Day One - Part 1

:00:37. > :00:43.Welcome to Cardiff, we'll back at the motor point Arena in the heart

:00:44. > :00:47.of the Welsh capital for the 25th BetVictor Welsh Open. We have had

:00:48. > :00:51.eight different winners in the last decade so who can follow the

:00:52. > :01:22.record-breaking four-time winner John Higgins?

:01:23. > :01:30.The often welcome to the 2016 Welsh Open. The win for John Higgins last

:01:31. > :01:34.year started a real research and sinful. He has already taken two

:01:35. > :01:38.tournaments this season, he will be confident and so will plenty of us.

:01:39. > :01:45.Nine former champions taking part and ten Welsh players hoping they

:01:46. > :01:51.can go as far as they possibly can. 12 tables in use today because just

:01:52. > :01:57.like last year there are 128 players in the first round. But this time

:01:58. > :02:02.round one will be done and dusted by the close of play so no rest day

:02:03. > :02:06.this year. If you get through you are back tomorrow and so on through

:02:07. > :02:12.the week. One of those Welsh hopes with us, Dominic, a very warm

:02:13. > :02:19.welcome. Here we go again, who will win this year, it is wide open? I

:02:20. > :02:23.know, all of the tournaments are, there are no clear favourites these

:02:24. > :02:29.days especially in a best of seven. John Higgins is reigning champion.

:02:30. > :02:33.He has a great past in this board, he will fancy his chances. He loves

:02:34. > :02:39.playing here. But I think one of the big names will win again. Who is

:02:40. > :02:45.your money on? John Lacey gets to the quarterfinals will be one of the

:02:46. > :02:48.big dangers, busy people like Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, they will

:02:49. > :02:53.come to the fore. Ronnie O'Sullivan winning at the Masters superbly led

:02:54. > :02:59.it seems to be wide open, only Neil Robertson and John Higgins have won

:03:00. > :03:01.twice this season. Colts gone are the days when one player is

:03:02. > :03:09.dominating like with Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry. It is far more open

:03:10. > :03:14.now. There are no clear favourites and there will be a lot of early

:03:15. > :03:20.shocks. John Higgins with a record-breaking fourth title last

:03:21. > :03:24.year. You fancy him again? I have always rated him, in a best of seven

:03:25. > :03:28.you need the all-round game, great tactical game and great parting and

:03:29. > :03:35.break-building. If you are just a potter, if you have a bad spell you

:03:36. > :03:45.can lose quick frame very easily. I always preferred the all-round

:03:46. > :03:52.players. Any Welsh hopes? I do not know if Mark Williams is on his top

:03:53. > :03:57.game at the moment. I think Ryan Day is playing very well at the moment.

:03:58. > :04:06.He is one of the greatest potters and when he is full of confidence he

:04:07. > :04:17.takes some stopping. Certainly lots of big names and lots of Welsh hopes

:04:18. > :04:21.for you to cast your eye over. The Rocket is back with a bang, a

:04:22. > :04:26.stunning Masters win last month, Ronnie O'Sullivan opens the show.

:04:27. > :04:31.The world number one and another former winner, we will see how Mark

:04:32. > :04:37.Selby does against Welsh outside of Wayne Jones. 20 years since he first

:04:38. > :04:41.won his home event, Mark Williams is still the leading Welsh hopes so can

:04:42. > :04:49.he go one better than the semifinal last year? We will have a close eye

:04:50. > :04:56.on Michael White and this man, could it finally leave the Ryan Day's

:04:57. > :05:00.year. And last year for the coach takes centre stage this evening. He

:05:01. > :05:06.is not the only one flourishing at 40. On the O'Sullivan was 40 last

:05:07. > :05:10.year and he is still winning titles despite the break the game. Both

:05:11. > :05:22.skipped the professional opinion on the man who remains the big box

:05:23. > :05:26.office star. Snicko is likely to have him, the way the years are

:05:27. > :05:31.thousands he picks and chooses but also unlikely because if the relief

:05:32. > :05:34.dedicates himself away the given stars and Hendry did we would see

:05:35. > :05:42.snooker a lot more in a different light. If it has not been said

:05:43. > :05:47.already, it is massive, for when he has not found. He is someone to look

:05:48. > :05:52.up to. Most things he does I take a lot of advice from him. Talented

:05:53. > :05:57.player but unfortunately mentally not quite there. That is what makes

:05:58. > :06:03.him vulnerable. That is part of Lloyds some people come to see him.

:06:04. > :06:09.Jekyll Hyde. That is all I can say. He is more or less impossible

:06:10. > :06:14.to beat when he is on top of his game. I would put him in front of

:06:15. > :06:23.Stephen Hendry, as the best player I have ever seen. I think most people

:06:24. > :06:26.agree with that now. With Ronnie in the last four or five years mentally

:06:27. > :06:34.he has been as good as he has ever been in his career. I have known

:06:35. > :06:38.Ronnie since he was nine years old, I was 14 when he came into things

:06:39. > :06:44.cross snooker club and I thought he had serious ability. Possibles for

:06:45. > :06:49.fun. Could have been the best player we have ever seen. I think on his

:06:50. > :06:59.day he can beat anyone who wants when he wants.

:07:00. > :07:08.He is up against this man, Barry Pinches, he has been a round a fair

:07:09. > :07:14.bit, turned pro in 89. Guess who he beat to win his minor ranking title?

:07:15. > :07:22.You guessed it, Ronnie O'Sullivan, his only victory over the Rocket.

:07:23. > :07:32.You can never take your eyes off Ronnie O'Sullivan. It is time to get

:07:33. > :07:38.coverage underway. And a very good afternoon to down more can and

:07:39. > :07:43.Willie Thorne. COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, --

:07:44. > :07:48.Darren Morgan. We are looking for to this one, the legend against Barry

:07:49. > :07:51.Pinches. They have played five times, Barry winning one of those

:07:52. > :07:59.but Ronnie obviously clear favourite and the packed audience here will be

:08:00. > :08:04.really looking forward to this one. Best of seven, first frame, Ronnie

:08:05. > :08:15.O'Sullivan to break. Dan Morgan with me, many times world champion.

:08:16. > :08:21.Obviously will be tough. -- Darren. It'll be tough especially the use in

:08:22. > :08:25.the same form last month. The format will suit Barry Pinches a little bit

:08:26. > :08:32.better, shorter format, best of seven. It is imperative the gets a

:08:33. > :08:41.good start. Has been around a very long time, Barry Pinches. Looking at

:08:42. > :08:52.this opening read there is a gap to get back into Polk. -- baulk. It is

:08:53. > :09:00.a case of getting it absolutely perfect to get the gap. He got the

:09:01. > :09:04.gap nicely. That is the key when you are playing a shot to nothing, make

:09:05. > :09:11.sure you get the gap over time. And get back into vault area. Little bit

:09:12. > :09:24.short of pace that a tempter for Ronnie. -- baulk area.

:09:25. > :09:29.I was interested to listen to all of those people talking about Ronnie

:09:30. > :09:38.O'Sullivan and the problem I see with players talking that way,

:09:39. > :09:42.fabulous pot speak, you should not have it in your mind that he is

:09:43. > :09:55.unbeatable. That is not helping you and your fourth Athens. You have to

:09:56. > :10:01.do -- not helping your thought patterns. You have to believe you

:10:02. > :10:06.have a chance against anybody but when he is in the right frame of

:10:07. > :10:11.mind, he's a genius on a snooker table, you cannot take that away

:10:12. > :10:23.from him. He is exciting to watch. Like all geniuses they have got

:10:24. > :10:32.certain floors. He seems to be in a very good place the last couple of

:10:33. > :10:35.seasons. The and choose where he wants to play, obviously not great

:10:36. > :10:43.for the public who want to see him all the time because obviously he

:10:44. > :10:48.only plays in certain events. Bet with his busy schedule you have to

:10:49. > :10:52.pick and choose now, you cannot play well for 40 weeks every year, why

:10:53. > :11:01.not just find yourself for the big tournaments. Slightly more into the

:11:02. > :11:32.cue ball then then he wanted. Still deciding to take it on.

:11:33. > :11:37.Played to get it a little bit thin obviously so he could be nicely on

:11:38. > :11:39.the black. He will play into the bunch. Does not have the play at

:11:40. > :11:58.pace. Talking to a few of the players in

:11:59. > :12:04.the players were, they were saying how cold it this morning. I do not

:12:05. > :12:14.know if it was any warmer at the minute but Ronnie seems to have

:12:15. > :12:22.settled very quickly. Obviously the first couple of matches at any venue

:12:23. > :12:26.it takes a bit of time to get the tables bedded in and conditions to

:12:27. > :12:59.settle down. Seems a bit reluctant to want to

:13:00. > :13:14.play from the pathogen. He has played for the loose one. Little

:13:15. > :13:23.surprise Ronnie played for the blue. He has got a good case on the cue

:13:24. > :13:32.ball. You noticed the way he was cueing, he almost played as if he

:13:33. > :13:44.was hampered just to create the angle I was not there.

:13:45. > :14:32.Fouled, Ronnie O'Sullivan, four. That is a shock, it is not the

:14:33. > :14:50.freefall so I am sure he will put Barry back into bat. -- not the free

:14:51. > :14:52.ball. The problems he will have the weapon of the reds. I thought he

:14:53. > :15:13.would bring more into play. Decision time. Do you play their

:15:14. > :15:36.yellow or do you roll up behind it. Decided to play the safety,

:15:37. > :15:41.excellent shot. Way you think about the way he has been the last two or

:15:42. > :15:44.three seasons, if he had had the same head on him from the word go in

:15:45. > :15:49.his professional career you would have to use agree with Shaun Murphy

:15:50. > :15:53.that he would have smashed all the reckons there were two is fast. In

:15:54. > :16:02.some ways it is a bit of a shame, really. Saying you cannot put an old

:16:03. > :16:08.head on young shoulders. Taking Ronnie a little bit longer to

:16:09. > :16:17.realise the right way to win. And obviously now he has become prolific

:16:18. > :16:28.at it. He seems to enjoy the safety battles now, like rereading many

:16:29. > :16:31.years ago. Certainly treating Barry with the utmost respect, as you

:16:32. > :16:36.would expect of a seasoned pro, Barry Pinches. He usually wears the

:16:37. > :16:38.Norwich City waistcoat, obviously he is supporting less than hour. What a

:16:39. > :17:27.good judge the years. I think the red to the right of the

:17:28. > :17:38.think we'll go to so he could play it as a shock to nothing. There it

:17:39. > :17:42.is, we can see that quite clearly. I am very surprised he's not getting

:17:43. > :17:56.down and playing that shot straightaway. Decided to play the

:17:57. > :18:01.one nearest the yellow. Very well done. Excellent shot. Very unlucky

:18:02. > :18:17.not to have been nicer Ron brown families. Very unfortunate, great

:18:18. > :18:26.shot. I think it is one of those where he just has the tape round

:18:27. > :18:34.one. Plays it in the middle. In a bit of trouble here. I think he has

:18:35. > :18:41.the flavour pot. Fofana very difficult but if you -- both are

:18:42. > :19:17.very difficult. It has stayed straight. Just too good.

:19:18. > :19:20.I cannot imagine he will win the frame from this visit.

:19:21. > :19:29.He has the chance to get 20 points on the board. One of the few players

:19:30. > :19:42.outside the top echelons who would not be frightened of running. He has

:19:43. > :19:46.was being a real battler. What he has God is determination. Sometimes

:19:47. > :20:15.that can get you over the line. Very unlucky if he cannot get

:20:16. > :20:18.through to the red. There you can see from a picture he can quite

:20:19. > :20:31.clearly get onto the red. Decided to go for the blue. On the

:20:32. > :21:22.think as well. Ellipses looking very good now, it

:21:23. > :21:32.has TV set. As you can see a bit straighter on this.

:21:33. > :21:45.Played a real positive shop there. If he had missed the jaws he would

:21:46. > :21:54.have been perfect on this flat but as it is it is very end. He is still

:21:55. > :22:00.in this frame now. Only 36 behind. 51 left. Does not need to push the

:22:01. > :22:08.boat out at the moment. Looking to try and get in behind the green. A

:22:09. > :22:26.little bit worried about where he is playing this one. I rest my case.

:22:27. > :22:39.You have TV honest it was a bit careless from Barry.

:22:40. > :22:51.Sometimes a mistake can win you the frame.

:22:52. > :23:00.That is the -- now does the red he is news to pass to the corner?

:23:01. > :23:44.Afraid not. He is in a bit of trouble here,.

:23:45. > :23:51.What have two slightly swerve around the green onto this other red. What

:23:52. > :24:02.an absolutely fantastic shot that was. Had two slightly swerve to get

:24:03. > :24:05.the side of the red. I think that is what is most impressive with Ronnie

:24:06. > :24:14.O'Sullivan over the years, safety game. Very astute in that department

:24:15. > :24:23.now. Ballack is on the greens would have had varying sorts of trouble.

:24:24. > :24:24.-- bar that kiss on the green. Little bit PC that will require

:24:25. > :24:49.these with the result. -- pacey. These are always tricky, you

:24:50. > :25:02.can always hit these too thin. He is OK. Always a dangerous shop and

:25:03. > :25:05.play. Sometimes you can hit the ball three quarters and leave the white

:25:06. > :25:08.somewhere near the blue spot. Good safety in this match. Nobody has

:25:09. > :25:42.played a bad safety shot yet. He has got it safe, the only problem

:25:43. > :25:46.is playing the way he has played that it has given Ronnie a nice easy

:25:47. > :25:52.safety just to come off the side of this. In an ideal world he would

:25:53. > :25:56.love to stick this cue ball in behind the green. With the way he is

:25:57. > :26:04.dipping down-I think that is the shot he is going to be playing. I do

:26:05. > :26:56.not think that is the shot he is to complain.

:26:57. > :27:04.With only being 40 points in front of you will deliver to give those

:27:05. > :27:09.roads are pretty cannot get down on the cue ball to play the one between

:27:10. > :27:13.the yellow and brown. He did not really want to bring this on to

:27:14. > :27:26.play, he had no choice. That is an unfavourable kiss.

:27:27. > :27:35.Barry had a quick look to see if he could miss the brown and can only

:27:36. > :27:41.other red of the citation. I didn't think it is quite on. The cue ball

:27:42. > :27:50.will go to wired. -- off the side session. It is just one of them in

:27:51. > :27:59.between where he it. About two or three inches of being short on this

:28:00. > :28:02.link. -- pink. The think is enough but then it is all about position

:28:03. > :28:13.playing up for the red nearest the yellow. I cannot imagine he will

:28:14. > :28:20.play for the double. But he has two pots of paint first. Looking at that

:28:21. > :28:21.he did play for the double. That is the first real bad shot that has

:28:22. > :28:41.been played in this frame. Cannot afford any more mistakes now.

:28:42. > :28:46.This is the pink. As Darren suggested I thought he would play

:28:47. > :28:53.for the red into the middle pocket but he decided to play for the

:28:54. > :29:27.double. Cannot afford any mistakes now, Ronnie only needs one red.

:29:28. > :29:38.This might be worth the risk. He can miss the cannon on the green and get

:29:39. > :29:43.back for the black. I know the red next to the blue is the easier shot,

:29:44. > :29:52.that he could play of the double as a shock to nothing. The red next to

:29:53. > :29:58.the blue is not a bad option. -- is shot to nothing. Is he just playing

:29:59. > :30:10.the safety shot? Well, I cannot believe he has played

:30:11. > :30:19.in now way. Either play the double or don't play the double. OK, he can

:30:20. > :30:27.snooker Ronnie quite easily but if Ronnie hits it he needs a snooker.

:30:28. > :30:28.Just roll up to the green and hope Ronnie misses the snooker, that is

:30:29. > :30:45.all he can do. Ronnie has more chance of getting

:30:46. > :30:50.four points and potting the pain. Barring smokers, Ronnie O'Sullivan

:30:51. > :30:51.will have the first frame. -- potting the pink. -- barring

:30:52. > :31:24.snookers. Barry can't believe that red didn't

:31:25. > :31:30.go in for Ronnie and you can't believe that Barry didn't take that

:31:31. > :31:36.red. He only needs one snooker. He had a perfect angle. You can't

:31:37. > :31:42.understand why he didn't roll up beside the green. The pink, one in

:31:43. > :31:51.10, one in 20, he should have rolled up tight behind the green and hoped

:31:52. > :31:55.that Ronnie missed. Yes, it is pretty tough here now to get this

:31:56. > :32:07.red safe. So if he pots it, he is not bound to get on to the black.

:32:08. > :32:11.The pink, of course, puts him 31 points behind which really means he

:32:12. > :32:18.needs two snookers. It is one to tie on the yellow. He has played perfect

:32:19. > :33:04.snooker until the last couple of minutes, Barry.

:33:05. > :33:33.REFEREE: Foul. A little bit unlucky there.

:33:34. > :33:38.He is just having a little glance over his left shoulder there to have

:33:39. > :34:25.a look at the other table, what's going on.

:34:26. > :34:36.The safety has gone astray at this moment for Barry. He played some

:34:37. > :34:41.lovely stuff earlier in the frame, but the last five minutes, he has

:34:42. > :34:46.been very poor. The frame over. He won't be coming back out of his seat

:34:47. > :34:53.regardless of whether Ronnie pots the green or not. Well, a frame that

:34:54. > :34:56.was bits and pieces, Ronnie O'Sullivan started with that

:34:57. > :35:02.wonderful break of 50, bar bar staying in his chair. Ronnie

:35:03. > :35:06.O'Sullivan has got one foot in this Welsh Open. He leads by 1-0.

:35:07. > :35:12.STUDIO: That gives us the opportunity to welcome you to our

:35:13. > :35:17.studio. Our base for the week here inside the players practise room and

:35:18. > :35:22.Dominic Dale we can talk as loudy as we want. Ronnie 1-0 up, but far from

:35:23. > :35:27.straightforward that set. Well, he started really well. He potted a

:35:28. > :35:31.lovely, long red into the listened black pocket and made a lovely break

:35:32. > :35:36.of 50. He lost position when he went into the cluster of reds and Barry

:35:37. > :35:43.got in himself with a good red and looked like he had to pot the brown

:35:44. > :35:49.in the middle pocket and he missed it. It was a good frame in the end.

:35:50. > :35:54.There weren't many missed pots. Ronnie looked sharp to me and he

:35:55. > :35:57.looks keen to do well. One or two loose shots from Barry. There was an

:35:58. > :36:03.opportunity there for him, wasn't there? I think Barry's main errors

:36:04. > :36:08.were safety errors. He potted some good balls. He had some table time.

:36:09. > :36:13.If he can win the next frame, who knows what can happen? He has beaten

:36:14. > :36:20.Ronnie before. We will talk more about Ronnie later. We're ready for

:36:21. > :36:35.the second frame. Let's rejoin our commentary team.

:36:36. > :36:47.REFEREE: Bar bar to break. Bar Barry Pinches breaking off.

:36:48. > :36:55.He left Ron with this long pot. He would have to be dropping it in. It

:36:56. > :36:59.looks like he is going to play off two cushions at the back of the

:37:00. > :37:07.pack. He needs to slide past the black. Well, a little bit careless.

:37:08. > :37:14.He has given Barry a red. He can play it into the green pocket or

:37:15. > :37:21.right centre. It all depends really on which he feels more confident in

:37:22. > :37:26.playing. He is just having the cue ball cleaned and make sure he gets

:37:27. > :37:33.no kicks. That would suggest he might be playing the slow roll into

:37:34. > :37:45.the middle pocket. I can't believe he is playing the thin red. Well, he

:37:46. > :37:49.knows what he is doing. No problems. He caught the knuckle of the middle

:37:50. > :37:54.pocket which helped. If he missed the knuckle, he might have been

:37:55. > :38:00.tight on one of those bolt colours. I wouldn't say this is a great

:38:01. > :38:04.chance because there is only two or three loose reds, but it is a chance

:38:05. > :38:17.to get his arm going and to settle in. He is a very quick cueist and he

:38:18. > :38:23.is a little bit wristy and that one there has gone very much astray.

:38:24. > :38:28.Yeah, he had a chance there to play for both reds rather than just risk

:38:29. > :39:13.playing for the within to the left of the pink.

:39:14. > :39:20.Well, he was forced into that, Ronnie, really. He couldn't see any

:39:21. > :39:24.other red and he cued it absolutely perfectly. And he has played on

:39:25. > :39:43.purpose to be low on this red. I think he has overscrewed that.

:39:44. > :39:47.Perfect. If he could have gone on to the bottom red behind that cluster,

:39:48. > :39:51.he would have been able to play that at pace dragging off the side of the

:39:52. > :39:56.pack. As it is now, I think he's going to have to play the cannon and

:39:57. > :40:06.try and disturb a couple. He hasn't got into it enough. Bar bar will be

:40:07. > :40:08.really relieved. If that shot had gone right, it would have been quite

:40:09. > :40:24.ominous. The red to the left of that one, if

:40:25. > :40:30.he was straighter, he would have played it off the side cushion and

:40:31. > :40:35.left himself low and we would have seen that pack splatter everywhere,

:40:36. > :41:10.but it wasn't to be. The red is still there.

:41:11. > :41:17.That's one of those if he gets near the pot, he misses the cannon. He

:41:18. > :41:23.bemused the way he cannoned into that red. All these matches are the

:41:24. > :41:26.best of seven which is a completely different thing when you know you

:41:27. > :41:30.have got to get into the matches very soon. There is the wonderful

:41:31. > :41:34.arena with all the matches going on. There is eight tables in operation.

:41:35. > :41:39.There is another three behind our commentary position which have got

:41:40. > :41:43.players on at the moment. This is one of my favourite venues.

:41:44. > :42:30.I think it is a wonderful venue for snooker.

:42:31. > :42:43.Again, a very good safety shot from Barry Pinches.

:42:44. > :42:52.Forced Ronnie into that one. He wasn't far away. He hasn't given

:42:53. > :43:06.Barry an easy starter, but he has given him a great chance. He has got

:43:07. > :43:10.to concentrate on his cueing. The red is an eaty enough pot into the

:43:11. > :43:28.right centre. It is making sure he finishes on a colour. He might have

:43:29. > :43:32.to pl the little cannon, the pink. He has got it. Unfortunately. He

:43:33. > :43:37.cannoned the other one as well. As long as he is on this pink, he will

:43:38. > :43:41.be quite happy. Well, in fairness he held his hand up there to say he was

:43:42. > :43:48.fortunate to get on the pink, but playing the cannon gives him the

:43:49. > :43:53.choice of pink or black. If he kissed the other ball, he would have

:43:54. > :43:59.been on the black. So this is the first real chance now for Barry

:44:00. > :44:02.Pinches. He had a half chance in the previous frame where he could have

:44:03. > :44:04.cleared up, but this is the first chance to get 30 or 40 points on the

:44:05. > :44:58.board. He is going to play below the pink

:44:59. > :45:02.and he can kiss into the red that's nearest that red and make a little

:45:03. > :45:08.bit more room to get on to the pink in the middle. Used to play this

:45:09. > :45:12.little bit firmer than normal. Just that little cannon brings the red

:45:13. > :45:14.away from the pink. Obviously the red that's to the right of the

:45:15. > :45:19.black, that's the problem ball at the minute. He needs to get rid of

:45:20. > :45:26.that one to make the black available into both pockets. It is more easy

:45:27. > :45:32.to get into position on the black into both black. Where the reds you

:45:33. > :45:38.would think about winning the frame at this visit, but not at the

:45:39. > :45:50.moment. The red to the right of the black is the problem ball.

:45:51. > :45:56.Well, I was going to say, you can't afford to miss balls like that

:45:57. > :46:03.against Ronnie O'Sullivan. He had a real piece of luck there. What a

:46:04. > :46:18.fluke! And he's on the red.

:46:19. > :46:42.It is amazing when we have a second look at this shot. Amazing fluke.

:46:43. > :46:48.He would have love to have been higher on this red so he could have

:46:49. > :46:53.cannoned into the red Willie has been on about. It has been there all

:46:54. > :47:00.frame. As it is now, he is going to have to roll through and punch

:47:01. > :47:06.through for the black. That's worked out just about perfect. So one good

:47:07. > :47:15.pot. The black is probably a little bit easier than the pink. He is

:47:16. > :47:21.electing to play the pink. All players have got favourite shots.

:47:22. > :47:25.Now, you'd say this is a frame-winning opportunity. He would

:47:26. > :48:07.be very disappointed if he doesn't make enough with this effort.

:48:08. > :48:13.It is amazing a difference a fluke can make and of course, now these

:48:14. > :48:30.next three reds and three colours will put him way past the winning

:48:31. > :48:32.line. He is not a prolific - he rarely breaks down when the balls

:48:33. > :48:49.are like this. Yes, well, I remember, when I was

:48:50. > :48:54.sponsored with Cue Masters and just before they took me on, I played

:48:55. > :49:01.Barry Pinches in a final of a Pro-Am and I have 56 ahead with 35 on the

:49:02. > :49:08.table and 2-0 up and somehow, I managed to lose the match which is

:49:09. > :49:15.quite unbelievable really. A really tenacious character, Barry Pinches.

:49:16. > :49:19.Yes, has been a pro for many, many years now, Barry. I haven't played

:49:20. > :49:29.for 16 years and he was a probefore I retired. Apart from the fluke

:49:30. > :49:36.pink, he has taken these very nicely.

:49:37. > :49:40.It was quite funny having to explain to my late father and my manager at

:49:41. > :49:44.the time how I managed to lose that one! There you are, I've never

:49:45. > :49:54.forgotten it. We've all done it though. He will be feeling very warm

:49:55. > :49:56.inside. You get a buzz when you've got a frame on the board because you

:49:57. > :50:13.know you're in the match. A good pot needed to continue the

:50:14. > :50:16.break. Well, it is not to be. It was a terrific break of 70. I don't

:50:17. > :50:19.think Ronnie will come back to the table. He is happy to sit there.

:50:20. > :50:25.Barry Pinches will be feeling all the better. He levels the score up.

:50:26. > :50:29.It is now 1-1. A terrific frame for that Barry

:50:30. > :50:33.Pinches. Let's just tell you some news of one of the big names to go

:50:34. > :50:40.out of this year's tournament. The first big name to go out, Stephen

:50:41. > :50:45.Maguire, the world number 18 and 2013 Welsh Open champion, beaten in

:50:46. > :50:53.a final frame decider by Martin O'Donnell who is way down in the

:50:54. > :50:58.rankings. O'Donnell got a 130 break in frame six and 270 plus breaks on

:50:59. > :51:01.his way to victory over Maguire. It could mean Maguire has to qualify

:51:02. > :51:06.for the World Championships coming up in April. Dominic, we saw it last

:51:07. > :51:08.year. So many big names went out of this tournament early on and we have

:51:09. > :51:12.seen one go already, Stephen Maguire? Oh, it is the nature of

:51:13. > :51:18.these best of seven matches. If you don't get off to a good start, you

:51:19. > :51:21.could be on the ropes if you're 2-0. Martin O'Donnell will be

:51:22. > :51:26.significantly confident going into that match after beating Mark

:51:27. > :51:33.Williams to qualify for Beijing next month. He is coming into this event

:51:34. > :51:37.full of confidence and happy with his game and bar those breaks there,

:51:38. > :51:40.a worthy winner. I wonder if Ronnie is on the ropes right now? 1-1,

:51:41. > :51:54.let's go back to Willie and Darren. Ronnie O'Sullivan feels I can get a

:51:55. > :52:00.better swing on the cue ball to get it in behind the green. So Barry has

:52:01. > :52:07.got a foot hold in this match now. Can he continue where he left off in

:52:08. > :54:10.the previous frame albeit with the help of an outrageous fluke.

:54:11. > :54:15.Well, that red went close to the left corner, but Ronnie has got that

:54:16. > :54:24.cue ball tucked right into that bottom cushion. He doesn't look too

:54:25. > :54:46.worried, does he? Well, he couldn't go much closer

:54:47. > :54:59.with that one. That was a real nice struck shot.

:55:00. > :55:36.We were talking a little bit earlier about how long Barry was a pro, he

:55:37. > :55:42.turned pro in 1989 which is three years earlier than Ronnie O'Sullivan

:55:43. > :55:46.turned pro. You talk about Ronnie O'Sullivan in the later part of his

:55:47. > :55:49.career, hopefully he has got another five or six years when he can play

:55:50. > :55:59.at top level. When you get to a certain age, that becomes a little

:56:00. > :56:04.bit more difficult. That's a good safety shot. An excellent safety

:56:05. > :57:06.shot. A fraction away from being perfect.

:57:07. > :57:14.Well, that's probably the Loosest safety Barry Pinches played in these

:57:15. > :57:20.opening frames. He left a nice easy starter. Will Ronnie just drop it in

:57:21. > :57:25.for the black? Yes, he has played it with a lot of bottom to take all the

:57:26. > :57:29.pace out of the cue ball. He probably played it a little bit too

:57:30. > :57:37.well. Just a little bit lower on this black than he would have liked.

:57:38. > :57:42.This is not a gimmee. I think just a couple of people in the crowd moving

:57:43. > :57:50.about, the table next door, just put him off a little bit. So he has got

:57:51. > :57:56.back up. Well, he is not happy because I think there is still a bit

:57:57. > :58:02.of movement going on from the next table, but that's the problem. The

:58:03. > :58:09.four tables are set up out in the front. What Ronnie is suggesting,

:58:10. > :58:16.there should be some security to stop them coming in and out during a

:58:17. > :58:28.frame. It looks like he has settled now. Hopefully it hasn't put him off

:58:29. > :58:32.his shot which it has done. I'm sure very shortly we will have some

:58:33. > :58:44.security on that doorway that's in between tables. The matches finished

:58:45. > :58:48.earlier on on the other table. Well, this is certainly a bonus for Barry.

:58:49. > :58:51.The only good thing, if there is such a black after missing a black

:58:52. > :58:56.off the spot, the black has gone safe. It means that it would be very

:58:57. > :59:06.tough for Barry to win the frame with this visit. When that cue ball

:59:07. > :59:10.has gone, it will be difficult to pot the next colour, both blue and

:59:11. > :59:14.pink are available, but the blue is impossible to get in and out of

:59:15. > :59:18.baulk from tight under the cushion. In fact, he may play the green if he

:59:19. > :59:23.hits it hard and the pink is going to have to rely on a kiss on the

:59:24. > :59:30.near cushion which means he is not bound to be on a red. Can't refuse

:59:31. > :59:44.the pot though. So he's taking it on. He had to play the cannon hard

:59:45. > :59:47.to get the white in play. That's the reason he played it pacy. He

:59:48. > :59:52.couldn't avoid getting that kiss, but you can see those reds around

:59:53. > :59:54.the pink spot are not available so he had to try and force through that

:59:55. > :00:25.red. Another clever shot phone on me. He

:00:26. > :00:27.has got the black out in the open again. But with another clever shot

:00:28. > :01:20.by Ronnie. We'll have to be a bit careful where

:01:21. > :01:25.there is dog follows: stop as long as it is a good cue ball does not

:01:26. > :01:31.matter where the red finishes. That is a bad case because now he can

:01:32. > :01:44.play on red onto the other. He has decided it is too risky or stop

:01:45. > :01:55.playing the thin safety shot. Good effort.

:01:56. > :02:03.Arise smile from Barry. Such a likeable character, on tour as I

:02:04. > :02:10.mentioned since 1989 and one of the most likeable characters on tour.

:02:11. > :02:27.Obviously will not be laughing too much about that safety shot.

:02:28. > :02:35.The words on the morning match, this is my first appearance, the pockets

:02:36. > :02:36.do not look easy. Whether it is because it is a bit cold, the rubber

:02:37. > :02:53.has gone a bit hard? Obviously from playing in the world

:02:54. > :02:59.seniors a couple of weeks ago I found them very, very tight. They

:03:00. > :03:02.have templates they work too. Probably no tighter than they

:03:03. > :03:10.normally are but I found them extremely tight. This looks like it

:03:11. > :03:18.is going very fast as well. The pockets do catch you out a little

:03:19. > :03:23.bit. Of course on the Thursday they would have had to have the doors

:03:24. > :03:29.open and maybe the fact it was so cold in here this one, I am sure

:03:30. > :03:38.they will speed up even more when it becomes a little drier. Not the best

:03:39. > :03:50.safety shot Ronnie has ever played. He just go down and play that a bit

:03:51. > :03:55.flippantly as well. I played Barry Pinches a lot of times around my

:03:56. > :04:01.grip. He is not the easiest player to play against with his mannerisms.

:04:02. > :04:08.There I say he is not the quickest person out there. Obviously one he

:04:09. > :04:17.does like the game to move on at a fair pace. That is one of Barry

:04:18. > :04:20.strings. He gives every shot 110%. Rogne sitting in his chair now

:04:21. > :04:29.looking like he wants to go to sleep. -- Ronnie is. In the first

:04:30. > :04:46.frame and a half his concentration was 100% but certainly not now.

:04:47. > :05:01.This red goes off the right-hand draw. It will be the two get back to

:05:02. > :05:05.it, here. If he had screwed off the dead straight with loads of side

:05:06. > :05:14.could have gone from the yellow. If the black pots he may be forced to

:05:15. > :05:24.take it on. Looking out that it is ready time. I actually thought that

:05:25. > :05:35.is what he is playing for. Unless he was open for the nice flick of them

:05:36. > :05:42.three red are worth there. Even though there have been breaks of 50

:05:43. > :05:51.from Ronnie O'Sullivan... Oh dear. What is happening here. The I hope

:05:52. > :06:03.he gets himself together otherwise he could find himself out of this

:06:04. > :06:18.imaginary quickly. That is one you don't see very often. The wild one.

:06:19. > :06:24.Go to his last safety shot, you must take his chances when they are given

:06:25. > :06:27.to him this. Again that is going to be end of break. Just is not going

:06:28. > :06:55.to be enough. Interesting to see how he plays this

:06:56. > :06:58.one. It looks to be pretty straight. Cute to perfection. Very, very

:06:59. > :07:14.unlikely. Most players will have played

:07:15. > :07:20.together snow-covered Ronnie decided to try and open those colours at the

:07:21. > :07:22.top end of the table to give him a chance to possibly win the frame at

:07:23. > :07:41.the next visit. Going through one of those sequences

:07:42. > :07:58.he gets sometimes where he is not enjoying it. I don't know why

:07:59. > :08:02.because he is cueing beautifully. The opportunity there to bring the

:08:03. > :08:39.black and peak into play. Superb shot.

:08:40. > :08:52.All of the sudden it looks like it is business as usual. A couple of

:08:53. > :09:02.good shots to disturb the reds and get into this position. Well, well,

:09:03. > :09:06.well. I was just going to suggest that it would be interesting to see

:09:07. > :09:11.what pace he plays with because I think the pockets are very tight

:09:12. > :09:15.today at the moment. Very surprising, Ronnie O'Sullivan is the

:09:16. > :09:24.best in the world without question and that kind. But it is a reprieve

:09:25. > :09:28.for Barry. And if he can get a sizeable lead, only he would be

:09:29. > :10:31.massive favourite to win this frame. Could be thinking about going into

:10:32. > :10:37.them three after this next shot. He would like to get on the black. Half

:10:38. > :10:50.of all to be able to roll the black in. And move the two reds to the

:10:51. > :11:05.right. -- half ball. That looks just about perfect.

:11:06. > :11:24.Well... He still has a short and this red but it is raving. -- it is

:11:25. > :11:30.very thin. It is a pedestrian match coming into the middle part of the

:11:31. > :11:37.third frame at Ronnie O'Sullivan's pace. Any harder and it would not

:11:38. > :11:43.have gone in. As it happens he could not have picked the white up and

:11:44. > :11:53.placed it better by hand. Just stun down past the black now for choice

:11:54. > :12:05.of red. Essential to get on this red without finishing straight.

:12:06. > :12:22.Anything but straight. You can see he has the perfect angle. I honestly

:12:23. > :12:46.think these pockets playing tough. He did play at the little bit wider

:12:47. > :12:56.than he wanted, I am sure, but I have seen those go in before. OK, it

:12:57. > :13:01.might have looked a poor shot on the plaque that he is trying to develop

:13:02. > :13:05.an angle to bring the red into play. He was trying to pinch a bit of

:13:06. > :13:15.pocket to make sure he could get past the pink to move the red.

:13:16. > :13:23.No heroics, this time he wants to finish exactly straight on this red

:13:24. > :13:30.so he can just roll it in dead weight. If you place to move the red

:13:31. > :13:40.it is the wrongful. He now has no shot on the red to win the frame.

:13:41. > :14:00.That was the wrongful. -- that was the wrong shot.

:14:01. > :14:10.He is entitled to look a bit bemused there because he has given Ronnie

:14:11. > :14:17.lifeline. And the lifeline could be taken. Exactly the same shot Ronnie

:14:18. > :14:22.is going to play on the yellow, he world playing with no pace. He has

:14:23. > :14:29.played this very poorly, that has not landed... I do not think he will

:14:30. > :14:38.be taking this on. If he takes it on and Mrs... -- misses it. At that

:14:39. > :14:41.pace he is giving the pocket every chance. Barry Pinches will be

:14:42. > :14:52.throwing shot and pleasantly, why not just get dead straight on the

:14:53. > :15:01.road. The would-be 2-1 in front. -- the

:15:02. > :15:06.this is the key shot. He needs to get close enough to the pink to

:15:07. > :15:15.generate the pace to get back for the black. He does not play an awful

:15:16. > :15:22.lot with the rest as you know because he is so proficient

:15:23. > :15:27.left-handed. But when you can cue like that with the rest, is there

:15:28. > :15:32.anything you cannot do? Absolutely perfect. Harry Finch is will be

:15:33. > :15:37.kicking himself at the shot he played on the balloon to the last

:15:38. > :15:40.red. On the O'Sullivan without I'm very much, lost his concentration

:15:41. > :15:42.during that frame but they will be delighted to be in front. That's

:15:43. > :15:49.right he will be delighted. Ronnie leading but not as

:15:50. > :15:54.comfortable as he would have liked. It goes back to what they were

:15:55. > :15:58.saying earlier about his mental state. Sometimes they say he is not

:15:59. > :16:03.quite there. Is he up for this? In the first frame you would have

:16:04. > :16:10.thought so. The first frame full of variety. We saw some shots I would

:16:11. > :16:15.have called a wild swipe. 100 mph, tried to swerve around the brown may

:16:16. > :16:20.be, I don't know what he was playing? The cue ball has gone all

:16:21. > :16:26.around the table and somehow the blue has gone in. That showed me how

:16:27. > :16:30.much Ronnie had lost its focus. I don't know what other sports like

:16:31. > :16:38.but you just cannot turn on your concentration like the tab. In

:16:39. > :16:43.commentary they were saying why on earth Barry didn't just play down to

:16:44. > :16:46.the cushion for the red. That brilliant clearance from money he

:16:47. > :16:49.should not have had the opportunity of making and it will probably

:16:50. > :16:55.revitalising and I'm sure he will get his focus back. Hacking around

:16:56. > :16:58.the table a bit today. Barry will look at that and think there was

:16:59. > :17:07.another missed opportunity, if Ronnie is not quite on his game

:17:08. > :17:11.today. I expected Barry to be ahead. I was getting ready to say that

:17:12. > :17:17.money was in trouble. He has lost his concentration but now he looks

:17:18. > :17:21.dangerous again. He is the sort of guy who could not in two centuries

:17:22. > :17:27.off the back of that clearance. Barry will know he has done it

:17:28. > :17:35.before, beating him in a best of 76 years ago. He can do it. We can see

:17:36. > :17:38.Ronnie does not like scrappy matches, he likes to play well. But

:17:39. > :17:46.let's see what happens for the remainder of the match. Let's go

:17:47. > :17:53.back to the guys. COMMENTATOR: Barry Pinches breaking off. We'll be very

:17:54. > :18:04.disappointed with the way he lost the last frame. -- he will be. He

:18:05. > :18:08.had a shock to drop in behind the red. -- shot. But it has gone, he

:18:09. > :18:13.has got to put it out of his head and get on with the next one. All of

:18:14. > :18:21.a sudden now Ronnie looks like he is back into the groove. He has played

:18:22. > :18:25.to perfection. That is how much the game has changed. I remember when

:18:26. > :18:28.they used to just play them and get the white down somewhere behind the

:18:29. > :18:32.baulk line. Now they don't, they play short to be on the blue or

:18:33. > :19:21.topside of the yellow -green-Brown. This is the key shot. He will be

:19:22. > :19:29.reluctant for the pink to go on the black spot. With the pink being the

:19:30. > :19:41.easier shot he was taking it on to the middle.

:19:42. > :19:55.Pink and black available. Would probably play the pink heavy so he

:19:56. > :20:02.can go into the fund. He will be hoping the pink spots now,

:20:03. > :20:12.unfortunately for him he is not only read. Little cheeky plant, a little

:20:13. > :20:17.bit fairness to move on to the left-hand middle. Barry can pay with

:20:18. > :20:19.this a lot of confidence. Can play this as a shot to nothing, if he

:20:20. > :20:40.wants. I think it is fair to say Ronnie is

:20:41. > :20:52.in attack mode. Since then he has gone for his shots. This will tell

:20:53. > :20:59.us whether he is in total attack mode or whether he is still thinking

:21:00. > :21:05.quite clearly. That is the first safety as playful or wild. Very

:21:06. > :21:17.callous. Left Barry a shock to the right centre. Certainly very

:21:18. > :21:22.vulnerable today. This will give Barry confidence. He needs to pot

:21:23. > :21:34.the opening red and can have the balls in position to win this frame

:21:35. > :21:38.very quickly. Is you can see he's slightly overscrewed but you have to

:21:39. > :21:42.take the shots on now. I suppose in fairness if he rolls up behind the

:21:43. > :21:45.black you might see Ronnie play another shot without much

:21:46. > :22:05.concentration. But you expecting to put this back in.

:22:06. > :22:16.There are four read the can get up there.

:22:17. > :22:28.Amazing. That is about the only case that was no good. OK still a couple

:22:29. > :22:36.available both without the very poor case he could have been on four

:22:37. > :22:38.reds. -- kiss. The jaws well did not help. The two finish on the cushion

:22:39. > :23:01.was very unlikely. He needs a bit of help this time. He

:23:02. > :23:13.played the red in the middle at a lot of pace. He changed the angle of

:23:14. > :23:20.the cue ball. He has got a shot at this yellow. I think sometimes he

:23:21. > :23:24.sees problems that are not really there. He has a very difficult

:23:25. > :23:27.safety so he might as well stick his ex-in one basket and concentrate. --

:23:28. > :23:47.stick his You have got to knock them in

:23:48. > :24:00.against Ronnie. You have got to take your chances. In practice he would

:24:01. > :24:02.probably pot this eight times out of ten. A little bit different in a

:24:03. > :24:52.match. The Blackwood put him 34 in front so

:24:53. > :25:04.he still will need some more open reds to be guaranteed of taking the

:25:05. > :25:12.lead. Not cueing at his best in the moment. Totally misjudged. Good

:25:13. > :25:33.recovery. Barry Pinches would now need

:25:34. > :26:18.speakers. 38. he will be thinking about all of the

:26:19. > :26:25.missed opportunities that have gone. He's going to have the when all the

:26:26. > :26:37.remaining frames. He has had his chances. In spasms Ronnie has looked

:26:38. > :26:38.very, very good. On a couple of occasions you can see is in good

:26:39. > :27:12.form. Doing very nicely. He is paying for an exhibition shop

:27:13. > :27:23.there. We could see him blast is on to the green pocket. I am glad he

:27:24. > :27:28.did not let me down. Think the same. Well, the think was not the day, but

:27:29. > :27:34.it will not be too worried about it. -- the pink. Very good end to the

:27:35. > :27:38.Franco Morra Ronnie O'Sullivan Extensis lead.

:27:39. > :27:45.-- very good end to the frame, Ronnie O'Sullivan extends his lead.

:27:46. > :27:52.Earlier on we brought you the news that Stephen Maguire is out, but no

:27:53. > :27:56.problems for the man who won the year before, 2012, Ding Junhui

:27:57. > :28:04.comfortably through after a win over Steven Hallworth, sunbaked scoring

:28:05. > :28:11.as well from Ding. -- some big scoring. Something of a relief,

:28:12. > :28:17.Dominic, given that he has not had a great season. He has slipped down

:28:18. > :28:26.the rankings to number 12. He looks bereft of confidence. The only thing

:28:27. > :28:30.I can remedy that is wins. He has a long road to restore that lost

:28:31. > :28:36.confidence. And in terms of Ronnie and Barry Pinches now the initiative

:28:37. > :28:40.firmly with the Rocket. He looks keen and interested again, you

:28:41. > :28:44.really should not have won the preceding frame there, and goodness

:28:45. > :28:47.knows what we would have seen but it looks like now he wants to get this

:28:48. > :28:54.done and dusted and regroup for round two. Will it be a formality?

:28:55. > :28:57.They are back at the table. COMMENTATOR: I agree totally with

:28:58. > :29:03.Dominic. When we came to him prior to the previous frame he was saying

:29:04. > :29:06.that you cannot just turn it on and off that maybe Ronnie O'Sullivan is

:29:07. > :29:11.the exception. Totally disinterested in the match at the moment. But when

:29:12. > :29:16.he gets in the balls and scoring he gets his concentration back. Dominic

:29:17. > :29:19.is quite right, you cannot turn it on and off like a tap but at the

:29:20. > :30:07.minute he seems to be doing just that.

:30:08. > :30:17.We will find out about his pockets with this shop. -- about these

:30:18. > :30:32.pockets with this shot. It is all right if they do not touch the jaws.

:30:33. > :30:38.Amazing. I think he is ready to go home. He will try to win the frame

:30:39. > :30:45.and this visit. He is on this thread that being played to get the flick

:30:46. > :30:55.off the road to the left of the cable. Had to get the long tackle

:30:56. > :31:01.out. Still in perfect position. -- left of the cue ball.

:31:02. > :31:13.You just know with Ronnie, he will already be looking at this. We

:31:14. > :31:18.shouldn't say anything about 147, it is a long way away. But he is one of

:31:19. > :31:23.the few players who looks at it right the way from the start. He is

:31:24. > :31:26.trying a little bit too far on that red, I think. I was surprised he

:31:27. > :31:31.didn't play for the red in the opposite corner. He brings reds into

:31:32. > :31:35.play and he could have got on the black. That's what he played the

:31:36. > :31:39.other way around, but playing in the other pocket would have been a

:31:40. > :31:41.little easier. This will tell us if he was thinking of the 147. There is

:31:42. > :31:58.your answer! Purposely finished low on this red.

:31:59. > :32:21.This is the problem where the white is going, but he played it nicely.

:32:22. > :32:29.Is he going to risk going around the baulk colours and getting on to the

:32:30. > :32:33.black? He fancies it. You can play it plain-ball and get on to the

:32:34. > :32:42.black. He is just looking at me in the commentary box and thinking

:32:43. > :32:47.shall I go for the max or not? He has played it. How is the cue

:32:48. > :32:59.ball? How is the cue ball? It is not too bad. Well played.

:33:00. > :33:02.APPLAUSE I suppose, in fairness, he was a little bit unfortunate to have

:33:03. > :33:16.left himself slightly hampered. He needed a four-ball kiss. He is

:33:17. > :33:21.still OK, but he would have preferred the four-ball kiss though.

:33:22. > :33:29.A little wry smile. He knows this is a chance. What a magnificent Cardiff

:33:30. > :33:31.crowd. Look at the Cardiff crowd. Look at the smile he has got on his

:33:32. > :33:50.face. He fancies it, doesn't he? I can't believe it. He is asking how

:33:51. > :33:52.much it is for the max! That's what he is looking at is how

:33:53. > :34:37.much money it is for the maximum. Still perfect.

:34:38. > :34:41.APPLAUSE He is looking up to the comment free box to ask me, but we

:34:42. > :34:44.haven't got the notes in front of us. I'm sure somebody will tell me

:34:45. > :35:05.shortly and then I can tell Ronnie! APPLAUSE I can tell Ronnie that it

:35:06. > :35:13.is ?10,000 plus ?2,000 highest break.

:35:14. > :35:18.He just had a look at me in the commentary box. I have put ten

:35:19. > :35:22.fingers up to say it is ?10,000, sometimes he doesn't try, sometimes

:35:23. > :35:29.if it is not enough. I think he might try this time. He didn't look

:35:30. > :35:34.too impressed. He said it is only ?10,000. It is amazing he can keep

:35:35. > :35:39.his concentration when it is like this. I mean, he is not even trying

:35:40. > :35:47.at the minute. He is such a genius, he really is.

:35:48. > :35:56.You see, he is not even going for one. He felt it is not enough money.

:35:57. > :36:00.That's amazing, isn't it? He just looked up at the commentary

:36:01. > :36:12.box and smiled. Ah bless him. You have to love him. Anything to make

:36:13. > :36:17.us unhappy, Ronnie will do it. There has not been many 146s made in

:36:18. > :36:21.snooker. I think you can count them on one hand, that's for certain. He

:36:22. > :36:29.might even pot the last black just to be really annoying.

:36:30. > :36:35.Quickly going back to Barry Pinches, he had every chance in this match,

:36:36. > :36:44.but this is the O'Sullivan we love to watch. He got a 146 and still

:36:45. > :36:53.playing exhibition shots. The boy is a genius. Is he going to play and

:36:54. > :37:00.pot the black? It wouldn't surprise me if I played a double. The boy

:37:01. > :37:06.undoubtedly is a genius! A magnificent break of 146. Barry

:37:07. > :37:12.Pinches got away. Ronnie O'Sullivan looked up at the commentary box with

:37:13. > :37:17.a wry smilement he goes into the next round a comfortable 4-1 winner.

:37:18. > :37:26.All's well that ends well for Ronnie O'Sullivan. Big smiles on his face,

:37:27. > :37:30.Dominic, in contrast to the grimaces he had at start of the match when he

:37:31. > :37:34.had a tricky couple of moments? You could say that. I don't know any

:37:35. > :37:38.other player in the history of this sport, that can play, as Willie

:37:39. > :37:41.said, he is the only exception to the rule where you can't turn your

:37:42. > :37:45.concentration on and off like a tap. You saw the greatest of Ronnie

:37:46. > :37:49.O'Sullivan in that last frame and asking, I don't know how Barry

:37:50. > :37:55.Pinches felt about this, but when your opponent is asking what do you

:37:56. > :38:00.get for a maximum when he is only 48 you feel, he doesn't think much of

:38:01. > :38:04.me. ?2,000 is the answer to that. Well, you can't sniff at it, can

:38:05. > :38:08.you? But not as much as some of the big prizes he won, but if you are

:38:09. > :38:11.Barry Pinches, do you review a DVD of that and think there was a moment

:38:12. > :38:18.there? There was a moment there where I might have beat the great

:38:19. > :38:22.man? I just wonder in the third frame whether Barry was aware of the

:38:23. > :38:25.scoreline and knew he needed the red. If you played behind the red,

:38:26. > :38:29.the chances are that red would have hugged the cushion anyway. Ronnie

:38:30. > :38:33.needed a snooker and the way Ronnie was feeling at that point, he

:38:34. > :38:39.praobble r probably would not have continued anyway. We could have been

:38:40. > :38:43.looking at a different scoreline. It shows the enigma that's Ronnie

:38:44. > :38:48.O'Sullivan. He is at his best in in That frame. This is where we love to

:38:49. > :38:51.watch him and why the crowds love to watch Ronnie O'Sullivan. It just

:38:52. > :38:56.turned and his confidence clicked in and he knew it would be his day

:38:57. > :38:59.after all. Well, the way Ronnie was feeling, when Barry made the safety

:39:00. > :39:03.error on the last red and left a chance for Ronnie, he played it

:39:04. > :39:07.slowly. If that table drifted and the red didn't go in, it could have

:39:08. > :39:12.been business as usual for Barry Pinches and he could have gone 2-1

:39:13. > :39:16.up, but when Ronnie made the great clearance and it was a great

:39:17. > :39:20.clearance and it revitalised Ronnie O'Sullivan's focus in the match and

:39:21. > :39:24.he thought play two frames and get it over and done with I'm in round

:39:25. > :39:30.two and refocus for that particular match. That break from Ronnie

:39:31. > :39:35.O'Sullivan of 146, he could have got on that black if he wanted to. I

:39:36. > :39:45.don't think ?10,000, he preferred ?2,000. In a strange way, wee rather

:39:46. > :39:51.have ?2,000 than the ?10,000. After the Masters when he demolished Barry

:39:52. > :39:55.Hawkins, you would expect Ronnie to take the confidence from that match

:39:56. > :40:00.into this match? Willie said there is nothing wrong with Ronnie's form.

:40:01. > :40:04.You can tell when a player is playing well and it is only a lack

:40:05. > :40:09.of focus and concentration that's making them make mistake. Ronnie

:40:10. > :40:15.played rash shots there. His form was there. You saw it in that 146

:40:16. > :40:17.which you don't see many of in professional snooker. A

:40:18. > :40:22.disappointing day for Barry Pinches, but tough to beat Ronnie when he is

:40:23. > :40:26.in that kind of form at the end. It is difficult to beat Ronnie anyway,

:40:27. > :40:31.but Barry knew he had Ronnie where he wanted him at 1-0 and if he gone

:40:32. > :40:37.2-1 up, I wouldn't have been surprised this match would have gone

:40:38. > :40:38.the distance. Here he is the winner, Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:40:39. > :40:47.congratulationings, through to round two. Did that go as you hoped it

:40:48. > :40:51.would? How do you feel after that? I got bogged down a bit. The balls

:40:52. > :40:56.were going a bit scrappy, I thought I can't be doing a full hour. I

:40:57. > :41:01.started going for my shots because I didn't want to be out there for

:41:02. > :41:07.three or four hours. If I'm going to win, win quick or if if I'm going to

:41:08. > :41:12.lose, lose quick. There is so many matches, you don't want to leave the

:41:13. > :41:17.tank too empty. Just trying to exert too much in my match. Were you happy

:41:18. > :41:22.during that opening stages? Yeah. You looked a little unhappy at

:41:23. > :41:26.times. Like I said, you know, there was no point trying to win that

:41:27. > :41:32.match and taking four hours, you know what I mean? It was just

:41:33. > :41:35.counter productive really. If it was probably the World Championships

:41:36. > :41:39.quarterfinal, semifinals or a big, big match, you would think, you

:41:40. > :41:42.know, there is seven matches to play and if you're going to win, you

:41:43. > :41:46.don't want to be spending too much time. Barry was playing good safety,

:41:47. > :41:50.not letting me in, I thought it could be a long one today. Is that

:41:51. > :41:55.what you thought at 1-1. You thought he could beat you? Yeah, Barry is a

:41:56. > :42:00.fantastic player. He is one of the best amateurs on the circuit. Ever.

:42:01. > :42:03.He can score and he has got a great safety game and I thought, you know,

:42:04. > :42:07.the only way I want to win this is quick so I started to go for my

:42:08. > :42:11.shots and tried to win it at one visit and that was it. That was my

:42:12. > :42:16.game plan really. I wasn't going to kind of exert too much energy in

:42:17. > :42:21.that match. Could you have got on the black in the penultimate red if

:42:22. > :42:26.you wanted to I got could have the black and possibly made a 147, you

:42:27. > :42:32.never know, I knew there was ?10,000 and I thought, it is too cheap. You

:42:33. > :42:37.weren't bothered about the ?10,000. You think it is a massive

:42:38. > :42:42.achievement and if they're going to pay you ?10,000, once the price

:42:43. > :42:48.raises up, I will go for the 147. 146 is just as good. It is

:42:49. > :42:51.interesting hearing from your fellow pros and they sometimes mentally you

:42:52. > :42:55.can switch it on and switch it off. How do you feel at the moment

:42:56. > :43:00.mentally? Are you in a good place? I feel happy. Everything is all good.

:43:01. > :43:04.Enjoying my snooker and enjoying, you know, doing stuff with the

:43:05. > :43:09.puntry work with euro sport, that was great. In Berlin last week and

:43:10. > :43:12.there will be more of that next year because euro sport are doing more

:43:13. > :43:16.tournaments. There is a lot of time to kill when you are at tournaments

:43:17. > :43:20.like this and sometimes when you have time to kill, it takes your job

:43:21. > :43:25.off the job more. I found that's been really useful for me and I have

:43:26. > :43:30.been doing lots of exhibitions and you know... Variety. Just a bit of

:43:31. > :43:33.variety. Happy with the venue this year because last year you weren't

:43:34. > :43:37.too keen at the start? No, the venue is all right. It is good, you know.

:43:38. > :43:40.The table is playing great. Just pleased to still be in. We will see

:43:41. > :43:43.you tomorrow. Thank you very much indeed. Ronnie O'Sullivan through to

:43:44. > :43:48.round two here at the Welsh Open, but it is high time we brought you

:43:49. > :43:52.up-to-date with a few other results and in particular, how some of the

:43:53. > :43:59.Welsh players have been doing. Not great news. Mark Selby, the world

:44:00. > :44:06.number one and the former champion, enned the hopes of Duane Jones. 4-0.

:44:07. > :44:13.Lee Walker is out as well. Barry Hawkins beating him by 4-2.

:44:14. > :44:26.Straightforward for another former world champion, Peter Ebdon his win

:44:27. > :44:32.over Zhang Anda. Graeme Dott as well.

:44:33. > :44:39.It is almost time for the leading Welshmen to take to the table. Mark

:44:40. > :44:45.Williams got to the semifinals last year, but is he on to have of his

:44:46. > :44:51.game right now? Let's get the verdict from his fellow

:44:52. > :44:57.professionals. Ties a Masters champion, twice a UK

:44:58. > :45:01.champion, twice a world champion, the Welsh potting machine Mark

:45:02. > :45:05.Williams, went through a phase of being a Welsh wobble in the jaws

:45:06. > :45:10.machine and then done something about it, went back to the practise

:45:11. > :45:14.table and has come back to form. A great potterment supremely confident

:45:15. > :45:17.and so looks like couldn't give a monkeys when he got around the

:45:18. > :45:20.table. Never looks under pressure any time and that would really wind

:45:21. > :45:25.you up because you would think you have him at one stage and then he'd

:45:26. > :45:29.dribble in the long ball and get stuck on the black and there is

:45:30. > :45:33.another frame gonement you could put him in all sorts of positions and he

:45:34. > :45:37.would always find a way out or a great long pot and drop it in most

:45:38. > :45:41.of the time almost dead weight and giving it 100% and if he missed it,

:45:42. > :45:45.it could have gun game over, but more times than not, he always got

:45:46. > :45:48.the big shot and that's why he has been, you know, at the top of the

:45:49. > :45:52.game for so long. He has been a wonderful player over many, many

:45:53. > :45:56.years. And one of the sort of one of the sort of still remaining standing

:45:57. > :46:00.older generation of players, if you know what I mean? In his prime, I

:46:01. > :46:06.reckon he was as good as it got under pressure. I mean, nobody

:46:07. > :46:09.would, I think, was as good as him from, in front and behind, it didn't

:46:10. > :46:14.seem to make much difference where he was, he could pot the game ball

:46:15. > :46:17.and he is doing a very good job of keeping the pressure shots together

:46:18. > :46:21.even now. I think it gets harder as you get older. He is doing a great

:46:22. > :46:25.job of doing that. When his back is against the wal and when he has his

:46:26. > :46:29.opponent in trouble as well, he knows how to squeeze matches out. He

:46:30. > :46:34.is not afraid to turn down a shot if he thinks it is dangerous. As a card

:46:35. > :46:38.player, as a poker player, he would know when there was a little bit of

:46:39. > :46:43.a chance it could go wrong. I look forward to this bit. Let's rip him

:46:44. > :46:49.to pieces. What's wrong with him? Apart from the haircut, I've got

:46:50. > :47:02.more than him! What is it about him that could be better now? He messed

:47:03. > :47:09.around with cues? It was in vogue for a bit for players to mess around

:47:10. > :47:13.with cues. Every now and again the balls don't go in like they did. He

:47:14. > :47:15.hangs his hat on going for the long red and leaving the white in the

:47:16. > :47:19.balls and playing the killer shot and now sometimes they don't go in

:47:20. > :47:22.with the frequency that they used and perhaps takes on a little bit

:47:23. > :47:26.more damage than he ever did, but when he is on, I mean, he's one of

:47:27. > :47:31.the most dangerous players we've got. The only thing I think that he

:47:32. > :47:36.made a bad decision on was messing around with accuse. Other than that,

:47:37. > :47:44.I think he has been fantastic. Does anyone know why he did it? No.

:47:45. > :47:48.Well, Mark wills yams is always brutally honest about his own game.

:47:49. > :47:57.Let's find out what he made of those verdicts.

:47:58. > :48:03.Obviously everyone feels nervous, but if nerves, you start shaking and

:48:04. > :48:11.your heart starts pounding when you're under pressure, no, I never

:48:12. > :48:14.get that. Steve is right, it is getting harder these days to make

:48:15. > :48:19.the breaks and stuff like that, but that's just age and I've learned to

:48:20. > :48:23.deal with that now after the last time, Steve had a little dig at me

:48:24. > :48:28.on TV, I sort of went back and thought, "Well, yeah, he is probably

:48:29. > :48:39.right." Since then I've just started enjoying it more. If I win, I win.

:48:40. > :48:46.If I lose, I'm OK. He is being nice when he says they don't go in as

:48:47. > :48:50.often. They hardly go in now. If I still go with them, if I'm leaving

:48:51. > :48:55.them everything, I will still go for them. It is funny sometimes because

:48:56. > :48:59.I, I even know sometimes when I'm getting down, I know I'm not going

:49:00. > :49:06.to pot this and I know I'm going to miss it and I know I'm going to

:49:07. > :49:10.leave it in, but I would rather do than bunch the safety up. It was a

:49:11. > :49:14.good year for him last year, so close to the final Mark Williams in

:49:15. > :49:18.2015. How do you think he will do this year? You said earlier Dominic,

:49:19. > :49:24.you weren't sure whether he was right on top of his game right now?

:49:25. > :49:29.Yes, he looks a little bit ginger, a little bit tentative which is unlike

:49:30. > :49:34.Mark Williams. He had an operation on one of his shoulders and I'm not

:49:35. > :49:37.convinced he is recovered from that operation. Whether he is feeling

:49:38. > :49:40.pain, I don't know, he is just feeling his way back into

:49:41. > :49:44.tournaments, he is one of the great players of our sport and he won this

:49:45. > :49:47.event before and he won numerous ranking events and there is nobody

:49:48. > :49:51.in the game with more experience than he and if he can get through a

:49:52. > :49:56.couple of rounds and start showing class, he could be a real danger. It

:49:57. > :50:01.is the 20th anniversary of Mark's first victory, the first of two wins

:50:02. > :50:05.in his home event, I guess, he will cast his mind back to last year,

:50:06. > :50:15.where perhaps he didn't expect to get as far as he did, but he got to

:50:16. > :50:19.the last four being beaten by the runner-up, Ben Woolastan. He had a

:50:20. > :50:23.couple of matches under his belt in Reading. It is a one table set-up

:50:24. > :50:28.and he won a few matches there. That will help with his build up for this

:50:29. > :50:33.event. It is only the best of seven and things can go wrong in the best

:50:34. > :50:44.of seven. None of us like those. Let's look at opponent then, shall

:50:45. > :50:56.we? Mark Williams' first round opponent is Lyu Chenwei.

:50:57. > :51:03.He beat Dominic Dale. I remember that match! He did beat me 5-2 in

:51:04. > :51:10.the Academy in Gloucester. If Mark gets off to a good start. Lyu

:51:11. > :51:16.Chenwei hasn't done a lot in the game yet. Good afternoon to Terry

:51:17. > :51:21.Griffiths. Well, this is a real tough match,

:51:22. > :51:25.Lyu Chenwei. He has not had many wins on the tour so far and he is

:51:26. > :51:36.playing against one of the game's great players in Mark Williams.

:51:37. > :51:40.I haven't seen Lyu Chenwei play before. I don't know if he is an

:51:41. > :51:43.attacking player, but we will find out, but he has got his work cut out

:51:44. > :52:36.to win this afternoon. I have the pleasure of having Terry

:52:37. > :52:39.Griffiths in the corner today in the commentary box and I'm pleased with

:52:40. > :52:44.the way Mark adapted to the new system and he seem to be enjoying it

:52:45. > :52:50.again now, Terry. Yes, I think he enjoys playing most of the time or

:52:51. > :53:00.at least he looks as if he's enjoying. Not at his best, but he's

:53:01. > :53:03.getting there. He put in some really good performances the last few

:53:04. > :53:08.seasons, OK, he hasn't sustained them to win big events, but he's

:53:09. > :53:11.getting closer. Nobody draws Mark Williams and

:53:12. > :53:17.thinks they've got an easy draw apart from you, Willie!

:53:18. > :53:21.I did have a couple of victories against him, but he is obviously one

:53:22. > :53:25.of the game's great players. I would put him in my all-time top five

:53:26. > :53:44.players in the world. That's how much I rate Mark Williams.

:53:45. > :53:49.I know you commentated on a match this morning, Terry. I think these

:53:50. > :53:53.tables are playing tight. It is hard to say when we saw Ronnie O'Sullivan

:53:54. > :53:58.make a 146 in the previous match, but they don't seem to be playing

:53:59. > :54:03.easy, these pockets. This is the first chance I have had to see how

:54:04. > :54:05.Lyu Chenwei accuse. It would be interesting to see how

:54:06. > :55:00.many he scores from this visit. This is his second year on the pro

:55:01. > :55:04.circuit. He came through the under-21s and that was a way to get

:55:05. > :55:09.his card and amazingly enough, he hasn't made a century yet in

:55:10. > :55:25.competitive play. That tells me that break-building is not his forte.

:55:26. > :55:34.He played that shot well enough. He is guaranteed a 100 break now!

:55:35. > :55:38.With these players, you know from China, it is not easy because they

:55:39. > :55:41.have got to come over here and live here and practise here and they're

:55:42. > :55:46.young men and it takes a few years to get used to the circuit and

:55:47. > :55:58.living away from home. They are all good players. Hello, that was a bit

:55:59. > :56:02.unorthodox. He was expecting not to catch the

:56:03. > :56:09.jaws and the fact that it through so wide, the cue ball caught the jaws

:56:10. > :56:14.and took him out of position. This is a shot on the blue. He is just

:56:15. > :56:18.trying to roll it around the two top cushions. There is a little bit too

:56:19. > :56:22.much on. What he has got Terry, I don't know go his break-building

:56:23. > :56:33.ability, he has got one West best pairs of shoes I have seen for

:56:34. > :56:46.sometime! I love those. They are Bobby Dazzlers. You and Dominic Dale

:56:47. > :57:42.would wear them! Pushed boat out a little bit there.

:57:43. > :57:52.Well, you could see his face A very surprising miss on the blue there.

:57:53. > :57:56.Undercut it. He didn't get on the reds that he's trying to get on and

:57:57. > :58:52.he has been a fortunate there, Mark Williams. Missing such an easy ball.

:58:53. > :58:59.Not an easy safety shot to play here so he maybe tempted with this long

:59:00. > :59:06.pot because he can play it into a shot to nothing. Obviously what he

:59:07. > :59:12.can leave on is the one he's going for. Beautiful. Always has been,

:59:13. > :59:19.Terry, hasn't he, been one of the game's long potters? Great potters

:59:20. > :59:23.full stop. He is one of those that's always good and will always, sort of

:59:24. > :59:28.plays good recovery shots. When he loses position, he will just go down

:59:29. > :59:32.and he used to tell me when I was working with him years ago, "Don't

:59:33. > :59:36.you want to do more with your position?" What do you mean

:59:37. > :59:39.position? Just pot a red and take the nearest colour and then the

:59:40. > :59:43.nearest red and in some ways, he is a little bit like that when you

:59:44. > :59:51.watch him, isn't he? He is better than that mind. Don't get me wrong.

:59:52. > :59:54.I've got to be honest, in my humble opinion, he plays shots sometimes

:59:55. > :59:59.and you think, "Why is he going for this?" Say he misses it, he seem to

:00:00. > :00:02.leave the ball in a position where it is awkward for his opponent. He

:00:03. > :00:06.has always been a roller, Terry. He likes to roll balls in rather than,

:00:07. > :00:19.you know, manoeuvre the cue ball with loads of stun and screw.

:00:20. > :00:24.A great match player. He is strong in all departments really. Like most

:00:25. > :00:29.top players, he has runs here and there of not potting awe the long

:00:30. > :00:33.balls, but in his prime, he was a tremendous potter. And blessed with

:00:34. > :00:37.a wonderful temperament, very much like yourself, Terry, you never knew

:00:38. > :00:42.at any stage of the match whether he was winning and losing, that's key

:00:43. > :00:47.in this game. He won his first tournament, the Welsh Open, was that

:00:48. > :00:52.in Cardiff as well or was it Newport? I said in commentary,

:00:53. > :00:56.because he never made a break above 60 in the tournament and won the

:00:57. > :01:01.tournament and apparently he seemed to think I had said he wouldn't win

:01:02. > :01:07.another tournament, but I didn't say that. That's what Mark Williams

:01:08. > :01:10.thought I said, but I didn't. Did he get less prize money because he

:01:11. > :01:16.didn't do a big break? Oh, look at this. Not happening, I'm afraid. He

:01:17. > :01:20.missed a few shots. Perhaps the cloth is a bit splipery,

:01:21. > :01:25.it is hard to see from the commentary box, but he knows.

:01:26. > :01:30.A disappointing shot there. Answering your question, no, Terry,

:01:31. > :01:33.they don't get more prize money, but they wouldn't get anybody watching

:01:34. > :01:38.if they just made a series of 20 or 30 breaks. It is all about winning.

:01:39. > :01:42.It is not about how you do it, it is doing it and he is blessed with that

:01:43. > :01:43.kind of character. He doesn't mind how he is playing, as long as he

:01:44. > :01:56.gets over the line. They say success does not mind how

:01:57. > :02:02.you get to the store. That's right in sport, isn't it? It is all about

:02:03. > :02:08.winning. Nobody likes losing, that is for sure. Let's talk about the

:02:09. > :02:16.match yesterday between Arsenal and Mr, they did not deserve to win but

:02:17. > :02:22.they did. You're not biased by you? I think you will find I am from

:02:23. > :02:31.Leicester. Mark Williams getting ever closer, 28 points in front.

:02:32. > :02:42.Ideally he would like to get onto the green or blue because it gives

:02:43. > :03:11.you the perfect angle to bring this read into play. Not bad, he has got

:03:12. > :03:16.it out. He is 32 in front, mind you. That was one of the situations where

:03:17. > :03:37.if he was 32 behind the curve have played that shot but still a chance.

:03:38. > :03:45.The good part but the wrong angle. Saying that he can screw it in-off

:03:46. > :03:49.two conditions and then it is then natural to play into the red.

:03:50. > :03:57.Obviously he's the master for the right amount of side one. That is

:03:58. > :04:00.not even playing it. Why you would first like that I don't know. It was

:04:01. > :04:38.a perfect angle. 31 points behind. He needs to put

:04:39. > :05:12.this safe of course. Has done a very good job of it.

:05:13. > :05:21.Is there enough room for this red to pass the black? He can certainly see

:05:22. > :05:25.the left-hand jaw. Whether he considers Centre in the pocket I

:05:26. > :05:33.don't know. He can't so he will be playing centre pocket. Well,

:05:34. > :05:39.honestly he has played to push that read. Very you can see his

:05:40. > :05:50.amusement. There was no pocket there. Look at that, how has he got

:05:51. > :05:55.the red pass that? Let's look at this one again. How can it going?

:05:56. > :06:19.Unbelievable. That was a good chance there.

:06:20. > :06:57.Suffering a little bit out there. It's confidence not the highest at

:06:58. > :07:10.the moment. That takes and 25 points in front. Just 25 left on the table.

:07:11. > :07:23.No attempt there, played the snooker.

:07:24. > :07:29.A lot of the players reside in Sheffield, the Chinese press, they

:07:30. > :07:33.have an academy in Sheffield where they will seemed to grow up and

:07:34. > :07:36.practice. I do not know whether this young man has been playing in

:07:37. > :07:42.Sheffield or just comes over for the tournament. Certainly a player as I

:07:43. > :07:55.have mentioned before I have not seen. This is half the chance.

:07:56. > :07:59.Forced the restart. I think if you what's it plain old is back I think

:08:00. > :08:21.if he pops it plain ball. Think was always going to be a

:08:22. > :08:53.problem. I have to say he is unlucky.

:08:54. > :09:13.Excellent shot, well played, very good.

:09:14. > :09:23.Does not want to give the free ball. I think he can see both sides of the

:09:24. > :09:55.brown. Taking the option of putting back in

:09:56. > :10:01.again. I must admit I thought the brown was on the coercion. Perhaps

:10:02. > :10:29.he should have played that shot himself.

:10:30. > :10:44.That was magnificent. Certainly looks like the blue passes think

:10:45. > :10:49.quite easily. Why you would roll but then I do not know. If he plays the

:10:50. > :10:59.little stunt run through he cannot miss out. -- stun run through he

:11:00. > :11:02.cannot miss that. Having had a couple of half chances Mark Williams

:11:03. > :11:14.has not release a full in this opening frame. But he will be pretty

:11:15. > :11:27.delighted now he is going to win it. Here's looking at the scoreboard and

:11:28. > :11:32.Lyu Chenwei has conceded. Terry, we will have to have a look about one

:11:33. > :11:45.again. We looked at it from both angles, we were directly behind the

:11:46. > :11:52.shot. How on earth one going? Actually it did not touch the flat.

:11:53. > :11:58.I think pace of the red it just slipped through but of course it was

:11:59. > :12:03.a fluke. He played a safety. He played to push it onto the cushion.

:12:04. > :12:11.Then he has a real chance here. Why not just stun it in. If you put any

:12:12. > :12:18.unwanted side, even the table can drift. He gave himself a bit too

:12:19. > :12:22.much today. Let's be fair, he should not have missed that. The other

:12:23. > :12:26.thing is when you are rolling them in and you are a bit nervously you

:12:27. > :12:30.are better off stunning. You said earlier Mark Williams was the master

:12:31. > :12:35.of that shot that not many players would have done that. And if you put

:12:36. > :12:41.a little twitch in when you are rolling the ball in you put unwanted

:12:42. > :12:53.side on it but you can get away with it with the stun shot. Lyu Chenwei

:12:54. > :12:59.will be disappointed after missing that blue. He had chances. As Willie

:13:00. > :13:11.Thorne mentioned Mark Williams has not really settled. One of Mark's

:13:12. > :13:15.great strengths always has been that when you give him an opportunity

:13:16. > :13:19.late on in a frame he generally clinches but he had a few chances

:13:20. > :14:13.and he will be pleased he won it in the end.

:14:14. > :14:31.That does not bode well. Does not look as if he has settled out there.

:14:32. > :15:14.Once again we have seen a player overscrewing the cue ball. Mark

:15:15. > :15:16.Saint put more effort into the potting side of that. He is OK,

:15:17. > :15:44.though. Not a great chance here so far with

:15:45. > :15:52.the red. The pink 's available to the middle. But all of the players

:15:53. > :16:10.liked to have the black available. He is on the pink but a bit further

:16:11. > :16:17.away and he tried to the. Apart from anybody but Mr rolling that was a

:16:18. > :16:23.tough shot. We were saying earlier Mark Williams on the Welsh Open many

:16:24. > :16:34.years ago, I have been reliably informed the beat John Parrott in

:16:35. > :16:39.1996 at the Newport Centre. Once again when he is rolling balls in

:16:40. > :16:50.the normally proficient at that time not. I thought it was in when he

:16:51. > :16:59.fitted the stop have you seen him play, Terry? I have not seen him

:17:00. > :17:03.play today March. -- much. He does not look comfortable out there. You

:17:04. > :17:08.have to understand he is playing one of the biggest names in the game, on

:17:09. > :17:11.his home patch. I do not think this young man has had a lot of

:17:12. > :17:16.television appearances. Lots of things not in his favour, shall we

:17:17. > :17:25.say. But others get inspired file that. It would be amazing if you

:17:26. > :17:28.could get some sort of way to get into the thoughts of the players

:17:29. > :17:33.when they sit down after missing. That would be great. Quite a few of

:17:34. > :17:38.them you can tell from their facial expressions. The great players, Mark

:17:39. > :17:44.Williams just sitting there, you would not even know he was not just

:17:45. > :17:50.watching TV in his front room. He has an amazing temperament, one of

:17:51. > :18:03.the best in the game. But unlikely, that shot on the red. I remember

:18:04. > :18:12.Mark Williams when I started working with him, he was in the semifinal,

:18:13. > :18:19.and it looked like he was going to win the tournament. He has come off

:18:20. > :18:24.and he is 4-0 down and I am worried sick waiting for him and asked him

:18:25. > :18:30.how he was feeling and he has gone, to be honest I know a lot better

:18:31. > :18:33.than you. That is how he is. Everything turns into something a

:18:34. > :18:45.bit more relaxed than you think it is at the time. That is the way the

:18:46. > :19:48.place. I cannot see what the point of this safety surveys.

:19:49. > :20:07.Mark Williams looks like he wants to be taking on this pot. Hmm.. He was

:20:08. > :20:52.playing for the paint. -- the pink. Once again not perfect. The distance

:20:53. > :21:04.between the cue ball and the pink. Well done. He is having a smile

:21:05. > :21:44.again. He is not on the red he played for.

:21:45. > :21:59.Not having the best run of the ball at the moment. The fact that pink

:22:00. > :22:04.goes as well, ideally he would like to get back onto the black spot.

:22:05. > :22:14.That would help things greatly if he has aspirations of winning the frame

:22:15. > :22:49.and this visit. Oh dear. What on earth was that.

:22:50. > :23:03.As you can see has given himself plenty of things to do with this.

:23:04. > :23:15.That is what pressure does. Well done, good recovery, well played.

:23:16. > :23:35.It will still go to that of Crockett. -- top pocket.

:23:36. > :23:39.Try to bounce it off the side of those reds but unfortunately caught

:23:40. > :24:10.the red' terrific. -- toothache. Excellent poll on the blue. Pretty

:24:11. > :24:19.aware he would be leaving Mark Williams the great chance. That will

:24:20. > :24:28.give him confidence. Trying to keep the cue ball under control. I'm sure

:24:29. > :24:55.he is closer to where he wants to be in practice.

:24:56. > :25:05.That seemed to not react at all. That time he was expecting to get

:25:06. > :25:12.plenty of life out of this red and it seemed to be not a lot of

:25:13. > :25:23.reaction at all. Once again he will have to play another gunshot. He

:25:24. > :25:31.could just leave the long red. His choice, of course. Does not generate

:25:32. > :25:40.any cue ball power. As it happens he could have finished their but he

:25:41. > :25:48.just stunned it in. He needs to work, shop. He was cueing just above

:25:49. > :26:03.centre. That does not generate enough top spin. Another good

:26:04. > :26:14.recovery but once again he was expecting a better reaction from the

:26:15. > :26:19.cue ball. It bounced which is why it took all the pace out of the cue

:26:20. > :26:31.ball. If he plays round the back of the baulk colours missing the yellow

:26:32. > :26:37.would be the problem. He has missed the yellow, well played, how always

:26:38. > :26:49.the pace? Once again a little unfortunate. Played that nicely. The

:26:50. > :26:57.cue ball is travelling so far in this effort, played a few good

:26:58. > :27:01.parts. You can see they are almost in line but when you look from the

:27:02. > :27:11.other angle you can see there is quite a gap between the reds. He is

:27:12. > :27:21.having a go. This is the wrong shot, win or lose. Why you would attempt

:27:22. > :27:30.that plants like that, read on to the black, stopping the red going

:27:31. > :27:35.over the corner, all he has done is given Mark Williams the initiative

:27:36. > :27:40.on the safety exchange. Very young man. Obviously has a lot to learn.

:27:41. > :27:54.Just a case of whether he does learn. This was the plant he was

:27:55. > :27:57.taking on. Such an easy safety shot there, there was no advantage in

:27:58. > :28:39.that shot at all. Especially with the lead he has.

:28:40. > :28:56.He will take this song probably. Have another go.

:28:57. > :29:07.Has got to be careful to not bring the red into play. Also those reds

:29:08. > :29:15.are available with to the centre pocket. Certainly the top one. All

:29:16. > :29:33.about pace as well as the angle. Pretty good.

:29:34. > :29:41.Mark taking the opportunity to bring the only safe red into play. With

:29:42. > :29:46.that being out of commission and the red where it was Edward have been

:29:47. > :30:03.impossible to get on the black and pocket. 27 points behind.

:30:04. > :30:24.Hmm. Mark Williams has developed this chance. He tried to bring the

:30:25. > :30:29.black into play. It did not work. You can see why he played this shot,

:30:30. > :31:16.because those reds around the black spot. Just the one.

:31:17. > :31:27.Mark felt that was a good shot to nothing. How has he covered it? Is

:31:28. > :31:31.there a good gap between yell' snink There maybe a gap. Oh, that's a

:31:32. > :31:42.result. He will be taking this red on. It is not easy to get on to a

:31:43. > :31:46.colour, so I don't know whether he should take it on. Especially

:31:47. > :31:50.playing a run-through. He is going to have to get the gap between red

:31:51. > :31:58.and black. Goodness me, look at that.

:31:59. > :32:01.and black. Goodness me, look at the worst kiss he could have

:32:02. > :32:05.and black. Goodness me, look at probably got. OK, he is on the

:32:06. > :32:08.brown, but he didn't have a perfect angle without the kiss he is on the

:32:09. > :32:37.blue and the pink. : Well, he felt he had no option to

:32:38. > :32:41.leave this long hot to nothing, so once again, he will have to play the

:32:42. > :32:48.gap between red and black and go for pink, blue or baulk colour. Yeah,

:32:49. > :32:59.that last kiss, he potted a wonderful red. The kiss left him

:33:00. > :33:08.absolutely nothing. His 31 lead. One red safe. He is certainly favourite

:33:09. > :33:11.to win this frame. Mark Williams turned around in disgust then. On

:33:12. > :33:34.that shot he played to bring the black into play. The black is still

:33:35. > :33:39.on the cushion. Not happening. It is not unusual to get this type of

:33:40. > :33:42.match in the first round. Both of players haven't settled down or

:33:43. > :33:47.brought their best form, should we say? He seems to want to play a long

:33:48. > :33:51.pot then with stun. In that last red that he played that he missed, it

:33:52. > :33:57.was just a plain-ball shot. Obviously when you're playing with

:33:58. > :34:01.stun, you need to make the angle. It wasn't a natural playing the stun

:34:02. > :34:08.shot. He didn't seem to want to play it with top spin. When you're cueing

:34:09. > :34:11.great, the stun shots are easy when you're swinging them around two

:34:12. > :34:24.cushions, but not at the moment. He appears to think the only way is

:34:25. > :34:37.playing a pot. He doesn't want to play safe.

:34:38. > :34:49.APPLAUSE An excellent pot, but no ideal position to get to that last

:34:50. > :35:15.red. The more shots that Mark Williams

:35:16. > :35:26.misses, the more confidence he will give his opponent. That's pretty

:35:27. > :35:32.good. Oh, it has just gone past the yellow. A chance to bring this black

:35:33. > :35:52.into play now. Played it nicely. He would have been

:35:53. > :35:55.hoping to push the black further towards the right-hand pocket, but

:35:56. > :36:01.he will be pretty delighted with the result. Of course this snooker, if

:36:02. > :36:05.you leave it dead straight, Mark will play the pot and just roll the

:36:06. > :36:12.black in. He has to be careful if he play this is off one cushion. He did

:36:13. > :36:29.very well to hit it and get it safe. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. Mark

:36:30. > :36:35.Williams. When you're hitting the cushion at

:36:36. > :36:39.that speed, you've got to allow a little bit for the cue ball. It sort

:36:40. > :36:44.of goes further into the rubber shall we say? It is only fractional,

:36:45. > :36:49.but then it throws it off at a more narrow angle. So you were never

:36:50. > :36:55.going to hit that red at that pace. If it was played at a medium pace.

:36:56. > :36:59.The most that Mark Williams can get is eight. There is no way he can get

:37:00. > :37:03.from black to yellow. Just play the roll up and if you leave the pot on,

:37:04. > :37:06.you know it will only cost you 8 points. If he leaves the red on, he

:37:07. > :37:10.can get on to any one of the other colours, and he can get back into

:37:11. > :37:16.the frame. All you're doing is giving away points for no reason. If

:37:17. > :37:21.he leaves the pot along the top cushion, the most he can get is 8.

:37:22. > :37:25.He has already given 8 away now. I think it is fair to say his shot

:37:26. > :37:58.selection keeps you thinking. REFEREE: Foul and miss. Mark

:37:59. > :38:02.Williams 4. A free ball. COMMENTATOR: A free ball. He is

:38:03. > :38:05.asking him to play from there. The other shot is a lot more difficult

:38:06. > :38:17.now. This could cost him a lot of points. Down through the baulk area

:38:18. > :38:25.and back down. A really, really tough one now. But the way he played

:38:26. > :38:34.so far, he is more likely to hit this one than the previous one. It

:38:35. > :38:41.is amazing. I can see Mark getting another oh, let me say, another four

:38:42. > :38:47.misses, I fancy from this position. It is all because, when you lead by

:38:48. > :38:51.so many as he did, he led by 38 points, as you rightly say, Terry,

:38:52. > :39:01.it is a difficult shot. Oh, not quite.

:39:02. > :39:06.REFEREE: A foul and a miss. COMMENTATOR: We know the situation,

:39:07. > :39:12.but this is a lot harder snooker and he missed it by a fag packet, paper

:39:13. > :39:16.thin. Why it is more difficult, you're not looking in the direction

:39:17. > :39:20.of where the red ball is. You have got to go off the cushion quickly

:39:21. > :39:23.and it is harder to judge the angle. Whereas the previous shot, when he

:39:24. > :39:31.is playing off the side cushion, it is much easier and he played more or

:39:32. > :39:34.less exactly the same. It is tough now. In the end, you don't see

:39:35. > :39:39.anything wrong when you hit the cushion. You have got no idea what

:39:40. > :39:42.the angel is going to be. Your head goes completely. Well, he has gone

:39:43. > :39:45.from being a strong favourite to winning this frame to now almost

:39:46. > :39:52.getting Mark Williams right back into it. I think he is coming inside

:39:53. > :39:55.again the way he's cueing. A good effort this time. Well done. Well

:39:56. > :39:55.done. APPLAUSE

:39:56. > :40:38.That was tough. He gave away 20 points in bowl in

:40:39. > :40:42.the previous visits which brought Mark Williams right back into this

:40:43. > :40:45.frame. He was 30 behind when he came to the table previously Mark

:40:46. > :40:56.Williams and he is now only 10 points behind. Of course, he did

:40:57. > :41:05.give four points away in an earlier exchange. He has given 24 points

:41:06. > :41:10.away in this frame. Ideally he'd like to hit this from behind.

:41:11. > :41:13.Because the pink is where it is, Mark Williams decided to play the

:41:14. > :41:52.slow shot. REFEREE: A foul and a miss.

:41:53. > :42:32.It looked for a minute he could cut that end bit. The blue is covering

:42:33. > :42:37.the red. Now then. It is a chance, but take it from me, with that cue

:42:38. > :42:45.ball close to that side cushion and that's gone on before in this frame,

:42:46. > :42:47.this is a tough one. If that cue ball was another two inches off the

:42:48. > :43:00.cushion, this would be straightforward enough. Well played.

:43:01. > :43:07.That was confidence. He still has a bit to do, but it will help him that

:43:08. > :43:12.the pink is where it is and he could give himself a chance to pot the

:43:13. > :43:16.yellow and get on to the green. Well, not from there!

:43:17. > :43:21.He will still have a go at it because it is a big pocket. You can

:43:22. > :43:23.pot it through the near corner in the middle of the pocket or off the

:43:24. > :43:39.cushion on to the pink and in. Well done!

:43:40. > :43:48.APPLAUSE An excellent attempt.

:43:49. > :43:54.Yes, now, of course, the worst things happen. All colours are now

:43:55. > :44:01.in play. He is going to have to play a very tight safety. Another three

:44:02. > :44:12.inches pace in that cue ball and the frame is over.

:44:13. > :44:18.But going back to the 24 points he has given away, if he goes on to

:44:19. > :44:24.lose this frame now, he will only have himself to blame. He is a

:44:25. > :44:36.strong favourite now. That's a dangerous way to play it, but he has

:44:37. > :44:56.played it OK. In matter of fact, he has played it really well.

:44:57. > :45:07.REFEREE: Foul. Lyu Chenwei 4. Well, this frame has

:45:08. > :45:17.been a frame of fouls really for both players. We have been running

:45:18. > :45:22.32 minutes. If he wasn't hampered, obviously he has to go for the

:45:23. > :45:25.green, but surely let Mark play the shot between for two reasons, if he

:45:26. > :45:29.goes around the back of it, he has won the frame anyway. But cueing

:45:30. > :45:39.over a ball like that to try and stun it in. When you are safe, I

:45:40. > :45:46.suppose, he thought he would have a go at it. It has been a very unusual

:45:47. > :45:51.frame. I mean, it is a long frame but not through a lot of good safety

:45:52. > :45:56.play, more of losing position and shots. I'm sure it will liven up. I

:45:57. > :46:03.didn't realise he needed a snooker when Mark missed that snooker. He

:46:04. > :46:09.had no option to take the pot on. He will settle now, I'm sure, hopefully

:46:10. > :46:22.having got a frame on the board. Hopefully only one snooker needed.

:46:23. > :46:32.He tried to roll it in and leave himself on the brown, you know, but

:46:33. > :46:37.it is a pot that came away from the pocket enough. Hello, that was

:46:38. > :46:41.different. He decided to bring the black into play. And also if he

:46:42. > :46:48.missed the black, the path the cue ball was taking, it was going very

:46:49. > :46:57.cles to the baulk pocket. -- close to the baulk pocket.

:46:58. > :47:01.It is amazing how many time you find a gap when you're playing that kind

:47:02. > :48:24.of shot. He needs to miss the brown. Not

:48:25. > :49:23.quite. Just about went in. 3 points make a

:49:24. > :49:48.big difference now with 31 points in front with just 22 left.

:49:49. > :49:52.Once again the famous gap comes between the colours when you're

:49:53. > :50:10.playing for snookers. That's an excellent chance here. The

:50:11. > :50:16.height is in behind the blue. The blue and black that is. Ended up

:50:17. > :50:53.trying to get behind the pink, but I don't think he played it that way.

:50:54. > :50:58.Every chance here getting in behind the pink and that will be a tough

:50:59. > :51:05.one to hit, but, of course, he needs another one. Maybe it is a lively

:51:06. > :51:07.cue ball because that was a very easy hot to get in behind the pink.

:51:08. > :52:09.He got second prize. APPLAUSE

:52:10. > :52:13.That's a bit better. If he hit the side cushion, it is not so bad, but

:52:14. > :52:30.if that's touching, it is almost impossible to hit the blue.

:52:31. > :52:42.He is 27 points in front so, Mark Williams would still need another

:52:43. > :52:46.snooker. He hasn't had much luck with hitting snookers in this match

:52:47. > :52:52.so far. REFEREE: Foul. Mark Williams 5.

:52:53. > :52:59.COMMENTATOR: There is a bit of pressure on. Just one snooker

:53:00. > :53:05.needed. 22 points the difference. How close is that? Are it really is

:53:06. > :53:09.a terrible position to be in when you look as if you're guaranteed to

:53:10. > :53:20.win your first frame and all of a sudden, you miss a snooker and

:53:21. > :53:25.another one interferes. It must be too close to the black to play off

:53:26. > :53:29.the right-hand side cushion which is the easier way of playing it. This

:53:30. > :53:33.could easier be missed. Well done. A bit of pressure there, but a chance

:53:34. > :53:48.to get in behind the pink again here.

:53:49. > :54:00.You have got the stun on the cue ball dead right, it was just the

:54:01. > :54:05.pace was a little bit too heavy. Otherwise it would have been a good

:54:06. > :54:15.chance. Got in tight behind the pink.

:54:16. > :54:24.This frame has been running 41 minutes now. It has been a long run

:54:25. > :54:28.out affair. Why would he put the blue back at the centre of the

:54:29. > :54:38.table? You would rather Mark Williams take the pot on the blue.

:54:39. > :54:52.He is definitely giving Mark chance that is he perhaps shouldn't be

:54:53. > :54:56.getting. He is doing it again. He is trying to give him a chance to get

:54:57. > :55:31.the snooker. Now he sees the situation.

:55:32. > :55:37.He really wants to not pot the blue, but he would do well to keep it out.

:55:38. > :55:41.He is having to play the pot. The thing is normally you only get one

:55:42. > :55:55.chance with any situation with pink or black on.

:55:56. > :56:00.He decided to concede so Mark Williams had a few chances to get

:56:01. > :56:08.back in the frame, but Lyu Chenwei has a frame on the board and he will

:56:09. > :56:12.settle a bit now. We're 1-1. Well, I hope you enjoyed all 43

:56:13. > :56:16.minutes of that frame. Dominic, we saw a lot of good stuff in there,

:56:17. > :56:21.some good safety stuff, but also a lot of errors. How do you assess it

:56:22. > :56:26.all? Full of variety. Yes, that's a word. I think, you know, if you look

:56:27. > :56:30.at that frame there, it is quite clear for me to see that Mark know

:56:31. > :56:34.this is game inside out, we all know that, but his opponent, Lyu Chenwei

:56:35. > :56:37.knows nothing about the strategic parts of snooker and the tactical

:56:38. > :56:41.parts of the game. This is a problem with a lot of the young Chinese

:56:42. > :56:44.players that come over here on the tour, they do most of their learning

:56:45. > :56:48.over here playing the British players because we have the history

:56:49. > :56:52.in Britain here in snooker so all the great amateur players and

:56:53. > :56:55.professional players and they are mainly British based or in China

:56:56. > :56:58.when they do their practising growing up, they have no great

:56:59. > :57:01.players with a history in the game to learn from and learn the right

:57:02. > :57:07.from wrong in terms of shot selection and it was evident in that

:57:08. > :57:11.frame there. So he got away with it? Did he survive that? There were so

:57:12. > :57:15.many chances for Lyu Chenwei to roll the blue over the corner pocket. In

:57:16. > :57:20.the end, Mark left him a shot to give the chance of potting the blue

:57:21. > :57:24.down the cushion a better chance for the pocket to receive the ball. It

:57:25. > :57:29.was just a shot that he naturally played. It was the right shot in

:57:30. > :57:34.that instance and forced Mark to pot the blue and Mark had a job to pot

:57:35. > :57:39.the black that was in the middle of the table. Just as we saw Barry

:57:40. > :57:43.Pinches give Ronnie O'Sullivan a tough time earlier on, are we seeing

:57:44. > :57:48.a similar scenario here? What are we going to see happen? I said earlier

:57:49. > :57:53.on in a pre-match interview that Mark, I don't think is on his A game

:57:54. > :57:58.yet, but there is only one way I can see Lyu Chenwei winning this match

:57:59. > :58:02.and that's if he feeds off Mark's mistakes should Mark miss easy pots

:58:03. > :58:09.that he is not accustomed to make. He miss add few in this match, Mark.

:58:10. > :58:13.Mark just needs one good frame, one big break to get a bit of confidence

:58:14. > :58:18.into his game because Mark is a confidence player and he lost a bit

:58:19. > :58:24.of that confidence lately, Mark. It might be a wake-up call for Lyu

:58:25. > :58:27.Chenwei because he was 31 up and he almost lost it. You always know when

:58:28. > :58:31.you play the young Asian players who don't have the experience that we

:58:32. > :58:34.have that you have always got a chance against them because they

:58:35. > :58:37.often play the wrong shot and they will give you the chances to get the

:58:38. > :58:42.snookers. So if you're him, what are you thinking right now? Well p you

:58:43. > :58:46.see Mark knows what's going on in this match, Mark needs to tighten up

:58:47. > :58:51.and make sure he doesn't miss easy pots and give his opponent free

:58:52. > :58:55.chances. If Mark can make it difficult for Lyu Chenwei, he should

:58:56. > :58:58.win this match easily, Mark still, but it depends on Mark, does he miss

:58:59. > :59:05.easy pots? If he doesn't, he will win this match. Well, here he comes.

:59:06. > :59:14.He will be hoping to pull one back. Let's go back to our commentary

:59:15. > :59:20.team, we were admiring the to the ware. They are Jimmy Choo shoes.

:59:21. > :59:29.Other brands are available, of course!

:59:30. > :59:31.COMMENTATOR: Mark Mark must be scratching his head thinking how did

:59:32. > :59:52.he lose that previous frame? He has played it OK. He had a big

:59:53. > :00:00.chance with that red available on the black also available, but the

:00:01. > :00:10.angle he left Mark Williams. It is a little bit awkward.

:00:11. > :00:17.He has just gone past the middle pocket far enough. Not been cutting

:00:18. > :00:23.it back in. He is looking at the red now on the right-hand side of the

:00:24. > :00:27.table which means you can pot that and run off two cushions for the

:00:28. > :00:39.black. I mean, that is risky. I think if he gets it, there is a

:00:40. > :00:44.reward there for him. He didn't actually play for the black. He

:00:45. > :00:47.didn't see any value in that shot, unless he was playing for the black.

:00:48. > :00:51.He made the shot a lot more difficult and no guarantee of being

:00:52. > :00:58.on a colour. As it turns out, because of that, he has left a

:00:59. > :01:00.quarter of a chance on for Mark Williams. He is playing this gently

:01:01. > :01:18.into the centre pocket. I think he was concerned, partly,

:01:19. > :01:27.making sure the white got past the red.

:01:28. > :01:58.Not leaving it on, maybe took some of the concentration away.

:01:59. > :02:11.Not too sure he can hit it thick enough for the black. Wants to get

:02:12. > :02:19.down quickly. If he hasn't got the angle, to hold for the blue... No

:02:20. > :02:27.good. Worth the risk. Could play the two cushion stun.

:02:28. > :02:41.Directly. Not a bad effort. Would love to finish low on the black. Not

:02:42. > :02:50.high. Missing the cannon is going to be a problem. Low on the black would

:02:51. > :03:08.have been better. Pretty good as well. I do like those! Great.

:03:09. > :03:17.Looks as if someone else has turned up. Confidence, with a frame on the

:03:18. > :03:26.board. Perhaps he can't get to the one at

:03:27. > :04:13.the bottom. Had this shot a few times. May just

:04:14. > :04:24.roll. Can go wrong. Good effort. Hasn't come at a great angle. Could

:04:25. > :04:26.avoid the pack of reds, but the red behind the black stopping that.

:04:27. > :04:55.Position won't be easy. Very aggressive shot. Unfortunate

:04:56. > :05:06.not to have a shot on a colour. Playing for blue or baulk. Very

:05:07. > :05:29.aggressive shot to play. Williams, a bit to think about now.

:05:30. > :05:35.Not quite sure if he played to pot that or not. Snooker behind the

:05:36. > :06:12.brown, anyway. Well... Not sure how he can get on

:06:13. > :06:29.the one red, to the right of the black. Not this way... Foul and a

:06:30. > :06:51.miss. Tough snooker to escape from. Williams looking at the red. Maybe

:06:52. > :08:13.stunning in... Well! Disappointing. Clear cut chance that, for Williams.

:08:14. > :08:26.Balls are on, certainly. Apart from the one next to the green. It could

:08:27. > :09:07.be another long frame. The way things are going here.

:09:08. > :09:22.I bet you've been enjoying this? 43 minutes the last frame? Every chane

:09:23. > :09:33.of an hour? Could have dragged it out more, for me! That's a chance

:09:34. > :09:41.for Mark. Bring the red away from the pocket. The next few safetys

:09:42. > :10:18.will be a lot more difficult. Maybe forced to take a pot on. Can

:10:19. > :10:29.get through the gap, the red at the green pocket. No idea where the cue

:10:30. > :10:39.ball would finish. Taking the one next to the pink. That is the

:10:40. > :10:57.problem. After safety play. Tend to lose the cueing. Both of these, will

:10:58. > :11:06.be difficult to miss the kiss. The chances, to get on a colour,

:11:07. > :12:10.properly, big. A chance to get on blue and pink now...

:12:11. > :12:21.Wasn't 100% sure where the cue ball would stop. But it is not too tight.

:12:22. > :12:34.Blue and pink available. The problem, he has got to use the rest.

:12:35. > :12:44.That is what happens with that. You have got to screw back. Get the cue

:12:45. > :13:46.out the way. Pull it across the line of the shot.

:13:47. > :14:09.Touching ball. Worst possible placement! Can't see the blue. Can

:14:10. > :14:18.play away. He has every chance of getting behind pink and black.

:14:19. > :14:27.Nominate the green, get the white to the centre. That's key. The red

:14:28. > :14:39.below the brown, it would be natural two cushions. Nominating green...

:14:40. > :15:45.Sure he has done? That red was in the way.

:15:46. > :16:05.Lyu held up his hand. Got a good kiss. This is not straightforward.

:16:06. > :16:12.Taking a pot on? How can you be kept off the table so long then get that!

:16:13. > :16:46.Needed a good kiss but didn't get it. Anywhere but there.

:16:47. > :17:08.Playing for the one, right middle pocket. Foul and a miss. Once again,

:17:09. > :17:17.he can pot this. But not a certainty, to get on a colour.

:17:18. > :17:30.Missed that red! Chance now. Little bit too far. Another inch to the

:17:31. > :17:39.left, this would have been easy. Amazing, this match. Excellent pots,

:17:40. > :17:42.rolling to positions where they can't get a colour. Four or five

:17:43. > :17:52.times. Just enough room to sneak behind the

:17:53. > :19:13.black. Perhaps too thick? It looked as though Williams had

:19:14. > :19:18.taken that on. In the middle. He can see one red. Extreme left. But

:19:19. > :19:42.swerving round. He'll take that. Left Williams the

:19:43. > :19:46.type of shot he's normally good at. But not a lot of potting going on.

:19:47. > :20:03.Good pot from there. Williams, putting a noose around his

:20:04. > :21:00.opponent's neck. Potted that red on the thick side.

:21:01. > :21:10.Do took the run out of the cue ball. Played for blue. If Williams, four

:21:11. > :22:24.behind. Foul and a miss. That was not too

:22:25. > :22:37.difficult. But not putting the cue ball on the right hand side.

:22:38. > :22:52.Second attempt. That is better. The only thing that he did not want to

:22:53. > :22:56.do, hit the red full ball off the cushion. Leave it in the middle.

:22:57. > :24:16.Having a look at the pot. Clearly trying to get behind pink

:24:17. > :24:36.and black. If he was not hampered he would have

:24:37. > :24:49.taken the cut on. Good safety. Not so easy now.

:24:50. > :25:19.That red would have come back over to the middle. Jaws have done him a

:25:20. > :25:27.favour. Well done. Potted it! Can't beat a bit of luck. Good hit on the

:25:28. > :25:56.snooker. I can understand him playing the

:25:57. > :26:05.snooker on the yellow. But it could have been the green. Even if Mark

:26:06. > :26:11.missed that, the most would have been eight points. I suggest whoever

:26:12. > :27:38.pots the green will win the frame. Had a better angle, and hit it

:27:39. > :28:30.harder... Would probably have brought the green into play.

:28:31. > :28:53.Well! Excellent pot. Close to kissing the brown.

:28:54. > :29:08.Three colours to get behind. Mark can hit the brown.

:29:09. > :29:24.Not bad. Brown is available. Thin cut. Past the half hour stage in

:29:25. > :29:56.this frame. Really good pot! Now then. Ten in

:29:57. > :30:11.front. Hold on... Wasn't that far from going in-off!

:30:12. > :30:20.It is amazing, you would think, in this sort of frame, Williams would

:30:21. > :30:30.have been favourite. One of the best, at getting snookers. But not

:30:31. > :30:43.cueing at his best today. His previous shot, Lyu, should have

:30:44. > :30:55.rolled to the pink. Look at the cue ball. What on earth? That is not

:30:56. > :31:15.unlucky, just a terrible shot. If he loses this frame now, we can

:31:16. > :31:21.see Mark Williams winning 4-1 and that's going to really hurt.

:31:22. > :31:25.I think he is one of those players that he just likes to get the cue

:31:26. > :31:26.ball safe and not worry about the object ball and that's what is

:31:27. > :31:53.causing the problem. He is going to have first chance at

:31:54. > :32:01.this frame. I think this pink is going to bounce and he will take it

:32:02. > :32:07.on. He will hit the middle of the cushion between middle pocket and

:32:08. > :32:17.corner pocket. He could go close to the middle. Oh dear. He would

:32:18. > :32:19.frighten me to death if I was one of his supporters. He just didn't see

:32:20. > :32:37.the shot. Looks dead straight. Mark Williams

:32:38. > :32:44.is not one of these players that can screw the cue ball back the length

:32:45. > :32:54.of the table. He left himself a bit closer to the cushion than he would

:32:55. > :33:01.have liked. Oh. Oh. Fortunate there. The way he jumped up, it looks like

:33:02. > :33:13.he might drift it slightly. He played it very slowly. There is a

:33:14. > :33:26.possible three cushion shot here into the right middle pocket. A bit

:33:27. > :33:28.of top spin there. Now then. These are tough ones. Lots of distance,

:33:29. > :33:47.thin cut. Being on the thin side of that shot

:33:48. > :34:02.rather than thick. Leaving his opponent an easy shot.

:34:03. > :34:10.It is one of those, isn't it? Do I or don't sni the thing is he can't

:34:11. > :34:15.guarantee getting the white close to the baulk cushion. I don't blame him

:34:16. > :34:16.at all for taking it on, but he will certainly need a possible pot on the

:34:17. > :34:30.black should he miss it. He played it once again, very well.

:34:31. > :34:39.It is tough to get a good cue ball from that.

:34:40. > :34:53.Well, he has only got himself to blame for losing this frame. It is a

:34:54. > :35:01.shame because he has dominated that play really. He played the better

:35:02. > :35:04.pots. But a very relieved Mark Williams. He will be very, very

:35:05. > :35:06.happy indeed. He should have been 2-1 behind. He isn't, he is 2-1 in

:35:07. > :35:17.front. So an escape there for Mark

:35:18. > :35:23.Williams. 2-1 now he leads. Let's look at how some other Welshmen have

:35:24. > :35:40.been getting on. Not good for Jamie Jones. He was beaten by Michael

:35:41. > :35:54.Georgiou earlier on. Lianng Wenbo got a win over Yassen.

:35:55. > :36:02.The young Belgian, a win for him over Ian Burns.

:36:03. > :36:07.Runner-up as well at the German Masters recently. So, a fascinating

:36:08. > :36:10.contest this here, Dominic. How do you look at this one then? Perhaps a

:36:11. > :36:15.lucky escape for Mark Williams or the fact that his opponent played

:36:16. > :36:17.poor shots to let him back in there? Honestly, his opponent doesn't know

:36:18. > :36:21.anything about the game of snooker from a tactical point of view. There

:36:22. > :36:26.is a lot more to smaoker than potting balls and making breaks. You

:36:27. > :36:29.can see that in Mark because Mark is missing pots and not scoring as we

:36:30. > :36:33.are accustomed to seeing him do, but Mark knows everything about this

:36:34. > :36:38.game of snooker and for him to win a frame like that will give him a

:36:39. > :36:44.great boost. He must be sitting in his chair thinking, "I can't lose

:36:45. > :36:49.this no matter how bad I play." Complete inexperience from Lyu

:36:50. > :36:54.Chenwei. No player with any amount of experience would go in-off there

:36:55. > :37:01.in 100 years. He is 2-1 up now Mark and he knows he should be 2-1 down.

:37:02. > :37:07.Let's go to table two, Michael White is looking to wrap up a victory here

:37:08. > :37:11.and indeed, he has done it. Michael White joins Daniel Wells in round

:37:12. > :37:16.two tomorrow. Good news there for Wales. We will see whether Mark

:37:17. > :37:22.Williams can join him. Where does this leave the two players then

:37:23. > :37:26.psychologically, do you think? What's that young Chinaman thinking

:37:27. > :37:31.when he is waiting for Mark to come back in? I wouldn't like to guess.

:37:32. > :37:36.I'm sure Mark Williams thinks he can't lose this match. I still think

:37:37. > :37:40.he is troubled by the shoulder injury. He looks restricted in going

:37:41. > :37:44.through the ball Mark Williams and I think it is worrying him. He can't

:37:45. > :37:46.afford to concede another one. Let's go back with Mark Williams leading

:37:47. > :38:05.just about, 2-1. The type of long pot that you would

:38:06. > :38:12.expect Mark Williams to get, but they haven't been happening so far

:38:13. > :38:22.in this match so far. Dominic thinks he isn't getting through the ball

:38:23. > :38:28.enough, possibly. It is surprising what tension can do to you and

:38:29. > :38:35.pressure. You wouldn't see a smoother delivery of the cue than

:38:36. > :38:38.someone like Mark Williams in his prime, but then at times everything

:38:39. > :38:40.goes a little bit too quick. The grip comes on too early. Too tight.

:38:41. > :39:53.Anything can happen. He was disappointed to have finished

:39:54. > :39:57.straightish on the black there. That needs an angling, but he can screw

:39:58. > :40:02.in the back of that red or run behind two cushions. We have talked

:40:03. > :40:07.about him in commentary, Tel, he doesn't seem to play that shot with

:40:08. > :40:11.enough top skin, it is just below centre almost and tries to create a

:40:12. > :40:16.cue ball movement rather than let it happen. The higher you cue on a cue

:40:17. > :40:21.ball, you can still hit a stun to get a centre ball. You don't have to

:40:22. > :40:34.hit low to get a stun. You can bounce that in with almost top spin.

:40:35. > :40:39.23 points in front. The black was played there, the top spin, you are

:40:40. > :40:42.bound to go on two or three reds. He left himself slightly awkward. Of

:40:43. > :40:48.course, he will be feeling it from the last frame. He knows he should

:40:49. > :40:50.be 2-1 in front and he won't be feeling good at the moment, that's

:40:51. > :41:13.for sure. Saying that Mark Williams is one of

:41:14. > :41:19.the best in the world at generating cue ball speed up and run through.

:41:20. > :41:27.He is going to hit that by two feet. Maybe the cue ball is a bit light.

:41:28. > :41:32.Maybe every time you hit below centre it is delivering to a stun.

:41:33. > :41:33.Very rarely would you see Mark Williams hitting a ball like this.

:41:34. > :42:09.This is just straightforward. A good attempt there from Mark

:42:10. > :42:18.Williams. He went very close to that and hit it really well.

:42:19. > :42:31.Such a tough pot. Look how close that got to hitting the centre of

:42:32. > :42:33.the pocket. Hello. Is that a different one? A good bit

:42:34. > :43:18.of variety in this match so far. Mark just had a look to see if there

:43:19. > :43:24.is a three ball plant available in the pack. If there is a three ball

:43:25. > :43:30.plant. He has got the perfect angle on the blue to go into the reds, but

:43:31. > :43:33.he knows if he hits the top red, he will push the plant towards the

:43:34. > :43:39.pocket and maybe in the pocket so he might be reluctant to play it. He

:43:40. > :43:43.could play the cannon to to the two reds. As long as he avoids the first

:43:44. > :43:46.red. He played the cannon there and I don't think he can get on anything

:43:47. > :44:14.that way. It must have been a plant, so why not play for the plant?

:44:15. > :44:25.Lyu Chenwei is looking to plant into the green pocket.

:44:26. > :44:25.He has got it. APPLAUSE

:44:26. > :44:43.Well done. He has to take the black on whether

:44:44. > :44:56.he likes it or not. He's not taking it on.

:44:57. > :45:05.Well, I'm trying to work out whether they played a pot or not there

:45:06. > :45:11.because where the cue ball, why would you leave Mark Williams a shot

:45:12. > :45:15.on in the middle? He is not a happy chappie at the

:45:16. > :45:19.moment. I think every time he played one of

:45:20. > :45:27.those shots drop into the middle, he has got it thin. One of his strong

:45:28. > :45:35.suits that type of shot as well. I seen him knocking the cue on the

:45:36. > :45:40.floor there in disappointment. He is pretty close, but you don't

:45:41. > :45:51.get much for that. There goes the knock of the cue. He did that well.

:45:52. > :46:04.A nice rthmed. Oh dear. -- a nice rhythm. Oh dear.

:46:05. > :46:17.He played some strange shots this young man.

:46:18. > :46:23.He wasn't hampered with the black, he would be taking this red on

:46:24. > :46:31.that's nearest the top left-hand corner, but it is slightly hampered.

:46:32. > :46:32.There is no point in taking it on if he can't screw back up for the green

:46:33. > :48:14.or the black. He has caught that one too well.

:48:15. > :48:38.It is very thin. APPLAUSE

:48:39. > :48:43.There is a good chance here if he can get past the blue. It looks like

:48:44. > :48:56.there might be one red available out of those four by the pink. He

:48:57. > :49:01.certainly got through the white nicely. He may have come low enough

:49:02. > :49:08.to bring the pink into play here as well. Which he has done. So this is

:49:09. > :49:12.the key shot. He gets nicely on a red with the pink being in play now,

:49:13. > :49:26.you fancy him to win the frame at this visit.

:49:27. > :49:38.He is almost jabbing at the ball. He is not getting any reaction from the

:49:39. > :49:44.cue ball. That's what pressure does when you put a grip on too early and

:49:45. > :49:47.too tight, you start decelebrating through the ball instead of acset

:49:48. > :49:52.rating. You wouldn't see him being it in practise. Exactly, yeah. Mind

:49:53. > :49:56.you, that was a great pot he just potted there. Absolutely to the

:49:57. > :50:00.inch. You see once again, he finished

:50:01. > :50:04.narrow again there and he wanted the white another foot over to the left.

:50:05. > :50:10.He is a bit bemused the way the cue ball is finishing. OK, he will get

:50:11. > :50:15.nicely on the blue here. He has not got the cue ball under control at

:50:16. > :50:21.the minute, but once again, finished absolutely perfect. He is such a

:50:22. > :50:28.beautiful striker of the ball when he is on form and then when you see

:50:29. > :50:35.him like he has been today so far, he just hasn't turned up. Like a lot

:50:36. > :50:40.of the Welsh boys have said over the year, they feel the pressure playing

:50:41. > :50:44.in their home patch, you know, and their family and friends come along

:50:45. > :50:51.and puts a little bit more on them. If they start well, OK, it is OK,

:50:52. > :50:59.but then if you don't, the pressure gets worse as you go along. If hi to

:51:00. > :51:00.pick a player to handle the pressure, Mark Williams would be

:51:01. > :51:20.very high up on the list. Well, almost, wonderful. I think

:51:21. > :51:24.this will still sneak in. He is 26 points in front so he doesn't have

:51:25. > :51:29.to worry too much about the cue ball because he will have a nice easy

:51:30. > :51:32.blue and there was no applause from the crowd, but trust me that was

:51:33. > :51:38.brilliant. Now he only needs a colour.

:51:39. > :52:09.APPLAUSE So Mark Williams 32 points in front.

:52:10. > :52:15.If he wins this frame, he will be 3-1 in front. That was probably the

:52:16. > :52:19.best break of the match so far, but not a particularly high one, it was

:52:20. > :52:56.only 40, but that was from nowhere he got that 40 break.

:52:57. > :53:01.Well, that didn't work out. He will find himself snookered now behind

:53:02. > :53:17.the black. He needs two four point penalties

:53:18. > :53:28.with a chance to win the frame with all the colours. If he hits this, he

:53:29. > :53:31.is safe. He hit it. He didn't want to see the blue go on that cushion

:53:32. > :53:54.and Mark Williams has got a pot on. I suppose at least, Mark Williams

:53:55. > :54:05.has put the black and the blue safe now here.

:54:06. > :54:07.Did the yellow go in? It was quick. It disappeared down the hole rather

:54:08. > :54:23.than went in it. Well, you can see what he is trying

:54:24. > :54:28.for here. He is going to pot the brown possibly his plan was and

:54:29. > :54:33.then, he would be 23 points behind. He could tie then with just one

:54:34. > :54:38.snooker and getting five points for the penalty on the blue if it

:54:39. > :54:47.happens. He may roll up behind the black now. I'm

:54:48. > :54:51.happens. He may roll up behind the there. When you are playing at that

:54:52. > :54:58.pace and even if it stayed on the hole like it has, it should be more

:54:59. > :55:01.or less a certainty for Mark Williams. Has he hit it hard enough?

:55:02. > :55:14.Of course, he has! APPLAUSE

:55:15. > :55:16.So concession from Lyu Chenwei. Mark Williams from nowhere is 3-1 in

:55:17. > :56:40.front. Yes. A reminder of why Williams is

:56:41. > :56:46.so admired. Add remaining fixture in the top 16. He will be feeling

:56:47. > :56:55.happier, than he was one frame back? Yes. To have pinched that third

:56:56. > :57:00.frame... I do not think if using danger. He can relax. That is a

:57:01. > :57:06.dangerous thing to say, but the pressure should be on him, hopefully

:57:07. > :57:13.he can go to when. But he does not look entirely relaxed. His opponent,

:57:14. > :57:24.making him wait? Possibly has last chance? The only way that he can

:57:25. > :57:29.win, to score heavily. Mark has the upper hand. Despite the fact that he

:57:30. > :57:34.has been missing a lot of shots. That will not give him confidence,

:57:35. > :57:38.if he progresses, but that is another thing to do with. In terms

:57:39. > :57:52.of this much, looking good. Still waiting. You were talking about

:57:53. > :58:03.Mark's form. Not his A game. But he did get to the semifinals of the

:58:04. > :58:10.shoot out at Reading? But that is just a stop clock. Not a match. A

:58:11. > :58:15.sprint. Fun event. Crowd involved. And cannot judge him on that. I

:58:16. > :58:24.always wonder, what is going to be through his head? Just trying to

:58:25. > :58:28.focus. If he remains focused, does not lose that, but you can do when

:58:29. > :58:32.you are sat down, he should not be in danger. He does not want to get

:58:33. > :58:41.any opportunities to his opponent, to get back into the match. He will

:58:42. > :58:52.just want to get rid of him. And progress to the next round. One

:58:53. > :59:00.frame away from joining fellow Welshmen in next round. It has been

:59:01. > :59:15.workmanlike from Williams. But it has also been a learning curve, for

:59:16. > :59:19.Lyu, pots well but safety leaves a lot to be desired. Seems a nice

:59:20. > :59:49.young man. If he has not covered it up... Could

:59:50. > :59:56.have taken the double on. Played that. And all afternoon, it has

:59:57. > :01:33.always hit the near jaw. Didn't get that right all. Trying to

:01:34. > :01:51.get the cue ball behind the black. We know this pots... Wow. A fluke.

:01:52. > :02:06.Amazing, it hits the near jaw, side on, clings to the cushion. Seems to

:02:07. > :02:12.flick. Clings like glue. That has happened a few times. We have seen a

:02:13. > :02:23.lot of flukes like that. Two hours of play. Unlike Williams, averaging

:02:24. > :02:37.half hour a frame. This young man has not made a century break yet.

:02:38. > :02:38.Good have every chance. 3-1 behind. But obviously, the mindset is not

:02:39. > :02:58.great. Very good shot. That has opened

:02:59. > :03:04.everything. You will not get many better chances, to make a first

:03:05. > :04:28.century than this. The first time in the match we've

:04:29. > :04:34.seen Lyu play with good control of the cue ball. Close to the object

:04:35. > :04:56.ball with this effort. Slightly overdone that. Played for

:04:57. > :05:18.the blue. He can just get past the red to the

:05:19. > :05:42.green. By the look of it. Walking round the table with more

:05:43. > :05:57.confidence. Playing quicket, striking the ball better. --

:05:58. > :06:10.quicker. Nice break so far. 44, the highest so far. Could get past that.

:06:11. > :06:18.Would be nice, to get his first century. First one on tv.

:06:19. > :06:33.Professional snooker. At the moment, evil be concentrating, get enough

:06:34. > :06:53.points to stay in the frame. -- he will be.

:06:54. > :07:06.Screwed on and off the cushion. That would have made it straightforward.

:07:07. > :07:17.A little bit of work to do. Close to the winning line now. Well done. One

:07:18. > :07:21.more good positional shot should get him past the line. Would be nicely

:07:22. > :09:28.on the reds. That's not the one. Had to catch the jaws. Closer than

:09:29. > :09:38.he did. Played to pot the red, hoped it would wobble in the jaws. But it

:09:39. > :09:39.came back down the table. Wow. That was a clear cut opportunity to win

:09:40. > :10:06.the frame. Seemed to hit that well, Williams.

:10:07. > :10:20.Still not that far up the table. Now then. Take the blue on? Or more

:10:21. > :10:22.difficult brown? Blue. Leaving himself a long thin cut to the left

:10:23. > :10:46.corner. We are staying with this match. If

:10:47. > :10:48.you want to watch the Antiques Roadtrip, it will be back tomorrow

:10:49. > :10:59.afternoon. Left a red available for Mark. But

:11:00. > :11:17.cue ball tight on the cushion. Wow. Almost laughing. But that is not

:11:18. > :11:42.what he is feeling. Nobody wants to win this frame! Mark

:11:43. > :11:48.Williams of course is 52 points behind. If he can get on the black

:11:49. > :11:53.here, a good chance. That's very well played, those are awkward, you

:11:54. > :11:57.have to hit them perfectly to get onto the black. He is rather

:11:58. > :12:08.straight but he will be happy with that. He has played for the more

:12:09. > :12:19.difficult red first, which is always a good sign. Does the black go on

:12:20. > :12:24.its own spot? It's a bad mistake and obviously now this red is even more

:12:25. > :12:28.difficult and we saw in the Ronnie O'Sullivan game previously, how

:12:29. > :12:33.tight this pocket is. I would not be surprised if he missed this, it is

:12:34. > :12:48.tough but he has played it nicely. That was a tough pot but a poor

:12:49. > :12:52.previous shot on the black. And of course that red would have been much

:12:53. > :12:58.easier if he was playing for the black. He wouldn't have had to have

:12:59. > :13:08.hit it so hard. He doesn't seem to be getting the movement out of the

:13:09. > :13:13.cue ball that he needs. Taking this red around the back of the black,

:13:14. > :13:19.eat needs to finish on the angle and he could not have played this

:13:20. > :13:24.better, perfect. Just a little nudge on the right-hand red and it will be

:13:25. > :13:31.a chance for frame and match. That is unlike Mark Williams to play that

:13:32. > :13:42.so poorly. He has another difficult pot, he catches this full ball

:13:43. > :13:49.instead of half ball. What on earth is happening? He must have thought

:13:50. > :13:55.he was going to get the gap otherwise he wouldn't have played it

:13:56. > :14:46.in the middle. Even though he is behind, he has gone favourite.

:14:47. > :14:54.He seems very much amused at the way he is playing, Mark Williams.

:14:55. > :15:03.Dominic alluded to the fact that he was not at his best. -- bemused. He

:15:04. > :15:11.certainly seems out of sorts today. That's not a bad shot. It's not

:15:12. > :15:59.hitting it, it getting it safe. 32 points in front, just make sure

:16:00. > :16:02.of the blue and that will leave Mark Williams sitting in his chair. Well

:16:03. > :16:14.done. The mood Mark Williams is income I

:16:15. > :16:23.would not be surprised if he does stay in his chair. And he has done

:16:24. > :16:29.so Lyu has done very well, a scrappy frame that Mark Williams looked like

:16:30. > :16:33.winning but Lyu has won it and closes the gap to 3-2. You have

:16:34. > :16:38.worked with him for many years, Terry, when he was in his prime and

:16:39. > :16:41.you seem to know from his body language that he's not feeling that

:16:42. > :16:48.great and I can't blame him, the way it's gone. He is not one to show out

:16:49. > :16:54.when he is playing bad but there are some signs that he is struggling. He

:16:55. > :16:57.hasn't played well today, he had an opportunity there which you think he

:16:58. > :17:06.would have grasped the wind the frame. He didn't catch those reds

:17:07. > :17:08.right. -- to win the frame. It is one of those matches when things

:17:09. > :17:15.haven't been going right for either player, the other lad hasn't had the

:17:16. > :17:24.best run and when you are struggling, the balls are never kind

:17:25. > :17:31.somehow. Lee Chin way breaking off -- eugenic way -- Lyu. Can he forced

:17:32. > :18:26.a decider? Half a chance for Mark Williams, he

:18:27. > :19:00.would have been on the black if he had potted that red.

:19:01. > :19:12.Not quite sure if he played a double their but we have had a few frames

:19:13. > :19:16.in this match when a lot of the reds have been going up into the baulk

:19:17. > :19:27.area. There have been three or four in this match. You can see the

:19:28. > :19:33.points scored. It doesn't always mean a lot. It's the frames that

:19:34. > :19:49.count and Mark Williams is one in front.

:19:50. > :19:55.He has lost in so many first-round matches, this young man, and he has

:19:56. > :20:02.a chance to beat Mark Williams today. The only top-class player he

:20:03. > :20:09.has beaten is Dominic Dale, amazingly! He mentioned he didn't

:20:10. > :20:12.have the experience to beat Mark Williams, Dominic, but he had the

:20:13. > :20:25.experience to beat Dominic! It is a good fluke but it's not

:20:26. > :20:31.worth a lot. Just roll up into the black. Are we going to see another

:20:32. > :20:36.one with all of the reds at the far end of the table? It is amazing, the

:20:37. > :20:46.pattern has been so similar in every frame. A break of 58 from Lyu

:20:47. > :22:58.Chenwei but Mark Williams's highest is 40 at the moment.

:22:59. > :23:08.Incredible. I'm not quite sure if he played the pot, hard to see if he

:23:09. > :23:14.could get through those two reds, or whether he played at cannon, but

:23:15. > :23:55.either way he has left this on the middle pocket.

:23:56. > :24:06.APPLAUSE I'm not sure what he did, he potted

:24:07. > :24:08.the black but didn't play position and he has left himself a very tough

:24:09. > :25:23.red. He's taking this on and this is

:25:24. > :25:34.fraught with danger. Has he had a result? First glance, possibly not.

:25:35. > :25:41.What a scrappy frame this is, this is like watching a working men's

:25:42. > :25:48.club game in the amateurs, just knocking the balls around. Very

:25:49. > :25:54.scrappy. He is looking at the pink, if he takes it on he is going to

:25:55. > :25:56.have to knock it in. It is such an easy safety shot, he could play on

:25:57. > :27:35.the yellow and leave it safe. That was dead weight. All the reds

:27:36. > :27:44.available, he can still get to the red. The bridging is very awkward.

:27:45. > :27:48.That can cut the accuracy down a bit. The good pot. He needs a bit of

:27:49. > :28:06.luck. He is OK. He is reluctant to play with just

:28:07. > :28:12.top spin. He needs to get plenty of top spin. No need to stun it at all.

:28:13. > :28:33.He was always going to miss the yellow if he played it plain ball.

:28:34. > :28:42.Not within the rounds of possibility that Mark Williams could lose this

:28:43. > :28:46.match, the way he is playing. -- B rounds. Mark Williams knows he will

:28:47. > :28:56.get at least two chances should it go that way. At this moment in time,

:28:57. > :29:40.Lyu does not look like winning the frame in one visit.

:29:41. > :29:47.The way he held himself together, having thrown away the third frame,

:29:48. > :29:51.a good effort from this young man. When he went to -1 behind and Mark

:29:52. > :29:57.Williams needed a snooker, I thought he would have collapsed like a cheap

:29:58. > :30:02.tent. He has held themselves together very well. -- held himself

:30:03. > :30:18.together very well. When you get to that stage of being

:30:19. > :30:23.3-1 down the pressure, in his own way, comes off you a little bit. He

:30:24. > :30:25.has certainly played a lot better in the later stages of this match than

:30:26. > :30:45.he did earlier on. He's certainly pops well. Just his

:30:46. > :30:51.cue ball control has not been at the very highest standard, we would say.

:30:52. > :30:58.How many times has he played out there under the television lights?

:30:59. > :31:09.Very little, I should think. Another excellent pot. Slightly losing the

:31:10. > :31:20.cue ball. Getting a bit more difficult now. 42 points in front.

:31:21. > :31:36.I cannot leave that. He was not going to be on a colour. What do you

:31:37. > :31:41.think? Just unbelievable. He is 43 in front with every red safe and he

:31:42. > :31:47.wants to leave an easy read on. He would have parted the red at that

:31:48. > :31:53.speed one in ten. They are good safety shot and you have the frame

:31:54. > :31:58.one. If you generate some speed, he is right back into the frame. That

:31:59. > :32:20.is not his best. Now he has a perfect angle on the

:32:21. > :32:25.brown. The red and Green so near to the cushion, if he plays into the

:32:26. > :32:30.red and green, he will be near to the corner. How did he miss that? It

:32:31. > :32:37.is just not there at the moment. He could definitely lose this match,

:32:38. > :32:45.the way it is playing. Let's see this again, how fast he delivered

:32:46. > :32:57.the cue. It is an all or nothing type shot. Hoping to bring the bread

:32:58. > :33:03.and green into play. -- the red. He is 36 points behind. It looks as if

:33:04. > :33:54.it could go into a decider. He has left a pot on. It naturally

:33:55. > :34:09.comes down for the black and yellow. A little bit of confidence, this

:34:10. > :34:18.young man he knows he has Mark Williams struggling. He is 37 in

:34:19. > :34:25.front and needs one warm red. He does not need to play a cannon. Just

:34:26. > :34:50.pop this and get nicely on the red. This is virtually frame ball.

:34:51. > :34:57.That was very well done. It has put him 45 points in front with 43 on.

:34:58. > :35:15.Looks like we are going into a decider.

:35:16. > :35:22.Well, Mark Williams has had enough. We are going into the decider. He

:35:23. > :35:31.would have thought that a few moments ago? -- who would have

:35:32. > :35:44.thought that? 3-3 it is hands up who wants to win this game. Having won

:35:45. > :35:47.the last two frames, it is firmly in the Court of Lyu Chenwei. Mark

:35:48. > :35:50.Williams needs to use his experience and understand he is not full of

:35:51. > :35:54.confidence and don't take shots on they would normally expect to get,

:35:55. > :36:02.the shots that have been missing and keep it as tight as he can. That is

:36:03. > :36:08.the only way I can see them winning. Why are we seeing Mark not playing

:36:09. > :36:14.the shots we know he can play? What is going wrong? All I know is

:36:15. > :36:17.sometimes, when you are really struggling, your focus goes, your

:36:18. > :36:21.concentration goes and it compounds the situation, makes it worse and

:36:22. > :36:26.worse, and you can start to miss anything. I have no explanation as

:36:27. > :36:30.to why Mark is struggling so much. Out there it is a confidence problem

:36:31. > :36:34.because the way he is playing in this match. In terms of his

:36:35. > :36:39.opponents, we talk of the initiatives swinging one way or the

:36:40. > :36:45.other. He will now be feeling, I can do this, victory. You need to

:36:46. > :36:49.understand, as Willie said in the commentary box comedy has only one

:36:50. > :36:53.in four matches on the tour, Lyu Chenwei, one against me. He played

:36:54. > :36:58.well and scored and potted balls. That is how he beat me. He has not

:36:59. > :37:04.done that in this match. Mark has been so poor by his own standards.

:37:05. > :37:09.His highest breaks are 39 and 40. You are talking about one of the

:37:10. > :37:15.game's greatest ever players. I do not know what he will do. He will

:37:16. > :37:21.not feel good about the last frame. He will know his opponent has some

:37:22. > :37:25.confidence. One of the game's greatest players. One of Willie

:37:26. > :37:30.Thorne's top all five greatest players that will be devastating for

:37:31. > :37:35.Mark if he goes out today. Certainly it will for the Welsh hopes. He

:37:36. > :37:39.carries the flag. Mark has been and done it all. If he can get through

:37:40. > :37:44.today can he will forget about the match come tomorrow. A new job and a

:37:45. > :37:50.new task. He needs to get through today and that will not be easy. How

:37:51. > :37:56.do you think he is feeling as he breaks off into the final frame? He

:37:57. > :38:01.has had a couple of minutes to think about him. He needs to have a game

:38:02. > :38:07.plan in his head. What is his game plan? What will he do? If he does

:38:08. > :38:12.not have an idea or a scheme, it can all unravel. What do you see

:38:13. > :38:16.happening? He must play within himself. With power shots, he has

:38:17. > :38:20.struggled for that maybe years not getting through the ball sweetly

:38:21. > :38:25.enough. I saw Jimmy White in the seniors and he was not hitting

:38:26. > :38:30.anything with power. The plague pretty well. Mark needs to do that

:38:31. > :38:38.and rain in some of the power shots and use his experience. We have run

:38:39. > :38:44.out of time on BBC Two Wales. We will show you later how it concludes

:38:45. > :38:49.at 7pm on BBC Two Wales when we will have John Higgins starting the

:38:50. > :38:51.defence of his title. Thank you for your company. We will see you later

:38:52. > :38:53.at seven p.m..