Day 2, Part 2 Snooker: World Championship

Hello, I am backstage at the Crucible. What a start we have had

to the Championship. The man at the centre, Stephen Hendry, the seven

times champion of the world, he has appeared on the honours board more

often than anybody else at this venue. What an amazing build up the

had to the event. He qualified on Sunday, and went to China for a

business trip and came back on Friday night. He said this was the

new way. You come to Sheffield with no practice and jet lag. Clearly,

I had one year of qualifying and I was used to it. It is the mindset

you have to have to win the match. If there is one place I know where

If there is one place I know where If there is one place I know where

to win, it is here. I had different preparation this week. It is

probably not ideal, but I have come here the last few years and lost.

COMMENTATOR: At silly the fantastic. There is only one Stephen Hendry --

absolutely. When you get close to the 147 and the last four reds were

the 147 and the last four reds were in the open. Now, it is a case of

keeping your nerve. If there has ever been anybody keeping their

nerve better than Stephen Hendry, I have yet to see them.

Once again, inch-perfect. He is a player who will play for two reds

at the same time. Never once when he get in trouble.

Undoubtedly the best positional player of all time. A what a

performance by the seven times world champion. Stephen Hendry.

Superb. He leads after the first nine frames. 8-1. Can he get to the

semi-final? On that form, he can. It is the big question. He has not

been able to do it in the last few years. He has rounds when he looks

like he is back to himself but it is a false storm.

After a scintillating opening day, After a scintillating opening day,

After a scintillating opening day, this -- this is how it looks.

Excitement ahead of the opening bout of Luca Brecel today. Another

Newcomer the Welshman Jamie Jones gearing up today. The bookie's

favourite Judd Trump is under way on Tuesday. Mark Williams will

renew his love affair with the Crucible again. The match between

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Peter Ebdon begins tomorrow. Ken Doherty is far

The world No. 1 Mark Selby has a tough match against Barry Hawkins.

It was a fantastic opening day and it belong to Scotland. Probably the

best first day we have had. Stephen Hendry was the talking point. It

would fantastic. How will he performed? He has not been at the

cutting edge. He came out as a slight underdog and outplayed

Stuart Bingham. I was commentating and keeping an eye on the match,

which I know is unprofessional! It got to the situation where the

maximum chance was on. You would expect Stephen Hendry to get over

the line. Can he go the distance? My heart would like him to go the

distance, but my head is telling me probably not. When we get older,

you start to miss easy balls. In the heat of the competition at the

the heat of the competition at the Crucible, you cannot afford that.

John Higgins was under pressure last night. He was not in top form

and neither was his opponent, Liang Wenbo. The key at the Crucible is

that your long game has to be tip- top. Liang Wenbo missed shots. You

know the champion will come on. Disappointing for Liang Wenbo.

missed the awful yellow. A under pressure here. You never twitched.

Everybody else does. At the Crucible, and you get found out.

Unfortunately, the pressure got to him. It was a fantastic first day.

Let's hope it was the shape of things to come. Stephen Maguire,

something has lit his fuse this year. He warned out nicely --

warmed up nicely. And his opponent, about to become the youngest ever

to feature at the Crucible. And Mark Allen was in a tight spot in

the opening session, 4-1 behind but he pulled it back to 4-5. There is

a finale in prospect against the new boy, Cao Yupeng. Former world

champion Shaun Murphy starts his bid to become a multiple winner of

the title against Jamie Jones of the title against Jamie Jones of

the title against Jamie Jones of Wales. Get in contact with us. You

can do that by e-mail, by Twitter. Any burning questions and we will

ask our best experts -- experts. And you can see the maximum from

Stephen Hendry on the website. An amazing start yesterday with seven

centuries, including the 147, more centuries on the opening day ban in

the entire 1977 championship, the first time at the Crucible. 77 is

like ancient history if you were born in 1995, like Luca Brecel of

Belgium. At 17 years and 45 days he today becomes the youngest player

in history to feature at this venue. After a four qualifying victories,

he comes Luca Brecel, the first Belgian to qualify for the Crucible.

It has always been a dream to play at the Crucible, I am looking

forward to it. It will be a new forward to it. It will be a new

experience. TRANSLATION: There will be pressure.

I can handle it. I do not feel stressed during matches, it does

not affect me. He is a -- from a former mining town. His rise has

former mining town. His rise has been meteoric. He has made 6147

been meteoric. He has made 6147 breaks in practice. He is the under

19 European champion. TRANSLATION: He is calm. Most boys

of his age would walk around with their head in the cloud. He is not

like that. He is easy to get on with. It started for him when we

were playing on holiday. When we returned from vacation, we would go

to the snooker club every Saturday. That is when he began playing

seriously. I was impressed by his talent. We got to work together. It

is almost a miracle, the progress he has made. A when you produce

results, people expect more. And coming from a country like Belgian,

which does not have a big history in snooker, -- Belgium. The

expectation is big. If he continues to improve in the way he has so far,

I can see him reaching the pinnacle of the sport and his aim is to

become world champion, which I believe is possible.

As he makes his debut, his opponent makes his tenth appearance at the

Crucible. The best progress to date was a semi-final five years ago. A

disappointing first round exit last year in a final frame decider

against Barry Hawkins. We were intrigued when they entered the

arena this morning. It was a terrible start for Luca Brecel. He

finally got under way after the mid-session interval with a break

of 96. We are in frame six with of 96. We are in frame six with

John Parrott and Dennis Taylor JOHN PARROTT:. Wow.

DENNIS TAYLOR: And he might have got away with this. If there is no

red to the middle pocket, he has had an amazing result to scatter

the balls and cover everything. There might be one to the middle.

And there was. What a chance. Stephen Maguire gives a wry smile.

That was reckless from him. It was a simple safety shot to push the

red up and down. He decided to go for it. The way he missed it made

I am not sure if he intended to hit For a moment, it looked as if he

Left in a position when he could not get ideal on the blue and had

He hit that beautifully. This, again, another excellent chance. We

saw in the last frame how fluent he The pink and the black are awkward.

The pink is out of commission. I am not sure about the black. Very

He hoped for an angle to may been We know that the black does pot.

played that nicely. Some reverse He just got into it too much and he

He may have got a kick. I think the black jumped and that probably

He has a terrific long pause before he delivers the queue. I liked to

watch him play. He is fluent around He looks to have a terrific

Well played. He will stun through He is looking more fluent with each

shot. Once again, not quite the angle he wanted just to move the

red away. It makes the next His pot success rate is higher than

Stephen Maguire, even though he is 4-1 down. He cute that beautifully.

He will get on the black in a minute! He has had about seven go

so far! He can't quite get the He does not need many more pots to

secured his second frame. He is OK! He thought maybe the pink might

The mistake from Stephen Maguire is But he and will be disappointed

It was a greater effort. Will it be enough? It might be. He could have

taken the blue, which would have put in 68 in front with 67 on the

table. It seemed easier prospect. He knew he would get a pretty good

safety, even if he missed the black. The advantage of taking the blue,

it may go saved if you miss it, You did not miss that side of the

pocket. He seemed to rush that a Another shot I was going to put up

was... You see the shot here when the black is a fair way from the

pocket. He could have had the choice of putting a baulk colour

safe, as well. Sometimes sticking That was well played. If you look

at the blue, for somebody who is such a good potter, 63 in front,

There is one says red. And he has the angle on the black. It might be

risky to move the red, from the That is what he tried. Always knew

the one to the right of the pink would be available. It might have

He has the perfect angle again on the pink to bring the difficult red

into play and if this works, Stephen Maguire could pinch this

frame. What a blow that would be to And there you have it. Suddenly,

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He might have to play for the pink. He is playing with a touch of screw,

as you could see. If he is straight on the black, it will be awkward.

He will have to play with a lot of reverse side. The air was no way he

was going to take the pink there. - - there was. He was a nicking it by

There we go. A clearance to win by one point. This would be a hammer

blow for the young Belgian boy. Belgian Bullet, he was introduced

as. That was a long way away. This is a reprieve. I think he missed

hit that. -- mishit. That was close. How did it not go in the pocket? So

close. The reason I thought it was a good chance, I did not think he

could leave that on if he missed He is smiling, but... He was right

back in the match, had that yellows stayed in the pocket. -- yellow. It

That has to hurt the young Belgian player. At the start of the frame,

it looked like he would win the it looked like he would win the

frame in one visit. He did not and frame in one visit. He did not and

Stephen Maguire took the frame. Stephen Maguire had the better of

the next scrappy frame. Back we go, That was a pretty good break-off

shot from Stephen Maguire. That has been a feature of the match, the

quality of the break off in the match has been very good. In some

sessions, they cannot seem to get the cue ball around the table as

I thought it was a good break off... That was a fantastic pot, straight

into the middle of the pocket. will have to work on the break-off

shot, Stephen Maguire. Meanwhile, Luca Brecel has not quite got into

The reds will go all over the table. When you look at the scoreline and

C 6-1, he could win some of these frames. Some rough edges to take

off his game. The first time at the Crucible theatre and only 17 years

of age. Remarkable he is playing at this level. You have to cut him

some slack. He will only improve from the experience. I went out for

a meal with his parents and Luca Brecel when he won the Sports

Personality of the Year award. They may be disappointed at the moment,

but this is a star of the future. A When he gets in the balls, he does

not hang about, which is good to This has been shot all day he has

not got right. He has been the wrong side of the blue all day.

he keeps catching one of the colours back up the table. Can he

This time he played it extremely Again, a shake of the head.

Straight on the black. But he managed to force an angle out. He

does not lack cue power. Look at the angle he force. It was a shot

not available when we used to play on the thick cloths. They are so

And the quality of the balls. When I started playing years ago, they

So you played in Liverpool with Do It Will Be Nice to see him clear

up here or make a century. He certainly does not deserve to be 6

He reached 96 in frame five but I think he was just so pleased that

He looks natural when he switches That is the frame are more or less

He would be a nightmare to practise with in the club! You would be

picking balls out all afternoon. With the way he moves around the

table could you imagine refereeing? You would be busy. I am pleased he

Beautifully played. A little soft stone. He has taken these

beautifully. You can tell he is a real natural player. To be doing

this at 17 years of age is something a bit special. This will

be the 10th century in the this year's Betfred.com World

Fantastic! Well done! Brilliant! And nice little touch from Stephen

Maguire there. Well, a little bit of exhibition stuff. Nothing wrong

with that. Look at that shot. You are looking at a possible future

He tried to book that and off the black there. But a little smile

there from Luca Brecel. He must be feeling much better now. But he is

still a long way behind. 6 - 22 Stephen Maguire. Buoyed

considerably by that Luca Brecel is now only 6 - 3 behind having been a

6 - 1 behind. What do you make of the young man? Very impressed. The

boy moves around the table well and has a great demeanour. He is

unlucky to be 6 - 3 behind in that session. It could have been closer.

Stephen Maguire's top rate, 54. And out scored in the last three frames

by his opponent. Funny how these things work. Yes but experience

counts for something. Clenching a frame as a very important part of

the game. Luca Brecel could be within one frame if he had not

messed up in that early frame. Stephen Maguire knows the

importance of an all-round game. Luca Brecel, at the age of 17, it

is not something for him to worry about just yet. It will come and he

will become an all-rounder. For the moment, not them and all for the

place, scared the life out of your opponents, you might get beaten up

mocked, but along the line, all the pieces of the jet shot will fit

into place. -- all the pieces of the picture checks off. A lot to

everybody in Belgium where his matches are streaming live.

record number of Chinese entrance this year. For from the mainland

and one from Hong Kong. Liang Wenbo went out last night despite an

excellent chance to see off John Higgins. Deng Junhui is well

fancied. But the least experienced is to how you pen. Only 21. -- how

you pen. What a time to qualify for a ranking event. His first time.

Last night against Marke Allen see Gritty and determined, a great

potter. Very determined. Good to see him fulfil his potential.

Winning a tournament in China will put him up another level. We need

characters willing to say what they think. He does not like sitting on

the fence. He does not mind upsetting people and has the

courage to do it. One of the few players I would like to have my

money on in the final frame of a match. If he is on this it would be

an absolute bonus. Wow! 1 - 0 or Mark Allen. What a magnificent

recovery. What a shot that was. could not take that port for

granted. That comes as great relief. That is an excellent shot. He won't

play a better shot in this match. Definitely three - 0 now.

excellent shot that deserves to win the frame. He has missed and he

trails 3 - 1. Blow me over with a feather. What a shot! What a port

that was. Wow! He leads 5 - 2. Not a good time to be losing your form.

Very good. The best he has hit for a long time. A real cracker, that

shot. Being honest, he has got out of jail. Good grief. I have never

seen anything like that and my They will play to a finish this

afternoon and commentating will be John Virgo and Terry Griffiths.

Good afternoon, gents. Last night, Cao Yupeng was 4th - 1 up. What

kind of test does he have against Mark Allen this afternoon? To it is

the fear of the unknown. He had the perfect start, the young lad from

China, winning the first three frames. But he still has got a job

to do today, Mark Allen. scoreboard never lies but Mark

Allen is more comfortable at 5 - 4 behind than he was at 5 - 2 behind.

This is the place you have to do it otherwise you're on the way home.

And a quick what about Shaun Murphy versus Jamie Jones, a fellow

Welshman to yourself. He turned professional six years ago. He

struggled originally but what has made the difference in the last

couple of years? He has gained experience and had a wonderful win

in the qualifiers. I spoke to him and he is comfortable and excited.

It is great for young players to qualify for the Crucible. We have

back guest MC he with Rob Walker at the London Marathon. One of Jamie

Jones's mentors. Poll for to Mr Lloyd Davies. -- over two. Let's

get this show on the road! Ladies and gentlemen. On Table 1, a

Crucible debut, flying up the rankings, the Welsh wonder, Jamie

, and his opponents. The 2005 world champion. Winner of the Brazil

Also making his debut at the Crucible. The current Asian Under

21 champion, Carl you pen! -- Cao And his opponents. A finalist in

the United Kingdom championship and winner of the World Open - Mark

Table 1 is available on the red button and online. But we will stay

with table to which is said to play to a finish this afternoon. I will

hand you back to John Virgo and Thank you very much, Hazel. The

Crucible Theatre, first-round, always pressure on the seed. I can

assume you, John, in the dressing rooms, pressure is not a word I

would have used for Marke Allen. We were all a little bit shocked by

the first session. I watch Cao Yupeng play Tom Ford and the

qualifiers but he was not as good as he was last night. Excellent.

That's what I meant earlier. The fact he has never seen much of him

play. They can take you by surprise. I am sure that Marke Allen was a

bit shocked to find himself 3 - 0 behind. Fair play, he has come back.

And good safety to get started. What we call bread and butter

safety shot. Caught the blue on the He will be disappointed to have

missed that. You have got to stamp your authority early in the match.

Missed an opportunity there and left his opponent and nice easy

Mark Allen is such a good fighter but like Alex Higgins you can

almost rely on winning when it gets towards the end. But it does not

always get towards the end. I know the type of player you mean. They

Did not go into them with a great amount of pace. But it could not

Decent opportunity, this, to score. I thought that was a foul. I

thought he hit the white twice. Well, if he has dropped the black

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and. -- dropped the black and. Just He looks very intense. There are

now so out there. You can be certain of that. But it is just the

start you need in any session - get your hand on the table, get the cue

arm going. If but when he miscued and ran out of position on the

black I thought that was the end of this visit. Not so. Back in prime

He had the first chance. Missed a red you would normally expect him

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Did not quite get the intended spin That has turned out to be at decent

He has notched one no further,... That was not a good idea. Another

Plague that nice life. Could not get a cue ball much further away

from the cushion. -- played that We said yesterday that when the

cloth is nude there is a tendency to slide a little bit more. --

cloth is new. You can see the disappointment on his face there.

Well, the black went in, but he would have known that it was not a

good shot and of course it carries He decided to go for that and it's

screwed back towards the ball. You have to be careful not to try to

force the issue. There is nothing wrong with taking that shot on. The

type of shot he plays regularly. But you do not want to start

pushing the boat out and trying to He struck that well. Clean as a

This is an excellent positional A different type of cue action. His

technique works very well for him. He keeps the tap quite still at the

ball for a while. Brings it up and then drags it back once, more or

less, and hits the ball. Everybody has different styles and there is

no right way or wrong way. Well, there is a right way, way Newport

all the balls! -- way Newport all On these quick tables and nice cue

action is enough. But he mastered the black of the sport and that

this level that is a very dangerous thing to do. -- he missed the black

Doesn't look as if you get an angle Important visit this. Both players

need to get a bit of confidence out there. He will know as well as any

of was that you must punish your opponent when the make a mistake.

That lack mist from the spot, you must keep your opponent in his

Obviously the pink will go into this left corner but he has just

overrun it slightly. Right handed, he would be fine, but as a left-

hander, he will have to play this with the rest. He does not play

with either hand does he, Terry? little bit of right hand play, but

not in these situations. Well, I Potted the pink but did not wish

the bar out too much with the positional side of the shot. This

might look easy but it is a little bit tricky this red, to the left

Know. Just a little tester for ham. I expected him to get it. But it

was just one of those shots where you just need to pull the cue ball

and there is every chance you will miss the port. Did not get through

the ball quick enough there. He had to slow it down a little to hold

the white but the ball was always got on the thin side. Chance is

gone. Absolutely. Right in the heart of the pocket. He is only

looking for the colour and one more red. Mark Allen will then need a

snooker in this fashion frame of the final session. -- finished

Just a red needed to go 4-4 ahead Just the start he was looking for.

And not the start that Marke Allen Mark Allen, after his performance

in the United Kingdom championship, comes here as a main contender for

all the World Championship. -- for He was trying to force it in, but

it will not matter. Mark Allen can seeds. Just the start he needed.

Cao Yupeng leading 6-4. You were keeping half an eye on

this last night when you were commentating. You got the feeling

in the room from the crowd that they were impressed with what they

were seeing and shot that Mark Allen was not dominating. -- they

were surprised. I was also talking to his management team. They were

saying they are impressed with him as a player. The has shown

temperament. He had to win that first frame. -- he has shown. Mark

Allen should have pinched that towards the end. Mark Allen is

under the cosh. In his qualifying matches, he won four. He beat Dave

Harold and Tom Ford. They are not pushovers. He has done that twice

in final frame deciders. He looks as if he has a strong cube actions.

-- cue action. He is still on the shot and hits positively. You

cannot ask for much more. He lost the previous two frames, so the

best possible start. TERRY GRIFFITHS: That is right, any

cue action that pot ofs the balls At this level, it is in the mind,

not the cue action. JOHN VIRGO: And particularly on

this stage. Mark Allen needs to improve his game, that is for sure.

It is the first to ten frames for a That is the problem when you miss.

The cue ball runs into the cluster. Shouts of encouragement from the

audience. This is not the easiest Having to avoid kissing a second

red to get back out for blue or a He trusted to luck and did not have

It was a thin cut. Never certain where the cue ball will finish. You

play with pace, hoping it will get back up the table. He brought the

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black into play. But he is on That was a good safety shot. When

the balls are spread, it is more difficult to find a path back to

That is a nice view, but not for Sometimes you can get a pot that is

high risk, but it would get you in, but there is not even that. There

does not seem to be a return back to the baulk end. And the way the

reds are spread, this is not Believe me, he did not play the

plant. On the replay, you could see That was tough, but he has been

getting a lot of them. He got away with that, but this is a chance for

Mark Allen. I always feel that somebody like Mark Allen, you

referred to Alex Higgins in the last frame, he needs to get a

And they start to hit the ball better. They get a nice rhythm

going. At the moment it is stop and That was a good effort to try to

get on a colour. He is not really good on anything. It is typical,

very little chance to get on a colour so far, it works out like

that sometimes, but you have to stick at it and wait for your

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He is not frightened to take on a That was a great shot, but Mark

Allen should never have hatched the cue ball away from the baulk

cushion. -- have had. But you have to give credit to the unmanned. He

is potting superb long pots, which has put pressure on Mark Allen's

safety. Because it was a straightforward safety he was

playing off the blue, if he had been tight on the cushion would not

have been on. It is those fine margins. This is what the game is

all about. A friend of Cao Yupeng, who plays in Sheffield, breaking

into the top players, he was telling me that there are hundreds

of players in China like these lads. It is a matter of time before one

of them breaks through. This could be the boys. He is very young. He

won the Asian Under 21s. He has He needed the cue ball to run

If it had run through, it would have been excellent. Does this red

But, in it went. Where is the cue ball going? It is OK, he is on the

You always knew he would run into He came very straight on the blue,

so he could not do much with the A couple of good shots, they are

nicely spread for a sizable He does not like the angle on the

brown. He needs to get back on the He is 21 years of age and this is

his first time on tour. What an achievement to get to the Crucible

He is laid down in the rankings. He has not set the world on fire, but

now is a good time to do it. -- he is low-down. You never know how you

will react, the first time at the Crucible, but he looks comfortable

at the table. This is an excellent I do not know why he did not nudge

the black and red away from the He is on it. But the cue ball is

close to the side cushion. That puts pressure on this. With a

straight shot, you can only roll the ball in. If you can

automatically get position on a red, that is good. But a little bit of

He rolled it in. He is not perfect, next red. He has won to the left

middle, and if he pots that he will Close to clinching the frame. That

would make Mark Allen think, three The key stays still, people sit

back and then hits it quickly. is a pointer. He points the queue.

He will be disappointed if he does It does not look as if he will make

He takes time and then hits the ball and Paul's the queue backwards.

That will put the frame out of the reach of Mark Allen. 61 points

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ahead and 51 points remaining, but This is his highest break of the

match, the previous highest was 70 This will be very nice, the first

century in the Crucible for this 108 clearance. It takes in three

108 clearance. It takes in three 108 clearance. It takes in three

frames in front, again. He appears to be increasing in

confidence. What do you notice about his technique? I think he is

a player who has been coached or studied the game. I might be wrong.

But one of the clues, you notice on his cue, he has a little mark

around the bridge hand. This is something you would do to make sure

you do not have too long a bridge, or that it is the right distance

away, because if you have it too long, you have too much. Some

players want a short a bridge. I noticed the mark. It might be an

accident. Worrying times for Mark Allen. I thought the way the

Chinese player finish the session, he might be nervous today, but

anything but, Mark Allen has everything to do. He has to win one

of the next two frames. When he was 4-1 up, he glanced at the score and

got nervy at that point. How much magnified it is the pressure when

you get close to the winning line? It does. He seems to hit straight.

He connects with the middle of the cue ball. His putting is strong and

that care in getting over the line, even though he can panic. -- that

TERRY GRIFFITHS: Three frames again. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Three frames again.

He was 5-took up early on in the He will have to win four to get in

front, Mark Allen. If you win the first frame, your opponent has to

win two on the trot to get in front of you. I feel that Mark Allen, and

the moment, not for any reason down to him, he is going through the

motions. He cannot seem to be able to start scoring at the table,

which we know he can. He will have to play good safety early on and

force a mistake. Let's be fair, his opponent is young and inexperienced.

He needs inspiration. He cannot find it on the table at the moment.

Last frame he had two good chances but he could not get on a colour

and you have to find a way of getting in them and doing a few

breaks. He is similar to Alex Higgins, once he gets in among them,

he can run some frames off in no time at all. We saw the reaction

there from Cao Yupeng. He was playing as a shot for nothing. He

double-kiss to the cue ball. He has not left anything too easy. There

is a possible red on the right-hand No. I assumed that he played in

such a way that he has not left the But it is a half chance. He will be

You can see the mark on his cue, which has been put there to give

him the same distance from the bridge to the cue ball in every

shot. If you go into close you have He is not having to do much to get

in amongst the balls, but he will be disappointed with that. There

was margin for error. He overhit it. The red will go, but, it is awkward

It is a tricky black, it was He has covered the pocket, but

there may be a red available to the centre. He played this very slowly.

Guaranteed to be on a red. Covering And this seems to be the first

clear cut chance that Mark Allen The problem you get when the other

player is dominating, when you get a chance, you are forcing yourself,

thinking, I have got to make this He'd just got the red immediately

close to the black. Not sure of the He was not too happy with the

It is now imperative that he gets a good angle on the black to cannon

into the cluster. There is a red in the baulk end, but with the reds

Open, he could make a frame-winning Not quite certain what he was

thinking of. It looked as if he He needs a good angle on a baulk,

now. Surely he will play for a He could play for the red on the

right. Maybe he cannot get into the reds. He thinks he can. He overdid

it. That was unlucky to go in-off. But, a couple of shots before he

went up to the baulk end, I was amazed he did not try to halt for

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the black. -- that he did not hold He has apologised to his opponent s

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t have been knocking those reds in. He will have to put a lot of side

on this. Foul and a miss. Nowhere It is behind the brown, referee!

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He does not want to come to the There was always the chance he

could potted but in the end it was worth giving away the points. He is

now back in control of the frame, This is the better safety shot from

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He was a fraction higher on the cue ball. The spin doesn't take so

quickly when you hit it harder. It is not happening for him at the

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moment. He is trying his best. He It has turned out all right, but I

am sure he played for the blue. He seemed to come off the cushion very

quickly. He has got a good result here. He has got a perfect angle to

pot the black and screw down for Not happy with that. This is a must

win, isn't it? Willie Thorne was quite right, there are two more

frames to be played in this and many session before the mid-

session interval but he will have to win a police one of them. That

should see him home win this one. - The black puts him 52 points ahead

with 51 remaining. I do not expect Yupeng will be coming back to the

table. There is a chance for Mark Allen to get back within one frame.

He would be a lot happier if he can Does not matter about the blue. The

frame was over long before that. Yupeng concedes, so Mark Allen gets

his first frame on the board this afternoon. He still trails by two,

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He is a pretty intense character, Mark Allen, but in that frame and

last night, we saw flashes of humour, even when the going gets

tough. That is refreshing to see. It is. I get annoyed when people

say there are no characters in snooker. There are loads of them.

Mark Allen really does show, he wears his heart on his sleeve, you

know where you are with him. At least he is coming out with a bit

of character. I do not mind if a player has not got any character of

the table, but do not said there are no characters in snooker at the

moment because there are loads. agree. If he wins the next round,

acting he will win the match. might have a lot to see at -- a lot

to say and some of it has been pretty controversial. He was fined

�150 for his outburst at the UK Championship. He is always very

honest, perhaps a little too honest occasionally. We have travelled the

world to try and spread the gospel, as it were. None of us would ever

have said anything about any country at all. They have got the

pleasure of a world wide game and hopefully they will start to

realise that. From Mark Allen's perspective, I wonder how you

valuable win in China was a couple of months ago when suddenly after

all of these semi-finals, union it, seven years after becoming a pro? -

- you've Neil it. He will want to win possibly on home soil,

terrestrial BBC. This is the one. He is still having a laugh and a

joke out there. Good on him. I could not a red. I do not regard to

joke and concentrate, he seems to Let's see if he can get himself

This is the last frame before the mid- session interval. A bad safety

shot from Yupeng. The reds are nicely spread. Certainly, the

Braque is not available. -- the Just overrun it slightly. A decent

enough pot, but did not want that cue ball so close to the side

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He could swing the brown around of some cushions, there is arrayed

behind the black available. -- off some cushions. He was wise playing

it. They have he had got it right he could have potted the red and

got the black into play. Pink is When he potted the red it was

careless not to get a good angle on the blue, that is where the problem

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started. It is not going his way at It is quite interesting, those

marks he has on his cue. We did not have felt tip pens to put marks on

ours! He has brought the black into play, is he on a red? Not an easy

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He is on the brown. This is a half- He has lost the cue ball. You

wanted that to just drop into the black. He is still on a red but

he's going to have to go back up if he can hold for the brown, maybe

Nice angle on the blue, two reds available to the right corner.

This will be a body blow to Mark Allen. He keeps looking as though

he is getting back in the match and then before we do know where you

were, -- before you know where you are, you paying his -- car you pink

is in an advantage. -- Yupeng. Just Don't know whether he got it back -

- bad contact, he would need to get up the table another Fred. It just

bounced a little bit and took the pace out of the cue ball. Now, I

wonder where the next red comes Not quite certain what he played

there. An amazing shot. He thought he could get a potting angle. It

didn't look like it from here. did not seem to play with any

conviction. Strange shot on such an He has got to think about things.

There are no long pots for him to go for because the cue ball is a

bit closer to the cushion. He is looking at the red to the right of

the brown. Not sure if he can take He has got to be a little bit

careful here. Lots of safety shots but is he going to be tempted by

the pot? I say a couple of safety shots, not easy returns back to the

He decided to go for the pot and he has missed it. He has left his

opponent with a good opportunity. Close, but not end and you can see

the look on his face. That was a He has left Yupeng with a good

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If sounds like they have got to the mid- session interval on the other

He has got to really concentrate It was risky, you could say am

lucky. He has brought the red out beautifully but he is not on a

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I do not think Mark Allen will get many more chances in this frame, if

any. Just the pink needed to go 44 points in front with 43 remaining.

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It is going to beat 3-1 in this He has not quite done it in the

same style as in the first session, when he did it exceptionally well.

He made his first hundred in this session in the Crucible, a landmark

for any player. Not sure if he played that off the knuckle but

let's give him the benefit of the For the majority of this match this

young man has looked very In general terms, he has out played

He had an interesting choice because after getting out of the

long tackle and putting that red into the corner pocket, he was not

on at, and that was where his problems seemed to begin? -- he was

not on a colour. You have got to look at how much Bali there is in

trying to pot the green. It is a risk and reward situation. If he

can pot it he would be guaranteed to clear the table and then perhaps

you would risk a missable shot. We if the red on the side cushion it

was no certainty. All of a sudden he is risking a berth -- difficult

shot and if he misses it he gives the frame up for his opponent.

had a lovely shot on the red. It is not the done thing but he had to

play the kiss of the two reds to try and get back into the frame. He

was so disappointed that he was not on the blue properly, he went all

out for the green but it was a five out of 10 shot. He could even have

gone on to win it the frame. Wrong choice, wrong time. You were a

risk-taker, we do have gone for it? No, I would not have. When I beat

Steve he went for a green in the middle, remember that? I do, should

not have gone for it! There is still the time to go for the big

one. OK, risk and reward. Shall we move on? This morning we were keen

to see who would be the second man through to have round two. John

Higgins got through, just. When the concluding session of the match

featuring Martin gold and his opponents, Dave Gilbert, if he

hadn't qualified to play at the Crucible would have been potato

picking on his dad's farm. He brought in an advantage to the

session but was he ready to give This session will tell us who will

get through to the last 16. Absolutely amazing. A better shot

than it looked. 7 - 3. He now trails by all less certain - 4. --

only 7 - 4. That was never going to be an easy shot. A good break of 75.

8 - 5. Well, well. You don't often see that. The vital stage of the

match. Clears up with a 42 break. Just what he wanted, a frame like

this. Back-to-back centuries. brave shot to play. This is a

serious comeback. This match is really on now. Three in our role,

or only one behind. It's repaired. David Gilbert is absolutely

thrilled by that. That surely is it now. Generous applause. Look at

that. What a wonderful moment. The biggest win of David Gilbert's

playing career. He is in the last 16 of the World Championships.

got on with it and just tried to enjoy it. Today I struggled and

that slowed my game up a little bit. But I was lucky to nick a couple of

frames and then that allowed me to come back. I had not potted a ball

for three frames and he was favourite so to make that break at

the last - yes, Lady Luck shone on me with a bag for look at the last.

-- a bag fluke. Well played David Gilbert. Back to business this

afternoon. We will watch the magician, Shaun Murphy, and next.

An impressive record over the last 10 years at the Crucible. A 125/1

outsider when he won the title. Four years later he was a runner up

to John Higgins. Plenty of memories to savour. My first memory is going

to watch Peter ed to make his debut at the Crucible against Steve Davis

in 1992. I remember thinking, it was massive. Then a few years later

I thought, it is really small. Everything seems much ago when you

are only nine years old. It took me until 2002 to make my debut. I

played Stephen Hendry. It was still the most nerve-racking moment of my

life. Except maybe my driving test! I was so nervous that when I poured

water into the glass I missed my glass. Before a ball was hit! I did

well to win four frames. When you go to Wimbledon for the tennis it

is the only thing anyone in south- west London was about. Nobody is

interested in anything else. I think it is right that four hour

World Championships Sheffield has taken over in the build up and for

the fortnight. It has become part of the annual life for people here.

It is the history that goes with the Crucible. Most of our great

snooker moments, are the ones that everybody knows about, happened

there. I, for one, certainly get that feeling. This is where and

Dennis defeated Steve. Where Cliff made his maximum. Where Ronnie did

it in under five minutes. All the great moments happened in this

building. When I look back at my career in however many years' time

at the fact that my name is on that trophy will be the biggest thing

that I can look back on. So many people have played the sport and

that I have fault and they have never won it. -- I have fault. It

is a very special feeling and something I would like to win again.

But if I am not lucky to do so, to have done so just once and have my

Always great to listen to Shaun Murphy full stops here are the

statistics for his opponent. In the last two years years began to break

through with excellent performances. He defeated John Higgins their lair

and this season. -- air layer. -- earlier. We joined the game I in

He did not hit the bank, he hit the red. -- did not hit the pink. Very

unfortunate to plant that one into It is not only knocking the red and,

it is spreading the balls everywhere for when your opponent

A decent shot. It can prey on your mind when you have already missed

He did not have to go into the packed their, bear where a few

loose reds. But he took the opportunity and it has turned out

Cue ball slightly getting away from him here. Getting topside of that

These shorts are getting a little bit more difficult every time. --

these shots. You would still fancy someone of this capability to put

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That is a bad miss their. OK, he has not left a sitter, but there is

a red which will go up into the corner pocket. I do not think it

will get to the middle. But Jamie had a great chance to take the

frame there. And after all that hard work to get a cue ball where

he wanted it. He then missed a pretty obvious one. I expected Sean

to get that. A bit of a free shot. He is usually so good at that type

of shot. The only possible one he could leave was the one he was

taking on. Well Jamie have a go? No, just the safety. Not bad. Although

Sean can get back down off the table -- down the table off the red

That is trouble. Anywhere behind deal near the cushion is good but

to finish that close to the yellow, you could probably argue it is a

slight mishap, but it was the right These are tough shots. Two cushions,

just trying to clip off the bed and get back-up to the safety zone. A

pretty good effort. Could be a free ball. And if it as, Shaun Murphy

could possibly tried to roll the brown and. But he is not even

looking at that. I am surprised at how quickly he said he would not

take the free ball. Taking the brown might not have left anything.

Farrell, and a mass. -- Foul, and a miss. A couple of practice runs.

That was more or less three- quarters of the ball. The shame it

short planted with a bit more pace would have got him right back up

there. -- the same shot. He has got himself a really good opportunity

When he Pot's this read it clears a path for the two other reds.

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I am sure that he would like to have that last shot again. 29 in

front but this is not an easy black, a little trickier than should have

It is not just potting this... Well, there you go. He had to screw it so

that the cue ball did not run away. And he snookered himself. A major

It always seems to be the way. When you make a mistake like that, your

opponent Pot's the next red. The editors. Leaving himself a tricky

black. This now really would be a gift for Jamie Jones. If he can

hold himself together, what a Just about managed to creep past

the line. He would like to have been a little bit straighter on the

brown than this. But well negotiated. And what asked deal

this will be. -- what a steal. let an earlier chance in this frame

slipped away and it looked for all the world that Shaun Murphy would

That was a gift for the Welshman, Jamie Jones. He quite kindly took

it and gets himself into the lead. But that all changed around when

Shaun Murphy took the fourth frame. We will keep you are updated on

that. It continues on the red button. We would get back to the

tense final stages of the Mark Allen versus Cao Yupeng match. How

much in danger are we up another first round shock? Mark Allen was

10/1 on favourite to win this match. So this would be the biggest shock.

I am sure that Mark Allen still has a say as we get to the tense final

stages in the Crucible where anything can happen. Let's return

No more intervals, it will be decided in this session, and Mark

Allen has his back to the wall. Is he up to the job? He will not

accept defeat, he is a fighter. But Mark does see himself as one of the

better players yet he just can't seem to get going out there. His

opponents is not giving him the chances to get going and he cannot

find the inspiration with a long pots and could save the shots. --

good safety shot. Cao Yupeng is getting closer and closer to the

target of 10. No margin for error. He is very much second favourite

now. He must be patient out their full stops he has aggressive style

anyway and if he is going to win this match he will have to hope

that his opponent drops down a peg or two and stand up and that he can

get in amongst it with two or three quick frames. A real task but

whilst you are in any fight you have a chance of winning it.

will do well here to get this safe. Foul and a miss. He is having this

replaced. I do not know if he can get to a red. But you are only

He is not certain to get this safe here. I am not certain that the

angle is on for coming off three cushions and nestling next to the

red. Well, he has struck it. I am not saying it is an easy pot but it

He played it beautifully. At that I like the attitude. Any half

chance, he is going for it. He may have had one or two concentration

lapses but his attitude has been very positive. Not easy when trying

And nice angle on this red to play for the black again. He would like

to get ripped off the red that is closest to the black. -- get rid of.

That would allow the black to going An excellent chance. To go within

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one frame of a place in the second It does not seem to make much

difference to Cao Yupeng if he is not on the blue flush. He has been

He has had 55% of the table time, against 45% for Mark Allen. But it

seems even more than that. It seems like he has more or less dominated

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You sometimes wonder if a player making his debut at the Crucible

would tighten up a little bit getting towards the finish line. No

sign of that so far. In fact, it seems quite the opposite. He looks

more relaxed now than at any time in the match. They say that the

good players play the easy shots and not the hard ones. That is

exactly what has been happening in this match. 70 points the League,

75 remaining. But not for long. He Mark Allen will not be coming back

Lots of noise coming from the other table - obviously something has

happened there. But it does not seem to be affecting the

concentration of this young man. Cao Yupeng is in sparkling form. He

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started off with the red to the Well played. Very well played

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indeed. Second century, first ever What a pity, but what a great break

that was. Mark Allen, a big shot in store, possibly. -- a big surprise.

You paying leads 9-5. -- Cao Yupeng. The remember Matthew Stevens coming

back last year? Cao looks very assured. He looks better now than

at any stage of the match. Last night, he suddenly went into his

shell. This time, usually workers especially, when the winning post

arrived they go into their shell but he has not done that. --

winning post arrived. Everyone is looking at Ding Junhui as the God

of China but looking also, who will challenge him. All of a sudden,

Liang Wenbo looks like a good player but he is not getting that

further up. That guy, he looks dangerous and looks like he has got

something about him. He looks like he has got a killer instinct,

something you need for the rest of your career and he seems to have it

naturally. He is a big danger. is a danger to Mark Allen, who is

in dire straits. The world No. 11, He has just been that little bit

out all the time and because he CAB the red to thin, the white has come

back up the table and left the red This young man has missed very

little in the match in general. There have been a lot of shots

played. Mark Allen must be feeling Winning from behind is difficult

and you always need help from your opponent, and Mark Fallon has not

had it in his match. -- Mark Allen. Yupeng has played a high standard

He will have to go for the blue this time. If he gets a nice angle

on the blue, a chance to get into the cluster. He is OK, there is a

He did not look like missing prior to that. Nobody pots them all.

He needs an angle and -- on the It is not bad, but not great. A

couple of reds to go work but not quite straightforward. -- reds to

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The pink only goes into one centre. The black does look available,

possibly past the red into the left corner. He is looking to see where

That red will be tied up. That is the black art of commission. -- out

of commission. It just makes the break that little bit more

difficult when he could have done That red has cleared the path to

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the pink so it is a little bit That is that little bit betwixt and

between. To make a comeback you need help from your opponent. Good

pot on the blue, not inch perfect He needs one of the remaining reds

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They say all great players can do fine their best when they have

cornered. Mark Allen cannot be That was going to be awkward and he

He is 20 points in front, two reds and two blacks would be no to leave

his opponent needing a snooker. -- It is a long way back but at least

he is on the first rung of the manner. Snooker needed. No heroics,

just make certain you pot the red. Well played. Very well played

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Mark Allen has pulled a frame back but he is still training in 9-6.

He has got one of the five frames that he needs. We have only got

another 15 minutes or so. You can keep up to date in many ways.

It is April, it in Sheffield and the eyes of the snooker world are

here at the Crucible. Top class action every step of the way with

packed crowds. There are plenty of ways to keep up to date. If you

don't want to miss a single ball, live matches are just a click away.

live matches are just a click away. Press the red button on your remote

control. We are also online. Live streaming

is available on the website. BBC iPlayer allowance you to

download or view the action on demand. -- allows you.

We are also on Twitter. Ask us what you would like to know. Were simply

listen to Radio 5 live for regular updates. Another day of unique

Crucible drama... For the first time we have the best

pictures of the best players because if you are lucky enough to

have HD, you can watch of the morning session slide. -- all of

the morning sessions live. You can join me every week night from 6

o'clock. Hit the red button for the Well, plenty of snooker for you to

watch over the next 16 days. What a start we heard yesterday! What a

Mark Allen knows the danger if he leaves this young man with any sort

Another good safety shot. As you mentioned earlier, Yupeng is not

That was not a good safety shot. You cannot afford to play loose

ones like that. You have got to He should have a choice of baulk

colour of it is this side of the We have seen a lot of those in this

match, long shots going clean into There must be a red he is playing

for. It may be a plant. That was unfortunate, to gone of the spin

out of the cue ball. He will have to play a very good shot. You can

see how the red jumped and went sideways. The red should never have

gone mad way, should it? It was a strange one. He has not got a good

position and he has got to manoeuvre the cue ball. This is not

Has he got away with that... He may Plenty of backspin on the cue ball

and that made it more difficult, but he has not left anything easy.

We were saying that Mark Allen needs help from his opponent. You

also need a little bit of luck as well. At the moment, it is you

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paying having it. You have got to REFEREE: Foul and a miss. You must

have thought he could sneak a red. Now, the referee has got an

interesting task. Mark Allen feels he can just get to the edge of this

red pass the pink. The replacement of the cue ball, very, very

He thinks he can get through but he needs to make contact this time.

And he has not done. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. If he

misses it, that will be the match. If you miss it this time it will

cost to the frame, OK? I think he will be making certain he hits the

red. No one would want to go out of that World Championship on the

Three mess room. -- the World Championship on the three missed

The red he has played has career over the far corner pocket. -- come

Not easy, that one. He was bridging awkwardly in the corner pocket. You

never see in any sport the players helping the referee like they do in

snooker, replacing the ball, declaring files on themselves. They

say you should never cheat and that you should play the game with

That was a clever safety shot. He seems to have recovered the escape

down the left-hand side of the table, making it difficult for Cao

Well, there you go. You can't beat a run of the ball. Not the first

time this has happened. He has got a half ball he's on the ball, and

ended up snookering Mark Allen. -- He is trying to Nestle on the red,

which he has done. I thought he could maybe rolled the red in along

the cushion and play save. He will be trying to get in behind the

He did not hit that well. He was so concerned about where the cue ball

was going, he forgot about the red. He has gifted an opportunity to

Well, he did it in the last frame with one chance. Can he do it

There is a bit to do with the black tied up. He needs to play a cannon

and bring it into play at some stage. If this is touching he can't

pot the red. The referee had a look and he did not declare it was

touching ball so we will assume it I did warn you that we have to go

I did warn you that we have to go and indeed we do. The coverage

continues on the red button right now and at 7 o'clock tonight you

can see Stephen Hendry aiming to close out his match against Stuart

Bingham and mean Robertson against Ken Doherty. We will be back after

Ken Doherty. We will be back after Ben Knight to some it up. In the