06. > :57:23.about this when John did get that chance.

:57:24. > :57:29.Well played. Fifth century of the Masters so far, and this is only the

:57:30. > :57:41.third match. APPLAUSE.

:57:42. > :57:57.Good shot needed to get a position on the yellow. Needs to miss the

:57:58. > :58:00.pink. Didn't quite. What do they call 111 at cricket - Nelson.

:58:01. > :58:09.APPLAUSE. Well, that was a tremendous break

:58:10. > :58:13.and John Higgins proved it once again, that he can score as well as

:58:14. > :58:21.anyone when he gets in the balls and he now leads 2-0.

:58:22. > :58:29.There was an incident in that frame where Mark Allen potted the first

:58:30. > :58:34.red, Stephen and he had a choice, he had a thin brown, decided to play

:58:35. > :58:39.the snooker behind the blue and you have a thought about this? To me,

:58:40. > :58:43.this is lazy. To roll up behind the green is just gaining no advantage

:58:44. > :58:47.whatsoever. We have seen a shot forward, John Higgins came off the

:58:48. > :58:51.left side cushion and went into the bunch, then Mark Allen had to find

:58:52. > :58:56.the baulk cushion off the next shot, whereas here if he doesn't want to

:58:57. > :59:00.take the brown which I agree on the on the corner there, leave the cue

:59:01. > :59:06.ball tight, force John to play into the bunch and open things up. To me

:59:07. > :59:09.this was just a nothing shot. And also, because I didn't think about

:59:10. > :59:12.it at the time, but why is he trying to cover the left hand side of the

:59:13. > :59:18.table? It's the right hand side of the table he should have been

:59:19. > :59:22.covering because he's two loose reds on the cluster which John could have

:59:23. > :59:27.left, put his arm up and said thank you to the crowd but didn't gain any

:59:28. > :00:09.advantage. Only had one more shot after that.

:00:10. > :00:20.Well, that's a terrific pot. And having lost the first two frames, he

:00:21. > :00:28.needs to, for his own self-confidence, take full advantage

:00:29. > :00:36.of that to reflect opening red. -- that terrific opening red.

:00:37. > :00:38.Yeah, that was a fabulous shot. He controlled that little cannon well

:00:39. > :01:03.as well. I think he's got just enough angle

:01:04. > :01:31.on the black to force the cue ball to the red in the same pocket.

:01:32. > :01:40.A little shake of the head there when he got position on the black.

:01:41. > :01:47.Deep screw, bit of right-hand side, nicely on this red.

:01:48. > :01:50.But just misjudged the kiss off the second red. OK, he is still on the

:01:51. > :01:54.black, but a bit thinner than he would have liked.

:01:55. > :01:59.The three red Star victory in a line above the black, he would like to

:02:00. > :02:05.cannon into the side of those three. That would hold the cue ball in the

:02:06. > :02:11.centre of the table. He has done. He could have done with a wee bit more

:02:12. > :02:19.pace, though. It is the red he wanted to play on, but he could have

:02:20. > :02:25.hit it a wee bit harder. I think that's end of break. A possibility

:02:26. > :02:33.of maybe piling the plant -- playing the plant to the left corner.

:02:34. > :02:35.Those two reds to the left-hand side of the table. He can play it as a

:02:36. > :02:50.shot to nothing. He doesn't appear to have looked at

:02:51. > :02:57.that possibility. He just had a little sly look there.

:02:58. > :03:02.He just cocked his head to one side. If he is going to play safe, I know

:03:03. > :03:06.they are not in line, but if you play safe of the red, well, he is

:03:07. > :03:12.playing this to the far right corner pocket.

:03:13. > :03:22.Is it there? Not quite, but he's obviously played it in such a way

:03:23. > :03:27.that he does not leave anything. Having said that, I think there is a

:03:28. > :03:30.possibility of red to the white middle here, and if there is, that

:03:31. > :03:47.was a very risky pot to go for. I think what John putts site remiss

:03:48. > :03:55.is where the cue ball will screw back. He maybe we'll have to come

:03:56. > :04:00.off the condition. He was worried about that, losing

:04:01. > :04:05.the cue ball. Yeah, and it was one of those, if

:04:06. > :04:10.you play it with too much pace, it makes the pot that much more

:04:11. > :04:13.difficult. But he is still on this black.

:04:14. > :04:45.Oh, but not quite. So, a second opportunity for Mark

:04:46. > :04:46.Allen to get his first frame on the scoreboard. Nothing settles you

:04:47. > :04:59.better than that. That's not a bad little nudge on the

:05:00. > :05:22.red. All these nice positions, if you

:05:23. > :05:28.come the wrong side of the blue, you have the red at baulk end. He will

:05:29. > :05:36.be a little bit disappointed if he doesn't win the frame at this visit.

:05:37. > :05:43.The reason he's looking at a baulk colour is, he feels that if he plays

:05:44. > :05:44.the blue, he has two played a cannon. And he doesn't really want

:05:45. > :06:05.to risk a cannon. It could go wrong. Unless he can pop one to this right

:06:06. > :06:07.corner, it is not inch perfect. Well, he's obviously just about on

:06:08. > :06:37.it, no problem. That equates, 52 ahead, 83

:06:38. > :06:41.remaining, a couple of reds, a couple of colours. He is past the

:06:42. > :07:08.snooker is required stage. -- -- snookers required stage. Red,

:07:09. > :07:11.Lou, red needed. But needed two chances, Stephen. It was a risky red

:07:12. > :07:17.that he played to the far right corner.

:07:18. > :07:26.Yeah, if John had got on the black properly, or potted the black, he'd

:07:27. > :07:33.have been mopping these up. -- red, blue, red.

:07:34. > :07:38.Good snooker term, "Mopping these up"! That should be the

:07:39. > :07:52.frame-winner. And now the black goes in. No way

:07:53. > :07:56.that John Higgins will be getting back to the table. He will be

:07:57. > :07:59.mightily relieved, Mark Allen. He has his first frame on the

:08:00. > :08:04.scoreboard. He will feel a lot better now. That

:08:05. > :08:07.opening red at the start of the frame will have given him a huge

:08:08. > :08:49.confidence boost. Well, it didn't really matter. He

:08:50. > :08:53.will be pleased to get his first frame on the scoreboard. John

:08:54. > :08:55.Higgins had a chance, missed the black on the spot. Mark Allen did

:08:56. > :10:02.the rest. 2-1, John Higgins. John, as you said, that first frame

:10:03. > :10:07.of 32 minutes, we don't expect too many frames or buy a -- frames like

:10:08. > :10:30.that in this match. Well, decent break-off shot. Any

:10:31. > :10:36.time you don't leave a pot on nowadays, you consider it a good

:10:37. > :10:42.break-off shot. Now, can John just get past the blue to play a thin

:10:43. > :10:50.edge on this red? It would have to be mightily thin.

:10:51. > :10:58.The shadows, so he can just hit the red. He has got to catch it thin

:10:59. > :11:05.now. Not that thin. REFEREE: Foul and a miss.

:11:06. > :11:11.I don't think it will be taken here, because there is a red to the right

:11:12. > :11:20.corner. It is on for Mark Allen. Similar situation to John Higgins

:11:21. > :11:32.playing a similar red with a cannon. Mark Allen, he has to play top half

:11:33. > :11:36.black ball, but he hasn't got the pink to the middle.

:11:37. > :11:49.Again, another good, long pot. He can certainly pot the pink, I

:11:50. > :11:55.think he is just wondering where the pink will go after it has been

:11:56. > :12:01.ported. Long pot success, but four out of six four Mark Allen. John

:12:02. > :15:54.Higgins, one out of one. This time, it looks like he has come

:15:55. > :16:12.pretty straight on the blue. It is not ideal. Right online.

:16:13. > :16:22.Trying to pinch a bit of the pocket. You have got to say, a schoolboy

:16:23. > :16:25.error, that. We could see along the line, it was going to be very

:16:26. > :16:30.difficult to pinch a bit of the pocket. Never sacrificed the pot for

:16:31. > :17:41.position. Pink obviously available into the

:17:42. > :17:53.right corner. He just overran it slightly.

:17:54. > :18:12.No problem. Good pot. Played the cannon well.

:18:13. > :18:33.Little bit tricky, this black. But he will play it in such a way that

:18:34. > :18:37.these are miss- able. It looked as if it just drifted up slightly.

:18:38. > :18:41.The thing is, playing it at that pace, it could run over a finger

:18:42. > :18:46.mark, a bit of tour, but it definitely looked as though it

:18:47. > :18:54.pulled to the left. -- a bit of chalk. That is a let off

:18:55. > :19:05.for Mark Allen. Can he make this Holmes to the left Middle?

:19:06. > :19:26.-- this red to the left middle. A traffic opportunity to go into the

:19:27. > :19:29.mid-session interval all square -- terrific. Some of the mistakes he

:19:30. > :19:32.has made, I would suggest he would feel the better of the two players,

:19:33. > :19:42.Stephen. Yeah, without a doubt.

:19:43. > :19:49.When you find yourself 2-0 down in a match when there is an interval

:19:50. > :20:02.after the fourth frame, you kind of thing 3-1 down is a decent was. 2-2

:20:03. > :20:08.is a bonus. -- decent result. A quick glance at the scoreboard.

:20:09. > :20:15.Maybe three of the remaining reds, depending what colours he gets on.

:20:16. > :20:27.But he's overhit that. Played for the pink, but well, he's still on

:20:28. > :20:32.the pink, but it's a lot more difficult than it should have been.

:20:33. > :20:41.But right in the heart of the pocket, and a nice, traditional

:20:42. > :20:46.shot. He's now looking for red, colour, red, to go in level at the

:20:47. > :20:51.mid-session interval. So this red to go 49 point ahead

:20:52. > :21:32.with only 43 remaining. No way that John Higgins will come

:21:33. > :21:35.back to the table. John Higgins will be disappointed here. He's had

:21:36. > :21:42.chances to stamp his authority on this. But they are going to go in

:21:43. > :21:47.all square. John Higgins concedes. He will be disappointed. Mark Allen

:21:48. > :21:50.will be absolutely delighted. He's made mistakes, but he is all square

:21:51. > :21:59.at the mid-session interval, to live in two. HAZEL IRVINE:. A couple of

:22:00. > :22:03.instances in the last round, with his cue action, we talked about the

:22:04. > :22:09.contrasting cue action of them, how did it manifest itself?

:22:10. > :22:12.Like Stephen said in commentary, I am not saying he can't play power

:22:13. > :22:19.shots, but this is the disadvantage of having a short, it Japanese cue

:22:20. > :22:25.action. A little bit pokey, really. This one, not much angle on this. I

:22:26. > :22:28.understand what he's trying to do. Sometimes you have to put power in

:22:29. > :22:33.at it can affect you. He will be delighted to get out to two after

:22:34. > :22:36.those were stakes. It doesn't happen often.

:22:37. > :22:40.Your view so far, Steve? There is always tension in the

:22:41. > :22:45.match, perhaps both players haven't settled down. That is the nice thing

:22:46. > :22:48.about best of 11, it gives people a chance, especially when you are

:22:49. > :22:49.thrown in at the deep end, especially when you're first round

:22:50. > :22:54.opponent is tough. When John looks at the record, it is

:22:55. > :22:59.not something you actively look at before you play a match, but he will

:23:00. > :23:03.be aware that Mark has turned him over a couple of times in this

:23:04. > :23:08.arena. Is there a cagey Ness? Is eventually give you respect for

:23:09. > :23:11.your opponent. You have the cream of the crop, and when the draw came

:23:12. > :23:19.out, both of them would have gone, oh, no.

:23:20. > :23:23.In my experience playing this event, as a separate event to the main tour

:23:24. > :23:28.as much as the ranking events, coming in here to play a first round

:23:29. > :23:31.opponent who is decent, I very rarely settled down that quickly.

:23:32. > :23:35.Then you can be on the back foot for the rest of the match.

:23:36. > :23:39.We saw what happened with Ronnie coming back yesterday and putting

:23:40. > :23:42.the defending champion out, it is a tough ask the John Higgins today,

:23:43. > :23:46.but it has been intriguing and interesting. In the last few months,

:23:47. > :23:53.John Higgins, what a resurgence. Two back to back big wins and a

:23:54. > :23:57.runner-up in the Scottish open, banking ?300,000 over the last 2.5

:23:58. > :24:01.months. Christmas must have been good in the Higgins household.

:24:02. > :24:04.Surging back up to world number three in the rankings. John Higgins

:24:05. > :24:10.at the age of 41 is very definitely on the rise again. A fellow better

:24:11. > :24:12.in old boy, pardon the expression, Ken Doherty had a big discussion

:24:13. > :24:17.with him yesterday in our big interview.

:24:18. > :24:24.We are at the Masters, a great tournament got 23 appearances this

:24:25. > :24:28.year, winning twice, but in the mix you have had a lot of first round

:24:29. > :24:32.defeat as well, so a bit of a hot and cold tournament for you.

:24:33. > :24:36.It is too soon after Christmas. Too much turkey!

:24:37. > :24:42.You know it is tough to get back into it. But I have lost 11 times in

:24:43. > :24:46.the first round. I have never really settled at the Masters. Winning it a

:24:47. > :24:50.couple of times and going to a couple of finals, but apart from

:24:51. > :24:54.that, the record is not that great. Did you prefer the conference

:24:55. > :24:56.centre? You had more success there. You won it twice in the conference

:24:57. > :25:01.and. I feel better here. The conference

:25:02. > :25:07.centre is such a fast arena. You can get lost quite easily. You can go

:25:08. > :25:12.into your shell a little bit. Wembley Arena is pretty soulless,

:25:13. > :25:16.such a big arena, but here, I like this event. I like this arena

:25:17. > :25:21.better. Conference centre was special, but I feel a little bit war

:25:22. > :25:26.at home here. It has created its own home now. At

:25:27. > :25:29.Alexandra Palace, the crowds have been fantastic. It is a wonderful

:25:30. > :25:35.atmosphere. It is great. The darts is played

:25:36. > :25:41.here, and they get great crowd in. We get the tail end of that. Snooker

:25:42. > :25:45.is maybe coming up, and that is why the crowds are so good.

:25:46. > :25:48.Your best moment, the final frame decider against Ronnie O'Sullivan

:25:49. > :25:55.back in 2000? My best moment was beating you.

:25:56. > :26:02.I did want to say that, but I didn't want it coming from me.

:26:03. > :26:08.1998, winning the Masters for the first time, it was a great

:26:09. > :26:10.achievement. But then, obviously, winning the second time, that was

:26:11. > :26:14.the last time it was at the conference centre. Beating Ronnie, I

:26:15. > :26:21.lost a couple of heavy finals to Ronnie. I managed to clear up.

:26:22. > :26:25.Is that one of the best ever clearances of your career?

:26:26. > :26:32.I think that was special. The nerves and everything, and the atmosphere

:26:33. > :26:35.of the crowd. Particularly the first round, that

:26:36. > :26:38.first round never looked like it would drop, did it?

:26:39. > :26:43.I don't know what happened, someone must have opened a door. I have

:26:44. > :26:49.watched it back a few times, and I think, there is no way that is going

:26:50. > :26:53.in. I was going over to shake his hand, because I thought it was never

:26:54. > :26:58.reaching. And the rest is history. This

:26:59. > :27:03.season, particularly, has been a revival for you in many ways. You've

:27:04. > :27:06.had two tournaments on the bounce, then you had your 147 in a

:27:07. > :27:12.tournament straight after that. You are back to almost like your best,

:27:13. > :27:15.it would seem. Is that the same as how you feel?

:27:16. > :27:21.I think it happened two years ago when I played Mark Allen. I played

:27:22. > :27:26.as well as I can't wait. I lost 6-4 to him in a high-quality game. That

:27:27. > :27:30.proved something to me, I can still play at a high level. If you keep

:27:31. > :27:35.that up, you have every chance of doing OK. I have kept my level up in

:27:36. > :27:39.tournaments, and it has been good enough to win tournaments.

:27:40. > :27:45.What about this season itself, have you done anything different? Is it

:27:46. > :27:48.sometimes a bit of confidence, a bit more psychological?

:27:49. > :27:51.It is confidence. Although this year, winning a couple of big

:27:52. > :27:59.tournaments, I think it was last year, as I say two years ago,

:28:00. > :28:03.getting my confidence back. The last two years, it has been a

:28:04. > :28:08.lot better. Mark Allen is your first round

:28:09. > :28:13.opponent here, has your Christmas been curtailed a bit, have you had

:28:14. > :28:16.too much turkey this time around? Will you be ready from the word go

:28:17. > :28:23.against Mark Allen, because he has always been a tough opponent?

:28:24. > :28:31.Has, and we have had some good battles. I have not an much

:28:32. > :28:39.practising. Me and my wife went away for a few days over New Year, and it

:28:40. > :28:44.was good to get a break to ourselves. I practised for a couple

:28:45. > :28:48.of days, and I have to try to come in fresh and hopefully carry it on

:28:49. > :28:52.now from the first half of the season. Never good to mention your

:28:53. > :28:58.wife's age on ever. People say that. She is 40, but she

:28:59. > :29:02.looks 20! That is one way of crawling out of a

:29:03. > :29:10.hole. What about, it is a very special tournament, one of the

:29:11. > :29:13.majors, you have won it twice, but you want your name engraved once

:29:14. > :29:21.more? Of course I do. People say the

:29:22. > :29:25.triple Crown, obviously it would be great to get through the weekend.

:29:26. > :29:29.I've not done that now for a few years. It would be great to try to

:29:30. > :29:33.get through to the weekend and see what happens. Obviously, you have a

:29:34. > :29:37.long way to go, and Mark is a tough competitor to play against. I have

:29:38. > :29:40.to try to enjoy it and see where it takes a.

:29:41. > :29:43.HAZEL IRVINE: John mentioned the triple Crown, and how snooker

:29:44. > :29:47.players measure their careers increasingly in terms of the triple

:29:48. > :29:50.Crown. John is online, and another would get him into double figures.

:29:51. > :29:57.Only you, Ronnie and Stephen Hendry are above him. It sparks a debate

:29:58. > :30:01.for another time about how we classify majors, but in terms of

:30:02. > :30:07.John's playability, he has an extraordinary record. For you, he

:30:08. > :30:13.has always been at the top. He is up there with the best of

:30:14. > :30:17.them. His break-building is outstanding. Every time you play

:30:18. > :30:23.him, it is an examination. You are given a stern test. You come to the

:30:24. > :30:27.table, you are in maximum trouble, and every time you play him you know

:30:28. > :30:34.it will be a horrible afternoon. It is borne out by match statistics.

:30:35. > :30:38.We have been having a look. These are basically the greatest match

:30:39. > :30:44.players we have ever seen. Right at the top of the pile, a certain Mr

:30:45. > :30:48.Davies with 920 wins in his matches. That career was over 150 years, but

:30:49. > :31:00.he got there in the end! Interestingly when you look at

:31:01. > :31:04.Ronnie O'Sullivan, his percentage tops everybody, 74%, but he's played

:31:05. > :31:08.something like 60 tournaments fewer than John and, it just shows you

:31:09. > :31:14.that he's right up there, only this man to beat. Steve? It's not really.

:31:15. > :31:18.You can look at the figures in many different ways because my strike

:31:19. > :31:23.rate wasn't as high as some of the others but I won a lot of matches

:31:24. > :31:26.over a long period of time. Doing that, when you are possibly not

:31:27. > :31:29.always playing at your best and there is a better standard around is

:31:30. > :31:33.very difficult. But I wouldth you would have to say that all you could

:31:34. > :31:36.say from the stats is, there are a few troopers in the game, John

:31:37. > :31:40.Higgins is one of them. You can teach a lot of the game. You can

:31:41. > :31:44.make sure your technique is as good as it can. You can learn and be

:31:45. > :31:49.taught positional play but what you can't teach is what John Higgins has

:31:50. > :31:53.which is a total desire on the table and you know every shot he's giving

:31:54. > :31:56.it everything. That sometimes, temperament or whatever it is, is

:31:57. > :32:01.something that's a lot harder to grasp. He's maintained this through

:32:02. > :32:06.two pretty low periods in his career and he mentioned that match here in

:32:07. > :32:09.2015 against Mark Allen and that was after a period where his confidence

:32:10. > :32:14.dipped terribly and he'd been Tinkering around with different cues

:32:15. > :32:18.and suddenly something like that sparks him back into life. It goes

:32:19. > :32:22.to show it's about your level of performance. He lost that match and

:32:23. > :32:26.he came back and said at last I can play and compete again, that's as

:32:27. > :32:29.good as I can play. He lost the match but he came away getting

:32:30. > :32:34.something from that tournament and since then he's kicked on. That can

:32:35. > :32:37.also improve your enthusiasm for the game when you go to the practise

:32:38. > :32:41.table. If you are not getting the results and confirmation that you

:32:42. > :32:45.are doing well, that chore, that grind of going back to the practise

:32:46. > :32:48.table which should be fun, can become something that isn't fun. He

:32:49. > :32:53.made an interesting point about the Masters being so close to Christmas

:32:54. > :33:00.and that lethargy that you get into. Did you experience that yourselves?

:33:01. > :33:03.Yes, but what John's got, he's got a lot of match practise recently so

:33:04. > :33:07.that would hold him in good stead. He played right up to Christmas. Two

:33:08. > :33:10.or three days of graft, honestly, particularly in the middle of the

:33:11. > :33:14.season, he'll be right back to it. By the way, Denise, you still look

:33:15. > :33:21.20, don't you worry about that, John definitely got it right there!

:33:22. > :33:27.Tonight, an intriguing match between two 40-somethings. Stuart Bingham,

:33:28. > :33:31.former world champion and Joe Perry, another 40-something himself. Joe's

:33:32. > :33:37.dad, Peter, is a former taxi driver, so it will be very interesting for

:33:38. > :33:42.the Perry family to take a look into the curious Top Gear world of cab

:33:43. > :33:43.driving that's been steered by a certain part-time cabby, Mr Steve

:33:44. > :34:07.Davis. We have a bit of a problem with that

:34:08. > :34:11.VT but I can assure you he didn't crash and he's still here to tell

:34:12. > :34:16.the tale. Joe Perry's career, he's had a bit of a dip hasn't he, and

:34:17. > :34:19.that came after a successful season in which he won his first world

:34:20. > :34:25.ranking title after 20 years of graft. What do you make of him as a

:34:26. > :34:30.personal player? He's stood the test of time well. I don't know how he

:34:31. > :34:35.feels daily, but he's been there or thereabouts, kept himself in the top

:34:36. > :34:38.16 quite well and you would have to say, without the word journeyman

:34:39. > :34:43.which is sometimes used as a derogatory way of talking about a

:34:44. > :34:47.player, he's a proper person who has decided he's a career player and

:34:48. > :34:51.whether he wins or loses, he comes back and gives it everything for the

:34:52. > :34:55.next match. You cannot ask for more than that, he just needs a few wins

:34:56. > :35:03.in the trophy Cabinet. He's always a bit of a grafter out there and was

:35:04. > :35:08.probably slightly nervous when he got back into the cab with Steve.

:35:09. > :35:30.Anyone order a taxi? Hello, Joseph, how are you. Not bad.

:35:31. > :35:34.Anyone still call you Joseph? My brother and my mum sometimes, my

:35:35. > :35:41.mate when I play golf with him and I'm not performing. Only ever been

:35:42. > :35:47.to one concert? Someone said to me you have got to two to one. Never

:35:48. > :35:51.been to one? ! I'm not into music. It was one that I didn't enjoy. What

:35:52. > :36:03.was it? Robbie Williams. Your own fault. The best thing about that was

:36:04. > :36:10.ABC was the support Act and I quite enjoyed them. Do you get fed up with

:36:11. > :36:14.hotels? I've just had an absolute crap breakfast. I always go into

:36:15. > :36:19.them in trepidation. One of my hates is, I hate having a showinger in the

:36:20. > :36:23.bath so if I go in a room and there's a shower in the bath...

:36:24. > :36:28.Slippery. I hate it. It don't seem right for me. What about when the

:36:29. > :36:35.shower curtain sucks up to you? ! What's the worst thing in the world,

:36:36. > :36:38.the shower comes on and all of a sudden the shower curtain decides to

:36:39. > :36:47.come and cuddle you. What's that all about? There's a fewers, Mark

:36:48. > :36:52.Williams -- there's a few players, Mark Williams, you go into his room

:36:53. > :36:55.and it's as messy as it can be, I'm not like that, I like to keep it

:36:56. > :37:02.tidy. What would you say are your pet

:37:03. > :37:11.hates? Well, I had one this morning. Really? One of my mates walked in my

:37:12. > :37:19.room this morning and borrowed my roll-on. I didn't like it. Really?

:37:20. > :37:24.Yes, that's not nice. Your hotel's perfect, everything hanging up

:37:25. > :37:28.perfectly, a bit OCD? No, not OCD. You are getting that way though? Our

:37:29. > :37:34.little collection of players, Mark Davis, he's OCD. Is he? All his

:37:35. > :37:42.shoes will be in perfect order, toes will all be at the same bit. Every

:37:43. > :37:47.time we go in, we'll kick 'em just to wind him up. On the circuit would

:37:48. > :37:51.you be considered by your close mates, the players you hang around

:37:52. > :37:56.with, glass half empty or half full, are you a bit of a moaner? I moan

:37:57. > :38:02.purely for comedy value. Yes, I feel that, yes. I think I'm the same. I

:38:03. > :38:07.do it to entertain them because people like Mark Davis and that,

:38:08. > :38:12.they're very boring. Yes. But if you can get it out of him, they are good

:38:13. > :38:17.company so I play on it really, it's my little character, I just play

:38:18. > :38:23.point and try and have a laugh. Plenty of things to moan about. Yes.

:38:24. > :38:26.More and more now. We are on our way to the venue now and there is no

:38:27. > :38:32.practise slots available. I'll be moaning about that. Can't you pull

:38:33. > :38:37.rank? That's not me really. I might have to do a bit of loitering and

:38:38. > :38:45.nick a couple, but no, I'm not one for pulling rank, no. I remember

:38:46. > :38:50.when you used to check out of airport car parks back in the day.

:38:51. > :38:54.Yes. There used to be a convoy of six to get through. We had a convoy,

:38:55. > :38:58.yes, I think five was our record. Getting out the car park. All going

:38:59. > :39:04.through, yes. What were the consequences? Gerrard got called up

:39:05. > :39:09.to Gatwick police station once. He was the only one. The worst that can

:39:10. > :39:11.happen is, you end up having to pay your car park bill, so you either

:39:12. > :39:25.get away with it or you don't. The secret world of the gelmen, Joe

:39:26. > :39:29.Perry. If you invite him to your house, don't put him in your guest

:39:30. > :39:34.room where there's a shower in the bath, he'll not be having it. Joe's

:39:35. > :39:39.match will be live on the red button at 7. Every ball of the Masters is

:39:40. > :39:45.live on the BBC either on BBC Two or on the red button so two platforms

:39:46. > :39:49.for you and I'll be back at 11. 20, in fact I won't, I'm ahead of

:39:50. > :39:58.myself, Jason Mohammed is coming, I get the night off. Jason is on duty

:39:59. > :40:04.at 11. 20 and by the way, Marney Rose Bingham, a new member, has come

:40:05. > :40:07.into the world, she did so, 8 pounds 2 ounces on Saturday, so

:40:08. > :40:10.congratulations to Stuart and Michelle and I wonder whether that

:40:11. > :40:13.will have the Danny Willet effect on Stuart bring ham as he comes in

:40:14. > :40:17.tonight. What do you think? It's happened before. Absolutely, it

:40:18. > :40:21.could do. Could be inspiring. We'll be hoping to hear from Stuart before

:40:22. > :40:25.the end of the programme. He's here doing a bit of practise and I'm sure

:40:26. > :40:29.Steve is going to dash out and have a word with him. But back to the

:40:30. > :40:45.game. Certainly Steve will have found

:40:46. > :40:50.something to moan about, Hazel will. But no good moaning, there's nothing

:40:51. > :40:59.you can do about it. The players are back in the arena.

:41:00. > :41:44.Chance of a long pot. Not there, but felt that the only one he could

:41:45. > :41:49.leave was what he was seeling, the frame time just under 16 minutes,

:41:50. > :41:51.not bad after a 32-minute opening frame. I told you it would get

:41:52. > :42:06.better. Average shot 21 seconds each. That's

:42:07. > :42:33.quick. Quick enough. Just makes it a bit more difficult

:42:34. > :42:39.for John to play a safety shot and get the cue ball back to the baulk

:42:40. > :42:41.end. Risky if he attempted it. So may just play the safety at this

:42:42. > :43:12.end. Trying to cover that red near the

:43:13. > :43:13.brown. Just dictating the safety exchange at the moment, is Mark

:43:14. > :43:50.Allen. It would be too risky to go to the

:43:51. > :43:52.baulk end this time. You need to get this cue ball as close as you can to

:43:53. > :43:58.the top cushion. Well, has he left his cut to the

:43:59. > :44:11.middle? Can John get to it? I think he can. He's looking at the

:44:12. > :44:50.potting angle. That was careless. Just having a look to see where the

:44:51. > :44:54.pink is going to go. It's going to have to go at the back of the pack

:44:55. > :45:59.which is no problem. Leaving himself a little low on

:46:00. > :46:07.this. Potting it, bringing the reds into play. The cue ball needs to run

:46:08. > :46:09.a little bit though. May just be a gap he can get through to the green.

:46:10. > :46:29.Rather the green than the blue. Nice, solid pot right in the heart

:46:30. > :47:01.of the pocket. Always a good sign. I suggest pot the blue, leave the

:47:02. > :47:04.cue ball where it is then the red left-to-middle and leave the blue to

:47:05. > :47:09.go in the middle of the bunch. Oh, dear. Oh, dear, John. Didn't Seeta

:47:10. > :47:28.one coming. My sentiments exactly. Maybe he was thinking two or three

:47:29. > :47:36.shots ahead. Yes, let his mind drift. Easily done sometimes, you

:47:37. > :47:55.just take a pot for granted. That will annoy him.

:47:56. > :48:06.Does this pink pot? If he gets through to it, he can pot it then

:48:07. > :48:32.open up all the reds. APPLAUSE.

:48:33. > :48:39.He may play the double into the right middle if he feels as though

:48:40. > :48:45.he's not going to leave anything on but the red he's playing.

:48:46. > :48:51.Always got to be careful with the double though if it's the wrong side

:48:52. > :48:53.of the pocket and doesn't go in, it can always come back to the cue

:48:54. > :49:11.ball. John Higgins playing a double. He's

:49:12. > :49:22.one of the best in the business. And that is why - no mistake.

:49:23. > :49:45.APPLAUSE. In Canada they call that a bank

:49:46. > :50:04.shot. It's a frame-winning opportunity

:50:05. > :50:17.here. Three reds in-between the pink and black nicely available.

:50:18. > :50:37.A red in the middle of the table at the far end.

:50:38. > :50:44.Takes him 36 points in front. Needs to get to 67. Another 24 points

:50:45. > :50:59.required. He's probably going to need after

:51:00. > :51:04.this black three more reds. The reason I say that, is because with

:51:05. > :51:07.the reds being at the baulk end of the table, he's going to take

:51:08. > :51:12.low-value colours, you would have thought. So it's not a formality.

:51:13. > :51:23.Quick glance at the score board. This to go 51 points in front, but

:51:24. > :51:57.still 67 remaining. Red and black put him 59 in front

:51:58. > :52:00.with 59 remaining. Still looking for one more red to get to snookers

:52:01. > :52:58.required. Mark Allen went for a double and

:52:59. > :54:03.missed it, left John Higgins a double, he got it. 3-2.

:54:04. > :54:10.What an appetite for the game this man has and those stats prove it.

:54:11. > :54:15.That win in 2006 against Ronnie O'Sullivan. I know you had the great

:54:16. > :54:19.final black-ball game with Mark Williams but what a clearance he got

:54:20. > :54:22.to beat Ronnie. Incredible. It was a double in that

:54:23. > :54:34.one as well. I think John was quoted as saying

:54:35. > :54:37.that now that there are so many tournaments, you don't have to spend

:54:38. > :54:41.that much time on the practise table. I think it probably suits

:54:42. > :54:43.John because, as you get older, that's the hard graft isn't it, the

:54:44. > :55:00.practise? Yes, definitely. I think finding the appetite, the

:55:01. > :55:05.desire to put in the four, five, six hours a day, as you get older,

:55:06. > :55:09.becomes very difficult. So I think, like John said to me during the

:55:10. > :55:14.Champions Cup victory, I think he only plays an hour a day now,

:55:15. > :55:19.because you are playing so much snooker. It keeps you match sharp.

:55:20. > :55:25.He'll be disappointed to have missed that. You always say with that type

:55:26. > :55:31.of shot, if you are going to miss it, hit it thin and he hit it too

:55:32. > :55:38.thick. This is a chance now for Mark Allen. I think what stood John

:55:39. > :55:42.Higgins in good stead over the years, his technique's hardly

:55:43. > :55:51.changed. Watch his cue action, it's so repetitive.

:55:52. > :55:56.There are two ways of playing this, you can play a little cannon into

:55:57. > :56:03.the two reds above the black and still be on the red at just above

:56:04. > :56:22.the black. He decided to play for the loose red.

:56:23. > :56:27.Decided to play the cannon that time around. But if he'd have played that

:56:28. > :56:32.cannon previously, he'd have still been on the red that was just above

:56:33. > :56:39.the black and now, it appears as though he's on nothing.

:56:40. > :56:48.A lot to do with break-building in this game is shot selection. I think

:56:49. > :56:50.this red goes the far left corner, he was looking for something easier

:56:51. > :56:57.than this. He's played it beautifully. Good

:56:58. > :57:05.shot. APPLAUSE.

:57:06. > :57:10.Now, can he drop this in and hold for the red to the right corner?

:57:11. > :57:40.Delicate shot. He's played it well. Might begin to to the gap with the

:57:41. > :57:51.two reds that are together or to the right of the bunch. Got the red

:57:52. > :57:54.first. It's OK. The red that he hit he just wants to miss going into the

:57:55. > :58:05.gap and it would have been absolutely perfect.

:58:06. > :58:15.Controlled the cue ball nicely there.

:58:16. > :58:43.This is exactly what you've got to do at this level. Higgins misses the

:58:44. > :58:52.long red, you have got to punish him for it. He's missed it so thick, the

:58:53. > :58:57.cue ball was never going to get back to the table. Mark Allen's getting

:58:58. > :59:05.the cue ball cleaned. Should have been easier on the red than this.

:59:06. > :59:09.Put it to the left middle. It now becomes missable.

:59:10. > :59:35.This match is warming up nicely, John. Yes. Always on paper looked to

:59:36. > :59:38.be a cracker. They've played 13 times and it's 7-6 to John Higgins

:59:39. > :00:01.in the head-to-heads. Played the cannon nicely, it's all

:00:02. > :00:07.over now, surely. The road will put in 60s of an points ahead. 67

:00:08. > :00:13.remaining. -- put him 67 points ahead.

:00:14. > :00:26.And this is his highest break in the match so far. 67.

:00:27. > :00:50.He's taken it very well. APPLAUSE 72, 70 three. -- 72, 73.

:00:51. > :01:13.Doesn't matter about the blue. Potted a view good balls prior to

:01:14. > :01:19.that, one mistake from Higgins, frame to Mark Allen.

:01:20. > :01:27.STUDIO: A couple of shots in the frame, he kept well to keep it

:01:28. > :01:30.going. Excellent long part, yellow pocket, lovely control, play this

:01:31. > :01:35.well, straight into it, look where he left the cue ball, played it to

:01:36. > :01:39.an area that was safe, also, if he knocks in the red, he just has to

:01:40. > :01:45.drop the blue, which he does, and he is back in the break. -- pot. Well

:01:46. > :01:48.sorted out, well executed. Unsurprising that it is this close,

:01:49. > :01:55.because people thought this would go the full distance. Very difficult to

:01:56. > :01:58.read it the winners of this first-round matches, such is the

:01:59. > :02:04.standard, the bookmakers have to make someone a favourite, and then

:02:05. > :02:09.there is an underdog. The pattern is something you picked up on, you were

:02:10. > :02:13.in the UK, you watched the match. Similar sort of thing, John was

:02:14. > :02:16.ahead, Mark got him back, the only reason Mark Allen lost that match

:02:17. > :02:22.was that he lost this is an a couple of times, but he really had him on

:02:23. > :02:26.the brink of defeat. Just wondering whether it will follow the same

:02:27. > :02:29.thing. Similar match. You would expect it, because these two are

:02:30. > :02:47.really evenly matched. COMMENTATOR: Good length of break

:02:48. > :02:50.off, from John. CO-COMMENTATOR: Textbook break, opened up some reds.

:02:51. > :03:01.How has he left this? He has done the opposite of what

:03:02. > :03:04.John Higgins did in the previous frame, he has made sure he left it

:03:05. > :03:34.thin. Make it safe. Foul. Miss. Mark Allen, four. Does

:03:35. > :03:38.he put him back in, from where he rises, or does he have the cue ball

:03:39. > :03:45.put back? I would have it put back, myself.

:03:46. > :03:51.Quite interesting, at the start of the match, as Steve was saying in

:03:52. > :04:00.the studio, this first-round matches, top 16 players, world

:04:01. > :04:06.ranked number three, John Higgins, and Mark Allen, one of the top

:04:07. > :04:09.seeds. He has got to hit it this time otherwise he will get a

:04:10. > :04:29.warning. He is going to get a warning now. Mark Allen, four. And

:04:30. > :04:34.you lose the frame. The bookies made John Higgins nine quarters on

:04:35. > :04:37.favourite, he's looking at John because he now knows that John is

:04:38. > :04:43.under pressure. I don't think he will be playing the think at this

:04:44. > :04:49.time. I will have too warned you, John, you have got to hit a red this

:04:50. > :04:57.time. He has given him a warning. This is the shot that John Higgins

:04:58. > :05:03.did not want to play. But it wasn't that difficult, in the end. Now,

:05:04. > :05:08.they have made John Higgins favourite, six quarters, Mark Allen,

:05:09. > :05:20.I didn't see the difference that much in the arts. -- six quarters.

:05:21. > :05:27.-- 6-4. The only reason is that he has won events this season. On the

:05:28. > :07:15.move quickly there. Funny one, that, couldn't really put

:07:16. > :07:23.any pressure on John. You think it would not be a problem for John to

:07:24. > :07:27.play safe now, of this bread. But John could have played it better, if

:07:28. > :07:29.he has not covered that read near the ball by the yellow, then it is

:07:30. > :07:53.advantage Mark Allen. Well it looks like he can just get

:07:54. > :07:58.past the pink. Down the right-hand side of the table. Courted much too

:07:59. > :08:24.thick. That could spell danger. Nothing nicer coming to the table

:08:25. > :08:33.after this situation, look at the reds, and the black is in the open.

:08:34. > :08:45.Already made 80 in a previous frame. So you're scoring.

:08:46. > :09:21.You wouldn't imagine that the cue ball is going to travel any great

:09:22. > :09:28.distance. Mark Allen with a frame-winning break here. Very

:09:29. > :09:36.disappointed with that one. I'm sure that he can pop this rate... Towards

:09:37. > :09:44.the blue, now. Shake of the head, it's imperative that he gets a good

:09:45. > :09:49.handle on the blue. Played it in such a way that he didn't want to

:09:50. > :09:58.risk being alongside the blue. Chance of a colour. Probably played

:09:59. > :10:02.the green. Cue ball travelling a bit further, in and around the black,

:10:03. > :10:06.that cue ball is not travelling too far. A lot easier to control your

:10:07. > :10:19.positional side of the play. Played that well, though, back in

:10:20. > :12:35.prime position, good shot. Red, colour, red, all that's

:12:36. > :12:59.required. 72 points is the lead, 75 remaining,

:13:00. > :13:02.but not for long. After losing the first two frames, Mark Allen is

:13:03. > :13:17.going to take the lead for the first time in the match. APPLAUSE

:13:18. > :13:31.Starting to punish John Higgins heavily. For his mistakes. Just made

:13:32. > :13:37.his highest break of the match, in the last, 81, looks like he can go

:13:38. > :14:14.better than that here. The table does look an absolute

:14:15. > :14:48.pleasure to play on. Lovely speed. Little soft screws.

:14:49. > :15:01.Terrific break their from Mark Allen, now. Highest break in the

:15:02. > :15:11.tournament now, held by Ronnie O'Sullivan, 121, ?10,000 prize for

:15:12. > :15:15.the high break. Oh! He will be disappointed he missed that, but the

:15:16. > :15:20.frame one, and for the first time in the match, it goes in front, he now

:15:21. > :15:33.leads John Higgins, 4-3. As we say, Stephen, 81 in the frame

:15:34. > :15:39.previous, 104 there are, all caused by catching it too thick. Yes. The

:15:40. > :15:44.frame before this one, he has gone for a long ball to the left

:15:45. > :15:47.corner... Obviously allowing a little bit of left-hand side, so he

:15:48. > :15:54.has pushed the cue ball across... To the right. Caught this far too

:15:55. > :16:00.thick, as you say, playing those shots do nothing, if you are going

:16:01. > :16:05.to miss it, you tend to do are on the thin side, to get the cue ball

:16:06. > :16:12.back to baulk, and the same here. The same one, playing with a trace

:16:13. > :16:17.of left-hand side. -- err. Read near the left and cushion, playing this

:16:18. > :16:22.one, courted much too thick, and once it is the other red and stayed

:16:23. > :16:32.in this half of the table, it's big trouble. -- -- red. It spelt big

:16:33. > :16:38.trouble. -- court it much too thick. -- it spelt big trouble. -- caught

:16:39. > :16:46.it much too thick. Mark Allen did what he was supposed to do, and as

:16:47. > :16:57.you say, John now I had for the first time and looking the stronger

:16:58. > :17:02.player. You're never happy when you see that on the red, next to the

:17:03. > :17:06.black. -- John now ahead the first time. First time that has happened

:17:07. > :17:07.in this match, when players have been breaking, the black has stayed

:17:08. > :17:27.in the clear. I disagree, I remember a couple of

:17:28. > :17:32.times, when we have seen players playing long pots and try to disturb

:17:33. > :17:36.the black and the red, funny how some people break of different, long

:17:37. > :17:45.pot success, John Higgins need to improve that. Mark Allen, and...

:17:46. > :17:53.APPLAUSE ... OK, that's as good as any long pot.

:17:54. > :17:59.Perfect line, perfect length. Joe has got to catch this just right. --

:18:00. > :18:02.John has got to. In the end decided not to play back to baulk, coming

:18:03. > :18:08.off the side cushion, nestling on the reds near the top cushion. One

:18:09. > :18:16.adrift by it, of course, if he does, he would leave it. Played it well.

:18:17. > :19:06.Just flipped the green. Has a chance with this read to the right corner.

:19:07. > :19:29.Play it as a shock for nothing. -- play it as a shot for nothing.

:19:30. > :19:32.I'm sure if John was not hampered by the green, he may take on one of

:19:33. > :19:41.these reds, on the right-hand side of the table. Well, he can just cue

:19:42. > :19:53.passed it, only just. He should keep the cue straight. -- past. Where is

:19:54. > :20:03.the cue ball going? Mark Allen, four. Always difficult when you are

:20:04. > :20:04.cueing pass the ball like that, concentrating that much on keeping

:20:05. > :20:18.the cue straight. The only advantage with the North,

:20:19. > :20:31.he has not left Mark close to the next red. -- the only advantage with

:20:32. > :20:36.the in-off. Doesn't look any read here that you would be tempted to

:20:37. > :20:48.play the pot on, when you just made breaks of 104 and 81, sometimes you

:20:49. > :20:52.are feeling confident. No, did not want to risk the pot, if he kisses

:20:53. > :20:56.the yellow, it is not the best safety he has ever played. A chance

:20:57. > :21:04.now for John Higgins to get the upper hand now in the safety

:21:05. > :21:18.exchange. Good targets there, yellow, brown and green.

:21:19. > :21:48.Catch this mighty thin otherwise it will come up the other end of the

:21:49. > :21:52.table. Played that well. Something you don't see often, John Higgins in

:21:53. > :22:25.the safety Department. Will that cue ball stopped, will it

:22:26. > :22:31.stop... Mark Allen, four. Gravity. Settle down, please, thank you. I

:22:32. > :22:33.thought it had stopped for a second. That is why the Apple fell from the

:22:34. > :23:04.tree. The kiss on the brown has left the

:23:05. > :23:08.pot on, you can stun it in and play for the black but more likely you

:23:09. > :23:13.will run up for the blue, but it needs good accurate cueing, and he

:23:14. > :23:22.has not ported a ball for over 27 minutes. And considering that,

:23:23. > :23:26.excellent pot. APPLAUSE OK, a little bit thin on the blow,

:23:27. > :23:30.but he won't mind that, he will play the cannon here, weighing the

:23:31. > :23:40.cannon, he can bring the pink into play.

:23:41. > :24:06.Not the best opportunity, went near the side cushion, the black is in a

:24:07. > :24:12.tricky position at the moment. Just concentrating on trying to

:24:13. > :24:18.accumulate points here rather than think too far ahead of himself. This

:24:19. > :24:24.is a big moment in the match, for me.

:24:25. > :24:59.13. Nearly got into it too much but it's OK.

:25:00. > :25:21.19. This time, wrong side of the blue. Last thing he wanted. Can he

:25:22. > :25:30.roll in the blue and find a red that is easily potted? I don't think so.

:25:31. > :25:51.The other side of the blue line. I suppose he could screw back to the

:25:52. > :25:56.right-hand side cushion and play for them one which is closer to the

:25:57. > :26:03.right-hand corner, looking at the one around the pink spot area, but

:26:04. > :26:07.certain to be on a colour of that, we'll see what he decides. He has

:26:08. > :26:12.played for the one round the pink spot area, the problem with this, it

:26:13. > :26:18.is easily missed and he has got to find a path for the cue ball to come

:26:19. > :26:28.back up for the blue or play for the cannon, and hope for the black.

:26:29. > :26:31.Don't miss the pot. Good pot. The way he played it, I think he was

:26:32. > :26:37.trying to avoid the kiss on the second red, only a safety shot now.

:26:38. > :26:49.At least if you pop the ball, you get the next shot. -- pot the ball.

:26:50. > :27:12.It was always going to be difficult to score heavily from that

:27:13. > :27:38.opportunity, green and black, awkward as they were.

:27:39. > :27:45.More concerned with avoiding other reds and getting the cue ball back

:27:46. > :27:56.to the ball can, he has not left any thing, should be a better safety

:27:57. > :27:59.shot from John here. If he misses the yellow, it will be. He has just

:28:00. > :28:22.flicked it. Hit it much too thick, John Higgins

:28:23. > :28:29.gets another chance now. Trying to swing it round, just putting that

:28:30. > :28:35.little bit of right-hand side... Super fine, if you don't time it

:28:36. > :28:48.correctly, you push it to the left, much too thick. Twixt and between.

:28:49. > :29:00.The only slight advantage with this, and it all depends on the potting

:29:01. > :29:07.angle, I know that it is a thin cut, may cannon them together.

:29:08. > :29:11.Concentrate on the pot. APPLAUSE That is what he did and he has been

:29:12. > :29:19.a little unlucky, nudged the reds open. Just watch, for a moment, on

:29:20. > :29:32.the reds, to the corner, and then the other one came and blocked it.

:29:33. > :29:41.He's looked at it a couple of times. The only thing that would make me

:29:42. > :29:45.want to play it, he's looking now, if he leaves the cue ball near the

:29:46. > :29:49.top cushion, if the red goes in, he could play the snooker behind the

:29:50. > :29:53.brown and leave Mark Allen in all kinds of trouble.

:29:54. > :29:58.I wouldn't risk playing the pot and trying to play for a colour.

:29:59. > :30:14.He's looking at the possibility a plant.

:30:15. > :31:05.Ideally he'd like to leave the four reds that are closer together in

:31:06. > :31:20.that same position. Can he get a better safety off this red?

:31:21. > :31:24.Wasn't too worried about bringing the green into play. He's got the

:31:25. > :31:32.yellow and brown in awkward positions. Should Mark Allen get the

:31:33. > :31:37.next chance. Mark Allen will have no hesitation in bringing these four

:31:38. > :31:41.reds into play. But he could have played it better

:31:42. > :31:46.than that. This red cuts to the right middle. OK, you won't have

:31:47. > :31:54.much clue where the cue ball's going. Make certain you pot the red

:31:55. > :31:58.and trust the luck for position. If he gets on a colour, he's got the

:31:59. > :32:04.frame at his %ery. -- mercy.

:32:05. > :32:07.The one to the left is a more difficult pot. But he has more

:32:08. > :32:23.control of the cue ball. Right in the heart of the pocket.

:32:24. > :32:41.You've got to say that could be the frame winner. Good shot.

:32:42. > :32:48.That's where we talk about making the right shot selection. If you

:32:49. > :32:53.look where the cue ball finished, he didn't play any shot for nothing. He

:32:54. > :32:57.played it so that if he got it, it won him the frame.

:32:58. > :33:18.That's run on a little about the more than he wanted. But he's OK.

:33:19. > :33:31.Probably need four of these remaining reds. I don't think he's

:33:32. > :33:39.going to be bothering with pink or black.

:33:40. > :34:30.It was a very weak safety shot from Mark Allen.

:34:31. > :34:35.Every credit to John Higgins playing the right shot. He knew it would be

:34:36. > :35:10.a frame win perit went in. That tells me he's not too bothered

:35:11. > :35:15.now. He knows Mark Allen won't be coming back to the table.

:35:16. > :35:24.And that's enough. So John Higgins needed a couple of chances. Now

:35:25. > :35:28.we're all square. We started off best of 11. Now it's turned out to

:35:29. > :35:31.be best of three. STUDIO: We're not complaining about

:35:32. > :35:36.that. It's certainly an intriguing match so far. We talked about safety

:35:37. > :35:39.and how John Higgins' safety has always been one of the key elements

:35:40. > :35:42.of his game. Just in the last couple of frames, the guys in the

:35:43. > :35:46.commentary box mention today as well, seems to be struggling a

:35:47. > :35:50.little bit in that department today. If you look at the stats, yeah.

:35:51. > :35:55.Sometimes they don't always tell the exact story. Playing against a great

:35:56. > :35:59.player, you can't always hide the ball. These days, putting it tight

:36:00. > :36:02.on the bottom cushion doesn't guarantee anything. How do you read

:36:03. > :36:06.it? He had a couple of shots where he missed the ball completely one

:36:07. > :36:12.side of the table. What he played down the other side he hit it thick.

:36:13. > :36:17.It might welcome back one of those days when you're not in the middle

:36:18. > :36:20.of the cue ball. The safety department is usually has backyard.

:36:21. > :36:25.It's a great crowd, for a Monday afternoon, close to 1500 people

:36:26. > :36:29.here. It's always so beautifully crowded this venue. I did notice

:36:30. > :36:32.that in terms of pretournament sales, best ever. Seems to be one of

:36:33. > :36:37.these tournaments that's growing and growing. Yeah, for all of the people

:36:38. > :36:41.who think snooker is on the way out, even in the UK, we know worldwide

:36:42. > :36:46.it's buzzing, but this proves that's not the case. People love watching a

:36:47. > :36:52.live match. They do. John, it is a good crowd. For a January blues

:36:53. > :36:57.situation, it does alleviate that a lot. A lot of people really look

:36:58. > :37:01.forward to this. London's always been popular as a venue. What they

:37:02. > :37:05.moved to Ally Pally, you never know when they come to a venue, but

:37:06. > :37:08.people have come in their droves. Over the years they've had to up the

:37:09. > :37:14.capacity every year because that many people wanted to come in. It's

:37:15. > :37:20.gone from 1200, 1500, now 2,000 this year. Every year it's getter more

:37:21. > :37:26.crowded. You can't go further back, otherwise you can't see the tables.

:37:27. > :37:29.They cantilever the stands now. In this event, you bump into people you

:37:30. > :37:35.know, I know from the London area, in this Essex area, the catchment is

:37:36. > :37:39.quite big, obviously. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think there

:37:40. > :37:44.are more snooker players come to watch the Matchers than would come

:37:45. > :37:49.to watch some ranking events. Not just the sthoocker fans. I've even

:37:50. > :37:55.seen Patsy Fagin in the room as we speak. Yesterday as well. His

:37:56. > :37:59.birthday last night. Many happy returns of course. There he is,

:38:00. > :38:03.yeah, here with his wife. It's always lovely to see him here. He

:38:04. > :38:08.loves his snooker and a great player in his time as well. He was indeed.

:38:09. > :38:14.Back we go, get to the sharp end of this now.

:38:15. > :38:24.COMMENTATOR: Yes, we certainly are. A massive frame for John Higgins,

:38:25. > :38:29.that last one. Mark Allen looked as though he was

:38:30. > :38:31.on a role. John didn't win it with a big break, but it was a solid frame

:38:32. > :39:32.he played. It makes this safety a little more

:39:33. > :39:33.difficult for John. He hasn't got that open red in the

:39:34. > :39:48.middle of the table that play-off. If you catch it fractionally

:39:49. > :40:03.thicker, chance you'd leave it on. That's what he's done.

:40:04. > :40:10.Once again Mark Allen getting the advantage in the safety exchange.

:40:11. > :40:34.Could have done with another couple of rolls of the cue ball. Still a

:40:35. > :40:35.thin cut on this red. He's going to do well to control the cue ball

:40:36. > :40:51.here. If he misses the green, he's OK.

:40:52. > :40:56.Well, he may just be able to pot the green. It begs the question: Where

:40:57. > :41:04.does the next red come from? In practice you'll have two cushions

:41:05. > :41:06.into the bunch here. Whether he does that at 4-4 situation, I would doubt

:41:07. > :41:17.it. Playing for the open red. You can

:41:18. > :41:18.only assume, yes, it does pass the main bunch and goes to the right

:41:19. > :41:23.corner. Well, it was two that went. Can only

:41:24. > :41:29.play the bottom one. Has he got the angle on the blue? He

:41:30. > :41:46.has. Pot the blue, into the pink.

:41:47. > :41:51.Couldn't have played it much better than that. He's finished absolutely

:41:52. > :41:58.perfect. That's all you're looking for. It's an easy red to continue

:41:59. > :41:59.with. He's got that. The blacks available into both

:42:00. > :42:06.corners. Good chance. Can you turn your ear pieces down a

:42:07. > :42:46.little bit. Thank you. If the ear pieces are up too loud,

:42:47. > :42:49.then the players get a whiff of what we're saying.

:42:50. > :43:25.Often when it hits the knuckles of the pockets, two, three times, they

:43:26. > :43:30.don't go in. There was a black earlier for John Higgins like that.

:43:31. > :43:53.The shot from Mark Allen with just enough pace to keep the direction.

:43:54. > :44:00.He's got this red. He needs another 27 points.

:44:01. > :44:10.He's got one loose red to the left of the cluster.

:44:11. > :44:19.He needs more than two reds and two colours.

:44:20. > :44:36.Down to just over 14 minutes a frame.

:44:37. > :44:47.It's been excellent snooker. Has he got the angle on this?

:44:48. > :45:26.The 16 best players in the world, a match in this situation, to be able

:45:27. > :45:28.to win frames in one visit... Crucial to be a top-class snooker

:45:29. > :45:34.player. Couldn't have worked out better.

:45:35. > :45:48.Just a red and a colour needed. This blue to go 72 points in front

:45:49. > :46:03.with just 67 remaining. Would you believe it? Has he got

:46:04. > :46:04.position on the red? There's a red in the middle of those five that

:46:05. > :46:08.will pot. Would you believe that? Quietly

:46:09. > :46:31.please now, thank you. John Higgins came to the table 67

:46:32. > :46:38.points behind. There were 67 remaining. He needs all blacks. And

:46:39. > :46:45.the six colours to force a respot. Tall order.

:46:46. > :46:49.There's not many players in snoocker in front of John that you'd put to

:46:50. > :47:14.do this, though. Played that well. He'd like to have

:47:15. > :47:29.been a bit straighter. No problem. Remember, he's got to

:47:30. > :47:49.get blacks off every red. It's the red in between the blue and

:47:50. > :47:52.pink that's so important he gets the right potting angle on that one. He

:47:53. > :47:56.thinks he can do it this time around.

:47:57. > :48:30.He could. Now it looks on. Now it looks on!

:48:31. > :48:39.One good positional shot from black to yellow.

:48:40. > :49:00.This looks inch perfect. Six colours to force a respoted black.

:49:01. > :49:08.He miss aid straightforward blue. Mark Allen is sat in his chair

:49:09. > :49:11.thinking heads or tails? That's the blue he missed, miss today because

:49:12. > :49:20.he was playing it with left-hand side to get position.

:49:21. > :49:25.That's just about inch perfect on the blue. Pot the blue and hold for

:49:26. > :49:35.the pink in the same pocket. What character this man shows. He

:49:36. > :50:06.has done all his career. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. Boy

:50:07. > :50:12.has he got a will to win. So it's a respoted black. As Stephen said,

:50:13. > :50:22.Mark Allen will be thinking, "Heads or tails? John, you want to call it?

:50:23. > :50:32.Tails? It's a head, it's your choice. John Higgins called tails.

:50:33. > :50:38.It was heads. Mark Allen puts him in. Settle down, please. Quiet

:50:39. > :50:42.please. People are coming in, this is

:50:43. > :50:43.ridiculous. They should be stopped. They shouldn't be coming in during a

:50:44. > :50:57.frame. He's played the double, where's it

:50:58. > :51:05.going - is it coming over the middle pocket or running past it? Well,

:51:06. > :51:09.you'd be a brave man to play the double. The double's on. But if you

:51:10. > :51:11.play it and don't get, it you don't know where the blacks going to

:51:12. > :51:18.finish. I think he's playing it. There it

:51:19. > :51:54.goes. Well, what do you do here? Easy

:51:55. > :52:02.safety. But the pot wins you the frame.

:52:03. > :52:11.The pot wins you the frame! What a pot that was. And listen to the

:52:12. > :52:12.roar. CHEERING

:52:13. > :52:18.Absolutely superb pot on the black. He nearly threw it away. But a pot

:52:19. > :52:25.like that deserved to win any frame. He's now one frame away from

:52:26. > :52:29.victory. He leads John Higgins 5-4. STUDIO: A wry smile from John. We

:52:30. > :52:35.heard it, Mark Allen, we heard it. What a pot to win it. What a frame

:52:36. > :52:42.of snooker. Mark Allen nearly threw it away. This long pot, straight in,

:52:43. > :52:45.a beauty. There he is, asking for the adulation which he certainly

:52:46. > :52:51.deserved for a great shot like that. You also have to give it to John

:52:52. > :52:55.Higgins, 67 on the table and he manages it. Both players showing

:52:56. > :52:59.great character. The miss on the blue was something that could have

:53:00. > :53:06.cost him. It was a very easy shot to be honest. He had to put a bit of

:53:07. > :53:10.side spin on. From that position, John Higgins gets well back into it.

:53:11. > :53:14.A fantastic frame of snooker. I don't know if that was relief or a

:53:15. > :53:18.bit of like chest pumping there from Mark at the end, deservedly so.

:53:19. > :53:23.Having to take that 67 break and then to have to knock a ball in,

:53:24. > :53:28.easy to crumble. Your reading of that blue? What was on his mind? As

:53:29. > :53:32.I was watching it live, I said the only way he could miss this shot is

:53:33. > :53:36.to play the correct shot to get position. If he pots the blue he

:53:37. > :53:43.wins the frame. To get position he had to half punch it in with a bit

:53:44. > :53:47.of run inside. That did happen. He will be relieved to get over the

:53:48. > :53:51.line. It's as if the energy levels have gone up a notch from both men,

:53:52. > :53:57.the reaction from Mark there. And you could see the adrenaline

:53:58. > :54:04.coursing through John's veins. Any type of sport where it's one on one,

:54:05. > :54:09.the analogy with boxing may not be apparent, there's two gladiators in

:54:10. > :54:14.there. They start off feeling each other end. They get into the fight.

:54:15. > :54:17.Then you get pumped up by the end. Mark Allen will be walking out a

:54:18. > :54:22.mixture of relief, but he'll be buzzing. He will try to keep things

:54:23. > :54:29.under control when he comes back. He's such a combative player. He

:54:30. > :54:36.seems to thrive on the increased energy. That's why we're all here. A

:54:37. > :54:41.good idea to go out. He will be pumped up after knocking the black

:54:42. > :54:47.in. Try to calm back down. It's not over yet. Mark Allen is one frame

:54:48. > :54:56.away from completing a hat-trick of Masters wins over John Higgins. --

:54:57. > :55:02.in round one. COMMENTATOR: Mark Allen breaks off

:55:03. > :55:06.and after that last frame, which he nearly threw away, but what a

:55:07. > :55:14.tremendous pot this was. Right in the heart of the pocket.

:55:15. > :55:24.So relieved, I think. That's why he did that.

:55:25. > :55:29.That's a tremendous opening red from John Higgins. You never count this

:55:30. > :55:33.man out. Let's not forget, even though he lost the last frame, what

:55:34. > :56:39.a tremendous 67 break he made to force the respot.

:56:40. > :56:44.He's just making sure at the moment. Probably just a little bit too

:56:45. > :57:00.straight. He had to force it over. I don't see him going into the bunch

:57:01. > :57:18.here. His body language, you have to fancy

:57:19. > :57:26.him winning the frame at this visit. He looks so focussed.

:57:27. > :57:35.He may go into the main bunch. He may just play a cannon into the two

:57:36. > :57:49.reds. That worked out perfect. He'll be

:57:50. > :58:02.happy with that. Four reds into play.

:58:03. > :58:13.Balls potted up till then 124 apiece.

:58:14. > :58:18.This has been a tremendous match since the interval. Snooker of the

:58:19. > :58:27.highest quality. The first frame was a bit scrappy.

:58:28. > :58:34.But since then, it has been top quality stuff.

:58:35. > :58:44.You'd expect that with the best two players in the world. That's what

:58:45. > :59:06.you get and expect at at the Masters.

:59:07. > :59:10.Two reds, two colours, that cluster of five, that will mean there's 67

:59:11. > :59:39.left. He's got this red. That first long red was a carbon

:59:40. > :59:42.copy of the one he missed by such a distance thick before.

:59:43. > :59:47.When your back is against the wall, no problem.

:59:48. > :59:59.The sign a great champion. This was the opening red.

:00:00. > :00:05.He caught one too thick which cost him the frame. Trying to get into

:00:06. > :00:08.the reds. He's into them. He's knocked them on. Well this is superb

:00:09. > :00:15.stuff from John Higgins. Back firmly against the wall and one

:00:16. > :00:28.chance. Brilliant. You knew at the beginning of the

:00:29. > :00:33.frame, I sensed it would go 5-5 from this visit.

:00:34. > :00:41.That's just what he does. I mean this in the best possible way, his

:00:42. > :00:47.greatest asset, John Higgins, always has been, he late losing.

:00:48. > :00:52.-- he hates losing. The red hasn't gone in. But it

:00:53. > :00:55.doesn't matter. Mark Allen won't bother coming back to the table.

:00:56. > :01:02.We've got a decider. Listen to the crowd!

:01:03. > :01:16.The crowd are going to look forward to this.

:01:17. > :01:20.John Higgins doing his impression of Mark Allen.

:01:21. > :01:27.STUDIO: Who can blame him, both players really enjoying this

:01:28. > :01:33.occasion, we are thoroughly enjoying this. What a response. There is a

:01:34. > :01:38.camaraderie amongst the players, Mark Allen can see the funny side of

:01:39. > :01:43.that, serious stuff, plenty of prize-money, but the game of snooker

:01:44. > :01:46.has always been such a game of gentlemanly conduct, that is what

:01:47. > :01:53.gives it that special edge. These two lads are just fighting out

:01:54. > :01:56.there, and... I'm not going to say that there does not deserve to be a

:01:57. > :02:06.loser but this match does deserve to go to the final frame, and after the

:02:07. > :02:08.interval, absolutely. Who will come out of this? And straight into the

:02:09. > :03:47.quarterfinals. SHOUTING

:03:48. > :11:53.John Higgins, 30. Settle down, please is. -- settle

:11:54. > :11:57.down, please. Quite, please. -- quiet.

:11:58. > :14:19.23. 24. CO-COMMENTATOR: He can play the cue ball into the area for both

:14:20. > :14:20.threads here, from the brown, in between the two reds, he will have a

:14:21. > :14:34.choice. He will be tempted to play get now,

:14:35. > :14:46.the one next to the middle pocket, obviously trickier than it looks on

:14:47. > :14:52.screen. If he is straight on the black, it means he can't get close

:14:53. > :15:00.to the awkward red, and he can't. Need a better angle on the black

:15:01. > :15:01.than this. John Higgins maybe thinking this is a chance to come

:15:02. > :15:37.back to the table. It's there. Quick glance at the

:15:38. > :15:40.scoreboard, pot the blue, 25 points in front with 27 remaining, John

:15:41. > :15:50.Higgins feeling the worst -- fearing the worst. That should be that, what

:15:51. > :16:07.a match. Missed a black off the spot, I will

:16:08. > :16:10.give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it was not the best of

:16:11. > :16:19.contact, when the black jumped in the air, every credit, Mark holding

:16:20. > :16:25.himself together. And he is now 31 points in the lead, 25 remaining.

:16:26. > :16:45.Two snookers required. APPLAUSE

:16:46. > :17:12.Is there a gap? There is always a gap!

:17:13. > :17:22.Normally you think of one cushion to escape, at this level you would not

:17:23. > :17:27.expect them to miss it. When the object balls are in the middle of

:17:28. > :17:39.the table. The bit of doubt in your mind.

:17:40. > :17:46.If John were to put green, brown and blue, he would need one snooker on

:17:47. > :17:51.the pink too tight, at the moment, two required, but he is feeling to

:17:52. > :18:04.keep more balls on the table, does not want the green in! He did not

:18:05. > :18:10.want it in. Still two snooker is needed. He has called this much too

:18:11. > :18:17.thin, he has left the brown, he has left the brown. John walks away from

:18:18. > :18:19.the table. Dropped his shoulders, drops his head, this brown for the

:18:20. > :18:29.match. Would you believe it! Well... I know it is two snooker 's,

:18:30. > :19:18.but the match should have been over. Good shot, good shot. Needed at this

:19:19. > :19:23.moment, fair play to John Higgins, taking time to tap on the table to

:19:24. > :19:29.say, good shot. Needs to hit this and get it safe, he has got it safe.

:19:30. > :19:32.And that pink and black and blue, in that line down the middle of the

:19:33. > :19:39.table will give John Higgins some hope. This is not over just yet,

:19:40. > :20:39.even though two snooker 's are needed.

:20:40. > :20:48.It's a good line. It's a good line. But the brown has just come across

:20:49. > :20:50.the table enough, not quite the snooker, even if it is an easy

:20:51. > :21:06.swerve. I was thinking before, if he potted

:21:07. > :21:12.the two colours, one snooker on the pink too tight, refused to pop the

:21:13. > :21:19.green, will be playing the snooker of the brown, he's decided to pop

:21:20. > :21:28.the brown. If he is going to pot it will he pop the blue? One snooker to

:21:29. > :21:36.try on the pink? -- pot. That is the plan. The fact that Mark Allen

:21:37. > :21:44.missed the very easy brown, moments ago, if he does get a snooker, has

:21:45. > :21:58.put himself under pressure. Just ran a little bit too far. Can he get in

:21:59. > :21:59.behind the black? Needs this to run, otherwise he will leave it for the

:22:00. > :22:12.middle. The pink, for the match. He did not

:22:13. > :22:17.want to risk it, he has played it over the corner, it is there anyway,

:22:18. > :22:21.doesn't matter, it is in! What a great match, John Higgins gives him

:22:22. > :22:27.warm congratulations, and Mark Allen has really done well, John Higgins

:22:28. > :22:33.led 2-0 but Mark Allen battled away, after the interval, absolutely

:22:34. > :22:38.top-class, could have gone either way, but in the end, it went the way

:22:39. > :22:43.of the man from Antrim, Mark Allen, he has beaten the world number

:22:44. > :22:48.three, John Higgins, through to the quarterfinals, he wins, 65 -- 6-5.

:22:49. > :22:55.STUDIO: I'm sure that you haven't tried that one at home, a hat-trick

:22:56. > :22:59.of triumphs in the first round from Alan over John Higgins, deserved the

:23:00. > :23:03.drama and the dramatic finale, even when he missed the brown to the

:23:04. > :23:09.yellow pocket, it was not done, it was not a done deal. You will

:23:10. > :23:12.probably be very disappointed, first in among the balls, unforced error

:23:13. > :23:17.'s, including the black from the spot, at his level, unforgivable.

:23:18. > :23:21.This is the lorry of the match in one shot, final frame, all you

:23:22. > :23:26.looking for is every good chance, black the spot. -- this is the story

:23:27. > :23:29.of the match. Mark Allen plays a great shot, does not play a good

:23:30. > :23:35.shot there are, really good shot around the ankles, see him, he

:23:36. > :23:40.thinks, come the wrong angle, potted a great shot, and once again, had to

:23:41. > :23:46.die a thousand deaths to get over the line. But they got there. Missed

:23:47. > :23:49.black in the final frame decider, just like the Wenbo. Not right at

:23:50. > :23:55.the death. Impossible to tell who was going to win that. Mark Allen

:23:56. > :24:00.will be delighted, nearly lost a frame from 6-7 in front and got

:24:01. > :24:04.himself out of jail, and looks like he will lose that one, he will sleep

:24:05. > :24:12.very nicely tonight, I'm sure. Here he comes, Judd Trump or Marco Fu to

:24:13. > :24:14.come. Congratulations, what a match, we were quite happy with the

:24:15. > :24:21.deciding frame going all the way, I sure you had other ideas. Some up,

:24:22. > :24:26.three times you have not John out of the first round of the Masters, you

:24:27. > :24:31.have the Indian sign over him. Got one back on him, lost a lot of good

:24:32. > :24:35.plays lately, it is up to me to step up and beat these good players, I

:24:36. > :24:39.was not at my best but I think I competed well, my safety was good.

:24:40. > :24:43.Forced errors from John that I have not been doing recently, any win

:24:44. > :24:47.against John is a good win. Frame number nine is where it was all

:24:48. > :24:52.happening, after you got to 67, 67 on the table, did you know that he

:24:53. > :24:56.was going to clear up and force the Reece Burke? Once he got the first

:24:57. > :25:04.black, quite high on that, once he got that, you fancied him. -- force

:25:05. > :25:08.the respot. And then you get a chance on it, after a couple of long

:25:09. > :25:14.doubles, what is going through your mind? You just want a chance, I

:25:15. > :25:18.could have played safe and thought, no,... Big pressure putt, you

:25:19. > :25:22.deserve the accolades from the crowd, but it seemed like you were

:25:23. > :25:26.really strong, not shaky, you got it to the top. I would rather be

:25:27. > :25:32.positive rather than trying to drop it in. I don't believe I won it

:25:33. > :25:40.there, because I don't feel great, but a win is a win. Pretty

:25:41. > :25:44.confident. Yes, it was fun to do that, and John, great to see him do

:25:45. > :25:49.it as well. Some people would say, look at him, but we know, that is

:25:50. > :25:56.pot of the fun. A bit of fun, nothing directed at John, John knows

:25:57. > :26:01.that, I broke off the next frame, he made 79! LAUGHTER.

:26:02. > :26:05.Didn't work today. Again, tale of a missed black off the spot in the

:26:06. > :26:11.final frame which lets you in again, your heart must have been in your

:26:12. > :26:14.mouth. I will be honest, I fancied John to miss, he looked really

:26:15. > :26:18.nervous, a lot of times playing shots and I was right behind him,

:26:19. > :26:23.but his arm was all over the place. I have never really noticed that

:26:24. > :26:30.before. Could be he does it every match. He does shake a bit, yes. You

:26:31. > :26:33.said, more than... Raqqa a green nervous... Well, his arm was

:26:34. > :26:37.definitely shaking. You can miss anything. The red before you played

:26:38. > :26:46.here, you did not play it as she wanted. Had to play below the pink.

:26:47. > :26:50.If I go above the pink, horrible shock. Even after that, it is not

:26:51. > :26:54.great. Especially if you think, if you miss it, you have lost, because

:26:55. > :26:57.all the colours are pretty much there, did not even play for the

:26:58. > :27:01.yellow, just get the blue in the hole and it is pretty much over.

:27:02. > :27:06.Under so much pressure there are, you think, two snookers, you are

:27:07. > :27:13.pretty much guaranteed to win, you miss easy brown. Some people think,

:27:14. > :27:16.two snookers, you all right, not this one. At no point are you

:27:17. > :27:21.comfortable until the pink drops. Last time you beat him in the first

:27:22. > :27:25.round, he went on the run to the semifinals, ironically he was saying

:27:26. > :27:29.that match spot in him the revival. In terms of the positivity you will

:27:30. > :27:33.take from that, good memories of another run to the semifinal. I love

:27:34. > :27:39.the tournament, have never got to the final but I love the tournament,

:27:40. > :27:43.you have to play well. You don't win any matches here by playing poorly.

:27:44. > :27:47.I love the big occasion, when all eyes are on you and the opponent,

:27:48. > :27:51.that is what you play for, you want to be in the big arenas in front of

:27:52. > :27:56.the big crowds, even the matches I have lost, I love playing here.

:27:57. > :28:01.Marco fee, just winning in Scotland, before the break. -- Marco Fu. Or,

:28:02. > :28:05.Judd Trump, who will win that one? Current form, very tight, the

:28:06. > :28:08.snooker that Marco played in Scotland were some of the best we

:28:09. > :28:12.have ever seen and Judd Trump is capable of beating anyone on his

:28:13. > :28:17.day, super aggressive. I'm going to Z back and watch. The good news is

:28:18. > :28:21.that you are not going to have to worry about it. Actually I am going

:28:22. > :28:25.to fly home tonight, and I will spend some time at home, because I

:28:26. > :28:34.do not play until Thursday, they can slug it out and use energy. -- I'm

:28:35. > :28:39.going to sit act and watch. You will be able to see Stuart Bingham and

:28:40. > :28:45.Joe Perry tonight, 7pm, and I will be back, 1120, with highlights of

:28:46. > :28:49.that. -- 11:20pm. Dank you so much for your company, this Masters

:28:50. > :29:01.continues to enthrall, goodbye for now.

:29:02. > :29:05.They want me to write and produce - for a boy band. Oh.