01/03/2014 Snooker: Welsh Open

Good afternoon and a very happy Saint Davids Day to you. We've

reached the semifinal stage here at the BetVictor Welsh Open and so

we're down to one table. Four of the world's top players are still in

with a shout of winning this prestigious title. Tonight we'll see

the semifinal between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins but

first, the first finalist will be decided as Joe Perry Plese Ding

Junhui. It's the ultimate challenge. He's been breaking records left,

right and centre. An absolute world-class player.

I think he's playing better than the past few years. He has more

confidence and, also, he wins more matches. He's getting better.

Ding's cue ball control is probably the best in the game. He makes one -

visit breaks time after time. If you don't get among the balls, he can do

it game after game. Just make a break to kill the frame! I'm going

to have to be at my absolute best to give him the game and hopefully I

can produce it and get a win. I will keep my head still to win it. Here's

how these two players compare. Ding has already won ten ranking titles,

though he's only in his mid-20s. They've played each of eight times

since their first meeting in 2004. Ding has won six, including the

quarterfinal of the German Masters earlier this year. -- played each

other. Dominic Dale is my guest. Joe Perry

must be feeling so confident after dismantling Mark Selby last night.

Yes, he's got nothing to lose now. It will bring a bit of pressure,

maybe, to Joe but he did very well in beating Mark Selby last night and

it was a comfortable victory so hopefully he'll be carrying a lot of

confidence this afternoon. Perry has never been to a ranking final and

this is very important because he is also battling to stay in the

world's top 16. Yes but no matter what happens, he's acquitted himself

very well. A semifinal at worst is a great achievement for Joe. He's

proved himself the last couple of years. He's playing very consistent

snooker and is fully deserving of his place in the world's top 16. If

he can stay there, you'll be seeded automatically at the Crucible. A

quick word about Ding - one of the players of the season and showed how

well he is under pressure in the quarterfinal. Yes, that's just

typical of him. When the chips are down, he brings his a grain -- his

best game. Ding saw his opportunity and took it. Ding is deftly the

favourite but Perry has already told us that he's not bothered about

being the underdog. Time to get the players out. A great atmosphere that

our first semifinal in Newport. First up, a man who has been superb

so far. He beat Mark Selby last night. An Asian tour winner. Put

your hands together for the 16th seeded player, Joe Perry.

MUSIC: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

And he's up against the man of the season. He has won four ranking

titles already and is looking to make it five. We're about to find

out. Please welcome the incredible Ding Junhui.

A great reception for both players. Our first semifinal is due to get

under way and your commentators for this match Willie Thorne and the

1979 world champion Terry Griffiths. WILLIE THORNE: Thank you very much

indeed. What an atmosphere. Good afternoon, everybody. We are looking

forward to this one. The two winners from the quarterfinal yesterday.

Perry played very well against a slightly out of four Mark Selby and

thoroughly deserves his place in this semifinal.

Both these players are exceptional break-builders. Ding might be the

better in that department. APPLAUSE

Its first to six, best of 11, so that does make a slight difference.

You can afford a few more mistakes in the longer matches. The best of

seven, as has been played up until the quarterfinals, there isn't much

room for mistakes. It was nice to see Joel Walker come through from

the qualifying school onto the tour and get to quarterfinal stage. A bit

of an achievement, I must say. It just so is -- shows the system is

right. To be honest, when he led 4-2,

Joe Perry already had one semifinal this season in the international

championships out in China. I'm not sure of the score but he lost the

last frame. I think it was 9-8 Marco Fu lost to

Ding in the final. Ding has already won three major ranking events this

year. Ding is certainly one of the former

men on the circuit with Ronnie O'Sullivan, at the moment. -- one of

the in form men. Good players are capable of beating the top players,

though, as Joe Perry showed yesterday against Mark Selby. He

would be favourite at the bookies' but that is one way of putting

pressure on the top seed. Doesn't have the perfect angle on

the black but he could stun and try and get to the red on the opposite

corner. If only one pots, he'll have to play

it quite firm. Just off straight so he'll have to

punch that a bit. He'd better hope they both pot in

the middle could I don't think he's on the top red of the two. --

because I don't think. It's always difficult in the first

frame to get straight into your rhythm. He looks to have done so

far. Could go into the pink and open them up.

If he's not on anything he's very unlucky because that was a very

confident shot and he did really well. Just the start Joe Perry was

looking for. It's amazing, Terry, how sometimes

you go straight into the pink and the pink stays exactly where it is

and the red has spread. -- the reds spread.

Do feel that Joe has got to take these chances today in the

semifinal. All going nice and easy so far. Not

difficult shots to play. And the that's art of good

break-building - no difficult shots to play. This series of storms and

screws as meant he hasn't gone up to baulk all throughout this break.

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

safe. He obviously doesn't have the

desired angle on the pink to come back for the two reds either side of

the black. APPLAUSE

Such an important shot, that one. A very impressive start. Does he

have an angle on this red to bring it out for the black into the same

pocket? He had a glance at the scoreboard. A slight angle could

bounce it off the cushion. Needs to play it quite firm to avoid a kiss

off the red. Well played. Very good shot.

APPLAUSE A shame - just caught the red,

didn't he? Just putting the yellow safe, so a

very good break from Joe Perry. 59. But there's still 67 on.

He wouldn't have wanted to put that read there. -- that red.

It would have been very important to have plotted that blue because then

Ding probably wouldn't have come back to the table. But now that he

needs one snooker, he'll certainly carry on.

So, barring snookers, Joe Perry will have taken this frame.

APPLAUSE April effort from Ding. He hasn't

really got started. Well, that's an indication of how

well Joe Perry is cueing this afternoon. Couldn't have played that

better. Two cushions and dropping nicely on this bottom red.

Looking very well at ease with himself.

Won't be too worried about that. Joe Perry takes that frame 76-0 to take

the opening frame. A terrific start for Joe Perry.

Dominic Dale has joined me in the studio. Joe Perry will be delighted

with that. A superb, confident start. The perfect start. The

underdog winning the first frame set things up nicely but Joe won't

necessarily see himself as the underdog. He has a lot of experience

and won a big PDC event a few months ago, which was the first title of

his long career. Let's see if he can add his first-ever big ranking event

to that. A good start for him. He potted a great opening red to start

the game going. It was a cross between a middle distance and a

long-distance pot but still a big confidence booster because went

straight into the heart of the pocket and a 59 break came from

that. That should have set his butterflies at ease. If he can make

a good start, it will help him but Ding under pressure. Yes, in any

sport you play, if you're the underdog playing somebody vastly

more experienced, and a prolific title winner, you've got to keep the

pressure on those guys and that's what Joe Perry has done. Ding will

feel he's got to do something in the second frame otherwise he'll go 2 -0

down and will be in trouble. There is the trophy as we prepare to get

frame to under way. Joe Perry has made the best start but Ding Junhui

has got a fantastic record this season - four world ranking

tournaments. I read somewhere that he's won 38 of his 40 matches in

ranking tournaments so far this season. What a record that is!

TERRY GRIFFITHS: A very enthusiastic crowd in for

today's semifinal. WILLIE THORNE: There's talk about it

not being here next year but I'm sure the Newport Crown would prefer

it to stay here. They looked after everybody very well here at the

Newport Centre. A nice auditorium with the one table situation.

Good attendances this year, as well, because it was four days

longer this year with the qualifying. There were 300 or 400

here at the morning sessions, which you don't get at other venues. Mind

you, a few of them were sleeping here overnight, I think.

Ding, along with Robertson, would be the world, and even though Robertson

is seeded number one, you would have to say that we are blessed to have

four great players in the semifinals. Perry and Barry Hawkins,

who we'll see later this evening, are trying to make their major

breakthrough even though they've both got to finals before and Barry

Hawkins is a tournament winner. Ooh, he's made a mess of that! That

is a poor shot from Ding. He was edging. He didn't want to come the

other side of the red because he could have left an easy one into the

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

centre. If Joe is thinking about taking the

pot on, he wants to bring the white out. It looks as if it pots but he

doesn't fancy it so he's having it replaced.

I said earlier that he had won three events but he has actually won four.

APPLAUSE Of course, Ronnie O'Sullivan seems

in a great frame of mind and is definitely playing the best snooker

of his life. Not entering all the tournaments on the tour, which suits

him fine. He doesn't like going away from home for long spells. It seems

to be working for him. If he wants to know about long

spells away from home, he wants to have a chat with Ding. I don't know

how long he's been living in this country now but most of the

tournaments have been in the UK over the last ten years. Quite a few in

China now as well, though. Six ranking events.

What's it like travelling from Leicester, Willie? Difficult? Took

me about an hour and three quarters to get here! An excellent safety

shot from Ding there. Not easy to get back into the red that Joe is

looking at on the cushion. If he plays it then, you get the

double-kiss. Went into the pack quite nicely but

does not appear to have done anything easy.

Nothing at all there, is there? He may have to play a safety. The one

to the left of the pink is very, very dangerous. He is just trying to

get to the red on the right-hand side of the table. Very tight. It

looks like comport that from that camera angle. -- looks like he can

pot that. Took a risk, he appears to have got

away with it. No value of taking the pot in the

centre. It is tough, the one above the pink. He has to keep it tight.

Perry dominated the first, Damon did not score a point, but Perry has not

potted a ball for 11 and a half minutes. -- Ding did not score a

point. Deep down this to try to get cue

ball back to deep cushion. This is the kind of safety bout that does

not inspire you because it is just the retaining shots, they are never

going to trap there opponent, but Perry has played a good shot, forced

Ding to just roll up to the ball. Kerry can then take control of the

situation, or should do. -- Perry. He has to get the cue ball tight on

this cushion. Eventually you can see one of the players taking a red on

into one of the side pockets. That is why it is so important to get the

cue ball tight The safety bout has been running for

six and a half minutes and you feel either player if given the chance

would take one on but they have both had a lean spell. I'm not sure you

could get through to the one in the middle. If it does go in he would

prefer not to get the white tight on the cushion.

Very good. He needs the white to bounce. Well played. I would have

liked the cue ball another inch up the table. He has to play this with

a little bit of pace. About as good as he could have done,

really. This is the type of shot that is not

the easiest and it looks as if he This is the type of shot that is not

if he does not get This is the type of shot that is not

commit 100%. He just caught the near shore. -- jaw. It is Ding now who

has the open reds. It was very hard to refuse the red

in the middle because if it goes in you are likely to win the frame from

it. As it hasn't, obviously Ding has a chance to score heavily. You

almost expect him to make a sizeable rake from positions like this, he is

one of the best break-builders I have ever seen. -- a sizeable break.

His position play is superb. His stun play is so accurate. The last

couple of seasons, once he gets in, he doesn't seem to miss. He was in

all kinds of trouble against Joel Walker and then he just changed

gear. Great players never get flustered when they are behind.

Big breaks are normally made with a succession of easy shots. There is

the odd player, Mark Williams is one, he was such a great potter he

didn't really play a close position because he was so happy playing

anything from anywhere. In his prime he was one of the best potters we

have seen in the game. It has been nice to see Williams

producing a bit of form in recent weeks. The match he lost, he will be

disappointed, because he was quite a few points in front on a number of

occasions and let the frame slip. I think there was another tournament

left in Mark Williams. -- there is. He has slipped out of

position here a bit. Do you see any weaknesses in Ding?

You would have to say his slight weakness against

You would have to say his slight game but I don't think there is any

other shot he does not play well. Technically he has no weaknesses,

his cue action is exactly how you would like any young player to

copy. He repeats his rhythm all the time. He never pulls the queue back

to far. If he gets on the next red, and gets

onto the black, you would expect him to win the frame. If he gets on the

red straight he should be nicely on the black and that will be end of

frame. He decided to make something happen. And on first glance it has

not. Yes, I think playing for the single

red there was a possibility but you make your choices. Joe Perry will be

very happy after he missed that read in the middle. -- that Reid.

Good break, favourite to win the second frame, but only 25 points in

front. He can get past the blue for that

read into the corner. -- that red. He has done it again, put a red over

the corner, but this time it is not an easy one. If the black goes in

the opposite corner, it is not dead straight, Joe Perry will be

You can force a slight angle off this kind of shot with power.

Pockets are not easy. He lucks out. He should have got the

pot. He will be reluctant to kiss into the two reds because they are

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

if he hits them full-ball. Surprising, not playing the cannon

there. Yes, the pace he had to hit the black that would have taken his

focus away from the positional side.

There is a slight chance of the cross double here.

Does it or doesn't it? From the commentary position it looks like it

would cut. He can't go off the back cushion because that is in the way.

Without a full-ball case he is nowhere. He just held his hand up to

Joe Perry to acknowledge that bit of good fortune because he was playing

safe rather than to the brown. No heroics, he could have played

that with a lot of side spin to get on the red, but that was all he

needed. Barring snookers it will be one

frame each. It will cut in but he will probably

make sure it is favouring the thick side. He does not want to give any

points away at this point. He has certainly not played safe

well today, Ding, has not put Job in trouble once in these first couple

of frames. -- Joe. This frame is going to be over 30

minutes, which is quite long for these two.

That is enough. Joe Perry stays in his chair. It is one frame each.

All square in the first semifinal. The frame seemed to turn on a red

that Perry had that could have gone either way. He got himself in with a

good opportunity, potted a black, he left himself this tricky red on the

right centre. On the other side there are a couple of loose threads

waiting for Ding and Joe knew that if he missed he would leave Ding

with a great scoring opportunity. He only got 25 but it got Ding going

and he was able to win the frame. How do you go about calculating risk

and reward on a shot like that? It was high risk, if it had gone in a

wonderful opportunity to finish the frame. Sometimes you might not be

feeling as confident as you would like but it is sport and in spooky

you have to back yourself. -- in snooker. You have to be positive and

go for a positive shot choice. That is what Joe did, he had to back

himself to get it. If you are going to miss shots like that throughout a

Mac you are probably not going to win it anyway. -- a match. As it was

he missed it and Ding went on to win the frame. It is 1-1 and good for

everyone, I suppose. What is your sense of the overall dynamic after

these first two frames? That last one took over 30 minutes. They will

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

as we go into the third frame. WILLIE THORNE: I would definitely

agree that they will be ready to play now. I am slightly disappointed

in Ding, his safety has been very poor. If you keep playing safety

poorly it can cost you. shot here and he should find the top

cushion as long as he misses the yellow on the way back.

That is the worst shot he has played today. Completely mishit it. I think

he has covered the red with the blue.

Tough to play for them blue here, he needed all but both blue. He needs

the white to pull up, and he has done. Great pot.

He's having a look around but it doesn't look like a pretty picture

for him. A chance possibly to go for the two reds either side of the pink

to bring them into play. But he played the brown so that shot wasn't

on. I mentioned Joe's Achilles heel is

on shots like this. He doesn't always get into the cue ball.

Sounded good. It just pulled up enough. He can still play the cut in

the middle if he wants and go straight for the pink. Not

necessarily going to hit the pink because there are the three reds

either side of the pink. I don't think he's on anything.

Top one of that cluster will cut into the corner but the cue ball

will be travelling between the two reds and the pink so that's risky.

We always say it's a lot more difficult for these players to make

bricks without the pink and black being in play and, actually, it's

difficult to make breaks when they are in play. It shows the level of

the players' skill. You forget sometimes that they are only human.

They say that we're all the same inside and we all get wet in the

rain. Another wonderful start from Mr Griffiths! -- statistic.

He didn't play a good safety shot there.

That's the first real mistake from Joe in the safety department. How

costly is it likely to be? He's possibly got to try to stun

between the reds and the black. He needs of the long rest here. I

should say the extending long rest. Extension on the cue, as well. The

blue part on the extension on his cue, that is where he can loosen it

and extended the length if he needs it.

Very handy, all this stuff. Makes it a lot easier.

The old extensions used to wobble. You'd get them and they'd be so

heavy they'd be bouncing up and down. You would have used them a lot

more than me, Terry, because your position wasn't as good as mine!

When you watch him in the balls, it's a good time to have a look at

him. His backswing, when he comes back and pauses, the transition time

from that to the forward swing is always the same. It's such a secret

in good timing. He never seems to rush his deliveries and always

complete the swing with the lengthy needs.

Obviously felt the angle wasn't there to roll it in-off the cushion.

If he overscrews that, he'll be on nothing. Or has he found another

one? He just had a quick look in the middle. Just up from his cuff, he

could finish there, but he should play for the one on the outside. He

played for the gap! Has he got the gap? He certainly has!

Not quite on, so he's playing the one he played for in the first

place. If the difficult black goes in, he

goes favoured to win the frame, but this is missable.

Once again, having to get a bit of concentration on to the positional

side of the shot. A really tough one here. Dead

straight. APPLAUSE

By far and away the highest break he's made in the match so far but

you would expect that at some stage he's going to make 100, and you'd

think Joe would, as well, but this appears to be the first chance to

make a sizeable break in this match. I'm still amazed at how money

centuries Neil Robertson has made this season. -- how many. To think

that he could pass 100 centuries in one season is quite remarkable.

Ding has made 48 this season so this is possibly 49 but he is still way

behind Robertson and Ding has had a better season.

APPLAUSE In cue ball control, he's just a

fraction better than Robertson but Robertson is probably a better

potter. I think Neil Robertson's temperament

is slightly better banking's. Sometimes Ding sits in his chair and

looks like the world's come to an end sometimes. -- slightly better

than doing-- Ding's. APPLAUSE

Excellent! Apart from one shot where he played that difficult read and

lost position, everything else has been perfect. -- that difficult red.

Century 349 in his career, 49 this season.

What a shame. No complete clearance but a break of 114 is the highest of

the match so far and takes him 2-1 in front. This all came from a poor

safety shot. Joe has won the safety battle throughout these three

frames. You think that's strange when you consider that he's too one

behind -- 2-1 behind. But he got the jaws on the bottom right-hand pocket

and the white came across the cushion and left Ding dead straight.

He played a real good power shot, didn't he? You said at the time how

well he'd time the screw shot. Yes, with screw back shots, the players

always try to hit it too hard. The harder you hit the screw shot, the

more time it takes to climb backwards. Here is a safety shot.

Joe is normally very consistent. Still not a great opening.

When we talk about timing on the screw shot is, sometimes the softer

you hit them you don't expect the screw, but is it all about the

follow-through? Well, no, you've got to have the follow-through otherwise

you go straight in the cue ball. But timing of the speed when the cue

start off and finishes... It's got to be faster as it is going through

the ball, obviously. It was a perfect example.

Amazing how long you can get spells in your chair not potting balls. The

best was the world doubles. Remember the world doubles? You may not have

had a pot to go for for about three quarters of an hour. Your partner is

potting all the balls. APPLAUSE

Once again, a lot of movement with the cue ball therefore the amount of

effort he put into it. It helps is next positional spot. No worries

about his potting the brown. A fraction too hard this time. Could

go into the pack if he wanted to the yellow but there is loose red. He

can't guarantee getting onto it. He doesn't necessarily want to generate

lots of speed. Needs to catch one of the reds half ball otherwise it will

stick. You can see how tight the reds were. They were never going to

split nicely unless he caught one exactly half ball. Pretty good

attempt, though, isn't it? A fraction under lucky. Hard to

generate the speed. If he'd been a couple of inches further down the

table, it would have generated the speed.

We've seen him catch the pack a few times. You lose a bit of feel and

touch. I think that's the first time in the

match he's found the top cushion. It has been difficult this week. The

back cushion has been bouncing quite a bit. Not easy to play a perfect

safety shot. No safety on. You can see a red, of

course. Almost dead straight so if he gets it, it's not going to be an

easy shot. A bit more of an angle would be easier.

Your always petrified not to get that double-kiss. If it's not going

to can the other red that's to the right little bit, he'll play it. --

cannon. Playing this game a lot more aggressive now. I don't think he's

ever been defensive but since he's had a wonderful run this season in

the tournaments, a little bit more confidence and belief. He's had

evidence he's playing well, even under extreme pressure. It all

helps. He's obviously got the case on that second read, which takes the

time. -- got the case. Playing a bit more aggressively. Playing is done

to leave the white on the jaws of the middle pocket. A lot more

difficult playing with screw on that than it would be to run it in but

right into the heart of the pocket. A dangerous side to Joe Perry.

Everything is looking a little easier for doing at the moment and

all shots are coming the same to him, difficult or not.

We say every year, do you think it's about time Ding won the World

Championships? This year more than ever but I suppose that raises the

expectation is not just for doing but for his millions of followers in

China. -- the expectations, not just for Ding. It would be hard to see

this young man not winning it one time or another. Ding hasn't even

got to finals of the World Championships and he's been based in

Sheffield for quite a number of years. His hometown, so to speak.

Jimmy White had six finals, didn't he and had plenty of chances, but

once you've lost two or three, I should think it gets a lot harder.

Slightly overscrewed that. The cue ball has gone perilously close. If

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

If he just rolls it in, he can't make it slow enough. He'd love to be

able to dig down onto the cue ball and pay the cannon on the two reds

to the side of the pink but that's not on. He may have to play off the

cushion. He could dislodge a few reds. It's not ideal.

Not sure about that one. He's left a red in the middle. Has he got any

angle to get onto a colour? It was difficult playing the role in. If he

can run through, he's done pretty well to get the position. Very

difficult to do so. The fact

spot helps here. Could go straight up and down off the brown spot and

almost over the brown spot again and break these reds interplay. -- into

play. Let's see if he plays the aggressive

shot and tries to bring reds into play. Not too aggressive. Just

brought one interplay and if the kiss goes right, this could be

perfect. And it hasn't. He's having a good look at this to

see if he can get to the potting angle. The first read of the two --

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

had a good look. He was perfectly on the pink and

wasn't leaving the red on there. It's an exhibition of potting and

positional play here. I'm sure when Joe saw where the

white finished their, he thought, " oh, that's handy. Ding is going to

have to play a difficult shot there" .

Just seeing where he needs to leave the cue ball.

You can see with the angle, he's going to be kissing into reds.

Luckily, both pink and black are available so, whatever kiss he gets,

it would be an unlucky not to get on a colour. He's still a bit tight.

His hand is a long way from the cue ball.

He's asking the referee to clean the cue ball. Didn't like the contacts

he got then. I think this is Joe's last chance in

this frame. If the pink goes in, it will be perfect for the red above

the black. APPLAUSE

Joe's last hope in this frame before the mid-session interval. One more

red needed. He could go for yellow or blue or maybe even the green to

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

Didn't see that one coming! Joe is still in this frame. Good break,

though. 47. APPLAUSE

Joe Perry's been given a chance ear but he hasn't parted a ball for just

over 27 minutes and this isn't the type of shot that he would like to

face after being in the chair for a long time. He looked comfortable

enough in the chair but was his mind at peace?

Well done, son. APPLAUSE

He may decide to play the risk here and play into the three reds.

It's on the one in the middle, so not too bad. He could maybe screw

that for the pink and a chance to pinch the frame.

APPLAUSE. He didn't pot it clean. If he had,

the cue ball would have been two and three inches further at this end of

the table and nicely on the blue. He will have to probably play two

cushions to get on to the two reds. Just a fraction too far to make it

easy. Playing off two cushions here.

Pretty good stuff. It is a big frame for Joe Perry now.

You have to say that Joe is now the favourite to pinch this frame.

The blues will be the key ball. It's amazing what happens in

snooker. If Joe Perry does not win this frame, he will be really

disappointed. If this frame, he will be really

up, it would not be so bad. He can get all of these. It will

give Ding something to think about. Without a doubt. Joe will be

delighted of the two. He decided to play the cut along. It

wouldn't have been my choice. But this could abframe-winner if it

goes in. That's why, if Joe had

Oh, so close! That's why, if Joe had

he would have finished on the cushion, then could play the brown

at weight. I think that the green was a little

too straight. Ding has been in control for the

last frame-and-a-half. It looks like there could abframe slipping away

from him. -- could be a frame.

He will be happy, though. 16 points in front. Joe Perry will

have a job to keep the pink out of the pocket.

I was saying earlier, I would love to see the statistics of players

that are safe in the frame, how many that are safe in the frame, how many

times they miss a pot to clinch it. He has not hit that one.

Trying to get to the other side of the black.

Another one! Amazing. The two pinks he missed, if he needed them to win

the frame, he would have definitely have potted them.

Terrible position for the black for Joe Perry to play snooker behind.

That was the most difficult pot for the pink and he's made it. Now Ding

is leading by 3-1. Well, it is a fascinating four-frame

there, but Ding goes into the interval with a 3-1 lead. Almost a

great first-time buyer from Joe Perry. He had been so sat on his

seat for a while, more than 20 minutes without potting a ball, but

it came down to the crucial brown as he tried to clear up to win the

frame. Sometimes you take the browns on

because you think that you Sometimes you take the browns on

but this was a tough round. Sometimes you take the browns on

a big angle on it, you have to roll Sometimes you take the browns on

it. A lot of pressure on him there. He knows if it goes in, it could be

2-2, but do you play a good safety shot? Would you have taken it on?

Personally, I might have thought a bit more about not taking that on. I

could have played a killing safety from there. I would have backed

myself to play a very, very good safety and thinking if I am John

Dingell, would I like to -- I if am Ding, would I like to come back to

the table, but I thought the safety shot would be better. There are all

kinds of pots on a snooker table you can have, that would be easier on

that one. That was a lot of pressure on Joe. Do you think it is a fair

reflection that two-frame advantage for Ding with the snooker you have

seen this afternoon? He is starting to look very, very good.

He is beginning to get in the focus, in the zone, as anyone says in

sport. He makes the game look easy when he is playing well. He does not

make a lot of mistakes, he does not make the key ball travel. Joe is a

great player, he knows what he has to do after the interval.

Ding has joined us in the practise room now to ensure he retains his

focus in the next 20 minutes. While he is having a practise, we are to

talk about the semi-final tonight between Barry Hawkins and Ronnie

O'Sullivan. A repeat of the championship final that Ronnie

O'Sullivan won in 2012. You championship final that Ronnie

that tonight. Now, Ronnie O'Sullivan really is one of the all-time

greats. A genius with the snooker cue, but he has had demons over the

years as well, but he seems to have found salvation in the sport of long

running. It is really important. So much so, he has been out running in

the hills of Newport this week. Without it, he says, he may have

left snooker all together. There is always pressure on me to do

well. I learned to play with that type of pressure, if you like, ever

since I was a junior. I was used to winning tournaments.

If anything, winning a tournament was a relief at the end of it. You

were on a come down. Everyone excited, you have won the World

Championships, I was like, thank God that is over. When I turn up to a

race with my ?80 vouchers, I was buzzing. I loved it. In my first

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

So I got more sense of achievement out of the running than snooker.

Snooker, if I didn't win, it was seen as I had not fulfilled my true

potential or everyone else's expectations in my. -- me. I got

more satisfaction out of running and doing a good race than I have

more satisfaction out of running and out of my snooker.

more satisfaction out of running and # Hit the ground running,

# Running. I used to get miserable when I left home because of my

running. I would connect my running with the clubs and the tournaments,

so in a way, the snooker and the tournaments became a chance of

exploring them. So the snooker became a hobby for me. As long as I

had the running kit, I take the cue but the running came first, but it

got me to the snooker tournaments in a way.

When playing at the top level, if you don't perform, a top player will

take you out, I don't care if it is Usain Bolt or Tiger Woods. If Usain

Bolt does not run 9. 6, they are still running 9. 7. So, they could

be coming second. You still have to go out there and produce the goods.

Fascinating. And Ronnie O'Sullivan has been out running in Newport in

the hills, he has been asking if there are any good fell or mountain

races to take part in. He really does love his running. I wonder how

important is fitness to a snooker player? An interesting question. If

you go back three or four years or more, when we had eight, nine, 10,

11 tournaments in a season, that was not so many. There would be a month

off between the tournaments. Lots of time to recover, but now in the days

of so much travelling, 20-odd tournaments a season, you will have

a lot of tough matches. If you're tournaments a season, you will have

not fit, you will not recover from those as well as somebody like

Ronnie who is super fit. It take as lot out of you. It takes a lot of

concentration. If you are ily bodily fit, it is important. I know that

Ronnie keeps fit and does a lot of competitions. I believe he has found

a competition somewhere in Newport and he is running in it in Newport

this morning. That will be terrific. Lovely to

hear about later on. Of course, that is the mental side. I was laughed at

this week, when I asked if there was a physiotherapist that follows the

players around on the tour. The reason I asked that, you remember

the defending champion, Stephen Maguire was struggling at the start

of the tournament to get down on to the shots as he had a bad back. It

seemed to be affecting him badly in play. So I am wondering how

important is it to be physically strong? If your body is thrown off,

it can affect how well you play? Yes, co-ordination, balance. If you

think about it, starting off as a youngster, six, seven years old, if

you are practises five or six hours a day and playing in competitions,

that is a terrific amount of stress over a long number of years on your

body. If we stretch out in a position here, there is stress on

the neck. You are pressing down all the time, day in, day out on the

hand here it affects your balance. You have issues with your neck, with

your back. I did martial arts for three or four years, I am supple, I

have not had a problem with my back or neck but many, many players who

have been around a long time, they are having issues. It just shows you

have to be fit. And snooker, a much more fiscal

sport than you may think -- physical.

Now, to the match tonight. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins. Here

are the statistics: Hawkins won the Australian Open.

Hawkins has only won one of the seven meetings. How he would love to

do it again tonight against the reigning world champion.

Barry is a top quality player. He made it to the finals last year. He

had a brilliant season lass year. He has followed it up this year with

really good results. It is great to anybody the latter

stages again. That is what I want to do. It is what I have been trying to

work towards for most of my career, to keep threatening to win the

tournaments. If I keep knocking on the door, hopefully it will open one

day. He is a top eight player now. One of

the dangermen on the circuit. He is the type of player, whether you meet

him, anywhere you meet Barry, he is a tough player. A top player. I have

to be on my game to give him a good game, but I have to really try my

best. I like to treat it like any other game, really. I know what to

expect. I know that I have to be at the top of my game to have a chance

of winning. Obviously, he is deadly when he gets flowing. I just need to

be on top of my game and to try to take every chance that I can.

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

can play some good stuff, hopefully I can give a good game.

If I beat Ronnie to come through a tough draw like that, to win it and

to pick up the trophy, it would be a dream come true. That is what we

play for. To try to pick up the trophies and any time you get a win,

it is fantastic. In the public consciousness, Barry

Hawkins will barely register compared to Ronnie O'Sullivan, but

Hawkins is a terrific player and vastly improved as well? Definitely.

I remember practising against Barry. He got to the finals against Ronnie.

I was playing well. He beat me 10-4, 10-5. I thought he had really

stepped up his form. That is how good Barry can be. I am no mug

myself. If somebody can outplay me and I can't get near them, they have

to be a great player, believe me. And Barry is a great player. Not

only that, he is well entrenched in the world's top 16. He believes he

can beat anybody, you can't unless you believe you can beat the top 16

and have done. Barry has nothing to lose tonight. He knows he is the

underdog but he will be out to do a job on Ronnie O'Sullivan, bow, of

course, Ronnie will be the favourite.

Now back to the first semi-final in Newport. We left it with Ding

leading 3-1 against Joe Perry at the mid-session. Ding has had an

incredible season, winning four ranking titles this season. He has

been producing perfect performances. He has been talking about who else

he admires on the current circuit. Robertson, skrakson, the best.

-- Jackon, the best. When he hits, he hardly moves his body. He keeps

so still. Yes, he is good. Ronnie, he is not just potting the balls, I

feel that he understands the balls. He knows how to make it easy.

Long potting, Judd Trump. Me!

Steve Davis. I think I would play him a few times, and he would not

make many breaks. He is big trouble in the safety for me. Dominic Dale.

He is always smiling. I don't know what he is thinking! Cue power, that

is Judd. He likes to smash the ball. Jimmy White.

John Higgins. Hard snook? Well, that is everybody.

I think Stephen Hendry. Yes, I think John Higgins. He is the

best. Well, Ding, he is one of the coolest

players around. Dom, you must be flattered to say he likes your

temperament? Yes, he is a bit tongue in cheek! I have a good temperament.

You have to have it and it comes into play when you need it. There

are many but my favourite was Paul Hunter, but Ding had a smile on his

face when he mentioned my name, so I don't know how serious he was! Ding

has had a superb season. A really terrific player. Win Winning 38 out

of 40 matches. An awesome record. Obviously he is a great player. He

has won four ranking events. No-one has done that since Stephen Hendry

started to dominate the snooker. Who knows, he could win a fifth one here

easily. It is a great thing to have that level of consistency in today's

game when the levels are so high. So, that is Ding and now we are back

to Joe Perry. Gentleman, Joe Perry. What a good

player. A great potter. As we have said, you have to hit the ball where

you are aiming it. It sounds simple but he has a good technique. Pushing

the cue through straight. Not everyone recognises as Joe Perry as

a great game better, but he is a great builder.

Joe sometimes beats himself up a little on the snooker table. That

tells you that his temperament is suspect. That is something he can

work on. He is such a nice lad. He practises are lot with Neil

Robertson. I remember seeing Joe before he turned professional, he

looked like an ordinary club player, but what a transformation he has

made in the game of snooker. He deserves everything he gets. He is

one of the hardest workers in the game.

The problem with Joe, he gets on top of himself. It affects his

technique. He is playing well one minute, a little bad run, it is like

the world is against him. Then he comes to the table without the same

smooth technique. He has to put it all aside and concentrate when he

comes to the table, that is his stage and just play to your best

ability. Forget what has gone before. Sometimes when he is playing

well, he can beat anybody in the world, but he has strange matches

where he is not always in control of his emotions. I think that Joe Perry

can definitely win a few more tournaments, good enough to win a

lot more and soon he will get his first ranking title.

So, that is Joe Perry. A very popular man on the circuit, but he

has his work cut out here. He is trailing 3-1 to Ding.

The players are heading back out to the arena. It is the best of 11. Six

frames is needed to go through to the final. Ding is halfway there.

Let's continue the match with the commentators, Willie Thorn and Terry

Griffiths. Well, the mid-session break is over.

A cup of tea. Now, Joe Perry has it all to do.

He has a good record at this, so far in the match. Played a couple of

these and knocked them into the corner. Oh, the record does in the

continue! It is very important to put a frame

on the board. I think that Ding went upstairs on

the practise table on the interval. All the players are different. Some

like to knock a few ball balls about and relax or have a cup of coffee or

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

there. It is just what suits them. He hit that a little too hard. The

safety bouts are OK, as long as the high-value colours don't go safe.

Then with somebody gets a chance, there is not much that they can do

about it. Sometimes you get the reds going one

side of the table. I have seen many a time when the referee is having to

rewrack the balls and starting the frame again.

So far on this safety bout, nobody has played a telling safety, really.

Forcing their opponent to take a very difficult safety shot on.

He has mishit that one. You can see where the cue ball is

stopping -- he has mis-hit. He is scratching his head.

It is tight. He could just about get through.

Well at first glance it looks extremely tight. He may have to play

with a little bit of the left on the side to straighten up the black.

This game is all about fractions. Another eighth of an inch up the

table would have been perfect. Now does he need to put side on?

Joe Perry will be fully focused here. He's got that awkward black

out of the way. If he could only just get past the red to pot it.

Could've just dropped that in but played it with a bit more pace to

get himself closer to the black and still leave a nice angle.

A good crowd in today. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins to

follow this match this evening at 7pm. Ronnie pulls a few in.

The white could slip away here. Got to make sure he gets that first

red. He needs to screw back and come into that red.

We've talked about that one Achilles heel that Joe's got - he doesn't

seem to generate as much back spin as some of the players. He's hit

exactly the right red but usually the white would spin back and speed

through the other reds. APPLAUSE

Joe Perry doesn't look too happy in the chair.

It's a good marker. Have a look at where the cue ball is. If it's

behind of the white line, it's a very thin cut. If it's on the line

or just up towards us, then the baulk colours are quite easy.

How didn't that go in? ! The green looked as if it had to drop and go

across a few times. There wasn't much pace in it. Guaranteed to leave

something on with this red in the centre. Very quickly, Joe Perry's

got another chance. Must have been devastated in his chair when Ding

got in there after he missed a chance.

Just straighten that up a bit and keep it away from the cushion.

Got to score another 20-odd points from somewhere. He'll be very

disappointed if he doesn't make it re-to from here. -- three hive and

two. APPLAUSE

Can you get on a red without kissing them? There's one in the left centre

but I'm not sure if he can go for that.

100% concentration then on the kiss and Neil on the pot. We've all done

it. -- zero concentration on the pot. A tough one to take for Joe. He

knows what he's done but, at the time, the kiss was the only thing he

thought about. Joe Perry has been dominating this frame and that makes

it even worse that he's sitting in his chair now, thinking about what

was, rather than what is. That's what happens, I'm afraid.

He'll probably take the pink of the next red. -- off the next red. The

black is too tough to get into play. He'll maybe take the middle red into

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

currently in the spot. He thinks the pink will go on its own spot. There

is just enough room so that's why he's taking this red, to get the

pink free. That's a poor shot. Not like Ding to play a careless shot.

May have forced him to play the green.

Did he play to go inside that red or outside? It's hard to tell. Maybe he

did play the kiss but played it thinner but unlike him to make that

kind of mistake. But that makes up for it. Played that perfectly!

That's the best positional shot I've seen this week. You've got to hit it

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

easy to do. He'd have loved the black to have

been in its spot because the last red along the cushion is going to be

tough. No problem if he gets it dead straight but of course, that's no

good for the pink. Leaving an angle, as we saw with Joe Perry's brown in

the last friend, won't be easy. He's going to do well now to get out

from the pink. It depends whether he's got the

right angle. That wasn't the poor shot. It was

the blue to get on the red - didn't leave the right angle. Joe, though

he's looking a bit perplexed comeback to the table, should be

happy that he didn't get back on the last red.

That's one of the best snooker is we've seen this week. We've had the

best positional shot from doing, too.

Not easy to judge with the cue ball so close to the cushion. He's having

a look there now. Would you play this hard or try to rest on it. When

you hit it hard, you're going to be lucky.

Ding was quite a long way out the first time. Just as well he got the

pace under control. Left back right on the pocket. He's 26 behind now.

Doesn't appear to be in the right place.

A couple of inches out. This angle may be difficult now.

REFEREE: Foul and a miss.. Not beyond the realms of possibility

that Joe could be in front. If he misses it another twice, there will

be 38 in it for 35 on. I think Ding has asked the referee a

question. He's just asking whether it will go

back again if he misses it this time. Well, it will, because there

will only be 34 points in it. APPLAUSE

Well done. Just as well. We could have been here all day! Ding speaks

good English now. He's worked hard. Joe must have thought he was going

to win the frame there. This frame is still very much alive.

Whoever puts the red will probably win the frame. -- pot is.

Not sure if he was playing for the snooker behind the blue. Shouldn't

be too much snooker behind the blue. Shouldn't

though. Needs to catch two cushions. That went wrong and he may have been

lucky. I don't think you can get to the potting angle there.

Just ran on a little bit. A very poor escape from Joe.

A reprieve for Joe Perry supporters and for Joe Perry himself because he

is now closed the gap to just one frame. You have the full breathing

-- feeling that if Joe had lost this frame, it would have got away from

him. Joe Perry controlled the first three

quarters of the frame and just left a little lifeline with that of red.

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

struggling. Well, a scrappy frame, this one, but

that won't worry Joe Perry. He needed three chances to win it but

on the third chance, he did, and he closes the gap.

STUDIO: It doesn't matter how you win them as long as you do.

We saw in that frame, Dominic, some lovely examples of controlling the

cue ball and placing it carefully around the table. A derivative

example from Joe Perry here. Absolutely. This is a safety shot

from Joe. Perfect storm on the cue ball. Had to make sure the red

didn't come in the cue ball but he's got that exactly where he wants it,

behind the yellow. Very tricky for Ding to hit that but it took three

attempts to get it safe. That was the one shot that helped Joe claw

back the deficit to a single frame. Could have gone either way because

Ding had a chance to finish the frame and 4 -1

Ding had a chance to finish the difficult. He lost the first frame.

I wouldn't say he looked shaky but he had to build that confidence and

get in that focus that we're used to seeing. He did win three frames in a

row to take a lead and he will be happy with that, even though he's

just lost that frame, which he could have won. All to play for but Ding

still has the advantage, for me. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Joe Perry just

moved out of the way to let the referee have a look down the line of

the shot in case the ball needed to be replaced. Shouldn't really miss

this. This is not going to be

straightforward for Ding but he's got a chance.

If he's not using the spider, it helps his cause, but if he can just

get the cue to the side of the pack for the potting angle he'll get the

strike. He's got good control of the cue ball and he'll need it here.

This is where Ding is very good, in the break-building department. He

can bring reds interplay. He's running around so maybe he can't get

in there at this time. He's had that very poorly, though.

That was a bad miss but it was the position from black to that was a

really poor shot. It gives confidence to an opponent if you

keep falling out and missing. Joe Perry has a real chance now in this

match. It looked tough from 3-1 behind.

APPLAUSE behind.

Looks as if he's got the angle of this black to play for the red that

would be mentioned. -- that wheelie mentioned. -- that Willie Thorne

mentioned. He has left the cue ball low so that he can pot the red and

split the pack open. His choice now is single, red, or

pack. He just can't get a read out of their! He's got one out and it's

gone safe. The arc didn't come soon enough. A bit higher on the cue ball

and the cue ball would have made an arc. You would think... He's gone

into the pack once I brought one red out each time. Without a kiss, that

would have been perfect. Yellow is the only way he can get into the

pack. He can just play the loose red and walk. -- read in baulk. A lovely

shot. Well played. After playing one of the best

positional shots in the match, he's just played the worst positional

shot in the match. APPLAUSE

I'll be very surprised if Ding doesn't hit into the pack and leave

a shot on. He might get four points. He may miss it the first time but he

won't miss it to the second. He's looking to come off the side

cushion into the pack. There is a pot on, on the left

cushion. He will be on the black if he takes it on and pots it. Very

tough. Ding has got the same red on from a

slightly different position. This is the shot off two cushions.

Run-through and play for the black. APPLAUSE

He played with pace down the table. Great shot. Don't think he can play

off any other colours and split the reds. Looking at a plant in the

middle. Oh, he's misjudged it. He didn't

think he could play that shot and go into the pack. He tried to come down

the side of the reds and leave the plant into the right corner. Some

strange things going on at the moment!

Highly unlikely he'd be playing to cut this in.

If he'd potted that it would have gone into the reds so a good job he

hit it thick. He could play the red to the left of

the pink there. It is very thin. Joe is mentioning to the referee that

the white is slightly over a bit. He would rather stop short than hit

it too hard and risk splitting the reds for Ding.

Very good. He had to pot that so thin to avoid the pink on the way

through. A double kiss is almost a certainty

as well. It will be tough to get on to a

colour. He is playing the thin one but with double kisses, he could get

into trouble. That's not so good. He played the

white. He will take this on. Just going through a spell in the

match when neither player is doing a lot.

The half chances come up, they are not taking them. There is a little

bit of safety play. They can't work out yet when happens

with the kicks. Sometimes you can get a kick. It will throw the object

ball off line. You want pot it. Other times it doesn't.

Why it deviates off on an unnatural path?

It was a dangerous pay to play for the pink there. , but he played it

perfectly. He has to be careful that the cue

does not brush the red. It is very close. That is pretty good.

It is very easy to miss a line on that type of shot, but he doesn't

have a lot of angles here now. He's playing for the bottom red

there. Not sure if he can hold for the

blue. This red will pot. He can run

through the red and beyond pink or black with this shot.

I don't know why he's playing with bottom.

The same thing. He played for the pink or the black. That is good.

There are now 23 points for him in front.

He could level this 3-3. He could have gone up towards the

blue. A bit of awkward bridge bridges.

He is 38 points in front. He wants to make sure that the red... It is

tricky. He needs to get the red in. Now down for a ball colour.

A pretty good effort, this, from Joe Perry.

3-1 down at the interval. He had a good chance to win the fourth frame.

It is not easy to come back in. Ding had a chance to win the

previous frame. He could have been 4-1 in front.

This is Joe Perry's highest break so far in the match.

And it came at a very good time. Joe Perry takes that frame. He is

now standing at 3-3. Well terrific stuff from Joe Perry

there. An excellent break to get himself right back in this. It is

all square now in the first semi-final and credit to Joe Perry.

This is a good fight backfrom him? He is starting to play well himself

now. He will be fansyinging job now. 3-3. Another three frames to go,

halfway there. It is becoming now to get to the pressure stage of the

match. Both players are halfway there. It is the best of five now.

So the pressure builds the closer you get to the winning line and when

every individual shot can make or break an important frame for you.

The pressure is starting to increase from here on in.

And Joe Perry has won both frames after the interval. How important is

the interval in perhaps changing how a match feels? In breaking the

the interval in perhaps changing how of losing frames to starting to win

them? I hate intervals. I really do. Obviously in physical sports you

need an interval but really in snooker? Are they necessary? Ruins

the flow of a match. I like a match to start and end. Basically whatever

happens within the two-hour match will happen. There are lots of

psychological twists and turns, but when you have an interval, whatever

has happened Oregon before, it resets after the interval. It has

not happened for Ding. He looked really good after losing the first

three, he went 3-1 ahead. And now Joe has come in, had a team talk his

coach or manager, come out with a new plan of attack, the interval has

given him a new chance to do that. It has worked wonders.

And it has. And he is showing growing confidence and in his long

potting ability? Yes, Joe is a clean striker.

As long as he knew he was not going to leave that on, it took the

pressure off the pot. He was obviously playing for a colour

there. He is starting to hit the ball well now. Right at this moment

in time, he may be now a favourite, but Ding is such a great player. I

can see this matchbooking pretty close.

So, as Dominic says it is the best of five match now. The first of six

will make their way into the final. That is what they are playing for,

the Welsh #k7 Open Trophy. Ding has had his name on that once before.

There are some great names on that trophy.

Ding decided to play the aggressive safety shot earlier on. He got

bogged down in the last two games. That is good play for Joe. He is

playing at his pace. More like the safety play you expect

to see for these two players. Getting within a couple of inches of

the cushion. Ding may be tempted here. It is not

easy. He may play the same sort of shot.

An excellent safety. He's done that pretty well.

Good stuff. Nobody much likes a safety bout.

But it is nice to see a few now and then.

A lot of skill in the safety play. The game is very much a

break-building game now, but years ago when you go back a few years to

the Joe Davis type of era, there was lots of safety play.

Snooker is no different from other sports. It has improved in the

standard. A great deal, I must say, over the years.

Obviously the top players these days are much better than they have fr

been but there are so many good players now that can win

tournaments. Considering Joe won that safety

battle, he would have been disappointed to have made that canon

on the green. Ding will try to get in behind the

green and the brown. If it slows up a bit it is OK.

Just a fraction too hard. He has got down to the shot, and now

he is up. He is not sure he is able to see the ball he wants to make

contact with. When the reds are split both sides

of the table the path back to the baulk area is restricted.

Ding is looking to see if he can see the red directly behind the pink

there. That was fraught with danger. He

just took a risk. Is Joe going to be tempted? He's

looking at the one in the centre but that's a tough shot, that is.

He can't get to the red. That is below the black

Spot. Not sure about that one.

If you fancy the shot you have to go for it. Otherwise you won't forgive

yourself. Now will he try to bring the black

into play? No, probably drop on the black.

Prabl play for the pink -- probably play for the pink.

I don't think that kiss is any good. If he kisses them at the same time.

He is on the pink. In his frame of mind, having lost

the last two frames, this is a dangerous shot to take on, but very

well played! He never refuses the shot that he thinks will continue

the break. Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hendry, they all

play that shot to keep the break going. The opponent is sitting in

the chair, thinking he is not on the pink. Then you sink in the seat

again. And look at that shot. That was a

shot to nothing. There is an easy safety shot there,

but looking at the long pot, he has potted a lot of these shots today.

It is like he has made his mind up to take it on.

Oh, a bad contact. It took all of the pace out of the cue ball.

That cue ball would have been up near the baulk line.

Well, things are not happening for either player at the moment.

There was a really good bout of safety, but once they have been in

the balls, things have not been happening. A few kicks.

Perfect. That will be a bit of a boost for

Joe Perry. Joe Perry has shown in this match he

has plenty of bottle. I felt at the interval he was

hanging on to Ding's shirt tails but he has come out strong.

He just needs one good shot to get on perfect position. And then he can

start and stay on the pink. but this could be to do with the cue

ball. If he plays with the pink, he needs to get one out into the middle

of the table. Somewhere where near the white is now.

If he could pick it up and put it back where it is now, he would be

pretty happy. That had gone OK. Now ready for a

shot on the pink in the middle. He's just left himself a little bit

to do with that pink. If he had played it a bit harder and

brought the white into play a little more, that pink would have been

easier. He will be maized that he -- Ding will be amazed he is back to

the table so soon. Pretty good from where he was on

that green. Yes, that was the difference between

the two players. You saw how Ding managed to bring the cue ball right

up to the top of the table with not a lot of power. It is hard to get

that reaction from the cue ball. a lot of power. It is hard to get

Still that one shot from a lot of power. It is hard to get

player to get onto one of these five reds. If they can get on one

perfectly, it is a series of stuns and screws.

He is now in a position where he can play that series of stuns and screws

we have been talking about. I think the second, the one he is looking at

now, he can put in the corner, so he does not have to play to move them.

-- he can pot in the corner. He felt that he did not pot so he played the

move. It has taken a while but he has

eventually got to where he wanted to be. 24 points in front, the pink

will be 30, so three reds needed. Those two reds nearest the back

cushion are going to be quite tough to play just to get onto the pink.

He is still not in prime position, is he? Trying so hard.

We have only had two frames that have been under 20 minutes and you

would not expect that from these two.

Plenty of breaks here but only one century from Ding. 73 and 59 from

Joe Perry but there has turned out to be quite a lot of safety play.

This puts the frame beyond doubt, won't be doing too much with

An excellent break when you consider where the reds were, he never had

the cue ball under control. But he took them really well. Having lost

the two previous frames, it goes without saying it was a very

important frame for Ding. He would have started to doubt himself if Joe

had won this as well. I do not think the black has been

potted at all in this break Well, having been cold for the last

couple of frames how he produced that I do not know. But he has taken

the lead again, at 4-3. This is the a PTC masters. This is a

little pool table and I am teaching the little kids. This is an old guy,

he is 105 years old. Very good at chess, of course he beat me.

This is the gold medal and the silver medal, the Asian games.

It was my first time to be the flag bearer so it was very proud for me.

This is a good one, but sometimes I don't know what to do with the

fashion shows. He is a lovely chap, Ding Junhui,

very popular on the circuit. To stay that level-headed when you have

millions upon millions of fans back home in China, it is a mark of the

man. The match has maybe had a bit of a lull at the moment, hasn't it?

But he will be delighted that in a scrappy frame he has come through.

Yes, towards scrappy frame he has come through.

tremendous, and I think he will be very pleased at the way he is cueing

the ball again. That will give him some confidence and impetus going

into the rest of the match. He will -- Joe will know he can't afford to

win too many frames. This is a very important frame for Joe.

WILLIE THORNE: That is the first foul we have seen from Ding for a

few frames. He will be fully aware that he has two cut a few of the

errors out. -- he has to. The cue ball is behind the line of

the green so it will cover all the reds.

Joe Perry can get past the blue, play a similar shot as the first

safety. He has left Ding a chance here. He

might go into the pack and knock one out. He could go for this in the far

right-hand corner. He did not perhaps have the angle to

take the cue ball up the table after potting the red.

Joe could play the kiss on the red and black but he decided against it,

went for a safety shot. He needs a bit of cover here because this red

has gone right over the whole. A yellow has just come to his

rescue. He caught the bump in the middle

pocket and put his hand up to apologise to Joe Perry.

Sometimes when he is sitting down he raises his eyebrows and awful lot,

he has this strange habit. -- an awful.

Got to hope for a good kiss, and he has not got one. You would expect

him to pot the green without any problem.

If you can't reach the green you might as well play the yellow

because it is the better angle for the right-hand side of the table.

I thought he might have the cue ball over on the right-hand side. It is

only the one on the black spot that will pot.

Well done, got the break going, now the blue is available, get that and

things should get a little easier. I don't think he wants to be

straight on this red, he needs a slight angle.

He has overdone it, he is on the pink. He is lucky. It didn't look

like he could get that far off that red. He missed the pink in a similar

situation in the previous it would have been in his

amazed he was that he wasn't on the black. It would not have been on his

mind getting onto the pink when he played the red. Bad miss, though. I

agree. He had previous from a pink in that pocket. His hand was

comfortably on the table there. Only the pressure of the circumstance, I

think. He would have been so disappointed not to get on the

black. He played with side, which he did not mean to do. There is no way

the white would have come off that angle without side.

It is Ding's turn now to play a very poor positional shot.

The only red that is really on is the one that is on the centre

pocket, near the blue. The two reds below the pink looks set to the

right-hand corner. -- look. Obviously they can't be set

otherwise he would have been playing it. The safety is not

straightforward either. He may just have played a safety.

Good shot but he will be very disappointed by that effort. Neither

player can complain now, they have both had a good chance. Whatever

happens in this frame now, they have had their first chance.

As good as he could have done from there. It has left this red, over

distance. Looking at the track the cue ball

will take. If he doesn't play with side. So he will put some side spin

in. He does not want to go into that red on the way back up.

It is directly in the line of the natural angle of the cue ball coming

off the cushion, the red. That is in your mind when you don't play the

part. Ding did not take the chance of playing it with side spin to

avoid those. It would of course have made the pot

more difficult. You get the feeling at the moment

that if Joe Perry loses this frame...

It doesn't matter how bad you feel about the shots you have played, you

can come to the table at the next shot and it feels really good out

there. He has lost position. He would have

liked to have stayed down on the pink. He is looking at loop at

yellow looks a good angle here. -- at blue. Maybe brown.

He wanted that cue ball to travel another 18 inches, two feet. If he

does not hit this quite crisply enough, it might cannon into the red

or pink and taken out of position. -- take him. He got the gap

perfectly, well played. Once he gets rid of the red nearest

the left-hand corner... Look at the gap he went through. Once he gets

rid of this red, causing a problem with the black, he should be able to

level the game at 4-4. He is leaving himself a pink in the middle again,

the one he has missed twice. He has not come close enough to the pink

here with a good angle. That will definitely give him

confidence again to play another shot in the middle pocket because he

has put those two pinks completely behind him. He has not played that

very well. Cannot hold for any red. I don't think he has the angle on

the black to go in and out of baulk and swing it around.

What do you think? He has to make sure of the pot first, doesn't he?

He missed one earlier because all his concentration was on the

positional side. A bit unfortunate there. If he had missed the knuckle

he could have been on the red to the left of the black.

Got the snooker, so he is going to have to catch this very thin to get

back up to the top of the table. Not that thin, though. I think he has

got away with it though. He has. Ding is looking a bit out of sorts

now, he looked very good until 3-1 in front. Whoever wins the other

semifinal, these two are going to have to be better than this win that

match. I think Ding can lose the plot out there if he is having a lot

of chances that he is not taking. Expectations are quite high, quite

rightly, but he has not been making the most of his chances in this

match so far. And awful kick. That ball did not

even go near the pocket. Missed the pocket by four inches, he could not

possibly have done that without a kick. He has left Ding the nice one

in the centre pocket and put some reds into play to make it a bit

worse. This is a very tricky situation for

Joe, having seen that horrible kick. Not ideal for a clearance but, with

him being right-handed, the red nearest the cushion is going to be

OK for a right-handed player. This is a great chance to pinch it and go

5-3 in front. Four ranking events he has won this

year. A remarkable performance with the standard of play these days.

That has moved the red slightly more interplay. -- into play.

Didn't quite get into the cue ball. There shouldn't be a problem with

the red. Making sure he went past the green

so that he would not be hampered in any way. Blue or black here to get

nicely on this last red. He wants to go round the back of it so he can

get onto the red comfortably. A bit surprised he did not play for

the pink because that would have been guaranteed to get onto the red.

This could be the last of the tricky shots he needs to play to pinch this

frame. If he drops it in the dead weight he

will do well not to finish on the black. It looks like he is going to

play the blue or pink. In hindsight I suppose he has

screwed it a bit too far but it just had that slight angle. The only

thing that could go wrong is if he ran through the cushion and somehow

the white finished near the green. If he plays it on and off the

cushion and hits it too hard he could snooker himself. He is

guaranteed if it screws back of the blue not to snooker himself.

He has played it nicely. Really good effort, this, from being. -- from

Ding. That was a handy kiss. Nothing much

should go wrong now, though. That is the important ball. Good

effort from Ding. The pink does not go in so Joe will definitely play

on. It is amazing how the top players suddenly find something from

somewhere, when you have 12 games on the trot, he manages to get a two

frame lead again. -- when you have won two.

A very important frame for Ding Junhui but some way to go before we

have a winner. We are going to stay with the snooker on BBC Two. Natural

world is going to be shown at a later date. -- title case natural

world. I am not entirely sure that Joe

would have parted the red anyway. I was sure that that cue ball would

not have can and if it did not have a kick. Ding made a superb break.

This is the kick now. They can be so frustrating. It must impact you

psychologically so much as if you feel you can't trust the balls. You

do get a lot of kicks in these arenas. When it happens at such a

vital moment is that... But having said that, when you look at the

position of the balls, there were some open reds, but for Ding to win

from that position was a tremendous effort. All of the top players seem

to find something at the crucial stage and it was a wonderful break

by Ding. Needing one more frame to make it into the final. Somehow Joe

Perry needs to find another gear. It is a semifinal ranking event, he has

not won one before, so he will not be giving up, he will be doing

everything he can to get back into this match. If he can win this frame

that will put some pressure on Ding. Very interesting to see the

way that Ding Junhui has handled the pressure when the momentum seemed to

be going away from him. It does seem to bring the best out of him and he

has put himself in a fantastic position, he needs just one more

frame to book his place in the final of the 2014 and wash open. -- 2014

Welsh Open. WILLIE THORNE: Will Joe Perry break

off again in this frame. If he does, there will be a decided. --

decider. There does not appear enough room to go behind the back of

the black. He hit that very thin. The first

real chance of this frame falls to Joe Perry.

The match has been a little slower than I thought it would be. There

have only been two frame is under 20 minutes, a lot of good matchplay.

There have been a lot of bad contacts which have stopped them in

full flow. If Joe Perry loses this, he has

missed a few at the right-hand pocket and he had the kick. It has

all gone wrong at that pocket. He needs to avoid that one now.

A lot of players would screw back of this to make sure you bring reds

interplay. He has played it really well. Five reds in open play so he

can get 50 points in front. His heart sank a bit there thinking

he wasn't on this red but as you can see from the picture he clearly is.

He looks very determined, I fancy a decent break from this position.

You often see that when a player is at the point of no return and

something releases in his mind, he plays a lot better.

Needed a good kiss and did not get one. He is looking to play this red

on the cushion. Very well played, sir. It is one of

those shots where you say, great shot, if he gets it and, why did he

go for that, if he misses. If you are going to lose, don't lose

playing a safety, is as -- as Stephen Hendry always used to say.

Did he ever play a safety, Stephen Hendry?

Unlikely he will play the cannon on the red this time. He is nearly on

the cushion but should not be a problem, just roll it in for the

black. He may decide to swing it around for the blue but it depends

what angle he gets. Whichever one he decides to play, he

will get an either one. -- get on. He can get past the winning line

without bringing those five reds into play if he gets high colours.

He is certainly not hanging around in this drake. Five minutes so far

and some tricky shots in it. -- in this break.

I am not sure if he has enough angle here to split these reds now. He is

57 in front, so he is going to need one of those reds.

He did not have a lot of angle on that, not a lot of momentum when the

cue ball went into the pack. It was not an easy part. He has just

gone down and plays the shots in front of him. Negative thoughts have

been put to the back of his mind. No heroics there, because that was

virtually frame ball. You can see his disappointment, that

fabulous break of 69 should win him the frame. Ding needs one snooker.

He played just to hit the right-hand red there. He requires one snooker,

of course, but it is a bit of a chance, this. He did not try to

bring him out there. It is a little awkward if it is cannon into the

red. The cue ball is not far enough away from the cushion to put some

spin on. He can't really afford to take the

blue because then it would only be one snooker to tie.

Some value here for Joe Perry to move these two reds out of the way.

He needs some blacks, so it will be more difficult to play for blacks

now, even if he does get the chance. He is going to have two risk the in

off here. -- have to. He will probably attempt the black

now because he know it will be tough to win needing three snookers

instead of one. He has not played that well. He

would have wanted to go further down the table to snooker Joe Perry on

the yellow. Easy to hit this. Ding does not really want to put

this red. -- to pot. He played it nicely, played it very

well. Just a little swerve and,

see, he can almost hit it thin. It still nearly went in-off.

As he is playing plain ball you would expect him to make contact

with this red without too many problems. Almost missed it, though.

Joe Perry was hanging on fingernails in this match but with

his rate of 69 he has closed the gap.

The very relieved Joe Perry keeps his hopes alive, he wins that frame

and closes the gap to 5-4. You mentioned during commentary that Joe

seems to have... All of the now -- the nerves have gone out of him

because he was so close to the wall. How do we get ourselves in the right

frame of mind to play the whole match like that? You start like that

but then it is the circumstances, where you feel great and you start

well but then you lose a few frames which possibly you should have won,

mentally some doubts come into your head and you want to clear them away

which is easy enough if you win a frame quickly but if you don't they

are there for the whole match. If Joe Perry wins the next game and

levels it at 5-5, all of a sudden the pressure comes back on him. Yes,

but at the moment he would give anything for 5-5. Ding is at the

moment feeling he is throwing the game away but if it comes to 5-5 the

pressure would come off him a bit. Mind games happens in every sport,

Ding is questioning his cue action now. When you have a great deal of

ability you need a strong mind. Not a bad break from Ding. He has

left Joe Perry a very awkward shot. You saw how high his head was there,

not looking down the line. Good effort.

Joe Perry shaking his arm because he know he can -- he knows he can have

a go at this, just loosening himself up.

That was too loose. He did not strike that well at all. Caught it

much too thin, otherwise he could have got around the black and back

down to the baulk area. Ding does not have anything easy, maybe a

plant. He may kiss the red that is next to the black.

That is an excellent shot. It is amazing, Joe would have gone back to

his chair thinking, I might have got away with that, and the plant was

perfect. The truth is, if he had hit the red,

he would not have been unlucky. You can give as many stories as you like

why you lose a match, but nearly every time it is because you Miss

why you lose a match, but nearly Potts -- you miss pots.

He would definitely take the yellow if the blue was not where it is.

Is there a gap to get onto this red? Yes, he can play that slowly, if he

wants, and get onto the black. If he plays the red in the middle he can

only play for really the yellow or the blue. It is worth the risk

dragging this in with a bit of right-hand side and staying on the

black, starting at the business end of the table. He knows this is his

chance to win frame and match. To go on to another final with a chance of

winning his fifth ranking title of the season.

A bit bits and pieces this match, isn't it? The safety has been so

good. Need this to go well, which it hasn't. This black is nasty. He will

take it on but it is tricky. He's

get the cannon into the red. He's got the part. He's got two reds on.

Queueing off the side cushion is never easy. -- cueing.

Very good. Very still on the shot and you need to on those. Doesn't

like the yellow. He would like to get that down to

this black spot area as quickly as possible. -- back down. Seems to put

a lot of balls here for just a 36 break. -- pot. You just feel one

good position shot here would clinch it.

This all started, of course, when Perry went for the read and made a

mess of it and looked as though he had got away with it. -- the red.

This was the long red we were talking about, Terry, and it was a

straightforward shot to get round the back of the black, but

completely mishit it, and then look where the ball has finished. Looked

as if there was nothing on. And this is the next shot we see.

All of a sudden, the black springs into operation but played a very

poor positional shot there. To keep this break going, year is going to

have to cut it in and play for the black. Or play for a book colour.

No idea where the cue ball was going but you would have to say a bit

unfortunate on the colour. But he still has the brown in the middle. A

lot of players would roll up to the yellow.

Quite right as well. A natural angle to get onto one of the reds.

After all the effort of potting the brown, he forgot about the position.

Looking at the line, Terry, probably needed a little stunned to play the

angle. He thought it would be under the two reds. The angle wasn't

there. So now faced with another very thin cut. How does he miss the

kids on the red on the cushion? -- the kiss? Identity and he can. He's

having a good look at it. He is having a go.

He avoided the kiss but where is the cue ball going? Another good pot

needed. Well, the break was on 248, and such a crucial time as well in

this match. -- onto the 48. Need another one here. Two reds

available at the bottom of the pack. What a brilliant shot. He had to

play for that gap. Couldn't have played it better. Brilliant.

All these top players, you know, when you think about winning the

game and the match, they don't refuse anything in the final frame.

A couple of times he has been out of position and a couple of times he

has got back into it again, and Joe Perry now knows the end is nigh.

Yes, the very, very top players are different and they can play at their

best when they are feeling their worst. And that is what he has done

here. Excellent performance. Joe Perry has put up a very good show.

Played some good snooker. You could say a shot here and there

would have made the difference but that is always the case. Is

remarkable performance from Ding, isn't it? His fifth final of the

year. I don't know if he has been beaten.

And so whoever gets the final is going to be great. The crowd might

like a ding-name-O'Sullivan final but Barry Hawkins is playing well.

-- Ding. The chance of his second century of the match. Yes, and it

would be fitting, wouldn't it, because this has been an excellent

break. Some risky shots and he could have played safe but that was never

his intention. He was going for the win.

What a great performance from him there in that final frame. A break

of 118 has taken him into tomorrow's final and he has beaten

Joe Perry hi 6-4. -- by. Well, that was a worthy break to get into the

Welsh Open final. Brilliant from Ding Junhui. 118, and, again, it is

that champion quality that when they see the finishing line, they get

over it. Yes. Joe must be so frustrated there.

Some players would have played safe on the first and it was a wafer thin

cut back on the black into the left corner pocket to keep the break

going. Then he had an absolutely wafer thin cut on a red into one of

the black pockets. The cue ball has gone all over the table, he has a

nasty brown in the middle pocket which was very very missable. He

puts that and then leaves himself with another way for -- wafer thin

cut. Kept the break going time after time. Ridiculous plots that some

players wouldn't even bother with! And you think that sets him apart

from a lot of players on the circuit? Think if Joe Perry had been