Highlights - Day 1 Snooker: Welsh Open Highlights

The best players on the planet are back in Cardiff. Welcome to the 2017

Welsh Open. Seven days of snooker ahead as the biggest names in the

game look to conjure up more magical moments.

The 1999 Welsh champion. Welsh Open champion for the second time. 2008

Welsh Open champion, Mark Selby. World champion... John Higgins wins

the Welsh Open for the fourth time. The champion for 2016, it is the

Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan. 2016 was Ronnie's year but he's not

the only one who is one the Welsh Open four times. He shares that

record with John Higgins and today he faced Sam Baird, who is 48. He

made the last 16 of the world Championships last year. He got off

to a great start against John Higgins, racing into a 3-0 lead. The

world number three legged it back to 3-2. We will join it in frame sex

with John Higgins trailing 56-0. What a mess from John Higgins. The

brown has covered the red from top right.

That little bit of luck from John Higgins has left Sam Baird with

things to think about at a key moment in the frame.

But there's no easy option here for the 28-year-old.

It has stayed up. There were a few anxious moments. It looked for all

the world as though that cue ball was going to drop. You could

probably breathe on that in the other direction and it would be in

the pocket. And this now is Sam Baird's opportunity to close out

what would be one of the biggest wins of his career against one of

the all-time greats. 67 still on. He's so close here. Just need to

focus on one shot at a time. Now John Higgins knows if he is to

keep his hopes of a fifth Welsh Open title alive he will need to do so

from Snickers. The crowd beginning to applaud and it looks as though we

are indeed going to see our first upset. We've seen some great snooker

and now Emma has a sigh of relief. She and Sam's friend know the

significance of what they are witnessing here. It has been

brilliant from the blade. After a gritty fightback from the

Scott, his nerves have held good. Make no mistake, this is without

doubt one of the biggest wins of his career. This doesn't matter. John

Higgins is quickly out of the chair. You wish him well in the next round.

What a result for Sam Baird. He looked nervous before the match but

you couldn't tell from the way he played. He has knocked out the

four-time champion and he marches into the second round with great

confidence. What a victory. He thoroughly deserved it.

Any time you beat one of the top players in a major tournament it is

good. I'm relieved. Did not really seem with it. Sam

played some good pressure balls and some good breaks to kick the game.

Best to seven is a short sprint and I got off to the worst possible

start losing frames. It was a long way back but fair play to Sam,

holding himself together at the end. The big story on day one, John

Higgins is out after one game. Earlier this evening we bore you --

brought you a fascinating contest between Neil Robertson and Jimmy

White. It was a match of really high quality snooker with 100 breaks for

Robertson and Jimmy White. Let us join it with Neil Robertson closing

in on victory. That's a great part from Neil

Robertson. He has beaten the likes of Michael

White, Joe Perry. He's put together a good year and even though it is

too early to talk about them hanging on, the top eight finish, at the

moment it is in his hands and looking OK. That is his medium-term

target. Stay on the tour as a player.

I think Steve Davis managed 36 consecutive seasons but nobody has

done 37. Arguably the most popular player.

That is a good one. Probably the most popular player when he was

making finals. He's blown everyone out of the water

with the way that he plays. Definitely one of the favourites,

Jimmy, and he's got a massive fan base.

Five live journalist once interviewed Jimmy and said, would

you swap all that adulation for a title and he answered, honestly, he

said I would not, I have earned the respect of the crowds and I like it

when I go to a tournament, he was at the Masters last month and

everything he was introduced to the crowd he got a massive reception and

he said I've earned that the hard way. That's my prize over decades of

dedication to the sport. He seems, from that answer in that interview,

as though he's content with what he's achieved in the sport. Not just

the ranking titles but the adoration of all who watched him for so many

years. It is quite unbelievable that he's

never got that one more title that he so desperately wanted.

He had a run of five or six years when he made the final and

unfortunately he kept coming across Stephen Hendry and the one year he

missed and he had John Parrott and John Parrott played the best snooker

anyone has ever played. He was just unplayable. And unplayable standard

from John Parrott. He has been unfortunate, unlucky. You certainly

would have thought, how good he has been, he deserved a world title,

definitely. Darren and I were just discussing

whether we would jinx it if we started mentioning the maximum.

Darren just confirmed it looked like he was going for it but didn't get

the position. We were a bit premature, whether it was blue or

black. 83 still on. A little look of consternation on the face of Neil

Robertson there. Neil Robertson very sportingly

tapping his cue on the edge of the table in acknowledgement of that

safely from Jimmy. That is a great, great response. He

didn't have much of the edge of that red to it, then. This is not

straightforward for Jimmy. He won't wanted to thin. He could push the

red over at the corner pocket. I don't think he played the plan, he

will take it anyway. He needs the cue ball to slow down. I am sure he

did not play the plant there. He was just trying to get a good cue ball.

I guess if you suffer the odd kick, you will take the odd little percent

of luck. This is the difference, the Jimmy of old would have been

stripped down playing this green in the yellow pot it. He might still

play that shot. He is having a look at the roll-up between the green. He

will definitely be going for this, the Jimmy of. -- of old.

That is unfortunate for Jimmy. The red has come back into a nice easy

parting position. Neil Robertson, he is unfortunate, he potted a good

green in cannon on the red. The cue ball was so close to the side

cushion. You do feel that was probably the last chance for Jimmy

in this match. I can't imagine Neil Robertson making any mistakes here.

All three reds go to the right corner. The top one, definitely.

Well, I am saying that. Those mistakes you cannot imagine, the

curse of the commentator. I cannot believe that last shot, Neil

Robertson missing that. Jimmy was like a greyhound getting out of his

seat. The decades have not told his reflexes on an opponent's mistake.

Right back up to the table. Who would have thought that from Neil

Robertson? Especially from a commanding position having been let

back in by Jimmy. And he didn't need to play the cannon because the top

red lead to the right corner. As long as he got on the red he could

roll it in and disturb the other two. He missed the black through

taking his eye off the pot to get the cannon. The most important thing

is to make sure of the pot. Well, you just cannot, someone has given

you an opportunity like he just had, you just cannot miss from there.

Jimmy Bell requiring snoopers. He will kick himself with that missed

opportunity, despite the fact he has played well in patches in this

match. He knows he has got Jimmy on the Raqqa. Note mistakes this time.

One or two signs of vulnerability from Neil but he is all but there.

Three snooker is required. That will be a respot. Jimmy has conceded, so

Neil Robertson, after a comeback from Jimmy White has got over the

line in a match we were all looking forward to. Three successive

centuries, mistakes from both, but Neil Robertson has shown his class

to get over the line. It was great to come out in front of the grid

crowd for a first round match. Jimmy still has a good reputation and

everything. The way I started off, I was very pleased in the first frame.

Jimmy responded with a century and then I had a century and one at the

next two frames with a couple of 50 odd bricks. Pleased with how I

started. I lost concentration and Jimmy was resigned to the fact he

would get beaten as well, so that can happen. Overall, I was pleased

with how I played. The snooker world never seems to sleep. Just over 24

hours ago, the Welshman, Ryan Day, played in the final of the world

Grand Prix. And what a terrific week in Preston with victories over the

likes of Bingham, Murphy and Marco Fu on red to a final against Barry

Hawkins. He was 9-3 down before staging a real fight back ticking

for frames in a row. It wasn't enough as Hawking is one in the end.

Now they is just outside the top 16. Hawkins with his first riding when

in three years. No rest for the 36-year-old Welshman as he faced

David Gilbert of England in the first round here. Let's join the

match with Gilbert leading 3-2 stop Gilbert to play in phone sex with no

score. He just overscrewed the blue

slightly. If he can just nudge that cluster and push the white through

onto the black. He has played that to absolute perfection. This is

starting to look a little bit worrying for Ryan Day.

It is getting late on in the night now. He is definitely going to be

feeling tired after a long week, last week. A late finish last night.

A long drive back today. It all comes into play. Obviously, if he

was to win here tonight he would travel back down to where he lives.

It is only about 25 or 30 minutes down the red.

That has worked out absolutely perfect for David Gilbert. He

dislodged quite a fee of the reds. Nicely on this one. The cue ball to

Sudan, he is over it. He is going to have to play the brown, I would have

thought. Unless he has a nice little angle on the green. He could play a

deep screw shot to the red 's. Just to the right of the pink and be

lowered. One good shot. This could be the end of the match. I think he

is straight on the green, so he will have to play a half Paul brown.

Very well controlled and very well played shot.

After teeing it up so well, he has left blood red over the jaws with

the rest of the pack beautifully split. I am sure he must have been

starting to think the way it was panning out that that was a

match-winning visit to security match with that one break at the

table. Ryan is back in. That face tells you he knew how

costly that mistake might be. He's still muttering to himself in

his seat. He's let that one away from him,

landed nicely on the corner pocket. This is the bonus points. One good

pot again. He is a lot further away from the thread then he would have

liked. That was very well struck. He will believe this is his

opportunity to force a decider. The psychological toing and froing in

certain matches, I cannot think of many sports where you would be

forced to sit and watch your opponent capitalise on your mistake

for as long as players do in snooker. I guess it's something you

get used to at the top. We do but it doesn't get any easier. Obviously

you are sat in the cheer and there's not a lot you can do when your

opponent is at the table. Are there any tactics you can imply?

Do you continue watching the table in case your opponent makes a

mistake? What other coping mechanisms? He will be sat there

hoping Ryan Day makes a mistake and that doesn't cost them the frame.

The majority of it is who is the strongest mentally.

He's got to let this go, start preparing himself for a decider. He

led the match by two frames. Then it was 3-2. Easier said than done. Much

easier for us to be philosophical on his behalf in the box. He is out

there living every second of frustration. A possible century

here. It would be the first of this matter.

From the perspective of a neutral you feel sorry for David Gilbert but

Ryan Bailie has seized his opportunity at the right moment and

no matter what David Gilbert has produced, he's found a way to stay

in the match. Can he finish off with a century? He can. A century from

Ryan Day takes us into a decider. A really tight contest and hard to

predict who would take the deciding frame. Let's join the seventh with

Gilbert leading. He has missed that. If David Gilbert goes on to lose

this match he will be seething with himself about the number of chances

are he has had. It could be one of those nights

where David Gilbert is kicking himself. He's not looking at the

table. He won't want to see that back. He's played some great snooker

in this match but that was not one of his better shots.

A cruel sport at times. The angry farmer might have some interesting

tweets to put out after this match. A lot more snooker to be played in

this frame. That one has gone astray and you can see he's not very happy

with himself. There's a lot more play in this.

He's moved the pink and black. He is one good shot away from giving

himself a chance in this frame. He is imposing himself in this frame

but because the black is out of play, the numbers on the break have

been slow in coming. He is five in front. Still some awkward reds.

After Ryan played the last shot, he might have been resigned. He's had

his chances. I think Ryan will be very relieved.

If he gets over the line then he's got a day off to recoup and get

himself right for the next match. Not the easiest read along a cushion

here. That has probably landed in the

worst possible place for Ryan. The brown is behind the cue ball. Even

though he is on the wrong side of the blue, he could have played a

relatively straightforward pink into the corner. Either it is wrote the

blue in now, or try the red. Or at the yellow. He has elected the blue.

Still a bit of work to be done. Superb there, bearing in mind the

context. Not the ideal position, but the most

important thing was to get the red. Almost 22 minutes in this frame. He

has done it the hard way. He needs everything on the table to

force the respot. We have already had one match today going to a

re-spotted black. Could there be a second late into the night?

David Gilbert's expression told us everything we needed to know about

his feelings at the moment. A fairly long match. Almost two hours and 20

minutes. So, that said. David Gilbert and Ryan Day, having got so

close to a maiden ranking triumph last night, has twice come from

behind to beat David Gilbert, Ryan Day marches on. It has been a long

wait. It was a late cluster. A long drive from Preston today, I got back

about four o'clock. Luckily the match was delayed a little bit with

it not being it o'clock. I was just delighted to get the win and be in

the tournament. He is one of the biggest names in Welsh snooker, but

Matthew Stevens is already. Knocked out by Stuart Bingham of the former

champion and world number two going through with a 4-2 win. I settled

nicely. It gives me a bit of confidence I felt I could take the

chance when I got it. It was tough for both of us. Just one of those

things really. No problems for another Welshman. Dominic Dale is

through as well after a 4-0 whitewash over his Chinese opponent.

You're getting beyond round one for the first time in three years. 4-0,

couldn't be better. It didn't start the season too well in 2017, but to

come back and win 4-0, I'm delighted. I am looking forward to

my next match. A good memory for Page, whatever happened. It's to

round two after coming back from 3-1 down to beat Jason Weston 4-3. I got

over the line with the pink. I was really happy. I would 3-1 down, so

to come back in my first pro tournament and win, it is unreal.

That's just round-up if you were key results. Lee Walker is through after

his 4-2 win over Rhys Clark. Two others, Ian Preece and Jack Jones

are out. Ricky Walden, the Ward number 17, losing to Graeme Dott.

The 20 13th winner, Stephen Maguire, into round two. Along with world

number six John Murphy after an emphatic 4-0 win. Plenty of drama on

Day one. A former world champion knocked out, a 15-year-old wild card

through to round two and 12 Welsh players still in the competition.

Join us from one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, the big box office star

begins the defence of his Welsh Open title. We bring you Ronnie

O'Sullivan's first round match against Tom Ford and Mark Williams

nixes entry. Don't miss it. From all this on the programme, a very good

night. (Whatever happens,

stay close to me.) # Let me hear you scream

if you want some more... # # Watch me work it

I'm perfect... # Trouble with the genre nowadays,

too much murder, not enough mystery. Take a trip Inside No. 9,

the new series.