Thursday, Semi-finals, Evening Snooker: World Championship

An excellent part. We may have a new favourite for the tournament! --

pot. Here comes Angles. Absolutely remarkable! The best I've ever seen

in my life. The world number one finishes in style! Good evening, we

have four players and one table left here inside the Crucible Theatre at

this year 's World Championship. The likeability factor is high in our

semifinal line-up, we have a quartet of players who are among the most

popular and best respected in the sport. Significantly, none of them

have won a major title this term, that is about to change for one of

them as they hit the jackpot over the next four days. This evening, we

have Mark Selby, world number one, about to take on Marco Fu in their

first session, but this afternoon brought us a curious and historic

event. The first meeting between two qualifiers in the semifinal here

since 1978. As 45-year-old Alan McManus red China's new favourite

for the title Ding Junhui. -- met China's new favourite.

APPLAUSE Ding Junhui takes the opening frame.

Ding Junhui leads Alan McManus 2-0. APPLAUSE

He is playing superbly well! Taking all four frames. He leaves 4-0. It

is awkward... FUNKY MUSIC Terrific, in terms of the gap, it is

now 5-2. APPLAUSE

Plenty of tonne ups there. It has been the Ding Junhui Show here this

afternoon. He takes the session 6-2 frames.

Ken Doherty is with us. Four centuries from Ding Junhui today,

the record in the semifinal is five, incidentally, shaky ground now! Has

the real Ding Junhui finally emerged in this theatre? I think so, without

a doubt, we talked about the qualifiers, two in the semifinal,

and maybe those three matches are the qualifiers, he was searching for

some confidence, Ding Junhui, and I think those three matches have given

him that sparkle and confidence that he needs and he has carried it

through and is getting better and better every round. As for Alan

McManus, a remarkable story, 23 years after his last Crucible

semifinal, when Ding Junhui was only six years old, extraordinary! How

precarious at 2-6 down is it now? At six years old he was probably still

making century break sets I remember that with Alan McManus, it was his

big breakthrough into the top 16, it was remarkable. He was the only

professional in 1991. The two friends he won could be crucial, it

has given him hope -- frames. When it looked precarious at one stage

for Alan McManus, he will do again. He's still in the match but he needs

a better start. The start that Ding Junhui God, he compounded his lead.

But Alan is a great fighter, he is full of heart and will get stuck in

-- the start that Ding Junhui got. So much for the fatigue of the

qualifiers? We will definitely have a qualifier, a story in itself.

As for this second semifinal, it will be competed with the brakeman

and professional, Marco Fu. He hasn't got a weakness, I don't

think. He is a very good match player. As everyone would

understand. He's been here a long time. Here's very comfortable

playing at the Crucible, especially the one-table set-up, it will be a

big challenge for me. There will be no favourites as such, I won't go

out there believing that I'm one of the favourites. I will play one

frame at a time. I will stay focused and see what happens. It will be a

very tough game. I still have a long way to go. Two matches, but it is

still a long way to go. I will take it one match at a time, one pot at a

time. Sat in the semifinal now, I feel like I played all season and

not had a day off, that is what the tournament does to you, it is so

long and mentally and physically draining. It is the same for

everyone else, the last man standing is the strong list. You cannot

predict the nerves you will feel out there, hopefully I will stay calm

and relaxed and play good snooker -- is the strongest. There is the

situation, Marco Fu survived a furious comeback against Barry

Hawkins last night, dishing up... That's appropriate! Dishing up one

of the greatest clearances we've seen to win it. Ten years since his

previous appearance in the last four. Mark Selby won the title two

years ago, the fourth time in total he's been in the semifinals. After

13 days of grass, effort and tension, what a significant moment

it will be for the two of them. -- graft. Let's hand over to our MC,

Rob Walker. Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

this fabulous arena takes on a different feel when we get down to

the one-table set-up. Some of the sport's ultimate showdowns have

happened at the semifinal stage at the Betfred World Snooker

Championships. We are ready for another night of entertainment, the

Sheffield crowd are ready to roar once more! CHEERING

APPLAUSE Please welcome a player making his

first appearance in the one-table set-up for 10-year is, here after a

brilliant clearance last night against the resurgent Barry Hawkins,

twice a ranking event winner, he's one of the sport's most important

global ambassadors. Raise the roof, from Hong Kong, it's

Marco Fu! APPLAUSE

And his opponent, a player of immense self belief who never loses

his cool under pressure. Nine years after his worst semifinal, he's back

for a fourth crack at the one-table set-up, multiple Masters champion

and world champion of course two years ago, poised and ready for

another massive night here at the Crucible, world number one, the

Jester from Leicester... Mark Selby! It is the best of 33 frames played

over four sessions between now and Saturday night for these men, the

first to 17 is the target as we extend the duration and difficulty

from here on in. John Virgo and Willie Thorne will keep us company

this evening. Good evening.

COMMENTATOR: Good evening Hazel, and good evening everyone to the start

of the first session, the first of four sessions in the first three

sessions. Eight frames, then the possible nine... In this semifinal,

it promises to be an absolute cracker. I'm looking forward to it,

the players were, -- were commenting. This was one of

the best sessions I ever commentated on. Mark Selby is getting better and

better, he is nowhere near his best by any stretch of the imagination.

That is your worst possible start, isn't it? You caught the end red

much too thick. You have to get 90% or above to win in this class of

opposition. With Marco Fu, that is about right but that percentage is a

bit low for Mark Selby. He won't be happy with this break. Giving Marco

and easy start. The safety is a little low for both players. These

are the Huybrechts. We know that they are very capable of winning

frames in one visits -- these are the high breaks.

This is the break. It is far too thick.

Rob Walker, when he was introducing the players, he said it was ten

years since Marco Fu was last in the semifinals of a World Championship.

Just giving this every consideration, this is where he will

play to leave the cue ball. He must have had thoughts of maybe playing

the pot. Getting it back into play. In the end, it was undecided. He

tried to pinch a little bit. A nice and easy starter, disappointed he

only got six points. Entitled to be a little nervous, of

course, in the first frame. In such a big match.

It's funny, when you say that Mark Selby has not been at his best so

far in the tournament. I think he's the kind of player who does not

strive to be his best, really, he's quite happy to take what is there.

If he gets a scrappy frame, it makes him concentrate it bit harder. His B

game is exceptional, and he is one of those players who puts every

adversity out of his mind. Not many players do that. Some players, if

they had not played at their best, the headstrong. -- their head's

drop. Some tension in the arm, short of pace in this positional shot.

Trying to come off the edge of the reds.

That was a lazy option, I think he was unlucky. The White stopped when

it hit the first red, and suddenly, it took off! I thought for a moment

it wouldn't go to the middle, it just about squeezes in. Nicely

played. Interesting to see where the pain will pot when it is re-spotted

-- pink. All of the angles covered. That is

the beauty of the Crucible, it only holds just over 900 people but

everyone has a good view of the action.

He just needed a bit more side. I don't think Mark Selby will be

tempted by the brown. I think it would be a safety.

Both of these players are exceptional safety players, he

decided that the safety is not guaranteed, it looks like he will be

taking the brown on. Very good. That was an excellent

shot. If that cue ball had been a couple of inches away from the

cushion, it would have been inch perfect, to pot the red above the

black. Let's watch it again. It was a big shot to take on early in the

match. It will be a confidence booster, he knocked it in as clean

as a whistle. Just an edge, you can flick the blackout, I think it will

be going close to the cushion. Just knock it into a position where it

pots... If this black goes in, from nowhere, he has got the ball in open

play. That's always the danger, when you

think that you are going to be running into a ball, he tries to

develop the red. It's human nature. You take your eye off the pot

slightly, it you think if the red had not been there, he would have

got that. How has he got away with it? Touching ball has been declared

by the referee, Brendan Moore. There is the referee, a local man.

He comes from Sheffield. Either two on the left into the middle... You

think snow could on both of them, but playing safe. Maybe he could not

get to the left-hand one of the two, that does not deem it the right shot

to play. Unlucky not to leave. He just underhit it slightly, he will

be a little annoyed. A clear run back to the ball, should have found

the cushion. Worse still, you can get through to this red.

Always had that little bit of a head movement, Mark Selby, as he plays

the shot. I don't think he's got away with this one... I think he

will get through to the red in the middle.

Alongside the blue, normally speaking, but with that red, there

is no problem with position. You can always tell when there is

some tension in the arm, really, the player seems to hit the ball hard

but get a little movement on the cue ball. The timing is not quite there,

he's not bad on the brown or green. If you wanted to play the green, he

could, but he has played the brown. There are a couple of loose threads,

that is what he's playing for. -- a couple of loose reds.

He is having a close look. A little shake of the head, what does that

tell us? It tells us all about fractions! A fraction away from

being on this red... I think he thinks that he can turn it over, a

touch, to the left-hand side here... Yes. So, just about on it, and now

potting this black, surely, it will come off of the side cushion into

the cluster and bring the other reds into play? He has got a bridge to

the right middle. -- he has got a red to the right middle. He hit them

well. He deserved better, didn't he? Then to play that shot, he deserves

much better than that. Read in the middle, cannot get top side of the

blue. The pink in the middle. Very unlucky there. It is amazing,

he was playing the red, he knew that he would not have good position on

the collar, it was a case of making certain, the red... It nearly

dropped. So, I will let off Mark Selby!

If you can get good position on the blue here... Both players haven't

got the timing right so far. How can he get on the blue from this?

He played that nicely. A bit unfortunate, in all honesty.

Hampered by the red, he may elect to play the yellow. He must feel by

dropping the blue in, he automatically comes on the red that

is just below the pink. So, that made it a little easier. So long as

you don't have a lot of work to do with the cue ball... On this red,

the black is available. Just a little lower, he may be able

to nudge it, playing it through, he cannot the red and black towards

this pocket... Adjusting nicely. Yes, pushing it in such a way that

he can stop the white debt here. -- debt

-- dead here. The problem is, that ball could stick on them, he may

decide to go to the middle pocket and play the cannon off the blue.

Play up for that one first, not a bad idea, a big target to govern

from the blue, with that red and pink. In two shots time, he will try

to hit the pink at the same time, bringing both of those reds into

play. 13 points is the lead. After this red, the cannon from blue to

those two reds, if it goes right... It could be a frame-winner. You tend

to play this hard, it pushes the second red on or off the cushion.

The line I'm looking, I think it could run into the black but if you

play it slow, you can finish on nothing. More pace than you would

normally expect. That was the problem. A little unlucky I suppose,

but as you say, I would have favoured... He needed to go thinner

than that. But it was never going to be easy to develop one of those reds

into the perfect potting position. Certainly play into the middle, but

it is tricky. APPLAUSE

Couldn't play... It looks better than that. That is a

super spot. After black, red, black, 35 points in front. He will have to

play that little pink, he will need that red. Marco Fu needs snookers.

He needs a good angle on the blue. Welcome he's got it, if he plays the

blue into this left corner pocket. -- well, he has got it. He has

parted a much more difficult shot than this. Swinging it around.

He looks to have played it well, slowing it up a fraction. APPLAUSE

Just one of those slightly awkward ones, playing into a blind pocket,

you had to pick out the angle and trust yourself.

Rate for -- red for the frame... Marco will

be very disappointed, he's had two chances to win the opening frame.

That black has gone committee will not be getting another one, Mark

Selby is now 40 ahead with just 27 remaining.

there was a little bit of tension in his arm, but at the end of the day,

the first frame goes to the world number one, Mark Selby.

From the semifinal stages onwards, we've moved indoors because we are

right in our bubble studio, in touching distance of the table here.

A fantastic view, we can really soak up the nurse and tension. I think it

is inevitable at the start, to have a favourite... There is some force

frame tension in the semifinal. They played this competition this year,

feeling the table, the table has changed, a new cloth. It's

acceptable that they will miss some chances. Marco Fu was unlucky with

the split but this is why John Parrott calls Mark Selby the Hoover,

when he gets a chance... He played a cannon, as the lads said in

commentary, look at how confident he plays this shot. Into the pocket,

playing the cue ball off of the angles, going for the black. A

lovely shot under pressure. OK, Mark Selby has

one. COMMENTATOR: This is a possible match that could go all the way.

Marco Fu has played better in this tournament than Mark Selby, but we

know that Mark Selby can improve. This looks a long way off. Foul, a

miss. It was a missed judgment. I can't make my mind up whether he is

playing on one cushion or two. I thought that it was a two ocean

escape, I'm surprised he went off the one cushion. -- two Ocean

escape. Considering that he can get through to the potting angle of the

red, he could play it in the middle. He will be wishing that he had them

replaced. Having said that, he's not let this red -- left this red too

easy. It is nice to see that Marco was in

a positive frame of mind, playing that red.