:00:36. > :00:55.An excellent part. We may have a new favourite for the tournament! --
:00:56. > :01:05.pot. Here comes Angles. Absolutely remarkable! The best I've ever seen
:01:06. > :01:12.in my life. The world number one finishes in style! Good evening, we
:01:13. > :01:17.have four players and one table left here inside the Crucible Theatre at
:01:18. > :01:21.this year 's World Championship. The likeability factor is high in our
:01:22. > :01:25.semifinal line-up, we have a quartet of players who are among the most
:01:26. > :01:30.popular and best respected in the sport. Significantly, none of them
:01:31. > :01:34.have won a major title this term, that is about to change for one of
:01:35. > :01:39.them as they hit the jackpot over the next four days. This evening, we
:01:40. > :01:43.have Mark Selby, world number one, about to take on Marco Fu in their
:01:44. > :01:48.first session, but this afternoon brought us a curious and historic
:01:49. > :01:53.event. The first meeting between two qualifiers in the semifinal here
:01:54. > :02:00.since 1978. As 45-year-old Alan McManus red China's new favourite
:02:01. > :02:09.for the title Ding Junhui. -- met China's new favourite.
:02:10. > :02:25.APPLAUSE Ding Junhui takes the opening frame.
:02:26. > :02:42.Ding Junhui leads Alan McManus 2-0. APPLAUSE
:02:43. > :02:57.He is playing superbly well! Taking all four frames. He leaves 4-0. It
:02:58. > :03:02.is awkward... FUNKY MUSIC Terrific, in terms of the gap, it is
:03:03. > :03:21.now 5-2. APPLAUSE
:03:22. > :03:26.Plenty of tonne ups there. It has been the Ding Junhui Show here this
:03:27. > :03:31.afternoon. He takes the session 6-2 frames.
:03:32. > :03:35.Ken Doherty is with us. Four centuries from Ding Junhui today,
:03:36. > :03:41.the record in the semifinal is five, incidentally, shaky ground now! Has
:03:42. > :03:48.the real Ding Junhui finally emerged in this theatre? I think so, without
:03:49. > :03:54.a doubt, we talked about the qualifiers, two in the semifinal,
:03:55. > :03:58.and maybe those three matches are the qualifiers, he was searching for
:03:59. > :04:02.some confidence, Ding Junhui, and I think those three matches have given
:04:03. > :04:06.him that sparkle and confidence that he needs and he has carried it
:04:07. > :04:11.through and is getting better and better every round. As for Alan
:04:12. > :04:16.McManus, a remarkable story, 23 years after his last Crucible
:04:17. > :04:20.semifinal, when Ding Junhui was only six years old, extraordinary! How
:04:21. > :04:26.precarious at 2-6 down is it now? At six years old he was probably still
:04:27. > :04:31.making century break sets I remember that with Alan McManus, it was his
:04:32. > :04:35.big breakthrough into the top 16, it was remarkable. He was the only
:04:36. > :04:41.professional in 1991. The two friends he won could be crucial, it
:04:42. > :04:44.has given him hope -- frames. When it looked precarious at one stage
:04:45. > :04:49.for Alan McManus, he will do again. He's still in the match but he needs
:04:50. > :04:54.a better start. The start that Ding Junhui God, he compounded his lead.
:04:55. > :04:59.But Alan is a great fighter, he is full of heart and will get stuck in
:05:00. > :05:03.-- the start that Ding Junhui got. So much for the fatigue of the
:05:04. > :05:07.qualifiers? We will definitely have a qualifier, a story in itself.
:05:08. > :05:16.As for this second semifinal, it will be competed with the brakeman
:05:17. > :05:20.and professional, Marco Fu. He hasn't got a weakness, I don't
:05:21. > :05:24.think. He is a very good match player. As everyone would
:05:25. > :05:33.understand. He's been here a long time. Here's very comfortable
:05:34. > :05:36.playing at the Crucible, especially the one-table set-up, it will be a
:05:37. > :05:40.big challenge for me. There will be no favourites as such, I won't go
:05:41. > :05:44.out there believing that I'm one of the favourites. I will play one
:05:45. > :05:50.frame at a time. I will stay focused and see what happens. It will be a
:05:51. > :05:57.very tough game. I still have a long way to go. Two matches, but it is
:05:58. > :06:02.still a long way to go. I will take it one match at a time, one pot at a
:06:03. > :06:06.time. Sat in the semifinal now, I feel like I played all season and
:06:07. > :06:10.not had a day off, that is what the tournament does to you, it is so
:06:11. > :06:14.long and mentally and physically draining. It is the same for
:06:15. > :06:18.everyone else, the last man standing is the strong list. You cannot
:06:19. > :06:22.predict the nerves you will feel out there, hopefully I will stay calm
:06:23. > :06:30.and relaxed and play good snooker -- is the strongest. There is the
:06:31. > :06:34.situation, Marco Fu survived a furious comeback against Barry
:06:35. > :06:37.Hawkins last night, dishing up... That's appropriate! Dishing up one
:06:38. > :06:42.of the greatest clearances we've seen to win it. Ten years since his
:06:43. > :06:45.previous appearance in the last four. Mark Selby won the title two
:06:46. > :06:51.years ago, the fourth time in total he's been in the semifinals. After
:06:52. > :06:56.13 days of grass, effort and tension, what a significant moment
:06:57. > :07:00.it will be for the two of them. -- graft. Let's hand over to our MC,
:07:01. > :07:04.Rob Walker. Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
:07:05. > :07:09.this fabulous arena takes on a different feel when we get down to
:07:10. > :07:14.the one-table set-up. Some of the sport's ultimate showdowns have
:07:15. > :07:19.happened at the semifinal stage at the Betfred World Snooker
:07:20. > :07:23.Championships. We are ready for another night of entertainment, the
:07:24. > :07:26.Sheffield crowd are ready to roar once more! CHEERING
:07:27. > :07:46.APPLAUSE Please welcome a player making his
:07:47. > :07:51.first appearance in the one-table set-up for 10-year is, here after a
:07:52. > :07:55.brilliant clearance last night against the resurgent Barry Hawkins,
:07:56. > :07:59.twice a ranking event winner, he's one of the sport's most important
:08:00. > :08:01.global ambassadors. Raise the roof, from Hong Kong, it's
:08:02. > :08:25.Marco Fu! APPLAUSE
:08:26. > :08:30.And his opponent, a player of immense self belief who never loses
:08:31. > :08:36.his cool under pressure. Nine years after his worst semifinal, he's back
:08:37. > :08:39.for a fourth crack at the one-table set-up, multiple Masters champion
:08:40. > :08:44.and world champion of course two years ago, poised and ready for
:08:45. > :08:46.another massive night here at the Crucible, world number one, the
:08:47. > :09:08.Jester from Leicester... Mark Selby! It is the best of 33 frames played
:09:09. > :09:13.over four sessions between now and Saturday night for these men, the
:09:14. > :09:17.first to 17 is the target as we extend the duration and difficulty
:09:18. > :09:19.from here on in. John Virgo and Willie Thorne will keep us company
:09:20. > :09:24.this evening. Good evening.
:09:25. > :09:28.COMMENTATOR: Good evening Hazel, and good evening everyone to the start
:09:29. > :09:34.of the first session, the first of four sessions in the first three
:09:35. > :09:41.sessions. Eight frames, then the possible nine... In this semifinal,
:09:42. > :09:42.it promises to be an absolute cracker. I'm looking forward to it,
:09:43. > :09:53.the players were, -- were commenting. This was one of
:09:54. > :10:00.the best sessions I ever commentated on. Mark Selby is getting better and
:10:01. > :10:06.better, he is nowhere near his best by any stretch of the imagination.
:10:07. > :10:15.That is your worst possible start, isn't it? You caught the end red
:10:16. > :10:23.much too thick. You have to get 90% or above to win in this class of
:10:24. > :10:27.opposition. With Marco Fu, that is about right but that percentage is a
:10:28. > :10:34.bit low for Mark Selby. He won't be happy with this break. Giving Marco
:10:35. > :10:41.and easy start. The safety is a little low for both players. These
:10:42. > :10:46.are the Huybrechts. We know that they are very capable of winning
:10:47. > :10:57.frames in one visits -- these are the high breaks.
:10:58. > :11:11.This is the break. It is far too thick.
:11:12. > :11:18.Rob Walker, when he was introducing the players, he said it was ten
:11:19. > :11:27.years since Marco Fu was last in the semifinals of a World Championship.
:11:28. > :11:32.Just giving this every consideration, this is where he will
:11:33. > :11:42.play to leave the cue ball. He must have had thoughts of maybe playing
:11:43. > :11:52.the pot. Getting it back into play. In the end, it was undecided. He
:11:53. > :12:00.tried to pinch a little bit. A nice and easy starter, disappointed he
:12:01. > :12:05.only got six points. Entitled to be a little nervous, of
:12:06. > :12:12.course, in the first frame. In such a big match.
:12:13. > :12:27.It's funny, when you say that Mark Selby has not been at his best so
:12:28. > :12:31.far in the tournament. I think he's the kind of player who does not
:12:32. > :12:35.strive to be his best, really, he's quite happy to take what is there.
:12:36. > :12:45.If he gets a scrappy frame, it makes him concentrate it bit harder. His B
:12:46. > :12:50.game is exceptional, and he is one of those players who puts every
:12:51. > :12:53.adversity out of his mind. Not many players do that. Some players, if
:12:54. > :13:03.they had not played at their best, the headstrong. -- their head's
:13:04. > :13:08.drop. Some tension in the arm, short of pace in this positional shot.
:13:09. > :13:17.Trying to come off the edge of the reds.
:13:18. > :13:22.That was a lazy option, I think he was unlucky. The White stopped when
:13:23. > :13:31.it hit the first red, and suddenly, it took off! I thought for a moment
:13:32. > :13:41.it wouldn't go to the middle, it just about squeezes in. Nicely
:13:42. > :13:50.played. Interesting to see where the pain will pot when it is re-spotted
:13:51. > :13:57.-- pink. All of the angles covered. That is
:13:58. > :14:01.the beauty of the Crucible, it only holds just over 900 people but
:14:02. > :14:11.everyone has a good view of the action.
:14:12. > :14:20.He just needed a bit more side. I don't think Mark Selby will be
:14:21. > :14:35.tempted by the brown. I think it would be a safety.
:14:36. > :14:40.Both of these players are exceptional safety players, he
:14:41. > :14:41.decided that the safety is not guaranteed, it looks like he will be
:14:42. > :15:02.taking the brown on. Very good. That was an excellent
:15:03. > :15:06.shot. If that cue ball had been a couple of inches away from the
:15:07. > :15:11.cushion, it would have been inch perfect, to pot the red above the
:15:12. > :15:16.black. Let's watch it again. It was a big shot to take on early in the
:15:17. > :15:21.match. It will be a confidence booster, he knocked it in as clean
:15:22. > :15:25.as a whistle. Just an edge, you can flick the blackout, I think it will
:15:26. > :15:34.be going close to the cushion. Just knock it into a position where it
:15:35. > :15:35.pots... If this black goes in, from nowhere, he has got the ball in open
:15:36. > :15:51.play. That's always the danger, when you
:15:52. > :15:57.think that you are going to be running into a ball, he tries to
:15:58. > :16:02.develop the red. It's human nature. You take your eye off the pot
:16:03. > :16:06.slightly, it you think if the red had not been there, he would have
:16:07. > :16:09.got that. How has he got away with it? Touching ball has been declared
:16:10. > :16:27.by the referee, Brendan Moore. There is the referee, a local man.
:16:28. > :16:32.He comes from Sheffield. Either two on the left into the middle... You
:16:33. > :16:36.think snow could on both of them, but playing safe. Maybe he could not
:16:37. > :16:47.get to the left-hand one of the two, that does not deem it the right shot
:16:48. > :16:54.to play. Unlucky not to leave. He just underhit it slightly, he will
:16:55. > :17:00.be a little annoyed. A clear run back to the ball, should have found
:17:01. > :17:08.the cushion. Worse still, you can get through to this red.
:17:09. > :17:16.Always had that little bit of a head movement, Mark Selby, as he plays
:17:17. > :17:21.the shot. I don't think he's got away with this one... I think he
:17:22. > :17:48.will get through to the red in the middle.
:17:49. > :17:51.Alongside the blue, normally speaking, but with that red, there
:17:52. > :18:29.is no problem with position. You can always tell when there is
:18:30. > :18:33.some tension in the arm, really, the player seems to hit the ball hard
:18:34. > :18:38.but get a little movement on the cue ball. The timing is not quite there,
:18:39. > :18:44.he's not bad on the brown or green. If you wanted to play the green, he
:18:45. > :18:50.could, but he has played the brown. There are a couple of loose threads,
:18:51. > :18:57.that is what he's playing for. -- a couple of loose reds.
:18:58. > :19:07.He is having a close look. A little shake of the head, what does that
:19:08. > :19:12.tell us? It tells us all about fractions! A fraction away from
:19:13. > :19:20.being on this red... I think he thinks that he can turn it over, a
:19:21. > :19:32.touch, to the left-hand side here... Yes. So, just about on it, and now
:19:33. > :19:35.potting this black, surely, it will come off of the side cushion into
:19:36. > :19:47.the cluster and bring the other reds into play? He has got a bridge to
:19:48. > :19:56.the right middle. -- he has got a red to the right middle. He hit them
:19:57. > :20:02.well. He deserved better, didn't he? Then to play that shot, he deserves
:20:03. > :20:04.much better than that. Read in the middle, cannot get top side of the
:20:05. > :20:29.blue. The pink in the middle. Very unlucky there. It is amazing,
:20:30. > :20:34.he was playing the red, he knew that he would not have good position on
:20:35. > :20:43.the collar, it was a case of making certain, the red... It nearly
:20:44. > :20:52.dropped. So, I will let off Mark Selby!
:20:53. > :20:58.If you can get good position on the blue here... Both players haven't
:20:59. > :21:11.got the timing right so far. How can he get on the blue from this?
:21:12. > :21:20.He played that nicely. A bit unfortunate, in all honesty.
:21:21. > :21:25.Hampered by the red, he may elect to play the yellow. He must feel by
:21:26. > :21:36.dropping the blue in, he automatically comes on the red that
:21:37. > :21:41.is just below the pink. So, that made it a little easier. So long as
:21:42. > :21:43.you don't have a lot of work to do with the cue ball... On this red,
:21:44. > :22:04.the black is available. Just a little lower, he may be able
:22:05. > :22:13.to nudge it, playing it through, he cannot the red and black towards
:22:14. > :22:19.this pocket... Adjusting nicely. Yes, pushing it in such a way that
:22:20. > :22:28.he can stop the white debt here. -- debt
:22:29. > :22:35.-- dead here. The problem is, that ball could stick on them, he may
:22:36. > :22:41.decide to go to the middle pocket and play the cannon off the blue.
:22:42. > :22:46.Play up for that one first, not a bad idea, a big target to govern
:22:47. > :22:51.from the blue, with that red and pink. In two shots time, he will try
:22:52. > :22:57.to hit the pink at the same time, bringing both of those reds into
:22:58. > :23:09.play. 13 points is the lead. After this red, the cannon from blue to
:23:10. > :23:14.those two reds, if it goes right... It could be a frame-winner. You tend
:23:15. > :23:20.to play this hard, it pushes the second red on or off the cushion.
:23:21. > :23:24.The line I'm looking, I think it could run into the black but if you
:23:25. > :23:29.play it slow, you can finish on nothing. More pace than you would
:23:30. > :23:38.normally expect. That was the problem. A little unlucky I suppose,
:23:39. > :23:43.but as you say, I would have favoured... He needed to go thinner
:23:44. > :23:50.than that. But it was never going to be easy to develop one of those reds
:23:51. > :23:54.into the perfect potting position. Certainly play into the middle, but
:23:55. > :23:58.it is tricky. APPLAUSE
:23:59. > :24:10.Couldn't play... It looks better than that. That is a
:24:11. > :24:14.super spot. After black, red, black, 35 points in front. He will have to
:24:15. > :24:31.play that little pink, he will need that red. Marco Fu needs snookers.
:24:32. > :24:36.He needs a good angle on the blue. Welcome he's got it, if he plays the
:24:37. > :24:43.blue into this left corner pocket. -- well, he has got it. He has
:24:44. > :24:50.parted a much more difficult shot than this. Swinging it around.
:24:51. > :25:00.He looks to have played it well, slowing it up a fraction. APPLAUSE
:25:01. > :25:06.Just one of those slightly awkward ones, playing into a blind pocket,
:25:07. > :25:07.you had to pick out the angle and trust yourself.
:25:08. > :25:21.Rate for -- red for the frame... Marco will
:25:22. > :25:29.be very disappointed, he's had two chances to win the opening frame.
:25:30. > :25:33.That black has gone committee will not be getting another one, Mark
:25:34. > :25:42.Selby is now 40 ahead with just 27 remaining.
:25:43. > :25:55.there was a little bit of tension in his arm, but at the end of the day,
:25:56. > :26:00.the first frame goes to the world number one, Mark Selby.
:26:01. > :26:04.From the semifinal stages onwards, we've moved indoors because we are
:26:05. > :26:09.right in our bubble studio, in touching distance of the table here.
:26:10. > :26:14.A fantastic view, we can really soak up the nurse and tension. I think it
:26:15. > :26:22.is inevitable at the start, to have a favourite... There is some force
:26:23. > :26:26.frame tension in the semifinal. They played this competition this year,
:26:27. > :26:32.feeling the table, the table has changed, a new cloth. It's
:26:33. > :26:37.acceptable that they will miss some chances. Marco Fu was unlucky with
:26:38. > :26:42.the split but this is why John Parrott calls Mark Selby the Hoover,
:26:43. > :26:46.when he gets a chance... He played a cannon, as the lads said in
:26:47. > :26:50.commentary, look at how confident he plays this shot. Into the pocket,
:26:51. > :26:55.playing the cue ball off of the angles, going for the black. A
:26:56. > :27:00.lovely shot under pressure. OK, Mark Selby has
:27:01. > :27:11.one. COMMENTATOR: This is a possible match that could go all the way.
:27:12. > :27:13.Marco Fu has played better in this tournament than Mark Selby, but we
:27:14. > :27:44.know that Mark Selby can improve. This looks a long way off. Foul, a
:27:45. > :27:48.miss. It was a missed judgment. I can't make my mind up whether he is
:27:49. > :27:53.playing on one cushion or two. I thought that it was a two ocean
:27:54. > :27:59.escape, I'm surprised he went off the one cushion. -- two Ocean
:28:00. > :28:11.escape. Considering that he can get through to the potting angle of the
:28:12. > :28:15.red, he could play it in the middle. He will be wishing that he had them
:28:16. > :28:27.replaced. Having said that, he's not let this red -- left this red too
:28:28. > :28:32.easy. It is nice to see that Marco was in
:28:33. > :28:34.a positive frame of mind, playing that red.