Day 8, Part 2 Snooker: World Championship

This time last week Rodney Sullivan the defending champion was the star

attraction on D1 -- Ronnie or Sullivan. He is certainly not having

it all his own way. Against Joe Perry who came into the deciding

session this morning watched by Steve Davis at 9-7. Ronnie has not

been ahead at any point in this match. It looked as though he was

going to level. A very strange thing happened. Ronnie was trying to

escape from a snooker and then he called a foul on himself. It did not

look at their feet touched the brown -- as if he touched. Perhaps as he

felt it back he felt as if he touched the cue ball and touched it

again, so he called a foul on himself. They're the honourable, but

Joe Perry cleaned up. The game of cat and mouse continued. He's

changed situation. It looked as if Ronnie did all the work here. Prime

position. Usually what you do if you're not sure of the situation is

you get up and start again. He did not and he paid the price. At the

end of Joe Perry had the two frame advantage. It was getting very

tense. Let us get into the 22nd frame.

Joe Perry has caught the red back on the way up.

There is lots of pressure. Can he make the most of the chance? This is

a defining moment in his career. He has a chance to go with them one

frame of the quarterfinal. He is looking very comfortable so

far. This is the sort of positions he has been scoring from in this

match. He is quite quick, nobody is as

quick as or Sullivan -- Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Right in the heart of the pocket. Not perfect on the blue by any

means. He is going to need a couple of

these four red macs. He has left himself an angle.

That was always a danger. He just missed the pain, but he caught the

red. -- the pink. He seemed to play the double. He has

put one red out of commission. I can see why he played it.

As it gets closer to the winning line, these shots get more

difficult. A bit short of pace. It is a tough one and he needs to get

it. If he goes for it. Where is the red going? It has just

bounced enough, but there is a red one to the middle. Asking for the

cue ball to be cleaned. It was a shot that was every value in going

for. It just about went in. Nice kiss. He

was lucky to get the full ball kiss on the red.

It is not a straightforward frame-winning chance. At this stage

of the match, you take nothing for granted, no matter who you are. He

is not a certainty to win the frame at this visit. The adjacent red will

not necessarily pot into the middle pocket, so Ronnie trying to bring it

into play. He has a red near the collision that he can play on. --

cushion. Ronnie purposefully playing on the

pink. He probably played it at that pace

so if he did not get the cannon he still had a chance at a pot.

He could not do much with the cue ball. He had to leave it close to

the collision, which is not ideal. Not easy when you have lost

position, and Joe Perry is thinking it might have gone.

The way he floated that yellow in, you would not think there was any

pressure. And other tremendous effort from

Ronnie. 11 frames each. All square for the first time since

the second frame in this match. It is a test of character and cueing.

Into frame 23. He queued that beautifully. Need to

find position on a red. Gone up to 92% pot success, Joe

Perry is dropping 271%. That is just this session. That was a beautiful

shot, that was not easy. He has run far enough. He has a

choice of yellow or green. He has given an extra beat on these shots.

He knows the importance of this, we're getting to the business end of

this match. He is not immune to... He will have had a few scary moments

in the last few frames. This is a big boost for him, winning the last

two frames will stop anti-won-macro two frames earlier on on the spin in

the match, apart from that, he has not been confirmed. -- and he won

two frames. In playing this pot, I do not think

he will put all his eggs in one basket, he knows that he will

release the black but it would be a risky shot to play for the black. I

think you would pot the red and play with some pace and try and screw up

for a baulk colour or a blue. When not want to risk for the black. At

least he brings it into play. The table is nicely open. Just needs a

good positional shot. Near the circle would be perfect. He

played that nicely. If anything, maybe he has just overrun a

fraction, but he will settle for that. He wants to get this red out

of the way. Very near to the black spot.

Pretty straight. He's not too bad on the screw back shots. No side on

that, so low on the next red. He played that perfectly. He seems

to be gathering steam here. But you can take nothing for granted.

He may decide to play the cannon, he is perfect on the blue for the

cannon. He will be unlucky not to be on one. He is just about on the one

to the right corner. This is the only one that is available. He did

not have to hit too hard, but that red bounced off the top cushion

enough to be available. 41 points the lead. Gets nicely on a colour,

the frame at his mercy, nothing that Joe Perry can do.

He thought he would do well to get a sizeable contribution, and now it

looks like this long red will win him the frame. He overcooked it a

little bit. He will have to play another little cannon. They can

always go wrong when you play the cannon, but he is OK and he landed

inch perfect. Joe Perry won't have a chance. Just

one safety shot. Left a red sticking out that Ronnie O'Sullivan nocturne.

He is looking at the face of Ronnie O'Sullivan to see if there is any

reaction, but show is fearing the worst now. -- but Joe Perry is

fearing the worst. Some snooker needed now, 60 points the lead, this

makes it 67 the lead with 59 left. A great response from Ronnie

O'Sullivan under the utmost pressure. They say when you are in

the zone like he is, it is perfect. It is beautiful to watch.

We talk about his ability and his all-round game, but when he is in

the right frame of mind, it seems that the pressure just flies over

his head. The last frame, it was a tricky yellow that he had to play,

but he just floated it in no problem. He deserves a century

here, this has been absolutely top drawer snooker.

He knows that he still needs one more frame and there are only two

possible left in this match, so he will not be counting his chickens.

He has gone a little bit low on the black. Can he avoid the kiss on the

pink? He can. The cue ball needs to slow a little bit.

Beautiful play. Doesn't look like missing.

What a time to start producing your best snooker of the match. It has

been a little bit in and out prior to this, but 11-9 down when he came

back out and the last three frames have been absolutely superb.

He has found that extra gear that was needed. Some marvellous play

with 124. Ronnie O'Sullivan, for the first time in the match, taking the

lead and he now wants one frame to be in the second round. 12-11, he

leads. Frame 24. Ronnie O'Sullivan to break. CHEERING

Ronnie O'Sullivan breaks off in the 24th frame and it is the first time

that he has been in front. He has been out there five and a half hours

so far. That was his highest break of the

match to get that one-frame advantage.

The average frame time is just over 14 and a half minutes. There have

been mistakes, there have been unexpected Mrs, it is all added to

the drama. -- unexpected missing. A little bit of a stalemate. The red

is in the baulk end. This could go on for a while yet. Ronnie

O'Sullivan has not found the top cushion, so maybe there is a red

that may tempt Joe Perry. He may be playing the double hero he can play

it and not leave anything but the red he is playing. Double it is, but

so close. A sharp intake of breath. I think he thought that was there.

And I did, for a split second. Could not have been much closer.

Close enough to the cushion to stop Joe Perry playing a return safety.

That was careless. And at a point he cannot afford to make any mistakes.

And if any O'Sullivan has the angle to pot this read and get on the

black, this is a gift of an opportunity. -- this red.

Then it goes, a careless safety shot for Joe Perry, just a

straightforward role. What a mistake.

Joe Perry has had quite a long time in his seat now. Did not manage to

pot ball for 22 minutes. This is a good chance for Ronnie

O'Sullivan now. An opportunity that was gifted to him. You do not even

think about leaving anything. He just hit it a fraction too far push

the other red away and let this one onto the right middle will stop

could this be his last shot in this year's event?

It is not beyond the realms of impossibility the way that Ronnie

O'Sullivan has played these last frames. He is not short of bottle,

he wins a lot of his matches at ease, when he is at his best. He

struggles to find his best form sometimes, and he has been at his

worst and picked the right times towards the end of the matches. The

nearer that you get to the winning line, the more tense everything

becomes, but Ronnie O'Sullivan just to looks exactly the same. Other

players tend to find it a bit more tense and I dare say, he does as

well, but he certainly does not show it. His pot success has been pretty

good, both players. Joe Perry, sitting there, hoping.

That is all he can do now, hope. That was a good shot, you could tell

from the time he took to take it. He has definitely found another gear.

Every credit to him. People were starting to doubt him when he could

not close the gap on Joe Perry. He struggled a bit in the first

session, I just felt that it was just one of those types of

situations where the ball through winning, if you know what I mean?

They were just running awkward for him. The second session, I thought

he lost a bit of position. His head could have dropped. But no such

thing. One good positional shot here and you can see the frame and match

being over. A great response from Ronnie O'Sullivan.

A great effort from Joe Perry, just missed a few balls that could have

given him a bigger advantage at certain times in the match. They may

be coming home to roost now. He is out of position. The red he is

closest to go to the far left corner, but he was looking for

something easier. But nothing looks difficult at the moment for Ronnie

O'Sullivan! An air of resignation from Joe

Perry. This red, one more colour, and Joe Perry will need two

snookers. People were beginning to wonder if

this was a hurdle that he was not going to get over. But boy, as he

produced some snooker in the last four frames. He has never looked

like missing when he was in. When he was 9-11 behind, it could've

knocked his confidence, but none of it! Does he want to finish the

session with another century? He doesn't look like missing at all.

The match is over, Joe Perry has given it his all.

He is not in the mood for missing! He did not play that great in his

first match against Robin Hull, but you thought, he will improve in the

second. He struggles, but now, this is why he was such a favourite to

win the title. This is the snooker that only a genius can produce.

Don't let everybody down! Get the century!

Back-to-back centuries in the heat of battle when you were really up

against it, 11-9 down, it doesn't get any better than this!

Joe Perry, it has to be said, the last three frames, has really done

nothing wrong. But this is what can happen when you are playing against

somebody like Ronnie O'Sullivan. You do not have to make a mistake. He

makes things happen. And they happened there. So well played,

Ronnie O'Sullivan! Magnificent! The Rocket was superb! You can see what

it meant to him! That magic from the reigning champion at the end was

just too, too much for Joe Perry, and Ronnie O'Sullivan will be mighty

relieved. He is in the quarterfinal and he beats Joe Perry, what a

finish! 13-11! We have been talking about the

pressure, how much did you feel it at the end? How did you produce

about stuff at the death of that match? Masses amount of pressure,

you feel yourself shaking at a shot, especially a delicate shot,

and you are shaking and you have to be positive. You think I cannot do

it, and you do it, and you think, oh, that is all right. There are

lots of shots like that but sometimes, with a finesse shot, and

the nerves, it is hard. Brilliant to watch, you struggles to get level

terms, nip and tuck all the way, when you eventually got to 11

frames, what did you think? I, still a long way to go, even though there

wasn't, but it was still put to the floor, focus on each point and make

him earn it. That match will stand you in good stead, because he played

well in that? Yes, he was solid, he made me graft for it, every time I

got near to him, he pulled away again. To do that for the whole

match, it is difficult, when you pull away, you find that you break

them, so I felt like I could have broke, but you just have to find

results from somewhere. The last frame before you went to the

overnight 16th frame, where he had a chance to go 10-6, you had given him

chances, but Mr Bean a boost to only goal in 9-7 as opposed to 10-6? --

but you must have had a boost. It is never easy last session, even 10-6,

the bigger the lead, the more you can talk yourself into winning it.

It is never over. 11-5, you think it is still comfortable, but 10-6,

there is still a game involved. If you are comfortable out there, you

can beat the better players and Joe is one of those players along with

Matthew Stevens but feel comfortable out there, and they can make it

difficult for you. I know Doctor Steve Peters was in your corner,

what did he bring you today? He said, I will come up Thursday. I

said, no, I am all right, you have got Liverpool, because obviously

Liverpool are going for the Premier League, and I know how important

that is for him and the Liverpool people. I have people, friends from

Liverpool, and it would be great if they could do it, so I am mindful I

do not want to take all its time, that is important, I would be OK.

But really, I could have done with him here on Thursday, he said he

will not make that mistake again and would be around bit more. Before we

let you go, we want to hear from Joe Perry, because we have been

applauding him because he really stood up to you today, let's get his

thoughts on what with a fine effort. I am understandably gutted. I give

it everything over the session, I have no regrets for what I had done,

I gave everything, was committed to all of the shots I played, I felt

calm and relaxed at the end, so I did everything that I could, I just

ran into an absolute genius at the end. What can you do? You need to

have a superhuman effort to beat him. I played at the high-end of my

game for the last three sessions it wasn't good enough. There are people

out there capable of beating him, but you have to be at your absolute

best and hope that he is a little bit off, but when he plays like

that, it is hard to see anybody else winning the world title. Up next,

Marco Fu... You have had a brilliant season, how do you feel about this

campaign and going for three in a row? Yes, it would be fantastic, but

if I look back to 2011, I was ready to turn it all in and it was only

because of working with Steve that he gave me that impetus and a

new-found freedom to want to play. For me to win two, I have got two

more than I ever thought I would get, so it is a bonus even just

getting through that match and even being here playing. I have got

nothing to lose, if my career and it now, I have got two more world

titles than I ever thought I would get a few years ago. It is nice

having that in the back of my mind, because even when it is tough, I

remind myself that I'm just pleased to be here and be competing and

enjoying it. Joe Perry has said you always have the game, but now you

have the head as well, do you agree with that? I never really showed it

as consistently as in the last two years. Steve is great like that,

when I get a setback, I get back on track and find by meant and form.

When the game comes easily to me, I feel like I'm steam-rolling, and the

last two tournaments, I was getting in my head that I did not just want

to win the finals, I wanted to win them 9-0, 9-1, which is good to

think like that, but it is dangerous if somebody like Joe Perry comes

against you and you think, oh, I can do this, but I need to be brought

back down to read, but the way that I was playing, I just had such

strong momentum and you can get overconfident and when you go

behind, it is like I'm not used to this, so I need to play more

tournaments, really, for that happen. So, you. Well done, great to

see you, thank you for coming in to talk to us. You had us all and

palpitations this morning! It was a fantastic match! He will be having a

bit of a rest and getting ready for the quarterfinal, but this is what

is coming up for the rest of the afternoon. The juggernaut will have

to find a few extra gears today, he was only just grinding through them

and in his first-round match. Trump needs a Welshman with a solid record

here with a rock-solid game, Ryan Day, full of quiet confidence.

Memories flooding back of an epic final last year between Barry

Hawkins and Ricky Walden? -- an epic semifinal. They are at the table

this afternoon. We are off for some channel hopping now, Ronnie is going

to get some lunch, we are off to BBC One to catch up on the second

session of the veterans reunion between Alan McManus and Ken

Doherty. It is the 40 somethings still doing it in snooker! Catch you

in just a few moments.