Day 2, Part 1 Snooker: World Championship

Hello, good morning from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It is

day two of the World Snooker Championship and play is due to get

under way in the next few minutes. Live coverage of the match we are

concentrating on today, the 1997 world champion Ken Doherty taking on

Stuart Bingham, making eighth Crucible appearance. I was born in

Essex in 1976. I turned professional in 1995. I won the world amateur

title in 1996. In the year 2000 I beat Stephen Hendry 10-7 in the

world championship. In 2006 I became the first player to win the Masters

qualifier twice. My first ranking title was the 2011 Australian Open.

I have made three competitive 147s. I got married in 2013, to my wife,

Michelle, and I have a step daughter and a son. Stuart Bingham had a

great run in the 2013 world championship at the Crucible, beaten

by the eventual winner, Ronnie O'Sullivan, in the quarterfinals. He

holds a slender lead in this match, five - four over Ken Doherty. On

table to this morning, Joe Perry is playing Jamie Burnett. We have

superb Easter Sunday Snooker for you. Let's join Rob Walker. Good

morning. Ronnie O'Sullivan has booked his place in the second round

of the World Snooker Championship, which means there are 30 other

players hopped on his heels and, this morning, someone else will join

him in the last 16. Who will it be? Please welcome a player who came

through three qualifying rounds, including two 10-8 thrillers to book

his place. A former Shanghai Masters finalist, flying the flags of

Scotland, Jamie Burnett. APPLAUSE. And his opponent, he is back in the

top 16 and reached the semifinals of the International championship in

China and the Welsh Open. From Cambridge, here comes the gentleman,

Joe Perry. MUSIC: "I'm Happy" by Pharrell

Williams. And here on table two, welcome a

player who describes himself as the oldest swinger in town for this

year's championship. At the tender age of 44, this is his 19th

appearance at the world championship. Can he turn back the

clock in style? He recovered brilliantly yesterday and is right

in the match. Give it up for the darling of Dublin, Ken Doherty.

MUSIC: Irish Rover. And his opponents, who, like a fine

wine, gets better with age. He won his first ranking event in 2011 and

has not looked back. Now, a regular in the world's top eight and winner

on the Asian tour last month, winner of the Premier League last year, he

is the pride of Essex. Here comes Stuart Bingham. MUSIC: "Get Lucky"

by Daft Punk. We are set. Can Ken Doherty get into

the second round for the first time since 2006? Four wins apiece in the

career head-to-head. You would have to go back to 2008 four Ken

Doherty's last win over Stuart Bingham. Here we go. Good morning to

Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis. Good morning, Jason and good morning

to everyone watching. Early-morning Snooker at the Crucible and a great

reception for all the players, as we could see.

I thought when Ken Doherty came in he was going to do an Irish jig. The

place was jumping with his theme tune. He did well yesterday, coming

back from 3-0 down. Ken Doherty could easily have led

5-4 in the end, believe it or not. Just a few safety shots, he

overhit. The tables are fast, Steve. I think he would have been delighted

to get out of the session 5-4 after being 3-0 behind.

The blackspot area is crowded. When somebody eventually gets amongst the

balls, it will not be a clear-cut opportunity. And that was excellent

from Stuart Bingham. If Ken does not want to play down

this left-hand side, he has problems.

That is what he did yesterday, a few poor safety shots. He hit that much

too thick. The only saving grace for Ken, as I

mentioned, it will not be an easy break.

The black spot might be available and if it is, it will tie up the

pig. -- pink. These players would have woken up at

7am to get their bodies ready. It is a tough, early-morning start for the

players, especially after the excitement yesterday. In the 70s,

the great John Spencer won here in 77. I spoke to Ken about it and said

John would get up at 7am, wandering around Sheffield, speaking to the

odd milkmen here and there, just to wake himself up. He got a bit of a

kick on that. He could do with a cannon to open

things up, but he will have to wait for that.

Which of the reds goes into the left corner? It must be tight, I do not

think he can get through. No value in playing it with a trace

of side, because he would not be able to do anything with the cue

ball. It was not a bad effort. It was always going to be difficult. He

had to play it with left-hand side to make the angle.

It would have been impossible for him have played that with left-hand

side and also come up for the blue. When we talk about left-hand side,

we can show you the ball, when you strike it, you hit it at nine

o'clock and create a slight angle. I think you played although shots,

it looks like your cue action. It was good fun. Some of the slow

motion cameras are amazing, what they pick up.

The referee just ask them to stop talking. I do not think he was

referring to me and Steve, it was people in the audience.

Just a safety shot and I do not blame him. It was a pretty good one.

Certainly the best safety shot of the session so far. Ken has two get

this right. He made the last one fix. -- thick. But that is an

excellent reply. They are evenly matched. Four

victories each. Stuart Bingham has been the inform player. They played

each other once in the world championship, 2002. Ken won that

10-8. Coming into the second session, the bookmakers still make

Stuart Bingham a strong favourite. Anybody who has knowledge of the

standard Ken has been playing, if they know he is on form, some of the

Irish lads watching him in practice, they might have had a punt.

That is what Stuart has faced with. You can see that the greenies in the

way. Farrell and the miss. -- foul and a miss.

He might send that read towards the red corner pocket. That is not quite

with it was. It was near the cushion. There is probably a chalk

mark. As he delivered the queue, he will have left the little Marcotti

cushion. He has missed it again.

He had to sacrifice a worse choice. Now there is a chance for Ken. If

the red ball goes by the black, that is the shot Mac to play. He is not

guaranteed to get position on the black.

Yes, your choice, Steve, was much better. Was very little chance of

snookering himself on the black. The other red into the corner could have

caused a problem. Well, he had to trust luck, and it

has not worked out well for him. Yes, he can consider himself

unfortunate. He has got the pot on, but he could have expected a lot

better from that type of shot. Very nicely played. A bit of

pressure on that shot. How disappointing is that? After the

good pot on the red. I think he has missed three blacks like that. Yes,

that type of shot, you have got yourself in position on the black,

and you know that if you park the black, you can get going. You have

got a chance. I am not sure if there is a plant

on. Positional play will be critical from this black.

If the plan is on, it makes everything a lot easier. He can

choose when to play that, he may even choose to play the loose red.

He has a massive area in which to play position. The blues on the

spot. He can use it should he not be able to get on the black.

The plan that you mentioned, it seems to be going slightly to the

left side of the pocket. He has to be careful. He squeezed it away from

the line. He did not make contact on the first red, as he intended. It

was a bad positional shot on the blue. He had some room for

manoeuvre, but he left the white ball too close to the cushion. Too

much to do to get on a colour. Not an easy start for Ken.

Effectively, in this session, the scores were as close as they could

be overnight. Both players are vying to be the one to get going first, to

start the mortars up. This first frame is hugely important. -- start

the motors up. That was good cueing. I think Ken is

in with a great chance in this match. Stuart look to be under

pressure in the first session, after letting slip that 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Ken has just played a very pure positional shot. -- very

poor. Still not straightforward. He is not

guaranteed to get nicely on a red. He has got to make sure that he can

party black, and let the white baulk King of itself. -- pot the black. He

seemed to concentrate more on the cannon than the pot. I think he was

committed to playing a positive shot. Even though he did not like

it. There is more mileage left in this frame. Neither player has

really settled down. Positional play has been the key to seeing the

pension out there. He could have chosen to get a lot

closer to this red. He had a nice angle on that red. Can he get on the

reds from a colour? The blue looks ideal. Yes, the natural angle to

come up the side of the reds. He had not got the angle to get to the

right-hand side, but he had the angle to go to the left-hand side.

Both these reds are tough. That red went as well. That is a

fantastic shot from Stuart Bingham. Stuart Bingham, 15. That black was

not dead certain. But I still expected him to pot it. They are not

easy. This is a golden opportunity for Ken Doherty. He has to keep the

white ball under control. That is not ideal to start with. He has come

straight on the pink. He seemed to rush that as well. To

my shots and he is already out of position. He will be very

disappointed. It is a bad misjudgement. He should not have

been near the middle pocket. They are both a bit tense. They know

how important it is. Ken can get himself all square.

The yellow needs to pull up, and it is not going to. You need a little

luck, and he did not have it. The yellow catching the jaw of the

middle pocket. Can you clean the white ball? Yes.

I tell you what, both players are feeling it out there. Two

established players, and they have got the Crucible collywobbles.

Unbelievable. Ken would not have believed he would be back at the

table so quickly. I chance to redeem himself. Can you believe it? Ken

links to the heavens. Has he flew to the snooker? -- has he fluked the

snooker. The trouble with this shot is he

does not want to hit the far side of the green, because if he does that

with pace, he will leave Ken a shot into the middle pocket.

REFEREE: Foul and a miss. He has to put him back. He does not want to

hit it on the other side otherwise he will leave Ken the pot.

He hit it thicker this time and left the pot up into the corner, which

was what he was frightened of. Any separation between the white ball

and green at this level, this is a shot Ken will take on. And he hit it

a lot better. He was tight on that. He got it in

the pocket, but he did not hit that well. He is far-away enough from the

blue that getting on the pink is not easy. He might have to go up and

down the table because it is so thin. He tried it and he played it

well, he played that with a lot of drag. He will be absolutely

delighted. He let his chances slip away, but Stuart Bingham, he blew

his chances, also. What a tense opening frame. Stuart

had so many chances. We go back earlier, when he misjudged the

plant. The reds are almost touching and you have to adjust. He left the

white ball too far away and eventually squeezed it away from the

pocket. There were some horrors that he missed. He committed to that, it

was a good effort, but effectively, in his own mind at that time, it was

probably game ball. He got another chance and it looked like he was in

and have used the rest. The frame had so many positional errors. Both

players have not settled down, but Ken will be feeling an awful lot

better. Stuart will still be in the hole, so to speak.

That was a schoolboy error, after battling to win the frame, you break

off, hit the blue. The only good thing about that,

Stuart Bingham is not on the blue after potting the red.

That was fantastic. From the side cushion, he cued it beautifully. He

can to be accused of not playing the positive shots.

He was trying to get the blue on the spot.

He needed the white nearer the cushion to get the angle. He does

have a lot of cue power. He will have to call on it.

What a great effort. It was a fantastic strike.

You cannot teach anyone to play that type of shot, it is natural talent

and timing. Considering in the first session, he played a lot easier

screw back than that and jumped over the top of the ball, I wondered if

he had problems with his tip. He has to be careful when playing

this red on the side cushion that he has it's sure in his own mind it is

not a double kiss. He played it thin to try to avoid

the double kiss. His cue action looks a fraction

hurried at the moment. He is feeling the heat, like Stuart. But a little

bit quick on the shot. That was better. The more he gets in

the pockets, the more he will feel comfortable. He is already out of

position. That was not where he intended to be

and this is all about a good black. He cannot get the weight of the

table. He cannot get his arm free to play fluent snooker that would be

easy in practice. It is all about who can get hold of

this match by the scruff of the neck and cut out elementary errors.

For all of the great snooker we see here, when players are flying on the

table, these matches, when you see someone you know is a great player,

struggling to get going, it is fascinating.

Stewart looks free in his cue action, but the first frame

highlighted what is at stake -- Stuart.

He has to be careful with the red to the left side of the table. Careful

not to cannon into that. You could see Ken, in the

background, looking down at Stuart's cue action. He knows that

Stuart is under the cosh. This must be very tight. I do not

think it goes. Ken, this time, has an easier red to

go at. This is a good chance now. Ken is

looking focused. Any harder, it would not have

dropped. That made this positional shot a little more difficult.

No real problems at the moment other than making sure that you pot the

ball. That is a nice shot. Ken is starting to play his way into this

match. He got off to a very poor start, losing the first three

frames. But he looks like he's going to take the lead.

The two Lewis reds, should he get them, guarantee that Stuart Bingham

would require snickers. -- two loose reds.

Now you will see a difference in the body language of the player. Much

smoother, much more control. Exactly as I said! He has already won this

frame. Stuart Bingham stays in his seat, and what a comeback from Ken

Doherty. Three -- zero down. He now gets himself into the lead for the

very first time. 6-5 to Ken. He has taking the two opening friends. That

will put Stuart under pressure. -- opening frames. Steve, we have a

little montage of shots. It is incredible what happens to that cue

ball. This is a shot with screw back. This is a power short with

run-through. -- shot. It is fascinating, watching what happens

to the ball. It goes on forever, actually.

I think the difference between these players is that Ken is much more

prepared to be wildly as they frames go on. Stuart is more attacking, he

will go for big shots. -- to be wiley.

Stuart has been getting some good results from playing a much more

modern, attacking game. Not the best, to Cannes in the

green. He could have done without that. -- to cannon the green. He has

never really produced his best liquor at the Crucible, Stuart. --

best snooker. Ken pitting a little quick wander,

he did not deliver the cue in a straight line. But he did play a

shot that had the potential to be safe if you missed it. That is the

wiliness coming out. That was an excellent shot from Stuart Bingham.

Although, it was played with safety in mind. He would have liked to have

been a bit shorter. He could have played the yellow into the middle

pocket with some certainty. Now it is very risky.

Has he left the red? No, did shot. -- good shot.

It Stuart Bingham can just get through the first round, he can

start to settle down. Yes, his big win came in 2011, when he won the

Australian Open. After that, he seemed to be a different player

altogether. He seemed to improving confidence.

He has certainly lost a bit of that confidence. She will need some good

tactical ploy to force Ken into giving him a good opening.

He speculated on the double. It looked like it had complete safety,

but he has left Ken the possibility of a long red into the corner,

screen back for safety at the same time. -- screwing back.

Look where the red has come. It is not an easy pot along the cushion,

but Ken did not get anywhere near the pocket that he intended the red

to go into. But like was missable, but he will

go for it. -- that black was missable. I think this match is

beautifully setup. Stuart Bingham is more of an opportunist player than

Ken. Ken has huge experience. He does not want to be straight.

Yuck! He might just have that red at the end of the pack. He looks to

have a slight angle. That was a pretty good effort, but

it was a big ask, even with Stuart's you power. -- cue power. It

is amazing, when the ball is played with that amount of top spin, we

never knew that it used to leave the table until we had the slow motion

replays. REFEREE: Thank you. He declared a

foul on himself there. You can see, he just touched it. Actually, it

seemed OK. He may have thought the push that a bit. -- he pushed it.

That is the first long pot that Ken has struck nicely. Now that is a

chance to go into the pack and open them up.

This would be four frames in a row, if you could take it. That would

give Stuart Bingham a lot to think about it -- like think about.

He has certainly opened the reds up. One more good chart and he is in

with a good chance. -- did shot. He has made light work of that pink.

When a player senses that he is on the brink of forging an advantage in

amounts, he has got to be careful to stay relaxed, but he has also got to

be fired up and off. Ken looks like he is getting to that

stage where he is starting to believe more in himself than he did

a couple of friends ago. -- frames ago.

Ken is now giving himself more time on the shot.

It stops you from rushing in and making a careless mistake.

He speeded up his walk around the table, and fractionally slowed down

his cue action, which is the way to be.

He looks like he is playing the cannon. He played it well.

He was hoping to be on a red to the left middle pocket but the cannon

did not work out. But this should not be a problem.

Effectively, he needs to pot the blue to win the frame. It needs good

cueing. The blue would have made absolutely

sure. 41 is the difference. Still a possible 43 is on the table. I

cannot believe that. With the red over the pocket, he was

more or less guaranteed to get a positional shot after it, to clinch

the frame. Perhaps he thought with the first blue, he had done the hard

work. Finishing on the right cushion made it awkward and this is a key

shot. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. The brown was on its spot. But the

referee has to get the others right, with the help of the monitor. The

blue definitely would not pot. That was a very good effort. Very

close to getting it behind the green.

I do not think that Stuart will refuse this. There is pressure.

Arguably, he does not have a better shot.

He hit that as well as he could have hoped. He was unlucky.

It will be a relieved Ken Doherty. When he missed the blue and Stuart

had him in a snooker, it was not looking good, but it is now.

Every credit to cancer this performance. It means so much to

him. -- to Ken Doherty. He was 5-3 behind. Ken Doherty has

won four frames in a row and gets himself into a lead at 7-5. He knows

he has Stuart under the cosh. Stuart was unlucky with the attempted long

read. It looked like he had got it. You have to give Ken Doherty credit.

When we go back to that... This was a fantastic effort. The pace kept it

out. Going back to the first frame of the session was so important.

They had golden opportunities to win and both messed up their chances. As

a result, Ken Doherty has benefited. That is the vagaries of fortune and

fate. He was lucky enough to get the first? Both of them could have won

it. Stuart got himself almost straight on the black and played

with topspin. He does have cue power. There was tops -- topspin. He

was unlucky to get right in the middle. When you hit the white ball

with topspin, it starts jumping around and the topspin kicks in.

The interval is coming up after this frame. How this match has turned

around is amazing. How will Stuart Bingham react?

Can Ken Doherty push the advantage home?

He nicely picked out the pink was available.

Stuart has settled down, he just needs a frame on the board to get

going. The story so far of Stuart's last

few frames is he has not made a break above 40 since frame six.

While he is cueing nicely, he is perhaps not retaining control of the

table, not playing good enough positional play. It is hard to know.

He could have played for the red and the blue and got a lovely angle. He

had it on his mind to take the black. He might have missed a trick.

That was unlucky. Whether whiteboard is finished, look at that. -- white

ball. There is a bit more left in this

match. And that was not great. He has left the reds the Ken.

He hit the wrong ball. He might have got away with it. He did not hit the

red ball he intended. He was hoping to get back up the table.

That was a good result in the end. At that stage, he did not know that

everything would be safe. It is a big frame first juror doing. To go

to the mid-session interval having lost the first three frames would be

a tall order for him. What Ken does, when he has someone backed into a

corner, he does know how to keep them in the corner.

Another aggressive choice of shot from Stuart Bingham. He could have

played a relatively easy safety shot down the table. That is certainly

not a criticism. There was an element of safety involved as well.

Ken has knocked it in. It was certainly not be wrong shot

that Stuart played. Ken is looking like he is picking up one more

errors from his opponent than he did in the first frames. He may be able

to collide with a couple of reds in the pack and collide with the pink.

That is his plan, brushing off the side of the pack.

It did not brush off the side, it sort of believed its way in. This is

no more risky. -- buried its way in. That is a very good shot from

Stuart. Ken has played that well. It needed

to be thin, otherwise he would collide with the red.

That was a massive shot to take on. Once again, continuing to be very

aggressive. He has got away with it. That is amazing. How has he not left

a pot on? When you're out there, it is difficult not to panic and just

want to get the ball in the pocket. Sometimes you need to have more of

restraint. It is a very fine dividing line. But the plant was on,

so why not go for it? He tried to create an angle, and he

missed it. There are signs that Ken is getting the upper hand. Stuart is

getting a bit anxious. He got away with the previous shot, when he left

everything safe. That was a good chance.

He needs to get to the mid-session interval to regroup. But what is the

score going to be? Ken will know the significance of this. If he can

convert this opportunity, it will really put the screws on. This is

the equivalent of a boxer having the other guy on the ropes.

Yes, he has not played that all that well. It was the previous shot. He

did not get on the blue as he intended. He was relying on a

cannon, but it has not worked out for him. Yes, he did not get nicely

on the blue from the first red. He has a choice of pink or black. He

is coming round to look at the black. If you pots it, it will go on

to the pink spot. He has got quite a loose grip, with

his backhand, Ken. That is not a bad thing under pressure. If you grip

the cute too tightly, it is not the best way of playing the game under

pressure. -- the cue too tightly. I do not think there are two Mac

players in the game that have the same grip.

There are lots of unusual grips at top-class level.

This is going to be five frames in a row if you can take this. What a

performance from Ken. He has had some help from his opponent, but you

have still got to do it. Stuart certainly has not relaxed this

morning. That was short of pace. He has got

the upper hand in this frame. He did not attempt to pot that. He

was playing the safety shot. The previous shot, the positional shot,

he seemed to plate with top spin. That is a nice shot from Stuart

Bingham. Ken will be very happy with that.

That is a good shot, I can tell you. Clever. A clever shot. Obviously,

the reds on the top cushion were not going to stay there.

That was a poor effort from Ken on safety. But he has got away with it.

That was a good, confident long pot. He is looking at the black.

He needs two of these reds, which will not be easy.

He got the run-through, and ended up on the wrong side of the black.

That was a fantastic shot. But all of the balls are live, out in the

open. If you had a tactical discussion with top players, they

would have talked about putting one safe.

That was a bad shot from Ken Doherty. He hit that to thick. He is

annoyed with himself. He knew he should have had Stuart in trouble.

Stuart was convinced it was going in-off.

The cueing is awkward. The white ball so close to the pocket.

REFEREE: Foul and a miss. No damage done, it was not a free ball, so it

just costs him four points. That was better. It was difficult.

He will leave an opportunity for Stuart.

I do not know whether the red goes past the black, which is out of

commission. Stuart Bingham is suffering at the

moment and Ken Doherty has to jump on this chance. Stuart has been left

with problematic shots. 50-50s. If you do not get the right, it looks

like you have panicked and comfort to many. He has had difficult

decisions this morning. That looked pretty good. Barring

that snooker, Ken Doherty has won five in a row.

He said to Ken, let's go to the mid-session interval. What a

session. Ken Doherty has taken all of the four frames. He must be

delighted. This match is beautifully poised.

The last time Ken Doherty made the second round at the Crucible was in

2006. While those players are having their interval, we will turn the

attention to Ronnie O'Sullivan. A great atmosphere in the Crucible for

the first session and also for yesterday evening will stop he went

into a 7-2 lead, after the first session. And a great atmosphere

yesterday evening. The fans packing into the wonderful venue for the

final session. John Virgo: he needed that to slow

up, and it did. He could not want for a better

opportunity. This is a big chance. It is a controlled and efficient cue

action. It is reminiscent of Mark Williams.

Carefully gets down into position to play the shot and does not waste too

much time. The cloth is very fast at the

moment. That overran. I would be surprised if he did not

win the frame at this visit. Ronnie O'Sullivan played a careless

safety shot. It does not matter how good you are, when you are sitting

in the chair, you cannot be potting balls.

It was unusual that he did not avoid the double kiss. It looks like it

was certain to cost him this frame. Would you believe it? All that was

required was a red. It could not have been easier. Oh, dear.

If Ronnie O'Sullivan can get a snooker from this position, he will

put the heat on. And he has got it, I think.

If he does not get this safe, we could have a new favourite for the

frame. The two cushion escape is not bad.

If he plays a swerve, he would not know where the balls would end up.

I am not sure he played it that way, he may have played it to catch it on

the way down. Robin Hull was unlucky to stick that

up. Ronnie O'Sullivan struck that so well.

That was not easy. It was a tricky red ball. He could not play for it

in the easier pocket. He would be shocked if Ronnie

O'Sullivan did not clear up from here.

I assume he put a little bit of right-hand side, unwanted, that

pushed the cue ball into the red. But there is no excuse for missing

that, and he will know that. The black is needed. And in it goes.

Robin Hull will be dumbstruck. One part away from winning that frame.

He missed it and Ronnie O'Sullivan has one opportunity and stretches

further clear. It was a big chance for a Robin Hull

but he recovered. He decided to play the snooker,

which you have to feel is the right shot.

Is there an angle on this red, so he can pot it?

He cute that like a dream. -- cued. It was superbly played. A lot of

players would have played the run-through.

And now he has a realistic chance of a frame winner.

There is very little to do here, positionally. The balls are nicely

placed. As defending champion, should he

convert this opportunity, he gets the reward of a number of days off

after this match. It can be a blessing in disguise.

Has that gone wrong? It has gone wrong. It is tight. He needs to play

it with a fraction of side, but it is not ideal. He played it with the

side, and he was walking back to his seat. He did not think it was going

to go in. He does not have position on the black, so just a little

snooker. That seemed to fly off that cushion.

That was the first big bounce we have seen of attrition. Usually that

is after a few days of play, when the cloth starch to be brushed away.

That was a beautiful shot. I think that could be the last visit for

Robin Hull. He has not disgraced himself, but he has not done enough.

Robin Hull has shown himself to be a very capable player. There are

easier draws than Ronnie O'Sullivan, but as you say, he has acquitted

himself well. It did not. This is the 38th year of

the World Championships, and for those of you who remember that far

back, it is 10-4, over and out. The world champion reigned supreme. I

waved to the crowd. He is through to the second round. He beats Robin

Hull, 10-4. the second round. He beats Robin

Hull, It was a good victory. He was a tough first-round opponent.

Everyone assumed it would be an easy match for me, but I knew it would

not be. I saw a quote from Steve Davis sing, he beat him at the

Crucible when he was still fancied to do well. Steve Davis said he is a

class act, and he is, he has a real Rolls-Royce cue action. Ideally, I

would like to get through my matches as easily as possible, a bit like I

did in the Masters and the Welsh. But I am aware that it does not

happen every time. Sometimes you have to win the scrappy frames. You

need to find momentum within that. That is what I tried to do, because

this is a long tournament. You cannot play fantastically every time

you go out there. You need to mix it tactically. That gives you a great

opportunity to do well. The defending champion is safely

through. Steve Davis has come out of the commentary box for a quick chat.

I job well done by Ronnie O'Sullivan? Yes, we are used to

seeing him wiping the floor with everybody. But that was a

workmanlike performance. After worse, I think his words summed up

the frame of mind he is in. He looked pretty sharp. Focused. The

World Championship is demanding, mentally and physical. In the

first-round, you have just got to get through round. Lots of the

newspapers featuring Ronnie today. They say that he played well in the

first session but did not get going in the evening session. Is that

common? It is more about how you react. In the past, we have seen

Ronnie O'Sullivan getting frustrated when he does not produce excellence.

But I think he is at ease with his game. He has a chance to win six

world titles this year. You're heading back to the commentary box.

I'll be likely to see Ken Doherty in a TV studio soon? I tell you what,

he has Stuart Bingham on the ropes. Stuart has got to regroup. But Ken

is in an ideal situation. Thank you. Off you go to the commentary box.

That is the story of why Ken has won five frames on a roll. -- in a row.

Stuart Bingham must win this frames. Five frames behind, that would be a

mountain to climb. Ken keeps bouncing back. He a class

act, Ken Doherty. Has he got the gap? He is on both

the pink and the black. That is a bonus. Those two reds to the rate of

the black accosting problems. -- to the right of the black are causing

problems. He has played for the red in the middle. He is not really on

it. It is far thinner than he would like. The cue ball is going to go in

and out of baulk. What I would expect him to get it.

That was not as thin as I thought. Yes, that red that Steve mentioned,

it is not easy to get onto that red. It is the one to the right that is

causing the problem. It is not straightforward just yet. That is

not the best shot he has ever played. Yes, but he has kept on the

red. He could have been closer to the pink.

That was a different story completely. You did not tell me that

that went, did you? You kept that to yourself! The overhead camera

clearly showed you that it would. The pink was not touching the red.

End of break. Yes, he had to hit the pink Phil Ball to send it into the

reds. -- full ball. He was unlucky but he did not hit it

right. He was going to come back up the table but straightaway you could

tell. I think he played the pink, but he

is OK, he is on the black. Now it is about whether Ken Doherty

can hold himself together. He has not been in this position for a few

seasons. He is back in with the big boys, where he feels he can still

compete. He will be keen to make a frame

winning break in this visit. I do not think that Stuart Bingham

would come back from 9-5. And so there is pressure building up on Ken

Doherty, to get the frame. That was nicely screwed back for one

of the reds in the middle. It is down to Ken Doherty to ensure

his positional play is so strong, he does not give himself a difficult

shot that he could miss. They have played each other eight

times. Four each. Over the past couple of seasons, Stuart Bingham

has been getting the better of their matches. They met once before in the

World Championship. That was in 2002. Ken Doherty won on that

occasion, 10-8. This is quite remarkable, it will be

six in a row if he takes this. He looks composed. Inside, he will

be feeling tense. But he is coping well.

He only needs the black to leave Stuart Bingham needing a snooker.

That pink makes it absolutely certain he is safe.

He is doing it in style. Winning the frame with this visit.

Stuart Bingham will stay in his seat. It continues. What a comeback.

Ken Doherty takes another frame and now needs one to get through to the

next round. It is quite remarkable from 3-0 down. The darling of Dublin

has battled and won six in a row. That is remarkable against somebody

like Stuart Bingham, Steve. While it is not a shot, it is a big result if

he can convert this. Stuart Bingham was a strong favourite. If you had

seen the first frame this morning, when Stuart Bingham was 5-4 up, both

were playing with tension in their arms. It could have gone either way.

Looking back, the first frame was a big frame the Stuart Bingham. It

could have been a big turning point in the match because it has been Ken

Doherty since that. But, it is never over until it is

over, as they say. Stuart Bingham must have to win five in a row. You

have to think that Ken Doherty has won six in a row, my opponent, why

can I not do it? That was an indication... Hitting it

on the wrong side completely. He has covered it, but, I am sure

that Ken Doherty can find a red to plant. The pink and black are out of

commission somewhat. He is looking to see where he can get the cue

ball, to get onto the blue. He played that with side. He was

close to getting to the black. I suppose this made certain of the

red. I think he can cut this black. If it goes in, what a chance. It is

not easy, but he fancies it. The black will only be available

into one pocket when it is spotted back row. But he is growing in

confidence. ASH Mac when it is re-spotted.

Ideally, he wants to stay at the top part of the table. That did not come

out nicely. What a chance that was. Just the

flick on the red left him hampered. This is a test for Stuart Bingham.

He has had to sit in his seat for most of the session.

He looks to have a problem with the red to the right of the black.

It is a long way back but this could be the start of the comeback.

Unfortunately our time is up on BBC Two, but you can continue to enjoy

the match on the red button and online. 2-2 between Joe Perry and

Jamie Burnett, and that match is available online. Hazel Irvine will

be back on BBC Two at 2:30pm. We will see Ding Junhui.