Day 4 Snooker: World Championship Highlights

Hello, good evening, welcome to the Crucible Theatre here in Sheffield

and the 2014 World Snooker Championship. Another day of drama.

Over the next 50 minutes we will bring you up-to-date with all the

first-round action. First to the all Scottish clash and the match between

Alan McManus taking on four time world Champion, John Higgins.

John Higgins under a lot of pressure after the first session with Alan

McManus leading by 6-3. Alan McManus played well in the second session to

take a 9-4 lead, needing one frame to book a place in the second-round

a meeting with Ken Doherty. John Higgins rattled off the next three

frames to pull it back to 9-7. John Higgins is at the table in frame 17,

25 points behind. COMMENTATOR: The blue hasn't bounced

enough to make it an easy pot with the red next to the brown available.

It will have to be the yellow. Now, how is your luck here, John? A

bit closer to the cushion than he wanted, but if he can get that one

to the left of the black, one good shot and he could be right in

business here. He has an angle to get on the black.

He is looking very good. In fact the best he has looked of the match so

far, Stephen? Yes, a couple of frames ago the real John Higgins has

finally turned up. Is it too late? Is I must admit, although he is 9-7

down, in my eyes he is growing slowly to become favourite in this

match. If Alan keeps throwing up these chances to win.

Probably take the one next to the brown now. He is back looking at the

one that will get him on to the black. He will need the extended

rest to get to that. It's pretty straight-forward, you would have to

say. Just drop in and get on the black.

There is only one really difficult red. The one he is cueing alongside

at the moment. If he gets high valued colours, he

may not need that difficult red. No noise from the other side of the

arena now. They have The Crucible all to themselves.

Play finished. There's the ball that is still there, it will come up

after this frame. That's if John wins it. He is

disappointed with that potional shot because, I don't think, the two reds

that are closest together, I don't think they will pot. He has to play

a good positional shot here. He wanted to be straighter on this

pink. Now, he is a lot further away from

the red than he would have liked. It's now become missable, this red.

You have to say, the way he looks now, you fancy him to win every

frame in one visit when he gets to the table.

APPLAUSE He was trying to stay on the high

valued colours because he knew, it would have worked out, that he

wouldn't have needed the difficult red. He could have got this frame

without needing the red on that side cushion there, near the brown.

Here's the positional shot. He wants to leave the white where it is. He

let the white travel about a foot further than he wanted. It made the

angle on the pink difficult for position.

John may be able to take a pot onto the right corner here and play it in

such a way that he's heading back up the table. Plenty of colours

available. If he does knock it in. He doesn't want to hit it too thick.

Boy, that was close. I think he has covered everything into this right

corner. I think he can possibly see the red

that is closest to the right cushion. He can follow-through off

the two cushions for the black. This is a chance. Coming around to have a

look at the shot that you suggested. Just pass the six-hour for this

fascinating tussle, as it's turning out to be. It looked all one way at

one stage, but boy this is another key shot coming up here.

He was close, but I tell you what, he will be happy with the result.

Once he took it on, he thought if he missed it he would stick them up. He

got away with it that time. Alan has had the better of the

tactical battle in this match, his safety success rate slightly ahead

of Johns. Could have played that better. OK,

he has a good cue ball, the red is pottable. It's a tough one into the

middle pocket, but you know what John is like. If he sees half a

chance, he'll take it on. That is such a tough shot from that

position, it really is. This is horrible. Horrible shot.

Brilliant. That was a brilliant shot.

Superb cueing to knock that in. OK, he hasn't dropped on the colour

nicely. I tell you what, he could put Alan in a spot of bother here.

It might even be worth just nudging in behind the brown. Having a quick

look at the score. The brown will pot. A little nudge, in behind the

brown. He can go down behind the green, also. That is what he fancied

rather than the delicate little shot. I think he may just have left

a little bit of the red sticking out.

Yeah. Is there enough there to get to the potting angle?

That is a terrific shot from Alan McManus.

Mind you, it's a shot that John shouldn't have let him see. He could

have nudged off the brown and got the snooker behind that. He put the

brown safe. Yeah, when John played that shot he

looked to the skies. It was a careless shot he played to give Alan

the option. Let's have a look at his reaction.

Yeah, he knew he had left a little bit of it sticking out. It wasn't a

bad choice to put the brown safe, but he needed to get the snooker.

Alan is going to need that brown if he keeps potting balls.

Just thinking it was worth trying to play for the blue off the last red.

Just one point behind now. Still looking for that one frame that will

give him a famous victory and get him into the second round.

That frame that gets you over the line is always the toughest one to

get. It's purely the fact that Alan

hasn't been in that situation enough over the last few years.

Great shot. Now John can play the blue.

He can clear the path for the brown for that left centre. Alan would

have liked to have played this shot from the last red.

Well, he can't believe that! He is not the only one! Did he take his

eye off the pot? Let's have another look. He over cut it. He was playing

with a lot of left hand side to avoid the cannon on the brown. I can

only think that was the reason he missed it. What a chance now.

Well, he led 8-3. He led 9-4. He has suffered an onslaught from John

Higgins. Could John have thrown it all away with that miss on the blue?

He needs the brown, he needs the blue and he needs the pink.

He can then go one better than last year when he lost in the first-round

to Ding Junhui. They are the best of friends these

boys, but it's been a battle royal, as it's turned out. John Higgins

made a great fightback, winning three frames in a row. Alan, he's

not going to rush anything at this stage. What a performance.

No, his stomach will be churning here.

Oh, if he hits the black, he could have been in a spot of bother. He's

on the pink. Well, Alan McManus has certainly

rolled back the years. He beats his good friend, John Higgins. What a

fantastic fightback John made of it. He gave himself too much to do. In

the end, Alan McManus goes through to the second-round with a famous

victory. He beats his good buddy 10-7. I had two good chances and

messed up both. Then you start getting a little bit nervy. I was

just thankful to get one or two more chances that last game to put the

match away. Because, as I say, you know John is going to come on

strong. That is what great players like him do. I'm very thankful I

scraped over the line, yeah. The winning line is someone has to

contend with. You know, I've not been doing it, especially at the

Crucible for a long time, so, you know, you do get nervous. You know,

that's... All the players do. But, you know, I managed to somehow get

the the balls down towards the end. I can move on. You know, look

forward to going back out there. And Alan McManus will meet the 1997

World Champion, Ken Doherty, in round-two. Time for us to bring you

up-to-date with all the action from round-one. Marco Fu is m a good

position against Martin Gould. Fu leading 6-3. Hawk High beaten by

Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible last year is taking on Dave Gilbert.

Hawk High was 4-2 down but leads 5-4 at the end of the first session. Let

us focus on the All England clash between Judd Trump and Tom Ford.

Scrappy affair this one. 2-2 at the inter Val. Judd found his way into a

5-2 lead. It's Judd to play. -- interval.

COMMENTATOR: Might have left himself with a few problems. I think he

played a two cushion safety behind the yellow that went wrong.

Tom Ford reversing the situation here. It's poked its nose out. He

didn't want that. Unlike all the previous seven

frames, just seems in the middle of it, of each frame, he gets bogged

down. Well, he has left a pot, but... It

would be a brave player to go for this.

If he missed this shot, your opponent clears up, you have to walk

back and explain to your snooker mates why you went for it. "What

were you thinking?" If you get it, you can be a hero! What a great shot

that was. Terrific. Very brave. Unfortunate that red went to the

side cushion. He is digging in. He is hanging on in there, even though

he has what he considers to be a poor session.

It keeps him right in the match this.

Just mentioning the people who come with you. Yeah, you have to go

through the steward's inquiry when you get back to the dressing room,

don't you? "Why didn't you play a snooker on that shot? Why didn't you

play safe?" The stewards that goes on in the dressing room.

It looks good. Beautiful shot. Needs to slow down a touch. They are

starting to fly out of the cushions. Looked perfect. As the session has

got on, once again, Tom's flattening down the cloth and the cushion where

it may have been roughed up a fraction. So this is now not as easy

as it should have been. It looks like he might have the

angle to knock that red out. I don't think it's anily guaranteed. Play

behind it. This blue will make the scores all score. Under hitted it.

If he could have been confident of the exact line of that he could have

promoted the red closer to the pocket. But he thought he could get

in behind it. Six inches would have made a massive

difference there. Once again a missable shot down the

rail. Another tester. He didn't panic on that one. Got the

pace right. Yes. And this red looks to be tight along the top cushion.

That will make the pot that much easier.

I think he has just about enough angle. He doesn't have to play it

with too much pace. There has been no trouble along the top cushion.

Certainly on this table. Do you think he got another kick?

Another bad contact. It certainly looked like he felt that was the

case. It's hard to say. Hard to say.

Yeah... It dived into the top cushion pretty early. Once that

happened, it was never going to go in. Judd has come a little

straighter on this. We know full well he has so much cue power he

can, if he wants to, screw back to the side cushion, in between brown

and blue for the yellow into the right corner, the green pocket.

Watch the screw back. Watch the side. What a beautiful shot that is.

It was a beautiful shot. Six inches. I said a few times, a couple inches

more would have been inch-perfect. He didn't seem to hit ha hard, did

he? He pushed the cue through lovely and

smooth. Another bad contact. Took the pace out of the cue ball. It's

been a tough session for kicks. It really has. It's destroyed the

rhythm of the game, to some degree. Another look at that deep screw

with... Put left hand side, then it reverses. Oh, he's missed the green!

Two points in front, Judd Trump. Both players would say the balls are

coming off thick off the cue ball. They'll, once again, the shot.

Excellent pot. Short of pace for the brown and making it easy. Will smack

it in-off three cushions to get back up for the blue. Needs brown, blue

and pink. Putting in a bit of effort into the

shot, oh, where will it go? Didn't really look so confident on

that. He got down and really didn't give it, I wouldn't say enough care,

he didn't give it enough time. Perhaps a couple more backwards and

forwards motions. Needs this cue ball to slow up. That

I think is the killer blow. It just about has. A quick glance at the

score board. Blue and pink for possibly a flatter

6-2 lead at the end of this session. But, flattering or not, Tom Ford has

had his chances. It's not Judd's fault that he didn't take them. In

it goes. That will be end of session because they have run out of time.

They will get the table ready for this evening. Tom Ford will be very

disappointed to be four frames behind. Judd Trump won't be that

happy with his game, but pleased with the scoreline. He leads 6-2.

Very big frame for Judd Trump as they head into the morning final

session. Now the evening matches starting with Northern Ireland Mark

Allen taking on Michael Holt. All very tight there. It is the

northernishman with a slender one frame advantage going into the

second session. Let us take a look at how Ricky Walden is going on. He

was a beaten semi-finalist last year. He is taking on Kyren Wilson

making his debut. Ricky lead 6-3 after the first session. Wilson

pulled it back to 9-7. Ricky needs one frame for victory.

It seemed a long time since the last pot. This would be a clearance,

John. This would go down in the annals of great clearances at the

Crucible. Well, he did not look comfortable,

and stretching over, now Ricky Walden comes to the table, 46 points

in front, red-black, red-pink, would be enough to leave Kyren Wilson

needing a snooker. So, this black, would put him 54 points in front

with 51 remaining. Has he had his last chance of winning? Not quite.

The pot success in this frame is 55% Ricky Walden, 50% Kyren Wilson. I

know the feeling. That was a good pot, and he needs

the tower, 46 behind, 43 on the table, the green is the easy one but

that can only tie him up, whether black is, so, he will have two take

the pink on. -- have to take. Needs this pot. It is there, good shot. He

is keeping his slim hopes alive, now, 40 points behind, 43

remaining. We have just gone through the hour

mark four this frame. -- for this frame. Ricky Walden now just needs

the red. Doesn't need a colour. The most difficult chance so far. I

actually think he went for that, John. Where is the red going? It is

covered by the other red. There was a half chance here, if he rolls the

red onto the other one, gets onto the black, leaves that red over the

pocket. He has got to fully commit to this. It would be nice if the

first red that he hits hits the side cushion first. Fully commit.

He's got it, and he is on the black, and the other red's over the

pocket. Hold the front page! He just has to be careful not to

snooker himself when the black gets re-spotted. Well done.

You have to say, red - black, then possibly lay a snooker off the

yellow, because getting from yellow to green looks too difficult.

The further up the table he can get the cue ball, he would need to play

the safety -cum-snooker. He's right back in the frame, and if he wins

this frame, he is right back in the match.

He decided to go the other side, he wants to be able to dig down on this

cue ball, and he will not be able to now, he is too near the cushion.

Surprised he did not go up the left-hand side of the table there.

The problem is, now he is tight against the cushion, he cannot stop

the cue ball where the yellow is. He can still play a decent safety. He

looked like he was shaping to go up the left-hand side so that he could

stun the yellow. But, that cue ball tight against the side cushion makes

us look a difficult -- makes the snooker difficult.

He has played it well. Found a gap between pink and black. But that

does not guarantee that Ricky Walden can get the snooker, here. He has

hit it hard, and if he doesn't kiss the blue, there might be the chance

of a pot on this yellow. The natural angle is to play at playing ball,

not the cannon the blue of the brown. He can put the green on an

angle to get back to the brown and not get snookered behind the pink.

Why did he hit it so hard? Hmm. Yes. I agree. He could have just floated

the yellow in. I know that there is a lot of pressure, a lot of

attention, but you have got to give yourself a chance. Just the yellow

needed for Ricky Walden. He has looked at the potting angle, and it

is a thin cut. I have to be honest, I do not fancy Ricky Walden potting

anything at this stage. He has just about got it safe. I do

not ink that this yellow cups in. Ricky Walden looking at the potting

angle. If he has left the pot on, that was very careless, and if he is

playing for the pot, he has got to be careful of the in-off, on this

right corner. Well, he just overcut that, and has

the brown and has the brown Cumbria 's rescue? Looking at his body

language, well, he has got the snooker. -- has the brown come to

his rescue. Looking at the yellow, if he hits

it, he could put it, but it was a result, not to leave it. Is he going

to play the swerve? If he judges it right, he could pot the yellow. He

has swerved it too much. Those fractions at the moment, just

favouring Kyren Wilson. He was lucky not to leave that. He is hanging on

by his fingernails. Pretty good hit, it will cut to the

right middle but no value in taking it on and if he did, you would

almost certainly be running into the black. So there is not that position

on the green, but where is the safety?

He's having a look at potting angle, now. He would like to play this

yellow up and down the table towards the baulk end, but he has got to be

wary that the yellow does not run into the black. So it is not

straightforward by any means. That's not bad, he was in a spot of

bother, but he has played it pretty well. He has not put Ricky Walden

under a lot of pressure, but at least he got the yellow safe. And

remember, that is all that Ricky Walden needs to clinch frame and

match. That is a good safety, excellent.

But what it has done, it has opened this frame up. If Kyren Wilson could

get this safe, and that is a big if, he would have a chance. But he is

under the utmost pressure in the knowledge that his opponent only

needs this one ball. Can he get it safe?

Not very. Not very. It goes into the corner, it cuts into the middle. Is

this the chance that Ricky Walden has been waiting for? This frame has

been going over 73 minutes now. And in it goes. He is going to be on

the green, so that looks as though it is going to be end of frame and

match. Well, it has taken a long time to

get over the line but he has got there eventually. It has been a

banana skin for a lot of seeds, quite a lot of them have gone out,

fallen by the wayside, but he will be there in the second round. He

made hard work of it, Kyren Wilson started off the match playing well

but never really reached those heights again, and it will be a very

relieved Ricky Walden who wins 10-7. I played quite patchy, but I showed

spells of chewing the ball well, and delighted to be in the next round

and hopefully I can improve. The atmosphere is good, the crowd are

involved. I had a lot of tough shots that were

not going my way. It was a tough old game. And the pressure out there is

immense, and it is great to be a part of. That final frame was the

second longest in Crucible history, 48 seconds shorter than the one

between Stephen Maguire and Mark King at the Crucible in 2009.

Snooker extra is coming up next featuring the match between Marco Fu

and Martin Gould. I will lead the back at ten o'clock on BBC Two with

further coverage of the World Snooker Championship. We will show

you coverage of Judd Trump the Tom Ford. -- v Tom Ford.

Ted, I... I'm not interested in coming to see Lady Gaga, sir.