Day 13, Part 1

:00:00. > :00:41.good for productivity as well as for all

:00:42. > :00:44.It is the final Thursday here at the all of us. It

:00:45. > :00:49.It is the final Thursday here at the World Snooker Championship at the

:00:50. > :00:55.Crucible. That can mean only twhing - one table. . Overnight everyone

:00:56. > :01:00.has been hard at -- thing - one table. Overnight everyone has been

:01:01. > :01:08.hard at work to make sure this table is in A-1 condition.

:01:09. > :01:16.From being cramp and almost suffocating, this of has morphed

:01:17. > :01:21.into a spacious sporting arena. Only the best make it this far. You

:01:22. > :01:25.are not sitting with your opponent - you have some space to relax. It is

:01:26. > :01:29.like first class. You don't want to be at the back where they keep the

:01:30. > :01:34.ice! This is what you practise for, this is what you fla for and the

:01:35. > :01:38.best -- play for and the best thrive. A dream final is within

:01:39. > :01:40.their grasp. All four lads have been the distance before and they are

:01:41. > :02:16.only one match away. Hello. Good afternoon and welcome to

:02:17. > :02:19.the Crucible theatre and the 2014 World Snooker Championship. We have

:02:20. > :02:25.reached the semi-final stage. Four players, one prize. The biggest

:02:26. > :02:32.title in world snooker. This amazing venue has seen some dramatic moments

:02:33. > :02:37.over the past 24 hours. I would rather him play for a baulk

:02:38. > :02:40.here, I really would. Make the 100 of certainty.

:02:41. > :02:45.A nice angle! He has a nice angle!

:02:46. > :02:54.Snurly now he's going to get it -- surely now he's going to get it.

:02:55. > :02:59.A record that might never, ever get beaten again! Well, at least I'm

:03:00. > :03:05.going to have the hon tore be the first to congratulate him if this

:03:06. > :03:13.green goes in. And at this stage of the match -

:03:14. > :03:17.absolutely unbelievable! A monkey off his back. The crowd stand in

:03:18. > :03:21.ovation. He deserves that. It has been brilliant. At this stage of the

:03:22. > :03:25.game, to produce that fantastic break, it is quite incredible.

:03:26. > :03:32.Congratulations to Neil Robertson, not only on the century but to have

:03:33. > :03:37.levelled at 11-11. An amazing sort of set of emotions to take grasp of

:03:38. > :03:48.in that last half an hour of the match, making the century. A century

:03:49. > :03:53.is an unbelieve yoobl reception -- is an unbelievable reaction from the

:03:54. > :03:59.crowd. The match was going my way. It looked like I was going to be

:04:00. > :04:08.beat. Stuck on 99. That is why it led to such celebrations and relief.

:04:09. > :04:12.Boy, the crowd really enjoyed it. It was that electric!

:04:13. > :04:23.Thank you! The deciding frame. Dale to beat!

:04:24. > :04:37.Here we go! He's taken this red hot. Very brave!

:04:38. > :04:50.Nothing wrong with that. What a great pot.

:04:51. > :04:57.These two loads are playing one of the biggest frame of their live.

:04:58. > :05:01.From 11-5 in front, to go 12-11 behind and then stop his opponent.

:05:02. > :05:08.There's the bang on the table. That is what it means to him. Dominic

:05:09. > :05:13.will give Barry a warm handshake. What a comeback from Dale. Barry is

:05:14. > :05:17.absolutely delighted! He's through to the semi-final to meet the

:05:18. > :05:22.defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:05:23. > :05:26.To win a match like that, especially in this place - it is an

:05:27. > :05:32.unbelievable feeling. I would have found the nearest bridge if I had

:05:33. > :05:37.lost that, obviously. Fair play to Dominic. I was squandering chance

:05:38. > :05:43.after chance from 11-5. He played so solid. He's found his A-game. It

:05:44. > :05:48.wasn't really, I didn't really do anything wrong. Found his A-game. He

:05:49. > :05:54.won it. I didn't lose it. You could see how much it meant to me to get

:05:55. > :05:57.over the line and just a massive, massive release.

:05:58. > :06:05.I am now backstage. The atmosphere here is very, very tense. The first

:06:06. > :06:08.semi-final of this year's championships about to get under

:06:09. > :06:13.way. Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on Barry Hawkins - the man he beat in

:06:14. > :06:18.last year's final. You know, it is hard mentally to

:06:19. > :06:24.keep that, keep flowing if you like, you know and it is like survival of

:06:25. > :06:29.the fitness in some sort of ways. It is quite a sadistic type of sport.

:06:30. > :06:33.It is not like football or tennis where you can let some aggression

:06:34. > :06:39.out. A lot of the time you are sitting in your chair and pondering

:06:40. > :06:44.on your thoughts. I tipped Barry before coming in here. Everybody was

:06:45. > :06:49.saying Ding was the man on form. He was the man on form. I still thought

:06:50. > :06:52.Hawkins was the danger-man in that side of the draw, especially of how

:06:53. > :06:59.he played last year and just the type of player he is. Like I said,

:07:00. > :07:04.at this venue, it is a marathon. I think Barry just goes about his

:07:05. > :07:09.business quietly and goes about it. He plays the same, plays the balls.

:07:10. > :07:13.He has a great temperament. He has a great game. If you don't have the

:07:14. > :07:19.game to back it up, then you know, you will not do anything. He has the

:07:20. > :07:24.game. He can score, good positional play, good safety. He's won

:07:25. > :07:28.tournaments. Well, I have to say both players

:07:29. > :07:32.look incredibly relaxed. They've had their moments on the practise room,

:07:33. > :07:37.now they are in their dressing rooms. Barry Hawkins is in this

:07:38. > :07:41.changing room, discussing tactics, last-minute tactics with his coach.

:07:42. > :07:47.Let's give him a knock and tell him that the Crucible is waiting for him

:07:48. > :07:52.to start his semi-final. I can hear him talking to Terry. They've had a

:07:53. > :08:00.couple of frames this morning. Here he goes! Are you ready? Yes. How you

:08:01. > :08:08.feeling? Good. There is a crowd out there ready for you. Off you go!

:08:09. > :08:14.He's just grabbing his extension. Good luck to you. Take care. Barry

:08:15. > :08:19.Hawkins takes his way. Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Barry here in the

:08:20. > :08:22.Crucible last year. Barry Hawkins only has one win against Ronnie

:08:23. > :08:31.O'Sullivan. Ronnie is in here with the art yirs

:08:32. > :08:37.Damien Hirst. The atmosphere is so tense here at the Crucible. Hello.

:08:38. > :08:40.Are you feeling good? Yes. A solid crowd out there. He's on his way.

:08:41. > :08:47.Let's join John Parrott. John Virgo and Ken Doherty. Ken this

:08:48. > :08:52.is a special occasion - down to one table. Something you've done on

:08:53. > :08:56.three occasions? The focus is on the two players now. No noise from the

:08:57. > :09:01.other table. This is where the magic of the Crucible comes alive. It is

:09:02. > :09:05.fantastic. You have plenty of room around the table. You are in the

:09:06. > :09:12.semi-final, down to one table. It is an amazing theter to play in. What

:09:13. > :09:17.have you made of Ronnie's progress? The great advantage is he won with a

:09:18. > :09:22.session to spare in his quarter-final. You know when it is

:09:23. > :09:25.simmering underneath? It will be interesting to see - Barry Hawkins

:09:26. > :09:31.went all the way with Dominic. What will be the reaction here today? He

:09:32. > :09:36.was 11-5 up. A brilliant performance to get over the line. What has that

:09:37. > :09:40.taken out of him, Ken? It remains to be seen. Sometimes players get an

:09:41. > :09:45.extra buzz from that. They find relief and they can go out today,

:09:46. > :09:50.like Barry can, and just express themselves. He had a great run

:09:51. > :09:54.against O'Sullivan here. 15 and 12 it went to last year. He has more

:09:55. > :10:00.experience than last year. It will be interesting how it pans out. Time

:10:01. > :10:04.for this first semi-final. It is all yours. Good afternoon, ladies and

:10:05. > :10:09.gentlemen. Four players, one table. It means only one thing - it is

:10:10. > :10:16.semi-final time here at the Crucible hasmt a way to start - a rerun of

:10:17. > :10:27.last year's event - the World Championship line-ups.

:10:28. > :10:31.APPLAUSE Please welcome a player who has

:10:32. > :10:36.produced the best form of his career in the last two years, winning the

:10:37. > :10:41.Aussie Open in 2012 was the start of a great run. He survived an

:10:42. > :10:49.incredible come back yet and finished with two nerveless

:10:50. > :10:53.clearances. Here he is - the player from Preston, here comes The Hawk -

:10:54. > :11:17.Barry And his opponent, the most exciting

:11:18. > :11:22.player ever to grace the modern game - he's won the champion of chasm pi

:11:23. > :11:32.yons and the Welsh Open this season alop. A great come back against --

:11:33. > :11:39.alone. A great come back - please welcome your defending world

:11:40. > :11:55.champion. Blink and you'll miss him - the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:11:56. > :12:33.Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. The first frame, Barry Hawkins to break.

:12:34. > :12:42.Barry Hawkins, I would suggest a very relieved man to be in this

:12:43. > :12:46.semi-final. When he looked at the draw, he knew, possibly a rematch of

:12:47. > :12:52.that world final. He went through the mill, as we said earlier with

:12:53. > :12:56.Dominic. These opening frames - it will be interesting to see what that

:12:57. > :13:00.took out of him. Yes, that's true. It will be very interesting.

:13:01. > :13:03.Sometimes, as I said to John Parrott, sometimes they can get that

:13:04. > :13:08.relief, getting over that tight match, John and sometimes, you know,

:13:09. > :13:10.it can be a positive thing. It just remains to be seen how it has

:13:11. > :13:29.affected him. He's a much different player I feel

:13:30. > :13:32.from last year. He's gained an awful lot of

:13:33. > :13:38.experience throughout the year, of course. Being in that one final last

:13:39. > :13:43.year would have given him a lot of confidence. He won the championship

:13:44. > :14:03.final only a few weeks ago, as well. It was awkward cue cueing. Played it

:14:04. > :14:10.nicely. On the green now. Does he play for a red or go straight into

:14:11. > :14:18.the cluster? No. First frame. Playing for a red. There's one above

:14:19. > :14:24.the black. He looks to have played that inch-perfect. No sign of nerves

:14:25. > :14:31.there. I think you spoke too soon, John!

:14:32. > :14:39.That was a surprise and that will be a shock to the system. It certainly

:14:40. > :14:44.went - you can see that! Both reds went there, didn't they? He was on

:14:45. > :14:51.the inside red - he could have potted that and dislodged a few.

:14:52. > :15:01.Let's have a look at this. From that angle, you cannot see how much of

:15:02. > :15:04.the pocket he had. There was plenty of room there. Does this red cut

:15:05. > :15:21.back? These semi-final matches - four

:15:22. > :15:28.sessions. First three sessions will be eight

:15:29. > :15:34.frames and then the remaining, if it went the distance, in the four

:15:35. > :15:41.sessions. So, it is a real test of who the better player is.

:15:42. > :15:45.It is quite an interesting statistic. I know it is the

:15:46. > :15:49.semi-final stage and we've been at the Crucible for 12 days, but

:15:50. > :16:09.session-wise, we are only halfway through the tournament.

:16:10. > :16:21.It there's! Good shot! Nicely controlled.

:16:22. > :16:27.The first look at the table, John, it looks to be running beautiful.

:16:28. > :16:40.Very, very quick! They just caught the red. Tried to

:16:41. > :16:55.slip by it. I think it still goes into the yellow pocket.

:16:56. > :17:04.A couple of lose reds on the right-hand side. Normally Ronnie,

:17:05. > :17:10.the first opportunity, only being one lose red would consider going

:17:11. > :17:16.into the cluster. Now, he's just playing for that one. He played it

:17:17. > :17:26.nicely. There are two reds in a line, into

:17:27. > :17:34.the bottom right-hand pocket. I am wondering, not sure Ronnie's had a

:17:35. > :17:44.look. Two reds, into this bottom pocket - may be a plant as well.

:17:45. > :17:55.A Direct Line. Not sure whether Ronnie has spotted that just yet.

:17:56. > :18:06.There is a bit of a gap between the two reds. I have to be honest with

:18:07. > :18:12.you, that was lucky to go in. Well, he spotted it. If he has a

:18:13. > :18:19.nice angle, he will be bringing other reds into play here. Glance

:18:20. > :18:44.off a few reds from potting this plant.

:18:45. > :18:55.Just got a little too much on the left-hand side.

:18:56. > :19:08.This will be the first test for Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:19:09. > :19:20.Certainly passed the test! Very nicely cued in.

:19:21. > :19:28.And this will please Ronnie, because in his match against Perry and

:19:29. > :19:32.against Murphy, he had a slow start and that is not like Ronnie

:19:33. > :19:39.normally. Usually he knows the importance of a quick start and was,

:19:40. > :20:16.well, to all intents and purposes given this opportunity,. ,.

:20:17. > :20:23.Not the angle he would have liked on the black. He can play it off two

:20:24. > :20:28.cushions. The red into the right centre also. I think the red in the

:20:29. > :20:34.middle of the bunch pots as well into the same pocket of the black.

:20:35. > :20:46.Oh, he's played that very well. Inch-perfect.

:20:47. > :21:00.A great start from Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:21:01. > :21:22.One more red would leave 60 ahead, with just 59 remaining.

:21:23. > :21:26.Barry - we know probably that red he missed, it looked like it clear

:21:27. > :21:48.clearly went. Well, Ronnie is saying there was

:21:49. > :21:53.something putting him off there - people talking. He could hear the

:21:54. > :22:56.noise. But that was frame ball.

:22:57. > :23:00.Ronnie having a word with the referee, saying could you have a

:23:01. > :23:26.word with people backstage? Looked to have judged this shot

:23:27. > :23:32.inch-perfect. You have to say, Ken, apart from

:23:33. > :23:36.that red into the middle, he started off cueing like a dream. He

:23:37. > :23:48.certainly has. He has the pace of the table. Absolutely beautiful

:23:49. > :23:50.here. Just the start he would have wished

:23:51. > :24:08.for. He's just so clever to nudge the red

:24:09. > :24:13.from the pink. The snooker brain is just phenomenal! . Early on in the

:24:14. > :24:20.frame, when you mentioned that plant - Ronnie noticed it. He walks around

:24:21. > :24:27.and sees things other snooker players wouldn't see.

:24:28. > :24:34.Works very, very quickly around the balls, of course.

:24:35. > :24:45.Wants to get the balls in the open, doesn't he, straight away? This is

:24:46. > :24:50.good stuff! Excellent stuff! He's on it.

:24:51. > :24:55.The perfect start. Barry Hawkins was first in with the

:24:56. > :25:01.red and then got a second chance. It was a difficult pot he had to take

:25:02. > :25:07.on. Barry Hawkins had his chance early

:25:08. > :25:08.on - didn't take it and Ronnie O'Sullivan looked in supreme touch

:25:09. > :25:20.there. 1-0 to the reigning champion. Good afternoon. It is the perfect

:25:21. > :25:26.start for Ronnie? Yes. Superb. There were a couple of shots when he was

:25:27. > :25:30.straight into the table. One black and reversed for a red in

:25:31. > :25:35.the middle of the pack. He's got the table straight away. Your assessment

:25:36. > :25:40.of the first frame? Ronnie is doing what all top players do. Starting

:25:41. > :25:44.quickly. Don't need any time to relax into the match. Bang on

:25:45. > :25:50.straight away. How much is down to the fact that Barry Hawkins had a

:25:51. > :25:54.marathon match against Dale and went through all emotions? ? Too early to

:25:55. > :25:59.say that. It looked like the red would go. It's too early for that.

:26:00. > :26:03.As Stephen said, the great champions, they impose themselves.

:26:04. > :26:09.Go on about Steve and they set the tone for the day. Ronnie has done

:26:10. > :26:12.that. Do you think it will be in effect this afternoon - whether

:26:13. > :26:16.Barry Hawkins will feel the pressure after yesterday? No, I think he'll

:26:17. > :26:22.be in this match thinking he's got nothing to lose. He's not the

:26:23. > :26:26.favourite, by any stretch. We know with Perry's match, if Ronnie needs

:26:27. > :26:31.to stick with him this session, we know what will happen. He has to

:26:32. > :26:33.establish himself. He's a run-away-train when he's playing

:26:34. > :26:48.well. They were talking about Barry

:26:49. > :26:53.Hawkins and how important it is in this session to get a good start and

:26:54. > :27:02.not let Ronnie O'Sullivan get away too early.

:27:03. > :27:08.We know what Ronnie is like as a front-ruper. He's very hard to --

:27:09. > :27:13.front-runner. He's very hard to hold on to. Hawkins has to stamp his

:27:14. > :27:18.authority as early as possible on this match.

:27:19. > :27:26.I think with all great champions, they are not frightened of the

:27:27. > :27:34.winning line... APPLAUSE

:27:35. > :27:42.That's the type of safety he'll have to play. He's going to have to stick

:27:43. > :27:47.with Ronnie. Not one session, two sessions and then we'll see how it

:27:48. > :27:53.plays out. He put Ronnie under a little bit of pressure last year in

:27:54. > :27:58.the final. Got back to 15-12 at one stage.

:27:59. > :28:05.I certainly don't think he'll be phased by the occasion, as I said.

:28:06. > :28:09.After last year's experience here - certainly stamped on him - no doubt

:28:10. > :28:18.about that. He's been playing very well during this championship.

:28:19. > :28:26.As long as he covers the red to the left of the brown, it will give some

:28:27. > :28:31.safety. He's done that - a good length with the cue ball.

:28:32. > :28:37.If Ronnie's going to try to get this back into baulk, this cue ball, he's

:28:38. > :28:40.going to have to hit it absolutely perfect.

:28:41. > :28:50.As I say, the one thing you don't want to do is leave that red that's

:28:51. > :29:07.there... A bit thin. A bit pacy. A good chance for Barry to put

:29:08. > :29:12.Ronnie in a bit of trouble here. I am just wondering, will he risk the

:29:13. > :29:24.double - play it as a shot to nothing, if he wishes?

:29:25. > :29:40.The first priority, of course, was blocking the reds with the double.

:29:41. > :29:51.If it goes in, has Ronnie in the snooker.

:29:52. > :30:00.Contributed It needed to be thin. Has he left anything easy?

:30:01. > :30:06.I think it will be going back. I don't think that red left cuts into

:30:07. > :30:09.the centre. He has a be possibility of that red into the right corner

:30:10. > :30:43.but doesn't fancy it. He is looking to see where the cue

:30:44. > :30:50.ball is. That looks pretty good. We'll see where it was. He has to

:30:51. > :30:53.catch this very, very thin. It could go in-off if he doesn't catch it

:30:54. > :31:16.properly. Is He will warn Ronnie. He could

:31:17. > :31:22.clearly get through to this red. You hear the warning. REFERREE: . I have

:31:23. > :31:31.to warn you, if you don't hit the ball on, you'll loose the frame.

:31:32. > :31:34.Tough rule. I think he could play down this side of the black. He will

:31:35. > :31:54.be covering certainly the red to the left of the black.

:31:55. > :32:39.S. A decent length and the reds now nicely spread. So, first mistake and

:32:40. > :32:50.it could be costly for either player.

:32:51. > :32:56.A chance for Barry Hawkins. This red adjacent to the blue will definitely

:32:57. > :32:59.cut to the left, middle. I think there is a clear path to go back up

:33:00. > :33:21.the table for blue or baulk colour. An unexpected miss from Barry

:33:22. > :33:35.Hawkins. The red has gone close to the corner

:33:36. > :33:48.pocket. Has he left it? Well, he can see it, but this is by

:33:49. > :34:26.no means easy. Well, if the cue ball slows up a

:34:27. > :34:33.touch, and he it has done, he is absolutely inch-perfect on the blue.

:34:34. > :34:37.So, he has his chance. This opportunity, even at this early

:34:38. > :34:54.stage could tell us a lot about how Barry is feeling.

:34:55. > :35:25.I mean, there are a couple of loose reds but if he can play a delicate

:35:26. > :35:29.cannon, left of two those reds, right of the pink spot, it'll

:35:30. > :35:33.certainly clear the pink spot. He is just looking to the one to the right

:35:34. > :35:36.of the pink, there is a pot into the corner pocket, but if you can play a

:35:37. > :35:38.delicate cannon into those two reds it would certainly open things up

:35:39. > :35:50.for him. Well, he could have played it a

:35:51. > :36:07.little bit harder than that. Looking for a full ball contact on that red.

:36:08. > :36:12.There is a little bit of work here to do with the cue ball to get up to

:36:13. > :36:24.the top cushion. He didn't want to be having to play

:36:25. > :36:31.it delicately for the blue, so nicely on the yellow. Nothing

:36:32. > :36:38.settles you down more in a match than a sizeable contribution. But

:36:39. > :36:48.once again, he just can't keep control of the white. Is he looking

:36:49. > :36:55.at a plant? Mm, lucky to have found this.

:36:56. > :37:00.Maybe he can get past those two reds to the left corner. It is a

:37:01. > :37:05.difficult one. It wasn't easy. You just get the

:37:06. > :37:53.feeling he is not settled just yet. A little short of pace so he has to

:37:54. > :37:55.take the cue ball in and out of baulk here. It is all about line and

:37:56. > :38:09.length. Well, that's very unlike Ronnie, to

:38:10. > :38:11.make an error like that, to catch a baulk colour. Yes, just got into the

:38:12. > :38:35.cue ball a little bit too much. He was fortunate to catch the yellow

:38:36. > :38:39.there. He could have left either of those two reds into the top pocket,

:38:40. > :39:32.a lot easier. Quite a big target behind green and

:39:33. > :39:38.brown here. Just about covered that red to the left centre. He's got to

:39:39. > :39:43.be careful here, Barry, because he's got to get good distance with his

:39:44. > :39:46.cue ball here to make sure he covers that red when he tries to get back

:39:47. > :40:17.to baulk. Yes, just a fraction short. Ronnie

:40:18. > :40:25.will look to see if this red cuts into the left, middle, but it is a

:40:26. > :40:31.thin one. You'd rather play the cut than play into this left corner.

:40:32. > :40:53.No, didn't fancy it. Where is the cue ball going? REFERREE: Foul.

:40:54. > :41:00.Barry Hawkins, four. Well, just a quick look at the table. Maybe not

:41:01. > :41:06.too much damage done. I don't think there is - well, there is a red

:41:07. > :41:10.there that goes past the black but that's fraught with danger should he

:41:11. > :41:16.miss it. Maybe there is an easy safety shot to try to get the upper

:41:17. > :41:26.Nelson Mandela this tactical battle. -- the upper hand.

:41:27. > :41:34.Oh, much, much too thick. He is desperately looking to see if he

:41:35. > :41:36.left this red on. The problem for Ronnie is, in potting it, can he

:41:37. > :42:01.control the line of the cue ball? I suppose if you could, would you

:42:02. > :42:03.cut it in and try it cannon the red next to it. Where is the black

:42:04. > :42:14.going? Oh. Well, turned the pot down. I tell

:42:15. > :42:25.you what, he is a little bit fortunate. There are two lefts - two

:42:26. > :42:30.reds on the left-hand side of the corner, that he can't get to. This

:42:31. > :42:51.now puts Barry's safety under more pressure.

:42:52. > :42:58.This is tough. If he leaves the cue ball down this end of the table, the

:42:59. > :43:04.black end, he is going to be leaving the pot into the left corner. And if

:43:05. > :43:10.he manages to get back up the baulk - because he has to cover those two

:43:11. > :43:22.reds, that can make a plant. Here is Hawkeye's view.

:43:23. > :43:41.Well, he has covered these two reds. It was a fantastic effort, wasn't

:43:42. > :43:45.it. It had to be said. A tap on the table for Ronnie. He knew how

:43:46. > :43:49.difficult it was for bory to get it safe. He can get through to these

:43:50. > :43:57.two reds but from Ronnie's point of view, he had to hit the first red on

:43:58. > :44:01.the on the right-hand side. The left-hand side as we look, can he

:44:02. > :44:05.get to the left-hand side of the first red? Maybe. There is enough I

:44:06. > :44:17.distance between the two of them to make this plant.

:44:18. > :44:23.It might not look too inviting but he can not leave them there for his

:44:24. > :44:28.owe Pope ented. Or maybe he is going -- for his opponent. Or maybe he is

:44:29. > :44:33.going to try the safety and run the red into them or does this red pot?

:44:34. > :44:39.It is a risky shot. No, just trying to dislodge the plant but it's gone

:44:40. > :44:42.all wrong. A big chance now for Barry Hawkins. He needs to make the

:44:43. > :44:55.most of this. For his own peace of mind. It was a

:44:56. > :45:00.strange shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan. It looked like that plant could

:45:01. > :45:26.easily have made it. Not sure why he didn't take it on.

:45:27. > :45:34.Well, he would like to dislodge the red close to the right-hand corner

:45:35. > :45:55.pocket because that will open the black

:45:56. > :46:50.This will make him feel good and certainly settle him down.

:46:51. > :46:55.Just about OK on the black. Maybe a bit lower than maybe he would have

:46:56. > :47:05.liked but he has enough reds in the open. This black will put him 53

:47:06. > :47:11.noints front. -- points in front. So another three reds. There you see

:47:12. > :47:17.it, 53 ahead, 83 remaining. Every time he pots a red, that points

:47:18. > :47:18.remaining reduces by 8 points. Because that's the maximum, a red

:47:19. > :47:29.and a black. So, he is looking for a colour and

:47:30. > :47:32.another red colour, and possibly a red just to make certain that Ronnie

:47:33. > :47:46.won't come back to the table. A nice solid pot. Now, if he gets a

:47:47. > :47:57.black off this red he will go 68 points in front with 67 remaining.

:47:58. > :48:08.Nicely-played and on the black, good shot.

:48:09. > :48:16.As you said, Ken, this will settle him down and make him feel as though

:48:17. > :48:23.he is now in the match. He has his first frame on the scoreboard. I

:48:24. > :48:28.just thought Ronnie might have been a little bit cautious. I thought

:48:29. > :48:33.there were a couple of shots he could have played here and decided

:48:34. > :48:45.to polysafe. Going back to that plant. It looked pretty

:48:46. > :48:49.straightforward from our view. Let's look at that plant again. There it

:48:50. > :48:51.is. This is the shot he chose. Obviously he is trying to get back

:48:52. > :49:39.up behind green and brown there. Heavy contact on that red. He

:49:40. > :49:48.thought he missed it. Let's look at this. It is the pace and gravity.

:49:49. > :49:52.The break goes to 71. The chance of a century for Barry Hawkins. Already

:49:53. > :49:54.he has had three sevenlingries in this tournament so far. -- three

:49:55. > :50:50.centuries. A good line. Very well-played

:50:51. > :50:56.indeed. A perfect angle on the yellow.

:50:57. > :51:02.He'd love to make the century here because when you are playing someone

:51:03. > :51:07.like Ronnie because the crowd have come and he is your main man, if you

:51:08. > :51:11.like, you are just proving to them you can play here and win frames in

:51:12. > :51:17.one visit, given the opportunity. This will be a real boost for

:51:18. > :51:23.Barry's confidence. Yes, and also, sends a psychological message to

:51:24. > :51:33.Ronnie O'Sullivan as well, saying - if you miss I'm going to score.

:51:34. > :51:41.Someone needs a glass of water. (coughing in the crowd)

:51:42. > :51:46.Such a shame, he didn't make the century but a wonderful 96 break

:51:47. > :51:54.from Barry Hawkins. He is off the mark. It is one frame apiece. ?

:51:55. > :51:58.STUDIO: An excellent frame from Barry Hawkins but Ronnie O'Sullivan

:51:59. > :52:04.lost control of that frame early on. He was on the blue, having to go in

:52:05. > :52:07.and out of baulk. We will look at T he got too much screw-back on that

:52:08. > :52:09.and lost his position. Now look at this particular positional shot. You

:52:10. > :52:13.have come the wrong side of the blue, somehow you have to get back

:52:14. > :52:17.up the table for the reds. Sometimes the reds dictate what shot you are

:52:18. > :52:21.going to play but the modern-day way is to play the pot and screw through

:52:22. > :52:24.the gap as opposed to playing through the far side, the yellow and

:52:25. > :52:28.the brown. On the other side for Ronnie, if you don't get enough

:52:29. > :52:31.screw-back, you play the shot, you will hit the brown. If you don't get

:52:32. > :52:36.enough screw-back on, you are going to hit the brown. But if you get too

:52:37. > :52:40.much screw-back on, thank you very much, Chris, our world snooker

:52:41. > :52:45.coach, if you get too much screw-back on, trying to get through

:52:46. > :52:49.the gap, you could hit the green or as Ronnie did, the yellow, like

:52:50. > :52:55.that. You are looking for a screw-back, quite a defendant this

:52:56. > :53:00.shot that gets -- a deft little shot, and also with enough power. It

:53:01. > :53:05.is not easy to do and under pressure t can always go wrong. That's

:53:06. > :53:09.roughly what you want to do. Back to Ken, I think in the studio. What

:53:10. > :53:18.about that red, Ken along the top cushion. I couldn't believe that

:53:19. > :53:23.went in. It got a bit of a kick. It hit the cushion quite a long way

:53:24. > :53:32.from the pocket but just a bit of graft as we say and the pace. Barry

:53:33. > :53:38.Hawkins breaks off. -- gravity and pace. That 96 break will make him

:53:39. > :53:50.feel good. Let's look at this red again. It was

:53:51. > :53:55.quite amazing, John. Look how far it hit the cushion. He thought he

:53:56. > :53:57.missed it, a heavy contact but it managed to just drop in. Yes, I

:53:58. > :54:09.don't know how it did. He is certainly getting a good

:54:10. > :54:13.length of the cue ball and in between frames, the interesting

:54:14. > :54:19.thing, I think is that this is right at the table where the reefer rewas

:54:20. > :54:27.setting the balls up, just checking to see if it is rolling straight,

:54:28. > :54:32.Ronnie. As the referee was check setting the balls up. No law against

:54:33. > :54:39.that, Ken? I don't think so. I'm sure the referee would have told him

:54:40. > :54:43.so. That's another good safety shot from Barry Hawkins. I think he was

:54:44. > :54:48.checking because, if you go back to earlier in that frame, where Ronnie

:54:49. > :54:53.missed the red on two occasions and was warned from the referee - maybe

:54:54. > :55:00.he felt the table was just rolling off slightly. Yes, and the last shot

:55:01. > :55:05.he played in that frame, when he caught the red too thin, you know,

:55:06. > :55:09.when we said we thought he might play the plant, he caught that red

:55:10. > :55:14.too thin. Maybe he just I thises the table is just rolling off slightly

:55:15. > :55:18.but at the moment, Barry Hawkins finding an excellent length for the

:55:19. > :55:22.cue ball. And no matter how good you are, Ronnie O'Sullivan or whoever,

:55:23. > :55:25.when you are tight up against the baulk cushion, you will not be

:55:26. > :55:31.potting many balls The safety success hasn't been that good. Only

:55:32. > :55:35.50% from Ronnie and 100% from Barry so far. Oh, excellent shot. Needs a

:55:36. > :55:52.nice kiss on the pink. Hasn't got T nicely-negotiated. A

:55:53. > :55:56.roll-up to the pink, I presume. -- hasn't got it.

:55:57. > :56:00.Is you just roll off the pink on to the cushion and possibly back behind

:56:01. > :56:11.the pink again. Off the cushion and back up. A bit

:56:12. > :56:15.light but not too bad. Would have liked to have got that cue ball

:56:16. > :56:16.tight to the pink because it would have made this shot so much more

:56:17. > :57:26.difficult. A good little safety shot that from

:57:27. > :57:30.Ronnie. He hasn't found the baulk cushion but is there a gap between

:57:31. > :57:35.yellow and brown? He can get past the blue but it would be a thin one

:57:36. > :57:40.to try to get the cue ball back to the baulk end. Just looks like he is

:57:41. > :58:17.playing a safety to the top cushion. Well, he can hit that safety shot

:58:18. > :58:43.well, Ronnie, there. And lucky that cue ball didn't go in the pocket.

:58:44. > :58:50.Well, Ronnie coming around now to have a look. That cluster of six in

:58:51. > :58:59.the middle of the table, top red does go to the left, corner pocket.

:59:00. > :59:08.Could do with a nice angle on a colour, looking at the yellow. Good

:59:09. > :00:07.pot. That just took that little bit of

:00:08. > :00:13.pace out of the cue ball. A nice angle on this blue. As you can see,

:00:14. > :00:17.just off straight - the wrong side. If you can get the cue ball

:00:18. > :00:22.somewhere about there - just dropping this blue in.

:00:23. > :00:40.It is an easy reach from this side. Again though, a good pot, but just a

:00:41. > :00:45.little bit short of the blue. A similar shot he played in the last

:00:46. > :00:50.frame. He hit the yellow here. It is much better.

:00:51. > :00:54.And the red, at the top of this bunch of five does pot and in

:00:55. > :00:59.potting this red, he'll be bringing the other reds into play. Can he

:01:00. > :01:21.hole the red, or will he go up for the blue?

:01:22. > :01:30.And of course, how he can play this shot with his left-hand - it is just

:01:31. > :01:35.in ced incredible! A talent! It is funny, John, you take that for

:01:36. > :01:41.granted when you watch Ronnie O'Sullivan. We are so used to seeing

:01:42. > :01:45.him play those sort of shots left-handed. They are so difficult

:01:46. > :01:55.at the best of times. . As you say to play it with the amount of pace

:01:56. > :02:01.he put into the cue ball. Of course, we all remember when we

:02:02. > :02:06.first saw him use it here, he was playing a Canadian, and he thought

:02:07. > :02:10.it was an insult that somebody should play with the left-hand. He

:02:11. > :02:32.thought he was taking the mickey. If you have it in your armry, why not

:02:33. > :02:44.use it? -- -- armory.

:02:45. > :03:02.The problem with those two reds being close to the cushion. He has

:03:03. > :03:07.to try and get the cue ball up the table for black, or possibly blue.

:03:08. > :03:15.He's now got a change of heart. He's looking at the thinner cut, which

:03:16. > :03:19.could take him on to the pink.le Pr -- on to the pink.

:03:20. > :03:27.I don't think that was the best contact there, but it was a chance

:03:28. > :03:33.and he's not made the most of it. He just seemed to go a bit straight -

:03:34. > :03:37.that red. He didn't make the most of it. A

:03:38. > :03:41.shake of the head. So, Barry, these are the type of frames you can

:03:42. > :03:47.really punish your opponent - take advantage of the mistake.

:03:48. > :04:06.Could have played that better! He wanted to pot that red more into

:04:07. > :04:08.the right-hand side of the pocket as we look, just to get out for the

:04:09. > :04:27.black into the opposite centre. It is pretty good.

:04:28. > :04:33.He has to be careful here, Ronnie O'Sullivan. If he tries to clip one

:04:34. > :04:38.of his reds, he has to careful of hitting the red on the way back up.

:04:39. > :04:41.It has to be pretty close. Just watch the cue ball on the way

:04:42. > :04:46.back. Now, you see it - that was

:04:47. > :05:31.dangerous. And could be very costly.

:05:32. > :05:39.This red will free up the black spot, which will help his cause

:05:40. > :05:48.because those two reds are close to the cushion behind the black spot.

:05:49. > :05:53.This is an excellent opportunity for Barry Hawkins. These are the type of

:05:54. > :06:07.frames that haunt your opponent. A nice angle on the black. He can

:06:08. > :06:18.play for the reds around the middle pocket. He could play a nice little

:06:19. > :06:20.cannon on the left to the... He doesn't have to, but the angle is

:06:21. > :06:42.there if he wishes. Looking at the score board, nine

:06:43. > :06:51.points behind. Need both those reds that are close to the top cushion.

:06:52. > :07:06.It is not a straight run to the winning line, by no means.

:07:07. > :07:11.He's come around to look at this red. In the last frame he played a

:07:12. > :07:15.red, not unlike this one. When he pots the red, to really kick on and

:07:16. > :07:20.he was making that break in the last frame. We saw how easily it dropped

:07:21. > :07:24.into that corner pocket. That will be in his mind here. It hit the

:07:25. > :07:29.cushion quite a way from the pocket and went in. He'll be playing it

:07:30. > :07:34.just a little bit, a little bit more pace this time, but certainly that

:07:35. > :07:41.last shot would have given him confidence.

:07:42. > :07:52.Straight in - no problems a nice angle on the black, just to screw

:07:53. > :08:05.back to the cushion, the opposite red, into the middle.

:08:06. > :08:18.Now there is a seven-point advantage. Two reds, two blacks. So,

:08:19. > :08:20.if he were to get that, he would still need yellow and green. Still a

:08:21. > :08:31.bit of work to do. APPLAUSE

:08:32. > :08:35.Controlled that beautifully - a perfect angle on the black.

:08:36. > :08:42.Maybe an angle where you could run through and notice the red away from

:08:43. > :08:48.the top cushion. Didn't want to risk that.

:08:49. > :08:56.He's left plenty of angle here though. Again, just got to drop this

:08:57. > :08:58.in and just be confident with it. If he just drops it in, give it a

:08:59. > :09:08.chance to get into the pocket. It's there! Well played. An

:09:09. > :09:24.excellent shot from Barry Hawkins. Needs to go by the blue or kiss it.

:09:25. > :09:45.Oh, that is just perfect! That puts Barry 25 points in front.

:09:46. > :09:54.25 remaining, but not for long. Perfect on the green.

:09:55. > :10:11.Started off the first frame safely. It is his safety play which has been

:10:12. > :10:17.impressive so far in this mafrp. I know it is very -- match. I know it

:10:18. > :10:24.is very early days. He's not leaving anything easy. Good safety shots are

:10:25. > :10:27.causing Ronnie problems and leaving these type of opportunities. Made a

:10:28. > :10:55.96-break in the last frame. Ronnie, well, he's just been frozen

:10:56. > :10:58.out with the good safety play from Barry. Hawkins, having lost the

:10:59. > :11:11.first frame wins the next two. You get the feeling he's finding his

:11:12. > :11:15.rhythm. Very impressive. Both us said he's got to score here. You

:11:16. > :11:21.have to get that first frame, but also to show Ronnie he's there to

:11:22. > :11:26.play. Another wonderful break. He's hitting well. We wondered if there

:11:27. > :11:31.was going to be a hangover. There hasn't been so far. If there's been

:11:32. > :11:35.one weakness, as opposed to last year in the championship, Ronnie is

:11:36. > :11:41.not winning one frames as regular as last year. He's giving his opponents

:11:42. > :11:45.more chances. So far he's not been punished. He's played good session,

:11:46. > :11:51.bad session, good session, bad session - sort of thing.

:11:52. > :11:58.You tweeted in the week, after Ronnie O'Sullivan made it through to

:11:59. > :12:03.the semi-finals - "Stun step up." Is he the man to do it? It is Ronnie's

:12:04. > :12:08.title to lose. Perry showed if he can stay with him, that is the only

:12:09. > :12:12.way to put pressure on him. When you look at the head-to-head records and

:12:13. > :12:17.see that Barry Hawkins has only won once, does that play on his mind?

:12:18. > :12:19.Listen, today is another day and the match is another day. You get on

:12:20. > :12:33.with it and play it as it is. So, there'll be a mid-session

:12:34. > :12:40.interval after this frame. Barry Hawkins would love to have a

:12:41. > :12:47.two-frame advantage. I think Barry Hawkins is a different

:12:48. > :12:52.player this season. Getting into the world cham World

:12:53. > :12:56.Championship final - proving for once and for all. You can believe in

:12:57. > :13:03.yourself as much as you like. If you don't get the results it is very

:13:04. > :13:07.hard to keep believing. His performance last year would made him

:13:08. > :13:12.belief, what we all thought - a very, very good player and a great

:13:13. > :13:15.match player. I think the way he performed in the final. He didn't

:13:16. > :13:31.just roll over. He got within three frames, 15-12.

:13:32. > :13:36.It turned out to be a close match until Ronnie ran out the winner. I

:13:37. > :13:39.think that type of match would have given him great confidence - there's

:13:40. > :14:02.no doubt about that! Of course winning the PCT grand

:14:03. > :14:05.finals only a couple of weeks ago... APPLAUSE

:14:06. > :14:09.That would have enhanced his confidence even more. As I said at

:14:10. > :14:15.the beginning of this match, I don't think he'll be phased as much as he

:14:16. > :14:18.would have been in the past. That is because of all those wonderful

:14:19. > :14:31.experiences he had here last year. There is some evidence that Ronnie

:14:32. > :14:35.played that shot before - that the ball seems to be drifting.

:14:36. > :14:38.It seems to be drifting over to the right as the players are playing

:14:39. > :14:43.down the right-hand side of the table. Barry Hawkins miss placed his

:14:44. > :14:50.previous shot and he's... Just like Ronnie did in -- a couple of frames

:14:51. > :15:01.ago. Let's look here.

:15:02. > :15:08.There'll be a warning here. Get the spirit level out at the

:15:09. > :15:19.mid-session interval. It will not help Barry at this moment in time.

:15:20. > :15:30.Telling him that, to hit the ball long doesn't make this any easier to

:15:31. > :15:36.get safe. He took a chance there.

:15:37. > :15:41.You wouldn't want to miscue in that position, would you, in all

:15:42. > :15:46.fairness? He was quite brave. It is nice that Ronnie saw the funny side

:15:47. > :15:50.of it. There's obviously something just

:15:51. > :15:52.maybe the table needs looking at. Ronnie talking about fractions -

:15:53. > :16:22.that is what this game is all about. Of He's been a little bit fortunate.

:16:23. > :16:28.Could have had something easier into the right-hand corner pocket. He has

:16:29. > :16:53.this red up into top left corner pocket. No pressure on this.

:16:54. > :17:04.Ful Played the pot. As you can see where he left the cue ball, he

:17:05. > :17:09.wasn't going to leave much. The red he was playing. Ronnie was not

:17:10. > :17:17.interested in that. Safe enough! It has been a cagey

:17:18. > :17:32.affair. Apart from the first frame.

:17:33. > :17:38.I expect it to come down from that. Ronnie is usually 15 or 16. He's up

:17:39. > :17:40.to 21. That shows you a good safety from Barry Hawkins is making him

:17:41. > :18:20.think a little. A little bit thick on that safety.

:18:21. > :18:25.When you are playing those shots, you play it with a lot of side and

:18:26. > :18:29.if you don't strike it correctly, that right-hand side will push the

:18:30. > :18:37.cue ball to the left. Just at the moment, I think Barry is fathering

:18:38. > :18:48.better than -- faring better than Ronnie. Got a good target with the

:18:49. > :18:53.brown. This is a pretty good line. And OK, he didn't get behind the

:18:54. > :18:57.brown, but slightly awkward cueing for Ronnie. Needs to hit this

:18:58. > :19:14.correctly. APPLAUSE

:19:15. > :19:21.Well, a little bit short of what was intended. .ment I give him credit

:19:22. > :19:27.for that. That was -- intended. I give him credit for that.

:19:28. > :19:31.Barry is not entertaining this red on the left-hand side of the cushion

:19:32. > :19:38.because it is so close to the cushion. There is always the chance

:19:39. > :19:41.that will double kiss. He's looking at trying to leave the cue ball

:19:42. > :20:09.somewhere on the bottom cushion. A May have left the cut into the

:20:10. > :20:12.pocket there. I saw Ronnie miss one of these in the opposite corner

:20:13. > :20:26.pocket and just straighten up. APPLAUSE

:20:27. > :20:34.That is better. Needs to miss the brown. That's unlucky!

:20:35. > :20:41.No prizes for guessing what's coming next though!

:20:42. > :21:38.It was an excellent escape - couldn't have done much better than

:21:39. > :21:54.that. He didn't fancy it. Needs to miss

:21:55. > :21:58.that red. He's just about missed it. Has he covered it? Applause because

:21:59. > :22:07.of the good length of the cue ball. Is there a gap? There is a gap

:22:08. > :22:12.between green and blue. It is made difficult because of the

:22:13. > :22:18.proximity of the ball to the cushion. If he knocks it in, the

:22:19. > :22:23.chance of being on the black for the opposite corner.

:22:24. > :22:28.APPLAUSE Nicely on the blue.

:22:29. > :22:46.This is a decent chance. Really had to cue that really well.

:22:47. > :22:48.If you notice the way the cue went through - straight - no intentional

:22:49. > :23:21.side on the cue ball there. He wasn't on this red. So, if he's

:23:22. > :23:29.on this red, just a straightforward shot and the black into the opposite

:23:30. > :23:36.corner pocket. As you say, Ken, certainly that's

:23:37. > :23:50.not the red he played for - that was a bonus being on that.

:23:51. > :23:59.I wasn't sure if that bounced a little bit more than he would have

:24:00. > :24:07.liked. This is a little bit more awkward.

:24:08. > :24:13.A left-handed player that prefers to playwright handed. Oh, that was a

:24:14. > :24:19.horrendous kick! You don't like to see that! You

:24:20. > :24:29.really don't! Players can miss balls and you get a bad run of the ball!

:24:30. > :24:39.Look at that! A collision and a horrible way to finish! And it could

:24:40. > :24:46.cost him. It could cost him dear! Curiously enough Ronnie doesn't have

:24:47. > :24:53.the cue ball cleaned. If he drops it in for the red or past the blue -

:24:54. > :25:06.he's OK! I think Ronnie can realise the

:25:07. > :25:12.importance of this frame. There is a mid-session interval coming up after

:25:13. > :25:16.it and Barry, and well, due to a bad contact there has given him a chance

:25:17. > :25:22.to get out of this first minisession if you like two-a-piece. If he had

:25:23. > :25:48.given this 1 00%... There was a lot of respect there for

:25:49. > :25:54.Barry and what he was saying. He wouldn't want to give Barry too much

:25:55. > :25:58.of a lead. Barry ponders on how did he get that bad contact.

:25:59. > :26:32.He'll settle for that. The referee asking Ronnie for a

:26:33. > :26:37.moment. The pink directly in line with the

:26:38. > :27:08.black in the top cushion here. In line with its own spot.

:27:09. > :27:53.Very surprising! Barry Hawkins gets a second chance, which I am sure he

:27:54. > :28:48.wasn't expecting. This is a big opportunity.

:28:49. > :28:52.If you've not got the right angle, so long as you have plenty, it is

:28:53. > :29:52.easy to get in and out of balk. Just one point behind it now. These

:29:53. > :30:00.reds could see him safely home. He would love to have been straight on

:30:01. > :30:38.this red. He will have to go for blue now.

:30:39. > :31:16.Too much right-hand side on the cue ball.

:31:17. > :31:26.I'm not sure about the availability of these red. Obviously, the one

:31:27. > :31:39.closest to the pink. He did feel as though he had to play

:31:40. > :31:49.the cannon, and it could have turned out better. Most of those reds were

:31:50. > :31:58.not available. He had a chance to move them, but didn't. He will

:31:59. > :32:09.favour the cut, but can he control the line of the cue ball?

:32:10. > :32:19.Used the blue to slow the cue ball down.

:32:20. > :32:29.He has overscrew this yellow. A bit of tension in the arm. Look at the

:32:30. > :32:57.scoreboard. 16 points. It's a lot tougher from a baulk

:32:58. > :33:03.colour than it is from the black. He has played well. But it's not as

:33:04. > :33:10.straightforward as it could have been had he been straighter on that

:33:11. > :33:22.red. He has to play a really good positional shot. His position looks

:33:23. > :33:45.good, does he have the right angle? Just a little bit off. An think he

:33:46. > :33:58.will be playing this snooker. And a good one it is. Yes, played it

:33:59. > :34:02.very well. This is a must fit for Bonnie. That is a great shot, a

:34:03. > :34:14.fantastic shot. If the red had not flicked off the

:34:15. > :34:55.brown, it would have been safe, but it is not. Red and black.

:34:56. > :35:48.He needs up to and including the pink.

:35:49. > :36:00.He just wants to get the cue ball somewhere along the line, so he can

:36:01. > :36:02.screw back for the pink. It has gone a little bit astray. He will need

:36:03. > :36:14.the extension here. That was a little bit careless. If

:36:15. > :36:18.it was dead straight, this would be a lot easier. He has got to deep

:36:19. > :36:33.screw this. This is a very difficult pink. He

:36:34. > :36:36.looks up the scoreboard. The pink for the frame. Good cueing needed.

:36:37. > :36:58.Not easy. Good pot. Good, good pot. Very

:36:59. > :37:02.interesting frames to start this much. You can feel the tension in

:37:03. > :37:04.the air. Ronnie O'Sullivan will be delighted at the end of this first

:37:05. > :37:17.mini-session. There is an air of tension. This is

:37:18. > :37:25.what happens when it gets down to the semifinals. He makes it special

:37:26. > :37:39.as well. That was a fabulous frame of snooker. I felt for Barry Hawkins

:37:40. > :37:42.there. It looks like Ronnie O'Sullivan has gone into the

:37:43. > :37:52.tournament office, had he gone in there to talk about something?

:37:53. > :37:56.Perhaps he can see us. Snooker players don't like change. It can

:37:57. > :38:04.affect your head a little bit. I know that I would feel the same way.

:38:05. > :38:10.We'll Barry be happy? I think so. He has established himself, which is

:38:11. > :38:21.the first thing you what to do. I think 2-2 is good, but he will be

:38:22. > :38:26.disappointed because he had a good frame there. He is world number

:38:27. > :38:32.four, so he is doing what he is supposed to do out there. Barry has

:38:33. > :38:38.been here before. The semifinals last year. You don't get to world

:38:39. > :38:50.number four without knowing what you are doing. He is probably the most

:38:51. > :38:53.improved player on the tour. I am hearing that Ronnie O'Sullivan has

:38:54. > :39:03.gone into the tournament office for a tipping kit, not to complain about

:39:04. > :39:10.the noise from us. They will have a little look about it. It is an

:39:11. > :39:16.incredible turnaround when you consider that 24 hours ago, Dominic

:39:17. > :39:19.Deal launched that amazing fightback against Barry Hawkins. It looked

:39:20. > :39:29.like Barry Hawkins would be going out. But he is -- here he is. That

:39:30. > :39:41.is why it is a marathon of the mind. You have to go and do your stuff

:39:42. > :39:45.again. You have both been part of the article on website where you

:39:46. > :39:51.have been talking about journalists about what you need to do at this

:39:52. > :39:59.stage of the tournament. Do you break the sessions down in your

:40:00. > :40:07.mind? 6-2 is the target in my head. Probably more Ford Barry van

:40:08. > :40:17.Bonnie. -- probably more for Barry van Ronnie.

:40:18. > :40:25.Very tight in this studio, no room for Steve Davis.

:40:26. > :40:29.Well, file Ronnie O'Sullivan goes to the dressing room, Barry Hawkins

:40:30. > :40:39.goes back to his dressing room. He had a chance of 3-1. Barry Hawkins

:40:40. > :40:47.had a chance to possibly keep all bubbles under control and win the

:40:48. > :40:57.frame. -- all the balls. He thought about putting the red, sending the

:40:58. > :41:05.cue ball to break the three balls up. It may have been an easier

:41:06. > :41:12.clearance. He decided to not risk it all going wrong. He played the red

:41:13. > :41:20.down for the blue. He had to play a safety shot and let Ronnie

:41:21. > :41:28.O'Sullivan in. You are trying to keep control of the table at all

:41:29. > :41:36.times. It is so tough at this level. Thank you. The players are on their

:41:37. > :41:43.mid-session interval. It appears that you love our version of the hit

:41:44. > :41:55.TV quiz show Pointless. This is Richard Osman report this -- with

:41:56. > :42:08.Potless. Today's question.

:42:09. > :42:33.That is a good one. India. South Africa. Thailand, Canada. The nines?

:42:34. > :42:48.-- Finland? Robin Hull is from Finland. A long time ago... Did

:42:49. > :42:58.anybody represent Pakistan? Surinder Gill? There was an Indian player.

:42:59. > :43:09.That guy who lived in Leicester but said he was from Latvia. Dino Cain

:43:10. > :43:20.New Zealand. Nobody will get that. Nobody. Surinder Gill. He's not

:43:21. > :43:37.Indian, he's British. He is from Bournemouth. I think that is a good

:43:38. > :43:49.one. Finland. New Zealand. Latvia. Finland. India.

:43:50. > :44:02.What do you think at home? Tweet us and give us your answer.

:44:03. > :44:15.My favourite contribution from Ken Doherty, he's from Bournemouth?

:44:16. > :44:24.Ten now to turn our attention to one of the matches of the tournament so

:44:25. > :44:47.far, Judd Trump taking on world number one Neil Robertson.

:44:48. > :44:53.This was a real cracker. Judd Trump led for most of the match, but you

:44:54. > :45:02.just felt that something special was about to happen.

:45:03. > :45:11.If he holds for the brown, it may be worth taking on. I visit looking? --

:45:12. > :45:27.how is it worth taking on. I visit looking? --

:45:28. > :45:46.has it not gone in? I thought it was there. And so did Judd.

:45:47. > :45:50.I don't think there is anybody out here, he will have to play an

:45:51. > :46:08.aggressive shot. You could remove the red of the

:46:09. > :46:11.corner with another red. But the problem is that red on the centre

:46:12. > :46:30.pocket. He is in trouble here. Looking at

:46:31. > :47:00.the shot now. I think he will have to play this

:47:01. > :47:07.long pot, the right-hand corner. Stephen Hendry used to say, if I

:47:08. > :47:14.lost the frame by playing a safety shot rather than pot, I never

:47:15. > :47:18.forgive myself. You have got to take your hat off to him. It was always

:47:19. > :47:28.going to be difficult to miss the blue and green. But luckily for him,

:47:29. > :47:34.it went in. Yes, he had to cut the red quite thin. It doesn't matter if

:47:35. > :47:59.the red goes in. This is the first time for the last

:48:00. > :48:50.four or five frames that everything has been in open play. If this was

:48:51. > :48:57.early in the match, he would be... But when the pressure is on,

:48:58. > :49:18.anything is missable. A little bit of noise in the crowd.

:49:19. > :49:30.At the moment, he is just investing in these small colours, waiting for

:49:31. > :49:36.the big stuff. He will be feeling very confident now.

:49:37. > :50:02.It looked difficult to make a mess of that shot, but he has.

:50:03. > :50:17.One good positional shot, he leads to get up on these reds and blacks.

:50:18. > :50:23.Judd Trump hasn't potted a ball for over 26 minutes, that is a long time

:50:24. > :50:38.when you get to the business end of the match.

:50:39. > :50:55.If that pink doesn't pot, he is in trouble. The pink is very close to

:50:56. > :51:04.being pottable. He needs to put this and cannon onto the left red. And

:51:05. > :52:06.now he has a chance, a big chance. There was an opportunity to play a

:52:07. > :52:13.ringer on the black, but he prefers the pink, obviously. He would like

:52:14. > :52:20.to to have been an inch or two further down the table. It's OK,

:52:21. > :52:21.it's not too thin to hold the cue ball, but it makes it more

:52:22. > :52:32.difficult. Just one good pot away from being in

:52:33. > :53:00.perfect position. It's good to see him walking round

:53:01. > :53:04.the table quickly when he is making breaks, it suits his style more.

:53:05. > :53:38.Keeping a nice rhythm. It's been hard work for 38. I don't

:53:39. > :54:00.know what the colour sequence has been.

:54:01. > :54:15.This could be good. Wonderful shot. He deserves what he gets. If he does

:54:16. > :54:25.go on to win the frame, hopefully, it will be his century.

:54:26. > :54:57.What kind of angle does he have on this red? He could bring another

:54:58. > :55:01.three reds into play here. Now the hundred century is a definite

:55:02. > :55:12.possibility. A little bit careless, didn't quite

:55:13. > :55:36.get the desired angle. The difficult red on the side

:55:37. > :55:45.cushion is the one that will be a problem. And to make the 100, he

:55:46. > :55:47.will need four reds and four blacks. For that red to get onto any

:55:48. > :56:05.other colour could be a problem. Would it be a monkey off his back, I

:56:06. > :56:12.would it affect him for the next few frames?

:56:13. > :56:22.Judd Trump is looking a bit forlorn, he has lost the last three frames.

:56:23. > :56:28.He hasn't done anything wrong, he has just lost the safety battles. I

:56:29. > :56:33.wonder if he will risk getting on the difficult red now. There is you

:56:34. > :57:15.answer. He has risked it. Not guaranteed to get perfect on

:57:16. > :57:54.this red. Surely now he is going to get it.

:57:55. > :58:18.Two pots from an unbelievable record that might never get beaten again.

:58:19. > :58:29.At this stage of the match, absolutely under -- unbelievable. A

:58:30. > :58:41.standing ovation and he deserves it. Absolutely brilliant.

:58:42. > :58:42.Congratulations to Neil Robertson. 100 centuries and he has levelled

:58:43. > :58:52.the match. Making a century, what an

:58:53. > :58:57.unbelievable reception from the crowd. I was so glad to have done

:58:58. > :59:09.it. Through most of the match, it wasn't going my way. That is

:59:10. > :59:16.probably why it led to such celebrations and relief. The crowd

:59:17. > :59:22.really enjoyed it. It was electric. It was a brilliant achievement for

:59:23. > :59:26.him. I just wanted to get out of the venue when he had done it because I

:59:27. > :59:33.needed to concentrate on the game. I congratulated him at the end of the

:59:34. > :59:40.match. Finally getting there, it was incredible. I am sure there will be

:59:41. > :59:44.players who make 100 centuries in a season, but I am the first person to

:59:45. > :59:49.do that, it is an incredible in achievement and a great honour that

:59:50. > :59:53.I am that player. A terrific achievement, many

:59:54. > :00:11.congratulations to Neil Robertson. All eyes on that.

:00:12. > :00:15.This is effectively a new record. We have more tournaments. Still a

:00:16. > :00:18.fantastic record. Social media was going mad at the time. So many

:00:19. > :00:39.people watching either live or on the red button.

:00:40. > :00:44.They were commenting on it, he hadn't even won the game and he was

:00:45. > :01:11.elevated like he had one. Why was he sending a message during

:01:12. > :01:23.the match? You would expect him to enjoy

:01:24. > :01:43.himself. Isn't it interesting how the players

:01:44. > :01:50.who have been knocked out still cannot stop watching?

:01:51. > :02:01.Thank you very much, a lot of you have been getting in touch.

:02:02. > :02:06.Welcome back. Earlier I asked to the name of any nation who has had

:02:07. > :02:13.somebody representing them at the Crucible. Our legends gave us a few

:02:14. > :02:21.ounces. Finland. New Zealand. India. Latvia. It will not surprise you to

:02:22. > :02:30.note Finland got 36 points. Eight points for New Zealand.

:02:31. > :02:53.There are a few scores that would have beaten New Zealand. Four points

:02:54. > :02:58.for South Africa. Three points is the best answer on the board, any

:02:59. > :03:08.fans out there will tell you Iceland is the best answer.

:03:09. > :03:24.A big shout out to those who came up with Iceland. This is the

:03:25. > :03:33.leaderboard. I didn't know this was happening.

:03:34. > :03:36.There is a very smug Stephen Hendry sitting in the studio looking at the

:03:37. > :03:46.leaderboard. Hazel and I are taking the Neil

:03:47. > :03:52.Robertson approach, lulling you into a false sense of security. Barry

:03:53. > :04:12.Hawkins two, Ronnie O'Sullivan two. The mid-session interval over. Quite

:04:13. > :04:20.a hive of activity backstage. People looking at the table. It seems

:04:21. > :04:26.everybody happy with the conditions. A very tense opening for friends.

:04:27. > :04:37.I am not sure if Ronnie O'Sullivan will be more relieved to win that

:04:38. > :04:41.last frame. Long Way to go in this match, another for friends to play

:04:42. > :05:03.-- another four frames to play. There is the safety success, pretty

:05:04. > :05:17.low. There is where he has just won an -- fallen down slightly.

:05:18. > :05:26.I spoke to Martin Clark's assistant and he said neither player

:05:27. > :05:33.complained about the table. The table fitters didn't really have

:05:34. > :05:36.much to do. I am sure they would have used a spirit level. No

:05:37. > :06:00.complaints from the players. A bit of tactical play now with that

:06:01. > :06:21.red. The type of scenario neither player

:06:22. > :06:25.would like. The first chance when he gets, he will try and played the

:06:26. > :06:32.more aggressive safety shot. Has he left a possible double here

:06:33. > :06:51.for Barry Hawkins? Didn't even look at it. Possibly

:06:52. > :07:10.wasn't on. Ronnie would love to force Barry

:07:11. > :07:16.into knocking that read back up the table. He just wants to get on with

:07:17. > :07:20.it. If you could find the book line, as you say, he has left it

:07:21. > :07:39.down there. He will not want to get bogged down

:07:40. > :08:30.in this match. The referee has declared touching

:08:31. > :08:33.ball. He is firing away from the red he is touching. The possibility of a

:08:34. > :08:59.pot here. He would like to put the red into

:09:00. > :09:13.the right centre. Still be on the black. Excellent shot. A lovely

:09:14. > :09:52.angle on the black, if he wishes to go into the pack. Doesn't have to.

:09:53. > :10:01.He has got a lovely angle but he must hit this pink on the right-hand

:10:02. > :10:12.side as we look. That is pretty good. This could have been better. A

:10:13. > :10:17.straight red into the left-hand corner pocket. Hit it perfectly,

:10:18. > :10:37.didn't he? He has missed it. We were directly

:10:38. > :10:40.in line with that. He has put his hand out when he

:10:41. > :10:48.missed it, having a word with Ronnie. I didn't see a roll off, it

:10:49. > :11:00.was always there. Let's have a look again.

:11:01. > :11:11.Trying to put his fingers in between those rates. If he was to touch one

:11:12. > :11:19.he would declare it himself. It was always on the left-hand jaw, never

:11:20. > :11:24.anywhere else. Barry intimated that it walled off, but it didn't to me.

:11:25. > :12:22.-- rolled off. It didn't sound like the best of

:12:23. > :12:38.contacts love. -- there. Strangely enough, I haven't seen

:12:39. > :13:07.money getting the cue cleaned since we started.

:13:08. > :13:13.A little bit straighter than he would like, but plenty of key power

:13:14. > :13:28.to spare. Coming off the side cushion. There is the straight line.

:13:29. > :13:37.He may have just hit across the ball. Certainly the red didn't roll

:13:38. > :14:18.off. 42 points, the lead, 75 remaining.

:14:19. > :14:47.Three reds, three colours, that would do the trick.

:14:48. > :15:02.This black and one more red ball. The black puts him 58 points in

:15:03. > :15:11.front, with 59 remaining. He still wants red and a colour.

:15:12. > :15:25.Doesn't have to do much with a red. Just make certain you pot it.

:15:26. > :15:33.The only reason I always think nowadays, I'd use to sate you just

:15:34. > :15:45.need a red, but you want to get that other colour following the red,

:15:46. > :15:49.keeps your opponent in their seat. He was making out that the red

:15:50. > :15:54.rolled off, we didn't see it. Ronnie O'Sullivan made the best of the

:15:55. > :16:00.opportunity, nice break of 80. He now leads 3-2.

:16:01. > :16:01.I would be fascinated to find out what John Parrott and Stephen Hendry

:16:02. > :16:14.thought happened. It looked like he was on the top

:16:15. > :16:20.jaw. Yes, certainly looked at from the camera shot. Sometimes it can

:16:21. > :16:25.make the ball go thick, but sometimes it can make it go thin,

:16:26. > :16:31.unless there was a funny contact. We have seen a lot of this in the last

:16:32. > :16:35.24 hours. I was watching the coverage yesterday afternoon, Neil

:16:36. > :16:39.Robertson missed a simple red and he said the table wasn't playing ball

:16:40. > :16:44.and there was no hint of any responsibility. In fairness, it

:16:45. > :16:46.yesterday it was kicking like a mule. They changed a whole set of

:16:47. > :17:02.balls. That was most unusual. Ronnie O'Sullivan breaks off in the

:17:03. > :17:23.sixth frame. Watch the shot back, it wasn't dead

:17:24. > :17:35.set in the middle of the pocket. He is having a word with Ronnie saying

:17:36. > :17:41.he felt it walled off. Unless the path of the cue ball hit the red.

:17:42. > :17:47.You cannot really tell behind the object ball, unless it feared off

:17:48. > :17:50.and hit the road. Barry obviously for something went wrong. Another

:17:51. > :17:59.excellent safety shot from Barry Hawkins. Oney needs to miss this

:18:00. > :18:07.green for it to be anything like decent. If you can find a path round

:18:08. > :18:32.the back of the black. This would be some sort of angle. If

:18:33. > :18:35.he plays the pot, misses the black, you may be running into that read to

:18:36. > :18:54.the left of the black and that will hold the cue ball. If he misses red

:18:55. > :19:06.and black that will be OK. He doesn't like it.

:19:07. > :19:38.Now the Green came to Barry 's rescue. Can he get to this red

:19:39. > :19:59.second up? Even if he can there is no path back to the baulk end.

:20:00. > :20:27.Not quite sure if you can see enough of this red to have a go. He has had

:20:28. > :20:33.a look at it, but it is very close. You can see from his expression, he

:20:34. > :20:40.hit that completely wrong, wanted to hit the other side of the red. The

:20:41. > :20:52.right-hand side as we looked. Amazing. That just tells you, watch

:20:53. > :21:26.Ronnie here, he has messed up, that was a chance.

:21:27. > :21:36.Those rates are all a bit difficult. You have got to play them with a lot

:21:37. > :21:41.of pace. -- those reds. You have got to be so accurate. Easy enough red

:21:42. > :21:53.to the right corner but can one get on the black? He is already looking

:21:54. > :21:59.to see if he can make that cannon. Not too bad, he got second prize.

:22:00. > :22:02.Would have loved to have hit that read to the left of the black. Bring

:22:03. > :22:36.the black into play. He just looked to see. If you're not

:22:37. > :22:37.happy and convinced watch what you are playing, get up, get down and

:22:38. > :23:02.prepare again. Let's have a look at that shot

:23:03. > :23:03.again. Just watch him, just missed that one. It would have been

:23:04. > :23:14.perfect. He didn't want to be using the rest

:23:15. > :23:33.for this shot. A bit of work to do with the cue ball.

:23:34. > :23:43.Played it pretty well. Overstretched slightly. It is amazing how good he

:23:44. > :23:50.is with a rest, considering most of the time he can play with his left

:23:51. > :24:02.hand. Doesn't get as much practice with the rest as most players.

:24:03. > :24:16.A little bit pacey, he would have liked to have been on the blue. It

:24:17. > :24:18.is going to be a baulk colour. Just having a look which is the best red

:24:19. > :24:46.to play for. That is inch perfect. Still

:24:47. > :24:50.congested around this black spot area. Not the easiest of

:24:51. > :25:12.opportunities. Easily trying to free up the pink

:25:13. > :25:17.because of the black. Leave a little angle on the pink into left centre,

:25:18. > :25:34.moving the red that is tying up the pink spot. This is where Ronnie is

:25:35. > :25:42.so good, positional play is just spot on. Just holding the cue ball

:25:43. > :26:00.here round the pink spot. Just as I was singing his praises!

:26:01. > :26:17.Never expect him to miss that. Unexpected mess, unexpected

:26:18. > :26:30.opportunity for his opponent. It really hurts, if Barry takes full

:26:31. > :26:36.advantage of this chance. Once Oney had got that pink in play he thought

:26:37. > :26:51.it was a frame-winning chance -- Ronnie.

:26:52. > :26:59.He will be annoyed. Once you have got the pink in play, he had the

:27:00. > :28:07.frame at his mercy. Straightforward pink, no excuse for missing that.

:28:08. > :28:28.Not the best of angles on the pink, wanted to be a little bit higher.

:28:29. > :28:40.That is a good positional shot. He has got a perfect angle.

:28:41. > :28:51.He can just put this red into the left-hand corner. Need it out of the

:28:52. > :29:24.way of the black. What sort of an angle does he have on the black?

:29:25. > :29:33.Just over done that little bit. He may use it to his advantage and play

:29:34. > :29:58.a cannon. He couldn't avoid the case on the

:29:59. > :30:09.second red. He is going to need these four remaining colours. It is

:30:10. > :30:13.going to be a tough frame-winning challenge now. It is not straight

:30:14. > :30:35.forward any more. In all honesty, it never was.

:30:36. > :30:46.It was a good shot. He can play with a little more confidence. The points

:30:47. > :31:18.are all square. Nice angle on the yellow if he

:31:19. > :31:20.wishes. Try and bring the two reds into play. He leads a bit of luck

:31:21. > :31:53.here. It could have been better. If that red wasn't there, he had a

:31:54. > :31:55.lovely angle to try and bring the other red into play, but he can't do

:31:56. > :32:13.that now. That is as good as he could have

:32:14. > :32:22.played it. Absolutely. He seems to have a nice angle on the blue.

:32:23. > :32:33.Being left-handed, if he has a good angle on the blue, he could come off

:32:34. > :32:41.the top cushion and cannon of the black.

:32:42. > :33:08.He couldn't have played much better than that.

:33:09. > :33:18.Well, you can't believe that. That is so unlucky. A terrible kick. And

:33:19. > :33:28.that has cost him twice already in this session. Look at that. After

:33:29. > :33:35.doing all the hard work. To get a kick like that. Very unfortunate.

:33:36. > :33:48.There is no legislation for that at all.

:33:49. > :34:01.It has stopped badly in his tracks. You can see the job. -- jump. But he

:34:02. > :34:07.has got another chance here. But this is a big shot to take on. He

:34:08. > :34:18.could play safe of the red near the top cushion. If he can pot this red

:34:19. > :34:30.to the left corner, then... It is a tough pot. Didn't put all his eggs

:34:31. > :34:33.into one basket. How will that double-kiss affect you? Not good.

:34:34. > :35:01.Now a chance for Ronnie. It could be all about this shot. He

:35:02. > :35:19.has two play for the red to the right corner.

:35:20. > :35:28.Pot the red and you must be on a colour, you would think. No problem.

:35:29. > :35:43.Just shot of good position on the blue.

:35:44. > :35:52.If he is straight on this yellow, it is not a straightforward clearance.

:35:53. > :35:59.He just has enough angle to come off the cushion. Good shot. Perfect.

:36:00. > :36:12.Excellent shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan. He made the angle by

:36:13. > :36:23.putting that extra pace in. Just brown and blue required.

:36:24. > :36:39.You would have to say that Barry Hawkins has been very unfortunate.

:36:40. > :36:56.That wonderful yellow gave him the frame. Ronnie O'Sullivan takes the

:36:57. > :37:09.frame. Barry Hawkins, slumped in his chair.

:37:10. > :37:19.Desperately unlucky. He played a brilliant frame of snooker. And then

:37:20. > :37:24.this happens. It throws the red off-line so it does not go in the

:37:25. > :37:30.pocket. He can't believe it. Horrible. You don't start the day of

:37:31. > :37:36.thinking, I need to be lucky here. You just don't want bad luck. And it

:37:37. > :37:50.is not the first time. There have been a few. He potted two brilliant

:37:51. > :38:04.yellows. I do think that some kicks are caused by bad cueing, not that

:38:05. > :38:14.one. Steve is in the Winter Gardens. This cue ball, it does it

:38:15. > :38:25.now what has happened to it bad or good cueing. It does know what

:38:26. > :38:29.conditions it is rolling on. Today, it has been pouring in Sheffield,

:38:30. > :38:39.there is a lot of moisture in the air. There is moisture in the class.

:38:40. > :38:40.If it is wet, more chalk sticks to the ball and that is when you get

:38:41. > :38:59.more clicks. -- kicks. Barry Hawkins gets frame six under

:39:00. > :39:13.way. It frames to be played in this first session. Steve May have a

:39:14. > :39:20.point. We had torrential rain last night and this evening.

:39:21. > :39:33.Let's have a look at a couple of clicks. Watch this one. And this

:39:34. > :39:47.one. That was so unfortunate. It cost him the frame.

:39:48. > :39:54.We see it so many times, the cue ball is bouncing before it reaches

:39:55. > :39:56.the object ball. If it just happens to be coming down, you won't get a

:39:57. > :40:12.good contact. Someone said that it adds to the

:40:13. > :40:15.excitement, but you try playing the game! The players would not think

:40:16. > :40:57.so. Just to show an example of what they

:40:58. > :41:01.were talking about. Just watch this. Look at that cue ball bouncing

:41:02. > :41:10.before it gets to the blue. It goes down there and even with topspin, it

:41:11. > :41:16.looks as if the cue ball is stopping dead. There you go. That is what

:41:17. > :41:21.Stephen was referring to. If you do not cure them smooth, the cue ball

:41:22. > :42:08.leaves the table. That was bad cueing. If we look down

:42:09. > :42:09.the line here, just watch Barry move slightly. His backhand just moves

:42:10. > :42:23.slightly. That was one of the bad shots he has

:42:24. > :43:01.hit. That is a bit worrying. Rodney will hope to get the cue ball

:43:02. > :43:09.somewhere in the position it is now. Nice angle on this red. Absolutely

:43:10. > :43:23.perfect. Bringing some more reds into play.

:43:24. > :43:27.That shot, sometimes if you screw it too hard, you can bounce off the

:43:28. > :43:48.cushion. It caught of three reds. That is a difficult shot. A

:43:49. > :44:01.marvellous shot. You have to keep souls still in those shots. -- so

:44:02. > :44:07.still. Back into prime position now. You can just sense how strong Ronnie

:44:08. > :44:19.is getting now after winning those last few frames. Looked a little bit

:44:20. > :44:21.vulnerable at 2-1 down. But you can sense that he has stepped it up a

:44:22. > :44:28.notch. Job fits -- pot success up to 93%

:44:29. > :44:53.for Ronnie O'Sullivan. And Barry just dropping below that

:44:54. > :45:03.90% he has had during the tournament.

:45:04. > :45:08.Ronnie can screw past the pink for a straight red. This is an excellent

:45:09. > :45:36.opportunity. It had -- if it had been low on the

:45:37. > :45:41.black, he could have matched those reds into play. He can't win the

:45:42. > :46:01.frame with just these two red Star. He has played it lovely. Just a

:46:02. > :46:09.delicate little cannon. Beautiful shot.

:46:10. > :46:18.It is all about touch and feel, that type of shot. Surprising that he

:46:19. > :47:42.went up for the pink. He will only have one thought now,

:47:43. > :47:56.trying to make a century break. He has brought those two reds into play

:47:57. > :48:00.nicely. The highest break is held by Neil Robertson, believe it or not.

:48:01. > :48:07.What a magic moment that was last night. Yes, fantastic. And

:48:08. > :48:38.incredible milestone. Absolutely vintage Ronnie

:48:39. > :48:47.O'Sullivan. He played some wonderful shots there. That brown that Barry

:48:48. > :48:54.Hawkins mist into the middle pocket, he only needs one -- you

:48:55. > :48:58.only need one mistake against someone like Ronnie O'Sullivan and

:48:59. > :49:00.then you are sitting down for the rest of the session and that is what

:49:01. > :49:28.has happened. Barry will not be pleased missing

:49:29. > :49:32.that easy brown. The fact he has got to the figure five, he can't be

:49:33. > :50:50.behind after this first session. Ronnie gets this final frame of the

:50:51. > :51:04.session underway. He cannot be behind now. Barry is not having the

:51:05. > :51:16.best of runnings at the moment. Certainly not. This is a massive

:51:17. > :51:21.frame for Barry Hawkins. Four frame gap. Not what he would have hoped

:51:22. > :51:59.for. He hasn't missed many pot two, just

:52:00. > :52:13.that brown. He hasn't played many bad shots. I thought his safety plea

:52:14. > :52:21.was excellent. First but he will be getting a little bit concerned

:52:22. > :52:28.because once Ronnie O'Sullivan starts to get in front, he doesn't

:52:29. > :52:38.slow down. He just gets stronger. As all the great champions have done.

:52:39. > :53:03.Even though it is four session much, the frames begin to get quicker. The

:53:04. > :53:14.frame time, it was just under 20 minutes frame. He may just be able

:53:15. > :53:15.to get past the yellow. Not much going right for Barry Hawkins at the

:53:16. > :53:55.moment. He could screw this blew into the

:53:56. > :54:01.green pocket. -- blue. The one at the bottom of the pack, that was his

:54:02. > :54:07.choice. I did not expect him to miss that blue.

:54:08. > :54:19.I chanced to bring some reds into play. Just at the moment, Barry is

:54:20. > :54:45.struggling. Just gone off the boil. Maybe those

:54:46. > :54:52.kicks have thrown him a little bit. Yes, you can soon get disappointed

:54:53. > :55:06.with this game. That disappointment, it is in your head. Friend you are

:55:07. > :55:11.thinking things could go wrong, you are not concentrating on the shot in

:55:12. > :55:41.front of you. He does not want to leave a touching

:55:42. > :55:50.ball that Ronnie can play away. Somebody in the audience is finding

:55:51. > :56:17.it amusing. Ronnie, purposely, has left that.

:56:18. > :56:26.Got to hit their safety shot just right, no margin for error here.

:56:27. > :56:32.Where is that red going? Is it going to be on to the middle? I think it

:56:33. > :56:40.is, looking at Ronnie's the action. Barry can get past the yellow. --

:56:41. > :57:43.reaction. I just feel there is a little bit of

:57:44. > :57:51.pressure on Barry now to make the most of this opportunity. Just had

:57:52. > :57:57.that feeling. He is feeling it a bit out there at the moment. I know it

:57:58. > :58:04.is the first session of four, that he knew that he needed a good start

:58:05. > :58:09.in this match. If you go back to that force frame, it looked as if he

:58:10. > :58:11.was going to win it. We all felt a good start from Barry was very

:58:12. > :58:31.important for him. Another excellent pot from Ronnie

:58:32. > :58:36.O'Sullivan. But if the blue doesn't go... That makes it a bit tricky.

:58:37. > :59:16.Can't take it for granted this. Ronnie giving the pink the stare! He

:59:17. > :59:24.was hoping to be on a red in the left corner. Normally when you miss

:59:25. > :59:31.a ball like that, you leave your opponent some kind of pot to go at.

:59:32. > :59:41.You could say that Barry is just getting the thin edge of the wedge

:59:42. > :59:51.at the moment. That knocked it into a safe position.

:59:52. > :00:12.What a shot! That is an absolute cracker.

:00:13. > :00:22.Please stop calling out like that, it is not helpful.

:00:23. > :00:28.This was one of the best shots we have seen in the championship, that

:00:29. > :00:30.was magnificent. It is that lovely sound, when the ball hits the back

:00:31. > :00:49.of the pocket. Just a lazy little push through with

:00:50. > :01:09.the cue, got so much action. Just got an unwanted kiss on the

:01:10. > :01:18.red. Can only drop this black in now.

:01:19. > :01:43.Going to need another good hot, he has got to concentrate on the pot,

:01:44. > :01:47.the pink is waiting for him. Just getting the cue ball cleaned, he

:01:48. > :02:09.knows how important this shot, and this frame, is.

:02:10. > :02:40.Good pot, Barry Hawkins, very good. He looks at the scoreboard. 26

:02:41. > :02:44.points behind. The ball is not ideally situated, but he needs a

:02:45. > :03:03.good contribution now. Struggling cueing wise, didn't have

:03:04. > :03:07.to take the pink there, bit surprised he did, straightforward

:03:08. > :03:38.brown. That was close to the pink spot. It was always on.

:03:39. > :03:57.Once again not making the most of his opportunity.

:03:58. > :04:07.It is not a very good safety. A possible red. The pink has come to

:04:08. > :04:48.Oney's rescue. -- Ronnie. A nice shot from Barry. Another

:04:49. > :04:57.cracking pot. Not on a colour, just nestled up to the green.

:04:58. > :05:07.Only 21 points in it, I don't think it is a necessity to keep the green

:05:08. > :05:10.safe. If he could cover the safety escape down the right-hand side,

:05:11. > :05:18.just leave the red on the right-hand side cushion, it would be causing

:05:19. > :05:24.problems for his opponent. 73% long pot success, that is good. He would

:05:25. > :05:37.prefer if the Green would stay there, pushed the brand.

:05:38. > :05:48.He wants to block the red closest to the corner pocket. This red closest

:05:49. > :05:56.to the right-hand side cushion, very difficult to play a safety shot of

:05:57. > :05:59.that one. Got to be careful. Maybe pushing a red towards this bottom

:06:00. > :06:14.right-hand corner pocket and playing the safety shot.

:06:15. > :06:23.If Ronnie can find a path for the cue ball to get position on pink or

:06:24. > :06:28.blue, he has got the frame at his mercy.

:06:29. > :06:34.The 21 point lead to build on here. Just got to find a path for the cue

:06:35. > :06:40.ball. Surprised he played like that. It is

:06:41. > :08:19.not good. The cue ball needs to slow up. Just

:08:20. > :08:31.about. Not about safety. He tried to play a delicate little cannon.

:08:32. > :08:40.Let's see what he was trying to do. Put the red, left of the blue, and

:08:41. > :08:44.beyond the blue into the right centre. This is the way he played

:08:45. > :09:57.it. Too much side spin. No attempt at the pot. The reason he

:09:58. > :10:00.didn't play it was because if he had played it he would have kissed the

:10:01. > :10:06.second red so it wouldn't have been a shot for nothing, purposely just

:10:07. > :10:15.assuring that cue ball back to the baulk cushion.

:10:16. > :10:25.What it does, or should have done, but the black back into play. The

:10:26. > :10:27.way he has been knocking these long balls he needs a better cue ball

:10:28. > :11:05.than this. Quite a long way from that one, came

:11:06. > :11:17.right across it. But surprised. There is a chance for

:11:18. > :11:33.Barry. Got to start seizing on these

:11:34. > :11:42.opportunities. Oh, dear me. Would you believe it? So now, we were

:11:43. > :11:45.asking the question, how much did that match with Dominic Dale take

:11:46. > :11:49.out of him? We said we wouldn't know until the session was finished. I

:11:50. > :11:59.think there is now a bit of a hangover. Just in the last frame. It

:12:00. > :12:08.is maybe not from that match, but he has been affected by those couple of

:12:09. > :12:28.kicks. Not only just about the bad kicks, but they have cost frames.

:12:29. > :12:40.Needs to slide past this red, and he has done. That should set up this

:12:41. > :12:44.frame. Barry, in a bad place at the moment. He didn't want to be for

:12:45. > :12:53.frames behind at the end of it. That looks more than likely now. This

:12:54. > :13:04.will be five friends in a row for Ronnie O'Sullivan -- five frames.

:13:05. > :13:15.Got a lot of snooker left in this match, no doubt about that.

:13:16. > :13:23.It is probably better for Barry, even if it finishes 6-2, that this

:13:24. > :13:24.is the last frame of the session. They will not be back until

:13:25. > :13:56.tomorrow. 48.4 and. -- 48 points in front. He

:13:57. > :14:03.has potted some tremendous balls in this first session. But Barry

:14:04. > :14:07.Hawkins has had a lot of disappointments, kicks, and frames

:14:08. > :14:17.he maybe should have one. He is ready to shake his hand. Eight

:14:18. > :14:21.frames, that is it. A disappointing start for Barry Hawkins when he

:14:22. > :14:23.needed a good one. Oney will not be too bothered, he has got for frame

:14:24. > :14:34.advantage. -- Ronnie. Barry Hawkins will have nightmares

:14:35. > :14:38.over 6-2 because that was the score last time these two men met in the

:14:39. > :14:45.semifinal of the Welsh Open this year. You have to have a lot of

:14:46. > :14:51.sympathy for Barry Hawkins, because there we were in frame six, he has

:14:52. > :14:57.got that red, gets a kick, if it goes in it is a different story.

:14:58. > :15:06.He had two or three chances in the last frame. O'Sullivan was at his

:15:07. > :15:10.best in that break. The way he hit them and how he got the cue ball to

:15:11. > :15:17.manoeuvre was fantastic. He has had chances. It is a good time for that

:15:18. > :15:21.session to finish. That is the reason Ronnie O'Sullivan

:15:22. > :15:24.remains box office, the crowd are on his side, something else Barry has

:15:25. > :15:32.got to content with. The more Ronnie goes in front, the more the crowd

:15:33. > :15:38.supports. After his lead against Murphy said the match was over. This

:15:39. > :15:44.is starting to look like it. How often do you see Oney lose a session

:15:45. > :15:50.heavily? He is a runaway train in front.

:15:51. > :15:57.Hopefully Barry will have a good nights sleep and come back with more

:15:58. > :16:04.resistance. It is not over by a long shot but Ronnie is strong favourite.

:16:05. > :16:10.Lots of people getting in touch, including Shaun Murphy, about these

:16:11. > :16:18.kicks. Do you have sympathy with Barry

:16:19. > :16:25.Hawkins? I mentioned some kicks are caused by bad cueing but the shots

:16:26. > :16:30.he missed the red into the middle, that was nothing to do with Barry.

:16:31. > :16:37.Of course you have got sympathy. That was to go 3-3. Do you want to

:16:38. > :16:43.throw your view into the mix? I will leave it to Steve.

:16:44. > :16:49.A lot of people getting involved in social networking for top Steve

:16:50. > :16:52.Davis will get you up to date. Everybody has got theories, it is a

:16:53. > :16:56.matter how great you play this game, no matter what happens to

:16:57. > :17:01.Barry Hawkins, a massive frame, it destroys your confidence and a

:17:02. > :17:12.rhythm. A few more players have been watching from home. Shaun Murphy.

:17:13. > :17:51.He was involved in trying to look into the reasons why.

:17:52. > :17:57.The idea for the under table heating was to dry the cloth out and made it

:17:58. > :18:01.faster but it causes bounces off the cushion. Amazing how everybody, it

:18:02. > :18:07.goes on forever, everybody has got their own ideas. Bad cueing, the

:18:08. > :18:13.bouncing of the balls, moisture on the cloth, rain, atmospheric

:18:14. > :18:22.conditions, who knows? It goes on for ever.

:18:23. > :18:27.We haven't had any rain here. Stephen is involved, Shaun Murphy,

:18:28. > :18:32.Steve Davis. What is your theory? I think friction is one of them. When

:18:33. > :18:38.the clocks with thicker we never used to get them. It is like a

:18:39. > :18:43.balloon, you can see the hairs moving. This ball is getting

:18:44. > :18:47.electrically charged all the time. It happens after long screw shots.

:18:48. > :18:50.If some midi plays a run through it tends to come of that. Restore the

:18:51. > :18:58.university did something and they fed negative electrodes through the

:18:59. > :19:06.suit could table -- snooker table and didn't get one for months. The

:19:07. > :19:11.heaters on all day. Maybe overnight. When the place is empty. During the

:19:12. > :19:19.day there is no reason why they have to be on. I think it is worthwhile

:19:20. > :19:22.turning them off, just experiment. Say to the players, this is a

:19:23. > :19:28.smaller event, we will try it, let's see if it works well stop at least

:19:29. > :19:41.have a go. There is a belief who is not bothered. -- there is somebody.

:19:42. > :19:50.I'm going to need the help of the media. We are going to hold the

:19:51. > :19:52.triangle. I am going to hit one two, three, four, five, six as fast as

:19:53. > :20:27.possible into the pocket. I am going to hit the white ball

:20:28. > :20:32.from the left to the right, and from the right to the left, and make a

:20:33. > :21:10.comeback. This is a variation of a famous

:21:11. > :21:14.shop. -- famous shuttle stop the wide ball is going to come back and

:21:15. > :21:42.hit every ball, but I'm going to do this one-handed.

:21:43. > :21:49.I'm actually stopped me in the street the other day and said is

:21:50. > :21:53.that man for real? Yes, he is. An absolute genius. There will be more

:21:54. > :21:59.from him tomorrow. Let's turn our attention the match of the

:22:00. > :22:10.tournament. In looking to wreck Judd Trump's World Championship dreams.

:22:11. > :22:11.-- Neil Robertson. I was born the 20th of August, 1989. My nickname is

:22:12. > :22:18.BA said. -- the case. I am the youngest player to make a

:22:19. > :22:38.competitive maximum break. I turned professional in 2005. My

:22:39. > :22:48.first ranking title was the 2011 China title. In 2011 I reached the

:22:49. > :22:51.World Championships final. In 2011 I won the UK championship. In 2012 I

:22:52. > :23:03.won the international championship. We have seen Neil Robertson draw

:23:04. > :23:08.level and become the first man to make a century of centuries. We pick

:23:09. > :23:19.it up in frame 23, with your commentators.

:23:20. > :23:33.The safety from Robertson this evening has been top drawer. He can

:23:34. > :23:42.play perfect sticker for a number of frames. Excellent single parting

:23:43. > :23:46.comes into play. He is strong in all departments. There will come back

:23:47. > :24:08.down the table. The benefit there for him to take a

:24:09. > :24:10.red on. He made his previous highest break in frame 21, he made a break

:24:11. > :25:06.of 70. Then to make his hundred. Doesn't help Judd Trump a lot, he

:25:07. > :25:57.has still got a thin shot to avoid the other red. Didn't manage it.

:25:58. > :26:04.The red to the right of the Blackwood pot.

:26:05. > :26:12.Looking at that gap between the pink and red to get to that one. You need

:26:13. > :26:26.to screw that about two inches. Having another look at it.

:26:27. > :26:39.Getting onto a colour is not straightforward. You feel as if he

:26:40. > :26:44.could walk on water, the way he is playing.

:26:45. > :27:30.It could have an adverse affect on her. -- on him.

:27:31. > :27:36.Judd Trump has been sitting in that chair a long time. So frustrating

:27:37. > :27:42.when you don't get any chances to go for a pot and your opponent is not

:27:43. > :27:45.missing anything, as well. 42 minutes since Judd Trump potted the

:27:46. > :27:58.last ball. Everything is going in clean. He

:27:59. > :28:03.could get onto the black, but there is no advantage with the red and the

:28:04. > :28:20.Black spot. Just coming round to see if it is worth doing that.

:28:21. > :28:32.No value in kissing into the pink here. He might just play to get the

:28:33. > :28:49.gap. A big gap there. If he and hits it -- and a headset. This has got to

:28:50. > :28:59.be very controlled. This is the angle on the blue which is OK.

:29:00. > :29:07.He's going to bed on the left-hand side or the right-hand side of the

:29:08. > :29:22.pink. -- going to play. That is his trice. -- that is his choice. He is

:29:23. > :29:34.looking to get a few cannons into the black.

:29:35. > :29:41.That didn't quite work out. Black was available.

:29:42. > :30:03.He caught the black full-on then. When you see a sportsperson in the

:30:04. > :30:09.zone. It looks now, doesn't it? This is tricky, though. Everything was

:30:10. > :30:15.going in the middle of the pocket but that time he felt he didn't get

:30:16. > :30:21.a good contact on the white. He felt it threw a little bit wide. I

:30:22. > :30:25.suppose he hit the black a little bit thicker. If it had gone in the

:30:26. > :30:31.centre of the pocket t wouldn't have caught the jaws. The fact that it

:30:32. > :30:33.went in thick, that was the reason the white went a little bit wide.

:30:34. > :30:42.Force 206 points now without reply from

:30:43. > :31:09.Neil Robertson. Another excellent safety shot. The

:31:10. > :31:14.standard here that we have not seen from Neil Robertson earlier on in

:31:15. > :31:19.the match. But this is top-drawer stuff. It has been immaculate. He

:31:20. > :31:24.hasn't left a ball and when he has, it has been one where he has had to

:31:25. > :31:47.play at distance. He has not stuck a red on for ages. Well-played jud.

:31:48. > :31:53.The only good thing with this match going on late into the evening is

:31:54. > :31:57.they are not playing until tomorrow night T would be tough on them to go

:31:58. > :32:04.out and play tomorrow afternoon, after this battle. Well, what would

:32:05. > :32:08.they rather do? Go out and play or go home, do you think? Go out and

:32:09. > :32:13.play, of course but look at this safety. He has been within three

:32:14. > :32:56.inches of that baulk cushion for the last half an hour.

:32:57. > :33:04.Jud is looking at a plant here. Those two below the pink. They may

:33:05. > :33:29.be available. He pink. They We knew that was going to happen if

:33:30. > :33:33.it didn't go in. The only good thing at the moment is the fact that the

:33:34. > :33:37.black is on the back cushion. He is not guaranteed to win the frame at

:33:38. > :33:50.this visit. It is going to be very, very tough to get on to a colour.

:33:51. > :33:54.The angle he has on this is not nice. He could roll through and play

:33:55. > :34:09.the pink in the middle. But as you can see, the pink is tricky.

:34:10. > :34:20.Eight hours played. A good pot Well, just amazing. Every ball, Terry s

:34:21. > :34:28.going right in the middle of the pocket. -- Terry, is going right in

:34:29. > :35:16.the middle of the pocket. His pot success rate has gone to

:35:17. > :35:39.90%. Judd 89 and he hasn't had a shot for

:35:40. > :35:42.ages. # It is the amount of shots he has taken on in eight hours.

:35:43. > :35:48.Incredible. This is the first time where it could run loose. He has to

:35:49. > :35:54.play that very slowly. Once again, in the middle of the pocket, perfect

:35:55. > :36:10.position. Pink on. Three reds, three killers and one away from victory.

:36:11. > :36:17.Well, that young man is going to have to dig deeper than he ever has

:36:18. > :36:23.before in his life. Somehow he has to make something happen. It is

:36:24. > :36:30.minute it has just been flawless snooker. Ye, it is hard to explain

:36:31. > :36:32.how you feel in the chair when you are kept out of a match. You don't

:36:33. > :36:48.feel part of the match somehow. Such a big audience here watching

:36:49. > :36:53.this match, enjoying every minute and Judd Trump is thinking he is the

:36:54. > :36:59.only one in the room. Feeling so lonely there. Now, is the middle red

:37:00. > :37:04.of those five potable in the right-hand corner? If it is, he

:37:05. > :37:06.doesn't have to play the cannon. It is really, really tight. It probably

:37:07. > :37:15.goes, just. He doesn't feel it does, which is

:37:16. > :37:23.why he has played for the more difficult red and once again, he is

:37:24. > :37:29.inch-perfect. He played three frames against Mark Allen to win the match

:37:30. > :37:32.when he was leading I think 10-7 and played three frames on the trot

:37:33. > :37:34.where he never missed a ball. This, I think is actually better than

:37:35. > :37:58.that. Well, Judd decided not to continue

:37:59. > :38:02.playing snookers, to 68-0 Robertson takes the lead for the first time in

:38:03. > :38:06.the match at 12-11. ?

:38:07. > :38:13.STUDIO: Neil Robertson playing so well since breaking that record.

:38:14. > :38:22.Being the first player to make a century of centuries.

:38:23. > :38:26.Judd Trump is at the table. He is trailing. Well, that looked really

:38:27. > :38:31.bad because it caught the other red early on and balls are man overing

:38:32. > :38:34.all over the table. You can still understand why Judd has gone for the

:38:35. > :38:36.shot. He is just not getting opportunities. He feels he has to go

:38:37. > :38:54.out there and grasp Well, I have seen a lot of

:38:55. > :39:00.performances from great players over the years, the Stephen honed rains

:39:01. > :39:04.owe soul vans and Steve Davis' but from the position he is in, those

:39:05. > :39:08.five frames from Neil Robertson has been up there with the best I have

:39:09. > :39:13.seen. He has played flawless safety. All the frames have been scrappy. He

:39:14. > :39:18.has never had it where he has pink and black on the spo. He has had to

:39:19. > :39:25.graft all the time. -- on the spot There was no warning in 11-8 behind.

:39:26. > :39:30.He didn't look like he had it in him to do it. It didn't look wonderful,

:39:31. > :39:38.but he has just turned it around. Cue ball is running loose.

:39:39. > :39:43.Just when to you thought it was all over, there is a lifeline. -- just

:39:44. > :40:10.when you thought it was all over. This is a stat you are not going to

:40:11. > :40:16.believe. An hour and four minutes at the business end of a match and it

:40:17. > :40:25.had been stuck on 11 frames all that time. . It is normally difficult to

:40:26. > :40:33.stop Trump at all, even for five minutes. It is starting to get near

:40:34. > :40:41.that point now where one bad shot could cost him it. Very well done.

:40:42. > :40:46.Well done. I think he is going to have to take the risk, Terry. This

:40:47. > :40:51.was an excellent point after an hour's play. I was about to say he

:40:52. > :40:54.was about to take the risk of playing the blue into the pink. If

:40:55. > :40:59.he is going to win this frame and get back to 12-12, he needs to make

:41:00. > :41:09.it happen. Right here, right now. He has missed the pink. Still OK,

:41:10. > :41:15.though. He has looked at the black there. If he play for the black, it

:41:16. > :41:17.will be a thin cut. He also could have gone for the blue. Let's see

:41:18. > :41:32.what he thinks of it . Now, can he pot the black and check

:41:33. > :41:37.the white a bit and play the cannon into the two reds and pink. He is

:41:38. > :41:47.bound to be on the other red but if he misses the cannon, he is nowhere.

:41:48. > :41:55.He played the cannon. He got the position. Well-played. Freed the

:41:56. > :41:59.reds. Well, this would be a monumental task having been off the

:42:00. > :42:08.table for all that length of time, to produce a break to get back into

:42:09. > :42:12.the frame. He commits all the time doesn't he when he gets into the

:42:13. > :42:17.balls. That's what everybody likes about him. He tries to make things

:42:18. > :42:18.happen all the time. He is very refreshing to watch. Not many like

:42:19. > :42:34.him in the game, really. The red on that right-hand side is

:42:35. > :42:41.horrible for a left-handed player as well. He has an angle on the next

:42:42. > :42:46.red. He may try to bring the red off the cushion with this shot. You

:42:47. > :42:47.don't want to be playing this red down the cushion with the rest, do

:42:48. > :42:56.you? It maybe a little too straight to do

:42:57. > :43:11.that, as Neil Robertson looks on. He has played it. Well-played. A

:43:12. > :43:19.fantastic shot. At that stage of the match. Brilliant.

:43:20. > :43:26.That's the stage he has got to at this stage in his career. He should

:43:27. > :43:37.continue playing that way. He has to judge this pace to perfection.

:43:38. > :43:47.So unlucky there to leave such a difficult shot. It was such a great

:43:48. > :43:53.shot to bring the red into play. What a shame the match could end

:43:54. > :44:06.like this. It was concentrated Terry and drifted past the pink.

:44:07. > :44:16.! Well, he needs the brown as well. So there maybe a little bit of life

:44:17. > :44:21.left in this frame yet. This isn't straightforward. He needs a nice

:44:22. > :44:26.angle in the yellow to pot it into the corner pocket and have a nice

:44:27. > :44:32.angle to get on to the green. So this is a key shot here now.

:44:33. > :44:38.Well, for a match looking pedestrian earlier on in the evening, it has

:44:39. > :44:50.turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the tournament.

:44:51. > :45:03.There is somebody coughing badly in the back and it is disturbing Neil.

:45:04. > :45:12.That's awful. REFEREE: Enough, please, thank you.

:45:13. > :45:18.I'm so glad he potted that. If he had missed that after being

:45:19. > :45:23.disturbed by the crowd, it would have been a disaster. Well Judd

:45:24. > :45:27.Trump can only hope this is too straight to get close to the brown.

:45:28. > :45:32.If he leaves the white anywhere in baulk, the brown will be tricky. It

:45:33. > :45:41.obviously is straight otherwise he would already have been down.

:45:42. > :45:47.He doesn't want to try to hit it too hard and force an angle out of it.

:45:48. > :45:57.He could miss the green then. It is not a certainty.

:45:58. > :46:23.Well, there have been plenty of comebacks at the Crucible over the

:46:24. > :46:28.years but this has been up there with the very, very best. Absolutely

:46:29. > :46:30.brilliant. I feel so sorry for Judd Trump. He hasn't hardly had a shot

:46:31. > :46:45.until that last frame. Well, Neil Robertson, you have to

:46:46. > :46:48.take your hat off to him. A standing ovation from this audience. You have

:46:49. > :46:52.seen something very special this evening. 100 centuries and also a

:46:53. > :46:56.comeback that will be up there with the best comebacks of all time. Neil

:46:57. > :47:04.Robertson goes into the semifinal winning by 13-11. And boy is he

:47:05. > :47:09.pleased. ? STUDIO: A text message off Joe

:47:10. > :47:13.Perry, he said... You have to quicken your game up, you are

:47:14. > :47:17.playing too slow. You have to put him under pressure. I came out with

:47:18. > :47:22.the attitude I should have H I wasn't thinking about making a

:47:23. > :47:25.century. I thought get back and do the match. Play your natural game.

:47:26. > :47:31.Put him under pressure. Score Hovely. That's what I did. -- score

:47:32. > :47:38.heavily. It wasn't an enjoyable match for me nothing was open. Every

:47:39. > :47:42.frame seemed to be really slow. Disappointmented I couldn't get in

:47:43. > :47:48.amongst the balls. I was confident of winning the match in 11-11.

:47:49. > :47:52.Under pressure. You decided to pot ball that is didn't go. I knew I had

:47:53. > :47:57.to keep leaning on him and pressing on him and he was making mistakes.

:47:58. > :47:58.You know, I finished off the match, really, really, well.

:47:59. > :48:03.? STUDIO: An excellent performance for

:48:04. > :48:08.Neil Robertson setting up a semifinal clash with Mark Selby. A

:48:09. > :48:14.repeat of the UK Championship final and Selby is out for revenge. Coming

:48:15. > :48:18.into it last year I had won the UK and Masters. I was going for the

:48:19. > :48:23.Triple Crown. There was a lot of expectation and pressure on me last

:48:24. > :48:29.year. Coming here this year, I have not won a major tournament as yet. I

:48:30. > :48:36.have gone under the radar with the limelight being on players like

:48:37. > :48:39.Ronnie and ding and Neil as such. It would have been nice to win one of

:48:40. > :48:44.the tournaments. I lost in four finals but overall not a drastic

:48:45. > :48:48.season. Like I say, I still have been knocking on the door an getting

:48:49. > :48:52.close to winning tournaments. Hopefully I can win my maiden title

:48:53. > :48:56.this year, obviously finishing off with the World Championships. When I

:48:57. > :49:01.got to the final in 2007 I was qualifier and an underdog, so I came

:49:02. > :49:05.here with no expectations. So every match I won was a bonus. Now,

:49:06. > :49:08.because I have been a winner and won tournaments in the past, obviously

:49:09. > :49:13.when I come to tournaments now, I come to win. If I don't, I see it as

:49:14. > :49:18.a failure. Obviously I put more pressure on myself to when I did in

:49:19. > :49:22.2007, even if I'd lost in the quarter-final, I would have seen it

:49:23. > :49:27.as a good tournament. Snooker is in my blood. Normally I live and

:49:28. > :49:33.breathe it. Even when I'm in the playing, I go back to the TV and

:49:34. > :49:41.watch T I have tried not to worry about anything else happening around

:49:42. > :49:45.me and concentrate on my own game. COMMENTATOR: You have seen something

:49:46. > :49:49.very special this evening, a comeback that will be up there with

:49:50. > :49:54.the best comebacks of all time. Neil Robertson goes into the semifinal

:49:55. > :49:58.winning 13-11. Boy is he pleased. Me and Neil go back a long way. When he

:49:59. > :50:00.first came to the UK we lived together with a year-and-a-half. It

:50:01. > :50:05.was nice. And practising together. It is great to see him do so well

:50:06. > :50:10.and achieve what he has achieved. The last two or three seasons we

:50:11. > :50:14.went to more or less not playing each other at all to two or three

:50:15. > :50:18.times in a seechlingts I beat him in the Masters final last year. -- --

:50:19. > :50:23.in a season. I beat him in the Masters last year and he beat me in

:50:24. > :50:27.the UK. We are still great friends. I still travel to Cambridge and

:50:28. > :50:30.practise with him. When we are both on the table we will want to beat

:50:31. > :50:34.each other as much as possible but off the table we will still be good

:50:35. > :50:38.friends. Every year I come here, I keep trying to win it. People say to

:50:39. > :50:42.me - you will win it one day. Until you win it, it is hard to believe

:50:43. > :50:46.yourself. While I'm still in the tournament with a chance, fingers

:50:47. > :50:51.crossed. It should be a cracker tonight and in the career

:50:52. > :50:56.head-to-heads, Robertson win was 5-4. Do you get the feeling that

:50:57. > :51:01.Mark Selby has got better as the tournament has gone on? Even when he

:51:02. > :51:05.is not ace his best he is difficult to get past. Robertson has played

:51:06. > :51:08.two sessions, which are superb. One against Mark Allen, last one, last

:51:09. > :51:13.night was better because. Circumstances. Can you understand

:51:14. > :51:18.the emotion that Neil Robertson showed last night? Yes, he has been

:51:19. > :51:24.desperate to get rid of this monkey off his back. I agree, the two best

:51:25. > :51:28.sessions he has played, the best time to do it. The last season thine

:51:29. > :51:31.proves a real danger he will be in the semifinal. You can watch the

:51:32. > :51:35.beginning of that session live on BBC Two. If you are coming in from

:51:36. > :51:40.work or school or college and want to see Ronnie O'Sullivan. Too late.

:51:41. > :51:47.He wrapped up the first session by 6-2. But the big story in frame 6,

:51:48. > :51:53.Barry Hawkins on 31 and a horrible kick. That precipitated a debate on

:51:54. > :51:58.social networking. Steve Davis has the latest. ! To wrap it up a bit.

:51:59. > :52:03.Shaun Murphy was talking about the fact that perhaps the undertable

:52:04. > :52:08.heaters had some bearing. To explain what that meant, Shaun Murphy, to

:52:09. > :52:12.clarify: It is the oil in the cloth that when heated causes increased

:52:13. > :52:17.friction. Remove the heat and it reduces the kicks and bounces.

:52:18. > :52:22.That's probably the final word on it, or is it? Anything else to say?

:52:23. > :52:26.I'm sticking with friction. I'm sticking with that. Other ones, we

:52:27. > :52:30.have proved sometimes with a bit of chalk that makes it bounce a bit.

:52:31. > :52:34.But I think there is definitely something in the cloths being

:52:35. > :52:39.thinner and I agree the heat needs to be lower. One of the big stories

:52:40. > :52:43.in the last 24 hours is Judd Trump's refusal to shake the hand of Neil

:52:44. > :52:47.Robertson after he completed his century of centuries. What do you

:52:48. > :52:52.think? A little bit surprised. But he was involved in a massive match,

:52:53. > :52:57.the quarter-final of the World Championships. He wants to get his

:52:58. > :53:00.focus. He has been criticised. Looking back, it would have been

:53:01. > :53:05.nice but he decided to get out of the arena. If Stephen had done t I

:53:06. > :53:14.would have shook his hand. -- done it. Haze will be back at 7.00pm on

:53:15. > :53:17.BBC Two with the second semifinal. Ronnie O'Sullivan leads Barry

:53:18. > :53:21.Hawkins after the first session. They resume tomorrow and Hazel will

:53:22. > :53:26.be back with further live coverage from the Kruisable as Neil Robertson

:53:27. > :53:29.takes on -- from the Crucible, as Neil Robertson takes on Mark Selby.

:53:30. > :53:37.From all of us here, bye for now.