Day 4, Afternoon Session

:00:34. > :00:43.Good afternoon. How are you doing? Are you ready for another general

:00:44. > :00:49.election campaign, or are you ready for some snooker before

:00:50. > :00:52.concentrating on that? Well, this is condemn four of the World

:00:53. > :00:56.Championships in Sheffield. When we started on Saturday, there were

:00:57. > :01:00.eight champions of the world in the draw. The origin of them have

:01:01. > :01:04.already gone through to round two. But if there is to be a new name on

:01:05. > :01:11.the trophy this year, the man best fancied for that starts his campaign

:01:12. > :01:17.today. He has a powerful game - and a powerful name. And finally, one of

:01:18. > :01:48.the most exciting players of his generation, Judd Trump!

:01:49. > :01:56.Well, Judd Trump has been a likely lead for World Championship success

:01:57. > :02:01.since he turned up here a decade ago as a 17-year-old. Since then he has

:02:02. > :02:07.been a runner-up and has twice made it to the semifinal. But the bookies

:02:08. > :02:10.at least reckon he's the big name who is going to emerge from the

:02:11. > :02:18.bottom half of the draw this year. The world number two's never enjoyed

:02:19. > :02:24.a more successful season, with two titles and five finals in all - he's

:02:25. > :02:28.champing at the bit! He faces the oldest man in the glaucoma

:02:29. > :02:40.46-year-old Ronnie McLeod, back at The Crucible after a six-year wait.

:02:41. > :02:43.Liang Wenbo is also here. But opponent Stuart Carrington will not

:02:44. > :02:48.be fazed. He has beaten Mark Williams in qualifying. And it

:02:49. > :02:56.wouldn't be the World Championships if Ronnie O'Sullivan wasn't the man

:02:57. > :03:04.creating headlines. And so, these are our live matches from half past

:03:05. > :03:11.two this afternoon. Ding is in a very commanding as shown in his

:03:12. > :03:18.match against Zhou Yuelong. And then Judd Trump, in his eighth appearance

:03:19. > :03:23.here at Sheffield. But with seven world titles between them, we are in

:03:24. > :03:27.excellent hands today, with Steve Davis and Peter Ebdon. And these

:03:28. > :03:30.gentlemen had a fantastic evening on duty last night. If you stayed to

:03:31. > :03:36.watch it on the red button with Jason, it was fantastic stuff. This

:03:37. > :03:43.is Scottish Open winner Marco Fu staging nothing short of a miracle

:03:44. > :03:53.comeback, from 7-1 behind to pinch it in the deciding frame against

:03:54. > :03:58.Luca Brecel. And on the adjacent table, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen

:03:59. > :04:03.was also pushed all the way by world number 39 Jimmy Robertson. Mark

:04:04. > :04:09.Allen summoned all of his experience to take it, finishing off with a 97.

:04:10. > :04:16.But it was a really tough work-out for Mark. So, what a session of

:04:17. > :04:20.snooker. And Marco Fu's comeback has to go down as one of the greatest

:04:21. > :04:25.missable turnarounds in history. Steve, you were commentating on it,

:04:26. > :04:31.what did you make of it? Just a typical bread-and-butter first-round

:04:32. > :04:36.match, but what a great match to win, from the seed's perspective. We

:04:37. > :04:40.have got used to Marco Fu over the last few years so we expect him to

:04:41. > :04:44.play well but he was really in a whole at 7-2 behind. Luca Brecel

:04:45. > :04:51.might be thinking this morning, what did I do wrong? I'm not sure. And

:04:52. > :04:56.Marco Politi, am I dreaming, afterwards. Well, he's not. But how

:04:57. > :05:01.do you explain the turnaround between the first session and the

:05:02. > :05:05.second? Quite a few of the players have said to me, sometimes Marco Fu

:05:06. > :05:07.can throw in a performance like he did in the first session. I

:05:08. > :05:10.personally have never seen him do that bad before. He was a completely

:05:11. > :05:15.different player in the second session, the player that we see so

:05:16. > :05:21.often. Very close cue ball control, never more than 2ft away, scoring

:05:22. > :05:26.very heavily, and when he got his tail up, he was incredible. I felt

:05:27. > :05:31.sorry for Luca Brecel, he did not do much wrong. Let's not forget, he

:05:32. > :05:33.played his part in a truly memorable match, and that's certainly one of

:05:34. > :05:38.the greatest comebacks in Crucible history. He did make some

:05:39. > :05:44.interesting comments in the studio with Jason afterwards, when he

:05:45. > :05:48.revealed that his coach said, do you believe you can win, not just this

:05:49. > :05:53.match, but the title, and was an interesting response? Yes. It

:05:54. > :05:57.sounded as if perhaps he didn't want to overplay his chances. But he

:05:58. > :06:01.sounded as if he did not really believe he could win the tournament.

:06:02. > :06:05.I said to him, what are you talking about? You are a potential world

:06:06. > :06:08.champion, and certainly he's got the game to be just that. When Marco Fu

:06:09. > :06:14.is playing at the best of his ability, he's capable of beating

:06:15. > :06:21.everybody - and he's beaten all of them. We were talking about this

:06:22. > :06:24.before we came on air. But during my heyday, I didn't really think about

:06:25. > :06:28.winning the tournament but I just thought about the next match. So I

:06:29. > :06:33.was positive about the next match but I was not looking that far

:06:34. > :06:36.ahead. So perhaps he has not even thought about it, he's just playing

:06:37. > :06:42.one session at a time. Who knows? And also we saw Mark Allen getting

:06:43. > :06:46.across the line, but I think Jimmy Robertson's performance summed up

:06:47. > :06:49.what the qualifiers have done. Everybody has given their opponent a

:06:50. > :06:55.really tough time so far, with the exception of one or two. These guys

:06:56. > :07:02.are match sharp coming into the tournament? Absolutely. It's very

:07:03. > :07:08.difficult to win three best of 19s without being sharp. Conditions are

:07:09. > :07:13.very difficult down there, the medals were really, really small,

:07:14. > :07:16.the tables were totally different, but the players are match sharp, and

:07:17. > :07:21.though going to give a great match to any of the seeds. I think that

:07:22. > :07:24.work-out is steadily adding to the quality of the snooker than we have

:07:25. > :07:27.seen in the first round. And we've seen some good stuff as well in the

:07:28. > :07:31.match that you may have been watching earlier on BBC Two, because

:07:32. > :07:35.we've got four-time champion John Higgins up against Martin Gould.

:07:36. > :07:39.Martin is the highest ranked of any of the qualifiers. This was expect

:07:40. > :07:44.it to be a tough one for John. But in the first section, he went to a

:07:45. > :07:51.7-2 advantage and we can now bring you up to date with what happened

:07:52. > :08:01.from tone and this morning. -- from 10am this morning.

:08:02. > :08:07.JOHN PARROTT: I'll turn you what, he'll settle for that. We have not

:08:08. > :08:11.seen many centuries better than this.

:08:12. > :08:25.JOHN VIRGO: Very well played, Martin Gould. Wow! What a pot that was!

:08:26. > :08:35.Wonderful shot, wonderful! He's three behind, but you could say,

:08:36. > :08:46.match on. Beautifully stuck. Top-drawer, that's why he's the

:08:47. > :09:00.champion he is. Wonderful! He was trailing 7-2 - it's now 8-5. Oh, you

:09:01. > :09:04.can't miss the blue, Martin! He's now one frame away from a place in

:09:05. > :09:09.the second round. And that's where we will pick it up. John Higgins

:09:10. > :09:14.needing just one more frame for a place in the second round. Would he

:09:15. > :09:29.get it in frame 15? Let's find out, with John Virgo and John Parrott.

:09:30. > :09:38.JOHN VIRGO: John Higgins would love to win this frame, because Martin

:09:39. > :09:45.Gould has certainly put him under a little bit of pressure this morning.

:09:46. > :09:52.Martin in a situation where you can't afford to make a mistake,

:09:53. > :10:17.basically. He's taking this on - needs to get it... Solid!

:10:18. > :10:24.We always say, you don't settle until you get your first frame on

:10:25. > :10:32.the scoreboard - and it took a long time. The reason I don't look for

:10:33. > :10:37.90% on long pots is, some of them are played as a shock to nothing. --

:10:38. > :11:07.as a shot to nothing. Well, he didn't play that cannon,

:11:08. > :11:32.but he's done well there. We say sometimes for people in this

:11:33. > :11:35.position, you've got to play no-miss snooker. Otherwise you will be going

:11:36. > :11:47.home. He's playing the run-through, which

:11:48. > :11:51.surprises me, because that doesn't go in the opposite corner. Or maybe

:11:52. > :12:10.it does. Yes, it does. I know what you mean, though, it's

:12:11. > :12:16.quite tight, isn't it? There can't be much margin of error.

:12:17. > :12:33.Did well. He has got a bit of work to do with the cue ball. I'm going

:12:34. > :12:34.to say the black doesn't go in that pocket. I think you're right with

:12:35. > :12:51.that one! It would be easy if the pink goes

:12:52. > :13:58.into the left middle - I'm not sure it does.

:13:59. > :14:03.The way these two have been scoring this morning, you would probably

:14:04. > :14:21.think this is frame over. Brilliant break in the last frame

:14:22. > :14:22.from John Higgins, and Martin Gould looks like he's in here as well.

:14:23. > :15:18.High-quality stuff. Just a little bit 'twixt and between

:15:19. > :15:29.here. Because he stand it, he got a little bit too close to the black

:15:30. > :15:46.there. -- because he stunned it. He played that well.

:15:47. > :15:58.We saw the 17-year-old playing yesterday. Martin, now at the ripe

:15:59. > :16:00.old age of 36. It seems not to be a barrier to winning tournaments. We

:16:01. > :16:07.saw Anthony Hamilton in his 40s winning the tournament this year.

:16:08. > :16:14.Mark King. Yes, I haven't seen a chance to see Anthony - very well

:16:15. > :16:22.done, really pleased for you. And I spoke to Mark King of the won, and

:16:23. > :16:29.he was still in delirium a couple of weeks afterwards. Yeah, and it was

:16:30. > :16:34.great for his father, Bill, as well. You know what it's like, the family,

:16:35. > :16:41.they follow you, they suffer all the heartbreak. To get that victory and

:16:42. > :16:48.see those reactions... Just this red and a colour required. And he's

:16:49. > :16:53.keeping his hopes alive. When given a chance, Martin, he has been

:16:54. > :16:58.scoring. So he will keep John Higgins on his toes, that's for

:16:59. > :17:02.sure. I've been very impressed with Martin Gould this morning, his

:17:03. > :17:13.attitude, his commitment and his play. Yeah, very good. Some

:17:14. > :17:22.similarities with the Marco Fu match yesterday. He was 7-1 down at one

:17:23. > :17:32.point com came back to win, incredible result. Different kettle

:17:33. > :17:40.of fish coming back against John Higgins. Luca, great player though

:17:41. > :17:45.he is, you will get more chances with him than you will with John

:17:46. > :17:50.Higgins. I think Marco Fu lost the first five frames, a similar story,

:17:51. > :17:52.and all of the sudden you're playing catch-up. And you start to question

:17:53. > :18:07.everything you're doing. It's not going to go in the but it

:18:08. > :18:14.won't matter. John stays in his seat. Very good contribution from

:18:15. > :18:19.John Gould. He's still up against it, still three behind, and John

:18:20. > :18:21.Higgins, one frame away from winning the match.

:18:22. > :18:24.HAZEL IRVINE: Another good break to go with two centuries that he made

:18:25. > :18:30.earlier in the match. And Martin Gould still hasn't given up hope. In

:18:31. > :18:37.the frame 16 we go, and it's Martin at the table.

:18:38. > :18:55.JOHN VIRGO: Well, well! I thought that had stopped in the jaws for a

:18:56. > :19:01.second! Thank goodness for gravity! JOHN PARROTT: Well, I bet his heart

:19:02. > :19:06.shipped beat the man she for all the world, it look like it was going to

:19:07. > :19:19.stay on the jaws. The cloths here are still so new.

:19:20. > :19:27.I know it struggled in, but fair play to him for playing it that way,

:19:28. > :19:32.it was the only way he could get on a colour, by rolling it in dead

:19:33. > :19:39.weight. It was a brave shot, with the scoreline as it is. But I still

:19:40. > :19:50.don't know how it went in. And it did - even on the replay!

:19:51. > :19:57.Obviously, Martin could do with getting an angle on baulk colour

:19:58. > :20:11.here. He really does need to get that pink

:20:12. > :20:17.and black in play. The funny thing is, the blue was actually being a

:20:18. > :20:22.bit of a problem if where it was. Although this will help, get the

:20:23. > :20:29.blue back on its spot, that will be something. And then he can pot red,

:20:30. > :20:41.up to the blue, and then he can play a cannon. And, John, if you play

:20:42. > :20:46.that cannon, you get into the pink, the black will move reds about. So,

:20:47. > :21:14.a Chansiri. -- so, a chance here. When it then like this, you can't

:21:15. > :21:19.inject a lot of pace in the shot. Off the green, he's going to have to

:21:20. > :21:30.play a good positional shot for the next red.

:21:31. > :21:48.Once again, struck that beautifully. So, he's got a shot with the rest

:21:49. > :21:55.now. Surely the pink and black don't pot... He would like to keep that

:21:56. > :22:19.success rate going with the rest. He's played for the baulk colour.

:22:20. > :22:26.Now, here's his chance. And he could not be better situated now. This is

:22:27. > :22:31.an ideal opportunity. In an ideal world, you would like to just hit

:22:32. > :22:34.the black half-ball and then run into the reds. That is the shot that

:22:35. > :22:50.John was referring to. Well, that does surprise me. The

:22:51. > :22:51.only thing I can think is, maybe he's going to play it the other way

:22:52. > :23:08.off the blue. He's got to go now, if he doesn't,

:23:09. > :23:13.I'll never believe it. He'll go now. Fair play to him. He's still

:23:14. > :23:29.thinking clearly. Well, I'll never believe it, you've

:23:30. > :23:43.GOT to go into the pink and black there. John the wrong choice. --

:23:44. > :23:59.yeah, the wrong choice. You can chip as white as long as you like, but...

:24:00. > :24:12.-- you can chip away. First decision this morning where he has just got a

:24:13. > :24:30.little bit negative. He's potted it - is he on a colour?

:24:31. > :24:42.You always feel with these, you would rather play them into the

:24:43. > :24:53.middle. But there's pressure on this.

:24:54. > :25:14.No. Well, a disappointing end there for Martin. He made the wrong shot

:25:15. > :25:20.choice and it caught up with him in the end. It's a strange one as well,

:25:21. > :25:24.because he's been so positive this morning. He had to go into that pink

:25:25. > :25:36.and black. And now, that last shot he played

:25:37. > :25:42.has now made the pink and black pottable for John! All in all, that

:25:43. > :26:08.was a bit of a shocker. We said that he had to play no-miss

:26:09. > :26:19.snooker - and missing that brown could be so, so costly. Will his run

:26:20. > :26:38.in the Betfred World Championships end there? It could well do.

:26:39. > :26:47.He's always have a wonderful way of finishing of matches, John Higgins.

:26:48. > :26:49.He knows how to get over the line. He has done this hundreds of times

:26:50. > :27:10.before. Can he do it again? Looks to have the perfect angle on

:27:11. > :27:20.the pink, the stun it in and play for the red in the same pocket.

:27:21. > :27:22.Still got a little bit of work to do, it's not a formality that he

:27:23. > :27:43.will win the frame from here. He played a little cannon there and

:27:44. > :27:50.put the reds into pottable positions. His intention was to get

:27:51. > :28:03.them out into the open as soon as possible. Still a bit more to do.

:28:04. > :28:09.Yeah, just the wrong angle on the pink.

:28:10. > :28:41.Obviously, the brown is a slight problem in this break. He will want

:28:42. > :28:52.to move that at some stage so that the red will be pottable into that

:28:53. > :29:09.corner. Still needs another 27 points.

:29:10. > :29:15.'S has played nicely, it is grew up with a bit of force to get the right

:29:16. > :29:24.side of the pink, so when he plays the stun keys on the red above the

:29:25. > :29:34.black. Maybe he will just play on the road here. I think he will have

:29:35. > :29:38.to play on the ground. Just got to be careful here when he plays the

:29:39. > :29:49.cannon, doesn't want to leave himself too thin on the brown.

:29:50. > :29:58.APPLAUSE That was about the best he could

:29:59. > :30:02.play that, John. May just be able to play a little screw back here and

:30:03. > :30:10.play the red in the same pocket. A beer on brown. APPLAUSE

:30:11. > :30:19.-- maybe a cannon on the brown. The only downside is he slightly

:30:20. > :30:24.hampered by the brown. The other thing is that he'd like to have got

:30:25. > :30:33.the brunt onto its own spot to make the clearance a bit easier. It's

:30:34. > :30:43.although he will be past the winning post by them, I think John has taken

:30:44. > :30:49.these well, hasn't he? Really well. Martin Gould had a chance. Just

:30:50. > :30:55.question his shot selection at a vital time. He's going to need good

:30:56. > :31:04.cueing for this. These can be missed. Red undercover required.

:31:05. > :31:23.In it goes. Flicked the yellow. That will do nicely. This yellow will put

:31:24. > :31:30.him 28 points in front with 27 remaining. Martin Gould's race looks

:31:31. > :31:35.to have been run. I have to say that if Martin Gould played other players

:31:36. > :31:40.this week, he'd be knocking some of them out of the way he's played this

:31:41. > :31:46.morning. He played very well this morning and I give him credit for

:31:47. > :31:49.it. We question some of the shots anti-should have been more

:31:50. > :31:53.aggressive in this frame but he's giving John Higgins a little bit of

:31:54. > :32:00.a fright and John Higgins will be very relieved now just to add the

:32:01. > :32:12.finishing touches to this match. He's had to work hard to day. He's

:32:13. > :32:19.made two outstanding breaks. This one to win the match has been

:32:20. > :32:23.brilliant. Started off of these and well, one maxi tournaments, had a

:32:24. > :32:27.bit of a low but he certainly proved early on in the season that he could

:32:28. > :32:32.still produce the goods and he's produced it here and gone all the

:32:33. > :32:38.way four times before. Who's to say he can't make it five? The handshake

:32:39. > :32:43.and Martin Gould saying well played and best of luck for the rest of the

:32:44. > :32:46.tournament. Every credit to Martin Gould, did really well, sure the

:32:47. > :32:50.real good attitude and he'll be back for more, that's for certain but

:32:51. > :32:57.John Higgins is now safely through to the second round. He wins 10-6.

:32:58. > :33:02.The scoreline says a relatively comfortable but a little puff of the

:33:03. > :33:05.cheeks there, he made you want for it a bit today what might I'm

:33:06. > :33:06.surprised he didn't play like that in the first session. I was just

:33:07. > :35:21.trying to keep him pretty tight. This is your 23rd year, such a

:35:22. > :35:28.special place, do you still feel the nerves? Yes. I'm proud of myself,

:35:29. > :35:35.really, as you say, I played against Mark Allen in 2009, eight years ago,

:35:36. > :35:39.and he has gone on to be a top, top player, I'm proud I am still in

:35:40. > :35:43.there against the best players. When you get past 40, supposedly you're

:35:44. > :35:49.on the downward curve of your career. But I still feel OK about my

:35:50. > :35:56.game. Still in it to win it. Good luck in that second round match.

:35:57. > :36:02.Thanks. And Rob underlining the longevity of John Higgins' career.

:36:03. > :36:08.He turns 42 in May. And he's still the world number six, Peter. It is a

:36:09. > :36:12.fantastic career? Incredible career. Without a shadow of a doubt, he's

:36:13. > :36:16.one of the greatest match players, one of the greatest players and

:36:17. > :36:20.ambassadors, we've ever seen. I wouldn't be so priced at all if he

:36:21. > :36:26.is still at the top of the game in ten years' time if he wanted to be.

:36:27. > :36:29.That is quite a statement. But right now, he's focusing on being the only

:36:30. > :36:34.man in his 40s to take the title since Ray Reardon in 1978. He

:36:35. > :36:41.retains that really high scoring touch. Has that been, for you, one

:36:42. > :36:46.of his chief assets over the years? Yeah, and also his all-round ability

:36:47. > :36:50.and matchplay. It strikes me that whilst you can have longevity in the

:36:51. > :36:54.game by working hard and dedication, your natural ability also can

:36:55. > :37:00.outlast your years, so to speak. If you look at the 1980s players, the

:37:01. > :37:03.one who is still on the circuit is arguably the one with the most

:37:04. > :37:06.natural ability, Jimmy White is still in there fighting. So that

:37:07. > :37:11.natural ability can keep you going for longer. When you look at the

:37:12. > :37:15.great players of the modern-day era, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins,

:37:16. > :37:19.Mark Williams, those class animals, and natural ability animals, are the

:37:20. > :37:23.ones who are still giving it a go into their 40s, when it is

:37:24. > :37:29.considered, for some reason, at the age of 40, I certainly went a bit

:37:30. > :37:33.downhill, started to go! And we were supposed to have some natural

:37:34. > :37:38.ability as well, in our own way. But it does seem that Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:37:39. > :37:42.for certain, if he wants to, but also last a long time, into his

:37:43. > :37:47.fifties. John talking really confidently, and it strikes me that

:37:48. > :37:50.if he's talking a confident game coming into the World Championships,

:37:51. > :37:53.he's a very dangerous player. He's got Mark Allen, a match which is in

:37:54. > :37:57.the bottom half of the draw. Yesterday we spoke about the top of

:37:58. > :38:02.the draw, and in the top half, you've got some very, very powerful

:38:03. > :38:06.players, Mark Selby, Robertson, Murphy and the rest. All the danger

:38:07. > :38:15.men. But if we look at the bottom half of the draw... There are

:38:16. > :38:19.obviously no easy matches at the Crucible but you have former

:38:20. > :38:24.champions Bingham, Judd Trump, the current inform player. They are the

:38:25. > :38:28.names that leaked out at you. You have perennial Crucible performers

:38:29. > :38:32.like runners-up Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins and former champion Graeme

:38:33. > :38:35.Dott and the very dangerous Stephen Maguire. What's your assessment of

:38:36. > :38:38.how tough it is quick to be to come through to this half?

:38:39. > :38:45.Certainly not an easy half, really tough. John Higgins there as well.

:38:46. > :38:51.One of the greatest players of all time. The player that I practice

:38:52. > :38:56.with is Kyren Wilson and he's just a phenomenal talent. We've seen

:38:57. > :39:01.nowhere near the level of capability so far of what he's capable of and I

:39:02. > :39:04.would be very surprised if he's not world champion within the next three

:39:05. > :39:08.years, maybe it's his year but there are other top players. Ali Carter

:39:09. > :39:12.will have every chance, so it's going to be a fascinating

:39:13. > :39:15.tournament. Could be time for a new champion to leap out of the bottle

:39:16. > :39:22.mouth and the bookmakers fancy Judd Trump. To say that the top half of

:39:23. > :39:27.the draw is stronger than the bottom half disregards some monstrously

:39:28. > :39:33.good players. I'd have to say I'm pleased I don't play any more

:39:34. > :39:38.because I'd get nowhere. Just bombardment of quality. It's all

:39:39. > :39:43.good for us and bodes well for the next few days here in Sheffield.

:39:44. > :39:47.We'll see Judd Trump about 2:30pm but we've been watching a

:39:48. > :39:51.fascinating match on the other table this morning in the ten o'clock

:39:52. > :39:56.session. Liang Wenbo, China's firecracker, the English open winner

:39:57. > :40:00.against Stuart Carrington. Stuart is a former pop like when and the

:40:01. > :40:05.Crucible, 11 years ago and this is his second go at the big-time at the

:40:06. > :40:10.Crucible. He beat Mark Williams to be here and not short on confidence.

:40:11. > :40:15.The man from Grimsby. We watched Liang Wen met the first two frames

:40:16. > :40:20.this morning on BBC Two, Carrington has come back to level things at the

:40:21. > :40:23.mid-session, so we're going to join them again in frame five in the

:40:24. > :40:28.company of Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor. Liang Wenbo looks more

:40:29. > :40:45.nervous now than Stuart Carrington. Vali everything has turned around

:40:46. > :40:50.since that Mr brown. That last shot helped being six feet tall to go

:40:51. > :40:55.right over the pack. That was quite a stretch but he's a tall lad,

:40:56. > :41:25.Stuart. I think you and I would have struggled with that last shot.

:41:26. > :41:33.There's a red at the bottom of the pack but I think he's nicely on the

:41:34. > :41:37.black just to screw up for that. There you see it but he has a nice

:41:38. > :41:47.angle if he wants to go into the reds here. Rio just played and

:41:48. > :41:55.measured little cannon, played it very nicely indeed. Had to hit that

:41:56. > :41:59.red almost full ball. With a nice angle on this thread. He can Poppi

:42:00. > :42:01.this thread and go to the bottom of the pack and bring some more loose

:42:02. > :43:29.reds into play. He had to hit it into that side of

:43:30. > :43:35.the pocket so he could get on this black nicely. If the red went into

:43:36. > :43:38.the middle of the pocket, the cue may have collided into a couple of

:43:39. > :43:51.the reds from the pack. Decided to go into the rounds that

:43:52. > :44:09.time and it's OK. Won't be able to hold for black

:44:10. > :44:11.year, so we'll maybe go for the blue or baulk colour. The reds are split

:44:12. > :46:52.now. That's not bad. All of a sudden

:46:53. > :46:56.Stuart Carrington starting to look very comfortable. Breaks of 55 and

:46:57. > :47:02.63 to draw level after missing the sitter in the second frame. He

:47:03. > :47:08.certainly should have made it 1-1 but that's all long gone and he's

:47:09. > :47:20.starting to relax and play his natural game out there. Liang Wenbo

:47:21. > :47:28.has a tough match on his hands now. He's missed a few fairly

:47:29. > :47:32.straightforward balls has Liang and he knows he's got to have set up his

:47:33. > :47:39.game because he's up against an opponent and starting to cue very

:47:40. > :47:41.nicely indeed. Still got quite a view to pot to secure this fifth

:47:42. > :48:29.frame. It didn't go into the middle of the

:48:30. > :48:41.pocket and subsequently he's not on the top side of the blue.

:48:42. > :48:51.There's a slight angle he can run the cue ball in with a lot of top

:48:52. > :49:02.spin and in and out of baulk. Decided against that, he wants to

:49:03. > :49:05.play the red from middle distance. You'd have to say if he gets this

:49:06. > :49:16.and gets on the black it will be a frame-winner. He's going to need

:49:17. > :49:23.that little extension on the bottom of the cue. He's quite a tall lad,

:49:24. > :49:31.over six feet tall, having to get to the blue area to reach that. This is

:49:32. > :49:38.a wee bit uncomfortable. Being hampered slightly as well. If he

:49:39. > :49:46.reaches down the other side of the table, the yellow will be slightly

:49:47. > :50:17.in the way. Pot just slightly more difficult this site.

:50:18. > :50:29.Very good pot under the circumstances. It was important to

:50:30. > :50:31.knock that one end. He needs a few more reds with colours to make

:50:32. > :50:58.absolutely sure. I know he's only been to the

:50:59. > :51:06.Crucible once before. A couple of years ago he lost 7-6 to Judd Trump

:51:07. > :51:14.Van Dijk can't remember if he made a century in that match, I'm not sure.

:51:15. > :51:19.There is every chance of a century here. He's finished a little bit

:51:20. > :51:23.straight on the black but the reds near the pink spot, still one of

:51:24. > :51:24.them available to the left middle pocket if he's dead straight on the

:51:25. > :52:32.black. Worth another look. The highest

:52:33. > :52:44.break when he played was a break of 99. So, the frame is safe, can he

:52:45. > :53:02.make his first Crucible century here?

:53:03. > :53:16.No distractions, no noise because of play has finished on the other

:53:17. > :53:20.table. Lights out on the other table and that dividing wall will be up

:53:21. > :53:34.after this frame. This is excellent from Stuart

:53:35. > :53:46.Carrington. He was all at sea at the beginning of the match. Lost a

:53:47. > :53:51.little bit of focus on confidence. Showing everyone here just how well

:53:52. > :53:56.he can play. This yellow will equal his previous highest. I'm sure

:53:57. > :54:04.there's a lot more to come and this has been an amazing turnaround.

:54:05. > :54:22.Amazing how one ball can just completely sway the match. That was

:54:23. > :54:25.the brown ball. Well played. The first Crucible century of his

:54:26. > :54:35.career. The 17th century of his career. At this year's World

:54:36. > :54:39.Championship, will the record be beaten? 86 centuries is the record

:54:40. > :55:01.that was equalled last year. Superb from Stuart

:55:02. > :55:07.Carrington. He has come charging back. 55, 63 and a century break and

:55:08. > :55:14.he leads Liang Wenbo 3-2. REFEREE: Thank you, frame six.

:55:15. > :56:45.Stuart Carrington to break. Very possible long part here. Gap

:56:46. > :57:09.between black and red as well. Nice pot. I bet they say. Needs to

:57:10. > :57:15.slow up or get a little kiss on the yellow. Just enough. Found the gap

:57:16. > :57:49.between the black and the red. I think the pink will pot. Doesn't

:57:50. > :57:56.look like he has the angle to get to the top side of the blue unless he

:57:57. > :57:58.has quite a lot of left-hand side, I think he may be able to take the

:57:59. > :58:20.pink. Has he got enough angle on this

:58:21. > :58:26.pink. Slight angle to try and bring some reds into play but also has the

:58:27. > :58:54.insurance of the red to the left centre.

:58:55. > :59:20.Didn't feel like he had enough of an angle on the pink.

:59:21. > :59:29.DENNIS TAYLOR: He has got the loose red to the right of the black, if he

:59:30. > :59:37.needs it. But he would like to get into that pink, full-ball, with lots

:59:38. > :59:42.of pace, as soon SECAM. But he has got a choice of shots. -- as soon as

:59:43. > :00:13.he can. He played it well. And it's turned

:00:14. > :00:17.out very nicely for him. You always need a little bit of good fortune

:00:18. > :00:26.when you play it into them like that - and he got that. And it's usually

:00:27. > :00:30.the case, Ken, isn't it? When you start playing well, you get those

:00:31. > :00:41.little things which just worked out nicely for you. You're struggling,

:00:42. > :00:46.it goes the other way. Yeah. That was a nice little split on the pack

:00:47. > :00:59.there, and he's now back into prime position. Thinking about that brown

:01:00. > :01:08.when he was 2-0 up. The match slipped from there. Or he can do is

:01:09. > :01:29.wait. Yeah, you can see Liang Wenbo

:01:30. > :01:36.fidgeting around with his waistcoat and his nails and... It's one of the

:01:37. > :01:38.hardest things about the game, sitting there and keeping your focus

:01:39. > :01:59.while your opponent is at the table. He's just got one possible one to

:02:00. > :02:05.the left middle pocket. He opened the rest of the reds up beautifully

:02:06. > :02:23.there. But this is not a straightforward shot. But it is a

:02:24. > :02:28.key shot. I'm not sure whether he will play it with pace and try and

:02:29. > :02:33.get up... He's coming back for the black or pink into the right centre.

:02:34. > :03:00.Played it nicely. Very nicely indeed.

:03:01. > :03:12.He made a nice 124 in the last frame, and the way he's going at the

:03:13. > :03:53.moment, it's difficult to see him missing from here, a little bit.

:03:54. > :04:03.What a turnaround this has been. Came, I was just thinking, look at

:04:04. > :04:23.him now. Superb stuff. His pace has picked up slightly. It

:04:24. > :04:41.was at 38 seconds per shot. It's down to 31 at the moment.

:04:42. > :04:45.And it's totally different for people watching at home, because

:04:46. > :04:54.don't have the noise coming from the other table. Sometimes that can be a

:04:55. > :04:58.little bit of a distraction, watching at home, or as we do, Ken

:04:59. > :05:00.summer when we're watching at the hotel. But Pleat silence at the

:05:01. > :06:06.moment. -- but complete silence. Might just have to play a little

:06:07. > :06:11.cannon here, he only needs the black to secure the frame.

:06:12. > :06:28.In fact, he could hold it enough without cannoning that red to the

:06:29. > :06:29.right of the cue ball. And every chance now of back-to-back centuries

:06:30. > :07:07.- wouldn't that be something? 136 is still the highest break in

:07:08. > :07:14.this year's Betfred World Championships by Ding Junhui.

:07:15. > :07:32.?10,000 for the highest rate. -- for the highest break.

:07:33. > :07:40.You have to get a 147 to get the highest break these days. But he

:07:41. > :07:50.does have a chance to get the highest break so far. Possible 138,

:07:51. > :07:54.when he takes this pink. I'm not sure whether he's aware of it. He

:07:55. > :08:02.probably just wants to make another century. Yeah, he knows it would not

:08:03. > :08:09.be the highest rate of the Championship so it would be his

:08:10. > :08:13.second Crucible century. As we mentioned in the last frame, his

:08:14. > :08:22.highest was 99 a couple of years ago, against Judd Trump. Well

:08:23. > :08:29.played, Stuart Carrington! Another ton-up!

:08:30. > :08:53.Magnificent break for Stuart Carrington. He was 2-0 down, and

:08:54. > :08:55.he's now leading 4-2. The man who knock out Mark Williams in

:08:56. > :09:03.qualifying is certainly in form. Into frame seven we go, and it's the

:09:04. > :11:02.man from Grimsby, Carrington, who is 20 points adrift.

:11:03. > :11:09.That looks just about perfect. He's blessed with quite a bit of cue

:11:10. > :11:20.power, and he's going to needed here. This is one where the cue ball

:11:21. > :11:23.has to get that second injection of speed on it after it hits the baulk

:11:24. > :11:42.cushion. Well, that's not too bad. It has

:11:43. > :11:46.worked out a treat. Not exactly what I was talking about, just a slight

:11:47. > :11:53.bit, but still, he will be happy with that. Yeah, as I mentioned

:11:54. > :12:02.earlier, when you're playing really well - and he's made two centuries -

:12:03. > :12:10.when you're struggling, you will stick in the reds. But he's loving

:12:11. > :12:16.it out there now, you can tell, Stuart Carrington. He's in the zone,

:12:17. > :12:26.there's no distractions from the other table.

:12:27. > :12:33.You see, he played a similar shot to the one Liang Wenbo played, but look

:12:34. > :12:42.where he has got the cue ball. He seemed to get a lot more topspin on

:12:43. > :13:23.his. So, he's timing the ball a lot better than Liang at the moment.

:13:24. > :13:29.KEN DOHERTY: Not quite sure whether that red closest to the pink spot

:13:30. > :13:37.will go into the left centre. He just came round to have a look at

:13:38. > :13:46.that. He's thinking a couple of shots ahead here now. He's having a

:13:47. > :13:47.look now to see if the red will go into the bottom corner pocket as

:13:48. > :14:11.well. When he pots this, it will open up

:14:12. > :14:18.the two reds into the left corner. No need for cannons, they're all

:14:19. > :14:28.there for him now. Just got a slight heavy contact there. Which means

:14:29. > :14:34.that the black onto the next red will be slightly more difficult.

:14:35. > :14:39.Stuart turned professional back in 2011. He was here at The Crucible a

:14:40. > :14:44.couple of years ago, when he lost to Judd Trump, 10-6. It was a fantastic

:14:45. > :14:48.performance against Mark Williams in the qualifiers, but under these

:14:49. > :14:53.circumstances, this will be some of the finest snooker that Stuart has

:14:54. > :14:58.ever played on television - and he's doing it on the big stage, at The

:14:59. > :15:03.Crucible Theatre. Liang's still fidgeting around in his seat there.

:15:04. > :15:12.He can't believe the turnaround here.

:15:13. > :15:21.Didn't quite get the action he wanted there. He's still got the one

:15:22. > :15:29.to the middle. He's already 36 in front. So, two more reds and two

:15:30. > :16:03.colours could be enough. DENNIS TAYLOR: The green will put

:16:04. > :16:12.him 40 in front. So, a red and a black would be enough. Oh, he didn't

:16:13. > :16:19.want to hit the pink! Without that, he would have been absolutely

:16:20. > :16:30.perfect on the two reds. Probably a little bit of adrenaline there, just

:16:31. > :16:33.not into that too much. So, a red and any colour above the yellow

:16:34. > :17:05.would leave Liang Wenbo needing a snooker.

:17:06. > :17:30.He's 41 points ahead, 43 remaining. So, just this black.

:17:31. > :17:45.Straight in the pocket. Well, that another frame that's slipped away

:17:46. > :17:51.from the Chinese player. Stuart now with the possibility - it would be

:17:52. > :17:57.highly unlikely, the way the blue and pink are situated - but he's on

:17:58. > :18:07.his way to a possible three centuries in a row.

:18:08. > :18:28.He could pot the green and flick the pink out - and still stay on the

:18:29. > :18:33.yellow. Just wondering if he will attempt that. I don't think he can

:18:34. > :18:42.do it now, with that angle. He'll have to do it at a later stage. I

:18:43. > :18:46.wonder how many players have made three centuries in a row at The

:18:47. > :18:56.Crucible. Only a handful, I would have thought. He's got that angle

:18:57. > :19:11.now you spoke about. Will he try and dislodge the pink here? He could

:19:12. > :19:26.attempt it now, and power this in... That's what he's done - what a great

:19:27. > :19:32.effort! Fantastic shot. This blue, and it's almost a certainty for

:19:33. > :19:35.three centuries in a row. Get in there!

:19:36. > :19:53.Absolutely superb - you will not see a better century than this. So, it's

:19:54. > :20:01.three in a row, it's the Stuart Carrington show! He lost the two

:20:02. > :20:11.opening frames, but since then, he has made breaks of 55, 63, and then

:20:12. > :20:16.three centuries. And he deserves that one of applause. And that is

:20:17. > :20:18.only the seventh time in history that someone has made three

:20:19. > :20:21.centuries in a row here at The Crucible.

:20:22. > :20:27.HAZEL IRVINE: What a surge of form for Carrington. It was yen when both

:20:28. > :20:36.who regrouped and took the next two. -- it was Liang Wenbo who then

:20:37. > :20:40.regrouped. And just as a footnote about those three in a row, the last

:20:41. > :20:46.time it happened was 2012, Neil Robertson doing it against Ken

:20:47. > :20:51.Doherty. John Higgins has done it twice, Mark Selby twice, only Ronnie

:20:52. > :20:55.O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson, the only other fellows who have done it.

:20:56. > :20:58.Stuart Carrington joining that rather select list. What a

:20:59. > :21:03.performance, Peter! Incredible, very exalted company as well. He's

:21:04. > :21:08.hitting the ball brilliant, scoring very, very heavily. Great player, I

:21:09. > :21:11.played him in the qualifiers two years ago and he played perfect

:21:12. > :21:17.snooker against me for the first seven frames, I went seven down. He

:21:18. > :21:21.is a seriously talented player. I'm not sure whether that will make Mark

:21:22. > :21:26.Williams feel a tiny bit better, or not? No! It justifies the people,

:21:27. > :21:39.who may not have been aware of Stuart Carrington, anybody who beats

:21:40. > :21:44.Mark Williams, who had done very well in China, is a player. But at

:21:45. > :21:50.the end of that session, great performance by both players, I would

:21:51. > :21:54.say. It was very important that Liang Wenbo won the last two of the

:21:55. > :21:58.session. So they have both taken something out of it. Absolutely.

:21:59. > :22:02.You're right, Mark Williams, runner-up in the China Open just

:22:03. > :22:07.last weekend. So he will be very disappointed that he's not here. At

:22:08. > :22:10.I'm sure he will be back. You know we like a little bit of a chinwag

:22:11. > :22:16.about some issues which are inevitably inflated in our little

:22:17. > :22:25.snooker bubble, so no prizes who and what we are discussing today. Yeah,

:22:26. > :22:33.it's all about you know who, Ronnie O'Sullivan. And you will know about

:22:34. > :22:37.the suggestions swirling on Sunday, a causation is of bullying and

:22:38. > :22:41.intimidation and suggestions and accusations which were robustly

:22:42. > :22:47.refuted yesterday by world snooker chairman Barry Hearn. And strangely,

:22:48. > :22:54.Ronnie's win against Gary Wilson was something of a footnote now. But

:22:55. > :23:00.this is really nothing new. Ronnie has been front page and back page

:23:01. > :23:04.news for 25 years. I have a responsibility to the fans that come

:23:05. > :23:11.to support me. They obviously want to see me do really well. And it's

:23:12. > :23:15.important that I keep focused, keep professional, keep myself out of

:23:16. > :23:22.trouble, just come and try and do a job, you know? And part of being a

:23:23. > :23:26.professional is managing your emotions, managing a lot of stuff

:23:27. > :23:31.that goes on Riise the table, and sometimes you have to be smart. The

:23:32. > :23:35.most important thing for me is to play and enjoy the game and I don't

:23:36. > :23:40.want anything to get in the way of that. For me, too, here and play and

:23:41. > :23:46.put on good performances, that's the most important thing. I don't need

:23:47. > :23:56.to prove anything to anybody, I've won five world's, seven Masters,

:23:57. > :24:03.five UKs, I think. -- five worlds. I just want to play. I just want to

:24:04. > :24:11.have fun. I'm not being intimidated or bullied. I phoned Barry Hearn up

:24:12. > :24:17.four weeks ago, and I said, look, I'm done, mate, because I'm not

:24:18. > :24:24.being bullied. I'm not having people doing that to me ever again. I'm

:24:25. > :24:30.not. Frame conceded. I have never been happier. Snooker is tough, but

:24:31. > :24:35.I do it because I love it and I feel like it is me something that nothing

:24:36. > :24:40.else gives me. I need to be in peak condition and my brain needs to be

:24:41. > :24:48.100% focused. Because I play with my heart. I can't play any other way.

:24:49. > :24:51.25 years' service to this game, I think I've given enough to this

:24:52. > :25:00.game, I think I've helped, I've done my bit. Not at 41, I don't need you.

:25:01. > :25:04.You probably don't need me. But I'm not putting up with some people who

:25:05. > :25:08.threaten and bully me. It ain't happening. Well, he certainly

:25:09. > :25:13.created a lot of headlines. There's been a lot of talk about Ronnie and

:25:14. > :25:16.that press conference that he gave afterwards, and indeed the opinions

:25:17. > :25:20.put forward by Barry Hearn thereafter. What is your opinion of

:25:21. > :25:25.it all? Well, obviously, from that video footage, he obviously feels

:25:26. > :25:31.genuinely aggrieved. So, Ronnie is a complicated character. Yeah, he is

:25:32. > :25:35.an absolute genius. But I also feel that he does quite enjoy the

:25:36. > :25:38.attention, especially when it comes to the World Championships. There's

:25:39. > :25:43.always something that happens. That's not a criticism against

:25:44. > :25:47.Ronnie, but he handles that type of pressure in a way that most players

:25:48. > :25:52.just wouldn't be able to handle. And he almost seems to enjoy it, for

:25:53. > :25:55.whatever reason. You can see clearly that he is upset, he does feel

:25:56. > :26:01.aggrieved. Let's hope that this thing can be resolved amicably. Both

:26:02. > :26:05.sides seem pretty entrenched in their positions right now. There is

:26:06. > :26:10.a legal whiff about proceedings as well. Is it different this time, for

:26:11. > :26:16.you, Steve? No, no, I don't think it is. The history of snooker and

:26:17. > :26:22.snooker players in general, they're quite critical of conditions, when

:26:23. > :26:26.they come off the table, they criticise. That has been the way. I

:26:27. > :26:30.think probably when Barry Hearn came in and took over, he had this to

:26:31. > :26:36.deal with. I think there are people in the game, like the referees, the

:26:37. > :26:39.table manufacturers, the cloth manufacturers, the officials, that

:26:40. > :26:43.when they get criticised, don't have a voice to come back at. So

:26:44. > :26:48.therefore, I think probably what has happened is, world snooker has gone,

:26:49. > :26:52.they need protecting if they're not necessarily in the wrong. And if you

:26:53. > :26:57.want to criticise, go through the correct channels. You complain to

:26:58. > :27:04.the tournament official and you do it in writing. If you bypass that

:27:05. > :27:07.and go to the press and go... Or swear at the table, another thing

:27:08. > :27:13.that has happened, then you are open to being fined. And that's it, in a

:27:14. > :27:18.nutshell. There is a way, there is a procedure. And if you bypass that

:27:19. > :27:20.procedure, for whatever reason, you're leaving yourself open to them

:27:21. > :27:27.being fined. I don't think it's bullying. It's not bullying just one

:27:28. > :27:30.person. It is in the rules, every player is given the rules, and

:27:31. > :27:38.that's where we are. You guys have had your say, let's hear from some

:27:39. > :27:42.of the other competitors. I do not know the full facts of what he has

:27:43. > :27:47.said, what Barry Hearn has said. I like to try and do my talking on the

:27:48. > :27:51.table. All are the days where I'm going to shoot my mouth of and get

:27:52. > :27:57.involved in a spat, you said this, you said that. I don't want to get

:27:58. > :28:04.involved. I want to go home, practice hard, get ready for the

:28:05. > :28:10.game. Ronnie sometimes gets on a little bit like a spoiled brat Emma

:28:11. > :28:14.and Barry is the big man, he sometimes speaks to people like he's

:28:15. > :28:20.speaking to a child. I think it is just a clash of personalities, it

:28:21. > :28:24.makes the headlines I suppose. There seems to be the allegation that

:28:25. > :28:30.somebody is bullying or intimidating him. It is certainly not the case.

:28:31. > :28:34.Yeah, he has fallen foul of the rules on some occasions, but we have

:28:35. > :28:37.not been hanging over him at the moment, he is not subject to any

:28:38. > :28:41.proceedings. As far as I'm concerned, he's free to play Eddie

:28:42. > :28:50.Howe I hope that's what he does because I love watching him place. I

:28:51. > :28:55.don't know, but if it is true, it's terrible the way he's been

:28:56. > :28:59.reprimanded. There's things in the players' contract which is too

:29:00. > :29:04.severe. The only thing that can be changed is if we all stick together

:29:05. > :29:08.and tried to get a few of the things taken out. But I don't think you

:29:09. > :29:13.will ever get all of the top players sticking together. We are all bound

:29:14. > :29:16.by the terms and conditions in the players' contracts. The thing I

:29:17. > :29:26.would say is that it always seems to be Ronnie. Make of that what you

:29:27. > :29:29.will. But the other 127 players try to get on with it and do their media

:29:30. > :29:33.commitments and fulfil their obligations to promote this great

:29:34. > :29:34.game which has given us all an opportunity in life. It always seems

:29:35. > :29:46.to be Ronnie. People either love Ronnie some

:29:47. > :29:52.people think he's overreacting. That's the way he's been his whole

:29:53. > :29:56.career. He's not a bad person, far from it. Ronnie is a very unusual

:29:57. > :30:02.character. Tremendously talented, we have to say that. He's a real

:30:03. > :30:04.genius. On occasion he says the odd strange thing in some of his media

:30:05. > :30:08.and sometimes he doesn't say anything at all. This is probably

:30:09. > :30:11.the most he said in a press conference for quite some time and

:30:12. > :30:12.for one thing is good to see a bit of passion in him again and maybe

:30:13. > :30:27.that maybe the difference week. Some adjusting, is

:30:28. > :30:29.protected from John Higgins and Shaun Murphy, and will make for an

:30:30. > :30:32.interesting contest against Shaun Murphy on Thursday. A lot of people

:30:33. > :30:37.feel that in snooker as indeed many other sports that some players need

:30:38. > :30:40.an enemy some people need a controversy to fire them up. There

:30:41. > :30:43.is this likely than Ronnie's case to have a positive or negative effect

:30:44. > :30:47.by the time we get to Thursday and run two. Far less likely these days

:30:48. > :30:52.than it would have been ten years ago. From the Ronnie I've seen

:30:53. > :30:56.recently in the last five years, I've never seen him look so happy,

:30:57. > :31:02.he's in a great place, keeps himself fit, he's eating well. I just hope

:31:03. > :31:07.he continues to play because he will be such a loss to our game. He's an

:31:08. > :31:12.absolute genius, loved by millions of people and rightly so. He's got

:31:13. > :31:16.something to snooker that's never been there before. Masters champion

:31:17. > :31:20.for a record seventh time and what a fantastic performance there. He says

:31:21. > :31:23.since then, all these troubles and controversies have affected his

:31:24. > :31:26.performances on the table at at least the events and having not

:31:27. > :31:30.wanted to say a great deal, having now said a huge amount, you do

:31:31. > :31:36.wonder how that's going to play itself out on Thursday. He might

:31:37. > :31:39.have just got it off his chest and it's done and dusted and has deep

:31:40. > :31:43.beaters in his corner to get him ready for the next match. In

:31:44. > :31:48.Ronnie's defence in one respect, the press are always try to get stuff

:31:49. > :31:51.out of them, he's the person that fills up column inches and people

:31:52. > :31:54.feel like there is more pressure on everything he says and it's

:31:55. > :32:01.magnified. Thinking back to when I was top dog. You have got a bit more

:32:02. > :32:04.of an ego and you feel like you can say things and right wrongs and you

:32:05. > :32:08.sometimes overstep the mark in that respect and be a bit more outspoken

:32:09. > :32:15.than perhaps is good for your own good. I was a bit more like that,

:32:16. > :32:18.not exactly the same but sometimes you have to perhaps take a step

:32:19. > :32:25.back. It will be very interesting. Many people have had their say, you

:32:26. > :32:28.have heard you say via social media. And Stephen has been reflecting

:32:29. > :32:33.through some of that social media traffic. He is in the press room

:32:34. > :32:37.now. I'm here in the thick of the action here in the media room and we

:32:38. > :32:41.actually posted the question on Twitter earlier on as to whether

:32:42. > :32:44.Ronnie O'Sullivan was right to accuse bosses of bullying. Exactly

:32:45. > :32:50.the debate you been having in the to-do and this is what the fans have

:32:51. > :32:54.been saying and we've had quite undivided batch of opinions. Leanne

:32:55. > :32:58.Walker said, yes he thinks the referee is wrong he should be

:32:59. > :33:03.allowed to say, he has good jasmine. Don't get him letters before he

:33:04. > :33:08.plays to upset him. It's his view he's been bullied, so I believe. We

:33:09. > :33:12.are not privy to the exchanges urging him on the governing body.

:33:13. > :33:15.Daniel Kidd said if he thought something was wrong, he has the

:33:16. > :33:21.right, he puts bums on seats but those offering the other side have

:33:22. > :33:26.had good sets. He's an attention seeker and wants to be a rebel but

:33:27. > :33:31.it doesn't seem right in this board. This is snooker, not UFC. Kevin said

:33:32. > :33:34.the onus is on World Snooker. Ronnie's perception is he's being

:33:35. > :33:37.bullied and it's bound to World Snooker to change that perception

:33:38. > :33:43.and I will end on this one from Zach Gardner. He said if he is being

:33:44. > :33:46.bullied then yes, but due to his previous form, as looks like he's

:33:47. > :33:50.just being a bit of a spoilt brat again. Thank you for your thoughts

:33:51. > :33:55.and opinions and wondering what you guys make of the last one. Thank you

:33:56. > :33:59.for getting in touch with us, I'm sure this debate will run and run

:34:00. > :34:02.because Ronnie is back on table from Thursday against Shaun Murphy but

:34:03. > :34:07.we'll concentrate on events this afternoon in our live offering for

:34:08. > :34:11.you. Now Judd Trump is one of the favourites to get his hands on the

:34:12. > :34:16.trophy, got to get his hand on the table for the first time on day four

:34:17. > :34:22.today and he plays Rory McLeod. This is a very interesting, very genial

:34:23. > :34:26.fellow. He is ranked some 32 places lower in the rankings than Judd

:34:27. > :34:29.Trump and Judd Trump has the superior record in previous matches

:34:30. > :34:33.and has claimed the last three in a row against them but McLeod is

:34:34. > :34:35.making his third appearance and has a very long six-year wait to return

:34:36. > :34:46.to the Crucible. You have to lift yourself to play.

:34:47. > :34:50.It's all right getting here and when you get your you got a job to do.

:34:51. > :34:54.There are some great players that not be here and people don't really

:34:55. > :35:03.take that into consideration. 32 players here, I was practising and

:35:04. > :35:07.playing my matches to qualify and some of the players that lost 10-9

:35:08. > :35:14.and didn't make it, I was feeling it for them because it's hard. Going

:35:15. > :35:20.through the qualifying I had three difficult matches. You have to dig

:35:21. > :35:26.deep. It's been nice having a little bit of a break and recuperate. It's

:35:27. > :35:33.not like you're fatigued, but you're mentally fatigued. You don't get

:35:34. > :35:38.uneasy draw you get a draw and you have to go out and do your thing.

:35:39. > :35:42.Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Ronnie, Higgins, whoever. You just got to

:35:43. > :35:50.get on with it. They're all great players. I'm not here to just lie

:35:51. > :35:54.down and die, I'm here to hopefully progress and progress further full

:35:55. > :36:01.stop I haven't committed to anything less. This could be a generational

:36:02. > :36:06.clash of styles and indeed pace of play. Will be interesting to see if

:36:07. > :36:09.Rory has the firepower to cope with Judd Trump today. Just the third

:36:10. > :36:14.time that Rory has reached the main drop in 25 years of trying. This is

:36:15. > :36:17.the first big multi-win season for Judd Trump, had a really

:36:18. > :36:22.impressively consistent season so far. Five finals, two titles and

:36:23. > :36:29.we're going to see the deciding session as well this afternoon

:36:30. > :36:33.between Zhou Yuelong against Ding Junhui. There's the joint favourite,

:36:34. > :36:39.Judd Trump. Let's get it started. Ron Walker.

:36:40. > :36:45.Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, what a day of quality it's been at

:36:46. > :36:49.the Crucible, five centuries this morning, 23 for the tournament so

:36:50. > :36:53.far. It's been snooker of the very highest quality at this year's World

:36:54. > :36:56.Championships and we're expecting more of the same this afternoon.

:36:57. > :37:18.APPLAUSE Please welcome first of all, a World

:37:19. > :37:22.Cup winning teenager, taking on his boyhood hero here in a memorable

:37:23. > :37:27.Crucible debut. Quarterfinalist at this season's Welsh Open, he will

:37:28. > :37:29.give it absolutely everything this afternoon. In China they call him

:37:30. > :37:58.the jumping Dragon, zoo And his opponent, a man who has

:37:59. > :38:02.clearly inspired a new generation of snooker players back home. After a

:38:03. > :38:07.fabulous run to the final last year, his form continues in Sheffield.

:38:08. > :38:11.Three centuries in the opening session of this match, 12 times he

:38:12. > :38:33.is a ranking event winner, so enter the Dragon, Ding Junhui.

:38:34. > :38:40.On table two, please welcome a man who continues to defy the years. At

:38:41. > :38:44.46, the oldest player still in the tournament. Back for a third

:38:45. > :38:48.Crucible campaign, eight years after his debut. He arrives in form, not

:38:49. > :38:52.only after the qualifiers but with a cracking run to the last 16 in

:38:53. > :38:58.China. Here comes the Highlander, Rory McLeod.

:38:59. > :39:22.And finally, please welcome a player, arguably producing the best

:39:23. > :39:26.looker of his career. Five major finals this season, he's added two

:39:27. > :39:30.more ranking events to his tally, including last month's players

:39:31. > :39:35.championship victory. Here he is, the runner-up from 2011, with his

:39:36. > :39:41.own brand of not easily go, is the ace in the pack, Judd Trump. -- with

:39:42. > :40:01.his own round of naughty snooker. Rory definitely the pick of the war

:40:02. > :40:05.contracts for me today but King and Joe are underway on the red button

:40:06. > :40:10.or via the BBC sport website and app. You can keep track of it on a

:40:11. > :40:13.second device. Here on BBC Two we are keen to see what Judd Trump

:40:14. > :40:15.brings to the party this year, saw John Parrott and Dennis Taylor,

:40:16. > :40:31.let's find out. Good afternoon on welcome to this

:40:32. > :40:38.very interesting encounter coming up. Judd Trump up against Rory

:40:39. > :40:51.McLeod. Great to see him qualifying again. He's the perfect gentleman,

:40:52. > :40:59.Rory. Straightaway sending a red up the other end of the table. Might

:41:00. > :41:04.make things a little awkward. 25 years. When Hazel said that, I

:41:05. > :41:13.couldn't believe it. He doesn't get many things wrong, Hazel. I was

:41:14. > :41:19.surprised about that. Was a great buzz of anticipation when Judd comes

:41:20. > :41:24.into the auditorium. He had a massive chance of winning the

:41:25. > :41:27.tournament last year but wasn't to be. He'll obviously want to win one

:41:28. > :41:37.of these things and sooner rather than later.

:41:38. > :41:48.APPLAUSE Excellent Partey from there. --

:41:49. > :41:58.excellent pot. Always nice to knock one of those in. Important, I think,

:41:59. > :42:07.for anybody to get a good start, against somebody like Judd Trump.

:42:08. > :42:11.Played on eight occasions and it 6-2 to Judd. Rory hasn't had a look in

:42:12. > :42:16.the last few games he's played. If you can get a good start on the

:42:17. > :42:20.foothold in the match, it can make the difference. Has he come far

:42:21. > :42:24.enough for this red? I think he has. If he can can in the other red full

:42:25. > :42:34.ball he'll be perfectly on the black. Double checking to make sure

:42:35. > :42:53.that shot is on. Just caught the red a little awkward

:42:54. > :42:59.day. Just watch the cannon. If he hits it full ball he's perfect. He

:43:00. > :43:04.hit it on the left side as we look at it. That has made this very thin.

:43:05. > :43:07.BELL You'll be kicking himself with that

:43:08. > :43:12.shot. It wasn't that difficult just to make sure that he kept the cue

:43:13. > :43:20.ball away from the black. I know it's early in the match but very

:43:21. > :43:23.important. Just a simple shot. That's just safety.

:43:24. > :43:46.Straightaway Judd taking the opportunity to open reds up when

:43:47. > :43:51.playing that safety shot. That was a clever little shot he just played.

:43:52. > :43:54.Judd will want to get in amongst the balls, he won't want to get bogged

:43:55. > :44:08.down with a safety exchange. Well look at the side he had on

:44:09. > :44:14.that. He's going to stick the red up, I feel. Pleaded with so much

:44:15. > :44:19.side and I think the black might just be available. Watch this long

:44:20. > :44:34.attempt with loads of the black does go. An early chance

:44:35. > :44:57.for Judd Trump. Let's see what sort of form he's in.

:44:58. > :45:14.Nice cueing. Looked straightforward but cueing from the side cushion,

:45:15. > :45:19.always nice to knock those early on. He hasn't got a poor record at the

:45:20. > :45:27.Crucible. He's been at the final and two semifinal since 2011, so he's

:45:28. > :45:39.come close. Of course, huge expectation on him. He's going to

:45:40. > :45:44.have to maintain his high levels of potting and brick building right to

:45:45. > :45:49.the very end in this tournament. If he does he's a match for anybody. In

:45:50. > :45:57.the 40 years at the Crucible since 2011, I've never seen anyone pot the

:45:58. > :46:01.way that Judd did. Only a brilliant John Higgins that prevented him from

:46:02. > :46:06.lifting the title that year. He potted them from everywhere. We had

:46:07. > :46:08.a top ten short of the tournament and it could have been all of his.

:46:09. > :46:47.It was a pretty spectacular showing. That's finished a little awkward, so

:46:48. > :46:52.we might see the cue power of Judd Trump because how does he get out to

:46:53. > :47:00.red from this position? If anyone can, this fellow camp with the way

:47:01. > :47:04.he strikes the ball. Look at the action and the reverse side but even

:47:05. > :47:15.then there wasn't very much available to him. It was like it was

:47:16. > :47:25.on a lump of elastic they are the weight came back. Just sizing up

:47:26. > :47:28.this plant but obviously there's a lot of distance between the balls,

:47:29. > :47:35.tough shot back. This is also safety in mind, really. There is the cue

:47:36. > :47:45.ball onto the bottom cushion. Shot to nothing.

:47:46. > :47:51.He's just a little disappointed he didn't make more from that, just

:47:52. > :48:17.lost the cue ball playing the cannon onto the black.

:48:18. > :48:26.Well look at those shoes, he's got some fabulous shoes, has Judd. Tight

:48:27. > :48:29.pants, I used to wearing them back in the 60s, JP. Very smart indeed. I

:48:30. > :48:47.love them. APPLAUSE

:48:48. > :48:53.I love them. What a shot batters. -- what a shot that is. OK, lost

:48:54. > :48:58.possession but beautiful shot. Very careful rolling behind these.

:48:59. > :49:03.Difficult to do. Well played. It doesn't look that much as a snooker,

:49:04. > :49:16.hitting the reds are easy but maybe a job getting this safe.

:49:17. > :49:23.Just wonder if he's going to play off the cushion and try to flick off

:49:24. > :49:25.one of those reds. The blue was always going to be in the way, that

:49:26. > :49:47.was the problem with it. Every chance now to go on and take

:49:48. > :49:59.this opening frame after that lovely positional shot.

:50:00. > :50:14.If he knocks this red in it opens up the path to the other reds, the

:50:15. > :50:18.three in the past. No reason why he shouldn't tidy up this first frame.

:50:19. > :50:29.He really is a joy to watch this player.

:50:30. > :50:52.One of the game yet in great natural talents.

:50:53. > :51:01.And like all the great attacking players. The scoreboard changes very

:51:02. > :51:13.quickly. Hardly a blink of an eye and its frame gone. All Rory did

:51:14. > :51:16.wrong was a poor positional shot, potted I red and can end another and

:51:17. > :51:22.should have been on the black, didn't get onto it and within a

:51:23. > :51:35.matter of seven or eight minutes the frame is over. The referee is

:51:36. > :51:41.getting a work-out, I know that. Pretty good with the other hand as

:51:42. > :51:51.well, Judd. Switched to right-handed there.

:51:52. > :51:59.He usually does like to play an exhibition type shot towards the end

:52:00. > :52:02.of a frame. There is one. Hitting the pink spoiled that. He was trying

:52:03. > :52:09.something a little bit special there.

:52:10. > :52:32.Doesn't matter about that shot on the green. An early break of 40,

:52:33. > :52:37.followed by that break of 55 that keeps Rory in his seat. Needed two

:52:38. > :52:43.chances but didn't he take them well? Judd Trump leading 1-0.

:52:44. > :52:45.STUDIO: And was always be fascinating the difference in the

:52:46. > :52:51.levels of firepower between these men and when you look at the stats,

:52:52. > :52:57.459 centuries for Judd Trump, 78 for Rory McLeod over the years. What a

:52:58. > :52:59.contrast. Yes, Judd Trump is an astonishing player. Now that he's

:53:00. > :53:07.the favourite because he is considered to be the weaker half of

:53:08. > :53:10.the draw. He looks like he's fulfilling his potential and all of

:53:11. > :53:15.a sudden maturing into one of the best players we've ever seen of this

:53:16. > :53:19.era. Up to world number two and when you look at the bare bones of his

:53:20. > :53:25.season, two wins, five major finals, three other semifinals of big

:53:26. > :53:29.events. His consistency now seems to be a strength, whereas before it was

:53:30. > :53:34.definitely a weakness. He's had a phenomenal season and you can see

:53:35. > :53:37.early on, he's in great form. He really is timing the ball

:53:38. > :53:41.tremendously well. Very entertaining player to watch, great to watch.

:53:42. > :53:47.This is ten years worth of attempts at the Crucible here and I guess

:53:48. > :53:50.with every year that goes by, the pressure increases. What sort of

:53:51. > :53:56.pressure do you imagine he might be potting himself under coming here?

:53:57. > :54:00.Is it ever going to happen, the same that applies to Ding Junhui and a

:54:01. > :54:07.couple of players on the circuit. Will I ever win the tournament is

:54:08. > :54:16.always there. For me, Judd Trump's consistency. Its quite amazing, we

:54:17. > :54:20.are amazed that Judd Trump's cue doesn't go through in a straight

:54:21. > :54:26.line. It seems like eagles across the line of the shot when he hits it

:54:27. > :54:28.and to keep that level of consistency up with what is

:54:29. > :54:34.considered to be bad technique is phenomenal. John, Dennis will get

:54:35. > :54:38.some close-ups of that in this particular frame. Interesting to

:54:39. > :54:39.see. Interesting observations from Peter Hanson Ivan back we go. Frame

:54:40. > :54:48.two. Yes, Hazel, all about getting the

:54:49. > :54:53.snooker balls in the pockets. That's the name of the game, doesn't matter

:54:54. > :55:00.how you do it on what technique you use. The great Alex Higgins used to

:55:01. > :55:06.lift his head and snatch at DQ and when he delivered that the last

:55:07. > :55:09.split-second, it all came good. He was a natural player and this

:55:10. > :55:16.certainly is one of the game's great natural talents. Yes, similar to

:55:17. > :55:20.golf, the only thing that matters is impact, everything else is

:55:21. > :55:21.periphery. As long as you are through the ball at impact in the

:55:22. > :55:42.right way, that's all that matters. I know we didn't see too much of

:55:43. > :55:46.Rory in the opening frame but he's getting on with things. He's got a

:55:47. > :55:49.reputation of being a slow player but I remember before I finished and

:55:50. > :55:56.retired, I went down to practice with Rory near Northampton and he

:55:57. > :56:01.was one of the quickest players I'd ever practised with. But then all of

:56:02. > :56:04.a sudden the next time I saw him playing, he'd slowed everything

:56:05. > :56:09.down, but he seems to be out here with a bit of a purpose and wants to

:56:10. > :56:15.get on with it, but is he going to get many chances, that's the

:56:16. > :56:22.question. That's a bit too soon against Judd Trump you want to be

:56:23. > :56:26.getting the cue ball on the baulk cushion, not the baulk line. Decent

:56:27. > :56:30.target for Judd as well. If you wanted to play the city with green

:56:31. > :56:35.and brown but he's already looking at a mid-range red.

:56:36. > :56:45.Never in doubt. Great work on the cue ball they are with minimum

:56:46. > :56:49.effort, or what it seems minimum. Potted that and screwed back to our

:56:50. > :56:59.baulk colour. So good. That was a great shot of Rory McLeod looking

:57:00. > :57:05.right down Judd's cue there. The blackest tied up at the moment, the

:57:06. > :57:56.pink is free. He's OK. -- the black is tied up.

:57:57. > :58:03.Well he hasn't missed a long pot yet. Three out of three so far. 97%

:58:04. > :58:20.overall. It's early days. That's just gone a little bit

:58:21. > :58:33.further than he intended. Makes it a little more awkward now. And he's

:58:34. > :58:40.unlucky that the red has blocked the path to the blue and I think it has.

:58:41. > :58:45.If the pink pots it's a test of your cueing. We've already seen some

:58:46. > :58:49.great shots today but you can see the blue obscured but this thing

:58:50. > :59:02.will definitely be good cueing. Some pressure on this. Dear me. Close to

:59:03. > :59:06.the cushion and he knocked it on as if he was out in the middle of the

:59:07. > :59:11.table. Must have red your book, John, you were the best of the

:59:12. > :59:35.cushion, weren't you? Just the rest of the table was a problem!

:59:36. > :59:41.The way he's hitting this, the cue ball looks smaller than the object

:59:42. > :59:52.ball. It's coming back so much and the timing is fabulous. Already, I

:59:53. > :00:00.know it's only the second frame, but it is ominous for Rory McLeod, the

:00:01. > :00:02.way he's hitting it. Just talking about the last shot where he screwed

:00:03. > :00:09.it back. You can't teach someone that. It's a natural

:00:10. > :00:12.thing. You can tell them what to do but you can't teach them to screw

:00:13. > :00:29.the ball back that distance with that minimum effort. And there's

:00:30. > :00:37.another one. Brown being on the pink spot helps the situation. Good

:00:38. > :00:41.thinking as well there. He knew full well that swear it was going. Not

:00:42. > :00:53.only is he hitting well, he's thinking well.

:00:54. > :01:08.The first frame lasted just over 12 minutes. His he's looking for the

:01:09. > :01:11.side bar number, 66. Has he just lost concentration, just for the

:01:12. > :01:55.moment there? He overscrewed that. That looks perfect. Stun the brown

:01:56. > :02:07.in. Two reds behind the brown. The one on the right should pot. Hasn't

:02:08. > :02:15.been an easy break, this, with the blue and black out of commission.

:02:16. > :02:19.That shot on the pink earlier, Dennis, it was great cueing, the one

:02:20. > :02:30.he knocked in. It's a sheer pleasure to watch him

:02:31. > :02:52.play this game, it really is. Doesn't always keep his head

:02:53. > :02:58.perfectly still, Judd. Just moves around a little bit, but very

:02:59. > :03:13.slight. A little bit of movement, but it's the way he's always played.

:03:14. > :03:22.This time, Judd did a similar thing to Rory in the opening frame where

:03:23. > :03:27.Rory potted a red and cannoned another and caught it just wrong.

:03:28. > :03:31.That's what just happened. I think that's the wrong shot, Dennis, if

:03:32. > :03:34.I'm being honest. No need to play that one. With the school board the

:03:35. > :03:41.way it is, just guaranteed to get on the brown, pot that, and get on up

:03:42. > :03:53.to the blue. No need to play the cannon. Fair point, John.

:03:54. > :04:02.He hasn't killed off the frame in that visit. Where the reds are

:04:03. > :04:07.situated, there's an awful lot for Rory McLeod to do here, but at least

:04:08. > :04:12.he's at the table. But he has to keep unreasonably high value

:04:13. > :04:13.colours. Could play up for the pink. Can't run through to the black, not

:04:14. > :04:28.with that angle. That was nicely struck. And because

:04:29. > :04:36.that red is obscuring the blue again, it's not great for Rory.

:04:37. > :04:48.Getting onto the blue isn't possible, I don't think.

:04:49. > :04:52.He's played that in a way to give himself options. He has the one in

:04:53. > :05:00.the middle or next to the blue. Seems like he's got a nice angle.

:05:01. > :05:40.Could come through for the pink. Just a wee bit unlucky there. 40

:05:41. > :05:50.points behind, still a possible 43 on. Screwing back and the

:05:51. > :05:58.double-kiss prevented the red coming out into a pottable position. Come

:05:59. > :06:06.back behind the black. But he's not hit that great. Good chance of a

:06:07. > :06:08.snooker there. Still, the balls are in a pottable position. Chance of a

:06:09. > :06:28.counter clearance. If Rory can see that red, it's not

:06:29. > :06:38.the best shot. Big target behind the brown. A bit more difficult having

:06:39. > :06:59.to cue down on it. Yeah, could only see that side. That shot wasn't on.

:07:00. > :07:43.Not easy, this. Safety shot is quite difficult from here. Just wondering

:07:44. > :07:48.whether he might be tempted to take this on. The shot to the green

:07:49. > :07:54.pocket, used the blue as the ball you cannoned into and come back.

:07:55. > :08:08.It's a tough enough shot, but what else is there? Hard to play safe.

:08:09. > :08:21.That's so unlucky. He used the colours as a stopper. Screwed back,

:08:22. > :08:27.to see the red cannon of the green and come all the way back up the

:08:28. > :08:32.table. Very unfortunate. Hang on! He's covered it, though. Rory comes

:08:33. > :08:37.back to the table. He couldn't believe Judd just missed that. He's

:08:38. > :08:41.got away with it. He's played a double snooker! He's snookered on

:08:42. > :09:00.the red in the baulk area. Rory! Foul. Can't believe he missed

:09:01. > :09:04.that. Such an easy snooker. And look at the scoreboard. He needs a

:09:05. > :10:03.snooker now. How could he not escape from that one? One snooker required.

:10:04. > :10:24.Good, clean pot. Could see the end of that frame.

:10:25. > :10:33.This would be a pretty good escape. Three cushions.

:10:34. > :10:40.I think he's just had a word with the referee and said, that'll do.

:10:41. > :10:46.Just asking whether toilet is. He has conceded the frame. Best

:10:47. > :10:49.possible start for Judd Trump. He takes the second frame and leads

:10:50. > :11:56.2-0. The joint favourite for this year's

:11:57. > :12:00.title, Judd Trump, after a flying start. Peter, your impressions of

:12:01. > :12:04.how he has gone about it. Timing the ball very well. It is interesting

:12:05. > :12:09.when we talked to Steve earlier how Judd comes across the ball. Dominant

:12:10. > :12:13.with his right eye, and then comes across to the left to hit middle.

:12:14. > :12:19.One of the reasons he can be so consistent, even though you wouldn't

:12:20. > :12:24.think so, is he keeps so still. And if you practice a lot, you repeat a

:12:25. > :12:29.lot. I would imagine he probably needs to practice a lot, more so

:12:30. > :12:36.than a straight cueist. He has been at pains to point out the amount of

:12:37. > :12:39.work he has put in. He himself has said that not as much effort has

:12:40. > :12:43.gone into practice routines in the past but he has knuckled down in the

:12:44. > :12:47.last season and a half and it has shown in the way he has gone up the

:12:48. > :12:50.rankings. Definitely, he's had an outstanding season and is one of the

:12:51. > :13:00.players with a real chance of lifting the trophy. Back we go for

:13:01. > :13:04.frame three. COMMENTATOR: Judd breaks off in frame three. A

:13:05. > :13:09.comfortable, 2-0 lead as it stands. Rory hasn't had a chance yet. Going

:13:10. > :13:13.back to the discussion about practice, Dennis, Judd said he's

:13:14. > :13:17.been playing five or six hours per day. That's what you have to do. You

:13:18. > :13:23.don't think Stephen Hendry just turned up. Ronnie O'Sullivan

:13:24. > :13:27.practices hard, so did Steve Davis. It's what you had to do. The

:13:28. > :13:31.gentleman in the studio changed snooker. Steve Davis came on the

:13:32. > :13:36.scene, practising six or seven hours a day and you had to knuckle down,

:13:37. > :13:47.otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance against him. Even then he dominated

:13:48. > :13:55.the 80s. Can he clip in the black and open up the pack? It's a thin

:13:56. > :14:11.one. Maybe the black is too thin. Yet, practice makes perfect, JP.

:14:12. > :14:28.It was that then he missed the pack on the inside. Amazing. -- it was

:14:29. > :14:47.that thin. Could get on the red behind the

:14:48. > :14:55.black this time. Looks to be pretty good. As long as it doesn't land on

:14:56. > :15:00.the cushion. But that's perfect. He has a choice. It's not a good pack

:15:01. > :15:07.to go into from the black. He could go in from the blue, a better angle.

:15:08. > :15:16.That looks pretty good. Watch for the cannon if he hits the

:15:17. > :15:25.pink full ball it will go all over the table.

:15:26. > :15:33.Quite controlled the way he played that, didn't go 100 mph. The main

:15:34. > :15:38.thing was to cannon the pink full in the face, which is what he did. A

:15:39. > :15:43.little cannon here, pot this and flick the red away from the black

:15:44. > :15:50.spot. It's gone wrong. He cannoned the other one first. Hit the wrong

:15:51. > :15:55.red, didn't he, John. It's all about fractions. He was coming through the

:15:56. > :16:20.gap and caught the other red. End of break.

:16:21. > :16:54.GROANS FROM CROWD APPLAUSE

:16:55. > :17:07.This might get a bit tactical now, this frame with the two reds in the

:17:08. > :17:12.baulk area. Unless Judd decides to big this one in the corner. Hmm...,

:17:13. > :17:41.good try. The red to the left of the brown

:17:42. > :17:48.pots into the right corner, but it's not very inviting. The red nearest

:17:49. > :17:53.the cushion is slightly in the way if he was to take it on. Would have

:17:54. > :17:58.to be careful not to cannon into that. But if he can roll it, no

:17:59. > :18:05.reason why he can't come back up the table and finish on the black. And

:18:06. > :18:10.then make it into a sort of shot to nothing. Have a go at the red, a

:18:11. > :18:17.little bit of left-hand side. Back up the table. The way he's digging

:18:18. > :18:22.down on it, he's going the other way round.

:18:23. > :18:30.He has played to hold for the cannon on the yellow. It might have spoilt

:18:31. > :18:35.things. Could get through to the green maybe. It was a good shot,

:18:36. > :18:40.John. It was awkward to know what he was playing the way he cued up from

:18:41. > :18:43.behind. The side on it to avoid the cannon on the yellow you were

:18:44. > :18:51.talking about. He has played that well. Got to start scoring, that's

:18:52. > :18:55.the only thing. Not going to get a bucket load of chances, and when you

:18:56. > :18:58.do, have to make the most of them. Certainly have to do at 2-0 down,

:18:59. > :19:15.that's for sure. Played the aggressive shot there.

:19:16. > :19:19.Almost came off. It came off the cushion, wanted to hit the six reds,

:19:20. > :19:26.just caught one of them. He can still sneak this in. It's a thin

:19:27. > :19:42.one. Has to be careful with the cue ball.

:19:43. > :19:51.That's really unlucky. I know he doesn't know where the cue ball is

:19:52. > :19:55.going, but it was a good pot, played in a positive way. Could easily have

:19:56. > :19:58.landed on a colour. Unlucky to this final cannon here and flick the

:19:59. > :21:35.green. He's on nothing. APPLAUSE

:21:36. > :21:40.My goodness, what a shot that was. What a pot. Absolutely fabulous from

:21:41. > :21:41.the cushion. He literally has a quarter of the pocket to look at

:21:42. > :22:26.there. Fabulous pot. That was the best he could do from

:22:27. > :22:27.being tucked up on the cushion. Will have to pull out some great pots

:22:28. > :22:47.here. Can't pot them all, I suppose. No,

:22:48. > :22:51.pretty close. The trouble is, when he hasn't got position, he leaves

:22:52. > :22:57.Rory awkward. He comes to the table and has another horrible shot to

:22:58. > :23:02.play. I'm wondering if you will risk this. Because it will open up the

:23:03. > :23:13.reds. He's near the cushion. It's an awkward pot. Don't blame him. He

:23:14. > :23:17.knows if he gets down and takes on a difficult pot and opens up the reds,

:23:18. > :23:27.he will be sat in his seat and will be 3-0 down.

:23:28. > :23:39.Yes, in no way, this isn't a bad type of frame for Rory. Judd started

:23:40. > :23:48.on fire. Putting the breaks on for a frame or match might not be a bad

:23:49. > :23:56.thing. Just to try to get him out of his rhythm a little bit.

:23:57. > :24:02.A simple little shocked, but I liked it. I liked it for the reason Rory

:24:03. > :25:05.brought the difficult blue into play.

:25:06. > :25:13.The most important thing with that shot, Dennis, getting the cue ball

:25:14. > :25:21.tight on the cushion so he can't get the cue up in the air to get screw

:25:22. > :25:27.on the ball. Where that has been left, it's tough. Rory looked to see

:25:28. > :25:28.if he could roll onto the red on the left-hand side cushion, whether he

:25:29. > :25:44.would leave anything. If he got the white somewhere up

:25:45. > :25:52.where the other white is, that would play those two reds. He would have

:25:53. > :25:57.to try to cannoned off the green to try that. But that's the safety area

:25:58. > :26:04.that he could look at. If not this shot, then maybe another shot. I

:26:05. > :26:14.think he's having a go at this into the corner. You note, Dennis, I

:26:15. > :26:21.wouldn't mind if he chipped off this and put it onto the green. I know he

:26:22. > :26:33.can pot of the lampshade, but let him pot one from their! No. Might

:26:34. > :26:36.have been tempted to leave that. I liked your shot as well. I liked

:26:37. > :26:40.both of them more than the one he played. Thought it was a really

:26:41. > :26:46.tough shot. Could never guarantee where the red would finish with the

:26:47. > :27:06.one he tried. He needs a chance in amongst the balls, Rory.

:27:07. > :27:18.LAUGHTER APPLAUSE

:27:19. > :27:31.GROANS FROM CROWD Good try. The way some of these have

:27:32. > :27:40.been dropping in this week, starting to get a little more difficult. I

:27:41. > :27:46.thought that was going to go in. Now, one good positional shot, Rory.

:27:47. > :27:58.And that's it. Good shot. There are a couple of shots he could

:27:59. > :28:06.play, a screw shot onto the other red or through the gap. It is

:28:07. > :28:10.through the gap. Whilst this isn't a frame-winning opportunity by a long

:28:11. > :28:39.chalk, at least he's getting back into the frame.

:28:40. > :28:46.It's a bit of a risk to try to disturb that red just yet. Don't

:28:47. > :28:48.think he has the perfect angle on the red to do that. It's too

:28:49. > :29:00.straight. I am surprised he played on the

:29:01. > :29:04.black there, Dennis. Thought he might have gone for blue. I see what

:29:05. > :29:08.you are saying, John. Because it's so much easier to get to the reds

:29:09. > :29:20.that are at the other end of the table. He has to power this in now.

:29:21. > :29:30.And no problem with a power shot from Rory. He played that very well.

:29:31. > :29:37.Yeah, played that really nicely to get on it. Still not totally easy at

:29:38. > :29:48.the moment. I would suggest

:29:49. > :29:58.trying to pot This Week and get on the blue now.

:29:59. > :30:10.Well, has taken this one now. So far, so good. But pretty

:30:11. > :30:19.difficult... See him clearing up here. The green is a distraction.

:30:20. > :30:25.Yeah, tuck the old waistcoat in. Don't want to foul the green at this

:30:26. > :30:30.stage. Just got yourself in front in the frame.

:30:31. > :30:46.There's a bit of an angle on the blue. He has a choice. He could stun

:30:47. > :30:48.it past the black with side and come down and flick that red out. It

:30:49. > :30:53.probably would be the best because if he missed that he could head up

:30:54. > :31:01.and finish on the other one. Yes, all the way around the angle,

:31:02. > :31:09.it's going close to the corner! It's very close to the corner pocket!

:31:10. > :31:13.Foul. If he was going to play for that

:31:14. > :31:18.red, I don't think he even looked at the yellow. I think the yellow pot,

:31:19. > :31:23.if he is going to play for the red up there, why not play the yellow?

:31:24. > :31:29.Or did he overscrew it trying to move the red out? It was a strange

:31:30. > :31:34.choice. He had a stun off the yellow down for that red and baulk, the one

:31:35. > :32:20.Judd is playing. Anyway, we will never know!

:32:21. > :32:26.I thought that last shot Rory had when he screw screwed it around the

:32:27. > :32:33.angles, he could have played to move that red and if he misses that, then

:32:34. > :32:39.he goes up to the other one. He got so much action on it. Watch where he

:32:40. > :32:44.goes. Finished up in the pocket. If he

:32:45. > :32:48.wanted to play for that red, he had an easy yellow to stun in and leave

:32:49. > :33:14.that red. He has the perfect angle on the

:33:15. > :33:18.brown but the yellow is in the way. He can't screw up to move the

:33:19. > :33:23.difficult red. It's too thin a cut on the blue to pot that. Might be

:33:24. > :33:27.better off playing a snooker. He is having a look. Maybe he could have

:33:28. > :33:30.stunned the green there and left it lined up with the blue and red and

:33:31. > :33:38.get the green in play. He is going to need it.

:33:39. > :33:41.He has decided he will play for the double, which is fair enough.

:33:42. > :33:45.But that was an alternative, could have stunned that green and left him

:33:46. > :33:49.snookered on blue and red and got the green in play.

:33:50. > :34:03.APPLAUSE That's a cracking double.

:34:04. > :34:07.The only problem, he is close to the cushion. This is a little bit of a

:34:08. > :34:23.tester. Yeah, well played.

:34:24. > :34:28.It's all about yellow to green. He is looking at the scoreboard. 16 in

:34:29. > :34:32.front. He has an angle on the yellow to pot it, come off the baulk

:34:33. > :34:40.cushion and possibly develop this green. A big shot coming up from

:34:41. > :35:15.Rory... I nearlied called him Rory McIlroy! Rory McLeod.

:35:16. > :35:23.He has done well in this frame. He has potted some balls and still not

:35:24. > :35:32.over the line. He has left the edge out I think for Judd to play off.

:35:33. > :35:39.Won't be snookered. That's something.

:35:40. > :35:45.Got a chance to get one here, as well. Nearly full ball on the green.

:35:46. > :35:48.Push it up and down and line up with the brown.

:35:49. > :35:51.It's all about the contact you play on the green here.

:35:52. > :36:09.Nearly full. He didn't play that and I don't know

:36:10. > :36:15.why because the shot he has played isn't really going to put him in any

:36:16. > :36:27.trouble. Wasn't that difficult to play that one.

:36:28. > :36:35.That's excellent. APPLAUSE

:36:36. > :36:38.That really is a terrific shot. He has asked for trouble there, Dennis.

:36:39. > :36:42.Sorry, but the shot before, he had to play the green up and down and

:36:43. > :36:47.line up with the brown. The fact he didn't get a snooker playing the

:36:48. > :37:06.shot he played, has left himself open for that.

:37:07. > :37:15.I would say he will settle for that, but not with this fella.

:37:16. > :37:21.Yeah, I think he decided not to bother this time.

:37:22. > :37:26.He doesn't refuse much. But he is keeping things tight and

:37:27. > :37:29.quite rightly so. He has a two-frame advantage. He is not going to make

:37:30. > :37:40.it easy for Rory. My first thought was like you, John,

:37:41. > :37:45.I thought he might knock this green in the corner but he played the good

:37:46. > :37:48.safety shot. He has played the correct shot and he obviously it

:37:49. > :37:52.could pay dividends. He has the snooker. People talk about attacking

:37:53. > :37:57.players over the years, we have seen them with the likes of Jimmy and

:37:58. > :38:01.Ronnie, but Jimmy, excellent safety player, so was Ronnie. You know,

:38:02. > :38:05.can't pot every ball you look at. You have to have an all-round game

:38:06. > :38:13.and that's what has been impressive with Judd the last couple of

:38:14. > :38:15.seasons, added maturity and with shots like that and he will win more

:38:16. > :38:28.tournaments, that's for certain. It needs to pull up. It's not going

:38:29. > :38:33.to. He will certainly this one on. It's

:38:34. > :38:43.not a gimme by any means. He has to avoid the middle pocket on the left

:38:44. > :38:48.of the table coming back around. And he has hammered it in.

:38:49. > :39:07.Every chance now to nick this frame. It's a mini turning point in the

:39:08. > :39:13.match. It's early days yet but we say you never settle until you get

:39:14. > :39:16.your first frame on the board. He did have a chance there. Meanwhile,

:39:17. > :39:22.he has come up a little bit short and we have to see one of his

:39:23. > :39:30.exhibition type positional shots. Here it comes.

:39:31. > :39:38.All the way around the angles. And perfect on the black.

:39:39. > :39:45.Rory had a chance to get a frame back there. But he didn't take it

:39:46. > :39:49.and you can't leave Judd Trump a chance like that. He cleared up and

:39:50. > :39:54.he now leads 3-0. STUDIO: He had to work harder in

:39:55. > :39:57.that one but he is over the line. One shot had you purring earlier,

:39:58. > :40:02.that red to middle, Peter. Incredible. It's a very difficult

:40:03. > :40:06.angle. The pace he played this at. This is absolutely incredible. For

:40:07. > :40:10.that red to go in at that pace at that angle, that's a one in 20 shot.

:40:11. > :40:15.Absolutely incredible shot. The most difficult part of that shot is what,

:40:16. > :40:19.the pace? Well, it's a joint combination. The pace and the angle.

:40:20. > :40:23.You could play that 20 times and get it once if you are lucky. Phenomenal

:40:24. > :40:28.shot. You are in total agreement with your pal John in the commentary

:40:29. > :40:32.box? When it came to shot selection at the end of the frame, first,

:40:33. > :40:35.let's look at the speed at which Judd Trump plays this to the middle

:40:36. > :40:40.pocket. Moving further on in the game, Rory McLeod had an excellent

:40:41. > :40:44.chance and John was talking about the tactics and the choices of

:40:45. > :40:49.shots. There was that green on the side cushion. Rory decided not to

:40:50. > :40:52.move and instead of playing the green snookering behind the blue,

:40:53. > :40:55.then forcing the issue with Judd Trump needing to get out of the

:40:56. > :40:59.snooker on the red and perhaps leaving it up. He plays to pot the

:41:00. > :41:02.brown. OK nothing wrong with that and he doubles the red after and

:41:03. > :41:06.gets down to the green. But he fails to get position on the green. It

:41:07. > :41:10.became a green ball game. What you are trying to do tactically is to

:41:11. > :41:13.try and in the leave it down to one lucky safety shot on the green. Try

:41:14. > :41:18.and win the frame in a different way earlier. That was a trick missed, I

:41:19. > :41:22.think. At this level, and I am not digging him out for any other

:41:23. > :41:27.reason, John spotted it, we saw it. He missed a trick to try and win the

:41:28. > :41:32.frame earlier by putting Judd Trump in trouble. He has put himself in

:41:33. > :41:40.trouble as you put it. He is 3-0 down.

:41:41. > :41:48.The simple fact is as Rory breaks off he needs to win this frame. He

:41:49. > :42:39.doesn't want to go to the mid session interval losing all four.

:42:40. > :42:50.Well, it's developing into a bit of a scrappy 4th frame with the pink on

:42:51. > :42:54.the side cushion. The reds as they are.

:42:55. > :42:58.Six reds behind the black spot area. You don't usually get that at the

:42:59. > :43:14.start of a frame. Well, that certainly... Where is the

:43:15. > :43:23.red going? In the pocket!

:43:24. > :43:31.A little bit of movement from Rory there. Trying to plead with that red

:43:32. > :43:36.to drop in. Yeah, don't know how he didn't pick this one, Dennis. Rory

:43:37. > :43:46.gives it a little bit of movement in a minute. We saw the red drop in.

:43:47. > :44:53.Can't beat a fluke. Once again another example of superb

:44:54. > :45:00.cueing from Judd, and power. Just generates so much of the cue ball.

:45:01. > :45:05.Dennis mentioned this, a little bit messy this frame with all the reds

:45:06. > :45:10.behind the black. Pink on the side cushion, no good. Black as it stands

:45:11. > :45:11.is no good. You have to move a few reds around before that comes into

:45:12. > :46:24.play. A tough break ahead of him. Just a bit careless and look where

:46:25. > :46:29.all the colours have gone now. Yeah, brown and green went safe in that

:46:30. > :46:36.one shot. Should clear up from here. Look where they've gone.

:46:37. > :47:25.Yeah, that is a real ugly table. Not snookered but he knew he

:47:26. > :47:41.wouldn't leave much if he played this escape route.

:47:42. > :48:16.Just take a while to sort this table out.

:48:17. > :48:22.Going to get all sorts of frames if you are going to win this year's

:48:23. > :48:28.World Championship. Balls can't always be in great positions in

:48:29. > :48:36.every frame you play. It counts exactly the same as a century break.

:48:37. > :48:40.You have to put the effort in. That's a poor shot, unless the

:48:41. > :48:47.yellow comes to his rescue. And it has!

:48:48. > :48:50.Yeah, he hit it much thinner than he intended there, Rory.

:48:51. > :48:53.Didn't want to be pushing the red over the pocket, but that was a

:48:54. > :49:09.bonus to get in behind the yellow. That's not what he wanted. He had a

:49:10. > :49:12.red on the right, he could have run straight through, left the cue ball

:49:13. > :49:16.up on the top cushion and couldn't have seen that red. It was the wrong

:49:17. > :49:41.shot, for me. Judd's playing it, thinking the most

:49:42. > :49:44.he is going to get is six, if he is lucky, the way these balls are, a

:49:45. > :50:39.miracle if you score any more. I think the blue is going to come to

:50:40. > :51:08.his rescue, maybe not:. As it stands, there is one ball

:51:09. > :51:11.available to Judd. That's the one just above the black.

:51:12. > :51:19.Goes in the top left pocket, and that's it.

:51:20. > :51:24.Interesting how a lot of players, they're left-handed when they use

:51:25. > :51:35.the rest, and they use their right hand. Yeah, a couple of players over

:51:36. > :51:43.the years. Dean Reynolds, was one. Good players.

:51:44. > :51:50.A big shot. Wow! That was just phenomenal cueing.

:51:51. > :51:55.John, that ugly table you mentioned a while ago suddenly has got better

:51:56. > :52:08.looking. It just got a little prettier!

:52:09. > :52:14.That really was fabulous cueing that last shot he played, to bring some

:52:15. > :52:21.of those balls into play. And the break is not really any easier at

:52:22. > :52:45.the moment. He is having to pull out some shots.

:52:46. > :52:57.Great shot. All done with power and top spin. Has he covered the easy

:52:58. > :53:05.one? It is, this is more difficult. If anyone can get out on a colour,

:53:06. > :53:10.it will be this man. Ha-ha! How did he create that angle?

:53:11. > :53:14.Wow! He hit that and his elbow was all

:53:15. > :53:15.over the place trying to give extra power. How he has got through the

:53:16. > :53:33.gap? It was virtually straight. Didn't want that flick. But I think

:53:34. > :53:37.he is still OK. Outside red. How he has kept the position going in this

:53:38. > :53:44.break I do not know. This could be one of the greatest

:53:45. > :54:18.clearances of all time. This is one of the best 25 breaks I

:54:19. > :54:24.have ever seen in my entire life. This has been phenomenal. The shots

:54:25. > :54:32.he has played in this break, the cue ball has been everywhere. I have

:54:33. > :54:36.seen stewerdesses that haven't travelled that far. Been all over

:54:37. > :55:00.the place. Phenomenal. 41 ahead, so just this red and the

:55:01. > :55:02.black. And it will be 4-0. He has an angle, he might try and move the red

:55:03. > :55:32.and the brown there. Well, Rory is coming to the table

:55:33. > :55:55.but barring snookers it's going to be 4-0 for Judd Trump.

:55:56. > :56:00.Judd is looking here, can play a shot with a little bit of side. He

:56:01. > :56:04.is thinking he can go at this and play the cue ball down and maybe

:56:05. > :56:07.cover it with the pink. That was his intention. That's a very clever shot

:56:08. > :56:13.he has played. It was a shot to nothing. With a snooker built in.

:56:14. > :56:47.Very clever. He could do with a red and a black

:56:48. > :56:58.here and then look for the two snookers. Red and pink, I think he

:56:59. > :57:02.still might only need two snookers. That wasn't the best shot Judd just

:57:03. > :57:43.play there. That's definitely it now.

:57:44. > :57:47.Yes, you won't see many better 48 breaks played in this year's

:57:48. > :57:51.Championships than the one you have just seen. The amount of shots with

:57:52. > :57:54.a degree of difficulty in it, to keep that break going was something

:57:55. > :58:06.very special. It's not all about century breaks. That one was a

:58:07. > :58:12.cracker. Yeah, no really big breaks, but some unbelievable individual

:58:13. > :58:15.pots and positional shots. Doesn't matter about the yellow.

:58:16. > :58:20.I suppose Rory McLeod had a chance to win at least one frame but he

:58:21. > :58:25.didn't. Judd Trump with some fantastic potting and goes to the

:58:26. > :58:28.mid-session interval having taken all four.

:58:29. > :58:33.STUDIO: That was a demonstration, a break of 48 but some sublime potting

:58:34. > :58:36.in there, Peter. I mentioned halfway through if he were to clear the

:58:37. > :58:42.table there, that would be equally as good, if not better, than the 92

:58:43. > :58:52.break Ronnie O'Sullivan made against Ali Carter where the balls were a

:58:53. > :58:57.mess and the genius he is managed to clear it. Incredible pots he pulled

:58:58. > :59:04.off. There was so much action on the cue ball it looked like handbrake

:59:05. > :59:08.turns almost going on! The hard stun red to the black pocket to almost

:59:09. > :59:12.stop the white, he had to play that with so much pace. Then a screw

:59:13. > :59:16.effect took place after the initial stun, it was an amazing shot to

:59:17. > :59:21.watch. Do we sometimes take for granted the level at which he plays,

:59:22. > :59:29.because he does turn it on like this on the big occasions so often? Yeah,

:59:30. > :59:32.possibly we take Judd Trump's skill level, not for granted, so much as

:59:33. > :59:36.disregard the skill level and go amazing potter. Brave potter and

:59:37. > :59:47.think potter only. It's not. He has much more in his armoury.

:59:48. > :59:55.This could be a nice draw for Judd Trump in a first round draw, no

:59:56. > :59:59.disrespect. You will know what to expect, Rory will provide a tough

:00:00. > :00:05.game, that's his style. Unlikely Rory goes to the table and blasts

:00:06. > :00:09.Judd Trump Moffat. Judd think he has enough time on his hands, not

:00:10. > :00:14.relaxing, but he has time to play himself into it. And he has the

:00:15. > :00:18.ideal start. From Rory's point of view, how intimidating is it to play

:00:19. > :00:22.somebody with so much firepower? He's playing with so much freedom,

:00:23. > :00:27.has been very aggressive. Everything he's taking on has gone in. It's

:00:28. > :00:33.very intimidating. We will be back after the interval to see the next

:00:34. > :00:41.five frames of the opening session of Judd against Rory. Ding Junhui,

:00:42. > :00:44.what can we say about this man? Runner-up last year, he lives, works

:00:45. > :00:49.and practices here in Sheffield. He knows the streets very well. He got

:00:50. > :00:55.into a taxi with a really dodgy Geezer the other day!

:00:56. > :01:33.Right, how are you? Your driving? I'm driving. You a good passenger?

:01:34. > :01:40.Not sure. What's it like for you in China? Can you go out to a bar, can

:01:41. > :01:48.you do that, or are you so famous in China that they go crazy? What's the

:01:49. > :01:55.experience like? I never did that before. I don't know what's going

:01:56. > :02:05.on. Every time I'm just between tournaments, I it's big. I just take

:02:06. > :02:14.sunglasses. I just want my life back. I live in the UK. I enjoy

:02:15. > :02:19.being relaxed. Nobody comes up. If one person comes, maybe. Some people

:02:20. > :02:22.are too excited. They are shouting and all these things. Everybody can

:02:23. > :02:30.hear them and then they come together. Sometimes it's mad. Just

:02:31. > :02:40.be careful. On the equivalent of twitter... Webo. How many followers

:02:41. > :02:49.do you have bastion yellow 5 million. That's David Beckham

:02:50. > :03:01.territory. -- do you have? 5 million. Have you got a helicopter

:03:02. > :03:08.or anything? Helicopter! Why not? It's brilliant. More fun than a

:03:09. > :03:18.plane. OK. What do you have on your list of things to do? Have you heard

:03:19. > :03:23.the word bucket list? It's like a list of ten things you want to do in

:03:24. > :03:30.your life. Ten things you haven't yet done. What would you say? Ten

:03:31. > :03:37.things you want to do, on your list. Would you like to jump out of a... A

:03:38. > :03:46.parachute jump? Yes. You want to do that. There is one. Bungee jump. Not

:03:47. > :03:54.yet. Do you want to? It's things you want to do. Maybe I would take a

:03:55. > :03:59.long time to get ready. Would you jump or would you have to be pushed

:04:00. > :04:10.bastion yellow I would jump. That is the thrill-seeker in you. -- pushed?

:04:11. > :04:16.I would jump. You have to trust somebody has tied the ropes around

:04:17. > :04:20.your legs properly. I would like my friend to pack my parachute. I don't

:04:21. > :04:29.want anyone else to pack my parachute. Somebody you trust.

:04:30. > :04:34.Totally. Thank you very much. At the last event in China I got presented

:04:35. > :04:43.with a special teapot from your father. He makes teapots. Yes, my

:04:44. > :04:51.father makes teapots. How long has he done that for? He likes teapots.

:04:52. > :04:58.He got a business about four years. He loved that, he loved to do the

:04:59. > :05:05.pigeons flying. The competitions. Racing pigeons? Racing pigeons,

:05:06. > :05:10.yeah. They are two things I can't understand. Maybe too young for

:05:11. > :05:20.that. I like to have Chinese tea though. They are all waiting around.

:05:21. > :05:30.He gone? Straight to the airport. Hotel first. Just phoning up, to

:05:31. > :05:42.find out where you are. Cheers. Thanks. Thank you.

:05:43. > :05:49.He's an excellent driver, but he's not half nosy. Ding relieved to be

:05:50. > :05:53.out of the car and into the arena. I'm sure number one on his bucket

:05:54. > :05:57.list is a world title. He's making a good start. He was runner-up last

:05:58. > :06:08.year and has a two advantage over fellow Chinese Zhou Yuelong. We will

:06:09. > :06:16.take a peek at frame 11 now in the company of Stephen Hendry and Willie

:06:17. > :06:19.Thorne. COMMENTATOR: The black available to the left corner. He's

:06:20. > :06:23.aiming down the cue ball so it obviously is. No. It's a long way

:06:24. > :06:35.off. He certainly hasn't settled yet, has

:06:36. > :06:43.he? This is a wile away for somebody of Ding's class. Presume the reds,

:06:44. > :06:50.he can see the red in the baulk area. He will take this on.

:06:51. > :07:45.The pack of reds are a nice shape to go into. The two in the closest to

:07:46. > :07:53.the pack, go right in between those two. Can play with more screw into

:07:54. > :08:03.the cue ball. A lot of the times you go into the bunch, you would rather

:08:04. > :08:06.stunned into them. Might get the gap. He's OK. Has enough power and

:08:07. > :08:21.action in the cue ball. This is not easy. Follow through off

:08:22. > :08:31.to cushions. Hit that well. Very well.

:08:32. > :08:38.The three reds above the black, he can hit the left one and stun onto

:08:39. > :08:42.that leaving the choice of two reds into the corner. Maybe pushing one

:08:43. > :08:43.over the middle. I would have played harder than that but it was a decent

:08:44. > :08:58.shot. Ding doesn't want to lose the first

:08:59. > :09:02.two frames here. Maybe wondering whether he will play well in this

:09:03. > :09:03.session. Steve mentioned his temperament, sometimes there's a

:09:04. > :09:28.possibility of it letting him down. Bit surprised he played for this

:09:29. > :09:31.red. I would go for the one below these two to the right-hand corner.

:09:32. > :09:34.That would have been the easier shot. Then follow through for the

:09:35. > :10:53.black. Back in prime position. I think you

:10:54. > :10:58.will play for the red next to the black into the left-hand corner.

:10:59. > :11:10.Make this into a chance to win the frame. Going back to what we said

:11:11. > :11:12.about Ding, doesn't want his opponent to get too much of a head

:11:13. > :11:35.of steam of confidence. He can get it going, young Zhou

:11:36. > :11:39.Yuelong. He has only been a professional for two years. If he

:11:40. > :11:48.gets a head of steam going, you can run off frames very quickly. I'm not

:11:49. > :11:53.saying for one minute I expected to win the match, but he can put Ding

:11:54. > :11:57.under pressure in this round. Leading 7-2, should have been

:11:58. > :12:36.easier. The red closest to the cue ball, the

:12:37. > :12:42.two reds either side of it, he could play a cannon on either side of them

:12:43. > :12:48.to leave it to the left or right corner. He has played the more exact

:12:49. > :12:54.positional shot to leave this red. Now he's got a bit more of a

:12:55. > :13:10.problem. Not guaranteed position now. Or not good position anyway.

:13:11. > :13:25.He's got the blue to the far left corner. This has become missable.

:13:26. > :14:02.Looking more confident out there. He has taken these very well, hasn't

:14:03. > :14:16.he? Excellent opening red, knocking a long one into the Bolton pocket.

:14:17. > :14:53.-- into the baulk pocket. Trying to make his first century of the match.

:14:54. > :15:03.It's always a great thrill when you are at his level to play at the

:15:04. > :15:06.Crucible. It's always a bigger thrill to make your first century at

:15:07. > :15:11.the Crucible, which is what he could do now. Ding has already had three

:15:12. > :15:17.centuries in this match. It was on the middle of the three reds, that

:15:18. > :15:54.makes the century almost a certainty.

:15:55. > :16:04.I think he has lined them up. Not too sure he can make the plant from

:16:05. > :16:08.here. It's a tough plant. Break of 93. He will have to go for the

:16:09. > :16:15.plant. Take it slowly and give the pocket every chance of taking it.

:16:16. > :16:22.What a shame not to make the century. He has started very well

:16:23. > :16:29.today. Fabulous break of 93 takes him close to Ding Junhui, it's 7-4.

:16:30. > :16:36.The first two of the afternoon for young 19-year-old Zhou Yuelong.

:16:37. > :16:41.Dinda taking the next, and Zhou takes the next in 37 minutes. They

:16:42. > :16:46.are at the interval, Ding leading 8-5. They will be live on the red

:16:47. > :16:49.button when they come back. We go back live to the other match. Very

:16:50. > :16:54.much in the groove and moving smoothly so far. That's just John

:16:55. > :16:58.and Dennis in the commentary box. Looking good on the table and in

:16:59. > :17:02.complete control is world number two, Judd Trump, up against Rory

:17:03. > :17:10.McLeod. COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Hazel. Dennis has popped out for a

:17:11. > :17:15.cup of tea, like the players. All set and ready for the next five

:17:16. > :17:19.frames of the match. As you always say, Dennis, need to get the first

:17:20. > :17:33.frame on the board to settle down. He certainly needs to do that.

:17:34. > :17:45.Yeah, no really big breaks just yet, but some spectacular shotmaking.

:17:46. > :17:50.I thought he had removed the red from the black bear. Think is

:17:51. > :17:57.looking at the one next to the brown. Doesn't want a framework they

:17:58. > :18:02.will all up there. -- doesn't want a frame where they will all head up

:18:03. > :18:06.there. Get the frame back to normality. Push the red to the side

:18:07. > :18:18.cushion and the white on the other one, that would be fine. Just stops

:18:19. > :18:22.the potential message frame again. He's in good stroke, scoring plenty.

:18:23. > :18:24.Just once opportunity. No point getting bogged down in a tactical

:18:25. > :19:27.exchange. -- just wants opportunity. the table on the left-hand side as

:19:28. > :19:34.we look. The red on the left-hand side is blocking the cue ball, or

:19:35. > :19:38.could be. Yeah. And that shot, the only thing you have to guard

:19:39. > :19:45.against, if you miss the ball, just don't get the double-kiss. That's

:19:46. > :19:49.exactly what happened. Trying to leave the cue ball down here. He

:19:50. > :19:50.didn't hit the jaws with it. That was the problem. Came back and only

:19:51. > :20:09.one outcome. That has certainly opened things up.

:20:10. > :20:12.Was relying on a bit of good fortune just to get onto a colour. But the

:20:13. > :20:30.pink spoiled everything. Don't think there will be any

:20:31. > :20:38.heroics there. Just run up to the two reds on the side cushion. Get

:20:39. > :20:41.back to the baulk area for the safety is awkward. Certainly on the

:20:42. > :20:53.left-hand side of the table as we look at it.

:20:54. > :21:05.Might be a bit of tapping going on for a while, unless he decides to

:21:06. > :21:10.play this group shot. That's better. -- play the screw shot. Good shot.

:21:11. > :21:16.Very good shot. Because he has covered the one to the left-hand

:21:17. > :21:25.corner pocket. Excellent shot from Rory there.

:21:26. > :21:32.Yeah, he's got a really tough shot to play, Judd, if he wants to get

:21:33. > :21:34.the cue ball back virtually where it is. I think it will probably be too

:21:35. > :21:55.difficult to play that. Looked as if, as you say, John,

:21:56. > :21:57.thought there would be some tipping and tapping, but pulled out a

:21:58. > :22:18.cracking shot there. Yeah, he was in a spot of bother

:22:19. > :22:23.there, Judd. He has left this red for Rory, but it's a bit of a

:22:24. > :22:32.stretch. It's off straight. That's handy, can't play off the black.

:22:33. > :22:38.Unless you can stun round, the black does pot. Perhaps he could stun

:22:39. > :22:41.round. A couple of options. At first I was thinking he would just play up

:22:42. > :22:46.and down, but might be able to get over there. Yeah, he could. Good

:22:47. > :23:33.shot. Not quite as he intended there. This

:23:34. > :23:38.red is a little bit on the thin side to hold the black on the only pocket

:23:39. > :23:42.available to it. These are funny shots. You don't like dragging them

:23:43. > :23:52.when they are thin. In fact, you can't when you are bridging over.

:23:53. > :23:56.Well done. Tell you what, that was a better shot than it looked. To hold

:23:57. > :23:58.that from that angle and bridging over the reds... Judged to

:23:59. > :24:11.perfection. Well, Rory, let's see if you could

:24:12. > :24:19.not in a 50 or 60 to get yourself settle down. You have done so well

:24:20. > :24:29.to get through to the Crucible. Not had many chances. He can certainly

:24:30. > :24:33.score when he gets going, Rory. I remember the last couple of years I

:24:34. > :24:45.was still playing on the circuit, doing qualifiers and stuff at

:24:46. > :24:50.Prestatyn and Pontin's, Rory was scoring hundreds and hundreds. A

:24:51. > :24:53.scoring machine. Hasn't done himself justice on national TV, for whatever

:24:54. > :24:58.reason. Certainly a better player than he has shown on a number of

:24:59. > :25:02.occasions in front of the cameras. Certainly when you play in those

:25:03. > :25:46.cubicles in the qualifying, he can score.

:25:47. > :25:52.We always say, sometimes the interval can change things around.

:25:53. > :25:59.It's certainly proving that way at the moment.

:26:00. > :26:13.It's so important, if he could win his first frame at this visit.

:26:14. > :26:24.Beautifully played cannon there. Left himself a choice of reds.

:26:25. > :26:28.Judged that really well. And not hanging about, John. He has

:26:29. > :26:32.quickened up a bit. Couldn't agree with you more, Dennis. He's getting

:26:33. > :26:40.on with it. Looks more fluent and a lot better for it. He strikes the

:26:41. > :26:49.ball beautifully, he really does. Real authority of strike on it. Good

:26:50. > :26:54.contact, good cueing. This is more like what he can do.

:26:55. > :27:02.In fairness to him, it's his first real decent opportunity among the

:27:03. > :27:38.balls. You can see for yourself, he can play.

:27:39. > :27:52.Well... What a time to miss a red. Only 67 on the table, but what a

:27:53. > :27:58.sitter he missed there. Would have been a chance of making a century

:27:59. > :28:07.break. He looks away in disgust. But Judd needs a snooker. But all of a

:28:08. > :28:10.sudden, he's perfect on the black. He might give himself a chance of

:28:11. > :29:02.that snooker he needs. Well, attempting to screw back for

:29:03. > :29:17.the black there. Missing the red. Got a cracking double earlier. And

:29:18. > :29:43.there's another one! Disappointing not to make the

:29:44. > :29:49.century break but he has done what he needed to do, he had to get a

:29:50. > :29:51.frame on the board and he did it with a certain amount of class

:29:52. > :29:57.there. Judd looks to the referee, it was a

:29:58. > :30:04.terrific 72 break, a fluent 72 break from Rory McLeod. He's opened his

:30:05. > :30:07.account but still trails 4-1. STUDIO: Rory off and running in this

:30:08. > :30:13.match in his third appearance at the Crucible. You know him well and you

:30:14. > :30:17.practised with him. How fluent a player and how naturally gifted is

:30:18. > :30:22.this man? He is a talented player, Rory. Lovely, lovely man. He works

:30:23. > :30:26.really hard at his game. I would say probably the only person that

:30:27. > :30:31.possibly works harder in professional snooker will be Mark

:30:32. > :30:35.Selby. I would be slighted to see Rory win more matches but not only

:30:36. > :30:39.win, but to win another tournament apart from the PTC he won recently.

:30:40. > :30:44.In Germany, yeah. Lovely, lovely man. Very, very good player, great

:30:45. > :30:49.cuist, as well, with tremendous cue power. Six years ago he beat Ricky

:30:50. > :30:52.Walden in a prolonged much as I recall. They had to bring them back

:30:53. > :30:58.later to finish that one off. He knows what it takes to win here.

:30:59. > :31:02.What are your impressions of Rory over the years? Well, I think

:31:03. > :31:06.anybody that gets to the Crucible is a player. You can't get here by

:31:07. > :31:10.getting lucky, especially now. You have to play three qualifying rounds

:31:11. > :31:14.to get through. So the standard is ever improving, the fact Rory McLeod

:31:15. > :31:20.as the oldest competitor is still fighting is testament to his

:31:21. > :31:24.abilities all-round. It may be that the modern day players are more

:31:25. > :31:29.aggressive than Rory's game, not saying he is not aggressive, but it

:31:30. > :31:33.seems the trend is towards a faster, more fluent game and it's not

:31:34. > :31:39.necessarily Rory's way of playing, although he can play fluently. But

:31:40. > :31:44.he also sometimes has in the past probably slowed down matches which

:31:45. > :31:48.may be to his - not good for his perspective. It's against the trend

:31:49. > :31:52.the style he plays, not to say it can't win. It's a clash of

:31:53. > :31:56.generations, he is 46 and Judd Trump is 27. 19 years on this fella. It's

:31:57. > :32:04.an intriguing match-up. Back we go. I think detriment was the word you

:32:05. > :32:30.were looking for, Steve! There you can see, even though he is

:32:31. > :32:41.4-1 down, he has had the same amount of table time as Judd.

:32:42. > :32:52.Yeah, nice to get this frame on the board but nice to do it in one

:32:53. > :32:59.visit. A decent break. He can score when he gets going, Rory. Yeah. We

:33:00. > :33:05.have all been there, 4-0 down, you start feeling a little embarrassed

:33:06. > :33:10.you are not producing anything and you want, you spend your lifetime

:33:11. > :33:14.practising and you want to show people what you can do. When you are

:33:15. > :33:18.not performing and sometimes not getting a chance it gets a little

:33:19. > :33:30.embarrassing. Well, he thought he could get around

:33:31. > :33:40.the back of the reds there. He didn't.

:33:41. > :33:44.Difficult to find the gap there, though.

:33:45. > :33:50.OK the pink looks to be out of commission. Well, it is. And the

:33:51. > :33:55.black is also. Rory will have to sit and see what develops here.

:33:56. > :34:00.But he can relax a little bit because that was a terrific 72

:34:01. > :34:04.break. You don't get much time to relax

:34:05. > :34:21.when you are playing Judd Trump. He's had a look already, will he

:34:22. > :34:27.take a chance to play a cannon? He is coming back up for the blue.

:34:28. > :34:31.The way it's worked out, if he can get high on the red that's to the

:34:32. > :34:35.left of the black, he could play a cannon and flick the other one out.

:34:36. > :34:36.That might be a little bit further down the line in this break. But

:34:37. > :34:48.that's there. Yeah, and a couple of shots' time,

:34:49. > :34:51.that's what John was talking about, if he got the white in that circle

:34:52. > :34:54.he could pot the red to the left of the black and cannon the other one,

:34:55. > :35:10.so he will have that in his mind. Just clearing a path through to

:35:11. > :35:31.eventually maybe playing that shot. He could do it now. There are reds

:35:32. > :35:34.available into the -- into the right corner also. He has looked at reds

:35:35. > :35:39.the other side so he might leave it still. We will find out shortly. He

:35:40. > :35:48.has come up to that circle we mentioned. That looks good to me.

:35:49. > :35:52.Just a slight grimace on his face, whether he's not got the right

:35:53. > :35:59.angle, maybe he's not come down far enough. Yeah, could have done with

:36:00. > :36:04.extra on the cue ball. May have to play a deep screw out here.

:36:05. > :36:09.Didn't quite get into that one, ways unusual for him.

:36:10. > :36:31.-- which is unusual for him. A little flick on the brown, looked

:36:32. > :36:39.like it might spoil things. Maybe it still has.

:36:40. > :36:48.That won't go, the right won't go. This one will go.

:36:49. > :36:52.Use the red once again, but that's quite an acute angle. Don't know if

:36:53. > :37:04.he can see enough of that. Must just be able to see it.

:37:05. > :37:12.Yeah, he could see enough of it. It was a good pot. I was wondering

:37:13. > :37:20.whether there was enough of that to hit, Dennis. Yeah, he hit them both

:37:21. > :37:26.together. If that had been a colour the other side it would have been a

:37:27. > :37:35.foul. Of course it was two reds, so it didn't matter.

:37:36. > :37:41.Just tried to stun that in to get on the bottom red of the pack. Don't

:37:42. > :37:47.know if he has come far enough. If he has, it's an excellent shot. He

:37:48. > :37:52.has done, well, well played. He had to force that to get an angle out of

:37:53. > :38:01.it. He has played some shots today. He really has. That was just another

:38:02. > :38:03.example of the cue power he has. Yeah, he is looking for 66 points as

:38:04. > :38:18.you can see. As we mentioned a few times, highest

:38:19. > :38:22.break is 55 at the moment. But some of the shots he has pulled off have

:38:23. > :38:30.been quite incredible. That was another one.

:38:31. > :38:36.Yeah, not the highest breaks you would imagine, but no less

:38:37. > :38:41.entertaining. The breaks have had so many fantastic shots in them. Back

:38:42. > :38:47.to the one a couple of shots ago, that one off the blue, that was

:38:48. > :38:53.virtually straight. How he got on that bottom red? He would like to

:38:54. > :39:04.take that one again, though. He arced that too much.

:39:05. > :39:06.He arced around the reds. Let's look at the white here. You get that arc

:39:07. > :39:24.and it took him away from the reds. Oh! 49. Very good break.

:39:25. > :39:30.But it's left a bit of a chance for Rory to put in a counterattack. We

:39:31. > :39:37.will show you this red wobbling in the jaws.

:39:38. > :39:46.Obviously these particularly pots need a little bit of attention. Make

:39:47. > :39:51.sure you leave yourself an angle to pot this and screw up into the four

:39:52. > :39:56.reds because the way they are none of them pot at the moment. It's not

:39:57. > :40:00.a great little cluster to go into this. You could easily stick on one.

:40:01. > :40:11.It's got to be played with a bit of force because the two reds are close

:40:12. > :40:22.to each other. Yeah, it was never brilliant. At least he has a shot at

:40:23. > :40:26.one. Because those two lots of two were stuck together, if you had the

:40:27. > :40:28.cue ball and it didn't have pace it could have stuck on the back one so

:40:29. > :40:49.had to hit it with a bit of force. Just having a look at the angle

:40:50. > :40:52.there. This is a big shot, actually. 4-1 down. If he can knock this in

:40:53. > :42:04.it's a great chance. A decent shot. I think he can see

:42:05. > :42:08.the one on the right side. In fact, he has got him snookered. That's an

:42:09. > :42:12.excellent shot. Certainly covered the left side and he can't see all

:42:13. > :42:23.of that one. Look at Rory looking down as well! Here is the ref now,

:42:24. > :42:29.anyone else! If he could see enough he would play a Judd Trump special.

:42:30. > :42:32.He still might try and screw the white back, but can he see enough to

:42:33. > :42:35.take the pot on? He has to be careful because he

:42:36. > :42:48.could clip the yellow here f he really forces this.

:42:49. > :42:55.The reason the referee is down there making sure where it is, it's just

:42:56. > :43:09.in case he did foul and he had to replace them.

:43:10. > :43:13.He is a nurse in one of the hospitals.

:43:14. > :43:17.Rory, you have a chance to get right back into this 6th frame. Yeah, he

:43:18. > :43:22.couldn't ask for these any better. When Judd played that safety shot

:43:23. > :43:30.before and took the red off the bottom cushion all the balls became

:43:31. > :43:36.in play. What a chance this is. Yeah, 40 points behind but you can't

:43:37. > :43:45.ask for a better counterchance than this one.

:43:46. > :43:53.Sometimes he cues up and he is very close with his bridge hand to the

:43:54. > :43:58.cue ball, Rory. It varies. Most players it's the same distance all

:43:59. > :44:02.the time. But Rory seems to vary it. Depending on the type of shot he is

:44:03. > :44:36.playing. Peter Ebdon in the studio today was

:44:37. > :44:41.mentioning how his work ethic, how hard he works at his game, Rory, and

:44:42. > :44:50.the hours of practice he puts in. And this is exactly what it's for.

:44:51. > :44:56.These occasions. You can't replicate them in your club, but... Oh! That

:44:57. > :45:02.was such a careless shot. He seemed to play it quite quickly, Dennis,

:45:03. > :45:15.didn't he? Yeah, he stunned it rather than screwing it. It's a

:45:16. > :45:19.massive mistake. Yeah, he had that break of 72 in the previous frame

:45:20. > :45:24.and he could have easily... Look at the balls he could easily have

:45:25. > :45:38.pinched this frame. What a boost that would have been.

:45:39. > :45:46.Yeah, safety shots are the way forward. Just play down the bottom

:45:47. > :45:51.of the table. You missed a chance, wait for another one.

:45:52. > :46:01.He will be absolutely kicking himself about that shot. You could

:46:02. > :46:08.play in the club all day and not play as bad as that. A little cannon

:46:09. > :46:10.needed to play to the left side of that red and it would have been

:46:11. > :47:16.perfect. A bit unfortunate there. It was a

:47:17. > :47:22.cracking long pot but cannoned the red and the black and leave

:47:23. > :47:28.everything safe, was a bit unlucky. But 26 points behind and the way the

:47:29. > :47:37.balls are situated, it's anyone's frame.

:47:38. > :47:46.What's your choice here, Dennis? It doesn't look easy to get a good

:47:47. > :47:51.safety. Looks like he is going up to the

:47:52. > :47:56.corner. And trying to use the black there, I think. He couldn't really

:47:57. > :48:00.get a good telling safety from the position of the balls there.

:48:01. > :48:06.Judd's got a better opportunity to get over behind the brown off a

:48:07. > :48:09.couple of cushions. He pointed his cue there, that's where he would

:48:10. > :48:16.like to get the cue ball. Rory couldn't do that.

:48:17. > :48:25.Not quite. He might be able to have a go at a shot to nothing here, the

:48:26. > :48:28.one near the pink. If he can clip this one in, what dividends this

:48:29. > :48:31.could pay. If he was to slot this in he would have a big advantage but

:48:32. > :48:40.it's a very tough one. But it's a free shot.

:48:41. > :49:08.Not quite. What was that?

:49:09. > :49:15.Hit it far too thick. What a chance now. The yellow is the only one

:49:16. > :49:19.that's a little awkward. To get from yellow to green. Yeah, chance number

:49:20. > :49:29.two for Rory. Yeah, yellow to green is going to be

:49:30. > :49:53.the problem as you rightly said. Not really in a great position the

:49:54. > :49:58.yellow for potting this red and getting on the yellow and going back

:49:59. > :50:10.up the table. It's in an awkward spot on the table really.

:50:11. > :50:15.It's all about making sure he gets position on the next colour in a way

:50:16. > :50:27.that he can easily get back to the yellow.

:50:28. > :50:33.He has a bit of an angle here but he will have to power the black in to

:50:34. > :50:39.stun off the cushion and over towards the yellow.

:50:40. > :50:45.Might be able to do it. Yeah. Yeah!

:50:46. > :50:48.Well, that's not bad. It will go up past the blue. He had to force that

:50:49. > :50:52.black in and he made a pretty good job of it. A key shot coming up and

:50:53. > :50:58.he has checked to see if the green will pass the brown. That's the big

:50:59. > :51:07.thing with this shot, Dennis. If it does OK, still pressure but it's a

:51:08. > :51:18.plain ball shot. Hasn't got to think about that if it goes.

:51:19. > :51:29.The way he is cueing up at it, that green doesn't pass the brown.

:51:30. > :51:34.It does... And it's there. It looked as if he was going to stun

:51:35. > :51:37.that. Slightly unusual sort of set-up.

:51:38. > :51:41.Looks like he is going to stun or screw the ball and then runs it

:51:42. > :51:42.through. Different from the other players but that was a really well

:51:43. > :51:56.played shot. Oh, he has fluked that. He has

:51:57. > :52:02.actually had to put his hand up there, he hit the green on to the

:52:03. > :52:11.brown and gone in the pocket. What a fluke that was. Yeah, well, you have

:52:12. > :52:14.to take good fortune. Let's look at it. We didn't see that initially.

:52:15. > :52:25.But he did, went in off the brown. And that looks absolutely perfect on

:52:26. > :52:51.the pink. Judd Trump had an earlier break of

:52:52. > :52:54.49 but that little bit of good luck when he held his hand up and the

:52:55. > :53:02.green went in off the brown, but he had to pot them, he did it and he is

:53:03. > :53:07.now only two behind. STUDIO: Quickfire McLeod with that

:53:08. > :53:13.richochet which got him over the line. Did it put it back on course

:53:14. > :53:17.or was it still travelling the way he wanted to? Massive fluke. It was

:53:18. > :53:22.a tough shot. He was off on the cushion, he had to stun down. But

:53:23. > :53:27.yeah, effectively he missed the pot and how it flicked off the brown is

:53:28. > :53:34.amazing, Peter. Yeah. Normally that would go thick. To go off the brown

:53:35. > :53:42.and go in was incredible. Very rarely see that, do you? No. Let me

:53:43. > :53:45.think, no, you don't. In terms of this mini comeback we are

:53:46. > :53:49.experiencing from Rory McLeod, this is going to give him a lot of

:53:50. > :53:53.encouragement going forward. It's interesting, Judd has been playing

:53:54. > :53:58.attacking snooker, potting loads of balls. Rory hasn't really got into

:53:59. > :54:01.the match yet. But that's going to give him plenty of encouragement and

:54:02. > :54:04.maybe if he can nick a couple more, it might give Judd something to

:54:05. > :54:08.think about. We have often talked where Judd is concerned about

:54:09. > :54:13.concentration levels in matches that he is supposed to win comfortably.

:54:14. > :54:17.Is this another mental test for him at this point, one that he should

:54:18. > :54:22.pass, let's be honest, as world number two? Yes, but the first round

:54:23. > :54:27.of the World Championship is a potential banana skin for any player

:54:28. > :54:31.and even if you get off to a good start, we have seen people can come

:54:32. > :54:35.back in the second session. Once you get somebody on the ropes you have

:54:36. > :54:39.to keep them there, that's difficult because the players are very good.

:54:40. > :54:43.The way Rory McLeod gets back into this match is hopefully from his

:54:44. > :54:48.perspective that Judd goes off the boil a bit and Rory finds his form.

:54:49. > :54:52.It's not a case of report McLeod trying to slow Judd down. But if

:54:53. > :54:56.Rory can feel relaxed in the auditorium and when you are 4-0 down

:54:57. > :55:00.you are not relaxed, if you can feel relaxed you have a chance. Are you

:55:01. > :55:04.sensing comfort levels returning to Rory's game? He will be happier than

:55:05. > :55:08.half an hour ago, that's for sure. He has the ability. Yes, Judd is

:55:09. > :55:12.playing fantastic snooker but Rory needs to hang in there. You never

:55:13. > :55:16.know what's going to happen. We have three more frames to play this

:55:17. > :55:18.afternoon. This is the opening session. Trump's lead has been cut

:55:19. > :55:36.to two now. Yes, Judd there breaks off in frame

:55:37. > :55:41.seven. Right what Peter said, half an hour ago Rory McLeod was four

:55:42. > :55:46.behind, so he has done well to win those two frames. One in particular

:55:47. > :55:58.with a break of 72, which is the highest break of the match. : That

:55:59. > :56:02.stat of the breaks doesn't always tell the story. At least Rory is

:56:03. > :56:53.scoring better now. Judd was purposely trying to hit

:56:54. > :57:02.that safety shot a little thick and open some of the balls there, but

:57:03. > :57:07.had a mis-hit there. Depending on the angle, and looking at Rory's

:57:08. > :57:13.face, he shook his head there, so it can't be great. No problem in

:57:14. > :57:28.potting a red, but just can't get on a colour.

:57:29. > :57:37.Where is the cue ball going to finish?

:57:38. > :57:40.Just a straightforward safety shot from Rory there. No wonder he is

:57:41. > :57:46.smiling! As he goes back to his seat.

:57:47. > :58:19.He can't believe it had come to that one. Dear me!

:58:20. > :58:25.There is that straightforward safety shot you were on about, Dennis.

:58:26. > :58:29.Well, I have seen some shots already this year but that is unbelievable!

:58:30. > :59:58.How has it finished there? Hmm... Wondered whether Rory would

:59:59. > :00:02.be tempted by the double. Easy safety shot to put the top cushion

:00:03. > :00:10.behind the black. He has spotted a couple of doubles already. He's

:00:11. > :00:40.having a look again. Maybe he will have a go.

:00:41. > :00:52.It was worth a shot. Couldn't leave a great deal, you wouldn't think so.

:00:53. > :00:53.Although Judd potted one in the middle earlier today that was

:00:54. > :01:08.frightening. Yeah, and that's a little bit scary

:01:09. > :01:15.as well! To knock that in at that pace, that's another beauty he's

:01:16. > :01:23.pulled out there. Do you remember we used to talk about James Wattana

:01:24. > :01:27.from Thailand, a great middle ball Potter. And then the Chinese boys

:01:28. > :01:31.came along and they were all great potters into the middle pocket. I

:01:32. > :01:36.tell you what, Judd, never seen anything like the couple he's

:01:37. > :01:42.knocked in today. I was about to say, the best part of another

:01:43. > :01:50.fortnight to go and you won't see two better pots than the ones you've

:01:51. > :02:01.seen today. He's got nothing to a mat. -- nothing to aim at. Someone

:02:02. > :02:06.sent an e-mail yesterday, we are doing a thing called cue fix this

:02:07. > :02:09.week, trying to help people with their game. Someone asked if we

:02:10. > :02:14.could help with their middle pocket playing. Just watch Judd, that's

:02:15. > :02:18.pretty decent advice. Although I don't know how he does it. Those two

:02:19. > :02:38.today have been stupendous, Dennis. He does play that shot so well. And

:02:39. > :02:46.that red has come across and blocked, very unfortunate indeed.

:02:47. > :02:52.Look at that. Very unlucky there. Couldn't have played this any

:02:53. > :02:57.better. He's on one. There is one at the end, and if it hits it full ball

:02:58. > :03:17.it will go. Just run a little bit too far.

:03:18. > :03:30.Obviously was in go mode and decided he was going to take that on no

:03:31. > :03:40.matter what. Tough shot. And now Rory has got another chance. The

:03:41. > :03:48.black is available as well. Nice stun shot on this.

:03:49. > :03:58.He has just decelerated. It was funny, it was in between a run

:03:59. > :04:04.through, probably needed to screw it more than stun. Just decelerated on

:04:05. > :04:06.that. The cue ball had lost all impetus by the time it got to the

:04:07. > :04:22.object ball. I mean, that was very ambitious.

:04:23. > :04:26.Trying to get the pocket to accept the red at that pace, but that's

:04:27. > :04:32.what he had to do to get on the black. Almost straight on it. It was

:04:33. > :04:39.asking a great deal, but that's the type of thing he can pull off so

:04:40. > :04:43.many times. Just looking, Rory having a look around the table and

:04:44. > :04:48.might be tempted to take the red by the blue. It's not easy, it will

:04:49. > :04:54.require good cueing, but where it is, if he takes it on and leaves the

:04:55. > :04:58.cue ball virtually where the red is, what will he leave? He's having a

:04:59. > :05:02.good look around. It might only really be the red he's taking. He's

:05:03. > :05:26.made his mind up. How's your cueing? APPLAUSE

:05:27. > :05:34.An absolute stunner. What a terrific pot that was. Superb, Dennis. I like

:05:35. > :05:39.the way he had a good walk around, sussed out that if he left it there

:05:40. > :05:47.he wouldn't be leaving much. Fully committed to the shot when he took

:05:48. > :05:51.it. Very good. I think all those reds are all blocking each other to

:05:52. > :05:56.the corner pockets. He has an angle on the blue, so he could power in

:05:57. > :05:59.and cannon into a few reds to develop something. They are all

:06:00. > :06:04.covering themselves at the moment. He has to try to get into those

:06:05. > :06:09.five. Coming off the side cushion with top spin and a bit of

:06:10. > :06:13.right-hand side to try to get into those five reds. Just don't know

:06:14. > :06:17.what angle he's got on the blue. If it was straight he could be off the

:06:18. > :06:21.cushion and into them. If there is an angle he could go off to cushions

:06:22. > :06:27.and behind them. That's definitely the target. Yeah, that's what he's

:06:28. > :06:31.looking at. I think if he plays top spin with lots of right-hand side,

:06:32. > :06:37.he could play that shot. That's the one he could play, and he has

:06:38. > :06:42.managed to get straight up into them. It's just the cue power that

:06:43. > :06:53.manage that. But he had to disturb something there, and he did. He did

:06:54. > :06:59.well to power that. Does a lucky thing to end up where he has done.

:07:00. > :07:08.Very good to end up on that shot off the blue. Now it's just a little bit

:07:09. > :07:12.delicate to play with the spider, striking down on the tables with the

:07:13. > :07:21.cloth is the way they are, if you put side on. That's what he's

:07:22. > :07:26.looking at. Don't know if he can get there with the rest. Has to be

:07:27. > :07:31.careful he doesn't foul trying to get the rest into that awkward

:07:32. > :07:41.position. Has to be careful. He is close to it.

:07:42. > :07:49.And getting it away... He played that terrific. Excellent shot,

:07:50. > :07:53.Dennis, wasn't it? Far more difficult than it looked to get the

:07:54. > :07:59.screwing side and make sure you don't foul any reds with the rest.

:08:00. > :08:05.Very well played. Unfortunately for Rory in this break, the two reds

:08:06. > :08:16.close to the cue ball, they are blocking one of the pockets.

:08:17. > :08:54.He's just coming round to check. Seeing what will still go.

:08:55. > :09:12.And he's growing into this game today, Rory McLeod. One or two shots

:09:13. > :09:14.from Judd a little bit loose or overambitious. Have to be careful

:09:15. > :09:49.with all your opponents. He knew as he let go of the cue, he

:09:50. > :09:54.concentrated on playing a delicate screw shot to get up through the gap

:09:55. > :09:59.and decelerated a little bit. That's the reason he missed that sitter.

:10:00. > :10:08.Just concentrating on the position and forgot the pot. And in a matter

:10:09. > :10:15.of, as he has a sip of water, he knows that in a matter of three or

:10:16. > :10:20.four minutes, this frame could slip away. A touch of the wobbles there,

:10:21. > :10:26.though. Yeah, that was a very big miss. What a Chansiri had there.

:10:27. > :10:41.That one wiped its feet. -- what a chance he had there. Oh! That was a

:10:42. > :10:49.kick, a heavy contact. He was unlucky if that was a kick.

:10:50. > :11:19.Apparently the cushions were recovered before today's play. That

:11:20. > :11:24.helps the ball sliding to the pocket more. Just the cushions were

:11:25. > :11:39.recovered. He played that little cannon, Rory,

:11:40. > :11:42.trying to hit the red and stay on the red on the left-hand side that

:11:43. > :11:49.will open up the pocket once he pots that one.

:11:50. > :11:54.No problem to play on the black all the blue, but perfect if he got rid

:11:55. > :12:20.of the other red first. A couple of little choices that he

:12:21. > :12:29.could play in a minute. How many reds is he going to need? He could

:12:30. > :12:34.play a cannon into the two reds on the right-hand side and bring them

:12:35. > :12:38.in to play, the blue over the right-hand pocket. He needs to bring

:12:39. > :12:42.one of those threads into play. Doesn't need to, but you would have

:12:43. > :12:50.thought he would do. Yeah, good shot. A bit unlucky not to develop

:12:51. > :13:29.both of them. Lots of side, make sure he finished

:13:30. > :13:36.nicely on the black. He can score enough without the difficult red, to

:13:37. > :13:44.leave Judd leaving a snooker. Has got to get to at least 36 points to

:13:45. > :14:46.leave Judd needing the snooker. He's on 25. No problem.

:14:47. > :15:02.Just double-checking the scoreboard. One snooker needed. Just got to be a

:15:03. > :15:08.little bit careful. Doesn't want to just roll this in and miss and leave

:15:09. > :15:13.it over the pocket because Judd only needs one snooker. If he's going to

:15:14. > :15:16.take it on, play with some pace, so if he misses it will come away from

:15:17. > :15:24.the pocket. You would like to see it disappear.

:15:25. > :15:44.I said to play with pace, but not that hard!

:15:45. > :15:53.That's the snooker as well. He's got to be very careful because sometimes

:15:54. > :15:57.you like to play this off two cushions. But the dream is in the

:15:58. > :16:02.way on one side of the table and the yellow on the other. -- the green is

:16:03. > :16:20.in the way. These are tough to judge sometimes. Oh, he just about caught

:16:21. > :16:22.it. Thought he'd missed that. He leaned back. Looked like it would

:16:23. > :17:15.slip past the red. He needs the black to leave himself

:17:16. > :17:22.just need one snooker. The yellow was out of commission. Not a bad

:17:23. > :17:28.choice. Just decided where he'd like to put the white and then look for

:17:29. > :17:33.the snooker from the yellow. And this is pretty good. Can get up

:17:34. > :17:42.behind the black here with a nice trace of side on this. Doesn't have

:17:43. > :17:45.to play the white top, can send the yellow up. Just depends which way

:17:46. > :17:50.you go about it. He could have played it a lot better than that.

:17:51. > :17:56.Would have preferred the White going up behind the black. It's difficult

:17:57. > :18:03.to judge. Two balls to get the right pace off. If you just come off the

:18:04. > :18:04.yellow and then come to the black, it's only the cue ball you are

:18:05. > :18:37.worrying about. That's a poor shot. Didn't hit that

:18:38. > :18:39.well. He's given Rory a free shot, really. He knows full well it wasn't

:18:40. > :19:28.his best. Lots of side on that, trying to get

:19:29. > :19:37.tight in behind the black. It's only that one is Luca and it key from

:19:38. > :19:47.Rory McLeod's point of view that he takes this frame. -- it's only the

:19:48. > :19:53.one snooker and its key. Definitely don't want to be losing a frame when

:19:54. > :19:58.your opponent needs a snooker. But it's not safe by any means. I think

:19:59. > :20:09.that last shot was terrible. Why has he played that? Would have been

:20:10. > :20:12.quite easy for Judd to pot that and then get the cue ball in position

:20:13. > :20:14.behind the green and leave it behind the black. I wouldn't leave him a

:20:15. > :20:23.pot on the yellow. Only 30 points in it. Just one

:20:24. > :21:31.snooker. Almost. Another inch or so and he

:21:32. > :21:45.would be tight behind the brown. That's a bit careless from Judd.

:21:46. > :21:52.A bit of noise coming from the other side of the arena. The spectators

:21:53. > :21:57.making their way out. At least some of them are. As quietly as possible

:21:58. > :22:28.please, thank you. This is the longest frame of the

:22:29. > :22:31.match so far. Just over 27 minutes. The third frame lasted just under 27

:22:32. > :23:02.minutes. I think without a doubt, one of the

:23:03. > :23:09.best in the game at the moment, looking for snooker 's, Mark Selby,

:23:10. > :23:14.he's incredible, John. If you have a 30 point lead on the colours, you

:23:15. > :23:17.are never safe with Mark Selby and John Higgins. Those two are ahead of

:23:18. > :23:23.most people when it comes to laying them. I can't understand with Judd

:23:24. > :23:26.on a couple of occasions. OK, it's one less ball on the table, but he

:23:27. > :23:31.could have plotted the yellow and got himself in position on the green

:23:32. > :23:39.to get a snooker. I know sometimes they don't like potting them. But if

:23:40. > :23:59.you pot and get yourself in position on an easy green, then do that.

:24:00. > :24:07.Talking about getting snooker 's, the gentleman sitting in the studio

:24:08. > :24:11.with Hazel and Steve Davis, Peter Ebdon, in his match with Stuart

:24:12. > :24:21.Bingham he needed four snookers in one of his games and pinched the

:24:22. > :24:27.frame on a re-spotted black. Judd only needs one. Now he pots the

:24:28. > :24:32.yellow, as you said, John. A chance to roll up nice and tight behind the

:24:33. > :24:36.blue if he wants. That's the shot he is looking at. Push the green to the

:24:37. > :24:41.side cushion. It's all about the pace of the cue ball. Can you get it

:24:42. > :24:51.behind the blue? He has played a stun instead. Obviously it wasn't on

:24:52. > :24:56.to get behind the blue. He had a couple of opportunities earlier to

:24:57. > :25:01.knock the yellow in. He has the snooker but it is easy to fit with

:25:02. > :25:13.side. The ball comes off the cushion with the side. And the black isn't

:25:14. > :25:16.on its spot. It's a bit more difficult to get in behind. He might

:25:17. > :25:27.try to get behind the brown here. I think Rory would like to see this

:25:28. > :25:35.green ball disappear into the right corner pocket. He could play this

:25:36. > :25:42.with a lot of screw, in such a way that it comes off the side cushion

:25:43. > :25:46.and over towards the black. If he didn't popped the green, he could

:25:47. > :25:51.get the snooker. -- didn't pot the green.

:25:52. > :26:02.APPLAUSE That will make him feel so much

:26:03. > :26:21.better. Judd having a think about it. He has

:26:22. > :26:25.stayed in his seat. What a comeback from Rory McLeod, who lost the first

:26:26. > :26:29.four frames. We thought the interval might change things around and it

:26:30. > :26:34.certainly has. He's just one behind now. STUDIO: Let's get the

:26:35. > :26:39.impression is of the two former champions hear about the turnaround.

:26:40. > :26:43.Peter, your interpretation of events in the last few frames. Rory will be

:26:44. > :26:47.delighted. The way things were going on the colours, he will be very

:26:48. > :26:52.pleased indeed to knock in the green with authority. He struck that

:26:53. > :26:55.beautifully. He is growing in confidence all the time and perhaps

:26:56. > :27:01.will give Judd some things to think about. He has already, an impressive

:27:02. > :27:05.comeback from Rory. Yes, and Judd has been less clinical in the last

:27:06. > :27:09.few frames, taking his foot off the gas. Not a liberally, it has just

:27:10. > :27:16.happened. That's what Rory needed. -- not deliberately. But in at 6-3

:27:17. > :27:24.as a worst scenario, he would be happy with that at 4-0. It was a 41

:27:25. > :27:27.minute -- 31 minute frame. Dennis Taylor mention that epic frame you

:27:28. > :27:32.nicked against Stuart Bingham the other day. Peter, you never quit.

:27:33. > :27:36.You needed four snookers. Four stickers on the colours. He got me

:27:37. > :27:43.back the next day with two snookers with a blue on. That was tough. In

:27:44. > :27:49.terms of your performance year, you have come here for a 24th time. How

:27:50. > :27:53.determined were you to be here? I know Graeme Dott has said getting

:27:54. > :27:57.through qualifying was so important to him. He will be playing this

:27:58. > :28:03.evening. It's because of the champion's Gala, he wanted to be

:28:04. > :28:07.part of that. For me it pretty much saved my season. I've not had a

:28:08. > :28:10.great year, but getting back to the Crucible means so much. Hopefully I

:28:11. > :28:15.will be back next year to make it number 25. You have grafted your way

:28:16. > :28:22.here, and Rory has grafted his way back into this match. Just one

:28:23. > :28:26.behind now. COMMENTATOR: Plenty of grafters in the game over the last

:28:27. > :28:38.40 years here. Grafters and grinders.

:28:39. > :28:47.If he hits the green, Rory can get through to this red. Just has to

:28:48. > :28:52.make sure he gets nicely on a colour. Should be able to come up

:28:53. > :28:54.towards the blue and if he slips past that he will be on one of the

:28:55. > :29:02.baulk colours. That will do nicely. Where he has

:29:03. > :29:30.finished is absolutely perfect. At some point he is going to have to

:29:31. > :29:54.go in there. Two played this one you need to stun

:29:55. > :29:58.up. But the problem is the three red on the left-hand side in the

:29:59. > :30:06.diagonal line, if he hits the bottom one, he will stick on that. There is

:30:07. > :30:13.a little gap between the two reds. He could stand it into the gap with

:30:14. > :30:19.plenty of pace. He might be able to play a screw back, if he gets in the

:30:20. > :30:25.gap, and it might bring that read on the right-hand side back to the

:30:26. > :30:39.corner pocket. He did not get the gap. He missed the safety shot

:30:40. > :31:19.before and that one, what are you playing at?

:31:20. > :31:27.Well, if this goes over the middle, he is playing some positional shots

:31:28. > :31:34.here. He cannot believe it himself. You have to back some horses

:31:35. > :31:36.tomorrow, Rory. You do have enough bad runs in this game, so when it is

:31:37. > :31:50.going for you, take full advantage. The Crucible Theatre has been opened

:31:51. > :31:54.up to the entire audience. The match has finished on the other table, so

:31:55. > :31:59.they get an extra treat, they can watch this match as well. It is

:32:00. > :32:04.always a bit different when the dividing wall comes up, Dennis.

:32:05. > :32:12.Absolutely, and totally different for everyone. For the people

:32:13. > :32:16.watching at home it is totally different for them because they do

:32:17. > :32:27.not have any distractions from the noise coming from the other table.

:32:28. > :32:37.As we said earlier, we found it hard to believe when someone said Rory

:32:38. > :32:42.had been a professional for 25 years. But it is great to see him

:32:43. > :32:46.here performing like this. He is one of the nicest men you could ever

:32:47. > :32:51.hope to meet. It is great for him personally because he has played a

:32:52. > :32:54.lot of times and qualifiers and he has come through and the British

:32:55. > :33:01.public have not seen him at his best on TV. It is good to see him playing

:33:02. > :33:16.like this. He has shown everybody what he can do.

:33:17. > :33:21.He is taking on the Centre pocket. This needs a bit of respect.

:33:22. > :33:53.Just watching that short makes you realise that the ones Judd Trump got

:33:54. > :33:59.into them middle pockets how great they were. He wants all the balls

:34:00. > :34:03.out in the open and they certainly are now, so Rory will have to be

:34:04. > :34:51.very careful here on the counterattack.

:34:52. > :34:58.I don't know why he is not looking at this. That is the red I would be

:34:59. > :35:04.looking at on the right. Run it on to the cue ball onto the bottom

:35:05. > :35:17.cushion. Push it through and make sure the cue ball is nice and tight.

:35:18. > :35:22.Well, he did not get the cue ball is tied to the commission as he would

:35:23. > :35:26.have wanted. Well, we know what this man is capable of. Could this be

:35:27. > :35:32.another cracker into the middle pocket?

:35:33. > :35:49.Oh, not this time. Good effort. A chance for Rory now if he wants it,

:35:50. > :35:51.in the middle. Sometimes when you have a 44 point lead you do not want

:35:52. > :36:06.to take a risk. Looking at the angle of the red into

:36:07. > :36:13.the middle, if he rolls in, he can cannon on the other red and he would

:36:14. > :36:15.be perfect on the pink. You have got to forget about the score and play

:36:16. > :36:40.it as you see it. He didn't half hit it hard, I know

:36:41. > :36:45.that. A little bit of tension. He did not fancy that one drop into the

:36:46. > :37:06.middle pocket, which is fair enough. He certainly hit that one hard.

:37:07. > :37:18.Another go in the middle. That was not very close.

:37:19. > :37:36.Unfortunately for Rory, with this 44 point lead, neither of the reds have

:37:37. > :37:37.gone safe. He has not got an insurance policy if he gets a

:37:38. > :38:13.chance. APPLAUSE

:38:14. > :38:16.An absolute cracker of a pot under the circumstances.

:38:17. > :38:20.That was much more difficult than the one he could have taken in the

:38:21. > :38:28.middle pocket, but ten out of ten for that effort. I think I am giving

:38:29. > :38:32.up on his shot selection at the moment. He has got some shots I am

:38:33. > :38:52.not over fey with. I think he prefers to punch them

:38:53. > :38:54.rather than roll them. I was going to say he is a stunner, but he

:38:55. > :39:46.punches them in. 4-0. But now it is almost 4-4. It is

:39:47. > :40:00.a remarkable turnaround. Judd Trump is in a match, that is for sure.

:40:01. > :40:15.Black to make absolutely sure of this frame.

:40:16. > :40:22.Make sure you knock this one in as well. The amount of frames we see

:40:23. > :40:27.sitting in this commentary box where people do not pot the red that will

:40:28. > :40:34.put the frame to bed and then they give themselves 25 minutes of grief.

:40:35. > :40:40.Why hit it so hard? What is the point in playing position? I thought

:40:41. > :40:47.Judd Trump might have come back there, but he has not. A remarkable

:40:48. > :40:52.recovery from Rory McLeod. All of a sudden we are all square.

:40:53. > :40:59.STUDIO: This is really impressive from Rory McLeod after being 4-0

:41:00. > :41:05.down and looking in real danger. What do you make of it? A fantastic

:41:06. > :41:10.response from Rory. He really has dug in. A lot of people would be 7-1

:41:11. > :41:16.down now, smashing balls all over the place, but Rory is really giving

:41:17. > :41:21.Judd something to think about and Judd Trump is not looking as

:41:22. > :41:24.comfortable in his seat certainly as he did in the early part of the

:41:25. > :41:30.match. Now there is a lot of Russia out there. He started so well and so

:41:31. > :41:36.fluently and he was throwing in the big breaks and building up the

:41:37. > :41:41.advantage and some of the potting was absolutely jaw-dropping. But how

:41:42. > :41:44.important is rhythm? Suddenly you get the interval and that is a

:41:45. > :41:50.jolting stop to your rhythm and it is all change thereafter. If that

:41:51. > :41:57.game was allowed to go on after an interval, you may seem the same

:41:58. > :42:00.story unfold, but it stops. More importantly the person from behind

:42:01. > :42:04.can come out and regroup and come out with a positive attitude. The

:42:05. > :42:09.player in front has to repeat what he has done for the second half of

:42:10. > :42:19.it. But snooker is a game where you can only be good sometimes as good

:42:20. > :42:23.as your partner let's you. Judd has taken his foot off the gas and it

:42:24. > :42:28.has given Rory a chance to get back into the frame and he has taken it

:42:29. > :42:32.and good luck to him. There were a couple of shots were Rory hit the

:42:33. > :42:38.ball very hard and you pick up on that. He has a tendency to do that

:42:39. > :42:43.under pressure and it does not help. When he is striking down on the cue

:42:44. > :42:51.ball he has two hit the ball harder. But he has got plenty of cue power

:42:52. > :42:55.and he will be delighted to be 4-4. This is the frame number nine and

:42:56. > :43:02.the last of the afternoon. COMMENTATOR: He was 4-0 down in the

:43:03. > :43:09.interval. I bet you if somebody said to him he would be 4-4 and have a

:43:10. > :43:14.chance of the last train to take the lead, he would have snapped your

:43:15. > :43:16.hand off. Whoever wins this frame has done brilliantly. It is all to

:43:17. > :43:48.play for in the next session. A mis-hit and he got away with it.

:43:49. > :43:55.He has not left anything that I can see. Maybe a cutback into the

:43:56. > :44:07.corner, but no idea where the cue ball is going. Yes, he is taking it.

:44:08. > :44:21.Good shot. Just wanted to sneak past the green. He is on the yellow, but

:44:22. > :44:44.it is thin. Yes, thin and hampered here. He

:44:45. > :44:52.could quite easily just dropping behind the green if he wanted. But

:44:53. > :44:58.he will automatically come up to the rates if the yellow goes in. He was

:44:59. > :45:00.looking at the brown, but the yellow would be correct shot. It is awkward

:45:01. > :45:19.cueing. Safely negotiated. Not in with a

:45:20. > :45:28.really good chance just yet the way the balls are situated.

:45:29. > :45:35.Good signs, he has decelerated on a couple of shots this afternoon. He

:45:36. > :45:42.could easily have accelerated under yellow, but he did not.

:45:43. > :45:54.Oh, excellent. Scrapping for position here. Not ideal, but it was

:45:55. > :46:13.a good pot. He just had a little look there to

:46:14. > :46:17.see if he plays this blue and screws back for the red on the right-hand

:46:18. > :46:23.side. You can see the angle he has got. If he leaves the red on the

:46:24. > :46:29.right-hand side, could he thought it and leave a gap for the black. I do

:46:30. > :46:32.not know whether that is possible. You have to be so accurate. Trying

:46:33. > :46:54.to work out a strategy here. I don't blame him taking a bit of

:46:55. > :46:58.time with this one because it is not straightforward. It is over a minute

:46:59. > :47:01.since he played his last shot, but it is crucial he gets right in the

:47:02. > :47:28.right spot. He is going to put the extension on

:47:29. > :47:33.his cue, he cannot reach. The red one directly at the back is causing

:47:34. > :47:37.the problem. He would like to come back for the black in the same

:47:38. > :47:44.pocket as the red. But it is stopping him getting on the right

:47:45. > :47:49.path. I am not sure if he has got an angle to cue in behind the red. That

:47:50. > :47:55.is what he is trying to do, but that red might be in the way.

:47:56. > :48:07.Brilliant. He hit it too hard. He had to put that effort in. If he hit

:48:08. > :48:09.it any less, he would have got a cannon he did not want. That was

:48:10. > :48:22.tricky. If you take this one on, Rory, good

:48:23. > :48:46.luck, because this is a stinker. I would be playing safe here.

:48:47. > :49:07.He has got Judd Trump a little cold at the moment. Do not give him an

:49:08. > :49:55.opportunity. That was the right shot for me.

:49:56. > :50:07.He has got a safety shot. But you have got to be very careful.

:50:08. > :50:24.Saying that, maybe the green is covering that one.

:50:25. > :50:49.Notable case, please. That is what we call a dreaded double case, DD K.

:50:50. > :51:01.Wow, he has just lost a little bit of discipline. He scattered them all

:51:02. > :51:05.over the table there. A bit of concentration and a bit of

:51:06. > :51:18.discipline, but goodness me. They have gone everywhere!

:51:19. > :51:27.Have a look at this. I have never seen balls fly around the table

:51:28. > :51:44.quite like that. He has just got to steal himself

:51:45. > :51:52.here, Rory, and keep his concentration. He has got his man on

:51:53. > :51:58.the rack at the moment. He could have hit that one a bit better. Just

:51:59. > :52:00.had to make sure he was the other side of the blue coming down towards

:52:01. > :52:35.the reds. APPLAUSE

:52:36. > :52:37.He had some kisses in the last frame.

:52:38. > :52:49.There is another one there. What a beauty.

:52:50. > :52:57.Now he should be back in position, but he could have done with a little

:52:58. > :53:01.bit extra to get on the blue. It is hard work this break at the minute.

:53:02. > :53:10.He cannot get the cue ball where he wants it.

:53:11. > :53:18.That jumped a little bit, but he is OK. It definitely took the pace out

:53:19. > :53:23.of the cue ball. Have a look at this. This time it was the green

:53:24. > :53:44.that jumped off the table. Funnily enough it was not the worst

:53:45. > :53:48.kick, if you can say such a thing. When he gets the pink back on its

:53:49. > :53:52.spot, he does not have to worry about the black the way the reds are

:53:53. > :54:14.situated. He can score on the pink and the blue if needed.

:54:15. > :54:23.I haven't seen Rory played for quite some time, but he has picked up the

:54:24. > :54:25.pace of his game. He is a much better player for it. He has done so

:54:26. > :54:50.well here this afternoon. STUDIO: Fair warning here, Rory is

:54:51. > :54:55.on a good break here, but we are off the air at six o'clock, so fire up

:54:56. > :54:59.your red button. Our coverage will continue there after six o'clock as

:55:00. > :55:10.we go back to this final frame of the afternoon. I was about to say,

:55:11. > :55:17.his heart will be pumping inside. He knows this is a brilliant chance to

:55:18. > :55:23.take the lead in this match. It is difficult sometimes to control your

:55:24. > :55:29.emotions here. As for his opponent, he cannot believe the score line.

:55:30. > :55:30.4-0 and comfortable and now he looks like going behind. The tournament

:55:31. > :55:48.favourite. The pots are getting slightly more

:55:49. > :56:16.difficult now. He could just drop this in and play

:56:17. > :56:24.for that red on the collision, but I think he will screw out. But he has

:56:25. > :56:28.played that one for this red and I suppose it is the best reds to play

:56:29. > :56:36.for. But once again this one needs a little bit of respect. If he knocks

:56:37. > :56:47.this red in, and a high value colour...

:56:48. > :56:53.He will have enough points to take the frame. You can see him swinging

:56:54. > :56:59.his backhand, a little bit of tension is creeping in. He knows the

:57:00. > :57:10.importance of this pink. It would leave Judd needing just a snooker.

:57:11. > :57:13.What a performance, 4-0 down and he has one five frames in a row.

:57:14. > :57:37.Almost. An outstanding performance. STUDIO: Well, this is a stunning

:57:38. > :57:44.turnaround in this match from the world number 54, Rory McLeod. It

:57:45. > :57:51.looks like he is taking a 5-4 lead into the session tomorrow morning.

:57:52. > :57:55.Coverage on the red button continues and it does so at seven o'clock.

:57:56. > :57:59.Meanwhile, thank you for sharing your afternoon with us. It has been

:58:00. > :58:02.eventful. Goodbye for now.