Saturday, 2nd Round, Afternoon

:00:33. > :00:41.Good afternoon. What a week that was here at The Crucible, in our annual

:00:42. > :00:46.snooker marathon. We have lost seven of the top seeds, including last

:00:47. > :00:50.year's champion, Stuart Bingham. We have said goodbye to Steve Davis as

:00:51. > :00:55.a player. We have said good riddance to Dennis Taylor's troublesome

:00:56. > :00:59.appendix. He is fine, don't worry! But Marco Fu has also said hello to

:01:00. > :01:02.the quarterfinals, and he will be joined there by three other players

:01:03. > :01:06.today. And we have had a lot to talk about when it comes to the

:01:07. > :01:09.pre-championship favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan, although he has

:01:10. > :01:13.preferred to keep his own counsel this week. He will be letting his

:01:14. > :01:14.talent do the talking out in The Crucible arena this afternoon, in

:01:15. > :01:56.round two. So, end of a busy week for it is the

:01:57. > :02:00.second round stage for Ronnie O'Sullivan - what can we expect

:02:01. > :02:04.today? Well, obviously he ended the last match, everybody knows, there

:02:05. > :02:09.was a bit of uncertainty at how he was feeling. He played well, he was

:02:10. > :02:12.very solid. He has got a tough second round against Barry Hawkins,

:02:13. > :02:16.but obviously, has got to put the misery of the destruction in the

:02:17. > :02:20.final of the Masters, 10-1, that was the last time they played, out of

:02:21. > :02:25.his mind. But he has played royal number of times so it is tough match

:02:26. > :02:30.for Ronnie. You want to play people you have beaten before, so what will

:02:31. > :02:34.his approach be today? He has got to get off to a good start. As we

:02:35. > :02:38.always say, Ronnie is a tremendous frontrunner. Perhaps he has got to

:02:39. > :02:43.try and win the first session. As soon as Ronnie gets ahead, and the

:02:44. > :02:50.same again in the next session, the match is over. We always stay with

:02:51. > :02:55.Ronnie, it is 17 days, do you think he is here till the end? I think

:02:56. > :03:00.he's determined to win. Nobody knows because he did not say anything

:03:01. > :03:04.after the last match. Nobody knows. But on the table, I thought he was

:03:05. > :03:07.very solid, especially the first session, in the balls, he just

:03:08. > :03:10.cleared up every time. There was ample inevitabilities. And here is

:03:11. > :03:20.the rest of our menu for this afternoon. Ali Carter delivered a

:03:21. > :03:25.knockout blow on last year's champion, but this morning he is in

:03:26. > :03:28.an almighty scrap with Alan McManus. Meanwhile, world number one Mark

:03:29. > :03:33.Selby is going to do to with the lowest ranked player left,

:03:34. > :03:38.Birmingham's Sam Baird. Ronnie O'Sullivan steps out at 2.30 against

:03:39. > :03:43.the man he has played and beaten here in two of the last three years.

:03:44. > :03:51.Yes, birthday boy Barry Hawkins, 37 today, will not be expect him many

:03:52. > :03:56.gifts from The Rocket today. And for whom will The Crucible's budding

:03:57. > :04:04.romance ended in tears? It is not you, it is me! Hey, they can still

:04:05. > :04:10.be friends! So that will be the match to finish this afternoon,

:04:11. > :04:15.along with the start of the Ronnie O'Sullivan-Barry Hawkins match. But

:04:16. > :04:17.we have been under way here since ten o'clock this morning, enjoying

:04:18. > :04:21.what has been an absolutely thrilling finale in the match

:04:22. > :04:25.between Ali Carter and Alan McManus. Both of these men were qualifiers

:04:26. > :04:28.this year. McManus saw off his great friend Stephen Maguire. Ali Carter

:04:29. > :04:34.meanwhile beat the defending champion on the opening night. Ali

:04:35. > :04:39.Carter was leading going into the final session this morning. McManus

:04:40. > :04:42.has been hugely frustrated with the table conditions but he has come

:04:43. > :04:48.charging back to take the first four frames this morning and now leads

:04:49. > :04:54.11-nine. Remember, it is first to 13 in the second round. We will be

:04:55. > :04:55.joining it in the next frame, with McManus 47 points adrift. Commentary

:04:56. > :05:07.from Willie Thorne and Peter Ebdon. REFEREE: Foul, and a miss. Ali

:05:08. > :05:39.Carter, five. WILLIE THORNE: Just has to be

:05:40. > :05:49.careful here, and he bound to get a frame on the board, his first of the

:05:50. > :05:52.morning session. Two more reds and colours, that will be enough to keep

:05:53. > :06:43.Alan McManus sitting in his chair. It looks like Ali Carter has got

:06:44. > :06:53.himself back into this match. It had been drifting away from him.

:06:54. > :07:03.Peter EBDON: He has look to completely different player in this

:07:04. > :07:09.frame, Willie. WILLIE THORNE: I'm sure more people

:07:10. > :07:15.will be wanting to have you in their dressing room, Peter, seeing how he

:07:16. > :07:19.has come out for this second half! We have said many times how

:07:20. > :07:20.intervals can change matches. It looks to be the case so far for this

:07:21. > :07:44.one. This is the kind of speed highlight

:07:45. > :07:51.to see Ali play at. He looks to be in good with now. That is what you

:07:52. > :07:57.can do when you are playing somebody like Alan, who is a wonderful tack

:07:58. > :08:00.fishing and a bit slower than most. You have got to try and play the

:08:01. > :08:07.game at your pace, not at their pace. But he is looking pretty good

:08:08. > :08:22.now. He could not believe that cushion

:08:23. > :09:10.there! He is smiling away and I do not blame him!

:09:11. > :09:18.That was a magnificent break of 71, and Ali Carter is back in this

:09:19. > :09:22.match. He still trails, 11-ten. HAZEL IRVINE: As you probably know,

:09:23. > :09:27.Ali Carter has an impressive CV at The Crucible. He is a two-time

:09:28. > :09:33.runner-up, most recently in 2012. And he has got himself back within

:09:34. > :09:36.reach. He is fighting. But let's show you what happened in frame 22,

:09:37. > :09:43.because Carter, ten points behind, just the colours remaining, and it

:09:44. > :09:46.is a miss cue. He might have had a chance to level the score. But this

:09:47. > :09:56.frame is firmly back in the balance once again, as we rejoin it.

:09:57. > :10:02.Opportunity to snooker behind the black here with check side. Got the

:10:03. > :10:08.double kiss. And he may well have been fortunate again. Although there

:10:09. > :10:10.is a good chance that Alan can pop this yellow off the side cushion,

:10:11. > :10:28.with a touch of right-hand side. It is one of those, he has to hit it

:10:29. > :10:43.virtually free quarter-ball to pot it, which is hard to judge. Good

:10:44. > :10:46.pot, puts him 12 in front. But how does he get on the brown? Maybe a

:10:47. > :11:00.double? And the fact that it is frame ball,

:11:01. > :11:22.he will be taking this double one. That's a reprieve for Ali Carter,

:11:23. > :11:31.because I thought that double was virtually... Well, he would pot it

:11:32. > :11:36.more times than he would miss it. I wonder whether Ali will be tempted

:11:37. > :11:41.to play it cushion first and try and leave the white exactly where the

:11:42. > :11:46.brown is. He has not caught this very well. This is an easier chance

:11:47. > :12:35.than the double. The blue has not gone in, but

:12:36. > :12:54.barring snookers, Alan McManus will be one frame away from victory.

:12:55. > :13:14.Alan McManus, one up with three to play.

:13:15. > :13:22.Alan McManus, one frame away from victory. The point of no return for

:13:23. > :13:25.Ali Carter. I wonder, Peter, whether that is what he needs. Because he

:13:26. > :13:38.knows now that he cannot make any mistakes.

:13:39. > :13:51.Peter EBDON: This is a very difficult red to take on. Oh, that's

:13:52. > :13:55.brilliant! Possibly his best shot of the match. Incredible cueing.

:13:56. > :14:08.That's just magnificent cueing. Well, if that does not give him a

:14:09. > :14:16.boost of confidence, nothing will, Willie. Not perfect on the green.

:14:17. > :14:22.Nothing seems to go in this left-hand top pocket. So he has

:14:23. > :14:32.played for one in the middle. Needs the white to pull up... If he can

:14:33. > :14:35.get the one just to the left of the black, that would be a bonus. It

:14:36. > :14:45.would free up the black. This now becomes a better chance - as long as

:14:46. > :14:58.he pots this red. Yes, well played, nice pot. Green to follow.

:14:59. > :15:03.Unusually for Ali, he has just lost the cue ball a few times this

:15:04. > :15:05.morning. As a result of that he has not scored as heavily as he normally

:15:06. > :15:27.would do. But his concentration and focus

:15:28. > :15:35.seems to have come right back. And after that magnificent opening

:15:36. > :15:38.red... He is giving himself a real chance.

:15:39. > :15:52.You could see the cue ball jump there. He has lost position because

:15:53. > :15:58.of that. He will be absolutely distraught at losing prime position

:15:59. > :16:02.there. If the red goes past the pink in the middle, it might not be too

:16:03. > :16:11.bad. Yes, this is OK. Just screw back, he's back on the black again.

:16:12. > :16:38.Very good recovery. He has got a couple of loose reds.

:16:39. > :16:47.Just needs to drop this in now. And leave himself an angle after potting

:16:48. > :16:51.this red to go into the bunch. And leave himself onto the red into the

:16:52. > :17:02.left-hand black pocket. That's just about perfect. Needs to stand up

:17:03. > :17:06.into this pack, though. If he screws up into them, he could lose the

:17:07. > :17:11.white. That's what he has done, but he has left himself hampered.

:17:12. > :17:21.Perhaps should have played it a little bit harder than that.

:17:22. > :17:36.Yes, that previous shot was almost in between a Stanning and a screw.

:17:37. > :17:42.But a very good effort from Ali with his back against the wall. Showing

:17:43. > :17:47.that he still feels he has got a chance to win this match. That's not

:17:48. > :17:52.one of his best positional shots. If we watch it in slow motion, if

:17:53. > :17:56.possible, that was another outrageous kick, another heavy

:17:57. > :18:03.contact. Watch the black jump. Wow! Look at that. The thing which upsets

:18:04. > :18:08.the players so much about these bad contacts is that we know that either

:18:09. > :18:12.you lose position or you can miss the pot. There is nothing you can do

:18:13. > :18:23.about it, it is just very, very frustrating for the players. Still,

:18:24. > :18:25.54 break, this has been an excellent effort from Ali Carter so far.

:18:26. > :18:37.Another kick. Just took some pace out of the cue

:18:38. > :18:58.ball. Positionally, he's OK. Played that nicely. Three more reds,

:18:59. > :19:11.three colours, to be guaranteed of making it 12-11. The three below the

:19:12. > :19:19.pink are lined up like soldiers into this corner pocket.

:19:20. > :19:26.That flew off the cushion, look at that. That has gone 3ft further than

:19:27. > :19:43.it should have done. Please somebody set fire to this table!

:19:44. > :19:55.Needs to put all negativity out of his mind. The good news is, there is

:19:56. > :20:07.only 67 left, and he's a 70 in front so that he can play the red with

:20:08. > :20:24.confidence. One more red and Alan McManus will concede.

:20:25. > :20:49.So, big moments in this match. Well, it has taken a while, Willie, but we

:20:50. > :20:56.are actually beginning to see signs that the real Ali Carter is turning

:20:57. > :21:02.up. I would still be a bit worried about his emotions if something went

:21:03. > :21:12.slightly wrong in the next frame. Obviously, now he will feel he can

:21:13. > :21:23.still win the match. Already made one century in this match, 103,

:21:24. > :21:27.earlier on. There has been 42 centuries overall made this year. It

:21:28. > :21:32.is amazing, people complaining about the tables, that they have made 42

:21:33. > :21:39.centuries. Just shows you how good they are when they are in close. And

:21:40. > :21:43.this will be a real tonic for Ali Carter. And for his fans. If he can

:21:44. > :22:03.make this century break here. Well played. That really is an

:22:04. > :22:04.excellent effort, considering everything that has gone before this

:22:05. > :22:22.morning. HAZEL IRVINE: Real character from

:22:23. > :22:28.Ali Carter, as you would expect. He's not quite in control of this

:22:29. > :22:37.match as yet, though. Into the next we go.

:22:38. > :23:01.Peter EBDON: Alan with a 24 point lead. It is quite big lead as well,

:23:02. > :23:16.the way balls are. Yellow and pink, out of commission.

:23:17. > :23:20.He knows he has got to take this on. This is a chance for frame and

:23:21. > :23:39.match. He doesn't like it, though. Very good shot. If he does take the

:23:40. > :23:48.blue on, he will be cannoning in to the two reds on the cushion. He is

:23:49. > :23:52.not bound to end up on one of them. Just needed the cue ball to come

:23:53. > :24:03.another inch or so away from the left-hand side cushion. This is

:24:04. > :24:11.tricky. Played it very well. And his unfortunate not to be on the red

:24:12. > :24:17.closest to the black. Of course, running into those reds, he was

:24:18. > :24:20.never sure what kind of cannon he was going get. There is a red into

:24:21. > :24:47.the middle, but it is tough. The blue will put him 44 points in

:24:48. > :25:03.front. Sorry, it will put him on 44. So he needs two more reds.

:25:04. > :25:13.Red and black will put him 44 in front with 43 remaining. He has been

:25:14. > :25:19.out of the limelight for a few years, Alan. This is a chance to get

:25:20. > :25:23.right back in the limelight, with a place in the quarterfinals in the

:25:24. > :25:35.World Champion ships at Sheffield. It's in. Needs the white to slow

:25:36. > :25:43.down. Well, I would be taking the black on!

:25:44. > :25:56.Well, the blue is unmissable unless he gets a kick.

:25:57. > :26:04.But can he get on a red? I think there is a gap between the brown and

:26:05. > :26:12.Grinham. That's what he has played. Excellent positional shot.

:26:13. > :26:22.This red for a place in the quarterfinal. Ali Carter can only

:26:23. > :26:40.look down and hope that Alan McManus misses this red.

:26:41. > :27:06.Well, this is an opportunity for Ali, but it is not straightforward.

:27:07. > :28:02.Because he is hampered by the blue. Well played. That's an excellent

:28:03. > :28:08.pot. He has given himself a chance. I would suggest that he just needs

:28:09. > :28:11.to drop this black in and leave himself an angle whereby he can

:28:12. > :28:18.stand the red down the table and leave the cue ball behind the black,

:28:19. > :28:25.leaving Alan McManus snookered. And he has got another kick there. And

:28:26. > :28:30.he certainly did not want the cue ball to finish there. Makes it very

:28:31. > :28:41.hard for him to control the cue ball now.

:28:42. > :28:51.This is tough. Needs to avoid the cannon on the pink. Yes, that was

:28:52. > :28:54.really tough, and unfortunately for Ali, he is pushing the red towards

:28:55. > :29:10.the green pocket. And that could well be the end of this match.

:29:11. > :29:16.All of the hours of this you put in. This is what you wait for, the

:29:17. > :29:57.chance to win frame and match. Ali Carter is deciding whether to

:29:58. > :29:58.carry on but barring snookers, Alan McManus will be into his first

:29:59. > :30:27.quarterfinal in quite some time. It has to be said, throughout the

:30:28. > :30:31.match, Alan McManus has played excellent safety. He has made it

:30:32. > :30:42.tough for Ali Carter all the way through.

:30:43. > :30:49.In the early part of the match, Ali Carter could not pull away from

:30:50. > :30:58.Alan. Alan was dogged, determined, persistent. And that is what he

:30:59. > :31:09.does. He does it better than most. Well, that has just about wraps it

:31:10. > :31:15.up a terrible final session for Ali. What a tremendous performance from

:31:16. > :31:22.Alan McManus. Ali Carter will be very disappointed. Alan McManus is

:31:23. > :31:29.back into the big time. He goes through to the

:31:30. > :31:33.quarterfinals. That was a win that must bring you huge satisfaction.

:31:34. > :31:43.Right now it is a sense of relief. It was tough all three days. Not the

:31:44. > :31:46.best match in fairly tough conditions but it has not dawned on

:31:47. > :31:58.me yet I have come through the match. I am pleased to be through. A

:31:59. > :32:04.couple of days off. I play the winner of John and Ricky. What a way

:32:05. > :32:10.to start this morning. It started all right. I felt OK most of the but

:32:11. > :32:16.conditions are tough on our side. We were getting a lot of kicks, a lot

:32:17. > :32:22.of bounces. It was cutting both ways. It did not spoil the match,

:32:23. > :32:27.but it goes a long way to making it more difficult for both guys out

:32:28. > :32:32.there. Me and Ali Carter had a couple of words about it but you

:32:33. > :32:37.have to dig in. I will always dig in here, I have done in the past. I am

:32:38. > :32:42.pleased to come through. It was not many years ago you could not get to

:32:43. > :32:49.the Crucible and here you are, your second quarterfinal in three years.

:32:50. > :32:54.I went a lot of years, four, five, I did not play here, and the last four

:32:55. > :33:07.years I have been here and I love it. Matches like that, three session

:33:08. > :33:15.matches are special. I hung in the whole match. 5-3 down, 9-7 down, I

:33:16. > :33:20.thought if I stick in, maybe get to ten each, 11th each, and see what I

:33:21. > :33:25.can do from there. I played a couple of decent frames this morning but

:33:26. > :33:32.for the most part, it was toughing it out. I have a bit to take into

:33:33. > :33:37.the next round and hopefully I will play better. Well done. We will see

:33:38. > :33:43.even the last eight on the big stage.

:33:44. > :33:47.Alan McManus at 45 years of age, a great enthusiast in the game, he has

:33:48. > :33:54.done it again. How significant is that? Massive will stop he got

:33:55. > :33:59.beaten by Ali Carter 10-5 last year in the first round. 45 years of age,

:34:00. > :34:05.people say you are over the hill. When you are a top-class match

:34:06. > :34:12.player you always are, and to shot selection is superb and he competes.

:34:13. > :34:20.A fantastic performance. 24, 23 years ago, the two of you, McManus,

:34:21. > :34:26.being piped out into the arena. And he is still doing it. I want to ask

:34:27. > :34:31.the secret that enthusiasm. I spoke to him the other day. He says he

:34:32. > :34:37.just loves playing. He loves going to practise, going to the club. That

:34:38. > :34:43.is a massive bonus in a player, to love what are doing. He will play

:34:44. > :34:50.either Ricky Walden or John Higgins next. How bad a defeat is this for

:34:51. > :34:53.Ali Carter? Massively so. I have more than an inkling he thought he

:34:54. > :35:01.would win this match. I think you put himself under the cosh. With the

:35:02. > :35:06.greatest respect to Alan, he is thinking, I beat him last time. I

:35:07. > :35:10.think he put himself under pressure. What did you notice about his

:35:11. > :35:17.performance, he got increasingly agitated? Next season he has to look

:35:18. > :35:22.at himself and how he handles himself in the arena. It is all

:35:23. > :35:25.right having anger and channelling it the right way, in his match

:35:26. > :35:31.against Stuart Bingham, he was shaking his head when Stewart was

:35:32. > :35:36.playing good shots. Your opponent is allowed to play good shots. He could

:35:37. > :35:43.not play his best game when that happens. I agree, I think he saw it

:35:44. > :35:48.as a good draw. I did it. Peter Ebdon in the final. I did not think

:35:49. > :35:54.he could beat me in four sessions and he did. Ali Carter will return.

:35:55. > :35:58.He is one of the most tenacious players in the game. But

:35:59. > :36:03.congratulations to Alan McManus. It is about time to catch up with

:36:04. > :36:06.the world number one Mark Selby, who has had a great season when it comes

:36:07. > :36:10.to watching his football team Leicester City, but it has been

:36:11. > :36:16.fairly average in terms of his standards because with one smaller

:36:17. > :36:17.event title in Poland, that has been the only thing the Jester has had to

:36:18. > :37:25.smile about really. Mark Selby is playing the only

:37:26. > :37:30.player from outside the top 32 to make it beyond the opening round,

:37:31. > :37:35.sunbed, who came here ranked number 59 in the world and enjoyed his

:37:36. > :37:39.first win at the Crucible, knocking out Michael White. He made a strong

:37:40. > :37:46.start, out scoring Selby in the first session. Coming out for -

:37:47. > :37:49.four. That has become 6-6 this morning and Selby knocked in his

:37:50. > :37:55.first century of the match and we will pick them up in frame 13 in the

:37:56. > :39:09.company of Ken Doherty and Steve Davis.

:39:10. > :39:22.KEN DOHERTY: it is a good start, after the return from the

:39:23. > :39:34.mid-session interval. Just looking to see if the pink pots into the

:39:35. > :39:43.bottom right-hand pocket. That tells us it obviously does.

:39:44. > :39:57.I am not sure if it will go back on its spot. Nicely on the two reds

:39:58. > :40:02.just above the black. The referee will just take a bit of time. It

:40:03. > :40:13.does not go on its spot so it goes directly behind, in line with the

:40:14. > :40:30.black. I am thinking, it may pot. It would

:40:31. > :40:34.be perfect if it does. If he can pot this red and the pink pops into the

:40:35. > :40:46.left-hand corner... Obviously didn't. He can still play these

:40:47. > :40:51.screw off the pink and open up the pack a bit.

:40:52. > :41:00.He did not play that shot. Perhaps he was too straight. Do you think he

:41:01. > :41:10.is considering using the red to get ideal on the blue? Maybe. You could

:41:11. > :41:12.go into the pack now, knowing you would still be on the red to the

:41:13. > :41:27.right centre. He has played that lovely. Played it

:41:28. > :41:36.very nicely indeed. How much back spin did he get on that shot? Wow.

:41:37. > :41:41.He must've hit very low on the cue ball to get that much back spin

:41:42. > :41:52.without a great deal of power, which could have sent the cue ball too far

:41:53. > :41:57.down the table. For all of the puzzles we try to work out, Mark

:41:58. > :42:08.Selby sorted out a better option. It was the delayed reaction on the

:42:09. > :42:13.cue ball, if we get a chance to see it again. The initial impact on the

:42:14. > :42:22.reds and the delayed reaction of the back spin.

:42:23. > :42:33.That was a terrible contact on the black. We can look at the split. The

:42:34. > :42:42.cue ball is going away and the back spin, it is like a delayed reaction,

:42:43. > :42:46.taking almost a 90 degrees turn. Only available, really, on the best

:42:47. > :43:02.quality cloth and also a new cloth, as well. You could hear the heavy

:43:03. > :43:12.contact. It was a good recovery. He managed to just about hold onto the

:43:13. > :43:19.cue ball. That kick, that Mark Selby got, left a chalk mark on the black.

:43:20. > :43:37.The really bad kicks are due to chalk. That is where Mark Selby will

:43:38. > :44:37.try to pot the black. Nicely on the red at the bottom of the pack.

:44:38. > :44:45.Just another red and colour will put the frame safe and Mark can then

:44:46. > :44:47.concentrate on possibly making a second century of the morning's

:44:48. > :45:05.session. APPLAUSE. The crowd acknowledges.

:45:06. > :45:28.Over the winning line in this frame. He did not do much wrong, sunbed. He

:45:29. > :45:34.left Mark Selby and opening red. It was a wonderful opener, wasn't it?

:45:35. > :46:06.So often from the break of shot, a red like that is left available but

:46:07. > :46:11.you still have to knock it in. Very impressive from Mark Selby, coming

:46:12. > :46:20.out at the start of this little session. He has had his nose in

:46:21. > :46:26.front in this match for most of it. But no player, as yet, has opened up

:46:27. > :46:30.a two frame advantage. This will be another chance for Mark Selby to do

:46:31. > :47:04.such a thing. A wonderful century from the world

:47:05. > :47:08.number one, Mark Selby. That is career century number 412. An

:47:09. > :47:16.incredible amount. The top five or six break-builders

:47:17. > :48:15.of all time, now. Magnificent. A clearance from Mark

:48:16. > :48:26.Selby. He gets his nose ahead once more.

:48:27. > :48:29.That is his highest break of this year's championship. For the first

:48:30. > :48:38.time in this match we have a two frame gap. Selby won the 14th. We

:48:39. > :48:39.picked them up in the next. It is qualifier Sam Baird on a break of

:48:40. > :48:55.51. No. I am surprised. He stunned it,

:48:56. > :49:07.rather than dropping its dead weight. He was quite away from the

:49:08. > :49:17.red. A counterpunch from Mark Selby. What can he do?

:49:18. > :49:29.A pivotal moment in this match, I feel. It could be a turning point.

:49:30. > :49:46.What a boost it would be for Mark Selby.

:49:47. > :49:56.These are the types of frames that really give you a great lift, but

:49:57. > :50:02.also, at the same time, they hurt your opponent.

:50:03. > :50:05.Particularly as it looked like he would go on and win the frame in

:50:06. > :50:19.that visit. The balls are in the open. The way

:50:20. > :50:20.he has been playing the past few frames, you cannot see where he will

:50:21. > :50:27.go wrong. Getting the more difficult red out

:50:28. > :50:48.of the way. Should he win this frame, he would

:50:49. > :50:57.be guaranteed a lead going into the final session tonight.

:50:58. > :51:09.As long as he takes high value colours, he will not even need the

:51:10. > :51:31.pink which is off its spot to get over the finishing line.

:51:32. > :51:39.A black and blue and then up to the blue would be enough. He is just

:51:40. > :51:47.having a quick look. He is doing his calculations.

:51:48. > :52:10.He is thinking a good few shots ahead.

:52:11. > :52:21.This is really going to hurt Sam Baird. A must win frame, you would

:52:22. > :52:22.have to say, coming up after this, should Mark Selby clear up from this

:52:23. > :52:38.position. He will be reeling in his chair at

:52:39. > :52:43.the opportunity missed. He has just got to forget about it, compose

:52:44. > :52:45.himself. Because it is a massive frame for him, this next one coming

:52:46. > :53:06.up. It has been a good clearance so far

:53:07. > :53:31.from Mark Selby. Sam Baird with a great chance for

:53:32. > :53:37.8-7 behind and now he is reeling with the possibility of 10-6 behind.

:53:38. > :53:49.How quickly things can change. More or less guaranteed that Sam Baird

:53:50. > :54:02.cannot avoid potting the pink. He is that close to it. Oh!

:54:03. > :54:10.Mark Selby has another frame on the board.

:54:11. > :54:16.HAZEL IRVINE: Mark Selby could not capitalise in the last frame of the

:54:17. > :54:23.middle session. Because Devon's Sam Baird got over the line. A modest

:54:24. > :54:29.break in the 30s, but it was enough to remain in touch against the world

:54:30. > :54:36.number one and he goes into the evening session 7-9 behind. The

:54:37. > :54:45.27-year-old qualifier. They will return this evening. 7pm.

:54:46. > :54:49.STEPHEN HENDRY: It your observations about Mark Selby. I know you watched

:54:50. > :54:57.the match against Rob Wilkin is. Erratic form!

:54:58. > :55:04.He has not played much match snooker in the last month or two. Maybe he

:55:05. > :55:09.needs a couple of matches to get his sharpness back. He has never been a

:55:10. > :55:14.player to run away with matches, even being world number one. You do

:55:15. > :55:21.not see him like Ronnie, running away. He seems to make it difficult

:55:22. > :55:26.for himself. The top players tend to slowly pull away from their

:55:27. > :55:31.opponent. It was when we got 28-6 that there was more than a frame it.

:55:32. > :55:38.He went toe to toe in the first session and a half. We were talking

:55:39. > :55:40.about Ali Carter perhaps thinking it was a good draw against Alan

:55:41. > :55:47.McManus, there is no doubt Mark Selby expect to be Sam Baird but I

:55:48. > :55:51.think he has a better mental attitude than Ali Carter, I don't

:55:52. > :55:55.think he will allow that to agitate him. You could see in the first

:55:56. > :56:02.session he struggled to pull away and maybe that is a reason. Two

:56:03. > :56:08.years ago he won the title. Is he in that form so far? Yes, the fact he

:56:09. > :56:13.always seems to be able to win matches, even when he does not play

:56:14. > :56:17.dazzling sticker. We saw a magnificent century break and in the

:56:18. > :56:23.next frame, he can scrap it. He wins frames every way. When he beat

:56:24. > :56:26.Ronnie in the final he was not the best player in two, three sessions

:56:27. > :56:31.but he can produce it when it matters. He will try to do that this

:56:32. > :56:38.evening when they come back. We are about to go into the Crucible for

:56:39. > :56:41.the afternoon match, which will be Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on Barry

:56:42. > :56:48.Hawkins. And we have another one to finish. Everybody is intrigued about

:56:49. > :56:55.O'Sullivan's form. This is the third meeting between the spare in four

:56:56. > :56:58.years. Barry Hawkins celebrating his 37th birthday today and when he

:56:59. > :57:03.looks back on the matches against Ronnie O'Sullivan he will know in

:57:04. > :57:07.2013 he was in the final and acquitted himself well, and lost.

:57:08. > :57:14.The following year, semifinal, thrashed with a session to spare.

:57:15. > :57:19.And this season he suffered another thumping in the Masters final. There

:57:20. > :57:27.is a saying, those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

:57:28. > :57:32.What lessons has he learned of late? Always a great occasion when you

:57:33. > :57:39.play him in any tournament but here, it is a little bit more special. A

:57:40. > :57:44.dream come true. And experience walking out for the final the first

:57:45. > :57:48.time. Something I will never forget, God knows what it is like when you

:57:49. > :57:52.lift the trophy, it must be ridiculous. It was one of the few

:57:53. > :57:57.times I fancied beating him. I really thought I could win. It was a

:57:58. > :58:01.nice feeling, which I have not had the last few times I have played

:58:02. > :58:07.him, I have crumbled and he has run away with the matches. He wins the

:58:08. > :58:13.Masters 10-1. A little bit embarrassing is how I feel

:58:14. > :58:17.sometimes. Getting bashed, if you like, by him. I think I let the

:58:18. > :58:22.occasion get to me and I have to forget about that and remind myself

:58:23. > :58:26.how well I played in the final and I can put up a good performance

:58:27. > :58:31.against him. Hopefully I can do a Stuart Bingham! You have to believe

:58:32. > :58:37.you can win or there is no point in being here. I have to perform,

:58:38. > :58:44.otherwise I have no chance, so I have to concentrate hard on my own

:58:45. > :58:49.game and see what happens. Dad in the commentary box with a

:58:50. > :58:55.couple of legends. We have Ronnie back, what can we expect? -- down in

:58:56. > :59:00.the commentary box. We have seen Ronnie in top form. He has been

:59:01. > :59:05.playing superbly and seeds have struggled in the first round but not

:59:06. > :59:09.Ronnie. You worked with Barry Hawkins. He is a brilliant player

:59:10. > :59:14.but not a great record against Ronnie. Anything you have said to

:59:15. > :59:20.him to change his mind set? Not many, not many have a good record

:59:21. > :59:23.against Ronnie O'Sullivan. Barry is looking forward to it and he has

:59:24. > :59:28.played well on the practice table and feels good and it is a good

:59:29. > :59:34.opportunity to play Ronnie here lies, who is the favourite to win

:59:35. > :59:38.the title. The pressure is on him. John, he will not be complacent

:59:39. > :59:44.today, Ronnie. He has beaten Barry Hawkins a lot of times. But he will

:59:45. > :59:49.not be complacent? He can take nothing for granted. It is a great

:59:50. > :59:53.opportunity for Barry, nothing is expected. He knows the only way to

:59:54. > :59:56.get anything out of this match is to play well cover which is what you

:59:57. > :00:02.have to do to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan. He will go in there with

:00:03. > :00:07.positive thoughts and I'm sure Terry has instilled that.

:00:08. > :00:16.How important is it for a good start today? It never changes, every shot

:00:17. > :00:21.you play will be important from start to finish, it's never

:00:22. > :00:26.different. Thanks very much, Rob Walker, it's all yours. Thank you,

:00:27. > :00:30.ladies and gentlemen. What an atmosphere we've got here at the

:00:31. > :00:37.Crucible. Day eight of the Betfred World Snooker Championship continued

:00:38. > :00:41.in fine style. Four of the best in the world waiting to entertain us

:00:42. > :00:49.all afternoon, here at the sport's spiritual home.

:00:50. > :00:53.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Please welcome first of all a hugely

:00:54. > :00:57.popular player who produced one of the shocks of the first round,

:00:58. > :01:01.beating former world champion Neil Robertson. Bidding for a first

:01:02. > :01:05.appearance in a Crucible quarterfinal. Shanghai Masters

:01:06. > :01:09.quarterfinalist, two-time PDC event winner, he is Nottingham's hit man,

:01:10. > :01:28.Michael Holt! And his opponent, one of the finest

:01:29. > :01:34.sportsmen his country has ever produced. Three times a Crucible

:01:35. > :01:39.finalist, twice a world champion. He is bidding for his first Crucible

:01:40. > :01:44.final in five years. Winner of 18 ranking event titles in all... He

:01:45. > :01:47.will fire it up this afternoon. He's the Welsh legend, Mark Williams.

:01:48. > :02:09.Here on table two. Please welcome the only player to have made the one

:02:10. > :02:12.table set up for the last three years at the Crucible. He has

:02:13. > :02:18.flourished since winning his first ranking title down under four years

:02:19. > :02:22.ago. Masters finalist in January, here he is, celebrating his birthday

:02:23. > :02:24.today on this board's ultimate stage, here comes the Hawk, Barry

:02:25. > :02:51.Hawkins! And his opponent, 23 years after his

:02:52. > :02:57.Crucible debut, here he is still performing at the highest level.

:02:58. > :02:59.Five times a champion of the world... Blink and you'll miss him,

:03:00. > :03:23.the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan! STUDIO

:03:24. > :03:34.So, many happy returns to Barry. I don't expect he expects to many

:03:35. > :03:40.presents from Ronnie today. We will go with this match. The Mark

:03:41. > :03:44.Williams Michael Holt match is available online. Hello to our

:03:45. > :04:03.commentators. JOHN VIRGO: hello, Hazel. A match that

:04:04. > :04:07.they will both be relishing. That's a nice break up shot. His opponent,

:04:08. > :04:14.one of the most outstanding talents who has ever picked up a cue, Ronnie

:04:15. > :04:28.O'Sullivan. Best of 25 now, these second round matches. Well, he's

:04:29. > :04:32.potted that! He puts his hand up -- he didn't put his hand up to

:04:33. > :04:39.apologise, so he knew that by knocking one on there was a plant

:04:40. > :04:47.there. Just trying to trickle behind the yellow, will it reach? Ooh! For

:04:48. > :04:59.a moment Ronnie thought it wasn't going to get there. As we watch

:05:00. > :05:01.that... Just the final role. Now he's got it tight to the yellow.

:05:02. > :05:20.There is no easy one cushion escape. New hairstyle today. A bit of gel.

:05:21. > :05:24.Barry trying to make contact with one of these Reds near the top

:05:25. > :05:25.cushion. He's just not got the right line. He will have that replaced,

:05:26. > :05:45.will Ronnie. Of course, I'm sat in the commentary

:05:46. > :05:58.box with one of the many people that Terry Griffiths coaches, Barry

:05:59. > :06:06.Hawkins. I'm sure he's excited by this prospect, Terry? TERRY

:06:07. > :06:09.GRIFFITHS: well, if he's not, he shouldn't be playing professional

:06:10. > :06:14.snooker fans of the television cameras. He's up for it, that's for

:06:15. > :06:21.sure. Better line but if he's not hard enough, he might leave a red

:06:22. > :06:22.on. He won't have this replaced, he has left a red along the top

:06:23. > :06:43.cushion. Well, we see that so many times.

:06:44. > :06:48.When their tight to the cushion they are a lot easier. That was just off

:06:49. > :06:52.the cushion, this red. Had to be very accurate, was just a bit wide.

:06:53. > :07:02.He's left a chance for Barry. Good pot. Controlled the cue ball

:07:03. > :07:26.nicely. I was talking to Barry after his

:07:27. > :07:37.first-round match and he was little bit disappointed in the way he

:07:38. > :07:43.played. There seemed to be an awful lot of pressure in that first round

:07:44. > :07:49.match and that's probably why in his first-round match he at 89% pot

:07:50. > :07:53.success. But he did finish the match with a wonderful 141 break, which is

:07:54. > :08:04.the front runner at the moment in the high break of the tournament.

:08:05. > :08:17.There you see it. If that stands, you get a bonus of ?10,000. This is

:08:18. > :08:24.a decent chance now. Just under hit it slightly. OK, he wanted to be low

:08:25. > :08:27.on this red at the bottom of the cluster. If you play the

:08:28. > :08:41.run-through, you have to be careful that you don't lose the cue ball.

:08:42. > :08:45.Well, he was a bit wary of running through too far and he hasn't

:08:46. > :08:57.run-through far enough. Tricky black if he decides to take it on.

:08:58. > :09:11.Good shot. Well, is there a gap for the red just below the pink? I

:09:12. > :09:19.thought for a moment he was going to be on nothing. Can he get through to

:09:20. > :09:27.this red? Obviously he can! Well, that was a bonus. Now, a frame

:09:28. > :09:32.winning opportunity. We know there will be a lot of nerves out there,

:09:33. > :09:43.first frame of the match, but it's a good chance.

:09:44. > :10:00.But the one thing you can't do at this level is to miss when you're

:10:01. > :10:06.in. It looked like when he had that little bit of good fortune to get in

:10:07. > :10:08.between the gap for the red in the middle it was a great chance, but

:10:09. > :10:19.it's gone begging. That has come a little bit awkward

:10:20. > :10:28.for Ronnie. I don't think he can play past the black... If you can

:10:29. > :10:43.queue past the black, obviously the blue is the natural ball to play. --

:10:44. > :10:49.if he can cue past the black. There's nothing for Ronnie to open

:10:50. > :10:54.now. They are all there. Barry will be sat there very disappointed.

:10:55. > :10:57.That's what we always say, the first 50 are always difficult because

:10:58. > :11:03.you've got to bring reds into the open. Now all Ronnie has to do is

:11:04. > :11:10.get good position and don't miss an easy pot. But has he let that slip?

:11:11. > :11:44.He has! He has lost good position. But poor positional shot, so that

:11:45. > :11:50.missed black from Barry Hawkins... That was the shot. It was a thin

:11:51. > :11:58.one, and Barry Hawkins is right back in now. You've got to take these

:11:59. > :12:19.opportunities. He's played that well. He didn't

:12:20. > :12:22.play the red well. Left a bit of distance there. He has already

:12:23. > :12:27.missed one black in this frame already. Hopefully he cleared that

:12:28. > :12:37.out of his mind before he went down for that one. Most of O'Sullivan

:12:38. > :12:43.games are very open, but so is Barry Hawkins, he likes to go for his

:12:44. > :12:48.shots. He's not as quick as Ronnie O'Sullivan, but pretty quick. I

:12:49. > :13:17.think this is going to be a really good match.

:13:18. > :13:27.Just about OK. There was a danger he could have drifted past that red,

:13:28. > :13:31.but he is on this red to the right corner. Just a little run-through

:13:32. > :13:42.for the black, should release the red just above it. So, this black

:13:43. > :13:48.will put him 29 points in front. He won't need the red that is tight in

:13:49. > :13:52.behind the pink. He can win this frame with the other three loose

:13:53. > :14:02.reds. He got into that a bit too much. He's getting a bit too much

:14:03. > :14:08.spin on, isn't he, John? He's hitting slightly too low. He will be

:14:09. > :14:12.coming off the practice table onto this table and this is a bit more

:14:13. > :14:13.lively and a lot quicker. Understandable, of course. There's a

:14:14. > :14:39.bit of tension in the arm. Played that nice. So, if he can get

:14:40. > :14:48.this black and another red and a black, he would be at the snooker is

:14:49. > :14:59.required stage. But once again, just overdone it position wise. Red and a

:15:00. > :15:01.black would put him 45 points in front with 43 remaining. But using

:15:02. > :15:21.the spider, this is not easy. Very good shot. He decided not to

:15:22. > :15:31.play for the black. Playing the blue. He would go 43 points in front

:15:32. > :15:34.with 43 remaining. Not missed a pot with the rest in this tournament. I

:15:35. > :15:43.think the spider is a bit more difficult than the rest. Just needs

:15:44. > :15:58.this red. Doesn't have to bother about position. He played it well.

:15:59. > :16:02.So, he needed two chances. He missed the black when he was in, but a

:16:03. > :16:05.loose positional shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan handed him another

:16:06. > :16:14.opportunity, and he's not spurned this one. Just making certain of the

:16:15. > :16:20.black. That means that Ronnie will not come back to the table. He may

:16:21. > :16:24.well play the double on the red. Well, in the end he played the

:16:25. > :16:28.snooker. Ronnie won't bother, he will concede. Barry Hawkins, on his

:16:29. > :16:35.birthday, gets his first frame on the scoreboard. And he leads Ronnie

:16:36. > :16:40.O'Sullivan one frame to nil. STUDIO

:16:41. > :16:44.Just the start he wanted. As you know, Sheffield always embraces this

:16:45. > :16:48.championship in a huge way every April and May and today in the city

:16:49. > :16:54.they are putting on what is called Snooker Saturday. It's a big event

:16:55. > :16:59.in the more precinct, lots of free entertainment, come and try

:17:00. > :17:03.sessions, trick shots, a big screen, street acts. Lots to do and of

:17:04. > :17:07.course you can watch the snooker once you're down there, in comfort

:17:08. > :17:14.it looks as well. If you're in the city, do pop down to the precinct.

:17:15. > :17:16.Meanwhile, inside the Crucible Theatre, a lot of fun but a lot of

:17:17. > :17:29.tension as well. JOHN VIRGO: well, referee Brendan

:17:30. > :17:35.Moore has just finished re-racking the balls.

:17:36. > :17:44.REFEREE: Thank you, the second frame. Ronnie O'Sullivan to break.

:17:45. > :17:53.Ronnie O'Sullivan gets the second frame is under way. This match is

:17:54. > :17:56.going to be played over three days. There will be eight frames, each

:17:57. > :18:03.session, until you get to the final session where there is a possible

:18:04. > :18:09.nine, which makes up the 25. Tomorrow afternoon and then they

:18:10. > :18:14.finish on Monday evening. As we always say, in these type of

:18:15. > :18:19.matches, you've got to take it one session at a time. Absolutely in

:18:20. > :18:28.this one, when the winning line is so far away. Yes, most matches, a

:18:29. > :18:32.lot of them go morning session, evening session, play the next day

:18:33. > :18:35.and finish off. I think John Higgins's match tonight is the same

:18:36. > :18:42.against Ricky Walden, that is over three days as well. Ronnie back at

:18:43. > :18:44.the table. A poor save the shot from Barry has left Ronnie a nice easy

:18:45. > :19:09.starter. -- a poor safety shot. Well, I think he played for the red

:19:10. > :19:14.just above the black, but he is hampered on that. As to be a bit

:19:15. > :19:19.careful with this red. He can hold it for the black in the opposite

:19:20. > :20:14.corner easily enough. He could, just about.

:20:15. > :20:37.Four reds, four blacks. But he may struggle to get on the black now. He

:20:38. > :20:40.has, before the blue. You feel certain Ronnie is going to play the

:20:41. > :20:47.cannon here into the pink and bring the reds into play. You always need

:20:48. > :20:55.a little bit of luck. I think he may have one to the left middle. That's

:20:56. > :21:04.all you hope for, just an easy ball to continue with. He found it. He's

:21:05. > :21:10.cueing nicely, Terry. He scores so quickly, doesn't he gets in the

:21:11. > :21:19.balls? When you're sitting down and playing against him, it does affect

:21:20. > :21:25.you. It feels like a merry-go-round when he plays. He doesn't often get

:21:26. > :21:31.into trouble when the balls are open. He manages to keep good

:21:32. > :21:35.control of the cue ball most of the time, as much as any other player I

:21:36. > :21:43.should think. Couldn't agree more. Of course, that is the key. Anyone

:21:44. > :21:47.who gets here can pot balls. That's the main ingredient you need to be a

:21:48. > :21:52.snooker player. But if you're going to get to the very highest level,

:21:53. > :22:00.you need good cue ball control. 69 points is the target to get to the

:22:01. > :22:10.snooker is required stage. He has a ready got 50 of them.

:22:11. > :22:21.He got to the final in 1978 without getting out of position once --

:22:22. > :22:22.without getting in position once! And he won the final against Ray

:22:23. > :22:52.Reardon. Perry Manns. He was a great player, you couldn't win a

:22:53. > :22:57.tournament playing like that now. It is such a high standard now. I think

:22:58. > :23:03.the overall standard of play is about 50% higher now. There weren't

:23:04. > :23:06.that many players playing and now there are so many players playing

:23:07. > :23:11.it's going to be a higher standard. I think it's just a different

:23:12. > :23:18.attitude of mind as well. I see players taking on shots that years

:23:19. > :23:21.ago you were frightened to take on. You get back to the dressing room

:23:22. > :23:26.and all of your pals would be saying, why did you go for that? But

:23:27. > :23:39.nowadays, anything goes and you don't question any shot. That a

:23:40. > :23:45.player plays for. 82. Three blues, eight blacks. There have been 43

:23:46. > :23:52.century breaks already at this Betfred World Championship. Ronnie

:23:53. > :23:56.has had one previous to this. It just shows you, doesn't it? A loose

:23:57. > :24:04.safety shot from Barry Hawkins, caught it a fraction too thick. You

:24:05. > :24:10.have to say, Ronnie has made this looks so easy. He's cued the ball

:24:11. > :24:14.absolutely beautifully. First frame, OK he ran out of position. You can

:24:15. > :24:28.understand that first frame. But he has played this frame wonderfully

:24:29. > :24:32.well. He could have tied Barry Hawkins 141, which is leading for

:24:33. > :24:34.the highest break in the time and at the moment, if he had got on the

:24:35. > :24:37.black there. APPLAUSE

:24:38. > :24:53.So there is the century. Wonderful play.

:24:54. > :25:02.But Barry will be sat in his seat, Terry, knowing that this is what you

:25:03. > :25:12.expect with Ronnie. He knows he played a poor safety. He courted'

:25:13. > :25:17.much too thick and collided with another red. That's all you need,

:25:18. > :25:29.just one mistake. He left Ronnie that easy starter and he's been sat

:25:30. > :25:33.down other since. -- ever since. The pink would normally be awkward but

:25:34. > :25:39.if Ronnie can screw behind it, he can play a left-handed.

:25:40. > :25:49.APPLAUSE This will be the third highest

:25:50. > :25:55.century of the tournament. Absolutely majestic. That was Ronnie

:25:56. > :25:59.O'Sullivan at his absolute best. Just one mistake from Barry Hawkins

:26:00. > :26:06.and in the blink of an eye, it is one apiece.

:26:07. > :26:13.Just his safety, here, Terry. He just needed a little bit of

:26:14. > :26:23.left-hand side to check the cue ball. Frightened of the double-kiss,

:26:24. > :26:28.probably. Not an easy one. Yeah, and of course being very close to the

:26:29. > :26:33.question, it was hard to get the side he needed. He needed to hit its

:26:34. > :26:37.income and just caught it a fraction too thick. That's how quickly the

:26:38. > :26:43.frame can go away from you. That hundred reminded me of something. As

:26:44. > :26:49.Ronnie O'Sullivan potted the black, the whole crowd was in sync and is

:26:50. > :26:53.clapping and smiling. I remember playing him once in the UK

:26:54. > :26:57.championship once when I was about six and he got his hundred against

:26:58. > :27:03.me and I felt like clapping! You feel like that when he guts a hunt

:27:04. > :27:06.-- he gets a hundred because its special. Particular when he has got

:27:07. > :27:09.tight control of the cue ball, everyone will be sat there thinking

:27:10. > :27:12.I could have done that, because there was no real difficult ball to

:27:13. > :27:31.pot. He has caught that a bit thin. When

:27:32. > :27:36.you catch those reds and income are you always bring a read out to the

:27:37. > :27:41.right-hand side. If you're lucky enough for it to run behind the

:27:42. > :27:46.green it's OK, otherwise you give your opponent and opportunity.

:27:47. > :27:54.Ronnie has got the momentum now, even though it's only at the start

:27:55. > :27:58.of the third frame. Wonderful. That has been the highlight for me of the

:27:59. > :28:06.tournaments that Ronnie has played this season, his long potting has

:28:07. > :28:11.been as good as it has ever been. He seemed to go through a period where

:28:12. > :28:15.his long potting was not consistent. But look at that, right in the heart

:28:16. > :28:25.of the pocket and controlled the cue ball perfectly. Long pot tournament

:28:26. > :28:29.success, 86%. That is good. Barry Hawkins just fractionally below what

:28:30. > :28:33.is required. I'm not looking for 90% because a lot of the time layers are

:28:34. > :28:41.playing long pots as shots for nothing. But 86% is very good. Back

:28:42. > :29:07.in and around the black. It is like watching Willie Thorne

:29:08. > :29:22.play here, John! The maximum he decided to screw off them and

:29:23. > :29:41.judged it to perfection. Oh! Would you believe it? He will be

:29:42. > :29:47.kicking himself on his way back. He has opened all the reds and played a

:29:48. > :29:54.careless shot on the black. I can only think he played unintentional

:29:55. > :30:02.right-hand side on the cue ball. Hit it thick and missed the pot. What a

:30:03. > :30:11.let off for Barry. Can he make the most of it? He judged the cannon

:30:12. > :30:15.nicely. He is hampered on the pink to the middle but he does not have

:30:16. > :30:26.to do a lot with the cue ball. Just drop it in. He is going to return

:30:27. > :30:32.the favour to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Makes a mistake, Barry will score

:30:33. > :30:41.here. As we said earlier, Barry would be aware before he went out.

:30:42. > :30:47.He would be better prepared because of it. It is difficult to play

:30:48. > :30:49.perfect snooker all the time, but if you have a perfect mind, you always

:30:50. > :31:52.have a chance. He played that nicely. A red to the

:31:53. > :31:57.left middle. Have to do more with the cue ball off that one and he

:31:58. > :32:04.played it well to be on the pink. He will have to concentrate on the

:32:05. > :32:08.pink, I think. A little bit taken by surprise there, the way the cue ball

:32:09. > :32:18.came off the cushion. Fortunately, he has this red to the side pocket.

:32:19. > :33:07.He just did not get that pink in the middle of the pocket, which is why

:33:08. > :33:13.he is a little bit short of pace. If he had got it in the middle, it

:33:14. > :33:18.would mean the cue ball would have travelled further. He would not

:33:19. > :33:23.expect him to miss this, but it was not as easy as it should have been.

:33:24. > :33:30.Yes, right in the heart of the pocket. He played it confidently.

:33:31. > :33:42.All the reds are on. He does not have too disturb anything. Just

:33:43. > :33:46.don't miss anything easy. Well, that struggled in. That was similar to

:33:47. > :33:53.the black he missed in the last frame.

:33:54. > :34:00.A little bit more pace, and it would have stayed out.

:34:01. > :34:10.It is amazing. When you play the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Steve

:34:11. > :34:14.Davis, Stephen Hendry in their heyday, when you have this

:34:15. > :34:19.opportunity, you go along fine and you think, if I miss now, they will

:34:20. > :34:27.clear up, and in its own way it puts that edge on to you. Absolutely.

:34:28. > :34:35.Ready to pounce on any mistake although I cannot see one coming at

:34:36. > :34:39.the moment. A few of these pinks have not gone right into the heart

:34:40. > :34:45.of the pocket, but they are going in, that is the main thing. He was

:34:46. > :34:56.not happy with that, but he seemed to hit it with plenty of pace.

:34:57. > :35:01.Whatever, he is 30 points in front and needs two reds and two colours

:35:02. > :35:29.to clinch the frame. Just the red will do, putting him 37

:35:30. > :35:35.ahead with just 35 remaining. But he knows to pot the road map Crow and

:35:36. > :35:45.the colour and Ronnie will not be coming out. Ronnie was in and missed

:35:46. > :35:51.a black off the spot, as Barry did. But the missed black, unexpectedly,

:35:52. > :35:59.has gifted the frame to Barry Hawkins.

:36:00. > :36:09.You feel that it will be one of those matches with one mistake and

:36:10. > :36:15.it could cost you. A few balls have been miss, but very few. And the

:36:16. > :36:23.standard from both players, when they got the opportunity, if it

:36:24. > :36:27.carries on like that, I would be surprised. The game is more

:36:28. > :36:47.difficult than this, as a matter of fact! He could make a century.

:36:48. > :36:55.I think we can say he is very good with the rest. There are not many

:36:56. > :37:02.better, I can tell you. Shaun Murphy is good. Jimmy White was good with

:37:03. > :37:03.the rest. It is a great asset. You will not get good position all of

:37:04. > :37:27.the time. This black, back-to-back centuries,

:37:28. > :37:33.one for Ronnie, and one for Barry. It is snooker of the highest

:37:34. > :37:36.quality. One mistake and you go back to your chair and wait for the

:37:37. > :37:46.referee to set them up for the next frame.

:37:47. > :37:52.HAZEL IRVINE: Barry Hawkins said he had to summon the feeling he had

:37:53. > :38:02.before the final in 2013. To get off the mark in a positive way. I spoke

:38:03. > :38:08.to is -- to Terry beforehand, it is important against Ronnie, you have

:38:09. > :38:14.to let him know you are there. What about the mentality you have to have

:38:15. > :38:18.against Ronnie. You have to be in a positive frame of mind. He is on

:38:19. > :38:25.record as saying he needs to push hard from the start and two

:38:26. > :38:31.wonderful breaks but it looks like Barry is here to play. You have to

:38:32. > :38:40.believe you can beat Ronnie and I am sure Barry does. So often, it is

:38:41. > :38:43.happened against me, in your career, some players cannot play their real

:38:44. > :38:49.game against the top players. You want to see Barry play the way he

:38:50. > :38:55.can play and he can beat Ronnie. He did it once, 14 years ago. You think

:38:56. > :38:59.to the Masters final when he was crushed by Ronnie. How difficult is

:39:00. > :39:05.it to get over things like that? That is where Terry has to do his

:39:06. > :39:14.job and he is doing, to say look, it is a snooker table, a different day,

:39:15. > :39:18.he has to put the positives on it to make you go out and do your best and

:39:19. > :39:24.at the moment it is very good. It is very good. Back we go.

:39:25. > :39:28.I told Barry Hawkins to win a few more frames than he did in the

:39:29. > :39:41.Masters. A similar shot that Barry Hawkins

:39:42. > :39:45.out to play in the first frame. He caught it to thick and let Ronnie

:39:46. > :40:13.O'Sullivan in. He has learned from it. A very good safety shot.

:40:14. > :40:22.Barry Hawkins has missed one pot out of 50 he has gone for. It did not

:40:23. > :40:28.cost in the first frame, it was a safety shot that cost him. Just the

:40:29. > :40:35.start he was looking for. You need to get out in front of that crowd,

:40:36. > :40:39.everybody, with no disrespect to Barry, has come along expecting a

:40:40. > :40:45.Ronnie O'Sullivan victory. You feel intimidated by that, when you have

:40:46. > :40:49.played the likes of Jimmy White, and Terry you played Alex Higgins, you

:40:50. > :40:53.feel as though the crowd has come to see your opponent and the fact he

:40:54. > :41:01.has got in and made a century break, he has proved he will make this a

:41:02. > :41:06.match and he deserves everybody's respect, including the crowd. That

:41:07. > :41:08.was an excellent escape. He caught the yellow but he played it very

:41:09. > :41:41.well. The average frame time just over ten

:41:42. > :41:46.minutes! The shot time, 13, is usually about right for Ronnie. It

:41:47. > :41:52.is quick for Barry at the moment but when he has been in, he has not had

:41:53. > :41:58.too much thinking time. Shot time improves when you make a big breaks.

:41:59. > :42:12.He looked to the red down the right. I can see an easier return to baulk

:42:13. > :42:29.than this. There is not a gap between green and

:42:30. > :42:41.brown. He did not trust hitting the red thin. Can Ronnie knock this in?

:42:42. > :43:12.Four out of four long pots for Ronnie.

:43:13. > :43:23.Ronnie gets the good chance. He would love to play for the black.

:43:24. > :43:28.You know if there is an opportunity to do that, he will play for the

:43:29. > :43:31.black. Always thinking, get the black on its spot. That is how you

:43:32. > :44:00.win frames in one visit. The red being in the baulk end is

:44:01. > :44:06.insurance for Ronnie, although I think he can play for the black and

:44:07. > :44:14.pop 's red and screw up to the red immediately above it. -- pot the

:44:15. > :44:32.red. The red in the baulk end will be

:44:33. > :44:38.insurance for Ronnie. If he has to go up to the blue, he will have that

:44:39. > :45:29.in reserve. Just a fraction. He can force the

:45:30. > :45:33.cue ball down. That came off the cushion quicker than he expected,

:45:34. > :45:44.but he is OK. He can just about reach. Well, if he can't, he will

:45:45. > :45:51.have to use the rest. I think you can just about get the rest passed

:45:52. > :46:00.the pink. Is he thinking of using the extension? Usually they have a

:46:01. > :46:05.piece where they put on the extra six inches. A strange choice. It has

:46:06. > :46:12.made a slight difference in that he is not perfect on the black now. He

:46:13. > :46:15.can pot the black, but he will have to judge the cannon well. And he

:46:16. > :46:58.did. No problem. If you cannot get the right side of

:46:59. > :47:04.the blue, he still has the red in the baulk end to play for. But he

:47:05. > :47:13.managed to get the angle on the blue. Quality stuff, so far, Terry.

:47:14. > :47:17.There have not been many safety shots, it is fair to say. An

:47:18. > :47:29.exhibition in break-building so far. That was not one of his best. He

:47:30. > :47:37.forced the angle but too much of an angle.

:47:38. > :48:28.He judged that to perfection. Back on track.

:48:29. > :48:38.Once he puts the red there will only be 67 remaining and so this red and

:48:39. > :48:40.a black will put him 67 points in front with 67 remaining and this has

:48:41. > :49:11.happened in just over 40 minutes. Right in the heart of the pocket.

:49:12. > :49:20.What a marvellous four frames. And it begs the question, are we going

:49:21. > :49:23.to see another century? Ronnie O'Sullivan said in an interview that

:49:24. > :49:26.he likes winning at the Crucible but if I can win, and entertain, I get a

:49:27. > :49:40.real buzz. He judged the positional shot very

:49:41. > :49:51.well. I think that is what every player

:49:52. > :49:55.would love to do, to bring your practice game into the main arena,

:49:56. > :50:10.here at the Crucible Theatre in the World Championship.

:50:11. > :50:19.He has to drop on the tricky red on the cushion. That is all that stands

:50:20. > :50:31.between Ronnie and the third century break in this opening four frames.

:50:32. > :50:40.Oh, what a shame. But what they four frames. Scintillating. In the main,

:50:41. > :50:45.one mistake and you lost frame. We go to the mid-session interval all

:50:46. > :50:51.square. This is fantastic to watch. I love

:50:52. > :50:54.this type of snooker. We enjoy sometimes the scrappy frames, with a

:50:55. > :51:02.lot of safety, but this is pure snooker. One chance and the frame is

:51:03. > :51:08.over. Important for Barry to keep it up because Ronnie this is natural,

:51:09. > :51:12.Barry has to do it as well. He has to throw caution to the wind and go

:51:13. > :51:19.toe to toe because he is a powerful front runner and Barry knows that to

:51:20. > :51:24.his cost. At least when you play Ronnie you know it will happen so it

:51:25. > :51:29.is Barry thinking, when I get a chance, as he did in the third

:51:30. > :51:35.frame, when he gets a chance, he has to do what Ronnie does and matches

:51:36. > :51:38.it and if you keep matching him, eventually, there will be a chink

:51:39. > :51:46.and Barry will have to take his chance. If you think to the Masters

:51:47. > :51:50.final, Barry did not make a plus 50 break in the final. He will be

:51:51. > :51:57.determined to prove himself today. To put to bed that memory. I think

:51:58. > :52:01.he was embarrassed. It was a massive occasion and not to play the way you

:52:02. > :52:09.can play, it would have hurt him. Players might have given him a

:52:10. > :52:14.ribbing about it. It is so important, not just this session,

:52:15. > :52:19.the next session. If he stays with Ronnie, even 9-7 down, going into

:52:20. > :52:26.the final session, Ronnie will be under pressure. He is expected to

:52:27. > :52:43.win this. I hope Barry can keep punishing Ronnie's mistakes. John

:52:44. > :52:49.Parrott is seeking the craggle. This is a view of the Crucible you

:52:50. > :52:54.may not have seen, made by Steve. It is the Crucible Theatre made by

:52:55. > :52:59.Lego. A fantastic achievement. Thanks. What inspired it? I love

:53:00. > :53:04.snooker and I love Lego and I thought I would combine it to make

:53:05. > :53:09.the model. Did you have to take photographs? It is as good as you

:53:10. > :53:14.will get. I had been to the Crucible before and looked on Google images

:53:15. > :53:21.to copy it as close as I could. The main arena is fantastic. How long

:53:22. > :53:26.did it take to do? Probably about two months of evenings, planning,

:53:27. > :53:32.getting the pieces and putting it together. You have the sponsors. I

:53:33. > :53:38.made up stickers on a printer and put them on to make it realistic.

:53:39. > :53:43.The players. They are modelled on Ronnie O'Sullivan. I noticed in

:53:44. > :53:49.commentary you say you do not know which Ronnie will come up and so I

:53:50. > :53:58.thought a model of the two Ronnies would be a good idea. I helped to

:53:59. > :54:04.make the legs. That is very good. The colour of the trophy, come on. I

:54:05. > :54:10.have to use genuine pieces and that was all I had. If I won the World

:54:11. > :54:21.Championship, I would not care if the trophy was yellow. Brilliant.

:54:22. > :54:30.Wait until they Duplo aliens arrive! We will now catch up with the Mark

:54:31. > :54:35.Williams and Michael Holt match. Bromance has been in the air, they

:54:36. > :54:40.are both great friends and jokers. And each session has begun with a

:54:41. > :55:20.man hug. That was a poor shot. Wow, what a

:55:21. > :55:26.shot. Mark Williams looking very impressive. 6-4 in front.

:55:27. > :55:36.Looking for a gap. He played that perfectly. What a shot that is.

:55:37. > :55:51.It was thick. He got a massive bounce from the baulk cushion. They

:55:52. > :56:04.are both having a laugh about that. That was incredible. LAUGHTER.

:56:05. > :56:15.An excellent pot. Six frames each. That is a Mark Williams special.

:56:16. > :56:26.Good cueing required. That is wonderful cueing.

:56:27. > :56:47.Oh, what a shot! This is quite thin. He cannot believe it. This is tough.

:56:48. > :57:08.For the jocularity a lot has been said and done about the condition of

:57:09. > :57:15.the table on this match table, the one we were watching between

:57:16. > :57:19.Williams and Michael Holt. It was a bad bounce Mark Williams got

:57:20. > :57:24.yesterday that sums up the problem. The cushions have been bouncing in a

:57:25. > :57:29.significant way and this rolled past the blue spot I believe. Mark took

:57:30. > :57:34.matters into his own hands, wiping down the cushion is with his own

:57:35. > :57:39.cloth and he was warned for it. There have been problems with static

:57:40. > :57:46.build-up and the bounces. I have had a word from World Snooker. They have

:57:47. > :57:50.changed the balls after each match on both tables and they have changed

:57:51. > :57:56.the cushion is three times already on table one, the problem table.

:57:57. > :58:02.They turned the heating down. Table one is warmer than table two. They

:58:03. > :58:06.did static tests. They have talked to all players individually to

:58:07. > :58:11.inform them of the moves they are making, but how big a problem is

:58:12. > :58:17.this, and is it proving detrimental to our enjoyment? It is to the

:58:18. > :58:21.players. It seems to be that one table. Sometimes we say it is chalk

:58:22. > :58:28.on the balls but it has been more than that. The table needs to be

:58:29. > :58:33.chopped up! You have to point the finger at the manufacturer. I do not

:58:34. > :58:38.see how it is difficult to put to tables of the Crucible and they play

:58:39. > :58:42.perfectly. In the 80s and 90s, I cannot remember the cushion is

:58:43. > :58:50.bouncing and having so many kicks. You have to look at why one table is

:58:51. > :58:53.perfect in the same arena. You mentioned the temperature, which

:58:54. > :58:57.might be a factor with one warmer than the other. The cushions are

:58:58. > :59:03.made of rubber and if it is to warm it might cause and effect. It is

:59:04. > :59:06.affecting the players. It is difficult to play in the World

:59:07. > :59:12.Championship without unpredictable bounces. If you land high on the

:59:13. > :59:16.black and you are trying to use the black cushion to come up for a red

:59:17. > :59:22.to the same pocket, sometimes the cue ball is up here. And I noticed

:59:23. > :59:29.with Mark Williams, he did in the session, you start quitting on the

:59:30. > :59:32.ball. You play the natural shot. But it keeps on happening and the more

:59:33. > :59:36.it happens, the players will be aware. The cue action will be

:59:37. > :59:40.affected. And it affects safety play.

:59:41. > :59:47.Half the time you come back and you are past the baulk line. If you

:59:48. > :59:52.catch a safety shot thin, it can come of this baulk cushion and end

:59:53. > :59:56.up coming back down where the reds are! It's a problem at the moment

:59:57. > :59:59.and at least they are on top of it and hopefully they will get it

:00:00. > :00:04.sorted. Plenty of changes expected in the coming hours but we will get

:00:05. > :00:07.back to this table. Let's hope it's not an issue for them this afternoon

:00:08. > :00:14.because this is the climax of this second round match. As we left it,

:00:15. > :00:19.as you saw, Mark Williams had won the last four frames in a row to go

:00:20. > :00:23.10-6 in front. 13 frames is the winning line. Into the first frame

:00:24. > :00:30.of the afternoon and Michael Holt is trailing by 12 points, Ken Doherty

:00:31. > :00:33.and Steve Davis talking us through it.

:00:34. > :00:35.COMMENTATOR: There is a gap around the back, down by the black spot.

:00:36. > :00:54.The trouble was that. Didn't catch that red thin enough.

:00:55. > :01:02.Although he has left not a full for Mark Williams. These are never nice.

:01:03. > :01:08.I'm just wondering, would he play a plant. I can't see it, but you're

:01:09. > :01:11.right, if you can't see the full pocket... He has played it very

:01:12. > :01:40.well. Committed. Another monstrous bounce off

:01:41. > :01:45.petition, will -- off the cushion, which has blighted the standard of

:01:46. > :01:54.play here on table one, I think it's called.

:01:55. > :02:08.He won't be particularly happy with how that has ended up. This is a

:02:09. > :02:18.very difficult pink. Well, he made that look very easy. Historically,

:02:19. > :02:24.Ken, I think when they go down to the one-table set-up they use table

:02:25. > :02:28.one. I'm not absolutely sure of my information there. They may be loath

:02:29. > :02:33.to do it this year. It seems like the one that has caused problems.

:02:34. > :02:49.Yes, all the players have been complaining about it. They read

:02:50. > :02:55.covered the cushions. That has obviously been the problem. They may

:02:56. > :03:04.have to have a new set of cushions for this table. Mark Williams has

:03:05. > :03:07.built up a 34 point lead with plenty of reds in the open. This is just

:03:08. > :03:58.the start he would have wanted here. Well, he has overscrewed that. It's

:03:59. > :04:07.ended up quite nice. He got hold of that blue.

:04:08. > :04:16.He's looking much more of a predator as this match has gone on,

:04:17. > :04:23.regardless of the trouble he's had with the table. Likewise with

:04:24. > :04:27.Michael Holt, I was talking to Michael earlier and he said in that

:04:28. > :04:30.second session a couple of big bounces from the cushions cost him

:04:31. > :05:02.frames, directly cost him frames. End of rake. Well, perhaps not. I

:05:03. > :05:07.was thinking a left-hander might not be able to get to it, but he may be

:05:08. > :05:11.able to reach this without the spider. He also may not want to risk

:05:12. > :05:16.missing it and letting Michael Holt back in with some kind of recovery

:05:17. > :05:21.with snookers and free balls. But I think he can get to the middle, the

:05:22. > :05:27.centre of the cue ball here, so this is probably in.

:05:28. > :05:44.And I think that red seals the frame, and Michael Holt is in

:05:45. > :06:01.serious trouble. REFEREE: Mark Williams, 50. And the

:06:02. > :06:06.frame. Michael Holt says enough, he stays in his chair, nods to the

:06:07. > :06:12.referee and Mark Williams takes the frame. Two away from a blaze in the

:06:13. > :06:14.quarterfinals. He leads Michael Holt by 11 frames to six.

:06:15. > :06:19.STUDIO But Michael Holt has really stormed

:06:20. > :06:25.his way into this. A break of 75 in frame 18 enough to reduce his areas

:06:26. > :06:30.to four frames again 11-7. And then Michael from Nottingham, who had

:06:31. > :06:35.that fantastic win over Neil Robertson, his first in 11 years at

:06:36. > :06:39.the Crucible, has only gone and made a century in the next frame here as

:06:40. > :06:45.well. His third of the week. To win the next one and move 11-8 now. That

:06:46. > :06:50.is you completely up-to-date with this match. A lot of mileage left in

:06:51. > :06:54.this one. It is online if you want to follow it. Meanwhile we're going

:06:55. > :06:58.to continue watching the match on the other side of the curtain this

:06:59. > :07:02.afternoon, Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O'Sullivan. They have a release up

:07:03. > :07:06.some fine, fine play for us already. That's

:07:07. > :07:10.-- they have already served up some fine, fine play. We will return you

:07:11. > :07:27.to Terry and John. JOHN VIRGO: Yes, thank you, Hazel.

:07:28. > :07:30.Both players will have been quite happy going back to the dressing

:07:31. > :07:34.room. I wouldn't have thought they would be any need for either player

:07:35. > :07:39.to go to the practice table. At that is not the best break of shop, and

:07:40. > :07:45.Barry has left a red to the corner. At the moment, Ronnie 100% long pot

:07:46. > :07:56.success, you would think he would be favourite to pot this.

:07:57. > :08:05.Hmmm. So, that ruins his percentage. But he may just have got away with

:08:06. > :08:09.that. I say got away with it, there is a red in the other half of the

:08:10. > :08:17.table. A shake of the head from Ronnie. He doesn't like missing that

:08:18. > :08:25.type of pot. He doesn't like missing that pot, John. Barry has just gone

:08:26. > :08:34.in-off, there! Didn't control the cue ball. Isn't -- isn't it amazing?

:08:35. > :08:39.He put all his effort into the pot, got a bit too much back spin in the

:08:40. > :08:48.cue ball, and he has gone in-off. Never entered his head that that

:08:49. > :08:53.could happen. At least he potted the red and didn't leave anything on. So

:08:54. > :09:01.that is something. I was quite surprised Ronnie O'Sullivan missed

:09:02. > :09:05.that long red, by about six inches, wasn't it? Yes and to be honest I

:09:06. > :09:14.was very surprised with the way he played it. He stunned across the

:09:15. > :09:18.face of the black, this -- as if he was paying for the black. Normally

:09:19. > :09:24.you would wear behind the black and come up for blue or baulk colour.

:09:25. > :09:42.He needs the brown or green to come to his rescue here, Barry. I think

:09:43. > :09:46.it's the green. When you leave a pottable red on, your opponent can't

:09:47. > :09:50.get through to it obviously, this will put a bit of pressure on

:09:51. > :10:03.Ronnie's safety. He will do well not to leave this red. He needs the

:10:04. > :10:05.yellow to cover the past. If it's not the yellow, is it the blue? It

:10:06. > :10:33.is the blue. Hmmm. Purposefully played that with

:10:34. > :10:39.a lot of left-hand side to check it, and he's had a result. But there is

:10:40. > :10:44.a red on this side of the table -- the other side of the table that

:10:45. > :10:52.will pot into the left corner. So it's half a chance for Ronnie, this.

:10:53. > :10:58.But he missed it. So all of a sudden, from looking unlikely to

:10:59. > :11:03.miss a long pot, that is two that he has missed. But you could say that

:11:04. > :11:07.Ronnie has been a bit fortunate, but I think it was always his intention

:11:08. > :11:15.to get that cue ball back to the baulk end, knowing that possibly be

:11:16. > :11:19.pink would cover the red. -- the pink.

:11:20. > :11:44.Now, does the pink cover the potting angle? There you see. It covers both

:11:45. > :11:49.reds. Ronnie swinging that round, but he's hit it much too thin, which

:11:50. > :11:57.is why he has collided with the blue. Not one of Ronnie's best David

:11:58. > :12:00.Eades. Gary Woodland to get to the red that is closer to the pocket but

:12:01. > :12:02.I think the pink is blocking the path of that, so he has to play the

:12:03. > :12:22.one that is nearest to the cushion. Yes, didn't have to do a lot with

:12:23. > :12:23.the cue ball to get position on the pink. So, first chance Barry

:12:24. > :13:06.Hawkins. Barry just having a look if there is

:13:07. > :13:11.a possibility in potting this red, if he can screw around the back of

:13:12. > :13:18.the black and get position on the black. Got to judge it nicely.

:13:19. > :13:26.APPLAUSE That's OK.

:13:27. > :13:35.He's going to have to be a little bit careful with this. OK, there is

:13:36. > :13:40.a red on the right-hand side of the table he can play it on, but he can

:13:41. > :13:44.also play a little cannon on the red immediately above the black. But

:13:45. > :13:47.it's one of those, the harder you hit it, the less chance you have of

:13:48. > :13:56.getting the back spin. You have to hit this smooth. Oh well! He decided

:13:57. > :13:58.to play the soft stun for the open red, and you just be celebrate on

:13:59. > :14:17.that shot. It struggled its way in. -- you just decelerate. He's having

:14:18. > :14:22.a look at the possibility of getting on the black here, but it looks

:14:23. > :14:26.rather tight. That blue down there looks rather straightforward. Is he

:14:27. > :14:32.trying to get across, cannoning the red? He's OK! Well, that's a risk I

:14:33. > :14:36.don't think I would have been prepared to take. I think I would

:14:37. > :14:43.have been playing for the blue. He took a very big risk but it worked

:14:44. > :14:49.out. I think he played for the red he is bridging over but it has

:14:50. > :14:55.worked out. There is a lot of pressure out there. Let's see if he

:14:56. > :14:59.can retain position and get the black available to both corner

:15:00. > :15:11.pockets. That's how you score quickly and win frames. He took a

:15:12. > :15:18.risk and it worked out for him. He's going to play a cannon here. It

:15:19. > :15:22.depends whether you try to play if firm and bring other reds into play

:15:23. > :15:29.or just nudge into one gently. He went with pace. You think he's bound

:15:30. > :15:43.to be on the red to the left corner. Is he? Surely he is on it? Well, it

:15:44. > :15:54.must be very tight otherwise he would have played it by now. And if

:15:55. > :16:01.he can't get directly through to it, there is always the swerve, but that

:16:02. > :16:05.could go wrong. Just having a look. Judging by that, he would have to

:16:06. > :16:11.play a little swerve with right-hand side. So now he's looking at the red

:16:12. > :16:15.to the far right corner. Very missable.

:16:16. > :16:25.GROANS FROM CROWD Very missable.

:16:26. > :16:30.REFEREE: Barry Hawkins, 31. Well, he was in perfect position and you have

:16:31. > :16:34.to say, off the cannon, very unfortunate not to leave himself on

:16:35. > :16:42.an easier red than that. I don't think this red passes the blue. If

:16:43. > :16:49.it doesn't, you would expect Ronnie to... Well, there are two ways of

:16:50. > :16:58.playing this. Well, maybe it does. It did! Well, that was a double

:16:59. > :17:04.whammy from Barry Hawkins. I'm lucky with this cannon but then when he

:17:05. > :17:13.rattled the red in it ran past the blue and I thought he was safe.

:17:14. > :17:28.REFEREE: Make sure your phones are off, please.

:17:29. > :17:40.Left himself a nice angle now just to stun this black in. Just cannon

:17:41. > :17:45.those two red spill-over pink. OK as long as long as he is straight on

:17:46. > :17:54.this red, he can run through and cannon the red and get on the black

:17:55. > :18:04.comfortably enough. Just flicked the red.

:18:05. > :18:11.He won't be in too much of a hurry to play for the red on the top

:18:12. > :18:15.cushion. It was in the last frame before the mid-session interval when

:18:16. > :18:32.he had a similar red with no pressure on it to make the red.

:18:33. > :18:40.That link now takes him three points in front -- that pink. It goes on

:18:41. > :18:46.the highest spot available, which is the blue. He's just had a quick

:18:47. > :18:50.glance at the scoreboard. He needs these five reds in the open with

:18:51. > :18:57.colours to get into the snookers required stage. Without having to

:18:58. > :19:07.play that awkward red along the top cushion. But he has underhit that.

:19:08. > :19:08.Not badly enough that he can't hold for the pink, but he can't play for

:19:09. > :19:34.the black. Yeah, judged that to perfection,

:19:35. > :19:38.swinging round off two cushions. Another glance at the scoreboard,

:19:39. > :19:40.just trying to work it out. As I say, these three open reds would get

:19:41. > :20:09.into the snookers required stage. The longest frame of the match,

:20:10. > :20:14.this! Just coming up to 13 minutes. We had a bout of safety play at the

:20:15. > :20:30.start of it, which was unusual! It's boring, isn't it, this game (?) as

:20:31. > :20:35.you can see, ignoring the red along the top cushion. He can play the

:20:36. > :20:41.awkward red along the top cushion with a bit of ease because his

:20:42. > :20:46.opponent now needs two snookers. Took these beautifully. Barry

:20:47. > :20:50.Hawkins just had a bit of bad luck when he went into the reds, could

:20:51. > :21:04.not believe he was not on an easy red to keep it going. And a chance

:21:05. > :21:10.of another century. Made a 139 in the second frame, did Ronnie. Looked

:21:11. > :21:18.like he was going to make one in the fourth one. Made a break of 88.

:21:19. > :21:25.This is as good as we have seen from Ronnie for a while. Of course he

:21:26. > :21:34.hasn't played in a lot of tournaments. But he is won quite a

:21:35. > :21:40.few. I think he just holds something back for the Crucible though, he

:21:41. > :21:47.loves it. Well, I suppose for any great player, anybody who is good at

:21:48. > :22:03.any game, to be there on centre court and produce this type of form

:22:04. > :22:10.would give anyone a buzz. So, this black for the 47th century of the

:22:11. > :22:23.tournament. Absolutely brilliant. Poetry in motion. Tonne up! 3-2, the

:22:24. > :22:29.Rocket. It's all about fractions, as we say on so many occasions, and

:22:30. > :22:36.Ronnie had missed a long read, Barry was in, it all looked plain sailing,

:22:37. > :22:41.I know he spotted a read early on and went in-off, but he got a second

:22:42. > :22:45.chance, missed the cannon and played it to perfection, it seemed. He just

:22:46. > :22:49.flicked the bottom red. He wasn't playing for that committee wanted to

:22:50. > :22:54.go in the gap. But the way those balls are split, you would have

:22:55. > :22:59.expected him to have an easier pot. The one in the right corner was

:23:00. > :23:04.difficult. We have got our black and white ball. Just watch the spin. The

:23:05. > :23:09.spin takes it off the black and when it hits the red, the spin keeps

:23:10. > :23:15.going, keeps going, and then it gets through the reds. Barry, to me, all

:23:16. > :23:19.right he just fractionally caught the wrong red, but he should have

:23:20. > :23:25.had an easier opportunity than the one he had. That spinning ball shows

:23:26. > :23:36.us quite a bit. It was going sideways into the pack and then the

:23:37. > :23:37.back spin took. Yes, these super slo-mos show us things that we never

:23:38. > :23:42.realised. So, Ronnie O'Sullivan gets frame six

:23:43. > :24:07.under way. What a standard. He's caught that too full, where's

:24:08. > :24:10.the cue ball going? He played to hit its three quarters ball and leave

:24:11. > :24:16.the cue ball on the top cushion. Just misjudged it. But it's not as

:24:17. > :24:20.bad as it could have been. He's not left a pot on. Not anything that's

:24:21. > :24:25.going to tempt a Ronnie at the moment, with an easy safety shot,

:24:26. > :24:31.bringing that cue ball back to the baulk cushion. Running that red into

:24:32. > :24:36.the others just to loosen them a bit. He played this half ball to

:24:37. > :24:50.come off the side cushion and hit it too full. Went in-off.

:24:51. > :24:59.That was a good shot. Excellent. A tough shot after playing a poor

:25:00. > :25:04.safety the previous shot. He's in a bit of is a spot of bother, Ronnie,

:25:05. > :25:10.here. He has to catch this just write otherwise you get a double

:25:11. > :25:14.case if you catch it too thick. He played it well. If he misses the

:25:15. > :25:22.green, he's played it its perfect. Wonderful shot.

:25:23. > :25:31.-- played it inch perfect. Barry is having a look around but I don't

:25:32. > :25:36.think he can see any thing. He played into a very good two cushion

:25:37. > :25:40.escape earlier on in this match, flicking the reds and going back to

:25:41. > :25:47.the baulk area. What I don't see anything like that available. This

:25:48. > :25:51.looks the most obvious way to go. The only thing about this is, you're

:25:52. > :25:57.playing it with side and you can easily go around the back of this

:25:58. > :26:03.red. You have to be careful with that. Just want to nestle up to it.

:26:04. > :26:10.It's too pacey. If he hits it all, he's OK. Hit it full. He just hit

:26:11. > :26:16.that read quarter ball. He could have left it on but in the end he

:26:17. > :26:24.played it well. Just over an hour and we are already into the sixth

:26:25. > :26:32.frame of this match. 11.5 minutes average frame time. Ronnie has

:26:33. > :26:42.slowed down to 14 seconds a shot now. I said to him at the Masters,

:26:43. > :26:47.he missed a view shots and he was averaging 14 seconds. I said that's

:26:48. > :26:52.a bit quick, isn't it, Ronnie? He said, I didn't realise. The next

:26:53. > :26:58.match he played absolutely superb and it was down to 13! I thought he

:26:59. > :27:03.was playing the shots too quick. It depends a lot on good positional

:27:04. > :27:10.play, doesn't it? His shot time is much quicker if you don't get into

:27:11. > :27:15.trouble with your position. If you do, it's a lot longer. We don't see

:27:16. > :27:20.him get into trouble with position many times when he is in the balls.

:27:21. > :27:26.No, he has got a very quick snooker brain. I suppose you could say he

:27:27. > :27:31.has missed an opportunity there to put Barry in trouble, but Barry has

:27:32. > :27:37.got to catch this just right. Does he think he can pot the red below

:27:38. > :27:41.the pink? Well, maybe he did. But he needs something to come to his

:27:42. > :27:49.rescue here because he has left a red near the corner. And Ronnie can

:27:50. > :27:54.get through it. He may be able to pinch a little bit of the pocket and

:27:55. > :28:01.run around two cushions. The other alternative is to play a deep screw.

:28:02. > :28:08.I think he would prefer playing the run-through. Got to pinch a bit. He

:28:09. > :28:15.had to pinch a bit. If he is on the black, he's lucky.

:28:16. > :28:27.Just looking at Ronnie's body language. Fortunate to be on the

:28:28. > :28:33.black but the fact that he is looking at the next red... He may

:28:34. > :28:39.have to bend it with a bit of side, but he's lucky to have any shot on

:28:40. > :28:44.the black. Well, he could get to it without side but couldn't really

:28:45. > :28:58.control the potting angle. Tried to get a cannon.

:28:59. > :29:04.Yes, that cannon he made was on the red he could have taken on. He was a

:29:05. > :29:09.bit unlucky, there. Good line with the safety but just a

:29:10. > :29:45.touch short. Playing the containing safety. It is

:29:46. > :29:59.risky. He has played it OK. Ronnie might decide to play the

:30:00. > :30:15.snooker off the black. He would like to cover the red on

:30:16. > :30:27.the left-hand side of the table with brown. If he has, it makes it a

:30:28. > :30:31.little bit awkward. Just a look at Barry, a tap on his thigh,

:30:32. > :31:03.congratulating Ronnie. There are plenty of reds to make

:31:04. > :31:07.contact with, but which he can make contact with and not leave the

:31:08. > :31:12.possible pot on, that is not easy to see.

:31:13. > :31:20.He has come a bit thinner. He has played that well. That was an

:31:21. > :31:26.excellent shot. And very well judged.

:31:27. > :31:39.I don't think Ronnie can see enough of this red and that little tap on

:31:40. > :31:40.the table tells you he can't. Congratulating Barry on a very good

:31:41. > :31:57.escape. Barry hasn't ported a ball for just

:31:58. > :32:26.over 15 minutes. -- potted. Will he fully commit and play for

:32:27. > :32:29.the black? No, he decided to try to stun around. Where is the brown ball

:32:30. > :32:37.going? He will settle for that. Once he missed the red, he could

:32:38. > :33:00.well have left it. Ronnie was thinking about coming off

:33:01. > :33:04.the side cushion and nestling on the red near the cushion. You would not

:33:05. > :33:25.want to hit this hard. You have to reach. REFEREE: Foul and

:33:26. > :33:29.a miss. I think he is trying to leave it so close to the red, so as

:33:30. > :33:51.not to leave Barry the easy safety. Difficult to pot that with power,

:33:52. > :34:00.and this is a bit better. Perfect. It looks as though Barry will stun

:34:01. > :34:06.the red up the table, leave the cue ball tight to the baulk cushion. I

:34:07. > :34:11.would not want to overthink this. He has to be careful of the push shot,

:34:12. > :34:26.but he needs to inject pace into this red.

:34:27. > :34:36.The danger ball for Ronnie is adjacent to the left middle.

:34:37. > :34:44.He has to catch this just right. I tell you what, better in the pocket

:34:45. > :35:06.than battling the jaws. -- rattling. A little bit easier, this pot. Into

:35:07. > :35:27.an open pocket. I don't think the red goes past the

:35:28. > :35:35.brown. I bet Barry thought when he missed the red, he thought he could

:35:36. > :35:44.possibly knock the brown in. That messes the frame up slightly.

:35:45. > :35:52.Ronnie not bothered about playing safe to the baulk end because it

:35:53. > :35:54.will be difficult to play a safety shot off the red that is close to

:35:55. > :36:16.the brown. After all the early excitement of

:36:17. > :36:20.this match, seven and a half minutes now since a ball was potted from

:36:21. > :36:43.either player. And I think this safety play may go

:36:44. > :36:58.on for a little while. If somebody could pot aid red and popped pot the

:36:59. > :37:05.brown, and deal with the awkward red. Maybe Barry now can play this

:37:06. > :37:16.red. You have to be careful if you are running across the face of it

:37:17. > :37:18.that you do not get the double-kiss. He would love to get it up the

:37:19. > :37:37.table. Maybe it is too risky. That was the problem for me, you

:37:38. > :37:40.come cushion first you are bound to run through and knock the brown in.

:37:41. > :38:11.A schoolboy error. I think Barry Hawkins played a good

:38:12. > :38:15.safety but the previous one, with the brown, he made sure if the brown

:38:16. > :38:23.went in the red went far enough up the table that he would not leave it

:38:24. > :38:27.on for Ronnie O'Sullivan. As a spectator we are glad that situation

:38:28. > :38:35.was resolved. Ronnie has left a chance. We said usually with Ronnie

:38:36. > :38:40.O'Sullivan and you get a nice clean frame with the colours on the spots,

:38:41. > :38:47.the reds nicely in the open. We had that bout of safety and it has

:38:48. > :38:48.really messed up everything now. Pink and black are out of

:38:49. > :39:20.commission. It was as though he was looking at

:39:21. > :39:29.the red just above the black. If he can roll it in, he could play for

:39:30. > :39:34.the black in the opposite corner. You can always tell when a player is

:39:35. > :39:39.perfect, they get down quickly. He got down quickly put up against, so

:39:40. > :39:44.maybe not perfect, but he has played it well. People have the black on

:39:45. > :39:47.its spot and if he can clear the red to the left of the pink, that will

:39:48. > :39:57.be available to both corners. He decided the angle on the black to

:39:58. > :40:08.play for another red. A decent chance.

:40:09. > :40:20.To win the frame at this visit would be asking an awful lot.

:40:21. > :40:30.There are four reds in the open that he will hope to get on. Those behind

:40:31. > :40:35.the black, he can get a good angle on the black and opened those out.

:40:36. > :40:45.This is an opportunity. There were ten minutes with neither player

:40:46. > :40:46.putting a ball, which you would not expect with these two, but sometimes

:40:47. > :41:56.the game dictates to you. There is this red and the one

:41:57. > :42:07.closest to the left middle. They are merely easy reds, so to speak. A 27

:42:08. > :42:16.point lead, but still a possible 99 remaining.

:42:17. > :42:24.He played to come high on the black, which is high enough. Maybe playing

:42:25. > :42:29.the cannon onto the reds, trying to develop something near the top

:42:30. > :42:34.cushion, thinking he will always have the red to the left middle

:42:35. > :42:42.should it go wrong. He had the double-kiss. It has gone wrong. You

:42:43. > :42:52.have to say, there is no way in the world you could envisage that. The

:42:53. > :42:56.double-kiss off the red. On a good day it will leave you a straight red

:42:57. > :43:09.to the corner, but not today. That is end up break. -- end of. At least

:43:10. > :43:17.he did not miss a pot. I think you mentioned that in the last frame,

:43:18. > :43:22.when he went in-off, when you are potting, you do not mind, it is when

:43:23. > :43:27.you miss easy pots you think you have thrown away a chance. Unlucky.

:43:28. > :43:54.Nothing to reproach himself for. A bit thick. We would have thought

:43:55. > :43:59.he has left this red to the corner. Ronnie coming to the table with 35

:44:00. > :44:02.points in arrears and the reds not ideally situated. You would have

:44:03. > :44:05.thought he would be happy to get back into this frame. He hit that

:44:06. > :44:19.too well. Went into it too much. No. Too thin. Barry Hawkins gets

:44:20. > :44:42.another opportunity. Such a great advantage, with Ronnie,

:44:43. > :44:49.playing left-handed, but had to do some work with the cue ball that

:44:50. > :44:54.caught him out. It was a touch shot with side, which are not the

:44:55. > :45:00.easiest, but you half expected Ronnie to make that. His mistake was

:45:01. > :45:12.overscrewing for the positional side of the black. Barry Hawkins will be

:45:13. > :45:20.pleased he left a red on. He would have expected Ronnie O'Sullivan to

:45:21. > :45:28.score 20, 30, anyway. 39 points the lead, 75 remaining. He looks to have

:45:29. > :45:32.the angle on the red where he could cannon into the two reds together

:45:33. > :45:37.but as I always quote Eddie Charlton, he said never develop a

:45:38. > :45:42.red when potting a red because you are not certain to be on a collar

:45:43. > :45:50.and that is why Barry took that on board, but he did not play it well.

:45:51. > :45:56.-- colour. Still, he may have the opportunity to cannon into the two

:45:57. > :46:06.reds. He is running across. It was a good pop row. -- pot.

:46:07. > :46:20.He has the rest. At the moment, he is 100% success rate with the rest.

:46:21. > :46:27.Red and a pink and want more red required.

:46:28. > :46:44.He caught it too full.. I do not think it was a red he fancied but he

:46:45. > :46:51.was forced to take it on, but not a bad lead. He was a long way off.

:46:52. > :46:58.Still 67 remaining, Ronnie is 45 behind.

:46:59. > :47:07.The first priority for Ronnie is to bring a few of these reds into play.

:47:08. > :47:13.He has brought two into the open there, and that is what he will try

:47:14. > :47:22.to do on his next few safety shots, if there is no pot on.

:47:23. > :47:29.The opposite for Barry. He wants reds near cushions. There will be a

:47:30. > :47:37.little bit of cat and mouse. He could not get that in behind the

:47:38. > :47:56.green. It does not appear as though Barry

:47:57. > :48:02.can hit the red in the open, but there is plenty of value coming off

:48:03. > :48:06.the top cushion and hitting that one open red. Playing this one will

:48:07. > :48:08.bring get away from the side cushion, although there is the

:48:09. > :48:15.possibility of potting the red. He has an excellent cue ball. Very

:48:16. > :48:51.well played. He does not want to bring the three

:48:52. > :48:59.reds into play, but you think before long, they will be, one way or

:49:00. > :49:07.another. He missed the ball. You could see he put a trace of

:49:08. > :49:13.left-hand side on it. Ronnie could have them replaced, but if he thinks

:49:14. > :49:19.he can play one red onto the and release the pink, he would rather

:49:20. > :49:30.play. He is asking Barry to play from where it is now. Therefore, if

:49:31. > :49:35.he misses this time, the three misses and you are outward -- would

:49:36. > :50:03.not apply. That was a good shot. There is some

:50:04. > :50:09.good safety play. From both players, I agree, it is excellent. When you

:50:10. > :50:15.are tight under the baulk cushion, to catch the correct part of the

:50:16. > :50:20.object ball is so difficult. And the pace on these tables is so quick.

:50:21. > :50:29.Barry could get past the blue to hit the left hand of the three reds but

:50:30. > :50:39.he does not want to move them. He could not have played it better.

:50:40. > :50:46.I thought it would be a game of cat and mouse. At the moment, who is the

:50:47. > :51:26.cat? This frame time is twice as long as

:51:27. > :51:27.the majority of frames we have had. Nonetheless, more interesting,

:51:28. > :51:44.though. Barry can clearly get through to the

:51:45. > :51:54.reds. He does not want to really bring them into play. Sometimes you

:51:55. > :52:06.have to play the shot. Just rolling into them.

:52:07. > :52:18.A chance to bring the pink and red into play, but he has to be careful

:52:19. > :52:22.not to leave the pot on. REFEREE: Can you stop taking pictures please,

:52:23. > :52:31.it has a flash on. Believe it or not, now, there is not a safe red on

:52:32. > :52:35.the table. Amazingly enough. The red will drop into the middle, I am not

:52:36. > :52:43.saying it is easy. The two along the bottom, if you potted the outside

:52:44. > :52:54.the one along the cushion would be available, so Barry, in a blink of

:52:55. > :53:00.an eye, has problems. I think one in the gap behind the green, it has

:53:01. > :53:04.been there a while. The brown was available to get behind. As it

:53:05. > :53:08.turned out, the reds in the open, as well. He could play this one

:53:09. > :53:12.cushion, across, and try to catch the red.

:53:13. > :53:26.It is not great. He will not play it from there, surely? He played off

:53:27. > :53:34.that cushion will stop he judged the right angle, what a tremendous shot.

:53:35. > :53:43.Absolutely inch perfect. Well played. This red does pot, but he

:53:44. > :54:02.could have left some in a lot easier. -- something.

:54:03. > :54:10.See how he played that, he knew it was a difficult pot, but he knew he

:54:11. > :54:20.would be on the green if he potted it.

:54:21. > :55:10.APPLAUSE. HAZEL IRVINE: We will had to leave this here. Barry Hawkins in

:55:11. > :55:16.the driving seat. It continues online. On the other side, Mark

:55:17. > :55:22.Williams, Michael Holt, it was very tense. Michael staged something of a

:55:23. > :55:27.revival with two frames on the bounce, this is frame 20 and Michael

:55:28. > :55:34.was 54 points ahead and this was quite a steal at quite a time from

:55:35. > :55:38.the double world champion. A major blow to Michael Holt and typical

:55:39. > :55:44.Mark Williams in a frame that went awkward and he has pinched a massive

:55:45. > :55:49.frame will stop it was going to be 11-9 and suddenly it is 12-8.

:55:50. > :55:54.Michael Holt has to win every frame to go through. They have had to sit

:55:55. > :55:59.and think about this, because immediately after this, and it was a

:56:00. > :56:02.punch to the solar plexus, they had the mid-session interval and they

:56:03. > :56:08.have just returned. You will be able to see the conclusion right now on

:56:09. > :56:14.the red button and indeed online. That is the situation in that one.

:56:15. > :56:19.We have to leave you here on BBC One this afternoon and we are back at

:56:20. > :56:23.7pm tonight at the start of the evening session, Mark Selby and Sam

:56:24. > :56:28.Baird playing to a finish and John Higgins and Ricky Walden will get

:56:29. > :56:35.their match under way. My thanks to Stephen and John for their company

:56:36. > :56:37.anti-EU for. -- and TU.