Day Two - Part 1

:00:35. > :00:40.Good afternoon and welcome back to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. You

:00:41. > :00:44.might recognise this man on the roll of honour. He has been waiting in

:00:45. > :00:48.the wings and today Ronnie O'Sullivan takes centre stage once

:00:49. > :00:52.more as he sets out through record fifth Welsh Open winner and is keen

:00:53. > :00:57.to avoid the same fate as the other man who has won at four Times, John

:00:58. > :01:07.Higgins, knocked out on a dramatic opening in Cardiff. I did not really

:01:08. > :01:10.seen with it. Sam played good and potted some great pressure balls. He

:01:11. > :01:17.had some good breaks to kick the game off with. Best of seven is a

:01:18. > :01:21.short sprint. I got off to the worst possible start losing the first

:01:22. > :01:27.three frames. It was a long way back, I made it back to 3-2.

:01:28. > :01:38.FairPlay to Sam, he reset himself. It has been a long week. From one to

:01:39. > :01:44.about two UNIX, that is not lots of space in between. I just alighted to

:01:45. > :01:55.get the win and move on the tournament. That pink at the end got

:01:56. > :01:58.me over the line. I was 3-1 down as well. To come back in my first

:01:59. > :02:04.professional tournament and when is unreal. It was a thrilling start to

:02:05. > :02:09.the tournament and Willie Thorne was there to see much of it. Good

:02:10. > :02:14.afternoon. It was a reminder about her unpredictable and exciting the

:02:15. > :02:20.sport can be. It can be. People are the need to get a good start. John

:02:21. > :02:24.Higgins was one to fall by the wayside. How surprised where you buy

:02:25. > :02:29.that? In fairness, he is a very good player. It was a match you expected

:02:30. > :02:35.John Higgins to win but Sam Baird has beaten him before and as a

:02:36. > :02:43.player to watch. What a day for John Jackson page, the 15-year-old who is

:02:44. > :02:47.being inundated with requests from television and radio stations. He is

:02:48. > :02:54.the oldest 15-year-old I have seen. He has got a beard. He looks 21.

:02:55. > :02:58.What a prospect. The practices at Mark Williams's club. Watching him

:02:59. > :03:04.on a regular basis will improve his game. When I played at the club, I

:03:05. > :03:08.hedge on players like Mark Selby watching me and they have came

:03:09. > :03:13.through. What I have seen of him so far, he is a fantastic potter. He is

:03:14. > :03:21.a little but Robert can only improve. Another wild card, Jamie

:03:22. > :03:29.Jones takes on Tyler Rees. Another possible shock and that all Welsh

:03:30. > :03:34.tournament. It is unprecedented what is happening. Tournament 's

:03:35. > :03:37.back-to-back. Ryan Day, I thought he would be vulnerable last night.

:03:38. > :03:41.There is nothing worse coming off the defeat and having to play a

:03:42. > :03:47.match so soon. All credit to him, he came through in the last team to

:03:48. > :03:51.win. Exhausted. Absolutely. He has got the day off. Richard Lee up and

:03:52. > :03:58.enjoy what we have -- put your feet up and enjoy what we have got for

:03:59. > :04:02.you today. The Rocket returns fresh from a record seventh Masters title,

:04:03. > :04:07.can be defending champion take one step towards a historic fifth Welsh

:04:08. > :04:11.win? He still the leading light in Wales, can Mark William shall he

:04:12. > :04:17.still a contender 18 years after the last got his hands the trophy? And

:04:18. > :04:21.in the quarterfinals last year, we will see how Michael Hoyt gets on

:04:22. > :04:28.against Wayne Jones in the all Wales contest. Ronnie O'Sullivan will get

:04:29. > :04:35.his title defence under way against fellow Englishman Tom Ford. This is

:04:36. > :04:42.how they compare. Ranking titles for Ronnie, 28 compared to zero so far

:04:43. > :04:46.for Tom Ford. Ronnie has won this tournament four times. Tom Ford has

:04:47. > :04:50.made it to the last 16 on two occasions. They have met twice

:04:51. > :04:52.before and Ronnie O'Sullivan has won both of them. How does Tom Ford rate

:04:53. > :05:06.his chances against the Rocket? It doesn't matter if you play him in

:05:07. > :05:09.round one of the final. I think your best chance of beating Ronnie is in

:05:10. > :05:14.the first round when he has not warmed up. That said, he is one of

:05:15. > :05:19.those players you do not want to bump into. If my head goes I could

:05:20. > :05:25.not beat myself. Even with Ronnie, if he does not come up, the conflict

:05:26. > :05:29.a switch and I will just concentrate on my own game rather than hers. I

:05:30. > :05:33.will try to go out and play well. I would much rather prefer to play

:05:34. > :05:37.somebody who won the tournament the last year rather than somebody who

:05:38. > :05:42.has won the last three events, the person who has won the last team-mac

:05:43. > :05:47.will be on form. The crowd will be on his side. I am just hoping it is

:05:48. > :05:55.a good crowd and if I hit a good shot I make it the odd clap. I am

:05:56. > :06:02.playing well. I am putting the work in. I feel good in myself. Interest

:06:03. > :06:07.in psychology from Tom Ford. Somebody you know very well. The

:06:08. > :06:12.best chance of beating Ronnie is in round one. Absolutely, catch-up when

:06:13. > :06:15.he is called. I have known Tom Ford since 1320 played at my club in

:06:16. > :06:22.Leicester. He has always been a good player. He now realises he will have

:06:23. > :06:26.to play well to have any chance of winning tournaments. I think he will

:06:27. > :06:31.definitely be a tournament winner. Here starting with the toughest man

:06:32. > :06:35.of the lot this week. Positive attitude from them, playing somebody

:06:36. > :06:40.like this. That is a good philosophy. He knows that Ronnie

:06:41. > :06:45.O'Sullivan is coming in cold, as is Tom. Ronnie has came off the bad

:06:46. > :06:48.loss in the Grand Prix. Seven Masters titles is fantastic and

:06:49. > :06:55.Ronnie will be the favourite to win every tournament he plays. He says

:06:56. > :06:59.he is not interested in landmarks and records. The chance to win a

:07:00. > :07:03.fifth Welsh Open and be the most successful player in the

:07:04. > :07:06.tournament's yesterday has to be something to cherish? That could

:07:07. > :07:11.have been on the mind of John Higgins yesterday. He had the chance

:07:12. > :07:16.of being the fifth winner and lost. It is time to get our defending

:07:17. > :07:21.champion out. It is Ronnie O'Sullivan against Tom Ford. Your

:07:22. > :07:29.commentary team is Darren Morgan and Rob Walker.

:07:30. > :07:35.COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon. The crowd at the Motorpoint Arena took

:07:36. > :07:39.the seats well over 20 minutes ago to make sure they have got the best

:07:40. > :07:45.of you in the house for this man, the Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:07:46. > :07:53.Magnificent seven Masters titles for Ronnie. And that there is Tom Ford.

:07:54. > :07:58.He said he would rather face him in the first round before he has had a

:07:59. > :08:00.chance to warm up. The defending champion begins his quest for the

:08:01. > :08:22.Welsh Open title number five. Ronnie has appeared in all but two

:08:23. > :08:28.editions of the Welsh Open. Not the first in 1992 and he missed 2000

:08:29. > :08:29.1322 almost the entire day off and came back to win the world title

:08:30. > :08:43.again. -- 2013. It will be a tough opportunity for

:08:44. > :08:48.Tom Ford. Ronnie quickly up to the table. What a treat for the crowd

:08:49. > :08:49.here this afternoon, Darren. Always anticipation when the Rocket is in

:08:50. > :08:55.town. He knows how to fill an arena. Great

:08:56. > :09:17.player over the years. He would see in his latter years he

:09:18. > :09:19.has played his best snooker. He is exciting to watch. He makes it look

:09:20. > :09:32.ridiculously easy. He has got a Rolls-Royce cue action

:09:33. > :09:38.but not on this occasion. He has covered the red to the left corner

:09:39. > :09:42.and not let anything easy. It is early days. Even the great Ronnie

:09:43. > :09:50.O'Sullivan can suffer with nerves. He is twitchy to start off.

:09:51. > :09:53.Players are the same until they get into their stride, some get out of

:09:54. > :10:14.the blocks quicker than others. We have to remember that top players

:10:15. > :10:21.like John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are only human. Good

:10:22. > :10:24.start from Tom Ford. Might not have expected to come back to the table

:10:25. > :10:37.so soon after missing that long red. Here he is.

:10:38. > :10:48.He is coming off the back of a really good run in Germany.

:10:49. > :10:54.He had a clear 147 and defeated Peter Ebdon before losing in the

:10:55. > :11:03.quarterfinals against Ali Carter. Tom Ford has arrived here with some

:11:04. > :11:32.form. He looked like he was not happy with

:11:33. > :11:35.his connection. It did not look like there was a kick. He felt that there

:11:36. > :11:58.was. He is still on the black. Not as much of an angle as he

:11:59. > :11:59.would've liked but no problem. He will start to look developing that

:12:00. > :12:10.cluster. He has done exactly the same as

:12:11. > :12:16.Ronnie. He has taken his eye off the pot, trying to go more on the black

:12:17. > :14:00.to get into the cluster of friends. -- cluster of Red balls.

:14:01. > :14:06.Amazing when you think like case like Ronnie and John Higgins,

:14:07. > :14:14.notwithstanding the defeat yesterday. And Mark Williams. Plying

:14:15. > :14:20.their trade at the top for 25 years. Ronnie, at the age of 41, still

:14:21. > :14:26.looks like he has got plenty of magic in his tank as was indicated

:14:27. > :14:27.by that seventh Masters title. These men are proving you can flourish

:14:28. > :14:44.into your early 40s. When he first burst onto the scene,

:14:45. > :14:50.it was dominated by the younger generation and then it went to the

:14:51. > :14:53.younger generation. 22-30 was where all of your web as well. I know it

:14:54. > :15:04.has went back around with winners in the 40s.

:15:05. > :15:21.He was fortunate. It was a good pot on the brown and he deserves a bit

:15:22. > :15:38.of a run. You can't help feel that if Ronnie

:15:39. > :15:42.O'Sullivan had the same fought battle and the likes of Steve Davis

:15:43. > :15:46.and Stephen Hendrie had throughout their career, he would've smashed

:15:47. > :15:52.all the records with the talent that he has got, that is without a shadow

:15:53. > :15:59.of a doubt. Like all great sometimes flawed. He will be the first to see

:16:00. > :16:01.over the years that he has gone in and out of form and the way that he

:16:02. > :16:22.feels about the game. His unpredictability has made him

:16:23. > :16:43.even more appealing to watch. It shows you that these pockets are

:16:44. > :16:49.not easy. That was very close but he has just managed to catch the jaw.

:16:50. > :16:50.He has played it at the right pace as well. You would think it was

:16:51. > :17:03.going in. It is all about this next shot for

:17:04. > :17:04.Tom Ford. He will have to develop the red balls. He wants to go for

:17:05. > :17:17.the red to the left of the cluster. He has missed them all together. He

:17:18. > :17:26.has played for the red to the left of the cluster and he has went into

:17:27. > :17:28.the cue ball too much. That is what he has tried to get the flick of the

:17:29. > :17:34.end red. This first frame has been a funny

:17:35. > :19:15.start. We saw some excellent safety ease

:19:16. > :19:28.changes late last night between David Gilbert and Ryan Day.

:19:29. > :19:35.David Gilbert seem to have a magnet pulling the cue ball back to the

:19:36. > :19:41.cushion. And that is safely back on the cushion.

:19:42. > :20:02.He has forced an error from Tom Ford.

:20:03. > :20:15.None of the balls are easy to get on.

:20:16. > :20:26.That was far off. He came straight across. Straight across the cue

:20:27. > :20:32.ball. I was just about to say he was stealing in a good mood to play the

:20:33. > :20:39.harder red. The red on this left corner was easy for him. Tom Ford

:20:40. > :20:40.will feel he must take chances like this to have any chance in this

:20:41. > :21:26.match. Sheet of the head from the

:21:27. > :21:27.33-year-old Leicester -based player. Grew up learning his craft in Willie

:21:28. > :21:58.Thorne's legendary club. With Tom Ford, he does not get to

:21:59. > :22:03.play on the match table, the television table. He will normally

:22:04. > :22:06.play on the outside tables more often than not. This match table

:22:07. > :22:19.should not play any different in theory it does. Different lighting.

:22:20. > :22:27.I do not know why but through my career, when I went out on the

:22:28. > :22:30.television table, it played slightly different to the outside tables.

:22:31. > :22:36.Ronnie is used to playing on the match table. He plays 90-95% of this

:22:37. > :23:02.match is on the television table. There is a little difference.

:23:03. > :23:13.He tried to dislodge one of those two Red balls but the cue ball

:23:14. > :23:18.bounced straight back. He wanted to cannon on the edge of it to push the

:23:19. > :23:19.other one towards the right corner. Instead, he caught it full on the

:23:20. > :24:50.face. The cue ball carries on running and

:24:51. > :24:56.that'll be a very good shot. He would like to drop onto the red

:24:57. > :24:58.ball-on the top cushion. To do that he will have to come off two

:24:59. > :25:19.cushions and missed the red. He has got the pace right. Very good

:25:20. > :25:23.shot. Both players and acknowledging the efforts of the other. Ronnie

:25:24. > :25:29.tapped the table with his cue when he was put in that awkward position.

:25:30. > :25:34.Tom Ford tapping his right hand on the table when he came down to

:25:35. > :25:39.address this one. Great etiquette being adhered to. As is always the

:25:40. > :26:05.case in these matches. That was tentative from Tom. He was

:26:06. > :26:14.trying to move the ball down the table. Ronnie might think there is

:26:15. > :26:18.some value in going for this red ball. He might elect to play the

:26:19. > :26:33.safety shot. You cannot do it any better than

:26:34. > :26:47.that. What a terrific strike that was. It is around the table now. And

:26:48. > :27:00.this looks very good as well. That is two top drawer shots.

:27:01. > :27:04.He just concentrated on dropping the red ball in. He has now sparked into

:27:05. > :27:40.life. That is why people love watching

:27:41. > :27:55.him. Even in a scrappy frames he can produce a moment of magic. That was

:27:56. > :27:56.the curse of the commentator. Brilliant to put himself in the

:27:57. > :28:13.position of winning the frame. He would have preferred to go for

:28:14. > :28:50.that without the use of the rest. APPLAUSE

:28:51. > :28:56.He is just part in the black for some practice. It was a scrappy

:28:57. > :28:59.frame by both players. Both players had chances. Ronnie O'Sullivan

:29:00. > :29:00.looked like he would take the first frame but it was Tom Ford that took

:29:01. > :29:09.it. Exactly the start Tom Ford would be

:29:10. > :29:14.looking four-point A reminder for you that the Welsh Open is the

:29:15. > :29:18.fourth event in the Home Nations series. Marco Fu who won the

:29:19. > :29:25.Scottish open just before Christmas with a victory over John Higgins, he

:29:26. > :29:30.is through to the second round of the 2017 Welsh Open. It was a really

:29:31. > :29:35.good comeback victory over Martin Gould, the Englishman. He was 2-0

:29:36. > :29:43.down in this match but one four in a row to take the game 4-2 to make it

:29:44. > :29:48.through to the second round. Willie Thorne, you can see what Tom Ford

:29:49. > :29:53.means when he talks about catching Bonnie called. It was not a good

:29:54. > :29:58.start. He looked out of sorts. In the spring to life with two Red

:29:59. > :30:01.balls and two colours. And then he missed the easy green on the top

:30:02. > :30:06.cushion. That will make Tom Ford feel better to win the first frame.

:30:07. > :30:09.He would have been disappointed to lose the first frame after

:30:10. > :30:14.dominating in the early stages. Ronnie knows he will have to

:30:15. > :30:16.improve. When you play somebody like Tom Ford, people are not aware about

:30:17. > :30:30.how good he is. He has made over 170 centuries and free

:30:31. > :30:40.maximum breaks in tournament play. Although Ronnie got the Masters for

:30:41. > :30:44.a seventh time, couple of blip, the German Masters and the Grand Prix.

:30:45. > :30:47.Yes, he lost to Mark King, who is in tremendous form. When Ronnie is

:30:48. > :30:52.leading 5-1, you would expect him to win the match. He lost 6-5. Those

:30:53. > :30:55.kinds of things resonate with you and puts a little doubt in your

:30:56. > :30:59.mind. Obviously Ronnie is too experienced to let anything worry

:31:00. > :31:03.him really but when you have a doubt somewhere, if Tom could go say two

:31:04. > :31:07.or three in front, obviously it will be a great chance for him but he'd

:31:08. > :31:11.have to go at least two or three in front. He's been in this position

:31:12. > :31:13.before Ronnie but this is a good start for Tom Ford. Let us see if he

:31:14. > :31:35.can keep it up or not, leading 1-0. Tom Ford came through that very

:31:36. > :31:44.scrappy opening frame. So important to get off to a good start against

:31:45. > :31:46.Ronnie. Tom Ford has beaten O'Sullivan, although it doesn't

:31:47. > :31:52.really count in the head-to-heads, it was in the shoot-out a couple of

:31:53. > :31:54.years ago. Ronnie's won both their matches in the traditional playing

:31:55. > :32:12.format. That's the pink first there. To have got that first frame on the

:32:13. > :32:22.board. Especially after making a couple of mistakes.

:32:23. > :32:26.There's the ball being put back. And O'Sullivan will have to have another

:32:27. > :32:50.go. No mistake the second time of

:32:51. > :33:03.asking. He's quite demonstrative Tom Ford

:33:04. > :33:08.isn't he, you can read a lot into his body language around the table

:33:09. > :33:13.for good and bad. Yes, you can. I suppose we seen a bit of it in the

:33:14. > :33:19.last frame with what happened with a couple of shots he played and he

:33:20. > :33:24.nodded a little bit in disgust. I'm not a big fan of that. Your opponent

:33:25. > :33:29.is looking at you, you always have a sly glance over and if you can see

:33:30. > :33:34.your opponent nodding and he's not happy, it fills you with a bit of

:33:35. > :33:40.hope and inspiration. So a lot of great players out there manage to

:33:41. > :33:45.hide their feelings, whether they're feeling ecstatic or disappointed

:33:46. > :33:51.with what they've done. Tom is one who does show his emotions.

:33:52. > :35:00.He can't believe he's found all the gaps there. Expecting the cannon.

:35:01. > :35:10.He's found the gap up and back. Now he's faced with a tricky safety

:35:11. > :35:15.shot. Could go for the tricky blue into the middle pocket. The swhiet

:35:16. > :35:21.going to come back towards the red at the left corner. Big shot. -- the

:35:22. > :35:24.white. Really unfortunate there because he's made the blue. Very

:35:25. > :36:09.unfortunate. Looks a real thin stick this one to

:36:10. > :36:14.the right corner but it's got to be worth a look at. He's going to go

:36:15. > :36:19.for it. This is as thin as he can hit it. He's hit that all wrong,

:36:20. > :36:25.he's hit that way too thick, half ball. He had a near enough play to

:36:26. > :36:30.miss that completely, get the thinnest of edges.

:36:31. > :36:44.He knew half way down the table that that was too thick. This is not easy

:36:45. > :36:55.by any means, a lot of distance between cue ball and red. A lot of

:36:56. > :37:00.pace. It's gone in but it wasn't a clean pot. Hence that is why he's

:37:01. > :37:04.not on the pink but you wouldn't believe he could get that kind of

:37:05. > :37:14.angle from that red there. Just come across it a little bit. He's overcut

:37:15. > :37:17.the pink. This is not the Ronnie at the moment that we are used to

:37:18. > :37:29.seeing. The defending champion and four-time

:37:30. > :37:37.winner of the Welsh open is taking some time to settle down here.

:37:38. > :37:42.Neither of them really playing their best despite the fact Tom took the

:37:43. > :37:49.first frame. Were you surprised that Ronnie didn't take that one on,

:37:50. > :37:54.Darren, when he put Tom back in? You could have played it as a shot to

:37:55. > :37:58.nothing and Tom played it and played it terrible and hence missed it.

:37:59. > :38:06.Just can't believe what is going on at the minute. If this red goes past

:38:07. > :38:09.the pink, he'd put all his eggs in one basket there, a bit of

:38:10. > :38:16.desperation through the poor shot he played before. This has been a real

:38:17. > :38:37.funny start. That's even worse. What's going on? !

:38:38. > :38:44.A shake of the head from O'Sullivan in his chair. Both of them will be

:38:45. > :38:49.getting frustrated with the way they are performing here in front of a

:38:50. > :38:53.good crowd at though Motorpoint. One of the most prestigious titles out

:38:54. > :38:58.there. It's not happening for either of them at the moment here in the

:38:59. > :39:42.first 20, 30 minutes. Darren, just explain from the

:39:43. > :39:46.players' perspective how the scenario unfolds when you hear

:39:47. > :39:50.people coming away from a match saying, we dragged each other down.

:39:51. > :39:55.How actually does that happen? Obviously at the moment both players

:39:56. > :39:59.are still a bit nervy, you know. You might expect it from Tom Ford, you

:40:00. > :40:08.wouldn't expect it definitely from Ronnie O'Sullivan. It wouldn't

:40:09. > :40:13.surprise me now if he didn't go on, because he's that type of player

:40:14. > :40:17.Ronnie O'Sullivan, he's missed a couple of unbelievable balls which

:40:18. > :40:21.normal players wreck for the rest of the match, but he's one of these

:40:22. > :40:24.that can turn around, have one moment of brilliance and then just

:40:25. > :40:34.clear the table and he's back on point. This has been a real strange

:40:35. > :40:37.start. And you are right, you know, you can't get dragged in if you

:40:38. > :40:44.allow yourself to be dragged in -- you can be dragged in. Both players

:40:45. > :40:46.will be frustrated to have had good chances and they've not done

:40:47. > :40:56.anything with them. What I will say, it's very, very

:40:57. > :41:02.hard out there. It's very tough. The first round. This is where the money

:41:03. > :41:05.is, this is where the points are. Obviously, Tom Ford is in a

:41:06. > :41:12.different position to Ronnie O'Sullivan. And these points for him

:41:13. > :41:22.are massive and also the money is massive for him. Ronnie every year

:41:23. > :41:28.picks up a couple of real nice cheques and he's always there or

:41:29. > :41:31.thereabouts. It doesn't affect him as much as it affects some of the

:41:32. > :41:59.lower players. We have a whole wealth of new

:42:00. > :42:04.tournaments emerging on the calendar under the guidance of Barry Hern. A

:42:05. > :42:07.lot more pride money available, but you have to win it and get it in

:42:08. > :42:10.your bank account. It's difficult for some of the lower ranked players

:42:11. > :42:26.to emake ends meet. Couldn't agree with you more. If you

:42:27. > :42:30.are a good player, you get your game right and you turn up and play,

:42:31. > :42:36.there are a lot of opportunities available for everybody and a lot of

:42:37. > :42:40.money to be earned. These young lads coming into the game, it wasn't that

:42:41. > :42:45.long ago, unless you were one of the top four or eight players, you made

:42:46. > :42:50.a living, it wasn't a great living. Now they can set themselves up for

:42:51. > :42:53.the rest of their lives if they get their game together and play

:42:54. > :43:01.consistent which has got to be a good thing. At the end of the day

:43:02. > :43:05.they have got professional in front of their names so they are in a

:43:06. > :43:47.position where they can earn money and take care of the future.

:43:48. > :43:54.APPLAUSE. Under normal circumstances, I don't

:43:55. > :43:56.think he'd have played that red there, that's a bit of frustration

:43:57. > :44:41.crept in. It was better for Ronnie. Tom Ford shaking his head,

:44:42. > :44:56.scratching his face. He looks at the options before him. Still 67 on.

:44:57. > :45:08.Five reds. Needs to remind himself he is leading this match. It has

:45:09. > :45:19.been a really strange early five minutes or so.

:45:20. > :45:30.So much snooker being played in the first few days because we are the

:45:31. > :45:32.Open 128 format. Joe Perry and Anthony McGill playing on the next

:45:33. > :45:42.table. Over a minute pondering his move

:45:43. > :45:45.here. Can't afford to make a mistake here because he is a long way adrift

:45:46. > :46:06.in this frame. Middle right is available if he

:46:07. > :46:58.fancies it. Ronnie fairly close to sealing this frame.

:46:59. > :47:12.Red and a colour. Levelled things up.

:47:13. > :47:16.Tom Ford requires snookers, Ronnie will want to unequivocally put this

:47:17. > :48:05.frame out of sight. You would have thought that was

:48:06. > :48:09.going to drop for just a second. It doesn't matter. Off to another

:48:10. > :49:17.scrappy frame, Ronnie has levelled the scores. It's one apiece.

:49:18. > :49:27.The four-time Welsh open champion, that just one of a whole number of

:49:28. > :49:31.staggering statistics in a glittering career that was started

:49:32. > :49:38.with a ranking title at the tender age of just 17. That was back in the

:49:39. > :49:45.late 1990s when he won the UK Championship. And who would have

:49:46. > :49:49.thought then Darren even though the huge talent was obvious, that over

:49:50. > :49:54.two decades later, he'd still be going strong, that the length of

:49:55. > :50:00.time that he's dominated the game has been quite magnificent. I knew

:50:01. > :50:05.because it was 1993 to be exact and he beat me in the semi-final of the

:50:06. > :50:08.UK when he became the youngest ever winner of the ranking event. The

:50:09. > :50:11.snooker he played in that semi-final and then the final, I'd witnessed

:50:12. > :50:17.nothing like it, to play against him and then to see it was just

:50:18. > :50:22.unbelievable. In fact, I actually broke off and rolled into the pack

:50:23. > :50:25.and said, go on, pot one from there. Everybody laughed in the crowd and

:50:26. > :50:29.what have you and obviously he didn't and the next shot he played

:50:30. > :50:34.safe, I played safe and then he cleared the table. So he still had

:50:35. > :50:37.the last laugh. But with that bit of reminiscing over, Ronnie

:50:38. > :50:43.O'Sullivan's breaking off. He'll be a little bit happier that he's

:50:44. > :50:47.levelled the score 1-1. Both players have had their chances in the first

:50:48. > :50:57.two frames, that's probably a fair scoreline. It has been a funny 30 or

:50:58. > :51:45.40 minutes. A couple of unbelievable balls missed.

:51:46. > :51:53.Still think coming back from almost an entire season from winning the

:51:54. > :51:56.world title is one of the most staggering sporting achievements I

:51:57. > :52:08.can recall. Yes, it is. It has to be said, even

:52:09. > :52:11.though he took a year off from playing tournament snooker, he

:52:12. > :52:19.played all year dog all the exhibition circuits and played in a

:52:20. > :52:23.couple of other private things. He came back, was still active within

:52:24. > :52:28.his game and practise and everything, he just decided to have

:52:29. > :52:38.a sabbatical away from the ranking tournaments scene. Nevertheless, he

:52:39. > :52:47.it was still a great feat to do that.

:52:48. > :52:55.Joe Perry was talking after the Masters final last month saying even

:52:56. > :52:59.though you know you've been in the sport from his perspective for a

:53:00. > :53:03.couple of decades and you know you should play the table and not the

:53:04. > :53:05.opponent, Joe said after that final, he is the most difficult player with

:53:06. > :53:33.which to put that into practise. APPLAUSE.

:53:34. > :53:37.It was a good red. Taking another good shot, blue into the green

:53:38. > :53:43.pocket. Wasn't going to do a lot with the cue ball. Too much side on

:53:44. > :53:49.the cue ball. Wanted to swing past the reds. Just cued across that. It

:53:50. > :54:05.wasn't easy. A lot of pressure on it. It's one of them...

:54:06. > :54:38.And still the errors keep coming into this third frame. Both players

:54:39. > :54:47.taking such a long time to settle down into this match.

:54:48. > :54:55.Trouble is for Tom Ford, he'll be thinking at the moment that he

:54:56. > :55:00.wouldn't have expected this. In some ways, it makes it a little harder

:55:01. > :55:04.for him that he's getting all these chances and he's struggling to take

:55:05. > :55:07.them. He will not have expected Ronnie O'Sullivan to be missing the

:55:08. > :55:16.balls he's missing in the first couple of frames. Sometimes it does

:55:17. > :55:21.play a funny part in the way you are thinking.

:55:22. > :55:26.Again, he hasn't played a great shot there.

:55:27. > :55:58.He's going to have to play another shot in the black.

:55:59. > :56:12.Again, chasing his position at the moment.

:56:13. > :56:19.Probably the best shot he's played in this match so far. Now all of a

:56:20. > :56:48.sudden, this is a good opportunity. You just cannot believe this.

:56:49. > :57:47.Massive margin of error there. And once again, Tom Ford is coming

:57:48. > :57:53.back to the table much quicker than he would have been anticipating.

:57:54. > :58:05.He's not going to get too many better chances than this against

:58:06. > :58:08.Ronnie O'Sullivan. He's had so many opportunities in these first

:58:09. > :58:14.two-and-a-half frames. Must capitalise because surely at some

:58:15. > :58:21.stage, Darren, the real class will come shining through from Ronnie.

:58:22. > :58:29.Both players are a bit dumb struck. Ronnie is dumb struck.

:58:30. > :59:16.It has been a real strange affair at the start.

:59:17. > :59:21.The Fopp Ford loses this match, he will have nightmares, that's for

:59:22. > :00:43.sure. -- Tom Ford. He is gathering a little bit of

:00:44. > :00:56.momentum here. Still look of disbelief on his face.

:00:57. > :01:04.The referee just asking some mobile phones to be switched off.

:01:05. > :01:07.Unfortunately, we have these ringing in almost every single session of

:01:08. > :02:52.world-class snooker. The first of two awkward reds here.

:02:53. > :03:19.There is the first. Now requiring snickers. There is a

:03:20. > :03:28.possible century break but that looks very difficult indeed.

:03:29. > :03:49.O'Sullivan tops the last red. Thinking about the colours.

:03:50. > :03:52.This is like the Ronnie O'Sullivan people have enjoyed for the last 25

:03:53. > :04:16.years. So many opportunities gifted for the

:04:17. > :04:20.opponent from both players. This is class from Ronnie O'Sullivan. He is

:04:21. > :04:43.the defending champion, remember. I century break and Ronnie

:04:44. > :04:51.O'Sullivan is back to form and in charge.

:04:52. > :04:59.That is more like the natural order of things reasserting itself. But it

:05:00. > :05:05.is not as if Tom Ford did not have opportunities. He will be kicking

:05:06. > :05:09.himself. He needs to get in and around the black. We will show you a

:05:10. > :05:16.shot. Whenever you're cueing this high up with the spider, when you

:05:17. > :05:19.don't get the centre, the fact he has having to cue very high above

:05:20. > :05:28.the ball is hampering the other reds. We let it run and it will turn

:05:29. > :05:34.over to the coroner. Those are the kind of chances, if you're going to

:05:35. > :05:41.beat Ronnie O'Sullivan you've got to take them. Darren said in commentary

:05:42. > :05:45.he will have nightmares if he does not win this game. But when you're

:05:46. > :05:54.in front of the TV cameras playing someone like Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:05:55. > :05:57.nerves, all these kind of things. He said, if you're going to beat him

:05:58. > :06:05.you will need to get him called and we've seen how cold he was. He's

:06:06. > :06:18.been very ordinary. The game is not easy. You will have a blip. We talk

:06:19. > :06:21.about people's B game. Ronnie O'Sullivan is winning with his B

:06:22. > :06:28.game. Mark Selby is an absolute genius with his B game. You've got

:06:29. > :06:34.to expect to have a bad spell, he is having that and he is still winning.

:06:35. > :06:44.You can almost read every emotion he's going through. That is one of

:06:45. > :06:46.Tom's problems. Is it wrong to not hide it? Absolutely. He is

:06:47. > :06:52.unfortunately one of those players who is not happy with himself and

:06:53. > :07:00.shows it. Why can you not be happy with yourself when you are playing

:07:01. > :07:04.Ronnie O'Sullivan and he is missing balls? Ronnie O'Sullivan has had a

:07:05. > :07:09.little break. Now he will get to his feet. It is a big frame for the

:07:10. > :07:14.Englishman. 2-1 down against the defending champion.

:07:15. > :07:34.Tom Ford breaks off. He's had his chances, he's just not taken them.

:07:35. > :07:49.All of sudden he slots in the long read.

:07:50. > :08:08.Those are ominous signs. That is the first long pot. All of a sudden, he

:08:09. > :09:22.has not been playing very well. Tom Ford has been to his first

:09:23. > :09:27.ranking final this season. Lost to Mark Selby. This is just not

:09:28. > :09:34.happening for him at the moment. Needs to try and draw on the good

:09:35. > :09:45.memories but it is not clicking here.

:09:46. > :09:58.Apprehension has crept into his game. He's in a position where we

:09:59. > :10:06.use the term, he is completely gone. It is very difficult out there. In

:10:07. > :10:11.some ways it has been harder because he will not have expected the

:10:12. > :10:15.chances he's had and then to get them and not do anything has

:10:16. > :10:25.probably frustrated the life out of him.

:10:26. > :10:41.These are really bad signs for Tom Ford.

:10:42. > :11:12.We can see he's not just missed that.

:11:13. > :11:19.He's really taken his time over this one.

:11:20. > :12:07.We are seeing plenty of emotion. Different expressions on the faces

:12:08. > :12:09.of both men here. Not too many times you will see Ronnie O'Sullivan

:12:10. > :12:21.taking two minutes to decide on a shot.

:12:22. > :12:36.How many more chances like this will Tom Ford get in this matter?

:12:37. > :12:51.This is an enormous frame and he has been gifted a lifeline here. Feels

:12:52. > :12:55.as though there were signs that Tom's head has gone. Give him a

:12:56. > :13:34.chance. Already three shots in. He got

:13:35. > :13:55.forced into playing the red in the middle. The wrong side of the blue.

:13:56. > :14:19.We'll be very disappointed not to say that he can pot that read.

:14:20. > :14:43.Is there anything you can do in this kind of frustration comes into your

:14:44. > :14:49.game? Is there a case to be said of almost walking round the table when

:14:50. > :15:04.you get an opportunity and just talking to yourself and saying,

:15:05. > :15:13.you're not out of this match yet? He's given him loads of chances.

:15:14. > :15:18.That was a perfect chance. For a player of Tom Ford's calibre it is

:15:19. > :15:29.just not good enough. He's had a couple of chances like that and he's

:15:30. > :15:33.not made any breaks. What is going to make it worse for him is on the

:15:34. > :15:40.TV table, even though you're supposed to not think about it, he

:15:41. > :15:43.knows this is getting panned out to millions that are watching and all

:15:44. > :15:51.of a sudden he's going to feel very big in his seat as if all the eyes

:15:52. > :15:54.of everybody in the audience, he cannot do anything about it at the

:15:55. > :16:02.minute. He's under real pressure and he's frustrated. He's getting his

:16:03. > :16:13.chances but he's doing anything with them.

:16:14. > :16:29.That tells you a story all of its own. He's produced some really good

:16:30. > :16:46.snooker. I mentioned his run in Germany. First full ranking final.

:16:47. > :16:56.When he gets it right he's a class act.

:16:57. > :17:07.He has beaten Marco Fu this season which is no mean feat. He's got

:17:08. > :17:19.top-quality snooker in his armoury. We have not seen it yet in this

:17:20. > :17:30.match. He is not having the rocks. He will not have gone for that read.

:17:31. > :17:37.He's not fit in. He's got to play another good shot, which thankfully,

:17:38. > :17:44.he has done. He's back in prime position. He really needs to make 40

:17:45. > :18:00.just to settle down. He's back in position. Balls are

:18:01. > :18:02.sitting perfect. To have any chance in this match he needs to make this

:18:03. > :19:25.effort count. It is almost reminiscent of Barry

:19:26. > :19:28.Hawkins. There was one session where he was almost laughing to himself

:19:29. > :19:32.because he could not get a break of almost 40 together and then came out

:19:33. > :19:39.in the next session and played brilliant snooker. I guess you can

:19:40. > :19:42.afford to do that at the World Championships, especially deep into

:19:43. > :19:52.the semifinals. The match is so long. Over 30 frames. In a best-of-7

:19:53. > :19:58.you cannot get away with that especially against the likes of

:19:59. > :20:02.Ronnie O'Sullivan. Just as it looks as though he's putting a decent

:20:03. > :20:27.break together, all of a sudden he's broken down yet again.

:20:28. > :20:36.If Tom Ford loses this kind of match this is the kind of defeat that will

:20:37. > :20:43.take him a long time to get over, is that true? I don't think so. He will

:20:44. > :21:07.just put it down to him having a total Maher. The only thing is, he

:21:08. > :21:13.pits in practice. Ronnie has punched the table with his knuckle. He did

:21:14. > :21:22.not get the required cannon from that black. It has been one of those

:21:23. > :21:28.matches, I'm afraid. That is the problem when you play Ronnie

:21:29. > :21:37.O'Sullivan. Now he's back in perfect position all of a sudden. Last frame

:21:38. > :22:41.and a half he's looked like a completely different player.

:22:42. > :22:52.If he makes the part cue ball will naturally come down the table. Not a

:22:53. > :24:04.bad safety shot. Despite all the mistakes, Tom Ford

:24:05. > :24:13.is still in this frame. He's just helping the referee on the

:24:14. > :24:17.placements. This is how they were. Ronnie O'Sullivan had the first

:24:18. > :24:21.attempt. Just needs to move a fraction with the green.

:24:22. > :24:37.Very easy for us sitting in the box watching at home on TV. The green is

:24:38. > :24:52.still not quite where it was the first time round.

:24:53. > :25:05.They just seems as though it was a little further away from that read

:25:06. > :25:15.than it currently is. Not easy moments of the referees.

:25:16. > :25:28.Tom Ford is once again saying that he feels the green was further away

:25:29. > :25:47.and Ronnie was asking if that was correct.

:25:48. > :26:19.Ronnie not looking at the table at the moment. Just letting the referee

:26:20. > :26:33.and Tom Ford make sure they are absolutely certain.

:26:34. > :26:37.The crowd just finding it a little bit amusing. Even Tom Ford had a

:26:38. > :26:58.smirk on his face. Just wanting to make sure it is

:26:59. > :27:14.right. There is still some dialogue going on.

:27:15. > :27:22.I think Ronnie just said, I'm in trouble, mate. They are chatting

:27:23. > :27:25.about shot that they've missed as if they are just in their local club

:27:26. > :27:40.having a couple of pints on a Sunday afternoon.

:27:41. > :27:49.Tom is indicating the green needs to be moved a little bit further away

:27:50. > :27:58.from the red. It almost needs to come...

:27:59. > :28:09.Maybe it has been moved a little too far. And now the referee is moving

:28:10. > :28:19.the green ball back. You can see the shadow.

:28:20. > :28:33.Not sure if you are hearing that. Ronnie says I cannot remember I just

:28:34. > :28:38.know that this is not right. Tom is saying that is about rate. -- about

:28:39. > :29:02.correct. The green seems as though it's

:29:03. > :29:21.correct. Now at last we are back to the snooker.

:29:22. > :29:28.The crowd were finding those exchanges amusing. Listening to the

:29:29. > :30:05.players chatting to one another. An important time for Tom Ford in

:30:06. > :30:11.this match now. The context of it, anyway.

:30:12. > :30:29.He will settle for that. He is going to need that. Played quite a good

:30:30. > :30:35.shot. Even if the red had not gone in, still would have snookered him

:30:36. > :30:43.on that read. In an ideal world he would move the yellow of the brown.

:30:44. > :30:46.He's trying to develop the brown of the yellow and I think he's just

:30:47. > :30:53.pushed it too far so can get through to the red.

:30:54. > :31:07.He was trying to develop all balls in case he got an opportunity.

:31:08. > :31:16.Has Ronnie doubled this? He has, he's doubled it. I can't imagine

:31:17. > :31:20.he's paid the double there, he hasn't acknowledged that as a fluke,

:31:21. > :31:24.but I don't think he played the cross double. Nevertheless, the

:31:25. > :32:31.black's gone in. He's marching on. What a shot. The cross doubled to

:32:32. > :32:41.tee up the key frame. Just the pink required. And it's there. It's been

:32:42. > :32:44.a long frame for all manner of reasons but Ronnie O'Sullivan now

:32:45. > :32:53.finds himself within one of the winning line. He leads 3-1.

:32:54. > :32:59.And why not take a little break. Out goes Ronnie O'Sullivan. We'll talk

:33:00. > :33:09.about that in a few seconds before play resumes. Let us pick out

:33:10. > :33:13.another few round one results. Mark King, he is through to the second

:33:14. > :33:20.round after knocking out a Welshman, a 4-2 victory earlier on. Alan

:33:21. > :33:27.McManus, twice the runner-up in the 90s, he is out, beaten by

:33:28. > :33:31.Christopher Keogan, 122 in the world, beaten once by McManus once

:33:32. > :33:49.this season so a measure of revenge for him. Igor, a 4-0 victory for the

:33:50. > :33:59.exhortically named Alfie Burden. We believe Figuereido is the only

:34:00. > :34:05.zalian in the tournament. This could be finished soon. He'll

:34:06. > :34:12.be destroyed Tom Ford. Tom Ford got the fluke, like Darren said in

:34:13. > :34:16.commentary, he was trying to bring all three in, yellow green, brown. I

:34:17. > :34:22.agree with Darren, not sure whether he played the cross double. The only

:34:23. > :34:25.thing is, look where the white ends up finishing. He's playing the cross

:34:26. > :34:29.double now. This is the one before that. But obviously when he ends up

:34:30. > :34:34.playing the double in a few moments' time, when he plays the double, now

:34:35. > :34:38.the pace he's played it is obviously that he knows the blue is going to

:34:39. > :34:42.be in the way, he played to leave the red three or four inches to the

:34:43. > :34:45.left, it's gone in, but the black to yellow was fantastic and the yellow

:34:46. > :34:50.was great. This is how Ronnie is. He can be out of the game and looking

:34:51. > :34:54.out of sorts then he will pull off a miracle shot. How Tom Ford is not

:34:55. > :34:58.leading this match I don't know. He'll be sat there in the chair with

:34:59. > :35:03.time to think, what will be going through his head? He's almost

:35:04. > :35:07.concealed the win now, he'll be convinced he's going to lose. His

:35:08. > :35:11.body language istering dwribl. Higham aen if of him, he's a

:35:12. > :35:16.Leicester lad but he has to improve his body language. If you are

:35:17. > :35:19.sitting in your seat shaking your head, your opponent is going to gain

:35:20. > :35:22.something from that. At least look like you are going to compete, at

:35:23. > :35:28.the moment Tom is not looking like that. The fifth frame now playing

:35:29. > :35:53.for the match, Ronnie is kicking it off.

:35:54. > :36:03.A really strange match has unfolded with the errors and all the talking

:36:04. > :36:04.points. But the frame Tom Ford won seems like a long time ago now.

:36:05. > :36:41.Three in a row for Ronnie. This is more like the Ronnie that

:36:42. > :36:50.Tom Ford thought was going to turn up from the word go.

:36:51. > :36:56.Tom Ford's just been put off a little bit.

:36:57. > :37:05.He's become frustrated knowing he's had a real opportunity to beat a

:37:06. > :37:08.world class player in Ronnie today. He just hasn't taken his chances.

:37:09. > :38:51.Frustrating day at the office. He's got nothing to lose really.

:38:52. > :38:54.Could play the yellow down for the loose red. Could go for the blue on

:38:55. > :38:58.to the pink and split them. Well, he's tried to develop them off

:38:59. > :39:24.the yellow. It all went wrong. You can't help feel if he's going to

:39:25. > :39:29.play at that pace, he'll have much better value in playing the blue,

:39:30. > :39:35.the cue ball into the pink, if he'd played at normal pace, the cue ball

:39:36. > :39:39.would have done the work for him. Another great red by Ronnie who is

:39:40. > :39:44.starting to find the groove a little the last two or three frames.

:39:45. > :39:53.Interesting to hear his press conference. After this match, what

:39:54. > :39:54.he is going to say about his performance and Tom Ford's

:39:55. > :40:02.performance. Interesting to see as well if his

:40:03. > :40:06.interviews were any different to what they were at the Grand Prix up

:40:07. > :40:14.in Preston because they were quite interesting to say the least. Yes. I

:40:15. > :40:19.had a look at that online, the robot answers. I think Neil Faulds

:40:20. > :40:22.finished that interview by saying you played a bit like a robot in

:40:23. > :40:28.that match, not really a lot you can say to a man giving you answers

:40:29. > :40:52.pretending to be a robot voice! There's never a dull moment.

:40:53. > :41:00.He had his son Ronnie Jr. At the seventh Masters and people were ask

:41:01. > :41:04.him if his son could play -- asking him. He gave that classic wink and a

:41:05. > :41:12.smile and said, no, mate, I've told him it's got to be golf or tennis.

:41:13. > :41:15.Snooker's too hard. But of course, he said it with a massive smile on

:41:16. > :42:03.his face. The winner of this one faces Mark

:42:04. > :42:39.Davies. It won't go down as one of his

:42:40. > :42:41.absolute finest performances and I'm sure he'll say that himself when he

:42:42. > :42:54.chats after this match. But now, Tom Ford requiring multiple

:42:55. > :43:05.snookers and he knows this is all but over.

:43:06. > :43:22.And he decides not to chase it. And five behind. A real shame there for

:43:23. > :43:29.Tom Ford, away for Ronnie O'Sullivan, 4-1. Don'tment for Tom

:43:30. > :43:33.Ford. Ronnie O'Sullivan by contrast looking contented as he left the

:43:34. > :43:38.arena there. Hopefully we'll be joined by him in a few moments.

:43:39. > :43:42.Let's talk about Tom first of all, because we'll talk to Ronnie in a

:43:43. > :43:50.moment. A missed opportunity perhaps after the first frame? I was singing

:43:51. > :43:54.his praises early on, 170 competitive centuries. Three maximum

:43:55. > :43:58.breaks in tournament play. Obviously a great player, within two PTC

:43:59. > :44:02.tournaments. I don't know why he went into that match almost like a

:44:03. > :44:06.rabbit in headlights. Everything that went wrong, he was shaking his

:44:07. > :44:15.head and things, won the first frame so thought he might settle down, but

:44:16. > :44:21.didn't seem to fancy it today. You can't always play at your best, that

:44:22. > :44:25.goes without saying, Ronnie plays at his best mostly. Ronnie's played

:44:26. > :44:29.poorly Tom but Tom didn't put him under any pressure at all, it was

:44:30. > :44:35.strange. You made the point when we were watching that there was a lack

:44:36. > :44:38.of conviction in what he was doing, we saw the long shot for instance,

:44:39. > :44:43.we played it without any belief that he'd win. Exactly. You have to keep

:44:44. > :44:46.those feelings to yourself, don't let your opponent know you are

:44:47. > :44:50.feeling terrible. Sometimes you go out there and feel shocking and you

:44:51. > :44:55.don't fancy potting a black off a spot sometimes but don't let your

:44:56. > :45:00.opponent know that, try to let them know you're feeling like you're

:45:01. > :45:03.still in the game. Ronnie, as I'm sure he'll admit, has played

:45:04. > :45:08.ordinary today but managed to win 4-1. How to you bounce back if you

:45:09. > :45:12.are Tom Ford, does that play on your mind for a while? There are so many

:45:13. > :45:16.tournaments, week in week out there are tournaments. Tom's got to have a

:45:17. > :45:22.couple of days off, then he'll go to the drawing board. Here is the man.

:45:23. > :45:26.Not one of Tom's best performances. No, it wasn't that great from both

:45:27. > :45:30.of us really. Not yours perhaps either Ronnie but here you are, you

:45:31. > :45:36.are through. Yes, it was a win I'm happy to get through. I don't know

:45:37. > :45:40.how many times you have sat in the chair as the winner this last year,

:45:41. > :45:43.but how did you feel in that game, did you feel you were not going to

:45:44. > :45:49.make it when he took the first frame? At some points there was,

:45:50. > :45:53.yes. I've been trying to say, if you played your A game you would win

:45:54. > :45:57.every time. You made a century break today but weren't at your best and

:45:58. > :46:02.that'ses the beauty of having a B game. Yes, you have to win all

:46:03. > :46:07.games. He made the point beforehand that the best way to beat you is to

:46:08. > :46:14.catch you cold in round one, would you go along with that? I don't

:46:15. > :46:19.know, mate, he's got his own ideas, I can't comment on that. Did you

:46:20. > :46:24.give him more opportunities than you would have likes and he didn't take

:46:25. > :46:28.them? Yes, he had his chances he just didn't take them.

:46:29. > :46:33.Mark Davis next. Another really tough match for me, so pleased to be

:46:34. > :46:37.in still. You talk about you don't care about landmarks and records,

:46:38. > :46:41.but with John Higgins going out yesterday, you are the only guy now

:46:42. > :46:46.who can get a fifth Welsh Open title. It will go down as the best

:46:47. > :46:51.ever in this tournament. Must mean something to you to possibly do

:46:52. > :46:57.that? Yes, I didn't even know John had gone out so that's news to me.

:46:58. > :47:03.Cardiff is one of your favourite places though isn't it? I love the

:47:04. > :47:10.Welsh fans, I would have been disappointed today to lose. The fans

:47:11. > :47:13.really got behind us and there is a great history.

:47:14. > :47:17.Doing a bit of jogging around Cardiff between games? I will be,

:47:18. > :47:22.absolutely. Well done today. Thank you.

:47:23. > :47:30.Let's bring you up-to-date with the all-Welsh contest that took place

:47:31. > :47:36.earlier on between Michael White who made to it the quarter-finals last

:47:37. > :47:42.year against Duane Jones who's never got beyond round one. White is

:47:43. > :47:54.behind now as we join them in frame five.

:47:55. > :47:59.This looks a very good shot from Michael White. Never easy trying to

:48:00. > :48:06.ambulance across the face of an object ball. As Michael did there.

:48:07. > :48:11.Very easy to catch them thick. Almost got in behind the blue but

:48:12. > :48:15.fortunately for Duane, he has a shot on, a similar shot on for him I

:48:16. > :48:19.would imagine on the left hand side of the red. Try and get the cue ball

:48:20. > :48:37.in behind the blue. Couldn't possibly have asked to play

:48:38. > :48:59.that any better. That was a bit fortunate for Michael

:49:00. > :49:03.White. Never intended to leave that cue ball off the baulk cushion but

:49:04. > :49:10.it's found its way in behind the brown. Although Duane Jones has a

:49:11. > :49:14.lead of 36 points with 43 remaining, that could evaporate very quickly if

:49:15. > :49:19.he were to leave Michael White a chance from here. Imperative that he

:49:20. > :49:24.contacts one or two of these Reds and gets things safe. If he can warm

:49:25. > :49:30.up to the red near the right hand side cushion, to the back out of

:49:31. > :49:58.the, he might be OK. -- back out of the.

:49:59. > :50:05.Sometimes if you can't see a shot, it's best to just hit them with some

:50:06. > :50:12.pace and try and knock a ball on the cushion somehow.

:50:13. > :50:24.That's the worst possible outcome for Duane. He's left Michael White a

:50:25. > :50:27.potential match and frame-winning opportunity here now.

:50:28. > :50:36.He's had some chances in this match, Duane, he's missed a lot of easy

:50:37. > :50:41.ones by his standards and, although he's 3-1 get hind, he could have

:50:42. > :50:57.been 3-1 up on another day -- behind.

:50:58. > :51:04.Blue to bunkth pink at the moment would be tricky.

:51:05. > :51:13.I think Michael White has purposely played to the brown: Hampered by the

:51:14. > :51:29.green? He'll have to play the blue. That's perfect. Now the blue is back

:51:30. > :51:31.on its spot it makes the positional side of things better from blue to

:51:32. > :51:45.pink for Michael White. Now he's got Up and win frame and match here.

:51:46. > :52:27.Every chance to clear up and play frame and match here.

:52:28. > :52:35.Michael White could find himself a place in round two against Lawler or

:52:36. > :52:40.Bo. That could be a very stern test you

:52:41. > :52:45.would imagine. Very experienced players. Only entrenched in Wales

:52:46. > :53:07.top 16 at the moment. Played that shot from blue to pink

:53:08. > :53:25.federal ly -- perfectly, Michael White. Stretching across the side

:53:26. > :53:31.cushion for easy cueing. Perfectly on the black. I feel that for Duane

:53:32. > :53:36.Jones, his attempt at winning this event is all but over now and in

:53:37. > :53:43.goes the black. Great performance from Michael White in the end.

:53:44. > :53:50.Comfortable victor at 4-1 over his foalth fellow Welshman Duane Jones.

:53:51. > :53:57.I practise with Duane and I know how good he is so I knew I had a big

:53:58. > :54:02.match on my hands today really this morning. We both struggled a bit and

:54:03. > :54:07.I think, you know, playing in Wales and playing a mate is never easy,

:54:08. > :54:12.but luckily for me I produced some good form when I needed to and came

:54:13. > :54:16.out the 4-1 winner. I think I was just a bit more clinical though to

:54:17. > :54:22.be honest. The snooker wasn't great. There was a lot of missed shots. I

:54:23. > :54:29.was a bit unlucky with a few cannons I had, but the clearances in the

:54:30. > :54:36.first frame and the last frame stand out on the black. Maybe just be more

:54:37. > :54:42.experienced than Duane there, but I'm obviously pleased to get through

:54:43. > :54:48.the first round. One Welshman goes home but Michael White is through to

:54:49. > :54:57.round two. We saw Michael last year get to the quarter-finals.teringif I

:54:58. > :55:03.terrific run but then he absolutely bombed. Yes, I was pleased with the

:55:04. > :55:06.way he played against Ryan Day. He looks to be scoring a lot heavier

:55:07. > :55:12.than he has been doing in the past. We have known for a long time about

:55:13. > :55:19.Michael White. Since he was 17. I played against him in Tenby at a

:55:20. > :55:27.young age and I knew he was going to be a prospect. Little disappointed

:55:28. > :55:32.that he didn't do any better. Never easy playing with one of the people

:55:33. > :55:36.you practise with. Good win over John Higgins as well in the Grand

:55:37. > :55:38.Prix. He said he suffers from depression from time to time so he

:55:39. > :55:42.perhaps suffers with the mental side of it? Having been in that position

:55:43. > :55:48.many times myself, sometimes you know what a great player you are,

:55:49. > :55:52.you find it hard to get yourselves up sometimes. The Spotlight is on

:55:53. > :55:57.you at all times, especially in Wales, he's one of the players that

:55:58. > :56:02.could win the Welsh tournament and it would be nice to see that.

:56:03. > :56:07.Michael's temperament not yet 100% but if he gets that right he's a

:56:08. > :56:12.very, very good player. Let us take you on to the next match that we

:56:13. > :56:19.have coming up and this is the leading Welshman, the two-time Welsh

:56:20. > :56:36.Open winner Mark Williams coming up against Elliot Slessor.

:56:37. > :56:43.Let's hear from Elle Elliot. There are so many tours at the moment.

:56:44. > :56:49.Ryan only finished one on Sunday night and is playing on Monday night

:56:50. > :56:54.and it's like a conveyor belt. You just want to do well in anything,

:56:55. > :57:03.really, it's difficult the older you get. It gets harder to get into

:57:04. > :57:08.tournaments now. I'm nowhere near as good as I was and I'm never going to

:57:09. > :57:14.be. In my opinion, I don't think the standard is as good as it was a few

:57:15. > :57:19.years back, to be honest. Just look at the winners winning it, there are

:57:20. > :57:26.all different winners at the minute. We have had a couple of good results

:57:27. > :57:31.here and there. I would like to get a bit of form back. I've been

:57:32. > :57:37.showing patches of playing quite well but then a couple of stinkers

:57:38. > :57:41.in after them as well. Probably it's consistency. I don't know how I'm

:57:42. > :57:47.going to play and when that stinker match is going to pop in. That's the

:57:48. > :57:50.problem for my game any moreway. Mark has 19 years on his opponent.

:57:51. > :58:06.No wonder the stats look like this. No titles yet for the youngster.

:58:07. > :58:13.Mark ah two-time winner here, the last 18 years ago. Slessor's never

:58:14. > :58:17.got beyond round one. They've met once before and Williams took that

:58:18. > :58:23.one. We talk about psychology and the mental site of things, Mark

:58:24. > :58:34.keeps saying my days of winning top tournaments is over. I think he was

:58:35. > :58:38.very philosophical. Mark is one of the all-time greats. It's strange at

:58:39. > :58:43.the minute, everybody is playing week in week out so the consistency

:58:44. > :58:47.is there, but Mark alluded to the fact there's been so many strange

:58:48. > :58:53.results he didn't think the standard was as good as it was a few years

:58:54. > :58:57.ago. Do I agree, Hamilton and King winning, they are capable of winning

:58:58. > :59:00.every tournament but it was a surprise to some. Mark Williams

:59:01. > :59:05.shows glimpses of brilliance and that's the problem when you get to a

:59:06. > :59:08.certain age, your consistency goes. You can play fantastic for four

:59:09. > :59:13.frames on the trot then two bad ones. In his olden days, his bad

:59:14. > :59:17.games were still very good, his bad game now is not good enough. When

:59:18. > :59:22.his good game is there, boy is he good enough. You would expect to see

:59:23. > :59:25.a Mark Williams victory this afternoon, but it's not always that

:59:26. > :59:34.straightforward. The players are in the arena. Mark Williams' first game

:59:35. > :59:48.against Elliot Slessor and Dale and Dominic are our commentators.

:59:49. > :59:53.A very good afternoon to your commentary team.

:59:54. > :00:09.This is going to be an intriguing match between Mark and Elliott.

:00:10. > :00:13.Obviously, seamer Mark Bounty of times, have not had the pleasure of

:00:14. > :00:22.seeing Elliott play so we will see how he shapes up in the main arena.

:00:23. > :00:27.Obviously, as was alluded to in the pre-match interview, this is a zone

:00:28. > :00:48.territory and he wants to do well. It looks like he's really going to

:00:49. > :00:52.compete and contender to win a major and then he throws in a bad one. I

:00:53. > :00:59.don't know why he's doing that at this moment in time. Rest assured,

:01:00. > :01:11.on his game he's still got enough to win any ranking event. It's all

:01:12. > :01:28.about the start. He's going to need to settle down very quickly.

:01:29. > :01:35.Every professional dreams of coming out and playing in front of a nice

:01:36. > :01:48.big crowd on TV. Normally they are out in the sticks on the side tables

:01:49. > :01:56.so it's good to see. Obviously was a great deal of difference in these

:01:57. > :02:00.players, especially on the television table. It will be a

:02:01. > :02:06.challenge for the young man in your picture. He's had a few issues in

:02:07. > :02:23.the last couple of seasons but he's found something he happy with. If he

:02:24. > :02:29.does it could be a difficult match. It is the only time they have

:02:30. > :03:16.played, the indications are that it could be a close match.

:03:17. > :03:24.He didn't hold back there. What a great pot this was. They don't come

:03:25. > :03:43.any better than that. The right corner would be his

:03:44. > :03:45.favourite. He's playing for the one just above the black and that looks

:03:46. > :04:14.just about perfect. It will be disappointing not to get

:04:15. > :04:28.at least 30 or 40 points from here. He seems to have got the pace of the

:04:29. > :05:21.table very quickly, I have to say. That's the thing though, so many

:05:22. > :05:51.young professionals on the circuit. You begin to see some nice new

:05:52. > :06:08.faces. I think he's had a kick there. He's taken on the side of the

:06:09. > :06:09.cue ball. It was not really evident. Obviously he is a long way off his

:06:10. > :06:37.required position. No problems. There we are. The Welsh

:06:38. > :06:42.Open, this arena is fantastic. Well supported. The crowds in Wales love

:06:43. > :07:07.their snooker. Very tight as to whether it goes on

:07:08. > :07:25.to the spot. Needs to go as close as possible

:07:26. > :08:19.without touching it. This is a good position. A little bit further away.

:08:20. > :08:29.He would love to pop the red to the left of the black. He has to get a

:08:30. > :08:40.cannon on the red as he pushes through this one. He's quite a

:08:41. > :08:43.little bit. He's left with a very tricky black. Did not push the cue

:08:44. > :08:48.through enough on the follow-through. Here is that cue

:08:49. > :08:52.ball to run through the red and passed to the side. This is going to

:08:53. > :09:21.test his cueing. I did not see a folder. I was

:09:22. > :09:29.looking at the reds and neither of them seemed to move. Sometimes when

:09:30. > :09:34.you jab down on the ball and don't strike it cleanly it sounds like you

:09:35. > :10:50.have. Maybe that is what happened there.

:10:51. > :12:02.I think Mark will be relieved. He got more into that cue ball than he

:12:03. > :12:15.would have liked. That means he is in a little bit of trouble. Easy

:12:16. > :12:22.enough safety shot. He's got to get back cue ball back to the kitchen.

:12:23. > :13:17.Maybe even tried the park there. His intention was to get that on the

:13:18. > :13:18.cushion so if you made a mistake, the clearance would be a lot

:13:19. > :14:16.tougher. The chance for Mark to right centre.

:14:17. > :14:25.This is a great chance. Nicely on the blue. Given him this

:14:26. > :16:15.opportunity. He's working his way back into the

:16:16. > :16:17.frame. By then he should have asked enough points to need a red without

:16:18. > :17:36.the last colour. He'd like to have that one back

:17:37. > :17:51.again. A lot thinner than he would have liked.

:17:52. > :18:01.That was about as thin as he can get. Still given a chance into this

:18:02. > :18:47.corner. This was then. That was not easy for Elliott. A

:18:48. > :18:48.left-hander so he needed the rest. That was a lot more difficult than

:18:49. > :19:36.it looks. Playing off the conditions. That is

:19:37. > :20:11.the worst result for him. Trying to leave the cue ball in

:20:12. > :20:34.exactly the same place. This is not going to help.

:20:35. > :21:01.If the red had missed the pink it would not have been far away. No

:21:02. > :21:02.Elliott has got shot to nothing. The cue ball will be coming naturally

:21:03. > :21:46.down. Karl Marx let this read in? -- can

:21:47. > :22:42.Mark get the red in? It is beginning to look like a red ball frame.

:22:43. > :22:56.Knocked it onto this right centre for Elliott. Elliott Slessor is just

:22:57. > :24:18.22 years of age. He hails from Gateshead.

:24:19. > :24:34.Just have a little look to slip the blue end. A really deep screw shot.

:24:35. > :24:51.I think that is what he tried but it has gone a little bit astray. He's

:24:52. > :25:22.got an angle on this brown. He wants to knock the blue into the corner.

:25:23. > :25:37.Very difficult shot that he attempted there.

:25:38. > :25:44.I don't believe Mark has got the snooker.

:25:45. > :25:51.Any snooker will do because certainly cannot guarantee it

:25:52. > :26:02.getting safe even if he had the yellow.

:26:03. > :26:12.I'm surprised Elliott tried such a difficult shot. Any snooker could

:26:13. > :26:20.have bookmarking trouble. Ascot have placed

:26:21. > :26:30.I was just about to say that he needs the cue ball to slow up.

:26:31. > :26:48.Otherwise, that would be a great shot by Mark Williams.

:26:49. > :26:56.Sometimes you use the pocket as a guide. Fortunately he did on that

:26:57. > :28:31.occasion. Started off very comfortable but the

:28:32. > :28:43.game has got away from him a little bit. A few tactical safeties. It has

:28:44. > :28:56.been a bit of a scrappy first frame. Both have had breaks of 30 plus.

:28:57. > :29:04.Mark will be feeling better. It is always nice to get that first frame

:29:05. > :29:18.on the board. Needs to stay positive and prepares one behind him.

:29:19. > :29:27.Just under half an hour, that frame. We are live in Cardiff. A lot going

:29:28. > :29:36.on. There are eight tables in play. The second set of first-round games.

:29:37. > :29:40.Let's bring you News of the World number 11, Joe Perry. He made the

:29:41. > :29:49.semifinals in Cardiff and last month, runner-up to Ronnie

:29:50. > :30:03.O'Sullivan. He's out at the first stage. He's been beaten 4-3.

:30:04. > :30:09.The leading Welshman Mark Williams is trying to negotiate his way into

:30:10. > :30:15.round two. But it's not very straightforward, Willie Thorne? That

:30:16. > :30:18.is what he does best. Deaf nitly the number one player in

:30:19. > :30:27.the frames. There was a really easy green and

:30:28. > :30:31.he'll be horrified he missed that. He's got to roll it in, here it is

:30:32. > :30:35.now, and it's frame over and he missed it. The way the green missed

:30:36. > :30:38.by so far, I might have to give him the benefit of the doubt having seen

:30:39. > :30:42.it the second time, he might have got a bad contact but he'll be

:30:43. > :30:48.horrified because he had Mark under control in that frame. We talked

:30:49. > :30:52.about Tom Ford's temperament, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan and every

:30:53. > :31:02.single emotion written large on his face, bit more of a poker face from

:31:03. > :31:06.Elliot Slessor perhaps? Whoever coaches any young player, they've

:31:07. > :31:14.got to get the temperament right. It's almost for me 70-30 now, 30%

:31:15. > :31:17.temperament and 70% ability. Now they are playing so much snooker,

:31:18. > :31:22.you've got to be so strong mentally, if you are not, you get found out.

:31:23. > :31:34.Let us see if we can get a speedier second frame. Williams 1-0 up over

:31:35. > :31:42.Slessor. It was a lengthy first frame. Both players getting used to

:31:43. > :31:48.the pace of the table and they've settled their nerves early on. Very

:31:49. > :31:50.relieved to have won that frame. A short sprint over best of seven,

:31:51. > :32:44.every frame is vital. On the move towards the blue. Struck

:32:45. > :33:04.it well. Mark's been putting a lot of

:33:05. > :33:07.practise in. He's been having glimpses of it in the events and

:33:08. > :33:25.matches. Needs to have a bit of luck at the

:33:26. > :33:44.right time an I'm sure we'll see him winning major events again.

:33:45. > :33:53.Mark will clear the red away from the black spot to clear away both

:33:54. > :33:57.corners. He hasn't screwed the cue ball back far enough there. Ehe was

:33:58. > :34:16.on the red and it was thinner than intended. That's a Japanese style of

:34:17. > :34:17.tip. I think he's missed this. Very disappointed Mark Williams. Should

:34:18. > :34:36.have made more from that. That wouldn't have done his knuckles

:34:37. > :35:04.any good. Very close. Good pot on the black. Left himself

:35:05. > :35:06.awkward cueing on the red. Mark sitting there with a little nod and

:35:07. > :35:20.wry smile. This is not easy to get to the cue

:35:21. > :35:33.ball, pot the red, control it to get on this black. Won't want any

:35:34. > :35:38.impartial, or unparted ones I should say. Make sure the cue ball

:35:39. > :35:41.naturally comes off the cushion, which it has done.

:35:42. > :35:48.Couple of reds out in the open but you would feel with this angle on

:35:49. > :35:49.the black, he's going to have to go into the reds and catch them to the

:35:50. > :36:20.right hand side of the cluster. A bit of a tester for Elliot, he

:36:21. > :36:26.knew the importance of that black. He would have expected to have left

:36:27. > :36:31.Mark Williams an easy opener but he hasn't done. This looks thin and the

:36:32. > :36:38.cue ball's gone in, that's a disaster for Mark.

:36:39. > :36:46.Left Elliot Slessor multiple choices here. Fresh from this and Mark

:36:47. > :36:52.recognised that. That's probably why he missed it.

:36:53. > :37:00.I'm sure on the practise table Elliot Slessor wouldn't expect to

:37:01. > :37:06.miss much from here. Of course, he's out there in a heated battle on the

:37:07. > :37:07.main television table. Hence one of the greatest play, of all-time,

:37:08. > :38:04.there is a lot of pressure on him. I think Elliot felt bad contact

:38:05. > :39:03.there. There was a kick, only a slight one.

:39:04. > :39:10.Perfect position on the black. Ten points ahead. He won't need to worry

:39:11. > :39:20.about the red on the left hand side cushion.

:39:21. > :39:29.Elliot can just take the remaining loose reds with decent value

:39:30. > :40:39.colours. Should enable him to level this match up.

:40:40. > :40:43.If there is a shot that can go wrong, it could be right now.

:40:44. > :40:45.Straight on the black. It's blocking the way. Have to do

:40:46. > :41:36.some work with the cue ball here. Couple of shots away from securing a

:41:37. > :41:45.second frame. The cue ball just got away from him a little bit there.

:41:46. > :41:52.Got to make sure he drops the black in. A bit thin again. Just got in

:41:53. > :42:00.off the jaw. I think he thought he'd missed that himself. One red and

:42:01. > :42:09.colour away from being safe in this frame. He's going to have to pull a

:42:10. > :42:11.good shot out here. He'll be cueing very close to the side of this

:42:12. > :42:59.green. This is not easy. Mark very cleverly moving the

:43:00. > :43:08.difficult red off the side cushion. Puts pressure on Elliot Slessor's

:43:09. > :43:39.safety shot now. The mistake could be costly now.

:43:40. > :43:52.Very well played controlled safety shot.

:43:53. > :44:06.Mark would love to stick the cue ball down in the baulk area. Missed

:44:07. > :44:08.the double kiss. Missed the in-off. Still a lot of play left in this

:44:09. > :44:19.second frame. Massive if Mark could pinch this

:44:20. > :44:38.frame. Not to the standard he'd like to be

:44:39. > :44:44.playing. He's in control, albeit, a long way back in this frame. The way

:44:45. > :44:46.the balls are situated, if he wants to get an opportunity he can get in

:44:47. > :45:07.and it can all sit in nicely there. Definitely heavy contact. The red

:45:08. > :45:13.nearest the cue ball won't pass the pink into the right centre. Very

:45:14. > :45:18.clever play. May chance the double here.

:45:19. > :45:29.Great shot from Mark. Reminds me a little bit of Docherty, great player

:45:30. > :45:44.of doubles and always looks for them.

:45:45. > :45:57.Played that double in the full knowledge that that was the only one

:45:58. > :46:05.he was attempting to leave. And this is the shot. Black-to-red.

:46:06. > :46:10.If he gets on this red, you'd fancy this second game for him.

:46:11. > :46:17.He's just lost the cue ball a little bit there. Left handed which makes

:46:18. > :46:19.it slightly easier. If this red goes in, you fear the worst for Elliot

:46:20. > :46:29.Slessor. And he's missed it. And Mark will be real disappointed

:46:30. > :46:42.with that. In his heyday, Mark Williams

:46:43. > :46:50.wouldn't often give players second chances. Just look where he's left

:46:51. > :46:54.the red. It's red and any colour for Elliot Slessor. He could level

:46:55. > :47:18.things up at 1-1. On the green. Doesn't have to do anything too

:47:19. > :47:22.fancy here. Can play the green and the yellow. The green is in an ideal

:47:23. > :47:38.position for the yellow. Mark requires two snookers at this

:47:39. > :47:56.stage. He may well continue, barring two

:47:57. > :50:09.snookers that will be 1-1. Young Elliot's snookered Mark

:50:10. > :50:16.comprehensively here. If Mark doesn't hit the green, he'll

:50:17. > :50:21.immediately concede. Well, that's incredible. Didn't contact the

:50:22. > :50:25.green. He has conceded. So young Elliot Slessor from Gateshead has

:50:26. > :50:34.managed to level things up and it's 1-1. Quite hard to read what he is

:50:35. > :50:40.thinking exactly, Elliot Slessor, but there we are, it's all square.

:50:41. > :50:45.How do you read this? A slow old game? He'll be absolutely delighted,

:50:46. > :50:50.he deserved to win that really. Mark Williams should have cleared and

:50:51. > :50:53.missed that relatively easy red for Mark Williams to make it 2-0

:50:54. > :50:57.perhaps. Mark Williams is obviously playing in front of his home crowd

:50:58. > :51:03.and wants to impress and as yet he's not. We know what Mark Williams is,

:51:04. > :51:07.he's a wonderful player and if he gets it going, doesn't matter

:51:08. > :51:15.whether he wants to win scrappy or well, this is the red he was winning

:51:16. > :51:19.well. I think he was in two minds, he could have ran it round two

:51:20. > :51:22.cushions and still been on the yellow or brown, he could have cued

:51:23. > :51:27.across it after a stun shot. Difficult to play though? Yes. The

:51:28. > :51:31.beauty with Mark Williams is, you would never know by his face whether

:51:32. > :51:34.he's in front or behind and we have talked about temperament all

:51:35. > :51:38.afternoon, there's a player to watch if you want a good temperament. Both

:51:39. > :51:42.players out at the moment gathering their thoughts ahead of frame three.

:51:43. > :51:46.You talk about temperament. Slessor looks older than his 22 years? I've

:51:47. > :51:52.not seen him play before, to be honest. I've looked at his results

:51:53. > :51:57.and seen that he's beaten some great players but I've not seen him live

:51:58. > :52:01.on TV. He definitely knows his way around, a little disappointed he

:52:02. > :52:04.hasn't put Mark out of the game when he's had opportunities but his

:52:05. > :52:10.safety looks good. The only problem, when it comes to a pressure pot, he

:52:11. > :52:14.seems to be a little wanting and be a little anxious on it, so it

:52:15. > :52:27.remains to be seen whether his temperament found him in good stead.

:52:28. > :52:31.In terms of Mark Williams, we talked about him, he's self-deprecating but

:52:32. > :52:37.still competing against the very best. We pushed Mark Selby really

:52:38. > :52:44.hard at the Masters? It wouldn't surprise me if he won one in the

:52:45. > :52:48.next few years. Mark Williams is as good as any, so why not. I think

:52:49. > :52:53.they are on their way back out there. We can see some stats there

:52:54. > :52:57.on the screen. They've just disappeared now, we haven't had

:52:58. > :53:00.chance to see them now, but they'll be back out in a minute. Where do

:53:01. > :53:06.you see this going? It's important to get a foothold in the game. 1-1,

:53:07. > :53:09.Mark Williams will be slightly disappointed he's not two in front.

:53:10. > :53:14.Mark Williams I think will win this match. OK. There's the prediction

:53:15. > :53:22.from Willie. Let's rejoin Dom and Darren.

:53:23. > :53:31.I would agree with Willie Thorne on most of that. Mark has a terrific

:53:32. > :53:37.temperament. He did punch that table a little bit hard when he missed

:53:38. > :54:09.that ball in the last frame. Relatively easy red.

:54:10. > :54:16.Very hard to do to look like it means nothing when you are playing.

:54:17. > :55:12.It means everything. didn't go as crisply as he would

:55:13. > :55:17.have liked. Big matches these first rounds. We've already said about the

:55:18. > :55:22.points and the money. Makes a big difference. You lose, you go home

:55:23. > :55:50.with nothing. Into the right Centre for Elliot.

:55:51. > :56:14.One of the greatest ever Potters. Best cannon for Elliot. He'll be

:56:15. > :56:18.attempting a pop here. Roll up behind the green on the baulk

:56:19. > :56:23.cushion? Or he could feather edge the green and back off the baulk

:56:24. > :56:55.cushion and in behind it. That's what he's done.

:56:56. > :57:04.Is there a plant on here into the left corner for Elliot Slessor?

:57:05. > :57:11.They appear to be separate. Could be smashing that pack of reds far and

:57:12. > :57:28.wide here. And he didn't hold back, did he? I

:57:29. > :57:34.don't know that he could have hit it much harder than that. Just hit it

:57:35. > :57:37.as hard as you can and hope you land on a colour.

:57:38. > :57:57.Which he has. We are only early into this third frame. Slightly worrying

:57:58. > :58:04.times for this home crowd and their Welsh hopeful in Mark Williams.

:58:05. > :58:12.Great arena. Elliot's just got to make every

:58:13. > :58:19.chance he gets count. Easier said than done. He looks a

:58:20. > :00:08.very confident young man. Look for an angle on the blue here.

:00:09. > :00:14.Playing for the red into the left corner, the one that is below the

:00:15. > :00:22.black, leave that other one over the corner pocket for later on. He knows

:00:23. > :01:07.if he doesn't land on it, he has the option of the other red.

:01:08. > :01:20.He played that in the full knowledge that was the only one likely to

:01:21. > :01:25.leave. He's just lost the cue ball little bit there. Left-handed which

:01:26. > :01:28.makes it slightly easier. If this goes on I fear the worst for

:01:29. > :01:45.Slessor. He missed that. In his heyday, Mark Williams gave

:01:46. > :02:25.them second chances. Make sure the green plays the yellow

:02:26. > :02:46.again. That on the green marks snickers at

:02:47. > :05:17.this stage, to needed. Young Elliott has snickered Mark

:05:18. > :05:19.Williams comprehensively here. If Mark does not hit the green he will

:05:20. > :05:33.immediately concede. Incredible. He has conceded. Young

:05:34. > :05:39.Elliot Slessor as level things up and it is 1-1.

:05:40. > :05:49.Quite hard to read what he's thinking, Elliot Slessor, but there

:05:50. > :05:53.we are. It is all square. He will be absolutely delighted because that is

:05:54. > :05:57.a game he could have lost. He deserved to, Mark Williams should

:05:58. > :05:59.have cleared but he missed a relatively easy read. This match has

:06:00. > :06:19.not taken off yet. We know that Mark Williams is a

:06:20. > :06:34.wonderful player. If he pops this -- if he gets this he wins the frame.

:06:35. > :06:40.The beauty of Mark Williams is you will never know by his face whether

:06:41. > :06:52.he is in front or behind. We spoke about temperament. There is a player

:06:53. > :06:57.to watch. You talk about temperament. Slessor looks older

:06:58. > :07:03.than his 22 years. I've got to be honest, I've never seen him play

:07:04. > :07:06.before. He is beaten some great players but not seen him live on

:07:07. > :07:11.television. He definitely knows his way around. I'm disappointed he has

:07:12. > :07:23.not put Mark Williams out of the game but he looks pretty good. He

:07:24. > :07:29.seems to be a little anxious. I'm glad you're still finding a way to

:07:30. > :07:37.use teletext. I meant the mobile! I'm kidding. In terms of Mark

:07:38. > :07:40.Williams, he is self-deprecating about whether he can win big titles

:07:41. > :07:47.but is still competing against the very best. It would not surprise me

:07:48. > :07:52.if he did not win a big one in the next couple of years. Mark King has,

:07:53. > :07:57.Anthony Hamilton has, is Mark Williams as good as them?

:07:58. > :08:03.Definitely. I think they are on their way out there. We can see some

:08:04. > :08:17.stats on the screen. Where does he go now? With it being best of seven,

:08:18. > :08:28.it is important to get a foothold. I think Mark Williams will win the

:08:29. > :08:41.match. There is the prediction. I would agree. He has got a terrific

:08:42. > :08:52.temperament. He did punch the table a little bit hard.

:08:53. > :09:00.Obviously showed a little bit of frustration but he never ever looks

:09:01. > :09:13.bothered, Mark. I think that's one of the beauties of his game over the

:09:14. > :09:15.years. He plays like it means nothing, but it means everything.

:09:16. > :10:08.Very hard to do. He did not play that very well

:10:09. > :10:40.either. If the red had gone in he was on this black.

:10:41. > :10:47.That is the problem, when he's played a safety shot it has collided

:10:48. > :10:49.with the baulk colours. It has allowed Elliott to get his hand on

:10:50. > :10:59.the table comfortably. Here's Mark normally in that

:11:00. > :11:42.apartment, very good. The black is tied up. The pink looks

:11:43. > :12:21.to be available. If Elliott is to make a sizeable

:12:22. > :12:31.break he will need to get that black ball into play but it will be

:12:32. > :12:34.interesting to see how he does that. They do their best as early as

:12:35. > :13:38.possible to get the black into the open. See what Elliott does here.

:13:39. > :13:49.This should be an easy starter for Elliott.

:13:50. > :13:56.I'm afraid we've reached the end of our afternoon programme on BBC

:13:57. > :13:58.Wales. If you don't want to miss a second of this match then cover it

:13:59. > :14:03.continues on the red button. Gentlemen, do you have any prior

:14:04. > :14:07.motoring convictions? Mr Harris, can you confirm that

:14:08. > :14:20.you'll be adhering Don't worry, I'll just...drift

:14:21. > :14:26.along. Will you be partaking in any

:14:27. > :14:34.competitive driving? We're going to win,

:14:35. > :14:39.we're going to win! Yeah...maybe. Finally,

:14:40. > :14:46.will you be requiring fire cover? We're good, yeah, no fire.

:14:47. > :14:50.Good.