Day 13, Semi-Finals, Afternoon Session

:00:34. > :00:39.For 12 days, there were two stages upon which the Crucible drummer was

:00:40. > :00:44.played, but in an overnight production worthy of applause in

:00:45. > :00:51.itself, now there is one. One table, one title to be claimed upon it. --

:00:52. > :00:56.Crucible drama. What memories we have, going back 40 years of this

:00:57. > :01:03.exact setup in the Crucible Theatre. All eyes on one table. 12 foot 6',

:01:04. > :01:10.72 square feet, 6.6 metres squared, if you prefer. It is not the biggest

:01:11. > :01:14.playing surface in world sport, but it is certainly the most intimate,

:01:15. > :01:19.and over the next five days a possible 101 frames of snooker will

:01:20. > :01:24.be played upon this, until we find our champion on Monday night.

:01:25. > :01:33.Welcome to the semifinals of the bet Fred World Championships. ANNOUNCER:

:01:34. > :01:37.Enter the Dragon, Ding Junhui. Congratulations to Ding Junhui, you

:01:38. > :01:40.have beaten your idle and you are through to the semifinal. Almost

:01:41. > :01:45.flawless snooker from the current world champion and he will be so

:01:46. > :01:49.hard to beat. What a performance from John Higgins, he is through to

:01:50. > :01:54.his eighth World Championships any final. Barry Hawkins absolutely

:01:55. > :02:00.delighted to get into his fourth semifinal in five years. Well, if

:02:01. > :02:04.ever there was a venue within a venue, it is this place, the

:02:05. > :02:09.Crucible Theatre. Almost two venues within the one tournament, this is

:02:10. > :02:14.when the real business starts. Can you remember your first final here,

:02:15. > :02:20.1990? I'm surprised you can't remember the what happened? I.

:02:21. > :02:25.People felt to realise you are only just over the tip of halfway, you

:02:26. > :02:29.have played 36 frames to get here and if you want you have to play

:02:30. > :02:34.another 35. Yes, I always considered the first three rounds to be almost

:02:35. > :02:38.qualifying rounds. This is the biggest test was that are you

:02:39. > :02:52.jealous? Extremely. Me too. Such a long two weeks, two and a

:02:53. > :02:55.half weeks, so do try and maintain that form from start to finish is

:02:56. > :02:58.very difficult. The way I have performed at the moment is probably

:02:59. > :03:01.the perfect way if I could have planned it, just to play really good

:03:02. > :03:05.match snooker the first two matches and then sort of pick-up as you go

:03:06. > :03:15.along, as I did in the game against Marco. I just hope I haven't peaked

:03:16. > :03:19.too soon. I am looking forward to that game against Mark Selby. The

:03:20. > :03:28.thing is, he is a top player, he has been number one for a few years.

:03:29. > :03:37.Everything is stronger than before. I will just play my game so that

:03:38. > :03:40.will be OK. It will be a tough game against Ding, played him last time

:03:41. > :03:45.in the final, playing him again at the one-table set-up, it will a

:03:46. > :03:48.fantastic occasion. He is one of the greats of our game. The only thing

:03:49. > :03:58.missing for him is the, world champion. It doesn't feel this time

:03:59. > :04:01.a lot of pressure. When I'm playing well, it doesn't feel like that. If

:04:02. > :04:09.you're not playing good, then you may be thing to much. Having all

:04:10. > :04:11.that pressure from his country on his shoulders as well is not easy.

:04:12. > :04:16.The game is hard enough without that. It has been difficult for him

:04:17. > :04:21.but he is more than capable of winning any tournament he plays in

:04:22. > :04:25.now, and especially this one. World number one Mark Selby and number

:04:26. > :04:28.four, Ding Junhui, only seem to me these days on the grandest

:04:29. > :04:31.occasions. The last three matches have all been finals, most notably

:04:32. > :04:38.right here at the Crucible 12 months ago. But since then, he has claimed

:04:39. > :04:46.the Shanghai Masters last September, but the following month he was

:04:47. > :04:50.swamped by Selby Tanak -- he was swamped by Selby 10-1. Now they

:04:51. > :04:55.cross queues again. Very much looking forward to seeing them doing

:04:56. > :05:01.so, John Virgo and Ken Dougherty. They met in this final last year. In

:05:02. > :05:06.what respects has things changed to them in the past 12 months? I think

:05:07. > :05:10.Mark Selby has come in here and has proven he is the world number one by

:05:11. > :05:16.a long way. You can't dispute that. The form he has shown has been

:05:17. > :05:20.tremendous. What has happened to Ding Junhui, we know what happened

:05:21. > :05:24.to running O'Sullivan all those years ago, and he has been his

:05:25. > :05:29.nemesis of many years. All the people in China base Ding's

:05:30. > :05:32.performances on whether he can beat Ronnie O'Sullivan, and the fact he

:05:33. > :05:35.has now beaten him gives him a bit of impetus going in here, but what

:05:36. > :05:40.he can't afford to do, which he did in the final last year, lose the

:05:41. > :05:45.first six frames, because Mark Selby is looking rock solid. He sure does.

:05:46. > :05:48.Mark Selby was in the arena earlier this morning with his wife and

:05:49. > :05:53.daughter, and his great friend and wing man Bobby, and they looked so

:05:54. > :05:58.relaxed actually. But John makes a very good point, Ding will

:05:59. > :06:01.appreciate the importance of his start and I wonder how much that win

:06:02. > :06:05.over Ronnie will give him the Phillips said he might need today?

:06:06. > :06:10.That is the interesting question, plus the fact he doesn't have a

:06:11. > :06:14.hangover from yesterday. He climbed Everest against a O'Sullivan and he

:06:15. > :06:17.has to do it again against Selby. There will be a completely different

:06:18. > :06:21.proposition. Because of the scars from last year's final as well. It

:06:22. > :06:25.will be interesting to see what confidence Ding derived from that

:06:26. > :06:30.match. He came into the studio and he was very happy, very relaxed, and

:06:31. > :06:33.his snooker has been fantastic. He is one of the best scorers in the

:06:34. > :06:35.business and Mark Selby has been growing into this tournament,

:06:36. > :06:41.getting better and better each round. This is going to be a

:06:42. > :06:46.cracking match. As for economy of effort, does it have any bearing as

:06:47. > :06:51.we come into the semifinal? I don't think so. These guys practice three

:06:52. > :06:57.or four hours a day. I don't think that will really affect him. I think

:06:58. > :07:02.Ding should be on a high. Maybe we should give Terry Griffiths a bit of

:07:03. > :07:06.credit here. Absolutely. Ding used to sit there in his chair looking

:07:07. > :07:12.like he was beaten, and Terry has got into his head and made him come

:07:13. > :07:19.you know, fight. In fact, Terry has two semifinalists here with Barry

:07:20. > :07:24.Hawkins in the other semifinal. A possible 33 frames to play over four

:07:25. > :07:30.sessions. Rob Walker just has two introductions to make, but as usual

:07:31. > :07:34.he will make them count. ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

:07:35. > :07:39.just the one table, such a special time here at the Crucible.

:07:40. > :07:44.Semifinals at the bet Fred World Snooker Championship, barely gets

:07:45. > :07:46.any better. What a match to start things off, it is a rerun of last

:07:47. > :08:12.year's final. CHEERING Please welcome, the man who has,

:08:13. > :08:17.without doubt, inspired a generation of snooker fans and players back

:08:18. > :08:22.home. He is emerging for his third Crucible semifinal, after one of the

:08:23. > :08:26.most significant victories of his career yesterday. He was absolutely

:08:27. > :08:30.brilliant against the Rocket. He is a national hero back home and there

:08:31. > :08:35.will be millions watching this live. So, enter the Dragon, Ding Junhui!

:08:36. > :09:00.CHEERING And, his opponent, the undisputed

:09:01. > :09:07.world number one for the last two years. The secured his fifth

:09:08. > :09:09.Crucible semifinal yesterday with a display of absolutely sublime

:09:10. > :09:15.snooker. Arguably the best we have seen from him here at the Crucible.

:09:16. > :09:19.Reigning UK champion, defending world champion, the Jester from

:09:20. > :09:41.Leicester, Mark Selby! CHEERING So the opening frames to play this

:09:42. > :09:44.afternoon in our first semifinal, a three-day drama featuring Mark Selby

:09:45. > :09:46.and Ding Junhui gets underway. Ken and John, these are the moments they

:09:47. > :09:56.play for. COMMENTATOR: Yes, they certainly

:09:57. > :10:02.are, the one-table situation at the Crucible Theatre. No better venue in

:10:03. > :10:08.snooker. And the atmosphere, you can just feel it, Ken, can't you, sort

:10:09. > :10:12.of that tenseness there. Yes, absolutely fantastic, John. Thank

:10:13. > :10:16.you, ladies and gentlemen, the first frame. Ding Junhui the break. Nice

:10:17. > :10:34.round of applause. Ding Junhui gets this semifinal off

:10:35. > :10:40.and running. And we will just have a look at if you stats, just to give

:10:41. > :10:47.you a flavour of it. Look at that, tournament pot success, 92% for both

:10:48. > :10:53.players. Long pot success, I'm looking about mid-60s. Mark Selby

:10:54. > :10:58.gets there, Ding Junhui just lightly below. Please make sure your phones

:10:59. > :11:04.are switched off. There is way is one phone, isn't there? Tournament

:11:05. > :11:11.success, it should be 90%, but they are such good long potters, these

:11:12. > :11:19.players, so it puts pressure on. And the Huybrechts. -- the high breaks.

:11:20. > :11:26.That doesn't tell the full story because that final session yesterday

:11:27. > :11:28.that Mark Selby played was just as good as snooker as you will ever see

:11:29. > :11:44.at the World Championship. And someone once said that the World

:11:45. > :11:50.Championship was a marathon of the mind. It is certainly a marathon,

:11:51. > :11:55.because this is the 500th frame being played in this year's that

:11:56. > :12:19.Fred World Championship. APPLAUSE Good safety from Mark.

:12:20. > :12:39.Certainly doesn't look to be an easy path back Selby to baulk, for Ding

:12:40. > :12:46.Junhui. He has played the containing safety. Well, it's not too bad. It's

:12:47. > :12:51.not brilliant, but he's not left anything easy. And, from that

:12:52. > :13:25.situation, that's all he could hope for.

:13:26. > :13:34.Another excellent links with the cue ball. -- excellent links with the

:13:35. > :13:58.cue ball. Needed a thin contact. Foul. Mark

:13:59. > :14:04.Selby, four. Well, there is a pot on here. If there is a cat pillow, I

:14:05. > :14:11.think Mark would take it on, but that red near the top cushion, is a

:14:12. > :14:16.danger. Not much of a gap here. He needs to be very accurate with this

:14:17. > :14:19.one. Must be going for the pot, otherwise he would have had it

:14:20. > :14:24.replaced. APPLAUSE Good shot. Played it positively,

:14:25. > :14:40.stays short of the baulk line. Yes, nice pot, wasn't it? And he is

:14:41. > :14:46.nicely on green or yellow here. The red above the black, he will be

:14:47. > :14:54.trying to get on that red, into the left-hand corner pocket. There are a

:14:55. > :15:04.couple of other roads available as well, but that would flee Orton free

:15:05. > :15:25.up the black -- a couple of other reds.

:15:26. > :15:31.I think he would have loved to have been a little bit straighter on this

:15:32. > :15:43.red, on the black and closer to it, the screw back into the same pocket.

:15:44. > :15:59.But he looks to have played that inch perfect. Absolutely perfect.

:16:00. > :16:10.Slight problem here, in potting this black, he is just going to nudge the

:16:11. > :16:17.red. He may just leave himself one of the reds into the cushion. He did

:16:18. > :16:25.avoid the kiss, but it's not good, this. I think he was expecting a

:16:26. > :16:41.little kiss, wasn't it, John? Didn't get it. He is going to come around

:16:42. > :16:46.and have a look at the pack. He needs to hit the pink ear, full

:16:47. > :16:53.ball. It is a little bit away from the red as well, he has just got to

:16:54. > :17:02.hit it absolutely perfect. Oh, how is his luck here? I think he has got

:17:03. > :17:06.one to the left corner, but he has hit the pink absolutely perfect. You

:17:07. > :17:11.couldn't have fitted better than that. But he just caught this red,

:17:12. > :17:20.you see, just nudged the cue ball of the table. But he's OK, he can just

:17:21. > :17:28.cue passed the pink. -- you couldn't have hit it better than that.

:17:29. > :17:32.He gets to 70 points in this frame, snookers will be required. Another

:17:33. > :17:44.40 needed. And, at the moment, Mark Selby has

:17:45. > :17:52.got the cue ball on a string. The table looks to be playing lovely and

:17:53. > :17:56.quick. And those few frames yesterday in that session of snooker

:17:57. > :18:01.against Marco Fu, some of the breaks he made, particularly the 143, was

:18:02. > :18:04.quite incredible, one of the best breaks I think we've ever seen in

:18:05. > :18:10.these championships. We have been blessed with a lot of great

:18:11. > :18:14.memories, but that 143 yesterday, some of the pots were just the sign

:18:15. > :18:22.of a guy with plenty of confidence, in complete control. Yeah, and the

:18:23. > :18:28.belief that he can pot anything. And, of course, if you've got great

:18:29. > :18:32.belief in your potting ability, you can always concentrate that little

:18:33. > :18:37.bit more on controlling the cue ball. Getting into position. This is

:18:38. > :18:40.a delicate little shot, this, to drop this in, and I presume he will

:18:41. > :18:54.try to hold for the black in the opposite corner.

:18:55. > :19:04.Played at too delicately. It was a delicate one.

:19:05. > :19:07.It is hard to believe that he could hit it that softly with the long

:19:08. > :19:24.extension. Because the black didn't go into the

:19:25. > :19:28.middle of the pocket, he didn't get the desired connection on that red.

:19:29. > :19:34.He tried to stun into that red full ball. You can see he hit a half

:19:35. > :19:38.ball, slightly out of position now. He can pot this red, but the cue

:19:39. > :19:47.ball is running into the red just below it, so he has got to rely on a

:19:48. > :19:53.little bit of luck, here. Two for the price of one. There you go. But,

:19:54. > :19:58.in all fairness, he will be pleased to see that red that went along the

:19:59. > :20:02.top cushion and dropped in, because he's not really on a colour, and if

:20:03. > :20:12.that red had stayed over a corner pocket, which it could have done, he

:20:13. > :20:21.would have had no safety. Well, he's got to be very careful here. He's

:20:22. > :20:28.got to find the cue ball back to. He's digging down. His play that

:20:29. > :20:30.pretty well. Good start from Mark Selby. He'd be disappointed he

:20:31. > :21:01.didn't when the final, that visit. Not much Ding Junhui can do here,

:21:02. > :21:08.but he would like to get this cue ball fightback on this top cushion.

:21:09. > :21:14.And that's very well played -- tight back on this top cushion. It might

:21:15. > :21:15.look like a nothing short, but that's given Mark Selby a slight

:21:16. > :21:38.problem here, to get this safe. I think if you can get the cue ball

:21:39. > :21:40.up somewhere near the green pocket, it's not straightforward, this, but

:21:41. > :21:45.anywhere in the vicinity of the green pocket, he may block the red

:21:46. > :21:47.that's between the ball colours and the blue. That's what he is coming

:21:48. > :22:07.to have a look at now. But of course with the cue ball in

:22:08. > :22:16.that area, he is going to leave a straightforward safety shot, left of

:22:17. > :22:33.the yellow. He is in a bit of a predicament here.

:22:34. > :22:42.He's gone down the other side. That brown has come to his rescue. It

:22:43. > :23:04.blocked the path of the red into the red centre. Yes, only just, though.

:23:05. > :23:14.Played that well, and particularly if he's covered the red to the

:23:15. > :23:17.middle, with the brown, and the red near the baulk line with the green

:23:18. > :23:22.committee could not have played that any better. It's advantage Ding in

:23:23. > :23:35.this safety exchange, no doubt about that. That's Mark's view of those

:23:36. > :23:38.two reds I was talking about. OK, you can just get past the yellow,

:23:39. > :23:45.but not much you can do with that red. He is just having a look at

:23:46. > :23:49.that one. He might try and cut it towards the right centre. It will

:23:50. > :23:53.certainly pass the red that's closest to the right centre, if he

:23:54. > :24:02.doesn't pot it direct, it might go in of the red. No, he hasn't had

:24:03. > :24:07.that too good. He will leave a chance now for Ding Junhui. --

:24:08. > :24:36.hasn't hit that too good. So Ding's first pot in this

:24:37. > :24:38.semifinal. A chance that he didn't think he was going to get, when Mark

:24:39. > :24:56.Selby was in earlier. Yes, and we were talking just before

:24:57. > :25:00.the match, when they played in last year's final, Ding Junhui lost the

:25:01. > :25:08.first six frames, and did well to close the gap, but lost because he

:25:09. > :25:15.just left himself with too much to do, even though this is the first

:25:16. > :25:21.frame of a best of 33, its massive for Ding Junhui. Because Mark Selby,

:25:22. > :25:29.when he was in, looked very confident. If Ding Junhui could win

:25:30. > :25:39.this frame on this visit, it would certainly put a marker down. Yeah,

:25:40. > :25:42.it's going to be interesting to see how much confidence that fantastic

:25:43. > :25:47.win against Ronnie O'Sullivan, his hero, in the previous round, what it

:25:48. > :26:35.will do for Ding Junhui's confidence.

:26:36. > :26:55.He might go for Brunel, or -- he might go for blue or full colour. --

:26:56. > :27:00.baulk colour. He didn't play that well but it shouldn't be a problem,

:27:01. > :27:14.so long as he avoids a kiss on pink or black. He would rather have been

:27:15. > :27:20.straight on this red. Coming off two cushions, he is striking low, maybe

:27:21. > :27:27.he can hold. So this is the key shot, and, in all honesty, he's not

:27:28. > :27:30.perfect on any colour here. He wanted to have good close position

:27:31. > :27:36.on this last red. He's not certain to get it off the blue. Yes, he

:27:37. > :27:41.really wanted to be down for brown or green off that red that was close

:27:42. > :27:47.to the right centre pocket, so he's going to negotiate the cue ball of

:27:48. > :27:52.this top cushion, side cushion, back beside the red, and he's got into

:27:53. > :27:54.that too much. Needs to slow up. It's not too bad. So, big shot with

:27:55. > :28:04.the rest now. I'm just having a look at the stats,

:28:05. > :28:15.we've got stats for everything in the tournament. Rest pot success,

:28:16. > :28:24.82%. He could do with this one, could be the frame when. APPLAUSE

:28:25. > :28:25.In it goes. Perfect on the brown. -- could be the frame-winner. Points

:28:26. > :28:50.all square. Of this all came about from the

:28:51. > :28:54.wonderful safety shot. He put Mark Selby in a lot of trouble. It looked

:28:55. > :28:58.a very simple shot. It was very clever, the way he covered the red

:28:59. > :29:08.over the right centre, kept the cue ball tight to the baulk cushion, and

:29:09. > :29:14.he's reaping the rewards now. Mark Selby will be very disappointed,

:29:15. > :29:20.John. He was in. Should have won the frame from that visit. Just the

:29:21. > :29:26.blue. APPLAUSE That puts him 18 points in front

:29:27. > :29:30.with 14 remaining, but not for long. Mark Selby was in, and as Ken said,

:29:31. > :29:35.he just ran out of position at a vital time. They had a safety

:29:36. > :29:40.exchange, which Ding Junhui won, which created this opportunity, and

:29:41. > :29:45.hasn't he taken these well? Wonderful first frame. If the rest

:29:46. > :29:49.of the match is like that, we're in for a cracker. Ding Junhui wins the

:29:50. > :30:01.first frame 1-0. APPLAUSE We are in the practice room.

:30:02. > :30:10.Anything we can help you with, send in your videos or contact us.

:30:11. > :30:14.Thank you, John. We have got ourselves a ringside seat. This is

:30:15. > :30:21.where it is all going to happen. We have a fantastic view. A signal from

:30:22. > :30:27.Ding Junhui, he was bullied in that final, was losing 6-0. He will not

:30:28. > :30:31.be bullied this time? That was a massive first frame. Fantastic

:30:32. > :30:35.break. He looked cool as a cucumber. Mark Selby had the air of somebody

:30:36. > :30:41.who was going to clear the table. The aura he has had all tournament.

:30:42. > :30:47.Ding hit a fantastic safety shot. This was a simple enough shot but

:30:48. > :30:51.there was pressure on it. He will do -- remember being 6-0 down last

:30:52. > :30:57.year. That was magnificent. It really was. Very impressed with that

:30:58. > :31:04.clearance by Ding Junhui. It looked Serena. Fantastic atmosphere. They

:31:05. > :31:10.have both been in semifinals. Physically getting used to the

:31:11. > :31:28.arena? Yeah. There are no sign of nerves.

:31:29. > :31:37.So, Mark Selby breaks off in this second frame. He will be

:31:38. > :31:40.disappointed he didn't win the first frame from that first visit. As

:31:41. > :31:45.Stephen Hendry said in the studio, he did look very calm. He has an

:31:46. > :31:49.aura about him when he is walking around the table, he looked as if he

:31:50. > :31:58.is going to clear the table. It didn't work out that way.

:31:59. > :32:09.The one thing with that kind of shot from Ding Junhui, is he going to

:32:10. > :32:17.miss it? That why -- that is why I always think 66% is about right for

:32:18. > :32:22.a long pot success. Ding Junhui is just below that. That would be OK

:32:23. > :32:39.for me. That type of shot that thing played, not too thin, not too thick.

:32:40. > :32:46.Wonderful shot. You don't get much better than that. That will improve

:32:47. > :32:58.his stats. Excellent opening red. Have a look at this. Great cueing.

:32:59. > :33:03.Is the red to the left of the pink on to the right centre? Not from

:33:04. > :33:23.that of shot. A little kiss on this red. It is not great.

:33:24. > :33:55.That is not a bad positional shot, John! Yeah, for a moment it looked

:33:56. > :33:56.as if he was on nothing. And suddenly this red appeared from

:33:57. > :34:23.nowhere. Couldn't have hit that any better.

:34:24. > :34:36.Fantastic shot. Again, pink, full ball, required. He has a look. Not

:34:37. > :34:48.great. It could have been a lot better. That's a couple of times he

:34:49. > :34:56.has hit the pink perfect. You always need some luck. You need the black

:34:57. > :34:57.not to be tied up and a nice straightforward red. He doesn't have

:34:58. > :35:24.that here. He can cut this red into the corner.

:35:25. > :35:31.Using a spider. He will have to play a very good shot era. I don't think

:35:32. > :35:44.you can hold for the black. You have to find the gap to go for a blue or

:35:45. > :35:50.baulk colour. Very difficult. I don't blame him for not liking this.

:35:51. > :36:01.But this is the way the modern game is played. You get a chance, you try

:36:02. > :36:03.to win the frame in one visit. Look at the amount of right-hand side he

:36:04. > :36:21.is potting on his cue ball. I'm just looking at the red. Would

:36:22. > :36:28.it not be a better choice to pot it into the right-hand pocket? The fear

:36:29. > :36:31.is he may leave this red he is playing. No guarantee to be on a

:36:32. > :36:48.colour here. Well, it's rolled backwards on the

:36:49. > :36:53.pink. It is not as easy as it looks on your screens. But he can drop it

:36:54. > :37:07.in. He did well to find the gap using the spider.

:37:08. > :37:26.He is taking the blue. Watto shot! -- what a shot! It shows the sign of

:37:27. > :37:37.a very confident player. That was magnificent.

:37:38. > :37:41.Nice angle on the black. In potting the black he can move the red to the

:37:42. > :37:50.left of it. That is OK. Now he clears the black

:37:51. > :38:29.into both pockets. This has been a wonderful start from

:38:30. > :38:43.both players, John. They looked in fine fettle. -- look. Yes. And at

:38:44. > :38:46.the moment both players' pot success, 100%. Neither player has

:38:47. > :38:57.missed a ball yet that they have gone for. A tough school. It is not

:38:58. > :39:14.often you see that. But doesn't that just some snooker

:39:15. > :39:19.up? When you are set in your chair, there is nothing you can do about

:39:20. > :39:23.it. We always say, and it is true, you have no right to reply. Just sit

:39:24. > :39:31.there and watch it. He has just missed a cannon. Is there a planned

:39:32. > :39:43.to save him? Fortunate if there is. -- plant. I don't know if you can

:39:44. > :39:50.make it. There are two plants. There is some distance between these reds.

:39:51. > :40:11.Yes, he could make it. Now 68 points in front. With 75

:40:12. > :40:22.remaining. He is only looking for one more red. And it doesn't go? I

:40:23. > :40:35.don't think that goes. So this frame is not over yet. That is hard to

:40:36. > :40:39.believe, after playing some in a good shots in this break. Just one

:40:40. > :40:46.slight lack of concentration when he could have hit this a lot harder.

:40:47. > :40:58.Just the little kiss on the red has cost him winning the frame in this

:40:59. > :41:03.visit. He is going to leave a chance for Ding Junhui. OK, it has got to

:41:04. > :41:05.be a long pot row. But it is a chance he didn't think he was going

:41:06. > :41:35.to get. He has left a possible pot for a

:41:36. > :41:41.mark into this right corner. And remember, he only needs the red. The

:41:42. > :41:52.red will put him 69 points in front, with just 67 remaining.

:41:53. > :42:04.He has missed one. Now, what can Dean do? -- ding. This red is very

:42:05. > :42:38.straight. Yes, this was a terrific opening

:42:39. > :42:41.red. Because he wants to get the cue ball away from the side-cushion, you

:42:42. > :42:46.have the tendency to pinch a bit. But he made certain of the pot. He

:42:47. > :42:53.will probably have to cannon into the three reds here. Not too hard.

:42:54. > :43:01.Yes, that is where he would love to put the cue ball. That is not too

:43:02. > :43:07.bad. He has not the red towards the right centre. He has put those two

:43:08. > :43:18.reds into a portable position as well. Yes, and he has got viewpoints

:43:19. > :43:23.to play with. -- a few points. He will have to concentrate on these

:43:24. > :43:29.few Mac -- few reds on the black. He has overhead this. He has overhead

:43:30. > :43:38.that. A little bit of adrenaline there. OK, it may be OK. In potting

:43:39. > :43:50.this he will run into the other red, which will hold the cue ball at this

:43:51. > :43:51.end. But he has not fair red close to the side-cushion, not what he

:43:52. > :44:14.wanted. -- he has knocked a red. 46 behind, 51 remaining. It is not

:44:15. > :44:17.ideal on this red. He wanted to be a bit straighter and so he could screw

:44:18. > :44:29.back down for the black. He has to be careful. No. You see, that red

:44:30. > :44:37.below the black is just in his way slightly. He was concentrating so

:44:38. > :44:51.much done missing that red and not on the pot itself.

:44:52. > :44:59.He just needed the red but he deemed it too dangerous to go for. I don't

:45:00. > :45:07.blame them. He has got a good cue ball. Ding Junhui asked to play a

:45:08. > :45:26.good safety here. He has to catch this red just right.

:45:27. > :45:44.He is saved by the blue. He was fortunate there.

:45:45. > :45:52.Yes, and of course being 46 points in the lead, Mark Selby doesn't

:45:53. > :46:02.really like the idea of taking this red away from the black because it

:46:03. > :46:05.is in a safe position. It looks like he is just going to roll the cue

:46:06. > :46:14.ball down towards this bottom right-hand corner pocket.

:46:15. > :46:23.Very clever. He didn't want to take the red off the cushion. He wanted

:46:24. > :46:29.to keep it there. That is his insurance policy. And of course with

:46:30. > :46:50.the black tide up as well, it doesn't help Ding Junhui's chances.

:46:51. > :47:09.He could be taking this red on. If he parts the red he is in front by

:47:10. > :47:16.46. With only 47 remaining. He has drifted by the yellow. It is a good

:47:17. > :47:25.cue ball. Ding Junhui with a problem. OK, the red in the middle

:47:26. > :47:29.of the table will pot. Being 46 points behind with only 51

:47:30. > :47:38.remaining, he needs these high value colours. He could overcome at it.

:47:39. > :47:47.Played thin. But he has to avoid this red on the left-hand

:47:48. > :47:53.side-cushion. Hankey did. He played it well. If he misses the yellow,

:47:54. > :48:14.excellent. The little flick was no harm there.

:48:15. > :48:21.It must be noticeable in the last frame and in this one, and it is

:48:22. > :48:26.something Ding Junhui has to do in this match, is compete in the safety

:48:27. > :48:34.exchanges. And so far he is doing it. I couldn't agree more. He got a

:48:35. > :48:44.double-kiss but it doesn't make much of a difference. But here, when you

:48:45. > :48:54.play somebody like Mark Selby, safety has got to be spot on. He is

:48:55. > :49:04.so clever. He didn't play the pot there. He has hit it too thin. By

:49:05. > :49:08.getting so close he has left the chance of a pot for Mark. He needs

:49:09. > :49:19.the red to get to snooker is required. -- snookers.

:49:20. > :49:25.There may be an opportunity for Ding Junhui. He has not even looked at

:49:26. > :49:29.it. I would have thought, try to play safe of the red on the black,

:49:30. > :49:48.bring the black into play. Why not? OK, it's safe enough. But I couldn't

:49:49. > :49:53.have turned that down, I have to be honest with you. That was a good

:49:54. > :49:59.opportunity to bring black and red into play. He has played a decent

:50:00. > :50:01.safety shot there. He has knocked the red into the baulk area. The

:50:02. > :50:39.brown is kind of blocking it. If he did decide to play the pot, he

:50:40. > :50:42.could play the run-through, go back down the table and get position on

:50:43. > :50:57.the blue. But it is such a tough shot. He can roll up to the red

:50:58. > :51:02.beside the black and knock the red away from the cushion. There is his

:51:03. > :51:12.view. He is going to do what Ken suggested, roll up to this red. He

:51:13. > :51:20.played the cushion first. Clever shot. At least he has brought the

:51:21. > :51:24.black into play. I'm just wondering, Ken, will mark be tempted by a

:51:25. > :51:29.double? The red on the right-hand cushion. He has not looked at it.

:51:30. > :51:39.But the only needs the red, remember. He contemplated it but the

:51:40. > :51:43.fact that that red is tied to the cautioned... Maybe he is looking. He

:51:44. > :51:45.is looking at doubling this red off the side-cushion into the green

:51:46. > :52:05.pocket. It is there. It is close, it is very

:52:06. > :52:22.close! What a shot this is! That is magnificent. Such a clever shot.

:52:23. > :52:35.Absolutely superb. He is a great cue man. He won the world 8-ball

:52:36. > :52:43.championship. The frame is well and truly over now. Can he pot the

:52:44. > :52:51.brown, Cannes the red? He missed the brown. Another very interesting

:52:52. > :52:55.frame. Ding Junhui looked as if he had a chance. But excellent double

:52:56. > :53:01.from Mark Selby clinched it. 1-1. I'd tell you what, if it is

:53:02. > :53:07.going to be like this, fantastic. Bring it on. How close to peak

:53:08. > :53:14.performance is Mark Selby in this championship? Holed, very. He is

:53:15. > :53:17.walking around the table with the air of a man who is absolutely

:53:18. > :53:22.buzzing. If that is the standard we are going to get in two frames, it

:53:23. > :53:27.has been super. Both players look really sharp. Can you identify with

:53:28. > :53:35.that peak level? And do you see something of yourself in Mark Selby?

:53:36. > :53:39.Very much so. I keep try to find reasons why he will not win this and

:53:40. > :53:43.I can't find one. I commented yesterday on his session, it was

:53:44. > :53:50.some of the best snooker I had seen. This is a typical Mark Selby shot.

:53:51. > :53:57.It just clever. It is maybe a two out of 20 shot. We saw a break of

:53:58. > :54:01.143 yesterday. That is the best break I have seen since I started

:54:02. > :54:06.working in snooker. Even better than 147. Having made 143 from there was

:54:07. > :54:12.outstanding. Having done that, how does it make you feel? Just

:54:13. > :54:14.unbeatable. He has almost an air of the expects to win this. One frame

:54:15. > :54:32.at peace. Absolutely engrossing. We have one of these situations

:54:33. > :54:36.where, whoever gets in, you fancy could win the frame in one visit. It

:54:37. > :54:42.will all be about cue ball control. I don't fancy them missing a pot. It

:54:43. > :54:53.is about keeping good control of the cue ball. Yeah. I totally agree. And

:54:54. > :55:21.I agree with the lads in the studio. Both players playing at their peak.

:55:22. > :55:44.A chance of this long red into the left corner pocket. Hold on... Azi.

:55:45. > :55:46.The cover? -- has he got the cover? There may be a gap between yellow

:55:47. > :56:19.and brown. He is on the brown. But no

:56:20. > :56:24.guarantee. He has to really get into this if he is going to play for

:56:25. > :56:31.those two reds around the black spot area. The black is out of

:56:32. > :56:34.commission. The paint is out of commission. Where is the cue ball

:56:35. > :56:51.going? Oh! He couldn't get into it too much

:56:52. > :56:56.because of the yellow. He was trying to get this side of the middle

:56:57. > :57:07.pocket. He was lucky not to go in and off.

:57:08. > :57:12.Yeah, the fact the cue ball was so close to the cushion made that pot a

:57:13. > :57:31.little bit more tricky. Playing off these reds will bring

:57:32. > :58:12.the black into play. He needs some help here. He didn't

:58:13. > :58:20.expect a kiss onto the second red. He has left this red on. He is not

:58:21. > :58:25.guaranteed position. The paint is still tied up. The black near the

:58:26. > :58:31.top-cushion. But he can't play for that. -- the pink is still tied up.

:58:32. > :59:10.Can he get position? A thin blue. The red to the left of

:59:11. > :59:14.the pink will be available. But because he can't play for the pink,

:59:15. > :59:18.he can't play for the black, he will be playing for the blue. If he is

:59:19. > :59:27.straight enough he can screw direct. If not, he will have two avoid the

:59:28. > :59:39.red on the left side-cushion. In doing that, he is not on the blue.

:59:40. > :59:43.Well, not to the middle anyway. He can drop it into this bottom

:59:44. > :59:50.right-hand corner pocket. The two reds at the bottom of the pack would

:59:51. > :59:59.go into the corner pocket. A slightly heavy contact. Easy on the

:00:00. > :00:04.red no? -- is he on the red now? May be another plant. It looks like he

:00:05. > :00:09.can make it. In hitting that first red onto the second red, the first

:00:10. > :00:10.one will go into the pack and bring some order into play. This could

:00:11. > :00:25.work out a treat. APPLAUSE

:00:26. > :00:47.Nice shot. Needs to get top side with the blue.

:00:48. > :00:56.He doesn't want to risk playing for the black, but may have no

:00:57. > :00:59.alternative now. So whenever these are just off the cushion, these are

:01:00. > :01:11.missable. You've got to be so accurate with the shot. Got to be so

:01:12. > :01:14.accurate, as I say. In the main, these players make those shots look

:01:15. > :01:19.so easy but when they are just off the cushion, you just catch the near

:01:20. > :01:26.jaw, they're not going to drop. Yes, particularly with a bit of pace as

:01:27. > :01:40.well, which he had to inject into the cue ball to get it out for the

:01:41. > :01:48.red. Ding trying to bring some reds into play with that red he's got a

:01:49. > :01:50.nice angle on the black year. Into the pack of roads. Needs a bit of

:01:51. > :02:12.luck. Didn't get any luck. Looking at the

:02:13. > :02:19.possibility of playing a double. As I say, this is the modern-day

:02:20. > :02:27.snooker player, they are looking for a way they can win the frame in one

:02:28. > :02:30.visit. If this is the only red he can leave, the one he is trying to

:02:31. > :02:36.double, then fair comment, but if he's going to leave another red,

:02:37. > :02:42.it's a very risky shot to take on. Taking it on he is. And getting it.

:02:43. > :03:26.APPLAUSE I am sure when he hit it he didn't

:03:27. > :03:42.expect it to drop. That little kiss on the red as well,

:03:43. > :03:51.helped the cue ball, that red into the centre, now a good chance, a

:03:52. > :03:55.couple of reds close to the thing. He could put the cue ball in an area

:03:56. > :04:05.here and he could be on a couple of reds.

:04:06. > :04:13.I think he played for that red. The right middle. But obviously there is

:04:14. > :04:21.a red below the pink that goes, so maybe he didn't play for that red.

:04:22. > :04:27.Whatever he played for, he was nicely on that one. Just three

:04:28. > :04:40.points behind now, with black to come.

:04:41. > :04:51.He's OK. He would have preferred the red to the right corner, but he's

:04:52. > :04:52.got the red to the right middle. Looking for another 33 points from

:04:53. > :05:10.this situation. It will fall nicely for the thing.

:05:11. > :05:16.But he's going to need four more of these reds to clinch it at this

:05:17. > :05:29.visit. Three right in the middle of the table shouldn't be a problem. We

:05:30. > :05:36.saw Mark Selby negotiate a wonderful double two in the frame in his

:05:37. > :05:48.previous game. Ding Junhui that double could prove the difference.

:05:49. > :05:52.As John said, doesn't need that red that's close to the left-hand side

:05:53. > :06:05.cushion. It's the perfect double here. Excellent shot.

:06:06. > :06:13.He's looking very confident, Ding Junhui, and when he's confident, is

:06:14. > :06:23.a wonderful player to watch. He's got a lovely touch in and around the

:06:24. > :06:28.black spot area. He's got great control, hasn't he? Cue ball control

:06:29. > :06:37.is going to be key, I feel. Average uptime 22 seconds. -- shot time.

:06:38. > :06:50.Just needs to run a little bit, just a bit short of pace. He's looking

:06:51. > :06:58.for red cover, and one more red. In fact, two raids, two colours. -- two

:06:59. > :07:05.reds. APPLAUSE Now it's all about this blue, and

:07:06. > :07:10.getting on the red. He may have the angle on the blue here, as we watch

:07:11. > :07:14.that red go in. No, he's screwing for the one on the right-hand side

:07:15. > :07:18.of the table. Still needs a red and a after this. Played it perfectly.

:07:19. > :07:34.Wonderful shot. APPLAUSE 31 points the lead, 43 points

:07:35. > :07:37.remaining at the moment. Now 35 points remaining, and this together

:07:38. > :08:23.38 points in front. No way back to the table now for

:08:24. > :08:24.Mark Selby. It has been 60 or above in each frame so far, but this has

:08:25. > :08:48.been a wonderful break. He's looking very sharp, isn't he,

:08:49. > :08:51.Ken? He certainly is. Both players have laid down a marker for the rest

:08:52. > :09:03.of the semifinal, if it's going to continue in this form.

:09:04. > :09:08.If you people are asking what sort of reaction would we get from Ding

:09:09. > :09:14.Junhui, after that epic match he had with Ronnie O'Sullivan. I think what

:09:15. > :09:24.I thought at the time, it just gave him great confidence and a great

:09:25. > :09:29.boost. A bit short of pace there on the pink, but it doesn't matter.

:09:30. > :09:34.There is no Centurion. He will try to get on the black, though. Oh,

:09:35. > :09:39.well, he missed the pink, but doesn't matter. Excellent

:09:40. > :09:44.contribution, and Ding Junhui looking very sharp. He now leads by

:09:45. > :10:54.two frames to one. and that is the CV for. One. He got

:10:55. > :11:00.to the semifinal last year, the only time he has really excelled at the

:11:01. > :11:05.Crucible. He has looked in good form as we have ever seen this year.

:11:06. > :11:10.Absolutely forced you would think he a different player, after the

:11:11. > :11:15.disappointment of last season and of course losing in the final to Mark

:11:16. > :11:20.Selby last year, but you think he would have taken a lot of positives

:11:21. > :11:29.from that run to the final, and the experience of it all. Yes, and also

:11:30. > :11:30.we need to remember he is only 30. It is a learning curve. He had

:11:31. > :11:56.success at a very young age. Danny Willett with his manager,

:11:57. > :12:01.chubby Chandler. We always like to see Danny about. He looked as

:12:02. > :12:11.thrilled as anyone when he put the green jacket on Sergio Garcia. A

:12:12. > :12:19.wonderful moment. Ring while, that red just past the pink, and now on a

:12:20. > :12:22.baulk colour. You may elect to play the yellow and play a cannon into

:12:23. > :12:31.the main bunch because there is only one awkward red to get on. That's

:12:32. > :12:45.OK. He's got a red into the right corner pocket. That was his

:12:46. > :12:48.thousandth ball potted. He is 101 behind Ding Junhui, but, as we said

:12:49. > :12:56.earlier, Ding Junhui has played a few more frames. 16, actually, more

:12:57. > :13:13.frames. You could say he's had more practice. All will be revealed.

:13:14. > :13:32.Play that well. It was an excellent shot.

:13:33. > :13:46.When potting this red, he will open the path of the black into the

:13:47. > :14:28.pockets. Just three or four loose reds available.

:14:29. > :14:58.A bit short of pace with the cue ball.

:14:59. > :15:06.Back in prime position now on the red that's below the pack of reds,

:15:07. > :15:13.that open into the same pocket with the black is on. He wants to get

:15:14. > :15:18.into that red. And if he leaves it at a nice angle, which he has done,

:15:19. > :15:20.you can pot this red now and bring some more reds interplay from the

:15:21. > :15:41.pack. That's a wonderful shot. Yes, and

:15:42. > :15:46.that's the way to play, or break-builder. You can leave a red

:15:47. > :15:50.just below that bunch. He has a bit of work to do with the cue ball.

:15:51. > :16:00.Maybe there is a red to that cluster. It is one he has played on,

:16:01. > :16:05.and played inch perfect. Just 25 points required. And he will be at

:16:06. > :16:27.the snookers required stage. He could play the red to the right

:16:28. > :16:31.middle, there is a nice angle on that to come down for the black once

:16:32. > :16:34.again. I don't know if you can lower it through and play for the thing.

:16:35. > :16:39.He is playing this other one here. He would be running into another

:16:40. > :16:45.red, so his got to be careful with the cue ball finishes. Watch the

:16:46. > :16:54.middle pocket. OK, played it confidently, and hitting that red as

:16:55. > :16:55.he did, he is back in the same in the cue ball was travelling but

:16:56. > :17:13.looks very straight on this blue. OK, don't expect him to miss this

:17:14. > :17:25.red but he has just under skewed slightly. Shouldn't cause a problem.

:17:26. > :17:34.Oh no, it's perfect. This will fit into the three points in front,

:17:35. > :17:46.still 75 remaining. So looking for one more red and a colour. And again

:17:47. > :17:56.another 60 plus break. It has been excellent stuff. Perfectly on the

:17:57. > :18:09.blue. This blue to go 69 points in front with just 67 remaining. In it

:18:10. > :18:10.goes. Is he on a red? If he is, the chance of seeing the first century

:18:11. > :18:50.in the semifinal. Now if this cannon goes right, we

:18:51. > :19:00.could see Mark going on to make a century here. And he has played

:19:01. > :19:18.well. If this bottom red goes, if not, he has won to the right middle.

:19:19. > :19:26.He hasn't been out of position once, has he? The way both players are

:19:27. > :19:39.potting, you don't expect them to miss easy balls. It is all about

:19:40. > :19:42.controlling the cue ball. He has already made four centuries in the

:19:43. > :19:44.tournament so far. If you get from this red, you could seen in the five

:19:45. > :20:04.coming up. A bit short. The red for the century. No! Just a

:20:05. > :20:09.fraction off. He can't be too disappointed. As Ken said, that

:20:10. > :20:15.break was exemplary. As they go into the interval, they have given us a

:20:16. > :20:20.treat for four frames, all square to appease.

:20:21. > :20:28.The first time that Mark Selby has fallen behind in any of his matches.

:20:29. > :20:37.He has beaten Marco Fu is radically. Let's get the thoughts of John and

:20:38. > :20:39.Stephen here. If you are an aspiring player and want to be a

:20:40. > :20:45.professional, that is the benchmark you have to find and it is very

:20:46. > :20:51.high. A superb session of the snooker. You can't play at much

:20:52. > :20:54.higher standard than that. How important Ding Junhui made his

:20:55. > :20:59.presence felt right from the off? Very much so. He played very well to

:21:00. > :21:03.beat O'Sullivan. I think he has got to go up a level to win this match.

:21:04. > :21:09.He has got to virtually not miss at all when he gets in four sessions,

:21:10. > :21:12.and that is going to be a real test. So far here standing up it, when he

:21:13. > :21:16.gets in he doesn't look like missing. He has to keep that up

:21:17. > :21:21.because Selby will keep going. Ding has to find another level for this

:21:22. > :21:25.match. It is lining up to be a classic if it keeps going like this.

:21:26. > :21:29.Absolutely. Mark Selby missed a black that was trivial on the top

:21:30. > :21:37.cushion and has lost position twice, that is why it is 2-2. The standard

:21:38. > :21:42.is incredibly high. It becomes a mental battle as well, you talk

:21:43. > :21:45.about keeping your standard survival stop incredibly difficult to

:21:46. > :21:51.achieve, particularly in a four session match. That is why this

:21:52. > :21:56.tournament is so difficult, not only this match for four sessions, but

:21:57. > :22:01.four sessions in the final. It is a massive test of belief, stamina,

:22:02. > :22:04.concentration, everything. This semifinal, if it give going like

:22:05. > :22:08.this, then they have to go up a level again for the final. We love

:22:09. > :22:14.it. It is going to be who is the first here. It is the only place to

:22:15. > :22:17.be in here as well, because we spent the last 12 days out in the Winter

:22:18. > :22:22.Gardens, which has been fantastic, but being in here, it does give you

:22:23. > :22:25.a proper focus. You could hardly breathe, you think you could affect

:22:26. > :22:28.the outcome of the matches in here. I hope you are enjoying it and

:22:29. > :22:32.sharing it all with us on the BBC, but you know there is a parallel

:22:33. > :22:37.championship going on right now in the Winter Gardens. It has been

:22:38. > :22:38.going on since we got here, and John Parrott still think the could be a

:22:39. > :22:53.contender. It no, I don't! Hello and welcome to our next

:22:54. > :22:58.edition of pop quiz with none other than the former world champion, 1991

:22:59. > :23:06.world champion, Jon Power. APPLAUSE Thank you. -- John Parrott. We have

:23:07. > :23:13.had some of the new breed of snooker, now the not so new. The

:23:14. > :23:16.leaderboard, as we look, it is the world number one and current world

:23:17. > :23:24.champion, Mark Selby. One minute 18 seconds. He won't be getting

:23:25. > :23:30.threatened. As long as you can beat Barry Hawkins, two minutes 18

:23:31. > :23:34.seconds. Please. Drum roll, please. Question one, you should know this,

:23:35. > :23:41.what was the number one record the day you won your Crucible title in

:23:42. > :23:48.1991. Was it vogue by Madonna, the one and only Chesney Hawkes, your

:23:49. > :24:00.favourite, or was it the Shoop Shoop song by share? I am going to go for

:24:01. > :24:11.Cher. Correct, you always like that of Shoop Shoop. That same year, who

:24:12. > :24:21.won the high break prize, in 1991. It is not a hurricane, but it might

:24:22. > :24:29.be a... Oh... Jimmy White. Very good. APPLAUSE

:24:30. > :24:35.I love you, darling. I hope you are as nice to me as I am to you! From

:24:36. > :24:39.the debut appearance onwards, which player has won the most successive

:24:40. > :24:42.first-round matches. I certainly wouldn't have known this. Jimmy

:24:43. > :24:50.White. It is actually your self, John Parrott. Listen, nobody would

:24:51. > :24:56.have got that right, believe me! LAUGHTER

:24:57. > :25:02.I didn't! Who contested the quickest ever match at the Crucible. Tullo

:25:03. > :25:12.the quickest players that ever played the game. Tony Trego. Yes.

:25:13. > :25:19.Who is the second fastest? Ronnie O'Sullivan. Very good. I love him.

:25:20. > :25:25.The only question I have got wrong is my own! Weir in last year's World

:25:26. > :25:34.Championship, who knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan, 13-12. Barry Hawkins?

:25:35. > :25:43.Very, very good! APPLAUSE I have for question so I can take

:25:44. > :25:51.four reds off. That one. That one, and maybe one other in the middle.

:25:52. > :25:55.Good choice. So my time starts... As soon as you strike the cue ball. As

:25:56. > :26:06.John Virgo would say, pot as many balls as you can. He is off to a

:26:07. > :26:12.good start. Good choice. Hey, that wasn't bad. Very, very good. I

:26:13. > :26:17.haven't seen in this quick in a long, long time. Very, very good."

:26:18. > :26:25.Of the cue ball, and he's not on a cushion, believe it or not. Thanks.

:26:26. > :26:34.They don't call him Cushy Parr for nothing, you know. 30 seconds, this

:26:35. > :26:46.is good. I cracked up, it was the wrong ball. It's all gone. Look at

:26:47. > :26:56.this. Cagey. Cagey parrot. 50 seconds, you're doing well, don't

:26:57. > :27:05.panic! One good pot. Now, I need the rest! Roll it, you are only on when

:27:06. > :27:17.it. Quick, go. No, I don't want to do that! It has all gone wrong! Oh

:27:18. > :27:24.no, what's he doing? One minute 20, come on. What have I done? You are

:27:25. > :27:29.doing OK. You are definitely going to finish ahead of Barry Hawkins and

:27:30. > :27:34.Steve Davis. It looks like. Quickly! APPLAUSE

:27:35. > :27:52.Very, very good! And the time is one minute 35

:27:53. > :27:55.seconds. That's OK. I am the fifth man who played safe on him say it --

:27:56. > :28:01.the first man who played safe on himself on the last red. LAUGHTER

:28:02. > :28:08.And right now, here's how it stands. World number one Mark Selby still

:28:09. > :28:13.out in front, nine seconds ahead of Marco Fu. Respectable time from John

:28:14. > :28:18.Parrott, middle of the pack really, I think he would say. The only

:28:19. > :28:23.player who could upset the standings is our last competitor, the 11 times

:28:24. > :28:26.women's world champion, Rhiannon Evans, as pot quiz comes down to the

:28:27. > :28:31.wire. Looking forward to seeing that. We have had some terrific

:28:32. > :28:34.feedback from you about a feature we have been running a couple of times

:28:35. > :28:41.actually, about the amazing table footage. Peter Godwin and his team

:28:42. > :28:43.ready to this arena for the championship, and last night they

:28:44. > :28:46.were up till six o'clock in the morning, moving one table out,

:28:47. > :28:54.moving the main match centre into the centre, and Rikl thing it. --

:28:55. > :29:03.re-clothing it. We will give you the insiders guide to the equipment that

:29:04. > :29:09.will win these guys a title tomorrow night. The queues. I go to the

:29:10. > :29:17.timber yards with large stocks of ash and maple, and I come away with

:29:18. > :29:19.just a little pile. I'm looking for the colour, the grain in the wood,

:29:20. > :29:29.the density and the wait. From there, it will become a square

:29:30. > :29:35.like this, and you can see then where the grain's going on the word.

:29:36. > :29:39.I'll then look at each one. If there are any knots or blemishes, we can

:29:40. > :29:46.discard them at that stage, and then we start the rolling process from

:29:47. > :29:49.there. We will leave the square is for a couple of months, and then we

:29:50. > :29:53.take it down to an oversize, and then leave that for at least a

:29:54. > :29:58.month. From there we take it down again to the mid-size, leave it

:29:59. > :30:02.again, and then from there to an oversize to finish. We then weigh

:30:03. > :30:05.the shaft to see what the wait is, because there can be quite a

:30:06. > :30:12.variation, with the densities of wood. Then I will check it over,

:30:13. > :30:17.decide on the grain. Depending on what lengthy cue will be. I will

:30:18. > :30:20.then look down to see what the size someone once, however they wanted,

:30:21. > :30:28.what length they want, and I will just find, basically, the best one

:30:29. > :30:31.that will suit that. That then becomes the shaft for that

:30:32. > :30:32.particular order, and then it will then go through splicing and things

:30:33. > :30:48.like that. And the jihad is a natural weight to

:30:49. > :31:00.the cue. So basically we plane it down. -- the ebony. Then it goes to

:31:01. > :31:10.a tapered wedge. The ebony is glued onto those two sides. And from there

:31:11. > :31:15.we then plane that in by hand. Gibbon turning that. As you can see,

:31:16. > :31:22.the points are starting to develop from there. You plane that in. Be

:31:23. > :31:29.careful not to take too much of any one place. It is a case of keep

:31:30. > :31:34.checking that. Quite a bit of planning. It will end up looking

:31:35. > :31:44.like this, with the nice distinctive points. And hopefully a line that is

:31:45. > :31:54.in line with the shaft. We are going to inlay some decoration here. We

:31:55. > :31:59.have 20 different woods we can use. That will be glued onto there. To

:32:00. > :32:05.give it an extra feature, we have used a sandwich of veneers, thin

:32:06. > :32:14.pieces of wood. These are able. This is a stained sycamore to give a

:32:15. > :32:23.black line. The cue is then cut to length. The reason for this is

:32:24. > :32:26.twofold. One, it holds the wood together. It gets a battering with

:32:27. > :32:35.hitting the ball is. It stops it from splitting. When it is on the

:32:36. > :32:41.cue, it gives it a nice solid base to dilute the tip onto. Once the

:32:42. > :32:49.Farrell is on, the shaft is planed in and then it goes through sanding

:32:50. > :32:54.operations. It needs eight different sanding operations to get it into

:32:55. > :32:57.the silky smooth finish that is ready for the final finishing. When

:32:58. > :33:02.we have done the final sanding on the cue, the tip goes on. It is

:33:03. > :33:11.important that you level the top of the Farrell at the back of the tip

:33:12. > :33:17.and dome it to its final shape. The cue then gets its oil finish, which

:33:18. > :33:21.is a few coats of linseed oil that we put on there. That seals the

:33:22. > :33:25.shaft and protected from the elements. It also has the effect of

:33:26. > :33:31.enhancing the grain and bringing out the natural colours within the wood

:33:32. > :33:38.and the nice grain patter ands appear. The final part is putting

:33:39. > :33:46.the flat bottom. It is traditional to have the flap. You can put a low

:33:47. > :33:57.go in. The final touch is dropping in the logo.

:33:58. > :34:03.I think John Parris has about 60%? I'm sure I heard of that. That is

:34:04. > :34:06.quite a large percentage of top snooker players. He is widely

:34:07. > :34:10.regarded as the best cue maker in the business. How many cues would

:34:11. > :34:19.you go through in a lifetime? Hopefully one. A snooker cue is a

:34:20. > :34:24.very personal thing. My own cue was a rubbish cue. I bought it when I

:34:25. > :34:29.was 12 or 13 and use that my whole career until it got smashed on an

:34:30. > :34:33.aeroplane. I could never replace it. Hopefully you go through with one

:34:34. > :34:37.cue your whole life. A few of the players tend to tinker. John Higgins

:34:38. > :34:45.fingered a little bit. Maybe Judd Trump is thinking of actually

:34:46. > :34:49.changing his. What promptss changes? Is it easier to change your game

:34:50. > :34:54.than it is your cue, is that more advisable? My own coach never liked

:34:55. > :35:01.the cue I was using because it didn't have enough power, he said.

:35:02. > :35:05.Some players might want to change their game. They want to play more

:35:06. > :35:10.shots. A stronger bit of wood will give you that cue power. Some

:35:11. > :35:15.players might want to change from a bigger tip Lewis Moore tip, or vice

:35:16. > :35:22.versa. It is not advisable to tinker. You never stop when you

:35:23. > :35:27.start. The flat piece on the butt of the cue, you always liked that but

:35:28. > :35:32.some players don't? Some players like it round. I was like the flat.

:35:33. > :35:37.I used to like to feel it when I delivered the cue. It is purely

:35:38. > :35:42.preference. Did that help you line up? I just feel comfortable having

:35:43. > :35:48.that on the palm of my hand. It is preference. I did mention the table

:35:49. > :35:53.fitters. One of the guys who probably has not had a great deal of

:35:54. > :36:04.sleep last night is Eugene James, let's go behind the scenes with him.

:36:05. > :36:13.My name is Eugene James. My job is a snooker table fitter. I have been

:36:14. > :36:17.coming to the Crucible for 30 years. It is magic. It's great. When you

:36:18. > :36:22.have been to all the other venues all over the world, this one is

:36:23. > :36:28.definitely special. When we service the tables during the tournament,

:36:29. > :36:31.people are right behind you and it is scary sometimes. They think that

:36:32. > :36:37.make you think they are talking about you and they are not, really.

:36:38. > :36:44.They are not interested in you. You only see two tables at most on the

:36:45. > :36:49.TV. There is more going on. If you have -- you have a table in the Cue

:36:50. > :36:52.Zone in the Winter Gardens. You also practice tables. That keeps us busy.

:36:53. > :37:02.The main thing is making sure you keep the table level and clean. And

:37:03. > :37:06.also fighting the elements. Letting moisture into the cloth and the

:37:07. > :37:10.table and the slate. It is all natural materials. As the years have

:37:11. > :37:15.gone by, things have got more technical. We have added extra

:37:16. > :37:20.things, we have added heaters, static controls to stop kicks. When

:37:21. > :37:25.the weather gets bad, it's getting to the table. There is not a logic

:37:26. > :37:34.can do. You just keep brushing, ironing, try to adjust the

:37:35. > :37:39.temperature. It's very hard. Each day you will get VIPs come in. You

:37:40. > :37:44.get a lot of people coming in to look at the tables. Sit down and

:37:45. > :37:48.have their pictures taken. All of these people are constantly walking

:37:49. > :37:52.around. It makes the table move. They are not allowed to touch the

:37:53. > :37:59.table. We sit there like Bulldogs to make sure they go nowhere near. It

:38:00. > :38:11.is a long haul, a long night. The biggest problem is time. Because a

:38:12. > :38:14.snooker table likes two or three days to settle improperly. -- to

:38:15. > :38:19.settle improperly. When you see the great matches on the table, I don't

:38:20. > :38:25.think a lot of people appreciate how hard we work and what we put into

:38:26. > :38:28.it. I think it is just the satisfaction that you have seen a

:38:29. > :38:35.great game. That is the satisfaction you get from it. I would probably

:38:36. > :38:40.walk around and nobody would know who I am in a sense. I'm the quiet

:38:41. > :38:49.person behind the scenes. But yeah, I am proud of it. Proud of what I

:38:50. > :38:52.have put into it. It's just the finished article you get, a

:38:53. > :38:59.fantastic tournament, year after year.

:39:00. > :39:03.You don't walk on the grass at Wimbledon, do you? You don't touch

:39:04. > :39:07.the table here. Otherwise Eugene and the boys will be onto you. But you

:39:08. > :39:13.can in the practice room. John is there now. Perhaps there is nothing

:39:14. > :39:19.wrong with your cue, but John, help us. We have had some fantastic

:39:20. > :39:23.responses. Nate asks, what is the difference between running side and

:39:24. > :39:27.Czech side? When the cue ball makes contact with the cushion, which

:39:28. > :39:36.weighs it going? I'm going to play the green. If I wanted to widen the

:39:37. > :39:40.angle, if you put some extra side on, that is running side. It is

:39:41. > :39:45.going right and coming off white. You play the green like that, screw

:39:46. > :39:49.back and widen the angle. It is running the way the ball was

:39:50. > :39:53.naturally going. Conversely, if you are playing the shot there and you

:39:54. > :39:59.are on the brown and you try to come back to hold the lab brown, you

:40:00. > :40:04.would go the other side. Because you are putting it left-hand side, it

:40:05. > :40:08.and bring it back. You would get on the left-hand side of the cue ball,

:40:09. > :40:13.play it through, and the quite checks itself up and comes back and

:40:14. > :40:16.nice and straight towards the red. That one back there for the Czech

:40:17. > :40:25.side, running side down the table. Adam asks about playing screw shots.

:40:26. > :40:29.He can't get any power on the cue ball or Mikey scuffs the white. What

:40:30. > :40:35.you have to do, naturally your bridge hand is a certain height.

:40:36. > :40:42.Just drop it down slightly so you can go lower down the cue ball.

:40:43. > :40:48.Don't be frightened. What you are trying to do is you are trying to

:40:49. > :40:52.gather the white... Don't be afraid to come back nice

:40:53. > :40:56.and smooth, try to imagine you are your at it through the cue ball and

:40:57. > :41:04.trying to hit the red. Nice and smooth, threw the ball, and screw it

:41:05. > :41:08.back like that. And this one, the final one, comes from Billy. He

:41:09. > :41:13.says, sometimes I struggle with how to judge shots at an angle. This is

:41:14. > :41:16.probably the best piece of advice amateurs can have, getting the angle

:41:17. > :41:20.right for potting a ball. We have a blue in the bog area. If you're cue

:41:21. > :41:37.ball was here and you are trying to pot that blew in the corner pocket,

:41:38. > :41:38.basically everybody knows when -- what a plant is. Movies out of the

:41:39. > :41:44.way. That applies to every single pot on the table, whether it is here

:41:45. > :41:48.or there. You will see players walking around the table, they will

:41:49. > :41:51.have a look to see the angle of the pot. They are trying to visualise

:41:52. > :41:57.that cue ball being where the yellow is. When you are in the club, try

:41:58. > :42:03.this next time. But a bowl down there, get lined up. And say, I'm

:42:04. > :42:06.going to pot this. Get him to play the yellow out of the way when you

:42:07. > :42:10.are playing and you should pot the blue in the middle pocket. Every

:42:11. > :42:16.single one of those, it is a plant, that is what you are thinking about.

:42:17. > :42:22.Thank you very much, John. He has not lost it, as he? He was

:42:23. > :42:25.impressive. He did ever so well. We didn't see where the cue ball ended

:42:26. > :42:37.up though! Good camerawork. Two frames each.

:42:38. > :42:42.We return to Ken and John. So the mid-session interval over. Ding

:42:43. > :42:48.Junhui gets the fifth frame under way. The match time coming up to one

:42:49. > :43:05.hour and five minutes. It has been quickfire.

:43:06. > :43:14.100% pot success after the first couple of friends was never going to

:43:15. > :43:23.last. -- frames. The safety play from both players has improved. 88%

:43:24. > :43:32.each. That is a very poor safety shot from Mark Selby. Long pot

:43:33. > :43:38.success... Ding Junhui has not been knocking too many long ones in.

:43:39. > :43:46.Quite surprised. I'm sure that will improve. He is normally such a good

:43:47. > :43:51.long potter. The Huybrechts statistic has been very impressive.

:43:52. > :43:57.Ding has made nine centuries in this championship so far. Well, Mark

:43:58. > :44:07.Selby played a very poor safety shot. But it is the 60s and 70s that

:44:08. > :44:13.have been going in. Mark played a very poor safety shot, didn't leave

:44:14. > :44:21.anything. And Ding Junhui has followed suit. You feel with your

:44:22. > :44:26.hand on the table. He is looking at this part. It is straight. He will

:44:27. > :44:31.have to play a lot of pace to go back for a blue or baulk colours.

:44:32. > :44:51.This pot is very difficult. You have to be so accurate. Just like that.

:44:52. > :44:55.He certainly got hold of that. What's the cue ball. It stops.

:44:56. > :45:04.Almost like a dragster effect. Great camera angle. Nicely on yellow or

:45:05. > :45:07.brown. I'm just wondering whether that read to the right of the black

:45:08. > :45:19.will pot into this left-hand corner pocket. -- red. He is going into

:45:20. > :45:23.them. Obviously it doesn't. He didn't mean that. He won't be taking

:45:24. > :45:45.it back. The red doesn't pot into the same

:45:46. > :45:48.pocket as the black. He may have to negotiate a little cannon on that

:45:49. > :45:57.red. I'm not quite sure where he is got the perfect angle here. He would

:45:58. > :46:25.like to have been a bit straighter with the cue ball.

:46:26. > :46:32.He wanted the cannon body was not straight enough the black. The red

:46:33. > :46:44.he is closest to does go to the far left corner.

:46:45. > :46:58.Right in the heart of the pocket. Has he got an angle on the blue? He

:46:59. > :47:05.would like one. He has looked at the angle on the blue and looked at what

:47:06. > :47:10.reds available. He is not nicely on the blue. He is on the yellow.

:47:11. > :47:20.Playing the yellow, he may decide to play the cannon with pace.

:47:21. > :47:37.He never really got the pace that he felt was required. Does this red go?

:47:38. > :47:50.It must do. That's amazing. Touching ball. As long as the red he is

:47:51. > :47:54.touching doesn't move. It looked as though it was fine but he flicked

:47:55. > :48:01.the other red and I think that has ruined his position. That is the end

:48:02. > :48:05.of the break. As I said earlier, Ken, that is the only way you can

:48:06. > :48:12.see him breaking down. Both players. Yeah. Good safety low. -- good

:48:13. > :49:12.safety. He caught that much too thick. This

:49:13. > :49:17.is a chance for Ding Junhui. A straight red to the right corner.

:49:18. > :49:22.Nothing to do with the cue ball to be on the black. He needs to knock

:49:23. > :49:29.this red in. His long pot success, he is one out of three at the

:49:30. > :49:37.moment. He would love this to be two out of four.

:49:38. > :49:42.He has feathered and touched the White with the tip of the cue! It

:49:43. > :50:06.might not be that funny. Didn't hold the cue ball.

:50:07. > :50:08.Desperately looking to cf the black goes to the left middle. I don't

:50:09. > :50:27.think it does. -- to the left. No. He is having to talking behind

:50:28. > :50:29.it. -- going behind it. He will be annoyed with themselves there. --

:50:30. > :50:48.himself. If Ding Junhui can nestle in those

:50:49. > :50:53.two red, if he could come of the one caution and nestle into those reds

:50:54. > :50:57.below the pink, you would think it would be safe enough. If you can't

:50:58. > :51:05.get to the left-hand side-cushion, he has got a problem. That is the

:51:06. > :51:09.shot you are talking about, John. It has to be dead weight. If it slides

:51:10. > :51:17.away from those couple of reds next to the pink, he could have a red to

:51:18. > :51:24.the right centre or even the left-hand corner pocket. That looks

:51:25. > :51:34.to be played pretty well. I don't think he is on that red. That is OK.

:51:35. > :51:37.I thought he was in trouble but it was a natural one-cushion escape. As

:51:38. > :51:48.long as he got the pace right, which he did. I've not seen Ding do that

:51:49. > :51:54.before, feathery cue ball. It's not often you see a player do that. He

:51:55. > :52:07.might do it in practice a little bit. Just touch did. It was nice to

:52:08. > :52:14.see him smile. I don't think it is something you would've seen few

:52:15. > :52:17.seasons ago. Which tells me he is comfortable in his own skin and

:52:18. > :52:27.feeling at one with himself. I know I would have been smiling! But it

:52:28. > :52:28.didn't cost him. It only cost him four points for the foul and the 1.4

:52:29. > :52:55.the red. -- one point four the red. Very hard to see the funny side of

:52:56. > :52:59.it. But he did. And that's why, of course, that we say the referees do

:53:00. > :53:04.a great job, because you have to be on the ball all the time. Brendan

:53:05. > :53:10.Moore spotted it. I have no doubt that Ding Junhui would have declared

:53:11. > :53:17.it. But he was right on the spot. They don't get a chance to sit down

:53:18. > :53:22.during these matches. Brendan Moore is a local lad as well, from the

:53:23. > :53:26.Sheffield area. A proud Sheffield man. One of the top referees we have

:53:27. > :53:42.now. I don't see any EC safety. Normally

:53:43. > :53:45.when you don't see an easy safety, you look at the modern-day players

:53:46. > :53:52.and they try to pop their way out of trouble. But it is risky. If the

:53:53. > :53:57.pink was available he could stun the red in. There are a couple of reds

:53:58. > :54:11.available, one to the left corner, want to the right corner. -- one.

:54:12. > :54:18.In the end he went for the pot. You just get the feeling if he had

:54:19. > :54:25.parted the red in the middle of the pocket, I don't think he would have

:54:26. > :54:29.been on the black. -- potted. There was no other shot you could see to

:54:30. > :54:35.get it safe. He has left a red to the left middle. In potting this,

:54:36. > :54:37.screw off the red to the right of it. If he gets it, he could well be

:54:38. > :55:53.on the black. I think he may have left this red.

:55:54. > :56:07.It may cut back into the left middle. It is a thin one.

:56:08. > :56:18.Mark doesn't think so, so he is playing safe. He didn't want the

:56:19. > :56:28.kiss on the yellow. Not that he has left a pot on. It won't put Ding

:56:29. > :57:11.Junhui in any difficulty. This could be one of those frames

:57:12. > :57:18.that you talked about in the first four frames, about competing with

:57:19. > :57:21.Mark Selby in this kind of game. There are not many in the world who

:57:22. > :57:35.can compete with him at the safety game.

:57:36. > :57:46.Just looking at Ding Junhui. His body language. His arm dropped. If

:57:47. > :57:48.Mark Selby hadn't clipped the green, he would more than likely have left

:57:49. > :58:06.a pot on. It is a safety shot here. He didn't get it. He didn't get it.

:58:07. > :58:12.Yeah, didn't get away with it. Mark Selby got a little bit of luck. In

:58:13. > :58:16.hitting the green, he took the pace out of the cue ball. He has left a

:58:17. > :58:28.chance now. He will try to get on the blue here.

:58:29. > :58:59.Try to get that back on its own spot.

:59:00. > :59:05.Even though Marquez got a 26 point lead, this is not an easy

:59:06. > :59:22.opportunity. -- Mark has got. Some noise coming from the backstage

:59:23. > :59:44.area. It is just putting Mark Selby off. Just composing himself.

:59:45. > :59:54.He wants a nice angle on the blue. But as you say, John, it's not

:59:55. > :59:56.ideal. He doesn't have a great angle on the blue to go directly into the

:59:57. > :00:22.pink and the four reds. It's gone wrong. Tried to get on

:00:23. > :00:29.that red. Near the bottom right-hand corner pocket to open that pocket

:00:30. > :00:44.for the black. But here overheated. Is this another plant? Surely he

:00:45. > :00:52.won't take this on. He is looking at it. As I say, as a former world

:00:53. > :00:57.eight ball champion, they play a lot of plants at pool, but this is a

:00:58. > :01:07.tough one. APPLAUSE Fair play to him. I think he played

:01:08. > :01:23.that more out of annoyance, than anything else. This looks a better

:01:24. > :01:28.pace. And this is typical of Mark Selby, you can pick out these type

:01:29. > :01:37.of shots. We saw that double of the red up to the green pocket, on one

:01:38. > :01:47.of the previous frames. He is such a clever player. And he is a

:01:48. > :01:51.shotmaker. Yes, I think that is the one thing that he is. He is a

:01:52. > :01:56.shotmaker, that's absolutely correct. Sometimes, when it all

:01:57. > :02:07.straightforward, we can all call the shots, but he does play some very

:02:08. > :02:12.intelligent shots. He has got the flick. It has opened the red, but it

:02:13. > :02:17.has made this pot, the red to the top push and, very difficult, so

:02:18. > :02:21.close, and he had to play it with a lot of pace, you feel, to get

:02:22. > :02:37.position on the black. This is tough. Yes, he knew. He missed the

:02:38. > :02:42.black along the cushion if you frames ago as well, and that was a

:02:43. > :02:44.tough pot, and particularly because of the pace he had to put into it,

:02:45. > :03:06.he has left the chance now for Ding. Played it well, considering he was

:03:07. > :03:11.frozen out on the frame before the mid-session interval. Just under

:03:12. > :03:20.half an hour since the last potted a ball. That's what can happen at this

:03:21. > :03:29.game. You've got to get your fluency back, though, immediately, when you

:03:30. > :03:33.get the opportunity. He doesn't have to play a cannon on these three

:03:34. > :03:39.words. The one directly above the black will pot into the bottom

:03:40. > :03:43.right-hand corner pocket. When he pots that, I'm sure it will open up

:03:44. > :04:01.the path for the one just to the right of it.

:04:02. > :04:08.He is coming around to look at this red but I'm sure it pots. He wants

:04:09. > :04:15.to leave an angle on the red so when he does pot the red he can bring the

:04:16. > :04:20.other one into play, the one that closest to the tank. It is

:04:21. > :04:26.imperative he gets a nice angle on this black. And he has got it, inch

:04:27. > :04:34.perfect. Yes, and once he releases the red, it will move the other red

:04:35. > :04:38.from below the pink, as cancers. That is the problem ball, the one

:04:39. > :04:57.near the baulk line. It went past the yellow. That is a little hurdle

:04:58. > :05:01.he is going to have to overcome. I suppose in an ideal world you would

:05:02. > :05:03.pot the black and navy of the second last read you play for the yellow to

:05:04. > :05:35.clear the path for the pocket. Bit surprised he didn't take the

:05:36. > :05:44.pink into the vet centre there. He may be able to get on the cream

:05:45. > :05:50.here, -- into the right centre. Straightforward, that. Trying to get

:05:51. > :05:55.onto the green but he has left the red. What surprised me about that,

:05:56. > :05:57.he played it with right-hand side, and the right-hand side will push

:05:58. > :06:16.the cue ball into the red. Good long pot. Now for Mark Selby,

:06:17. > :06:29.how do you get position on the red that on the baulk line?

:06:30. > :06:51.Short of pace. He has got to be careful here. The cue ball looks to

:06:52. > :06:56.be going towards the. When potting the red into the top right-hand

:06:57. > :06:58.corner pocket, can he just miss the yellow? If he connects with the

:06:59. > :07:20.yellow, it could go wrong. It is not too bad. He will settle

:07:21. > :07:30.for that. This is the shot again. Just caught the yellow. He made sure

:07:31. > :07:37.of the yellow. He was in trendy get it up past the baulk line. Of course

:07:38. > :07:45.the yellow comes back up because it was potted after a red. Still needs

:07:46. > :07:55.yellow and green. Oh, and he's missed frame ball yellow! Would you

:07:56. > :08:01.believe that? Didn't see that coming. I've seen it, but I don't

:08:02. > :08:13.believe it. Straightforward yellow. Look to be up off the shots like

:08:14. > :08:20.these, just before he hit it. This yellow does cut into the corner

:08:21. > :08:22.pocket, and I'm sure he could miss the pink on the way back up for the

:08:23. > :08:41.green. He overcut the yellow, that is why

:08:42. > :08:47.he has run into the pink. OK, Mark Selby, 23 points ahead. A yellow

:08:48. > :08:57.would put 25 points ahead, still 25 left on the table. What do you do

:08:58. > :09:03.here? Just pot the yellow, try and make sure of it, even though it is a

:09:04. > :09:09.difficult enough pot? Do you play it dead weight? I prefer the safety to

:09:10. > :09:21.be honest with you. Send the yellow back up to the baulk end. It is

:09:22. > :09:34.missable if you play the pot. Yes, good choice. He must have hurt you.

:09:35. > :09:41.This is becoming a big frame now. Mark Selby looked all over the

:09:42. > :09:49.winner of it. And yet somehow Ding Junhui can take it and really hurt

:09:50. > :10:00.Mark, missing that comparatively easy yellow to the middle. Needs a

:10:01. > :10:05.bit of risk you, where is the yellow ball going? APPLAUSE

:10:06. > :10:12.Would you believe it? Well, value go. I think the reason Ding Junhui

:10:13. > :10:16.was smiling, he was more interested was the blue going to cover it, if

:10:17. > :10:21.the yellow had stayed in the jaws, he would have been snookered by the

:10:22. > :10:29.blue. He can't pot the green, but he can hit it, he is not snookered. He

:10:30. > :10:31.could play a good snooker here though, back at the table, white

:10:32. > :10:55.behind the brown. Just overhit the green slightly, but

:10:56. > :10:59.it is still a full ball snooker. He has to swerve this. And when you

:11:00. > :11:03.swerve like this come you don't get too much distance between cue ball

:11:04. > :11:10.and object ball, so where is this green going to stop? Control swerve,

:11:11. > :11:22.couldn't have played it much better than that in all honesty.

:11:23. > :11:29.Well, this would be a brave shot if he tries to roll the green towards

:11:30. > :11:36.the baulk cushion, cue ball behind the blue. Got to be so precise with

:11:37. > :11:44.this. A very delicate shot, and he has played it pro well. Excellent

:11:45. > :11:54.shot. Such a delicate shot. The cue ball could drift off. Could have

:11:55. > :11:58.left the green all got the snooker. Now that he has the snooker, Mark

:11:59. > :12:03.Selby with the age-old problem, it is not so much hitting the green,

:12:04. > :12:07.can he get it safe, because if he doesn't, Ding Junhui, 21 points

:12:08. > :12:12.behind at the moment, 25 remaining, and as I said, this would really

:12:13. > :12:28.hurt Mark Selby if he was to lose this frame. That is the angle. Not

:12:29. > :12:37.the connection he wanted on the green, but he has left this pot for

:12:38. > :12:43.Ding Junhui, but is he going to play it? To try and hold for the brown.

:12:44. > :12:46.Or is he going to try and send the cue ball up the other end of the

:12:47. > :13:04.table? He tries to hold it. Playing it that

:13:05. > :13:17.way, it is a much more difficult shot. What does Mark Selby do here?

:13:18. > :13:32.Could try and double the green, cue ball behind the thing. He only needs

:13:33. > :13:41.the cream. -- the green. He has played the snooker. Pretty good. A

:13:42. > :13:48.bit surprised he didn't take the double on. He could have had the cue

:13:49. > :13:57.ball down towards the green pocket. Could have used the pink as a

:13:58. > :14:00.blocker. Yes. The this would be the one, easy to hit, he would rather

:14:01. > :14:08.hear this two questions rather than come off the one. Can he get the

:14:09. > :14:13.green safe? As you say, he would rather it come off the baulk

:14:14. > :14:16.cushion, side cushion. What way do you play this, that he take the

:14:17. > :14:23.brave approach, try to nestle on the green, or does he try to hit it hard

:14:24. > :14:32.and hope you gets to save? I personally would hit it hard. He is

:14:33. > :14:41.playing at the delicate way. The only problem with that, he has still

:14:42. > :14:42.given Mark Selby the advantage to get the snooker once again behind

:14:43. > :15:05.the pink here. Got to be careful with the green, he

:15:06. > :15:08.has to be certain that the green is safe, OK, try and get the cue ball

:15:09. > :15:15.behind the pink but make sure you get the green safe. That's not too

:15:16. > :15:22.bad. Would have liked it to have been further behind the pink. Again,

:15:23. > :15:26.it is an easy swerve of this bottom cushion. Send the greenback of the

:15:27. > :15:51.table. -- back at the table. He needs to hit this just right to

:15:52. > :15:57.get it safe. Needs to run. Remember Mark Selby only needs the green and

:15:58. > :16:02.here is the chance to pot it. This green to go 22 points in front with

:16:03. > :16:22.23 remaining. Then it goes, where's the cue ball

:16:23. > :16:37.going? Oh! Well, his heart must have been in his mouth.

:16:38. > :16:45.And I would suggest this would be a mightily relieved Mark Selby to get

:16:46. > :16:51.this frame under his belt. Coming up to 34 minutes, this is the type of

:16:52. > :16:59.frame that hurts your opponent as well, particularly when he has had a

:17:00. > :17:03.chance, Ding Junhui. Yes. It goes on. Mark Selby goes into the lead.

:17:04. > :17:12.Three frames to two now. The first time he has been ahead in

:17:13. > :17:17.the semifinal. A much more nervy frame. We saw that miss cue from

:17:18. > :17:22.Ding, and one or two mistakes creeping into Mark's game as well.

:17:23. > :17:28.It looked like Mark Selby was just about in control all the time, it

:17:29. > :17:31.was a really interesting frame over half an hour, but those are the type

:17:32. > :17:36.of friends you would expect Mark Selby to win. I definitely think

:17:37. > :17:42.these frames could be the decider, who wins this crabby ones, because

:17:43. > :17:44.you expect Ding to score heavily and Mark Selby, when the balls are

:17:45. > :17:52.nicely placed but these are the friends that will be massive in this

:17:53. > :17:57.match. Mark Selby has won four major world ranking titles this season.

:17:58. > :18:02.Only you and Ding Junhui have made five major titles on the one season.

:18:03. > :18:07.He is world number one, and you were just chatting away about how long he

:18:08. > :18:11.could possibly be there. This would be the sixth season. He could be

:18:12. > :18:15.number one for another ten years as far as I'm concerned. I don't see

:18:16. > :18:20.anyone else consistently doing well enough to compete. The likes of Judd

:18:21. > :18:24.Trump, the women's titles, but does he do it all year long? No. Neil

:18:25. > :18:29.Robertson is not winning the tournament he was. Ronnie as we know

:18:30. > :18:34.doesn't play another thing. Ding possibly, but who is there? You will

:18:35. > :18:38.dominate this game for a long time. This is the sixth season he will

:18:39. > :18:43.finish as number one. You did it eight in a row and that was a

:18:44. > :18:46.record. I wonder what confidence it gives you being number one in the

:18:47. > :18:50.sport and you are out there to be shot at? What gives you confidence

:18:51. > :18:56.is playing like he did in his last match. I was number two, I never got

:18:57. > :19:00.to number one. But when you are winning and playing well, that is

:19:01. > :19:11.what gives you the confidence. Let's get back, shall be?

:19:12. > :19:21.COMMENTATOR: Interesting comments there. Yes, the confidence of being

:19:22. > :19:28.world number one probably overrides the pressure of coming here as

:19:29. > :19:32.defending champion, can? Yes, he came as defending champion when he

:19:33. > :19:37.first won it, and of course the Crucible of course Peel played its

:19:38. > :19:42.part of that. But he has come back a different player this season.

:19:43. > :19:47.Solidified that number one position for at least another season all

:19:48. > :19:53.possibly more. I totally agree with Stephen Hendry, he could be number

:19:54. > :20:01.one for a long time. Stephen Hendry holds the record, eight years in a

:20:02. > :20:12.row. He's so consistent, four tournaments this year already in the

:20:13. > :20:16.bag. This is the big one. Not touching, looks as though it might

:20:17. > :20:19.be, but if it had been, our referee Brendan Moore would have declared

:20:20. > :21:15.it. If he can get through to the red on

:21:16. > :21:22.the left-hand side of the table, but doesn't CAC 40 there. Just was it

:21:23. > :21:34.into a cluster. As long as he judges it right, MySpace, is that touching?

:21:35. > :21:50.Mark at the baulk end, where he wouldn't like to be.

:21:51. > :22:06.He called a foul on himself. The play to him. I don't blame him for

:22:07. > :22:13.that one but you would have to say fair play. Ding says maybe play it

:22:14. > :22:18.again. Not quite sure. That is one of the great things about our sport,

:22:19. > :22:25.even if the referee doesn't see the foul, the player will call it

:22:26. > :22:29.himself. Yes, and in that instance, you would feel it against your

:22:30. > :22:32.knuckle. Sometimes, if you're reaching over and your shirt is

:22:33. > :22:43.touching the ball, you wouldn't be aware of it. But Mark was well and

:22:44. > :22:47.truly aware of that. So Ding has got the touching ball, straight back to

:22:48. > :22:57.the baulk end. Trying to get in behind the green. APPLAUSE

:22:58. > :23:00.He does so nicely. You wouldn't have thought it would cause Mark Selby a

:23:01. > :23:15.problem as the cluster is so tightly bunched.

:23:16. > :23:19.He hopes it will be touching ball again but it's not going to be this

:23:20. > :23:47.time. A chance for Mark Selby, that is all

:23:48. > :23:53.they could really do, roll into the bunch and leave a touching ball. A

:23:54. > :24:04.chance for Mark Selby to put the cue ball tight on this baulk cushion.

:24:05. > :24:12.It looks pretty good, excellent post. Have a look at that. Set tight

:24:13. > :24:22.on the baulk cushion, he didn't do a bad job, did he? No, welded to it.

:24:23. > :24:26.Ding may be tempted here to play the pot on the red on the left-hand side

:24:27. > :24:31.cushion, if he can get through to the potting angle. Trying to play

:24:32. > :24:38.the safety but people have to cut it mighty thin. But to catch this

:24:39. > :24:47.right. -- he will have to cut it. Foul and a miss.

:24:48. > :24:55.Mark just quickly let out that no free ball, put it back, as soon as

:24:56. > :24:58.the yellow moved. But, as I say come he's got to catch this very thin. If

:24:59. > :25:01.he catches it a fraction too thick, he will kiss that red on the

:25:02. > :25:24.left-hand side of the table. He needs to hit it this time. He

:25:25. > :25:34.will be warned now. He will be warned now. Three misses, and you

:25:35. > :25:39.lose the frame. It would be a very brave Ding Junhui if he plays

:25:40. > :25:43.exactly the same shot again. Well, it begs the question, Ken, if he can

:25:44. > :25:49.get through to this red on the left-hand side of the table, would

:25:50. > :26:00.he be tempted to play the pot. You have the referee, warning him. I

:26:01. > :26:01.think he's forced into taking this red that you mentioned, John. Please

:26:02. > :26:22.don't miscue. He's left it. So it just shows you

:26:23. > :26:28.the importance of getting that cue ball tight to the baulk cushion, and

:26:29. > :26:44.it has forced the mistake and given this chance to mark. He has played

:26:45. > :26:51.that nicely, purposely leaving this angle on the black. It will stand up

:26:52. > :27:01.into the reds, he will still have the red closest to the black and to

:27:02. > :27:09.the right pocket. Well, the cue ball is pushed through the roads. He

:27:10. > :27:23.stand it. Really needed to stop the cue ball in there. He has got a

:27:24. > :27:29.couple of tricky reds in the left and right middle. These are tough.

:27:30. > :27:48.Too tough. Yes, when he went into them, he was

:27:49. > :28:00.looking for something a lot easier than that. There is a possible pot

:28:01. > :28:09.to the far left corner. I don't know whether Ding Junhui can play it with

:28:10. > :28:11.an element of a shot to nothing. Doesn't matter, because he is right

:28:12. > :28:38.in the heart of the pockets. Can't do a lot with the cue ball,

:28:39. > :28:45.but if you just bounces it of the site, he is digging in, is he going

:28:46. > :28:49.to make an angle? He thinks he can just get in between the yellow and

:28:50. > :28:58.brown, and he looks to have judged that well. Yes, he's looking at

:28:59. > :29:12.what's, after this red and a colour. It was an excellent positional shot.

:29:13. > :29:21.A fraction too hard for the blue. More difficult pink, but the pink

:29:22. > :29:39.gives him more chance of being on the next red.

:29:40. > :30:03.APPLAUSE Played that nicely.

:30:04. > :30:14.Just getting the cue ball cleaned. He can go into the pack if he

:30:15. > :30:21.wishes, he has a nice angle. All he can just hold for the red.

:30:22. > :30:48.He held for the two reds. The one of the pack of roads.

:30:49. > :31:03.This is normally where he's so good, stunning and screwing around the

:31:04. > :31:08.reds. Just looking for an odyssey straight on the pink. Looking if the

:31:09. > :31:17.runs through, whether he can make an angle on the red that is closest to

:31:18. > :31:23.the people. -- to the cue ball. Yes, played nicely. Obviously would like

:31:24. > :31:31.to be straighter to this red to the left corner. Going to play a

:31:32. > :31:35.delicate little positional shot. Lots of left-hand side, trying to

:31:36. > :31:41.play for the black in the same corner. No, played it with a lot of

:31:42. > :31:46.right-hand side, and could not played better. Believe me, on

:31:47. > :31:53.superfine cloth, playing it with that much right-hand side.

:31:54. > :32:03.Beautifully played. Took the opportunity to go into the reds.

:32:04. > :32:06.Another 36 points from this position will see him get to the snookers

:32:07. > :32:24.required stage. Quite wonderful to watch Ding, when

:32:25. > :32:36.he is making breaks around the pink and black. Lovely delicate shots,

:32:37. > :32:48.little cannons. Developing reds. Quite an art.

:32:49. > :32:55.The red immediately above the black is available to the same pocket as

:32:56. > :33:06.the black. Just running off the top cushion for that red. Well, if you

:33:07. > :33:10.are being picky, a bit careless. Just a bit short, could have run up

:33:11. > :33:19.the table another six inches. Running into other raids, has to be

:33:20. > :33:32.careful. Got to be careful. And he has lost the cue ball slightly. Can

:33:33. > :33:43.he hold it? Or will he go up and down the table? He will try and hold

:33:44. > :33:47.it. No, not there. As you said, John, not the shot, the previous

:33:48. > :34:11.shot, to get on that red. That caused the problem.

:34:12. > :34:16.Trying to swing the cue ball over to the reds on the left-hand side of

:34:17. > :34:33.the table. 32 points behind, plenty remaining.

:34:34. > :34:56.Any colour will do of these reds. The one tight to the pink is not an

:34:57. > :35:35.impossible position at the moment. -- in a position to be potted.

:35:36. > :35:46.Getting down pretty quick, must be happy with the angle on this black.

:35:47. > :35:50.Does not look perfect to me. Good shot, forcing it in, he will be very

:35:51. > :36:06.badly hampered. Dear me, step ladders, Orange boxes. How do you

:36:07. > :36:08.reach this one? He's a tall lad, Mark, still will not be able to

:36:09. > :36:19.reach it. I don't suppose, with all the

:36:20. > :36:34.extensions we have today, not many shots which are unplayable. This is.

:36:35. > :36:44.Certainly would be for me! Once again, you don't expect a player to

:36:45. > :36:49.miss easy pots, he just lost control of the cue ball, as Ding did in the

:36:50. > :37:39.previous visit. Once it nestled on that red, impossible to play.

:37:40. > :37:53.He missed one, John! Yes, this is an important long pot for Ding Junhui.

:37:54. > :37:57.At the moment he is down at 29% long pots success. Only two out of seven.

:37:58. > :38:11.Needs one here. Something catching his eye. Appears

:38:12. > :38:19.to have been a bit of movement in different places. Just gone to the

:38:20. > :38:27.one-table situation, not everyone is comfortable. This is a very

:38:28. > :38:35.important shot he has here. Is he on the black? He is on it, but he

:38:36. > :38:54.cannot pot it. Just a snooker. He will be disappointed here.

:38:55. > :39:06.Remember he could put that cue ball anywhere he liked in the D. Good

:39:07. > :39:26.shot, from Mark. Hitting that red exactly has he played.

:39:27. > :39:32.He has looked at the scoreboard, 21 points in front. Will he be tempted

:39:33. > :39:39.to play this red into the far corner? The modern-day player

:39:40. > :39:52.surprises me with a lot of the shots they go for. Looks like we'll play

:39:53. > :39:56.safe. He may have purposely knocked the blue safe. Could be a clever

:39:57. > :39:58.shark. If Mark Selby did get a chance, he has a problem with the

:39:59. > :40:19.blue. Good thinking, young man. Certainly a clever shark, if he did

:40:20. > :40:23.mean it. He did have a look at the scoreboards. The blue safe is to his

:40:24. > :40:44.advantage. Could be a bit of trouble, the cue

:40:45. > :40:53.ball behind the blue. Could knock the red up the table. Yet in the

:40:54. > :40:59.baulk cushion, behind brown Green. If he had the angle to push the red

:41:00. > :41:03.pass the blue, the cue ball rolling behind it, he would do. If he cannot

:41:04. > :41:18.do that, could target green and brown hair.

:41:19. > :41:37.Wonderful shot. Very nicely judged. I mentioned it earlier, Ken, this

:41:38. > :41:40.seems to me as the year has gone on, he is learning more ring craft, when

:41:41. > :41:53.it comes to these tactical exchanges. Hitting the red, but

:41:54. > :41:55.leaving a thin cut. To win it. He will need the red that is tight to

:41:56. > :42:27.the pink. That was a surprise. Yes.

:42:28. > :42:35.Disappointed to have missed that. If the pots it, even if he doesn't get

:42:36. > :42:37.on the colour, rolling up to the baulk colours, how difficult the

:42:38. > :42:43.snooker would have been to get out of. Mark taking this red run, he

:42:44. > :43:01.feels there is plenty of value in it.

:43:02. > :43:14.Don't blame him for taking it on, it was a long pot, but only a fraction

:43:15. > :43:19.out, to be fair. Not desperate to get on the colour here. Would like

:43:20. > :43:25.to be on the colour, he is on the brown. As I say, if he could nestle

:43:26. > :43:30.up to one of the baulk colours, what a snooker this would be. Leaving

:43:31. > :43:38.himself a possible position on the brown. I see no reason not to come

:43:39. > :43:42.up. If he did get parallel with the red, could play his own snooker

:43:43. > :43:48.behind the pink. He has a nice angle on the brown, if he wishes, to go

:43:49. > :43:55.off the side cushion, just before the middle pocket. Try to cannon

:43:56. > :44:11.into the pink and red. Seize the moment, would not disagree with that

:44:12. > :44:17.idea. That is the angle. He also has the blue, as a bit of insurance

:44:18. > :44:22.policy. Reluctant to play the brown, if he does not Mr Cannon on the pink

:44:23. > :44:27.and red, he will have to play against a to shot. That is why he is

:44:28. > :44:35.thinking about playing the snooker. Mark Selby is so good at getting out

:44:36. > :44:39.of sneakers, not guaranteed to get a lot of points out of it. Looks like

:44:40. > :44:46.a stunning off, to get in behind the green. He thinks he has put the

:44:47. > :44:51.brand safe, leaving it in such a way that Mark will have to play with

:44:52. > :44:58.left and right hand side. No matter how he hits the red, it will stay

:44:59. > :45:06.the middle of the table. He needs to hit this something like water ball.

:45:07. > :45:15.22 points are in it. Ding Junhui needs red and black, and red and

:45:16. > :45:23.pink. Needs to play the two cushion escape with pace. Could hit it with

:45:24. > :45:28.portable. Hitting it to fall. When you hit bid to fall, normally I

:45:29. > :45:35.would say, you leave the red. Don't think he has. In the respect that if

:45:36. > :45:38.Ding Junhui laid it to the left corner, or the left middle, the

:45:39. > :45:52.possibility of going in off. Difficult enough pot, but as you

:45:53. > :46:02.said, the middle pocket may be on the way. Not sure whether he can pot

:46:03. > :46:04.the red into the middle centre, coming off the top cushion, on the

:46:05. > :46:32.black. That may be an option. He did not play the pot there. He

:46:33. > :46:39.has and underhit it. Did not play the pot, because the in off was on.

:46:40. > :46:48.Now he has the blue and brand safe. Glad he did. This is half a chance

:46:49. > :46:58.for Mark Selby. But he has it all to do. The black will put in 14 points

:46:59. > :47:13.behind. He would need the six remaining colours. A tall order.

:47:14. > :47:29.The cue ball would be naturally going up to the yellow. Needs to

:47:30. > :47:34.make sure the pot. Where is the cue ball for the yellow? Overrunning its

:47:35. > :47:41.likely for the right centre, but not too bad. Straight enough yellow to

:47:42. > :47:55.the bottom right corner pocket. He will be on the green.

:47:56. > :48:08.Good pot. Coming around to look at the brown. The fact it is so tight

:48:09. > :48:14.to the cushion, cannot pot the brown, getting on the blue. Coming

:48:15. > :48:21.around, potting the green, trying to leave a snooker up the table. Cue

:48:22. > :48:28.ball behind the pink. The reason he is playing that, because there is no

:48:29. > :48:35.chance of him potting the green and getting on the brown to get on the

:48:36. > :48:47.blue. Type of matchplay sneaker he is so did. Back in the frame. Nine

:48:48. > :48:51.points behind. If he can leave the cue ball somewhere where the brown

:48:52. > :49:03.is now, move the brown at the table anywhere, should be OK.

:49:04. > :49:14.Wanted it to have a little bit more pace. Easy swerve. Important in John

:49:15. > :49:25.Wayne hits this brown, because if he does not, then Marked just needs

:49:26. > :49:33.brown, blue and pink. This frame just over 30 minutes, the last 134

:49:34. > :49:42.minutes. Very tense out there. -- the last one, 34 minutes. Could not

:49:43. > :49:49.have hit that better. He has got the snooker. He has had to apologise.

:49:50. > :49:58.There may be a thin edge of the brown sticking out. That is no good

:49:59. > :50:03.to mark. If the hits that the right edge, he will knock the brown to the

:50:04. > :50:17.right corner. That's why he is looking to come off the side

:50:18. > :50:29.cushion. Does it reach? Wonderful. Touching ball. Wow! That is hard to

:50:30. > :50:33.believe. The last thing he wanted, touching ball. Easy snooker behind

:50:34. > :50:41.the blue now, you would have thought. Maybe he might be better

:50:42. > :50:55.taking the blue after cushion. He needs the brown and the blue. Easy

:50:56. > :51:01.snooker. Unless he is tight to the blue. Good shot. He will need that

:51:02. > :51:11.blue, unless he gets a lot of points from the snooker. The missing rule

:51:12. > :51:17.may encourage players to play this kind of shot at the end of the

:51:18. > :51:21.frame. This is not easy to hit. He knows his way around the table so

:51:22. > :51:32.well, very hard to get points from sneakers from Mark Selby. This one

:51:33. > :51:38.is a little wide. He will be sure to hit its second time round. Ding

:51:39. > :51:49.Junhui definitely has the upper hand for now. Needs to hit it this time.

:51:50. > :51:57.Otherwise he only needs the brown. He has missed it again. Now Ding

:51:58. > :52:09.Junhui is 17 points in front, 22 remaining. Only needs the brown.

:52:10. > :52:19.Mark could hit this and leave the brown on, quite easily. He has hit

:52:20. > :52:23.at this time, will he leave it on. Not quite. He will be snookered,

:52:24. > :52:35.next time he comes to the table. Needs to get the brown into the

:52:36. > :52:45.middle of the table, up to the Bulgarian somewhere. Try not to keep

:52:46. > :52:54.it close to if possible. Very fortunate there. Very fortunate. He

:52:55. > :53:02.has brought the blue into play, did not want that. He only needs the

:53:03. > :53:14.brown. A full ball snooker. 17 behind.

:53:15. > :53:21.The fact that Mark is having a look at this, looking at the scoreboard.

:53:22. > :53:26.Yes, can Mr brown, and still able to win. Amis will be called. The fact

:53:27. > :53:32.he's not playing it straightaway means he cannot get past the little

:53:33. > :53:44.pocket. Trying to swerve. To get the angle to hit the brown. Can he get

:53:45. > :53:53.it safe? He has got it safe. Could not played that any better.

:53:54. > :53:55.Beautiful shot. Wonderful shot. Now this game will rest on the brown,

:53:56. > :54:12.you would feel. Looks as though Ding Junhui can only

:54:13. > :54:21.get to the right-hand side of the brown, as he looks. As to be careful

:54:22. > :54:24.here. Trying to get the snooker with the pink. Looks to have played

:54:25. > :54:50.reasonably well. Straightforward side cushion.

:54:51. > :54:56.Straightforward to hit the brown of the side cushion. That is the angle,

:54:57. > :55:00.wanting to hit it full ball, so the brown comes off the opposite side

:55:01. > :55:08.cushion, resting somewhere on the bottom cushion near the black. Just

:55:09. > :55:17.resting it on the other cushion. Very well play. Great weight of

:55:18. > :55:23.shot. Thought he was going to hit it harder, off the side cushion down

:55:24. > :55:34.towards the black. It is pressure now. Ding Junhui made a big mistake.

:55:35. > :55:43.That is why there is pressure on the safety shots. Just content to tuck

:55:44. > :55:52.it behind the black. I tell you what, could not played much better.

:55:53. > :55:56.That is brilliant. Mark Hurd a quick glance up to the balcony where his

:55:57. > :56:07.supporters are, saying how can anyone play that? But he did. There

:56:08. > :56:15.is is wife, Vicki in the middle. Good friend of his. Bobby, his close

:56:16. > :56:24.friend. Travels with him. He looks more under pressure than Mark. He

:56:25. > :56:30.has the outside edge of this brown. Very brave man to play that shot.

:56:31. > :56:35.Could hit the black, and the need is sneaker. Worse, if you missed it, he

:56:36. > :56:58.would leave a free ball. As you said, leaves the free ball.

:56:59. > :57:13.That is end of frame, you would feel. 21 points the difference. The

:57:14. > :57:15.blue counts as four. Now Mark Selby needs a snooker, he has not hit this

:57:16. > :57:40.too well. Just about on the brown. In goes the brown, that will be the

:57:41. > :57:50.end of the frame. The longest frame either player has been involved in

:57:51. > :57:56.in the tournament so far. He flicks the blue, but the frame was over

:57:57. > :58:05.before then. Two tight, Titanic frames. They have been shared. Mark

:58:06. > :58:13.Selby will not come back to the table. It is a frame that Ding

:58:14. > :58:24.Junhui did really well to win. Laid Mark Selby of his own game.

:58:25. > :58:30.STUDIO: Nearly 39 minutes, and 34 the one before then. Mark Selby

:58:31. > :58:35.never leaves a pot one. What were the chances of him getting out of

:58:36. > :58:40.that one with a win? When he had the reds stuck behind a thing, he were

:58:41. > :58:47.snookered, blue and brown on the cushions. He thought he had a 10%

:58:48. > :58:53.chance of winning the frame. His Nat Tilly Macca matchplay, getting out

:58:54. > :58:58.of sneakers was fantastic. Ding moved the blue inadvertently offered

:58:59. > :59:02.vision, a bad move. Only the shop that Ding played getting behind the

:59:03. > :59:06.black. Anywhere else on the table, leaving the edge, it would have gone

:59:07. > :59:12.in. A master in frames he does not look like winning, gives is of a

:59:13. > :59:18.chance. Ding realises, to beat this guy, he will have to survive frames

:59:19. > :59:22.like that. To be fair to Ding he outplayed Mark in the safety

:59:23. > :59:28.department. He had complete control for the last 15, 20 minutes. Always

:59:29. > :59:32.have the upper hand, always the aggressor. Playing snooker 's.

:59:33. > :59:39.Important for him to win those types of frames. -- playing sneakers.

:59:40. > :59:45.Keeping the blue safe on the side rail was key to it. Very clever, he

:59:46. > :59:49.had two reds, could have played anywhere down the baulk area. Could

:59:50. > :59:54.not ready player safety. Just clipping off it, cannoning the blue.

:59:55. > :00:00.Putting it on the cushion, clever shot. Interesting change of pace.

:00:01. > :00:06.The first four frames were bang, bang. Slowed up, very intriguing.

:00:07. > :00:11.Yes, always going to get frames like this. The first four, maybe we were

:00:12. > :00:16.spoiled a bit, the way they were going. Big visits. It will get more

:00:17. > :00:23.cagey as long as it is level scoring. I was going to say, what

:00:24. > :00:26.happens in games like this. When two people are adept at safety, making

:00:27. > :00:29.responses to each other you get frames like that. Back we go to the

:00:30. > :00:50.penultimate of the opening session. COMMENTATOR: Yes, the first four

:00:51. > :00:58.frames, we were averaging just over 60 minutes a frame the last two

:00:59. > :01:05.frames, the last one was nearly 32 minutes. The average frame time now

:01:06. > :01:07.is just over 23 minutes. -- the first four frames we were averaging

:01:08. > :01:23.just over 16 minutes a frame. But I agree, I think it is just the

:01:24. > :01:30.good safety that is being played that is making these frames look a

:01:31. > :01:50.bit more drawn out than the quality of play deserves.

:01:51. > :02:02.He tried to play that with a lot of top spin. And after winning an

:02:03. > :02:05.elongated previous frame, the worst thing you want to do is give your

:02:06. > :02:23.opponent and easy start on the next. A bit of a cutback from this lack

:02:24. > :02:52.here. Oh. He didn't play that previous red

:02:53. > :02:57.too well. But, Ken, Hanley times do we sit, the first four frames either

:02:58. > :03:02.player gets a chance, they would win the frame. Now we have had a couple

:03:03. > :03:10.of long, drawn-out frames, it seems to have taken the edge off the

:03:11. > :03:16.potting. It can happen. Yes, it can happen, your concentration can get a

:03:17. > :03:24.little tired, a bit weary. A good chance if he can knock this one into

:03:25. > :03:32.the far left corner. APPLAUSE Never a doubt. Profiting from a

:03:33. > :03:39.mistake from Tim one, it only cost him 1.4 is that what can he make for

:03:40. > :03:51.Mark Selby's error? A couple of reds to go at here. The loose one, that

:03:52. > :04:02.is the one he has got on. At the red, just the right of the pink, as

:04:03. > :04:07.well. Coming round to have a look at this red come on the right-hand side

:04:08. > :04:24.is that pot into the corner pocket. Just to drop in for the black here.

:04:25. > :04:33.That is the red he was looking at, so he can try to get on that red. If

:04:34. > :04:34.he is not on it nice, there is a red above it on the left centre, as

:04:35. > :05:24.well. Not quite certain if the pink spot

:05:25. > :05:29.is available. If it's not, well, it is, obviously. That is why he played

:05:30. > :05:50.the threw off the side cushion. Still in good position.

:05:51. > :05:57.Ding will typically take the loose threads before he contemplates going

:05:58. > :06:07.into the pack. He has a nice angle now but I don't think he will go

:06:08. > :06:10.into the pack of roads here. He is a master at just picking off the loose

:06:11. > :06:22.threads and then choosing the right time to go into the pack. Yes, and

:06:23. > :06:30.the way the reds are situated commie would probably prefer to go into

:06:31. > :06:34.them off the blue. The pink just separating slightly, so if he was

:06:35. > :06:38.going to play the cannon, which is the normal way of doing it, cannon

:06:39. > :06:43.kit full in the face, he has to catch the pink full in the face,

:06:44. > :06:49.otherwise you can always risk going in off one of the callers. See no

:06:50. > :06:56.reason why he shouldn't play one of the tenancy. Didn't catch the pink

:06:57. > :07:08.full in the face. He is not perfect, by any means. He only caught a

:07:09. > :07:11.quarter ball. Tough red along the cushion. Can he get past the black

:07:12. > :07:21.to cut the spun back into the corner? I think he can. But he won't

:07:22. > :07:26.have much control of the cue ball. So if he goes for it, he needs to

:07:27. > :07:29.get it. The one that is closest to the top cushion, well, he would have

:07:30. > :07:45.to play it with pace, and makes it very missable.

:07:46. > :07:56.Good pots. He has found the gap between yellow and brown. Nicely

:07:57. > :08:04.onto the blue as well in this corner right-hand pocket. It was imperative

:08:05. > :08:10.he didn't kiss into any of the baulk colours. You can drop the blue in.

:08:11. > :08:13.It looks pretty straight. Just getting the cue ball cleaned. He has

:08:14. > :08:21.a choice, green into the top corner pocket. Just drop it in and take the

:08:22. > :08:36.red, left of the black. Just checking whether he can push

:08:37. > :08:42.the cue through enough. He is at full stretch. This is dangerous to

:08:43. > :08:51.play it like this. Well, he has made it. Rather that, than use the rest.

:08:52. > :08:56.Just the pace as well, if it had been any harder. Have a look at this

:08:57. > :09:02.again. Any harder and I don't think that blue would have gone. It was a

:09:03. > :09:19.little bit wired. But I still think the pink spot is

:09:20. > :09:22.available. He is only looking for another 24 points from this

:09:23. > :09:28.situation but I don't think it is obvious, because there are two roads

:09:29. > :09:33.on either cluster of that five. One to the left corner, want of a right

:09:34. > :09:41.corner, but when the pink goes on its spot, they will not be

:09:42. > :09:56.available. He does have the angle on the pink to try to nudge onto the

:09:57. > :10:00.red and try to develop them. He tried to play a delicate little

:10:01. > :10:12.screw shot just past that read. Does keeping go? -- now where does the

:10:13. > :10:17.pink go. It was a delicate little shot between the pink spot and that

:10:18. > :10:33.would you spoke about, John. You have to be very precise.

:10:34. > :10:43.He has got a 49 point lead. But there is still a possible 83

:10:44. > :11:19.remaining, so plenty of snooker left in this frame.

:11:20. > :11:27.Well, that is probably the most careless shot I've seen Mark play

:11:28. > :11:32.for quite a while. We'll watch again as he gets the double-kiss, the only

:11:33. > :11:38.think he tried to just send it up and misjudged it. Fortunately for

:11:39. > :11:43.Mark, the cue ball has gone prior to the cushion. Beware the left middle

:11:44. > :11:56.pocket here. It is going to go very close. Beware the left middle

:11:57. > :12:04.pocket. He's OK. That is what he was frightened of, and that is why he

:12:05. > :12:07.played it so slowly. If he had played it a little bit harder, that

:12:08. > :12:11.cue ball could have swung a little bit wider, so he needs a good shot

:12:12. > :12:15.on the blue. I know he is already on the baulk end, but he can't just

:12:16. > :12:28.role in this blue and be on it, I don't think. Well, he deserves that,

:12:29. > :12:38.he deserves that, because to play that with pace, as he did, he made

:12:39. > :12:51.it a very tough pot, and he has adjusted to absolute perfection. A

:12:52. > :13:01.cluster of five make it 67 points remaining, the ones between the pink

:13:02. > :13:13.and black. That now puts him 56 points in front. There is a red at

:13:14. > :13:25.the bottom. Straight on the blue. He can play for that one. Blue right

:13:26. > :13:29.into the heart of the pocket. How has he judged the pace? He looks to

:13:30. > :13:34.have judged it to perfection. 61 points is the lead. Red and the pink

:13:35. > :13:47.to go 68 ahead with only 59 remaining.

:13:48. > :13:55.He will have to play the pink into the far right corner. No heroics

:13:56. > :14:00.here. He has glanced at the scoreboard. He knows if he goes 68

:14:01. > :14:16.points in front, Mark Selby will need a snooker. I'm amazed. I am

:14:17. > :14:23.absolutely amazed. Well, no, why should I be amazed? I got the score

:14:24. > :14:30.wrong, sorry. 62 points, the lead. 59 remaining. The new better than

:14:31. > :14:34.me. That is why he is there and we are here, Ken. Speak for yourself,

:14:35. > :14:49.John. I give the Royal we, sorry. That will secure the frame. APPLAUSE

:14:50. > :15:09.Good pots. I'm sorry we all make mistakes, that

:15:10. > :15:32.is why they put rubbers on the ends of pencils.

:15:33. > :15:41.I'm still a bit surprised that he didn't take the pink. Maybe he is

:15:42. > :15:49.playing Mark Selby at his own game. It is something Mark Selby would

:15:50. > :16:00.have done as well. He's not afraid to mix it with him. Yeah, if he had

:16:01. > :16:04.potted the pink, there is no way Mark Selby would have carried on,

:16:05. > :16:09.but putting the yellow safe, Mark was encouraged because he only

:16:10. > :16:22.needed one snooker. Anyway, it is of little elephants now. One more -- it

:16:23. > :16:35.is of little relevance. He has played in four sessions. Oh,

:16:36. > :16:45.wonderful. Every session is your goal or your aim is to win it. Yes.

:16:46. > :16:51.A big frame coming up for both players stop yes, you try to win the

:16:52. > :16:56.first mini-session but if you can finish the first session with a

:16:57. > :17:01.lead, and Ding Junhui will have the opportunity to do that now, that

:17:02. > :17:09.would have been in his target, starting out in the semifinal. Not

:17:10. > :17:18.much between both players. We have had a couple of slow frames, but

:17:19. > :17:24.generally it has been high-quality. If APPLAUSE

:17:25. > :17:30.Nice 56 from Ding Junhui. He goes into the lead, yet again. He leads

:17:31. > :17:31.the world number one and defending world champion by four frames to

:17:32. > :17:44.three now. As you can see there is a lot more

:17:45. > :17:48.room now with the one table, so there is a lot more room to place

:17:49. > :17:52.you can brush up on your skills for stuff I have learned a thing or two,

:17:53. > :17:55.so come down and get involved. There are coaches on hand to give you some

:17:56. > :17:59.red-hot tips on improving your game, and you can also add your questions

:18:00. > :18:04.answered on how to get involved in snooker. The tables and coaches will

:18:05. > :18:08.be here right up until Monday's final. Come and have a go on a

:18:09. > :18:10.professional snooker table. You never know, you could end about the

:18:11. > :18:17.World Championships next year. That could be something. If you

:18:18. > :18:21.cannot get to Sheffield and the Winter Gardens, but keep following

:18:22. > :18:25.it here on the BBC. I noticed that somebody who is a bit of a snooker

:18:26. > :18:34.fan, a snooker and can you might say, this is Nick, peanut Baines,

:18:35. > :18:41.the keyboard player for the Kaiser Chiefs. He has been part of the

:18:42. > :18:45.crowd here before. An appreciative audience and we are an appreciative

:18:46. > :18:49.audience in here. This has got all the hallmarks of a classic, but a

:18:50. > :18:54.very clever frame again from Ding Junhui. He is playing really good

:18:55. > :18:58.hard matchplay. Unusually for Mark, he has made a couple of mistakes,

:18:59. > :19:03.certainly the red with the double-kiss. But I am very impressed

:19:04. > :19:12.with his application. Mark Selby looked like he was close to

:19:13. > :19:17.absolutely buzzing. Last year in the first session of the final, Ding

:19:18. > :19:21.went out to - six behind in the first session. He has a chance to go

:19:22. > :19:27.ahead. That would be massive for him. He is so impressive, his

:19:28. > :19:36.desertion of play has been brilliant. If you are looking for

:19:37. > :19:39.ways that Ding is better than Mark Selby, I think his cue ball

:19:40. > :19:43.controllers just that little bit better, especially anywhere around

:19:44. > :19:48.the pink and black. The safety has been so good from Ding as well.

:19:49. > :19:52.Sometimes it looks almost simplistic, is that good at it. So

:19:53. > :19:57.you don't fully appreciate it, unless you play the game and you are

:19:58. > :20:01.thinking, how good was that under the cosh? As you say, it is so good

:20:02. > :20:05.it just makes it look easier than it is. He seldom leaves and self a

:20:06. > :20:12.difficult shot out there. This is the last of the opening session.

:20:13. > :20:16.COMMENTATOR: It is Mark Selby that gets the final frame of the first

:20:17. > :20:58.session underway. Good rake off. It is the type of pot that you take

:20:59. > :21:03.on, thinking there was no good safety. This match played over four

:21:04. > :21:09.sessions to make up the 43 -- to make up the 33, three sessions of

:21:10. > :21:18.eight, and then the nine, if needed, in the fourth session. So a long way

:21:19. > :21:22.to go, but I think what has been evident here, the first frame Mark

:21:23. > :21:25.Selby look as cool as a cucumber, like he wasn't going to make any

:21:26. > :21:30.mistakes whatsoever. Now he looks a little bit ruffled. Ding has been

:21:31. > :21:52.giving as good as he gets. Yeah, you can see a slight bit of a

:21:53. > :22:01.momentum shift for Ding. He has been very composed over the last few

:22:02. > :22:07.frames, or since he went behind. Mark Selby, particularly that last

:22:08. > :22:13.shot, the double-kiss that cost Mark Selby the frame. It is not often you

:22:14. > :22:29.would see him make such a blatant error, you know?

:22:30. > :22:36.Touching ball, so if you fire away you are deemed to have hit the red

:22:37. > :22:42.your touching. It doesn't mean to say you can't hit another red, of

:22:43. > :22:47.course. Another good line, and a good length. The only thing I would

:22:48. > :22:55.say with a situation like that, there is not much chance of Mark

:22:56. > :23:01.Selby leaving anything on. Well, he is going to give six point way and

:23:02. > :23:08.he will leave a read on. Popa would you believe that? That is amazing.

:23:09. > :23:20.He does look a little bit ruffled, all right. I was just on the verge

:23:21. > :23:22.of saying I would love has a -- rather have a good cue ball welded

:23:23. > :23:47.to the cushion. So he's going to have to sit there

:23:48. > :23:52.now, and who held many in points - and regret how money points that has

:23:53. > :24:01.crossed. Straight into them. He will be unlucky not to do well. That was

:24:02. > :24:04.very positive, and boy, did he play that well? Yes, didn't want to hit

:24:05. > :24:10.the thing that time, just wanted to hit the red to the left of the pink,

:24:11. > :24:19.as we look. And he played it to perfection.

:24:20. > :24:25.The pink is available, as well as the blue here, and of course the

:24:26. > :24:32.black is available into the right corner pocket. May come down for the

:24:33. > :24:41.red closest to this bottom cushion, beneath the black. Just to free up

:24:42. > :24:44.the black into both corner pockets. Yes, I'm certain that is the red he

:24:45. > :24:52.would like to get on. He would have liked to have been a bit straighter

:24:53. > :25:08.on the blue, but this is a good positional shot, here. And he's

:25:09. > :25:11.played it. He's played it. Yeah. That's the beauty of brick building

:25:12. > :25:19.community of yourself options, and when this red goes in, he will try

:25:20. > :25:30.to Venice frame from this position, opening up as Stephen century ton

:25:31. > :25:33.Hendry said, his cue ball controllers just that bit better

:25:34. > :26:10.than Mark Selby in these opening exchanges.

:26:11. > :26:19.48 points from disposition to get to the snookers required stage and take

:26:20. > :26:28.a two frame advantage into the second session tomorrow. He does

:26:29. > :26:35.have the angle to go into the two reds, right above the black. That's

:26:36. > :26:38.what he's looking at, and I'm sure the top right of those two we are

:26:39. > :26:47.looking at goes into the bottom corner pocket. That's OK. He has

:26:48. > :26:50.driven it through them, purposely, because if he had just played the

:26:51. > :26:55.normal cannon, OK, he would have been on the left hand of those two

:26:56. > :26:59.reds that are still there, but he would be going away from the black,

:27:00. > :27:03.and so that is why he forced it through. When it comes to, as I said

:27:04. > :27:06.earlier, even around the pink and black spot area, he has got some

:27:07. > :27:19.lovely moves. He has just got a wonderful touch.

:27:20. > :27:23.He makes the breaks look so easy because of the position of the cue

:27:24. > :27:32.ball. When you watch where he puts the cue ball, it is no more than six

:27:33. > :27:37.or eight inches from the next ball. Well, they say that the best breaks

:27:38. > :27:42.are the ones where people say, well I could have potted that. Well, the

:27:43. > :27:46.reason is because he keeps leaving himself inch perfect, and nice

:27:47. > :27:53.angles on every ball. There you see, straight on that, so he can roll it

:27:54. > :28:01.in, leave a nice angle on the black. This is a big frame, though. Two

:28:02. > :28:14.frame advantage. He will consider it a good afternoon's work.

:28:15. > :28:19.You see 50 ahead, but it all came from that split. He hit the blue. He

:28:20. > :28:24.couldn't go into the pink this time, he had to hit the red full ball.

:28:25. > :28:25.Just look at the reds, how they opened up beautifully. Excellent

:28:26. > :29:05.shot. Just a little bit hampered here by

:29:06. > :29:09.the pink, but I think he only has to roll the red in to get position on

:29:10. > :29:31.the black, so he doesn't have to do too much with the cue ball.

:29:32. > :29:37.Yeah, we were talking at the start of the match with Hazel in the

:29:38. > :29:41.commentary box, Ken, how would you feel after beating Ronnie O'Sullivan

:29:42. > :29:49.in the last match. Gary Goldwyn, remember we used to go around with

:29:50. > :29:53.Tim one a lot, in China it was always -- with Ding Junhui a lot, in

:29:54. > :29:57.China it was always looked upon, could he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan? We

:29:58. > :30:02.looked at the head-to-heads before he beat yesterday, and it was 10-2

:30:03. > :30:08.to Ronnie, and the fact he has now beaten Ronnie has proven to

:30:09. > :30:14.everybody that he is capable of beating anyone in the game. And I

:30:15. > :30:22.think he is taking that confidence into this. APPLAUSE

:30:23. > :30:27.The applause tells you that is the point where Mark Selby needs

:30:28. > :30:31.snookers. It wasn't just beating Ronnie, but beating him here at the

:30:32. > :30:39.World Championships as well, over the best of 25 frames. And Ronnie

:30:40. > :30:43.playing well. Yeah. Let's. Forget that. We were a little bit

:30:44. > :30:47.concerned, would he have a slight hangover from that win? It would be

:30:48. > :30:50.hard to get himself back up for this match this afternoon, but he looks

:30:51. > :31:07.well up for it. Another wonderful positional shot,

:31:08. > :31:12.to find the gap between those reds. No affect on him, if anything,

:31:13. > :31:21.giving him the air of confidence. This will be a cracking semifinal.

:31:22. > :31:26.Ding will have a slight initiative, but I'm sure Mark Selby will be

:31:27. > :31:30.coming back at him. I think we are in for a wonderful semifinal between

:31:31. > :31:43.both players, playing at the top of their game.

:31:44. > :31:56.Good shot, he is on the red. Already made nine century breaks so far in

:31:57. > :32:03.the tournament. Free-macro in each match he has played. The only thing

:32:04. > :32:05.we have missed this afternoon is a century. Not missing that now.

:32:06. > :32:34.Wonderful. 63rd century break of the tournament

:32:35. > :32:39.so far. 86 is the record. Another lovely shot. Not only yellow. He

:32:40. > :32:54.will end on 110. Very pleased with his

:32:55. > :32:58.afternoon's work. Ding Junhui is a 5-3 lead over the defending

:32:59. > :33:05.champion, Mark Selby. Plenty to think about. Didn't Don John we'd do

:33:06. > :33:10.well? STUDIO: A tenth century of the

:33:11. > :33:15.championship, last year he made 15. He made seven against Alan McManus

:33:16. > :33:23.in the semifinal last year. What a run of scoring, century, 350s, a 70.

:33:24. > :33:29.From Mark Selby, 68 and a 99. Ding would not wanted that session to

:33:30. > :33:32.end? Absolutely not, by far on top for the last three frames, are

:33:33. > :33:37.playing the world number one. Deserving the scoreline. I have seen

:33:38. > :33:42.him play a lot over the years, making century break. Not seen him

:33:43. > :33:46.compete as well. Everybody turned up the championship, the top 30

:33:47. > :33:52.players, they can all play. But can you compete? That is what he has

:33:53. > :33:57.done. Brilliant session. There is an air of confidence, as Ken Dougherty

:33:58. > :34:02.talked about. And air of certainty. He seems to have grown in the last

:34:03. > :34:07.few hours. You cannot underestimate beating Ronnie O'Sullivan. I did not

:34:08. > :34:10.think he could beat Ronnie. His weakness has been his mental

:34:11. > :34:20.strength over the top players in long matches. He proved me, and

:34:21. > :34:24.others, well not everybody, wrong. I said I could not see reason why

:34:25. > :34:28.would Mark Selby would not win the World Championship. I can now. His

:34:29. > :34:35.biggest asset, his cue ball control, Savage scoring, that may be the

:34:36. > :34:40.reason. A sense of alarm, maybe concern, at the way that Mark

:34:41. > :34:46.started match. What will concern, the last time they play the final in

:34:47. > :34:51.China, it was 10-1, to Mark. Ding did not try, once he got behind.

:34:52. > :34:56.Mark Selby looking at this today, thinking it

:34:57. > :35:05.is a animal. In the Shanghai Masters, he did get the better of

:35:06. > :35:08.him, 10,000 six. Really interesting, they are meeting in the biggest

:35:09. > :35:13.occasions, the last three times they have met, they having finals. The

:35:14. > :35:20.way Selby played yesterday, I compensated, unbelievable session of

:35:21. > :35:24.snooker to finish Marco Fu. It will be a massive shock to the system

:35:25. > :35:29.losing by three. Everything he touched turned to gold yesterday. At

:35:30. > :35:33.the start of the match, he was walking around like owned the place.

:35:34. > :35:36.That is when it comes as a shock, when you are playing as well as he

:35:37. > :35:41.can. At the end of it, only one winner. That was the 63rd century of

:35:42. > :35:50.the championship. 24 required to break the record. It is going to be

:35:51. > :35:55.close. Is it achievable? You are needing John the final, the final,

:35:56. > :36:05.the way he scores. Anyway, that is what we need, 24. It was 86 in 2016.

:36:06. > :36:10.Already pretty great scoring here. 24 required, you never know. Now our

:36:11. > :36:15.thoughts turn to the second of the semifinals. John Higgins against

:36:16. > :36:22.Barry Hawkins. This could be a really interesting one. John has not

:36:23. > :36:27.been in the one table format here at the Crucible since he last won the

:36:28. > :36:33.fourth of his victory is in the World Championship in 2011. A long

:36:34. > :36:38.way. The man he is playing, Barry Hawkins, an old hand at this setup.

:36:39. > :36:45.This is his fourth appearance in the semifinals in the last five years.

:36:46. > :36:51.They will both emerge from backstage at seven o'clock tonight. A great

:36:52. > :36:55.occasion, I have been watching it since I was a young boy on the TV.

:36:56. > :36:59.Dreams are playing at the Crucible, now I am on the one-table set-up

:37:00. > :37:03.again. If you don't enjoy that occasion, might as well put the cue

:37:04. > :37:10.away. John has played some great stuff, I need to be a lot my game to

:37:11. > :37:14.be in with a shout. To be back of the one-table set-up, no place like

:37:15. > :37:20.it at the Crucible. One table. Just delighted. 2011 was the last time,

:37:21. > :37:26.you think are you ever going to get there again, to sample it? Luckily

:37:27. > :37:32.enough I am here. Hoping to go one better, to get into the final. He a

:37:33. > :37:37.proper legend of the now. Playing some brilliant stuff the last couple

:37:38. > :37:40.of years. When he's playing well, you need to play perfect snooker to

:37:41. > :37:47.beat him. Great champion, great bloke as well. He has become such a

:37:48. > :37:53.tough player. He was before, but I think it was mentally that letting

:37:54. > :37:57.down a bit. He felt he did not belong on the same stage as

:37:58. > :38:06.O'Sullivan, Selby. Now he knows he belongs there. Such a tough player.

:38:07. > :38:10.It is a matter of taking my chances when they come along. I will need to

:38:11. > :38:15.score a heavy, to win frames in one visit. If it gets to nitty-gritty,

:38:16. > :38:20.tactical side of it, John is so good. It will take a lot of energy

:38:21. > :38:26.to keep winning frames like that. I need to be clinical, really. So over

:38:27. > :38:32.the moon I will be competing here for the next three days in the

:38:33. > :38:38.one-table set-up, no place like it. Cannot wait, cannot wait to get out

:38:39. > :38:42.there. He has had a very long way to get out there. Six years to get back

:38:43. > :38:50.into the one table format here. This is the head to head. 5-2, in John

:38:51. > :38:57.Higgins' favour. If you include some of the lesser championship league

:38:58. > :39:00.matches. 7-7. Only ever met in one long format match, right here at the

:39:01. > :39:07.World Championship in the first round. John Higgins, 10-6. Not a

:39:08. > :39:12.huge amount to go on, as far as this one is concerned. They are very well

:39:13. > :39:21.matched up, as they play the game. Both exceptional match players.

:39:22. > :39:28.Semifinals stages. Ding is a scorer, cannot be a matchplay. The other

:39:29. > :39:33.three great match players. 7-7. I expect this to be a great match.

:39:34. > :39:38.Both their matches matchup, they can play safely, they can score, tough

:39:39. > :39:44.to pick a winner. Last time John Guptill semifinal and did not go one

:39:45. > :39:50.to win the title, 2001 aged 26. 3-3 since then. Interesting, John looks

:39:51. > :39:55.like a teenager again, the way he's looking forward to the one-table

:39:56. > :40:01.situation. The older players, they get inspired by playing here. John

:40:02. > :40:05.will be inspired coming out here tonight, playing at this venue

:40:06. > :40:10.camellias missed it the like. I expect him to fly. What about the

:40:11. > :40:17.scoring? Barry Hawkins making 1350 plus. John Higgins 25. Five

:40:18. > :40:25.centuries, to Barry's two. Is that a factor? I would say the winner will

:40:26. > :40:32.come from who makes the most unfazed errors. The scoring will be very

:40:33. > :40:39.heavy. As I say, I think John, something about him in this

:40:40. > :40:44.championship. What is it? Seems to have renewed enthusiasm. And hunger.

:40:45. > :40:48.Obviously winning two great events in the middle of the season.

:40:49. > :40:53.Invitation events. He looks so relaxed, enjoying it. You will be so

:40:54. > :40:57.inspired coming out of. This is a place to play snooker. He thought it

:40:58. > :41:03.might be his last semifinal, now back again. We heard him say he

:41:04. > :41:06.cannot wait to get back out there. This morning came after a little

:41:07. > :41:10.look around. Not acquainted himself with this for six years. Coffee in

:41:11. > :41:17.hand, getting back out there. Long way. Adjusting the distance he has

:41:18. > :41:23.to walk. Trying to calculate. Only two steps, now a lot more. He is an

:41:24. > :41:28.old fellow, now 42. Trying to become the oldest winner since Ray Reardon,

:41:29. > :41:35.he was 46. There has not been a winner in his 40s since Ray Reardon.

:41:36. > :41:39.He has technically got better. Rediscovered the middle of the

:41:40. > :41:45.white. Long game is miles better. He had lost that for a couple of

:41:46. > :41:48.seasons. It is debilitating to a snooker player when you're not

:41:49. > :41:52.knocking long balls in. His matchplay is unquestioned. I don't

:41:53. > :41:56.think anyone in the tournament would have beaten Mark Allen, the way you

:41:57. > :42:04.play. He played fantastic. Higgins played better. He has beaten Martin

:42:05. > :42:09.Gold, the best of the qualifiers. Incredible match against Mark Allen.

:42:10. > :42:14.Then Cairo will son, who suffered a bit of ill luck with the tip

:42:15. > :42:18.problem. Going back to the Mark Allen match, for me, the two

:42:19. > :42:27.clearances he a huge statement of intent. Very much so. John is a

:42:28. > :42:30.heavy scorer. One of his biggest attributes in his career has been

:42:31. > :42:36.pinching frames at vital times. Doing it better than anyone has ever

:42:37. > :42:43.done. Barry Hawkins, Tom Ford, Graeme Dott, 13-6. He was relentless

:42:44. > :42:47.in that second session. The scoring statistic, he has had two rock-hard

:42:48. > :42:51.matchplay. You don't get anything easy with Graeme Dott, certainly not

:42:52. > :42:54.with Stephen McGuire. I don't read too much into the way they're been

:42:55. > :43:01.scoring. Different matches. Good matchup. It has been a very eventful

:43:02. > :43:10.afternoon. Some up in one word Ding's played. Does not have to be

:43:11. > :43:14.one word. Awesome. For Selby, what will he do differently in the next

:43:15. > :43:24.session? He will come at the same way, same preparation. No reason to

:43:25. > :43:29.panic. We will return in the evening at seven o'clock with the first

:43:30. > :43:34.session of the second semifinal. We are taking a modest rate of just

:43:35. > :43:35.over two hours. We will refuel, fresh, ready to give again at seven

:43:36. > :43:40.o'clock. Cheers. Goodbye.