:00:34. > :00:40.Hello. A very good evening to you, welcome back to the Crucible
:00:41. > :00:43.Theatre, highlights of all the day's quarter-final action from the
:00:44. > :00:53.Betfred snooker World Championship to come. Three former world
:00:54. > :00:59.champions in action, John Higgins, Ronni O'Sullivan and John Higgins
:01:00. > :01:06.who started his match against Marco Fu -- Mark sell by who started his
:01:07. > :01:07.match against Marco Fu. It will be a very interesting session this, no
:01:08. > :01:27.doubt. Terrific pot. Over 40 minutes since he last potted
:01:28. > :01:53.a ball. Oh, my dear. That's nearly
:01:54. > :01:57.embarrassment level for a professional snooker player. He's
:01:58. > :02:06.really struggling out there. Mark Selby comfortably in front. 4-0.
:02:07. > :02:19.Played it well. Got a frame on the score board!
:02:20. > :02:28.Inch perfect. Wonderful positional shot. Mark Selby you can see the
:02:29. > :02:34.fist pump, he was pleased to win that last one. He takes an overnight
:02:35. > :02:37.advantage 6-2. Mark Selby looking absolutely
:02:38. > :02:42.brilliant. Selby 6-2 in front, they resume in the morning. In the other
:02:43. > :02:48.quarter-final today Barry Hawkins, the 2013 Crucible runner-up leads
:02:49. > :02:51.Stephen Maguire of Scotland 5-3. Let's turn our attention to the next
:02:52. > :02:56.quarter-final match, Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on Ding Junhui.
:02:57. > :03:03.When we left you on BBC Two, Ding led 6-5 then he won the next to make
:03:04. > :03:06.it 7-5. We join it after the interval, frame 13, commentary from
:03:07. > :03:28.Ken Doherty and Denis Taylor. Can't really take that red on this
:03:29. > :03:30.time. Goes straight into the other reds that are surrounding the black
:03:31. > :03:48.there. Looking for a gap. He got the pot
:03:49. > :03:57.and found the gap. He's on the green. A cracking
:03:58. > :04:22.opener. The pink is tied up. It's not an
:04:23. > :04:25.easy chance. Couple of reds around the black spot. Maybe try and bring
:04:26. > :04:46.the black into play. Isn't it funny the way the ball is
:04:47. > :04:50.situated there, there are never two frames of snooker the same. Look at
:04:51. > :04:52.how they're shaped there, there's some sort of a little pattern going
:04:53. > :05:09.on there. Can only concentrate on the blue at
:05:10. > :05:27.the moment. He Haas a nice angle on the blue
:05:28. > :05:33.now. He can take the blue here and try and hit the pink full back. OK
:05:34. > :05:36.there are a couple of reds right of the pink.
:05:37. > :05:45.Feels a bit extreme but he has a nice angle now toing to the pink.
:05:46. > :05:52.Start the cue ball around the pink spot.
:05:53. > :06:04.I think he's OK. Is he on this red to the left of the black? Certainly
:06:05. > :06:07.a couple of reds to the left centre. Look at that statistic, tournament
:06:08. > :06:43.balls potted, 861. Ding Junhui knows if he takes this
:06:44. > :06:44.frame he can't be behind going into the final session of this
:06:45. > :07:04.quarter-final. That wonderful little shot he played
:07:05. > :07:08.on the blue a couple of shots ago's brought the pink into play, the
:07:09. > :07:11.black is now available into the corner pocket.
:07:12. > :07:20.And now a Hans to win the frame from this position.
:07:21. > :07:31.-- now a chance to win the frame from this position.
:07:32. > :08:02.A little bit congested around the black. He'd love to get the red left
:08:03. > :08:08.of the black out of the way because that'll make the black available
:08:09. > :08:13.into the left hand corner pocket. His target is 68.
:08:14. > :08:30.He can concentrate on the four loose reds below the pink. Decided to take
:08:31. > :08:40.this red out of the equation and that'll certainly open things up.
:08:41. > :08:45.Quite a clever little shot that because he's held the spot but he
:08:46. > :08:48.knows the black will have to go below the spot which will in turn
:08:49. > :09:10.guarantee him being on that red. He really looks very focussed and
:09:11. > :09:24.confident. He's doing this against a player
:09:25. > :09:30.that is in pretty good form, it has to be said. Just a couple of little
:09:31. > :09:34.lapses in concentration from Ronnie O'Sullivan's cost him a couple of
:09:35. > :09:42.frames. What a time to open up a three-frame advantage. O'Sullivan's
:09:43. > :09:50.got his hands full here with this Chinese player, that's for certain.
:09:51. > :09:54.He's made so many breakings in this quarter-final so far where he's
:09:55. > :10:00.clinched the frame with one visit. It looks as if he's going to do it
:10:01. > :10:37.again here. Stephen Hendry was saying this
:10:38. > :10:41.morning he thought there was going to be maybe a record number of
:10:42. > :10:50.centuries for any one match here. But they were making breaks to win
:10:51. > :10:56.the frame. There's not been as many centuries as we thought.
:10:57. > :11:06.We may see another century here. He'll concentrate on that now the
:11:07. > :11:08.frame is won. His positional play throughout this match and the
:11:09. > :11:25.tournament, he's made seven centuries in the tournament so far.
:11:26. > :11:38.Needs to play a good positional shot here. Didn't catch the bottom red.
:11:39. > :11:51.Still got a chance of a pot here but again, the cue ball is running
:11:52. > :11:55.around. He's in total control of it. Delightful. Don't see that very
:11:56. > :12:01.often where you see the red on the cushion double kissing. Needs a pink
:12:02. > :12:06.to get to a red. And he's so good into the middle pockets, that's a
:12:07. > :12:22.cracking shot. Couldn't get on the red from the black.
:12:23. > :12:28.There's all sorts of stories about century breaks if he can move this
:12:29. > :12:32.red which he has done. APPLAUSE.
:12:33. > :12:35.Believe it or not, Ken, this will be his 50th century at the Crucible
:12:36. > :12:45.Theatre, that's quite incredible. Certainly a milestone. We've had 52
:12:46. > :12:54.centuries already at this year's Championship. 86 is the target. It
:12:55. > :13:08.was equalled last year. That's century number 50 for Ding.
:13:09. > :13:24.This has been fantastic. It all came from that wonderful long red.
:13:25. > :13:30.Still the highest break in this year's World Championships. Stuart
:13:31. > :13:45.Bingham made that. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
:13:46. > :13:51.What a break that was from Ding Junhui. It all started with a
:13:52. > :13:58.cracking red. One more chance and he takes the frame, extending his lead
:13:59. > :14:03.to 8-5. Marvellous stuff from Ding Junhui, 8-5 up and here he is again
:14:04. > :14:09.on a break of 51. Back to Denis and Ken.
:14:10. > :14:15.He could be snookered on this red and maybe a lifeline here for Ronnie
:14:16. > :14:17.O'Sullivan. I think there is, you know.
:14:18. > :14:26.Have to really get into that cue ball a bit better. I don't think the
:14:27. > :14:28.bottom red of these two that are very close together pot so he's not
:14:29. > :14:44.on that red. The bottom of the two doesn't pot
:14:45. > :14:55.into the bottom corner pocket. So what is he going to do? Attempt to
:14:56. > :14:59.swerve. Oh! Well, what a chance for Ronnie O'Sullivan now. I wasn't
:15:00. > :15:26.expecting this. 44 points behind. Angle on this red below the black
:15:27. > :15:40.doesn't want to be straight. There's not much of an angle there
:15:41. > :15:44.so a lot to do with this. And watch the side. Well, has he got an angle
:15:45. > :16:02.to just nudge one of the reds here? APPLAUSE.
:16:03. > :16:05.Now, what an exciting finish we could have to this frame. Oh,
:16:06. > :16:16.Ronnie! Just missed a few shots this
:16:17. > :16:23.evening, shots that you wouldn't expect him to miss. That's proved
:16:24. > :16:25.very costly for him. That's the first one he's missed with the rest,
:16:26. > :17:49.believe it or not, in this quarter. That's a bit of a help to Ding. He's
:17:50. > :17:49.helped the red but pushed the brown into an awkward spot.
:17:50. > :17:58.APPLAUSE. Difficult red. Has he hit it hard
:17:59. > :18:26.enough? Well, that was a brave shot he took
:18:27. > :18:30.on there. A very, very difficult shot. He didn't quite get the white
:18:31. > :18:32.over on to the cushion and with the rest, that was very difficult
:18:33. > :19:00.indeed. I'll tell you what, Ken, he's going
:19:01. > :19:03.to take some stopping now, Ding Junhui. He's going to open up a
:19:04. > :19:19.four-frame advantage. Well, Ronnie surprisingly stays in
:19:20. > :19:24.his chair, only two snookers required there, but it's Ding Junhui
:19:25. > :19:30.who goes further ahead now, leading Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-5. Ronnie
:19:31. > :19:34.O'Sullivan ruing that missed red. It's proving a tough Nike for the
:19:35. > :19:45.Rocket. -- night for the Rocket. Into the next and it's Ding to play.
:19:46. > :20:19.Got to bridge over the side of the reds there.
:20:20. > :20:26.Oh, that's just about perfect and what a chance. The nine frames he's
:20:27. > :20:27.won, as we show you the blue again, he's virtually won every frame with
:20:28. > :21:31.one visit. There's the target again. Same
:21:32. > :22:04.number, 68. Long spoiler just come off the rail.
:22:05. > :22:12.That's what the noise was. Ding was just looking at the referee as if to
:22:13. > :22:30.say, what was that. He's noticed it now.
:22:31. > :22:34.Doesn't have a lot of work to do with the cue ball here. Plenty of
:22:35. > :23:49.reds available. Ronnie looking very concerned. He
:23:50. > :23:51.knows Ding Junhui is only another few pots away from assuming a
:23:52. > :24:24.five-frame lead. Cannon off the red to hold the cue
:24:25. > :24:49.ball. Perfectly well. He's not 100% sure. This may be
:24:50. > :24:54.Ronnie's only chance here if he can't get on a red. He's going to
:24:55. > :25:04.negotiate the cue ball in and out of baulk. As long as he doesn't hit a
:25:05. > :25:11.baulk colour, he'll be on a red. Has he hit it hard enough? Maybe not.
:25:12. > :25:32.Maybe one more chance. For Ronnie. Ding will leave that. He's looking
:25:33. > :25:36.to see if he can pot this but there is an easy safety shot and it looks
:25:37. > :25:46.as if he's taking this cut back on. Risky. Can't believe he played that.
:25:47. > :25:53.There was the easiest of safety shots in there to put Ronnie bang in
:25:54. > :25:56.trouble. And he's been rather fortunate there, he really has.
:25:57. > :25:59.Because once he took that on, he could quite easily have put Ronnie
:26:00. > :26:53.right in amongst them. He needs this cue ball to come to
:26:54. > :27:19.the rescue. I think there's a gap to the red over the pocket.
:27:20. > :27:28.Most other frames have been won with one visit.
:27:29. > :27:44.That earlier break of 58. Paved the way for this frame. One more frame
:27:45. > :28:29.to be moved. Doesn't matter about that. Ronnie
:28:30. > :28:37.stays in his seat. So Ding Junhui continues to open up the gap. He now
:28:38. > :28:41.leads the five-times former champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-5.
:28:42. > :29:16.Thank you. The final frame of this session. Ding Junhui to break.
:29:17. > :29:26.Huge frame for Ronnie O'Sullivan and that's a good start. Needs to win if
:29:27. > :29:32.this he has a chance of a fight back tomorrow afternoon. It's a must-win
:29:33. > :29:34.frame. If he loses it, I don't think he can come back, not the way Ding
:29:35. > :29:55.is playing. A good point there from Steve Davis.
:29:56. > :29:59.Is this not like any other sport. There is always a big question,
:30:00. > :30:04.which is more difficult, golf or snooker? The reason I think snooker
:30:05. > :30:07.comes out on top is in golf if you play a good shot I can play a good
:30:08. > :30:11.shot but in snooker if you are knocking everything in I have to sit
:30:12. > :30:14.and watch it. He has just lost a little bit of confidence. He has
:30:15. > :30:28.overscrewed that last positional shot by quite a long way. He is now
:30:29. > :30:41.faced with a tricky little pot and position. That is a good recovery.
:30:42. > :30:43.That was a wonderful short, Dennis. If ever he needed a frame-winning
:30:44. > :31:22.break, it is here. 28. 29. I think if anybody could
:31:23. > :31:29.come back from such a deficit it is certainly Ronnie O'Sullivan, there
:31:30. > :31:33.is no doubt about that. If you can get to 10-6, there are lots of
:31:34. > :31:42.matches in the Crucible from that deficit. He has left this short, and
:31:43. > :31:47.this is a key shot. If this works out he has a great chance. Just a
:31:48. > :32:00.nudge in a few more red. I thought he was going hard into the bunch and
:32:01. > :32:04.screwing back. I mean, it's not that he hasn't been in great form in this
:32:05. > :32:11.match, he was winning all the frames early on in one visit but Ding has
:32:12. > :32:15.just been excellent. Only a few lapses in concentration that have
:32:16. > :32:22.cost in the frames this evening. It has just been and this pot here or
:32:23. > :32:26.there. Every time he has been punished by Ding Junhui. 10-6, if it
:32:27. > :32:29.goes that way he might not feel too bad. He is certainly still in the
:32:30. > :32:52.match. A nice little cannon. 61. This break is only coming up to
:32:53. > :33:04.four minutes, it has been a fantastic response. That was the key
:33:05. > :33:18.in this session, he missed a few long pots early on. Well played,
:33:19. > :33:26.Ronnie O'Sullivan. Can he go on and make a century? The highest break is
:33:27. > :33:38.137 from Stuart Bingham, a possible 141 on. We still have a match on. He
:33:39. > :33:41.will need to play this well in the final session tomorrow afternoon if
:33:42. > :33:47.he is going to progress to the semifinals. He has it all to do but
:33:48. > :33:50.he has given himself a chance. Yes, he has had four century so far in
:33:51. > :34:06.the World Championship. He made a maximum break in 1997 at
:34:07. > :34:08.five minutes and 20 seconds. He was motoring back then. This has been
:34:09. > :34:24.very quick. , That is a shame. He will be a bit
:34:25. > :34:31.disappointed that he is not on the red. He had a chance the highest
:34:32. > :34:35.break. 104 in just over five minutes. Kang the late getting? Get
:34:36. > :34:42.in there somewhere. Oh, such a shame. Ding Junhui shakes his hand.
:34:43. > :34:46.A very good session for Ding Junhui. Ronnie O'Sullivan made a wonderful
:34:47. > :34:50.centre in the last phrase but it is Ding Junhui who will hold the
:34:51. > :34:55.overnight lead. He leads the five-time champion going into the
:34:56. > :34:59.final session tomorrow by 10-6. A nice little smile from Ding Junhui
:35:00. > :35:03.with Ronnie O'Sullivan fighting to stay in this year 's World
:35:04. > :35:07.Championship. They resume at 2:30pm tomorrow afternoon. He has it all to
:35:08. > :35:12.do. One man who many pundits think might land a Crucible title in the
:35:13. > :35:19.next few years is Kyren Wilson. He is up against John Higgins who is
:35:20. > :35:22.leading 5-3. It was 5-3 after the morning session and he won three of
:35:23. > :35:26.the last four including a break of 129 in the evening and we join them
:35:27. > :35:29.at 8-4 with commentary from Willie Thorne and Stephen Hendry. John
:35:30. > :35:40.Higgins to break. It looks highly likely that John
:35:41. > :35:45.Higgins will get a sizeable lead going into the final session, but
:35:46. > :35:49.how big a lead will it be? Kyren Wilson would really need to win at
:35:50. > :35:53.least three of these remaining four frames. 9-7 behind is not too bad
:35:54. > :36:03.but anything worse than that could be really tough. Judging by the John
:36:04. > :36:14.Higgins reaction he has left this red to the corner. How aggression
:36:15. > :36:20.work I -- how aggressive were Kyren Wilson get with this shot? He is
:36:21. > :37:49.playing for the black here. on the blue who wanted to be
:37:50. > :37:52.straight on this pink so he could run through with the red and onto
:37:53. > :38:49.the black that he hasn't got the angle. I am sure he will get there.
:38:50. > :38:54.He will just play for the loose red and get the red out of the way that
:38:55. > :39:28.is causing the problems at the minute.
:39:29. > :39:37.If he is able to just pop a black on the left-hand side pocket as he
:39:38. > :39:46.looks at it can force an angle. He will definitely be playing some sort
:39:47. > :39:51.of cannon off the black this time. He just let the cue ball travel a
:39:52. > :39:58.couple of inches too far. This was a little bit careless. He would like
:39:59. > :40:09.to be able to stun into the red to the left of the pink. The red eye
:40:10. > :40:16.was on about, that pots to left middle so it is handy. It is a
:40:17. > :40:23.little bit fortunate that one of these pots in the middle have to sit
:40:24. > :40:27.on the previous red. Ideally, if this is dead straight he is likely
:40:28. > :40:30.to screw on and off the cushion. He can judge a little screw eight or
:40:31. > :40:34.nine inches but he can't judge it properly so on and off the question
:40:35. > :40:41.would be as good as anything. He has tried to hold it and held it well
:40:42. > :40:53.for the black. It has to be a half ball. If he hits the pink full ball
:40:54. > :40:56.it will be nothing. Concentrate so hard to hit it half ball but he hit
:40:57. > :40:59.it caught a ball there but he still brought one into play. This was a
:41:00. > :42:04.very good pot in the middle. It was a big target from green into
:42:05. > :42:06.the bunch, with about one foot of space there but he could not have
:42:07. > :42:20.hit the better. He has finished low on the black and
:42:21. > :42:26.he wanted but he can play the cannon into the pink. He could do with
:42:27. > :42:31.hitting the pink full ball this time to stick on it because if it hits it
:42:32. > :42:36.hard -- half ball on the right-hand side he did lose a bit of it. He has
:42:37. > :43:24.hit it full ball. Knowing it would cannon into the
:43:25. > :43:28.blue he made sure to hit it firmly enough to leave plenty of space in
:43:29. > :43:30.between them. He had some sort of pot on and he has knocked it into a
:43:31. > :44:01.favoured position. The right side of the blue this time
:44:02. > :44:04.so now the flame is -- the frame is there at his mercy and he is almost
:44:05. > :44:48.guaranteed to get his second century.
:44:49. > :45:41.That was a lovely positional shot there. The red and the black.
:45:42. > :45:44.So the fifth century the John Higgins in this World Championship
:45:45. > :46:41.coming up. It has been an exhibition of how to
:46:42. > :46:49.compile breaks tonight from John Higgins. Just when he gets in, it
:46:50. > :47:14.virtually looks as though he isn't going to miss.
:47:15. > :47:20.The young man has got a lot to do in this match if he wants to get back
:47:21. > :47:28.into it. A magnificent break a gun from John Higgins, 135. He is now
:47:29. > :47:33.five frames in front, 9-4. Wonderful from it gives. Kyren Wilson took the
:47:34. > :47:38.next frame by John Higgins took two more anti-leads 11-5 and he's
:47:39. > :47:42.looking good for a place in the semifinals. They resume at 10am and
:47:43. > :47:47.he needs just two to book a last four place against Barry Hawkins or
:47:48. > :47:49.Stephen McGuire. A fantastic day is snooker we have had again here at
:47:50. > :47:59.the Crucible Theatre and this is the shot of the day.
:48:00. > :48:22.If he is taking this on this is really tough. What a shot! That was
:48:23. > :48:27.incredible. Take a bow Kyren Wilson. He will need more of that in the
:48:28. > :48:31.morning when we return at 10am. Remember John Higgins is two frames
:48:32. > :48:37.away from a semifinal place and Mark Selby is in a commanding position
:48:38. > :48:41.against Marco Fu. That is it from us for now. We will see a bright and
:48:42. > :48:59.early at 10am. From all of us here, goodbye for now.
:49:00. > :49:03.Full disclosure - you're looking at a room of double glazing salesmen.
:49:04. > :49:09.we're not quite the social pariahs you lot probably know and loathe.