Saturday, Semi-finals, Morning Snooker: World Championship

Good morning. It is here. The final weekend of this year's Betfred World

Championship is. We are backstage at the Crucible Theatre on day 15 in

Sheffield out of 17. In snooker terms, there is still a long way

before the champion lists the trophy and is put onto the winners board.

We are in crossed another semifinal stage you are in crossed another

semifinal stage you today. This morning, it is Mark Selby taking odd

Marco Fu. This is a match that proves you need patience and skill,

and now, and composure. Maybe even a tube of superglue in a Crucible

semifinal. There is a perfect start. This will hurt Mark Selby.

5-4, Mark Selby. He has played it well. He has played it absolutely

inch perfect. Indigo is the pink, 6-4.

If he had picked it up with his hand he could not have put it any better

position. This black for the beautifully compiled century break.

They share the first format frames. He spotted a plant.

Marco Fu has won all three frames and has levelled the tie at 7-7. He

is in the ascendancy at the moment, no doubt. He could not have played

it any better. Did his tip come off? You are

kidding. The worst thing any -- in the world that can happen to a

sticker player, he must be distraught. Cannot believe it, what

a thing to happen. And the semifinal of the World Championship, when you

are in stroke, you could not pick a worse time.

We hope it will not be a turning point but might it be? It really

depends on how good a job that told us. Marco Fu will go to the practice

table and have a couple of shots and if you looked down his Jew and it is

the same, it is no problem. He were to get the fuel right, get

confidence on the screw back. If he gives confidence on the screw back

and gets the same reaction, then he will be all right.

It is what is going on between the ears for Marco Fu. And he smiled

that the audience. That might be a good sign. How well hasn't done to

keep himself together and make this a frame-winning contribution? And he

now leads the world number one, Mark Selby, by 8-7. That was a nice pot.

And he has missed that explanation mark. He got a kick. That was a

frame ball. Marco Fu leads the session 5-3. Mark

Selby won the first session 5-3 and we have parity. They are all square

at 8-8. And in the 1987 Champion Ken Doherty

with me. Nervous moments before the players go out. Those that break of

91 in the 15 frame for Marco Fu yesterday after the tip problems,

how good was it and how terrible the moment boss that of felt? It

could've been very disconcerting for Marco Fu. He was very composed. When

he got the tip back on, he came back out and help themselves together. It

did not seem to be too much of a problem. I had a chat with them. He

said it was back on and he is perfectly fine, Beverley happy,

until I mentioned it!. He was going so well. He won four any roll. That

missed red in the final frame, he must've been very angry. -- for any

row. It could've been a pivotal frame in this match. We will have to

wait and see. Lots of snooker still to be played and some interesting

frames. Fair to say that Mark Selby has not been at his best in the

semifinal so far but as Stephen Hendry said, he does find a way to

win. How dangerous does he remain? It is amazing, he has not played his

best in the semifinal, there is still plenty of time for him. He has

to take in courage and. He still has that ability we talk about. If you

can bring his best game it will be a tough fight for Marco Fu. It is

therefore Mark Selby. He just has to find it. It is time for you to get

to work. Let us not on the door. Come on Mark Selby, tend to go to

work. Are you fit? What time do you call this? You are late. Best of

luck. This is the corridor. Everybody wants down the corridor,

getting ready to go outside. We come down to Marco Fu's dressing room and

let us see if he is ready. Mr Fu, it is time. What do you want? Time to

go to work. Best of luck. This is probably the most nervous for the

players, backstage before they go out. It is over to you, Rob Walker.

Mission accomplished for Ken Doherty. Rob Walker, it is your turn

now. COMMENTATOR: Good morning. We are

gearing up to a grandstand finish for this Betfred strip World Snooker

Championship. This is the day that we complete the line-up. -- the

Betfred were in snooker champion ship.

It is all to play for here at the Crucible.

Please welcome a player emerging for one of the most important days of

his career so far. A brilliant session yesterday afternoon has

given him a chance of a first-ever Crucible final, 17 years after his

debut. Twice a ranking event winner and he will draw on all those years

of experience this morning. He is one of the global from Hong Kong,

here is Marco Fu. And his opponent, the ultimate

performer under pressure. He is hoping to take one step closer to a

third Crucible final, multiple Masters champion, UK champion. He

completed the Triple crown here in fine style two years ago. Can he

once again produce his best on the ultimate stage? He is the world

number one, he is the Jester from Leicester. It is Mark Selby.

Two sessions to be played today. A back this morning. Willie Thorne and

John Virgo on commentary. This is an important session.

Handshake. This is the third session.

He's a player that can release tension. Will he? He has to raise

his game debut notches, I feel, if he is to get through this match. He

really struggled yesterday. He will be pleased that the score is a

Titanic hit. -- is 8-8. Who will take the lead going into the final

session tonight? He has missed out so the first

chance of the morning will go to Mark Selby. When you have not had a

good session, even though he has been on the practice table this

morning, you will be under pressure and the first few shots.

Mentally, he is negative with his spots. He needs to get off to a good

start but he has not done so through -- so far.

That is normally one you expect to knock them and the fact that Marco

Fu is looking towards the red that is beside the road, it suggest to me

that he cannot get through to the one on the left corner. He cannot.

The one that is left to the bank. -- to the pink.

What a miss that was. Did not see that one coming. But we see it so

many times, if you decelerate when you push that cue through, that is

what you must've done there. I am not sure if he has done

anything with his tip overnight, whether he has taken it off and put

it back on again. Usually you hold the cue in exactly the same place.

That certainly will not help his confidence. Somebody was asking me,

do you get a reasonable time to put the tip back on the cue as it did

yesterday? He needs to run past the yellow.

That was a poor positional shot. You quickly noticed, when you looked at

the tip of Marco Fu, there were superglue on it yesterday. There was

no superglue this time. I was talking to Paul Collier, he wanted

to clean it up that Marco Fu said no, leave it as it is.

Poor positional shot to Mark Selby so did not make the most of it. This

is what happened yesterday if you missed it. Just watch the tip of the

cue. And that is a nightmare for the snooker player. It is like he does

not have the blog of talk in the right place and was pushing it. It

must've been worse. That is Paul Collier trying to replace it.

He has got the black! That was careless. Somebody asked the cue --

in the questioning and that reasonable amount of time you get to

put the tip back on the cue, and you could not, what would you do? The

bottom line is that you would have to get another cue to finish the

session. It is never happen to me in my

career. It would get me 3-4 days to get used

to the new tip. It has never happened to me. That was two amazing

Mr Johns from Marco Fu. -- misjudgements. It is just not

there in the match. It is one you would normally expect to Putin and

it was not real pressure. He would not leave anything other than the

red you were playing. That gives us a beautiful view.

Wonderful arena. Good pot. Foul. That was a little

bit unlucky. The pockets are always in the same places. He just got back

a fraction too thick. If he caught the red in the middle of the pocket

it could have been enough. That was nearly a very good snooker

but not quite. I think Mark King at this went in. -- I think Mark can

cut this went in. He was up on the short very quickly

and felt he had missed it. He was to get the blue into the bunch. I think

it is too straight. There is a slight angle. And one night at the

bottom of the pack. Can get there? It is not landed.

Mark Selby has as much power as anybody when he is in full flight.

He was playing that will be a lot of right-hand side to check the cue

ball. And that checking process has left him near the blue spot rather

than the Balkan cushion. An easy safety from Marco Fu.

He did not make the most of that opportunity. If you were thinking of

a target you would be thinking maybe, in yellow, if you could get

near where the yellow is. It would be safe.

He has taken it on and now he has got it. Does he have an angle? Can

he force this yellow ribbon? There are a couple of reds available,

particularly the one to the right of the black for the left corner

pocket. He had to avoid the green. The red

just below the bank is available. -- though the pink is available.

This will tell you about how he is cueing at the moment. He will play

with the run-through. He could play for the clue or try to hold for the

black. -- for the blue. Just not cueing up long enough at

the moment. Just caught the left part of the

pocket. He will be disappointed to have missed it and a missed

opportunity. He has had a couple in this opening frame. He still has a

27 point lead. Mark Wood did not want to risk going

back to the baulk end. -- Marco Fu. Is it a touching ball? He does not

want the referee to give them three shot hit.

If you could get the cue ball somewhere near that circle, the blue

would cover the path to the red. Just a little delicate touch. He

could not go over to the side because he would have the left --

the red to the left of the black. Neither player wants to get

embroiled in this type of situation. Get near the jaws of that corner

pocket, the blue will be the cover. Make sure your phones are switched

off, please. The blue has not came to the rescue

because he has played for the clue to cover the path to this red near

the corner. The problem for Marco, it is not to leave this red. The

only way I can see it is to come off the site or top cushion just to

nestle up to it. Easy enough to hurt. It keeps Mark

Selby in control of this tactical exchange. With Mark having that 27

point lead, every just gets the next chance, you think it will be a

frame-winner. I thought he had understated and he

has as far as the baulk cushion matters. He could have snookered

him? Is there an age of sticking out? Just a fraction of the red

sticking out. Just get past the blue.

There is not a lot sticking out and that he catches it a fraction, I do

not know if this is enough into the right corner.

Well played. Brilliant. There was not a lot sticking out. Yesterday we

saw a clip of Marco Fu with his wife and children walking into the.... He

was wearing glasses. I do not think he needs them after seeing that

shot. This is a good line. Decent length.

He would rather to have drifted past the green. Nevertheless, a decent

safety. It is a strange game, isn't it? On a

bad day, that red stays in the jaws of the pocket. He did not want to

test that red obviously. There was the danger of knocking upon. What

happened -- Mark straight in the pocket and Marco Fu apologised.

He has not apologise for that, though.

That was the most obvious line. Always trying to make contact with a

ball that is near the cushion. You feel you should nestle onto it and

not leave anything. Cannot get in behind the yellow of

the red on the site cushion but he can find the baulk cushion right

behind the brown spot. That is what he should be looking

That was not quite hard enough. It is imperative, Wendy brown is on the

spot, you have to get good length with the cue ball. There is nothing

to hide behind. Little bit thinner than he would

like. That has been a problem for me, with Mark, there's not a lot of

consistency in this match. The reliability usually expect from him.

You have to suggest he is one of the greatest poker players of all time

but it has not been happening in this match. To be fair, Marco Fu has

not found the baulk cushion either this morning so neither appear to

have settled yet. There is the pot on here. Mark will

see this when he goes to the left-hand side of the table, beyond

the green. It is not automatic. He has to do a little bit with the cue

ball. They worry about this is the red on the top cushion. It would be

an easy shot for battle free to drop in. -- for Marco. Very good shot. He

went wide with the cue ball. I presume he played in between the

black and pink area and got into the cue ball too much. It just clicked

at the red in the middle of the table that I did not notice at the

time and that is what kept the cue ball in the middle of the table. It

is almost beyond this point. He does not have to do a lot with the cue

ball supports this pink. The fact he can be checked is a bonus. He is on

his tiptoes. That is a bonus. Here is an

opportunity for Mark Selby to take the opening frame of the morning.

He judged that beautifully. He could have potted slightly thicker and

position would have failed. You would expect him to win the frame

from here. He is just thinking of playing for

the green. It would be a good ball to get for at least three of these

rights. -- red.. Not straightforward. OK, he has got

the easy road to the right corner but struggling for position after

that. The read between the pink and black is thinner than he would like.

He still has that positional shot away from making it easy for

himself. Now he should be OK.

The eye of a needle, wasn't it? Took his time filling the cue away

after that shot. Now he is on the red to the right of

the black, that should make things easier.

This Red Bull put him 53 points ahead -- ten won.

Would you believe it? Frame ball. It is absolutely amazing how many times

we see a simple shot, not having to do anything there. Frame ball. It

looked unmissable. I did detect a slight bones but I

don't think that threw the ball off-line.

Obviously struggling with confidence at the minute and the better choice

might have been to just roll the red into the middle. It just shows you

what pressure can do. Nothing is easy when you are under the cosh.

He is having a good look at this particular think you can see enough

of the red to potted. Controlled it very well indeed. That

bit of cute power can help you out of those tricky situations and think

he might have snookered Marco on the remaining four reds. Mark Selby only

one red away from winning this first frame.

Just caught the edge. He would love to take this red on. He cannot avoid

the case of the black. Not sure if he can get enough screw on the side

of it so he might have to play a safety shot. The bidder read --

maybe the red onto the black. Did not knock it safe but got the

desired path. He will be pleased with that. Lonely

thing is, that red is close to the black. If you catch is this wrong,

could not the black to the corner. Judged it well and this is an

excellent line. He will be glad to still be in this

frame, Marco Fu. It should have been over by now. That simple red to the

middle that Mark Selby missed. I don't know if he can just get past

the pink to get the edge of the red. There is not a lot sticking out.

He doesn't like it. I think he is thinking just below the pink. He

might run it tight to the top cushion. Then the cue ball will stay

at this end of the table. Then it won't be beyond the realms of

possibility that Marco Fu could win the frame. Got to get this safe.

No, she has got to take the mess. Over to you, referee! The main

reason he has got to take the The problem is, Mark Selby thinks he

can see that red. This is going to be one of the worst re-rack 's of

the tournament so far. He has got to be very precise, the

referee. He is refereeing at the other semifinal. We will show you

where they were. And this is where they are now. Very good.

How does that look? Looks OK? Thank you.

I shake of the head. That looks near enough to me.

Judge it better this time and where is the cue ball going to finish?

I did not think he could quite see as much of the red as he hit but it

was a very difficult situation to get them exactly in the right place.

Mark Selby is a very honest player. He played a remarkable shot.

I cannot see any other short for Marco but to come round on these two

reds together. If it is tight against the cushion

he will be fearing the worst. He was very concerned about leading

the red on the top cushion. I can only assume it is tight to the

cushion. And it is. If this was frame ball he would take

it on. He once red and a colour so it

basically is frame ball. Those two reds were not in a

pottable position. Good shot. Mark will be desperate to

get in between the brown and blue. This frame should have been over ten

minutes ago. This could be the longest frame of the match so far.

It's been an edgy frame so far. He decided to go for it. Mark Selby

refusing that pot along the cushion looks to be the right decision now.

Just red and a colour needed. He is not making it easy for

himself, is he? It was tricky. He just concentrated

on the pot and got it a fraction too thick.

He won't need all blacks if he should get an opportunity.

Is it going to run? It just stops short.

Eventually, Mark Selby pots the ball that leaves his opponent needing a

snicker. -- snooker. Not the most memorable frame. An

opinion on Marco Fu so far? The tip issue has obviously affected

his confidence. Mark Selby the frame.

Mark Selby goes one clear again. I think it is fair to say that

confidence is not coursing through the veins of the world number one.

That is painful from him getting across the line.

He will be delighted to win the frame but what happens when you miss

these types of opportunities is that it does the rout. Even though he has

won the frame, missing those types of opportunities that you never see

him miss. Even if you are not full of confidence, roll it in. That

should have been done 1015 minutes ago so he has put himself through

the ringer. That will make him even more edgy. Thankfully for Mark

Selby, Marco Fu looks edgy as well. You get the feel that Marco must

think he has an opportunity against the world number one.

Absolutely. If ever he was good to have a chance to get to a final this

will be yet. Mark Selby cannot play this bad throughout the semifinal.

He has to get better. It is an excellent opportunity for Marco

fool. -- Marco Fu. COMMENTATOR: Whatever happens, one

of these players will probably be in front.

That will be a confidence booster. You have got to find that all

Not certain whether black will go when it is re-spotted.

If he finishes low on this red, which he hasn't done, he could've

got it into play. At the minute, he just wants to get 40 or 50 to get

his confidence back. A little bit more straight on the

pink would have been better. No other spots available. It is a pity.

If it had been straighter he would have been going for the blue.

He couldn't really generate the pace required. Did not have the best of

angles on the black. That pretty well considering.

Yes, he is very good at that shot. He could always pushed the pink

towards the corner pocket. Going back to Ronnie O'Sullivan, who

was favourite coming into the tournament, he said if he did not

make 70, he did not win a frame. That shows you what a seasoned

matchplay Mark Selby is. He is nowhere near his best but he is

grinding out frames. If you are not winning frames in one

visit, you are relying on your opponent making mistakes.

If we look at the pot success, both players below 90%. They can both be

pleased that neither of them are exactly on top form. The other

semifinal with Ding Junhui and Alan McManus, they are up to 94% at

times. He has got the colour. E is perfect

and the black. This has been an excellent break.

Maybe the confidence this tube was looking for.

I don't know where it has come from. He struggled in the last session and

in the opening frame. He probably will try to make the century. This

will be a confidence booster fee can clear the table. Then Marco will

have to up a gear. But she is capable of doing.

It is amazing how many times she has finished short of the blue. It does

not matter now the frame is over but he has done it so many times.

Red and a colour for the 77th century break of this championship.

88 as the record. Will it be beat? By at least ten.

Fabulous. How he did it, I'm sure he does not know. That has kick-started

this match for both players. You can get dragged down. If your

opponent is not taking his chances. This is just what Mark Selby and his

supporters were looking for. It just shows you his timing is not

right. Never mind. That was more like it. Mark Selby for once

mismatched gets the break of 125 and keeps Marco Fu in his seat and goes

clear. Now breaking with a two frame lead.

Two claims to go before the interview -- interval.

He could have a fourth ringleader. -- four frame lead.

That was a good shot from Marco. Good length. It was dangerous

because he has played in the aggressive safety. With the black

being tied up, very risky pot to take on, there are red sticking

going to either corner pocket. I do not know where the colour comes

from. As it happens he would've finished

up on the black but that was risky. I'm not certain of any reward.

You can see he would have finished on the black. This is an interesting

opportunity. Nice easy starter for Marco. I am not convinced yet that

he has came out this morning any great frame of mind. It could be

something to do with that tip from yesterday. This is a good

opportunity. It will be interesting to see what he makes of it.

He felt that the two red to the left of the black, to get onto the black,

but he played for bold colour. He will soon be back down the same.

I cannot understand how he did not realise he was coming so close to

the blue. Just a safety and Mark Selby will be

delighted that he scored only four points from that happening. He

potted the green in the centre of the pocket and it was a bad miss

just from that. He probably did not think it was possible to stagger

himself with the blue but anything is possible. -- snookered. A good

chance and only scored four points. It is a difficult safety shot. Mark

does not think you can get back to the baulk easily.

Excellent shot but did not expect to kiss the blue. My cue ball will be

in the baulk area if he missed it. He now has a chance of -- chance of

hitting the blue or yellow. That has been the story of this

match for me. For Mark Selby. He has knocked in some tremendous long

beds, tremendous pot, but he does not have consistency. The red was

easier than the yellow that he knocked them.

It is the same tip that he played with yesterday. Just the fact that

it came off would get you a little bit concerned and make you think of

other things rather than the match. And also the fact he has Mark Selby

until the last frame playing at no where near his best. Why am I not in

front? He has put pressure on himself. It Mark Selby is not

playing anywhere near this -- near his best, I should win this. He

realised that he should be in front and he is 10-8 behind. He has to dig

deep, Marco. Otherwise this vital third session could run away from

him. With that shot, there was some to

finish high. He could have rolled it through and missed the kiss on the

red. He always is a couple of inches out

from beauty wants to be at the moment.

Not the best angle on the black to come off the top cushion with pace.

He is looking at the possibility of the plant but whether or not he can

get to it, I do not know. Forced into the reds and table set

with that. He has landed on the red to the left middle. Masse of art on

the cue ball. It smashes into the bunch.

I think the problem for Mark, he is at the wrong angle for those red so

he cannot screw back for the black. There is the pot success in the

third session so far. We have only played 2.5 frames. 44% pot success

for Marco Fu. That was a good shot. He has not got

the perfect angle on the green. Not ideal so drop the browning and

played to the red on the left. It is easy, guaranteed position.

Now you would want to leave angle on the green if you could do get into

the cluster of reds, just the pink and that would clear the path to win

the frame. . No, no, no. It is unbelievable. Every time you think

he is getting back to a bit of form, he froze in an easy miss.

Good pot, excellent position. I have a feeling he is straight... He could

be straight on the back. -- on the black.

Trying to move this red away but that was no good. He had to catch

that red better to stay on the left corner. This shot against the

cushion is too tough to take on. We know that those two reds just below

the bank at a plant into the middle porker. -- middle pocket. The pink

might just be in the way. This is really tough. That was a really

tough pot to take on at this stage in the match. People have to

question that. We talked about the 44% pot success rate, when you are

playing a shot that you probably only pot five out of ten, that did

appear to be the right shot to take on.

He got into it too much. There's no consistency of strike at the moment

for Mark. He gets into them too much or not enough. There, he chewed that

well. The only good thing from a proposed by point of view, when you

hit the ball as well as he did have that black gives you confidence that

you're getting through as you would like to. Even though he is not on

anything. Maybe he is beginning to get his timing right. He has

struggled most of this match with timing. This red is available into

the middle. If you can come down for the black, he will leave the red

into the yellow pocket. He was a long way away with that. He

did not want to catch the phage. -- catch the phage.

Thank goodness for the flick on the yellow. If it had hit the yellow

full ball or man pass that, it would've left a choice of three rods

-- three reds to left middle. There are one or two seats

available. Some people have purchased season tickets and are

waiting for the afternoon and night sessions. As usual at the Crucible

Theatre on a Saturday morning, as with all the 17 days, it will be

absolutely packed to the rafters. He is beginning to get the cue ball.

The match time is six hours. It has been hard snooker. Not reached the

heights we weren't expecting. What is at stake is the -- is a place in

the final of the Betfred World Snooker Championship. When you are

just slightly under par, as Patrick Kelly Mark Selby has been, you have

to feel for Marco Fu with his tip coming off yesterday. The players

are more concerned with getting a result rather than how they play.

It is the old adage from golf. There are no pictures on the scoreboard.

If they wake up in the morning and are in the final of the World

Championship, they will forget about how bad this match has been.

Nestling up against the red. He did not leave the red to the right

corner and he did not play much better than that.

Just struggled in. Because it did not go in the middle of the pocket,

the cue ball has ran too far and has tucked up in the brown.

Very hard to say how tight he is to the ground. -- to the ground.

He is very tight. That line is not on looking at how close he is to do

brown. He will have to go a different path. He is trying to

nestle up to this red. He needs to judge it. Good shot. What will

please Marco, he left the red to the right centre. Now he has nudged that

red. Mark Selby is badly hampered. He will refuse the pot.

The red going towards the corner but that will be covered by the yellow.

REFEREE: Please make sure all your mobile phones are switched off.

Can you catch this right and avoid the double-kiss at all costs? Very

good. Having said that, it looks as if though Mark King get pass the

brown. He has hit that so thin. Marco has

got a chance here. He has to play a good shot. I do not know that he can

go behind the black and hold for the black. Good cueing is needed.

He decided to play the cannon on the black. He is on the PLO. -- on the

yellow. Getting down and playing this very quickly.

Not bad, not perfect. You would think the yellow would be the most

obvious ball but he has to screw it directly and avoid the kiss on the

blue. Perhaps force it on to the site cushion.

The black is not available into the corner he is playing this red Andy

has the problem of those two reds stuck together. Can you get the

angle of this red? The run-through is on. It would be a risk just to

flick the left-hand side of the two reds and bring them into play. If

you does not get the pink is he is not on the black. It is not worth

the risk but the angle looked me. Just click the left-hand red.

Probably time to get onto the pink. He can kiss the reds now.

He will do well to develop these two reds and leave one in a pottable

position here. He will give it a try. Site cushion

and top cushion, bringing them into play, the odds are slight.

In the end he decided just to pot of the pink. I do not think this red

can pot? The red hand side red of the two. It does not look like it.

He is back in this frame now. 14 points behind.

That has brought the reds into play and the full ball kiss on the brown

does not help Mark Selby. If Marco can sneak this red pen, he will have

to play it with the trace of left-hand side to straighten up the

cue ball. He has hit it much too thin. He need

some luck. And he may well have had it. The pink has came to the rescue.

This red closest to the right corner was definitely pottable. Playing

with just a trace of site, you missed that cut by so far. Play the

cut along the cushion but the key thing is he would not be expected to

put this red. The key thing in his mind was

finding the baulk cushion. He looks like he has done that. Or very close

to it. The cut that nicely. Very nicely,

thank you. Might give him a chance to force an error from Mark Selby.

It always slides of that third or second cushion.

That is the line he is after. Look at the finish of my second line, I

think he wants to be higher than that. It is too is when it comes off

that second cushion it always seems to slide. I think it is on. The two

cushion escape is on. REFEREE: Marco? He has decided he

needs to go the other side of the yellow and play with what is of

left-hand side. I think he has to play at a fraction

harder soul it straightens up off the first cushion.

The third attempt and he can have as many as he likes until he gets to

the required stage. This looks better.

With the thin safety shot, he would be pushing the red into the corners

and he has come to have a look. Any sort of kiss on the second red, the

one that is on the cushion... It could push to either corner.

That was always going to be the problem, he was up off the shot very

quickly and he knew he had missed that. As soon as he struggled, he

was up and back to his seat. Wondering how much damage with that

safety shot was done? He got into that too much. You would

think pink to the middle. It is tricky. He will try to screw back

direct. He can pot the black but I didn't see where the red comes from.

The most positive shot is pink into the middle and try to drop onto one

of these two reds. If he plays the black angular see how he can

position. As they finished in the same place that he is now with the

Waikiki get through to the pocket with the red. He try to play cannon

with side and that was a great effort than just a little bit

unlucky. He trusted his tip. He needed to play that with lots of

left-hand side. You could see the site as it came off the top cushion.

That was very unlucky. If the case that are fed full ball, you could

imagine it would have been over. Two points in front.

If you are going to play that type of shot, you have to be careful you

do not run into the red. As that cue ball comes round of the two

cushions, you have to the double-kiss.

That is dreadful. I thought it was going to hit the first red, and not

the second red. There was no pace with that. Another chance for Mark

Selby. Just about on the yellow. He is

getting down quick so that must tell us he is reasonably happy with the

potting He has played as well. That now

takes one point in front. He always knew he would be on the

brown. He is looking at the green. He thinks it is better for position

on the yellow but that is slightly tricky.

Played it very nicely. Five points the lead. Yellow, green, brown, blue

required. Could have done with the cue ball

being higher. He knows it. He didn't want to be playing into

this pocket but he should be OK. With that blue not being on the spot

it can make things awkward. Marco Fu is not out of this frame

yet. 14 points the difference, 18 remaining.

A little awry smile. Marco Fu has been given a lifeline.

Will he be able to see the blue? Yes you can.

Just a containing safety but not a bad one. It is imperative that Marco

does not leave him any chance of a pot.

Mark didn't feel as if he could play an attacking safety so Marco in

control of this important tactical battle.

A chance for Mark to get the advantage.

The key thing is to get the object ball safe and that is what he has

done. Mark Selby will probably take the

double on if you can get the cue ball back to the baulk cushion.

If he can control the cue ball, the double is worth taking on. The only

problem with the double is if it does not go in and it catches the

wrong job of the pocket he can come back towards the white.

When it hurts the jaw of the pocket, you never know where it is going to

finish. I don't think I've ever seen at

finish like that after a double. This blue is cuttable but if it does

not go when it stays on the pocket. -- does not go in.

If you hit it as soon as you can it is going to go in the pocket. I

cannot see an easy safety typing keys got to play the pot.

This is excellent. Absolutely to the inch.

Mark Selby shakes his head. He had two chances and the blue.

Well played, Mark Waugh Fu. He pulls one back.

My deepest T need that. # My

Mark Selby should have won the frame from there. That might be a bit of

inspiration for Marco Fu. It is interesting to ask whether the

problems he had yesterday with the Q-Tip have affected him. He has

played some fine beautifully judged shots but then missed other ones.

You wonder if the problem is in his head.

Sometimes that can happen. I asked him this morning but he seemed OK

with it. Sometimes if you're not playing well, it gets into your

mind. He looked a bit edgy. Probably the most edgy since Barry Hawkins

made that comeback against him. Maybe it is in the back of his mind.

Edgier still because Mark Selby makes a century out of nowhere but

you feel that Marco Fu must be thinking to himself, I've got this

guy, this is the best chance I've had, and he is failing to do so.

He's often shaking his head. You knew that was a great chance to go

clear and put pressure on Marco Fu. Some teachers say certain frames can

change a match. Maybe it might sway back towards Marco Fu.

We will wait and see. This is the last one before the interval. Marco

food to break, one behind. Mid-session interval after this

frame. It is an interesting match. It has not been high quality but the

stakes are so high. The crowd getting excited. It never

looked like going in. But he really hit at that. Nothing smooth about

that cue action there. Maybe this black is to them. -- too

thin. It has been a bit of a grind. I'm

amazed he cannot cut this black in. He probably feels he cannot

guarantee position. You know better when you are done at

the table. That was a good safety shot. Let's

have a look at the virtual image. That is a good reply from Marco.

With the green and brown being off the spot, it is not going to be a

telling safety. During the turnaround of the frames,

Marco chatting away to our Coventry City supporter. I agree with what

Ken said in the studio, winning that last frame, maybe that will relax

him. What a fantastic pot.

He has knocked in some tremendous ports in this match.

Could not have played it better. He is looking down the right-hand side.

Looks like the left-hand side would be a better side to come down.

He is going for another tricky red. The red immediately below the cue

ball. That will screw back of the other red but this is no Jimmy. --

pot. He has got to fit the price of one.

He decided to try and make something happen. Apart from century break, he

has been getting bogged down and you get what you deserve playing a shot

like that. If he gets back into commission, it may not go into its

own spot at the pink spot is freely available. It needs to get onto a

red nicely to get onto the black. He needs that cue ball to get past

the blue. It is just not happening at the moment, is it?

Just looking to see if he can get another good pot but it is not

obvious. A couple of rents will cut on but much too risky to take on.

You don't mind playing them if you feel there is an element of nothing

to lose. Nothing on so he play the safety and

a good one. An excellent safety. Nice to see that from Marco, a tap

on the table appreciating the safety.

Whichever shot he decides to play, it is going to have to be hit

perfect. It was always difficult to find the

path. What has he left? Nothing easy on the first look.

Sometimes luck plays a part in snooker. I don't know whether this

red passes. It will be tight.

No. Luck does even out although you never had any.

One of life's mysteries how somebody could be so unlucky. This red is

cuttable. I don't think you can get the path back into the baulk area.

I would want to be certain I could avoid the case on the second red. --

this kiss. There have been so very

elementary errors from both players. He looks a bit stressed at the

minute. Almost look like there were a few tears in his eyes. But he is

struggling out there, I'm not sure. You get a little bit frustrated and

embarrassed sometimes. But he has made a century this morning.

Played the cannon positively and is nicely on the black.

He shouldn't have any problems getting the cue ball away from the

kitchen, just has to decide which is the easiest red to play. -- away

from the cushion. The black goes on the pink spot,

which will help. He is looking to screw around off a couple of

cushions. Does the brown pass the pink? That

is his only hope. I would suggest it does. Look at the body language of

the player. You would have seen the drooped

shoulders and dropping of the head, the disappointment if it wasn't

going to go. But now a chance to go to the mid-session interval as they

started this morning, all square. He will be a little bit disappointed

leaving the cue ball close to the side cushion. The black goes back on

the pink spot. Obviously not happy with the angle

on the easy red. He is struggling but they are going

in. I will be honest with you, I thought that was wide.

The way the reds are situated, this is a golden opportunity to level the

match. The pink will go on the blue spot, that will be the highest

available. I see no harm in playing the pink and then playing for the

red that is occupying the black spot.

He overheard that slightly for the black.

Red and the would leave Mark Selby needing a snooker. That is pretty

good. Mark Selby will be very disappointed

he has not won at least three of these first four frames. You have to

take your hat off to Marco Fu. He will be delighted to have one to

frames. In the first session, I felt that

Marco Fu was more likely to win frames in one goal. He has taken

these very well. Interesting to see after the mid-session interval how

the other four frames per night. -- pin alt.

Marco well over the line here and on his way to the best break of the

morning. We are going to have to leave you here but do get your red

button fired up for your laptop or tablets to keep watching this

morning session live. We will return over on BBC One at 1pm to catch up

on the remaining frames of this one and then into the concluding session

of the second semifinal. We will see you again very soon.

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