Monday, Final, Afternoon Snooker: World Championship

Hello, it's still one day and we are still here. We have been turning

night into day in this year's Betfred World Championship. It was

12:30am when world number one Mark Selby and Ding Junhui of China have

staggered out of this arena and what was a Herculean struggle on the 16th

day in Sheffield. Ding Junhui looked like he was emotionally overwhelmed

but has shown tremendous fortitude to battle his way back into this

match in his quest to become the first Asian winner of this beautiful

trophy. Mark Selby, this is his third Crucible final but the first

time he has ever slept on an overnight lead. Now the hunter has

become the hunted. COMMENTATOR:

Every player's ambition of when they turn professional... Very aggressive

this, if he is going for this plant. Questions about the choices... I

tell you what, there is not a lot wrong with that new tip when you

knock that short end. Fantastic. A long way to go. Another magnificent

century break. Mark Selby. Ding Junhui, a mountain to climb.

And now, surely... Ding Junhui will get his first frame on the

scoreboard. Well, tremendous atmosphere in this

pact Crucible Theatre. So low on the cue ball, Mark Selby,

when he plays screw shots... Excellent part. Getting his rhythm

back. Stand up, everybody. That is brilliant. He is looking

very good, Ding Junhui. Yes, it is in. At long last! Ding

Junhui manages to take a frame, he has had to wait an awful long time,

just one frame behind. What has he done here? What has he

done here? A lot of tension out there, the last frame of the

session. It has been a hard day's night here again... Mark Selby,

opening up a three frame advantage. 10-7, to the world number one. What

that footage doesn't show is how an attritional session it was last

night. The safety play was immense. An attacking game. When you have two

players likes of these two, so good at hiding the cue ball, they can

still each other from attacking, a cancel each other out to some

degree. At the end of the frame, it looks like they got over the line

but they never parted the next ball, 40 minutes played. If you need to -

three smokers, you cannot afford to give the framing. The only way you

could do that, you can get on with the next frame and keep it going,

you have to go for it. On a couple of occasions, they were unlucky. You

said last night, a great line, what did Mark Selby look like? They

played for so long yesterday, by the end of it, I think he looked like

the night Porter from help but Ding Junhui looked the fresher of the

two. It goes to show, all the hours of training, day in and out, trains

the brain. What do we expect today? Not necessarily more of the same.

The balls may present themselves in a different way, as it gets closer

to the finishing line, the adrenaline may kick in and they

become more attacking. It could be a case of the last man standing. The

15th time these men have been called backstage at the start of the

session over the last 17 days. Ding can take great heart after

recovering from 6-0 down, Mark Selby needs at more frames to claim his

second world title and fresh as a daisy, it is time for Rob Walker to

get act three of this dramatic final under way. Thank you, Hazel, good

afternoon everyone. This is a day that the long lead in the memory of

the players waiting backstage. By the end of tonight, one of them will

be crowned 2016 Betfred World Snooker champion. In massive

afternoon, this one could be going all the way, today, this famous

Crucible Theatre Arena is the Theatre of sporting dreams.

CHEERING Please welcome our player emerging

for the most important session of snooker in his career so far.

Bidding to become the first Asian to win the world title. From 6-0 down

yesterday, this 11 time ranking event champion showed all his heart

and class to come right back into this match. An entire nation willing

him to win from the other side of the world. Please welcome, the

legend that is, enter the Dragon, Ding Junhui!

And his opponent... Aiming for his own piece of sporting history today,

can he add his name to an illustrious list of multiple world

champion is here at the Crucible? He demonstrated his stamina and mental

strength under pressure last night, can he deliver a game as he so often

dolls, exactly when it counts. He is the world number one, the Jester

from Leicester... Mark Selby! There are eight frames to play this

afternoon, these two men know exactly how much effort, skill and

self leave it takes to win this title. In the commentary box, good

afternoon, Stephen Hendry and Dennis Taylor!

COMMENTATOR: good afternoon, Hazel and good afternoon, everyone. Finals

day at the Crucible Theatre. The atmosphere, electorate.

APPLAUSE CHEERING

The 18th frame, Mark Selby to break. I am not sure how well both players

slept last night but they both looked mentally exhausted.

Quite an unbelievable session. Ding Junhui, the way he came back,

fantastic. Mark Selby, not the best break-off shot, leaving an early

chance for Ding. An early confidence booster?

A shake of the head from Ding Junhui. Those are shots that a

professional would expect to get. He needs a good start this afternoon.

To get back into this match. He did fantastically well to get

back into the match. Trailing 10-7 after the second session, great

effort. Needs to start all over again.

Eg start from both players, quite understandable. The blue ball

catching the right jaw of the pocket.

Frame 15, was a huge frame. He just had runs, two 80 breaks and a

century, he was flying, in that frame, 55 break, needed to roll in a

long red, Mark Selby spent 40 minutes trying to get snickers and

almost pulled it off, but took a lot out of Ding Junhui.

Because it upset his rhythm, the way he was playing. -- snookers.

Hit that a little bit harder than he intended. Has a red to the left of

the bunch, he may be able to hold on. Yes, the good thing about this,

if he misses the black,... He has not missed it. Good shot.

He has had to play it with a trace of side, headed a little bit too

hard, hoping to leave an angle to pop bus and open the reds at the

same time. He will have to do it from the black.

I think I would rather finish high on the black and use the cushion.

This is not guaranteed. You are going to play bottom of the cue

ball, the cue ball can screw of the black and you will get nothing.

Played a clever shot, but he has been unlucky. Lots of left-hand

side, the ball went up the cushion. Watch the cue ball when it hits the

side cushion. Clever shot. This is a good return safety shot.

APPLAUSE In fact, the safety play in this

final has been exceptional. Brick building, very good. Mark just ahead

by 9%. -- break holding. Last night, it is not my type of

game, but some of the tactical play last night was incredible.

Some of the shots Mark Selby was playing bordered on genius.

He kept the green on the table for something like, I think it was 12-30

minutes, looking for snookers. He kept putting the green safe and also

getting snookers but Ding Junhui kept escaping from them.

Fascinating. I think the cannon on the yellow has

left a path through, the red nearest the pocket. How will he play this?

It is very tight, whether he can get to the potting angle.

Interesting to see why positive he plays this. Will he play it with

drag? Does he play more percentage? He played the second shot.

I bet Ding doesn't play that shot! He has a much fuller potting angle

so I expect Ding to play for black or pink.

APPLAUSE Just making sure... He can get back

up amongst the reds and green. The pink might possibly be available...

But maybe not. This is a great chance in this

opening frame. A couple of edgy shots from Mark Selby in this

opening frame. Roy Keane, he was here last year and is here again,

lost his snooker and he will be getting ready for the month of June,

with the Euros, Martin O'Neill and the Republic of Ireland, Northern

Ireland, both qualifying. As did England. Lots of sport to look

forward to. And of course, I shouldn't forget, I

live in Wales, and Wales qualified as well, so...

43 in front, just having the cue ball cleaned. Excellent chance.

Plate with top spin here. I don't know if he can get through for the

black but the pink certainly available.

We expect Ding to go ahead and win this very important first frame for

him. You could see when Ding was

addressing the ball, he plays it with left-hand side, a lot of

players would hit it right in the centre. You can see, slightly left

of centre, the way... Certain players cue up through the ball.

I think most players play with a little bit of side, I think it's

rear for snooker players to hit the middle of the fight. -- the middle

of the white. I favoured a touch of right-hand side.

This is the sort of thing that Ding wants in this third session.

When some quick frames with big breaks. Pile the pressure on Mark

Selby. Against Alan McManus he made seven

century breaks, a record. Not far away from Stephen Hendry's record,

13 this year, Stephen back in 2002 making 16.

John Higgins, second in line with 14 centuries.

APPLAUSE That is the frame one. It will be

interesting to see today, if he gets to the point when Mark Selby needs

snookers, if you can concentrate... Forget what happened last night.

He looks pretty fresh, considering it was after midnight when they

finished last night. He has done precious little wrong in

this opening frame, just missed his first attempt at a long pot but this

has been superb. APPLAUSE

Not going to be easy to compile a century but there is a chance...

We have had 83 centuries so far this year, the record last year, 86.

Exactly what he needed in this first frame. Winning with a century break.

Even if he had won it and it was a scrappy frame, it would not give him

the confidence that this is giving him, the belief. He has got to force

this one to get up for the pink. And safely in the pocket.

Doing what all great champions do. Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, the

number of times they started a session with a century break... It

doesn't matter. Nothing edgy about Ding Junhui, that

magnificent century break, he is within two frames, 10-8.

Interesting times, interesting to note three added the last five

champions have been behind at the Crucible and they went on to win,

two of them by the same scoreline as we had at the start of the session,

Mark Selby himself, a couple of years ago against Ronnie O'Sullivan

and John Higgins against John Trump. -- Judd Trump. Infinitely doable...

Absolutely. We mentioned that Ding looked fresh last night but what a

case, as Stephen Hendry said, to win it in one visit, the game got a bit

scrappy and I agree with him, 100%. He has to make sure the game ball

and the one after that goes in the pocket. That was the story of the

opening day. If you are joining us on Bank Holiday Monday, you are most

welcome and I know a lot of people do on this last day, the story

yesterday, Ding was getting close to the line, maybe getting over it,

needing a snooker from Mark Selby and he fought and fought. It was

20-30 minutes of aggro at times. And then the reverse happened to Mark

Selby, close to the finishing line, then a lot of safety play. I have a

feeling it will be more fluent amongst the balls, able retain

position a bit better. I don't think you could get as an lucky as we were

yesterday, all things panned out but you have to concentrate on clearing

the balls. Kill off the frames, I think Ding Junhui winning that first

frame quickly will help him. He is coming into this match, the

scoreline is two frames behind. Back we go.

COMMENTATOR: No way back for Mark Selby, he had

to send the red up towards the yellow. And Ding immediately wanting

to get it back up the table so it doesn't possibly develop into an

awkward frame. What a shot he pulled out, almost

tight and the cushion. He knocked this in... Getting the perfect

angle, a loose red but got a great angle to get up to all of the reds.

Needs to pull up a little bit... He has hit it too hard and this table

is a quick. It will still cut but it is very thin. Careering into the

reds. What an opener. Yes, no for it safer than putting the red in the

pocket. Very aggressive... Screwing to stay on the black.

He has left Mark Selby this red but depending on the angle, it could be

awkward. To stay on the lack he might have to leave the cue ball

close to the cushion. -- the black. In fact, he is looking at heading up

towards the blue, because of the red, he could snooker himself

behind... He has gone even further up the table.

Yes, he didn't pot that cleanly at all, lucky it went in.

Very fortunate, actually. That is why the cue ball ran so far. Still

nicely on the brown. What sort of reply can Mark Selby give?

Just as capable as Ding... Rolling off perhaps five frames with a big

break... Left himself early straight, as you

can see. Slight angle. He will have to play it with a lot of top spin,

left-hand side. Just have to be a little bit careful

here. If this is dead straight, the other is slightly in the way. Make

sure he gets nicely on the black, I'm not sure if he's straight. He

can hang on that other red. Once again, he needs to give it care and

attention. Something moving in his eye line.

He has lost his concentration. He has got down. He throws his

extension onto the table. Yes, he's disgusted with that shot. And if you

are disturbed by something, you should still be able to get back

down the shots. He has experienced enough.

When players look for excuses, Dennis, it means they are not

focused property and concentrating. He's concentrating 100%, he does not

bother what is going on. And of course, it is totally

different now with the one table. When you have the two, there's noise

all around the arena with the other table in play. And applause from the

other half of the Crucible Theatre. And when you get to the one table,

everything is so quiet. That is what every player wants to achieve, to be

playing here at the Crucible when there's just one table.

That is another excellent long pot from Ding Junhui. Nothing wrong with

his concentration this afternoon. We talk about long matches, but

these players, they practice six, seven hours a day. There are a lot

of Chinese players based in Sheffield. Playing long matches

against each other. It is just the mental stamina when you are in the

World Championship. He has got the red above a black

spot, it goes into the right corner. One good shot and he can get nicely

into the corner. He has got enough room. He's looking at the one down

past the black, and with the rest, that is another option. It depends.

Depends how he feels. It is his first race. Well, maybe not. --

first Joyce. He feels this is slightly easier.

Straightaway, Ding would have known that was not going in the pocket.

Look at where it stopped. To prevent the black from being potted. And

this one into the right corner, it is far from easy. Let's see if Mark

Selby has settled and if he knocks this in, it will help.

There's a path down the table, near the pink spot, but he may not want

over the right corner pocket. That is why he's debating about playing

that shot. He needed that to pull up a little

bit shorter. That has given the advantage to Mark Selby, he can see

that red the left side of the table. If he can put the cue ball where he

wants, it is going to be difficult for Ding Junhui, the next shot.

He could have played a lot of the dumb that, he should have blocked

off this path. Ding can get back down the table now.

I think he's just all right, or is he? Is there a path for the one near

the right corner? Possibly just seeing enough of it. He could cannon

into the two reds, you would expect. And he has got to get along quite up

the table to get on a colour. I don't think he can slip round the

back of those two reds. Just a little bit sticky. He will want the

cue to be running nice and smooth between his finger and thumb.

It looks very edgy this afternoon, the play of Mark Selby, he missed

that by a long way. How far away is that from the pocket?

He's fortunate not to leave something.

Just a chance to play a red onto the black to knocks that close to the

left corner. Maybe not on this attempt, but maybe at one point in

this frame, the players will get chance to do that.

It is possibly what he was trying, just by the way he played it. Very

aggressively. That last shot brought the black

into play for a couple of seconds but the red went right next to it

and tied it back up again. I think he felt he could maybe just pot that

direct. But this is tough. He might not even be taking the pot one. Yes.

There's a route back down the table of the one to the left of the pink

spot. I think you can get it past the black and back up, missing the

blue. That sort of line, he will not do that because he hit the blue, but

that is the sort of shot available to him. He has decided to go the

other side. It is not too bad. In fact, he's pleased to see the

white girl in the pocket rather than wobble in the jaws and go in amongst

the reds. There's one possible pot, to the left of the pink spot and to

the right that Mark could take on and get back to the safety zone.

I think there's a gap to the one that is near the pocket. You cannot

be sure what is going to happen to the cue ball here but the pot is on.

But the blue is near the middle pocket so if he goes anywhere near

the right side of the table near the pink spot, there's every chance. He

will have to play this with extreme pace, Ding Junhui. I think he's

going to take the cue ball to the right of the one he's going for

which will put the cue ball closer to the left corner. So I do not see

how he's going to get a colour here. He's playing a stun.

He played with a lot of top spin. And as long as he got anywhere out

into the table, the blue would always be available. But it was a

great shot. Well, this will help, it landed

lovely on the pink to get it back up on its part because the black is out

of commission. That was a nice little bonus. -- spot. Playing into

an area because it was not easy to control the cue ball.

I think the one to the left of the red and the other black spot is

available as we go again. Yes, not sure what he played there! Direct to

the black cushion. It looks like he's on the red to me.

A very low scoring frame. Simply because of the way the balls were

tied up. And it just shows you, you never cease to learn in this game.

There was an incident yesterday were after the foul, it was not quite a

snooker behind the jaws and I said it could be a free ball, but it

cannot be if you are angled. You and Stephen Hendry did not know that

either and two of us got that wrong. There you go! It is that sort of

situation, if it was only the 15 macro on the table and you played a

foul, you would not get a free ball, you could put your opponent back in

again and even though you cannot see the object ball on both sides, it is

not a free ball. So you learn something every day!

It really is an awkward table to play a good safety shot with the 210

macro the right side, the red the left side, any return to the safety

area and you have got to be finding a gap. -- with the two reds the

right side. And that the time, he could not see

a gap to get back up the table. He just attempted to pot that. But it

was more or less played as a shock to the nothing, he was keeping the

white safe. Push shot. It would have to be a safety off the red beside

the black here. Search the cue ball up towards the green pocket. I think

that is what he's thinking about. And in the back -- bringing the

black into play and cover the one over the corner pocket, so well

spotted. It makes such a big difference, that

one shot now, leaving the black in the open. And pink and blue on the

spots. One mistake could be costly now.

One thing that has impressed me about Ding Junhui in this final, he

has been prepared to go toe to toe with Mark Selby in the safety

Department. Quite easy to lose your patience and play an erratic shot in

desperation to get the frame open. He has been prepared to go through

the ten, 20 minute periods of safety play.

Already over a minute thinking about this safety shot.

I think he may have covered that one. But he has not covered the one

near the right corner. And the pink is available. This is a key shot,

facing Ding Junhui here. He just needs good cueing, just straight. A

good angle here, and see how still Ding Junhui keeps his head. Watch

his head, it just will not move at all.

Excellent cueing. Excellent technique. Yes, just watch that

head, as he said. It is so difficult to do. It was the bit more pace

would have been ideal. -- a little bit more. Not a straightforward pink

but he's so good into the middle pocket. Now, it was not easy. It was

not easy at all. He could not get his hand on the table, he had the

bridge using the pocket. And you can see his hand gripping the pocket. He

has got a shot here, Mark Selby. This red, those two reds close to

the right middle pocket, he can play a cannon on those. He would be

locked dashing would be lucky to leave the cue ball stuck on that

side cushion if he plays with pace. He missed a cannon, at he would

always be on a colour should he missed the shot on the red.

He could also play at off the blue, the baulk cushion, with pace, to

move those two reds. It just needs to top spin and a touch of left-hand

side to check the cue ball for baulk cushion. Here it comes. He's all

right, he has got a red to the middle.

Well played! That red went absolutely dead straight.

And he has played this well! And all of a sudden, within a couple of

shots, he has developed most of the reds. The table looked very safe a

couple of shots ago. He played that blue, the shot that Stevens

adjusted, developed a red on the left side of the table and now he

has brought those two into play -- that Stephen suggested.

Unusually low, that side, that showed you the 57 with the number

he's looking for. Ding Junhui needing a snooker.

He's going to need one of the difficult reds. One more red is

readily available. The other two much more difficult.

If he plays black from the black, he's looking to see if he can run

through and develop it, but screw back from the black and bring one

into play. That is what he has elected for. This next shot could be

the key to winning the frame. Unlucky. He just needed any sort of

contact. Looking at this red he's faced with,

he was leading 6-0, I was watching and he had a shot like this and I

thought he would put in a good safety, he took it on anti-wobbled

debt and Ding got his first frame on the board. -- and he wobbled it. He

can double this across the table and send the white up to the green.

Mark Selby, 36. APPLAUSE. So Mark needs one more red and brown

or above the life Ding requiring a snooker. -- to leave. This looks

good. If he keeps on running, it is just a little bit short.

That would be very ambitious. But what he's thinking about is knocking

the black safe. Mark is thinking, could I put the red in-off the

black? From where the cue ball is, he could maybe get that shot in in

30, but it is moving the black is what he's thinking about and

knocking it safe. In the end, he tried to put it

in-off the black and never even made contact with it.

If he took this part on... And rolled round tight to the green...

We will find out shortly. He has potted it!

APPLAUSE He can now roll tight in behind the

green and make it very difficult for Mark Selby to escape from.

Missed his very first attempt in the first frame but since then... Really

sighting the long ones very well. Mark is looking to see if he can get

a snooker act! That is showing a little bit of confidence! This was a

feature of his game last night, the long frames. Get out of the snooker,

leave it said, always managing to hit the right part of the object

ball. -- leave it safe. Just looking to see if Ding could

get the cue ball in behind the pink. I do not think that is on. Stephen,

he wasn't far-away from getting in behind the pink himself, Mark Selby.

Be careful he does not push this... Well judged! A fresh air shot... Not

a foul. If it was golf... It would be a foul!

Turning into quite a tense frame. This second frame of the session.

He seemed to just hit the red first, but he has left the red on and he

can get on the black. This is a chance for Ding Junhui. He called

the red first... What a chance. He did not quite get through that

one. That was a nervous one. After me saying his long potting looked

very impressive, that was the easiest one he has faced for a

while, the most important fun, a chance to pinch the frame. And he

did not hit it properly at all. Advantage, Mark Selby. Ding Junhui,

decelerated on that last shot, his plan was to pot the black, get the

black back onto its spot, because the pink was a little awkward, but

with the black back on its spot, there was every chance of a

clearance. Now he is faced with a tough snooker. Either one cushion or

two cushions... Sometimes you feel it is easier to judge of two

cushions... Really, he has got to hit this and get it safe.

File... And a myth... Mark Selby. If he misses it this time, he will need

a snooker. But before the difference, now it is a must hit

situation. -- foul and a miss... Difficult to judge. It really is.

Mark? APPLAUSE

CHEERING What an escape!

When you are in that situation, you have got to hit and hope and I tell

you what... 34 with a difference. The black is over at the corner

pocket, there is no problem for Ding if he gets a chance.

Let's see what Mark Selby can make of this, if he can hit in behind

this, he could possibly get a snooker back again, believe it or

not. APPLAUSE

He has had a result as well... Even if there is a gap, it is still

a pretty good result. Playing with lots of left-hand side.

The cue ball in behind Green and brown.

Did not get enough side on the cue ball.

Having directly and this time. -- having the red cleaned. Having to

bridge over the green, if he could cue this he could cut this red in,

that is what he is faced with, very awkward cueing. If he was to try and

cut that in, even if the green was not there, the corner pocket... In

line for a possible in-off... It is a containing safety but he

could be in trouble. Yes, thought it was worth the risk. As you say,

Dennis... Does not quite get the snooker. The

cue ball... I suppose Mark does not want to send

the red to the other end of the table, if he leaves a pot on, the

black is there and Ding needs a black.

Coming up to not far off 42 minutes, the second frame.

Mentioned about the long frame last evening, lasted 67 minutes,

unbelievable. At one stage Mark Selby got 13 snickers. -- snookers.

On the green. Not bad from Mark Selby's point of

view. Note pot on. As we mentioned, he has got to get

black with this last red and all the colours to pinch the frame by a

point. Keeps getting Mark in the snooker.

One of these times... Mark is going to leave the red on.

It's not straightforward to hit this off either side cushion. Fairly

difficult. He has got to be careful, if he

misses the red there is every chance he could leave a free ball.

The black, is it? Foul and a miss... This will go back. Very key frame.

Ding Junhui could get to just one point behind. Yes, at that pace, he

hits the red full ball, towards the far left corner. That is why he

missed it, just aiming to flick this red very thin.

APPLAUSE Fantastic shot. To judge that shot,

to hit that red thin on that side... It takes incredible skill. Not many

in the game can do that. Usually just tried to get out of the snooker

and hope you get it safe. Ding got the four penalty points, a red and

any colour above the yellow, he can win the frame. This is another

little gem he has played... It really is.

He certainly can mix it. Made a century break in the opening frame.

Here he is, playing some fabulous tactical snooker. I have to admit,

are side of his game I have not seen a lot of before. His strongest suit

is his high-scoring. But he has mixed it up so well.

He is looking at the potting angle, a tough one, automatically finish on

the black, you would feel. The sort of a shot, if he misses the pot, he

could quite easily get the snooker again.

A cracking shot! APPLAUSE

CHEERING He is not going to run in behind the

green... He is just OK... Brilliant.

Brilliant shot from Ding Junhui. Equally good shot. What a shot at

the service. Just a minute and a half away from

getting to the 50 minute mark and these long frames, if you can win

them, makes such a difference. From a psychological point of view.

It is not a straightforward run to the winning line. The pink near the

cushion. Talking about playing all facets of

the game. He won the last frame in one visit. This frame, mixing it

tactically. He would love to be able to get the

white sum for in the Oval, to roll the pink along the cushion and get

the black. What angle has he got on the blue?

CHEERING The concentration he put into that

pink was immense. To get a little bit longer. It was worth waiting

that second longer. And now this... For the frame.

Ding Junhui has come out, he won the opening frame with a 100 break, he

has won that tactical frame on the black and is now one frame behind.

10-9, Mark Selby. 50 minutes of enthralling brilliance. What are we

discovering about Ding Junhui that perhaps we didn't know already? We

said last night, we saw some of the things happening, some emotion

creeping into it, very exciting. From my perspective, the game was a

bit ragged, through luck, more than anything. Ball is going all over the

place, no one could get a foothold but this is fascinating. John, you

are seeing him or demonstrative than we have ever seen, giving it a

little bit of this... Fired up. That is exactly what I was going to use,

great determination, four-day clearance. That last red, fantastic

shot, to make the clearance, what nerve on the pink, they are very

smelly down the cushion. The quality of the snookers at the end,

absolutely wonderful. Mark Selby, Ford or your observations about the

first couple of frames? I am following social media, people are

saying he looks like he might be running on fumes. He looks like he

might be a little punched out? Every time someone says that he comes back

and wins the next few frames. I have given up working out what kind of

reserves he has. Back we go, Stephen, Dennis, what are your

observations? COMMENTATOR:

Incredible stuff from Ding Junhui, we thought he would win the

mini-session 3-1, let's look at this black again, the second frame, on

course for that. That little bit of determination from the Chinese

sensation. A couple of cracking frames. Yes, Mark Selby will

definitely be concerned. Fair enough, you would expect Ding to

score heavily in this match. To be outplayed... From the tactical

Department... It'll give him cause for concern. He has got to find some

gears, Mark Selby, in this match and session. Because Ding looks up for

it. How aggressively will he play this

shot? Just seems prepared to play the same

game as market, not bothered if he gets into long frames, tactical

snooker. Foul... Ding Junhui, seven. Little

bit short on the safety shot, the black going in, costing him seven

points. Ding is prepared. He wants his first world title and he is

going to win at, whatever way is needed.

That was a good pot but he didn't play as positively as I thought he

might. I thought he might play for stopping the cue ball short of the

baulk colour, make sure he was on something. Where is the next red

coming from? The red will cut into the right

corner, looks very positive. Certainly looks fresh.

Even if he has covered it, and I don't think he has... But it's not a

great chance. The pink tied up, black tied up. Unless he goes into

the pack from this red. Not surprised he didn't take a

chance. A huge target. Particularly when there is not many

more loose reds. He is calling to have to try and

develop the black, perfect, looks as though it was hampered.

He is so good at this type of shop. Not a good bunch to go into but he

generates so much spin. He plays that shot as well as anyone

I have ever seen. Stunning, screwing the cue ball back. Not a big target,

only one red to hit. Played to perfection, as you say.

What will Mark Selby's response be to losing the first two frames of

the session? How many times have we seen this man when his back is

against the wall? Against Ronnie O'Sullivan, a couple of years ago,

10-7 down, came storming back. What we mustn't forget, he is still

in front. Leading 10-9. Very little to pick between these players.

Played each other 20 times, 10-10. Only played once in a World

Championship. Back in 2011, the quarterfinal, Ding

Junhui won the match 13-10. Not a lot to pick between them. Even

though dark Selby as the world number one. -- Mark Selby. Ding had

to play three qualifiers. You would say, Ding Junhui is a top

4-5 player all day long. Mark Selby could do with winning the

frame this visit. Get himself back in the session.

He is superb at these long, tactical frames but he would much rather be

doing this, winning the frame in one visit. Hasn't had many chances,

breaks of 30 in a lot of the frames. Ding doing all the heavy scoring in

this fight back. Coming at the right time for the

world number one. But it is typical of Mark Selby as

John Parrott said in the studio. People will think he looks tired but

he is far from tired, I can assure you!

There is no chance Mark Selby is feeling any tiredness.

I think there is only six players who have won more than two or more

world titles. He has taken these beautifully, he

really has. The break time, only six minutes, by

no means, a slow player. Sometimes the boss dictate the speed of a

frame, the speed of a shot. -- sometimes the balls. Excellent

response. This is his highest break since he led 6-0.

Just the one century break in this match so far from Mark Selby, it

would be a great time for his second.

Again, making sure it this red... That. Ding Junhui coming back to the

table. Concentrate on trying to make the century break.

He has made at centuries in the World Championship this year.

Dropping onto this red... Little touch of side, watch the side

spinning. Played perfectly. Does the yellow go? I think it's just passes

the pink. Closing in on that record. 86

breaks. 86 century breaks that was made last year. That is a century!

Century number 84! After losing the first two frames, that is exactly

what he has done. Excellent, the world number one. It is what you

expect from the world number one. Yes, we had that 50 minute second

frame, but both players making centuries. And the standard, top

class. And look at this for a positional

shot. Every time that Ding Junhui closes in on the world number one,

he produces something like that! What a break! A break of 126, he's

back two in front again, it is 11-9. One more frame to be played before

the mid-session interval. Fascinating snooker and a very high

standard. Thank you, frame 21. Ding Junhui the

break. This Crucible crowd is buzzing. They

are certainly enjoying this final day's play here. They are all so

close to the action. People that have come here for the first time

cannot believe how close they are to the table.

He has been quite good at the shots, how positively will heap played

that? Just hit the cue ball short of the colours this time.

Straightaway, he was up on the shot, he hit it far too thick and he knew

immediately because he almost stood up on the shot.

That is red. You don't see Mark Selby misjudging safeties eye that

much very often. I think there's a gap to get to the cue ball through,

two cautions for the black. Just going into the bunch. It all

depends on the angle of this black to the middle. The cue ball is going

to be in and out of baulk, can he get a side on the cue ball to

control it? This looks very good. This looks

very good. Yes, well judged, that was.

A decent opportunity, this, for Ding Junhui. It is the sort of

opportunity he had against Alan McManus, it was virtually a done

deal he would make a century break. APPLAUSE. I think he's just about

all right. The white will start to spin again to wriggle free from the

red. I did mention Ding had a century in the opening frame but he

potted the pink and screwed off to spoil the century. So just the one

century in this mini-session. To be honest, I will be very

surprised if he does not make one now, the way the reds situated.

Just cut have done with another couple of inches. Just follow

through to the black in the left corner. No problem.

This looks perfect. Five reds, five blacks. He had one opportunity

against Alan McManus and he missed the final black to go for the

colours. He will not be thinking about that yet, by any stretch. He

could not have the reds in a better position. If he plays a little

cannon as if he was trying to cannon pink. That line.

Just showing you that delicate little cannon he played. He has made

a maximum break on six occasions. That shocked that you mentioned,

Stephen, he might play that this time. -- that shot. The two reds

below the pink, if he gets in the joint, the gap between those two

reds, it would be perfect. He's a bit low on the black to make it a

miserable if he concentrates too much on the cannon. He did not quite

get in the joint of those two reds. The one to the right of that, if he

just goes through the middle of those two, it would be perfect. I do

not know if he can stay on the black here, it does not look like it. Yes,

it is all about winning this frame and winning this mini-session 3-1 to

get himself just one frame behind. A great response from Ding Junhui

here. After Mark Selby. After he made that magnificent century.

He has got a possible break of 145. But he would have to take all reds

and blacks, and the highest break of the moment is 143 made by Kyren

Wilson, a magnificent effort. He may well be a future world champion.

Personally, I think he can do that, a very talented player.

Just the tiniest bit of angle on this blue to follow through off the

cushion. Yes. It really is a superb standard here.

This afternoon. We had that break of 89 in the opening frame and it would

have been a century but for screwing off the pink when he potted it. All

this of a very poor safety shot. Unusually poor safety shock from

Mark Selby. -- safety shot. If he could make a century here, it

would equal John Higgins's 14 centuries. In one World

Championship. The record still with Stephen Hendry, 16, made back in

2002. John Higgins had 14 centuries in

1998 here at the Crucible. Potting this red is him a nice angle

on the pink to get on the last red. -- gives him.

Superb way from Ding Junhui! APPLAUSE. -- play.

Torn up, all around the Crucible. It does not matter if that does not

reach, it is curling away from the pocket. We go to the mid-session

interval, what a standard these two boys are giving us here. Ding Junhui

is only one frame behind now, 11-10, Mark Selby.

We have seen something special this afternoon in part three of the

Crucible session, Ding Junhui levels the effort of John Higgins, two shy

of the record held by Stephen Hendry in 2002, 16 he knocked in all those

years ago, the 85th century of this year's Championship. We are in

record-breaking form here. What a standard both of them are producing.

The running on fumes theory has now gone! Mark Selby is still punching.

Fabulous standards, a proper final with serious scoring. One frame went

on a bit but the other three were about scoring, fantastic. From 6-2

-- from 6-0 down, Ding Junhui, who knew this would happen? A swing

between big rakes and solid tactical play. It shows you have to play the

balls on the table and while you can sometimes dictate the game,

sometimes you have to go with the flow. A lot of criticism yesterday

about players trying to slow the game down and put gamesmanship onto

it. Basic rubbish, to be honest. In snooker, you have to play as hard as

you can do, every player wants to pot the balls and win in one visit

but sometimes you have to play a different game. When given

opportunities and the balls go nicely and they play into the pack

and they open up, you make the boat -- you make the breaks. Over two

days, the pace will change and that is happening. A lot of your

professionals have been joining in on the debate on social media. Mike

Dunn said, last night was fascinating, it is a massive prize

and if you were Mark Selby, it you would do anything to win this. Peter

Ebdon who has worked with us here, good stuff, enjoying it immensely.

Others have weighed in. You can say what you want, but that is final is

so intriguing, so many twists and turns, I love it. -- this final. If

you are a snooker player, this is for you. You are feeling every

emotion. Ding at 6-0 and he gets back to 8-7 last night and he has a

chance. Mark Selby finishes 10-7 behind. And he had to win the

mini-session and he has done that. It is all to play for but those

players at home will be loving this and going through every ball with

these boys. We have now played 2366 frames of snooker this year! From

the beginning of the qualifying period to this mid-session interval.

Nearly 240,000 points have been scored. What about the quality of

the potting? The choice is yours! Which pot is the green going to go

in? That's nearly rolled off a little

bit. My goodness, that is one of the best shots I have ever seen!

This is the shot and if it goes wide of the green, he will not leave it

on. Yes, excellent shot! Super shot. And he has made a pretty good fist

of that. This is an absolute cracker Jack! What a shot that was! They do

not, much better than that. Wonderful. -- they do not get much

better than that. Fabulous pot. That really is a

fabulous pot. Now, that is what you call an absolute confidence booster.

Fabulous shot! Very good. When you consider all those balls, they are

three or four inches apart. Maybe three ball plant this time.

Yes, possible 3-ball plant. And this time coming he has got it and he's

on the black! He has tried to use the pot. The

only possible way to get on a red. What a hit! Where is the cue ball

going? Behind the black! Yes! Unbelievable! Well, he smiles, but

he will appreciate that escape from Mark Selby.

A great effort. What a hit! What a hit! The shot of the Championships,

both of those shots. Fabulous. Mark Selby, how on Earth has he hit that,

he said?! This time, it is close. This time,

it is really close. There it is! He finishes with a trick shot. He takes

a bow! APPLAUSE.

You can vote now on the BBC website by flicking on the shot of your

choice, voting closes tonight at seven o'clock. We will bring you the

results tonight and on the website. Terms and conditions available on

the website. We saw in the early part of the last frame, Ding Junhui

looking like he might go for a maximum and he went for the blue,

fair enough. We are going for maximum musical impact this evening,

do tell all! What we have done for the last two

years and this is the first time we will do it at the Crucible which is

amazing, we will build a 147 rate. A record that references red and

black, 15 of those each and clear the colours, 36 records in the three

hours, timed to perfection and the usual mix of music people expect.

And that is what we will attempt to do tonight at the Crucible. This is

your first attempt at looking at what is going on this afternoon,

what you think? What a fantastic place to watch sport. Incredible

place to incredible atmosphere. We watched the first two frames,

including the mammoth second, it is so absorbing. I do not know how long

that took, probably 60 minutes. About 50 minutes. I hope it has

given new inspiration because have you got the tracks nails down? Yes,

we have the planet so it fits. We have some leeway. The shortest

record we will play is about one minutes long and the longest is

about 12 minutes. And those in between. And we have a stand-by

snooker referencing section we can do and we can play those. The pot

black theme. Around that, it is nailed down. If you need

suggestions, we have some from the players, look at this.

Always useful. 99 red balloons. Red. Red, red wine. Yellow, Coldplay. All

green, I like him. Pretty green eyes, Ultra beet. That is a little

bit more modern! James brown. Brown eyed girl. Golden brown. California

blue, Roy Orbison. Blue Suede shoes. That Song from the late 1990s.

Blue... Strange track. Pretty in pink. Pink. I went to see her in

concert. He was nice. Black and Gold. Sam Smith. Black album.

Metallica. You tell me! Blue Hotel is my suggestion. That would do.

Steve Davis... We had to make sure he chose records. And he has

chosen... I do not want to give too much away. One record does reference

brown so it will be in. Slightly mysterious, I will make sure I catch

you afterwards. All the very best. Thank you for chatting about it.

Thank you. Speaking of music, we will stay with the musical theme,

did you know it is 40 years since a gentleman called Dogwood wrote the

theme tune to the BBC snooker coverage -- Douglas Wood. 40 years

on, we have only tracked him down to the studio in America!

I was a regular kit, I had a paper round and I rode around on my

bicycle a lot but music was always essential in my life. I lived and

breathed music as much as I could. Playing music came relatively easy

to me. I played the guitar. My parents encouraged me on the piano,

I took piano lessons when I was three years old. You had a set drink

-- he had a string, starting at 12 years old. A string of bands. They

were really good bands. I was always putting together bands from guys I

knew, and would find a bass player and a drummer and we would go out

and play parties and dances and it was fun. They could mesmerise a

gymnasium of 1,000 people. We got married when we were 20, we were

still young and he was playing in a band and he played every Friday and

Saturday night. We had a busy life. In music. Not making much money!

Patty's father was a film producer. And he said, work for me. And so I

did. My father recognised how talented he was in music. And so he

gave Doug an opportunity to write some film scores for the films he

was producing. Patty's father encouraged me to begin my own

company and Patty and I were the only employees and we did this in

our living room. I had one of the first multitrack tape recorders so I

could play the parts because I could not hire musicians, I could not

afford to go into a recording studio or anything. I knew that this was

really something I wanted to do. I think a name popped into my mind and

I thought I wanted to write a piece that had that driving energy behind

it. I pretty much captured that, there's a lot of energy in that

guitar part. I played all the instruments, I had

this four track record of. Until that time, if you wanted to play

more than one instrument, you had to be in a recording studio. But along

came a consumer recorder weight you could record one instrument, listen

to that, play another with it. The big breakthrough was from Don

Gale who took dug under his wing. He was one of our first foreign

distributors. He wrote to me and said the BBC has picked one of your

tracks for the team for snooker. I thought, OK, first of all, I do not

know what snooker is. I had never heard the word before. It seemed

like a funny British word. I had no idea what it was. Doug made me

promise that I would not call it schnooker because it is not, it is

snooker. I went to London to visit my friend. We landed at Heathrow

Airport at 530 in the morning will stop we were tired, bleary eyed. I

am going through customs and the guy said, oh, you are a composer. Have

you written anything I know? I don't know why, but I remembered snooker,

and I told him that. And he looked at me, and he hummed the June. I was

so astonished I didn't know what to do. The next thing I know, he got on

the microphone and he announced to all of the other customs guys in

Heathrow. Hey, everybody, this is the guy who wrote the snooker Song!

I was astonished. I had never been so astonished in my life. It finally

began to dawn on me that snooker was this really popular programme that

people were watching and they really love this piece of music the BBC had

picked. When the royalties came through, for me, it wasn't a

tremendous amount of money, but firmly at that time, it was a

significant amount of money and it really helped us establish ourselves

and provide a basis to come and build our business on so it really

turned out to be a very important thing in my life. It was a great

moment for me. What an absolutely superb story. Dog would. He is the

Dogwood band and he launched his career and he has become part of

this great history of the sport and we all know the tune and indeed Mr

Barry Heron does. What a great story. It is a fantastic story and I

get the story is how much longer will we be listening to that song on

the BBC? The good news is that in a full night of snooker, across the

board, is that you have got to put double that a little bit longer, so

we have agreed a new two-year extension with the BBC so next year

will be fine and we are now guaranteed until 2019 and I fancy

quite a few more years after that, but today, to my dears on top of the

other good news makes this a World Championship to remember. It does

indeed. We are delighted about what is happening out here. What do you

make of it? What I make of it is a significant stepping stone,

obviously with the Chinese market. Apparently, the world's economy is

in trouble because no one is going to work today and tomorrow in China.

They have enough problems which has now been exaggerated by the success

of Ding Junhui. To make the final, he has a lot of pressure on him,

because he has a whole nation hoping. He is playing one of the

greatest players of all time, Mark Selby. But this is a toss of a coin,

I think. As we said before, I was slightly worried when it was 6-0,

because I predicted a classic. But then I can be educated at any time

but it looks like it is going to be one of those classics so don't miss

a ball, because it is going to be special. In some respects, there is

a huge amount of goodwill for Mark Selby as a former champion, and how

important would it be where Ding Junhui one, in terms of your efforts

to grow the sport? I think Mission accomplished already, to be honest.

I think for him to be the first Asian player to make the final and

the fact that he has obviously come back already from 6-0, looking as

though he was a bit nervous, although Mark Selby had the harder

semifinal, late on, the job has already been done in as far as China

is concerned. If Ding Junhui goes on to win it, there will be another

spur of interest, but we are already established as the massive sporting

China, and it is only going to get bigger. Mark Selby gives the British

ban something to cheer. But coupled with Leicester, you could retire and

buy a small island. You could. It has been a fascinating final. Great

news about the extension to the contact and indeed great news were

your revenues are concerned for the Crucible because we are hearing that

the tickets went on sale at 9am this morning. You have already generated

in ticket sales almost ?1 million and tickets for the final sold out

in five minutes. All four sessions were gone within half an hour. But

there are still sessions available and the box office number is right

there on the screen. The message is, you had better get in quick. Never

has the sport being greater health. Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest

of today. The players are back out. Thank you for joining us here in the

studio. Thank you, Hazel. This match is finally tuned. Who would have

thought Ding Junhui could have come back from 6-0 behind? The question

is, can Mark Selby find his best game today? Yes, absolutely. Looking

forward to these next four frames. Much better snooker, it has to be

said. Mark Selby breaks off. Certainly, I am sure, when he went

into the dressing room... That is a nervy one. That will not help his

nerves. It will certainly give Ding a little bit of encouragement.

He will have to find a little bit of side if he wants to find the gap.

APPLAUSE Plated beautifully, didn't he?

Perfect. A full ball cannon on the red. He can hit the black if he

wishes to go ahead now. APPLAUSE

Got a good split but this is certainly not easy. He may want to

split again. Could have done with a little bit more back spin, just to

come off the cushion. A tough pot. Always have. He was very unlucky.

That cue ball was three or four inches of the cushion. Very, very

tough when you have to push it around. Mark Selby needs to assert

his authority now. He can't let Ding with reds like that. He's left with

a tough pot. The red below the pink in the centre. It is almost

straight. Maybe better take the 1- footer at the table. Less pressure

on this one. He could also play for the blue. Takes a bit of the fear

factor out of the red. APPLAUSE

Played nicely. That red that is just below the pink might be as target

here. Looks like he has overrun it slightly, but he is still OK. This

one just below the red is all right as well. Throughout this magical he

has not been judging these little cannons right. He could play the

cannon onto the red to hit the pink, but if he pushes it further, you

could put sugar and get on the pink or the black, so it is just watching

out how the cannon is going to react. I think the better choice is

probably playing the cannon for the black, so if you slightly overhits

this comedy will be out of position on the pink.

APPLAUSE E, he is not judging the cannons

right at the moment. This black is going to be tough. He just played it

with top spin. Trying to stun the cue ball and keeping the quite new

to the pink. It looks pretty straight. It is a good pot.

APPLAUSE Just had to drop it in, almost dead

weight. Relieve himself that difficult red into the centre.

I expected him to pot that. There wasn't any real pressure on the pot.

The tension is going to build and build in this match now. It is very

close. Yes, absolutely. Mark needs at least a couple of these four

frames just to have the lead going into the final session, even if it

is just one frame, just to reassert himself and given that little bit of

confidence because the moment he looks the more nervous of the two

players. APPLAUSE

The red to the right of the pack he could obviously pot. He will

probably look for an alternative safety shot, maybe find some sort of

pot out of that. Just the safety shot. It is a very good safety.

There has been some very good safety in this session. Excellent safety

from both players. You would expect Mark Selby to be ahead, but Ding is

certainly competing with him. That magnificent frame he won when he

laid those snookers and cleared that last red. Quality stuff from both

players. A safety success and that does not surprise me. 89% in the

session alone. That is quite high. Probably the reason he is 3-1 in

front. To get those big breaks, you have to win the safety battle. A

little bit of movement in the crowd. Can you make sure the door is shut,

please? Someone coming through one of the top doors. This is where Mark

Selby's cube power comes into operation. -- cue. Missed the pot,

but tried to screw it back in and didn't get enough action on the cue

ball. Left the possible pot now for Ding. He could get across the pink

into the left centre. APPLAUSE

Yes, lovely pot. I was expecting him to get one on that particular shot.

Of course, the red sort of helped a little bit. The red that was closest

to that bottom left-hand corner pocket. An opportunity now for Ding.

Black available into the corner pocket. He will want to remove the

red that is closest to the left hand corner pocket, possibly after this

red and black. He will have the black available for both pockets.

A slightly worrying time now for Mark Selby. Ding now cueing like he

did in the semifinal, when he was awesome. He has his potting bits on

in this session. But we know what a battle that young man is, Mark

Selby. He may start to wonder what is going to happen. One thing is for

sure, I think it will be a long night. Yes, all of the hallmarks of

going right to the final couple of frames. This has been an incredible

turnaround for Ding Junhui. Yesterday in the first session.

Everybody was worried about him and worried about this final being

completely one-sided, but he managed to dig in, found a bit of form and

the disbelief -- a bit of belief. Poised to level the match from this

visit. Just as I say that, the commentator comes into operation.

Hit the wrong red. He expected to hit the second red and had the first

one. Look at this again. He had the red the middle of those three. Just

pushes through it. Yes, and he's normally so precise with those

cannons. He's one of the best in the world that playing those wonderful

cannons into reds and making breaks and it is very unusual to see him

break down. He leads by 25 points, so a good safety needed now.

If you would get on the right-hand side of the cue ball, you could try

to put one on the top cushion. At least guarantee a good white and

also the red would come away from the pocket if misses. He is still

going to try and play it. If it goes in, it is a bonus. A little bit more

to the right and it would have been easy to play safe. Normally he plays

the shot quite well with a lot of top spin and back. Let's see how

confident he is if he goes that way or if he tries to stay on the black.

He played it very nicely. APPLAUSE

. He played at full of confidence. Just cued this in. Tried to hit it,

but not too hard, tried to trust his cue action and it was a great pot.

It has been said all through this tournament that he has not been

quite on time with his ball. But he could not have played that much

better. This is one of those particular situations you were

referring to earlier where he has steeply a delicate cannon. -- he has

to play. He may try to play a cannon on the red just of the pink.

Found the gap through the reds and that is OK. Played that well. Let's

have a look at that gap between those couple of reds. These are the

kind of frames that hurt your opponent when your opponent is in a

bad area and does not score enough to win the frame. He will be sitting

down now and thinking one shot now and this is when you have two helped

your opponent. When this one, and Ding will be kicking himself that he

did not win more. Judged it nicely, just to be topside

of the blue so we can just run down to the red at the bottom. The three

reds are available into this left-hand corner pocket. That will

open the path for the one just above it. To this bottom right-hand corner

pocket now. He's going to need the four reds. He will need that for the

difficult one below the black. Just has too pulled the cue ball

back just a couple of inches. It is all about that last red on the

cushion. You could hear the kick there. He

has had a few kicks. Very disappointing, it has just taken the

pace out of the cue ball. It would have liked to be a little straighter

on the black, but he is OK. Cue ball stopping in its tracks.

APPLAUSE Didn't effect on too much. There is

never a good thing about a kick, bits because he is so thin on the

black comedy could play with confidence that would happened he

could cover the pocket. Just red now to be assured of taking a 2- frame

lead once more. He has an angle on the black dude tried to disturb the

red and push towards the corner pocket. Doesn't look like he will

take that option. So Ding pot a pink when he made that really good

clearance earlier. This is a similar type of shot.

APPLAUSE His heart may have skipped a beat

when it rattled in the doors of the pocket. -- jaws. Wellcome he tried

to make sure. A little smile up to the commentary box. He knew that was

probably it, and he cannot afford to miss those. He obviously thought he

did all the hard work getting the difficult last red and forgot about

the black. This looks a good line. Looks a very good line. Cook

APPLAUSE Just a gap between blue and brown.

If there is not a gap, it is not straightforward. He will be

absolutely kicking himself. Maybe there isn't a gap. Maybe he has two

play-off two cushions or one cushion, just a slight swerve. Oh,

well. Well, the referee can't colleague miss because the scorers

are the same. -- cant call eight. You can't call a mess when your

opponent needs a snooker. He was just questioning the referee and

then realised. It is amazing, he played a foul shot there and he is

actually better off. It is a little unfortunate there, to be honest.

This is a bad shot. Hit that poorly. The only problem with this is that

putting this yellow, the cue ball will be going towards the ground. If

you misses the yellow committee may bring the brownie to play and there

is a little bit of pressure on this. He needs to play this softly. Oh,

very good putt. He managed to curate in lovely and missed the brown as

well. A sigh of relief from Mark Selby. Because of that one shot, he

can now get the black. That would really have hurt him, missing the

black. He will feel pretty confident again.

APPLAUSE Ding just deciding whether to

concede. He has. It should have been more. Ms the black to make sure he

got the frame. Yet another in a series of very big frames and that

could have been all square in the match, but yet again, he has kept

his nose in front, Mark Selby. Yes, and it looks for all the world like

it was going to be Ding Junhui. He was going into the pack of reds and

the trouble with trying to predict how the bowls are going to go and

then split when you play the shot is amazing. So Ding pot the black and

we see him going towards the reds and it looks like there is no danger

and he will get a split open and they just conspire in a way to track

each other and hard to say whether it is a mistake or it is just the

way they go when you split them up sometimes they all bunched up around

each other. John, when you're trying to take on an aggressive shot like

that, you must trust a little bit to luck. You cannot control be spinning

entirely, surely. No, I mean, he was trying to get slightly thicker

contact on it but we are talking about millimetres and fractions here

and the tube just carried on that little bit extra, but you can play a

bad shot and it can be perfect. Sometimes luck plays a part. Assess

where we are in this final now. We both be in finals. Describe what it

is like when you have your nose in front and the other guy is coming

back at you. It is marvellously poised. What Mark Selby will be

delighted with is how he is responding. He has had to look over

his shoulder for a long time in the game, six - zero in front. He has

had to see the other guy come on strong and struggle a bit and now he

has responded. Now they're both in the match, they're both on the right

moment and anything can happen from now on as much as scoring. The pace.

Over to the third session. Ding breaks off.

Some interesting comments from former champions in the studio with

Hazel. Steve Davis quite rightly said, he has had to look over his

shoulder, Willie, Mark Selby. As this thing has got closer, he has

responded like all great champions do.

We have hacked -- we have had a lot of of close misses this year. This

is his sixth 100 right now. He thought he could find a gap

around the black and he will be very disappointed. He thought there was

enough room as the black and back up for baulk. What is worse for Mark,

that is not the best shot he has ever played. He wanted it to be

another 12, 18 inches towards the blue so he could pot the black and

get down to the reds. He did not seem to commit to the screw shot. He

could have got on that a lot more. But that was just a very special

shot. Under the circumstances, that was a

fantastic shot. A lot of top spin, raging over the pack of reds and

back down for this red. -- bridging. Obviously perfect to go into the

pack. He may decide to place low with a little right-hand side. To

get the two reds together. But normally, you would go to the pack

from this shot. This is an option. He could play that shot or he could

play into the bunch. He missed the cannon, he missed the black. If the

pots the black, he can get the cannon.

Sometimes, that can happen. You concentrate so much on making the

cannon that you click a bit of side under the cue ball and that is why

he has missed it. A let off, for Mark Selby.

Considering he hit the hardball, it shows you how badly he misjudged

that shot. If there's a gap between the pack of reds and this red over

the corner pocket, that is quite incredible. The cue ball has

travelled probably in excess of 25 feet and it has landed possibly in a

place where the only place he could pot this red is through the pack. I

was reluctant to say it, Mark Selby was very fortunate. He played the

half ball to get in behind the yellow. Ding is entitled to be a

little aggrieved. Surely not? Surely not? Oh! Mr

Selby, you having a good run at the moment. -- you are having.

He had to play that anti-platelet with a little bit of frustration.

Just playing the slow plant here and remaining on the black and hopefully

the red will make the black little bit easier.

And after two of the worst shots he has played in this final so far, it

has developed into a chance to score heavily.

He has got the extender rest and he has to use the full extent of his

extension here! It is almost like you are going fishing with this type

of stuff, it is as long as a fishing rod! He's over six foot and he might

need another extension on less! -- on this. Just as well he's over six

foot, and would need is that played to play Bishop! Because he's dead

straight, he has to screw it back -- to play this shot. It is so

difficult to screw back with the extension on your cue and it is not

beyond the realms of possibility you can missed this. He has to be very,

very careful. APPLAUSE.

Years ago, we used to play on the long rest and they would be wobbling

all over the eyes playing that kind of shot! It was terrible! -- all

over the place. He has got to concentrate now.

Trying to make one of those cannons, just to hold the cue ball here. He

did not play it well. Again. And he has lost position.

He just seems to have lost his way in bit. He knows it cannot be any

worse than novel going into tonight's session, he's thinking,

just when one of the next two frames. Very precarious the way he

has played one or two shots in this frame.

He has to take a lead into the final session.

APPLAUSE. Good cue ball. You can just about

see enough of this red into the right corner pocket.

He has got the blue. Not quite sure whether he's going to take on this

red. He could try and screw it in but the odds stacked against potting

that red. I don't think you can reach it. He may have to use the

rest. That makes it more difficult. Maybe better to play a good safety

and getting the cue ball down the right-hand side of the table.

Somewhere behind the if possible. -- the green.

As long as he covers down the left-hand side of the table, as we

look, and I think he has done that. He cannot hit an outside edge of the

red, to the left of the pink. He has got to be careful of the red

closest to the top cushion and to the one close to the right-hand side

of the cushion. That is why he's taking his time on this shot.

He got the cannon right but he misjudged the pace of the red coming

back to this end of the table and the red is pottable if he takes it

on. He has got the perfect cue ball but he just caught the red too thick

and it came back down. That is hitting the near jaw. That

was not easy at all. When they roll very, very slow like this, you aim

for the far jaw in case it hits the jaw and it comes back, so you always

favour middle of the pocket or near jaw with that kind of shot.

APPLAUSE. By his reaction, I'm not quite sure,

I don't think he played that. He did have a look at that red to see

whether it would go towards that corner pocket.

Do you think you may play that? I will give him the benefit of the

doubt because he did go round to look at whether it would pass

between black and red. He's almost thinking, please kiss the blue. It

is a shot most people play, that kind of shot. Maybe his reaction was

that he did not get a kiss on the brown or the blue or the yellow. And

rather than... If it has been a fluke, I'm sure he would have put

his hand up, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt on that. Does

the middle red have that little cluster of seven pot? He's looking

at this now, it's certainly pots from the left-hand jaw and he cannot

get onto the black. The pink is available now. As you can see, only

the left-hand jaw is available. Very, very good. Another chance now.

Another chance to score quite heavily, so that is a very good

position. A series of little stun shots. The way he has played that

tells us... The pink goes on to the blue spot. What a chance this is for

13-10. He would like to get that red just

to the right of the black, just try and get that out of the way to make

the black available in the baulk corner pockets.

He could have played that a little bit better, but he's all right. He

has a red, not sure if he can hold for the pink here. If not, a baulk

colour after this red. Just about held it for the pink, he played

nicely. He has got a nice angle to go into the three reds around the

pink spot, if he wishes. He does not have too, a couple of reds into the

right corner pocket. Yes, it is a huge frame in the context of the

match and if he wins this frame, he takes the lead into the final

session. How big a red will it be? Will he get past 68? That is his

target. Another 25 points needed to make this frame safe.

His shoulder strap with disappointment that he has not got

the right side of the pink -- drop. The dreaded blue line.

Not bad at position, this, the just screws that a couple of inches past

the corner pocket. Not as far as the white. He can play this one quite

confidently but he has to get top side of the pink.

I thought that was in, to be honest, and so did Mark.

Well, he was trying to pot the red and he judged the cannon on the red,

on the top cushion. Just the fact that he had to make that cannon made

that pot more difficult. And he has been gifted a chance now on Mark

Selby to win the frame. That was a lot of, for Mark. -- a let off.

I did not expect him to miss that one. No, I did not. I was worried

about the cannon. He was trying to misses the cannon and he just caught

it to them. Just make sure you finish high on this next red. -- too

thin. I think the bottom red of the two

touching will pot into the same as this red, so he does not have to

play the cannon into the three reds. He just needs one more red. To take

a three frame lead. And he played that one nicely. 57

ahead, just this red. This is impressive stuff from Mark

Selby. Every time the question has been asked, he has answered. He has

had to win this frame with a couple of visits, but he has showed a lot

of character and a lot of resolve out there. Ding has been pushing him

all the way and he keeps responding. When you consider he had two

outrageous bets of play. A terrible safety shot, but he left another 480

macro and he thought he could get through the gap. De he left another

four Junhui. It is swing and roundabouts and Ding had his chance

and he missed the red so he should not have any complaints. A very

important couple of frames now. Especially for Ding Junhui. Going

into the night's session, he wants to be as close to Mark Selby as

possible. Last night, he got right back into the match and you thought

if he could win one of the last two frames... He lost them both, now he

has to win them both to stay close to Mark Selby.

Stopped in his tracks as he was walking around the table! A bit of

bounce off that outside cushion. Well, he had a couple of attempts,

but more importantly for Mark Selby, he gets another frame on the board

and he now leads Ding Junhui by 13-10.

The gap is back to what it was overnight, Ding Junhui within one

frame and now he has a lot to do. What do you sense about this young

man from China now? That cannon that went wrong has turned this match on

its head. He had them are meant to go 11-11, it looked as

straightforward cannon, it just went wrong. From there, it has not gone

his way. Mark Selby has had two outrageous pieces of fortune and he

could have left him better chances. Ding missed one later but when meant

was with him, that cannon has changed the match. Dispiriting? Yes,

he will fight all the way. Snooker is a game of the turn of a fact --

the turn of a ball all over the place. You could make a case for

golf, so many things, they are just fractions and you could look back

during a match and go, that was a turning point. What if it was a

turning point, that would not have happened. That did not matter, that

was a turning point. And keep going. We analyse it to pieces but

generally, Mark is just in front all the time and Ding is playing

catch-up, doing a job, but how does he overhaul him? Good question. It

has been a test of character, 6-0 down in the final is not great, he

has got back into it. These next two frames, if he loses both, this final

is done and he will not give Mark Selby a five frame lead. He has to

win one, two is fantastic, but he definitely has to win one. He has

climbed the mountain at least once from 6-0 to get back in, very frames

down overnight and he got within one again. And now he has got it all to

do again, three frames behind in the penultimate frame of this session.

I cannot agree with John Parrott more. Ding has to win at least one

of these remaining two frames. APPLAUSE. Wonderful. He perhaps

could have won both frames. That was a fabulous pot. Yes, I liked the way

he played it. Look at where the finished, in the middle of the

table. He was not playing the shot. He fully committed to the shot. And

he has left himself nicely on this blue.

The red directly above the black pot, in the right-hand corner

pocket. Now he has got a wonderful angle and

he's blessed with a lot of cue power. He will still be on this red

to the right of the black. That is a lovely shot. Beautifully controlled.

The red was at the edge of the black, just to slow the cue ball

down, he could not have played it better. Yes, I totally agree. I

think he needs to win at least one of these just to keep within sight

of Mark. If he can win these last two frames, he's beautifully poised

for this evening's session. He must win at least one of these. I think

John Parrott said in the studio if Ding were to lose these two frames,

15-10 behind going into the final session, difficult to see him coming

back from that. Such massive frames, these are, for Ding.

It will certainly take some bottle to get a frame-winning break from

here, but the balls are nice. A break of 103 in frame 21 but since

then, his highest contribution has been just over 30. He has to take

the pressure off himself. Played on two reds there. These two

reds that are closest together, the bottom pots into the right-hand

corner pocket. A bit straighter on the black and he

would have liked. There is a loose red close to his arm, that will be

his next choice. He's on it nicely. He's going to need one good cannon

after this red from the black into Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu,

possibly, if he's going to win the frame on this visit -- into the

reds. 61 points, that would leave his

opponent needing a Snooker. So, pot the red, but he must finish with a

nice angle on the black. Oh, dear. The cue ball has gone too

far to make it an easy shot. If he plays it as a plain ball, he will

kiss the outside red but he wanted to be a lot straighter on the black

than this. He can kiss the outside red but he can't push it towards the

pocket. He has to kiss the second red yeah. -- here. He deserves

something. Not straightforward. The previous red was the poor shot, not

the black. He was hoping to push the red to the

middle. It just pushed past. Looking for the plant. Surely that's too

dangerous. Maybe he's looking at the plant, but

it's too risky and this stage, too much of a gap between the reds. He

would like to brush off these reds, cannon black the top cushion and put

it in a safe position. He also has to be aware that he may leave a red.

That's not too bad. Clever little shot, wasn't it? Trying to get the

ball tight to the cushion. I thought, if he hit it full in the

face, would he leave the pot in the middle? Excellent shot. He made the

52 break, I thought it was back in the second frame, and Mark Selby won

the frame with a Snooker. This 52 break will hopefully win the frame.

This is a possibility, off the red, the reds into the paint and tried to

get the cue ball behind the black. Now, where is the cue ball? It needs

to run a little bit. Not bad. OK, it didn't go behind the black, but it

is tight enough to the top cushion that it makes it really very

difficult for Ding Junhui to get back. The fact that the red has gone

over to the white centre, a couple of reds to the left-centre, can't

leave the cue ball down the baulk area, so it may force him to take on

the pot. Extremely difficult position, he's in here.

What do you think, Willie, will he take the pot to the left-centre?

Very difficult. I can't see any area at the baulk end because there is a

red on the left-hand side and one on the right-hand side so he will have

to take the pot. He would do well to cover both of the reds to the middle

pockets. Just one red, if he campaigned the

shot, not it towards the table and leave the cue ball on the left-hand

side of the cushion. He would be covering the reds below the pink and

Mark Selby won't be able to pot the red from the left, from the right

centre. Whatever the equation, he's in big trouble here. He has a 52

point lead but that could go very quickly.

Don't like this shot, surely he has left this red on. His body language

and the wry smile tells me he has all stop -- he has. Mark Selby

thinks it's a bit tight. If he hasn't left the straighter red to

the left-centre, certainly the outside one, just to the left of

that. Straight one that Mark Selby looked at, but this one certainly

pots, if he can stay on the pink to the right centre. Not so much

pressure on the pot because he certainly won't believe in a red. He

can play this quite comfortably, he can have the pink to the right

centre. The playing time is just over the ten hour mark. You'd expect

him to pot this. Yes, the heart of the pocket and he's on the pink.

Excellent shot. I mentioned earlier on in commentary, the break of 50 he

had earlier in the second frame. That got his mindset. Oh, that's

kicked, by an absolute mile. That absolutely went sideways. Very

unlike Mark Selby to show emotion but he's entitled to be annoyed with

this one, look at the pink, going straight on. Incredible kick. That

is so frustrating. He nearly missed that! He has just

come past the baulk line to make this almost a certainty to win the

frame, but that was very frustrating for a smoother player, especially

how he carved out the opportunity for himself, and the importance of

the frame, of course, which was at his mercy.

Certainly doesn't get the cue ball cleanly as much as Ding Junhui, Mark

Selby. You wonder, playing those kind of shots, something he could

consider. He had it cleaned after a kick himself. 62 points in front.

Mark Selby needed a Snooker. Acknowledgement from the crowd,

frame ball. The lands were talking in the studio about how matches can

change to and fro, sometimes an incident like that can change a

match as well, Willie. 68 ahead, 59 remaining. Sometimes a

player, a shot like that, a kick like that can stay with a player. He

knew that was a chance to clear, even though he was 52 behind. I

wonder if he's going to carry on now. Plenty of reds on.

And the frame. So he concedes, Ding Junhui with that 52 break, he could

have been an more but he gets the second bite of the Cherry and he

closes to within two. STUDIO: They say that luck evens itself out and

this time, Mark Selby is the aggrieved party. He played a

fabulous shot to get the cue ball up, look at the shot he played. He

hit it so well. OK, not right behind the black but look where the cue

ball finishes. The way the table is, I was looking at it and thinking,

that's trouble because I couldn't see an avenue to get away from it.

He gets his opportunity, he comes in, the balls are at his mercy and

he gets the dreaded kick. He might have had good fortune at the start

of the frame, and it's not often you see him losing his temper. For all

of the skill involved in the game, we are at the vagaries of physics

and when you get a bit more grip between the two balls, whether it is

chalk, sometimes the balls are very dry in the heat of the atmosphere

and the tables, if they get too dry, they seem to grip more than at a

Snooker club and you get a bit of extra friction, the cue ball riding

up the red, it can pull the red into the air, destroying the angle of the

pot. And it destroys your confidence, it is really

frustrating. Some this up? One word, massive. COMMENTATOR: I don't know

if our viewers saw Mark Selby as he sat in the chair. His head was still

shaking, still reeling from the kick on the pink. I hope it doesn't

affect him. He has to get it out of his mind very quickly. This is a

massive frame for both players. Yes, one or three, that's the scenario

here. Odds on to win the World Championship, if he wins it but if

he loses it, it rose between them. -- it goes.

The two reds touching up the front, by the reds he's looking to play the

safety off. He dare not risk leaving Mark Selby a foot away from the

cushion because he can pay one of the reds down the right-hand side.

-- he can play. He can't afford to leave the cue ball more than three

or four inches away from the cushion. This is perfect, very good

shot. This is what Mark can see. Couldn't

have played it much better. Excellent shot. A bit of trouble

here. This could take a bit of time,

working this one out. He doesn't have the angle to come off the

right-hand side cushion, to land on the reds. It must be a tough one,

you haven't got a line up yet! The one that is next to the pink, he

can play two cushions and try and hit it half ball, but if he gets it

any thicker than that he will stick them all over the place. He has two

cushions to try and hit it half ball. If he catches it too Dick, it

could be the frame. Two thick -- too thick. That's beautiful picture. The

back of the auditorium, right down to the table, wonderful camera

angle. A eye view. This is very dangerous.

Ooh! Foul, and a Miz. That was quarter of an inch away. -- a miss.

Yes, similar shot. He has to be so precise with this. He has to just

kept the outside of the red and get the pace on its good -- on it to get

the cue more back to the baulk end. -- the cue ball. That's the best it

could have hoped for, excellent shot. -- he could have hoped for. He

may have forced Ding to take one on here. Doesn't look like he's getting

down to play the pot. Just a safety. If Mark Selby plays this down the

right-hand side, he has to watch the red just to the side of the one he's

going to pot. There is a circle on the red, the one that I'm talking

about. On the way back down he may just kissed the red that's about it,

so he may need to play it with a bit of side. There may be one that he

feels is better. -- kiss the red that's about it --

above it. That was a wonderful pot from Mark

Selby. Nice kiss on the red. Yes, two good pots. That one had

slightly more pressure, he didn't play the kiss, he played the shops

to nothing, now he has the chance to build a frame, although the colours

are not perfect cars the shot to nothing. -- the shops to nothing.

He is entitled to feel the pressure now.

He judged that nicely off the right-hand side cushion.

Concentrating on the pink because it will go to the left and right corner

pockets. You could see the two reds just below the red closest to the

pink spot, both of them will go to the bottom right-hand corner. There,

you see. Five pinks without having to hit any cannons, won't even be

contemplating getting on the black at this stage.

He campaigned for the choice of three reds, those two together or

the one just above them. Playing for the pink to the left

centre. The next red will be the one just below the pink.

In his remarkable career, he has potted a lot of pressure shots, but

the first red and blue were right out of the top drawer to give

himself an opportunity to take the three frame lead. He lost the first

session. He was keen to at least share this second session but he has

actually won it. If you go back to the start of the frame, Ding played

the wonderful safety shot and he had Mark Selby in a lot of trouble and

he found a wonderful escape off the second attempt. From being in that

position, to getting himself in this position now to try and win the

frame. Not quite perfect on the red, he may have to play it with some

right-hand side, to drift past these four reds. There is the side, not

quite enough. He can play on the choice of two

reds here. The red closest to the pink, almost directly below it, and

also the one that's on the left-hand side of the table.

He is reluctant to play the red just below the pink because he will have

to judge the cannon off the three reds just to the left of it. He'll

have to use the little extension on the end of his cue.

Looks like he's decided to play for the red at the baulk end because he

can't get perfectly on the red by the side cushion.

He could've done with that a bit harder. Probably playing for the red

or the Green now. 51 in front, three more reds and three more colours, to