Day 1, Part 3 Snooker: World Championship

Good afternoon. It is that time of year already. It has come round so

quickly. The World Snooker Championship. You join us as we are

getting ready for our second live session of the day. We have been on

a since Tony M with Ronnie O'Sullivan's opening session. He is

against the world number 122. We are focusing on two Englishman, an

Irishman and a Scotsman. How is it down in the corridor? It is very

tense. The players are already to go. They have had their 15 or 20

minutes and it is time to go out. Good afternoon, ladies and

gentlemen. What a tremendous atmosphere we have at the Crucible,

the opening day of the Championship continues in earnest. Four of the

very best in the business. Slicker's Bonaly to the season --

finale. Back into the top 20 after a good season, he enjoyed a fine run

to the quarters two years ago, Ryan Day.

His opponent, a player who has twice graced the semis at the Crucible,

winner of five ranking titles, the pride of Glasgow, when he is good

years on fire, Stephen Maguire. -- he is on fire. On table number one,

a player making his first appearance here for three years, former regular

in the world top 16, now on his way back up the world rankings, beating

Mark King to be here, he is the shot gun from Stoke, Jamie Cope. His

opponent, a class act, he won his first ranking event title in three

years last month, beating Mark Selby. He has changed his diet and

lifestyle and is reinvigorated as a result. He is the magician, Shaun

Murphy. Both tables available live, red button and online options. We

are going to stick with Jamie Cope and Shaun Murphy. Jamie Cope showing

real character to keep going. We have Stephen Hendry and Dennis

Taylor in the commentary box. Good afternoon to everyone watching.

It is great to CJ Mickel back at the Crucible. -- see Jamie Cope. He lost

his way a little bit. Fabulous talent. A tremendous potter when he

gets going. Shaun Murphy has turned his game

around. That was a bad misjudgement. It looks as if this

red might pot into the left corner. It is a bit close. You have to be

careful you do not push this. It was awkward, and he has left it

up for Shaun Murphy. That seemed to kick that. It looked as if he was

going to pot it. This table is playing beautifully, it is very

fast. It always takes awhile to get used to the speed the table. --

speed off the table. Pretty good safety shot. Just a

little bit sticky notes. A little bit awkward at the moment

with the black in the bunch, but that will soon change as they play

safety shots. The black is now in play, and the pink. We might see a

Shaun Murphy special. He likes to take this type of shot on.

He can strike them much better than that. Very close. He may be able to

follow through for the pink. You mentioned about his

break-building , he has lost count of the number of maximums he has

made in practice and he has made the magical 155 in practice. He had a

free ball and ineffective puts an extra red and black on the table.

That has spoilt him taking the red to the left corner. The simple red.

He might be able to drop it in and finish on the black. He is going to

try to cut this one back into the right corner. That was a very thin

shot. He has left that red that he attempted. Just a bit too thick. Not

much margin for getting onto the black, but the pink Magor -- pink

perhaps. That is unlucky. Very unlucky. He can get the green and I

think he can bridge to the side of the pink. He might be able to pot

the green and get up past the blue. He looks to be cueing extremely

well. He is very relaxed. It does not matter how experienced you are.

The first frame you are always a little bit tight. He looks really

composed at the minute. It is 2005 when Shaun Murphy won his

World Championship year. It certainly does not seem that long

ago. Against Matthew Stevens, it was an unbelievable victory, Matthew was

odds-on favourite to win. The cushions look as if they are

reacting very quickly so far. Almost twice as fast coming off as when it

goes on, that makes it quite tricky. That was a terrific long pot. The

pink is going to be tight. What a chance for Jamie Cope. He has the

reds open. The black is not on its sport, but that is not causing a

problem. -- spot. Not the best. I think he is still

OK. That is not where he wanted the cue ball. It means he will have to

head up for the blue or the black again. Trying to hold it for the

blue. He is perfect, he is the right angle, although it did get contact.

This is exactly the opportunity that you are praying for in the first

frame. Just keep your concentration. Not a lot to do with the cue ball.

We will show you the shot that created this chance. He did not have

played that any better. He will settle down if he can clinch

the frame on this visit. Even someone like him who has been a

winner several times, the first couple of frames you are always a

little bit nervous. Not the start Shaun Murphy was

looking for. It is the best of 19, so a long way to go.

He certainly wobbled that one. The frame is well and truly over.

Can he convert this red along the cushion and give himself the chance

of a century? The chance is there. What a great way to start the World

Championship. That is a shame. We are not going to get a century

break, but he will not be too disappointed. He takes the opening

frame. He will be feeling good. He has had a rotten time over the

past four years. He was suffering from a really debilitating

situation. He could not release the cue, he had a nervous disposition,

he was having a torrid time. I said to him, by the looks of it you need

somebody more qualified than me, somebody with medical help. It was

serious. He was close to packing in. He was physically shaking over the

shot. He could not release the cue. A really difficult thing to come

back from. Having no knowledge of that, it is hard to talk about it,

other than that when it happens to players they do not recover. That is

the end of it. That is from people I remember playing snooker and in

other sports. To come here and qualify and turn up against a top

class player and win in style the first frame is proof of the progress

he has made. It is tough for anybody to come out and get off to a good

start. We jobs about ten not getting off to a good start, Jamie Cope has

done seemingly be impossible. I think both players will have been

reasonably happy with this draw. Shaun Murphy likes people to play

attacking snooker. That happened to Patsy Fagan, who

did not recover from it. It was when he was using the rest it started

with. He could not let old of the cue. He had to give up in the end.

It looks as if he is playing a safety, in fact he was trying to pot

it. It is amazing what you can see from

the commentary box. I have never seen anyone address the ball that

much of line. You would think that cannot be an effective way to

consistently play well but he is very naturally talented, so he gets

away with it. If they play a few more shots like

this, it might start the frame again. Touching ball would have

helped. It will never catch on. Can I give you a couple of shots each?

That is the right thing to do because it is a little bit of a

stalemate. He can get that on the table this time. He has purposely

left that escape route. He has played a bit of a careless shot.

He has a tough shot to avoid the red closest to the corner. That is

pretty good. I am just wondering if there is one

red he can pot into the left corner and miss the black. I think he is

having a look to see if he has the angle to do that. He is looking at

the poor thing angle and will be more concerned about the cue ball.

He will have to be a bit careful. Cueing up with so much right hand

side, and when he delivers, he brings it back on line. I suppose

you could compare that to a golf swing.

It is all about getting those balls into the hole.

That is the secret. It does not matter how you do it.

Looking to see which one of these reds has an angle. Not a bad

opportunity. The first day, brand-new cloth, so

they tend to go more than in a few days.

This is a great chance. He has them sitting nicely. The red next to the

black is a little bit of a distraction, but the black will

still pot. He could not quite reached that. He is over six feet

tall. Having to boot the extension on to give him a little more

leveraged. He is doing well, but everything is

finishing a little awkward. That was the one I thought he would

get but these pockets are quite tight. If you cut it near jaw, they

will not go in. Look at the shape of the reds, like

a little question mark. That is the question. What is the

answer? The shot was on, but he chose to

play a more conservative shot. When you have not won your first frame,

you tend to take the more conservative approach. They are just

in between friends on the other table. They were telling the

occupants to be quiet. That is how close they are. -- they are between

frames on the other table. It is like two different theatres, the

Crucible, when you get to semifinal stage. There is one table that is

absolutely amazing. People are so close to the action.

Nice angle on the blue to do what he wants.

He just needs a cannon on the red to the left. That would be OK.

I would not have played the cannon onto that one. Might be OK, though.

Almost put himself out of position. Good recovery. He had a couple of

choices here. Maybe he just misjudged that and planned to hit

the one to the right. Now, you would expect it to be frame

over. Very important for Shaun to clinch

the frame with this visit. He is not wasting any time, playing

at a nice pace, which usually means the player is high on confidence.

Shaun has made 38 centuries this season.

Always great to watch. Such a good cue action.

Can Shaun make the century? There is an indication of the cue power he

And perfectly on the black as well. What a match. Jamie Cope, 75 in the

opening frame. Shaun Murphy, a century. It is looking good.

Well, day one is unfolding nice hair, and social media plays a big

part in that. You can contact us via the usual outlets. Memorise them

before they are gone. There are a huge high-profile tweeters here.

Mark King lost to Jamie Cope, who is in action, so he knows how well

Jamie Cope is playing. I don't think retirement is due yet, Mark King.

It is a fantastic arena, and we are joined by two players who have had

marvellous moments here, as even Hendry and Dennis Taylor, who were

talking us through the action. Dennis Taylor, the 1985 world

champion. Talk us through those last moments of that fantastic match,

Dennis. Thank you, Steve. I am lost for

words. Don't be shy, Dennis. You know you want to. Well, it all

started... Bit of an awkward frame already, with the red up to the left

of the blue. Shaun could have played that with a

touch of stunt to make it more difficult.

I have got no more to say about these shots, Dennis.

A bit more pace would have been better.

A good pot, but it was a free shot for him.

Ooh. He may have got away with it. He took his eye off the black bear.

-- there. He will be disappointed, missing

that lack. -- black. I don't think he thought he had hit

it hard enough. Shows how fast the table is.

He is trying to get into the bunch here.

There is a possible pot up into the right corner. But there is no value

in it. Shaun was trying to go somewhere

along that line. This third frame has gone a bit

awkward, with the pink and black up the other end of the table.

Jamie would normally take this read on the left corner. He is a very

attacking player. If the black was on its spot, he

would try and have a go at it. But it is awkward, with the colours of

the other end of the table. Jamie was shaking his head when he

played that. Has that run far enough to prevent

Shaun taking this red to the left of the blue? Does the red pot into the

corner? Well, that has opened the bunch up.

This is going to finish awkward. Sometimes, that is as good as a

snooker. That was a great shot. The contact

on the red was really well played. It is not a straightforward return

here. If he takes the one nearest the blue, it would be a very thin

contact. Sometimes in this sort of situation, you use another red as a

stopper and screw it straight back into the ball-carrier. -- bolt area.

Well, what a result he has had there. He has left himself on the

black. He did not take advantage of his bit

of good fortune. Strange shot. He was a long way short of where he

wanted the cue ball. As he hit it a bit too hard? Maybe

Shaun can get to the edge of this red.

It is pretty annoying when that happens, you know you should have

had the play and you come back to the table and he has you exactly

where you should have had him. It is incredible how often that happens.

The simplest of shots, you do not pay enough attention and you lose

the advantage completely. If he is straight on this red to the

left-centre, he can go onto the black. The one nearest the black he

can get up for the blue. Well played.

That is a shocker. That is the first really bad shot he has played so

far. It should have been no problem getting on the red to the right

corner. About five minutes ago, all the

reds were sitting in a perfect position. They are starting to get

tied up. Two quick frames. This one has been

rather awkward. It has been going just over 22.5 minutes.

This type of frame does not suit either player. They both like to get

on with it. This could take a while to get a winner in this third frame.

The long frames are the ones you want to win. From a psychological

point of view. It helps to win an awkward long frame.

If this red is straight he can take it into the left middle and get

himself on the black. Even if it is not straight, he still might be able

to have a go at it. That was a chance. It has flicked

the other reds. The white is close. It is OK. He can

drop the blue M. He has had a couple of chances already. He played a poor

black into the right corner pocket and did not get on a red. It is not

an easy chance by any means. Could have done with being a little

bit further to the right with the cue ball. He will not play it with

too much pace. He might play the cannon on the two

reds. He looked to have the angle to play

the shot you suggested. He definitely did not try that. You

would think if he missed the cannon he would have a chance of the others

to the left of centre. It was worth the risk.

He cannot just come off a cushion and land onto those two reds.

That was not careful. He could not see a shot. Sometimes you come to

the table and there is no shot available to you. I am not sure what

he intended there. Surely not. He has finished tied on

the red. He cannot see the black. Amazing. You could try that shot

another ten times and you would not finish in that position. A little

nudge on the red. A little bit short. Very unlucky.

Is there a path through for the red? Plenty of room.

What was that shot? That has confused him. I think that has

confused everybody. I think he was trying for topspin and just hit it

too fool. It has come off two cushions and it has gone straighter

than planned. With these scrappy games, sometimes

you take your eye off the ball. When you have a long tactical battle, you

do lose your rhythm. You need a good chance. To get things back to

normal. We know they are both cueing very well.

Already over 30 minutes. There's not a lot the can do. -- players can do.

He is not going to be on a colour, but he can play the snooker.

Another fraction and he would have been nicely on the green. He is

looking at the green. He took the positive shot. That was

very attacking. It was the right shot. Unfortunately for Jamie, he

missed it. He has presented Shaun with the opportunity.

It is all about getting a good angle on the black in a couple of shots.

That looked pretty close to being a plant. I do not think he will play

for that, but it might be close. The pockets are allowing the balls

to go in with a little bit of wriggle. He might play for the

plant. Could have finished better. Played it well enough.

It will still cut in, but he does not like it. He is looking to the

one to the middle again. A little bit unlucky with that cannon. He

could have finished nicely. It just ran or word for him. -- awkward. He

played it perfectly. He got the gap between the reds.

That made be worth Jamie having a go at this red. Why not? The white is

going to be whizzing up and down the table.

It all depends how he drops on this paper. He might be on it in such a

wiki can move that last red. If not he can take the pink and leave a

double on the red. I think the fact he was using the

rest made that shot a lot more difficult. If it was the other side

of the table he would definitely have played the cannon. They are

going in a little bit easier than perhaps they well in a couple of

days. The cloth is brand-new. That is a great shot. You mentioned

about Shaun Murphy being the best, this shot that Jamie has pulled off

was right up there. This is key that he gets up onto the green. He has to

stun NASA little bit which makes it a bit more difficult. -- stun this a

little bit. He may have to use the rest. I do

not know if he can reach this. He played one terrific shot with the

rest. He is looking to see if he can reach it with the extension. He

needs the green to leave Shaun needing snookers.

He made sure of the green. The brown will make absolutely sure, but this

is far from easy. Good cueing. It was important to get

the brown in. It was a scrappy frame, a lot of

tactical play, the balls went very awkward, but in the end Jamie Cope

will be delighted. That gets Jamie Cope into the lead. They could not

do much about that, the balls were very awkward and scrappy. They

battled through for nearly 40 minutes, just over 40 minutes, and

in the end those are great frames to win from a psychological point of

view. It knocks you out of your rhythm. Both players won the

previous two frames in one visit. Both players played some careless

shots in that frame, but the safety play was excellent. This was the one

for me. That was a gem, down the cushion, they do not get any better

than that. I think he has his cloth. He might want to get one of

the people to their it for him -- damp it. I used to use the bottle of

water provided to do that. The only problem is, you get a puddle on your

seat. It is good stuff. One more frame before the mid-session

interval. Wouldn't it be something of Jamie Cope could take a 3-1 lead?

Lots of noise from the other side of the arena. People will be going out

for a coffee. The noise never used to put me off,

but what did put me off was the brush on the table on the other

side, you can hear the swipes. It is one of these things that makes

the Crucible so special. That long shot was pretty special. Strikes

these as well as anybody in the game. -- he strikes. A couple of

reds he can play on here. He could come off two cushions and

go into the bunch if he felt like it. He did not want to catch the

loose red. That red took all the pace off the cue ball.

Very unfortunate to finish in that position. Now we are left with a

very awkward situation. There is a safety zone down the left side of

the table. A little bit of a stalemate again.

This could be one of the situations where the referee might give the two

boys a couple of shots each. Touching ball always helps. It is

awkward to play the safety with the red being in baulk.

Jamie has beat Shaun on a couple of occasions, 5-0 at one point and 6-3

at another. He would like to take that one again. Of the head tells

you what he thinks of that. -- this shake.

When he pots this red, it frees the red for the right-hand corner.

Cannot go into the bunch just yet because of the position of those two

reds. There is always a few options

available to the player. He does not Billy wants to catch

that pool ball, about three quarters would do it. That is not bad. The

white has run up the table. One more good pot needed and I think a great

chance to take this fourth frame. He timed that beautifully. Getting

the cue ball to sit in behind the black.

It is one of the nicest shots in the game, the stun shot, it is so

difficult to play. You cannot really teach someone. It is all about

feel. I think he has got one to the right

middle. With the ball sitting like this, it

looks odds-on to be two each. I think Jamie Cope will be feeling

pretty good. If Shaun does make another century,

that will be two century breaks, and he will be all square with Shaun

Murphy. Jamie is having a quick look at the score, but he has conceded,

and we go to the mid-session interval with a very high standard

of care here. We are all square. HAZEL IRVINE: it has been very

watchable. We had a 40 minute frame in the

third, but overall, you were bang on. It has the makings of a very

close match. Yes. The two players like to get on with it. Boast both

of them like to score heavily. Because of health concerns over the

last years, we have not seen much of Jamie Cope,

last years, we have not seen much of emerged, we saw him when he was

last years, we have not seen much of or 22 at the Grand Prix final in

Aberdeen. And this guy really is a magnificent potter when he gets in

the groove. Yes, he was fearlessly going about his work. It was a bit

sad to see him losing the edge and losing his confidence and getting

down on himself. Great to see him back at the Crucible. All of a

sudden, he is not going to turn over Shaun Murphy at the moment, but he

is causing problems for him. We know about Jamie's potting ability and we

know about Shaun's hallmarks with the rest. But there was a shot you

saw earlier when Jamie used the rest.

We are going to show you that. If you go over that of the table, I

will explain. So, a bit of analysis for you. Jamie Cope with the rest.

There was the situation he ended up in. As a snooker player, you live

and die by the percentages. You are thinking, is it worth taking on?

Yes. In potting it, can he win the frame? That is the first risk. Also,

if you missed the shot, will it go safe. And what percentage chance is

it 's let's run this and see what he did.

That was a beautiful shot. It was a really high tariff of a shot. So

much so, that we are going to ask you to do this. Me? I am in a

vulnerable situation at the moment. Why? We are going to give you five

goes at this shot down the cushion. I will give it my best. If you do

two out of this, you are doing very well indeed. I will try one.

Unlucky. I was pleased with that as a shot. This is how difficult these

tables are, down the cushion. Draw again. This is a bit damp. I think

they have been watering the plants! The same place all the time. I am

not happy. Try number four. Brilliant job. A readjustment is the

way forward. One out of five, a 20% chance. Steve

Davis, you should try and get on the professional tour. You are not bad.

I will think about it. Thank you very much for the demonstration. It

went exceedingly well . It rather exceeded our expectations. We are

going to concentrate on the match on the other side of the arena this

afternoon. It features Stephen Maguire, who has been burning to get

back to the Crucible after losing in the opening round to the guy who

charmed us own -- charmed us all, Dechawat Poomjaeng. He had all kinds

of clown antics that we loved. But it was not so funny for Maguire, and

of clown antics that we loved. But he has come back with a bit of

of clown antics that we loved. But problem. He has had back problems

over the last three months. He has not won a significant

over the last three months. He has last three major events. So

over the last three months. He has see how he gets on now against Ryan

Day, three-time quarterfinalist. Before we do, a quick look at

Maguire's career timeline. I was born in Glasgow on the 13th of

March, 19 81. In 1999, I won the amateur championship. Males are

turned professional in 1999. I won my first ranking title in Malta in

2004. And I won the UK championship in the same year. In 2013, I won my

fifth ranking title at the Welsh open. I have made two competitive

147 maximum breaks. I have reached two World Championship semifinals. I

am marriage to Sharon and I have three children, Finn, faith and

Farah. Ryan Day looks to have the most

perfect cue action. But when he comes under pressure, he is prone to

miss queueing. If you look at the matches he has

miss queueing. If you look at the years, when he comes really

miss queueing. If you look at the pressure, he gets a bit tight at the

miss queueing. If you look at the back and jams up the ball. We have

seen him miscue and jump over the black. With his cue action, he has

got to be a bit looser black. With his cue action, he has

pressure is on. I sometimes get black. With his cue action, he has

feeling that he is not completely in control of the cue power he has got.

He wants to screw back a couple of inches, and he will screw it back

six inches. He has such a great technique. He can play every shot

there is on the table. I just wonder sometimes, there is that

inconsistency of striking that makes him run out of position. To think

that he has been in three finals and still has not won a rank new event,

there is something lacking there. He has got all the ability in the world

and he has time on his side. Is he consistent enough? Not really. He

has matches where he goes into his shell and does not go on the attack.

But at his best, his break building is up there with the best.

Sometimes, he does not feel as though he gives it 100 ascent. I

have seen him play matches where you though he gives it 100 ascent. I

would fancy him beating anyone in the world. And yet in other matches,

would fancy him beating anyone in he is liable to lose to anyone.

Until he puts that right and focuses his mind, he will always be in and

out of the top echelon of the game. So, it is worth against Scotland. We

are going to join them in the first frame of a possible 19. Terry

Griffith and Willie Thorne are in the hot service. -- hot seats.

Ryan Day breaking off. They will both be nervous. Stephen Maguire has

been struggling over the last few tournaments with a very bad back.

Allegedly, it is feeling better now. This is looking to be an open game,

Terry. They are both attacking players. Stephen Maguire has just

found out that the table is running very quickly. Yes, they both like to

go for their shots. They opened the reds out pretty early.

He has always been an aggressive break builder.

They go for the throat and try and win the frame in one visit.

Michaela Tabb is a very good referee.

Neck and back problems come with this profession, I'm afraid. But

he's telling me now he is fully fit again.

What a shot. Shot of the tournament so far, Terry. And we are very early

in the tournament, of course. That was another very aggressive

shot. Surely the pink is not available in

the middle. He is holding his hand up to say it is. That is amazing.

You could see his facial expression change when he thought he had lost

vision, and then he smiled and apologised to his opponent for being

on the pink in the middle. Stephen Maguire spent most of his

early playing career to sing with Stephen Hendry -- practising with

Stephen Hendry. He learned from the top man.

Stephen Hendry was looking for one opportunity all the time, of course.

This is good stuff from Stephen Maguire, just the start he was

looking for. Taking your practice form onto the

match table. The Black will put the frame beyond

any reasonable doubt. Then he can concentrate on making another

Crucible century. Another great break from Stephen

Maguire. HAZEL IRVINE: in the second frame,

it was Ryan Day, a former top ten player, who matched him and indeed

bettered him. He made it one - one. Maguire took the next go to one up.

And we are heading into the last frame for before the interval.

Can he popped that green? Looks like it.

Not the best positional shot, because he needs the other red.

How good is he at that? He hit that so good, I can't argue.

I don't know how he managed to get that angle to come inside the red.

But this is a tricky one. He tried to play it as a shock to

nothing. -- shot to nothing. He did not want that kiss on the

green. You would expect Ryan to make that

shot eight or nine times out of ten in normal circumstances.

We have had some high-quality break building. Time for the mid-session

interval. It is two frames each. HAZEL IRVINE: and the Welshman took

the next after the interval as well for a 3-2 lead. We will have to look

lively here, because we are heading for another channel change. We are

back on BBC Two in a matter of moments, with live coverage of the

other match. There is a lot going on. Catch you in a few short

seconds.