:00:37. > :00:45.The best players on the planet are back in Cardiff. Welcome to the 2017
:00:46. > :00:49.Welsh Open. Seven days of snooker ahead as the biggest names in the
:00:50. > :01:03.game look to conjure up more magical moments.
:01:04. > :01:21.The 1999 Welsh champion. Welsh Open champion for the second time. 2008
:01:22. > :01:41.Welsh Open champion, Mark Selby. World champion... John Higgins wins
:01:42. > :01:44.the Welsh Open for the fourth time. The champion for 2016, it is the
:01:45. > :01:56.Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan. 2016 was Ronnie's year but he's not
:01:57. > :01:59.the only one who is one the Welsh Open four times. He shares that
:02:00. > :02:08.record with John Higgins and today he faced Sam Baird, who is 48. He
:02:09. > :02:14.made the last 16 of the world Championships last year. He got off
:02:15. > :02:19.to a great start against John Higgins, racing into a 3-0 lead. The
:02:20. > :02:24.world number three legged it back to 3-2. We will join it in frame sex
:02:25. > :02:43.with John Higgins trailing 56-0. What a mess from John Higgins. The
:02:44. > :03:44.brown has covered the red from top right.
:03:45. > :03:52.That little bit of luck from John Higgins has left Sam Baird with
:03:53. > :04:03.things to think about at a key moment in the frame.
:04:04. > :04:20.But there's no easy option here for the 28-year-old.
:04:21. > :04:32.It has stayed up. There were a few anxious moments. It looked for all
:04:33. > :04:36.the world as though that cue ball was going to drop. You could
:04:37. > :04:51.probably breathe on that in the other direction and it would be in
:04:52. > :04:54.the pocket. And this now is Sam Baird's opportunity to close out
:04:55. > :04:56.what would be one of the biggest wins of his career against one of
:04:57. > :05:11.the all-time greats. 67 still on. He's so close here. Just need to
:05:12. > :05:37.focus on one shot at a time. Now John Higgins knows if he is to
:05:38. > :05:43.keep his hopes of a fifth Welsh Open title alive he will need to do so
:05:44. > :05:56.from Snickers. The crowd beginning to applaud and it looks as though we
:05:57. > :06:06.are indeed going to see our first upset. We've seen some great snooker
:06:07. > :06:11.and now Emma has a sigh of relief. She and Sam's friend know the
:06:12. > :06:14.significance of what they are witnessing here. It has been
:06:15. > :06:46.brilliant from the blade. After a gritty fightback from the
:06:47. > :06:48.Scott, his nerves have held good. Make no mistake, this is without
:06:49. > :06:56.doubt one of the biggest wins of his career. This doesn't matter. John
:06:57. > :07:04.Higgins is quickly out of the chair. You wish him well in the next round.
:07:05. > :07:07.What a result for Sam Baird. He looked nervous before the match but
:07:08. > :07:15.you couldn't tell from the way he played. He has knocked out the
:07:16. > :07:21.four-time champion and he marches into the second round with great
:07:22. > :07:28.confidence. What a victory. He thoroughly deserved it.
:07:29. > :07:32.Any time you beat one of the top players in a major tournament it is
:07:33. > :07:49.good. I'm relieved. Did not really seem with it. Sam
:07:50. > :07:55.played some good pressure balls and some good breaks to kick the game.
:07:56. > :08:03.Best to seven is a short sprint and I got off to the worst possible
:08:04. > :08:08.start losing frames. It was a long way back but fair play to Sam,
:08:09. > :08:15.holding himself together at the end. The big story on day one, John
:08:16. > :08:21.Higgins is out after one game. Earlier this evening we bore you --
:08:22. > :08:26.brought you a fascinating contest between Neil Robertson and Jimmy
:08:27. > :08:32.White. It was a match of really high quality snooker with 100 breaks for
:08:33. > :08:34.Robertson and Jimmy White. Let us join it with Neil Robertson closing
:08:35. > :08:41.in on victory. That's a great part from Neil
:08:42. > :09:18.Robertson. He has beaten the likes of Michael
:09:19. > :09:25.White, Joe Perry. He's put together a good year and even though it is
:09:26. > :09:35.too early to talk about them hanging on, the top eight finish, at the
:09:36. > :09:42.moment it is in his hands and looking OK. That is his medium-term
:09:43. > :09:57.target. Stay on the tour as a player.
:09:58. > :10:09.I think Steve Davis managed 36 consecutive seasons but nobody has
:10:10. > :10:15.done 37. Arguably the most popular player.
:10:16. > :10:20.That is a good one. Probably the most popular player when he was
:10:21. > :10:37.making finals. He's blown everyone out of the water
:10:38. > :10:41.with the way that he plays. Definitely one of the favourites,
:10:42. > :11:02.Jimmy, and he's got a massive fan base.
:11:03. > :11:08.Five live journalist once interviewed Jimmy and said, would
:11:09. > :11:14.you swap all that adulation for a title and he answered, honestly, he
:11:15. > :11:20.said I would not, I have earned the respect of the crowds and I like it
:11:21. > :11:23.when I go to a tournament, he was at the Masters last month and
:11:24. > :11:26.everything he was introduced to the crowd he got a massive reception and
:11:27. > :11:33.he said I've earned that the hard way. That's my prize over decades of
:11:34. > :11:37.dedication to the sport. He seems, from that answer in that interview,
:11:38. > :11:44.as though he's content with what he's achieved in the sport. Not just
:11:45. > :11:45.the ranking titles but the adoration of all who watched him for so many
:11:46. > :12:19.years. It is quite unbelievable that he's
:12:20. > :12:30.never got that one more title that he so desperately wanted.
:12:31. > :12:38.He had a run of five or six years when he made the final and
:12:39. > :12:42.unfortunately he kept coming across Stephen Hendry and the one year he
:12:43. > :12:49.missed and he had John Parrott and John Parrott played the best snooker
:12:50. > :12:57.anyone has ever played. He was just unplayable. And unplayable standard
:12:58. > :13:02.from John Parrott. He has been unfortunate, unlucky. You certainly
:13:03. > :13:04.would have thought, how good he has been, he deserved a world title,
:13:05. > :14:02.definitely. Darren and I were just discussing
:14:03. > :14:09.whether we would jinx it if we started mentioning the maximum.
:14:10. > :14:17.Darren just confirmed it looked like he was going for it but didn't get
:14:18. > :14:28.the position. We were a bit premature, whether it was blue or
:14:29. > :14:30.black. 83 still on. A little look of consternation on the face of Neil
:14:31. > :15:00.Robertson there. Neil Robertson very sportingly
:15:01. > :15:02.tapping his cue on the edge of the table in acknowledgement of that
:15:03. > :15:31.safely from Jimmy. That is a great, great response. He
:15:32. > :15:41.didn't have much of the edge of that red to it, then. This is not
:15:42. > :15:48.straightforward for Jimmy. He won't wanted to thin. He could push the
:15:49. > :15:52.red over at the corner pocket. I don't think he played the plan, he
:15:53. > :15:58.will take it anyway. He needs the cue ball to slow down. I am sure he
:15:59. > :16:10.did not play the plant there. He was just trying to get a good cue ball.
:16:11. > :16:23.I guess if you suffer the odd kick, you will take the odd little percent
:16:24. > :16:27.of luck. This is the difference, the Jimmy of old would have been
:16:28. > :16:34.stripped down playing this green in the yellow pot it. He might still
:16:35. > :16:39.play that shot. He is having a look at the roll-up between the green. He
:16:40. > :17:24.will definitely be going for this, the Jimmy of. -- of old.
:17:25. > :17:34.That is unfortunate for Jimmy. The red has come back into a nice easy
:17:35. > :17:39.parting position. Neil Robertson, he is unfortunate, he potted a good
:17:40. > :17:48.green in cannon on the red. The cue ball was so close to the side
:17:49. > :17:54.cushion. You do feel that was probably the last chance for Jimmy
:17:55. > :17:57.in this match. I can't imagine Neil Robertson making any mistakes here.
:17:58. > :18:06.All three reds go to the right corner. The top one, definitely.
:18:07. > :18:11.Well, I am saying that. Those mistakes you cannot imagine, the
:18:12. > :18:15.curse of the commentator. I cannot believe that last shot, Neil
:18:16. > :18:23.Robertson missing that. Jimmy was like a greyhound getting out of his
:18:24. > :18:33.seat. The decades have not told his reflexes on an opponent's mistake.
:18:34. > :18:36.Right back up to the table. Who would have thought that from Neil
:18:37. > :18:43.Robertson? Especially from a commanding position having been let
:18:44. > :18:46.back in by Jimmy. And he didn't need to play the cannon because the top
:18:47. > :18:51.red lead to the right corner. As long as he got on the red he could
:18:52. > :18:54.roll it in and disturb the other two. He missed the black through
:18:55. > :19:05.taking his eye off the pot to get the cannon. The most important thing
:19:06. > :19:12.is to make sure of the pot. Well, you just cannot, someone has given
:19:13. > :19:44.you an opportunity like he just had, you just cannot miss from there.
:19:45. > :19:59.Jimmy Bell requiring snoopers. He will kick himself with that missed
:20:00. > :20:07.opportunity, despite the fact he has played well in patches in this
:20:08. > :20:14.match. He knows he has got Jimmy on the Raqqa. Note mistakes this time.
:20:15. > :20:35.One or two signs of vulnerability from Neil but he is all but there.
:20:36. > :20:47.Three snooker is required. That will be a respot. Jimmy has conceded, so
:20:48. > :20:52.Neil Robertson, after a comeback from Jimmy White has got over the
:20:53. > :20:57.line in a match we were all looking forward to. Three successive
:20:58. > :21:05.centuries, mistakes from both, but Neil Robertson has shown his class
:21:06. > :21:09.to get over the line. It was great to come out in front of the grid
:21:10. > :21:14.crowd for a first round match. Jimmy still has a good reputation and
:21:15. > :21:19.everything. The way I started off, I was very pleased in the first frame.
:21:20. > :21:24.Jimmy responded with a century and then I had a century and one at the
:21:25. > :21:28.next two frames with a couple of 50 odd bricks. Pleased with how I
:21:29. > :21:33.started. I lost concentration and Jimmy was resigned to the fact he
:21:34. > :21:38.would get beaten as well, so that can happen. Overall, I was pleased
:21:39. > :21:44.with how I played. The snooker world never seems to sleep. Just over 24
:21:45. > :21:48.hours ago, the Welshman, Ryan Day, played in the final of the world
:21:49. > :21:54.Grand Prix. And what a terrific week in Preston with victories over the
:21:55. > :22:00.likes of Bingham, Murphy and Marco Fu on red to a final against Barry
:22:01. > :22:03.Hawkins. He was 9-3 down before staging a real fight back ticking
:22:04. > :22:11.for frames in a row. It wasn't enough as Hawking is one in the end.
:22:12. > :22:18.Now they is just outside the top 16. Hawkins with his first riding when
:22:19. > :22:22.in three years. No rest for the 36-year-old Welshman as he faced
:22:23. > :22:27.David Gilbert of England in the first round here. Let's join the
:22:28. > :22:29.match with Gilbert leading 3-2 stop Gilbert to play in phone sex with no
:22:30. > :23:46.score. He just overscrewed the blue
:23:47. > :23:56.slightly. If he can just nudge that cluster and push the white through
:23:57. > :24:05.onto the black. He has played that to absolute perfection. This is
:24:06. > :24:19.starting to look a little bit worrying for Ryan Day.
:24:20. > :24:28.It is getting late on in the night now. He is definitely going to be
:24:29. > :24:36.feeling tired after a long week, last week. A late finish last night.
:24:37. > :24:48.A long drive back today. It all comes into play. Obviously, if he
:24:49. > :24:56.was to win here tonight he would travel back down to where he lives.
:24:57. > :25:08.It is only about 25 or 30 minutes down the red.
:25:09. > :25:15.That has worked out absolutely perfect for David Gilbert. He
:25:16. > :25:24.dislodged quite a fee of the reds. Nicely on this one. The cue ball to
:25:25. > :25:33.Sudan, he is over it. He is going to have to play the brown, I would have
:25:34. > :25:39.thought. Unless he has a nice little angle on the green. He could play a
:25:40. > :25:44.deep screw shot to the red 's. Just to the right of the pink and be
:25:45. > :25:57.lowered. One good shot. This could be the end of the match. I think he
:25:58. > :26:11.is straight on the green, so he will have to play a half Paul brown.
:26:12. > :26:31.Very well controlled and very well played shot.
:26:32. > :26:42.After teeing it up so well, he has left blood red over the jaws with
:26:43. > :26:50.the rest of the pack beautifully split. I am sure he must have been
:26:51. > :26:55.starting to think the way it was panning out that that was a
:26:56. > :26:58.match-winning visit to security match with that one break at the
:26:59. > :27:44.table. Ryan is back in. That face tells you he knew how
:27:45. > :27:58.costly that mistake might be. He's still muttering to himself in
:27:59. > :28:38.his seat. He's let that one away from him,
:28:39. > :28:56.landed nicely on the corner pocket. This is the bonus points. One good
:28:57. > :28:58.pot again. He is a lot further away from the thread then he would have
:28:59. > :30:12.liked. That was very well struck. He will believe this is his
:30:13. > :30:18.opportunity to force a decider. The psychological toing and froing in
:30:19. > :30:24.certain matches, I cannot think of many sports where you would be
:30:25. > :30:29.forced to sit and watch your opponent capitalise on your mistake
:30:30. > :30:39.for as long as players do in snooker. I guess it's something you
:30:40. > :30:44.get used to at the top. We do but it doesn't get any easier. Obviously
:30:45. > :30:45.you are sat in the cheer and there's not a lot you can do when your
:30:46. > :31:30.opponent is at the table. Are there any tactics you can imply?
:31:31. > :31:36.Do you continue watching the table in case your opponent makes a
:31:37. > :31:45.mistake? What other coping mechanisms? He will be sat there
:31:46. > :32:10.hoping Ryan Day makes a mistake and that doesn't cost them the frame.
:32:11. > :33:37.The majority of it is who is the strongest mentally.
:33:38. > :33:50.He's got to let this go, start preparing himself for a decider. He
:33:51. > :33:57.led the match by two frames. Then it was 3-2. Easier said than done. Much
:33:58. > :34:06.easier for us to be philosophical on his behalf in the box. He is out
:34:07. > :34:16.there living every second of frustration. A possible century
:34:17. > :34:35.here. It would be the first of this matter.
:34:36. > :34:44.From the perspective of a neutral you feel sorry for David Gilbert but
:34:45. > :34:52.Ryan Bailie has seized his opportunity at the right moment and
:34:53. > :34:58.no matter what David Gilbert has produced, he's found a way to stay
:34:59. > :35:08.in the match. Can he finish off with a century? He can. A century from
:35:09. > :35:19.Ryan Day takes us into a decider. A really tight contest and hard to
:35:20. > :35:31.predict who would take the deciding frame. Let's join the seventh with
:35:32. > :35:34.Gilbert leading. He has missed that. If David Gilbert goes on to lose
:35:35. > :35:36.this match he will be seething with himself about the number of chances
:35:37. > :36:00.are he has had. It could be one of those nights
:36:01. > :36:16.where David Gilbert is kicking himself. He's not looking at the
:36:17. > :36:22.table. He won't want to see that back. He's played some great snooker
:36:23. > :36:36.in this match but that was not one of his better shots.
:36:37. > :36:46.A cruel sport at times. The angry farmer might have some interesting
:36:47. > :37:34.tweets to put out after this match. A lot more snooker to be played in
:37:35. > :37:36.this frame. That one has gone astray and you can see he's not very happy
:37:37. > :37:48.with himself. There's a lot more play in this.
:37:49. > :38:14.He's moved the pink and black. He is one good shot away from giving
:38:15. > :40:09.himself a chance in this frame. He is imposing himself in this frame
:40:10. > :40:15.but because the black is out of play, the numbers on the break have
:40:16. > :40:43.been slow in coming. He is five in front. Still some awkward reds.
:40:44. > :40:56.After Ryan played the last shot, he might have been resigned. He's had
:40:57. > :41:42.his chances. I think Ryan will be very relieved.
:41:43. > :41:45.If he gets over the line then he's got a day off to recoup and get
:41:46. > :42:15.himself right for the next match. Not the easiest read along a cushion
:42:16. > :42:53.here. That has probably landed in the
:42:54. > :42:57.worst possible place for Ryan. The brown is behind the cue ball. Even
:42:58. > :43:02.though he is on the wrong side of the blue, he could have played a
:43:03. > :43:08.relatively straightforward pink into the corner. Either it is wrote the
:43:09. > :43:14.blue in now, or try the red. Or at the yellow. He has elected the blue.
:43:15. > :43:40.Still a bit of work to be done. Superb there, bearing in mind the
:43:41. > :44:03.context. Not the ideal position, but the most
:44:04. > :44:06.important thing was to get the red. Almost 22 minutes in this frame. He
:44:07. > :44:47.has done it the hard way. He needs everything on the table to
:44:48. > :44:56.force the respot. We have already had one match today going to a
:44:57. > :45:37.re-spotted black. Could there be a second late into the night?
:45:38. > :45:47.David Gilbert's expression told us everything we needed to know about
:45:48. > :46:01.his feelings at the moment. A fairly long match. Almost two hours and 20
:46:02. > :46:08.minutes. So, that said. David Gilbert and Ryan Day, having got so
:46:09. > :46:13.close to a maiden ranking triumph last night, has twice come from
:46:14. > :46:23.behind to beat David Gilbert, Ryan Day marches on. It has been a long
:46:24. > :46:28.wait. It was a late cluster. A long drive from Preston today, I got back
:46:29. > :46:34.about four o'clock. Luckily the match was delayed a little bit with
:46:35. > :46:40.it not being it o'clock. I was just delighted to get the win and be in
:46:41. > :46:44.the tournament. He is one of the biggest names in Welsh snooker, but
:46:45. > :46:49.Matthew Stevens is already. Knocked out by Stuart Bingham of the former
:46:50. > :47:00.champion and world number two going through with a 4-2 win. I settled
:47:01. > :47:08.nicely. It gives me a bit of confidence I felt I could take the
:47:09. > :47:15.chance when I got it. It was tough for both of us. Just one of those
:47:16. > :47:20.things really. No problems for another Welshman. Dominic Dale is
:47:21. > :47:23.through as well after a 4-0 whitewash over his Chinese opponent.
:47:24. > :47:31.You're getting beyond round one for the first time in three years. 4-0,
:47:32. > :47:37.couldn't be better. It didn't start the season too well in 2017, but to
:47:38. > :47:44.come back and win 4-0, I'm delighted. I am looking forward to
:47:45. > :47:49.my next match. A good memory for Page, whatever happened. It's to
:47:50. > :47:58.round two after coming back from 3-1 down to beat Jason Weston 4-3. I got
:47:59. > :48:04.over the line with the pink. I was really happy. I would 3-1 down, so
:48:05. > :48:11.to come back in my first pro tournament and win, it is unreal.
:48:12. > :48:16.That's just round-up if you were key results. Lee Walker is through after
:48:17. > :48:21.his 4-2 win over Rhys Clark. Two others, Ian Preece and Jack Jones
:48:22. > :48:27.are out. Ricky Walden, the Ward number 17, losing to Graeme Dott.
:48:28. > :48:31.The 20 13th winner, Stephen Maguire, into round two. Along with world
:48:32. > :48:42.number six John Murphy after an emphatic 4-0 win. Plenty of drama on
:48:43. > :48:46.Day one. A former world champion knocked out, a 15-year-old wild card
:48:47. > :48:50.through to round two and 12 Welsh players still in the competition.
:48:51. > :48:54.Join us from one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, the big box office star
:48:55. > :48:59.begins the defence of his Welsh Open title. We bring you Ronnie
:49:00. > :49:04.O'Sullivan's first round match against Tom Ford and Mark Williams
:49:05. > :49:05.nixes entry. Don't miss it. From all this on the programme, a very good
:49:06. > :49:12.night. (Whatever happens,
:49:13. > :49:15.stay close to me.) # Let me hear you scream
:49:16. > :49:23.if you want some more... # # Watch me work it
:49:24. > :49:27.I'm perfect... # Trouble with the genre nowadays,
:49:28. > :49:32.too much murder, not enough mystery. Take a trip Inside No. 9,
:49:33. > :49:40.the new series.