Day 3, Part 2 Snooker: World Championship

Hello, it is Easter Monday and I hope that you can share some of that

with us, like all these lovely people here in the Winter Gardens,

because just like your chocolate eggs at the weekend, the World

Championship is fund rolling. This is the first Monday of three Mondays

here in Sheffield, because two weeks today we will be getting ready for

the last couple of sessions of the final itself. Ken Doherty will be

there for the final, but whether he is actually playing and it is a moot

point. However, he still has a chance, you know.

I am relishing every moment here. When I came out I kissed the carpet,

the last time I was here I did that, because you never know when you are

going to be back here. You have to relish and enjoy every moment you

are here, and that is what I am doing.

Ken looks very focused. This will be four frames in a row if he can take

it, and that would really give Stuart Bingham a lot to think about.

No, no... Yes! It is in! What a comeback this has been.

I was getting quite emotional at the end.

I was starting to fill up a little bit and I was trying to keep my

composure, to get over the line, because you are never over. Until I

hit the Q I wasn't certain, I could not pot that last red at the end.

I will just respected and enjoyable than I did seven or eight years ago.

I don't know where those years have gone, but it is a special place, the

crowd, they give a wonderful alterations and welcome, and that is

why the players love playing here. There is no atmosphere like it. I

said to Taylor, you should take your cue out of its case and make a

comeback! I gave 100% and I am just loving

every minute of it. I am nice and relaxed and I will relish every

frame and ball that I pot. I have had some great moments here,

as well, and this is definitely one of them. You know, to comeback after

sort of being in the doldrums, you would say, for the last few years,

and not really performing like I should do, it is great to produce

some good snooker and it is such a relief.

What a performance! And the first time for eight years that Ken has

been in the second round, has the nose bleeding stopped?

Just about, I have come down off cloud nine, but fantastic, I am over

the moon. To be honest, at the end I was

getting a little bit emotional, the first time that has ever happened

probably since 1987. I started to get emotional even in the second

last frame. I said, I better hold myself together year because it

could be quite embarrassing! Why were you so excited?

A lot of people would say you know what it is like, you have won the

thing, to comeback all these years later, I did it mean so much? I

don't know, maybe because I have not performed.

It is the first time I have been in the last 16 so just to get over that

hurdle and play like I can play, really. In our sport you have a lot

of ups and downs. I have been lucky that I have come and got my hands on

the trophy at least once, but you still want to perform every time you

go out, particularly at the Crucible. It is such a special event

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

like I can play at times and I was chuffed to bits. You did, you had

six 50 plus breaks, did you sense that Stewart had a bit of a

lacklustre morning and afternoon yesterday?

Yes, the first frame was very important.

Then to level at five all was a very close frame. I tried to keep the

pressure on him all the time and that is what I did, good match

snigger and good safety, and keeping him under pressure. -- good

matchplay snooker. More numbers for you - over 100 texts of

congratulations you have received. Now he is going to try and of

keelboat -- broadcasting duties with playing. I do good at multitasking?

You know that men are never good at multitasking!

We will find out. Will plead, we will look forward to seeing you and

hearing you. Last night, possibly even topped it

for excitement, because we had two final frame decider is, the first

featuring a Welshman and a Scotsman. What was the story of this one,

Steve? Well, Stephen Maguire Drew Ryan Hay, a tough draw for both

players. -- Ryan Day.

The first six frames were shared, so it was 9-6 Ryan Day.

He was on the brink of a fantastic victory, but the gritty Scot,

Stephen Maguire, he pulled it back with breaks of 74 and 91 to 9-9. The

first of the two final frame decider is of the evening was about to

unfold. Let's see what happened. -- final frame deciders.

COMMENTATOR: That is the problem, whenever they are close to the top

cushion, you just hit them a fraction thick and they go up the

table with the cue ball. Does this red pass the two reds to

go to the right corner? Just. Not all of the pocket, it is tight.

It needs to be accurate. And it was. Second chance to Ryan

Day. But not the right side of the blue.

No, he put all of his concentration into the pot there, didn't he? He

has an angle on the black. He has to hit this really well to get the cue

ball back down the table. Well, every credit, Ryan. That was

the brave man's route. He is on to the red that just about

goes. We say that this game is all about fractions. The fractions at

the moment looked to be in the favour of Ryan. This is a great

chance for frame and match. He has hit the ball well in this

last frame, Ryan. The first chance he got he went into the pack.

His cue is going through really positively.

Yes, from the first shot he has looked positive. He has decided,

this is the deciding frame, if I get a chance I am going to go for it.

Every credit, because he was being bombarded by Stephen Maguire in the

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

reply. But this is his opportunity now. Can

he make the most of it? He will have to follow off the left

side pollution here for the red to follow, so he will be a little bit

further away than he would have liked. He may have to stump up. --

stun. That is OK. 29 points, the lead. Three reds,

three colours and he will be in the second round.

Played it well. It looks a formality, but there is

no such thing as a formality at this stage of March. -- a match.

The black and one more red. This looks like all of the great

snooker that Stephen Maguire has played to comeback was in vain now.

Tremendous performance. Yes, Stephen Maguire cannot be too

hard on himself, he lost in his first round match 10-92 Dechawat

Poomjaeng, but he has left behind here. He has given everything. As we

say, in the deciding frame it is all about getting the chances. He had

one chance, Ryan had one chance, then he got the next one. Fair play

to him, he made the most of it and he has taken these really well.

After the mid-session interval it has been a tremendous match, this

has. And that will mean that Stephen will

not bother coming back to the table. His hopes of being a world champion

will have to be put on the shelf for another year.

As I say, he has given his all, he has left nothing behind, and that is

all you can ask from anybody. Fair play to Ryan Day, he came to

this deciding frame and came out with an attitude, well, I am going

to go for it, and if I get a chance I am going to try and win the frame.

That is what he has done. It is sad that there has to be a

loser. But that is a sport. Brian Gay, we all know his talent.

If he can get a boost of confidence from this, he is a match for anybody

on his day. No pun intended. He is puffing out the cheeks, he is

so relieved to get there, that was a great match, guys, I'm lucky Stephen

Maguire. It is a warm handshake, he did not do anything but give his

best, but Ryan Day just had that lead. He came out in the deciding

frame with an attitude, give me one chance and I will win the match. He

needed a two, but well played, Ryan Day, you are through to the second

round. He beats Stevens -- Stephen Maguire 10-9. I really enjoyed it.

Obviously I had a lead after playing quite well yesterday. I knew that

Stephen was going to throw everything at it this evening. I was

over the moon to be 3-3 after six frames, even though I had had

chances to probably win the match earlier. Then Stephen, from nine -

six, was so strong with a couple of tremendous breaks and clearances, I

was delighted to get a chance at last and clear the table. Well

played to both players, fantastic match, well played to Ryan Day.

The key to that particular match winner was the opening red of the

break he made. I have set it up on our screen. The first red the potted

into the corner pocket, I have drawn a line from the edge of that red to

the edge of that red, he only just had a full pocket, arguably not even

that to aim at. Under pressure it would be so easy to miss this shot.

He has played it superbly well, there is a great purist, always has

been, but under pressure anything can go wrong. He was over the line

by no one can let his fluency do the work. -- a great cueist. He has

pedigree, but will he go further in the event?

I think we are going to see more of him in the future rounds.

Yes, he will play Judd Trump in the next round, Stephen Maguire said he

was in some respects believed to be at what has been a hell of a season

for him. He has had a very bad back and we hope he can recover.

That is the fourth final frame he has lost at the Crucible and the

second year in a row he has gone home after round one.

To the other decider last night between Shaun Murphy, world number

five, and the youngster Jamie Cope, who has had a torrid time in the

last three years because he is suffering from a condition which

makes him physically shake over the shot. He has been working with a

sports psychologist to remedy that. His journey back to the Crucible was

remarkable in itself, and this was another tight one, Steve. Yes, Jamie

Cope, Shaun Murphy, in the tough quarter, you could argue, with

Ronnie O'Sullivan there. Overnight Jamie Cope had shown he

was back to some form, 5-4 quickly turns to 8-8.

At 8-8 you never know what is good to happen, it went 9-8 to Shaun

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

in that decider. COMMENTATOR: He has a lovely angle

on the green. He can go into one of these reds on

the right-hand side cushion, if he wishes.

How is his luck? Just not hard enough. He could have fixed that as

hard as he wanted, really. He is unlucky, once he had the case you

would think he would be on one of them.

-- once he had the kiss. He needs to find the top cushion

here. Plenty of right-hand side. I am not quite sure whether Shaun

Murphy will try and get the cue ball back here, he may nestle into the

back of this red on the right-hand cushion. He does not want to hit it

with too much pace because he may leave the other one into the yellow

pocket. That is exactly what he has done. That was very careless.

It is all the way, and he has a lovely angle on the pink now. Nice

angle on the pink, just not this red over the left-centre pocket. -- he

will just knock. He got into it too much.

Playing some very good safety. I know he has needed some chances in

this last frame, there is a lot of tension out there, but when he is

out of position he has played excellent safety. It is very tough

to miss the double kiss on this shot. You would expect him to play

cushion first moving this red out, but he played it direct, that is why

he got the double kiss. It was always going to be a double kiss,

that. He will be pretty pleased he has left a bit of distance between

these two balls, although I am sure Jamie will take it on.

Pretty close, but he has got second prize. You can see the extreme left

hand side of this red, but he will be pushing it towards the right-hand

pocket here. REFEREE: Foul.

That is actually not too bad, it could have been an awful lot worse.

That red has just crept up the side cushion.

That was a surprise that he took that on. It was a difficult pot, and

he has got away with it. He could pot the one along the cushion, but

is it worth taking it on? You there is a plant that is not far

away, either. It is tough to get the cue ball back into baulk here. I'm

not sure whether the plant is dead set. It is set for the near jaw.

I am just wondering, will he play to the extreme left of it and try and

bring the cue ball back up to baulk? He did not fancy either one, did he?

You could cut the tension with a knife here. Both players are under

the utmost pressure in this little exchange.

This is risky, he has to avoid the middle pocket and get a distance. If

he doesn't get a distance he could be in trouble there. He is going to

leave a pot but also he has an easy snooker dear. -- here. The cue ball

is behind the blue, but the pot is on and the way that Shaun has been

playing, he will not refuse this. He will just play the hold for the

blue. He played the holding shot but

didn't get into the cue ball. He cannot get onto a red from there. He

did not get into that at all, did he? A little more screw on the cue

ball. Right into the heart of the pocket, though.

Well, he can port of the blue, -- he can pot the blue.

REFEREE: Green ball. I would rather have had the five

points, to be honest. If he hits it from there he will be

disappointed. That is a good fit. The easy snooker

rather than the pot. There is one thing for certain, if it wasn't last

frame he would be taking the pot on, but as it is last frame he may be

playing the snooker. And this is a little bit more

difficult to get away with it. He would like to get onto the one

nearest the pocket, but if he plays one cushion...

Well done. He has left it on, this is a chance for Murphy to win frame

and match. REFEREE: Thank you!

Good, confident pot, he has a nice angle on the brown. He can get close

to the red. Yellow and green are both pottable, also. What he really

wants a nice angle on that last red when porting this prone to get onto

the green for the last red. -- when porting this green. He wanted to be

straight on this red. We know he is good with the rest, but...

It is a little bit more difficult than he would have liked, this shot.

I don't think this is any good. This is very tricky, this brown. He may

be able to pot the green, but whatever pot he decides on year it

is fraught with danger, because there is a lot of pressure on it.

Well, under that pressure, Shaun Murphy, that was as good as any shot

he has played. That deserves to be a matchwinner. That was an excellent

green. That was a fantastic green, no doubt

about that. Under that extreme pressure, at that pace...

Whatever happens, I think Jamie Cope deserves a great deal of credit. He

has been out of the limelight now for five years because of illness,

he has come here and battled his heart out, and a few moments ago he

looked as though he could win the match. He now looks a certainty to

lose, but well played, Jamie Cope. Yes, he has performed admirably

throughout this match. It is pink for match. And a place in

the last 16 for Shaun Murphy. Well, a very relieved Shaun Murphy,

it went all the way and Jamie Cope has nothing to be ashamed of. I am

sure Murphy will have two be a little bit better in the next

round. He goes into the last 1610-9.

-- the last 16 a ten - nine. Sometimes you get the

-- the last 16 a ten - nine. Sometimes you get feeling it is not

meant to be your day and I got that feeling a lot through that match.

I think halfway through I switched to playing clearance because I went

in-off so many times. My mum will be pulling her here right. It is so

difficult and at this top-flight level one mistake is a killer. It

could have gone either way at the end. All the way through the match,

it felt as if I was behind. I was ahead 4-2 to start with. I did not

feel like I played badly in the match, I have certainly played a lot

of matches in this tournament a lot worse than that and got through

easier. All credit to Jamie, he played really, really well. It is

just the nature of our sport now. We play so often and the standard is so

high you could lose on any day. I think the critical part of this

last frame was when two reds were left. Under other circumstances,

Shaun Murphy may have been tempted to try this red into the green

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

where the three baulk were may have come into the equation. That Michael

three baulk colours. In the past, Shaun Murphy has been criticised for

his shot selection, probably being too aggressive when he does not need

to be. In this occasion, moreover short

like John Higgins would play, clever, weighing up the pros and

cons and which one was the best option. He just played a lovely

snooker behind the red causing Jamie Cope no end of problems and he got

the lead from it and concluded the frame. Excellent performance by

Shaun Murphy. You have to feel for Jamie Cope, who has gone through a

lot to even get back here. Afterwards he did say that he felt

he had gone backward a little bit, that his arm was shaking in the

final session and did not come out of it feeling too great. I think all

of us would agree it has been a marvellous effort for him to get

here and we wish him well in his continuing recovery and climb back

up the world rankings. It is Shaun that goes through and

let's remind you how that makes the first round draw up here now.

Well, we have been on-air since 10am. Jason Mohammad has been doing

his stuff here on BBC Two and we have got plenty of excuses for you,

if you do need a reason, not to do those garden jobs or the DIY tasks

that you or someone else had set for you today. So settle back on Easter

Monday afternoon with us. You wouldn't want to miss the all

conquering Ding Junhui, would you? The winner of five events this term

wants to finish off his match against Michael wisely in style. And

you just have two CV -- you have to see the opening game of John

Higgins. He faces his great friend and fellow Scot Alan McManus. If you

like matchplay snooker, this will be a masterclass in the fine arts of

it. Mark Selby is up and running against Welshman Michael White. If

you want a trick shots, we have brought them back and given them an

all-American twist. We will get our teeth into the hot topic in snooker,

should the golden old is be given wild cards to play on the tour? --

golden oldies. And you can join in on the debate why all the usual

social media outlets. We will be talking about those and

other subjects in the Table Talk section. So stop the garden and the

shelves, all of these guys have decided to do that, and we will

enjoy watching firstly a young Welshman who surprised us all at his

debut at the Crucible last year, knocking out Mark Williams en route

to the quarterfinal and he is back again, Michael White, up against

Michael Selby. The day before I played, I walked

down from the hotel the night before and I looked at the big sign for the

Crucible in the darkness and it was incredible to think that I finally

had made it here. I was very nervous, I must admit. Then in the

dressing room, you hear the knock on the door and it is time to go and as

you walk out towards the curtain, you see all of the past champions.

It is just a thrill, an absolute thrill. It was a moment I don't

think I will ever forget. Obviously, watching him 13 years ago, when he

lifted the trophy, I thought it was a dream to even come here and then

to come here, draw him and beat him was another dream. My dream ever

since I grew up was obviously to come here and play. And to be

honest, I can't believe I have got here two years running. I have been

working with Terry Griffiths and since I was 15 or 16 and he has

helped me a lot. Things I should be thinking of if I am winning, or if I

am losing, he has been brilliant with me. Mark is probably one of the

toughest draws I could have had. I played him before in the UK, when I

qualified for that. That was a good experience for me. But I am not

coming here to make the numbers up, I am looking to win.

Well, Mark has worked so hard on his technique. In the early part of his

career, he had a lot of movement with his head, he was so far away

with his breach and from the cue ball and he has worked very hard on

those departments -- bridge hand. He still loses his head slightly, he's

working on that, but to get to world number one, what a player. When you

talk about temperament, Selby is the one to watch. Unlike other players

who go into their shells in tactical batons, he is one of the best. You

look at Higgins, Steve Davis, he is up there with the best of them. Mark

has had a lot of problems with his neck and as someone who had his

career curtailed due to a neck problem, it is very hard to put in

the practice and hard work nowadays, I am sure, but considering all

that, to have had the seasons he has had recently, I think there is

certainly a lot more to come. You are looking at one of the best

matchplay as the game has ever seen. I have seen him play against one

O'Sullivan where he has totally outplayed running and not many can

do that in the game. He is such a solid all-round match player, a

treat to watch. He has been coming into my club since he was 14,

playing from seven in the morning up until midnight. Never the greatest

at the start of the career but his professionalism has taken him to

being one of the greatest of all time. For someone who has hovered

around the number one spot, you would think its record in ranking

events is very disappointing. Only one final at the World Championship.

He once that on his CV and that will be his goal this season and four

seasons to come -- he wants that. He is capable of being a world

champion. HAZEL IRVINE: So their opening

session got underway at ten o'clock and by the interval, Mark Selby was

3-1 up, a break of 95 in the opening frame and the best of the

contributions to date. Michael White was clearly nervous early on and we

will join it in frame five, Selby is trailing by four points. Commentary

from John Parrott and Terry Griffiths.

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

bother. Can't drop into the left-hand side of the pack.

If he can get next to the red that is near the top cushion, it may be

the one to play on. It looks like he can, he is going to drop on that

dead weight. He's looking at other options now.

That shot is that he played there but he just didn't quite judge the

pace, he hit it to hard, could leave the red on.

That is OK, he will take that. Can he part anything? No. He raised his

eyes to the sky, Michael, he thought he had left one on, but he hasn't.

He did well to get out of that. That was poorly played. He knew

straightaway it was a bad contact. He meant to hit that completely

differently than he did. There are enough rent out in the

vote for this -- enough reds out in the open for this to be a good

chance. He has let Mark Selby right in.

You always get the impression that when it comes to the safety battles,

Michael is always going to be the first one just to make that mistake.

I know he is up against one of the Masters in Mark Selby, but he has to

be more careful than he has been. There have been quite a number of

unforced errors on saved is from Michael White, not just the

difficult ones when you have thin cuts with side, but bread and butter

safeties. The obvious one to think about is the one in the first

frame, when he tried to screw back onto the cushion and let Mark Selby

on and he cleared up. Nothing worse than those of unforced

errors. This is what Michael was trying to do, this is Hawkeye. A bit

thicker, get the cue ball down there and that would have been absolutely

perfect. As it is, he made a mess of it and he has got to face the

consequences. That wasn't the best shot from Mark

Selby. Played on the brown and he has come awkward on yellow and blue.

Hasn't quite got the cue ball yet in this break.

That cue ball was steaming there with that screw back.

Look at that going. Acceleration after the first movement backward of

the cue ball, tremendous. And the position was only just perfect,

wasn't it? Absolutely magnificent, couldn't have hit that any better.

This is where you feel Mark Selby, if he is going to win this year's

World Championships, he needs to get these. When he won the Masters,

these would all be gone, no danger. He has played well so far, but just

the opening frame where he scored the 95 that he loved vintage Selby.

But if he gets that going over the next couple of weeks, he will take

some stopping. -- he looked vintage Selby.

He has spotted a foreign body on the yellow there, having it clean. It

must be serious, Leo is going for the fairy liquid, I think. -- Fairy

Liquid. It is something that is pretty stubborn.

That is as good as he could have done from there to avoid the yellow

and get up the table. A little awkward here. It would be a

lot easier if the pink would go into the corners. Just looking down the

line to see where the cue ball is going and if he can roll it through

and get onto the black. It looks a bit tight. He has just

gone past it. He is doing well on this break, he just keeps managing

to salvage position. It wasn't ideal when he parted the brown but a good

shot with the rest. The way he has gone about it, you would think he

will be winning the frame in this visit. 51 ahead and 67 remaining,

not too much work to be done. Came off the cushion quickly. Still

got the pot on, he will be looking to make the century here.

A good break, though. Mark Selby had to work hard for it.

HAZEL IRVINE: Mark Selby has been runner-up in three of the major

events this season, including the UK Championship and the Masters, when

he was defending both of those titles. He has got close in one of

the smaller European tour events but would love to finish off this term

with a piece of major silverware here in Sheffield. He has made a

good start, we go to frame six and he is 25 points in front.

TERRY GRIFFITHS: Making sure the cue ball came down the table.

His cue came off his bridge hand when he played that shot. It is

awkward, when you are in front and command in the game, you can lose

the edge in these sessions in the first-round matches -- commanding. I

am not saying he's going to be complacent, but you just lose that

concentration that you start the match with.

That was a big shot to take on. Unlucky. He must have played for the

pink. Couldn't really see any value in it.

He has kissed that red. Perhaps he was trying to get past the red for

the pink. Still a risky shot. I don't quite know what he was

playing. He will be glad to see it go in the pocket, that is visual. --

for sure. Another big shot to take on, it is not quite happening. He

will hope the blue stops the red. It hasn't.

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

and he is up against one of the best in the game.

He has obviously decided he is going to go for them wherever they are and

I suppose in one way, if you look at the wider picture, he is not going

to win the safety abouts, so he has got to knock the long ones in. --

safety bouts. The problem is players pot so well these days, they don't

think they are going to miss anything.

Just minding his work and taking the loose threads. He might not need any

of those three on the left-hand cushion.

If he does what he usually does, this should be 5-1.

He has a nice shot here, play a cannon down off the blue into those

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

centre. Wants to get the pink back on the

spot because the black is available in only the one corner.

59 points in front, this thread will put him in a safe position but he

would like to carry on with the break, of course -- this red.

Yes, I think Michael White knew immediately after that blew that

there was a certain amount of inevitability about this frame going

West. Excellent from Selby. Keeping the pressure on his younger

opponent. And believe you me, all of the seeded players, they know the

importance of the opening round. They get the jitters like everybody

else. A bit unlucky there. Needed two

reds and all the colours to make a century.

Mark Selby, of course, is guaranteed the lead now going into tonight's

session. His first-round match, nine in the first session, it is the

first to 10 in the second session. He has got all of the breaks in its

first session, five -1. HAZEL IRVINE: This is not what the

22-year-old Michael White had been planning.

A year ago, he despatched Mark Williams in his opening crews --

Crucible game. Can he get back into this? He has but Mark Selby in a

little bit of trouble in the next frame, Selby is 26 points behind.

JOHN PARROTT: Slightly tricky black coming up here. The good news is he

can played with a little bit of side and nearly dead weight and if he

misses it, it will probably cover the pocket. But it was never going

to be missed, the way he hits those. That was a superb shot. Much, much

better than it looked. Yes, that was a serious mistake from

Michael. Shouldn't be missing those yellows. He had done really well, as

well, potted a good red before, but you can't miss these. As Terry said,

a full pocket to a mat. You will play in the club all day and never

miss that. -- to aim at. Yes, and as always, when you miss a part and you

get very close but you still retain your position, you give it back to

your opponent. He was a little bit short of pace

here. Obviously the brown pots. Looked

pretty close to the blue from where we were sitting but it must go.

And this is developing into a very good chance for Mark Selby to steel

frame seven. Just that red behind the black could be a problem.

It was a good chance, and he has hit right across it. I can't believe he

has missed it and I bet he can't. You can see his cue right across the

ball. Phone the police, I wasn't expecting that one.

He has hit that a bit too hard. Just hasn't got the touch. One of those

little tricky shots. You are trying to guard against not coming low

because you know it is going to be the end of the break, so you put

extra in it and go too high. Surely he will just play the snooker here.

Stun the red, cue ball tied to the cushion and send it around.

To the baulk area, I should say. Definitely in the driving seat.

Foul and a. Michael White, four. Free ball. Once again, the

misjudgement off the cushion from Mark Selby. Michael White looked at

the part but it is too difficult to take on. The free ball isn't any

good either. Good innovation this, being able to

use these monitors. Double-check, get them in absolutely the right

position. Especially when a quite a few of them move around the table,

three or four or five balls move them, so it is easier to look at the

monitor and just set them back. They wouldn't get rid of that if they got

rid of the miss rule. I am not a lover of that. I'm a big fan of it,

so we will have an argument. Very unfortunate. Hit it a lot

thinner than he intended. Ball in hand.

27 ahead. 35 remaining. Just pot this red and if he doesn't win the

frame here, he'll be mortified. There you are. 31 ahead. 27

remaining. Just concentrate, Michael, make sure you knock these

in. That's better. You don't want Mark Selby chasing snookers against

you because he's exceptionally good, so do what you should do and clear

up. So Michael white makes the

clearance. He'll be thankful of winning that frame. Selby had a

great chance, miss add simple red but he trails Selby 5-2. Pf

These players met in the UK Championship two years ago. Selby

won that match 6-3 but I'm sure Michael will be relieved to have

stemmed the flow there in that last frame. Into the eighth we go, which

is the penultimate of the opening session.

Oh! Now, then, I was just going to say, this could be a big break on

here. Now it could be for Michael White. Just wondering whether that

red in the last frame sunth unsettled him a bit. It was going

swimmingly well. Shouldn't have missed that. Wondering whether that

simple red has taken a bit of impetus away from Mark Selby. Was

this too hard? It's a very poor shot, Michael. You would be kicking

yourself after that one. Massive margin of error there. Poor shot.

He's being aggressive. He's got to take this long yellow on now. Big

shot. Well played. Good pot. He knocked it in beautifully.

What a miss that is. He's just potted an absolutely fantastic

yellow, simple red, off the cushion back for the black and Terry, he's

missed a lot of shots today, hasn't he?

I don't know what is going on at the minute. I really don't. Mark Selby's

just lost his mojo for the minute. He's missed three pots in the last

five minute minutes that I can't believe. If Michael White can just

compose himself here, string a couple of breaks together, he could

get out of this session 5-4 which would be a right result.

Asking the referee to check the black, if he could respot it, to

make sure. He's entitled to do that. Rock ing back, so that will help.

Well, has it helped? It's very tight.

On these super fine cloths, Terry, you get little dishes coming up with

the sheer weight of the ball, the black being in that area, sometimes

you get a little dish and it can rock in back-and-forth. They don't

put spots down like they do on the club tables, you just have a little

white mark. With the cloths being so fine, the indentations don't take

long to come in. Yes, the suss tension on the black

spot as you mentioned. On the practise table, it's perhaps there

all the time, the dots. Respot the black and it drops in the hole.

Played the positive shot. Yes, he got a really good result there. But

he deserved it. A positive shot, well played. Oh, I can't believe

this. He just got himself into a perfect position. And hit across it.

I mean those balls were absolutely lovely. He missed one of those in an

earlier frame in the opposite pocket, a similar type of shot.

Might be taking this in the middle. Yes; what a shot that is, by the

way. How can you miss the three pots he's missed in the last ten minutes

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

mean, that is seriously good. To pot it, screw it in the side and pin

Nish on the pink like that is brilliant. -- finish on the pink

like that is brilliant. Makes you wonder where he's been for the last

ten minutes. I think he's probably been thinking he should be 6-1 up,

that's the problem. Could have had an easy session if he

won the next two games. Well, what can you say? After the first red

which John Parrot said was such a high tariff, that was a simple one,

one you would never expect to be missed. Both players starting to

throw a few mistakes in, John. Yes. Amazing that. What a miss that is.

It's worth reiterating that if Michael can compose himself here. He

looks fizzy to me today, like he's desperate to get on with it. If he

can show more composure, he's getting more chances now and this is

a very important juncture in the match.

Starts to get a little embarrassing for these players because we know

how good they are. They are top draw, but when they start missing

these chances, it's not great. Body movement from Mark there.

Trying to squeeze the cue ball past the brown. Sure Surely, he won't

spurn this opportunity. Comes to the table 40-odd points

behind. Michael's not made the most of his opportunity. He's been thrown

another lifeline. Top bred of the two that were put

together behind the pink spot are definitely pots.

The two reds that are past the blue, one in bawling and one towards

bawling, they'll be the interesting ones I should think -- dumb Oh, what

a kick that is! What a kick that is! An absolute monster. Anything else

can happen in this frame do you think?

At least he didn't miss it through his own fault, but still it's very

disappointing for Mark Selby. At a crucial time in the frame.

What you can do in this type of situation, when both players are

struggling a bit, you go for the next chance and try and make sure of

everything. It's the worst thing you can do really, instead of going down

there, playing your normal game, put a bit more effort into the pot and

then you lose position and then you've got a more difficult pot.

Shaking his head now. Not in a bad position. 44 points in front. Only

just got to get this, a colour and drop on another red and he should be

home in the frame. Pretty sure he'd like to have played

on the red that was down this end towards the pink, but he's going to

have to go for the one in baulk. May be a case of getting behind it and

dropping it in, no heroics. 50-point lead now, yes. Drop in in dead

weight, make sure you knock it in. That's exactly what he's done. This

frame's had some twists in it. White pulls back another frame.

They were meagre contributions there, decisive ones of 28, 29 and

20 from Michael White though, that means from 5-1 behind, he's rescued

things. He's only one behind going into the concluding session this

evening, so it's all on in that match, four five he trails Mark

Selby, the world number three. You will probably notice very

shortly that we are about to be joined by some guests. That is

because, you know that old phrase, we are not talking to you, we are

talking about you. We are in the company of George Riley who you may

know or recognise his face because he's often on the telly but you are

more likely to recognise his Voice because, he's a regular contributor

to Radio 5 Live. So George, very much lovely to have you here. Thank

you very much for having me. You are a Crucible veteran of ten years?

Yes, it's been ages. I'm a snooker bore to all my friends. I was here

the first one when Ebdon won it 2002 and I've kept coming back, had a

hiatus but I'm back now and absolutely loving it. Ken Doherty

rolling back the years like we have been doing.

You are likely to be found a lot of the time in the media room from

where a lot of the copy is generated. We always get the little

newspaper cuttings every day and we can go through what's been going on

in the national press. . One Direction's Louis Tomlinson was

sneaked into the Crucible the other night, a guest of Ronnie O'Sullivan.

I think he's a major fan. Suddenly all the appeal of snooker from

teenage girls around the country has shot up! They are concentrating on

Higgins, every underdoing has its day, that's the Scottish Record.

He's under the radar. And Ken Doherty relishing the Generation

Game. He says, maybe I'm giving hope to the 40 somethings and I told

Denis Taylor he should be making a comeback.

There's much more about One Direction and all of the

Directioners! One of the chief talking points we

are going to discuss today is the proposition, and it's a rather

controversial proposal to offer a wild card to some of the golden

oldies on the tour Or those that have just dropped off, and those

who've retired. Stephen Hendry, I'm not going to point pout who is who.

There is a suggestion that perhaps Jimmy White might be offered a wild

card depending on how things go in the opening rounds at the world

championship. This is a discussion that really has provoked a lot of

debate in the media and all around the country. See for yourselves.

Not sure if Stephen Hendry wants to play. Stephen's his own man, he'll

know about about that. Steve Davis wants to play. Jimmy is still on the

tour so he's not going to need a wild card. If Steve Davis wanted one

and it was down to me, I would give him a wild card in a heartbeat and

it Tweeted that the other night. I'm trying not to really focus on

him, I have to keep my eye on my own game. If they have wild cards, so be

it, they bring in the crowd. For selfish reasons, it's good. If I was

in that position and I wanted to play, I wouldn't want to have to go

through the qualitifying stages, so to be able to come in at round one

and compete is good because Steve still loves playing, he's a great am

boss for for the game along with Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry and

sheshed Dr V that opportunity to compete if they want to.

Ultimately, we are in a new position in sneerk where the tour's changing

-- -- he should have that opportunity. The question we should

ask ourselves is, have the people that deserve a wild card, there are

not many that would be saying no to that. There is a lot of youngsters

coming through into the game. They are trying to make a career out of

it. Steve Davis would want to earn that. I think legends like White and

Davis should be included in the game. It's a big draw for me, part

of the reason why I'd come to watch. I wouldn't want to it be an easy

card, just to pull a crowd, but if they were playing on the tour, why

not, it would be a good thing, so yes. The qualifying system doesn't

work, to be honest. If they were good enough, they'd be playing. You

have to give the youth a chance, to be honest. I know people love the

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

They should leave it as it is. There is a meeting of the world

snooker board tomorrow night to discuss this proposal. I guess the

first question has to go to Stephen and that is, do you want a wild card

in the first place? Well, barley asked me a hypothetical

question, if I was offered one would I accept and I said I wouldn't

intend to play in every event of the season but I would still want to

play in some events so it would be at my choosing which events I played

in. I said if you offered me one and enough people considered it was what

they wanted to happen, I would say yes. But there are many other

avenues you can take. If you were offered one, you also wouldn't be

able to play in the other competition because it would be is

like having two bites of the cherry. It's complex. At the expense, not so

much of new players coming through, but at the expense of players that

have dropped out of the 64 who don't get preferential treatment when they

would see that others do. We'll talk about the mechanics in a minute, but

Stephen, is it enough to tempt you out of retirement or even

semi-retirement? Yes. We had the same conversation, me and Barry. If

the option was there that I fancied having a crack, yes, I said

absolutely. I talked to Steve before, but I think I would probably

play in two or three PTCs next year because you don't have to involve

yourself in qualifying, you can just enter and it would be a weekend

away, just see what happens and enjoy it. I'm not coming back to

play in the tour full-time, no question, but to have the option to

perhaps play in the world or win the big ones, it would be nice to have

that option. George, let's play devil's advocate, Barry said this

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

and the opposite is the case, surely in this situation because this is

nature, sportsmen coming towards the end of their competitive lives and

perhaps new blood coming through. Why should we make exceptions? All

that is true and when you hear Barry speak you know what a headache he's

had because this is not something he wants to do but he thinks it's the

right calling. He hasn't done it yet. Everything you say is correct

but it's a business and it's about bums on seats. If you give people a

chance to see these guys play, it's going to BA sell out. Likewise if

the qualifiers get an opportunity to play against then drill or Davis,

how exciting is that for them? - Hendry or Davis. A couple of places

away, you have to get rid of a couple perhaps, for me, that makes

it more competitive. You have to be better, your result, your form, your

standard has to rise to make sure you don't miss out. For me it's a

no-brainer. Fit were to set a precedent, the other players like

Ken Doherty beating Stuart Bingham, the oldest man in the draw, this is

representative of a lot of players who think maybe this will happen to

them in future years if wild cards were brought in? The likes of Steve

Davis, he shouldn't have to go back to cue school, he's six times world

champion, six times UK champion, you know, a man that's, you know,

donated like all his life to snooker and the service that he's give tonne

snooker, the interest that he's brought into the game, he's such a

personality, he's one of our ambassadors, you know, he shouldn't

have to go back to cue school. It's ridiculous to even contemplate that.

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

game would begrudge him a place in the tour or Jimmy. There is so much

interest from around the world, these guys shouldn't have to go back

to cue school, it's ridiculous to even contemplate it. How would it

work? Would you take the place of number 63 or 62 on the tour or would

they create another wild card round, suddenly five matches you have got

to play? First thing to say is there are people who're vehemently opposed

to this, including a lot of players and I fully agree with their

sentiments and I wouldn't like anybody to feel like this is a

whitewash going on here, especially with the footage we have seen from

some of the legends that have talked about other legends so to speak.

It's fair in any player that that would like to stand up and give

their opinion, wouldn't feel that they would upset anyone. Stephen and

myself are open to abuse in that respect, so is Barry or anybody. The

biggest problem, getting back to your point, is that no matter how

you go about giving spots to players that haven't earned them on the tour

system, if you stick to a 128 competition, if you say there's only

128 players in, then if you have do or three invited spots, three people

somewhere down the line won't be in that tournament because of past old

has beens. You've got to decide, or the game's got to decide whether you

are prepared to sacrifice three players, quite a long way down the

pecking order, this would come from the cue school failures, possibly

players that didn't get through in the cue school, as to how they would

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

the head for a couple of those places, perhaps the

quarter-finalists, or do you give them to the likes of Hendry or

White? This has all got to be sorted out. What is the motivation for

coming in at a 128? Stephen surely wants to play at the latter stages?

After listening to all that, I don't know, I don't want to go in! The key

thing is, where you draw the line. These guys without a shadow of a

doubt, would be top of the list for any eventual wild card. Jimmy White,

a legend of the game of course, the people's champion, a wild card to

get back to an event that he's never won, that might be controversial to

say, but he's not a former world champion. Ken's won it once, still

going well here, I think he qualify force the seniors late they are year

as well -- qualifies for the seniors later this year as well. You have to

be careful what you give out and what you say to other potential

players if Ronnie wins another couple of titles, could he pack up

and get a wild card himself, you know. The headline is this man is

willing to come back, Stephen Hendry. That's the main line. A lot

of thes, buts and maybes to be sorted out and that board meeting

will take place tomorrow night and the announcement we should have on

Wednesday. Let's try and gauge now the

sentiment back home in China for Ding. Rob Walker has been talking to

one or two Chinese journalists here. One man in the press room who's so

excited about Ding's chances has been there and witnessed each of the

five ranking event victories that Ding's notched up so far this

season. Ty, you have been there, seen the magic. How much excitement

is being generated back home in China about his title aspirations

here? We are so happy to see him winning

so many titles this season. Before this season, he had already maybe

six ranking titles, but only one has been won in China and this year's

won it in Chengdu, Shanghai and just two weeks ago in China. He lifted

the trophy of China up again -- open again. Is he equipped to handled the

pressure that will be on him? He's one of the men to beat here? Well,

we'll look again at the papers. This says he's joining the ten title

club, this one is saying champion, so he's handling the pressure

really, really well. I do believe he's becoming a prolific champion.

He's a talented player but now he's going to make some moves.

Good luck keeping your nerves under control. I know you are such a

passionate supporter of Chinese snooker in particular. Enjoy the

match. Thanks for talking to us. Stephen, you do a lot of work in

China. Do we fully comprehend the level of expectation on this young

man? I've been there a lot. The way they treat champions is incredible,

people who've won World Championships and Olympics in other

sports, if he was to win, he's be huge in champion -- he'd be huge in

China and that's got to be a big pressure.

A lady known as Victoria here has taken him under her wing here, she's

become his manager and is looking after him. What a difference in this

man since she's taken over. What's been the magic ingredient? He seems

happier. Lizle things like he's turning up for interviewser Lil --

early, looking smart and things he didn't want to do before he's not

massively fussed about now, speaking to us, he's professional and seems

to be enjoying life. He's won five ranking titles this year and the

draw, albeit a small matter of Ronnie O'Sullivan, looks a

reasonable draw as well. It's got to be a case of pretty soon for Ding.

Seeing him around, he's loving it. He doesn't seem to have had the

stress that perhaps he did in the early part of his career when he had

the burden of expectancy from him from all the millions watching back

home. He's won enough. Still not the world, but you can sense he's looked

after well, gets on with Victoria well, sorts out the stuff he does

wantn't to do and he can just play snooker which he's not doing too

badly at. There is a level of maturity that's come with this. He

was stifled by the pressure of come paoetzing at home and he's won three

Championships there in China -- competing. Surely it won't be long

before he wins there. We have a lot of new gadgets and the boys are

loving their toys but one of the ones that they have been using

enhances what we already know about the way the balls move on the

snooker table. We do have greater powers of analysis now, Steve. I

wonder how much does all this technology con trib contribute to

our knowledge of the mechanics and physics of the game and to our

levels of understanding. Can we learn from this and tweak the way we

play because of this greater knowledge? I think the first thing

to say is that the players of today have had so much footage to learn

from from great players of the past, including Stephen Hendry,

pushing on the levels of break-building. And understanding

what the balls do not only gives the viewers more of an understanding of

what the balls do but it gives kids an idea of what they need to

achieve. That is what is going on when you are trying to get into the

pack. It is lovely to watch, does it enhance your understanding? They are

amazing pictures, no doubt about it. I don't think snooker players

sometimes appreciate what we do, but you see that end you see the skill

involved in hitting the shots correctly and timing them, it is

therefore all to. It took them a while to realise they weren't just

playing with a cue ball that was new. No plans to bring in the

stripey ball, but you never know. OK, it is time for a little less

conversation and a little more action, as Elvis once said, the

king, not Arnold Palmer, the king. Well, it is time for table talk to

stop and action to begin, because for players are waiting backstage

and they are waiting for the call from the front of house, and it is a

packed house. Rob Walker is the man of the moment. Thanks, Hazel. Ladies

and gentlemen, what a sense of expectation we have in the arena

this afternoon ahead of this scintillating session of snooker.

The Dafabet World Championship is warming up with aplomb and we have a

wealth of talent waiting backstage. Please welcome first of all a player

who showed nerves of steel to qualify for his Crucible debut,

beating Robert Milkins in the decider on a re-spotted black. He

has made great progress since turning professional two years ago,

former European under 19 runner-up, here comes Michael Wasley.

And his opponent, after a record equalling fifth ranking event title

in one season, there is massive expectation back home in China. It

has been a sensational year. Victories in Germany, India and

three on home soil, he has hit of the richest vein of form in his

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

the Dragon, Ding Junhui! MUSIC: "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson.

And here on table two, please welcome a player making is 18th

appearance at the Crucible 23 years since his debut. A two-time ranking

event winner, he has also won the Masters, beating two-time world

champion Mark Williams to book his place here. Ladies and gentlemen, he

is rolling back the years in style, here comes Alan McManus. New

MUSIC: Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison.

And his opponent, the player who this year reaches the milestone of

two decades of Crucible appearances. His long and

illustrious career has bought him -- brought in 25 ranking titles,

including four here on the bigger stage of all. Without a doubt one of

the greatest hour sport has ever seen, give it up for the Wizard of

Wishaw, John Higgins. MUSIC: "Pencil Full Of Lead" by

Paolo Nutini. HAZEL IRVINE: Both matches are

available, the red button and online options, but we will start with the

Scottish matchup. I don't think I have seen tartan trousers at the

Crucible before, I am guessing they are McManus tartan. Higgins and

McManus practice at the same club in Glasgow and were sitting together to

watch the Crucible draw on Thursday and I understand there has been

quite a lot of banter between them since then. I know Willie Thorne and

John will appreciate the finer elements, these players know every

angle each other's games. JOHN VIRGO: they certainly do and if

you don't know what tartan it is, there's not much chance Willie

Thorne and died. Yes, this is like rolling back the

years. Alan McManus getting this first-round match underway. An

interesting statistic, Jan Verhaas, the referee, this was the first much

he ever refereed at the Crucible. That is a nice touch, he is getting

married very soon. One of our best referees. 19 years. It was 1995 and

on that occasion, Alan McManus beat John Higgins 10-3. A lot of water

has gone under the bridge since then. But this could be a match for

the, -- for the commerce connossieur. It has been a bit of a

shock that Alan has been off the scene and anyone who can beat Mark

Williams is obviously still a man to be wary of. It will be interesting

to see how he starts the match. It has been key that he has not been on

television much. He has to make a good start.

He could have played for the black but he knew if he stunned it in, he

would play closer to the Persian. And he had the pink as another

colour to play for. -- closer to the cushion.

He has always had that little movement of his head, Alan. Yes, you

see it a lot when he is cueing on the ball. He is not quite straight

enough on this red so he has to push through the one just above it but he

can still get on the black. We have just found out it is the MacKenzie

clan tartan. You didn't believe it when I told you of Mike. -- off mic.

You can just see from that shot there, there is not a lot of room

between the end of the table and the dividing wall. He is right up

against it. OK, when he gets down... But I am one of those people who

likes to stand back from the shot to pick the angle out. Talking about

the walls, I sent out a Tweet this morning about dear old Ted Ted

Lowe. Just about the greatest commentator of all time.

Yes, always affectionately remember Ted, but not great at the limbo.

This needs to come in and out of baulk. Not quite hard enough and it

doesn't look like he has a good angle on the brown. He may take it

on, it depends how he is feeling. The obvious shot is to just trickle

behind it. Allen has obviously always been a

more negative player in so far as break-building has been concerned.

Someone like Judd Trump would have screwed that into the middle pocket.

Yes, but first frame, the nerves will still be there. As someone once

said to me, Mario Berni, a legend in the Welsh amateur game, he said if

you can play the game and be true to yourself, give your ability a

chance, don't push the boat out too far.

He has heated, but he has left a red certainly to the right middle.

Awkward cueing, but half a chance that he has hit it.

Good shot. Never easy, it was an acute angle and hampered as he was,

couldn't have played it better. Just about the only professional in the

game, Alan, who has the chalk page on the back of his trousers, rather

than putting it in and out of his pocket -- chalk patch. None of the

other professionals here will have it.

Practice was, it was always handy to have one, you would rip your pocket

to shreds pulling the chalk in and out all the time. Very rarely a

professional player will have one in the tournament. He doesn't want to

rough up the MacKenzie tartan. Purposely playing for the pink there

and playing for the pink he knows, in potting it, he will be running

into the other reds and bringing them into play. If it goes right, it

is a frame-winning chance. He got a great split but he didn't

want the reaction from the cue ball. He screws off the pack. He is

still on a couple of reds but not of them are straightforward. This is

the first pressure pot in the opening frame so far. Yes, like you,

I was a bit surprised he played the screw, because it was always going

to come away, whereas if he had run through... He didn't feel he had to

hit the ball that hard, it was perfect on the pink but playing it

just below centre, it was always going to come back to the site. --

side. And it has cost him. It made that red more difficult than he

would have liked. Still plenty of points available for

John Higgins, should he get a chance. Great player that he was a

few years ago and maybe still is. I haven't seen too much of him in the

last few years. Always blessed with a wonderful temperament, wasn't he?

You never knew from his face if he was in trouble or not. And we always

remember when Stephen Hendry was on what looks like an unbeatable run in

the Masters, it is Alan McManus who brought that to an end.

And a few times, he has looked as if he could have gone all the way in

this championship. But he has had a few years in the wilderness, good to

see him back. Nothing easy to get into the baulk

area on the right-hand side of the table. He will do well to get back

into baulk. He may take a pot on. For the first time, I can't see a

way back. And I can't see a pot either. He can't get through to the

red obviously closest to this corner. He is in a spot of bother

here. Even though he can get his hand on the table.

Decided to play it hardball. He misses... Just catches the yellow

but he did well to get back to baulk, in all honesty.

Just a fraction hard. Another day, he could have been titled behind the

yellow. A lot of people always as you... The referee has knocked over

a bottle of water! That is the player's prerogative. I bet he

didn't that 19 years ago. Can we have a towel, please? That is a new

one. The referee throwing the towel in!

He was bending down to look at the shot and there it was.

Has rain ever stopped play? It did once, wasn't it the City Hall in

Manchester, when Alex Higginson -- Alex Higgins played Fred Davis, one

of the legend, they were stood there with umbrellas. John Higgins can't

take the smile off his face. Alan has to keep focused.

That is a good safety shot. It is a good job Judd isn't sitting there,

too grand's worth of shoes, he wouldn't want water on them. -- two

grand's worth. I think they are going to leave the water there until

the end of this frame and then they will get the towel out.

That was a good shot to catch it that thin. OK, he didn't find the

baulk cushion, neither player has with the last few safety shot, but

the ball is in such a position that it is quite easy not to leave a pot

on. Yes, he has not had a go at a party at, John Higgins. -- at a pot

yet. Alan McManus is controlling the safety at the moment. Just starting

to kiss the baulk colours. I expect John to get close this

time. I knew it would happen eventually. A

Higginson special. -- Higgins special. Waded in John Higgins' game

is at the moment? I have been a massive fan of his fears and what

happened is he started to doubt his cue, he changed it a few times and

if you start doubting your equipment, it shows you have lost a

bit of confidence. But I think he is quite happy with what he got -- what

he's got at the moment and obviously the standard is getting better. A

few players are capable of beating him. In his pomp, it was only two or

three and is now it is probably tend that are capable of beating him. --

ten. He has hit the wrong red. This is

John Higgins' first chance. If the pink goes into the corner, then I

don't see why he is looking at playing another red. What about the

red that is near the Black spot? The pink definitely goes, can he not run

through to the nearer cushion? That definitely looks the shot to me.

Playing this one to the left of the pink, he could be nothing. Now he is

looking at the one on the black spot. Surely this is the one, if you

can roll it in and find a gap between the cushion. He has

realised. He didn't spot it at first. Amazing. He must have an

earpiece in. Anywhere near the cushion should be

OK. Might be playing for the blue or the

pink. He has played the pink and hit it terribly. Didn't get into it at

all. This pink is tough now, isn't it? As you say, never got any

response out of the cue ball. This is very tricky.

But fair play to him, he has potted it. Tremendous pot, it really was.

He can just get through to the red that is over the pocket. That is a

good recovery. He will make sure he gets high on the pink this time.

Well played. You asked me about the question

about a John Higgins. Why is your opinion about why he has been

off-colour -- what is your opinion? Quite a lot was going on, losing his

father will not have helped him in any way. His father was always here

at the tournaments and he lost that little bit of support or that thing

you rely on, always used to having his father behind him. And then, of

course, I think the other thing anything that has affected quite a

few of the players is that the standard Ronnie is setting at the

moment, it is a bar that has been raised that sometimes you can strive

to hard to reach. Then you forget how good you were by just trying to

well... Play a higher grade of snooker, but as you say, everybody

in the game has always feared John Higgins, his all-round game, his

safety play, potting, break-building.

But as you say, if he is messing about with queues, that wouldn't

help either. As we know, it is all in the mind, this game -- cues.

That is twice he has played without a bit of reaction. But he's back in

the frame, all square. Didn't want the second case. It was

a snooker and then all of a sudden the yellow has bounced off the

cushion and flipped the white again and it has left a pattern. -- a

path. That is an excellent safety shot.

Beautiful line and a lovely length. Points are all square. A little bit

of pressure on John Higgins this time.

Got to be a bit careful with the red on the back cushion. He decided to

take the pot on and that was dangerous. He has been OK, he could

have left that red on along the top cushion. I am surprised he took that

on. Missed it by a long way. Good part. And a nice flick on the

black. -- pot. A chance to get the first frame for Alan McManus.