Day 10, Afternoon Session Snooker: World Championship


Day 10, Afternoon Session

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Good afternoon. A week today we will be closer to finding out the

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identity of the 2017 Betfred World Snooker Champion. Today is the final

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day of second-round action. Five men already through to this year's

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quarter finals. Three more spaces up for grabs. Leading the charge is the

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defending champion, Mark Selby. The two-time Crucible champion

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looking to book his place in the quarter finals. This is what's

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coming up this afternoon. Mark Selby, the undisputed world

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number one is four frames ahead against China's Xiao Guodong.

:01:57.:02:04.

But, Kay xa won the last two -- Xiao won the last two frames to stay in

:02:05.:02:08.

the match. As for Barry Hawkins he is looking to set up a quarter final

:02:09.:02:13.

clash with Stephen Maguire. He's looking good. But do not rule out

:02:14.:02:20.

the 2006 world champion, Graeme Dott. Last night he made a fight

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back. So, this is the state of play at the

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Crucible. This is how we're looking. Remember, best of 25. We could have

:02:31.:02:32.

a very quick finish this afternoon. We hope it goes down to the wire.

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Good afternoon to two men who know that very sweet feeling of lifting

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one of the world famous trophies at one of the great British sporting

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venues. Do you think Mark Selby will be

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wanting a quick finish, Steve? Possibly. We all want to get away as

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quickly as possible, in that respect. He's up against a guy who

:02:57.:03:02.

is good amongst the balls. Perhaps tactically unsound on a couple of

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shots yesterday, otherwise the score line could have been closer. Among

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the balls Guodong can score. Mark will hope to coast him. We had a

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chat with Mark last night. He's in the mood. He was 10-4 at one stage.

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I think Guodong got luck to win those frames. He had to show

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courage, a little bit of bottle. I think Mark was aggrieved that the

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score wasn't bigger for him. And Xiao, if he is going to take this to

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the wire, he has to get on the board early doors. Yes, he has. He'd be

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silly to go all out of tact. He has to go the way he plays. If you start

:03:47.:03:50.

to change your game too much, it never works. As for the other table

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- there's something about Barry Hawkins this year - quietly going

:03:57.:04:01.

about his business. He's that quiet - assassin type. He's been to a

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couple of finals, semi-finals as well. The guy he's playing has won a

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couple of finals as well. He made a great comeback Graeme Dott. At 9-3

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down he looked out of it. It could have been closer. That last frame

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when Barry Hawkins got the kick, but the pink still went in, it was

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incredible. It could have been closer. I commentated on that first

:04:25.:04:29.

session of that match. It gave every club player around the country hope.

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It was a tough start for both. Barry Hawkins, the Hawk started off, he

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looked like he would be a dodo by the end of the match. Graeme Dott

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didn't capitalise. He lot himself into a hole. Slowly digging himself

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out of it. No guarantee. Barry Hawkins is experienced. We were

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keeping a close eye on the match, that is one I couldn't get you away

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from. We did have a look at the way that Graeme Dott was cueing. He was

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cueing beautifully. He's such a determined character. He never gives

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in. He's got plenty of grit determination. We are in for more

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snooker than people think. Thank you very much. Let's say good afternoon

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to our MC, Rob Walker. THE COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon

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ladies and gentlemen. This is the day we complete the line up for the

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quarter finals. Five through and this afternoon two more will join

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them. It is day ten here at the sport's spiritual home, the

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Crucible. Please welcome a man who so often

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produces his best here in Sheffield. Three times a finalist, world

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champion in '06. He won three of the last four last night to give himself

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a chance, from Scotland, he's the Pocket Dynamo. He's Graeme Dott.

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His opponent, bidding for a fifth consecutive Crucible quarter final.

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Running up in '13. Winning of three ranking titles, including this

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season's Grand Prix. Here comes the Hawk, Barry Hawkins.

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On table one, here comes the player hoping to continue his best ever run

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at the Crucible. Coming through the qualifierers, winning the last two

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frames yesterday to give himself a fighting chance, Xiao Guodong.

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And finally, bidding for his seventh criticisible quarter final --

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Crucible quarter final. He won his 11th title in China. World number

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one for well over two years and the defending world champion, he's The

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Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby. Every shot here at the Crucible shot

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covered here. If you are out and about, and you want to chose between

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table one or two, that is available for you. Red button.

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Live here on BBC Two, it is Mark Selby against Xiao Guodong

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THE COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon Jason. Good afternoon, everybody.

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And they look to be a time, as we look at it, just short of

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five-and-a-half hours for these 16 frames, it looked for a time that

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Mark Selby had the upper time and was going to run away with this.

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Winning the last two frames last night gives him a bit of hope here.

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It does, John, absolutely. I have been very impressed with him. He's

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been a pro for ten years. He's really took Mark Selby to the sword

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here. Mark Selby has produced two very, very good clearances to be

:09:23.:09:27.

that four frames in front, rather than be all square. But this boy can

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play. I'm a little surprised he's not got better before now, that is

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how good I rate him. A little bit naive in the game when he was 60-odd

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points in front yesterday and should have put...

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APPLAUSE An extra seven points and that is

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one that Selby ended up winning. He's actually ten points ahead on

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points scored in this match. Amazing.

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He didn't play the best safety shot, Xiao, that's why he's in trouble.

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Cannot get the cue ball back to the baulk in.

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We are right into the second round of this tournament now and Mark

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Selby is yet to make a century. Very surprising.

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Mark Selby, as we all know ask hard to beat. If he's -- is so hard to

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beat. If he's not playing at his best, he still finds a way to win.

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That was a bit too thin. The rattling in the jaws has made it a

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better safety shot than it was. Mark Selby, the longer matches -

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tailor-made for it. There is a couple of reds he could

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play the pot on, but too risky. Making certain he's not going to

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knock anything towards the right corner here.

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Needs to miss the brown for it to be a good safety.

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He has. So it is a good safety, that one.

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Got to be a little careful with this thin safety shot.

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That is a long way, away, but he was making sure of the cue ball.

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See here the advantage of getting that cue ball tight to the baulk

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cushion. Plenty of reds he can hit. Got to

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avoid the kiss. Too thick! Much too thick! Result... Is it a result? Or

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maybe not. I think Mark can just get past the

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blue for this red. He could. I think the pink may be

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available. It shows you, that one good safety shot. Get that cue baulk

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tight under the cushion. Force a mistakes from his opponent.

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The cue ball a couple of inches too far. Clearly play the red next to

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the pink... APPLAUSE

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Mark Selby now becoming a past master, when you get a chance to

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make sure you score heavily. I know when he first started

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playing, started in your snooker club in Leicester.

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Did you spot the talent straightaway? I remember when I

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first saw him play, his cue action was a little bit long and you just

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felt, has he really got it? When did you notice he was destined for the

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top? He always had a top 32 safive game -- safety game. Neil Robertson

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and Mark Selby, both of which started to play at my club when he

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first came over are the most improved players I have ever seen.

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Mark Selby was not going to be a journey man. He was always a decent

:15:27.:15:32.

player. Not going to be top 16. Then he got cueing close to the cue ball.

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Improved 40 points overnight and now is one of the best players we've

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had. So solid.

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Never seen anything work harder. He would be in my club eight hours a

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day. Never stopped. I think that's the secret to success - hard work.

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But you can only put in the hard work if you actually love the game

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and you want to do it. Looking up to the balcony, where his

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supporters are. Not happy with that one. He has tried three shots to get

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on to the black. When that black goes back to a different spot.

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18 out of 18 he's potted with the rest. A little to do with the cue

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ball. I don't think he can play it slow enough to get on to the black.

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If he decides to get on to the pink at the middle.

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Can he get a good angle to get the black on to his own spot?

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OK this time. Around the back of the black or screw it direct? I think

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he'll have to go around the back of the black.

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I like you thought he might have screwed around the back of the

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black. OK he wouldn't have fancied missing it. But there's a little

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more to do here. No problem. Now looking for an angle

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on the colour. He'd like to hit the left-hand side

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of the three reds in front, on the left. The bottom red pots.

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He got quite a bit of action on the cue ball, didn't he? Just watch the

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white, hit then and the back spin was still on it. That's why he's on

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this red to the right middle. That's all you're looking for - an

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easy ball to continue the break with.

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In actual fact a red and a black will put him 70 points ahead, 67

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remaining. So not far from the winning line on

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this frame. With all his experience he knew a

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quick start was paramount. So the black to leave his opponent

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needing a snooker. He's had to work for this. He's had

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a brown, a blue. Five pinks and now four blacks.

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This is his highest break of the match.

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This red close to the pink, to the middle.

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Tried to disturb it. He's just about done it.

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He hit more of the pink than he wanted to. As I say, just on it.

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Sent me a text last afternoon saying, I can't make a century! He

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can now. And that's absolutely superbly

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played. That is the 4th century of this year's Betfred World

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Championship. The record is 86. We're not started the quarter finals

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yet. That's not in. It doesn't matter.

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Xiao Guodong stays in his seat. Mark Selby first century break of

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the match. 11-6. That is Mark Selby's first century

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of the tournament. Good afternoon to you. We are now in

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our studio. It is surprising. He's only had one

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century. He's played so many frames, for the world number one. You have

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seen other players, even like Mark Allen he had five or six centuries.

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It is unlike Mark Selby. There was one particular shot, looked very

:23:56.:24:02.

simple - it was a drag shot. He's dragged the past there to the red

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for the same pocket and kept the break going. He's granite when he's

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on top form. He's so tough. People kind of focus on his tactical play

:24:12.:24:16.

and the fact he can dig in. But he's vastly talented. Incredible cue

:24:17.:24:21.

action. I remember playing an exhibition with him where he was

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potting long balls, ramming them in the pockets. I realised then how

:24:26.:24:30.

strong a cuist he was. I said to you at the start of the afternoon, is

:24:31.:24:33.

Mark Selby looking for a quick finish? I think we have our answer.

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THE COMMENTATOR: He's looking at me in the commentary box... He's made

:24:41.:24:48.

one. He sent me a text saying, I cannot make a century. H his match

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play has been, as usual, perfect. It has gone in. He put up his hand

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to apologise. The idea wasn't the pot. The idea was to get the safety.

:25:10.:25:16.

He's potted the red and coming out of a baulk and nicely on the yellow.

:25:17.:25:23.

Thought he may have taken an opportunity there, particularly with

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the black tied up to come off the yellow with pace and into the side

:25:30.:25:33.

of the cluster. Here's the shot. Much too thin, really. But the

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pocket got in the way. He will play that shot into the

:25:35.:25:51.

pink. He hasn't got another red to fall back on. Full on the face on

:25:52.:25:55.

this pink. He couldn't have hit that any

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better! He could not have hit that any better! If you want to see how

:26:09.:26:13.

of the break the balls open - that is it. Pink full in the face. If you

:26:14.:26:18.

do that with stun, that is why the cue ball stays in the middle of the

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table. A super shot! What I have been impressed with is

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the way he break builds. Most players would have taken the yellow

:26:52.:26:55.

into the bunch rather than the blue into the bunch on the second shot,

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but he's very, very good in the balls. Played over 100 competitive

:27:00.:27:04.

centuries as well, which is always a sign.

:27:05.:27:13.

Obviously the slight problem here is the black out of commission. He'll

:27:14.:27:18.

have to concentrate on the five other colours.

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He's gone through three qualifying matches and believe it or not, this

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is his 72ed frame of this year's World Championship.

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Need some stamina, don't you? Yes, all the qualifiers, coming in

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sharp, when you consider they've had four days of play before they get to

:27:51.:27:55.

the marathon of 17 days, you need to be fit. You certainly don't need to

:27:56.:27:59.

get any illnesses during that space of time as well. It's a long time to

:28:00.:28:03.

keep your form. And you have to be mentally strong

:28:04.:28:07.

as well. There's the side bar. 47 points from

:28:08.:28:10.

this position. It will put him into the snookers

:28:11.:28:14.

required stage. I don't know what snooker players

:28:15.:28:29.

are supposed to look like, but he looks more like an accountant than a

:28:30.:28:34.

snooker player! He's looked at the outside one. He's straight on this

:28:35.:28:37.

one. Well, if he's straight, I can see no reason why he cannot roll it

:28:38.:28:43.

into the pink in the middle. Obviously when you are behind the

:28:44.:28:46.

shot, you see it differently. Can he get to the right side of the blue?

:28:47.:28:53.

Well, he couldn't in the end. He decided to play for a baulk colour.

:28:54.:29:00.

Well, that is a very surprising miss.

:29:01.:29:19.

The frame was there for the taking there. That may be the first sign

:29:20.:29:25.

that Xiao is struggling in this match now.

:29:26.:29:34.

One of those, particularly if you don't get through the ball you

:29:35.:29:43.

decelerate slightly. Only a fraction, but it makes all

:29:44.:29:54.

the difference. If you miss one at this level, it can be very costly.

:29:55.:30:13.

He's expecting to make the most of this chance. He has the problem that

:30:14.:30:19.

Xiao had - the blacks not available. The four reds around the pink look

:30:20.:31:08.

nice and easy. Don't know whether he can run

:31:09.:31:23.

through to get to the top. Looking at that picture, he probably can.

:31:24.:31:40.

That surprises me, that shot. This is a tough pot to get out for the

:31:41.:31:45.

pink again. It was never easy that and the pace

:31:46.:32:08.

he had to play it. Disappointed with that.

:32:09.:32:11.

Xiao gets a second chance. Not bad. Will want to be using the

:32:12.:32:51.

rest for the pink. He has the same problem that Mark Selby had before

:32:52.:32:54.

all these reds seem to be covering one another for the right corner

:32:55.:32:55.

pocket. I think he was trying get to the

:32:56.:33:31.

red. Three reds behind the pink, the one to the right of those. The one

:33:32.:33:43.

to the bottom of the three goes into this corner? Never easy these.

:33:44.:33:52.

Well, he will be disappointed. They're never easy when you're

:33:53.:34:02.

digging down. I expected him to get it.

:34:03.:34:07.

Yes, that was his second good chance in this frame. Usually you are happy

:34:08.:34:12.

when you are playing one of the top players to have one chance a frame.

:34:13.:35:03.

The next two reds don't appear a problem. If he is to win the frame

:35:04.:35:10.

at this visit has to possibly leave an angle on one of the reds to move

:35:11.:35:15.

the red and black out of the way. Didn't expect such a big bounce as

:35:16.:35:21.

that. Played for the blue in the middle.

:35:22.:35:52.

Four points the lead. Still not straightforward to win the frame at

:35:53.:36:01.

this visit. Sorry four points behind.

:36:02.:36:22.

His head's not moving as much as it was last year, as well. He has

:36:23.:36:31.

worked hard on that, trying to keep his head still.

:36:32.:36:39.

I knew he would kiss the other red and that other red to kiss the black

:36:40.:37:01.

on to the pocket. Give him the benefit of the doubt and say well

:37:02.:37:08.

played. Lots of left-hand side there to take

:37:09.:37:15.

the cue ball on. Played it nicely. Now an 11-point lead so he will need

:37:16.:37:22.

these three remaining reds with colours and that's a big ask.

:37:23.:37:43.

Playing a stun to get on to both reds there.

:37:44.:37:56.

A nice angle on the blue. A red and a reasonably high colour.

:37:57.:38:45.

So the pink and Xiao Guodong... If he pots the pink you would think he

:38:46.:38:54.

is bound to be on the yellow. And he is. No way back now for the

:38:55.:39:01.

young man from China. 101 in the first frame, 51 and

:39:02.:39:32.

counting this frame, he is on a mission again.

:39:33.:39:53.

It was like a salad bar there watching all the colours he had

:39:54.:40:01.

potted in this break. This is only the second black in the break. But

:40:02.:40:06.

it's the black that takens him to 73. 101 in the first. 73 in the

:40:07.:40:09.

second. Now leads by 12-6. What was important about all those

:40:10.:41:24.

statistics, a good record at The Crucible. Xiao Guodong trying to

:41:25.:41:35.

keep his hopes alive. He has to win this frame.

:41:36.:42:04.

Terrific pot and a helpful little flick on the blue there. He has the

:42:05.:42:15.

green or the blue to play for now. Excellent pot.

:42:16.:42:18.

Deserved a bit of luck. Looking at that stat, his long pot

:42:19.:42:41.

success - I say Xiao, exactly what you need, 67%. He played that

:42:42.:42:46.

positional shot off the blue absolutely inch-perfect.

:42:47.:43:00.

Xiao has played quite well in this match and it's not beyond the

:43:01.:43:25.

possibility that Mark Selby will close out a winner. It shows you the

:43:26.:43:30.

standard you have to get. I have been impressed with the young man

:43:31.:43:33.

but playing against one of the best in the world.

:43:34.:43:41.

This is the standard you need to get. Played that with a trace of

:43:42.:43:47.

left-hand side so when the cue ball came off the cushion it checked. But

:43:48.:43:53.

it didn't stop the pace of the cue ball so having to play this black

:43:54.:44:00.

with the rest. Right in the heart of the pocket.

:44:01.:44:09.

He always knew if he overran it, he would have something to the right

:44:10.:44:23.

middle. 41 points needed. To get to the snookers required stage in this

:44:24.:44:27.

frame and match-winning opportunity. Even though there is a couple of

:44:28.:44:32.

loose reds, the two reds he is looking at, if he hits the join

:44:33.:44:37.

directly above the black, this could be a frame and match-winner this

:44:38.:44:42.

shot. Got the joint perfectly. Brought another two reds into play.

:44:43.:44:47.

Perhaps he would have wished he played it a little bit harder. Is he

:44:48.:44:56.

not on this red? Oh, he is not on it. Can he bend it with a little bit

:44:57.:45:05.

of side, I don't think so. No, I don't think he can.

:45:06.:45:09.

Plus the fact with the red closest to the cue ball, sort of stopping

:45:10.:45:15.

him playing with that little bit of left-hand side. He is having to play

:45:16.:45:20.

safe. Maybe he thought on the previous

:45:21.:45:22.

black that he couldn't really get into the cue ball if he played it

:45:23.:45:27.

any harder. Because as we know, he can push through before he goes

:45:28.:45:31.

back. I thought he played the cannon perfectly, didn't you? Yeah, when he

:45:32.:45:34.

hit them I thought that seems perfect.

:45:35.:45:39.

But the cue ball, obviously, just ran on a little bit. One of the reds

:45:40.:45:44.

he cannoned didn't move. That was the one that covered the potting

:45:45.:45:48.

angle. Had a chance of a red to the right

:45:49.:46:04.

centre. But fair play, he is going - he is basically saying to Mark, you

:46:05.:46:08.

are going to have to win it, I am not going to give it to you.

:46:09.:46:12.

Mark's had a look at the possibility of a plant. Two reds in the middle.

:46:13.:46:18.

A plant to the corner. Depends how close they are, whether

:46:19.:46:26.

you can move it. He can't get through to the two balls but he is

:46:27.:46:31.

thinking can he make it into a three-ball plant? Close enough, you

:46:32.:46:35.

could turn it, hit the first on the right side, pushes the second one to

:46:36.:46:44.

the left. Maybe worth playing. I don't see an alternative.

:46:45.:46:53.

No, couldn't hit the first one on the right. A little flick off the

:46:54.:47:01.

green. Oh, nearly crept the cue ball behind the yellow. But a thin cut on

:47:02.:47:03.

here. That's a little unlucky. That's what

:47:04.:47:30.

you don't need when you're trailing 12-6. Excellent pot, kiss on the

:47:31.:47:38.

red, you would have expected to be on a baulk colour.

:47:39.:47:42.

You know, last night on this table, Neil Robertson played exactly the

:47:43.:47:49.

same type of shot and he said it just drifted up. It's just along

:47:50.:47:55.

that baulk line where you can get that.

:47:56.:47:57.

Yeah, you can see it curl. What a big difference it made.

:47:58.:48:16.

But Mark could have got a bit of cue ball.

:48:17.:48:25.

A red going towards the corner. There you see it. Mark can't get

:48:26.:48:35.

through to it. A red in the middle of the table he can get through to

:48:36.:48:38.

and he might be able to cut that back to the right corner and still

:48:39.:48:40.

get the cue ball back to baulk. Too thin but he knew he would get

:48:41.:48:59.

the cover with the two reds on the right of the table.

:49:00.:49:08.

Xiao Guodong is taking a risk playing this red, trying to get

:49:09.:49:14.

around the back of the black, avoid the red near the top cushion.

:49:15.:49:19.

Well, he didn't avoid the red near the top cushion. He has knocked it

:49:20.:49:24.

over the corner, caught the bump in the middle pocket. I am trying to

:49:25.:49:27.

think of anything else that could have gone wrong!

:49:28.:51:03.

That's going back on to its own spot. So this now, obviously a

:51:04.:51:09.

chance to win frame and match. So the pink going in, 65 ahead, 67

:51:10.:52:10.

remaining, but not for long. Pot this red... Now 66 points in front.

:52:11.:52:18.

Only 59 left on the table. Xiao Guodong's race has been run.

:52:19.:52:27.

I think he has a future in the game this young man, but you play Mark

:52:28.:52:32.

Selby at the Crucible and you're always going to be up against it. I

:52:33.:52:37.

have been impressed with him, sounds strange when you have been beaten,

:52:38.:52:41.

he will be disappointed, he knows he could have more three or four more

:52:42.:52:47.

frames than he has done. Yeah and it's all a learning experience.

:52:48.:52:53.

First time here, you have to take the positives out of it.

:52:54.:53:32.

It's all over but the handshake now. He will keep an eye on the match

:53:33.:53:41.

this evening on this table, which is the third and final session between

:53:42.:53:46.

Marco Fu and Neil Robertson. What a match that has been. 8-8 at the

:53:47.:53:59.

moment. Well, doesn't matter about the blue. Mark Selby, without

:54:00.:54:10.

breaking a lot of sweat really, well played, young man, but Mark Selby is

:54:11.:54:15.

through to the quarter-final. He wins comfortably in the end by 13-6.

:54:16.:54:21.

STUDIO: That's unbelievable. I said he is looking to get over the line.

:54:22.:54:24.

There was something about Mark's demeanour last night that he wanted

:54:25.:54:29.

to get this over and done with. Yeah, it depends upon the resolve of

:54:30.:54:35.

the other player, whether he feels he can get back in or if he's

:54:36.:54:40.

mentally given up. It looked like, some of the scorelines are quite

:54:41.:54:44.

big, a big gap. It's because the other person feels like there is a

:54:45.:54:48.

mountain to get back in the match is too hard to climb. What was

:54:49.:54:52.

interesting last night, when we were on the red button show yesterday, we

:54:53.:54:59.

saw Ronnie O'Sullivan coming in, we saw Mark Selby and Neil Robertson,

:55:00.:55:02.

straight after he finished his match. Is that the mark of a

:55:03.:55:07.

champion, someone who wants it that badly, we didn't see Xiao going in

:55:08.:55:11.

after his match yesterday evening? Sometimes, Xiao plays in the academy

:55:12.:55:16.

here at Sheffield, he may feel he wanted to go back to there, more

:55:17.:55:21.

comfortable in his own surroundings. They all work very, very hard away

:55:22.:55:25.

from the Crucible or from the tournaments. They like the practice

:55:26.:55:30.

and like to loosen up, as well, even in between matches. From my memories

:55:31.:55:35.

of the era I played in, don't know about you, Ken, but I never, ever

:55:36.:55:41.

went to the practice table after a session. Never. Perhaps I would have

:55:42.:55:46.

if it was two sessions in a day, get ready for the night. I never ever

:55:47.:55:49.

did that. This is more in keeping now with what you see in the golf

:55:50.:55:53.

world, after a round of golf they go to the practice range. Well, that

:55:54.:55:57.

for me would have been a strange thing to do. I think it was about

:55:58.:56:00.

ten minutes after Neil Robertson finished he was back in the practice

:56:01.:56:04.

room which was incredible. I think what happened it was highlighted

:56:05.:56:11.

through the commentators from the match and Neil Robertson was playing

:56:12.:56:15.

mid distance and long range shots and everything he was putting

:56:16.:56:18.

left-hand side and everything was hitting to the left cushion. Sew

:56:19.:56:23.

wanted maybe to try and -- so he wanted maybe to try and fix that, as

:56:24.:56:26.

it were. We will show you the best of the action from the match on the

:56:27.:56:33.

other table, Barry Hawkins, runner-up in 2013, playing Graeme

:56:34.:56:38.

Dott. But all this week we are going celebrating the special people who

:56:39.:56:44.

make the World Championships here at the The Crucible tick and today we

:56:45.:56:47.

are meeting MrDuncan Richmond. .

:56:48.:57:01.

Duncan Richmond, cameraman 20 years. The word unique is overused.

:57:02.:57:06.

Sheffield, The Crucible is unique. There isn't enough space to work in.

:57:07.:57:14.

And then it becomes one of the most spacious venues. It's not just

:57:15.:57:18.

called The Crucible because it's a nice word, it is a Crucible, you can

:57:19.:57:21.

feel the atmosphere. You cannot get closer to the crowd,

:57:22.:57:25.

there is no other sport in which we work closer than the officials and

:57:26.:57:30.

the players. You have two tables. Four players.

:57:31.:57:36.

Two referees. Five cameras. And we all have to work in that space

:57:37.:57:39.

together. You are wearing headphones, you have

:57:40.:57:43.

the director in your ear, he is not necessarily telling you what to do

:57:44.:57:46.

but guiding your hand. I spoke to someone yesterday who referred to us

:57:47.:57:50.

as the dancing cameraman. On the floor cameras three and four as

:57:51.:57:55.

they're known, they complement each other's shot and you have to work as

:57:56.:58:00.

a tight pair. One wrong move from you, you can put a player off. Rule

:58:01.:58:06.

number one, we wear black. Rule number two, player goes down on the

:58:07.:58:10.

shot, you don't move. Players know us and trust us. The adrenalin

:58:11.:58:15.

pumps. The more exciting, the more difficult it gets, I find the

:58:16.:58:18.

breathing slows down, the heart rates slows down. Because you are

:58:19.:58:22.

thinking quicker and quicker. It's incredibly exciting.

:58:23.:58:27.

Yes, you get caught up, because if you are in the game you are in the

:58:28.:58:30.

moment. You know where to go, you know what to do. You are thinking

:58:31.:58:35.

clearly. It's like putting on an old coat,

:58:36.:58:39.

comfortable jacket, that's fine, I know where I am and what's

:58:40.:58:42.

happening. They put up with me, I have put up with them.

:58:43.:58:48.

It's good to be part of it. I had my 40th birthday here. I had

:58:49.:58:54.

my 50th birthday here. I jokingly said to somebody if I have my 60th

:58:55.:58:59.

here, please shoot me. I may restrakt that statement! I would

:59:00.:59:03.

like to think I won't be here for my 70th.

:59:04.:59:10.

He is a lovely man. Look at this. This was earlier today before we

:59:11.:59:18.

came on air. Duncan celebrating his 60th birthday today. Rob Walker gave

:59:19.:59:23.

him the big Crucible walk-on. A lovely hug with Ken and Duncan. He

:59:24.:59:27.

will be celebrating this evening. He is such a lovely man. Lovely bloke.

:59:28.:59:33.

Yeah, he is. You know what, all the ka ramen that cover the snooker and

:59:34.:59:36.

girls -- cameramen. They are exceptional at their job and are

:59:37.:59:40.

specialists, as well. You see that bit, you don't usually see that,

:59:41.:59:43.

they're dancing around, getting out of the way and back into position.

:59:44.:59:48.

You can see the snooker player, how close the cameras are to the pocket.

:59:49.:59:52.

Great guy. 20 years here, fantastic. The sign of a good cameraman, you

:59:53.:00:00.

never notice Duncan as a cameraman. We should reinforce the fact to

:00:01.:00:04.

viewers, it's like one big happy family here, from the production

:00:05.:00:07.

staff, on the television, through to the cameras in the studio and

:00:08.:00:10.

everyone around, world snooker, as well. It's like one great family.

:00:11.:00:25.

I've had the privilege of doing other sports as well. The other

:00:26.:00:30.

thing, yes, you do other sports as well. I don't know any other sport I

:00:31.:00:34.

have covered at the BBC where you get this close to players. These

:00:35.:00:38.

guys are happy to chat in the practise room. It is a big family,

:00:39.:00:44.

isn't it? Talking about how close the camera is to the corner, you are

:00:45.:00:48.

tuned in and you wouldn't know it, would you? That is a compliment to

:00:49.:00:55.

the cameramen. The cameramen, when it is a two-table set up, they

:00:56.:01:00.

hardly have any space to manoeuvre. As seef says, when you are focussed

:01:01.:01:06.

you don't notice anything. When you are not focussed everything seems to

:01:07.:01:11.

bother you. Who were you pointing to when you said I made my first

:01:12.:01:18.

century break at the Crucible. I have made lots of 60-plus. He would

:01:19.:01:23.

be, I will be happy if you make 60. Today I made one. Got that monkey

:01:24.:01:29.

off my back. I asked Steve when we came on air how quickly you wanted

:01:30.:01:33.

this over and done with. Was it important to get it done? The first

:01:34.:01:38.

frame was the key one. 10-6. You have a comfortable lead. 11-9, back

:01:39.:01:47.

in the match then. To win it in one was better. It is interesting. I was

:01:48.:01:53.

commentating on the match, there was a massive frame he failed to clear

:01:54.:01:57.

up after the baulk. That seems tactically it was not strong enough.

:01:58.:02:03.

Yesterday? He allowed, he tried to roll the black in and he left all

:02:04.:02:09.

the balls live. I didn't want it straight after that visit. It was

:02:10.:02:12.

strange of him playing the black. When I look back, he was potting the

:02:13.:02:17.

black for an extra seven. It was gaining no value. You have had a

:02:18.:02:25.

week off, you know between matches, from your first and second round,

:02:26.:02:29.

has that made you more refreshed? It's been a long season. You have

:02:30.:02:34.

won three times already this year. Coming here nice and refreshed, or

:02:35.:02:39.

were you tired getting? It was nice to have a week off. I was surprised

:02:40.:02:43.

it was that long. Normally two years ago I played on the Thursday, the

:02:44.:02:49.

Friday morning, Friday night. To play not until Saturday, if you do

:02:50.:02:53.

progress you don't have the day off. It could work in my favour, it could

:02:54.:02:58.

not. If you have a week off, I don't mind. What you know now is the games

:02:59.:03:03.

come thick and fast. You are on tomorrow at 2. 30pm. Are you feeling

:03:04.:03:08.

the pressure? Are you relaxed? Not really. I would rather play every

:03:09.:03:13.

day in some ways. You can only practise so much on the table. You

:03:14.:03:16.

have done all that before you have come here. It is a question of

:03:17.:03:19.

staying positive and staying in the right frame of mind. I would rather

:03:20.:03:23.

play every day, I think. Is it good that you are back on at 2. 30pm

:03:24.:03:29.

tomorrow? Looking forward to it. Robertson or Fu to play Selby? It is

:03:30.:03:35.

good from Mark's point of view. He can watch those two sweat it out

:03:36.:03:43.

tonight. I think it will be an absolute classic final session. Very

:03:44.:03:47.

hard to pick a winner between the two. I don't think as a player and

:03:48.:03:51.

if I can sort of transpose myself into Mark, when I was playing in the

:03:52.:03:57.

game and I felt comfortable, it didn't really, you didn't really

:03:58.:04:01.

mind who you play. You go, I don't know who I play, it will be a war.

:04:02.:04:06.

At my best I came out and said, it will be a fight, you know, it is

:04:07.:04:10.

like a Crucible fight to the death sort of thing. You are happy enough

:04:11.:04:14.

with your own game that you just go, bring it on! That is how Mark feels.

:04:15.:04:20.

Is that how you are feeling? I don't mind who I play. Whether you are

:04:21.:04:25.

playing Neil or a guy down the club, the game don't change. It is a

:04:26.:04:28.

matter of how you approach it mentally. Confident enough. See who

:04:29.:04:33.

wins. One final question. There's been a lot in the back pages,

:04:34.:04:37.

perhaps more in the first week than we've had at the Crucible because of

:04:38.:04:41.

what Ronnie said in the news conference and then Sean responded

:04:42.:04:45.

as well. Are you happy to be sitting there and letting them get on with

:04:46.:04:47.

answering all the difficult questions from the press? And you

:04:48.:04:51.

can quietly go about winning matches and easing your way into the quarter

:04:52.:04:56.

finals? I would rather take a back seat and let your snooker do the

:04:57.:05:00.

writing. Try and get under your skin - he's hard enough to beat at the

:05:01.:05:06.

best of times. You don't want to rub him up the wrong way, that is for

:05:07.:05:10.

sure. See you tomorrow at 2. 30pm. Thank you, Mark. Let's bring you

:05:11.:05:14.

up-to-date with what is happening on the other table. Barry Hawkins, 2013

:05:15.:05:21.

Crucible runner up, taking on Graeme Dott.

:05:22.:05:23.

We are going to join the action in frame 17.

:05:24.:05:33.

Graeme Dott leads by 14 points. Commentary from Denis and Peter.

:05:34.:06:02.

THE COMMENTATOR: That is a terrific chance for Barry Hawkins. As I say,

:06:03.:06:09.

at the moment, it looks like the black is just available into the one

:06:10.:06:21.

corner pocket. He's the wrong side of the blue. He's got work to do.

:06:22.:06:27.

The two reds near the cushion there, one's blocking the path for the

:06:28.:06:31.

black, he would love to get on that in a few shots' time.

:06:32.:06:45.

This red, back for the blue, the correct side of the blue.

:06:46.:07:01.

He'll be back in prime position. He's got three or four reds he can

:07:02.:07:07.

play for. That one that's blocking a black, he would like to get on that

:07:08.:07:10.

at some stage. He's played on it straightaway.

:07:11.:07:33.

That's bounced a little. He wanted to be closer to the cushion. He's

:07:34.:07:41.

finished a little awkward. There's no problem with cue for Barry

:07:42.:07:45.

Hawkins. Oh, he didn't pop that into the centre of the pocket. That's why

:07:46.:07:50.

he's run out of position somewhat. Watch where the red goes. In off the

:07:51.:07:52.

right. Barry Hawkins facing with a

:07:53.:07:56.

difficult black here. He's coming around to check that red

:07:57.:08:29.

that is just above the red. Just needs to be a little bit

:08:30.:09:42.

careful with this positional side here. If he's playing for the black.

:09:43.:09:54.

Times the ball beautifully, doesn't he, Denis? I think I said it

:09:55.:10:05.

yesterday, he's very easy on the eye. He's a lovely player to watch,

:10:06.:10:10.

Barry. He's got a terrific technique.

:10:11.:10:20.

The only consolation is he hasn't got on the red.

:10:21.:10:27.

Where did that one come from? Put a little quick one in, which he

:10:28.:10:30.

doesn't normally do. He's telling himself off there.

:10:31.:10:35.

This red will pass the black. But it's not a gimme. He played for the

:10:36.:10:40.

one closest to the cue ball. Because he missed the black he didn't get on

:10:41.:10:42.

that. It's all about potting this. It

:10:43.:10:52.

doesn't matter where believes the cue ball. He'll be on the black.

:10:53.:10:55.

It's not straightforward. He didn't really fancy it. Look

:10:56.:11:11.

where he's left the cue ball. So Barry had a little result there

:11:12.:11:16.

when he missed the black, not to leave anything easy.

:11:17.:11:21.

Probably get down and mark this red in after missing the black off the

:11:22.:11:30.

spot. I thought so. Amazing, isn't it?

:11:31.:11:40.

The angle he has on the black here, the white's going to go towards the

:11:41.:11:49.

three reds. It depends on the pace, but the white will certainly go

:11:50.:11:51.

towards them. That's just about as well as he

:11:52.:11:58.

could have expected there. This isn't absolutely

:11:59.:12:25.

straightforward. Could well be running into the blue here.

:12:26.:12:27.

That was the problem. Got to be a bit careful if he's

:12:28.:12:54.

going to roll up to the yellow. Just about. Want to get as close as

:12:55.:12:58.

possible. But the number of times you see a player not reaching, you

:12:59.:13:03.

know, putting themselves in trouble, but Graeme Dott has got a big

:13:04.:13:09.

problem here. He's 30 points behind. There's no easy red to land on.

:13:10.:13:22.

That's not very inviting. Neither is that, no matter which side he looks.

:13:23.:13:33.

I suppose if he could Nestle on the one there, that nearest cue that

:13:34.:13:37.

he's pointing at, might just possibly get away with it.

:13:38.:13:43.

But very difficult. I think he's also got the

:13:44.:13:46.

opportunity, Denis, he would rather leave that red where it was, to be

:13:47.:13:55.

honest, on the cushion. But he could play with the spider or the swan and

:13:56.:14:01.

come off the baulk cushion, side cushion and possibly side cushion

:14:02.:14:08.

and hit that red. And the cue ball could possibly

:14:09.:14:12.

finish around the black pocket. He would be leaving a difficult red

:14:13.:14:16.

into the left centre. But he doesn't have too many options. He's looking

:14:17.:14:20.

at that shot now. And I think that's the shot he's going to play. So,

:14:21.:14:26.

he's got two options with this shot. He can either play to just nestle

:14:27.:14:30.

into this red. The problem with that is he could be pushing it towards

:14:31.:14:36.

the right corner. If he plays it with pace, he needs to catch the

:14:37.:14:45.

third can ushtion first. That's the line he's after.

:14:46.:14:48.

It is a good choice, because if he catches it right and doesn't catch

:14:49.:14:56.

the red he's trying to hit, he's only leaving a very difficult red

:14:57.:15:00.

into the left centre. I think that is the right choice. Probably just

:15:01.:15:05.

got the first line slightly wrong. But that's where he wants to go.

:15:06.:15:11.

That was an excellent shot from Graeme Dott.

:15:12.:15:26.

And that literally couldn't have worked out any better. He was in a

:15:27.:15:33.

lot of trouble there. Played a wonderful escape. So, Barry

:15:34.:15:42.

Hawkins looking to see where he can put Graeme in the most trouble.

:15:43.:15:48.

Could flick off the red that's next to the pink. If he doesn't get a

:15:49.:15:55.

good cue ball he would with leaving the red into the right corner that

:15:56.:16:05.

he's playing now. That's quite a clever shot. He tried

:16:06.:16:09.

to put the red on to the black cushion. A bit of insurance, trying

:16:10.:16:12.

to protect his 34-point lead. The one to the left of the pink will

:16:13.:16:50.

cut in past that red. It may be heading down towards the

:16:51.:16:56.

yellow. He's so good at this type of shot, the number of time he pots

:16:57.:16:59.

these balls, which are very difficult.

:17:00.:17:13.

There's no easy safety shot for Graeme Dott here. He may be forced

:17:14.:17:30.

to take a very difficult pot on. As Peter said, 34 points behind if he

:17:31.:17:36.

takes the pot on to the left corner. He'll have to get it, doesn't like

:17:37.:17:43.

it. Graeme has a safety shot here. It is

:17:44.:17:49.

tough. He needs to hit this really thin.

:17:50.:17:56.

That's a very, very good shot! Well played!

:17:57.:17:58.

A Barry Hawkins special coming up again.

:17:59.:18:17.

He's so good at that type of shot. He really is.

:18:18.:18:26.

It is the sort of shot that, if you were wandering through the practise

:18:27.:18:31.

room, you will see the players practicing for quite some time,

:18:32.:18:34.

because they know it will come up quite a few times in a match.

:18:35.:18:47.

It should be a frame-clincher, so long as he rolls this one in,

:18:48.:18:55.

automatically on the black. Denis, the long red Barry Hawkins

:18:56.:19:30.

knocked into the pocket is a really good example of how important it is

:19:31.:19:36.

on these clothes to be able to play plain ball shots, when you're

:19:37.:19:38.

hitting above the centre of the white. Even on these very fine

:19:39.:19:42.

cloths, if you played a touch of left-hand side he would have pulled

:19:43.:19:47.

that thin. It was an excellent plain ball pot.

:19:48.:20:01.

A very important contribution. Barry Hawkins pulls further away

:20:02.:20:13.

from Graeme Dott and will now lead by 11-6.

:20:14.:20:29.

Graeme concedes no not the start he was after. Barry Hawkins will be

:20:30.:20:35.

delighted with that. He extends his lead. 11-6.

:20:36.:20:44.

REFEREE: Frame 18. Barry Hawkins to break.

:20:45.:20:50.

A very good break-off shot as well. This needs to be very thin.

:20:51.:21:18.

That is a good cue ball. A good response from him.

:21:19.:21:23.

I don't know if Barry may possibly be tempted here by the long red into

:21:24.:21:29.

the right-hand black pocket, but it is quite difficult to avoid the

:21:30.:21:35.

cannon on the black. He almost has to play this as a soft stun shot

:21:36.:21:42.

with right-hand side, if he takes it on.

:21:43.:21:47.

That's beautiful. Wonderful cueing from Barry Hawkins.

:21:48.:22:08.

The secret to that type of shot is keeping your head still. Barry's

:22:09.:22:15.

very, very good at doing that. Probably deliver the cue in a

:22:16.:22:18.

straight line. It is a big help if you can keep your head absolutely

:22:19.:22:22.

still. It is not as easy as it sounds to do that.

:22:23.:22:46.

We can show you a shot that... Now, you watch his head when he delivers

:22:47.:22:52.

the cue. Very, very good. Barry's a little disappointed.

:22:53.:23:45.

There's positional play there. Just off straight the right way, really.

:23:46.:23:48.

Deep screw, with side. Played that well. Side. Very nicely done.

:23:49.:23:58.

There you see the side coming off the cushion. He needs to be careful

:23:59.:24:02.

not just to skim off the reds here. Loads of spin there. From that

:24:03.:24:30.

fantastic opening long red he's created another opportunity to score

:24:31.:24:34.

heavily once again. Very, very impressive stuff here from Barry

:24:35.:24:36.

Hawkins. Barry's so comfortable at the

:24:37.:24:57.

Crucible, if you look at his record, the quarter finals, semi-finals the

:24:58.:24:59.

year before and the year before that. And then of course 2013.

:25:00.:25:05.

Runner up. And that's dropped. Absolutely plum

:25:06.:26:02.

on the red. To get that side of the blue from

:26:03.:26:32.

the angle he had on the red was very good indeed.

:26:33.:26:38.

Every chance now to go on and take the second frame of this session and

:26:39.:26:44.

put himself just one frame away from a place in the quarter final.

:26:45.:26:50.

The white's going the wrong side of the pocket, but the pace and a

:26:51.:26:56.

little trace aside. That was spot on for him.

:26:57.:27:21.

Just slightly underhit that one. Deciding to play the screw shot

:27:22.:27:29.

here. That's OK.

:27:30.:27:33.

There's not much that Graeme Dott can do about this. Barry Hawkins is

:27:34.:27:55.

playing very well now. I mean Graeme's record against Barry is

:27:56.:28:01.

very good. He beat him here at the Crucible in 2009 in the first round.

:28:02.:28:06.

10-8. It is a much improved Barry Hawkins since then, it has to be

:28:07.:28:14.

said. He's certainly one of the top players in the game, that's for

:28:15.:28:22.

sure. Currently ranked number seven in the

:28:23.:28:24.

world. Had he of closed from 9-3 to 9-7, he

:28:25.:29:25.

would have been in with a great chance this afternoon. But Barry

:29:26.:29:29.

Hawkins looks very comfortable. Very relaxed.

:29:30.:29:32.

And he's cueing beautifully. 133 centuries in his career, Barry.

:29:33.:30:03.

He has made 29 -- he has made 29 centuries this

:30:04.:30:27.

season. We have had 49 centuries so far in

:30:28.:30:32.

this year's Betfred World Championship. Could this be a half

:30:33.:30:40.

century of centuries? Barry's just had one so far.

:30:41.:30:53.

Thought he might have played for the black and guaranteed the century,

:30:54.:30:59.

but still shouldn't be and problem. He just needs the colour and then

:31:00.:31:08.

the yellow. Oh, that's not what he wanted.

:31:09.:31:16.

I think he's just about OK. Almost went wrong.

:31:17.:31:24.

Oh! Can you believe it? No century break but he won't be too

:31:25.:31:30.

disappointed about that. That was a superb break. And now he is just one

:31:31.:31:36.

frame away from a place in the quarter-final. 12-6.

:31:37.:31:51.

Every chance that we might not get to the mid-session interval with

:31:52.:31:57.

Barry only needing one more frame. Where is this red going to finish?

:31:58.:32:34.

It's usually the case when you are playing well, and you do make a

:32:35.:32:40.

mistake, you always get the run of the ball.

:32:41.:32:44.

When you are struggling, if you miss, you always stick one up.

:32:45.:33:10.

Excellent safety shot there from Barry Hawkins. That's to make sure

:33:11.:33:18.

that the cue ball didn't cannon into either the brown or the green

:33:19.:33:25.

because that would have left the long red into the left-hand black

:33:26.:33:31.

pocket, so very well played. Graeme's taken the opportunity to

:33:32.:33:34.

open the reds. He has left this long red into the

:33:35.:33:40.

right-hand black pocket. Barry Huw kins can get his hand on

:33:41.:33:43.

the -- Hawkins can get his hand on the table.

:33:44.:33:47.

Interesting to see the way he plays this. A lot of players would be

:33:48.:33:51.

playing this with screw and right-hand side around the back of

:33:52.:33:54.

the black. That's the way he played it. It was a lovely strike. He is on

:33:55.:34:07.

the blue. Or is he on the blue? Maybe he can't see enough? Looks as

:34:08.:34:14.

though the red may be in the way. It's a tough green or brown.

:34:15.:34:20.

I think with the balls open, you can see the angle, just can't quite see

:34:21.:34:27.

enough of the blue. What would you do here, Dennis? Keep your opponent

:34:28.:34:31.

under pressure or take the difficult pot on?

:34:32.:34:35.

Well he has a six-frame advantage, so, if he is feeling good, he will

:34:36.:34:41.

take the pot on. But he's having second thoughts about it. Maybe just

:34:42.:34:46.

keep the white tight on the cushion. Yeah, can't make his mind up. Yeah,

:34:47.:34:51.

he is going to play the white tight on the cushion, not a bad choice.

:34:52.:34:58.

Highly unlikely that Graeme could win all the remaining

:34:59.:35:03.

frames, but you never know at this game what can happen. Don't put your

:35:04.:35:10.

opponent right in amongst the balls, make him work for them.

:35:11.:35:17.

Oh, the white's in. Foul.

:35:18.:35:23.

That means there's a long straight red, the one next to the blue.

:35:24.:35:36.

I know that Barry Hawkins is 12-6 in front and he has the ball-in-hand

:35:37.:35:45.

here, but there's a bit of pressure on this red because if he does miss

:35:46.:35:48.

it... He could roll it through and play for the black and that would

:35:49.:35:52.

take the pressure off. But he is digging down in it. So he must get

:35:53.:35:53.

it. He took the pressure out of the shot

:35:54.:36:08.

the other way, by screwing back for a baulk colour. He is still wary of

:36:09.:36:17.

Graeme Dott's class and fighting capabilities.

:36:18.:36:20.

Graeme will be thinking if I can just win three frames now it will

:36:21.:36:25.

plant that seed of doubt into Barry's mind and Barry will be well

:36:26.:36:32.

aware of that, as well. Well, let's see how close he gets to

:36:33.:36:34.

this one. This is more difficult than the

:36:35.:36:37.

previous one. There you go, he loves that type of

:36:38.:36:42.

shot. He really does. He is probably one of the best in the game at that

:36:43.:36:45.

type of shot. He really is superb. That was a well-judged cannon there

:36:46.:37:37.

from Barry Hawkins. Playing for the two reds into the same pocket after

:37:38.:37:41.

this black goes in. Didn't think he had the angle to

:37:42.:37:49.

hold for that red. This is the cannon. Played that beautifully.

:37:50.:37:59.

This is very clinical and precise. But maybe that wasn't!

:38:00.:38:05.

Foul. He will be anxious. He will look at

:38:06.:38:10.

the tip there. When you miscue you get worried about taking a piece out

:38:11.:38:16.

of your tip. Wow! Don't see it very often. He had a

:38:17.:38:26.

look at the tip there but I think he is OK.

:38:27.:38:42.

Come on, Graeme, let's see a sizeable break from you here.

:38:43.:38:53.

Great to see Graeme Dott back at The Crucible. He had to win three

:38:54.:39:03.

qualifying matches in Sheffield and then he defeated Ali Carter and Ali

:39:04.:39:11.

said Graeme was just too good for him.

:39:12.:40:03.

Graeme's lost a bit of timing there, he hit that too hard. He was

:40:04.:40:10.

disgusted with himself. He just rolled it off the black. He can't

:40:11.:40:14.

believe how hard he hit that last shot. Lost a little bit of focus.

:40:15.:40:19.

When you are 12-6 down and he probably is tired. He is rubbing his

:40:20.:40:23.

eyes, it's been a long stretch for him here with the qualifying rounds

:40:24.:40:25.

and the match with Ali Carter. I can't see a straightforward safety

:40:26.:40:58.

shot so he may have to take this on. Yeah, OK, he's covered it, but once

:40:59.:41:41.

you put it on that near cushion, very rarely drop in.

:41:42.:42:08.

Terrific chance. OK, a couple of safe reds, a good chance to close

:42:09.:42:17.

the match out here. It may not be Graeme Dott's year

:42:18.:42:28.

again this year, Dennis. But his name is on that wonderful trophy.

:42:29.:42:33.

And that's something that nobody can ever take away from him. Absolutely,

:42:34.:42:40.

Peter. Three finals he's contested here.

:42:41.:43:01.

It's not going to be easy to get those reds into play.

:43:02.:43:28.

21 points in front so the red and the black, 29. Red and the blue, so

:43:29.:43:39.

he is going to need one of those difficult reds to clinch the match.

:43:40.:43:46.

Just came a little straight. He may still be able to force an angle. I

:43:47.:43:50.

thought he might leave himself the angle to cannon into the red closest

:43:51.:43:56.

to the right-hand middle pocket and leave himself on the yellow.

:43:57.:44:00.

Deciding against that now because he would have to play it with a lot of

:44:01.:44:04.

pace. He has a little bit of angle on the

:44:05.:44:23.

black so he will have to power this around with top spin and right-hand

:44:24.:44:27.

side to get to that red to the right of the blue. Here it comes.

:44:28.:44:42.

This is where his problem starts. Has to make sure he gets the correct

:44:43.:44:46.

angle on the blue and even then it's not going to be easy to get to the

:44:47.:44:49.

two reds. Or at least one of them, which is

:44:50.:44:56.

all he needs. 39 in front. In fact, the red and

:44:57.:45:00.

the blue, well, 29 in front, sorry. He's looked at the green might which

:45:01.:45:44.

might be a slightly better angle. He is back looking at the blue.

:45:45.:45:50.

But looking at the angle he would have to power this in with top spin,

:45:51.:45:55.

virtually come around the back of the black or past the black. No, he

:45:56.:46:01.

is making sure of the five points. I don't know if he can take the

:46:02.:46:04.

double on, the pink seems to be slightly in the way. He only needs

:46:05.:46:09.

the red. He is having a look to see if he

:46:10.:46:15.

could get the double. It might be on.

:46:16.:46:32.

He misjudged it and did hit the pink, but what a result.

:46:33.:46:46.

Just taking the opportunity to bring this red into play, try to get

:46:47.:46:55.

behind the brown and green. He has played this well. A glimmer

:46:56.:47:00.

of hope for Graeme Dott. I am wondering if that is the last

:47:01.:48:16.

shot that Graeme Dott has played in this year agencies World

:48:17.:48:19.

Championship. -- in this year's World

:48:20.:48:20.

Championship. Yeah, that's a terrific long pot.

:48:21.:48:45.

That should be the end for the very likeable Scot, Graeme Dott. There is

:48:46.:48:56.

another Scot waiting for Barry Hawkins, Stephen Maguire. Barry will

:48:57.:49:04.

contest the quarter-final. He did all the damage in the middle

:49:05.:49:21.

part of the match. He went at one stage where he had won nine out of

:49:22.:49:27.

ten frames. Doesn't matter about the green.

:49:28.:49:40.

Graeme comes forward to congratulate Barry Hawkins. Wishes him all the

:49:41.:49:43.

best for the rest of the tournament. He was just too good in the end.

:49:44.:49:50.

Barry Hawkins, and Graeme acknowledges the crowd, well done to

:49:51.:49:53.

Graeme Dott but Barry Hawkins was too classy and he runs out a

:49:54.:49:58.

comfortable winner in the end. 13-6. STUDIO: He is becoming a permanent

:49:59.:50:02.

fixture in the latter stages of The Crucible. I am delighted to say The

:50:03.:50:07.

Hawk has flown into the studio. Barry, well done. Nice early finish.

:50:08.:50:13.

I was delighted with that. Graeme's gritty and tenacious and will never

:50:14.:50:21.

give up, he will come out all guns blazing, to get three frames quick

:50:22.:50:26.

was pleasing. If we go back to yesterday, from 3-3 to 9-3, that was

:50:27.:50:30.

the pivotal moment in the match. I had a little spell, I think Graeme

:50:31.:50:34.

fell away a little and I capitalised on his mistakes. Yeah, I can

:50:35.:50:39.

remember, I think it was 9-4 I was in the balls and got a kick on the

:50:40.:50:43.

pink, looking like 10-5 and I was getting on top and the game changed

:50:44.:50:47.

a little bit and he played well and came back. A great campaign from

:50:48.:50:52.

Graeme Dott to go for the qualifiers and a great first round match. You

:50:53.:50:56.

think you are going to have a tough opponent but take you back to - I

:50:57.:50:59.

was commentating on the first session, back to the start of the

:51:00.:51:04.

match. The wheel fell off for new the second frame, missed an easy

:51:05.:51:07.

pink and you are now 2-0 down. It looked like you were going to be in

:51:08.:51:11.

serious trouble and Graeme had the chance to press home that early

:51:12.:51:16.

advantage and it seemed like all of a sudden he froze. Yeah, it was a

:51:17.:51:21.

terrible miss on the pink. When you are out there you can start

:51:22.:51:25.

panicking and get anxious. I was trying to tell myself stay calm,

:51:26.:51:30.

stay patient, it's a long match and I think maybe having more experience

:51:31.:51:33.

here now I learned from that over the years and managed to get

:51:34.:51:38.

stronger then. And that was probably, possibly, as bad a session

:51:39.:51:41.

as you could possibly imagine playing and you ended up winning it.

:51:42.:51:45.

I staid to Terry when I came in after we finished that session, I

:51:46.:51:48.

said, well, I am delighted with that, I can't play any worse than

:51:49.:51:52.

that. Graeme missed a few, he could have maybe put his foot on the gas

:51:53.:51:59.

and got a good lead. I was over the moon. What is it about The Crucible,

:52:00.:52:03.

you save a lot of your best snooker for here, what is it? I don't know,

:52:04.:52:08.

it's weird, don't know. I don't know, it was strange, the last few

:52:09.:52:12.

years have been good to me. Yeah, I seem to get up for it more, seem to

:52:13.:52:18.

focus more. It's more pressure here than anywhere else we play, perhaps

:52:19.:52:21.

that helps, I get focussed more and up for it. If you can settle here,

:52:22.:52:27.

it's a great place to play. What are the biggest challenges, Stephen

:52:28.:52:29.

Maguire next, you have had tussles with him in the past, what's the

:52:30.:52:37.

biggest danger for Stephen Maguire? Well, he is a great player. He went

:52:38.:52:41.

off the radar the last couple of years, but I think he's realised he

:52:42.:52:45.

is putting the hard work in and it's a matter of time before he gets back

:52:46.:52:49.

to the top of the game where he belongs, he is a great player and he

:52:50.:52:54.

is probably underachieved many in many people's eyes, I love watching

:52:55.:52:58.

him play. We go back a long way with growing up through the junior

:52:59.:53:02.

competitions together and I get on well with him. Hopefully it will be

:53:03.:53:06.

a great game. Lots of questions in on social media last night on our

:53:07.:53:11.

7pm show, lots of people saying they're loving the way Barry Hawkins

:53:12.:53:15.

is quietly going about his business, progressing to the quarter-finals,

:53:16.:53:18.

do you feel good, are you feeling pressure? I feel all right. I felt

:53:19.:53:24.

better today, I felt like I cued better and I don't think I am

:53:25.:53:28.

hitting top form, but I am doing what I should be doing out there, I

:53:29.:53:33.

think. I am concentrating and focussing and feeling calm enough.

:53:34.:53:38.

Hopefully as the tournament goes on you generally hopefully get better.

:53:39.:53:42.

It's not a bad thing to not have hit top form and the second week is

:53:43.:53:45.

where it would be nice to. Exactly, now is a good time to start hitting

:53:46.:53:51.

form. Saying that, I mean, sounds disrespectful to Graeme, but I

:53:52.:53:56.

still, I played solid enough, I done good clearances when I needed to. I

:53:57.:54:00.

had a few breaks. Not probably scoring as heavy as you would like

:54:01.:54:04.

really, but I am winning, that's the main thing. You are in the

:54:05.:54:07.

quarter-finals, that's all that counts. Good stuff, thank you very

:54:08.:54:11.

much. You can stay here if you like and look at this.

:54:12.:54:16.

In a short time ago we recorded Barry's pop quiz. He knows what

:54:17.:54:23.

happens, but this is what happens! OK. We are back with Pot Quiz.

:54:24.:54:29.

Former World Championship runner-up and world number seven at the

:54:30.:54:32.

minute, Barry Hawkins, ladies and gentlemen.

:54:33.:54:37.

APPLAUSE I presume you have seen it first and

:54:38.:54:40.

you know the rules, every question you get right you can take a ball

:54:41.:54:45.

away. Best score so far is Marco Fu with one minute 27 seconds.

:54:46.:54:50.

Hope you have your trainers on! First question, what was the number

:54:51.:54:57.

one record the day you were born on 23 April 1979, was it Night Fever,

:54:58.:55:07.

Call Me, or was it Bright Eyes? I will give you a hint, something to

:55:08.:55:13.

do with rabbits. LAUGHTER

:55:14.:55:15.

That one then, that's the one. C, you are right. Well done.

:55:16.:55:19.

Who contested the World Championship final the year you were born in

:55:20.:55:26.

1979? Some fella with big glasses and some fella who was very slow?

:55:27.:55:31.

Griffiths. Which player have you played the most at the The Crucible?

:55:32.:55:35.

Someone who was very fast. Very fast? Ronnie. Correct. Who did you

:55:36.:55:47.

play on your Crucible debut in 2006? You. He lost 10-1 by the way. He was

:55:48.:55:56.

lucky to get one! What was your Crucible highest break? Wouldn't

:55:57.:56:02.

have a clue. Don't know. No clue whatsoever. No clue. 140... It's

:56:03.:56:11.

close. 140. Yeah. No. It was 141. OK. Very good. Good effort. OK. You

:56:12.:56:17.

have got one, two, three, four questions right.

:56:18.:56:21.

You can take four reds away. Four reds.

:56:22.:56:27.

I would say try and be the middle ones. These ones. No? Whatever you

:56:28.:56:31.

think. What do you think? I don't know. Most people have taken the

:56:32.:56:36.

middle ones away. Because they sort of are blockers.

:56:37.:56:41.

This one? Doesn't really matter. This one and this one. OK.

:56:42.:56:49.

The time starts... Starts as soon as you strike the cue ball. I sounded

:56:50.:56:55.

like John Virgo there! Pot as many balls as you can!

:56:56.:57:01.

Oh my goodness! He has missed the first, can't believe it. It's OK,

:57:02.:57:10.

still have plenty of time. No panic. Yes, OK. He has missed the second.

:57:11.:57:15.

Still no panic. Plenty of time. Quick, quick!

:57:16.:57:21.

Get the rest, Ken. We could run out of film here!

:57:22.:57:28.

No! Start again. Go on, quick, quick.

:57:29.:57:40.

35 seconds, come on. Yes, how did you ever get to the

:57:41.:57:42.

world final! No wonder you only won one frame

:57:43.:57:54.

against me! OK, come on, quick, one minute, come

:57:55.:58:02.

on! This could be the worst time ever.

:58:03.:58:09.

Oh, good shot. He is back. Oh!

:58:10.:58:14.

Oh, no! Schoolboy error. He is not chalking

:58:15.:58:17.

the cue. Come on.

:58:18.:58:22.

OK. Two more balls. Come on.

:58:23.:58:29.

Oh, look at this! What a finish! Come on, quickly. What's the time?

:58:30.:58:41.

Oh, no! Roll it over the pocket.

:58:42.:58:49.

This looks good. Is it in? Hit it.

:58:50.:58:54.

Oh! Oh, no!

:58:55.:59:00.

Even Steve Davis beat you. Oh, no! How embarrassing is that?

:59:01.:59:09.

You said hit it. It was my fault! No, what's going on here?

:59:10.:59:12.

Even Terry Griffiths would probably beat you.

:59:13.:59:18.

Yeah! And the clock was two minutes and 18

:59:19.:59:33.

seconds. Where does that firmly put you, very last.

:59:34.:59:41.

OK. Two minutes and 18 seconds. Give him a round of applause!

:59:42.:59:50.

APPLAUSE Barry Hawkins it's fair to say has

:59:51.:59:54.

had a shocker. Any TV producers out there watching this right now, do

:59:55.:59:58.

not hire this man, as a game show host, you are supposed to help the

:59:59.:00:02.

contestants. I tried, I was prompting him the answers to the

:00:03.:00:05.

questions and everything. A bit critical though, weren't you? A bit.

:00:06.:00:11.

Although funny, I have to say. Can't believe Steve had a better time.

:00:12.:00:16.

Right, if you are tuning in our live matches have finished prematurely,

:00:17.:00:21.

so we are going to give you another opportunity to see a magnificent

:00:22.:00:27.

night at The Crucible, 40 Years at The Crucible. Our very own

:00:28.:00:28.

celebration. It is almost like a very tell. We

:00:29.:01:01.

are going to introduce almost every living great who has graced the

:01:02.:01:07.

Crucible over four glorious decades. And also we will concentrate on a 32

:01:08.:01:11.

men hoping to win the World Championship this year.

:01:12.:01:41.

All Hoping To Add Their Name. Pick A Winner. I Did Not Pick Sergio Last

:01:42.:02:32.

Weekend And I Was In Awe Of Him. . This is a trial, 17 days. We are

:02:33.:02:40.

going to love this. We have 32 players behind us. This will make us

:02:41.:02:48.

feel slightly old. We have a 17-year-old, the first player to

:02:49.:02:52.

have been born in the year 2000 to qualify for the Crucible. We are

:02:53.:02:57.

feeling rather ancient, I have to say. That said, I am sure that all

:02:58.:03:05.

of the contenders would love to join the list of greats who have become

:03:06.:03:10.

Crucible champions. We have many of them here this evening. Give them a

:03:11.:03:15.

massive welcome as we introduce them. We start with the six times

:03:16.:03:21.

world champion who won the last of the six titles, Ray Reardon, a

:03:22.:03:32.

Crucible winner in 1978. CHEERING.

:03:33.:03:44.

Next, a legend who won the title at his first attempt. It is Terry

:03:45.:03:45.

Griffiths! This gentleman took the trophy back

:03:46.:04:02.

to Canada in 1980 and took the sport to the max age a few years later.

:04:03.:04:12.

The Grinder, Cliff Thorburn. Following Cliff Thorburn, you may

:04:13.:04:21.

remember the six time champion of the world, Steve Davis!

:04:22.:04:29.

And next, he won the most famous final of them all. Winning the

:04:30.:04:36.

hearts of 18.5 million people. The 1985 champion, Dennis Taylor!

:04:37.:04:48.

Now he is the pride of Yorkshire. At 150-1, he shook the world in 1986.

:04:49.:04:59.

It is Joe Johnson! Will his magnificent seven world

:05:00.:05:03.

titles ever be beaten? It is the standard they aspire to.

:05:04.:05:13.

Stephen Hendry! Next, a blue who mastered the green. One of the most

:05:14.:05:17.

popular champions of all time. John parrot! We celebrate 40 years

:05:18.:05:27.

at the Crucible. 20 years since this man took the trophy home to Dublin.

:05:28.:05:38.

The 97 champion, Ken Doherty. Ladies and gentlemen, a four time

:05:39.:05:45.

Crucible champion and he is not done yet. John Higgins! Next, five world

:05:46.:05:59.

titles. Maximums. There is only one Ronnie O'Sullivan!

:06:00.:06:08.

Next, he has been in three finals but 2002 was the year of snooker's

:06:09.:06:13.

Iron Man. The amazing Peter Ebdon! A man who

:06:14.:06:26.

became the 2005 champion. Shaun Murphy! Another three-time

:06:27.:06:36.

finalist, a Scot who got his reward in 2006 in the latest finish ever.

:06:37.:06:41.

It was worth the wait for Graeme Dott. Snooker is a global sport and

:06:42.:06:51.

in 2010 this man took the title down under. Neil Robertson! At the age of

:06:52.:07:00.

38, this man became the oldest champion since Ray Reardon.

:07:01.:07:03.

Stuart Bingham! To complete the most breathtaking...

:07:04.:07:21.

I don't know about you but that is one of the most fun four minutes of

:07:22.:07:27.

my career. Goose bumps. But there is one man missing. He is one of the

:07:28.:07:32.

greatest students of the game and I love to talk to him. Of course, the

:07:33.:07:37.

reigning king of the Crucible, Mark Selby!

:07:38.:07:38.

CHEERING. First, on behalf of everybody in the

:07:39.:08:10.

room and everybody watching, what an amazing parade. It must be an

:08:11.:08:14.

amazing sensation to be part of the great history of this event? It is a

:08:15.:08:20.

fantastic tournament and it does not matter if you have been here one

:08:21.:08:25.

time, ten times, you get goose bumps leading up to the tournament. It is

:08:26.:08:31.

a special occasion, the day before the tournament starts but this has

:08:32.:08:36.

been extra special. This is your second defence and this time you do

:08:37.:08:40.

not have the Crucible cursor! Is it more relaxing in the build-up? At

:08:41.:08:45.

least I know what I am going into. Trying to defend it, the curse is

:08:46.:08:52.

therefore a reason and coming back to defend it will be harder. This

:08:53.:08:56.

year is the most open the tournament has been with a lot of players

:08:57.:09:00.

playing well and it will be great. You are going for a third title in

:09:01.:09:08.

years. What is the toughest part to try and win this trophy? Physically

:09:09.:09:21.

and mentally. It is gruelling. You are only halfway through. Mentally

:09:22.:09:26.

it takes it out of you and at the end of the two weeks, whoever is

:09:27.:09:29.

strongest mentally more often than not ends up as champion. Fergal

:09:30.:09:42.

O'Brien, you will have to scrape him off the table tomorrow. Apparently

:09:43.:09:46.

he has but a present of a new pair of shoes in the dressing room. He is

:09:47.:09:51.

a great guy and competitor, one of the toughest to beat on the tour and

:09:52.:09:56.

I am looking forward to it. We are looking forward to the match and

:09:57.:10:04.

seeing you defend the title. I think we made a mistake. We started at the

:10:05.:10:09.

end when we have over an hour to do 40 years so let's go back to 1977, I

:10:10.:10:16.

was born, the worst thing that happened! Jimmy Carter was president

:10:17.:10:21.

of the US. Elvis Presley passed away. What can you remember? I was

:10:22.:10:27.

just a toddler, obviously! Virginia Wade winning Wimbledon. The Queen's

:10:28.:10:36.

Silver Jubilee. And a man called Spencer lifted the first title.

:10:37.:10:49.

Let's take you back to the start. CHEERING.

:10:50.:11:40.

APPLAUSE .

:11:41.:12:12.

COMMENTATOR: John Spencer takes the world crown for the third time. The

:12:13.:12:40.

1978 world professional snooker champion, Ray Reardon.

:12:41.:12:48.

A very cool and calculating... Champion of the world, Mr Cliff

:12:49.:12:57.

Norburn. The World Snooker champion from 1982

:12:58.:13:00.

is Alex Hurricane Higgins. And here is the 1979 champion, Terry

:13:01.:13:13.

Griffiths. That was the first World Championship you entered and you won

:13:14.:13:18.

it and it was only the second professional event you entered. In

:13:19.:13:22.

terms of your early impact, why were you able to make a positive impact

:13:23.:13:30.

so early? I was 31 years of age, I was not a 17-year-old coming to the

:13:31.:13:34.

Crucible, and I went through qualifying. Looking back, I think I

:13:35.:13:41.

had things going for me. Most of the players I played were heavy

:13:42.:13:45.

favourites to beat me and to be honest, I was glad to be here, it

:13:46.:13:52.

did not mattered to me. You beat Dennis in the final. The late, great

:13:53.:13:57.

David Vine came out with a classic line. Deliver it again. I am in the

:13:58.:14:09.

final now, you know. One of my favourite lines from history. We saw

:14:10.:14:14.

that your dad told you life is about collecting precious memories. How

:14:15.:14:19.

many do you have from here that you will always carry with you? Too many

:14:20.:14:25.

to talk about, really. I have won every round in this place and lost

:14:26.:14:29.

in every round in this place and I have been here commentating,

:14:30.:14:34.

coaching and I still coach. I enjoy every minute. Looking at the great

:14:35.:14:41.

champions here, I was definitely the best one. I can't argue with that.

:14:42.:14:50.

LAUGHTER. Any time you talk to players from

:14:51.:14:53.

that era, they were not just snooker players, they would giants, Legends

:14:54.:15:00.

of the playground, void workday characters, at least that is the

:15:01.:15:03.

impression. MUSIC PLAYS. LAUGHTER.

:15:04.:15:41.

APPLAUSE . Ladies and gentlemen, Willie

:15:42.:16:47.

Thorne and John Virgo. John, a great place to start. If he could be with

:16:48.:16:56.

as today, how important was Alex Higgins to history? I was sat in the

:16:57.:17:01.

player 's balcony in the semifinal when he made the amazing clearance

:17:02.:17:05.

against Jimmy which says it all about the Crucible and the magic of

:17:06.:17:10.

Alex Higgins. He added Stardust to the game. I was lucky enough to be

:17:11.:17:15.

in the commentary box when Ronnie made his 147 in five minutes and 20

:17:16.:17:21.

seconds. If only those two memories go out from the rest of my life that

:17:22.:17:26.

will be enough. You were a household name in our playgrounds and today it

:17:27.:17:33.

says a lot about how we connect to snooker players. In any British

:17:34.:17:38.

street, Willie Thorne, you are as recognisable as David Beckham. That

:17:39.:17:43.

is the problem with being fat and bald! I like to remember players no

:17:44.:17:48.

longer with us, you mentioned Alex Higgins, Eddie Charlton, Bill

:17:49.:18:00.

Werther Nick. Paul Hunter. -- Werbernuik. So many players have

:18:01.:18:07.

graced the stage and to play here is a lifelong ambition for every

:18:08.:18:13.

snooker player and many will not play here. It is 16, 17 years I have

:18:14.:18:19.

played here but still, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The

:18:20.:18:24.

key word is family. You travel the world together and get to know each

:18:25.:18:30.

other like a brother and sister, mother and daughter. The laughter

:18:31.:18:34.

and jokes, it must have stopped behind closed doors when you were in

:18:35.:18:39.

opposite dressing rooms? It did but in the early days there were only

:18:40.:18:44.

one, two tournaments a year and a lot of time was spent at the bar

:18:45.:18:50.

telling stories, particularly John Pullman, Rex Williams. Now it is a

:18:51.:18:54.

very serious game with more money, the more serious it gets. I remember

:18:55.:19:00.

sitting with Patsy Fagan and there would be nobody here in the morning

:19:01.:19:05.

session. We did not have a two table situation and now you cannot buy a

:19:06.:19:10.

ticket for love nor money. It is amazing how it has grown and great

:19:11.:19:13.

to be here on the 40th anniversary. Thanks. We have so many superstars

:19:14.:19:20.

to talk to. It is a real thrill. For the

:19:21.:19:25.

broadcasters who work on this it is a thrill to be here every spring as

:19:26.:19:29.

part of this amazing sporting community. It is also an endurance

:19:30.:19:36.

test and we are all slightly bonkers and snooker loopy by the end but

:19:37.:19:40.

broadcasters have been up for this challenge since 1977.

:19:41.:19:47.

Very good evening. Through the curtains behind me is the Crucible

:19:48.:19:55.

Theatre, so aptly named. Willie Thorne strikes again. Oh, I say! You

:19:56.:20:09.

thought I was boring, didn't you? I don't believe that.

:20:10.:20:13.

# Ima lumberjack and I'm all right, I work all day I single night. 17

:20:14.:20:20.

days and perhaps we will do it again sometime. But the black and white

:20:21.:20:29.

rag is still beyond me, I'm afraid! Now a major part of the broadcasting

:20:30.:20:33.

team is a man who has a wonderful wit and charm and an interesting

:20:34.:20:39.

personality, which is strange, because nobody thought he had one at

:20:40.:20:43.

all in the eighties! He is a six time winner of the event and starred

:20:44.:20:48.

in seven finals on the trot and learned the hard way you cannot win

:20:49.:20:50.

them all. COMMENTATOR: He is breathing heavily

:20:51.:21:06.

as he comes down to this final pink. That is it. The World Snooker

:21:07.:21:17.

champion, 1981, Steve Davis. I'd like to thank all the people from

:21:18.:21:22.

Romford and plums stood working men's club and everybody else all

:21:23.:21:28.

over the place. Most of all I would like to thank my mum and my dad. --

:21:29.:21:37.

from Plumstead men's club. COMMENTATOR: Steve Davis continues

:21:38.:21:45.

his tapestry of titles by becoming World Snooker champion of 1983. Now

:21:46.:21:52.

I was a multiple winner of the World Championship and started to mature

:21:53.:21:57.

as a player, felt more comfortable at the match table even than in

:21:58.:22:02.

1981, and I was starting to look like the dominant force within the

:22:03.:22:09.

game. A great performance by Steve Davis

:22:10.:22:16.

to win the World Snooker Championship, 1984. I remember

:22:17.:22:19.

feeling so at home and so comfortable, playing so well here,

:22:20.:22:22.

thinking this is the best it has ever been.

:22:23.:22:27.

He's done it! I don't have any regrets about the loss. It was part

:22:28.:22:49.

of snooker history. To think that almost one third of the population

:22:50.:22:52.

were tuned in to watch us play a game of snooker, where only 13 years

:22:53.:23:02.

previously, Alex Higgins had one the World Championship in 1972 in a

:23:03.:23:07.

working men's club. The game had come so far and it captured the

:23:08.:23:10.

imagination of the public and moved it on another notch.

:23:11.:23:19.

COMMENTATOR: He won again in 83 and 84, but he has lost it the past two

:23:20.:23:21.

years. Joe Johnson, the defending champion,

:23:22.:23:31.

is the first to congratulate Steve Davis.

:23:32.:23:48.

It is all over for the fifth time. Steve Davis becomes world champion.

:23:49.:24:01.

I remember going into the 89 final, the last one I lifted and as the

:24:02.:24:06.

tournament unfolded I started to play decent stuff and it was my best

:24:07.:24:07.

win. John Parrott concedes. The title of

:24:08.:24:26.

World Snooker champion 1989, and a hat-trick, goes to the fabulous

:24:27.:24:31.

Steve Davis. We'll see you next year at the Crucible for another World

:24:32.:24:36.

Championships and it certainly is a fantastic place to come and I look

:24:37.:24:41.

forward to coming back every year, regardless of the results.

:24:42.:24:43.

Thank you. APPLAUSE .

:24:44.:24:51.

And a rapturous ovation for Steve Davis. Still times you times you

:24:52.:24:58.

think you are more famous not for the six victories but the defeats to

:24:59.:25:04.

Dennis and Joe? The 85 final was a moment in snooker history everybody

:25:05.:25:08.

remembers being involved in and I look at it fondly, which is hard to

:25:09.:25:12.

believe, it is one of the major moments in my life. The game changed

:25:13.:25:17.

a lot in many ways and looking at the 70s, so many characters in the

:25:18.:25:32.

game. I was brought in to try to redress the balance, those people

:25:33.:25:34.

don't know! From then on, my life changed. I had to play the part,

:25:35.:25:37.

obviously. We were not as boring as people thought? They'll would be

:25:38.:25:39.

Jimmy White and Alex Higgins in a bar and people would say varies

:25:40.:25:49.

Steve No Name Davis. Which of the six victories was the sweetest? You

:25:50.:25:56.

cannot beat the first, against Doug Mountjoy, one of the greats of the

:25:57.:26:00.

70s. I was supposed to be the favourite and perhaps pressures of

:26:01.:26:03.

being the favourite are hard to deal with, but I got over the line. And

:26:04.:26:08.

then re-gaining and obviously with Dennis. My last was the sweetest

:26:09.:26:13.

because I totally ruined the final. There was no last session and I did

:26:14.:26:20.

my job as best I could and sadly beat my fellow co-commentator and

:26:21.:26:25.

mate John Parrott. That was one of my proudest moments. As we have all

:26:26.:26:32.

said, playing here is the pinnacle, the holy Grail, and the fact we have

:26:33.:26:37.

played here is just marvellous. If you had ?1 for every time you have

:26:38.:26:43.

been mentioned, the 1985 final, you would be even richer than you are

:26:44.:26:48.

now. You will have to steal yourself by mentioning it one more time.

:26:49.:26:52.

Dennis is here and we know the big moment we have to talk about.

:26:53.:26:56.

Dennis, tell me about when you got beat up in the final in 1979? It was

:26:57.:27:02.

more important than that one against Steve. That year it looked like I

:27:03.:27:09.

would win it. I had beaten Ray Reardon, six times world champion. I

:27:10.:27:13.

beat Steve will stop played Terry in the final and he outplayed me on the

:27:14.:27:19.

final day, and I had to wait another six years to realise my ambition to

:27:20.:27:22.

be world champion and to do it against Steve was incredible. It is

:27:23.:27:28.

a homecoming, it means so much to the country and the town. When you

:27:29.:27:34.

returned home with the title in 85, it was phenomenal, since we had not

:27:35.:27:37.

seen before in our home country. I had left when I was 17 and to see

:27:38.:27:43.

the reception I got was incredible. Like Ken Doherty when he won his

:27:44.:27:50.

title and went back to Dublin. To go back to mine, a small town, have so

:27:51.:27:54.

many people in one place they tried to get the Popemobile! I finished on

:27:55.:28:02.

the back of a range Rover or Land Rover and that was brilliant. It was

:28:03.:28:09.

the first time you were ahead. You insisted we recreated the shot Steve

:28:10.:28:20.

Davis miss. . I think you have it slightly wrong. I think the white

:28:21.:28:29.

was there and the black was about there. How did you miss that? Where

:28:30.:28:38.

did you think they were? About there. About their? Steeves said the

:28:39.:28:48.

black was there and the white was here. It was something like that.

:28:49.:28:57.

You might not reach it. And you missed... CHEERING.

:28:58.:29:16.

Well played, Dennis. Once again, great sportsmanship from Steve

:29:17.:29:24.

Davis, because you have had to relive that as indeed has Barry

:29:25.:29:30.

Hearn. What did you say to him in the aftermath? Very disappointing,

:29:31.:29:33.

but the bigger picture must have been evident to you then? He is

:29:34.:29:37.

still my client now, after 41 years. I could not watch. There was a

:29:38.:29:43.

curtain in those days. I had a driver called Robbo and I said, tell

:29:44.:29:54.

me he has got it. I heard the click and heard the crowd groaning and I

:29:55.:29:58.

thought, I do not believe it. That Ginger Muppet!

:29:59.:30:05.

I seem to remember and I am not advocating this as a policy for

:30:06.:30:13.

losers, but we got extremely drunk. It's nice to have a mate in your

:30:14.:30:19.

corner. Obviously, afterwards for the week after back in Romford I was

:30:20.:30:25.

inconsolable, Barry was great, because he signed Dennis up the

:30:26.:30:32.

following week. This is Barry for you, absolutely. Now you are the El

:30:33.:30:37.

Supremo of the sport the. Things are changing and going well, you are the

:30:38.:30:40.

man who brings us news and I believe you have news this evening, Barry. I

:30:41.:30:46.

couldn't think of a stage that was more appropriate, bearing in mind

:30:47.:30:52.

the history of this room to announce World Snooker's decision today to

:30:53.:30:57.

grant two invitational tour cards for the next two years to two

:30:58.:31:01.

players, multiple ranking winners in their own right, but great

:31:02.:31:05.

ambassador tos are the sport of snooker, so we welcome back as a

:31:06.:31:10.

minimum for two years, Jimmy White and Ken Doherty.

:31:11.:31:14.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING A more popular decision I don't

:31:15.:31:30.

think you could have this evening. Thank you very much. From the 80s,

:31:31.:31:35.

things were changing, Colin. Absolutely, like with so many sports

:31:36.:31:38.

you think it has reached its peak and along comes somebody else who

:31:39.:31:42.

takes it to the next level. If the 80s belonged to Davis, the 90s

:31:43.:31:50.

belonged to Hendry. I remember obviously I turned

:31:51.:31:53.

professional at 16 thinking, wow, imagine if I got to play at the

:31:54.:31:55.

Crucible. It was snooker for me. The first one is obviously special.

:31:56.:32:08.

It's your ambition to be world champion, it was my ambition.

:32:09.:32:13.

Stephen Hendry, beating Jimmy White by 18-12 to become the youngest ever

:32:14.:32:20.

champion. I won the World Championship when I was 21. That was

:32:21.:32:25.

obviously special and still the youngest to this day. World champion

:32:26.:32:33.

for a second time. The 1993 Embassy world champion.

:32:34.:32:53.

There was a time in the 90s obviously where I felt totally

:32:54.:32:57.

invincible. And almost taking it for granted winning at The Crucible, I

:32:58.:33:01.

just expected to win. Stephen Hendry, once again the best

:33:02.:33:20.

in the world. I played snooker very aggressively, fearlessly, I would

:33:21.:33:22.

like to think I changed the way snooker was played.

:33:23.:33:31.

For the 5th time and a record four times consecutively.

:33:32.:33:42.

Stephen Hendry becomes the Embassy World Snooker Champion for the 6th

:33:43.:33:59.

time. Ray Reardon six times in the 70s, Steve Davis in the 80s, but

:34:00.:34:04.

it's a magnificent seven times for Stephen Hendry in the 90s. To win

:34:05.:34:09.

the 7th world title, obviously to break the record, that was just

:34:10.:34:13.

incredible. Even now when I go there obviously working for the BBC

:34:14.:34:19.

instead of playing, I still think, I would much rather be out there with

:34:20.:34:27.

a cue than a microphone. APPLAUSE

:34:28.:34:29.

I could chat to you for hours, I always love chatting to you. I want

:34:30.:34:33.

to take you back to a young teenager, the youngest ever in here

:34:34.:34:36.

and that year and the next year was very much a battle with Willie

:34:37.:34:45.

Thorne. Yeah, my first appearance was playing Willie, my only aim was

:34:46.:34:50.

not to get embarrassed. I managed to run him close, 10-8 and got that

:34:51.:34:56.

lovely applause, that was lovely. It was just my ambition to play here.

:34:57.:35:02.

Take me to, I want to talk about the relationship with this fantastic

:35:03.:35:06.

crowd. There's no vitriol towards players but we migrate to the

:35:07.:35:11.

underdog and when you are unflappable automatically we all

:35:12.:35:14.

migrate to the other camp, on top of that when you win title after title,

:35:15.:35:18.

you add the other thing to the fact the guy was Jimmy White, did that

:35:19.:35:23.

motivate you? Well, when you come through the curtains it's an amazing

:35:24.:35:28.

place to walk into, it's like a cauldron and when there are boos it

:35:29.:35:32.

can affect you any way, if you use it as a strength, as I did, it can

:35:33.:35:37.

make you play even better. I knew in here that I maybe got half a

:35:38.:35:42.

balcony, Jimmy took four or five with his guests, I maybe had half a

:35:43.:35:47.

one. They were supporting me. About 97% of the rest were for Jimmy, you

:35:48.:35:51.

have to use that as motivation. Your main enemy was not man, it was

:35:52.:35:54.

getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. That

:35:55.:35:57.

nearly scuppered the amount of titles you had. Yeah, the insurance

:35:58.:36:02.

company, you are not allowed to do dangerous sports like skiing and I

:36:03.:36:07.

fractured my elbow going to the toilet in the middle of the night.

:36:08.:36:11.

We talk about the era of players in the 70s and 80s, you did have your

:36:12.:36:16.

own spitting image puppet. Yeah, that was very nice. I liked that!

:36:17.:36:22.

And Very complimentary it was too. You are going to meet a person who

:36:23.:36:26.

has to spend 17 days locked in a room with me.

:36:27.:36:30.

Mind you, there are worse things than spending time in a room with

:36:31.:36:36.

you, I must say. Four finals Jimmy and Steve played together. Jimmy

:36:37.:36:40.

came home empty handed after each one, he remains one of the best

:36:41.:36:43.

loved figures in British sport, ever. Will you please welcome the

:36:44.:36:51.

people's champion, the Whirlwind, Jimmy Whyte.

:36:52.:37:00.

-- White. Nice touch.

:37:01.:37:18.

Jimmy walking towards Barry with a handful of tenners there. But no

:37:19.:37:24.

need. He doesn't take tenners. Bittersweet memories here for you

:37:25.:37:28.

would that be fair? Yeah, you know, for me playing Steve Davis, he was

:37:29.:37:31.

the hardest player to beat and I think monks of the players, Steve's

:37:32.:37:35.

top game, for me, you know, he was such a good long potter and a good

:37:36.:37:40.

positional player. I battled with him for 12 years or something in the

:37:41.:37:45.

amateur and professional. Then Stephen Hendry came along and he was

:37:46.:37:49.

potting them off the lampshades. I vice-president won the World

:37:50.:37:53.

Championships but I am not finished yet. -- I haven't.

:37:54.:37:56.

APPLAUSE This place, this is such a great

:37:57.:38:02.

place for snooker. I have seen snooker go from the top in the 80s,

:38:03.:38:07.

to small decline now, but in the 90s, but now it's in the best shape

:38:08.:38:10.

ever and to be a young professional now is the greatest game to be in. I

:38:11.:38:14.

take it you will be taking up the option of this wild card, tell us

:38:15.:38:18.

yes? I don't know, I have to have a word. No, I will definitely be

:38:19.:38:21.

playing for the next couple of years. That's fantastic. You were

:38:22.:38:23.

still trying to make it here, you were beaten in qualifying and that

:38:24.:38:27.

knocked you off the tour. What for you is the love of the game, why do

:38:28.:38:32.

you still play it all these years? Because occasionally I still get it

:38:33.:38:36.

together and I can beat anybody. Why I still have that game, I keep

:38:37.:38:41.

trying, I love practising. I love doing exhibitions. The game still

:38:42.:38:45.

excites me. It's great to see you in it. We will see you next season.

:38:46.:38:52.

Well played. Colin.

:38:53.:38:56.

Often great sporting moments are accompanied by great sporting

:38:57.:38:58.

commentary and we remember them forever. They think it's all over,

:38:59.:39:04.

it is now. Where were the Germans, frankly, who cared? When you look

:39:05.:39:10.

through four decades one line jumps out to me - good luck, mate!

:39:11.:39:18.

I do remember having a dream a couple of weeks beforehand that I

:39:19.:39:24.

would make a 147 in the World Championship.

:39:25.:39:30.

That's one way of getting them, I suppose. And staying on the black,

:39:31.:39:36.

as well. When I had the opportunity to shoot the first black ball, the

:39:37.:39:40.

balls were actually spread pretty good. These reds are now spread open

:39:41.:39:47.

beautifully. I was sick, actually. I didn't feel

:39:48.:39:52.

all that great. I don't know what I was running on, but anyway, I

:39:53.:39:57.

managed to keep it going. At a stage like this with one red left, he

:39:58.:40:03.

stops, blows his knows, and says, let's have a break. If he can take

:40:04.:40:09.

this red and the black, colours will be on their spots. I was thinking

:40:10.:40:20.

positive. Keep rolling! They have actually stopped playing

:40:21.:40:23.

on the other table. This is the shot to get on the

:40:24.:40:31.

yellow. It hasn't come far enough.

:40:32.:40:36.

He has left himself a tough shot but 15 reds and 15 blacks he has taken

:40:37.:40:38.

now. When I got to the black at the very

:40:39.:40:57.

end I felt comfortable enough to say to myself that I wanted to pot the

:40:58.:41:02.

black and not even have the black ball touch the sides of the pocket.

:41:03.:41:12.

Good luck, mate! Oh, wonderful! That is really truly wonderful. A

:41:13.:41:21.

magic moment, a defining moment for me.

:41:22.:41:29.

Wonderful memories, cliff. And, you know, to think it all started with a

:41:30.:41:35.

fluke. The commentary team didn't start talking about a maximum for

:41:36.:41:40.

fear of jinxing until you potted the 8th red, at what point did you think

:41:41.:41:44.

it was on? Probably after the first three or four reds because the balls

:41:45.:41:48.

were spread beautifully. Like I said, I had a dream about two weeks

:41:49.:41:58.

before that and the dream was that I fluked the first black ball

:41:59.:42:01.

actually, and the cue ball hit the black and then it hit the end

:42:02.:42:05.

cushion and came and landed right in the middle of all the reds and

:42:06.:42:08.

spread them out like that and it was the same kind of thing. In fact, I

:42:09.:42:14.

had done it before. Extraordinary. With one red left, ladies and

:42:15.:42:17.

gentlemen, you had the presence of mind and the discipline to stop,

:42:18.:42:21.

take a breath, blow your nose and go back to it. How did you do that? I

:42:22.:42:28.

didn't want to drop to my knees with stuff all over my face, I didn't

:42:29.:42:32.

think it would look... It was bothering me, so I had to stop and

:42:33.:42:37.

of course I stopped and walked back to the table and saw Terry having

:42:38.:42:41.

his tea and cookies there and that was reassuring for me. The key ball

:42:42.:42:48.

thereafter was the yellow. Is it in the right place? This was missable,

:42:49.:42:51.

particularly in the circumstances, was it not?

:42:52.:42:54.

Sorry, Steve, I would rather have had your shot!

:42:55.:42:58.

Bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen, that no televised 147 had been

:42:59.:43:04.

achieved. Steve Davis had win one, but it was to win a car and I think

:43:05.:43:08.

there was a strike at the time, and it wasn't televised. This was a big

:43:09.:43:13.

moment for Cliff. Thanks, whoever thought this up. This is great!

:43:14.:43:23.

LAUGHTER This is get even time for somebody.

:43:24.:43:32.

But my golf is good. OK. Why I shot it this way is because, if I was to

:43:33.:43:36.

run it through I would end up on the cushion there. And then I thought I

:43:37.:43:44.

could play. And play it with the left-hand side and... I am not sure

:43:45.:43:51.

about this one here. OK. The side comes out. Ronnie, you know what to

:43:52.:44:02.

do. OK. You did it at the time. It's important that I explain this.

:44:03.:44:06.

Absolutely. I get you. Or else I will start to break from the very

:44:07.:44:10.

beginning and it's up to you. OK. Or else I play it with the right-hand

:44:11.:44:14.

side. This is... Holy smokes! You see, this is the reason why I

:44:15.:44:26.

didn't play it one of these three ways. Precisely. I thought about

:44:27.:44:32.

that. You know how I think. Cliff, you did it when it counted and

:44:33.:44:36.

that's all that counted. He is going to have another go. There is no

:44:37.:44:40.

stopping him now! This is the shot. Third time lucky.

:44:41.:44:46.

I seldom played it with stung run-through. I got a short back

:44:47.:44:54.

swing. It's a long story. This is... Oh, gee! Seriously. Why you got

:44:55.:45:03.

these things hanging out? Yellow ball. This is the last shot.

:45:04.:45:15.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING And he's beautifully on it.

:45:16.:45:25.

Fantastic, Cliff. Thank you very much.

:45:26.:45:25.

Thank you. All right. Well, there already has

:45:26.:45:32.

been a 147 here in Sheffield this week. Gary Wilson has achieved that.

:45:33.:45:37.

He did it in qualifying tournament, it was one of eight centuries that

:45:38.:45:40.

you made, Gary. A second career maximum for you. Congratulations.

:45:41.:45:44.

You are a debutant. What do you make of the prospect of playing here?

:45:45.:45:48.

It's amazing. I have been here to watch a few times and it's great

:45:49.:45:51.

even spectating, but to be here and play for the first time is

:45:52.:45:54.

unbelievable. Tell me about being here the first time. I was actually

:45:55.:45:58.

here when I was nine years old in 95. I managed to come out into the

:45:59.:46:02.

arena and they used to have the globes by the seats and got photos

:46:03.:46:07.

taken, as if the globe was on top of my head. It was brilliant experience

:46:08.:46:10.

to come and see everything back stage and I remember meeting the

:46:11.:46:13.

players and things in the press room, it was unbelievable from that

:46:14.:46:19.

age. The award is a match against Ronnie O'Sullivan, that's a reward.

:46:20.:46:22.

Yeah, it's obviously one of the best draws, I am delighted and going to

:46:23.:46:25.

go out there and give it my best and enjoy the whole experience. We wish

:46:26.:46:28.

you the best of luck. Gary Wilson, ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

:46:29.:46:40.

APPLAUSE Well, many people would say why

:46:41.:46:44.

Sheffield and The Crucible? It started in 76. A sports promoter was

:46:45.:46:48.

looking after the championship and had taken it on the road for years

:46:49.:46:51.

but he was looking for a permanent home and his wife came here to watch

:46:52.:46:54.

a theatre production and went home that evening and said, I think I

:46:55.:46:58.

have found you a venue. Carole, you were absolutely right. 40 years

:46:59.:47:07.

later, Sheffield is snooker city. Sheffield, former steel city to boom

:47:08.:47:11.

town N the past 40 years it has survived the demise of its core

:47:12.:47:15.

industries, to become one of the most fashionable and economically

:47:16.:47:24.

attractive regions of the country. There are plans to open hi-tech

:47:25.:47:28.

manufacturing plants here. Sheffield is enjoying a rennaissance.

:47:29.:47:34.

I think we need to show how this great city, this region has changed.

:47:35.:47:38.

Has learned from the past, but has took values and put them into a

:47:39.:47:43.

modern setting. You can never deny your past, but you can learn from it

:47:44.:47:47.

and I believe Sheffield has learned from that past. By April 1976 the

:47:48.:47:54.

city was making a better -- bitter passage to a post-industrial future.

:47:55.:48:00.

While across the pen nice the snooker World Championship also

:48:01.:48:03.

faced an uncertain future. -- Pennines. Amid criticism the

:48:04.:48:10.

championship that year was played in both Manchester and Middlesbrough.

:48:11.:48:13.

The sport was looking for a place to call home.

:48:14.:48:17.

It found a welcome in South Yorkshire.

:48:18.:48:23.

It was always, I think, extremely friendly city, but it was a very

:48:24.:48:31.

industrial city. It was mainly built around the industry of the

:48:32.:48:36.

steelworks, but also around the neighbourhoods, the mining industry,

:48:37.:48:39.

as well. Against this backdrop Sheffield Council had decided to

:48:40.:48:43.

construct a consro version new theatre. . -- controversial. The

:48:44.:48:50.

Crucible opened in 1971. Six years later, it entered a televised

:48:51.:48:55.

marriage with snooker. Going into a theatre was obviously

:48:56.:48:59.

quite a revolutionary thing to do. One thing that sticks in my mind was

:49:00.:49:04.

the amount of beer that was drank, I understand, at that time they drank

:49:05.:49:08.

in one night, the allocation for a fortnight. The world champion 1977,

:49:09.:49:15.

John Spencer... Everyone knows it's been here for 40 years. The dates

:49:16.:49:21.

have never changed. That's the sort of remarkable achievement. It's

:49:22.:49:25.

vital, not only for the business of the theatre, but it's vital for the

:49:26.:49:30.

business of the city, as well. It put Sheffield right on the world

:49:31.:49:35.

stage and of course it's good for the economy, the local economy,

:49:36.:49:39.

around ?5 million plus a year. I think it actually brings in tourists

:49:40.:49:43.

that come in, not necessarily just to see the snooker, because it's a

:49:44.:49:47.

great place to be during that particular period. Of course, it

:49:48.:49:52.

brings those people back. It is estimated snooker has brought around

:49:53.:49:56.

?70 million to Sheffield, which has fought off other cities bidding to

:49:57.:50:00.

host the World Championship. Snooker found its spiritual home and helped

:50:01.:50:04.

Sheffield become a leading centre for sport and a city renewed. In

:50:05.:50:10.

1977 it was, you know, like working men's clubs, around the city in the

:50:11.:50:16.

suburbs and the neighbourhoods, and now we have a vibrant bars and

:50:17.:50:20.

restaurant city centre. It was a working class sport and one that I

:50:21.:50:24.

think was embraced as far as Sheffield was concerned for the

:50:25.:50:28.

world snooker championships and tlas no doubt that in the proceeding 40

:50:29.:50:31.

years it's become the world of snooker. It's the home of snooker.

:50:32.:50:39.

Julie, the leader of Sheffield Council, we might be fixated as BBC

:50:40.:50:43.

and euro sport on what happens in the tables but you just need to walk

:50:44.:50:47.

through this city over a period of three weeks and see what it means to

:50:48.:50:52.

the entire city of Sheffield. Of course it does and there is a real

:50:53.:50:56.

buzz about the place. I have also said that Sheffield is a great city

:50:57.:51:01.

but also for the people in it, Sheffield people are very proud

:51:02.:51:04.

people and we need to feel really proud of our city and I think world

:51:05.:51:09.

snooker brings that pride to Sheffield, even for people that

:51:10.:51:14.

don't actually come to see the snooker during that period, they

:51:15.:51:16.

really feel part of it because they're proud to be here and they're

:51:17.:51:19.

proud to be a Sheffielder. I am not going to take a side, we have two

:51:20.:51:24.

great football teams in this city. We have also got in the modern era,

:51:25.:51:32.

we see it as the sporting of centre excellence, Yorkshire can win more

:51:33.:51:37.

Olympic medal than most countries, but important was the Crucible at

:51:38.:51:40.

the beginning of that as Sheffield being seen as a sporting city?

:51:41.:51:45.

Sheffield's always been seen as a steel city, the city of steel but

:51:46.:51:49.

also it is now known as the city of sport. It's absolutely the city of

:51:50.:51:55.

sport. As you were saying, we have two great football teams and

:51:56.:51:58.

hopefully shortly one will be going up into the Premiership and one into

:51:59.:52:05.

the championship. But Sheffield, we are gold medallists, Jessica and you

:52:06.:52:11.

are right and you are right about Yorkshire, Sheffield is a very proud

:52:12.:52:14.

and we are very proud of the heritage and sport is a real major

:52:15.:52:19.

part of that heritage for us. Snooker, being here for 40 years,

:52:20.:52:24.

it's just fabulous for the city and again I hope that we look forward to

:52:25.:52:29.

another 40 years of it. I am going to send you about ten yards over

:52:30.:52:34.

that way, because 40 years, it sounds good but I tell you what, 50

:52:35.:52:38.

has a beautiful ring to it. It sure does. Ruby anniversary.

:52:39.:52:44.

Golden anniversary, would you like to make formal the enduring

:52:45.:52:49.

commitment between the sport and the city, because these lovely people

:52:50.:52:52.

are about to sign documents which will keep this great championship

:52:53.:52:57.

here at the Crucible and in the city for another ten years at the very

:52:58.:53:00.

least! Until 2027.

:53:01.:53:05.

APPLAUSE They're putting pen to paper on what

:53:06.:53:13.

is now a guaranteed 50 years of history here at The Crucible for

:53:14.:53:18.

world snooker. Congratulations.

:53:19.:53:28.

Here's to the next ten and beyond. Another decade of champions, to be

:53:29.:53:31.

added to what we have seen tonight and to have them all in this room

:53:32.:53:35.

tonight, so many of them, it's a list of absolute legends. We talked

:53:36.:53:39.

to people who have won it seven times and six times and five, but

:53:40.:53:43.

the beauty of the World Championship is you only need to win it once.

:53:44.:53:53.

A former bus conductor and insurance agent, now world-class professional

:53:54.:53:54.

snooker star. The world title for the first time

:53:55.:54:20.

going across the water to Canada. I am sure you will agree he is a

:54:21.:54:29.

great champion. Yes, he has, as they say in Canada, he is grounded, but

:54:30.:54:33.

he grounds very hard. Every player's ambition when they turn professional

:54:34.:54:40.

is to become world champion. It's just impossible to put into words

:54:41.:54:45.

how I felt after being a professional for 13 years, to

:54:46.:54:49.

eventually have rolled that black in and I think it said it all the way I

:54:50.:54:55.

reacted. The crowd here at The Cruise us are going mad for

:54:56.:54:59.

Bradford's Joe Johnson. - Crucible. I showed no signs of

:55:00.:55:06.

ever threatening to win the title. My thoughts really were I hope I

:55:07.:55:10.

don't get completely destroyed. I just didn't want to make a fool of

:55:11.:55:16.

myself. To have my father there, as well, he

:55:17.:55:22.

came out into the venue and the managers and my wife was there. A

:55:23.:55:25.

very special feeling. I would like to have enjoyed it a little bit more

:55:26.:55:29.

but you are so buzzed up with winning you forget about that part

:55:30.:55:38.

of it. It was very special. Ken Doherty thoroughly deserves the

:55:39.:55:43.

World Championship title. It still gives me goosebumps even talking

:55:44.:55:48.

about it, because it wasn't even the magic of winning the trophy, it was

:55:49.:55:53.

the magic of taking it back to Ireland. Well done, Peter Ebdon, you

:55:54.:56:02.

are the Embassy champion of the world! 2002. A big rising star is

:56:03.:56:13.

born here. Shaun Murphy has beaten Matthew

:56:14.:56:17.

Stevens to win the Embassy World Championship.

:56:18.:56:36.

To win it, especially being first Australian to be world champion and

:56:37.:56:43.

first joer overseas champion since cliff won it, it's great to join

:56:44.:56:48.

those players in the history books. It's a lap of honour. Enjoy every

:56:49.:56:55.

minute of it, Stuart. You deserve this world title that

:56:56.:56:56.

you have waited so long for. And our hero from two years ago

:56:57.:57:14.

joins us now, Stuart Bingham, as he said, win Irwiner, chicken dinner,

:57:15.:57:20.

one of the great lines after. The oldest winner since 1940s. You have

:57:21.:57:23.

been in the game 20 years, what took you so long, Stuart? Thanks for

:57:24.:57:29.

that! To give everyone else a chance, but yeah, obviously, on the

:57:30.:57:32.

road for 20 years as a pro, it's a long time coming. I remember the

:57:33.:57:38.

first time here, I played Stephen Hendry in 2,000 and I just felt

:57:39.:57:42.

there I had the vibes of I could do this one day and took me 15 years

:57:43.:57:46.

more, but I got here eventually. You did and 15 years later you came as a

:57:47.:57:53.

50-1 shot, I wonder if there was an inkling, you had never been past the

:57:54.:57:57.

quarter-finals at that point, did you get a hint there might be

:57:58.:58:01.

something on that year. I had a fantastic year, won three

:58:02.:58:04.

tournaments coming into it, the previous tournaments I got to a

:58:05.:58:07.

couple of semis, so I knew I was hitting the balls as good as anyone

:58:08.:58:12.

and it clicked here for me. Again the Crucible curse struck. A

:58:13.:58:15.

first-time champion, the following year, but as you come back in this

:58:16.:58:18.

time you have just won another big event earlier in the season. Are you

:58:19.:58:22.

a much more relaxed for that coming into the Crucible this time?

:58:23.:58:27.

Definitely. Obviously the Crucible curse got me. But obviously a

:58:28.:58:32.

massive learning curve for me. But it was a dream just to come here as

:58:33.:58:36.

defending champion. OK. 13 men have won it twice. You are hoping to

:58:37.:58:39.

become the next. Good luck, Stuart. Thank you very much.

:58:40.:58:45.

Colin. John and Ken are with me. John, I

:58:46.:58:50.

wonder when you are regarded as a top player and year after year goes

:58:51.:58:55.

by and you don't win, yours was the 8th time of asking, a big drubbing

:58:56.:59:00.

in the final earlier, do pockets shrink and the pressure grow?

:59:01.:59:03.

Obviously, you hope you are going to win it one day. The final, what I am

:59:04.:59:06.

pleased about more than anything when I look back is the final and

:59:07.:59:12.

the drubbing, which I fully deserved, I had to put that to the

:59:13.:59:18.

back of my mind, two years later back to the same table, and that's

:59:19.:59:22.

probably the finest achievement, he forgets by the way I beat him 16-10

:59:23.:59:26.

in that semifinal. That was the finest thing and obviously to beat

:59:27.:59:29.

Jimmy in the final. You are always aware you are never going to win it.

:59:30.:59:33.

But no venue like this and when you win here it's very special. You are

:59:34.:59:38.

standing on milk crates and playing snooker as boys in halls and there

:59:39.:59:41.

you are winning the world title. I remember when you think back to that

:59:42.:59:45.

year, it was Terry's last professional game, the quickest ever

:59:46.:59:49.

century from Ronnie O'Sullivan. Can you close your eyes and remember

:59:50.:59:53.

that moment when you won it or do you do you have to watch it back?

:59:54.:59:58.

Sometimes, I started on a biscuit tin, I stopped that after a few

:59:59.:00:06.

years. Just recently. But it was, I grew up watching snooker and the

:00:07.:00:09.

World Championship on Pot black and I always wanted to be here. When

:00:10.:00:15.

Dennis won it in 85 and Higgins in 82, they were inspirations for kids

:00:16.:00:20.

all over Ireland. And to win it and emulate what they did was fantastic.

:00:21.:00:23.

Dreams, that's what dreams are made of.

:00:24.:00:27.

In terms of dreams, you have been one of the biggest Everton fans,

:00:28.:00:33.

John, so it must have been brilliant to go back and parade the World

:00:34.:00:37.

Championship trophy around Goodison Park. It would have been if they

:00:38.:00:42.

hadn't been away! I was invited to take it to Anfield and I paraded

:00:43.:00:46.

round there. Some of the Everton fans have never forgiven me. They

:00:47.:00:51.

said, this is for the people of Liverpool. I took it there that day

:00:52.:00:57.

and they were fantastic. It had been quiet that year in Merseyside and we

:00:58.:01:00.

had an won any trophies, so I was the only one to get one. It is

:01:01.:01:04.

something I will never forget. You look back at the home towns. In

:01:05.:01:11.

Dublin, you had a positive effect too. 250,000 people lined the

:01:12.:01:16.

streets. I didn't realise I had such a big family! Just bringing the

:01:17.:01:21.

trophy back in an open top bus, it was just fantastic. One funny thing

:01:22.:01:26.

that happened, when I got there, there was a big reception in the

:01:27.:01:29.

Mansion house, the Lord Mayor's house, in Dublin. Someone said to

:01:30.:01:35.

me, between the hours of seven and ten in the final session of the

:01:36.:01:39.

final, we didn't have one call in the central police station in

:01:40.:01:45.

Dublin. And he said to me, the girls in the switchboard were ringing the

:01:46.:01:48.

main switchboard saying, is there something wrong with our phones? And

:01:49.:01:54.

they said, no, everyone is watching this joker. He said, you should be

:01:55.:01:58.

on telly more often, you make my job easier! So, I stopped crying in

:01:59.:02:06.

Dublin for three hours. When it comes to 40 years of the Crucible,

:02:07.:02:10.

most of the crimes in here have been fashion.

:02:11.:02:59.

Dominic and Dominic, what did you do? A man who was always beautifully

:03:00.:03:08.

attired, especially with those spats, UK men is a 150-1 outsider.

:03:09.:03:13.

Take us through that fairy tale tournament, and what remains

:03:14.:03:16.

clearest in your memory from that amazing run that year? I was only

:03:17.:03:21.

one? I thought it would have been more. It is every player's dream, as

:03:22.:03:28.

everybody has said, and nobody expects to win, especially if you

:03:29.:03:33.

haven't won it before. If you have won it previously, then it is in

:03:34.:03:36.

your mind and you know you can do it. As far as I was concerned, I

:03:37.:03:41.

wanted to win a match here because I had never done that, and it was

:03:42.:03:45.

incredible that I won a match, and all of a sudden, I felt part of the

:03:46.:03:49.

tournament, and that was the first time ever. You nearly won it again

:03:50.:03:57.

the next year. There was a T-shirt you wore around a venue, just after

:03:58.:04:01.

the Bradford fire disaster at the club, and you were a proud man from

:04:02.:04:05.

Bradford. What did that T-shirt say? We needed some good news from

:04:06.:04:10.

Bradford. When I won the World Championship and went back there,

:04:11.:04:15.

the Civic reception was fantastic. During the championship I wore a

:04:16.:04:20.

T-shirt that said Bradford's bouncing back, and we really did

:04:21.:04:24.

bounceback that year. Might make you did, indeed. And you have been a

:04:25.:04:28.

proud son of the town ever since. Joe Johnson, thank you very much.

:04:29.:04:34.

APPLAUSE Six years after Joe won that title,

:04:35.:04:41.

1992 was a year which would prove to be highly significant for snooker,

:04:42.:04:47.

because in that year, three of the Crucible's most decorated champions

:04:48.:04:49.

all turned professional, the stars of the Golden generation.

:04:50.:04:59.

It is hard to believe that so many players hit form at the same time

:05:00.:05:02.

and the standards were being pushed ever further, but Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:05:03.:05:10.

John Higgins, Stephen Hendry, all in the mix at that time. Stephen was

:05:11.:05:14.

trying to hold onto his position, but these new kids on the block were

:05:15.:05:18.

coming through, producing astonishing snooker in the 90s and

:05:19.:05:23.

the 2000s, and it is very rare that you get those types of players all

:05:24.:05:26.

coming at the same time. It is almost like the gold in a row of

:05:27.:05:35.

talent. They were the three that you would be looking for in every

:05:36.:05:38.

tournament. The battles they have had have been fantastic. Even though

:05:39.:05:45.

it wasn't considered to be the golden period in the 90s, the 80s

:05:46.:05:52.

had that mantle, but from the fans' perspective, it was by far the most

:05:53.:05:58.

exciting time. It wasn't nice, but cos they stopped me winning a lot

:05:59.:06:04.

more of the major tournaments, and I have been beaten in finals by all of

:06:05.:06:10.

them. Very prodigious talents, different personalities, but once on

:06:11.:06:15.

the snooker table, they were, you know, complete assassins. Ronnie

:06:16.:06:21.

O'Sullivan has been the most amazing gift to snooker I think we've ever

:06:22.:06:26.

had, just an astonishing character, and an astonishing player. And

:06:27.:06:29.

probably the biggest genius we've ever seen at a snooker table. To

:06:30.:06:36.

come back after a year out and win the title is he dead, I just thought

:06:37.:06:41.

it was extraordinary. I know the word genius is used a lot, but he is

:06:42.:06:46.

a genius on the snooker table. I think, of all the players, and when

:06:47.:06:55.

I talk to Ronnie about certain players, he has the utmost respect

:06:56.:07:02.

for John Higgins. John Higgins to the level of match play snooker to a

:07:03.:07:08.

level higher than perhaps I had done. The best all-rounder in the

:07:09.:07:11.

game of snooker, and whether you will see as good an all-rounder

:07:12.:07:17.

again is arguable. No department that had a weakness, fabulous match

:07:18.:07:22.

player, tough to play against, scored heavily, a work ethic,

:07:23.:07:27.

everything you would want, and a brilliant temperament on top of

:07:28.:07:37.

that. He has won five... Theresa he hated to lose, which was a

:07:38.:07:40.

motivation in itself for John Higgins. When we came through as

:07:41.:07:45.

youngsters, Steve Davis is quoted that someone asked him who he

:07:46.:07:49.

thought was best, John Higgins or Ronnie O'Sullivan. He said, I think

:07:50.:07:55.

Ronnie has more talent, but if I had to pick one who was playing for his

:07:56.:08:03.

life, I would pick John Higgins. Mark Williams, I think, has been an

:08:04.:08:07.

astonishing competitive in the game of snooker. I wouldn't necessarily

:08:08.:08:12.

have thought he was guaranteed to be a champion when he first came onto

:08:13.:08:15.

the scene. He didn't necessarily look like he had all the attributes.

:08:16.:08:19.

But what he has got, and he had at that time, is a fierce competitive

:08:20.:08:25.

instinct that you cannot teach, and granite under pressure. One of the

:08:26.:08:37.

best potters I have seen alive. He has not won as many as Ronnie and

:08:38.:08:41.

John, but different characters, which I think added to it as well.

:08:42.:08:46.

John Higgins with this great determination, the laid-back

:08:47.:08:50.

Welshman as well, sauntering around the table knocking the ball is in.

:08:51.:08:58.

That temperament, above all else, he could be bombarded and barrage by

:08:59.:09:01.

breaks but just came back. A fabulous, fabulous player. The

:09:02.:09:09.

record among all of them is phenomenal. To do it year after year

:09:10.:09:13.

for so many years, and even now, that three of them still in the top

:09:14.:09:18.

16 in the world after 20- odd years as professionals, it is quite

:09:19.:09:21.

incredible. More often than not, they are at the business end of most

:09:22.:09:27.

tournaments. We won't see that again, because I think we are

:09:28.:09:33.

struggling to have younger players come through alone, let alone in

:09:34.:09:41.

twos and threes. You will never get three like them again, no chance.

:09:42.:09:49.

APPLAUSE To make men who between them had 11

:09:50.:09:54.

world titles - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ray Reardon.

:09:55.:09:57.

You work together when you won the second of your titles, Ronnie, 2004,

:09:58.:10:01.

aided and abetted by this gentleman here. But when did you first become

:10:02.:10:07.

a way of the feats of Ray and those who went before? I suppose it was

:10:08.:10:13.

when I was watching Davis winning in the 80s. My dad sat me down at ten

:10:14.:10:19.

and said, if you want to be a champion, look no further than Steve

:10:20.:10:22.

Davis. That was when I started to look at records and who I wanted to

:10:23.:10:26.

be like. You don't grasp it until you come to the Crucible and

:10:27.:10:30.

experience the atmosphere, then you look at how many times their players

:10:31.:10:33.

have won it, and you see his name five times, Davies several times,

:10:34.:10:39.

and you think, wow, they are legends and you are happy to be amongst

:10:40.:10:44.

them. It must've been a great thrill for you in 2004, and it is a

:10:45.:10:50.

different spot. You were holding down different jobs at the same

:10:51.:10:56.

time, when you? It was a pleasure. He had a phone call from his dad.

:10:57.:11:00.

His dad said to me, what do you think of my son? Should he be

:11:01.:11:03.

winning more tournaments than he is? I said, yes, but we don't want a

:11:04.:11:10.

triangular talk. Get him to ring me. Which he did do, some months later.

:11:11.:11:18.

When we met up, it was fantastic. He was in the practice room when I

:11:19.:11:23.

arrived here, and he put his hand out to shake hands, and I

:11:24.:11:26.

disregarded his hand and gave him a hug like this. And that's how the

:11:27.:11:29.

relationship went. APPLAUSE

:11:30.:11:36.

He gave me ten years to my life, made me ten years younger. Thank you

:11:37.:11:42.

very much, it was a pleasure. The trouble was, there was nothing I

:11:43.:11:46.

could teach him about potting balls. There is no one who can pop more

:11:47.:11:51.

balls than this man. He had more control of the white ball than I

:11:52.:11:54.

have seen, but the thing was, how can I get him to enjoy playing

:11:55.:11:58.

defensively? Because he didn't like it was he an attacking player. One

:11:59.:12:07.

day, he said to me, I want a bit of practice on the defence, and we went

:12:08.:12:12.

into a defensive situation. People say to me, you are a defensive

:12:13.:12:18.

player. You'd don't win six world titles on the defence, that's for

:12:19.:12:20.

certain! APPLAUSE

:12:21.:12:26.

I like it, Ray. Ronnie, you have had an up-and-down relationship with the

:12:27.:12:30.

Crucible, but I wonder, as you are maturing into your 40s now, is the

:12:31.:12:34.

enjoyment factor higher, coming back to the Crucible? I was sitting next

:12:35.:12:39.

to John, and he asked if I still get a as these days, and I think it is

:12:40.:12:52.

more. -- if I still get a buzz these days. And it is true, I still do.

:12:53.:13:00.

John Higgins preferred it when he was younger. Swings and roundabouts.

:13:01.:13:05.

This man won the last of his titles at 45, so you still have a way to

:13:06.:13:10.

go. The truth is, when we are sitting on

:13:11.:13:15.

the sofa doing punditry, any chance that Ronnie has the wax lyrical

:13:16.:13:19.

about you, he does it. We watched the last bit of video where we have

:13:20.:13:23.

so many greats of the game who are here tonight paying homage to your

:13:24.:13:29.

all-round game, which must be humbling. Steve Davis was my hero

:13:30.:13:36.

growing up, then there was Stephen Hendry from Scotland, who was a good

:13:37.:13:39.

example to the Scottish boys. So come and play your he rose at the

:13:40.:13:42.

best venue, it's an unbelievable feeling. Do you get more

:13:43.:13:47.

philosophical as you get older? Do you drive to the Crucible and think,

:13:48.:13:52.

what will be will be? Or do you last and crave for that trophy as much as

:13:53.:13:58.

you did as a teenager? I was sitting next Ronnie, and he said, these

:13:59.:14:04.

pockets look really tight. I don't know what is going to happen over

:14:05.:14:11.

the weekend. Listen, I have been so lucky to have won it a few times,

:14:12.:14:15.

and it's a great feeling to come and win it, and you would love to try

:14:16.:14:19.

and play well again and see what happens. Any chance we could have

:14:20.:14:24.

David Higgins 147 at the Crucible, please? I would love that. I don't

:14:25.:14:29.

think I have ever been close. Ronnie has had five, the same with Stephen,

:14:30.:14:33.

but there were so much pressure playing here, just to win frames,

:14:34.:14:36.

never mind to take the maximum, so you take your hat off to the players

:14:37.:14:41.

do that. A golden generation, they are not done yet.

:14:42.:14:46.

The man they are all trying to beat is the current world number one Mark

:14:47.:14:50.

Selby. Come what may, over the next two weeks, he will end the season as

:14:51.:14:55.

world number one for a six time, and he is trying to pick up the trophy

:14:56.:15:01.

for a third time in four years. I have known him since he was 14,

:15:02.:15:05.

and his improvement has been second to none. Sincerely, he was never

:15:06.:15:11.

going to be a top 16 player, for me, because he used to cue this far away

:15:12.:15:18.

from the Cuba. When he got close, he improved 40 points overnight. He is

:15:19.:15:20.

consistent and has an excellent second game. Other players, when

:15:21.:15:29.

they are not playing well, go out on the first round, but he seems to

:15:30.:15:32.

scrape through matches and get to the quarterfinals and semifinals

:15:33.:15:38.

regularly. It is so hard to dominate these days. The great players in the

:15:39.:15:46.

past, they'd emanated again, but that is impossible now. If it was

:15:47.:15:51.

that easy, everyone would do it, but to keep making 70s and 80s to win

:15:52.:15:55.

frames, you can't do it all the time. COMMENTATOR: Mark Selby makes

:15:56.:15:59.

one of the best comebacks I have seen for many years, and he wins the

:16:00.:16:02.

World Championship for the very first time. You would have to scrape

:16:03.:16:08.

him off the table, and it means his opponent needs to have such mental

:16:09.:16:15.

stamina to stay with him and keep the con... Competition. Your mental

:16:16.:16:27.

strength gets tested. He is the man to beat, number one in the rankings.

:16:28.:16:33.

There is probably not going to be anyone who can catch for at least

:16:34.:16:37.

another year or 18 months. He is the one raising the bar at the moment,

:16:38.:16:40.

and it is up to the rest of us to make up that gap. He has a great

:16:41.:16:45.

personality, loves everything in life. He has a family now, so what

:16:46.:16:51.

is not to like about him? The greatest player to come from

:16:52.:16:57.

Leicester, which I hate saying! I love the guy. The man standing in

:16:58.:17:04.

his way tomorrow is Fergal O'Brien. OK, we now know you have carved out

:17:05.:17:07.

a bit of your own history with the longest rain never. When I liked it

:17:08.:17:14.

or not! I love the fact that you're here. Just talk me through how close

:17:15.:17:19.

you have been. Five times in a row - complete heartbreak. It is so

:17:20.:17:29.

nerve-racking qualifying to get here, and I have lost five times in

:17:30.:17:35.

the final. When it got to 9-9, literally, the fear of making

:17:36.:17:40.

another mistake to go back to my room like a zombie, haunted.

:17:41.:17:45.

Watching it on telly, demean break demented, for weeks. I took a little

:17:46.:17:51.

bit longer than I needed to or should have, but finally, I got

:17:52.:17:57.

through. All that emotion I was going through, regardless of the

:17:58.:17:59.

pressure to qualify, but I promise tomorrow I will be a lot better. I

:18:00.:18:05.

think that answer was about two hours and three minutes! The best of

:18:06.:18:11.

luck to you who knows, this is where dreams are made. Absolutely. At

:18:12.:18:15.

least I'm here! Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, you

:18:16.:18:22.

two have scaled this Crucible summit once. How difficult is it to do it

:18:23.:18:29.

again? Yellow and I don't know! I've tried -- I don't know! I've tried. I

:18:30.:18:37.

don't know how I did it. It gets more and more difficult every year.

:18:38.:18:41.

I'm sure we would agree that those players who have won it multiple

:18:42.:18:44.

times, they are different breed. You have an appreciation for them, and

:18:45.:18:48.

in terms of your own performers, Neil, because you are the most

:18:49.:18:52.

successful player from outside the shores who has ever played a game,

:18:53.:18:55.

and you have this wonderful memory from 2010 will stop can you describe

:18:56.:19:00.

what it is like to get over the line in this venue? Yeah, it is

:19:01.:19:04.

something... I've got to say, Cliff must have been an absolute nightmare

:19:05.:19:08.

to play, because look at the handprint he has made on the table.

:19:09.:19:14.

That is just two three shots! He is right. The table fitters will have a

:19:15.:19:22.

few problems. It is just incredible, really. What topped it off was my

:19:23.:19:27.

mum left a voice mail saying that she had booked a flight to come over

:19:28.:19:32.

for the final, and obviously something I'll never forget. I've

:19:33.:19:36.

been smiling my dad over every year since, and he has brought bad luck

:19:37.:19:42.

every year! He is coming over again, and it would be wonderful if I could

:19:43.:19:46.

have a really good run here for him. Don't worry, we will bar the doors!

:19:47.:19:50.

We wish you all the very best for the next 17 days. Colin, we have the

:19:51.:19:58.

trophy over here, which has been played for the last 90 years, bought

:19:59.:20:05.

by Joe Davis in 1927. Doing that introduction at the start of the

:20:06.:20:07.

programme, we were so afraid we would trip over our words and get it

:20:08.:20:12.

wrong. It was so nerve-racking. But the thing that trophy... All the

:20:13.:20:16.

different personalities and megastars over 40 years, this is

:20:17.:20:22.

what humbles everyone, to get your hands on this after 17 days, and it

:20:23.:20:25.

is just magical to be this close to it. The lady on the top, who will be

:20:26.:20:33.

giving her a peck on the cheek in 17 days? We will find out. We will add

:20:34.:20:40.

17 days' worth of memories to the archive, but we have added a few

:20:41.:20:41.

tonight. It has been a great night. Well, I don't know about you, but

:20:42.:21:21.

thoroughly enjoyable watching all that, and watching the legends. How

:21:22.:21:27.

much did you enjoy that? It looked like a wonderful evening. A great

:21:28.:21:30.

atmosphere in the room. The camaraderie amongst the players was

:21:31.:21:34.

great. We have all competed over the years, but we are all friends and we

:21:35.:21:39.

have the same common bond. In the room, the bonhomie was amazing. We

:21:40.:21:47.

shared a love of the Crucible, the World Championship, the history and

:21:48.:21:51.

the nostalgia, and the camaraderie. As Steve said, playing each other,

:21:52.:21:56.

so many great memories, and the music that used to get the juices

:21:57.:22:00.

going. In the dressing room, that musically you stay here all those

:22:01.:22:04.

years ago, just fantastic. The reason we showed you that is because

:22:05.:22:09.

our matches this afternoon finished slightly prematurely. Mark Selby won

:22:10.:22:18.

13-6. Baron Hawkins finished early too, beating Graeme Dott 13-6 also.

:22:19.:22:27.

At 7pm, attention turns to Marco Fu, taking on Neil Robinson. Hazel will

:22:28.:22:33.

be back with that live at 7pm on BBC Two. In the meantime, Robbo has been

:22:34.:22:35.

driving with Steve Davis. Just two. I thought there would be

:22:36.:23:01.

the whole crew. Yellow might just me and you. No one will be listening to

:23:02.:23:05.

any of the stuff that comes out of us. Righty Ho. I have been studying

:23:06.:23:20.

my old fashioned a to Z. Is it true that you used to have arcade

:23:21.:23:28.

machines? Backing the? Yes. At the time, Barry Hearn, apart from

:23:29.:23:36.

managing me and snooker clubs, he had a business renting out fruit

:23:37.:23:39.

machines, so all the games at that time, you had Space Invaders,

:23:40.:23:47.

Defender, and everybody became addicted to them. That was green! It

:23:48.:23:59.

was his fault. So we had a room on the top floor of the Grosvenor

:24:00.:24:04.

Hotel. It's just rubble now, that hotel. We had one room full of

:24:05.:24:11.

arcade games. Wow. You would get four or five days off in the early

:24:12.:24:16.

rounds. In the end, we had to put a doorman honoured because the other

:24:17.:24:19.

players wanted coming. We were selling tickets and everything.

:24:20.:24:26.

Great fun. -- Dorman on eight. You got caught up, as my kids did, and I

:24:27.:24:34.

love watching them play, but it was too late for me, World Of Warcraft.

:24:35.:24:43.

What I gain! It is a whole new world, and it is everything you want

:24:44.:24:47.

the world today, apart from the one that we actually live in. It is a

:24:48.:24:57.

great of escaping. That game has consumed my life at times. Certain

:24:58.:25:03.

point in my life, it has become more important than the world we live in

:25:04.:25:07.

in reality. When you have a hobby that eats into your practising

:25:08.:25:17.

Alice, that is the problem, isn't it? For sure. That is what it has

:25:18.:25:22.

done to mean the past, not that I have ever been is not committed to

:25:23.:25:28.

snooker, it is just some of the games I have played have drawn me

:25:29.:25:32.

away, whether it be affecting the number of hours I can practice the

:25:33.:25:38.

day before I start to feel quite slack, or I practice shots without

:25:39.:25:43.

the proper preparation, technique, and getting lazy. You hear stories

:25:44.:25:49.

of snooker players making 20 centuries in a day. And I think,

:25:50.:25:53.

wow, if I did that in a practice session, I would be bored. I only

:25:54.:25:59.

practice when I was playing badly. It is a fine balance, because I hear

:26:00.:26:06.

stories. When I was growing up, I was told off if I would do less than

:26:07.:26:11.

six hours solo practice six days a week. People would be saying, Steve

:26:12.:26:15.

Davis practices 12 hours a day seven days a week. And I believe that. All

:26:16.:26:21.

the kids in England, they are doing eight centuries a day and they are

:26:22.:26:27.

eight years old. I was asked if it was true that I would practice in my

:26:28.:26:32.

dress suit? That was the rumour will stop the right height of shoes and

:26:33.:26:38.

everything... That rumour made it to Australia, and I have actually seen

:26:39.:26:41.

people doing that. My dad did it once. That moment in time, it wasn't

:26:42.:26:50.

actually my dad and I didn't know that person! From the number of

:26:51.:26:57.

people outside the stage door, I get the feeling that Ronnie O'Sullivan

:26:58.:27:03.

might be on. Yes, the grudge match. I don't think it is, is it? You can

:27:04.:27:11.

tell with Ronnie, he was clean-shaven. Thanks for that, Neil.

:27:12.:27:21.

Yaw thanks, Steve. Video games and games consoles will

:27:22.:27:43.

not be on the agenda this evening for Neil Robertson. 8-8, it is

:27:44.:27:48.

beautifully poised. We are live at 7pm on BBC Two. Fancy Neil Robertson

:27:49.:27:54.

to see off Marco Fu? I don't know about that. Neil Robertson is a

:27:55.:28:00.

strong player. When he won the war championship that season, he made

:28:01.:28:05.

lots of centuries. Very strong. Marco Fu is special. Would it be

:28:06.:28:10.

possible to get an automatic car the next time you go out?

:28:11.:28:23.

Cabin with Ken, you should do that next year. What might we are leaving

:28:24.:28:30.

you slightly earlier because our matches are finished, but Hazel will

:28:31.:28:34.

be back at 7pm with more coverage, starting with Marco Fu and Neil

:28:35.:28:35.

Robertson. Goodbye for now. Our crack team of experts

:28:36.:29:05.

use pioneering research

:29:06.:29:09.

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