13/02/2013 Snooker: Welsh Open

Good evening and welcome back to the Newport centre. We have had

some great snooker and tonight Mark Williams takes on Robert Milkins.

What today we have had today. Judd Trump had a fright against

Dominic Dale. He was 3-1 down before coming back to seal a place

in the last 16. Five I thought I did good out there. Are probably

did better in the first game. -- I'd probably. For his safety was as

good as I have played against in a long time. Ding Junhui breezed into

the next round. He had two century breaks. Five I played well today. I

had a bit of luck. I am feeling always good. I always concentrate

and nothing changed. This afternoon world No. 1, UK and Masters

champion and for many people here the favourite to win the open, Mark

Selby, to, Joe Perry. -- took on Joe Perry. We joined the action in

Joe has the same scenario here. Two He has overhit that. It just pulled

Excellent shot. He refused the easiest reds because he knew that

if you went through the packs he will -- the pack he would be

bringing the reds interplay. -- This is a great chance. What a

further this would be, to beat Selby four-zero. -- a feather in

his cap. It was interesting thing here in the press conference about

whether Selby is upset about what has happened. He looked like a fish

He does not have the angle he wanted on the black. It looks a bit

awkward. It looks as if one of the reds would pot into the right

Joe Perry went to have a look if the other red to the side of the

That is a very, very good positional shot. You could play it

another 10 times and not get it wants. That could be the shot that

clinches it. He took his time to decide but he took a positive

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Is he on anything? The problem is, once you go into the packs and you

are not on a red for, if your opponent gets another chance, they

are all open. The black is a big -- a bit awkward with the red next to

If he gets on the next red, it is I know that Selby has lost a few

matches in his career to zero, but this is probably the worst

performance of his career. He has 59 on the table. Make sure of the

Well, this has been a super display, when you consider that Joe Perry

has not been in the best of form in the last couple of years. He is

number 17 in the world at the moment so he is getting back up

there but it has been a couple of years without seeing too much of

him on television. This will give It would be a nice way to finish,

Just a little short of pace so he is going to come in and out of

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Quite don't know where he is going to pot this one. -- I don't know. A

great effort. A very disappointing performance from Gerrah Selby but,

ever the gentleman, he so -- he congratulates Joe Perry. -- from

Mark Selby. The I have played in Germany recently but obviously it

is different playing on UK soil in front of BBC cameras.

I was pleased with the way I felt around the table. He is a player I

like playing because he plays a good all-round game. That is the

way I have always played my snooker. If I do play well I know I have a

decent chance of beating him. I played him last week in Germany and

he beat me, pretty ruthless! I am always up for the challenge against

players like him. 44 well-played, Joe Perry. That break up 111,

absolutely fantastic. What happened today? Darren Morgan and I will

watch him a practice tables during be frame breaks when Dominic Dale

was playing and Mark Selby was knocking in goals for fun. I would

not say that practice is meaningless but when you are out

there you are not so relaxed. It is another world out there and Joe

Perry played very solid today. He is an underrated player and Mark

Selby has been giving him compliments, saying what a good

player he is. In its own way, the pressure on Mark Selby, obviously

nobody expected Joe Perry to beat him 4-0, but when he went 2-2, 0 --

when he went to 2-0, but pressure was on him. What you can't make - -

what you can't do is make mistakes. If you do, -- if you died, I don't

care who you are, you will be difficult to beat. -- if you don't.

Another Welshman hoping to get into the last 16 is Mark Williams.

I played a lot better than I have done for the last three or four

months. I have been trying a couple of different things and hopefully I

can keep playing a lot better than I have been. I have been trying to

speed my pace of the bid, hit the ball a bit harder. -- speed might

pace up as a bit. I live only 25 minutes to go so I can sleep in my

own bed. But there is pressure when your family and friends come down.

I managed to scrape them in today and hopefully I can do the same

again. If something happens, if I get to the quarters on Thursday, I

might not be able to be present for the birth. We wish him and his

Welcome to this encounter between two excellent break-builders. Of

course, he has other things on his plate at the moment, his wife, Jo,

expecting their third child any day. I wonder how difficult it will be

for him to focus, against a difficult break-builder, Milkins, a

hard man to beat. How do you see this match going? It's a tricky for

Mark? It could be. He's a very capable player, as you have already

said. It could be tricky, Mark has spent most of the day in hospital

with his wife, Jo, who is expecting. She is booked into the hospital

tomorrow for the baby, that will be on the way. He has a nice early

We would like to wish him the very best, I am sure it will go smoothly.

It will be his third child. He hasn't had the best preparation for

this match, without making any excuses. It's going to be an

6 o'clock in the morning, I'm not sure that Mark knows that time

He left himself a little low on I always find Robert Milkins a bit

of an enigma. I used to practice with him in Gloucester. He would

moan and groan about the tip, the cue, lost his confidence. And then

he plays absolutely fantastic de well. -- fantastically well. A very

dangerous player, and I think very I don't think he was happy with the

contact. I think he thought he had a kick. Either that, or he was

playing for the half ball, the cannon on the red. As you can see,

it went past and missed. That has left him a little bit straighter on

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He has taken these very confidently. A little bit more pace, he needed

Unless he pulls one out of the bag at the end of this effort. It has

That was a good shot, he played that. Shot to nothing. If he gets

this shot right, and he has... Robert Milkins is in a bit of

trouble here. All seven reds are out in the open, in the middle of

the table. He has nothing to roll up to that is near a cushion rail.

If he could rest on the two wrists together, played with the right

You played a couple of these today, to perfection. Players always play

a little bit wide, with their first attempt. It's a bonus if they get

the right connection. As long as they are wide, making the new

calculation, he should be closer I'm not sure if he can get the

potting angle of this red. I think Robert Milkins is just about safe.

Mark court that one much too thickly. Obviously didn't intend to

cannon the pink. Left the cue ball in the middle of the table. An easy

They are very fast, these tables, this year. He judged that one very

Ominous beginning for Mark Williams. Just this black and one more red

required. But there is a long way to go yet. Mark Williams, I am sure,

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There is value in Mark can park. He wants two four point snookers. --

in Mark coming back. He just wants to win this frame, and even if he

does not achieve that, he will be looking to get a bit more time on

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the table to get his arm going. Get So, we will see him now trying to

take another red, another black would this red back up. He has left

that red on purpose, on the top cushion, for last. Pot the black

and then tried to take the red I'm saying that, looks like he's

That caught me out, I thought he was going to leave the red on the

table. As it happens, he has! He I think Mark is just about

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This could be one of the snookers A well, he has got one of them. All

of a sudden, this frame is very This looks good. If it's not a

snooker behind the blue, he may be That was a kick, it sounded heavy

to me. If at Mark can get this one remaining snooker, he would need

the black off the red to make a point. I don't think he'll have an

I think he played with a little bit of right-hand side, the angle of

the cue ball from the red to get behind that blue instead of kissing

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Well, the green hasn't gone in, but the earlier break of 50 is what is

winning this first frame in the end. Milkins takes a frame lead in this

best-of-seven match. Great start for Robert Milkins.

Let's bring you up-to-date with how the BetVictor Welsh Open 2013 looks.

So, eight you are right up to date with how the last 16 draw is

looking. Let's go back to Dominic and Darren as they prepare for

Mark certainly had a lot to think about in that first frame. A good

In practice, he would probably pot that, six times out of 10. Maybe a

couple less. But he curls that to He will not be pleased with the

results of that one. I am sure he feels he should have done better

But the double-kiss... Whereas the This has given Mark an opportunity.

He got kept out in the first frame. This is a great opportunity for

How many times have we seen that? Players going for the blue and

realising that they have got to play a baulk colour because they

He does not want to be too straight. Another kick have there. We have

seen a lot of kicks over the last couple of days. We have tried over

the years to find out why they Any ideas? Have they come up with

any scientific information? I think belong and the short of it is,

don't cure -- don't chalk your cue. It is the problem of stopping the

chalk adhering to the cue ball. That seems to be down to

atmospherics. When you get a bad kick, there is almost without

exception a spot of chalk on the object ball. After a kick, the

referee or a player will have a look at the ball to see if there is

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He has opened them up. He has made They don't come much better than

that. To be fair to him, it is a really good shot. He was hoping to

get the jaws with his last red. Star White is the main shot here,

with all of the bottom and side. -- the white ball. I think Robert said

to him, who do you think you are, Judd Trump? The judgment of the

shot was the back spin to get the cue ball on the back cushion. Off

for -- if he does not get right up behind the green or brown, he could

That was a clever shot from Mark. He has now put the yellow safe. He

will have to take at least four reds, four colours, to get on level

If he takes high value colours, concentrating on the blue and the

pink, because the blag is out of commission, he will not need the

yellow. -- the black is out of He will be disappointed at having

missed that. Of wonder whether he was trying to cannon the yellow. He

has not left the easiest read for What a great red. A good positional

shot now and this could be a frame when a. That is not what the doctor

ordered. That should have been You would not see a player of Mark

Williams' ability misjudge a shot like that so badly very often.

Another good pot from Robert. I think he knew that if he misted he

would certainly lose the frame. -- if he missed it. Robert Milkins

reminds me of Matthew. A very It has not slide it passed the blue.

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He is on the blue. That is looking A stun into the pink and hold and

that is a very good shot from Scene where the cue ball was then,

I have a feeling he is going to leave this until last. If he gets

on at half four, he can move the other. -- the yellow. He is not

going to get half ball on bat red from where he is at, he is a good

I think he has a slight angle but Just needed a bit of contact. He is

on the pink but it is more difficult than if he had caught the

I have to say, this is excellent He managed to play a perfect

positional shot to the last red and he got the cannon that he needed.

He just needs the brown now in addition to secured a lead of two

Robert Milkins, a fantastic 59, and he now leads 2-0. That frame over

in 30 minutes. Robert Milkins is a player you know well. How impressed

have you been denied? He has been doing very well. He is in the top

16 in the one-year list, the highest he has been for a number of

years. Very dangerous player. When he is hot he is one of those who is

very hot. What have you made of Mark's performance? He is playing

OK but he looks like a champion but is fighting the fading of a light.

He has had to face adversity in his career a few times, going back to

the qualifiers and back again. He came through that and he is a great

fighter, Mark Williams, and when he does this relaxing impression, he

is a killer. If I had to pick somebody to help me when I was in

trouble, to fight for me, he would be in the top three in snooker,

because he is a can -- a tremendous competitor. Let's have a look at

the key moment of the frame. He has pocketed the green and then he has

gone in-off. Fair play to Robert, he has capitalised on it. If you

look at the shot, the cue ball slides off at an unnatural angle.

He misjudged the throw of the first cushion. It cost 10 and out there

when your opponent is playing well that happens. Let's get back to the

live action. Robert Milkins has never beaten Mark Williams.

He has a great opportunity this evening. It's very important that

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he wins this third game to get a He hit it very thick. I don't think

he went for the pot. It wasn't far What has impressed me, with Robert

Milkins, is that over the years he has developed into an all-round

player. He's got a complete game now. A good long pot there, good

break-builder, very good safety player. In the early days, he used

to push the ball out a little bit. Used to like opening up and going

for his shots. So far, this has You have no doubt that he is, in

all likelihood, doing some work He's based at a snooker Academy not

It's good to have someone like Terry behind you. Terry would

insist on hard work. And I think he Look where the cue ball has

finished. If he pots this, he won't He hit it sufficiently thickly to

That's an absolutely great shot. About three or four inches short, a

great shot, but it must be Allah and the jaws of the middle pocket.

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-- it missed been yellow and the He's looking very fluent around the

He'll be disappointed if he does not go on and win the frame from

here. He's developed the reds, and I think he thought he had a bigger

He has been trying to get back into this match and get it wrapped up

with the win, or fiercely. -- He definitely thought he had a

He took his time, he was concentrating so much, when he was

pushing through, not to cannon into that pink. It's easy, once you have

hit the cue ball, to flick the ball that is closest to you. A well

What has he done there? He has done what I did against Judd Trump,

earlier. Left myself short on de He will be disappointed. It's a

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very useful contribution, Again, a very well played safety

shot. It's been a good performance, Just need another centimetre of

The cannon on the blue has given He had a massive kick that has

taken off the bottom side out of the cue ball. Another safety. You

can see the red, it has left the bed by a good inch. Well, half an

inch. Can't imagine he will go for the screen. It's going to be a good

safety. He's got a good lead. A lot of value in sticking under the

collar on one of the cushions. -- sticking on a colour or one of the

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That's a good reply. He has played the cannon into the black. That's

exactly where he has played to put There is a red to roll up to on the

cushion rail. Always much easier than when day I in the middle of

the table. -- when they are in the That is where we leave that match

for now. That's the end of the live coverage at the Newport Centre, the

BetVictor Welsh Open. Do join us for highlights of that match and