Sunday, 1st Round, Afternoon

:00:33. > :00:43.Hello again. Curse, Hex, jigs, you can call it what you like but there

:00:44. > :00:47.is just no shifting the so-called Crucible curse. Yesterday Stuart

:00:48. > :00:51.Bingham turned up as the defending champion after a wonderful year when

:00:52. > :00:56.he had taken the trophy all round the world being a fantastic

:00:57. > :01:00.ambassador for the sport, but he became the 17th World Champion to

:01:01. > :01:04.come back and failed to successfully defend his title and the sixth to

:01:05. > :01:06.ball at the first hurdle. They one at the World Snooker Championship?

:01:07. > :01:28.It was a thriller, all right. And it looks like he may have got

:01:29. > :01:34.the snooker here. And if he Bingham has got to hit it and has got to get

:01:35. > :01:43.it safe. Otherwise his title defence is over.

:01:44. > :01:52.He needed the cue ball to run and run hard. Could that be Stuart's

:01:53. > :01:57.last shot? He has been a great ambassador in the last 12 months,

:01:58. > :02:02.but it could be coming to an end. The title of World Champion, right

:02:03. > :02:10.here, right now. APPLAUSE

:02:11. > :02:17.Well, he put up a great defence. He didn't play well in the first

:02:18. > :02:24.session of this match. And he had looped the blue, so that's does end

:02:25. > :02:31.any hope Stuart Bingham had of staying in this championship that he

:02:32. > :02:39.so gloriously won last year. It congratulates Ali Carter. Stuart

:02:40. > :02:42.Bingham went 5-1 behind, then 9-8 in front, but a great response from Ali

:02:43. > :02:50.Carter to come back and win the match by ten frames to nine. Stuart

:02:51. > :02:55.Bingham, great sportsmen to the end. He will be back, no doubt about

:02:56. > :03:00.that, but Ali Carter advances to the second round. It is just

:03:01. > :03:05.unbelievable. It was just so difficult to get over the line. It

:03:06. > :03:12.was always going to be a really tight game. You could sense the way

:03:13. > :03:17.it was going. 5-1, 5-5, just like that. I played a very good decider.

:03:18. > :03:21.I know that Stewart missed a couple of balls. Only a couple of balls

:03:22. > :03:30.here and there that made the difference. The table was really

:03:31. > :03:38.playing difficult. Loads of pings. When he flipped the snooker, it just

:03:39. > :03:42.blew off the cushion. But I dug in and won and I am delighted. I am

:03:43. > :03:48.delighted to get through. It is hard out there. I feel fresh as a daisy,

:03:49. > :03:52.and I will be back. I beat Stephen Hendry when he was reigning

:03:53. > :04:01.champion, so it is not nice to be beaten in the first round after

:04:02. > :04:12.winning it. It was a tough draw, but I made too many mistakes myself.

:04:13. > :04:15.That play to Ali The ever generous Stuart Bingham said he hoped that

:04:16. > :04:23.Ali Carter wins the trophy because he deserves it. His words, not mine.

:04:24. > :04:26.35-year-old Alan McManus has a 6-3 lead on friend Stephen Maguire.

:04:27. > :04:33.Ricky Walden could do damage against Robbie Williams. Four time World

:04:34. > :04:38.Champion John Higgins plays Ryan Day tomorrow. Judd Trump waits until

:04:39. > :04:43.Wednesday to play Liang Wenbo. And Ding Junhui, a qualifier this year,

:04:44. > :04:51.against Martin gold. Two champions, Mark Williams and Graeme Dott,

:04:52. > :04:55.playing tonight. The mercy and Anthony McGill match going all the

:04:56. > :05:02.way this morning. And Marco Fu's odds slashed to 5-1 after doing so

:05:03. > :05:07.well against Peter Ebdon. And Ronnie is bidding for his sixth world title

:05:08. > :05:11.against David Gilbert this afternoon. And mark Allen start

:05:12. > :05:14.against the only new boy this year, Mitchell Mann from Birmingham.

:05:15. > :05:26.Masters champion Kyren Wilson against a well fancied player.

:05:27. > :05:31.Stuart Bingham, current World Champion is out, struck by the

:05:32. > :05:38.Crucible curse. And a great response by Ali Carter to beat him. Tough on

:05:39. > :05:41.Stuart because he did everything he could. But the level of attention

:05:42. > :05:45.that comes with him into the Crucible, no matter how hard he

:05:46. > :05:49.tries to deflect that attention, they first-time winner has ever

:05:50. > :05:52.successfully defended it. You know that all eyes are upon you and

:05:53. > :05:55.instead of playing the game as you normally do, one part of you is

:05:56. > :06:00.wondering what people are thinking about your chances. Can you remember

:06:01. > :06:04.coming back as defending champion for the first time? Was it a

:06:05. > :06:07.different mindset for you? I had a good season and I won tournaments

:06:08. > :06:11.but as the tournament got closer, the pressure started to build, and I

:06:12. > :06:15.realised the importance and how difficult the mountain is to climb.

:06:16. > :06:18.Until you win the World Championship, you don't know how

:06:19. > :06:22.tough it is. When you have won it, you can be more scared of the

:06:23. > :06:27.mountain, and that is where the problem lies. You need more years to

:06:28. > :06:29.reflect on her back for more. He went through the full gamut of

:06:30. > :06:35.emotion, going behind, then coming back and then losing in a final

:06:36. > :06:41.frame decider. Sickening for him. Yes, it is. I don't know if we will

:06:42. > :06:45.ever get a first time defending champion going on to win because the

:06:46. > :06:49.pressure builds. But he handled himself perfectly and it was a good

:06:50. > :06:53.performance. And the standards are just so high. Yes, they are, and it

:06:54. > :06:58.will be difficult for anybody to win it, never mind a first timer.

:06:59. > :07:02.Stuart Bingham is still clinging on to with hopes of ascending to the

:07:03. > :07:05.world number one spot. He is provisionally world number two and

:07:06. > :07:09.provided that nobody in the top ten at the moment goes on to win the

:07:10. > :07:12.title, he will stay there at world number one. We will see. Ronnie

:07:13. > :07:16.O'Sullivan knows what it takes to win this title, having done so five

:07:17. > :07:20.times before and being world number one as well. Everybody here is

:07:21. > :07:23.looking forward to his arrival this afternoon. He plays world number two

:07:24. > :07:39.David Gilbert from Staffordshire. Everybody was watching this morning

:07:40. > :07:41.a potentially very tight match between Shaun Murphy and young

:07:42. > :07:43.Anthony McGill from Glasgow. Shaun Murphy is one of the game's great

:07:44. > :07:46.that everyone including his peers thinks that. It is tough talking

:07:47. > :07:50.about somebody when they are sitting next to you, so we should include

:07:51. > :08:00.that person in the conversation. And when he is in with alarm's -- arm's

:08:01. > :08:05.reach. Your cue action, you can flatter to deceive, but right from

:08:06. > :08:08.the start, your cue action has been your strength. You have obviously

:08:09. > :08:14.studied the game, and you realise that you want to get everything in

:08:15. > :08:18.place that gives you the best solid platform to give you any solid

:08:19. > :08:22.talent that you can produce. I was very lucky that as a child my dad

:08:23. > :08:26.took me aside and taught me the basics of the game. He really

:08:27. > :08:32.hammered home the importance of good basics. And a good strike. We used

:08:33. > :08:37.to have lots of different practice routines to generate straight cueing

:08:38. > :08:41.and consistency, going through open matchboxes and all sorts, with the

:08:42. > :08:45.contents taken out. If the box moved, it failed. It was all about

:08:46. > :08:51.gearing up for a good, straight action. When you are analysing,

:08:52. > :08:54.watching from the commentary box, it is one beautiful motion, back and

:08:55. > :09:00.forwards like a piston. Through the cue ball. Safety play, tactical

:09:01. > :09:03.play, I am much better at it than I ever have been but I don't want to

:09:04. > :09:07.do it, I did get enjoyment from it but at the end of the day I am

:09:08. > :09:11.playing snooker to win it. Now I am more mature, I understand that I

:09:12. > :09:14.have got to play that style of game sometimes to compete in tournaments

:09:15. > :09:20.but I would much rather go for my shots, enjoy the game and see what

:09:21. > :09:23.happens. Do you think that is the reason sometimes what you have not

:09:24. > :09:27.been as successful as you possibly could be? You have come unstuck

:09:28. > :09:33.against players that we would say, in the studio, in the commentary

:09:34. > :09:38.box, that you should win easily? You have let things slip. Absolutely. I

:09:39. > :09:42.am guilty of playing the wrong shot at the wrong time. But when I am on

:09:43. > :09:45.the hill, just needing one more to go to get the victory, I like to

:09:46. > :09:50.press for the victory. I don't want to wait for my opponent to give me

:09:51. > :09:54.the chance. Sometimes I have beaten myself, played too aggressively,

:09:55. > :09:57.opened up the pack unnecessarily, stuff like that, and it has come

:09:58. > :10:02.back to want me and I am still learning. You should take a leaf out

:10:03. > :10:07.of mine and Stephen Hendry's book, which is to be a bad, bad loser.

:10:08. > :10:11.After the match is finished, there and then, if I am asked questions

:10:12. > :10:14.and I am the runner up, I am genuinely pleased for my opponent

:10:15. > :10:18.and thankful for the opportunities that I have had. But when I get home

:10:19. > :10:25.and I have got to think about it, I get annoyed about things. A bit

:10:26. > :10:33.annoyed? A little bit? Yes. Terrible. This morning Shaun Murphy

:10:34. > :10:36.return for the deciding session against the man ranked 27 places

:10:37. > :10:43.below him in the world, Anthony McGill from Glasgow. He comes on to

:10:44. > :10:50.The Smiths Charming Man, and my goodness did he charm everybody last

:10:51. > :10:54.year. He went on to knock out the defending champion Mark Selby, and

:10:55. > :10:58.the 25-year-old from Glasgow went on to meet and lose to Shaun Murphy in

:10:59. > :11:04.the quarterfinal. A rematch going on. It has been a fascinating match

:11:05. > :11:08.so far. They finished their first session 4-5, the five in Shaun

:11:09. > :11:17.Murphy's favour. They came back this morning to finish it all off and it

:11:18. > :11:23.went 6-6, but Anthony McGill took the lead. Shaun Murphy has dug in to

:11:24. > :11:26.win the next and so now he trailed 7-8. Here we join them in the fifth,

:11:27. > :11:48.Murphy seven points adrift. Shaun Murphy is renowned as being

:11:49. > :11:52.one of the best rest players in the world. He is excellent with it. We

:11:53. > :11:53.have seen a couple of balls missing the middle pocket already this

:11:54. > :12:15.morning. The pink is not easy. Yes, he missed the red. A bit more

:12:16. > :12:21.difficult than in the previous frame but that was very missable indeed.

:12:22. > :12:36.Quite a good distance. Not the best shot he has ever

:12:37. > :12:45.played. He will need a good one to continue this break. Will he take on

:12:46. > :12:51.the long blue or the long green? Looking at the green. He seems

:12:52. > :12:58.pretty confident, but this is tough under the circumstances. He has

:12:59. > :13:08.pushed it out a little bit. He might have got away with it a bit.

:13:09. > :13:20.He can't believe this. That is incredible. Needed a feud deep

:13:21. > :13:24.breaths then, Shaun. Goodness me, my head would have fallen off then.

:13:25. > :13:34.There would have been some head shakes them. That is so cruel. It is

:13:35. > :13:38.amazing what can happen on a 12 by six table. The case on the green

:13:39. > :14:25.slows down the cue ball. -- kiss. If he plays Finn off the black

:14:26. > :14:35.commie have to be careful to get it near the jaws of the green pocket.

:14:36. > :14:42.He really needs to be in between the green and the brown spot with his

:14:43. > :14:47.cable. If he doesn't leave that read on.

:14:48. > :14:51.Just going round to have a look exactly between the brown and green

:14:52. > :15:30.spot, which is fine. Not sure if he hit the cushion

:15:31. > :15:33.first, but he played it towards the pocket, probably hoping to pot the

:15:34. > :16:50.red direct. If he can hit this with a lot of

:16:51. > :16:57.pace, he can bring some reds into play. Trusting with some luck as to

:16:58. > :17:03.where the cue ball is going to land. Not too bad. That has opened up the

:17:04. > :17:26.roads around this pocket here. Just the pace of the brown. Just

:17:27. > :17:47.fell in-off the jaw of the pocket. Great position now.

:17:48. > :18:00.He missed an uncharacteristic pink in the last frame, which cost him.

:18:01. > :18:23.He has just had a quick look at the two reds close together. I think

:18:24. > :18:28.they are plant. As soon as he puts this red, the two in chloro to the

:18:29. > :18:29.right of his cue ball, into the corner pocket, which will help as

:18:30. > :18:48.well. He is looking pretty con posed,

:18:49. > :18:51.looking around the table, at a brisk pace, it have to be said. A sign of

:18:52. > :19:32.confidence. This is where the plant certainly

:19:33. > :19:46.comes to his rescue. 52 ahead, 75 remaining. A couple of reds with

:19:47. > :19:57.high value colours. He will be two up with three to play. He is not on

:19:58. > :20:17.the black, but the forward pink to the left centre.

:20:18. > :20:23.I know this young man played very well last year in this championship.

:20:24. > :20:24.He has certainly improved since then. An outstanding performance,

:20:25. > :20:51.win or lose. This red to make sure of it. There.

:20:52. > :21:01.He only needs one more frame for a place in the last 16. Shaun Murphy

:21:02. > :21:04.has his back against the wall. Some people, some players, love the

:21:05. > :21:10.Crucible and some find it very hard to play here. And for a rookie, and

:21:11. > :21:17.to be fair he is still a rookie in the big-time, he seems to thrive on

:21:18. > :21:37.playing at the Crucible. He seems to be enjoying himself, very relaxed.

:21:38. > :21:44.In the whole match there has only been two frames which hasn't been 50

:21:45. > :21:51.or above, so the quality has been excellent. Murphy nearly made a

:21:52. > :22:00.century in the last frame. Anthony McGill to make one here.

:22:01. > :22:39.His best has been 119 in this match, in the second frame.

:22:40. > :22:43.Broke down on two occasions already this morning to make a century and

:22:44. > :23:03.it looks like it might break down again.

:23:04. > :23:15.Good pot. Excellent. This blue will be the eighth century of the

:23:16. > :23:53.tournament so far. Well played. Absolutely magnificent from Anthony

:23:54. > :24:00.McGill. 117, taking him one frame away from victory. He now leads 9-7.

:24:01. > :24:13.Shaun Murphy has got his back against the wall. Can he do it? It

:24:14. > :24:17.is going to be interesting. Anthony breaks off in the 17th frame. What

:24:18. > :24:31.is left in this match? Shaun Murphy has done it before, no

:24:32. > :24:37.doubt about it. He will rely on his memories of fear when he won the

:24:38. > :24:41.trophy, of course. He has some great memories. The final against Stuart

:24:42. > :24:51.Bingham, when he lost. I don't think Shaun Murphy will

:24:52. > :24:55.shirk at the opportunity, if the situation presents itself, to win

:24:56. > :25:04.the frame or the match if it gets to that stage. Excellent opener. He is

:25:05. > :25:12.certainly not going to change his game. He will be going for the pots.

:25:13. > :25:17.Great pot, but finishing betwixt and between at the minute. This blue is

:25:18. > :26:19.still on, OK. A slight angle on the black but he

:26:20. > :26:23.would have liked to be lower so he could go into the pack and still be

:26:24. > :26:34.on this red. He didn't have the angle that time.

:26:35. > :26:45.He doesn't have to go into the pack. He can go into the red to the right

:26:46. > :26:54.of the pack and still be on for the bottom left-hand corner pocket. Nice

:26:55. > :27:03.shot, terrific. He has a nice angle to bring some reds into play here.

:27:04. > :27:08.That is OK. That is all right. Perfectly legitimate. It bounced

:27:09. > :27:13.over all of the pack. As long as you don't bounce over the object ball!

:27:14. > :27:18.Is object here is the red and if he doesn't bounce over the object ball,

:27:19. > :27:22.he can bounce over any ball on the table. I am surprised by that

:27:23. > :27:32.because he was not cueing down the ball. It was weird the way that took

:27:33. > :27:40.off. Amazing. But he is in prime position still. Still got three or

:27:41. > :27:43.four loose reds. We know that he is capable of winning three frames in

:27:44. > :28:19.20 minutes. He literally cannot miss one ball that he goes for now.

:28:20. > :28:24.Playing the same shot again, by the look of things, looking to flip off

:28:25. > :28:31.the pack. Not got the desired contact. With that kiss on the red

:28:32. > :28:39.ball, he pushes it into play. Both reds will pot. He decided they

:28:40. > :28:46.couldn't. Screwing off the pack, but not leaving an easy one in the

:28:47. > :28:51.middle. This red is on. Always difficult when you are screwing into

:28:52. > :28:55.the pack to get the cue ball coming back towards the cushion. Luckily

:28:56. > :29:25.for him there is a red available. This is really good stuff. Showing a

:29:26. > :29:42.lot of character here. Whatever you need to get in this

:29:43. > :29:47.break, 75 or 74, would it be better for him in respect of winning this

:29:48. > :29:55.match to break down on 80 rather than taking it out of him? I don't

:29:56. > :29:59.agree with that. The more balls you pot, the better you feel. People say

:30:00. > :30:04.don't worry about the century but I think players like to make centuries

:30:05. > :30:08.these days. I agree, but being this far behind, might it take a bit out

:30:09. > :30:15.of him? He has got to do this three times on the trot. Yes, but all

:30:16. > :30:17.morning he has been sitting in the chair. He just wants to get out and

:30:18. > :30:25.pot as many balls as he can. Under pressure, absolutely

:30:26. > :31:14.excellent. Well played. John Murphy, 17. You can see how

:31:15. > :31:18.well he snookers, I suppose. McGill needs only 14 point snooker, but bar

:31:19. > :31:30.that, Murphy will have cut the deficit, just one frame. It is still

:31:31. > :31:33.beyond the realms of possibility, that is why you enter into the

:31:34. > :31:40.philosophy of only making a break and winning the frame, I preferred

:31:41. > :31:44.it when you pot all of the balls, it makes the player feel better. Now he

:31:45. > :31:47.is going to struggle and it will take more out of him, the fact he

:31:48. > :31:57.did not kill off that frame. I did not expect him to miss, you get to

:31:58. > :32:00.80 or 90, then this. The centre is important for sure that this moment

:32:01. > :32:07.in time, winning the match is far more important. McGill's aim would

:32:08. > :32:13.be to put these three reds, we will leave the rednecks to the pink last,

:32:14. > :32:21.it is an easy snooker. -- the red that is next to the pink last. It

:32:22. > :32:24.looks like it was going near... Look at it, it catches the edge. As you

:32:25. > :32:45.said, only the pace of it... The bottom rate does not part, he is

:32:46. > :32:49.going to have to make it... Off of the black. He does not want to hit

:32:50. > :32:53.it too hard, you does not want the pink to move up to fire up the

:32:54. > :33:01.table. He wants to keep one of the reds and the pink in close proximity

:33:02. > :33:04.to each other. He won't take the red in the left corner, he might take

:33:05. > :33:18.the red in that pocket. The problem now is that the red has

:33:19. > :33:22.stayed on the pink spot. So, you cannot do what we thought. Slipping

:33:23. > :33:31.behind the pink after the next couple of shots.

:33:32. > :33:36.Just try to work out whether he parts red and then ping, the pink

:33:37. > :33:39.will go back behind its own spot, will he be able to get the pink off

:33:40. > :33:58.of the last red? -- right down the line to this shot.

:33:59. > :34:49.That will be a rip reef for Shaun Murphy. -- reprieve.

:34:50. > :35:00.APPLAUSE Welcome he missed the yellow, McGill

:35:01. > :35:01.nods to the referee. Murphy has another frame on the board but he

:35:02. > :36:18.trails McGill 9-8. APPLAUSE

:36:19. > :36:25.Frame 18, John Murphy to break. Shaun Murphy, breaking off for his

:36:26. > :36:29.last time. Obviously, if it goes 9-9, he would hope to be breaking

:36:30. > :36:32.off again in this tournament. If he does, he will be into the next

:36:33. > :36:39.round. Look at how the reds have sprung out. Shaun Murphy is looking

:36:40. > :36:43.amused, laughing, he cannot believe how the red has come up the table,

:36:44. > :36:51.it cannot come up the table on a normal break, it is impossible. I

:36:52. > :36:56.know that this is not the right time to discuss it, what we have to try

:36:57. > :37:01.to do in World Snooker is get rid of the table leaders. Let's try, we

:37:02. > :37:05.have to find a way of stopping the bounces and kicks and things. They

:37:06. > :37:11.have tried it, to be honest. It was not very successful. Not successful

:37:12. > :37:24.at all. They have complained about it.

:37:25. > :37:42.If it does part, it is the first chance for McGill. -- pot.

:37:43. > :37:53.From that camera angle, it does not look too bad, does it? Taking the

:37:54. > :38:04.risk, he is looking at a plant into the middle pocket. The reds close

:38:05. > :38:13.together... Definitely not set, it has to be made... Certainly risky.

:38:14. > :38:26.Should he miss it, he will be bringing other reds into play.

:38:27. > :38:35.This could be one of those frames where players will be trying to keep

:38:36. > :38:41.the ball down the centre of the table, because of that red, it is

:38:42. > :38:56.not a frame that the players like to play. This is risky. That was a

:38:57. > :39:03.risky shot. Why didn't he just roll into the pack? Leave a touching

:39:04. > :39:06.ball, bringing all of the reds into play like that? What a chance for

:39:07. > :39:22.Anthony McGill... Always the chance when you play a

:39:23. > :39:26.ball at that pace, coming into the pack, one could spring out and come

:39:27. > :39:31.towards the pocket that you did not expect. Even if it does not come

:39:32. > :39:35.back, back to this corner pocket, there is the chance that one is

:39:36. > :39:39.going to go towards the middle. Yes. But he may not get a better chance

:39:40. > :39:41.to win frame and matching this visit. Look at how these reds are

:39:42. > :40:02.spread. -- match in this visit. What is awkward is that they have

:40:03. > :40:14.blocked the blue into the corner pocket. Maybe they'll be able to get

:40:15. > :40:19.onto the green here. They can try to play for the yellow or the green,

:40:20. > :40:26.the yellow into the middle pocket. It's a little short, green into the

:40:27. > :40:37.corner pocket. Got on the green nicely.

:40:38. > :40:48.You won't get a better chance than this. To win the match in the way

:40:49. > :40:54.that the balls are spread. It's all about composure here. His heart will

:40:55. > :40:57.be racing, no doubt of that, he will be feeling pressure and tension.

:40:58. > :41:19.Just have to keep them in check. It's just a case of holding yourself

:41:20. > :41:27.together now. If he does not which, he will be in the second round. --

:41:28. > :41:29.twitch. That is what he wants to get two, 60 eight. He is at 16 at the

:41:30. > :41:38.moment. At 68. -- 68. Mind you, that is a bit

:41:39. > :42:26.short. 24. That wiped its feet, we've seen

:42:27. > :42:36.three or four missing the middle pocket. Just a series of little

:42:37. > :42:42.screw shots around the pink, needing a bit of caution now. Not straight

:42:43. > :42:55.enough on this thread to get to the black, they have to use the cushion.

:42:56. > :43:00.-- red. His heart will be racing now, even though this is the chance

:43:01. > :43:05.he has been racing for, to close the match. Marco Fu awaits the winner of

:43:06. > :43:52.this match. Again, a straight on the black. It

:43:53. > :43:58.could go wrong this... It could go wrong... He's been very fortunate

:43:59. > :44:13.there. Try to get onto to reds, left the pink. A bit of a result. This

:44:14. > :44:20.will be Shaun Murphy's only chance of staying in the championship, if

:44:21. > :44:30.he misses this... It is there. APPLAUSE

:44:31. > :44:42.That could not be... Putting him into the second round of this year

:44:43. > :44:47.'s World Championship. Just red and black, that will leave Shaun Murphy

:44:48. > :44:51.needing a snooker. That was a good blue under the circumstances. He has

:44:52. > :44:57.potted millions of them, he would have potted many under pressure. He

:44:58. > :45:01.has outplayed Shaun Murphy in this session, he has been fantastic.

:45:02. > :45:15.Every frame one has been 60 or above. Superb. -- won. One more red

:45:16. > :45:27.to be sure... A glance at the scoreboard. A deep breath... Shaun

:45:28. > :45:28.Murphy's last hope is on this shot. He has missed it Proceeds of Crime

:45:29. > :45:43.Act 2002 my God. I -- he has missed it! My God. I don't

:45:44. > :45:48.know how that has gone in! He does not have to do anything. It has

:45:49. > :46:21.worked its feet, pot this black... It's been a wonderful performance

:46:22. > :46:27.for McGill, it has to be said. He's in front in every department, he

:46:28. > :46:31.outplayed him in the safety, in the pots, you knows his friends are in

:46:32. > :46:35.the audience. He looks up to them there. In every department, he is in

:46:36. > :46:51.front of Shaun Murphy in this match. What a way to finish. With a

:46:52. > :47:23.possible century. Can he get behind this red? He needs

:47:24. > :47:31.the cue ball to slow down... That is unlucky. OK, can he

:47:32. > :47:42.fluked it? Hold on, in the middle? Unlucky! McGill, what a fantastic

:47:43. > :47:48.performance for Shaun Murphy. The gentleman as ever, congratulate him.

:47:49. > :47:53.Looking disappointed, Sean, chances missed. But Anthony McGill took his.

:47:54. > :48:01.He finds himself in the second round of the World Championship. He wins

:48:02. > :48:10.by 10-8. Unbelievably, you've done it again! Yes, a phenomenal win for

:48:11. > :48:14.me here. Looking at the players last year, Shaun Murphy was one of the

:48:15. > :48:18.favourites. One of the top players on the planet. It's an amazing win

:48:19. > :48:21.for me. Considering how well you performed last year, we were

:48:22. > :48:25.expecting summing special from you this season, that has not yet

:48:26. > :48:31.happened. Why is it you are able to raise your game at the most

:48:32. > :48:38.important time of the season? It's an amazing arena to place new car

:48:39. > :48:45.in, but the length of the match, it is not easy, these long matches. It

:48:46. > :48:49.feels like a proper game of snooker. Compared to the other formats. When

:48:50. > :48:52.you play a guy like Shaun Murphy, you don't want to embarrass

:48:53. > :48:57.yourself, sort of thing. Did you feel as though you had a chance when

:48:58. > :49:01.you came back in this morning? Did you feel calm and relaxed? I felt

:49:02. > :49:05.good. I thought I was pretty poor yesterday, I thought Shaun Murphy

:49:06. > :49:09.was pretty poor as well, I thought I would not play that badly today.

:49:10. > :49:14.5-4, it could have been worse for me. I came out and tried my best. I

:49:15. > :49:20.got away with a couple of lucky ones. But I guess you need that.

:49:21. > :49:25.Four frames in a row to go 8-6, when you got one back and reduced the

:49:26. > :49:31.lead to 8-7, did you think that he was coming back? -- when he got one

:49:32. > :49:35.back. I don't expect to stroll out, expected to go 10-8, 10-9, I was

:49:36. > :49:45.looking and I could see he was up for a fight. I thought, let's go for

:49:46. > :49:49.it and fight. You are a relaxed and unassuming character, you believe

:49:50. > :49:53.that you have a great chance against Marco Fu, presumably? Two successive

:49:54. > :49:57.quarterfinals? I'm not looking that far ahead, I will go in and try my

:49:58. > :50:06.best against Marco. I don't think I've ever beat him. He is a class

:50:07. > :50:11.act. I will stick at it and see what happens. Being modest as always, a

:50:12. > :50:17.fantastic victory and another upset. Good luck in the second round.

:50:18. > :50:21.Cheers. I've not lost in the first round here many times, I've played

:50:22. > :50:27.much worse than that in the past and got through. In all arenas around

:50:28. > :50:30.the world. In any match, where you make two centuries, several

:50:31. > :50:36.frame-winning breaks with yourself, if you feel good in the balls, where

:50:37. > :50:40.you lose those matches, you have two shake his hand and say well played.

:50:41. > :50:43.It is a two man sport, you play against the other guy and if he does

:50:44. > :50:47.better than you won the day, you shake their hand and wish them the

:50:48. > :50:54.best. Generous as ever from Shaun Murphy, an interesting fact, this is

:50:55. > :50:59.the first time that both finalists have gone out in their first match

:51:00. > :51:02.in round one. It happened in 1980 when Terry Griffiths and Dennis

:51:03. > :51:08.Taylor went out in what was round two, but they had been given a bye

:51:09. > :51:13.through to the next round. It is all change here. Of the three matches

:51:14. > :51:19.completed, Stephen John, that is two qualifiers who have gone out with

:51:20. > :51:23.Stuart Bingham and now Shaun Murphy. Steve, your reaction to the fact

:51:24. > :51:27.that he's done it again, what has he proven again, this young man? He's a

:51:28. > :51:30.great match player, you could say that he likes the venue. Sometimes

:51:31. > :51:36.players like a venue, you can get that. The kind of snooker that

:51:37. > :51:39.McGill plays lends itself well to the longer session matches. The

:51:40. > :51:43.argument could be that the kind of snooker that Shaun Murphy plays does

:51:44. > :51:46.not always lend itself to the cut and thrust and bread and butter type

:51:47. > :51:52.of snooker that you need to do to play to get through the next round

:51:53. > :51:56.of the Crucible. It is panic stations in the early stages. What

:51:57. > :52:03.did you like about his performance? I think that he has Crucible U. He

:52:04. > :52:11.turns up at a venue and loves it and plays his best snooker. --

:52:12. > :52:16.Crucibility. He looks at home in this place. He was helped a bit, but

:52:17. > :52:21.he had a good run at the balls and was helped by his opponent, he was

:52:22. > :52:25.really a bit open today, even by his own standards. I know that you can

:52:26. > :52:30.attack and do as much as you like but sometimes, occasionally, you

:52:31. > :52:34.have to be cute. There was one shot in particular, when it comes to the

:52:35. > :52:38.safety, this was quite poor. He has played to open the pack. And go up

:52:39. > :52:41.to the top cushion, you have to believe with how the balls are lined

:52:42. > :52:45.up, as Willie Thorne said in commentary, you will come back to

:52:46. > :52:49.the top cushion. At this level, arguably it is a shot that you don't

:52:50. > :52:53.have to play. I don't think John Higgins would have played that, he

:52:54. > :52:57.saw the risk and would have played a more containing shot. Sometimes you

:52:58. > :53:04.had to swallow it and play your bead game and wait for your chances.

:53:05. > :53:08.Shaun Murphy has said he does not want to play that, we aren't taking

:53:09. > :53:12.him out, he wants to make it open, and keep playing the positive shots.

:53:13. > :53:18.The trouble is sometimes against the quality of standard of players, you

:53:19. > :53:26.will be an picked. He has two accept that that is how he plays. As you

:53:27. > :53:30.say, you try to change, and he went back. You will win some tournaments

:53:31. > :53:33.in the season because he is too good a player and two good a scorer but

:53:34. > :53:38.he will lose the odd match from playing like that. Someone will have

:53:39. > :53:42.to play well to beat him, that is what happened here, four centuries

:53:43. > :53:47.in the match, it two from each guy, McGill made six other plus 50s. A

:53:48. > :53:51.strong performance from him? There lies a problem for the players

:53:52. > :53:57.seeded through, year upon year they come against better quality hard and

:53:58. > :54:02.match players. Not only do they get a full season worth of matches to

:54:03. > :54:05.cut their teeth on but they have three matches to get through to the

:54:06. > :54:12.Crucible. You could say that they may be worn out but on the other

:54:13. > :54:13.hand they are match sharp. For the first time in history, it is the two

:54:14. > :54:23.fellas that contested last year 's final who are out. Thank you for the

:54:24. > :54:25.stats and figures that were provided.

:54:26. > :54:29.One match finishes this morning, another has just started. It

:54:30. > :54:32.featured Robbie Williams from Merseyside, world number 57 making

:54:33. > :54:36.his third appearance here, up against Ricky Walden, world number

:54:37. > :54:41.nine. It has been a funny season for him, he became a father to Percy

:54:42. > :54:46.last November. A lack of sleep did not help his game. He would be the

:54:47. > :54:49.first to admit that for a good six months, but normal service resumed

:54:50. > :54:53.in the last few weeks, Walden reached the finals of two major

:54:54. > :54:59.events in Manchester and Beijing. This morning, they were 2-2 at the

:55:00. > :55:04.interval. It has not been scintillating, top break 33 from

:55:05. > :55:07.Walden, 41 from Williams. Yet win a match in two previous appearances

:55:08. > :55:19.here let's pick them up from frame five, John Virgo and Stephen Hendry

:55:20. > :55:23.commentating. COMMENTATOR: He did not catch that

:55:24. > :55:31.quite as intended. He has left the pot on. The problem is, you play it

:55:32. > :55:47.and hope for position on the colour. It would be difficult to avoid the

:55:48. > :55:52.other reds, just don't miss the pot. You need a bit of luck. He has left

:55:53. > :55:57.himself a pink on the far right corner. A bit of pressure on it he

:55:58. > :56:01.does not have to do anything with the cue ball to do the next red, but

:56:02. > :56:10.if he misses the pink, you will be there for his opponent.

:56:11. > :56:45.The pink looks like it is available to the right corner. The chance to

:56:46. > :56:49.score. He could get a viewpoint here in this frame, before he has to

:56:50. > :57:01.think about going into the pack -- a few points. He let the cue ball

:57:02. > :57:07.run... Just let it run loose. Such a simple shot, but a poor shot, you

:57:08. > :57:11.put yourself under pressure to play a good positional shot the next

:57:12. > :57:25.time. You still expect him to get it. Try and make this came as easy

:57:26. > :57:41.as possible. -- game. He is back in good position now. He has got an

:57:42. > :57:50.angle to disturb a few of the reds if he wants. There are enough loose

:57:51. > :57:51.reds at the moment. Nice. Start thinking about it sooner rather than

:57:52. > :58:22.later. So, one more red after this one.

:58:23. > :58:27.Going into the pack of of the blue. Where the pink is, if he hits it, it

:58:28. > :58:45.may not open the reds up that much. He is going to have to play for the

:58:46. > :58:51.remaining loose red here. Not enough angle on the blue to force the cue

:58:52. > :59:10.ball into the main bunch. As Stephen said, there is a loose red.

:59:11. > :59:18.Trying to get it off of two oceans, that is what he is attempting, and

:59:19. > :59:26.it works out nicely. Very nicely -- conditions. A great shot. Plenty of

:59:27. > :59:39.left-hand side to generate that pays around the corner of the cushions.

:59:40. > :59:42.He may choose to play the same shot here on the opposite side of the

:59:43. > :00:03.table. The Reg to the right of the pink is

:00:04. > :00:11.what he is looking at, he is left-handed and can get on that one

:00:12. > :00:15.nicely. This cue ball is going to be... Going between a gap between

:00:16. > :00:18.the reds and the pink. A guaranteed position here. He has two hit it

:00:19. > :00:45.well. Pressure on this pink. Bit as verse

:00:46. > :00:47.firmly as that. -- bit averse to hitting it as firmly as that. This

:00:48. > :00:56.frame could be decided by this pot. Yes, cued it nicely, very nicely. He

:00:57. > :01:42.has got the frame at his mercy now. He just underhit that's likely. But

:01:43. > :01:59.he is OK. A lot of noise coming from the other

:02:00. > :02:03.side of the screen. That is why Robbie is just taking a moment or

:02:04. > :02:16.two to let it settle down. Big chance, this.

:02:17. > :02:24.The action of the cue ball after he potted the red. This is better from

:02:25. > :02:35.Robbie Williams. First 50 break of the match. Can't see any problem

:02:36. > :02:39.with the next three reds. He needs to win this in one visit with a big

:02:40. > :02:43.break. It would give him so much confidence. Looking for the pink and

:02:44. > :03:06.one more red to clinch the frame. This may spur Ricky on, I was

:03:07. > :03:12.thinking, the fact his opponent is starting to score. Sometimes when

:03:13. > :03:16.one player struggles, it drags the other down and the opposite as well.

:03:17. > :03:23.One player playing well can inspire the other.

:03:24. > :03:32.As you said before, sometimes the balls dictate, John.

:03:33. > :03:44.That didn't go in. 67 point lead, 69 remaining, it should be enough. It

:03:45. > :03:49.was indeed enough and the top break of the match so far is the 67 from

:03:50. > :03:52.Robbie Williams and it is the qualifier in control once again, a

:03:53. > :03:56.pattern we have seen over the next few days. Onto the next and it is

:03:57. > :04:16.Ricky at this time. Amazing. There it is, the Crucible,

:04:17. > :04:23.the crowd so close. If you are not playing well, it feels worse than

:04:24. > :04:34.anywhere, any venue in the world. Good, solid pot. Getting the blue, a

:04:35. > :04:42.little plant on the two reds near the right middle. Shouldn't be a

:04:43. > :04:49.problem. The chances for Robbie Williams are coming thick and fast.

:04:50. > :04:55.He doesn't have to do anything. He just has got to get out of his seat

:04:56. > :05:00.and come to the table and pot balls. He has got to take the risk here and

:05:01. > :05:03.go for the pink. He has got to be on the red at least to right middle.

:05:04. > :05:20.Well done. He can't play the cue ball exactly

:05:21. > :05:22.where he wants because he is hampered but he should be on a

:05:23. > :05:55.colour. Playing for the red to the right

:05:56. > :06:02.corner. Not enough back spin. May have one to the left corner here.

:06:03. > :06:08.The one immediately above the black. Of course in playing mat, a bit more

:06:09. > :06:18.freedom, can come back up for green or brown.

:06:19. > :06:34.Yes, nice pot. He has got a better angle on the brown now. And if you

:06:35. > :06:49.loose reds in the middle of the table. This is a good chance.

:06:50. > :07:00.Well, I have no idea what he played for them. The red closest to the

:07:01. > :07:04.question is the one he should have been playing for, off two cushions.

:07:05. > :07:10.I can only assume he played for the red closest to the cue ball and

:07:11. > :07:17.overhit it. But still it was a strange red to play for. Had to get

:07:18. > :07:25.the cue ball in the middle of the table somewhere and then he would

:07:26. > :07:46.have had a choice of reds. Good opportunity went begging.

:07:47. > :08:00.That is a bit more like it. Good pot. Not ideal on the brown. That is

:08:01. > :08:08.as good a shot as he has played in the match so far. Just have to

:08:09. > :08:16.concentrate on the pot to be automatically on the red.

:08:17. > :08:21.You can't see anything going wrong from this position, but the way he

:08:22. > :08:27.has been playing so far, nothing is guaranteed.

:08:28. > :08:39.Just one point behind, so this black will get him in front on points.

:08:40. > :08:43.Enough loose reds in the middle of the table, and if he gets those, he

:08:44. > :08:48.will get to the snooker required stage, so I can't see a problem that

:08:49. > :08:54.we have said that if you times this morning. -- but we have said that a

:08:55. > :10:14.few times. Pink and one more red. This is more

:10:15. > :10:23.like it from Ricky Walden. This is what we expected. It has been some

:10:24. > :10:27.time coming. And now snooker is required for Robbie Williams, who

:10:28. > :10:32.will have been disappointed to lose this frame, because he had a couple

:10:33. > :11:30.of chances. Poor positional shots let him down.

:11:31. > :11:38.Well, it has taken six frames, but that is a bit more like the Ricky

:11:39. > :11:43.Walden we expect. He slaps the table as if to say to himself, that is

:11:44. > :11:48.more like it. Robbie Williams misses an opportunity. We are all square

:11:49. > :11:53.again, 3-3. All square and Ricky Walden beginning to find his stride,

:11:54. > :11:58.it would appear. A struggle for the two of them so far. Waldon is a

:11:59. > :12:01.former event winner and semifinalist at the Crucible before is up in the

:12:02. > :12:21.next, but not by much. Not too bad. Always got to be

:12:22. > :12:28.careful when you are playing this one that you don't get the double

:12:29. > :12:32.kiss. That has worked out very nicely. It could not have worked out

:12:33. > :12:43.better because he has released the brown now. Not as difficult as it

:12:44. > :12:54.was. This frame is now well and truly in the balance.

:12:55. > :13:03.He may have played the double-kiss safety. It has worked out all wrong

:13:04. > :13:05.with the cue ball running into the pink. What a chance now for Robbie

:13:06. > :13:51.Williams to regain the lead. This blue will make the points all

:13:52. > :13:55.square. Pink and black for an unexpected win. Ricky Walden had so

:13:56. > :14:05.many chances in this frame and he will be very disappointed to lose.

:14:06. > :14:19.But the writing looks to be on the wall now.

:14:20. > :14:28.Yes. That is a frame that Ricky Walden let slip away. He always

:14:29. > :14:31.looked in control, but in the end, a couple of poor safety shots and

:14:32. > :14:38.Robbie Williams goes in front once again 4-3. And indeed this is the

:14:39. > :14:43.end of session score. Williams, the qualifier, who has been here twice

:14:44. > :14:47.before and never yet won a match, but in command here. 5-4 in front

:14:48. > :14:51.and they will be back tomorrow evening to finish off their match.

:14:52. > :14:56.We are building towards the arrival of Roddy O'Sullivan who comes to the

:14:57. > :15:01.Crucible for a 24th campaign, pretending to win a sixth world

:15:02. > :15:05.title. -- Ronnie O'Sullivan. He is on the table at 2:30pm this

:15:06. > :15:08.afternoon and we will have his opening match live against David

:15:09. > :15:18.Gilbert. That is one of the subjects we are discussing now.

:15:19. > :15:26.Once again we have been joined by Jason Ferguson, who is the chairman

:15:27. > :15:30.of the governing body. Great to see you again. We were here yesterday

:15:31. > :15:35.and you discussed at length with our friends the fact that the qualifying

:15:36. > :15:38.process has been fascinating, interesting, and it has thrown up

:15:39. > :15:42.some stories, but one that it has grown up that we did not discuss was

:15:43. > :15:48.the one that was featuring in around one at the Crucible. It was this

:15:49. > :15:52.one. In the qualifying process, which is pretty tough, there was a

:15:53. > :15:59.man, Steve Davis, attempting to get through to the Crucible for the 31st

:16:00. > :16:03.time in his career. 38 years a professional, since 1978. He was up

:16:04. > :16:08.against Fergal O'Brien. He said yesterday that he treated it as a

:16:09. > :16:14.nice day out. He didn't win, obviously, but this was his reaction

:16:15. > :16:25.at the time when he had lost. To oblivion and beyond! What did you

:16:26. > :16:30.mean by that? That was my last match as a professional. I am calling it a

:16:31. > :16:34.day. I thought I would follow in your footsteps and Jason's and

:16:35. > :16:37.Stephen Hendry's. I called Barry and I said it was on my mind to enter

:16:38. > :16:43.the World Championship and make it my last and to retire. Barry said,

:16:44. > :16:51.Steve, you retired ten years ago but we didn't have the heart to tell

:16:52. > :16:54.you! Typical Barry response! My father passed away recently and I

:16:55. > :16:59.think it was the team thing. It is time to call it a day. He got 289, a

:17:00. > :17:11.bigger break than I made in that match against Fergal! -- he got to

:17:12. > :17:15.89. Time to call it a day. Are you happy with the decision now? I

:17:16. > :17:20.should have done it ages ago. I think I played for my father. That

:17:21. > :17:28.is what happens. Delighted to have had such a great time in the game.

:17:29. > :17:33.Lucky that your hobby becomes your profession. How lucky are we all in

:17:34. > :17:37.that respect? And also the fact that without sounding like I am blowing

:17:38. > :17:40.people's trumpets, if it wasn't for somebody in the BBC down the line

:17:41. > :17:44.making the decision that snooker was going to be shown on the television,

:17:45. > :17:48.none of us would have had such a great life, so it has been a

:17:49. > :17:52.fantastic journey. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I would like to shake

:17:53. > :17:57.your hand for the first time as someone who is officially retired

:17:58. > :18:00.and welcome you to the official retirement club. Congratulations,

:18:01. > :18:03.Steve. You have talked about this game giving you say much but you

:18:04. > :18:09.have given us so much as a player, and a friend and colleague at the

:18:10. > :18:18.BBC. How much has Jason given to snooker? I am speechless. -- how

:18:19. > :18:21.much has he given to snooker, Jason? I am speechless. Thank you for

:18:22. > :18:24.providing that inspiration to me. As a young player I watched you win

:18:25. > :18:29.that championship and I read your book afterwards, as many of us did

:18:30. > :18:35.during that time. At that time, I could never have imagined that I

:18:36. > :18:40.would get to play Steve on the table or get to help to run the sport with

:18:41. > :18:44.him. Very proud to have Steve with us. I know it was a difficult

:18:45. > :18:48.decision. You retired when you are part of our broadcasting folder as

:18:49. > :18:54.well, but has it come as no surprise to you, John? Yes. When you get up

:18:55. > :18:57.in the morning, you expect the sunshine and Steve Davis to have a

:18:58. > :19:01.cue in his hand! I remember being 13 and going to the Albert hotel in

:19:02. > :19:07.Liverpool where the big tournaments were played, and this fellow turned

:19:08. > :19:12.up. He took his cue out of the case, took three shots, and my father said

:19:13. > :19:17.World Champion. I said what? He said World Champion. Six times champion

:19:18. > :19:19.of the world and he was inspirational to me starting. I

:19:20. > :19:23.couldn't tell him because I had to grow up and play him and I had some

:19:24. > :19:31.dumplings over the years. Fantastic matches. Was always the benchmark.

:19:32. > :19:37.If you gave Steve a run for your money, you were doing well. I was

:19:38. > :19:44.able to come in when the game was blossoming. Recently there has been

:19:45. > :19:48.that Rack Pack on BBC iPlayer, looking back at the history of the

:19:49. > :19:52.game. I was there at the start, turning professional in September 19

:19:53. > :19:58.78. You are lucky as a snooker player to have a long career if you

:19:59. > :20:01.wanted. That golden era will never be repeated again. It will move onto

:20:02. > :20:05.other places and get even bigger but it was great to be there at the

:20:06. > :20:10.start. It is lovely when you feel like you are the grandfather of it,

:20:11. > :20:14.a bit. Very strange. You are far too modest so we will let the pictures

:20:15. > :20:17.say it but I was trying to sum up your career and there are so many

:20:18. > :20:24.statistics and facts and figures. Six time World Champion, six time UK

:20:25. > :20:26.champion, three Masters, 30 appearances at the Crucible. Sports

:20:27. > :20:32.Personality Of The Year, runner up and in the top three more times than

:20:33. > :20:40.anyone. That is not bad. MBE, OBE, rear of the year winner, yes. 28

:20:41. > :20:44.world ranking titles, appeared in 100 majors finals. Made the first

:20:45. > :20:47.official 147 break. While we digester news, here are some of the

:20:48. > :21:03.many interesting moments from Steve Davis's career.

:21:04. > :21:21.That is it. The World Snooker Championship Steve Davis.

:21:22. > :21:29.And it goes to the fabulous Steve Davis.

:21:30. > :22:20.He has had so many nicknames over the years. Ginger Musician, The

:22:21. > :22:30.Nougat, The Citrus Twin alongside John Parrott. DJ Thunder Muscle.

:22:31. > :22:34.What is that about? I do a radio show and we play some electronic

:22:35. > :22:39.music and at the weekend, somebody said did I want to DJ and it was a

:22:40. > :22:45.great experience. I do love my music. There are so many different

:22:46. > :22:49.facets to Steve Davis that I don't think Jason and John really knew

:22:50. > :22:53.about when he was playing. Did you really know this man when you are

:22:54. > :22:59.competing against him? Did anybody really know him? No. I thought it

:23:00. > :23:04.was only programmed to speak at press conferences when he won. He

:23:05. > :23:09.didn't speak to anybody to 20 years that he was too busy picking up

:23:10. > :23:12.trophies. He was away from the other players but he was the ultimate

:23:13. > :23:16.competitor and that was the way he was. He was that player that

:23:17. > :23:22.everybody modelled themselves on for a while. It was a technique. He was

:23:23. > :23:26.like a robot. We all learned to sip water as players because that is

:23:27. > :23:34.what Steve Davis did. I have to say, having spent time with Steve, people

:23:35. > :23:38.thought he was a bit boring but he is a pleasure to have around and he

:23:39. > :23:43.is a great character for those that know him, as you guys do. We have

:23:44. > :23:47.all got to know him over 15 years of broadcasting. If you want to see

:23:48. > :23:51.more of the DJ, it is on the iPlayer if you are so inclined. I know that

:23:52. > :23:58.Dennis and Stephen in the commentary box, hard at work today, you have

:23:59. > :24:03.just heard the news as well. I think 1985, that Mr black, was one of the

:24:04. > :24:07.most influential and important shots in snooker. You benefited clearly,

:24:08. > :24:12.but give us your reaction to Steve saying farewell to the game. It is a

:24:13. > :24:15.sad day because he changed snooker completely when he came on the

:24:16. > :24:19.scenes. He was the first player to put in six or seven hours of

:24:20. > :24:23.practice and the only way to get any chance against him was to put in the

:24:24. > :24:29.practice as well. I will never get the first time I met him. Well, I

:24:30. > :24:37.didn't meet him. I saw him at the festival of snooker, contents, where

:24:38. > :24:41.we all walked round with snooker queues, and I looked in through the

:24:42. > :24:45.window and I saw long ginger hair, sleeves rolled up, and then he

:24:46. > :24:48.cleared the table and then again. I didn't know who it was but I hoped I

:24:49. > :24:53.would never see him again. I did see him for many years and I have had

:24:54. > :24:55.some fantastic shows with Steve where we have gone around the

:24:56. > :25:01.country doing lunches and dinners and he is a pleasure to work with.

:25:02. > :25:05.So funny. I think he could still carry on but he wouldn't be prepared

:25:06. > :25:09.to put the five or six hours practising that you need to with

:25:10. > :25:15.these boys. What an ambassador he has been for the game of snooker.

:25:16. > :25:18.Absolutely fantastic. Stephen, you loved winning and Steve loved

:25:19. > :25:21.winning, but when you couldn't win titles any more, Steve continued

:25:22. > :25:27.trying to win matches, which was enough for him. Did you understand

:25:28. > :25:32.that mentality? Not at all. I had many conversations with him about

:25:33. > :25:36.it. How can you lose to people you should never lose to? He said he

:25:37. > :25:40.treated it as a day out and I can't do that. I have to say thank you to

:25:41. > :25:46.you. He was the best person to learn to be miserable from and I think I

:25:47. > :25:50.have done him proud. Fantastic. I am sure there will be much more

:25:51. > :25:54.reaction to Steve's decision to call it a day after 38 years as a

:25:55. > :25:59.professional. From someone who has won six world titles to a man trying

:26:00. > :26:03.to attempt to match your record of six and then go for the record of

:26:04. > :26:06.seven at the Crucible, and that is Ronnie O'Sullivan, just about to

:26:07. > :26:14.make his 24th appearance here at the Crucible in Sheffield. This is the

:26:15. > :26:24.ultimate event. Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the World Championship! It is a

:26:25. > :26:29.great atmosphere. What a tournament. O'Sullivan has been simply

:26:30. > :26:34.magnificent. It is the World Championships and it has a special

:26:35. > :26:42.feeling about it. What a performance from Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:26:43. > :26:48.This is the home of snooker, if you like. The people of Sheffield come

:26:49. > :26:53.out to support this event. Even the people walking around Sheffield, it

:26:54. > :27:00.is like they are spotting snooker players. All right, Ronnie! It has

:27:01. > :27:04.that village feel. If I had a choice of where to live in England, I would

:27:05. > :27:11.probably want to live in Sheffield. Where better to spend 17 days

:27:12. > :27:14.hopefully? When I first came here, I was so excited, so young, and I felt

:27:15. > :27:21.like I was living the dream. Now sometimes it feels like living the

:27:22. > :27:27.nightmare. I don't mean that! I have nothing to prove to myself and to

:27:28. > :27:36.anybody that has followed snooker. I need to find the motivation in other

:27:37. > :27:45.ways. It is important to leave the snooker fans with memories of great

:27:46. > :27:50.sporting moments. What a fantastic maximum break! It is just about

:27:51. > :27:58.trying to enjoy the process, if you like. And just see it as a vacation.

:27:59. > :28:02.My preparation hasn't been great and that is my own fault. If I am to

:28:03. > :28:08.come through this tournament, if I can get through my first match, then

:28:09. > :28:12.I think I will have a better chance of knowing where I am at and whether

:28:13. > :28:20.I have the game to go on and win the trophy. The most important match for

:28:21. > :28:24.me will be the first one, I think. I like Dave's game. Great technique,

:28:25. > :28:27.great strike of the ball, and coming through the junior ranks, he was

:28:28. > :28:30.coming through with the likes of Shaun Murphy and he plays a really

:28:31. > :28:39.good game. Hopefully we can both take each other to a good level.

:28:40. > :28:43.Well, his opponents Dave Gilbert said he had a nervous giggle to

:28:44. > :28:49.himself when the draw was made on Thursday. 34 years old, a former

:28:50. > :28:52.potato farmer, 22 in the world. He has enjoyed a breakthrough season

:28:53. > :28:55.and a terrific run to the final of the international championship last

:28:56. > :29:03.November, the biggest event outside the UK. He lost to John Higgins. The

:29:04. > :29:06.newlywed's biggest payday and it helped to pay for his new house with

:29:07. > :29:10.his wife Abigail. He has only ever played The Rocket once before and

:29:11. > :29:15.that was five years ago, losing 4-1 in a minor event. It is Dave's

:29:16. > :29:19.fourth appearance at the Crucible. Ronnie has played 22 matches since

:29:20. > :29:26.his return on the 19th of December. And he has won 20 of them, including

:29:27. > :29:30.the Masters title, and of course the Welsh Open. John Parrott, not a bad

:29:31. > :29:35.old record, having taken eight months out, and having six weeks off

:29:36. > :29:39.to prepare for this. Short favourite for the championship. 7-4 before the

:29:40. > :29:43.start of it and he deserves that because he has probably got a decent

:29:44. > :29:46.draw. There are good players in there, but there are players in his

:29:47. > :29:52.section who he has beaten before and quite regularly. We are looking at

:29:53. > :29:54.him having a good run. He mentioned enjoying the process in the

:29:55. > :29:58.interview and that is the important thing for him. If he can come here

:29:59. > :30:02.and put it all in for 17 days, he is the man to beat. He is the man to

:30:03. > :30:07.beat, and so say the bookmakers. He will be coming out very shortly. In

:30:08. > :30:11.terms of the eight-month lay-off, he admitted he was very rusty but he

:30:12. > :30:16.still won the Masters title in January. He was in devastating form

:30:17. > :30:19.at the Welsh Open and blitzed everybody there. And he is writing

:30:20. > :30:26.what he says. The first round is the most important. He had 11 months off

:30:27. > :30:30.and had Marcus Campbell in the first round. He did not be at his

:30:31. > :30:33.brilliant best but he made some good clearances and then ran through the

:30:34. > :30:34.whole field. What he said about the opening match, it is very important

:30:35. > :30:43.for him. Do you detect the appetite is there

:30:44. > :30:47.to win a sixth world title? After that interview, definitely. He's in

:30:48. > :30:51.a good place in his life, I spoke to him the other week, we played in a

:30:52. > :30:56.series of doubles and we were beaten on a re-spotted black, we were -- he

:30:57. > :31:01.was on a good run until I came along. He will be out shortly, I

:31:02. > :31:08.know that Rob Walker is standing by in the arena earlier than he would

:31:09. > :31:11.normally be. Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, what

:31:12. > :31:15.a moment for one man waiting backstage and what a moment this is

:31:16. > :31:20.for everyone gathered in this auditorium that he made famous,

:31:21. > :31:25.nobody here has heard the announcement. To reiterate, finally

:31:26. > :31:29.after so many years as a pro, after collecting six world titles, the

:31:30. > :31:33.legend that is Steve Davis has finally announced his retirement as

:31:34. > :31:36.a player. We thought it was appropriate that you, the crowd in

:31:37. > :31:40.the Crucible and everyone at home gets to share in the memory is one

:31:41. > :31:48.last time. Steve Davis, waiting backstage, this arena is it always

:31:49. > :31:53.has been and will be is all yours. -- this arena as it always has been.

:31:54. > :32:36.APPLAUSE CHEERING

:32:37. > :32:58.APPLAUSE CHEERING

:32:59. > :33:13.They are still going! CHEERING Steve, they cannot believe it. None

:33:14. > :33:15.of us can, really. What a wonderful, wonderful and appropriate

:33:16. > :33:22.celebration of all you've done for the sport on and off the table.

:33:23. > :33:25.Thank you. It is an emotional think I did not know what would happen. I

:33:26. > :33:30.was going to Peter out from the game but thought it was a nice thing to

:33:31. > :33:37.do. My father passed away this year. Just before the World Championships,

:33:38. > :33:38.I still played in it. He was with me from the start, so I thought

:33:39. > :33:42.finished this time around. APPLAUSE

:33:43. > :34:07.CHEERING We are lucky to have seen him in his

:34:08. > :34:10.pomp as a player, and our team were lucky to have been his colleagues

:34:11. > :34:14.and friends for the last 15 years or so. It's incredible how he juggled

:34:15. > :34:20.both jobs over the last 15 years, in 2005 he got to the championship

:34:21. > :34:25.final, his 100th major final while combining both jobs. Will we ever

:34:26. > :34:29.see anyone with his longevity again in the game? He's a one-off, a

:34:30. > :34:34.one-off in the nicest way. I got to know him as a friend here, working

:34:35. > :34:38.together, he's a good friend and we love working together. But he is a

:34:39. > :34:42.formidable competitor, a wonderful winner, a champion and great for the

:34:43. > :34:47.sport. Thankfully he's hanging around and we can still see him. For

:34:48. > :34:51.those of you who were not around in the 1980s and realise the impact he

:34:52. > :34:56.made, he made eight out of nine finals, seven in a row. He was that

:34:57. > :35:00.dominant, completely dominating the 1980s before Stephen Hendry came

:35:01. > :35:05.along? He came in with an all-round game. As Dennis mention, legendary

:35:06. > :35:09.practice hours, seven or eight per day. He took it to another

:35:10. > :35:13.professional level. His long game is better than anyone else's, his

:35:14. > :35:17.break-building was better, his cue action was better, he is better in

:35:18. > :35:23.every department. He brought snooker up to a higher level. It's time to

:35:24. > :35:27.say farewell to the six time champion, he will be with us. We

:35:28. > :35:31.will work hard, don't worry! Over the next two weeks and for the next

:35:32. > :35:36.few years to come, we hope. Let's say goodbye to Steve the player,

:35:37. > :35:39.officially, let's say hello to a man trying to any lead him, Ronnie

:35:40. > :35:42.O'Sullivan is waiting backstage with three others for a very important

:35:43. > :35:47.session this afternoon. Let's go back over to Rob Walker.

:35:48. > :35:53.COMMENTATOR: What an atmosphere we have here at the Crucible. A day of

:35:54. > :35:57.huge emotion, we've had three world champions knocked out already in

:35:58. > :36:03.this years back Fred World Snooker Championships, there is so much more

:36:04. > :36:05.drama to come right here, right now, in the world's number one snooker

:36:06. > :36:22.arena, the Crucible! Please welcome a player still going

:36:23. > :36:26.strong 25 years after his Crucible debut, bidding for a 15th appearance

:36:27. > :36:35.in the second round, rolling back the years in style, these days he

:36:36. > :36:38.takes it all in his stride. These welcome Adam McManus. -- please

:36:39. > :36:57.welcome. FUNKY MUSIC And his opponent, a fierce

:36:58. > :37:02.competitor on the table, seriously pumped up for this session of

:37:03. > :37:05.snooker, five times a ranking event winner, he reached the semis of the

:37:06. > :37:09.China open at the start of the month and twice he's been to the one-table

:37:10. > :37:19.set-up here in Sheffield. When he's good, he's on fire... Stephen

:37:20. > :37:29.Maguire! MUSIC: Here I Go Again by Whitesnake.

:37:30. > :37:36.On table two, a player rejuvenated and re-motivated over the last few

:37:37. > :37:38.seasons, making his third appearance here at the Crucible after eating

:37:39. > :37:50.Jack Liz Askey in the first Michael . The Tamworth massive have turned

:37:51. > :37:52.out in force to support the man who calls himself the Angry Father,

:37:53. > :38:15.David Gilbert! MUSIC: Lights On by Katy B.

:38:16. > :38:19.And his opponent, making a 24th consecutive appearance here at the

:38:20. > :38:23.Crucible, the most exciting talent the sport of snooker has ever seen,

:38:24. > :38:26.winner of the Welsh Open and the Masters this season, a five-time

:38:27. > :38:47.champion of the world... Ronnie O'Sullivan! MUSIC: "The Changing

:38:48. > :38:51.Man" by Paul Weller. The auditorium has shed drama this afternoon, ready

:38:52. > :38:56.for some more, the Maguire and McManus match is on the red button

:38:57. > :39:00.and online, we will keep you updated on that all-important final session.

:39:01. > :39:03.Now, Stephen and Dennis, a lot of intrigue surrounding Roddy's

:39:04. > :39:07.appearance at the Crucible every year. He will answer some of our

:39:08. > :39:14.questions today -- Ronnie O'Sullivan's appearance.

:39:15. > :39:17.COMMENTATOR: Great anticipation to see how well he is going to play

:39:18. > :39:32.here. The fact they are very played each other

:39:33. > :39:43.on one occasion, Ronnie winning that. I think that Dave can try to

:39:44. > :39:47.enjoy himself, he's a big underdog. It is not the easiest thing to do,

:39:48. > :40:03.win these games. This will be a good start. Unlucky. But a good and

:40:04. > :40:07.positive pot. This is very nicely struck, right into the middle of the

:40:08. > :40:23.pocket. A bit unlucky with the cannon. No secret. He has to take

:40:24. > :40:31.his chances. There is every chance that he will not get many. That's

:40:32. > :40:36.the only chance he has got. Will he take full advantage? He has to go

:40:37. > :40:48.through this match... It's amazing how close he could

:40:49. > :41:17.probably get if he does not miss easy shots and make unforced errors.

:41:18. > :41:25.Made a bit of a mess of the safety shot there. Hit far too thin with

:41:26. > :41:31.too much pace on it. The pink and blacks are tied up at the moment.

:41:32. > :41:37.This table is playing superbly, they seem to have problems on the other

:41:38. > :41:47.table, Peter Ebdon, he lost 10-2, but said it was one of the best

:41:48. > :41:51.tables he had ever played on. It's amazing, to think that two tables

:41:52. > :41:54.can be so different. The other one wants chopping up, and a new one

:41:55. > :42:12.bringing in. Why don't you say what you think, Steve?

:42:13. > :42:20.That has tied the blue up also, an awkward opening frame with three

:42:21. > :42:24.high valued colours out of commission. Show you the blue

:42:25. > :42:39.again... There is talk about possibly recover

:42:40. > :42:44.in the other table, perhaps even replacing the slates, there are six

:42:45. > :42:50.slate there, the cloth on top of the slates, it is a delicate and skilful

:42:51. > :42:58.operation, to put together a table. That could possibly happen over the

:42:59. > :43:02.next couple of days. This is going to open things up, he has to have a

:43:03. > :43:19.thick contact on the reds to avoid the blue. A good shot. Tap on the

:43:20. > :43:31.table, and excellent cue ball. The last shot has brought the pink into

:43:32. > :43:37.play. It has helped the situation. That has brought the blue... Not

:43:38. > :43:55.back safe again, but it was a total mis-hit from Ronnie.

:43:56. > :44:02.The pink was onto the black spot here, that would help the situation.

:44:03. > :44:10.The blue and the black are out of commission, as is the green. It has

:44:11. > :44:13.gone awkward. Is the pink spot occupied? We will find out shortly.

:44:14. > :44:39.It is! Seven, not a bad chance now. As I said earlier, the you have to

:44:40. > :44:43.take these chances. Easier said than done, this is a massive occasion for

:44:44. > :44:56.Gilbert. Playing O Sullivan in the first round at the Crucible. He did

:44:57. > :45:01.play me in the first round here and won 6-3 up after the first session,

:45:02. > :45:12.I managed to win the match but it shows he's not afraid of playing the

:45:13. > :45:13.top players here. That was back when I was one of the top players, a long

:45:14. > :45:32.time ago! I keep trying to talk to you, and

:45:33. > :45:36.talk you into making a comeback. If you put the effort in, you could

:45:37. > :45:42.still get back to the Crucible but that is my own opinion. You are

:45:43. > :45:43.probably not much better than me. Whether that would ever happen or

:45:44. > :46:14.not... this needs striking as well, right

:46:15. > :46:18.into the middle of the pocket. I like that sound, as it hits the

:46:19. > :46:59.ball, it is very crisp. He has got a lovely pause before he

:47:00. > :47:15.delivers a very fluid cue action. You can see the tip of the cue back

:47:16. > :47:19.between his thumb and his finger. He is making a pretty good job of this

:47:20. > :47:33.one, he only had the pink to work with, when he putts this, it will

:47:34. > :47:37.free up the other two reds. I think that he's gone far enough to move

:47:38. > :47:48.back and leave the two reds in the same pocket as the pink.

:47:49. > :48:06.Perfectly played. Already 39 in front. Only two comfortable reds

:48:07. > :48:08.still available. A little heavy contact there, not on the pink as he

:48:09. > :48:35.would have liked. Just spoiling things slightly... I

:48:36. > :48:39.don't know if he can avoid the cannon when potting the pink or that

:48:40. > :48:46.read to the left of the black and the red. He may have to concentrate,

:48:47. > :48:59.part the pink, play the cannon, and hope the white finishes nicely. --

:49:00. > :49:28.pot the pink. He managed it. Letting it run away a little bit.

:49:29. > :49:40.David Gilbert, 45. APPLAUSE This was close, but too much pace.

:49:41. > :49:58.Unlucky to knock the other red out. Two more reds in good positions. Two

:49:59. > :50:01.difficult reds near the black, this is the kind of situation Ronnie

:50:02. > :50:11.revels in, he knows it is not an easy chance.

:50:12. > :50:24.He would have to get it absolutely perfect on the pink, if he was going

:50:25. > :50:28.to be able to play a cannon. I wonder if he would risk potting this

:50:29. > :50:39.and tried to Cannes and the two reds and the black and hope he drops on

:50:40. > :50:44.one -- try to cannon. Worth the risk, but... It did not work out for

:50:45. > :51:07.him. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 13. APPLAUSE

:51:08. > :51:12.Bringing the blue into play. The difference is 33, it is far from

:51:13. > :51:20.safe in this frame. For David Gilbert. He has hot water that he

:51:21. > :51:44.has at the table sometimes. That is going to be OK, just, I

:51:45. > :51:49.think...? Or is it. If you are writing behind, it has to go across

:51:50. > :51:53.the matter but it still seems that he can sneak it in. -- right in

:51:54. > :52:13.behind. Playing safety off of the green

:52:14. > :52:23.here, I think. Coming off of the cushion, you want to partake, to get

:52:24. > :52:30.more points on the board -- you want to plot

:52:31. > :52:37.-- tee a colour. He was thinking along your lines,

:52:38. > :52:44.but he changed his mind. He wanted to bring that green into play. He is

:52:45. > :52:49.32 behind, he has to get to one of the higher valued colours off of the

:52:50. > :52:56.last red if he is to win the frame. All of a sudden, balls are out in

:52:57. > :53:07.the open, the green is not entirely safe. This could be a free ball, if

:53:08. > :53:08.it hits the yellow, the worst possible thing to have happened

:53:09. > :53:51.there. That difficult green we mentioned,

:53:52. > :54:00.you might be able to drop in behind it in a couple of shots time. He has

:54:01. > :54:07.not played the best shot there. A bit of an angle on this yellow to

:54:08. > :54:12.come off of the cushion with a lot of left-hand side. That was the

:54:13. > :54:22.problem... A bad shot off of the black.

:54:23. > :54:27.You had to play it with a lot on the left-hand side. Throwing the cue

:54:28. > :55:11.ball off-line. APPLAUSE

:55:12. > :55:15.I mean really, where the Green-Ellis, if you can get

:55:16. > :55:19.somewhere near that circle, you can get the green down the cushion. I

:55:20. > :55:28.don't know if he has the angle to get there, the pink could be in the

:55:29. > :55:36.way -- where the green is. A little too much pace. You have to get your

:55:37. > :55:39.hand on the table, said the green around the ankles, get the green

:55:40. > :55:41.behind the black and put the white behind the brown, that would be the

:55:42. > :55:53.choice. Well, he has played it... Same

:55:54. > :55:55.result really. You have to keep the Green safe, there's a pink coming to

:55:56. > :56:24.the rescue here. That is what we now call a green

:56:25. > :56:33.ball fight, whoever pots the Greenwood win the frame... -- green

:56:34. > :57:00.would win the frame. I think that he can avoid the cannon

:57:01. > :57:06.on the brown, it is a tough shot, he is so close to the cushion but if he

:57:07. > :57:12.pots this, it could slip past the brown, back-up, and leave it on. It

:57:13. > :57:18.could be a frame-winner if this goes in. Ronnie O'Sullivan did not even

:57:19. > :57:26.attempted it shows that it was not quite as easy as we thought. If the

:57:27. > :57:33.cue ball is near the cushion. I'm still shocked he never took it on, a

:57:34. > :57:35.tough shot. I can only assume that the angle was taking the cue ball up

:57:36. > :58:21.towards the brown. This is a bit of a chance, it is an

:58:22. > :58:25.automatic angle. If he's the green, he will come around the back of the

:58:26. > :58:45.blue, every chance on the brown, but it is a tough one. Good cueing. A

:58:46. > :58:48.slight angle on the brown, 17 ahead. The brown would be enough to leave

:58:49. > :59:13.Ronnie with a snooker. Seven. Quite a lot of support here, Dave.

:59:14. > :59:24.They would be delighted with the opening frame. The best possible

:59:25. > :59:32.start for David Gilbert. He has taken the opening frame. He leads

:59:33. > :59:35.Ronnie O'Sullivan 1-0. Just settling in the opening frame here, Ronnie

:59:36. > :59:38.O'Sullivan, he would normally take most chances on.

:59:39. > :59:44.Stephen, like myself, was surprised about the green, they thought he

:59:45. > :59:47.could take it on. The White was near the cushion. I thought that natural

:59:48. > :59:53.action committee might have cannon to be brown but even if he did that,

:59:54. > :59:59.it looks like a shot that he should have taken on. There surprised, a

:00:00. > :00:02.shot to win the frame. -- very surprised. Maybe he felt the cannon

:00:03. > :00:06.that he was going to get on the brown would not be good enough. And

:00:07. > :00:11.he was going to knock the brown save or even if he had to play at pace,

:00:12. > :00:16.it would be hard to get the cue ball away from the side cushion. I was

:00:17. > :00:22.shocked, he has turned down a frame ball. Looking relaxed, he was in the

:00:23. > :00:25.practice room with Steve Peters. The sport psychiatrist who has got

:00:26. > :00:30.Ronnie O'Sullivan in a terrific frame of mind for the last few

:00:31. > :00:33.years. But, it's always nice to get the first frame under your belt. I

:00:34. > :00:50.would love to know what's going on in his brain.

:00:51. > :01:02.-- the referee has the balls ready. Some call Dave Gilbert Dave, the

:01:03. > :01:58.referee said David, so will we. There are nine frames to be played

:01:59. > :03:05.in this session. Well, this will be interesting to

:03:06. > :03:19.see if he takes on the blue. He is showing Dave a lot of respect

:03:20. > :03:58.here. That was an excellent long pot. He

:03:59. > :04:03.has three, four loose reds. He has enough to play with at the moment.

:04:04. > :04:12.Sometimes you will not get as perfect and angle again. He has gone

:04:13. > :04:29.into them off the brown. He did not even look at the black.

:04:30. > :04:47.It is a very thin cut, if it even does.

:04:48. > :04:55.A little bit unlucky not to have anything easier, but I think he

:04:56. > :05:00.missed a trick, not playing the black the previous shot. It was very

:05:01. > :05:02.thin. He did not even look at the black. He needed the black back on

:05:03. > :05:32.the spot. It is a chance to see how well

:05:33. > :05:40.Ronnie is cueing. It is not an easy chance, by any means. Four reds are

:05:41. > :05:42.available. One at the back of the pack, if you got onto that, he would

:05:43. > :06:40.free up another one. He got a big bounce off the cushion.

:06:41. > :06:45.This could be a bonus. He might be able to get through to the one past

:06:46. > :06:52.the pink. He did not play for this one.

:06:53. > :07:10.Does the green Passley please? -- pass the blue? Yes. Now he has them

:07:11. > :07:11.in a good position. It will be interesting to see how many he makes

:07:12. > :08:12.now. Removing that red clears the path

:08:13. > :08:19.for the other red into the opposite corner.

:08:20. > :08:56.He does make it look so easy when he gets going.

:08:57. > :09:09.Yes, we know he is cueing well. He only needed the one chance. This is

:09:10. > :09:14.why I said earlier for Dave to have any chance in this match he has to

:09:15. > :09:18.take all his chances because more often than not, when Ronnie gets a

:09:19. > :09:28.chance, this is what is going to happen. He will not be surprised by

:09:29. > :09:34.this. He will be surprised by that. No century, but he only needed one

:09:35. > :09:42.chance and he took it. Dave Gilbert refused the black, took the Dow

:09:43. > :09:49.instead. HAZEL IRVINE: Steve Davis is back in the studio. He has been

:09:50. > :09:54.in demand in the press room about his retirement. People have sent

:09:55. > :10:00.tweets about Steve's retirement. Surely saying, thank you for the

:10:01. > :10:06.memories and from all our family congratulations. Alex says my wife

:10:07. > :10:13.calls me the tin man. I do not often cry but your speech has done it. And

:10:14. > :10:18.another said they want to see Steve Davis on the decks. Another said,

:10:19. > :10:23.that is an interesting development! I am sure there will be more

:10:24. > :10:28.reaction but from what you have seen, and John, help them out, what

:10:29. > :10:33.we have seen from Ruddy, has it given you cause for concern or

:10:34. > :10:36.indeed hope? He was talking about how important the first match was

:10:37. > :10:43.because he has been out of it. He has been around the country playing

:10:44. > :10:48.exhibitions. I think he has been a little bit conservative with shots

:10:49. > :10:53.early in the match. He wants to feel his way in and then normal service

:10:54. > :10:59.was resumed with beautiful cueing. Good to see Dave Gilbert settle

:11:00. > :11:04.early. He is a man, we have not seen a huge amount of, but the run to the

:11:05. > :11:07.international championship final was a breakthrough moment for him. And

:11:08. > :11:14.he has ensured into a better player. I played him, he has been around

:11:15. > :11:23.long enough, I played him and I thought, nice player, he could put

:11:24. > :11:31.more effort in at times. He looked lackadaisical, but he is not now.

:11:32. > :11:40.You join us as he missed the attempted red. He did not get away

:11:41. > :12:02.with that. Alluded to the shows Ronnie has been

:12:03. > :12:05.doing around the country. He went to Romania, playing exhibitions, and

:12:06. > :12:17.travelled to various venues in Europe. His interview at the Welsh,

:12:18. > :12:22.I found so funny. He was interviewed and said he used the tournaments for

:12:23. > :12:32.practice for his exhibitions! I have never heard that before! You always

:12:33. > :12:35.get something different from Ronnie. He has loved doing the shows. I have

:12:36. > :12:43.done some with him and they are great nights. People, even in small

:12:44. > :12:52.clubs, come along and pay a lot of money to see him. He has made a fair

:12:53. > :12:58.few maximums in those shows. But make no mistake, he will have put a

:12:59. > :13:03.lot of practice in on proper match tables. The exhibition tables and

:13:04. > :13:07.club tables, the pockets are easier. Could not go straight from playing

:13:08. > :13:15.on vigour pockets, you would be lost. -- figure pockets.

:13:16. > :13:35.-- bigger. It looks like a nice angle.

:13:36. > :14:13.This is still pottable, the black. It needs more attention.

:14:14. > :14:19.The last frame lasted just over eight and a half addicts. --

:14:20. > :14:28.minutes. This will not take too long. The

:14:29. > :15:21.balls are not perfectly placed by any means.

:15:22. > :15:50.It shows terrific focus. He did get a bounce off the cushion. Never even

:15:51. > :15:54.bothered about it, he got down and potted that. It was not

:15:55. > :15:59.straightforward, that black. It is now.

:16:00. > :16:14.As I mentioned, I do not think this frame will last very long. Nothing

:16:15. > :16:20.David Gilbert can do about this. As you said, Stephen, if he gets a

:16:21. > :16:26.chance, he will have to go all-out for it. He will not get many

:16:27. > :17:04.chances, looking at the way Ruddy is cueing here. -- Ronnie.

:17:05. > :17:16.It will not be easy to make the century because of the red close to

:17:17. > :17:30.the cushion. This man holds the record now, 819 centuries. He will

:17:31. > :17:37.not make a century now. One of his ambitions is to get to 1000 century

:17:38. > :17:46.breaks. Wouldn't that be something? Not a bad effort. Once again, he

:17:47. > :17:48.only needed one chance, and Ronnie O'Sullivan took it and with the

:17:49. > :19:00.break of 84 he leads to- one. He has made 151 crucibles centuries

:19:01. > :19:11.but none yet in this match but encouraging signs for Ronnie

:19:12. > :19:20.O'Sullivan fans? He has made this look so simple. He decided to screw

:19:21. > :19:26.back through what looked like a complicated path of reds. He makes

:19:27. > :19:34.those shots so easy. We are back. The last frame before the interval.

:19:35. > :19:41.DENNIS TAYLOR: That was an unusual break-off shot from David. He went

:19:42. > :19:56.the wrong side of the blue. He has not left any given. -- anything.

:19:57. > :20:06.You said he did not leave anything, there was a red. He did not get a

:20:07. > :20:14.thick enough contact on the red, but the red to the right corner, it is

:20:15. > :20:19.on. He does play a percentage game, these days, Ronnie. He does not have

:20:20. > :20:24.too take many chances because when he is let in by opponents, he kills

:20:25. > :20:50.off the frame. Why take a risk? Let your opponent let you in.

:20:51. > :20:59.One of the best pieces of advice I had when I turned professional was

:21:00. > :21:11.from the great man who got this game going, Joe Davis, he would say, play

:21:12. > :21:16.the percentages, that is the name of the game, and I suppose it still

:21:17. > :21:32.applies today. Knowing when to go for them, knowing when not to.

:21:33. > :21:46.He has knocked in some good long ones. That is good cueing. That is a

:21:47. > :21:48.confidence booster. OK, the wrong side of the blue, but that was a

:21:49. > :22:09.great shot. If the black passes the red, he will

:22:10. > :22:37.be OK. Again, he struck that nicely. He is

:22:38. > :22:41.timing the ball well. As I said earlier, and I promise I will not

:22:42. > :22:44.say it again, he has to take the opportunities when he gets them if

:22:45. > :22:56.he has any chance of winning this game.

:22:57. > :23:05.From this position you could pretty much saying nine times out of ten

:23:06. > :23:08.O'Sullivan would win the frame from this visit and you have to do the

:23:09. > :23:56.same thing to put any pressure on your opponent.

:23:57. > :24:01.I like David Gilbert's style. He is fluent and quick around the table.

:24:02. > :24:18.He has a nice pace about his play. If he screws back, to find the gap

:24:19. > :24:29.between the two reds. To leave one into the corner.

:24:30. > :24:37.That gap. He got a heavy contact. He seemed to get a lot of reaction from

:24:38. > :24:56.the cue ball, which is OK. He will have to drop this in. You

:24:57. > :25:05.need to give it due care and attention.

:25:06. > :25:16.Nicely played. The mid-session interval coming up after this frame,

:25:17. > :25:23.and I think he will be pleasantly pleased if he could level at 2-2.

:25:24. > :25:28.The red at the bottom of the bunch will also pot to the right corner.

:25:29. > :25:49.Do not think he is on it this time. That was awkward. What happens in

:25:50. > :25:58.that situation, you finish up getting side on the ball. You can

:25:59. > :26:08.only just see the top of the white. He let the chance slip. Immediately,

:26:09. > :26:12.Ronnie, 46 behind, has opened up the reds. David Gilbert now knows he

:26:13. > :26:53.cannot afford to make a mistake. 46-1 down. Definitely a new

:26:54. > :28:58.favourite for the frame. A break of 72 in the second frame.

:28:59. > :29:05.David Gilbert was in first. I suppose he was unlucky. Otherwise, I

:29:06. > :29:17.think he would have been winning this frame. 15 seconds. That is

:29:18. > :29:20.quick. It is looking inevitable, every time he gets in, the frame is

:29:21. > :29:41.over. Two or three of the top seeds have

:29:42. > :29:54.looked tentative in their first matches, not so Ronnie.

:29:55. > :30:03.They are a quick three frames. The first was under 20 bits. The others,

:30:04. > :30:24.eight and a half minutes, just under seven minutes.

:30:25. > :30:33.He has not finished on the blue for the middle, he will have to take it

:30:34. > :30:40.to the corner now. The red left the bed of the table. But he looks so

:30:41. > :30:42.comfortable, he just knocked the pink in as if it was over the

:30:43. > :31:17.pocket. Yellow and green needed. A quick look at the school board,

:31:18. > :31:28.but he is well safe at the moment. One snooker needed. A terrible kick

:31:29. > :31:32.on that. The frame is not over yet. But he has flicked the snooker.

:31:33. > :31:38.Unfortunate to get the cake, but fortunate to leave it there. David

:31:39. > :31:46.could have potted the brown and got the one snooker he needed.

:31:47. > :32:13.A bit unlucky. That is the end of the frame now.

:32:14. > :32:23.He is not that about the black. Gilbert had a break of 46, he was

:32:24. > :32:27.unlucky, just ran slightly out of position, missed an awkward ready,

:32:28. > :32:32.and Ronnie O'Sullivan gets a break of 84.

:32:33. > :32:39.Yes, he is trying to become the first man to win into his 40s since

:32:40. > :32:43.Ray Reardon a good few years back. Steve kept playing for a long number

:32:44. > :32:51.of years, how much more difficult does it become? Historically, it

:32:52. > :32:55.seems like 40 was the time when cracks started appearing, but not in

:32:56. > :33:03.money. He seems to be getting stronger. Experience plays a part,

:33:04. > :33:06.but somewhere you start. Mac your arm does not do what you want it to

:33:07. > :33:14.do. It is amazing how fluent he plays. He makes the game look so

:33:15. > :33:22.easy. But the skill part is to let yourself go. Lots of good players

:33:23. > :33:27.and lots of exceptional players, he brings his practice came to the

:33:28. > :33:30.tournament table, he plays with freedom and fluency, his

:33:31. > :33:37.break-building and control is fantastic. It looks that simple, but

:33:38. > :33:43.it is just brilliant. It is amazing he can do that, because so often we

:33:44. > :33:47.hear players say, I played lately in practice but I have not been able to

:33:48. > :33:52.bring it to the match table. He has not qualified to play in some

:33:53. > :34:00.events, chose not to play in other events, so he has had to do this. It

:34:01. > :34:06.is the way he chooses to do it, that is his office, it is not a problem.

:34:07. > :34:12.He makes the game look easy. Strangely, these tables, we noticed

:34:13. > :34:18.it yesterday, and today, the questions are acting up. They are

:34:19. > :34:23.bouncing all over the place. Ronnie got out of position on a couple of

:34:24. > :34:26.shots. The better your positional play without using questions on

:34:27. > :34:32.these tables will separate the men from the boys. If you use too many

:34:33. > :34:37.questions, you will fly all over the place. It would be nice if they

:34:38. > :34:42.could slow them down somehow. The second finger of the weekend. It is

:34:43. > :34:47.time to bring you up to speed with what has been happening on the other

:34:48. > :34:53.side of the curtain. It features the Scottish players Alan McManus, 45,

:34:54. > :34:56.the oldest player left after the departure of Peter abdomen, against

:34:57. > :35:04.Steven Maguire. Let's hear from Stephen about sport in general.

:35:05. > :35:11.The only thing I would pay to watch if the Wimbledon final. You get a

:35:12. > :35:16.ball and the teacher would say, do what you want Inbee Park, that was

:35:17. > :35:24.PE. I gave tennis a go, I am too unfit. Get rid of the waistcoat and

:35:25. > :35:30.the old school way of dressing, it looks stupid. Went into the club to

:35:31. > :35:41.pass a couple of hours, I liked it, and I and using the cue now! That is

:35:42. > :35:48.the truth! German Masters, it is special. My dad is handy at joinery.

:35:49. > :35:52.I might have followed in his footsteps, he could have helped me

:35:53. > :35:59.out, but it would be tough, because I am hopeless at joinery! I hate

:36:00. > :36:04.getting photos done and being asked for autographs, because I don't

:36:05. > :36:09.think I am famous enough. I was in Malta, I won the European open, I

:36:10. > :36:15.can remember the first hour after that, I remember being in Glasgow

:36:16. > :36:21.after, I don't remember the flight or anything. I forgot my chalk years

:36:22. > :36:28.ago. I did not know what to do, what was happening. When I look back, I

:36:29. > :36:51.got a bit angry, a bit embarrassed. A good 77 break from Steven Maguire

:36:52. > :37:22.puts him into the lead. Very nice. Another 70 break for

:37:23. > :37:27.Stephen Maguire, he leads 3-1. He has played it well. A nice break of

:37:28. > :37:47.78 from Alan McManus, he cuts the deficit to one frame.

:37:48. > :37:58.Stephen Maguire says enough, we are back level. 3-3. It is pretty good.

:37:59. > :38:25.That is even better. Alan McManus now leads 5-3. It is

:38:26. > :38:32.there. What a fantastic clearance from Alan McManus. He was trailing

:38:33. > :38:40.3-1, he has won five in a row, he leads 6-3.

:38:41. > :38:46.Yes, a 6-3 lead, very clever player. This is his 20th campaign here in

:38:47. > :38:51.the last 25 years. We will join them in the first of their afternoon,

:38:52. > :38:59.frame ten, commentary from Peter Ebdon and John Virgo.

:39:00. > :39:05.Alan McManus is a master tactician. Stephen Maguire is a very good

:39:06. > :39:10.safety play himself. If he has made that decision, he is a very

:39:11. > :39:17.attacking player anyway. But Alan is a very cagey player. I am sure part

:39:18. > :39:27.of his game plan will also be to leave tempters for Stephen. Low

:39:28. > :39:34.percentage shots. This is a good opportunity for Alan. He struck the

:39:35. > :39:41.ball very nice when he is playing well. He came from nowhere and got

:39:42. > :39:52.to the quarterfinals of the UK championship in Preston. His most

:39:53. > :39:55.famous victory was when he stopped Stephen Hendry winning his seventh

:39:56. > :40:02.Masters title in succession at the Wembley conference Centre. Yes, he

:40:03. > :40:14.made a fantastic 70 break in the deciding frame. A great competitor.

:40:15. > :40:21.And also, the longevity that players have. We have just seen Steve Davis

:40:22. > :40:27.taking the bow on his retirement. It is hard to keep at the top of the

:40:28. > :40:32.game. Playing in the matches is wonderful, but it is the hours of

:40:33. > :40:39.practice. Alan has been doing that, which shows his genuine love of the

:40:40. > :40:42.game. That is just as important as anything else, you have to enjoy

:40:43. > :40:50.your work. He has done well to qualify, to play free tough matches

:40:51. > :40:54.to get here. Did you find yourself a bit jaded after those three

:40:55. > :41:01.qualifiers, Peter? I felt fine, to be honest, John. Free Best of 19

:41:02. > :41:06.matches in a week is tough, and playing here three days later, but I

:41:07. > :41:13.believe my diet helps, because I feel totally different now on a

:41:14. > :41:16.vegan diet, I have been big on for almost five years now, and I do

:41:17. > :41:24.recover a lot quicker than when I was eating animal products. It is

:41:25. > :41:35.not so much a physical game, but you need to be having fitness in mind

:41:36. > :41:40.and body, the two aligned. A lot of people think that snooker is not a

:41:41. > :41:45.physical sport. But I remember when I won here in 2002, I started the

:41:46. > :41:52.tournament in 11 stone eight and 70s led -- and at the end I had lost

:41:53. > :41:55.almost a stone and a half. That is what the pressure can do. A

:41:56. > :42:06.tremendous amount of strain on all of the players. Just getting up,

:42:07. > :42:09.Alan, lots of noise from the other side of the wall. That is

:42:10. > :42:14.experience, if you are not comfortable, get up and start again.

:42:15. > :42:20.I remember when John Spencer won here, he said he lost over a stone

:42:21. > :42:29.in weight. You are not eating regularly, at odd hours. Meanwhile,

:42:30. > :42:34.back at the table, Alan McManus has reduced his arrears. Everything is

:42:35. > :42:43.set fair for the frame-winning chance. This would take him four

:42:44. > :42:45.Cleo. It has been a very impressive contribution so far from Alan

:42:46. > :42:52.McManus. Stroking the ball beautifully.

:42:53. > :43:02.You can always miss digging down on the white. If you just put a bit of

:43:03. > :43:06.unintentional side on it, as he may have done there, a bit of left-hand

:43:07. > :43:12.side, pushes the cue ball into the back... He will be disappointed with

:43:13. > :43:17.that. He has missed a golden opportunity. That is what Stephen

:43:18. > :43:32.Maguire will be looking for. A bit of help from his opponent.

:43:33. > :43:44.I don't think he will be too pleased with that. People have been getting

:43:45. > :43:49.bounces off cushions. You see other matches, you have had them yourself,

:43:50. > :43:52.you wonder if it will spring a bit more, it makes you uncertain,

:43:53. > :44:03.especially if you are using cushions for position.

:44:04. > :44:10.I heard from a friend of his that he was not going to hold back this

:44:11. > :44:14.afternoon. It is all right not holding back, but you have got to

:44:15. > :44:23.knock them in. This game does not get any easier when you are behind.

:44:24. > :44:42.It would be a big ask to win the frame from this visit, with the red

:44:43. > :44:43.tied up with the black. He will be looking for an angle on the blue to

:44:44. > :45:03.bring the red into play. He judged that nicely. He could play

:45:04. > :45:08.it now, but you are not certain to be on the red in the middle of the

:45:09. > :45:14.table. Just play for the red in the middle, I would suggest, and get a

:45:15. > :45:15.good angle on the blue. If anything, have the cue ball on the other side

:45:16. > :45:29.of the table next time for the blue. Then you have got the pop and the

:45:30. > :45:36.ball you are trying to cannon in your eyeliner.

:45:37. > :45:44.The key shot could be coming up. He does not feel as though he can get

:45:45. > :45:59.the nice angle on the blue, so he is looking at claim for a walk colour.

:46:00. > :46:06.In an ideal world, he would have the perfect angle on the green. Even if

:46:07. > :46:10.you have that, I do not see how you could develop the red into a

:46:11. > :46:15.possible position. It is a difficult situation. He would have liked to

:46:16. > :46:21.have travelled a foot further or even more with the cue ball. He

:46:22. > :46:28.would have had a nice angle on the yellow Bobby brown to screw into the

:46:29. > :46:29.red and the black directly. As you say, it will be difficult to develop

:46:30. > :46:44.that into a sitting position. That is one of the reasons why he

:46:45. > :46:53.chose to keep things tight. It is not a bad snooker. A bit of a

:46:54. > :47:01.swerve, no problem hitting the red. But can Stephen get it safe?

:47:02. > :47:12.No, he can't. Alan McManus comes to the table, he does not need the

:47:13. > :47:20.awkward pink, he can win it without that.

:47:21. > :47:27.The only thing in Stephen Maguire's favour, this red is pretty straight.

:47:28. > :47:31.I would not be surprised if he spotted it and snooker to him behind

:47:32. > :47:41.the black. He has chosen to take the black on.

:47:42. > :47:52.It rattled, but it went in. A good shot. He did not try to overdo it. A

:47:53. > :47:58.bit more pace, it may have not gone in. He has just played it at the

:47:59. > :48:06.right pace. Not perfect on the yellow. Just yellow and green for a

:48:07. > :48:26.four frame advantage. That surprised me. I fancied him

:48:27. > :48:29.with that, he did not have to do anything with the cue ball. It

:48:30. > :48:35.looked heavy, I think that has kicked thick, and look where the cue

:48:36. > :48:42.ball has finished. I think it was a heavy contact.

:48:43. > :48:53.Would you believe it? Boss that a bounce? It must have been, they

:48:54. > :48:59.can't be that far out. He has lost his temper. He smashed the ball. It

:49:00. > :49:10.has flew off the table. That is end of frame. He only needs the green.

:49:11. > :49:13.So disappointed. You hit it that hard, it comes off the cushion and

:49:14. > :49:26.flies through the air, off the table. Annoyed.

:49:27. > :49:52.He is up against it, Stephen Maguire.

:49:53. > :49:59.It means so much, sometimes when things don't go right, you feel that

:50:00. > :50:05.the world is against you, and it is difficult to control your emotions

:50:06. > :50:10.are. That loss of control started by a loss of position, it has gifted

:50:11. > :50:16.Alan McManus the frame, and he marches on.

:50:17. > :50:23.This is a sterling performance from a 45-year-old who has been coming

:50:24. > :50:29.here for 25 years, he made his debut in 1991 and he is holding firm. I

:50:30. > :50:34.said yesterday, once a good match player, always a good match player,

:50:35. > :50:40.he has been the better of the players, he knows his way around the

:50:41. > :50:45.table. Stephen Maguire did lead 3-1, he has had some rotten memories

:50:46. > :50:50.here, he has been beaten in a final frame decider in the first round for

:50:51. > :50:53.the last three years, he has not won a match since the quarterfinal in

:50:54. > :51:01.2012. How much more jittery do you get? It is also about your

:51:02. > :51:06.temperament, whether you get hot-headed, which is something he

:51:07. > :51:09.has done. I am worried about my performance as an analyst, because

:51:10. > :51:15.he looked fantastic when he was leading 3-1, but then the wheels

:51:16. > :51:20.fall off, but that is how it is. We play mini sessions, it can all turn

:51:21. > :51:26.around when you are playing against other players. You can only be at

:51:27. > :51:30.the table for as long as the other person let you. You are now a

:51:31. > :51:37.professional pundit, having said that is it as a player. You are

:51:38. > :51:42.trending now, obviously, on social media, lots of sweets and

:51:43. > :51:46.communication. Many former players and current players have been paying

:51:47. > :51:51.cue their respects. Neal Foulds said it is the end of an rack. Michael

:51:52. > :51:57.Holt said you were his hero as they cared. He said, never meet your

:51:58. > :52:04.heroes, but Steve is more of a hero now than ever. So many things that

:52:05. > :52:07.we can reflect on, but will you stop practising and ashing the balls

:52:08. > :52:14.around at home? I stop practising ages ago! I shall just play

:52:15. > :52:20.exhibitions and not the balls around and a bit of fun snooker. Practising

:52:21. > :52:25.at our level is the tournament. You learn something every day, I did not

:52:26. > :52:30.know I was honoured to sit next to the former rear of the year. That is

:52:31. > :52:35.fantastic. Now you have got to keep it on their and talk rubbish like I

:52:36. > :52:41.do. In your pump you were pretty ruthless. I remember sharing a chat

:52:42. > :52:46.with you when you're said, what should be first four chapters of

:52:47. > :52:51.your order to Brophy have read? If you're going to write the

:52:52. > :52:56.autobiography of a snooker player, wake up, practice, go to bed. That

:52:57. > :53:02.is the problem. If you are going to be good at sport, the argument that

:53:03. > :53:06.you should not have a personality, all you should do is just play your

:53:07. > :53:11.sport. You have got a personality, as do these fellas. We know all

:53:12. > :53:17.about Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has been gracing the game for a long time,

:53:18. > :53:21.and the mercurial rocket is in the lead as we get back to another five

:53:22. > :53:27.frames to play this afternoon, in the company of Dennis and Stephen.

:53:28. > :53:39.I love that, the material R two rocket. Meanwhile, Ronnie has broken

:53:40. > :53:43.off the way David Gilbert do, he has gone the wrong side of the blue. I

:53:44. > :53:52.have never seen him do that before. Four very quick frames. What will

:53:53. > :54:03.this session be like? Five more to be played. He has knocked a few good

:54:04. > :54:05.long ones in. He has made sure he has finished either on a loom or a

:54:06. > :54:19.baulk colour. The Queen was slightly hampering

:54:20. > :54:25.him. One good positional shot, he could have a chance. He has not got

:54:26. > :54:27.into that. He is still on the red, but he could not get enough screw on

:54:28. > :54:55.it. That is one of the best shots he has

:54:56. > :55:01.played in the match so far. Excellent cueing. The butt of the

:55:02. > :55:10.cue was raised in the air. Make sure you strike the cue ball.

:55:11. > :55:30.Unfortunate, the reds on the black cushion, none of them pot.

:55:31. > :55:41.He tried to force and -- an angle and get into the bunch, but what a

:55:42. > :55:46.result. If you could play a shot like this, it would be shot of the

:55:47. > :55:59.championship. Amazing what happens out there.

:56:00. > :56:09.Another perfectly played shot. A stun into the bottom ready, no screw

:56:10. > :56:15.on the cue ball, because it would have brought the cue ball back onto

:56:16. > :56:16.the black cushion. You have to play close attention to this, potting

:56:17. > :56:37.into a blind pocket. What can he make of this chance? It

:56:38. > :56:41.could have been 2-2, he was in in the last frame with a break of 46,

:56:42. > :56:51.he was unfortunate where the white finished. He missed an awkward red

:56:52. > :57:01.and Ronnie cleared up. This has stuck right on the pink, incredible.

:57:02. > :57:12.Any contact either side of the pink, no problem. That was the only

:57:13. > :57:21.contact he did not want. It looks like end of break.

:57:22. > :57:35.A perfect chance, he has only scored 26. A good length of cue ball,

:57:36. > :57:36.though. He has to put the disappointment of the last shot

:57:37. > :57:44.behind him. Runnymede be forced take the red to

:57:45. > :58:02.the corner. A brilliant pot. That contact. It

:58:03. > :58:40.just jumps. David is looking at the potting

:58:41. > :58:48.angle for the red to the left corner. The safety shot would be as

:58:49. > :58:52.difficult as a pot. There is good value in taking this on. There is a

:58:53. > :59:04.path to get the cue ball back to walk.

:59:05. > :59:13.That is bad luck. His long potting has been excellent. He has had a

:59:14. > :59:18.couple of slices of bad misfortune. To go in-off after that is amazing.

:59:19. > :59:20.And the other one to stick on the pink. He is not getting the run of

:59:21. > :59:35.the ball at the moment. Has he covered this into the left

:59:36. > :59:37.corner? One will cut into the right corner. He may have to choose that

:59:38. > :59:55.one. The parties blocked. It always helps if you get a little

:59:56. > :00:07.run of the ball, especially if you are playing someone like O'Sullivan.

:00:08. > :00:16.He looked at the cut back. He thought about the one down the

:00:17. > :00:20.cushion. He is back looking at that. I suppose he could play it in such a

:00:21. > :00:35.way he may not leave anything, but this is tough. Brilliant cueing.

:00:36. > :00:41.Brilliant cueing. If you look at where he'd left the cue ball, he was

:00:42. > :00:43.nicely on the blue, but he was blocking that red in the left corner

:00:44. > :00:54.also. It is a good chance now to get the

:00:55. > :01:03.first frame after the mid-session interval under his belt.

:01:04. > :01:13.It has been impressive from Dave Gilbert today. But for a couple of

:01:14. > :01:28.positional shots that have gone astray. His long potting has been

:01:29. > :01:35.excellent. He has not looked fazed at all.

:01:36. > :01:46.He could easily have been 3-1. This is where he was in complete control.

:01:47. > :01:53.He finished awkwardly and missed the red, which cost in the frame,

:01:54. > :01:58.because he was 46 in front. This is the other where he was stuck on the

:01:59. > :02:04.pink and finished on absolutely nothing. I know he is 3-1 behind,

:02:05. > :02:23.but he has played very well. I said at the start he has to go out

:02:24. > :02:32.there and enjoy himself. He looks comfortable, relaxed. He looks as if

:02:33. > :02:40.he is enjoying it. You do enjoy it when you are playing well. He is

:02:41. > :02:42.striking the ball very nicely. I said earlier, it is a nice and crisp

:02:43. > :04:31.sound. Very fluent, very efficient. A good

:04:32. > :05:24.clearance, this. Well we do save the mid-session

:05:25. > :05:32.interval can change things around. It certainly has done in this case.

:05:33. > :05:38.David Gilbert got one chance. A magnificent break and now he is just

:05:39. > :05:42.one frame behind to Ronnie O'Sullivan. The break of shot is

:05:43. > :05:47.important but we have seen both of them coming the wrong side of the

:05:48. > :05:59.blue. This is Ronnie's, he hit the end red too thin. We can show you

:06:00. > :06:05.where you are aiming to hit. We have the black and white ball. You can

:06:06. > :06:11.see a lot of right-hand side as it spins up the table. I recognise that

:06:12. > :06:16.bridge hand. That is Steve Davis. He has retired today and we have got

:06:17. > :06:35.him using a black and white ball to show you how to break off.

:06:36. > :07:36.You never really want to play that shot when you send the red up the

:07:37. > :07:45.table. All of a sudden, the safety zone is behind the black. And there

:07:46. > :07:57.is another red headed up that end. It looks like an upside-down frame.

:07:58. > :08:01.I mentioned earlier, nine frames are to be played in this session. The

:08:02. > :08:16.match will be played to a conclusion tomorrow morning.

:08:17. > :08:23.That might get the game back to normality. He could have put himself

:08:24. > :08:43.in trouble, Ronnie, because if Dave doubles the red up the table he is

:08:44. > :08:49.snickering him -- snookering him on the yellow.

:08:50. > :09:22.If he comes down the table, he has to make sure he misses the red.

:09:23. > :09:28.He may have left the pot to the middle. That was not the best shot

:09:29. > :09:50.from Ronnie. That was a slip-up from Ronnie

:09:51. > :09:51.O'Sullivan. Dave is in with an early, decent chance, it has to be

:09:52. > :10:14.said. There is a lot of noise from the

:10:15. > :10:23.other table. They are just in between frames. You get used to that

:10:24. > :10:37.here. You can see there is a lot of movement. The referee Jan Verhaas

:10:38. > :10:41.holding up his hand. I think it is a mid-session interval rather than

:10:42. > :10:49.between frames, which is why there is a lot of noise.

:10:50. > :10:57.It is funny, Stephen, I did not mind the noise. When you are brushing the

:10:58. > :11:03.table you can hear the sweep of the brush and that used to put me off!

:11:04. > :11:11.You get used to things at the Crucible. Sometimes you do not

:11:12. > :11:15.notice it. There you go, Dennis, is it still annoying you? Never has

:11:16. > :11:36.done in the commentary box. More good stuff from Dave Gilbert.

:11:37. > :11:40.Still to open the reds. After the next one, he can get angle on the

:11:41. > :11:51.black. Just getting rid of all the chalk

:11:52. > :12:07.marks. I used to do that at the Elite

:12:08. > :12:17.snooker club in Preston. 11 tables, when I was learning my trade. Three

:12:18. > :12:25.days a week. What about the other days, part-time?

:12:26. > :12:32.He is OK. A funny angle on the black. The cue ball was always going

:12:33. > :12:42.to go forward before the screw took effect.

:12:43. > :12:49.He would love to win this frame in one visit, as well. See what sort of

:12:50. > :13:12.reaction you get from Ronnie. The green will go. I am not sure

:13:13. > :13:17.about the brown. He is looking to see if the yellow is blocking it.

:13:18. > :14:12.The brown is the better shot to get up to the reds.

:14:13. > :14:18.A nice angle here. The three reds in the Triangle, if he has a cannon to

:14:19. > :14:33.the right-hand side of one of those. That is so unlucky. Again, he is

:14:34. > :14:44.stuck on a red when he has gone into them. If he is on this, the frame is

:14:45. > :14:46.over. He hits the outside red, got the action on the cue ball, and then

:14:47. > :15:03.it sticks on the red. You cannot get your breath when that

:15:04. > :15:12.happens. You would say he was still the favourite, but as you said,

:15:13. > :15:17.Stephen, the frame was over there. The two reds, they are not in a

:15:18. > :15:19.pottable position, but if Ronnie got another chance, and gets the colour,

:15:20. > :16:37.he could take them off in one shot. That is what he is looking at. There

:16:38. > :16:47.is not a lot available. Although he leads by 56 points, we

:16:48. > :17:19.saw it in the previous frames. He would like to remove that red

:17:20. > :17:34.from the side cushion. It is worth bringing this into play.

:17:35. > :17:44.It is not the best shot money has ever played. It is comfortable now

:17:45. > :17:58.for Dave to get the cue ball somewhere behind -- Ronnie has ever

:17:59. > :18:03.played. He took a pot on. He thought he had a shot to nothing and picked

:18:04. > :18:11.out a pot where he thought he would avoid the middle pocket, but he

:18:12. > :18:26.didn't. Suddenly, his 56 points advantage could erode. The last shot

:18:27. > :18:28.has put one red typed on the cushion, but not quite as safe there

:18:29. > :18:46.as it would be on the side cushion. He let the cue ball travel a couple

:18:47. > :18:58.of inches too far. He will have to play some sort of cannon.

:18:59. > :19:10.It happens again, Dave has gone into the bunch, stuck on a red. It would

:19:11. > :19:48.hurt. This is what top-class match snooker

:19:49. > :19:50.is all about. If you do not take your chances, for what ever reason,

:19:51. > :20:07.then you will get punished. It is all about the red that is

:20:08. > :20:24.almost tight on the cushion behind the black.

:20:25. > :20:31.That was the key shot and he has bounced nicely. Just play it to drop

:20:32. > :20:41.it in and give the pocket every chance. It is tricky. Is he refusing

:20:42. > :20:59.it? Yes, he is going to play the snooker.

:21:00. > :21:08.He has got to hit the red. Not only has he got to hit it, he has somehow

:21:09. > :21:15.got to get it safe. That will tell us if the last shot Ronnie played

:21:16. > :21:16.was the correct choice. A lot of times he would have taken that on,

:21:17. > :21:58.along the cushion. That is still a snooker, I feel.

:21:59. > :22:01.Once again, he must somehow get it safe, because they are all there for

:22:02. > :22:19.the taking, if he slips up. That is not bad. He would settle for

:22:20. > :22:29.that. You never know where they are really going to go.

:22:30. > :22:44.This will be the third escape. He got it safe the two previous shots.

:22:45. > :22:45.Can he do it again? If Ronnie keeps snookering him, sooner or later he

:22:46. > :23:04.will leave the red on. This time, he does not get away with

:23:05. > :23:06.it. As I say, you'd never know where they are going to go, so the chances

:23:07. > :23:31.their for Ronnie to pinch the frame. If you were going to put your

:23:32. > :23:32.mortgage on someone clearing up to win a frame, it would be Ronnie

:23:33. > :24:28.O'Sullivan. Very well played from Ronnie

:24:29. > :24:36.O'Sullivan. A little bit unlucky for Dave Gilbert. He's stuck on a red

:24:37. > :24:43.when he led by 56 points. We were talking about sweeping the cloth on

:24:44. > :24:49.the other table at the mid-session interval and I said it was to remove

:24:50. > :24:54.the chalk. We can show you the table fitter sweeping the chalk marks. How

:24:55. > :24:59.do they get on the table? We can show you. Look at this shot. It

:25:00. > :25:10.leaves a trail of chalk that you have to put on the tip, otherwise

:25:11. > :25:16.you would miscue quite a bit. The slow-mo action is amazing. You can

:25:17. > :25:22.see the clouds of chalk going on to the cloth. And this one, a swerve

:25:23. > :25:33.shot. Look at the piece of chalk going on the cloth.

:25:34. > :25:38.HAZEL IRVINE: I think that is the hand of Steve Davis doing those

:25:39. > :25:44.demonstrations. I think Dave Gilbert can count himself unlucky. Honestly,

:25:45. > :25:49.he is playing well, hitting the ball is nicely. He has played a perfect

:25:50. > :25:55.shot into the cluster. He has played screw back to come out and hits the

:25:56. > :26:00.red as he wants it and it sits on the reds on the left-hand side,

:26:01. > :26:11.touching ball, cannot play the shot, end of break. He does not seem to be

:26:12. > :26:15.fazed by the situation. He won a match here, he beat Ryan Day a few

:26:16. > :26:21.years back, but he does not seem to be fazed by the occasion. Many feel

:26:22. > :26:26.under pressure facing O'Sullivan over the years. Possibly it is the

:26:27. > :26:32.way to approach it. He has no pressure. He can probably play his

:26:33. > :26:36.game. Nobody expects him to beat the great Ronnie O'Sullivan. He knows he

:26:37. > :26:43.complain if he gets a chance and if Ronnie O'Sullivan does not lay well,

:26:44. > :26:51.he has another match experience and maybe he can turn a trick or two.

:26:52. > :26:58.DENNIS TAYLOR: The conclusion of this match will be tomorrow morning

:26:59. > :27:03.starting at 10am. Down to 14 seconds, his average shot time. I am

:27:04. > :27:08.wondering if the last frame has taken a little bit out of Dave

:27:09. > :27:16.Gilbert. He knows he was very unlucky. Really, he could be easily

:27:17. > :27:25.4-2 in front. But that was not the best shot he has played. Hang on.

:27:26. > :27:34.He may have got away with this. The one that has gone on the table is

:27:35. > :27:50.awkward. -- up the table. You get so used to him knocking that

:27:51. > :29:41.type of shot in with monotonous regularity.

:29:42. > :29:53.Well, answers on a postcard with that shot. Tried to cross double, I

:29:54. > :29:57.think, and missed it completely. Thought he could come back up for

:29:58. > :30:05.the black, and it all went wrong. It was not a bad choice of shot, it

:30:06. > :31:13.is just that he hit it too thick. A choice of rates to either corner

:31:14. > :31:15.pocket. He could play the cue ball into an area between the blue and

:31:16. > :31:29.pink. He did not hit that as well as he

:31:30. > :31:38.has hit the other shops today. Not as crisp.

:31:39. > :32:14.That was better, the right side of the blue, perfect position.

:32:15. > :32:27.A bad contact there. He is OK, but it could have spoiled things. The

:32:28. > :32:34.white would have slipped past that read, but he is still on the black.

:32:35. > :32:52.He needs a good cannon here. It is straight, it is OK. He will

:32:53. > :32:58.just drop it in for the black, but maybe there is a bit of an angle on

:32:59. > :33:09.that. That could have worked out a little better for Dave there.

:33:10. > :33:16.He has picked a little gap, he was stunned the cube ball through. It

:33:17. > :33:23.could go wrong. He has a red to the right middle. It is not a guarantee

:33:24. > :33:37.for position, but it is a tricky shot he has to negotiate here.

:33:38. > :33:50.He is keeping his focus well. He has had disappointment in this match. A

:33:51. > :33:57.couple of unlucky things have happened. It would be easy to let

:33:58. > :33:58.your head drop, but he still looks pretty focused, very composed,

:33:59. > :34:29.striking the ball with authority. Players have played worse than this

:34:30. > :34:35.and been ahead in matches. Had he played any other player, he may not

:34:36. > :34:38.be for- two behind. When he has had the misfortune, Ronnie has dished up

:34:39. > :35:00.a frame-winning break. He would like to win this frame

:35:01. > :35:06.without playing cannons, because that is what has gone wrong in a

:35:07. > :35:12.couple of frames. He stuck on a pink on one and may read on another. Can

:35:13. > :35:20.he secured the frame without having to risk a cannon? He does not have

:35:21. > :35:27.to play one here, he can come of the cushion. He does not have to play

:35:28. > :35:48.any dodgy positional shots yet. If he runs that through, he will

:35:49. > :35:56.catch the other red. He has to be careful here. He needs a few more

:35:57. > :36:00.pots to secure the frame. It is a straightforward shot, but he is a

:36:01. > :36:09.bit worried, because of what has happened previously. I don't blame

:36:10. > :36:15.him for that. He took the element out of playing a little cannon. He

:36:16. > :36:21.made sure that he got the right side of the blue. This is a good

:36:22. > :36:58.performance. Plenty of support here. From

:36:59. > :37:00.Tamworth. If you have followed him along, not that many miles away to

:37:01. > :37:22.Sheffield. Well played. The frame is well and

:37:23. > :37:30.truly over. It would be nice if he could make a century. He has made

:37:31. > :37:32.153 in his professional career. 15 last season, already 19 this season.

:37:33. > :37:46.He is a good break-builder. We said he had to go out there and

:37:47. > :37:50.enjoyed himself, he is doing that. I like his pace around the table. He

:37:51. > :38:05.is very fluent and good to watch, good on the eye.

:38:06. > :38:18.He made two centuries at the Crucible in the past.

:38:19. > :38:55.We have had eight centuries, we are only in the second day.

:38:56. > :39:14.The yellow again. He will make his third century at the Crucible

:39:15. > :39:23.Theatre. Well played, David Gilbert. Excellent performance. Important

:39:24. > :39:41.that he punished Ronnie for the bad shot he played.

:39:42. > :39:48.If this was Ronnie making this break, we would say how easy he is

:39:49. > :39:55.making it look. He has done that he. Every credit to him for making the

:39:56. > :40:01.break the way he has, it has been a very classy effort from Dave

:40:02. > :40:02.Gilbert. The magnificent break of 125 takes him to just one frame

:40:03. > :40:13.behind. A little ripple of applause from my

:40:14. > :40:19.colleagues here, because that was a thoroughly decent effort. Superb,

:40:20. > :40:28.wonderful control, very fluent, easy on the right. It was excellent.

:40:29. > :40:32.Considering the pressure of the situation at the Crucible, it seems

:40:33. > :40:37.like he has found some of the form that took into the final a few

:40:38. > :40:40.months ago. Yes, and more proof that the qualifying section of this

:40:41. > :40:44.tournament, where the players play three rounds to get here, is

:40:45. > :40:49.increasing their standard and making them sharper when they come here,

:40:50. > :40:55.regardless of who they are playing. In a few years, I can envisage the

:40:56. > :41:01.seeds complaining that they are at a disadvantage playing against players

:41:02. > :41:06.who are that hot. Which is amazing. Talking about the qualifiers, Rhys

:41:07. > :41:13.Clark, Donaldson, and Jack Liz Askey. He has not had the best of it

:41:14. > :41:18.over the last few weeks, he said, my game was shot to pieces, I was ready

:41:19. > :41:24.to go back to driving a tractor for a living, so a complete turnaround.

:41:25. > :41:30.Did he get a new cue? Yes, he got one a few months ago. He picked it

:41:31. > :41:32.up and he felt like his game had returned, it is incredible. Well

:41:33. > :41:53.done! Matt Selt gave him the cue, he is in

:41:54. > :42:00.Thailand after losing in the qualifiers.

:42:01. > :42:14.A mistake there. He has not left anything easy, but I think the red

:42:15. > :42:17.cut into the left corner. I think he thought the only one he could leave

:42:18. > :42:34.the one he played, but he missed it so far, he has left David this one.

:42:35. > :42:43.He would have loved to have been straight on the blue, follow-through

:42:44. > :42:49.to the red on the black. He is not straight. You see the shop is not

:42:50. > :43:28.on. He played for the read that Stephen

:43:29. > :43:45.mentioned this time. Absolutely perfect, to cannon that

:43:46. > :43:46.red to the left of the black, and excellent positional shot. That was

:43:47. > :44:11.deliberate. A couple of loose threads, but they

:44:12. > :44:16.are not available. He needs to get an angle to get into the bunch. Not

:44:17. > :44:20.good from the blue, because the pink is away from the bunch. That is why

:44:21. > :44:24.he is having a second thought. If the pink had been closer, he could

:44:25. > :44:32.have played up for the blue and straight into that. Finishing high

:44:33. > :44:33.on the black would be a good choice. Use the cushion to go into the

:44:34. > :44:47.bunch. Too much angle. He has got to hit the pink

:44:48. > :44:51.absolutely full on if he plays that shot. If he hits it half ball on the

:44:52. > :44:56.left, he can go enough to the corner. The pink is away from the

:44:57. > :44:58.reds, which makes it more difficult. That is why he is thinking about an

:44:59. > :45:15.alternative. He still has to play it. It is the

:45:16. > :45:28.right shot. He is cueing well enough to hit this properly.

:45:29. > :45:58.He is just OK here. The pink looked as if it would block the path to the

:45:59. > :46:05.black, but he is doubly making sure that the black passes the pink. It

:46:06. > :46:31.just about passes the pink. Maybe he is playing up for the blue.

:46:32. > :46:41.He is quite happy that the black has plenty of room.

:46:42. > :46:46.The red at the bottom of the pack to the left corner, he has to make sure

:46:47. > :46:59.he does not stick himself to that. It shows how precise these players

:47:00. > :47:05.have got to be. You could see the black just going past the edge of

:47:06. > :47:23.the pink. Look at that. Millimetres away.

:47:24. > :47:33.That is OK, he has got a red to the right centre.

:47:34. > :47:41.He could flick the right-hand red, directly below the black. The one to

:47:42. > :47:50.the centre if you want to play for. The mid-session interval has turned

:47:51. > :48:25.things around. Could have done with a bit more

:48:26. > :48:32.side, would have taken the cue ball away from the question. This is a

:48:33. > :48:37.test. He did not get the cue ball where he wanted. This is the first

:48:38. > :48:39.test, because his positional play has been so good, he has not had any

:48:40. > :48:52.difficult shots. You never like to see this,

:48:53. > :49:17.indecision. A long way off. He thought about it

:49:18. > :49:22.and thought about it, he did not know which red to go for. He had the

:49:23. > :49:32.other one that would go into the same pocket. In the end, he did not

:49:33. > :49:35.even get in the jaws. Once again, he has got a good advantage, but we

:49:36. > :49:40.have seen what has happened in a couple of the frames, Ronnie cleared

:49:41. > :49:44.up. Will history repeat itself again here? He thinks so, but it is not

:49:45. > :50:14.straightforward. This will open up the remainder of

:50:15. > :50:34.the reds and the pink. This is far from easy. Could even

:50:35. > :50:41.play to take the red of the cushion by his hand.

:50:42. > :51:09.Still an excellent pot. Controlled the cue ball very well.

:51:10. > :51:15.This is where the hard work starts, the perfect angle to cannon the

:51:16. > :51:30.reds, it should push one towards the left corner.

:51:31. > :51:44.All about the one near the middle pocket.

:51:45. > :51:57.Immediately tried to bring it into play, and didn't. If you play an

:51:58. > :52:07.exhibition, you double this. He has played a pretty good shot there.

:52:08. > :52:16.Just a bit of the red sticking out. The problem is, if he hits it and

:52:17. > :52:28.cannon the other red, sends it towards the left corner pocket.

:52:29. > :52:38.He can see the red, but he knows he could quite easily push it over the

:52:39. > :52:43.corner pocket. If it comes off the side cushion and tries to nestle on

:52:44. > :52:50.the reds, he has every chance of leaving it that way. This is all

:52:51. > :53:04.about getting a good cue ball. If he plays off the edge of the read.

:53:05. > :53:34.He hit the black quarter ball. The referee has got to get this back. He

:53:35. > :53:42.had a look beforehand. He is one of the best in the business.

:53:43. > :53:53.He can tell him which wait. You are not allowed to touch the cue ball.

:53:54. > :53:59.If he did, it would be a foul shot. It looks near enough spot-on.

:54:00. > :54:08.Cushion first and try to tip off the red and get up the table. He could

:54:09. > :54:14.do with a choice of side, but because he is so close with the

:54:15. > :54:18.cable, it is not easy. If he flicked the red, he could head up towards

:54:19. > :54:35.the yellow and blue with the cue ball. Try number two, the same shot.

:54:36. > :54:48.He was trying to hit the cushion first. That is pretty good.

:54:49. > :55:01.Excellent. A terrific shot. But it has run on a bit. He can see the

:55:02. > :55:04.red. I thought he was going behind the yellow and blue. The key part of

:55:05. > :55:20.the match. Another long pot. He can put Ronnie

:55:21. > :55:39.in all sorts of trouble here. Much easier to roll to the yellow

:55:40. > :55:51.because the blue is there, he can hit it a bit harder.

:55:52. > :55:56.Ronnie is looking at for cushions and land on the red, what an escape

:55:57. > :56:27.this would be. Have a look at this. The great escape, and what a bonus

:56:28. > :56:36.he has had their to get the snooker. It is fright wing. A fantastic hit,

:56:37. > :56:40.but the pace he was hitting the red, he was bound to stick it up. To land

:56:41. > :57:30.there is incredible fortune. He does pick out some terrific

:57:31. > :57:37.safety and tactical shots. He is one of the greatest break-builders of

:57:38. > :57:44.all time, if not the greatest. But some of the safety shots he plays

:57:45. > :57:48.are quite exceptional. You would have to say he is the greatest break

:57:49. > :57:49.build-up of all time because he overtook Stephen Hendry's run of

:57:50. > :57:59.century breaks. Ronnie has made 819th centuries,

:58:00. > :58:26.Stephen was at 750? 775. He needs a lot of side on this to

:58:27. > :58:33.make the angle. There is the side. Just about made it. A chance there

:58:34. > :59:03.now. Ronnie can take the frame. Look at this, left-handed. How

:59:04. > :59:05.useful is that? Sometimes people don't realise he has switched hands,

:59:06. > :59:27.he looks the same. Lots of right-hand side, because the

:59:28. > :59:33.natural angle would have seen the white comeback towards the brown.

:59:34. > :59:36.Played to perfection. Another frame that could have gone to Dave

:59:37. > :59:52.Gilbert. It has been a very entertaining

:59:53. > :59:57.afternoon's play from both players. He is not going to bother about the

:59:58. > :00:08.black. He will be pleased with his lead.

:00:09. > :00:17.Hazel Irvine it was a rueful smile from Dave Gilbert. There was one

:00:18. > :00:24.escape and a moment of punditry genius in the studio. Sadly not from

:00:25. > :00:29.me! Since he has retired, he has become brilliant. He said he would

:00:30. > :00:38.come of four cushions and snooker him back and I said, if he does that

:00:39. > :00:43.I am leaving the studio. The angles are their for the four cushion

:00:44. > :00:51.escape. He probably thought he had stuck it up. The three balls lined

:00:52. > :00:54.each other up. He has destroyed Dave Gilbert chances of getting level and

:00:55. > :01:01.suddenly Ronnie O'Sullivan guarantees a lead for the second

:01:02. > :01:06.session. I guess he can consider himself unfortunate at the chances

:01:07. > :01:13.he has taken, a couple of which granted he has not pushed on. 5-3 to

:01:14. > :01:18.Ronnie but it could be the other way round, he has played really well,

:01:19. > :01:21.Dave Gilbert, but he finds himself two behind, which can happen when

:01:22. > :01:28.you play somebody as fluent as a O'Sullivan. Ronnie O'Sullivan is a

:01:29. > :01:33.clever, tactical player which people sometimes do not give him credit

:01:34. > :01:39.for. He knows how to play the end of a frame. He is a good safety player

:01:40. > :01:43.and puts his opponent in trouble when required and does not take the

:01:44. > :01:49.risk, which was mentioned in commentary, he is considered in what

:01:50. > :01:53.he takes on and that is the art of match snooker. A predator when it

:01:54. > :02:01.comes to the end of the frame. Back to the last of the opening session.

:02:02. > :02:08.DENNIS TAYLOR: It is not all about potting balls. There is the tactical

:02:09. > :02:14.side which is so important. Ronnie spent a few years with the great Ray

:02:15. > :02:17.Reardon, six times world champion, and I think he improved Ronnie's

:02:18. > :02:28.tactical game no end. I am sure Ray Reardon is watching

:02:29. > :02:30.down in Torquay. He still plays a bit of golf and a bit of snooker and

:02:31. > :02:42.looks fantastic. For me, I would put Ray Reardon up

:02:43. > :02:53.their in my top eight of all time. That is how good he was.

:02:54. > :02:58.That was too thick. I think he got away with it this time. I suppose he

:02:59. > :03:20.needs a little bit of luck. He took on the double. It was a free

:03:21. > :03:40.shot. He was not going to leave anything easy.

:03:41. > :03:51.If he were to get out of the session leading 6-3, he would be delighted.

:03:52. > :04:09.Back at 10am in the morning for the conclusion of this match.

:04:10. > :04:33.It is looking ominous. Maybe that has not worked out.

:04:34. > :04:49.It is tricky to the middle pocket. That was not easy. That split did

:04:50. > :04:57.not work for Ronnie this time. I like you, Stephen, thought he would

:04:58. > :05:07.go on to make a frame-winning break. He was looking good at this stage

:05:08. > :05:17.and then a couple of cannons left it awkward. Somebody had a great big

:05:18. > :05:24.sneeze, as everybody is laughing. I think it was the other side of the

:05:25. > :05:36.arena, believe it or not. It is so compact at the Crucible Theatre. I

:05:37. > :05:45.remember playing Bill were Biddick -- Bill playing here. And it was not

:05:46. > :06:25.a sneeze that people heard around the Crucible Theatre.

:06:26. > :06:35.That wobbled a few times before it went in.

:06:36. > :06:45.If he could have taken this frame, if somebody offered Dave 5-4 he

:06:46. > :06:50.might have taken it before the match started. Can he hold himself

:06:51. > :07:03.together and make a sizeable contribution?

:07:04. > :07:11.I think the way he has played and the couple of frames he would have

:07:12. > :07:19.won had he not had touching balls going into the pack, 5-4 down is a

:07:20. > :07:23.fair result. But you do not get all that you deserve in this game. It is

:07:24. > :07:49.a brutal sport at the top level. That was not a good shot. He did not

:07:50. > :07:54.pot that cleanly. Finally, is the tension starting to get two days? He

:07:55. > :08:03.has looked relaxed all afternoon. He knows if he loses this frame, the

:08:04. > :08:06.match will probably go with it. I do not fancy him to beat O'Sullivan

:08:07. > :08:32.from 6-3 down. That is the problem. You have to

:08:33. > :08:38.make sure you judge that correctly and missed the colours both ways.

:08:39. > :08:42.Now he has left a difficult pot. We saw what happened in the previous

:08:43. > :08:49.frame when he ran out of position slightly.

:08:50. > :09:03.Exactly the same side of the pocket. The red to the right of the pink and

:09:04. > :09:12.a stun through for the black was the shot. Maybe it is a sign of the

:09:13. > :09:13.pressure finally beginning to tell. It is the first time today he has

:09:14. > :09:44.played the wrong shot. Can he see enough of this? It is

:09:45. > :09:53.close by the way, whether he passes the brown, whether he passes the

:09:54. > :09:57.yellow. We are right behind the shot. He might go close to potting

:09:58. > :10:07.this into the corner. A bit too much pace. But he can put

:10:08. > :10:47.Dave in quite a spot of bother. At first glance, I cannot see how

:10:48. > :10:55.people get the red near the right corner pocket. He cannot go twice

:10:56. > :11:04.across the table, because of the other balls in the way. He is

:11:05. > :11:31.looking to see if you can find a path through to that red.

:11:32. > :11:42.If you can find a gap and get through to that, it will be top

:11:43. > :11:44.drawer. Took the wrong red. He could have left something easier than

:11:45. > :12:10.this. Got him in trouble again here. Not a

:12:11. > :12:22.bad choice. That is almost as good as a snooker. Leaving it awkward

:12:23. > :12:51.like that sometimes is better than actually getting the snooker.

:12:52. > :12:59.Awkward. If you get a little bit of side on this that you do not intend,

:13:00. > :13:18.you can make a complete mess of it. I do not think it is there in the

:13:19. > :13:33.two cushion escape. I did not think he could get the

:13:34. > :13:38.ankle... He thought he could but he hit the knuckle of the jaw, which

:13:39. > :13:47.has gifted Ronnie. The one next to the pink goes. The clever shot

:13:48. > :13:52.Ronnie played when he left him hampered with the green, it really

:13:53. > :14:22.was. He got a terrible contact. The pink has gone in. Just about OK.

:14:23. > :14:33.It is always a decent target when you start out the favourite for the

:14:34. > :14:38.match. 6-3 is a decent target to go for and anything better is a bonus

:14:39. > :14:46.and it looks like that is what Ronnie will have now, a 6-3 lead. Is

:14:47. > :14:51.he going to have a 6-3 lead? The cushion is conspired against him. --

:14:52. > :15:00.cushions. The way he is going about this, it

:15:01. > :15:15.looks like he will take this difficult plant on. A terrific shot.

:15:16. > :15:24.He might have to play a snooker again. Can he hit this? What a plant

:15:25. > :15:43.with the extension. You would have to say there is no

:15:44. > :15:49.way back now in this match for Dave Gilbert at 6-3. He would have to do

:15:50. > :15:53.something pretty special. He has been unfortunate. He has played well

:15:54. > :16:03.the majority of the match. A couple of frames, without kisses going into

:16:04. > :16:10.the bunch, he probably would have won them. He is still at 93% pot

:16:11. > :16:27.success rate, Dave Gilbert. If he played a lot of other players

:16:28. > :16:35.in the form he has shown, he could have... Even in this session. He has

:16:36. > :16:53.played well. He knows Ronnie still needs four more.

:16:54. > :17:05.It has been a very entertaining afternoon's play.

:17:06. > :17:16.And a great way to finish for the favourite for the championship will

:17:17. > :17:19.stop Ronnie O'Sullivan. He would be delighted, you would have to say,

:17:20. > :17:31.and he takes the session 6-3 and they will be back at 10am.

:17:32. > :17:40.Top very high quality stuff from them. I thought he played well, Dave

:17:41. > :17:46.Gilbert. Unfortunately, he ran into The Rocket, who is that little bit

:17:47. > :17:53.different, and there are frames he will win that other players might

:17:54. > :18:00.not. Is that it for Dave Gilbert, as was said in commentary? There is no

:18:01. > :18:06.reason a player cannot get off to a very fast start. You never know. You

:18:07. > :18:11.tend to think when Ronnie O'Sullivan gets his claws into you, that is the

:18:12. > :18:16.end. We will see tomorrow morning. We are 30 hours into the

:18:17. > :18:22.championship and it has been rather eventful. We have lost both of last

:18:23. > :18:27.year's finalists. We have lost three of the nine world champions who

:18:28. > :18:33.started, this year. And Steve Davis has hung up his cue after 38 years

:18:34. > :18:43.as a professional. That is more than enough headlines, is Nick? It was a

:18:44. > :18:47.tough game. Stuart Bingham was under pressure. We are all under pressure.

:18:48. > :19:08.The new defending champion. 5-1. It is now 5-3. I let off the

:19:09. > :19:12.hook at 5-1 completely. Stuart Bingham will be over the moon

:19:13. > :19:23.to be only one behind. We have a match. I have gone 90, 80. My lunch

:19:24. > :19:28.was nice and sweet. It was a tremendous century. We have a

:19:29. > :19:33.decider. I did really fancy winning the last frame.

:19:34. > :19:46.A bit unlucky not to win it in one hit.

:19:47. > :19:57.It could not have been hit better. I split up with my coach and so I am

:19:58. > :20:04.on my own. These times, I have not got sort of a clue what I was doing.

:20:05. > :20:12.And he has flicked the blue. That does end any hope Stuart Bingham had

:20:13. > :20:20.of staying in this championship that he is so gloriously won last year. I

:20:21. > :20:25.dug in and I won. I am delighted. I beat the world champion. I am not

:20:26. > :20:29.playing my best. I have to take positives from that. I do not feel

:20:30. > :20:36.like a qualifier, I am as fresh as a daisy. I beat Stephen Hendry when he

:20:37. > :20:38.was defending champion so it is not nice, to go out in that first round

:20:39. > :20:49.after winning it. I was confident going into the

:20:50. > :20:56.match. Strangely enough I think I am timing the ball better now than at

:20:57. > :21:01.any time this season but Marco Fu was magnificent. He did not play too

:21:02. > :21:05.badly today. The first session I felt confident. Previous years I

:21:06. > :21:10.tend to struggle in the first round but this year, I tend to play a lot

:21:11. > :21:15.better. Marco Fu survives, in fact the only

:21:16. > :21:23.seed of the matches so far to do so. They are shock scorelines. Both of

:21:24. > :21:28.last year's finalists going out, the first time in this format it has

:21:29. > :21:35.happened, but both went out in the first round. The 17th defending

:21:36. > :21:41.champion not to defend. Ali Carter magnificent towards the end of that

:21:42. > :21:44.match. Anthony McGill, it is no surprise, he has had shock results

:21:45. > :21:48.here before and this is the latest. I guess it shows how dangerous the

:21:49. > :21:54.qualifiers are going to be this year.

:21:55. > :21:58.I think the standard is improving. Anthony McGill, some would have

:21:59. > :22:04.looked at the draw and thought OK, it is not bad, it is not good, but

:22:05. > :22:13.when it comes down to it, the best of 19 against a player of Anthony

:22:14. > :22:17.McGill's standard, it would never be easy and Shaun Murphy was outplayed

:22:18. > :22:22.in departments and commentators agreed. And there were two centuries

:22:23. > :22:26.from Anthony McGill. He seemed to get stronger at the end of the

:22:27. > :22:32.match. We saw it with Danny Willett when he went in front last week, and

:22:33. > :22:37.it was the same with Anthony McGill, from 6-6, his scoring was superb and

:22:38. > :22:41.when he got a chance to win, he was very good. And a third surprise this

:22:42. > :22:49.afternoon when this fella decided after 38 years, he decided to hang

:22:50. > :22:55.up his cue and he announced in this studio his qualifying match earlier

:22:56. > :23:00.in the week against Fergal O'Brien had indeed been his lasting

:23:01. > :23:03.competition and just before play got under way this afternoon, Steve

:23:04. > :23:10.Davis took one last lap of honour around the Crucible. It is all

:23:11. > :23:15.yours. He was clutching the trophy he won

:23:16. > :23:43.six times in the 80s, a decade he utterly dominated.

:23:44. > :23:53.Steve, they cannot believe it. None of us can, really, what a wonderful,

:23:54. > :23:59.wonderful appropriate celebration of all you have done for this sport.

:24:00. > :24:04.Thanks. It is an emotional thing to do. I did not know what was going to

:24:05. > :24:09.happen. I was going to Peter out from the game but I thought this was

:24:10. > :24:13.nice to do. My father passed away just before the World Championships.

:24:14. > :24:16.I still played in it. He was with me from the start, so I thought

:24:17. > :24:34.finished... APPLAUSE. And thereafter he made his way to a

:24:35. > :24:38.press conference and the messages of affection and respect and

:24:39. > :24:43.congratulations have been flooding in. 81 titles around the world, 28

:24:44. > :24:53.in world ranking events, it really is the end of an era. I was shocked.

:24:54. > :24:58.But he was not going to play on for ever. It was nice to see him get a

:24:59. > :25:05.great reception in the Crucible. It shows how warmly accepted he is. I

:25:06. > :25:08.think he raised the bar for everybody, the professionals at the

:25:09. > :25:14.time when he came through possibly were not practising as hard as he,

:25:15. > :25:17.not doing seven hours a day religiously, and I think it

:25:18. > :25:21.contributed to a change in the game. He did not just win trophies, he

:25:22. > :25:29.influenced a huge number of other players. What a funny bloke he is, a

:25:30. > :25:33.dry sense of humour he has and you juxtapose it with the image as a

:25:34. > :25:37.player, being Mr boring, which could not have been further from the

:25:38. > :25:42.truth. It shows you what an intensely focused athlete he was,

:25:43. > :25:49.who hated losing. If you hate losing that much, you win a lot and that is

:25:50. > :25:54.why he became a great champion. People bandy around the term

:25:55. > :25:59.greatest player far too much these days. Steve Davis is our greatest

:26:00. > :26:05.champion, our greatest ambassador we have ever had and continues to be.

:26:06. > :26:09.For me, he was the best player on the table and the best ambassador

:26:10. > :26:20.for the sport away from playing snooker. He was my idol growing up

:26:21. > :26:24.and he is still my idol today. And it has continues like that all

:26:25. > :26:29.afternoon. The tweets have been flooding in, thanks so much, and I'm

:26:30. > :26:42.sure you will read many of them. There is one from an old mate, Barry

:26:43. > :26:48.Hearns. He says... Another one sums it up, saying the

:26:49. > :26:53.reason I became a snooker fan in the 80s. Thanks for the memories. We

:26:54. > :26:57.will miss watching you play and when you see that written down you

:26:58. > :27:01.realise you will not be picking up the cue and entering things, which

:27:02. > :27:06.was your right to do so as a member of the tour, but that is the last

:27:07. > :27:10.time we will see you in competitive snooker. If you had seen me recently

:27:11. > :27:16.you would not want to watch it! And I take back everything I say about

:27:17. > :27:22.Shaun Murphy. He is a great ambassador and probably has played

:27:23. > :27:29.to a better standard I have played. The significance of the role Barry

:27:30. > :27:38.played as a friend and manager is what? Immense. I had a team bond

:27:39. > :27:43.with my father on the table, but off the table, Barry Hearns did so much

:27:44. > :27:45.for me and pushed the barriers of management in sport, we were the

:27:46. > :27:52.first sport team that got together back then. He changed the way things

:27:53. > :27:57.were done. We were foraging our own way. He managed a lot of other

:27:58. > :28:03.players and did things outside of snooker but his passion was always

:28:04. > :28:07.snooker. And finally, when the game was on its knees, he got asked to

:28:08. > :28:12.come back and he is now doing the job we wanted to do which was to

:28:13. > :28:17.push snooker around the world. Between him and perhaps the BBC,

:28:18. > :28:21.which I make no bones about saying, if it was not someone in the BBC who

:28:22. > :28:26.decided to show snooker on the television, the game would be less

:28:27. > :28:34.rich. I am sure tributes will continue to come in but you are now

:28:35. > :28:41.a full-time pundit, official. Events on the other side of the curtain

:28:42. > :28:52.have been absorbing. Between Alan McManus and Stephen Maguire. The

:28:53. > :28:58.former world number two is now within two at 5-7. We will pick them

:28:59. > :28:59.up in the 13th frame and we go back to Peter Ebdon and JOHN VIRGO: The

:29:00. > :29:18.commentary box. It is not happening for either

:29:19. > :29:28.player out there at the moment. They are both really struggling.

:29:29. > :29:43.What can Alan make of this opportunity?

:29:44. > :29:52.He played that very well. A good, solid pot, finishing nicely on the

:29:53. > :29:57.blue and he has the two reds to the right of the black to play for. If

:29:58. > :30:00.he can clear those, with the black available into the corner pockets,

:30:01. > :30:48.it would be a good chance. Alan has always had a lovely touch

:30:49. > :30:53.and great control in the balls. So far today, when he has had to hit

:30:54. > :30:59.the ball is harder, that is when he has tended to miss. He has a good

:31:00. > :31:12.opportunity here. He does not have to do too much with

:31:13. > :31:18.the cue ball. This is a perfect opportunity to screw into the pack,

:31:19. > :31:22.should he wish to do so. He could screw into the pack and leave

:31:23. > :31:29.himself the red into the left middle. He has not got into that

:31:30. > :31:34.enough. It looks as though he is nothing. He needed more back spin on

:31:35. > :31:41.the cue ball to release it from the reds. You could say he is unlucky,

:31:42. > :31:53.because at worst you would expect him to be on the reds to the right

:31:54. > :31:59.middle. I cannot see a pot. I thought if he could have screwed off

:32:00. > :32:03.the pack and taken the cue ball towards the right side cushion, he

:32:04. > :32:08.would have had the red into the left middle and still had the opportunity

:32:09. > :32:12.to open the reds at the same time. More power, he could have ended up

:32:13. > :32:18.on that red into the left centre. But it has not worked out for him.

:32:19. > :32:22.The mood that Stephen is in, I would not be surprised if he took the long

:32:23. > :32:27.red into the green pocket, dividing he cannot see one of the ones into

:32:28. > :32:31.the middle. He is a very aggressive player and he is in an aggressive

:32:32. > :32:40.mood, so I would not be surprised if he took the long red on into the

:32:41. > :32:48.green pocket. That is exactly what he will play.

:32:49. > :33:33.Stephen Maguire deserves everything he gets from this opportunity. He

:33:34. > :33:36.was leaving a middle distance red into the right-hander black pocket

:33:37. > :33:44.if he had missed the red into the green pocket, but he cued that so

:33:45. > :33:48.well. This is a really good chance. That would have been a little boost

:33:49. > :33:55.for his confidence. Potting such a good read. That is what he is so

:33:56. > :34:02.good at, he takes the ball by the horns, he plays aggressive stuff,

:34:03. > :34:07.and when he is playing well, he reaps confidence from the excellent

:34:08. > :34:13.pots he takes on. Absolutely. He will be aggressive, he is not going

:34:14. > :34:16.to try and get back into this match by playing negatively, he will play

:34:17. > :34:27.positively, but that brings pressure. Taking pot on which risky.

:34:28. > :35:12.As long as he has a clear mindset, I suppose that helps.

:35:13. > :35:16.Stephen taking time to compose himself and work things out,

:35:17. > :35:35.realising it is a massive frame. Or of a sudden, from both players

:35:36. > :35:41.struggling, the confidence that Stephen Maguire has got from taking

:35:42. > :35:44.that really tough red into the green pocket has given him the opportunity

:35:45. > :35:56.to win this frame. There is a bounce in his step, his

:35:57. > :36:15.focus has gone up a touch. He is starting to play with more

:36:16. > :36:25.confidence. This is a massive frame in the context of the match. I also

:36:26. > :36:29.think the way it has developed with Alan McManus missing so many shots,

:36:30. > :36:54.that will not have done his confidence any good.

:36:55. > :36:58.I don't know why players do that, that their knuckles on the table,

:36:59. > :37:16.but Stephen likes doing it. Just to get that bit of anguish out

:37:17. > :37:26.of his system. He gets uptight with himself. That red wobbled in.

:37:27. > :37:33.Despite that kick which cost him position, this has been a really

:37:34. > :37:36.good effort from Stephen. Things have been really tough for both

:37:37. > :37:41.players over the last couple of frames, very scrappy, balls going

:37:42. > :37:49.awkward, lots of big bounces and kit. It is amazing what those things

:37:50. > :37:54.can do to destroy a player's confidence. Under the circumstances

:37:55. > :38:05.so far, this has been an excellent effort.

:38:06. > :38:15.33 points in front, so he still needs to more reds. Ned, colour,

:38:16. > :38:17.red, to go into the mid-session interval, having trailed at the

:38:18. > :38:27.start of this final session by three frames will stop --, just one

:38:28. > :38:31.behind. At the start of it he would have settled for that. It looks a

:38:32. > :38:56.formality now. We did say, Peter, that he needed

:38:57. > :39:00.help from his opponent, and he has had that in these four frames.

:39:01. > :39:07.Absolutely, it has made a huge difference. Now Stephen Maguire has

:39:08. > :39:13.got the bounce in his step. Concentration and focus has

:39:14. > :39:28.definitely improved. He is looking incredibly determined.

:39:29. > :39:34.Cannot make the century. Oh, he can, sorry, my mistake. I forgot about

:39:35. > :39:57.the pink! Concentrate! It is not the balls that have been

:39:58. > :40:07.missed so much as the dish and side of the frames has been hard. Top

:40:08. > :40:15.drawer. Wonderful shot on the green from Stephen Maguire. He has gone

:40:16. > :40:24.from really struggling to having a bit of a buzz on in this frame. It

:40:25. > :40:30.was a terrific opening red, and he deserved everything he got. It

:40:31. > :40:35.jumped out of the pocket, but he will not be too bothered. What he

:40:36. > :40:41.will be pleased with, and Alan McManus will not be, from being

:40:42. > :40:42.three frames down, he is only one behind. He is right back in it, that

:40:43. > :40:52.he still trails. Three in a row for Stephen Maguire,

:40:53. > :40:56.but Alan McManus won the next with a break of 65. Now, Stephen Maguire to

:40:57. > :41:17.play. He overcooked it. He has left a red

:41:18. > :41:26.to the middle. It is an opportunity for Alan McManus to get 29. -- to

:41:27. > :41:39.nine. When you are at nine, you are just one frame from victory.

:41:40. > :41:49.What a chance. Stephen Maguire would have been a warm favourite for this

:41:50. > :42:06.match. Not now he isn't. He fears the worst. He will have to

:42:07. > :42:12.produce don't miss snooker if he will win this match now. It looks

:42:13. > :42:40.for all money as though he will go 9-6 behind.

:42:41. > :42:46.Considering he has lost his way before the interval, this has been

:42:47. > :42:55.an excellent response from Alan McManus. Showing true grit, steel,

:42:56. > :43:03.determination, focus, concentration. And that is the frame-winner.

:43:04. > :43:06.Stephen Maguire, if he will get a place in the second round, needs to

:43:07. > :43:31.win all the remaining frames. Every red that is potted reduces

:43:32. > :44:14.that by eight points. I can see from his last three

:44:15. > :44:16.appearances here that Stephen Maguire has lost 10-9 in the first

:44:17. > :44:30.round. Ryan Day in 2014 and last year to

:44:31. > :44:34.his friend Anthony McGill. The way things are at the moment, he would

:44:35. > :44:35.be delighted to get the opportunity to be 9-9 with the chance of

:44:36. > :44:54.winning. Yes. Such a good player. But his hopes are fading here,

:44:55. > :44:59.because Alan McManus is starting to cue... I did not see the first

:45:00. > :45:58.session, but better than he has cued at any time of this session.

:45:59. > :46:10.Maybe break of 65 in the last frame. That break of 77 has given him a

:46:11. > :46:19.golden opportunity to knock out the seeded player. Just one frame away

:46:20. > :46:24.from victory. But the two-time semifinalist was

:46:25. > :46:27.not done yet, he took the next. But now, it is the veteran Alan McManus

:46:28. > :46:45.in the balls again. No matter how good you are, there is

:46:46. > :47:11.nothing you can do in that seat. He looks to have landed very

:47:12. > :47:18.straight on the black, but it is OK, because there is a red to the left

:47:19. > :47:24.of the back. Pot it, screw off the side cushion, for the red in the

:47:25. > :47:30.same pocket. Did not really get into that as he would like. But he has

:47:31. > :47:52.another alternative, the red to the left middle.

:47:53. > :48:02.He is holding himself together very well, Alan McManus, this is solid

:48:03. > :48:10.stuff. Lots of experience, one of the most experienced players on the

:48:11. > :48:15.tour. Been there, done it. You can see him closing the match out here.

:48:16. > :48:21.Still has to do it, but the ball for there. It is just a question of

:48:22. > :48:24.holding himself together now. Easier said than done, but he is looking

:48:25. > :48:35.very strong and focused and composed and determined.

:48:36. > :48:42.He played that nicely, perfect on the blue. It is worth reiterating

:48:43. > :48:47.what we were saying after the first four frames, when he was starting to

:48:48. > :48:53.struggle. The mid-session interval, he came out and regrouped. He has

:48:54. > :49:04.come out a different player. Absolutely. His focus has been very

:49:05. > :49:09.good. A lesson for every player. You can be struggling, but when you have

:49:10. > :49:14.those intervals, try to use them to your advantage and put your bad

:49:15. > :49:21.shots to the back of your mind and think ahead rather than what has

:49:22. > :49:26.gone before. So far, he has taken these very well. He is only a few

:49:27. > :49:36.pots away from beating Stephen Maguire.

:49:37. > :49:48.This black to go 60 in front with just 75 remaining. This is when Alan

:49:49. > :49:52.McManus is at his best, when he is stroking balls around the table.

:49:53. > :49:57.When he has to hit them hard, he struggled at times. It is lovely to

:49:58. > :50:03.watch him play when he is stroking the balls around the table. A red

:50:04. > :50:07.and a black would have been sufficient to leave Stephen Maguire

:50:08. > :50:15.needing a snooker. But he has played a poor positional shot. The red

:50:16. > :50:19.immediately above the black does not go to the right corner, so he has

:50:20. > :50:30.made a bit of a mess of that. He was in perfect position. But that is a

:50:31. > :50:34.tremendous part. It hardly looked as though it went, but he has not got

:50:35. > :50:40.the right side of the blue, and he still needs one more red. This move

:50:41. > :50:47.will put him 66 in front with 65 remaining -- 67 remaining. What a

:50:48. > :50:56.commend this hot on the red. Commend this shot. He is a lot better when

:50:57. > :51:06.he is stroking them in. He did not thrash at it. Let's hope the blue

:51:07. > :51:18.stays in the pocket. A very good shot. He has given himself a chance.

:51:19. > :51:26.He can clip the red in. The red will put him 67 in front with just 59

:51:27. > :51:29.remaining. If he plays this with left-hand side, he can play it as a

:51:30. > :51:39.shock to nothing and get behind the yellow and brown. He has refused it.

:51:40. > :51:46.He has played an excellent safety. Very good effort from Alan McManus.

:51:47. > :51:51.A little shake of the head. But it was nice to see when Stephen Maguire

:51:52. > :51:57.came to the table, a little tap on the table, good sportsmanship, to

:51:58. > :52:02.delete the position Stephen is in. And it means so much to both

:52:03. > :52:07.players. It was lovely to see the recognition from Stephen Maguire for

:52:08. > :52:18.an excellent effort from Alan McManus. What a great effort, just a

:52:19. > :52:23.bit too much pace. Excellent effort. He will want to be careful here,

:52:24. > :52:31.Alan. The last thing he wants to do is to bring the three reds below the

:52:32. > :52:40.pink interplay. Alan will look to play this very thin, possibly knock

:52:41. > :52:47.the red into the pink, maybe a touch of right-hand side and get the cue

:52:48. > :52:56.ball behind the yellow and brown. Did not get enough side on it.

:52:57. > :53:09.He has not got any points to play with here. Anything but blacks and

:53:10. > :53:16.he can only tie. This is a tough pot.

:53:17. > :53:29.It was tough. Alan McManus has now got his chance to win the match. A

:53:30. > :53:36.match he would have been second favourite in. He trailed 3-1 after

:53:37. > :53:44.the first four frames, but then he came back and won the next five.

:53:45. > :53:50.This victory. It is right in the middle of the pocket. We have

:53:51. > :53:59.another seed going by the wayside. Unbuttoning the shirt. Stephen

:54:00. > :54:08.Maguire feels that that is the end. It is now. He got the cannon,

:54:09. > :54:17.perfect on the red, no way back for Stephen. Not this year, and another

:54:18. > :54:24.disappointing first-round defeat, it has to be said, such a good player.

:54:25. > :54:26.But for the last four years we have just not seen the best of him here

:54:27. > :54:41.at the Crucible. The red has not gone in, but a

:54:42. > :54:47.handshake from Stephen Maguire, he will be disappointed, but what can

:54:48. > :54:51.you do? Alan McManus has proved again what a very tough competitor

:54:52. > :54:56.he is. He looked to be struggling before the interval, but he raised

:54:57. > :55:08.his game, and he runs out in the end a very comfortable winner. Who says

:55:09. > :55:10.you have to qualify -- who says the convocation takes it out of players?

:55:11. > :55:22.It is sharpening them up. He is such a great friend. He is a

:55:23. > :55:26.great guy. It is difficult in some way 's, but nice in others, being

:55:27. > :55:32.familiar with him. It is such a tense atmosphere. The match was

:55:33. > :55:36.slipping away from me at one point, I was gone in the first four frames.

:55:37. > :55:43.I found a bit of game in the last session. I am over the moon to

:55:44. > :55:48.finish it off as quickly as I did. A bit of experience helping due to get

:55:49. > :55:52.over the line, 25 years after your debut, and it is an amazing record,

:55:53. > :55:57.this will be your 15th time in the second round from 20 appearances. I

:55:58. > :56:04.have one a few matches here, there are plenty of good players that have

:56:05. > :56:09.come here and have never won a match, but I roll onto the next one.

:56:10. > :56:13.I play Ali Carter now. Commiserations to Stevie, but he

:56:14. > :56:18.will be back. We will see you in the second round, well done.

:56:19. > :56:24.Congratulations, he is still going strong, great to see. The headline

:56:25. > :56:29.is three of the four men through our qualifiers. We have lost the world

:56:30. > :56:35.number two, three and 16. It is proving costly so far. They are

:56:36. > :56:42.chained up and the first round for the seeds is horrible, you don't

:56:43. > :56:47.want to be going out. When it was 7-6, the interval came at the right

:56:48. > :56:51.time. There was a frame where the twitching hour had arrived, they

:56:52. > :56:56.were all over the place. He regrouped and he was really good,

:56:57. > :57:00.and what is impressive, at 45, Peter Ebdon mentioned focus, to be able to

:57:01. > :57:05.keep concentration at that age, that is what I found the hardest, to do

:57:06. > :57:11.that over those sessions is very good. He was away from The Crucible

:57:12. > :57:16.for five or six years, and in the last four years he has qualified.

:57:17. > :57:22.Six matches in the last three years, sorry, two years to get here, that

:57:23. > :57:26.is an impressive statistic for a player who is supposed to be going

:57:27. > :57:32.downhill. He had gone down the slippery slope of the ranking list,

:57:33. > :57:37.it looked like he would go into the world of the 64 and dropping out of

:57:38. > :57:41.the game, which is a panic for a lot of players, but he has reinvented

:57:42. > :57:46.himself. He has kept his standard up. He must have worked very hard. A

:57:47. > :57:52.total trooper. A hard grafting matchplay. But you still have to pop

:57:53. > :57:58.the balls and hold yourself together. He has done it so well.

:57:59. > :58:01.What about Stephen Maguire, will be fourth year in a row, a

:58:02. > :58:07.disappointing exit, round one again. He is it remembers talent, but it is

:58:08. > :58:13.proving to be a problem, getting past the first round. It has been an

:58:14. > :58:17.eventful few days here at the Betfred World Championship, and we

:58:18. > :58:23.are all off now to try and find some kind of silver-plated shot clock as

:58:24. > :58:28.a retirement gift for Steve Davis. He has called it a day, and we will

:58:29. > :58:34.miss you playing, Steve, but we will be with you over the next few weeks,

:58:35. > :58:38.months, and, we hope, years. Congratulations, and we will catch

:58:39. > :58:44.you for more this evening with Jason. Goodbye.