01/03/2014 Snooker: Welsh Open Highlights

Good evening. We have enjoyed four of the world's best players here on

Saint Davids Day as the Welsh Open reach the semifinal stage. We will

show you what happened when Ding Junhui faced Joe Perry but tonight

we have a repeat of last year's Crucible final when Ronnie

O'Sullivan played Barry Hawkins. Earlier, O'Sullivan opened up a 4-1

lead but Barry Hawkins was looking to close the gap in frame six and

seem to be clearing up without break of 64. -- with a break.

Well, there are six or seven points remaining

Well, there are six or seven points lead of 64. Surely he's not going to

Well, there are six or seven points lose this frame. He does need high

value colours from here, Darren. Can you believe this shot he has just

played there? The red to the right centre, and perfect on the black. I

wouldn't doubt for a minute that he can clear up and pinch this frame

with this visit. What a body blow that would be for Barry Hawkins.

From what looked like a winning position. And, all of a sudden, it

looks like he's going to get back on the scoreboard. Ronnie O'Sullivan is

still there. That one has gone slightly all right. -- awry.

He can afford to take the blue. As long as he then takes two blacks.

He has his eye on these threads, to get back for the black, the only

awkward ball now would be the yellow, and what a steal this would

be. This would be utterly heartbreaking

for Barry Hawkins. He has already made some fantastic

clearances to steal the odd frame from Barry Hawkins. This could be

the best. He is straight on this black than he

would have liked. He has had a wry smile to himself. He has played a

clever shot, there. For this red into the yellow pocket. Perfect.

Deep screw shot, again. In the end goes. -- In it goes. This is going

to be another deep screw with lots of what am on the cue ball. No

problems today. That is looking absolutely perfect. This is Barry

Hawkins' last hope. Incredible. How this man can just

take a frame away from you. Barry probably cannot believe that he is

not going to get back to the table, in all probability.

He is the wrong side of the blue. couldn't have picked the cue ball up

and put it down any better. It looks like Ronnie O'Sullivan is going to

clean up with 67 to pinch the frame. What a ridiculous clearance that

was. Barry Hawkins must have thought he was going to take a frame but

unfortunately for him, Ronnie O'Sullivan has extended his lead and

he now leads by five frames to one. How must Barry Hawkins be feeling?

Barry Hawkins made a good start to frame seven. He is on a break of 23.

It is never easy when you are playing catch up. Just trying to

force it little bit. -- a little bit. Each shot is just further and

further out opposition, making good pots. He must hope that Ronnie

O'Sullivan does not slot this red in. In his last match he was playing

around with his Q-Tip as well. I cannot imagine there is anything

wrong with that, the way he has played tonight. -- cue tip. In his

last match, he had one bad miscue. So you wonder if it did anything to

it. That was a good long red. Possibly it is just a loose fibre

sticking out from the tip. It catches your eye sometimes. It is

easy to remedy. Dead straight on this blue, as you

can see, so he can only go forwards or backwards. He has just try to

inch the pocket their, but not quite successfully. The cue ball, further

away from the red now than he wanted to be.

Amazing, isn't it? He hasn't left anything easy on, for Barry.

This is an even better chance for Barry to go and win the frame from

here. If it goes to 16 points. If you post this pink and the two red

around the black spot area, he will be safe. He wouldn't quite be safe,

he would need one of the raids on the ball area, but that should not

be too problematic to get onto the one above the brown. That would be

the easiest one of them to pot. And in goes the red, he will be

feeling much better insight now, Barry Hawkins. -- inside now.

Left-handed, this red shouldn't present too much of a problem.

Mean a break of 64 in the last frame, Barry Hawkins. And it wasn't

quite enough. But no problem this time.

If he was to reflect on the first seven frames this evening, the way

he has played, he would be amazed to think he has only one two of those

seven frames. A break now 61 and counting. Ronnie has made two big

centuries, and a 67, and a 65. That was an excellent clearance from

Barry Hawkins. Winning the second frame for him of this match, but he

still trails by five frames to two. Ronnie breaks off. Just one frame

needed to reach this year's final of the Welsh Open at the Newport

Centre. That is a mistake by Ronnie. And he

has made very few of them. Trying to catch this pink, full in the face.

Played it with lots of bottom, to stop the white on the spot or a

couple of inches above. He has just caught the side of it. He has split

the reds everywhere. He needed to get that think a little bit fuller

in the face. It is still a good split if he can pot the next red.

It is amazing the gap that that cue ball found through that cluster of

reds. Barry has got a nice, easy red waiting for him over the left

corner, and he can drop that in the black, so he does not necessarily

need to get really close to it. I have got a feeling that he's

beginning to sense that Ronnie is not struggling, but losing his

concentration slightly, and he had an opportunity to put some pressure

on him. But he won't do it by missing yellows like that, and he

knows it. It is quite amazing when you see it

on camera, how different the angles look, from the commentary position.

Looks like this could be a frame and match-winning chance. Obviously a

lot of work still to be done, but Barry Hawkins will be fearing the

worst. He might have just played his last shot in this year's Welsh Open.

And where is that red going? It has gone on the corner. If you were a

betting man, and I am not, you would be saying that for Barry Hawkins,

this year's Welsh Open is over. He will have to wait another year. That

could not have gone much better. He has just got to be careful with

this shot. All week in this position he has

looked totally in control and ominous. He is scoring for fun.

His cue ball control is so good. He very seldom has to change his plans.

Look at the way he has taken the reds. He has just left those four

all in a line there. They all go into that right-hand corner. Again,

look at that shot, how he has come off the cushion and got so close to

the black. We've talked about the big bounces all week off the cushion

and that, and he could have took a chance there and been right on the

black. Absolute perfection. That's the difference, keeping the cue ball

under tight control and make the next shot as easy as you possibly

can. If Barry Hawkins was playing anyone

else tonight, he could have been on the way to the final. Ronnie

O'Sullivan has played absolutely terrific. You can't take anything

away. It's the best I have seen Ronnie for many a year, even when he

won the last two World Titles. Wouldn't it be nice if he could slip

this red in the cushion and get the fourth century of this match. It is

He is not going to be too bothered if he doesn't. But it has gone in.

This has been an unbelievable performance. In goes the green.

Everything is potable. APPLAUSE

Well, well, well, he is on total fire. Barry Hawkins, he will be

admiring this. There is nothing you can take away from Ronnie

O'Sullivan. Nothing you can take away from Barry Hawkins really. He

had a terrific tournament. He played very well in this match. Ronnie

O'Sullivan has been scintillating. Absolutely on fire. The blue doesn't

go in. Barry is coming up to Absolutely on fire. The blue doesn't

the handshake. Barry Hawkins won't be too disheartened. He will be

disappointed he lost. Ronnie O'Sullivan is into this year's Welsh

Open final. The second frame was a big frame and that kind of set me on

my way and then I had a century and a big frame to go 4-1. And I cleared

up again and then I had another century and I missed a couple in the

next and then, you know, I let Barry in the last and he missed the yellow

and once the balls were there. I felt like seeing the ball right and

I was just trying to win each game with one visit. He was a very

popular winning in Newport this weaning. Ronnie O'Sullivan --

evening. Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the final. Who would he

play? Ding Junhui placed Joe Perry. A top 16 player who only reached a

major ranking tournament once before. And it was a closer match

this one. Ding was leading 5-4 going into the tenth frame. Ding is the a

the table now and there is no -- Ding is at the table now and there

is no score. Joe Perry is just shaking his arm

because he knows he is going to have a go at this. He is just loosening

himself up. He didn't strike that well at all.

It was much too thin otherwise he could have got around the black and

gone around towards the baulk area. There maybe a plant. The black may

come into play then. He may kiss the red that's next to the black and

bring the black into play, but he is not bound to kiss this black into

play. He did it and that's an excellent

shot. APPLAUSE

Joe would have gone back to his chair thinking, "I might have got

away with it." The plant was perfect. We know what a great

builder Ding is and it could be the end. The truth of it is, if he made

the red, he would not have been unlucky. That's the way you've got

to look at tr. It. You can give as many stories as you

like why you lose a match, but the truth is, partly every time it is

because you miss pots. He would definitely take the yellow

if the blue wasn't where it was. He can get on to the red that's on the

same line as the blue spot in the middle.

He maybe fortunate here to get on the one nearest the pocket. He can

play that slowly if he wants and come on the black.

He plays the red in the middle he can only play for the yellow or the

blue. It is worth a risk just dragging this in with a little bit

right-hand side and staying on the black and you can start at the

business end of the table. He knows it is his chance to win

frame and match and get to another final with the possibility of

winning another fifth ranking tournament of the season which would

equal Stephen Hendry's record. At times we thought it was going to

be excellent and then the safety has been so good in this match that now

and again a player has got bogged down.

Well, this black is nasty. He will take it on, but it is tricky.

He is not 100% whether to pot this or to get a good cannon on the red

and gain position. He has got the pot. There are two reds on.

Cueing off the side cushion is never easy.

Very good. He is very still on the shot and you need to on those. He

doesn't like the yellow. He is taking the more difficult pot on the

brown. He would like to get down to this

black spot area as quickly as possible. He seemed to have potted a

lot of balls there for just the 36 break.

I just feel one good position shot on to these reds could clinch it.

This all started, of course, when Joe Perry went for a long red and

made a bit of a mess of it and it looked as if he had got away with it

in the pack, but there was a plant on for Ding that also led to him

kissing the black into play as well. This was the long red that you were

talking about, Terry. It was a straightforward shot really to go

around the back of the black and it was a shot to nothing in baulk, but

mis-hit it. It looked at first glance there was nothing on.

And this is the next shot. Look what happens, you think you are safe and

all of a sudden, luck springs into operation and he played a very poor

positional shot there. To keep this break going, he is going to have to

cut it in or come around the back. Playing the thin cut. He will have

no idea where the cue ball is going. No idea where the cue ball is going,

but he has still got the brown on the middle. A lot of players would

just roll up to the yellow. He is going all out for the frame and the

match. Quite right as well. After all the effort of potting the

brown, forgot about the position. Looking at the line Terry, he played

a plain ball thinking it would be on the two reds, the one at the back,

the three behind the pink or the one that's nearest the black and the

angle wasn't there. He is now faced with another very thin cut. Now, how

does he miss the kiss on the red on the cushion?

I don't think he can. He is having a good look at it. I mean the last

thing he wants to do is kiss that red out. Well, he is having a go.

He avoided the kiss, but where is the cue ball going? Very close to

the cushion or the baulk line. So another good pot needed. Well, the

break was on to 48. It is such a crucial time as well in this match.

He has potted some good balls and some excellent positional shots.

Needs another one here. Two reds at the back of the pack available into

the left corner. APPLAUSE

What a brilliant shot. He had to play for that gap. He couldn't have

played it better. Brilliant. All these top players, you know, when

you think about winning the game and the match, they don't refuse

anything in the final frame. A couple of times he has been out of

position and a couple of times he got back into it and Joe Perry knows

the end is nigh. Yes, the top players are. They can

play at their best when they are feeling the worst. That's what he

has done here. An excellent perform apps. Joe Perry put on a very good

show. He played some good snooker. You could have said that a shot here

and there would have made the difference, but that's always the

case. It is a remarkable case for Ding. I don't think he has got in

beat in a final. So whoever gets to the final, it is

going to be great. It could be a Ding, Hawkins final. Barry Hawkins

is playing exceptionally well. Now a chance for the second century

of the match. It would be fitting because this has been an excellent

break. He took a few risk shots when he could have played, but that was

never his intention. He was going for the win.

APPLAUSE What a great performance from Ding

in that final frame. He beat Joe Perry by 6-4.

Raze raze I started winning 3-1 and he came back.

After that I took chances. We both had chances, but we miss some balls.

I just keep fighting very hard. I keep putting pressure to my

opponent. We don't know each other, what I think and how much I can do.

I just do my best, what I do the shots for the best way to go and the

match, I will keep going. I never stop. Here is the final line-up for

the 2014 Betvictor Open. Ding Junhui will play Ronnie

O'Sullivan who is playing superb breath taking snooker. They have

played ten times before and Ronnie O'Sullivan had much the better of it

winning eight times. Their last meeting was in the quarter-final of

the Champion of Champions Tournament. We will have live

coverage tomorrow. The first eight frames of the best of 17 match will

feature in our programme at 1pm here on BBC 2 Wales tomorr afternoon. It

is the final that so many people wanted. From all of us here, good

night. Evan Davis examines

why London is pulling away