Day 3, Part 3

:00:00. > :00:00.Good part. And a nice flick on the black. -- pot. A chance to get the

:00:00. > :00:42.first frame for Alan McManus. Overran that. The red to go round

:00:43. > :00:44.the back of the green, it's a bit more difficult than it should have

:00:45. > :01:07.been. All he can do is drop the blue in

:01:08. > :01:17.now. Is it the angle just to cannon into the red, maybe nudge it towards

:01:18. > :01:25.the pocket? Won't be far away. He felt he could hold it. He's overcut

:01:26. > :01:31.it. He overcut it. He motioned as though the blue rolled off slightly.

:01:32. > :01:33.But it always looked on this low lower jaw and that's where it

:01:34. > :02:18.stayed. Alan will be very disappointed if he

:02:19. > :02:20.loses this frame. He's had four chances in the frame. We mentioned

:02:21. > :02:41.earlier, he needs a good start. What's happened now? He's underhate

:02:42. > :02:51.couple of shots. That swung wide off the green. You can only assume his

:02:52. > :02:54.timing's not there. It swung wide. That's usually because of your

:02:55. > :03:01.timing and you are not getting the amount of top spin required. From

:03:02. > :03:04.looking like an excellent chance to pinch the first frame, he'll do well

:03:05. > :03:37.to pot the yellow. He did go for the yellow and he

:03:38. > :03:40.knew, playing at that pace, if it didn't go in, it could be left in

:03:41. > :04:07.the jaws of the pocket. Could have played that better. Seven

:04:08. > :04:09.points to lead. He needs green, brown and blue. But this green is

:04:10. > :04:39.tough. I think we've had everything in this

:04:40. > :05:02.frame. But to knock the blue in, and he

:05:03. > :05:11.played that well. As you said, unlucky.

:05:12. > :05:18.Higgins deciding not to take the green on. So this first frame still

:05:19. > :05:28.in the balance. Only two points in it in favour of McManus. Just came

:05:29. > :05:33.around to look at the angle of the green on to the pink and taking the

:05:34. > :05:37.cue ball back to the Bruyne area. Got to leave the green virtually on

:05:38. > :05:43.the pink spot if you are going to play the pink spot. The green's come

:05:44. > :06:33.away thousand -- the brown area. John Higgins will take this on.

:06:34. > :06:40.This looks good. Not qiesmt it looked for all the world it was

:06:41. > :06:48.going to get in behind it, but I think there may be an edge of the

:06:49. > :06:55.green sticking out. -- not quite. Doesn't make it an easy shot.

:06:56. > :07:02.Decided to come off the side and baulk cushion. Needs to get right in

:07:03. > :07:08.behind it oh, and missed it. That's a surprise.

:07:09. > :07:16.A lot of one cushion escapes been missed. They seem to be a lot square

:07:17. > :07:20.they are week. Yes, I've heard a few people say that. I don't know why

:07:21. > :08:03.that is. Excellent shot. Big advantage for

:08:04. > :08:20.McManus that he can compete with Higgins in the tactical exchanges.

:08:21. > :08:39.Six points the lead. Still need green, brown and blue.

:08:40. > :08:51.Oh, he went for it. He's missed it. Had a few chances in this first

:08:52. > :08:53.frame, has Alan. One good pot here from John Higgins and he goes

:08:54. > :09:22.favourite for it now. Needs a good angle on the blue.

:09:23. > :09:26.Needs the blue and the pink. The closer he can get to the pink, the

:09:27. > :09:29.better. I don't think he'll try and disturb it. He'll try and get it off

:09:30. > :09:39.the cushion and come behind it. Bit of distance between the two. But

:09:40. > :09:51.that's pretty good. That's excellent. He only needs the pink so

:09:52. > :09:56.he can just roll it in dead weight. Well, that was the frame that could

:09:57. > :09:58.have gone either way. Alan McManus will be disappointed he didn't win

:09:59. > :10:05.it with the amount of chances he had. But it goes to four times world

:10:06. > :10:12.champion, John Higgins. He leads 1-. I mentioned these two know each

:10:13. > :10:15.other very well. It was on Higgins' debut that he came up against

:10:16. > :10:20.McManus and lost. The two are tremendous friends and actually,

:10:21. > :10:23.John says he owes Alan an awful lot about the early days? Obviously

:10:24. > :10:26.Alan's got a tremendous all round game as well and tremendous

:10:27. > :10:31.knowledge of the snooker table and, you know, he's got the nickname

:10:32. > :10:36.Angles, so yes, he's probably learned a lot from him. This game

:10:37. > :10:42.brought him to four world titles, but there was a rookie error in

:10:43. > :10:49.there as well, Steve? Yes, so many. Taylor. That's not a mistake!

:10:50. > :10:55.Apologies. McManus failed to put the bottle top back on his bottle which

:10:56. > :10:59.caused the schoolboy error of bumping into it. The two of them

:11:00. > :11:03.will be at loggerheads in the interval as to whose problem it was.

:11:04. > :11:08.So you are blaming McManus for the spillage? In hindsight, if we put

:11:09. > :11:12.that in an analysis, at the point at which Alan left the bottle open

:11:13. > :11:16.without putting the cap on, that's where it all went wrong. We'll tell

:11:17. > :11:29.him that. That is going to be an awfully close match, spillages or

:11:30. > :11:35.not. Although John's not firing on all cylinders the last couple of

:11:36. > :11:40.seasons, I think he'd possibly win, 10-6, 10-7 I think. A lot of people

:11:41. > :11:44.watching the qualifiers will feel that he's back to some form and can

:11:45. > :11:48.cause some problem, but it depends on his scoring ability. On these

:11:49. > :11:54.conditions, it's harder to keep the ball under control, even in the

:11:55. > :12:03.qualifying section. We go on about things all the time. John had a

:12:04. > :12:08.victory in a small event, got to the final which was a first world

:12:09. > :12:13.ranking event. His season went cold thereafter. He started to show a

:12:14. > :12:16.little better form in the world champion champions, enough for you?

:12:17. > :12:21.So he has a good enough record to pull on those memories and get that

:12:22. > :12:26.inspiration. He's not been the dominant force that he normally is.

:12:27. > :12:32.It's well documented that he messes about with cues a bit. He pinches

:12:33. > :12:37.frames, which is John's trademark. When you do that, you get a star and

:12:38. > :12:42.tend the lose the belief. He's well capable. And he would. Scared of

:12:43. > :12:50.playing O'Sullivan as well. Earlier on this season, he felt he could

:12:51. > :12:54.come back, that's always a sign of confidence. He never says that

:12:55. > :12:58.unless he means it? Yes and the clue could be in the fact that he's gone

:12:59. > :13:02.back to a cue that he's had success with in the past, instead of

:13:03. > :13:04.searching for the Holy Grail of cues that may not exist. It's first blood

:13:05. > :13:21.to Higgins. Here we go again. He'll be very pleased, John Higgins,

:13:22. > :13:27.getting that under way. Needed a few extra chances there.

:13:28. > :13:37.There's the water being mopped up. Normal play will be resumed! I'm

:13:38. > :14:12.sure Steve Davis will be delighted! A good long red. A fraction more and

:14:13. > :14:18.it would have been unmissable. I still don't fancy him to miss it

:14:19. > :14:30.now. Doesn't have to do a lot with the cue ball. Good shot. He's got

:14:31. > :14:51.this red to the right corner. He can play for pink or black.

:14:52. > :14:56.The red he'd like to get rid of sooner or later is to the left of

:14:57. > :14:59.the black now. That will enable the black to go into both corner

:15:00. > :15:06.pockets. Oh, can't miss blacks like that. Not

:15:07. > :15:58.at this level. I think he might play the red shot

:15:59. > :16:04.to make sure he can get on to a baulk colour.

:16:05. > :16:09.Hasn't got the cue ball under control at the minute, John Higgins.

:16:10. > :16:24.He'll be pleased to have won that opening frame. Overrunning a lot,

:16:25. > :16:29.underscrewing as well. Another example. That cue ball a foot

:16:30. > :16:32.further down the table. Struggling with his screw shots. His timing's

:16:33. > :16:48.just not there yet. Nice recovery. Good shot. Landed

:16:49. > :17:39.absolutely perfect on the blue. Always a danger. If he played it

:17:40. > :17:44.with a trace of right hand side and it pushes the cue ball and he didn't

:17:45. > :17:54.allow for the push. That's why he hit the black too thin and caught

:17:55. > :18:01.the wide jaw. But the way he's opened the reds, Whitehall a chance

:18:02. > :18:20.now for Alan McManus. -- what a chance now.

:18:21. > :18:43.I would imagine they are using the same cue ball as they use all

:18:44. > :18:48.tournament. It's been so easy to screw it back for the others that

:18:49. > :18:50.have played on this table. Both these players struggling to get a

:18:51. > :18:56.bit of movement in the screw shots. Maybe they are both not quite timing

:18:57. > :20:15.it right yet. Not the best kiss. Very good shot on the blue from

:20:16. > :20:21.McManus to finish absolutely perfect. He'll be very disappointed

:20:22. > :20:28.if he doesn't get the chance to put the first frame behind him. Played

:20:29. > :20:35.to screw that another three or four inches to the right. Neither player

:20:36. > :22:27.getting a reaction from screw shots at the minute.

:22:28. > :22:33.29 pointses in front. These three remaining reds in play would be

:22:34. > :22:44.enough. Thing is with John Higgins, you know

:22:45. > :22:52.he's going to carry on if you leave a red on the table. This black from

:22:53. > :23:05.John Higgin, that trace pushes the cue ball. Got the split nicely.

:23:06. > :24:02.Never used to miss those. He got the split nicely, but not for himself.

:24:03. > :24:08.Very important for Alan McManus to have won this frame having had three

:24:09. > :24:12.or four chances to take the opener. He'll sit down in his chair after

:24:13. > :24:16.this very nice break and will have forgotten about that opening frame.

:24:17. > :24:20.If he'd lost this frame, he would have been kicking himself. Hasn't

:24:21. > :24:24.been here for a few years, so it takes a while to settle. It's the

:24:25. > :24:26.most unbelievable venue in the world, without any shadow of a

:24:27. > :24:45.doubt. Seems to be playing at a quicker

:24:46. > :24:57.pace than I've seen him do for some time.

:24:58. > :25:04.Playing a trick shot there. But Alan McManus with a very nice break. In

:25:05. > :25:08.the goes the black. That will please him greatly. He's been a great play,

:25:09. > :25:14.still proves he can be that and he levels the score at 1-1. The key

:25:15. > :25:18.thing was, they've mentioned twice, the black off the spot and, at any

:25:19. > :25:23.standard, you cannot miss blacks off a spot. No, and John Higgins just

:25:24. > :25:28.had to play it with a trace aside and, as we were saying, his timing's

:25:29. > :25:33.not right, so he's probably just hit it a little too hard and that left

:25:34. > :25:40.hand side just pushed it too far over to the right. He got the

:25:41. > :25:44.perfect split but no benefit to him. We have already seen both these

:25:45. > :25:48.players have been here on several occasions and you get the Crucible

:25:49. > :25:51.jitters when you play here? It's understandable. It's a big, big

:25:52. > :25:59.tournament, the one you look forward to all year, Alan McManus fighting

:26:00. > :26:04.to get back here, John Higgins will have great respect and the crowd are

:26:05. > :26:08.so close to you. They say the Crucible doesn't come alive until

:26:09. > :26:13.you get to the one table. I disagree, the two-table situation is

:26:14. > :26:20.when you get the atmosphere, you have got to really concentrate hard

:26:21. > :26:24.and it's just a place that's got so much history and so much atmosphere,

:26:25. > :26:29.it's just a thrill sometimes, as we said the other day, when you are

:26:30. > :26:33.driving to Sheffield, you get the butterflies even though we are only

:26:34. > :26:36.commentating. 14 years since I've play and coming down the parkway,

:26:37. > :26:53.the buzz is there. Just caught that a little bit too

:26:54. > :26:55.thin. Just managed to avoid the kiss on the blue. It's not the best

:26:56. > :27:09.break. Not certain he can apot this and

:27:10. > :27:17.kiss off the black which is what he'll want to do. -- can pot this.

:27:18. > :27:21.If he played the potting angle and didn't get it, he would have run

:27:22. > :27:24.into the black and could have been dangerous, so I don't think he went

:27:25. > :28:17.for the pot there. That was a safety.

:28:18. > :28:24.This one I expected him to get. Looking at the way that went, there

:28:25. > :28:26.might have been heavy contact. Seemed to carry on. May have been

:28:27. > :28:45.unlucky. Higgins may play the same here. Even

:28:46. > :28:47.though he's not near the baulk cushion, he's near the side cushion,

:28:48. > :29:39.makes it slightly awkward cueing. It's one of those that he has to

:29:40. > :29:43.finish very low on this black. He's guaranteed to get the desired

:29:44. > :29:51.position. If he runs it in, he may overrun it. He has run it in, but

:29:52. > :30:05.played it nicely. Just got to play a nice little

:30:06. > :30:12.cannon here. The slower you hit that, the more reaction you get on

:30:13. > :30:17.the cue ball. His timing's not there yet. There's more proof. Positive of

:30:18. > :30:18.it. Didn't really get into that cue ball

:30:19. > :30:44.as he would have liked. Finished up with a decent safety,

:30:45. > :30:51.but you wouldn't imagine that Alan McManus, in escaping from this

:30:52. > :30:57.snooker, would leave anything. Was it you who nicknamed him Angles?

:30:58. > :31:02.No, it wasn't, John. I give most of the players

:31:03. > :31:06.nicknames, but I didn't do that for Alan McManus. Maybe one of the

:31:07. > :31:13.Scottish lads did because he used to get out of ridiculous smokers with

:31:14. > :31:17.five or six versions -- get out of ridiculous snooker macros with five

:31:18. > :31:25.or six cushions. There is a lot of bit of safety

:31:26. > :31:42.going on. I would just like to say hello to

:31:43. > :31:45.George Montgomerie who has been coming here for 30 years, this is

:31:46. > :31:47.the first year he has missed because he is not very well.

:31:48. > :31:50.Very good friend of John Higgins and all the players, always a good man

:31:51. > :31:51.to have around and he is missed. Get well soon, George. We are thinking

:31:52. > :32:09.of you, pal, time you came back. Neither player has found the baulk

:32:10. > :32:14.cushion as you would expect from these two great safety players.

:32:15. > :32:25.He may take the pot on. Syed Gershon, top cushion back into

:32:26. > :32:32.baulk, which is an unusual plate -- way of playing it. -- side cushion.

:32:33. > :33:21.Side cushion, top cushion, but nowhere near the red.

:33:22. > :33:27.Not guaranteed to get round the back of the green and yellow to get back

:33:28. > :33:31.to the business end of the table here.

:33:32. > :33:36.He has managed it, though, good shot. Is there going to be a gap to

:33:37. > :33:50.get through to the reds? Can he see enough of those two reds

:33:51. > :33:55.to the left of the black? It looks as though he can see enough of it. I

:33:56. > :34:01.think he can just roll it in beyond the black to the opposite corner.

:34:02. > :34:14.He hit the other red first! But he still has the pot, but not on the

:34:15. > :34:18.collar. -- on the colour. It is amazing, he still had enough of the

:34:19. > :35:50.red to pot it. Of course, position ruined.

:35:51. > :35:59.Green will be his target here to get the cue ball behind. That looks

:36:00. > :36:54.pretty good line, just a little bit heavy.

:36:55. > :37:37.Still trying to get in behind that cream. -- green.

:37:38. > :37:46.Alan is taking a risk playing this shot. I thought he was going to play

:37:47. > :37:50.the deep screw back into baulk, but the way he is playing it the

:37:51. > :38:26.sweeping round the back of the pack. He has done well.

:38:27. > :38:34.Well, it was half an attempt at the pot. The committed to it some

:38:35. > :38:38.thought, that is why he is nowhere near as the baulk cushion, so

:38:39. > :38:47.another chance for Alan McManus, read to the right corner. -- red to

:38:48. > :38:48.the right corner. It is just a case of manoeuvring the cue ball back to

:38:49. > :39:10.that end of the table. He is just about on the green.

:39:11. > :39:16.Well, there is definitely a bit of milage here in trying to bring the

:39:17. > :39:21.pink and red into play. Any sort of kiss on any of those would be good.

:39:22. > :39:31.It is impossible to win the frame just off blues and baulk colours.

:39:32. > :39:36.He has played it pretty well. He has brought the pink into play, just

:39:37. > :41:01.needs to get onto a red now, this is a very good shot, very well played.

:41:02. > :41:07.Just got into the cue ball little bit too much there, he obviously

:41:08. > :41:13.wanted to drift past that red so it would have been a more straight

:41:14. > :41:15.pink. Moving away from the reds now. He will be playing a red at

:41:16. > :41:31.distance, whatever happens. Does this red pot by the other red?

:41:32. > :41:37.I think it does. I think he can just cue past the blue.

:41:38. > :41:44.Always a chance of playing, you either stand it off the side cushion

:41:45. > :41:52.from the opposite corner or do try and hold it. He can just cue past

:41:53. > :41:57.the blue, as I say. I think that is what he is thinking, either to hold

:41:58. > :41:59.it or stun it of the side cushion. Stunning it off the side cushion is

:42:00. > :42:05.usually preference. He will be at full stretch on this

:42:06. > :42:25.pink. He could reach it comfortably. He

:42:26. > :42:29.must be taller than I remember. One thing is for certain, the first

:42:30. > :42:33.green he played when he flicked the pink into play, look how beneficial

:42:34. > :42:38.that has been now, he has every chance of winning the frame at this

:42:39. > :42:43.visit. Yes, a great call that has made the difference.

:42:44. > :42:46.If he did not play that he would have had very little to go at. It is

:42:47. > :42:49.those little things that make all the difference between winning a

:42:50. > :43:14.frame in one visit or not. So, you young aspiring snooker

:43:15. > :43:20.players, watch this, he knew if he potted that green and hit the red or

:43:21. > :43:25.pink it would bring one into play and give them a chance to win the

:43:26. > :43:29.frame in one visit. Always be aware of what can be possible. He will be

:43:30. > :43:34.disappointed with that, he has gone too close to the side cushion. There

:43:35. > :43:39.is pressure on this pink now. He had a look at the scoreboard, that will

:43:40. > :43:43.not make this pot in easier, 34 points is the lead. I think if the

:43:44. > :43:48.black was in open play he would be more likely to pot it.

:43:49. > :43:53.The fact the black is safe takes a bit of pressure off it. Very good

:43:54. > :44:01.pot. This could be a frame winner now. A few more reds needed, the

:44:02. > :44:03.next two are pretty straightforward, the next red after

:44:04. > :44:20.that will be slightly more difficult.

:44:21. > :44:31.That pink now takes 47 points in front, 57 remaining.

:44:32. > :44:42.So, two reds, two colours should do the job.

:44:43. > :44:51.I don't know whether that cue ball flew off the top cushion, but he is

:44:52. > :44:57.certainly not on the pink as he wanted. Let's have a look.

:44:58. > :45:08.It did seem to gather pace, didn't it?

:45:09. > :45:15.And it has caused him to miss the pink, so he will go back to his seat

:45:16. > :45:19.very, very disappointed. He had a bounce off the top cushion ruin his

:45:20. > :45:23.position and ruin his chance of winning the third frame at that

:45:24. > :45:31.visit. You would have to say he is still favoured but he will be

:45:32. > :45:38.disappointed that the run of the ball has cost him. As you can see,

:45:39. > :45:46.that red and black out of commission and this is the only red not near a

:45:47. > :46:57.cushion, really. And he has missed it. This is a good lead to have.

:46:58. > :47:10.Well, good safety shot that from Alan McManus, and look where the

:47:11. > :47:14.reds R. Clearance from there? He may bring the black into play

:47:15. > :47:18.this time. That red he will be playing into the black could bring

:47:19. > :47:25.another red out. He will have to get the gap though.

:47:26. > :47:29.Oh dear, that looks like end of frame. I was going to see that he

:47:30. > :47:33.could be unlucky and knock the black in.

:47:34. > :47:39.But you would have laughed at me. Yes, but after the time, John.

:47:40. > :47:43.Try and see it before the shot, if you don't mind. Where is the black

:47:44. > :47:46.ball going? !

:47:47. > :48:02.Just the red needed. And in that red goes. It has taken

:48:03. > :48:08.quite a time to resolve this frame, there has been quite a bit of

:48:09. > :48:15.safety. But it is Alan McManus who has just

:48:16. > :48:20.picked up the pieces. A break of 47 early on seems to be the catalyst

:48:21. > :48:21.for the frame. Now that black has gone and I am sure John Higgins will

:48:22. > :48:40.concede. There you go, that is the double

:48:41. > :48:46.kiss safety. John Higgins will give the referee then don't say that is

:48:47. > :48:51.enough, so it is Alan McManus. A bitty frame, neither player looks to

:48:52. > :48:56.have really settled, but Alan McManus leads John Higgins two

:48:57. > :49:01.frames to one. Applause, not particularly for that

:49:02. > :49:04.frame, but in the zone be hanged as there is point going on in the

:49:05. > :49:07.Winter Gardens. To what extent is the familiarity of

:49:08. > :49:14.each other and knowing each other's game going to have an impact on this

:49:15. > :49:17.match, Steve? I think the first thing to discuss is that for every

:49:18. > :49:20.top seed the first round is a potential banana skin.

:49:21. > :49:24.Therefore you do not always said down as quickly. When you are up

:49:25. > :49:28.against a player who you have a great bit of respect for, sometimes

:49:29. > :49:33.you can give them too much respect. I think this game just hasn't got

:49:34. > :49:36.going yet, that does happen. It is only three Micro frames in and it

:49:37. > :49:41.takes players perhaps until the second session to get their arm

:49:42. > :49:45.going. It is pretty cagey so far. Yes, we have talked about John

:49:46. > :49:48.Higgins and his higher scoring prowess than Alan.

:49:49. > :49:53.We're used to see him starting and stamping his authority quickly and

:49:54. > :49:58.matches, but he has not capitalised. He is never going to take liberties

:49:59. > :50:03.with Alan McManus, is the? No, he is not, but he knows he is

:50:04. > :50:08.perhaps not firing and also wonders and he knows that Alan McManus is

:50:09. > :50:09.finding a bit of form, after beating Mark Williams through the

:50:10. > :50:13.qualifiers. He should be wary of what is going

:50:14. > :50:19.on. Mark Williams sitting at home for the first time in, what?

:50:20. > :50:22.22 years? Hello, Mark, if you are watching. He

:50:23. > :50:34.would do the same to me! COMMENTATOR: I just wonder whether

:50:35. > :50:35.Ken Doherty getting through has given a surge to that older

:50:36. > :50:50.generation, as well. I would have to agree with Stephen.

:50:51. > :50:54.At the moment John Higgins is getting chances, yet he only has a

:50:55. > :50:58.break at 35. At this level if you get chances and you are not scoring,

:50:59. > :51:06.then you don't win many frames. The highest break was 87, he made a 47

:51:07. > :51:10.in the last. John Higgins is still to make a break over 40. It is not

:51:11. > :51:39.as though he has not had the opportunities.

:51:40. > :51:43.Well, that is a bonus, there is no way he could have envisaged that

:51:44. > :51:49.ball going in the corner. He is just going to play the role up

:51:50. > :52:10.behind the green. -- roll. He has managed to snooker John on

:52:11. > :52:16.all the reds. He got a good cue ball, but the red going in was a

:52:17. > :52:21.bonus, and once that went in he could lay on the sticker macro and

:52:22. > :52:24.protect John in even more trouble. He is looking at the two cushion

:52:25. > :52:28.escaped with pace. This is risky.

:52:29. > :52:35.-- lay on the snooker. The Miss fit, it the blue full ball,

:52:36. > :52:41.then this is called, but will not be taken.

:52:42. > :52:48.-- he missed it. This is a good chance, there is a

:52:49. > :52:57.mid-session interval after this frame. A 3-1 lead for Alan McManus

:52:58. > :53:26.would put a bit more pressure on John.

:53:27. > :53:31.There is a choice here, he has the pink to the middle and the black.

:53:32. > :53:38.The black is only available to the right corner. Those two reds below

:53:39. > :53:46.the black are affecting his shot choice, you would feel.

:53:47. > :53:51.He played that nicely, though, potted the pink, listened a few more

:53:52. > :55:03.reds. -- loosened. If the blue is just off straight he

:55:04. > :55:20.will take it on. He is taking it on. He is looking pretty good at the

:55:21. > :55:26.moment, Alan McManus. Not nicely on a red, though. There is a gap in

:55:27. > :55:33.between the pink and a red on the outside to get through to a red.

:55:34. > :55:45.There is an interesting statistic, look at the pox pot success, 91%

:55:46. > :55:53.Alan McManus, 81% John Higgins. And another horrific pot.

:55:54. > :56:00.This is a tremendous shot, so close to the ocean, digging down. He could

:56:01. > :56:03.not have played that better. You would have to say he was a little

:56:04. > :56:07.bit unlucky to be so close to the cushion, people -- because both

:56:08. > :56:15.brown and yellow are not easy to get back up to this end of the table.

:56:16. > :56:22.Power is needed. And power was got. As you look, not very good. He can

:56:23. > :56:26.get through to the one on the back cushion and get back up for a baulk

:56:27. > :56:48.colour again. I think he would have liked to have

:56:49. > :56:50.been on the blue, but he went a little bit further than he would

:56:51. > :56:59.have liked. It could be brown. I think the

:57:00. > :57:03.yellow maybe a little bit too straight. The blue is thin. If

:57:04. > :57:07.you're going to play the blue, I would be thinking about playing the

:57:08. > :57:16.cannon here, rather than just rolling it in.

:57:17. > :57:26.Well, he still has a possibility, there are two reds available to the

:57:27. > :57:33.left middle. The top one would take a little bit more pressure off him.

:57:34. > :57:39.And straight in the heart of the pocket. He needs the cue ball to

:57:40. > :57:44.slow up... He has just overrun it a fraction. He can still pot the

:57:45. > :57:48.brown, but awkward cueing with the green.

:57:49. > :57:53.He certainly seems to be gaining in confidence. He is looking very at

:57:54. > :58:10.ease with himself. He has played off one cushion, but

:58:11. > :58:15.he knew he was bound to be on a red should he pot it. I don't go whether

:58:16. > :58:18.Allen called the foul or the referee saw it, but he will be disappointed,

:58:19. > :58:30.it must have been the green that he touched.

:58:31. > :58:36.We did not notice anything on the slow motion, John. That would

:58:37. > :58:39.suggest that Allen called it on himself, because it is only

:58:40. > :58:46.something as a player that you would feel.

:58:47. > :58:54.But that is what we expect in our game. That conduct. But it could be

:58:55. > :59:01.costly. He looked for all the world to be on the way to winning this

:59:02. > :59:33.frame. Well done. But, as I say, it could cost him.

:59:34. > :59:38.This isn't really a reprieve for John Higgins, because he has not

:59:39. > :59:42.really been in this match yet, has he? He has had precious little

:59:43. > :59:48.opportunity, and the opportunities he has had he has not scored. This

:59:49. > :59:53.is a bit of a gift. One thing is for certain, if he gets up to two each,

:59:54. > :00:03.I know who will enjoy their cup of tea the most.

:00:04. > :00:10.He is looking at the reds in the middle of the table as a plant. He

:00:11. > :00:14.has to be careful. There is a gap between the two, so he has to

:00:15. > :00:21.concentrate on hitting that first ball correctly.

:00:22. > :00:34.And he did not. He was thinking about position. And he forgot to hit

:00:35. > :00:37.that first ball in the right place. If you don't hit the first ball in

:00:38. > :00:44.the right place you don't hit the second ball to knock it in the

:00:45. > :00:45.pocket. That foul that Alan McManus made has not cost him, he has

:00:46. > :01:38.another chance for a 3-1 lead. If he gets through the gap, he'll be

:01:39. > :01:43.on a red. Could play for the one in the middle. 21 points in front.

:01:44. > :02:11.Needs four more reds at least. He's looking very confident, playing

:02:12. > :02:19.a decent pace around the table. Looks to be taking on a few more

:02:20. > :02:21.shots than he used to. Maybe he realises he can still compete at the

:02:22. > :03:05.top level. He'll probably take a risk here. He

:03:06. > :03:28.didn't want to be playing that one along the cushion.

:03:29. > :03:49.I agree that he should disturb them. Very unlucky. All of a sudden he

:03:50. > :03:54.looks like twlor reds, one in each corner, and all of a sudden they've

:03:55. > :03:56.lined up. Good expression from Alan McManus there. He was quite amazed

:03:57. > :04:35.at what happened. Didn't generate enough pace into the

:04:36. > :04:40.cue ball. You could say in his last frame, this is his last chance.

:04:41. > :04:44.Comes to the table 35 points behind, 59 remaining so he doesn't need high

:04:45. > :04:53.value colours but he'll need them all.

:04:54. > :05:02.And is this when he comes to life? So far, he's not really been the

:05:03. > :05:20.John Higgins we expect. Could be a chance to steal a frame here.

:05:21. > :05:27.Yes, McManus will be feeling uncomfortable because he knows he's

:05:28. > :05:33.dominated this first session. And I really do mean dominated. 3-1 will

:05:34. > :05:37.be the worst he could have expected considering how he's play and John

:05:38. > :05:43.Higgins has played. Higgins has every chance of levelling at two

:05:44. > :06:00.now. Didn't really want to push that on the cushion -- at 2-2 now.

:06:01. > :06:15.Safety success is better. And this is not nice at all.

:06:16. > :06:19.He's close to the red, just off the cushion. This is definitely

:06:20. > :06:33.missable. That's not in. He tried to get the

:06:34. > :06:37.cover with the black. I don't know, the way things have been going in

:06:38. > :06:41.these first few frames, I may have been tempted to play for the snooker

:06:42. > :06:51.there. Couldn't have agreed more. He was a bit close to his white there.

:06:52. > :06:55.Yes. McManus deciding to go for a baulk colour. Thought that that

:06:56. > :06:56.would make it that much easier to get the position on the yellow and

:06:57. > :07:04.now he's nicely on the green. All the positive thoughts will be

:07:05. > :07:07.back in Alan's mind now, rather than be thinking, if I'd have got a good

:07:08. > :07:11.kiss on that last black and moved the reds into play, I would have

:07:12. > :07:21.been in front. He'd have been thinking all those things things.

:07:22. > :07:27.But now he'll be relaxing in the interval. What we have seen from

:07:28. > :07:40.John Higgins so far is that he's not looking at ease with himself.

:07:41. > :07:51.Pretty impressed with Alan. Only missed I think one easy pot in this

:07:52. > :07:55.first four frames. A couple of poor safeties, but apart from that, he's

:07:56. > :08:10.looked pretty good. It hasn't been the high standard

:08:11. > :08:14.from the first four frames from either player but McManus has

:08:15. > :08:16.certainly been the better of the two.

:08:17. > :08:27.Very good session for McManus, very poor for Higgins. First four frames

:08:28. > :08:32.have been won by McManus. I think we agree that McManus looks

:08:33. > :08:37.the more confident of the players so far, Stephen? Yes, he looks the more

:08:38. > :08:41.composed. John Higgins, he had a chance to pinch that frame, that's

:08:42. > :08:46.normally something Thunderballed put your house on him doing and he

:08:47. > :08:59.didn't achieve it. -- something that you would put your house on him

:09:00. > :09:03.doing. I've seen it time and time again, positions where John's

:09:04. > :09:08.normally the best in the world at coming back and pinching frames. If

:09:09. > :09:12.you take it for granted that you are going to do that almost and and a

:09:13. > :09:16.couple of times you don't, the doubt creeps in there. Again it's

:09:17. > :09:21.confidence issues? Yes, you can't buy the stuff. The only way you can

:09:22. > :09:26.get it is from going on the practise table and acquiring some there. More

:09:27. > :09:29.importantly on the match table. Somehow, John Higgins may have to

:09:30. > :09:33.play his way into some sort of match confidence. After that session, I'm

:09:34. > :09:39.sure he's pretty low. It's difficult against a man like McManus, 43 years

:09:40. > :09:43.of age, competing here for a couple of decades and has twice been in the

:09:44. > :09:47.semi-finals, has the Scot. He came back here after a missing seven

:09:48. > :09:52.years worth of playing at the Crucible and said that coming back

:09:53. > :09:55.12 months ago really inspired him to get his game back in order. He's

:09:56. > :10:00.done that this season, moving from world 50 up to 35. He's in a good

:10:01. > :10:10.place and has had a great season. He's a self-efacing guy away from

:10:11. > :10:14.the table but is a total hard knot. To come back two years in a row now

:10:15. > :10:18.couldn't be better. It's a great feeling, a great way to end the

:10:19. > :10:23.season. When you have history here, the people know you, obviously, if

:10:24. > :10:26.you've been around the place for so many years which I have been. It's

:10:27. > :10:33.nice to chat with some of them and sign a few programmes. I've been

:10:34. > :10:37.happy with my general form. I'm enjoying the game, enjoying being

:10:38. > :10:42.busy and don't have to put in the hours that we used to. The

:10:43. > :10:45.tournaments are really good. Some of the new formats have been good for

:10:46. > :10:50.the game. You always know that a week or two down the line you are

:10:51. > :10:56.going to have another shot at it. That's definitely helped. It's a

:10:57. > :11:00.different experience being behind the microphone. It's easier to

:11:01. > :11:04.criticise and we all criticise things, of course we do, but I still

:11:05. > :11:10.know how difficulties out there and it really is tough. I really try to

:11:11. > :11:14.be the opposite, hypercritical. I find some commentators are way too

:11:15. > :11:18.critical, but then I can understand that if they've not been on the

:11:19. > :11:24.circuit for, you know, ten or 15 year, they maybe just forget how

:11:25. > :11:30.difficult the game actually is. John for me is Without question, one

:11:31. > :11:35.of the three or four best players in the history of the sport, from a

:11:36. > :11:39.personal stand point, it will be a pleasure for me to even play John. I

:11:40. > :11:43.want to give him a good game first and foremost. You can only just play

:11:44. > :11:47.your own game and forget about him. Whatever will be will be and I'm

:11:48. > :11:52.happy to be here but I'm going to play to win. He's certainly giving

:11:53. > :11:56.John a great game so far. If you want to continue to watch that, it's

:11:57. > :12:01.available by the red button or by online. We are going to move away

:12:02. > :12:06.and have a bit of fun now. I will ask you a quiz question: Which cue

:12:07. > :12:14.cyst a three-time world champion and also has over ten million hits on

:12:15. > :12:16.YouTube? Well, his name is Florrianne Cola. He's the world

:12:17. > :12:33.trick shot champion. I'm known as Venom. Three-times

:12:34. > :12:39.trick shot champion. What I do is purely skill shots most of the time

:12:40. > :12:50.so I post videos online and YouTube itself, I have around ten million

:12:51. > :12:56.views I think. I started trick shots seven years ago now. I got a small

:12:57. > :13:03.pool table for his 18th birthday as a gift and I don't know how to play

:13:04. > :13:08.it then, literately not at all. -- literally not at all. I go online

:13:09. > :13:14.and find a lot of trick shots. I saw the videos and started doing copies

:13:15. > :13:18.of the tricks. After three years I know all the shots already and keep

:13:19. > :13:23.doing it. It's been 16 years doing the same shots so I'm doing my own

:13:24. > :13:29.version of it. Posting videos and new shots now. 60 videos later I'm

:13:30. > :13:39.here, talking about more than 1,000 new shots created.

:13:40. > :13:47.Thing two years, I've already been in 30 different countries and some

:13:48. > :13:52.of them are more important for me, probably China is important. There

:13:53. > :13:59.is a lot of people watching. I think the biggest audience I played in

:14:00. > :14:04.front of was for Fran Has got Talent. Big theatre. TV in China,

:14:05. > :14:11.100 million people live there or something like that on Saturday

:14:12. > :14:22.night, a big audience. -- France's Got Talent.

:14:23. > :14:28.My idea is to get the pool table in a different light and record the

:14:29. > :14:36.trickiest shot ever. If you could maximise the use and

:14:37. > :14:39.put a table in a different location, it's more entertaining for young

:14:40. > :14:45.people especially. Wow, he is a run away train on a

:14:46. > :14:49.pool table that. Was a little introduction from him. We'll be

:14:50. > :14:55.seeing a new trick from Florian every day.

:14:56. > :15:00.Best I've ever seen. Quite incredible. What do you make of him?

:15:01. > :15:05.Cue ball control was immense there. You look at him, and in snooker,

:15:06. > :15:09.some of the fancy shots is nothing to that. You could buy some of that!

:15:10. > :15:19.That's a whole other story anyway. We are going to concentrate on

:15:20. > :15:23.events on table 2 at the Crucible, featuring a 24-year-old from

:15:24. > :15:28.Gloucester who started his campaign yesterday. He had an undertaking.

:15:29. > :15:31.He's playing a man whose mantle piece this season is groaning from

:15:32. > :16:27.the weight of five major trophies. For young Michael here, he's full of

:16:28. > :16:29.nerves and just wants to get his hands on the table and hit some

:16:30. > :16:41.balls. Just the start you look for. Must

:16:42. > :16:45.get it safe. It's on the way up. It was not the

:16:46. > :16:49.idea and it looks as though he's going to leave this green.

:16:50. > :17:08.Well, he couldn't have placed that bet federal he'd have put it there

:17:09. > :17:13.with his hand. -- better if he'd have put it there

:17:14. > :17:21.with his hand. He spotted a plant there.

:17:22. > :17:35.Michael leads the world number two. 3-2.

:17:36. > :17:43.Good shot. That's a bit more like it from Ding Junghui. A wonderful

:17:44. > :18:00.break. Ding will be happy leading by three

:18:01. > :18:05.frames at 6-3. He had obviously worked out some of his frustrations

:18:06. > :18:08.earlier in that match with the three frame cushion that. 's what he took

:18:09. > :18:12.into this afternoon's deciding session. Wasley won the first of the

:18:13. > :18:17.afternoon to make it four six and we are going to rejoin them in frame

:18:18. > :18:28.11, Ding to play, no score. Ken Doherty and Denis Taylor in the box.

:18:29. > :18:35.It was close, but it was never in and, if you look at where the cue

:18:36. > :18:39.ball finished, that was the reason he missed the pot. Had he have

:18:40. > :18:51.potted that red, cleanly it would have been round on the blue.

:18:52. > :19:01.An early chance for Michael here. Maybe just play a delicate little

:19:02. > :19:16.cannon. He's got four loose reds there.

:19:17. > :19:21.You mentioned earlier, everyone's individual with their bridge hand

:19:22. > :19:26.and back hand and Michael, you spotted that he keeps his fingers

:19:27. > :19:30.close together? Yes, most players spread their fingers but look how

:19:31. > :19:37.closely he keeps his fingers together. It's not often you'd see

:19:38. > :19:44.that with any player. Very close together. Doesn't seem to be

:19:45. > :20:07.affecting him in any way. It's quite unusual.

:20:08. > :20:16.Still got a couple more loose reds. He could, if he wanted, play this

:20:17. > :20:24.with a spin into the pack. And that's what he's playing. I love

:20:25. > :20:29.that shot! That's a fabulous shot. Took the bull by the horns there and

:20:30. > :20:46.couldn't have played it any better. Brilliant.

:20:47. > :20:58.May have to play a delicate screw shot here. Can he hold himself

:20:59. > :21:09.together? Great chance to get back to just one behind.

:21:10. > :21:15.For a debutant at the Crucible Theatre, he's done remarkably well.

:21:16. > :21:34.I like his style. What's he done here? If that red

:21:35. > :21:39.doesn't pass the pink, he's going to have to take the pink and head to

:21:40. > :21:41.the baulk area. The blue won't go into the left corner or centre

:21:42. > :22:08.pocket that,'s for sure. Certainly doesn't hang about once he

:22:09. > :22:15.gets going. Very quick. That was an excellent

:22:16. > :22:44.spin from the black. Plenty of reds still available after

:22:45. > :23:14.he takes this red and blue. The red next to the pink is pretty

:23:15. > :23:17.straightforward. He's looking at the other in the bottom left hand corner

:23:18. > :23:49.pocket. But he's concerned whether the pink will spot after that.

:23:50. > :23:58.You can always tell from body language the way the players go

:23:59. > :24:03.around the table. It's marvellous here in Sheffield, but the body

:24:04. > :24:09.language yes, of a player, the way he goes about his break, Michael

:24:10. > :24:23.Wasley was giving off indications that he's very, very comfortable out

:24:24. > :24:26.there. He's really enjoying it. He gave himself a few more seconds

:24:27. > :24:32.there. That's a good sign. He started this match so well with

:24:33. > :24:39.breaks of 53 and 63. This one's coming just at the right time.

:24:40. > :24:49.62 ahead. Still a possible 75 on the table.

:24:50. > :25:08.This certainly is giving Ding something to think about.

:25:09. > :25:16.The fact that the pink is on is a little bonus.

:25:17. > :25:38.Got to make sure of the pot first. That's OK. Not too bad.

:25:39. > :25:47.The referee saying give me a couple of seconds while he gets the pink

:25:48. > :25:52.into an awkward spot there. As near to its own spot as possible in the

:25:53. > :25:55.direct line behind it. And the other red slightly in the way so. A steady

:25:56. > :26:00.thumb needed. Just has to drop this in the middle

:26:01. > :26:09.pocket. Looks as if he going to screw back.

:26:10. > :26:26.Only just. Just knocked on the door. Another

:26:27. > :27:01.excellent shot. Well played. Always a mile Steen in a player's

:27:02. > :27:08.career, to make your first century at the Crucible. Ding has the

:27:09. > :27:29.highest break at the moment -- milestone.

:27:30. > :27:50.Could equal the 136 with two blacks. This for the century though.

:27:51. > :27:55.He's not going to bother about trying to equal that highest break

:27:56. > :27:57.because it probably won't stand anywhere, I wouldn't imagine, with

:27:58. > :28:21.the standard of play these days. I think Michael knows that Ding is

:28:22. > :28:25.under a bit of pressure, although he's won five ranking tournaments.

:28:26. > :28:28.He knows Ding wants this World Championship so badly and he knows

:28:29. > :29:05.that Ding is under quite a bit of pressure to achieve that.

:29:06. > :29:15.This break is going to give him more confidence. Fantastic break. It all

:29:16. > :29:30.came about from the wonderful split from the black from Michael Wasley

:29:31. > :29:48.earlier in the frame. Lots of top spin. Very impressive stuff.

:29:49. > :29:52.125 break from the young debutant here at the Crucible, Michael

:29:53. > :30:11.wattly. -- Michael Wasley. That was a fantastic break by

:30:12. > :30:15.Michael Wasley and that puts him into second place behind Ding

:30:16. > :30:20.Junhui. There have only been eight centuries so far, not sure why that

:30:21. > :30:23.is so low for this time. That break was made possible by a fantastic

:30:24. > :30:28.shot from Michael Wasley Wintney split the reds. Michael Wasley

:30:29. > :30:34.lining up to play the shot. All of a sudden, let's go just back a

:30:35. > :30:37.fraction, he has played off the top cushion.

:30:38. > :30:41.As the cue ball comes into the reds he will try and disturb as many as

:30:42. > :30:46.possible. We have other slow motion footage, and all of a sudden,

:30:47. > :30:51.showing what happens when that white ball does hit the black comedy pots

:30:52. > :30:56.the black, this is an ultra-slow motion camera, I am winding it as

:30:57. > :31:00.fast as I can, we go back to the table, you can see the topspin spill

:31:01. > :31:07.on -- still on the shot, and as the white ball hits the reds all of a

:31:08. > :31:13.sudden it starts to... I am getting worn out here! The topspin takes it

:31:14. > :31:17.further forward. In the instance we saw with Michael Wasley, when you

:31:18. > :31:21.play the shot, we will show the whole thing in one go, he does not

:31:22. > :31:28.put as much topspin on it, so he does not get so much forward

:31:29. > :31:33.momentum, but he pushes through the pack quite nicely. It is a tough

:31:34. > :31:37.shot to demonstrate. One of the greatest players at breaking the

:31:38. > :31:42.back is here. You are describing a shot you never

:31:43. > :31:48.played! I did, once! Do you get paid per revolution?

:31:49. > :31:51.I have a sore hand. All of this brings us back to the

:31:52. > :31:56.fact that Michael Wasley is only one thing behind and it brings the

:31:57. > :32:01.question of Ding Junhui's convert levels at the Crucible. He does seem

:32:02. > :32:05.to get more easily frustrated here than at any other venue.

:32:06. > :32:10.-- comfort levels. He may have gone up any other match ten - four.

:32:11. > :32:15.Subsequently he lost the first frame, Michael Wasley is growing in

:32:16. > :32:20.confidence and Ding Junhui just wants over the line now. Is there

:32:21. > :32:23.much more pressure? There seems to be much more

:32:24. > :32:28.importance on the first rounds from the players now.

:32:29. > :32:33.It is a given when I was playing in the 1990s that the first rounds were

:32:34. > :32:37.easier, I am not denying that, but I never put too much importance on

:32:38. > :32:41.getting through the first round. There is pressure building, but the

:32:42. > :32:45.standard is higher. From my perspective I can say I had some

:32:46. > :32:49.horrendous first round matches here as a favourite, do just getting over

:32:50. > :32:53.line 10-8 against players you're supposed to beat.

:32:54. > :33:02.Still great players, but my memories of the first round is nightmares.

:33:03. > :33:08.Some of the draws new hardware like a Freemans catalogue. -- some of the

:33:09. > :33:13.draws you had were like. We are now back to the 12th with Ding on the

:33:14. > :33:23.table. I tell you what, he has put himself

:33:24. > :33:25.under some pressure, he has never really recovered from that easy

:33:26. > :33:30.black that he missed. He really has not, Ken. He is certainly rocking at

:33:31. > :33:37.the moment comedy is not looking like a five-time winner of this

:33:38. > :33:41.season and this match so far. He has come here probably as second

:33:42. > :33:49.favourite to Ronnie O'Sullivan, but at the moment he is in a battle.

:33:50. > :34:06.It is amazing how quick, as we look at the pot success, it is amazing

:34:07. > :34:09.how a league can be whittled away. -- a league. Very quickly it can be

:34:10. > :34:28.the loneliest chair in the arena. Here was the black in the first

:34:29. > :34:34.frame. It has all gone a little bit pear shaped since then for Ding. He

:34:35. > :34:38.has to get his composure back very quickly, because this young Michael

:34:39. > :34:40.Wasley is looking very composed and getting stronger as the much has

:34:41. > :34:53.gone on. -- as the match. Yes, I think yesterday when Ding was

:34:54. > :35:02.struggling all of a sudden from 3-2 down, he won four frames in a row

:35:03. > :35:08.with breaks of 136, 65 and 40, but you cannot keep believing it like

:35:09. > :35:11.that. It is the first to ten and this young player is closing in on

:35:12. > :35:47.the Chinese sensation. That was a tremendous pot into the

:35:48. > :36:21.middle. Particularly at that pace. He did have the right thing, he just

:36:22. > :36:26.got away from the table again, he had not quite made his mind up. --

:36:27. > :36:32.he did the right thing. It is a little bit like a golf shot, you

:36:33. > :36:35.will see the top pros, they are ready to take a shot, they are not

:36:36. > :36:38.happy and they will walk away from it to come back to it again, and

:36:39. > :36:44.that is exactly what Michael did there.

:36:45. > :37:12.Yes, there is a red that will just pot into the right corner.

:37:13. > :37:18.He is enjoying himself out there, I can tell. I had a chat to him

:37:19. > :37:23.earlier and he said he really did enjoy yesterday. Some players

:37:24. > :37:28.embrace this place get a little bit uptight, but he is loving every

:37:29. > :37:46.minute of this. -- and some get a little bit uptight.

:37:47. > :37:53.Well, he has worked this break very well. Over 200 points without reply

:37:54. > :39:03.from Ding and counting. That is a bit unlucky. He is still

:39:04. > :39:09.on a red, but how did he get through that gap? A little nudge would have

:39:10. > :39:14.been better. He is cueing well, the boy. I think he got a little bit of

:39:15. > :39:22.a kick there, though. It gives them a slightly different angle on the

:39:23. > :39:25.pink year. It just means the pink is slightly more difficult than it

:39:26. > :39:29.would have been without the heavy contact, and it means it is slightly

:39:30. > :39:40.more difficult to regain position. A Street think there would have been

:39:41. > :39:45.perfect. -- castrate pink -- a Street think.

:39:46. > :39:52.If he tries to get into the cue ball he can screw the pink and make a

:39:53. > :40:00.cannon on the red that is closest to it.

:40:01. > :40:14.He has shown a lot of years of my duty that shot alone. -- of much --

:40:15. > :40:18.years of maturity. What a clever shot he played there,

:40:19. > :40:26.Dennis. He has tried to tie the pink up, he has a 44 point league, and

:40:27. > :40:32.maybe a lot of other players his age may have thought playing the pot was

:40:33. > :40:39.the right shot. He is putting the onus back on Ding here.

:40:40. > :40:46.Just maybe Michael has old crafty Ken's video.

:40:47. > :40:51.Do you like that name, crafty Ken? I prefer the darling of Dublin.

:40:52. > :41:10.I have been called clueless Ken at times.

:41:11. > :41:17.Ding needs the pink and black in play, really, he cannot afford to

:41:18. > :41:30.risk bringing them into play and sticking one up for Michael.

:41:31. > :41:39.He might just take this one on, because he has cleverly tied up the

:41:40. > :41:43.high-value colours and there is no reason why he should not have a go

:41:44. > :41:53.at this and get himself onto the blue.

:41:54. > :42:05.He is full of confidence, he is now striding around the table like he

:42:06. > :42:17.has been there for years. And I think that is one of the

:42:18. > :42:20.keys, Ken, isn't it? Coming here and enjoying it. He is embracing every

:42:21. > :42:48.moment of this. He certainly is.

:42:49. > :43:06.57, the difference. 59 remaining. Blue will leave Ding needing snooker

:43:07. > :43:12.four yet again. -- snooker so yet again.

:43:13. > :43:21.All of a sudden, Dennis, we have a match on here. Do we ever have a

:43:22. > :43:26.match on. At 6-3 I think everyone was thinking

:43:27. > :43:33.Ding has settled down, he will run out a comfortable winner, but, well,

:43:34. > :43:35.that is a little bit like the old Ding sitting there, little bit fed

:43:36. > :43:46.up with himself. And, barring a snooker, the young

:43:47. > :43:55.Michael Wasley has got himself all square with Ding.

:43:56. > :43:57.Indeed he did. He is ranked 73 in the world come against the world

:43:58. > :44:01.number two. Ding Junhui after such a stellar

:44:02. > :44:05.season does not look comfortable at all this time. Into frame 13 and it

:44:06. > :44:12.is Michael Wasley up once more. That was a big shot. What has he

:44:13. > :44:25.left? He has knocked a few of those in

:44:26. > :44:31.there and he has left Ding a shot with the rest, and this is a key

:44:32. > :44:41.shot. It must be nearly 15 minutes since Ding's last pot. This is not a

:44:42. > :44:52.straightforward. And, somehow, Ken, if he can get

:44:53. > :45:00.himself to the mid-session interval with a one frame advantage he will

:45:01. > :45:07.be a lot happier, certainly. If he lost this frame...

:45:08. > :45:20.He still has quite a bit of work to do, he was 28 behind, just 21 now.

:45:21. > :45:30.But how many times have we seen it when the pressure is on, the top

:45:31. > :45:34.players in the world come into their own? They seem to have that inner

:45:35. > :45:39.strength. He needs it here, after what has happened to them.

:45:40. > :45:45.Yes, this is such a big frame, isn't it? The last frame before the

:45:46. > :45:51.mid-session interval, and, as you said, if Ding can win this he would

:45:52. > :45:53.be backed up on the horse again, as we say. But he has a lot of work to

:45:54. > :46:03.do. Under normal circumstances, it would

:46:04. > :46:09.be straightforward with the ball is sitting like this, look at the way

:46:10. > :46:14.those reds are lined up. Yes, and I am sure Ding would have already have

:46:15. > :46:18.done his homework. He is not going to need that red

:46:19. > :46:25.that is tied to the right-hand side cushion.

:46:26. > :46:31.I'm sure there are a couple of Ding supporters in the audience. He is

:46:32. > :46:32.looking to need that red that is pretty safe. -- he is not going to

:46:33. > :47:00.need. Yes, they love their snooker, the

:47:01. > :47:09.Chinese people. They have taken it to their hearts. I cannot believe it

:47:10. > :47:16.is way back in 1985 that Steve Davis and myself went to China for the

:47:17. > :47:20.first time. There wasn't any decent players, they were all keen on the

:47:21. > :47:24.game snooker, some of the children played it in the streets, but we

:47:25. > :47:28.played a couple of local players and I don't think they made above 30

:47:29. > :47:48.break. But look at the standard now that is coming from that country.

:47:49. > :47:53.So, that long red that Michael missed will prove costly. He was

:47:54. > :48:15.very close to knocking it in. Expect a little bit of noise from

:48:16. > :48:23.the other side of the arena, they are wrapped their interval. Just

:48:24. > :48:25.keep fully focused. He is just 25 in front. -- they are at their

:48:26. > :48:48.interval. He got a terrible kick there. That

:48:49. > :48:56.White would have slipped past the black. He is OK, it did not spoil

:48:57. > :48:59.the pot, but it certainly... Just look at this year.

:49:00. > :49:07.As it turned out, cannon the black was OK.

:49:08. > :49:14.-- the can on on the black was OK. -- the cannon.

:49:15. > :49:24.Is he going to come up short? He has to get on that last red. There are

:49:25. > :49:27.two Micro reds, but he has to get up to the one nearest the green and

:49:28. > :49:28.brown to secure the frame. That looked pretty good. Played to

:49:29. > :49:36.perfection. Feeling a little happier now, Aaron

:49:37. > :50:05.play? -- are they not? Snookers required, the brown to make

:50:06. > :50:07.absolutely sure. Keep your ion that cue ball. It is in the pocket... No,

:50:08. > :50:15.it is not. Doesn't matter about that red, that

:50:16. > :50:33.was a very timely 73 break. And you are right up to date,

:50:34. > :50:41.because we are going live back in. They have had their interval and we

:50:42. > :50:46.are no into frame 14. Marco is now 11 points ahead. We had back to Ken

:50:47. > :50:52.and Dennis, another exciting one, this.

:50:53. > :51:00.COMMENTATOR: It certainly is, Hazel, you missed a chance early in this

:51:01. > :51:03.frame but he got back in again. He got a little bit frustrated and

:51:04. > :51:07.took his eye of the pot, concentrating on the cannon. But

:51:08. > :51:20.that is all forgotten. He just needs the green and brown to

:51:21. > :51:27.make absolutely certain. Michael did have a chance but he missed a red,

:51:28. > :51:35.then Ding got back in. This was the one into the corner that was not a

:51:36. > :51:37.gimme. And you are right up to date, that is exactly the story of

:51:38. > :52:03.this frame. It does not matter about that pink,

:52:04. > :52:07.Ding will be feeling much better now, because Michael did have a

:52:08. > :52:09.chance there. We showed you the blue that Ding missed, but he will be

:52:10. > :52:18.delighted to extend his lead to 8-6. And you never know, but it has taken

:52:19. > :52:22.Ding once again in the second session a little bit of pushing to

:52:23. > :52:27.get started in this. That is what a lot of the top players do, they

:52:28. > :52:30.cannot get into top gear against someone they expect to beat, let's

:52:31. > :52:34.be honest. Ding would not be expecting to lose

:52:35. > :52:37.this match and consequently he is perhaps not focused. It takes

:52:38. > :52:42.something like your opponent getting close to you to find that other

:52:43. > :52:47.gear. It is something we discuss a lot, but you, as former champions in

:52:48. > :52:50.this sport, how difficult is it in the first round, when you know it is

:52:51. > :52:54.an important match, every session is important, but it is not a white, is

:52:55. > :53:01.it difficult to find top gear saw early?

:53:02. > :53:05.I think the first match in any venue you are sort of finding your feet

:53:06. > :53:08.even if you have been there before. It is a relatively new experience.

:53:09. > :53:11.All of the surroundings, you have to settle down, and usually in the

:53:12. > :53:19.second session players are better than in the first. But they are all

:53:20. > :53:24.desperate to get to the 25 frames. As if 19 is not long enough! It is

:53:25. > :53:29.the longest of the season, but it is not long enough when there is 25

:53:30. > :53:32.around the corner. And why do you think Ding would struggle more in

:53:33. > :53:38.this venue than anywhere else? That is what appears to be the case

:53:39. > :53:42.once again. You can only put it down to expectation of other people

:53:43. > :53:46.around. As we talked about, he is the first

:53:47. > :53:51.Asian world champion, so you can only put it down to that. He is

:53:52. > :53:54.number two in the world and has won five tournaments this year. It

:53:55. > :53:58.cannot be to do with snooker or bottle or anything like that. A

:53:59. > :54:02.couple of years ago he was criticised - not criticised, but he

:54:03. > :54:08.said he did not like the venue. There are players on the bus to have

:54:09. > :54:13.not liked venues. We touched on this, you know what it is like to

:54:14. > :54:17.have won five events, you are the last to do it in a single season,

:54:18. > :54:20.and by the time you get to the World Championships are you simply running

:54:21. > :54:24.out of gas? I don't subscribe to that, I must

:54:25. > :54:28.admit. When I lost having won all those

:54:29. > :54:32.titles, did not feel jaded. When I got to the Crucible, you have

:54:33. > :54:35.that inspiration of it being the World Championships.

:54:36. > :54:38.I cannot speak for other players, they may get affected, I don't

:54:39. > :54:41.know. He obviously won the China Open,

:54:42. > :54:47.which was literally just a week ago, so perhaps he has finding it hard to

:54:48. > :54:51.get himself up again so quickly. He has a two Micro frame cushion

:54:52. > :54:57.here, just as we go back to tell you that Alan McManus has taken a 4-1

:54:58. > :55:02.lead on John Higgins, so it is serious time now for John Higgins.

:55:03. > :55:09.Back to this one with Ken Doherty and Denis Lawson.

:55:10. > :55:22.Yes, welcome back to the early stages of this 15th frame. No balls

:55:23. > :55:26.ordered. -- potted. Ding was back in the ascendancy. He

:55:27. > :55:31.was a little bit wobbly when the match was at 6-6, but he has

:55:32. > :55:36.certainly produced some better snooker since then. It is an

:55:37. > :55:44.interesting one, he has won five tournaments this year, he has been

:55:45. > :55:48.an outstanding player. But this is occurring that he has struggled in

:55:49. > :55:50.in the past. Mind you, the gentleman sitting in the studio, has not

:55:51. > :55:56.helped. Stephen Hendry beat Ding in the

:55:57. > :56:04.second round in 2008 and again in 2009 in the second round.

:56:05. > :56:09.Use looking dull happier now with his performance but there is what

:56:10. > :56:15.Moore left from Michael Wasley. -- he is looking a little happier now.

:56:16. > :56:20.But there is a lot more left from Michael Wasley.

:56:21. > :56:26.I have been very impressed with this young player. His technique and his

:56:27. > :56:32.cue power, and his thinking. He seems to play all the right shots,

:56:33. > :56:36.Ken. Absolutely, he looks very composed. He looks like he's really

:56:37. > :56:41.enjoying himself out there and he has played some really good shots at

:56:42. > :56:47.the right time, the right shots at the right time.

:56:48. > :56:51.He is looking very assured for his young years. The first time playing

:56:52. > :56:57.at the Crucible can sometimes be very daunting, but he is relishing

:56:58. > :56:59.it. Just as I say that, the commentator's curse comedy goes and

:57:00. > :57:05.misses the point he was not missing it earlier. -- the commentators

:57:06. > :57:21.curse, he goes and misses the pink. Well, the one good thing from

:57:22. > :57:25.Michael's point of view there was that he did not get on the red when

:57:26. > :57:49.he missed that pink, so he did not leave anything.

:57:50. > :57:56.There is a good target behind the yellow and brown. He has to be

:57:57. > :57:58.careful when he hits the pack, he does not want to not any balls over

:57:59. > :58:08.either corner pocket. -- he does not want to hit.

:58:09. > :58:12.Has he been lucky? E is lucky with the one over the right, but over the

:58:13. > :58:17.left... That is always the problem when you hit those.

:58:18. > :58:24.The hit that pack a bit more fully than he would have liked.

:58:25. > :58:31.You are always possibly going to knock red over a corner pocket. He

:58:32. > :58:38.has done well. He has done very well. That is a

:58:39. > :58:41.favourable kiss on the yellow. He had to play that with so much a

:58:42. > :58:49.right-hand side to avoid can Ning into the Reds. -- to avoid the

:58:50. > :59:01.cannon into the reds. He played that well.

:59:02. > :59:10.This was the opening red. Lots of right-hand side. The natural angle

:59:11. > :59:15.would have taken him into the reds. Can you hold himself together here?

:59:16. > :59:26.-- can he hold himself together? Not rush things too much.

:59:27. > :59:31.You play at your natural pace, but sometimes, on your first time here,

:59:32. > :59:36.you give yourself that little split-second to compose yourself.

:59:37. > :00:10.He felt he got kicked there. -- he felt he got a kick.

:00:11. > :00:21.The black's not available into the right corner pocket. Still a little

:00:22. > :00:24.bit to do with the cue ball here. Does he have to come up for the blue

:00:25. > :00:36.or pink? He has swung it over behind the

:00:37. > :00:42.black, played to perfection. Very well controlled, wasn't it? Getting

:00:43. > :00:48.rid of this red will certainly help his cause. That is what I mean about

:00:49. > :00:53.giving yourself a split second. He has got an easy shot here, he got

:00:54. > :00:59.down a little bit too quick and played not the best positional shot

:01:00. > :01:02.to leave himself hampered. He needs a slight angle here to leave himself

:01:03. > :01:15.an easy black. It is OK. Lots of noise coming from

:01:16. > :01:17.the other table. There is that picture of the Crucible with the

:01:18. > :01:31.dividing wall. You get some great pictures here

:01:32. > :01:35.from the BBC but I tell you what, it is tough when there are two tables

:01:36. > :01:43.for the cameramen, it really is typed in the Crucible Theatre. --

:01:44. > :01:45.tight. It is tight for everyone. There is that wall, you can see the

:01:46. > :02:03.cameraman right up against it. The first time I looked at the

:02:04. > :02:10.Crucible, way back in 1976, they thought there wasn't enough room for

:02:11. > :02:12.two tables and they managed to get a bit of extra space will stop we have

:02:13. > :02:29.been here ever since, since 1977. When you talk about players saying

:02:30. > :02:33.it is only a matter of time before the World Championships go to

:02:34. > :02:38.China, if they take it away from the Crucible Theatre, I would be very,

:02:39. > :02:47.very surprised. As Michael is with that positional shot there.

:02:48. > :03:22.A generous round of applause but a shake up the head tells you that

:03:23. > :03:26.Michael wanted to score enough to win this frame. -- a shake of the

:03:27. > :04:01.head. He felt he was forced into having a

:04:02. > :04:08.go at that red and if it had gone in, it would have created a good

:04:09. > :04:10.opportunity for Ding, but the fact that he missed it, it has left a

:04:11. > :04:27.half chance. He hasn't left the red over the

:04:28. > :04:30.middle but does this read go by the blue up into the middle pocket? --

:04:31. > :04:48.does this red go? It must be very tight, that shot you

:04:49. > :04:53.mentioned. Yes, that is not available to him.

:04:54. > :05:04.He can't really leave that one over the middle pocket. So it is not an

:05:05. > :05:09.easy situation for Ding. He could play the one that is near the middle

:05:10. > :05:12.pocket but not play the pot and if he hits the knuckle of the middle

:05:13. > :05:14.pocket, the red will come back this way and he could leave the white

:05:15. > :05:36.then the table. -- down the table. It was a very clever shot, wasn't

:05:37. > :05:42.it? That was such an acute angle to get the red in off the other red and

:05:43. > :05:51.he was unlucky in the end. But what judgement that was. He tried to get

:05:52. > :05:53.a cannon onto the black. But unfortunately, he knocked it into a

:05:54. > :06:33.side position. That is not a bad shot, pushing that

:06:34. > :06:37.red safe. That is an old head on young shoulders there. He has got a

:06:38. > :06:42.41 point advantage and pushing that red safe could be a little bit of

:06:43. > :06:56.insurance for him later on in this frame.

:06:57. > :06:59.Tricky little shots, those, because it is so easy to push that type of

:07:00. > :07:13.shot. Just enough room to be able to screw

:07:14. > :07:24.the white back. He got more of a stun than a screw,

:07:25. > :07:44.but it is not bad. Just needed a little bit more screw

:07:45. > :07:52.on that to get back close to the cushion.

:07:53. > :07:58.Knocking the reds up to the other end of the table is to Michael's

:07:59. > :08:09.advantage, with him having a 41 point advantage.

:08:10. > :08:20.First time at the Crucible and he is loving every unit of it.

:08:21. > :08:28.-- every minute. Ding normally could play this red onto the blue and get

:08:29. > :08:34.back on the cushion but he doesn't want to knock any of the colour is

:08:35. > :08:40.safe. He needs them all in play in order to claw his way back into this

:08:41. > :08:47.frame. I'm just thinking if you screw is the red, the nearest red

:08:48. > :08:59.into the cue ball of the pink and get behind the black.

:09:00. > :09:10.Good effort, but I think the red is possible over the left middle. That

:09:11. > :09:25.would be a thin one, I think. There is no way back... Well, maybe

:09:26. > :09:32.he can just see enough of the red. Needs to get plenty of action.

:09:33. > :09:37.If he hits it then, there is no way he is going to get anywhere near the

:09:38. > :09:41.Black and he will leave the red that is near the left middle pocket. He

:09:42. > :09:53.has really got to get into this one. He didn't mind going into the blue.

:09:54. > :10:00.He has not the blue save, which is to his advantage again. That is what

:10:01. > :10:05.Ding didn't want to play -- he has knocked the blue save. Although he

:10:06. > :10:07.has left a possible pot into the right corner pocket at least three

:10:08. > :10:28.balls are safe. That is a pretty good opener from

:10:29. > :10:40.Ding. It is not going to be easy to score. He has got the four reds in

:10:41. > :10:43.pottable positions but the colours are not that easy. He has to keep

:10:44. > :10:57.coming back up for the high value colours. Brown and blue are safe.

:10:58. > :11:05.I feel his priority is just to take these open reds with colours and get

:11:06. > :11:11.himself back into the frame, get some points back on the board. Has

:11:12. > :11:20.he got the angle to play this with reverse side?

:11:21. > :11:30.Did he kick? I think he kicked, because he got no reaction on the

:11:31. > :11:37.cue ball. Let's have a look. Was that a kick or did he just missed

:11:38. > :11:43.time it? It didn't look like it jumped that much -- miss timed.

:11:44. > :11:54.He is going to get another opportunity... The green has come to

:11:55. > :12:02.his rescue but the red beside the yellow does pot. A bit of an anxious

:12:03. > :12:06.one from Michael. He has been very composed but he seemed to get down a

:12:07. > :12:22.bit quick and hit that one harder than he intended.

:12:23. > :12:57.That one certainly jumped that time. Maybe there is a little spot on the

:12:58. > :13:06.black. It certainly did jump there and took the pace out of the cue

:13:07. > :13:07.ball. It is still OK, but but for the kick, this would have been a lot

:13:08. > :13:24.easier. He doesn't like that stretching too

:13:25. > :13:27.much. The one he queued up at, the one near the green spot, is an

:13:28. > :13:57.easier pot -- cued up. He may have to take the green now

:13:58. > :14:03.and when the green is re-spotted, I think that red... He is checking if

:14:04. > :14:23.it will pass the green when it goes back on its spot.

:14:24. > :14:31.Really, the ball that will get him onto the difficult red, he had to

:14:32. > :14:42.get back onto the green so he could pot the green and move the red on

:14:43. > :14:47.the cushion. Has he got the angle on the green to do that? It might be a

:14:48. > :14:54.bit too narrow to screw it onto the red. I don't think it is on. He has

:14:55. > :14:59.got to really dig into the cue ball, get as much a screw as possible. If

:15:00. > :15:11.he can't, not a bad idea to pot the green and just move the blue.

:15:12. > :15:18.That is a great shot. What a magnificent shot. Bringing the blue

:15:19. > :15:26.into play and the movement on the red. Absolute beauty, that was. It

:15:27. > :15:33.was too narrow to screw onto the red and he played that superbly well.

:15:34. > :15:37.Still a lot of work to do, but that certainly was a terrific shot. It is

:15:38. > :15:52.all about the brown now. If he can get a nice angle on the

:15:53. > :16:00.yellow, even, after potting this blue, he can use the cue ball to try

:16:01. > :16:14.and knock the brown out. So blue first, then yellow.

:16:15. > :16:21.He has the angle. Screw into the brown but the only problem is he has

:16:22. > :16:27.to move the cue ball off percussion. But if you can knock the brown over

:16:28. > :16:40.the middle pocket, all he has to worry about is potting the green.

:16:41. > :16:44.He drops to his knees, he knew he hadn't quite got enough stuff on

:16:45. > :16:59.that. Just eight points behind, what a big

:17:00. > :17:03.frame this is. Is he going to be one behind or three behind?

:17:04. > :17:11.It is all about the brown. If you are playing an exhibition, you would

:17:12. > :17:16.get down, cut the green in, come off the bottom cushion and move the

:17:17. > :17:18.brown. But the white is tucked up on the cushion, so he is looking for a

:17:19. > :17:50.good safety. There is a possibility for Michael

:17:51. > :18:01.to get up behind the black here. He has hit it too thick and he has

:18:02. > :18:05.left the green. He should have made sure he kept the green safe,

:18:06. > :18:10.although with the brown out of commission, not a lot of value in

:18:11. > :18:11.taking the green. Just hit that too thick, otherwise he could have got

:18:12. > :18:28.in behind the black. Is he going to felucca snooker? --

:18:29. > :18:45.fluke a snooker. Always anxious when you send the cue

:18:46. > :19:56.ball towards a middle pocket. I don't think there is another angle

:19:57. > :20:02.to pot this. He can get it over towards the brown. He has lots of

:20:03. > :20:03.cue power but having to use the rest as well makes it doubly difficult to

:20:04. > :20:10.get anywhere near the brown. Can he get in behind the black with

:20:11. > :20:58.a little stunned shot? Well, this might be worth the risk

:20:59. > :21:04.here, to try and cut the brown end, because he will automatically come

:21:05. > :21:09.back towards the blue -- the brown in. It depends how he feels. If he

:21:10. > :21:14.tries the safety shot, it is just as difficult. And if you do take this

:21:15. > :21:35.type of shot on, if you hit it a bit thin, you ROK. -- you ROK.

:21:36. > :21:49.Ding may take the pot on into the left corner.

:21:50. > :21:53.He tried the pot but he knew he was going to have a safety if he missed

:21:54. > :22:19.it. He is 11 points in front, Michael

:22:20. > :22:23.Wasley but he still has to make the blue, even if he parts the brown. --

:22:24. > :22:36.pops the brown. Ding bows his head, that certainly

:22:37. > :23:03.doesn't help his cause. There is only the pink to play

:23:04. > :23:06.behind now. The blue and the black are tight to this cushion. It could

:23:07. > :23:20.be quite an exciting climax to this frame.

:23:21. > :23:58.At the moment, Ding needs all four colours to take the frame. Michael

:23:59. > :24:17.needs the brown and the blue. Clever. Just a bit too hard. A very

:24:18. > :24:20.good shot, hit the cushion first, lots of right-hand side. Both

:24:21. > :24:22.players will be reluctant to pot the brown at the moment unless they can

:24:23. > :24:39.get down close to this blue. Michael would like the blue weather

:24:40. > :24:59.pinkies and the pink where the blue is, -- where the pink is.

:25:00. > :25:05.This has got a chance of getting in behind the pink. Just a fraction too

:25:06. > :25:28.hard. That has knocked the pink into a

:25:29. > :25:43.safe position. Dear me. Boats. Ding smiles, he just nearly

:25:44. > :25:52.knocked the two bottles over there with his cue.

:25:53. > :25:58.I'm just wondering if it is worth taking this brown on. It would

:25:59. > :26:03.certainly go into the blue with the cue ball and may bring that into

:26:04. > :26:08.play. If he misses it and brings the blue into play, he can lose the

:26:09. > :26:16.frame. Michael only needs the brown and blue. It is not an easy pot by

:26:17. > :26:23.any means. He can't even played in such a way that he can bring those

:26:24. > :26:26.difficult colours interplay -- he cannot even played in such a way

:26:27. > :26:37.that he can bring those difficult colours into play.

:26:38. > :26:47.Delicates. Trying the snooker. -- delicate. Expecting it to run dead

:26:48. > :26:52.straight at that pace was probably asking a little too much. An easy

:26:53. > :26:59.brown and then a good safety shot on the blue...

:27:00. > :27:04.What is the shot here? Does he drop the brown in only the cue ball where

:27:05. > :27:23.the brownies? -- the brown is? It didn't matter where he finished

:27:24. > :27:29.as long as the white is tight and the blues of the other end of the

:27:30. > :27:33.table. He certainly in the driving seat. Is he looking at putting this

:27:34. > :27:37.in the middle pocket? He will leave the white tight but he's looking at

:27:38. > :27:40.the possibility of doubling this into the middle pocket, if you can

:27:41. > :27:46.believe that. That is what he has looked at.

:27:47. > :28:03.Just look whether blue has finished anywhere but there. -- look at where

:28:04. > :28:09.the blue has finished. What a shot that would have been to clinch the

:28:10. > :28:10.frame. It will pot, this, but not a natural angle to cannon into the

:28:11. > :28:25.pink and black. And it is not easy. It was never easy and now there is a

:28:26. > :28:27.chance for Michael. He only needs the blue. Can he hold himself

:28:28. > :28:33.together? This could get him back to just one

:28:34. > :29:02.frame behind. Well played. Don't move the black... and you are

:29:03. > :29:17.in good shape. To snooker is needed. -- two Snedekers needed.

:29:18. > :29:30.A little slow roller or try and punch it in?

:29:31. > :29:37.This could go on for quite some time, because Ding somehow has to

:29:38. > :29:47.get the black interplay. -- into play.

:29:48. > :29:54.What would you in this situation? 8-6 in front, you know you are going

:29:55. > :30:00.to be 8-7, would you just get them set up again? He needs two

:30:01. > :30:06.snookers, the blackest tight against the cushion... -- the black is

:30:07. > :30:11.tight. Very difficult from this position.

:30:12. > :30:22.This will be end of frame now. Get on with the next one. Just the pink

:30:23. > :30:27.for Michael Wasley. Excellent shot and very well played, Michael

:30:28. > :30:39.Wasley. He has stuck with Ding and he is competing at every level.

:30:40. > :30:45.He is certainly sticking to his task as the guys said in the commentary.

:30:46. > :30:49.Let me bring you up-to-date with a result from this morning, because it

:30:50. > :30:54.was in a match between world number 15 Joe Perry and Scotland's Jamie

:30:55. > :31:00.Burnett. Joe Perry had amounting to climb, 3-6 behind going into the

:31:01. > :31:08.morning session. He only went and won seven of the eight frames on

:31:09. > :31:13.offer. Here he is on the way to a 10-7 victory, this is the man who

:31:14. > :31:19.got to the semifinals here in 2008. Jamie Burnett, a shadow of itself

:31:20. > :31:24.from yesterday. That's macro a shadow of himself. It is Joe Perry

:31:25. > :31:27.who will play in the second round. He is delighted about that, the best

:31:28. > :31:32.season of his career. On this table to this afternoon

:31:33. > :31:36.there is a battle royale developing here, although it is Alan McManus

:31:37. > :31:39.who seems to have the up and -- upper hand in Lyon.

:31:40. > :31:46.This is a tactical battle in the sixth frame on his way to a 5-1

:31:47. > :31:50.advantage over four macro times champion John Higgins. Allen looks

:31:51. > :31:56.very much up for this. -- over four macro times champion. -- over four

:31:57. > :32:01.times champion. That is the situation year, you are right

:32:02. > :32:04.up-to-date, but first of all a quick reaction to Michael Wasley and the

:32:05. > :32:09.way he has stood up to Ding Junhui this afternoon. He has kept at it

:32:10. > :32:14.and kept his belief. He has not let himself be dominated or be overawed

:32:15. > :32:21.by the York -- by the occasion. You would think that Ding would move

:32:22. > :32:24.away after being 6-6, but he has kept his temperament. What do you

:32:25. > :32:30.like about the way he has played this afternoon, Steve?

:32:31. > :32:36.He has improved. I saw him in the China open, the qualifiers. At the

:32:37. > :32:42.time, I was not sure, but anyone much you played against him you are

:32:43. > :32:46.not guaranteed to know how to player is playing. He has bottle,

:32:47. > :32:52.temperament, and he is showing it here today. Against one of the big

:32:53. > :32:57.players it is easy to crumble, and Michael Wasley would cite another

:32:58. > :33:05.player for the future. It is hard to pick one out of the blue, but as a

:33:06. > :33:08.rookie, sometimes rookies come here and absolutely crumble, but he has

:33:09. > :33:14.not done that. We have had eight in the draw first

:33:15. > :33:20.starting playing year, which is remarkable.

:33:21. > :33:26.What are the marks that Kerry Terry Bicester was on his players?

:33:27. > :33:29.The fact that he has been here. When I worked with him it was great to

:33:30. > :33:33.have someone who knew what you were going through out there in the pit,

:33:34. > :33:36.as it were. His experience is invaluable,

:33:37. > :33:41.especially to someone like Michael, who is a rookie year. Here we go

:33:42. > :33:46.into frame 16 of a possible 19, and it is very close.

:33:47. > :33:51.COMMENTATOR: It certainly is, he's all.

:33:52. > :33:55.Yes, Kerry works with a few of the boys who will play out of the

:33:56. > :34:01.Gloucester Academy. -- Terry.

:34:02. > :34:06.He pops along there once a month, I think, something like that, and has

:34:07. > :34:12.a look at them all. It is something Terry has always been interested

:34:13. > :34:21.in, even when we used to go to Hong Kong back in the 1980s, Terry was

:34:22. > :34:26.always working with players. His son is coaching out in Hong

:34:27. > :34:58.Kong, as well, Wayne, who works with Marco Fu.

:34:59. > :35:12.Yes, eight players, Terry Griffiths has been coaching here.

:35:13. > :35:15.Of course, he would lend a lot of his great experiences himself. Of

:35:16. > :35:21.course, world champion here, Terry Griffiths come in 1979. He has been

:35:22. > :35:29.working with Michael Wasley. I am sure he has been relaying some of

:35:30. > :35:32.those great experiences he has had, sharing those with the likes of

:35:33. > :35:39.Michael land of Michael and the other lads he has been coaching and

:35:40. > :35:44.that Academy down in Gloucester. -- with the likes of Michael and the

:35:45. > :35:48.other lads. Yes, he would show them how to drink

:35:49. > :35:58.Horlicks, as he used to do sometimes year with matches against the likes

:35:59. > :36:08.of Cliff Morgan. -- sometimes hear against the likes of Cliff Thorburn.

:36:09. > :36:12.But he is a very accomplished safety player, Michael, I have noticed that

:36:13. > :36:20.about him. He has a good all-around game, lots of cute power, but his

:36:21. > :36:32.tactical game is pretty sound. -- lots of cue power.

:36:33. > :36:38.Steve was saying in the studio that he played Michael out in China. Of

:36:39. > :36:43.course, a lot of those matches are just the best of seven so you would

:36:44. > :36:47.not get to see a great deal of the player. But he has certainly caught

:36:48. > :36:53.here with his Crucible debut, that is for certain. -- he has certainly

:36:54. > :36:59.coped. He is out there playing against the

:37:00. > :37:32.world number two, and he has gone just one frame behind.

:37:33. > :37:45.always a bit of an edgy one from Ding, he was up off the shot.

:37:46. > :37:54.Quite a way away. Chance for Michael Wasley here. He has to find the gap.

:37:55. > :38:01.Yes, he just seemed to rush a little bit into that. He was stretching

:38:02. > :38:06.slightly, trying to screw around the back of the black and reds. He was

:38:07. > :38:12.trying to swing it right around and get on the blue, just overstretched

:38:13. > :38:14.slightly there. A little wry smile. He has certainly

:38:15. > :38:40.enjoyed every minute of this match. Ding is looking to see if he can

:38:41. > :38:45.drop this red in and try and get around the back of the black, or

:38:46. > :38:46.even cannon the red, but he doesn't have the angle. He will have to take

:38:47. > :38:56.the one next to the blue. I was surprised he was even looking

:38:57. > :39:01.at that. This is the straightforward shot. He is maybe getting a little

:39:02. > :39:04.bit anxious, he wants to get around the black spot area as as soon as

:39:05. > :39:09.possible, but there is nothing wrong with leaving it for a couple of

:39:10. > :39:13.shots. The one just to the right of the

:39:14. > :39:14.black, that is the one he wants, because that will open up the black

:39:15. > :39:37.to both pockets. This is a good opportunity now for

:39:38. > :39:40.Ding Junhui. This is where he is at his absolute best. He is such a good

:39:41. > :39:55.break builder. So proficient around the pink and

:39:56. > :40:05.black. We can see the evidence of that year. Lovely control of the cue

:40:06. > :40:17.ball, a series of cannons, bringing the reds in to play. The

:40:18. > :40:21.circumstances are different now, the match is very close, a lot of

:40:22. > :40:27.tension out of there. But he is used to tension, Ding.

:40:28. > :40:31.As Stephen Hendry alluded to in the studio, he will and he has done, as

:40:32. > :40:34.Michael Wasley gets close to them, he seems to move up a gear, does

:40:35. > :40:40.Ding. It is just an inner confidence that

:40:41. > :41:01.comes with the success he has had. You mentioned his break building

:41:02. > :41:08.progress - he has made 61 centuries this season, he made 57 last season.

:41:09. > :41:10.He has been the top player in the game over the last season and a

:41:11. > :41:27.half. Did he get a quick bones of the

:41:28. > :41:37.cushion? Let's have another look. -- a quick bounce?

:41:38. > :41:46.Do we put that down to the bones of the cushion or a little bit of

:41:47. > :41:51.adrenaline? -- the bonus. You don't see Ding do that very

:41:52. > :41:53.often, he has given the table a good old banger there. That is not like

:41:54. > :42:24.Ding, it has to be said. With the red that is near the right

:42:25. > :42:42.corner, he has to hide the cue ball. Let's have a look, as he walked away

:42:43. > :42:43.he gave the table a good old thump there. Something you do not often

:42:44. > :43:11.see. He is certainly taking a long time

:43:12. > :43:16.over this. You would think if he just plays...

:43:17. > :43:20.He is on the blue, Dennis, that is what he is contemplating. Is it

:43:21. > :43:24.worth taking the blue into the pocket and leaving the red from

:43:25. > :43:27.distance? Well, the frame of mind he is in at the moment he would be

:43:28. > :43:31.better playing the green and leaving the white tight on the cushion.

:43:32. > :43:35.If you are going to play the blue you would be better off getting down

:43:36. > :43:38.and playing it straightaway, but he has been thinking about this shot

:43:39. > :43:49.for two minutes 18 seconds and counting.

:43:50. > :43:55.As I say come if you are going to take that shot on, you do not wait

:43:56. > :44:03.for nearly two and a half minutes to take it on. He is very annoyed with

:44:04. > :44:11.himself at the moment. He has to start thinking, he is 8-7

:44:12. > :44:22.in front and 31-0 in front, he has to keep calm.

:44:23. > :44:37.He is letting his young opponent to see that he is a bit frustrated.

:44:38. > :44:44.He has not reached! And he has left a free ball, can he

:44:45. > :44:54.cut the blue in? Well, he is not going to bother. How

:44:55. > :45:03.costly will that error be from Michael Wasley? Just trying to block

:45:04. > :45:06.off the escape routes either side of the table.

:45:07. > :45:08.He wanted to be tight onto the green. We have seen that happen

:45:09. > :45:16.plenty of time. -- time REFEREE: . Is there are red into the right

:45:17. > :46:05.corner? Is just OK. He can take the pot on and there is

:46:06. > :46:21.a gap for the cue ball. Not a bad outcome. He did not get

:46:22. > :46:50.close to the pot there. That red could have finished anywhere.

:46:51. > :46:59.He will be pretty relieved, believe it or not, because that's double

:47:00. > :47:00.kiss has put things safe. He just has to get his composure back, does

:47:01. > :47:07.Ding. It can be a very frustrating game at

:47:08. > :47:32.times. A bit of this judgement there.

:47:33. > :47:38.Yes, such a dangerous shot, wasn't it? He has left another half chance

:47:39. > :47:42.for Ding to try and stun it of the side cushion, the red into the

:47:43. > :47:53.corner pocket. Well, at the moment he is missing

:47:54. > :48:04.everything. And this time he did not get away

:48:05. > :48:36.with it, he stuck that red up. This is not the best shot in the

:48:37. > :48:43.world. He would like to have that one again. I suppose, quite rightly,

:48:44. > :48:50.Michael is starting to feel the heat, as well. He knows the

:48:51. > :49:08.importance of this frame. He just got a bit too much into that.

:49:09. > :49:16.I suppose that the young man has coped so well, it is only natural

:49:17. > :49:17.that the tension is going to creep in the closer they get to the

:49:18. > :49:47.winning line. Well, although Ding has a 29 point

:49:48. > :49:53.advantage, with the reds as they are one good shot and Michael could be

:49:54. > :49:58.in. And that is a pretty good shot! OK, he might not be on colour, but

:49:59. > :50:20.he can put Ding in all sorts of trouble here. Good cueing there.

:50:21. > :50:29.just give yourself a few seconds, let the noise died down and play the

:50:30. > :50:40.correct shot. And there is no easy red near a

:50:41. > :50:45.cushion to lay on. There is only one red safe.

:50:46. > :51:05.He will do well to get out of this situation.

:51:06. > :51:12.Well, he has to go in around the back of the green comedy will try

:51:13. > :51:16.and land, I would feel, on the red close to the left-hand cushion. If

:51:17. > :51:21.he can just land on that... He is coming around to see if he can block

:51:22. > :51:36.the red that will go into the right-hand corner.

:51:37. > :51:51.that is the sort of shot, but even if he does not get that, he could

:51:52. > :51:56.leave one on so it is a tough one. That is the one he looked at. Which

:51:57. > :52:26.ever one he tries to get on, he will do well to get it safe here.

:52:27. > :52:34.Well, he is now hanging his head on the table, he knew he had mishit

:52:35. > :52:45.that completely. He has to be very precise with this.

:52:46. > :53:10.Lots of noise from next door, they are in between frames.

:53:11. > :53:47.A better shot this time, but has he left a red?

:53:48. > :53:58.Well, even if he has left the red, it is still very awkward. There, you

:53:59. > :54:02.see, the red is not pottable, and that was an excellent escape from

:54:03. > :54:06.Ding Junhui. He has a chance here, Michael Wasley, bring this red into

:54:07. > :54:17.play and back-up behind blue and yellow. It is a big target.

:54:18. > :54:23.Well, you had a good chance to put that cue ball where you suggested,

:54:24. > :54:29.Ken, but he misjudged that and cod the jaw of the middle pocket. --

:54:30. > :54:41.Court of -- caught the jaw. Is he going to

:54:42. > :54:49.get a favourable kiss? But he will have Michael in the

:54:50. > :54:53.position that he was, though. The roles are reversed now, it is

:54:54. > :54:58.Michael that is faced with this. This looks like it and hope to me.

:54:59. > :55:07.How is your luck? He has hit the black and stuck the red up. -- this

:55:08. > :55:12.looks like a hit and hope. He thought, I am not going to try

:55:13. > :55:13.and work out a way to land on a red, I will just scatter them and see

:55:14. > :55:23.what happens. I suppose, with the ball is like

:55:24. > :55:43.that, if you got down and tried to hit the black you could not.

:55:44. > :55:49.STUDIO: We are going to leave this particular frame, you can continue

:55:50. > :55:52.to watch it online and on the BBC Red Button, because there have been

:55:53. > :55:56.lots of events on table two. Let me update you come it has been

:55:57. > :56:01.pretty eventful in the match between John Higgins and Alan McManus. John

:56:02. > :56:07.was in a bit of trouble, 4-1 down, then it went 5-1, then into frame

:56:08. > :56:13.seven, and John looked like he was going to be on a maximum. In fact,

:56:14. > :56:17.he was getting there, it looked very exciting, and inexplicably missed

:56:18. > :56:22.the black off the spot. With the reds all over the shop it meant Alan

:56:23. > :56:27.McManus was able to clean up to go 6-1 up in this match. Really looking

:56:28. > :56:33.in a bit of danger here at this point, Stephen.

:56:34. > :56:36.He actually had and other maximum chance in the next frame, but he

:56:37. > :56:43.really has to finish this session 6-3. He does, and he must have been

:56:44. > :56:47.in shock after missing the black, Steve?

:56:48. > :56:52.Yes, he must have had the 147 break in his mind, but Alan McManus has

:56:53. > :56:55.really punished him by clearing up that frame.

:56:56. > :57:00.You have to weigh up the prize money against winning your matches and

:57:01. > :57:07.frames. It does happen, even if you get eight blacks, you are still not

:57:08. > :57:13.home and dry. 6-1 down, and this is the next

:57:14. > :57:17.frame. And he was on a 147 again. This was the 10th black, it dropped

:57:18. > :57:21.in, everyone thought it was going to work for him this time and he was

:57:22. > :57:26.going for it this time. I think at six - one down I think he

:57:27. > :57:28.resigned himself to being positive and going for everything.

:57:29. > :57:34.John is one of those players if he gets a chance he will go for it.

:57:35. > :57:37.Well, you did go for it, but, unfortunately for him...

:57:38. > :57:40.He plays a double here, which is amazing.

:57:41. > :57:44.He tries the double, but Mrs later on.

:57:45. > :57:51.It is fascinating for the fans. It is the type of excitement that the

:57:52. > :57:58.147 break does produce. A 147 break is a special moment committed

:57:59. > :58:02.?25,000 in total for a break. It has been more, but there are so many

:58:03. > :58:11.made it is about even money that bookmakers are laying for a 147. The

:58:12. > :58:17.snookers himself behind the green there.

:58:18. > :58:21.John Higgins is now 6-2 behind, he has gone out of the arena to compose

:58:22. > :58:24.himself after a very eventful few moments there. That is about all

:58:25. > :58:27.that we have time for you on this third afternoon at the Crucible.

:58:28. > :58:31.The matches this evening will be available online and on the BBC Red

:58:32. > :58:34.Button. Jason Mohammed will be rounding

:58:35. > :58:38.things up for you around ten past midnight. In the meantime, from us

:58:39. > :58:39.in the studio enjoy what is left of your Easter Monday. Catch you soon.

:58:40. > :58:42.Goodbye.