12/02/2013 Snooker: Welsh Open

Good evening. Welcome to the Newport Centre for more action from

the Welsh Open. This is a heavyweight clash tonight. Willie

Thorne is in the studio and we will get his thoughts on the place so

far. The best players have been booking their places in the last 16

at all day. Neil Robertson booked his place in the second round with

a convincing 4-1 win over Ian Burns. The Australian was not that pleased.

Typical first round match. You are feeling your way into the

tournament. I have been peaking too early in tournaments, and fading

towards the end, so maybe I can start playing well in the semis.

Mark Allen held off a spirited challenge from Marco Fu in a

scrappy encounter. I was a little bit edgy out there today. I played

OK. I did not feel quite comfortable. My form has been good.

Hopefully, the nerves have gone. 2011 runner up Steve Maguire not in

breaks of 89 and 100 in a 4-2 victory over Anthony Hamilton. He

was not getting carried away. feel as though my game is close to

being good. Close is not good enough for these tournaments.

Matthew Stevens continued his impressive form to become the first

Welshman into round two. He won the last three frames to defeat Liang

Wenbo. I have played him the last couple of years and he has won one

and I the other. I should have been 2-0 ahead. I lost that frame. I was

behind, I thought I did pretty well, digging in. It is a good evening to

Willie Thorne. You were commentating today. How would you

assess Matthew Stevens' game? has played better and established

himself as a top player. The best of seven frames is different. The

players want to get a good start. Some of them tried too hard.

Matthew is a class act and playing well enough to win the tournament.

Terry Griffiths was in the studio and he spoke about Matthew Stevens.

What puzzles is that he has so much potential and could have won more

titles. I listen to Terry suggesting that he does not

practise as well as other top players. What helps him is the PTCs,

they are playing match play snooker every week. Because he is playing

so much, he is playing well. I think he is waiting to happen and

he could win a tournament this year. Very interesting that he came into

the studio, acknowledging his problems. Missing a crucial pink in

frame three. They both missed a pink in the middle pocket. When you

play with any side on these tables, in the old days, side did not react

as much. If you do not hit centre ball, it will deviate. A little bit

of pressure, we saw Liang Wenbo, he was snatching a little bit. Winning

breeds confidence. They have confidence this season. Tonight, a

heavyweight clash with two former world champions and two former

Welsh Open champions. You never forget the first time you win as a

professional. It was at the Welsh Open in 1993, 20 years ago. I still

have the draw sheet in my snooker room. It is on the wall. That and

the World Championship are the only two I have. It is a good playing

arena. Some you walking and the tables do not play great, but here

the conditions are superb. That helps you. We have had great

battles. He is probably one of the best players I have played, himself,

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. He has a great knowledge

and he has a great character, with great determination. He has the

greater all-round game. He does everything right. You rarely see

him having a bad game. He gives 100%. They are the ingredients to

be a top player. Ken Doherty has been one of the best players I have

played a. A lot of people talk about the top four players in the

past 20 years. For me, he was always just coming up against maybe

myself in big finals, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Matthew Williams, and

although he won the first year, he lost finals, as well. He is a great

player and competitive. Maybe my best years are behind me. Every now

and again, sometimes you can spark a little bit and particularly in

matches like that. We are friends. We have had great battles on the

table. We hope another one, albeit a shorter match. He is someone I

enjoyed playing because we play a similar game. I am looking forward

similar game. I am looking forward to this. John Higgins has the upper

to this. John Higgins has the upper hand. We will join it in the first

WILLIE THORNE: He has had some running in this frame. But with

cueing, Ken Doherty is shaking his head. What am I supposed to do? All

Well played. That was a good shot. And he has the perfect angle to get

He did not want the kiss on the blue. You can hit this off one

He tried to put the cue ball behind the pink. He was not far away. This

is horrible. Trying to play the brown straight up and down and used

This frame has been scrappy but some of the safety play has been

beautiful. That was a lovely shot. Do you risk hitting this thinly

knowing it is bound to cannon into You would have to suggest that he

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were a potted the brown will win He played with the thin aside. He

did not go for that. He could play the brown up and down. Try to get

He hit that a little bit thin. He needed the brown to travel. John

That shot was made so difficult. That was because of the black. If

it had gone in, he was on the blue, but he has been fortunate to get

away with that. You would have to say the run of the balls is going

Heat a good chance, trying to hit it thicker to make sure he push the

brown on the cushion. -- he took a chance. This is a chance for Ken

He can drop it in and have the pink in the right corner. It will make

He will play the more difficult pink. You would expect him to pot

this. This has been one of the longest frames of the tournament so

That was scrappy. The safety play was superb. Ken Doherty comes

through and takes the frame. It was a good start. John Higgins

It did look for one minute like he was going to go straight through

the middle of them, land up didn't no man's land. He has had a little

flick of the red and pushed the other one out. He has a shot at

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That is an excellent shot. A little unlucky to have travelled towards

the baulk line, but the will is He is running out of loose reds now.

He can drop on the one on the left- He is just having a little look to

see whether he fancies it in the middle. If he doesn't, he will try

and screw back and get on the pink REFEREE: John Higgins, 16. Just

when you thought he was going to get into form in this match. Of the

two, Ken looks the stronger in this That is not the best shot Ken has a

He was a long way off with the pot. He thought the black was going to

come to save him there, but it slipped past, so John Higgins has

another opportunity to get back into this frame. I see an

opportunity, he has one red over the pocket, another two quite safe.

That is what he has tried, and he If he want to play the pot on the

green, he has the perfect angle to Just trying to do that and nudged,

he has not hit that very well at all. He is not at the races at the

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That second little kiss has left John Higgins and attempt. He can

play it with a lot of confidence, where the green is come and play it

That is more like it. Where is the cue ball going? It will go to the

only place on the table where he cannot pot the green? Really. --

I am not sure he can hit this slow enough to stay on the red. He has

to hit it very, very thin. He needs it slow enough to stay at this end

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That was a lot more difficult than it should have been for John. I

just can't believe what we're seeing at the moment. He is well

off his game. Isn't it funny, of all the top players, when John

Higgins struggles, he really struggles. He is not one of those

players who can just hang on. It is weird, John Higgins is either

brilliant or not so good. It is strange, I don't feel like he has

If he had hit that any harder it I feel, barring a miracle, once

The frame is nice and safe, Ken goes back to his chair. Ominous

signs for John Higgins, he has had a few chances but not taken them.

And let us show you what happened in the third frame. Ken Doherty is

at the table, trailing by 10, and Ken has certainly eat snookered

John, half ball, at least. He can swerve around this without any

Ken has a chance here, one good pot for a chance of pinching this frame,

as well. I reiterate, Ken's highest I cannot believe he has not gone

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for that. In this day and age, you Well, I just cannot believe that

John has played that that way come and I cannot believe Ken Doherty

has put him back. That was mid- table length, you would see it is a

good chance of potting that red. By John played it at full speed...

Bouquet, he has hit it this time, has he been lucky and got safe? He

has done. If we're being brutally honest, Ken Doherty probably

deserves that. The rule is designed so that, if someone does not make a

I do not particularly liked the rule myself. I think it is too

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Ken is certainly playing the better safety of the two at the moment,

but with him refusing that red a few shots on goal... Well, you do

not refuse this one. He needs to get on to a colour nicely and he

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This is virtually frame ball. If he pots this, green, brown, blue is

all he would need. You could see it all he would need. You could see it

happening. He has refused to get a grip on this match on a couple of

occasions when there were chances Considering Ken is 2-0 up, he has

That was terrible. I have not seen For it is amazing. Ken Doherty will

be kicking himself if he loses this John Higgins has not got control of

The way he is playing, this is not It struggled in and John Higgins

has yet to make a break above 30, but he has got himself back in the

but he has got himself back in the match. He still trails.

John Higgins capitalising on the missed green. Is the comeback on?

We can find out in the next frame. I bet he cannot wait to play the

shot with the way he has cued this afternoon! He might play the up and

down. That was fantastic. He cannot believe how well he cued that,

compared to how he has skewed the Now, suddenly, with a couple of

reds out and the black and pink out, if he can get to the one to the

right of the three, the next couple of shots... And it could have all

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This is the important shot. He feels the top red will pass into

the left-hand corner. If not, he has the perfect angle to pay the

cannon and that is what he has done and pretty well, as well. I go back

to the point when Ken Doherty was in front and refused to bring the

reds in play, and played negative. Sometimes you get what you deserve

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in this game and he deserves to Ken Doherty still has the green in

position. Where the yellow is at the moment it is almost possible to

get to the green. He is looking at the potting angle of the yellow. He

needs the cue ball to pass the pocket by two feet. And then to

have the chance to move the green Can he drop writing behind the

He has gone in-off with it. He would have been looking for the

chance to pinch this frame. It is all happening. Jan Verhaas went to

put the yellow on the green spot! Ken Doherty can roll this into the

left centre. We might see him That was such a great shot macro.

He had to play it with so much right-hand side. To complete change

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He has been put through the mill If the scores were closer he would

knock it up towards the green but he does not want to do that because

This is a chance to bring the green He was nowhere near the yellow, but

he moved the green. This is a chance for Ken Doherty. That was

unbelievable, how far he missed Eventually, he is going to take the

frame and he will be very relieved. I still think there is plenty of

snooker left in the match. Kentucky tea is not playing his normal

aggressive way at the moment, he is just trying to be too careful --

Even with that he was thinking I do not want to go and off. He knows

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that John Higgins will carry on. -- That was a well executed shot By

He snatched a little bit on that. He has given John Higgins a shot at

the brown. If he can pot these four balls and pinch the frame, it will

You can see how badly he is cueing. That was unbelievable how much she

It is so hard, when you are as good as John Higgins, to work out how

With that going in, barring snookers required, Ken Doherty will

take a 3-1 lead. And he did. He needs one more frame

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to get a place in the last 16. He Even though Ken is winning, you can

see he is not cueing great. It seems to be hard work getting the

cue ball moving, that is when you are just not timing it quite right.

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He could play for it in the middle, I am not 100% sure at the two reds

just below the pink quarter left corner. One of them does. If he can

get a on it he it will make life easier for him.

He can play a little cannon on it. People either pushed one of those

to the corner or be on the one you suggested. Any of the two reds to

That is the one, that opens the frame up, now he has a chance of

frame and match. That is what I mean about attacking shots when you

get in amongst the balls. You have to play to win the frame, and that

is the first aggressive shot he has played all match, and that deserve

to win the frame. That was This could be the last difficult

shot he has to play, because he is slightly hampered with that red

there. John Higgins can only look on, he knows that in a few minutes

he could be on that long drive up Two more reds and colours, Ken

Doherty could have an excellent He just about missed the kiss on

the two reds and the black. Probably a good idea to play for a

baulk collar, he only needs any Whenever you play at speed with

side, you can miss them. Play it plain ball, slow, and I am sure he

would have potted it. Once again, he played the negative way of

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You can see the red was not quite on, that is why he is playing the

cross double. He has been a bit lucky there might. Goodness me, if

You would have to say, even if John Higgins was to get a chance in this

frame, the way the balls are it is very unlikely he is going to do it

in one visit. He is going to need a Playing that way, he was always

going to cannoned the black there. He was trying to stun off the side

cushion for the black, but... It has been a strange match, this one,

And then he locked -- knocks in a lovely little dinky red like that.

Very strange. This could be one of those unusual locations where John

Higgins leads an angle on this red to bring a red into play, knowing

he could be on the black, as well. That is what he has done. It is

unusual in snooker, but sometimes you have to do it. As long as it

doesn't kiss it full ball or the white stops near the cushion, he is

OK. He did hit it full ball, but he Mind you, this is all you need when

you're not playing well. A little slow 1 down the cushion with the

rest. You are either in the match or out of it on this one short. --

Looks like he is out of it. Red, black, red to make absolutely

It is amazing, he even finished straight on that, saw weight now

know that John Higgins is going to He must be wondering what has

happened, he just has not played at all.

REFEREE: Ken Doherty, eight. Barring snookers, it will be Ken

Doherty who goes into the next Well, eventually that excellent

safety shot from Ken Doherty, they have a little laugh together. It is

not a classic, but Ken Doherty is in the next round, a 4-seagull

winner. The to is quite a long time since I a beaten him.

It is a nice victory, I nice -- I must say.

I always enjoyed playing those guys I grew up with, he is certainly one

of the best I have ever seen. It wasn't... It wasn't, you know, a

great open game. What do they expect from us two? We are two

great tacticians, great student of the game in lots of different ways,

particularly in the tactical side, so it is next to pit your wits

against someone like him, who added up to.

Ken is absolutely right, that is his first win over John Higgins

since 2008. We build this as a blockbuster, it kind of turned out

to be a B-movie, really. The thing is, Ken has not won a

match on television for quite sometime. Ken is one of the

greatest players of all time. Over the last three of three seasons he

has been struggling. You forget how to win and try to be too careful.

We saw lots of times during that match when he was trying not to

lose their game, playing negatively. Indus day and age, at the standard,

you cannot win playing like that. OK, Ken's won that match, but good

old father he will have to play happier. What a bag John Higgins?

Yesterday he was aggressive at the table. -- what about John Higgins'?

I think he is in the top two or three players of all time.

Sometimes, he gets into one of those moods. He can be unbelievable.

It is an age thing, I think. You get to a certain age, when you get

past the 35 mark, it can be tough to be consistent. He will still win

some tournaments, but Ken will have to be careful in the next round.

The that's look at the next matches. Sam Baird won his match against

Gerard Greene. The scored some cracking bricks, as well, 76 and 73

on his way to the final 16. -- some cracking breaks.

Death Gerard Greene had knocked Ali Carter out, he would have gyp --

won the German Open a few weeks ago. Passport to some Baird outside, he

was really nervous. Very briefly, giving what you have

seen so far, who is your money on? Or so far it has been unbelievable,

Mark Selby. That is it for tonight, get a