:00:30. > :00:38.Hello. Today was the day when eight became four, here at the Welsh Open.
:00:39. > :00:44.We had four terrific quarterfinal matches at the Newport Centre. It
:00:45. > :00:58.looked like a mismatch as Joel Walker faced Ding Junhui. The
:00:59. > :01:03.Conqueror of Mark Williams, Marco Fu, has made huge strides in the
:01:04. > :01:04.last couple of seasons. Finally, John Higgins against Ronnie
:01:05. > :01:23.O'Sullivan. I will have two bring my a game to
:01:24. > :01:32.get through that Mark. People like Cameron Davies are icons of the
:01:33. > :01:39.sport. I have had a great tournament so far. I have one in four matches,
:01:40. > :01:51.which is good for me. As many matches as I can get is good.
:01:52. > :01:58.Privately, I think I and the reason why Ronnie O Sullivan is playing
:01:59. > :02:03.like this. He is probably thinking, I should be getting more world
:02:04. > :02:24.titles than him. That's why he has not called down. -- not called down.
:02:25. > :02:29.You really have two cherry every tournament -- you really have to
:02:30. > :02:42.treat every tournament as if it is your last one. I'm hoping for the
:02:43. > :02:47.right results. O Sullivan got off to the test start, taking the first
:02:48. > :03:42.frame. We will pick up the action in the second frame.
:03:43. > :03:46.There is no doubt that Ronnie O Sullivan exerts pressure on his
:03:47. > :04:19.opponents out there. I think he is the only player in the
:04:20. > :04:30.world that I feel I could sit down and watch him and not say a word in
:04:31. > :05:09.the commentary box. I would agree with that.
:05:10. > :05:18.He did not strike that very well and it may have cost him. He certainly
:05:19. > :05:32.hasn't got any easy reds to take on. Beautiful. He does not hit the
:05:33. > :06:20.ball, he caresses it. I think he has already sent a
:06:21. > :06:27.message to John Higgins. If you play anything loose or leave him in
:06:28. > :06:34.range, he is going to get punished for it. Ronnie O'Sullivan has been
:06:35. > :06:45.in scintillating form this week at the Newport Centre. I do feel for
:06:46. > :06:49.John Higgins to have any kind of a chance in this match. He will have
:06:50. > :07:34.to play better than he has played all week.
:07:35. > :07:44.John Higgins really needs to get started quickly. Ronnie O'Sullivan
:07:45. > :08:05.is like a runaway train. The difference between these two
:08:06. > :08:07.players is that O'Sullivan has a lot of evidence that he is playing well
:08:08. > :09:04.this season. John Higgins hasn't. He mesmerises the crowd. It is so
:09:05. > :09:44.quiet out there. This is O'Sullivan at his best. He
:09:45. > :09:46.is 2-0 in front. Ronnie O'Sullivan continued to score heavily. Let us
:09:47. > :10:08.go to frame six. Another long pot coming up. He will
:10:09. > :10:35.have to fully commit to the one in the right-hand corner.
:10:36. > :10:42.Pretty good. He is on the black. The bridging is going to be very
:10:43. > :11:03.awkward. If he had his rich, he would have
:11:04. > :11:29.made that ten out of ten. It never rains, but it pours.
:11:30. > :11:40.Not an easy position for O'Sullivan. He is very good at clearing the path
:11:41. > :13:27.for the black though. Ronnie O'Sullivan is in a safe
:13:28. > :13:34.position to win the frame and the match.
:13:35. > :13:58.It was not John Higgins's Dave. -- John Higgins's day. I was hitting
:13:59. > :14:05.really well. It could have been better, but my mental skills are
:14:06. > :14:11.good. I just carried on. Even when I made a mistake, there was no point
:14:12. > :14:23.being down on myself. You have to stay positive to try and get the
:14:24. > :14:35.right result. It was even more comprehensive in the match between
:14:36. > :14:44.Barry Hawkins and Marco Fu. I did not expect to win 5-0. Marco played
:14:45. > :14:52.well against Mark Williams yesterday. I expected a really hard
:14:53. > :15:06.game. I had a bit of luck along the way and scored really well. I am
:15:07. > :15:14.delighted to be in the next round. I just need to be on top of my game to
:15:15. > :15:23.have any chance of winning tomorrow. So, what about the top of the draw?
:15:24. > :15:26.Ding Junhui faced Joel Walker, who has never been to a ranking final of
:15:27. > :15:40.a tournament. He has played that really well. A
:15:41. > :16:08.good shot. The red above the lack to the left,
:16:09. > :16:16.that should pass into this right corner. That is the one. What a
:16:17. > :16:54.great pot. He is still looking very confident.
:16:55. > :17:54.This is all about the positioning of the shot.
:17:55. > :18:07.He looks as if he is gaining in confidence with every shot. He does.
:18:08. > :18:15.If I was Ding Junhui, I would we worried. That is about as concerned
:18:16. > :20:13.as he ever looks though. I know my daughter is watching the
:20:14. > :20:17.snooker today in here. She loves it. She is backing Joel. She says she is
:20:18. > :20:32.going to back the underdog. She would like to win the whole event.
:20:33. > :20:38.That will embarrass her, telling her -- telling everybody about her
:20:39. > :20:47.favourite player. Did she drive down here? Yes, it is best not to talk
:20:48. > :20:51.about her driving, Dominic. Thank you very much! I have only just
:20:52. > :21:09.finished paying for the last one. Back to the serious business at
:21:10. > :21:17.hand. It is certainly getting serious now offered Ding Junhui. --
:21:18. > :21:24.for Ding Junhui. That was a great shot Joel played to develop the
:21:25. > :21:25.reds. Just two parts away from securing this sixth frame and taking
:21:26. > :21:47.a 4-2 lead. -- to parts. I hope he does not let it bother
:21:48. > :21:52.him, that the winning line is getting closer. I hope we can
:21:53. > :21:58.continue in the same form he has shown in the last few frames. His
:21:59. > :22:00.third break over 70. The last two could have been hundreds. It was not
:22:01. > :22:17.to be. But he is now starting to look $1
:22:18. > :22:31.million. Everything has become very easy for him. He does not like Q
:22:32. > :22:42.power either. -- he does not like Q power. This would be lovely if you
:22:43. > :22:51.could make a 100 break. His debut main television cable appearance, we
:22:52. > :22:52.will say. -- table. This crowd is getting treated to a terrific
:22:53. > :23:18.display by this young man. Then goes the red. It is like
:23:19. > :23:19.shelling peas are there. -- out there. Well done, Joel Walker.
:23:20. > :23:32.Terrific. He is not going to be bothered that
:23:33. > :23:37.he has missed the yellow. He has given doing everything to think
:23:38. > :23:41.about. He now leads by 4-2 with three left to play. Ding has it all
:23:42. > :23:45.to do. The winning post was inside for a
:23:46. > :23:50.walker. It seemed to knock him off his stride. Ding won the crucial
:23:51. > :23:55.seventh frame. The world number two seemed to be thriving on the
:23:56. > :24:01.pressure as he saved his best snooker for the eighth frame,
:24:02. > :24:04.compiling a break of 139 to take the match into a deciding frame. Who
:24:05. > :24:15.will make the semifinals? So it all came down to the crucial
:24:16. > :24:34.ninth frame. That was very tough. Has he been
:24:35. > :24:49.lucky? No. The first chance in this deciding frame for Joel Walker.
:24:50. > :24:55.He will be relieved to see that red pass the pink. No shot for Ding
:24:56. > :25:10.Junhui. He has pushed the red towards the
:25:11. > :25:20.left corner. The cue ball is not right. You would say the pot is easy
:25:21. > :25:29.enough. But it is about getting onto a collar. That is the problem with
:25:30. > :25:35.this shot. -- collar. That was the problem. A great long part. He
:25:36. > :25:51.needed to this the reds. Always going to be difficult.
:25:52. > :25:58.He has missed that by a long way. Very aggressive shot. Two frames ago
:25:59. > :26:05.I probably would have agreed with that. He has had to go for it.
:26:06. > :26:09.Whether Riddle of reckless or not. If it had gone in, he would have had
:26:10. > :26:13.a great chance. He has looked to try to win the match with that visit. He
:26:14. > :26:19.has left doing with a relatively easy starter. He has played very
:26:20. > :27:00.well the last couple of friends. -- frames.
:27:01. > :27:06.Just about held position for the brown but it is not ideal. The pot
:27:07. > :27:14.is miscible. Controlling the cue ball is not as easy as it could have
:27:15. > :27:19.been. -- miscible. This is a big shot. Ding steeling himself for one
:27:20. > :27:26.good positional shot. If this goes right, and about how the reds are
:27:27. > :28:12.spread. -- look at how the reds are spread.
:28:13. > :28:25.That was well played. Playing with the spider. An ugly attachment
:28:26. > :29:10.really. But a necessity. Joel Walker will be fearing the
:29:11. > :29:19.worst now. He has given it a really good shake. When things are going
:29:20. > :29:24.great, the arena is a fantastic place to be. When they are not going
:29:25. > :29:28.so good, it is the loneliest place. I remember Ronnie O'Sullivan a
:29:29. > :29:32.couple of years ago, way ahead in the semifinal, his opponent was
:29:33. > :29:39.making a comeback. He sat there and put a napkin over his head so he
:29:40. > :29:45.could not see the rest of the match. Joel is taking his medicine. If he
:29:46. > :29:53.does not get back to the table, he can be very proud of the display he
:29:54. > :30:02.has given this afternoon. Yes, absolutely so. You cannot be a
:30:03. > :30:08.19-year-old in the heat of battle against some illustrious names
:30:09. > :30:12.without your share of nerves and pressure, and having it manifested
:30:13. > :30:14.itself in your game, making the odd mistake that you probably would not.
:30:15. > :30:18.It is part mistake that you probably would not.
:30:19. > :30:23.been a great chance for Joel today. A lot of experience here this week.
:30:24. > :30:29.That is, of course, if he does not get back to the table. It is
:30:30. > :30:33.certainly not over just yet. Joel probably will not be feeling that
:30:34. > :30:39.way. He will be very concerned now that he will not get back to the
:30:40. > :30:45.table. Ding with all the momentum. He has made a break of 52 a couple
:30:46. > :31:08.of frames ago, and a fantastic 139 in the last.
:31:09. > :31:14.None of these open reds particularly easy to get onto for doing. -- for
:31:15. > :31:49.Ding. Could this be Joel Walker's
:31:50. > :31:56.Lifeline? He just overran the cue ball by about six inches. Could we
:31:57. > :32:05.see another turn of ball by about six inches. Could we
:32:06. > :32:17.this match? It has been toing and froing. You cannot play it much more
:32:18. > :32:22.positively than that. He deserves to be on a red, the way he has played
:32:23. > :32:28.that shot. That was a too horrific, to reflect pot and positional shot.
:32:29. > :32:48.It probably deserves to win the match. Very good.
:32:49. > :32:59.Yes, that black was possibly Joel's chance in this match, but he played
:33:00. > :33:10.it with such boldness and conviction. It looks good to me.
:33:11. > :33:16.That is 59 points, the lead. Still 75 remaining, but just a couple of
:33:17. > :33:17.more reds and colours needed now for anal to take its place in the
:33:18. > :34:06.semifinal. -- to take his place. Now that red has gone in for Ding,
:34:07. > :34:10.it seems to be the final hole extinguished for Joel Walker. A
:34:11. > :34:16.great shame for him. What a wonderful week it has been. He has
:34:17. > :34:19.had some great wins. He beat Stephen Maguire in the last round. That must
:34:20. > :34:30.have been the best win of his career to date, quite possibly. You have
:34:31. > :34:45.got to praise Ding, the result he has shown in the last few frames,
:34:46. > :34:51.two, from 4-2 behind. -- to come. A big century break in the last. 139.
:34:52. > :35:51.He can make another big century here to close out the match.
:35:52. > :36:02.In goes the pink for yet another century for Ding. A Judd Trump
:36:03. > :36:12.special to try to finish off. Another great break from Ding Junhui
:36:13. > :36:15.week -- Ding Junhui. He comes from 4-2 behind to win this match and
:36:16. > :36:22.take his place into moral's semifinal. He wins by 5-4.
:36:23. > :36:27.I'm proud of what I have done. I would like to have gone further.
:36:28. > :36:33.But, it is, as you say, my first time on the TV. I didn't really
:36:34. > :36:37.enjoy it after that. Fair play to Ding. He took his chances really
:36:38. > :36:43.well at the end. It shows you how good a player he is. At 4-2 behind,
:36:44. > :36:48.I should punish them. I have learned a lot and I will back stronger. Yes,
:36:49. > :36:55.it was a tough game. Joel played well. You make centuries and 80 or
:36:56. > :37:06.70 breaks. I don't think he played bad. And also, I did not play well,
:37:07. > :37:21.didn't concentrate hard enough. I don't feel comfortable with my cue
:37:22. > :37:27.ball control. Not good. In the semifinals, Ding will play
:37:28. > :37:31.Joe Perry to beat Mark Selby -- to beat Mark Selby in convincing
:37:32. > :37:35.fashion. It is the second year in a row that he has beaten Selby at the
:37:36. > :37:39.Welsh Open. So much respect for Mark and what he
:37:40. > :37:44.has done and the way he has done it. A true gentleman on and off the
:37:45. > :37:49.table. Super player. A great win for me. I would love to get a ranking
:37:50. > :37:56.event under my belt. A big one. And this one, all the players are in it.
:37:57. > :38:02.This is the cream of the crop this week. It would mean everything to
:38:03. > :38:02.me. Probably a lifelong dream as a snooker player.
:38:03. > :38:22.Here is the semifinal draw. The workmen have already been busy
:38:23. > :38:29.at the Newport Centre this evening, taking away the second table, now
:38:30. > :38:33.that we're reaching the end. All eyes on centre stage for a semifinal
:38:34. > :38:38.day tomorrow. I hope you can join us tomorrow afternoon. We are on live
:38:39. > :39:04.from 1pm on BBC Two Wales. Good night.
:39:05. > :39:09.I've been teaching cooking now for 40 years.
:39:10. > :39:12.I've got lots of tips and secrets to share
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:39:17. > :39:19.We need a dollop of cream with that.