Day 14, Semi-Finals, Afternoon Session

:00:46. > :00:59.John Higgins clears and needs the defending champion, Ding Junhui,

:01:00. > :01:04.15-12. John Higgins wins the 2017 World Championship. Fantastic. It is

:01:05. > :01:09.the best I think I have ever played in my life. To do it under that kind

:01:10. > :01:16.of pressure is unreal. For the third time, as the crowd gives a standing

:01:17. > :01:27.ovation, Higgins is the world champion. I won in 1998 and it took

:01:28. > :01:39.so long to win another, and a couple of years after to win another one is

:01:40. > :01:43.brilliant. He takes the title. That was absolutely fantastic and he

:01:44. > :01:52.takes his fourth world title. 2011 was the last time and this was one

:01:53. > :01:58.better, getting to the final. The semifinal stage of the bet fair

:01:59. > :02:03.World Championship is a three-day drama, we had act one yesterday, act

:02:04. > :02:06.two will further develop the plotlines. We will see the most

:02:07. > :02:11.venerable protagonist arguably on the stage this year, John Higgins,

:02:12. > :02:18.who is bidding for a fifth world title at the tender age of 41. He is

:02:19. > :02:25.due back on at 2:30pm against Barry Hawkins, who is again once close to

:02:26. > :02:28.a major breakthrough. With the other semifinal, big day for them with

:02:29. > :02:32.morning and evening sessions between Mark Selby, the defending champion

:02:33. > :02:41.Tom and the man who has arguably played the best snooker of anybody

:02:42. > :02:48.so far, Ding Junhui, the last year's runner-up. Cracking semifinal in

:02:49. > :02:56.store, a repeat of last year's final. This is when the tournament

:02:57. > :03:04.comes into its own. He could not have played that any better. Max was

:03:05. > :03:10.in great form coming into this and looked like he had the aura of a

:03:11. > :03:18.champion. -- Mark Selby. Wonderful shot. That first frame mark was

:03:19. > :03:23.walking around the table like he owned the place. It is a very risky

:03:24. > :03:31.shot to take on but taking it on he is. And getting it. The first frame

:03:32. > :03:35.I thought was so key to Ding. If he can beat Ronnie O'Sullivan he can

:03:36. > :03:39.beat anybody. People were saying, will there be a bit of a hangover?

:03:40. > :03:46.There definitely wasn't. He has done it to absolute perfection. Wonderful

:03:47. > :03:52.first frame, if the match stays like that we are in for a cracker. I

:03:53. > :03:56.thought the first four frames were excellent, you didn't fancy either

:03:57. > :04:03.player missing an easy shot. All square, 2-2. Six points away and he

:04:04. > :04:13.leaves the red on. Would you believe that? Amazing. It shows a sign of a

:04:14. > :04:16.very confident player. Selby will be very disappointed, a couple of silly

:04:17. > :04:21.errors you wouldn't normally see from him, especially from the safety

:04:22. > :04:31.side, and it cost him a couple of frames. Wonderful, absolutely

:04:32. > :04:34.wonderful play from Ding. He has a 5-3 lead over the defending

:04:35. > :04:42.champion. Selby has a bit of catching up to do it Ding in fine

:04:43. > :04:47.form. The defending champion was back here

:04:48. > :04:59.at 915 AM this morning and was in the venue at 11 o'clock at night,

:05:00. > :05:03.changing his cue. Ding made the tenth century this year. What a

:05:04. > :05:07.dominant and confidence session from him. He lives in Sheffield and he

:05:08. > :05:11.was here nice and early for the second session this morning. These

:05:12. > :05:13.are the closing moments in the build-up before they were due to

:05:14. > :05:24.take to the arena once again this morning.

:05:25. > :05:30.Steve Davis and John Parrott are following every twist and turn of

:05:31. > :05:33.the plotlines. We have seen all of this before, Mark Selby changed his

:05:34. > :05:38.tip before the final last year, he is making a habit of it. It is not

:05:39. > :05:43.ideal but if you start to lose confidence in the tip, and I think

:05:44. > :05:47.Mark was telling me a couple of days ago that he thought it was a bit

:05:48. > :05:53.hard, it is best to change things. We reckon he put in three and a

:05:54. > :05:57.half, four hours of work breaking this in last night. He was able to

:05:58. > :06:01.do an interview with me in the highlights programme last night

:06:02. > :06:06.about that situation. Can you ever imagine in your pond having done

:06:07. > :06:10.something like that? I certainly wouldn't have done an interview

:06:11. > :06:15.during the match. And if it was something like a tip change you want

:06:16. > :06:21.to keep it secret. It shows you how comfortable he is around the venue

:06:22. > :06:24.and in his skin. We always put tips on and after two or three hours you

:06:25. > :06:29.have played it in but he did the hours so if he is happy with it,

:06:30. > :06:33.when he comes out today he can trust his tip when he is putting on

:06:34. > :06:39.extreme side spin. Possibly of more concern is the form of Ding because

:06:40. > :06:46.the bookmakers starting to side with him. How impressive was yesterday?

:06:47. > :06:49.Very. From 3-2 through to 3-3 at could have gone either way but in

:06:50. > :06:53.the last couple of frames he was brilliant. When you play Mark Selby

:06:54. > :06:58.you have to compete and he has always been brilliant at that, his

:06:59. > :07:01.cue ball control is brilliant, but if you don't compete against Mark

:07:02. > :07:04.Selby you are in trouble and he did that. Let's remind you of the

:07:05. > :07:09.respective the Crucible records of these men, starting with the

:07:10. > :07:15.defending champion. He first came in 2005, reached his first final couple

:07:16. > :07:20.years later, took another seven attempts before he inflicted a first

:07:21. > :07:25.defeat on Ronnie in the final. The second win 12 months ago means he is

:07:26. > :07:29.hoping to become the fourth man ever to win back-to-back titles. It is

:07:30. > :07:35.ten years since Ding Junhui played here for the first time and --

:07:36. > :07:40.amidst huge hype. He was taught a lesson by Ronnie, licked his wounds,

:07:41. > :07:45.made it to the semifinals in 2011 and last year became a's first ever

:07:46. > :07:48.Crucible finalist. He would love to complete the job and hundreds of

:07:49. > :07:55.millions of people watching his every move here in China today.

:07:56. > :07:57.These returned at ten o'clock for the second of possible four

:07:58. > :08:03.sessions. We were like on BBC Two that. Selby started pre-5 down the

:08:04. > :08:08.defending champion won the first of the day his fifth century of this

:08:09. > :08:13.year's champion, absolutely no problems with the new tip, it

:08:14. > :08:25.appears, and now Selby is 16 points behind in frame ten, being watched

:08:26. > :08:29.by Willie Thorne and John Virgo. COMMENTATOR: He wants to recover at

:08:30. > :08:33.least some of the red, and he has. He has played that well and normally

:08:34. > :08:42.you say he has tried to come off the cushion first and kick the red up

:08:43. > :08:47.the table. He can't do that here. He has just snookered him on the right

:08:48. > :08:50.side of the brown, so to speak. Coming off two cushions, no

:08:51. > :08:54.guaranteed to get right in behind this red. And no guaranteed to get

:08:55. > :09:08.it safe. I don't see the value in this shot

:09:09. > :09:25.anyway, even if you hit it you are handing the initiative to... Write a

:09:26. > :09:28.bit, bit more. -- to the right. That is where it was, that is where it is

:09:29. > :09:44.now. Perfect. Well done, referee. He doesn't want to run across it at

:09:45. > :09:52.playing it like that is just keeping handing the initiative to Mark

:09:53. > :09:56.Selby. -- but playing it. You always think whoever has the upper hand in

:09:57. > :09:57.safety exchanges is going to create possibly that frame-winning

:09:58. > :10:08.opportunity. Cat and mouse. Mark Selby is the

:10:09. > :10:55.cat. Left a hot on here. -- left a pot.

:10:56. > :10:58.It would be unnatural angle, you think, to pot the red and come back

:10:59. > :11:17.for the pink or black. It needs to bounce or do something.

:11:18. > :11:22.It is on nothing. A little trickle up the pink I think is the only

:11:23. > :11:30.option here. Quick glance at the scoreboard, he is 11 points behind.

:11:31. > :11:40.And played it well. Cut out the single cushion escape of the

:11:41. > :11:42.left-hand side cushion as we look. Which now makes this yellow a lot

:11:43. > :12:04.more difficult to hit. We have had some quick frames in

:12:05. > :12:06.this match and some long ones. We had a 38 minutes and 54 seconds

:12:07. > :12:21.frame. With the misrule as it is you are

:12:22. > :12:33.sometimes just happy to hit the ball. One frame was just shy of 39

:12:34. > :12:43.minutes. This is just shy of its 38 minute.

:12:44. > :12:58.Close. But the worst possible outcome for Mark is he has missed it

:12:59. > :13:01.and left it. Bit to do with the cue ball, though, to get back for the

:13:02. > :13:08.green. Makes the yellow more missable.

:13:09. > :13:19.There was plenty of room past the blue. That is a bit fortunate. But

:13:20. > :13:22.the run of the ball goes to and fro. There is plenty of pocket there. He

:13:23. > :13:32.just hit it too thin. But a chance now for Mark Selby to

:13:33. > :13:54.get the upper hand once again. He has not got the snooker. He has

:13:55. > :13:58.got the length of the cue ball and Ding will have to think of a good

:13:59. > :14:05.safety shot. He can see a few options. Hitting it full on the face

:14:06. > :14:33.he will miss the kiss of the green. I am not sure that fluke is in his

:14:34. > :14:34.favour because he didn't want to attempt this green, surely. It is

:14:35. > :14:43.very hard to get it safe. He is trying to get the yellow down

:14:44. > :15:15.towards the black. That was, as we said, very tough.

:15:16. > :15:22.Should Mark Selby pot this green, that fluke yellow has cost him the

:15:23. > :15:27.frame! I think it is worth the risk to screw this end coming off the

:15:28. > :15:33.cushion for the brown. It is just that I don't know whether he can...

:15:34. > :15:47.If it was a three quarters ball he would fancy yet but it is half. What

:15:48. > :15:54.a shot! That will surely give him the frame. Ding Junhui right behind

:15:55. > :16:02.the shot, he knew like we did that it was in. And these types of frames

:16:03. > :16:08.are so important, psychologically more than anything else. That is

:16:09. > :16:18.when a fluke costs you the frame. Amazing, isn't it?

:16:19. > :16:51.In it goes. That cracking pot on the green gave Mark Selby just what he

:16:52. > :16:55.wanted, they are level, 5-5. HAZEL IRVINE: It was a perfect start

:16:56. > :17:01.for the world number one, he pushed on after they're taking the next

:17:02. > :17:07.two, so turning a two frame deficit into a two frame advantage, 7-5. A

:17:08. > :17:15.brilliant response, but would his march continue after the mid-session

:17:16. > :17:20.interview? Frame 13 now. COMMENTATOR: The way these reds are

:17:21. > :17:27.situated around the black, if you made a mistake you wouldn't leave a

:17:28. > :17:34.lot. Does this red go into the middle? It was worth playing. The

:17:35. > :17:41.only red he could leave was the one he was going for. It has just caught

:17:42. > :17:44.the top jaw here. Ding has been given a chance of the long red but

:17:45. > :17:54.is refusing it. Once again he is not finding the top

:17:55. > :18:02.cushion. You have to compete with Selby in the safety Department. That

:18:03. > :18:39.cue ball should have been another two feet down the table.

:18:40. > :18:48.That was difficult, because he was trying to do quite a bit with the

:18:49. > :18:52.cue ball. I am looking at Ding Junhui's face there and there was

:18:53. > :19:10.resignation, thinking, he has got away with it again!

:19:11. > :19:16.That is OK but these three reds near the top cushion I'm not making it

:19:17. > :19:25.too difficult now to come off the side cushion and nestle into them,

:19:26. > :19:26.take target. -- big target. And if you hit them you don't leave

:19:27. > :20:07.anything. No problem. That is what you would see if you

:20:08. > :20:18.were sat in the auditorium, up at the back. Peter full view. --

:20:19. > :20:27.beautiful view. Packed to the rafters, the morning session is.

:20:28. > :20:36.Having watched the opening session, half of this match, I think Ding

:20:37. > :20:41.will have to start playing attacking safety shots because clearly he is

:20:42. > :20:46.not winning the battle playing the ordinary safety, he will have to

:20:47. > :20:51.start playing a few safety shots thicker, opening the balls. If his

:20:52. > :20:56.safety was finding the top cushion every time I would say continue, but

:20:57. > :21:03.it is not at the moment. That is the nearest he has been to the cushion

:21:04. > :21:14.for quite some time. Mark Selby has finished short this time.

:21:15. > :21:22.The three reds closest to the top cushion, you wouldn't want to play

:21:23. > :21:28.the left-hand one but if you caught it too thick you might knock the red

:21:29. > :21:39.over to the right corner. We are now on five hours. For 12 frames. Well,

:21:40. > :21:51.12 and a bit. I am just working that out, so that means the average frame

:21:52. > :21:58.time is just over 23.5 minutes. 23 and 30, I was right, 23 and 38. You

:21:59. > :22:10.worked it out superbly. Where did you get that he'd board from? --

:22:11. > :22:14.bead board. He is looking at the possibility of playing the plant.

:22:15. > :22:18.The two reds are two or three inches apart but the path of the cue ball

:22:19. > :22:29.is going in the right place. He has played it and got it. Taking a tip

:22:30. > :22:36.from you there, Willie, be a bit more aggressive. This is a pressure

:22:37. > :22:38.loo. There is a red available to the same pocket as the blue but this

:22:39. > :22:52.blue needs potting. Played it well and nicely on the

:22:53. > :22:59.red. You wouldn't think this was a frame-winning opportunity but it is

:23:00. > :23:09.a chance to build up a useful lead. Potting this red opens up another

:23:10. > :23:12.just to the right of it. It may had a screw on and off the cushion but

:23:13. > :23:19.it needed to be straight on this pink. -- it may be had.

:23:20. > :23:31.Trying to get the white somewhere back near the pink spot. He has

:23:32. > :23:38.snookered himself, has he? There is your answer coming up now. The

:23:39. > :23:46.fractions are not favouring him at the moment. I don't think he can

:23:47. > :23:53.bend it round. With a trace of left-hand side. I know he wants to

:23:54. > :23:54.get his hand on the table, start scoring heavily, that is what he is

:23:55. > :24:16.good at. Another good plants, well played.

:24:17. > :24:20.Great shot. -- plant. He is on slightly the wrong angle onto the

:24:21. > :24:23.pink to get onto the red that is nearest the cue ball at the moment.

:24:24. > :24:31.But that is the only one that appears to be possible at the

:24:32. > :24:37.minute. Yes, the red closest to the cue ball, don't think he can play

:24:38. > :24:42.for anything else. Just wondering now, in potting that red after the

:24:43. > :25:00.pink... You've just got to play it with

:25:01. > :25:09.power and hope you can get position on a colour. No guarantee. OK, he

:25:10. > :25:10.could possibly try to bring the black into play that he has no

:25:11. > :25:22.guarantee to be on it. I think you have to play deep screw

:25:23. > :25:28.here. If he plays a run through and hits the black or a red straight in

:25:29. > :25:33.the face that cue ball won't come back up the table. I presume you

:25:34. > :25:37.mean he is go to kiss of the two reds to the left of the black and

:25:38. > :25:43.maybe come back the pink or blue. There is more chance of being on a

:25:44. > :25:51.colour playing the screw shot, but don't miss the red. He is playing

:25:52. > :26:03.the run through so he is hoping to get a good kiss on the black. And it

:26:04. > :26:10.is OK. The fact that yellow and brown are off the spot makes this a

:26:11. > :26:12.little bit easier. If they were on their spots it would be tough to get

:26:13. > :26:28.around the table. Ride over the brown spot. It was a

:26:29. > :26:39.good effort. He is having a look to see if one of these reds goes. Does

:26:40. > :26:44.it? It is tight. It is one of those, we say so many times, if you were

:26:45. > :26:52.right behind it and had the cue ball, ball and pocket or in line you

:26:53. > :26:54.would fancy potting it. It doesn't go to the middle of the pocket, only

:26:55. > :27:10.the left edge. Played it well, is he on the pink?

:27:11. > :27:16.He is and he has brought reds into play. All of a sudden, from looking

:27:17. > :27:20.to scrap and build up a useful lead, it has become a frame-winning

:27:21. > :27:24.opportunity. You have to take your hat off to Ding, he has been

:27:25. > :27:28.struggling in this opening for and a half frames and to develop this into

:27:29. > :27:33.a frame-winning chance has been quite amazing. He has had to pull

:27:34. > :27:34.out three or four shots on the trot which are right out of the top

:27:35. > :27:45.drawer. He deserves to win the frame from

:27:46. > :28:00.those shots. That is very careless, I have to

:28:01. > :28:18.say. OK, good recovery, but if he had

:28:19. > :28:22.left himself straight on the pink on the other side he would have had

:28:23. > :28:31.those two reds just above the black to play for. Can he get a nice angle

:28:32. > :28:39.on the pink this time? No. So the cue ball is not under complete

:28:40. > :28:48.control at the moment. He chalked his cue with a lot of disappointment

:28:49. > :28:51.there. Using the jaw. Clever shot. Could have done with catching it a

:28:52. > :28:57.bit more because then the white would have come further down this

:28:58. > :29:00.end. 58 in front, 67 remaining, but if he pots the red he goes 59 in

:29:01. > :29:17.front. Very well played. This has been

:29:18. > :29:21.possibly the best break of the match so far. He has had to try so hard on

:29:22. > :29:25.every single shot Tom he has never really had at the cue ball under

:29:26. > :29:34.control but he has developed them slowly, slowly.

:29:35. > :29:39.That puts him at the point where his opponent needs two snookers. Great

:29:40. > :30:16.contribution, this. Nothing has been going his way. He

:30:17. > :30:20.is entitled to get frustrated, but as you suggested he needs to start

:30:21. > :30:27.thinking of a more attacking game and open this up with a wonderful

:30:28. > :30:45.plant. Kept it going with another plant. As the break break goes to

:30:46. > :30:49.77, this is a remarkable break. Mark will know that, he will appreciate

:30:50. > :30:57.the skill that has been on show here. Wonderful shot on the last

:30:58. > :31:09.red. He couldn't make a century, could he? If he gets perfect on this

:31:10. > :31:14.yellow, he can bring the brown into play, it shouldn't be ruled out as a

:31:15. > :31:28.possibility. It would be unbelievable. No century, but that

:31:29. > :31:34.was absolutely top drawer and at last he has got something to show

:31:35. > :31:42.for his efforts. One behind though, Mark Selby leads 7-6. HAZEL IRVINE:

:31:43. > :31:45.Ding Junhui white has a red-hot scoring style that he was frozen out

:31:46. > :31:51.this morning until that's battling break of 84 and the man who knocked

:31:52. > :33:24.out the Rocket, he is fighting hard, again, as we head into frame 14.

:33:25. > :33:29.Just makes it awkward cueing now in the job is of the pocket. He will do

:33:30. > :33:46.well to get this back on the board. He's got a beautiful line, if he

:33:47. > :33:54.misses a brown, this is sensational. What a shot that was. I liked that

:33:55. > :34:15.one. The best shot of the tournament so far.

:34:16. > :34:42.A very difficult save shot. He never in his wildest dreams thought he

:34:43. > :34:56.would be faced with a snooker in his next visit. There is no rhyme or

:34:57. > :35:01.reason to it sometimes, is there? The safest place is to nestle up to

:35:02. > :35:18.those to read just below the pink, just get in there.

:35:19. > :35:24.He has had a good look, I wonder whether he's going to take your

:35:25. > :35:38.choice, it looks as though he is. He picked it straightaway. Just the way

:35:39. > :35:42.it slides off at second cushion. It's amazing how much that slaves. I

:35:43. > :35:52.thought that would be going into the back.

:35:53. > :36:08.An excellent safety shot which has given him a chance in this 14th

:36:09. > :36:13.frame. He wanted to bring the pink or black into play, the red arrow

:36:14. > :36:20.key at the moment. He needs to get these balls open. If you complete

:36:21. > :36:25.the red to the right of the pink and hit that, it brings it into the

:36:26. > :36:30.middle pocket. Just look at that now. He is bound to kiss other red

:36:31. > :36:48.as well. Having another look. It's decision

:36:49. > :36:52.time, do I play into the right of the pink? I fancy the red to the

:36:53. > :36:59.right of the pink, that will prove more beneficial. He needs a bit of

:37:00. > :37:00.luck now. He is still going to need lots of cue powder, he is putting up

:37:01. > :37:24.his hand now. Wrong side of the blue and just

:37:25. > :37:30.being slightly the wrong side of the blue, it is going to take some shots

:37:31. > :37:36.here. I can't see how he can get back. Just the wrong side of the

:37:37. > :37:38.blue line. How can he avoid the brown or the yellow? It looks

:37:39. > :38:00.impossible. Where is the cue ball going? Not

:38:01. > :38:08.another in off, unbelievable! There must've been a magnet on that white!

:38:09. > :38:11.It levelled itself out. Over the period of the three sessions, Mark

:38:12. > :38:15.Selby had all the good luck in the world in the opening for frames, but

:38:16. > :38:22.to go off from there was quite amazing. It has got to be a telling

:38:23. > :38:32.safety shot with a hand on the table, he has to get behind the

:38:33. > :38:38.yellow. Fractions away from being OK. I don't think Mark can see the

:38:39. > :39:15.left-hand side of the reds. He needs to sort that safety shot

:39:16. > :39:34.out. You can see the red just below the pink, I think.

:39:35. > :39:50.Much too thick. He left a cut on next year. -- here. He will be

:39:51. > :39:56.disappointed with that. But it has to be said, Mark Selby has had a

:39:57. > :40:02.couple of in off in this frame but he has been dictating the safety

:40:03. > :40:06.side of it. He has just not been able to capitalise on those

:40:07. > :40:10.mistakes. He came round in a few moments ago to look at the two reds

:40:11. > :40:15.below the pink there, he'll be trying to get that gap, playing into

:40:16. > :40:20.the two reds where the pink is. Maybe get the black into the corner.

:40:21. > :40:29.He is looking to make this a frame with an opportunity with this one

:40:30. > :40:40.shot. The gap is perfect. He has got the pink into play, he is on the

:40:41. > :40:51.black. Excellent shot. Aligned to perfection as you pointed out. And

:40:52. > :40:56.whenever players of this quality have the black available to both

:40:57. > :40:58.corner pockets and the reds art spread, you expect them to win the

:40:59. > :41:22.frame. But you still got to do it. Couldn't get the right side of the

:41:23. > :41:25.blue, if you're going to be at the wrong side of the blue, may well the

:41:26. > :42:03.wrong side and then you've got more room to manoeuvre. Easy up and down.

:42:04. > :42:10.Not too sure whether the pink will be covered after this shot. These

:42:11. > :42:13.reds are all perfect for playing the black. The pink goes back into its

:42:14. > :42:33.own spot quite comfortably. He just has to win more safety

:42:34. > :42:43.battles, Ding Junhui, that has let Selby in. As you said, a couple of

:42:44. > :42:50.frames ago, it would be nice if Ding Junhui could play more attacking

:42:51. > :42:55.safety shots. But you do that against Mark Selby and he can win a

:42:56. > :42:59.free Mac in one visit just as easy as Ding can. There is a fine line

:43:00. > :43:06.between attacking defence at the moment with Ding Junhui. Mark

:43:07. > :43:15.Selby's game plan is usually very similar. Good, solid safety and

:43:16. > :43:17.score heavily when you get in. You take a little beating that way. It

:43:18. > :43:44.is a recipe for success. That caught the near jaw, I think

:43:45. > :43:48.Mark thought he was going to miss that, he looked at someone in the

:43:49. > :43:50.audience, I don't know if someone put him off. Anyway, the red went

:43:51. > :44:20.in. Mark Selby didn't score a point in

:44:21. > :44:23.the previous round but he has quickly got these balls in a

:44:24. > :44:37.situation now where you would expect him to win the frame. He's always

:44:38. > :44:48.got a smile on his face about something. -- obviously. If you can

:44:49. > :44:58.be smiling, relaxed, it does help you out there, doesn't it? He's

:44:59. > :45:06.smiling about something. LAUGHTER

:45:07. > :45:19.Maybe he was waiting for the applause.

:45:20. > :45:27.59 ahead, 59 remaining, but not for long, this is a sitter. To put him

:45:28. > :45:41.60 points in front with just 51 remaining.

:45:42. > :46:00.He wants to putt this red. -- pot. He needs to get as much rest as

:46:01. > :46:05.possible. He's not got much to show, he is only one the one frame this

:46:06. > :46:09.morning, and he came out this morning Ding Junhui and it was

:46:10. > :46:13.obvious that he was, not trying to protect his lead, but a little bit

:46:14. > :46:18.sensitive in the early frames. If you go back to the first frame where

:46:19. > :46:23.he made the 30 odd break, he tried to make things happened and it

:46:24. > :46:27.didn't happen. You are not going to win many friends playing safe

:46:28. > :46:35.against Mark Selby. You are going -- you've got to force an opening

:46:36. > :46:39.sometimes. This break of 78 has been very good, once again he is having a

:46:40. > :46:49.little chuckle about something. I wish I knew what it was.

:46:50. > :46:57.LAUGHTER I might have heard the referee

:46:58. > :47:08.saying you put to reds on, pressed a button and did it twice.

:47:09. > :47:14.Mark Selby knows whatever happens it can't be worse than all square going

:47:15. > :47:17.into the third session this evening. He will also be looking for a chance

:47:18. > :48:49.to push on. Thank you, frame at 15. Quiet down

:48:50. > :48:56.please. Two more frames to be played in this session. Ding Junhui already

:48:57. > :49:00.will be disappointed to have lost his to frame advantage coming into

:49:01. > :49:04.this morning's session, but he has got to stay focused. These are two

:49:05. > :49:09.important frames, I know it is the second session of a for certain

:49:10. > :49:14.match, but you don't want someone like Mark Selby to start stretching

:49:15. > :49:34.away. He will make it very tough for you to get back.

:49:35. > :50:24.It's made of bit more difficult when you are striking down like that,

:50:25. > :50:32.looking for a path back to the ball. He has not let anything easy for

:50:33. > :50:37.Ding Junhui. -- left. He has got a red just above the black spot he

:50:38. > :50:40.could cut in, or he's got red, the one immediately below the blue. Good

:50:41. > :50:59.pot needed here. Well played. That could have done

:51:00. > :51:03.with a little bit more pace in the cue ball, I assume the pink goes to

:51:04. > :51:15.the opposite corner as he has spotted this red. Maybe he is on the

:51:16. > :51:35.black. -- vaulted. He has played for the black. Played it well, played it

:51:36. > :51:39.very well. And in the world of Ding Junhui, this is the frame with an

:51:40. > :51:44.opportunity. He made a break earlier run of 80 for when there was hardly

:51:45. > :51:51.anything available, so you fancy him to make the most of this. So good in

:51:52. > :51:58.the black spot area. He decided to go up for the blue. And he has made

:51:59. > :52:04.a mistake there, it is easily done, we have all done it. He thought the

:52:05. > :52:06.blue was on his spot, it wasn't, and that is why he is straight on the

:52:07. > :52:57.blue. A careless mistake to make. That is a terrific shot. He is back

:52:58. > :53:00.in prime position. He would be extremely worried having lost the

:53:01. > :53:05.first four frames, worrying what the score line would be going into the

:53:06. > :53:07.final session. In some ways, he will be delighted with the chance of

:53:08. > :53:47.coming out with 5-3. He decided to take that opportunity

:53:48. > :53:51.to split the reds open, it didn't actually hit the ball that he was

:53:52. > :53:55.intending to, or the way he intended, but it looks as though

:53:56. > :53:57.he's got this red to the left corner using the rest to drop it in and get

:53:58. > :54:25.position on the black. I don't think he can hold for the

:54:26. > :54:36.black, though he is going for the blue. Once again, he is short of

:54:37. > :54:43.pace. It just accept that little bit harder with that cue ball travelling

:54:44. > :54:48.up and down the table. At this time he's got, it would have been a lot

:54:49. > :54:52.more difficult to get the baulk of straight. If he gets on the next red

:54:53. > :55:00.nicely, he can get back onto the black. He needs that cue ball to

:55:01. > :55:12.slow up. It needs to be straight. It is not.

:55:13. > :55:31.It is tricky. He is normally so reliable, isn't he? It is not a good

:55:32. > :55:41.path for the cue ball. The clear path to the black is of this red,

:55:42. > :55:50.but it needs due care and attention. Straight in the heart of the pocket.

:55:51. > :55:56.He is so good at that, as lots of the modern-day players are. In

:55:57. > :56:01.everyday, when there was a thicker nap, you had to play a little bit

:56:02. > :56:05.differently, cleared from the jaw, let it drift and, now everything

:56:06. > :56:17.goes straight. Not much nap at all on these tables.

:56:18. > :56:25.But this is certainly where he's at his happiest, I range the black spot

:56:26. > :56:31.area, there is not any better in the world. Yes, that's why suggested he

:56:32. > :56:32.had to play a little bit more open. He was getting bogged down a little

:56:33. > :56:47.bit. Just some 20 odd points away from

:56:48. > :56:58.making this frame is safe and to trail 8-7.

:56:59. > :57:05.There will only be one person who is delighted with the score line being

:57:06. > :57:11.a possible 8-8 and that will be Ding. He must be thinking you has to

:57:12. > :57:33.guide of the session with something. -- go out of the session.

:57:34. > :57:47.Port this, goes 69 in front with only 67 remaining. He has taken

:57:48. > :57:54.these well. He recovered the situation with the blues. And when

:57:55. > :57:57.he gets in, as we said, in and around the black, he is a scoring

:57:58. > :58:22.machine as he proved in his match against Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:58:23. > :58:31.He has lost position a couple of times, but the rest of the time he

:58:32. > :58:41.is absolutely perfect. A possible 143 with blacks. It took a long time

:58:42. > :58:44.for somebody to make 8136 and then all of a sudden we had the 146 from

:58:45. > :58:58.O'Sullivan, the 143 from Mark Selby. This looks like being the 65th and

:58:59. > :59:30.Ding's 11. That is pretty good. Red right in the heart of the pocket

:59:31. > :59:33.and the black for a wonderful century break. Very well played.

:59:34. > :59:48.Ding Junhui at his best. He has shown good character after

:59:49. > :59:53.the mid-session having lost the first four frames and not having the

:59:54. > :59:59.best run of the ball. It takes a lot of self belief to just stick at it,

:00:00. > :00:02.as we know there is a long way to go in this match, but you can always

:00:03. > :00:22.have a bad session. One more frame to play after this

:00:23. > :00:27.one to end the second session, and Mark Selby would have been thinking,

:00:28. > :00:32.I want to win this session, after losing the first 15-3. He would love

:00:33. > :00:45.to win this session 6-2, which he could do. -- after losing the first

:00:46. > :00:53.5-3. Bert Ding demonstrating here what a heavy scorer he is given the

:00:54. > :01:00.chance. Marvellous. Once he gets in and around the black you never fancy

:01:01. > :01:09.him to miss. He is one frame behind the defending champion, 8-7 Mark

:01:10. > :01:15.Selby. Century 11 at the Crucible for Ding,

:01:16. > :01:20.one shy of the record set by Stephen Hendry in 2002. A very important

:01:21. > :01:23.16th frame coming up. Will the champion have a lead tonight? Selby

:01:24. > :02:27.ahead by 35 points as we join it. That is an excellent safety shot

:02:28. > :02:28.once again. The red that is nearest the pink spot, does it pass into the

:02:29. > :02:43.corner? No. That was the one I was thinking of,

:02:44. > :02:51.but you can see the top one passes, just.

:02:52. > :03:26.No attempt at the pot. Just played safe.

:03:27. > :03:32.I didn't think he would get through to that. Where is the cue ball

:03:33. > :03:44.going? It was heading towards the pocket. It is amazing, he has potted

:03:45. > :03:54.a great red, thought it would be the green and brown, and he has overrun

:03:55. > :03:57.it by a few inches. In those situations you can be forgiven for

:03:58. > :04:02.thinking you are glad to get a kiss on something but that is not the

:04:03. > :04:09.case. A brave shot would be cushioned first, nestle behind the

:04:10. > :04:18.yellow. He is usually brave to play any kind of shot. If he can play the

:04:19. > :04:27.snooker then going behind the yellow.

:04:28. > :04:35.He couldn't have judged it better. There is a red that is close to the

:04:36. > :04:40.side cushion, near the black, that Mark can get through to hit, but I

:04:41. > :04:47.can't see a return to baulk after that. He is blessed with a lot of

:04:48. > :04:52.cue power. There is every chance he can play deep screw because the red

:04:53. > :04:59.is go to stay where the lack is and the black is going to go up to

:05:00. > :05:03.baulk. -- where the black is. He's going to go for the deep screw, he

:05:04. > :05:07.knows the black is going to come into play. Or is he just going to

:05:08. > :05:26.rest a bit? That is a foul and amiss but it

:05:27. > :06:01.might not be taken. Pot the red, bound to be on the

:06:02. > :06:04.blue. Nice clean pot. I thought for a second he wasn't going to be on

:06:05. > :06:28.the blue. Nobody could be that unlucky.

:06:29. > :06:43.Just over six hours now. This is the second session, so they do say, my

:06:44. > :06:49.former colleague Clive Everton used to say it, the World Championship

:06:50. > :07:02.here, over 17 days, marathon of the mind. Couldn't be summed up better.

:07:03. > :07:13.Good pot. And looks as though he is going to have a nice angle on the

:07:14. > :07:17.brown. The perfect angle would be being able to pot the brown and

:07:18. > :07:23.release the black and the red but that is not the case, but he can

:07:24. > :07:28.play for those two reds close to the top cushion, and it is too risky to

:07:29. > :07:35.bring the black into play off this shot. Unless he decides to play it

:07:36. > :07:44.off the top cushion, the right-hand side.

:07:45. > :07:57.Needs a bounce. That is nowhere. He will be horrified to have played

:07:58. > :08:04.that so poorly. He had so much room. So much margin for error. He is

:08:05. > :08:05.eyeing up the reds. If it is just off straight it is not bad but it

:08:06. > :08:21.still takes some potting. That is what happens. Poor

:08:22. > :08:28.positional shot. It cost him there. And Mark Selby comes back to the

:08:29. > :08:34.table, as we see the shot again, but it was tough. And Mark will be very

:08:35. > :08:37.pleased to still have an 18 point advantage in this frame. If he

:08:38. > :08:44.knocks this in it could be a frame-winner.

:08:45. > :09:14.But not quite. But he has a very good cue ball.

:09:15. > :09:43.That is a cracker. That is a beauty. He has got all the shots.

:09:44. > :09:58.Couldn't play the pot there. If he had, it could have gone off into the

:09:59. > :10:12.corner, so purposely hitting it slightly thinner.

:10:13. > :10:27.Big shot to take on. Kiss on the brown... Oh, the kiss on the green!

:10:28. > :10:34.Mark Selby looking up to his friends and family in the balcony,

:10:35. > :10:39.suggesting that they're has had it sparked off there. He has. But a

:10:40. > :10:55.great run in the opening four frames.

:10:56. > :11:04.The kiss on the blue has not made that a very good safety shot. Ding,

:11:05. > :11:10.I don't know if this is on, but if he can hit the red full on the face

:11:11. > :11:21.can he release the black in the red on the left-hand cushion? -- black

:11:22. > :11:28.and. He got the black into thinking. -- he got the black into play. Good

:11:29. > :11:36.thinking. Good shout, because being 18 points behind he made those big

:11:37. > :11:41.colours in play. Especially where the reds are, because it is easy to

:11:42. > :11:48.pot these three with the black on its spot, which it will be shortly.

:11:49. > :11:51.Whoever puts the next red would be strong favourite to win the frame.

:11:52. > :12:27.-- who ever pots. Mistake. Bad mistake. So Ding Junhui

:12:28. > :12:45.gets a chance to go level at the end of this second session.

:12:46. > :12:55.The yellow is not too awkward for a right-hander. But that is some way

:12:56. > :13:04.down the line. The most important thing now is to reduce the arrears,

:13:05. > :13:07.get right back in the frame. The shot you called previously and the

:13:08. > :13:21.shot he played to release the black could be the catalyst to win this

:13:22. > :13:24.frame. Don't like potting a red and trying to bring a red into play. It

:13:25. > :13:30.is risky because you are never certain to have the position on the

:13:31. > :13:34.colour. It is there and he will attempt it. There is a natural angle

:13:35. > :13:41.around the back of the black. He doesn't have to play it. He has

:13:42. > :13:47.played it. As John said, you don't always get position on the black.

:13:48. > :13:51.There you go. In a way he has been fortunate the red went in. If it

:13:52. > :13:55.stayed over the pocket, the question would have been, where is the

:13:56. > :14:02.safety? They say you are taking a chance trying to bring a red into

:14:03. > :14:08.play when potting a red. He could have played the half all, get the

:14:09. > :14:13.yellow into play. He would have been worried about the double-kiss

:14:14. > :14:19.playing that. Off the left-hand side of the yellow, still the double-kiss

:14:20. > :14:25.is on. Needs a good safety now. He spurned a good chance. And he has

:14:26. > :14:34.got the good safety. He has played it inch perfect. And now he is in a

:14:35. > :15:34.good position. Just eight points behind.

:15:35. > :15:41.Wonderful safety shot from Ding Junhui. This time I don't think he

:15:42. > :15:42.can get to the red next to the yellow but he can certainly get to

:15:43. > :15:53.the one in the corner. I am saying he does in particular

:15:54. > :15:57.want to play the one on the cushion, because the cut red will be on. He

:15:58. > :16:14.is just going round to have a look to see whether it is.

:16:15. > :16:20.He doesn't really want the cue ball to come down this end of the table

:16:21. > :16:32.because there is a possibility of that red... He has played that well

:16:33. > :16:41.again. Playing snooker he is as good as anybody in the world.

:16:42. > :17:12.Got to catch this just right. If you hit it thick it will be back down

:17:13. > :17:17.the table with the cue ball. He decided to play it in behind the

:17:18. > :17:25.black and he couldn't have played it any better. Excellent shot.

:17:26. > :17:33.I know everybody likes to see breaks and frames one quickly, 12, 14

:17:34. > :17:35.minutes, but some of the safety in this match has been superb. --

:17:36. > :17:59.Triumph -- won quickly. That is an escape from there. It has

:18:00. > :18:03.just run on. I don't think Ding can get through to the potting angle for

:18:04. > :18:10.this red. Not quite. But he can hit it. And he would rather hit it and

:18:11. > :18:25.play safe off this one the side cushion. -- than the one off the

:18:26. > :18:29.side cushion. If that red misses the blue... Safe enough. Nobody really

:18:30. > :18:59.has advantage in this important tactical exchange, just yet.

:19:00. > :19:11.That is another good safety shot. Another frame lasting over half an

:19:12. > :19:18.hour. But an intriguing one nevertheless. Two frame advantage

:19:19. > :19:26.from Mark Selby, when he started the session two behind. Ding deciding to

:19:27. > :19:28.come off the side cushion, must be just covered by the blue, the two

:19:29. > :19:53.reds. Judged it nicely. The third session of this match

:19:54. > :20:10.continues this evening. This safety shot could be a bit

:20:11. > :20:16.risky, he is playing one red on another, could push the red over to

:20:17. > :20:22.the corner. Could push through into the corner. The needs the pink to

:20:23. > :20:33.come to his rescue, and I don't think it has. A little bit loose.

:20:34. > :20:39.Mark Selby will play this cushion first, you would have thought, that

:20:40. > :20:44.way he can get the cue ball into the middle of the table, and if he gets

:20:45. > :20:50.good position of this red, surely he will take the frame, and this

:20:51. > :20:54.session on the winning it 6-2. So from two frames behind, two frames

:20:55. > :21:01.in the lead. Cushion first. That brings the cue

:21:02. > :21:18.ball out nicely onto the brown. Will he get back to the table? It is

:21:19. > :21:23.doubtful. He will be very disappointed if he loses this 6-2.

:21:24. > :21:32.The first four frames the run was against Tim Bick he has had a fair

:21:33. > :21:39.bit of run this time. He has played well enough to win this little

:21:40. > :21:50.session. -- against him but he has had a fair bit. If he gets the blue

:21:51. > :21:52.he will be sure to win this session and get that advantage going into

:21:53. > :22:22.tonight's session. We have had four frames on the trot.

:22:23. > :22:28.The previous four were the frame was one at a single visit. This has been

:22:29. > :22:45.a real battle. He looks certain now to win this last frame, Mark Selby.

:22:46. > :22:55.In goes the green. There will be no return to the table for Ding Junhui.

:22:56. > :23:07.Mark Selby will have set out his stall for this morning's session, to

:23:08. > :23:19.win it. And that he has done, and to win it by four frames, he will be

:23:20. > :23:28.delighted. Mark Selby dictating things. Ding Junhui with a run early

:23:29. > :23:35.-- a bad run early on, some chances later, but Mark Selby finishes the

:23:36. > :23:38.session two in front. He has completely turned this

:23:39. > :23:47.around, it would appear, Mark Selby. Impressions of the this morning.

:23:48. > :23:53.Match day granite. Ding was going to the table with a headache every

:23:54. > :23:59.time. He managed to get out of trouble and then he was back into

:24:00. > :24:11.it. When you look at the facts and figures, Ding 5-3 in front but Mark

:24:12. > :24:17.Selby has won 6-2. He has asked the questions of Ding that he did last

:24:18. > :24:22.year. He is the ultimate snooker terminator, it might be the only

:24:23. > :24:28.person who can beat him is Sarah Connor coming out of the woodwork.

:24:29. > :24:41.Straight out the blocks, 101st go in the opening frame. We talked -- 100

:24:42. > :24:46.first go. If you lose confidence in the tip you are playing with and you

:24:47. > :24:52.get another one on, a few more shots become available to you. You can

:24:53. > :24:57.play a screw back with less power, you don't have to bite into the ball

:24:58. > :25:00.so much, then you start to grow with the confidence of the tip. This

:25:01. > :25:09.could be him taking off in this tournament. Ding did enough to

:25:10. > :25:15.remind us that he is fantastically dangerous, an 11th century. He is

:25:16. > :25:19.hitting the ball very well but he isn't getting as many chances. You

:25:20. > :25:26.can't pot what you can't see. The safety play is really good for him.

:25:27. > :25:34.We have seen games going 30 or 40 minutes on it is the quality of the

:25:35. > :25:39.safety play. What you have to do when you play against Mark Selby is

:25:40. > :25:45.raise your safety game. That is being so ultra critical of Ding, who

:25:46. > :25:48.is fantastic anyway, but to outplay Mark Selby in that department, I

:25:49. > :25:57.would argue the only person who can is Mark Egan is in that apartment.

:25:58. > :26:03.-- department. In percentage terms, because it is not the same style

:26:04. > :26:10.again he likes to play, what is the degree extra of difficulty in

:26:11. > :26:14.playing Mark Selby? It is difficult to quantify. It is the ultimate test

:26:15. > :26:22.you will get in the all-round game. He is defending champion. His game

:26:23. > :26:29.is at such an incredibly high standard, and so is his B game if he

:26:30. > :26:36.is not scoring. It is a bit like an armadillo, if it rolls up in a ball,

:26:37. > :26:40.you look at it and you think, I don't see a way in. With Ronnie you

:26:41. > :26:47.sometimes get encouragement if he goes off the boil. Mark Selby just

:26:48. > :26:51.digs in and that is the ultimate machine. We have had a terminator

:26:52. > :26:58.and an armadillo. Here is what is coming up for the next three hours.

:26:59. > :27:03.Scotland's John Higgins has an impressive strike rate in

:27:04. > :27:09.semifinals, he has won five out of seven and hasn't lost one in 16

:27:10. > :27:18.years. Barry Hawkins is in his fourth, he has pushed on to the

:27:19. > :27:26.final before. Brianne Tutt Evans attempts to Nick the spoils from the

:27:27. > :27:35.boys. Behind every good event there is a great event manager and here in

:27:36. > :27:41.Sheffield she is, Watkins. -- Donna. Send in your videos, we will pick

:27:42. > :27:54.the best from the day and try to make your game better. #cueffix.

:27:55. > :28:01.John Higgins has nine major titles in this sport. When you bundle them

:28:02. > :28:10.all up with everything else, 28 world ranking titles in total. Why

:28:11. > :28:19.is he such a good cue man? Perhaps this can give us a hint. When you

:28:20. > :28:25.are talking about consummate match players, he falls into that. He is

:28:26. > :28:29.in the top of most lists, matchplay, all-round player, you can't have

:28:30. > :28:35.those concessions without. His technique is a bit different from

:28:36. > :28:40.most players. His action is a bit longer than would be accepted in the

:28:41. > :28:44.modern game. On these clots that we play on, trying to control the ball,

:28:45. > :28:47.but that comes from years of practising with Stephen Hendry in

:28:48. > :28:54.the old days, where he would have seen what Stephen Hendry was doing.

:28:55. > :28:57.John's action repeats, it is very deliberate, these long waggles,

:28:58. > :29:07.doesn't hit it until he is ready and always good screw back. He never

:29:08. > :29:12.decelerates on the ball. No, his shot selection let -- enables him to

:29:13. > :29:20.play with complete commitment, he is never 50-50 on a shot, were

:29:21. > :29:24.sometimes you can decelerate. He has always thought hard and he can give

:29:25. > :29:31.it 100%. What about his break-building? This is a fine point

:29:32. > :29:40.but from the start of a frame in a break-building position I would have

:29:41. > :29:49.him as a vicar. I might look to get the reds opener as soon as possible.

:29:50. > :29:54.-- I would have him down as a picker. He is more of an older style

:29:55. > :29:59.player where he will look to pick of the lose reds, and that is just in

:30:00. > :30:04.case it goes wrong, he leaves you with the puzzle. Many players would

:30:05. > :30:08.get to the 50, 60 point mark and the reds are everywhere and if it goes

:30:09. > :30:12.wrong you can lose in two or three minutes. I have played John so many

:30:13. > :30:14.times where something will go wrong at 50 or 60, you come to the table

:30:15. > :30:27.and you have a Rubik 's cube I have done some thinking of it and

:30:28. > :30:33.since we have had the European tour with all the young players, we have

:30:34. > :30:37.got 128 draws, things like that, John and players like him are at

:30:38. > :30:43.experience, which you can't buy. It counts for so much. He very rarely

:30:44. > :30:48.plays the wrong shot or leave themselves exposed to danger, he has

:30:49. > :30:49.been to the mill so many times. He has got so many battle skies and

:30:50. > :31:11.knows the right shots to play. I think I was in a school play or in

:31:12. > :31:27.the playground where I used to live on the estate. I just treated people

:31:28. > :31:39.how I would like to be treated. I'm not the most romantic person.

:31:40. > :31:53.I was taught how to make spaghetti. My wife seems to like it. Going to

:31:54. > :32:00.Vegas, that is another one. It sounded like it was a lot of fun in

:32:01. > :32:11.the 60s. I like Susanna Reid on good morning Britain. She sticks in my

:32:12. > :32:16.mind. In the practice room with the players, they have had lots of

:32:17. > :32:22.matches to get to this stage. It is just to listen your arm up, pot a

:32:23. > :32:25.fewer balls, get rhythm going, hit a view shots. Feel as if you are still

:32:26. > :32:31.back playing in the tournament, get nice and loose and smooth, pot a few

:32:32. > :32:36.balls and get yourself ready 15 or 20 minutes before you go out and

:32:37. > :32:41.play is horrible, come and have a little brightness. Make no mistake,

:32:42. > :32:44.every player suffers from pre-match nerves, and while you can get your

:32:45. > :32:48.arm going on the practice table, it is the nerves of build-up in the

:32:49. > :32:51.dressing room. Players bring in their coach or their friends, they

:32:52. > :32:56.don't talk about the game that is ahead, but one thing is for certain,

:32:57. > :33:02.the ten minutes before you go out is like the dentist waiting room, your

:33:03. > :33:06.hands are shaking like a leaf. I have had my practice, I've been in

:33:07. > :33:09.the dressing room, I've read the paper, I have been feeling

:33:10. > :33:12.physically sick and their and standing in the corridor and just

:33:13. > :33:15.want to get out there, I want these people to stop talking, get them to

:33:16. > :33:21.introduce me and just get on with it. This is the man who is going to

:33:22. > :33:25.do the knocking on the door, the tournament director Martin Clark

:33:26. > :33:30.summoning John Higgins first of all, he is coming out for the night time

:33:31. > :33:42.here. At the Chris Bell. -- Christabel. It is a Barry's tense

:33:43. > :33:48.time awaiting the call. Is he there are? Busy chatting to himself, I

:33:49. > :33:56.wonder? Wear has he gone? Command, Barry, there is a match on here,

:33:57. > :34:01.semifinal. Yes, of course he's there. Barry is one of the nicest

:34:02. > :34:04.guys in the game. Still to make the breakthrough and land one of these

:34:05. > :34:09.big majors, he has been close in the past. I think we are ready. John

:34:10. > :34:16.looking relaxed as we go into the second session and Nicol will come

:34:17. > :34:20.from Rob Walker. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, in just two

:34:21. > :34:27.days' time at one of the two players prowling around backstage will be

:34:28. > :34:30.returning for the 2017 World Snooker Championship final. The prize is

:34:31. > :34:35.absolutely huge, even though both of them have been there before. We are

:34:36. > :34:55.in for an epic session of snooker today.

:34:56. > :35:03.Please welcome a player who has become a regular fixture in the won

:35:04. > :35:09.table set up here in recent years, making four of the last semi-finals.

:35:10. > :35:13.From 4-0 down yesterday, he showed his class with three breaks over 60

:35:14. > :35:19.to get right back in this match, runner-up in 13, winner of three

:35:20. > :35:20.ranking event titles, and absolutely brilliant left-hander, he is the

:35:21. > :35:47.court, Barry Hawkins. And his opponent, a player's whose

:35:48. > :35:51.longevity at the top of the sport is quite staggering, 18 years after his

:35:52. > :35:56.first Crucible semifinal, he is back at the one-table set-up for the

:35:57. > :36:01.eighth time. This season he has extended his titles to 28, four

:36:02. > :36:03.times the champion of the world, the Wizard of Wishaw, here is John

:36:04. > :36:23.Higgins. And the are ready to play, a very

:36:24. > :36:26.quick turnaround, only 25 minutes between the last session of our

:36:27. > :36:31.first semifinal and this one. Big up to the Arena team each year, fastest

:36:32. > :36:40.hoovering service you've ever seen. They have cleaned the place. We are

:36:41. > :36:50.all ready. COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, everyone can Barry get

:36:51. > :36:54.the opening frame in this second session underway. A pretty good

:36:55. > :37:02.break of shot. He got the pace of the table straightaway. He did very

:37:03. > :37:11.well to win the last frame. You can see the pot success rate. Barry is

:37:12. > :37:22.well ahead in the long pot success Department. Nothing to pick between

:37:23. > :37:29.them in the safety Department. No centuries in this match, John 69 and

:37:30. > :37:33.Barry 74, but I think both players looked a little bit tired. They

:37:34. > :37:36.would have been glad of a lying in this morning to get ready for this

:37:37. > :37:51.afternoon's session, a very important one. You just said about

:37:52. > :38:01.the breaks, I expected both these players to be knocking the breaks

:38:02. > :38:02.on, one visit frames. But maybe both players are just weary of each

:38:03. > :38:22.other's strengths. Barry did remarkably well after

:38:23. > :38:35.being 4-0 down to comeback in the mid-session interval and win the two

:38:36. > :38:40.frames. Breaks of 62, 71. But then towards the end of the match, John

:38:41. > :38:45.just lost his way in little bit, as we see Barry come up short with the

:38:46. > :38:50.safety, but it's OK. John started missing a few easy balls, something

:38:51. > :38:54.he has eliminated from his game. I mentioned he'd been doing that a few

:38:55. > :39:01.seasons ago, but he seems to have eliminated. It was back again. At

:39:02. > :39:05.crucial stages, he could quite easily have had a format frame

:39:06. > :39:16.advantage. It makes it very interesting. This particular

:39:17. > :39:20.session. When you've got these multi-session matches, especially

:39:21. > :39:25.the semifinal and the final, when it is four sessions, you normally have

:39:26. > :39:36.one session where you absolutely fly. I wonder if -- which one of

:39:37. > :39:42.these players it will be today. It's not often you play your absolute

:39:43. > :39:53.best in all four sessions. There is always one.

:39:54. > :40:01.There is a half transfer Barry here, he is so good at this type of long

:40:02. > :40:06.pot, but it is debate the cue ball. He will do well to avoid coming into

:40:07. > :40:13.the two reds or the black and error. He has got to make sure he pot blue

:40:14. > :40:21.the red. He's just got to trust the ball. He has overcome that. He

:40:22. > :40:30.hasn't got away with it. He was playing a delicate little shot

:40:31. > :40:43.there. It is just a little bit tentative, the way he instructed. --

:40:44. > :40:51.the way he stroked it. He never managed to pot the red, which is the

:40:52. > :41:12.most important thing. APPLAUSE

:41:13. > :41:19.I like that side on view, it makes you realise how big the table is, it

:41:20. > :41:24.is like 12 feet by six that sometimes. You don't realise just

:41:25. > :41:39.how big the table is, but that side on view gives you a good indication.

:41:40. > :41:45.Yet, in some view it looks quite small in this arena because it's

:41:46. > :41:53.very bare. We had two tables in the first three rounds but now it is

:41:54. > :41:56.just one single table. They did a thing before the match started

:41:57. > :42:00.yesterday, John Parrott and I were sat in the seat, and you forget how

:42:01. > :42:11.long you have to walk from your seat to the table. This is a good

:42:12. > :42:18.opportunity for a John Higgins in his first frame. He has the black

:42:19. > :42:47.available. 68 points required. He didn't want to kiss that red. He

:42:48. > :42:58.just flipped it. It depends how hard he said, this is miserable now. He

:42:59. > :43:10.didn't try to do anything too fancy with the cue ball there. He's got

:43:11. > :43:14.himself a tricky black now. The positional side of this is not

:43:15. > :43:18.straightforward either because it is very easy to snooker himself when

:43:19. > :43:29.the red is closest to the right corner. He missed the black. And

:43:30. > :43:32.because he missed the black, he didn't get the position on the red

:43:33. > :43:36.that was next to the right corner pocket. He would have been on that

:43:37. > :43:42.had he potted that. He would have no one straightaway. I think that's the

:43:43. > :43:49.first black, believe it or not, that John has most of the sport in this

:43:50. > :43:57.match. There is a long red that will go up as the pink and the blue

:43:58. > :44:07.there. The black is over the pocket. He potted one like this yesterday,

:44:08. > :44:17.which was a terrific shot. Not this time. It's going to be a bit of an

:44:18. > :44:28.awkward free night with the black over that pocket. -- awkward. This

:44:29. > :44:43.could get interesting. That's a clever shot, it blocks of

:44:44. > :44:51.all the escapes down the right side of the table. At first glance,

:44:52. > :44:57.that's what Barry is looking at their comedy player's view. He has

:44:58. > :45:09.just got to nestle into the back of the reds here, off to cushions. That

:45:10. > :45:18.is a bit narrow, is it? It's just OK. This could go on for some time

:45:19. > :46:01.now that the black is covering the pocket.

:46:02. > :46:11.Mark Selby didn't Junhui session finished fairly late. -- Ding

:46:12. > :46:16.Junhui. They manage to turn around and get everyone back in more or

:46:17. > :46:28.less on time, but this opening frame could last quite a while. That rule

:46:29. > :46:33.has gone though, it used to be 40 minutes before the start of play to

:46:34. > :46:37.take the players off, never to just the tournament director who decides

:46:38. > :46:44.whether that last frame will be played or not. I think that's much

:46:45. > :46:58.better because a lot depends on how the matches as well. What's happened

:46:59. > :47:02.here? How did he potted that red in of the black? Is there a path

:47:03. > :47:07.through to the black? If there is, what a bit of good luck. Look at

:47:08. > :47:24.that. That's lovely, isn't it? What a result.

:47:25. > :47:39.I cannot believe he done that. That is a shocker, Barry, I'm afraid. I

:47:40. > :47:44.think he was playing it off the left ankle and just potted it right in

:47:45. > :47:56.the middle. You don't see that very often.

:47:57. > :48:04.That is unfortunate. He was trying to get an pink or black, the red

:48:05. > :48:09.covered the pink and the other one went in the path of the black. That

:48:10. > :48:20.was quite amazing, quite amazing they are what just happened. Just

:48:21. > :48:28.have a look at this. He has played the cannon, the two beds, thinking

:48:29. > :48:32.he is bound to be on pink or black. He gets the cannon, not as he

:48:33. > :48:35.intended, but to knock that red and make the path that the black and the

:48:36. > :48:55.other one to cover the pink, it's amazing.

:48:56. > :49:03.I don't know if the red letters to the left of the black is ported to

:49:04. > :49:06.the left corner, because if it is, I'm a little bit surprised John

:49:07. > :49:18.wasn't tempted by the blue to the far left corner. The only reason I

:49:19. > :49:22.can think why he didn't take the blue, he missed a view at the end of

:49:23. > :49:28.the match and maybe he wanted to just play himself in again. Rather

:49:29. > :49:36.than just take a risky one. I know you would certainly have been taking

:49:37. > :49:42.the blue on. John Higgins normally takes that blew on all day. Both

:49:43. > :50:02.players are having a very cagey opening to this first session.

:50:03. > :50:16.Barry has thusly just, the red is closest to the left middle. He has

:50:17. > :50:26.not meant to hit the first two reds. It is a very delicate little shot

:50:27. > :50:34.that he's trying here. It is to perfection to do that, to just flick

:50:35. > :50:42.of one of those reds. Great attempt. Great attempt there. You would

:50:43. > :50:45.rather give four penalty points or eight penalty points as long as he

:50:46. > :50:53.gets the shot as he wants, he doesn't want to hit this red fool

:50:54. > :51:11.ball. That's pressure. -- that is for sure. Can we have a look at it

:51:12. > :51:18.please? It is just a bit forward. Just pointing it was, back a bit,

:51:19. > :51:29.left a bit, write about. It is like the Golden shot, many years ago. Bob

:51:30. > :51:38.Monkhouse. Did he get warned? Here we go. In your own time. What shot

:51:39. > :52:10.did he now? -- does deeply now? He is still shaking his head. Look

:52:11. > :52:16.where he got the cue ball from that shot.

:52:17. > :52:36.APPLAUSE I'm sure he got the in the correct

:52:37. > :52:39.position, I was wondering why John was shaking his head there, because

:52:40. > :52:52.he did say something to the referee on the way past.

:52:53. > :52:57.Let's have a look where it was originally, that spirit was

:52:58. > :53:06.originally, let's see where it is now. Let's have a look. Let's have a

:53:07. > :53:13.look again. In the correct place. Maybe John was

:53:14. > :53:19.right. Maybe that Watt wasn't available. That's why John was

:53:20. > :53:29.shaking his head. I hope that's not going to upset things here. But he

:53:30. > :53:35.should have raised it at the time, but he just stayed in his seat. I

:53:36. > :53:39.think first we have to clarify that Barry Hawkins did nothing wrong, he

:53:40. > :53:42.didn't try to gain an advantage. You would never have dreamt to have

:53:43. > :53:45.taken that long red on in the beginning. He was forced into

:53:46. > :55:03.playing it because he had to make contact with the red.

:55:04. > :55:12.Whatever frustrations John Higgins was feeling, he is now getting rid

:55:13. > :55:18.of it. He is experienced enough to just forget things and get on with

:55:19. > :55:23.the match. But if he does believe the cue ball wasn't to be back on

:55:24. > :55:31.the right place, he is feeling a bit aggrieved at the moment, he just got

:55:32. > :55:35.to get rid of it. As a player, you do have the chance to come up and

:55:36. > :55:41.look. The referee gives you the option, are you happy? Do normally

:55:42. > :55:46.just trust the referee is going to have it put back in the right place.

:55:47. > :55:52.It just shows you the tough jobs the referees have. That was quite a

:55:53. > :55:56.crucial one. It was an unbelievable pot that Barry knocked on, but it

:55:57. > :56:08.turns the whole frame completely around. It was such a tough pot. You

:56:09. > :56:34.would be almost glad he was taking it on. The pace he played attack.

:56:35. > :56:42.That's gone wrong, he's going to have to take this red up into the

:56:43. > :56:46.corner pocket. He didn't get the cannon, as he anticipated. A key

:56:47. > :56:59.shot coming up here, he is only five points behind now. Right in the

:57:00. > :57:02.centre of the pocket. APPLAUSE

:57:03. > :57:10.He is left-handed, if he can disturb those two reds when he pots the

:57:11. > :57:12.green, he could win the frame. He could develop both read and still be

:57:13. > :57:38.on the other one. -- reds. He hadn't quite got the angle to

:57:39. > :57:43.force into those two. He's got to get it right this time. It is a good

:57:44. > :57:52.angle this time, maybe he doesn't have to get into them. It was a

:57:53. > :58:00.clever cue ball that he played there. He can with give himself the

:58:01. > :58:01.option of this red audit the red to middle. He might leave the cue ball

:58:02. > :58:23.into the same sort of area again. Obviously they do. I don't know if

:58:24. > :58:31.you can't stretch over the table. Maybe he needs the rest. The angle

:58:32. > :58:32.that is on this red he is going to pot, it looks like the one closer to

:58:33. > :59:24.the cushion. I think he might just be, you know.

:59:25. > :59:28.A bit tricky to pick the angle out when you are so close. You can

:59:29. > :59:37.clearly pot it, but when you are that close to it, you need to be

:59:38. > :59:41.very precise. He is not looking anywhere near where he is potting

:59:42. > :59:51.it. It is all about judgment. No, it's not there. John, have you got

:59:52. > :00:16.your focus back? It is not straightforward because he

:00:17. > :00:20.is taking the green but it will have to go back on the black spot, so

:00:21. > :00:29.somehow he has to get from the yellow back up to the green again.

:00:30. > :00:38.He should not have been anywhere near the middle pocket. Now he will

:00:39. > :00:45.probably play a safety shot. Didn't get enough stunned on that. Even

:00:46. > :00:49.with the extension, to pot this yellow and get back up to the green,

:00:50. > :00:53.especially with an extra piece on the end of the cue, I think he will

:00:54. > :00:58.be better off with the safety shot here, because this will be some

:00:59. > :01:07.shot, to get back up from here. Let's have a look.

:01:08. > :01:13.I think that was totally the wrong choice of shot, and you don't often

:01:14. > :01:18.say that about John Higgins. I think he is still frustrated, he has not

:01:19. > :01:25.got what happened earlier in the frame out of his mind. I honestly

:01:26. > :01:29.can't believe he took that shot on with the extension of the cue, he

:01:30. > :01:33.didn't get anywhere near the pot because he had to generate so much

:01:34. > :01:39.pace. A little frustration still there on his face. Barry is so good

:01:40. > :01:41.with the rest, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't part of this

:01:42. > :02:34.and get onto the green. -- pot this. Already the longest frame of the

:02:35. > :02:36.match so far. So a very tense opening frame with a bit of

:02:37. > :02:59.controversy. It was always going to be an

:03:00. > :03:04.important opening frame, more so now, because I think John Higgins

:03:05. > :03:05.needs to take this just to settle down, because he looks a bit flushed

:03:06. > :03:19.in the face. And that is not going to help

:03:20. > :03:48.things. I think if Barry is going to take

:03:49. > :03:52.this frame here, I think John will do well to get out of the arena for

:03:53. > :03:59.a couple of minutes. Calm down a bit.

:04:00. > :04:18.It is a great frame for Barry to win. He was reminded by the referee

:04:19. > :04:25.that if he missed a Reid three times he would lose the frame. That is all

:04:26. > :04:38.history. He takes the longest frame of the match will stop -- if he

:04:39. > :04:43.missed a red three. Ken Doherty has been granted a tour

:04:44. > :04:47.wild card and he is missing no time, he is in the practice room. I

:04:48. > :04:52.potentially controversial moment in that frame. Very controversial. John

:04:53. > :04:58.Higgins looks livid and he may have a right to be. We talk about

:04:59. > :05:02.fractions in this game. Putting the ball back is very important for the

:05:03. > :05:07.referee and also consulting the marker. The cue ball was not back in

:05:08. > :05:16.its original position. From Barry Hawkins's first position he missed a

:05:17. > :05:19.red. He may not have even looked at the red initially that he potted

:05:20. > :05:26.eventually but the referee put the cue ball back here instead of back

:05:27. > :05:31.here. If he is back here he can't see the red and certainly can't see

:05:32. > :05:37.the potting angle. He has moved it here a bit, Barry Hawkins is forced

:05:38. > :05:40.into taking on the red and it proved very controversial because he was

:05:41. > :05:46.forced into taking it on, he potted it, the cue ball came down and it

:05:47. > :05:51.put John Higgins in a really tough snooker. Advantage over Barry

:05:52. > :05:55.Hawkins, John Higgins absolutely miffed. It wasn't Barry Hawkins?

:05:56. > :06:06.Fold completely, it was down to the referee and the marker. -- it wasn't

:06:07. > :06:12.Barry Hawkins's fault. John has not left the arena, he is

:06:13. > :06:18.stewing on this. In his position you would be pretty mad. You saw from

:06:19. > :06:24.his actions that he knew the pot wasn't on, so to watch somebody

:06:25. > :06:28.smack it in is not very nice. Between them all it didn't quite

:06:29. > :06:31.work out for him but he put it behind him and got on with the rest

:06:32. > :06:46.of the match but it was definitely a mistake.

:06:47. > :06:52.COMMENTATOR: The white is in. He needs the red to run safe. He needs

:06:53. > :07:04.the yellow to come to the rescue here. I am just wondering if he can

:07:05. > :07:08.get the white in the D in such a way that he can cut the red in. He would

:07:09. > :07:16.have to be very close to the yellow on the way passed to cut it in but I

:07:17. > :07:33.think he can. He can place the white anywhere in the D area.

:07:34. > :07:42.Just to let the viewers know, you can move the cue ball with your cue,

:07:43. > :07:47.so long as it is not the tip. Having spent all that time getting the cue

:07:48. > :07:52.ball into the right position, very surprising miss. You can see by

:07:53. > :07:55.John's face how much pressure he is under, how he is feeling, very

:07:56. > :08:17.frustrated with the way things have started this afternoon.

:08:18. > :08:25.Can Barry Hawkins take advantage of this situation?

:08:26. > :08:33.He has a red at the back of the bunch that pots into the right-hand

:08:34. > :08:40.corner but it looks like he is playing the aggressive shot into the

:08:41. > :08:46.pink with the cue ball. In fact he played a more controlled shot.

:08:47. > :08:54.Perhaps because the blue is more of an acute angle. He actually played

:08:55. > :08:59.this very nicely. He will be delighted to be on this one. He will

:09:00. > :09:01.need of that of help inside right-hand side. He got a massive

:09:02. > :10:12.kick. I was waiting for the reverse side

:10:13. > :10:16.to come onto that to go nicely onto the red but he didn't play it with

:10:17. > :10:21.that so it is much more difficult now.

:10:22. > :10:30.Now he has missed it. I think he is still thinking about that opening

:10:31. > :10:37.frame and the sooner he can forget about it the better. I think he

:10:38. > :10:49.should have got out there in between frames, John Higgins. Gunn just gone

:10:50. > :10:57.into his -- just gone into his dressing room just to calm down.

:10:58. > :10:58.Looking at his face reminds me a bit of me when I got under pressure, I

:10:59. > :11:25.went a bit of a flushed colour! He is all over the place at the

:11:26. > :11:29.moment, John. OK, he hasn't left anything but... Mind you, towards

:11:30. > :11:34.the end of his first session his safety had disappeared, his good

:11:35. > :11:38.tactical game had disappeared and he had started missing easy ones, so he

:11:39. > :11:50.really has to regroup. Barry Hawkins will be picking up on that.

:11:51. > :12:00.Yes, he has to do... This game is so psychological, especially in this

:12:01. > :12:02.place. He has to red signs about how your opponent is thinking and

:12:03. > :12:36.reacting. He must be able to get past the

:12:37. > :12:42.brown. And he has plenty of cue power that he can get this out onto

:12:43. > :12:46.the black. No, didn't hit it very well, but he may have been

:12:47. > :12:53.fortunate. Look where the cue ball has finished.

:12:54. > :13:02.There is a half chance up into the corner but he is normally so good at

:13:03. > :13:03.this kind of shot. He could get on the blue, wouldn't leave anything if

:13:04. > :13:21.he missed it. That is a nice pot. That will make

:13:22. > :13:31.him feel a lot better, but I don't know where the next pot is coming

:13:32. > :13:33.from after this loo. Maybe the pink pots. He can't get nicely on

:13:34. > :14:02.anything. If this red goes it is a big test of

:14:03. > :14:16.the John Higgins. It is fairly tight but... It is a big test for John

:14:17. > :14:21.Higgins. He played that well. A much better shot than it looked. Under

:14:22. > :14:25.the circumstances that was brilliant. Should he have missed

:14:26. > :14:42.that, reds were going everywhere. Those two good reds that John has

:14:43. > :14:43.potted, they will put to the back of his mind what happened in the

:14:44. > :14:59.previous frame. That red has gone awkward. He has

:15:00. > :15:02.the pink and blue to work with but the red he can and, he has knocked

:15:03. > :15:11.it towards the black spot area, may have put the black out of

:15:12. > :15:36.commission. -- but the red he can end it.

:15:37. > :15:47.Especially if those two reds are available, that is a help. He

:15:48. > :15:53.doesn't have to play for them this time but... Not too sure about that.

:15:54. > :16:38.He had the other one to the left but those two look a little awkward.

:16:39. > :16:45.That close-up of John Higgins playing, he does shake a bit on the

:16:46. > :16:49.shot, he always has. Not quite as bad as Mark Selby. There is movement

:16:50. > :17:26.when he is feeling the pressure. That is a slip-up. He wanted a

:17:27. > :17:35.slightly different contact on the cannon there. He has got himself 40

:17:36. > :17:41.points in front, a very thin snick. He wanted to hit that three quarters

:17:42. > :17:45.ball rather than full-ball. It wouldn't be a bad idea to play the

:17:46. > :17:51.red onto the black and play a good safety shot down behind the green or

:17:52. > :17:53.maybe hit the black into a safe spot to protect that lead. Wouldn't be a

:17:54. > :18:06.bad choice of shot. He could have done with just

:18:07. > :18:16.knocking a black further to the cushion.

:18:17. > :18:21.John having a long hard look to see where the cue ball is before going

:18:22. > :19:05.back to his chair. He is coming to have a look but he

:19:06. > :19:44.will have it replaced, and not quite as crucial this time.

:19:45. > :19:51.Bad misjudgement. That could have caused Barry the second frame of

:19:52. > :20:32.this session. Surprised he doesn't leave his

:20:33. > :20:40.extension on the table, it is a long way to go back for your extension,

:20:41. > :20:43.the chair. He might be feeling a lot better now, looks like he is going

:20:44. > :20:54.to get the second frame on the board of this session. He can just now get

:20:55. > :21:24.on with the rest of this session, forget what has gone before.

:21:25. > :21:36.It is a funny little shot, this one. That is why he is coming round to

:21:37. > :21:46.look at the other. The other one is the better choice, a thin snick.

:21:47. > :21:55.Good recovery pot. That should give him the frame because the one next

:21:56. > :22:04.to the black is available after the blue. Already 60 in front. Just

:22:05. > :22:24.getting up, quick glance at the scoreboard to make sure.

:22:25. > :22:38.He has done well in this frame, John Higgins. It has not been plain

:22:39. > :23:28.sailing, he has done very well to compose himself and win this frame.

:23:29. > :23:36.Whatever colour he takes here, the frame is over. He can roll the black

:23:37. > :23:53.in and Gary Wilson AM his seat even if John misses this. -- Barry will

:23:54. > :24:00.stay in his seat. Doesn't matter. He has a two frame advantage, 6-4.

:24:01. > :24:05.Perhaps John's blood pressure has gone down a little bit but it

:24:06. > :24:09.rumbles on, quite a lot of reaction on social media, many people saying

:24:10. > :24:15.surely John can't moan about the placement, when you have to tell the

:24:16. > :24:19.referee that you agree where the placement should be. We saw the

:24:20. > :24:27.first time that was the case but as a player would you get up every time

:24:28. > :24:33.to check it again. Not when it is something not obvious like that. It

:24:34. > :24:38.was a last resort from Barry Hawkins. In a more clean situation,

:24:39. > :24:44.with one ball on the table, you will be making sure, but you trust the

:24:45. > :24:47.referee. And the player. I am not casting aspersions at Harry, it is a

:24:48. > :24:54.shot he may not have even looked at. He was put in that situation. -- at

:24:55. > :24:58.Barry. The situation is not foolproof, a few years ago they had

:24:59. > :25:03.a marker with a little circle in it, you could put a Dott in there with a

:25:04. > :25:14.pen, but do you want to carry a pen all the time? There is a marker who

:25:15. > :25:21.is trying to work out where it goes back to, but he is working from a TV

:25:22. > :25:27.screen. It is the idea that you superimpose one on another. Any

:25:28. > :25:34.other method is the poorest be on belief. One person on Twitter says,

:25:35. > :25:42.a laser system above the table would ensure proper ball replacement.

:25:43. > :25:45.Should that be looked at? It is more copper Katie Burnett, you don't know

:25:46. > :25:56.when the missed is going to happen so it has to be foolproof. -- more

:25:57. > :26:04.complicated than that. Barry Hawkins got that enormous kick some may be

:26:05. > :26:09.fate played its part. I think we can agree that the replacement system is

:26:10. > :26:16.a work in progress. COMMENTATOR: Meanwhile, back at the

:26:17. > :26:27.Crucible... Not the best safety shot there.

:26:28. > :26:41.This is much better. Better length here. And amazingly that 42 by John

:26:42. > :26:46.Higgins was his highest break since the first frame. Which is pretty

:26:47. > :26:53.poor by his standards. The strength of his game is his savage scoring.

:26:54. > :27:04.People talk about his all-round game but at the end of the day he never

:27:05. > :27:06.misses when he gets in. If he stops on a baulk colour, which he has

:27:07. > :27:31.done, chance to get another score. It was a bit awkward screwing back

:27:32. > :27:43.their because he was fairly close to the green.

:27:44. > :27:51.As I mentioned before, just the last three or four frames John had lost a

:27:52. > :27:56.bit of timing with his cue action and was coming up short with the

:27:57. > :28:05.safety shots, missing easy pots. Just like that. That is something

:28:06. > :28:10.that he had eliminated out of his game in the last couple of seasons,

:28:11. > :28:20.it was something he was doing four or five seasons ago, and then all of

:28:21. > :28:24.a sudden he puts one like this in. He looked a bit tired last evening,

:28:25. > :28:29.he was rubbing his eyes, but he has had a good night's sleep, the

:28:30. > :28:33.morning off. He has been here sunny times. But he can't afford to keep

:28:34. > :28:54.missing the blacks off the spot. How do you fancy this black along

:28:55. > :29:02.the cushion? I think he will be considering it. He has gone around

:29:03. > :29:04.to see where the safest place in the baulk area is safest to leave the

:29:05. > :30:05.cue ball. He can play for the black, he has

:30:06. > :30:24.enough angle on it. He just cued slightly across that

:30:25. > :30:36.one. Missed it by quite a way in the end,

:30:37. > :30:54.didn't he? The second chance the John Higgins

:30:55. > :30:56.in this frame, not a good chance with the pink tide up and the black

:30:57. > :31:13.not ideally placed. If he could get a good angle on the

:31:14. > :31:16.blue, he could cannon into the pink and red is. He's got a few other

:31:17. > :31:24.options available to him before that. Brown, then red. That's near

:31:25. > :31:43.the right middle pocket. When friends are scrappy, like these

:31:44. > :31:48.have been, there hasn't been a break by either player in this match. It

:31:49. > :31:59.needs one player to make a big break and it can spark both players into

:32:00. > :32:03.life. Can't leave that angle now on the blue. He had to take the yellow

:32:04. > :32:15.because he was overstretched for the brown. He's playing straight up for

:32:16. > :32:20.the black. Anything but straight on the black to be able to get out on

:32:21. > :32:22.the back of the reds. This bunch of reds. He's got a bit of angle to

:32:23. > :33:05.work with. A key shot coming up now. This will

:33:06. > :33:20.bring quite a few into play. That's poor. That was a bad misjudgement

:33:21. > :33:24.from Jon Nurse. Yeah, these are like elementary mistakes John Higgins is

:33:25. > :33:34.making at the moment. He knows he has a much thicker contact on red.

:33:35. > :33:40.For whatever reason, even for the incident, he's not look relaxed and

:33:41. > :33:54.focused out there this afternoon. -- even before the incident.

:33:55. > :34:10.APPLAUSE Nice, long pot right in the middle

:34:11. > :34:18.of the pocket. Nice, long angle on the black. City red above the black,

:34:19. > :34:25.if he's going to make a cannon, it'll be the one between black and

:34:26. > :34:36.pink. That's what he did. He's unlucky not to be something easier

:34:37. > :34:39.than this. If he's on anything. By cannon this one, he would have been

:34:40. > :34:54.on the right corner. A good shot, though.

:34:55. > :35:01.Don't know if he can screw back and avoid the pink. Maybe there is a

:35:02. > :35:11.place in the gap between red and pink. He took his eye off the pot.

:35:12. > :35:16.This is really scrappy stuff, isn't it? Came round to have an anxious

:35:17. > :35:28.look at what he'd left. Has he covered everything into the corner

:35:29. > :35:40.pocket? He hires. -- he has. Very fortunate there. Touching ball would

:35:41. > :35:50.help the situation here. He's not touching, though. But I think he can

:35:51. > :35:55.hit the one that is near the left side cushion. He's got to hide the

:35:56. > :36:02.cue ball in such a way that he can't put the one near the corner pocket.

:36:03. > :36:09.He's got to be fairly precise with the cue ball here, if he plays down

:36:10. > :36:19.the table on that single red. Doesn't like it. Little bit of a

:36:20. > :36:29.stalemate. Lil Jon try and hide that red? -- will John try and hide that

:36:30. > :36:37.red? The answer is, no. You've got to be careful you don't leave it

:36:38. > :36:47.touching ball here. If he gets it where the tip of his Kiwis, it would

:36:48. > :36:56.be pretty safe. -- tip-off is cue is. As to make sure he avoids the

:36:57. > :37:33.blue. And he has done. And that's end of stalemate.

:37:34. > :37:43.Well, he did cut it in. Barry thought he wouldn't be able to sneak

:37:44. > :37:57.it in from that position. It was a terrific cutback.

:37:58. > :38:03.That's about perfect. As we show you the cutback again. A guide past the

:38:04. > :39:21.other red, to flick it in. This one red is easy. The other two

:39:22. > :39:30.had enough, one of them will still be available. We'll find out very

:39:31. > :39:46.shortly, the way he plays the positional shot. Yeah, the one to

:39:47. > :39:51.the right obviously pots. Yeah, it's looking like John Higgins is going

:39:52. > :39:56.to open a three frame gap. It's been anything but convincing. It's really

:39:57. > :40:08.who makes the last mistake in each frame at the moment. There have been

:40:09. > :40:11.plenty by both players. Barry knows if this pink disappears and John

:40:12. > :40:39.gets one more red, the frame is over.

:40:40. > :40:50.Two snooker is required. An easy buck to follow. It's definitely the

:40:51. > :40:56.end of frame. -- and easy black. Still no fireworks with regards big

:40:57. > :41:00.breaks. But a big break only wins one frame. Doesn't matter how you

:41:01. > :41:21.win them. It's a shame where the green is, it

:41:22. > :41:31.would do John well to clear the table here. I mean, it'll take some

:41:32. > :41:42.shot from here. Top right hand side. Played the forcing the shocked. It

:41:43. > :41:49.would be some cut down the cushion, this, wouldn't it? Good effort. Not

:41:50. > :41:58.there. He won't be too concerned about that. That gives John Higgins

:41:59. > :42:03.the frame and he opens up a three frame advantage. It's now 7-4.

:42:04. > :42:09.Don McClure, not surprised I've seen you here, you are Sheffield born and

:42:10. > :42:15.bred and love the snooker. Great to be here, enormous sense of pride for

:42:16. > :42:17.Sheffield native to have the World Snooker championships here.

:42:18. > :42:22.Delighted it's going to be here another ten years. I bet you are, is

:42:23. > :42:26.it extra special because we kept the 40th anniversary landmark? Yeah I've

:42:27. > :42:32.got a lot of great memories of snooker, my first ever memory is

:42:33. > :42:37.snooker. The 85 final, the famous one, Dennis Taylor, black ball. My

:42:38. > :42:42.mum, parents are both nurses, my mum worked nights, my dad works days. My

:42:43. > :42:46.mum were at work, me and my dad watched it when I were a little

:42:47. > :42:50.chap. I've been in love ever since with snooker, I think it's

:42:51. > :42:56.wonderful. As a musician what do you make of Steve Davis's DJ skills?

:42:57. > :43:00.Really well, he's got lots of gigs. I've heard one of his sets,

:43:01. > :43:05.fantastic. I feel I need to get parley with Steve Davis. I saw him

:43:06. > :43:11.in a cafe and I was tentative about talking to him. He's a swan, he's

:43:12. > :43:16.blossomed in later life. Long may it continue. You have street

:43:17. > :43:20.credibility with and the makers. I'd rather talk about snooker, I don't

:43:21. > :43:26.know what to say. Are you a fan of theirs? Yeah, it's nice to embrace

:43:27. > :43:32.all music. For me, it's just quite a nice breath of fresh air. Having my

:43:33. > :43:39.snooker head-on, getting to the sharp end of this event... When we

:43:40. > :43:43.moving here we start to feel the vibes. John Higgins has got over the

:43:44. > :43:54.minicrisis. It was a good break to settle himself down. Looks like the

:43:55. > :43:57.John Higgins we know. Let's see whether he can continue this. His

:43:58. > :44:03.won five of the seven previous semifinals he has played in an

:44:04. > :44:17.generally speaking if he gets through the semifinal he wins.

:44:18. > :44:25.John gets the final frame before the mid-session interval underway.

:44:26. > :44:31.Immediately, he's left a bit of a chance for Barry. It's a free shot.

:44:32. > :44:37.If this red goes in, he's on the black. If not, the only good leave

:44:38. > :45:06.is the one he's having a go at. Very important opening attempt here.

:45:07. > :45:15.How did that not go in? That's the kind of shot that can really dent

:45:16. > :45:49.your self belief. This was a horror. It's another horror. For whatever

:45:50. > :45:54.reason both these players have come out today and looked under so much

:45:55. > :46:01.pressure. It's only the second session of four. They are both

:46:02. > :47:33.playing as if it's the final session.

:47:34. > :47:50.Seems to be quite a lot of attention. Both players missing

:47:51. > :47:59.shots they wouldn't usually. There is another. It wasn't an easy shot,

:48:00. > :48:03.but look where the red has gone. I think with John, because it's been

:48:04. > :48:11.so long since he's been to the one-table set-up here, six years

:48:12. > :48:17.since John last lifted the world title here, for some reason he seems

:48:18. > :48:25.to have lost his consistency. From the last few frames of the first

:48:26. > :48:29.session. I must admit I listen to his interviews when he won the

:48:30. > :48:33.quarterfinal, he's almost like a teenager, when he was talking about

:48:34. > :48:38.looking forward to the one-table situation, I expected him to fly in

:48:39. > :48:43.this match. I really did. For some reason, he seems to have frozen a

:48:44. > :48:55.bit on the big stage. He's not played his normal free-flowing, high

:48:56. > :49:00.break snooker. That has worked out OK. Didn't get the cannon as he

:49:01. > :49:13.intended. The white slipped away a bit. Fortunately, the red came with

:49:14. > :49:17.it. He hasn't had the best positional Schalk Burger he's going

:49:18. > :49:20.to have to leave this thread. That's to the left of the bunch for the

:49:21. > :49:27.middle pocket. He should have been playing it for right corner. As you

:49:28. > :49:32.can see, he's dead straight. It means this is a much more difficult

:49:33. > :49:40.pot. Potted a couple of cracking ones into the middle pocket

:49:41. > :49:47.yesterday. You have an automatic angle on the black to get into the

:49:48. > :49:58.reds. If this goes in. Yes, well done.

:49:59. > :50:10.They'll have to power this one. Stuck in the back of them. If on

:50:11. > :50:15.this one, it's bonus. Looked as though he was going to stick on the

:50:16. > :50:28.red and there was nothing available. If that goes, we can push through

:50:29. > :50:36.the reds. His left himself one of those shots. Year, the red, took all

:50:37. > :50:52.his attention putting the red, forgot about the positional side,

:50:53. > :50:58.really. Great shot, great shot. Terrific cueing. Look what he was

:50:59. > :51:08.leaving if he had missed it. That was excellent from Barry Hawkins.

:51:09. > :51:09.Every chance now to go to the mid-session and... Still just two

:51:10. > :51:54.behind. It's not the best shot he's ever

:51:55. > :51:56.played. Didn't really want to be having to take the cue ball through

:51:57. > :52:28.these rents. The white's closer to the cushion

:52:29. > :52:34.than he would have liked. He does cue these very well, as he proved

:52:35. > :52:40.with the Blackheath potted in comedy White tucked up on the cushion. That

:52:41. > :52:45.was never going to be a problem for Barry. 62. If he gets the red and

:52:46. > :53:08.brown, he would need one more red. Every chance now to get the first

:53:09. > :53:16.century break of this match. Barry's highest so far, 74. Very modest. At

:53:17. > :53:22.this level, having played so many frames. Ted Ginn yellow because he

:53:23. > :53:27.needs another red and colour now. That brown if he'd have knocked that

:53:28. > :53:30.in, John could still have tied, that's why he chose the yellow,

:53:31. > :53:39.because it was easier to get onto a red.

:53:40. > :53:50.He can relax now and try to make that century break Stephen

:53:51. > :53:54.mentioned. If he does go ahead and make it it'll be interesting to see

:53:55. > :53:58.the reaction from John Higgins in the next frame. It's amazing how

:53:59. > :54:02.many times when one player plays bad sometimes it can drag the other

:54:03. > :54:12.down. When one player plays well, it can inspire the other. We always

:54:13. > :54:13.say, a more John Higgins like performance in the second four

:54:14. > :54:36.frames. 65 centuries so far. In this year's

:54:37. > :54:42.World Championship. Barry's had two. It's going to be difficult to beat

:54:43. > :54:53.the record, which was last year. 86. I don't think that'll be beaten now.

:54:54. > :54:54.But a nice way to go to the mid-session interval, making the

:54:55. > :55:25.highest break of the match so far. Barry Hawkins made five centuries in

:55:26. > :55:36.one match. He is well capable of going into one. For a few frames.

:55:37. > :55:40.Earlier I thought maybe he would head to the practice room after he

:55:41. > :55:44.missed a long, straight read by a mile. You might not bother now he's

:55:45. > :55:48.finishing the session like this. Just relax in the dressing room.

:55:49. > :56:07.Because you can't do much better than this.

:56:08. > :56:29.And there we go. There is another century. The 66th century.

:56:30. > :56:39.Barry Hawkins with that magnificent break of 115 keeps himself just two

:56:40. > :56:44.friends behind. 7-5 to John Higgins. -- two frames behind. STUDIO: 66th

:56:45. > :56:48.century of this year's century, it couldn't have come at a better time

:56:49. > :56:54.for Barry Hawkins, he was staring at an 8-4 deficit. It's now 7-5. We've

:56:55. > :57:01.had three today, Mark Selby with 100 with a new tip. And 139, closing out

:57:02. > :57:06.the session. A very, very good hole so far. From John Higgins

:57:07. > :57:10.perspective he's the man who's been knocking on the centuries, he's made

:57:11. > :57:16.five in the championship and you would have bet money on that fella

:57:17. > :57:21.doing so in this match. As Stephen says, it's been a strangely subdued

:57:22. > :57:24.performance from John so far. Yeah, this tournament takes it out of you,

:57:25. > :57:30.who is to say John Higgins hasn't run out of steam about. We were

:57:31. > :57:34.discussing in the studio while the frame was going on, is there a

:57:35. > :57:39.difference between being over 40? At what age does it start to play on

:57:40. > :57:43.your mind? It take it out of you? Mark Selby is in his 30s, perhaps

:57:44. > :57:48.that is why he's coming to the forefront. Interesting point, Don

:57:49. > :57:53.will turn 42 next month and know you've had a chat with him about the

:57:54. > :57:57.progress in the last few weeks in this championship. I talked to him

:57:58. > :58:00.in the practice room. Near the end of the session yesterday he started

:58:01. > :58:05.to look tired around the eyes. He said, you're playing on vapours. He

:58:06. > :58:09.said... You don't sleep, it's the sessions, your brain is working

:58:10. > :58:13.overtime, you are waking up at 34 in the morning, you have to read for an

:58:14. > :58:20.hour. Your sleep patterns are messed about so you turn up certain parts

:58:21. > :58:23.of the day, get tired when you wouldn't normally. It's what the

:58:24. > :58:27.Crucible does. And as you get older. He won the title in his 40s, does it

:58:28. > :58:30.become more of a physical challenge? Ronnie O'Sullivan still runs,

:58:31. > :58:35.physically in good condition, but even he hasn't won a World

:58:36. > :58:38.Championship in his 40s. It's a tough ask for anybody. Barry

:58:39. > :58:44.Hawkins, that frame, very important for him not to go 8-4 behind. A

:58:45. > :58:48.black that was so miserable. Tremendous shot. From the whole

:58:49. > :58:53.perspective Barry Hawkins, he'll go back to his dressing room very

:58:54. > :58:57.relieved. A lot of life in this match. We've shown you over the last

:58:58. > :59:00.few days the brilliant table fitters beat Godwin and his team getting

:59:01. > :59:08.things ready, making bees perfect playing surfaces pristine. Where

:59:09. > :59:12.does that 72 feet of cloth come from? The truth is, from 12,000

:59:13. > :59:17.miles away. It starts with some prize of the sheep. -- prize

:59:18. > :59:32.Australian sheep. OK, this really is the very start of

:59:33. > :59:35.the process, this is the wool blend which has been put out from the veil

:59:36. > :59:40.is here. Your blending different types of oil which comes from

:59:41. > :59:46.Australia for the snooker. Deep blending process takes the

:59:47. > :59:52.competitive bales of wool, opens it up, get it has light and full of air

:59:53. > :59:56.as possible, get the fibres as well mixed and distributed as you

:59:57. > :00:04.possibly can get them. This is where it ends up, from here, it goes to

:00:05. > :00:08.the next process, carding. Loads of fine hairs, tearing fibres apart,

:00:09. > :00:13.separates them, put them into a web, fixed the web and turns it to 90

:00:14. > :00:18.degrees, does it all again. Combs it to such a degree where you have a

:00:19. > :00:25.lovely, smooth, then separate it into individual friends. Spinning

:00:26. > :00:36.takes the slope, soft yarn, and puts them in it, a twist. -- takes the

:00:37. > :00:40.slub. Each of the individual threads is put onto a big beam onto a

:00:41. > :00:45.suitable package to go into the back of the loom to start the weaving.

:00:46. > :00:48.The precision is incredible, it has to be really precisely fed or you

:00:49. > :00:54.end up with stripes in the fabric. In the weaving process you have the

:00:55. > :01:01.warp mother lengthways ones going up the table, and you put the weft

:01:02. > :01:08.across it, sideways yarns. We've taken the wool from straight off the

:01:09. > :01:11.sheep's back and converted it into a woven product ready for the

:01:12. > :01:17.finishing processes in the second half of the manufacturing.

:01:18. > :01:26.You start with a mending process, people take off Notts, and they

:01:27. > :01:32.repair imperfections in the fact, and any imperfection which stays in

:01:33. > :01:36.the fabric is a flaw. -- knots. They have all got to come off, all of

:01:37. > :01:40.those imperfections cannot go on a championship table. During washing,

:01:41. > :01:45.washing out the imperfections, the spinning oil, grease and the dirt,

:01:46. > :01:51.any impurity that comes in with a fleece, you want to get it as clean

:01:52. > :01:55.as possible. So that it is good down the line. At the moment, still a

:01:56. > :02:00.woven structure, you can see the weft, you can see the yarn. We want

:02:01. > :02:06.to get beyond two burst open, you do this with the milling process, a set

:02:07. > :02:12.of rollers, you feed the cloth through, it goes round and round for

:02:13. > :02:16.many hours, creating heat and moisture and friction, to get

:02:17. > :02:20.shrinkage, much like a willing jump on a hot wash, trying to control the

:02:21. > :02:26.shrinkage and the length and the wit, to give you the thickness, and

:02:27. > :02:33.if you go too thick, it is too slow, too thin, too fast and it will tear.

:02:34. > :02:38.After a sequence of secret processes where we create the mat, we colour

:02:39. > :02:43.it, using traditional dyeing methods that are gentle to the fabric,

:02:44. > :02:50.setting it back. Gentle dyeing process. The green colour, that we

:02:51. > :02:58.are also aware of. This goes towards the very end of the process, where

:02:59. > :03:06.all the final touches happen. The map is reduced in height over

:03:07. > :03:09.numerous passes. The number ten we have, multiple passes through the

:03:10. > :03:14.sheer, and it is cut as many times as is needed, to make it perfect.

:03:15. > :03:20.Then it is given a final inspection, then it goes through all of the

:03:21. > :03:23.vigorous testing, strength, elongated, full speed, bed speed,

:03:24. > :03:27.all of those things that are needed these days. STUDIO: Amazing how much

:03:28. > :03:33.drama and controversy can be staged on that cloth! In fact, with that in

:03:34. > :03:38.mind, frame nine, the controversy with Barry and John Higgins out

:03:39. > :03:42.there, you have had a word with the referee...? Backing the balls back

:03:43. > :03:45.up, I said, are you absolutely sure that that situation is right, he

:03:46. > :03:49.said, chalk mark down the bottom end, marked off from the chalk mark,

:03:50. > :03:53.if anything, I thought Barry was making it more difficult for himself

:03:54. > :03:57.than anything. When you have re-spotted the ball, where it is,

:03:58. > :04:01.you are adamant he could pot the ball anyway. He said, absolutely,

:04:02. > :04:04.the only thing is, John Higgins looked at it from this end of the

:04:05. > :04:08.table and sometimes when you look at it, it can make the shot looked like

:04:09. > :04:14.it doesn't pot. You cannot tell unless you are down at the baulk end

:04:15. > :04:20.area. He was adamant that the ball was pottable. Quickly talking about

:04:21. > :04:29.Mark Selby, defending champion, 9-7 up one Ding Junhui but he has a

:04:30. > :04:33.difficult afternoon, knee has to see if his quiz crown will remain in

:04:34. > :04:36.place. Only one challenger can take it away from him, and she is causing

:04:37. > :04:40.all kinds of ripples, having beaten Robin Hollyson to win the first ever

:04:41. > :04:43.qualifying match in an attempt to become the first ever woman to get

:04:44. > :04:56.here, to play at the Crucible Theatre, will -- only Rhiann Evans

:04:57. > :05:05.can potentially stop them. We are delighted to welcome the 11 time

:05:06. > :05:10.former ladies champion, miss Rhian Evans! You know the rules, you get

:05:11. > :05:15.five questions, every question... Every question that is right you can

:05:16. > :05:20.take the ball away. OK, so, and of course, you have a little bit of

:05:21. > :05:24.work to do, because one minute 18 seconds from the world number one.

:05:25. > :05:27.Very fast. For all the questions right four question. -- Reanne

:05:28. > :05:36.Evans. As long as you be Barry Hawkins. -- Pete. No pressure. You

:05:37. > :05:48.won your first ladies world title in 2005, who won it in 1995? Alison

:05:49. > :05:59.Fisher or Karen... Karen called, correct. Which city hosted the first

:06:00. > :06:05.ladies championship in 1976...? Somewhere in the north-east. Do I

:06:06. > :06:13.get multiple choice? Newcastle or Middlesbrough... Middlesbrough.

:06:14. > :06:20.Correct, well done. You were born in 1985... I didn't realise you were

:06:21. > :06:27.that old! Can you name one of the two losing semifinalists in 1985 at

:06:28. > :06:31.this World Championship in the men's World Championship. One was a

:06:32. > :06:46.good-looking bloke from Bolton, and... One looked like a vampire...

:06:47. > :06:52.Ray Reardon. Correct. Beat someone... 10-1... Ginger...

:06:53. > :06:59.Remember? Remember when Steve Davis lost 10-1 in the World Championship.

:07:00. > :07:05.Tony else. Very good, very good. What was the number one record the

:07:06. > :07:12.day that you were born, freedom, was it the power of love, Jennifer

:07:13. > :07:19.Roche, or was it every loser wins? The power of love, it was, by

:07:20. > :07:24.Jennifer Rush. I knew that one. Yumminess woman to reach the

:07:25. > :07:27.semifinals of the championship this year, the other English woman to

:07:28. > :07:36.reach the semifinals of the women's World Championship this year?

:07:37. > :07:43.Rebecca Granger. Very good! APPLAUSE Five questions right... Take away

:07:44. > :07:50.five reds. Some of the ones in the middle are quite useful to take

:07:51. > :07:56.away. This one as well. Only four... That one, yes.

:07:57. > :08:04.A little hint, start there, and then... And the time will start as

:08:05. > :08:10.soon as you hit the cue ball. One minute 18... That is the time to

:08:11. > :08:30.beat. Two minutes 18... OK, she is off to a good start. Nice control.

:08:31. > :08:39.Lovely style. Yes, very good. Keep the ball in a nice control, that is

:08:40. > :08:49.the key. That is the electric toaster, well done... (!) LAUGHTER

:08:50. > :08:54.The cuddly toy... That is the only one I wanted! LAUGHTER

:08:55. > :09:01.40 seconds, this could be a record time, come on. You are doing very

:09:02. > :09:06.very well. Come on, come on, go, go. You might have two roll it over the

:09:07. > :09:13.pocket. Quick, quick, quick, quick. Very good! APPLAUSE

:09:14. > :09:17.One minutes... You have got ten seconds to beat Mark Selby, and I

:09:18. > :09:23.can't wait to tell him. Take your time, take your time, please go

:09:24. > :09:31.in... Yes! CHEERING Yes! Yes! CHEERING

:09:32. > :09:38.Well done, fantastic! Hold on, hold on, we have to get... The official

:09:39. > :09:44.time... One minutes... Wait for it, 14 seconds! CHEERING

:09:45. > :09:51.This is more exciting than the World Championship!

:09:52. > :10:08.STUDIO: What a performance, fantastic, Reanne Evans is the

:10:09. > :10:12.champion, what about the cut on the last red, and the black as well,

:10:13. > :10:17.and-tastic, no prizes yet, just the honour of beating the men, to win,

:10:18. > :10:21.and we very much hope we will be seeing Reanne playing in the

:10:22. > :10:25.Crucible on this stage one-day, brilliant. All right. Time to meet

:10:26. > :10:31.another lady who struts her stuff with great authority and grace,

:10:32. > :10:35.backstage here in the corridors of power, always in the right place at

:10:36. > :10:42.the right time, keeps everybody in check. She is a event manager, Don

:10:43. > :10:55.Watkins. -- she is our event manager, Donna Watkins. I'm Donna

:10:56. > :11:00.Watkins, this is my sixth World Championships, I think it is just

:11:01. > :11:04.our holy Grail, you know that when you come, everybody is going to be

:11:05. > :11:12.there, your whole family turning up, and it captivates everyone. Work

:11:13. > :11:17.with the tournament director, they control everything on the table and

:11:18. > :11:28.we control everything outside of that. Lots of jobs with lots of

:11:29. > :11:32.detail. Sometimes I guess our little event office can be a hothouse of

:11:33. > :11:36.pressures and different niggles that might happen, so it can be quite

:11:37. > :11:41.tense in the moments before we are about to start playing, eyes on you,

:11:42. > :11:51.a lot of people watching a lot of things. The best thing I think about

:11:52. > :11:57.the job is... A little bit that I like, when you see a debutant come

:11:58. > :12:00.to the arena, really nice to get that realisation that that is

:12:01. > :12:11.somebody's dream, you are a very tiny pot in that, a friendly face, a

:12:12. > :12:14.useful pair of hands. We always come out for the trophy presentation for

:12:15. > :12:19.the final, we come down to the set and watch it and you can't help but

:12:20. > :12:22.feel the hairs on the back of your neck dial-up, when they hand over

:12:23. > :12:26.the trophy and that person, whether they have won it many times before

:12:27. > :12:31.or it is their first time, all of us cannot help but get emotional, and

:12:32. > :12:35.think, that is a fabulous thing to see, and knowing the players as we

:12:36. > :12:45.do in that capacity, you just feel so pleased for them.

:12:46. > :12:51.If I am on until finish, I find myself at the end of the night, when

:12:52. > :12:54.everyone else has gone I will go to the arena and did a cursory check

:12:55. > :12:58.that everything is as it should be, I will let in the players walkway

:12:59. > :13:03.and think, it is really nice to still be here, the still of the

:13:04. > :13:04.arena, a few little precious moments that I steal from myself before

:13:05. > :13:15.anyone comes in the next day. Few other sports, if any, in which

:13:16. > :13:23.the organisers, the broadcasters, the players all coexist, in a very

:13:24. > :13:26.cramped space, and all get on well. We have talked about this work,

:13:27. > :13:31.family, it seems like that, always a real pleasure to come back here and

:13:32. > :13:41.work among the whole team. And dollar is a very calm and reassuring

:13:42. > :13:45.presence, I can tell you. -- Donna. Everybody likes a try, if you have

:13:46. > :13:50.got cue problems, John will fix them!

:13:51. > :13:57.How important is it to keep your chin on the cue? Very important,

:13:58. > :14:01.John Higgins, one of the great exponents of keeping your chin on

:14:02. > :14:05.the cue, very important, helps the cue keep straight, of course, if you

:14:06. > :14:10.lift up your head, the cue can go left or right, not good, so, here is

:14:11. > :14:16.a little practice, keep your chin on the cue and play across the bold

:14:17. > :14:20.line, and if you put it unwanted, it will not come back. -- baulk line. I

:14:21. > :14:25.don't pot them like a used. Always keep your chin on the cue. Evans

:14:26. > :14:29.says, how do you put a ball with side without throwing the white of

:14:30. > :14:36.course? Side is very difficult to use! Why is it so difficult? Sort of

:14:37. > :14:41.a contradiction in terms, every time you use aside, it will throw the cue

:14:42. > :14:47.ball off course, particularly on the long distance. The tilt instance

:14:48. > :14:51.here, right hand side here, it will go left, and then the side will

:14:52. > :14:55.take, so what you have got to try and do, and this is really practice,

:14:56. > :15:01.you have got to allow for the side, if you are playing that type of

:15:02. > :15:07.shot, allow for the side to react from the baulk line. And then top

:15:08. > :15:13.spin will go straight, one goes one way, one goes the other, the final

:15:14. > :15:20.one that has come in, it says, how do I buy the right length of cue for

:15:21. > :15:23.me, from the red Mist Millers. Generally you are looking at

:15:24. > :15:28.something around the armpit area for the length of the cue, in Kevin

:15:29. > :15:37.weight case... Ripa will be the shoulder! Just because... That's not

:15:38. > :15:41.fair! LAUGHTER -- probably the shoulder. STUDIO: A

:15:42. > :15:48.bit of abuse flying around backstage, meanwhile, serious

:15:49. > :15:54.business. Barry Hawkins, all buoyed up.

:15:55. > :16:06.Back to the commentary team. COMMENTATOR: Trying to imagine can

:16:07. > :16:15.Doherty standing on top of a box... Good break shot from Barry Hawkins.

:16:16. > :16:24.And will that magnificent century break from Barry Hawkins, to spot

:16:25. > :16:38.John Higgins -- has brought John Higgins's game to life again.

:16:39. > :16:44.Stephen Hendrie mentioned in the previous round, when it goes a

:16:45. > :16:51.little bit ragged, both players tend to start missing, but when one

:16:52. > :16:53.starts to knock big breaks in, it tends to spur on the other one. --

:16:54. > :17:25.Stephen Hendry. The boys were talking about keeping

:17:26. > :17:31.your chin right on the cue, acts as a site, I suppose, I remove somebody

:17:32. > :17:36.used to say, Steve Davis winning all of those titles, it was cheeky,

:17:37. > :18:10.because he had a groove in his chin for the cue! -- sight.

:18:11. > :18:17.CO-COMMENTATOR: This little flick on the brown at the end here. Glued to

:18:18. > :19:37.the baulk Could do with a touching ball to get

:19:38. > :19:41.out the situation. John Parrott's game, tipping and tapping, they will

:19:42. > :19:46.be tipping and tapping no longer, because they have looked at each

:19:47. > :19:53.other and said, let's start again, we are going nowhere, and that is a

:19:54. > :19:58.good decision. So important, not all players, but the majority of players

:19:59. > :20:03.will keep that cue on their chins. If you players in the past, chin

:20:04. > :20:13.slightly off it, but it is a great sort of way of lining the cue up.

:20:14. > :20:17.Ireland a player from New Zealand, he had a plaster on his chin, he

:20:18. > :20:36.played with an ash cue and it used to irritate his chin.

:20:37. > :21:25.Very good effort, right on the black bear. Great wobble. Wonder if Barry

:21:26. > :21:34.will take this on and screw back for the black.

:21:35. > :21:46.Wouldn't leave anything, ran across the table. Amazing, I think there

:21:47. > :22:36.is. Difficult pot, can get through to this.

:22:37. > :22:42.Doesn't look like he will be on any thing coming down this way. I think

:22:43. > :22:44.a more confident John Higgins would have played the attacking shot into

:22:45. > :23:28.the red stare. Big target to hit. It is a snooker, but it is no

:23:29. > :23:29.problem, which ever side he chooses to go into the reds, he cannot

:23:30. > :23:52.really leave anything. Will be close. And still get back

:23:53. > :24:10.up. Towards the yellow office. -- off this.

:24:11. > :24:17.Looking to see if he can play it off the one he was close to. Maybe a

:24:18. > :24:19.possible plant that he would leave, that is what he is choosing this

:24:20. > :24:39.rather more awkward safety shot. Well played. Maybe not a snooker

:24:40. > :24:50.behind the green. Good length of the cue ball.

:24:51. > :24:54.He could knock one over the pocket, depending upon the pace his plays

:24:55. > :25:06.the safety didn't play that, might be, not

:25:07. > :25:43.quite back. Possibly a gap between the yellow,

:25:44. > :26:05.blue and pink, to glance off the reds. See it...

:26:06. > :26:14.Always looking at the angle of the pot here. Would do well to find the

:26:15. > :26:17.gap, you will have two stunned this end, to avoid the red and black,

:26:18. > :26:26.there. -- you will have Funny little shots, those. You put

:26:27. > :27:05.yourself bang in trouble. Hasn't blocked off the escape down

:27:06. > :27:15.the right side of the table, but you still have to be careful. Could play

:27:16. > :27:17.that all could go twice across the table, and land on the red, leave

:27:18. > :27:36.the question behind the black. -- or. Have two be very precise with

:27:37. > :28:12.this. Play the first shot. Has done it very nicely.

:28:13. > :28:19.This is an attempt at the pot, screwing back of the red, this is

:28:20. > :28:25.not easy, will go near the middle pocket with the cue ball as well.

:28:26. > :28:32.Quite close to the middle pocket with the cue ball... Barry Hawkins,

:28:33. > :28:42.four. What a chance for Barry Hawkins. Settle down, please. Did

:28:43. > :28:45.not anticipate the possibility of that happening, bit unlucky for it

:28:46. > :29:57.to go in but it was always on. Ab Fab superb century break just

:29:58. > :30:13.before the mid-session interval, can he continue?

:30:14. > :31:18.Yet to make a century in the semifinal two frames in front.

:31:19. > :31:28.Let the cue ball run their way little bit. That was careless, very

:31:29. > :31:33.careless. Don't know if you can get into the four reds together at this

:31:34. > :31:48.angle, has got to really nip the cue ball. Absolute perfect timing. Don't

:31:49. > :31:54.forget to pot the black as well. No, went to go round the table, forgot

:31:55. > :31:59.to pot the black. Just shows you, you take your focus away for one

:32:00. > :32:04.second, very careless positional shot, looks to be in with a chance

:32:05. > :32:17.to win the frame. Will be horrified with that. Arriva Hawkins, sat in

:32:18. > :32:24.his chair. -- Barry Hawkins. This looks like it will open up all the

:32:25. > :32:27.rates, it is an important shot. -- reds. Cracking shot that he has just

:32:28. > :33:00.played there. Lets see how John Higgins is

:33:01. > :33:29.feeling. Can he respond to that magnificent century break?

:33:30. > :33:36.Pretty good. It was an ideal to be straight at the black. This is as

:33:37. > :33:55.good as he would have done. That was a delicate screw shot to

:33:56. > :34:07.get himself on the pink, get back on the spot, much better. You could

:34:08. > :34:13.practically give John Higgins the frame from here. But the way he's

:34:14. > :34:16.playing today I wouldn't be quite so sure. Hard to see where he could go

:34:17. > :34:36.wrong. -Zilla no one knows John Higgins'

:34:37. > :34:46.game better than the gentleman sitting next to me, Stephen Hendry.

:34:47. > :34:51.I used to go to Spencer 's club, we could practice there. John turn

:34:52. > :34:58.professional 1992 and you and John were always playing together.

:34:59. > :35:01.Practising with you, Stephen, helped to get John Higgins to world number

:35:02. > :35:12.one and world champion in six seasons. He's played a careless

:35:13. > :35:15.shot. He's OK, he's on this thread. Unless he wants to follow through

:35:16. > :35:20.the cue ball of two cushions, he'll be further away from this black.

:35:21. > :35:43.Perfectly positioned. Because he was going to be further

:35:44. > :35:47.away from the black van he wanted, he screwed the cue ball back from

:35:48. > :36:12.pink. Needs another good shot with the

:36:13. > :36:20.rest. If he was to get a red and a black, Barry would need a snooker.

:36:21. > :36:25.It's not a gimme here by any means. Making sure his hands are nice and

:36:26. > :36:27.bright, he knows the importance of the next shot. In fact, he was

:36:28. > :36:48.cleaning the little extension there. You could see the focus on John

:36:49. > :36:55.Higgins face. The concentration. In his eyes. He knew the importance of

:36:56. > :37:06.that shot. Have a look at that. Well played.

:37:07. > :37:15.Just made sure of the black, 36 ahead with 35 remaining. Not quite

:37:16. > :37:33.safe yet, this frame. He didn't want the little

:37:34. > :37:39.double-kiss. He was hoping to get a snooker behind the black. He'll be

:37:40. > :37:41.pleased with that effort. But he knows the frame is far from safe

:37:42. > :38:24.just yet. That really was terrific cueing to

:38:25. > :38:32.knock that long red in. Doesn't matter about the black. Barry's

:38:33. > :38:40.thinking about it. He's nodded to the referee. John Higgins will be

:38:41. > :38:42.delighted. Barry Hawkins almost got back one behind. He opens up the

:38:43. > :39:52.three frame advantage. 8-5. Not a bad record for a player coming

:39:53. > :39:56.up to 42 years of age, Stephen. Know, those two tournaments he won

:39:57. > :40:01.this season, played magnificently. He won in China, the last frames,

:40:02. > :40:06.the last three century breaks, to beat Stuart Bingham. Then the

:40:07. > :40:15.champion of champions, beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in that. He just played

:40:16. > :40:18.out of his skin. If he can reproduce that form, he can take the World

:40:19. > :40:33.Championship. A lot of new people in the audience

:40:34. > :40:37.here at the Crucible. I met some earlier, they are from all around

:40:38. > :40:41.the world. In fact, there is a gentleman in from New Zealand, all

:40:42. > :40:46.the way from New Zealand. He promoted the tournament in 1989,

:40:47. > :40:51.when we all went out there and met Mick Hucknall, went to the concert,

:40:52. > :40:56.he came to the snooker. We'll probably meet him later. There was a

:40:57. > :41:09.lovely lady from Madrid who'd wanted to come and see the Crucible

:41:10. > :41:21.Theatre. From all over the world. And that's a beautiful site from

:41:22. > :41:27.that angle. Make sure phones are an silent, please. The referee, Paul

:41:28. > :41:44.Callier, just asking them to make sure their phones are an silent.

:41:45. > :41:49.They don't have that problem with the Masters in Augusta, mobile

:41:50. > :42:33.phones are taken off you before you go in.

:42:34. > :42:39.Nice target with a blue being knocked up there to play behind.

:42:40. > :42:50.Anywhere past those three colours, you've always got a chance of a

:42:51. > :42:53.snooker. Didn't want to knock a red over the pocket, that's why he swung

:42:54. > :43:03.the white around the angle to the yellow. John Higgins is in a good

:43:04. > :43:06.position in this match. He knows at the very worst he's going to be

:43:07. > :43:11.level after this afternoon's session. He's got three frames to

:43:12. > :43:21.play to extend this lead he's got at the moment. I keep saying, you play

:43:22. > :43:26.along, Little mini sessions, was that the way you looked at it also?

:43:27. > :43:35.Very much so, you win every session you play, the result takes care of

:43:36. > :43:45.itself. John Higgins will definitely be going for I think 10-6 at worst.

:43:46. > :43:54.After this afternoon. He'll want to win two of the remaining three

:43:55. > :44:03.frames. That in off means John can take this red one. 90% long putts

:44:04. > :44:15.this session, that's good. Is this another one? No. He didn't want the

:44:16. > :44:23.kids. Not a fluke. He got the TDK, the dreaded double-kiss. I'm

:44:24. > :44:26.surprised he played that so hard. Again, John Higgins full of

:44:27. > :44:30.confidence. You lined the cue ball up so he can play for the black. I'm

:44:31. > :44:32.very surprised he played that round the angles to come back up for ball

:44:33. > :44:54.colour. Barry, what have you done? He turns

:44:55. > :45:13.away in disgust. He'd love to have another go at that shot. He just got

:45:14. > :45:27.into it too much. That was a bit of adrenaline that he overscrewed that.

:45:28. > :45:34.That red weren't cut into the middle pocket if he can get over into the

:45:35. > :45:44.left quarter of the table. Awkward striking.

:45:45. > :45:52.We seem Shaun Murphy play the shot of the tournament, when there was a

:45:53. > :45:57.ball over the middle pocket, he came off two cushions with a tremendous

:45:58. > :46:01.amount of side, and potted it. John's thinking about a similar

:46:02. > :46:06.shot. He's only going to hit one person. You would think if he hits

:46:07. > :46:14.it. If he hits it for ball he won't pot this. Is he going to pot this?

:46:15. > :46:28.Is he going to hit it too thick? Too thick. But it's safe. Thought he

:46:29. > :46:31.might have put a bit more pace on this one because even if he potted

:46:32. > :48:21.the red, what Chuck did he have next?

:48:22. > :48:34.He's just concerned about pushing a red towards the left corner pocket.

:48:35. > :48:37.That's the reason he played that one. He hit it a little on the fixed

:48:38. > :49:18.side. -- thick side. He was so close to this. Normally it

:49:19. > :49:20.would wobble and go away. Because he was so close it just wobbled four

:49:21. > :50:56.times and stayed there. He's having to work very hard here

:50:57. > :51:03.because the pink is tied up and I think the black is also tied up into

:51:04. > :51:09.the left corner pocket. It might be a chance to do a bit of moving.

:51:10. > :51:18.There might be one will go into the left corner. Does this red go into

:51:19. > :51:23.the left corner? That is the question. They certainly couldn't

:51:24. > :51:30.have made better contact with the pink, hit it absolutely plumb.

:51:31. > :51:32.Didn't have a great angle, so wasn't able to generate the pace to openly

:51:33. > :51:48.red up. It was one of those, very tight. If

:51:49. > :51:56.you were directly behind... Because he was cutting it back, very

:51:57. > :52:57.difficult to judge the angle. He could only put it into half pocket.

:52:58. > :53:10.This is a bit of a risky one, this. I'm not too sure about that choice

:53:11. > :53:15.of shot, it's very rarely John Higgins chooses the wrong shot, but

:53:16. > :53:26.I think that was asking a little bit too much. Fortunately, that red that

:53:27. > :53:53.wobbled and went across the table ran safe.

:53:54. > :53:59.This is what happened with the red. He could quite easily have not one

:54:00. > :54:23.of those into a portable position. He was rather fortuitous there.

:54:24. > :54:33.That, for John Higgins, really is a shocker. You could count on one hand

:54:34. > :54:44.the amount of bad safety shots he plays in one event.

:54:45. > :54:51.This is what he was doing last night, Stephen. I did all of the

:54:52. > :54:56.session and he was playing some very poor safety shots. He's going to

:54:57. > :55:11.need the spider now. I think you can get to it with a

:55:12. > :55:16.normal spider. He can may be placed ahead of it in between the red and

:55:17. > :55:25.black. He's got very little to do with the cue ball. It's always a

:55:26. > :55:34.little awkward using that implement. Little bit of an awkward situation,

:55:35. > :55:38.you've got to watch you don't follow the red with the cue when you

:55:39. > :56:11.deliver it, look how close he is. Very well played. APPLAUSE

:56:12. > :56:22.Looking for an angle. Maybe a red in the middle of the bunch. If he plays

:56:23. > :56:26.for pink to write corner, he can stun one and leave it to the left

:56:27. > :56:36.corner. Otherwise he'll have to leave an angle on the black. That is

:56:37. > :56:48.his plan, play for the pink, but he has underhit that by a long way. A

:56:49. > :56:54.foot short of where he should be. Yeah, he might have to play the

:56:55. > :57:01.cannon on the other red, to have the one to the right. They slipped round

:57:02. > :57:05.the back of it. He's out of position. Unless there is a plant on

:57:06. > :57:08.there. He wanted to cannon that read because there was a red in the

:57:09. > :57:14.middle of the bunch. Now he's looking at the plant. Well, there is

:57:15. > :57:18.a little bit of distance between the two reds, I think you can make this.

:57:19. > :57:25.All of a sudden, Barry would have thought, it's the end of break, now

:57:26. > :57:30.a chance to go on and maybe take the frame if this plant comes off. He's

:57:31. > :57:33.picking the spot where you knock the first read on to the cushion, you

:57:34. > :57:36.pick a spot on the question, then send the first read on to the spot

:57:37. > :57:54.you've chosen. It should make the angle. Well played.

:57:55. > :58:06.It's a choice, black or pink, neither is easy. I think pink is the

:58:07. > :58:12.one that offers guaranteed position. Nothing to do with the cue ball.

:58:13. > :58:17.He's got a bit to do with this one, pot for black. I think I'd have

:58:18. > :58:25.prepared the pink. Harder pot but much easier for good position. That

:58:26. > :58:32.is how Barry thinks he hit that. Hit it much harder than he needed to,

:58:33. > :58:36.that was maybe a bit of tension. He knew he had to knock that income

:58:37. > :58:49.otherwise the counter attack was coming from John Higgins. Only just.

:58:50. > :58:57.He had to play it at that pace to guaranteed position. At that angle

:58:58. > :59:01.if you hit them too hard they can wobble, as it did. This time it

:59:02. > :00:04.disappeared. What a frame this would be to pinch.

:00:05. > :00:11.Still not ideal just yet. On the blue. That's why he's taking the

:00:12. > :00:15.black. If he gets nicely on the red, then the black back on the spot,

:00:16. > :00:17.that'll make things better. This looks a bit hard, he needs a little

:00:18. > :00:22.bit of good luck here. I still fancy him to get this red

:00:23. > :02:59.and he can control it to the corner. And early key frame in the

:03:00. > :03:11.semifinal. John had a chance to open up a four frame advantage.

:03:12. > :04:30.Sharing the frames, 5-3, coming into the session.

:04:31. > :04:35.When he missed an easy black off the spot, there was the chance John

:04:36. > :04:39.Higgins could have pinched it, finished a little awkwardly when he

:04:40. > :04:44.missed that one with the rest, will not be bothered about that and will

:04:45. > :04:48.not be bothered about that either. Timely work from Barry, just two

:04:49. > :04:57.behind, 8-6. STUDIO: Scrappy and attritional, how

:04:58. > :05:02.does it compare, this is final, compared with the Ding Junhui Mark

:05:03. > :05:06.Selby one. Not as good, we have to be honest, any other semifinalists

:05:07. > :05:10.beating themselves up, because they are very close to being at their

:05:11. > :05:15.absolute peak, these two are not but these are the matches you have, you

:05:16. > :05:19.cannot always be at your best, you just have to make sure you wince.

:05:20. > :05:22.What the top half of the draw potentially producing the hard

:05:23. > :05:26.journey to the final, do you think that has been backed up by the

:05:27. > :05:32.standard they have two produce? Yes, Stephen Hendry mention this, if one

:05:33. > :05:35.player gets nervy, it can rub off on the opponent. You can sense when

:05:36. > :05:41.someone is not playing it as well as they usually do. You can either get

:05:42. > :05:53.confidence or you go, here is a chance, and you get the same

:05:54. > :05:57.problem. At some stage you would want to change things, perhaps they

:05:58. > :06:00.will change their game will stop you would expect against be that one but

:06:01. > :06:04.Hawkins, he has been the distance, Nino sat to get the final. Does not

:06:05. > :06:14.make it any less important because it is scrappy, -- he knows how to

:06:15. > :06:20.get to the final. John Higgins started off like a train, looking

:06:21. > :06:23.wonderful, it is not good to end up like a carthorse, better the other

:06:24. > :06:27.way around. And you cannot make it happen, you cannot force it but

:06:28. > :06:31.competitive momentum in the second week, in the second week of the

:06:32. > :06:37.tournament, is immense, and Mark Selby looks like he's getting a head

:06:38. > :06:44.of steam, ancient way, full throttle as well. -- Ding Junhui. They have a

:06:45. > :06:48.very big couple of sessions to play tomorrow, they will be playing both

:06:49. > :06:56.morning and evening. Settle down now, please. We would love to -- we

:06:57. > :07:08.know that he would love to take a lead into that morning session.

:07:09. > :07:18.COMMENTATOR: Pull a break-off shot, to bring it up, I'd never like to go

:07:19. > :07:21.out after a friend, I like to sit there, number of times you see a

:07:22. > :07:25.player leave the arena, and come back in and you make a mess of the

:07:26. > :07:46.break-off shot, losing a bit of concentration...?

:07:47. > :07:54.Terry Griffiths was the first player who used to have to go out, had to

:07:55. > :07:55.go out, to go to the toilet, but it is the done thing now, but never

:07:56. > :08:39.ever used to leave the arena. CO-COMMENTATOR: Gasp from the

:08:40. > :08:43.audience, almost missed the black. That is why the cue ball has

:08:44. > :08:46.travelled further, straightening this red, two left middle, if he put

:08:47. > :08:59.the black in the pocket... Good recovery. Difficult angle.

:09:00. > :09:18.Left-hand side of the bunch. Into the reds. Hold the cue ball in the

:09:19. > :09:23.middle of the table. I think he is unlucky but he might just have one

:09:24. > :09:48.red, might be able to pot this and get up for the pink or blue.

:09:49. > :09:58.Looking for a blue. Going to the bunch...? I think a bit of distance

:09:59. > :10:04.between the pink and the reds... Sometimes players reluctant to play

:10:05. > :10:08.the normal shot. This is when you definitely have two hit the pink in

:10:09. > :10:13.the face. Already pointing the tip of the cue, thinking, inking a

:10:14. > :10:27.couple of shots ahead. It's the red, onto the black. Then into the bunch.

:10:28. > :10:32.Not too badly placed. Little gap. Not too difficult a pack to go into,

:10:33. > :10:37.lovely little gap, I think he is OK, if he can get the gap between the

:10:38. > :10:43.reds at the back, he will be spot on. That is where he would like to

:10:44. > :10:50.go. And he did. Absolutely perfect. APPLAUSE

:10:51. > :11:06.45. Highest break in the semifinal,

:11:07. > :11:16.break of 69. You can see that going here. Incredible after 14 frames. If

:11:17. > :11:23.someone had told me that, at the semifinal of the World Championship,

:11:24. > :11:33.John Higgins, that was his highest break up to now, I would have

:11:34. > :11:39.laughed in their face. Sometimes you just have to play the frames the way

:11:40. > :11:43.that the balls lie. Thinking about not a century break, getting to

:11:44. > :11:54.nine, guaranteeing himself a lead going into the next session. Wide

:11:55. > :12:01.target to land on the three reds there. Little bit of right-hand side

:12:02. > :12:16.will spin it up towards the reds. Not that many pots away from

:12:17. > :12:21.securing the frame. What these is the pressure is the two read safe,

:12:22. > :12:22.John does not mind that. No intention of breaking down, that is

:12:23. > :12:53.for certain. Highest break of the semifinal. More

:12:54. > :13:18.to come. It is going to need one of those to

:13:19. > :13:27.make the century. Because of where the reds are situated, big target,

:13:28. > :13:33.to play the cannon on top of them. I don't know if he has got the angle

:13:34. > :13:42.of this black. Aiming down on the cue ball. Just shows the importance

:13:43. > :13:51.of a good break off, both players left the arena, Barry came out and

:13:52. > :13:55.made a mess of the break-off shot. John Higgins has taken full

:13:56. > :14:11.advantage. Now he can play a cannon on the roads. It has gone a little

:14:12. > :14:23.awkward. 124 centuries at the Crucible Theatre, in his career.

:14:24. > :14:30.What a shame, no century break. One chance at the start of the frame,

:14:31. > :14:38.took full advantage, terrific break of 89 now extends his lead, 9-6. As

:14:39. > :14:44.I was saying, sometimes you go out, you come back in and you have lost

:14:45. > :14:49.that focus, Barry seems to... Worst break-off shot he has made in the

:14:50. > :14:53.semifinal and you cannot afford to do that under these conditions with

:14:54. > :14:56.the way that you are playing. This afternoon's session has been

:14:57. > :15:03.littered with carelessness takes for both players, captures the break of

:15:04. > :15:09.shot far too thick. And he has paid the ultimate price, he has lost a

:15:10. > :15:13.frame for it. Looking at the picture, the red, the colour on,

:15:14. > :15:20.magnificent break from John Higgins, that is the sort of thing he can do.

:15:21. > :15:23.Barry, making the century break, before the mid-session interval,

:15:24. > :15:28.that has sparked John Higgins into top form again. You cannot do any

:15:29. > :15:34.better than win the frame with one chance. That is the kind of snooker

:15:35. > :15:40.you expect from John Higgins. He is so experienced. Even though he has

:15:41. > :15:46.been far from his best, both players have been far from their best, still

:15:47. > :15:51.maintain the focus, has a chance now to have a 10-6 lead, going into the

:15:52. > :15:59.third session. Great position to put yourself in. Thank you, final frame

:16:00. > :16:07.of the session, John Higgins to break. The referee Paul Collier

:16:08. > :16:15.calls it, last frame. Put that camera away, please. Bad enough

:16:16. > :16:51.chasing it being two behind, but four frames, that is tough.

:16:52. > :17:03.He has hit that too thin. Holds his hand up to apologise. Coming back up

:17:04. > :17:08.the table. 5-2 behind, responded with a final frame of the first

:17:09. > :17:25.session with a 74 break that closed the gap to two frames.

:17:26. > :17:32.Round of applause, it that shot thin veneer intended, bonus to go up

:17:33. > :17:37.around the brown, trying to get close to the discussion. -- trying

:17:38. > :18:17.to get close to the cushion. Little bit unlucky to leave the red

:18:18. > :18:19.to get onto the black, the black was only available into one corner

:18:20. > :18:31.pocket. The red has come over with the cue

:18:32. > :18:56.ball. Going into the main bunch again now,

:18:57. > :19:17.to the left corner. Called loose reds before hitting the

:19:18. > :19:18.main bunch. Flicks off the red, there, and that causes him to lose

:19:19. > :19:43.position. Very thin and close to the red. If

:19:44. > :19:47.it misses the grain, it hasn't missed the green, had he slipped

:19:48. > :19:56.past the green, would have been perfect, now... Looking at cutting

:19:57. > :20:04.the Brownback, the white the other side of the baulk line. This is as

:20:05. > :20:14.thin as the previous red he potted. -- cutting the brown back. This is

:20:15. > :21:05.far from easy. Got a kick, got a horrendous kick.

:21:06. > :21:12.Expected Barry to pot that, John Higgins was out of his chair, he

:21:13. > :21:34.flew to the table, but he was hampered slightly there.

:21:35. > :21:41.Wasn't a confident shot at all that was played, that was the shot of a

:21:42. > :21:51.man that expects to be 10-6 down after this frame. At this distance,

:21:52. > :22:01.John Higgins has not been too reliable. Not straightforward, the

:22:02. > :22:30.black is not available, will play on the blue or pink.

:22:31. > :22:42.Will have to play a cannon, two reds close together, if he does that, he

:22:43. > :22:48.may free the black. If he had hit that a little bit harder, would have

:22:49. > :23:01.been perfect. A little bit more pace... Still a bit unlucky. Do you

:23:02. > :23:50.think he's trying in the last frame of the session.

:23:51. > :23:59.That was a chance that slipped away. Playing to cannon those two, called

:24:00. > :24:08.the one to the left of them, unlucky. Called that one first, and

:24:09. > :24:29.that is why the white is stuck in the red.

:24:30. > :24:37.Barry Hawkins, you have to find something in this frame. These long

:24:38. > :24:45.matches the difference. The difference between this frame can be

:24:46. > :24:57.huge. Come tomorrow. Find something, one last effort. That's going to be

:24:58. > :25:01.difficult. The long shots. Surely this is the chance that John wants

:25:02. > :25:23.to be 10-6 up. So important, shot to nothing. He

:25:24. > :25:28.has thought about the brown will stop fact that he started thinking

:25:29. > :25:33.about the brown, usually the first shot you see is the correct one. Now

:25:34. > :25:54.he's taking the pink. Took the bull by the horns. Thought

:25:55. > :25:58.long and hard about the pink and the brown and decided the green was the

:25:59. > :26:02.best one to guarantee position. Smelling blood, now, John Higgins.

:26:03. > :26:04.Can sense weakness in his opponent, can sense this is the time in the

:26:05. > :26:56.match to put the foot down. Doing what all great champions do,

:26:57. > :27:00.it's important, that is when they start producing their best snooker,

:27:01. > :27:01.looking ragged at the end of the last session, did not start this one

:27:02. > :27:21.very well, but now back to his best. Maybe not his absolute best, but

:27:22. > :27:34.certainly, finding the form that he wanted to guarantee this for frame

:27:35. > :27:46.lead. Doing what is required. Barry has a lot to think about before

:27:47. > :27:52.tomorrow. Slow going, this match, as far as the last two days, only

:27:53. > :28:01.playing one session per day. Tomorrow, their turn to have the

:28:02. > :28:14.double session, big day. Barry will need a very fast start tomorrow.

:28:15. > :28:22.Still needs one more already. Surprising choice from John, tricky

:28:23. > :28:37.one into the middle pocket, that is all he needs. Last positional shot.

:28:38. > :28:42.Baffled me a little bit. 65 ahead, with a possible 67. Changed his mind

:28:43. > :28:46.on the black, I thought he could have punched the black in. Just

:28:47. > :29:02.punches it and cannon the red, strange way for him to play that

:29:03. > :29:06.one. Cannon the red away. That is an edgy one, that is an edgy one! Comes

:29:07. > :29:12.away from the table smiling, he is one of the nicest lads that you

:29:13. > :29:15.could ever wish to meet, but can't believe what he has just done there,

:29:16. > :29:20.should have had Jon Snow could in behind the black. -- should have had

:29:21. > :29:34.John snookered in behind the black. Attempted the double, because that

:29:35. > :29:40.is all he needed, with the reds going up the other end of the table,

:29:41. > :29:49.that does not help Barry Hawkins, because he needs to stay on blacks.

:29:50. > :29:50.Could afford one pink, how will you get blacks and pink with the way

:29:51. > :31:27.that the reds are finishing up? Never thought about that one. Barry

:31:28. > :31:36.holds his hand up to apologise. How did he get the cue ball in tight to

:31:37. > :31:42.the yellow? Dear me. Going to play for the two reds. He's tried to pot

:31:43. > :31:46.this in the middle. Barry will have thought, that the end of this

:31:47. > :31:59.session. Look where the White has finished up. He wants to hit this.

:32:00. > :32:15.Shouldn't be a problem. The two reds are a wide target.

:32:16. > :32:25.It's a long time since he last puddled the ball. He needs four red,

:32:26. > :32:34.four black, one pink, all the colours to win by one point. Here is

:32:35. > :32:46.the pink coming up. It's bouncing too far. Any other colour's no good

:32:47. > :32:52.to him. He'll need the extended rest extension on his cue. It's a must

:32:53. > :32:57.iron pink otherwise there will be an chicks, you would feel. -- a must

:32:58. > :33:24.pot pink. Well, have a look where he has

:33:25. > :33:29.knocked the red. All of a sudden he can get up to the black, this would

:33:30. > :33:38.be one of the all-time great clearances at the Crucible if he

:33:39. > :33:49.could pull this off. Got that red over the middle pocket. Maybe have

:33:50. > :33:53.spoken too soon. He has 10-6. Make sure you get a blank with each red,

:33:54. > :34:08.if you can't get on the black, play safe.

:34:09. > :34:23.If he could win this frame, it would be one of the all-time best frames

:34:24. > :34:27.to win. You just sensed when that white went on to the yellow after he

:34:28. > :34:37.missed the red, the middle pocket, something might just turn around. To

:34:38. > :34:44.get the red next to the green is going to take some shot here. No

:34:45. > :34:50.problem here. Still he needs another cracking pot and needs to get up

:34:51. > :34:55.under the black. Hit that superbly well. He killed the pace of the cue

:34:56. > :35:10.ball when it hit the cushion. Here it comes, here comes the cue

:35:11. > :35:29.ball. To perfection. What a shot. And he's a left-hander. As you were

:35:30. > :35:36.looking at John, Barry was leaning across the table to see where he

:35:37. > :35:42.could put the cue ball. He needs to pull up a little bit, he's hit it

:35:43. > :35:52.too hard. But he's back in this final frame as he grimaces. What a

:35:53. > :36:01.frame of snooker this could turn out to be. It is already. Trying to get

:36:02. > :36:08.as close as possible to that red to make it easy to pot, cue the cue

:36:09. > :36:58.ball back down for the black. Can he find one telling safety shot?

:36:59. > :37:06.Has the green come to his rescue? I think he's got the snooker. He took

:37:07. > :37:08.a risk, Higgins, playing the red to this end of the table where the

:37:09. > :37:22.black is. The red is going to bounce. It is

:37:23. > :37:42.far from easy. Very clever shot from John Higgins,

:37:43. > :38:09.very clever shot indeed. As long as he can get a thin contact

:38:10. > :38:16.on the left-hand side of the red, it'll stay where the Brownies. He

:38:17. > :38:22.won't leave it. Don't know if they know if this right-hand pocket at

:38:23. > :38:40.this end of the table is in play, if he plays that. Pretty good shot.

:38:41. > :38:56.He's having to bridge over the brown. Difficult to control what

:38:57. > :39:00.happens here. That's pretty good because even if he can see enough of

:39:01. > :39:11.the red, there is no way he can take the pot on because there is no way

:39:12. > :39:13.up to the black. It's amazing, the change of Barry language of Barry

:39:14. > :39:18.Hawkins. At the start of the frame he looked like a man resigned to

:39:19. > :39:19.being 10-6 down, now there is something to play for. He looks

:39:20. > :39:59.focused. He could have put himself bang in

:40:00. > :40:02.trouble here, I don't know if Barry can screen behind the brown but if

:40:03. > :40:07.he can pull this shot off, we'll have a new favourite for this frame.

:40:08. > :40:14.He can go up behind the black if he wishes, but... Type in behind the

:40:15. > :40:18.brown. He's using the yellow as a snickering ball. Maybe the brown is

:40:19. > :40:23.that little bit too close to the cushion to nestle in behind. You've

:40:24. > :40:53.also got to keep the red safe. He's got the snooker, but... Done

:40:54. > :41:03.feels he can just swerve around the green. But to be careful here, if he

:41:04. > :41:11.gets enough on it. He has... Where is the red going to finish? Where is

:41:12. > :41:18.the red going to finish? Anxious looks. If the green isn't in the

:41:19. > :41:28.way, he can get up to the black. Oh, that was very fortunate. Looks like

:41:29. > :41:33.he's going to have to play a swerve around the green so he can pot the

:41:34. > :41:44.red thin enough to get the cue ball back down the table. A pretty decent

:41:45. > :42:07.effort. Pink to tie. He's just checking the scoreboard,

:42:08. > :42:11.he's got to take the pink. He's going to tie the frame and have a

:42:12. > :42:15.re-spot at black if he takes the green he's going to need one

:42:16. > :42:25.snooker. He feels he can get that snooker. I suppose he feels like

:42:26. > :42:29.he's definitely in the frame if he keeps putting. If he went for the

:42:30. > :42:38.pink and missed it, the frame is over. Can he get this cue ball in

:42:39. > :42:50.behind the brown? Not a bad effort, not a bad effort.

:42:51. > :42:53.Another fraction, typed in behind the brown, it would have been so

:42:54. > :43:12.difficult to escape from. What a frame of snooker, looked like

:43:13. > :43:15.it would be over ten minutes ago. It's turned out to be the most

:43:16. > :43:25.exciting frame of the semifinal so far.

:43:26. > :43:34.Looks like it will be the longest frame of the match. What an

:43:35. > :43:56.important one now. Now, has he given himself an angle

:43:57. > :44:03.to get in behind the brown? He would have to run this through. What a

:44:04. > :44:09.shot this would be if he could somehow get in behind the brown ball

:44:10. > :44:22.from here. It's a great effort. It's there! The last one has not blocked

:44:23. > :44:29.the easy escape route. Great attempt. Again, as you say, another

:44:30. > :44:41.half inch. It has been very missable. Where is the cue ball? I

:44:42. > :44:45.think we're all getting excited here, Stephen, in the commentary

:44:46. > :44:58.box, in the audience. It's worth watching then? It was watching than

:44:59. > :45:12.it is out there playing sometimes. He's back there again, is he?

:45:13. > :45:25.John Higgins just wants to get out here, just once this frame over. How

:45:26. > :45:28.well did he hit that? Barry was walking to the table, had a big

:45:29. > :45:42.smile on his face. That was nice to see. If it plays two cushions, I

:45:43. > :45:45.don't know if he can get in behind the green enough to send the green

:45:46. > :45:55.up the table and leave the cue ball behind the blue. It is a

:45:56. > :46:07.possibility, that, Stephen. He has the pink also as a snickering ball.

:46:08. > :46:15.He has the blue and the pink as the snookering ball! Good call, Stephen.

:46:16. > :46:19.He can get off the baulk cushion, there is enough room to go around

:46:20. > :46:37.the back of the green. He keeps getting out of these snookers.

:46:38. > :46:47.They are pretty well placed for that snooker Barry needs. If he gets the

:46:48. > :46:54.opportunity, he needs to pot the green, possibly the brown. If he can

:46:55. > :46:58.get the cue ball between the black and cushion, send the cue ball in

:46:59. > :47:17.behind the pink. He's not had the opportunity to pot that green.

:47:18. > :47:34.Has he found the gap this time? No. No gap. One question again. A little

:47:35. > :47:43.swerve. This is a bit delicate, this. Played it well. He'd love to

:47:44. > :47:46.knock that brown into a safer position because he's fed up playing

:47:47. > :48:04.in behind it. He would need to hit the blue here.

:48:05. > :48:14.It's a pretty good effort again. A very good effort again. This is not

:48:15. > :48:19.as easy as the others. He can't go the left side, the middle pocket is

:48:20. > :48:23.in the way. He can't go up and down, the blue is in the way. This is a

:48:24. > :48:28.tough one to escape from. If he comes off the baulk cushion, he'd

:48:29. > :48:33.have to swerve around the blue and have to create the angle with loads

:48:34. > :48:39.of side. What an escape this would be. He's playing it with a little

:48:40. > :48:48.swerve, loads of left-hand side, watch the white as it hits the

:48:49. > :48:58.question. Here comes the side. Not enough, not enough. He played it in

:48:59. > :49:08.such a way, John Higgins, the pace, even if he missed the snooker, it

:49:09. > :49:14.was never going to leave a pot one. It also has left Barry Hawkins was

:49:15. > :49:17.not the easiest safety shot in the world. If he can play of the

:49:18. > :49:21.right-hand side of the green, send it to the baulk cushion, bring the

:49:22. > :49:27.cue ball back up the table... Can't afford to hit it fit. And what this

:49:28. > :49:50.bottom right-hand pocket. He's been thinking about this.

:49:51. > :50:04.Doesn't like it, so he's put John back in again. What shot will John

:50:05. > :50:08.think of? If John plays this good enough, he could say, but this green

:50:09. > :50:10.on the baulk cushion, you could have Barry snookered behind pink or blue

:50:11. > :50:22.here. He's hit it all wrong, he hasn't

:50:23. > :50:33.flipped it, surely. What a fluke that is. He hit that all wrong.

:50:34. > :50:39.Barry Hawkins can't believe it. Amazing way to finish this frame.

:50:40. > :50:46.It's not quite over just yet. Look at that, 27, two snookers still

:50:47. > :51:17.needed. What a fluke that was. Brutal, absolutely brutal.

:51:18. > :51:28.If Barry did get a chance, he would pot the brown. If he potted blue, he

:51:29. > :51:33.would win with one snooker on the blue and black. John still not home

:51:34. > :51:42.and hosed yet. He doesn't want to leave brown one. Looks as if it's a

:51:43. > :51:44.good chance. He's got the snooker. That could be the end. He needs a

:51:45. > :52:10.bit of good fortune here. Is still smiling is Barry. The crowd

:52:11. > :52:14.enjoyed that. Before he came to the table for his last shot, Barry, he

:52:15. > :52:21.tapped the table to say good shot to John, it shows what a good guy he

:52:22. > :52:27.is. If John had done that against me he wouldn't have had any tops. If he

:52:28. > :52:32.pots brown and blue, look where the pink is. If he only pots brown, he

:52:33. > :52:39.could get the snooker and tie the frame. It's not over just yet.

:52:40. > :52:44.Because he can get the snooker and get a good one in behind the black.

:52:45. > :52:50.23 is the difference if John doesn't escape from the snooker. Barry would

:52:51. > :53:01.be able to tie. An amazing frame of snooker, this is. What was John

:53:02. > :53:15.Higgins doing pushing the brown over the pocket?

:53:16. > :53:35.It's the swerve again with loads of side to create the angle. Here comes

:53:36. > :53:40.the side. There is the cue ball. As I say, if he was to pot blue and get

:53:41. > :53:43.one snooker on pink, he would be able to win. He'd only get one

:53:44. > :54:13.chance, you would feel. This is not a bad effort but I don't

:54:14. > :54:18.think it's hard enough. As they say, John's got to be careful, he can cut

:54:19. > :54:24.this blew in, but if he misses it, Barry will take the opportunity to

:54:25. > :54:51.pot blue. Possibly get that one snooker on the pink to win.

:54:52. > :55:06.A bit too thick, but listen, here it comes, here comes the cue ball. Here

:55:07. > :55:15.comes the cue ball. Every credit to Barry Hawkins, keeping his hopes

:55:16. > :55:19.alive of winning this frame. I'll tell you what, they are not back

:55:20. > :55:21.until tomorrow morning but both players will have to have a lie down

:55:22. > :56:45.in a darkened room after this frame. Just over the 40 minute mark. He's

:56:46. > :56:56.looking at the potting angle. Keep one eye on the cue ball to make sure

:56:57. > :57:00.it doesn't go near a pocket. He's missed that by a proverbial mile. I

:57:01. > :57:04.think he played it with side to make sure he wasn't going near the corner

:57:05. > :57:10.pocket with the cue ball. His desperate to get this frame over

:57:11. > :57:19.with. Going back to the green he fluke, how badly did he hit it?

:57:20. > :57:27.Had to hard again but once again he has a pot here. The white is a

:57:28. > :57:32.natural to go towards the left middle pocket. John will be well

:57:33. > :57:35.aware of that. You'll have to play this with a touch of side to make

:57:36. > :57:52.sure he keeps it away from the left middle.

:57:53. > :57:57.Who everybody smiling, Barry come in the crowd. John Higgins is not

:57:58. > :58:20.smiling. He wants this frame and he wants to get out of there.

:58:21. > :58:28.At the end of the day, he's far from his best, John Higgins, today. He's

:58:29. > :58:39.won another session. Looks like it anyway. Unless Barry Hawkins can

:58:40. > :58:41.find the snooker. What if John finds the snooker. What if John Higgins

:58:42. > :59:11.finds the snooker? Almost! As I mentioned, John has to be

:59:12. > :59:20.careful, he can't just roll the blue over the pocket. Because Barry would

:59:21. > :59:27.pop that, then get the snooker. -- pot that. Now that he has hit the

:59:28. > :59:32.jaw of the middle pocket, this is a bit of a chance for Barry. It's as

:59:33. > :59:34.if he's only got one ball to snooker behind, the black, because pink is

:59:35. > :59:43.sitting in front of it. He's urging the white ones. Didn't

:59:44. > :00:08.quite get there. STUDIO: A quick announcement,

:00:09. > :00:13.eggheads is coming. It'll follow shortly at the conclusion of this

:00:14. > :00:23.frame. Got scrambled eggs here. Here we go. COMMENTATOR: I like that,

:00:24. > :00:26.Hazel, scrambled heads! I'm usually pretty calm when I'm sitting in the

:00:27. > :00:27.commentary box, I'm sitting here with my hands perspiring because of

:00:28. > :00:50.what has happened in this frame. 49 minutes and 12 seconds is the

:00:51. > :00:51.longest frame, that was Judd Trump and Rory McLeod. This is the third

:00:52. > :01:54.longest frame so far. That could be the one, he hit it far

:01:55. > :01:57.too thin. Coming up to 46 minutes. It was an unbelievable frame of

:01:58. > :02:04.snooker that could have been over 20 minutes ago. But Barry Hawkins was

:02:05. > :02:16.brilliant. It'll be a very relieved John Higgins, it has to be said. He

:02:17. > :02:23.did start playing much better. But every credit to Barry Hawkins for

:02:24. > :02:28.the battle he put up on that frame. The four-time champion will be

:02:29. > :02:32.delighted, he takes the session 5-3, extends his lead 10-6 frames.

:02:33. > :02:37.STUDIO: His four in front but John Higgins has been ragged,

:02:38. > :02:42.unpredictable, most unlike Higgins. They look completely frazzled after

:02:43. > :02:47.that session. Yes, but ultimately he is still a match player. He hasn't

:02:48. > :02:51.been at his best. When it 8-6 and he needs to win to map a important

:02:52. > :02:55.frames, he wins them. Barry Hawkins has never been more than two frames

:02:56. > :03:00.down until this point, a big ask to go in with two more sessions to play

:03:01. > :03:07.tomorrow. Higgins hasn't played that great. He's lost 5-3, not good for

:03:08. > :03:11.Barry Hawkins. I'm glad you stayed with us for that one. Jason will be

:03:12. > :03:15.back on the air shortly, 7pm, with the third session between Mark Selby

:03:16. > :03:20.and Ding Junhui. 9-7 the defending champion leads. This is a cracking

:03:21. > :03:38.match, well worth catching Jason four at 7pm. Goodbye for now.

:03:39. > :03:43.You are not a fun person to share a trishaw with.

:03:44. > :04:07.MUSIC: Pure And Simple by Hear'Say It's like old times!

:04:08. > :04:10.You look fantastic! I look ridiculous.

:04:11. > :04:12.Ready to take on the new series of Car Share?

:04:13. > :04:21.Then book a look, as Series 2 is now available in full

:04:22. > :04:24.The country's best chefs go head-to-head...