Day 9, Part 1 Snooker: World Championship

Hello, good morning from the Crucible here in Sheffield and the

2014 Dafabet World Championship. After the drama and excitement of

Ronnie O'Sullivan's late win yesterday, the attention switches to

his opponent in the quarterfinals, Shaun Murphy or Marco Fu. They have

their last 16 match today. The match we're concentrating on today on

today and BBC Two is between the Australian Neil Robertson taking on

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen. Neal Robertson's technique is

superb, if you want an example of pushing the cue through gun barrel

straight, that is what you get with Neil Robertson, it is the best in

the game. His temperament is superb, he would have made a great poker

player, you never know when he is under pressure, he keeps that same

poker face, whether he has missed an easy shot or if he has knocked in a

century break. That is why they are the great ingredients that he has.

Neil Robertson, a very consistent player, a great long potter, that is

why the public come to see him playing. With his break-building, it

certainly has improved over the last three, four seasons and it shows

that he has made over 300 competitive centuries, which is top

drawer. He has become one of the most consistent players in the

game. After dropping off the main Tory in the early part of the

millennium, he came storming back and won tournaments all over the

world and is one of the main players that is won the big three, the UK,

the Masters and the World Championship. To win multiple World

Championships, he needs to play his game, sometimes he goes into his

shell and does not play the attacking game, but the more

attacking years, the more dangerously becomes. -- the more

attacking he is. I was born in Fabry 22nd 1986 in Belfast. My nickname is

the Pistol. I won the world amateur Championships in 2004. I turned

professional in 2005. I reached my first semifinal in 2007. In 2009, I

played in the World Championship semifinal. I reach the UK

Championship final in 2011. I won my first ranking title in 2012. In

2013I won the World Open again. The players are standing by, Neil

Robertson is in fine form, the winner in 2010, he has made 97

centuries this season, he reaches that magical 100. Mark Allen has

beaten Neil Robertson on a few occasions, this will be difficult,

different to his win over Robbie Williams. On the other table,

another wonderful day here, let's go to Rob Walker.

Thank you. We are spoiled for choice with the quality of snooker, all

four players are good enough to great any final, they are multiple

ranking winners between them, and should they are in the fourth round

of the 2014 Dafabet World Championship, hold onto your hats,

this could be quite a ride! CHEERING Please welcome, a player who has

thrived under the new busy calendar for snooker, producing the best form

of his career in the last number of years, it akin to his second ranking

events title in Australia last year, and he has made the final in Chengdu

this season, he is right back on form, please welcome, the pride of

Hong Kong, it is Marco Fu! APPLAUSE His opponent, an absolute class act

on and off the table, one of the hardest workers in the game, his

efforts were well rewarded in China last month winning his fifth ranking

events title at the World Open. He has changed his diet and Burton a

fitness regime and once again is reaping the rewards. Here he comes,

his cue is his kryptonite, he is the magician, here's Shaun Murphy! -- he

has changed his diet and he has embarked on a new fitness regime.

APPLAUSE Here on the table two, please

welcome one of the most exciting break-builders on the modern game,

overcoming food poisoning to win his first-round match against Michael

Holt, he made the semifinals in 2009, a two-time ranking event

winner and has won two tour events this season, his fans are in the

audience and they will make their presence felt this morning, he is

the pride of Northern Ireland, here's the Pistol, he is Mark Allen!

CHEERING And finally, what a journey it has

been for this Australian since he arrived a decade ago, a Masters

champion, a world champion, he completed the triple Crown winning

the UK title in York in December, this season, he has amassed a

staggering 97 centuries. He is three shy of an incredible milestone. The

accolades go on and on and by the way, he is the current world number

one, can you hear the Thunder from Down Under, here is Neil Robertson!

CHEERING Neil Robertson, a very big Chelsea

supporter, he has been tweeting that he has been looking forward to their

big match today against Liverpool, but back to the snooker, a tough

match on his hands, that is our live match on BBC Two, he takes on Mark

Allen, if you want Shaun Murphy and Marco Fu over on the company of John

John Virgo and Stephen Hendry, that is over on the red button, but now,

we say hello to our, -- tour commentary team.

Mark Allen has got every chance in this game, he overcame food

poisoning in his last game, did not play at his best, but came through

it, and that is the sign of a great player. Terry, Mark Allen has got it

to do, Neil Robertson is the favourite. Yes, Mark Allen has done

enough to come through. He likes a snack, Mark, I am not surprised that

he got food poisoning! He enjoys his evening meals! But he is looking

good now. That is amazing from Neil Robertson, any time you're over 90%

is excellent, but to have 96% pot success is excellent. Be lots of big

breaks in this game. Mark Allen have to compete with him not only in the

safety department but also in the break-building department. You do

not get many chances with Neil Robertson. So he is in front on both

statistics at the moment with the safety and the pot success rates.

You can see the high break, only 72, he was suffering from food

poisoning. Every statistic at the moment is favouring Neil Robertson.

The bookmakers favourite Neil Robertson. -- favouring Neil

Robertson. Mark Allen has got some of his friends hear from Northern

Ireland, they were playing in a pool tournament in Bridlington, Seward

could get rather noisy if he does well here. -- so it could get rather

noisy. Mark Allen, the last few days, he

has been looking like a different person. He was so disappointed, the

way he was feeling. Just did not catch them full on just there. An

excellent first red, a good pot on the blue. A fraction out of

position. He will not be too despondent. He knows that he is

cueing OK. Out of position on the black, and

knowing that he is leaving the red in the corner. I think he prefers to

punch them in. He wanted to drop that one in. It doesn't really suit

his action, that. If you confident fellow before the

match, Terry, Mark? Does he talk? He is always confident, but he's always

nervous. He does talk. I think everybody suffers with nerves here.

But I think he is more confidence now because he is more pleased now

that he feels great and he is playing really well on the practice

table, when he was pouring the first round, even on practice table. It

feels like he was given another life. He has overhead that a little

bit slightly. -- overhit. If he gets a nice angle on the next black, that

will open the more wide. Too much confidence can lead to high

expectations. You have to balance it out before you go and play, because

with no expectations, you do not pot a lot, but you expect to. But you

try hard to. With high expectations, you are not

emotionally prepared if you start to play badly out there. That was the

red that was bound to spread them. A bit unlucky not to have something

easier. Could not have hit them any better. They are lined up like

soldiers now if he gets on one nicely.

Not sure how the white will react. He left a tough black.

Just as the half ball hits, that is why he pleaded slowly so the white

does not go to the question. This is the big shot.

As usual, in these situations, Mark Robertson is there after -- Neil

Robertson is there after Mark Allen has opened it up for him.

He is a fraction too far on this blue to make it perfect. You cannot

just roll it in because it will finish near the black. He has two

stun it, just to hold the white. -- he has to stun it.

Is it time to bring the pink into play which would put him on the

black? The angle on the red is perfect to

get to the side cushion. Two shots in one, bringing the pink into play

to come onto the black. If readers voted the bank nicely, he is on the

blue. The pink just about pots on the black.

Needs to bring the curtain to play as quickly as possible. There is

always a risk involved. -- he needs to bring the colours into play as

quickly as possible. Maybe a little tack on the carpet

something, he did not like where his footing was. -- or something. Does

he has a weakness, Neil Robertson, now? -- does he have a weakness? No,

his long potting is good, everything is excellent, the only thing that is

slightly weaker in years gone by is his break-building, but now, that is

as good as anyone, better than anyone, 97 centuries this season. I

had the pleasure of having him at my club when he first came over from

Australia, he spent a year at Leicester, and honestly, you never

would have thought he would become world number one. He was 50 's and

60s and did not have a cue of the cue ball was going. -- have a clue

where the cue ball was going. That is all history now.

He played that nicely, the pink might be available after this red.

Playing very quickly. More or less running around the table. In that

match, I did not think that Robbie Williams play that badly, he was

quite a good player, I think we will see him back in the Crucible. That

is the first one that has gone slightly astray. He may need the

rest to play this. Getting on the next colour will be tough. We'll

have to play for the pink in the yellow pocket. This is another one

of his strengths, his recovery shot! But with a clever shot. He missed

the pot, did not expect that. Mark Allen gets a lifeline in this

opening frame. That was a great pot. He deserves a

bit of luck potting those. Even though he is some 20 points

behind, he is now favourite to win this opening frame.

He has two go down for blue and get this last red. -- has to go down. As

long as he takes high value colours, he does not need black,

which is important. Up to and including the blue to take

this opening game. This is the standard we look forward

to today, this is going to be a high-quality match. You'll Robertson

has missed one ball, Mark Allen has missed one ball. But Mark Allen's

miss was not as important as Neil Robertson's because it has cost him

the game. Neil Robertson started with a 38,

look sure to be winning the frame, but Mark Allen has replied with a 42

to win the frame, he takes the lead, 1-0. We talk about different

players and the attack, both of these players would have played the

shot, some of the older players, Stephen Lee, Doherty, the shots to

get on pink or black, that is the important thing. A chance to show

you this one. If you catch the pink full on, you cannot bring it into

play, and like Willie said, there were lots of options. The objective

was to bring the high colours the frame. With this, we thought he

would win the frame. He decided to use the red to screw off and he took

its eye off the ball. Made the pot more difficult. You can see the

backspin on there. Going down towards the baulk area. Those are

the kind of shots you have to play, you have to play aggressively. The

more aggressive you are, the better it becomes.

You'll Robertson, he had a few chances, so did Mark Allen. -- Neil

Robertson. He will be playing the safety shot

here. We'll be looking for the upper hand on the safety exchange.

That is a nice safety shot, so difficult to avoid the double-kiss.

It forces Mark Allen to play off the right-hand side of the pack.

No damage done, Terry, he has covered everything up. Neil

Robertson will try to bring the black into play and play the safety

shot. Always looking for the move, these top players, they never miss

the trick. They realise how important it is to have big colours

in open play. All of the top players do that, but the very best ones also

take into account that when they are not feeling so good at there, they

may turn the odd one down and players, they feel in that moment,

but they go out there always with an aggressive mode in them. It is the

only way to keep yourself sharp out there and confident when you are

down on the shot. But it is easy enough to say all of this about the

top players, but the other players without so many victories, they have

got to earn the right to be in those positions. He could not get round

the back of the black. That is not the best shot he has ever played.

Have to compete in every department to beat this young man, Neil

Robertson. That was a poor safety. That is the problem, there is always

a chance you can catch one of them go on. He has had a look at the

brown, it is too thin a cut. There's a possibility Mark Allen

drop on the red in the corner. If he could drop on that very

slowly, or just hit it half ball, he would not leave anything on.

The two reds to the left of the black art also in a good position.

The red you circled, that is his target. If he does not get the red

on the cushion, he can still play a safety shot.

Good line if it is reached. It has not. He has left a red onto the

centre, but it would have to be a good angle.

He has asked the referee to replace the ball.

He was not too far out last time. That looks better. It was better. He

has come further out and left a red. If he screws back on this, he could

still get the black. He is definitely on the black. Poor

safety from Mark Allen. A fraction lower than he wanted on

this red, but he is ill OK. -- still.

He wanted to leave an angle to leave this red. Looking at an alternative

position all shot. None of the top players really play

the same way. All players have favourite shots,

that they like to play. He has more power than most. Mark Allen would be

the same. In his break-building, he does not have a problem. He does

this all day. He always looks in control of himself.

He does not get upset if he does not get the desired position.

It is not easy where the two reds are to the left of the black to

score. Just looking at the chance of a

cannon. Neil Robertson was saying he is

always willing to learn. Even as number one in the world. He watched

Ronnie O'Sullivan and how he played and he is always learning. It has

paid dividends, 97 centuries so far this year, even taking into account

there are a lot of tournaments. It is still incredible. He went to

Stephen Hendry and said, what do you think of my break-building? Stephen

Hendry said, you have to improve. He will be lucky if he gets on a

red. He had a kick, but he is OK. He is

still on the blue. That is the second red we have seen

go over there that had a kick. Nobody has really found the answer

to the kicks as yet. Thicker cloth, heavier ball.

It will not happen as the players love a fast cloth. Because the black

is only available in one pocket, to clear the pink spot was the key

thing to do, and he has done that. Not nicely on the pink, so he has to

do a little bit on the cue ball to get onto the next red. He has a

chance of getting on the black. This is the most important shot of

this frame so far. He needs to get an angle on this pink or black to

bring one of those two reds into play that are causing the problem.

He went into that too much. Luckily the blue is available.

He has to be careful of those reds under his waistcoat. That did not

affect his concentration at all. That could be the one that puts him

back into prime position. The next two reds and two pinks

should not be a problem. Can he get straight on the next red?

The chance of 98 centuries coming up.

He can now go for the centre because he has passed the point of losing

the frame. Unluckily. If he had got that

thinner, it would have been perfect. This is the World Championship, he

will be a lot more interested in winning the frame than doing a

century. That gets him back level. Mark Allen was in a lot of trouble.

We can show you what he meant to do. He decided to play for these two

reds. He is playing to rest on the red Yule Ball. This is what he was

trying to do. He will be disappointed with the pace he played

it at. It was just a fraction too hard and it cost him the frame.

Both of these players appear to be in excellent form, this is going to

be a hell of a match. Mark Allen played one bad safety shot which

cost him the frame. It is amazing how players see it

differently. In he pots that, he is bound to play into the red and

black. He may have played this safety. I am with you.

He is very clever at the safety game. He played it well. This is a

poor safety. He did not catch the blue, but playing down that side of

the table is always going to leave an EC safety shot to play.

He was quite a bit out. That has opened things out a bit. I am not

sure if Mark Allen can pot this and avoid the reds on the way down.

Side would make it a lot more tricky. He hit it a bit harder, but

caught it thin. Not too bad. It is very hard to swing it round that

red. He was too close to the pocket. That was a tough shot and look how

easily he did it. It is hard to do that from distance.

He is perfectly aligned. All the time.

When you are in that starting position, you have a great chance.

He can get through the gap of the green and brown but cannot get to a

red on the other side. I am not sure if he can drop on

those two reds. He has played the same shot again. Neal does not have

the same options. That was a poor shot from Neil,

unusual for him. Just a flick aside. A little bit of

difficulty, but he still got close. He played it really well. He had to

miss the red on the cushion and go behind the black.

This is close to being back in the same position as in two other

occasions. He cannot move his seat because it

is fixed. Not good enough. He is not winning the safety battle. He was in

trouble, but when you are playing that shot you always played to come

in and out, because then you have the pace.

I do not think he hit it too gentle. Let us see how the long potting is

today. Pretty close. He only messes one of those match normally. -- a

match. Mark Allen did not really have a

chance in the second frame. He's struck that nicely. He could

not have played that better. I think these two are certainly contenders

for the title. Neil Robertson has already won it

once and you would think he would be looking to win it another few times

in his career. He has won the Masters, the UK and the world, and

he will be looking for more. In a couple of shots, the black is

going to be back on its spot and he will have a chance to win the frame.

To generate that pace, the red to the left of the black, get rid of

the one on the black spot so when the black is potted it is in open

play. Very clever. The black is possibly going to go back on its own

spot. He might have to take the blue first.

He was hampered by his body. You would expect him to pot this blue.

19 out of 20, and that was the one time he didn't.

Just too far, but he has left himself the reds off the black. The

red at the back of the pack pots. A little surprised he did not go

into them harder than that. A fraction harder would have spread

them further. Tough red in the centre. He is

nowhere near it. He had bad contact. He spent a lot of his concentration

getting the spin to hold for the black.

Fraction of a bounce. A great chance for Mark Allen. He will be

disappointed if he does not score 40 or above from here.

The reds seem to be getting in the way of each other. He is virtually

straight on the black. The six reds below the pink are not

lined up properly, but the top one pots in the top corner.

X, seven inch gap. -- six. The reds are still not perfect.

He would have liked to be higher up. He has stopped well short. This is a

tough pot, very difficult to judge. The only good thing, he has the gap

between the reds and the pink. Well played. His recovery shots are

so important in break-building. It is a risky shot to play, but look

at the way he played it. That is a bonus. You can see his

disappointment. He has done very well to continue this break.

A quick glance at the scoreboard tells him he is 35 in front. It

looks like you can just roll through, but he doesn't want to

appear to leave that black. With the blue not on its part, it is

not easy to get onto a colour after this red.

Does he have an angle to come through to the black? Not much of

one. He will play for yellow or brown.

Just before the middle pocket, lots of side. Get onto the two read with

pink and black. -- two read -- reds. He just went through the left

knuckle of the corner pocket. It took the speed out of the white.

Myself and our director said no, and I didn't think it was, goodness me.

He can breathe a sigh of relief that that has disappeared. He is now 50

points in front and just needs red and black. This is an excellent

standard. They have not had the cue ball under control, either of those

two players, but boy, they are potting some balls.

This has been a real workmanlike break, he has had to dig very, very

hard. It has been an excellent rake, Terry. -- break. In its own way, it

is more enjoyable for the spectators when you think there is a chance,

otherwise it gets monotonous. This is so good.

A very, very good break of 62, it takes him into a 2-1 lead. Neil

Robertson was in the balls, he was on the Black Cats ball and we

discussed in commentary if he should play it pacey. If you look at the

angle on this, if he plays it hard, surely it will kiss this red and it

would be full ball on nothing. The card is thin, but it is not too thin

to play with some pace. Perhaps if he thought he would go in gentle,

that they were open enough, they were not fully tied together. But he

could have played it a lot better than that. Even if he did it full

ball, this is the kind of spread you would have got. I thought the black

was not really a shot you would expect him to miss. Perhaps he was

too negative, trying to be too perfect, and sometimes, you just

cannot be that perfect, Terry. It cost him the frame.

Neil Robertson always breaks off between green and brown, do not know

if all left-handers do that. I think Ronnie O'Sullivan does it when he

does it left-handed. Most right-handed players placed the

white between brown and yellow. This has been a very high standard.

Neil Robertson certainly had the upper hand on the safety, but he is

2-1 behind, simply because he broke down behind a sizeable break. Points

wise, they are pretty level on points, but he is 2-1 behind,

Robertson. Just had a little chat with the

referee. This could be a re-rack, I think. He cannot get to anything. If

he got the spider out, he can get in behind the black, maybe? I do not

know what happened there! Maybe he could somebody in the box talking.

-- maybe he could hear somebody. Neil Robertson might take this on

into the pocket if it pots. It does not pot in the middle.

That is not there. You can see where the cue ball is. He knew it was

worth the effort. Similar to Mark Allen, it might be worth the effort

playing the one that is closer to him, holding the black. A bit more

dangerous this time, because he cannot play the pace to get the red

away from the pocket. You can see the time he is taking

with this shot, coming up to a minute. Is he taking this on? Played

in-off the red, that is a clever shot.

That is the first time I have ever seen anybody get a touching ball on

that roll-up. That was well played. The superfine class are so hard to

get close to them. You can see the ball rock back on its slot. That is

because of the indentation on the spot after a couple of days play.

Took a long time to decide what shot of play, but it was worth the wait.

Something different. There was certainly a pot on. He

misjudged the angle completely. You have to be gentle and get the pace

right. He changed his mind about what shot

he was playing. He has brought if you read into play. -- he has

brought if you -- a few reds into play.

He took its eye off the pot, and you catch it too thin.

It is all about fractions, this game. He would have thought, I need

to be on a red here, and he finished on the only red that was awkward,

and that is for weeks talk about pinching pockets, when you plan to

pinch a pocket and go in-off the jaw. It can go wrong.

There is every chance that in another couple of minutes, it could

be 2-2. You can feel there is a bit

attention there with these two players. -- of attention. --

tension. Three sessions, I think that helps

the players. One session per day. The days when they play morning and

evening, that can be a bit awkward if you get a bad first session and

have a sleep in the afternoon, and then you get a bit tired.

Not perfect on this red, Surrey, on the black, to get onto the red that

is closer to his hand. -- sorry. Not too sure if the one next to the pink

will pot in the middle. That is an option, if it does. Has he got the

gap? Only by a fraction. He is on that red just below the pink. A very

clever shot. He will flick of the paint and bring the red out next to

the pink and be perfect on the black. A very good shot, that was.

Did not quite flick it out enough. If he hit it hard enough, he is

bound to be on the right-hand corner, but the fact he played it

perfectly, he is on left-hand corner.

Played with a single read this time, did not take the chance. -- single

red. Can always go wrong if you look at the four there, they are pretty

loose. You can end of landing on one of them and being on a no red at

all. He has got a few at the top of the table if he wants to play for

the blue. I do not think he has got the perfect angle for the black. Had

a glance at those two reds. He will keep the break going that way.

You mentioned earlier, he is one of the few players that doesn't really

mind playing for baulk collars, a lot of people think that they have

to be on the black and the pink to keep things going.

He cannot play for the red in baulk, he has taken the green to try for

that red. He will certainly be finishing low

on this blue. Didn't see that one coming! That was

a relatively straightforward pot. Just making sure that he finished

low on the blue. Just caught that you have the jaw. No damage done,

but he would rather have been at the table.

I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he did play behind the

yellow, but to play at that pace was very dangerous. This is normally a

good chance if he gets the white to that area.

This shot reminds me of the last frame and the Masters a few years

ago when in the deciding frame, Mark Allen Newbridge Neil Robertson and

he had the red in the corner and he hit it and managed to pot it. Oh, he

knocked that one in instead! Honestly, I could see that being

missed, it was a real tough pot. That was tough to get an angle.

Here's got a red by the side of those two that he can go for and

send it to the corner pocket. He is looking down, and there is not much

to play with in the angle on this shot.

That is as good as he could have done. An excellent shot. That was

very well hit. It needs a good cannon here. Got a good cannon, the

chance to pinch the frame and take a three - one lead. The red on the

side cushion is not bad for a left-hander.

Just about enough angle to screw back to this side. The red next to

the pink is available on the corner, but he may have to play to the

yellow pocket. Now, here's not in prime position. A

good recovery, a good recovery. A little unlucky because he does not

have the two-cushion shot on the black to get up to the red. He has

two screw directly behind the green and the blue. It will be far from

the red. If you manages to pot this read, he

will be faced with a tough colour. -- if he manages to pot this red.

Tries to bring the white in play. That could have cost him the frame.

He had to go for it. A little unlucky to leave the red on. The

more pace, the less chance it has of going into the pocket.

Ideally, he would like to leave the green where it is.

That is why he takes the option of playing two yellows. Blue will not

come into play now. Very clever. I think, on reflection, Terry, Mark

will have been disappointed not to lead 3-1, but in fairness, they have

both had their chances, and to each, they were pretty fair, really. This

match is quite quick so far. Yes, I think Neil Robertson would have been

disappointed with 2-2 as well. It looks as if -- there is not a lot in

it. It will warm up a bit as it goes along.

Neil Robertson taking the fourth frame, 3-1 in front.

A great start to this match, do not be surprised if this goes all the

way, Robertson won the last match 6-5, great stuff this morning.

Ronnie O'Sullivan will meet the winner of the other match, that is

the second-round match between Marco Fu and Shaun Murphy.

I am a really good space with my snooker. I have seen some nice

improvements coming through from the practice table. I have worked very,

very hard for the last 12 months to really have some fresh into range.

Think some positive things coming through. -- to really have some

fresh in change. It is free difficult to maintain a high level

of consistency and I am guilty are perhaps not working as hard as I

should have done between events. When we had new tournaments coming

on the calendar when Barry Hearn took over, a few of us thought that

you are match sharp all the time, so practised and goes down a little

bit, so you can have a life away from snooker. Ultimately, that does

not work. I have had to learn the hard way that you cannot substitute

though there is the club practising. From February or March last year I

had been working very, very hard. I started working with Chris Henry on

the table. I am quite a strong, mental person, but after years of

losing in semifinals are not having the successor should have done,

after winning the World Championships and the UK

Championships years ago, perhaps my positivity and self belief it

started to go a little bit. They reckon it takes ten to 12 months to

see your hard work coming through in any kind of thing. It took up until

February, March this year to see it coming out, and yes, I had the win

in the European event and the World Open in China, and so, it was a real

thrill to be back in the winner 's circle. Marco Fu is a fantastic

player. I would definitely make him favourite for the match. He is the

man and format of that first round. He played lovely snooker. He played

better than me in my first match and I have got it all to do. I have to

try hard and come out fighting in that game and really cuts down my

mistakes to stand any chance of beating him. Shaun Murphy looking

very focused here at the Crucible, became the first qualifier to win

the world title in 1995. This is the 14th meeting between these two.

Shaun Murphy is in the lead. We join it in the first frame, Shaun Murphy

has a lead of 44 points, we go to John Virgo and Stephen Hendry.

Good pot and good control of the cue ball. This yellow, one more red and

a colour and it should give him the first frame.

Did not expect him to not pot that one. So, have a chance for Marco

Fu. 47 points behind, 59 remaining. He has the voyage pocket. Just

having a look to see if one of those two reds will go.

He would have liked to have been straighter, but if he can pot the

red he would be on the black. Why not go for the black to the

right centre? He would not have to hit it as hard.

He needs to Mr brown. -- miss the brown. This is a tricky position

shot. He has a little bit of work to do with the cue ball.

He has not played it very well. Where this started, when he potted

the red in the corner he should have played for the black in the middle.

That red he has just potted would have been a lot closer to the

pocket. That was a decent opportunity. He did not make the

most of it. If Sean was to leave a chance at

this red, he would go second favourite for the frame. That looks

like a good line. Well played. That is pretty good, but is there a

gap? There is always a gap. He has to make sure he does not put the red

over the corner pocket. If he was to get the next chance on

the red, he would probably become favourite for the frame.

That was nearly very good. It is turning out very good anyway.

Excellent. Excellent. He had to hit that red perfectly. Perfectly

judged. I am not sure this is the type of

shot you want to drop on dead weight. You could leave this red.

That will be replaced. Even if he does hit it, it is more than likely

he will be in trouble again, it will be an easy snooker. Having had frame

ball, he is not guaranteed to win this frame, Shaun Murphy.

If Marco does get a tan that this red, he will not need a particularly

high value colour. Just a bit too much pace.

The pink getting in the way of the yellow. He looks to have a natural

angle on the black. He has to be aware of the pink.

The pink is almost exactly where he would want to leave the cue ball.

Played it well. After looking second favourite for

this frame, Marco Fu looks odds-on to win the first frame.

The only problem now is pink to black.

He will need the four remaining colours.

He just overran that a fraction. He could have left himself a nice angle

on the pink. He will still need an angle on the pink to make it easier

for the black. That looks about inch perfect. He

needs to widen the angle. He has played this nicely. The black

for the frame he never looked like winning.

He has won it. Shaun Murphy will reflect on opportunities missed.

Marco Fu got his chance on the last red. An excellent start, but

remember what happened in the Masters when Marco Fu took a 3-0

lead and went on to lose 6-4. Just looking to CFE came off the

cushion first if he can sneak past these reds.

I think playing its direct is the safer way to go. He played it well.

He has landed nicely on the red to the left middle. He can drop this in

and play for the pink. He will not need to move the cue

ball great distances. He is a scoring machine in these types of

situations. You would expect him to score heavily here.

His cue ball control is excellent in these situations.

That was nicely played. The blue was not on its spot. It was important to

get the right side of it in order to come down for the reds.

Looking at the statistics, Marco has made 331 career century breaks since

turning professional in 1997. Shaun Murphy turned professional in 1998

and has made 301 centuries. He has played a callous one. I do

not think he is on the black. -- careless. Not what you expect from

Marco Fu. He never seems to show much emotion, but he will be furious

inside. You cannot drop your guard for a second. He just let the cue

ball run through a fraction. We are only in the second frame, but

sometimes those little errors and all you -- unsettle you for a couple

of frames. Good pot. That leaves him on the

pink. I think the pink does go. A nice kiss on the red held the cue

ball at this end of the table. It is not a bad chance. He has

defined a good positional shot. He needs a good angle on the colour.

He has to come over to the left-hand side. There is a red to the left of

the pink that will pot. He did not have to do too much with the cue

ball. He would have liked to have been a little bit straighter on this

red. He may have to brush off one of these four reds to be on the black.

That is OK. This pink would put him 13 points

behind. He is going to need all these

remaining reds. No need to tell you where the problem is going to come.

A little bit careless. It should not rarely cause a problem, but he did

not want to be hampered. He has to start thinking about that red on the

side cushion. It is tight to the cushion, he may

consider it possible to pot from where he is now. He sacrificed good

position in attempting that. I think he thought he was going to catch the

red on the side cushion. He misjudged it. He is not good on the

colour. Normally pretty reliable with these

blues. He is not even going to pot. That does surprise me. Working out

that he might not need the brown but if Marco was to get this last red

Shaun would need the brown. This red plate to the side cushion. --

tight. That was risky. I did not see that as being certain safety. A

strange choice. Lots to avoid this shot. The black, the blue, I would

rather have taken the pot on than taken that shot.

It is going to turn out to be the right choice for Shaun to turn down

the pot. Marco had his chance. He was in a

very good scoring position. It did not matter about the paint.

The frame was over. Marco missed his chance. Shaun Murphy will be

thinking he missed his chance in the first frame.

Into frame number three and what an extraordinary one this turned out to

be. Just endorsing what you were seeing

earlier, one of the best rest players in the game, he played that

really well. He would have liked the cue ball to have bounced a little

bit off the side cushion. Purposefully holding the pink spot.

The highest available spot is the green. Three reds, three lacks and

the frame will be safe -- blacks. They have great respect for one

another. That sometimes creeps into the wave

the match until, particularly at the start -- the way the match unfolds.

But for a couple of snookers, it should be 2-1 to Shaun Murphy.

I do not know if Marco tried to pot the yellow, I am sure he did. He

missed a chance. There is your first snooker, is it?

You would not expect him to miss this.

Three four point snookers required, a big ask.

Not quite. He can just get past the black.

It is not just the fact he needs three snookers, he needs Shaun to

miss three snookers. This red, he should pot it. He

knocks the yellow in, I am sure Marco will concede.

A miss cannot be called when we are in the snookers required stage.

Shaun can play the right-hand side of the yellow.

He has chose to play a more normal safety and has played it well. Marco

might be debating putting it back in. -- regretting.

He has hit the yellow and I think he might have run safe.

It is a little bit frustrating sometimes when the frame gets

protracted like it is doing now, because Shaun knows if he had

spotted the yellow -- potted the yellow they would have been playing

the next frame, so he has to be a little bit patient.

If he can dig down on the cue ball and stop where the green is, he

might get a snooker. Shaun Murphy is giving Marco every

encouragement to carry on. Trying to get in behind the blue. He

needs a bit of help from the blue. He didn't quite get it.

This isn't a certainty to hit. There is plenty of room to go around the

screen. Needs two snookers. If Shaun Murphy was to miss this attempt, he

would be a little bit worried. Particularly, that blue was always

looking like there is a ball to snooker behind.

Just one snooker needed now. That seemed too, pretty square off that

cushion. -- seemed to come off pretty square.

An excellent shot. It was always going to rattle like that. That

wasn't luck. That was played. Absolutely. Excellent judgement. All

of a sudden, Shaun Murphy, at one time he looked certain, three

snookers needed, and now he's desperate to find a way to the

screen, and it is not easy. -- to this green. A straightforward

escape, no, there is plenty room around it. What pace does he play

at? A little bit fortunate there with

Shaun Murphy. But Marco Fu is no only 22 behind and there is 25

remaining. -- now only. The reason I say Shaun Murphy was fortunate, he

has missed the green by a long way, but if that cue ball had gone into

the pocket, it would have been an easier safety shot for Marco, or

even a pot if he had fancied it, but just rattling it in the jaws like

that has left Marco with no real shots to go at. You could put Shaun

Murphy back into play, that is the old rule, but you would be

frightened them that Shaun Murphy might put him in trouble. He has two

come around quickly and look of the possibility of the green to the

right middle, but that is not the shot, surely. He could put Shaun

Murphy back in here, as we say, but would you want to risk your opponent

playing a better safety shot than you can think of?

He will settle for that. It is about getting the green safe, which he has

done. Horrible feeling has a snooker player when you're opponent needs a

lot of snookers and they have got them. Then the panic sets in.

We are heading into the 34th minute of this frame, it was all for

nothing, but Marco Fu eventually got the three snookers.

Looks too thin on the greens. That was half a chance and because he hit

it much too thin, the cue ball has come up and down the table. Not sure

if Shaun Murphy will fancy taking the green on or not.

He did not. Did not play the pot there. He was frightened of such a

thin cut that if he did not pot it and left it in the jaws, he left it

for Marco, so played the safety. One thing Marco did not want to do,

Stephen, he did not want to leave a pot on the green, and he has left a

pot here. And he has gone in. So, it looks as though he has got the three

snookers. Marco is still not going to get anything from this frame. 25

points the lead, 22 remaining. One snooker required.

Is he save this time? It was not safe when Marco needed three

snookers. -- is he safe this time? This is a pretty good line. This is

a great line. Just flicked the blue. Not like Marco to show any emotion,

but he has shown a bit there. Great pace on the cue ball on that shot.

Where is the cue ball going? ! Would you believe it? ! Marco Fu can now

win again! 21 points behind, 22 remaining. Part of the brown. The

cue ball ran loose into the pockets. New favourite with the

frame. Amazing! It is amazing how the pressure has

reversed and it is now on Marco Fu to make this clearance.

He is disturbed by people coming back for the session on the other

table. You never know what is going to

happen at this game. How has Marco Fu won that frame? ! Shaun Murphy

might be wondering the same! Three snookers that one time, but Shaun

Murphy potted the brown, went in-off and Marco Fu won the frame, 2-1 to

the man from Hong Kong. A strange frame!

At the mid-session interval, it is 2-2, Shaun Murphy winning that frame

on the black ball and they are back out with Neil Robertson taking on

Mark Allen, rattling through the frames, three - three in that one.

Thanks to the magic of technology, press your red button or go online

to watch for the live coverage from the Crucible, and Hazel Irvine will

be back at 2:30pm on BBC Two with the England versus Wales clash with

Judd Trump taking on Ryan Day. Goodbye for now.