01/03/2014

:00:51. > :00:57.Good afternoon and a very happy Saint Davids Day to you. We've

:00:58. > :01:03.reached the semifinal stage here at the BetVictor Welsh Open and so

:01:04. > :01:06.we're down to one table. Four of the world's top players are still in

:01:07. > :01:11.with a shout of winning this prestigious title. Tonight we'll see

:01:12. > :01:15.the semifinal between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins but

:01:16. > :01:24.first, the first finalist will be decided as Joe Perry Plese Ding

:01:25. > :01:27.Junhui. It's the ultimate challenge. He's been breaking records left,

:01:28. > :01:36.right and centre. An absolute world-class player.

:01:37. > :01:44.I think he's playing better than the past few years. He has more

:01:45. > :01:51.confidence and, also, he wins more matches. He's getting better.

:01:52. > :01:57.Ding's cue ball control is probably the best in the game. He makes one -

:01:58. > :02:02.visit breaks time after time. If you don't get among the balls, he can do

:02:03. > :02:09.it game after game. Just make a break to kill the frame! I'm going

:02:10. > :02:15.to have to be at my absolute best to give him the game and hopefully I

:02:16. > :02:25.can produce it and get a win. I will keep my head still to win it. Here's

:02:26. > :02:27.how these two players compare. Ding has already won ten ranking titles,

:02:28. > :02:39.though he's only in his mid-20s. They've played each of eight times

:02:40. > :02:42.since their first meeting in 2004. Ding has won six, including the

:02:43. > :02:44.quarterfinal of the German Masters earlier this year. -- played each

:02:45. > :02:54.other. Dominic Dale is my guest. Joe Perry

:02:55. > :03:01.must be feeling so confident after dismantling Mark Selby last night.

:03:02. > :03:06.Yes, he's got nothing to lose now. It will bring a bit of pressure,

:03:07. > :03:09.maybe, to Joe but he did very well in beating Mark Selby last night and

:03:10. > :03:13.it was a comfortable victory so hopefully he'll be carrying a lot of

:03:14. > :03:18.confidence this afternoon. Perry has never been to a ranking final and

:03:19. > :03:23.this is very important because he is also battling to stay in the

:03:24. > :03:28.world's top 16. Yes but no matter what happens, he's acquitted himself

:03:29. > :03:31.very well. A semifinal at worst is a great achievement for Joe. He's

:03:32. > :03:36.proved himself the last couple of years. He's playing very consistent

:03:37. > :03:40.snooker and is fully deserving of his place in the world's top 16. If

:03:41. > :03:46.he can stay there, you'll be seeded automatically at the Crucible. A

:03:47. > :03:49.quick word about Ding - one of the players of the season and showed how

:03:50. > :03:55.well he is under pressure in the quarterfinal. Yes, that's just

:03:56. > :04:06.typical of him. When the chips are down, he brings his a grain -- his

:04:07. > :04:10.best game. Ding saw his opportunity and took it. Ding is deftly the

:04:11. > :04:13.favourite but Perry has already told us that he's not bothered about

:04:14. > :04:22.being the underdog. Time to get the players out. A great atmosphere that

:04:23. > :04:29.our first semifinal in Newport. First up, a man who has been superb

:04:30. > :04:32.so far. He beat Mark Selby last night. An Asian tour winner. Put

:04:33. > :04:47.your hands together for the 16th seeded player, Joe Perry.

:04:48. > :05:08.MUSIC: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

:05:09. > :05:15.And he's up against the man of the season. He has won four ranking

:05:16. > :05:21.titles already and is looking to make it five. We're about to find

:05:22. > :05:28.out. Please welcome the incredible Ding Junhui.

:05:29. > :06:03.A great reception for both players. Our first semifinal is due to get

:06:04. > :06:08.under way and your commentators for this match Willie Thorne and the

:06:09. > :06:12.1979 world champion Terry Griffiths. WILLIE THORNE: Thank you very much

:06:13. > :06:18.indeed. What an atmosphere. Good afternoon, everybody. We are looking

:06:19. > :06:28.forward to this one. The two winners from the quarterfinal yesterday.

:06:29. > :06:30.Perry played very well against a slightly out of four Mark Selby and

:06:31. > :06:38.thoroughly deserves his place in this semifinal.

:06:39. > :06:44.Both these players are exceptional break-builders. Ding might be the

:06:45. > :06:53.better in that department. APPLAUSE

:06:54. > :06:59.Its first to six, best of 11, so that does make a slight difference.

:07:00. > :07:06.You can afford a few more mistakes in the longer matches. The best of

:07:07. > :07:14.seven, as has been played up until the quarterfinals, there isn't much

:07:15. > :07:18.room for mistakes. It was nice to see Joel Walker come through from

:07:19. > :07:21.the qualifying school onto the tour and get to quarterfinal stage. A bit

:07:22. > :07:35.of an achievement, I must say. It just so is -- shows the system is

:07:36. > :08:22.right. To be honest, when he led 4-2,

:08:23. > :08:31.Joe Perry already had one semifinal this season in the international

:08:32. > :08:33.championships out in China. I'm not sure of the score but he lost the

:08:34. > :08:48.last frame. I think it was 9-8 Marco Fu lost to

:08:49. > :08:49.Ding in the final. Ding has already won three major ranking events this

:08:50. > :09:17.year. Ding is certainly one of the former

:09:18. > :09:26.men on the circuit with Ronnie O'Sullivan, at the moment. -- one of

:09:27. > :09:30.the in form men. Good players are capable of beating the top players,

:09:31. > :09:37.though, as Joe Perry showed yesterday against Mark Selby. He

:09:38. > :09:39.would be favourite at the bookies' but that is one way of putting

:09:40. > :10:14.pressure on the top seed. Doesn't have the perfect angle on

:10:15. > :10:16.the black but he could stun and try and get to the red on the opposite

:10:17. > :10:23.corner. If only one pots, he'll have to play

:10:24. > :10:37.it quite firm. Just off straight so he'll have to

:10:38. > :10:53.punch that a bit. He'd better hope they both pot in

:10:54. > :10:56.the middle could I don't think he's on the top red of the two. --

:10:57. > :11:12.because I don't think. It's always difficult in the first

:11:13. > :11:16.frame to get straight into your rhythm. He looks to have done so

:11:17. > :11:42.far. Could go into the pink and open them up.

:11:43. > :11:47.If he's not on anything he's very unlucky because that was a very

:11:48. > :11:50.confident shot and he did really well. Just the start Joe Perry was

:11:51. > :12:04.looking for. It's amazing, Terry, how sometimes

:12:05. > :12:12.you go straight into the pink and the pink stays exactly where it is

:12:13. > :12:35.and the red has spread. -- the reds spread.

:12:36. > :12:38.Do feel that Joe has got to take these chances today in the

:12:39. > :13:20.semifinal. All going nice and easy so far. Not

:13:21. > :13:36.difficult shots to play. And the that's art of good

:13:37. > :13:43.break-building - no difficult shots to play. This series of storms and

:13:44. > :13:49.screws as meant he hasn't gone up to baulk all throughout this break.

:13:50. > :13:50.He's got good control. Still a few reds away from making this frame

:13:51. > :14:08.safe. He obviously doesn't have the

:14:09. > :14:09.desired angle on the pink to come back for the two reds either side of

:14:10. > :14:18.the black. APPLAUSE

:14:19. > :15:17.Such an important shot, that one. A very impressive start. Does he

:15:18. > :15:22.have an angle on this red to bring it out for the black into the same

:15:23. > :15:26.pocket? He had a glance at the scoreboard. A slight angle could

:15:27. > :15:33.bounce it off the cushion. Needs to play it quite firm to avoid a kiss

:15:34. > :15:35.off the red. Well played. Very good shot.

:15:36. > :15:43.APPLAUSE A shame - just caught the red,

:15:44. > :16:01.didn't he? Just putting the yellow safe, so a

:16:02. > :16:27.very good break from Joe Perry. 59. But there's still 67 on.

:16:28. > :16:39.He wouldn't have wanted to put that read there. -- that red.

:16:40. > :17:06.It would have been very important to have plotted that blue because then

:17:07. > :17:10.Ding probably wouldn't have come back to the table. But now that he

:17:11. > :17:25.needs one snooker, he'll certainly carry on.

:17:26. > :17:28.So, barring snookers, Joe Perry will have taken this frame.

:17:29. > :18:54.APPLAUSE April effort from Ding. He hasn't

:18:55. > :20:03.really got started. Well, that's an indication of how

:20:04. > :20:09.well Joe Perry is cueing this afternoon. Couldn't have played that

:20:10. > :20:16.better. Two cushions and dropping nicely on this bottom red.

:20:17. > :20:23.Looking very well at ease with himself.

:20:24. > :20:30.Won't be too worried about that. Joe Perry takes that frame 76-0 to take

:20:31. > :20:39.the opening frame. A terrific start for Joe Perry.

:20:40. > :20:43.Dominic Dale has joined me in the studio. Joe Perry will be delighted

:20:44. > :20:49.with that. A superb, confident start. The perfect start. The

:20:50. > :20:52.underdog winning the first frame set things up nicely but Joe won't

:20:53. > :20:58.necessarily see himself as the underdog. He has a lot of experience

:20:59. > :21:02.and won a big PDC event a few months ago, which was the first title of

:21:03. > :21:09.his long career. Let's see if he can add his first-ever big ranking event

:21:10. > :21:15.to that. A good start for him. He potted a great opening red to start

:21:16. > :21:19.the game going. It was a cross between a middle distance and a

:21:20. > :21:22.long-distance pot but still a big confidence booster because went

:21:23. > :21:25.straight into the heart of the pocket and a 59 break came from

:21:26. > :21:30.that. That should have set his butterflies at ease. If he can make

:21:31. > :21:36.a good start, it will help him but Ding under pressure. Yes, in any

:21:37. > :21:38.sport you play, if you're the underdog playing somebody vastly

:21:39. > :21:43.more experienced, and a prolific title winner, you've got to keep the

:21:44. > :21:47.pressure on those guys and that's what Joe Perry has done. Ding will

:21:48. > :21:54.feel he's got to do something in the second frame otherwise he'll go 2 -0

:21:55. > :21:59.down and will be in trouble. There is the trophy as we prepare to get

:22:00. > :22:03.frame to under way. Joe Perry has made the best start but Ding Junhui

:22:04. > :22:08.has got a fantastic record this season - four world ranking

:22:09. > :22:12.tournaments. I read somewhere that he's won 38 of his 40 matches in

:22:13. > :22:22.ranking tournaments so far this season. What a record that is!

:22:23. > :22:33.TERRY GRIFFITHS: A very enthusiastic crowd in for

:22:34. > :22:47.today's semifinal. WILLIE THORNE: There's talk about it

:22:48. > :22:50.not being here next year but I'm sure the Newport Crown would prefer

:22:51. > :22:54.it to stay here. They looked after everybody very well here at the

:22:55. > :23:04.Newport Centre. A nice auditorium with the one table situation.

:23:05. > :23:12.Good attendances this year, as well, because it was four days

:23:13. > :23:17.longer this year with the qualifying. There were 300 or 400

:23:18. > :23:22.here at the morning sessions, which you don't get at other venues. Mind

:23:23. > :23:34.you, a few of them were sleeping here overnight, I think.

:23:35. > :23:48.Ding, along with Robertson, would be the world, and even though Robertson

:23:49. > :23:51.is seeded number one, you would have to say that we are blessed to have

:23:52. > :23:58.four great players in the semifinals. Perry and Barry Hawkins,

:23:59. > :24:02.who we'll see later this evening, are trying to make their major

:24:03. > :24:04.breakthrough even though they've both got to finals before and Barry

:24:05. > :24:27.Hawkins is a tournament winner. Ooh, he's made a mess of that! That

:24:28. > :24:30.is a poor shot from Ding. He was edging. He didn't want to come the

:24:31. > :24:35.other side of the red because he could have left an easy one into the

:24:36. > :24:36.black pocket. As it turns out, the red perhaps doesn't go into the

:24:37. > :24:49.centre. If Joe is thinking about taking the

:24:50. > :24:53.pot on, he wants to bring the white out. It looks as if it pots but he

:24:54. > :25:22.doesn't fancy it so he's having it replaced.

:25:23. > :25:33.I said earlier that he had won three events but he has actually won four.

:25:34. > :25:38.APPLAUSE Of course, Ronnie O'Sullivan seems

:25:39. > :25:42.in a great frame of mind and is definitely playing the best snooker

:25:43. > :25:45.of his life. Not entering all the tournaments on the tour, which suits

:25:46. > :25:48.him fine. He doesn't like going away from home for long spells. It seems

:25:49. > :25:59.to be working for him. If he wants to know about long

:26:00. > :26:04.spells away from home, he wants to have a chat with Ding. I don't know

:26:05. > :26:07.how long he's been living in this country now but most of the

:26:08. > :26:11.tournaments have been in the UK over the last ten years. Quite a few in

:26:12. > :26:19.China now as well, though. Six ranking events.

:26:20. > :26:26.What's it like travelling from Leicester, Willie? Difficult? Took

:26:27. > :26:34.me about an hour and three quarters to get here! An excellent safety

:26:35. > :26:44.shot from Ding there. Not easy to get back into the red that Joe is

:26:45. > :26:45.looking at on the cushion. If he plays it then, you get the

:26:46. > :28:58.double-kiss. Went into the pack quite nicely but

:28:59. > :29:12.does not appear to have done anything easy.

:29:13. > :29:23.Nothing at all there, is there? He may have to play a safety. The one

:29:24. > :29:31.to the left of the pink is very, very dangerous. He is just trying to

:29:32. > :29:37.get to the red on the right-hand side of the table. Very tight. It

:29:38. > :29:45.looks like comport that from that camera angle. -- looks like he can

:29:46. > :29:54.pot that. Took a risk, he appears to have got

:29:55. > :33:04.away with it. No value of taking the pot in the

:33:05. > :33:18.centre. It is tough, the one above the pink. He has to keep it tight.

:33:19. > :33:27.Perry dominated the first, Damon did not score a point, but Perry has not

:33:28. > :33:29.potted a ball for 11 and a half minutes. -- Ding did not score a

:33:30. > :34:10.point. Deep down this to try to get cue

:34:11. > :34:16.ball back to deep cushion. This is the kind of safety bout that does

:34:17. > :34:20.not inspire you because it is just the retaining shots, they are never

:34:21. > :34:25.going to trap there opponent, but Perry has played a good shot, forced

:34:26. > :34:28.Ding to just roll up to the ball. Kerry can then take control of the

:34:29. > :34:48.situation, or should do. -- Perry. He has to get the cue ball tight on

:34:49. > :34:53.this cushion. Eventually you can see one of the players taking a red on

:34:54. > :34:55.into one of the side pockets. That is why it is so important to get the

:34:56. > :35:21.cue ball tight The safety bout has been running for

:35:22. > :35:28.six and a half minutes and you feel either player if given the chance

:35:29. > :35:33.would take one on but they have both had a lean spell. I'm not sure you

:35:34. > :35:43.could get through to the one in the middle. If it does go in he would

:35:44. > :35:51.prefer not to get the white tight on the cushion.

:35:52. > :36:04.Very good. He needs the white to bounce. Well played. I would have

:36:05. > :36:08.liked the cue ball another inch up the table. He has to play this with

:36:09. > :36:20.a little bit of pace. About as good as he could have done,

:36:21. > :36:34.really. This is the type of shot that is not

:36:35. > :36:43.the easiest and it looks as if he This is the type of shot that is not

:36:44. > :36:53.if he does not get This is the type of shot that is not

:36:54. > :37:03.commit 100%. He just caught the near shore. -- jaw. It is Ding now who

:37:04. > :37:16.has the open reds. It was very hard to refuse the red

:37:17. > :37:21.in the middle because if it goes in you are likely to win the frame from

:37:22. > :37:27.it. As it hasn't, obviously Ding has a chance to score heavily. You

:37:28. > :37:30.almost expect him to make a sizeable rake from positions like this, he is

:37:31. > :37:47.one of the best break-builders I have ever seen. -- a sizeable break.

:37:48. > :38:01.His position play is superb. His stun play is so accurate. The last

:38:02. > :38:11.couple of seasons, once he gets in, he doesn't seem to miss. He was in

:38:12. > :38:20.all kinds of trouble against Joel Walker and then he just changed

:38:21. > :38:45.gear. Great players never get flustered when they are behind.

:38:46. > :38:53.Big breaks are normally made with a succession of easy shots. There is

:38:54. > :39:00.the odd player, Mark Williams is one, he was such a great potter he

:39:01. > :39:04.didn't really play a close position because he was so happy playing

:39:05. > :39:06.anything from anywhere. In his prime he was one of the best potters we

:39:07. > :39:19.have seen in the game. It has been nice to see Williams

:39:20. > :39:27.producing a bit of form in recent weeks. The match he lost, he will be

:39:28. > :39:36.disappointed, because he was quite a few points in front on a number of

:39:37. > :39:38.occasions and let the frame slip. I think there was another tournament

:39:39. > :39:44.left in Mark Williams. -- there is. He has slipped out of

:39:45. > :40:14.position here a bit. Do you see any weaknesses in Ding?

:40:15. > :40:15.You would have to say his slight weakness against

:40:16. > :40:23.You would have to say his slight game but I don't think there is any

:40:24. > :40:29.other shot he does not play well. Technically he has no weaknesses,

:40:30. > :40:37.his cue action is exactly how you would like any young player to

:40:38. > :40:46.copy. He repeats his rhythm all the time. He never pulls the queue back

:40:47. > :41:13.to far. If he gets on the next red, and gets

:41:14. > :41:19.onto the black, you would expect him to win the frame. If he gets on the

:41:20. > :41:25.red straight he should be nicely on the black and that will be end of

:41:26. > :41:29.frame. He decided to make something happen. And on first glance it has

:41:30. > :41:43.not. Yes, I think playing for the single

:41:44. > :41:53.red there was a possibility but you make your choices. Joe Perry will be

:41:54. > :42:28.very happy after he missed that read in the middle. -- that Reid.

:42:29. > :42:34.Good break, favourite to win the second frame, but only 25 points in

:42:35. > :43:33.front. He can get past the blue for that

:43:34. > :43:38.read into the corner. -- that red. He has done it again, put a red over

:43:39. > :43:49.the corner, but this time it is not an easy one. If the black goes in

:43:50. > :44:07.the opposite corner, it is not dead straight, Joe Perry will be

:44:08. > :44:11.You can force a slight angle off this kind of shot with power.

:44:12. > :44:49.Pockets are not easy. He lucks out. He should have got the

:44:50. > :44:58.pot. He will be reluctant to kiss into the two reds because they are

:44:59. > :44:59.safe. Now he can play the cannon. It is not bound to go right, especially

:45:00. > :45:32.if he hits them full-ball. Surprising, not playing the cannon

:45:33. > :45:35.there. Yes, the pace he had to hit the black that would have taken his

:45:36. > :46:21.focus away from the positional side.

:46:22. > :46:33.There is a slight chance of the cross double here.

:46:34. > :47:19.Does it or doesn't it? From the commentary position it looks like it

:47:20. > :47:40.would cut. He can't go off the back cushion because that is in the way.

:47:41. > :47:48.Without a full-ball case he is nowhere. He just held his hand up to

:47:49. > :47:50.Joe Perry to acknowledge that bit of good fortune because he was playing

:47:51. > :48:39.safe rather than to the brown. No heroics, he could have played

:48:40. > :48:45.that with a lot of side spin to get on the red, but that was all he

:48:46. > :49:16.needed. Barring snookers it will be one

:49:17. > :50:37.frame each. It will cut in but he will probably

:50:38. > :50:39.make sure it is favouring the thick side. He does not want to give any

:50:40. > :51:04.points away at this point. He has certainly not played safe

:51:05. > :51:08.well today, Ding, has not put Job in trouble once in these first couple

:51:09. > :51:57.of frames. -- Joe. This frame is going to be over 30

:51:58. > :52:16.minutes, which is quite long for these two.

:52:17. > :52:25.That is enough. Joe Perry stays in his chair. It is one frame each.

:52:26. > :52:32.All square in the first semifinal. The frame seemed to turn on a red

:52:33. > :52:40.that Perry had that could have gone either way. He got himself in with a

:52:41. > :52:45.good opportunity, potted a black, he left himself this tricky red on the

:52:46. > :52:51.right centre. On the other side there are a couple of loose threads

:52:52. > :52:57.waiting for Ding and Joe knew that if he missed he would leave Ding

:52:58. > :53:03.with a great scoring opportunity. He only got 25 but it got Ding going

:53:04. > :53:08.and he was able to win the frame. How do you go about calculating risk

:53:09. > :53:11.and reward on a shot like that? It was high risk, if it had gone in a

:53:12. > :53:17.wonderful opportunity to finish the frame. Sometimes you might not be

:53:18. > :53:24.feeling as confident as you would like but it is sport and in spooky

:53:25. > :53:30.you have to back yourself. -- in snooker. You have to be positive and

:53:31. > :53:36.go for a positive shot choice. That is what Joe did, he had to back

:53:37. > :53:39.himself to get it. If you are going to miss shots like that throughout a

:53:40. > :53:51.Mac you are probably not going to win it anyway. -- a match. As it was

:53:52. > :53:58.he missed it and Ding went on to win the frame. It is 1-1 and good for

:53:59. > :54:06.everyone, I suppose. What is your sense of the overall dynamic after

:54:07. > :54:12.these first two frames? That last one took over 30 minutes. They will

:54:13. > :54:17.be focused now, it is 1-1, let's see what happens. Still all to play for

:54:18. > :54:27.as we go into the third frame. WILLIE THORNE: I would definitely

:54:28. > :54:33.agree that they will be ready to play now. I am slightly disappointed

:54:34. > :54:39.in Ding, his safety has been very poor. If you keep playing safety

:54:40. > :56:39.poorly it can cost you. shot here and he should find the top

:56:40. > :56:47.cushion as long as he misses the yellow on the way back.

:56:48. > :56:55.That is the worst shot he has played today. Completely mishit it. I think

:56:56. > :57:39.he has covered the red with the blue.

:57:40. > :57:52.Tough to play for them blue here, he needed all but both blue. He needs

:57:53. > :58:08.the white to pull up, and he has done. Great pot.

:58:09. > :58:14.He's having a look around but it doesn't look like a pretty picture

:58:15. > :58:22.for him. A chance possibly to go for the two reds either side of the pink

:58:23. > :58:24.to bring them into play. But he played the brown so that shot wasn't

:58:25. > :58:37.on. I mentioned Joe's Achilles heel is

:58:38. > :58:45.on shots like this. He doesn't always get into the cue ball.

:58:46. > :58:50.Sounded good. It just pulled up enough. He can still play the cut in

:58:51. > :58:56.the middle if he wants and go straight for the pink. Not

:58:57. > :59:03.necessarily going to hit the pink because there are the three reds

:59:04. > :59:12.either side of the pink. I don't think he's on anything.

:59:13. > :59:19.Top one of that cluster will cut into the corner but the cue ball

:59:20. > :59:41.will be travelling between the two reds and the pink so that's risky.

:59:42. > :00:08.We always say it's a lot more difficult for these players to make

:00:09. > :00:14.bricks without the pink and black being in play and, actually, it's

:00:15. > :00:25.difficult to make breaks when they are in play. It shows the level of

:00:26. > :00:44.the players' skill. You forget sometimes that they are only human.

:00:45. > :00:55.They say that we're all the same inside and we all get wet in the

:00:56. > :01:03.rain. Another wonderful start from Mr Griffiths! -- statistic.

:01:04. > :01:12.He didn't play a good safety shot there.

:01:13. > :01:16.That's the first real mistake from Joe in the safety department. How

:01:17. > :01:52.costly is it likely to be? He's possibly got to try to stun

:01:53. > :02:54.between the reds and the black. He needs of the long rest here. I

:02:55. > :03:00.should say the extending long rest. Extension on the cue, as well. The

:03:01. > :03:06.blue part on the extension on his cue, that is where he can loosen it

:03:07. > :03:24.and extended the length if he needs it.

:03:25. > :04:12.Very handy, all this stuff. Makes it a lot easier.

:04:13. > :04:16.The old extensions used to wobble. You'd get them and they'd be so

:04:17. > :04:21.heavy they'd be bouncing up and down. You would have used them a lot

:04:22. > :04:31.more than me, Terry, because your position wasn't as good as mine!

:04:32. > :04:45.When you watch him in the balls, it's a good time to have a look at

:04:46. > :04:51.him. His backswing, when he comes back and pauses, the transition time

:04:52. > :04:57.from that to the forward swing is always the same. It's such a secret

:04:58. > :05:00.in good timing. He never seems to rush his deliveries and always

:05:01. > :05:05.complete the swing with the lengthy needs.

:05:06. > :06:32.Obviously felt the angle wasn't there to roll it in-off the cushion.

:06:33. > :06:40.If he overscrews that, he'll be on nothing. Or has he found another

:06:41. > :06:47.one? He just had a quick look in the middle. Just up from his cuff, he

:06:48. > :06:56.could finish there, but he should play for the one on the outside. He

:06:57. > :07:09.played for the gap! Has he got the gap? He certainly has!

:07:10. > :07:13.Not quite on, so he's playing the one he played for in the first

:07:14. > :07:23.place. If the difficult black goes in, he

:07:24. > :07:47.goes favoured to win the frame, but this is missable.

:07:48. > :07:50.Once again, having to get a bit of concentration on to the positional

:07:51. > :08:03.side of the shot. A really tough one here. Dead

:08:04. > :08:48.straight. APPLAUSE

:08:49. > :08:54.By far and away the highest break he's made in the match so far but

:08:55. > :08:59.you would expect that at some stage he's going to make 100, and you'd

:09:00. > :09:01.think Joe would, as well, but this appears to be the first chance to

:09:02. > :09:43.make a sizeable break in this match. I'm still amazed at how money

:09:44. > :09:50.centuries Neil Robertson has made this season. -- how many. To think

:09:51. > :10:05.that he could pass 100 centuries in one season is quite remarkable.

:10:06. > :10:13.Ding has made 48 this season so this is possibly 49 but he is still way

:10:14. > :10:19.behind Robertson and Ding has had a better season.

:10:20. > :10:23.APPLAUSE In cue ball control, he's just a

:10:24. > :10:24.fraction better than Robertson but Robertson is probably a better

:10:25. > :10:39.potter. I think Neil Robertson's temperament

:10:40. > :10:43.is slightly better banking's. Sometimes Ding sits in his chair and

:10:44. > :10:47.looks like the world's come to an end sometimes. -- slightly better

:10:48. > :11:40.than doing-- Ding's. APPLAUSE

:11:41. > :11:43.Excellent! Apart from one shot where he played that difficult read and

:11:44. > :11:50.lost position, everything else has been perfect. -- that difficult red.

:11:51. > :12:31.Century 349 in his career, 49 this season.

:12:32. > :12:39.What a shame. No complete clearance but a break of 114 is the highest of

:12:40. > :12:47.the match so far and takes him 2-1 in front. This all came from a poor

:12:48. > :12:50.safety shot. Joe has won the safety battle throughout these three

:12:51. > :12:59.frames. You think that's strange when you consider that he's too one

:13:00. > :13:03.behind -- 2-1 behind. But he got the jaws on the bottom right-hand pocket

:13:04. > :13:09.and the white came across the cushion and left Ding dead straight.

:13:10. > :13:19.He played a real good power shot, didn't he? You said at the time how

:13:20. > :13:23.well he'd time the screw shot. Yes, with screw back shots, the players

:13:24. > :13:28.always try to hit it too hard. The harder you hit the screw shot, the

:13:29. > :13:35.more time it takes to climb backwards. Here is a safety shot.

:13:36. > :13:41.Joe is normally very consistent. Still not a great opening.

:13:42. > :13:47.When we talk about timing on the screw shot is, sometimes the softer

:13:48. > :13:52.you hit them you don't expect the screw, but is it all about the

:13:53. > :14:00.follow-through? Well, no, you've got to have the follow-through otherwise

:14:01. > :14:04.you go straight in the cue ball. But timing of the speed when the cue

:14:05. > :14:08.start off and finishes... It's got to be faster as it is going through

:14:09. > :14:37.the ball, obviously. It was a perfect example.

:14:38. > :14:45.Amazing how long you can get spells in your chair not potting balls. The

:14:46. > :14:52.best was the world doubles. Remember the world doubles? You may not have

:14:53. > :14:55.had a pot to go for for about three quarters of an hour. Your partner is

:14:56. > :15:09.potting all the balls. APPLAUSE

:15:10. > :15:14.Once again, a lot of movement with the cue ball therefore the amount of

:15:15. > :15:19.effort he put into it. It helps is next positional spot. No worries

:15:20. > :16:13.about his potting the brown. A fraction too hard this time. Could

:16:14. > :16:22.go into the pack if he wanted to the yellow but there is loose red. He

:16:23. > :16:29.can't guarantee getting onto it. He doesn't necessarily want to generate

:16:30. > :16:40.lots of speed. Needs to catch one of the reds half ball otherwise it will

:16:41. > :16:43.stick. You can see how tight the reds were. They were never going to

:16:44. > :16:49.split nicely unless he caught one exactly half ball. Pretty good

:16:50. > :16:55.attempt, though, isn't it? A fraction under lucky. Hard to

:16:56. > :16:58.generate the speed. If he'd been a couple of inches further down the

:16:59. > :17:50.table, it would have generated the speed.

:17:51. > :18:02.We've seen him catch the pack a few times. You lose a bit of feel and

:18:03. > :18:24.touch. I think that's the first time in the

:18:25. > :18:26.match he's found the top cushion. It has been difficult this week. The

:18:27. > :18:30.back cushion has been bouncing quite a bit. Not easy to play a perfect

:18:31. > :18:53.safety shot. No safety on. You can see a red, of

:18:54. > :18:58.course. Almost dead straight so if he gets it, it's not going to be an

:18:59. > :19:02.easy shot. A bit more of an angle would be easier.

:19:03. > :19:16.Your always petrified not to get that double-kiss. If it's not going

:19:17. > :19:25.to can the other red that's to the right little bit, he'll play it. --

:19:26. > :19:28.cannon. Playing this game a lot more aggressive now. I don't think he's

:19:29. > :19:33.ever been defensive but since he's had a wonderful run this season in

:19:34. > :19:38.the tournaments, a little bit more confidence and belief. He's had

:19:39. > :19:44.evidence he's playing well, even under extreme pressure. It all

:19:45. > :19:54.helps. He's obviously got the case on that second read, which takes the

:19:55. > :20:00.time. -- got the case. Playing a bit more aggressively. Playing is done

:20:01. > :20:08.to leave the white on the jaws of the middle pocket. A lot more

:20:09. > :20:13.difficult playing with screw on that than it would be to run it in but

:20:14. > :20:25.right into the heart of the pocket. A dangerous side to Joe Perry.

:20:26. > :20:33.Everything is looking a little easier for doing at the moment and

:20:34. > :20:46.all shots are coming the same to him, difficult or not.

:20:47. > :20:56.We say every year, do you think it's about time Ding won the World

:20:57. > :21:01.Championships? This year more than ever but I suppose that raises the

:21:02. > :21:08.expectation is not just for doing but for his millions of followers in

:21:09. > :21:16.China. -- the expectations, not just for Ding. It would be hard to see

:21:17. > :21:23.this young man not winning it one time or another. Ding hasn't even

:21:24. > :21:29.got to finals of the World Championships and he's been based in

:21:30. > :21:35.Sheffield for quite a number of years. His hometown, so to speak.

:21:36. > :21:40.Jimmy White had six finals, didn't he and had plenty of chances, but

:21:41. > :21:47.once you've lost two or three, I should think it gets a lot harder.

:21:48. > :21:53.Slightly overscrewed that. The cue ball has gone perilously close. If

:21:54. > :21:59.you can roll it in and get on a red, he'll have to make something happen.

:22:00. > :22:05.If he just rolls it in, he can't make it slow enough. He'd love to be

:22:06. > :22:09.able to dig down onto the cue ball and pay the cannon on the two reds

:22:10. > :22:21.to the side of the pink but that's not on. He may have to play off the

:22:22. > :22:40.cushion. He could dislodge a few reds. It's not ideal.

:22:41. > :22:49.Not sure about that one. He's left a red in the middle. Has he got any

:22:50. > :22:53.angle to get onto a colour? It was difficult playing the role in. If he

:22:54. > :22:56.can run through, he's done pretty well to get the position. Very

:22:57. > :23:08.difficult to do so. The fact

:23:09. > :23:11.spot helps here. Could go straight up and down off the brown spot and

:23:12. > :23:17.almost over the brown spot again and break these reds interplay. -- into

:23:18. > :23:28.play. Let's see if he plays the aggressive

:23:29. > :23:36.shot and tries to bring reds into play. Not too aggressive. Just

:23:37. > :23:37.brought one interplay and if the kiss goes right, this could be

:23:38. > :24:12.perfect. And it hasn't. He's having a good look at this to

:24:13. > :24:25.see if he can get to the potting angle. The first read of the two --

:24:26. > :24:26.red of the two, nearest to Ding, is closest to the potting angle. He's

:24:27. > :24:32.had a good look. He was perfectly on the pink and

:24:33. > :24:58.wasn't leaving the red on there. It's an exhibition of potting and

:24:59. > :25:19.positional play here. I'm sure when Joe saw where the

:25:20. > :25:24.white finished their, he thought, " oh, that's handy. Ding is going to

:25:25. > :25:35.have to play a difficult shot there" .

:25:36. > :25:51.Just seeing where he needs to leave the cue ball.

:25:52. > :25:58.You can see with the angle, he's going to be kissing into reds.

:25:59. > :26:07.Luckily, both pink and black are available so, whatever kiss he gets,

:26:08. > :26:16.it would be an unlucky not to get on a colour. He's still a bit tight.

:26:17. > :26:19.His hand is a long way from the cue ball.

:26:20. > :26:45.He's asking the referee to clean the cue ball. Didn't like the contacts

:26:46. > :26:57.he got then. I think this is Joe's last chance in

:26:58. > :26:59.this frame. If the pink goes in, it will be perfect for the red above

:27:00. > :27:08.the black. APPLAUSE

:27:09. > :27:15.Joe's last hope in this frame before the mid-session interval. One more

:27:16. > :27:19.red needed. He could go for yellow or blue or maybe even the green to

:27:20. > :27:27.make sure he can get on the red nearest the cue ball. Oh, wow!

:27:28. > :27:30.Didn't see that one coming! Joe is still in this frame. Good break,

:27:31. > :27:37.though. 47. APPLAUSE

:27:38. > :27:42.Joe Perry's been given a chance ear but he hasn't parted a ball for just

:27:43. > :27:47.over 27 minutes and this isn't the type of shot that he would like to

:27:48. > :27:54.face after being in the chair for a long time. He looked comfortable

:27:55. > :28:00.enough in the chair but was his mind at peace?

:28:01. > :28:11.Well done, son. APPLAUSE

:28:12. > :28:22.He may decide to play the risk here and play into the three reds.

:28:23. > :28:29.It's on the one in the middle, so not too bad. He could maybe screw

:28:30. > :28:38.that for the pink and a chance to pinch the frame.

:28:39. > :28:45.APPLAUSE. He didn't pot it clean. If he had,

:28:46. > :28:50.the cue ball would have been two and three inches further at this end of

:28:51. > :28:52.the table and nicely on the blue. He will have to probably play two

:28:53. > :29:03.cushions to get on to the two reds. Just a fraction too far to make it

:29:04. > :29:22.easy. Playing off two cushions here.

:29:23. > :29:33.Pretty good stuff. It is a big frame for Joe Perry now.

:29:34. > :29:37.You have to say that Joe is now the favourite to pinch this frame.

:29:38. > :30:01.The blues will be the key ball. It's amazing what happens in

:30:02. > :30:04.snooker. If Joe Perry does not win this frame, he will be really

:30:05. > :30:08.disappointed. If this frame, he will be really

:30:09. > :30:27.up, it would not be so bad. He can get all of these. It will

:30:28. > :30:29.give Ding something to think about. Without a doubt. Joe will be

:30:30. > :31:33.delighted of the two. He decided to play the cut along. It

:31:34. > :31:36.wouldn't have been my choice. But this could abframe-winner if it

:31:37. > :31:48.goes in. That's why, if Joe had

:31:49. > :32:02.Oh, so close! That's why, if Joe had

:32:03. > :32:05.he would have finished on the cushion, then could play the brown

:32:06. > :32:07.at weight. I think that the green was a little

:32:08. > :32:35.too straight. Ding has been in control for the

:32:36. > :32:47.last frame-and-a-half. It looks like there could abframe slipping away

:32:48. > :32:55.from him. -- could be a frame.

:32:56. > :33:01.He will be happy, though. 16 points in front. Joe Perry will

:33:02. > :33:33.have a job to keep the pink out of the pocket.

:33:34. > :33:37.I was saying earlier, I would love to see the statistics of players

:33:38. > :33:45.that are safe in the frame, how many that are safe in the frame, how many

:33:46. > :33:51.times they miss a pot to clinch it. He has not hit that one.

:33:52. > :34:14.Trying to get to the other side of the black.

:34:15. > :34:23.Another one! Amazing. The two pinks he missed, if he needed them to win

:34:24. > :34:28.the frame, he would have definitely have potted them.

:34:29. > :34:52.Terrible position for the black for Joe Perry to play snooker behind.

:34:53. > :35:01.That was the most difficult pot for the pink and he's made it. Now Ding

:35:02. > :35:06.is leading by 3-1. Well, it is a fascinating four-frame

:35:07. > :35:12.there, but Ding goes into the interval with a 3-1 lead. Almost a

:35:13. > :35:16.great first-time buyer from Joe Perry. He had been so sat on his

:35:17. > :35:21.seat for a while, more than 20 minutes without potting a ball, but

:35:22. > :35:24.it came down to the crucial brown as he tried to clear up to win the

:35:25. > :35:26.frame. Sometimes you take the browns on

:35:27. > :35:29.because you think that you Sometimes you take the browns on

:35:30. > :35:32.but this was a tough round. Sometimes you take the browns on

:35:33. > :35:36.a big angle on it, you have to roll Sometimes you take the browns on

:35:37. > :35:41.it. A lot of pressure on him there. He knows if it goes in, it could be

:35:42. > :35:46.2-2, but do you play a good safety shot? Would you have taken it on?

:35:47. > :35:49.Personally, I might have thought a bit more about not taking that on. I

:35:50. > :35:53.could have played a killing safety from there. I would have backed

:35:54. > :35:59.myself to play a very, very good safety and thinking if I am John

:36:00. > :36:06.Dingell, would I like to -- I if am Ding, would I like to come back to

:36:07. > :36:11.the table, but I thought the safety shot would be better. There are all

:36:12. > :36:15.kinds of pots on a snooker table you can have, that would be easier on

:36:16. > :36:21.that one. That was a lot of pressure on Joe. Do you think it is a fair

:36:22. > :36:25.reflection that two-frame advantage for Ding with the snooker you have

:36:26. > :36:31.seen this afternoon? He is starting to look very, very good.

:36:32. > :36:36.He is beginning to get in the focus, in the zone, as anyone says in

:36:37. > :36:43.sport. He makes the game look easy when he is playing well. He does not

:36:44. > :36:48.make a lot of mistakes, he does not make the key ball travel. Joe is a

:36:49. > :36:53.great player, he knows what he has to do after the interval.

:36:54. > :36:59.Ding has joined us in the practise room now to ensure he retains his

:37:00. > :37:05.focus in the next 20 minutes. While he is having a practise, we are to

:37:06. > :37:10.talk about the semi-final tonight between Barry Hawkins and Ronnie

:37:11. > :37:12.O'Sullivan. A repeat of the championship final that Ronnie

:37:13. > :37:18.O'Sullivan won in 2012. You championship final that Ronnie

:37:19. > :37:24.that tonight. Now, Ronnie O'Sullivan really is one of the all-time

:37:25. > :37:30.greats. A genius with the snooker cue, but he has had demons over the

:37:31. > :37:35.years as well, but he seems to have found salvation in the sport of long

:37:36. > :37:39.running. It is really important. So much so, he has been out running in

:37:40. > :37:42.the hills of Newport this week. Without it, he says, he may have

:37:43. > :37:58.left snooker all together. There is always pressure on me to do

:37:59. > :38:05.well. I learned to play with that type of pressure, if you like, ever

:38:06. > :38:10.since I was a junior. I was used to winning tournaments.

:38:11. > :38:15.If anything, winning a tournament was a relief at the end of it. You

:38:16. > :38:20.were on a come down. Everyone excited, you have won the World

:38:21. > :38:29.Championships, I was like, thank God that is over. When I turn up to a

:38:30. > :38:37.race with my ?80 vouchers, I was buzzing. I loved it. In my first

:38:38. > :38:42.race I came 200th, six years on, I won it. I was chuffed with myself.

:38:43. > :38:48.So I got more sense of achievement out of the running than snooker.

:38:49. > :38:54.Snooker, if I didn't win, it was seen as I had not fulfilled my true

:38:55. > :38:58.potential or everyone else's expectations in my. -- me. I got

:38:59. > :39:02.more satisfaction out of running and doing a good race than I have

:39:03. > :39:04.more satisfaction out of running and out of my snooker.

:39:05. > :39:12.more satisfaction out of running and # Hit the ground running,

:39:13. > :39:17.# Running. I used to get miserable when I left home because of my

:39:18. > :39:23.running. I would connect my running with the clubs and the tournaments,

:39:24. > :39:28.so in a way, the snooker and the tournaments became a chance of

:39:29. > :39:35.exploring them. So the snooker became a hobby for me. As long as I

:39:36. > :39:42.had the running kit, I take the cue but the running came first, but it

:39:43. > :39:45.got me to the snooker tournaments in a way.

:39:46. > :39:52.When playing at the top level, if you don't perform, a top player will

:39:53. > :39:58.take you out, I don't care if it is Usain Bolt or Tiger Woods. If Usain

:39:59. > :40:04.Bolt does not run 9. 6, they are still running 9. 7. So, they could

:40:05. > :40:08.be coming second. You still have to go out there and produce the goods.

:40:09. > :40:13.Fascinating. And Ronnie O'Sullivan has been out running in Newport in

:40:14. > :40:18.the hills, he has been asking if there are any good fell or mountain

:40:19. > :40:23.races to take part in. He really does love his running. I wonder how

:40:24. > :40:28.important is fitness to a snooker player? An interesting question. If

:40:29. > :40:34.you go back three or four years or more, when we had eight, nine, 10,

:40:35. > :40:39.11 tournaments in a season, that was not so many. There would be a month

:40:40. > :40:45.off between the tournaments. Lots of time to recover, but now in the days

:40:46. > :40:46.of so much travelling, 20-odd tournaments a season, you will have

:40:47. > :40:51.a lot of tough matches. If you're tournaments a season, you will have

:40:52. > :40:56.not fit, you will not recover from those as well as somebody like

:40:57. > :41:03.Ronnie who is super fit. It take as lot out of you. It takes a lot of

:41:04. > :41:08.concentration. If you are ily bodily fit, it is important. I know that

:41:09. > :41:13.Ronnie keeps fit and does a lot of competitions. I believe he has found

:41:14. > :41:18.a competition somewhere in Newport and he is running in it in Newport

:41:19. > :41:22.this morning. That will be terrific. Lovely to

:41:23. > :41:27.hear about later on. Of course, that is the mental side. I was laughed at

:41:28. > :41:31.this week, when I asked if there was a physiotherapist that follows the

:41:32. > :41:35.players around on the tour. The reason I asked that, you remember

:41:36. > :41:38.the defending champion, Stephen Maguire was struggling at the start

:41:39. > :41:43.of the tournament to get down on to the shots as he had a bad back. It

:41:44. > :41:49.seemed to be affecting him badly in play. So I am wondering how

:41:50. > :41:55.important is it to be physically strong? If your body is thrown off,

:41:56. > :42:00.it can affect how well you play? Yes, co-ordination, balance. If you

:42:01. > :42:05.think about it, starting off as a youngster, six, seven years old, if

:42:06. > :42:09.you are practises five or six hours a day and playing in competitions,

:42:10. > :42:14.that is a terrific amount of stress over a long number of years on your

:42:15. > :42:17.body. If we stretch out in a position here, there is stress on

:42:18. > :42:22.the neck. You are pressing down all the time, day in, day out on the

:42:23. > :42:29.hand here it affects your balance. You have issues with your neck, with

:42:30. > :42:35.your back. I did martial arts for three or four years, I am supple, I

:42:36. > :42:40.have not had a problem with my back or neck but many, many players who

:42:41. > :42:44.have been around a long time, they are having issues. It just shows you

:42:45. > :42:51.have to be fit. And snooker, a much more fiscal

:42:52. > :42:55.sport than you may think -- physical.

:42:56. > :42:57.Now, to the match tonight. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins. Here

:42:58. > :43:19.are the statistics: Hawkins won the Australian Open.

:43:20. > :43:23.Hawkins has only won one of the seven meetings. How he would love to

:43:24. > :43:29.do it again tonight against the reigning world champion.

:43:30. > :43:34.Barry is a top quality player. He made it to the finals last year. He

:43:35. > :43:38.had a brilliant season lass year. He has followed it up this year with

:43:39. > :43:42.really good results. It is great to anybody the latter

:43:43. > :43:48.stages again. That is what I want to do. It is what I have been trying to

:43:49. > :43:52.work towards for most of my career, to keep threatening to win the

:43:53. > :43:56.tournaments. If I keep knocking on the door, hopefully it will open one

:43:57. > :44:01.day. He is a top eight player now. One of

:44:02. > :44:07.the dangermen on the circuit. He is the type of player, whether you meet

:44:08. > :44:12.him, anywhere you meet Barry, he is a tough player. A top player. I have

:44:13. > :44:17.to be on my game to give him a good game, but I have to really try my

:44:18. > :44:21.best. I like to treat it like any other game, really. I know what to

:44:22. > :44:26.expect. I know that I have to be at the top of my game to have a chance

:44:27. > :44:31.of winning. Obviously, he is deadly when he gets flowing. I just need to

:44:32. > :44:37.be on top of my game and to try to take every chance that I can.

:44:38. > :44:42.It will be a tough match for me, but I'm pleased to be in the semis. If I

:44:43. > :44:50.can play some good stuff, hopefully I can give a good game.

:44:51. > :44:55.If I beat Ronnie to come through a tough draw like that, to win it and

:44:56. > :45:00.to pick up the trophy, it would be a dream come true. That is what we

:45:01. > :45:03.play for. To try to pick up the trophies and any time you get a win,

:45:04. > :45:10.it is fantastic. In the public consciousness, Barry

:45:11. > :45:14.Hawkins will barely register compared to Ronnie O'Sullivan, but

:45:15. > :45:20.Hawkins is a terrific player and vastly improved as well? Definitely.

:45:21. > :45:26.I remember practising against Barry. He got to the finals against Ronnie.

:45:27. > :45:31.I was playing well. He beat me 10-4, 10-5. I thought he had really

:45:32. > :45:35.stepped up his form. That is how good Barry can be. I am no mug

:45:36. > :45:40.myself. If somebody can outplay me and I can't get near them, they have

:45:41. > :45:45.to be a great player, believe me. And Barry is a great player. Not

:45:46. > :45:51.only that, he is well entrenched in the world's top 16. He believes he

:45:52. > :45:57.can beat anybody, you can't unless you believe you can beat the top 16

:45:58. > :46:02.and have done. Barry has nothing to lose tonight. He knows he is the

:46:03. > :46:05.underdog but he will be out to do a job on Ronnie O'Sullivan, bow, of

:46:06. > :46:10.course, Ronnie will be the favourite.

:46:11. > :46:17.Now back to the first semi-final in Newport. We left it with Ding

:46:18. > :46:21.leading 3-1 against Joe Perry at the mid-session. Ding has had an

:46:22. > :46:25.incredible season, winning four ranking titles this season. He has

:46:26. > :46:39.been producing perfect performances. He has been talking about who else

:46:40. > :46:48.he admires on the current circuit. Robertson, skrakson, the best.

:46:49. > :46:53.-- Jackon, the best. When he hits, he hardly moves his body. He keeps

:46:54. > :46:59.so still. Yes, he is good. Ronnie, he is not just potting the balls, I

:47:00. > :47:10.feel that he understands the balls. He knows how to make it easy.

:47:11. > :47:22.Long potting, Judd Trump. Me!

:47:23. > :47:32.Steve Davis. I think I would play him a few times, and he would not

:47:33. > :47:38.make many breaks. He is big trouble in the safety for me. Dominic Dale.

:47:39. > :47:51.He is always smiling. I don't know what he is thinking! Cue power, that

:47:52. > :48:05.is Judd. He likes to smash the ball. Jimmy White.

:48:06. > :48:15.John Higgins. Hard snook? Well, that is everybody.

:48:16. > :48:25.I think Stephen Hendry. Yes, I think John Higgins. He is the

:48:26. > :48:41.best. Well, Ding, he is one of the coolest

:48:42. > :48:52.players around. Dom, you must be flattered to say he likes your

:48:53. > :48:58.temperament? Yes, he is a bit tongue in cheek! I have a good temperament.

:48:59. > :49:05.You have to have it and it comes into play when you need it. There

:49:06. > :49:09.are many but my favourite was Paul Hunter, but Ding had a smile on his

:49:10. > :49:15.face when he mentioned my name, so I don't know how serious he was! Ding

:49:16. > :49:26.has had a superb season. A really terrific player. Win Winning 38 out

:49:27. > :49:31.of 40 matches. An awesome record. Obviously he is a great player. He

:49:32. > :49:37.has won four ranking events. No-one has done that since Stephen Hendry

:49:38. > :49:41.started to dominate the snooker. Who knows, he could win a fifth one here

:49:42. > :49:47.easily. It is a great thing to have that level of consistency in today's

:49:48. > :50:00.game when the levels are so high. So, that is Ding and now we are back

:50:01. > :50:04.to Joe Perry. Gentleman, Joe Perry. What a good

:50:05. > :50:10.player. A great potter. As we have said, you have to hit the ball where

:50:11. > :50:16.you are aiming it. It sounds simple but he has a good technique. Pushing

:50:17. > :50:22.the cue through straight. Not everyone recognises as Joe Perry as

:50:23. > :50:25.a great game better, but he is a great builder.

:50:26. > :50:29.Joe sometimes beats himself up a little on the snooker table. That

:50:30. > :50:35.tells you that his temperament is suspect. That is something he can

:50:36. > :50:39.work on. He is such a nice lad. He practises are lot with Neil

:50:40. > :50:43.Robertson. I remember seeing Joe before he turned professional, he

:50:44. > :50:47.looked like an ordinary club player, but what a transformation he has

:50:48. > :50:51.made in the game of snooker. He deserves everything he gets. He is

:50:52. > :50:55.one of the hardest workers in the game.

:50:56. > :51:00.The problem with Joe, he gets on top of himself. It affects his

:51:01. > :51:04.technique. He is playing well one minute, a little bad run, it is like

:51:05. > :51:09.the world is against him. Then he comes to the table without the same

:51:10. > :51:13.smooth technique. He has to put it all aside and concentrate when he

:51:14. > :51:17.comes to the table, that is his stage and just play to your best

:51:18. > :51:21.ability. Forget what has gone before. Sometimes when he is playing

:51:22. > :51:25.well, he can beat anybody in the world, but he has strange matches

:51:26. > :51:31.where he is not always in control of his emotions. I think that Joe Perry

:51:32. > :51:35.can definitely win a few more tournaments, good enough to win a

:51:36. > :51:40.lot more and soon he will get his first ranking title.

:51:41. > :51:46.So, that is Joe Perry. A very popular man on the circuit, but he

:51:47. > :51:53.has his work cut out here. He is trailing 3-1 to Ding.

:51:54. > :51:59.The players are heading back out to the arena. It is the best of 11. Six

:52:00. > :52:06.frames is needed to go through to the final. Ding is halfway there.

:52:07. > :52:08.Let's continue the match with the commentators, Willie Thorn and Terry

:52:09. > :52:24.Griffiths. Well, the mid-session break is over.

:52:25. > :53:05.A cup of tea. Now, Joe Perry has it all to do.

:53:06. > :53:10.He has a good record at this, so far in the match. Played a couple of

:53:11. > :53:12.these and knocked them into the corner. Oh, the record does in the

:53:13. > :54:01.continue! It is very important to put a frame

:54:02. > :54:43.on the board. I think that Ding went upstairs on

:54:44. > :54:48.the practise table on the interval. All the players are different. Some

:54:49. > :54:53.like to knock a few ball balls about and relax or have a cup of coffee or

:54:54. > :54:54.tea. I don't think it makes a difference to what is happening out

:54:55. > :55:48.there. It is just what suits them. He hit that a little too hard. The

:55:49. > :55:52.safety bouts are OK, as long as the high-value colours don't go safe.

:55:53. > :55:59.Then with somebody gets a chance, there is not much that they can do

:56:00. > :56:04.about it. Sometimes you get the reds going one

:56:05. > :56:11.side of the table. I have seen many a time when the referee is having to

:56:12. > :56:30.rewrack the balls and starting the frame again.

:56:31. > :56:37.So far on this safety bout, nobody has played a telling safety, really.

:56:38. > :56:55.Forcing their opponent to take a very difficult safety shot on.

:56:56. > :57:11.He has mishit that one. You can see where the cue ball is

:57:12. > :57:29.stopping -- he has mis-hit. He is scratching his head.

:57:30. > :57:39.It is tight. He could just about get through.

:57:40. > :57:47.Well at first glance it looks extremely tight. He may have to play

:57:48. > :57:52.with a little bit of the left on the side to straighten up the black.

:57:53. > :57:57.This game is all about fractions. Another eighth of an inch up the

:57:58. > :58:39.table would have been perfect. Now does he need to put side on?

:58:40. > :58:49.Joe Perry will be fully focused here. He's got that awkward black

:58:50. > :59:10.out of the way. If he could only just get past the red to pot it.

:59:11. > :59:16.Could've just dropped that in but played it with a bit more pace to

:59:17. > :59:34.get himself closer to the black and still leave a nice angle.

:59:35. > :59:44.A good crowd in today. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins to

:59:45. > :59:55.follow this match this evening at 7pm. Ronnie pulls a few in.

:59:56. > :00:05.The white could slip away here. Got to make sure he gets that first

:00:06. > :00:09.red. He needs to screw back and come into that red.

:00:10. > :00:16.We've talked about that one Achilles heel that Joe's got - he doesn't

:00:17. > :00:25.seem to generate as much back spin as some of the players. He's hit

:00:26. > :00:29.exactly the right red but usually the white would spin back and speed

:00:30. > :01:20.through the other reds. APPLAUSE

:01:21. > :01:36.Joe Perry doesn't look too happy in the chair.

:01:37. > :01:53.It's a good marker. Have a look at where the cue ball is. If it's

:01:54. > :01:59.behind of the white line, it's a very thin cut. If it's on the line

:02:00. > :02:10.or just up towards us, then the baulk colours are quite easy.

:02:11. > :02:41.How didn't that go in? ! The green looked as if it had to drop and go

:02:42. > :02:47.across a few times. There wasn't much pace in it. Guaranteed to leave

:02:48. > :02:54.something on with this red in the centre. Very quickly, Joe Perry's

:02:55. > :02:57.got another chance. Must have been devastated in his chair when Ding

:02:58. > :03:34.got in there after he missed a chance.

:03:35. > :04:00.Just straighten that up a bit and keep it away from the cushion.

:04:01. > :04:11.Got to score another 20-odd points from somewhere. He'll be very

:04:12. > :04:17.disappointed if he doesn't make it re-to from here. -- three hive and

:04:18. > :05:03.two. APPLAUSE

:05:04. > :05:10.Can you get on a red without kissing them? There's one in the left centre

:05:11. > :05:20.but I'm not sure if he can go for that.

:05:21. > :05:27.100% concentration then on the kiss and Neil on the pot. We've all done

:05:28. > :05:36.it. -- zero concentration on the pot. A tough one to take for Joe. He

:05:37. > :05:45.knows what he's done but, at the time, the kiss was the only thing he

:05:46. > :05:49.thought about. Joe Perry has been dominating this frame and that makes

:05:50. > :05:56.it even worse that he's sitting in his chair now, thinking about what

:05:57. > :06:03.was, rather than what is. That's what happens, I'm afraid.

:06:04. > :06:20.He'll probably take the pink of the next red. -- off the next red. The

:06:21. > :06:26.black is too tough to get into play. He'll maybe take the middle red into

:06:27. > :06:32.the pink. If it will go on to its own spot, he'll take the red that is

:06:33. > :06:36.currently in the spot. He thinks the pink will go on its own spot. There

:06:37. > :06:44.is just enough room so that's why he's taking this red, to get the

:06:45. > :06:49.pink free. That's a poor shot. Not like Ding to play a careless shot.

:06:50. > :06:53.May have forced him to play the green.

:06:54. > :07:02.Did he play to go inside that red or outside? It's hard to tell. Maybe he

:07:03. > :07:07.did play the kiss but played it thinner but unlike him to make that

:07:08. > :07:14.kind of mistake. But that makes up for it. Played that perfectly!

:07:15. > :07:20.That's the best positional shot I've seen this week. You've got to hit it

:07:21. > :07:21.a lot harder than you would expect to get down the table. That's not

:07:22. > :08:31.easy to do. He'd have loved the black to have

:08:32. > :08:37.been in its spot because the last red along the cushion is going to be

:08:38. > :08:41.tough. No problem if he gets it dead straight but of course, that's no

:08:42. > :08:44.good for the pink. Leaving an angle, as we saw with Joe Perry's brown in

:08:45. > :08:49.the last friend, won't be easy. He's going to do well now to get out

:08:50. > :09:08.from the pink. It depends whether he's got the

:09:09. > :09:27.right angle. That wasn't the poor shot. It was

:09:28. > :09:32.the blue to get on the red - didn't leave the right angle. Joe, though

:09:33. > :09:35.he's looking a bit perplexed comeback to the table, should be

:09:36. > :10:01.happy that he didn't get back on the last red.

:10:02. > :10:23.That's one of the best snooker is we've seen this week. We've had the

:10:24. > :10:39.best positional shot from doing, too.

:10:40. > :10:57.Not easy to judge with the cue ball so close to the cushion. He's having

:10:58. > :11:06.a look there now. Would you play this hard or try to rest on it. When

:11:07. > :11:35.you hit it hard, you're going to be lucky.

:11:36. > :11:44.Ding was quite a long way out the first time. Just as well he got the

:11:45. > :11:54.pace under control. Left back right on the pocket. He's 26 behind now.

:11:55. > :11:59.Doesn't appear to be in the right place.

:12:00. > :12:10.A couple of inches out. This angle may be difficult now.

:12:11. > :12:21.REFEREE: Foul and a miss.. Not beyond the realms of possibility

:12:22. > :12:23.that Joe could be in front. If he misses it another twice, there will

:12:24. > :12:32.be 38 in it for 35 on. I think Ding has asked the referee a

:12:33. > :12:49.question. He's just asking whether it will go

:12:50. > :12:52.back again if he misses it this time. Well, it will, because there

:12:53. > :13:19.will only be 34 points in it. APPLAUSE

:13:20. > :13:29.Well done. Just as well. We could have been here all day! Ding speaks

:13:30. > :13:37.good English now. He's worked hard. Joe must have thought he was going

:13:38. > :13:42.to win the frame there. This frame is still very much alive.

:13:43. > :14:21.Whoever puts the red will probably win the frame. -- pot is.

:14:22. > :14:39.Not sure if he was playing for the snooker behind the blue. Shouldn't

:14:40. > :14:46.be too much snooker behind the blue. Shouldn't

:14:47. > :14:51.though. Needs to catch two cushions. That went wrong and he may have been

:14:52. > :14:57.lucky. I don't think you can get to the potting angle there.

:14:58. > :15:15.Just ran on a little bit. A very poor escape from Joe.

:15:16. > :15:21.A reprieve for Joe Perry supporters and for Joe Perry himself because he

:15:22. > :15:37.is now closed the gap to just one frame. You have the full breathing

:15:38. > :15:38.-- feeling that if Joe had lost this frame, it would have got away from

:15:39. > :16:41.him. Joe Perry controlled the first three

:16:42. > :16:51.quarters of the frame and just left a little lifeline with that of red.

:16:52. > :16:52.He can start to relax again. 4-1 behind and he would have been

:16:53. > :17:06.struggling. Well, a scrappy frame, this one, but

:17:07. > :17:10.that won't worry Joe Perry. He needed three chances to win it but

:17:11. > :17:19.on the third chance, he did, and he closes the gap.

:17:20. > :17:24.STUDIO: It doesn't matter how you win them as long as you do.

:17:25. > :17:30.We saw in that frame, Dominic, some lovely examples of controlling the

:17:31. > :17:35.cue ball and placing it carefully around the table. A derivative

:17:36. > :17:43.example from Joe Perry here. Absolutely. This is a safety shot

:17:44. > :17:47.from Joe. Perfect storm on the cue ball. Had to make sure the red

:17:48. > :17:51.didn't come in the cue ball but he's got that exactly where he wants it,

:17:52. > :17:57.behind the yellow. Very tricky for Ding to hit that but it took three

:17:58. > :18:02.attempts to get it safe. That was the one shot that helped Joe claw

:18:03. > :18:09.back the deficit to a single frame. Could have gone either way because

:18:10. > :18:16.Ding had a chance to finish the frame and 4 -1

:18:17. > :18:19.Ding had a chance to finish the difficult. He lost the first frame.

:18:20. > :18:26.I wouldn't say he looked shaky but he had to build that confidence and

:18:27. > :18:33.get in that focus that we're used to seeing. He did win three frames in a

:18:34. > :18:36.row to take a lead and he will be happy with that, even though he's

:18:37. > :18:39.just lost that frame, which he could have won. All to play for but Ding

:18:40. > :19:04.still has the advantage, for me. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Joe Perry just

:19:05. > :19:07.moved out of the way to let the referee have a look down the line of

:19:08. > :19:08.the shot in case the ball needed to be replaced. Shouldn't really miss

:19:09. > :19:25.this. This is not going to be

:19:26. > :19:32.straightforward for Ding but he's got a chance.

:19:33. > :19:42.If he's not using the spider, it helps his cause, but if he can just

:19:43. > :19:47.get the cue to the side of the pack for the potting angle he'll get the

:19:48. > :19:55.strike. He's got good control of the cue ball and he'll need it here.

:19:56. > :20:47.This is where Ding is very good, in the break-building department. He

:20:48. > :20:53.can bring reds interplay. He's running around so maybe he can't get

:20:54. > :21:17.in there at this time. He's had that very poorly, though.

:21:18. > :21:27.That was a bad miss but it was the position from black to that was a

:21:28. > :21:31.really poor shot. It gives confidence to an opponent if you

:21:32. > :21:35.keep falling out and missing. Joe Perry has a real chance now in this

:21:36. > :21:37.match. It looked tough from 3-1 behind.

:21:38. > :21:51.APPLAUSE behind.

:21:52. > :21:57.Looks as if he's got the angle of this black to play for the red that

:21:58. > :22:07.would be mentioned. -- that wheelie mentioned. -- that Willie Thorne

:22:08. > :22:09.mentioned. He has left the cue ball low so that he can pot the red and

:22:10. > :22:38.split the pack open. His choice now is single, red, or

:22:39. > :22:47.pack. He just can't get a read out of their! He's got one out and it's

:22:48. > :22:54.gone safe. The arc didn't come soon enough. A bit higher on the cue ball

:22:55. > :23:02.and the cue ball would have made an arc. You would think... He's gone

:23:03. > :23:08.into the pack once I brought one red out each time. Without a kiss, that

:23:09. > :23:12.would have been perfect. Yellow is the only way he can get into the

:23:13. > :23:20.pack. He can just play the loose red and walk. -- read in baulk. A lovely

:23:21. > :24:03.shot. Well played. After playing one of the best

:24:04. > :24:05.positional shots in the match, he's just played the worst positional

:24:06. > :24:20.shot in the match. APPLAUSE

:24:21. > :24:26.I'll be very surprised if Ding doesn't hit into the pack and leave

:24:27. > :24:29.a shot on. He might get four points. He may miss it the first time but he

:24:30. > :24:36.won't miss it to the second. He's looking to come off the side

:24:37. > :25:52.cushion into the pack. There is a pot on, on the left

:25:53. > :25:53.cushion. He will be on the black if he takes it on and pots it. Very

:25:54. > :26:18.tough. Ding has got the same red on from a

:26:19. > :26:24.slightly different position. This is the shot off two cushions.

:26:25. > :26:28.Run-through and play for the black. APPLAUSE

:26:29. > :26:44.He played with pace down the table. Great shot. Don't think he can play

:26:45. > :26:48.off any other colours and split the reds. Looking at a plant in the

:26:49. > :27:18.middle. Oh, he's misjudged it. He didn't

:27:19. > :27:23.think he could play that shot and go into the pack. He tried to come down

:27:24. > :27:25.the side of the reds and leave the plant into the right corner. Some

:27:26. > :27:43.strange things going on at the moment!

:27:44. > :28:28.Highly unlikely he'd be playing to cut this in.

:28:29. > :28:32.If he'd potted that it would have gone into the reds so a good job he

:28:33. > :29:48.hit it thick. He could play the red to the left of

:29:49. > :29:50.the pink there. It is very thin. Joe is mentioning to the referee that

:29:51. > :30:17.the white is slightly over a bit. He would rather stop short than hit

:30:18. > :30:43.it too hard and risk splitting the reds for Ding.

:30:44. > :30:48.Very good. He had to pot that so thin to avoid the pink on the way

:30:49. > :31:15.through. A double kiss is almost a certainty

:31:16. > :31:21.as well. It will be tough to get on to a

:31:22. > :31:28.colour. He is playing the thin one but with double kisses, he could get

:31:29. > :31:30.into trouble. That's not so good. He played the

:31:31. > :32:14.white. He will take this on. Just going through a spell in the

:32:15. > :32:19.match when neither player is doing a lot.

:32:20. > :32:21.The half chances come up, they are not taking them. There is a little

:32:22. > :32:53.bit of safety play. They can't work out yet when happens

:32:54. > :33:00.with the kicks. Sometimes you can get a kick. It will throw the object

:33:01. > :33:06.ball off line. You want pot it. Other times it doesn't.

:33:07. > :33:27.Why it deviates off on an unnatural path?

:33:28. > :33:35.It was a dangerous pay to play for the pink there. , but he played it

:33:36. > :33:49.perfectly. He has to be careful that the cue

:33:50. > :33:57.does not brush the red. It is very close. That is pretty good.

:33:58. > :33:59.It is very easy to miss a line on that type of shot, but he doesn't

:34:00. > :34:22.have a lot of angles here now. He's playing for the bottom red

:34:23. > :34:34.there. Not sure if he can hold for the

:34:35. > :35:11.blue. This red will pot. He can run

:35:12. > :35:16.through the red and beyond pink or black with this shot.

:35:17. > :35:19.I don't know why he's playing with bottom.

:35:20. > :35:26.The same thing. He played for the pink or the black. That is good.

:35:27. > :35:28.There are now 23 points for him in front.

:35:29. > :35:51.He could level this 3-3. He could have gone up towards the

:35:52. > :36:29.blue. A bit of awkward bridge bridges.

:36:30. > :36:42.He is 38 points in front. He wants to make sure that the red... It is

:36:43. > :37:43.tricky. He needs to get the red in. Now down for a ball colour.

:37:44. > :37:55.A pretty good effort, this, from Joe Perry.

:37:56. > :38:02.3-1 down at the interval. He had a good chance to win the fourth frame.

:38:03. > :38:08.It is not easy to come back in. Ding had a chance to win the

:38:09. > :38:18.previous frame. He could have been 4-1 in front.

:38:19. > :38:28.This is Joe Perry's highest break so far in the match.

:38:29. > :38:34.And it came at a very good time. Joe Perry takes that frame. He is

:38:35. > :38:38.now standing at 3-3. Well terrific stuff from Joe Perry

:38:39. > :38:42.there. An excellent break to get himself right back in this. It is

:38:43. > :38:48.all square now in the first semi-final and credit to Joe Perry.

:38:49. > :38:53.This is a good fight backfrom him? He is starting to play well himself

:38:54. > :38:59.now. He will be fansyinging job now. 3-3. Another three frames to go,

:39:00. > :39:03.halfway there. It is becoming now to get to the pressure stage of the

:39:04. > :39:09.match. Both players are halfway there. It is the best of five now.

:39:10. > :39:13.So the pressure builds the closer you get to the winning line and when

:39:14. > :39:17.every individual shot can make or break an important frame for you.

:39:18. > :39:22.The pressure is starting to increase from here on in.

:39:23. > :39:26.And Joe Perry has won both frames after the interval. How important is

:39:27. > :39:30.the interval in perhaps changing how a match feels? In breaking the

:39:31. > :39:37.the interval in perhaps changing how of losing frames to starting to win

:39:38. > :39:42.them? I hate intervals. I really do. Obviously in physical sports you

:39:43. > :39:48.need an interval but really in snooker? Are they necessary? Ruins

:39:49. > :39:54.the flow of a match. I like a match to start and end. Basically whatever

:39:55. > :39:58.happens within the two-hour match will happen. There are lots of

:39:59. > :40:03.psychological twists and turns, but when you have an interval, whatever

:40:04. > :40:08.has happened Oregon before, it resets after the interval. It has

:40:09. > :40:15.not happened for Ding. He looked really good after losing the first

:40:16. > :40:21.three, he went 3-1 ahead. And now Joe has come in, had a team talk his

:40:22. > :40:28.coach or manager, come out with a new plan of attack, the interval has

:40:29. > :40:33.given him a new chance to do that. It has worked wonders.

:40:34. > :40:39.And it has. And he is showing growing confidence and in his long

:40:40. > :40:44.potting ability? Yes, Joe is a clean striker.

:40:45. > :40:48.As long as he knew he was not going to leave that on, it took the

:40:49. > :40:51.pressure off the pot. He was obviously playing for a colour

:40:52. > :40:56.there. He is starting to hit the ball well now. Right at this moment

:40:57. > :41:01.in time, he may be now a favourite, but Ding is such a great player. I

:41:02. > :41:04.can see this matchbooking pretty close.

:41:05. > :41:09.So, as Dominic says it is the best of five match now. The first of six

:41:10. > :41:16.will make their way into the final. That is what they are playing for,

:41:17. > :41:24.the Welsh #k7 Open Trophy. Ding has had his name on that once before.

:41:25. > :41:37.There are some great names on that trophy.

:41:38. > :41:45.Ding decided to play the aggressive safety shot earlier on. He got

:41:46. > :41:48.bogged down in the last two games. That is good play for Joe. He is

:41:49. > :42:14.playing at his pace. More like the safety play you expect

:42:15. > :42:18.to see for these two players. Getting within a couple of inches of

:42:19. > :42:24.the cushion. Ding may be tempted here. It is not

:42:25. > :42:37.easy. He may play the same sort of shot.

:42:38. > :43:18.An excellent safety. He's done that pretty well.

:43:19. > :43:31.Good stuff. Nobody much likes a safety bout.

:43:32. > :43:38.But it is nice to see a few now and then.

:43:39. > :43:43.A lot of skill in the safety play. The game is very much a

:43:44. > :43:50.break-building game now, but years ago when you go back a few years to

:43:51. > :43:58.the Joe Davis type of era, there was lots of safety play.

:43:59. > :44:05.Snooker is no different from other sports. It has improved in the

:44:06. > :44:10.standard. A great deal, I must say, over the years.

:44:11. > :44:15.Obviously the top players these days are much better than they have fr

:44:16. > :44:17.been but there are so many good players now that can win

:44:18. > :44:50.tournaments. Considering Joe won that safety

:44:51. > :44:55.battle, he would have been disappointed to have made that canon

:44:56. > :45:01.on the green. Ding will try to get in behind the

:45:02. > :45:04.green and the brown. If it slows up a bit it is OK.

:45:05. > :46:20.Just a fraction too hard. He has got down to the shot, and now

:46:21. > :46:22.he is up. He is not sure he is able to see the ball he wants to make

:46:23. > :46:38.contact with. When the reds are split both sides

:46:39. > :46:47.of the table the path back to the baulk area is restricted.

:46:48. > :46:48.Ding is looking to see if he can see the red directly behind the pink

:46:49. > :47:21.there. That was fraught with danger. He

:47:22. > :47:31.just took a risk. Is Joe going to be tempted? He's

:47:32. > :47:37.looking at the one in the centre but that's a tough shot, that is.

:47:38. > :47:50.He can't get to the red. That is below the black

:47:51. > :48:05.Spot. Not sure about that one.

:48:06. > :48:10.If you fancy the shot you have to go for it. Otherwise you won't forgive

:48:11. > :49:20.yourself. Now will he try to bring the black

:49:21. > :49:26.into play? No, probably drop on the black.

:49:27. > :49:33.Prabl play for the pink -- probably play for the pink.

:49:34. > :49:37.I don't think that kiss is any good. If he kisses them at the same time.

:49:38. > :49:52.He is on the pink. In his frame of mind, having lost

:49:53. > :49:58.the last two frames, this is a dangerous shot to take on, but very

:49:59. > :50:05.well played! He never refuses the shot that he thinks will continue

:50:06. > :50:08.the break. Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hendry, they all

:50:09. > :50:14.play that shot to keep the break going. The opponent is sitting in

:50:15. > :50:17.the chair, thinking he is not on the pink. Then you sink in the seat

:50:18. > :50:27.again. And look at that shot. That was a

:50:28. > :51:56.shot to nothing. There is an easy safety shot there,

:51:57. > :52:02.but looking at the long pot, he has potted a lot of these shots today.

:52:03. > :52:10.It is like he has made his mind up to take it on.

:52:11. > :52:20.Oh, a bad contact. It took all of the pace out of the cue ball.

:52:21. > :52:52.That cue ball would have been up near the baulk line.

:52:53. > :53:00.Well, things are not happening for either player at the moment.

:53:01. > :53:03.There was a really good bout of safety, but once they have been in

:53:04. > :53:42.the balls, things have not been happening. A few kicks.

:53:43. > :53:47.Perfect. That will be a bit of a boost for

:53:48. > :54:26.Joe Perry. Joe Perry has shown in this match he

:54:27. > :54:31.has plenty of bottle. I felt at the interval he was

:54:32. > :55:03.hanging on to Ding's shirt tails but he has come out strong.

:55:04. > :55:10.He just needs one good shot to get on perfect position. And then he can

:55:11. > :55:41.start and stay on the pink. but this could be to do with the cue

:55:42. > :55:45.ball. If he plays with the pink, he needs to get one out into the middle

:55:46. > :55:51.of the table. Somewhere where near the white is now.

:55:52. > :55:53.If he could pick it up and put it back where it is now, he would be

:55:54. > :56:26.pretty happy. That had gone OK. Now ready for a

:56:27. > :57:11.shot on the pink in the middle. He's just left himself a little bit

:57:12. > :57:17.to do with that pink. If he had played it a bit harder and

:57:18. > :57:27.brought the white into play a little more, that pink would have been

:57:28. > :57:28.easier. He will be maized that he -- Ding will be amazed he is back to

:57:29. > :58:19.the table so soon. Pretty good from where he was on

:58:20. > :58:55.that green. Yes, that was the difference between

:58:56. > :58:58.the two players. You saw how Ding managed to bring the cue ball right

:58:59. > :59:02.up to the top of the table with not a lot of power. It is hard to get

:59:03. > :59:08.that reaction from the cue ball. a lot of power. It is hard to get

:59:09. > :59:11.Still that one shot from a lot of power. It is hard to get

:59:12. > :59:26.player to get onto one of these five reds. If they can get on one

:59:27. > :00:09.perfectly, it is a series of stuns and screws.

:00:10. > :00:22.He is now in a position where he can play that series of stuns and screws

:00:23. > :00:26.we have been talking about. I think the second, the one he is looking at

:00:27. > :00:37.now, he can put in the corner, so he does not have to play to move them.

:00:38. > :00:39.-- he can pot in the corner. He felt that he did not pot so he played the

:00:40. > :01:39.move. It has taken a while but he has

:01:40. > :01:44.eventually got to where he wanted to be. 24 points in front, the pink

:01:45. > :02:02.will be 30, so three reds needed. Those two reds nearest the back

:02:03. > :02:28.cushion are going to be quite tough to play just to get onto the pink.

:02:29. > :03:03.He is still not in prime position, is he? Trying so hard.

:03:04. > :03:11.We have only had two frames that have been under 20 minutes and you

:03:12. > :03:22.would not expect that from these two.

:03:23. > :03:35.Plenty of breaks here but only one century from Ding. 73 and 59 from

:03:36. > :04:15.Joe Perry but there has turned out to be quite a lot of safety play.

:04:16. > :04:40.This puts the frame beyond doubt, won't be doing too much with

:04:41. > :05:12.An excellent break when you consider where the reds were, he never had

:05:13. > :05:20.the cue ball under control. But he took them really well. Having lost

:05:21. > :05:24.the two previous frames, it goes without saying it was a very

:05:25. > :05:27.important frame for Ding. He would have started to doubt himself if Joe

:05:28. > :06:10.had won this as well. I do not think the black has been

:06:11. > :06:28.potted at all in this break Well, having been cold for the last

:06:29. > :06:30.couple of frames how he produced that I do not know. But he has taken

:06:31. > :06:48.the lead again, at 4-3. This is the a PTC masters. This is a

:06:49. > :07:03.little pool table and I am teaching the little kids. This is an old guy,

:07:04. > :07:09.he is 105 years old. Very good at chess, of course he beat me.

:07:10. > :07:17.This is the gold medal and the silver medal, the Asian games.

:07:18. > :07:25.It was my first time to be the flag bearer so it was very proud for me.

:07:26. > :07:34.This is a good one, but sometimes I don't know what to do with the

:07:35. > :07:39.fashion shows. He is a lovely chap, Ding Junhui,

:07:40. > :07:43.very popular on the circuit. To stay that level-headed when you have

:07:44. > :07:49.millions upon millions of fans back home in China, it is a mark of the

:07:50. > :07:54.man. The match has maybe had a bit of a lull at the moment, hasn't it?

:07:55. > :07:57.But he will be delighted that in a scrappy frame he has come through.

:07:58. > :08:03.Yes, towards scrappy frame he has come through.

:08:04. > :08:10.tremendous, and I think he will be very pleased at the way he is cueing

:08:11. > :08:16.the ball again. That will give him some confidence and impetus going

:08:17. > :08:23.into the rest of the match. He will -- Joe will know he can't afford to

:08:24. > :08:31.win too many frames. This is a very important frame for Joe.

:08:32. > :08:51.WILLIE THORNE: That is the first foul we have seen from Ding for a

:08:52. > :08:56.few frames. He will be fully aware that he has two cut a few of the

:08:57. > :09:37.errors out. -- he has to. The cue ball is behind the line of

:09:38. > :09:54.the green so it will cover all the reds.

:09:55. > :09:59.Joe Perry can get past the blue, play a similar shot as the first

:10:00. > :10:13.safety. He has left Ding a chance here. He

:10:14. > :10:15.might go into the pack and knock one out. He could go for this in the far

:10:16. > :10:42.right-hand corner. He did not perhaps have the angle to

:10:43. > :11:05.take the cue ball up the table after potting the red.

:11:06. > :11:16.Joe could play the kiss on the red and black but he decided against it,

:11:17. > :11:18.went for a safety shot. He needs a bit of cover here because this red

:11:19. > :11:27.has gone right over the whole. A yellow has just come to his

:11:28. > :11:56.rescue. He caught the bump in the middle

:11:57. > :12:09.pocket and put his hand up to apologise to Joe Perry.

:12:10. > :12:21.Sometimes when he is sitting down he raises his eyebrows and awful lot,

:12:22. > :12:38.he has this strange habit. -- an awful.

:12:39. > :12:47.Got to hope for a good kiss, and he has not got one. You would expect

:12:48. > :12:57.him to pot the green without any problem.

:12:58. > :13:05.If you can't reach the green you might as well play the yellow

:13:06. > :13:32.because it is the better angle for the right-hand side of the table.

:13:33. > :13:43.I thought he might have the cue ball over on the right-hand side. It is

:13:44. > :13:50.only the one on the black spot that will pot.

:13:51. > :13:59.Well done, got the break going, now the blue is available, get that and

:14:00. > :14:20.things should get a little easier. I don't think he wants to be

:14:21. > :14:35.straight on this red, he needs a slight angle.

:14:36. > :14:45.He has overdone it, he is on the pink. He is lucky. It didn't look

:14:46. > :14:52.like he could get that far off that red. He missed the pink in a similar

:14:53. > :15:08.situation in the previous it would have been in his

:15:09. > :15:15.amazed he was that he wasn't on the black. It would not have been on his

:15:16. > :15:25.mind getting onto the pink when he played the red. Bad miss, though. I

:15:26. > :15:36.agree. He had previous from a pink in that pocket. His hand was

:15:37. > :15:40.comfortably on the table there. Only the pressure of the circumstance, I

:15:41. > :15:46.think. He would have been so disappointed not to get on the

:15:47. > :15:53.black. He played with side, which he did not mean to do. There is no way

:15:54. > :16:55.the white would have come off that angle without side.

:16:56. > :17:07.It is Ding's turn now to play a very poor positional shot.

:17:08. > :17:19.The only red that is really on is the one that is on the centre

:17:20. > :17:32.pocket, near the blue. The two reds below the pink looks set to the

:17:33. > :17:34.right-hand corner. -- look. Obviously they can't be set

:17:35. > :17:39.otherwise he would have been playing it. The safety is not

:17:40. > :17:59.straightforward either. He may just have played a safety.

:18:00. > :18:05.Good shot but he will be very disappointed by that effort. Neither

:18:06. > :18:11.player can complain now, they have both had a good chance. Whatever

:18:12. > :18:56.happens in this frame now, they have had their first chance.

:18:57. > :19:02.As good as he could have done from there. It has left this red, over

:19:03. > :19:15.distance. Looking at the track the cue ball

:19:16. > :19:23.will take. If he doesn't play with side. So he will put some side spin

:19:24. > :19:39.in. He does not want to go into that red on the way back up.

:19:40. > :19:45.It is directly in the line of the natural angle of the cue ball coming

:19:46. > :19:52.off the cushion, the red. That is in your mind when you don't play the

:19:53. > :19:54.part. Ding did not take the chance of playing it with side spin to

:19:55. > :20:01.avoid those. It would of course have made the pot

:20:02. > :20:19.more difficult. You get the feeling at the moment

:20:20. > :20:27.that if Joe Perry loses this frame...

:20:28. > :20:38.It doesn't matter how bad you feel about the shots you have played, you

:20:39. > :20:39.can come to the table at the next shot and it feels really good out

:20:40. > :20:52.there. He has lost position. He would have

:20:53. > :21:01.liked to have stayed down on the pink. He is looking at loop at

:21:02. > :21:17.yellow looks a good angle here. -- at blue. Maybe brown.

:21:18. > :21:28.He wanted that cue ball to travel another 18 inches, two feet. If he

:21:29. > :21:34.does not hit this quite crisply enough, it might cannon into the red

:21:35. > :21:43.or pink and taken out of position. -- take him. He got the gap

:21:44. > :21:54.perfectly, well played. Once he gets rid of the red nearest

:21:55. > :21:58.the left-hand corner... Look at the gap he went through. Once he gets

:21:59. > :22:13.rid of this red, causing a problem with the black, he should be able to

:22:14. > :22:19.level the game at 4-4. He is leaving himself a pink in the middle again,

:22:20. > :22:21.the one he has missed twice. He has not come close enough to the pink

:22:22. > :22:44.here with a good angle. That will definitely give him

:22:45. > :22:49.confidence again to play another shot in the middle pocket because he

:22:50. > :23:02.has put those two pinks completely behind him. He has not played that

:23:03. > :23:07.very well. Cannot hold for any red. I don't think he has the angle on

:23:08. > :23:16.the black to go in and out of baulk and swing it around.

:23:17. > :23:28.What do you think? He has to make sure of the pot first, doesn't he?

:23:29. > :23:33.He missed one earlier because all his concentration was on the

:23:34. > :23:37.positional side. A bit unfortunate there. If he had missed the knuckle

:23:38. > :24:23.he could have been on the red to the left of the black.

:24:24. > :24:30.Got the snooker, so he is going to have to catch this very thin to get

:24:31. > :24:37.back up to the top of the table. Not that thin, though. I think he has

:24:38. > :24:43.got away with it though. He has. Ding is looking a bit out of sorts

:24:44. > :24:56.now, he looked very good until 3-1 in front. Whoever wins the other

:24:57. > :25:06.semifinal, these two are going to have to be better than this win that

:25:07. > :25:12.match. I think Ding can lose the plot out there if he is having a lot

:25:13. > :25:16.of chances that he is not taking. Expectations are quite high, quite

:25:17. > :25:17.rightly, but he has not been making the most of his chances in this

:25:18. > :25:59.match so far. And awful kick. That ball did not

:26:00. > :26:02.even go near the pocket. Missed the pocket by four inches, he could not

:26:03. > :26:11.possibly have done that without a kick. He has left Ding the nice one

:26:12. > :26:14.in the centre pocket and put some reds into play to make it a bit

:26:15. > :26:37.worse. This is a very tricky situation for

:26:38. > :27:01.Joe, having seen that horrible kick. Not ideal for a clearance but, with

:27:02. > :27:06.him being right-handed, the red nearest the cushion is going to be

:27:07. > :27:10.OK for a right-handed player. This is a great chance to pinch it and go

:27:11. > :27:40.5-3 in front. Four ranking events he has won this

:27:41. > :27:50.year. A remarkable performance with the standard of play these days.

:27:51. > :28:42.That has moved the red slightly more interplay. -- into play.

:28:43. > :28:46.Didn't quite get into the cue ball. There shouldn't be a problem with

:28:47. > :29:35.the red. Making sure he went past the green

:29:36. > :29:43.so that he would not be hampered in any way. Blue or black here to get

:29:44. > :29:45.nicely on this last red. He wants to go round the back of it so he can

:29:46. > :29:59.get onto the red comfortably. A bit surprised he did not play for

:30:00. > :30:09.the pink because that would have been guaranteed to get onto the red.

:30:10. > :30:13.This could be the last of the tricky shots he needs to play to pinch this

:30:14. > :30:48.frame. If he drops it in the dead weight he

:30:49. > :30:54.will do well not to finish on the black. It looks like he is going to

:30:55. > :31:15.play the blue or pink. In hindsight I suppose he has

:31:16. > :31:19.screwed it a bit too far but it just had that slight angle. The only

:31:20. > :31:28.thing that could go wrong is if he ran through the cushion and somehow

:31:29. > :31:32.the white finished near the green. If he plays it on and off the

:31:33. > :31:38.cushion and hits it too hard he could snooker himself. He is

:31:39. > :31:55.guaranteed if it screws back of the blue not to snooker himself.

:31:56. > :32:01.He has played it nicely. Really good effort, this, from being. -- from

:32:02. > :32:16.Ding. That was a handy kiss. Nothing much

:32:17. > :33:27.should go wrong now, though. That is the important ball. Good

:33:28. > :33:35.effort from Ding. The pink does not go in so Joe will definitely play

:33:36. > :33:38.on. It is amazing how the top players suddenly find something from

:33:39. > :34:02.somewhere, when you have 12 games on the trot, he manages to get a two

:34:03. > :34:13.frame lead again. -- when you have won two.

:34:14. > :34:19.A very important frame for Ding Junhui but some way to go before we

:34:20. > :34:24.have a winner. We are going to stay with the snooker on BBC Two. Natural

:34:25. > :34:34.world is going to be shown at a later date. -- title case natural

:34:35. > :34:46.world. I am not entirely sure that Joe

:34:47. > :34:53.would have parted the red anyway. I was sure that that cue ball would

:34:54. > :35:01.not have can and if it did not have a kick. Ding made a superb break.

:35:02. > :35:11.This is the kick now. They can be so frustrating. It must impact you

:35:12. > :35:16.psychologically so much as if you feel you can't trust the balls. You

:35:17. > :35:22.do get a lot of kicks in these arenas. When it happens at such a

:35:23. > :35:27.vital moment is that... But having said that, when you look at the

:35:28. > :35:30.position of the balls, there were some open reds, but for Ding to win

:35:31. > :35:35.from that position was a tremendous effort. All of the top players seem

:35:36. > :35:41.to find something at the crucial stage and it was a wonderful break

:35:42. > :35:49.by Ding. Needing one more frame to make it into the final. Somehow Joe

:35:50. > :35:53.Perry needs to find another gear. It is a semifinal ranking event, he has

:35:54. > :35:58.not won one before, so he will not be giving up, he will be doing

:35:59. > :36:02.everything he can to get back into this match. If he can win this frame

:36:03. > :36:11.that will put some pressure on Ding. Very interesting to see the

:36:12. > :36:17.way that Ding Junhui has handled the pressure when the momentum seemed to

:36:18. > :36:21.be going away from him. It does seem to bring the best out of him and he

:36:22. > :36:28.has put himself in a fantastic position, he needs just one more

:36:29. > :36:33.frame to book his place in the final of the 2014 and wash open. -- 2014

:36:34. > :36:52.Welsh Open. WILLIE THORNE: Will Joe Perry break

:36:53. > :37:04.off again in this frame. If he does, there will be a decided. --

:37:05. > :37:06.decider. There does not appear enough room to go behind the back of

:37:07. > :37:27.the black. He hit that very thin. The first

:37:28. > :37:35.real chance of this frame falls to Joe Perry.

:37:36. > :37:45.The match has been a little slower than I thought it would be. There

:37:46. > :37:52.have only been two frame is under 20 minutes, a lot of good matchplay.

:37:53. > :37:53.There have been a lot of bad contacts which have stopped them in

:37:54. > :38:11.full flow. If Joe Perry loses this, he has

:38:12. > :38:17.missed a few at the right-hand pocket and he had the kick. It has

:38:18. > :38:32.all gone wrong at that pocket. He needs to avoid that one now.

:38:33. > :38:40.A lot of players would screw back of this to make sure you bring reds

:38:41. > :38:49.interplay. He has played it really well. Five reds in open play so he

:38:50. > :39:09.can get 50 points in front. His heart sank a bit there thinking

:39:10. > :39:16.he wasn't on this red but as you can see from the picture he clearly is.

:39:17. > :39:27.He looks very determined, I fancy a decent break from this position.

:39:28. > :39:33.You often see that when a player is at the point of no return and

:39:34. > :39:42.something releases in his mind, he plays a lot better.

:39:43. > :39:50.Needed a good kiss and did not get one. He is looking to play this red

:39:51. > :40:11.on the cushion. Very well played, sir. It is one of

:40:12. > :40:20.those shots where you say, great shot, if he gets it and, why did he

:40:21. > :40:26.go for that, if he misses. If you are going to lose, don't lose

:40:27. > :40:32.playing a safety, is as -- as Stephen Hendry always used to say.

:40:33. > :40:42.Did he ever play a safety, Stephen Hendry?

:40:43. > :40:55.Unlikely he will play the cannon on the red this time. He is nearly on

:40:56. > :41:01.the cushion but should not be a problem, just roll it in for the

:41:02. > :41:02.black. He may decide to swing it around for the blue but it depends

:41:03. > :41:22.what angle he gets. Whichever one he decides to play, he

:41:23. > :41:49.will get an either one. -- get on. He can get past the winning line

:41:50. > :42:19.without bringing those five reds into play if he gets high colours.

:42:20. > :42:31.He is certainly not hanging around in this drake. Five minutes so far

:42:32. > :42:38.and some tricky shots in it. -- in this break.

:42:39. > :42:48.I am not sure if he has enough angle here to split these reds now. He is

:42:49. > :43:07.57 in front, so he is going to need one of those reds.

:43:08. > :43:12.He did not have a lot of angle on that, not a lot of momentum when the

:43:13. > :43:43.cue ball went into the pack. It was not an easy part. He has just

:43:44. > :43:52.gone down and plays the shots in front of him. Negative thoughts have

:43:53. > :43:53.been put to the back of his mind. No heroics there, because that was

:43:54. > :44:14.virtually frame ball. You can see his disappointment, that

:44:15. > :44:40.fabulous break of 69 should win him the frame. Ding needs one snooker.

:44:41. > :45:18.He played just to hit the right-hand red there. He requires one snooker,

:45:19. > :45:29.of course, but it is a bit of a chance, this. He did not try to

:45:30. > :45:40.bring him out there. It is a little awkward if it is cannon into the

:45:41. > :45:41.red. The cue ball is not far enough away from the cushion to put some

:45:42. > :46:16.spin on. He can't really afford to take the

:46:17. > :46:33.blue because then it would only be one snooker to tie.

:46:34. > :46:49.Some value here for Joe Perry to move these two reds out of the way.

:46:50. > :46:52.He needs some blacks, so it will be more difficult to play for blacks

:46:53. > :47:46.now, even if he does get the chance. He is going to have two risk the in

:47:47. > :48:12.off here. -- have to. He will probably attempt the black

:48:13. > :48:15.now because he know it will be tough to win needing three snookers

:48:16. > :49:51.instead of one. He has not played that well. He

:49:52. > :49:55.would have wanted to go further down the table to snooker Joe Perry on

:49:56. > :50:15.the yellow. Easy to hit this. Ding does not really want to put

:50:16. > :50:30.this red. -- to pot. He played it nicely, played it very

:50:31. > :50:47.well. Just a little swerve and,

:50:48. > :51:35.see, he can almost hit it thin. It still nearly went in-off.

:51:36. > :51:43.As he is playing plain ball you would expect him to make contact

:51:44. > :52:19.with this red without too many problems. Almost missed it, though.

:52:20. > :52:39.Joe Perry was hanging on fingernails in this match but with

:52:40. > :53:02.his rate of 69 he has closed the gap.

:53:03. > :53:10.The very relieved Joe Perry keeps his hopes alive, he wins that frame

:53:11. > :53:17.and closes the gap to 5-4. You mentioned during commentary that Joe

:53:18. > :53:22.seems to have... All of the now -- the nerves have gone out of him

:53:23. > :53:25.because he was so close to the wall. How do we get ourselves in the right

:53:26. > :53:32.frame of mind to play the whole match like that? You start like that

:53:33. > :53:37.but then it is the circumstances, where you feel great and you start

:53:38. > :53:41.well but then you lose a few frames which possibly you should have won,

:53:42. > :53:45.mentally some doubts come into your head and you want to clear them away

:53:46. > :53:52.which is easy enough if you win a frame quickly but if you don't they

:53:53. > :53:57.are there for the whole match. If Joe Perry wins the next game and

:53:58. > :54:02.levels it at 5-5, all of a sudden the pressure comes back on him. Yes,

:54:03. > :54:11.but at the moment he would give anything for 5-5. Ding is at the

:54:12. > :54:18.moment feeling he is throwing the game away but if it comes to 5-5 the

:54:19. > :54:25.pressure would come off him a bit. Mind games happens in every sport,

:54:26. > :54:32.Ding is questioning his cue action now. When you have a great deal of

:54:33. > :54:48.ability you need a strong mind. Not a bad break from Ding. He has

:54:49. > :55:08.left Joe Perry a very awkward shot. You saw how high his head was there,

:55:09. > :56:02.not looking down the line. Good effort.

:56:03. > :56:10.Joe Perry shaking his arm because he know he can -- he knows he can have

:56:11. > :56:16.a go at this, just loosening himself up.

:56:17. > :56:31.That was too loose. He did not strike that well at all. Caught it

:56:32. > :56:39.much too thin, otherwise he could have got around the black and back

:56:40. > :56:45.down to the baulk area. Ding does not have anything easy, maybe a

:56:46. > :56:54.plant. He may kiss the red that is next to the black.

:56:55. > :57:07.That is an excellent shot. It is amazing, Joe would have gone back to

:57:08. > :57:13.his chair thinking, I might have got away with that, and the plant was

:57:14. > :57:35.perfect. The truth is, if he had hit the red,

:57:36. > :57:41.he would not have been unlucky. You can give as many stories as you like

:57:42. > :57:48.why you lose a match, but nearly every time it is because you Miss

:57:49. > :58:19.why you lose a match, but nearly Potts -- you miss pots.

:58:20. > :58:38.He would definitely take the yellow if the blue was not where it is.

:58:39. > :58:55.Is there a gap to get onto this red? Yes, he can play that slowly, if he

:58:56. > :58:58.wants, and get onto the black. If he plays the red in the middle he can

:58:59. > :59:05.only play for really the yellow or the blue. It is worth the risk

:59:06. > :59:10.dragging this in with a bit of right-hand side and staying on the

:59:11. > :59:22.black, starting at the business end of the table. He knows this is his

:59:23. > :59:26.chance to win frame and match. To go on to another final with a chance of

:59:27. > :00:29.winning his fifth ranking title of the season.

:00:30. > :01:01.A bit bits and pieces this match, isn't it? The safety has been so

:01:02. > :01:05.good. Need this to go well, which it hasn't. This black is nasty. He will

:01:06. > :01:32.take it on but it is tricky. He's

:01:33. > :01:45.get the cannon into the red. He's got the part. He's got two reds on.

:01:46. > :02:08.Queueing off the side cushion is never easy. -- cueing.

:02:09. > :02:14.Very good. Very still on the shot and you need to on those. Doesn't

:02:15. > :02:37.like the yellow. He would like to get that down to

:02:38. > :02:47.this black spot area as quickly as possible. -- back down. Seems to put

:02:48. > :02:55.a lot of balls here for just a 36 break. -- pot. You just feel one

:02:56. > :03:05.good position shot here would clinch it.

:03:06. > :03:12.This all started, of course, when Perry went for the read and made a

:03:13. > :03:26.mess of it and looked as though he had got away with it. -- the red.

:03:27. > :03:33.This was the long red we were talking about, Terry, and it was a

:03:34. > :03:39.straightforward shot to get round the back of the black, but

:03:40. > :03:40.completely mishit it, and then look where the ball has finished. Looked

:03:41. > :04:04.as if there was nothing on. And this is the next shot we see.

:04:05. > :04:12.All of a sudden, the black springs into operation but played a very

:04:13. > :04:17.poor positional shot there. To keep this break going, year is going to

:04:18. > :04:34.have to cut it in and play for the black. Or play for a book colour.

:04:35. > :04:41.No idea where the cue ball was going but you would have to say a bit

:04:42. > :04:45.unfortunate on the colour. But he still has the brown in the middle. A

:04:46. > :04:53.lot of players would roll up to the yellow.

:04:54. > :05:07.Quite right as well. A natural angle to get onto one of the reds.

:05:08. > :05:16.After all the effort of potting the brown, he forgot about the position.

:05:17. > :05:21.Looking at the line, Terry, probably needed a little stunned to play the

:05:22. > :05:29.angle. He thought it would be under the two reds. The angle wasn't

:05:30. > :05:35.there. So now faced with another very thin cut. How does he miss the

:05:36. > :05:46.kids on the red on the cushion? -- the kiss? Identity and he can. He's

:05:47. > :05:56.having a good look at it. He is having a go.

:05:57. > :06:09.He avoided the kiss but where is the cue ball going? Another good pot

:06:10. > :06:10.needed. Well, the break was on 248, and such a crucial time as well in

:06:11. > :06:22.this match. -- onto the 48. Need another one here. Two reds

:06:23. > :06:40.available at the bottom of the pack. What a brilliant shot. He had to

:06:41. > :06:46.play for that gap. Couldn't have played it better. Brilliant.

:06:47. > :06:51.All these top players, you know, when you think about winning the

:06:52. > :06:56.game and the match, they don't refuse anything in the final frame.

:06:57. > :07:02.A couple of times he has been out of position and a couple of times he

:07:03. > :07:17.has got back into it again, and Joe Perry now knows the end is nigh.

:07:18. > :07:24.Yes, the very, very top players are different and they can play at their

:07:25. > :07:29.best when they are feeling their worst. And that is what he has done

:07:30. > :07:32.here. Excellent performance. Joe Perry has put up a very good show.

:07:33. > :07:43.Played some good snooker. You could say a shot here and there

:07:44. > :07:48.would have made the difference but that is always the case. Is

:07:49. > :07:52.remarkable performance from Ding, isn't it? His fifth final of the

:07:53. > :08:45.year. I don't know if he has been beaten.

:08:46. > :08:57.And so whoever gets the final is going to be great. The crowd might

:08:58. > :09:10.like a ding-name-O'Sullivan final but Barry Hawkins is playing well.

:09:11. > :09:15.-- Ding. The chance of his second century of the match. Yes, and it

:09:16. > :09:19.would be fitting, wouldn't it, because this has been an excellent

:09:20. > :09:23.break. Some risky shots and he could have played safe but that was never

:09:24. > :09:56.his intention. He was going for the win.

:09:57. > :10:03.What a great performance from him there in that final frame. A break

:10:04. > :10:13.of 118 has taken him into tomorrow's final and he has beaten

:10:14. > :10:18.Joe Perry hi 6-4. -- by. Well, that was a worthy break to get into the

:10:19. > :10:23.Welsh Open final. Brilliant from Ding Junhui. 118, and, again, it is

:10:24. > :10:24.that champion quality that when they see the finishing line, they get

:10:25. > :10:35.over it. Yes. Joe must be so frustrated there.

:10:36. > :10:39.Some players would have played safe on the first and it was a wafer thin

:10:40. > :10:43.cut back on the black into the left corner pocket to keep the break

:10:44. > :10:47.going. Then he had an absolutely wafer thin cut on a red into one of

:10:48. > :10:52.the black pockets. The cue ball has gone all over the table, he has a

:10:53. > :10:55.nasty brown in the middle pocket which was very very missable. He

:10:56. > :11:03.puts that and then leaves himself with another way for -- wafer thin

:11:04. > :11:08.cut. Kept the break going time after time. Ridiculous plots that some

:11:09. > :11:12.players wouldn't even bother with! And you think that sets him apart

:11:13. > :11:16.from a lot of players on the circuit? Think if Joe Perry had been

:11:17. > :11:20.in that position he might have played the first safety shot from

:11:21. > :11:24.the black and not tried to keep the break going. Many players would not

:11:25. > :11:28.have done. But so many players do try to grasp the nettle. John

:11:29. > :11:33.Higgins does, Ronnie does, they all do, and that is what makes a

:11:34. > :11:36.champion. Well, let's hear from Ding Junhui.

:11:37. > :11:45.Another fantastic performance. Pleased? Yes, very well. Joe gave me

:11:46. > :11:56.a lot of pressure to come back from 3-1 down. And then 3-3 and took the

:11:57. > :12:02.two friends to go 5-3 and get more confidence to play that. -- two

:12:03. > :12:09.frames. Ronnie O'Sullivan up against Barry Hawkins tonight. Who would you

:12:10. > :12:14.to play? Ronnie. By like to play him. I haven't got a lot of chance

:12:15. > :12:18.to play him and I'd know he is a very good player. Also I'd like to

:12:19. > :12:26.play Ronnie because I want to learn from Ronnie because he is not

:12:27. > :12:29.playing a lot of tournaments this year. We wish you all the best.

:12:30. > :12:33.Cheers. So, the five ranking tournaments of

:12:34. > :12:40.the season and he is still on. Do you think he can do it? Absolutely.

:12:41. > :12:44.He must be full of confidence after that performance there. Ding Junhui

:12:45. > :12:48.is into the final of the Welsh Open but who will play in this year? It

:12:49. > :12:52.is either Ronnie O'Sullivan or Barry Hawkins. They play in their

:12:53. > :12:57.semifinal this evening and you can see it here lies at 7pm on BBC Two

:12:58. > :13:14.Wales. We look forward to you on BBC Wales. From all of us here, goodbye.

:13:15. > :13:20.This beauty will make you as fast as a frog...

:13:21. > :13:29.I just want these. Well, you're not going to win in those.

:13:30. > :13:32.or cycle for Sport Relief.