:01:08. > :01:13.If Wales is a country that loves its sporting champions and, for the past
:01:14. > :01:16.20 years there has been no bigger name in Welsh slicker than Mark
:01:17. > :01:23.Williams. He was the last home-grown winner of the Bet Victor Welsh Open
:01:24. > :01:27.and Welsh hopes rested on his shoulders again this year as the
:01:28. > :01:32.early Welshman left in the fourth round. His opponent was Marco Fu,
:01:33. > :01:35.from Hong Kong. Eight wins apiece in their previous meetings. Williams
:01:36. > :01:40.had won both of their previous matches here at the Welsh Open. If
:01:41. > :01:44.you were watching earlier you would have seen Marco Fu take a 2-1 lead,
:01:45. > :01:46.and we pick it up in the fourth frame, Williams is at the table with
:01:47. > :01:54.a healthy lead. What is happening here? He was
:01:55. > :02:27.looking to put the brown safe. That is what you would say, but that
:02:28. > :02:30.is an easy cannon, to knock it off. The trouble with playing that read
:02:31. > :02:37.into the middle, if you hit it thin, he has played it with bottom
:02:38. > :02:52.and side, he has caught it thin, and disturbed the reds. He has gone for
:02:53. > :03:27.the long pop into the corner. -- long pot.
:03:28. > :03:53.That cannot happen three games on the trot, surely?
:03:54. > :03:58.Unless he just kisses the brown into play it is going to be difficult,
:03:59. > :04:00.with him being right-handed, getting onto the blue, if he gets onto the
:04:01. > :04:23.brown. He has got right back in the frame.
:04:24. > :04:32.Looked like he was going to lose it. And all of a sudden, he's back right
:04:33. > :04:45.in it. Big red, this one, awkward cueing. Making sure he does not
:04:46. > :04:50.clean on the brown. -- lean on. So far, when he has been asked a
:04:51. > :05:00.question he has come up with all the right answers. I'm not too sure if
:05:01. > :05:03.this is straight on the blue, but he might want to play the stun
:05:04. > :05:12.run-through at pace and try to bring the brown into play. I think it is
:05:13. > :05:18.just about on. Has to play at firm to push through the brown. If it
:05:19. > :05:22.hits the brown full in the face with the cue ball, it is going to be a
:05:23. > :05:36.smoker for the yellow, so he's going to have to play it pacey.
:05:37. > :05:56.Thankfully, for Williams fans, he missed the case. -- kiss. Struck it
:05:57. > :05:58.well. A little bit further over to the left-hand side will make it a
:05:59. > :06:03.little bit harder to get to the cannon.
:06:04. > :06:12.I think that could just about be perfect. It might be just too much
:06:13. > :06:24.of an angle to move the brown. It is going to be close. I think that this
:06:25. > :06:32.too much of an angle to lay in behind. But again, what an effort
:06:33. > :06:42.this has been. Brilliant effort, so far. This is going to hurt like a
:06:43. > :06:52.frame has never heard before. -- hurt. Very well done. You have got
:06:53. > :06:59.to take your hat off to Marco Fu. Mark Williams has just thrown the
:07:00. > :07:00.last three frames away. Not over yet, of course, because he needs the
:07:01. > :07:17.pink. If he is virtually straight, the
:07:18. > :07:24.black could be quite difficult. If he just stands it in and leaves the
:07:25. > :07:29.white exactly where the pink is, the Black should be relatively
:07:30. > :07:36.straightforward. I don't believe it! It shows you how tight these
:07:37. > :07:39.pockets are. How is that not gone in? What a turning point that could
:07:40. > :08:02.be. I nearly fell off my chair! Well, an unbelievable frame of
:08:03. > :08:06.snooker. It looked like Marco Fu was going to declare up again. He
:08:07. > :08:13.didn't, he missed an easy pink and it was 2-2. The match, all square,
:08:14. > :08:17.it's frame five and Mark Williams is at the table, trailing by 20 points.
:08:18. > :08:26.-- 28 points. He's not happy because he has not
:08:27. > :08:34.found the cushion but there is a red available to the middle. I don't
:08:35. > :08:41.think that Marco Fu will take the chance between those two reds.
:08:42. > :08:50.It is a bit of a shock to nothing but if he does not pot this red he's
:08:51. > :08:56.going to leave an easy style thorn. That just shows how confident Marco
:08:57. > :09:02.Fu is feeling. If he had missed that he gave Mark Williams a choice of
:09:03. > :09:06.two or three, and as it is, it has gone in, and he is nicely on the
:09:07. > :09:25.blue. That was a clever shot. Cleared into
:09:26. > :09:32.an area, as long as he landed up near that pink spot, he had the
:09:33. > :10:32.chance of landing on three or four reds.
:10:33. > :10:44.41 point lead. May have to play the cannon here.
:10:45. > :10:57.Another pro shop from Marco -- poor shot. All he is doing is trying to
:10:58. > :10:59.squeeze past that read and be on the red that he has just kissed or the
:11:00. > :11:37.one is further up. This is a thin one, going down for
:11:38. > :11:43.the blue. He has missed the in-off and he is nicely on the brown. He
:11:44. > :11:57.has got a nice angle as well on the blue. Could the latest on it, with
:11:58. > :12:05.the Czech side, straighten the cue ball off this black cushion. --
:12:06. > :12:11.check side. He has had a massive bounce again. Cannot understand what
:12:12. > :12:17.has happened to this table this week. All of the players have been
:12:18. > :12:52.on about it. It is coming off the cushion faster than it is going on.
:12:53. > :12:58.The reason he is disappointed, if he plays the pot, he wants to bring
:12:59. > :13:04.those three raids into play, being 62 and one, he doesn't really want
:13:05. > :13:19.to do that. He cannot refuse to play this pot.
:13:20. > :13:28.And how well has he played that? Mark Williams has not gone much
:13:29. > :13:31.wrong this frame, apart from a safety shot where he didn't quite
:13:32. > :14:05.find the top cushion. It has been a very high-quality
:14:06. > :14:14.match, so far. Mark Williams could easily have been 3-0 up, and he is
:14:15. > :14:21.2-1 behind. It looked like he is put -- like he was going to lose another
:14:22. > :14:29.one, and Marco Fu missed that easy pink. But that has been very high
:14:30. > :14:43.quality. He is enjoying himself now. A couple of crowd-pleasing shots.
:14:44. > :14:52.An awkward bounce, but he has played that are absolute perfection. -- to
:14:53. > :15:31.absolute. He has already had breaks of 76 and
:15:32. > :16:09.70 in this match. Could we be about to see the first century?
:16:10. > :16:14.320 career centuries Marco Fu has made. Both of these players have
:16:15. > :16:40.made over 300. This black, for the 100. And in it
:16:41. > :16:45.goes, what a terrific 103. Marco Fu will be over the moon, Mark Williams
:16:46. > :16:50.has a lot to think about, two frames left to play, if he wants to extend
:16:51. > :16:55.his chance of winning this year was jumping ship, he's going to have to
:16:56. > :16:59.win both of them. Marco Fu winning -- needing just one more frame to
:17:00. > :17:27.wrap things up. Would it come in frame six?
:17:28. > :17:36.This is a tough safety shot to play, I hope it doesn't roll off. Because
:17:37. > :17:42.if it does, this red is on. If it goes in, it could be end of match.
:17:43. > :17:44.It's always very dangerous, after three or four frames there are
:17:45. > :17:49.It's always very dangerous, after finger marks on the cloth. The ball
:17:50. > :17:57.is not bound to run truly. If this goes in, it could be the end.
:17:58. > :18:14.It's there. He just needs the red to leave Mark Williams needing a
:18:15. > :18:17.snooker. Been a strange match for Mark Williams, he knows when he goes
:18:18. > :18:21.home this evening he will be thinking of how much chances he let
:18:22. > :18:27.slip. He could definitely have won this match quite convincingly. Marco
:18:28. > :18:32.Fu has played very consistently towards the end of each frame.
:18:33. > :18:37.He will be very disappointed, Mark Williams, now. Marco Fu looks like
:18:38. > :18:59.he's done enough to win this frame. 37 points in front and 27 remaining.
:19:00. > :19:08.Mark would come back to the table if he missed this yellow.
:19:09. > :19:22.He won't be coming back to the table now.
:19:23. > :19:31.A match that could easily have gone either way. The last Welshman has
:19:32. > :19:35.now gone out of this tournament. Well played, Marco Fu, unlucky Mark
:19:36. > :19:43.Williams. He had chances earlier on and didn't take them. Marco Fu goes
:19:44. > :19:48.through 4-2. Very delighted with the win. I think I played pretty well
:19:49. > :19:53.tonight. Mark had his chances to go probably 3-0 up, but he missed some
:19:54. > :19:58.easy chances to let me back in. I was able to capitalise on his
:19:59. > :20:03.mistakes and got two very important frames. So, I think that was the
:20:04. > :20:07.crucial part of the game. Yeah, I suppose it is a good week. When you
:20:08. > :20:11.start saying it's a good week when you get to the last 16, you know
:20:12. > :20:18.something is wrong. I haven't got to that stage for a while. It was OK. I
:20:19. > :20:22.was disappointed. I probably play tonight in the last two and lost
:20:23. > :20:26.4-2. John Higgins has won this tournament three times. Today he
:20:27. > :20:31.faced one of the game's brightest talents, Judd Trump. They put on a
:20:32. > :20:34.terrific match which went to a deciding frame. We will join it now
:20:35. > :20:39.with Higgins at the table, on a break of 40.
:20:40. > :20:46.Let's see if he can hold the cue ball from here. Certainly doesn't
:20:47. > :20:51.make the shot any easier having to put the spin on to cannon into the
:20:52. > :20:57.red. That was enough to put him off. 40 break. He's in front. If Judd
:20:58. > :20:59.Trump gets this red, he may go as favourite. A lot of pressure out
:21:00. > :21:12.there. This boy can handle it. What a clever shot is that was. Just
:21:13. > :21:17.bringing those two reds into play. It's all about the red on the back
:21:18. > :21:19.bringing those two reds into play. cushion. Neither player can now
:21:20. > :21:22.complain, whatever happens in this frame.
:21:23. > :21:27.They have both had golden opportunities. Judd Trump has now
:21:28. > :22:00.been given a second. Not happening here for Judd Trump.
:22:01. > :22:02.Can't see the black, which he played for. OK, the pink is still
:22:03. > :22:10.available. There's nothing worse than the image
:22:11. > :22:12.you had of the shot you are going to play going all wrong. Now he has to
:22:13. > :22:25.reset his mind. Oh, he's OK. He's on one in the
:22:26. > :22:34.middle that was such a good shot and then get across for those two reds.
:22:35. > :22:42.The confidence of youth. Couldn't agree with you more. That was
:22:43. > :22:45.awkward. Now, you have to get the pace right on this shot. He could
:22:46. > :22:50.easily snooker himself with the pink here. Got to get the pace right.
:22:51. > :23:11.Trump can be rough on the edges at times, nobody is going to say he
:23:12. > :23:20.hasn't got the bottle. He's proved that in his career so far. The only
:23:21. > :23:25.thing worries me now, he is thinking about potting the pink and leaving
:23:26. > :23:31.an angle on the red to bring the red into play. He has looked, he has got
:23:32. > :23:35.down and looked at this. He is coming round again to look - shall I
:23:36. > :23:40.leave an angle on the red to nudge into a red. He would be unlucky not
:23:41. > :23:45.to be on the pink or black. What happens if he fits it full-ball and
:23:46. > :23:48.the white stays on the cushion? You could look at the positive side of
:23:49. > :23:53.the shot, Willie, as well if you like? I mean, things can go wrong if
:23:54. > :23:57.he does this. I know what you're saying. He has not played it. You
:23:58. > :24:02.don't really fancy him leaving the red there. Like you say, on the
:24:03. > :24:09.black now, trying to bring it out or playing for it.
:24:10. > :24:14.He decided to play it along the top cushion. I don't think he has a
:24:15. > :24:16.perfect angle on this black. He's going to have to leave the red at
:24:17. > :24:32.distance. That's very poor. That was a great attempt. OK he may
:24:33. > :24:36.have played a poor positional shot on the previous one, he played that
:24:37. > :24:43.with a lot of left hand side to bring the red into play.
:24:44. > :24:52.He was always going can see, he's played the white cue
:24:53. > :24:59.ball away. He wanted to play it gently and leave it on. Another
:25:00. > :25:04.chance goes by. Just adds to the excitement of the deciding frame.
:25:05. > :25:12.It's been brilliant this game. He tried to leave plenty distance
:25:13. > :25:16.between cue ball and object ball. It couldn't have worked out better.
:25:17. > :25:46.There will be another twist in this match, I can see it coming.
:25:47. > :25:52.He has come to look at whether this can go round three cushions into the
:25:53. > :25:58.middle pocket, but he would want to avoid that. He would want to get it
:25:59. > :26:03.on the baulk cushion. He's looked at this. He's got it. He did look at
:26:04. > :26:04.it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a fluke. He came round to look at the
:26:05. > :26:19.shot. Now, needs the gap. Has he got the
:26:20. > :27:11.gap? Boy, what a shot! Well played. It's harded to say whether anybody
:27:12. > :27:13.deserved to lose this match. Judd Trump knows he's had every chance to
:27:14. > :27:22.win it. He will be very disappointed not o
:27:23. > :27:26.to have cleared when he had that chance at the last visit to the
:27:27. > :27:29.table. John Higgins will be delighted to have won the match. It
:27:30. > :27:34.could have gone either way. John Higgins, the four times Champion of
:27:35. > :27:41.the World goes in to play Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-final. He
:27:42. > :27:47.wins 4-3. It was a topsy-turvy game. We were getting - I was let ing --
:27:48. > :27:51.getting luck, he was getting luck. I was having bad things happening, so
:27:52. > :27:56.was he. It must have been a good game to watch. I imagined to catch
:27:57. > :28:00.the last red and clear up. Which was pleasing. The Welsh are like the
:28:01. > :28:05.Scottish, mad as a brush sometimes as well. They enjoy their snooker.
:28:06. > :28:10.It's obviously had a long history here. They come out and support it
:28:11. > :28:16.and give each player due respect, so they do. No, I've had great times
:28:17. > :28:21.here. I'd love to have another good time, definitely. The there was a
:28:22. > :28:22.big crowd in this afternoon to watch world Champion
:28:23. > :28:26.big crowd in this afternoon to watch play Ricky Walden from Chester.
:28:27. > :28:30.Ronnie looked comfortable right from the start, winning the first two
:28:31. > :29:26.frames. Let's go now to the start of frame three.
:29:27. > :29:32.Ronnie already has a great chance in this third frame. Certainly not
:29:33. > :29:41.going well at the moment for Ricky Walden, is it Willie? Having lost
:29:42. > :29:46.the last match 6-0, so it's eight on the trot in these previous two
:29:47. > :29:50.matches. Ronnie wanted to finish low. The angle he has got, he will
:29:51. > :29:56.have to play for the loose one. It's not a great pack to go into from the
:29:57. > :30:00.black. It hopefully will see Ronnie playing the shot in a moment. Ronnie
:30:01. > :30:03.O'Sullivan stuns into the pack. He has left it low on the red on
:30:04. > :30:07.purpose to has left it low on the red on
:30:08. > :30:11.play. Never misses a trick on the blackspot,
:30:12. > :30:16.Wouldn't have too much idea where the cue ball was going to finish up
:30:17. > :30:54.here. Must have thought it's almost sure to be on the blue.
:30:55. > :31:06.Entitled to be aggrieved when he finishes on a red like that after a
:31:07. > :31:11.poor positional shot. May see an example here of him playing left
:31:12. > :31:15.handed or the long straightish pink to the far right corner rather? We
:31:16. > :31:23.are playing the pink he has less to do with the cue ball.
:31:24. > :31:29.He's obviously feeling very confident now, Ronnie. Possibly by
:31:30. > :31:31.virture of the fact his opponent seems to be struggling out there a
:31:32. > :31:50.little bit. Let's not forget how great Stephen
:31:51. > :31:53.Hendry was in this position, sometimes when you played against
:31:54. > :31:57.Hendry at his best, you never got a shot. That is how you must feel when
:31:58. > :31:59.you are playing Ronnie O'Sullivan now. He gets in that rhythm where
:32:00. > :32:18.you can't see him not making 40. Interesting, Willie, I had a chat
:32:19. > :32:23.with Steven not a long ago really about Ronnie. He said to me when
:32:24. > :32:28.Ronnie is at his best he is virtually unplayable. That is
:32:29. > :32:33.Stephen Hendry telling me that. Hendry was unplayable at times. Only
:32:34. > :32:36.three or four reds away from making this a frame-winning break and going
:32:37. > :32:38.through in front with a possible four to play. Ricky Walden has his
:32:39. > :32:50.back right against the wall. Doesn't have to leave an angle on
:32:51. > :32:55.the black. Potting this red, it will free another red, Ronnie can get by
:32:56. > :33:08.the winning post virtually without having to play a cannon.
:33:09. > :33:15.One big difference I noticed, Ronnie in his first two matches Ronnie felt
:33:16. > :33:20.the cushions were playing quicker than he expected them to. We have
:33:21. > :33:26.gone down to a two table auditorium from a four table auditorium. I
:33:27. > :33:28.think the table is more to Ronnie's liking, especially the cushions, the
:33:29. > :34:06.speed of them. That is end of frame. Possible
:34:07. > :34:10.chance now of the clearance. He has made 32 centuries this season.
:34:11. > :34:15.Robertson is on 87. The is that one of the records that Ronnie will try
:34:16. > :34:19.and break next year, try to get 100 centuries in a season? I don't think
:34:20. > :34:31.that would ever be done. Robertson has a chance. Amazingly enough this
:34:32. > :34:39.will be his 728 century in professional play.
:34:40. > :34:55.Would have made over 10,000 in practice, I would think.
:34:56. > :34:59.Warm applause by the crowd at the Newport Centre, watching a genius at
:35:00. > :35:06.work. Red doesn't go in this time,
:35:07. > :35:14.O'Sullivan with another century break in his career. Storming into a
:35:15. > :35:18.3-0 lead. Credit to Ricky Walden, he kept his chin up and pulled a frame
:35:19. > :35:23.back. There was no stopping The Rocket in the fifth as he wrapped up
:35:24. > :35:24.the match with a break of 86. He has won 4-1 in every round of
:35:25. > :35:31.the match with a break of 86. He has tournament so far. The World
:35:32. > :35:37.Champion safely through to the quarter-finals. I was cueing really
:35:38. > :35:42.good. I felt comfortable on the balls. My safety was good. My long
:35:43. > :35:47.potting was good. You know, my accuracy was good. I was just... I
:35:48. > :35:51.felt really involved in the match. I never once felt, even when Ricky won
:35:52. > :35:56.that frame, I didn't start to panic. I thought, no, just enjoy this match
:35:57. > :36:01.and try and stay focussed and treat every ball with the respect it
:36:02. > :36:06.deserves. So the World Champion is safely through. Here are the
:36:07. > :36:10.Orwiners and losers. In the biggest upset of the week so far,
:36:11. > :36:15.19-year-old, Joel Walker put out defending Champion and number one
:36:16. > :36:18.seed, Stephen Maguire. One of the hottest prospects in the game. I had
:36:19. > :36:24.a little bit of help from Steven, to be honest. He didn't play
:36:25. > :36:27.particularly well. But I was happy I played pretty solid. I missed a few
:36:28. > :36:33.balls under pressure. I'm happy to get through. Mark Selby, the 2008
:36:34. > :36:38.Champion here in Newport, he made it safely through to the quarter-finals
:36:39. > :36:43.with a comfortable win against Ali Carter. 4-1, the final score here.
:36:44. > :36:50.Over the moon. Ali is one of the top-class players in the world to
:36:51. > :36:55.get a 4-1 over someone of his class, really happy with that. I suppose,
:36:56. > :36:58.performance wise, I could have been more clinical. I started off OK.
:36:59. > :37:05.Towards the end I started missing a you few. Ali wasn't on his game and
:37:06. > :37:07.I took advantage of that. Liang Wenbo is to produce his best snooker
:37:08. > :37:14.in Newport this week hitch was too Wenbo is to produce his best snooker
:37:15. > :37:18.good for Scott Donaldson, 4-0 a comprehensive victory. Lucky to get
:37:19. > :37:23.in the quad quarter-finals. I hope I can get better and better --
:37:24. > :37:28.quarter-finals. Getting closer to the top always hard matches waiting
:37:29. > :37:35.for you. I need to improve my game tomorrow. The tournament's eighth
:37:36. > :37:42.seed, Stuart Bingham is out beaten in a deciding frame by fellow
:37:43. > :37:46.Englishman, Joe Perry. It's a good win. Stuart is one of the top
:37:47. > :37:51.players in the game these days. He is a man in running to win
:37:52. > :37:56.tournaments and stuff. Yeah, it's a good win. Just, you know, I made a
:37:57. > :38:00.meal of it, to be honest. I felt like I played the best stuff
:38:01. > :38:08.throughout the match. Snou I -- somehow I nearly lost it. Here is
:38:09. > :38:15.the quarter-final draw: what a tough task for Joel Walker against Ding
:38:16. > :38:20.Junhui. Joe Perry will play Mark Selby. Marco Fu will play Barry
:38:21. > :38:26.Hawkins who beat Liang Wenbo 4-2 to get into this quarter-final stage. A
:38:27. > :38:30.terrific match, John Higgins, the four-time World Champion, against
:38:31. > :38:36.the current holder of that title, Ronnie O'Sullivan. That match
:38:37. > :38:42.featuring the World Champion will be live tomorrow at 1.00pm on BBC Two
:38:43. > :38:47.Wales. We hope you can join us for that. Thank you for watching today.
:38:48. > :38:53.From all of us here at the Newport Centre, a very good night.