:00:30. > :00:39.Hello. Very good evening and welcome to highlights of the 2017 Betfred
:00:40. > :00:45.world snooker championships. Welcome back to The Crucible Theatre. Mark
:00:46. > :00:49.Selby is the man to beat. He was back at The Crucible last night.
:00:50. > :00:54.It's Mark Selby. This was part of the celebrations to mark 40 years of
:00:55. > :01:01.top-class snooker at this truly wonderful venue and it is tradition
:01:02. > :01:06.for the defending champion to open a new Championship. Selby, looked
:01:07. > :01:14.dapper last night, beat Ding Junhui here last year. Opened up an 8-1
:01:15. > :01:22.lead over Wesley Bryan in round one. We join in round one.
:01:23. > :01:57.-- Fergal O'Bryan. A couple of positional shots and it
:01:58. > :01:59.could change things. Possibly got something into the centre or yellow
:02:00. > :02:48.pocket. The black at the moment will be
:02:49. > :02:49.available into the right corner. Once he gets the brown out of the
:02:50. > :03:14.way. If the pink spot is not available,
:03:15. > :03:18.the brown goes as close to its own spot in a direct spot next to the
:03:19. > :03:21.cushion. That puts the pink and brown out of commission.
:03:22. > :03:41.Needs an angle on this. If he gets low on the black, he
:03:42. > :03:43.could open up these four reds. Or at least start to open them up
:03:44. > :04:02.away from the black spot. I think he'd settle for that. Though
:04:03. > :04:07.having said that, all the top spin and once the cue ball got back to
:04:08. > :04:08.the bed of the table, how it ran through, does the black still go to
:04:09. > :04:24.the right corner? Looks very clinical amongst the
:04:25. > :04:49.balls, very controlled. A sign of confidence, quickly off
:04:50. > :04:51.the mark, at the start of every session.
:04:52. > :05:19.Black doesn't go, I don't think. He's come down for the blue. I don't
:05:20. > :05:21.think he'll risk the cannon. He'd love to get on the red that's just
:05:22. > :05:54.above and to the right of the black. That's when snookers will be
:05:55. > :05:58.required. He's come out tonight and he looks a lot sharper. I know what
:05:59. > :06:02.you're saying, he did have a good start earlier on today. He wasn't
:06:03. > :06:12.winning frames in one visit necessarily. He was feeding off a
:06:13. > :06:13.few mistakes from Fergal. This is the Mark Selby we've been seeing
:06:14. > :06:26.most of the season. I also feel that a lot of people
:06:27. > :06:34.making him favourite because you feel the longer matches suit Mark.
:06:35. > :06:42.He's so much in control of his game, his cue action and his control of
:06:43. > :06:46.the cue ball, that he starts off a session, maybe in Top Gear, but
:06:47. > :06:50.maybe not. By the end, he's built up a head of steam. He's like a
:06:51. > :06:59.juggernaut. It's tough to stop him by then. He's really in the groove.
:07:00. > :07:05.All the top players, when they're playing their best, every time they
:07:06. > :07:07.settle down on a shot, the same preparation, cue action, exactly the
:07:08. > :07:12.same every time. Now just looking for one more red.
:07:13. > :07:49.And a colour. Fergal tried to be positive on that
:07:50. > :07:59.brown rather than... APPLAUSE
:08:00. > :08:10.He's been punished severely. It was your idea as well.
:08:11. > :08:29.You'd have got the brown, wouldn't you?
:08:30. > :08:35.Certainly don't criticise Fergal for playing the free ball, with a high
:08:36. > :08:39.break prize, Fergal probably thinking he's going to be knocked
:08:40. > :08:41.out, could have made a break bigger than a 147 with that free ball.
:08:42. > :08:56.Always a possibility. Only had one century so far in the
:08:57. > :09:31.Championship. That was Ronnie O'Sullivan.
:09:32. > :09:44.Oh, pity. But job done. Fergal concedes. It cost him the frame.
:09:45. > :09:48.Mark Selby now just one frame away from a place in the second round. He
:09:49. > :09:55.leads 9-1. STUDIO: They shared the next two
:09:56. > :10:00.frames before Mark Selby potted this black, to seal a 10-2 victory and
:10:01. > :10:04.becoming the first man through to the second round. A dominant force
:10:05. > :10:09.in world snooker and this man will take some stopping. Mark Selby
:10:10. > :10:15.through. Now an early finish, a week to prepare for the next match.
:10:16. > :10:19.Happy to get through to the next round. Happy with the score line,
:10:20. > :10:26.performance, not really happy with. I wasn't really killing the frames
:10:27. > :10:31.off in one visit, like I'd like to. Sometimes I lost focus and missed a
:10:32. > :10:34.silly ball. Overall, happy with the result and through to the next
:10:35. > :10:41.round. The two last matches I played, I won 10-9, finished at 2am,
:10:42. > :10:45.and the the. Two days, won it 10-9, so on Thursday my main hope with the
:10:46. > :10:49.draw is I didn't mind who I played hopefully a bit further down the
:10:50. > :10:52.road. Obviously in the first round against Mark, you know, this could
:10:53. > :10:55.be tricky. I'm confident at the minute. I've had the best season
:10:56. > :10:58.I've had as a prointelligenceal coming into the world --
:10:59. > :11:00.professional, coming into the world Championships. I feel as though I
:11:01. > :11:04.was out there playing with confidence. Body language was good.
:11:05. > :11:08.The performance wasn't as good as I'd like to. I'm still in the next
:11:09. > :11:12.round which is the main thing. I'd rather do that than play well and
:11:13. > :11:17.get beat. Great to be back at The Crucible. Not sure that's a record
:11:18. > :11:20.I'm overly proud of. But hopefully I can qualify again next year.
:11:21. > :11:23.Hopefully it will be easier to qualify and hopefully, I'll be a bit
:11:24. > :11:30.fresher when I come back to The Crucible. Hard lines, Fergal
:11:31. > :11:33.O'Brienment one of the main chal -- Fergal O'Brien. Ronnie O'Sullivan
:11:34. > :11:39.was back at The Crucible last night as part of those celebrations.
:11:40. > :11:44.Remember, Ronnie, five-time world champion, now ranked 12 in the
:11:45. > :11:48.world, hasn't made the final here at The Crucible since 2014, when he
:11:49. > :11:55.lost to Mark Selby in that final. Lots of fans out there for Ronnie
:11:56. > :11:59.last night. Gary Wilson is the Rocket's opponent in round one.
:12:00. > :12:05.Wilson making his debut. He's been beaten by Ronnie in the German
:12:06. > :12:11.Masters, and Ronnie led 3-1 at the mid-session interval. We join the
:12:12. > :12:14.action early in frame five. Your commentary team, Denis Taylor
:12:15. > :15:08.and Stephen Hendry. Ronnie looks very focussed after the
:15:09. > :15:12.mid-session interval. I shook hands with Dr Steve Peters who came out of
:15:13. > :15:20.Ronnie's dressing room. He cut this red in, that's a terrific start.
:15:21. > :15:22.He's still in amongst the balls. There could be more open after this
:15:23. > :15:26.next shot. Played it perfectly. Didn't have to
:15:27. > :15:41.force it that time. You can see how focussed he is
:15:42. > :15:46.there. He didn't even smile, almost tripped over the referee there.
:15:47. > :15:51.He's already played a couple of cracking shots in this fifth frame
:15:52. > :15:59.here. This is a shot that you don't see
:16:00. > :16:07.played that often. It's a great way to go into the bunch. You can
:16:08. > :16:08.generate so much pace with the cue ball with that running inside off
:16:09. > :16:13.two cushions. A couple of instances of frustration
:16:14. > :16:43.getting to him in the fourth frame. I think he's just OK. He's coming
:16:44. > :16:49.round to see if the two reds above the black are available.
:16:50. > :17:18.It will be very interesting to see if he can clinch this frame with one
:17:19. > :17:28.visit. He needed a couple of chances when
:17:29. > :17:29.he looked like he was going to win the three opening frames with one
:17:30. > :17:58.visit. That looks like it could be the shot
:17:59. > :18:48.that will give Ronnie this frame. This frame's not going to last very
:18:49. > :18:55.long. It's coming up to nine minutes.
:18:56. > :18:59.Frame safe, so he can just concentrate and see if he can get a
:19:00. > :19:40.century. What a shot that was. That could
:19:41. > :19:46.have prevented him from making a century. It's on now.
:19:47. > :19:55.I think it will be the first one in this year's Championship.
:19:56. > :20:11.Better get your skates on Brendan. The Rocket has lifted off.
:20:12. > :20:18.I think he even had a little smile there Ronnie, as well.
:20:19. > :20:29.There we go. The first century in this year's world Championship.
:20:30. > :21:06.Whatever Steve Peters said at the mid-session certainly worked. He won
:21:07. > :21:13.the frame with that magnificent century break. He extends his lead.
:21:14. > :21:18.STUDIO: The first century break of many, no doubt for the Rocket.
:21:19. > :21:22.Ronnie O'Sullivan won the next frame before Wilson pulled one back thanks
:21:23. > :21:23.to a very good break of 64. Let's show you what happened in frame
:21:24. > :21:31.eight. Wilson leading by 36 points. It's tight on the cushion. Advantage
:21:32. > :21:43.to Gary now. With the frame going awkward, that
:21:44. > :22:11.36 points advantage is a healthy lead.
:22:12. > :22:35.Quite a risky one that he took on there.
:22:36. > :22:53.Just got to pay special attention to this one. Yeah, well done.
:22:54. > :22:59.Even though he's got a healthy lead here, he will have to pot quite a
:23:00. > :25:50.lot of balls. They're all up the other end of the table.
:25:51. > :26:15.He's having to work hard and pot a lot of lower valued colours.
:26:16. > :26:22.Every chance now that Gary Wilson could get out of this match, just
:26:23. > :26:27.one frame behind, after being 5-1 down. And the manner in which he
:26:28. > :26:42.went 5-1 down. It's going to be a very important
:26:43. > :26:43.final frame of this session. This match is concluded tomorrow
:26:44. > :26:54.afternoon. I think he's starting to enjoy
:26:55. > :26:55.himself out there. First time at The Crucible. He's performing very well
:26:56. > :27:05.indeed. The days of the Crucible nerves has
:27:06. > :27:08.gone, because they're playing that many tournaments these days, they're
:27:09. > :27:14.used to the conditions, even though they're at The Crucible.
:27:15. > :27:21.Yeah, you still get one or two debutantes that are a bit like a
:27:22. > :27:26.rabbit caught in the headlights when they play here.
:27:27. > :27:34.Gary's come here with confidence in his game.
:27:35. > :27:41.He said last night, during the celebrations, he was looking forward
:27:42. > :27:45.to the match. He thought it was a great draw to play Ronnie.
:27:46. > :28:04.Ronnie would have been looking to press ahead, after the first
:28:05. > :28:18.session. Yeah, played in the German Masters,
:28:19. > :28:22.the only time they've met. Ronnie won that 5-3.
:28:23. > :28:43.How often do you see four yellows, four greens and four browns potted?
:28:44. > :28:51.Excellent stuff from Gary Wilson. He's far from finished. He gets
:28:52. > :28:58.another frame back. Now he's just two behind.
:28:59. > :29:03.STUDIO: Gary battling back in this one. Look at what happens in the
:29:04. > :29:08.next frame. Looks like Ronnie O'Sullivan has the ninth frame in
:29:09. > :29:10.the back. But Gary, 29 points behind, 25 left, he needs snookers,
:29:11. > :29:40.can he win this one? # There are a few balls in the way
:29:41. > :29:46.here and a two or escape of the right side of the table. The pinks
:29:47. > :29:50.likely in the way. He will have to beast precise with this. -- he will
:29:51. > :29:58.have to be very precise with this. And he has caught that pink. He can
:29:59. > :30:05.win, he could only tie with one snooker but given the six points
:30:06. > :30:10.penalty away there, it is just 23 the difference with 25 on at this
:30:11. > :30:13.frame has turned around on its head here. It is anyone's. Final frame of
:30:14. > :30:36.this session now. That was perhaps the easiest snooker
:30:37. > :30:46.he could layer over the ones he has done in this frame.
:30:47. > :30:58.Foul and a miss. Gary Wilson, seven. Incredible, what has happened in
:30:59. > :31:05.this frame. I can't remember what he missed at the end of that 63 break
:31:06. > :31:09.but the world, looked like he would be reading 6-3 and now all of a
:31:10. > :31:12.sudden, just 16 the difference and we are back to just one frame the
:31:13. > :31:26.difference. Just having it replaced and we will
:31:27. > :31:30.just show you, it was a delicate one into the middle pocket. He thought
:31:31. > :31:39.it was in but it just caught the jaw and if that had dropped, it would
:31:40. > :31:53.have been frame over. This is one of these awkward ones. Roddy will do
:31:54. > :32:01.his best to make sure it's correct, he won't want to gain any advantage
:32:02. > :32:10.whatsoever. We can show you where it was. That's where it was. Where is
:32:11. > :32:18.it now? That's pretty close. You wanted a bit more that way? I think
:32:19. > :32:25.he just wanted to get a thin stick when he swerved around it. Just a
:32:26. > :33:39.touch more swerve this time. Brown causing a slight problem. He
:33:40. > :33:46.can only cue to the side of the cue ball as you can see there. That
:33:47. > :34:02.looks like it might just be OK. Need to be brave enough to knock the
:34:03. > :34:07.green up and down the table, cue ball him behind the blue, a
:34:08. > :34:10.double-kiss can go off here. He has played it. Just caught the green a
:34:11. > :34:27.bit thin. Ronnie O'Sullivan leads the green
:34:28. > :34:32.and brown to leave Gary needing snookers. Needs to be pretty
:34:33. > :34:40.straight on this green. Absolutely dead straight, no way he can get
:34:41. > :34:48.onto the... It's a really awkward safety shot.
:34:49. > :35:23.He might just have to take this spot on. Try to pot the green.
:35:24. > :35:30.Sometimes, you stand there and you just can't see a shot. If you're
:35:31. > :35:33.playing an exhibition, you are trying to screw the white passed
:35:34. > :35:37.down the blue and road to the other corner. But this is the Crucible
:35:38. > :35:44.Theatre and it's the World Championship. He could play a
:35:45. > :35:50.containing safety shot and just put the green onto the black cushion and
:35:51. > :35:53.the cue ball near that right middle. Certainly don't get much advantage
:35:54. > :36:01.from that but at least you've got the green safe. How often do you see
:36:02. > :36:12.Ronnie O'Sullivan thinking about a shot not far off two minutes? That's
:36:13. > :36:18.the shot he tried in the end. To put the green and screw back but it's a
:36:19. > :36:29.pretty good result really. Pretty good result, Dennis? LAUGHTER
:36:30. > :36:35.This will be an easy shot if the cue ball was away from the cushion
:36:36. > :36:40.because he could snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan back. That shot is not
:36:41. > :37:00.on. That was a gem of a shot he has
:37:01. > :37:04.pulled from there from close to the cushion, to get the side on it, the
:37:05. > :37:09.sort of had to swerve it a bit and so ten out of ten for that one.
:37:10. > :37:16.Robbie has escaped from a few snookers.
:37:17. > :37:25.Now he has got the green up. Stuck the green up. A chance. What a test
:37:26. > :37:41.of your temperament here. Looks a simple enough clearance.
:37:42. > :37:53.This straightaway, he has not played the best shot.
:37:54. > :38:01.Nice little brush on the blue, though. So the angle he gets on the
:38:02. > :38:26.pink is the important factor here. He has got the angle on the pink. He
:38:27. > :38:31.will be absolutely shaking like a leaf inside. What a frame to win
:38:32. > :38:49.this would be. He's going to finish off. Needs to
:38:50. > :38:54.pull up the cue ball. UMPIRE: Settle down, please. Because the black
:38:55. > :39:11.wasn't on its spot, I don't know whether he realised that.
:39:12. > :39:18.He battled his way back and somehow he takes that final frame and now is
:39:19. > :39:27.just one behind. It's all on for tomorrow.
:39:28. > :39:34.Gary is here, practising. Crucible debut, how was that? It was great,
:39:35. > :39:39.went out there and felt comfortable straightaway so really enjoyed it.
:39:40. > :39:43.You had to dig deep as well. I went 5-1 down, not ideal but managed to
:39:44. > :39:49.claw back for the last three frames so really happy to come out 5-4. Not
:39:50. > :39:54.many players are in here late at night but do you fancy an upset
:39:55. > :39:58.tomorrow? I don't see why not. It will be tough obviously but I know
:39:59. > :40:01.if I can play well and how I am capable, there's a chance I could do
:40:02. > :40:06.well and hopefully get the results. You really entertained us today,
:40:07. > :40:07.good luck tomorrow. You can see the conclusion of that match tomorrow
:40:08. > :40:23.us. Our next match this evening, an old
:40:24. > :40:29.Scotland affair between Anthony McGill and Stephen Maguire. Stephen
:40:30. > :40:33.Maguire twice beaten semifinalist at the Crucible, had a qualified for
:40:34. > :40:36.this year's tournament so here's battled hardened for this
:40:37. > :40:42.Championship and remember, never beaten his fellow Scot Magill.
:40:43. > :40:48.Maguire dominated this match-winning five frames on the bounce without
:40:49. > :40:52.dropping a single point. We join it with Maguire 8-2 up. Commentary once
:40:53. > :40:57.again from Dennis Taylor and this time Peter Ebdon.
:40:58. > :41:04.Maybe try to use the jaws to get the cue ball out. He needs to not go
:41:05. > :41:23.past this other red. Very good shot. That was a lovely flick. If it had
:41:24. > :41:31.caught that red 4-ball, he would have been nothing. This is a tough
:41:32. > :41:41.pink, though. He has played that really well. He had a good, long,
:41:42. > :41:47.hard look at it and I don't think it does pass them red.
:41:48. > :42:01.You can tell by the black, it won't go past the red into the opposite
:42:02. > :42:14.corner. He is looking very comfortable out
:42:15. > :43:18.there at the moment. Just a little bit awkward having to
:43:19. > :43:23.bridge over those reds for the pick-up into the corner. If those
:43:24. > :43:29.reds weren't there, it would be pretty straightforward. He is having
:43:30. > :43:38.to strike down slightly making it very difficult.
:43:39. > :43:55.A lot of cue there from bridge hand to cue ball. Nicely played. That was
:43:56. > :44:11.not easy. That shot was played like a man with a lot of confidence.
:44:12. > :44:18.There is a gap he can just get around the back of the red and out
:44:19. > :44:26.towards pink or blue. You can see the gap. Did not get the gap but it
:44:27. > :44:33.might finish mostly of a colour. -- it might finish nicely on a colour.
:44:34. > :46:08.I think the pink does pass the red. It clearly does.
:46:09. > :46:17.That jumped a little bit. It got heavy contact and without that, the
:46:18. > :46:22.whiteboard have one further across the table and nicely on the pink. It
:46:23. > :46:31.just jumped a little, that one. As you can clearly see.
:46:32. > :46:47.He is fully focused. The heavy contact didn't take any of his
:46:48. > :46:53.concentration away. He went down and knocked the pink in as if it was
:46:54. > :47:00.over the pocket. He is creeping towards a 9-2 lead here.
:47:01. > :47:12.Used all of the pocket there. Colouring one more red is all he
:47:13. > :47:23.needs as we show you this red. Almost missed it.
:47:24. > :47:38.You see 65 ahead, 67 on the table so just this red.
:47:39. > :47:47.This really has been very, very impressive form from Stephen Maguire
:47:48. > :47:51.today. Scoring very heavily, a barrage of breaks, battering Anthony
:47:52. > :47:54.McGill today. Keeping him under pressure the whole time. Very, very
:47:55. > :48:03.impressive. He is playing trick shots for us
:48:04. > :48:28.know as well. Stephen Maguire has won seven in a
:48:29. > :48:44.row and now he is just one frame away from a place in the next round.
:48:45. > :48:51.Stephen Maguire responded and he made it through to the second round
:48:52. > :48:56.seeing off his fellow Scot Anthony McGill.
:48:57. > :49:04.I think that's the first time I've beaten him in tournament play. I
:49:05. > :49:09.don't know if the three qualifying matches helped because you can't
:49:10. > :49:14.beat matchplay so maybe I'm just sharper than Anthony and that's his
:49:15. > :49:17.first time being a seed and maybe he was under a little bit more
:49:18. > :49:23.pressure. He was definitely under more pressure than me but maybe not
:49:24. > :49:28.used to being a higher seed and coming down just play one match.
:49:29. > :49:31.It's quite different. He also has one week to prepare. We are back
:49:32. > :49:48.tomorrow with live coverage. At the end of the highlights every
:49:49. > :49:49.evening, we shall have a shot of the day for you and it has to be this
:49:50. > :50:18.tonight. This is from Gary Wilson. He battled his way back so hard. He
:50:19. > :50:23.takes that final frame and now he is just one behind. 5-4 to Ronnie
:50:24. > :50:27.O'Sullivan, it is all on for tomorrow.
:50:28. > :50:33.And that has the potential to be a cracker. Great victories for Stephen
:50:34. > :50:36.Maguire and the defending champion Mark Selby. We wish you happy Easter
:50:37. > :51:01.and we will see you at 10am. Goodbye for now.
:51:02. > :51:07.Ooh! I'm out of control and I love it.