Wednesday, 1st Round, Afternoon

:00:32. > :00:40.Good afternoon, we are going a bit intellectual today, not us,

:00:41. > :00:43.actually, but player Michael Holt. After getting through and causing

:00:44. > :00:52.yet another shock in this championship at The Crucible, the

:00:53. > :00:56.only quoted a Roman poet, Ovid, who wrote that dripping water hollows

:00:57. > :01:00.out stone, not through force but through persistence. And when it

:01:01. > :01:04.comes to persistence, he is the living embodiment of that because

:01:05. > :01:07.the waiting 11 years for another victory at The Crucible, he got it

:01:08. > :01:17.at the expense of world number four Neil Robertson. The damage was done

:01:18. > :01:22.in the first session, on reflection, it shouldn't have been any worse

:01:23. > :01:27.than 5-4. Michael Holt gets the first frame of this final session

:01:28. > :01:35.underway. I knew he would come out swinging, so I was prepared for a

:01:36. > :01:39.bit of a comeback. I had to compose myself and focus for the

:01:40. > :01:48.opportunities and I took most of them. I took a good first frame.

:01:49. > :01:52.7-3, Michael Holt. Michael played very well, probably the best I have

:01:53. > :01:59.seen him play in a big match, I would have to say. What a tremendous

:02:00. > :02:03.pot. Composure is something I have lacked in the past, I get a bit

:02:04. > :02:08.excited like a little 12-year-old running around but I have to grow up

:02:09. > :02:12.at some point, unfortunately! I probably took a second longer than

:02:13. > :02:14.normal but I wanted to make sure that I did and it worked out. What a

:02:15. > :02:27.fantastic shot. Michael Holt is one frame away from

:02:28. > :02:34.a place in the second round. You don't want to let it slip. Again, I

:02:35. > :02:40.just had to refocus, one frame at a time it is a cliche but it's true. I

:02:41. > :02:44.started to create a couple of chances for myself, still pretty

:02:45. > :02:49.hard work but I got it back to 9-6 and 9-7 would have been interesting

:02:50. > :02:53.because I was coming back and he started to take quite a long time on

:02:54. > :03:00.his shots and I could see he was under pressure and wanting to close

:03:01. > :03:06.it out. That is a fantastic effort, it really is, what a brilliant shot.

:03:07. > :03:13.I can pull it out all the time, it is doing it out there and feeling

:03:14. > :03:18.comfortable out there. It is there! Neil Robertson, sportsmen that he is

:03:19. > :03:22.a big handshake. Obviously I'm gutted to be out of the World

:03:23. > :03:26.Championships but from a personal point of view, I have nothing but

:03:27. > :03:30.praise for how he played. Really happy with the way I played, I was

:03:31. > :03:34.solid as a rock which is something I have been working on, especially in

:03:35. > :03:40.the big arena so I'm really pleased with myself. After his stunning

:03:41. > :03:44.victory last night, Michael Holt dedicated his win to his great

:03:45. > :03:51.friend Ian who is about to start chemotherapy for a brain tumour. A

:03:52. > :03:54.great victory and it means we have a very different picture because the

:03:55. > :04:02.seeded players have been flying out. Number two, world number two, Stuart

:04:03. > :04:07.Bingham, Murphy and Robertson, all out, the first time since 1982 that

:04:08. > :04:13.three of the four top seeds have gone in the first round. We have

:04:14. > :04:19.also lost Michael White and Stephen Maguire. That is five major seed in

:04:20. > :04:25.the first 11 matches. Those are the numbers but what is behind it all?

:04:26. > :04:30.It is a massive advantage being one of those top 16 that get straight to

:04:31. > :04:35.The Crucible but only if you win your first match. It is very tough

:04:36. > :04:38.for all of the qualifiers, winning three Best of 19 matches and

:04:39. > :04:43.especially with the qualifiers finishing so close to The Crucible.

:04:44. > :04:49.I had a three day break which I found tough. I felt like I could

:04:50. > :04:52.have kept going, to be honest. The players coming through our match

:04:53. > :04:59.sharp and the top 16 are under pressure. The standard is so high

:05:00. > :05:03.now, it has been very evident from the results so far that the players

:05:04. > :05:10.who have come through the qualifying our super match sharp. But you can't

:05:11. > :05:15.say from the top 16's perspective that it is burn-out, that is not the

:05:16. > :05:20.reason. Most of those players have had a very long season but I think

:05:21. > :05:24.it is the match sharpness of the qualifiers that is making the

:05:25. > :05:26.difference. You look at how well Michael Holt played against Neil

:05:27. > :05:31.Robertson, I have never seen Michael handle things so well, especially on

:05:32. > :05:35.the big state at The Crucible. He has been self critical in the past

:05:36. > :05:42.but he was fantastic yesterday and thoroughly deserved to win. And top

:05:43. > :05:46.17 to 32 art strong players. Absolutely dumb all the way down the

:05:47. > :05:51.rankings, even 64 and below, they are all good enough to beat the

:05:52. > :05:55.tournament winners on a consistent basis, even if they don't have the

:05:56. > :06:00.experience to go on and win tournaments themselves. Snooker has

:06:01. > :06:03.never been tougher. But there is no sign of burn-out with Steve and

:06:04. > :06:11.Peter, always in peak physical condition. It is vegan power for

:06:12. > :06:15.Peter, and there was a fantastic tweet we had the other day which it

:06:16. > :06:21.said, isn't it appropriate that a man like Peter with a plant -based

:06:22. > :06:26.diet should be working in a plant -based studio. How at home he feels

:06:27. > :06:30.in the studio! But who will be at home inside because of the theatre

:06:31. > :06:41.today? We have three matches to finish and three to start. -- inside

:06:42. > :06:45.the Crucible Theatre. Mark Allen is 6-3 in front against Mitchell Mann.

:06:46. > :06:50.Their final session is this morning. Martin Gould has waited two years to

:06:51. > :06:54.get back you and returned as a major champion having won the German

:06:55. > :06:59.Masters in February but has drawn arguably the most dangerous

:07:00. > :07:03.qualifier, Ding Junhui, winner of 11 world ranking titles, everything

:07:04. > :07:07.except the big one. The Hawk has his eye on another deep run in

:07:08. > :07:12.Sheffield, he is in front against Zhang Anda and their final session

:07:13. > :07:15.is this afternoon. The Juddernaut rolls into town as the outright

:07:16. > :07:20.second favourite and could it finally be Judd Trump's year? His

:07:21. > :07:32.match against Liang Wenbo is coming up. There is plenty to talk about

:07:33. > :07:40.when Barry Hearn is in town and he is today. And will the world number

:07:41. > :07:57.one finish at the top of the pot with chart? -- pot quiz. It is the

:07:58. > :08:03.last full day of first-round action today so we are really moving on.

:08:04. > :08:08.Things moved on this morning, starting at 10am between Mark Allen

:08:09. > :08:11.and Mitchell Mann. Let's remind you of how this stood overnight.

:08:12. > :08:16.Mitchell Mann, the only debutant this year, was in it for awhile in

:08:17. > :08:22.opening session but that has quickly become 9-3 to Mark Allen who is on

:08:23. > :08:25.the cusp of a place in the next round as we join them in frame 13

:08:26. > :08:48.with John Parrott and Willie Thorne. COMMENTATOR: Mitchell Mann breaks of

:08:49. > :08:54.frame 13. And basically, nowhere to go. He has the win this frame and

:08:55. > :08:59.every one left to stay in at The Crucible this year. He hasn't really

:09:00. > :09:03.got going this morning. Mark Allen has done what he has had to and he

:09:04. > :09:11.will be looking to try to get this match over with as quickly as

:09:12. > :09:17.possible. APPLAUSE And with shots like that, it will

:09:18. > :09:17.help, that is the best shot of the morning, beautifully struck,

:09:18. > :09:31.wonderfully controlled. Our director is putting the break

:09:32. > :09:42.balls up already, do you think he is hoping! As it happens, he is likely

:09:43. > :09:56.to go for it from this position, and if he does, he knows more than I do!

:09:57. > :10:00.One red, one black... He will be leaving an angle on the black to go

:10:01. > :10:05.into them and it is not a bad pack, there is one red at the front that

:10:06. > :10:09.is not in line. He hasn't got the right angle this time but he can

:10:10. > :10:17.easily get onto the reds in the middle. He played for the choice of

:10:18. > :10:24.red, one in the middle and one to the corner but he doesn't look like

:10:25. > :10:31.he is on either. What kind of angle does he have on this one?

:10:32. > :10:44.A good one. And he is low on the black. And that outside red on the

:10:45. > :10:55.right-hand side, stunned into it, don't screw it, open them up. How is

:10:56. > :11:00.your luck? He got the reserve into the yellow pocket. And he has won in

:11:01. > :11:15.the middle as well so he has brought two into play. He will definitely be

:11:16. > :11:23.going for blacks now. I think when O'Sullivan was once 9-2 in front and

:11:24. > :11:26.Stephen Hendry came back to and O'Sullivan won the match with a

:11:27. > :12:00.maximum in the last frame. It has happened before.

:12:01. > :12:09.Well, so far, so good, Mark Allen having a little smirk up at the

:12:10. > :12:16.commentary box! He has actually not made a 147 in tournament play. He

:12:17. > :12:24.can play this in the middle, playing ball, he would be on the black. Come

:12:25. > :12:30.on, Mark, you know you want to! The weight he is looking at it, maybe

:12:31. > :12:36.the in- off is on. It looks like a natural up and down. He is probably

:12:37. > :12:41.torn also by the fact that he wants the match over with and he wants to

:12:42. > :12:50.clear up but surely there is a chance.

:12:51. > :13:02.Apologises to the audience! That is a nice gesture. He realises it is so

:13:03. > :13:08.important, but the fact that he was leading 9-3, he might have taken a

:13:09. > :13:11.risk but I don't blame him. If you needed any indication that he wants

:13:12. > :13:20.the match over with, you have just had it. Just wondering if he will

:13:21. > :13:26.leave the pink alone because the red at the top of the cluster goes but

:13:27. > :13:48.if the pink is on its spot, it will not be pottable.

:13:49. > :14:03.Certainly a funny way of going about it.

:14:04. > :14:11.Strange way of going about it, I think. The only way to guarantee

:14:12. > :14:25.bringing reds in the go for the pink.

:14:26. > :14:31.Looks perfect to bring them into play but he might have spotted

:14:32. > :14:42.something in the pack that we haven't. Well, Mark Allen is

:14:43. > :14:43.normally a very good break-builder but he has gone about this very

:14:44. > :15:00.poorly. Yes, he is well aware he has gone

:15:01. > :15:05.about it the wrong way, he should have played on the blue, the loose

:15:06. > :15:11.red, leave the one at the top of the cluster, pop that and open the rest

:15:12. > :15:27.out and it is game over. He just played on the wrong colour before.

:15:28. > :15:34.A very good break of 67 but I'm sure he is kicking himself he could not

:15:35. > :16:53.get the match over with. One good pot, frame and match over.

:16:54. > :17:06.APPLAUSE In goes the red, 68 in front, 67 on.

:17:07. > :17:12.And I must say, as far as Mitchell Mann is concerned, it has been a

:17:13. > :17:16.baptism of fire. He started well but he just hasn't competed. He will

:17:17. > :17:22.learn more today and yesterday then he will ever have known about

:17:23. > :17:26.playing snooker before. It is a cauldron to come and play here and

:17:27. > :17:30.it is difficult to keep yourself together and to play at your best

:17:31. > :17:37.and he hasn't done that but you write it down as experience and kick

:17:38. > :17:39.on. He knows he is a lot better than the way he has played today and he

:17:40. > :18:00.will know a lot more next time. Yes, you cannot buy experience and

:18:01. > :18:08.that is what he has got here. We hope to see him again here at The

:18:09. > :18:17.Crucible. Mark Allen is doing what he does best, potting balls at

:18:18. > :18:28.speed. The referee cannot get the blue out! And if he plays to his

:18:29. > :18:34.capabilities, Mark Allen, he will have a shout at the championship

:18:35. > :18:39.this year. Amazing when there is no pressure on, how you can play. He

:18:40. > :18:45.will have tougher assignments, of course, but he is capable. Not a

:18:46. > :18:49.good morning for young Mitchell Mann but Mark Allen did what he had to

:18:50. > :18:51.and won convincingly in the end and goes through to the next round,

:18:52. > :19:01.10-3. And Mark is still smiling,

:19:02. > :19:05.congratulations, through to the second round for the seventh time

:19:06. > :19:11.will stop on paper you had the easiest of the qualifiers without

:19:12. > :19:15.being disrespectful, but as you said before the match, matches are not

:19:16. > :19:19.won on paper, you have to be professional. At the end of the day,

:19:20. > :19:27.Mitchell has won three tough matches to get here and is more than capable

:19:28. > :19:31.player. I could have been 3-1 down but after I got to 2-2, I put him

:19:32. > :19:35.under pressure and he went a bit. It is to be expected at The Crucible,

:19:36. > :19:39.it can do funny things to you first time and I was able to capitalise.

:19:40. > :19:44.You were very focused, I'm looking at your season, winning in Bulgaria

:19:45. > :19:48.and the Players Championship, your first title on British soil just a

:19:49. > :19:53.few weeks ago. I'm wondering what different that has made to the

:19:54. > :19:57.build-up here? Not really, it is nice to win in the UK and get the

:19:58. > :20:02.monkey off my back but it means nothing when I come here. I'm here

:20:03. > :20:06.to win, and just because I won the Players Championship doesn't mean

:20:07. > :20:10.anything here. It is great for the confidence and decent for the bank

:20:11. > :20:15.balance but here you are focused for five tough matches. The bank balance

:20:16. > :20:18.is important! Terry Griffiths is in your corner this time and he has

:20:19. > :20:22.made a big difference because you seem to be winning a lot of the

:20:23. > :20:30.scrappy frames and your focus looks fantastic. Do you feel a difference

:20:31. > :20:34.with him in your corner? I feel I'm in a better place mentally and it

:20:35. > :20:38.stands me in good stead and those scrappy frames, I'm the first to

:20:39. > :20:42.admit that I don't enjoy them but I've let it get to me in the past

:20:43. > :20:46.and lost a few but I feel I'm in a good place and ready to battle. A

:20:47. > :20:51.lot of people feel this man could put together a run here. Absolutely,

:20:52. > :20:55.he is one of the most talented players in the world. There is no

:20:56. > :20:59.reason he could not go all the way. It is very tough to become world

:21:00. > :21:02.champion but he will be up there and he is one of the players nobody

:21:03. > :21:07.wants to play because he can beat anybody. There was an interesting

:21:08. > :21:14.development at the Welsh recently and I know you took something of

:21:15. > :21:19.exception to something that Mr Davies said when he described you as

:21:20. > :21:23.Championship material and not premiership material! They are doing

:21:24. > :21:30.their job, but did it add fuel to your fire? It gives people something

:21:31. > :21:34.to talk about in the media but we get on great and he is entitled to

:21:35. > :21:38.his opinion. Now and again you get things wrong! It is one of those

:21:39. > :21:43.things, until I prove it on the biggest stage, he was right after I

:21:44. > :21:46.always felt I was good enough to be considered as a top player but until

:21:47. > :21:52.I prove it on the table, opinions are valid. The fascinating thing,

:21:53. > :21:55.don't discount the Players Championship, the more times you

:21:56. > :22:00.beat the top players, and they know you are capable it is a two-way

:22:01. > :22:07.thing. This is a massive event. That has to mean something. And not

:22:08. > :22:13.turning the tables, but when Mark was talking about Stuart Bingham and

:22:14. > :22:16.suddenly that got him going and he won the World Championships! If I

:22:17. > :22:20.played any part in you winning the World Championship, I am pleased to

:22:21. > :22:26.have been of service! But now you are a winner, I have to keep my

:22:27. > :22:31.mouth shut! You can keep the opinions coming! It goes back a long

:22:32. > :22:35.way, I1 point you said you did not think he had the bottle to win

:22:36. > :22:40.titles and it looked like it was a major spur in his career. He hasn't

:22:41. > :22:44.bought you a drink? He has bought me a few, I will say that them and we

:22:45. > :22:49.had a good night out on the Legends tour and spoke about it. We get on

:22:50. > :22:52.well and we are able to joke about it but I will hold my hand up and

:22:53. > :22:57.say I was wrong about that because he showed last year, the toughest

:22:58. > :23:01.draw available with O'Sullivan, Trump and Murphy, you don't fluked a

:23:02. > :23:07.world title and he deserved it. And nothing ever stays the same,

:23:08. > :23:12.whatever the history of player, you can change that and we have seen it

:23:13. > :23:15.with Michael Holt. He was incredibly impressive, we spoke about how well

:23:16. > :23:19.he handled the situation and he would be the first to admit that he

:23:20. > :23:24.been self-critical in the past but he handled it big-time yesterday and

:23:25. > :23:26.put Neil Robertson under so much pressure and it goes to show the

:23:27. > :23:30.strength in depth in snooker. Michael has been a top player for a

:23:31. > :23:34.long time and I wondered if he believed it but with that extra

:23:35. > :23:41.belief from beating Neil Robertson, who knows how well he will do? It is

:23:42. > :23:45.a good point, the example of Stuart Bingham, having been in the

:23:46. > :23:49.so-called journeyman for 20 years and not doing it on the big stage

:23:50. > :23:52.here, I wonder how much I hope and inspiration it has given other

:23:53. > :23:57.players who have been on the scene for a long time as well? He said it

:23:58. > :24:00.himself, it gives hope to a lot of people who might not believe they

:24:01. > :24:04.could get to the top and he would be the first to admit, he was a bit of

:24:05. > :24:07.a journeyman for a few years but has turned into one of the top players

:24:08. > :24:12.in the game and if somebody else is in a similar vote, the likes of

:24:13. > :24:16.Michael Holt who've been around, they are friendly with Stuart, they

:24:17. > :24:19.can take a leaf out of that book. And further down the field, the

:24:20. > :24:22.people who might not think they could progress, you look at how hard

:24:23. > :24:28.those guys work and they get what they deserve. And you are feeling

:24:29. > :24:32.good and ready? Feeling good, a few days to chill out and then get ready

:24:33. > :24:37.for Sunday. Joe Perry or Kyren Wilson, it looks good. It'll be

:24:38. > :24:41.tough whoever it is but I'm looking forward to it, I'm in control of my

:24:42. > :24:48.game and my emotions and if I do that, I have a chance. Premiership

:24:49. > :24:52.attitude! Thank you for coming over. We're now talking about one of the

:24:53. > :24:58.great enigmatic players in snooker, Ding Junhui, who has been long

:24:59. > :25:03.touted as a future World Championship. He has won so much in

:25:04. > :25:05.the game apart from this one, the big one, and it has given his fellow

:25:06. > :25:19.pros something to talk about. To the UK champion, 2011 Masters

:25:20. > :25:24.champion, and a couple of seasons ago won five or six ranking events

:25:25. > :25:29.and that is phenomenal. How do you get better than that? He forgot how

:25:30. > :25:37.to lose for about a season! Clinical positional play. I remember seeing

:25:38. > :25:40.him when he was 15, he came over from China with his then management

:25:41. > :25:45.group and was around Northamptonshire where I was. He

:25:46. > :25:51.came over to practice with me and I was thinking, who is this kid? He

:25:52. > :25:59.made me look like an also-ran. He was phenomenal. His cue action is so

:26:00. > :26:01.straight, his head never moves, and a wonderful touch, amazing

:26:02. > :26:06.break-builder. Five ranking tournament in one season. Very

:26:07. > :26:14.technically minded, we have seen him they shots over the years, you might

:26:15. > :26:18.get down and look at his back hand, his grip, he is very concerned with

:26:19. > :26:24.the technical aspect of getting the ball in the pocket. He pulls the cue

:26:25. > :26:29.back, stops without pause, gets his eyes to the object ball and when

:26:30. > :26:34.they are on the object ball, that is when he fires and it is the same

:26:35. > :26:41.every time. Even on the easy at shots, the action does not change.

:26:42. > :26:48.Everything is very cohesive. Why has he not won the World Championship?

:26:49. > :26:53.For me, I think the answer lies firmly back in China. The amount of

:26:54. > :27:00.pressure he is under from the Chinese media and the snooker family

:27:01. > :27:05.of China as a whole is unbelievable. You have to be there to see it. When

:27:06. > :27:08.he won those five events in one season, they considered it a failure

:27:09. > :27:13.because he did not win the World Championship. There are so many

:27:14. > :27:18.players with great talent who you think should win it. He is coming up

:27:19. > :27:24.against the likes of O'Sullivan and Murphy and Selby and Trump who are

:27:25. > :27:30.all playing at the very top level. The longer it goes on, the more the

:27:31. > :27:36.pressure will build. The more likelihood is that he will not win

:27:37. > :27:42.it than with it. I think the form and stats point in that direction

:27:43. > :27:47.but of course he could rock up any time and played better than anybody

:27:48. > :27:51.over 17 days and win. Jimmy White has the mantle of the greatest

:27:52. > :27:58.player never to win the World Championship but you could make the

:27:59. > :28:02.case that it is this man. At the age of 26, Ding Junhui has already

:28:03. > :28:09.enjoyed a hugely successful career, winning 11 world ranking titles and

:28:10. > :28:12.a Masters, two thirds of the way towards eight triple Crown but his

:28:13. > :28:18.form and fortunes have veered violently in the last few seasons.

:28:19. > :28:28.He had a stratospheric 2013-14 in which he equalled the record of

:28:29. > :28:36.Stephen Hendry of five world ranking titles in a season and he made 85

:28:37. > :28:42.goals -- eight finals in total. Last season he found it difficult to

:28:43. > :28:47.follow up the previous successes, reaching the world number one spot

:28:48. > :28:51.for a single week, went out in the quarterfinals in Sheffield. And

:28:52. > :28:56.having changed his cue and now working with Terry Griffiths, he has

:28:57. > :28:59.won another Asian tour event but having started the campaign as world

:29:00. > :29:06.number four, he has dropped out in the world top 16 and had to come

:29:07. > :29:12.through qualifying. What is your take on a very topsy-turvy few

:29:13. > :29:15.seasons for him? He is a player of immense talent and we have known

:29:16. > :29:20.that for some time also I spoke to Steve when he was 15, Ding, and I

:29:21. > :29:28.was preparing to defend the world title. I could not get near him in

:29:29. > :29:34.practice, he was unbelievable. I said that he was incredible and he

:29:35. > :29:39.would be a top player. Personally, whatever he has achieved in the game

:29:40. > :29:44.and he has achieved a lot so far, he has done that purely on ability,

:29:45. > :29:49.technique and work ethic. Sometimes we question his resolve and if he

:29:50. > :29:53.can find that, that steeliness and grit and determination that all

:29:54. > :29:58.world champions need, I think you will see him become a multiple world

:29:59. > :30:02.champion. There is also the question of pressure from China as Shaun

:30:03. > :30:06.Murphy mentioned. The fact that despite winning the five ranking

:30:07. > :30:09.titles and reaching eight finals, he went out in round one here and was

:30:10. > :30:11.considered a failure and that is a heavy burden.

:30:12. > :30:23.It is. I do think what Peter said is interesting. You might need to have

:30:24. > :30:27.a little bit more passion to get over the line at The Crucible. That

:30:28. > :30:35.is not to say you are going to cry when you win, or you have to be

:30:36. > :30:39.demonstrative around the table. You may argue Ding is too much like a

:30:40. > :30:45.robot. You have to play from the heart a bit out there. If you are

:30:46. > :30:51.going through the A, B, C, perhaps that is not enough for that arena.

:30:52. > :30:55.He is now working with Terry Griffiths who seems to have the

:30:56. > :31:01.touch, you know. He's turned around Michael Holt. He's doing wonders

:31:02. > :31:08.with Mark Allen. Who is to say that Ding understands a word Terry is

:31:09. > :31:11.saying with the Welsh accent! If he is, then that could make the

:31:12. > :31:15.difference. You are right. He is working miracles with a lot of

:31:16. > :31:18.players. There is also the question, as you say, of fight. There is also

:31:19. > :31:24.a question of appetite. Is it enough? He is sixth on the all-time

:31:25. > :31:28.list. He is hugely popular and wealthy in China. Is that enough?

:31:29. > :31:34.Has he gone soft? Let's hope it is enough. For him to find the desire

:31:35. > :31:38.to want to become World Champion. There is no two ways about it, he

:31:39. > :31:42.will consider his whole career a complete failure if he doesn't

:31:43. > :31:47.become World Champion. Has he gone soft? Do you think he's gone soft? I

:31:48. > :31:53.don't know. I think his class could see him through. It is very

:31:54. > :31:57.interesting, this. I think he's learned a lot of English, he is very

:31:58. > :32:01.fluent now. As we have got to know him, we have realised what a

:32:02. > :32:05.charming, lovely fella he is. A lot of the general public are seeing

:32:06. > :32:11.that now, too. That is really endearing them to him? He is a

:32:12. > :32:16.lovely young man. We have spoken a long time about his ability. I will

:32:17. > :32:22.be absolutely shocked if Ding does not win a World Championship. The

:32:23. > :32:30.qualifiers, I thought they would suit him. I thought three

:32:31. > :32:34.best-of-19s. It will put him spot on for The Crucible. Maybe the

:32:35. > :32:40.qualifying is just what he needed. You may be right. He sailed through

:32:41. > :32:45.that, of course. He's absolutely pin-sharp. The man he faces is

:32:46. > :32:48.Martin Gould, who has waited two years, but he comes back here as a

:32:49. > :32:58.major champion. Between the ages of three and six,

:32:59. > :33:03.my dad used to always book two weeks off work when the Worlds was on and

:33:04. > :33:07.in them days, you had it on from the first ball hit in the morning, right

:33:08. > :33:14.the way through until last ball at night. Me and him used to be glued

:33:15. > :33:21.to the sofa for two weeks. Mum never got a look-in. TV, upstairs if you

:33:22. > :33:27.wanted to watch TV. Me and my dad were glued to the telly for two

:33:28. > :33:33.weeks. That was the first memories of the World Championships. The

:33:34. > :33:43.first time I ever went to The Crucible, I went to watch, and I

:33:44. > :33:46.couldn't believe how small it was. My first appearance at The Crucible

:33:47. > :33:50.when I played Mark Allen, I was getting my behind well and truly

:33:51. > :33:54.whipped! It was getting a little bit to the point where it was starting

:33:55. > :33:57.to get emotional. When you are sat in that chair and you are not, if it

:33:58. > :34:02.is not going well for you, it is amazing how smaller that room gets.

:34:03. > :34:08.Then you get the knock on the door with five minutes to go. That's when

:34:09. > :34:12.you kind of, the nerves start to jangle a little bit. And you are

:34:13. > :34:16.waiting backstage with the other players, you have got your own

:34:17. > :34:22.thoughts to really go through your mind of what could go on and you

:34:23. > :34:25.have to try not to think of the negative side of things. This is

:34:26. > :34:29.what everyone plays for, the World Championship. If any other player

:34:30. > :34:34.says they are not nervous when they are walking out to play, I have to

:34:35. > :34:37.call him a liar. You want to get down to play your first break-off

:34:38. > :34:43.and you want your arm shaking like a leaf until you have played a few

:34:44. > :34:46.shots and got into your rhythm. I try to avoid looking at trophy if I

:34:47. > :34:51.can. I don't want to look at something that I haven't got my

:34:52. > :34:54.hands on yet, until it gets to that final, when you are having your

:34:55. > :34:59.photos taken with it. I try to avoid having to look at it.

:35:00. > :35:05.I wonder how he felt when he stepped out for his seventh campaign here at

:35:06. > :35:09.The Crucible. It was Martin Gould playing Ding Junhui. Ding took the

:35:10. > :35:15.opening frame of the morning with a break of 90. Gould to play in Frame

:35:16. > :35:23.2. John Virgo and Stephen Hendry looking on here.

:35:24. > :35:27.JOHN VIRGO: Tried to find the path through the reds, back to the baulk

:35:28. > :35:36.area. He hasn't. He's left this red to the middle. It

:35:37. > :35:44.all depends, if it is a natural, as we see him play that - that red was

:35:45. > :35:48.much too thin. A bit thicker, he might have got the cue ball back to

:35:49. > :35:51.the baulk end. The thing is with this red, the red is easy enough,

:35:52. > :36:00.can he get nicely on a colour? It sounded a bit like a heavy

:36:01. > :36:04.contact. He's the wrong side of the blue to come down to this end of the

:36:05. > :36:13.table, but he's got that red near the yellow he can play for.

:36:14. > :36:20.He's not having to work too hard for his chances here, Ding Junhui. That

:36:21. > :36:57.will be worrying for Martin Gould. STEPHEN HENDRY: I'm sure, as we

:36:58. > :37:01.talked about at the top of the show, Ding Junhui was probably the one

:37:02. > :37:07.that everybody wanted to avoid as a qualifier. Martin Gould has to avoid

:37:08. > :37:14.those thoughts in his mind that he's been unlucky this draw. He's got to

:37:15. > :37:17.get on with it. It is such a different frame of mind, if he was a

:37:18. > :37:19.qualifier coming through to play Ding, there would be a different

:37:20. > :37:29.mindset. As we have seen so far in this

:37:30. > :37:31.tournament, quite a few seeds going by the wayside. There is pressure on

:37:32. > :37:41.the seed. This was always going to be a tough

:37:42. > :37:46.match for Martin. Just got to try and get his way in here. At the

:37:47. > :37:54.moment, the edge is with Ding Junhui because of his good safety. That

:37:55. > :38:02.good safety there created this, or caused the mistake that gave him in

:38:03. > :38:05.chance. Nice angle on the black here to cannon up to that cluster of

:38:06. > :38:11.four, and bring them into play. He doesn't have to hit it too hard.

:38:12. > :38:20.Well, is he on the red to the middle?

:38:21. > :38:24.If he's not, it's gone a little bit astray. He's not, I don't think,

:38:25. > :38:40.unless he plays a swerve. You would have to say he is unlucky

:38:41. > :38:51.not having a red going into those four. This is a thinner cut. Just

:38:52. > :38:55.looking at that again, I didn't think he had to play it with that

:38:56. > :38:59.much pace. I don't think he quite hit the right red, did he? He missed

:39:00. > :39:03.the red he wanted... He is playing the plant. This is tricky. Played it

:39:04. > :39:14.well. He is on course now to take this

:39:15. > :39:47.second frame. Had a nice break of 90 in the first.

:39:48. > :39:53.Once again, you think he would play a little cannon, on those two reds

:39:54. > :39:58.that are together. He just holds the white, saves you having to judge the

:39:59. > :40:01.pace, just stun into them. He just keeps the cue ball at this end and

:40:02. > :40:08.you can play a full shot if you like.

:40:09. > :40:16.As we often say, this is how you set the balls up for a practice session.

:40:17. > :40:58.You would be amazed if you missed. Once he pots this red, he will be 61

:40:59. > :41:08.in front with 59 remaining. I will be very surprised if he

:41:09. > :41:26.doesn't make the century. Maybe those three qualifying matches

:41:27. > :41:47.have been good for him. Almost the best practice you could

:41:48. > :41:54.get for coming to the main event. Match practice. I spoke to Nigel

:41:55. > :41:57.Bond, who he beat in the second or third qualifying match, and Nigel

:41:58. > :41:59.said he never missed, just every time he went to the table, the frame

:42:00. > :42:07.was won in one visit. We certainly know that is what he is

:42:08. > :42:13.capable of, which is quite remarkable why he's, as you said at

:42:14. > :42:21.the start, fallen from Grace over the last few seasons. He's a top

:42:22. > :42:28.four player in the world in my book. So, for him to have to qualify for

:42:29. > :42:32.the World, he's got to - it won't be long before he is back in the top

:42:33. > :42:40.16. But he belongs a lot higher than that.

:42:41. > :42:43.The confidence from winning those matches, that is what everybody says

:42:44. > :43:02.- you get confidence from winning. A little bit careless with that. It

:43:03. > :43:07.is only for our interest. He's judged it well. Stuns the yellow in,

:43:08. > :43:22.automatically on the green, for the century.

:43:23. > :43:45.I'm sure he knew at the start, Martin Gould, but he's going to have

:43:46. > :43:51.to up his game here. He's left Ding Junhui with a few nice, easy

:43:52. > :43:59.starters and this frame, a poor safety shot has cost him dear.

:44:00. > :44:03.Where's the cue ball going? Well, it didn't matter. That was a lovely

:44:04. > :44:14.break of 110 and Ding Junhui putting down a marker. He is playing well.

:44:15. > :44:18.What has Martin Gould got? 2-0. Ding Junhui's 28th Crucible century

:44:19. > :44:39.of his career. Into Frame 3 and Martin Gould is up by 69 to 16.

:44:40. > :44:47.It looks like he's covered this red. Can he get past it? He will be

:44:48. > :44:54.running off the other red so there is a danger he could go in-off. He's

:44:55. > :44:55.got a few points to play with so he could play this thin cut - and this

:44:56. > :45:04.isn't the easiest of the pots. He doesn't want to play this red to

:45:05. > :45:07.the left corner with topspin because it pushes the other red to the

:45:08. > :45:10.cushion and the cue ball will be nowhere near the black, that is why

:45:11. > :45:28.he is taking the more difficult pot on. He wants to play the easy one.

:45:29. > :45:38.He did very well. As you say, Stephen, next one in and now it's

:45:39. > :45:41.Ding Junhui, we could have a new favourite for this frame. You

:45:42. > :46:02.wouldn't bet against him. That was a good shot. Maybe

:46:03. > :46:06.travelled an inch or two more than would be comfortable, but cueing

:46:07. > :46:12.over that red, as he was, that was a decent positional shot.

:46:13. > :46:16.So, drop this red in for the black, you can't see any problems in

:46:17. > :46:32.clearing up. He's finished in no-man's-land

:46:33. > :46:35.there, really. It is one of those situations, you would rather be too

:46:36. > :46:37.hard than soft because if you weren't on the pink, you would be on

:46:38. > :46:53.the blue. He's on neither. Playing it around. It looks too pacy

:46:54. > :47:03.for me, this. Does he get a good kiss? Well, it wasn't too pacy. I

:47:04. > :47:08.thought it was. I think Junhui thought it was, but it slowed up!

:47:09. > :47:26.You saw the smile from Ding. This is not what he was playing...

:47:27. > :47:34.A quick glance at the scoreboard. He's going to need the last red and

:47:35. > :47:46.colour. Green or above off this last red and

:47:47. > :47:48.the six remaining colours. A body-blow for Martin Gould and a 3-0

:47:49. > :47:57.lead for Ding Junhui. Not done much wrong. Maybe his shot

:47:58. > :48:01.selection when Stephen said he could have gone into the reds and brought

:48:02. > :48:05.them into play, he thought he would have another chance - he did - but

:48:06. > :48:09.he couldn't develop that frame-winning red. He was one pot

:48:10. > :48:15.away from winning this frame. We did say at the time, at this level,

:48:16. > :48:40.many, many times it costs you the frame.

:48:41. > :48:47.The only thing that can go wrong is his position from brown to blue. If

:48:48. > :48:49.he gets nicely on the blue, it's a formality. If he runs too hard, then

:48:50. > :49:06.it gets a bit trickier. Yeah, he was able to force the

:49:07. > :49:16.angle. And get close to the pink. Still needs pink and black.

:49:17. > :49:28.He got a heavy contact. He got a kick. And this black is a lot

:49:29. > :49:38.thinner than he wanted. Could this be a lifeline for Martin Gould?

:49:39. > :49:53.That's a lovely shot when you need a frame on the board(!) It will be a

:49:54. > :49:56.relieved Martin Gould coming to the table. After getting the heavy

:49:57. > :50:04.contact, I'm surprised that Junhui didn't have the cue ball cleaned.

:50:05. > :50:10.But this black for the third frame. In it goes. Ding Junhui will be

:50:11. > :50:14.feeling a bit aggrieved there. It was a case of rolling the pink in.

:50:15. > :50:21.He got a heavy contact, left himself a thin black which caught him out.

:50:22. > :50:26.Martin Gould won't mind. He's got his first frame on the board.

:50:27. > :50:30.Martin, starting his seventh Crucible campaign, relieved to be

:50:31. > :50:32.off the mark. In we go to the next, it is Martin at the table, but he is

:50:33. > :50:44.trailing 17 points. Caught it much too thick and it is

:50:45. > :50:49.one of those situations where if you are catching it that thick, you

:50:50. > :50:53.would rather the cue ball have gone in-off into the pocket. But the

:50:54. > :51:15.worst possible outcome, rattled the jaws, stayed at this end.

:51:16. > :51:23.He's not having to work too hard for his opportunities here, Ding Junhui.

:51:24. > :52:02.Most times he comes to the table he's got a pot on.

:52:03. > :52:15.After what happened in the last frame, he will take nothing for

:52:16. > :52:18.granted. This is a marvellous opportunity to take a two-frame

:52:19. > :52:52.advantage into the mid-session interval.

:52:53. > :53:02.This is where you really have to concentrate the mind.

:53:03. > :53:14.In between frames on the other side of the petition. When you get that

:53:15. > :53:17.murmuring noise. The referee should be more aggressive, on the referee

:53:18. > :53:24.on this side telling them to be quiet. Yeah, I remember the late Len

:53:25. > :53:28.Ganley, he didn't waste any time telling the crowd. No, he was in

:53:29. > :53:34.charge, wasn't he? You would be playing on the other table, you

:53:35. > :53:37.would get a fright when he shouted! If anyone is to call for the crowd

:53:38. > :53:42.to settle down, it's the one on this table. The referee on the other

:53:43. > :53:44.side, he could be shouting out "quiet" when someone was on a vital

:53:45. > :53:53.shot on this side. So far, it's not affecting Ding

:53:54. > :53:55.Junhui, although, having said that, just off straight on the black and

:53:56. > :54:05.the wrong side of just off straight. He has to play a good shot here for

:54:06. > :54:09.position, a deep screw, right-hand side.

:54:10. > :54:18.Beautifully played. He nipped that cue ball perfectly. Those are tricky

:54:19. > :54:23.shots. You have to nip them perfectly or you get no reaction on

:54:24. > :54:27.the cue ball. Talking about the noise in this Crucible, all the

:54:28. > :54:30.venues have multi-tables, but this one the players are used to the

:54:31. > :54:39.noise and they don't seem to bother about it.

:54:40. > :54:49.He is OK. He can play this green any way he wants - two cushions or one

:54:50. > :54:53.cushion. He has such a nice angle on it.

:54:54. > :55:02.I remember someone, many, many years ago Fred Davis how his brother Joe

:55:03. > :55:04.would have coped with these two-table situations and his answer

:55:05. > :55:14.was, he would refuse to play. Ooh, a bit harder, I don't think

:55:15. > :55:42.that would have dropped. He was a bit of a diva, Joe Davis?

:55:43. > :55:46.They had their ways of playing. And I think he was. I'm telling you, you

:55:47. > :55:59.have to be, don't you, to stay at the top for that long?

:56:00. > :56:06.That red now puts this frame to bed. 66 points the lead, 59 remaining.

:56:07. > :56:42.This blue looks a certainty. 71 points in front, 59 remaining. It

:56:43. > :56:43.looks certain 3-1 at the mid-session interval, Ding Junhui, the

:56:44. > :56:51.qualifier. Certain it was. In fact, Ding went

:56:52. > :56:57.4-1 in front. He's made a century and three 50-plus breaks to this

:56:58. > :57:01.point. Martin Gould responded well and took the next two. It is the

:57:02. > :57:14.Englishman in play here in the next frame.

:57:15. > :57:24.This red is cuttable. It's a thin one. The cue ball will be going back

:57:25. > :57:25.to the baulk end. You will feel certain he will be on green or

:57:26. > :57:44.brown. Full-ball kiss on the yellow. But

:57:45. > :57:47.not that kiss. Maybe he can just cue past the yellow. I think he's got a

:57:48. > :58:00.slight angle on the green. It is all a bit congested around the

:58:01. > :58:06.black spot area, so he may be adverse to potting the black early

:58:07. > :58:08.doors here. The reds are nice and spread. He doesn't have to do much

:58:09. > :58:18.to open them up. As I say, I think he can just cue

:58:19. > :58:42.past the yellow to make this pot on the green a lot more easier.

:58:43. > :58:49.He's going to have to settle for the red to the middle, I feel. I'm not

:58:50. > :58:53.certain this is the one he played on. As I say, there were so many

:58:54. > :58:55.loose reds, you would feel yourself very unlucky if you weren't on one

:58:56. > :59:17.of them. The beauty of getting that red out

:59:18. > :59:21.of the way, I think when the pink is re-spotted, it is certainly going to

:59:22. > :59:28.be available comfortably into both middles.

:59:29. > :59:36.Of course, if Ding Junhui was to win this frame, he would be guaranteed a

:59:37. > :59:49.lead going into the final session this evening.

:59:50. > :59:55.So, as you can see, the pink comfortably available into both

:59:56. > :59:59.middles and once this red is out of the way, it'll go into this corner.

:00:00. > :00:09.So this is a decent opportunity. I think he will concentrate on pink

:00:10. > :00:16.and if he runs slightly out of position, the blue.

:00:17. > :00:29.I think if he pops the black, he might tie up one or two of the reds.

:00:30. > :00:45.He went to put his chalk in his pocket and missed it!

:00:46. > :00:53.He has always been very good in these types of situations, playing

:00:54. > :01:06.little stuns and screws. Without doubt, this is his strength.

:01:07. > :01:14.Probably a little bit straighter on this pink than he was hoping by the

:01:15. > :01:22.look of his body language. He was able to force it in. I can see why

:01:23. > :01:27.he was disappointed, he is not perfect on this red, he would like

:01:28. > :01:33.to pot this and not run into another but I don't think he can avoid it

:01:34. > :01:39.and if he runs into a second red, it can always affect the position. Is

:01:40. > :01:53.there a gap between these six reds that he can stump through? It is

:01:54. > :02:01.tight, isn't it? -- stun through. He has played the direct screw shot and

:02:02. > :02:07.he is on the black. I don't think he wanted to be on the black. But he

:02:08. > :02:15.will settle for it. He could have been on nothing. If the black does

:02:16. > :02:29.not go on its own spot, it will go on the brown spot.

:02:30. > :03:13.He has just about got an angle on the blue. There you go, just the

:03:14. > :03:22.right side, for him, of the blue line.

:03:23. > :03:33.Slowly but surely picking these off. It just shows you, that one

:03:34. > :03:39.positional shot that did not go right and he has struggled since.

:03:40. > :03:41.Martin Gould will be sat there are hoping he gets an opportunity to get

:03:42. > :04:19.back to the table. He may do. Again, possibly could have done with

:04:20. > :04:26.another inch or two on the cue ball. He would rather be on the red to the

:04:27. > :04:37.right corner but it is the wrong angle. Yes, he is looking at it. The

:04:38. > :04:42.problem is, the one to the left corner, he has to do a bit with the

:04:43. > :04:47.cue ball, as with the one to the right corner. I don't think he can

:04:48. > :04:53.miss the pot, he can screw off the other reds but he is running off

:04:54. > :05:00.them. Need a bit of luck with position. It is amazing, you just

:05:01. > :05:04.get out of position once at the beginning of a break and sometimes

:05:05. > :05:08.you never get that perfect position that again. And this is a perfect

:05:09. > :05:29.example of that. APPLAUSE

:05:30. > :05:32.Good, clean pot. And now the chances of Martin Gould coming back to the

:05:33. > :05:48.table are looking a little remote. Yes, this frame looks like going to

:05:49. > :05:54.Ding Junhui. It looks like he will be guaranteed a lead going into the

:05:55. > :06:02.night's second session. That wiped its feet a little bit. Now the last

:06:03. > :06:07.frame, he will be thinking of extending it to a three frame lead.

:06:08. > :06:16.I didn't think he got the best contact. That pink, as it was going,

:06:17. > :06:24.was drifting more and more towards the right-hand jaw, probably because

:06:25. > :06:28.of the bad contact. Only the pink required to go 62 points in front

:06:29. > :06:47.with 59 remaining. APPLAUSE

:06:48. > :06:57.There you can see it. And he will be giving this Kroos along the top

:06:58. > :07:01.cushion 100% -- this red. He will know that if he knocks this income

:07:02. > :07:10.Martin Gould will need two snookers at least. -- if he knocks it in. And

:07:11. > :07:26.if he pops the pink, there is no return for Martin.

:07:27. > :07:51.APPLAUSE We had a century break in frame two,

:07:52. > :07:58.looked certain to have one in frame five when he broke down on 87. Is he

:07:59. > :08:04.going to treat us to another? He needs a good shot on the pink to get

:08:05. > :08:22.on the awkward last red. It needs to run. He needs a double. It is not

:08:23. > :08:27.there. It will not matter. It is an important frame and Ding Junhui has

:08:28. > :08:30.taken it to go two frames in front and, more importantly, he is

:08:31. > :08:37.guaranteed a lead going into the final session. Will it be two, three

:08:38. > :08:41.or one? That is the question and what an important frame in the

:08:42. > :08:48.context of this match. This is frame nine.

:08:49. > :08:58.COMMENTATOR: Not at that pace, when you hit it that hard, it will always

:08:59. > :09:05.check off the cushion and he was a long way away with the double. We'll

:09:06. > :09:13.Martin be tempted with this long red? -- will he. He knows the

:09:14. > :09:22.importance of this frame. Is he going to go for it? It looks likely.

:09:23. > :09:34.Terrific pot. APPLAUSE The downside is that the cue ball

:09:35. > :09:42.has finished tight to the side cushion but what a good pot it was.

:09:43. > :09:49.And this brown is not far off being just as difficult, playing off the

:09:50. > :09:51.cushion for the red to the left centre. He is bound to leave it if

:09:52. > :10:09.he misses the brown. Well played. Very well played. And

:10:10. > :10:13.now an opportunity offered this red to play for green or brown to try to

:10:14. > :10:33.break the cluster of reds open. He decided to check it and play the

:10:34. > :10:39.blue. Same difference, pot the blue, has the hit the pink full interface

:10:40. > :10:47.to get the best effect and try to leave the cue ball in the middle of

:10:48. > :10:57.the table -- full in the face. He would be unlucky not to be on a red.

:10:58. > :11:06.He did not hit it full in the face and that is why he lost the white.

:11:07. > :11:29.He hit the pink half ball and that is why he lost the cue ball.

:11:30. > :11:38.I think if he could get to the bottom of the cue ball: he might

:11:39. > :11:41.play this red to the corner but he can't do it. He is trying, digging

:11:42. > :11:54.in, this is risky. It was risky, as I say. When you are

:11:55. > :11:59.striking down like that, you have got to hit the ball so accurately

:12:00. > :12:05.and it was not as if it was a shot to nothing. This red is sticking out

:12:06. > :12:09.of the right-hand side of the cluster and it will tempt Ding

:12:10. > :12:29.Junhui into playing this and if he pops it, he is bound to be on the

:12:30. > :12:34.black. -- pops it -- pots. When Ding does miss, he misses by a long way.

:12:35. > :12:38.I think he was playing with more pace because he was frightened that

:12:39. > :12:43.if he soft stunned it he would have left want to the left middle but he

:12:44. > :12:58.was still a long way away. Does this cut? It did. It is a chance for

:12:59. > :13:04.Martin. He just overran it slightly but I think he can roll this blue in

:13:05. > :13:11.and play for a red to the left corner. Yes, just off straight the

:13:12. > :13:53.wrong side. Well played. Now the perfect angle

:13:54. > :14:04.to go into this bunch of reds. What do you think, Stephen? The gap? The

:14:05. > :14:16.angle might be a bit thin to go into the gap. He has played it very well.

:14:17. > :14:28.To hold the cue ball, that was difficult. He stunned it rather than

:14:29. > :14:38.screwed it. He has a chance now. And, as we were saying in between

:14:39. > :14:45.frames, if he goes down out of this session just one frame behind, I

:14:46. > :14:49.don't think he will be too displeased. As I said earlier, Ding

:14:50. > :15:04.has been by far the heavier scorer in the match. Two 87s, 90, 110, 54

:15:05. > :15:09.from Ding Junhui. 65 and 64 from Martin Gould and he has been

:15:10. > :15:21.outscored so the only be one frame behind would be an excellent result.

:15:22. > :15:29.We were also talking at the start of the match, how the mighty have

:15:30. > :15:32.fallen. Everybody thought Ding Junhui, it was a formality that he

:15:33. > :15:38.would beat world champion but the last couple of seasons have really

:15:39. > :15:43.been disappointing -- he would be. We question why, and the pressure

:15:44. > :15:51.will be heaped on him now because he will know he should have had a

:15:52. > :15:52.bigger lead than this so how will it affect him this evening? Snooker can

:15:53. > :16:21.be a mind game. He has the cue -- has to cue this

:16:22. > :16:26.nicely but should be no problem. He just didn't get into it as much as

:16:27. > :16:30.he would have liked. Now he has a problem, the pink and red on the

:16:31. > :16:53.left side of the table. Just managed to find a gap. Green or

:16:54. > :16:55.brown, he might favour the brown and play on that red that is closest to

:16:56. > :17:11.the cue ball. He controlled it nicely. 56 in

:17:12. > :17:28.front, 75 remaining so he is looking for red, colour, red.

:17:29. > :17:41.This red now will put him 63 points ahead with just 59 remaining. A

:17:42. > :17:54.shake of the head, frustration, not getting on this red perfectly, the

:17:55. > :18:02.frame-winning red. It is there, though. APPLAUSE

:18:03. > :18:06.This is a good performance from Martin Gould. We have seen a lot of

:18:07. > :18:09.the seeds struggling against qualifiers and you could not have

:18:10. > :18:19.had a tougher qualifier than Ding Junhui. Ding could easily have been

:18:20. > :18:25.4-0 up at the mid-session interval. He got a kick on the pink and missed

:18:26. > :18:33.a black which gave Martin his first frame but since the interval Martin

:18:34. > :18:41.has dug in. And it is all to play for this evening. And I agree with

:18:42. > :18:52.you, Stephen, that Ding Junhui may have scored better... APPLAUSE

:18:53. > :18:57.But has he got the clink qualities that Martin Gould has shown so far

:18:58. > :19:05.this morning? -- the battling qualities.

:19:06. > :19:14.He got into that a bit too much, playing for the red into the far

:19:15. > :19:22.right corner, not this near corner. Let's hope it goes in and a chance

:19:23. > :19:32.of the century. Hello! And a little kiss on the pink, lovely. You will

:19:33. > :19:37.not see many better pots than that in these 17 days at The Crucible. I

:19:38. > :19:44.didn't think they went in at that pace. Another cracking pot. Come on,

:19:45. > :19:47.Martin, this would be one of the best centuries we have seen in a

:19:48. > :20:02.long while because it never looked on. Gently does it.

:20:03. > :20:13.What a way to finish the session. This will give him a huge boost of

:20:14. > :20:24.confidence going into the night. No doubt who will be the happier. --

:20:25. > :20:30.into the night -- tonight. To make the century he will need the awkward

:20:31. > :20:36.pink. But some of the balls he had spotted in the last few shots, he

:20:37. > :20:48.probably thinks it is over the pocket -- he has potted. Where is

:20:49. > :20:58.the cue ball going? Don't go in! Thank you. It would be a good

:20:59. > :21:12.clearance from here! He is winding up! This blue may not stay on the

:21:13. > :21:21.table. Hang on! CHEERING Yes!

:21:22. > :21:39.Unbelievable! Don't miss the pink... CHEERING

:21:40. > :21:42.What a century break that was! CHEERING

:21:43. > :21:54.Wonderful entertainment from Martin Gould, that was something else. What

:21:55. > :21:58.an end to the session. And it will taste good, that water, just one

:21:59. > :22:05.frame behind going into the evening session. We can't wait for that,

:22:06. > :22:09.what a match we have. We can't wait either if he continues to play like

:22:10. > :22:15.that. So much reaction on the social media, people think the most

:22:16. > :22:20.stupendous century at The Crucible. It never looked on from the start.

:22:21. > :22:25.That red to the middle that he took on was not easy to start with. It

:22:26. > :22:29.was thinner than he looked and he was playing with a lot right-hand

:22:30. > :22:34.side and you could see the check on the cushion but he could not hold

:22:35. > :22:38.the blue and that was more difficult than it looked. Because he uses such

:22:39. > :22:43.a small tip... That was unbelievable, one of the most

:22:44. > :22:49.amazing breaks I have seen. He seems to get more and more daring and each

:22:50. > :22:56.one was more outrageous than the next. Incredible break, the red to

:22:57. > :23:01.the right-hand corner, the blue, what a break. Ding has played so

:23:02. > :23:08.well and scored so heavily but Martin is still in there. He is very

:23:09. > :23:12.well respected as a potter on the tour, Martin, but we rarely get a

:23:13. > :23:17.chance to see him play the spectacular stuff that he showed

:23:18. > :23:21.there. He tends to leave the exhibition shots for the end of the

:23:22. > :23:26.frame but he is so naturally talented and gifted and with that

:23:27. > :23:30.small tip, it helps him to get extra spin. The shot to the middle pocket

:23:31. > :23:35.with the yellow, deep screw with right-hand side and he got too much

:23:36. > :23:40.into it and the cue ball literally did a banana but he will be

:23:41. > :23:44.delighted to be only 5-4 down with Ding having played so well. How

:23:45. > :23:50.concerned will Ding Junhui be? It looked to be going his way for a

:23:51. > :23:57.long time. Martin Gould will not be shaken off. We look forward to it.

:23:58. > :24:01.We will be seeing that again but let me show you how it leaves the draw.

:24:02. > :24:04.We still have three first-round matches to start and we are stopping

:24:05. > :24:22.the second round tomorrow. The odds of Ali Carter women have

:24:23. > :24:26.been cut to 25-1 after his victory, Alan McManus is the most senior

:24:27. > :24:32.player at 45, Ricky Walden scrambled across the line. Four centuries from

:24:33. > :24:39.an impressive John Higgins. Really looking forward to Judd Trump

:24:40. > :24:43.against Liang Wenbo. Ding Junhui is 5-4 up on Martin Gould but it was

:24:44. > :24:48.entertaining. Mark Williams is in round two after four years. The

:24:49. > :24:54.Hitman was superb in despatching Neil Robertson. Anthony McGill

:24:55. > :25:03.marches on. Next for him is Marco Fu. It is the Hawk and Zhang Anda

:25:04. > :25:10.resuming this afternoon at 6-3. Ronnie is safely through. Mark Allen

:25:11. > :25:17.was decisive in beating Mitchell Mann this morning. Joe Perry and

:25:18. > :25:21.Kyren Wilson are playing tonight. Sam Baird, the lowest ranked player

:25:22. > :25:26.through so far and Mark Selby hoovered up the last three frames to

:25:27. > :25:33.beat Robert Milkins. The historians among you will know that this will

:25:34. > :25:36.champion the began in 1927 but the English amateur championship has

:25:37. > :25:40.been going a lot longer than that and it is in fact the

:25:41. > :25:48.longest-running and oldest championship of them all. Just ten

:25:49. > :25:52.days ago, it celebrated anniversary, 100 years in Gloucester and we went

:25:53. > :25:55.along to have a look. The world professional championship is the

:25:56. > :25:59.pinnacle of any snooker player's career but there are other

:26:00. > :26:02.prestigious events and recently Gloucester hosted the English

:26:03. > :26:08.amateur championship and it reached a very special milestone. 100 years

:26:09. > :26:12.is unbelievable all stuck it would be extra special to lift the trophy

:26:13. > :26:19.this year. No doubt, having spoken to both finalists, they are very

:26:20. > :26:25.aware of the history of this. But the tournament took place in 1916 in

:26:26. > :26:32.the middle of the First World War. The highest break was only 30 so the

:26:33. > :26:37.standard has come a long way. There are too many names to mention, this

:26:38. > :26:44.event has been going longer than the World Championships. If you look

:26:45. > :26:48.back, Stuart Bingham has won this, the current world champion. I love

:26:49. > :26:54.the thought that people do a normal job and play snooker in their spare

:26:55. > :26:59.time. Amateur sport should live on. A couple of guys who have won this

:27:00. > :27:10.are better than the players on tour. 180 started out, only two remain,

:27:11. > :27:19.Wayne Townsend and the Northern champion, Jamie Bodle. It is the

:27:20. > :27:27.longest running tournament in the world. This is the one. Any amateur

:27:28. > :27:30.wants to win this. The prestige, to be on the trophy with some of the

:27:31. > :27:39.people who've won this event in the past, it means a lot. It would be a

:27:40. > :27:45.dream. I am a bit older now and have a family. It's difficult but I want

:27:46. > :27:52.to play at the top level. It would be great to win and put my name on

:27:53. > :28:02.that trophy. They played best of 19 frames and Wayne took an early 4-0

:28:03. > :28:07.lead. Jamie replied with 92 in the fifth, the highest of the match. At

:28:08. > :28:12.the end of the first session, Wayne still had a 6-2 advantage. In the

:28:13. > :28:19.evening it all changed when Jamie took four in a row. It all came down

:28:20. > :28:26.to a deciding frame. With the clock approaching midnight, Jamie Bodle

:28:27. > :28:32.claimed the title, winning the 100th English amateur Snooker

:28:33. > :28:35.championship. And here he is, congratulations, a very special time

:28:36. > :28:41.to win a very special event, real history. If I was going to win one,

:28:42. > :28:46.this one would obviously be the one to win, the one that is remembered

:28:47. > :28:51.the most. There was so much hype and the build-up to the event, with an

:28:52. > :28:57.wish snooker and World Snooker getting involved, it feels great. --

:28:58. > :29:05.English snooker. Ray Readman, Spencer, Griffiths, Bingham, Jo

:29:06. > :29:11.Johnson, John panicked, Ronnie O'Sullivan. Martin Gould -- John

:29:12. > :29:16.Parrott. It has always had that history and prestige about it.

:29:17. > :29:23.Growing up, you always wanted to win it so to be on that trophy with big

:29:24. > :29:27.names that have dominated the game, it's... It took a while to sink in,

:29:28. > :29:32.two or three days what I have achieved. We know you are a fine

:29:33. > :29:36.player, you were a professional at one stage and you are now in sales

:29:37. > :29:42.and property and I believe you are going to take the plunge again. I

:29:43. > :29:47.decided, I still love to play and the practice, I can easily do three

:29:48. > :29:51.or four hours on my own and certainly a lot of players of my age

:29:52. > :29:59.can't do that. I love competing, so I decided to give Q-School go and

:30:00. > :30:04.see where it takes me. You have had a good warm up, you have played in

:30:05. > :30:11.the world seniors as well because you are plus 40! Unfortunately! I

:30:12. > :30:16.have just gone over 40 but I've played the seniors and beat Barry

:30:17. > :30:21.Pinches but I lost to Dominic Dale. My game is OK, I don't have the

:30:22. > :30:25.pressure... I have different pressure from before when I was a

:30:26. > :30:29.professional because I have a full-time job so there is only the

:30:30. > :30:33.pressure of the game now. It does say, the fact that he is willing to

:30:34. > :30:35.give this and other goats, that the tour itself is in the Mendis health

:30:36. > :30:47.that he wants to go for it. You have to follow your heart, do

:30:48. > :30:50.what you love to do. It is wonderful that someone like Jamie wants to

:30:51. > :30:54.give it another go. It is a tremendous story. With so much at

:30:55. > :30:59.stake, in the final of the English Amateur, it was certain to go to a

:31:00. > :31:02.decider. It was. As if it was the 100th, it was fitting that it went

:31:03. > :31:07.to the deciding frame. Wayne played great in the final. I was hanging on

:31:08. > :31:11.to him for long spells, and grinding some frames out. I won a couple of

:31:12. > :31:16.frames that I didn't deserve to win, probably. I was hanging in and it

:31:17. > :31:21.was very fitting it went to 10-9. We wish you all the very best. I know

:31:22. > :31:26.your partner is Diana, how does she feel about trying to mix the two

:31:27. > :31:34.jobs and going back to the professional ranks? He is a playing

:31:35. > :31:38.herself. -- she is a player herself. I will continue to enter tournaments

:31:39. > :31:45.and she is fully supportive. A couple of weeks to go until you get

:31:46. > :31:49.into the Q School, and we wish you all the very best. Thank you. From

:31:50. > :32:32.Jamie to Judd, the Ace in the Pack! Judd Trump comes to Sheffield in

:32:33. > :32:36.tremendous form having won the China Open and the only other time that he

:32:37. > :32:40.won that title was five years ago and very much in the groove, came to

:32:41. > :32:45.Sheffield, made it all the way to the final. Perhaps it's a good omen

:32:46. > :32:49.for him. He's up against Liang Wenbo and we got to know him better a few

:32:50. > :32:54.months ago at the UK Championship. Do you remember that fascinating run

:32:55. > :32:59.to the final where he lost to Neil Robertson? Significantly, on the way

:33:00. > :33:03.in that run to the final, he played Judd Trump, he found himself 4-1

:33:04. > :33:11.down and won the next five frames in a row. So, he's got some very good

:33:12. > :33:12.recent history. He is a man that we find fascinating, funny and

:33:13. > :33:39.fearless. I think 2008... No qualifiers for

:33:40. > :33:40.two years at Crucible. I want to enjoy Crucible, make me ready and

:33:41. > :33:52.play. I remember John Higgins, I got a

:33:53. > :33:55.good chance and I missed a yellow. I was thinking too much. At this time,

:33:56. > :34:08.I learn a lot. I'm ready. This year, I play well and I got to

:34:09. > :34:13.the final of the UK Championship, I have a very good chance in the

:34:14. > :34:19.final, but sometime I lose my experience and after the final, I

:34:20. > :34:25.learn a lot, I change things myself and I try hard. I practice every

:34:26. > :34:35.day, two or three hours. I think I'm ready. Sometime you have to be

:34:36. > :34:40.strong inside. You have to learn everything.

:34:41. > :34:44.I want to try and give Judd pressure. Maybe I have a chance

:34:45. > :34:53.coming into the match. I will just enjoy. I work hard, I'm very strong.

:34:54. > :34:56.You have to have the right thinking, play good snooker, enjoy the game,

:34:57. > :35:09.and you have a chance coming into the tournament. Liang Wenbo taking

:35:10. > :35:14.on Judd Trump. He's had some near-misses. Debut in 2007. When he

:35:15. > :35:18.returned in 2011 he made the final against John Higgins. He has lost to

:35:19. > :35:22.Ali Carter, he has gone out in a quarterfinal and two semifinals in

:35:23. > :35:27.the last three years. You will remember that agonising defeat in

:35:28. > :35:30.the decider last year against Stuart Bingham in that scintillating

:35:31. > :35:35.contest on the Saturday evening in the semifinal. Might this be his

:35:36. > :35:41.year? I wonder what they think about that in the commentary box.

:35:42. > :35:46.Here we are with two experts that will guide us through play. You two

:35:47. > :35:50.lads have the T-shirt, the full gambit of T-shirts here, and Judd

:35:51. > :35:56.Trump is touted as a future World Champion, John. It is not easy when

:35:57. > :36:00.your First Round opponent is the runner-up in the UK Championship?

:36:01. > :36:03.There is a lot of talk about who you would want as a qualifier and they

:36:04. > :36:07.mentioned Ali Carter and Ding Junhui. If I had been in this draw,

:36:08. > :36:12.Liang Wenbo would have been high up that pecking order as well. He beat

:36:13. > :36:16.Judd on the way to the UK Championship final. This is a

:36:17. > :36:19.serious test. Dennis, it is no guarantee you end up with your name

:36:20. > :36:23.on that trophy, Ding Junhui trying to. Judd Trump still has to get

:36:24. > :36:29.there? I have tipped him this year. Maybe that is not a good thing(!)

:36:30. > :36:33.2011 against John Higgins, he potted some of the balls in that year's

:36:34. > :36:37.World Championship, I have never seen anything like it and I thought

:36:38. > :36:41.he was going to beat John Higgins that year. He was two frames ahead.

:36:42. > :36:47.I keep talking about one shot that he took two minutes on and he took

:36:48. > :36:54.the pot on and that cost him. What is your future tipping like? I

:36:55. > :37:01.tipped you to win six world titles! Fair enough. For these top 16

:37:02. > :37:05.qualifiers, the top 16, it seems like every year the standard of the

:37:06. > :37:11.qualifiers gets better? It does. We have seen already there's been a bit

:37:12. > :37:15.of twitching. You turn up and the one thing you don't want to do is

:37:16. > :37:22.lose First Round. He will have to play well. These two have been

:37:23. > :37:26.practice partners for a long time. It's a potential banana skin for

:37:27. > :37:30.Judd Trump. Over to our MC. MC: Thanks, Steve. Good afternoons,

:37:31. > :37:35.ladies and gentlemen. This has to be one of the most eagerly-anticipated

:37:36. > :37:39.sessions of snooker so far in this year's Betfred World Championship.

:37:40. > :37:43.Who is going to happen? Let's find out. This is going to be huge. On

:37:44. > :37:47.both tables, it is England against China for a place in the last 16.

:37:48. > :38:03.Please welcome first of all, a player returning to The Crucible for

:38:04. > :38:14.a third time and six years on from a memorable First Round debut against

:38:15. > :38:17.Stephen Hendry. From China, Zhang Anda.

:38:18. > :38:30.MUSIC: We Are Young By Fun feat Janelle Monae

:38:31. > :38:35.And his opponent, he enjoyed a magnificent run to the final here

:38:36. > :38:41.three years ago and he's made the last two semis. Some record! After

:38:42. > :38:49.winning his first full ranking title in Australia, he's flourished over

:38:50. > :38:54.the last four seasons. Ladies and gentlemen, he is Barry Hawkins.

:38:55. > :39:06.MUSIC: My Love By Kele Le Roc

:39:07. > :39:13.On Table 1, please welcome the most charismatic Chinese player on tour.

:39:14. > :39:17.Quarterfinalist here on his debut back in 2008. This is his first

:39:18. > :39:21.appearance at The Crucible in four years and what a run as we were

:39:22. > :39:27.hearing to the final of the UK Championship. He wears his heart on

:39:28. > :39:32.his sleeve, so put your hands together for Liang Wenbo.

:39:33. > :39:49.MUSIC: Zhong Giou By Liu Dehua

:39:50. > :39:56.His opponent, arguably the most exciting player of his generation.

:39:57. > :40:00.He's also a two-time semifinalist. In great form, arriving here after

:40:01. > :40:04.winning the Championship League in February and the China Open at the

:40:05. > :40:13.start of this month. Her he is, can he bring that brand of naughty

:40:14. > :40:16.snooker? He is the Ace In The Pack, here comes Judd Trump.

:40:17. > :40:28.MUSIC: I Made It By Kevin Rudolf

:40:29. > :40:34.STUDIO: The conclusion of the Hawkins-Anda match is on the Red

:40:35. > :40:42.Button. We will watch the opening exchanges of what could be a very

:40:43. > :40:52.interesting opening session. It's the contest of the lefties.

:40:53. > :40:57.DENNIS TAYLOR: This could be one of the best matches of the First Round.

:40:58. > :41:01.We have had some cracking games. The potential for this one, John, is

:41:02. > :41:08.mouth-watering. JOHN PARROTT: Very much so. If Judd

:41:09. > :41:14.is going to win this tournament, as a lot of people think he will, he

:41:15. > :41:15.will have to do it the hard way. Make no mistake, Liang Wenbo is a

:41:16. > :42:04.proper player. He is quite a character, Wenbo. We

:42:05. > :42:10.saw that when he made his first appearance at The Crucible. He has

:42:11. > :42:17.quite a sense of humour. He went to shake hands, but he had done so

:42:18. > :42:22.already. He was introduced and his English is much better now. The

:42:23. > :42:27.referee was introduced and Liang had to come back out of the arena. Then

:42:28. > :42:32.he went back and went the wrong way down the corridor. Very funny.

:42:33. > :42:39.Good to see him playing properly again, though. A few seasons ago, I

:42:40. > :42:45.thought he was going to be the next big thing. He could score, play good

:42:46. > :42:51.match play. For whatever reason, he went down the ranking list for a

:42:52. > :42:54.while. This season, there has been a reemergence of his talents. We saw

:42:55. > :43:00.in the UK how dangerous he is, reaching the final there. And Judd

:43:01. > :43:05.won't be doing what he did in that match, he got 4-2 ahead and took his

:43:06. > :43:09.foot off the pedal and Liang came back to beat him. I always think it

:43:10. > :43:12.is dangerous when you know people so well, they are regular practice

:43:13. > :43:18.partners, or have been, and sometimes that takes a bit of the

:43:19. > :43:23.fear factor away. Well, it is the first attempt at a pot for Liang

:43:24. > :43:27.Wenbo. He is a good long potter. It is early days. Can he knock his

:43:28. > :43:30.first long one in? There's the answer. And look at the flick on the

:43:31. > :43:39.red. Superb! What a terrific bit of cueing this

:43:40. > :43:41.was. Have a look at that cue ball flicking the red away. Ten out of

:43:42. > :43:50.ten for that. The balls are nicely placed here. He

:43:51. > :43:57.needs a gentle cannon. He doesn't need to go into them at pace here.

:43:58. > :44:00.He could have hit it softer than that and he would have been

:44:01. > :44:05.straighter on this red. Looked a simple shot, but he didn't

:44:06. > :44:16.get the cannon right, did he? Needed to hit the right-hand side of

:44:17. > :44:22.that red to make sure that he had better position.

:44:23. > :44:31.He needs the spider. We have a Chinese player, an English player

:44:32. > :44:36.and a German referee. It is an international game these days,

:44:37. > :44:44.snooker. One of the top referees now. A very nice fella indeed.

:44:45. > :44:56.That's good with the spider. Now, he can go into the bunch. There is one

:44:57. > :44:59.garn -- guaranteed to be there. The bottom red on the right is

:45:00. > :45:04.available. You have to guard against sticking on the pack of reds here.

:45:05. > :45:07.You don't want to hit them too hard, but you don't want touching ball.

:45:08. > :45:15.That is the only way you could stop him getting on it. Played it well.

:45:16. > :45:19.This is what I would expect this match to be like, Dennis. Two very

:45:20. > :45:22.attacking players, they like to get on with it. Should be plenty of

:45:23. > :45:42.scoring this afternoon. This will be his third black coming

:45:43. > :45:44.up. Reds nicely open. They are blocking each other somewhat into

:45:45. > :46:03.both corner pockets. Just overran that slightly. A tricky

:46:04. > :46:16.little one. Not so much the pot, is it? You

:46:17. > :46:21.would expect Liang to negotiate that. It is trying to make sure that

:46:22. > :46:26.cue ball doesn't cannon into the reds. He will be trying to screw

:46:27. > :46:29.this to avoid that cannon. Because of that, he's missed the pot and got

:46:30. > :46:37.second prize. I have to be honest, it wasn't the

:46:38. > :46:45.most convincing cue action from Liang. A bit of a poke.

:46:46. > :46:56.I suppose when you say a little bit of a poke, the same as a little jab,

:46:57. > :47:02.yeah? Yeah, he didn't look as fluent as the rest of that break and he

:47:03. > :47:06.snatched it. He has to be careful. If he comes off the left side of the

:47:07. > :47:09.table to land on that triangle of reds, he can leave the one near the

:47:10. > :47:14.pink spot for the middle. That is why he is having to think a bit

:47:15. > :47:17.about this. I mentioned second prize, but it's a big second prize.

:47:18. > :47:22.It is really difficult to get safe, this.

:47:23. > :47:28.I think I may be tempted to go the other way, come off two angles and

:47:29. > :47:35.rest on the red on the right-hand side.

:47:36. > :47:42.I think I would have been tempted to go two cushions the other way and

:47:43. > :48:03.play on the bottom red there. At least I wouldn't have left the pot.

:48:04. > :48:08.Safely negotiated. He wasn't sure where the cue ball was going to

:48:09. > :48:14.finish up. It's gone closer to the cushion than he wanted. This is a

:48:15. > :48:19.test of his cue action. The man next to me, if he was anywhere near a

:48:20. > :48:22.cushion or on the cushion, he never missed, John Parrott, one of the

:48:23. > :48:26.best in the business from near or on the cushion.

:48:27. > :48:34.That's not bad. That was much more convincing. As I say, I mentioned

:48:35. > :48:35.that was a bit statue the one he played before, but that was well

:48:36. > :48:47.cued. So, there's a good bit of fortune

:48:48. > :48:52.there, to leave Judd snookered. This is his second opportunity. But now,

:48:53. > :49:00.he's going to be slightly hampered cueing wise.

:49:01. > :49:06.At least he doesn't have to force it. If he drops the black in, he has

:49:07. > :49:12.that red to the right of the blue that is available. He's hampered

:49:13. > :49:14.here so he has to make sure of the pot and he will automatically finish

:49:15. > :49:51.on the red. The red that is nearest to the pink

:49:52. > :49:56.spot is available. REFEREE: Brown ball. The one on the

:49:57. > :50:02.right-hand side in the open is. He's played on the one on the pink spot.

:50:03. > :50:06.All the time, when these players are making the breaks, they are playing

:50:07. > :50:11.into areas where if not perfect on the one they have played on, they

:50:12. > :50:14.have another one to aim at, so giving themselves more than one

:50:15. > :50:17.chance to continue with the break. That was another example of it

:50:18. > :50:29.there, playing down that side of the table.

:50:30. > :50:40.He almost slipped there, he was right on his toe. And he was fully

:50:41. > :50:46.stretched and never a good thing to wear new shoes because as he

:50:47. > :50:50.delivers the cue, watch this. He just... If you were to slip when you

:50:51. > :51:00.were delivering the cue and your toe was to leave the floor, it is a foul

:51:01. > :51:06.shot. Yes, whenever I got a new pair of shoes, I used to take them to the

:51:07. > :51:08.cobblers to get them to take a shaving off. Not a good idea to be

:51:09. > :51:35.sliding all over the place. Pretty good stuff at the moment from

:51:36. > :51:39.Liang. REFEREE: Straightaway, please.

:51:40. > :51:45.That might have been a sweet, someone trying to unwrap a sweet.

:51:46. > :51:50.Marcel said, "Could you put it away, please?" There is nothing as

:51:51. > :51:56.off-putting. It is silent here and someone is trying to get a wrapper

:51:57. > :52:00.off a sweet. There would be fruit machines going off in the billiard

:52:01. > :52:03.halls, but when there is absolute silence and all of a sudden

:52:04. > :52:09.something comes along and that makes it worse. What a start for the

:52:10. > :52:15.Chinese player here. He looks very comfortable around the table. Very

:52:16. > :52:26.confident. He's a very positive type of person, is Liang Wenbo.

:52:27. > :52:33.I'm with you, John. The fact that he does practice a lot with Judd, that

:52:34. > :52:36.is why he is so comfortable. I always thought it was pretty

:52:37. > :52:39.dangerous thing to do, playing with other professionals, especially if

:52:40. > :52:42.you were going to meet them in tournament events. Some people like

:52:43. > :52:48.that quality of practice. I was never a big fan of it. The amount of

:52:49. > :52:54.times it happens, you know, you play somebody who you like as well, it is

:52:55. > :52:56.difficult. You have to keep that little bit of distance between

:52:57. > :52:58.yourself and the opposition. At the end of the day, you are there to

:52:59. > :53:10.beat them. I think he is just OK. He's past the

:53:11. > :53:15.winning post so he doesn't have to be too concerned. There is still a

:53:16. > :53:21.red available into the right middle pocket.

:53:22. > :53:25.Apparently, in practice, he rarely misses. He just makes break after

:53:26. > :53:36.break. In his interview, I heard him say,

:53:37. > :53:40.two to three hours. But most of the players these days, it is like a job

:53:41. > :53:45.of work, they are playing six hours a day. When you come into an event

:53:46. > :53:49.like this, it may be a case that all departments are good, so don't

:53:50. > :53:52.overdo it. It depends on your circumstances. If you have not got

:53:53. > :53:55.great form, you will be putting more hours in. If you are hitting the

:53:56. > :53:57.ball properly, sometimes that is enough. Don't leave it on the

:53:58. > :54:13.practice table, bring it here. He's been a professional 11 years

:54:14. > :54:25.now, Liang Wenbo. He's made 164 century breaks in that

:54:26. > :54:32.career. He's made 28 centuries this season.

:54:33. > :54:37.That is ten more than he made last year, so he's improving all the

:54:38. > :54:50.time. If he didn't know already, this is a

:54:51. > :54:54.serious test for Judd Trump. Liang Wenbo got lucky missing that pot in

:54:55. > :54:56.the middle and snookering, but since then, all he's done is sit and

:54:57. > :55:11.watch. A great start. It is amazing how many great

:55:12. > :55:13.left-handed players there are in the game nowadays and all great potters.

:55:14. > :55:24.Two of them in this match. One on the next table. Barry

:55:25. > :55:30.Hawkins. Then you have Mark Williams, Jimmy White, Mark Allen.

:55:31. > :55:44.Neil Robertson is probably the best potter of the bunch.

:55:45. > :55:48.We have had 27 centuries so far in this year's Betfred World

:55:49. > :56:05.Championship. Liang has made four centuries at The

:56:06. > :56:08.Crucible, so this will be his fifth. Very well played.

:56:09. > :56:26.Every pot seemed to go in the centre of the pocket.

:56:27. > :56:37.Well, what a start for this Chinese player. Didn't he take his chances

:56:38. > :56:40.well? That is a magnificent century break and he leads 1-0.

:56:41. > :56:44.STUDIO: It is living up to its billing. Let me show you the odds

:56:45. > :56:47.right now. At the start of this session, this is for the outright

:56:48. > :56:52.win, Ronnie is still the favourite. Judd Trump, the outright second

:56:53. > :56:57.favourite. Then comes Selby, John Higgins' odds have come in to 9-1.

:56:58. > :57:04.They like the look of Ding Junhui and Mark Allen, Ali Carter and a bit

:57:05. > :57:08.of an outside bet, Barry Hawkins, and looking further down, 100-1 you

:57:09. > :57:14.will get for Liang Wenbo, despite the fact this man reached the UK

:57:15. > :57:19.Championship final. I know Peter and Steve have been watching this. This

:57:20. > :57:22.is a very, very good start and he's playing his practice partner and the

:57:23. > :57:26.two of you were having a discussion about whether that's a good thing or

:57:27. > :57:30.a bad thing when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of a match like

:57:31. > :57:34.this? It's a personal choice. I prefer to personally play people

:57:35. > :57:40.because I feel as if I'm hitting balls when I'm practising on my own.

:57:41. > :57:44.I think it is nice to re-create match situations and I'm lucky that

:57:45. > :57:49.I have one of the best young players in the world to practice against,

:57:50. > :57:54.Kyren Wilson. He could go deep in this tournament. John Parrott saying

:57:55. > :57:58.it is good to keep yourself aloof from the other players and the

:57:59. > :58:08.modern-day game has changed, but the only player that may benefit from

:58:09. > :58:10.doing that is Ronnie O'Sullivan. Not sure if Ronnie O'Sullivan is

:58:11. > :58:15.practising at the moment. Not sure myself. He maintains the mystique

:58:16. > :58:23.around the table. We go back to Judd Trump, who finds himself 1-0 down.

:58:24. > :58:31.Interesting stuff from the boys, as ever. Looking at that, Dennis, 100-1

:58:32. > :58:36.for Liang Wenbo. That is amazing for the amount of talent this boy has

:58:37. > :58:42.got. He's drawn the second favourite in Judd Trump. He is better than

:58:43. > :58:45.100-1. Yeah, we always talk about a Chinese player winning the World

:58:46. > :58:50.Championship and the talk is always about Ding Junhui. But I think there

:58:51. > :58:57.is another contender in this talented player. What about that for

:58:58. > :59:00.a pot? He's not only potting the balls, they are going right in the

:59:01. > :59:04.centre of the pocket. That is always a good indication. Sometimes they go

:59:05. > :59:21.in off the angle, have a look at that.

:59:22. > :59:26.I always admire these overseas players, John, the way they come

:59:27. > :59:32.over here, they learn the language. We have been travelling out to China

:59:33. > :59:38.and Hong Kong, we are a bit lazy, we don't learn their language.

:59:39. > :59:44.They are away from home, OK they have got some friends and fellow

:59:45. > :59:50.professionals, but you have to admire them and the work they put

:59:51. > :59:55.in. You are talking about travelling, the Australian boys,

:59:56. > :00:03.Eddie Charlton made 110 flights from Australia, which is some going.

:00:04. > :00:14.I thought I was doing well with 16 trips to Australia between 1975 and

:00:15. > :00:37.'87. Still using your Air Miles, though, aren't you?

:00:38. > :00:53.That had plenty of work on it and it's turned out not too bad.

:00:54. > :01:03.Another great chance. Like shelling peas at the minute. What he is

:01:04. > :01:09.doing, it he is taking his practice came to the match table, and that is

:01:10. > :01:13.the hardest thing to do in the game of snooker. Some players, if you

:01:14. > :01:17.practice with them, you never get a shot. But it is hard to recreate

:01:18. > :01:37.them at the table in a match. You had tipped Judd Trump, I thought

:01:38. > :01:42.he would have a massive say in this championship. I kept looking at the

:01:43. > :01:48.draw, but I thought he would have a good tournament. But the is one

:01:49. > :01:53.potential banana skin in the first round, he has just got it. Because

:01:54. > :02:18.Liang can play, as we are seeing here.

:02:19. > :02:25.He's got a nice swagger with him around the table. I like watching

:02:26. > :03:04.this player. I don't think Judd was expect in

:03:05. > :03:10.this. He knows how well Liang plays, but this is not what Judd was

:03:11. > :03:11.wanting to happen. Olney has been doing is sitting in his seat,

:03:12. > :03:23.watching his opponent. Just enough room in between the reds

:03:24. > :03:25.this time. Tricky little spotting process. You need a steady hand to

:03:26. > :03:43.do that, I can tell you. Could quite easily slip and scatter

:03:44. > :03:49.the reds. I have seen that happen. I member Scott Lee, all the Reds went

:03:50. > :04:00.over the table. He pulled them together and said, carry on.

:04:01. > :04:11.All about the split here. Probably needs to get into the red, on the

:04:12. > :04:13.right-hand side. He hits the end one, there would be anything

:04:14. > :04:35.happening. He is a little bit unfortunate. I

:04:36. > :04:44.don't know if he has had a bad run? He is having a clean one, maybe he

:04:45. > :04:50.can hit the one to the left middle pocket. He is asking for the cue

:04:51. > :04:58.ball to be cleaned. I am not a big fan of that. If I had been the

:04:59. > :05:02.referee I would have said, I will leave it until the next shot. Unless

:05:03. > :05:04.it is absolutely clear it is going, because from our commentary box,

:05:05. > :05:29.maybe it is. There was a little bit of a gap.

:05:30. > :05:35.Absolutely nothing wrong with that. When it could be touching, you just

:05:36. > :05:57.have to say, we will clean that a bit later.

:05:58. > :06:23.50 balls potted and Judd has unlocked one of them in.

:06:24. > :06:31.When the cue ball is there for you to hit, it is up to you to do your

:06:32. > :06:35.stuff. Not like the wonderful game of golf we love so much, when you

:06:36. > :06:41.have your own ball. This game, you sit and watch and wait for your

:06:42. > :06:44.opponent to miss. At the moment, it does not like it is going to happen.

:06:45. > :07:02.This is very impressive. Cue ball control is excellent. He

:07:03. > :07:08.has such a delicate touch when he is in and around the balls like this.

:07:09. > :07:17.Players, little stunned shots and screw shots to perfection. He might

:07:18. > :07:24.have to go in and out of the Balk area this time. Ritchie has done

:07:25. > :07:28.nicely. Doesn't matter if he is slightly out of position, he just

:07:29. > :07:48.plays a good shot and once again, back in prime position.

:07:49. > :07:54.I am not sure how many players have started their first round match here

:07:55. > :08:03.at the Crucible with back-to-back centuries. Every chance that is

:08:04. > :08:09.going to be the case here. I know it is early on in the match, but it is

:08:10. > :08:14.a great idea to concentrate as hard as you can and clear these up. We

:08:15. > :08:20.have seen shots of Judd sitting in his chair, hasn't had a chance. If

:08:21. > :08:26.you miss one, he could get to the table for a bit of practice, so just

:08:27. > :09:19.keep him cold in the chair. Make the clearance.

:09:20. > :09:32.This is as good a start as I have ever seen to match at the Crucible.

:09:33. > :09:34.Unbelievable. Certainly the best start by 100-1 shot I have ever

:09:35. > :09:49.seen. Absolutely brilliant. It doesn't matter he has ran out of

:09:50. > :09:53.position. I don't think he can see enough of the yellow to clear the

:09:54. > :09:54.colours. Doesn't matter, back-to-back centuries, it doesn't

:09:55. > :10:04.get much better than that. He swerved that and he still potted

:10:05. > :10:29.the yellow. Unlucky! What a start. He has made

:10:30. > :10:37.back-to-back centuries and he now leads one of the favourites, GIB

:10:38. > :10:45.Trump, by 2-0 frames. -- Judd Trump. He has sat in his chair the two

:10:46. > :10:51.frames. There was a key shot in that frame? When he split the pack, if he

:10:52. > :10:56.had the end read it would only cannon in and move one out. He plays

:10:57. > :11:03.this and makes lovely contact with it. Plenty of screw on the ball.

:11:04. > :11:07.Cannon the Redding macro as he wanted it, opened them up like a

:11:08. > :11:12.bunch of flowers. He went on to make the century. He had the red behind

:11:13. > :11:18.the black and thought if he screwed it too much he would have that one

:11:19. > :11:22.available. In the end he rolled it into the middle pocket and kept Judd

:11:23. > :11:27.in his seat. It is difficult when you are sitting so close to an

:11:28. > :11:37.opponent. It is unusual. When you play other events, they are sitting

:11:38. > :11:43.opposite each other. But here at the Crucible, they sit very close. If

:11:44. > :11:48.you got next to a chain smoker or a drinker, it was very awkward, wasn't

:11:49. > :11:55.it. I used to practice my jokes with the people sitting next to me.

:11:56. > :12:05.Whoever was in the audience next to me. We have not seen Judd play yet,

:12:06. > :12:14.because this has been a terrific performance from Liang.

:12:15. > :12:27.Third frame, Liang Wenbo to break. You could see as he delivered the

:12:28. > :12:32.cube, his eyes went to the object ball. People always ask, which ball

:12:33. > :12:38.do you look at and the break of shot showed you his eyes going to the

:12:39. > :12:44.reds as he delivered the cue ball. It is a pretty good safety shot from

:12:45. > :12:50.Judd. He needs a couple of them to try and get a chance. Just coming up

:12:51. > :13:04.a little bit short. I thought he was going to get in behind the green.

:13:05. > :13:17.That is a pretty good return. If he can get past the blue, he might be

:13:18. > :13:31.able to sneak one and get back down the left side. Well played.

:13:32. > :13:40.Brilliant Potter and rig builder. You mentioned 2011 in the final

:13:41. > :13:45.here, some of the balls he potted, top ten shot up the championship and

:13:46. > :13:51.it was nearly all Judd. Some incredible shots on his way to the

:13:52. > :13:54.final. You need to have a grasp of what is required safety rise and

:13:55. > :13:58.tactically, and he has certainly improved in that department. This is

:13:59. > :14:24.a good reply from Liang. Excellent. I must admit, since they recovered

:14:25. > :14:29.the cushions on both tables, they are playing much better. They were

:14:30. > :14:33.struggling, especially on this table. The other table was playing

:14:34. > :14:37.OK at the start. But new questions on this table and did the same on

:14:38. > :14:44.the other table. They looked to be playing beautifully now. The score

:14:45. > :14:48.is telling you that as well. Great cue ball control from Liang, but

:14:49. > :14:53.everything is possible. It is great the Association, so proactive when

:14:54. > :15:03.the players tell them this isn't quite right. They get it sorted.

:15:04. > :15:19.Everything is going right for Liang, everything.

:15:20. > :15:24.They have been going something like 28 minutes. Judd, hasn't had

:15:25. > :15:35.anything to look at. Is he ever going to get a chance to

:15:36. > :15:51.pot the red in this match? This isn't straightforward either.

:15:52. > :16:02.He has decided to play two questions. Foul and a miss. He will

:16:03. > :16:07.be putting that one right back. Sometimes when they play that shot

:16:08. > :16:10.they are cautious, to have a little look. They don't know how the

:16:11. > :16:17.cushions spring off, so you expect them to get a bit closer with this

:16:18. > :16:27.one. If he over swerved set it up put him right in amongst the reds.

:16:28. > :16:33.He mustn't get extra swerve otherwise the White will stay in the

:16:34. > :16:47.reds. He wants to look at the monitor.

:16:48. > :16:49.Judd will help the referee out as much as possible. Near enough spot

:16:50. > :17:14.on. Nothing worse for Judd here. Sat in

:17:15. > :17:23.the chair of the two frames, watching his opponent pot

:17:24. > :17:27.everything. He will be itching to get amongst the balls and make a

:17:28. > :17:35.break. But he cannot get in and have a look at one. He cannot come off a

:17:36. > :17:38.couple of questions and land on a red to the right because he will

:17:39. > :17:46.either coupled to the left pocket. That is a brilliant shot. Where is

:17:47. > :17:48.the cue ball going? It is OK. It was worth the penalty points. That was

:17:49. > :18:07.so difficult to judge. I don't know if he can see enough of

:18:08. > :18:16.this red to put it in and play the safety shot at the same time. Just

:18:17. > :18:35.down the other side. Look at this... Look where he is going to finish up.

:18:36. > :19:02.He has an easy escape of the red. But he wants an even better safety

:19:03. > :19:06.shot. That is why he's getting out the extension on the cue and the

:19:07. > :19:16.rest, to get in behind one of those colours.

:19:17. > :19:32.He likes that yellow. He is in behind it again. I think Judd can

:19:33. > :19:38.hit the one to the right of the bunch. But what can he do with it

:19:39. > :19:53.rushed him he cannot get back down the table from it.

:19:54. > :20:02.That is not the worst place to leave the cue ball. Have to get this a

:20:03. > :20:32.little bit thinner than that. Not quite, this time. See if Judd

:20:33. > :20:35.camp put a telling safety in. He has got to somehow create a chance for

:20:36. > :21:17.himself. Brilliant again from Liang. This

:21:18. > :21:22.will be as hard a shot he plays a safety shot, he has got to get this

:21:23. > :21:39.then. That is brilliant. Not of the head from Liang and a tap

:21:40. > :21:45.of the table. Quite right. Judd, is fresh from victory, one in China, so

:21:46. > :21:54.he must be coming into this championship full of confidence.

:21:55. > :22:00.Over 37 minutes this match has been going on Judd is yet to pot ball. He

:22:01. > :22:17.hasn't had a ball to look at. I think Liang is looking at coming

:22:18. > :22:42.past the green with a bit of side, a back flick of the cushion.

:22:43. > :22:54.The first point is that Judd has got in this match is from a foul. He

:22:55. > :23:02.would like to say he's off the mark, but he's not, really. As we always

:23:03. > :23:13.say, you never settle in any match until you win your first frame.

:23:14. > :23:18.In this case, he might not be settled in until he pops his first

:23:19. > :23:45.ball. Played the same shot again, but

:23:46. > :23:49.played it well this time. Look at the black, surrounded with five

:23:50. > :23:57.reds. It is totally out of the game at the moment, as is the pink. That

:23:58. > :24:01.has helped the situation, but he has pushed the black over. It is not

:24:02. > :24:24.totally safe. The last thing Judd wants is a scrappy brain. -- frame.

:24:25. > :24:55.What has he left? I think he has got away with it this time. He will be

:24:56. > :25:00.pleased to see the cue ball finish where it has. Once he played the

:25:01. > :25:01.shot, and he hit it wrong, he will be thinking, I have let him in

:25:02. > :25:31.again. That was a pretty attacking safety

:25:32. > :25:37.shot from Liang Wenbo. He has opened the reds. The pink is still out of

:25:38. > :26:01.commission, but he has spread the reds. He has played a good shot.

:26:02. > :26:19.The only shot open to him really, a deep, screw shot.

:26:20. > :26:31.We know Liang Wenbo has got his potting boots on. Can he pull out

:26:32. > :26:38.another long one? It is almost straight. He has a slight angle and

:26:39. > :26:47.that tells you he can get towards the black or the blue. Fabulous.

:26:48. > :27:03.Fabulous. Liang, front elbow really bent and

:27:04. > :27:09.enabled himself to get the cue right through the ball. Not like the

:27:10. > :27:15.old-style stuff. We will try to show you that later, but it enables him

:27:16. > :27:20.to get through the ball. Look how close the curtain is, he was stood

:27:21. > :27:23.right up against it, Liang Wenbo. That is how tight it is here at the

:27:24. > :28:48.Crucible. See how Liang's elbow was bent. Just

:28:49. > :28:51.bend that elbow if you are struggling, allows you to get

:28:52. > :28:58.through the ball. He had that beautifully. Made a mess of his last

:28:59. > :29:08.position shot. This could have been a lot easier. I don't know what

:29:09. > :29:13.happened on the front row. Smiles all around. Marcel, just having a

:29:14. > :29:30.word with someone on the front row. Amazingly, he could go wrong ball

:29:31. > :29:33.completely and it ended up being a great safety shot. Definitely going

:29:34. > :29:58.his way, at the minute. First one of the championship. How

:29:59. > :30:06.long has it took? 45 minutes and he has knocked his first red in. It

:30:07. > :30:12.went in-off the other red, but it doesn't matter how they go in. I

:30:13. > :30:25.think he deserves a little bit of luck.

:30:26. > :30:29.Let's see how well he is cueing because this is the first chance he

:30:30. > :30:53.has had. This is a massive part of this

:30:54. > :31:03.match. He has to stamp his authority on this game. This is the standard

:31:04. > :31:15.when you are playing at, when it is your turn you have to be ready to

:31:16. > :31:40.go. He has got them perfectly placed now.

:31:41. > :31:55.You throw them on the table and practice with them like that.

:31:56. > :32:07.Once he gets going he does not hang around.

:32:08. > :32:18.He has said himself he has become more professional, more dedicated.

:32:19. > :32:28.If you do that, you will get the rewards, if you have got a talent

:32:29. > :32:29.like Judd has. No half measures when you are a professional snooker

:32:30. > :32:48.player. It is not going to be easy to make a

:32:49. > :32:58.frame-winning break here. A couple of tricky ones behind the

:32:59. > :33:11.black. We might not have seen him for 45

:33:12. > :33:35.minutes, but he is hitting it good. This is a great response from him.

:33:36. > :33:38.Would you believe it? That was a lapse in concentration. All he was

:33:39. > :33:46.thinking about was the position on the red and he took his eye off the

:33:47. > :33:50.black. If you do not give every shot 100%, it is amazing what can be

:33:51. > :33:58.missed. On that occasion he was thinking more about the position and

:33:59. > :34:03.he took his eye off the pot. And with Liang also being left-handed,

:34:04. > :34:05.when you make a mistake, you have set it up for an opponent who likes

:34:06. > :34:36.the same shot as you do. Get the black in and flick the read

:34:37. > :34:44.out. He will do well to develop these. He must have the angle on the

:34:45. > :34:51.black otherwise he would not be looking at this. You need to hit the

:34:52. > :34:52.outside. He can get the left-hand side won. He might develop both of

:34:53. > :35:06.them. You called it right, John, it was

:35:07. > :35:13.going to be tough to develop those and so it proved. He hit the right

:35:14. > :35:25.red OK, he just could not get more impetus into it.

:35:26. > :35:41.Not really much of a safety shot he can play from here.

:35:42. > :35:59.Some players play a shot where they stand it in to both ball.

:36:00. > :36:08.I'm sure he has thought about your shot. He has thought about it for

:36:09. > :36:26.over a minute. He has tried the plant but that is

:36:27. > :36:31.totally the wrong choice of shot. That has thrown the frame away. But

:36:32. > :36:33.he thought long and hard, over a minute. He could have sent both

:36:34. > :36:52.reads up, as you suggested, John. The shot selection was the problem.

:36:53. > :37:01.He thought of everything by taking the plant on. You live by the sword,

:37:02. > :37:11.you die by the sword. It was a bit too adventurous for my liking.

:37:12. > :37:19.I am thinking Liang had a chance to take the frame after Judd missed the

:37:20. > :37:25.black of the spot. That would have been another turning point and it

:37:26. > :37:32.would have put him 3-0 up. They are a tough shot to pot along the

:37:33. > :37:34.question without trying to plant it. That could be a mini turning point

:37:35. > :37:54.in this best of 19. A little bit of Judd's naughty

:37:55. > :38:01.snooker as they say at the end of the frame, to entertain and try

:38:02. > :38:23.exhibition tight shots. A little bit like that one.

:38:24. > :38:41.Though, my goodness! What was that? That was extra naughty snooker.

:38:42. > :38:52.Liang concedes. He had a chance. Judd Trump will be feeling a lot

:38:53. > :38:58.better. HAZEL: He did not put a ball in the

:38:59. > :39:02.first couple of frames. It is the first time in round one that anyone

:39:03. > :39:07.has ever made back-to-back centuries to start the match. It was a

:39:08. > :39:14.blistering start. Really impressive stuff, although I am not so sure

:39:15. > :39:17.about the plant he played. For all about their fantastic start, you

:39:18. > :39:27.then present your opponent with a gift. Sometimes you can scrape 2-1.

:39:28. > :39:31.But any at the shot he played look like it was a defensive safety and

:39:32. > :39:37.then he loses the tactical part of it. You could possibly say it was a

:39:38. > :39:42.very attacking option, but we sit here and most of the time in the

:39:43. > :39:46.game you criticise when somebody get that little bit more attacking, as

:39:47. > :39:54.we have done with Judd Trump when he plays long-range plans. Sometimes

:39:55. > :40:00.these things will go when maybe they will not and you convince yourself.

:40:01. > :40:08.There is a short that he could have played with both reds up the table.

:40:09. > :40:12.But he probably did not feel comfortable playing a containing or

:40:13. > :40:17.negative safety shot, having just made back-to-back centuries, which

:40:18. > :40:22.was incredible, the perfect start. So he decided to play a very low

:40:23. > :40:27.percentage plant. Personally it was the wrong shot, but he has made two

:40:28. > :40:33.centuries. It looks as though both players are in form which is very

:40:34. > :40:41.encouraging from our audience point of view. It is a game of decisions.

:40:42. > :40:47.Sometimes a shot like that will go in. But it did not look like a seven

:40:48. > :41:16.out of ten shops to me. Judd Trump never potted a ball for

:41:17. > :41:21.45 minutes. From the confidence point of view Liang Wenbo would like

:41:22. > :41:28.this frame to lead 3-1 after the way he started. I think he is OK going

:41:29. > :41:37.down the left-hand side of the table. As long as he gets a good

:41:38. > :41:45.length with the safety shot. I think he is thinking ahead. If he plays

:41:46. > :41:51.that one down there, the one you are on about, Dennis, the one on the

:41:52. > :42:02.left-hand side is the one that Judd will be jumping all over. The read

:42:03. > :42:17.that he is clipping might knock red out of pack.

:42:18. > :42:38.He has got the baulk colours to cover that red with.

:42:39. > :42:49.It will be nearly two minutes thinking time. It looks like he is

:42:50. > :42:56.going to try and drop on the red by the black.

:42:57. > :43:12.He did. I would rather have left Judd along pot rather than leaving

:43:13. > :43:18.him something like this. That was a classic example of overthinking.

:43:19. > :43:29.That is a brilliant pot, do not get me wrong. He spent a lot of time

:43:30. > :43:46.looking at it to play not a very good shot, Liang.

:43:47. > :43:55.That was beautifully struck. Absolutely perfect position. Of all

:43:56. > :43:57.the first round matches I was really looking forward to this and it has

:43:58. > :44:17.lived up to its expectations. The two players are in very good

:44:18. > :44:32.form, both open and attacking players.

:44:33. > :44:36.He has got a slight angle on this which means he has to hit it a bit

:44:37. > :44:47.harder to get onto the black. He made that look very easy, so he

:44:48. > :45:17.is now very comfortable out there, John.

:45:18. > :45:45.The yellow is the perfect angle if he wants to. The one just behind the

:45:46. > :45:52.pink is available to the left corner. He hit that one very well as

:45:53. > :46:06.well. That was a tough shot. He timed it beautifully.

:46:07. > :46:16.He did not hit that one very well. He cued across it slightly. That is

:46:17. > :46:18.why he did not get onto the red he intended. That is not the one he

:46:19. > :46:48.played for, but that will do nicely. We have got a game on. I am really

:46:49. > :46:56.looking forward to this, both players are cueing very well. It is

:46:57. > :46:58.just a shame there is an interval coming, but there always is after

:46:59. > :47:28.four frames. Just another colour and this frame

:47:29. > :47:43.will be safe. He is moving nicely around the

:47:44. > :47:45.table. The scoreboard changes quickly with these two players. This

:47:46. > :48:07.has been a fabulous break. There are the old daisies as we used

:48:08. > :48:10.to call them. I like to call them Strictly Come Dancing shoes. He will

:48:11. > :48:33.be dancing going into the break. What a shame we did not get a

:48:34. > :48:40.century break, but what a standard these two players are playing at. It

:48:41. > :48:46.is all square at two each. It is blow for blow between these

:48:47. > :48:52.two practice partners. They are just punching one another. Incredible

:48:53. > :48:58.stuff, a fantastic start from Liang, a great response from Judd. This

:48:59. > :49:01.could be an awesome match. It does magnify that Liang Wenbo had a

:49:02. > :49:06.chance to keep the pressure on Judd Trump and he let him off the hook

:49:07. > :49:10.for that session. We will quickly delve into events on the other side

:49:11. > :49:14.of the character and because there is a lot riding on this for a number

:49:15. > :49:20.of players because Barry Hawkins who has a good recent record here in the

:49:21. > :49:25.last few years he has been up against quite a few players, and

:49:26. > :49:32.this is a very impressive and consistent record here. In 2013 he

:49:33. > :49:41.went all the way to the final. He got to the semifinals the next two

:49:42. > :49:50.years. He has certainly got what John Parrott calls the Crucible

:49:51. > :50:00.factor. He was up against Zhang Anda. We will join them in frame

:50:01. > :50:11.ten. This is being watched by Ken Doherty and John Virgo. The

:50:12. > :50:28.dreaded bumper. It could be costly. The reds could not be better spread.

:50:29. > :50:30.All the colours are on their spots. It could give Hawkins a chance to

:50:31. > :50:53.win at this visit. It is hard to see him not making the

:50:54. > :51:09.most of this opportunity. Plenty of options.

:51:10. > :51:33.He does not have to do much with the cue ball here.

:51:34. > :51:39.He is coming around to have a look at the black. He does not have the

:51:40. > :52:01.angle on the red. This is a strange choice of shot. He

:52:02. > :52:06.was right. Sometimes you cannot see it from up here, but when you are

:52:07. > :52:09.down at the line of the shop you can. It was a strange choice, but

:52:10. > :52:42.the right one. This red to go 52 ahead with just 51

:52:43. > :54:22.remaining. Well, they were all there for the

:54:23. > :54:27.taking and he has taken them well. He went out of position a couple of

:54:28. > :54:35.times. This is where he is dangerous. You never expect him to

:54:36. > :54:42.miss an easy pot. He has lovely cueing action when he gets going.

:54:43. > :54:51.The type that is suited to these type of tables.

:54:52. > :55:07.He has missed the cannon, but it will not matter.

:55:08. > :55:18.Zhang Anda has conceded. Barry Hawkins will be pleased.

:55:19. > :55:25.HAZEL: At 12 Crucible campaign for Barry Hawkins and he is moving in

:55:26. > :55:26.the right direction. We go into the next frame with Barry Hawkins having

:55:27. > :55:45.ground to make up. That was half a chance for Barry

:55:46. > :55:47.Hawkins to get back into the frame. It is not far away. But it was not

:55:48. > :56:16.close enough. That is a good pot. He is just about

:56:17. > :56:25.on the pink to the middle pocket. This will put him 45 points in front

:56:26. > :56:30.with 59 remaining. He is still looking for one more red and colour.

:56:31. > :56:38.The paint is available to the right middle. But where does the next red

:56:39. > :57:03.come from? When the paint is potted it may cover two reds.

:57:04. > :57:57.He is hanging on in there. He will be disappointed with that.

:57:58. > :58:09.Just one snooker required. He has to be careful.

:58:10. > :58:19.That is a good way of playing back, get that red to the other end of the

:58:20. > :59:12.table. Will Barry played a pot on this red?

:59:13. > :59:28.So, there is a chance. I am trying to work it out. If he potted and the

:59:29. > :59:39.blue, he would tie. That is why he is looking down towards the black.

:59:40. > :59:51.What do you do, Ken? Do you played the snooker now? I would put the

:59:52. > :00:00.black and then pot the red beside the paint. The red beside the brown

:00:01. > :00:03.is perfect position for a snooker. Pot this red and get on the black

:00:04. > :00:21.and try and put the cue ball somewhere on the baulk cushion.

:00:22. > :00:29.He has finished OK and the black. But he wants to finish in the middle

:00:30. > :00:33.more than anything. Don't want to finish either side. I suppose he

:00:34. > :00:43.could finish on the right-hand side and play the stun.

:00:44. > :00:49.He needs to get round the back of the green, otherwise he could

:00:50. > :01:03.snooker himself. Can he get through to hit the red full in the face?

:01:04. > :01:10.Doesn't want to pot it. We thought he could get past the green. It is a

:01:11. > :01:19.mistake. Not only that, he has left a free ball. The worse thing is now,

:01:20. > :01:25.he needs two snookers. Can't believe he made an error like that. It was

:01:26. > :01:36.such a bad shot from the black to get up into that.

:01:37. > :02:49.What ever chance Barry Hawkins had in this frame, it has gone now.

:02:50. > :02:59.He didn't win it in one visit, but the point is, he won it. That is the

:03:00. > :03:02.important thing, you have got to keep hanging on to the seeds. We

:03:03. > :03:12.know they are struggling here, this year. Harry Hawkins, three ahead.

:03:13. > :03:19.STUDIO: It is 8-5 now, Hawkins within two for a place within round

:03:20. > :03:26.two. We'll keep you updated. There is always a lot to talk about when

:03:27. > :03:36.the gaffer is in town. He is now in Table Talk.

:03:37. > :03:42.Barry Hearn, chairman of World Snooker. Always lovely to have you

:03:43. > :03:49.in our studio. The first question has to be, are you going to get him

:03:50. > :03:56.an office job, Steve Davis? I am trying to talk him into a comeback.

:03:57. > :04:02.He is going to be away discs jockeying to the multitudes, but I'm

:04:03. > :04:10.sure he will be successful. I hope he will send me my 70%, like I have

:04:11. > :04:15.always charged him. I was in America when this broke. I did have some

:04:16. > :04:19.inkling. That it was very emotional. It was lovely. The reaction of the

:04:20. > :04:23.ordinary man, the ordinary fan, is something you will take to the grave

:04:24. > :04:28.with you. It was really nice. It touched a lot of people and it was

:04:29. > :04:31.great to see you do that on Sunday. In terms of the announcements, I

:04:32. > :04:37.know you have had a press conference and you always do some things with a

:04:38. > :04:41.sense of style. Champagne to be served at the press conference. What

:04:42. > :04:47.worked the champagne moments, the big headlines? The big headlines

:04:48. > :04:52.will come in on the 28th, we have so much to talk about. This game has

:04:53. > :04:56.never been stronger, it is going through the roof. Don't be

:04:57. > :05:02.complacent, because we want to go onto the next level. But today, a

:05:03. > :05:05.couple of things needed to be put in order. Personally, I wanted to say

:05:06. > :05:15.thank you to Steve. Without him, I wouldn't be here. Then I wanted to

:05:16. > :05:21.address something, it is the 10-year anniversary of Paul Hunter's death.

:05:22. > :05:27.I wanted to remember him and what he may have ended up being. Which was

:05:28. > :05:32.something quite special. We are going to forever now change the name

:05:33. > :05:36.of the trophy in January to the Paul Hunter trophy. It is something we

:05:37. > :05:41.should have done before, but we have done it now. We miss him and it is a

:05:42. > :05:46.nice memory for a man and his family. It is a wonderful gesture.

:05:47. > :05:50.It possibly is a little overdue, but I think when the guys play for that

:05:51. > :05:54.trophy in January, it will be entirely fitting at three times

:05:55. > :06:00.Masters champion will be remembered in that way. It is tremendous news.

:06:01. > :06:03.In terms of some of the other contentious matters, and Peter has

:06:04. > :06:05.been in the qualifiers and we have the debate about whether the

:06:06. > :06:10.qualifying tournament is too close to the start of play? Is it

:06:11. > :06:16.something you will address? The volume is being turned up annually

:06:17. > :06:20.on this one. We will listen to all of these plays, including Peter

:06:21. > :06:24.Ebdon's comments, of which there are many. We will have common sense

:06:25. > :06:35.discussions. We are governed by broad crust -- broadcast

:06:36. > :06:39.requirements elsewhere. It is something that common sense comes

:06:40. > :06:43.into play and we will have a chat with the players committees, of

:06:44. > :06:47.which there are regular meetings. Sometimes it might be nice to see

:06:48. > :06:52.some of the players there, if it is an important matter. What is

:06:53. > :06:56.interesting, the two side of the arguments. On the one side it is

:06:57. > :07:02.very close to the tournament and it is draining. Is that giving a

:07:03. > :07:06.disadvantage to the qualifiers? The top 16 players say because it is so

:07:07. > :07:11.close, these guys are hitting the ground running and they have an

:07:12. > :07:17.advantage because they are much fit. I am being pulled from one Direction

:07:18. > :07:29.to the other. -- match fit. And when that happens, I tend to do nothing

:07:30. > :07:31.at all. We have to see how far the qualifiers get here? Not

:07:32. > :07:38.necessarily, sometimes they get beaten because they are not the best

:07:39. > :07:45.player. 25 have been knocked out in the first round. We haven't got any

:07:46. > :07:49.player outside the top 32 still in the competition who qualified.

:07:50. > :07:54.Either they are exhausted, in which case I would recommend going to the

:07:55. > :07:59.gym at least and taking on some mind coach, to get their mental side

:08:00. > :08:05.right. Or, they are not Rodina. Frankly, the latter is the case. --

:08:06. > :08:11.not good enough. There are few more contentious issues. Can we have a

:08:12. > :08:21.word about Ronnie rush to market is he here. He has been given a yellow

:08:22. > :08:26.card. He is treated the same as any other player. He signs the contract

:08:27. > :08:32.and the first breach of that is a warning. A few players have used the

:08:33. > :08:36.get out of jail card for the wrong reasons. Next year, they will now

:08:37. > :08:42.lose their warning, because it has been abused. That is an issue for

:08:43. > :08:49.the board of World Snooker. One of the master strokes, as a mate, all

:08:50. > :08:58.the fines go to charity. So nobody can ever complain about paying a

:08:59. > :09:04.fine. No one ever, touch wood, has appealed a fine. You have the right

:09:05. > :09:10.to appeal if you want those children to lose the money. Incidentally, we

:09:11. > :09:21.are seriously thinking, Bluebell Wood is our current snooker charity.

:09:22. > :09:28.They thinking of naming a few of the wards after some players. They

:09:29. > :09:32.haven't got the Peter Ebdon Ward yet because he is too smart for me to

:09:33. > :09:39.catch him. As ever, great pleasure to see you and this is a fascinating

:09:40. > :09:44.championship so far. I think we will see some real drama. We are going

:09:45. > :09:50.back live now because we were enjoying the opening session between

:09:51. > :09:55.Liang Wenbo and Judd Trump. Judd Trump was the second favourite at

:09:56. > :10:00.his practice partner is putting it up to him right now. Let's get back,

:10:01. > :10:04.they have a can of in frame five and we will return you back to Dennis

:10:05. > :10:28.and John. Just as you joined us, Liang missed

:10:29. > :10:35.along pot. This is half a chance for Judd.

:10:36. > :10:44.He didn't play for the flick of the pack, but it wasn't the worst. Be

:10:45. > :10:49.interesting to see if the interval makes any difference. To the way

:10:50. > :10:55.these two players played at the start of this match. Liang was out

:10:56. > :11:03.of the blocks with two century breaks. Brilliant standard, Dennis?

:11:04. > :11:09.Since that attempt of a very ever called planned along the top

:11:10. > :11:16.question, it has been all Judd. It is amazing how that has turned

:11:17. > :11:21.things around, slightly. Judd, made a break of 58 and then he missed an

:11:22. > :11:28.easy black. Liang Wenbo had a chance to clinch the frame and go 3-0 up,

:11:29. > :11:32.but that is all history. I am like you, I just want to see the standard

:11:33. > :11:46.continue because it was absolutely superb in the opening four frames.

:11:47. > :11:54.Look at that, 95%, both players. He has it that so hard, he has knocked

:11:55. > :12:01.three or four reds say. Would have been disappointed with his previous

:12:02. > :12:05.shot. Blind pocket. But obviously, the priority with that is make sure

:12:06. > :12:12.you get the pot. Still in the driving seat, if you have knocked it

:12:13. > :12:18.in. Look where the white finished. He would have finished perfect on

:12:19. > :12:21.the blue, but miss the pot. Knocked a lot of reds towards the questions,

:12:22. > :12:43.he hit them that hard. -- cautions. The red in the baulk area, was

:12:44. > :12:50.lucky. It is difficult to get a good addition of flat red. He is going to

:12:51. > :12:52.take it because he doesn't fancy the other one. This requires a good

:12:53. > :13:03.shot. Just played this stunt shot, to

:13:04. > :14:26.leave one in the centre. Once he gets rid of the red, it will

:14:27. > :14:33.open up the pocket for the other two reds. It is a good chance. That is

:14:34. > :14:37.the red he would like to play on, but I don't think he has the angle

:14:38. > :14:44.on the black to do that. I don't know whether he could screw back for

:14:45. > :14:50.the red, as John suggested. He does have other choices. He thought he

:14:51. > :14:56.had missed that. Only the pace took that in the pocket. As soon as he

:14:57. > :15:05.hit it, he thought, I have missed this. He thinks he got a kick. Not

:15:06. > :15:06.sure whether he did or not. Even with the kick it didn't look like it

:15:07. > :15:20.was going to go in. As John said, the red is blocking

:15:21. > :15:26.the path for the two reds to the right of it. This time he is

:15:27. > :15:31.straight on the black. He will have two screw back of the question.

:15:32. > :15:33.Digging right down into the bottom of the cue ball. Not bad. He has got

:15:34. > :16:08.the other one. Got a bit of an angle this time. It

:16:09. > :16:20.is the keyboard here for the next few reds, anyway. -- key ball.

:16:21. > :16:32.After all we have seen from Liang Wenbo, that was unexpected. The only

:16:33. > :16:43.consolation was that the black went safe. Just a little bit of an

:16:44. > :16:47.awkward frame with the way the reds have finished up. More or less the

:16:48. > :16:55.first four frames were won with one chance. He did well to make a 20

:16:56. > :17:36.break here. Played that nicely. Let's see if he can get to that 20

:17:37. > :17:43.break as John Parrott mentioned. He is on 12. He has brought more reds

:17:44. > :17:49.interplay which means he has got to take along blue. But when you pot

:17:50. > :18:02.like Judd Trump, it doesn't matter. He is going to better your 20. The

:18:03. > :18:28.blue will give him 23. This is going to be unlucky, I

:18:29. > :18:29.think. This is some shots, down the question with the extension on the

:18:30. > :18:52.cue. It was very, very difficult. He was

:18:53. > :18:56.a bit unlucky he didn't push the other red, it went between the

:18:57. > :19:03.yellow and brown. Look how close he was. Not easy, because of the way

:19:04. > :19:06.the red is behind the black spot area. It shows how tough these

:19:07. > :19:19.pockets are as well. He probably played that shot

:19:20. > :19:26.thinking, the red on the top cushion was an insurance policy. Normally

:19:27. > :19:37.that sort of shot is what you want when the black is on its spot.

:19:38. > :19:41.If it is touching, it is a little bit easier. Let's see how he goes

:19:42. > :20:13.about it. He needs an angle to have any chance

:20:14. > :20:18.of getting up towards that red. He has somehow, got to get near that

:20:19. > :20:25.circle to give himself any sort of chance. He will have two at this

:20:26. > :20:31.brown in, to get there. Couldn't get over the right side. It is much more

:20:32. > :20:37.difficult into the right corner. Because the ball was further away.

:20:38. > :20:45.That was about the best he could manage. He tried a planned along the

:20:46. > :20:52.question in frame three, I think it was. A difficult client. Let's see

:20:53. > :20:59.if he can knock it in as a normal shot.

:21:00. > :21:12.Are you kidding me! How has that gone in? What a shot that is. No

:21:13. > :21:18.wonder Rob Walker calls him a firecracker when he introduces him.

:21:19. > :21:23.It was a cracker of a pot. Looking at the scoreboard, if he goes typed

:21:24. > :21:28.in behind the blue, he has Judd in all sorts of trouble. He must be

:21:29. > :21:31.able to see the yellow, but it is a bit of a stretch. Yes, just about

:21:32. > :21:49.get to it. Played perfectly. Great shot. That

:21:50. > :21:57.is where being a left-hander is quite useful.

:21:58. > :22:06.But that red, was the shot of the championship. Tough enough to just

:22:07. > :22:13.roll it in, but to hit it at that pace? He shouldn't be hampered by

:22:14. > :22:28.the blue. It should have been easier than this. Great recovery. He is

:22:29. > :22:33.going to need the pink. Brown and blue will put him 13 ahead. The good

:22:34. > :22:41.news is, there is plenty of room behind the pink, to get in behind

:22:42. > :22:47.it. He has got, as you said, if he can get the white ball off the top

:22:48. > :22:54.cushion and land anywhere where we have the two white spots, he can get

:22:55. > :23:05.the pink in the middle. Let's see if he can drop in behind the pink.

:23:06. > :23:17.Might just be OK! Close to it, but he only needs pink. Little tricky

:23:18. > :23:23.these. When they are so close and it is slightly into a blind pocket, it

:23:24. > :23:25.is difficult to work the angle. You expect him to get it, but it isn't

:23:26. > :23:42.straightforward. It is there. No big breaks in this

:23:43. > :23:45.fifth frame, but it was just as entertaining. Liang Wenbo will be

:23:46. > :23:57.delighted, he is back in the lead at 3-2.

:23:58. > :24:00.STUDIO: Fantastic ending, but earlier on Liang Wenbo missed a

:24:01. > :24:04.black into the corner pocket. I thought he had moved his head before

:24:05. > :24:09.the shot. Did we see it in slow motion, the minute he hits the ball,

:24:10. > :24:13.he doesn't move his head, but he knows he has missed it and he starts

:24:14. > :24:18.to move his head. We train people not to have any head movements on

:24:19. > :24:22.the shot. The worst thing to do is when you are hitting the ball,

:24:23. > :24:29.moving your head like that. That can move the cue off-course. If you play

:24:30. > :24:34.the shot in a club atmosphere, the player hits the ball, keeps his head

:24:35. > :24:39.still for the moment he hits the ball, but as he sees where it is

:24:40. > :24:43.going, he starts to move his head, but he hits the ball, then starts to

:24:44. > :24:48.move his head, it is OK, but it can encourage you to move your head when

:24:49. > :24:53.you are playing the shot. The best way to train a young player to play

:24:54. > :24:55.at the best possible standard, is that they keep their head still from

:24:56. > :25:02.the moment they had the ball and until they move their head until the

:25:03. > :25:07.ball has hit the pocket or the question. Like Shaun Murphy, keep

:25:08. > :25:10.your head down all the time, wait till the ball has gone in the

:25:11. > :25:14.pocket, then you move. As long as you have no head movements on the

:25:15. > :25:20.shot, that is OK. Liang Wenbo, played some fantastic shots later.

:25:21. > :25:29.COMMENTATOR: Very interesting, that is the way to do it. Of course, we

:25:30. > :25:35.used to remember back in the 80s when Steve was struggling, he would

:25:36. > :25:37.stay down on the shot even after the ball was in the pocket. I thought he

:25:38. > :26:11.would stay there for five minutes. Fabulous clearance from Liang in the

:26:12. > :26:22.last frame. Got to show this again, championship pocket at that speed.

:26:23. > :26:28.Fabulous. Talking about keeping your head still, he kept everything

:26:29. > :26:30.still, his toes were still. But that was the best shot I have seen in

:26:31. > :26:52.this championship. Pushed one over the pocket, but he

:26:53. > :26:55.has covered that. Left a possible pot to the left corner and there is

:26:56. > :27:03.a possible path around the black. But it is a must pot for Liang

:27:04. > :27:09.Wenbo. Bits of treasure, if he takes it on. Don't think he can get back

:27:10. > :27:13.to the baulk area. Definitely got to knock it in. I cannot see an easy

:27:14. > :27:20.safety shot, so he might as well have a go. He's looking to see if he

:27:21. > :27:28.left the cue ball there, would the red cut into the pocket. I think the

:27:29. > :27:43.pot is what he prefers. So it is a must get pot.

:27:44. > :27:52.He is not on the pink, surely? He got the main part of the shot, he

:27:53. > :27:55.had no idea what would happen to the cue ball. If he has dropped on the

:27:56. > :29:16.pink, that is a results. What a shot that was. He had lost

:29:17. > :29:24.the cue ball, and to take that one on! Wow! Unbelievable. How thin was

:29:25. > :29:52.that? Does anybody play safe these days, Dennis?

:29:53. > :30:00.Want big shot away he was from having the perfect position. He came

:30:01. > :30:09.down on the black. That red hitting the jaw and a break. Blue being of

:30:10. > :30:15.its spot is a bit of a problem for Judd. If he can miss that red and

:30:16. > :30:17.get on the blue, it would be great. But you don't want it to finish

:30:18. > :30:30.there. Does the pink pot? He cannot see

:30:31. > :30:36.anything up the other end of the table. If it does, he may have to

:30:37. > :31:03.take this on. We could see a Judd Trump special here. It was not easy.

:31:04. > :31:13.He looks guaranteed to be on a colour, and where does he learn?

:31:14. > :31:33.Write on a red. He feels he can get this and get position.

:31:34. > :32:11.It is an awkward red to the right middle. I think the pink might just

:32:12. > :32:35.beyond. That is the first real mistake,

:32:36. > :32:38.bridging over the radio have a little bit of unwanted side. I felt

:32:39. > :32:58.that. I only tried that once and I did not

:32:59. > :33:29.like it, it hurt. Judd, you cannot afford to do that

:33:30. > :33:37.against an inform opponent. It he get a kick? It is hard to see from

:33:38. > :33:39.that picture. You would not expect him to miss an easy green like that,

:33:40. > :34:21.so maybe it was a heavy contact. I bit of nerves. Missing that red

:34:22. > :34:25.when he slapped the table has just upset his focus a little bit because

:34:26. > :34:35.he was not missing anything like that earlier in the match. He has

:34:36. > :35:04.just lost a little bit of focus. That was a funny short.

:35:05. > :35:13.If he plays down the table, he has got to get in behind. He has got to

:35:14. > :35:43.judge this correctly. Liang is having a good look at it.

:35:44. > :35:49.It is one of those were the red could finish up double-kissing the

:35:50. > :36:10.black and not go in. Well, we will find out shortly.

:36:11. > :36:23.I think Liang Wenbo feels that the black is too close to the pocket. It

:36:24. > :36:54.will be interesting to see whether Judd has a go at it.

:36:55. > :37:01.Everything is safe with the black close to the pocket. The only red

:37:02. > :37:06.that could go in is the one near the right-hand side cushion. It will be

:37:07. > :37:13.a little bit of cat and mouse to see who makes the first mistake. What

:37:14. > :37:15.you do not want to do is get the black in. You have got to be careful

:37:16. > :37:34.with your safety shots. It is amazing how the mid-session

:37:35. > :37:41.interval changes and match around and this is proving so. It is more

:37:42. > :37:42.of a tactical battle now. This frame could get even more interesting.

:37:43. > :38:05.That is quite a good shot. The path is not apparent straight

:38:06. > :38:18.down into the baulk area. This is tricky to play safe.

:38:19. > :38:33.There is not one jumping off the page at the minute. He is looking at

:38:34. > :38:39.the black again. The only one that could possibly go in-off the black

:38:40. > :38:51.is the one next to the cushion. But it could double K. Double-kiss. I

:38:52. > :39:08.think the odds of it going in could be three out of ten.

:39:09. > :39:16.That was a containing shot, but the advantage is with Judd Trump now.

:39:17. > :39:26.That was well thought out comic he got himself out of trouble which was

:39:27. > :39:30.the object of the exercise. I say advantage to Judd Trump, but it is

:39:31. > :39:36.not easy to get up towards the brown. It might be prudent to stick

:39:37. > :39:44.down by the corner pocket where he is now. You do not always have to go

:39:45. > :39:51.behind balls. Sometimes leaving the cue ball away from a colour, as long

:39:52. > :40:15.as it is in a place that is awkward, could do.

:40:16. > :40:25.That was a clever little shot. It is great to see back-to-back centuries,

:40:26. > :40:29.the first time it has ever been done in the first round. But this little

:40:30. > :41:04.battle here is just as exciting. It is interesting, the balls are

:41:05. > :41:11.gradually being knocked towards the back. The green is in the area where

:41:12. > :41:19.the player would like to use the side cushion. But they are having to

:41:20. > :41:20.play then all the time. That is in case they contact it on the way

:41:21. > :41:45.back. He keeps looking at that shot. Can I

:41:46. > :41:59.put the red in-off the black, he is thinking to himself. Should I risk

:42:00. > :42:05.it? He is back looking at it again. It looks as if he is lining up to

:42:06. > :42:07.have a go at it. The double-kiss on the black looks on. He would have to

:42:08. > :42:28.be so precise with this. And he wars. But look where he put

:42:29. > :42:31.the cue ball, John. That was a very clever shot and well played. It was

:42:32. > :42:54.very tight. He played that well, it was

:42:55. > :43:01.delicate. He has done marvellously, not only to pot that ball, but to

:43:02. > :43:10.get the snooker. Judd will do well to get out of this.

:43:11. > :43:23.REFEREE: Foul and a miss. Liang Wenbo four.

:43:24. > :43:42.This is a horrible shot for Judd to play. If he does not get a thin

:43:43. > :43:51.snicker on a red, and he can point, but he cannot touch. If the player

:43:52. > :44:13.touches the ball, they would call a foul straightaway.

:44:14. > :44:30.We have seen him do it before when he had two fouls.

:44:31. > :44:34.Liang Wenbo feels he may get a better chance if he puts Judd back

:44:35. > :44:57.in. These points are building up. Has he got an angle to get up for

:44:58. > :45:04.the pink? I am not sure. There is a little bit of a gap. If he screws

:45:05. > :45:12.this in, he might be able to get in between the reds. I do not know if

:45:13. > :45:34.he can run it around. He had a look at the green, but I

:45:35. > :46:06.don't think he can get over to the reds from that angle.

:46:07. > :46:14.That was a fabulous shot. I did not think he could get there. He knocked

:46:15. > :46:42.it in as if it was nothing. He has covered everything here. He

:46:43. > :46:49.is very fortunate. The paint is covering the left-hand corner. What

:46:50. > :46:54.a result he has had. You are not kidding. What a run of the balls

:46:55. > :46:57.that is. He missed it by a long way, he split the reds up, and to finish

:46:58. > :47:19.there is incredible. There is only one possible red that

:47:20. > :47:24.is pottable and it is far from easy. If he has got no safety shots on, he

:47:25. > :47:31.may be forced into taking that very difficult pot on. I honestly do not

:47:32. > :47:41.think there is a choice, he has got to take it.

:47:42. > :48:20.Absolutely brilliant. That was fabulous, it really was.

:48:21. > :48:27.Lots of noise from the other table as the play comes to an end and just

:48:28. > :48:31.at the wrong time for Judd Trump because he did not play that very

:48:32. > :48:45.well. He needs another cracking pots to continue here.

:48:46. > :48:56.The pink has come to his rescue. But he might be able to bend that around

:48:57. > :49:09.the pink. He can play this with a little bit of swerve.

:49:10. > :49:30.There we go. Played to perfection. It certainly was.

:49:31. > :49:44.He has played a couple of loose positional shots in this frame.

:49:45. > :50:02.Judd has just lost the cue ball in a couple of shots.

:50:03. > :50:12.Not as intended. Suddenly it has gone very quiet in the Crucible.

:50:13. > :50:17.There was a distraction that may be caused Judd to play a poor

:50:18. > :50:21.positional shot. But after this frame the curtain will be coming up

:50:22. > :50:28.and the players will have the arena to themselves.

:50:29. > :50:41.REFEREE: Foul and a miss. Judd Trump, four. I would definitely play

:50:42. > :50:44.the red on the side cushion to get it back into play. He is behind, he

:50:45. > :50:56.will need it. He is not going to. Particularly being left-handed on

:50:57. > :51:20.the right-hand side cushion. Liang Wenbo is a very attacking

:51:21. > :51:25.player and he is looking at the red to the right of the pink. I think he

:51:26. > :51:27.will appoint the cannon on the yellow. That is if he gets near to

:51:28. > :51:47.the pot. He would have finished perfectly on

:51:48. > :52:07.the black if he had not the red in. But it was far from easy.

:52:08. > :52:25.The one on the side cushion is awkward.

:52:26. > :52:40.I think he was thinking about possibly moving the red and potting

:52:41. > :52:44.a red, but he has had a look to see if he just supports the red and the

:52:45. > :52:52.pink tops in behind it and what it would be like.

:52:53. > :53:03.Now he has put a pressure pot on himself.

:53:04. > :53:24.This is far from easy. This is a tough shot and a half.

:53:25. > :53:36.That was a poor shot. At least get the yellow of the cushion. He has

:53:37. > :53:47.not done anything there. He has not snookered him. Nor has he got the

:53:48. > :53:51.yellow in play. If he hits this red full in the face, it will go close

:53:52. > :54:00.to going into the right middle pocket. If he hits it a little bit

:54:01. > :54:07.then it will go up the angles and go behind the green and brown. Maybe he

:54:08. > :54:22.is thinking he should try and cut this in.

:54:23. > :54:26.He is looking up the other end of the table which tells me he will be

:54:27. > :54:52.sending it around the angles. The cut in. I do not know what he

:54:53. > :54:57.was looking at the table for. In the end he gave it an awful lot of

:54:58. > :55:02.thought and he cut a very difficult red in. He might have tried to move

:55:03. > :55:12.the yellow as well, believe it or not. He is 17 ahead. It does not

:55:13. > :55:18.look like he is on a colour, but I am sure he will be trying to put one

:55:19. > :55:23.of them safe. It may be worthwhile just pushing the blue onto the

:55:24. > :55:30.cushion. I know it looks as if it is safe there, but he cannot get the

:55:31. > :55:35.black safe. Maybe just touch it and put it on the top cushion. There is

:55:36. > :55:58.certainly value in making a colour safe here.

:55:59. > :56:07.That is what he has tried to do, but he has not put the pink safe. It was

:56:08. > :56:09.a bit thicker than intended. There was no value in taking the extra six

:56:10. > :56:44.points. Maybe he hit it twice or just caught

:56:45. > :57:04.the yellow. That was a terrible shot, but it

:57:05. > :57:09.might work in his favour. If he gets a clearance, blue to paint will be

:57:10. > :57:44.ten times better. I wonder whether that will come to fruition.

:57:45. > :57:54.It has been a very intense frame. But it is the tactical ones that you

:57:55. > :58:19.want to win when you are using a bit of energy in the mental department.

:58:20. > :58:27.He has hit back a bit too hard. He has left it on. The only consolation

:58:28. > :58:35.is the green does not go past the black. He cannot get on the green

:58:36. > :59:14.from there. It was a cracking pot. Maybe a

:59:15. > :59:26.chance to get the snooker behind the black. But he has missed hit that

:59:27. > :59:28.altogether. It is OK, but you could hear a bit of a groan from Liang

:59:29. > :59:50.Wenbo. That would be handy if it had moved

:59:51. > :59:57.the blue out. Put the blue back into play and leave the green on the top

:59:58. > :00:06.cushion, but it is not to be. The longest frame of the match by far.

:00:07. > :00:11.It is 35 minutes and counting. Liang Wenbo need the green and the brown.

:00:12. > :00:30.Judd Trump needs all the colours. Just gone past the middle. Not

:00:31. > :01:03.covetable. -- covetable. Adventurous, to say the least. It

:01:04. > :01:10.should cost him the frame. He thought he could cut the green in. I

:01:11. > :01:22.didn't think it was possible. He feathered the green. Anyway, green

:01:23. > :01:24.and brown needed, as I said. Little bit of side on this, just to throw

:01:25. > :02:04.it wide. Is in pretty good shape here.

:02:05. > :02:12.Barring a snooker, and it is not going to be easy, Liang is two in

:02:13. > :02:20.front again. Sending the blue up towards the black. It is a snooker,

:02:21. > :02:55.but it is very easy to escape. Just one snooker needed.

:02:56. > :03:03.Difficult to get snooker is here. Waiting patiently on the other side

:03:04. > :03:09.of the auditorium, other people watching the other game, watching TV

:03:10. > :03:23.screens so they can keep up with how it is going.

:03:24. > :03:40.Doesn't matter about the pink, Judd will concede. Liang Wenbo has one

:03:41. > :03:46.two more. He is back in the lead at 4-2.

:03:47. > :03:55.STUDIO: I have seldom heard so many shouts of what a shot, coming from

:03:56. > :03:58.studio pundits. He has potted some absolute screamers. Interesting

:03:59. > :04:06.match. Started off in fantastic fashion. Got very tactical, but some

:04:07. > :04:12.of the balls Liang has knocked in. Judd not in a fantastic red from the

:04:13. > :04:16.black spot down to the baulk end, but some of the shots Liang has

:04:17. > :04:21.knocked in have been phenomenal. Even though it had to be a tactical

:04:22. > :04:27.frame because of the way the balls dictate, the level of opportunism is

:04:28. > :04:30.amazing. They are very aggressive. Any half chance is being considered,

:04:31. > :04:37.even less than a half chance. Sometimes you think, he don't go for

:04:38. > :04:40.that, but that is the modern game. You are in a situation now, where

:04:41. > :04:45.playing defensively doesn't cut the mustard any more. There was a time

:04:46. > :04:49.you could, you could put somebody in knots and they would mess up the

:04:50. > :04:53.safety. But the only way to get in now is to be the aggressor. The

:04:54. > :05:00.levels of aggressiveness have got to be ramped up. If you don't go for

:05:01. > :05:04.it, the other guy will. A lot of the shots were fantastic opportunism.

:05:05. > :05:09.You know if you missed, you could be selling the game and that is what

:05:10. > :05:14.you have got to live by. Sometimes we were thinking commonly is not

:05:15. > :05:18.going to take that on! But as you say, it was so aggressive and they

:05:19. > :05:21.know each other's game so well and they note that if one doesn't go for

:05:22. > :05:28.it, the other man will. The red Liang knocked into past the black,

:05:29. > :05:33.we thought there is no way the red is going to go past the black, you

:05:34. > :05:40.will get a double-kiss and leave the red over the pocket. He couldn't

:05:41. > :05:44.have hit that any better. Most people would have played the safety

:05:45. > :05:49.option, send it around and play the defensive shot. The trouble with the

:05:50. > :05:55.defensive shot, you never know how it will go. If you get a ball in the

:05:56. > :05:59.pocket and be in control of the table, that is the modern game. I

:06:00. > :06:03.don't think anybody could have foreseen how attacking snooker was

:06:04. > :06:09.ever going to get. It was always considered, and one of the reasons

:06:10. > :06:15.it was popular, it was a game of chess with balls. Now it is a couple

:06:16. > :06:20.of swords on the table and they are trying to hack each other to pieces.

:06:21. > :06:25.We will be back to that shortly, but we want to show you what has gone on

:06:26. > :06:31.on the other side. Barry Hawkins up against and design. 9-5. He is

:06:32. > :07:31.sprinting towards the line now. Has got a nice angle on the black.

:07:32. > :08:44.Can go for the red over the right centre.

:08:45. > :08:54.Straight -ish on the black. I thought the end red might possible

:08:55. > :08:59.into this pocket, but I don't think it is. This is the only loose red.

:09:00. > :09:04.Imperative now he gets a good angle on the black to go into the cluster.

:09:05. > :09:09.Or play for the end red into the middle. You have got to be looking

:09:10. > :09:17.for an angle here to try to bring other reds into play.

:09:18. > :09:26.He has got to be careful he just doesn't hit the red. If he hits the

:09:27. > :09:30.one direct the above the black to the left, he will not split the

:09:31. > :09:40.pack. He has got to hit it half ball. He has hit it nicely. Very

:09:41. > :09:48.nicely indeed. Yes, that will do. He will be happy with the way they have

:09:49. > :09:53.split. Caught the red perfect. The loose red, which then opened up the

:09:54. > :09:57.others. One good positional shot now, and it is looking like a

:09:58. > :10:05.straightforward run to the winning line.

:10:06. > :10:15.It bounced off the question a little bit quicker than he thought. -- of

:10:16. > :10:22.the cushion. So the black, a little bit thinner. Zhang, will be

:10:23. > :10:26.wondering if he will get back to the table. Or has he played his last

:10:27. > :10:43.shot? It will depend on this black. He has knocked it in and he has a

:10:44. > :10:48.nice little cannon, so he can play a red to the left middle here. I think

:10:49. > :10:55.I would rather play to the one to the left middle than be stretching

:10:56. > :11:01.over. He can just stun it in and play for the pink in the same

:11:02. > :11:09.pocket. Or he can go for the blue, if he wishes. That is as good as

:11:10. > :11:17.angle as it looks from our commentary position. Doesn't look

:11:18. > :11:20.like a bad angle on the red he is closest to. Deciding to play this

:11:21. > :11:26.with a spider. Just a few more pots away now to the

:11:27. > :12:21.winning line. The highest break in this match has

:12:22. > :12:29.only been 66, I think. Not what you would expect from Barry Hawkins in

:12:30. > :12:33.the best of nine frames. I didn't see the first session, but you hit

:12:34. > :12:38.the nail on the head when you said he has been feeding off his

:12:39. > :12:50.opponent's mistakes. He is very good at that, is Barry. This black now,

:12:51. > :12:59.to go 70 points in front. 75 remaining. Only one red required.

:13:00. > :13:15.For a place in the semifinal. And then it is good night from him.

:13:16. > :13:27.Right in the heart of the pocket. So Barry Hawkins, will be through to

:13:28. > :13:37.the second round. Where he will meet Ronnie O'Sullivan. Lost to him in

:13:38. > :13:41.the final of the Masters in January. Lost to him in the final of this

:13:42. > :13:59.great championship a couple of years ago.

:14:00. > :14:09.Always seems to have had the upper hand in this match, Barry. He went

:14:10. > :14:15.3-1 and then Zhang pulled it back to 3-3. He went away again, Barry. He

:14:16. > :14:21.will be happy he had a comfortable victory. Absolutely, it has been a

:14:22. > :14:29.good test for him. This black in the last frame unnerved him a little

:14:30. > :14:39.bit. But he is obliged in this frame, making the highest break of

:14:40. > :14:43.the match. Hasn't been at his sharpest. We'll have to sharpen up

:14:44. > :14:49.if he wants to be Ronnie O'Sullivan. But I am sure it is a match he will

:14:50. > :14:55.certainly look forward to. The best of 25 in the second round. Just

:14:56. > :15:02.looking at this, if he gets blacks with the last two reds, it will be a

:15:03. > :15:12.century. It has, well played. But there is a possibility of a 144

:15:13. > :15:16.break here, which would take the lead. Michael Holt at the moment

:15:17. > :15:25.holds the highest break with a wonderful total clearance of 140.

:15:26. > :15:34.There is 144 on here. Now he has played for the pink, possible 143.

:15:35. > :15:38.Got a nice angle on the pink, just to nudge this red from the site

:15:39. > :15:44.ocean and leave it over the middle pocket. You will always need to

:15:45. > :15:47.catch them going before the question. Does it past the green? --

:15:48. > :16:03.the cushion. It just passes the green. Great pot.

:16:04. > :16:07.If he pots the blue, there is a possible 141 on, which would better

:16:08. > :16:22.Michael Holt's 140. So, the six colours to be the front

:16:23. > :16:28.runner and the highest break of the tournament so far.

:16:29. > :16:40.That flew off there. It was a big bounce. Couldn't believe how quickly

:16:41. > :16:58.that came off. Tremendous recovery. Still on track

:16:59. > :17:10.for the highest break of the tournament. Just needs an nice angle

:17:11. > :17:15.on the blue. This time it didn't bounce, maybe he was expecting it to

:17:16. > :17:24.bounce! Blue, pink and black. Needed.

:17:25. > :17:47.This, to beat Michael Holt's hide break by one point. This four 141.

:17:48. > :17:51.Well played Barry Hawkins! What a way to finish. OK, it is a

:17:52. > :17:57.comfortable result, but he will take away a good memory. He now has the

:17:58. > :18:04.highest break in the tournament so far, and he has a Crucible pedigree.

:18:05. > :18:08.Zhang has had his chances but Barry Hawkins is the comfortable winner in

:18:09. > :18:13.the end. Not many seeds have done that. He wins 10-5 and now looks

:18:14. > :18:19.forward to the challenge of Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round.

:18:20. > :18:24.Barry, what a great way to get over the line, 141, brilliant finish? I

:18:25. > :18:29.had to stop playing well sooner or later during that much, because it

:18:30. > :18:34.was a struggle from the start. Today was a bit to today and I felt more

:18:35. > :18:38.focus today, which was nice. Yesterday I struggled, to be honest.

:18:39. > :18:42.Why did you find yesterday so difficult, just one of those matches

:18:43. > :18:50.were neither player allows the other to get into any kind of rhythm? I

:18:51. > :18:54.don't know what it is. Queueing was bad, I couldn't get any focus at

:18:55. > :18:59.all. Out there I should be able to concentrate. I don't know why it is,

:19:00. > :19:03.but sometimes other players have it as well. But today was much better.

:19:04. > :19:07.You have a fantastic record here at the Crucible. The final three years

:19:08. > :19:12.ago, the last two semifinals, you are the only player on the circuit a

:19:13. > :19:15.moment to make the one-table set-up in each of the last three years.

:19:16. > :19:17.Perhaps you do on that positive experience to come through, even

:19:18. > :19:22.though you felt you weren't playing up to scratch? I have good memories

:19:23. > :19:27.from the last few years. I always try to stay calm, that is the

:19:28. > :19:33.hardest bit when things aren't going well. I try to stay calm and I kept

:19:34. > :19:37.playing the balls in front of me and hopefully I was hoping something

:19:38. > :19:43.would click in a minute. Didn't really click today, but better than

:19:44. > :19:48.yesterday. I had to dig deep. It is incredible you are now facing Ronnie

:19:49. > :19:52.again, so it will be three years out of four at the Crucible you have

:19:53. > :19:58.faced Ronnie O'Sullivan? Let's hope there isn't a session to spare. I

:19:59. > :20:03.will have to play 100 times better. Cannot get much tougher than that.

:20:04. > :20:09.It is always a great occasion. Well done, you are over the line, we will

:20:10. > :20:15.see you in the second round. STUDIO: Confirmation of the high

:20:16. > :20:20.break so far. A fantastic break. That is Barry's highest ever at the

:20:21. > :20:27.Crucible and it is his 24th Crucible century. He sprinted over the line.

:20:28. > :20:32.Three out of four years, he has Ronnie O'Sullivan again. What could

:20:33. > :20:37.change this time, if anything? Barry has got the class to win he is one

:20:38. > :20:43.of the best match players on the circus. -- circuit. He times the

:20:44. > :20:47.ball well, and when he is playing well, there aren't many other

:20:48. > :20:53.players to watch for stroking the ball. He is a top-class match player

:20:54. > :20:57.and he will be relishing the match against Ronnie O'Sullivan. It is an

:20:58. > :21:02.amazing record, Steve because it took him six years to win a match

:21:03. > :21:06.here and he is with the best record in terms of consistency the last

:21:07. > :21:10.three years? It is fascinating to listen to his views after the match.

:21:11. > :21:15.The other players, they are their hardest critics in many respects. I

:21:16. > :21:18.never used to bother about what standard I produced in the first

:21:19. > :21:23.round, I just thought it was an exercise in getting through to get

:21:24. > :21:28.your teeth into the tournament. Even if you struggled over the line, you

:21:29. > :21:32.are relieved to get over the line. Players are not only looking to win

:21:33. > :21:36.now, but looking to win pretty. It is a different day in the second

:21:37. > :21:41.round and a different mindset against Ronnie O'Sullivan. He will

:21:42. > :21:44.be in a different frame of mind. He would have been the favourite

:21:45. > :21:52.against Zhang, and that would have been playing on his mind. That win

:21:53. > :22:02.from Barry Hawkins means Zhang stays at 65 in the provisional rankings.

:22:03. > :22:09.Let's get back to the other match and it is Liang Wenbo 4-2 up. We

:22:10. > :22:13.will rejoin them in frame seven. Let's find out from John and Dennis

:22:14. > :22:19.what we have missed. COMMENTATOR: it has been a bizarre

:22:20. > :22:29.frame. Judd Trump is in the balls now.

:22:30. > :22:35.He's just having a quick glance at the scoreboard. The reds or all

:22:36. > :23:11.nicely placed here. Very important juncture in this

:23:12. > :23:27.match. Important for Judd to get scoring again.

:23:28. > :23:33.He's going to win the frame with this visit. But a couple of bizarre

:23:34. > :23:39.things have happened and we will show them to you at the end of this

:23:40. > :23:49.frame. Which is virtually over now. It will be delighted Judd Trump.

:23:50. > :23:54.Liang just looked a little bit anxious in the earlier part of this

:23:55. > :24:01.frame. I think he was thinking about getting one more frame to lead

:24:02. > :24:05.overnight. He can still do that, it doesn't matter about the position

:24:06. > :24:14.here, it is frame over. Just trying a trick shot of the side cushion and

:24:15. > :24:20.hoping to float the green. He will be very pleased. Liang stays in his

:24:21. > :24:30.seat and Judd Trump takes the frame, a frame he badly wanted. He is one

:24:31. > :24:36.behind. It is 4-3 to Liang Wenbo. Judd was in an Liang missed a shot.

:24:37. > :24:40.He is thinking to himself, I will try and pot this and scatter the

:24:41. > :24:47.Reds and I should be on a colour. He hits it too thin, misses the reds,

:24:48. > :24:50.hit the blue and look where the white finished up. Unlucky, but he

:24:51. > :24:55.should have hit the reds. But the other one, this is what happened. He

:24:56. > :25:03.has a long one through, nowhere near the pocket, cannons into the other

:25:04. > :25:07.ball and then flukes are read into the other pocket. Then makes a

:25:08. > :25:10.frame-winning break. He has won piece of fortune that was very bad

:25:11. > :25:17.and then an incredible fluke. You cannot beat a bit of luck in any

:25:18. > :25:21.sport and that was an unbelievable fluke that won him the frame. That's

:25:22. > :25:25.how it goes, sometimes you get the bad luck. It is amazing how this

:25:26. > :25:29.match has turned around from the mid-session interval. All the frames

:25:30. > :25:35.was sworn from one visit and the balls have gone awkward. When they

:25:36. > :25:41.match up and played decent safety, the balls do go awkward. If one

:25:42. > :25:45.player is poor, it doesn't happen, but if both are playing tactical

:25:46. > :26:08.stuff, the balls can go in tricky positions.

:26:09. > :26:19.Liang Wenbo, 89%. Wasn't much safety play in the four opening frames, all

:26:20. > :26:23.one with one visit, virtually. It is entertaining sometimes to watch the

:26:24. > :26:55.tactical battles. We have had a bit of everything in this match.

:26:56. > :27:01.Still tricky shots these, to get absolutely tight behind the brown.

:27:02. > :27:13.The one thing you don't want to do is leave it to open. No surprise he

:27:14. > :27:19.left a gap. I think he is OK if he goes into the right side of the

:27:20. > :27:23.pack. That red away from the bunch, wouldn't be on. He's looking at the

:27:24. > :27:30.other side but there is a red sticking out there also. I think it

:27:31. > :27:33.is much easier to come down the right side. That is what I would be

:27:34. > :27:39.playing. Closer to the pink. Maybe the red

:27:40. > :28:09.pots, now that he has hit the pink. Wasn't that useful? He could just

:28:10. > :28:16.get his due between the pink and red. I think he came down the wrong

:28:17. > :28:28.side of the table. I would have been tempted to go the other way. Two

:28:29. > :28:33.bottom reds are possible and the one to the left of the pink. A big

:28:34. > :28:48.target. Well, it should have been. Snookered himself on the one to the

:28:49. > :28:53.left of the pink and now he has got to use the rest with a thin clip.

:28:54. > :29:17.Much more difficult. Not the first time it has happened

:29:18. > :29:18.today. Made a poor shot, Liang. Full-ball snooker for Judd to come

:29:19. > :29:33.up to. Well played. At times it has been a study and

:29:34. > :30:18.patience for Judd Trump, here. Awkward session.

:30:19. > :30:27.Early on in this match Liang Wenbo knocked some fantastic long pots in.

:30:28. > :30:33.As I say, there has been a lot of tactical and safety play because of

:30:34. > :30:43.the way the frames have gone. Let's see if he has got at least one of

:30:44. > :30:49.his potting boots back on. It is pretty even on the long pot success

:30:50. > :31:14.rate. There you go, right in the centre of the pocket again.

:31:15. > :31:17.He had a slight angle to get a little bit closer to the red, which

:31:18. > :31:40.was better. There was a slight bit of movement

:31:41. > :31:50.on that shot. Let's have a look again at his head. Putting the red

:31:51. > :31:51.in-off the left jaw and he is coming to take the pink instead of the

:31:52. > :32:10.black. That might be the end of break. I am

:32:11. > :32:17.not sure if the other red cuts back in, but it will be a very thin one.

:32:18. > :32:25.Maybe it was the previous shot that caused all the problems. He was

:32:26. > :32:44.quite anxious on that shot. As long as it keeps coming past the

:32:45. > :32:53.line he has got a chance to pot the brown. When he played that shot the

:32:54. > :33:05.brown was just slightly off its spot.

:33:06. > :33:15.He has covered it again. That was an interesting choice of short because

:33:16. > :33:29.he had the angle to go into the pack off the brown.

:33:30. > :34:41.That is good. There is an easy safety shot back down the table, but

:34:42. > :34:47.he has covered that one to the left. He is having a look to see if there

:34:48. > :35:05.are any plants on. Nothing available, so just the safety shot.

:35:06. > :35:13.I am wondering if he has got a good enough angle to roll the red in and

:35:14. > :35:18.play for the black. Knowing Jud, he would go for it. There is a slight

:35:19. > :35:20.angle. If he runs through, he could finish on the black. But he has

:35:21. > :35:33.looked at and alternative. That was not far away. I think it is

:35:34. > :36:17.safe. That is far too thin, it is going to

:36:18. > :36:41.come way up to the baulk line. You feel as if Liang is just in the

:36:42. > :36:46.ascendancy here, not just because of the scoreline. He seems to be

:36:47. > :36:57.playing a little bit better. He is the one getting the chances.

:36:58. > :37:04.If he gets to five in this frame, he will have an overnight lead, and he

:37:05. > :37:10.will have another bite of the cherry because he has got one more frame

:37:11. > :37:41.left to play. 6-3 would be a monster lead.

:37:42. > :37:45.This match will be played to conclusion tomorrow afternoon. No

:37:46. > :38:01.morning session. Well, these are absolutely lovely.

:38:02. > :38:09.He has to do what he does in the club every day. If he was playing

:38:10. > :38:11.there, they would all be gone. It is back to normal again because the

:38:12. > :38:24.four opening frames were on visit. After the mid-session interval we

:38:25. > :38:27.had a lot of tactical play simply because of the way the balls went.

:38:28. > :38:41.But normal service resumes. He is way ahead in the safety

:38:42. > :38:52.success department, but he would rather be doing this.

:38:53. > :39:00.That is virtually the end of this frame.

:39:01. > :39:09.There are a few more to come besides this black. The players are enjoying

:39:10. > :39:26.the quietness of the Crucible with the match over on the other table.

:39:27. > :39:35.It is lovely to watch the little is done and screw shots, John. Yes, the

:39:36. > :39:40.economy of the cue ball, it has not moved anywhere in this break. He is

:39:41. > :39:48.relaxed now because he knows he is over the line with this frame. He

:39:49. > :39:52.will go close to clearing most of these up. He has got that lovely

:39:53. > :40:00.little swagger around the table again. He looked a little nervy in

:40:01. > :40:07.the first couple of contributions, but he knows he will be at least 5-3

:40:08. > :40:09.ahead. The last frame coming up is a massive one. You do not want to be

:40:10. > :40:33.down 6-3 overnight. He has been knocking centuries in

:40:34. > :40:45.for fun this season. He has made 28. He only made 18 last season. I say

:40:46. > :40:49.only 18, it is still very good. We have had 30 centuries, including

:40:50. > :40:54.that magnificent high break from Barry Hawkins, 141, which superseded

:40:55. > :41:14.Michael Holt's 140. Just the tricky green to give him a

:41:15. > :41:22.chance of going on to make a century. You thought Judd Trump

:41:23. > :41:30.would have a massive say in this year's championship and winning it.

:41:31. > :41:38.But there is one proviso, a serious banana skin in the first round,

:41:39. > :41:44.Liang Wenbo. Judd Trump is the second favourite for the tournament,

:41:45. > :41:49.but he is in trouble. HAZEL: And just how dangerous do you think

:41:50. > :41:55.Liang Wenbo looks at this point? It is not how dangerous, it is whether

:41:56. > :41:59.he has jumped up a level with that fantastic performance in the UK

:42:00. > :42:02.championship. The interesting thing we do not know if they practised

:42:03. > :42:07.together, who gets the better of each other in practice? It is a good

:42:08. > :42:12.point you make about the UK championship final because part of

:42:13. > :42:16.the floor in Liang Wenbo's game was his temperament. He seemed to lose

:42:17. > :42:21.his cool at times and he struggled to get it back. We have seen him hit

:42:22. > :42:27.the table in this match. Is that something he has worked on? I am

:42:28. > :42:31.sure he has done. For me the big difference between the UK

:42:32. > :42:35.championship and here is that Liang Wenbo is keeping much more still.

:42:36. > :42:46.That is something he has been conscious of.

:42:47. > :42:50.He is putting Judd Trump under a tremendous amount of pressure and

:42:51. > :42:53.Judd has got one or two safety shot a bit too thin. We saw one in the

:42:54. > :42:56.last frame. Liang's long game is so good. Judd is under a lot of

:42:57. > :43:02.pressure. Especially in the final frame of the session. There is a

:43:03. > :43:09.best of 25 waiting for the winner. You look at the best of 19 and think

:43:10. > :43:12.it is a short distance. Therefore all the players in the tournament

:43:13. > :43:18.want to get this first round out of the way and get their teeth into the

:43:19. > :43:22.best of 25. How would you have prepared, knowing you would be

:43:23. > :43:27.playing your practice partner? Would you have continued to play against

:43:28. > :43:33.him in practice? I would not have talked to him, I would not have gone

:43:34. > :43:36.anywhere near the person. I would not have played against a top player

:43:37. > :43:41.ever in practice. No disrespect to some of the players I played against

:43:42. > :43:49.if they are listening. I played with Mark King when he was younger. Is

:43:50. > :43:53.that why your safety is so good? I don't know, but I would not put

:43:54. > :43:57.myself in the situation where I would be playing against a friend or

:43:58. > :44:01.a practice partner. That is what John Parrott was talking about. But

:44:02. > :44:06.these days they play so many matches, that is not such an issue.

:44:07. > :44:13.How did you arrange these things when you were in Europe? I prefer to

:44:14. > :44:17.practice against top players. When I am on my own I am just hitting the

:44:18. > :44:23.ball. I liked to practice with the best players I possibly could. I

:44:24. > :44:27.played the best of 19 everyday against James Wattana when he was a

:44:28. > :44:32.top player and that got me spot on for the Crucible. It work for you

:44:33. > :44:37.and I wonder if it is going to work for Liang Wenbo. This is a very key

:44:38. > :44:47.frame in the context of this best of 19 match.

:44:48. > :44:56.There is a half chance for Judd into the right-hand corner.

:44:57. > :45:00.APPLAUSE If you can pot them like that, you

:45:01. > :45:03.deserve a little bit of good fortune.

:45:04. > :45:16.He did not hold back on that one, did he? He knows he needs this

:45:17. > :45:18.frame. I am glad to see he landed on that red because he was playing to

:45:19. > :45:29.split the pack. Already at the start of this break

:45:30. > :45:35.he means business, you can see it. He knows how important winning this

:45:36. > :45:40.frame is. It has been a tough session for him. Liang Wenbo has had

:45:41. > :45:46.the best of the safety play. He has had more chances than he has had. He

:45:47. > :45:55.has played well and has also had a good rub of the green as well, Liang

:45:56. > :45:59.Wenbo. He certainly played a lot better than the 100-1 shot they made

:46:00. > :46:22.him earlier. That was too straight. He has to try

:46:23. > :46:23.and power this in with lots of side to come off the side cushion and

:46:24. > :46:41.into the reds. He has got one to the left middle

:46:42. > :46:46.pocket which could get him nicely back onto the black. These boys make

:46:47. > :47:19.these shots look easy, but this is difficult. Absolutely superb.

:47:20. > :47:28.The pink has flicked the blue away. How unlucky was that? He has bounced

:47:29. > :47:34.the white through the reds, it used to be a foul. But as long as you do

:47:35. > :47:49.not jump and intervening ball, it is fine. That was very unfortunate.

:47:50. > :47:58.He would love to take a colour on, but look where the white is. He had

:47:59. > :48:05.a look at the brown and I thought, even you cannot take that on, it is

:48:06. > :48:09.a stinker. He is trying to find some sort of pop, but sometimes you have

:48:10. > :48:14.to forget about it. Put a good safety in, you have got a 32 point

:48:15. > :48:19.advantage. Now he is looking at that. Do not take any really risky

:48:20. > :48:30.shots. Liang Wenbo is sitting there

:48:31. > :48:54.thinking, have a go at the brown. It is not often that Judd Trump

:48:55. > :48:55.takes this long over his shots. He has decided to go for the safety. A

:48:56. > :49:07.good choice. Yes, well done. He was desperate to

:49:08. > :49:41.win the frame in one visit. Oh, not again. Not this time. He

:49:42. > :49:49.holds his hand up, but there is an ED safety shot on for Judd. For one

:49:50. > :50:06.moment I thought he was going to be tucked in right behind the brown.

:50:07. > :50:13.Just talking in the studio about practice partners, Hazel and the

:50:14. > :50:16.boys. Stephen Hendry used to practice with John Higgins. John

:50:17. > :50:24.Higgins got to be world number one in six seasons. And world champion.

:50:25. > :50:28.A lot of that was down to practising with Stephen Hendry. Then Stephen

:50:29. > :50:32.Maguire came along to Spencer's club and used to practice with Stephen

:50:33. > :50:35.Hendry and that did not half ring Stephen Maguire on. There are two

:50:36. > :51:00.ways of looking at it I suppose. His long game has been very good

:51:01. > :51:05.today, very good. He might need the extension, but he can pot the green

:51:06. > :51:10.and get right up amongst the reds. He is quite a tall lad. But he needs

:51:11. > :51:17.the extended rest and the extension He is quite a tall lad. But he needs

:51:18. > :51:21.on his cue. This is so useful. Why didn't somebody think about at all

:51:22. > :51:23.those years ago instead of having to get the old timber out from the side

:51:24. > :51:44.of the table. He will still have a choice. It did

:51:45. > :51:54.not matter where he was going to finish because he still has a pot

:51:55. > :51:55.on. If he lands on the red close to the cue ball, the break is really

:51:56. > :52:16.the cue ball, the break is really easy.

:52:17. > :52:24.It will be interesting to see if he holds himself together through this

:52:25. > :52:31.break. He has got plenty of power but the brown is in the way and

:52:32. > :52:38.where is the white going to finish? It is blocking the path for one red.

:52:39. > :52:52.Is there a gap? What do you think? I bet there is the way he looked.

:52:53. > :53:08.He got a little anxious on that, he knew the importance of it.

:53:09. > :53:23.That was a big shot in the context of this match and he knew it.

:53:24. > :53:42.But once again he has not left it too easy. My goodness me, what a pot

:53:43. > :54:00.that was. Wow! A bit of good fortune to finish on the black.

:54:01. > :54:13.To knock it in at that pace. It did wobble a few times.

:54:14. > :54:19.As John has said, this is such an important frame and that shows you

:54:20. > :54:29.what the tension can do even to a top player in the game. Amazing. He

:54:30. > :54:41.has missed two easy blacks off the spot.

:54:42. > :54:42.There is a lot for Liang Wenbo to do, especially with the yellow safe.