Day 3, Part 2

:00:33. > :00:37.Hello, it is Easter Monday and I hope that you can share some of that

:00:38. > :00:41.with us, like all these lovely people here in the Winter Gardens,

:00:42. > :00:45.because just like your chocolate eggs at the weekend, the World

:00:46. > :00:49.Championship is fund rolling. This is the first Monday of three Mondays

:00:50. > :00:53.here in Sheffield, because two weeks today we will be getting ready for

:00:54. > :00:58.the last couple of sessions of the final itself. Ken Doherty will be

:00:59. > :01:02.there for the final, but whether he is actually playing and it is a moot

:01:03. > :01:25.point. However, he still has a chance, you know.

:01:26. > :01:31.I am relishing every moment here. When I came out I kissed the carpet,

:01:32. > :01:35.the last time I was here I did that, because you never know when you are

:01:36. > :01:38.going to be back here. You have to relish and enjoy every moment you

:01:39. > :01:45.are here, and that is what I am doing.

:01:46. > :01:48.Ken looks very focused. This will be four frames in a row if he can take

:01:49. > :01:53.it, and that would really give Stuart Bingham a lot to think about.

:01:54. > :02:02.No, no... Yes! It is in! What a comeback this has been.

:02:03. > :02:05.I was getting quite emotional at the end.

:02:06. > :02:09.I was starting to fill up a little bit and I was trying to keep my

:02:10. > :02:14.composure, to get over the line, because you are never over. Until I

:02:15. > :02:22.hit the Q I wasn't certain, I could not pot that last red at the end.

:02:23. > :02:26.I will just respected and enjoyable than I did seven or eight years ago.

:02:27. > :02:32.I don't know where those years have gone, but it is a special place, the

:02:33. > :02:35.crowd, they give a wonderful alterations and welcome, and that is

:02:36. > :02:41.why the players love playing here. There is no atmosphere like it. I

:02:42. > :02:47.said to Taylor, you should take your cue out of its case and make a

:02:48. > :02:54.comeback! I gave 100% and I am just loving

:02:55. > :02:55.every minute of it. I am nice and relaxed and I will relish every

:02:56. > :03:11.frame and ball that I pot. I have had some great moments here,

:03:12. > :03:18.as well, and this is definitely one of them. You know, to comeback after

:03:19. > :03:23.sort of being in the doldrums, you would say, for the last few years,

:03:24. > :03:27.and not really performing like I should do, it is great to produce

:03:28. > :03:33.some good snooker and it is such a relief.

:03:34. > :03:36.What a performance! And the first time for eight years that Ken has

:03:37. > :03:42.been in the second round, has the nose bleeding stopped?

:03:43. > :03:47.Just about, I have come down off cloud nine, but fantastic, I am over

:03:48. > :03:50.the moon. To be honest, at the end I was

:03:51. > :03:54.getting a little bit emotional, the first time that has ever happened

:03:55. > :03:59.probably since 1987. I started to get emotional even in the second

:04:00. > :04:03.last frame. I said, I better hold myself together year because it

:04:04. > :04:05.could be quite embarrassing! Why were you so excited?

:04:06. > :04:09.A lot of people would say you know what it is like, you have won the

:04:10. > :04:16.thing, to comeback all these years later, I did it mean so much? I

:04:17. > :04:18.don't know, maybe because I have not performed.

:04:19. > :04:22.It is the first time I have been in the last 16 so just to get over that

:04:23. > :04:28.hurdle and play like I can play, really. In our sport you have a lot

:04:29. > :04:32.of ups and downs. I have been lucky that I have come and got my hands on

:04:33. > :04:36.the trophy at least once, but you still want to perform every time you

:04:37. > :04:40.go out, particularly at the Crucible. It is such a special event

:04:41. > :04:44.and, yes, it's just got hold of me a little bit. It was great to play

:04:45. > :04:53.like I can play at times and I was chuffed to bits. You did, you had

:04:54. > :04:56.six 50 plus breaks, did you sense that Stewart had a bit of a

:04:57. > :04:58.lacklustre morning and afternoon yesterday?

:04:59. > :05:03.Yes, the first frame was very important.

:05:04. > :05:06.Then to level at five all was a very close frame. I tried to keep the

:05:07. > :05:16.pressure on him all the time and that is what I did, good match

:05:17. > :05:23.snigger and good safety, and keeping him under pressure. -- good

:05:24. > :05:27.matchplay snooker. More numbers for you - over 100 texts of

:05:28. > :05:32.congratulations you have received. Now he is going to try and of

:05:33. > :05:38.keelboat -- broadcasting duties with playing. I do good at multitasking?

:05:39. > :05:40.You know that men are never good at multitasking!

:05:41. > :05:44.We will find out. Will plead, we will look forward to seeing you and

:05:45. > :05:50.hearing you. Last night, possibly even topped it

:05:51. > :05:54.for excitement, because we had two final frame decider is, the first

:05:55. > :06:02.featuring a Welshman and a Scotsman. What was the story of this one,

:06:03. > :06:08.Steve? Well, Stephen Maguire Drew Ryan Hay, a tough draw for both

:06:09. > :06:11.players. -- Ryan Day.

:06:12. > :06:16.The first six frames were shared, so it was 9-6 Ryan Day.

:06:17. > :06:21.He was on the brink of a fantastic victory, but the gritty Scot,

:06:22. > :06:27.Stephen Maguire, he pulled it back with breaks of 74 and 91 to 9-9. The

:06:28. > :06:32.first of the two final frame decider is of the evening was about to

:06:33. > :06:44.unfold. Let's see what happened. -- final frame deciders.

:06:45. > :06:50.COMMENTATOR: That is the problem, whenever they are close to the top

:06:51. > :06:56.cushion, you just hit them a fraction thick and they go up the

:06:57. > :06:59.table with the cue ball. Does this red pass the two reds to

:07:00. > :07:10.go to the right corner? Just. Not all of the pocket, it is tight.

:07:11. > :07:19.It needs to be accurate. And it was. Second chance to Ryan

:07:20. > :07:25.Day. But not the right side of the blue.

:07:26. > :07:32.No, he put all of his concentration into the pot there, didn't he? He

:07:33. > :07:33.has an angle on the black. He has to hit this really well to get the cue

:07:34. > :07:55.ball back down the table. Well, every credit, Ryan. That was

:07:56. > :08:00.the brave man's route. He is on to the red that just about

:08:01. > :08:08.goes. We say that this game is all about fractions. The fractions at

:08:09. > :08:12.the moment looked to be in the favour of Ryan. This is a great

:08:13. > :08:32.chance for frame and match. He has hit the ball well in this

:08:33. > :08:41.last frame, Ryan. The first chance he got he went into the pack.

:08:42. > :08:50.His cue is going through really positively.

:08:51. > :08:57.Yes, from the first shot he has looked positive. He has decided,

:08:58. > :09:02.this is the deciding frame, if I get a chance I am going to go for it.

:09:03. > :09:08.Every credit, because he was being bombarded by Stephen Maguire in the

:09:09. > :09:09.last few friends. He was sat in his chair for over 200 points without

:09:10. > :09:18.reply. But this is his opportunity now. Can

:09:19. > :09:48.he make the most of it? He will have to follow off the left

:09:49. > :09:51.side pollution here for the red to follow, so he will be a little bit

:09:52. > :09:57.further away than he would have liked. He may have to stump up. --

:09:58. > :10:17.stun. That is OK. 29 points, the lead. Three reds,

:10:18. > :10:49.three colours and he will be in the second round.

:10:50. > :10:58.Played it well. It looks a formality, but there is

:10:59. > :11:12.no such thing as a formality at this stage of March. -- a match.

:11:13. > :11:24.The black and one more red. This looks like all of the great

:11:25. > :11:26.snooker that Stephen Maguire has played to comeback was in vain now.

:11:27. > :11:37.Tremendous performance. Yes, Stephen Maguire cannot be too

:11:38. > :11:43.hard on himself, he lost in his first round match 10-92 Dechawat

:11:44. > :11:49.Poomjaeng, but he has left behind here. He has given everything. As we

:11:50. > :11:55.say, in the deciding frame it is all about getting the chances. He had

:11:56. > :11:58.one chance, Ryan had one chance, then he got the next one. Fair play

:11:59. > :12:03.to him, he made the most of it and he has taken these really well.

:12:04. > :12:08.After the mid-session interval it has been a tremendous match, this

:12:09. > :12:15.has. And that will mean that Stephen will

:12:16. > :12:19.not bother coming back to the table. His hopes of being a world champion

:12:20. > :12:25.will have to be put on the shelf for another year.

:12:26. > :12:30.As I say, he has given his all, he has left nothing behind, and that is

:12:31. > :12:35.all you can ask from anybody. Fair play to Ryan Day, he came to

:12:36. > :12:39.this deciding frame and came out with an attitude, well, I am going

:12:40. > :12:41.to go for it, and if I get a chance I am going to try and win the frame.

:12:42. > :12:48.That is what he has done. It is sad that there has to be a

:12:49. > :13:02.loser. But that is a sport. Brian Gay, we all know his talent.

:13:03. > :13:06.If he can get a boost of confidence from this, he is a match for anybody

:13:07. > :13:43.on his day. No pun intended. He is puffing out the cheeks, he is

:13:44. > :13:48.so relieved to get there, that was a great match, guys, I'm lucky Stephen

:13:49. > :13:52.Maguire. It is a warm handshake, he did not do anything but give his

:13:53. > :13:57.best, but Ryan Day just had that lead. He came out in the deciding

:13:58. > :14:02.frame with an attitude, give me one chance and I will win the match. He

:14:03. > :14:09.needed a two, but well played, Ryan Day, you are through to the second

:14:10. > :14:12.round. He beats Stevens -- Stephen Maguire 10-9. I really enjoyed it.

:14:13. > :14:17.Obviously I had a lead after playing quite well yesterday. I knew that

:14:18. > :14:23.Stephen was going to throw everything at it this evening. I was

:14:24. > :14:27.over the moon to be 3-3 after six frames, even though I had had

:14:28. > :14:34.chances to probably win the match earlier. Then Stephen, from nine -

:14:35. > :14:38.six, was so strong with a couple of tremendous breaks and clearances, I

:14:39. > :14:43.was delighted to get a chance at last and clear the table. Well

:14:44. > :14:47.played to both players, fantastic match, well played to Ryan Day.

:14:48. > :14:52.The key to that particular match winner was the opening red of the

:14:53. > :14:58.break he made. I have set it up on our screen. The first red the potted

:14:59. > :15:03.into the corner pocket, I have drawn a line from the edge of that red to

:15:04. > :15:08.the edge of that red, he only just had a full pocket, arguably not even

:15:09. > :15:12.that to aim at. Under pressure it would be so easy to miss this shot.

:15:13. > :15:17.He has played it superbly well, there is a great purist, always has

:15:18. > :15:21.been, but under pressure anything can go wrong. He was over the line

:15:22. > :15:30.by no one can let his fluency do the work. -- a great cueist. He has

:15:31. > :15:32.pedigree, but will he go further in the event?

:15:33. > :15:38.I think we are going to see more of him in the future rounds.

:15:39. > :15:47.Yes, he will play Judd Trump in the next round, Stephen Maguire said he

:15:48. > :15:51.was in some respects believed to be at what has been a hell of a season

:15:52. > :15:54.for him. He has had a very bad back and we hope he can recover.

:15:55. > :15:57.That is the fourth final frame he has lost at the Crucible and the

:15:58. > :16:02.second year in a row he has gone home after round one.

:16:03. > :16:06.To the other decider last night between Shaun Murphy, world number

:16:07. > :16:09.five, and the youngster Jamie Cope, who has had a torrid time in the

:16:10. > :16:13.last three years because he is suffering from a condition which

:16:14. > :16:17.makes him physically shake over the shot. He has been working with a

:16:18. > :16:22.sports psychologist to remedy that. His journey back to the Crucible was

:16:23. > :16:27.remarkable in itself, and this was another tight one, Steve. Yes, Jamie

:16:28. > :16:30.Cope, Shaun Murphy, in the tough quarter, you could argue, with

:16:31. > :16:38.Ronnie O'Sullivan there. Overnight Jamie Cope had shown he

:16:39. > :16:40.was back to some form, 5-4 quickly turns to 8-8.

:16:41. > :16:46.At 8-8 you never know what is good to happen, it went 9-8 to Shaun

:16:47. > :16:47.Murphy. Very quickly it got back to nine - nine. Let's see what happened

:16:48. > :17:17.in that decider. COMMENTATOR: He has a lovely angle

:17:18. > :17:21.on the green. He can go into one of these reds on

:17:22. > :17:25.the right-hand side cushion, if he wishes.

:17:26. > :17:34.How is his luck? Just not hard enough. He could have fixed that as

:17:35. > :17:38.hard as he wanted, really. He is unlucky, once he had the case you

:17:39. > :17:38.would think he would be on one of them.

:17:39. > :17:47.-- once he had the kiss. He needs to find the top cushion

:17:48. > :18:15.here. Plenty of right-hand side. I am not quite sure whether Shaun

:18:16. > :18:18.Murphy will try and get the cue ball back here, he may nestle into the

:18:19. > :18:22.back of this red on the right-hand cushion. He does not want to hit it

:18:23. > :18:27.with too much pace because he may leave the other one into the yellow

:18:28. > :18:46.pocket. That is exactly what he has done. That was very careless.

:18:47. > :18:55.It is all the way, and he has a lovely angle on the pink now. Nice

:18:56. > :19:01.angle on the pink, just not this red over the left-centre pocket. -- he

:19:02. > :19:18.will just knock. He got into it too much.

:19:19. > :19:24.Playing some very good safety. I know he has needed some chances in

:19:25. > :19:28.this last frame, there is a lot of tension out there, but when he is

:19:29. > :19:31.out of position he has played excellent safety. It is very tough

:19:32. > :19:36.to miss the double kiss on this shot. You would expect him to play

:19:37. > :19:43.cushion first moving this red out, but he played it direct, that is why

:19:44. > :19:48.he got the double kiss. It was always going to be a double kiss,

:19:49. > :19:54.that. He will be pretty pleased he has left a bit of distance between

:19:55. > :20:16.these two balls, although I am sure Jamie will take it on.

:20:17. > :20:26.Pretty close, but he has got second prize. You can see the extreme left

:20:27. > :20:30.hand side of this red, but he will be pushing it towards the right-hand

:20:31. > :20:40.pocket here. REFEREE: Foul.

:20:41. > :20:46.That is actually not too bad, it could have been an awful lot worse.

:20:47. > :20:59.That red has just crept up the side cushion.

:21:00. > :21:08.That was a surprise that he took that on. It was a difficult pot, and

:21:09. > :21:12.he has got away with it. He could pot the one along the cushion, but

:21:13. > :21:17.is it worth taking it on? You there is a plant that is not far

:21:18. > :21:22.away, either. It is tough to get the cue ball back into baulk here. I'm

:21:23. > :21:29.not sure whether the plant is dead set. It is set for the near jaw.

:21:30. > :21:32.I am just wondering, will he play to the extreme left of it and try and

:21:33. > :21:46.bring the cue ball back up to baulk? He did not fancy either one, did he?

:21:47. > :21:53.You could cut the tension with a knife here. Both players are under

:21:54. > :22:01.the utmost pressure in this little exchange.

:22:02. > :22:07.This is risky, he has to avoid the middle pocket and get a distance. If

:22:08. > :22:11.he doesn't get a distance he could be in trouble there. He is going to

:22:12. > :22:18.leave a pot but also he has an easy snooker dear. -- here. The cue ball

:22:19. > :22:25.is behind the blue, but the pot is on and the way that Shaun has been

:22:26. > :22:28.playing, he will not refuse this. He will just play the hold for the

:22:29. > :22:38.blue. He played the holding shot but

:22:39. > :22:45.didn't get into the cue ball. He cannot get onto a red from there. He

:22:46. > :22:50.did not get into that at all, did he? A little more screw on the cue

:22:51. > :22:59.ball. Right into the heart of the pocket, though.

:23:00. > :23:06.Well, he can port of the blue, -- he can pot the blue.

:23:07. > :23:10.REFEREE: Green ball. I would rather have had the five

:23:11. > :23:12.points, to be honest. If he hits it from there he will be

:23:13. > :23:34.disappointed. That is a good fit. The easy snooker

:23:35. > :23:40.rather than the pot. There is one thing for certain, if it wasn't last

:23:41. > :23:42.frame he would be taking the pot on, but as it is last frame he may be

:23:43. > :23:56.playing the snooker. And this is a little bit more

:23:57. > :23:59.difficult to get away with it. He would like to get onto the one

:24:00. > :24:05.nearest the pocket, but if he plays one cushion...

:24:06. > :24:13.Well done. He has left it on, this is a chance for Murphy to win frame

:24:14. > :24:35.and match. REFEREE: Thank you!

:24:36. > :24:47.Good, confident pot, he has a nice angle on the brown. He can get close

:24:48. > :24:56.to the red. Yellow and green are both pottable, also. What he really

:24:57. > :25:02.wants a nice angle on that last red when porting this prone to get onto

:25:03. > :25:11.the green for the last red. -- when porting this green. He wanted to be

:25:12. > :25:18.straight on this red. We know he is good with the rest, but...

:25:19. > :25:29.It is a little bit more difficult than he would have liked, this shot.

:25:30. > :25:37.I don't think this is any good. This is very tricky, this brown. He may

:25:38. > :25:43.be able to pot the green, but whatever pot he decides on year it

:25:44. > :25:49.is fraught with danger, because there is a lot of pressure on it.

:25:50. > :26:01.Well, under that pressure, Shaun Murphy, that was as good as any shot

:26:02. > :26:06.he has played. That deserves to be a matchwinner. That was an excellent

:26:07. > :26:10.green. That was a fantastic green, no doubt

:26:11. > :26:19.about that. Under that extreme pressure, at that pace...

:26:20. > :26:24.Whatever happens, I think Jamie Cope deserves a great deal of credit. He

:26:25. > :26:29.has been out of the limelight now for five years because of illness,

:26:30. > :26:33.he has come here and battled his heart out, and a few moments ago he

:26:34. > :26:38.looked as though he could win the match. He now looks a certainty to

:26:39. > :26:42.lose, but well played, Jamie Cope. Yes, he has performed admirably

:26:43. > :26:46.throughout this match. It is pink for match. And a place in

:26:47. > :26:59.the last 16 for Shaun Murphy. Well, a very relieved Shaun Murphy,

:27:00. > :27:03.it went all the way and Jamie Cope has nothing to be ashamed of. I am

:27:04. > :27:06.sure Murphy will have two be a little bit better in the next

:27:07. > :27:14.round. He goes into the last 1610-9.

:27:15. > :27:15.-- the last 16 a ten - nine. Sometimes you get the

:27:16. > :27:18.-- the last 16 a ten - nine. Sometimes you get feeling it is not

:27:19. > :27:20.meant to be your day and I got that feeling a lot through that match.

:27:21. > :27:27.I think halfway through I switched to playing clearance because I went

:27:28. > :27:32.in-off so many times. My mum will be pulling her here right. It is so

:27:33. > :27:36.difficult and at this top-flight level one mistake is a killer. It

:27:37. > :27:42.could have gone either way at the end. All the way through the match,

:27:43. > :27:45.it felt as if I was behind. I was ahead 4-2 to start with. I did not

:27:46. > :27:48.feel like I played badly in the match, I have certainly played a lot

:27:49. > :27:52.of matches in this tournament a lot worse than that and got through

:27:53. > :28:00.easier. All credit to Jamie, he played really, really well. It is

:28:01. > :28:01.just the nature of our sport now. We play so often and the standard is so

:28:02. > :28:10.high you could lose on any day. I think the critical part of this

:28:11. > :28:19.last frame was when two reds were left. Under other circumstances,

:28:20. > :28:22.Shaun Murphy may have been tempted to try this red into the green

:28:23. > :28:28.pocket. I think in the last frame he would be a bit more cagey, but also,

:28:29. > :28:36.where the three baulk were may have come into the equation. That Michael

:28:37. > :28:41.three baulk colours. In the past, Shaun Murphy has been criticised for

:28:42. > :28:43.his shot selection, probably being too aggressive when he does not need

:28:44. > :28:50.to be. In this occasion, moreover short

:28:51. > :28:52.like John Higgins would play, clever, weighing up the pros and

:28:53. > :28:59.cons and which one was the best option. He just played a lovely

:29:00. > :29:02.snooker behind the red causing Jamie Cope no end of problems and he got

:29:03. > :29:06.the lead from it and concluded the frame. Excellent performance by

:29:07. > :29:10.Shaun Murphy. You have to feel for Jamie Cope, who has gone through a

:29:11. > :29:13.lot to even get back here. Afterwards he did say that he felt

:29:14. > :29:17.he had gone backward a little bit, that his arm was shaking in the

:29:18. > :29:20.final session and did not come out of it feeling too great. I think all

:29:21. > :29:28.of us would agree it has been a marvellous effort for him to get

:29:29. > :29:30.here and we wish him well in his continuing recovery and climb back

:29:31. > :29:33.up the world rankings. It is Shaun that goes through and

:29:34. > :29:43.let's remind you how that makes the first round draw up here now.

:29:44. > :30:49.Well, we have been on-air since 10am. Jason Mohammad has been doing

:30:50. > :30:55.his stuff here on BBC Two and we have got plenty of excuses for you,

:30:56. > :30:59.if you do need a reason, not to do those garden jobs or the DIY tasks

:31:00. > :31:04.that you or someone else had set for you today. So settle back on Easter

:31:05. > :31:07.Monday afternoon with us. You wouldn't want to miss the all

:31:08. > :31:12.conquering Ding Junhui, would you? The winner of five events this term

:31:13. > :31:19.wants to finish off his match against Michael wisely in style. And

:31:20. > :31:22.you just have two CV -- you have to see the opening game of John

:31:23. > :31:27.Higgins. He faces his great friend and fellow Scot Alan McManus. If you

:31:28. > :31:34.like matchplay snooker, this will be a masterclass in the fine arts of

:31:35. > :31:38.it. Mark Selby is up and running against Welshman Michael White. If

:31:39. > :31:44.you want a trick shots, we have brought them back and given them an

:31:45. > :31:48.all-American twist. We will get our teeth into the hot topic in snooker,

:31:49. > :31:53.should the golden old is be given wild cards to play on the tour? --

:31:54. > :31:55.golden oldies. And you can join in on the debate why all the usual

:31:56. > :32:07.social media outlets. We will be talking about those and

:32:08. > :32:10.other subjects in the Table Talk section. So stop the garden and the

:32:11. > :32:15.shelves, all of these guys have decided to do that, and we will

:32:16. > :32:20.enjoy watching firstly a young Welshman who surprised us all at his

:32:21. > :32:22.debut at the Crucible last year, knocking out Mark Williams en route

:32:23. > :32:24.to the quarterfinal and he is back again, Michael White, up against

:32:25. > :32:34.Michael Selby. The day before I played, I walked

:32:35. > :32:38.down from the hotel the night before and I looked at the big sign for the

:32:39. > :32:43.Crucible in the darkness and it was incredible to think that I finally

:32:44. > :32:48.had made it here. I was very nervous, I must admit. Then in the

:32:49. > :32:52.dressing room, you hear the knock on the door and it is time to go and as

:32:53. > :32:57.you walk out towards the curtain, you see all of the past champions.

:32:58. > :33:05.It is just a thrill, an absolute thrill. It was a moment I don't

:33:06. > :33:10.think I will ever forget. Obviously, watching him 13 years ago, when he

:33:11. > :33:15.lifted the trophy, I thought it was a dream to even come here and then

:33:16. > :33:21.to come here, draw him and beat him was another dream. My dream ever

:33:22. > :33:26.since I grew up was obviously to come here and play. And to be

:33:27. > :33:34.honest, I can't believe I have got here two years running. I have been

:33:35. > :33:39.working with Terry Griffiths and since I was 15 or 16 and he has

:33:40. > :33:44.helped me a lot. Things I should be thinking of if I am winning, or if I

:33:45. > :33:49.am losing, he has been brilliant with me. Mark is probably one of the

:33:50. > :33:53.toughest draws I could have had. I played him before in the UK, when I

:33:54. > :33:56.qualified for that. That was a good experience for me. But I am not

:33:57. > :34:07.coming here to make the numbers up, I am looking to win.

:34:08. > :34:13.Well, Mark has worked so hard on his technique. In the early part of his

:34:14. > :34:17.career, he had a lot of movement with his head, he was so far away

:34:18. > :34:23.with his breach and from the cue ball and he has worked very hard on

:34:24. > :34:26.those departments -- bridge hand. He still loses his head slightly, he's

:34:27. > :34:31.working on that, but to get to world number one, what a player. When you

:34:32. > :34:35.talk about temperament, Selby is the one to watch. Unlike other players

:34:36. > :34:40.who go into their shells in tactical batons, he is one of the best. You

:34:41. > :34:45.look at Higgins, Steve Davis, he is up there with the best of them. Mark

:34:46. > :34:49.has had a lot of problems with his neck and as someone who had his

:34:50. > :34:52.career curtailed due to a neck problem, it is very hard to put in

:34:53. > :34:58.the practice and hard work nowadays, I am sure, but considering all

:34:59. > :35:02.that, to have had the seasons he has had recently, I think there is

:35:03. > :35:05.certainly a lot more to come. You are looking at one of the best

:35:06. > :35:09.matchplay as the game has ever seen. I have seen him play against one

:35:10. > :35:14.O'Sullivan where he has totally outplayed running and not many can

:35:15. > :35:18.do that in the game. He is such a solid all-round match player, a

:35:19. > :35:22.treat to watch. He has been coming into my club since he was 14,

:35:23. > :35:26.playing from seven in the morning up until midnight. Never the greatest

:35:27. > :35:28.at the start of the career but his professionalism has taken him to

:35:29. > :35:34.being one of the greatest of all time. For someone who has hovered

:35:35. > :35:38.around the number one spot, you would think its record in ranking

:35:39. > :35:43.events is very disappointing. Only one final at the World Championship.

:35:44. > :35:47.He once that on his CV and that will be his goal this season and four

:35:48. > :35:51.seasons to come -- he wants that. He is capable of being a world

:35:52. > :35:55.champion. HAZEL IRVINE: So their opening

:35:56. > :36:01.session got underway at ten o'clock and by the interval, Mark Selby was

:36:02. > :36:04.3-1 up, a break of 95 in the opening frame and the best of the

:36:05. > :36:09.contributions to date. Michael White was clearly nervous early on and we

:36:10. > :36:11.will join it in frame five, Selby is trailing by four points. Commentary

:36:12. > :36:26.from John Parrott and Terry Griffiths.

:36:27. > :36:36.JOHN PARROTT: A good shot on the Angles, got Michael in a bit of

:36:37. > :36:43.bother. Can't drop into the left-hand side of the pack.

:36:44. > :36:49.If he can get next to the red that is near the top cushion, it may be

:36:50. > :36:51.the one to play on. It looks like he can, he is going to drop on that

:36:52. > :37:40.dead weight. He's looking at other options now.

:37:41. > :37:45.That shot is that he played there but he just didn't quite judge the

:37:46. > :37:55.pace, he hit it to hard, could leave the red on.

:37:56. > :38:07.That is OK, he will take that. Can he part anything? No. He raised his

:38:08. > :38:10.eyes to the sky, Michael, he thought he had left one on, but he hasn't.

:38:11. > :39:20.He did well to get out of that. That was poorly played. He knew

:39:21. > :39:22.straightaway it was a bad contact. He meant to hit that completely

:39:23. > :39:33.differently than he did. There are enough rent out in the

:39:34. > :39:38.vote for this -- enough reds out in the open for this to be a good

:39:39. > :39:43.chance. He has let Mark Selby right in.

:39:44. > :39:49.You always get the impression that when it comes to the safety battles,

:39:50. > :39:54.Michael is always going to be the first one just to make that mistake.

:39:55. > :39:56.I know he is up against one of the Masters in Mark Selby, but he has to

:39:57. > :40:07.be more careful than he has been. There have been quite a number of

:40:08. > :40:10.unforced errors on saved is from Michael White, not just the

:40:11. > :40:16.difficult ones when you have thin cuts with side, but bread and butter

:40:17. > :40:20.safeties. The obvious one to think about is the one in the first

:40:21. > :40:24.frame, when he tried to screw back onto the cushion and let Mark Selby

:40:25. > :41:09.on and he cleared up. Nothing worse than those of unforced

:41:10. > :41:15.errors. This is what Michael was trying to do, this is Hawkeye. A bit

:41:16. > :41:20.thicker, get the cue ball down there and that would have been absolutely

:41:21. > :41:22.perfect. As it is, he made a mess of it and he has got to face the

:41:23. > :41:32.consequences. That wasn't the best shot from Mark

:41:33. > :41:39.Selby. Played on the brown and he has come awkward on yellow and blue.

:41:40. > :41:53.Hasn't quite got the cue ball yet in this break.

:41:54. > :41:58.That cue ball was steaming there with that screw back.

:41:59. > :42:09.Look at that going. Acceleration after the first movement backward of

:42:10. > :42:13.the cue ball, tremendous. And the position was only just perfect,

:42:14. > :42:23.wasn't it? Absolutely magnificent, couldn't have hit that any better.

:42:24. > :42:36.This is where you feel Mark Selby, if he is going to win this year's

:42:37. > :42:42.World Championships, he needs to get these. When he won the Masters,

:42:43. > :42:47.these would all be gone, no danger. He has played well so far, but just

:42:48. > :42:51.the opening frame where he scored the 95 that he loved vintage Selby.

:42:52. > :42:59.But if he gets that going over the next couple of weeks, he will take

:43:00. > :43:19.some stopping. -- he looked vintage Selby.

:43:20. > :43:25.He has spotted a foreign body on the yellow there, having it clean. It

:43:26. > :43:34.must be serious, Leo is going for the fairy liquid, I think. -- Fairy

:43:35. > :44:03.Liquid. It is something that is pretty stubborn.

:44:04. > :44:07.That is as good as he could have done from there to avoid the yellow

:44:08. > :44:17.and get up the table. A little awkward here. It would be a

:44:18. > :44:23.lot easier if the pink would go into the corners. Just looking down the

:44:24. > :44:24.line to see where the cue ball is going and if he can roll it through

:44:25. > :44:40.and get onto the black. It looks a bit tight. He has just

:44:41. > :44:47.gone past it. He is doing well on this break, he just keeps managing

:44:48. > :44:51.to salvage position. It wasn't ideal when he parted the brown but a good

:44:52. > :44:54.shot with the rest. The way he has gone about it, you would think he

:44:55. > :44:59.will be winning the frame in this visit. 51 ahead and 67 remaining,

:45:00. > :47:02.not too much work to be done. Came off the cushion quickly. Still

:47:03. > :47:06.got the pot on, he will be looking to make the century here.

:47:07. > :47:17.A good break, though. Mark Selby had to work hard for it.

:47:18. > :47:21.HAZEL IRVINE: Mark Selby has been runner-up in three of the major

:47:22. > :47:24.events this season, including the UK Championship and the Masters, when

:47:25. > :47:28.he was defending both of those titles. He has got close in one of

:47:29. > :47:32.the smaller European tour events but would love to finish off this term

:47:33. > :47:35.with a piece of major silverware here in Sheffield. He has made a

:47:36. > :47:53.good start, we go to frame six and he is 25 points in front.

:47:54. > :48:02.TERRY GRIFFITHS: Making sure the cue ball came down the table.

:48:03. > :48:09.His cue came off his bridge hand when he played that shot. It is

:48:10. > :48:15.awkward, when you are in front and command in the game, you can lose

:48:16. > :48:20.the edge in these sessions in the first-round matches -- commanding. I

:48:21. > :48:25.am not saying he's going to be complacent, but you just lose that

:48:26. > :48:43.concentration that you start the match with.

:48:44. > :48:50.That was a big shot to take on. Unlucky. He must have played for the

:48:51. > :49:01.pink. Couldn't really see any value in it.

:49:02. > :49:08.He has kissed that red. Perhaps he was trying to get past the red for

:49:09. > :49:12.the pink. Still a risky shot. I don't quite know what he was

:49:13. > :49:20.playing. He will be glad to see it go in the pocket, that is visual. --

:49:21. > :49:23.for sure. Another big shot to take on, it is not quite happening. He

:49:24. > :49:31.will hope the blue stops the red. It hasn't.

:49:32. > :49:39.I'm fearing the worst for him at the moment. 4-1 down, can't get going

:49:40. > :49:48.and he is up against one of the best in the game.

:49:49. > :49:53.He has obviously decided he is going to go for them wherever they are and

:49:54. > :49:58.I suppose in one way, if you look at the wider picture, he is not going

:49:59. > :50:12.to win the safety abouts, so he has got to knock the long ones in. --

:50:13. > :50:15.safety bouts. The problem is players pot so well these days, they don't

:50:16. > :50:41.think they are going to miss anything.

:50:42. > :50:49.Just minding his work and taking the loose threads. He might not need any

:50:50. > :51:02.of those three on the left-hand cushion.

:51:03. > :51:34.If he does what he usually does, this should be 5-1.

:51:35. > :51:44.He has a nice shot here, play a cannon down off the blue into those

:51:45. > :51:45.two reds. If he is not on one of those, he will be on the one in the

:51:46. > :52:20.centre. Wants to get the pink back on the

:52:21. > :52:47.spot because the black is available in only the one corner.

:52:48. > :52:52.59 points in front, this thread will put him in a safe position but he

:52:53. > :53:02.would like to carry on with the break, of course -- this red.

:53:03. > :53:12.Yes, I think Michael White knew immediately after that blew that

:53:13. > :53:20.there was a certain amount of inevitability about this frame going

:53:21. > :53:26.West. Excellent from Selby. Keeping the pressure on his younger

:53:27. > :53:29.opponent. And believe you me, all of the seeded players, they know the

:53:30. > :53:30.importance of the opening round. They get the jitters like everybody

:53:31. > :54:34.else. A bit unlucky there. Needed two

:54:35. > :54:41.reds and all the colours to make a century.

:54:42. > :54:53.Mark Selby, of course, is guaranteed the lead now going into tonight's

:54:54. > :55:01.session. His first-round match, nine in the first session, it is the

:55:02. > :55:05.first to 10 in the second session. He has got all of the breaks in its

:55:06. > :55:12.first session, five -1. HAZEL IRVINE: This is not what the

:55:13. > :55:15.22-year-old Michael White had been planning.

:55:16. > :55:22.A year ago, he despatched Mark Williams in his opening crews --

:55:23. > :55:26.Crucible game. Can he get back into this? He has but Mark Selby in a

:55:27. > :55:35.little bit of trouble in the next frame, Selby is 26 points behind.

:55:36. > :55:45.JOHN PARROTT: Slightly tricky black coming up here. The good news is he

:55:46. > :55:47.can played with a little bit of side and nearly dead weight and if he

:55:48. > :55:53.misses it, it will probably cover the pocket. But it was never going

:55:54. > :55:56.to be missed, the way he hits those. That was a superb shot. Much, much

:55:57. > :56:10.better than it looked. Yes, that was a serious mistake from

:56:11. > :56:18.Michael. Shouldn't be missing those yellows. He had done really well, as

:56:19. > :56:23.well, potted a good red before, but you can't miss these. As Terry said,

:56:24. > :56:38.a full pocket to a mat. You will play in the club all day and never

:56:39. > :56:41.miss that. -- to aim at. Yes, and as always, when you miss a part and you

:56:42. > :56:43.get very close but you still retain your position, you give it back to

:56:44. > :56:47.your opponent. He was a little bit short of pace

:56:48. > :57:12.here. Obviously the brown pots. Looked

:57:13. > :57:22.pretty close to the blue from where we were sitting but it must go.

:57:23. > :57:29.And this is developing into a very good chance for Mark Selby to steel

:57:30. > :57:37.frame seven. Just that red behind the black could be a problem.

:57:38. > :57:46.It was a good chance, and he has hit right across it. I can't believe he

:57:47. > :57:51.has missed it and I bet he can't. You can see his cue right across the

:57:52. > :58:18.ball. Phone the police, I wasn't expecting that one.

:58:19. > :58:26.He has hit that a bit too hard. Just hasn't got the touch. One of those

:58:27. > :58:30.little tricky shots. You are trying to guard against not coming low

:58:31. > :58:39.because you know it is going to be the end of the break, so you put

:58:40. > :58:44.extra in it and go too high. Surely he will just play the snooker here.

:58:45. > :58:51.Stun the red, cue ball tied to the cushion and send it around.

:58:52. > :59:19.To the baulk area, I should say. Definitely in the driving seat.

:59:20. > :59:29.Foul and a. Michael White, four. Free ball. Once again, the

:59:30. > :59:36.misjudgement off the cushion from Mark Selby. Michael White looked at

:59:37. > :59:41.the part but it is too difficult to take on. The free ball isn't any

:59:42. > :59:55.good either. Good innovation this, being able to

:59:56. > :59:59.use these monitors. Double-check, get them in absolutely the right

:00:00. > :00:03.position. Especially when a quite a few of them move around the table,

:00:04. > :00:08.three or four or five balls move them, so it is easier to look at the

:00:09. > :00:15.monitor and just set them back. They wouldn't get rid of that if they got

:00:16. > :00:17.rid of the miss rule. I am not a lover of that. I'm a big fan of it,

:00:18. > :00:54.so we will have an argument. Very unfortunate. Hit it a lot

:00:55. > :01:01.thinner than he intended. Ball in hand.

:01:02. > :01:10.27 ahead. 35 remaining. Just pot this red and if he doesn't win the

:01:11. > :01:32.frame here, he'll be mortified. There you are. 31 ahead. 27

:01:33. > :01:39.remaining. Just concentrate, Michael, make sure you knock these

:01:40. > :01:44.in. That's better. You don't want Mark Selby chasing snookers against

:01:45. > :01:46.you because he's exceptionally good, so do what you should do and clear

:01:47. > :02:35.up. So Michael white makes the

:02:36. > :02:41.clearance. He'll be thankful of winning that frame. Selby had a

:02:42. > :02:46.great chance, miss add simple red but he trails Selby 5-2. Pf

:02:47. > :02:51.These players met in the UK Championship two years ago. Selby

:02:52. > :02:54.won that match 6-3 but I'm sure Michael will be relieved to have

:02:55. > :02:57.stemmed the flow there in that last frame. Into the eighth we go, which

:02:58. > :03:08.is the penultimate of the opening session.

:03:09. > :03:15.Oh! Now, then, I was just going to say, this could be a big break on

:03:16. > :03:20.here. Now it could be for Michael White. Just wondering whether that

:03:21. > :03:24.red in the last frame sunth unsettled him a bit. It was going

:03:25. > :03:30.swimmingly well. Shouldn't have missed that. Wondering whether that

:03:31. > :03:39.simple red has taken a bit of impetus away from Mark Selby. Was

:03:40. > :03:42.this too hard? It's a very poor shot, Michael. You would be kicking

:03:43. > :03:55.yourself after that one. Massive margin of error there. Poor shot.

:03:56. > :04:07.He's being aggressive. He's got to take this long yellow on now. Big

:04:08. > :04:22.shot. Well played. Good pot. He knocked it in beautifully.

:04:23. > :04:34.What a miss that is. He's just potted an absolutely fantastic

:04:35. > :04:39.yellow, simple red, off the cushion back for the black and Terry, he's

:04:40. > :04:44.missed a lot of shots today, hasn't he?

:04:45. > :04:49.I don't know what is going on at the minute. I really don't. Mark Selby's

:04:50. > :04:58.just lost his mojo for the minute. He's missed three pots in the last

:04:59. > :05:03.five minute minutes that I can't believe. If Michael White can just

:05:04. > :05:06.compose himself here, string a couple of breaks together, he could

:05:07. > :06:09.get out of this session 5-4 which would be a right result.

:06:10. > :06:24.Asking the referee to check the black, if he could respot it, to

:06:25. > :06:29.make sure. He's entitled to do that. Rock ing back, so that will help.

:06:30. > :06:47.Well, has it helped? It's very tight.

:06:48. > :06:53.On these super fine cloths, Terry, you get little dishes coming up with

:06:54. > :06:57.the sheer weight of the ball, the black being in that area, sometimes

:06:58. > :07:01.you get a little dish and it can rock in back-and-forth. They don't

:07:02. > :07:09.put spots down like they do on the club tables, you just have a little

:07:10. > :07:15.white mark. With the cloths being so fine, the indentations don't take

:07:16. > :07:20.long to come in. Yes, the suss tension on the black

:07:21. > :07:24.spot as you mentioned. On the practise table, it's perhaps there

:07:25. > :07:37.all the time, the dots. Respot the black and it drops in the hole.

:07:38. > :07:48.Played the positive shot. Yes, he got a really good result there. But

:07:49. > :07:55.he deserved it. A positive shot, well played. Oh, I can't believe

:07:56. > :08:03.this. He just got himself into a perfect position. And hit across it.

:08:04. > :08:12.I mean those balls were absolutely lovely. He missed one of those in an

:08:13. > :08:51.earlier frame in the opposite pocket, a similar type of shot.

:08:52. > :08:58.Might be taking this in the middle. Yes; what a shot that is, by the

:08:59. > :09:03.way. How can you miss the three pots he's missed in the last ten minutes

:09:04. > :09:09.and pot that? T?! I mean honestly, that is a very high tariff shot. I

:09:10. > :09:13.mean, that is seriously good. To pot it, screw it in the side and pin

:09:14. > :09:21.Nish on the pink like that is brilliant. -- finish on the pink

:09:22. > :09:25.like that is brilliant. Makes you wonder where he's been for the last

:09:26. > :09:29.ten minutes. I think he's probably been thinking he should be 6-1 up,

:09:30. > :09:39.that's the problem. Could have had an easy session if he

:09:40. > :09:43.won the next two games. Well, what can you say? After the first red

:09:44. > :09:48.which John Parrot said was such a high tariff, that was a simple one,

:09:49. > :09:57.one you would never expect to be missed. Both players starting to

:09:58. > :10:07.throw a few mistakes in, John. Yes. Amazing that. What a miss that is.

:10:08. > :10:13.It's worth reiterating that if Michael can compose himself here. He

:10:14. > :10:18.looks fizzy to me today, like he's desperate to get on with it. If he

:10:19. > :10:21.can show more composure, he's getting more chances now and this is

:10:22. > :11:00.a very important juncture in the match.

:11:01. > :11:06.Starts to get a little embarrassing for these players because we know

:11:07. > :11:09.how good they are. They are top draw, but when they start missing

:11:10. > :11:33.these chances, it's not great. Body movement from Mark there.

:11:34. > :11:37.Trying to squeeze the cue ball past the brown. Sure Surely, he won't

:11:38. > :11:57.spurn this opportunity. Comes to the table 40-odd points

:11:58. > :11:59.behind. Michael's not made the most of his opportunity. He's been thrown

:12:00. > :12:24.another lifeline. Top bred of the two that were put

:12:25. > :12:28.together behind the pink spot are definitely pots.

:12:29. > :12:35.The two reds that are past the blue, one in bawling and one towards

:12:36. > :12:50.bawling, they'll be the interesting ones I should think -- dumb Oh, what

:12:51. > :12:54.a kick that is! What a kick that is! An absolute monster. Anything else

:12:55. > :12:59.can happen in this frame do you think?

:13:00. > :13:06.At least he didn't miss it through his own fault, but still it's very

:13:07. > :13:20.disappointing for Mark Selby. At a crucial time in the frame.

:13:21. > :13:25.What you can do in this type of situation, when both players are

:13:26. > :13:29.struggling a bit, you go for the next chance and try and make sure of

:13:30. > :13:33.everything. It's the worst thing you can do really, instead of going down

:13:34. > :13:37.there, playing your normal game, put a bit more effort into the pot and

:13:38. > :13:45.then you lose position and then you've got a more difficult pot.

:13:46. > :13:51.Shaking his head now. Not in a bad position. 44 points in front. Only

:13:52. > :13:53.just got to get this, a colour and drop on another red and he should be

:13:54. > :14:04.home in the frame. Pretty sure he'd like to have played

:14:05. > :14:08.on the red that was down this end towards the pink, but he's going to

:14:09. > :14:17.have to go for the one in baulk. May be a case of getting behind it and

:14:18. > :14:20.dropping it in, no heroics. 50-point lead now, yes. Drop in in dead

:14:21. > :14:29.weight, make sure you knock it in. That's exactly what he's done. This

:14:30. > :14:57.frame's had some twists in it. White pulls back another frame.

:14:58. > :15:02.They were meagre contributions there, decisive ones of 28, 29 and

:15:03. > :15:07.20 from Michael White though, that means from 5-1 behind, he's rescued

:15:08. > :15:10.things. He's only one behind going into the concluding session this

:15:11. > :15:15.evening, so it's all on in that match, four five he trails Mark

:15:16. > :15:17.Selby, the world number three. You will probably notice very

:15:18. > :15:23.shortly that we are about to be joined by some guests. That is

:15:24. > :15:27.because, you know that old phrase, we are not talking to you, we are

:15:28. > :15:32.talking about you. We are in the company of George Riley who you may

:15:33. > :15:38.know or recognise his face because he's often on the telly but you are

:15:39. > :15:43.more likely to recognise his Voice because, he's a regular contributor

:15:44. > :15:46.to Radio 5 Live. So George, very much lovely to have you here. Thank

:15:47. > :15:51.you very much for having me. You are a Crucible veteran of ten years?

:15:52. > :15:56.Yes, it's been ages. I'm a snooker bore to all my friends. I was here

:15:57. > :16:01.the first one when Ebdon won it 2002 and I've kept coming back, had a

:16:02. > :16:06.hiatus but I'm back now and absolutely loving it. Ken Doherty

:16:07. > :16:10.rolling back the years like we have been doing.

:16:11. > :16:14.You are likely to be found a lot of the time in the media room from

:16:15. > :16:17.where a lot of the copy is generated. We always get the little

:16:18. > :16:24.newspaper cuttings every day and we can go through what's been going on

:16:25. > :16:28.in the national press. . One Direction's Louis Tomlinson was

:16:29. > :16:35.sneaked into the Crucible the other night, a guest of Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:16:36. > :16:41.I think he's a major fan. Suddenly all the appeal of snooker from

:16:42. > :16:49.teenage girls around the country has shot up! They are concentrating on

:16:50. > :16:59.Higgins, every underdoing has its day, that's the Scottish Record.

:17:00. > :17:03.He's under the radar. And Ken Doherty relishing the Generation

:17:04. > :17:07.Game. He says, maybe I'm giving hope to the 40 somethings and I told

:17:08. > :17:11.Denis Taylor he should be making a comeback.

:17:12. > :17:14.There's much more about One Direction and all of the

:17:15. > :17:18.Directioners! One of the chief talking points we

:17:19. > :17:22.are going to discuss today is the proposition, and it's a rather

:17:23. > :17:27.controversial proposal to offer a wild card to some of the golden

:17:28. > :17:34.oldies on the tour Or those that have just dropped off, and those

:17:35. > :17:39.who've retired. Stephen Hendry, I'm not going to point pout who is who.

:17:40. > :17:44.There is a suggestion that perhaps Jimmy White might be offered a wild

:17:45. > :17:47.card depending on how things go in the opening rounds at the world

:17:48. > :17:51.championship. This is a discussion that really has provoked a lot of

:17:52. > :18:02.debate in the media and all around the country. See for yourselves.

:18:03. > :18:11.Not sure if Stephen Hendry wants to play. Stephen's his own man, he'll

:18:12. > :18:16.know about about that. Steve Davis wants to play. Jimmy is still on the

:18:17. > :18:21.tour so he's not going to need a wild card. If Steve Davis wanted one

:18:22. > :18:25.and it was down to me, I would give him a wild card in a heartbeat and

:18:26. > :18:36.it Tweeted that the other night. I'm trying not to really focus on

:18:37. > :18:41.him, I have to keep my eye on my own game. If they have wild cards, so be

:18:42. > :18:46.it, they bring in the crowd. For selfish reasons, it's good. If I was

:18:47. > :18:49.in that position and I wanted to play, I wouldn't want to have to go

:18:50. > :18:54.through the qualitifying stages, so to be able to come in at round one

:18:55. > :18:58.and compete is good because Steve still loves playing, he's a great am

:18:59. > :19:02.boss for for the game along with Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry and

:19:03. > :19:08.sheshed Dr V that opportunity to compete if they want to.

:19:09. > :19:16.Ultimately, we are in a new position in sneerk where the tour's changing

:19:17. > :19:25.-- -- he should have that opportunity. The question we should

:19:26. > :19:31.ask ourselves is, have the people that deserve a wild card, there are

:19:32. > :19:41.not many that would be saying no to that. There is a lot of youngsters

:19:42. > :19:45.coming through into the game. They are trying to make a career out of

:19:46. > :19:50.it. Steve Davis would want to earn that. I think legends like White and

:19:51. > :19:55.Davis should be included in the game. It's a big draw for me, part

:19:56. > :20:00.of the reason why I'd come to watch. I wouldn't want to it be an easy

:20:01. > :20:03.card, just to pull a crowd, but if they were playing on the tour, why

:20:04. > :20:12.not, it would be a good thing, so yes. The qualifying system doesn't

:20:13. > :20:15.work, to be honest. If they were good enough, they'd be playing. You

:20:16. > :20:19.have to give the youth a chance, to be honest. I know people love the

:20:20. > :20:25.old professionals, but it's about time we moved away with the times.

:20:26. > :20:28.They should leave it as it is. There is a meeting of the world

:20:29. > :20:32.snooker board tomorrow night to discuss this proposal. I guess the

:20:33. > :20:38.first question has to go to Stephen and that is, do you want a wild card

:20:39. > :20:43.in the first place? Well, barley asked me a hypothetical

:20:44. > :20:47.question, if I was offered one would I accept and I said I wouldn't

:20:48. > :20:50.intend to play in every event of the season but I would still want to

:20:51. > :20:54.play in some events so it would be at my choosing which events I played

:20:55. > :20:58.in. I said if you offered me one and enough people considered it was what

:20:59. > :21:05.they wanted to happen, I would say yes. But there are many other

:21:06. > :21:10.avenues you can take. If you were offered one, you also wouldn't be

:21:11. > :21:18.able to play in the other competition because it would be is

:21:19. > :21:22.like having two bites of the cherry. It's complex. At the expense, not so

:21:23. > :21:28.much of new players coming through, but at the expense of players that

:21:29. > :21:32.have dropped out of the 64 who don't get preferential treatment when they

:21:33. > :21:36.would see that others do. We'll talk about the mechanics in a minute, but

:21:37. > :21:43.Stephen, is it enough to tempt you out of retirement or even

:21:44. > :21:47.semi-retirement? Yes. We had the same conversation, me and Barry. If

:21:48. > :21:51.the option was there that I fancied having a crack, yes, I said

:21:52. > :21:57.absolutely. I talked to Steve before, but I think I would probably

:21:58. > :22:00.play in two or three PTCs next year because you don't have to involve

:22:01. > :22:03.yourself in qualifying, you can just enter and it would be a weekend

:22:04. > :22:07.away, just see what happens and enjoy it. I'm not coming back to

:22:08. > :22:12.play in the tour full-time, no question, but to have the option to

:22:13. > :22:18.perhaps play in the world or win the big ones, it would be nice to have

:22:19. > :22:21.that option. George, let's play devil's advocate, Barry said this

:22:22. > :22:27.represents a U-turn for him. He's wanted snooker to be a meritocracy

:22:28. > :22:31.and the opposite is the case, surely in this situation because this is

:22:32. > :22:35.nature, sportsmen coming towards the end of their competitive lives and

:22:36. > :22:38.perhaps new blood coming through. Why should we make exceptions? All

:22:39. > :22:42.that is true and when you hear Barry speak you know what a headache he's

:22:43. > :22:46.had because this is not something he wants to do but he thinks it's the

:22:47. > :22:50.right calling. He hasn't done it yet. Everything you say is correct

:22:51. > :22:54.but it's a business and it's about bums on seats. If you give people a

:22:55. > :22:59.chance to see these guys play, it's going to BA sell out. Likewise if

:23:00. > :23:05.the qualifiers get an opportunity to play against then drill or Davis,

:23:06. > :23:10.how exciting is that for them? - Hendry or Davis. A couple of places

:23:11. > :23:15.away, you have to get rid of a couple perhaps, for me, that makes

:23:16. > :23:20.it more competitive. You have to be better, your result, your form, your

:23:21. > :23:26.standard has to rise to make sure you don't miss out. For me it's a

:23:27. > :23:33.no-brainer. Fit were to set a precedent, the other players like

:23:34. > :23:38.Ken Doherty beating Stuart Bingham, the oldest man in the draw, this is

:23:39. > :23:41.representative of a lot of players who think maybe this will happen to

:23:42. > :23:48.them in future years if wild cards were brought in? The likes of Steve

:23:49. > :23:52.Davis, he shouldn't have to go back to cue school, he's six times world

:23:53. > :23:59.champion, six times UK champion, you know, a man that's, you know,

:24:00. > :24:03.donated like all his life to snooker and the service that he's give tonne

:24:04. > :24:07.snooker, the interest that he's brought into the game, he's such a

:24:08. > :24:13.personality, he's one of our ambassadors, you know, he shouldn't

:24:14. > :24:16.have to go back to cue school. It's ridiculous to even contemplate that.

:24:17. > :24:24.Give him a workout and be done with it. I don't think anybody in the

:24:25. > :24:30.game would begrudge him a place in the tour or Jimmy. There is so much

:24:31. > :24:37.interest from around the world, these guys shouldn't have to go back

:24:38. > :24:42.to cue school, it's ridiculous to even contemplate it. How would it

:24:43. > :24:48.work? Would you take the place of number 63 or 62 on the tour or would

:24:49. > :24:53.they create another wild card round, suddenly five matches you have got

:24:54. > :24:58.to play? First thing to say is there are people who're vehemently opposed

:24:59. > :25:01.to this, including a lot of players and I fully agree with their

:25:02. > :25:05.sentiments and I wouldn't like anybody to feel like this is a

:25:06. > :25:10.whitewash going on here, especially with the footage we have seen from

:25:11. > :25:14.some of the legends that have talked about other legends so to speak.

:25:15. > :25:18.It's fair in any player that that would like to stand up and give

:25:19. > :25:22.their opinion, wouldn't feel that they would upset anyone. Stephen and

:25:23. > :25:28.myself are open to abuse in that respect, so is Barry or anybody. The

:25:29. > :25:35.biggest problem, getting back to your point, is that no matter how

:25:36. > :25:43.you go about giving spots to players that haven't earned them on the tour

:25:44. > :25:51.system, if you stick to a 128 competition, if you say there's only

:25:52. > :25:55.128 players in, then if you have do or three invited spots, three people

:25:56. > :26:03.somewhere down the line won't be in that tournament because of past old

:26:04. > :26:07.has beens. You've got to decide, or the game's got to decide whether you

:26:08. > :26:11.are prepared to sacrifice three players, quite a long way down the

:26:12. > :26:16.pecking order, this would come from the cue school failures, possibly

:26:17. > :26:22.players that didn't get through in the cue school, as to how they would

:26:23. > :26:26.be judged. Do you decide to give the cue school Order of Merit a knock on

:26:27. > :26:28.the head for a couple of those places, perhaps the

:26:29. > :26:34.quarter-finalists, or do you give them to the likes of Hendry or

:26:35. > :26:39.White? This has all got to be sorted out. What is the motivation for

:26:40. > :26:44.coming in at a 128? Stephen surely wants to play at the latter stages?

:26:45. > :26:50.After listening to all that, I don't know, I don't want to go in! The key

:26:51. > :26:54.thing is, where you draw the line. These guys without a shadow of a

:26:55. > :26:59.doubt, would be top of the list for any eventual wild card. Jimmy White,

:27:00. > :27:02.a legend of the game of course, the people's champion, a wild card to

:27:03. > :27:06.get back to an event that he's never won, that might be controversial to

:27:07. > :27:11.say, but he's not a former world champion. Ken's won it once, still

:27:12. > :27:16.going well here, I think he qualify force the seniors late they are year

:27:17. > :27:19.as well -- qualifies for the seniors later this year as well. You have to

:27:20. > :27:23.be careful what you give out and what you say to other potential

:27:24. > :27:26.players if Ronnie wins another couple of titles, could he pack up

:27:27. > :27:29.and get a wild card himself, you know. The headline is this man is

:27:30. > :27:34.willing to come back, Stephen Hendry. That's the main line. A lot

:27:35. > :27:39.of thes, buts and maybes to be sorted out and that board meeting

:27:40. > :27:47.will take place tomorrow night and the announcement we should have on

:27:48. > :27:50.Wednesday. Let's try and gauge now the

:27:51. > :27:55.sentiment back home in China for Ding. Rob Walker has been talking to

:27:56. > :27:59.one or two Chinese journalists here. One man in the press room who's so

:28:00. > :28:02.excited about Ding's chances has been there and witnessed each of the

:28:03. > :28:08.five ranking event victories that Ding's notched up so far this

:28:09. > :28:11.season. Ty, you have been there, seen the magic. How much excitement

:28:12. > :28:13.is being generated back home in China about his title aspirations

:28:14. > :28:18.here? We are so happy to see him winning

:28:19. > :28:24.so many titles this season. Before this season, he had already maybe

:28:25. > :28:29.six ranking titles, but only one has been won in China and this year's

:28:30. > :28:37.won it in Chengdu, Shanghai and just two weeks ago in China. He lifted

:28:38. > :28:43.the trophy of China up again -- open again. Is he equipped to handled the

:28:44. > :28:48.pressure that will be on him? He's one of the men to beat here? Well,

:28:49. > :28:53.we'll look again at the papers. This says he's joining the ten title

:28:54. > :28:57.club, this one is saying champion, so he's handling the pressure

:28:58. > :29:02.really, really well. I do believe he's becoming a prolific champion.

:29:03. > :29:06.He's a talented player but now he's going to make some moves.

:29:07. > :29:11.Good luck keeping your nerves under control. I know you are such a

:29:12. > :29:16.passionate supporter of Chinese snooker in particular. Enjoy the

:29:17. > :29:21.match. Thanks for talking to us. Stephen, you do a lot of work in

:29:22. > :29:25.China. Do we fully comprehend the level of expectation on this young

:29:26. > :29:28.man? I've been there a lot. The way they treat champions is incredible,

:29:29. > :29:32.people who've won World Championships and Olympics in other

:29:33. > :29:39.sports, if he was to win, he's be huge in champion -- he'd be huge in

:29:40. > :29:43.China and that's got to be a big pressure.

:29:44. > :29:46.A lady known as Victoria here has taken him under her wing here, she's

:29:47. > :29:51.become his manager and is looking after him. What a difference in this

:29:52. > :29:56.man since she's taken over. What's been the magic ingredient? He seems

:29:57. > :30:02.happier. Lizle things like he's turning up for interviewser Lil --

:30:03. > :30:07.early, looking smart and things he didn't want to do before he's not

:30:08. > :30:10.massively fussed about now, speaking to us, he's professional and seems

:30:11. > :30:15.to be enjoying life. He's won five ranking titles this year and the

:30:16. > :30:18.draw, albeit a small matter of Ronnie O'Sullivan, looks a

:30:19. > :30:23.reasonable draw as well. It's got to be a case of pretty soon for Ding.

:30:24. > :30:27.Seeing him around, he's loving it. He doesn't seem to have had the

:30:28. > :30:30.stress that perhaps he did in the early part of his career when he had

:30:31. > :30:34.the burden of expectancy from him from all the millions watching back

:30:35. > :30:39.home. He's won enough. Still not the world, but you can sense he's looked

:30:40. > :30:42.after well, gets on with Victoria well, sorts out the stuff he does

:30:43. > :30:46.wantn't to do and he can just play snooker which he's not doing too

:30:47. > :30:50.badly at. There is a level of maturity that's come with this. He

:30:51. > :30:55.was stifled by the pressure of come paoetzing at home and he's won three

:30:56. > :30:59.Championships there in China -- competing. Surely it won't be long

:31:00. > :31:03.before he wins there. We have a lot of new gadgets and the boys are

:31:04. > :31:07.loving their toys but one of the ones that they have been using

:31:08. > :31:12.enhances what we already know about the way the balls move on the

:31:13. > :31:16.snooker table. We do have greater powers of analysis now, Steve. I

:31:17. > :31:20.wonder how much does all this technology con trib contribute to

:31:21. > :31:25.our knowledge of the mechanics and physics of the game and to our

:31:26. > :31:28.levels of understanding. Can we learn from this and tweak the way we

:31:29. > :31:36.play because of this greater knowledge? I think the first thing

:31:37. > :31:40.to say is that the players of today have had so much footage to learn

:31:41. > :31:44.from from great players of the past, including Stephen Hendry,

:31:45. > :31:48.pushing on the levels of break-building. And understanding

:31:49. > :31:53.what the balls do not only gives the viewers more of an understanding of

:31:54. > :31:57.what the balls do but it gives kids an idea of what they need to

:31:58. > :32:03.achieve. That is what is going on when you are trying to get into the

:32:04. > :32:09.pack. It is lovely to watch, does it enhance your understanding? They are

:32:10. > :32:12.amazing pictures, no doubt about it. I don't think snooker players

:32:13. > :32:17.sometimes appreciate what we do, but you see that end you see the skill

:32:18. > :32:22.involved in hitting the shots correctly and timing them, it is

:32:23. > :32:25.therefore all to. It took them a while to realise they weren't just

:32:26. > :32:30.playing with a cue ball that was new. No plans to bring in the

:32:31. > :32:34.stripey ball, but you never know. OK, it is time for a little less

:32:35. > :32:38.conversation and a little more action, as Elvis once said, the

:32:39. > :32:55.king, not Arnold Palmer, the king. Well, it is time for table talk to

:32:56. > :32:59.stop and action to begin, because for players are waiting backstage

:33:00. > :33:04.and they are waiting for the call from the front of house, and it is a

:33:05. > :33:11.packed house. Rob Walker is the man of the moment. Thanks, Hazel. Ladies

:33:12. > :33:15.and gentlemen, what a sense of expectation we have in the arena

:33:16. > :33:20.this afternoon ahead of this scintillating session of snooker.

:33:21. > :33:30.The Dafabet World Championship is warming up with aplomb and we have a

:33:31. > :33:34.wealth of talent waiting backstage. Please welcome first of all a player

:33:35. > :33:38.who showed nerves of steel to qualify for his Crucible debut,

:33:39. > :33:43.beating Robert Milkins in the decider on a re-spotted black. He

:33:44. > :33:48.has made great progress since turning professional two years ago,

:33:49. > :34:00.former European under 19 runner-up, here comes Michael Wasley.

:34:01. > :34:17.And his opponent, after a record equalling fifth ranking event title

:34:18. > :34:22.in one season, there is massive expectation back home in China. It

:34:23. > :34:26.has been a sensational year. Victories in Germany, India and

:34:27. > :34:30.three on home soil, he has hit of the richest vein of form in his

:34:31. > :34:34.career so far. Can he keep it going on the biggest stage of all? Enter

:34:35. > :34:53.the Dragon, Ding Junhui! MUSIC: "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson.

:34:54. > :35:04.And here on table two, please welcome a player making is 18th

:35:05. > :35:08.appearance at the Crucible 23 years since his debut. A two-time ranking

:35:09. > :35:12.event winner, he has also won the Masters, beating two-time world

:35:13. > :35:16.champion Mark Williams to book his place here. Ladies and gentlemen, he

:35:17. > :35:33.is rolling back the years in style, here comes Alan McManus. New

:35:34. > :35:40.MUSIC: Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison.

:35:41. > :35:46.And his opponent, the player who this year reaches the milestone of

:35:47. > :35:50.two decades of Crucible appearances. His long and

:35:51. > :35:54.illustrious career has bought him -- brought in 25 ranking titles,

:35:55. > :35:58.including four here on the bigger stage of all. Without a doubt one of

:35:59. > :36:02.the greatest hour sport has ever seen, give it up for the Wizard of

:36:03. > :36:05.Wishaw, John Higgins. MUSIC: "Pencil Full Of Lead" by

:36:06. > :36:17.Paolo Nutini. HAZEL IRVINE: Both matches are

:36:18. > :36:21.available, the red button and online options, but we will start with the

:36:22. > :36:25.Scottish matchup. I don't think I have seen tartan trousers at the

:36:26. > :36:33.Crucible before, I am guessing they are McManus tartan. Higgins and

:36:34. > :36:37.McManus practice at the same club in Glasgow and were sitting together to

:36:38. > :36:40.watch the Crucible draw on Thursday and I understand there has been

:36:41. > :36:47.quite a lot of banter between them since then. I know Willie Thorne and

:36:48. > :36:52.John will appreciate the finer elements, these players know every

:36:53. > :36:55.angle each other's games. JOHN VIRGO: they certainly do and if

:36:56. > :36:57.you don't know what tartan it is, there's not much chance Willie

:36:58. > :37:04.Thorne and died. Yes, this is like rolling back the

:37:05. > :37:17.years. Alan McManus getting this first-round match underway. An

:37:18. > :37:22.interesting statistic, Jan Verhaas, the referee, this was the first much

:37:23. > :37:28.he ever refereed at the Crucible. That is a nice touch, he is getting

:37:29. > :37:34.married very soon. One of our best referees. 19 years. It was 1995 and

:37:35. > :37:38.on that occasion, Alan McManus beat John Higgins 10-3. A lot of water

:37:39. > :37:57.has gone under the bridge since then. But this could be a match for

:37:58. > :38:06.the, -- for the commerce connossieur. It has been a bit of a

:38:07. > :38:11.shock that Alan has been off the scene and anyone who can beat Mark

:38:12. > :38:16.Williams is obviously still a man to be wary of. It will be interesting

:38:17. > :38:20.to see how he starts the match. It has been key that he has not been on

:38:21. > :38:29.television much. He has to make a good start.

:38:30. > :38:37.He could have played for the black but he knew if he stunned it in, he

:38:38. > :38:43.would play closer to the Persian. And he had the pink as another

:38:44. > :38:51.colour to play for. -- closer to the cushion.

:38:52. > :38:58.He has always had that little movement of his head, Alan. Yes, you

:38:59. > :39:02.see it a lot when he is cueing on the ball. He is not quite straight

:39:03. > :39:08.enough on this red so he has to push through the one just above it but he

:39:09. > :39:15.can still get on the black. We have just found out it is the MacKenzie

:39:16. > :39:40.clan tartan. You didn't believe it when I told you of Mike. -- off mic.

:39:41. > :39:45.You can just see from that shot there, there is not a lot of room

:39:46. > :39:51.between the end of the table and the dividing wall. He is right up

:39:52. > :39:54.against it. OK, when he gets down... But I am one of those people who

:39:55. > :40:04.likes to stand back from the shot to pick the angle out. Talking about

:40:05. > :40:12.the walls, I sent out a Tweet this morning about dear old Ted Ted

:40:13. > :40:21.Lowe. Just about the greatest commentator of all time.

:40:22. > :40:30.Yes, always affectionately remember Ted, but not great at the limbo.

:40:31. > :40:36.This needs to come in and out of baulk. Not quite hard enough and it

:40:37. > :40:43.doesn't look like he has a good angle on the brown. He may take it

:40:44. > :40:44.on, it depends how he is feeling. The obvious shot is to just trickle

:40:45. > :40:58.behind it. Allen has obviously always been a

:40:59. > :41:01.more negative player in so far as break-building has been concerned.

:41:02. > :41:06.Someone like Judd Trump would have screwed that into the middle pocket.

:41:07. > :41:18.Yes, but first frame, the nerves will still be there. As someone once

:41:19. > :41:21.said to me, Mario Berni, a legend in the Welsh amateur game, he said if

:41:22. > :41:25.you can play the game and be true to yourself, give your ability a

:41:26. > :41:31.chance, don't push the boat out too far.

:41:32. > :41:40.He has heated, but he has left a red certainly to the right middle.

:41:41. > :41:59.Awkward cueing, but half a chance that he has hit it.

:42:00. > :42:10.Good shot. Never easy, it was an acute angle and hampered as he was,

:42:11. > :42:16.couldn't have played it better. Just about the only professional in the

:42:17. > :42:21.game, Alan, who has the chalk page on the back of his trousers, rather

:42:22. > :42:26.than putting it in and out of his pocket -- chalk patch. None of the

:42:27. > :42:28.other professionals here will have it.

:42:29. > :42:36.Practice was, it was always handy to have one, you would rip your pocket

:42:37. > :42:40.to shreds pulling the chalk in and out all the time. Very rarely a

:42:41. > :42:42.professional player will have one in the tournament. He doesn't want to

:42:43. > :43:56.rough up the MacKenzie tartan. Purposely playing for the pink there

:43:57. > :43:59.and playing for the pink he knows, in potting it, he will be running

:44:00. > :44:01.into the other reds and bringing them into play. If it goes right, it

:44:02. > :44:22.is a frame-winning chance. He got a great split but he didn't

:44:23. > :44:28.want the reaction from the cue ball. He screws off the pack. He is

:44:29. > :44:31.still on a couple of reds but not of them are straightforward. This is

:44:32. > :44:38.the first pressure pot in the opening frame so far. Yes, like you,

:44:39. > :44:43.I was a bit surprised he played the screw, because it was always going

:44:44. > :44:47.to come away, whereas if he had run through... He didn't feel he had to

:44:48. > :44:50.hit the ball that hard, it was perfect on the pink but playing it

:44:51. > :44:58.just below centre, it was always going to come back to the site. --

:44:59. > :44:59.side. And it has cost him. It made that red more difficult than he

:45:00. > :45:12.would have liked. Still plenty of points available for

:45:13. > :45:20.John Higgins, should he get a chance. Great player that he was a

:45:21. > :45:26.few years ago and maybe still is. I haven't seen too much of him in the

:45:27. > :45:30.last few years. Always blessed with a wonderful temperament, wasn't he?

:45:31. > :45:35.You never knew from his face if he was in trouble or not. And we always

:45:36. > :45:40.remember when Stephen Hendry was on what looks like an unbeatable run in

:45:41. > :45:47.the Masters, it is Alan McManus who brought that to an end.

:45:48. > :45:53.And a few times, he has looked as if he could have gone all the way in

:45:54. > :45:55.this championship. But he has had a few years in the wilderness, good to

:45:56. > :47:12.see him back. Nothing easy to get into the baulk

:47:13. > :47:17.area on the right-hand side of the table. He will do well to get back

:47:18. > :47:30.into baulk. He may take a pot on. For the first time, I can't see a

:47:31. > :47:37.way back. And I can't see a pot either. He can't get through to the

:47:38. > :47:42.red obviously closest to this corner. He is in a spot of bother

:47:43. > :48:03.here. Even though he can get his hand on the table.

:48:04. > :48:13.Decided to play it hardball. He misses... Just catches the yellow

:48:14. > :48:30.but he did well to get back to baulk, in all honesty.

:48:31. > :48:41.Just a fraction hard. Another day, he could have been titled behind the

:48:42. > :48:48.yellow. A lot of people always as you... The referee has knocked over

:48:49. > :48:52.a bottle of water! That is the player's prerogative. I bet he

:48:53. > :48:58.didn't that 19 years ago. Can we have a towel, please? That is a new

:48:59. > :49:07.one. The referee throwing the towel in!

:49:08. > :49:18.He was bending down to look at the shot and there it was.

:49:19. > :49:28.Has rain ever stopped play? It did once, wasn't it the City Hall in

:49:29. > :49:33.Manchester, when Alex Higginson -- Alex Higgins played Fred Davis, one

:49:34. > :49:37.of the legend, they were stood there with umbrellas. John Higgins can't

:49:38. > :49:45.take the smile off his face. Alan has to keep focused.

:49:46. > :49:53.That is a good safety shot. It is a good job Judd isn't sitting there,

:49:54. > :50:04.too grand's worth of shoes, he wouldn't want water on them. -- two

:50:05. > :50:09.grand's worth. I think they are going to leave the water there until

:50:10. > :50:25.the end of this frame and then they will get the towel out.

:50:26. > :50:34.That was a good shot to catch it that thin. OK, he didn't find the

:50:35. > :50:40.baulk cushion, neither player has with the last few safety shot, but

:50:41. > :50:49.the ball is in such a position that it is quite easy not to leave a pot

:50:50. > :50:56.on. Yes, he has not had a go at a party at, John Higgins. -- at a pot

:50:57. > :51:00.yet. Alan McManus is controlling the safety at the moment. Just starting

:51:01. > :51:08.to kiss the baulk colours. I expect John to get close this

:51:09. > :51:29.time. I knew it would happen eventually. A

:51:30. > :51:38.Higginson special. -- Higgins special. Waded in John Higgins' game

:51:39. > :51:43.is at the moment? I have been a massive fan of his fears and what

:51:44. > :51:46.happened is he started to doubt his cue, he changed it a few times and

:51:47. > :51:50.if you start doubting your equipment, it shows you have lost a

:51:51. > :51:54.bit of confidence. But I think he is quite happy with what he got -- what

:51:55. > :51:59.he's got at the moment and obviously the standard is getting better. A

:52:00. > :52:03.few players are capable of beating him. In his pomp, it was only two or

:52:04. > :52:08.three and is now it is probably tend that are capable of beating him. --

:52:09. > :52:23.ten. He has hit the wrong red. This is

:52:24. > :52:29.John Higgins' first chance. If the pink goes into the corner, then I

:52:30. > :52:34.don't see why he is looking at playing another red. What about the

:52:35. > :52:41.red that is near the Black spot? The pink definitely goes, can he not run

:52:42. > :52:46.through to the nearer cushion? That definitely looks the shot to me.

:52:47. > :52:52.Playing this one to the left of the pink, he could be nothing. Now he is

:52:53. > :52:56.looking at the one on the black spot. Surely this is the one, if you

:52:57. > :53:00.can roll it in and find a gap between the cushion. He has

:53:01. > :53:03.realised. He didn't spot it at first. Amazing. He must have an

:53:04. > :53:22.earpiece in. Anywhere near the cushion should be

:53:23. > :54:00.OK. Might be playing for the blue or the

:54:01. > :54:06.pink. He has played the pink and hit it terribly. Didn't get into it at

:54:07. > :54:11.all. This pink is tough now, isn't it? As you say, never got any

:54:12. > :54:20.response out of the cue ball. This is very tricky.

:54:21. > :54:31.But fair play to him, he has potted it. Tremendous pot, it really was.

:54:32. > :54:34.He can just get through to the red that is over the pocket. That is a

:54:35. > :54:37.good recovery. He will make sure he gets high on the pink this time.

:54:38. > :55:00.Well played. You asked me about the question

:55:01. > :55:07.about a John Higgins. Why is your opinion about why he has been

:55:08. > :55:11.off-colour -- what is your opinion? Quite a lot was going on, losing his

:55:12. > :55:18.father will not have helped him in any way. His father was always here

:55:19. > :55:25.at the tournaments and he lost that little bit of support or that thing

:55:26. > :55:29.you rely on, always used to having his father behind him. And then, of

:55:30. > :55:32.course, I think the other thing anything that has affected quite a

:55:33. > :55:39.few of the players is that the standard Ronnie is setting at the

:55:40. > :55:43.moment, it is a bar that has been raised that sometimes you can strive

:55:44. > :55:52.to hard to reach. Then you forget how good you were by just trying to

:55:53. > :55:57.well... Play a higher grade of snooker, but as you say, everybody

:55:58. > :55:59.in the game has always feared John Higgins, his all-round game, his

:56:00. > :56:10.safety play, potting, break-building.

:56:11. > :56:16.But as you say, if he is messing about with queues, that wouldn't

:56:17. > :56:38.help either. As we know, it is all in the mind, this game -- cues.

:56:39. > :56:43.That is twice he has played without a bit of reaction. But he's back in

:56:44. > :57:03.the frame, all square. Didn't want the second case. It was

:57:04. > :57:06.a snooker and then all of a sudden the yellow has bounced off the

:57:07. > :57:10.cushion and flipped the white again and it has left a pattern. -- a

:57:11. > :57:29.path. That is an excellent safety shot.

:57:30. > :57:36.Beautiful line and a lovely length. Points are all square. A little bit

:57:37. > :58:31.of pressure on John Higgins this time.

:58:32. > :58:41.Got to be a bit careful with the red on the back cushion. He decided to

:58:42. > :58:47.take the pot on and that was dangerous. He has been OK, he could

:58:48. > :58:50.have left that red on along the top cushion. I am surprised he took that

:58:51. > :59:58.on. Missed it by a long way. Good part. And a nice flick on the

:59:59. > :00:00.black. -- pot. A chance to get the first frame for Alan McManus.