Day 7, Part 2

:00:40. > :00:44.Good afternoon. Over the last 22 years Stephen Hendry and John

:00:44. > :00:49.Higgins have been so busy winning world titles it had not occurred to

:00:49. > :00:55.many people they had done so without ever facing one another

:00:55. > :00:59.until today. This second round meeting of Scotland's greatest

:00:59. > :01:03.players has got everyone in the press room and the media room it

:01:03. > :01:13.really excited. What is to come on day seven of the World

:01:13. > :01:40.

:01:40. > :01:46.That is a real cruncher, two of the toughest men out on the baize.

:01:46. > :01:50.takes his 4th world title! He is one of the best players in the

:01:50. > :01:56.world and whenever he comes to the Crucible he has got to be amongst

:01:56. > :02:01.one of the favourites. Absolutely fantastic. There is only one

:02:01. > :02:11.Stephen Hendry. Who said he is not the player he was? Absolutely

:02:11. > :02:15.

:02:15. > :02:21.fantastic. When Stephen plays like that, he can win very easily. It is

:02:21. > :02:26.fantastic to make 147 any time, but to do it at the Crucible is extra-

:02:26. > :02:31.special. I have done that in stops and starts all season, but I have

:02:31. > :02:41.not done it enough, that is why my ranking is where it is. But I'm

:02:41. > :02:43.

:02:43. > :02:49.still capable of doing that. And it is there. Look at what it means to

:02:49. > :02:52.the defending champion. 10-9, it doesn't get any closer to that.

:02:52. > :02:57.Even when he is not playing well, he still seems to come through

:02:57. > :03:03.matches. He is a fantastic player and has achieved everything there

:03:03. > :03:08.is to achieve, it is amazing we have not met at the Crucible.

:03:08. > :03:12.has beaten Jimmy White 18-12 to become the youngest ever champion.

:03:12. > :03:16.Stephen has played here a lot longer than I have, but I have

:03:16. > :03:21.played here about 18 years now and to have never played him,

:03:21. > :03:30.especially when he is at the top of his game, it is an unbelievable

:03:30. > :03:36.statistic. It will be great to play him here. He has got himself under

:03:36. > :03:41.a bit of pressure, the defending champion. He will be favourite

:03:41. > :03:47.going into that match between the two of us, so I will have to get my

:03:47. > :03:54.game into shape. I am looking forward to it, it is the chance of

:03:54. > :03:59.playing the world champion at the Crucible. Yes, I cannot wait.

:03:59. > :04:04.experts, but beggars and fans think Stephen Hendry will put up a good

:04:04. > :04:08.performance, but John Higgins will eventually overpower him. I do not

:04:08. > :04:13.think I would agree. Going on the first round performance of both

:04:13. > :04:17.players, John Higgins really struggled to get over the line,

:04:17. > :04:20.whereas Stephen Hendry in his cavalier approach before the match

:04:20. > :04:25.played his best snooker for a number of years at the Crucible. If

:04:25. > :04:30.you go on that perspective, you would say Stephen Hendry will

:04:30. > :04:34.pushchair all the way. This will be a really close match. The stand-out

:04:34. > :04:38.match of the round, apart from this one, is Ronnie O'Sullivan versus

:04:38. > :04:43.Mark Williams. Five World Championships between them and they

:04:43. > :04:46.have had a lot of great matches between them. Both players did not

:04:46. > :04:51.perform to the best of their abilities in the first round, but

:04:51. > :05:01.it is the best of 25, lots of time to settle down and I'm really

:05:01. > :05:02.

:05:02. > :05:06.looking forward to it. We have still got four qualifiers. There

:05:06. > :05:10.will be some journeys into the unknown. It must be so exciting for

:05:10. > :05:17.them because we are going to have at least two qualifiers in the

:05:17. > :05:22.quarter-finals. Andrew Higginson may shade it from experience, but

:05:22. > :05:30.Jamie Jones played superbly in the first round. You would have to go

:05:30. > :05:32.for a little bit of experience and I would have to say Ryan Day.

:05:32. > :05:38.building up into a fascinating tournament.

:05:38. > :05:42.It is indeed and two of those tyres Petr check men who have

:05:42. > :05:46.collectively won this title no fewer than 16 times. Ronnie

:05:46. > :05:51.O'Sullivan against Mark Williams starts tomorrow, but it is the

:05:51. > :05:56.other blockbuster we are concentrating on this afternoon.

:05:56. > :05:59.The defending champion was not at his best as he survived a first

:05:59. > :06:06.round decider and knows he must sharpen things up now against

:06:06. > :06:13.Stephen Hendry. A fellow snooker legend he had a mild the jet flight

:06:13. > :06:22.opening performance. Neil Robertson's action turned a deficit

:06:22. > :06:26.against Dave Gilbert into a 5-3 advantage. Cao Yupeng kicked Mark

:06:26. > :06:32.Allen out in the opening round, but the magnitude of that when got lost

:06:32. > :06:39.in controversy. He is in the last 16. He meets Ryan Day will also

:06:39. > :06:44.enjoyed a famous first round win. He is on the right track again.

:06:44. > :06:50.Just one point in it as we play the next round of our snooker pub quiz.

:06:50. > :06:55.Who will pay for the drinks? Tell us what you make of the second line

:06:55. > :07:01.round-up. Did anyone predict it correctly? Get in touch by e-mail

:07:01. > :07:07.and on Twitter. Straight on we go into that John Higgins, Stephen

:07:07. > :07:12.Hendry tight. Stephen Hendry turned up here as a young 17 year-old in

:07:12. > :07:18.1986, the year that Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson and Alex

:07:18. > :07:22.Ferguson took over as manager of Manchester United. 27 years on, he

:07:22. > :07:32.is still here, although he had to qualify again, and what great

:07:32. > :07:33.

:07:33. > :07:39.memories he must have of this World Championship. My first experience

:07:39. > :07:45.was Steve Davis's first win when he beat Doug Mountjoy. That is my

:07:45. > :07:49.first experience of watching things at the Crucible. My first aim it

:07:50. > :07:55.was not to be embarrassed. I was playing one of the top players at

:07:55. > :08:02.the time and I did not want to get beaten 10-0. I made a good account

:08:02. > :08:07.of myself and was disappointed to lose. As soon as you arrive at

:08:07. > :08:12.Sheffield, because I used to stay at the same hotel every year, you

:08:12. > :08:16.check into the same room and the same hotel and you go down for

:08:16. > :08:23.their first practice session and the anticipation and excitement is

:08:23. > :08:28.there. When you have got confidence, it becomes more a place of work, a

:08:28. > :08:32.job you are there to do, to win the tournament. But you still get to

:08:32. > :08:36.enjoy that. If you do not enjoy walking out in the Crucible, there

:08:36. > :08:42.is something wrong. Everything is like a rabbit warren, the press

:08:42. > :08:50.room, the press rooms, nothing is ideal for a snooker tournament. But

:08:50. > :08:59.it is unique, the Crucible, it is a tremendous atmosphere. Sheffield is

:08:59. > :09:04.definitely like a second home to me. 26, 27 years play at the Crucible.

:09:04. > :09:10.I have watched the city grow and grow over the years and become what

:09:10. > :09:15.it is now, a fantastic place. It is hard to pick out one, I have had so

:09:15. > :09:21.many magic moments. Your first appearance playing somebody like

:09:21. > :09:26.Ronnie Thorne, the first victory, the one table situation is probably

:09:26. > :09:36.one of the biggest buzzes you will ever get. It is impossible for me

:09:36. > :09:49.

:09:49. > :09:55.to pick out one moment because I have had so many. For me John

:09:55. > :10:05.Higgins is the best match player. The way he plays the game is lovely

:10:05. > :10:05.

:10:05. > :10:14.to watch. He is a real fighter and he never gives up. He is a hard man

:10:14. > :10:19.to beat. He has got every attribute of the game. He is a fantastic all-

:10:19. > :10:25.rounder. A nice guy, and nice family man, good values, a role

:10:25. > :10:30.model. What you see is what you get. I have known him since we were very

:10:30. > :10:34.young and we have had some great laughs. Here is one of the best

:10:34. > :10:41.players ever, Stephen Hendry, but maybe by the time John's career is

:10:41. > :10:46.finished he will be the best. your breath for this match on table

:10:46. > :10:51.number one. Please welcome a man who barely needs introduction in

:10:51. > :10:56.Sheffield, the most decorated player the game has ever seen,

:10:56. > :11:01.making his 23rd appearance in the second round after a storming win

:11:01. > :11:11.and a 147 at the weekend, the seven-times winner, the king of the

:11:11. > :11:29.

:11:29. > :11:34.And his opponent, also one of Scotland's finest exports, winner

:11:34. > :11:39.of 24 ranking event titles and his mental strength on the table is

:11:39. > :11:49.second to none. He has won three of the last five titles here, the

:11:49. > :11:59.

:11:59. > :12:05.defending world champion, the There has been plenty of history

:12:05. > :12:10.between them, even if it has not been here. It has been four years

:12:10. > :12:18.since they face of in any ranking events and going back nine years

:12:18. > :12:26.since Stephen Hendry beat John Higgins in any ranking event. This

:12:26. > :12:36.is frame four. It is the best of 25 frames. John Parrott and John Virgo

:12:36. > :12:41.

:12:42. > :12:51.That is an excellent break off shot. He would like to be doing that

:12:52. > :13:05.

:13:05. > :13:15.every time he broke off. I wonder That has let Stephen a pot on.

:13:15. > :13:25.

:13:25. > :13:35.REFEREE: Please do not shout out, Stephen his first in and nicely on

:13:35. > :14:10.

:14:10. > :14:20.the black. This is the type of That is what we say sometimes about

:14:20. > :14:32.

:14:32. > :14:42.a nice run of the ball. It might Very straight on the black and he

:14:42. > :14:42.

:14:42. > :15:30.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:15:30. > :15:40.He is nicely on that red. That will help him get on the black. He did

:15:40. > :15:46.

:15:46. > :15:54.not pot the red clean. He did not He was looking for the flick to

:15:54. > :16:03.leave the half ball black. He will be slightly disappointed with that,

:16:03. > :16:13.but you just have to change your plan. He has got to play for the

:16:13. > :16:24.

:16:24. > :16:29.Now it is imperative he leaves a good angle. You prefer maybe to go

:16:29. > :16:39.into these reds off the blue, but he cannot get back into the blue,

:16:39. > :16:40.

:16:40. > :16:44.so he has to lead a good angle on the black. What I have seen of the

:16:44. > :16:48.opening four frames, I would say Stephen is hitting the ball better

:16:48. > :16:53.than John. I know the score line is the other way, but when he is

:16:53. > :16:59.amongst them, he looks like he is cueing better than John. Fair

:16:59. > :17:09.comment. It was just those first couple of frames which were a bit

:17:09. > :17:21.

:17:21. > :17:31.They broke absolutely beautifully. You could see he gave it the old

:17:31. > :17:41.

:17:41. > :17:51.elbow, getting there! He leaned We have got a match on now, I am

:17:51. > :17:52.

:17:52. > :17:57.pleased to say. Stephen needed a good start probably more than John.

:17:57. > :18:04.Stephen has been struggling of late, that is why he had to play a

:18:04. > :18:09.qualifier. Now it is close and he can really get into it. There is a

:18:10. > :18:13.major difference in Stephen's improvement. I know it is daft to

:18:13. > :18:23.say for somebody who has been the world champion seven times, but he

:18:23. > :18:29.

:18:29. > :18:39.has found the middle of the white That is what happens with snooker

:18:39. > :19:05.

:19:05. > :19:09.Just looking for one more red. well has he taken these? As you

:19:09. > :19:19.said earlier, we should not be surprised, but he really is a class

:19:19. > :19:25.

:19:25. > :19:34.I was going to say this is very close and he had an alternative to

:19:34. > :19:38.play. This frame is not over just yet. It looked tight and he had an

:19:38. > :19:48.alternative red to this corner, which would not have given him

:19:48. > :19:54.

:19:54. > :20:01.position on the black. How costly I cannot believe that, I am so

:20:02. > :20:07.surprised. He cannot believe it himself. The camera angle makes it

:20:07. > :20:17.look a little easier than it is. It must have been on. You would not

:20:17. > :20:20.

:20:20. > :20:28.take a short thinking it was not on, would you, John? No. There are 73

:20:28. > :20:38.points remaining. He can afford to play one pink and the rest have to

:20:38. > :20:48.

:20:48. > :20:58.be black. It is a tall order, but The words body blows bring to mind

:20:58. > :21:15.

:21:15. > :21:25.He cannot get on the black off this red. He can play one more pink, but

:21:25. > :21:33.

:21:34. > :21:43.the rest have to be black to win it If he pots the blue, he can only

:21:44. > :21:59.

:21:59. > :22:09.But that is it now. He has got to play black. 42 behind and 43

:22:09. > :22:24.

:22:24. > :22:28.remaining. Stephen will be kicking It was always going to be difficult

:22:28. > :22:35.for John to win the frame, particularly with that awkward red

:22:35. > :22:42.near the pink. It started to throw him out of pinpoint position.

:22:42. > :22:51.Stephen is looking for one red. He has decided to play the snooker and

:22:51. > :22:58.he has played that well. Good shot. For all the excellent staff he did

:22:58. > :23:08.in the earlier break, that is good a shot as any that he has played in

:23:08. > :23:28.

:23:28. > :23:38.He needs a snooker. A free ball. I am certain Stephen Hendry will

:23:38. > :23:38.

:23:38. > :23:48.level the match at two apiece. The black counts as a red when it is a

:23:48. > :24:11.

:24:11. > :24:21.It has not cost him this time Those made range pots are finding

:24:21. > :24:53.

:24:53. > :25:02.the back of the left there. He is After his first round match, the

:25:02. > :25:10.question on everybody's lips where can he repeat that? His consistency

:25:10. > :25:14.has not been one of his strengths over the last few years. He was

:25:14. > :25:20.struggling in the first two frames, but he has hit the ball nicely in

:25:20. > :25:25.these last two frames. 69 in this one, but it should have been a

:25:25. > :25:35.bigger break. It does not matter. Stephen Hendry and John Higgins

:25:35. > :25:35.

:25:35. > :25:39.will be happy with those first four Before this match there was a fair

:25:39. > :25:44.bit of banter flying around between them and I heard they were sharing

:25:44. > :25:49.the same table in the practice room and Stephen Hendry came in after

:25:49. > :25:54.John Higgins. John started joking that Stephen was turfing him off

:25:54. > :25:59.and there was lots of fun going on. Clearly a huge amount of respect

:25:59. > :26:09.between these men. It is building up beautifully for real on the real

:26:09. > :26:13.

:26:13. > :26:23.There was something he was not quite happy with their. He stood up

:26:23. > :26:35.

:26:35. > :26:44.John Higgins has been presented with a very good tons. The one

:26:44. > :26:54.thing you cannot do at this level is miss the black off the spot.

:26:54. > :27:12.

:27:12. > :27:22.This is an unexpected chance for You usually stand back and walk

:27:22. > :27:33.

:27:33. > :27:37.into the shot again, but he only John needs to make a decent

:27:37. > :27:44.contribution. Despite the score line before the interval I thought

:27:44. > :27:54.Stephen was hitting the ball better than John. End John's own mind he

:27:54. > :28:11.

:28:11. > :28:15.will need to make a better It is all about taking your chances.

:28:15. > :28:25.He had a slim chance in the last session, but he was not able to do

:28:25. > :28:31.

:28:31. > :28:38.Stephen will be disappointed he did not make a century, but it is

:28:38. > :28:48.frames that matter. You have got to judge the case off the second red,

:28:48. > :28:59.

:28:59. > :29:09.and he caught it a little bit more He played that nicely and he is on

:29:09. > :29:32.

:29:32. > :29:36.This magnetised the mistake from He will be seeking missing the

:29:36. > :29:46.black off the spot when he looked to be in good stroke. He did not

:29:46. > :29:46.

:29:46. > :32:08.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:32:08. > :32:18.This will be doing John a lot of Just that red to put him 16 in

:32:18. > :32:24.

:32:24. > :32:28.front with only 59 remaining. It is noticeable to me in this frame that

:32:28. > :32:38.he looks a little bit tentative, but there is nothing tentative

:32:38. > :32:38.

:32:38. > :32:43.about this visit. No, this is more like it. John Higgins always has a

:32:43. > :32:49.wonderful sense of what the match is doing. When he has needed to get

:32:49. > :32:55.over the line, he has always played a hard game of snooker. He has got

:32:55. > :32:59.a wonderful tactical sense. He does not want to see Stephen making

:32:59. > :33:09.sizeable contributions every frame, he has got to do a little bit of

:33:09. > :33:25.

:33:25. > :33:35.that himself. We have not seen a If he gets a century here, it will

:33:35. > :33:44.

:33:44. > :33:50.It was bubbling up nicely before the interview, but this is great

:33:50. > :34:00.now. Both players are starting to score. It could be the classic

:34:00. > :34:18.

:34:18. > :34:28.The sponsors are donating �200 for every century to a children's

:34:28. > :34:30.

:34:30. > :34:40.hospice. That is another �200 in the bank. If there are over 75

:34:40. > :34:43.

:34:43. > :34:53.extra in the tournament, they are This has been beautifully

:34:53. > :34:55.

:34:55. > :34:59.constructed and more like the John Higgins that we know. Absolutely

:34:59. > :35:02.marvellous. Stephen Hendry first in, missed the black off the spot and

:35:02. > :35:08.sat down for the rest of that frame and John Higgins looked in really

:35:08. > :35:15.good stroke. That was his second century of the

:35:15. > :35:25.championship, 500 in total in his career. Into frame six we go and

:35:25. > :35:28.

:35:28. > :35:33.eight John Higgins is five points JOHN VIRGO: It could be cut into

:35:33. > :35:39.the right middle here. One thing when you play the shot, concentrate

:35:39. > :35:49.on the pot. You think you might run into the brown. But do not miss the

:35:49. > :35:54.

:35:54. > :36:04.I said he may run into the brown, but at least he concentrated on the

:36:04. > :36:18.

:36:18. > :36:24.pot. You do not have much control So many players think about what

:36:24. > :36:33.will happen with the cue ball and they take their eye off the pot.

:36:33. > :36:43.JOHN PARROTT: He hit that so well. And to get the angle out of that to

:36:43. > :36:49.

:36:49. > :36:59.get where he has finished, he I assume the pink spot is not

:36:59. > :37:02.

:37:02. > :37:12.available. It will go on the black The reason I say that, otherwise,

:37:12. > :37:28.

:37:28. > :37:38.why would he not play for the black. He came very straight on the black.

:37:38. > :37:38.

:37:38. > :38:18.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:38:18. > :38:28.He would like to get the one next It would be great if they played at

:38:28. > :38:41.

:38:41. > :38:51.If Stephen Hendry was to produce his best game... He wants to be

:38:51. > :38:56.

:38:56. > :39:06.He slightly lost the cue ball. You would still fancy him to knock this

:39:06. > :39:28.

:39:28. > :39:32.I was speaking to his coach just before we came back out for the

:39:32. > :39:37.second session and I said, well done, you have done a good job with

:39:37. > :39:42.your man. He has found the middle of the weight, and he went, he

:39:43. > :39:52.certainly has. He has been working hard. He is cueing as well as I

:39:53. > :40:03.

:40:03. > :40:13.Stephen was so used to winning and coming out and playing well. Not

:40:13. > :40:16.

:40:16. > :40:24.getting the results, it is You get the feeling, talking to him,

:40:24. > :40:29.the joke backstage, that he is more relaxed about it. That will take

:40:29. > :40:35.the pressure off. He is playing well and he is playing well in a

:40:35. > :40:42.venue that he really likes and has played well in. When you have been

:40:42. > :40:52.as successful and Stephen, there is nothing like coming back to the

:40:52. > :40:57.

:40:57. > :41:03.Crucible. This is where you want to This is a test. In the cubicles,

:41:03. > :41:10.there are an their people watching... That was a mistake. 60

:41:10. > :41:20.points in front and 67 remaining. He played for the red below the

:41:20. > :41:22.

:41:22. > :41:32.But, it is in. And he is on the pink. His heart would have skipped

:41:32. > :41:45.

:41:45. > :41:53.That puts and 67 points in front This is enjoyable. Frame two, 11

:41:53. > :42:03.minutes, frame three, 11 minutes, the next 10. This is 11. This is

:42:03. > :42:10.

:42:10. > :42:20.good. Excellent. What everybody was John Higgins made his 500 career

:42:20. > :42:43.

:42:43. > :42:51.It would be 775 -- 785. That is for They had new cloths on the tables

:42:51. > :43:01.yesterday, and that makes a difference. At the moment, they are

:43:01. > :43:03.

:43:03. > :43:09.You can see how annoyed he is. But he will be pleased to get the frame

:43:09. > :43:19.on the board. He did not slip away when he lost position. A good

:43:19. > :43:27.

:43:27. > :43:30.He caught that thick. He may have left an easy starter. He has.

:43:30. > :43:40.is the second break off he has done like that this morning, catching it

:43:40. > :43:49.

:43:49. > :43:53.too thick and leaving a shot for He has gone too far for comfort on

:43:53. > :44:03.the blue. He does not want to be going into the cluster just yet,

:44:03. > :44:31.

:44:31. > :44:34.This is a similar black to the one It is amazing how many times that

:44:34. > :44:44.happens, you miss a ball in the frame before and you have exactly

:44:44. > :44:46.

:44:46. > :44:56.the same shot in the next frame. That is not what he played for, the

:44:56. > :44:58.

:44:58. > :45:08.But he managed to recover the situation somewhat. Not ideal on

:45:08. > :45:15.

:45:15. > :45:20.That was a better shot than it looked. If he had played a cannon

:45:20. > :45:30.on the right, he might not have been on this red now, so that was

:45:30. > :45:31.

:45:31. > :45:41.I have not seen him hit the ball this well for a long time. He must

:45:41. > :46:00.

:46:00. > :46:03.Look at that pot success. Just the And this quality of match play

:46:03. > :46:09.snooker puts enormous pressure on your opponent. If you think every

:46:09. > :46:19.time you go to the table you will score in one visit, your safety

:46:19. > :46:20.

:46:20. > :46:30.player and you're pots become more That was a beautifully controlled

:46:30. > :46:32.

:46:32. > :46:42.John Higgins will be annoyed. It was the break-off shot that gave a

:46:42. > :46:44.

:46:44. > :46:48.He went into them and he has finished absolutely perfectly on a

:46:48. > :46:53.red to the right corner. That is all you can hope for when you go

:46:53. > :47:03.into them. You are just looking for an easy red to continue and he has

:47:03. > :47:06.

:47:06. > :47:12.He had a funny contact. This is the second time he has done this today,

:47:12. > :47:20.John. Brought the red up the table and left it after hitting it thick.

:47:20. > :47:30.And all he has done is sit in his chair and watch since then.

:47:30. > :47:30.

:47:30. > :48:22.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:48:22. > :48:31.He played that nicely. He did not Playing for the pink because it is

:48:31. > :48:37.easier to get onto the next red. Keep it simple when you can. He

:48:37. > :48:47.just needs a red and a colour. And that will be to take the lead for

:48:47. > :49:24.

:49:24. > :49:29.He used all of the pocket, it has This is vintage Stephen Hendry at

:49:29. > :49:34.the minute. Break-building of the highest calibre. Always leaving

:49:34. > :49:44.himself options and always chipping the ball out to the next position.

:49:44. > :49:58.

:49:58. > :50:08.Stephen has had three good chances to make a century this morning.

:50:08. > :50:34.

:50:34. > :50:44.He needed to bring those red into Blue for the hundred. He has made

:50:44. > :50:47.

:50:47. > :50:57.breaks of 81, 69, 93. And now he has his hundred. 775th. 34th of the

:50:57. > :50:58.

:50:58. > :51:06.I can give him no bigger compliment than saying this is what he used to

:51:06. > :51:12.do all of the time. It makes it more exciting now. You take nothing

:51:12. > :51:19.for granted when he gets in. No, he has had a few years in the world

:51:19. > :51:29.and us. He has not won A BBC event for over 12 years. That is

:51:29. > :51:51.

:51:51. > :52:00.remarkable. If he plays like this, You can see the fine lines between

:52:00. > :52:09.success and failure at this level. John Higgins broke off and left the

:52:09. > :52:15.red for Stephen Hendry and frame HAZEL IRVINE: An impressive couple

:52:16. > :52:25.of frames from Stephen Hendry just like the one frame of snooker that

:52:26. > :52:31.

:52:31. > :52:37.JOHN VIRGO: That was a horrendous kick, but fortunately for John

:52:37. > :52:44.Higgins, it did not knock the red off line. It has been some time

:52:44. > :52:49.since he last potted a ball. On a bad day, it would not have gone in,

:52:49. > :52:59.but it did and he is not too bad on the blue and the reds cannot be

:52:59. > :53:08.

:53:08. > :53:18.You are thinking, hit the brown anywhere, and you are bound to be

:53:18. > :53:30.

:53:30. > :53:39.on a red. I think that does go in. Well, on nothing. Of all the places

:53:39. > :53:43.to finish. He is snookered on all of the colours. Amazing. His is a

:53:43. > :53:49.game of small margins. When that rolled on to the red, his heart

:53:49. > :53:59.must have sunk. He had a chance to win the frame and now he is trying

:53:59. > :54:07.

:54:07. > :54:11.He hit the black, but he has lived a -- run left a red to the centre.

:54:11. > :54:21.It will need a good pot but he will not have to do much with the cue

:54:21. > :54:32.

:54:32. > :54:42.It is Stephen's turn to get not the best of kisses. This blue is

:54:42. > :54:45.

:54:45. > :54:55.As you mentioned earlier, just pot the ball. Guaranteed to be on

:54:55. > :55:13.

:55:13. > :55:17.something, you would think. It is He is OK, he just ran past the

:55:17. > :55:27.brown. This is a chance to take a two frame advantage from the

:55:27. > :55:46.

:55:46. > :55:56.That is the thing at this game, if you have a difficult shot where the

:55:56. > :56:06.cue ball runs loose, and you trust He could not have envisaged it

:56:06. > :56:08.

:56:08. > :56:18.Stephen is in control of the situation now. Like you mentioned

:56:18. > :56:18.

:56:18. > :57:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:57:20. > :57:28.These two champions have served up a treat to the Crucible crowd this

:57:28. > :57:38.morning. I am sure they were -- think it is worth every penny they

:57:38. > :57:40.

:57:40. > :57:50.paid to be here. It is snooker of A great amount of tension and a

:57:50. > :58:00.

:58:00. > :58:05.He came too straight on the black for comfort. He is not as good on

:58:05. > :58:15.the red as he would like to be. He does not have to do too much with

:58:15. > :58:29.

:58:29. > :58:39.It almost went wrong, but he is Might him heart of the pocket. Did

:58:39. > :58:39.

:58:39. > :58:43.not have to do much to get position He is looking for three more reds

:58:43. > :58:49.with colours. That will put him past the winning line in this

:58:49. > :58:59.important frame. This is a frame that can give Stephen a two frame

:58:59. > :59:03.

:59:03. > :59:13.advantage into the second session 100% with the rest. That is eight

:59:13. > :59:24.

:59:24. > :59:31.He was desperately unlucky, Higgins, with that particular cut, that went

:59:31. > :59:34.all round the table to finish there. One thing he knows is that Stephen

:59:34. > :59:40.Hendry is playing well and it will take a big effort from John Higgins,

:59:40. > :59:45.I feel, to win this match. I have not seen Stephen play as well as

:59:45. > :59:50.this for a long time. Once again, when he gets near the situation

:59:50. > :00:00.where he is just a couple of balls away from winning the frame, he has

:00:00. > :00:06.

:00:06. > :00:16.run out of position. He played for With that much pace and playing

:00:16. > :00:27.

:00:27. > :00:32.with side, you could not have hit The only downside for Stephen is

:00:32. > :00:42.that he probably wishes the session was not finishing. When you are

:00:42. > :00:43.

:00:43. > :00:50.hitting as well as this, you want We are not even at the Two hour

:00:50. > :00:57.mark. Nowhere near. And eight frames have flown by. The first

:00:57. > :01:03.frame took almost 26 minutes. It has been quality ever since. He

:01:03. > :01:08.will be disappointed, but John Higgins, the chances he has had.

:01:08. > :01:17.What a marvellous opening session. Stephen Hendry last the first two

:01:17. > :01:20.Stephen Hendry last the first two Stephen Hendry last the first two

:01:20. > :01:25.frames. He will be pleased with the scoreline.

:01:25. > :01:35.HAZEL IRVINE: You have been enjoying that. The quality was

:01:35. > :01:36.

:01:36. > :01:41.extremely high. Two centuries, and Stephen 81 and other high breaks.

:01:42. > :01:46.Stephen Hendry is playing as a different character. He seems to be

:01:46. > :01:51.playing without the worries of the world on his back arm. When a

:01:51. > :01:58.player worries about whether he makes a 100 break, you know he is

:01:58. > :02:02.in good nick. He is delighted with how he is playing, we know that.

:02:02. > :02:10.Then is in danger with Blockbuster matches that they do not live up to

:02:10. > :02:15.expectation. This is a classic. It is like two fighters in a ring. It

:02:15. > :02:20.has the hallmarks of going to the last session and to the wire. 13-12

:02:20. > :02:27.looks written all over it. It is great to see Stephen in great form.

:02:27. > :02:34.He has come in with a cavalier approach. 6 or 7 hour's practice,

:02:34. > :02:40.the previous years, it did not work. He had a maximum on the first day.

:02:40. > :02:44.He has a different approach and it is working. He brought his golf

:02:44. > :02:48.clubs back. I do not know whether that is reverse psychology, but it

:02:49. > :02:54.shows a different side to him. have to enjoy yourself while you

:02:55. > :03:02.were here. If you worry about your form, and hide away from everybody,

:03:02. > :03:07.you can go in your own world. John Higgins will expect Stephen Hendry

:03:07. > :03:13.to come out like that. He is within touch. This evening, he will give

:03:13. > :03:18.it everything. But what a start to the match. I know that clearly they

:03:18. > :03:24.have nothing to prove. They have done it so many times. How much

:03:24. > :03:32.does this match mean to then? Everything. Two Scotsman. They are

:03:32. > :03:37.as hungry as ever. -- men. They have a great admiration for each

:03:38. > :03:42.other. But they want to beat each other badly! It makes it worth

:03:42. > :03:50.watching. We began the day in the Media Centre in the Crucible. We

:03:50. > :03:58.can go back there to get reaction. We have been talking about this

:03:58. > :04:04.match all warding. Philip, Stephen Hendry has been fantastic. A we

:04:04. > :04:09.have waited for a long time for the showdown. It has been worth it. A

:04:09. > :04:14.fantastic session. Stephen Hendry has taken opportunities and scored

:04:14. > :04:21.heavily. It has been vintage Stephen Hendry. That is what he had

:04:21. > :04:25.to do. John Higgins has not played badly with a 124 break. But in the

:04:25. > :04:31.last three frames he was a spectator. Where has this come

:04:31. > :04:37.from? We have heard other players criticising him for flying back

:04:37. > :04:40.from China a day before his first round match. This time last year,

:04:40. > :04:45.we were talking about the possibility of Stephen Hendry

:04:45. > :04:51.having played his last match here. Now look at him. In recent years,

:04:51. > :04:55.he has struggled to put performances together. It is

:04:55. > :05:01.sustaining brilliance match after match. He has made a great start

:05:01. > :05:08.and proved he has the game and scores heavily. John skill back

:05:08. > :05:14.from the press Association, John's had a squeaky moment against Liang

:05:14. > :05:19.Wenbo. He is under no illusion that this is a big task. The irony is

:05:19. > :05:24.that this is the match that John wanted. He told me after the launch

:05:24. > :05:34.of the tournament. He has everything to do in the second

:05:34. > :05:37.

:05:37. > :05:42.session. If he gets out at 8-8 -- were 8-8, he will be happy. There

:05:42. > :05:52.is a long way to go. I fancy Stephen, though. However it goes,

:05:52. > :05:54.

:05:54. > :06:00.Hazel, we will watch every frame here.

:06:00. > :06:04.It is fascinating. We are watching every moment here. We also watched

:06:04. > :06:11.as Neil Robertson stepped out again against Dave Gilbert. Neil

:06:11. > :06:17.ranking titles and is the reigning Masters champion. He has become the

:06:17. > :06:21.most successful overseas player in the game. His interviews are also

:06:21. > :06:31.surprisingly, not surprisingly, world class in terms of his

:06:31. > :06:41.

:06:41. > :06:51.communication skills and honesty. I think I am a nice person. I am a

:06:51. > :06:56.good listener. I give people advice. My mother gives me a telephone call

:06:56. > :07:04.before every match. That is the thing. It does not matter what time

:07:04. > :07:11.it is, she will always leave a message or gives me a call. Do you

:07:11. > :07:21.want me to do it? Seriously? OK. My friend and I work out how to do it

:07:21. > :07:27.at eight years old. I am lazy. I forget to do stuff. I just forget.

:07:28. > :07:37.I like to play video games. I just laugh a escaping and just, yeah, I

:07:37. > :07:43.can play for ten hours straight. Before the World Championships the

:07:43. > :07:53.most nervous. The whole country with a lot of expectation. There

:07:53. > :08:07.

:08:07. > :08:12.Both Neil and his opponent, Dave Gilbert from Tamworth, are both 30

:08:12. > :08:17.years of age. The Staffordshire man is only starting to realise his

:08:17. > :08:27.potential. This is his first round two at the Crucible in his second

:08:27. > :08:30.appearance own little stop Gilbert played barely -- very solid Lee.

:08:30. > :08:40.Robinson through in two centuries along the way. This morning they

:08:40. > :08:40.

:08:40. > :08:50.are shared the first four frames. This is frame 15. Neal Foulds and

:08:50. > :08:50.

:08:50. > :10:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:10:03. > :10:11.He has got to dig into that to just brush off the pack. He managed to

:10:11. > :10:21.avoid the pack. He did really well to get into that without flicking

:10:21. > :10:24.off the pack. He missed that top rate by an absolute fraction. He

:10:24. > :10:34.would have probably liked to have brought another couple of reds into

:10:34. > :10:40.

:10:40. > :10:45.I do not know what he played there, but he is still on it. It is

:10:45. > :10:55.absolutely perfect. It is amazing when you get a bit of fortune at

:10:55. > :11:24.

:11:24. > :11:29.Well, that nudge on the pink means he cannot do anything with this

:11:29. > :11:36.except to run through it. He could have played that red the shot

:11:36. > :11:46.before. There is not anything else he can do and this he can dig out a

:11:46. > :11:47.

:11:47. > :11:52.plant from somewhere. He is looking at that. I think the plant is on if

:11:52. > :11:58.he can hit the first red full on, but he cannot, so I do not think

:11:58. > :12:05.that will go. That will slide off into the direction of the bottom

:12:05. > :12:15.cushion. He is looking at the baulk colour. He does not fancy running

:12:15. > :12:54.

:12:54. > :12:59.in the blue and taking in the edge He did not get anywhere near the

:12:59. > :13:06.pot. I think he had his mind on the cue ball and trying to slide it off

:13:06. > :13:11.the pack. He could only just get to the potting angle as well. He could

:13:11. > :13:15.have done better there. I just have seen the colour drained out of him

:13:15. > :13:21.a little bit at the moment. He is getting a little bit upset with

:13:21. > :13:28.himself. Neil Robertson is played excellent snooker. It is still only

:13:28. > :13:33.nine to five. Just stay with it, Dave, you have still got a chance

:13:33. > :13:39.in this game, but you have to win the last two frames. It is

:13:39. > :13:47.obviously a massive match for him. It is the first time he has got to

:13:47. > :13:54.the last 16 stage of the World Championship. The seeded players

:13:54. > :14:01.have played quite a lot of snooker to get here. David Gilbert had to

:14:01. > :14:06.win four matches just to qualify. He had a few close ones on the way.

:14:06. > :14:13.Do not forget the qualifiers are only a week before this tournament.

:14:13. > :14:20.But this is by far the biggest test he has faced so far. Do you think

:14:20. > :14:28.that is the reason why some of the top seeds have gone out? We were

:14:28. > :14:37.making that point the other day. With the qualifiers so close, the

:14:37. > :14:41.momentum has come. Under the new regime it has to be that way

:14:41. > :14:49.because the rankings are updated so much. You do not know who I in the

:14:49. > :14:57.qualifiers. So many players when they are revised, they would be in

:14:57. > :15:07.the top 16, so you have to have the qualifies as late as possible.

:15:07. > :15:19.

:15:19. > :15:24.There certainly were a first round It is going to be tough to continue

:15:24. > :15:34.that run of very high breaks that we have had. And as he wants to

:15:34. > :15:43.

:15:43. > :15:49.risk playing for the black off this We know they roll towards the left

:15:49. > :15:59.hand jaw. He will have to play this high. Quite a few shots on this

:15:59. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:11.particular pocket. There we are. Now he can win the frame at this

:16:11. > :16:27.

:16:27. > :16:32.I would be slightly surprised if he did not win the frame, for me. As

:16:32. > :16:40.the frames have developed, he has played better and better, he has

:16:41. > :16:50.got stronger. He finished yesterday with a 131. He gets stronger and

:16:51. > :17:00.

:17:00. > :17:08.The odds were reduced to 4-1 for this championship. I think he is

:17:08. > :17:12.playing great. It is possible over 17 days he could burn himself out

:17:12. > :17:20.because he is playing so well so early, and that is possible.

:17:20. > :17:30.Players have done that before, they have played so well at the start,

:17:30. > :17:40.

:17:40. > :17:50.His next match will not be so easy. He has got two great players,

:17:50. > :17:58.Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams. Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan

:17:58. > :18:03.would be a tremendous match in the quarter-finals. That is maybe why

:18:04. > :18:13.they have made him such a big prize, the draw is not so kind to him. But

:18:14. > :18:14.

:18:14. > :19:04.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:19:04. > :19:14.Frames on the trot where we have had 70 or above. And Dave has

:19:14. > :19:23.

:19:23. > :19:29.It is amazing to think he led 3-1 and now he is facing a 10-6 deficit.

:19:29. > :19:39.Sorry, 10-5. There has been a barrage of breaks from Neil

:19:39. > :20:09.

:20:10. > :20:19.His 131 was a superb break. This could be up there with them, but he

:20:20. > :20:23.

:20:23. > :20:28.needs pink and black to do that. What a shame. He had two chances in

:20:28. > :20:32.the last two frames to make centuries. Neil Robertson is

:20:32. > :20:36.steamrollering him now and he looks very good indeed.

:20:37. > :20:42.That is four frames in a row from the Australian and like the pattern

:20:42. > :20:52.of yesterday's opening session, Robertson coming on strong, along

:20:52. > :21:01.

:21:01. > :21:07.with things go on out there, will Goodness me, another excellent case.

:21:07. > :21:17.When you pot balls like that, I suppose you deserve a good kiss.

:21:17. > :21:28.

:21:28. > :21:38.He does not seem to have missed many at long range. 77% is an

:21:38. > :21:48.exceptionally good rate. Those are good statistics. 50% would be good.

:21:48. > :22:21.

:22:21. > :22:31.You are playing a lot of them from He felt he got a slight kick.

:22:31. > :22:31.

:22:31. > :23:12.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:23:12. > :23:17.He never really looked like missing that, straight into the middle of

:23:17. > :23:27.the pocket. He has not seen many shots lately as the session has

:23:27. > :23:36.developed. But an opportunity now to pull a frame back. The green

:23:36. > :23:41.would be easier in a number of ways. He is right handed. He would love

:23:41. > :23:48.to get onto the two reds near the pink, but off the green he cannot

:23:48. > :23:58.do that. Off the yellow he can. green is the easier pot, but the

:23:58. > :24:14.

:24:14. > :24:24.He played that well. He is on all three, well played. Yes, that was a

:24:24. > :24:24.

:24:24. > :25:13.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:25:13. > :25:23.Once again just slightly heavy Things are about to get more

:25:23. > :25:37.

:25:37. > :25:47.He has to play the red hard on the cushion and he might as well do it

:25:47. > :26:12.

:26:12. > :26:20.That was never in. Neil might take the opportunity in to kiss the

:26:20. > :26:30.other red over the middle pocket as well. Neil Robertson will get the

:26:30. > :26:45.

:26:45. > :26:49.I have seen those missed because it was not hanging over the pocket.

:26:49. > :26:59.he is on the blue, it is brilliant. If he is not on the blue, it is

:26:59. > :27:11.

:27:11. > :27:16.If he gets a snooker, it gives him a big advantage still. What a tense

:27:16. > :27:26.final frame this is going to beat. There is a glimmer of hope for Dave

:27:26. > :27:38.

:27:38. > :27:48.The one cushion escape is not so difficult, but the safety part of

:27:48. > :27:52.

:27:52. > :28:02.it is. Sometimes there is side on that shot. I do not know why, it

:28:02. > :28:21.

:28:21. > :28:26.REFEREE: Foul and a miss. It is decision time. In practise he would

:28:26. > :28:36.knock this long, straight one on and get on to the blue. But it is

:28:36. > :28:41.in your mind, I could put him again. If this had been 2-2, he would have

:28:41. > :28:51.definitely taken this red on. He will be bemoaning his luck if Neil

:28:51. > :29:08.

:29:08. > :29:18.Robertson hits it and get it safe This is almost the identical red he

:29:18. > :29:28.

:29:28. > :29:38.refused a minute ago, but he APPLAUSE In hindsight he made the

:29:38. > :30:11.

:30:11. > :30:20.right decision. The final hurdle would be getting

:30:20. > :30:30.on to the blue. The pink has been in the way of a few shots in this

:30:30. > :30:48.

:30:48. > :30:52.It struggled in. But that was a steely clearance from David Gilbert

:30:52. > :30:57.and an enjoyable session of snooker again. It was played to our high

:30:57. > :31:02.standard. Neil Robertson will feel he is in the driving seat. He takes

:31:02. > :31:07.a lead into the final session. HAZEL IRVINE: He needs three more

:31:07. > :31:12.frames this evening when they come back to complete that match. The

:31:12. > :31:17.live play this afternoon is coming up shortly with Stephen Maguire

:31:17. > :31:24.against Joe Perry. We watched in really high quality session last

:31:24. > :31:25.night from these two. Three centuries, two from Stephen, and

:31:25. > :31:29.centuries, two from Stephen, and centuries, two from Stephen, and

:31:29. > :31:36.five other hefty breaks. Re Lee high-quality. Another really good

:31:36. > :31:41.match. -- really. Stephen Maguire looked more experienced. But Joe

:31:41. > :31:48.Perry has been to the semi-final and he did beat Stephen Maguire on

:31:48. > :31:55.the way to that. A lot of good snooker left in that match. Ryan

:31:55. > :32:00.Day, number 35 in the world, and Cao Yupeng. Only 21 and first

:32:00. > :32:05.season on the tour. The 81st ranked player in the world. This story

:32:05. > :32:13.goes on and on. The quality of his match against Mark Allen got lost

:32:13. > :32:16.in a controversy. Add bit unfairly really. Coming here first time, it

:32:16. > :32:22.was as good a performance in the first round we have seen. And Jamie

:32:22. > :32:27.Jones, the other rookie, a great performance. He is up against a

:32:27. > :32:34.player with a false ranking, he has more experience than his ranking

:32:34. > :32:39.suggests. I think we are in for a decent match. Both have reasons to

:32:39. > :32:43.believe they have a chance. You would have to say Ryan Day because

:32:43. > :32:47.of his experience. But Cao Yupeng is an unknown quantity and you do

:32:47. > :32:54.not want to play are known quantities. They are both

:32:55. > :33:00.qualifiers. The players are ready and so too is Rob Walker.

:33:00. > :33:04.Good afternoon. What a day we have had already at the Betfred.com

:33:04. > :33:10.World Snooker Championship. We started with 32 last Saturday and

:33:10. > :33:20.now there are just 16. The drama will continue this afternoon. Let's

:33:20. > :33:22.

:33:22. > :33:27.get the boy is on the baize. APPLAUSE -- boys.

:33:27. > :33:32.Please welcome a man who played his part in an absorbing session

:33:32. > :33:36.yesterday. His sixth appearance in the second round, and after a big

:33:36. > :33:46.win over Graeme Dott, a quarter- finalist in 2004 and a semi-

:33:46. > :34:02.

:34:02. > :34:07.finalist in 2008, gentlemen Joe His opponent. A world-class player

:34:07. > :34:11.hoping to fulfil his Crucible potential. Two centuries yesterday

:34:11. > :34:16.indicate the great form he brings from the China Open final. The

:34:16. > :34:26.winner of four ranking events. When he is good, he is on fire, he come

:34:26. > :34:42.

:34:42. > :34:48.On table two, Amman flying the flag for China in the second round. --

:34:48. > :34:52.eight man. He produced a 10-6 win against Mark Allen and won four

:34:52. > :35:02.matches in qualifying. The former Asian Under 21 champion, Cao

:35:02. > :35:17.

:35:17. > :35:22.Finally, to a player who produced the biggest shock off the first

:35:22. > :35:32.round coming from 9-6 down to beat Ding Junhui. Tried to recapture the

:35:32. > :35:32.

:35:32. > :35:42.form that took him to world number six in the past. And Ryan dynamite

:35:42. > :35:50.

:35:50. > :36:00.day. -- dynamite Ryan Day. HAZEL IRVINE: It is girl power out

:36:00. > :36:04.

:36:04. > :36:10.there. with two female referees. It will be interesting to see the

:36:10. > :36:12.opening exchanges in this battle of the qualifiers. We will do so with

:36:12. > :36:20.Terry Griffiths and Willie Thorne. Terry Griffiths and Willie Thorne.

:36:20. > :36:27.Good afternoon, Gents. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Ryan Day gets the

:36:27. > :36:34.second round match under way. After victory of 10-9 in the first round

:36:34. > :36:42.over Ding Junhui. It looked at one time as if he was going home but he

:36:42. > :36:48.recovered well. His opponent, Cao Yupeng, had a wonderful match

:36:48. > :36:51.against Mark Allen. He is the practice partner of Ding Junhui at

:36:52. > :37:01.the academy in Sheffield. I'm sure he would have given advice for

:37:01. > :37:04.today, not that he would need many. He played well. This is my first

:37:04. > :37:10.chance of seeing him and I am looking forward to it. I'm sure he

:37:10. > :37:20.would prefer to play Ryan Day than Ding Junhui because I imagine Ding

:37:20. > :37:25.

:37:25. > :37:31.Junhui in practice is absolutely Against Mark Allen there were many

:37:31. > :37:37.good shots throughout the match. I thought he held up tremendously

:37:37. > :37:44.well for his first visit to the Crucible. And against a player

:37:45. > :37:54.feared by many, Mark Allen. He played positively throughout the

:37:55. > :38:11.

:38:11. > :38:19.They are blessed with wonderful temperaments the Chinese players,

:38:19. > :38:29.for some reason. And that is the key at the Crucible. If you have

:38:29. > :38:44.

:38:44. > :38:52.any nerves here, it will find you He was not sure whether that would

:38:52. > :39:02.go in, he hesitated. He looked round and got up to have a look if

:39:02. > :39:06.

:39:06. > :39:16.the -- the red went in. He beat Dave Harold. He beat Nigel Bond.

:39:16. > :39:16.

:39:16. > :39:21.10-7. Tom Ford, 10-9 in the final qualifying match. Tom Ford had a

:39:21. > :39:31.frame awarded against him for being late after the interval. And he

:39:31. > :39:33.

:39:33. > :39:38.beat Mark Allen 10-6. He is coming in with some momentum. It is

:39:38. > :39:44.amazing how they have to play five qualifying games. That is the

:39:44. > :39:54.strength in qualifying snooker now. There is not a lot of him. He is a

:39:54. > :39:59.

:39:59. > :40:03.He has a beautiful stance. I am not sure of his cue power because I

:40:03. > :40:13.have not seen too much of him, but there is nothing wrong with his cue

:40:13. > :40:19.

:40:19. > :40:24.action. One strength is his long potting. He can do enough. That was

:40:24. > :40:32.another beautiful shots. He played for two reds and he is on both of

:40:32. > :40:42.them. He has settled in early on. If Ryan Day was not aware of him

:40:42. > :40:52.

:40:52. > :40:58.coming into the match, he is now. He went a little bit quick cats

:40:58. > :41:08.that one. And the cue ball is nowhere near where he wanted to go

:41:08. > :41:14.

:41:14. > :41:24.How many blacks have you seen missed off the spot like that? They

:41:24. > :41:33.

:41:33. > :41:38.He has the perfect angle to go into the side of them. Sometimes in the

:41:38. > :41:48.first frame you hit too hard and do not get the direct line. That was

:41:48. > :41:58.

:41:58. > :42:07.Ryan Day is not short of power. But unlucky if the -- the red does not

:42:07. > :42:17.go past the black. The pink is on into the centre pocket. It could

:42:17. > :42:21.

:42:21. > :42:28.He can screw back for pink in the same corner of to cushions, but the

:42:28. > :42:38.pot will then become more difficult. -- off two. Having said that,

:42:38. > :43:00.

:43:00. > :43:05.perfect. Pot the pink, cannon the If I happen to spot a weakness in

:43:05. > :43:13.Ryan's game in among the balls, there are not many. But he does not

:43:13. > :43:23.play the gentle shot so well. Which you often find with players who

:43:23. > :43:24.

:43:24. > :43:28.have a lot of power. Cao Yupeng is back to the table quickly. He has

:43:28. > :43:38.not had a lot of experience of playing against the big hitters in

:43:38. > :43:42.

:43:42. > :43:50.That was a lovely shot. He hit that nicely. The cue ball... When they

:43:50. > :43:57.hit it good and get through the ball well, the cue ball seems to go

:43:57. > :44:07.on like on a fast green in golf. In Willie Thorne's case, 20 ft pass

:44:07. > :44:36.

:44:36. > :44:40.He played it kiss and he has been fortunate. -- the kiss. He played

:44:40. > :44:50.for the first two reds for alarm and skimmed off on the red and

:44:50. > :44:59.

:44:59. > :45:05.brought the black into a possible He played that badly. There was so

:45:05. > :45:10.much room for error. He could have played for the blue or baulk

:45:10. > :45:17.colours and now he is on nothing. He has to consider putting

:45:17. > :45:27.something say. That last shot, with the pink where it was, he could

:45:27. > :45:28.

:45:28. > :45:37.have overhit it. He should put a baulk colour say. -- safe. If you

:45:37. > :45:41.are going to play safe, it should be more safe than that. There were

:45:41. > :45:46.two reds available of the distance. Perhaps he felt he had to get a

:45:46. > :45:56.good white ball. Perhaps he lost concentration on where the blue

:45:56. > :46:08.

:46:08. > :46:18.He could plant this. That came off the cushion very quickly. He needed

:46:18. > :46:41.

:46:41. > :46:50.Is there any ball that did not move then? He missed the red by so far

:46:50. > :47:00.and he has kissed to other reds. -- two. None of them are in a safe

:47:00. > :47:24.

:47:24. > :47:34.You can see how important it was to This would be a major pinch of the

:47:34. > :47:35.

:47:35. > :48:15.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:48:15. > :48:25.He did not appear to make up his mind which red to play for. The one

:48:25. > :48:29.

:48:29. > :48:34.in the middle is easy. He does not That is OK. Even better now. What a

:48:34. > :48:44.chance this is to pinch the frame. Cao Yupeng would be very

:48:44. > :48:49.

:48:49. > :48:59.He may be a good break-builder, but you have to get the colour safe. He

:48:59. > :49:14.

:49:14. > :49:18.did not get the blue safe when he If this is straight it is a tough

:49:18. > :49:28.positional shot. He could do with an angle. I cannot tell from the

:49:28. > :49:33.

:49:33. > :49:43.That was a great positional shot. Now he has gone favourite to win

:49:43. > :49:43.

:49:43. > :50:53.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:50:53. > :50:58.the frame. Cao Yupeng was a He kept good control of the cue

:50:58. > :51:08.ball, especially towards the end of this break. It helps when you are

:51:08. > :51:10.

:51:10. > :51:20.And in goes the black. An excellent clearance of 53. He takes the first

:51:20. > :51:20.

:51:20. > :51:24.HAZEL IRVINE: That was a good start for Ryan Day. In terms of his

:51:24. > :51:30.performances here, he has been a quarter finalist twice. But what

:51:30. > :51:38.has happened for him at the end of an average season? It is hard to

:51:39. > :51:46.know. The old line about form being temporary and class permanent, he

:51:46. > :51:49.is a class cueist. That is a brilliant clearance. We get

:51:49. > :51:55.desensitised by the fantastic snooker we see, but that was the

:51:55. > :52:00.perfect way to start a match. He stamped his authority on it.

:52:00. > :52:04.Winning a frame like that is better than getting a century in the first,

:52:04. > :52:10.because your opponent has had a couple of bites of the cherry and

:52:10. > :52:15.did not take the most of his chances. When you counter with a

:52:15. > :52:23.50-odd break, that is the sucker punch. Cao Yupeng, this is the

:52:23. > :52:27.first time in his last 16 of any event. This is a big news. There

:52:27. > :52:36.will be nerves, particularly in the first session. It is important for

:52:36. > :52:41.him to get his first frame on the board quickly.

:52:41. > :52:51.WILLIE THORNE: That could be hard to get out of your mind because it

:52:51. > :53:03.

:53:03. > :53:10.was a frame he controlled. An TERRY GRIFFITHS: Cao Yupeng missed

:53:10. > :53:17.the black off the spot early in the frame. That can have an effect. And

:53:17. > :53:27.he missed the long red later on. These are the shots that unsettle

:53:27. > :53:44.

:53:44. > :53:50.He was trying to pot the red and also to screw the cue ball back to

:53:50. > :54:00.beyond the black and leave nothing on. The problem is, you can take

:54:00. > :54:00.

:54:00. > :55:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:55:02. > :55:08.focus away from the pot and that is A tremendous pot this time. He

:55:08. > :55:18.could not get a lot closer to the black, I'm afraid. He should make

:55:18. > :55:25.

:55:25. > :55:35.He hit that perfect. It is tricky when you are under pressure. In his

:55:35. > :55:38.

:55:38. > :55:42.previous round I noted he had a Again, a very gentle push into the

:55:42. > :55:48.reds and that was another thing I noticed in his last game. He is

:55:48. > :55:54.good at doing that. He is not one that smashes into them. He

:55:54. > :55:59.dislodged quite a few there. He may go into them again, it depends on

:55:59. > :56:09.how he feels. He has to be careful not to cover the red that is just

:56:09. > :56:15.

:56:15. > :56:20.above the cue ball if he goes into Oh, dear. It is hard to see someone

:56:20. > :56:24.play a shot like that. That pack was perfect. I am surprised he

:56:24. > :56:31.played it like that. He did not deserve to have a better positional

:56:31. > :56:41.shot than this at the pace he played it. He hit that quick. But

:56:41. > :56:55.

:56:55. > :57:05.he has just got through the corner. He has a number of choices to get

:57:05. > :57:15.

:57:15. > :57:25.I don't know what he did then. He is on nothing. He is asking

:57:25. > :57:27.

:57:27. > :57:37.Michaela Tabb to clean the cue ball. You can see the delay before the

:57:37. > :57:41.

:57:41. > :57:51.backspin. It means there was a He is looking at what he could

:57:51. > :57:51.

:57:51. > :58:01.leave if he plays the double. He can play to the right centre and

:58:01. > :58:18.

:58:18. > :58:28.hold for the black, but only if you Just a little bit short with his

:58:28. > :58:39.

:58:39. > :58:49.And that is an excellent shot. 100% committed to what he wanted to do.

:58:49. > :58:51.

:58:51. > :59:01.He did a 41 in the first frame and broke down and lost the frame. He

:59:01. > :59:05.

:59:05. > :59:15.does not want to do that again. And He glanced at the pink but that is

:59:15. > :59:20.

:59:20. > :59:30.The bridging made that shot missable. And that is what he did.

:59:30. > :59:31.

:59:31. > :59:35.That is a shame. He played a few good shots. I have seen a lot of

:59:35. > :59:45.blacks missed in that pocket. In the first frame, he had it within

:59:45. > :00:22.

:00:22. > :00:32.there. He overhit that by seven inches. I do not think he is on

:00:32. > :00:50.

:00:50. > :00:57.He wanted to stop about that and it That is one of the advantages of

:00:57. > :01:02.having so much power if you cueing action. He delivered the cue very

:01:02. > :01:12.easily. He still retained the spin, until he reached the red, tight on

:01:12. > :01:26.

:01:26. > :01:36.We can see what he has got left on He needed to play that safe, and he

:01:36. > :01:36.

:01:36. > :02:23.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:02:23. > :02:33.has played a poor one, from the top 4 points a way, but he is better of

:02:33. > :02:40.

:02:40. > :02:44.doing that and wobbling in the Two blacks that young man has

:02:44. > :02:54.missed, one in the first frame, one in the second, both into the same

:02:54. > :02:58.

:02:58. > :03:08.That was a long way out. He has left something in the middle, that

:03:08. > :03:08.

:03:08. > :03:11.is for sure. One of them will go. He cut it much too thin. Had the

:03:11. > :03:21.cue ball been further up the table, this red would not have been

:03:21. > :03:26.

:03:26. > :03:30.He has missed a few, but he seems to recover quickly. Crucible nous.

:03:30. > :03:35.The first session of the biggest match of his life. He's just not

:03:35. > :03:45.going through the cue ball well at the minute. A little bit of nous.

:03:45. > :04:02.

:04:02. > :04:06.Good recovery, though. -- bit of He is in a good position again. The

:04:06. > :04:15.black he missed early in this frame, a lost position trying to bridge

:04:15. > :04:21.over it red, and missed the black because of it. He is OK. A little

:04:21. > :04:28.too far, but it is better there, than being behind the pink, and

:04:28. > :04:38.having to use the spider for the red. One of the reds is on the left

:04:38. > :04:43.

:04:43. > :04:53.of the pot he is taking on. He has That was always going into the

:04:53. > :04:57.

:04:57. > :05:06.That would in, it went into the pocket and hot up onto the well,

:05:06. > :05:15.and onto the floor. -- that was in. That went in. That certainly

:05:15. > :05:25.bounced as it was going in. It is hard to see what actually happened

:05:25. > :05:33.to it, in slow motion. Let's have a It just caught the near jaw, Sir in

:05:33. > :05:43.fairness, he was probably missing it anyway. He is certainly missing

:05:43. > :06:01.

:06:01. > :06:09.Nicely played, but once again, went through the corner, on the thin

:06:09. > :06:15.side. Not perfect position, but he is on the red. That is the problem

:06:15. > :06:25.with those been cuts. Duly need a fraction of a bad contact and it

:06:25. > :06:29.

:06:29. > :06:35.A few mistakes gripping in early on in this match. I suppose that you

:06:35. > :06:39.can have expected. When you see these players on the practice table,

:06:39. > :06:49.you wonder how they missed anything. They are all brilliant on the

:06:49. > :07:22.

:07:22. > :07:32.I don't know how many chances you need to win the frame. He has just

:07:32. > :07:51.

:07:51. > :07:56.That is very well played. Trying to find a reason why he missed that

:07:56. > :08:06.pink, that was an unmissable shot, bought a professional player, even

:08:06. > :08:08.

:08:08. > :08:18.under pressure. -- for a professional player. Just about

:08:18. > :08:21.

:08:21. > :08:31.made the black, but did not quite I can't tell from your weather the

:08:31. > :08:32.

:08:32. > :08:42.yellow passes the red into the ball. -- from here, whether. He will do

:08:42. > :08:45.

:08:45. > :08:55.well not to leave a pot on, if he misses this. Well, and a miss. --

:08:55. > :08:58.

:08:58. > :09:08.I'm not sure if that yellow is covering the red into the corner

:09:08. > :09:11.

:09:11. > :09:16.pocket. It is not going to be easy for either player. Ryan Day might

:09:16. > :09:26.have taken this on, if the pink was in the way. But he is giving him

:09:26. > :09:31.

:09:31. > :09:41.Eight points conceded. He is still 17 in front. A slight adjustment

:09:41. > :09:42.

:09:42. > :09:46.needed. And he made it. Could have been worse. The red is available.

:09:46. > :09:56.It is a very thin cut, into the left corner. It is certainly

:09:56. > :10:06.missable. He is entitled to take this on, with the pink and black

:10:06. > :10:11.

:10:11. > :10:16.bean where it is. -- being where. This is back into the frame.

:10:16. > :10:26.never see these cut been. That is because he's playing that a bit of

:10:26. > :10:27.

:10:27. > :10:36.bottom and right hand side, that rouse the cue ball into the red. --

:10:36. > :10:46.throws the cue ball. The red goes past the green, so, over the

:10:46. > :10:57.

:10:57. > :11:02.He has covered the red. And, as it turned out, he brought the other

:11:02. > :11:09.red into play as well, so he could have left this on for Ryan Day, and

:11:09. > :11:19.it might well have been 2-0. I feel that when you are struggling up

:11:19. > :11:21.

:11:21. > :11:30.there, you need a bit of luck. Yupeng should have won the first

:11:30. > :11:33.time and he should have won this one. He is struggling at the moment.

:11:33. > :11:38.He can certainly see the back cushion to come off the cushion for

:11:38. > :11:48.the red nearest the black. You can see the referee Michaela Tabb

:11:48. > :11:51.

:11:51. > :12:01.looking at exactly where the cue That is pretty good. Because that

:12:01. > :12:03.

:12:03. > :12:09.red is going to goes safe. Ryan Day might be tempted. He has turned one

:12:09. > :12:13.or two down in this match. Perhaps he feels he knows his young

:12:13. > :12:23.opponent is under pressure and he does not want to given an easy

:12:23. > :12:31.

:12:31. > :12:41.start. -- to give him. Great pot. That can keep him closer to that

:12:41. > :12:42.

:12:42. > :12:49.final red. He has hit that perfectly. I'm not sure that he can

:12:49. > :12:59.play it without the rest. Yes, he's OK. One good pot here, and he

:12:59. > :13:13.

:13:13. > :13:23.becomes favourite to take the If ever a match should have started

:13:23. > :13:23.

:13:23. > :14:14.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:14:14. > :14:20.2-0 to the Chinese player, this Cao Yupeng missed the pink early on

:14:20. > :14:25.in this frame when it was exactly where it is now. And now his

:14:25. > :14:30.opponent can take the frame with the pink. Both players have had

:14:30. > :14:35.good chances to take both frames and Cao Yupeng knows that he should

:14:35. > :14:41.be a leading 2-0, but he is an, Ryan Day to both frames, and now

:14:41. > :14:45.leads 2-0. It has been an interesting pattern in this match.

:14:45. > :14:52.Cao Yupeng made the initial breakthrough, but Ryan the has come

:14:52. > :14:57.back and punish them. Yes, that miss with the pink, it was, you're

:14:57. > :15:01.trying to do a little bit with the white ball. You assume that it is

:15:02. > :15:08.guaranteed that the pink is going to go in. But, at this level,

:15:08. > :15:13.experience would show that you are capable of missing anything. We

:15:13. > :15:21.have almost those. But it is awful, when it happens. -- we have all

:15:21. > :15:26.missed those. You can miss anything out there, particularly in the

:15:26. > :15:30.first session, because he has not got much experience at this stage

:15:30. > :15:35.of the tournament. There was a lot of pressure in the World

:15:35. > :15:39.Championship. But you cannot afford to miss easy pots. He has had two a

:15:39. > :15:46.three chances in each time, and you just cannot do that at this level.

:15:46. > :15:53.If you do, you're going to get punished. He will be wondering why

:15:53. > :16:03.he is 2-0 down instead of 2-0 up. Whilst he is out of the arena,

:16:03. > :16:04.

:16:04. > :16:14.let's reflect on what has been in the mind of Ryan Day of late. It's

:16:14. > :16:21.

:16:21. > :16:28.I like genuine be able who can sit down and talk to anyone, and a lot

:16:28. > :16:38.of my friends are like that. I don't like it when people are rude

:16:38. > :16:42.

:16:42. > :16:45.to people they don't know. I have recently my palms -- move house and

:16:45. > :16:53.there seems to be a collection of the biggest spiders I have ever

:16:54. > :17:03.seen. I would like to go back to the mid- 80s when the yuppies were

:17:04. > :17:05.

:17:05. > :17:15.about. I like playing golf. I like playing football, as well postop

:17:15. > :17:19.gambling, on football, I never seemed to pick the right team. The

:17:19. > :17:29.way that I take my cue out of its case and carry it. That has gone

:17:29. > :17:37.

:17:37. > :17:43.That gives us a bit of an insight into the players. He has caught the

:17:43. > :17:53.red there, he missed it the first time. He must get behind the green,

:17:53. > :18:03.surely? No, not quite. He played that with a lot of side, not to

:18:03. > :18:04.

:18:04. > :18:14.leave the red on. He knows that Ryan Day is very strong in the long

:18:14. > :18:40.

:18:40. > :18:44.Those are the type of shot he was knocking in and a regular basis

:18:44. > :18:52.against Mark Allen in the first round and they were giving him good

:18:52. > :18:57.openings. Now, he has not got such a good success rate, so far in this

:18:57. > :19:05.match. He hasn't got the experience of being to the Crucible enough

:19:05. > :19:15.times. To understand these long matches - everybody misses balls

:19:15. > :19:46.

:19:46. > :19:53.out there. It is how you recover He could leave the cue ball were

:19:53. > :20:03.the red is, and that would lead an easy safety shot, but there was no

:20:03. > :20:21.

:20:21. > :20:25.real advantage of playing safe, He tried to kiss that red to the

:20:25. > :20:32.green and expected the red to stay where the green is and the green to

:20:32. > :20:42.come back towards its own spot, but it did not happen like that. This

:20:42. > :20:42.

:20:42. > :21:32.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:21:32. > :21:42.pock looks straight forward. -- He felt he was entitled to taken

:21:42. > :21:43.

:21:43. > :21:53.that shot to nothing. -- take on. It looks like he is taking the cup

:21:53. > :21:53.

:21:53. > :22:03.on - or, is he taking the long one on? -- the cut. The cut looks the

:22:03. > :22:06.

:22:06. > :22:16.easiest shot. In his previous match against Mark Allen, Cao barely ever

:22:16. > :22:27.

:22:27. > :22:30.The difference between that red and the ones he has been missing was

:22:31. > :22:36.that his cueing was much smoother. When you are playing those shots

:22:36. > :22:46.with a lot of side and stun, if you deliver the cue too fast, you will

:22:46. > :22:58.

:22:58. > :23:05.This has been a strong mind has got to come into play. He has had a few

:23:05. > :23:10.chances, he has had a break of 41, and 33, lost both frames to missing

:23:10. > :23:20.easy balls and a good position. He has got to put that out of his mind

:23:20. > :23:30.and just play what is in front of him. He didn't quite get the spin

:23:30. > :23:49.

:23:49. > :23:57.on the cue ball that he intended. Unexpected miss. I would love to

:23:57. > :24:07.have o'clock on these players. He seemed to take a little bit longer

:24:07. > :24:07.

:24:07. > :24:13.on it, when he was Dan in the shot. Not recommended, that. -- down in

:24:13. > :24:20.the shot. It is not recommended to take too long. You have got to

:24:20. > :24:27.clear your mind before you go down for the shot. Good advice from one

:24:27. > :24:37.of the game's leading coaches. I should have said, the game's

:24:37. > :24:41.

:24:42. > :24:51.leading coach! He has had first chance in both of the first frames

:24:52. > :25:05.

:25:05. > :25:14.and he has had the first chance in Slightly thinner on the blue than

:25:14. > :25:24.he would like. It is that beautiful cue action of his, with power, he

:25:24. > :25:26.

:25:26. > :25:31.played this done so well. -- played the stun. The only poor thing was

:25:31. > :25:37.that the white went near the cushion. But if he gets this red,

:25:37. > :25:47.he is on the blue. He's going to have to work to get the pink back

:25:47. > :26:12.

:26:12. > :26:17.This is not exactly where he wanted it. He has to be careful he does

:26:17. > :26:27.not kiss the red directly above it, and the West the blue. He has to

:26:27. > :26:33.

:26:33. > :26:41.play it with a little bit of side. He needs to take that positional

:26:41. > :26:51.shot out of the equation. He is still on the blue nicely. Just one

:26:51. > :27:00.

:27:00. > :27:10.good positional shot from making What kind of angle does he have won

:27:10. > :27:10.

:27:10. > :27:20.this red? He is just off straight. -- on this red. He cannot get

:27:20. > :27:20.

:27:20. > :28:16.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:28:16. > :28:24.perfect, can he? Everything is a That was well played. He made sure

:28:24. > :28:28.he was on a good angle. As Willie mentioned, it is not easy to win

:28:28. > :28:34.without the pink and black on. He has retained his position for the

:28:34. > :28:44.blue, so far. There is more chance of things going wrong with the cue

:28:44. > :28:57.

:28:57. > :29:07.He keeps playing that little bit He is 41 in front, so this is the

:29:07. > :29:11.killer red, to make the frame safe. The first time he has been

:29:11. > :29:21.fractionally out of position, and again, his power will come into

:29:21. > :29:24.

:29:24. > :29:31.play. It is a big hit to get from there to the blue. Lovely shot. And

:29:31. > :29:36.it could be the clincher. You have to time does so well, and really

:29:36. > :29:42.get into the cue ball to get that amount of side on. And to have won

:29:42. > :29:52.this frame, without potting a pink or black, it is one of the best

:29:52. > :30:25.

:30:25. > :30:32.He missed the cannon. He still has He might play the cannon onto the

:30:33. > :30:38.black to hold for the red. He will have to play something like that.

:30:38. > :30:41.Very well played. If he clears from here with a century, it will be one

:30:41. > :30:45.of the best centuries I have ever seen. He will need the black off

:30:45. > :30:55.the last red to make that a possibility. And you have seen a

:30:55. > :31:02.few centuries! Yes. What a shot! pressure, but it is still great.

:31:02. > :31:07.The crowd love it. They are hoping for a century break. And the beauty

:31:07. > :31:17.of this year is that our sponsors Betfred.com are giving to under

:31:17. > :31:23.pounds to Haven House Children's Hospice for every century made. --

:31:23. > :31:30.�200 this would be worth 2000! A it should get a bonus. It was

:31:30. > :31:40.impossible to make a century. This will be the 35th competitive

:31:40. > :31:53.

:31:53. > :32:03.century at the Crucible. I'm sure That was not bad. He would have

:32:03. > :32:09.

:32:09. > :32:17.What a shame. After those good shot. But Ryan Day, 87 in the third frame,

:32:17. > :32:22.it is all happening for him. So disappointed for this Chinese

:32:22. > :32:28.sensation. He has come through five qualifying matches. He had a great

:32:28. > :32:34.win over Tom Ford, where Tom Ford gave a frame away for being late to

:32:34. > :32:38.the table and eventually lost 10-9. To come to the Crucible and beat a

:32:38. > :32:46.player such as Mark Allen, he was a favourite to win the tournament,

:32:47. > :32:51.that is a feather in his cap. did it in style. Mark Allen did not

:32:51. > :32:55.play so badly. He did not play at his best, but this young man put

:32:55. > :33:01.him under pressure. I am disappointed to see him play like

:33:01. > :33:11.this so far. Hopefully, he can recover. He looks memorable at the

:33:11. > :33:12.

:33:12. > :33:17.moment. -- vulnerable. If he had not played as he had in the first

:33:17. > :33:22.match, I would be saying he has to improve and his safety is not good

:33:22. > :33:29.and he shot selection is not so good. But thankfully we saw him

:33:29. > :33:35.playing well against Mark Allen. He has to get a frame on board. You

:33:35. > :33:40.cannot win a match in any session, but you can put yourself in a

:33:40. > :33:50.position where you are struggling. Even though it is the best-of- 25,

:33:50. > :34:02.

:34:02. > :34:08.He was a long way out with that. After that break he had earlier,

:34:08. > :34:16.you would expect him to knock that in. When he gets in front of you,

:34:16. > :34:20.Ryan Day it is a tough player. -- man Ryan Day it is. He thrives on

:34:20. > :34:30.making long pots to start his breaks. He is very difficult to

:34:30. > :34:45.

:34:45. > :34:50.A much easier cue delivery once again. It is so difficult to keep

:34:50. > :35:00.calm when you are missing balls and disappointment grows shot by shot,

:35:00. > :35:33.

:35:33. > :35:37.frame by frame. This is a big test That was another good chance missed.

:35:37. > :35:47.I'm wondering if it rolled up the table a little bit. It appeared to

:35:47. > :35:53.

:35:53. > :36:03.Another chance for Ryan Day to get some points on the board. The black

:36:03. > :36:16.

:36:16. > :36:21.They are always missable, those. There is a different type of

:36:21. > :36:27.pressure on Ryan Day. At the moment, he knows his opponent is struggling.

:36:28. > :36:34.You feel as if you do not have to do that much to push on and get a

:36:34. > :36:44.good lead in the first session. Everybody does it. Even that shot,

:36:44. > :36:47.

:36:47. > :36:56.you have to be aggressive. Look at The red can't be missed, give it

:36:56. > :37:01.something. He has brought one out. He is a clipper. He does well when

:37:01. > :37:08.everything is going good. At the moment, you feel he needs

:37:08. > :37:18.inspiration out there. He certainly has the skill. At the moment, he is

:37:18. > :37:43.

:37:43. > :37:53.finding the task in front of him a Those are the shots that can

:37:53. > :38:04.

:38:04. > :38:13.inspire you if they go in. It is They say if you relax your but out

:38:13. > :38:23.there too often, somebody will come a long and cricket. Ryan Day --

:38:23. > :38:44.

:38:44. > :38:49.kick it. Ryan Day has not had to do I love watching Ryan Day play. It

:38:49. > :38:56.is disappointing he went backwards over the past couple of years. He

:38:56. > :39:03.has tremendous cue power. He gets a little bit uptight and starts to

:39:03. > :39:08.grip the cue when the pressure comes on. And sometimes when the

:39:08. > :39:18.pressure is on he suddenly dives at the balls. And he is a really nice

:39:18. > :39:24.

:39:24. > :39:32.I still think he has good performances in him. He works very

:39:32. > :39:38.hard at his game. He can be devastating on his day. Some of his

:39:38. > :39:48.friends say bared he is trying too hard all of the time to be perfect.

:39:48. > :39:50.

:39:50. > :39:55.Some people say you should strive for four excellent -- excellence,

:39:55. > :39:59.not perfection. But others say if you aim for perfection and miss,

:39:59. > :40:09.you are still pretty good. If you aim for mediocrity and you miss,

:40:09. > :40:18.

:40:18. > :40:24.Ryan Day has a mental battle to go on and win a major tournament. This

:40:24. > :40:34.could be his time, but not good shots like that. And he has left

:40:34. > :40:40.

:40:40. > :40:50.Even though he is leading 3-0, nobody is getting hold of the match

:40:50. > :40:57.

:40:57. > :41:07.Ryan Day has broken down at 30 odd. Cam Cao Yupeng make Ryan Day pay

:41:07. > :41:09.

:41:09. > :41:15.this time? -- can. Every frame that passes and goes on, it makes things

:41:15. > :41:23.harder to get rid of the nerves. He desperately needs to win a frame

:41:23. > :41:33.before the interval. He has a A fraction too low with the cue

:41:33. > :41:45.

:41:45. > :41:55.ball, but not bad. You mentioned His break-building at the moment is

:41:55. > :41:55.

:41:55. > :42:43.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:42:43. > :42:53.Ryan Day is looking where he can It looks as if he went too hard.

:42:53. > :43:02.

:43:02. > :43:06.He needs a good safety shot now. He can see the red. It needs to be

:43:06. > :43:16.tight to try to cover the right- hand side of the table. The pink is

:43:16. > :43:22.

:43:22. > :43:32.covered on the left-hand side and And there is a gap to play a shot

:43:32. > :43:48.

:43:48. > :43:58.You can see the advantage of The noise when it went into the

:43:58. > :44:09.

:44:09. > :44:19.He is playing the blue with check side, which is slightly more

:44:19. > :44:40.

:44:40. > :44:44.difficult. But he played it nicely. REFEREE: foul. You could see Ryan

:44:44. > :44:50.Day, he was turning around to say he had committed a foul. That is

:44:50. > :45:00.very good. You see a lot of that in the game. It was definitely pink

:45:00. > :45:02.

:45:02. > :45:10.Another chance for Cao Yupeng. Unexpected. You think he will start

:45:10. > :45:20.making something after the chances. Otherwise, it will be tough for him,

:45:20. > :45:33.

:45:33. > :45:43.That was not easy. Very well played. Because the pot was more difficult,

:45:43. > :45:57.

:45:57. > :46:07.it takes your concentration away He let the cue ball travel. He is

:46:07. > :46:18.

:46:18. > :46:28.not high, which means he will have If he gets straight on the pink, it

:46:28. > :46:29.

:46:30. > :46:39.is tough. A lot of players would If he gets straight on the red, it

:46:40. > :46:40.

:46:40. > :47:22.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:47:23. > :47:32.is a problem. He's making hard work He has played a few good pots in

:47:33. > :47:58.

:47:58. > :48:03.this effort of 26. A few good He will be relieved. When you are

:48:03. > :48:08.4-0 behind, you cannot explain what it is like. You feel empty,

:48:08. > :48:18.worthless, and you blame yourself for everything you missed. You come

:48:18. > :48:42.

:48:42. > :48:52.out with a headache. And that is He wants to be careful with the cue

:48:52. > :49:01.

:49:01. > :49:11.ball. I thought for a second he had That looks like to be the first of

:49:11. > :49:15.

:49:15. > :49:25.I think he needs three. He can swerve around the pink. He almost

:49:25. > :49:40.

:49:40. > :49:50.It is well worth Ryan Day trying to The chances are against, but you

:49:50. > :49:51.

:49:51. > :50:01.If he wins this frame, he will be delighted going into the dressing

:50:01. > :50:01.

:50:01. > :50:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:50:59. > :51:09.He did not hit that too well. The I thought Ryan Day would go in

:51:09. > :51:35.

:51:35. > :51:45.Luckily, the green has travels to The balls are not in a good

:51:45. > :51:50.

:51:50. > :52:00.position for Ryan Day to get the He almost knocked the pink in. That

:52:00. > :52:10.

:52:10. > :52:20.This is normally one of his favourites. You would expect him to

:52:20. > :52:33.

:52:33. > :52:43.I do not know why he played it so hard. It certainly added to the

:52:43. > :52:46.

:52:46. > :52:51.That was not a great attempt. A chance there to get behind the

:52:51. > :53:01.black. Even then, off what macro cushion, it should be easy enough.

:53:01. > :53:10.

:53:10. > :53:20.Ryan Day could do with others -- off one cushion. He needs two

:53:20. > :53:44.

:53:44. > :53:54.snookers and he needs his opponent A much more difficult pot than the

:53:54. > :54:07.

:54:07. > :54:16.At one time it looked as if he would not get a frame on the board.

:54:16. > :54:24.They play ate frames today. 8 in the next session and nine in the

:54:24. > :54:28.final session, if needed. He has not had a lot of table time. He

:54:28. > :54:31.will be pleased he has won a frame and Ryan Day will be a little bit

:54:31. > :54:35.and Ryan Day will be a little bit disappointed. But he goes into the

:54:35. > :54:39.disappointed. But he goes into the interval 3-1 in front.

:54:39. > :54:44.HAZEL IRVINE: That will be a big sigh of relief getting across the

:54:44. > :54:48.line. When you look at his strategic play, there were

:54:48. > :54:54.questions about one or two choices in the break-building department.

:54:54. > :54:55.We were watching him making a break. Positional play is being analysed a

:54:55. > :55:02.Positional play is being analysed a lot and rightly so. Take this

:55:02. > :55:07.situation. We decided that perhaps the best way here, even though

:55:07. > :55:17.there was a loose red, the best way would be to screw back into the

:55:17. > :55:19.

:55:19. > :55:23.We expected him to smash the balls up. He played a soft stun for

:55:23. > :55:33.position on the black. He rolled through the red to leave himself

:55:33. > :55:34.

:55:35. > :55:40.What would we do? There is an acute angle on the black. Instead of

:55:40. > :55:49.screwing into the pack, he should have aged the extreme left of the

:55:49. > :55:54.Because he did not seize the initiative on the previous black,

:55:54. > :55:59.we can run it and see what happens. He runs out of position. That could

:55:59. > :56:04.have cost him the frame. It shows up his tactical awareness and

:56:04. > :56:09.strategic play. The art of break- building, and some players might

:56:09. > :56:14.say you get bad luck, but it is not bad luck because you should have

:56:14. > :56:20.won the frame from that position initially. As we have seen, the

:56:20. > :56:26.balls never forgive you. Is this instinct? He is in his first season.

:56:26. > :56:31.Will it come with more experience? Yes, but it does not have to

:56:31. > :56:35.because we analyse it. Willie Thorne has pushed the Para when it

:56:35. > :56:42.comes to talking from the commentary box about the correct

:56:42. > :56:47.shot -- part up. Players should be practising and discussing among

:56:47. > :56:52.themselves and trying to improve their positional play. I would have

:56:52. > :56:57.loved so much analysis when I was younger. We were talking about what

:56:57. > :57:03.we would concentrate on if we had our time again. It would be

:57:03. > :57:09.positional play. We did not watch as much snooker when we played at

:57:09. > :57:13.the top level. But it is amazing how much you can learn and

:57:13. > :57:17.experience from watching other players and working in commentary.

:57:17. > :57:27.I wish I had watched more snooker over the years because I have

:57:27. > :57:28.

:57:28. > :57:32.learned so much more watching and commentating. But in the 1980s, you

:57:32. > :57:37.would have made the same mistakes. We have got closer to what is the

:57:37. > :57:47.correct positional shot under all circumstances. For the young

:57:47. > :57:55.players, my advice to them would be to watch a lot of snooker. Watch

:57:55. > :58:05.how the guys break build, Ronnie O'Sullivans, Stephen Hendry, watch

:58:05. > :58:07.

:58:07. > :58:17.them. And there is no excuse. We are on day and night. It is time to

:58:17. > :58:21.

:58:21. > :58:30.take a break and have some pub quiz in just again. Yesterday, they were

:58:30. > :58:40.one point ahead. And matches one point ahead. And matches

:58:40. > :58:42.

:58:42. > :58:47.one point ahead. And matches The next round is a quick-fire

:58:47. > :58:57.round. And rather than sitting around, we will have you jumping

:58:57. > :59:02.out of your seats. Two later! his mind as a point. I will give

:59:02. > :59:10.you a clue and if you jump out of your seat, you will say yes! And

:59:10. > :59:18.then you give the answer. Number- one. Hammer horror actor. Yes. Ray

:59:18. > :59:28.Reardon. That is wrong. His name is something to do with snooker.

:59:28. > :59:35.

:59:35. > :59:45.Christopher Lee? No. It could be. Hold on. Peter. Peter cushion. --

:59:45. > :59:48.

:59:48. > :59:58.Cushing. Number two. Left-back Wayne. Bridge. Correct. Grouse,

:59:58. > :00:09.

:00:09. > :00:19.pheasant, chicken. Foul. Correct. Seventies police show. Cannons. --

:00:19. > :00:37.

:00:37. > :00:47.You do nothing but complain. Next... Anticipation. And eight legged

:00:47. > :00:51.

:00:51. > :01:01.creature. Spider. He did not say yes. It comes before driver and

:01:01. > :01:18.

:01:18. > :01:28.ball. Q. It's my hand it over here. Screw. No. 8. A lightning flash.

:01:28. > :01:34.

:01:34. > :01:44.did not say yes. Come on. Potter. Yes. Down with kids. Number nine.

:01:44. > :01:50.

:01:50. > :02:00.US rock band. Oh, yes. Case. the final one. This is what we are

:02:00. > :02:23.

:02:23. > :02:28.about. Led Zeppelin front man. Plant. There you go. At the end of

:02:28. > :02:38.the first week where we have strangely been wearing the same

:02:38. > :02:42.

:02:42. > :02:52.clothes all the time, what we have in the shouting round, scoring five

:02:52. > :02:52.

:02:52. > :03:02.the Good the Bad And the ugly. The DJs have 43 it. The Good the Bad

:03:02. > :03:03.

:03:03. > :03:10.And the ugly have 44. As anyone who was in Istanbul knows, you win

:03:10. > :03:20.nothing at half-time. If you do not know the answer, just says Steve

:03:20. > :03:23.

:03:23. > :03:32.Davis. Mr Parrott did not look pleased at the end, did he?

:03:32. > :03:35.hates losing quizzes. I am glad you have changed. Shall we move on?

:03:35. > :03:39.Stephen Maguire is very well fancied by many people to go a long

:03:39. > :03:43.way in this championship, especially after a very good second

:03:43. > :03:48.half of the season in which he has won a minor title and been runner

:03:48. > :03:53.up in a couple of others. Over the years at the Crucible he has had

:03:53. > :04:02.some moments to forget, but others where he has had things that will

:04:02. > :04:09.stick in his memory. Let's get his best memories of the Crucible. The

:04:10. > :04:15.first memory is when we joined the young players of distinction. You

:04:15. > :04:20.could fill the atmosphere. It was a lot smaller than I was expecting

:04:20. > :04:24.and the atmosphere, even watching it then, was pretty electric. The

:04:24. > :04:30.first time I qualified I had to play Ronnie O'Sullivan, which was a

:04:30. > :04:36.bit of a dampener. You can never prepare for the feeling when you go

:04:36. > :04:40.out and play, pure adrenalin and butterflies. I still get that today

:04:40. > :04:44.at the Crucible. Maybe it is because it is the World

:04:44. > :04:50.Championship and you are trying your hardest at the tournament, but

:04:50. > :04:56.it is just so closed and so warm and the crowd can touch you if you

:04:57. > :05:02.sit in your seat. That is hard to get used to. A lot of players just

:05:02. > :05:06.fold. On the other hand, if you are playing well, it can be the best

:05:06. > :05:11.players in the world. The weather is pretty good as well and the

:05:11. > :05:15.whole city is buzzing around the Crucible. It is good when you go

:05:15. > :05:25.outside into the square and everybody is sitting with their

:05:25. > :05:30.

:05:30. > :05:35.autograph books. It is a good time to be there. The semi-finals of the

:05:35. > :05:44.world, the first to 17 was quite exciting and I had a good lead to

:05:44. > :05:49.go in. That was quite painful. But our thing because it was John

:05:49. > :05:54.Higgins who beat me it was better that way. If anyone is going to

:05:54. > :06:01.beat me, I wanted it to be him. The World Championship for me is the

:06:01. > :06:06.biggest thing. It is the one I play for. Starting off I wanted to win

:06:06. > :06:12.it before 30, but it has gone now and I am 31 and it is not going to

:06:12. > :06:22.get any easier. I will have to get it in the next couple of years, or

:06:22. > :06:28.else. His Cambridgeshire opponent, Joe Perry, has been a very likeable

:06:28. > :06:36.fixture on the scene for a few years and he is now 57 years old.

:06:36. > :06:42.He made the highest break of the 2004 championships, 145. His best

:06:42. > :06:49.progress was in 2008 with a run to the semi-finals where he lost to

:06:49. > :06:59.Ali Carter a. There were excellence sessions from both men. John

:06:59. > :07:33.

:07:33. > :07:43.Parrott and Dennis Taylor are REFEREE: Keep quiet, please.

:07:43. > :07:55.

:07:55. > :08:02.Phantom chocolate eater is back It did not put Stephen Maguire off.

:08:02. > :08:06.To roll the brown in from that position is tough enough. The two

:08:06. > :08:16.at the back look like they are available into both corners, so no

:08:16. > :08:24.

:08:24. > :08:31.If he wins this frame and opens up a four frame advantage, he is the

:08:31. > :08:37.sort of player who believes and will not let go. It is what you

:08:37. > :08:47.have got to do at this game. Steve Davis bogeyed everyone in the 80s.

:08:47. > :08:51.

:08:51. > :09:01.If you have got your opponent where you want them, you just carry on.

:09:01. > :09:31.

:09:31. > :09:41.If Stephen Maguire wins this frame, He should finish on pink or blue.

:09:41. > :09:43.

:09:43. > :09:53.He has got an unwanted kiss on the blue. But it is not bad. I would

:09:53. > :10:12.

:10:12. > :10:16.say that was a wonderful kiss. He has left an angle. He could not

:10:16. > :10:23.go for the blue this time simply because the pink is away from the

:10:23. > :10:33.reds. That is why he decided on the black rather than the blue. He has

:10:33. > :11:04.

:11:04. > :11:14.They have opened up beautifully, but he did open them up himself, so

:11:14. > :11:37.

:11:37. > :11:43.Well, well, well, Stephen Maguire. That will annoy him. He has kicked

:11:43. > :11:50.the cue. That was a lapse in concentration. That is what he was

:11:50. > :12:00.doing in his first round match. He played some great stuff, but then

:12:00. > :12:22.

:12:22. > :12:32.Joe has really got to go to work here. His opponent has let him off

:12:32. > :12:32.

:12:32. > :13:24.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:13:24. > :13:34.the cook with that mistake and he He decided not to risk the cannon

:13:34. > :13:44.

:13:44. > :13:51.on this occasion. I do not blame As he gets on one of those four

:13:51. > :14:01.reds, it clears the path for another couple. This will do his

:14:01. > :14:24.

:14:24. > :14:33.confidence the world of good if he The reds will start to clear

:14:33. > :14:38.themselves wants this one has gone below the pink. No excuse for not

:14:38. > :14:48.getting the next three or four reds. The one on the cushion is going to

:14:48. > :15:20.

:15:20. > :15:28.It will be interesting to see when he tries to get the angle to bring

:15:28. > :15:38.the difficult red out. Not a bad idea to get that one on the left-

:15:38. > :16:03.

:16:03. > :16:13.The pink is the best ball to try and move that difficult red, but

:16:13. > :16:22.

:16:22. > :16:29.now he is going to have to do it He overdid that. That is careless

:16:29. > :16:37.from Joe. That was a good chance, but he cannot move the red now.

:16:37. > :16:43.am a little bit surprised he screwed that. He could have played

:16:43. > :16:53.a soft stun and bounced it off the cushion and back, but he let it go.

:16:53. > :17:07.

:17:07. > :17:15.That chance of removing the red has Knocking that brown relatively safe

:17:15. > :17:22.is not a bad thing from Joe's point of view. If he does slip up, it

:17:22. > :17:32.would be a tough clearance. It is pretty tough to get this safe as

:17:32. > :17:32.

:17:33. > :17:37.well. It is not one you can knock around the angles. He could hit it

:17:37. > :17:47.on the left hand side and send the red across the table and the white

:17:47. > :18:15.

:18:15. > :18:19.back up to the baulk area. That He hit it much too thin, didn't he?

:18:19. > :18:29.I would have been tempted to leave the white near the black myself,

:18:29. > :18:36.

:18:36. > :18:46.Not often you see the pros take a double on, but that was one

:18:46. > :18:50.

:18:50. > :19:00.occasion where it was worth the I mentioned about the brown going

:19:00. > :19:26.

:19:26. > :19:33.That was a very fine cut and difficult to control. Has he got

:19:33. > :19:43.away with this again? He missed the yellow because he had so much side

:19:43. > :20:07.

:20:07. > :20:17.Stephen just stepping aside to let the referee to see the exact

:20:17. > :20:51.

:20:51. > :21:01.He needed to keep the cue ball and the object ball safe. That is much

:21:01. > :21:14.

:21:14. > :21:21.better. He would rather get the It has gone in, but he was trying

:21:21. > :21:31.to knock the brown out. He took a chance to knock the brown out.

:21:31. > :21:38.

:21:38. > :21:48.not sure if he had a double-kiss He tried to move the brown and

:21:48. > :21:56.

:21:56. > :22:06.Even though it is the first to 13, this is quite a key frame if you

:22:06. > :22:23.

:22:23. > :22:29.That is obscene, absolutely obscene! That is a couple of

:22:29. > :22:33.doubles he has pulled off. Joe must be sitting in amazement. The last

:22:33. > :22:43.thing he thought Stephen Maguire would try was a double from that

:22:43. > :23:05.

:23:05. > :23:14.That is a big body blow to Joe Perry. He made a break of 56 and it

:23:14. > :23:20.looks as if he was going to be just two frames behind. It became 84 as

:23:20. > :23:25.they went out to the interval. They have now returned and we are live

:23:25. > :23:35.in the arena. Joe Perry has had a break of 52 in the next frame

:23:35. > :23:47.

:23:47. > :23:57.Joe Perry had done all the hard work. That was the one in the

:23:57. > :24:02.middle pocket. He only needed a few more pots. What a miss that was.

:24:02. > :24:12.This will really hurt if Stephen Maguire can make this frame.

:24:12. > :24:17.

:24:17. > :24:21.yes, but he cannot complain. He has had his chances today. Stephen

:24:21. > :24:26.Maguire looked pretty impressive amongst the balls, but his long-

:24:26. > :24:32.ball game has not been that great today. He has missed mid-range and

:24:32. > :24:42.long pots. That will have to improve. He is getting plenty of

:24:42. > :24:47.

:24:47. > :24:55.help off joke. -- Joe. The standard yesterday in this match was quite

:24:55. > :25:01.incredible. The pot success rate was up in the 90s. At one stage we

:25:01. > :25:11.had 96% from Stephen Maguire and 92% from Joe Perry. They are still

:25:11. > :25:37.

:25:37. > :25:47.The red next to the pink is available so he does not have to

:25:47. > :25:47.

:25:47. > :25:52.play any cannons. He did not quite get the side on it. He should be OK.

:25:53. > :25:58.You want to keep it as easy as possible for yourself. That

:25:58. > :26:08.expression tells you he is a little disappointed. He sets such a high

:26:08. > :26:12.

:26:12. > :26:22.standard for himself, Stephen That is the problem when you are

:26:22. > :26:49.

:26:49. > :26:55.slightly out of position, it The pink is definitely pottable and

:26:55. > :26:59.that will solve the problem of the red. I do not know what this will

:26:59. > :27:09.do to Joe Perry's confidence if he loses this frame after missing that

:27:09. > :27:42.

:27:42. > :27:52.How often which Joe miss something like that? Typical Stephen Maguire.

:27:52. > :27:54.

:27:54. > :27:58.He will not lift his foot off the accelerator. It will make it very

:27:59. > :28:07.tough for Joe Perry to recover from something like this, John. Yes,

:28:07. > :28:17.Stephen Maguire is a ferocious match player. He knows it is very

:28:17. > :28:23.important to win the frames you should win. There is no doubt about

:28:23. > :28:33.it, Joe Perry had his chance. But it looks like Steve Maguire is

:28:33. > :28:43.

:28:43. > :28:50.A big body blow to Joe Perry. He started off with a break of 52 and

:28:50. > :28:56.was looking good for the frame. But that Mr proved very costly and that

:28:56. > :29:01.is a fabulous 80 break for Stephen Maguire to extend his lead to 9-4.

:29:01. > :29:06.It is a pot, Sheffield and the eyes of the snooker world are right here

:29:06. > :29:11.at the Crucible. Top-class action with packed crowds as well. But

:29:11. > :29:16.there are plenty of ways of keeping up-to-date. If you do not want to

:29:16. > :29:21.miss a single ball, live matches are just a click away. Press the

:29:21. > :29:27.red button on your remote control. We are also on line and live

:29:27. > :29:32.streaming from both tables is available from our website. BBC

:29:32. > :29:42.iPlayer allows you to download all the action on demand. We are also

:29:42. > :29:50.on Twitter. Ask us what you would like to know. You can also listen

:29:50. > :29:55.to Radio 5 Live for all the updates. For the very first time in

:29:55. > :29:59.Sheffield we have the very best pictures of the very best players,

:29:59. > :30:04.because if you are lucky enough to have the BBC HD Channel you can

:30:04. > :30:08.watch all the morning sessions alive. If all that has not got you

:30:08. > :30:18.to dizzy with anticipation, you can join me every night from 6 o'clock

:30:18. > :30:25.

:30:25. > :30:29.Perfect timing from Rob Walker as usual. Stephen Maguire has left

:30:29. > :30:34.himself a little bit short. It was a lovely sunny June Mack win they

:30:34. > :30:44.recorded that and we have not had too many of those recently. -- a

:30:44. > :30:51.

:30:51. > :30:56.-- day. Well done. That is a great shot. After what happened in the

:30:56. > :31:06.previous frame, that was an extremely good pot. He has got a

:31:06. > :31:07.

:31:07. > :31:17.great temperament, Joe Perry. Big friends with Neil Robertson, always

:31:17. > :31:26.winding each other up. Big Chelsea supporter. He nearly lifted the

:31:26. > :31:30.roof the other night, when Chelsea won. He is entitled to. There is a

:31:30. > :31:35.Chelsea shirt, there. You did not see too many of those are under in

:31:36. > :31:45.the season. That has been washed and dusted off and brought back out,

:31:46. > :31:47.

:31:47. > :31:56.Dennis! He has been scratching his head a few times this afternoon,

:31:56. > :32:01.Joe Perry, wondering whether the black will go. The pink might be

:32:01. > :32:11.available here. It is easier to get on that red to the left of the

:32:11. > :32:12.

:32:12. > :32:22.If the red goes next to the black, he can go red, blue, and back up

:32:22. > :32:24.

:32:24. > :32:29.for the red that is a little bit awkward. The referee has got to

:32:29. > :32:32.find a tricky spot, right and the middle of those reds. It just in a

:32:32. > :32:38.straight line behind it. I thought there might have been enough room

:32:38. > :32:43.in the middle of those, but there's not. It is a tricky sporting

:32:43. > :32:48.exercise, but she has done a fantastic job, first time at the

:32:48. > :32:58.Crucible. She is from China. She refereed a maximum break on her

:32:58. > :33:03.

:33:03. > :33:13.It is important to get on the right side of the blue. He could have

:33:13. > :33:19.

:33:19. > :33:29.done with that cue ball going a He did well from that angle to get

:33:29. > :33:33.

:33:33. > :33:39.up for this red. He needs a good He has got it. He has got to be

:33:39. > :33:49.careful. He needs to stun this, so that the white doesn't stick in the

:33:49. > :33:56.

:33:56. > :34:00.That was well played. Could have been better. There is one, near the

:34:00. > :34:07.blue, that will definitely go, but he would have hoped for something a

:34:07. > :34:17.little bit easier. He hit the white right then the centre, not on the

:34:17. > :34:18.

:34:18. > :34:23.bottom. That is how you stun the Just a little bit of noise, Joe

:34:23. > :34:33.Perry just settling himself. They are in between frames on the other

:34:33. > :34:39.

:34:39. > :34:44.Now, where is that red going? He just seems to be going along nicely

:34:44. > :34:50.and then things get thrown out of position, slightly. Unfortunately

:34:50. > :34:55.for Joe Perry, the tell-tale signs of nervousness. He hit that quite a

:34:55. > :35:05.bit harder than he has it quite a few of his shorts today. He is

:35:05. > :35:05.

:35:05. > :36:03.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:36:03. > :36:06.definitely under pressure at the What I didn't realise was that it

:36:06. > :36:14.was four years since Stephen Maguire has won a ranking event,

:36:14. > :36:20.and that was out in China. Yes, that is an amazing statistic. The

:36:21. > :36:25.way that he plays the game, you wouldn't have think it would be

:36:25. > :36:34.that long. But this wouldn't be a bad place to correct that, with it?

:36:34. > :36:44.He has won the UK Championship. We can show you this power shot again.

:36:44. > :36:46.

:36:46. > :36:51.Two of his fellow Scot Mikes have been world champion. -- Scots.

:36:51. > :36:58.Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Graeme Dott. I think Stephen

:36:58. > :37:03.Maguire would like to join those three great players. It has to be

:37:03. > :37:10.said he has never played his best snooker at the Crucible. He is

:37:10. > :37:18.trying to put that right. He played brilliantly in 2007 and he was

:37:18. > :37:22.leading John Higgins in that semi- finals 14-10, but John Higgins made

:37:22. > :37:32.one of those trademark comebacks and refused to be beaten. It was

:37:32. > :37:35.

:37:35. > :37:45.I don't think any of those reds are available. They are all covering

:37:45. > :37:46.

:37:46. > :37:50.He could see the right hand side, to get the right side of the blue,

:37:50. > :37:57.so even if he played the gentle cannon on the red to the right,

:37:57. > :38:02.that would open things up. If he just nudges that, he will open up

:38:02. > :38:10.the reds. But sometimes he likes to play it with a little bit more

:38:10. > :38:20.power. If he only just landed on that he would be OK. Just depends

:38:20. > :38:23.

:38:23. > :38:33.It is a tricky group of reds, this. He can go either side of that red

:38:33. > :38:46.

:38:46. > :38:56.that is on the pink spot, to play He needs a little bit of angle to

:38:56. > :39:13.

:39:13. > :39:19.If you force them, they are more Not a bad shot to roll onto the

:39:19. > :39:24.blue. He can play the snooker, or leave the white treat on the

:39:24. > :39:34.cushion, but if he rolled it up to the blue, that would leave it very

:39:34. > :39:49.

:39:49. > :39:52.There is an escape route for Joe Perry. He needs a thin contact. He

:39:52. > :40:02.has got to be careful not to push the red over the right corner

:40:02. > :40:15.

:40:15. > :40:25.This is an excellent shot. But Stephen Maguire has had a look and

:40:25. > :40:25.

:40:25. > :40:35.the red that is closest to the pink spot, is pottable. That is a free

:40:35. > :40:40.shot, off the safety. He did not anticipate the red coming back also,

:40:40. > :40:50.but it has just about pulled up. I don't think that will cut into the

:40:50. > :41:13.

:41:13. > :41:23.He has to be careful, you, he has got to find the gap, and he has.

:41:23. > :41:26.

:41:26. > :41:31.This is excellent. -- careful here. Once again, does that one closest

:41:31. > :41:41.to the pink Cup? If he comes back up the table he has to be careful

:41:41. > :41:48.

:41:48. > :41:52.not to go close to the red that is I think he is concerned about

:41:52. > :41:56.cannoning into the red that is near the middle pocket. He is looking at

:41:56. > :42:06.the possibility of seeking this up and to the corner, and screwing

:42:06. > :42:16.

:42:16. > :42:21.back into the baulk area. -- taking He tried to pot that, but as long

:42:21. > :42:31.has he screwed the white back, it did not going anywhere near the

:42:31. > :42:37.

:42:37. > :42:47.pocket. But the white has gone all This looks good. This looks very

:42:47. > :43:00.

:43:00. > :43:10.They are all key frames, but this is a must win frame, for Joe Perry,

:43:10. > :43:28.

:43:28. > :43:38.What a mistake that says -- is. A wry smile from Stephen. He was

:43:38. > :43:45.

:43:45. > :43:49.trying to get behind the green of a pew cushions. -- off a few cushions.

:43:49. > :43:55.The cue ball be near the side cushion is making the shot a little

:43:55. > :43:59.more difficult, and the position is not absolute. He has got to make

:43:59. > :44:09.sure that he pots this, and the cue ball pulls up, so that he can at

:44:09. > :44:18.

:44:18. > :44:23.No, he was under the cosh with that shot, because he knew that he was

:44:23. > :44:26.sticking Stephen Maguire right in. It is the type of shot he is so

:44:27. > :44:32.good at, but he did not push through the cue in a dead straight

:44:33. > :44:42.line. He is suffering now, little bit, Joe Perry. Just a couple of

:44:43. > :45:11.

:45:11. > :45:21.He has left himself little straight on this. We know the cue power that

:45:21. > :45:27.

:45:27. > :45:37.he has - it shouldn't prove a He didn't try to overdo that. He

:45:37. > :45:48.

:45:49. > :45:54.would like to have been a little That needs to pull up. I don't

:45:54. > :46:04.think he intended to be that close to the pocket. His smile tells you

:46:04. > :46:18.

:46:18. > :46:28.that. Luckily, he can drop it in He has held himself together better

:46:28. > :46:33.

:46:33. > :46:40.than Joe Perry. In amongst the balls, he has been very controlled.

:46:40. > :46:45.But the odd mistake has come mostly from Joe Perry today. He could

:46:45. > :46:49.quite easily have played to get on the black, but he wanted to make it

:46:49. > :46:55.as easy as possible to get to the last red, but he is on the wrong

:46:55. > :47:01.side of the blue. Well he force this one in, to get closer to the

:47:01. > :47:07.red? He does like to power them into the pocket. Look at the side

:47:07. > :47:11.and that. In fact, too much side. Now, he is going to need the rest.

:47:11. > :47:21.He can play a teacher pit in. And it doesn't matter where the cue

:47:21. > :47:40.

:47:40. > :47:50.ball goes, really. -- he can play 31, the difference at the moment.

:47:50. > :47:58.

:47:58. > :48:01.Joe Perry needs one for. Snooker to tie. -- one four-point snooker. He

:48:01. > :48:11.will just roll in behind the brown, and Joe Perry will concede the

:48:11. > :48:14.

:48:15. > :48:24.He is coming to the table, but very little chance, the way the balls

:48:25. > :48:34.

:48:34. > :48:40.That is one of the snookers needed. He needs three snookers at the

:48:40. > :48:50.moment. That was a bizarre snooker, but he deserves to get there one of

:48:50. > :48:51.

:48:51. > :49:01.the ball, does Joe Perry. -- the run of the ball. Talk about

:49:01. > :49:06.

:49:06. > :49:12.Could have done better. He should have had the cue ball tight up

:49:12. > :49:15.behind the blue to make that across the table shot not on, but he was

:49:15. > :49:24.nowhere near that. I would be surprised if Stephen Maguire misses

:49:24. > :49:31.this. I don't blame Joe Perry 4 trying for snookers because the

:49:31. > :49:38.green is in a good position. Maybe not for the shot here, but that is

:49:38. > :49:48.the best ball to get the snooker from. Should be easy to come off

:49:48. > :49:52.the cushion and flick the yellow. In fact, he could get to direct.

:49:52. > :50:02.There was no value in Joe Perry potting the yellow, because he

:50:02. > :50:09.

:50:09. > :50:19.In the end, he has worked around the blue and he has taken the ball

:50:19. > :50:42.

:50:42. > :50:51.that was in a very good position to He not only found the gap, he found

:50:51. > :51:01.the pocket. Worrying times for Joe Perry. Stephen Maguire starting to

:51:01. > :51:05.

:51:05. > :51:08.dominate this match. No breaks in this frame. That was more than

:51:08. > :51:14.enough to take that frame were Stephen Maguire. He extends his

:51:14. > :51:22.lead. It is now a 10-4. Slowly but surely Stephen Maguire has just

:51:22. > :51:28.begun to put his foot than, and -- his foot down, and you think this

:51:28. > :51:34.match is slipping away from Joe Perry. He has lost a couple of

:51:34. > :51:38.frames. He has missed the red into the middle, he has every chance. It

:51:38. > :51:42.was a little bit difficult off the side cushion but those are the type

:51:42. > :51:47.of pots you expect Joe Perry to get. He's very experienced. He has a

:51:47. > :51:52.good, solid, all-round game, and he is missing a few opportunities.

:51:52. > :51:59.Those will come back to haunt you. That must be frustrating because he

:51:59. > :52:03.knocked in that 52 break and still got beaten, he has now gone six

:52:03. > :52:07.frames behind, and when you compare his standard than that first

:52:07. > :52:11.session, how difficult is it to motivate yourself when you know

:52:11. > :52:16.that your standard has dropped from session to session? It is not just

:52:16. > :52:21.your standard. The other guy has a big influence. He can take table

:52:21. > :52:25.time away from you. If you look at the game of golf, it is similar.

:52:26. > :52:29.You get your own ball, you can hit you when shot, and it is irrelevant

:52:30. > :52:34.what the other guy does, but as snooker player is effectively

:52:34. > :52:41.competing for time at the table. You can be playing quite well, but

:52:41. > :52:47.all the sudden come if your opponent plays better, it turns up

:52:47. > :52:56.the heat for you. We can drop out to the other side of the dividing

:52:56. > :53:02.wall. This was a frame six in the match between Ryan Day and Cao

:53:02. > :53:09.Yupeng. Cao is in command. You have been keeping an eye on both of

:53:09. > :53:14.these matches. What have you observed, Ken? He has won this

:53:14. > :53:20.frame and close the gap, but he has not lived up to the expectation

:53:20. > :53:26.that he did in the first match. Which can be expected. If he can

:53:26. > :53:29.get out of this lost session by five and the, off 4-4, he will be

:53:29. > :53:33.delighted and Ryan Day will be disappointed that he did not have a

:53:33. > :53:37.bigger gap. At the moment he's handling himself a little bit

:53:37. > :53:43.better and now he has got a couple of frames on the board he will be

:53:43. > :53:48.pleased with themselves. You have seen Ryan Day in the qualifiers. It

:53:48. > :53:55.has been mystifying what happened to him as he drop from former world

:53:55. > :54:00.No. 6, to number 55. Why has this sudden burst of form happened at

:54:00. > :54:04.just the right time? He will be relieved to get to the qualifiers

:54:04. > :54:11.last week with a bit of confidence. When you're playing in this

:54:11. > :54:15.qualifiers, whether you're John Higgins author Stephen Hendry, you

:54:15. > :54:19.can struggle, because they are not many people watching and it is hard

:54:19. > :54:24.to keep your concentration and the standard is very tough. There is no

:54:24. > :54:29.cameras, no television, no big crowds, there is still pressure but

:54:30. > :54:36.not as much as there is come out there. These players are playing

:54:36. > :54:41.more cruelly. And that makes it very difficult. The question you

:54:41. > :54:44.asked about Ryan Day, we don't know because we are not there on a daily

:54:44. > :54:48.basis knowing what is going on with his practice routine and going on

:54:48. > :54:52.in his mind. If you ask the player you might get a more candid answer

:54:52. > :54:58.but it still might not be the right answer because what a player

:54:58. > :55:02.perceives as the problem with his game might not be. That is why

:55:02. > :55:06.players use psychologists. How do you repeat what you did as well as

:55:07. > :55:11.you did, it is a fascinating concept. Sometimes you get it right,

:55:11. > :55:18.something you get it wrong, and sometimes it is just luck, when it

:55:18. > :55:27.hits right. Back to the other side, and Stephen Maguire made a tactical

:55:27. > :55:34.error earlier on. Yes, he certainly did. He took on a long pot and he

:55:34. > :55:42.did not get near it. And this is the result. He left that red on,

:55:42. > :55:46.and Joe Perry is a amongst the balls. And what happens? He gets I

:55:46. > :55:51.horrendous kick. It is still on the black, but it has boiled his

:55:51. > :56:00.position. That is all you need when things are not going well and you

:56:00. > :56:10.have missed a couple. He needs the last two frames of the session.

:56:10. > :56:14.

:56:14. > :56:20.Anything else and you would not It is amazing. The kick comes at

:56:20. > :56:26.that time when he has got a chance, he is in the balls, and now, the

:56:26. > :56:29.black is out of commission. only can he play for it, Dennis, if

:56:29. > :56:37.he comes back far enough he could play this and smashed into the side

:56:37. > :56:41.of the pack. He has probably got enough of an angle to do so. As

:56:41. > :56:51.long as he gets the right angle he could go into the pack and break

:56:51. > :56:54.

:56:54. > :57:00.There might be one possible pot. That did not work out as he

:57:00. > :57:10.intended. He could play up for a baulk colour, if it does. But it

:57:10. > :57:10.

:57:11. > :57:15.will not go, so end of break. Splitting the pack didn't work.

:57:15. > :57:25.greater the angle, the more power he could have got into it.

:57:25. > :57:42.

:57:42. > :57:52.Finishing relatively straight, and Much too thick a contact that time,

:57:52. > :57:57.

:57:57. > :58:01.I notice yesterday Stephen Maguire, even though he was playing well,

:58:01. > :58:04.never wrist anything. He would have just played a straight forward

:58:04. > :58:10.safety yesterday but he is obviously feeling a little bit more

:58:10. > :58:19.confident now. He has played a few long pots and not got anywhere near

:58:19. > :58:24.them. He is leading 7-4, and he is annoyed with himself. His long game

:58:24. > :58:32.is not in comparison to what he has been like when he has been in among

:58:32. > :58:42.them, he still looks like he's going to score. But he needs a

:58:42. > :58:49.

:58:49. > :58:59.practice to get his long game a bit better of. -- off. Just at 35%, Joe

:58:59. > :59:04.

:59:04. > :59:14.Perry much better in the long pot success department. -- 55%. He has

:59:14. > :59:48.

:59:48. > :59:58.got six out of 14, Stephen. That is This frame is becoming a little

:59:58. > :59:59.

:59:59. > :00:08.Only the yellow and green on their spots. If he could knock this long

:00:08. > :00:18.red and, I think he has waited long enough. -- red in. He is on the

:00:18. > :00:35.

:00:35. > :00:45.If he can find a little bit of form in these last two frames and take

:00:45. > :00:50.

:00:50. > :01:00.them, 10-6 is not impossible. He would still be in there. I have

:01:00. > :01:00.

:01:00. > :01:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:01:52. > :02:02.seen a lot of matches where players He did not quite get into that, so

:02:02. > :02:14.

:02:14. > :02:24.he is going to go up to the green Could have done with just a little

:02:24. > :02:52.

:02:52. > :03:00.One more good shot needed. One could cannon. And that was it.

:03:00. > :03:10.Nicely played. Now he can just play another little cannon and move the

:03:10. > :03:10.

:03:10. > :04:00.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

:04:00. > :04:10.I thought Stephen was going to play safe and he missed it by a

:04:10. > :04:12.

:04:12. > :04:17.proverbial mile and it has led to this. It is good to see he is still

:04:17. > :04:25.competing. It has been a difficult afternoon for him. He has missed a

:04:25. > :04:35.few chances. His opponent got away with a few mistakes. But he is

:04:35. > :04:46.

:04:46. > :04:55.That is Joe's highest break since the opening frame. It could not

:04:55. > :05:05.have come at a better time. When you have got 73 with all the

:05:05. > :05:23.

:05:23. > :05:33.colours left, you know there is the In fact, I can correct that, Joe

:05:33. > :05:47.

:05:47. > :05:57.made an 82 break in frame eight. What a cracking pot. I hope he can

:05:57. > :06:10.

:06:10. > :06:18.do it. �200 for every century break Absolutely brilliant. The century

:06:18. > :06:28.did not look on, did it? This will be the 35th century this year at

:06:28. > :06:29.

:06:29. > :06:35.the Crucible. The pressure was really on and Joe Perry gets a

:06:35. > :06:41.terrific round of applause from this Crucible audience. He deserves

:06:41. > :06:48.at magnificent break. He gets a frame back, but it is still 10-5. I

:06:48. > :06:57.think he must have hurt us. A beautifully constructed break as

:06:57. > :07:02.well. Yes, it was and �200 for the hospice. Not to be bitter and

:07:02. > :07:07.twisted about the fact I am not in the event and I did not make 100.

:07:07. > :07:11.But century breaks are going to be broken this year. There is a direct

:07:11. > :07:17.correlation between the size of the pockets and we are talking a

:07:17. > :07:22.fraction of difference, and how they had gone in past years. Just a

:07:22. > :07:25.fraction of a difference it makes all the difference. When you talk

:07:25. > :07:35.about a fraction of a difference, what sort of size is a fraction

:07:35. > :07:37.

:07:37. > :07:41.when it comes to a pocket? This match. You are talking mm. After

:07:41. > :07:44.the first couple of days the players were complaining about

:07:44. > :07:51.bouncing and the weather may have had an effect on the conditions at

:07:51. > :07:57.the table, but the tables have had new cloths. The balls will slide in

:07:57. > :08:03.along the top cushions. Players are dropping them in and you might see

:08:03. > :08:08.them wobbling a little bit. Because the top is new, they would drop.

:08:08. > :08:14.When they are a little bit old, they will tighten up a little bit.

:08:14. > :08:18.I was talking to Stephen Hendry and he says this is a new batch of

:08:18. > :08:24.tables that have been made and he thinks they are slightly easier,

:08:24. > :08:32.generally the size of the pockets, than the last batch and a new money

:08:32. > :08:38.factor is making them. I do not exactly know about the whole thing,

:08:38. > :08:42.but on television from the camera angle sometimes they all look quite

:08:42. > :08:47.easy-going because you are seeing the shot from behind. If they

:08:47. > :08:52.become too easy in the eyes of the public, you think, it is not fair,

:08:52. > :08:57.they are making the tables easier for the pros than they are for the

:08:57. > :09:03.clubs, but that is not the case. you were to put one of these tables

:09:03. > :09:07.into a club, it would not make a bit of difference? Faith for a

:09:07. > :09:16.couple of weeks the cloth is good, but then after that they get

:09:16. > :09:20.ridiculously tight. Let's see what happens in the early stages of the

:09:20. > :09:25.last frame. If they put these tables in clubs,

:09:25. > :09:31.John, there would be very few frames finished. They are much

:09:31. > :09:41.tighter than a club table. would run out of 10 pence pieces

:09:41. > :10:04.

:10:04. > :10:10.for the meter! Meanwhile, that was I do not think he has got the angle

:10:10. > :10:13.to roll this in and finish on the black, that is what the problem is.

:10:13. > :10:23.He has got a little bit of work to do with the cue ball to get good

:10:23. > :10:35.

:10:35. > :10:45.That was not a bad choice of shot, but he is a little bit unlucky.

:10:45. > :10:46.

:10:47. > :10:56.This pink is tough and he looks as if he is going to take it on. That

:10:57. > :11:03.

:11:03. > :11:06.was tough. In that last frame when he made a century, you would think

:11:06. > :11:16.it would give him a little bit of confidence, but there is always

:11:16. > :11:34.

:11:34. > :11:44.He decided the cannon was not on, so sensibly played around the

:11:44. > :11:51.

:11:51. > :11:54.angles and guaranteed he would be This match will finish tomorrow

:11:54. > :12:04.morning and Stephen Maguire would love to go to bed tonight knowing

:12:04. > :12:18.

:12:18. > :12:28.he needs two more frames tomorrow He has got a little bit of work to

:12:28. > :12:49.

:12:49. > :12:53.do, the balls are not sitting We are going to have to leave it

:12:53. > :13:02.here because we have come to the end of our allocated time on BBC

:13:02. > :13:08.Two. This is on the other side of the arena. Ryan Day looks as if he

:13:08. > :13:14.is just about to go 5-2 in front. Both of these matches continue live

:13:14. > :13:19.and on the red button. Also on line, so if you have a laptop, you can

:13:19. > :13:29.access that. We will be returning live up for the evening session

:13:29. > :13:31.