Sunday, Final, Evening

:00:39. > :01:01.# HELLO DARKN'T MY OLD FRIEND # I'VE COME TO TALK WITH YOU AGAIN

:01:02. > :01:13.Because of the vision # Left it seems when I was

:01:14. > :01:21.leaving # And a vision in my brain

:01:22. > :01:34.# Still remains # Within

:01:35. > :02:07.stones # When my eyes were stunned by the

:02:08. > :02:19.flash of a New York light # And the sounds of

:02:20. > :02:27.Never is the sound of silence so compelling as it is here in

:02:28. > :02:32.Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. Snooker's home, filled to the

:02:33. > :02:37.rafters, hushed, fascinated by events here in the 2016 Betfred

:02:38. > :02:43.snooker championship final. Many have come to will on Mark Selby to a

:02:44. > :02:47.second world title. Many in, in China, are hoping their man, Ding

:02:48. > :02:52.Junhui can become the first Asian player to lift this trophy. Never

:02:53. > :02:55.mind the sound of silence, he was in troubled waters earlier on, in

:02:56. > :03:09.contrast to the way he sailed through the championship so far.

:03:10. > :03:26.This is fabulous stuff from Ding Junhui.

:03:27. > :03:33.Oh, tremendous pots. You cannot hit a ball much better

:03:34. > :03:46.than that. You can't strike a ball better than

:03:47. > :03:55.that. Oh, he looks full of confidence now.

:03:56. > :04:02.He's played it perfect. A great shot.

:04:03. > :04:14.Mark Selby came to the fore. We may be have a new favourite for

:04:15. > :04:24.the tournament and he is definitely a major contender.

:04:25. > :04:28.Excellent stuff. Mark Selby is a world number one and he's showing

:04:29. > :04:45.how good he is. A record-breaking seven centuries

:04:46. > :04:56.from the Chinese sensation. He gets himself into his first ever final.

:04:57. > :05:05.And what a player and what a competitor Mark Selby is. He's got

:05:06. > :05:12.himself into his second final in three years.

:05:13. > :05:18.Well the commentators are always saying you never settle down until

:05:19. > :05:23.you win your first frame. Ding Junhui got off to a nightmare start

:05:24. > :05:29.in this match. He did. You would expect he would get off to a good

:05:30. > :05:34.start, in a confident state of mind. It seemed like all of a sudden he

:05:35. > :05:39.panicked. He was over-reaching for shots. This green was a tricky one

:05:40. > :05:42.into the middle pocket. He only needed the green but played

:05:43. > :05:50.position. All of a sudden it looked like he had lost confidence. He made

:05:51. > :05:54.seven accept cannureries in his ---en centuries in his semi-final.

:05:55. > :05:58.He got further and further in the hole and missing obvious balls by

:05:59. > :06:04.then and very worried, I think, and concerned about how he was playing.

:06:05. > :06:10.In the interview Terry Griffiths tried steady the ship. These become

:06:11. > :06:19.more difficult for him. Came down the table and gave a chance to Mark

:06:20. > :06:26.Selby. And he was six-nil behind. The fact he started to disintegrate

:06:27. > :06:30.gave Mark Selby more confidence. He was playing granite safety play

:06:31. > :06:33.which put on the heat on to Ding Junhui. He was strong amongst the

:06:34. > :06:38.balls, but had the better head on all day long. Every time he missed

:06:39. > :06:41.and it was not very often Ding was always in trouble but his potting

:06:42. > :06:45.and break-building was miles better than in the event. If he converted

:06:46. > :06:50.this one chance he could have been 7-0 in front. As it was, Ding just

:06:51. > :06:57.about got it together in the end. It always looked like Ding would need

:06:58. > :07:01.help. When Mark Selby left the blue out of the pocket... There There

:07:02. > :07:06.were a few cheers when he did pot it. You could see the emotion on his

:07:07. > :07:11.frame for just winning a frame. I think he needs to be mentally strong

:07:12. > :07:15.this evening. Far stronger. He took the final frame to reduce his

:07:16. > :07:17.deficit to four frames and this will be fascinating tonight. Rob Walker,

:07:18. > :07:31.it is all yours. Top Welcome to the World

:07:32. > :07:34.Championship final. These are the dreams players think about for

:07:35. > :07:38.decades. It is a massive night for both men, here at the sport's

:07:39. > :08:02.spiritual home, the Crucible. Please welcome yesterday's record

:08:03. > :08:08.century-breaker, who is today's history-maker. The first Asian

:08:09. > :08:11.player ever to contest a World Championship final, two massive

:08:12. > :08:16.frames this afternoon have reduced his deficit. The 11-time ranking

:08:17. > :08:25.winner is ready to continue his revival tonight, as the eyes of the

:08:26. > :08:42.nation watch from afar, enter the Chinese dragon, Ding Junhui.

:08:43. > :09:00.He has incredible mental strength. This is his first World Championship

:09:01. > :09:05.final and he showed all his experience to produce a great start

:09:06. > :09:09.this afternoon, bidding to join an illustrious list of multiple world

:09:10. > :09:17.champions here at the Crucible. Here comes the world number one, here

:09:18. > :09:31.comes the Jester from Leicester, he's Mark Selby.

:09:32. > :09:50.The second session of this World Championship final between the

:09:51. > :09:57.legend which is Ding Junhui and Mark Selby. Mark Selby obviously got off

:09:58. > :10:08.to a flyer. A foot-hold in the match now.

:10:09. > :10:19.The cameras and the phones away now. I agree. There's a massive session

:10:20. > :10:26.in this final for Ding Junhui. Anything less than a win in

:10:27. > :10:31.tonight's session, it is hard to see or hard to make a case for him

:10:32. > :10:52.winning this match tomorrow. I am a little surprised he doesn't

:10:53. > :10:57.do that more often in this afternoon's session. He's got a

:10:58. > :11:00.brand new tip. When you put a new tip on it is obviously difficult

:11:01. > :11:07.when you play with little bits of side.

:11:08. > :11:11.Put it on about 10pm last night, he put the tip on, maybe later. The

:11:12. > :11:15.surprising thing was that Ding, having played remarkable in the

:11:16. > :11:21.semi-final, just couldn't get off to any kind of start this afternoon.

:11:22. > :11:25.Those were the balls he was potting all the time yesterday.

:11:26. > :11:30.He didn't hit that well at all. He didn't time it. When you miss these

:11:31. > :11:36.shots, it looks like you have hit it far too hard. You see where his cue

:11:37. > :11:42.finished up, he didn't strike the cue ball where he wanted to, so, I

:11:43. > :11:46.know it is only the first pot of the night's session, but when you hit it

:11:47. > :11:50.as badly as that, it doesn't fill you with much confidence. Especially

:11:51. > :12:08.if the red you hit goes right over the pocket.

:12:09. > :12:18.That's played. Didn't get into that cue ball at all well there.

:12:19. > :12:27.It will be interesting to see how Mark, because all through the

:12:28. > :12:34.championship, the second sessions of his matches he's played very poorly.

:12:35. > :12:36.He went 6-0 up on Wilson. At one stage was back to leading

:12:37. > :12:54.8-6. There are nine in this second

:12:55. > :12:57.session. Ding will look for at least six frames to out of the nine to get

:12:58. > :13:21.back into this match. That is amazing stat, they have been

:13:22. > :13:26.here 17 days. 17 days match play. 17 points between them, of all the

:13:27. > :13:27.matches they've played. They have both been very, very

:13:28. > :14:30.consistent. We got so used to Ding against

:14:31. > :14:34.McManus, when he got in the frame-winning it in one visit. He

:14:35. > :14:39.needs to do that tonight in these first two frames. One of the first

:14:40. > :14:43.two frames - a chance here, because that is what will give him the

:14:44. > :14:48.inspiration to get back into this match properly.

:14:49. > :14:58.Even if he wins frames scapily it will give him that encouragement

:14:59. > :15:39.that he's playing well enough. Taking this red off the pink spot

:15:40. > :15:47.there, which helps. If that red is on the pink spot,

:15:48. > :15:51.that means a pink will spot. And want that kiss like that.

:15:52. > :15:55.I think he would play around the back of that one.

:15:56. > :16:02.That was a very poor positional shot. He's played a few of them

:16:03. > :16:19.today, just very tentative. He's just not been his normal,

:16:20. > :16:25.positive stuff when he's been in among the balls today.

:16:26. > :16:30.The bad shot was the red, not to get on to the pink nicely. That pink was

:16:31. > :16:31.just about missable. This is not the start Ding was

:16:32. > :16:43.looking for this evening. It gives you more confidence if your

:16:44. > :17:31.opponent has two chances and scores very little.

:17:32. > :17:39.I think the one above the black spot will pass. He will probably play

:17:40. > :17:44.high on this one so he's got the one in the middle just in case.

:17:45. > :17:54.This is the sort of shot, if your new tip was a bit soft it will be

:17:55. > :18:10.hard to judge this coming out from that red to the corner.

:18:11. > :18:17.He's played a lot of snooker with it, so I don't think the tip is any

:18:18. > :18:22.issue now in this match. He did make sure he got really high

:18:23. > :18:26.there with the cue ball. Played for the red just above the black spot.

:18:27. > :18:31.What you cannot do is finish low. At least he knows he's got the one in

:18:32. > :18:33.the middle pocket in case he went too high. He played for the one just

:18:34. > :18:39.above the black spot. It is very awkward to get on that

:18:40. > :19:06.black. I think that's OK - he's landed on

:19:07. > :19:42.the black. Not quite high enough.

:19:43. > :19:50.Going to try and scau back and get to the blue or baulk colour here. If

:19:51. > :19:52.you don't bite into the cue ball immediately and kiss that he has to

:19:53. > :19:56.screw into the cue ball here. He didn't really fancy it because he

:19:57. > :21:03.played it so slowly. Ding's body language tells us it is

:21:04. > :21:18.very tight. Just pot off the left-hand but I

:21:19. > :21:38.think it is risky to play it slowly. Just see that left-hand. He's taking

:21:39. > :21:53.it on though. He's got it.

:21:54. > :21:56.Very, very good shot. Excellent!

:21:57. > :22:11.APPLAUSE That was an excellent pot.

:22:12. > :22:15.Those shots are no problem if you are straight shot behind the cue

:22:16. > :22:19.ball, but at an angle and the cue ball was tight in the cushion - so

:22:20. > :22:35.excellent cueing there. He's played the cue ball in an

:22:36. > :22:41.area... Could do it to stop a little bit, could do with it to stop. That

:22:42. > :22:54.was a little bit clumsy. Looked to his friends in the

:22:55. > :22:58.players' boxes there. OK, no problem potting the red. It's got to get top

:22:59. > :23:00.side of the blue. I say no problem, he's having to cue right over the

:23:01. > :23:17.top of this red. That is just because he played for

:23:18. > :23:23.two reds. You have to play for two sometimes, don't you? Yes. Just a

:23:24. > :23:28.clumsy positional shot from Ding. He had a huge margin for error to get

:23:29. > :23:32.in either ball but hit it far too hard.

:23:33. > :23:38.He needs to get in a frame and make a big break to get his timing.

:23:39. > :24:22.A touch of left-hand side and you see the cue ball had a couple of

:24:23. > :24:23.feet to stopping there. Normally Ding's position is so

:24:24. > :24:36.pin-point. His game is all about scoring.

:24:37. > :24:39.He's not been doing that so far. That is why when he comes to the

:24:40. > :24:58.table he's just not relaxed at all. He has to make sure he doesn't kiss

:24:59. > :25:00.his red 4-ball and just kiss the half ball to be on both reds, not

:25:01. > :25:13.just one. He's 27 points in front. He doesn't

:25:14. > :25:17.need to move that red off the cushion. He can get two reds, two

:25:18. > :25:20.colours, I will be very surprised if he plays any other than just to roll

:25:21. > :25:25.it in for the pink. Play for the blue instead, that's no

:25:26. > :25:35.problem. He will get the first frame on the

:25:36. > :25:37.board. It is a frame that will hurt Ding because he will know he's had

:25:38. > :25:50.three chances in this frame. These long matches are all about

:25:51. > :25:54.momentum. Ding won the last two frames of the afternoon session, so

:25:55. > :25:57.he would have liked to have kept that momentum going tonight by

:25:58. > :26:07.getting a quick start. And it has not happened.

:26:08. > :26:24.He would have liked to have potted this last red. We can see it doesn't

:26:25. > :26:30.pot. Ding likely to come back to the table here, being only 41 points

:26:31. > :26:31.behind, unless Mark gets in tightly behind the black, then he may decide

:26:32. > :27:06.not to. Times when you miss that off a

:27:07. > :28:41.cushion. A player of his class shouldn't do that.

:28:42. > :29:06.No high breaks in this opening frame. The worrying thing for Ding

:29:07. > :29:12.Junhui, he's had three glorious chances to win this opening frame.

:29:13. > :29:20.He just let his head drop a little bit sometimes.

:29:21. > :29:33.It is hard to overstate how popular a sportsman Ding Junhui is in China.

:29:34. > :29:39.27% of the entire television audience yesterday watched him reach

:29:40. > :29:43.his first Crucible final. Those shot are from Beijing this afternoon,

:29:44. > :29:46.showing he was very much prime-time viewing attraction again in the

:29:47. > :29:52.opening session today. It is a Mayday holiday there.

:29:53. > :30:00.It is getting more popular in China now because Ding Junhui made a huge

:30:01. > :30:08.contribution to it. Ding Junhui... Go, go. Go!

:30:09. > :30:11.Snoo he's pretty determined and -- He's pretty determined and talented.

:30:12. > :30:13.Of course I wish him all the best and I hope I can see him go all the

:30:14. > :30:24.way up to the top. The sport is hugely popular there

:30:25. > :30:28.now and Ding was the first Chinese player to ever beach at the Crucible

:30:29. > :30:32.when he made his debut in 2007. Expectations have been significant

:30:33. > :30:36.and perhaps at times, Steve, quite debilitating. What has been your

:30:37. > :30:40.experience of his popularity and the effect on him over there? It is hard

:30:41. > :30:43.to judge because we don't live in the country. But we tend to get the

:30:44. > :30:48.feeling he's a massive superstar over there, earning plenty of money,

:30:49. > :30:51.but the one thing he has not got it is found on the world trophy,

:30:52. > :30:55.possibly. Everything is in place when. We don't really know how much

:30:56. > :30:59.pressure he's under. In some ways, John, there's no more pressure than

:31:00. > :31:04.100% at the Crucible, regardless of what is going on back in China.

:31:05. > :31:07.Absolutely, as much as he's sitting there, all he will be thinking about

:31:08. > :31:16.at the moment is losing the first frame this evening because it was a

:31:17. > :31:19.major blow for his chances, he would have been three behind instead of

:31:20. > :31:20.five behind. This is going to be a real test for him now, five frames

:31:21. > :31:37.behind. COMMENTATOR: Ding comes to the

:31:38. > :31:42.table. A little bit deflated, he will be, after the first frame. As I

:31:43. > :31:48.said before, after winning the last two frames this afternoon, he would

:31:49. > :31:54.have been wanting to come out firing tonight in the first frame.

:31:55. > :32:12.GASPS FROM CROWD A foul and a miss. Mark Selby, four.

:32:13. > :32:16.And you always tend to err on the thin side at your first attempt at

:32:17. > :32:21.this shot. Just trying to catch the outside red but if he gets this red

:32:22. > :32:22.full, he will be splitting the bunch. You have to be so precise

:32:23. > :32:40.with this. GASPS FROM CROWD

:32:41. > :32:47.Foul. On the outside of the pack, bears pots. He will put it back

:32:48. > :32:57.again. -- there is pots. Can he see a red full ball? Not happy with that

:32:58. > :33:01.miss for the second time. He can't quite understand what is happening.

:33:02. > :33:05.A big part of the cheeks. He can't afford to miss this... GASPS FROM

:33:06. > :33:16.CROWD A foul and a miss. Mark Selby, four.

:33:17. > :33:19.People talk about how many points you don't worry about giving away,

:33:20. > :33:24.you don't really worry about giving 40 away if you get the shot right.

:33:25. > :33:32.You just don't want to smash them up and leave them in. I don't know, 40

:33:33. > :33:38.might be a bit strong but I know what you are saying! You feel like

:33:39. > :33:42.you can make four or five, there. Like you say, if he catches it too

:33:43. > :33:44.thick, it will be a disaster for Ding Junhui but in the end, he

:33:45. > :34:47.played it very well. GASPS FROM CROWD

:34:48. > :34:52.Well, you would not think he was the same player that played yesterday.

:34:53. > :35:01.He just seems totally bereft of confidence. I don't know, since

:35:02. > :35:08.frame one today, he's just looked intimidated, to me, by Mark Selby. I

:35:09. > :35:12.think in fairness, it must have been a shock to the system because Mark

:35:13. > :35:15.Selby has played, by his own standards, very poorly throughout

:35:16. > :35:22.the championship and still got to the final so he was expecting to get

:35:23. > :35:26.off to a poor start, but when he saw Mark Selby's early good scores, it

:35:27. > :35:29.was such a shock to the system, he's not unable to handle it, and as you

:35:30. > :35:33.say come he's been intimidated by him since then. -- as you said, he's

:35:34. > :35:49.been. APPLAUSE

:35:50. > :35:54.That was excellently played. So much power in the cue ball, here. Lots of

:35:55. > :35:59.left-hand side, to get the cue ball careering into the reds. Unlucky to

:36:00. > :36:04.catch a loose one, he could have opened up more. I was thinking, if

:36:05. > :36:07.he had called the pack a little bit thicker, he had two reds to bring

:36:08. > :36:12.the black interplay so that is what he was trying to do, to bring the

:36:13. > :36:16.black into play but he still has the pink on so he can hopefully score 40

:36:17. > :36:25.or 50 points without reply and hopefully a little more.

:36:26. > :36:30.At the interval this afternoon, he came straight out and asked what the

:36:31. > :36:33.Leicester score was. He was delighted to know that they just

:36:34. > :37:22.drew with Manchester United. APPLAUSE

:37:23. > :37:26.13. That was an example of very good timing, there, the action he got on

:37:27. > :37:34.the cue ball for such a soft shot was excellent.

:37:35. > :37:40.He's looking at this red to the left corner as a possibility of canning

:37:41. > :37:43.the black but the only problem is, the red is so close to the black,

:37:44. > :37:57.you can't play the cannon because the cue ball will end up too close.

:37:58. > :38:03.It will be a few shots before he can get the black interplay, here. --

:38:04. > :38:14.into play. If the pink, when it goes back on

:38:15. > :38:18.its own spot, does not pot into the bottom right-hand corner, he will

:38:19. > :38:25.play the blue. If it does... Oh, dear. Now, then, how is his tip? It

:38:26. > :38:35.is brand-new. It is OK. He had a look, there. The man who puts all of

:38:36. > :38:44.Mark Selby's tips on is a very good player, almost professional himself.

:38:45. > :38:51.Ye aimed so low on the cue ball, Mark Selby, when he is playing a

:38:52. > :38:54.screw shot. -- he aims so low. You would have to say, once he's

:38:55. > :39:02.miscued, he's been very fortunate not to leave an easier shop than

:39:03. > :39:09.this. It will finish on the black, possibly, if this goes in. Good

:39:10. > :39:14.shot. APPLAUSE An unexpected chance for Ding

:39:15. > :39:20.Junhui. He's got to start taking advantage of these chances. He keeps

:39:21. > :39:22.on having a close look at his tip, Mark Selby. Hopefully for him, it

:39:23. > :39:35.has not made a dent in it. I'm sure it's OK but it puts a bit

:39:36. > :39:39.of doubt in your mind the next time you have to play a deep screw shot,

:39:40. > :39:45.doesn't it? Following the cue ball through the reds, here. It is not

:39:46. > :39:54.guaranteed, trying to finish on the black to the left corner.

:39:55. > :39:59.Well, he has changed his mind, played the percentage shot where he

:40:00. > :40:08.was more guaranteed to be in position.

:40:09. > :40:12.As we always explain in commentary, you are just playing areas, you

:40:13. > :40:16.don't particularly know if you are going to get on the blue or pink,

:40:17. > :40:21.but you just play into an area where you will get onto the blue ora book

:40:22. > :40:25.colour. But he's a bit betwixt and between, not nicely on any of them.

:40:26. > :40:28.If this blue goes in, you could expect him to win the frame because

:40:29. > :40:35.the red and black are in a fine position now. APPLAUSE

:40:36. > :40:38.If it was the Ding Junhui of yesterday you would say it was an

:40:39. > :40:42.absolute certainty to win the frame from here, but I'm not sure he's got

:40:43. > :41:24.his confidence anywhere near where it was yesterday.

:41:25. > :41:34.It is hard to believe, really, after nine frames, his highest break has

:41:35. > :41:36.been 52. Just a little series of 30 breaks since then. Yesterday, he

:41:37. > :41:45.made seven centuries, was it? Playing a little cannon on the red

:41:46. > :42:07.to the right of the pink spot, here. He has five open reds, even if he

:42:08. > :42:15.takes the black, he's going to need one of the tricky ones. They are not

:42:16. > :42:17.too tricky, but when you are low on confidence and desperate to get

:42:18. > :42:21.frames on the board, nothing is easy. You start to see problems

:42:22. > :42:52.before they are even there. If this is dead straight, he really

:42:53. > :42:56.needs to get into the cue ball to play for the red in the opposite

:42:57. > :43:04.corner, the one he just screwed around the back of. He can't afford

:43:05. > :43:13.to finish short. He could stun up the line. That is OK. So, 16 points

:43:14. > :43:16.in front, three loose reds, which will put him 40 points in front so

:43:17. > :43:22.he's going to need at least a red and a colour of the three difficult

:43:23. > :43:26.reds. Mark Selby was in the balls, thinking it was a great chance to go

:43:27. > :43:29.8-2, like I said in commentary, getting on the pink was not an

:43:30. > :43:31.option because it would not have potted in the right-hand corner but

:43:32. > :44:17.that was a bad miscue. 47. That has eclipsed his high break of

:44:18. > :44:21.52 in the third frame. Just stun across the face of the red with the

:44:22. > :44:27.red in the opposite corner. He could just hold it. Now, he's got to get

:44:28. > :44:37.one more red and a colour after this red.

:44:38. > :44:45.We will see after this shot which red he is going to play for. From

:44:46. > :44:53.that angle, this is not the best angle, here. Is he going to play for

:44:54. > :44:57.one of the two reds below the black bastion mark -- below the black?

:44:58. > :45:11.Well, he has played that nicely. I always, when it was match ball, I

:45:12. > :45:14.always hated getting the cue ball cleaned because I wanted to keep

:45:15. > :45:17.going, keep the rhythm going, and when you stop to pause, maybe you

:45:18. > :45:23.think about the importance of the shot a bit more. Yes, naturally, he

:45:24. > :45:32.wants to get onto the black but the important thing is, make sure you

:45:33. > :45:38.don't miss this red. APPLAUSE Just the black needed now. Make sure

:45:39. > :45:43.you get on the red on the left-hand side cushion and pot it. The last

:45:44. > :45:51.thing he needs is 15 or 20 minutes of trying to get out with snookers.

:45:52. > :45:54.APPLAUSE Steve Davis, John Higgins and Mark

:45:55. > :46:00.Selby, three people you would never have wanted to carry on against, if

:46:01. > :46:03.they need four or five snookers, you would have felt happy but if they

:46:04. > :46:10.only needed one, it was always dangerous. This is just as important

:46:11. > :46:16.as any other ball in this break. GASPS FROM CROWD

:46:17. > :46:22.Oh, 76 is not going to be enough, Mark Selby will carry on but barring

:46:23. > :46:45.those snookers, Ding Junhui has done very well.

:46:46. > :47:17.APPLAUSE One.

:47:18. > :47:47.Now, obviously it means nothing, really, but I think it will be good

:47:48. > :47:49.for Ding Junhui to clear the colours, here, just keep potting

:47:50. > :48:15.balls. Well, he's not cleared the colours,

:48:16. > :48:23.he has missed the yellow but he gets his first frame on the board to

:48:24. > :48:26.night. He still has a four frame deficit, 7-3. STUDIO: We saw Mark

:48:27. > :48:29.Selby with a miscue earlier in the frame and just to get your

:48:30. > :48:32.perspective on this, he changed the tip of his cue last night after the

:48:33. > :48:36.semifinal and we were talking about how big a gamble that was. Why would

:48:37. > :48:40.a professional like you need to do it and why would you want to do it

:48:41. > :48:44.at such a critical time in the championship? Apparently, that it

:48:45. > :48:48.had become rock hard, it was probably getting very low, he's been

:48:49. > :48:52.playing it throughout the tournament and chalking the tip is basically

:48:53. > :48:56.scraping away the surface so it where that pretty quickly as you

:48:57. > :48:59.play a lot of snooker like you do in a World Championship. He must have

:49:00. > :49:03.felt like he was getting the feel but the trouble is, going to a

:49:04. > :49:07.brand-new tip, it goes from being rock-hard to potentially quite soft

:49:08. > :49:11.and spongy. Whether it affected that particular shot is hard to save stop

:49:12. > :49:15.but it's been a gamble? He felt he had to take it because he was

:49:16. > :49:19.telling me when he was screwing back, he could almost hear the

:49:20. > :49:24.contact on the ball. It is something he had to do but it's a gamble. It

:49:25. > :49:27.happened to be in a final many years ago, I split mine in the semifinal

:49:28. > :49:31.and I did not have one that was broken in. I'm an advocate of having

:49:32. > :49:35.a few tips that you have broken in knocking around so you can swap them

:49:36. > :49:38.in. A lot of people have asked on social media about why players don't

:49:39. > :49:43.have another cue ready but the trouble is, everyone is different.

:49:44. > :49:46.Every tip is going to be different but every cue is different so the

:49:47. > :49:49.dynamics of the cue changes so the best thing that you can do is what

:49:50. > :49:53.John said, have some spare tips you have broken into but the problem is,

:49:54. > :49:58.glueing them on perfectly is always difficult. Ding Junhui to break

:49:59. > :50:01.having got his first frame on the board this evening. COMMENTATOR: I

:50:02. > :50:05.totally agree with Steve Davis about the cue and the tip. Of course, most

:50:06. > :50:07.people go throughout their careers with the same cue as well. This is

:50:08. > :51:34.the missed you. -- miscue. Interesting to see whether Ding

:51:35. > :51:38.decides to play a bit more aggressive safety, now, just to try

:51:39. > :51:42.to get the ball is open. That is what you would like to play, he does

:51:43. > :51:48.not want to be playing Mark Selby at his own game. I'm a bit surprised he

:51:49. > :51:53.did not play it bigger than that. He can win a safety battle against Mark

:51:54. > :52:04.Selby but you would say it is not the best idea. Especially over a

:52:05. > :52:09.long, four session match. You would say -- can see the 10% difference so

:52:10. > :52:15.it is plain to see who can win the majority of the tactical exchanges.

:52:16. > :52:17.If Ding can start getting in early on frames and winning them in one

:52:18. > :52:22.visit, it would be interesting to see how Selby reacts. Lots of times,

:52:23. > :52:27.you always played the thick safety because he wanted the balls in open

:52:28. > :52:30.play. When you score like Ding, who I think is probably the second best

:52:31. > :52:32.break-builder in the game at the moment. Exactly, you have to play to

:52:33. > :52:49.your strengths. That was a good shot. APPLAUSE

:52:50. > :52:52.Has not got the cue ball on the cushion but when you are sitting

:52:53. > :52:59.across, those shots are so easy to catch thick. -- hitting across. If

:53:00. > :53:02.Mark Selby is playing the loose red here, you've got to be careful he

:53:03. > :53:06.does not catch it then because he could knock another red over the

:53:07. > :53:08.right corner. That is why he's playing a thick contact on it. But

:53:09. > :53:50.it has still gone there. Just trying to rest on... Looking at

:53:51. > :53:52.the way he is playing it, if he comes a bit too far out, the one to

:53:53. > :54:06.the right of the black will pot. Also, the red that is just up from

:54:07. > :54:08.the cue ball near the right-hand side cushion pots to the far yellow

:54:09. > :54:18.pocket, I think. You can see, I think that will be

:54:19. > :54:24.the one that Mark Selby will be taking on. Obviously, the red that

:54:25. > :54:27.is to the left of the cue ball, he does not want to leave that. It

:54:28. > :54:33.might be a reason for him turning this down. And the fact that he has

:54:34. > :54:38.gone up to the Bwlch area to look at where the safe area is -- baulk

:54:39. > :54:52.area. That shows me he's probably not going to take on the pot.

:54:53. > :54:59.This is one of the reasons why he is such a tough match player, 7-3 ahead

:55:00. > :55:02.but still keeping Ding Junhui under severe pressure. I don't think I

:55:03. > :55:07.could have turned that red down to the yellow pocket. You would have

:55:08. > :55:08.played its slow as well and try to cover the pocket with yellow and

:55:09. > :55:29.brown and been on baulk colour. The players who got knocked out in

:55:30. > :55:32.this tournament should look at the way Mark Selby has come through this

:55:33. > :55:38.tournament, he has not played anywhere near his best game but

:55:39. > :55:40.still ground out the results. And Sean Murphy, Judd Trump and those

:55:41. > :55:42.kind of people, I love those people but they seem not to win frames

:55:43. > :56:05.unless they make is 60. -- a 60. What a result he has had there. He

:56:06. > :56:13.had to make that pot but had no idea where the cue ball was going to go.

:56:14. > :56:16.The cue ball was always going to be canning of the red so bound to leave

:56:17. > :56:36.something on, as you could see that, if he had missed it.

:56:37. > :56:46.GASPS FROM CROWD Mark Selby knew that having that

:56:47. > :56:52.little slice of fortune, that pink, you would have expected him to knock

:56:53. > :56:53.it in. I just wonder if he is going to have one of these dodgy second

:56:54. > :57:16.sessions again? Not the best shot that Ding has ever

:57:17. > :57:25.played. He might have to play this blue to the far corner now. He will

:57:26. > :57:29.probably just make sure of the pot and play to the right middle but he

:57:30. > :57:33.can play to the two reds to the right of the black. He is taking the

:57:34. > :57:45.blue onto left middle, so he could lose the cue ball, here. That is OK,

:57:46. > :57:50.got enough cheque side on the white. -- check side. What a chance, 76 in

:57:51. > :57:59.the last frame, his highest break of the match, so hopefully getting more

:58:00. > :58:03.confident. I know you spend a lot of time in China these days, playing a

:58:04. > :58:09.bit of pool. How big a star is Ding in China? He is a massive sporting

:58:10. > :58:20.idol in China. I think now, I've been to about 50

:58:21. > :58:25.Chinese cities and everywhere you go, the first thing people ask you

:58:26. > :58:30.is, "How is Ding Junhui? Is he going to win the World Championship?" If

:58:31. > :58:38.he does, it will be incredible for him, white scary, even, how popular

:58:39. > :58:42.he will become. -- quite scary. It is noticeable that he has just upped

:58:43. > :58:46.his pace slightly after that 76 in the last frame, and these viewpoints

:58:47. > :58:51.here. I was surprised earlier when I was watching him in the hotel room,

:58:52. > :58:55.his average shot time was very poor, 29 seconds per shot at one time, and

:58:56. > :58:58.now you can see it has gone down to 27. But he is a 20 second man, isn't

:58:59. > :59:13.he? Yes, he is just a scoring machine

:59:14. > :59:28.and that is what he has got to do. That is his biggest strength.

:59:29. > :59:39.He won't be happy with that shot. The reason you said that, he was

:59:40. > :59:43.trying to play to the left of the two reds, pinch a bit more of the

:59:44. > :59:47.pocket but now he has bounced off the Gershon and has a choice of

:59:48. > :59:48.three. Now he is hampered. Still be on the black though, should it go

:59:49. > :00:01.in. You can see by the time he played

:00:02. > :00:25.that shot, really confident on that one. APPLAUSE

:00:26. > :00:39.37. The five reds, that is the first red of the five in the middle of the

:00:40. > :01:40.table. At the Crucible, in Sheffield, no

:01:41. > :01:46.better place than the one-table situation.

:01:47. > :01:52.There were people from Switzerland, Norway, America all in the

:01:53. > :01:56.hospitality room having dinner and then coming to watch this final. We

:01:57. > :02:07.are having people from all over the world coming to watch now.

:02:08. > :02:14.This is starting to feed Ding Junhui's confidence. 76 in the last

:02:15. > :02:28.frame. 61 and counting here.

:02:29. > :02:38.As we said in the previous frame, make sure you pot at least one more

:02:39. > :02:41.red... When you have rhythm going the last thing you want is your

:02:42. > :02:45.opponent to come back to the table and start playing snookers.

:02:46. > :02:55.Just about got the worst angle on the black. Try and move the red as

:02:56. > :03:06.near as his right eye there. We could see the first century from

:03:07. > :03:45.Ding Junhui in this match. The record is Stephen Hendry, 26.

:03:46. > :03:58.That could be another of your records.

:03:59. > :04:52.This will be the 83rd century in the tournament so far.

:04:53. > :05:06.He just found it now - on the up, everybody. 103.

:05:07. > :06:35.-- ton up, everybody. 103. So welcome to the game, Ding Junhui,

:06:36. > :06:43.that's more like it. More than what we expected to see.

:06:44. > :06:44.There was that incredible performance, incredible

:06:45. > :06:50.scoring-performance against Alan McManus.

:06:51. > :06:57.Mark Selby to break. Mark Selby breaks off and that red

:06:58. > :07:02.in that last frame that turned down to the far yellow pocket, it would

:07:03. > :07:06.be dangerous for Mark Selby to go negative and protect his lead. I

:07:07. > :07:11.totally agree. That is what you would think of doing - don't make

:07:12. > :07:20.any silly mistakes. He should kick on with Ding playing poorly. Now

:07:21. > :07:24.103. You play every part of this session,

:07:25. > :07:33.this is the last before the interval... ... He's right back into

:07:34. > :07:57.the match. That is what Terry would have been installing into him.

:07:58. > :08:04.He got that wrong. He hit it quarter-ball. Look at the expression

:08:05. > :08:09.on his face. When he played it, he realised he got the kiss on the

:08:10. > :09:00.pink, how unlucky it was - it tells a story.

:09:01. > :09:05.Very rarely do you see Mark Selby hitting the baulk colours into

:09:06. > :09:12.safety. He didn't get close on the first two

:09:13. > :10:58.attempts. It looked like he would be miles

:10:59. > :11:06.away. It was nearer before he hit it.

:11:07. > :11:14.They obviously played with the running side off the second cushion,

:11:15. > :11:18.seemed to play with that ball to the left-hand side - it just

:11:19. > :11:21.straightened up completely. At least he will know he has to play a little

:11:22. > :11:57.right-hand side. It's not on plain ball - he'll have

:11:58. > :11:59.to play it a little to the right-hand side. He's worried about

:12:00. > :12:14.hitting one of the reds full ball. Needs to come further back towards

:12:15. > :12:55.Ding. Foul and a miss.

:12:56. > :13:29.You think he would be able to see from down there.

:13:30. > :13:39.Got to play it with a little right-hand side.

:13:40. > :14:18.That will be a catastrophe if it is a free ball. No, it's not.

:14:19. > :14:45.Unfortunately he's got to give Mark Selby a 16 point in this frame.

:14:46. > :14:48.I suggest 40 point, being generous there. You don't mind giving 20

:14:49. > :15:07.points away in that situation. Where's that red going? And the kiss

:15:08. > :15:12.as well. It never rains, but it pours for

:15:13. > :15:14.Ding Junhui supporters. The fluke was the bad thing to take, the kiss

:15:15. > :15:52.on the brown was even worse. A three-ball plant, but look at the

:15:53. > :16:02.kiss on the white here on the brown. The only good thing for Ding Junhui,

:16:03. > :16:07.both black and when the pink goes to its own spot, one pocket, maybe two.

:16:08. > :16:30.The black will be available into the left-hand corner.

:16:31. > :17:30.These reds are perfect with black in open play.

:17:31. > :17:36.That's a shocker from Mark Selby - it really is.

:17:37. > :17:42.Was he trying to push through the reds, or did he think he was playing

:17:43. > :17:51.through the gap? Even the pace, I expect he thought he was going to

:17:52. > :17:56.kiss it - I am stunned by that shot. He's finished nowhere.

:17:57. > :17:59.Let's look at this one again - the pace he plays - I think he might

:18:00. > :18:12.have thought he was going through the gap.

:18:13. > :18:20.He wasn't happy with that shot, was he? He may have to play safe now.

:18:21. > :18:26.I was about to say how it was going to be important for Mark Selby to

:18:27. > :18:32.get back into this final session by winning a frame in one visit, but

:18:33. > :18:37.that ship has sailed now. Yes, when you have the lead that

:18:38. > :18:42.Mark did, 6-2, you think every session, you think, I make sure I do

:18:43. > :18:54.no worse than draw the session. Looking to come out 2-2.

:18:55. > :19:00.Looking at this red. That is the bottom of the three reds below the

:19:01. > :19:05.pink to the right corner. It is a thin cut.

:19:06. > :19:11.No idea where the cue ball is going to end up.

:19:12. > :19:27.Again staying on the side of caution.

:19:28. > :19:33.Some place to play snooker, isn't it? The best. Not a lot of people,

:19:34. > :19:45.not every player likes it. You have been retired a few years,

:19:46. > :19:51.and do you get a buzz when you arrive at Sheffield? I was going to

:19:52. > :19:57.say when I was standing in the arena doing TV work before I started, you

:19:58. > :20:02.get goose bumps. I am very jealous of those players playing today. That

:20:03. > :20:10.sounds like you will make a comeback. You know you want to.

:20:11. > :20:19.Stop it now. Do you remember that Stephen?

:20:20. > :20:22.Unfortunately, I never got near it. I am sure you've got one more in

:20:23. > :20:50.you, Steve. Got to find that cap.

:20:51. > :20:55.He's played the safety. It's gone wrong.

:20:56. > :21:11.At first glance he's not left anything easy.

:21:12. > :21:20.It could be a time when a bad shot by Ding might get him in here.

:21:21. > :21:24.It will be interesting to see whether he plays for the black in

:21:25. > :21:31.the same pocket or plays for the black in the right-hand corner.

:21:32. > :21:37.Didn't quite get into the cue ball enough.

:21:38. > :21:40.Played to get into the black, the same pocket he was playing the red

:21:41. > :22:37.in. Didn't quite get into the cue ball.

:22:38. > :22:47.He's got a decision here, Ding Junhui was if he puts him back in he

:22:48. > :22:52.has every chance of playing the shot right the second time. Would you put

:22:53. > :23:02.him back in from here then? Let him play from where the balls are now?

:23:03. > :23:05.You are not going to answer me then? This is tricky, this. The brown is

:23:06. > :23:15.hampering cueing. Can't get to the right-hand side of

:23:16. > :23:20.the reds to play the easy return to baulk. Possibly see the red is tight

:23:21. > :23:26.on the cushion. When you hit across it is easy to get those thick. I

:23:27. > :23:50.think play from there, I think. A lot going on.

:23:51. > :23:55.-- thinking time going on. When you look at this shot, you

:23:56. > :24:01.think, this is really awkward, I don't fancy playing this. I think if

:24:02. > :24:06.I do am I going to leave mark with a more difficult shot than this? I

:24:07. > :24:10.would think not. You would be happy with that safety shot.

:24:11. > :24:34.This safety shot is tough. Mark Selby has a new tip, if he's

:24:35. > :24:43.playing this red, I think it is a touch a side of it where the tip is

:24:44. > :24:48.a little bit soft he could completely mis-hit this shot.

:24:49. > :25:04.This is the sort of shot where a soft tip is no good.

:25:05. > :25:15.Perfect. Took a long time. He knew Mark Selby could play a telling

:25:16. > :25:20.safety shot. He almost did. The aggressive safety is to take

:25:21. > :25:33.that red away from the black, get the cue ball in behind the brown.

:25:34. > :25:40.It is a decent line. He's just not hit it hard enough.

:25:41. > :25:46.Mark Selby obviously has that 40-point lead. The fact Ding is

:25:47. > :25:51.40-points behind that is why Stephen suggested he bring a black into

:25:52. > :25:53.play, which he has done. Whoever pots the next red is going

:25:54. > :27:05.to be favourite to win this frame. The two cushion escapes has not been

:27:06. > :27:11.really good this evening. He'll have to hit this and get a good safety or

:27:12. > :27:52.miss the ball all together. Hit it and got a good safety. Well done.

:27:53. > :28:00.We mentioned the points were level on aggregate. Look at that - three

:28:01. > :28:05.balls difference between these two players for the whole tournament.

:28:06. > :28:09.I think they played each other 20 times.

:28:10. > :28:13.Lots of right-hand side there. He realised he came very close to

:28:14. > :28:55.it. Mark Selby has won the safety

:28:56. > :28:57.battle, but where that white has finished, maybe not. A bit fortunate

:28:58. > :29:46.there, Ding. He would have been hoping to be on

:29:47. > :29:50.the brown nicely. There wasn't a lot of room to get this red go in.

:29:51. > :31:02.Too risky to pot the brown. Mark Cannon pot is one, looking at

:31:03. > :31:07.the angle, he can pot this red in the corner but he will have trouble

:31:08. > :31:12.missing the kiss on the red and the pink on the way back so he probably

:31:13. > :31:14.won't do it. He will go through the gap, the one just below the pink,

:31:15. > :32:42.the cue ball in behind the yellow. You can see the situation that Ding

:32:43. > :32:47.Junhui is faced with. It is not good. He does not want to slip past

:32:48. > :32:52.this red that is tight on the Gershon, does not want to hit on the

:32:53. > :33:04.left-hand side of it. That is a good shot. Touching ball. It's almost

:33:05. > :33:07.impossible to run up to a baulk colour when you are two or three

:33:08. > :33:11.inches behind it and leave touching ball. He's come the best part of 12

:33:12. > :33:13.feet to leave that touching ball, amazing. He will be in trouble with

:33:14. > :33:37.his next shot now, though. Mark Selby will be delighted to have

:33:38. > :34:04.come out of this session 2-2 because Ding has started to play a bit.

:34:05. > :34:11.That is pretty good because the red that is tight on the cushion, which

:34:12. > :34:14.is the normal way back to baulk, play it then, you can easily hit it

:34:15. > :34:17.thick and then you have to avoid the cannon on the red and the blue on

:34:18. > :34:50.the way back. This is not straightforward.

:34:51. > :34:55.I mentioned this the last time he played that shot, if that was a bit

:34:56. > :34:57.harder, going past the left-hand side of the red, it could easily

:34:58. > :35:21.leave it on to the right corner. It was fourball on that red, wasn't

:35:22. > :35:38.it, so, OK. -- full ball. This looks quite pacey. Good shot.

:35:39. > :35:57.APPLAUSE If he moves the red that is to the

:35:58. > :36:01.right of the black, it means he cannot play the same shot again. If

:36:02. > :36:04.he can put the white in the same place, he would not risk that shot

:36:05. > :36:07.again, Ding because he would leave the one to the left of the black so

:36:08. > :36:17.maybe worth picking off the red that he is closest to. -- flicking off.

:36:18. > :36:19.He's looking at that angle now. It is all about missing the kiss on the

:36:20. > :37:11.brown if he does play it. Just coming up to a minute and a

:37:12. > :37:22.half. Yes, we have just gone over the 30

:37:23. > :37:26.minute mark for this frame and I think in Ding Junhui's semifinal,

:37:27. > :37:30.you could count on one hand the amount of frames that went over 30

:37:31. > :37:59.minutes. This is territory that definitely suits Mark Selby.

:38:00. > :38:05.If it misses the green, it is good but it hasn't so maybe a tempter for

:38:06. > :38:07.Mark Selby, here, either the one that is just on the pink spot, he

:38:08. > :38:25.can cut that in and back to baulk. GASPS FROM CROWD

:38:26. > :38:34.Well, he's been very fortunate, there. He played to get back into

:38:35. > :38:37.baulk. I've got to be honest, like in that session now, how has that

:38:38. > :38:43.White got anywhere near the doors when he has nearly got the pot? He

:38:44. > :38:49.has hit it to thin. Well, obviously, it has flicked off that red, half

:38:50. > :39:00.ball. He could have been left something easier than this. APPLAUSE

:39:01. > :39:04.Decent pot and because he potted the red that it looks like he stopped in

:39:05. > :39:07.time for the green. I thought he was going to sneak behind the yellow but

:39:08. > :39:28.it just goes in the right-hand side of the pocket.

:39:29. > :39:40.Four. It is too early to talk about winning the frame at this visit, I

:39:41. > :39:42.think, and certainly there are enough read there to get right back

:39:43. > :39:58.into this frame. -- enough reds. I was in common terry this

:39:59. > :40:02.afternoon, talking about the turning point in frame two when Ding made a

:40:03. > :40:07.break of 52 and lost it. This could be a similar pattern, getting his

:40:08. > :40:16.own back because Mark Selby has been in control of this frame. Ding would

:40:17. > :40:27.then win the mini-session 3-1 and be right back into the game. 11. His

:40:28. > :40:31.pot success this session tells you that Mark Selby is not in the form

:40:32. > :40:39.he was earlier today. You have to be at least 90-92 at this standard.

:40:40. > :40:46.Mark Selby, just in front on the match in terms of pot success. But

:40:47. > :40:52.should Ding pot three or four more reds, here, I think there will be

:40:53. > :41:36.parity in that department as well. 18.

:41:37. > :41:59.You mentioned he could get right back in the frame and he has done

:42:00. > :42:01.that now. The next red can well, the next two reds, are no real problem.

:42:02. > :42:24.-- red, well. If he's looking to win the frame at

:42:25. > :42:28.this visit, I suggest Greenback from the pink to leave an angle to take

:42:29. > :42:32.that red, the most awkward red of those two by the left cushion. The

:42:33. > :42:37.one closest to the middle pocket will pot so no need to move that but

:42:38. > :42:45.I think he will be stunning for a half ball pink, here.

:42:46. > :42:51.The reason you suggest that is because even if he gets on the red,

:42:52. > :42:55.bringing it into play, he should still be able to pot the one nearest

:42:56. > :42:57.the middle pocket so this is good thinking from Ding if it goes right,

:42:58. > :43:16.and he could win the frame. Can you turn that off, please? Well,

:43:17. > :43:19.now he is looking to pot the red to the left middle and take the other

:43:20. > :43:28.one out with that rather than with the pink. APPLAUSE

:43:29. > :43:32.The problem with this is that if he gets the cannon to think, it will

:43:33. > :43:39.leave the ball on the side cushion. -- toothpick. He's got -- he has got

:43:40. > :43:44.to make a half-ball contact on the red, he does not want to be playing

:43:45. > :43:49.the pink from where the red is. Can you take that out, please? Can you

:43:50. > :43:51.see who it is? A problem with a mobile phone or something. Take it

:43:52. > :44:16.out now, please. APPLAUSE Thank you. It does not look like

:44:17. > :44:24.Ding is playing that cannon now. He was, he got it half ball. APPLAUSE

:44:25. > :44:31.Yes, maybe just the contact was a bit thin, there. Just concentrating

:44:32. > :44:35.on making sure he did not make a full-ball contact to leave the cue

:44:36. > :44:38.ball on the cushion. But still, he has made it into a more makeable

:44:39. > :45:08.red. APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

:45:09. > :45:11.There's no doubt after making those two breaks, he is looking far more

:45:12. > :45:19.composed at the table although straight on the black is no good.

:45:20. > :45:23.Yes, he can get onto the red if he plays the pink in the middle at

:45:24. > :45:26.pace. But it's a lot more difficult, playing it at pace, to get right

:45:27. > :45:31.back over the other side of the table. Yes, if he is straight on the

:45:32. > :45:38.black, all he can do is play for the red to the far green pocket. Unless

:45:39. > :45:44.he chose to play it with a lot of right-hand side, which obviously

:45:45. > :45:50.makes the black missable. So it is the red to the far right corner. And

:45:51. > :45:54.he might even have the angle to go up to play the brown to the

:45:55. > :45:59.right-centre, or even the brown to the green, same pocket as he is

:46:00. > :46:04.potting the red, and that would be a good idea, to get the brown away

:46:05. > :46:21.from that awkward position. Yes, I like that choice.

:46:22. > :46:34.APPLAUSE He decided he could hold for the

:46:35. > :46:40.blue, knowing that the other one would go in. He is now 12 points in

:46:41. > :46:44.front. Blue, yellow and green will leave him 22 in front with 22 on the

:46:45. > :46:50.table. That is why I thought he might choose to play for the brown,

:46:51. > :46:58.there. So, Green to brown is the shot. He may risk taking the brown

:46:59. > :47:00.off but I don't think so. 62. If he needed all the balls, I would

:47:01. > :47:11.suggest possibly taking the brown away from there.

:47:12. > :47:16.He does not want to be just off straight. He wants to get as close

:47:17. > :47:35.to the brown as possible. How is the cue ball? APPLAUSE

:47:36. > :47:44.Great shot. That was a great shot. So, just the brown.

:47:45. > :47:52.APPLAUSE What an excellent break this has

:47:53. > :47:53.been. When he came to the table, it did not look like a frame-winning

:47:54. > :47:59.opportunity. APPLAUSE

:48:00. > :48:28.This is a lot more like it. 82. Breaks of 76, a and 89 mean that

:48:29. > :48:33.Ding Junhui is right back in this final, trailing 75. STUDIO: He has

:48:34. > :48:37.won five of the last six and three in a row as Stephen Hendry says and

:48:38. > :48:42.suddenly the real Ding Junhui has appeared inside the Crucible, just

:48:43. > :48:43.as he did in the semifinal, when he made seven centuries,

:48:44. > :48:49.record-breaking feats then and it looks like he has found his rhythm

:48:50. > :48:54.and found his home. Gentleman, how do you rate the way that he has

:48:55. > :48:57.fired back in this evening session? Fantastic, tremendous character. We

:48:58. > :49:01.mentioned earlier in the tournament, the one thing I had been impressed

:49:02. > :49:04.with what it attitude. He has not shirked any issue that came up this

:49:05. > :49:08.week. It was not easy against Judd Trump and Martin Gould was not easy

:49:09. > :49:10.in the first match, he was behind in that one and every time he's been

:49:11. > :49:15.asked a question, he's found something full stop today, it was

:49:16. > :49:19.not looking likely, it was one-way traffic but since then, fantastic

:49:20. > :49:23.and his scoring has come back, the choke has come out of the machine

:49:24. > :49:27.and suddenly he has started potting balls. The importance of the century

:49:28. > :49:32.in the penultimate frame, his 13th of the championship so far. When you

:49:33. > :49:35.are on the comeback trail, it's important you keep up the momentum

:49:36. > :49:39.but if you go back in time to the first session and you think how

:49:40. > :49:43.close Mark Selby was to getting to 7-0, then you start to think about

:49:44. > :49:46.the what ifs of the game which are always quite amazing. It looks like

:49:47. > :49:50.a new model they have sent out, they have rebuilt him! He looked like a

:49:51. > :49:55.rabbit in the headlights to start the World Championship final. It

:49:56. > :50:01.looks like he panicked at the fact he was in the final. But he has

:50:02. > :50:05.steadied the ship and suddenly, it is quite interesting. It sure is and

:50:06. > :50:10.I know Ken Doherty, the 1997 champion has been watching it from

:50:11. > :50:12.the practice room. What have you got?

:50:13. > :50:16.Quite interesting and Stephen Hendry picked up on something particularly

:50:17. > :50:20.from Mark Selby's point of view, 7-3 ahead and look at the situation of

:50:21. > :50:24.the table. Trying to keep the pressure on Ding of course which is

:50:25. > :50:27.no harm but he plays a safety here when he possibly could have been a

:50:28. > :50:32.bit more aggressive. OK, it is a straightforward safety, to ball down

:50:33. > :50:35.to the book area, trying to get it tight to the baulk cushion but

:50:36. > :50:39.Stephen Hendry quite rightly picked up a possibility that he is trying

:50:40. > :50:43.to protect his lead, Mark Selby, instead of trying to be his normal

:50:44. > :50:46.game which is sometimes, you have to be a bit aggressive. This is the

:50:47. > :50:50.situation as we set it up, a very simple shot, off the side cushion

:50:51. > :50:54.but he could have had a go at this red up into the yellow pocket and he

:50:55. > :50:58.could have played it with a touch of safety. Probably being a bit

:50:59. > :51:05.aggressive, taking it on, and if he pots it, he gets on the blue or he

:51:06. > :51:09.is on a baulk colour. If he misses it, he still has yellow, brown,

:51:10. > :51:13.possibly green, if the cue ball travels down here, that he can block

:51:14. > :51:16.with but what Mark Shelby should -- Mark Selby should not do is try to

:51:17. > :51:19.protect his lead and coast the finish line. He's got to be

:51:20. > :51:26.aggressive when he needs to be and passive when he needs to be. But he

:51:27. > :51:29.can't try to coast. It's a long way to coast, a long way

:51:30. > :51:32.to go before tomorrow evening's final session. If you were with us

:51:33. > :51:36.this afternoon in the opening session, you will have seen the

:51:37. > :51:38.great Stephen Fry posing as a question which was maybe a bit

:51:39. > :51:42.easier than the ones he has been throwing at us all week. I wonder

:51:43. > :51:49.what he's got lined up in his last quiz?

:51:50. > :51:55.Hello, we are seeking perfection today in this, our last quiz at the

:51:56. > :51:59.Crucible. We would like maximum effort to get the old grey matter

:52:00. > :52:03.going. Our breer celebrity guests want to go out on the ultimate high

:52:04. > :52:10.as they and you attempt to answer this. In snooker, what were as rare

:52:11. > :52:18.as hen's teeth in the 80s and are now ten a penny? -- hence' teeth.

:52:19. > :52:19.Get involved on social media using this hashtag and we shall discuss it

:52:20. > :52:28.all anon. And we shall leave that with you. It

:52:29. > :52:31.feels like we've been waiting an awfully long time to see Ding Junhui

:52:32. > :52:37.make it into snooker's Premier final. After all, you 29, but he

:52:38. > :52:42.turned pro at 16. He's been turning heads ever since. But despite the

:52:43. > :52:46.fact that he has made his house and his living here in Sheffield, he's

:52:47. > :52:51.never really looked at home in the Crucible, until this year. Rob

:52:52. > :52:52.Walker caught up with him last night after his celebrations, coming

:52:53. > :53:07.through his semifinal. Congratulations. Here you are. Ready

:53:08. > :53:12.for the biggest match of your life and yet, you seem so calm. I don't

:53:13. > :53:20.want to get too excited. I have not finished yet. I have to do the last

:53:21. > :53:25.match. Stay calm. Every time I win a good match, my confidence builds up

:53:26. > :53:29.little bit. Now it is very relaxed and confident to play. You always

:53:30. > :53:33.get a great reception from the crowd as well. I think people feel as

:53:34. > :53:37.though you almost an adopted Yorkshire man because you have lived

:53:38. > :53:41.in Sheffield for ten years. Do you regard this as home? I know

:53:42. > :53:45.Sheffield a lot. When I first moved here, I made it feel like them

:53:46. > :53:48.because I bought a house here and I live in Sheffield. I love here

:53:49. > :53:53.because it is a nice area to live in. Give us an idea as to how much

:53:54. > :53:59.pressure you feel, for instance, when you go to the China Open, when

:54:00. > :54:04.you perform in Beijing. When I play a home game in China, I feel a lot

:54:05. > :54:10.of pressure. I don't want to play badly when I go out there. Have you

:54:11. > :54:15.gained a sense from here in Sheffield, as the tournament has

:54:16. > :54:18.progressed, that the excitement is growing in China? I can't keep away

:54:19. > :54:22.because people, my friends keep sending me things, or sometimes,

:54:23. > :54:29.they know that, they are more excited than me. Are you someone who

:54:30. > :54:33.shies away from TV interviews when you go home, questions about your

:54:34. > :54:38.private life? I will tell you what you want to know. I will not tell

:54:39. > :54:46.you what you don't need to know! It's OK to talk about my life, more

:54:47. > :54:50.what I'm doing. What I'm doing at home is private, OK, I don't mind,

:54:51. > :54:55.but if I don't want to tell, I don't tell. If you were to win the world

:54:56. > :55:03.title, it would obviously be amazing for you but it would also be amazing

:55:04. > :55:11.for snooker in China. I think at the moment, I have to focus on my own

:55:12. > :55:16.game. I have to go the way I groomed, to win world titles. Also,

:55:17. > :55:19.if I win it, -- the way I dream to. Also, if I win it, I will give

:55:20. > :55:24.confidence to some young boy, going on this road, to keep going. They

:55:25. > :55:28.will see that we have got a chance to win world titles. It does not

:55:29. > :55:32.mean that the Chinese people cannot win. We can win and we have got

:55:33. > :55:37.confidence. If we are doing well, we can be there, to win titles. And

:55:38. > :55:42.also, it would be amazing for your family as well. I think sometimes,

:55:43. > :55:45.the sacrifices your parents have made has been overlooked. There are

:55:46. > :55:51.stories about your father having to sleep on the floor to help fund your

:55:52. > :56:00.snooker. My father Don Ilott, got a job for me. -- did a lot. When I was

:56:01. > :56:07.13, maybe we were not living quite so good but he tried to get me fully

:56:08. > :56:15.focused on practice. He has done everything for me and also, we have

:56:16. > :56:22.got the same faith that we can do, we can be successful, we can make

:56:23. > :56:27.it. And yeah, we did. So what an amazing way it would be to reward

:56:28. > :56:36.all of your father's faith and hard work by lifting the trophy on Monday

:56:37. > :56:40.night? Oh, he would cry! LAUGHTER He rarely shows his emotion. He is

:56:41. > :56:44.such a sweet person and a very humble man and very well liked,

:56:45. > :56:47.actually. As usual, he's just going through his paces during the

:56:48. > :56:50.interval, always comes in for a little practice with his coach,

:56:51. > :56:55.Terry Griffiths. When you think this was the man who won the world under

:56:56. > :56:58.21 championship at 15 years old and turned pro at 16, so many people

:56:59. > :57:07.thought he was going to beat Stephen Hendry's record of the youngest

:57:08. > :57:10.Crucible winner but it's taken him a very long time to get here, and into

:57:11. > :57:12.this final. Why? Lots of good players about, simple as that. I

:57:13. > :57:15.don't know if it is many other things. Being away from home cod be

:57:16. > :57:19.easy and we forget that because we are all based here but he had to

:57:20. > :57:24.come and get used to things. -- which can't be easy. Interesting

:57:25. > :57:28.that he's in there practising. I bet he's a lot better than he was when

:57:29. > :57:32.he was 6-0 down, in the early part of the match, when he was in there,

:57:33. > :57:38.trying to knock a feeble thing, 4- direct high that the interval. Far

:57:39. > :57:42.better in there with Terry now. You forget he's 29 now, and other

:57:43. > :57:46.21-year-old, he was playing you in the UK final. He achieved so much

:57:47. > :57:51.before he turned 20, winning three ranking titles. He has been a

:57:52. > :57:57.phenomenon waiting to explode in terms of the Crucible and I guess

:57:58. > :58:02.this year, being a qualifier, in some respects, has that helped his

:58:03. > :58:06.challenge? It may well have done or it may well be that he has got to

:58:07. > :58:10.have played through this amount of snooker before he's matured or of

:58:11. > :58:13.course, it could just be the randomness of how you turn up at the

:58:14. > :58:17.World Championships and get through the matches. I've not seen every one

:58:18. > :58:20.of his matches at the Crucible. There might have been turning points

:58:21. > :58:24.in games he lost that if he had won his first round match, he would have

:58:25. > :58:28.gone on to better things, Wicca. What you can say is a player of

:58:29. > :58:32.doing's standing you think it will be criminal if at some stage he did

:58:33. > :58:37.not win the World Championship but it happens. -- of Ding's standing.

:58:38. > :58:41.And he did not like the venue when he first came, it was like a

:58:42. > :58:44.cauldron, maybe he was under so much pressure. John Higgins did not like

:58:45. > :58:48.it the first time he came but he soon got used to it and won four

:58:49. > :58:53.World Championships but I don't think Ding ever felt at home. When

:58:54. > :58:57.he won the first frame to reduce the deficit to 6-1, there was a tear in

:58:58. > :59:01.his eye today. That is an unusual thing for a player during a game. I

:59:02. > :59:03.think he might be a lot more emotional person and player than we

:59:04. > :59:09.ever thought possible from his deadpan face and the machine-like

:59:10. > :59:13.way he goes about things. He could be so emotional in some ways that it

:59:14. > :59:18.has affected a bit and he's needed more time to mature in that

:59:19. > :59:22.department. -- affected him. As he said in the interview, he is a very

:59:23. > :59:25.private person but a very likeable man and he's trying to become only

:59:26. > :59:30.the third ever qualifier to go on and win the title. That really has

:59:31. > :59:34.been one of the stories of the championship, the story of the

:59:35. > :59:37.qualifiers. They have come barging through, old and new, creating

:59:38. > :59:45.headlines, right from the off, some 15 days ago. Welcome to the Crucible

:59:46. > :59:49.Theatre, the World Snooker Championship, 2016. Steve Davis,

:59:50. > :00:01.this arena is all yours. Oh. Oh, well, what has he done

:00:02. > :00:31.there? Nobody would have called it. Oh, and

:00:32. > :00:36.he has got the blue, Stuart Bingham, you will be back, no doubt about

:00:37. > :00:38.that. This was the shot. It didn't go quite, then he won't leave it on.

:00:39. > :00:42.But, excellent shot. To make the century, he is going to

:00:43. > :00:58.need the pink. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on -

:00:59. > :01:02.yes. It's the pink first. And now try to put those back together.

:01:03. > :01:10.We'll join you again in about ten minutes' time.

:01:11. > :01:31.If you can't beat them, stab them. The tension will increase. Are you

:01:32. > :01:39.lining me up there? I hope your eyes are going. Go on. The Crucible

:01:40. > :01:43.Theatre, made by Lego. What a fantastic achievement. Thank you

:01:44. > :01:51.very much. It is a long walk it the table over there. You need a taxi

:01:52. > :01:53.ride to get over to the table. Steve Davis has just had a marriage

:01:54. > :02:12.proposal, live on the BBC. There is no other spot available.

:02:13. > :02:14.What a shot that was! He couldn't have played it any better. The hand

:02:15. > :02:23.shake. Barry Hawkins has done what he has

:02:24. > :02:27.not done for 14 years. Beat Ronnie O'Sullivan on the biggest stage of

:02:28. > :02:29.all. He had to play three qualifying matches to get here. He is here, and

:02:30. > :02:41.he is now in the quarterfinals. Can you believe what you have just

:02:42. > :02:44.seen? John can't. Well, I have never, ever, in the history of

:02:45. > :02:51.playing snooker ever seen that happen off the break off. He is just

:02:52. > :02:53.laughing. Absolutely remarkable. One of the best matches I have ever seen

:02:54. > :03:06.in my life. Smile there, black now, Kieran.

:03:07. > :03:12.Absolutely superb. He wants the crowd to give him a big round of

:03:13. > :03:22.applause. They have responded. The world number one, finishes in style.

:03:23. > :03:30.It's all still to play for. Welcome to a fabulous Friday, here in

:03:31. > :03:34.Sheffield. The old Tartan trousers are bringing a bit of luck.

:03:35. > :03:52.He'll probably glue his fingers to the cue. A little trick shot for the

:03:53. > :03:56.black. There it is, finishing off with a trick shot. Are you watching,

:03:57. > :04:11.are you watching you lot? It has been bizarre at times but

:04:12. > :04:18.brilliant. We hope you have enjoyed the last 15 days with us on the BBC.

:04:19. > :04:22.That last shot you saw with Mark Selby alongside Willie Thorne

:04:23. > :04:27.reminds me this could be the first part of a sporting double for

:04:28. > :04:32.Leicester. So can Mark Selby outfox all comers again? What is your

:04:33. > :04:37.initial thought in reaching your third world final? More relation

:04:38. > :04:41.than anything else. I felt a lot more pressure out there this time

:04:42. > :04:45.than what I did two years ago when I was playing Neil in the semifinal to

:04:46. > :04:49.get to the semifinal. And whether it was to get to another final, another

:04:50. > :04:54.chance to win it for a second time now I have won it before, whether it

:04:55. > :04:57.is that pressure I'm not too sure. I definitely felt more edgy, not just

:04:58. > :05:00.in the semifinal but most matches. Your preparation has been different

:05:01. > :05:06.for this, of course. You took time off. Was that to stay fresh for the

:05:07. > :05:09.Crucible? Yes, and at the minute it seems to have worked

:05:10. > :05:13.performance-wise it has not been too good but as far as results, I'm

:05:14. > :05:18.still in and still have a chance it win. So seems to be working at the

:05:19. > :05:20.moment Was that that to the detriment of your matchplay, not

:05:21. > :05:24.having a couple of matches coming in, do you think you have got away

:05:25. > :05:28.with it a little bit? Possibly, I was still putting in the hours

:05:29. > :05:32.practising at home. When you are playing at home, you feel like you

:05:33. > :05:40.are playing well but because you are not tested, you don't know where

:05:41. > :05:44.your game is at. I didn't practice with anyone coming into the

:05:45. > :05:50.Championships. Joe Perry asked me for a game but we were close to each

:05:51. > :05:57.other in the draw, so I didn't do that. What about your opponent Ding

:05:58. > :06:02.unwi. It'll be tough. Yes, it will, I need to score well. Ding is

:06:03. > :06:07.playing fantastic, I made six or seven centuries in his semifinal. I

:06:08. > :06:12.know I'm up against. I tell myself to be positive and I go out there

:06:13. > :06:15.and I am not. I can't afford to go into my shell against Ding, because

:06:16. > :06:18.I will have no chance of winning Experience, it is the first time

:06:19. > :06:21.Ding has been in a Crucible final. It must count for something. I

:06:22. > :06:25.suppose so, as you say, I need to get off to a good start and

:06:26. > :06:29.capitalise on that. If Ding is going to feel anything, it'll probably be

:06:30. > :06:33.at the start of the match, so if he is edgy there, hope flick capitalise

:06:34. > :06:38.on a good first session. Funny enough, if you win, this will be

:06:39. > :06:44.your first trophy this season, hard to believe, isn't it? It is, I won a

:06:45. > :06:48.small PTC but in main ranking events I have not won anything. For this to

:06:49. > :06:52.be my first tournament, not a bad one in the season. I probably know

:06:53. > :06:55.the answer to this, but what will it mean to you to win two World

:06:56. > :07:00.Championships? It would be amazing, even when I won my first, it was a

:07:01. > :07:04.fantastic feeling. Everyone back home saying I was great and if you

:07:05. > :07:07.win again, it would be et bore. I have given myself a chance by

:07:08. > :07:11.getting into the final again. So I will be trying my hardest. If I win

:07:12. > :07:15.it for a second time, I will quite emotional I think. It'll be a

:07:16. > :07:19.wonderful season for the city of lester, looks like they'll win the

:07:20. > :07:24.Premier League. Mark Selby could win the Championship l you start texting

:07:25. > :07:28.me? No, I'll probably still send you the pictures of the Premier League

:07:29. > :07:33.trophy with Leicester on T unbelievable as far as the Football

:07:34. > :07:36.Club goes. This time last year they were struggling to stay up. This

:07:37. > :07:39.time they have been top of the league for most of the season and

:07:40. > :07:43.look close to doing it. Hopefully they will do it. Monday night

:07:44. > :07:53.hopefully I will do it. From foxes, we are back to hen's teeth. I'll let

:07:54. > :08:00.Mr Fragg explain one last time. Over -- fl fry. Eve the last few decades

:08:01. > :08:04.we have seen fantastic developments in the standards of play, and

:08:05. > :08:10.today's question underlines, that I asked you, what were as rare as

:08:11. > :08:17.hen's teeth in the '80s and are now ten-a-penny. I cue should know it

:08:18. > :08:24.better than anyone. What are as rare as hen's teeth and they are now

:08:25. > :08:28.ten-a-penny. Kicks. Maybe centuries. But they are not ten-a-penny. Well,

:08:29. > :08:36.you should know, you made enough of them. Maximums. But these misses.

:08:37. > :08:46.How many frames go by without a Mrs. A Mrs? Yes, all the wives down the

:08:47. > :08:50.front roe. Whose misses is that? You know the misplacement of the ball.

:08:51. > :08:57.Maximum, surely. Gentleman yes. It's got to be maximum. Yes. We will go

:08:58. > :09:00.for maximum breaks. Obviously centuries weren't as - well

:09:01. > :09:05.certainly 147s were very rare in the '80s, that would be the answer. I

:09:06. > :09:10.would go for a 147. You don't get any more hen's teeth than you used

:09:11. > :09:15.top of the answer is not hen's teeth, it could be the question.

:09:16. > :09:22.Hen's teeth are as rare as hen's teeth. You have definitely got that

:09:23. > :09:25.right. Yes, what was once rare, is now commonplace, we are talking

:09:26. > :09:29.about maximum breaks. Steve Davis made the first official one in

:09:30. > :09:34.competition in 1982. Also the first on television. His reregard was a

:09:35. > :09:38.Lada car. I'm not going to say anything. But it should be

:09:39. > :09:43.remembered the great Joe Davis was the first man ever to make a 157 in

:09:44. > :09:55.an exhibition match in 1955. That's crazy. That was six years after he

:09:56. > :09:59.had retired from the game. Here in Sheffield, Cliff Thorbourn took the

:10:00. > :10:04.honours for the fist Crucible match. But they were rare. Only eight made

:10:05. > :10:10.in the whole of the 1980s. Fast forward around 30 years. In 2012, 1

:10:11. > :10:14.#1, more in a single year than a whole decade of the '8 #0s. So far

:10:15. > :10:19.this Deng died over 50. Yes, they maybe more commonplace now, but they

:10:20. > :10:23.rightly remain one of snooker's most celebrated achievement. You could

:10:24. > :10:27.argue that the faster cloths don't make it easier, they make it harder,

:10:28. > :10:30.the bouncy cushions they are always complaining about. The thrill of

:10:31. > :10:33.that moment, though, is still one of the reasons that I love watching

:10:34. > :10:37.this great game. Over the last few days, it has been just as lovely to

:10:38. > :10:41.share with you some weird, wonderful and quite interesting facts about

:10:42. > :10:51.snooker. So, thanks for your company, and enjoy this year's final

:10:52. > :10:57.weekend at the Crucible. Goodbye. And thank you to the wonderful

:10:58. > :11:00.Stephen Fry who was so charming and so genuinely enthusiastic about

:11:01. > :11:06.snooker. He loves the game, John. He certainly does. He loves it. He came

:11:07. > :11:09.up a couple of years to see us, and went to the Winter Gardens. They

:11:10. > :11:13.gave him a signed cue. He would have loved that. It was like all of his

:11:14. > :11:16.Christmases had come at the one time. He was so enthusiastic. Thank

:11:17. > :11:20.you very much Stephen for your help with that. And thank you, too, to

:11:21. > :11:27.all of you who gave us your answers. We do have some winners. We have the

:11:28. > :11:32.lack of Calum Wilson, Jeff Prophet and Vicky Dewery, you are our cue I

:11:33. > :11:37.winners. That's 50 points and minus 200 for everyone else who got it

:11:38. > :11:41.wrong. But it has been great to have the quizes over the last week. Now

:11:42. > :11:43.we are down to the serious stuff. And five more frames. Frame 13. Ding

:11:44. > :11:56.Junhui to break. DENIS TAYLOR: Well, Ding Junhui gets

:11:57. > :12:01.the first frame after the mid-session under way and he will be

:12:02. > :12:05.feeling much more comfortable now. He has won that little mini-session

:12:06. > :12:11.3-1 but straightaway left a possible pot for Mark Selby. Once again, a

:12:12. > :12:15.red goes right next to the black and puts it out of commission.

:12:16. > :12:23.It is turning into a fascinating tussle this, after being #-1 down,

:12:24. > :12:34.superb stuff from the Chinese player. -- 6-0 down.

:12:35. > :12:42.Oh, well, he was a little bit off that shot. He wasn't very confident.

:12:43. > :12:56.I wasn't quite sure whether he was going to hit the black and red.

:12:57. > :13:07.-- a fabulous comeback. Five frames they played in the session and five

:13:08. > :13:23.more tonight. He is a bit unlucky. It was a very

:13:24. > :13:28.positive shot that Ding Junhui took on there. He went full flooded for

:13:29. > :13:36.the cannon and very unfortunate to cover that black. But it just shows

:13:37. > :13:39.you that the confidence has gradually come back he looked very

:13:40. > :14:48.edgy at the start and every credit to him for this comeback.

:14:49. > :14:56.That's pretty good. He has blocked the escape route down the left side

:14:57. > :15:05.of the table. You have to be a bit careful going

:15:06. > :15:07.past the black. He has it get it thin and make sure he doesn't go

:15:08. > :15:10.in-off. Well, he did clip the black but

:15:11. > :15:29.safely back down the table. It looked like it was going to go

:15:30. > :15:31.7-0, you know. This was the shot - if this goes in, wow, it wobbled

:15:32. > :15:46.four or five times. Because he got himself absolutely

:15:47. > :15:50.perfect on the pink. As we see a red go over the right middle pocket. Has

:15:51. > :15:55.he covered it? I think he has, Denis. He has a very easy swerve,

:15:56. > :15:59.but the problem about that is that he doesn't have much control of the

:16:00. > :16:01.cue ball. The cue ball will be going very, very close to this bottom,

:16:02. > :16:23.corner pocket. He hits it very nicely indeed. Watch

:16:24. > :16:27.the cue ball as it hits the top cushion. The side kicks in-off the

:16:28. > :16:33.side cushion and back up nicely for the blue.

:16:34. > :16:40.It is still a pretedy awkward table. With the pink tied up and the black

:16:41. > :16:46.at the moment hampered. So he has to give this a little bit of thought.

:16:47. > :16:47.There are at least six reds nicely-placed but it is not a good

:16:48. > :17:03.chance just yet. There is a red he could possibly

:17:04. > :17:10.have got on into the left-corner pocket. He can't really get on that

:17:11. > :17:18.ideally-placed one just now. Sort of needs to get his arm going

:17:19. > :17:23.again, doesn't he, Denis? He has been kept a little bit cold.

:17:24. > :17:30.He needs to really sort of make a nice break, a frame-winning break in

:17:31. > :17:32.one visit just to get a bit of momentum back. He has certainly lost

:17:33. > :17:42.that now. Yes, make no mistake, Mark will be

:17:43. > :17:48.looking for this little mini-session, to win it. As I say,

:17:49. > :18:12.we have the extra frame to play. There's five more to be played.

:18:13. > :18:19.I suppose the other turning point was when he jumped over the red when

:18:20. > :18:22.he was 30 in front and miscued. Everything seemed to change around

:18:23. > :18:27.and Ding kept getting stronger but little things like that can happen

:18:28. > :18:32.in a long match and they can play a big part in it. This was T he was

:18:33. > :18:36.nicely in, and screwing back for the pink and it wasn't really the tip's

:18:37. > :18:45.fault. It was the way he cued it, just a bit too low. This was it.

:18:46. > :18:53.Oh, he has played that through the gap.

:18:54. > :18:59.Now he has a wonderful angle on the black. He can pot the black. You see

:19:00. > :19:04.the cue ball going through the gap there. A wonderful angle. He can

:19:05. > :19:09.move the red to the left of the black spot and still be on the two

:19:10. > :19:12.reds into the same pocket. He has to get the cannon right on the red,

:19:13. > :19:23.just over the black spot. He has missed it.

:19:24. > :19:31.He just tried to kiss that red out of the way. It was like a half-ball

:19:32. > :19:34.contact. He didn't want to hit it full ball, otherwise he could have

:19:35. > :19:39.snookered himself from the two reds but he has an alternate. It just

:19:40. > :19:43.means he will have to head up for the blue but maybe he can just get

:19:44. > :19:49.through. He has spotted something there. What he is looking at. He is

:19:50. > :19:53.looking to see if he can pot this with the black past the other red.

:19:54. > :20:01.Because he can stun this in and get out on the black but, well, he must

:20:02. > :20:05.feel that if the black goes - well, we'll tell the way he plays the shot

:20:06. > :20:07.whether it is available. No, it is not and he has hit this too hard.

:20:08. > :20:20.Much too hard. He is looking as if he got a bit of

:20:21. > :20:33.a flier off this cushion behind the black.

:20:34. > :20:40.That was about the best he could do. He couldn't keep the white away from

:20:41. > :20:43.the cushion, because he was close to the cushion when he attempted the

:20:44. > :20:57.blue. So it is not straightforward. Back for the blue again here.

:20:58. > :21:02.And that is what can happen, when you just keep getting out of

:21:03. > :21:07.position. He might be able to stretch and reach for the green

:21:08. > :21:14.here. But if you lose close control, that's the sort of thing that can go

:21:15. > :21:17.wrong. If the yellow was on its spot here this would be straightforward

:21:18. > :21:22.around two or three cushions to get back for the reds but. He has to be

:21:23. > :21:31.careful he doesn't hit the yellow here.

:21:32. > :21:38.And he had to be careful not to go in-off. He must have got a lot of

:21:39. > :21:42.action on that. You were right, the yellow was the distraction, he had

:21:43. > :21:46.to avoid that and got a little bit too much side on T

:21:47. > :21:54.-- on it. A free shot. He can still take a pot

:21:55. > :22:04.on and back up towards the green or brown.

:22:05. > :22:13.Well still not in perfect or prime position but still pulling out great

:22:14. > :22:15.pots. I think it is quite evident that his time something not

:22:16. > :22:21.completely there, Denis. He is losing the cue ball quite a bit. He

:22:22. > :22:23.needs another delicate shot here on the blue. Can he hold it? Is he

:22:24. > :22:39.going to go into the pack? He didn't catch it full

:22:40. > :22:47.ball. That is what can happen. If you catch it full ball it'll head

:22:48. > :22:51.towards the corner pocket. A couple of earpieces have got loud. If you

:22:52. > :22:58.have turned them up, can you turn them back down, please. The referee

:22:59. > :23:04.telling some members of the audience to turn their earpieces back down.

:23:05. > :23:08.The second world final Paul has refereed. He has been a top referee

:23:09. > :23:12.for a number of years now. One of the best in the business.

:23:13. > :23:18.He is having a look at the red that's closest to this bottom

:23:19. > :23:21.right-hand corner pocket. I'm not sure if he has enough of it to try

:23:22. > :23:36.to take it on. It doesn't look like he has. He is

:23:37. > :23:41.weighing up his options of where he wants to put the cue ball, so maybe

:23:42. > :23:47.just a good safety shot down behind the green.

:23:48. > :23:55.Mark Selby, 30. Not too bad. But he will be disappointed, Mark Selby, he

:23:56. > :24:41.didn't win the frame on that visit. Attempted the pot with safety in

:24:42. > :24:43.mind. He hit it a little harder than he intended. So I'm sure Mark will

:24:44. > :24:58.get a better cue ball here. He needs to miss the brown, though.

:24:59. > :25:04.He hasn't. He has covered the one near the pocket. The pink is

:25:05. > :25:09.blocking the path through to that. It is who can put in the best safety

:25:10. > :25:21.shot here that can create a chance for himself.

:25:22. > :25:28.Well, the natural angle is to knock the red over the bottom pocket. He

:25:29. > :25:34.has chosen a more difficult safety shot and he has played it pretty

:25:35. > :25:37.good. That's a God shot. That was quite difficult when the red is so

:25:38. > :25:52.close to that top cushion. You have to hit it perfectly.

:25:53. > :25:56.There is not a great deal of difference between them in the

:25:57. > :26:13.safety success department. The tournament safety success rates

:26:14. > :26:15.- 1% the difference. Ding slightly better than Mark, which a lot of

:26:16. > :26:29.people will be surprised by. You are looking at one of the best

:26:30. > :26:47.break-builders the game has ever seen.

:26:48. > :26:54.Trying to get behind green and brown here, if he can straighten the cue

:26:55. > :26:56.ball off this top and side cushion. Couldn't do that. Tried to get

:26:57. > :27:17.behind the yellow. Now, who is going to be the first

:27:18. > :27:28.player to get in behind that green and brown?

:27:29. > :27:34.That was far too thin. He has covered the one he has knocked

:27:35. > :27:39.towards the pocket but wasn't the best from Mark there, by any means.

:27:40. > :27:46.The only problem for Ding Junhui if he tries to get in behind the green

:27:47. > :27:49.and brown, he could leave that red that's near the corner pocket,

:27:50. > :27:53.anywhere Eve where the cue ball is, and in line with that, he would

:27:54. > :28:00.cover it. So is he going to risk trying to get a really good cue ball

:28:01. > :28:07.in behind the green and brown? He doesn't have to do. He can head down

:28:08. > :28:09.hyped the yellow. But -- he can head down behind the yellow. But we shall

:28:10. > :28:28.see. Went for the green and brown.

:28:29. > :28:34.APPLAUSE It was an excellent shot. You couldn't play that just with the

:28:35. > :28:38.normal top spin. There was a lot of left-hand side to check up the cue

:28:39. > :28:43.ball and straighten the angle. Mark is looking at a possible

:28:44. > :28:47.three-ball plant. There you see the two balls in line with hitting the

:28:48. > :28:52.red closest to this right-hand corner pocket. But he's going to

:28:53. > :28:58.have to swerve that cue ball to make a proper contact on those two. Yes,

:28:59. > :29:03.if he can't get to that, I can only see that as an escape route but can

:29:04. > :29:07.he see enough of that cushion to play that? Maybe just. It looks as

:29:08. > :29:09.if he is aiming towards that. He has to get fairly close to the green to

:29:10. > :29:19.pull this off. He played it well.

:29:20. > :29:30.APPLAUSE He might find himself back up behind

:29:31. > :29:32.the green and brown here. Again, using a little bit of left-hand side

:29:33. > :29:57.off the side cushion. You can see clearly those two reds

:29:58. > :30:03.are definitely not plant. It could be made but at the moment the red

:30:04. > :30:08.closest to the white is blocking the path for that. But things removing

:30:09. > :30:21.this, but he could, as Ken said, get in behind the green and brown here.

:30:22. > :30:29.This is a Mark Selby special into the left corner. If he has got a

:30:30. > :30:34.slight angle, he plays the shot so well, with Spain, to come back up

:30:35. > :30:48.the table. This is a test of cueing. -- with spin. He has got a 29 point

:30:49. > :30:53.advantage. A key shot coming up. He plays it so well, that shot. He is

:30:54. > :30:58.one of the best in the business at that shot. Absolutely. It is like a

:30:59. > :31:04.signature shot from Mark Selby. Look at where the cue ball has landed. He

:31:05. > :31:16.didn't try to go up for green or brown. He was walking but he thought

:31:17. > :31:22.he hadn't hit it hard enough. Thank goodness for gravity. He was halfway

:31:23. > :31:34.round the table before the blue dropped in. That's the beauty of

:31:35. > :31:44.these tables. The clocks are so fast and fine that they are beautiful to

:31:45. > :31:49.play on when you are playing well. But if you are off your game, they

:31:50. > :32:00.can make you look silly out there, Ken, can't they? They certainly can.

:32:01. > :32:13.He got a bit of a hard balance of the cushion. He wanted to be

:32:14. > :32:33.straight on the road. -- off the cushion.

:32:34. > :32:40.That's much better. He missed one earlier on into the middle pocket,

:32:41. > :32:45.Ken, when he was four or five frames ahead and it cost him. That was a

:32:46. > :32:57.much better strike. He should win the frame from this

:32:58. > :33:03.visit, you would feel. The pink would put up 56 points ahead. So the

:33:04. > :33:14.loose red just above the free reds and the black and another high value

:33:15. > :33:21.colour and Ding Junhui would need colours -- snookers. Yes, and the

:33:22. > :33:25.other red on the right side of the table is very accessible as well.

:33:26. > :33:39.Just to make absolutely sure. It was probably just what he needed

:33:40. > :33:56.as well, one good pot to try to win the frame from here, just to break

:33:57. > :34:02.Ding's momentum. He has flicked that read, so he may have two take that

:34:03. > :34:08.one to the left. People want one more red to keep Ding Junhui in his

:34:09. > :34:19.seat. He didn't do anything about this. Mark just knocked in a

:34:20. > :34:25.fantastic long red. He is reluctant to take the red just below the black

:34:26. > :34:30.spot. He doesn't want to let Ding in for an easy chance, so he is trying

:34:31. > :34:37.to keep a bit of pressure on. A big target behind green and brown but it

:34:38. > :34:45.is not that good. It is a little bit short. He will be happy with fat,

:34:46. > :34:48.24. Particularly with his opening. He will be disappointed he didn't

:34:49. > :34:59.close out the frame from that position. He is coming up a long way

:35:00. > :35:03.short and he has left another Mark Selby special. He needed 14 point

:35:04. > :35:43.snooker to try -- to tie, did Ding. Well, he got a horrendous cake. Not

:35:44. > :35:51.that it matters, but still not nice to see. -- a horrendous cake. It

:35:52. > :36:00.doesn't matter about missing the pink. He has done what he had to do.

:36:01. > :36:03.He has taken the frame. Mark Selby has opened up a three frame

:36:04. > :37:21.advantage again at 8-5. Well, I like this wonderful camera

:37:22. > :37:25.angle from the back of the theatre at the Crucible. It gives you a

:37:26. > :37:32.sense of how big it is now. It really comes into its own. There is

:37:33. > :37:35.so much more room around the table. You don't have to worry about the

:37:36. > :37:42.partition or the noise from the other table as Mark Selby breaks

:37:43. > :37:46.off. This is the 14th frame. It really is something special, isn't

:37:47. > :37:52.it? When you play at one table venue. When you say how big it is,

:37:53. > :37:57.some people in the sponsors lounge, the first time here at the Crucible,

:37:58. > :38:01.they thought how small the theatre was, even with the one table. If

:38:02. > :38:08.they had been here when there were two tables! We always say, when

:38:09. > :38:11.there are two tables and you are on the cushion, the people in the front

:38:12. > :38:24.row could grab the cue and play be shot for you. -- play the shot. That

:38:25. > :38:28.is a nice little gap but he doesn't think he could get enough side, so

:38:29. > :38:39.he is taking the safe route into the left side of the bunch. Just the

:38:40. > :38:50.side has taken it there and even then it has not quite made it. A

:38:51. > :38:56.file and a miss. When you are playing with that amount of side,

:38:57. > :39:09.you almost slip off the edge of the reds and leave the red on the black

:39:10. > :39:20.spot. Should he be short with the second attempt here, he might look

:39:21. > :39:26.at the red he has an ion. It looks at this time. He has the right pace.

:39:27. > :39:38.A decent shot. Did you lose a frame once with three Mrs? I'm sure I

:39:39. > :39:45.remember that. I did, yes. At the world Championships here. In fact, I

:39:46. > :39:54.was involved in a match with Steve Davis and Steve Davis missed three

:39:55. > :40:09.times, lost the frame and lost the match. He was very disappointed.

:40:10. > :40:20.That was incredible to go into that middle pocket at that pace and that

:40:21. > :40:35.angle. Can he get this thread and can he

:40:36. > :40:39.get himself onto the black? There are a couple of ways of doing this.

:40:40. > :40:46.He could set it up dead straight and screw back with the white, all you

:40:47. > :40:53.could come off the top and side cushion and sit behind the black. He

:40:54. > :40:58.is leaving a slight angle, so he is going to play this with top spin. He

:40:59. > :41:05.is just worried about where the black is going to go. He has got to

:41:06. > :41:20.negotiate the red first to get on the black. It is certainly a test of

:41:21. > :41:29.your cueing, this type of shot. In fact, he was playing up to the blue

:41:30. > :41:34.that, because the black spot was tied up, and a big smile as he looks

:41:35. > :41:44.at Mark Selby and says, there you go. That red could have gone

:41:45. > :41:51.anywhere but he couldn't have left it any easier for Mark. The same

:41:52. > :42:00.problem arises for Mark here. Will the black B pottable?

:42:01. > :42:11.He didn't think it was going to be pottable and he is short on the

:42:12. > :42:17.blue, is he? He may be able to take the black here, Dennis Ross Jamaat

:42:18. > :42:24.he is right on the blue line, so he might have to take the black. If he

:42:25. > :42:34.pots the black and leads the cue ball exactly where the black is, I'm

:42:35. > :42:38.not sure what part he'd have. The more difficult green. Has he got on

:42:39. > :42:41.the red that is causing the problem and stopping both players from

:42:42. > :43:05.getting the black? That was never easy because the way

:43:06. > :43:11.he queues at that type of shot, he is striking down on it and I think

:43:12. > :43:14.the yellow has come to his rescue here. He is fortunate. Very

:43:15. > :43:46.fortunate there. The white must have bounced three or

:43:47. > :43:51.four times before it got to the red when you cue like that. He has

:43:52. > :43:56.overcut that but he has played that in a clever way. He knows the red

:43:57. > :44:01.won't go past the yellow. He knows if he cuts that in common he is on

:44:02. > :44:10.the black or the blue and he knew he was covered. A clever shot. I wonder

:44:11. > :44:18.whether Mark have a couple of options. He could try to get a plant

:44:19. > :44:23.onto the red over the corner pack -- corner pocket or he could roll into

:44:24. > :44:32.the pack. If he rolls into the pack, we will have a re-rack here. I

:44:33. > :44:43.wonder if it is touching ball? I don't think they'll bother even

:44:44. > :44:49.saying re-rack. I like how he signalled their that he wanted a

:44:50. > :44:56.re-rack. It is like he wanted a substitute brought on. Look at the

:44:57. > :45:00.White here. Look at this. At least three or four times. That is why the

:45:01. > :45:06.shot was so difficult, when you have the butt of the cue in the ad. You

:45:07. > :45:13.can see the cue action. Striking down on it. How many times does this

:45:14. > :45:20.bounce? That first one has gone two feet? One, two, three, four. That is

:45:21. > :45:24.what happens when you strike down on a ball. Eight ounces before it got

:45:25. > :46:13.to the black. This is a bit of a chance because he

:46:14. > :46:20.can put this and done off the side cushion and get on the black. This

:46:21. > :46:26.is a bit of a free shot for him. -- stun off the side cushion. If he

:46:27. > :46:32.takes the part to the corner and stands of the cushion, he is

:46:33. > :46:37.perfectly on the black. This is all about the putt. -- all about the

:46:38. > :46:55.pot. He is so good into the middle

:46:56. > :47:02.pocket, Ding Junhui. I am just wondering, because he will still

:47:03. > :47:12.have a pot at the black back -- at the black. It is a tough one, but I

:47:13. > :47:22.have seen him put these before. Very tough. You have to be so straight

:47:23. > :47:27.with your cueing here. Just the near part of the pocket but it's not too

:47:28. > :47:36.bad. He was only going to leave that red. I think we'll see Mark Selby --

:47:37. > :47:39.I don't think we'll see Mark Selby take on the red into the green

:47:40. > :48:04.pocket. It is too risky. Another rewrite? -- re-rack? Because

:48:05. > :48:11.the red is awkward. I can't see a lot that Ding can do here. Only roll

:48:12. > :48:17.into the reds. The problem about screwing of the reds and trying to

:48:18. > :48:24.get the cue ball back behind the black or to the top cushion may

:48:25. > :48:33.leave a part on. He is looking at him, Mark looked at him, but Ding

:48:34. > :48:40.had turned away. Maybe Ding Junhui should have taken a re-rack there.

:48:41. > :49:52.That is pretty good. He has not the red over to the centre. He can't cut

:49:53. > :49:57.this red back into the left centre. And he has got tight enough to this

:49:58. > :50:02.top cushion that it will be very difficult to get down onto the cue

:50:03. > :50:04.ball to screw the cue ball back to the top cushion. A slight bit of

:50:05. > :50:38.bother here. He is coming up to the minute's

:50:39. > :51:04.thinking time here. Attempting the plant. Very risky.

:51:05. > :51:15.Now, has he left a pot on for Ding into the left centre? The red pots

:51:16. > :51:24.but it is certainly not easy. As you said, Dennis, he is so good on the

:51:25. > :51:30.spot into the middle pocket. It is certainly worth having a go at this.

:51:31. > :51:49.Oh, that is brilliant. A perfect shot. That was fantastic cueing.

:51:50. > :52:00.At that pace, he had to be so precise. This is a thin one. Safely

:52:01. > :52:07.in. Ding Junhui did win the tactical battle. Can he take full advantage?

:52:08. > :52:11.That was a tremendous opening red. Just to QB in at that pace into the

:52:12. > :52:15.middle. He judged it, a little cannon on the red to bring me cue

:52:16. > :52:46.ball back for the black. Sometimes in situations like this,

:52:47. > :52:51.particularly when you have read Max around the -- particularly when you

:52:52. > :52:56.have reds around the blue, you quite like to get up and tidy up around

:52:57. > :53:00.the middle pocket. He has played until a couple of reds there and if

:53:01. > :53:04.he can get these into the left corner pocket, he will always have

:53:05. > :53:15.the left centre. A little bit short of pace with the

:53:16. > :53:30.cue ball. Got to play a little cannon, maybe,

:53:31. > :53:50.into the two reds around the pink spot. He is going up for a red navy

:53:51. > :53:59.blue. -- near the blue. If you look at the breaks he has made to get

:54:00. > :54:03.back into this final, he has had breaks of hundred and three, 80

:54:04. > :54:09.nine. They have both had century breaks. This final is building

:54:10. > :54:16.really nicely and the standard is increasing all the time.

:54:17. > :54:26.This is what I was saying. Getting around the blue. He has got a series

:54:27. > :54:29.of quite easy pots and all the time he is accruing as it -- a sizeable

:54:30. > :54:43.lead. I was just hoping before the final

:54:44. > :54:52.started that both these players would play to the top of their form.

:54:53. > :54:56.It looked all one-sided. 6-0 down. Ding was looking very edgy and a

:54:57. > :55:02.little bit emotional at one stage. But now he's back to his brilliant

:55:03. > :55:03.best. Even though he's three frames behind, he's going along nicely

:55:04. > :55:17.here. He used all of the pocket their for

:55:18. > :55:47.the black but he is still OK. He looks a little bit more in

:55:48. > :55:57.control, doesn't he? He was completely out of sorts in that

:55:58. > :55:59.first session. Oh, that definitely wiped its feet. A reaction from Ding

:56:00. > :56:21.Junhui there. Have a look at this. Can you turn that off please? They

:56:22. > :56:34.have told them. I don't know how many announcements have been made.

:56:35. > :56:42.He is steadying himself up. He knows the importance of the next shot. A

:56:43. > :56:47.nice little cannon here. In fact, he is rolling it. He is not going to

:56:48. > :56:54.risk the cannon. He has gone way up the table because he knew that red

:56:55. > :56:59.was there. A definite little cannon into the two reds behind the pink

:57:00. > :57:01.and then he thought, I might flick off a red and snooker myself, so he

:57:02. > :57:19.thought of the safety positional. But yes, from 7-2 behind, as I

:57:20. > :57:25.mention the three frame-winning breaks, this final is starting to

:57:26. > :57:27.come alive, it has to be said. That was a nice little shot on the red

:57:28. > :57:40.there. He sometimes puts a little bit of

:57:41. > :57:44.unwanted side but he is back in control now. His scoring throughout

:57:45. > :57:58.this championship has been quite amazing.

:57:59. > :58:04.He has already had 13 centuries. I think the record is 16 from Stephen

:58:05. > :58:11.Hendry a few years ago. That is quite some statistic. Especially in

:58:12. > :58:21.a semifinal, to make a record of six centuries, or was it eight centuries

:58:22. > :58:24.in the semi against Alan McManus? Seven centuries he made against Alan

:58:25. > :58:35.McManus. That was a record here at the Crucible. Funnily enough,

:58:36. > :58:39.Stephen Hendry didn't realise he'd made the most centuries with that

:58:40. > :58:48.16. Second in line as John Higgins, who's made 14 here one year.

:58:49. > :59:05.It was 2002 when Stephen Hendry got his 16 centuries here.

:59:06. > :59:16.The middle red between the pink and the other red might pot? It doesn't.

:59:17. > :59:19.Otherwise he might have played about. He will need a cannon onto

:59:20. > :59:38.the other red. He has gone up for the reds on baulk

:59:39. > :59:45.and a little case might have been nice. What a shame. But he will

:59:46. > :59:56.still have a go. The frame is safe. I'm lucky. He will be disappointed

:59:57. > :00:01.that he didn't make the century but, most importantly, he has another

:00:02. > :00:07.frame on the board and he has closed the gap now, but it is Mark Selby

:00:08. > :00:10.who still leads by 8-6. We still have three more to play tonight and

:00:11. > :00:14.John and Steve, it has been interesting to see just what a

:00:15. > :00:16.turnaround he has managed to produce? There was one shot at the

:00:17. > :00:26.start of this that was amazing. Fabulous cueing this. He made a

:00:27. > :00:29.frame-winning break off T but he is right in this match now. Total

:00:30. > :00:33.change around. Complete. It is like a different person out there, isn't

:00:34. > :00:37.it? Yes, he has his foe ku.s you can see he is not worried about

:00:38. > :00:44.anything. He is just concentrating on the balls in hand. That's the key

:00:45. > :00:47.to the game, staying in the present. Not worrying about the future,

:00:48. > :00:51.thinking about how it is going or panning out. He is focussing on what

:00:52. > :00:55.is in front of him. I'm not saying he is not worried but he is

:00:56. > :01:00.focussed. Mark Selby has had the guy come back at him and he has more

:01:01. > :01:04.time to think and ponder in his chair. In the moment, a phrase.

:01:05. > :01:09.Stephen Hendry is watching this in the practice roo. Not sure if he is

:01:10. > :01:12.getting his arm in, with a view to a comeback but Stephen was with us

:01:13. > :01:17.watching that first devastating session from Mark Selby. What do you

:01:18. > :01:21.make of the turn around in Ding Junhui? I'm more interested in the

:01:22. > :01:26.turn around of Mark Seoul bi. I knted believe the way he has come

:01:27. > :01:32.out tonight. He looks a lot like his other matches this he can would. He

:01:33. > :01:36.is not playing like a guy who is 6-2 in front and wants to press home the

:01:37. > :01:39.advantage it win the final. He looks edgy and under pressure. And the

:01:40. > :01:48.under pressure business, we talked about earlier. You couldn't - you

:01:49. > :01:52.talked about Selby's second session syndrome. It has been a problem

:01:53. > :01:58.throughout Championship. Definitely. He puts his effort into getting a

:01:59. > :02:00.good start and takes his foot off the pedal, whether subconsciously or

:02:01. > :02:04.whatever. But he looks like a different player, like at the moment

:02:05. > :02:08.he is struggling for confidence. Interesting observations. Stephen

:02:09. > :02:13.also keeping a little eye on the century breaks because, as you say,

:02:14. > :02:15.13 centuries Ding Junhui has made and Stephen's record of 16 is

:02:16. > :02:26.certainly within range. DENIS TAYLOR: It certainly is, Hazel

:02:27. > :02:27.but an interesting observation from the seven times world champion

:02:28. > :02:40.there. I was watching this afternoon's

:02:41. > :02:46.session back at the hotel. When he was 6-0 up, I picked out one shot.

:02:47. > :02:49.He took a risky red on. He had a very straightforward safety shot and

:02:50. > :02:55.he still nearly won that frame when he wobbled the blue, we showed you

:02:56. > :03:03.earlier to go 7-0 up. Since then, things have turned around, it has to

:03:04. > :03:15.be said. Can Ding Junhui start with this nice long pot?

:03:16. > :03:23.Hit it on the wrong side. It was his turn to get away with it. He had a

:03:24. > :03:27.result there. These things happen, when you start playing well, cueing

:03:28. > :03:31.well, you get the rub of the green, when you are struggling, if you miss

:03:32. > :03:36.a shot like this, you stick your opponent in.

:03:37. > :03:44.It was interesting what Stephen Hendry said in the practice room. He

:03:45. > :03:48.is definitely right. I think we are seeing Mark Selby going into his

:03:49. > :03:51.shell a little bit, even though he had

:03:52. > :03:59.He is normally so good with his safety game, his B game but at 6-2

:04:00. > :04:06.up you want to press home your advantage. The worst thing he can

:04:07. > :04:11.do, is go into his shell. Of course the flip side of that is that your

:04:12. > :04:15.owe Pope ented is putting you under that bit more pressure because you

:04:16. > :04:18.know that any chance you get, he is going to make a frame-winning break.

:04:19. > :04:28.-- your opponent. He is certainly matching Mark Selby

:04:29. > :04:31.in the safety department. That's for sure. Brown and yellow is the target

:04:32. > :04:52.to get in behind here. A little bit on the thin side. So a

:04:53. > :05:16.tactical exchange now to see who makes the first mistake.

:05:17. > :05:23.Now, will Mark Selby take a big risk? Maybe not. The red into the

:05:24. > :05:27.right corner but he would have to get it, so he is ignoring that and

:05:28. > :05:45.looking immediately at the safety shot.

:05:46. > :05:56.Better length of the cue ball this time. An excellent shot. He plays

:05:57. > :06:01.that shot so well. Judged it nicely, off four cushions. There maybe a gap

:06:02. > :06:15.between the green and blue. Having a look at the right to the

:06:16. > :06:16.bottom right-hand corner pocket, too, but that's fraught with a lot

:06:17. > :06:41.of danger. That will do nicely. He doesn't want

:06:42. > :06:48.to leave a touching ball. Touching ball.

:06:49. > :06:54.Could be back in the same position again. Sometime in these situations,

:06:55. > :06:58.Denis, though, I think I would prefer not to snooker your opponent

:06:59. > :07:02.on the pack of reds, because he is going to keep playing that shot. You

:07:03. > :07:04.would like to force him into playing a more difficult safety shot to try

:07:05. > :07:24.to get the cue ball back to baulk. Looks short of pace that one. When

:07:25. > :07:28.you are striking over a ball and down on the cue ball like that, it

:07:29. > :07:31.is so difficult to judge the pace of it. That's what Ding Junhui is faced

:07:32. > :07:40.with. Now, he missed the other one in the

:07:41. > :07:41.opposite corner when he was rolling it. Let's see what he does with

:07:42. > :07:49.this. APPLAUSE

:07:50. > :08:06.WHISTLING We have a few whistlers in, which is

:08:07. > :08:12.unusual. Of it deserved it, the pot and held the cue ball perfectly.

:08:13. > :08:17.Well, he couldn't have cued that any better. That was excellent. Not only

:08:18. > :08:23.the pot but the position, as you said.

:08:24. > :08:29.Holding the cue ball perfectly for the black. The thing I like about

:08:30. > :08:34.that particular shot. He didn't take trooch time over it, did he? He --

:08:35. > :08:38.didn't take too much time over it. He made up his mind straightaway he

:08:39. > :08:40.was going for the more difficult pot.

:08:41. > :08:47.Yes, he zrnt a deleer mind at the start of this match. But I tell you

:08:48. > :08:53.what, he certainly has now. Because four out of the last five frames he

:08:54. > :09:04.has made breaks of 76, 103, 89 and 86.

:09:05. > :09:16.He is' going to have to get the extension on the rest to take this

:09:17. > :09:23.red. If he pots it, he is automatically coming out on to the

:09:24. > :09:25.black. He has looked at that and back looking at the other red. And

:09:26. > :09:42.that's going to be his choice. Just lost his concentration

:09:43. > :09:55.momentarily there. It's been a while since he has

:09:56. > :10:23.missed something like that. There again, Mark Selby throws his

:10:24. > :10:28.little extension on the ground in frustration. That's a poor shot from

:10:29. > :10:48.his standard. No real pressure on there. Playing

:10:49. > :11:01.ball around the back of the black. He is nicely on the blue. He can try

:11:02. > :11:13.and get on this red just to the right of the pink here.

:11:14. > :11:20.He keeps his head so still on the shot, does Ding Junhui. He really

:11:21. > :11:36.does. Watch his head here as he delivers the cue.

:11:37. > :11:41.Well, I never thought I would be saying this, Ken, but there is

:11:42. > :11:46.possibility, you know that Ding could have an overnight lead after

:11:47. > :11:50.being 6-0 behind. He has two more frames after this and the way he is

:11:51. > :11:56.playing, you know, I wouldn't put it past him. I mean he is just taking

:11:57. > :12:01.it frame at a time now. But the momentum is with him.

:12:02. > :12:10.He spotted a little plant. This will be a little Brucie bonus. There you

:12:11. > :12:16.see it. It is directly in line. The angle he has on this as well. He can

:12:17. > :12:25.go into the other reds and bring some more reds into play here.

:12:26. > :12:32.Mm, well he brought some reds into play but wanted to be nicer on this

:12:33. > :12:37.pink. Well, what a tester he is faced with as we show you this split

:12:38. > :12:41.again. He has a long blue which will give him better position on the next

:12:42. > :12:56.red but if he cuts the pink in, he is running away from the reds.

:12:57. > :13:10.He never even looked at the blushing it was much easier to get position

:13:11. > :13:17.but probably a slightly more difficult pot. He still has a pot on

:13:18. > :13:26.to the right corner. He is looking to see if he could take it on and

:13:27. > :13:36.get himself on to the black. A very key shot coming up here.

:13:37. > :13:48.He is looking good. He is looking very good now, is Ding Junhui. He is

:13:49. > :13:53.a man on a mission at the moment. He is playing a lot more aggressive, a

:13:54. > :14:13.lot more self-assured, a lot more confident.

:14:14. > :14:19.He is a lot more focussed, it has to be said. I think he is really

:14:20. > :14:20.enjoying this now. He wasn't at the beginning. It is a whole new ball

:14:21. > :14:31.game. Yes, he is not flifrnling at the big

:14:32. > :14:40.shots. He is taking them on. It is a sign of confidence. -- he is not

:14:41. > :14:44.flinching. He will need one more. He is thinking a few shots ahead here.

:14:45. > :14:48.Obviously the loose red at the bottom of the back of five will pot.

:14:49. > :14:55.He is worried about his next red after that.

:14:56. > :14:59.So he may need one more little cannon into that cluster of four

:15:00. > :15:17.reds. Purposely played to go low on the

:15:18. > :15:22.black. A cannon into the left-hand side of that bunch of four would be

:15:23. > :15:24.perfect. Yes, that's the cannon he would love. He could open all four

:15:25. > :15:37.reds up. It's OK. He pushed it to the middle

:15:38. > :15:41.pocket. Didn't quite work out as he intended but he was always going to

:15:42. > :16:02.be on something once he got that cannon.

:16:03. > :16:10.We showed you earlier in this match how many people were watching this

:16:11. > :16:13.back in China. It's now 5.00am and I bet there's still a lot watching. It

:16:14. > :16:31.is 5.00 in Beijing. It really is a fabulous performance,

:16:32. > :16:38.considering he lost the first six frames. Just a red and a colour away

:16:39. > :16:47.from closing the gap to just one frame.

:16:48. > :16:55.He is just getting the cue ball cleaned.

:16:56. > :17:02.Well, there is an awful lot of experience sitting in that chair,

:17:03. > :17:25.but it is over half an hour since he last potted a ball.

:17:26. > :17:36.Yes, and he will want to make sure that Mark Selby doesn't come back to

:17:37. > :17:40.the table. Just play on and Mark Selby will need one snooker -- this

:17:41. > :17:45.blue and Mark Selby will certainly need one snooker. The red will

:17:46. > :17:50.certainly put played to the frame. It is amazing, has finished up on

:17:51. > :17:54.the red that he looked at when he missed into the top corner. He

:17:55. > :17:58.studied this shot and decided to take the other one. Virtually in an

:17:59. > :18:05.identical position. I mean the frame is safe now. But you know what Mark

:18:06. > :18:22.Selby is like. So Ding will want to make sure this red drops in.

:18:23. > :18:28.No, but at least he hasn't left it right over the pocket. One snooker

:18:29. > :18:37.to tie at the moment. He could have done without this, as

:18:38. > :18:43.we show you the miss with the rest. Because you know what Mark Selby is

:18:44. > :18:48.like. He could keep this frame going for quite some time. Ding would have

:18:49. > :18:57.liked to have got it over with and got on with the next.

:18:58. > :19:00.He could possibly just slide off this red and try to get up behind

:19:01. > :19:20.the green with the cue ball. Pretty good. An excellent shot. He

:19:21. > :19:27.has to be careful here, Ding unwi. Even though he leads by 71 points,

:19:28. > :19:32.if he was to let Mark in with a chance, there are a couple of reds

:19:33. > :19:36.near the pink. You know he would be looking to pot four reds, four high

:19:37. > :19:38.value colours. He would have to stay on the black to just leave himself

:19:39. > :19:52.needing the one snooker. Just landing on this red. Doesn't

:19:53. > :19:59.want to go in-off it, that's for sure. Well, he has a big target

:20:00. > :20:04.here, Mark Selby. You can just glance off this red. Knock the red

:20:05. > :20:09.into the four reds and get that cue ball up behind the yellow and brown.

:20:10. > :20:13.He needs to try to bounce the cue ball off the baulk cushion. He has

:20:14. > :20:34.to try to get really tight behind the yellow or brown here.

:20:35. > :21:01.He has found a gap. There is always a gap.

:21:02. > :21:09.And have a look at this shot - oh, not quite.

:21:10. > :21:17.Well, as I mentioned Ding Junhui could have gone without thing a grow

:21:18. > :21:19.vagus, had he rolled that red in with the extension on his cue and

:21:20. > :21:59.the rest. -- aggravation. Well, has he got the gap this time?

:22:00. > :22:04.No, not this time for that red over the left-hand corner pocket. I'm

:22:05. > :22:08.just wondering will he attempt the one over the right corner. It is a

:22:09. > :22:12.very fine cut, isn't it? He will play the one on to the one over the

:22:13. > :22:23.pocket and get the white through the gap back down.

:22:24. > :22:41.Not quite a big pocket. If that red was near the right corner pocket, he

:22:42. > :22:46.could play the one red in-off it and get himself on to the black but it

:22:47. > :22:52.is not a big pocket. He would have to pot the red direct, if he takes

:22:53. > :22:58.this on. , which it looks as if he is going to do. It is a must-get

:22:59. > :23:19.pot, otherwise the frame is over. -- he has got it. Ding has got to

:23:20. > :23:23.sit there and think - why didn't I roll that red in? He tried to, but

:23:24. > :23:25.he should have put more into it. Amean this is a gem he has pulled

:23:26. > :23:40.out here. The problem though for Mark Selby,

:23:41. > :23:45.when he pots this black, it looks like it won't spot on its own spot.

:23:46. > :23:48.So it is going to go up on to the brown spot.

:23:49. > :23:56.Now, what it does, is bunches three colours together up in the baulk

:23:57. > :24:01.area, just for good positions for snookers, but the problem is, he

:24:02. > :24:02.needs one snooker with four reds and four blacks and all the colours to

:24:03. > :24:19.time. -- to tie. He can get on the black

:24:20. > :24:23.here. He has played it well. He is on the black. He played that very

:24:24. > :24:28.well. He has a nice angle on the black as well. He can get back down

:24:29. > :24:51.for the reds. This looks good. Approximates pretty

:24:52. > :24:55.good. And he can get back on the black -- pretty good. He can get

:24:56. > :24:59.back on the black again, believe it or not.

:25:00. > :25:21.Oh, he almost screwed into the middle pocket.

:25:22. > :25:31.And look at this shot he has played. He needs to keep on running and now

:25:32. > :25:33.he requires a terrific shot. The black sown available into the right

:25:34. > :25:51.corner or the middle pocket. Played for the pink this time, which

:25:52. > :25:58.means he is going to need two snookers but as Ken said. Look where

:25:59. > :25:59.those three colours are now. The yellow, the brown and the black, for

:26:00. > :26:08.snookers. Yes, and he probably wants to keep

:26:09. > :26:13.the last red on the table for the possibilities of a free ball. He

:26:14. > :26:20.could try and knock the pink in and leave a nice angle on the red, that

:26:21. > :26:27.he could try to knock the red up towards those baulk colours.

:26:28. > :26:34.Trying to get the cue ball behind the pink. Oh, a big bounce. He was

:26:35. > :26:38.OK, though. He can do it either way. He can send the white around the

:26:39. > :26:45.angles to get in behind the three colours, or he could, as you said

:26:46. > :26:49.maybe get the snooker in behind the pink and send the red up there. It

:26:50. > :26:53.is always better to get the white in behind one of those colours. I think

:26:54. > :26:54.that's what he might attempt. He might hit three, possibly four

:26:55. > :27:14.cushions here to lay the snooker. It hit four cushions, did he find

:27:15. > :27:20.the gap? He hasn't found the gap but it is a straightforward escape for

:27:21. > :27:22.Ding Junhui here. He wants to try to put as much distance between the cue

:27:23. > :28:06.ball and the red. There mightk another gap T wasn't

:28:07. > :28:09.going to be a snooker if he didn't hit the blue. He will have fwoend

:28:10. > :28:13.this slightly. The problem with this, if you try to swerve t the

:28:14. > :28:17.white will go towards the yellow before the swerve kicks in. He will

:28:18. > :28:21.have to be careful here that he doesn't hit the yellow and just a

:28:22. > :28:23.little touch of side, that's all it needs. He can maybe just catch the

:28:24. > :28:44.edge of it. Oh, decision time for Mark Selby.

:28:45. > :28:51.Ideally he would like to keep the red on the table but if he pots red

:28:52. > :28:57.and pink he is going to need two four-point snookers but one would

:28:58. > :29:05.almost be guaranteed, should he get the cue ball up into a baulk area

:29:06. > :29:08.and play the behind the yellow and brown. So it is a decision he has it

:29:09. > :29:25.make sheer. -- here. He decided against T a good line if

:29:26. > :29:27.it gets behind the brown. This is an excellent shot. A very good line.

:29:28. > :29:38.Superb shot. -- He really does know his way around

:29:39. > :29:42.these angles. We have angles McManus, who got to the semi--final

:29:43. > :29:49.and now we have sat-nav Selby finding his way around the table for

:29:50. > :29:53.that fantastic snooker. And Ding has to hit, let's see, one, two, three,

:29:54. > :30:03.four cushions, the way he is looking.

:30:04. > :30:10.Well, this is a tough escape. Can't go into baulk and around by the

:30:11. > :30:17.green. It looks like the blue may be in his way. So may have to come

:30:18. > :30:21.across the table twice across here. The other way I like, with the rest,

:30:22. > :30:25.you know, the first line is a little bit out but he could come off two

:30:26. > :30:28.cushions and land on it. It'll probably be slightly easier than

:30:29. > :30:46.having to go off more cushions. I think maybe if he goes across the

:30:47. > :30:48.side cushion and tries to miss the right-centre pocket and then back

:30:49. > :30:58.across the black spot towards the red as well. I give one alternate,

:30:59. > :31:06.that is the other way, tries across to land on the red. He has so many

:31:07. > :31:15.ways of getting there, but which one will he pick? I think I like the one

:31:16. > :31:23.you just put up. Of course, the referee can't call this because when

:31:24. > :31:36.your opponent needs sneakers, they can't call a miss. I think the

:31:37. > :31:44.cushions are skidding is likely -- slightly.

:31:45. > :32:00.Somewhere near that line would get him into the red.

:32:01. > :32:17.Foul. Mark Selby, fall. What about that? Again, the fact that the black

:32:18. > :32:21.is next to the brown and the yellow does make a big target for Mark

:32:22. > :32:40.Selby. He has got him again, I think. It is

:32:41. > :32:45.amazing that some 14 minutes ago it looked like a frame was all over.

:32:46. > :32:52.Roll this in and Mark Selby concedes. He just heated to thin. We

:32:53. > :32:58.always knew this was going to happen with Mark Selby. I think it was the

:32:59. > :33:05.second frame this afternoon that Mark Selby needed a snooker, got it,

:33:06. > :33:09.and won the frame. It will definitely be playing on Ding's

:33:10. > :33:16.mind. There is the possibility of a one-cushion escape but when you are

:33:17. > :33:24.playing off a cushion, the cue ball can slide and miss. I think the

:33:25. > :33:28.harder you hit it, the more it will slide. It will be interesting to see

:33:29. > :33:33.what pacey plays out. Just a nice easy pace to make sure you hit the

:33:34. > :33:54.red. Don't force it. Once again, the big target of

:33:55. > :34:04.yellow, brown and black. If he can leave the cue ball where the red is,

:34:05. > :34:13.he will send the ball up the table, leaving him the blue to snooker Ding

:34:14. > :34:16.behind. He doesn't want the red going to close to the corner pocket.

:34:17. > :34:45.He wants it away from the cushion. He has blocked off the escape right

:34:46. > :34:52.-- escape route. He will need an angle to come round and hit the

:34:53. > :34:55.baulk, so he is going to have to be a little bit careful here because if

:34:56. > :35:01.you play it with a swerve off the map, sometimes the white can go

:35:02. > :35:12.towards the brown. He will have to be a little bit careful here.

:35:13. > :35:28.He played it well. Played it very well.

:35:29. > :35:42.That was a good swerve, wasn't it? Almost got the snooker back. -- a

:35:43. > :35:44.snooker back. Welcome back, Selby. How is he going to get the cue ball

:35:45. > :36:11.back to baulk? Surely not? Well, Ding is shaking

:36:12. > :36:21.his head. He can't believe it. Another little swerve that had Mark

:36:22. > :36:27.smiling. Shouldn't be a problem. I'm just looking. The pink has gone into

:36:28. > :36:33.a pit -- a terrific position to get a snooker in behind. That is as well

:36:34. > :36:39.as the three colours that Mark keeps trying to get behind. If he does get

:36:40. > :36:42.a chance, the pink Mac is -- the pink is in a fantastic position to

:36:43. > :37:00.get a snooker in behind. When you are looking for the

:37:01. > :37:11.sneakers, you have got to keep the object safe also. -- snookers. It is

:37:12. > :37:18.as if you are trying to double the bread. But you are screwing the red.

:37:19. > :37:34.He has made sure he's got the red fairly safe. You don't always have

:37:35. > :37:42.to play for the snooker. You can wait for another chance.

:37:43. > :37:53.This is now the longest frame in the match so far. Newly 35mm. -- 35

:37:54. > :38:05.minutes. Quite a quick frame compared to the

:38:06. > :38:12.one that Mark Selby played against Marco Fu. The longest in the history

:38:13. > :38:21.of the Crucible. 76 minutes, one of the frames lasted. As I say, it

:38:22. > :38:24.looked like this would be a quick frame until Ding didn't knock in the

:38:25. > :38:52.fairly straightforward red. That was a wonderful shot. He has

:38:53. > :39:00.got him in a tough snooker here. There is enough room behind this

:39:01. > :39:04.red. I'm not sure if he can get him off swerve behind the right-hand

:39:05. > :39:13.side of the yellow and try to kick the red of the baulk cushion. This

:39:14. > :39:21.is quite a tricky snooker for Ding to hit the red here. OK, he can come

:39:22. > :39:25.off to cushions, the right-hand side cushion and baulk cushion, but the

:39:26. > :39:29.yellow is quite close to the red. That is what he'd like to do but as

:39:30. > :39:34.you mentioned, there was enough room to sail around the back of the red

:39:35. > :39:43.will stop you wouldn't want to see that, would you, but Mark Selby

:39:44. > :39:47.would like to see that. They would be a free ball if he did that, and

:39:48. > :39:58.that is why he is taking a lot of time on this.

:39:59. > :40:09.A good hit. Now, has he left the red on? It doesn't look like it. I think

:40:10. > :40:18.if Mark Selby was on this red, he would put it and try to put the

:40:19. > :40:26.black. -- potty and try to pot the black. A few shots ago, he had the

:40:27. > :40:31.chance to put the red and the black but he elected to keep the red on

:40:32. > :41:17.the table. Ding would love to see this red

:41:18. > :41:23.disappear but he would rather cut the red in man have an easy snooker

:41:24. > :41:39.because he wants to get the frame over with.

:41:40. > :41:49.He has played the snooker and is he coming up short? As you can see, he

:41:50. > :41:55.can come off the side cushion and if you send the red up the table, the

:41:56. > :41:58.White will towards the three colours, so I went be surprised if

:41:59. > :42:13.he doesn't come close to getting a snooker from a snooker.

:42:14. > :42:25.The red's coming toward the corner pocket, but look at the cue ball.

:42:26. > :42:34.There was always a possibility that could happen but can he just swerve

:42:35. > :42:49.this? He might pot this, but his main concern is to hit it.

:42:50. > :42:57.Oh, that was close. It just hit enough of the red, a quarter-ball

:42:58. > :43:02.contact on the red, and the cue ball would have been in the pocket. He

:43:03. > :43:09.has put the yellow out of commission. That is one good thing

:43:10. > :43:36.from being -- that is one good thing from Ding's point of view.

:43:37. > :43:47.Well, can you believe it? He flicked that completely and finished on the

:43:48. > :43:51.black. It is now 25 minutes since Ding missed the red with the long

:43:52. > :43:59.rest and it's amazing what has happened here. All that momentum he

:44:00. > :44:07.has built up and/or the rhythm with all the breaks of 76, 103, 86, all

:44:08. > :44:16.of a sudden, he has had half an hour of tactical play he could have done

:44:17. > :44:21.without. He is the master in this position, isn't he, Mark Selby? Such

:44:22. > :44:24.great knowledge of the angles? This will certainly help him put the

:44:25. > :44:31.black back on it spot and bring in that safe yellow that you mentioned,

:44:32. > :44:35.hoping to play and possibly cue ball behind the brown. He is working out

:44:36. > :44:46.where he wants to leave the cue ball when he popped this black. -- pots

:44:47. > :44:48.this black. He wants to be very precise with his cue ball here. Make

:44:49. > :45:17.the snooker as easy as possible. He wants to get an open play and try

:45:18. > :45:28.to get this cue ball behind the brown.

:45:29. > :45:36.There is a gap through but he's keeping the object ball safe. There

:45:37. > :45:43.you can see there is just enough room. Although it's tight, isn't it?

:45:44. > :45:46.It's very tight and the way Ding Junhui is looking, he's going to

:45:47. > :45:55.come off the side cushion. He doesn't fancy going between the blue

:45:56. > :45:59.and black. It must be very tight. Right behind it. He'll know better

:46:00. > :46:20.than anyone and he and he feels he can't go past the blue and black.

:46:21. > :46:55.Well, has he got a jammy snooker back? Not quite.

:46:56. > :47:04.As I say, the pink is the best ball to get a snooker behind, because it

:47:05. > :47:11.would be almost impossible to get from behind there. He almost got

:47:12. > :47:47.there. It would have come off this cushion and in behind the pink.

:47:48. > :47:56.I thought Mark might be able to keep playing when Ding missed that read

:47:57. > :48:10.the long rest for quite awhile but I didn't think it would be an hour.

:48:11. > :48:16.Can he see enough of the yellow to take the pot on here? No, I don't

:48:17. > :48:29.think so. Snooker to, by the looks of it. -- snooker could. The this

:48:30. > :48:33.shot. Can Ding get in behind the pink and put Mark in a tough

:48:34. > :49:07.snooker? Just a bit too much pace. It might

:49:08. > :49:12.not be a bad idea to pot the yellow here. He could get the cue ball very

:49:13. > :49:16.close to the green. He could try to lay a snooker behind the brown, so

:49:17. > :49:26.it's quite possible he might pot the yellow here.

:49:27. > :49:51.He really wanted to be on the opposite side of you. It would have

:49:52. > :49:57.been quite straightforward to get snooker whereas now it is a little

:49:58. > :50:01.bit more difficult. He will have to cue -- screw the cue ball in and it

:50:02. > :50:24.is a very delicate chop. -- shot. He is attempting the snooker but

:50:25. > :50:25.look what he is doing with the object ball every time. He is

:50:26. > :50:59.keeping it safe. That is a pretty good effort but

:51:00. > :51:08.easy to hit and once again, coming off the cushion. Mark Selby is so

:51:09. > :51:14.good at this type of shot. Can he get the green safe again? And can he

:51:15. > :51:20.possibly get a snooker behind the brown. He has done it a couple of

:51:21. > :51:37.times where he has been in a snooker and he has got a snooker back.

:51:38. > :51:46.Not this time. This could be a chance. The green will go into the

:51:47. > :51:51.left corner but he will have to be a little bit careful. If he plays with

:51:52. > :52:02.top spin, the White will come off and head towards the top pocket. He

:52:03. > :52:07.could stun it. He didn't even attempt a pot. He just played the

:52:08. > :52:32.snooker. So both players playing for snooker is at the moment.

:52:33. > :52:37.And he's played another great shot there. It's not a snooker but...

:52:38. > :52:53.APPLAUSE I just sense that when Ding missed

:52:54. > :53:00.that shot when he was 71 points in front, I sensed that Mark Selby

:53:01. > :53:04.might come back and 31 minutes later we are still here in this rain. --

:53:05. > :53:26.frame. I'm not sure how many snooker 's

:53:27. > :53:34.Ding has put Mark Selby in or how many snooker 's Mark Selby has put

:53:35. > :54:00.Ding in but there have been quite a few.

:54:01. > :54:08.He is playing to nestle onto it so that he doesn't leave the green on.

:54:09. > :54:11.I think Ding Junhui will be playing another snooker in behind the brown,

:54:12. > :54:38.a little thin one. They've been playing on the green

:54:39. > :54:40.for just over five minutes. He's going to try to get in behind the

:54:41. > :55:36.black and send the green up there. This is a chance and if he knocks

:55:37. > :55:37.this green in, I think we will hear a terrific round of applause from

:55:38. > :56:04.this Crucible ploughed -- crowd. That's what happens when you are

:56:05. > :56:13.playing around for over 40 minutes since you last potted the ball. The

:56:14. > :56:18.concentration that he has got to put into this as well. We'll was tend to

:56:19. > :56:27.forget about the old referee. Well, he's not that old. Can he hate the

:56:28. > :56:30.cushion first -- heat the cushion first again and send the greenback

:56:31. > :57:04.at the table? Just a little too hard but what an

:57:05. > :57:11.effort. A good try. There will be an unbelievable cheer if Ding can slot

:57:12. > :57:22.the green in but can he after all the tactical play? Oh, and this

:57:23. > :57:26.could be a chance now to get in behind the pink. He can come off

:57:27. > :57:33.one, two, three cushions. If the judges this right, he can get the

:57:34. > :57:38.green safe also, but he can get in tight behind the thinking.

:57:39. > :57:52.Here it comes but it is not hard enough. It's behind the brown but it

:57:53. > :58:00.is easy to hit. The pace wasn't there. Coming up to 56 minutes now,

:58:01. > :58:41.this frame. He is looking at the potting angle,

:58:42. > :58:54.which tells us he is looking to pot this and then look for a snooker.

:58:55. > :59:18.There is a gap through, as you can clearly see.

:59:19. > :59:27.He has tried to double up into the corner and now Mark Selby will pop

:59:28. > :59:29.the green and look for a good angle on the brown to get in behind that

:59:30. > :59:41.pink. He's going to try to land somewhere

:59:42. > :00:02.in the core of the D-Day with the cue ball. -- the D there.

:00:03. > :00:14.Well, too hard. He will probably try to pot the brown and play the

:00:15. > :00:20.snooker on the blue but he is running out of options, that is the

:00:21. > :00:22.only problem. He didn't play a good shot there. He didn't get the white

:00:23. > :00:53.anywhere near where he wanted. So that's what he has attempted to

:00:54. > :01:00.do and that's not absolutely perfect.

:01:01. > :01:05.He needed to run that cue ball another six or eight inches. He has

:01:06. > :01:07.one cushion off the top cushion to nestle that cue ball behind the

:01:08. > :01:25.pink. Well, how will Ding Junhui play

:01:26. > :01:29.this? Cut it over the pocket, or double it said it around the angles?

:01:30. > :01:34.The only problem with that, if he tries to double the blue, it'll,back

:01:35. > :01:38.round towards the black, but it is one of those sorts of situations, it

:01:39. > :01:41.doesn't matter where the blue is, there is going to be a chance for a

:01:42. > :01:51.snooker. Well, that's not the best shot. He

:01:52. > :01:55.has given a chance for Mark Selby to get right around the table and in

:01:56. > :02:03.behind the pink. That was a poor shot from Ding.

:02:04. > :02:11.He probably should have knocked over the green pocket or put it over the

:02:12. > :02:16.yellow pocket. He has an angle here, if he can judge it, he can get

:02:17. > :02:23.somewhere in hooind that line and the pink ball.

:02:24. > :02:31.He hasn't hit it hard enough again. Over the hour Mark and Ding Junhui

:02:32. > :02:33.is faced with a very difficult pot. A pot that will bring a terrific

:02:34. > :03:01.round of applause, if it goes in. Ander in chance for Mark Selby. To

:03:02. > :03:05.get in behind the pink. He has had two or three attempts. One of these

:03:06. > :03:19.attempts he is going to get in behind it. -- and another chance.

:03:20. > :03:29.Too narrow. This time, surely, Ding. Well, he normally would knock it in

:03:30. > :03:30.but everything that has gone on for the last 50 minutes, has been quite

:03:31. > :03:40.amazing. CHEERING AND

:03:41. > :03:54.APPLAUSE And there it goes. At last. After

:03:55. > :03:58.61-and-a-half minutes, Ding Junhui knocks the blue in. But, hang on.

:03:59. > :04:12.There is only two snookers needed. We could have another half hour

:04:13. > :04:56.here, knowing Mark Selby. He led by 7146-and-a-half minutes

:04:57. > :05:09.ago he missed a red with a long rest and we are still playing.

:05:10. > :05:16.Funny enough, he conceded a frame earlier when he needed two snookers,

:05:17. > :05:19.Mark. But I think he has put so much effort in to this, that he wants to

:05:20. > :05:33.try for the two snookers. Now, can he see enough of this to

:05:34. > :05:38.play a drag shot and send that pink right over the pocket or into the

:05:39. > :05:39.pocket. It is what we call, when your opponent needs snookers, you

:05:40. > :05:51.play the in or over shot. Is it in, or is it over? It's

:05:52. > :06:03.neither. He can get around behind the black here, believe it or not.

:06:04. > :06:33.Ken, I think we'll have to go and have a lie down after this frame. I

:06:34. > :06:54.think we all will, that's right. What it does is put Ding through the

:06:55. > :07:00.wringer. As you said, over 45 minutes ago now, this frame should

:07:01. > :07:05.have been well and truly finished and whatever momentum Ding had, it

:07:06. > :07:10.is certainly gone now. He has clawed another frame back, barring snookers

:07:11. > :07:14.but any sort of confidence that he builds up, that's evaporated.

:07:15. > :07:21.It's very close to the pocket but I think he can hit it thin enough to

:07:22. > :07:34.attempt the snooker and keep the pink out of the pocket.

:07:35. > :07:43.He is not far off getting the snooker. He has got the snooker. And

:07:44. > :07:49.Ding Junhui will have to be careful he doesn't hit this and go in-off T

:07:50. > :07:51.if he hits it on the right side, the white could go in. That's why he is

:07:52. > :08:20.playing it very slowly. That's another good effort, eh?

:08:21. > :08:25.Unbelievable? APPLAUSE Sat-nav Selby strikes

:08:26. > :08:37.again. Ding unlucky. A straightforward

:08:38. > :08:43.swerve. Another couple of inches and it was a lot more difficult.

:08:44. > :08:49.The crowd are still heavily involved in this very long frame, a frame

:08:50. > :08:58.that has been going now over 66 minutes.

:08:59. > :09:05.76 minutes, I mentioned is the longest-ever frame played in

:09:06. > :09:06.Crucible history. And this is the second-longest frame in this year's

:09:07. > :09:26.World Championship. Ye, it is in. At long last, Ding

:09:27. > :09:31.Junhui manages to take the frame. He had to wait an awful long time but

:09:32. > :09:36.he has got the frame and he's just one frame behind now. 8-4, 8-7,

:09:37. > :09:44.sorry, to Mark Selby. Don't worry, Denis, we P are all

:09:45. > :09:49.struggling after that. What an amoussing effort from Mark Selby

:09:50. > :09:53.but, oh, 45 minutes' worth after Ding Junhui could have killed off

:09:54. > :09:58.that frame. He was still chasing him and all because of this. We said

:09:59. > :10:02.earlier today, if you don't get game ball and get it down, this is what

:10:03. > :10:06.you can put yourself through, through the wringer, he is so adept

:10:07. > :10:10.at what he does. I mean to keep the balls on the table for that long to

:10:11. > :10:14.have a chance to win that, it is incredible ring craft. He is an

:10:15. > :10:17.animal on the table, Mark Selby. OK, there are people out there don't

:10:18. > :10:25.like Mark Selby because they think he is too slow. He think he slows it

:10:26. > :10:30.down, thinks it is boring. All he is doing is playing what he gets given

:10:31. > :10:36.to him. Houdini would have had a job to get out of that. He is a

:10:37. > :10:40.machinester on the table. Whilst it is draining for people watching and

:10:41. > :10:44.the players, it is hard for Ding. He knows full well this guy will never

:10:45. > :10:48.go away. If he wins a frame like that, he will go to sleep tonight he

:10:49. > :10:53.will have nightmare abouts Mark Selby in the frame. The good news

:10:54. > :11:00.was he won the frame. This afternoon he didn't. The good news, is after

:11:01. > :11:05.all the play that went on, he won. Mark Selby laid 13 snookers. Stephen

:11:06. > :11:08.Hendry, that's the kind of snooker you were not particularly keen on

:11:09. > :11:12.but you have to admire his tenacity in trying to chase that frame,

:11:13. > :11:17.surely. I am still trying to catch my breath. It was so exciting. It

:11:18. > :11:22.was phenomenal safety play. I have to admit you have to take your hat

:11:23. > :11:25.off it him. Although it is snooker I don't enjoy watching, the skill

:11:26. > :11:32.involved and not only, Ding laid just as many snookers as Mark. Every

:11:33. > :11:36.time he got a snooker, he never left a ball, it was incredible. We have

:11:37. > :11:41.two more to go. We'll stay with the snooker tonight on BBC two. It is a

:11:42. > :11:43.bloomin good job it is a bank Holiday Monday tomorrow.

:11:44. > :12:03.Frame 16, Mark Selby to break. Denis Taylor: So, frame 16. DEN

:12:04. > :12:08.DOHERTY: Mark Selby breaks off. I think Ding, as he goes out of the

:12:09. > :12:12.arena, that's just a little gesture. He was glad to get that one over

:12:13. > :12:38.with, wasn't he? Oh, well, he is still going for his

:12:39. > :12:41.shots, isn't he? Playing in a very positive frame of mind but

:12:42. > :12:46.unfortunately for Ding, well, he thought this was the only red he

:12:47. > :12:59.could possibly leave and that's exactly what has happened.

:13:00. > :13:05.Well we talk about knocking Ding Junhui out of his rhythm. It's also

:13:06. > :13:12.going to affect Mark Selby, the world number 1. He has played so

:13:13. > :13:20.much safety in that last frame. I suppose he is one of these players

:13:21. > :13:23.that can do that and then, when he gets the chance, he can knock

:13:24. > :13:26.winning contribution in. He is close to this blue. He has to get that tip

:13:27. > :13:38.away. And he did. Well you can see he had to make sure

:13:39. > :13:43.he pulled the cue away quickly there. It would be just typical of

:13:44. > :13:52.Mark Selby to knock in a frame-winning break here, after that

:13:53. > :13:56.last frame. I don't thinks is going to affect Mark Selby, much more than

:13:57. > :14:00.it possibly would have affected Ding, knowing he had the frame in

:14:01. > :14:05.his pocket but for that one red that he missed with the extension. And

:14:06. > :14:10.Mark Selby put up a very brave fight to keep the frame alive.

:14:11. > :14:17.Now where does the pink go? There is no room on its spot, so directly

:14:18. > :14:33.behind its own spot in line with the black and the top cushion.

:14:34. > :14:43.That was a good idea from Paul Connor, he used both fingers. A lot

:14:44. > :14:47.of refes use one finger, it is more steady. You can to be careful with

:14:48. > :15:01.those white gloves, they can be slippy.

:15:02. > :15:09.When he pots this red, will the red just above the black, will that pot

:15:10. > :15:14.into the same pocket? Oh, didn't go into the right part of the pocket.

:15:15. > :15:33.Now, does the black cover this red? Yes, that was a bit of a slip-up

:15:34. > :15:37.early on from Mark Selby. I don't even know if he can get through to

:15:38. > :15:42.the other one. He might have to take the one into the top corner, up past

:15:43. > :15:46.the blue and green. And just running through for the blue here.

:15:47. > :15:55.He got a kick as well into the bargain, but he is OK. I'm sure the

:15:56. > :15:59.white jumped a little bit. Maybe it is just me but I detected. Let's

:16:00. > :16:02.have a look. Yes, it certainly jumped. But didn't affect it that

:16:03. > :16:16.time. Well, he didn't get into the shot

:16:17. > :16:19.full ball. He might have dropped on absolutely nothing. OK, he opened

:16:20. > :16:24.the reds but when he glanced off the side of them, he has been unlucky

:16:25. > :16:29.not to finish on something but he didn't get the cannon. As you can

:16:30. > :16:32.see here, he hit the red half ball instead of full ball. So he is going

:16:33. > :16:47.to have to wait for another chance. He looked up to the heavens there.

:16:48. > :16:52.He felt he was very unlucky not to. Look at the split on the reds.

:16:53. > :16:54.Plenty came out but as you said, Denis, just hit the wrong side of

:16:55. > :17:22.the pack. You are absolutely right, Ken. There

:17:23. > :17:27.are a couple of reds that Ding Junhui can have a go at. He is

:17:28. > :17:32.looking to see if he can take that one nearest the titch his cue and he

:17:33. > :17:40.has the one tloeft of the pink shot as a free shot also. But it is the

:17:41. > :17:46.one to the right -- nearest to the tip of his cue. It is the one to the

:17:47. > :17:51.right that he feels will get him nearest the black. Let's see what

:17:52. > :18:10.that last frame has taken out of the rhythm of Ding Junhui. He is back.

:18:11. > :18:18.Can he get through the one near the pocket, or through the one to the

:18:19. > :18:22.left middle? Well, he can't get to that one, that's for sure. Maybe he

:18:23. > :19:00.can get to the one to the middle pocket.

:19:01. > :19:09.I think Ken, this is such an important frame from Mark Selby's

:19:10. > :19:15.point of view. 6-0 in front and all of a sudden, Ding Junhui will draw

:19:16. > :19:18.level. And I think Mark will give this every chance he has here. There

:19:19. > :19:23.is one more frame it be played after this and this is a key shot coming

:19:24. > :19:27.up. He is already 34 points in the lead. This could really open things

:19:28. > :19:36.up, if the cannon works out and he pots the black, of course.

:19:37. > :19:46.Played to perfection. Yes, played nicely. Moved that one out of the

:19:47. > :19:50.red of the black. And he can pot this, play a little cannon on the

:19:51. > :19:57.red in front of it. That will open the other red into the same corner

:19:58. > :20:03.pocket and now he should win the frame from this. What it does, it'll

:20:04. > :20:06.reassert himself and of course make sure that he has a lead going into

:20:07. > :20:26.the next session tomorrow afternoon. This has been a terrific fightback

:20:27. > :20:44.from Ding Junhui. Breaks of 76, 103, 89, 86.

:20:45. > :20:53.A slight angle to try to pot the red. It could go wrong, so that's

:20:54. > :20:57.yes has gone up for the blue. Well, so much side spin on that. A bit of

:20:58. > :21:11.tension in the arm of Mark Selby. Well, that didn't go into the middle

:21:12. > :21:14.of the pocket either. He is struggling a bit here.

:21:15. > :21:23.Yes, that's why the cue ball has finished up in the reds there. And

:21:24. > :21:29.have a look at the green. In-off that left jaw. But this is where his

:21:30. > :21:31.height - he is well over six feet. He can lean across and bridge over

:21:32. > :21:45.the reds. A big advantage. He has a little bit of angle here. I

:21:46. > :21:50.think the reds are all covering each other. I'm not sure if there is one

:21:51. > :21:58.available. If not, he has to get the cannon right. And he has missed the

:21:59. > :22:03.cannon. He is 61 points in front. So plenty left on the table. He arced

:22:04. > :22:07.that too much. It was heading towards the pink and all of a sudden

:22:08. > :22:12.with the top spin - just look at this, it is coming towards the pink

:22:13. > :22:16.and then, look at the arc he got on that.

:22:17. > :22:19.It came from that poor positional shot going back up for blue.

:22:20. > :22:36.Straightforward and overshot it. He is going to open the reds here.

:22:37. > :22:37.He doesn't want the red going over this right-hand bottom corner

:22:38. > :22:54.pocket. APPLAUSE

:22:55. > :22:59.So it gives Ding the opportunity, possibly, if he could bring the reds

:23:00. > :23:07.all into play, or there is, if he can clip the very back red... Well,

:23:08. > :23:09.if he can't clip that, he can certainly bring the reds into play.

:23:10. > :23:30.Maybe just on this for a pot. It's attritional stuff, isn't it

:23:31. > :23:36.Denis? It really is. I mean Ding Junhui led the last frame by 71

:23:37. > :23:41.points at one stage and it looked a formality. And we had the

:23:42. > :23:45.second-longest frame in this year's World Championship, with Mark Selby

:23:46. > :23:50.battling back. A bit of a chance here. This is a sort of a shot to

:23:51. > :24:00.nothing. Overcut it this time and the white

:24:01. > :24:06.is coming back up the table. So Ding may take this on. There is a shot on

:24:07. > :24:12.for Ding here and he can get on the black. I think he can get enough

:24:13. > :24:19.screw on it to go across the table. And finish on the black or the pink.

:24:20. > :24:22.That's the shot that is available to him. The other shot that would be

:24:23. > :24:26.very attacking, would be to pot the red and cannon the three reds, bring

:24:27. > :24:28.them into play because the pink is over the pocket. He has two choices

:24:29. > :24:45.here. Snr he played for the pink. Didn't

:24:46. > :24:51.have to force it in for the black because of the pink over the pocket.

:24:52. > :24:57.So it is not ideally-placed, though. He is going to have to get quite a

:24:58. > :25:01.lot of bottom own this to screw it back. -- on this.

:25:02. > :25:04.He may have the angle to screw back into those three reds there. Oh,

:25:05. > :25:13.wow. Well, that should be end of frame.

:25:14. > :25:20.He will be very disappointed. Just the red needed. That's what he

:25:21. > :25:32.attempted. Tried to pot the pink and screw back into the reds.

:25:33. > :25:41.I tell you what, that was a bit of a chance for Ding there. Maybe a

:25:42. > :25:46.slight sign of fatigue, Denis. Well, as I say, that last frame took

:25:47. > :25:50.so much out of both players, you would have to say. I mean we are at

:25:51. > :26:01.the 16th day here at the Crucible. It does drain you mentally.

:26:02. > :26:43.Mark Selby, 6. So 59 points on the table. Mark Selby has a 66-point

:26:44. > :27:01.advantage. Can just get past the brown for the

:27:02. > :27:13.potting angle. A long way off the pot. Ding can get

:27:14. > :27:32.three reds, three blacks here. He can look for the two snookers,

:27:33. > :27:57.because there is always the chance of a free ball.

:27:58. > :28:03.Now, how will Ding Junhui go about getting the two snookers. We saw how

:28:04. > :28:14.good Mark Selby was at T If he can get this red in a black

:28:15. > :28:18.and get the white in such a way he can roll tight up behind the pink...

:28:19. > :28:26.Well, he may not be able to do that now. I would have loved to have left

:28:27. > :28:29.the black in such a way where you could screw back. See where the

:28:30. > :28:33.white is now, if he had of had the white there, he could have rolled

:28:34. > :28:38.tight in behind the pink and sent the red up towards the brown but I

:28:39. > :28:46.don't think he can get into that position now.

:28:47. > :28:53.You see he is thinking now about it. He should have given it more thought

:28:54. > :28:54.before that last shot. Yes, should have been more straight on this

:28:55. > :29:04.black. Don't get me wrok, you can still

:29:05. > :29:08.play the snooker but the one where he would have rolled tight in behind

:29:09. > :29:14.the pink would have been very difficult to escape from. He is

:29:15. > :29:16.going to try to get the red behind the black here and get the ball up

:29:17. > :29:31.behind possibly the yellow or brown. Do you know, he got a kick there. He

:29:32. > :29:36.did get a heavy contact. He is looking at the red there, as you can

:29:37. > :29:57.see. I think Mark can just see enough of this to take the cut on.

:29:58. > :30:04.Having the cue ball cleaned. We did see him look at the red. Let's have

:30:05. > :30:10.a lack at this one here. Yes, a clear kick.

:30:11. > :31:01.Well, that tells you it was a kick, that lovely smile from Ding, there.

:31:02. > :31:08.Ding is thinking, I wonder if I can get my own back on Mark Selby here

:31:09. > :31:16.and do what he did to me in the previous frame. A good opportunity

:31:17. > :31:23.here. Just didn't get enough screw on the cue ball. He may have left

:31:24. > :31:26.this red. Just another couple of inches and the cue ball behind the

:31:27. > :31:34.pink would have been a very tough snooker. A chance for Mark Selby.

:31:35. > :31:44.That should be enough now. That will be a bit of a relief to him. It

:31:45. > :31:51.guarantees him a lead going into tomorrow's session. One more frame

:31:52. > :31:57.to play of course in this session. He'll be feeling a lot better now,

:31:58. > :32:04.when T, Ken? Every chance that Ding could have levelled it after being

:32:05. > :32:07.six frames down. Wouldn't that have been something? But he is bound to

:32:08. > :32:13.have a lead going into tomorrow, as you have said.

:32:14. > :32:22.Will it be one or will it be three? That is the question.

:32:23. > :32:58.It will be an interesting last frame in the session.

:32:59. > :33:05.As the guys say, he is guaranteed a lead going into tomorrow, but this

:33:06. > :33:09.will be a very interesting frame here, despite the fact it's nearly

:33:10. > :33:14.midnight. It has been a gruelling day for them. How mentally tiring it

:33:15. > :33:20.is to play this kind of snooker? Buried. That is one of the reasons

:33:21. > :33:29.why if you come -- if you can possibly avoid that style, you do.

:33:30. > :33:36.The world Championships is a marathon and you recover, but it is

:33:37. > :33:41.training. I lost half a stone during championship campaigns. Not just the

:33:42. > :33:45.tension but you are not eating. They have been out there for ages. They

:33:46. > :33:49.grab some food but it is very difficult to get your body clock is

:33:50. > :33:55.right for this. It is tough, isn't it? That was a fabulous frame for

:33:56. > :34:00.Mark Selby after what they have had before. Sometimes you can be

:34:01. > :34:05.forgiven for not putting the ball in the next frame. He is a fabulous

:34:06. > :34:11.match player. To play a frame of that length and still produce after

:34:12. > :34:17.that is remarkable. You have got to say both men have shown fantastic

:34:18. > :34:27.character. They have indeed. This is a huge frame. For all the effort

:34:28. > :34:31.Dean has -- Ding has put in to come from six behind, he will be

:34:32. > :34:36.disappointed if he goes into tomorrow three frames behind. It was

:34:37. > :34:41.interesting hearing Steve Davis talk about getting hungry in the long

:34:42. > :34:52.sessions. I remember playing him in 1979 and they brought out a plate of

:34:53. > :34:59.sandwiches. -- here in 1979. I've never seen that at the Crucible.

:35:00. > :35:03.Sometimes you see players bring a banana out with them and have a bite

:35:04. > :35:07.or two. He is quite right. When players haven't eaten for a long

:35:08. > :35:16.time, it is draining out there. Your concentration wavers. A big frame

:35:17. > :35:27.for both Mark Selby and Ding Junhui. That is an excellent start. OK. He

:35:28. > :35:32.would have liked to be straight on this yellow but he has got a

:35:33. > :35:37.wonderful angle. He can go offside cushion, top cushion into the pack

:35:38. > :35:41.of reds. He doesn't have to do that. He could try to get on the loose red

:35:42. > :35:47.as well. He has a wonderful angle on the yellow.

:35:48. > :35:55.He decided to play for the loose red and he has played it very, very

:35:56. > :35:56.well. An excellent shot. He knows there are a few more reds after this

:35:57. > :36:15.that will be available. If he gets to the one on the edge of

:36:16. > :36:21.the bunch, he will clear the path for another one. In fact, now, he

:36:22. > :36:26.has left it low. He will be opening quite a few of the red Sox. You have

:36:27. > :36:30.got to make sure you get yourself onto the black with the screw back

:36:31. > :36:40.all run through. It looks like this greenback. -- screw back. He decided

:36:41. > :36:48.not to come back off the side cushion. A nice angle on the black.

:36:49. > :37:06.Straightaway, he has made it awkward for himself. Another six inches up

:37:07. > :37:12.the table and he was in prime position. Just watch this cue ball

:37:13. > :37:16.as it comes off the cushion. It didn't quite get there. You can

:37:17. > :37:23.still cut it in but he is going towards the reds here. Where is the

:37:24. > :37:31.cue ball going to finish? It needs to pull up. He has got the yellow

:37:32. > :37:36.into the right middle this time and there is a red that has stayed up at

:37:37. > :37:47.end of the table. He is talking it up high and the yellow. -- tucking.

:37:48. > :37:53.Under the circumstances, not a bad choice. When he finished short and

:37:54. > :37:55.he cut the red in, you never know where the new ball is going to

:37:56. > :38:01.finish and it ran away into the safety zone. He wouldn't have been

:38:02. > :38:09.too happy with the roll-up either. He really wanted to block the path

:38:10. > :38:19.on the left-hand cushion as we look. You can come off the side cushion

:38:20. > :38:23.and nestle in the pack of reds. He has got to play it dead weight and

:38:24. > :38:30.it could go wrong but he has got a big target. That is the shot that

:38:31. > :38:33.Ken was talking about and if he does play it dead weight, they're rather

:38:34. > :38:51.couple of things that could go wrong if he is not spot on.

:38:52. > :38:57.If he doesn't get the right contact, you could leave one to the right

:38:58. > :39:07.middle pocket. But he might have the risk that.

:39:08. > :39:19.I think it's the only shot he has, Dennis. The red just to the left of

:39:20. > :39:30.the pink spot, if he can try to get that full ball, he may be OK. OK,

:39:31. > :39:33.you may leave a red into the right centre, but... He would have to be

:39:34. > :39:49.so precise. The other risky one with beta the

:39:50. > :39:55.side cushion, hit the red and try to get the white back into the baulk

:39:56. > :40:01.area. He has hit the wrong side of it. Where is he going to finish?

:40:02. > :40:11.I'll tell you what, there is only one possible part, the one into the

:40:12. > :40:15.right pocket, and he hit the wrong side of that. I don't think there is

:40:16. > :40:27.anything available into the left middle pocket. The one at the end

:40:28. > :40:34.but that is eighth in -- a thin heat needed.

:40:35. > :40:40.I think he's OK with one that into the left middle and he can get on

:40:41. > :40:44.the black. It's not that then. I thought it was thinner than that.

:40:45. > :40:50.Looking at that shop there, the overhead shot, it looks better. The

:40:51. > :40:57.reason he doesn't like this red into the right centre is because the ones

:40:58. > :41:06.next to it are pottable. This red is left -- less Russia. He went to be

:41:07. > :41:12.leaving anything if he misses. That is an excellent shot and look at the

:41:13. > :41:17.position. Look at the cue ball. Had he missed the red, he wasn't leaving

:41:18. > :41:26.anything. He worked it out very well. What an excellent pot.

:41:27. > :41:30.I think Ding Junhui, for a split second thought he'd got away with

:41:31. > :42:00.that last mistake. That shot was in so much trouble. He

:42:01. > :42:07.thought if he could hit the red on the other side, hit the wrong side,

:42:08. > :42:11.and for a moment thought he might have got away with it. Regardless of

:42:12. > :42:18.what happens here, Ding Junhui has won this session. If Mark opens up

:42:19. > :42:28.the three frame advantage, it Ding has still wonder session 5-4. At one

:42:29. > :42:29.stage, it looked like he may even have an overnight lead, the way he

:42:30. > :42:42.was playing. I think if Mark Selby wins this

:42:43. > :42:59.frame, I think he'll certainly be more happy of the two. It could have

:43:00. > :43:06.been so much closer. And that's just about perfect. A gentle cannon and

:43:07. > :43:11.his opened the whole game up. What a day we're in for tomorrow. Bank

:43:12. > :43:13.holiday Monday at the Crucible and regardless of what happens in this

:43:14. > :43:30.frame, it's going to be a belter. You'd have to say, from Mark Selby's

:43:31. > :43:37.point you, he has shown incredible resolve here. A few frames ago, it

:43:38. > :43:43.looked like Ding was closing within one, possibly even levelling up the

:43:44. > :43:48.match, but he has come back very, very strong indeed, Mark Selby, as

:43:49. > :43:56.he gets a horrendous kick. And that is end of break. Ding Junhui has

:43:57. > :44:07.been thrown a lifeline, not by a mistake, and he has turned to the

:44:08. > :44:10.crowd and said, unbelievable. I mean, the frame is over and now he's

:44:11. > :44:18.faced with a situation where he's got to try to push a colour safe.

:44:19. > :44:28.Twists and turns at the Crucible Theatre. Late-night drama on the

:44:29. > :44:38.first night of the final. Coming up to 11:45 p.m.. So frustrating, isn't

:44:39. > :44:43.it? Just playing a simple follow-through, wanting to get on

:44:44. > :44:48.the black and couple of reds and it's a three frame lead and all of a

:44:49. > :44:57.sudden he's got to play a safety shot here. Possibly the yellow onto

:44:58. > :45:03.the side cushion. The cue ball as close to this baulk cushion as

:45:04. > :45:10.possible. He just gave himself a slap on the back of the head their

:45:11. > :45:16.own -- on his way round the table and he really is frustrated. It is

:45:17. > :45:20.frustrating, particularly with that kick there. You just have to get on

:45:21. > :45:27.with it. It's part of the game. No point beating yourself up.

:45:28. > :45:47.This is the slap on the back of their head. That will certainly wake

:45:48. > :46:02.him up, that's for sure. But a clever shot to try the

:46:03. > :46:07.blackout. Yes, maybe. I think I might have preferred to have the

:46:08. > :46:18.yellow tied up instead. He went need the black, Ding, if he does get a

:46:19. > :46:21.chance. He can win the frame with just the pink. I'm not sure if that

:46:22. > :46:53.was the correct shot. It remains to be seen.

:46:54. > :47:00.He got himself into a bit of a ruck in his semifinal, thinking about

:47:01. > :47:11.shot for five minutes. I -- I think that is the longest anyone has ever

:47:12. > :47:14.thought about a shot. That was about the best he could do but he's left a

:47:15. > :47:53.possible pot on for Mark Selby. There is no easy return safety shot

:47:54. > :48:04.here. So he is just looking to see if he was to leave the red up in the

:48:05. > :48:08.left jaws, can he find a gap if he takes this on?

:48:09. > :48:25.What a shot. What a shot. Not only the part, but to find the there. --

:48:26. > :48:32.not only the pot, but to find the there. I would give him ten out of

:48:33. > :48:36.ten for that. That is not a good angle on the green, I don't think,

:48:37. > :48:42.so he might put another colour safe here. Brown, possibly, and get a

:48:43. > :48:56.good cue ball. He has got a 50 point advantage. He has got the black

:48:57. > :49:06.safe. He is going to get the brown says. Yes, just past the left centre

:49:07. > :49:34.towards the black. He needs a good cue ball though.

:49:35. > :49:42.He's in a good position, Mark Selby, but it would only take one good shot

:49:43. > :49:53.from Ding to come back into this frame. That was close. I think he

:49:54. > :49:58.can get through to the one on the pocket. He's got a long straight

:49:59. > :50:03.red. He wouldn't be taking that on because there is no colour

:50:04. > :50:08.available. He can just get past that one. It's a bit of a guide, you

:50:09. > :50:11.know. If he passes the first red, you would think he would tap in the

:50:12. > :50:16.one on the pocket. He's coming to look at the angle but it's one of

:50:17. > :50:21.those situations where the other red is quite a good guide. If you pass

:50:22. > :50:25.the first red, there's every chance you will this in. This could be a

:50:26. > :50:59.frame-winner. How can you overcut and their white

:51:00. > :51:15.is in -- the white is in. Foul. How can he overcut and it the whiting?

:51:16. > :51:21.Amazing. -- and get the white in. We saw that horrendous kick when the

:51:22. > :51:26.frame was almost over. Seven hours of tough match sneaker. He might be

:51:27. > :51:33.able to get the black out here from this red. He tried to. It was close

:51:34. > :51:43.but he's going to get back into the frame. That's all it took, just one

:51:44. > :51:50.possible and Mark Selby will be cursing his luck. He had a terrible

:51:51. > :51:58.kick on the red when it looked like he was going to win the frame, he

:51:59. > :52:00.potted a good long ball and never got on. There is the attempt at his

:52:01. > :52:31.pot. I am thinking back to the shot when

:52:32. > :52:38.Mark tried to get the brown safe and that could play a part. He didn't.

:52:39. > :52:44.An awful lot of balls to be potted before we get there. He couldn't

:52:45. > :52:55.hold for the pink but he has got a slight angle on the blue, to get the

:52:56. > :53:02.cue ball close to these two reds. Now, he has an angle on this red. I

:53:03. > :53:07.wonder if he will attempt to take this off the cushion here. He would

:53:08. > :53:19.still be on the brown. It might be a bit risky.

:53:20. > :53:29.What a steal this would be but it is so difficult. The chance is there.

:53:30. > :53:38.He didn't think he was going to get a chance in this final frame of the

:53:39. > :53:45.session. Surely he hasn't snookered himself? Does the red pass the other

:53:46. > :53:51.red. What a terrible shot Ding Junhui has just played there. He had

:53:52. > :53:56.got so much margin for air around if he goes too far, he has got the red

:53:57. > :54:05.to the middle pocket. What a mistake there, Ken. Yes, definitely. Fatigue

:54:06. > :54:08.is setting in. There's no doubt about it. His concentration has

:54:09. > :54:14.gone. He will be very, very disappointed. That's what happens

:54:15. > :54:17.when you do get a bit tired. You miss straightforward shots back just

:54:18. > :54:50.let your concentration lapse. There are couple of ways he could

:54:51. > :54:55.try to play this. He could try to drop-in to the red closest to the

:54:56. > :55:07.top cushion. That is a very delicate shot. It's a very easy escape but

:55:08. > :55:12.it's one of those, it's difficult to keep the reds in a safe position.

:55:13. > :55:20.The one you suggested, coming up this cushion and landing on the back

:55:21. > :55:24.road, that's a tough shot. If he's coming off the cushion at pace, no

:55:25. > :55:30.matter how good you are, you are relying on a little bit of good

:55:31. > :55:38.fortune to get safe. Maybe a hit and hope here, Dennis? He could always

:55:39. > :55:49.be jammy with one. No, he is playing a delicate one. Foul and a miss. He

:55:50. > :55:56.tried to glance of the red and missed it by a mile. How do you pick

:55:57. > :56:01.the correct spot out after you missed it by that margin? He doesn't

:56:02. > :56:08.have to play the same shot again? I think he's getting tired also. There

:56:09. > :56:14.is so much side on that. It's incredible what happens on this 12

:56:15. > :56:36.foot 6' speaker table. There's a possible pot stop --. The

:56:37. > :56:40.only thing, Ken, if he takes that long one up into the corner, he will

:56:41. > :56:46.leave the one to the right and that is the one he will play safe off.

:56:47. > :56:53.That's not a bad outcome. He has judged that nicely. What has he done

:56:54. > :56:58.here? What has he done here? I think both players have lost a little bit

:56:59. > :57:02.of concentration. There is a lot of tension out there. It is the last

:57:03. > :57:09.frame in the session. They must be mentally tired at the moment, that

:57:10. > :57:19.is the shore. That is a real schoolboy error. He looks very

:57:20. > :57:26.tired. But as Steve Davis said. Off to bed. They are back at two

:57:27. > :57:31.o'clock. You have a good night sleep, the adrenaline gets going

:57:32. > :57:36.again. You have work your whole life to try to become world professional

:57:37. > :57:38.champion. Mark has done it once. Ding is trying to do it for the

:57:39. > :58:18.first time. Now Ding needs a bit of good

:58:19. > :58:20.fortune. Not only does he need to hit the red, he needs to knock it

:58:21. > :58:24.safe. Mark Selby only needs to read to

:58:25. > :58:50.leave Ding needing a snooker. Well, it's going to be a possible

:58:51. > :58:54.pot for Mark Selby to go out. This is a frame-winner. It's not a gimme

:58:55. > :59:19.by any means. APPLAUSE

:59:20. > :59:24.He has given the table a good old hammering there. That is what it

:59:25. > :59:29.means to Mark Selby. He is going to lose the session but have a look at

:59:30. > :59:31.that. Do you think he is trying? He will lose the session 5-4 but what

:59:32. > :59:49.an important last that makes absolutely sure of the

:59:50. > :00:55.frame. They are not greatly placed for

:00:56. > :01:01.snookers. The black is out of play. Brownlie is not the best, either. --

:01:02. > :01:14.Brown. Not quite. A little bit of a swerve

:01:15. > :01:20.will get him, or even if he doesn't fancy that it is easy off the side

:01:21. > :01:22.cushion. Side cushion it is and he would like to keep the yellow from

:01:23. > :01:51.behind. A chance now for Ding. Will he try

:01:52. > :01:57.to lay a snooker on the brown? That is not a bad solution. He can get

:01:58. > :02:07.the cue ball down below the brown somehow. Straightforward. Let's see

:02:08. > :02:10.if he has thought about it. Know, and that is down to concentration, I

:02:11. > :02:27.think. -- no. Maybe he feels if he pots the green

:02:28. > :02:36.it takes out his options. He is pretty good at swerving the ball,

:02:37. > :02:41.Mark Selby. It seems a bit more of a swerve is needed this side to go the

:02:42. > :02:52.cushion as well. He has gone straight around them and hit the

:02:53. > :02:57.yellow direct. Ken said, if you can plot the yellow and green, and where

:02:58. > :03:06.the other white is, you can send that brown down the cushion. I don't

:03:07. > :03:13.think he's even contemplating that. Another decent effort, but easy to

:03:14. > :04:25.hit. An excellent attempt. A good line

:04:26. > :04:35.with the cue ball, and again straightforward escape for Mark

:04:36. > :04:39.Selby. That is the only problem with getting the snooker behind the blue

:04:40. > :04:42.and pink, it will always be a fairly comfortable escape. You want to get

:04:43. > :05:11.tight in behind the colour. Mark Selby might get the snooker

:05:12. > :05:49.back. Almost slipped past the blue for the

:05:50. > :06:06.snooker. He might try to clip the yellow onto

:06:07. > :06:13.the brown. He is coming around to have a look at the cue ball, back up

:06:14. > :06:32.towards the green. He could take the yellow on and try to pot it.

:06:33. > :06:40.Well, both these players will sleep well this evening. Play started that

:06:41. > :06:51.seven o'clock, and now it is five past midnight.

:06:52. > :07:05.As I say, regardless of the outcome of this frame, Ding has to be very

:07:06. > :07:08.proud of himself. To battle back from 6-0 behind. Even if he was

:07:09. > :07:36.three behind it is still terrific performance.

:07:37. > :07:44.It is Ding's turn to try to keep the object ball safe. He is looking for

:07:45. > :08:01.a snooker but you don't always have the chance to get a snooker.

:08:02. > :08:14.Believe it or not, that has promoted the brown into a better position. He

:08:15. > :08:24.has the snooker here, so Mark Selby can slip past the blue with lots of

:08:25. > :08:28.right-hand side. As I mentioned, the Brownlees in a perfect spot if Ding

:08:29. > :09:03.can get a chance to get in behind it.

:09:04. > :09:12.And this is the chance that Mark Selby has been waiting for. This to

:09:13. > :09:29.make absolutely certain of this final frame.

:09:30. > :09:36.It has been a tough old night at the Crucible Theatre. We have had a

:09:37. > :09:42.little bit of everything, including the second longest frame in this

:09:43. > :10:03.year's championship. 33 the difference with 25 on. Two

:10:04. > :10:15.snooker is now needed. It is not far away. Is he in behind the brown?

:10:16. > :10:58.Almost. It just came away from the pocket.

:10:59. > :11:08.He wants to get in behind the brown, and that is pretty good. An

:11:09. > :11:11.excellent shot. He can't swerve the cue ball this time, it is not

:11:12. > :11:34.straightforward to hit this green. He would have to go very close to

:11:35. > :11:41.the blue to come off two cushions and hit the green. He has gone

:11:42. > :11:53.across to one cushion, and that is not straightforward, twice across,

:11:54. > :12:11.good escape! That wasn't the easiest of snookers to get out of.

:12:12. > :12:34.Ding is doing a Selby on Selby at the moment!

:12:35. > :12:50.It will have to be a very good snooker to try and force four points

:12:51. > :12:57.from Mark Selby, that is for sure. He is having a chat with a gentle

:12:58. > :13:13.Iniesta him, -- the gentleman next to him. I think he is a Coventry

:13:14. > :13:21.supporter. I often wondered, whether they send people to that live in

:13:22. > :13:42.Coventry. There is the chance to get in behind

:13:43. > :13:47.the brown, believe it or not. He can double the green backed up the table

:13:48. > :14:22.and come across. Two snookers needed. Too hard.

:14:23. > :14:33.Dear me! That was almost like an explosion, wasn't it? Have a look at

:14:34. > :15:14.this. This is an amazing last frame. How

:15:15. > :15:23.long ago is it since Mark Selby got that horrendous kick. We would have

:15:24. > :15:28.all been tucked up in bed now. He is already dozing off. It does take it

:15:29. > :15:49.out of you mentally, it really does. It was 31 minutes ago, Mark Selby

:15:50. > :15:52.was in the balls, and it looked like it would be over in a matter of

:15:53. > :15:59.seconds, and that happened. And we are still here.

:16:00. > :16:09.He could have got himself in trouble, here. He needed to hit that

:16:10. > :16:16.a bit harder. If he can get this in behind the blue and centre that

:16:17. > :16:25.green over towards the brown... He could get him in a tough snooker.

:16:26. > :16:34.He has decelerated. He tried that and just didn't hit it. That is a

:16:35. > :16:42.sign of tiredness, for sure. Trying to screw in behind the blue, send

:16:43. > :17:05.the green towards the brown, and he does quit on the shot.

:17:06. > :17:16.Amazing. Now, an opportunity for Ding to get over behind the brown. I

:17:17. > :17:24.don't know why he didn't just drop green almost dead weight into the

:17:25. > :17:30.pocket. I think maybe they are not thinking straight. The concentration

:17:31. > :18:17.is gone. Mark is obviously very tired.

:18:18. > :18:37.Let's see if he can get in behind the blue. I think there is a gap, he

:18:38. > :18:41.has found the gap. What has he spotted? Is there something on the

:18:42. > :19:38.green? This is tough to hit. This could be

:19:39. > :19:57.the end of the session. The Great Escape he has stuck the green up.

:19:58. > :20:03.Absolutely incredible. He just wants to get out of the Crucible and get

:20:04. > :20:24.to bed. Not quite hard enough. He will

:20:25. > :20:28.probably not this one in after missing that sitter. You wouldn't

:20:29. > :21:02.put it We have been on this green ball for

:21:03. > :21:08.coming up to not far off 12 minutes. A little thin one, keep the green

:21:09. > :21:10.safe and come down and knock the black of cushion. Promote it. That

:21:11. > :21:30.would help. That is what he tried but the middle

:21:31. > :21:36.pocket cot in the way. That was one way of getting a snooker almost. He

:21:37. > :22:11.could double this up into the right I don't think Ding will want to pot

:22:12. > :22:20.this. The Brownlees in a decent position. -- the brown is in a

:22:21. > :23:30.decent position. Excellent shot. Holding his cue above his head! It

:23:31. > :23:35.is only a green. It has been a hard day's night here, but what a

:23:36. > :23:45.fascinating tussle, and brown has done so well from 6-0. He was 6-2

:23:46. > :24:00.down going into this evening's session. Playing with an extension

:24:01. > :24:07.on his cue. And Ding has had a look at the referee, and Mark Selby will

:24:08. > :24:13.be delighted to have lost this session five frames to four. Mark

:24:14. > :24:21.Selby has opened up a three frame advantage. It is 10-7 to the world

:24:22. > :24:31.number one. It sure has been a hard day's night. Mark Selby, great

:24:32. > :24:35.tenacity from him, but also from Ding, because despite the fact he

:24:36. > :24:40.has been trailing 6-0 in this final, he came back and was emotionally

:24:41. > :24:49.overwhelmed earlier. Here he is, with nine snookers in the last

:24:50. > :24:57.frame. Two warriors out there today. The balls have conspired to make it

:24:58. > :25:00.long session snooker. Then Ding just rolled one down into the corner and

:25:01. > :25:07.Mark Selby gets back into it. On another day the frames were much

:25:08. > :25:15.quicker, but you have to go to those. This is an astonishing level

:25:16. > :25:21.of safety play. Frame 15 was you thought going to be a bit of a

:25:22. > :25:28.turning point for Ding, because he won that. But it is Selby who has

:25:29. > :25:35.come out and pinched the last two. He has amazing mental fortitude.

:25:36. > :25:42.Most people would have been well wilting. His eyes were so tired, he

:25:43. > :25:50.was gone, but he keeps going. Ding looked as fresh as anything. He

:25:51. > :25:57.looked like the night porter from hell, Mark Selby, but Ding looked

:25:58. > :26:02.fresh. This is his eight match. He has played three just to get into

:26:03. > :26:08.the Crucible. You do wonder how much it has taken out of them. You talk

:26:09. > :26:15.about getting a good night sleep, but surely a session might this, two

:26:16. > :26:19.weeks like this, catches up to you. If they have another game like this

:26:20. > :26:24.tomorrow it will be a war of attrition. Ding is showing strength

:26:25. > :26:30.and fortitude, so who knows what we are in for. The only good thing is

:26:31. > :26:34.no morning sessions. They are playing in the afternoon and

:26:35. > :26:39.evening. They really do need a rest. They do, and we need a rest. I'm

:26:40. > :26:44.sure you need a rest as well. Get some sleep, because act three of

:26:45. > :26:54.this fascinating drama will be on the go at 2pm. Sleep well, and we

:26:55. > :26:56.will see you soon. Thank you for being with us today. More of the

:26:57. > :26:59.same coming soon.