Wednesday, Quarter-finals, Afternoon

:00:34. > :00:41.Good afternoon. The ranks of the Chinese and Hong Kong media will

:00:42. > :00:49.swell here in Sheffield over the next hours because Ding Junhui and

:00:50. > :00:53.Marco Fu still in the mix in this year's Chinese gashed Championship.

:00:54. > :00:58.China is passionate about the sport and it has a vested interest in the

:00:59. > :01:04.one-table set-up at the Crucible for the first time in five years because

:01:05. > :01:08.Ding Junhui is back for the first time since 2011. In fact, he became

:01:09. > :01:12.the first man to go through to the semifinals in Sheffield this year

:01:13. > :01:49.and he did it with a session to spare!

:01:50. > :01:57.He has played the cannon and he has played beautifully! Ding Junhui is

:01:58. > :02:05.one frame away from a place in the semifinal. Nothing better than

:02:06. > :02:10.dumping the red in the corner. We may have a new favourite for the

:02:11. > :02:15.tournament, he's into the semifinal. 13-3.

:02:16. > :02:22.I just take every chance I could make. Breaks. This time, it is

:02:23. > :02:31.different. I think I got more confidence. I play well.

:02:32. > :02:36.What a shot that was when he has got Barry Hawkins in all sorts of

:02:37. > :02:40.trouble, as Marco Fu takes a 6-1 trouble, as Marco Fu takes a 6-

:02:41. > :02:47.lead. It is a beauty, it really is! And

:02:48. > :02:53.what a start from Marco Fu. I bet he cannot believe it, 7-1.

:02:54. > :02:58.Technically, I'm definitely a lot better now than I was ten years ago.

:02:59. > :03:03.But when you are playing well, it does not mean it you will win. You

:03:04. > :03:07.need a bit of luck, a bit of inspiration, especially playing in

:03:08. > :03:12.the Crucible. So every chance of a nation player

:03:13. > :03:15.in the final stages and possibly one step further, first Asian world

:03:16. > :03:23.champion, what will that mean over there? It will be massive list

:03:24. > :03:26.bought. We have talked about Junhui as a champion for years and there

:03:27. > :03:30.has been huge expectation. The pressure is taken from him a bit

:03:31. > :03:36.because he has been a qualifier and not expected to win. It looks like

:03:37. > :03:41.the pressure is on, he's scoring freely and happy around the tables

:03:42. > :03:45.and if Ding wins, for mainland China, it is huge. If Marco Fu wins

:03:46. > :03:50.it, it is still an Asian player from Hong Kong and massive news. Snooker

:03:51. > :03:55.is not the only game in China. I have been involved with Chinese

:03:56. > :04:01.eight ball pool and been an Ambassador for five years, from

:04:02. > :04:07.Beijing North. Apart from in Beijing itself, EC not many Snooker centres.

:04:08. > :04:12.It was looked upon like a misspent youth like Snoopy is to be but is a

:04:13. > :04:16.mainstream sport. A power struggle if they get the first Chinese world

:04:17. > :04:22.champion, that is good for snooker. That is still seen as the ultimate

:04:23. > :04:30.in sports. Eight ball is a sport in China, not worldwide. If Ding wins,

:04:31. > :04:36.he can become world champion, it is a massive thing in China. Fortunes

:04:37. > :04:42.he will learn, apart from the adulation, will be incredible.

:04:43. > :04:45.Today, Marco Fu aims to join Ding Junhui in the semifinals. And the

:04:46. > :04:50.possibility of an all Asian Crucible final is still very much a

:04:51. > :04:55.possibility. But another five men have their eyes on the title. And by

:04:56. > :05:04.the end of the day, the second day of the quarterfinals, we will note

:05:05. > :05:08.the last four standing here. Mark Selby knows he will hang on to

:05:09. > :05:12.the world number one spot if he regains the title. He needs three

:05:13. > :05:17.more frames today against Kyren Wilson. John Higgins eyeing up a

:05:18. > :05:22.fifth world crown and a first in five years but he has to shake off

:05:23. > :05:30.fellow veteran and friend lane macro today. Barry Hawkins only had a 14

:05:31. > :05:36.hour turnaround -- Alan McManus. He was playing Marco Fu. How crafty

:05:37. > :05:41.will can be in pot quiz? The player who had a great run is

:05:42. > :05:46.still in form, he's walking around the table and has played three shots

:05:47. > :05:48.around the table, quality. Facing the quizmaster sea bream.

:05:49. > :05:54.Facing the quizmaster sea bream Will you get full marks or end up in

:05:55. > :06:00.the minuses in the day's quiz? And 100 days until the Rio games,

:06:01. > :06:05.how long might it take for Snooker to become part of the Olympic and

:06:06. > :06:08.Paralympic family? Two years ago, world number one Mark

:06:09. > :06:12.Selby paraded the World Snooker Championship trophy at the King

:06:13. > :06:17.Power Stadium in Leicester and now he has his eyes on eight double

:06:18. > :06:21.trophy parade in his hometown because he's a lifelong Leicester

:06:22. > :06:25.City fan. His team is within touching distance of the Premier

:06:26. > :06:29.league title and he's inching ever closer to silverware once again in

:06:30. > :06:33.Sheffield. These are heady times indeed for city fans every --

:06:34. > :06:38.everywhere. For the Finals Day at the Crucible

:06:39. > :06:42.and of Sheffield but I'm here to watch another wonderful sporting

:06:43. > :06:47.events, Leicester playing Swansea. From the cold outside, I'm walking

:06:48. > :06:51.through the dressing rooms to the players room to see another

:06:52. > :07:01.Leicester City fan up stairs waiting.

:07:02. > :07:09.Good man! How excited were you about today? A little bit nervous, if they

:07:10. > :07:11.get through, they will hold on until the end of the season. I have

:07:12. > :07:13.followed them since I was a kid, the end of the season. I have

:07:14. > :07:18.followed them since I was a kid my father got me following Leicester,

:07:19. > :07:27.fantastic. Prediction? 2-1, Leicester.

:07:28. > :07:39.3-0, Leicester. How you top? Sit down and! Watch a property in!

:07:40. > :07:44.Riyad Mahrez scores! Are you watching?

:07:45. > :07:53.-- watch a proper team. It has gone quiet.

:07:54. > :08:02.It is only 2-0! Oh!

:08:03. > :08:08.Put into the Natoga I'm Mark Albright in! Oh!. It is only four!

:08:09. > :08:20.Just the four today. Absolutely incredible! Back to

:08:21. > :08:25.snooker. You have won the World Championship. I remember a football

:08:26. > :08:30.celebration. When did that come about? I do not know, it was morally

:08:31. > :08:34.than anything to get over the line. It was a childhood dream to become

:08:35. > :08:38.world champion and I achieved that two years ago. It was be great if

:08:39. > :08:41.you win the World Championship and Leicester win the Premiership. --

:08:42. > :08:44.you win the World Championship and Leicester win the Premiership. - it

:08:45. > :08:45.would be great. That is nearly as good as done, I have a long way to

:08:46. > :08:50.go but the double would be nice. go but the double would be nice

:08:51. > :08:59.Good luck! A big weekend perhaps. With eyes on Old Trafford. Snooker's

:09:00. > :09:05.Kyren Wilson had a big say in events in Sheffield. The 24-year-old who

:09:06. > :09:10.started the season in 56 place but rocketed into the top 16 after his

:09:11. > :09:14.first major title and a run to his first quarterfinal at the Crucible

:09:15. > :09:20.has shown beyond doubt he belongs among the top class. But he found

:09:21. > :09:25.himself 6-10 into the last instalment of the match this

:09:26. > :09:28.morning. Nobody has yet turned round that deficit in the best of 25 at

:09:29. > :09:36.the Crucible. Mark Selby has moved closer to the line. 12-7 in front.

:09:37. > :09:37.This is frame 20, Wilson to play, watched by Ken Doherty and Dennis

:09:38. > :09:49.Taylor. Good shot. Excellent pot. U2 fully

:09:50. > :09:57.controlled. -- beautifully controlled. You will not see a

:09:58. > :09:58.better positional shot than that. The pot was difficult but the

:09:59. > :10:18.position was superb. Decent chance now. Has brought more

:10:19. > :11:43.reds into play. He could not have played that much better.

:11:44. > :11:53.I know it is early days but this will be four reds and four blacks.

:11:54. > :11:56.That will have crossed the mind of Kyren, especially with his back

:11:57. > :12:02.against the wall as well. He has got nothing to lose. You may try and

:12:03. > :12:08.stay on the black as long as possible. The frame is more

:12:09. > :12:13.important. It is not a bad chance really. He has only been a

:12:14. > :12:25.professional since 2010 and his highest tournament break is 137 He

:12:26. > :12:35.made that in 2011. Surely we could not see that happen here. Sometimes,

:12:36. > :12:41.when your back is against the wall, you throw a bit of caution to the

:12:42. > :12:49.wind. He might try and stay on this black as long as possible. He has

:12:50. > :12:51.four, five reds out in the open here. No reason why he should not

:12:52. > :13:14.try and go for it. Looking at where he wants to put the

:13:15. > :13:18.cue ball anywhere between those two reds so he will have a shot on the

:13:19. > :13:25.black. This will be an interesting shot because he can try and get on

:13:26. > :13:30.the pink into the left centre. If his intention is to keep going, he

:13:31. > :13:37.will try and get on the black. If he can miss those two reds and screw

:13:38. > :13:42.over there, he has a chance. He has tried to push through. His main

:13:43. > :13:46.concern, quite rightly so, is taking the frame. The sacrifice is on the

:13:47. > :13:50.black. He thought about it and he had second thoughts and decided to

:13:51. > :14:45.get on the pink to give himself a chance to take the frame.

:14:46. > :15:01.71, as you can see. Exactly the way he has played throughout this year's

:15:02. > :15:05.World Championship. Cueing beautifully again. But as you said,

:15:06. > :15:15.maybe the tension suddenly disappeared. What you are seeing is

:15:16. > :15:19.his natural game now. But for me, he seems to be the sort of player that

:15:20. > :15:22.can take his practice game to the big arena. I have been so impressed

:15:23. > :16:18.by this young player. A quick glance at the scoreboard. To

:16:19. > :16:21.make sure that he has passed the winning line in this frame.

:16:22. > :16:43.Double-checking that he's 76 ahead. 141 is the highest rate. This year's

:16:44. > :16:52.World Championship. So he's thinking positive. Barry Hawkins has made

:16:53. > :16:57.141. That is nice to see him smiling their, doing that simply because the

:16:58. > :16:59.frame is over. He's reckoning up how many he can score. You would feel he

:17:00. > :17:14.had to get onto the black. He's the Jester from Leicester but

:17:15. > :17:21.he was not smiling there, what. Kyren was doing the smiling. Is

:17:22. > :17:24.going to have to wait until after the mid-session interval to clinch a

:17:25. > :17:51.place in the semifinals. That has got the black back on its

:17:52. > :18:16.spot. A couple of reds, left side of the table. Neither of them easy

:18:17. > :18:27.That'll do nicely! He's on the black. A possible 143 if he takes

:18:28. > :18:51.all blacks with the remaining reds. Not going to be easy.

:18:52. > :19:06.?10,000 for the highest break this year.

:19:07. > :19:19.Emma, the break. -- a magnificent break. That is his 27th this season.

:19:20. > :19:29.Could he beat his highest break? He was 137, I mentioned earlier. And if

:19:30. > :19:32.he can drop on this last red, he can go hang to the black here and drop

:19:33. > :19:41.about 12 inches behind the red. It has just gone a bit further away

:19:42. > :20:35.than he would have liked. We have had 62 centuries so far this

:20:36. > :20:39.year, the record is 86. Kyren had four. Can he beat his own highest

:20:40. > :20:54.break? Come on, Kyren, get this green in.

:20:55. > :20:55.Reach a little milestone. Nice to make your highest break ever at the

:20:56. > :21:03.Crucible. 143 will take a little bit of

:21:04. > :21:58.beating. A little thinner than he would have

:21:59. > :22:05.liked, a little smile, there. Do not miss the black now, Kyren!

:22:06. > :22:17.Absolutely superb! And he wants the crowd to give him a big round of

:22:18. > :22:23.applause and they respond. A tournament high break of 143. And he

:22:24. > :22:29.goes to the mid-session interval, it is not all over just yet but 12-8,

:22:30. > :22:33.Mark Selby. The best of the last 12 days by

:22:34. > :22:42.Stephen Hendry point margin from Barry Hawkins and then Michael Holt

:22:43. > :22:45.with 140. 3/140 and that is Kyren's highest of his professional career

:22:46. > :22:51.in tournament play and he's in line or a ?10,000 high break prize and

:22:52. > :22:53.that took a bit of nerves. And he enjoyed it. Kyren holding back the

:22:54. > :23:14.tide but for how long? Frame 21. Another superb long pot. And as you

:23:15. > :23:21.were! I'm sure that will go back behind the brown. We see this pot

:23:22. > :23:25.again, great shot, those type of shots get you out of trouble. He

:23:26. > :23:36.will have the judge another escape here, Kyren Wilson. A cushion escape

:23:37. > :23:41.is not on this time, Dennis. This is trickier to get safe. Not so much to

:23:42. > :23:48.hit the red but the problem is getting safe. You need the reds

:23:49. > :24:06.close to this top cushion, they would be the target.

:24:07. > :24:14.Whichever way he goes, if he lands on that red, he would have to be

:24:15. > :24:19.spot-on. If he comes off the side cushion, he has to be spot-on. He

:24:20. > :24:24.has got allsorts of problems. The only thing going for him, it if each

:24:25. > :24:30.is to play on the one to the right behind the black spot, if he left a

:24:31. > :24:32.pot on, it would not be easy to get on a colour because a black is way

:24:33. > :24:53.up the table. Is that going to reach? Short. And

:24:54. > :25:00.he may have left a pot on. I think he can get the cue at this one into

:25:01. > :25:05.the right corner, there's one into the left corner. The pink is not in

:25:06. > :25:13.the way. Yes, it is definitely worth having a go at this red because

:25:14. > :25:28.Kyren will play the same shot. He has got a couple of reds to go at.

:25:29. > :25:36.He would love to get that black back on the spot, it is just a little bit

:25:37. > :25:38.short for the black into the left centre so he will take the blue or

:25:39. > :26:01.the green here. If he can somehow get on one of

:26:02. > :26:06.these reds out in the open. I mean, the pink, a couple of shots down the

:26:07. > :26:12.road, he's thinking if he does get on the spot, it is still available.

:26:13. > :26:13.Maybe into all four pockets. He does not have to worry about the black

:26:14. > :26:44.here really. Yes. Is not going to bother with the

:26:45. > :26:47.black, as you said. He could possibly win this match with blues

:26:48. > :27:19.and pinks. Absolutely spot-on. Having the cue

:27:20. > :27:25.ball clean to hear. I don't think he got heavy contact -- cleaned, here.

:27:26. > :27:33.Asking Colin Humphreys to get it cleaned. So Kyren can just sit and

:27:34. > :27:34.hope that something goes wrong here. It is looking good for the world

:27:35. > :28:28.number one. It looks like two of those reds in

:28:29. > :28:43.that bunch possibly -- and possibly a plant as well.

:28:44. > :28:58.He has got a slight angle, to go into those reds now. He has played

:28:59. > :29:02.it very nicely. That little bit of left-hand side. Just off the

:29:03. > :29:08.cushion. Just watch the cue ball here. Played with just a trace of

:29:09. > :29:35.left-hand side. Bringing it out into the open.

:29:36. > :29:46.Just one of LeBlanc pot that set up this opportunity, Dennis. -- pot.

:29:47. > :29:51.Excellent couple of long shots he has had in this frame. The one where

:29:52. > :30:01.he just played snooker straight afterwards and he forced a mistake

:30:02. > :30:06.from Kyren Wilson. Yes, he fears the worst now. He has been fantastic

:30:07. > :30:16.throughout this year's World Championship, Kyren.

:30:17. > :30:22.The way he plays, you will be around for a long time. Can get up to 4%

:30:23. > :30:35.you are flying. Mark Selby is leading in all

:30:36. > :30:40.departments. When he had a poor session he managed to take four

:30:41. > :30:54.frames last evening. He was delighted about that, the way he

:30:55. > :30:59.played. Kyren Mr trick -- missed a trick. One more red and colour and

:31:00. > :31:04.the world number one will be in the semifinal. For the fourth time, the

:31:05. > :31:28.winner here two years ago. Looked very focused when he came

:31:29. > :31:36.this morning. It is a good lead, but far from the winning post. He has

:31:37. > :31:39.played so well. You could tell he was up for it this morning. Yes,

:31:40. > :31:46.was up for it this morning. Yes looked a lot more focused. Certainly

:31:47. > :32:00.more confident. A good start to get his long ball game back in order.

:32:01. > :32:08.Quite wary of putting this red. Excellent shot.

:32:09. > :32:16.Nothing wrong with the fist pump, he knew he had a tough match on his

:32:17. > :32:27.hands the way Kyren has been playing. He's getting better, Mark

:32:28. > :32:46.Selby. He thinks he's in the semis now.

:32:47. > :32:55.It will be a trick shot as he is going to pot a ball, possible

:32:56. > :32:59.double. Doesn't really matter, great feeling at this stage when you know

:33:00. > :33:02.you're in the semifinal. He has tried the double, it is not there

:33:03. > :33:13.but it's been a great performers this morning from the world number

:33:14. > :33:18.one. Kyren Wilson as the consolation of making the high break, break of

:33:19. > :33:21.143, magnificent, but the world number one finishes in style and

:33:22. > :33:29.gets himself through the semifinal, winning comfortably in the end.

:33:30. > :33:33.Kyren keirin to this one. And, it's been a great season and he's done

:33:34. > :33:36.really well in the early part of the chap injured, so that's a great win

:33:37. > :33:42.for you? Yes, he's a great player. Has had a great season, just broke

:33:43. > :33:45.into the top 16, and very dangerous. I had a tough game on my hands and

:33:46. > :33:49.first and last session I played well. In between, the second session

:33:50. > :33:54.was picked because I did not perform nowhere near what I would like to

:33:55. > :34:00.add Kyren could easily have won that and it is game on, at, 4-4 and style

:34:01. > :34:04.that lead was huge. It looked are more comfortable in the balls than

:34:05. > :34:07.you are against Sam Baird? First session and last session I felt more

:34:08. > :34:11.comfortable, I think because the tournament has gone on and I've got

:34:12. > :34:14.better, which is always nice. You do not want to peak too soon and

:34:15. > :34:19.hopefully I'm peaking at the right time. What a great opportunity, back

:34:20. > :34:23.at the one-table set-up, your fourth semifinal. It is very special when

:34:24. > :34:28.it gets down to just two players come out for every session? Yes, it

:34:29. > :34:34.is great venue to play and, as you say, when you get banned Dott 7

:34:35. > :34:38.table setup there is no wet no better place. I will try my best as

:34:39. > :34:43.always. -- when you get down to the one-table set-up there is no better

:34:44. > :34:47.place. For semifinal since 2007 and is one of two of the three years

:34:48. > :34:52.played. I wonder how close to his best he appears to be getting now? I

:34:53. > :34:58.did the first session yesterday morning and he was impressive, very

:34:59. > :35:03.solid. Last night he was horrendous. He was gone. How he got out of their

:35:04. > :35:07.4-4 was incredible. Kyren Wilson definitely miss a trick last night

:35:08. > :35:12.because Mark Selby could not make 20 or 30, so that would mark the

:35:13. > :35:16.McQuarrie mark in terms of the possibilities when the draw on. --

:35:17. > :35:22.that would worry Mark. Very few players can still do that despite

:35:23. > :35:27.playing so bad. He has an excellent chance especially if he has not his

:35:28. > :35:31.true form because as we know, we're getting the stage where you only

:35:32. > :35:34.halfway through any number of sessions you've played, so you could

:35:35. > :35:39.argue the real work starts now. He has the all-round game, which can

:35:40. > :35:44.give himself a chance to start play well because he doesn't have to hit

:35:45. > :35:47.every ball to get over the line, therefore at some stage perhaps you

:35:48. > :35:51.get into format is even more dangerous. I take your point because

:35:52. > :35:54.he has been posted missing a couple times in different sessions. Robert

:35:55. > :36:00.Milkins had a run at him and caused some concerns and Kyren Wilson as

:36:01. > :36:06.well had a go as well. He seems to flit in and out of matches. Is that

:36:07. > :36:11.a concern to him? I think it would be concerned the way he is not

:36:12. > :36:16.really destroying opponents can he's not coming out with 13-413- five.

:36:17. > :36:20.That would concern me a little as world number one and a favourite you

:36:21. > :36:24.want to put matches to bed early and not Europe -- put yourself through

:36:25. > :36:30.the ringer. Coming through that match and see last night was met big

:36:31. > :36:34.frame, he's down to the one table and I think he will relax more. He

:36:35. > :36:38.has played against three players he is supposed to be. He's a good

:36:39. > :36:43.player against a player he feels he is on level terms with, he can raise

:36:44. > :36:48.his game. Got to pay credit to Sam Baird, great run against him, and to

:36:49. > :36:51.Kyren Wilson. Ronnie O'Sullivan is already on record as saying he

:36:52. > :36:55.thinks he will be world number one, has jumped into the provisional top

:36:56. > :36:59.16, which is a fantastic and significant milestone for him and

:37:00. > :37:02.what should we take from his performances here? I was impressed

:37:03. > :37:08.by the way he plates Nagar, very aggressive. The way he could get

:37:09. > :37:12.himself out of trouble, did not do it so much against Mark Selby. That

:37:13. > :37:16.was a test from that match and did not go through it. Got himself out

:37:17. > :37:21.of trouble time and time again and his break-building always played

:37:22. > :37:25.aggressively. He's definitely top eight, whether he is world number

:37:26. > :37:34.one remains to be seen. There is a long way to go before you can say

:37:35. > :37:38.that. As Britton Joe Perry and Mark Allen, top players. And really put

:37:39. > :37:42.it up to number one. Yes we try and work out which young players will

:37:43. > :37:50.break through. Use of them think you're blinded by talent sometimes

:37:51. > :37:54.or players that are easier on the eye and someone comes along suddenly

:37:55. > :37:59.who is determined to add to that and Kyren Wilson. He has arrogance and

:38:00. > :38:04.authority, which you need to have get to the top level. And it was

:38:05. > :38:07.great to see that run. Got six matches in Divis World Championship

:38:08. > :38:13.after having come through the qualifiers. I'm sure we will see

:38:14. > :38:17.more of Kyren Wilson. We seen lots of Alan McManus of the last 25

:38:18. > :38:24.years. It is hard to believe at the age of 45 he is still going strong

:38:25. > :38:28.in the quarterfinals. He has been over for the last two weeks, coming

:38:29. > :38:31.through the qualifiers and keeping himself using lots of other ways. In

:38:32. > :38:46.fact, the man has got taste. Went out this morning and got a

:38:47. > :38:51.couple of bits and pieces, we used some olive oil from the guys, some

:38:52. > :38:56.white wine, bay leaves, a few herbs and mix it about.

:38:57. > :39:06.I've been big on cooking for at least 15 years. So it was nice to do

:39:07. > :39:10.some cooking down here. I was smelling garlic and it just feels

:39:11. > :39:20.like being home, so that is magic. I love it. I've been away for quite

:39:21. > :39:25.awhile. I'm complaining about a lot of people give quite a bit to be in

:39:26. > :39:30.my shoes these next few days, or whatever. I appreciate that and I'm

:39:31. > :39:33.quite happy to be here. The disappointing thing, the first two

:39:34. > :39:36.matches, were stable conditions. I matches, were stable conditions I

:39:37. > :39:42.will not shirk away from the fact that the table was very difficult to

:39:43. > :39:46.play on. I don't think I've ever seen a Goujon bounce as badly as

:39:47. > :39:50.that, it is laughable. There was one point in the last match where I

:39:51. > :39:56.nearly started crying. I've never done that before, but I was really

:39:57. > :40:05.down. It is very easy to panic. You can be 7-2 up and panic. That is how

:40:06. > :40:09.difficult it can be. I try and look at the matches as an entirety, I

:40:10. > :40:14.don't get caught up in one tiny session, if it goes good or bad.

:40:15. > :40:18.Just try and keep a good standard the entire way through and forever

:40:19. > :40:25.that takes us, that is cool. I'm cool with that. I know what it is

:40:26. > :40:29.going to take to win, I need to take my chances and I've got to play at a

:40:30. > :40:33.really high standard. But I've got the game to win, I don't think

:40:34. > :40:38.anyone can teach me much about the actual game, I know plenty about it.

:40:39. > :40:45.I feel fresh as a daisy, I feel all right. I would love to go as deep as

:40:46. > :40:49.you can, all the way. That is still a long way away. By the time someone

:40:50. > :40:59.goes to the semifinals you're only about half way through the event.

:41:00. > :41:03.When I served up to John and George downstairs, I was quite pleased

:41:04. > :41:06.because I don't know the word joshing a little limited was quite

:41:07. > :41:11.good but I think biggest year it had about five me. I'm pretty sure he

:41:12. > :41:18.enjoyed it, which was good. The best part for me is the cooking. Have a

:41:19. > :41:24.beer, radio on, couple of tunes two or three hours to cook and two or

:41:25. > :41:28.three minutes to eat it. And there was a real pet in his performance,

:41:29. > :41:33.not just in the kitchen but in the early part of their opening session.

:41:34. > :41:37.As West. In two put him 3-1 in front but after the interval he looks to

:41:38. > :41:42.be struggling with a neck problem as Higgins won four in a row to lead

:41:43. > :41:48.5-3. This morning the return of the middle session of this quarterfinal.

:41:49. > :41:50.Mannus won the first 4-5 and he is in play 13 points down in the 1 th

:41:51. > :41:52.in play 13 points down in the 10th frame. It is watched by Terry

:41:53. > :42:02.Griffiths and John Brogan. Maybe he's not playing the

:42:03. > :42:10.run-through he could just punched the ball in. As I say, just hit

:42:11. > :42:17.across slightly. And missed a sitter. That man has punished him in

:42:18. > :42:21.the first frame when he got a chance -- when he. What can he do with this

:42:22. > :42:50.opportunity. How is your luck? He is OK. A be

:42:51. > :42:57.slightly hampered, but has read to right centre. The reds will lose

:42:58. > :43:02.anyway, so you don't have to pay to cueing play this with a lot of pace.

:43:03. > :43:07.But certainly has a red to the right middle. It's how he can cue it. If

:43:08. > :43:23.he can get past it it is much easier.

:43:24. > :43:32.Usually very good in these situations. Most top players are

:43:33. > :43:48.still not have to move the cue ball too far. -- R. Still do not. When

:43:49. > :43:52.you see people like McManus making these good runs, obviously still

:43:53. > :43:56.puts in the hard work. Basically has a great love of the game. I think

:43:57. > :44:04.you need it to put the hours in on the practice table. I said a few

:44:05. > :44:08.times the new circuit, as they call it, it has helped him a lot. He said

:44:09. > :44:18.he found it difficult and boring to be practising solo. No comet for

:44:19. > :44:25.other one -- for another month. 18 ranking events this year. It is a

:44:26. > :44:58.very busy circuit just now and it suits some and not others.

:44:59. > :45:06.Playing for the red along the top cushion. Needs an angle, does not

:45:07. > :45:10.want to be too straight. The way he's looking he is straight enough,

:45:11. > :45:18.if you play this at pace you cannot try and paint anything or you will

:45:19. > :45:27.miss the part that Mike and pinch. -- you cannot try and paint anything

:45:28. > :45:30.or you will miss the pot. You've got to be very accurate, never looked

:45:31. > :45:35.like missing. A little screw on the two registers top and to the right

:45:36. > :45:48.of the black. To not hit it too hard.

:45:49. > :45:58.Missed the black. You cannot afford to miss like that, he will be

:45:59. > :46:03.disgusted. The problem is he was concentrating on the spin and that

:46:04. > :46:11.was enough to take his eye off the pot for a minute. Played so well

:46:12. > :46:16.until then on the break. All of the shots were simple enough because of

:46:17. > :46:19.his good position. That is the first test he has had. It was not a

:46:20. > :47:38.difficult one, to be fair. I think this bridge to the left of

:47:39. > :47:44.the pink Wilko right -- I think this pink to the left of the red Wilko

:47:45. > :48:17.right -- will go. OK, played that reasonably well. Six

:48:18. > :48:37.points to the lead now. Just needs a couple of good

:48:38. > :48:44.positional shots and you fancy him getting over the line. It is cue

:48:45. > :48:53.ball control that will make this chance easier. He's looking at the

:48:54. > :48:59.kiss on these reds to bring them into play. He is certainly beyond

:49:00. > :49:16.the one in the centre pocket at least. Pretty good.

:49:17. > :49:29.He is bridging over the -- not bridging over the ball, that is the

:49:30. > :49:36.main thing. Another surprise miss, the third of frame. Two from John

:49:37. > :49:41.and one from McManus. To be honest, they always make them look easy It

:49:42. > :49:46.was slightly tricky, was slightly hampered by the black, but we just

:49:47. > :49:51.expect such a high standard we expect them to knock them no

:49:52. > :49:57.problem. It just shows you, take nothing for granted. Needs the cue

:49:58. > :50:11.ball to slow up. Has just about slowed up in time.

:50:12. > :50:22.I'm sure it happens on shots like that and you think it is easy enough

:50:23. > :50:28.and another Day you look at it and think, this is awkward. But I should

:50:29. > :50:35.get it. Famous last words. And like you said of her, as you get older I

:50:36. > :50:38.think the concentration levels do not hold as strong as they do when

:50:39. > :50:47.you are younger and sharper and Hungary. John Higgins and McManaman

:50:48. > :50:50.has been there time, there's lots of pressure in tournaments and some

:50:51. > :51:00.more doubts coming, perhaps than the younger lads. Yes, and as you say,

:51:01. > :51:03.you think this is a World Championship, how can you suffer

:51:04. > :51:13.from a lack of concentration? Because you're thinking of other

:51:14. > :51:18.things. Played that nicely. This black will put McManus ten-point in

:51:19. > :51:31.front, so needs a good position Looks like he can drop behind this

:51:32. > :51:35.red. Did so nicely. The cut his arrest success rate. So far, 10 %.

:51:36. > :51:46.arrest success rate. So far, 100%. He has had four and he has potted

:51:47. > :51:59.four. Played it well. Needs a little bit

:52:00. > :52:06.of an angle on this pink, did not want to be straight on it. Me just

:52:07. > :52:17.about have the angle. That is absolutely perfect for the yellow.

:52:18. > :52:26.And now, 17 points the lead. Yellow, green and brown. To leave John

:52:27. > :52:36.Higgins needy -- needing a couple of smokers. -- snookers. I would not

:52:37. > :52:44.think it is time to get concerned, obviously, because if McManus wins

:52:45. > :52:49.this frame it will be square but Higgins has missed a couple of

:52:50. > :52:58.chances in this frame, which will not his confidence. He was unlucky

:52:59. > :53:28.in the first frame. Looks to have a good chance.

:53:29. > :53:36.Went another frame and is now level with John Higgins at five frames

:53:37. > :53:42.each. Yes, and in this, the 21st significant match in these that in

:53:43. > :53:46.which these two have met, the Mannus took a break of 66 to go in front

:53:47. > :53:54.once again. This is a frame 12, the last one before the interval. It is

:53:55. > :54:01.strange. Look at the pattern of these frames, each frame, the ball

:54:02. > :54:02.has been like this, the bags available, pink available, the reds

:54:03. > :54:26.are spread if someone can get in. We had other frames this morning and

:54:27. > :54:32.we had one frame that was just a couple seconds over 15 minutes. The

:54:33. > :54:41.first frame of this morning was just over 13 minutes. The last one just

:54:42. > :54:47.over 14.5 minutes. Considering the tactical nouns of these two players,

:54:48. > :54:50.it has been quite open, as you say. It is always helped if the colours

:54:51. > :54:54.are still in their spots, particularly if the black is

:54:55. > :54:57.available into the corner pockets. When a player gets the chance he can

:54:58. > :55:11.invariably make a sizeable conservation. -- contribution. Good

:55:12. > :55:18.pot from John. And the cannon on the second red nice. He had to to be

:55:19. > :55:20.certain of being on a colour. Now you see, could not have played

:55:21. > :55:33.better. Not for the first time this morning

:55:34. > :55:36.he gets first chance in the frame. He has not been able to push on that

:55:37. > :57:30.advantage so far. Not gratefully concentration,

:57:31. > :57:40.typical Crucible. -- not great for the. I think everyone in the crowd

:57:41. > :57:49.clapped. John is at a very important visit in this match, but that is how

:57:50. > :57:53.it is. Told a story. Early on. When someone asked Fred Davies have his

:57:54. > :57:58.other drill would have called with these conditions and his answer was

:57:59. > :58:04.he would have refused to play. - how his brother Joel. Two cables?

:58:05. > :58:19.Noise from the other side of the arena? Not in Joe's Day! This only

:58:20. > :58:25.just scrambled in. Has just landed nicely on the red below the black.

:58:26. > :58:33.He's deciding he cannot get a good position that, so playing in another

:58:34. > :58:35.red and possibly going for the blue. We'll be disappointed with that.

:58:36. > :58:35.red and possibly going for the blue. We'll be disappointed with that He

:58:36. > :58:41.has the wrong angle on the blue He has the wrong angle on the blue. He

:58:42. > :58:47.can get the pink. This is more difficult than the blue would have

:58:48. > :59:05.been if he had the right parting angle -- the right angle. Cute it's

:59:06. > :59:10.nice -- cueing it's nice. We'll be giving this opportunity to care and

:59:11. > :59:18.attention. He has already seen the last -- first three frames slip away

:59:19. > :59:23.this morning. He cannot get on the red he played for, it is just the

:59:24. > :59:28.right of the black. And this one is difficult because the pot is more

:59:29. > :59:35.difficult he was expecting but the position is not great for that red.

:59:36. > :59:38.He is taking his time. There will be plenty of thought. Each time he goes

:59:39. > :59:50.down he does not like what he's seen. -- what he can see. As it

:59:51. > :59:57.happened he got a double-kiss. But it could have worked out better.

:59:58. > :00:03.Still not out of the woods. He knew it was running into that read, he

:00:04. > :00:05.said, I need a double-kiss. He would have talked that would leave him an

:00:06. > :00:27.easier pink than this. He played it well. So still in with

:00:28. > :00:51.a frame-winning opportunity now and that was a good shot on the pink.

:00:52. > :01:05.Very gritty player, John Higgins. I have seen him many a time now. When

:01:06. > :01:10.he has not got his best game on finding something when he needs it

:01:11. > :01:11.is what all great champions do. There's something inside them that

:01:12. > :01:27.others do not have. He would have been devastated if he

:01:28. > :01:31.had lost the first four frames. Especially with the chances. If you

:01:32. > :01:36.don't get any chances, you can accept that is the way it is. I

:01:37. > :01:42.think John Higgins, his greatest asset is that he does not like

:01:43. > :01:51.losing, as simple as that. I think that helps as a competitor. But he

:01:52. > :01:59.certainly is one of the all-time great players. And he has found

:02:00. > :02:03.himself in a position, losing the first three frames, he knew this was

:02:04. > :02:10.a chance he needed to take. And he has taken it very well. 72 points is

:02:11. > :02:17.the lead, 67 remaining. You would not think the tables were turned now

:02:18. > :02:21.for Alan who has had a couple of chances this morning to make century

:02:22. > :02:27.breaks. It has been high quality. Can John Higgins get baton? -- get

:02:28. > :02:46.the shots? Well, that is a pity, he could not

:02:47. > :02:52.get a good position. But that will be enough. John Higgins started the

:02:53. > :02:56.session two frames in front, he went one behind and they go to the

:02:57. > :04:00.mid-session interval all square, 6-6. Good snooker!

:04:01. > :04:07.Back into it now and for the fourth time in the match, the lead changed

:04:08. > :04:16.hands when John Higgins claimed the 13th. But Alan McManus came back

:04:17. > :04:20.with a break of 66 to square it 7-7. So as expected, a very tough and

:04:21. > :04:25.hard-fought contest. Two more to play in this session and in the

:04:26. > :04:31.first, Higgins is trailing. 3-15. Yes, he shot it well. Is it

:04:32. > :04:39.for enough for the black? I don t for enough for the black? I don't

:04:40. > :04:47.think so. No, not quite. Just needs another inch or two. Good pot,

:04:48. > :04:52.though. You always felt comfortable with that type of shot. Just a

:04:53. > :04:53.little bit wide. Every chance it is going of the other end, which it

:04:54. > :05:15.did. That is not Steve. -- that is

:05:16. > :05:23.nastier. Is there a path? Even if there's not, it is quite an easy

:05:24. > :05:32.escape for Alan. We were talking about his angles, Alan. If he cannot

:05:33. > :05:39.get past the green to make contact with this red, what would it leave?

:05:40. > :05:46.It would just nestle onto this red. It should not be a problem. I think

:05:47. > :05:52.he can get through to hit it. But that would be tough. This is a

:05:53. > :05:59.contained safety. He has checked the seat if there's a path past the

:06:00. > :06:04.black for the two reds left of the black. That is angles for you!

:06:05. > :06:28.Wonderful touch. Yes, I do not keep played it off the

:06:29. > :06:31.one cushion, but he just plays to perfection. -- I don't think he

:06:32. > :06:49.played it. Higgins still in control of this

:06:50. > :06:58.tactical exchange. It is going to be a problem for Alan to get back to

:06:59. > :07:01.the baulk end here. If he could get to the red immediately to the left

:07:02. > :07:08.of the black, he could find a path back to the baulk but he has to

:07:09. > :07:12.catch this just right. He caught the wrong red. And in a way, he will be

:07:13. > :07:18.glad the cue ball went in the pocket, rather that than coming back

:07:19. > :07:19.among the reds. He could have left something in what easier than John

:07:20. > :07:52.is facing here. -- in what easier. Very nicely played. Played with a

:07:53. > :08:08.bit of side. The angle of the cue ball on the way back table.

:08:09. > :08:23.Break into the heart of the pocket. Some people like to play those into

:08:24. > :08:29.the centre. It is a much easier pot when you get more of the object

:08:30. > :08:37.ball. And the pocket is in your eye line when you play that blue into

:08:38. > :08:42.the corner. Wrong side of the blue, but with the brown and the green,

:08:43. > :08:49.there should be no difficulty coming in and out of baulk end. He just has

:08:50. > :09:06.to pace this. He has overheated slightly. -- overhit it slightly.

:09:07. > :09:20.So on the yellow. Not the best colour the beyond. But he did not

:09:21. > :09:25.want to risk the blue because he knew he could guarantee an angle on

:09:26. > :09:38.this yellow. Just a precise positional shots needed. A good

:09:39. > :09:45.line. He played it perfectly. It looks easy, doesn't it, with these

:09:46. > :09:50.guys playing? That was a tremendous shot. A lot of power. Not so easy to

:09:51. > :09:54.get the touch and feel and judgment of the pace. Going onto this red.

:09:55. > :10:13.But it is perfect. The black goes in both pockets. That

:10:14. > :10:16.is five reds in a bunch, one of them is available. Can you see the one at

:10:17. > :10:45.the bottom? No huge breaks. In this session But

:10:46. > :10:58.good breaks. 18 is the highest. That was the one Higgins made. -- 80 To

:10:59. > :11:02.go 6-6. 60 odd breaks. If he gets 60 every frame, he will be very

:11:03. > :11:11.difficult to beat. A quick glance at the scoreboard, 28 points is the

:11:12. > :11:16.red. He Josh -- you just nudged another red into play so he can get

:11:17. > :11:25.past the winning line without having to play any risky cannon shots. He

:11:26. > :11:32.has the balls, it just requires good cue ball control.

:11:33. > :12:01.He has got a slight angle. Deep screw off the side cushion for an

:12:02. > :12:12.red in the pocket. He could not have played it better. So he's looking

:12:13. > :12:24.for two reds and two blacks to go over the winning line. And the

:12:25. > :12:30.problem was that he thought he was going to catch the second red a

:12:31. > :12:36.glancing blow and he did not get pace and he caught the second figure

:12:37. > :12:44.than he thought and it took the pace slightly from the cue ball. And he

:12:45. > :12:47.could miss this black now. A huge difference between this shot and the

:12:48. > :12:52.straightforward shot he would have had if he had played the cannon

:12:53. > :12:58.correctly. He did ask for the cue ball to be cleaned so whether it had

:12:59. > :13:03.a slight kick going into the red. Bring the spider out of the shot.

:13:04. > :13:10.Another 20% more difficult than the rest, I should think. Absolutely.

:13:11. > :13:16.But if he gets the black, look at the shot again. He just got that red

:13:17. > :13:19.a bit thicker and if he thought he would get it that thick, he would

:13:20. > :13:29.have played with a bit more pace. This black, to go 52 points in front

:13:30. > :13:39.with 51 remaining. It is not easy. But it is frame ball. No, he aged

:13:40. > :13:46.just caught him out. It just caught him out. -- it just. Just that

:13:47. > :13:54.misjudgement. We said it was about cue ball control.

:13:55. > :14:07.Could you close that door, thank you? So Alan McManus is not out of

:14:08. > :14:12.this frame. He comes to the table 45 points behind. But 51 remaining.

:14:13. > :14:12.this frame. He comes to the table 45 points behind. But 51 remaining And

:14:13. > :14:21.points behind. But 51 remaining. And so far this morning, every time John

:14:22. > :14:31.Higgins has made a mistake, and not clinched the frame, Alan has taken

:14:32. > :14:40.full advantage. He needs a good pot here with the extension on his cue,

:14:41. > :14:47.he's out. Check. -- he's at all stretch. We are getting to the stage

:14:48. > :14:52.we know when they are not going to go in. You can hear the groaning. He

:14:53. > :14:58.hit it to them and playing at that pace, it you miss it, every chance

:14:59. > :15:11.he was going to leave it. So just this red, John Higgins to get the

:15:12. > :15:16.snookers required. And in it goes. So Alan was given a glimmer of a

:15:17. > :15:19.hope. He just could not pot the red and now 46 points behind, just 3

:15:20. > :15:36.remaining. Good pot on the blue and nicely on

:15:37. > :15:39.the red, into the same cushion. So Alan McManus will not be getting

:15:40. > :15:57.back to the table. Playing the cannon. But the red is

:15:58. > :16:07.tight to the pink and there's always the possibility... Alan has side, do

:16:08. > :16:12.not bother getting the reds, you have done enough, you have won the

:16:13. > :16:16.frame. Higgins creeps one frame in front again, 8-7.

:16:17. > :16:20.What it is appearances between them at the Crucible, 50 seasons on the

:16:21. > :16:22.professional tour combined and one frame between them in this

:16:23. > :16:29.quarterfinal. The last frame of the session now,

:16:30. > :16:41.this is big, Alan McManus up by 24 points.

:16:42. > :16:49.Good for him. Oh! That is a good one he has potted. It took some courage

:16:50. > :16:56.to play that, that shot. He could have played a negative safety. After

:16:57. > :17:06.missing that easy shot. He has got some courage, that is for sure.

:17:07. > :17:11.This needs good cueing. No. He did not like it when he got up. He was

:17:12. > :17:19.down and he looked as though he was ready to push through the cue and he

:17:20. > :17:23.got up. Just that hesitation, to me, it just knocked him off his stride

:17:24. > :17:33.slightly. He has had two golden opportunities here.

:17:34. > :17:39.Only he knows of course what he was thinking at that time. You always

:17:40. > :17:58.get up for a reason. That went a bit. It will just get

:17:59. > :18:17.the outside red. I don't think that any of the reds

:18:18. > :18:19.will be straightforward, three by the pink into the corner pockets.

:18:20. > :18:28.But these players can pot and -- the But these players can pot and - the

:18:29. > :18:40.red, get on a colour, and next thing you know, they all one. -- they all

:18:41. > :18:45.on. He would like a bit more angle on the green, not sure he has enough

:18:46. > :18:50.angle to get into these reds and if any of them will pot. I don't think

:18:51. > :19:06.so. No, he has played the kiss. He might

:19:07. > :19:11.have been lucky, or unlucky. At first glance, I think he has been

:19:12. > :19:19.unlucky. He did look, it is fair to say. There does not look to be

:19:20. > :19:27.anything easy, from what I can see. He played the positive shot. John

:19:28. > :19:35.Higgins always does. John mentioned his wrist. When you play the cannon

:19:36. > :19:42.into reds when you play for a red, and this red goes past the pink.

:19:43. > :19:51.and this red goes past the pink That is excellent.

:19:52. > :20:02.Once again, the type of shot that his head was probably looking

:20:03. > :20:13.towards the green on the cushion side, onto the left cushion. Unusual

:20:14. > :20:19.type of pot for the players. Normally a three quarters ball,

:20:20. > :20:25.looking straight into the pockets. So this frame has not been much

:20:26. > :20:31.different from the others, John. One makes a mistake and the other gets

:20:32. > :20:40.in. It has not been slow or boring, it has been a very good session

:20:41. > :20:49.Nice clean pot from John. Still got a little bit of work to do, I feel,

:20:50. > :20:53.to get position on the next red Not ideal on the black to get a cannon.

:20:54. > :20:59.It has been very entertaining snooker. The chances have been

:21:00. > :21:02.coming thick and fast and certain players will be ruling opportunities

:21:03. > :21:08.missed. But it has been very entertaining. John Higgins started

:21:09. > :21:13.with a two brain advantage, 5-3 If he wins this, he will maintain that

:21:14. > :21:20.two frame advantage going into the final session this evening. He did

:21:21. > :21:25.manage to get the cue ball running into the reds and he has left

:21:26. > :21:30.himself one to the right middle. If he cannot this end, he's now one

:21:31. > :21:40.point in front. He just got enough pace in the cue ball. And that going

:21:41. > :21:47.in now gives him a great opportunity. He can retain the two

:21:48. > :21:57.frame advantage. Nice angle on the black. Just those four reds in the

:21:58. > :22:03.middle of the table that seem to be covering one another. I do not know

:22:04. > :22:13.whether he can much them in putting this red. -- nudge.

:22:14. > :22:21.No, he did not have the angle and he did not want to risk it. If he's

:22:22. > :22:29.straight on the black, that is callous. And the fact that he

:22:30. > :22:34.stopped in his tracks, he's gutted -- careless. He needed any kind of

:22:35. > :22:38.angle on the black and could not play the four in the middle of the

:22:39. > :22:42.table, the one to the right of the pink he would have been looking for.

:22:43. > :22:50.So he needs to play a good positional shots now. And he has

:22:51. > :22:56.done, well played. It could have gone wrong but he played it very

:22:57. > :23:02.well and it is now imperative off this red that he gets an angle on

:23:03. > :23:10.the black this time to try and disturb them.

:23:11. > :23:24.And that looks inch perfect. It just catches... If you catch the red

:23:25. > :23:29.immediately above the black, you still have to play this at a lot of

:23:30. > :23:38.pace. Yes, he has knocked one on and that is what you are looking for, to

:23:39. > :23:40.knock an easy ball on to continue. You don't have to play that with

:23:41. > :23:58.very much pace. Going into that a little bit too

:23:59. > :24:02.much. A little shake of the head, he has left himself a little bit of

:24:03. > :24:10.work to do here. 26 points is the lead and still looking for, well,

:24:11. > :24:14.depending on the value of colours, two more reds with colours at least

:24:15. > :24:36.after this yellow. He's on the red but he would have

:24:37. > :24:41.liked to, of this cushion another couple of inches to make it a bit

:24:42. > :24:59.easier -- to come off. Just the run of the second went

:25:00. > :25:08.nicely that time. So this black and one more red to retain his two frame

:25:09. > :25:13.advantage. Right in the heart of the cushion. So Alan McManus one of the

:25:14. > :25:19.first three frames this morning, going from 5-3 down to 6-5 in front.

:25:20. > :25:27.He will finish the session as he started, two adrift. The certain

:25:28. > :25:34.now. -- that is for certain now. So all to play for this evening in the

:25:35. > :25:40.final session. He has kept in range of John Higgins. But he had a couple

:25:41. > :25:50.of chances this frame he will be disappointed he did not take. Red in

:25:51. > :25:52.the corner. A black off the spot. He cannot afford to miss them at this

:25:53. > :26:26.level. Having got 74 with 27 points

:26:27. > :26:31.remaining, with the six colours, if possible 101.

:26:32. > :26:41.He has not made a century break in this match so far. Alan McManus has

:26:42. > :27:05.done. He made a break of 114. John's highest up to this visit was 80

:27:06. > :27:16.So this lack for the 63rd century break of this year's Betfred World

:27:17. > :27:22.Snooker Championship. And in it goes, what a lovely way to finish! A

:27:23. > :27:27.very enjoyable session. Alan McManus would have liked to have made

:27:28. > :27:31.ground, he got the perfect start but John Higgins dug in. Not his

:27:32. > :27:33.absolute best but he will be pleased to have the two frame advantage

:27:34. > :27:39.going into the final session this evening.

:27:40. > :27:45.He leads by 9-7. And that is John's sixth of the Championship so far and

:27:46. > :27:51.the 63rd century of our fortnight. As we chase the record of 86 from

:27:52. > :27:54.the semifinals. We have got this evening's session as well but 9-7

:27:55. > :27:59.evening's session as well but 9 7 up, John Higgins. How has he come

:28:00. > :28:01.back to win the last but of frames in both sessions, it has been really

:28:02. > :28:13.important. Dutch couple of frames. He has gone up a gear when required

:28:14. > :28:18.throughout his career. This is still anybody's and if Alan could look at

:28:19. > :28:22.John Higgins and his final session against Ricky Walden, he looked very

:28:23. > :28:27.nervous. Riki did not take advantage with a lot of chances so if John

:28:28. > :28:34.goes out like that tonight again, Alan could take this. Alan came from

:28:35. > :28:41.9-7 behind against Ali Carter to win. The other match this afternoon

:28:42. > :28:46.is Marco Fu against Barry Hawkins. This is a big surprise because Fu

:28:47. > :28:49.has a 7-1 advantage. He had a three-day gap between the Friday

:28:50. > :28:54.night when he finished his second-round match and playing this

:28:55. > :28:58.quarterfinal. Barry Hawkins had 14 hours and did not realise he had to

:28:59. > :29:04.play yesterday, he thought he had a day off. He has been a bit confused.

:29:05. > :29:06.Yes, I think it is a World Championship and you have to take

:29:07. > :29:09.these things into consideration. You these things into consideration You

:29:10. > :29:14.can be unlucky in the draw in this Championship at that is the way it

:29:15. > :29:18.is. Would you rather be home having lost or still playing? You would

:29:19. > :29:26.rather play. Does the format need tweaking? Is that an issue? I do not

:29:27. > :29:29.know, I think we have been playing this format. Along and the players

:29:30. > :29:34.do know what they test this is at the Crucible. I would not change it

:29:35. > :29:39.so much, maybe there's a case for having the frames go up gradually

:29:40. > :29:43.every round. And perhaps the semifinal, three sessions instead of

:29:44. > :29:47.four. I would not want to change it much, it should remain the biggest

:29:48. > :29:52.test and that is why it so difficult to win. It is the look the draw.

:29:53. > :30:00.What does Hawkins have to do today? 7-1 down is a horrible position but

:30:01. > :30:02.he's capable of doing that the Fu as he did to him, he has to not look at

:30:03. > :30:05.the scoreboard, it is a new day. he did to him, he has to not look at

:30:06. > :30:07.the scoreboard, it is a new day He the scoreboard, it is a new day. He

:30:08. > :30:11.looked shell-shocked yesterday in the opening session. All eyes will

:30:12. > :30:15.be on these two this afternoon just as they are on Steve Davis right

:30:16. > :30:21.now. You can see the lights on table one

:30:22. > :30:23.have one off because Ding Junhui eat Mark Williams with a session to

:30:24. > :30:29.spare so a strange situation. -- spare so a strange situation. -

:30:30. > :30:31.beat. The table heaters have been switched on and so the table is

:30:32. > :30:42.open. Potting there is more room around

:30:43. > :30:47.the table. Obviously the far side is still quite tight and people in the

:30:48. > :30:50.front row and regional grand Duchy player's clamp, but this size,

:30:51. > :30:54.moreover the players to stand back and play a shot. Dividing wall down

:30:55. > :30:59.there. Usually you only have that much room before you what back and

:31:00. > :31:04.bumped into it. The interesting thing is the players sit together.

:31:05. > :31:08.Now I'm not sure of the rules. Can one player comments it over there if

:31:09. > :31:16.his opponent has be all? I don't know. -- has body odour. It's a long

:31:17. > :31:21.walk over, you need a taxi ride to get to the table, would you do that?

:31:22. > :31:30.Suddenly all eyes are on this match. It can be quite a lonely place. And

:31:31. > :31:34.I think from our perspective we hope that perhaps Barry Hawkins uses his

:31:35. > :31:37.experience to get back into this match as quickly as possible because

:31:38. > :31:42.I think everyone would like to have a wonderful evening today. Sorry,

:31:43. > :31:52.making sure the players are backstage. They are, let's go to

:31:53. > :31:59.you. Thank you. Steve Davies just had a marriage froze all live on the

:32:00. > :32:01.BBC. Retired but still in demand. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

:32:02. > :32:07.Steve Davies was just a dozen -- to Steve Davies was just a dozen - to

:32:08. > :32:12.sink 40 was proposed to hear, only two players but they will entertain

:32:13. > :32:20.us in fine style. -- was just saying to us for he was proposed to. As

:32:21. > :32:21.always, this fabulous critical crowd are ready to be entertained every

:32:22. > :32:46.step of the way! Please welcome a player bidding for

:32:47. > :32:51.his first Crucible semifinal in ten years. He make the perfect start in

:32:52. > :32:56.this match, twice a ranking event winner and one of the sport's most

:32:57. > :33:20.important global ambassadors. From Hong Kong, he isn't Marco Fu.

:33:21. > :33:25.You contesting a fourth 60 quarterfinal at that thrilling

:33:26. > :33:29.late-night win over Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has made the semis in

:33:30. > :33:34.each of the last three years and he will be determined to come out and

:33:35. > :33:49.attack his deficit. Because he is the, Barry Hawkins.

:33:50. > :33:57.He has lots of what doesn't work to do, it is like a dress rehearsal for

:33:58. > :34:04.the semifinal. From one of these guys. We always knew that everyone

:34:05. > :34:07.loved Steve Davies but that is official confirmation with a

:34:08. > :34:12.marriage proposal, that is the first! All eyes on these guys and

:34:13. > :34:17.all years for a Ken Doherty and Willie Thorne. Good afternoon. We

:34:18. > :34:24.had to take the guide dog from that lady in the auditorium.

:34:25. > :34:34.The second session of this match gets underway. Kenna literally has

:34:35. > :34:38.to win the session 6-2. Any more than 10-6 behind it would be tough

:34:39. > :34:46.to get back. You would say so. I'm sure that is his target. 5-3

:34:47. > :34:52.wouldn't be too bad if he was a 10-6 down at the final session he might

:34:53. > :34:59.take that. Tall order even from there. Important for Barry Hawkins,

:35:00. > :35:03.after a good start. Yesterday was a terrible Day from this session.

:35:04. > :35:10.After such heroics against Ronnie O'Sullivan the night before, perhaps

:35:11. > :35:15.it trained him? I agree, we saw that statistic. His pot success rate is

:35:16. > :35:19.at 74%. At one time during the first five frames his highest rate was 30

:35:20. > :35:23.and five friends. I feel sorry for him because it was heroic Harry he

:35:24. > :35:28.put in the performance against Ronnie O'Sullivan, who played very

:35:29. > :35:33.well. As Mike wrote how he. O'Sullivan played well but still

:35:34. > :35:42.beat him. His pot success was somewhere around 96% in that match.

:35:43. > :35:54.Barry will have to play into the pack to stay on them and maybe screw

:35:55. > :36:02.off the pack. This is dangerous Enough to try and play it as a shot.

:36:03. > :36:07.Typical, these were the type of chances Barry was taking against

:36:08. > :36:11.Ronnie O'Sullivan and becomes more difficult. You start chasing all the

:36:12. > :36:36.time. Good opening from Marco. Not very

:36:37. > :36:42.easy for when you're playing the side cushion, particularly across

:36:43. > :36:50.the map. Is there any better player with temperament than Marco Fu?

:36:51. > :36:55.Marco Fu could be 7-1 ahead but he could be 7-1 behind and his

:36:56. > :36:59.demeanour will not change. You can never tell if he is behind or in

:37:00. > :37:03.front. He made a mistake initially, this was his first miss this

:37:04. > :37:09.afternoon, sat in the wrong chair. They had to selling to set -- they

:37:10. > :37:20.had to telling to sit in his other chair and laugh. He is here with his

:37:21. > :37:24.wife and two children. Looks very relaxed, as ever, now. When Marco

:37:25. > :37:29.plays well, Stephen Hendry mentioned it, if he had a power game he would

:37:30. > :37:36.have won multiple World Championships, it is the only reason

:37:37. > :37:41.he has not as yet. I'm not 100% agreeing with that. On these costs

:37:42. > :37:46.you need that much to power, sometimes it gets you out of

:37:47. > :37:50.trouble, but you couldn't say there was too much wrong with Marco Fu's

:37:51. > :37:55.brick building, sometimes you need to power to get into the cue ball or

:37:56. > :38:01.the reds. Looking at his break-building statistics, 403

:38:02. > :38:06.career centuries, 36 this season and 24 last season. One of the breast to

:38:07. > :38:11.break builds on a circuit, not many players would have in excess of 400

:38:12. > :38:20.career centuries, he has had 14 4 times in tournament play. He almost

:38:21. > :38:25.goes under the radar. I think it's because of his personality. He is so

:38:26. > :38:34.laid back and keeps himself to himself. Very unassuming guy. Maybe

:38:35. > :38:43.does not get the recognition that other players in his position would

:38:44. > :38:47.have got. Taking on a rather difficult -- difficult blue rather

:38:48. > :39:00.than an easy pink. That was our pressure shot. You can see he is

:39:01. > :39:23.hampered for the pink in the middle. Did not expect him to miss the blue.

:39:24. > :39:26.Just wondering if he will take the options you to play for the loose

:39:27. > :39:55.red passed the width of the pack. -- past. That is one loose red

:39:56. > :39:59.directly above the black that Google right into the right corner pocket.

:40:00. > :40:05.It is always a little bit straight on this black and if he can force

:40:06. > :40:08.the angle to get out from the red. Would love to have been a little

:40:09. > :40:15.lower than he is and could have played the arc shot and brought them

:40:16. > :40:27.back into play. He might play that. Tries to force the end to get onto

:40:28. > :40:33.the Boston red. In the olden days it would have been difficult to get a

:40:34. > :40:45.shot back up for the red but with these bores you can move them around

:40:46. > :40:52.better -- with these balls. Marco relying on quite a bit of acute

:40:53. > :41:03.power there -- quite a bit of cue power.

:41:04. > :41:29.That was an excellent shot. Lots of top spin through the pack.

:41:30. > :41:45.Set up a wonderful opportunity for himself.

:41:46. > :41:57.He does not have to do much with the cue ball. Just wondering whether he

:41:58. > :42:01.will try and disturb those three reds above the black or if he will

:42:02. > :42:15.just try and get some points on the board. He has still got three or

:42:16. > :42:22.four loose reds. He has decided maybe to build up his lead before he

:42:23. > :42:37.attacks the three reds above the black. Besides what's needed to get

:42:38. > :42:41.64. I love watching him play, he doesn't do anything out of the

:42:42. > :42:46.ordinary yet is one of the best break-builders in the game.

:42:47. > :42:55.I think it is down to his cue ball control. Watch him around the pink

:42:56. > :42:58.and black, is never too far away. That is the object of trying to keep

:42:59. > :43:05.control of the ball around the pink and black area, making every shot

:43:06. > :43:08.just as easy as the previous one. When he is in full flow he has the

:43:09. > :43:40.cue ball on a string. This is the first real pressure shot

:43:41. > :43:54.of this frame. He will do a little bit to get back from the black. He

:43:55. > :44:00.hit that beautifully. We said he lacked to power, but could not have

:44:01. > :44:53.done that better. -- he lacked cue power.

:44:54. > :45:06.You can see the score, 57 ahead. This red into the left centre and

:45:07. > :45:19.onto ball colour. He has missed eight! -- he has missed it! What

:45:20. > :45:24.this -- what a mess. That is about as much emotion as you get from

:45:25. > :45:33.Marco Fu. He just looks like he's going shopping as he walked back to

:45:34. > :45:40.the chair. This is a chance for Barry Hawkins to get a foot in. If

:45:41. > :45:48.he pinches of this frame Marco could feel negative.

:45:49. > :46:04.Nice opener, just drops back in as we see the red again. Behind the red

:46:05. > :46:10.on the left of the table. Barry, that is just down to a bit of

:46:11. > :46:17.pressure when newer 57 behind and basically need for rates and for

:46:18. > :46:23.blacks to win the frame. -- four reds and four blacks. The fact you

:46:24. > :46:30.are for behind does not help as well. It is amazing. You can can did

:46:31. > :46:33.on one hand the amount of blacks he would have missed against Ronnie

:46:34. > :46:39.O'Sullivan in that best 25 match. From one Day to the next is can be

:46:40. > :46:44.completely different. I feel so sorry for him. You would have

:46:45. > :46:49.expected big things, people will watch at home and tear their hair

:46:50. > :46:53.out at the performance. And we know Barry Hawkins is a fabulous player,

:46:54. > :46:57.two semifinals and final in the last few years come love is the critical,

:46:58. > :47:06.but when you play badly it catches you out. It is the strangest place

:47:07. > :47:11.in the world to play. This is the magnificent Crucible arena. And the

:47:12. > :47:19.fact they have it all to themselves as afternoon. -- this afternoon. The

:47:20. > :47:34.other match finished early. It is completely different, almost

:47:35. > :47:39.eerie as a player, the entire focus is on you. It is a great feeling

:47:40. > :47:57.when you are playing well, if it is going against you it is tough. Nice

:47:58. > :48:15.little shot to take the blue off the cushion. Not a bad effort.

:48:16. > :48:28.I'm sure they will see that Marco Fu was further clear. And we saw Barry

:48:29. > :48:31.early on in that frame with a perfect angle on the black but

:48:32. > :48:36.having to force it and the problem with forcing it is they tend to

:48:37. > :48:40.leave the table. Absolutely, the balls are jumping all around the

:48:41. > :48:43.place. We will see it, the black jumping and even the cue ball

:48:44. > :48:48.jumping before it reaches the black, and here's another one from Mark all

:48:49. > :48:54.as he tries to power the cue ball through the pack of reds. When we

:48:55. > :48:59.see it in super slow motion, let's look. Hitting on the cue ball, it is

:49:00. > :49:05.quite incredible what you can see this bold junk before it reaches the

:49:06. > :49:09.black. Until we had these cameras we never noticed it. It is amazing with

:49:10. > :49:13.the slow motion. We will show you again with this particular one, it

:49:14. > :49:17.bounces into the bowl and this is where the kicks come from. We are

:49:18. > :49:19.not hitting them in the middle of the ball and it may contact

:49:20. > :49:28.together, they keep bouncing through. Watch when they hit the

:49:29. > :49:36.jaws, how much bouncing is going on. That is slowed all the way down,

:49:37. > :49:38.quite incredible. Great pictures. That shows why the players sometimes

:49:39. > :50:00.complain about kicks. What can Barry Hawkins do to try and

:50:01. > :50:06.stop the rot? Had a chance at the end of the frame and missed. A

:50:07. > :50:16.chance on the black as well. These were the type of shots he was

:50:17. > :50:18.getting in, trying to pot the red in the corner pocket and back up

:50:19. > :50:25.towards the blue vault colours -- towards the blue vault colours -

:50:26. > :50:52.the blue and ball colours. It was just not there at the moment.

:50:53. > :51:01.It was a wonderful shot. Cued beautifully, control of two

:51:02. > :51:35.cushions. -- control from. Might not be a bad idea to get the

:51:36. > :51:45.pink away from the pack of reds. Possibly attract the pink -- track.

:51:46. > :51:50.I'm not sure if that will go on a spot, if it started will be closer

:51:51. > :52:01.the reds. If it goes on the blue spot it might be a bonus.

:52:02. > :52:16.Definitely respond on its own spot. Tried to push the cue ball through

:52:17. > :52:20.the pack of reds, knowing he would still be to the left-centre, but he

:52:21. > :52:25.is hampered by the pack of reds. is hampered by the pack of reds

:52:26. > :52:35.Better take this one into the left corner. That is quite a watch. That

:52:36. > :53:26.made it a very awkward. We just show you a few of the shots

:53:27. > :53:31.where it was bouncing, watch this first read, you can see it bouncing

:53:32. > :53:41.as it goes into the part, but still mileage to get spin. I think

:53:42. > :53:44.anything with a bit of power or distance the balls will bounce

:53:45. > :53:58.around. It's why you got to be so accurate.

:53:59. > :54:06.It could be a bridge too far for him to get back in the match, but I

:54:07. > :54:07.would love to see him make a sizeable break to give him some

:54:08. > :54:27.confidence. Has not really got a nice angle on

:54:28. > :54:28.the reds. With the blue being off its spots, will have to play yellow

:54:29. > :55:03.or green. -- of its spot. Can possibly try and get on the red

:55:04. > :55:07.below the black but he has a nice angle to go into the pack as well.

:55:08. > :55:16.That is what he has chosen to do. How does this look? Sort of stuck in

:55:17. > :55:20.the pack a little. Good news and bad news, perfect on the red but cannot

:55:21. > :55:24.generate the spin to get out for pink or black. Very unfortunate If

:55:25. > :55:35.pink or black. Very unfortunate. If he just rules it in, all he can do

:55:36. > :55:39.is get the yellow. Very unlucky. Sometimes they go into the blunt and

:55:40. > :55:40.still have enough top spin to force through and sometimes it's like

:55:41. > :55:58.hitting a brick wall. I do not think he will take the

:55:59. > :56:03.yellow. Too much danger. Roll up to the brown, trying to get the tube

:56:04. > :56:39.behind the blue. That is very good. Excellent shot.

:56:40. > :56:45.Just glancing blow. I don't think there is anything available into the

:56:46. > :56:52.corner, if not he can clip off buying the blue again from the

:56:53. > :57:01.outside red. Making sure he will not push a red into open play. The

:57:02. > :57:05.reason I say behind the blue, it is more difficult to get back to the

:57:06. > :57:07.baulk end if you're at the middle of the top cushion. He has played

:57:08. > :57:43.behind the blue. It is good weight. Does not appear at first glance to

:57:44. > :57:48.have done any damage. Barry's hand on the table, he should be able to

:57:49. > :57:54.get back to the ball without a problem -- back to the baulk end

:57:55. > :58:00.without a problem. A bit of a lesser target to get behind. He wants the

:58:01. > :58:06.cue ball to finish on the right hand cue ball to finish on the right-hand

:58:07. > :58:23.side. But be worried about the second read and where that is going.

:58:24. > :58:28.Because of that, he was worried about it, trying to get behind the

:58:29. > :58:50.green. That is a terrible shock Completely miss hit.

:58:51. > :58:55.Michael has just come around to know, the black does not go into the

:58:56. > :59:03.left-hand corner pocket, but the pink certainly does. Get a quick

:59:04. > :59:11.look at the pink also, must not leave it on the pink from this red.

:59:12. > :59:21.Played it well, it is OK. Being right-handed he can get this pink

:59:22. > :59:27.and just move the Reg to the right of the pink away and beyond that

:59:28. > :59:43.possibly closest to be black. -- move the red. That is the red moving

:59:44. > :59:49.away, and he is on it nicely. Lovely controlled cannon on the red and

:59:50. > :59:52.pushes it through the black and it will be available into the bottom

:59:53. > :00:01.right-hand corner pocket now. Nice little shot. Lovely, can get the

:00:02. > :00:02.black bag onto the spot as well Would probably like to play on the

:00:03. > :00:33.pink rather than the black. The way that Marco Fu is playing

:00:34. > :00:37.just now, he could win this match with a session to -- session to

:00:38. > :01:27.Speyer. He can stun the paint in and take

:01:28. > :01:37.the ride off those three reds beneath the pink. Back in prime

:01:38. > :01:46.position now. You never really notice Marco Fu being so great

:01:47. > :01:56.because his position is great all the time. Remarkable break potter.

:01:57. > :02:19.Certainly as. If you watch closely, the cue ball control, the series of

:02:20. > :02:40.little nudges and cannons. He still has the red to the left of centre.

:02:41. > :02:53.Parting that red releases the two reds beneath the pink into this

:02:54. > :02:56.bottom left corner pocket. Barry will be disappointed. He had chances

:02:57. > :02:59.in the first frame and this frame. But not scored heavily enough at

:03:00. > :03:37.all. That seat can be one of the greatest

:03:38. > :03:56.in the world, but at times very lonely.

:03:57. > :04:05.Everything is so simple at the moment. It so effective for Marco

:04:06. > :04:13.Fu. He has not been past the blue spot. He has won the frame again

:04:14. > :05:08.with a series of Little storms and cannons.

:05:09. > :05:49.That is a shame. Wonderful exhibition shots. Wonderful 71 break

:05:50. > :05:54.that did the damage. Marco Fu puts another frame on the board. He leads

:05:55. > :06:00.9-1. You have to ask the question, is

:06:01. > :06:08.Barry Hawkins all punched out? It was tough to come straight out there

:06:09. > :06:14.after those match with Ronnie O'Sullivan. He got off to a bad

:06:15. > :06:20.start. He got the total opposite. He missed the black off the spot in the

:06:21. > :06:27.previous frame. That you detected some worrying signs from the wok on?

:06:28. > :06:37.He didn't look happy. He lit thoroughly depressed and dejected.

:06:38. > :06:41.Having beaten Ronnie, he would have been thinking, what a chance I have

:06:42. > :06:50.got? I have sympathy when you have to play the next day. To put in that

:06:51. > :06:54.performance and now he is thinking, I have wasted that opportunity and I

:06:55. > :07:00.am out of it. He just looked an unhappy player backstage. Some

:07:01. > :07:03.people on social media are saying that he needs a hug. It must be very

:07:04. > :07:35.painful. Will we see a fightback? Marco Fu is laughing. Settled down,

:07:36. > :07:54.please. What a break off that was. Perfect on the blue.

:07:55. > :08:02.That just sums up what has happened to Barry Hawkins in this match so

:08:03. > :08:04.far. Does the red pass into this bottom right corner pocket? I think

:08:05. > :08:29.it does. Well played! One good positional shot here. If

:08:30. > :08:38.you can somehow get down onto that red that is only black spot and get

:08:39. > :08:46.straight on that red. I don't think there has ever been a century with a

:08:47. > :08:57.ball in-off the break off at the Crucible. I don't remember it. I

:08:58. > :09:02.hope he gets a century now because that would be amazing. He is just

:09:03. > :09:11.getting on the wrong side of every ball at the minute.

:09:12. > :09:24.This was the amazing shot we were talking about. Completely mis-hit

:09:25. > :09:45.the break. I would love it if he got a century after the break.

:09:46. > :10:00.Obviously it is all about getting to the red just above the black at some

:10:01. > :10:25.stage. Brilliant short. Top drawer.

:10:26. > :10:35.Perfectly on the red. Can cannon onto the black.

:10:36. > :10:43.May have been better off trying to nudge the black towards the centre

:10:44. > :10:54.pocket. This could be the end of the break now.

:10:55. > :11:18.What a shame. Talking about players winning frames of the break. There

:11:19. > :11:23.was a gay who paid ?500 to play against Jimmy White. He stood there

:11:24. > :11:27.with a cue in his hand and didn t with a cue in his hand and didn't

:11:28. > :11:35.come to the table, watching a 147 break. Marco Fu struggling with this

:11:36. > :11:54.safety shots. Didn't expect to get the jaws like

:11:55. > :13:17.that. That is the problem when you are

:13:18. > :13:25.playing thin safety shots. It is very difficult to adjust the weight.

:13:26. > :13:32.Completely misjudged. We were talking about? Our earlier. Whether

:13:33. > :13:37.Marco Fu can play this raid and swing back for the yellow or brown,

:13:38. > :13:47.I don't think he can. -- play this red.

:13:48. > :14:02.That's what I mean about the power shots. It wasn't in his armoury

:14:03. > :14:06.There was a lot of movement. There was so much movement in his back am

:14:07. > :14:21.and this shouldn't have been for that short.

:14:22. > :15:13.When you play with that amount of left-hand side, it tends to push it

:15:14. > :15:34.first before it takes. Barry has got on that read only black spot.

:15:35. > :16:15.Pot this red and get a nice angle on the black. Nice and low on the black

:16:16. > :16:21.and can no cannon into the three reds beneath the pink.

:16:22. > :16:30.Amazing to see Marco Fu play so well and sometimes he can play three

:16:31. > :16:35.tournament and you don't see him. He used to be coaxed by Terry

:16:36. > :16:37.Griffiths, but now coached by his son Wayne who has come over from

:16:38. > :16:57.Hong Kong. A bit unusual. The father coaching

:16:58. > :17:04.Barry Hawkins and the sun coaching Marco Fu. Could be an interesting

:17:05. > :17:11.conversation in the household after this match! It looks like the sun

:17:12. > :17:23.has got the one-upmanship at the moment.

:17:24. > :17:59.Didn't get the kiss right. Bad positional shot.

:18:00. > :18:11.One of those safety shots were you cannot put Marco Fu in trouble.

:18:12. > :19:11.Excellent. Almost really good, had he got the

:19:12. > :19:40.snooker behind the yellow. This is where Barry Hawkins needs to

:19:41. > :19:44.be careful. If he comes down the right hand side there is always a

:19:45. > :20:02.chance of knocking a read towards the left corner pocket.

:20:03. > :20:18.Marco Fu cannot play down that side of the table so the problem arises

:20:19. > :20:47.for him. He made a break of 43 only. There

:20:48. > :20:51.has not been a 30 break in any other frame. What a difference a day

:20:52. > :21:18.makes. So easy to hit them thick. That is

:21:19. > :22:47.pretty good. In this session, the safety play has been excellent.

:22:48. > :22:53.Marco Fu could play a very telling safety shots here, the second one to

:22:54. > :23:10.the right of the black. He can part in the left, but I don't

:23:11. > :23:24.think there is any space to get behind the black.

:23:25. > :23:42.Should get him in trouble. Excellent safety shot from Marco Fu.

:23:43. > :23:57.Might be forced into having a go at this red.

:23:58. > :24:11.Super-short! Great pot. It is amazing when you're in trouble and

:24:12. > :24:13.you're forced into making a pot the you're forced into making a pot, the

:24:14. > :24:28.number of times the du pot them. Really wanted to cover this cushion

:24:29. > :24:46.down the left side of the table. This safety has been really top

:24:47. > :25:11.drawer. Now Barry, go on, my son. Play the

:25:12. > :25:29.way you did against Ronnie. Heavy contact on the red, but

:25:30. > :25:59.thankfully there are options. If this was a couple of days ago,

:26:00. > :26:00.you could have it in writing that he would pot everything to win the

:26:01. > :26:48.frame. But not so easy today. Not the best positional shot. He has

:26:49. > :27:40.He has played it pretty well. As close as you could do to the red.

:27:41. > :27:51.A round of applause, but he is not high enough on the black. 24 points

:27:52. > :28:04.ahead. He is going to need this last red and the cushion. He has to do

:28:05. > :28:20.try to drop this dead weight. That gives it a chance to get into the

:28:21. > :28:24.pocket. Well played! This crowd want to see the match cool a little

:28:25. > :28:26.further. They will be delighted to see Barry Hawkins get a frame on the

:28:27. > :28:50.board. Still only one break over 40, but

:28:51. > :29:02.this time it is enough to get one on the board. We were waxing lyrical

:29:03. > :29:11.about Marco Fu's cue ball control. Here is an example. Let's have a

:29:12. > :29:17.look. This is when Barry Hawkins went in-off. He knocks the long red

:29:18. > :29:24.in. It is all about the art of break-building. You need to try to

:29:25. > :29:33.keep the cue ball as close to the object ball as possible. Every time,

:29:34. > :29:38.he is no more than 18 inches from the object ball each time. Close

:29:39. > :29:48.control, close proximity to the next shot. That makes the next shot so

:29:49. > :29:52.much easier. We see that you have the ball on a string. Sometimes when

:29:53. > :29:57.you're not playing well it feels like it is on a rope. But in this

:29:58. > :30:02.match, he has had it on a string. Couldn't agree more. UC century

:30:03. > :30:12.breaks from other players and they go in and out of baulk all the time.

:30:13. > :30:20.He does everything is so simple, but it is so effective. At the moment,

:30:21. > :30:26.he is in total control. Nice to see Barry Hawkins get his first frame on

:30:27. > :30:32.the board in the afternoon session. He has a mountain to climb.

:30:33. > :30:40.We've witnessed a lot of great comebacks in this wonderful theatre

:30:41. > :30:46.at the World Championships over the years. You have to start somewhere.

:30:47. > :30:54.Now, what sort of confidence will that frame give Barry Hawkins?

:30:55. > :31:04.These are reds he was knocking in earlier in the match. Against Ronnie

:31:05. > :31:08.O'Sullivan, I don't think I saw him miss one of these type of shots.

:31:09. > :31:14.That's more like it. Much more like it.

:31:15. > :31:23.Didn't play it as a shot to nothing. Made sure he stayed this side of the

:31:24. > :31:27.baulk line. Just got to screw the green past the middle pocket and the

:31:28. > :31:32.white will travel down nicely for the red to the black. Off two

:31:33. > :31:36.cushions, he's playing. Playing for a choice of reds either side of the

:31:37. > :31:45.pink. Decided to play the second shot, not the one next to the black.

:31:46. > :31:49.If he gets on the black now, this is another great chance. He's had a

:31:50. > :32:11.chance in each frame before mark other few made the 71. -- Marco Fu.

:32:12. > :32:15.Interesting to see whether he finishes low on this next black. He

:32:16. > :32:19.finishes low on this next black He has two reds there available should

:32:20. > :32:24.he get this nice angle on the black, which he's got. Probably not got the

:32:25. > :32:26.guaranteed angle to go into them so he'll play for the one just above

:32:27. > :32:49.the black now. Started at 73%, up to 80% success

:32:50. > :33:13.rate. To get back into this match, he'll have to appear at 95% or 6%.

:33:14. > :33:22.Not too bad. Could have been a bit better had that cue ball come aI

:33:23. > :33:33.away from the side cushion a little bit more.

:33:34. > :33:45.Just noticed he scored more points in this first three frames than he

:33:46. > :33:50.did in the previous eight frames. Yeah, that total points scored, 220

:33:51. > :34:01.for Barry Hawkins, 843 for Marco Fu. Nice little shot there. Just used

:34:02. > :34:21.the other red to hold for the black. May have to risk using the red to

:34:22. > :34:26.slow the cue ball down. The Reds nearest the white, he can screw it

:34:27. > :34:32.round two cushions. He's putting top spins on so he is playing for that

:34:33. > :34:37.cannon. Just over hanging. He's playing the cannon, got it nicely.

:34:38. > :34:43.Well done. Just noticed, there, Ken, how big a tip Barry's got. It's

:34:44. > :34:45.overhanging as well, look at that. It's favoured by a lot of players

:34:46. > :35:23.these days. He knew the minute he hit that he

:35:24. > :35:28.didn't generate enough side spin on the queue ball just to get by that

:35:29. > :35:35.red he just clipped. It's a big target. Just wanted to run by that

:35:36. > :35:40.red. Run in the gap. So he'd have those two reds into the bottom

:35:41. > :35:47.right-hand corner pocket. This red still pots. But, again, the fact the

:35:48. > :35:49.cue ball is so close to the red makes it very difficult to line it

:35:50. > :35:59.up. That's a good shot. That's a very

:36:00. > :36:12.good shot. Nicely controlled. On for the blue.

:36:13. > :36:20.Will he go into the pack here? He could do, if he wishes. Doesn't have

:36:21. > :36:30.to. There's plenty of reds on. I don't blame him for that.

:36:31. > :36:38.Just another 19 points needed. Then in a position where Marco Fu needs

:36:39. > :36:44.snookers. When you consider he's lost the opening two frames, he s

:36:45. > :36:48.really dug his heels in here, Barry. This, the highest break of the match

:36:49. > :36:55.so far. Not particularly high for Marco Fu. He's been making 50 or 60

:36:56. > :37:01.every time he's getting on the balls. Been very consistent Marco.

:37:02. > :37:03.Took a risk. I think the risk's OK. I think they'll both pot into the

:37:04. > :37:27.middle pocket, these two reds. All about missing the kiss on the

:37:28. > :37:43.yellow. Did it the other way round. Key

:37:44. > :37:49.there to kiss on any ball colour. Up and down between yellow and brown

:37:50. > :37:55.would have been the better choice? Just hit it hard enough. This red

:37:56. > :38:02.still cuts into the left centre. Just needs the red on a colour. That

:38:03. > :38:05.would leave Marco Fu needing a snooker. Guaranteed to be on the

:38:06. > :38:20.black here potting this. May just elect to take the long blue

:38:21. > :38:30.into the yellow pocket. Only needs a colour. 55 ahead, 67 remaining. Just

:38:31. > :38:36.needs to try to get on the next red, make sure he pots the blue.

:38:37. > :39:14.That's more like the Barry Hawkins we know.

:39:15. > :39:28.This has been an excellent break. Mid-session break coming up after

:39:29. > :39:33.this frame. Just meant to kiss the red to the right of the pink. A

:39:34. > :39:38.little on the left-hand side, straighten the cue ball up to the

:39:39. > :39:41.side of the cushion. Didn't get the side on. End of break. The highest

:39:42. > :39:58.break of the match. Well, Marco says that's enough. A

:39:59. > :40:04.wonderful 86 from Barry Hawkins takes the frame. He puts another

:40:05. > :40:10.frame on the board. But it's Marco Fu who still leads by 9-3. He potted

:40:11. > :40:17.one off the break. He with thought maybe his luck was changing in the

:40:18. > :40:22.last frame. So it would appear. Barry Hawkins suddenly gets his food

:40:23. > :40:28.foot on the pedal. He needs to just graft away. Not a completely forlorn

:40:29. > :40:31.hope. If he wins the next two frames, it's game on. Marco has

:40:32. > :40:32.plenty of breathing space still. frames, it's game on. Marco has

:40:33. > :40:38.plenty of breathing space still He sure has. We were looking through

:40:39. > :40:42.the SATs, people asked what is the biggest come back achieved here at

:40:43. > :40:47.The Crucible? Several times guys have come back from six or seven

:40:48. > :40:51.frames. The largest deficit was in eight frames. It was in a longer

:40:52. > :40:56.match, a remarkable final. It was Steve Davis who had been quite a

:40:57. > :41:01.long way in front of a certain Dennis Taylor. However, that was a

:41:02. > :41:06.much longer match! The possibilities for a come back in this one are

:41:07. > :41:12.possibly a little less likely. I think we've got to give credit here

:41:13. > :41:16.to Marco Fu who has been utterly... It's all right, Steve. We'll get you

:41:17. > :41:27.a damp cloth shortly to mop your brow. He has been impack lot so far

:41:28. > :41:32.He's in incredible player. If you add Judd Trump's cue power to his

:41:33. > :41:36.play, you could have the ultimate snooker player. He would be in the

:41:37. > :41:41.top four and stay there. It's his only weakness. Sometimes he's

:41:42. > :41:47.limited in the shots he can play. There's few people better. He's one

:41:48. > :41:53.of maybe five or six who've made 400 centuries. Not a flashy player at

:41:54. > :41:56.all? When he first came on the scene we thought, a good young player

:41:57. > :42:02.coming through. Didn't look anything special. Arguably, he's never looked

:42:03. > :42:07.anything special. He walks around the venue quietly, doing his own

:42:08. > :42:12.thing. One of the nicest guys you can ever meet. Maybe the public

:42:13. > :42:16.think, when they talk about possible winners for the wharled

:42:17. > :42:21.championship, he is not up there with the favourites. It is only the

:42:22. > :42:25.first time in ten years he's got to the quarter-finals. We'll be back to

:42:26. > :42:33.the table after the mid-session break. Yesterday, in QI we only had

:42:34. > :42:40.one correct answer. You'd better get your lateral-thinking head on again.

:42:41. > :42:45.This is another tough one, day two. In QI this afternoon, we'll

:42:46. > :42:48.impatient copious countities of brained-bending, swerve and screw to

:42:49. > :42:54.another enfiendish question about Q sport. Let's see if our

:42:55. > :43:01.distinguished players and you will be snookered by today's teaser. I'd

:43:02. > :43:05.like you to tell me why whizzy galore is so important to the modern

:43:06. > :43:10.day of snooker. Don't be fooled, this is nothing to do with late

:43:11. > :43:15.nights at The Crucible bar. Whisky galore. Contact us on social media.

:43:16. > :43:22.I'll be back with the answer very soon. . Oh, the man is a genius. How

:43:23. > :43:26.many geniuses have we out there Get many geniuses have we out there? Get

:43:27. > :43:28.your answers to us. We've had a lot of table time out on The Crucible.

:43:29. > :43:44.It's now time for table talk. Our regular guest Jason Ferguson,

:43:45. > :43:48.the chairman of the WPBSA joins us again. He either likes our coffee or

:43:49. > :43:54.company because he's back. A regular guest here. We should have been

:43:55. > :43:56.serving you Brazilian cocktails here today because today marks the 100

:43:57. > :44:18.days to go until the Rio Olympics. COMMENTATOR: Jessica Ennis-Hill is

:44:19. > :44:22.back on top of the world. He wins the gold. Nicola Adams has just made

:44:23. > :44:43.history. Gold for Kenya. His 18th Olympic

:44:44. > :44:49.gold medal. Both gets it! -- bolt gets it. Charlotte'sised the cake in

:44:50. > :44:58.style. Bradley Wiggins is Olympic champion. That's a huge jump. Laura

:44:59. > :45:03.crosses the line as world champion. Mo Farah streaking away. I can't

:45:04. > :45:10.believe it's four years since London. 22067 nations. 214 sporting

:45:11. > :45:13.disciplines. Amongst the new once Rugby 7s and the return of golf

:45:14. > :45:20.after over a century. What's missing from your point of view, Jason is

:45:21. > :45:26.snooker. There was an unsuccessful but it made interesting progress for

:45:27. > :45:31.inclusion in Tokyo 2020. What's the situation now? On the 2020 agenda

:45:32. > :45:35.for Tokyo was the opportunity for new sports to apply to be on the

:45:36. > :45:40.Olympic programme. Why not? At the end of the day every sport in the

:45:41. > :45:45.Olympic charter, opportunity for all, fair play, every sport deserves

:45:46. > :45:49.its opportunity to make a bid. We were unsuccessful. We were very late

:45:50. > :45:53.to the table. Just over five years into a restructure of this sport. A

:45:54. > :45:59.very late bid. We did reasonably well. Rattled a few cages. Made our

:46:00. > :46:04.mark. There's a lot of support out there. We are great advocates of the

:46:05. > :46:10.Olympic movement and will come back to the table. You're something of a

:46:11. > :46:15.mover and shaker? You had a meeting the IOC president last week? I was

:46:16. > :46:19.there last week with the IOC and there's certainly a lot of interest

:46:20. > :46:25.in some of the work we're doing in snooker. If you look at the way

:46:26. > :46:29.we're developing our sport at grass roots level, opportunity for all.

:46:30. > :46:36.Getting more kids involved. More ladies. We've set up world dis

:46:37. > :46:40.disability in snooker. We've seen some great features on that here on

:46:41. > :46:44.the BBC. All of that's Copt byesing to the way our sport is growing in

:46:45. > :46:48.communities. We want to make our contribution. In terms of the work

:46:49. > :46:52.that needs to be done, we've seen a lot of work done with disability

:46:53. > :46:56.snooker. In terms of the women's game, that seems to be the area

:46:57. > :47:01.where there could be a struggle on your hands? It's not perhaps caught

:47:02. > :47:05.on as much as you would have hoped, I suspect? It is a very interesting

:47:06. > :47:10.debate. We operate an open tour sport. We don't operate a ladies

:47:11. > :47:14.game and a men's game. We operate an open tour. Every man and woman has

:47:15. > :47:19.the same opportunity to come peat on the World Snooker tour if good

:47:20. > :47:22.enough. Some of our top lady players have achieved appearances in the

:47:23. > :47:28.time stages of some of our events. For me, it is just a numbers game.

:47:29. > :47:33.There's no reason why a woman can't compete with a man but there are

:47:34. > :47:38.less women playing the sport. That's an areas we're focusing on and

:47:39. > :47:42.trying to drive more participation. From a players' point of view, it

:47:43. > :47:49.talks to us about golf and tennis, is this the pin acling of your

:47:50. > :47:53.sport. From a players' per pective, would you fancy competing for your

:47:54. > :47:57.country in the Olympic Games, Steve? Yes, any snooker player that

:47:58. > :48:02.currently doesn't probably doesn't understand the whole picture of what

:48:03. > :48:10.it could do for snooker worldwide. It unlocks a lot of funding we could

:48:11. > :48:14.use to make the grass roots of the game bigger. Nothing ever stays the

:48:15. > :48:19.same. Somewhere done the line back in the history, courtesy of QI and

:48:20. > :48:23.Stephen Fry was the fact poetry and tug of war were in the Olympic.

:48:24. > :48:28.Everything changes. Why not get the sports currently on TV and are hot

:48:29. > :48:33.property like snooker, darks, golf, tennis. I don't see the problem with

:48:34. > :48:37.it. Of all the ball sports, I think snooker's the best. You would. It's

:48:38. > :48:43.not just snooker that would be included, it would be cue sports

:48:44. > :48:47.Feng Li. Stephen, you're deal in China with different forms of cue

:48:48. > :48:53.sports. They are played widely, not just snooker I don't know how many

:48:54. > :48:58.different variants of pool there is, six at least. There's billiards I

:48:59. > :49:03.never liked billiards myself. Another cue sport, massive in India.

:49:04. > :49:10.There's lots of scope for different sports to be involved. Absolutely,

:49:11. > :49:15.our bid, we're already in the world game in 2017. That bid will comprise

:49:16. > :49:22.of nine-ball pool, the American version. Snooker. Does that mean

:49:23. > :49:25.snooker players have to play pool? No, their' competing for separate

:49:26. > :49:29.medals. Different disciplines playing their own sport.

:49:30. > :49:35.Interesting, though. Different cue players to play different sports.

:49:36. > :49:39.May be a leveller. Perhaps an op knee yum for cue sports. Let's see

:49:40. > :49:43.how some of the other snooker professionals fancy the idea of

:49:44. > :49:47.getting a gold medal around their neck. For me, no. They are working

:49:48. > :49:51.hard to get it. For me, Olympic sports should be sports is that are

:49:52. > :49:56.athletes. We're not athletes in any way. Look at me! I'm not the model

:49:57. > :50:00.Olympic professional person. No, I Olympic professional person. No I

:50:01. > :50:06.think snooker's a long way off that. The people that play the game need

:50:07. > :50:09.to get themselves in shape before we could consider ourselves a sport

:50:10. > :50:15.that can compete in the Olympics. I think so. There's a lot less

:50:16. > :50:20.athletic things in the Olympics than snooker. Snooker gets the viewing

:50:21. > :50:25.figures worldwide as good as most sports. I think the practice that

:50:26. > :50:32.goes into snooker, definitely, I think it should be rewarded with

:50:33. > :50:35.that. Yeah, I think it could be. There's many nationalities on the

:50:36. > :50:41.tour and the sport's growing worldwide. I can't see why not. I'd

:50:42. > :50:47.like a Ed gold medal, yeah. I think everybody would. So, not 2020, 2024

:50:48. > :50:54.the next target. Is it achievable for you? I think it is. If you look

:50:55. > :50:57.at the way the sport's growing globally, we've countries with 110

:50:58. > :51:03.national governing bodies around the world. This is a huge sport. Coupled

:51:04. > :51:07.with the other cued sports, around 200 countries compete in billiard

:51:08. > :51:11.sports. A great chance for us. A huge participation sport. We've got

:51:12. > :51:15.to channel the energy of all those bodies around the world to lobby

:51:16. > :51:18.with their own Olympic committees and, of course, get the support from

:51:19. > :51:24.the public. We're running a number of surveys out there at the moment.

:51:25. > :51:28.We've got a survey on our website, World Snooker.com which is an

:51:29. > :51:33.insight survey about our sport. We want people to fill those in and

:51:34. > :51:40.give us an insight into what we need to do. Good luck with the moving and

:51:41. > :51:46.snaking. Can you imagine Ken Doherty playing for Ireland in the Olympics.

:51:47. > :51:51.Today, he's trying to beat Steve Davis in pot quiz. Today, we've a

:51:52. > :51:57.young up and coming player I can making waves in the game this

:51:58. > :52:01.season! Ken... In the over-50s. How it it go in the qualifiers? Ask me

:52:02. > :52:08.one on history! Five questions, you know the score. You've seen it. The

:52:09. > :52:13.record to beat one minute by Mark Allen. Steve Davis two minutes and

:52:14. > :52:18.11 seconds. Once I beat yours I don't mind. Name the players you

:52:19. > :52:22.beat on the way to inwithing the world title in 1997. Name the

:52:23. > :52:30.players. Stephen Hendry. In the final. Rob do you in the semi-final.

:52:31. > :52:31.John Higgins in the quarter-final. A young Steve Davis in the last 16.

:52:32. > :52:40.young Steve Davis in the last 1 . Yeah. And Mark Davis in the first

:52:41. > :52:48.round. Amazing. Just fantastic. Why is it amazing? I watch it every day!

:52:49. > :52:55.LAUGHTER The same year, who got the highest break prize? That was easy.

:52:56. > :53:00.A young Ronnie O'Sullivan. 147. 5 minutes 20 seconds. Two reds so far.

:53:01. > :53:06.Name the four semi-finalists in last year's World Championship. Tough.

:53:07. > :53:12.Last year's semi-final. Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy. Judd Trump

:53:13. > :53:22.and Barry Hawkins. Cricket again. Three out of three. I'm almost as

:53:23. > :53:26.boring as you, Steve! Na. Nobody's that boring! Cast your mind back. If

:53:27. > :53:34.you can remember, to the year you were born. Who was world champion

:53:35. > :53:40.that year? 1969? What sort of a question is that? It's the fourth

:53:41. > :53:46.question! I'll have to go with. . John Pulman. John Spencer. OK. 1969.

:53:47. > :53:51.John Pulman. John Spencer. OK. 969. And the fifth question, your

:53:52. > :53:57.multiple choice question, as if it wasn't hard enough. Which day in

:53:58. > :54:05.1969... Oh, thanks. Who did John Spencer beat in that final in 1 69.

:54:06. > :54:12.Was is Garryowen, Ray Reardon, Eddie Charlton or Warren Simpson? Oh, God!

:54:13. > :54:16.Owen? Garryowen, correct. There you go. Four reds off the table. OK,

:54:17. > :54:25.go. Four reds off the table. OK four reds off the table. I'll take

:54:26. > :54:32.this one. And this one. You can see his brain ticking away trying to

:54:33. > :54:36.work it out. Seems to be a popular line, the middle reds. That's three.

:54:37. > :54:46.Within more. In your own time. Don't worry. Sorry. OK. Let me see. I ll

:54:47. > :54:51.just take that one. All right, OK. The time starts when you strike the

:54:52. > :54:57.cue ball. Taking the more difficult red first. I love it.

:54:58. > :55:06.In goes the red. The clock's started. The player who had a great

:55:07. > :55:09.run in the qualifying section of the World Championships. Still seems to

:55:10. > :55:14.be in form. Three shots without moving. Quality. Mark Allen's on a

:55:15. > :55:21.minute. This is looking very good indeed. Argh! Commentator's curse

:55:22. > :55:27.there. Doesn't have to wait for the red to stop moving. Indecisive now.

:55:28. > :55:31.It's all gone wrong. He's back. Two minutes and 11 seconds is looking

:55:32. > :55:36.good now. A foul. He fouled the white ball. No, he's carrying on. A

:55:37. > :55:41.foul on the miss, the referee should put that back. Time at the moment

:55:42. > :55:46.is... Coming up to 45 seconds. No rush. Devastated if I can't beat

:55:47. > :55:54.you. Looking like middle of the pack. Nothing to be embarrassed

:55:55. > :55:59.about. Looks like it's gone a bit wrong there. Ken rolling balls over

:56:00. > :56:05.the pockets now. Coming up is a minute. Nothing embarrassing yet.

:56:06. > :56:10.That's in. A nice positional shot. Set himself up well here. Dollied

:56:11. > :56:17.the red in. Didn't even try and screw back. That was so sad. He s

:56:18. > :56:29.played the slow roll. He's played safe! It's looking... Devastated.

:56:30. > :56:35.He's bee twixt and between. He's still played safe. This is a

:56:36. > :56:37.masterclass. A minute-and-a-half. A masterclass of tactics. Oh, a

:56:38. > :56:44.fantastic... One minute 45. You've fantastic... One minute 45. You ve

:56:45. > :56:53.got plenty of time. But don't miss this. No pressure. Nobody's

:56:54. > :57:03.watching. You only rolled it. Ooh, congratulations.

:57:04. > :57:12.Ken, one minute 55 seconds which puts you just above Barry Hawkins

:57:13. > :57:21.and below Kyren Wilson. There you go. Congratulations!

:57:22. > :57:28.Time for a stiff drink, Ken. Time now, as well, for Stephen Fry to

:57:29. > :57:33.give us the fiendish answer to the question.

:57:34. > :57:40.Today's question may well have driven you to drink. I asked you why

:57:41. > :57:44.whisky galore is so important to the modern game of snooker. It's

:57:45. > :57:49.fascinating. Our experts are not adverse to a little tipple now and

:57:50. > :57:56.again. Let's see if they made the journey cricketly. Whisky galore. I

:57:57. > :58:05.met her once in a nightclub. She was a nice lazy. Was she? A good sort.

:58:06. > :58:10.Whisky galore. It's a horse. If you can't remember it, there wasn't one.

:58:11. > :58:19.Must be to do with the writer. The what? The writer. The writer. OK!

:58:20. > :58:27.Who wrote it? Who wrote it other rode him? He thought it was a horse!

:58:28. > :58:37.LAUGHTER Great black and white film? Never seen it? No. Is it a film

:58:38. > :58:39.John Wayne? Was did the thin which pulled John Pulman's career around

:58:40. > :58:43.in 1977 and got on to the wagon. pulled John Pulman's career around

:58:44. > :58:46.in 1977 and got on to the wagon He in 1977 and got on to the wagon. He

:58:47. > :58:56.was a big whisky fan. He loved whisky. Minus 10 points. It is the

:58:57. > :59:02.name of the famous comic novel by McKenzie in 1947 made into a classic

:59:03. > :59:08.Ealing comedy. Compton McKenzie was a popular writer in his day and a

:59:09. > :59:15.snooker nut. He presented the World Championship trophy to the winner

:59:16. > :59:20.Joe Davis in March 1979. The same month, he penned an article about

:59:21. > :59:24.the origins of snooker. In it, he fully supported the claims of

:59:25. > :59:33.British Army Lieutenant Neville Chamberlain who said he had invented

:59:34. > :59:38.the game in 1875 in the Indian town. Neville Chamberlain, no relation to

:59:39. > :59:42.the Prime Minister, had in about experimenting on the officer's table

:59:43. > :59:48.with the existing game of Blackpool. It featured 15 red balls in the

:59:49. > :59:52.famous triangle and one black. He threw on somedational coloured

:59:53. > :59:57.balls. Importantly in all of this, the fact was rookie cadets. New

:59:58. > :00:02.business, if you like, at the royal military academy in Woolwich was

:00:03. > :00:08.called snookers. It was a corruption of the original word of a

:00:09. > :00:12.newly-joined cadet which was nukes meaning new ones. Chamberlain

:00:13. > :00:16.observed all those present in the room were in effect snookers or new

:00:17. > :00:22.to this tweaked version of the game. The name somehow stuck. That snooker

:00:23. > :00:26.game, you know. Everyone felt like a fool, like a raw recruit when they

:00:27. > :00:31.tried to play what is a very difficult game. You need to be a

:00:32. > :00:38.right proper anorak to know these answers. McKenzie's article claimed

:00:39. > :00:41.to have incontrovertible evidence that Chamberlain's story was drew

:00:42. > :00:48.and there after his story was accepted as fact. Mc-Kenty had his

:00:49. > :00:55.own table at home in the Hebrides and he enjoyed a Dram whilst playing

:00:56. > :00:59.a few frames on it. Why is whisky galore important to snooker? Its

:01:00. > :01:00.author was the first man to write about how snooker came to be played.

:01:01. > :01:09.I like that. And I like that to. Thank you,

:01:10. > :01:36.Stephen! Well We are enjoying what is turning out

:01:37. > :01:44.to be a hugely impressive form and is from Marco Fu. He is just four

:01:45. > :01:47.frames are way from a place in his second Crucible final. He has got

:01:48. > :01:52.the man who knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan very much under the

:01:53. > :02:00.thumb. Could there be a twist in the tail yet? Let's find out.

:02:01. > :02:04.For the sake of the audience, it hope that Barry Hawkins can get a

:02:05. > :03:55.foothold in this match now. Both players have been using the

:03:56. > :04:27.back cushion with regularity today. Very tough to pot from.

:04:28. > :04:39.Easy escape from this snooker as long as he doesn't touch a ball to

:04:40. > :04:55.-- too hard. Just knock this red up and down the

:04:56. > :06:02.table into baulk. Just played a containing safety

:06:03. > :06:03.shot. Didn't want to leave that possible red to the right of the

:06:04. > :06:37.pack. Can just about get to the centre of

:06:38. > :06:47.the cue ball here. So he might take this hot on. Dangerous if you were

:06:48. > :07:43.to go around the back and onto the black.

:07:44. > :07:47.He might play the screw back for the possible blue. Not quite straight

:07:48. > :08:03.enough to play the black. Or dear. He completely cued across

:08:04. > :08:20.flat. He may have left this red to the

:08:21. > :10:37.left of centre. Maybe not. Looks like he has played this very

:10:38. > :11:49.well. Nice shot. Too risky. Been thinking about this

:11:50. > :11:55.for just under one minute. He is looking at now playing it into the

:11:56. > :12:02.other red. If he plays at up and down twice he needs to get the red

:12:03. > :12:09.in and out of baulk and how will he missed the tests on the yellow and

:12:10. > :12:16.brown on the way back. That is as good as he could've done. A little

:12:17. > :12:31.bit unlucky. Played the cue ball perfectly.

:12:32. > :12:42.Well played! I was going to say nice kiss on the pink, but the red has

:12:43. > :13:10.blocked it. A little unlucky. The last couple of frames, he has

:13:11. > :13:26.been frozen out by Barry Hawkins. He is not entertaining the pink up into

:13:27. > :13:37.the yellow pocket. Got to be careful he doesn't want to leave the red in

:13:38. > :13:45.the corner pocket open. That is a pure shot. He has left Barry Hawkins

:13:46. > :13:50.was a straightforward shot to nothing. Marco Fu was not best

:13:51. > :14:08.pleased with that, you can see that in his gestures.

:14:09. > :15:12.He was going all out for the pot to get onto the black. There is a gap

:15:13. > :15:15.to the red that is up near the yellow. I think he can get through

:15:16. > :15:51.to the. Must have thought he couldn't get

:15:52. > :17:43.through to the potting angle. A good safety shot.

:17:44. > :17:57.Nice shot. He needs to be careful. He can't knock anything towards left

:17:58. > :18:00.or right centre pocket. That is exactly what he has done. As he

:18:01. > :18:20.covered the red to the right centre? He has got one red. Almost dead

:18:21. > :19:25.straight to the centre pocket. Both players will not like the way

:19:26. > :19:34.this frame has panned out. Not nice to play these type of frames because

:19:35. > :19:41.you can play a decent safety shot and you end up forcing your opponent

:19:42. > :20:08.to take a read on. 1-shot could cost you.

:20:09. > :20:17.For a minute that red was going close to the right centre pocket.

:20:18. > :20:25.Excellent shot. This has put Barry Hawkins in some trouble. He can

:20:26. > :20:30.nestle up to the red is. Or he could leave a touching ball and he would

:20:31. > :20:32.be back where he started. If it is touching he will be in trouble

:20:33. > :20:52.again. Touching ball. Whoever eventually wins this safety

:20:53. > :21:00.battle, the reds are in a nice position to score heavily. Barry

:21:01. > :21:04.Hawkins will be tempted with the one near the pink spot. But he knows a

:21:05. > :21:13.few misses it it could cost him the frame.

:21:14. > :21:25.Whoever wins this safety battle, you expect them to get six or seven

:21:26. > :21:26.balls in. This was the type of frame that Barry won against Ronnie

:21:27. > :21:57.O'Sullivan. Similar type of frame. This is where cue power comes into

:21:58. > :22:15.play. He is going to take this red on. What a shot! Great pot.

:22:16. > :22:20.Such a great shot, but the only ball that pots really is the green. I

:22:21. > :22:49.think he will have to take it on. He could have played the pink but he

:22:50. > :22:52.liked the green. Good shot. If he gets this dead straight, red gets

:22:53. > :22:57.onto the pink and he will score heavily. Looking at the red in the

:22:58. > :23:27.baulk area first. He will be disappointed if he

:23:28. > :24:47.doesn't win the frame at this visit. Well, I thought he had done all the

:24:48. > :25:03.hard work. All of a sudden, he just misses one out of the blue.

:25:04. > :25:26.So far the longest frame of the match.

:25:27. > :25:54.Marco Fu will be kicking himself. He knows he could have on the frame at

:25:55. > :25:59.that visit. Then he would have taken at least a four frame lead into the

:26:00. > :26:09.final session tonight. And now he has given Barry lifeline.

:26:10. > :27:19.Looking a bit more confident than he did a few frames ago.

:27:20. > :27:37.He looks like he is only going to pot for colours.

:27:38. > :28:18.Blocking the spot so it will have to go on the brown spot.

:28:19. > :28:36.Let's have a look at this. Nice little smile up to the commentary

:28:37. > :28:42.box. He knows he nearly missed that. A little angle on the blue, but it

:28:43. > :28:45.is not good. He can do the blue into the yellow pocket. Or the red to the

:28:46. > :29:09.left of the brown. Good part. Needs to be straight on

:29:10. > :29:33.this red to make it easy. Ray Reardon beat him. He was

:29:34. > :29:46.unbelievable, but only a single ball potter. Is shocking positional

:29:47. > :29:57.player, but an unbelievable potter. Won the internet head since -- won

:29:58. > :30:20.the Masters without more than 5 break.

:30:21. > :30:26.Just have a little glance at the scoreboard to see if he can win the

:30:27. > :30:33.game without getting that last red on the baulk line. He can do if he

:30:34. > :30:41.takes high valued colours. Both reds in play. Took his eye off the ball

:30:42. > :31:34.there. 38 points in front. It may not be enough.

:31:35. > :31:42.He'd like to take the red that's closest to the yellow as his next

:31:43. > :31:48.red. I'm not quite sure whether he's got the angle now. He may have to go

:31:49. > :31:55.in and out of baulk. He really wants to leave the one that's closest to

:31:56. > :32:03.the baulk cushion to last. Let's see what positional shot he plays here.

:32:04. > :32:16.That's not good. It's going to hit the. -- the green. If this red is

:32:17. > :32:22.tight to the baulk cushion, it may be worth having a go at it. There

:32:23. > :32:26.you see, it's just off the cushion. It just makes it easier if it was

:32:27. > :32:31.tight to the cushion, he could play it with a lot of left-hand run

:32:32. > :32:38.inside. Maybe play it as a shot to nothing. Cue ball back down towards

:32:39. > :32:44.the black. But he can't do that now. If he plays it full ball he can kiss

:32:45. > :32:52.into the other red and stay tight on the cushion. That's what I thought

:32:53. > :32:56.he'd play. He thought he was playing in an attacking safety shot. It

:32:57. > :33:01.could have cost him. That red's potable in the middle. That's the

:33:02. > :33:05.problem when you're hitting one red into another, you never know exactly

:33:06. > :33:09.where they're going to go. This red is far enough out to pot into this

:33:10. > :33:11.left centre. It's not straightforward. But it's a natural

:33:12. > :33:15.angle to get down for the black. Yeah. And a nice lit kiss on the

:33:16. > :33:51.pink will certainly do. There you see it, 21 ahead, 35

:33:52. > :33:56.remaining. You would have to say this red is frame ball. If he can

:33:57. > :34:17.pot this and get on a colour, he'll win the frame.

:34:18. > :34:27.22 points in front. The blue 27. So he needs the yellow. The thing is,

:34:28. > :34:31.we always favour playing in the left-hand side, over the brown spot,

:34:32. > :34:35.back over the brown spot. If he plays that little bit left-hand

:34:36. > :34:42.side, he'll come very close to the yellow. He'd love to hit this plain

:34:43. > :34:47.ball, if he could. Don't know what he played there, round the back of

:34:48. > :35:29.the brown. He's 27 points in front with 27 on.

:35:30. > :35:52.It was a good idea. But, to pot this yellow. You can also get the cue

:35:53. > :36:01.ball up behind the brown there. This looks very good indeed. Ah, what a

:36:02. > :36:07.shot. The safety shot of the match so far. If it had been tight to the

:36:08. > :36:14.brown it would have been so much more difficult. This is just the one

:36:15. > :36:20.cushion escape. Barry will be happy with that. He's left the yellow. But

:36:21. > :36:39.just look at where the pink has landed.

:36:40. > :36:53.Wow, that wasn't close. At the moment, Marco's feeling a bit edgy

:36:54. > :37:01.out there. Its ace like he's trying to protect the lead rather than

:37:02. > :37:09.trying to draw away. Maybe got a little anxious in the last three

:37:10. > :37:21.frames. That's a good safety shot as well.

:37:22. > :37:28.The pink may be in his way here. Looks like he's OK. Two cushions.

:37:29. > :38:04.Needs a kiss on the green with the cue ball.

:38:05. > :38:19.Barry Hawkins strong favourite to win this frame. Just gone far enough

:38:20. > :38:46.past the pocket, I think, to stop the cup being played.

:38:47. > :38:50.It's more important here to get the object ball safe than the cue ball.

:38:51. > :39:00.Not easy to get the yellow safe. He needs a bounce. I think it's

:39:01. > :39:03.missing the kiss on the brown. I think this may be potable. Now to

:39:04. > :39:19.swerve it round the blue. He's going to have to swerve it with

:39:20. > :39:24.contact on this yellow. You'd expect it to go in. Well, didn't get enough

:39:25. > :39:29.swerve. Now, has he snookered him? No, not this time. I think there's

:39:30. > :39:36.just enough of the yellow for Barry to pot. Surprised with Marco there.

:39:37. > :39:43.He didn't really put enough care and attention into that swerve.

:39:44. > :39:57.Good shot. 29 ahead, 25 left on the table. But this green should put pay

:39:58. > :40:25.to this frame and stop Marco coming back to the table.

:40:26. > :40:31.So a very workmanlike frame. Both had plenty of chances in that frame.

:40:32. > :40:35.Both players in the end, just Barry Hawkins who closes the gap once

:40:36. > :40:43.more. He now trails 9-4. Yes, three in a row from Barry hawk ins.

:40:44. > :40:48.Suddenly, he looks like he's recovered his composure and scoring

:40:49. > :40:54.prowess. I wonder how it's affecting Marco Fu? Some of the problems you

:40:55. > :40:58.can have from having such a big lead, your concentration may not be

:40:59. > :41:03.at its peak all the time. He'll be starting to think about winning the

:41:04. > :41:07.match today. Can't do that now. You start to feel like, I'm winning the

:41:08. > :41:11.match, it's just when. You don't concentrate on the shot you're

:41:12. > :41:18.playing now. There was a red in that frame. This is a simple shot. It is

:41:19. > :41:24.purely concentration. Miss it had by a long way. So, he's just got to

:41:25. > :41:30.guard against that. Keeping his focus. Having been 9-1 up, it begins

:41:31. > :41:38.to tell. Significantly, that was the longest frame of the match. 2626 or

:41:39. > :41:45.37 minutes. It is not like Barry Hawkins is firing on all cylinders

:41:46. > :41:50.yet. From Barry's perspective, it is important at 9-1 he's still

:41:51. > :41:54.focussed. His head must have been down, but if he did get a chance,

:41:55. > :42:01.which he did, he has to be ready to pounce. It doesn't matter how he

:42:02. > :42:06.wins those frames early on, just to get a grip into the match. He needs

:42:07. > :42:14.himself to be focussed and his opponent to help him out. The second

:42:15. > :42:18.part of the session, it is will be interesting to see how Marco Fu

:42:19. > :42:22.reacts. It could be that Barry gets back to the standard he produced

:42:23. > :42:29.against Ronnie O'Sullivan. It might have seemed at the start of the day

:42:30. > :42:33.that was an impossible feat. We know from snooker's long session matches

:42:34. > :42:38.you can turn things around. You get momentum Als in best of seven, you

:42:39. > :42:44.can't get momentum. In a long match, you can get that where you can win

:42:45. > :42:47.five, six, seven frames in a row. He will have been stung about his

:42:48. > :42:51.performance in the early parts of the match? Particularly after his

:42:52. > :42:59.performance against O'Sullivan the night before? Yes, he may just have

:43:00. > :43:03.got back on to some mental platform where he can compete properly again.

:43:04. > :43:08.Looks like we've a match on. Certainly, interesting words from

:43:09. > :43:13.six times world champion Steve Davis and, of course, seven times world

:43:14. > :43:21.champion Stephen Hendry. Sometimes, they are right, you are sometimes

:43:22. > :43:24.trying to protect the lead. It can get nervy when you're trying to

:43:25. > :43:33.coast towards the winning line, Willie. When the player comes back

:43:34. > :43:38.at you, you can have a little panic. Panic can sometimes set in. We saw

:43:39. > :43:43.that with Mark Selby. If he pots it here he goes around the red and

:43:44. > :43:53.black. If he hits it thin, he doesn't.

:43:54. > :44:01.I suppose when he went 9-1 in front he was thinking, I can win in this

:44:02. > :44:08.session, have the night off. Then 9-3. I'll try to win two more frames

:44:09. > :44:14.for 11-5. Now he will will be worried about the prospect of it

:44:15. > :44:18.being 9-7. Yeah, you can tell a lot from a player's body language. You

:44:19. > :44:28.can see there's a bit more of a spring in Barry Hawkins step. After

:44:29. > :44:34.getting the last few games under his belt. Good shot from Marco Fu. He's

:44:35. > :44:42.nicely on the green. No point... See nicely on the green. No point.. See

:44:43. > :44:47.this red again. There's no point in rolling up behind the green here. No

:44:48. > :44:51.real advantage. He's got a perfect angle on the green to get down on

:44:52. > :46:06.the red just below the blue on the left.

:46:07. > :46:14.This looks to be underhit. So much margin there to get topside of the

:46:15. > :46:22.blue. He'd rather have been on a baulk colour than this side of the

:46:23. > :46:24.blue. He can only get to the back of the pack pots through the brown

:46:25. > :47:10.really. Well, needs to miss the kiss on the

:47:11. > :47:31.black. Very unlucky. Very aggressive shot, that was.

:47:32. > :47:37.What an excellent recovery. Excellent recovery. That red is

:47:38. > :47:45.still available at the back of the pack. Looked like he was playing

:47:46. > :47:50.safe around the black but he found a path.

:47:51. > :47:55.Not too sure he can hit it slow enough to get on to this red? He can

:47:56. > :48:36.though. A little tricky. Nothing pots apart

:48:37. > :48:41.from the outside red into the left-hand corner. Up to the one just

:48:42. > :48:47.loose of the pack. To remain on that red. That's what he's tried to do.

:48:48. > :48:53.Doesn't want to leave himself hampered, which he has done. Playing

:48:54. > :49:19.than cannon a little harder to push it away from the pack.

:49:20. > :49:29.He's going to need another good shot here on the black. A lot of

:49:30. > :49:40.left-hand side if he wants to try to bring any more reds into play.

:49:41. > :49:46.Ah, that's brilliant. He deserves to be on something straightforward.

:49:47. > :49:49.Well, that was a fantastic shot, Willie. And straightforward he has

:49:50. > :50:02.got on something, Ken. He's a little fortunate to get on to

:50:03. > :50:07.one so easy just to roll through for the black. A lot of topspin there.

:50:08. > :50:13.The balls were so close together. He was just afraid of pushing it. But

:50:14. > :50:20.he's still OK, the fact he's right-handed as well helps that

:50:21. > :50:22.side. May need just one good cannon here on the reds, just to hold the

:50:23. > :50:27.cue ball. Or maybe one pots just in the middle

:50:28. > :52:06.of the bunch there. This is a remarkable performance

:52:07. > :52:10.havingless the previous three frames. -- having lost the previous

:52:11. > :52:36.three frames. Well, Wiped its feet. What a

:52:37. > :53:40.wonderful break this has been. It's been a good response from Marco

:53:41. > :53:44.Fu. Showing a few signs of the jitters. What a wonderful red as

:53:45. > :53:50.well, Willie, that he took. The opening red he took down the rail to

:53:51. > :53:57.get on the green. He cued it in absolutely beautifully. Got on the

:53:58. > :54:01.green and proceeded to make this wonderful century break. Excellent

:54:02. > :54:04.stuff. It will be his fifth century of tournament which will join John

:54:05. > :54:21.Higgins and Mark Selby. APPLAUSE The 64th Century of the tournament.

:54:22. > :54:27.Absolutely beautiful. John Higgins is in the lead at the moment. I

:54:28. > :54:33.thought he had five but John Higgins has six.

:54:34. > :54:43.Career centuries 404. Incredible amount. Possibly in the top six or

:54:44. > :55:35.seven break builders in the game. He's played a little exhibition shot

:55:36. > :55:43.on the pink. Waiting for the red to stop spinning. Oh, wonderful. 136

:55:44. > :55:48.stop spinning. Oh, wonderful. 1 6 from the man from Hong Kong. He

:55:49. > :55:52.stops the rot. Strops the charge from Barry Hawkins. Puts another

:55:53. > :55:58.frame on the board and edges closer to that magic 13. It's Marco Fu now

:55:59. > :56:00.10, Barry Hawkins 4. The opening red, Ken, that he potted. He was

:56:01. > :56:05.playing it as a shot to nothing But playing it as a shot to nothing. But

:56:06. > :56:09.he played in in some ways so he was on the green. This first red, to

:56:10. > :56:12.think after this shot he was going to clear the table, remarkable.

:56:13. > :56:16.Yeah, just watch it, it goes straight down the rail, we've a

:56:17. > :56:22.perfect view of it here. Watch the cue ball as well. What he does, he

:56:23. > :56:26.screws the cue ball in towards the cushion and back off the baulk

:56:27. > :56:33.cushion so he's left himself a lovely angle on the green to get

:56:34. > :56:37.down on to the reds. During that he had some really tough shots. He has

:56:38. > :56:42.to play with a little left-hand side to get in among the reds. He plays

:56:43. > :56:44.in the joint of those two reds. If you hit one of these reds full ball,

:56:45. > :56:49.it will stick on to the red. He s in it will stick on to the red. He's in

:56:50. > :56:53.the joint, pushed through. Fortunate to get that into the corner but

:56:54. > :56:56.surely get on to one in the middle. He played a value shot there.

:56:57. > :57:01.Playing into the bunch at pace knowing he was bound to leave a red

:57:02. > :57:04.on. Deserved it, making the century and getting another frame on the

:57:05. > :57:09.board just from that particular shot. There was another shot, red

:57:10. > :57:15.into the right centre at the back of the pack. He played some wonderful

:57:16. > :57:19.shots in that break, Marco Fu. Now, Barry Hawkins, the only hope he

:57:20. > :57:24.would think in this match is to win the two remaining frames of this

:57:25. > :59:24.session to go 10-6 into tonight s final session.

:59:25. > :59:31.Both these players have to come back this evening to finish this match.

:59:32. > :59:38.They'd like these two frames to be over quickly, so they can have some

:59:39. > :59:46.sort of the rest before tonight s final session.

:59:47. > :59:54.Like you said in commentary, Ken, it was a more remarkable break that 136

:59:55. > :00:02.because Marco, for the previous free frames had been missing a few. Yeah,

:00:03. > :00:09.it looked like he hit a bit of a wobbly patch. A lot better to steady

:00:10. > :00:11.the ship with that wonderful break and particularly some of the pots

:00:12. > :00:29.that he pulled out. Barry has to do it all again, these

:00:30. > :00:44.last couple of frames are hugely important for him.

:00:45. > :01:05.Completely misjudged that safety. This is half a chance for Marco Fu.

:01:06. > :01:09.This is aggressive. The one in the middle looked easier, to be fair.

:01:10. > :03:37.There was no pressure on him. Excellent. Just perfection, how he

:03:38. > :04:59.judged the pace they are. Needs to win the frame at one visit.

:05:00. > :06:23.Nice little cannon on the red. The target is 68.

:06:24. > :06:33.The middle red of the three on the left-hand side will pot. That is

:06:34. > :06:43.what he has played for. This could go wrong. Will have to try and push

:06:44. > :06:50.through the reds for the black or pink. If he plays the run-through,

:06:51. > :07:00.he would be unlucky not to be only black or the pink. The problem about

:07:01. > :07:11.playing the run-through is it could cast one of those two reds. He is a

:07:12. > :07:22.little reluctant to play the follow-through. Even if he screws

:07:23. > :07:30.back of the red, he could end up in the side cushion. Has to generate a

:07:31. > :07:32.lot of pace. If the black goes in, it is a frame when. This is

:07:33. > :08:43.definitely missable. He can concentrate now on trying to

:08:44. > :08:46.put another century on the board. Good stuff from both players the

:08:47. > :09:15.last couple of frames. Little bit behind his opponent for

:09:16. > :09:34.centuries. Great chance for end to make his third.

:09:35. > :09:52.Well, he is showing some bottle here.

:09:53. > :10:29.It will be tough to get a century now.

:10:30. > :10:45.What a shame. He deserved the century.

:10:46. > :10:53.This match suddenly sprung to life. Also has the debate amongst everyone

:10:54. > :11:02.out there. Amongst you. About the topic for our table top discussion.

:11:03. > :11:17.Snooker in the Olympics and Paralympics. Many people against

:11:18. > :11:24.that and also in favour. Opinion is split. Does that surprise you? I

:11:25. > :11:31.suppose so. When you look at some of the things that are in the Olympics,

:11:32. > :11:40.not digging any out, but archery and shooting, dressage, I think snooker

:11:41. > :11:48.has every much a right as those sports. Snooker is a competitive

:11:49. > :11:56.game. Many of these sports have been in the Olympics for a very long

:11:57. > :12:11.time. Snooker has been around since the 1850s. It has a heritage.

:12:12. > :12:19.Interesting tweets and texts from the public about should our sport be

:12:20. > :12:22.included in the Olympics one day. Why not? It is certainly played

:12:23. > :12:35.globally. If golf can be in the Olympics, why

:12:36. > :13:15.can't snooker? Could Barry Hawkins have given

:13:16. > :13:42.himself a real chance to get back into this?

:13:43. > :13:54.We had one of these frames earlier. Marco Fu made a wonderful pot to the

:13:55. > :14:07.left centre, then broke down on a straightforward red.

:14:08. > :14:30.The cue ball at the moment is so close to the top cushion.

:14:31. > :15:04.I thought he was going to leave the cue ball tight to the right cushion,

:15:05. > :15:09.but he might have wished that he had had a goal. I have never seen Marco

:15:10. > :15:12.Fu jump off from a shot like that. It would have been safe if you left

:15:13. > :15:40.it tight on the cushion. It looks pretty good to me.

:15:41. > :16:39.Excellent shots. Surely might have been better to

:16:40. > :16:44.take a chance and take the pot on? Claim that type of safety shot, he

:16:45. > :16:49.was always going to leave Barry with that hot into the green pocket. At

:16:50. > :16:56.least if you have a go and miss at then you have taken a chance. All of

:16:57. > :17:00.a sudden, Barry's game has changed. His tail is up. That went straight

:17:01. > :17:14.on. Some unwanted side. That has pushed straight into the

:17:15. > :17:36.cue ball. Badness. -- a bad miss. A couple of reds to go. Three reds

:17:37. > :19:13.available. Just trying to prepare the cue ball

:19:14. > :19:20.for the red into the same pocket. Amazing. This is what the Crucible

:19:21. > :19:47.Theatre can do to you. Once Barry had missed that read, he

:19:48. > :19:55.must have thought he was going to trail 11-5 going into the session

:19:56. > :20:30.tonight. Now a realistic chance of making it 10-6.

:20:31. > :20:42.Well, if he wins this frame, he will be very pleased with this comeback.

:20:43. > :20:50.He is back in the match, should he win this frame.

:20:51. > :21:10.It certainly gives you encouragement when you see your opponent miss

:21:11. > :21:36.straightforwardblues in the centre. From me, that was pressure.

:21:37. > :22:07.Plenty of spin on that, if anything too much.

:22:08. > :22:19.He doesn't have to do anything with the cue ball here. Could play in the

:22:20. > :22:43.middle if he doesn't want to take a risk. Choice of two reds.

:22:44. > :23:41.If he goes for blue here, he has a couple of reds in baulk.

:23:42. > :24:02.This certainly gives Barry a real good chance. His opponent is still

:24:03. > :24:16.in a good position, but from what was about an hour ago a situation

:24:17. > :24:32.where he was 9-1 behind, now all of a sudden he's back in this match.

:24:33. > :24:33.The crowd were puzzled. He did so well in his previous match against

:24:34. > :24:59.Ronnie O'Sullivan. A wonderful session of snooker. Both

:25:00. > :25:19.players playing very well with excellent safety.

:25:20. > :25:27.He needs blue and all the remaining colours to make 100 exactly. What a

:25:28. > :25:36.nice way to finish off this session for Barry Hawkins. Needs the cue

:25:37. > :25:45.ball to travel. Can he flip it? He for Barry Hawkins. Needs the cue

:25:46. > :25:47.doesn't get the for Barry Hawkins. Needs the cue

:25:48. > :25:55.make the century, but he for Barry Hawkins. Needs the cue

:25:56. > :25:57.face of Barry Hawkins. Not that far face of Barby Havkans. Not that far

:25:58. > :26:11.behind. face of Barby Havkans. Not that far

:26:12. > :26:18.to pull face of Barby Havkans. Not that far

:26:19. > :26:22.certainly ic. Thdre are dafferent face of Barby Havkans. Not that far

:26:23. > :26:22.ways to get to the same end result face of Barby Havkans. Not that far

:26:23. > :26:28.of a session. last two drames nf that session, he

:26:29. > :26:31.would have last two drames nf that session, he

:26:32. > :26:34.of mind. last two drames nf that session, he

:26:35. > :26:35.going back to his dressing last two drames nf that session, he

:26:36. > :26:37.thinking he last two drames nf that session, he

:26:38. > :26:39.thincing he has let things slip. If last two drames nf that session, he

:26:40. > :26:41.the last two drames nf that session, he

:26:42. > :26:49.him really look over last two drames nf that session, he

:26:50. > :26:49.play on hhs mind for last two drames nf that session, he

:26:50. > :26:55.play on his mind for some last two drames nf that session, he

:26:56. > :26:59.Very last two drames nf that session, he

:27:00. > :27:03.years ago. last two drames nf that session, he

:27:04. > :27:05.Hawkins, he has done what last two drames nf that session, he

:27:06. > :27:11.to do to win last two drames nf that session, he

:27:12. > :27:14.about it. There last two drames nf that session, he

:27:15. > :27:21.of Marco Fu last two drames nf that session, he

:27:22. > :27:21.before. It has been done before. last two drames nf that session, he

:27:22. > :27:27.1978, A long time ago, but his survey says

:27:28. > :27:41.Eddie Charlton but ended up A long time ago, but his survey says

:27:42. > :27:46.sometimes take you a A long time ago, but his survey says

:27:47. > :27:52.things back on an even A long time ago, but his survey says

:27:53. > :27:56.played so well afaanst Ronnie A long time ago, but his survey says

:27:57. > :28:04.that can't A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:05. > :28:12.jail. A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:13. > :28:12.Bell be in the chair this evening at A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:13. > :28:15.7pm to see how this all turns A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:16. > :28:21.The first hour of that will A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:22. > :28:24.session. They will have the A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:25. > :28:27.Barrq awkins and Marco A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:28. > :28:30.Higgins and A long time ago, but his survey says

:28:31. > :28:37.played places in the semifinals will be

:28:38. > :28:50.claimed