Day 13 Snooker: World Championship Highlights

Hello. We have some tales to tell in this year's semifinals of the

Betfred World Championship. Certainly not what we were

expecting. We have two qualifiers in the mix including the oldest man in

the semis for 30 years. We have two Asian players were the first time in

history, and we have a world number one who needs to win the title again

to remain top of the aisle. We will show you how both matches began,

starting with snooker's top man, Mark Selby, taking on Hong Kong's

class act, Marco Fu, who was taken to the brink in his quarterfinal

last night. He hasn't got a weakness, I don't think. He is a

very good match player. He has been here for a long time. He is

comfortable playing at the Crucible. It is going to be a big challenge

for me. There are not going to be any favourites as such, and I will

not go out there believing I am one of the favourites, I would just play

one frame at a time and try and stay focused and see what happens. It is

going to be a tough game. I have still a long way to go. Just need to

take it one match at a time. I feel as though I have played all season

and not had a day off. That is what the tournament does to you, it is

mentally and physically draining. But it is the same for everyone else

and the last man standing is the stronger. You can't predict the

nerves you will feel when you go out there. Hopefully, I will just stay

calm and play good snooker. Well, we were watching the opening exchanges

of their first session on BBC Two earlier, Mark Selby on his way to a

sprightly 3-0 lead them in the space of 33 frames. Marco took the last

frame before the interval with his best contribution so far at 72. It

is frame five now, Marco up I21 points. Willie Thorne and John Virgo

were looking on. Yellow and green required, but the

green does not pass the black. Obviously an element of good fortune

in that because he played the pot on the yellow. If he had got the pot,

the cue ball would not have finished there.

What a hit! Yes! Arm believable -- unbelievable. Marco smiles, but he

will appreciate that escape from Mark Selby. Lucky to have the

snooker, but boy, after an escape like that, you deserve a bit of

luck. It has gone to and fro in this frame. John, looking at it, he can't

get to the top cushion to play. This is almost unhittable, this yellow.

He has to play twice across somehow. What a tremendous escape that was.

There will not be a lot of pace left on this cue ball. It was a great

effort. What a hit! The shot of the championship for both of them. But

he has left a chance now for Mark Selby.

Well, this would be a steal. He needs the five remaining colours.

Imperative in putting this brown that he leaves a nice angle on this

blue to drop on what you can only describe as an awkward pink. But it

is made easier by the fact that the black is adjacent to that far right

corner. The next two shot Saki. Brown to

blue, blue to pink -- the next two shot Saki.

Didn't hit that well. Has he got any kind of angle on the blue? He will

have to make it. Jumped out of the pocket. The only reason that can

happen, and you see the puzzled look on Marco's phrase, is that striking

down, the cue ball was bouncing and when it hit the blue, it caused the

blue to bounce and not hit the back of the pocket properly. What an

amazing slow-mo that was. Unbelievable. This frame has had

more twists than a good novel. That was not one of Marco's best. Marco

Fu is just looking for the blue, Mark Selby, the three remaining

colours. He has had his chance. He is looking at the double. I suppose

it is worth risking. I was thinking that if it got close

to the double and rattled the jaws, it would go safe, and it has gone

very safe. It is not straightforward. The blue

is pottable, but can he go for the pink? He has to really cue this

well. I don't think he will play the delicate Bagshot. -- drag shot.

That was poor from Marco. He has left marked a chance here. This

time, if he puts the blue in that triangle, he will be on the pink.

Oh! So close. On the pink, but the blue didn't go in. And this time,

hardly any chance of getting on the pink for Marco. He would have to

play up and down. But he only needs the blue.

Ooh! He just looked up at the scoreboard, calm, cool and

collected. I bet he wasn't that a few seconds ago when that cue ball

was heading for the pocket. What a remarkable frame that was. It

got to its 38th minute. There was intrigued, good luck, bad luck, but

in the end Marco Fu won it and now closes to just one frame.

Some fantastic escapes and skill from Marco Fu. Into the next frame,

and the man from Hong Kong is trailing by seven.

I don't think anything is easy at the minute, John.

Well, if there was any chance of taking the prize money, I would take

it. Yes, take a bow! It's nice to see a

little bit of interaction with the audience. As I say, that is the

wonderful thing about the Crucible Theatre. Everybody is so close.

Sometimes, you are just frightened to breathe in case you put someone

off. Look at that for an arena. Is there a finer sight in snooker?

He obviously considers that one of these reds will pot to the right

corner. Played it nicely. It was a delicate

little shot. Could not have played it any better than that.

So, 31 points in front. Two more loose reds.

He will probably play for the pink office next read. -- offer this next

read. That is not his best positional

shot. I can't believe he played for this. Now he is studying the

scoreboard. Thought it was too risky to play for

the black, so this pink, and one more red needed.

No heroics here, just drop it in dead weight.

That may keep Marco Fu sitting in his chair.

HAZEL IRVINE: Selby was clearly enjoying himself out there and

trying to make good on the promise that he would stay relaxed this

evening in this opening session. He knows the ropes, this is his fourth

Crucible semifinal of his career. Into the penultimate frame of this

opening session, and it is Fu 22 points behind.

Played in nicely, and we know the pink will pot.

Obviously, the pink goes back on its own spot now, and that was why he

dropped it in dead weight. The red will clear the path for the black in

a few shots' time. So if he can get a good positional

shot off the blue here, this is a great chance to win the frame in

this visit. That is just about perfect. And in

the next couple of reds, he would like to get the brown out of the

way. Took the pace out of the cue ball.

The only good thing is that the red went in. From being a

straightforward shot, it is slightly awkward.

It is OK. Just managed to creep past the red.

Finding a path between the red and the black should not be a problem.

Now things start to look a bit easier.

That black, now, if you looks at the scoreboard, he needs two reds, two

blacks, and that would put him 35 points in front with 35 remaining. ,

so he needs the three remaining reds. The last one, no colour

required. Just looking at the scoreboard,

because of the angle, he will neither red. -- you will need that

red. I don't know about you, but it

appears to me it is just hanging on their session. -- hanging on this

session. Absolutely. This red to go 35 points in front. He missed a few

shots you wouldn't expect him to miss but I think Mark Selby in his

own way has been a bit frustrated with one or two poor positional

shots and perhaps taken on a short you would not normally take on so it

has been one of those sessions. -- shot you would not normally. Typical

tens opening session of the Betfred World Championship semifinal. --

tense opening session. Nice playing from Marco Fu. You

could see a bit lucky to not be hampered on the pink, waiting for a

risky blue, and Marco Fu took the opportunity. Now one frame behind

again. One more to play this session, 4-3.

HAZEL IRVINE: Best effort of the semifinals so far. It is played over

four sessions, of course, and this is the first of those which is due

to conclude this match on Saturday evening. The last frame of this

opening session, then, and Marco has just given away for my points. Back

to your commentators. Very surprised he has taken this one, to be honest.

Will he get a good kiss this time? The answer is no. The worst possible

kiss. If it caught the yellow little forward the brown would have been

possible. He is eyeing up the blue but there is pressure on these. I

know he has potted some terrific balls this evening. I do not blame

him for taking it on. He will be a bit frustrated with the white finish

there. Getting close to the last blue. A super shot. Very good.

APPLAUSE Not guaranteed to get nicely on the

black. There is not a lot of room. Obviously, the blue going again. You

need that to roll through about six inches. So much so, he didn't even

play for at! In trouble I can. -- for it. Running out of it here. --

in trouble again. He has to be careful. He has to avoid the brown

at all costs here. A little bit too much side on it. But he is on the

red. APPLAUSE

And he will be screwing back here, perhaps open a few reds, perhaps in

the pink into play. He needs a full ball kiss on the green. He has got

it, so that leaves him a shot on the brown. It could have been worse.

This brown is no certainty. Mark knows if the brown goes in, the

reds are in perfect position to make a sizeable break. If not, if

frame-winning break. -- frame-winning. That is very good.

APPLAUSE Yes, that was an excellent

positional shot. OK, he cannot pot this red and stay on the black, but

a good shot to be on it. He will need to be right side of the blue

and this has been his weakness all night but he has judged it well

there. Just come down the left-hand side of the table, there you go.

Always stay on the right side of the blue line. You will not get in

trouble. Somewhere in that circle will do nicely. It is able is I! --

it is a bull's eye. I think I am reflecting on what we have seen so

far this evening. Seeing that he probably deserves to win the season,

but Marco Fu has been hanging onto his coat-tails. -- saying that. So

far, the highest break for Selby 63 on the highest for Fu is 89. I think

he will possibly make a century. If he does not get a kick. Can you

believe that? That is the most unbelievable tech. -- kick. The only

good thing is the White did travel a little further through. If it

stopped in front of the red, he wouldn't have been able to attempt

it. Amazing, getting the balls perfect when that happens. The

blight of every snooker player's life, isn't it? The dreaded heavy

contact. APPLAUSE

But it didn't really affect the next shot, and that is what you have to

do, you just have to accept these things are going to happen.

He played that nicely. If he gets the 68 point, required. He played

that a bit strangely. Has he lost the black mac -- black? He has

covered the black spot. He does not want it on the pink spot. That is

pink and black tied up. Perhaps not the pink, maybe not the pink, but

obviously he did not want the black to go on the pink spot. The pink in

right middle. Is it worth taking the risk and playing the red to get onto

the pink? He is just having a look now. I think it is a bit tight,

John. If you finish a little high, you have no shot. The only thing

that would encourage me to try to play for the pink is it would be

nice to have the pink on the black spot. Playing this red, surely he is

going up for the blue. He has not been very good, it has to be said,

this season, getting nice angles on the blue. One look back at the

frame-winning opportunity. Hard work. That is the pink pot in the

left-hand middle. Can he get onto the pink in the pocket?

Can he get onto the pink in that pocket?

He will have to work hard for these. Once again, wrong side of the blue.

There is the blue line. You want to be on the other side of it. He has a

wry smile, walking round the table then, John. A little frustrated with

it. What's the blue, goes 61 points in front but still 75 remaining --

pots the blue. With the pink, and black, perhaps he will be out of

commission. He will need to pack more of these remaining reds, to

clinch the frame at this visit -- two more of these remaining reds. He

has potted some good ball tonight, i will say that about him. his

control. average, but he has potted some good balls, but he will need

another one here, tight under the cushion. i think the red just below

the black will go to the right corner, so it could be a natural

angle. he needs this blue and one more red, for a two frame advantage.

good shot. and judged it to perfection. Little glance at the

scoreboard. No heroics with his positional shot.

APPLAUSE Come back tomorrow afternoon

for the second of four sessions. This does not look any good. Marco

Fu is drinking his glass of water. I think he has seen enough of this

frame. APPLAUSE

Marco Fu, onto his coat-tails and Mark Selby has deserved the two

frame lead overnight. Her HAZEL IRVINE: They will be back for one

friend tomorrow. You appreciate the tape of

championship that has been when we know there is a 300-1 shot

45-year-old player in the semifinal who has not been there for 23 years.

We are talking about Scotland's rather I been Alan McManus who has

had to win six matches to get here so far as I qualified -- rather

urbane. But so, too, has his opponent, Ding Junhui, who has had

to win as a qualifier. I will go out and try my best to enjoy it, play

hard, and if I play well I will give Ding plenty of problems I hope and

if I were making it will be happy. The last time he played great. But I

still handled the match and this time it is another chance to go. I

hope I do every thing well. He is just an awesome player. When he is

on song, he is probably -- probably has the best cue ball control. He is

coming into form again and probably like myself peeking through pretty

strongly, through the qualifying, and it gave him a good foundation to

come in here and he is obviously playing amazingly but I am so

looking forward to playing him. He is a very tough player to play. I

have played a few times. I think we played a few times there and once at

the Crucible, so the key has very good safety. -- he has very good

safety. Typically under a lot of pressure.

HAZEL IRVINE: Speaking about pressure, it was Ding Junhui who

applied that, slipping in front moment into the match, screeching

away from the Scot with three centuries and breaks of 84 and 62 to

lead 5-0. The experienced McManus did not panic and took the next two

frames, no doubt to his great relief. Very important eighth and

last frame of the session coming up. Commentary from Dennis Taylor and

Stephen Hendry. Ding very rarely has that problem because he has a much

shorter compact cue action. This is not what Alan wanted to see in this

last frame, the chance of getting 5-3, and Ding Junhui back in amongst

the balls. Just a little careless positional shot there. Two or three

inches too far with the cue ball, just wanting to roll through for the

black. Yes, the difference in the cue

action, as Stephen was saying, Ding Junhui does not bring it back from

very far at all before delivering it. Alan has that deliver it long

pause, quite the way back before he delivers the cue. Ding is much more

compact. -- deliver -- deliberate long pause. No two cue actions by

the same in the game but a disordered knocking the balls into

the pockets. As John Virgo used to say many years ago, pot as many

balls as you can! Big break. He used to love that shot.

It is incredible how close Ding's tip gets to the cue ball, when he is

addressing it. You almost even see a shadow on the cue ball, when his tip

approaches it. Look at this. Look at that. What do you see? Oh! I suppose

if you thought about it you would not be able to do that. It is just

automatic, isn't it? All the years of practice. Jimmy White, another

player, a left-hander, who addresses. Sometimes you will see

him just feather the white and play a final shot, but he is like that.

He has the tip of the cue right on the cue ball. -- a foul shot. He

could have worked that a lot better. Yes, these are never guaranteed.

Because it is so close to the black ball. Possibly did not -- needed to

put up with a lot more pace and top spin to carry that through the reds.

He still has the red to his right middle. Screwing the cue ball with

the cushion and on the black. Good shot.

APPLAUSE LAUGHTER

I don't know whether Alan is seeing good shot or what.

He does talk away to himself! -- saying good shot. I think perhaps he

thought Ding had lost position and he was going to come back to the

table, then Ding produces that excellent red to his right middle.

Perhaps telling himself stories in the chair, Dennis. Possibly not for

repeating during the day! But, Stephen, what is it about the Asian

players? It is amazing. The middle pocket, they are so good. Some

fantastic ball is potted into the middle

pockets by James Wattana. And he never seems to miss in those middle

pockets. As we see this shot again, excellent cue ball control.

As has been the pattern in this match, whenever Ding gets in, it is

frame over. And in the two frames he has not come lost. Yes, he has made

three century breaks, and 84 and 62, has Ding. I suppose when you think

about it, 5-0 behind, Alan McManus, he would have loved to have got out

of it 5-3, but that 6-2 he would probably take that when he was 5-0

behind. 96%. I mean, that is terrific. And that big high break of

131. APPLAUSE

Wouldn't that be something, if he made four centuries in his first

session? It will be difficult but it is a possibility.

He has already made it back centuries and we have had 68 in this

year's Betfred World Championship. 86 is the record number of centuries

made at the Crucible. And the highest number of centuries ever

made at the Crucible in the World Championship, Stephen was just as

guinea... -- just asking me. It was 16. And John Higgins has had 14.

Surprised you did not know that one! -- Stephen's 16.

Yes, you would have to think, with that record, if Ding was to make the

final, -- that that record will be in jeopardy. Plenty of turn ups

there, and what a session. Oh, or it -- set-mac, I did not know

Kevin was in. What a player and what a

pundit. Has just been a machine today when he has got in amongst the

balls. He has had a 132, his highest so far

this year. He can have the evening off and they will be back first

thing in the morning -- at Kenny M4 the morning session, but this has

been a delight to watch -- at 10am for the morning session. It doesn't

matter about the black. It has been the Ding Junhui show this afternoon.

Alan McManus will not be too disappointed. He got two frames out

of it but in the end, with that magnificent display, Ding Junhui

picks the session 6-2. HAZEL IRVINE: Four centuries already

in eight frames from Ding Junhui. The record in a semifinal, by the

way, is five. That record looks a little shaky right now, doesn't it?

They will return for two more sessions tomorrow. In the meantime,

if you want more snooker, 25 minutes' time, Crucible Classics

over on BBC One. Ding Junhui and Alan McManus will resume tomorrow

morning at 10am. We can hardly wait for everything that is to come in

this World Championship. I've been following

the inspirational stories Along with hundreds of

other wounded, injured