Day 2 Snooker: World Championship Highlights

Hello, a very good evening to you. Day two highlights of

Hello, a very good evening to you. retirement. Before play got under

way, one last chance for a lap of honour.

Steve Davis waiting backstage. This arena has it always has been as it

always will be is all yours. He was my hero growing up. If you

speak to people my age it was him and Jimmy White. It has been a

privilege. I played him in finals I will not forget. To be up there, he

deserves it. It is not just what he has done on the table, it is what he

has done off the table. He is the Jack Nicholas of our game. On the

table, he was a proper snooker player. Off the table he is just a

great guy. He has been a fantastic ambassador for snooker, winning

machine. He became a sort of for success in sport. People bandy

around the turn greatest player far too much these days. Steve Davis

really is our greatest champion. The greatest ambassador we have had and

continues to be. He is the best player we have seen on the table and

the best ambassador for the sport away from playing snooker. He was my

idol growing up and he is still my idol today. I thought it was the

right thing to do, especially as my father passed away recently. It was

full circle and it worked nicely. We finished together. Lovely tributes

there. Thousands of people took to social media to wish Steve Davis

happy retirement. Steve Bingham -- Stuart Bingham, who was not out

yesterday said, I have just seen that he has retired. This is lovely

from Mark King who says he owes Steve probably more than anyone

because of the knowledge she passed on. Happy retirement. That us turn

our attention to today's snooker. The match we are focusing on is

Shaun Murphy taking on Anthony McGill. After the first session,

Murphy led 5-4. McGill then won four in a row in a cracking encounter to

pile on the pressure. We pick it up in frame 18. Murphy at the table, no

school. -- That springs out and comes towards

the pocket. Even if it does not come back towards the corner, there is a

chance one will go towards the middle. Look at the way the reds are

spread. Both reds have blocked the blue into

the corner pocket. If he is on this, it is very tight. Maybe able to get

on the green. Playing for the green of the yellow into the middle

pocket. He has got on the green nicely.

Won't get a better chance than this. To win the match the way the balls

are spread. His heart will be racing, there is no doubt about

that. He will be feeling the pressure. Just got to keep them in

check. It's just a case of holding himself

together. If he gets to 68, I'm sure he will be able to get sneakers. --

snookers. That looks a bit short. Three or four in the middle pocket.

Might need to hit a cushion now. Not straight enough on this thread to

get onto the black, so we'll have to use the cushion.

His heart will be racing now. This is the chance he has been waiting

for to close the match out. Marco Fu awaits the winner of this match.

Again, just a little straight on the black. Could go wrong, this. Well,

he has been very fortunate there. Trying to get on the two reds, left

of the pink. A bit of a result. This will be Shaun Murphy's only chance

of staying in this championship if he misses this.

It is there. That will put him into the second round of this year's

championship. Just read and black will leave Shaun Murphy needing a

snooker. He will not have parted many blues under the pressure he was

under there. Every frame he has one has been 60 or above. Superb. One

more red to be sure. Deep breath. Shaun Murphy's last

hope is on this shop. He has missed it. Oh, my gosh!

He doesn't have two screw them. If you watch the red again. Just popped

this black -- just pots this black. A wonderful performance it has to be

said from Anthony McGill. In every department he has been in

front of Shaun in this match. Can he get behind this red? He needs

the cue ball to slow down. That is unlucky. Maybe he can fluke it

somewhere. Anywhere. Hold-up. In the middle? What a fantastic

performance! Shaun Murphy will be disappointed. Anthony McGill

certainly took his chance. He finds himself in the second round of the

world championship. He wins by 10-8. I thought it might be the only time

I played the Crucible, so I had to soak it up. I haven't lost in the

first round here many times. I certainly have played much worse

than that and got through. Snooker is a two-man sport. You are playing

against the other guy and if that man plays better than you, you have

to shake their hand and wish them all the best. I lost a Shaun last

year so I was thinking I did not want to lose twice. If he can find a

way of bringing out the creative juices that the Crucible seems to

bring out of him week in week out, then he'll be a handful. The best

result I have ever had was last year. This is definitely the second

best result. Many congratulations to Anthony Gill. He now plays Marco Fu

in round two. That us turn our attention to Ronnie O'Sullivan,

looking to land his sixth Crucible title. This is what happened in

today's first session. Lots of anticipation to see how well

he is going to play here. Excellent cue ball. It is the best possible

start for David Gilbert. A chance now to see how well Ronnie is

cueing. That shows terrific focus. He leads to frames -- two frames to

one. Can Ronnie O'Sullivan to the mid-session interval with a 3-1

advantage? Brilliant cueing. And that is a magnificent break of 91.

Got it. Well, that is so unlucky. He has got him again. Very well played

from Ronnie O'Sullivan. He now leads 4-2. That was better. Finishing

break of 125 takes into just one frame behind. He is a long way off.

Some of the safety shots he has played are quite exceptional.

Terrific shot. And a great way to finish for the favourite. He will be

delighted, you would have two say. And he takes the session 6-3.

And the second of that match is tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Ricky

Walden has not then passed the first round. Stephen Maguire's misery

continues. Not out by fellow Scot Alan Manas. That means he has been

knocked out Jutting the first round every year since 2013. Well done to

McManus, terrible performance from Maguire.

I had to dig deep to find a bit of game because I was pretty much on

this afternoon. Sometimes in situations like that you think, I am

not the only one who has felt like that. You give yourself a kick up

the backside. Just thankful that I could fight again. Not good enough.

Basically, just not good enough. I have together to the drawing board

and try something different. I will have to try and improve what I am

doing. I am getting worse at the game and it is quite worrying. Let

us which attention to another player from Scotland. Graeme Dott, who won

in 2006. Taking on the two-time Crucible King but Williams. We pick

it up in frame six. Graeme Dott to play. There is no school.

Just lost the cue ball better. People stood take this cart on. A

prime example of playing it and a slight overhit. That is a wonderful

shop and deserves to be on this red, to be honest. -- wonderful shot. A

wonderful cut back to the black. So difficult, those.

His position is superb when he is in full flight. There is an opportunity

to go into the pack here. Bring some more into play. Just did not get it

that time. Did not get enough spin on it. Wanted a little bit more back

spin, but he is still OK. Just wondering if he is going to try and

kiss the black. Goodness me. That is a position to get yourself in!

This was the black bats was suggested he needed to play harder.

Touched that lovely, didn't he? I don't want to put the

commentator's is on him, but that is five blacks, five red at the moment.

This will tell us how he is feeling. Will he drop it in for the blue, or

will he come back for the black? He is coming back for the black, so it

is on his mind. Needed to travel, Pat cue ball.

Won't be getting on the black now. -- flat cue ball.

146 would be best. I saw that once. It did not please many people. You

can almost feel the groan from the crowd as he went up for the pink

there. Getting excited as we were here, in the commentary box. The

priority is the frame, of course. A little glance of the scoreboard will

tell him that he needs the red to take the lead. Could do with another

red and colour to stop Graeme Dott coming back to the table.

Lovely shot. Perfect on the red, just below the pink. Yes, they have

both got 100% pot success rate. What a shame. Maybe double, got the

double curse. Mark Williams is leading 5-1.

Williams in control of this one, but Graeme Dott then won the next,

thanks to a break of 57. Let us show you what happened in frame eight.

Williams to play, leading by a point.

I bet that shot looked easy, but believe you me, they can be twitchy

those ones. A particular dead weight, gets so tight to the black.

Let's have a look how nonchalant he plays this shot. He has got to be

careful here. The red is almost dead weight. Yes, and that is exactly

what he has done there. Such a clever little shot from Mark

Williams. I forgot to tell you, at the

interval we were talking about these players who have played each other

nine times. I have been told you played Hendry 40 times. It is

amazing they have only played the terry-macro each other nine times.

-- have only played each other nine times. Some of the top players play

each other more than nine or ten times in a season.

Hasn't come into this tournament with the greatest form, Mark

Williams. Didn't qualify for the china Open, losing in the qualifying

round. Maybe he is a bit more fresh than some of the players who

travelled over there. Massive target, to hit the pack. He

completely misjudged. There is a three-ball plant on here. I don't

think Mark even noticed this. It is a certainty.

Playing to hit the pack, missing it completely, and then he smiled,

knowing he had been very fortunate there. Nice little Bruce Ebola is

after the three-ball plant coming to the rescue. -- Brucey Bonus. But the

black might block the path of some of those reds, which is why he has

taken on the Green. A grimace from Mark Williams, telling you he is

disappointed to have finished short. He won't be disappointed after that

shot. One more red and Mark Williams is

assured of at least taking a three frame lead going into the next

session. It has been excellent stuff, hasn't it? Played really

well. Graeme Dott can only sit and watch.

Did that come in and out of the pocket? Graeme Dott says that's

enough and Mark Williams marches on. Wonderful work from Williams, Graeme

Dott facing an uphill struggle to stay in this one. This is what

happened in frame nine, Dott is on a break of 11.

That's very unlucky. Everything has gone wrong for Graeme Dott over

these last few frames. It was a good pot, it just kept off the red. --

clipped off. Unexpected from Mark Williams. Has

he left the red? He feels that the red at the back of

the pack will pot. Could finish below the black. Was kissing the

black any good? I think it is. Brought the black into play a bit

more as well. So he's got the chance he needed.

Hitting the middle one of the three, pushing everything into play.

They had to walk it around the front red. Looks like he's OK, though, it

is almost dead straight into the yellow pocket. Screw back a couple

of inches for the pink. Not quite sure why he had to play it

off the top cushion. Maybe it wasn't as straight as we thought up here in

the commentary box. What an opportunity now for Mark

Williams, an unexpected one, it has to be said.

The session on the other table finished just before our session.

Concentration could be difficult during this break, a lot of movement

going on from the other table. He is blessed with a good temperament.

Still needs the difficult red and as he is left-handed, its position on

the side right cushion is going to be a problem.

If the black was on its spot, obviously it isn't, he would go to

the red in the middle and not get further down the cushion. So getting

onto the next red is going be tough. But he is exceptional. The only

problem is, getting on the red and he's going to need a little bit of

power. What happened to Graeme Dott earlier. He couldn't have played

that much better. He's going to screw it in with a little bit of

power. We've already seen an underarm shot in this match so far.

It is possible to be missed, when you are screwing them in. He

couldn't have played it much better than that, excellent. That was

superb. So difficult, playing at that pace, but it never touch the

sides. That blue leaves Graeme Dott needing a snooker. Not coming back

to the table after that shot, it's going to be an uphill struggle for

Graeme tomorrow, he will be 7-2 behind. Wonderful session from Mark

Williams. He hasn't missed many, Mark

Williams, at all. Every time he has been in the balls, he has been 60 or

above. Graeme Dott will be a bit disappointed but he has been

slightly outplayed this evening, without any question. The session

clearly belongs to this man, Mark Williams.

What an excellent session. Graeme Dott has it all to do. Mark Williams

leading 7-2. Mark Williams is looking good for a place in the

second round. They will play to a finish in the afternoon. Another

Welshman looking to make a giant stride into the second round,

Michael White, who reached the quarterfinals in 2013 at the

Crucible, taking on the qualifier, Sam Baird. Nick and up all the way

in this one. -- nip and tuck. A chance for a good safety here,

around the ankles. -- the angles. It looked as if he played it but he

held his hand up to apologise. Is he taking on the brown? He is. I

thought he was walking around because he thought he had potted it,

but he must have realised that he'd missed it. A bit tricky to roll up

behind the green here. Let's risk the brown. Stephen Maguire missed a

very similar brown into the same middle pocket earlier this

afternoon, and it was even more difficult than that because the cue

ball was tight on the cushion. I always feel that those particular

shops, with the brown into the middle, they are so difficult and

you have two cue them so well, you have to be so accurate on these

tables. The snooker behind the green is often the better value shot. So,

that very difficult missed brown into the left-centre. It has given

this opportunity to Sam. A bit careless from Sam, though. He should

be further up the table to roll in the red and make it easy to get to

the black. He has the red into the yellow pocket and he hasn't even

looked at it. Just a few inches there, from his position.

As it gone far enough? Yes, back in position again. As long as he was on

that side of the blue, he's OK. It's all about trying to keep close

control so you aren't moving the cue ball around too much, having to use

the cushions. This is very impressive stuff from

Sam Baird. As you commented on, Dennis, it seems he has a very good

temperament, doesn't he? Just once or twice tonight he has rushed into

a shot but overall, excellent. And it's a testament to both players,

with there being so much pressure in the World Championship, such a big

stage, the biggest of all, they are still confident in their own ability

to play free-flowing snooker, which is wonderful to see. That last shot

is an indication of that, playing the cannon perfectly. Not an easy

pack to go into. He had this one is a bit of insurance. The one he

played to the middle, there was one to the left, guaranteed to be on the

pink. Might be straight this time on the blue but that doesn't really

matter. It means he has to go almost half the length of the table. He

will be straight on this and very little to do with the cue ball to

finish nicely on the black. He just needs to retain his

composure now because this is a really important part of this match.

I said we had everything in the match, apart from a century break.

Wouldn't that be something? Finish the session off with a century. He's

not bothered about that, he wants enough to make sure he is safe in

the frame. He has left himself a little bit to do. Could have a

better angle on the black. It isn't dead straight. He's going to have to

work the cue ball around to get onto the reds, with some top spin. See

how he decides to play it, is he going to screw it back or top spin?

He is screwing it back, the reverse side and he has played it well.

Excellent shot. That should be a frame-winner. Very impressive stuff,

this, Dennis, very impressive. Yes, it was going to be 5-4 either way,

and I think it will be a cracking match tomorrow evening, these two

young starlets. Stars, I should say. It is very much an early call but

you can see this match going the distance with both players playing

in this fashion. It's wonderful to see. Very entertaining snooker for

the crowd this evening, I'm sure they've thoroughly enjoyed it.

It would be lovely to see a century here. We've already had nine and we

are only in day two. Doesn't fairly matter about this entry, but it's

always nice to knock one in -- doesn't really matter. This is

really thin, get in! What a shot. Yes, a terrific round of applause.

This match deserves a century break. Well played, Sam Baird. Thoroughly

entertaining, this evening. Now, how are you going to get on the

brown, Sam? Are you going to have a go with the extinction? Just leaving

himself the double on the brown, Dennis? Do you think he's going to

be adventurous and try and do something special to get on the

brown? I think it's the double. It has gone too far or not far enough.

A cocked hat, around the angles and into the middle pocket. He's going

to try and cut it down to the question. Thoroughly enjoyable. --

to be cash in. Both players played very well this evening. Sam Baird is

delighted, what a win to take the overnight lead. That century break

gives him a 5-4 advantage. A terrific match and a great break

from Sam Baird. Playing to a finish in the evening session. That's it

for now, but Snooker Extra follows on BBC One, followed by classics and

we are back at ten o'clock on BBC Two. The match we are concentrating

on in the morning, O'Sullivan, can he make it to the second round? The

bye for now. -- goodbye.