Day 7, Afternoon Session

:00:40. > :00:51.What an atmosphere here at the Crucible. These are two of the

:00:52. > :01:02.greatest cueists the game has ever seen. Cued it to perfection! What a

:01:03. > :01:11.shot! This is snooker of its highest quality! Starting to turn into a bit

:01:12. > :01:21.of a nightmare for Shaun Murphy. He's in a hole. Shaun will hope to

:01:22. > :01:27.do better. STUDIO

:01:28. > :01:33.Good afternoon, Snicko's prizefighters and there is active

:01:34. > :01:40.corners being mocked down ahead of Sachin two. -- Shaun has countered

:01:41. > :01:43.by taking two frames and metaphorically speaking has a few

:01:44. > :01:46.putts and bruises ahead of their second session this afternoon. You

:01:47. > :01:51.just know Ronnie O'Sullivan will have on his mind an early finish,

:01:52. > :01:54.perhaps with a session to spare. But that's not what Shaun Murphy will be

:01:55. > :02:04.thinking about. We will be live with the second session in about 90

:02:05. > :02:10.minutes time. Let's just show you where that match sits in the overall

:02:11. > :02:14.context of around two's draw. The defending champ as had a week off.

:02:15. > :02:19.Mark Selby back tomorrow against Xiao Guodong. The promise of a

:02:20. > :02:28.high-quality and entertaining match when Neil Robertson meets Marco Fu.

:02:29. > :02:34.Kyren Wilson with a lead against ex-champion Stuart Bingham. Mark

:02:35. > :02:37.Allen has the better record overall against John Higgins. A meeting

:02:38. > :02:45.between Crucible specialists Hawkins and Dott. Rory's reward. In Trump is

:02:46. > :02:49.a meeting with Stephen Maguire. When the draw for this World Championship

:02:50. > :02:52.came out everyone was saying it looked a bit top-heavy. Now we're

:02:53. > :02:56.into the second round, Kent, is that still the case? Are there still

:02:57. > :03:00.better players in the top half? You would say so, you have got Ronnie

:03:01. > :03:05.O'Sullivan and Shaun Murphy, former world champions both. This match

:03:06. > :03:06.will be a cracker, Neil Robertson against Marco Fu, who could

:03:07. > :03:10.potentially win the World Championship. And you have got the

:03:11. > :03:13.all Chinese clash, and Ding Junhui lost in the final last year. But

:03:14. > :03:19.there are some world champions in the bottom half. Here is the big

:03:20. > :03:23.one, the four times winner John Higgins. Cracking match against Mark

:03:24. > :03:27.Allen, it should be. Barry Hawkins has been to the final and the

:03:28. > :03:32.semifinal a couple of times. Stephen Maguire, former top 16 player,

:03:33. > :03:35.former UK champion. It's going to be tough to get through the bottom half

:03:36. > :03:40.and tough to win the World Championship. Four former world

:03:41. > :03:44.champions in the top half, three in the bottom half and a finalist as

:03:45. > :03:49.well. Perhaps if Ronnie O'Sullivan wasn't so low down in the seedings

:03:50. > :03:53.list that would change the equation as well. But don't forget this man

:03:54. > :03:57.caused a big sensation in the third round beating Judd Trump, the number

:03:58. > :04:01.two seed. I think the players in the bottom half will feel this is a

:04:02. > :04:05.great chance to get to the final and let all the heavyweight in the top

:04:06. > :04:09.half knock themselves out. It will be tough whatever happens. I'm not

:04:10. > :04:12.sure if you guys believe in positive omens but if you do it could be a

:04:13. > :04:18.very exciting day today because it was on this date 20 years ago, the

:04:19. > :04:22.21st of April 1997, that Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked in the fastest

:04:23. > :04:30.147 ever seen. Five years ago to this day, Stephen Hendry knocked in

:04:31. > :04:37.the tense and most recent Crucible maximum. We can't say anything for

:04:38. > :04:42.certain but this is the rough plan for the afternoon! Stuart Bingham,

:04:43. > :04:49.the former champion, his chances with it before our eyes, 5-0 down

:04:50. > :04:53.against Kyren Wilson, but he fought back today. Ding Junhui knocked in

:04:54. > :04:57.three centuries already. Is he warming up nicely to go one better

:04:58. > :05:02.than last year? He will have to barge past former friend and

:05:03. > :05:08.countrymen -- friend and countrymen Liang Wenbo. Either way, China

:05:09. > :05:15.beckons. Yes, I just want to play a very good match. For the Chinese

:05:16. > :05:20.fans and the world fans watching the match. It doesn't pay to make him

:05:21. > :05:24.angry, a focused and fired up Ronnie was all business last night.

:05:25. > :05:32.Blistering start against a Shaun Murphy. Shaun's actions are going to

:05:33. > :05:36.have to count louder than words, in their second session this afternoon.

:05:37. > :05:40.I like to try and do my talking on the table. John Higgins on a mission

:05:41. > :05:43.to join O'Sullivan on five world titles. The Scot starts out in his

:05:44. > :05:51.first session against Mark Allen today. Shot clock or no clock? You

:05:52. > :05:56.decide. We want to know your thoughts, so get in touch using

:05:57. > :06:00.hashtag BBC snooker. Live action at about 2:30pm, but until then we will

:06:01. > :06:04.reflect on the other two matches that got under way at 10am, and in

:06:05. > :06:09.Stuart Bingham's case, a match that has resumed. As you know, it took

:06:10. > :06:12.Stuart Bingham 21 months to come to terms with the fact that he was a

:06:13. > :06:17.world champion after that fantastic victory here in 2015. And I guess

:06:18. > :06:22.the increased ins -- expectations of himself and I guess everybody else

:06:23. > :06:26.on him, took a lot of pressure on him reaching four semifinals and

:06:27. > :06:30.then he finally got over the line again, winning the Welsh Open in

:06:31. > :06:35.February. Pressure off? Not really. Now he's got to prove that he's not

:06:36. > :06:45.Crucible one-hit wonder. Muhammad Ali. Golf, tennis, football,

:06:46. > :06:49.snooker, darts. Darts is good, yeah, I'd say darts is pretty much up

:06:50. > :06:55.there. Winning the World Championships! I remember losing a

:06:56. > :07:02.tennis final with a doubles partner and I was having a right top at him.

:07:03. > :07:07.I fulfilled it last year! I like Coventry, the Ricoh Arena.

:07:08. > :07:11.Conditions there played pretty good. I'm always into gadgets or can cute

:07:12. > :07:18.as so I think I would be along the lines of something like that. Lose

:07:19. > :07:30.-cam lose Yourself by Eminem. I get goose bumps just listening to it.

:07:31. > :07:37.Winner winner chicken dinner comes to mind! I booked my flight and got

:07:38. > :07:44.the dates wrong. I looked at the arrival they instead of the

:07:45. > :07:47.departure day. They rang me up and said where are you? I said I'm at

:07:48. > :07:58.home. They said you should be on the flight!

:07:59. > :08:07.The first of the second round matches just about to get under way.

:08:08. > :08:08.And that settles this first frame. Kyren Wilson leads Stuart Bingham by

:08:09. > :08:22.one frame to nil. Wow, that is fantastic cueing. He is

:08:23. > :08:30.on this green nicely. Anywhere but there. So, Kyren Wilson leading by

:08:31. > :08:52.three frames to nil. He actually got a kick, there.

:08:53. > :09:00.Another excellent pot. He now leads by five frames to nil. And he will

:09:01. > :09:09.be a very relieved man to get a frame on the board. Still two to go,

:09:10. > :09:16.but he trails 5-1. Kyren Wilson has had a look to see if he can play a

:09:17. > :09:20.masse shot here, pot the red in the middle. Has to be very careful not

:09:21. > :09:28.to play a per shot here. It may have been a push. So, a very relieved

:09:29. > :09:40.Stuart Bingham wins the second frame. He trails now 5-2. Looks like

:09:41. > :09:52.he's playing the pot. And it's there. He will be absolutely

:09:53. > :09:54.delighted to finish this session only 5-3 down.

:09:55. > :09:58.STUDIO Not the greatest of starts from

:09:59. > :10:03.Stuart Bingham but he clawed his way back. And this morning, as we pick

:10:04. > :10:13.them up, Stuart has made an 84 contribution and he is now just one

:10:14. > :10:17.behind and 5-6. Into the next we go, Bingham up by 26 points here. All

:10:18. > :10:21.watched by John Virgo and Peter Ebdon.

:10:22. > :10:31.COMMENTATOR: He's played the double... And he's got it! But the

:10:32. > :10:46.snooker Kyren Wilson now needs, Stuart has got. Funny old game!

:10:47. > :10:50.There you see it 28 ahead with just 25 remaining. It's a straightforward

:10:51. > :10:55.one-cushion escape, but your mind can play funny tricks on you. There

:10:56. > :11:01.you go. REFEREE: Foul, Stuart Bingham two,

:11:02. > :11:05.Kyren Wilson four. I was thinking the other day, I have never seen as

:11:06. > :11:09.many escapes from snooker is missed as you do hear. I think one of the

:11:10. > :11:14.reasons for that, John, is because these cushions, with the plots and

:11:15. > :11:20.the new balls, they just slide so much, and it is very easy to get it

:11:21. > :11:34.wrong. Anyway, Kyren Wilson can now win this frame. 24 points behind, 25

:11:35. > :11:36.remaining. We've been saying all along how big a frame this is. It's

:11:37. > :11:54.massive, now. No, but he's just not knocking those

:11:55. > :12:04.mid-distance balls in. He's had a few chances this frame.

:12:05. > :12:18.Well, he's thinking about this, Stuart. It does cut to the middle.

:12:19. > :12:23.He needs the green to get the snookers required. In the end

:12:24. > :12:31.committee tried to hedge his bets. Why? Why? Well, John, there's been

:12:32. > :12:36.so many twists and turns in this final frame, I'm beginning to get a

:12:37. > :12:46.little bit busy. Quite incredible. An amazing frame of snooker. Just

:12:47. > :12:50.the pressure of the situation. Stuart is absolutely delighted.

:12:51. > :12:55.There is the frame time, 32 and a half minutes. The longest frame in

:12:56. > :13:10.the match. Probably the most important. Could have played that

:13:11. > :13:16.better. But if Kyren were to win this, it would feel like winning two

:13:17. > :13:20.frames, in effect. Needing a snooker and with the chances that Stuart has

:13:21. > :13:25.had to clinch it. Stuart will be very disappointed if he goes into

:13:26. > :13:31.the mid-session interval two the Hind, the same as he started this

:13:32. > :13:39.morning. And every likelihood that that is going to be the case now.

:13:40. > :13:43.Under the circumstances and given what has gone before in this frame,

:13:44. > :13:52.that was an excellent pot under pressure. He timed that really well.

:13:53. > :13:57.Soft screw shot with left-hand side. He timed that beautifully. Another

:13:58. > :14:08.chance. Blue, pink and black still required.

:14:09. > :14:23.Normally, John, on that sort of shop, when you do need to get into

:14:24. > :14:27.the cue ball with quite a lot of power, Kyren goes very long. I

:14:28. > :14:31.noticed he was quite short on that. When you do go short, you just can't

:14:32. > :14:37.get the cue power on those sort of shots. So, has this frame got

:14:38. > :15:15.another twist? Hmmm... And where is the pink

:15:16. > :15:23.running to? Now, Stuart, I don't know how many chances you've had to

:15:24. > :15:28.clinch this frame, but... Could this be the decisive one?

:15:29. > :15:48.This game has never come easy, and it doesn't forgive you, sometimes,

:15:49. > :15:53.you feel, Peter. It says, you've had enough chances, you know, I'm not

:15:54. > :15:56.going to make it easy for you. To be perfectly honest, John, I'm in a

:15:57. > :16:02.state of shock. The number of chances that both players have had.

:16:03. > :16:04.It's just pressure. And it's beautiful pressure, that is one of

:16:05. > :16:10.the beautiful things about the Crucible. We see players tested to

:16:11. > :16:15.an extent that there never usually tested. And under the circumstances,

:16:16. > :16:22.that was a very good safety shot, duly acknowledged by Stuart Bingham.

:16:23. > :16:25.Yeah, decision time for Stuart. The obvious shock to me is to play the

:16:26. > :16:32.pink up the table and try and get the cue ball in behind the black.

:16:33. > :16:43.That would be a telling snooker. But he got the double-kiss. It wouldn't

:16:44. > :16:47.surprise me now... Anything could happen in this frame. Both players

:16:48. > :16:56.have had umpteen opportunities to clinch it. Who will the ball 's

:16:57. > :17:05.favour in the end? It's not a difficult shot to put the pink onto

:17:06. > :17:07.the baulk cushion. I don't think the angle is there to play a cross table

:17:08. > :17:25.double. That was definitely the right shot

:17:26. > :17:42.to play, and he played really well. Just got to get the pace right.

:17:43. > :17:50.After all pink and send it down to this top cushion.

:17:51. > :18:02.That's OK. It's not that easy now for Kyren to try and get in behind

:18:03. > :18:12.the black here, without risking leaving the pink near a pocket. He

:18:13. > :18:20.may elect to push the pink onto the right-hand side cushion. That's as

:18:21. > :18:23.if he's trying to get the cue ball the black, though, and this is a

:18:24. > :18:34.relief difficult shot. He didn't want that. Because not

:18:35. > :18:40.only has he got the black into a safer position, he's left a double

:18:41. > :18:44.that, almost certainly, Stuart Bingham will take on, because he can

:18:45. > :18:51.play it with a degree of safety and get a good cue ball onto the black

:18:52. > :19:03.cushion. Well, he was quite a way away from that. Not the greatest

:19:04. > :19:10.angle on the pink. It would be a really tough shot to take on. A few

:19:11. > :19:18.times now I've seen Kyren inspecting his tip. I would hope that nothing

:19:19. > :19:27.is amiss with it. This is a massive shock to take on. And that's

:19:28. > :19:34.brilliant. That is absolutely brilliant. Has he got the cannon on

:19:35. > :19:42.the black? Oh! What a shot! So unlucky. That was brilliant. Yeah,

:19:43. > :19:48.he's had a few long pots that he has missed, and that was top draw. And I

:19:49. > :19:53.suppose there is some justice, after the chances that have been had, that

:19:54. > :20:00.we have come down to a black ball shoot out.

:20:01. > :20:12.He has played that well. He's asking the question now for Stuart Bingham

:20:13. > :20:24.to get this safe. And it's not that easy, I promise you.

:20:25. > :20:32.This is an excellent safety shot. That's brilliant, that is absolutely

:20:33. > :20:39.brilliant. Well played. Yes, purposefully played at that pace to

:20:40. > :20:47.come off the baulk cushion and down to the side cushion.

:20:48. > :20:59.And this is another good safety, from Kyren.

:21:00. > :21:08.Two in front or all square? That is the value of this black ball game.

:21:09. > :21:11.Same shop for Stuart, and if that doesn't go in, it's over the pocket.

:21:12. > :21:21.It's pulling to the left slightly. It's over the pocket! Hmmm. He will

:21:22. > :21:27.be disappointed, Stuart. At one time, Kyren needed a snooker. He

:21:28. > :21:37.didn't get it, Stuart got it. But he just needs to get this back to

:21:38. > :21:41.retain his to frame advantage. It lasted 41 minutes, but what a big

:21:42. > :21:46.frame it was, particularly for Kyren Wilson. They are as you work 7-5 at

:21:47. > :21:50.the mid-session interval. STUDIO

:21:51. > :21:55.The warrior Wilson, the former Shanghai Masters winner, he has a

:21:56. > :21:59.bit of breathing space again. He had his first century, 110, a couple of

:22:00. > :22:06.frames back. But he's got Bingham breathing down his neck this

:22:07. > :22:07.morning. In we go to frame 13 now, and it is Bingham 13 points in

:22:08. > :22:11.front. COMMENTATOR: Too sick, much too

:22:12. > :22:24.thick. -- too thick. It has to be said, the

:22:25. > :22:29.standard of play in the first two frames and indeed this one has been

:22:30. > :22:30.a little bit below par, but that is what the Crucible Theatre can do.

:22:31. > :23:10.Pressure on every shot. There you see it, pot success.

:23:11. > :23:18.Stuart Bingham, not too bad, but Kyren, 82%. Safety success... All

:23:19. > :23:19.these stats should be 90% or above if you're going to be pleased with

:23:20. > :23:42.what you're producing. A bit of work to do here. This isn't

:23:43. > :23:56.a formality, to pot the red and get good position on a colour.

:23:57. > :24:08.Hmmm. Kyren Wilson, three. Kyren Wilson is usually very reliable with

:24:09. > :24:14.the rest. That is a few shots he's missed with the rest in this match

:24:15. > :24:20.now, and a couple this morning. He will be very disappointed with that.

:24:21. > :24:24.Normally he doesn't miss very much at all with the rest. That, again,

:24:25. > :24:27.is purely an indication of the pressure that is out there on both

:24:28. > :24:32.players. Just from our point of view sat in the commentary box, it seems

:24:33. > :24:33.at the moment that the occasion is just getting the better of both

:24:34. > :24:49.players. But that is a good pot from Stuart.

:24:50. > :24:52.OK, maybe a bit thin on the blue. If he feels that way, he can always

:24:53. > :24:58.play the yellow. REFEREE: Turn that phone off,

:24:59. > :25:17.please. MOBILE PHONE RINGS. The dreaded mobile phone. And they

:25:18. > :25:32.are reminded by RMC, Rob Walker, to switch the phones off. -- by our MC.

:25:33. > :25:39.Maybe it was a call to remind them to switch the phone off, John.

:25:40. > :25:43.CHUCKLES Stuart won't be happy with that

:25:44. > :25:48.shot. Unless he can just get past the pink to the red to the

:25:49. > :26:01.right-hand corner. I think it may have just stopped in time. Yes, he

:26:02. > :26:14.can just get past the pink. Another role and he would be nothing. -- be

:26:15. > :26:18.on nothing. The way things are going at the moment, John, this match has

:26:19. > :26:27.got 13-12 written all over it. Yes, I couldn't agree more. You just

:26:28. > :26:29.don't feel that any player at the moment is going to grab this match

:26:30. > :27:49.by the scruff of the neck. Once again, not the best positional

:27:50. > :28:02.shot from Stuart. I'm sure he played for the pink. Fortunately, Stuart

:28:03. > :28:09.has got quite a large room for error here. He can play for a red into the

:28:10. > :28:15.left black pocket off either two or three cushions. Well. He played that

:28:16. > :28:21.with running side. And to be honest, that was very fortunate, because

:28:22. > :28:23.that could quite easily have gone very wrong. Quite easily he could

:28:24. > :28:34.have finished up on nothing. He put his hand up to apologise to Kyren.

:28:35. > :28:43.Much too much pace on the cue ball. But the kiss... Has helped.

:28:44. > :28:54.If you play them, it's a cannon. If it's unintentional, it's a kiss!

:28:55. > :29:02.There you go, ball spotted. 179 apiece. That doesn't show up in the

:29:03. > :29:09.scoreline, but Stuart now has got to make the most of this opportunity.

:29:10. > :29:38.40 points the lead. This is the one time when you

:29:39. > :29:52.wouldn't mind being straight on the pink.

:29:53. > :29:57.If the pink goes into the opposite corner that he's going to play this

:29:58. > :30:04.red, it's no problem. Well, it shouldn't be a problem anyway. But

:30:05. > :30:08.he has to come up for the blue. Just a couple of good positional shots.

:30:09. > :30:34.That should see this frame in the bag. Obviously the pink will go.

:30:35. > :31:00.Two reds. Two colours still required.

:31:01. > :31:24.He needs this to bounce. Just about bounced.

:31:25. > :31:30.Pot this red, 61 points in front, with 59 remaining. It should have

:31:31. > :31:36.been easier than this. To be fair to Stuart, I did detect

:31:37. > :31:40.the sound of a slight kick and that took the pace out the cue ball.

:31:41. > :31:58.Perceived the situation very well there. A nice put.

:31:59. > :32:12.Well and truly over now. He had a couple of half chances here.

:32:13. > :32:19.Missed an opportunity. This one and I know you think he's one of the

:32:20. > :32:28.best players you've seen. Yesterday he was 11 out of 11 with the rest.

:32:29. > :32:37.Oh! Where's the cue ball gone? I don't think it will matter. I don't

:32:38. > :32:40.think Kyren will bother coming back to the table. He's checking the

:32:41. > :32:49.scoreboard. 51 remaining. That's enough.

:32:50. > :32:53.He's conceded. So, not the best frame from either player, but they

:32:54. > :32:57.will all be important in the end. Kyren Wilson, a one-frame advantage.

:32:58. > :33:02.7-6. The 2015 champion is giving this

:33:03. > :33:08.26-year-old man from Kettering a real run for his money.

:33:09. > :33:20.Kyren Wilson's third time here. He's got form and he's got the

:33:21. > :33:24.experience and this is all boiling up very nicely, as we go into the

:33:25. > :34:11.next one. This time it is Bingham, nine points ahead.

:34:12. > :34:17.It was made more awkward, the fact he was stretching over the green and

:34:18. > :34:23.blue. He's finished up with a nice angle on the blue here.

:34:24. > :34:28.Talking about apologising for flukes and tapping the table when your

:34:29. > :34:39.opponent plays a really good shot, we had a really unusual incident the

:34:40. > :34:50.other day... What a brilliant shot that was. Well played.

:34:51. > :34:54.We had really unusual situation, came off the baulk cushion, hit the

:34:55. > :34:59.red and deliberately left the snooker. Played a great shot,

:35:00. > :35:06.apologised for leaving the snooker. It was quite amazing!

:35:07. > :35:15.You say that was an excellent shot on the blue there.

:35:16. > :35:21.Brought all the reds into play. What a chance this is to get back to

:35:22. > :35:31.two frames in front, as he started this morning's session.

:35:32. > :35:41.I really believe this is one of Kyren Wilson's greatest strengths.

:35:42. > :35:44.It makes him a different from a lot of the modern players coming

:35:45. > :35:46.through. When he's at his best he's aggressive and he takes the first

:35:47. > :37:22.opportunity to open the balls up. Not perfect now. Easy enough, but

:37:23. > :37:32.just a little bit of work to do with the cue ball.

:37:33. > :37:36.17 points the lead. Going to need, you would think, at

:37:37. > :37:39.least four of these reds with colours.

:37:40. > :37:44.Trusting to luck a little bit here w this positional shot here. He played

:37:45. > :37:53.that very well. A deep screw shot there - lots of

:37:54. > :38:07.power. This is a tough pink. Deciding to take an equally tough

:38:08. > :38:19.black. How's this for a shot! ?

:38:20. > :38:38.APPLAUSE Absolutely inch-perfect!

:38:39. > :38:40.If he's on the reds, the left corner, well, he couldn't have

:38:41. > :38:58.placed it better with his hand. Well, John, I first met Kyren Wilson

:38:59. > :39:04.during a pool exhibition that I did, almost 20 years ago, when he was six

:39:05. > :39:10.years of age. And I played him on this pool table and I remember

:39:11. > :39:16.commenting to his parents how natural he was as a cuist. And her

:39:17. > :39:20.we are, almost 20 years later, he beats me up in practise almost every

:39:21. > :39:25.day. Should have kept it to yourself!

:39:26. > :39:44.Funny thing, although it is the first time you have mentioned that

:39:45. > :39:49.to me, I knew the story because I was with him in Ireland in January

:39:50. > :39:52.and we did the snooker legends over there and he told me the story. So,

:39:53. > :40:01.well done you, Peter! Good to see a young man coming

:40:02. > :40:25.through. Neither player has really reached

:40:26. > :40:35.their limit of what they are capable of.

:40:36. > :40:43.Well, the red's not gone in. 47 in front. 43 remaining. One

:40:44. > :40:46.snooker to tie. For that, he'll be two frames in front again.

:40:47. > :40:53.And he was. He's led from the first frame. There's a long way to go here

:40:54. > :40:55.because it is the first of 13 in this second round. We will head into

:40:56. > :41:08.frame 15 of a possible 25. Got the kiss on the second red.

:41:09. > :41:23.Where's the cue ball going? He played a positive shot trying to

:41:24. > :41:42.bring the red into play. Nice to see he's got the appetite to

:41:43. > :41:46.smile. I don't think I would be smiling.

:41:47. > :42:00.I am sure inside he's not very happy about that at all.

:42:01. > :42:07.He could have decided to pot the red, but decided to give himself the

:42:08. > :42:15.opportunity of winning the frame by removing a difficult red.

:42:16. > :42:21.He shouldn't miss this red into the left centre.

:42:22. > :42:36.This red, black and one more red will be enough.

:42:37. > :43:13.This red will put him 43 points in front, with 43 remaining.

:43:14. > :43:19.To be perfectly honest John, neither player will be happy with how they

:43:20. > :43:24.have played this morning. The only thing that Stuart Bingham may take

:43:25. > :43:28.out of it, and it depends on the frame, one more frame to be played

:43:29. > :43:32.in this session, if he can come out all square, job done. Having lost

:43:33. > :43:39.the first session, 5-3, win the next one 5-3. If he's still two behind,

:43:40. > :43:44.the opportunity he's had, he'll be disappointed, as will Kyren. He's

:43:45. > :43:51.had opportunities as well. But, he was very unlucky in this

:43:52. > :44:07.instance. No way back to the table now for

:44:08. > :44:09.Kyren. Both players will think about the last frame of this session and

:44:10. > :44:51.the importance of it. Well, doesn't matter about the

:44:52. > :44:55.green. Both players now will go out to the dressing room, prepare for

:44:56. > :44:57.what is a very, very important last frame. Kyren Wilson. He still needs

:44:58. > :45:11.by one. 8-7. Bingham keeps nibbling into the

:45:12. > :45:15.lead. Can he close that gap? Highly-significant final frame

:45:16. > :45:23.coming up. Wilson is five points adrift.

:45:24. > :45:36.Now, he would have been disappointed with his long pot in this morning.

:45:37. > :45:44.He's fully committed - fair play to him, but wasn't really that close.

:45:45. > :45:46.He's left a red on for Stuart. The problem Stuart has is how does he

:45:47. > :46:09.get out for a colour? Finds the gap. Nicely on the yellow.

:46:10. > :46:12.And as Peter and I were talking earlier, although neither player

:46:13. > :46:18.will be that pleased with their performance this morning, this is a

:46:19. > :46:21.chance for Stuart to get out the venue and think, job done! Two

:46:22. > :47:33.frames behind. Well, John, this has been a

:47:34. > :47:38.thoroughly enjoyable session of snooker this morning.

:47:39. > :47:47.Mainly because of the tension that has affected both players.

:47:48. > :47:54.Just to emphasise this is the World Championship - there's tension in

:47:55. > :47:59.the air. And it's good, hard match play.

:48:00. > :48:05.And the mistakes just make it that much more watchable, because you

:48:06. > :48:12.don't know when it's going to come. I mean we would like to sit in the

:48:13. > :48:22.commentary box and predict every shot and rewrite... No fun in that.

:48:23. > :48:27.Stuart played a lovely positional shot there.

:48:28. > :48:36.Gave himself the choice of three reds. Into the right corner.

:48:37. > :48:38.Into the middle pocket. This is the one that's more

:48:39. > :48:52.straightforward. That was nicely worked out.

:48:53. > :49:01.Just gets that red away from the pink spot.

:49:02. > :49:06.Quite obviously Stuart's concentration has gone up a notch

:49:07. > :49:13.and he's just taking his time here. He knows the importance of this

:49:14. > :49:16.contribution, this visit, and indeed just how important winning this

:49:17. > :49:24.frame would be in the context of this match.

:49:25. > :49:32.Slightly overhit that. He's OK.

:49:33. > :49:39.Nice little cannon here, to leave himself on the red in the same

:49:40. > :49:59.pocket. Looking good.

:50:00. > :50:08.Still the tendency to play for the blue here, to cut out the chance

:50:09. > :50:11.that that red that's just left to the pink, as you look now, with that

:50:12. > :50:25.to come into play. And that's why he didn't want to

:50:26. > :50:39.take that risk and go for the blue. Thinking clear.

:50:40. > :50:50.After losing the first five frames of this to finish the second session

:50:51. > :50:53.all square would be a very positive thought for Stuart.

:50:54. > :51:13.And just the opposite for his opponent.

:51:14. > :51:21.Kyren certainly had chances this morning.

:51:22. > :51:25.And he'll be very disappointed with his performance today. A shake of

:51:26. > :51:30.the head there. It confirms that.

:51:31. > :51:42.But this is all great experience for the young man.

:51:43. > :51:55.There really is no better experience than the often torturous times that

:51:56. > :52:12.you face at the Crucible here. This is good stuff from Stuart

:52:13. > :52:30.Bingham, digging in deep here. A red and a black.

:52:31. > :52:40.Well played! The applause tells you, snooker

:52:41. > :53:23.required. He's tempted to play this red. He

:53:24. > :53:33.knows if he drops it in, it is definitely frame over. At the

:53:34. > :53:39.moment, if he played it and left it, just one needed for Kyren Wilson,

:53:40. > :53:44.his frame would be still on. No heroics. Just give it every

:53:45. > :53:59.chance to drop. Decided it was too risky. Where's the red ball going?

:54:00. > :54:07.It is possible that Kyren may be able to hit this red back, send it

:54:08. > :54:12.down the table and snooker Stuart on all of the reds. Perhaps he couldn't

:54:13. > :54:17.get in behind it and he got a kick on the red, anyway.

:54:18. > :54:22.I just thought that if it was possible to hit the red from behind,

:54:23. > :54:26.he could have left the cue ball where the red was and snooker him on

:54:27. > :54:30.all four reds behind the yellow. As it has turned out, it was a good

:54:31. > :54:35.kick. He's snookered Stuart on the reds,

:54:36. > :54:45.anyway. Not that he should miss this.

:54:46. > :54:56.Stuart will be a little bit concerned. Only if Kyren can get the

:54:57. > :55:00.chance, one you would think of the three would be behind the pink. Be

:55:01. > :55:11.able to play a snooker off. And play the pot there. He cannot get

:55:12. > :55:15.position. Wouldn't want to be opening these

:55:16. > :55:22.three reds. But then, don't let the scoreboard

:55:23. > :55:31.determine the right shot to play. Well, I know it is a thin snick but

:55:32. > :55:35.this does go. Rather than play three reds off the middle of the table.

:55:36. > :55:40.The only thing is if he caught it too thick he could run into those

:55:41. > :55:44.three reds and then he would be scratching his head. So he's playing

:55:45. > :55:49.safe of these three reds thinking he may not want to decide cushion. Much

:55:50. > :56:05.too thick. Much too thick! So, 61 points in

:56:06. > :56:11.front. 59 remaining. Kyren will be going for the pot

:56:12. > :56:12.here, no doubt. Could there possibly be one more

:56:13. > :56:29.twist left in this session, John? It wouldn't surprise you. Stuart

:56:30. > :56:34.Bingham would be a little bit edgy because he's already lost one frame

:56:35. > :57:09.this morning, where his opponent needed a snooker.

:57:10. > :57:15.He would have liked to have been straighter on this black, but

:57:16. > :57:17.doesn't have to do a lot with the cue ball, just concentrate on the

:57:18. > :57:28.pot. Wants to be on the red to the right

:57:29. > :57:39.corner. With only needing one snooker I

:57:40. > :57:44.don't suppose it does matter. You could play the snooker on the yellow

:57:45. > :57:48.if you could get the cue ball in the right position.

:57:49. > :57:50.With that red being adjacent to the pink, you think he may decide to

:57:51. > :58:05.play the snooker off the last red. You need the cue ball to be tight to

:58:06. > :58:16.the snooker in ball and put distance between cue ball and object ball.

:58:17. > :58:23.He's going to play the snooker behind the pink.

:58:24. > :58:33.35 remaining. One four-point snooker required to try and get this tight

:58:34. > :58:35.behind the pink here. Couldn't have played that any

:58:36. > :58:49.better. Could not have played that any

:58:50. > :58:53.better. Every possibility of a... Could there be one more twist?

:58:54. > :59:03.Let's see if we can find a way out of this? I'm not certain how much of

:59:04. > :59:09.the cushion he can hit. The right-hand side cushion.

:59:10. > :59:14.This is a tough shot. A miss won't be called because we're in the

:59:15. > :59:17.snookers required stage. Stuart will be very keen not to leave a free

:59:18. > :59:23.ball here. If he comes down this side, I mean,

:59:24. > :59:52.there's not much of the red to hit. That's my suggestion. As I say, he's

:59:53. > :00:04.playing it this way. He doesn't want to leave the free ball.

:00:05. > :00:13.A Miss won't be called. REFEREE: Foul, Kyren Wilson four.

:00:14. > :00:21.Free ball. Free ball! Obviously it's difficult to tell from our position.

:00:22. > :00:29.Can't get both sides of the red, so in a way he overhit that.

:00:30. > :00:41.Here is the twist you were talking about, Peter.

:00:42. > :00:51.Glance at the scoreboard. That Brown counted as a read. There's nothing

:00:52. > :00:56.Stuart can do now. Is this going to be the second frame of the morning

:00:57. > :00:59.he has lost when his opponent needed a snooker? If he gets on this

:01:00. > :01:03.yellow, you think that's going to be the case, and he has landed

:01:04. > :01:08.absolutely perfect by the looks of it. Red, colour and the six reigning

:01:09. > :01:16.colours to retain his to frame advantage. -- six remaining colours.

:01:17. > :01:28.Under normal circumstances, this would be a straightforward

:01:29. > :01:34.clearance. Kyren Wilson is now under massive pressure to clear, here. The

:01:35. > :01:46.difference between 9-7 and eight each. You always fear in these

:01:47. > :01:53.clearances that the key shot is Brown to blue. If he gets perfect on

:01:54. > :02:03.the blue, it's a formality. Stuart, he'll be... Well, very upset that he

:02:04. > :02:08.has let this chance go to finish all square going into the final session.

:02:09. > :02:24.Well, this is the key shot. Get a good angle on the blue, no problem.

:02:25. > :02:44.So, this will be the second frame that Stuart Bingham has lost this

:02:45. > :02:54.morning when his opponent needed a snooker.

:02:55. > :03:07.We might see a little bit of a fist pump here, because this was a frame

:03:08. > :03:11.Kyren never looked like winning. That was a big, big frame. Stuart

:03:12. > :03:17.Bingham will be very upset to have lost it. Kyren Wilson nearly knocked

:03:18. > :03:21.the referee over, there. And that will give him a two frame advantage

:03:22. > :03:24.going into the final session this evening. He leads nine frames to

:03:25. > :03:29.seven. STUDIO

:03:30. > :03:34.And what a one to win. 61 points behind, needing a snooker, laid it

:03:35. > :03:37.beautifully. That is a clever, canny move by Kyren Wilson. It certainly

:03:38. > :03:41.was. Sometimes when you get the snooker and then a you've got the

:03:42. > :03:45.easy clearance, there is pressure on to do it. You can bottle that part

:03:46. > :03:48.of it. But Kyren Wilson looks very strong in that department. He's got

:03:49. > :03:53.an all-round game that is very strong and also guts and

:03:54. > :03:57.determination. We were talking about his scoring. 3/2 centuries in his

:03:58. > :04:00.first match. He's made his first century here this year in this

:04:01. > :04:05.match. You mention his all-round game. You don't think of him as

:04:06. > :04:12.primarily a potter will start how clever a player is this guy? He

:04:13. > :04:15.seems to be good all round and that is what you need to win this

:04:16. > :04:21.championship. You have to rely sometimes... Pots aren't always

:04:22. > :04:24.going to go in. Sometimes the frames go scrappy and you need to have a

:04:25. > :04:29.bit of that craft and he certainly has that. To win two frames needing

:04:30. > :04:32.a snooker against a former world champion takes guts and

:04:33. > :04:40.determination, and also a little bit of the old grey stuff. You need a

:04:41. > :04:46.mature personality, it seems to me. The warrior, what should we call

:04:47. > :04:52.him? The wily warrior! Wily warrior Wilson... Whatever! They will be

:04:53. > :04:55.coming back for their final session this evening. Wilson with that two

:04:56. > :05:02.frame advantage. Ken and I were doing the commentary last night with

:05:03. > :05:08.the presentation on the red button and Jason will be accompanying Mr

:05:09. > :05:11.Davies there tonight. Press red and you will get the whole presentation

:05:12. > :05:16.on the red button. It's been great fun to do that, tell you now. All

:05:17. > :05:20.right. We've talked a lot about the Chinese domination of the draw this

:05:21. > :05:24.year, a record number of six Chinese players made it to Sheffield this

:05:25. > :05:27.time. All of them in the top half of the draw. Four of them are through

:05:28. > :05:33.to round two. Two of them meet in this second round. Ding Junhui

:05:34. > :05:37.against Liang Wenbo. Either way, China wins, they have a guaranteed

:05:38. > :05:41.quarterfinalist, but which one? COMMENTATOR: Ding Junhui goes

:05:42. > :05:49.through into the second round. COMMENTATOR: Liang Wenbo goes

:05:50. > :06:00.through into the lasting steam. This will probably be the best TV match

:06:01. > :06:06.ever for the Chinese audience. Regards has been doing -- Ding has

:06:07. > :06:11.been doing well this year. And Liang Wenbo getting into the top 16 as an

:06:12. > :06:18.established player and winning his first ranking title in Manchester,

:06:19. > :06:23.the English open. That's why he got his nickname, the Firecracker! It's

:06:24. > :06:26.great to have someone with a strong character is our game. And it's

:06:27. > :06:35.exciting to see him doing well on the circuit. Yeah, I'm playing Ding.

:06:36. > :06:42.He is a good friend. We just want to play a very good match for the

:06:43. > :06:48.Chinese fans in the world fans, everybody watching. It should be a

:06:49. > :06:55.good match. When we talk about Ding, he is definitely the top five

:06:56. > :06:58.sporting hero now in his professional career. 90% of people

:06:59. > :07:04.know who he is and what he does. That is how big a name he is. I

:07:05. > :07:11.bring snooker back to China, make that famous. I believe they could

:07:12. > :07:17.have more players come to the Crucible in the next few years. He

:07:18. > :07:21.has been a role model for all the up and coming Chinese young players for

:07:22. > :07:27.maybe one decade. He is doing so well. All the new generation is

:07:28. > :07:31.looking up to him. If he wins, he will be the first one to lift the

:07:32. > :07:35.title for China, for Asia, and that will be a special moment for

:07:36. > :07:42.everyone in China. It's quite hard to play somebody from the same

:07:43. > :07:52.country, China. I just need to concentrate on all my shots.

:07:53. > :07:59.Everything comes to my mind but I must just lose it and turn it clean

:08:00. > :08:07.and play snooker. If you do good, everybody has the chance. This is

:08:08. > :08:08.now the last 16. Just keep going and concentrate, control the table.

:08:09. > :08:17.Confident, yeah. Well, it's amazing to think that

:08:18. > :08:21.Ding turned 30 years old on the 1st of April and he has been the Pied

:08:22. > :08:25.Piper of Chinese snooker for half his life. Players like Liang Wenbo,

:08:26. > :08:29.who is actually two months older, have tried to emulate his success.

:08:30. > :08:34.Liang has one to win and that was winning the Steve Davis Trophy, the

:08:35. > :08:40.English Open, last year. In matches between these two, it is Liang who

:08:41. > :08:49.holds the better record, 3-1, but this is their first meeting in a

:08:50. > :08:56.competitive match in three-year 's. Ding has motored away in the first

:08:57. > :09:01.part of this match. He is 3-1 ahead in frames as we pick them up in

:09:02. > :09:07.frame five, Stephen Hendry and Willie Thorne in charge.

:09:08. > :09:24.APPLAUSE COMMENTATOR: He knew -- you didn't

:09:25. > :09:29.know he would leave the black as a snooker in ball but that is what has

:09:30. > :09:35.happened. He's going to have to play a little bit of left-hand side.

:09:36. > :09:46.Can't play this plane ball, needs a touch of side to get there.

:09:47. > :09:48.APPLAUSE Oh! His heart was in his mouth

:09:49. > :11:16.there. APPLAUSE

:11:17. > :11:25.He needs a bit of help and he hasn't got it. This pink is going to be

:11:26. > :11:29.very, very tough. Is this the time possibly to put the red on the

:11:30. > :11:35.right-hand side vision and get a snooker between green and black. --

:11:36. > :11:41.behind green and black. Sometimes, Stephen, you've got to play to the

:11:42. > :11:50.scoreboard. Yeah. I don't often say this but I think you're right. If

:11:51. > :12:06.you play the pink, you're playing for position on the red. He's going

:12:07. > :12:13.to play safe. You wanted a bit of insurance, Stephen, by playing the

:12:14. > :12:20.Brown safe? The last thing he wants is a high-value colour down here. I

:12:21. > :12:39.don't think he's gained any advantage with that shop at all.

:12:40. > :12:53.APPLAUSE I'm afraid he's got no one to blame

:12:54. > :13:13.but himself, Ding Junhui, for this situation.

:13:14. > :13:22.Just trying to rest on this red that is nearest the left-hand jaw. Now

:13:23. > :13:27.you can see why it was so important to put the red safe on the previous

:13:28. > :13:28.shot. Now it could be for reds and four colours and of course the

:13:29. > :14:07.clearance is on. APPLAUSE

:14:08. > :14:37.Well, that is one of the best shots of the morning.

:14:38. > :15:54.He can't really flick of the red that is nearest the pink, because of

:15:55. > :16:03.the yellow and brown in the way. If he plays it slightly thin, he could

:16:04. > :16:06.go towards the corner pocket. If he plays it thin to go on to the baulk

:16:07. > :16:13.cushion, that red will spring away from it. It's not straightforward.

:16:14. > :16:19.Make sure it covers the red up, because at the moment it is playing

:16:20. > :16:29.away from the red. There could be a pot on here. Is there it gap? Is

:16:30. > :16:32.there a gap? Not quite. But he has left a shot to nothing on the red on

:16:33. > :17:19.the pink spot. Liang Wenbo looks like he is shaping

:17:20. > :17:28.up to take this on. But if he misses the red: he may knock into the other

:17:29. > :17:34.two reds and not get back to safety. You feel he loses the frame if he

:17:35. > :17:41.misses this. Yes, it's one of those that if he hits it plain ball is not

:17:42. > :17:48.a problem avoiding the red, but if he hits it slightly harder and

:17:49. > :17:52.misses the part... He tried to make sure of the gap, and missed it. It

:17:53. > :18:09.could be very costly. He's already trailing by 45 points. He has just

:18:10. > :18:12.left this a little bit awkward. He could possibly concentrate so much

:18:13. > :18:22.on where the cue ball is going, you could miss the pot here. No, safely

:18:23. > :18:28.in. I thought it would cost Liang Wenbo the frame if you missed that

:18:29. > :18:34.red, and it has done. Ding Junhui knows, at worst now, he's going to

:18:35. > :18:43.be level going into the second session. Now it's all about pressing

:18:44. > :18:44.home the advantage and seeing how many of these last three frames he

:18:45. > :19:16.can get. So, frame over. Ding knows he can't

:19:17. > :19:29.be behind going into the second session now. Danny Kent enough gap

:19:30. > :19:38.to make it the catalyst? Very rarely does a player comeback from 7-1 or

:19:39. > :19:43.6-2 behind when it is a race to 25. Although Liang bow when

:19:44. > :20:39.-- although Liang Wenbo has not played to badly this morning.

:20:40. > :20:49.Yet another 50 plus breaks. It was a bit of a scrappy frame but he takes

:20:50. > :20:50.it and stretches his lead now to 4-1.

:20:51. > :20:54.STUDIO Well, Liang Wenbo hit back in the

:20:55. > :20:59.next frame and got it to 2-4. But this is an emphatic first session

:21:00. > :21:11.from the man who was runner-up here last year. Being made another 52 to

:21:12. > :21:21.go 6-2 in front. -- Ding made another 52. Three major titles. He

:21:22. > :21:28.just needs the Worlds to complete a triple Crown. He looks very sharp,

:21:29. > :21:32.five centuries so far. Now, all of 210 million people watched that

:21:33. > :21:38.final with Ding Junhui and Mark Selby last year. House brightly does

:21:39. > :21:42.he seem to you early on, Ken? He was very impressive against is Oulu

:21:43. > :21:51.-- he was very impressive in his first match. He's scoring a lot of

:21:52. > :21:55.century breaks. If he is in good form and on the top of his game, he

:21:56. > :21:58.is a match for anybody. I saw how well he played here last year when

:21:59. > :22:04.he nearly won the title. He is a major contender. He pushed cell be

:22:05. > :22:08.hard in that final session. What do you think that has done for him? He

:22:09. > :22:12.seemed so uptight coming to the crucible on previous occasions? I

:22:13. > :22:16.think for the World Championship alone, purely in the Crucible,

:22:17. > :22:22.experience counts perhaps more than in other events. The fact that you

:22:23. > :22:27.know what is required and what it feels like to go the distance can be

:22:28. > :22:32.a marvellous thing to have armoury, because other players, it's a

:22:33. > :22:38.journey into the unknown. I think you just calms you down to know what

:22:39. > :22:42.you can withstand. Everything is thrown at you in the Crucible. There

:22:43. > :22:48.was a point in that match early on when the scores went to 2-1. The

:22:49. > :22:51.balls were all over the place. Whoever survived that, and it looks

:22:52. > :22:57.like Ding has done that, has got control of the game. He has got

:22:58. > :23:01.through that one and they are back for the second session this evening.

:23:02. > :23:05.Now, his popularity is absolutely huge in China. It's hard to

:23:06. > :23:10.overestimate that. And Ding's popularity here Sheffield committee

:23:11. > :23:15.likes to get a quiet life actually! He has been the subject of a

:23:16. > :23:21.documentary made by the BBC's Jamie Broughton. It is called Enter the

:23:22. > :23:32.Dragon. A bus journey gives the players the

:23:33. > :23:37.chance to catch up. Tonight's destination is the famous tower

:23:38. > :23:39.where the reception is being held. The snooker fans are also making

:23:40. > :23:54.their way there. This red event feels more like a

:23:55. > :23:58.movie premiere in Hollywood. Only in China do snooker players get treated

:23:59. > :24:06.like film stars. Most of the fans here have only ever seen their hero

:24:07. > :24:14.on television before, so are keen to get a chance close-up. Sheffield is

:24:15. > :24:18.a city Ding knows well. He's lived here for the past ten years. In

:24:19. > :24:23.China, it's impossible to walk down the street without being recognised,

:24:24. > :24:32.but here it is a different story. Well, almost a different story.

:24:33. > :24:38.Hello. Best of luck. Thank you. And he takes it all with such grace, he

:24:39. > :24:45.really is a lovely person. I'd better get a wiggle on here because

:24:46. > :24:52.time is fleeting and time pressure is a subject today in table talk.

:24:53. > :24:59.And the reason for the haste is because we are talking shop clocks

:25:00. > :25:02.today. The Snooker Shoot out is currently the only event on the

:25:03. > :25:10.World Snooker Tour that uses a shot clock and puts players under time

:25:11. > :25:15.pressure. They have got 15 seconds to do so for the first five minutes

:25:16. > :25:20.and then it goes down to ten seconds thereafter. A good idea or a serious

:25:21. > :25:28.pain in the neck? Let's get the players's views. A shot clock of

:25:29. > :25:35.some sort have got to be introduced, I think. Not for each shot but maybe

:25:36. > :25:39.the referee and the tournament organiser can assess how things are

:25:40. > :25:45.going at the interval. A shot clock is not going to work. It's not

:25:46. > :25:53.snooker. OK we have the Shoot out and things like that... Some players

:25:54. > :25:57.want to take long and drag it out, that is their business. You can't do

:25:58. > :26:02.the shot clock. I personally think they could use like a traffic light

:26:03. > :26:08.system. When your green, you're flying. When you get to yellow, you

:26:09. > :26:15.sort of get a little nudge and say, you're getting a little bit slow.

:26:16. > :26:23.And if you are red, you are in deep trouble. I would be all for it if it

:26:24. > :26:26.was maybe a one table format. But not a two-table format and nearly

:26:27. > :26:36.every tournament we play in these days is multi-table. John is not for

:26:37. > :26:41.it but would it be an effective tool for speeding up debate. Gentlemen,

:26:42. > :26:49.are you ready? Ten, 15 seconds starts now! Yes but I don't think it

:26:50. > :26:55.can be introduced as John said on a multi-table. I think an average shot

:26:56. > :26:59.time could be introduced. As opposed to beep beep beep. Not bad, 13

:27:00. > :27:03.seconds. Steve, have a look at this graphic which actually gives you the

:27:04. > :27:09.slowest to fastest shot times of the players so far. Ronnie, not

:27:10. > :27:14.surprisingly, 19 seconds. Anthony McGill in the first round, 30

:27:15. > :27:17.seconds. Only one match this year has gone to overtime so far. Your

:27:18. > :27:22.impressions and indeed your thoughts on whether it should be introduced

:27:23. > :27:26.at the Crucible? Start the clock. LAUGHTER

:27:27. > :27:35.That's what you call a pregnant pause. No! I think that should prove

:27:36. > :27:40.the point. Players who play very slowly usually lose. The only thing

:27:41. > :27:47.about the shot clock that does stop things... Ken, the shot clock would

:27:48. > :27:50.add an extra degree of jeopardy to proceedings and may stop people

:27:51. > :27:55.falling asleep in the front row. Start us off. I don't think it could

:27:56. > :27:59.be introduced in the World Championship. I think it would take

:28:00. > :28:05.away from the World Championship. Would they fall asleep? I don't

:28:06. > :28:10.think so. OK, you're on the wire again, 14 seconds. Steve, the shot

:28:11. > :28:13.clock is an infernal gimmick that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a

:28:14. > :28:17.snooker tournament, and the Snooker shoot out should not be a world

:28:18. > :28:23.ranking event in the first place start the clock. The Snooker shoot

:28:24. > :28:26.out is a fantastic event but it should not be a ranking event. The

:28:27. > :28:31.rules are different so it should not be a ranking event at all. The

:28:32. > :28:35.biggest problem with this shot clock is that you take away the tension

:28:36. > :28:40.and that is what snooker is about. How many World Championship would

:28:41. > :28:46.you have won if there had been a shot clock in play? I would have

:28:47. > :28:51.one... Seven World Championships! LAUGHTER

:28:52. > :29:00.I like it! A fantastic start for Ronnie O'Sullivan last night. He and

:29:01. > :29:02.Shaun Murphy readying themselves backstage for another blockbuster

:29:03. > :29:04.session this afternoon. The figure of Ronnie looms large in Sheffield

:29:05. > :29:13.quite literally at the moment. Not just the players who have been

:29:14. > :29:17.putting years of hard work and dedication to the test. I'm here to

:29:18. > :29:34.meet a young man showcasing his talent on the biggest stage. It's a

:29:35. > :29:39.passion, doing it. This big wall outside, it's a blank canvas. He

:29:40. > :29:45.said, I'm going to predict the winner of the world should be chips.

:29:46. > :29:54.He said, you'll have to wait and see! He used to be opening presents,

:29:55. > :30:00.my brother, toys and things, and I would be opening pens and paper and

:30:01. > :30:07.things like that. My vision is pulling me to something, if you know

:30:08. > :30:13.what I mean. It is quite strong. Anybody who can make a 147 as fast

:30:14. > :31:14.as he has, televised, he's a genius if you ask me.

:31:15. > :31:25.That is perfect. I wanted to do something for my dad. He

:31:26. > :31:39.picked the photo. You can see that in Sheffield. Our technological talk

:31:40. > :31:44.on the Rocket is by one estimate acquire. We have had some

:31:45. > :31:50.unbelievably talented snooker players in our game, have you see

:31:51. > :31:55.anyone more talented than Ronnie O'Sullivan? No, the honest answer.

:31:56. > :32:00.The most naturally gifted snooker player I have ever seen. I don't

:32:01. > :32:05.think in snooker and there is a better site to see than Ronnie in

:32:06. > :32:09.full flight. Great to watch. He really is the all-round package.

:32:10. > :32:11.Brilliant save the game, save the game which can destroy other

:32:12. > :32:17.world-class players, it is that good. Did Ray Reardon have a bearing

:32:18. > :32:21.on that? Absolutely. I don't think enough has been said about that. Ray

:32:22. > :32:24.Reardon made a fantastic impact on Ronnie O'Sullivan plasma game. The

:32:25. > :32:27.last time you played Ali Carter in the World Championship, in my honest

:32:28. > :32:31.opinion when O'Sullivan was as close to being unplayable as I have ever

:32:32. > :32:34.seen. His safety was unplayable. You are in trouble when he came to the

:32:35. > :32:38.table. If you look at the footage, he looked a different player from a

:32:39. > :32:43.technical point of view. Much faster before Ray. His bridge was a

:32:44. > :32:50.significant distance further to the cue ball. That may not have been Ray

:32:51. > :32:56.Reardon's implements. Coincidentally happened at the same time. You

:32:57. > :33:01.notice a technical thing? Than usual, Vienna top player in the game

:33:02. > :33:06.able to play Wishart. The thing that makes when O'Sullivan say unique, he

:33:07. > :33:11.plays everything with side. That is an absolute no-no from a textbook

:33:12. > :33:17.point of view. Somebody who plays with so most side would be

:33:18. > :33:26.inconsistent, but when he's at his best he's unbelievable. One shot

:33:27. > :33:30.near the cushion, a shot from here, playing on the cue ball with loads

:33:31. > :33:39.of side, clipping the ball thinly. Never seen anyone else play that

:33:40. > :33:44.shot was all being so fine, so difficult to it takes timing. If you

:33:45. > :33:50.are going to shape the ball. Ronnie knows he's going to shape it right

:33:51. > :33:55.to left, left to right. He knows he's going to get it, it is a good

:33:56. > :33:58.idea. Taking the nuances of the class, whether the table is level,

:33:59. > :34:05.what type of arena we are playing in. Whether we are playing in

:34:06. > :34:11.Shanghai, dead humid, or Sheffield, take that out of the equation. Get

:34:12. > :34:16.the exact shape he's looking for. He is going to win more things? I'm

:34:17. > :34:20.hoping he is around for a long time. The tournament is extra special when

:34:21. > :34:26.he decides to play. From ticket sales point of view, I hope he plays

:34:27. > :34:35.for ever. From a snooker competitive point of view, I hope he retires

:34:36. > :34:39.next year expect Murphy the last qualifier to claim the title in

:34:40. > :34:46.2005, close to becoming a multiple champion, losing to John Higgins and

:34:47. > :34:51.Stuart Bingham. His most recent title was in Gibraltar. His first

:34:52. > :34:56.since becoming a father to Harry last year. Build up full of

:34:57. > :35:02.controversy. Getting himself loosened up. Piling into the debate,

:35:03. > :35:07.following the controversy following Ronnie's press conference outburst.

:35:08. > :35:15.It has been like kerosene on burning embers. Firing up the Rocket. Mark

:35:16. > :35:23.Allen and John Higgins ready to go. Rob Walker ready to fire things up.

:35:24. > :35:25.Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Surely the best line-up we have ever

:35:26. > :35:33.had for a second round session at the Crucible. Whatever atmosphere on

:35:34. > :35:38.a fabulous Friday afternoon at the World Snooker champ Winship. This

:35:39. > :35:52.could be absolutely epic. -- Championship.

:35:53. > :35:59.Please welcome, first of all, player making his eighth appearance in the

:36:00. > :36:04.second round at the Crucible. Made the semifinals eight years ago,

:36:05. > :36:09.since winning three rankings titles. One of the great break-builders of

:36:10. > :36:12.the modern game, from Northern Ireland he comes Mark Allen, the

:36:13. > :36:37.Pistol. His opponent, 22 years after his

:36:38. > :36:42.debut. In eight years coming out for a 19th appearance in the second

:36:43. > :36:46.round. Winner of 28 rating titles in all, tour-macro times champion the

:36:47. > :36:50.world. Without doubt one of the finest sportsmen Scotland has ever

:36:51. > :37:10.produced. The Wizard will of Wishaw, John Higgins. And now,

:37:11. > :37:16.and man thrilling crowds at the Crucible for decades. 20 years ago

:37:17. > :37:20.today, came that epic world record 147. He has gone on to become a five

:37:21. > :37:22.times champion of the world, blink and you will miss him, he is the

:37:23. > :37:46.Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan. Finally, a class act on and off the

:37:47. > :37:50.baize. Winner of all three of the sport's Triple Crown events. Victory

:37:51. > :37:56.in Gibraltar earlier this season took into seven ranking titles.

:37:57. > :38:15.Champion in 2005, he is the magician, Shaun Murphy.

:38:16. > :38:26.STUDIO: Here we go for a fascinating session. You can follow Mark Allen

:38:27. > :38:29.and John Higgins if you want. We joined the company Peter Ebdon and

:38:30. > :38:37.John Virgo. COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Hazel. If

:38:38. > :38:48.this session is anything like the first session, we're in for a treat.

:38:49. > :39:08.Ronnie O'Sullivan with a four frame advantage, he will be looking to

:39:09. > :39:15.push on. A big session for Shaun , Peter. Absolutely. Those are the

:39:16. > :39:53.pot percentages. One thing is sure, as we get the

:39:54. > :40:00.dreaded mobile phone. Shaun Murphy cannot afford to lose this session

:40:01. > :40:07.6-2. Otherwise there will be no way back. Never ceases to amaze me,

:40:08. > :40:14.John, no matter how the times our MC, Rob Walker, asks people to turn

:40:15. > :40:16.off their mobiles, all on silent, one still goes. To be honest, is

:40:17. > :40:33.unacceptable. Ronnie purposefully running that red

:40:34. > :40:34.into the bunch reds. The one that has come loose is covered by the

:40:35. > :40:56.blue. A nice little nudge off the brown.

:40:57. > :41:03.You don't mind that happening every now and again. Did not look

:41:04. > :41:10.particularly good safety shot until that flick of the brown, putting the

:41:11. > :41:15.cue ball behind the yellow. Ronnie trying to come off two cushions,

:41:16. > :41:17.nestle into the bunch. He will still leave one into the middle, if he's

:41:18. > :42:14.not careful. Played it well. Ronnie going down to the baulk end

:42:15. > :42:30.for to see where he would not like to be for the next shot.

:42:31. > :42:39.Suggest a little bit pacey. Tight onto the ball cushion. I think he

:42:40. > :42:45.may have left a pot on. On the left-hand side of the table. There

:42:46. > :42:50.is a path through to it. In this case, you would say that is a bit

:42:51. > :43:03.careless. Ronnie should have done better than this. There you go. Kiss

:43:04. > :43:12.on the blue. Not a bad one for Shaun Murphy. Tremendous long pot from

:43:13. > :43:17.Shaun Murphy. Down into the cue ball. Touch of left-hand side. This

:43:18. > :43:33.is a tough pink. The pink spot is not available, the

:43:34. > :43:40.highest available is the blue, that will not bother Shaun. That will,

:43:41. > :43:58.being the wrong side of the pink as the cue ball has finished near the

:43:59. > :44:51.top cushion . Might be a route to the left

:44:52. > :45:10.centre. No. Playing safe. Slightly

:45:11. > :45:14.unfortunate. Of course when you go into the balls like that, with pace,

:45:15. > :45:20.never absolutely certain where the cue ball is going to finish. Even

:45:21. > :45:22.so, very unlucky to split the reds so nicely, and are not end up on

:45:23. > :45:50.one. Catching that a fraction too thick.

:45:51. > :46:15.Leaving what you would think is a shot to nothing. Not another phone.

:46:16. > :46:17.Right in the heart of the pocket. If he gets bounce off the ball cushion,

:46:18. > :47:17.he will be on under brown. He has. I must say, John, I really like the

:47:18. > :47:21.back of Shaun Murphy's waistcoat, very smart. I had not noticed it,

:47:22. > :47:36.Peter. Oh, yes. He has a good opportunity, black and

:47:37. > :47:40.available to both corners. Enough reds in the open, not to worry about

:47:41. > :47:53.bringing other reds into play. There you go. It gets to 68 points.

:47:54. > :48:12.Snooker is required. Another 30 required. Four reds, four colours.

:48:13. > :48:24.Needed a good start. Looks like he's going to get one. Just thinking how

:48:25. > :48:29.wonderful it is to see how fluent both of these players are. In

:48:30. > :48:32.amongst the balls, really getting on with it. Player to really nice

:48:33. > :48:39.place. Very difficult thing to do under pressure. The great Steve

:48:40. > :48:43.Davis once said, if you can play as if it means nothing, when it means

:48:44. > :48:49.everything, that is the way to play. Fantastic philosophy. They're very

:48:50. > :48:50.difficult to put into practice. Both of these great players managed to do

:48:51. > :49:12.that. This black, one more red and colour.

:49:13. > :49:17.Ronnie will need a snooker. Not had much chance in this frame. He will

:49:18. > :49:30.know that, not as if you missed anything. A loose safety shot early

:49:31. > :49:35.on gave Shaun a chance. He has needed two chances, but made it with

:49:36. > :50:06.that. But since 68 points in front with 67 remaining.

:50:07. > :50:10.No way back to the table for running. Will not be getting out of

:50:11. > :50:30.his seat. -- Ronnie. He'll be doing well here he can make

:50:31. > :51:01.a century. Playing the plant. That is enough

:51:02. > :51:06.for Ronnie, never got a chance in that frame, all about Shaun Murphy.

:51:07. > :51:12.Three frames behind now, just the Stasi wanted. STUDIO: Needed a

:51:13. > :51:18.positive start, it yesterday absolutely underrate. We enjoy that

:51:19. > :51:22.last night, Steve I know you are watching. In terms of the start, how

:51:23. > :51:30.much better will it that made him feel? Needs a fast start. Anything

:51:31. > :51:37.other than a 5-3 victory in this session, he will be out of the

:51:38. > :51:41.championship. At least 5-3. How much intensity, focus and desire was

:51:42. > :51:49.evident from O'Sullivan last night in the opening session? I sensed the

:51:50. > :51:53.same grit and determination that he showed when he won the first round

:51:54. > :51:58.match against Gary Wilson. There was a moment in the match last night, we

:51:59. > :52:08.did not talk about it. Ronnie failed to clinch his chance, Shaun came

:52:09. > :52:12.back to the table, missing one, he went like that, this is my chance.

:52:13. > :52:24.Really animated. Loads of aggression. That usually do not see

:52:25. > :52:29.we've Ronnie. Whether it is just Shaun, or he has gotten himself

:52:30. > :52:36.fired up for the event, he is on a mission, maybe going to be able to

:52:37. > :52:40.stop them. There was the controversy in the build-up, it certainly has

:52:41. > :52:48.fired Ronnie up. Here we go, back for frame number ten.

:52:49. > :52:57.COMMENTATOR: He has left the chance of a red here. Look to see what the

:52:58. > :53:08.consequences or if he had missed it. There is not a path back to baulk.

:53:09. > :53:19.Deciding to use the red on the black cushion as a stopper. Horrendous

:53:20. > :53:24.kick. That was not Ronnie's fault. I don't know whether he got the

:53:25. > :53:33.potting angle. Look at the way the pace was taking Natalie Keble. That

:53:34. > :53:40.happens. Why, I don't know. Left a tricky red, but doesn't have to do

:53:41. > :53:45.much to be on the black. Jess catching the near jaw. Those

:53:46. > :53:48.mistakes will prove very costly at this level. You cannot afford to

:53:49. > :54:05.miss when you are in like that. Ronnie's first ball he has potted.

:54:06. > :54:11.That one catching the near jaw. We have seen one or two drop, but

:54:12. > :54:31.usually when they catch the right-hand jaw. They do not go in.

:54:32. > :54:36.Obviously got the wrong angle on the black. Wondering where the pink will

:54:37. > :55:05.go when it is re-spotted. Ronnie getting out of the way,

:55:06. > :55:11.sitting down, a sip of the water, letting the referee position the

:55:12. > :56:01.pink. Looks as if it could go on the pink spot, but obviously doesn't.

:56:02. > :56:10.Always a joy to watch runny when he gets around the black spot area.

:56:11. > :56:15.Taking his breaks. Not one that goes into the pack straightaway, smashing

:56:16. > :56:17.them open. You are trusting a little bit to luck. He would rather leave

:56:18. > :56:35.it to skill. If he gets to 72, sneakers will be

:56:36. > :56:57.required. Quite a way to go yet. I don't know whether he can play for

:56:58. > :57:19.the black now, may have to give up for the blue. Oh, no, he was OK.

:57:20. > :57:32.He will think about trying to bring some reds into place very soon. --

:57:33. > :57:42.play. I wonder if the top red of that cluster... Ronnie looking if

:57:43. > :57:49.that is available into the middle. Might be able to get that, bring

:57:50. > :57:53.some more into play. That is what he has played for. All depends on the

:57:54. > :58:29.potting angle here. Decided to leave it out of the last

:58:30. > :58:32.minute. Stunning into the red on the left-hand side, just missing the

:58:33. > :58:41.pink. Will be unlucky not to be on one. A bit surprised he played it

:58:42. > :58:50.like that. I thought it was more of a stunt, to run through the red.

:58:51. > :58:56.Would have loved to open up the reds, pushing the Keble ten inches

:58:57. > :59:08.further to the left. He will be disappointed with that. Persimmon

:59:09. > :59:17.control of the frame. -- puts him in control of the frame. Disappointed

:59:18. > :59:19.not to win it in that visit. Shaun 63 points behind, but a possible 83

:59:20. > :59:40.remaining. Shaun needs to be very careful here.

:59:41. > :59:49.Playing the red on the left-hand side of the table, needs to cover

:59:50. > :59:53.the red into the right centre. Which will not be easy, despite the baulk

:59:54. > :00:11.colours being there. Not so sure about that. No. This red

:00:12. > :00:18.is a bit more difficult than it looks on your screens. It is more of

:00:19. > :00:23.an acute angle than it appears that you would not expect Ronnie to miss

:00:24. > :00:31.it. He doesn't have to do much with the cue ball to get position.

:00:32. > :00:43.And I think to be fair to Shaun, he almost certainly got a heavy contact

:00:44. > :00:44.on that red because the cue ball finished three feet shorter than his

:00:45. > :01:12.intended position. Obviously this top red in the

:01:13. > :01:16.cluster goes to the right corner and he just needs this red and colour

:01:17. > :01:26.and that will be the frame in the bag. 67 points is the lead now, 67

:01:27. > :01:35.remaining, but this will put on the 72 points in front with 67

:01:36. > :01:41.remaining. A complete turnaround from the first frame, Ronnie never

:01:42. > :01:46.got much of a chance and Shaun has not had much of a chance in this

:01:47. > :01:50.one, apart from that chance when he missed the red along the top

:01:51. > :01:56.cushion. But it is a tough school when you only get one opportunity.

:01:57. > :02:02.Exactly, but that is what happens at this level. The red has not gone in

:02:03. > :02:06.but it doesn't matter, Shaun obviously has conceded so a complete

:02:07. > :02:12.reversal of the first frame with Ronnie taking the second and he is

:02:13. > :02:15.7-3 ahead. STUDIO: Ronnie averaging about 18 second shot, the fastest of

:02:16. > :02:19.anybody in the championship this year and talking about speed, we

:02:20. > :02:26.asked you what you thought of the shot clock. Is it a much-needed

:02:27. > :02:33.addition or an infernal nuisance? What if the public saying? We have

:02:34. > :02:39.had so much reaction to this question on Twitter, I could be here

:02:40. > :02:44.all night! It has been very one sided. Esther says that shot clocks

:02:45. > :02:51.are a terrible idea, long frames are normally caused by scrappy frames

:02:52. > :02:57.and not decision-making. Ryan said the players need thinking time. Neil

:02:58. > :03:01.has said that shoot out style is rushing but you could take 40

:03:02. > :03:08.seconds with three extensions per frame but Ryan disagreed, saying

:03:09. > :03:13.that 42nd is enough time to wake of the options and get the angles right

:03:14. > :03:16.and take the shot. Dan hate the idea, Kate said that players need

:03:17. > :03:20.the time to work out the best options and I will end on this one

:03:21. > :03:29.because Neal sums it up well in terms of what our fans have been

:03:30. > :03:36.saying, saying simply, no. That is officially a big no! Apart from at

:03:37. > :03:39.the shoot out. But we are very much enjoying this second session between

:03:40. > :03:44.Ronnie O'Sullivan and Shaun Murphy, Shaun might not be enjoying it as

:03:45. > :03:52.much as Ronnie, now he is four frames in arrears again and Ken and

:03:53. > :03:56.Steve are with me. It is Honours even in this session but they are

:03:57. > :04:01.both in good form. They are but the trouble for Shaun Murphy it is tough

:04:02. > :04:05.to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in a single session, I would say 5-3 is

:04:06. > :04:09.the best you can hope for because you rarely outplay him so he has to

:04:10. > :04:16.somehow hope that Ronnie drops his standards. Back to frame 11.

:04:17. > :04:21.COMMENTATOR: A better break-off shot from Ronnie and when he plays

:04:22. > :04:26.left-handed, I spoke to him about it and he thinks he can get more side

:04:27. > :04:30.but he believes you have to be afoot this side of the baulk like to get

:04:31. > :04:36.the cue ball where it is now and not leave that pot on. And he will be

:04:37. > :04:44.happy with that, even though he has not got the cue ball tight, just

:04:45. > :04:49.watch where it lands. It is a foot this side of the Boult line and that

:04:50. > :04:54.gives you a nice angle to use the green is a cover. Mark Selby does a

:04:55. > :04:57.similar thing. No coincidence that two of the best players in the world

:04:58. > :05:01.are try to do a similar thing of the break-off shot and it is difficult

:05:02. > :05:07.because these cushions slide a lot. That was an excellent shot from

:05:08. > :05:10.Shaun Murphy. Not touching because if they would have been, the referee

:05:11. > :05:41.would have called it. Neither player will want to get

:05:42. > :05:45.involved in this type of frame. Sometimes it is the balls that

:05:46. > :06:05.dictate how a frame will be played out.

:06:06. > :06:16.Shaun left Ronnie a nice easy run back to baulk them as it turns out.

:06:17. > :06:54.This needs to be very thin. But not that thin! Foul and a miss.

:06:55. > :07:06.He will be under pressure if he doesn't hit it this time. But he did

:07:07. > :07:11.and he hit it well. But he couldn't avoid the kiss on the yellow so you

:07:12. > :07:20.would expect a better safety from Ronnie. A decent sized target to get

:07:21. > :07:33.the cue ball behind the yellow and brown. Interesting to see how Ronnie

:07:34. > :07:41.decides to play this. A lot of players might play it playing ball.

:07:42. > :07:47.Almost certainly Ronnie will be playing it with right-hand side.

:07:48. > :08:00.Just a little thick. That is not a bad flick at all, almost snooker

:08:01. > :08:04.Shaun behind the green. I don't know what he's going to do with the cue

:08:05. > :08:07.ball but Shaun is a very aggressive player and you can see him taking

:08:08. > :08:26.this on but he would be trusting to luck with the cue ball.

:08:27. > :08:35.I thought for a moment he might have the run of the balls but that is the

:08:36. > :08:38.problem, the more pace you put in that shot, the more you've got to

:08:39. > :08:45.hit the centre of the cue ball. You have really got to have good, Centre

:08:46. > :08:50.ball striking and that is what caused the miss. I think there was a

:08:51. > :08:55.lot of pressure on the shot because Shaun was not guaranteed to get on a

:08:56. > :08:59.colour, it was a very low percentage pot. He played it full-blooded lead

:09:00. > :09:05.but to be honest he would have had no idea where the cue ball was going

:09:06. > :09:09.because he was cannoning into balls. And at that pace he was trusting to

:09:10. > :09:15.luck and he thought if he hit it hard there was a chance the cue ball

:09:16. > :09:20.would come back up the table. But you don't really want to be playing

:09:21. > :09:25.those risky shots, as Peter said, unless you are certain of a good

:09:26. > :09:35.reward. Anyway, he has handed a good chance to Ronnie. Obviously the

:09:36. > :09:37.black is tied up. And I don't think the red just to the right of it is

:09:38. > :09:54.available. Then we checked that, if he does it

:09:55. > :10:00.again, he's out. He's clapping for their shots. It's a bit weird.

:10:01. > :10:05.Security will have a look and if he does it again, he's out. I think

:10:06. > :10:08.what Ronnie is saying, he must be looking at the other table and he is

:10:09. > :10:13.clapping for shots on the other table and not this one which is just

:10:14. > :10:17.a bit off-putting for Ronnie but thank goodness he is mature enough

:10:18. > :10:22.now just to have a little walk round the table and concentrate on his own

:10:23. > :10:28.game. He nearly ran out of position there.

:10:29. > :11:02.I think this pink goes to the right corner.

:11:03. > :11:07.Obviously it is not straightforward otherwise he would have played it by

:11:08. > :11:15.now. I thought the end red would go to the left corner. It mustn't be

:11:16. > :11:23.straightforward otherwise he wouldn't be taking this long over

:11:24. > :11:29.it. He has played for this red but where does the pink go? Is it going

:11:30. > :11:35.to be available? It is available to the left middle and when he removes

:11:36. > :11:49.this red it will go to the right corner as well.

:11:50. > :11:59.That's a nice shot. Playing for the red to the left and rolling this in,

:12:00. > :12:01.he will just nudge the other three reds and be on the pink to the right

:12:02. > :12:43.corner. If he gets to 70, it would be

:12:44. > :12:49.snooker is required. Not the easiest of chances with the black tied up

:12:50. > :12:54.obviously, and he can't play for the pink of this red, he has to go back

:12:55. > :13:09.up for the blue so he needs a good angle on the blue.

:13:10. > :13:17.And at first look, he hasn't got it. No, he needed to be a bit further to

:13:18. > :13:31.the right of the blue line. Well, he has tried to force it in

:13:32. > :13:38.and he did well to get the cue ball to there. He is looking at the

:13:39. > :13:46.possibility of this plant but there is quite a distance between the two

:13:47. > :13:53.and it is no gimme. APPLAUSE It went in nevertheless. But still

:13:54. > :14:05.he can't get the right side of the blue. This was a good one, you can

:14:06. > :14:07.see the distance between the balls. He really had to get that first run

:14:08. > :14:20.correctly which he did. And that of course is the advantage

:14:21. > :14:31.of these superfine coughs, you can move the ball almost straight. --

:14:32. > :14:36.superfine cloths. He is now thinking about this one because it is a risk.

:14:37. > :14:39.Can he get on a colour without any risks involved? That is the decision

:14:40. > :14:52.he has to make here. He thought it was worth the risk and

:14:53. > :15:26.he got it and bladed beautifully. -- played it beautifully.

:15:27. > :15:48.66 points is the lead now with 67 remaining. What the black and go 73

:15:49. > :15:54.in front with 67 remaining. No problem, he has taken these well,

:15:55. > :16:03.Peter. Yes, he really is up for this match, isn't he? I have not seen him

:16:04. > :16:04.with this level of focus, commitment, concentration, for quite

:16:05. > :16:23.some time. Well, he missed the red and is a bit

:16:24. > :16:32.disappointed but that is enough for Shaun and Ronnie now opens up a five

:16:33. > :16:38.frame gap and it is 8-3. And as we know with Ronnie, when he gets among

:16:39. > :16:43.the balls he is very dangerous. This shot that Shaun took on was very

:16:44. > :16:47.risky as the best of times. For me it was a low percentage shot. We

:16:48. > :16:51.know what a wonderful long potter Shaun Murphy is, one of the best

:16:52. > :16:54.ever, but there is extra pressure on this because it is not guaranteed to

:16:55. > :17:00.get on a colour and there was no path back to baulk. It is a shot

:17:01. > :17:04.that you have to get but unfortunately for him he didn't get

:17:05. > :17:08.away with it after missing it. And that let Ronnie in and the balls

:17:09. > :17:11.were nicely situated because the black was tied up and he was in this

:17:12. > :17:31.situation, just a couple of reds. Whatever he said to Ronnie, he was

:17:32. > :17:36.nodding in agreement. No problems there. I think it is somebody in the

:17:37. > :17:40.audience who seems to be clapping for no reason. Getting back to that

:17:41. > :17:44.last frame when the black was tied up, he had to make a decision and he

:17:45. > :17:50.thought, I can play for the pink but I'm not certain to but he was

:17:51. > :17:55.perfect on the red and took the chance to kiss the red away from the

:17:56. > :17:59.black. He tried to make it a no risk break but in the end decided to take

:18:00. > :18:05.that slight risk. It could quite easily have gone wrong and couldn't

:18:06. > :18:13.it? Yes. But once he had cleared the black, then the frame was his

:18:14. > :18:15.inevitably. One of the things I find interesting as part of his

:18:16. > :18:25.preparation for the World Championship every year, he always

:18:26. > :18:28.seems to get a very sharp haircut! Well, he's a sharp lad. I think I

:18:29. > :18:42.might go for that next time! Every frame now he is -- every frame

:18:43. > :18:48.is building up in importance for Shaun Murphy. The target for a place

:18:49. > :19:02.in the quarterfinal is 13th. Shaun has got to start winning frames now.

:19:03. > :19:09.He can't quite see enough of this long red, you will have to plates

:19:10. > :19:12.with a trace of right-hand side if he takes it on -- he will have to

:19:13. > :19:24.play it. He decided to take the red on the

:19:25. > :19:33.opposite side of the table and that is a mistake. Yes, he didn't get

:19:34. > :19:39.close to the pot and I think if he had done, you might not have left

:19:40. > :19:45.this easy one close to the black. But Shaun has got to capitalise now

:19:46. > :19:51.on these chances. And it is only because Ronnie overcut the long red

:19:52. > :19:56.bikes such a distance that he left an opportunity for Shaun Murphy. If

:19:57. > :20:01.he had got closer to the pot, the cue ball would have stayed a lot

:20:02. > :20:05.closer to the black. And not travelled so far back up the table

:20:06. > :20:17.and this opportunity would not have been on.

:20:18. > :20:27.Slightly under that one. This is a little bit of test but you still

:20:28. > :20:36.expect him to get it. But these are the sort of shots that you can

:20:37. > :20:40.decelerate on and slightly overcut. He made sure that he got a very

:20:41. > :21:13.solid strike and played it very well.

:21:14. > :21:21.I think he got a heavy contact their because he played for the red that

:21:22. > :21:25.is just below the right middle but I don't think he is on it. You could

:21:26. > :21:40.see, just a bit of a jump. Can he get to it? No, he doesn't think he

:21:41. > :21:45.can. When we saw the slow motion, it almost looked as if the cue ball

:21:46. > :21:49.jumped before it reached the black which might be one of the reasons he

:21:50. > :21:58.got a kick. That can happen if you don't keep the cue parallel. Then

:21:59. > :22:01.you have this striking down a motion and you get the cue ball bouncing

:22:02. > :22:05.and if it is coming back to the table when it makes contact with the

:22:06. > :22:12.object ball, hence the every contact. You can see it, definitely.

:22:13. > :22:12.The main reason for that bad contact was

:22:13. > :22:42.It would be good if he could miss the yellow but he can't. It's an

:22:43. > :23:34.easy safety shot for Shaun. He did have a look but it didn't

:23:35. > :23:40.look as if there was a plant there. It nearly went in off the other one.

:23:41. > :23:45.The main concern was to get the cue ball back to the baulk end which he

:23:46. > :23:55.has done but he has not found the baulk cushion. He thought that was

:23:56. > :24:00.too risky to take on because he would be running into a the reds but

:24:01. > :24:05.he has not played the best safety shot and has given Ronnie a chance

:24:06. > :24:11.here. And if Ronnie can judge this well enough, he can pot this, can

:24:12. > :24:15.the red left of it is full in the fate and might be able to stay on

:24:16. > :24:25.the black but it depends how he sees it.

:24:26. > :24:35.To get the full bowl contact on that red he would have had to stun it so

:24:36. > :24:43.he gave the pot every consideration, something Shaun did not do in the

:24:44. > :24:49.last frame. Yes, Ronnie certainly gave that every chance of going in

:24:50. > :24:54.at that pace. Perhaps he felt that if he got a slightly thinner can and

:24:55. > :25:01.he might be going up and perhaps leave himself the blue into the left

:25:02. > :25:06.centre. The way the cue ball has finished, he will almost certainly

:25:07. > :25:13.be taking the long blue into the yellow pocket. And because Ronnie

:25:14. > :25:18.tends to play these with a touch of left-hand side, he will need to get

:25:19. > :25:22.through this smoothly. A bit of a disturbance in the crowd which will

:25:23. > :25:25.not help his concentration. I think what has happened, they are in

:25:26. > :25:32.between frames on the other table and there are just people moving so

:25:33. > :25:39.Ronnie decided to let them settle down and just asked the referee to

:25:40. > :25:43.clean the cue ball so he can not be put off. This is the maturity he has

:25:44. > :25:50.been showing in the last couple of seasons. Make sure you stay still

:25:51. > :25:55.and sit still, please. The only thing I would be saying about having

:25:56. > :26:01.the cue ball cleaned is that the left-hand side that he will be

:26:02. > :26:05.imparting on the cue ball now will actually throw more so he has to hit

:26:06. > :26:06.this smooth otherwise this will be thick but he has played it really

:26:07. > :26:30.well. He got a heavy contact Ben. On both

:26:31. > :26:36.of those last two shots he would have been playing with left-hand

:26:37. > :26:41.side as John mentioned earlier, helping side to help the pot but on

:26:42. > :26:51.these cloths it can make things very difficult sometimes. Even on a shop

:26:52. > :26:56.like this, if you are playing drag with left-hand side you can hit the

:26:57. > :27:02.red thick. He played that beautifully. It is the same with

:27:03. > :27:08.every shot and particularly if you put a trace of side on, it depends

:27:09. > :27:14.how you strike the ball because if you hit it too hard that it can be

:27:15. > :27:23.thin but his timing throughout this match invariably has been absolutely

:27:24. > :27:28.superb. He was given a scare in the first round by Gary Wilson and it

:27:29. > :27:32.was his reaction after that match when he punched the air, I have

:27:33. > :27:36.never seen him do that after a first-round match but he was

:27:37. > :27:40.delighted and it showed how much it meant to him. As Steve Davis has

:27:41. > :27:46.mentioned a few times, I think he has come in and he is on a mission.

:27:47. > :27:50.Yes, he is certainly playing with an intention that I have not seen for a

:27:51. > :27:57.very long time. He is very focused and disciplined and he is using his

:27:58. > :28:06.experience. He is playing very fluently under pressure as he always

:28:07. > :28:11.likes to. But there is a real determination and steeliness about

:28:12. > :28:18.his whole demeanour this year. He just can't get that cue ball exactly

:28:19. > :28:21.where he wants it. He wasn't good on the black and he is not great on

:28:22. > :28:33.this red. And eventually it has caught up on

:28:34. > :28:37.him. He never really got the cue ball under tight control for some

:28:38. > :28:45.reason. Again, I think it was a heavy contact. There was a definite

:28:46. > :28:47.sigh when he missed it and I don't think it was just because he missed

:28:48. > :28:58.the pot. Normally if you get a kick they go

:28:59. > :29:05.thick but that was one of the rare occasions where you can pull it thin

:29:06. > :29:14.and get a kick but meanwhile that is an excellent shot from Shaun Murphy.

:29:15. > :29:23.This is a frame he desperately needs to win. Yes, and it is a big frame

:29:24. > :29:27.because I'm sure he was sat down a few moments ago thinking that the

:29:28. > :29:33.frame had gone with Ronnie in the balls. He is four points behind and

:29:34. > :29:37.trying to think if there was any way he could win the frame without all

:29:38. > :29:46.of the awkward reds near the cushion so he has tried to bring it into

:29:47. > :29:49.play-off red and is he on the black? It is a thin one. They don't

:29:50. > :29:54.recommend you do that but he took the chance. It is a tricky black, it

:29:55. > :30:20.looks easier than it is. Right in the heart of the pocket.

:30:21. > :30:26.Shaun Murphy got up off that black, there was another noise in the

:30:27. > :30:30.audience. Somebody in the crowd is making some quite strange noises and

:30:31. > :30:35.if they continue to do that they will be ejected without any shadow

:30:36. > :30:57.of a doubt. He got up off the shot just to regain his composure.

:30:58. > :31:09.He is on this red, he should not have any problem potting it and

:31:10. > :31:12.getting on the blue. Well, Shaun, Shaun, you cannot afford to be

:31:13. > :31:19.missing those and he cannot believe it. In all honesty, neither can I.

:31:20. > :31:25.He had nothing to do with the cue ball, just pot the red and you are

:31:26. > :31:29.bound to bully on the blue. A bad mistake. -- you are bound to be on

:31:30. > :31:37.the blue. The problem he would have had was the two reds near the

:31:38. > :31:47.cushion. It is now Ronnie's problem but he will be happy to have it.

:31:48. > :32:14.Half Key points in it. -- two points in it. All about the cue ball now.

:32:15. > :32:26.Nice angle on the blue. Will not be easy. Definitely not from there. Now

:32:27. > :32:37.will he try to knock this in play snooker. Very difficult to play at

:32:38. > :32:50.pace. Giving himself the chance of the pot on the black. Right in the

:32:51. > :32:59.heart of the pocket, if he misses the kiss on the yellow, this is

:33:00. > :33:01.perfect. Look at this. Superb. Just wanted it to bounce another

:33:02. > :33:18.fraction. Well, I said, going into a slightly

:33:19. > :33:26.blind pocket. He played in such a way, if it does not give in, I will

:33:27. > :33:30.get the cover with the pink. Strange thing about that shall permit the

:33:31. > :33:35.pink was not there, and aiming he would have missed the red. Yes, I

:33:36. > :33:41.get what you are saying, played its lower then he would have, trying to

:33:42. > :33:46.cover it. Just a negative thought. With it being so close to the

:33:47. > :33:59.pocket, there is a chance Shaun Good hit the red and knock it in. Need

:34:00. > :34:18.something good to happen, otherwise we'll lose the frame. It was not

:34:19. > :34:27.right over the pocket. Ronnie comes back to the table with a 12 point

:34:28. > :34:31.lead. Whoever pots this red, you feel will win the frame. Tough pot,

:34:32. > :34:38.can play it with an element of safety. Because of the difficulty,

:34:39. > :34:57.decided against it. Not bad. Not as good as you would have liked.

:34:58. > :35:03.The difficulty for Shaun, does not have the angle to swing the white

:35:04. > :35:09.around the four cushions, around the yellow and brown. The chance of

:35:10. > :35:27.sticking it over the middle that. Interesting choice of shock. I don't

:35:28. > :35:31.think it was the best choice. He feel Ronnie has control of the

:35:32. > :35:46.situation. Important tactical exchange. Could have played that

:35:47. > :36:03.better. Again, sounded heavier to me. The White Sox very quickly

:36:04. > :36:07.there. -- the white stopped. Far be going to see a Shaun Murphy special?

:36:08. > :36:14.If you take this on, will be really tough. Not the easiest safety shot

:36:15. > :36:23.in the world. Will have to avoid double-kisses. Played that snooker

:36:24. > :36:40.behind the pink really well, excellent shot. Looks easy enough to

:36:41. > :36:55.hit. Need to get the red say. He will settle for this, may have got a

:36:56. > :37:04.snooker back. I think he has. Full ball snooker. Shaun looking to come

:37:05. > :37:09.off the cushion. A possibility of coming off a two cushions, hitting

:37:10. > :37:22.the red. The cue ball hitting the yellow, sniggering in the high.

:37:23. > :37:32.Hiding him behind brown. If Ronnie can park-macro

:37:33. > :37:43.-- pot this red, and get on a colour. Holding on the blue, not

:37:44. > :37:48.bad. But Italy when you can play left-handed.

:37:49. > :37:58.And just look at the scoreboard, 18 points in front. Looking for yellow

:37:59. > :38:07.and green to get to snookers required. 1323 points in front

:38:08. > :38:21.22 remaining. -- puts him in 23 points in front.

:38:22. > :38:36.Just about getting past the baulk line, to make the screen easy pot.

:38:37. > :38:40.Still not sure, snookers needed. Now no way back to the table for Shaun

:38:41. > :38:47.Murphy. Mid-session interval coming up. He has nothing to show for his

:38:48. > :38:52.efforts. Winning one of the first four frames. Not what he was looking

:38:53. > :39:08.for. In goes the black. Ronnie O'Sullivan

:39:09. > :39:15.with a six frame advantage after starting with a four frame

:39:16. > :39:20.advantage. STUDIO: For all the world, it looked like Murphy was

:39:21. > :39:24.going to take that one, to prevent the possibility of Irwin for

:39:25. > :39:28.O'Sullivan with a session to spare. Where he to win the next four, he

:39:29. > :39:35.would be into the quarterfinals. Assess how this is going for Shaun?

:39:36. > :39:40.Apart from having a good start, he has been outplayed. No disgrace in

:39:41. > :39:46.that. Ronnie O'Sullivan is one of the greats. From Shaun's

:39:47. > :39:51.perspective, how do you play better? You come here with all the hype, all

:39:52. > :39:55.the optimism, doing the practice, hard work. You know you are great

:39:56. > :39:59.player, winning the World Championship before. Someone

:40:00. > :40:04.outplays you, and you have to suffer it. Not the crackling intensity in

:40:05. > :40:10.this session we witnessed last night. Because of the imbalance in

:40:11. > :40:15.the scoreline. He has his chances, he has not taken them. Not been as

:40:16. > :40:20.clinical. It was not clinical in the fourth session. Not as clinical as

:40:21. > :40:27.he would be normally. I don't expect this match to finish. As the gap

:40:28. > :40:32.widens, hard to get yourself up. As a player, you feel like the match as

:40:33. > :40:38.gone from you, hard to keep your concentration. Funnily enough for a

:40:39. > :40:43.game where you don't have any physical contact with each other,

:40:44. > :40:49.you don't have a style, you come to the table, the balls are static,

:40:50. > :40:54.amazing how a guy can put you off your stride. The balls are still

:40:55. > :40:56.when you come to the table. But you put yourself under pressure, you

:40:57. > :41:02.think I have to play well because he's playing well. Do you send Shaun

:41:03. > :41:09.Murphy senses he can turn it around? I do think so. I think he senses it

:41:10. > :41:13.is inevitable now. Because of the gap, not making the most of the

:41:14. > :41:18.chances. To claw back six frames, very difficult. He has done before.

:41:19. > :41:29.Not beyond the realms of possibility. Not giving up,

:41:30. > :41:32.preparing for the worst. Deflated. Take your mind off things, go for a

:41:33. > :41:39.drive with Steve Davis, but keep your eyes on the road.

:41:40. > :42:03.Where do we go? Where would you go now? Let's say you have played in

:42:04. > :42:08.the first round, you have got beaten. You want to run 1 million

:42:09. > :42:13.miles away. The answer is home to my wife, and little baby. That really

:42:14. > :42:23.the answer is to a golf course somewhere, get myself away from it.

:42:24. > :42:29.What is your handicap? Scratch. That is not an ordinary reaction.

:42:30. > :42:34.Scratch. You have picked golf up and put it down more times than I have

:42:35. > :42:38.had hot dinners. You have had more love affairs with golf than a few.

:42:39. > :42:43.You try your hand, then putting it down, going off on playing your

:42:44. > :42:50.records, the Jing. You are a bit musical? How does the piano playing

:42:51. > :42:59.do? What level are you? My handicap at piano would be a decent 12.

:43:00. > :43:09.12-14. All I almost went through a red. I am so lost. I think it is

:43:10. > :43:14.down and left. All these years you have been coming to Sheffield. Never

:43:15. > :43:20.been to this pitiful. I turned right when I should have turned around.

:43:21. > :43:30.You like a nice car? I have had nice cars in the past. You are man, no

:43:31. > :43:34.commitments, no kids, not married. A baby seat does not look good in a

:43:35. > :43:40.sports car. Would not have gone on the Aston Martin, that had to go.

:43:41. > :43:51.Are we still in Sheffield? This is Derbyshire. Are we in Bakewell. I

:43:52. > :43:55.apologise, I have turned the clock off. I will not be charging you

:43:56. > :44:01.extra. Totally the wrong side of town. In the one-way system. Stuck

:44:02. > :44:05.in the one-way system. The trouble is when I first came here, you could

:44:06. > :44:16.drive anywhere. There was no one-way system. It was horse and cart. That

:44:17. > :44:21.is cruel. I think it was. We will be OK. We will be all right. How much

:44:22. > :44:28.petrol do we have? I have a full tank. This is on expenses. All

:44:29. > :44:35.routes going the wrong way. Let's go to all routes. What is on the

:44:36. > :44:45.agenda, as an adrenaline junkie. Is this right? What is on the agenda?

:44:46. > :44:48.What would you like to do? By the way, ladies and gentlemen from he

:44:49. > :44:56.put the indicator run, the wipers came on. The one I would definitely

:44:57. > :45:05.do, and be keen to do is Strictly Come Dancing. I would love to do

:45:06. > :45:10.Strictly. I used to do it in my younger days, when I was young and

:45:11. > :45:17.single. It was French jive and rock and roll. So my mate said it was a

:45:18. > :45:27.great place to meet girls. That was enough. I loved it. Really enjoyed

:45:28. > :45:31.it. Then there was the sparkly crystal suit I had made for the

:45:32. > :45:36.World Championship ague years ago. That was made by the head Taylor for

:45:37. > :45:40.Strictly. The trousers were a bit baggy at the bottom. He thought I

:45:41. > :45:46.was going to do some spins was out there. You were the first person to

:45:47. > :45:53.see me in it. You came to my dressing room, and said, wow, you

:45:54. > :45:59.better play well with that on. The meantime I wore it. Can you go Trip

:46:00. > :46:06.Adviser with taxi drivers? I'm not sure, I am not registered. Aside

:46:07. > :46:09.from your gear changing, lane discipline and general knowledge of

:46:10. > :46:15.Sheffield, it has been great. I remember running up this road after

:46:16. > :46:21.you for an autograph. That'll be ?355. Please. Good grief. I am sorry

:46:22. > :46:33.for the journey. That Steven Davis, he has the

:46:34. > :46:39.knowledge, but he has not done the knowledge. I will have to buy una to

:46:40. > :46:53.Z of Sheffield. Difficult, all these one-way systems, they keep on

:46:54. > :46:59.changing. -- by you the a to Z. We will have a new champion here in

:47:00. > :47:08.Sheffield. So roll-up, who is next for our competition. It is John

:47:09. > :47:19.Higgins. Welcome to today's edition of pot quiz. We have the four time

:47:20. > :47:24.champion, John Higgins. Am I right in saying you had again last year. I

:47:25. > :47:29.have not had a go. We ask you five questions, every time you get one

:47:30. > :47:35.right you remove the red on the table, then when the clock starts,

:47:36. > :47:44.you have the pot Demel. Which five players the GB to bring your first

:47:45. > :47:57.world title in 1998? Is this for five reds? I have to get the five of

:47:58. > :48:08.them. Dave Harold? No. Ken Debaty. One. Ronnie O'Sullivan. Anthony

:48:09. > :48:16.Hamilton. Graeme Dott. Jason Ferguson, Anthony Hamilton, John

:48:17. > :48:29.Parrott. So I did! Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ken Debaty. Who refereed? Robbie

:48:30. > :48:35.Arendell. Which player have you played the most times at the

:48:36. > :48:41.Crucible? Ronnie O'Sullivan? Correct. Brilliant answer. What is

:48:42. > :48:57.your highest ever Crucible century break? 145. 143 in 1998, against me.

:48:58. > :49:02.Thank you very much. You still have two. Question number five, what was

:49:03. > :49:21.the number one record the day you were born on the 18th of May, 1975.

:49:22. > :49:39.Sugar Baby Love, Stand By Your Man. Bye-bye Baby. It was Stand By Your

:49:40. > :49:43.Man. Good luck, take your reds. When we get near the end, everybody put

:49:44. > :49:51.him under pressure on the black. Here we go, starting now.

:49:52. > :50:08.Fluent. Two down already. This is good. Nice touch. You can play this

:50:09. > :50:13.quick, what has been happening? Nice cue action. Lovely series of stands.

:50:14. > :50:23.Economy with the cue ball. Not moving very far. Excellent.

:50:24. > :50:29.Beautiful. Coming up to 40 seconds. Doing very well. Very well ahead of

:50:30. > :50:38.schedule. Maybe the first position on the state. The crowd roaring.

:50:39. > :50:45.Very good. Where is the cue ball going? Stop, stop. He has himself in

:50:46. > :51:00.a bit of trouble. Up to one minute. Beautiful shot. Fantastic. He needs

:51:01. > :51:06.the spider. One minute. Time now one minute, 15. Quickly, you have to get

:51:07. > :51:20.this one, then the black. You have a chance. Come on, Johnny. It is

:51:21. > :51:31.there. This is good. We don't know how good, I am waiting. One minute,

:51:32. > :51:42.28. Unlucky. You have lost by 0.1 in a second. I want a recount. I'm

:51:43. > :51:53.sorry, you have failed. One minute 28. I am not so sure he does not

:51:54. > :51:59.deserve a recount after that one. Will he take that form to the match

:52:00. > :52:15.table? C. His 23rd go of the Crucible since he appeared first.

:52:16. > :52:25.His best friend was the quarters last year, losing to Alan McManus.

:52:26. > :52:30.You get the feeling he's in the mood for title number five. He has to get

:52:31. > :52:35.past Mark Allen, who has beaten him more times than he has lost, but not

:52:36. > :52:40.in Sheffield. In 2009, a couple of years after making his debut he lost

:52:41. > :52:44.to John in the semifinals. That remains his best progress to date.

:52:45. > :52:50.Never pass the second round stage since then. Let's start at the very

:52:51. > :52:56.beginning in this match. Good place to start. We will do so in the

:52:57. > :53:04.company of John Parrott and Dennis Taylor, four frame one.

:53:05. > :53:10.The curtain comes down in the Crucible Theatre. The four times

:53:11. > :53:19.champion John Higgins gets this opening frame under way. This could

:53:20. > :53:28.be a cracker, John. Yes, Dennis, often said, these rounds for the

:53:29. > :53:32.finals. This one definitely good. John Higgins, four times champion of

:53:33. > :53:35.the world. Mark Allen certainly has the capabilities to be world

:53:36. > :53:43.champion. Tough match in the last 16.

:53:44. > :54:03.Not a bad way to start. Cracking pot, like that. Worth another look

:54:04. > :54:07.at that one. The kiss on the blue could have been better. Quite an

:54:08. > :54:21.attacking shot, taking this one on, surely. That is a super shot if he

:54:22. > :54:27.is on the red next to the black. He has the one the middle, but what are

:54:28. > :54:36.confident pot that was. Superb pot around the ankles, with the rest. --

:54:37. > :54:44.angles. Whether he has come around the right angle near the black. He

:54:45. > :54:49.has a choice. Looked at this before. Needs to play little cannon. Well

:54:50. > :55:21.judged. Very positive. The two reds have just stuck

:55:22. > :55:31.together, he is on the bottom one, that is perfect. The waymark is

:55:32. > :55:38.getting the spider out, the swan neck I should say, looks like it

:55:39. > :55:50.does go. You have to be a bit careful here, bridging over.

:55:51. > :55:56.The word on the street, so to speak, before we got to the Crucible was

:55:57. > :56:07.that Mark Allen was playing incredible stuff in practice. If he

:56:08. > :56:13.can take that sort of form here to the Crucible, he will give John

:56:14. > :56:19.Higgins a very tough time here. He has beaten John on eight occasions,

:56:20. > :56:27.three times he has beaten him in the Masters.

:56:28. > :56:32.He has, but the interesting stats, whenever they have played the longer

:56:33. > :56:36.format, in those matches John Higgins winning all three, including

:56:37. > :56:44.the semifinal of the World Championship. Maybe suits John over

:56:45. > :56:49.a distance of ground. Mention how well Mark was playing, he had four

:56:50. > :56:54.centuries in five frames at Shaun Murphy's house. Not a very nice

:56:55. > :57:05.house guest. He will not be going back there, as a guest, either. I

:57:06. > :57:09.can already sense in the opening frame there is far more focus on

:57:10. > :57:16.Mark Allen. He played a Cajuns Jimmy Robinson the other day. Jimmy did

:57:17. > :57:19.well, much improved. Mark, his concentration at the end was very

:57:20. > :57:23.good. Parts of it were a little sloppy. He knows he will not be able

:57:24. > :57:42.to be like that today. Mark is one of those players, he's a

:57:43. > :57:47.left-hander, when he uses the rest coming he uses his right hand.

:57:48. > :57:56.Amazing the number of left-handers who do that. How does that work? I

:57:57. > :58:01.don't know why that is the case. Dean Reynolds, Mark Allen. Very

:58:02. > :58:17.strange anomaly. Judd Trump, another one. Barry Hawkins, another one.

:58:18. > :58:26.He got a poor contact. Stopping dead, the cue ball.

:58:27. > :58:47.Mark was playing for the loose read the top of the gap. No reaction.

:58:48. > :58:53.Trying to pick a spot on the cushion where he would knock the first red,

:58:54. > :59:02.to make the ankle to knock the plant in. Quite a bit of distance between

:59:03. > :59:10.the two reds. He has thought better of it. Just the safety shot. Maybe

:59:11. > :59:18.he has done for the middle here. Terrifc pot. I tell you what, the

:59:19. > :59:21.next shot, if it works correctly, he could take the frame with this

:59:22. > :59:30.visit. Wonderful shot, well controlled. Need to keep the cue

:59:31. > :59:31.ball for the black. This is an excellent contribution. What a way

:59:32. > :00:15.to start the match. Played that particular screw shot

:00:16. > :00:21.Sally had a choice of two reds. Closest to the black or the bottom

:00:22. > :00:31.one of these two on the right. Cannoning office. -- of this.

:00:32. > :00:38.Showing us what he made 32 centuries this season so far. 36 the season

:00:39. > :00:39.before. 313 in his career. One of the great break-builders in our

:00:40. > :00:59.game. He won the World Open championship

:01:00. > :01:16.on two occasions, that was in China. The frame is safe so he can

:01:17. > :01:29.concentrate on trying to clear them up here. And I think that's not a

:01:30. > :01:34.bad idea. What a shame. John will probably come back to the table but

:01:35. > :01:38.barring a snooker mark Allen Wildig the opening frame. STUDIO: That was

:01:39. > :01:45.an emphatic start from Mark Allen who leads the head-to-head against

:01:46. > :01:49.John Higgins 8-7 and that will continue on and we will reflect more

:01:50. > :01:53.on it after the conclusion of this session between Murphy and

:01:54. > :01:58.O'Sullivan, possibly the conclusion of the match but there are four more

:01:59. > :02:04.frames to play this afternoon and O'Sullivan is four away from a 19th

:02:05. > :02:16.quarterfinal appearance at the quiz but in 25 goes. Back to Peter and

:02:17. > :02:23.John. COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Hazel. And I'm sure Ronnie wouldn't mind if

:02:24. > :02:29.he could seal this match as we are not even at the three hour stage in

:02:30. > :02:33.the match time, and he could certainly win the match if he could

:02:34. > :02:39.win the next four frames and it would be all over, 13-3, with a

:02:40. > :02:48.session to spare and a bit more time on the practice table. That needed

:02:49. > :02:58.to be very thin from Shaun Murphy, but slightly too much. It has given

:02:59. > :03:01.the initiative to Ronnie O'Sullivan to play a better safety shot and he

:03:02. > :03:08.is playing this with a lot of left-hand side. That is careless.

:03:09. > :03:19.He's been fortunate, John. Shaun just stopped in his tracks

:03:20. > :03:27.there but there is a chance of potting this red. He is looking at

:03:28. > :03:34.an alternative but it looks like it is pottable off the side cushion.

:03:35. > :03:48.What has he got in mind here? Well, it was a good effort at trying to

:03:49. > :03:53.move the red from the corner and in a way he was unlucky it

:03:54. > :03:56.double-kissed and stayed there. He will be thinking that not much is

:03:57. > :04:00.going his way. It was a good attempt. Ronnie might well elect to

:04:01. > :04:25.play cushion first here. Easy enough pot but controlling the

:04:26. > :04:30.pace of the cue ball was always going to be difficult. It was on the

:04:31. > :04:35.pink but the potting angle is taking him away from the reds. That is why

:04:36. > :04:40.I suggested he might have been better off playing cushion first

:04:41. > :04:43.because it would have taken the pace off the cue ball and he almost

:04:44. > :04:56.certainly would have been on the black. Where has the cue ball gone?!

:04:57. > :05:00.That was an unexpected error from Ronnie. The pockets are always in

:05:01. > :05:47.the same place! Is he looking at the pot here? No,

:05:48. > :05:48.just the safety. There was always a chance he could not want over the

:05:49. > :06:48.left corner. -- he could knock one. He didn't mind leaving this red

:06:49. > :06:49.along the top cushion, as long as it is straight there is no way he would

:06:50. > :07:26.be tempted to play the pot. The only thing that Shaun has to be

:07:27. > :07:31.a bit wary of, he has to play safe down the left-hand side of the table

:07:32. > :07:35.and he has to void the kiss on the red that is tight to the top cushion

:07:36. > :07:43.but he has decided to play safe off it and you have to be careful with

:07:44. > :07:47.these. He has got a good line, an excellent line. That's a bonus.

:07:48. > :08:17.APPLAUSE Exactly the three-hour mark now in

:08:18. > :08:28.this match. Foul and a miss, Shaun Murphy six. Shaun has no reason not

:08:29. > :08:39.to have it replaced. It couldn't have been closer to hitting the red.

:08:40. > :08:51.Has to be a little bit careful here, Ronnie. If he just slides past it or

:08:52. > :09:01.even hits the red thin, he could possibly leave something.

:09:02. > :09:14.Two people sat there waiting for the referee to do his job.

:09:15. > :09:18.The same shot, just a minor adjustment needed but he has to be

:09:19. > :09:57.precise. Ronnie coming down to look at the

:09:58. > :10:06.reds to see if he could play a shot to nothing. Digging down on the cue

:10:07. > :10:21.ball slightly. He has caught that a bit thin. Will the blue come to his

:10:22. > :10:26.rescue? There is a pot here for Shaun Murphy. But he will be

:10:27. > :10:31.cannoning into the two reds above the pink and he needs to avoid the

:10:32. > :10:35.screw off into the middle pocket. He has played it really well. APPLAUSE

:10:36. > :10:42.Yes, good, solid pot. He has got to take these chances

:10:43. > :11:30.now. He is running out of time. He played that nicely and I think

:11:31. > :11:32.the pink will go to the right corner. He would like it on its

:11:33. > :12:04.spot. He is looking to see if there is a

:12:05. > :12:05.way he could get on the black once he has pocketed the pink and the

:12:06. > :12:36.next red. -- he has pocketed the He can always play for the pink of

:12:37. > :12:41.course but he feels that if he can get on the black nicely he might be

:12:42. > :12:45.able to nudge one of those reds awaits that is just above it and

:12:46. > :12:47.clear it for both corners and then he would be thinking about winning

:12:48. > :13:23.the frame in one visit. In the end he played the run-through

:13:24. > :13:26.but what sort of angle has he got on this red? He doesn't want to be too

:13:27. > :13:49.straight on it. Just enough angle. Just as soft screw here, pot black,

:13:50. > :13:57.Cannes in the full in the face. -- pot the black, cannon the pink. He

:13:58. > :14:57.is still OK. He needs to get to 72 points,

:14:58. > :15:03.another 25 required and it looks a task well within his reach here. Of

:15:04. > :15:05.course, if he wins this frame it would go into the third session, no

:15:06. > :15:48.matter what. 61 ahead, 83 remaining, so he is

:15:49. > :16:08.looking for red, colour, red here. He is just a little bit straight on

:16:09. > :16:39.the easy red. Nicely played, just a red needed to

:16:40. > :16:54.go 69 in front with only 67 remaining.

:16:55. > :17:02.He has taken these well, Peter, and he looks determined. He is not

:17:03. > :17:06.throwing the towel in by any means. No, this has been an excellent

:17:07. > :17:13.contribution from Shaun Murphy, timing the ball particularly sweetly

:17:14. > :17:20.in this break. His highest break so far in the match was 84. He would

:17:21. > :17:32.love to make a century. He just lost the cue ball a bit

:17:33. > :17:55.there. APPLAUSE

:17:56. > :18:27.Good, solid pot. Two reds, two blacks would take him

:18:28. > :18:32.to the century. But just not to be, but he has the frame on the board

:18:33. > :18:36.and this match will go to the third session no matter what. He is still

:18:37. > :19:43.five frames behind but that was a competent break. 9-4 O'Sullivan.

:19:44. > :19:50.Berry impressive CV from Shaun Murphy and of course champion in

:19:51. > :20:11.2005 -- very impressive CV. Three more frames to be played in

:20:12. > :20:39.this session. Can he make any inroads into that deficit?

:20:40. > :20:48.Not the best from Ronnie, that red has gone over the far left corner.

:20:49. > :20:52.That is unlike Ronnie to make a careless shot but he did want in the

:20:53. > :20:58.last when he potted the pink and went in off. Normally a very good

:20:59. > :21:02.about his knowledge of where the cue ball and the object ball will finish

:21:03. > :21:32.but he misjudged that one so the first chance for Shaun.

:21:33. > :21:41.He did not get the pace into that, unless the red just below the pink

:21:42. > :21:45.goes to the left corner which it obviously doesn't. I know he's very

:21:46. > :21:48.good with the rest but I don't think this was the red he was looking to

:21:49. > :21:59.be on. 82% success rate with the rest.

:22:00. > :22:28.Slightly better than Ronnie. Good shot. You have seen those

:22:29. > :22:34.missed quite a few times when people just don't get through the white

:22:35. > :22:38.but, as he did in the last frame, Peter, may be a bit of pressure has

:22:39. > :22:50.gone off him now because he is so far behind and he is just starting

:22:51. > :22:54.to free up his cue arm. Maybe Ronnie has taken his foot off the gas a

:22:55. > :23:01.little bit thinking he has done the damage but there is still a long way

:23:02. > :23:09.to go. He doesn't seem to have quite the intensity that he had earlier

:23:10. > :23:50.on. But at this level you cannot afford any lapses in concentration.

:23:51. > :23:58.He purposefully left himself an angle on this red. To disturb some

:23:59. > :24:05.more reds. He is a bit straighter than he would have liked. So from a

:24:06. > :24:15.positional point of view, this can go wrong.

:24:16. > :24:21.If he doesn't want to risk playing the run-through, he could screw back

:24:22. > :24:29.and play for the pink in the middle but he is playing the run-through.

:24:30. > :24:34.At first glance he doesn't look to be perfect on the black. Hence he is

:24:35. > :24:54.playing the pink. Now, where does the pink go? The

:24:55. > :24:59.pink spot is not available so it goes as close as it can. Looking at

:25:00. > :25:01.the side bar, he needs another 33 points to get to the snooker 's

:25:02. > :25:22.required stage. -- snookers. Now it is all down to this break. He

:25:23. > :25:27.is going to pot the black and try to bring enough reds into play so he

:25:28. > :25:33.can win the frame at this visit. It's gone wrong. We saw Ronnie

:25:34. > :25:43.playing a similar shot in another frame. Yes, he didn't get enough

:25:44. > :25:46.action on the cue ball. It is the type of shop Shaun Murphy normally

:25:47. > :25:51.plays really well and he screws right through the reds. And he gets

:25:52. > :25:57.the arc on the cue ball. Instead he played the stun. He is wondering

:25:58. > :26:02.about the possibility of putting this red to the far corner and does

:26:03. > :26:08.not feel he would be leaving much if he misses it. But he is not going to

:26:09. > :26:10.miss it! Great shot. He has lost the cue ball slightly, though. This

:26:11. > :26:35.black is tricky. Excellent pot. I wouldn't say he was

:26:36. > :26:39.fortunate but he just had the perfect angle when he could run

:26:40. > :26:44.around the back of that red because there was not what he could do so

:26:45. > :26:47.close to the cushioning. Just pop the black and let the cue ball go of

:26:48. > :27:02.its natural angle and he has finished on this nicely. -- on this

:27:03. > :27:08.red. He has to come in and out of baulk here so he has to be a bit

:27:09. > :27:13.careful. Doesn't want to kiss the green. Just trickled past it. That

:27:14. > :27:42.is good. This black, one more red and a

:27:43. > :27:49.colour required. 65 ahead, 75 remaining and when he pots this red

:27:50. > :27:51.there will only be 67 remaining and he will be 66 in front so he will

:27:52. > :28:23.need a colour off it. That should be it. It was a loose

:28:24. > :28:30.safety shot from Ronnie earlier in the frame and he has been sat down

:28:31. > :28:34.ever since. This was the one, containing safety, he hit the red

:28:35. > :28:38.wrong and left it on and that was the only mistake he had to make.

:28:39. > :28:46.That is not in but I don't think Ronnie will bother coming back. He

:28:47. > :29:05.might do. 73 behind, 67 remaining, two snookers needed.

:29:06. > :29:15.He needs a big bounce off the top cushion and I don't think he's going

:29:16. > :29:27.to get one. If he doesn't pot the black he will concede. Terrific

:29:28. > :29:39.shot. OK, the kiss on the brown has stopped his position.

:29:40. > :29:47.It it might imagination come does it seem like the table is playing a big

:29:48. > :29:51.heavy? That is a couple that Ronnie has played that have only just got

:29:52. > :29:58.past the Buk line which is unlike him. -- the baulk line. This is a

:29:59. > :30:39.great test of Shaun's cueing. Definitely jumped. The cue ball

:30:40. > :30:49.leaving the bed of the table on the way to making contact. That should

:30:50. > :30:56.be the end of the frame. He has done well here, Shaun Murphy. Yes,

:30:57. > :31:02.although he missed the red which encouraged runny to carry on. He did

:31:03. > :31:05.do it in one visit. We have been saying all along, that is what he

:31:06. > :31:24.has to do. Two more frames to play, and if he

:31:25. > :31:30.was to win them both, definitely match on. Does not matter about the

:31:31. > :31:37.black, Ronnie will concede. The poor safety shot from runny at the start

:31:38. > :31:47.of the frame, but all credit to Shaun, he took his chance. Still

:31:48. > :31:50.trailing by four. STUDIO: That is a different complexion on things, the

:31:51. > :31:55.first time Shaun has strung back-to-back frames together. At

:31:56. > :32:00.what point in the best of 25 frames can you start to relax? Clearly it

:32:01. > :32:10.is not as relaxing as a couple of frames ago for runny. 11-5, happy.

:32:11. > :32:16.10-6, you had to kill the guy. I apologise for saying Shaun had given

:32:17. > :32:22.up. I did not mean that. What I meant, was he was looking like it.

:32:23. > :32:29.Body language was deflated. A proper spring in his step. If he could get

:32:30. > :32:34.a couple, 9-7 would be fantastic. Important for runny, to stop the

:32:35. > :32:40.rot. Get the next frame on the board. Put some distance between

:32:41. > :32:47.them. Fair play to Shaun, being a past champion here, he has the

:32:48. > :32:52.quality and pedigree. Just needed to get momentum going. We talked last

:32:53. > :33:02.night about the thumping he received from runny three, four years ago.

:33:03. > :33:08.Beat 13-3. A horrible memory. He is well past. Starting to make inroads

:33:09. > :33:14.into the match. At what point is a player do you feel momentum starting

:33:15. > :33:19.to turn your way. You play that frame by frame. You are a happy

:33:20. > :33:28.bunny when you win a frame. Getting a roll on. They started the session

:33:29. > :33:33.6-2. 9-5, still has the four frame advantage. To win the last two

:33:34. > :33:40.frames, that is what he's opening for. At least win the session 5-3.

:33:41. > :33:45.You always feel Ronnie O'Sullivan does not crumble in front, a great

:33:46. > :33:51.front runner. Whatever is thrown at him communicates of it. The bigger

:33:52. > :33:59.breaks have been made by Shaun. 70 and 84. As for runny, not huge

:34:00. > :34:04.bursts of big scoring. Still has a four frame cushion as we go into the

:34:05. > :34:13.penultimate one of the session. Frame 15. COMMENTATOR: Interesting

:34:14. > :34:31.two frames these could turn out to be. To get through to the red. Black

:34:32. > :34:36.is available. Oh, no, I decided to play the run-through. Catching the

:34:37. > :34:43.table. I thought he would have committed more to that. He thought

:34:44. > :34:54.it was in. A look of a player who thought that was in. Certainly could

:34:55. > :35:04.not got any John. -- got any closer, John. Struggled it in. Wanted to

:35:05. > :35:15.avoid the case on the yellow. It is decision time. He will trickle up to

:35:16. > :35:20.the brown. Don't blame him. A couple of loose reds on either side of the

:35:21. > :35:32.cluster. Any guaranteed to get this safe. Shaun Murphy must be very

:35:33. > :36:05.careful here. As you quite rightly pointed out, John.

:36:06. > :36:14.Should not be too much of a problem for Shaun. Should be able to

:36:15. > :36:18.readjust. The only problem with this red being tight, if he hits it too

:36:19. > :36:25.hard committee could possibly lead the red one. Needs to hit it's a

:36:26. > :37:30.dead weight. Nearly did leave it on. Shaun came down to check if there

:37:31. > :37:38.was a path to the right-hand black pocket. It was too thick. Checking

:37:39. > :37:42.to see whether the red would go to the pocket. One did. And that was

:37:43. > :38:01.not good. As the guys in the studio were

:38:02. > :38:07.saying, Ronnie will think he has since stopped the rot. The fact that

:38:08. > :38:12.Shaun has won two frames in succession. If the won the next to,

:38:13. > :38:23.Ronnie would not be pleased that outcome. -- pleased with that

:38:24. > :38:33.outcome. Something catching runny in his eyeline.

:38:34. > :39:01.Ronnie knows. He was thinking everything, where the cue ball would

:39:02. > :39:06.go, the cardinal error, missing the pot. What a let off for Shaun. What

:39:07. > :39:30.an opportunity has now. A bit of adrenaline, John. Cue ball

:39:31. > :39:36.control throughout the match, not up to its usual high standards. It

:39:37. > :39:54.appears to be over or underhitting quite a few shots.

:39:55. > :40:05.OK, you can nestle behind the blue, but chances like that, you only get

:40:06. > :40:11.one, disappointing. Thinking that the red over the corner pocket, I

:40:12. > :40:25.will get another chance. If runny tries to come off-the-ball cushion,

:40:26. > :40:31.using the spider, this is so. -- baulk cushion, using the spider,

:40:32. > :40:36.this is tough. This is the line he's looking for. Any sort of pace on the

:40:37. > :40:48.cue ball. Really hampered by the blue here. Wide. Shaun gets another

:40:49. > :41:30.bite at the cherry. You look at the body language of

:41:31. > :41:38.players, and Shaun's body language seems to be changing. He has that

:41:39. > :41:43.look of determination, where not so long ago he had a look of

:41:44. > :41:46.resignation. That is true, also in the last couple of frames Ronnie

:41:47. > :41:55.seems to be tired looking in his chair. Definitely showing signs of

:41:56. > :41:57.tiredness. Maybe went out to put some water on his face. At the end

:41:58. > :42:25.the last frame. Shaun playing a delicate cannon

:42:26. > :42:35.here. Claydon that really well. -- Claydon that.

:42:36. > :43:03.Glorious opportunity, the black available now into both corners.

:43:04. > :43:10.Lots of noise from the other side of the wall. Got to concentrate, and

:43:11. > :43:26.focus on what you were doing on here. These players very

:43:27. > :43:30.experienced. 41 points required. The way they are spread around, nothing

:43:31. > :44:37.is a formality, but you would expect him to do it.

:44:38. > :44:48.They will probably play down for the black here. Just needs to get the

:44:49. > :44:53.pace right. Looks as if he has got enough angle. Does not want to blame

:44:54. > :45:00.the red along the top cushion, if he can avoid it. Could not worth it

:45:01. > :45:25.that positional shot any better. Not straightforward for Shaun here,

:45:26. > :45:30.the wave these reds are situated. -- the way. The positional shot needed

:45:31. > :45:50.from this black. Just had a look at the red to the

:45:51. > :45:58.right middle. Doesn't have to look to the macro do much with the cue

:45:59. > :46:05.ball. Looks from our commentary position like it does not go, but

:46:06. > :46:16.obviously not the case. Well, used all the pocket. His heart skipped a

:46:17. > :46:23.beat them. We have seen plenty of those types of shots missed this

:46:24. > :46:27.week. Catching the near knuckle. Red, colour, red. That is what is

:46:28. > :46:51.required. Last two frames, breaks of 73, 84 in

:46:52. > :47:00.the one before that. 66 and counting now. This is why do. Absolutely.

:47:01. > :47:21.Just what the doctor ordered. We have a big last frame coming up,

:47:22. > :47:45.that is the shore. If Ronnie O'Sullivan manages to win

:47:46. > :47:57.the final frame, it is job done for him. Sharing the session. Shaun

:47:58. > :48:19.Murphy would love to trail only 9-7. Great effort.

:48:20. > :48:28.Ronnie hoping the red would give in. They were not. He has won three in a

:48:29. > :48:39.row. Ronnie O'Sullivan just three frames ahead. It is, Shaun Murphy

:48:40. > :48:48.backing the game, back in room. We are real analysts, we don't have a

:48:49. > :48:53.clue. Saying it is all over. Ronnie O'Sullivan will have a sudden look a

:48:54. > :48:59.different. Looks tired. Do you detect signs of fatigue? Not quite

:49:00. > :49:03.sure, but you get tired when your opponent puts you under pressure.

:49:04. > :49:09.That is what is happening. Good to see him come back, get some fluency.

:49:10. > :49:15.Massive frame for both players. Shaun Murphy cutting the gap to 9-7,

:49:16. > :49:20.he will feel ten feet tall getting ready for the final session tomorrow

:49:21. > :49:27.morning. Ronnie wins it, it is as you were. Massive frame for both

:49:28. > :49:32.players. Even if it finished 10-6, there is still life in this match

:49:33. > :49:38.tomorrow? Obviously if Ronnie O'Sullivan wins this last frame, he

:49:39. > :49:42.has stopped the rot. If you look through the history books, collapses

:49:43. > :49:49.in major events, I have a couple. We have all had them. Not something

:49:50. > :49:59.Ronnie O'Sullivan seems to suffer from greatly. When he goes flat,

:50:00. > :50:05.quite a shock to the system. We have all been brainwashed by his

:50:06. > :50:12.brilliance. Such a good player in all departments. When he goes like

:50:13. > :50:20.this, you wonder what happens. How'd you sense the danger when someone is

:50:21. > :50:27.coming back EU? At what point do you sense danger? He will be sensing

:50:28. > :50:30.danger now. At 9-3 the game looked wrapped up. Shaun Murphy looked a

:50:31. > :50:34.different proposition then he is now. A bit of a shock to Ronnie

:50:35. > :50:38.O'Sullivan, no doubt about that. If you does not win the last frame,

:50:39. > :50:42.O'Sullivan, he will be livid with himself. You don't know what is

:50:43. > :50:47.going through a player's mine. The body language of Ronnie O'Sullivan

:50:48. > :50:55.is more introverted. Going to Michelle. You can only sit in your

:50:56. > :50:59.chair and wave your shots. Shaun Murphy has a chance, different match

:51:00. > :51:07.all of the sudden. Don't go anywhere, last one of the afternoon.

:51:08. > :51:24.It is a biggie. COMMENTATOR: Yes, certainly is.

:51:25. > :51:38.Not the best break of shock. -- break off. The cue ball running just

:51:39. > :51:50.the extra inch. Not only one to the right corner, as I thought. There

:51:51. > :52:00.you see it. Not an easy safety shot either. Shows you the extra role,

:52:01. > :52:05.the fractions that are so important. Ronnie playing this workshop, to

:52:06. > :52:11.leave Shaun Murphy a shot along the cushion. He has played that really

:52:12. > :52:14.well. He will not take that song, being so straight. Could not played

:52:15. > :52:48.that much better. The last few frames, Shaun getting

:52:49. > :52:54.the better of the early tactical exchanges. Which is unusual, if you

:52:55. > :53:01.put the two together, you would think Ronnie would be the better

:53:02. > :53:06.safety play. Who will make the first mistake here? The red to the right

:53:07. > :53:24.corner is on for Shaun. Big chance for Shaun. This red is a

:53:25. > :53:30.test of cueing. Shaun Murphy is so good at these. Brilliant.

:53:31. > :53:41.Unfortunately just lost the cue ball. Great strike. Did not quite

:53:42. > :53:52.get the spin. He will have been wishing now he rolled up off the top

:53:53. > :53:59.cushion. At least if you pot the ball, you get to play the next shot.

:54:00. > :54:21.Must avoid the blue at all costs. He has done. A touch short of pace.

:54:22. > :54:35.You can feel the tension in the air, the

:54:36. > :54:47.hush. Does not mind leaving this red on the top cushion. In the to

:54:48. > :54:56.difficult category to get out with the pot on a colour.

:54:57. > :55:06.Shaun is having a look. Thinking if the pot the red, will he have the

:55:07. > :55:09.black to the middle? I don't blame him, that's the way I feel about the

:55:10. > :55:28.shot, and I then have to play. Give cue ball, puts pressure on

:55:29. > :55:52.Ronnie. Now, you may have left the red.

:55:53. > :56:00.Quite a bit to do with the cue ball. He may get past the blue. Such a

:56:01. > :56:10.difficult pot. Specially the way he will be playing it. Deep screw,

:56:11. > :56:22.left-hand side. Need some good fortune. He has got it.

:56:23. > :56:32.As Peter said, little bit of left-hand side, hitting it so hard,

:56:33. > :56:39.if pushed the cue ball to the right. Fortunate to get away with it. Just

:56:40. > :56:52.the run of the ball, nothing you can do about that. Everybody wanting to

:56:53. > :56:59.see whether Shaun can get past the green, to the thin edge. Obviously

:57:00. > :57:03.cannot. Looking to come off the site cushion, nestle into the cluster.

:57:04. > :57:09.The pink should not be a problem, looks unnatural angle. -- a natural

:57:10. > :57:29.angle. Nearly went wrong. If Ronnie has stopped the safety

:57:30. > :57:36.shot down the right-hand side of the table, which she appears to have,

:57:37. > :57:45.Shaun has a problem. No path back to bolt. -- back to baulk. The black is

:57:46. > :58:04.stop that. -- stopping that. Shaun looking to see whether he can

:58:05. > :58:10.come off a couple of cushion is, to drop on the red. Also has the

:58:11. > :58:19.opportunity to play with a touch of right-hand side, off two cushions.

:58:20. > :58:28.Clipping a red Finn, setting the cue ball back into the Bulgarian. I've

:58:29. > :58:52.-- back into the baulk Ronnie is thinking there is no path

:58:53. > :59:00.back to baulk, I would rather have it put back. At the moment he cannot

:59:01. > :59:10.hit The reds. The lady from there, he could have hit The reds. Still no

:59:11. > :59:14.path back. If he comes off two cushions, that is where they were.

:59:15. > :59:28.That is where it is now. Looks good to me.

:59:29. > :59:38.With the two cushion escape, always erring on the side of not eating it

:59:39. > :59:44.at all, rather than to fix. Dan hitting YouTube

:59:45. > :00:07.it was a bonus, excellent shot, wonderful escape. You see the

:00:08. > :00:29.situation that Ronnie faces. I think that's OK. Touching ball

:00:30. > :00:32.will help Shaun. But it's funny, one it looked in complete control of

:00:33. > :00:39.this tactical exchange but now it has turned in Shaun's favour and

:00:40. > :00:47.both players are aware of how important this is. -- how important

:00:48. > :00:57.a frame this is. One of those situations, because

:00:58. > :01:01.there is no safety down the right-hand side you don't mind the

:01:02. > :01:05.player being able to hit the ball but having said that, the red

:01:06. > :01:12.immediately to the right the black, I wonder if he could hit it thin

:01:13. > :01:18.enough to get it back to baulk? He didn't think so and that is why he

:01:19. > :02:06.has rolled it. At first look the table has not let him down.

:02:07. > :02:16.Foul and a miss, Shaun Murphy, four. Although there is an escape route

:02:17. > :02:19.down the left-hand side now, there is no reason for Shaun not to have

:02:20. > :03:02.it replaced. Unlike Shaun, second time round

:03:03. > :03:05.Ronnie caught it too full. He has left him a chance but he will be

:03:06. > :03:19.somewhat hampered. It is also very difficult for him to

:03:20. > :03:26.do too much with the cue ball. It is only just off straight but it is the

:03:27. > :03:27.sheer awkwardness of being hampered that will also restrict what he is

:03:28. > :03:48.capable of doing with the cue ball. APPLAUSE

:03:49. > :03:53.Good pot. Yes, excellent pot. He has got an angle on the brown. He has

:03:54. > :03:55.got to play it with a bit of pace so he has to be quite accurate with

:03:56. > :04:07.this pot. He is on the red at the bottom of

:04:08. > :04:12.the cluster but he wanted to be straighter on it. At least he is on

:04:13. > :04:16.it but maybe there is another one that has appeared from nowhere. You

:04:17. > :04:21.can just get past the pink for this red to the right corner. Not one he

:04:22. > :04:29.could have dreams of being on but he's on it. It is amazing how those

:04:30. > :04:35.little roles now all seem to be favouring Shaun. When Ronnie was

:04:36. > :04:39.going through his run of winning frame after frame he was having that

:04:40. > :04:48.nice run of the ball and it has turned. Shaun just taking his time

:04:49. > :04:57.to compose himself here. You can see the total points since the interval.

:04:58. > :05:08.275 points for Shaun, 19 points for Ronnie. Interesting to see where

:05:09. > :05:13.this pink goes. Shaun would like it to go on the black spot if it was

:05:14. > :05:22.available but it has gone on its own spot. Does it go to the corner? Yes.

:05:23. > :05:48.It does go. He decided to leave a nice angle on

:05:49. > :05:57.the blue. He may just elect to play a little cannon on the black here,

:05:58. > :06:07.on the red to bring the black into play. He has played it well, in fact

:06:08. > :06:10.perfectly, and now he will clear the back spot in potting this red. It is

:06:11. > :06:43.a decent chance. -- the black spot. You have to say, a little bit

:06:44. > :06:49.careless to kiss the blue there. If you thought that was on, he should

:06:50. > :07:02.have played a little stun up the table maybe. He will have to play

:07:03. > :07:05.the green instead. And he played it badly. This is a good chance that

:07:06. > :07:41.has gone begging. A decent safety shot from Shaun

:07:42. > :07:43.Murphy but he will be very disappointed that he could not get

:07:44. > :07:56.more from that visit. Can Ronnie O'Sullivan play a good

:07:57. > :08:03.safety shot? He is digging down into the cue ball slightly. It was a good

:08:04. > :08:17.line. Just slightly overhit. I think the bottom red of that

:08:18. > :08:19.cluster below the pink will pot but I don't think he can hit enough of

:08:20. > :08:34.it. He is having a look at the potting

:08:35. > :08:39.angle. Can he hit enough of it? I think if he could he would be

:08:40. > :08:45.playing it by now. He needs to make sure he doesn't hit the black here.

:08:46. > :08:53.Just got a bit too much side on that. He avoided the black butt

:08:54. > :09:03.kissed the blue full in the face. He was trying to get the cue ball above

:09:04. > :09:11.the Buk rail. It is half a chance and he has played it well.

:09:12. > :09:26.This is a tough shot here. You would think the obvious ball would be the

:09:27. > :09:27.blue but he has to play it with so much pace, it

:09:28. > :09:32.will be tough. The brown is more of an open pocket but a lot to do with

:09:33. > :09:35.the cue ball. He decided to make certain of the brown and leave

:09:36. > :09:39.himself a mid-range Kroos and I mentioned that one at the bottom of

:09:40. > :09:44.the cluster that Shaun could not get through to but Ronnie certainly can

:09:45. > :09:53.and of course the black is in the baulk end, should it go in. Solid

:09:54. > :09:58.pot. Is he going to be on the black? Will it run past the green? It is

:09:59. > :10:17.absolutely inch perfect! What a shot that was!

:10:18. > :10:26.We have seen Ronnie O'Sullivan do this so many times in his

:10:27. > :10:31.professional career. When he comes under the most extreme pressure, he

:10:32. > :10:37.seems to find something, some inspiration from somewhere that only

:10:38. > :10:42.the great players and the outstanding champions do. He has

:10:43. > :10:49.been slightly subdued the last couple of frames, partly because

:10:50. > :10:53.Shaun Murphy has played very well. And wouldn't this be typical of

:10:54. > :10:59.Ronnie O'Sullivan if he stepped up once again under pressure? Yes, and

:11:00. > :11:06.that black was a reminder, it struggled in. Not to take your eye

:11:07. > :11:12.off the ball here and keep focused. It is a great chance. I think those

:11:13. > :11:17.two reds might be a plant to the corner in the same pocket he is

:11:18. > :11:24.potting the black. He had a look at them.

:11:25. > :11:43.He could have played that better. He could have played the position on

:11:44. > :12:06.the black better. That is where it went wrong.

:12:07. > :12:18.Well, disappointment there. Just a poor positional shot on the black.

:12:19. > :12:25.Shaun Murphy would certainly have been fearing the worst there. Ronnie

:12:26. > :12:33.has been quite fortunate to leave Shaun hampered. Trying to get the

:12:34. > :12:43.cue ball behind the yellow and this looks very good, that is very good.

:12:44. > :12:48.Fantastic shot, well played. Yes, striking down as he was, very good.

:12:49. > :13:08.It is a good hit. APPLAUSE 15 points the difference in favour

:13:09. > :13:24.of Ronnie. But this frame still is well and truly on for either player.

:13:25. > :13:38.Shaun Murphy would like to be able to play this red very finely.

:13:39. > :14:03.Possibly get the cue ball behind the yellow again.

:14:04. > :14:13.Well, I think it's safe enough but it could have handed the initiative

:14:14. > :14:18.to Ronnie now. You expect a much better safety shot than Shaun has

:14:19. > :14:20.just played. He will be looking to get this cue ball in behind the

:14:21. > :14:32.yellow if he can. APPLAUSE

:14:33. > :14:45.He couldn't have played it much better than that.

:14:46. > :14:50.That is Shaun's view of it. There seems to be a gap between the yellow

:14:51. > :15:06.and brown. I suppose if you were desperate, you

:15:07. > :15:14.could play the pot on the red. Yes, he has just got enough gap for the

:15:15. > :15:24.potting angle. It is an incredibly tough pot. But he has a really

:15:25. > :15:29.difficult safety shot. Under the circumstances, you wouldn't be

:15:30. > :15:37.surprised if he took it on. What a gap this could be... Not quite. Not

:15:38. > :16:06.quite. But it was pottable. Well... I'm very surprised Ronnie

:16:07. > :16:10.played that red to be honest with you, he was always cannoning into

:16:11. > :16:14.the second red and he had won to the middle he could have played. He was

:16:15. > :16:25.never certain to be on the black. It was certainly very tough, especially

:16:26. > :16:35.as he needed to play it at pace. It is Ronnie whose body language does

:16:36. > :16:40.not look too good now. He is probably sitting there feeling his

:16:41. > :16:43.opportunity to keep that four frame advantage that he started this

:16:44. > :17:03.session with, it is going to be reduced to two.

:17:04. > :17:24.The longest frame of the match, coming up to 26 minutes.

:17:25. > :17:30.No need to tell you where the biggest obstacle is, the red near

:17:31. > :17:42.the side cushion. Important that in potting this red

:17:43. > :17:43.he gets a nice angle on the colour. He played that positional shot very

:17:44. > :17:57.nicely. There has been a huge swing in

:17:58. > :18:07.momentum in this match in these last few frames. Now, big shot coming up

:18:08. > :18:14.for Shaun Murphy. I think playing for the pink like this he is going

:18:15. > :18:28.to try to move the red. He has moved it. But not into too advantageous a

:18:29. > :18:39.position. Looking at the board and he has a lead of 14 points. This

:18:40. > :18:43.will pot but boy, it's tough. And being the attacking player that he

:18:44. > :18:46.is, you would expect him to take this on but from his facial

:18:47. > :18:58.expression there he doesn't really fancy it. He is committed.

:18:59. > :19:08.No, he didn't like it, he needs a bit of luck.

:19:09. > :19:22.This red will cut back. It is thin but it will pot. He probably wants

:19:23. > :19:27.to be a little wary of what we referred to as the yellow pocket. It

:19:28. > :19:29.was Shaun's decision and it was a tough one to go for but he took the

:19:30. > :19:44.chance. Can Ronnie punish him? He was able to hold it and he needs

:19:45. > :19:50.a good kiss on the green but that is not a good kiss. Now then. If he

:19:51. > :20:03.takes on the brown, Boyd is their pressure on this. -- boy. This is

:20:04. > :20:11.huge and it is really tough as well. Pressure.

:20:12. > :20:17.Can Shaun pot this yellow and hold the cue ball for the green in the

:20:18. > :20:37.same pocket? Very difficult to hold the cue ball

:20:38. > :20:46.at this angle, may be going up and down the table. He decided to play

:20:47. > :20:51.safe. APPLAUSE It was a good effort. It surprised

:20:52. > :21:04.me a little. If Ronnie could get in behind this

:21:05. > :21:14.yellow he could kick it up the table. He couldn't. He has underhit

:21:15. > :21:19.this. He needs the pink to come to his rescue and it might just have

:21:20. > :21:24.done. I don't think it's a snooker but I don't think Shaun can get to

:21:25. > :21:28.the potting angle. No, he can't. There is a good opportunity here for

:21:29. > :21:42.Shaun to stun the cue ball behind the black. He has underhit it.

:21:43. > :21:50.Ronnie will have to have a look at this. It's not a plant, is it? Hit

:21:51. > :21:59.the yellow and knock the green in, that's the last thing you want.

:22:00. > :22:06.And it may well have been and that is right he played it like that but

:22:07. > :22:13.once again, not a good safety and Shaun has got the cue power to put

:22:14. > :22:18.this and get on the green. It is a tough shot but he will go for it.

:22:19. > :22:27.Absolutely. Deep screw, left-hand side. Oh!

:22:28. > :22:40.No apology for the fluke. No, he put his hand up, he put his hand up. Did

:22:41. > :22:47.he? Yes. I apologise, I didn't see that. Yes, he did.

:22:48. > :22:52.What a timely fluke that could prove to be. He just needs green and brown

:22:53. > :23:12.now. And he's missed it! Well... After

:23:13. > :23:16.having the luck on the yellow, to miss the green when he only needed

:23:17. > :23:21.green and brown, that is really unforgivable. If he loses this

:23:22. > :23:32.frame, that will really hurt. Ronnie needs the five remaining

:23:33. > :23:55.colours. Betwixt and between. OK, as we look

:23:56. > :24:01.at Shaun, he can't look at the table at the moment, he is still wondering

:24:02. > :24:06.how he missed the green. With this, Ronnie can pot the brown that I

:24:07. > :24:11.don't see him getting real close position on the blue. It's very

:24:12. > :24:19.difficult to play a good positional shot here. He can soft screw the

:24:20. > :24:25.brown in and leave a longish blue. Where is the cue ball going? It was

:24:26. > :24:33.heading towards the middle pocket but the pink helped. That was a nice

:24:34. > :24:39.flick on the pink for Ronnie. Slightly stretching on this blue.

:24:40. > :24:45.And unlike a lot of the players, he doesn't carry a little extension to

:24:46. > :24:50.go on the end. Stretching and he has got to put a bit of action into this

:24:51. > :25:05.cue ball to get back for the pink. Blue, pink and black needed. Good

:25:06. > :25:13.pot on the blue. Well, a wonderful shot, and now left-handed.

:25:14. > :25:22.And now the black to restore that four frame advantage at the end of

:25:23. > :25:35.the second session. Somebody has got up and is walking out at a moment

:25:36. > :25:38.like this. In goes the black. What an opportunity Shaun Murphy missed

:25:39. > :25:44.there. He had a stroke of luck on the yellow but missed a simple green

:25:45. > :25:48.and Ronnie O'Sullivan makes a marvellous clearance and keeps his

:25:49. > :25:53.four frame advantage going into the third session tomorrow morning.

:25:54. > :25:58.10-6. STUDIO: What a grandstand finish them in the second black ball

:25:59. > :26:03.finish in the match and until that point Shaun was 16 out of 18 with

:26:04. > :26:06.the rest but what a time to miss. He doesn't normally miss with the rest,

:26:07. > :26:10.he is so proficient with it and he was dragged to dig into the cue ball

:26:11. > :26:14.to hold it for the brown into the green pocket but I never saw that

:26:15. > :26:19.coming. And what a crucial frame that could turn out to be. It was

:26:20. > :26:24.his chance to get back into the match and he had a Zola Budd rocking

:26:25. > :26:30.and under pressure and he gave Ronnie the lifeline. -- he had him

:26:31. > :26:35.rocking. He was struggling in those last few frames, Ronnie. I think a

:26:36. > :26:40.frame of snooker that only The Crucible can throw up and if you

:26:41. > :26:44.think Ronnie O'Sullivan is invincible towards pressure, he's

:26:45. > :26:48.not. We all feel it and he copes with it marvellously but as he

:26:49. > :26:51.walked out he shook his head, the new because a rocky part of the

:26:52. > :26:56.session. Shaun looked distraught after missing that. He is such a

:26:57. > :27:02.great rest player, you don't expect him to miss that and he doesn't

:27:03. > :27:05.either. They have shared that session 4-4 when all is said and

:27:06. > :27:10.done and the way he came back into it, he will be totally deflated now

:27:11. > :27:14.but at the same time, how much hope can he take from this performance?

:27:15. > :27:18.That is what he should do, he should go back and reflect on the whole

:27:19. > :27:23.session. At the moment he will not feel like it, he will be kicking

:27:24. > :27:28.himself. The dressing room might be in for a bit of a battering! But he

:27:29. > :27:35.should reflect on how we came back and it is possible, if you can go

:27:36. > :27:40.out tomorrow morning, if he can win the first couple of frames, the

:27:41. > :27:46.momentum and build again. The only problem is as I said earlier, it is

:27:47. > :27:50.still the same scoreline, four adrift and he has not eaten back

:27:51. > :27:55.into the lead. Ronnie is further towards the finishing line. I don't

:27:56. > :27:58.think he will get as bad a session out of Ronnie O'Sullivan tomorrow.

:27:59. > :28:02.But you talk about one bad session in the event at the Crucible, if

:28:03. > :28:09.that is Ronnie O'Sullivan's he has got away with it. Had he missed his

:28:10. > :28:12.moment? I definitely think so, 9-7, he would be bursting to get out for

:28:13. > :28:18.the next session but now it is different. I think that was the

:28:19. > :28:23.child he had to try to make the comeback -- the chance he had. It

:28:24. > :28:28.was brilliant to watch and all of this drama on these tables and all

:28:29. > :28:34.down to this. This is the material from which the cloths is made, it is

:28:35. > :28:51.pure Australian wool. Thank you very much, Sheila!

:28:52. > :28:58.This really is the very start the process, this is the will blend that

:28:59. > :29:03.has been put out from the bails and you blend in different types of

:29:04. > :29:10.wool. It comes from Australia. The blending process takes the compacted

:29:11. > :29:15.bales of wool, opened it up and get it as light and full of air as

:29:16. > :29:19.possible and it gets the fibres as well mixed and distributed as you

:29:20. > :29:28.can get them. This is where it ends up and from here it goes over to the

:29:29. > :29:32.next process. There is loads of fine wires that cares the fibres apart

:29:33. > :29:37.and separate them and put it into a web and turned it through 90 degrees

:29:38. > :29:43.and does it again. It combs it to such a degree so you have a smooth,

:29:44. > :29:48.clean web and it is then separated into individual threads. Spinning

:29:49. > :29:54.takes the soft yarn and put a twist in it. It gives the yarn is strength

:29:55. > :29:58.and make it strong enough to weave into a woven product. During this

:29:59. > :30:03.process, each thread is put onto a big beam on a suitable package to go

:30:04. > :30:08.to the back of the loom to start the weaving process and the position is

:30:09. > :30:12.incredible, it has to be precisely fed onto it to end up with stripes

:30:13. > :30:18.on the fabric. The weaving process you have your warped yarns which go

:30:19. > :30:23.up the table and you're putting the weft across it, the sideways yarns

:30:24. > :30:30.and making a woven construction. We have taken the will from straight

:30:31. > :30:34.off the sheep's back and converted it into a woven product ready for

:30:35. > :30:39.the finishing processes in the second half of the Manufacturing.

:30:40. > :30:44.You start with the mending process where people will take off Notts and

:30:45. > :30:49.repair imperfections in the fabric and any imperfections that stayed in

:30:50. > :30:54.is a flaw in the finished product and it would be a problem having

:30:55. > :31:00.them on a championship table so they all have to come off.

:31:01. > :31:07.Near when washing your washing out imperfections, Greece, dirt, any

:31:08. > :31:13.impurity that comes in with a fleece. He want to get it as clean

:31:14. > :31:24.as possible so it is prepared for the process down the line. You can

:31:25. > :31:28.see the yarn in both directions. We mill, with a set of rollers, feeding

:31:29. > :31:38.the cloth through. Round and round for many hours. Creating friction,

:31:39. > :31:46.to get shrinkage. Like shrinking a woollen jumper on a hot wash. You

:31:47. > :31:50.are trying to control, so you get the thickness. If you go to take,

:31:51. > :31:56.too slow, too fast if it is too thin. It is a real skill. After a

:31:57. > :32:03.sequence of processes, we then colour it. We use traditional dyeing

:32:04. > :32:08.methods gentle to the fabric. The last thing you want to do is answer

:32:09. > :32:13.the lead. It is a gentle dyeing process, giving us the green colour

:32:14. > :32:21.we are so aware of. This is the very end of the process. The final

:32:22. > :32:29.touches happened to the cloth. We shearing it. Reduced in height over

:32:30. > :32:33.numerous passes. The cloth we use in Sheffield gets multiple passes, that

:32:34. > :32:40.is many times as needed to make it perfect. Given a final inspection,

:32:41. > :32:47.going through testing for strength, even on occasion, ball speed. All

:32:48. > :32:52.the things that I needed these days. There you have it, some superfine

:32:53. > :32:55.cloth. Some mighty fine action this afternoon, as we saw the Ronnie

:32:56. > :33:01.O'Sullivan and Shaun Murphy second session. Absolutely great match on

:33:02. > :33:05.the other side of the arena. The last we saw the Mark Allen and John

:33:06. > :33:16.Higgins Mark Allen took the opening frame. He actually scored 236

:33:17. > :33:23.unanswered points to go 2-0 up. John came back, a 32 break in the third,

:33:24. > :33:27.17th in the fourth. This is top-class stuff as we join it in

:33:28. > :33:45.frame five. He begins to play, four frames down. We join Dennis. And

:33:46. > :34:06.John. That is taking nothing away from that. .

:34:07. > :34:16.Easy to play for the baulk colour. Once you have potted the blue back

:34:17. > :34:51.on the spot. The break will be a bit easier.

:34:52. > :34:57.No real need to play cannons into the pink in the red. He has some

:34:58. > :35:10.loose ones. The one on the right-hand side of the available.

:35:11. > :35:14.That is the art building. Played in area if he is not on one, he is on

:35:15. > :35:21.the other one, giving himself options. People try to make breaks

:35:22. > :35:24.in the clubs, classic example how to make a break, give yourself a couple

:35:25. > :35:48.of options. That back in red, the one he will

:35:49. > :36:00.play on. Mark Allen can only sit and watch.

:36:01. > :36:10.He has hit that way too short. Is there a plant on in the middle? Yes,

:36:11. > :36:19.there is. Would have liked the cue ball to come further than that.

:36:20. > :36:21.Quite a gap between these two. Expect him to get it. It could be

:36:22. > :36:37.missed. I think it was the blue, did not hit

:36:38. > :36:44.it far enough down to make the plant easier. Still expected him to get

:36:45. > :36:49.that, really. He overdid it, he knew straightaway he had ever it. -- he

:36:50. > :37:02.had overdone it. Can Mark Allen get back into the

:37:03. > :37:15.form he had in the two opening frames, never missed a shot. Just

:37:16. > :37:18.had a little look there. The red virtually above the black, the one

:37:19. > :37:26.he was thinking he may be able to get through the gap. Maybe he just

:37:27. > :37:39.has to Blair Cowan. -- to play a cannon. Wow, how unlucky is that?

:37:40. > :37:42.Looking for the cannon. Just on that red. He missed it. Not so sure he is

:37:43. > :38:31.on anything. That was an Xserve pot. Great

:38:32. > :38:39.recovery. -- excellent. Deserved what he gets after that shot. Not

:38:40. > :38:47.only knocked the red mean, kept the break going, but they needed some

:38:48. > :38:54.reds inti good positions. It is tough today, John on that plant did

:38:55. > :38:58.not get the cue ball down far enough. He has to sit and watch.

:38:59. > :39:41.Hope he misses. Just looking at the red, does not

:39:42. > :39:49.have to play any cannons. Certainly not for some time. The reds will

:39:50. > :40:01.claim each other. -- clear each other. Just stunning off cushion,

:40:02. > :40:22.leaving himself a choice of two reds into the same pocket as the black.

:40:23. > :40:30.Nice little break, taken them well. Every time he has removed one, in

:40:31. > :40:37.perfect position. Both reds either side of the cluster will pot. Could

:40:38. > :40:50.have done with a bit more than that. Still OK, he can pot it. We'll have

:40:51. > :41:45.the screw out. -- he will have two. Nicely played.

:41:46. > :42:03.This is how he started the match this afternoon. The magnificent

:42:04. > :42:20.century break. Magnificent century after breaks of 6175 in the opening

:42:21. > :42:25.frame. -- 61 and 75. He is well past 68. He must concentrate, maybe make

:42:26. > :42:51.this second century. You expect him to knock this in, he

:42:52. > :42:52.has taken these really well. Right in the heart pocket, on those shots

:42:53. > :43:35.played today. This would be his fourth century, if

:43:36. > :43:41.he carries on air. In this year's World Championship. This, without

:43:42. > :43:50.doubt, is different class, the way here start this match against the

:43:51. > :43:59.four times former champion. Absolutely superb from Mark Allen.

:44:00. > :44:04.Does not matter about the black. He had the one chance, took it, winning

:44:05. > :44:16.the frame with that century break. Now back in the lead, 3-2. STUDIO:

:44:17. > :44:20.Two tons in this match, four in total, making a couple against Jimmy

:44:21. > :44:26.Robinson. He had not played for five weeks, since the Gibraltar Open.

:44:27. > :44:36.Man, does he look sharp going into frame six.

:44:37. > :44:40.COMMENTATOR: I tell you what, John, he has potted some terrific

:44:41. > :44:47.longbows. So much for the shot to nothing theory. Left on this one, no

:44:48. > :45:16.messing. That was an excellent shot, digging

:45:17. > :45:30.down deep on the cue ball. Could not played that any better.

:45:31. > :45:36.He has a little shot just to leave this one on the top cushion. The

:45:37. > :45:45.next red is available on the outside of the cluster.

:45:46. > :46:01.Terrific, 97%. Even John is at 90%. The red that John mentioned, he can

:46:02. > :46:14.get to it this time, the other John has two systems scratches chin, see

:46:15. > :46:19.what develops. Just come off an awkward angle. Just read. What a

:46:20. > :46:25.shot he got out of that. Almost straight. That is these very lively

:46:26. > :46:33.cloth is the players play on these days. The action you can get the

:46:34. > :46:41.ball is amazing. The shot which was not available 30, 40 years ago. The

:46:42. > :46:49.cloth was a much heavier one. Obviously the balls have changed. A

:46:50. > :46:50.lot more lighter and reactive. That helps. Nevertheless, still a very

:46:51. > :47:02.good shot. We have always known Mark Allen was

:47:03. > :47:11.a top-class player, but he's in scintillating the good form today.

:47:12. > :47:15.Very few mistakes. Scoring has been extremely heavy. If John Higgins did

:47:16. > :47:20.not know he was in the match, he does now.

:47:21. > :47:38.Really good stuff. A key shot coming up now.

:47:39. > :47:47.Just OK, he can get the one to the right middle. Deserve to be on

:47:48. > :47:49.something he has played very well. He has opened them nicely, should be

:47:50. > :48:20.fine here. This championship is ready warming

:48:21. > :48:25.up. You are over the very nervy first round, the same for everybody.

:48:26. > :48:32.Some potential banana skin in the first round. Playing against people

:48:33. > :48:37.who have come three with three matches, Matt Sharp. That itself can

:48:38. > :48:43.bring a problem. You played your match, had a few days off, watched

:48:44. > :48:51.everybody else. Back, now the serious stuff starts.

:48:52. > :48:56.It is serious at the minute, because he isn't seriously good form. Has

:48:57. > :49:25.been wonderful. The only other player in the first

:49:26. > :49:47.round, Kim -- Ding made four centuries. Playing

:49:48. > :49:53.fantastic. Stewart Carrington also playing fantastic. Only four had

:49:54. > :50:17.ever done that. The centuries, they are overrated.

:50:18. > :50:31.Might be another one coming. Not easy. The frame is almost secure, it

:50:32. > :50:36.will be when this red disappears. A little bit of work to do if he is

:50:37. > :51:13.going to make another century. Spotted something on the black.

:51:14. > :51:21.He has obviously brought his practice game to the Crucible. Heavy

:51:22. > :51:27.bomber saying how well Mark Allen has been playing in practice. An

:51:28. > :51:33.awful lot of the can do that, then they come to the Crucible Theatre,

:51:34. > :51:40.and not produce it. Playing at home, that is the gallops, this is the

:51:41. > :51:52.racecourse, two different things. He is looking like Derby winner.

:51:53. > :52:04.He will stun up past the pink. As long as he's not dead straight, he

:52:05. > :52:15.knew he had hit that one perfectly. Dropping this one income in on the

:52:16. > :52:23.black. Get in there. Clinging to the cushion comedy hit that one well.

:52:24. > :52:35.What a performance. 25th century in this year's World Championship.

:52:36. > :53:07.I don't care who you are, you cannot play better than this. This is

:53:08. > :53:11.scintillating stuff. Mark Allen at his absolute best. John Higgins, you

:53:12. > :53:28.have a match on, my friend. He rolls the black in. Mark Allen,

:53:29. > :53:36.some of the finest snooker I have ever seen him produce. The crowd

:53:37. > :53:41.appreciated. He extends his lead. 4-2, to the man from County Antrim.

:53:42. > :53:50.STUDIO: Absolutely blistering. He made another sizeable knock in frame

:53:51. > :53:54.eight. At this point, he has a 98% pot success rate. Absolutely

:53:55. > :53:58.extraordinary, very unusual. What can John Higgins do in the face of

:53:59. > :54:05.this onslaught come in the last session?

:54:06. > :54:15.COMMENTATOR: It is there. Never seen a better middle pocket display from

:54:16. > :54:20.any player in this year's World Championship. His middle pocket has

:54:21. > :54:25.been absolutely outstanding. What a huge frame this could be in the

:54:26. > :54:34.match. For all the world, John Higgins looks like he was going to

:54:35. > :54:43.make this frame, 45-3 overnight, instead of potentially 6-2. Pretty

:54:44. > :54:45.good at the double. He may be absolutely dead straight on the

:54:46. > :54:53.yellow, cannot get close to the green. Could do a bit of angle. He

:54:54. > :54:59.just had a bit of angle. As long as he not straight. He will have to

:55:00. > :55:04.play with pace to get out on the brown. Shakes his head. We have seen

:55:05. > :55:09.these wobble in the jaws if you get them too hard. Not the best yellow,

:55:10. > :55:19.leaving himself a funny angle. Knocked everything else into day. At

:55:20. > :55:29.that pace always difficult. I don't think the yellow was the best way to

:55:30. > :55:31.play. Left himself on a funny angle. Better leaving himself slightly

:55:32. > :55:39.higher or tight on the bottom cushion. It was in between. Because

:55:40. > :55:44.he has potted so well, he tried to force it. Could have left the brown

:55:45. > :55:59.for the middle pocket. Just this brown.

:56:00. > :56:07.What a competitor this boy is. To win their final frame of the session

:56:08. > :56:12.only 5-3 behind with the way Mark Allen has played, he will be

:56:13. > :56:19.delighted to get out of the session two behind. Without a shadow of a

:56:20. > :56:25.doubt, some of the best make-up we have seen so far. Handshakes all

:56:26. > :56:29.around. A pleasure to commentate on what has been a scintillating

:56:30. > :56:35.session of snooker. Mark Allen making three century breaks. John

:56:36. > :56:41.Higgins, four times world champion, hanging in there. He will be

:56:42. > :56:45.delighted, still two behind. STUDIO: He did well to come at

:56:46. > :56:52.winning that last frame. 96% for Mark Allen in the end, 91% pot

:56:53. > :56:56.success for John Higgins. How big was that last frame for John?

:56:57. > :57:04.Fantastic always a cracking match. Always looking forward to it.

:57:05. > :57:10.Important frame for John Higgins. 6-2, big mountain, but finely

:57:11. > :57:14.balanced. He will be happy. That was exceptional, Mark Allen, could not

:57:15. > :57:18.play better, to come out of it only two behind, something special. Shows

:57:19. > :57:23.you the strength adjoining ins as a player. When his back is against the

:57:24. > :57:31.wall, he can draft, get over the line. Those three frames are very

:57:32. > :57:38.important. He will expect that Mark Allen cannot do that again. You have

:57:39. > :57:42.to be in the mix. 6-2 is a different story, almost losing touch. Coming

:57:43. > :57:50.back tomorrow morning for the second session.

:57:51. > :58:01.We have being against Wilson. This one will be very tight. First couple

:58:02. > :58:05.of frames so important. Stuart Bingham got him back into the match,

:58:06. > :58:11.letting the last frame, how crucial that could be. For the whole match.

:58:12. > :58:16.Looking forward to it. Steve, you live in the studio on the red button

:58:17. > :58:21.with Jason Mohammed. You can see the whole thing presented live by Jason

:58:22. > :58:26.Steed, live coverage all evening of the session. Thereafter we will have

:58:27. > :58:32.the highlights beyond the witching hour. For the night owls. I will

:58:33. > :58:37.catch you again ten o'clock in the morning. Thank you to Ken and Steve

:58:38. > :58:40.for their wisdom. We will see you later.