Day 6 Snooker: World Championship Highlights

Hello and welcome to highlights from day six of the Betfred.com

World Championship. Today saw the start of the second round of

matches at the tournament. There were still two outstanding matches

in the first round to be completed. First up, it's the contest between

Crucible newcomer track track track and the two-time world champion,

Old school. Determined. Hard as nails. Very laid-back. Always up

for a joke. You can never trust him. LAUGHS

He's one of the few players that's came back from a slump. That shows

you how good he is. Not many players can do that. Probably the

worst player sense in the snooker circuit. Slob. Cool. Greatest ever

Welsh player. Again, fantastic respect for Mark and what he's

achieved. Shows that he doesn't really care too much. I think deep

down, he's got that instinct where he wants to win all the time.

determined to win at all costs. Hard to do. He's been a multiple

major tournament winner. He's got to be put down as one of the all-

time greats. The Welshman did well to prevent a

fairly hostile crowd affecting him in his opening session, after his

negative pre-tournament comments about the Crucible, as he led 6-3

overnight. We'll join it as at the start of the second seng, with

Trang at the table. Terry Griffiths and Neal Foulds are the

APPLAUSE We know he can play. It was back in

2008 when he lost 10-5. In some ways, he got closer to O'Sullivan

than anyone else that year. Because I was in commentary on this match

yesterday. It took a while to get to life. 3-3, it was difficult to

say which way it was gonna go. In the end, I would say the extra

class of Mark Williams shone through. Made a pretty telling 72

break to go 5-3 and a 111 break in the last frame of the session. He

was kind of patient up until then. Stuck at it, and it started to

APPLAUSE There's not a lot of pocket, as you

Gently into the pack there. He's not tried to develop many. Pushed

one out. Interesting choice that might play the red to the left

centre that's closest to the pocket. They've recovered since their first

"refurbished" isn't the word we use - it's been recovered overnight.

Perhaps the table wasn't playing They should notice the difference,

I think, the players in this Even the practice tables are better.

They deputy get the soft screws very easily. They were struggling

on the match tables and the practice tables yesterday. Of

course, the practice tables get a bit of a hammer in you - they're

played on all -- get a bit of hammering - they're played on all

I always think it's quite funny about the practice tables get a

hammering, because they do. But you might not get a table covered in a

club for four years they play on in the clubs. The shots that players

practice - it's almost like a tramline down the middle of the

The black spots are like a battlefield. You practice there all

Very positive start for Mark He's like a machine - pots them

from anywhere. He certainly is. It's been very good to see him back

the last couple of years, where he came back from being in the

doldrums. Dropped right down in the rankings. I think second time

'round, you appreciate it more when Down to a ranking in the 40s in the

world. For a player of his standard, He's at number four in the world

Good reaction from Mark, as he came Didn't start well, as Neale said,

in the first session. But you've always got - you fear he's got

something in the tank to offer if It worked out very well. He'll

knowing having looked at the scoreboard, that the cannon went

wrong. But it will be good enough. APPLAUSE

Can continue the break if he wants to, but he doesn't want to take any

liberties. Not impossible for a player to come back from this

position. Playing a plant down the side cushion. I think he'll be

taking the cue ball up the table Good start from Mark Williams. A

break of 72. APPLAUSE

Barring snookers, he's extended his lead to 7-3.

Mark Williams did indeed extend his advantage to four frames. On to

frame eleven - Chuang at the table, He's 21 points in front. There's a

good chance he could clinch it, if Good attempt. He'd certainly be

trying to catch a thin on the way up. It's a difficult shot. The

first bit, I think, is the difficult part here. Not so

difficult considering the jacket - when he get out of the way, we'll

That was all a blur, Terry, wasn't it? I think the harder you play

them, the more difficult it is to judge the angle, isn't it? Throws a

bit wide. Yes, it comes off the cushion at a different angle when

you hit it very hard. It narrows off as it comes the cushion,

because the cue ball sort of goes further into the rubber. He's

caught it a third time. A flick on the pin could do.

APPLAUSE The other thing which will about it,

which will annoy Liu Chuang, was he had no real clue where anything

would finish. Lucky play was a plan there. I suppose when he had the

ball in hand from Mark's previous shot, he might have considered

playing that red into the middle pocket. But he knew Mark was going

to whack it. That's his mentality, Another whack.

LAUGHTER Not quite, but certainly not easy.

Didn't quite get the same amount of APPLAUSE

Still a good shot from under That's not the best one he's ever

played. If he played for the brown, Got to be the best roller-in of a

He keeps the game very simple. That's Mark's biggest asset. That

was a good shot as well. APPLAUSE

As a left-hander, this wouldn't go down as a difficult shot. Anything

could be missed down a cushion. This one might win him the frame,

He was lucky in that snooker, I have to say. It has turned the

He hasn't really got good position He's left himself a nice angle. One

of the reasons why he marks off was straight into play against - he

sort of gives you hope in the chair Mark Williams was very fortunate to

escape from the snooker. He's won the second frame tonight, now 8-3

in front. Williams also took frame 12 to make

it 9-3, before Chuang grabbed one back to trail 4-9. It's looking

precarious to the Chinese newcomer to the Crucible, as Williams still

need one more. Frame 14 next - Williams at the table, trailing by

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

four points. Dangerous shot to play. He can get

to the side of the brown. He doesn't want to hit - it will take

Well, I suppose he obviously did hit the brown first there.

Otherwise, Olivier Martine would have been on his case. A bit of a

Strange old frames, the last two. It's edging towards the way the

last one went. Mark only wants blue and pink. He's one ball away from a

place in the next round. Don't know how much he fancies this double.

Most players, I think, would LAUGHTER

Slightly frustrated, but he's not left this easy at all. How close

Frustration all the way. That's the nature of the game: This is a very

difficult shot that Mark has left APPLAUSE

Should come down towards the black, Chuang keeps the match going. He's

won two in a row - all of a sudden, this lead is four frames, with a

possible five to play here. Mark 9-5 then became 9-6, as Liu Chuang

threatened to stage something of a fight-back. But Williams held firm,

and eventually closed out the match in frame 16. That means that the

Welshman, who became the first left-hander to win the title in

2000, is through to the second round of the tournament for the

14th time in his career, and looks a strong contender for the World

a strong contender for the World a strong contender for the World

Championship once again. I probably should have won it a bit

earlier. Every frame he wins, especially 9-3 up, you should win

every frame and put him under more pressure. 9-6 - I'll just over the

moon to get over the line, really. 9-7, then all of a sudden it's

anyone's match. I was doing the same when I was 9-3 up as the first

few frames. I looked good in one frame, then was missing a lot of

easy balls in the next ra. Lot of the frames were scrappy. Didn't

play particularly well. Played well in patches, here and thering, but

nowhere near the standard I need to play to beat O'Sullivan in the next

round. What a match that promises round. What a match that promises

to be. There's just one more match from the first round to bring you

news on - between the Captain, Ali It was Carter, the former world

number two, who sealed his spot in the second round. The 2008 runner-

up led 8-1 overnight and took two of the first three frames after the

restart, including this, the final frame, with a brilliant break of

132 to run out a 10-2 victor. Carter had recently requested a

year's sabbatical from the tour, but it seems a new diet is helping

him to manage his Crohn's disease, and he looks hungry for success

once again, and is out to better that semifinal appearance here two

Let's get straight to the action from the last 16. First up, it's

Australia's world number three, Neil Robertson, up against

With 65 ranking places separateling him from Neil Robertson, David

Gilbert could be forgiven for having early nerves. But he settled

having early nerves. But he settled earliest, taking the first frame.

Robertson struck back to level the next two frames, including his own

76, for a 3-1 lead at the a gear. He took the fifth with a

break of 84, and then the sixth with his first century of the match,

to level it at 3-3. Things got worse for Gilbert in the seventh,

as Robertson won a scrappy frame to go ahead for the first time in the

match. And by the end of the session, normal order had been

restored - a break of 131, four frames in a row, for a lead of 5-3

second round match between former UK champion Stephen Maguire and

with a century each. It's 1-1 as we join it in the third, with Maguire

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

at the table. Commentary comes from If he's got a good angle, he could

possibly release the black. There is one loose red he could play for,

but the one thing you've got to remember with this - you've got to

get the pots. You don't want to bring reds into play if you miss

the pot. He could release the black, You see that pattern of the reds -

four sets of two. They won't be there for long. But very unusual

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

He's got to play the screw back and He'll maybe play a stun rather than

a screw back. With a run-through, you could finish near the top

He decided tee didn't want to risk the delicate shot. Went for the

power. As it's turned out, not a bad choice, that red going over the

middler -- middle, as John mentioned - nice little bonus for

That blue put him 19 points in front now. It was not a bad choice

of shot. Just to the right of the pink, he always knew he had this

one over the pocket, but he kept a crop on that other one and it would

have opened the game up for him. -- a drop. He could have done a little

better than that. He wanted to pot that half ball. That might be the

end of break. He knows he's not going to clinch the frame at this

He is looking at the scoreboard. If he can roll the blue in... With the

white in the jaws of the pocket... Can he force an angle? If he tries

too much, he could missed the pot. Have a liquor this! -- look at.

That was one of the best cannons I have ever seen. I was wondering if

he tried to force it to hit the other side of the pocket. I'll ask

him in the interval. Only if he This is a thin one. But if he

thinks he can pot it... If he pots this and just about gets the colour,

Just one good positional shot off the green. The three reds in the

middle of the table. If he gets one of them, it should not be a problem.

And a distinct possibility of three centuries in a row. There is enough

there to make back to back centuries for Stephen Maguire. Joe

Perry had the 115 in the opening frame. What a standard this match

is giving us at the start of the As long as you get to 73 by the

time you get to the six remaining colours, you can score 100. But

after his start, Joe Perry must be sat in his seat wondering what has

gone wrong. He had two good chances in this frame. He missed a black

off the spot, and he missed an easy It does not take a lot for Stephen

Maguire to get his confidence and get going. The red and the blue and

That is perfect. Every chance now that we are going to have three

centuries in a row at the start of this second round match. And in a

matter of 43 minutes, that will be a total of �600 for the charity,

He just needs a good angle on the blue, and that is inch-perfect.

Look at the colours. He has had the lot in this break. I thought you

were going to break into song then! Anyway, pink and black. This is

just unbelievable snooker. It really is. Absolutely sensational

from Stephen Maguire. Joe Perry missed two good chances and give

Stephen Maguire the opportunity, but you do not get snooker much

better than this. Three centuries, better than this. Three centuries,

three frames, he has made two of them. But that standard could not

continue. Although Maguire one the 4th and the 5th to lead 4-1. Here

is frame six with Joe Perry at the He has gone full blooded for the

position. That is a confidence booster, if ever you have seen one,

because he did not Hedges bet. He took the bull by the horns.

Considering he has not potted a ball for 35 minutes... O, what has

he done here? Still a pot on, but he was looking for some sort of

little cannon there. He played a little cannon on the pink to hold

it. He wants the cue ball to slow down and not be too close to the

cushion. He is OK and has the easy red over the left middle, but you

would like to keep that there as a He has got the easy red to the left

middle. He would have liked to have been on something else, but it

looks like this is the Barry Shott offering a good position. -- the

only shot. He needs to make the most of this opportunity, because

he has hardly scored. He made a 115 break in the first frame. The break

That is not inch-perfect. He needs to be straight on the red so that

he can easily get on the black. He has a little bit of work to do with

the cue ball. He should have been better than this. It is a delicate

little shot for the black. But that is the angle he has got. If he does

not fancy that, he is going to have And the green is slightly in the

way, which is why he's tucking his It makes the pot a little bit

He needs to keep on running. That is finishing straight, so he's

going to have a medium distance pot. The reds to the left side of the

table. Two of them are available. He just screws back to him between

where the cue ball and the blue is. There is little bit of pressure on

this one. He has to play it with a little bit of pace. He has a

tendency to make these a bit thick, but he did catch the middle of the

cue ball. Has he got an angle on the blue? He is desperately looking

for just a bit of an angle to bring the cue ball down to the reds.

Looking at his body language, he may be straight again. That is not

as easy as the previous red. A similar shot. The one to the right

of the pink and reds is on, but if he screws back to where the white

is now, he could take that on. The one to the left again, but this is

much more difficult than the previous one he potted. It was very

Good shot. Now, this time, absolutely inch perfect from the

blue. Why has he overcome it the hard bits? It is certainly easier

now. He does not want to overrun it. One of these two reds just above

the black will go to the left corner. That puts him nine points

in front. It may be worthwhile potting this black, playing a

little cannon on that red just below the pink. That brings them

into play. What a chance now. A chance to win his second frame of

the evening. It was beginning to slip away. He had to begin for this.

-- dig in. The opening red was a dangerous one. Yes, sometimes when

your opponents is dominating, you have to make something happen, and

that is exactly what he did. Stephen Maguire has missed precious

little. Every credit to Joe Perry. It has been a great performance in

this frame. Just this black and one more red and a colour. He put his

tongue out there. He thought he had missed it. It is very tense.

Desperate for this frame. That is why he played the stun. He is 33

points in front but there is still a possible 35 remaining. Still a

colour required. Yes, just pot the black. Don't worry about getting

nicely on the red. Well played right in the heart of the pocket.

Considering, as we mentioned before, he did not have a pot for 36

minutes. That makes this effort That red going indefinitely means

he has put his second frame on the scoreboard. -- going in definitely.

If the black had gone in, it would have been a chance of a century.

But Stephen Maguire concedes, and Joe Perry is relieved. He still

Joe Perry is relieved. He still trails 4-2, but that is better.

An important frame for Joe Perry. In frame seven, Perry at the table

He did that in the second frame when he was looking good, and he

took his eye off the pot. He was more concerned with the position.

Every time he plays one with a bit of power, it just throws it offline.

Can Stephen Maguire Cup this in and That is about perfect. He has got a

red at the top of that bunch, but if he could get the white somewhere

near the two circles and get on that red, that is what he's looking

He has a choice of reds, but if he could drop on that one next to the

black, it would open things up. I am not sure if he can do that from

He might be able to. That looks to be spot-on. And I am surprised.

When Joe Perry was at the table, A few times, Joe Perry had good

angles on the blue to think about that red. Now this really opens up

There was a possibility that he could get out of this session all-

square with four each had he taken this frame, but if Stephen Maguire

takes it, he is bound to have a The one obstacle is the red near

the middle pocket. We know that he won by the cushion should not be a

It is all about the one that is near the middle pocket. He's just

having a quick look. It is not available, so he will have to

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Joe Perry knows that the one red might come to his rescue. He will

be hoping for that. Quite a bit of noise from the other side of the

wall, and between frames. Really, if he will have to be really

precise. It would have been better if he had been able to get on the

black on the right side of the table. He has looked again at the

angle of that red into the middle pocket. He feels that he might be

able to pot it if he gets in behind it. He has a slight angle. I don't

know if he can screw back and move it. Not that close to the red. He's

looking to see if he could drop it in because he would be on the blue.

But it is just the red he needs. The closer he can get to the red,

if he can leave it straight, then you would fancy him just to drop it

That is absolutely perfect. 33 points in front with 27 remaining -

That missed pink by Joe Perry has cost him the frame, and that will

The very high standard continues. Stephen Maguire has had two

centuries, both 101. He has had a You have to say, this has been an

excellent break. Joe Perry has gone in first, made a break of 30, and

the balls were not ideally situated. He played it really well. Not

bothered about a black. Stephen bothered about a black. Stephen

Maguire now leads 5-2 with one more to play in this session. That last

frame of the opening session went to Paris courtesy of a break of 82.

-- to Joe Perry. Still all to play for. Don't forget you can see more

of the match between Neil Robertson and Gilbert next. We will be back