:01:21. > :01:25.We will be seeing the defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan and the
:01:26. > :01:30.world number one, Neil Robinson, tonight. It might be worth your
:01:31. > :01:34.while staying up a little bit later. We had the Twix and between on day
:01:35. > :01:42.six because we have had some unfinished business and the start of
:01:43. > :01:46.the last 16, with a quarterfinal place certainly insight. That was
:01:47. > :01:50.the case for Mark Selby and Ali Carter. Both of these men know what
:01:51. > :01:59.it is like to go the distance at the Crucible. They have been two finals
:02:00. > :02:02.before, Ali Carter has been to two of them. They produced a session of
:02:03. > :02:18.real intrigue and quality this afternoon.
:02:19. > :02:29.Crucible crowd. Another century. He takes the first frame.
:02:30. > :03:14.I don't know if he's worked this out yet, but it is a re-spotted black.
:03:15. > :03:18.He just wobbled the black and he goes into the mid-session interval
:03:19. > :03:45.trailing Mark Selby 3-1. Absolutely top drawer. That is what
:03:46. > :03:54.you get in the Crucible, that was World Championship quality. Mark
:03:55. > :04:01.Selby wins the session 5-3. Also this afternoon, Dominic Dale with
:04:02. > :04:04.his first win at the Crucible since the turn of the millennium.
:04:05. > :04:14.Struggled to get over the line but Mark Davis is out. One thing you've
:04:15. > :04:17.got to do is put them under more pressure. That was one thing I said
:04:18. > :04:24.to myself I've got to do a bit more of, maybe not try and win in one
:04:25. > :04:33.go. I was definitely more controlled in that frame. Mark Davis is the
:04:34. > :04:44.fifth member of the top 16 to head for the exit door. That followed
:04:45. > :04:51.Ding Junhui. What of Ronnie O'Sullivan? He is currently ranked
:04:52. > :05:01.number 33 in the world that despite the fact that he is a double world
:05:02. > :05:06.champion defending. He is playing Joe Perry. He is known as the
:05:07. > :05:07.gentleman, because he is, and he is enjoying the finest season of his
:05:08. > :05:53.career. Facing Ronnie O'Sullivan, a man who
:05:54. > :05:58.is trying to win the world title for a third time in a row. This is his
:05:59. > :06:03.season so far. It has been pretty impressive. Of the seven major
:06:04. > :06:08.events he has entered, he has won three of them, including Champion of
:06:09. > :06:13.champions, the Masters, and perhaps most impressively, the Welsh Open.
:06:14. > :06:17.That was in March. He made a maximum and only conceded ten frames
:06:18. > :06:26.in-7-mac cheers. Truly extraordinary. Joe Perry has got his
:06:27. > :06:30.work cut out. -- ten frames in seven games. He won the first frame,
:06:31. > :06:37.Ronnie did not score a point. He surges into a lead as we join them
:06:38. > :06:51.in the fourth. Ronnie is five points behind.
:06:52. > :07:02.This could be good if it runs, just an inch or two short. Possible pot
:07:03. > :07:16.to the right corner. Not certain he can manoeuvre the cue ball. The
:07:17. > :07:18.number of times people are told to switch their phones off, it is very
:07:19. > :07:29.off-putting... He played it consummate lay. He knew
:07:30. > :07:36.what the angle was to get on the black. Good shot. Terrific
:07:37. > :07:43.concentration to get away from the shot and back down again after that
:07:44. > :07:48.distraction. It shows you that, mentally, Joe Perry is really up for
:07:49. > :07:56.this match. There is his pot success rate. Ahead of Ronnie at present.
:07:57. > :08:03.Of course, no distractions now. When you're watching at home you think,
:08:04. > :08:09.what is going on, where is the noise from the other table, that is why,
:08:10. > :08:13.the session has finished, so they have the whole of the Crucible to
:08:14. > :08:17.themselves. It becomes a totally different arena when that curtain is
:08:18. > :08:50.raised. I was a little bit surprised there,
:08:51. > :08:59.I thought he had a nice angle to maybe pop the black and move the
:09:00. > :09:07.left hand of the two red balls. Decided against it, did not want to
:09:08. > :09:18.risk the cannon. Prepared to just chip away at them. Decent chance,
:09:19. > :09:27.though. It was a superb opening red, played with lots of confidence.
:09:28. > :09:48.This is it. If he got round the back of the black, it was on.
:09:49. > :10:03.That tells the story, Ronnie has only ported one of his eight long
:10:04. > :10:04.pots. He knows that his opponent is cueing extremely well. He knows Joe
:10:05. > :10:34.Perry is a terrific player. He has had a few semifinals and
:10:35. > :10:47.quarterfinals and been very consistent throughout this season.
:10:48. > :10:50.It is amazing, all of a sudden you can hear the pin drop in the
:10:51. > :11:13.Crucible. It is hard to see him not clinching
:11:14. > :11:46.the frame at this visit now. He has the pink and the black to play for.
:11:47. > :11:56.I mentioned about the little targets you have, trying to win a session
:11:57. > :12:01.before the interval, 3-1. The other thing you have in your mind, if you
:12:02. > :12:05.can get to four frames, you know you will not be behind going into the
:12:06. > :12:07.second session because only eight frames are played in this opening
:12:08. > :12:12.session. 65 ahead, looking good for Joe
:12:13. > :12:28.Perry. Just need the pink. Every credit,
:12:29. > :12:51.you would have to say. He has queued beautifully, hasn't
:12:52. > :13:04.he, John? Yes, good opening red, made the most of it. 96% success in
:13:05. > :13:10.these first four frames. Ronnie is well down at 80% but I expect that
:13:11. > :13:14.to improve as the match goes on. But we go into the interval and the
:13:15. > :13:30.defending champion is going to find himself to frames addressed. If Joe
:13:31. > :13:31.can pot this black and disturb these reds, every chance of a century
:13:32. > :14:01.break. Not they are, but Joe Perry will be
:14:02. > :14:05.well pleased. He will not be too disturbed, he has not had that many
:14:06. > :14:11.chances, but Joe Perry has laid down his marker. He got the good start he
:14:12. > :14:19.needed and he leads by three frames to one. Joe Perry looking very
:14:20. > :14:24.assured and focused, and another break of 35 took him 4-1 in front.
:14:25. > :14:33.Here he is in frame six, 12 points adrift.
:14:34. > :14:41.What a chance for Ronnie O'Sullivan now. He hit that too thick. Not a
:14:42. > :14:43.bad choice, but he hated to think. You will not get a better chance
:14:44. > :16:31.than this. -- hit it too thick. Still a comfortable pot but that was
:16:32. > :16:32.not what he was after. He has got to regroup and play a good positional
:16:33. > :16:44.shot. It's amazing, when you go slightly
:16:45. > :16:47.out of position. OK, still got the brown, can he get himself back into
:16:48. > :17:11.the ideal position? He should take full advantage of
:17:12. > :17:23.this now. Joe Perry played the thin cut on the
:17:24. > :17:30.red and, in all honesty, should have got it. It is one of those, you are
:17:31. > :17:37.bound to Potter. Maybe he was concerned about where the cue ball
:17:38. > :17:38.would finish. -- bound to pot it. No excuse for hitting that too thick.
:17:39. > :17:58.Did not cure it very well. -- cue. But the one thing about it is Joe
:17:59. > :18:05.Perry will not be behind at the end of this session. The worst for him
:18:06. > :18:18.will be 4-4. He will be thinking there is a chance here to get the
:18:19. > :18:22.lead out of this first eight frames. He will not be winning this frame
:18:23. > :18:31.now, it is well and truly over with Ronnie O'Sullivan 70 points in front
:18:32. > :18:35.with 59 remaining. We've had 20 centuries so far in this year's
:18:36. > :18:46.World Championship. Not going to be straightforward to
:18:47. > :18:55.make the century but he will be trying because he is closing in on
:18:56. > :19:02.Stephen Hendry's record. Only 30 centuries behind him, who retired a
:19:03. > :19:04.couple of years ago. Having said that, she might be playing next
:19:05. > :19:49.season with the wild card. -- he. They are not going cleanly into the
:19:50. > :19:56.pocket but they are disappearing, that is the main thing. This is what
:19:57. > :19:59.this Crucible crowd have come to see. They have enjoyed Joe Perry and
:20:00. > :20:43.they are now enjoying this century. A wonderful 117 break, he has
:20:44. > :20:52.reduced his arrears. Two more frames to be played in this session. His
:20:53. > :20:56.second century of the Championship. The bookmakers have made him the
:20:57. > :20:58.odds-on favourite to win the title, but the final seems a very long way
:20:59. > :21:22.away form Ronnie O'Sullivan. He played that very quick, he is
:21:23. > :21:27.just suffering a little bit. Amazingly, he is just not getting
:21:28. > :21:40.through the ball. That was a terrific cut. It was
:21:41. > :21:44.dangerous because it was almost straight. If he had hit the red in
:21:45. > :21:46.the middle of the pocket, maybe he would not have gone that close but
:21:47. > :22:02.he is OK, he is on the black. That was a nice little bonus they
:22:03. > :22:04.are because Ronnie was expecting for the blue, but the jaws of the pocket
:22:05. > :22:43.has given him this opportunity. Just a little bit further than he
:22:44. > :22:46.would have liked, you would like to have been further on the blue then
:22:47. > :22:51.he would have got control of the cue ball. There are a couple of reds
:22:52. > :22:56.available into the right middle, you could just come off the top cushion
:22:57. > :23:02.and drop onto. It would be straight and simple. He just managed to glide
:23:03. > :23:19.past them. Would not want to pop the black if
:23:20. > :23:45.it went back on its own spot and was tied up.
:23:46. > :23:54.At the moment he cannot get that positional play which makes the
:23:55. > :24:03.break easy. That is a great shot, very well worked. The mend this
:24:04. > :24:14.shot. Look at the way he screwed through those two reds. It is how he
:24:15. > :24:18.sees that type of shot straightaway. When he has such a quick snooker
:24:19. > :24:23.brain, that shot was delightfully played, and he is off and running.
:24:24. > :24:42.The Rocket has certainly taken off. You don't win five world titles
:24:43. > :24:49.without knowing how to handle these longer sessions. 4-1 down, did not
:24:50. > :25:34.have to panic, just kept his cool. All of a sudden the frames are not
:25:35. > :25:40.taking very long. The last frame was short of 11 minutes. This one is 7.5
:25:41. > :26:09.minutes now. We're nearly at the end of it. Black and one more red would
:26:10. > :26:16.be enough. I cannot believe it was 1997 that we sat in this very box
:26:17. > :26:20.and watched him make that magical maximum in five minutes and 20
:26:21. > :26:29.seconds. That might never be equalled as long as the game of
:26:30. > :26:35.snooker is played. You can never say never, but I don't think in our
:26:36. > :26:42.lifetime. The red did not go in and he is disappointed. 75 point lead,
:26:43. > :26:52.67 remaining, to smokers are required. He should have reduced his
:26:53. > :26:57.arrears. -- two snookers. These two players met 15 years ago in the
:26:58. > :27:01.World Championship. Joe Perry has only got a victory in two of their
:27:02. > :27:06.12, but he did have the benefit of a victory in one of the longer frame
:27:07. > :27:08.events, so he knows it can be done. This final frame was a big one. Will
:27:09. > :27:56.he take a lead? It is not bad as long as the black
:27:57. > :28:02.pots into the right corner pocket. He is OK. I think he was playing for
:28:03. > :28:11.the one into the right corner. He will settle for this.
:28:12. > :28:16.Very good chance because as he gets on a red, and removes it, he is
:28:17. > :28:31.clearing the path for another red. Was not ideal that time, he might
:28:32. > :28:34.have to play from the blue now but he has a red of the other side of
:28:35. > :28:51.the middle pocket there, so it doesn't matter what side he gets on
:28:52. > :28:57.the blue. I think he can get on the red next to the black this time.
:28:58. > :29:25.Absolutely perfect. That clears the black.
:29:26. > :29:52.Showing a lot of character here. He was frozen out in the last two
:29:53. > :30:12.frames. He really is a class player. Good to watch.
:30:13. > :30:21.Immediately asking for the cue ball to be clean. If you inches of pace.
:30:22. > :30:28.This is a little thinner than he would have liked.
:30:29. > :30:34.He recovered the situation well. All set fair now for a frame-winning
:30:35. > :31:11.contribution. 51 ahead. He should do it. Just
:31:12. > :31:15.short of two hours. It could be up to the two hours by the time this
:31:16. > :31:28.frame is finished. That is pretty good going for eight frames.
:31:29. > :31:44.The average frame time his 40 minute and 22 seconds. -- 14 minutes.
:31:45. > :32:02.Which ever chooses, it is not straightforward on to the black.
:32:03. > :32:19.That is a lovely shot. That was not quite as easy as it looks. One more
:32:20. > :32:27.red. That will mean he wins the first session by five frames to
:32:28. > :32:41.three. The second session will be tomorrow afternoon.
:32:42. > :32:56.It is with a two frame advantage. That is something Ronnie will be
:32:57. > :33:06.very disappointed about. His long past success is just 29%.
:33:07. > :33:14.That one just struggled in. It would be nice if he could finish with a
:33:15. > :33:24.century. That would be doing it in style.
:33:25. > :33:44.His highest break ever is 145 and he did that here at the Crucible. I
:33:45. > :33:52.think this thread will clip into the middle pocket. -- this thread. The
:33:53. > :34:09.brown will put him on 99. He needs one more for the century.
:34:10. > :34:30.Will he be on it? He will have to fluke it. It it had. -- hit it hard.
:34:31. > :34:36.The balls did not run very kindly for either player. Joe Perry had
:34:37. > :34:38.just the start he needed. He leads the defending champion five to
:34:39. > :34:49.three. One in meaning piece of business to
:34:50. > :34:53.be sorted out from the first round and it is at the bottom of the draw.
:34:54. > :34:59.It features Neil Robertson and Robbie Williams. No, not that one.
:35:00. > :35:08.He is from Wallasey and it is the first time for him at the Crucible.
:35:09. > :35:21.His first session was rather target. He fell behind. Some players do not
:35:22. > :35:31.make the same amount of centuries in their career. We will pick them up
:35:32. > :37:13.in the next in the company of Steve Davis and Willie Thorne.
:37:14. > :37:24.We saw a very clinical performance back Mark Selby today in his opening
:37:25. > :37:26.session against Ali Carter. I would suggest this is on the same medical
:37:27. > :37:46.level. Tough to keep this up for the whole
:37:47. > :37:55.tournament. It is potting a marker down. Two or three players have
:37:56. > :38:00.played very well. If you cant get rid of this match before the
:38:01. > :38:05.mid-session interval, that will give him more dressed before going into
:38:06. > :38:12.the next match. That would help. He went off the ball a little bit. He
:38:13. > :38:16.did well to get through the tournament in China because he was
:38:17. > :38:20.struggling. He has not played well in the last two or three tournaments
:38:21. > :39:06.but he looks to be back to his best now.
:39:07. > :39:14.Through the gaps behind the black. That is a perfect position. Could we
:39:15. > :39:34.have another century? 95 centuries so far this season. I
:39:35. > :39:39.do not want to put a curse on this but the way he is going about
:39:40. > :39:44.break-building these days, it seems like he is in total control. The
:39:45. > :39:52.balls are open here but he is making every shot so easy. It is a massive
:39:53. > :40:17.advantage. He is leaving no distance. Superb control.
:40:18. > :40:50.A 100 break his session is not an achievable. -- unachievable. He may
:40:51. > :40:56.be able to disturb some of those with this short and come back for
:40:57. > :41:06.the blue. They are all covering themselves at the moment.
:41:07. > :41:22.He could not really catch enough of them. He has a chance, albeit an
:41:23. > :41:37.awkward one, to stuff the ball into the stomach of the rides.
:41:38. > :42:03.He is eyeing up the colours. It is hard to know.
:42:04. > :42:17.That was a tough one. He has not moved them very far but he has
:42:18. > :42:19.opened them up now. Excellent shot. There's also a chance of the highest
:42:20. > :42:46.break of the tournament. It must be. 137 is the highest so far. He is on
:42:47. > :42:54.a possible 141. He is worried about the white bouncing. He could still
:42:55. > :43:03.screw it across the face of this black. He is guaranteed to get
:43:04. > :43:20.nicely on the black. This is a good choice.
:43:21. > :43:26.I would like to know what Neil Robertson did with his
:43:27. > :43:32.break-building game after Stephen Hendry told him he was
:43:33. > :43:41.break-building more like an amateur three or four years ago. He went to
:43:42. > :43:55.ask him and he was told. He must have watched some videos of yours
:43:56. > :43:58.and Ronnie O'Sullivan. He must have talked to some of his friends who
:43:59. > :44:05.play the game and reassessed his thought process. He definitely found
:44:06. > :44:17.out you have to get the park open early. He talked about a baptism of
:44:18. > :44:32.fire Robbie Williams. He has made the breaks over 30. Robert the top
:44:33. > :44:44.of his form at the moment. It looks like he has enough.
:44:45. > :44:55.It looks like another century on the board. A big one as well.
:44:56. > :45:12.He just about got away with the kick. There has been so much being
:45:13. > :45:17.made of reaching 99. I wonder if that puts him off?
:45:18. > :45:30.I think he will be OK. He has other things to think about while making
:45:31. > :45:39.century breaks. It is there and that is a massive round of applause. The
:45:40. > :46:04.cue ball has hardly moved. It is as if it has been on a string.
:46:05. > :47:01.It is not likely to stand but it has one in previous years.
:47:02. > :47:08.Quite simply an outstanding break from Neil Robertson. The cue ball
:47:09. > :47:19.control in that break was absolutely sublime. He leads by nine frames to
:47:20. > :47:30.two. He followed it up with another century break. It is his 97th of the
:47:31. > :47:35.season. That is the most emphatic performance of the first round in
:47:36. > :47:38.Sheffield. Robbie Williams, not the most gentle introduction to the
:47:39. > :47:43.Crucible. Neil will have a big say in the final stages if he continues
:47:44. > :47:56.that sort of form. Next up is Mark Allen. Congratulations to him was
:47:57. > :48:05.up. Letters remind you of the shape and look of the last 16 draw.
:48:06. > :48:41.Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd. E-mail: accessibility@bskyb.com.
:48:42. > :48:56.It looks very good, doesn't it? We will be back very shortly. In the
:48:57. > :49:04.meantime, do sleep well and we will catch you again very soon.