Day 12, Part 3 Snooker: World Championship

If you were to tell me how I was going to play him my first two

matches, I would have taken it. just pleased to be in the

tournament, it is on the day, really. If we all played top form

every day, you would have the same results every day. Some days you

are good, the next day not so good. In time, you do have to learnt

another game, how to play good safety, you cannot just ride on

potting balls all the time, which was the only way I used to play. To

beat the top players when they play well, you have got to develop your

safety game as well. I think mine is just about as good as anyone's

now. I think he's probably the most improved player of the last three

or four years come he has worked on the tactical side of his game,

become an all-round player, great cueist, great temperament, side for

me, he is the manner you are going to have to beat to win this title.

-- he is the man. I cannot afford to have those of the sessions

against the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, especially in a quarter

final. Hopefully I can play a little bit better and progressed

and make the semi-finals. There is a long way to go, it is a long

tournament, I believe anybody can Yes, what a clash is promised to be

between Neil Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan. They have won 29

ranking titles between them, and scored almost 900 centuries, they

are both very highly rated in today's modern game. So plenty of

anticipation ahead of their quarter-final. Robertson edged

ahead, 5-3, the second session took COMMENTATOR: What an afternoon of

He has got such a presence in the He is back level again, 5-5 up.

Nothing looks unmissable at the moment. Neil Robertson, on the back

foot. Is it inch-perfect? T know, I think it is. One of the cleanest

part he has it all day. -- the cleanest pot he has hit all day.

Ronnie O'Sullivan leads 97 going I'm joined by former world champion

Ken Doherty. I suppose Neil Robertson did well to only be two

of frames down. He did very well. He is still in the match. But

O'Sullivan was in a scintillating form. Roberts has hung on to his

coat-tails, he is not going to give this up easy. So all to play for

tonight. Certainly is. The winner of this match will play it Matthew

Stevens in the semi-final after he beat his good friend Ryan Day,

having trailed 5-2 at one stage. He won 11 frames in a row, and his

back in a semi-final for the first Both other struggled a bit, he

struggled last night, it was really hard, but you have got to do a job,

and I managed to do it to stop I had plenty of chances, and I

spiralled out of control, really. It is very disappointing. Can't

change a lot about it now. It has been a long few years, it has been

disappointing, watching all the other guys have success, in the

world championship, where years ago I was getting to the semis and

quarters more or less every year. To be in the latter stages of this

event means the world to me, it is what we practice for.

Obviously disappointing for Ryan Day, but Matthew Stevens, what a

tremendous comeback for a player who had disappeared into the

wilderness. He has got his appetite back, and his game back, he won 11

frames in a row against a former top eight player. He is in the

semi-finals again, the 6th time, he is one of those players for the

long road. He loves it here at the Crucible, he is a force to be

reckoned with now. Any player in the semi-finals has got a good

chance. A reminder that tonight's other quarter-final is between Ali

Carter and Jamie Jones, Ali Carter is leading 9-7. Time to get the

players out now. What a dramatic night in prospect as we wrap up the

quarter-finals of. And these two matches could go all the way.

Please welcome added be done to has become a big star here on the stage.

-- a debutant. He has played the best snooker of his career so far,

he is finally delivering the talent he promised us he has. He has

knocked out Shaun Murphy, and he needs another two each evening. Can

he find the extra gear? Here comes Jamie Jones!

MUSIC: "Sexy And I Know It" by And his opponent, riding the wave

of his best form for months. He clearly has his appetite back for

the game. He has come back from 12- 9 down against Judd Trump, showing

his fighting spirit is alive and well. On the verge of a third

Cristobal semi-final. -- Crucible semi-final. Ali Carter!

And now, please welcome the most naturally gifted player ever to

grace the modern game. Vintage against Williams and again this

afternoon. Playing some of the best snooker we have seen from him here

in years. Four times a UK champion, three times a world champion, the

Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan! MUSIC: "Let Me Entertain You" by

And finally, I'm Australian import with a touch of class. He has

become one of the best players in the world in recent years. He has a

reputation for keeping ice-cool under pressure. He has won the

Welsh Open, the world open and the China Open, and went all the way he

had two years ago. Can he keep it going? Can you hear the thunder

from down under? Neil Robertson! MUSIC: "Heart of Courage" by Two

What a great atmosphere. We will keep you up to date with Carter and

Jones, also available online and on the red button. But it is

O'Sullivan and Robertson for us COMMENTATOR: Congratulations to the

two players. What a match this is likely to be. Two of the best

players in the world, going hammer and nails in the final session in

the Crucible. The second session was quite unbelievable. Neil

Robertson could hardly pot a ball in the first six frames, he did

remarkably well to win the last two, In the context of the match, those

final two brains, when he trailed 9-5, to win those last two frames

shows that Robertson is not going to give up in this match. No, it

will give him some hope for the Just take a little bit of time to

settle, wiping his hands down. Both of these players, playing a pretty

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The two reds past the middle pocket, causing the problems of poor safety

played to the baulk area. -- the Got to be careful of this one, Neil

He doesn't really know where the It was on its way back up the table,

He has nearly Lin did the cue ball up with the two reds and the yellow,

but I think robber tin can get past the second red. It is a risky shot

Would have been a bit risky, playing to the blue area. The red

to the middle pocket would have been able to have been snuck in,

He decided to take the bull by the horns and attempt that brown. A

He missed a lot of balls to the middle pocket in that session this

He has played for the pink, to nudge at least one red out of this.

He needed half ball contact with the reds, unfortunately, he got

full ball. When something didn't go right for him, he didn't seem to

take a lot of time in his safety this afternoon. He was down very

quick, deciding what he wanted to Still seems to me to be very much

in control of himself in this world You can't leave Neil Robertson a

sniff at a red. It is not guaranteed to come to that much.

Possible plant in the middle Can he get into the pack? Or the

Not so bad for the left-hander, this red down the rail. He didn't

quite get on to the one by the That first red from Robertson,

those were the kind of pot he was potting in the first couple of

matches. The opening red, that was the kind of thing he was knocking

Not the highest a long pot success rate, I'm sure that will improve as

Where the brown is is just about where he would need to play with a

side to get into the bunch. He might have to try and screw

directly into them without using The brown was the problem. If the

brown wasn't there, he would have Both players having a couple of

Perhaps he's going to try and contain the reds, not open them up

to much. He will be very Ronnie coming round to look at the

potting angle. If he cut it in plain ball, going in and out of

baulk, he will have to be careful not to kiss the red to the right of

Concentrated 100% on the safety, Steve was just saying to me off

Mike that when he plays it this safety shot, he is going to leave a

plant on, Ronnie will be playing safe off that red anyway. It is set

for the near jaw. If he hits it He played and Ince -- excellent

He is another risky pond. Not too sure how he's going to get back to

baulk should he play that. The question is, how does he get back

That is probably the only way he can get back, but he has got to be

careful he doesn't actually collide with the red behind the pink in

He found a nice gap between the red and the pink. Excellent shot.

a fabulous effort that was. Ronnie, tapping the table, as we see this

The gap he found was very tight, but he has covered it, as we can

see. The key with this match is the pot success rate. Robertson is

always above 90%, and he is just under, at 87. That is why he is

behind. Ronnie might have to play That was very risky. I thought he

could have played side cushion, very stony hit the red, and if it

goes in off, so what. Agreed, absolutely. He had to widen the

angle because the red was a long way away from the jaws. He hit it

half ball instead of quarter ball. An opportunity for Neil Robertson

he would have been hoping he got in the first rain. You can never

complained if you get a good chance, and this is a good chance. He is

strong favourite now to take the You wouldn't have played the in-off,

but you might have wanted it to go Too many choices? The key thing is

getting either pink or black on its spot. It is pretty much plain

That was a strange choice, he has left itself -- himself hampered. I

don't think he will be taken the The black is obviously the ball he

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wants to take. And the blue is the Got to be a bit careful not to

cover the black with the red over the corner. He has played OK, he

has got a chance now the balls are We just noticed Robertson shaking

Maybe after the spring, he will go out of the auditorium. -- this

He could have left his extension in the dressing room, just looking to

one of his friends in the box to go and fetch it. That shows you how

nervous you are, you normally expect to see people prepared for

He had a shot with the rest, perhaps he would have been happier

putting an extension on his cue. Willie acknowledges defeat in that

one. He decides to declare that one. The first frame of every session is

important, and a big one for Neil Robertson. He hung in there, and

now he is only one behind. He was 9-5 down today, and looking very

way would. He didn't look at the races at all, but managed to pull

something up from his boot laces, and got back into this match. To

finish decision 97, he would have been more relieved than Ronnie

would have been -- a finish a session 97. Just tell me about this

frame and the way he looks to you. He played a fantastic safety shot,

he put Ronnie in a lot of trouble, and did we have a look at the

He could have put the white somewhere in the jaws of that

pocket, and even if it had gone in off, it wouldn't have left Robinson

a clear-cut opportunity to go on and win the frame. He just caught

it on the wrong side. He could have tried to catch it on the inside, if

the cue ball went in, it is not a deliberate foul. But he gave

Robertson a chance. Earlier, we were wishing goodbye to Stephen

Hendry, one player who set quite a record here for the match at times

he appeared in the final, six times, Jimmy White, celebrating his

birthday today. We are saying a On the middle part of that game, he

realised he wanted the extension on and thought, where is it? He

realised he had left it in the dressing room. A very poor break

That one loose red at the back of the pack, he could still be on that.

Perhaps he played for it. He may be thought if he played it too thin he

did not be on the red. It is going to have to have an angle on it if

he has to get into the pack. The problem with those reds above the

black, some were to the previous frame, he's going to have to play

the screw into the black and he doesn't really want to. Couldn't

have played it better. He hit them, half ball, which he needed to do.

There is so much cue power going into the pack of reds. He really

did shift them around. It would have been easy to have been stuck

on a red. And it was cue power with the very little effort, as well,

which was a very important part of that shot. Nine times out of 10

when the pack is flat at the back the screw shot is not the shot, but

the fact that there was one red sticking out, he knew that if he

screwed off the pack, he would be kissing into that red. There, you

saw his stun into the pack. He knew the screw was no good and played a

stunt. It stands, and then stops. Billion shot, again. Or on that

particular shot there were three reds out in the open. -- brilliant

shot. The way to win a game of snooker is to get The Mall out in

the open. -- to get them all out. You would expect Ronnie O'Sullivan

to make a very large break from At first glance he is not on one

nicely, the one in the middle will cut but because it is plain ball,

he will be missing the yellow. So he may want to play a bit of side

He took no chances. Just made sure That was Neil Robertson's last

chance in this frame. That was a very poor break off that gave

This is the break up -- break off. He brings that red up past the

middle pocket. That gave Ronnie a relatively easy opening red which

he knocked in, and now it is I think a total clearance is

imminent, and how easy has he made this look? Should he go on to make

century, it would be at No. 58 of the tournament, Ronnie has had five.

Jamie Jones has had seven. That is a remarkable performance from Jamie

Jones. What a fly off the cushion that was. That has generated two

feet of pace beyond what he wanted. Ronnie is one of those players who

hardly ever complains about the cushions. He is now looking for the

The referee is going to have to be quick. He needs a pair plimsolls on

But lost three frames on the trot that was essential to get a good

start. Neil Robertson will be disappointed with his break off,

Ronnie O'Sullivan with 104, and he goes two clear again. 10-a. Ronnie

O'Sullivan doing what he does best, he gets one sniff of an opportunity

and he takes it that is. I am not sure whether Neil Robertson's

concentration was broken. He had to go to the dressing room to get his

extension and he broke off. Just watch this break off. He did not

concentrate on this break enough, and look what happened. He brought

the red up towards the blue, easy opportunity for Ronnie O'Sullivan,

and it cost him the frame. He will be levied. That was a great

opportunity but he handed the Upper -- the initiative back to Ronnie.

So great positional play off the black from Ronnie. Absolutely

sublime. He played two billion shots to split the pack from the

black and his control of the cue ball was sensational. It is a joy

to watch. If Ronnie continues in that vein, Neil Robertson will find

it hard to stay in touch. It is like one-Jan snooker. This is the

standard that these guys have said. Even a half chance, a safety shot

that was wrong, that can give your opponent an opportunity. You have

got to concentrate on every single Just a little bit of movement in

the crowd, some late comers to do not want to miss this one. Anyone

who has been away for last 25 minutes has already missed two

He is ever mindful of covering the red that is in open play at the

baulk end, and he has done. It makes it more difficult to play off

the edge of the pack because he does not want to kiss the yellow

coming back into baulk, so he is looking at the alternative. It is

the wrong shot to play back into baulk, in some ways. If he can find

some other type of shot, nestling into the pack, even. Far better

shot. Has he given six away? He is just lucky that that rolled up by a

full ball, and that almost hit the I am surprised you thought that was

a dangerous shot. You would have definitely played in your good days

off the edge of the pack. Yes, you're probably right! You were the

Master of the safety shot. You would not have hit the yellow on

the way back. He took on a dangerous shot known that the only

thing that would go wrong was to catch the far jaw, which has left a

Tough opener for Neil Robertson now. He made it look easy. A bit further

from the blue than he would have wanted, to play the screw into the

pack with enough power, so he might take one more step at getting an

ideal position on the blue, to get into the pack. Ronnie would

definitely play off the blue into the bunch. Neil has decided that it

is too near the cushion. Everyone plays a different way. He is now

perfectly on the red and that will make sure he gets from the blue to

the pack. Ideally, you like to be met table, from this distance, you

can keep the backspin on. You can make the ball fizz, once it hits

the pink. Similar to that. Well played. Ronnie made a fabulous 104

in the previous frame. There is a similar amount on here, the way the

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He did have a poor contact on the black when he was screwing back.

You saw the black bounce a little The only joke that could have been

on the cue ball chalk, was the chalk that he put on the cue,

playing the shot. I or perhaps it is another reason why the balls

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kick. Will we ever know? Good It has gone a little bit wrong, but,

one good recovery shot should help no Robertson -- Neil Robertson.

did not make it look like a recovery shot, did he? It is

Can you believe it? If you watch Neil Robertson over the past two

years, he is one of the best players in the world at winning

when he should win. That black, for Neil Robertson, is unmissable. It

just shows you what pressure can do here at the Crucible. We often say

that the first four tour of the points scored is more difficult

than the last 40 or 50, because the balls have spread better and you do

not have so many near the cushion. Ronnie will be pretty pleased and,

some would consider, favourite. the best line and the black.

Running round off two cushions. He's hitting the ball beautifully,

not that he doesn't appear. -- ever. The cue ball movement is a pleasure

to watch with Ronnie O'Sullivan. With Terry Whittle pace. He seems

to ring more out of a short than most players. -- with very little

pace. That wanted to go about 18 inches and because of the kick, it

went about 12. He has got to be careful with this one. Good

recovery. The pace that he played it because he could have missed it,

that would have been staying in the wall. He is looking at a possible

plant. -- staying in Noll -- the hole. That was a massive black that

Neil Robertson missed. It is going to want him tonight. Have you seen

him miss one like that this season? I think he thought he had done the

hard work, after potting that long red to the yellow pocket. You could

see him relaxing just a fraction. He will be hurting if Ronnie clears

up here. In stroke, he just never misses a ball like that. That would

Ronnie O'Sullivan looks like he is in punishing mode. Screwing down

for the baulk colours. Makes the position of the red so much easier.

He does not want to be dead straight on this but he can always

pull it back a fraction for the brown, if he wanted. He was a bit

careless there. He's going to have to get into this blue. He hit it

three-quarter ball and held it perfectly. He is striking the ball

Going in front by three frames for the second time in this match at a

Robertson will be disappointed. He started at 44 and missed the black.

And then Ronnie replies with a 71 clearance. Ronnie O'Sullivan has a

stranglehold on this match. He leads 11-it. In baseball, that is

referred to as a stale. We promise to bring you up-to-date on the

other table. It has taken some time to get the first frame out of the

way between Ali Carter and Jamie Jones, but we can look now at the

closing stages. He has played that with so much reverse side, and that

is going to throw the white off before it gets to the pink. It was

a case of making the pink heart, to make the black easier. -- pink hard.

He only needs the pink and black. Absolutely right. Watch the line of

this white. It needs to bounce off the top cushion or is it going to

stop? Black, to the right middle. In it goes. That was a massive

frame. Ali Carter had chances, and in the end, it is Ali Carter who

stretches his lead with that black. Ali Carter in control of that match,

three frames clear. Back to the action between Ronnie O'Sullivan

and Neil Robertson. Ronnie O'Sullivan taking full advantage of

that inexplicable miss on the black by Neil Robertson the previous

There will be a 15 minute break after this frame. If Ronnie wins

this frame, you can see the distances, nine for it to, and to

foot six from the pocket, and it went -- 9ft 2 and 2ft 6 from the

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pocket, and it went in like a When you consider he stopped for

three or four seconds on that last red, how quickly he puts himself in

a position where he is favourite to win the frame. This is the kind of

mood he was in when he made a 147 in five minutes and 26. He is in

that kind of mood. This is the key shot. Getting on to the red. Trying

to leave the blue half ball, he has all were screwed it. -- over-

screwed it. He gets the feeling that he is playing so well, that he

can up the pace, and they get the sense that that is the case, but he

has got to be careful. This would be a great brain to convert. --

frame. Marvellous shot, perfect angle. Neil Robertson is hoping

that this split will not work out for Ronnie. But it has. The top red

is possible. That red pushed further up past the pink to make it

pottable. This is a brilliant break. Just coming up to four minutes, and

he is one pot away from going 12-8 Four minutes and he has already won

Fantastic cueing. Knocking it in for fun, really. What a great

feeling that must be, at the World Championships. Ronnie will catch up

with Jamie Jones if he makes a century here, Jamie Jones has seven,

this will be No. 6 for Ronnie. is going to take some beating, in

this tournament. How can he play this good, and yet sometimes, he

does not want to play? It is If he does win this quarter final,

his opponent... Amazingly, the break N's there, but Ronnie

O'Sullivan now leads Palatinate. He needs just one more for a spot in

the semi-finals. You have been sitting there, saying that it is

incredible. I have not seen Ronnie play as well as this for a couple

of years. His opening shot in this break and then the last round when

Neil Robertson missed that black, look at the top spin he gets on it.

He goes in and out of baulk. And he went on to make another century

break. I have not seen him hit the ball this well for a long time. It

must be so nice to be able to play like that. He's potting for fun,

particularly when it means so much in the World Championship. Neil

Robertson came into the tournament and this match with people talking

about him, as the one to beat. Surely Ronnie O'Sullivan is setting

the standard on everybody else in the tournament. Yes, I saw him

first Hann, he beat me in the first round, Neil Robertson, but I think

that that must black might have cost him a chance of this World

Championship. We're just going to pop next door, Ali Carter against

Jamie Jones. Jimmy Jones at the moment with a break of 27, open to

get back into it -- Jamie Jones. We stop if you want to career and

watching, -- if you want to carry on watching you can do so for the