:00:09. > :00:17.This little lady is back and Ronnie is about to return as he goes for
:00:18. > :00:19.three world titles on the trot. I hope you are in a comfortable
:00:20. > :00:56.chair. The Crucible Theatre, home of the
:00:57. > :01:03.world Championships since 1977. Just standing here is enough to give you
:01:04. > :01:05.goose bumps. This year it has a lot to live up
:01:06. > :02:37.to. It is an early start for us. The
:02:38. > :02:42.first morning, the first session of the World Championships. 12 months
:02:43. > :02:48.ago Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed a fifth world title and he returns as
:02:49. > :02:53.the bookmakers' favourite. He is one of only 32 players who will pitch up
:02:54. > :02:58.here in Sheffield going for this title. What is very striking as we
:02:59. > :03:04.have new faces for you. There is a lack of some of the most established
:03:05. > :03:13.names in the game. People who have been on this stage over the years.
:03:14. > :03:18.144 players chasing 16 places at the Crucible during the qualifying
:03:19. > :03:22.rounds which took place over a week. More famous as a swimming venue it
:03:23. > :03:31.was all about the Green baize rather than the deep blue and some
:03:32. > :03:48.slicker's most -- some of snooker's most famous faces struggled. The
:03:49. > :04:00.final rounds so Mark Williams beaten by Alan McManus. Matthew Stevens,
:04:01. > :04:08.twice a runner-up, lost to Tom Ford. Peter Ebdon, the 2002 champion, went
:04:09. > :04:17.out to Robin Hull. Graeme Dott, when in 2006, lost to Kyren Wilson. This
:04:18. > :04:22.means we have a six time world champion in Steve Davis all to
:04:23. > :04:27.ourselves. We are not complaining about that. Have you had the chance
:04:28. > :04:34.to digester consequences of your defeat? It was not just one defeat.
:04:35. > :04:42.It was a season of defeats. I did not play to the level required. It
:04:43. > :04:45.was general crud. So much so I do not think I have any credibility in
:04:46. > :04:51.being in the studio or the commentary box talking about the
:04:52. > :05:01.game in any shape or form. Self-effacing to the last. It is
:05:02. > :05:09.going to hurt those players who did not get through. I think probably
:05:10. > :05:14.the BBC have lost five viewers who will not be tuning in. They will not
:05:15. > :05:18.want to see what is ahead. They will probably be watching by the end.
:05:19. > :05:23.Everyone at home anticipating what could be a great Championship. There
:05:24. > :05:29.is always excitement on the opening morning. Year after year the
:05:30. > :05:34.standard of players gets better and better. We had the qualifying events
:05:35. > :05:38.to get here that was it only event, so much excitement, the buzz around
:05:39. > :05:49.the place was superb. The fans really enjoyed it. It starts again.
:05:50. > :05:55.The top 16, being given the place to get here, have to justify their
:05:56. > :05:59.position against the 16 best qualifiers standard wise we have
:06:00. > :06:08.probably ever had. Let us show you who is here. The draw was made on
:06:09. > :06:17.Thursday. Ronnie O'Sullivan going for a six world title against Robin
:06:18. > :06:30.Hull. Shaun Murphy is keen to win a second world title. Barry Hawkins,
:06:31. > :06:40.the runner-up last year. Ricky Walden made the semi-finals last
:06:41. > :07:02.year. Ding Junhui having a good season. Ali Carter, double Crucible
:07:03. > :07:11.runner-up. Stephen Maguire's build-up has been blighted by a bad
:07:12. > :07:18.back. The world number one Neil Robertson gets ready to entertain
:07:19. > :07:24.us. There are four new faces. Which of the ties is most appetising for
:07:25. > :07:30.you? If you went back ten years or 15 years you would go, that one. It
:07:31. > :07:39.would be - as Bechtel to any of the players to see any one time is
:07:40. > :07:46.better -- disrespectful. We are here at 10am to watch Ronnie O'Sullivan,
:07:47. > :07:50.but there are other names. Can Ding Junhui convert to make the winds he
:07:51. > :07:56.has had this year on the circuit the final part of the jigsaw puzzle?
:07:57. > :08:04.Kyren Wilson, a great possible champion in the making. There are so
:08:05. > :08:10.many players. On table two, what a great match. Ken Doherty is trying
:08:11. > :08:16.to uphold the honour of our commentary team. He is the oldest
:08:17. > :08:24.man in the draw at 44. In terms of the men of the season, Ding Junhui,
:08:25. > :08:28.five titles this term, which equals Stephen Hendry, but you have Neil
:08:29. > :08:35.Robertson, Shaun Murphy, these men could shine. Anybody could. I think
:08:36. > :08:41.it is the second week when somebody gets a role on. It is a bit like
:08:42. > :08:45.watching the Grand National when everything is all over the place and
:08:46. > :08:51.all of a sudden you see that one is running OK. You do not necessarily
:08:52. > :08:57.know until the second or third round. It has to be said, the
:08:58. > :09:04.burning question, can anybody beat Ronnie? It is hard pushed for any
:09:05. > :09:13.player to hold him, but it depends how he turns up. Five titles so far
:09:14. > :09:40.for Ding Junhui, but Ronnie's record is good, four trophies including the
:09:41. > :09:48.Masters. Can anybody stop him? To come back in 2013 was pretty
:09:49. > :09:52.unbelievable. I was just going, here is my name, I am back in the hat. I
:09:53. > :09:57.did not really expect anything to happen at Sheffield. I am back
:09:58. > :10:01.playing how I needed to play. Everybody wants to be world champion
:10:02. > :10:07.and it is how you process that and deal with the pressure that comes
:10:08. > :10:11.along with that. To go and win it was like a fairy tale. There are a
:10:12. > :10:15.few things I have done in snooker, but that is probably one of the
:10:16. > :10:20.greatest achievements I have ever done. I do sometimes think it is not
:10:21. > :10:26.how good you are, it is how tough you are, how much old soul and
:10:27. > :10:36.resilience you have. You have to have a bit of ball to -- bottle. I
:10:37. > :10:40.try not to get sucked into beating Stephen Hendry's record. What is
:10:41. > :10:45.important is having a good time while I am here. That record is
:10:46. > :10:52.something that if it happens, it happens, but I am not sure I have
:10:53. > :11:02.the motivation or the want to break that record. Ronnie is trying to
:11:03. > :11:06.catch you and Ray Reardon's total of six and then after going for Stephen
:11:07. > :11:13.Hendry's seven. You feel perhaps he has realigned his goals. For that to
:11:14. > :11:18.happen, guaranteed six somewhere down the line, I think probable
:11:19. > :11:28.seven. Two BET has to push the barriers of how old players have
:11:29. > :11:34.been in the game. He will be one of the multi-champions in his 40s. That
:11:35. > :11:39.does not usually happen. Ray Reardon was 45 when he won the Championship.
:11:40. > :11:45.Ronnie is 38 and seems to be getting better. The fact he is picking and
:11:46. > :11:50.choosing his matches means he is fresh for everyone. That is an
:11:51. > :11:54.important change in the calendar. It is not so bad when you lose a
:11:55. > :12:02.tournament, you drop out of the tournament four points. This suits
:12:03. > :12:06.Ronnie O'Sullivan. Let us tell everybody who he faces, this is a
:12:07. > :12:12.huge moment for Robin Hull who was very much destined for great things
:12:13. > :12:18.12 years ago. Robin was diagnosed with a heart condition and a
:12:19. > :12:23.condition which affected his balance so much so that he had to give up
:12:24. > :12:26.the game. We did not think we would see him in snooker again but he came
:12:27. > :12:36.back three years ago and last year he won the Amateur. He has played
:12:37. > :12:46.one Cor, 12 years ago and he came up against Graeme Dott. I was not happy
:12:47. > :12:53.after words. I was pretty nervous. It was a tough old game, a tough
:12:54. > :13:06.game to sort of relax. It is certainly different. It is wonderful
:13:07. > :13:13.to be back. I fell ill. Looking at it, snooker wise, unlucky timing,
:13:14. > :13:21.but that is life. That is the way it goes. I am back. You look at the
:13:22. > :13:25.good out of it, a lot of things have changed for the better in my life
:13:26. > :13:34.because of it, taking time out of snooker. I relieve enjoyed playing.
:13:35. > :13:39.Anything is possible. Talking about sport, I think the tournament format
:13:40. > :13:46.is meant to bring out the player who is the most solid mentally and on
:13:47. > :13:59.playing form. If it is a qualifier, so be it, but whoever picks up the
:14:00. > :14:07.trophy is tested to the max. It is about focusing on the game and
:14:08. > :14:11.playing the next shot. It is a case of keeping your head down until
:14:12. > :14:20.someone taps you on the shoulder and says, it is over. Dusty at it. I am
:14:21. > :14:26.looking forward to it. It is great to see him back. World ranked 122,
:14:27. > :14:32.he is the lowest ranked qualifier to make it to the final stages since
:14:33. > :14:40.2002. He is asked with tethering the Rocket today. They will play the
:14:41. > :14:46.best of 19 frames. They will come back this evening to finish it off.
:14:47. > :14:53.Ken Doherty is aiming to uphold the honour of the commentary team. Ken
:14:54. > :14:58.Doherty at 44 is the oldest player in the field so far. We are just
:14:59. > :15:06.about ready to go with the opening morning of the 2014 World Snooker
:15:07. > :15:17.Championship. It is a long way to go. We are full of excitement and
:15:18. > :15:25.anticipation. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
:15:26. > :15:33.What an atmosphere we have here. 17 days of world class action and it
:15:34. > :15:49.all starts right now, so sit back, relax and enjoy. Please welcome
:15:50. > :15:53.first of all, the player who describes himself as the oldest
:15:54. > :15:57.swinger in town, coming through the last round of qualifying at the
:15:58. > :16:03.tender age of 44, is 19th appearance at the world Championship, the last
:16:04. > :16:33.time he returned he kissed the carpet, here comes the darling of
:16:34. > :16:46.Dublin, Ken Doherty. MUSIC: "Paradise City" . Do not worry, it
:16:47. > :16:53.was hoovered. A player who is getting better with age. He won his
:16:54. > :16:58.first ranking title in 2011. When on the Asian tour last month, one of
:16:59. > :17:24.the Premier League -- winner of the Premier League. Stuart Bingham. On
:17:25. > :17:28.table number one, a player making his first appearance at the Crucible
:17:29. > :17:33.for 12 years. What a story of determination. Illness forced him to
:17:34. > :17:37.premature retirement before he decided to give it one last try.
:17:38. > :18:10.Knocking out Peter Ebdon in the qualifiers, he is raring to go, he
:18:11. > :18:13.is Robin Hull. Finally, the most naturally gifted player ever to
:18:14. > :18:18.grace the game, it has been another great season for this mercurial
:18:19. > :18:24.talent, when the Champion of champions, the Masters and the Welsh
:18:25. > :18:56.Open. The defending world champion, the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan.
:18:57. > :18:58.It is good to be back, isn't it? We have John Bercow and John Parrott
:18:59. > :19:19.commentating. -- Virgo. The atmosphere is electric. This man
:19:20. > :19:26.has been through hell and high water to get back here. Let us hope he can
:19:27. > :19:32.do himself justice against the defending champion, probably the
:19:33. > :19:40.most talented player the game has ever seen, Ronnie O'Sullivan. As we
:19:41. > :19:43.know, even though you come in defending champion with the odds
:19:44. > :19:52.stacked in your favour, he will still be feeling the wobbles. He
:19:53. > :19:57.certainly will. It takes awhile to get to sometimes. To get yourself
:19:58. > :20:04.bedded in and used to the atmosphere again. He has have a lot of respect
:20:05. > :20:09.because Robin Hull can play snooker, he is a very talented
:20:10. > :20:14.matchplay. He was destined for great things before he was struck down
:20:15. > :20:27.with his illness. He has done it the hard way, that is for sure.
:20:28. > :20:35.He came through by knocking out Peter Ebdon, you do not do that
:20:36. > :20:39.easily. Peter is still one of the toughest competitors in the game. It
:20:40. > :20:45.depends how he approaches this match. Playing the defending
:20:46. > :20:46.champion, if he can enjoy it, I think that will help him play
:20:47. > :20:55.better. You feel that a good start is
:20:56. > :21:23.imperative. The first chance here, classic
:21:24. > :21:30.stands. Always knew it was going to be a shot to take the cue ball back
:21:31. > :22:00.to baulk. That was half a chance. Beautifully cued. A great way to
:22:01. > :22:09.start the match. That gets you going, gives you some momentum. If
:22:10. > :22:10.there was one thing we kept saying about Ronnie, his long potting was
:22:11. > :22:27.not as good as he would have liked. He will take a few shots to get the
:22:28. > :23:09.pace of the table, although that looks inch perfect.
:23:10. > :23:26.He did not really have the best angle to pot the black.
:23:27. > :23:51.He brought a few interplay. The cue ball is not ideal. A bit too close
:23:52. > :23:58.to the Grecian. -- cushion. The two reds are definitely pottable. That
:23:59. > :24:23.is beautifully played. The movement he got on the cue
:24:24. > :24:33.ball, he got nicely through it. That is the one thing about Ronnie, he
:24:34. > :24:47.does not dare accelerate -- de-accelerate.
:24:48. > :25:12.He decided to go into them, and I think he has been a little unlucky.
:25:13. > :25:18.Whenever you try to disturb reds you always need a little bit of good
:25:19. > :25:21.fortune. Can he get through to this red on the left middle? It is the
:25:22. > :25:51.only possible pot. He has missed it. It was one of those, you did not
:25:52. > :26:01.have the cue ball, and it made it difficult.
:26:02. > :26:20.He played that nicely. Nice confident pot.
:26:21. > :26:42.A little bit low with the cue ball. He has come up short.
:26:43. > :26:58.This break is getting harder by the minute. If you're having a good day
:26:59. > :27:00.on this type of shot, the question is if he can get the cue ball in the
:27:01. > :27:10.middle of the table. He did not can be yellow, but the
:27:11. > :27:30.drop ten -- Lou dropped in. That was an excellent shot on the
:27:31. > :27:59.blue. Really well played. If you could manage to win this
:28:00. > :28:10.brain at this visit, it would be a statement of intent and like Ronnie
:28:11. > :28:26.now he is here to play. -- let Ronnie know. Queues well. -- cues.
:28:27. > :28:53.He can certainly score. He has a decision to make, what the
:28:54. > :29:08.red to the right corner, does he nudge into the three reds? He did.
:29:09. > :29:15.The only problem is with that option you are trying to bring reds
:29:16. > :29:19.interplay, you are never certain, it is a little bit awkward. It was a
:29:20. > :29:38.little bit thick. He played that really well. A lot of
:29:39. > :29:40.players have been playing that left-hand side, so that was really
:29:41. > :30:16.well controlled. Excellent shot. He looks nice and he relaxed. It
:30:17. > :30:36.would be a boost if he can win this frame at this visit. He has two
:30:37. > :30:43.awkward reds coming up. He just needs a bigger bounce. These are
:30:44. > :30:55.tricky. This is a test. Points now, all square.
:30:56. > :31:08.Excellent. Now, he didn't hit the front jaw, the father one is the way
:31:09. > :31:15.to play those. -- file one. The position from here is the next big
:31:16. > :31:16.hurdle. Just have to make sure you don't snooker yourself behind the
:31:17. > :31:38.yellow. Kissing the brown has ruined that
:31:39. > :31:40.idea. A tough read to keep this going. He has got an 8-point lead
:31:41. > :31:50.now. He will have to be very careful here
:31:51. > :31:55.that he doesn't believe Ronnie a chance. I don't think that was
:31:56. > :32:06.particularly the right shot, to be honest. He should have played it
:32:07. > :32:07.dead weight. Anyway, it's gone. It was a very good contribution from
:32:08. > :32:19.Robin Hull, well done. He has gone back to his seat not
:32:20. > :32:28.missing an easy ball. Nothing to feel bad about. There is a chance
:32:29. > :32:37.here for a snooker behind the brown. He left themselves open to that one,
:32:38. > :32:41.Robin. -- left himself. Well spotted. The age-old problem. It's
:32:42. > :32:43.not going to be difficult to get this rate, but he needs to get it
:32:44. > :33:15.safe. -- to hit this rate. That's really well played. Couldn't
:33:16. > :33:23.have asked for much more than that. Good frame, this. Yes, good
:33:24. > :33:31.standard. The chance of a snooker here for money. The pink might be
:33:32. > :33:42.the snooker involved. It will be now, with that kiss on the blue!
:33:43. > :33:51.Once again, easy to hit, got to get it safe. The one thing you don't
:33:52. > :33:58.want to do is hit the road and have rated the brown, because the cue
:33:59. > :34:01.ball will be up there as well. He has got to make sure this red
:34:02. > :34:40.doesn't hit the brown. He needs the green to come to his
:34:41. > :34:52.rescue and it hasn't, so here is the chance.
:34:53. > :35:04.Wait for it! Well, he can't complain. He has had two chances in
:35:05. > :35:09.this frame, this definitely the better of the two, really, but the
:35:10. > :35:14.position from the black to the last red wasn't great and that was a
:35:15. > :35:28.chance. No complaints, he has had his chances.
:35:29. > :35:33.Rooney will settle for being on the brown. Not too badly hampered by the
:35:34. > :35:54.yellow. -- Ronnie. Played it nicely. Three points
:35:55. > :36:21.behind now. Needs up to and including the pink.
:36:22. > :36:27.Just checking to see which side, I think I prefer the second one.
:36:28. > :36:35.Screwed with a little left-hand side of the blue.
:36:36. > :36:43.Only needs down to the pink, so ideal position here, he is going
:36:44. > :36:52.back to the other side now to have a look. He is thinking about that way.
:36:53. > :36:55.Which one would you like? He has come back a little bit too far off
:36:56. > :37:01.the green. In an ideal world he would have played that short, Robin
:37:02. > :37:05.just has to sit there and wonder if he is going to get another shot in
:37:06. > :37:10.this frame. Odds against, you have to say.
:37:11. > :37:14.This is the advantage for Ronnie, being able to play with his left
:37:15. > :37:39.hand. And in it goes. So the defending
:37:40. > :37:42.champion takes an excellent first frame. Robin Hull had his chances,
:37:43. > :37:50.Ronnie didn't do a lot wrong. The defending champion takes the
:37:51. > :38:01.first frame. We have moved over to our regular
:38:02. > :38:07.home here in the Winter Gardens. When we look at that opening frame,
:38:08. > :38:11.it just shows you the quality Robin Hull is capable of. He is very
:38:12. > :38:17.underrated. What do we know about his game? We know he was knocking on
:38:18. > :38:25.doors of the top echelons of the game before he had some ill-health.
:38:26. > :38:29.He possibly is the best 122nd ranked player in the world currently
:38:30. > :38:34.playing! His standard is excellent. I think we saw in that frame that he
:38:35. > :38:39.has come here, effectively, he can win matches and frames. He was very
:38:40. > :38:44.close to turning that frame around, if it wasn't for the fact that when
:38:45. > :38:50.he putted the second last black, he then collided with the brown which
:38:51. > :38:57.destroyed his position. Then it got into the safety battle and he did
:38:58. > :39:01.miss our raid. I think that was an excellent frame for him. The problem
:39:02. > :39:07.is that Ronnie O'Sullivan is a fantastic front runner, that will
:39:08. > :39:11.have settled him down as well. When you consider he has already had to
:39:12. > :39:16.win four matches on the spin to get here, including a 10-8 victory over
:39:17. > :39:29.Peter Ebdon, it shows you the quality of the play he has.
:39:30. > :39:39.I think he has got a safety down the right-hand side of the table. Just
:39:40. > :39:45.the containing safety. The thing is about Robin Hull, he knows his way
:39:46. > :39:51.around the snooker table. He's not going to make it easy for Ronnie by
:39:52. > :39:54.just going for everything. I am quite a big fan of his demeanour
:39:55. > :40:01.around the table, he looks relaxed and composed. He was saying himself,
:40:02. > :40:06.he suffered a bit with nerves last time he was here at the Crucible.
:40:07. > :40:12.But he is not giving off that vibe today that he's struggling mentally.
:40:13. > :40:16.Looks really composed. The trouble is, as you well know, you don't get
:40:17. > :40:20.many chinks of like when you play against O'Sullivan in matches and
:40:21. > :40:28.frames. And that was a big chance in the last frame.
:40:29. > :40:32.Excellent safety from one either. Problem is, of course, he's up
:40:33. > :40:45.against the yellow. He just underhit it. The possibility
:40:46. > :41:19.of this red to the left middle now. I think the raid in the middle of
:41:20. > :41:22.the table is the one Ronnie will like to play but he is not in
:41:23. > :42:11.The cue ball has gone a little wondering, if he does put it,
:42:12. > :42:12.The cue ball has gone a little further than he would have liked. A
:42:13. > :42:34.good shot required here. And a good shot was what it got! His
:42:35. > :42:38.cueing off the question is just fabulous, it really is. -- off the
:42:39. > :42:51.cushion. Allied of course to everything else
:42:52. > :43:01.being fabulous! Yes, we were talking earlier about how he's now 38, but
:43:02. > :43:06.it's like he has not got that many miles on the clock. They say you
:43:07. > :43:09.reach a peak in the mid-30s, maybe a bit earlier now but no sign that he
:43:10. > :43:16.is dropping his level or standard of play. Of course, he is incredibly
:43:17. > :43:22.fit, with all the running he is doing which is a major help.
:43:23. > :43:25.Especially the way the scheduling is now, if you can pick and choose your
:43:26. > :43:38.tournaments, there is every reason for you to turn up fresh. He is
:43:39. > :43:43.world ranked number 33 at the moment but at the end of this tournament,
:43:44. > :43:50.the rankings will be based on a money earned list. So his
:43:51. > :43:55.performances in last year's World Championship and his performances in
:43:56. > :43:56.tournaments this season, he will be shooting up the ranking, definitely
:43:57. > :44:08.in the top eight. I think it's a common sense thing,
:44:09. > :44:14.can't be travelling round the world and be expected to produce your best
:44:15. > :44:29.game but some players have to do it. He has played a great shop there.
:44:30. > :44:40.He's making these look very easy. There is the split. Come back, screw
:44:41. > :44:54.back, perfect. Almost a repetition of the first frame, really.
:44:55. > :45:36.Just got enough angle on the blue to come down for one of the red! .
:45:37. > :45:44.As ever, when you play against Ronnie, the schoolboy just changes
:45:45. > :45:52.so quickly. He has been at the table for 30 seconds and you are 50
:45:53. > :46:02.behind! -- the scoreboard just changes so quickly. Good recovery.
:46:03. > :46:06.But he is not on the black, I don't think the pink goes to the middle,
:46:07. > :46:13.so a good leader is needed to the far corner. One loose positional
:46:14. > :46:15.shot and it's amazing how it snowballs, so a good part is needed
:46:16. > :46:50.here. This is a tricky shot, as well. This
:46:51. > :46:59.pink will put in 68 points in front with just 67 remained in. --
:47:00. > :47:06.remaining. This has been a fabulous break.
:47:07. > :47:17.No sign of rustiness here. A lot of people say, which Ronnie is going to
:47:18. > :47:25.turn up, I don't think you can question him in the last 18 months.
:47:26. > :47:27.He has come to play and he has entertained everybody with his
:47:28. > :47:32.performances over the last 18 months. You couldn't question his
:47:33. > :47:54.attitude by any means. He could play to flick the other one
:47:55. > :48:05.out now if he wants. He feels that red is pottable, so we
:48:06. > :48:52.could be seeing the first century. This further century, and it has
:48:53. > :49:00.been superb, brilliant play from O'Sullivan. -- this for the century.
:49:01. > :49:02.Got a little bit of trouble but pulled out some wonderful recovery
:49:03. > :49:23.shots. Stephen Hendry still holds the
:49:24. > :49:32.record of the number of century breaks here but Ronnie O'Sullivan is
:49:33. > :49:39.slowly but surely closing the gap. And in goes the black, a sensational
:49:40. > :49:46.break of 124 from the Rocket. He now leads 2-0.
:49:47. > :49:55.What is new is our new toy, we are excited about it! Our beautiful
:49:56. > :50:06.screen here can show us the luck of the draw. Robin Hull, 39 years old,
:50:07. > :50:12.from Finland. He has come out of the ether. Not done a great deal in the
:50:13. > :50:20.last ten months. He has only one one match, then he won four on the trot,
:50:21. > :50:25.if you look at his head-to-head against O'Sullivan, they met once in
:50:26. > :50:32.1997, Ronnie won that, and again this season. Is he capable of giving
:50:33. > :50:37.Ronnie again? He's capable of playing to a higher standard than
:50:38. > :50:41.his ranking. Whether he can play in the Ronnie's office with little
:50:42. > :50:46.match experience over the last few years is the biggest question of
:50:47. > :50:52.all. He has done well as the season has unfolded, he has shown some form
:50:53. > :51:01.which has commented in him getting here, he has picked a perfectly, but
:51:02. > :51:06.he is against a peak player. There is a long way to go in these
:51:07. > :51:08.matches. This is the best of 19. First to 10 goes into the second
:51:09. > :51:26.round so back we go. That was a decent break of shock. --
:51:27. > :51:43.break-off shot. He has not left anything on here.
:51:44. > :51:55.Far too thin with that safety. He may have got away with that. At
:51:56. > :52:02.first look, it was nothing particularly appetising. This would
:52:03. > :52:12.probably be played with an element of safety in mind.
:52:13. > :52:20.If you play at that speed, if you miss it, odds-on you are going to
:52:21. > :52:24.leave it, that's what he has done. Sometimes you play one of the worst
:52:25. > :52:29.shots in a match and end up getting in amongst the balls for the next
:52:30. > :52:51.one. Didn't play a good safety, Robin Hull, but he is in now.
:52:52. > :52:58.Can't miss blacks off the spot at this level.
:52:59. > :53:04.You were saying how composed he looks around the table and relaxed,
:53:05. > :53:11.but unfortunately, he goes and does that. As I say, you don't get many
:53:12. > :53:15.chances at this level but you get even fewer against the man he is
:53:16. > :54:25.playing. When they come, you do have to make the most of them.
:54:26. > :54:31.I think there are a couple of loose rates, he has a nice angle on the
:54:32. > :54:40.blue but identity will want to cannon into them. -- I don't think
:54:41. > :54:43.he will want to. Maybe the red just above the pink goes to the left
:54:44. > :54:47.middle or maybe the plant, more likely to be the red to the left
:54:48. > :55:33.middle. I don't think he was trying to pinch
:55:34. > :55:59.a bit. I suppose the good news was when he
:56:00. > :56:13.missed the black, he left it awkward. So a good blue is required.
:56:14. > :56:44.You have got to make the most of this opportunity.
:56:45. > :56:52.Not the best angle on the blue. He still has the red at the left
:56:53. > :57:00.corner, I'm not sure if there is a plant... He has been loose red to
:57:01. > :57:05.the left corner. -- has the loose red.
:57:06. > :57:20.Is there a three-ball plant below the pink? I think there is.
:57:21. > :57:29.Cue ball needs to slow up a little bit. It's OK. You don't really want
:57:30. > :57:32.the cue ball to be travelling up and down the table, he would rather have
:57:33. > :57:58.been on the blue there. So now, back at the business end.
:57:59. > :58:32.Forget about the black. Just concentrate on pink and blue.
:58:33. > :58:39.I think he is on one to the left middle, which if you just stuns in,
:58:40. > :58:44.he can play nicely for the pink or he can just keep this one. -- cue
:58:45. > :59:03.this one. He is slowly but surely developing
:59:04. > :59:04.these nicely. A bit of a funny contact there, but it still worked
:59:05. > :59:18.out pretty good. Ideally he would like to play
:59:19. > :59:25.position on the bottom red here. Can you believe that. He had the balls
:59:26. > :59:30.in good positions and he goes and does that.
:59:31. > :59:40.Just didn't bring the cue back far enough there. Just a bit of a nervy
:59:41. > :59:43.one. I think he was just trying to hold that cue ball and sometimes you
:59:44. > :59:49.take the eye of the pot when you do that. You can see the next four
:59:50. > :00:13.reds going now. He could not do that, so there was
:00:14. > :01:08.an angle there anyway. Just a quick glance at the
:01:09. > :01:17.scoreboard. He is going to need these three remaining reds. The one
:01:18. > :01:28.closest to the left-hand cushion is not going to be easy. Whenever you
:01:29. > :01:39.bought a red and bring another one interplay, you are never guaranteed
:01:40. > :01:46.to be on the colour -- into play. It could not have worked out much
:01:47. > :02:00.better than that. He might have the perfect angle on the pink. He played
:02:01. > :02:16.it absolutely delightfully. Those are such hard shots. The best shot
:02:17. > :03:23.of this break. He floated it in no problem. 32 ahead, 27 remaining.
:03:24. > :03:34.124 break. He left Robin Hull a few Jan says -- chances. He will be
:03:35. > :03:48.disappointed. When you look at Ronnie's season as
:03:49. > :03:55.a whole, four major titles, one of them was a minor title, it is that
:03:56. > :04:00.major return on investment. He said it would be a marvellous title even
:04:01. > :04:06.without the World Championship. Do you believe him? I think the icing
:04:07. > :04:15.on the cake for every player is the World Championship. I remember
:04:16. > :04:19.saying number one in the world is more important than the World
:04:20. > :04:24.Championship but everybody knows it is the most important thing in the
:04:25. > :04:27.game. We sometimes think it is tough on the players to be judged only by
:04:28. > :04:34.World Championships and we do like to have four majors so that Ding
:04:35. > :04:38.Junhui is not considered to be failing because he has not won the
:04:39. > :04:44.World Championship but he has won everything else. This tournament is
:04:45. > :04:48.so far up on a pedestal that we get so excited about it. Such a contrast
:04:49. > :04:56.for Ronnie compared with 12 months ago. He turned up on the first
:04:57. > :05:02.morning, hardly having played, a different frame of mind for him this
:05:03. > :05:08.season. A different frame of mind for him and the fans and the
:05:09. > :05:14.bookmakers. Last year they were saying, can Ronnie win it? Now the
:05:15. > :05:22.question everybody is asking is, can anybody old Ronnie O'Sullivan --
:05:23. > :05:28.beat Ronnie O'Sullivan? They have accepted he does not have to play
:05:29. > :05:35.constantly, they now he is a genius. He is so strong mentally. All the
:05:36. > :05:43.other players have started to look pedestrian.
:05:44. > :05:57.Ding Junhui was outplayed in the Welsh even though he has won five
:05:58. > :05:58.events this year. So far, no glitches in the engine that we can
:05:59. > :06:16.see. When Steve was ruling the roost, it
:06:17. > :06:19.is like you have that little bit of advantage, Stephen Hendry the same,
:06:20. > :06:30.and Ronnie has that about him when he comes into tournaments.
:06:31. > :06:40.He is obviously at the peak of his power. I knows he has had a lot of
:06:41. > :06:46.help from a sports psychologist who is in the audience. He has worked
:06:47. > :06:52.closely with him and is a massive fan of his. He has also been working
:06:53. > :07:14.with Liverpool Football Club, so he has done something right!
:07:15. > :07:25.The other thing, we do not give them as much credit as we should do,
:07:26. > :07:31.because when everything is working properly, his safety play is
:07:32. > :07:36.immaculate. Not only does he score heavily, you do not get many chances
:07:37. > :07:39.and you know there is a good save to coming back if you play one. He is
:07:40. > :08:15.pretty formidable to play against. If he can keep up that hot success,
:08:16. > :08:28.I can see another world title in the bag. He can get 60% and above, of
:08:29. > :08:42.the long pots, he will be doing well.
:08:43. > :08:59.He has found the gap. A little unlucky. I think he may have left a
:09:00. > :09:13.pot on here. He just went through the gap. The red on the left-hand
:09:14. > :09:24.side is no good. The two reds that are on our not much good. This will
:09:25. > :09:33.be an interesting shot. He is going to cannon into something else. If
:09:34. > :09:38.you can get the cue ball out of this, he will be doing well. Even
:09:39. > :09:54.the great Ronnie O'Sullivan had to trust to luck.
:09:55. > :09:58.I wonder if he will keep it nice and tight and keep him away from the
:09:59. > :10:24.table. Playing safe, off the brown. When
:10:25. > :10:45.you have your man down, if you can, keep him there.
:10:46. > :10:55.That prudent safety shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan looks as if it is going
:10:56. > :11:02.to play dividends. It is difficult for Robin, under intense pressure,
:11:03. > :11:29.3-0 down to the tournament favourite.
:11:30. > :11:44.Not a straightforward break. The black is out of commission. There is
:11:45. > :11:54.a bit of work to do. He usually manages to clear up.
:11:55. > :12:08.It is always made more difficult when the black is not on its spot.
:12:09. > :12:14.There are certainly reds that go to the right corner. The pink spot
:12:15. > :12:40.looks as if it is not available. He normally does not miss a trick.
:12:41. > :12:49.He is closing in on Stephen Hendry's career centuries. With that
:12:50. > :12:58.century break in frame two, that puts him on 132 principal
:12:59. > :13:05.centuries, Stephen Hendry had 127, but career-wise Stephen has made 773
:13:06. > :13:12.and Ronnie has 736, so he is closing. You would not want to play
:13:13. > :13:21.for the black. He overscrewed it so he did not
:13:22. > :14:23.fancy playing the positional shot. He is looking at the two reds that
:14:24. > :14:33.are together. He will be kicking himself. It reversed, the second red
:14:34. > :14:37.reversed to stop if you hit the first red, the second red pushes to
:14:38. > :14:49.the right, and that is what has happened.
:14:50. > :15:07.The cue ball is a bit short for Robin in this break. It looks as if
:15:08. > :15:22.it is top spin around the ankles. -- angles. Well played.
:15:23. > :15:31.He has the problem now that pink and black have not moved so it is only
:15:32. > :15:32.really the blue he can play on, unless he plays a cannon onto the
:15:33. > :15:53.black. It was as if he hedged his bets, he
:15:54. > :15:56.did not fully commit on the cannon on the black. That would have been
:15:57. > :16:14.advantageous. Well played. He knew more than
:16:15. > :16:16.likely should he mess that pink he was going to lose the frame, so that
:16:17. > :16:41.was a brave shot to take on. If he is going to have any foothold
:16:42. > :16:50.in this match, this is the opportunity.
:16:51. > :17:51.If he goes into the interval 4-0 down, he is right under it.
:17:52. > :17:58.You never count your chickens, but he would be very disappointed if he
:17:59. > :18:10.does not win this frame at this visit. Two reds on the right-hand
:18:11. > :18:20.side are absolutely perfect. He deserves this break after that
:18:21. > :18:41.excellent paint. -- pink. Well done to Robin Hull. He looked a
:18:42. > :18:43.little bit shaky, at the beginning of the session, but this was very
:18:44. > :18:57.well played. You are always saying you are not
:18:58. > :19:03.settled until you win your first frame. You do not feel part of the
:19:04. > :19:16.match until you get that first frame on the scoreboard. Slowly but
:19:17. > :19:18.surely, he is getting there. He has to guard against coming low on the
:19:19. > :19:40.pink. That is why he screwed it as much as
:19:41. > :19:50.he did. Hopefully that will be OK. Straight is worse than being low. If
:19:51. > :19:56.he had been a little bit further down the table, he would have been
:19:57. > :20:13.able to play for any of the three, but he is OK. He has taken these
:20:14. > :20:22.very well, under the circumstances. I bet Ronnie is kicking himself. The
:20:23. > :20:27.two reds were close enough together so they could be reversed and he did
:20:28. > :20:31.not take that into account that the one on the left pushes the one to
:20:32. > :20:56.the right, and that was enough to cause him a problem. Let us hope we
:20:57. > :21:08.can see a century from Robin Hull. We have had one from Ronnie.
:21:09. > :21:17.The last time he was year, 12 years ago, 91 was his highest break. If
:21:18. > :21:22.you can finish these colours, he will finish up with 102, his first
:21:23. > :21:41.Crucible century. If you had any doubts about whether
:21:42. > :21:53.this boy can play, they have been put to rest. He needed to make the
:21:54. > :21:59.most of the chance and half way through this break, that very brave
:22:00. > :22:14.pink, he knocked that in, this could be his first Crucible century. That
:22:15. > :22:23.is perfect. Well played, Robin Hull. Very well played. A marvellous break
:22:24. > :22:34.for the man from Finland. It is great to see Robin Hull
:22:35. > :22:41.responding and looking comfortable. That is his fifth century of the
:22:42. > :22:51.season. We saw one earlier. What are the hallmarks of the way he goes
:22:52. > :22:54.about breaking? What it is about Ronnie O'Sullivan is he is such a
:22:55. > :22:59.great break-builder and that is the difference. The other great
:23:00. > :23:05.break-builder is Stephen Hendry. What makes winners is converting
:23:06. > :23:08.your opportunities and when you look at Ronnie O'Sullivan he has a great
:23:09. > :23:14.conversion rate once he gets in amongst the balls. I am going to
:23:15. > :23:21.give you an analysis of what we are going to be seeing over the next
:23:22. > :23:27.couple of weeks. You are going to be seeing this a thousand times this
:23:28. > :23:34.week. We are going to be playing this shot so often. The white ball
:23:35. > :23:40.is going to be going into the pack and the black is going to be ported.
:23:41. > :23:46.There are two situations. When the balls are open a player has to make
:23:47. > :23:50.the most of the opportunity. The other type is when they have to open
:23:51. > :23:53.the pack themselves. When you do this this is probably the most
:23:54. > :23:59.important shot you are ever going to play. The white ball is going to be
:24:00. > :24:07.travelling in this direction towards the black, but the white ball will
:24:08. > :24:10.be spinning in this direction. Remember the white ball is moving in
:24:11. > :24:17.this direction but is spinning in the opposite direction. That is a
:24:18. > :24:27.screenshot. He smashes into the pack. The ball is going into the
:24:28. > :24:33.pack, it has started to shift reds around, but it is spinning in this
:24:34. > :24:40.direction. The white ball hits the reds. Roy Sullivan did not get
:24:41. > :24:48.enough backspin -- Ronnie O'Sullivan. Somehow a player has to
:24:49. > :24:55.open them without sticking into the pack. This was in the first frame.
:24:56. > :25:03.Robin Hull nearly got back into it here. This shot is going to be
:25:04. > :25:07.happening all the time. It is not something you can teach as much as
:25:08. > :25:17.it is years of expedience. You have to work out how to make sure you can
:25:18. > :25:23.read those reds apart. Too much backspin and you do not know what
:25:24. > :25:26.you are going to do. You have to work out how much backspin, the
:25:27. > :25:37.strength to hit it at, to get the best split. Marks out of ten? A
:25:38. > :25:43.great attempt. I think the second frame he did it perfectly. The
:25:44. > :25:46.players who make the most positional decisions correctly and can split
:25:47. > :25:55.the pack the best are the ones who convert more chances. Do you like
:25:56. > :26:04.your new toy? I cannot wait for John Parrott to get involved with it. We
:26:05. > :26:06.are going to talk about the new situation on the other side of the
:26:07. > :26:18.arena and the match featuring Stewart then -- Stuart Bingham. The
:26:19. > :26:24.best he has managed was a quarterfinal place last year. He is
:26:25. > :26:28.having one of his best seasons. The last couple of years he has gone
:26:29. > :26:47.striding up the world rankings, he is currently world number six. I
:26:48. > :26:51.think you can look at someone like Stuart Bingham who has every shot in
:26:52. > :26:56.the book, he can play the deep screws without any effort and that
:26:57. > :27:03.is because he has room to get the cue through. It is a good technique.
:27:04. > :27:09.Hard work on the practice table. Stuart Bingham has every shot in the
:27:10. > :27:14.book and is a rising star. He is blessed with a great amount of self
:27:15. > :27:20.belief. He has broke into the top 16 for the first time. He is a very
:27:21. > :27:25.heavy scorer when he gets in, but he is one of those players if he does
:27:26. > :27:39.not have a lot of time at the table, just seems to have a problem
:27:40. > :27:46.picking up the red again. A few seasons back someone said Stuart
:27:47. > :27:50.Bingham did not have the bottle, and that kick-started his professional
:27:51. > :27:55.career as he was out to prove he has plenty of bottle and he went on to
:27:56. > :28:00.win in Australia and he is a force to be reckoned with and he can win
:28:01. > :28:05.any tournament he played them. He tends to play a little bit of side.
:28:06. > :28:09.Unless you are playing regularly that can affect you, but the fact he
:28:10. > :28:18.is playing all the time, his record is going to improve. As for Ken
:28:19. > :28:24.Doherty, we thought he would be on duty with us this morning. This is
:28:25. > :28:31.his 19th appearance ends 1991. It took until 1997 to get to the final
:28:32. > :28:41.where he won it. He was back in the final and lost to John Higgins in
:28:42. > :28:45.1998. 2003 will always be remembered for some amazing snooker played by
:28:46. > :28:51.the Irishman who just fell short in the final. The best run since then,
:28:52. > :28:59.the quarters in 2006. He gives the carpet in 2010 and again this
:29:00. > :29:06.morning. He was like a kid at Christmas when we spoke to him
:29:07. > :29:13.yesterday. It is great to be back. I am very excited. When you come to
:29:14. > :29:16.the end of the season you want to be at the Crucible and as much as I
:29:17. > :29:23.love doing the BBC work, it is much better playing here. The punditry
:29:24. > :29:28.will have to wait. It is great to be back. I am really excited. I might
:29:29. > :29:34.be the oldest player in the tournament but mentally I feel like
:29:35. > :29:37.a teenager. I cannot wait for it to start. You have to play the best if
:29:38. > :29:42.you have any aspirations of going any further. I wanted Ronnie
:29:43. > :29:49.O'Sullivan, to be honest, but I have got Stuart Bingham. He is a good
:29:50. > :29:57.player. Hopefully I will try to make it tough for him as well. Let the
:29:58. > :30:04.pressure be on the rest of the guys. I am going to go and enjoy it. Play
:30:05. > :30:13.as well as I can. I do not know what is going to unfold, but let us see,
:30:14. > :30:26.do your best. These two met in the first round in 2002.
:30:27. > :30:35.Now the roles are reversed, Stuart Bingham is on the up and Ken Doherty
:30:36. > :30:41.is battling to keep pace. Ken Doherty hasn't prevailed over Stuart
:30:42. > :30:43.Bingham since 2008. Stuart Bingham took the first to settle himself
:30:44. > :31:31.down, in we go to frame to. He's usually very good in the
:31:32. > :31:36.escaping of snookers. You can see him sitting down there, shaking his
:31:37. > :31:37.head because he knew that no way in the world should have got near that
:31:38. > :32:32.pink. A little under hate, that. --
:32:33. > :32:36.underhit. He's going to have to go through the blue.
:32:37. > :32:46.Until he gets rid of the red, it would be difficult to win the frame
:32:47. > :32:50.at this visit but he's such a great break-builder, Stuart Ingham. It
:32:51. > :32:55.won't be too long before he gets on that one.
:32:56. > :33:04.He was thinking of leaving the red at distance which is making it
:33:05. > :33:07.difficult. What angle has he got, if any? This is where we will see his
:33:08. > :33:23.cue power. How good has he hit that? Amazingly,
:33:24. > :33:28.too good. You can't cue much better than that. A little wry smile,
:33:29. > :33:59.knowing he got a bit too much into that cue ball.
:34:00. > :34:09.He needs a good angle now on the blue. Once again, a little slow.
:34:10. > :34:14.Maybe dead straight. Couldn't really go wrong if he went a few inches up,
:34:15. > :34:15.even if he went for a full colour. You must get that red away from the
:34:16. > :34:34.black. Amazing how much trouble that red to
:34:35. > :34:53.the left of the black is causing Stuart Bingham here.
:34:54. > :35:17.He is not guaranteed to get perfect on a red.
:35:18. > :35:25.He can pull this red, I think. -- pot this red. If it goes in, chance
:35:26. > :35:54.to win the frame now. With the black available into the
:35:55. > :36:19.two corners, 47 points in front. It doesn't matter how good you are,
:36:20. > :36:22.that bit of fortune from the ball, the cue ball went in behind to
:36:23. > :36:28.brown, he misjudged the snooker, hit the pink and this has all come from
:36:29. > :36:30.that. No matter how good you are, you have to have that bit of good
:36:31. > :37:14.fortune now and again. You can see now that Stuart Bingham
:37:15. > :37:21.is safe. A contrast to the 21st and second frames. The first frame took
:37:22. > :37:22.28 minutes, this frame has just been going seven minutes so far. Never
:37:23. > :37:44.know. He has become one of the game's top
:37:45. > :37:54.break-builder is now, Stuart Bingham. -- break-builders. It will
:37:55. > :38:02.be interesting to see if he gets close to 100 centuries this season.
:38:03. > :38:09.We all knew this match was all about how well being scored, if he wasn't
:38:10. > :38:18.scoring well, Ken could win this match, but if not, it is tough to
:38:19. > :38:20.see Ken winning this match. Slight kick there, but it hasn't made too
:38:21. > :38:39.much difference. Excellent break there from Stuart
:38:40. > :38:51.King, he is now 2-0 in front. Nearly the opening time for him, but
:38:52. > :38:56.this was much closer. Only one point in it, Ken needs this to snatch the
:38:57. > :39:08.frame, nearly Alex Tait but leaves it. -- macro nearly flicks it.
:39:09. > :39:15.Can probably would have gone back to his state thinking, it cleared the
:39:16. > :39:20.pocket, a chance that Stuart will miss this but by no means a
:39:21. > :39:26.certainty. But Stuart Bingham has just slotted this in, made it look a
:39:27. > :39:30.lot easier than it actually was. It's not ideal for Ken. I had dinner
:39:31. > :39:36.with him and his friends last night, he was in good spirits, looked very
:39:37. > :39:39.relaxed. The trouble is, you can be relaxed but you get off to a bad
:39:40. > :39:45.start in the first frame and it can get away from you. So Ken has a lot
:39:46. > :39:50.of what to do to get back into this match against an inform player, more
:39:51. > :39:59.informed than Ken has been in the last few years. 66 points in the
:40:00. > :40:03.fourth frame. But it looks like it could be a mirror image of the match
:40:04. > :40:07.we have been enjoying so far live, Ronnie O'Sullivan up against Robin
:40:08. > :40:12.Hull. A great effort from Robin hole in the final frame, to get his first
:40:13. > :40:18.century and say, I'm determined to make a fight of it. He looked
:40:19. > :40:21.comfortable in the first frame didn't convert that frame and that
:40:22. > :40:26.just shows you, he has had lots of match practice to this far, so given
:40:27. > :40:30.opportunities committee is going to score but it's how many
:40:31. > :40:41.opportunities he gets against Ronnie O'Sullivan.
:40:42. > :40:46.The defending champion's much always concludes in the evening so they
:40:47. > :40:53.will be coming back for a second session. Plenty of snooker today as
:40:54. > :41:06.they will be for the next 17 days here in Sheffield. -- there will be.
:41:07. > :41:16.Certainly is a marathon for everybody. A wonderful event. The
:41:17. > :41:20.Olympics of our sport. If you win here, you deserve every bit of it.
:41:21. > :41:37.Nobody flukes a World Championship. Match time is pretty quick, 58
:41:38. > :41:38.minutes. The average frame time will be longer than this in some of the
:41:39. > :41:56.matches. Just misjudged that slightly. He
:41:57. > :43:06.left the red to the left middle here. Just slid off the pack.
:43:07. > :43:14.Took a chance, thinking, if you played this red you couldn't leave
:43:15. > :43:35.anything but he has given Robin hole and opportunity. -- Robin hole.
:43:36. > :43:44.Nice kiss on the Green left him nicely on the brown.
:43:45. > :43:53.This is actually quite a decent chance here now. He has an easy
:43:54. > :43:57.opportunity to play on a colour, he could play on the brown, the yellow,
:43:58. > :44:09.the blue, to leave himself an angle to split this pack.
:44:10. > :44:18.Has he left is of an angle to do that? He has come down a little bit
:44:19. > :44:24.too far there. -- has he left himself an angle?
:44:25. > :44:34.He might have enough angle. Full ball on the pink would be great if.
:44:35. > :44:40.Didn't have it. Or chose not to play it, one of the two.
:44:41. > :44:47.He has had a look there, you can play position for the bottom rate,
:44:48. > :44:51.maybe split the pack up that way. Whatever happens, got to get moved
:44:52. > :45:24.in the next couple of shots. He has come up a bit too far and he
:45:25. > :45:31.knows it. Is he on it? It's tight, isn't it.
:45:32. > :45:40.No, can't get enough of the red. That's a series mistake, I'm afraid,
:45:41. > :45:43.to not leave yourself on that red. Pretty poor by his standards. The
:45:44. > :45:48.worst thing he could have done there. He seems to play a little bit
:45:49. > :46:09.too hard, didn't he? He left himself low, there was no
:46:10. > :46:15.problem in being lower than you needed to be, because at least he
:46:16. > :46:37.would have been on the red. Just his positional play let him down.
:46:38. > :46:44.I don't know if he can play this as a shock to nothing but he's coming
:46:45. > :47:32.back to have a look. If he can do that, he will take it on.
:47:33. > :47:41.Quite rightly, fully committed to that pot.
:47:42. > :47:59.He would have been nicely on the black, of course.
:48:00. > :48:08.You mentioned earlier that one thing that doesn't really attract the
:48:09. > :48:13.attention in Ronnie O'Sullivan's play is his safety. That is the
:48:14. > :48:20.problem. He is a great part, a great builder, but his safety play is
:48:21. > :48:27.absolutely excellent. He wants that cue ball to slow down! Gravity
:48:28. > :48:46.didn't take over! I think he can get past that to play
:48:47. > :48:55.this safety pot. He can get past that knuckle. Just about.
:48:56. > :49:00.All things being equal, that's a pretty good attempt from there. He
:49:01. > :49:07.will be very happy with the cue ball after that shot. We can see,
:49:08. > :49:14.bridging in the jaws of the pocket as he was, good cueing, he was
:49:15. > :49:57.concentrating. Not a lot of room for the cue to go back and go through.
:49:58. > :50:02.Nice kiss on the yellow. He has put the cue ball in an awkward place,
:50:03. > :50:12.tight against the baulk cushion. Needs a good safety now, does Robin
:50:13. > :50:29.Hull. Kissing the green doesn't help, but
:50:30. > :50:33.possibly the blue has come to his rescue.
:50:34. > :51:05.So, maybe nothing to tempt Ronnie to go for a pot here.
:51:06. > :51:12.It was never easy to get back up to that yellow there, it was always
:51:13. > :51:19.going to leave a possibility of this long red to the left-hand side. But
:51:20. > :51:28.these are far from easy. Especially 3-1 down.
:51:29. > :51:45.If you're feeling very confident, you/that in, and just bounce the cue
:51:46. > :51:50.ball off the top cushion, but he made the pot more difficult playing
:51:51. > :51:57.it as he did. As he left it safe? Obviously there are reds that will
:51:58. > :52:02.pot, but Ronnie will be eyeing up the possibilities... He can play for
:52:03. > :52:15.the black. He played the snooker. If he has covered the red to the
:52:16. > :52:19.left-hand side of the table, that could be a telling snooker but if he
:52:20. > :52:26.hasn't, it's an escape for Robin Hull.
:52:27. > :52:36.He could play back in the same area, Robin, but it would be some shot to
:52:37. > :52:53.judge. Always difficult of the one cushion, to get the perfect pace.
:52:54. > :53:01.All the time, just trying to get the cue ball tight on there, and screw
:53:02. > :53:07.the cue ball back to the top cushion. Ronnie has done that there.
:53:08. > :53:40.It's not absolutely tight but it's close enough.
:53:41. > :53:46.It's very difficult to get down and give the backspin on the cable to
:53:47. > :53:52.bring it up to baulk end, if you can't do that, all he can consider
:53:53. > :53:59.is how not to leave a pot on for your opponent. The red he's looking
:54:00. > :54:04.at by the middle pocket, ideally you would like to push that up and down
:54:05. > :54:08.but it has double-kiss written all over it. You can leave the cue ball
:54:09. > :54:13.to the right hand side of the blue, that might be OK but this red has
:54:14. > :54:15.double-kiss all over it so if he is playing the shot, he has to be very
:54:16. > :54:32.careful. Well, he could not have played that
:54:33. > :54:35.better. He has played that inch perfect. A little tap on the table
:54:36. > :55:35.from Ronnie. Well played. Looking to see if he can avoid the
:55:36. > :55:40.red running into the black. It doesn't look on. I don't think
:55:41. > :55:47.eating get the cue ball to flick behind it either. -- I don't think
:55:48. > :55:57.he can. A bit of cat and mouse with this frame.
:55:58. > :56:00.Which you have said is right, we has to get some sort of contact on the
:56:01. > :56:15.black. It was very difficult, that was.
:56:16. > :56:20.Just as he was about to play it, big cheer from the other side of the
:56:21. > :56:28.wall, that is the thing with the Crucible, it's a cauldron. That war
:56:29. > :56:34.can just happen when you are playing one of the most important shots of a
:56:35. > :56:47.frame. # River War. Something you have to get used to.
:56:48. > :56:53.They were showing that clip early on when Cliff Thorburn made the first
:56:54. > :57:00.maximum and we saw somebody peeping round of the screen. It's a unique
:57:01. > :57:37.atmosphere, it all adds to it, though.
:57:38. > :57:44.I was just about to say, that is virtually perfect but that red going
:57:45. > :58:06.across, can it be cut in? It's very fine.
:58:07. > :58:12.We have had an opening taster on this opening morning of the World
:58:13. > :58:17.Championship. We have to go but only for about an hour. If you want to
:58:18. > :58:23.continue to watch, it's available online or on the red button.
:58:24. > :58:27.Don't forget to join us again at 1pm when we will return with more from
:58:28. > :59:07.these opening-round matches. They dig, they sow, they plant,
:59:08. > :59:12.they water,