Day 3, Afternoon Session - Pt 1

:00:32. > :00:38.Good afternoon. Easter weekend was a big one, wasn't it? It certainly was

:00:39. > :00:42.here at Sheffield at the start of the world snooker Championship. You

:00:43. > :00:47.know, we are living inside our own little world here for these 17 days.

:00:48. > :00:51.As our pointless friend Richard Osman put it at the weekend in a

:00:52. > :00:55.tweet, if there is a full-scale nuclear war with China, Russia and

:00:56. > :01:01.the US I hope they'll wait until the snooker is over. Well said! Every

:01:02. > :01:04.move here is subjected to forensic analysis and scrutiny as it all

:01:05. > :01:09.becomes magnified in a snooker bubble, if you like. We have had

:01:10. > :01:13.plenty to enjoy and analyse since the first balls were potted on

:01:14. > :01:17.Saturday morning at 10am. He is the defending world champion,

:01:18. > :01:28.he is the jester from Leicester, Mark Selby!

:01:29. > :01:36.Got it! Pot of the match so far.

:01:37. > :01:41.Good cueing, right in the heart of the pocket.

:01:42. > :01:47.It's there! Mark Selby in the end will run out a very comfortable

:01:48. > :01:51.winner. He is into the second round by 10-2. Happy to get through to the

:01:52. > :01:54.next round, happy with the scoreline. Performance, not really

:01:55. > :01:58.happy with, I wasn't really killing the frames off in one visit like I

:01:59. > :02:03.would like to. Overall, happy with the result and through to the next

:02:04. > :02:07.round. This is a test of cueing.

:02:08. > :02:10.Good effort. Fabulous shot. Well played.

:02:11. > :02:18.It was nice to see Anthony with a little tap on his knee there as he

:02:19. > :02:23.played that pot. That's a wonderful shot from Steve

:02:24. > :02:28.Maguire. Terrific plant there.

:02:29. > :02:35.This longish blue to secure the match.

:02:36. > :02:39.And that is it. Anthony shakes the hand of his good friend Steven. I

:02:40. > :02:43.think that's the first I have beat him in tournament play because he is

:02:44. > :02:52.solid. He never played his game today, he can play better than that.

:02:53. > :03:03.Another excellent long pot. How good did he strike that?

:03:04. > :03:11.That's got to be the best shot so far in this frame. If not the match.

:03:12. > :03:16.The handshake comes in the end from David, but he never got in front and

:03:17. > :03:18.he looked the better player. Always nice, especially in the first round

:03:19. > :03:26.match, you feel like you are part of the tournament now. David is a

:03:27. > :03:28.debutant, so he did very well on his debut and I managed to take

:03:29. > :03:33.advantage of a few first-time nerves.

:03:34. > :03:36.The seeds always like to have a easy first round if possible. There is

:03:37. > :03:40.pressure on this session now for Ronnie. If he has the snooker behind

:03:41. > :03:51.the blue, that's a stunner! What a shot that is! Absolutely Fabulous.

:03:52. > :03:55.Well played. A lovely shot. He is within one again.

:03:56. > :03:59.He has played the cannon and if this is right, what a shot it is. Oh,

:04:00. > :04:12.come on! What a shot! Match over. Gary Wilson

:04:13. > :04:17.gives Ronnie a handshake. Look at that, that's what it means to him!

:04:18. > :04:22.He was all fired up for that. Ronnie became the fourth man through to the

:04:23. > :04:25.second round. After that victory over an impressive Gary Wilson who

:04:26. > :04:29.very gamefully went about his task yesterday. Ronnie as you know has

:04:30. > :04:35.had a long-running feud with the authorities. He has made a point of

:04:36. > :04:39.not discussing his matches and performances immediately afterwards.

:04:40. > :04:42.But that long-running feud simmered over immediately afterwards because

:04:43. > :04:49.he went into a press conference and having decided not to say anything

:04:50. > :04:53.at all, ended up saying a whole lot. I phoned Barry up weeks ago and said

:04:54. > :04:56.I am done with you and your board of people and I got very good friend of

:04:57. > :04:59.mine who said look, let my lawyers deal with it and I won't get

:05:00. > :05:04.involved no more because I am not being bullied, I am not being, you

:05:05. > :05:09.know, people doing that to me ever again. I am not. I am fortunate I

:05:10. > :05:14.have a very good friend who has very, very good lawyers and they've

:05:15. > :05:21.got my back. I just want to play, I want to have fun. I like Barry. But

:05:22. > :05:26.I am not being... I am not being intimidated or bullied any more. I

:05:27. > :05:30.am not prepared to put myself in a position where I am in breach of the

:05:31. > :05:34.game, you know, if I say something bad about the refs, something bad

:05:35. > :05:40.about the players, about the venue. If I say something bad about... You

:05:41. > :05:43.know, so many things. You know, I am just, I am tarnishing the sport, I

:05:44. > :05:46.am doing this. You know what, please, just drop me out, I have

:05:47. > :05:50.done 25 years service to this game, I think I have given enough to the

:05:51. > :05:54.game. I think I have helped, I have done my bit. I don't need that. Not

:05:55. > :05:58.at 41. Drop me out. I don't need you. You probably don't need me.

:05:59. > :06:03.But, you know, just, I want to enjoy my life and I am not putting up with

:06:04. > :06:06.someone thinking they can threaten and bully me, ain't happening. We

:06:07. > :06:11.will have to be sensible, hopefully, and they can make relax a little bit

:06:12. > :06:14.and chill out. And just stop being so precious about everything. But I

:06:15. > :06:21.am in the prepared to put myself in that situation any more.

:06:22. > :06:27.I am tw with two respected media guys in the press room. Hector, to

:06:28. > :06:31.fill in the background when did this particular spat start and why? I

:06:32. > :06:36.think the origins were at the Masters, after the semifinal win

:06:37. > :06:40.over Marco Fu, Ronnie O'Sullivan was fiercely critical of the referee,

:06:41. > :06:45.felt he had done a couple of things wrong, gave an interview live on TV

:06:46. > :06:48.in which he made comments about him and that's really triggered this,

:06:49. > :06:52.that and also swearing at a photographer in a press conference

:06:53. > :06:58.shortly afterwards. There have been bizarre responses as well. Yeah,

:06:59. > :07:01.since I think he received a letter addressing the possibility of

:07:02. > :07:05.disciplinary action, not actual action and since then he decided he

:07:06. > :07:12.was going to do a bit of a work to rule on the media. Been one-word

:07:13. > :07:14.answers, even Oasis songs, I think, talking about interviewers' fashion

:07:15. > :07:17.sense. It's been interesting the last three months, definitely.

:07:18. > :07:21.George, you did the interview with him yesterday and you said something

:07:22. > :07:26.about it seemed slightly different, why? Well, having interviewed Ronnie

:07:27. > :07:30.O'Sullivan a lot over the years, you kind of get used to him coming in

:07:31. > :07:35.and threatening to retire and falling out of love with the game to

:07:36. > :07:42.such an extent that you don't bat an eyelid when he does. Yesterday I

:07:43. > :07:44.felt there was genuine ire, real ferocity and emotion, his voice

:07:45. > :07:51.crackled with emotion when he was speaking. It took a while to get him

:07:52. > :07:56.to open up but we eventually did and what he said was extraordinary. He

:07:57. > :08:00.meant it. He absolutely meant it. Whether you agree with Ronnie or

:08:01. > :08:04.not, whether you agree with Barney who reckons he has been childish in

:08:05. > :08:07.some of his behaviour or you agree with Ronnie that he's being

:08:08. > :08:12.persecuted, that's what Ronnie feels, which ever side you are on,

:08:13. > :08:16.he absolutely believes it, Ronnie. He believes that he's been treated

:08:17. > :08:20.very, very unfairly and that really came across yesterday. He used

:08:21. > :08:25.strong words, as well, bullied and stuff like that. But he is not been

:08:26. > :08:28.charged, has he? He hasn't been charged for anything that happened

:08:29. > :08:33.at the Masters. I agree with George, I have been fortunate to interview

:08:34. > :08:36.Ronnie many times over the years and he has always had good relationship

:08:37. > :08:40.with large sections of the media but he is unhappy about this. It was

:08:41. > :08:46.maybe the tone of the letter that he received caught him on a bad day, he

:08:47. > :08:51.was unhappy about that. Yeah, I just think this one's not necessarily

:08:52. > :08:54.going away in a hurry. So, is there a solution to this, what do you

:08:55. > :08:58.think he will get from Ronnie O'Sullivan whilst he is still in the

:08:59. > :09:03.tournament and as media guys what would you like to see him get? This

:09:04. > :09:07.is what we were debriefing over a beverage last night were thinking!

:09:08. > :09:11.How do you think Ronnie will respond this morning when he wakes up and

:09:12. > :09:15.sees the newspapers and us talking about it again, about what he said,

:09:16. > :09:19.will he be pleased, will he be even more angry? What do we want to see

:09:20. > :09:22.next? Well, the point I was trying to make to Ronnie yesterday,

:09:23. > :09:26.independenting the media have become a bit of unwitting casualty in this.

:09:27. > :09:29.He said he has no problem with us, we have always had a good

:09:30. > :09:33.relationship with him but in his protest against world snooker he's

:09:34. > :09:37.taking it out on the media with robot impressions and stuff and I

:09:38. > :09:41.think he beganed respect yesterday by being reasoned and passioned. Why

:09:42. > :09:45.could we have not seen that three months ago? He would have got more

:09:46. > :09:48.respect rather than being childish. What would I like to see going

:09:49. > :09:52.forward? Speak about the snooker. He talks about his loyalty to fans. A

:09:53. > :09:55.lot of fans want to see him talking about the game. He is a five-time

:09:56. > :09:59.world snooker champion playing at the world snooker Championship. Not

:10:00. > :10:02.speaking about the snooker. That's just a bit odd, I think. There is no

:10:03. > :10:05.reason. He says I will get into trouble if I do. Just think about

:10:06. > :10:09.what you are saying. You don't have to say controversial things. Talk

:10:10. > :10:12.about - he could have given respect to his opponent yesterday, who was

:10:13. > :10:18.brilliant on his Crucible debut. He missed a chance to pay tribute to

:10:19. > :10:25.his opponent. That Ronnie normally does. He can still recognise that

:10:26. > :10:28.the media is crucial in really helping to promote the sport that

:10:29. > :10:30.has given him a living and I would like to see more of that moving

:10:31. > :10:35.forward. Boys, thank you very much for your views.

:10:36. > :10:40.Thanks, John. We have just received a statement from Barry Hearn. It

:10:41. > :10:43.says in view of Ronnie O'Sullivan's comments yesterday regarding

:10:44. > :10:46.bullying and intimidation I find it necessary to respond as follows. He

:10:47. > :10:49.has made four points here. The first underlines the fact that Ronnie has

:10:50. > :10:54.signed a players' contract like everyone else. He is no different in

:10:55. > :10:59.that regard. The second one makes clear that it's world snooker who

:11:00. > :11:03.own the worldwide commercial rights for professional snooker. It's the

:11:04. > :11:07.body responsible for the disciplinary aspect of it and it

:11:08. > :11:09.says neither world snooker nor myself have any involvement

:11:10. > :11:17.whatsoever in disciplinary matters. He goes on to say, in point three,

:11:18. > :11:19.neither world snooker or myself have received communication from Ronnie

:11:20. > :11:21.O'Sullivan's lawyers in regard to his responsibilities or concerns in

:11:22. > :11:25.relation to his signed players' contract.

:11:26. > :11:54.And number four: Jason Ferguson is the chairman of

:11:55. > :11:59.the governing body and also a director of world snooker, and we

:12:00. > :12:03.have Ken with us again. This appears to be escalating because it would

:12:04. > :12:06.appear not so ve lishgs ed references to possible legal action

:12:07. > :12:10.by world snooker and even Barry. Your response first of all to Ronnie

:12:11. > :12:12.A initial accusations of bullying and intimidation the last few

:12:13. > :12:16.months? I certainly don't think that's the case at all. I don't

:12:17. > :12:20.think there is any bullying, any intimidation. Let me talk about the

:12:21. > :12:25.players' contract. The contract with world snooker binds the players to

:12:26. > :12:28.certain rules and regulations, it really means that they have to

:12:29. > :12:30.adhere to certain standards and that's very reasonable as a

:12:31. > :12:34.professional sportsman. It's worth noting in that players' contract

:12:35. > :12:38.that events are optional. It doesn't tie Ronnie O'Sullivan to all 27

:12:39. > :12:42.events or any other player. It is an option and each event, the form goes

:12:43. > :12:46.out, players can opt to enter that event or not. If you enter that

:12:47. > :12:51.event, we expect that you will turn up to your opening ceremony, we

:12:52. > :12:54.expect you to do your PR. In particular, your post-match

:12:55. > :12:57.interviews. It's that kind of responsibility. So in terms of

:12:58. > :13:00.bullying and intimidation I don't accept that at all. Ronnie has

:13:01. > :13:04.fulfilled the terms of his contract in as much as he has done interviews

:13:05. > :13:08.afterwards. But Barry was on record last week as saying that it was

:13:09. > :13:11.rather embarrassing some of the responses because he didn't feel it

:13:12. > :13:15.was in the spirit of the rules to give one-word answers or sing

:13:16. > :13:19.answers. How do you respond? Barry's comments are fair on this point.

:13:20. > :13:22.Ronnie is not in breach of rules by the way, he has turned up to press

:13:23. > :13:27.conferences and those interviews and they're not in the spirit of what we

:13:28. > :13:30.expect, and unfortunately, sadly, Ronnie did the shame in China

:13:31. > :13:34.recently, turned up to a major press conference, gave a one-word answer.

:13:35. > :13:37.It's disappointing. We are here as a governing body for all the players,

:13:38. > :13:41.trying to promote the sport to a new level and take it to the next level.

:13:42. > :13:45.Where can it go next? We need the sport and players to do that. What

:13:46. > :13:49.is your interpretation of Barry's response today because it does look

:13:50. > :13:53.as though there is a veiled threat of possible legal action on his side

:13:54. > :13:58.and world snooker's side, as well, this is going steadily upwards?

:13:59. > :14:02.Let's hope it doesn't. Let me tell you from a chairman of a governing

:14:03. > :14:05.body's point of view and former player, nobody loves watching Ronnie

:14:06. > :14:09.O'Sullivan play snooker more than me. He is a total genius. Let's hope

:14:10. > :14:13.we can resolve these issues as Ronnie's representative and the

:14:14. > :14:17.governing body representative I am more than happy to discuss any

:14:18. > :14:22.issues and take those up with Barry if there are reasonable arguments.

:14:23. > :14:25.What steps will you take now, Jason? I think from our point of view

:14:26. > :14:29.there's nothing there that's in breach of the rules today. We will

:14:30. > :14:33.sit back. We will have to assess what Barry's position is. We will

:14:34. > :14:38.certainly have to monitor Ronnie's behaviour during the event. But at

:14:39. > :14:43.this moment in time I am happy to see him playing and competing. Who

:14:44. > :14:47.knows? He may still win that 6th title. Ken, he was clear about how

:14:48. > :14:51.the distractions off the table and his interpretation of things had

:14:52. > :14:55.cost him, he says, his performances, actually ruined his chances in about

:14:56. > :15:00.three tournaments and ironically if the attention has not been good over

:15:01. > :15:06.the last few months, what is this level of attention going to do in a

:15:07. > :15:09.quest for ath Crown? He could do without the distractions, no doubt

:15:10. > :15:12.about that. Anything Ronnie says is going to make the papers anyway.

:15:13. > :15:18.From a playing point of view I don't think he needs this distraction at

:15:19. > :15:21.all. He could do without it. He wants to achieve, like a 6th and

:15:22. > :15:26.possibly a 7th World Championship, he could do without this hassle. So,

:15:27. > :15:32.if it's going to affect him, you know, then it's to his detriment. If

:15:33. > :15:36.going to affect him or fire him up, and saying OKs, to the rest of you,

:15:37. > :15:42.this is the real Ronnie O'Sullivan? I hope, as Jason just said, we all

:15:43. > :15:45.love Ronnie playing. We want to see him play all these great matches,

:15:46. > :15:50.out there, at the Crucible. Let's hope that it doesn't affect him at

:15:51. > :15:55.all and it inspires him to play great snooker. I do side with George

:15:56. > :15:58.on the final point, in all of this Gary Wilson's performance has been

:15:59. > :16:02.forgotten and that's a great shame. It is, yeah, it was fantastic. He

:16:03. > :16:07.really put it up to Ronnie when he was down. He came back at aim. I met

:16:08. > :16:13.Ronnie outside his dressing room after the match and he was like, oh!

:16:14. > :16:18.I didn't need that. I said sometimes a tough match does you goo good. He

:16:19. > :16:21.said Gary Wilson played absolutely superb and he was fantastic for a

:16:22. > :16:26.debutant which is very difficult as we all know. Can I ask one further

:16:27. > :16:29.question to Jason. We heard in that interview that Ronnie pleaded with

:16:30. > :16:33.the authorities to relax, be sensible, and not be so precious

:16:34. > :16:36.about it all. Does he have a point? Well, not really. I think the

:16:37. > :16:41.authorities are relaxed. We love to see him play. We love snooker. We

:16:42. > :16:46.love being around the events as we all do. Let me put the record

:16:47. > :16:50.straight. Disciplinary action kicks in when a player either swears in a

:16:51. > :16:55.press conference, swears on social media, uses offensive or abusive

:16:56. > :16:58.behaviour. A lot of the fans that follow these players are very young

:16:59. > :17:02.children, they're supporting their idol and they follow their social

:17:03. > :17:05.media. We have a duty to protect that social media. I suspect this is

:17:06. > :17:08.going to continue for some days to come. Thank you very much.

:17:09. > :17:12.Ken, you are with us for the afternoon. As ever, it's Ronnie who

:17:13. > :17:16.grabs much of the attention and headlines on the opening few days at

:17:17. > :17:20.any World Championship. But for the next few days until he comes back at

:17:21. > :17:27.least, on Thursday, the attention will be grabbed by the 24 other guys

:17:28. > :17:32.all trying to get into round two. Now Ding Junhui starts his quest

:17:33. > :17:39.once again and he was so close last year to becoming Asia's first ever

:17:40. > :17:44.King of the Crucible. Over 200 million people back home

:17:45. > :17:47.watched Ding Junhui become the first ever World Championship finalist.

:17:48. > :17:55.Another quest for the title begins today. The 2015 champion Stuart

:17:56. > :18:07.Bingham has his hands full with Peter Ebdon, who is sticking to him

:18:08. > :18:15.like glue. Shaun Murphy resumes his watch against Yan Bingtao and John

:18:16. > :18:18.Higgins plays Martin Gould. The Far Eastern impact on the game is our

:18:19. > :18:25.first topic of discussion in Table Talk.

:18:26. > :18:28.And John is on a mission this year. Over the next couple of weeks we

:18:29. > :18:32.will be trying to help you with your game here. You can send in questions

:18:33. > :18:35.and questions, anything you are struggling with and also send in

:18:36. > :18:39.videos, we will look at those, pick the best from the day and try and

:18:40. > :18:47.make your snooker game better. You can reach us via social media on

:18:48. > :18:51.hashtag cuefix. We look forward with interest to some of those videos. It

:18:52. > :18:55.was like old times yesterday, Ronnie holding court, Peter Ebdon holding

:18:56. > :19:00.on Grimley in the opening round here. My goods in, there was another

:19:01. > :19:04.example of that in the final game of their session. Ebdon had actually

:19:05. > :19:11.been three frames to five down but he won the 8th. Here in the 9th he

:19:12. > :19:15.needed four snookers to tie. He potted the black to go behind. Ebdon

:19:16. > :19:20.in his 24th Crucible campaign gives it one of his big come on

:19:21. > :19:24.trademarks. It shows as ever it were needed that he is still a hard man

:19:25. > :19:29.to beat. Stuart had time to sleep on those events and he knows he would

:19:30. > :19:33.have so summon some of that Ebdon resolve in their deciding session.

:19:34. > :19:37.We started at 5-4 to Bingham. Stuart leapt ahead this morning. We will

:19:38. > :19:38.pick them up in frame 14. Bingham to play. This time he needs two

:19:39. > :20:04.snookers. Pretty good. He has the sneaker with

:20:05. > :20:08.the black and the pink here. -- the snooker with the black and the pink

:20:09. > :20:20.here. A big swerve you would have thought. Lots of right-hand side.

:20:21. > :20:29.Oh, not enough. Not enough side.

:20:30. > :20:35.No miss can be called of course when we are in the snooker's required

:20:36. > :20:38.stage of a frame. But there you see it. 20 behind, 18 remaining.

:20:39. > :21:06.Just the one snooker needed now. If you had have seen the look on

:21:07. > :21:11.Peter's face there! And you can see it there. If the cue ball doesn't

:21:12. > :21:18.kiss the black it's not a snooker. The problem is with this one if he

:21:19. > :21:21.tried to swerve, and it's an easy swerve around the pink you can catch

:21:22. > :21:23.the blue. That's why he is having to come around off two cushions. He

:21:24. > :21:37.could miss this. And that's exactly what he has done.

:21:38. > :21:45.Well, can you believe it? Foul. Stuart Bingham 5. Stuart Bingham can

:21:46. > :21:49.now win the frame. This will be the two strangest frames we are going to

:21:50. > :21:53.see in this tournament. The last frame last evening, Peter Ebdon

:21:54. > :21:58.needed four snookers, got it in one. This time Bingham needed two on the

:21:59. > :22:04.blue, got them, can he pot the three remaining colours? Will definitely

:22:05. > :22:11.have a go at this, insurely. This will hit a nail in one's coffin if

:22:12. > :22:19.he pots this. This is a real turnaround in this frame. What a

:22:20. > :22:27.great pot. It's called seizing the moment. This will be a real body

:22:28. > :22:33.blow to Peter Ebdon. If Stuart can pot the pink and black.

:22:34. > :22:38.Oh! Fractions, he was on the black. But

:22:39. > :22:46.he didn't get the pink. Thank you. Settle down, please!

:22:47. > :22:50.Always looked a little high. To be honest, I thought it was just about

:22:51. > :22:54.right. In the old days that would have just

:22:55. > :22:59.curled in. If anything, it seemed to curl up.

:23:00. > :23:01.The way Peter must be feeling at the moment, this looks easy on your

:23:02. > :23:14.television screens, but trust me, it's missable.

:23:15. > :23:21.You called it. You called it! Why would he not just play to pot it. He

:23:22. > :23:25.has played a shot to nothing. Look at where the cue ball finished. He

:23:26. > :23:29.made it harder playing at that pace. As you say they always look easier

:23:30. > :23:34.on the screen. Just caught the near jaw. Let's be honest, he is not at

:23:35. > :23:45.his best, he is struggling, feeling it out there. Nothing looks easy.

:23:46. > :23:54.Just playing to get the white in behind the black. Lovely shot. Not

:23:55. > :24:03.quite got the snooker but the cue ball and object ball...

:24:04. > :24:09.Refuses pots you think he should go for. A shot with not a high tariff

:24:10. > :24:32.of getting it, he takes them on. This has become the longest frame of

:24:33. > :24:39.the match, coming up to 39 minutes. Yes, although it's a very long

:24:40. > :24:43.frame, it is an important one this, because all right, Peter is

:24:44. > :24:48.struggling, but so is Stuart Bingham at the moment.

:24:49. > :24:53.If Peter was to win this and keep Stuart two frames away from victory,

:24:54. > :25:01.if your opponent gets within one, then it's very difficult to win the

:25:02. > :25:07.match. But if he can get him within, keep him within two of victory, you

:25:08. > :25:14.always feel as though you have that little bit of elbow room.

:25:15. > :25:16.Take the pot on or not? It looks an easy cross double safety to me. As

:25:17. > :25:31.you say with Peter, you never know. Well, it looked an easy cross double

:25:32. > :25:37.safety but he has hit it much too thick.

:25:38. > :25:39.Much too thick. A shake of the head. He knows that could cost him the

:25:40. > :26:02.frame. And possibly the match. Well, this is no gimme.

:26:03. > :26:05.But right in the heart of the pocket! And a fist pump from Stuart

:26:06. > :26:10.Bingham. That's how much it meant to him. That's a frame that should have

:26:11. > :26:16.really gone Peter Ebdon's way but it didn't and now he is one frame away

:26:17. > :26:22.from exiting the BetFred World Championship. Stuart Bingham leads

:26:23. > :26:28.9-5. Stuart has done an Ebbo and Ebbo. He is one place away from the

:26:29. > :26:36.second round. Into the next, it's Ebdon trailing by 20 points here.

:26:37. > :26:46.He overhit this. Where is the cue ball? Woman, that little bump on the

:26:47. > :26:50.middle pocket has given him a slight angle on the blue that he needed to

:26:51. > :26:56.play for that red to the left of the pink.

:26:57. > :27:00.Asking for the cue ball to be cleaned. A little bit surprised he

:27:01. > :27:09.went that close to the middle pocket, was Peter.

:27:10. > :27:14.But if anyone can dig in, it's this man.

:27:15. > :27:19.Never count him out. The next red's going to be

:27:20. > :27:26.interesting. He is going to have to power through the pack. By running

:27:27. > :27:30.in or screwing off the bunch. In other words, you are saying it is

:27:31. > :27:52.good cueing. And his cueing has not been consistent this morning.

:27:53. > :28:00.Just about OK. This black is tricky. But the only advantage with it is

:28:01. > :28:06.you concentrate on the pot, just watch this again. Could have done

:28:07. > :28:12.with the cue ball stopping there. It just ran on a fraction. He doesn't

:28:13. > :28:18.have to do a lot with the cue ball. If he pots the black, a little stun

:28:19. > :28:20.on the red immediately above the black, which is a natural. So just

:28:21. > :28:37.concentrate on the pot. Well done. I think he can get his

:28:38. > :28:58.cue through the gap so play this next red comfortably.

:28:59. > :29:06.Not such a bad thing there underhiting it because he knows he

:29:07. > :29:11.can play the same shot as last time. Hit above the black at pace,

:29:12. > :29:13.probably bring the pink in at the same time. There will be a choice of

:29:14. > :29:33.two reds. Well, that shows me he is not that

:29:34. > :29:36.confident at the minute at all. He could have had pink and those four

:29:37. > :29:59.reds into play there, no problem. Obviously he's got it all to do. But

:30:00. > :30:07.snooker's a funny game sometimes. If he was to make a sizeable break here

:30:08. > :30:11.to win this frame, it might give him the confidence to kick on. As we

:30:12. > :30:17.have been saying all morning that, Stuart Bingham will have seen the

:30:18. > :30:30.weakness in Peter Ebdon, but Peter will see the weakness in Stuart.

:30:31. > :30:39.And it is a mind game when all is said and done. What Peter has got to

:30:40. > :30:45.get out of his mind it should have been 8-6 rather than 9-5. His

:30:46. > :30:50.opponents needing two snookers on the blue to win the last frame. You

:30:51. > :30:55.can see the importance of playing that shot he didn't play earlier on

:30:56. > :31:04.where he could have had the reds and pink into play.

:31:05. > :31:13.He may have missed a trick here. He played for blue. That's bounced off

:31:14. > :31:18.a cushion. That is unfortunate. Well, the jaw's come to his rescue.

:31:19. > :31:22.That Frew off the -- flew off the back cushion. We haven't seen many

:31:23. > :31:27.bounces like that. He can't believe it. That would have been six inches

:31:28. > :31:29.short of the middle pocket, but the bounce would have taken it two feet

:31:30. > :31:55.past the middle. I don't know whether the one below

:31:56. > :32:02.the pink pots. If it does it's a great shot. There is two reds below

:32:03. > :32:09.the pink. Are they a plant? He is having a look now. If they're a

:32:10. > :32:25.plant, it is unmissable. Another plant any more. Depends what

:32:26. > :32:36.sort of potting angle he has on the pink.

:32:37. > :32:59.That tells you he was perfect on the pink.

:33:00. > :33:15.It is hard work at the minute. He is having to pick one effort at a time.

:33:16. > :33:22.If he had opened them up earlier it would have been easier. Not certain

:33:23. > :33:24.of the availability of these two reds on the right-hand side of the

:33:25. > :33:36.table. Oh, I think they're both available,

:33:37. > :33:42.so he is perfect for the pink. He has taken these well. When you

:33:43. > :33:48.talked about the a earlier part of the frame, the highest break was

:33:49. > :33:51.only 55, this is an excellent chance to beat that 55 and win a frame for

:33:52. > :34:18.the first time in one visit. This will be his highest break. 122

:34:19. > :34:29.for Stuart Bingham. 55 it was for Peter Ebdon.

:34:30. > :34:35.I think he's OK. The left hand red of three just below the pink is

:34:36. > :34:50.available to the left middle pocket. It is the first real pressure shot.

:34:51. > :35:13.Because this is frame ball. No body movement needed here. Needs

:35:14. > :35:18.to keep his head still. Hmm! Just a fraction out. And once again, I have

:35:19. > :35:25.got to be honest with you, at first I thought it was in. But is it just

:35:26. > :35:31.drifting up. Didn't notice at the time. Maybe we will look at it some

:35:32. > :35:40.time again. Any way, that was his chance. To win the frame in one

:35:41. > :35:43.visit. He's not got it. So is that his last shot in this year's World

:35:44. > :35:58.Championship? It is a practice situation now.

:35:59. > :36:15.Obviously this is not practice. Connor Wilson awaits the winner of

:36:16. > :36:23.this game. It is easier making a break at the end of a frame.

:36:24. > :36:29.You haven't got all the congestion of balls and colours on the spots.

:36:30. > :36:57.What an opportunity this is. There has been at least three frames

:36:58. > :37:03.this morning that Peter could have won. So it could have been a lot

:37:04. > :37:11.closer. Could have, wouldn't, should have!

:37:12. > :37:29.These four remaining colours for a place in the second round.

:37:30. > :37:37.Straighter on the blue. It would have been a formality.

:37:38. > :37:50.He has played it on and off the cushion. It is o'. OK as long as he

:37:51. > :37:54.can reach it without using the rest. He won't mind that. Peter fearing

:37:55. > :38:13.the worst. In goes the black. So Stuart Bingham

:38:14. > :38:17.is relieved. Peter, the always a nice chap and always congratulates

:38:18. > :38:21.his opponent and wishes him good luck for the rest of tournament.

:38:22. > :38:25.Stuart Bingham will be relieved to get this first round out of the way.

:38:26. > :38:31.In the end he looked comfortable at 10-5. It was anything but. Peter

:38:32. > :38:35.Ebdon, well he will be joining us in the commentary box for the rest of

:38:36. > :38:47.the tournament. So we have not heard the last of him. I'm with the man of

:38:48. > :38:52.the moment. Always nice to get the first round out of way. Yes I think

:38:53. > :38:56.I had one of the toughest opponents. So over the moon. When the draw came

:38:57. > :39:01.out, what did you think? It was good and bad. There is no tough love, but

:39:02. > :39:06.you know what you're going to get with Pete. There ain't going to be

:39:07. > :39:10.any un... You know what you're going to get. There was a frame in that

:39:11. > :39:15.match that was bizarre. That ninth frame. I know about being honest,

:39:16. > :39:19.but this is ridiculous. What did you do with this black. You thought you

:39:20. > :39:25.had touched the black and called a foul on yourself. We looked, there

:39:26. > :39:30.is nothing. I must have watched it about ten times last night. As soon

:39:31. > :39:37.as I hit I thought I heard something. You tweeted this, what

:39:38. > :39:41.was it? What a plonker, Rodney! I felt I touched the black. But I

:39:42. > :39:46.owned up. The game's hard enough without doing that. Of course, later

:39:47. > :39:57.on in t match, you nicked one on him with two snookers. It was give it a

:39:58. > :40:03.fist pump. No vegan power? No. Now this the tough bit. You're our first

:40:04. > :40:07.victim for pot quiz. We are going o' to ask you five questions. For each

:40:08. > :40:12.one you get right, you can remove one red from the table and then you

:40:13. > :40:18.have got to clear them all by finish by potting the final black. Can I

:40:19. > :40:28.get rid of the black? No. But the questions are not easy. Don't moan

:40:29. > :40:37.at me. What was the No 1 record the day that you were born on 21st May.

:40:38. > :40:51.Fernando by Abba, save your kisses for me, or Bohemian Rhapsody. B. No,

:40:52. > :40:57.it was Fernando by Abba. The world charp ship has been -- Championship

:40:58. > :41:05.has been heard since 1977. Where was the final held in 76. Somewhere like

:41:06. > :41:09.Derby. No Manchester. Whoever gave you that question, that is a

:41:10. > :41:14.stinker. Third one. Who is the only player to have made a century in the

:41:15. > :41:20.first frame of World Championship on the opening morning. Steven Hend

:41:21. > :41:27.tri, Peter Ebdon or Mark Williams? B. Peter Ebdon is direct. A round of

:41:28. > :41:37.applause. Very good. Well done. Great guess. No 4. In 2013 it was

:41:38. > :41:42.your first appearance and the first time you didn't meet a former world

:41:43. > :41:50.champion in the opening round. Who did you play? Sam Baird. Comment.

:41:51. > :41:58.Two reds off. Your final question. John Spencer won in 1977, but who

:41:59. > :42:08.won it in 87 and 97? 97 was Ken. Correct. 87 was... It's got to be

:42:09. > :42:12.Davis. Correct well done very good. You have got three out of five. That

:42:13. > :42:21.is a good effort. You can take any three reds off you like. One down.

:42:22. > :42:29.Two and one more to go. One more? Yeah. Am I right in saying you never

:42:30. > :42:34.did this last year? No, I weren't here long enough last year! You have

:42:35. > :42:38.to clear all the reds against the clock the clock will start the first

:42:39. > :42:43.time you strike the cue ball. I will keep you up-to-date with the time.

:42:44. > :42:46.When it is near the end, everyone put him under pressure! Off you go.

:42:47. > :43:09.Start now. Move. Sorry. Aye, aye! No misses so far.

:43:10. > :43:18.Excellent. OK. Just gone past 20 seconds. Oh, he has snookered

:43:19. > :43:28.himself. Oh, no! Oh no, a schoolboy error. Your potting is good any way.

:43:29. > :43:38.I have had a bit of practice. That is true!

:43:39. > :43:47.We are just... Coming up nearly, just gone 55. Coming up just to a

:43:48. > :43:57.minute. Now. You have had one minute. Oh, good shot. Nice touch.

:43:58. > :44:02.Snookered yourself? He is playing a swerve, he just touched the red.

:44:03. > :44:14.Very nice. Cue ball's got to do a bit of manoeuvring. The pressure on

:44:15. > :44:22.this one. Oh! I see. He has gone for the one there. He has got one minute

:44:23. > :44:27.30 now. I won't beat you. Can't believe you didn't beat my score

:44:28. > :44:34.last year. You're gutted. One minute and 40. Final black. Don't miss it.

:44:35. > :44:39.In it goes, well done. APPLAUSE. Congratulations. You have done it.

:44:40. > :44:47.In one minute and 44 and the good news is you're leading. Brilliant.

:44:48. > :44:53.Hazel it's all yours. I know that is trickier than a first round

:44:54. > :44:58.opponents at the Crucible. Now the professional scene is a big

:44:59. > :45:01.travelling global circus. That was underlined today when a man who had

:45:02. > :45:07.been missing from that circus came back. It was a heart felt welcome

:45:08. > :45:17.for the referee Leo Scullion this morning. I came back from China. I

:45:18. > :45:22.had done the final there. Neil Robert sop and Joe Perry. My wife

:45:23. > :45:27.said, right, doctors. I think she knew. I made an appointment and went

:45:28. > :45:37.to the doctor's and the medics took over from there. The first thing

:45:38. > :45:41.that happened I had an X ray and the doctor said, there is a shadow on

:45:42. > :45:49.your lung. Maybe it's just hind sight, I feel as though I knew the

:45:50. > :45:56.word cancer was uttered and my wife just went to bits and I panicked. If

:45:57. > :46:01.they try to remove it, there was a danger they wouldn't be able to

:46:02. > :46:05.remove it all and more importantly there is a major nerve runs there. I

:46:06. > :46:09.don't understand the medical terms. But if he damaged that, that

:46:10. > :46:15.controls the left side of my body and I would have no left side. It's

:46:16. > :46:20.taken a while to recover from that. Because that is major. Physically,

:46:21. > :46:25.I'm fine and it is a fortunate position, now I think is that

:46:26. > :46:29.something to be concerned about or are you just getting ole and grumpy.

:46:30. > :46:34.A lot of the time my wife this I'm getting old and grumpy. I had the

:46:35. > :46:40.great honour of refereeing the final in Glasgow. Of the Scottish Open.

:46:41. > :46:48.That was fantastic to referee my first final being back. I would like

:46:49. > :46:53.to say well done to Leo, we knew he battled a life-threatening illness a

:46:54. > :47:04.couple of years ago. To referee the open final was a massive affair. I

:47:05. > :47:09.suppose... There will be the icing on the cake to referee at the

:47:10. > :47:16.Crucible. The pride of Glasgow, Leo Scullion. It will be exciting and it

:47:17. > :47:22.will be nervous, because in some ways it will be like almost like my

:47:23. > :47:25.first time again. I will look back on it once it's done and think,

:47:26. > :47:30.you're back and just carry on my life from there and see what it

:47:31. > :47:38.holds for me. And great to see him back. John Higgins praising Leo. It

:47:39. > :47:43.was a class act and he was a runner up and to have the presence of mind

:47:44. > :47:54.to pay that tribute says a lot about the match. Leo's first match back in

:47:55. > :48:08.charge was this morning. And it Wurz Ding Junhui and the youngster who

:48:09. > :48:18.has idolised him, 19-year-old Zou Yuelong. And we saw the highest

:48:19. > :48:21.break of Championship so far. Joe won the first, but Ding is marching

:48:22. > :48:48.on. He is trailing by 46 points. Doesn't need that many points to

:48:49. > :51:16.secure this seventh frame. He has done well since the interval.

:51:17. > :51:24.I know he lost the last frame, but it couldn't have been easy coming

:51:25. > :51:29.out this morning, playing Ding Junhui, first time at the Crucible.

:51:30. > :51:35.He would have been very nervous. But he looks to have settled down a lot

:51:36. > :51:44.now. He is cueing a lot more smoothly than he was.

:51:45. > :51:57.His composure and demeanour around the table looks a lot more relaxed.

:51:58. > :52:06.Yeah, I mentioned that Terry Griffivities iths said he was

:52:07. > :52:17.feeling a bit under the weather. A small touch of flu.

:52:18. > :52:24.Be good for his confidence if he can try and clear the table here. The

:52:25. > :52:28.frame's already won. But it gives you a good feeling going into the

:52:29. > :52:33.next frame and you can pot every ball on the table.

:52:34. > :52:58.Don't relax for one minute. Needs to keep coming. And it has.

:52:59. > :53:02.I haven't seen too much of this young Chinese player, but I like his

:53:03. > :53:15.game. I like his cue action. Good solid stance, nice pause at the

:53:16. > :53:17.back before he delivers the cue. There is so many great young players

:53:18. > :53:25.coming from China. Ding Junhui is their hero. These

:53:26. > :53:30.days they watch so much and they can copy it.

:53:31. > :53:43.It is easier to learn the game these days.

:53:44. > :53:51.In the old days they used to say you had to be a good bill yards player,

:53:52. > :54:00.before you could be a good snooker player. That is a terrific

:54:01. > :54:08.positional shot. To make sure he was on the black. Well played. That was

:54:09. > :54:18.a terrific game. He had an earlier 42. He will be feeling much better

:54:19. > :54:25.now. He still trails 5-2. REFEREE: Frame 8. Don't underestimate how big

:54:26. > :54:29.a star he is in China, Ding Junhui. If he was to win this World

:54:30. > :55:19.Championship, it would just be phenomenal.

:55:20. > :56:03.Ding Junhui is looking at this red. It is around the back of the black.

:56:04. > :56:09.He has turned the red down. Only because he can't get position. There

:56:10. > :56:14.is no point in taking the pot on. Maybe because his long pot success

:56:15. > :56:16.is only down to 91%, maybe he is not feeling confident. Ten out of eleven

:56:17. > :56:33.he has potted. The cue ball glued to that baulk

:56:34. > :56:48.cushion. One mistake could cost Joe the frame.

:56:49. > :56:56.That is what he is looking at. I can't see an easy path to even land

:56:57. > :56:58.on the red behind the black. He can see reds, but there is no path back

:56:59. > :57:15.down the table. Nothing there. The one behind the black, he would

:57:16. > :57:19.like to nestle on that. I think he is going into the side of the pack.

:57:20. > :57:22.I don't know if he can get to that one I mentioned.

:57:23. > :57:32.Might be he can. It is not a bad effort, you know. Oh! He was unlucky

:57:33. > :57:38.there. Because the black might be available into the same pocket as

:57:39. > :57:42.the red, but he is very unfortunate to see this red. He is looking to

:57:43. > :57:52.see what sort of angle he has left on it.

:57:53. > :57:57.Ding played off the cushion there. It is difficult when the cue ball

:57:58. > :57:59.and object ball are so close together.

:58:00. > :59:14.There is pressure on this black. Good shot. What is he on?

:59:15. > :59:29.Don't know if the blacks still available to that corner. It will

:59:30. > :59:47.make this visit to the table a lot easier if it is.

:59:48. > :59:57.That shot tells tub doesn't go. Has played a great shot. Finished

:59:58. > :00:00.perfectly on the blue. If he picked the cue ball up with his hand and

:00:01. > :00:05.placed it somewhere, couldn't put it any better. Can virtually do what he

:00:06. > :00:13.wants with this shot. The red to the left of the black, don't know if he

:00:14. > :00:21.can play for that. Somewhere in the circle would be good.

:00:22. > :00:40.I think he is just about OK there. Only just.

:00:41. > :00:52.Will play a little cannon here. Two reds above the black, just a little

:00:53. > :00:59.can nonon the right side one of those, as we look at it. That's what

:01:00. > :01:08.Steven was suggesting there. He stunned off the other side.

:01:09. > :02:02.Whatever, he played the cannon perfectly anyway.

:02:03. > :02:15.Just makes break building so easy. Looks effortless.

:02:16. > :02:20.Again he is looking, definitely going to play some sort of cannon,

:02:21. > :02:26.he is looking at the best. The red directly in between the black and

:02:27. > :02:30.pink, the reds either side of that, any one of those would develop

:02:31. > :03:07.position. He's not landed absolutely

:03:08. > :03:13.perfectly. The red to right middle he should get. Virtually nothing to

:03:14. > :03:19.do with the cue ball, hampered slightly.

:03:20. > :03:28.It is starting to look ominous now in this frame.

:03:29. > :03:36.Could be looking at possibility century number two this morning for

:03:37. > :03:44.Ding Junhui. Yeah, he has missed precious little, just the odd

:03:45. > :03:50.slip-up but very, very few of them. When he started off nicely with

:03:51. > :04:01.breaks of 60 and 57, he followed that with a 54 and then that

:04:02. > :04:09.magnificent 136 in frame four. 78 in frame six. Now this.

:04:10. > :04:13.It's a very high standard. He has let that cue ball run about

:04:14. > :05:30.three inches too far. Did well on the previous frame.

:05:31. > :06:06.Breaks of 42 and then 81. But he can't do anything about this here.

:06:07. > :06:13.I said when Ding played that magnificent safety shot that it

:06:14. > :06:49.could cost the frame and it has done.

:06:50. > :07:06.We are up to 14 centuries now in this year's Betfred World

:07:07. > :07:15.Championship. Certainly looking like century number 15. And ding's 25th

:07:16. > :07:17.of the Seaning. -- of the season. Just the black needed and he will

:07:18. > :07:30.play to get on the yellow also. And that's another super century

:07:31. > :07:32.from Ding Junhui. APPLAUSE

:07:33. > :07:45.There we have it. A ton up.

:07:46. > :07:52.Doesn't matter about the yellow not dropping. He got his century break.

:07:53. > :08:02.More importantly, he extends his lead and Ding Junhui has now got a

:08:03. > :08:07.four-frame advantage, 6-2. STUDIO: Second century of the match.

:08:08. > :08:13.He made 15 on his way and in the final last year. So he is setting

:08:14. > :08:17.off at quite a pace. His 19-year-old opponent has been a pro for three

:08:18. > :08:19.years got a bit of chasing to do. It's Zhou Yuelong at the table as we

:08:20. > :08:35.go into the next one. He hangs his head, he knows he has

:08:36. > :08:41.put Ding right in amongst them with that little nudge. A little bit

:08:42. > :08:47.unfortunate there. We will maybe show you that again. He is right in

:08:48. > :08:50.with a great chance. He comes off the cushion here.

:08:51. > :08:56.Just watch this little nudge here. He hit the red. Then it hit the

:08:57. > :09:01.other red and that's the reaction from Zhou Yuelong.

:09:02. > :09:05.What sort of reaction are we going to get from Ding Junhui? It's a

:09:06. > :09:37.great chance, it has to be said. He's just run that cue ball a bit

:09:38. > :09:43.far. If he plays the blue he is going to have to go into the pink or

:09:44. > :09:52.play some sort of cannon to kill the pace of the cue ball. Make sure you

:09:53. > :09:58.keep your eye on the pot. He plays that shot really well. More often

:09:59. > :10:06.than not gets a completely full contact on the pink. Still not ideal

:10:07. > :10:55.but I think he can find the gap to play up for the blue here.

:10:56. > :11:01.The pink is out of commission at the moment. The black is available but

:11:02. > :11:04.that red to the right of the black is a little bit of a distraction. He

:11:05. > :11:11.is straight on the blue but it doesn't mat they are time, he has

:11:12. > :11:17.the red to the right corner. He can play for the black off this.

:11:18. > :11:23.And then maybe do something about the red that's just to the right of

:11:24. > :11:42.the black that's hampering the black slightly.

:11:43. > :11:49.I think that red also goes into the same pocket as the black, the one I

:11:50. > :11:53.mentioned. So he has a few ways of going about this. If he just goes in

:11:54. > :11:59.between the two reds he can leave that one for the same pocket as the

:12:00. > :12:04.black, but it's got to be a little bit careful with the positional side

:12:05. > :12:08.of things here. You always try to take the simplest

:12:09. > :12:28.way possible. Take the other one first but we know

:12:29. > :12:35.that that red that was a little bit awkwardly placed is available. This

:12:36. > :12:53.is missable, playing it at pace. Safely in.

:12:54. > :13:00.The cue ball just brushed by the red, just to leave this awkward

:13:01. > :13:07.cueing. I think he thought it would cannon the red and be perfect. So,

:13:08. > :13:15.got to give this extra attention. Keep very still on the shot.

:13:16. > :13:22.APPLAUSE Looks very strong indeed now, Ding

:13:23. > :13:28.Junhui. OK he has a big lead in the match and he has been comfortable

:13:29. > :13:38.for most of the morning, but he has been pretty impressive.

:13:39. > :13:48.Yeah, he's been very, very consistent this morning.

:13:49. > :13:57.If you keep making breaks over the half century you're well on your way

:13:58. > :14:02.and he's certainly done that along with that magnificent two century

:14:03. > :14:10.breaks, as they used to say in Lancashire, he is in fine fettle.

:14:11. > :14:18.That should open up everything. A little unfortunate. He would have

:14:19. > :14:23.loved to have cannoned the pink and two reds together. Just got a bit

:14:24. > :14:31.more grip on the cue ball. I still expect him to pot this red to right

:14:32. > :14:42.middle. When you are in this kind of groove of scoring, pockets start to

:14:43. > :14:43.look like buckets. You wouldn't bet against him making a third century

:14:44. > :14:56.of the morning. All good stuff. It makes for a great

:14:57. > :15:00.Championship this year because we have said, most people have said

:15:01. > :15:03.this, the most open World Championship for quite a long time.

:15:04. > :15:11.We keep saying that every year, but there is a lot of players in with a

:15:12. > :15:21.great chance this year. Ding Junhui, who was a finalist last year,

:15:22. > :15:31.certainly is in great form as he runs slightly out of position.

:15:32. > :15:39.What a tough half of the draw this is. Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan,

:15:40. > :15:54.Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson. Mark Selby. Very tough to pick a

:15:55. > :16:27.finalist out of this half of the draw.

:16:28. > :16:35.He is going to need the last red to make the century break. He might try

:16:36. > :16:54.and develop it. And he did. As Stephen said, I think it was in

:16:55. > :17:02.the first frame, one of the best break builders the game has ever

:17:03. > :17:17.seen, he is on 442 centuries in his career. Make that 443. One or two,

:17:18. > :17:28.barring one or two lapses in concentration, Ding Junhui has been

:17:29. > :17:38.brilliant this morning. 91% long pots. Pot success 97%. Three

:17:39. > :17:51.centuries. I think seven breaks over 60. Awesome really. Yeah. Zhou

:17:52. > :17:58.Yuelong couldn't do much about this. He did play well to win the two

:17:59. > :18:08.frames that he did. But this, without doubt, is the best

:18:09. > :18:11.performance so far. And finishes off with that magnificent break there,

:18:12. > :18:16.three centuries and he acknowledges the crowd. Finished with a break of

:18:17. > :18:19.132. He had 136, the highest of this year's tournament. He acknowledges

:18:20. > :18:26.the crowd as he leaves the arecent into in a. It's a great performance

:18:27. > :18:30.-- arena. He leads 7-2. It's the most impressive progress of anyone

:18:31. > :18:37.so far, particularly in the first session. Three centuries, made 15

:18:38. > :18:46.last year. Looks I can lease on the march. He is wonderful to watch.

:18:47. > :18:49.When you watch those breaks you think that's simple. His

:18:50. > :18:52.break-building is fabulous. It's easy to forget last year he turned

:18:53. > :18:55.up as a qualifier. He had to go through three matches just to get

:18:56. > :19:00.here and of course that wonderful run to the final. Yeah, and almost

:19:01. > :19:03.did it. As you said, the most impressive performance of the first

:19:04. > :19:10.round so far. When he is on song, playing like that, he is so good to

:19:11. > :19:12.watch. And his cue ball on is on a string, makes breaks effortlessly.

:19:13. > :19:20.He looks in fine form. He will come back tomorrow afternoon

:19:21. > :19:26.to finish that one off. In a way his younger opponent who idolises this

:19:27. > :19:31.man. You could see that. They've played on two occasions before, it

:19:32. > :19:38.was something like six nil, 5-1. He is a class act. He has looked up to

:19:39. > :19:47.him and livestocks he has played, Ding, it's probably not a bad draw

:19:48. > :19:50.An incredible number of Chinese players coming through at a young

:19:51. > :19:55.age. Great to see him here. He has been coming through the last couple

:19:56. > :20:00.of years but one prospect for the future as indeed Yan Bingtao who

:20:01. > :20:02.place the second session against Shaun Murphy. Let's remind you of

:20:03. > :21:20.how the draw looks right now. We began with six Chinese players in

:21:21. > :21:29.the draw. That's a record. In fact, it's the subject of the first Table

:21:30. > :21:37.Talk of this year's Championship. And we have been joined by Thai to

:21:38. > :21:40.talk about this. There is a lot to talk about with the Chinese

:21:41. > :21:45.contingent. That's a record, six players from China and Hong Kong in

:21:46. > :21:49.that draw. Five in 2012. And they really are in the mix here. Not just

:21:50. > :22:00.in the Championship, but in the city itself. Very many of them play and

:22:01. > :22:06.live and are based right here. Before I was a manager for three

:22:07. > :22:08.years. China people love snooker because of Ding's success. Now they

:22:09. > :22:14.want to follow. They want to achieve hopefully

:22:15. > :22:26.similar success. They know each forefor a while,

:22:27. > :22:32.since they were eight and nine, when they start to play snooker. Six of

:22:33. > :22:37.them all live in the same flat. They all are different. They always have

:22:38. > :22:41.dinner together. They have celebrated things together and

:22:42. > :22:43.sometimes they go out have fun together like racing, off the table.

:22:44. > :22:52.They also If you see one, you always see the

:22:53. > :22:57.other four or five. I relate a lot to the culture. I would rather sit

:22:58. > :23:03.there, drink tea, eat food, chill out, relax, watch a bit of TV and

:23:04. > :23:09.chat. I gravitate more towards the Chinese kind of culture really, if

:23:10. > :23:14.you like. So, I am very close to a lot of the Chinese players. He works

:23:15. > :23:21.the hardest, always in the morning the first one in and the last one,

:23:22. > :23:26.that's the reason why how he achieves so much. When you live so

:23:27. > :23:29.far away from home you come to the UK to pursue your snooker dream,

:23:30. > :23:35.that's what they're coming for, they need to deliver on the table so they

:23:36. > :23:38.know and they have lots of expectations on their shoulders so

:23:39. > :23:42.they have to work hard because it's a very tough sport. If you don't,

:23:43. > :23:48.two years later you pack your suitcase and go back. So they are

:23:49. > :23:59.working harder. They help each other, support each other. And you

:24:00. > :24:02.are working with world snooker in an increasingly and rather large media

:24:03. > :24:07.Chinese fraternity. How long have you been working with world snooker?

:24:08. > :24:12.I think it's longer than three, four years, I am not quite sure. The

:24:13. > :24:17.first tournament was 2013, Welsh Open. Four, maybe longer than four.

:24:18. > :24:19.You are very much part of the scene and also doing commentary for

:24:20. > :24:23.Chinese television. Even in the three years that you have been doing

:24:24. > :24:27.this job and liaising with the media from the Far East how much has the

:24:28. > :24:31.level of interest grown, even in that short time? I think it's quite

:24:32. > :24:36.different now because the time is changing, we have so much of social

:24:37. > :24:40.media coming now. The total environment has changed already. The

:24:41. > :24:44.dynamic with how it works. The numbers, the figures we see on the

:24:45. > :24:48.social media platforms are rising, that's for sure and more people

:24:49. > :24:55.talking about this, more people staying on TV, on live streaming, on

:24:56. > :24:59.everything else. People can do anything now, they can receive live

:25:00. > :25:05.feed on phones. So, it's very likely that when you go on a bus, you go on

:25:06. > :25:10.subways, with signal receptions there, people will be scrolling down

:25:11. > :25:15.their phones checking out scores or watching live streaming, that's good

:25:16. > :25:18.for snooker. It's popular, I remember reading viewing figures

:25:19. > :25:23.were 210 million in China lone for the final. That sounds like an

:25:24. > :25:26.audience we can only dream of obviously, but in relative terms how

:25:27. > :25:30.does that compare with some of the largest sporting events that you

:25:31. > :25:39.would be watching, are those great figures for China? I think still is,

:25:40. > :25:42.just for that night, 210 people, you look at those figures it doesn't

:25:43. > :25:49.really tell the story because we have such a massive population. But

:25:50. > :25:55.when you look into the night that one, that match is the most views TV

:25:56. > :25:59.programmes on any of the TVs, that's the leading, number one TV show on

:26:00. > :26:03.any of the networks, that tells us the story. Nothing else is beating

:26:04. > :26:07.snooker semifinal. It's extraordinary. When you have a look

:26:08. > :26:13.at the draw to see the Chinese players who are there. Of the six of

:26:14. > :26:17.these guys, one from Hong Kong and the rest from mainland China.

:26:18. > :26:22.They're all in the top half. How is that viewed amongst the Chinese

:26:23. > :26:27.media? Well, I am not sure how the media thinks, I can tell you most of

:26:28. > :26:33.the players don't really like it. Do we have to play each other to get to

:26:34. > :26:38.a certain stage of the tournament? That's pretty much wrong. The first

:26:39. > :26:42.two rounds when Wenbo played, international Championship, the

:26:43. > :26:45.first maybe two or three matches is always playing against Chinese

:26:46. > :26:52.players. You shouldn't have so many good players, it's your own fault

:26:53. > :26:58.for having too many good ones! Everyone is putting in so much

:26:59. > :27:02.effort in making it so big in China to more journalists to work, more

:27:03. > :27:10.photographers, more efforts on the social media platform, maybe not

:27:11. > :27:14.you, John, last time qualified you didn't even cover... Oh! The figures

:27:15. > :27:19.are staggering. I think it's something like 70 million in China

:27:20. > :27:25.play recreational cue sports. That could be pool, could be snooker,

:27:26. > :27:30.over one week. There is now an academy in Beijing which is a feeder

:27:31. > :27:35.system for the Tour and has been churning out professionals since

:27:36. > :27:39.September 2013. But it's long been predicted since Ding Junhui won a

:27:40. > :27:44.title in 2005 that the Chinese revolution would kick in now. Are

:27:45. > :27:47.you surprised in some respects it hasn't to this point completely

:27:48. > :27:52.taken over and do you expect that it might? I think it will, without a

:27:53. > :27:56.doubt. You have to understand when they come from so far away to settle

:27:57. > :28:00.here there is a lot of Chinese players have come and gone but these

:28:01. > :28:05.lads now are going to be staying for a long time. I have beenen to the

:28:06. > :28:09.academy in Beijing, it's a fantastic facility. Full-sized tables, even

:28:10. > :28:14.half-size as well for juniors to start. They've full-time coaches

:28:15. > :28:17.there all the time. Even when you go to schools and colleges in China you

:28:18. > :28:22.might go to the recreation hall and they've have table tennis tables and

:28:23. > :28:25.about 20 snooker tables, half-size, full-size, so the facilities are

:28:26. > :28:29.there from the ground roots. They've worked it out. Because of that

:28:30. > :28:39.they're going to churn out players from a young age and you are going

:28:40. > :28:44.to see more. I remember in 1984 the first time the Republic of China

:28:45. > :28:49.went back into the Olympic Games and since then you have tried to play

:28:50. > :28:54.catch-up as a nation culturally speaking in sport. In cultural terms

:28:55. > :28:58.the impact and the position of sport in China, how much has it grown and

:28:59. > :29:04.where would you say it is now in terms of its pre-a-Lens in people's

:29:05. > :29:08.consciousness over there now? I think that's massively due to two

:29:09. > :29:12.things. First of all, I think the Chinese Government has been changing

:29:13. > :29:17.its attitude to the sport as an industry as a whole, especially for

:29:18. > :29:22.the reasons maybe five or six years, so we have more tournaments, we have

:29:23. > :29:27.more people sponsoring big tournaments and help all this

:29:28. > :29:33.industry grow up. The other thing is just like I said, everybody's able

:29:34. > :29:38.to have live feed on their phones and tablets, they are able to follow

:29:39. > :29:43.the sports they love in many of the ways.

:29:44. > :29:51.Iards, If I ever qualify for China again, I'm coming. This is a subject

:29:52. > :29:54.and a presence on the sporting scene and the snooker scene that we are

:29:55. > :30:01.going to see more of in the coming weeks possibly. But we are moving to

:30:02. > :30:08.our priorities this afternoon, matches this afternoon with some

:30:09. > :30:11.live games coming up. We have Shaun Murphy against Yann Bingtao, the

:30:12. > :30:17.youngster of the pack, the man who was born in 2000 and the second

:30:18. > :30:22.youngest to play here. He resumes against Shaun Murphy and John

:30:23. > :30:32.Higgins playing against Martin Gould. But it is the Murphy and Yann

:30:33. > :30:37.Bingtao match that has given us some impressive glimpses of the abilities

:30:38. > :30:48.of both men. Please welcome Yann Bingtao. Here comes the magician,

:30:49. > :30:50.here comes Shaun Murphy! Chinese player gets this fascinating match

:30:51. > :31:07.under way. Clean as you like. What a pot! What a pot that was. He

:31:08. > :31:14.normally would pot that nine out of ten. But it is his first appearance

:31:15. > :31:19.at the Crucible. That was a nice break of 52 that gives the form

:31:20. > :31:24.early-morning world champion this opening frame. Excellent. Great

:31:25. > :31:34.shot. Now, the possibility of a century. There is a lot of support

:31:35. > :31:43.here as well and what a finish. Fantastic century from the young

:31:44. > :31:51.man. That is the first careless one the young Chinese player's put in.

:31:52. > :31:56.Oh, well... Didn't expect that. This is where the game is so tough, you

:31:57. > :32:01.have to seat in your seat and watch your opponent do this and you know

:32:02. > :32:06.you had the first chance and Shaun acknowledging the crowd as they

:32:07. > :32:10.applaud the century break and Murphy extends his lead to 4-1. This is

:32:11. > :32:20.terrific stuff we are watching here in this match. He was 4-1 down. He

:32:21. > :32:29.has won the last two frames and now Shaun Murphy leads 4-3. A fantastic

:32:30. > :32:34.pot that was. Great shot. Smiles all around from Shaun Murphy. He will be

:32:35. > :32:45.very pleased and takes a 6-3 advantage. So a fantastic start for

:32:46. > :32:49.Yan Bingtao. His first frame he wins, it is a century. There is only

:32:50. > :32:55.one thing missing from his game - experience. He strikes the ball

:32:56. > :33:00.beautifully. He has a lovely cue action. And he is 17. In 2000 he was

:33:01. > :33:05.born. People, the amount of players who have been here, 17 to be playing

:33:06. > :33:12.here is incredible. It is only a bit of experience he needs. There is Yan

:33:13. > :33:18.Bingtao. His match is about to finish. The other match about to

:33:19. > :33:28.start. Let's hand you to our starter Mr Rob Walker. Our MC. Thanks Hazel.

:33:29. > :33:34.Five players have secured their passage to the second round of this

:33:35. > :33:38.year's World Championship. Time to find out who is next. The drama

:33:39. > :33:43.continues on the sport's most important stage of all. CHEERING AND

:33:44. > :34:00.APPLAUSE. Please welcome first of all, a

:34:01. > :34:03.player returning for an eighth Crucible appearance after coming

:34:04. > :34:09.through the qualifiers in fine style. Winner of last year's German

:34:10. > :34:26.Masters. He is poised and ready to go. He is Martin Gould.

:34:27. > :34:45.His opponent bgs back, can you believe for a 23rd Crucible

:34:46. > :34:50.appearance. Three more big wins this season, taking his tally to 28

:34:51. > :34:57.ranking trophies. He is one of Scotland's finest sports man and

:34:58. > :34:59.four times the champion of the world, the Wizard of Wishaw, he is

:35:00. > :35:18.John Higgins. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Please

:35:19. > :35:22.welcome back one of the most exciting teenagers the game has seen

:35:23. > :35:29.in recent years, a World Cup winner at 15. Five times he has made the

:35:30. > :35:33.last six this season. He is the first player born this century to

:35:34. > :35:40.appear here at the Crucible. That is why we call him Chinese Millennium

:35:41. > :36:04.Boy. Yan Bingtao! And finally his opponent, one of a

:36:05. > :36:10.list of players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. World

:36:11. > :36:15.champion in 05, UK champion in 08. He seemed the hat trick two years

:36:16. > :36:21.ago, bidding for an eleventh appearance in the last 16, a class

:36:22. > :36:25.act, he is the magician, he is Shaun Murphy.

:36:26. > :36:51.STUDIO: And we are grooving away to Shaun's walk on music and you can

:36:52. > :37:00.watching the opening exchanges on their match on the web-site. But now

:37:01. > :37:07.we will focus match, Murphy chasing a place in round two. Watching by

:37:08. > :37:17.Steve Davis and John Virgo and they both looked impressive? COMMENTATOR:

:37:18. > :37:22.Yes, very interesting match, Shaun Murphy looks to be a favourite, but

:37:23. > :37:37.is in young man, like a lot of young players, if nay they get on a roll

:37:38. > :37:42.they can do it in quick time. Yes, I think Yan Bingtao is a name for the

:37:43. > :37:47.future. That's nailed on at the age of 17, coming on so strong in the

:37:48. > :37:49.game. History would say you need a couple of visits here perfect you

:37:50. > :38:03.showed your true colours. But just see how this player

:38:04. > :38:06.improves over the next few years. He has got one. He has finished nicely

:38:07. > :38:22.on the yellow. The problem is the cue ball is

:38:23. > :38:26.coming down the left-hand side of the table as we look. He is looking

:38:27. > :38:36.at that red immediately above the black, to see if he can get on that.

:38:37. > :38:40.This yellow is a lot easier if he doesn't have to do anything with the

:38:41. > :38:53.cue ball. Choosing the wise option here. He

:38:54. > :38:59.would be disappointed he didn't more from that excellent opening red, but

:39:00. > :39:04.part of the equation as to how quickly in the game Yan Bingtao

:39:05. > :39:10.improves is how wise a head he has got on his shoulders.

:39:11. > :39:36.Shot selection is a very big part of this game of ours.

:39:37. > :39:42.REFEREE: Foul. Better in the pocket than rattling the jaws and staying

:39:43. > :40:11.at this end. He played the safety shot the other

:40:12. > :40:31.side of the brown. Might be a path round the back of

:40:32. > :40:52.the black here. So he has a nice shot to nothing.

:40:53. > :40:55.Another good long pot and this time played it confidently enough to stay

:40:56. > :41:03.short of baulk line. Nicely on the brown. Good cue action. Some id hit.

:41:04. > :41:57.Keeps his head rock still. Not an easy layout of reds at the

:41:58. > :42:03.moment. Hard to see too much of a future in this break.

:42:04. > :42:13.So trying to make something happen. And nothing did I don't think.

:42:14. > :42:19.Perhaps he can get through. Perhaps he can. You can see from the body

:42:20. > :42:24.language. He can probably pot it, but he can't do anything with the

:42:25. > :42:29.cue ball. We say it is all about fractions, I think he can just about

:42:30. > :42:37.get to this red. If he can screw back it is OK.

:42:38. > :42:47.Fluent. He is not too bad, he has the blue to the far left corner. But

:42:48. > :42:49.what goes to the left corner pocket this end of the table, I'm not too

:42:50. > :42:55.sure. If anything. When he powered that blue in, he

:42:56. > :43:14.could have hoped for a better split. Got to do some work with this cue

:43:15. > :43:19.ball to get something going. Looks like a red does go into the corner.

:43:20. > :43:24.But not only did he miss the pot, but he also didn't get the

:43:25. > :43:28.positional side right either. So probably won't be too disappointed

:43:29. > :43:34.with the outcome. It begs the question if that red in the middle

:43:35. > :43:40.or just below the green does go, why didn't he play the blue? The blue

:43:41. > :43:48.was unmissable. Any way, he didn't leave anything. Shaun has. Yeah,

:43:49. > :43:52.another. The way Shaun played that, hey had to trust a bit to luck with

:43:53. > :44:04.the outcome of the layout of reds. That was perhaps the most important

:44:05. > :44:23.long pot. More committal. You can see the disappointment on

:44:24. > :44:28.his face. That was a big one that. If he had got that, I think if he

:44:29. > :44:33.had potted it, he would have been on the black. Shaun has not had to work

:44:34. > :45:05.too hard to get this chance. Impressed with Shaun Murphy if their

:45:06. > :45:07.first session. Wasn't the greatest draw, don't really want to play the

:45:08. > :45:33.you kids on the block. Obviously Shaun's been watching

:45:34. > :45:35.Bingtao, perhaps played him as well, but this is the biggest match they

:45:36. > :45:41.have encountered each other. Head-to-head it is 2-1 to the young

:45:42. > :45:59.Chinese player. But as you say, different kettle of

:46:00. > :46:28.fish playing the cauldron that is the Crucible.

:46:29. > :46:37.The cue ball pulled up just in time. Even though Shaun Murphy needs the

:46:38. > :46:50.rest, it is preferable to the spider.

:46:51. > :46:54.Very assured with the rest, Shaun. Doesn't look like he is going to

:46:55. > :47:18.miss. Purposefully holding the blue spot

:47:19. > :47:50.there. So he would have a straighter shot on this red.

:47:51. > :47:58.You're thinking potting this red he will be looking for a hard ball pot

:47:59. > :48:02.on the blue. To pot the blue and come off the side cushion and try

:48:03. > :48:13.and open those reds up. That is the plan. Pretty big target.

:48:14. > :48:30.He could have gone into them probably ten times and perhaps eight

:48:31. > :48:38.out of the ten you would have been nicely placed. Yes, he was unlucky.

:48:39. > :48:44.We can always be wise after the event, maybe a bit more pace. But

:48:45. > :48:47.that's only being wise after the event. But he hit them absolutely

:48:48. > :49:08.perfectly. Seems a bit of a contradiction, hit

:49:09. > :49:14.them perfectly and he is on nothing. That is what happens, when you play

:49:15. > :49:48.the cannon, you're always trusting a bit to luck.

:49:49. > :49:58.This is a good line. Oh just a bit narrow. Another fraction and he

:49:59. > :50:03.would have had Shaun in all kinds of trouble. That is what it takes -

:50:04. > :50:09.just one shot like that. If it had been just half an inch the other

:50:10. > :50:19.way, Shaun would have been snookered behind the yellow.

:50:20. > :50:32.Terrific pot. He has got the kiss on the blue. It's not helped matters. I

:50:33. > :51:02.think it will be yellow and snooker behind the blue here.

:51:03. > :51:11.He would have liked to have played a bit better. I thought rolling to the

:51:12. > :51:17.yellow he would be behind the blue and snookering his opponent on all

:51:18. > :51:22.the reds. Yeah, I think he was doing the maths to see if he could put the

:51:23. > :51:29.yellow on the side cushion for some insurance.

:51:30. > :51:40.Should Bingtao get in among the balls, he would need the yellow.

:51:41. > :51:43.Nice little flick on blue. Did it flick the blue? The red to the right

:51:44. > :52:16.corner would have been on. If he can get this right, he could

:52:17. > :52:22.have Shaun in a bit of bother. Try and get in behind the blue. That's

:52:23. > :52:28.got to be the shot. He hasn't looked at it yet. No? He hasn't even lined

:52:29. > :52:32.it up. But surely he wants the red off the cushion. He is coming down

:52:33. > :52:37.to have a look behind the blue. The one closest to the corner pocket, I

:52:38. > :52:39.think he will be covered by the other red any way as long as he gets

:52:40. > :52:50.in the middle of baulk cushion. He would like to be tight behind the

:52:51. > :52:57.blue, but doesn't want to risk. That is a pretty poor effort.

:52:58. > :53:09.Bad shot. Might not have done any damage. It is a tempter for Shaun

:53:10. > :53:15.and considering where the yellow is that he did put there for that bit

:53:16. > :54:15.of insurance policy. That is what we are going. I would

:54:16. > :54:20.give it a try any way. You don't, you like to go a long cushion if it

:54:21. > :54:27.makes sense. What does a short cushion mean. Should I explain it in

:54:28. > :54:39.English? Yes. The player doesn't like to hit the white ball that is

:54:40. > :54:43.closest. It doesn't release sometimes. He has gone this way

:54:44. > :54:58.using the spider. The reason you don't want to go to a

:54:59. > :55:04.short cushion is the ball isn't really moving. It is sliding.

:55:05. > :55:07.REFEREE: Foul. Miss. You would expect from this position Shaun

:55:08. > :55:23.Murphy to clinch the frame. Looking at a 7-3 lead if he can

:55:24. > :55:28.convert this. He has got two colours in the top part of the table the

:55:29. > :55:39.play on. He can use the green as a getting in shot. Not great. It is

:55:40. > :55:44.not the thin cut with a bit of trusting to look in and out of

:55:45. > :55:59.baulk. Don't think he can hold the cue ball.

:56:00. > :56:10.Well, I like you, thought that was a golden opportunity to win the frame.

:56:11. > :56:24.Now, if Yan can knock this in, we could have a new favourite.

:56:25. > :57:03.What do you reckon, 50/50 whether it goes in? With the cue ball going

:57:04. > :57:09.back up to the yellow, he might think there is a chance of a cover.

:57:10. > :57:15.Not playing it like that. He didn't have to hit it that hard. Perhaps

:57:16. > :57:19.there was a gap around the back of the black. I think the pot though

:57:20. > :57:24.was that difficult that you would have just played it and give it

:57:25. > :57:28.every chance to drop it in and not been that bothered about getting on

:57:29. > :57:30.a colour. The trouble was if it is harder like that it does come out a

:57:31. > :57:38.bit more. It's poked its nose out. Looks like Yan Bingtao will be

:57:39. > :58:04.behind the blue. Ooh, he has missed a snooker. He has

:58:05. > :58:11.missed a snooker. That is very careless. And he shouldn't when he

:58:12. > :58:18.comes back to the table be snookered behind the black. This looks a

:58:19. > :58:28.natural. Get that cue ball tight behind the black.

:58:29. > :59:11.Hmm. Another opportunity at a snooker missed.

:59:12. > :59:38.He would like this one again. Just 20 points in it.

:59:39. > :59:39.the sports they love in many of the ways.

:59:40. > :59:46.Any safety shot that sends the object ball towards a pocket is

:59:47. > :59:49.fraught with danger. You can't guarantee hiding behind a

:59:50. > :59:59.colour. So it's all about this yellow.

:00:00. > :00:06.And with the opportunities he has had here, Steve, if Shaun was to

:00:07. > :00:10.lose this frame, it would be a blow to his confidence. He has had the

:00:11. > :00:22.upper hand on more occasions, that's for certain.

:00:23. > :00:34.In this type of situation from Shaun Murphy's position he is pleased that

:00:35. > :00:44.the black is not a gimme. 15 points of difference. He is going

:00:45. > :00:51.to need the six remaining colours, Yan Bingtao.

:00:52. > :00:57.APPLAUSE En

:00:58. > :01:05.Well, that could turn out to be the killer shot in this frame.

:01:06. > :01:19.It's the age-old problem, you'd like to hit this off two cushions. Foul.

:01:20. > :01:25.Well, doesn't want to leave a free ball. Shaun may not play this, he

:01:26. > :01:29.will just ask him to play from that position.

:01:30. > :02:01.He has to hit this within two hits to avoid needing snookers.

:02:02. > :02:05.Has a country cushion escape or a two. He has to commit to either one

:02:06. > :02:15.because there is a big gap around the back.

:02:16. > :02:30.He's hit it but he's left it. Shaun Murphy has got to play this

:02:31. > :02:37.pretty softly to keep position on the green. In doing that, that's the

:02:38. > :02:44.only risk to the pot. If he hits it firm, he pots it. He may be able to

:02:45. > :02:49.play a two or three cushion positional shot, as well. But

:02:50. > :02:57.probably won't. Did and with that extension on the cue and perhaps

:02:58. > :03:01.putting side spin on, it pushed the cue ball into the yellow. Prefer to

:03:02. > :03:10.play that plain ball, I think, with the extension on. The fact he had to

:03:11. > :03:16.play it delicately, but just made certain of the pot. He needs this

:03:17. > :03:31.yellow to go in. And it obliged. A massive green coming up.

:03:32. > :03:36.He is going to have to take the pot on because I don't see a safety. Not

:03:37. > :03:47.a guaranteed frame-winner with the pink and black where they are.

:03:48. > :03:54.It's been a bit of a nerve-jangler this opening frame of the second

:03:55. > :03:59.session. It certainly has. You get the feeling that Shaun Murphy is

:04:00. > :04:10.going to fall over the line in it. You never know.

:04:11. > :04:21.Still needs the green and brown. A nice shot.

:04:22. > :04:25.Is he going to snooker himself? No! You can't account for that. Just

:04:26. > :04:29.shows you sometimes when you have had so many chances and the balls

:04:30. > :04:33.run against you it's like they don't forgive you for spurning chances

:04:34. > :04:44.earlier on in the frame. Switch it off, please!

:04:45. > :04:56.The referee straight on there with a rogue mobile phone.

:04:57. > :05:03.He's hit it. A nice hit. But this frame now is well and truly in the

:05:04. > :05:09.balance. OK, Shaun Murphy is 21 points in front but 22 remaining and

:05:10. > :05:13.now the pink is in a better position. It's not that, it's only

:05:14. > :05:18.the black, but if you got behind the black you would fancy potting. A

:05:19. > :05:26.tempter this. It's one of those shots, do you play

:05:27. > :05:33.it, do you not? It's certainly not a 50-50 pot. But

:05:34. > :05:37.the rewards are great. Yeah, you think if you played the

:05:38. > :05:41.cross double it's easy but if you cut it too thick the brown could run

:05:42. > :05:46.into the black and he could leave the brown on. It's the type of

:05:47. > :05:50.situation you could play a poor safety shot and regret not going for

:05:51. > :05:55.the brown. You play the brown, wobble it, stick it up and regret

:05:56. > :06:03.not playing the safety shot. It's the trials and trib u --

:06:04. > :06:07.tribulations of a snooker player. You wonder what makes a player

:06:08. > :06:10.decide one way or another, is it a hunch? Sometimes it is, you get down

:06:11. > :06:15.on a shot and sometimes you just fancy it. He is looking at the

:06:16. > :06:27.potting angle. So he is taking it on. A big shot. You can't criticise

:06:28. > :06:31.a player either way in this particular situation.

:06:32. > :06:33.Now he has got back up maybe he has decided against playing it. No, he

:06:34. > :06:46.is going for it. Foul. And that's it. He needs a

:06:47. > :06:52.snooker. But he won't get another chance because with that cue ball in

:06:53. > :07:06.the deep and the brown on, end of frame.

:07:07. > :07:18.So that's the frame in the bag for Shaun. He hasn't been too impressive

:07:19. > :07:24.in this frame. Needed at least four opportunities to win it. Can't rely

:07:25. > :07:33.on getting that many in the frame, normally, at this level. Doesn't

:07:34. > :07:41.matter about the pink. His opponent will concede.

:07:42. > :07:46.And the frame. So scrappy run but Shaun Murphy won't mind. He now

:07:47. > :07:51.extends his lead to four. 7-3 he leads.

:07:52. > :07:59.Important frame. The brown that Bingtao played was the end of it for

:08:00. > :08:02.him. It's funny, I think this is governed by the scoreline. He has

:08:03. > :08:07.taken this on which is a difficult pot. The degree of difficulty, this

:08:08. > :08:13.is right up there. Obviously screwed it off and lost the frame. It's one

:08:14. > :08:17.of those ones if you were a few frames in front you had an easy

:08:18. > :08:21.safety shot. He had a chance of getting behind the pink. You live

:08:22. > :08:25.and die by your decisions on a snooker table. I think it was

:08:26. > :08:29.governed more by the scoreline. Experience playing a part? A little

:08:30. > :08:34.inexperience. A couple of shots, he could have played a cross double.

:08:35. > :08:37.Brown possibly going in, white up by the blue. Straightforward shot but

:08:38. > :08:42.that was quite a difficult shot to take on. As Steve said, sometimes

:08:43. > :08:46.you feel good about a certain shot, sometimes you don't. And it depends

:08:47. > :08:49.on how you feel at the time. Obviously he felt confident. But it

:08:50. > :08:54.was very difficult one to take on. Speaking of feeling good on the

:08:55. > :08:59.shot, if you are not feeling good on the shot, we do have a doctor in the

:09:00. > :09:02.house. Now this cue fix, you have been getting responses in, are they

:09:03. > :09:06.to your liking, what exactly do you need from everyone? We would like

:09:07. > :09:14.more. If you come in, send in your videos of your cue action. If you

:09:15. > :09:17.are going to tell us something about the cue action, one with full on,

:09:18. > :09:21.off the cushion or using a rest, anything like that we would like to

:09:22. > :09:25.hear from you. We would like to see you, as well. Feel free to get in

:09:26. > :09:46.touch. The doctor will see you any time you like.

:09:47. > :09:52.Yan Bingtao breaks off. There is three more frames before the

:09:53. > :09:57.mid-session interval. If he could win them, match on! Shaun Murphy

:09:58. > :10:15.wins them, of course, match over. It's a tempter.

:10:16. > :10:23.A slow red. Could drop on to the black and maybe only leave the red

:10:24. > :10:27.he would miss, should he miss it. Or a better shot maybe the

:10:28. > :10:52.containing safety. Shot selection the key to much of

:10:53. > :11:04.Match Play snooker and over the years Shaun has tried to study it to

:11:05. > :11:09.the best of his abilities. Has looked pretty patient this

:11:10. > :11:19.afternoon, on occasions we have dug him out for being a bit reckless. He

:11:20. > :11:28.went for a phase of being defensive, decided that didn't suit his style.

:11:29. > :11:37.Foul. Mis-hit that by quarter of a ball.

:11:38. > :11:49.Bingtao has the opportunity to pot a red here but once again a big

:11:50. > :11:53.decision and as was mentioned in the studio, does the scoreline dictate

:11:54. > :12:00.this shot? Can he show some patience? Or is he desperate to get

:12:01. > :12:10.a red in the pocket and a frame on the board? This type of shot, John,

:12:11. > :12:15.this is like mis-hit 8-3. Yeah, funny thing is I have never seen

:12:16. > :12:20.this young man play before and everybody told me that his biggest

:12:21. > :12:26.problem is that he goes for everything. Now maybe he issering on

:12:27. > :12:36.the side of being cautious and not playing his normal game and he has

:12:37. > :12:47.got stuck between the two. Well, that was a terrific pot.

:12:48. > :12:51.He is on the blue or the pink. As we know, the Crucible can play funny

:12:52. > :12:57.things with your mind, can't it? Yeah. That was a very special shot.

:12:58. > :13:04.He didn't play that firm to try to get the cue ball back to a safe

:13:05. > :13:09.position, if he missed it he committed totally to that controlled

:13:10. > :13:41.pot to stay in the top half of the table. Can he make it count?

:13:42. > :13:51.I think he could get on the black here but it's whether he fancies

:13:52. > :13:56.rolling through. He has played it. And he has played it inch-perfect. A

:13:57. > :14:29.good shot. Now will he come off the top cushion

:14:30. > :14:41.and play a cannon on these three reds? He would be unlucky not to be

:14:42. > :14:48.on one. Hit the wrong red really. Needed to hit the middle red. True.

:14:49. > :14:51.Middle red would have guaranteed position. Now he has a far more

:14:52. > :15:01.difficult one to the middle pocket although you expect him to get this.

:15:02. > :15:06.Says me from the safety of the commentary box! He didn't let you

:15:07. > :15:12.down. Right in the heart of the pocket. And now the black available

:15:13. > :15:16.into both corners. A couple of reds either side of the black. It's not a

:15:17. > :15:35.bad chance this. Not quite certain about that shot.

:15:36. > :15:40.Well, at this level that's an awful shot.

:15:41. > :15:50.Asking for trouble the way he played that. Two reds closest to the black,

:15:51. > :15:55.both went into the right corner. He could have easily have played into a

:15:56. > :16:06.big area on the left side of the table. Perhaps he did but he mis-hit

:16:07. > :16:52.it, that's for certain. Where is the cue ball going? ! Foul.

:16:53. > :16:59.When he played his safety he played the loose red, didn't want to open

:17:00. > :17:05.up the cluster, but Shaun has opened the reds and it looked like a good

:17:06. > :17:08.one. Got to catch this just right. Yeah the player who is trailing is

:17:09. > :17:32.usually happier to open up the reds. I think it's a free ball. No, is it?

:17:33. > :17:40.It was close. No, free ball, I don't think so.

:17:41. > :17:45.Don't think so. That's never a free ball. Put a ball by the blue and you

:17:46. > :17:52.will probably be able to work it out. No, no. Shaun's in the having

:17:53. > :17:57.it. Shaun wouldn't play. Can you show me the picture, please. He has

:17:58. > :18:02.asked it to be replayed, that's sporting from Shaun. If the referee

:18:03. > :18:14.has made a decision, but that wasn't a free ball. He knew. Yeah.

:18:15. > :18:21.Shaun's not going to be the type of person who takes advantage from

:18:22. > :18:50.maybe a misjudgment of the free ball decision.

:18:51. > :18:56.If anybody playing club snooker and you are refereeing and not used to

:18:57. > :18:59.refereeing and any free ball decision, the easiest way is to use

:19:00. > :19:06.two reds that have been off the table, put one close to the

:19:07. > :19:13.snookering ball on one side and one close to the ball you are picking

:19:14. > :19:21.out and then you can work out if you can get through in a straight line

:19:22. > :19:26.to them. Yeah, if a red is potted you can use one of the colours off

:19:27. > :19:32.the spots. Let me explain to you for those who might be thinking what's a

:19:33. > :19:37.free ball? You have to be able to both sides of the ball. For me, you

:19:38. > :19:44.could clearly hit both sides of the ball. In fact, he could have missed

:19:45. > :20:25.the ball on the right side as we looked.

:20:26. > :20:33.Needs to slow up or kiss the pink. It kissed the pink. Would rather

:20:34. > :20:40.have kissed it a little fuller. He can cut this red in but hampered as

:20:41. > :20:46.he is I am not certain how thin he has to hit this, but keep your eyes

:20:47. > :20:48.on the left middle pocket here. Yeah, this is a horrible shot.

:20:49. > :21:08.Easy to leave this over the hole. Couldn't have played it any better

:21:09. > :21:14.and he has a nice angle on the blue. He already has a 43-point lead now

:21:15. > :21:18.with colour to come. He will be disappointed if he can't win the

:21:19. > :22:35.frame now at this visit. It looks like he will get over the

:22:36. > :22:40.line in this visit. From what we have seen of his short career he's

:22:41. > :22:45.well capable of getting back into this match. He can get a few frames

:22:46. > :23:08.going, play some power snooker. No way back to the table now for

:23:09. > :23:12.Shaun. It's to be said, Shaun Murphy won the first frame of this second

:23:13. > :23:16.session but not in convincing style. He had a chance in this one, didn't

:23:17. > :23:32.make the most of it. So as we have seen so far in this

:23:33. > :23:38.tournament, the seed might be under a little bit of pressure. Not just

:23:39. > :23:42.yet, still will have a three-frame advantage, Shaun, but he knows he is

:23:43. > :23:57.facing a dangerous opponent. Of course with it being Yan's first

:23:58. > :24:08.time here, the longer the match goes on, the more you think he will

:24:09. > :24:12.settle and be up for the job. A good bit of sportsmanship from Shaun when

:24:13. > :24:20.the referee declared a free ball and he didn't think it was, had the

:24:21. > :24:47.balls replaced. And he's never had much of a chance since.

:24:48. > :24:58.Well, the pink didn't go in but that won't matter. Shaun will concede.

:24:59. > :25:06.Wins the 11th frame. Still trails by three. 7-4, Shaun Murphy.

:25:07. > :25:12.I was saying, Steve, that as we always say, there is pressure on the

:25:13. > :25:20.seeds. First couple of frames I have not been too impressed with Shaun.

:25:21. > :25:27.He has looked a little nervy. Yeah, certainly hasn't got his A-game

:25:28. > :25:35.together. Doesn't look like he's in top gear. I don't think he is

:25:36. > :25:42.worried. I think he is probably trying to play, not within himself,

:25:43. > :25:49.but he's just playing what's there. Might get a bit more fire and

:25:50. > :25:53.adrenalin pumping through his body if Bingtao gets a couple more

:25:54. > :25:59.frames. The tempo of the match will rise. Yeah, I know what you are

:26:00. > :26:04.saying. It's slowly building. You just feel as a player, particularly

:26:05. > :26:09.as a seed, and let's not forget they played on three occasions and it's

:26:10. > :26:14.2-1 to the young man from China, so Shaun has those sort of negative

:26:15. > :26:16.thoughts in his mind. One of the fascinations of the World

:26:17. > :26:21.Championship is in the advent of what we see now in sport everybody

:26:22. > :26:26.thinks it has to be faster and faster and quicker and shorter

:26:27. > :26:34.matches. The great thing about the World Championship and the best of

:26:35. > :26:44.25 is a slow burn. The storyline unfolds. So, Shaun Murphy to break

:26:45. > :26:53.off. The 12th frame.

:26:54. > :27:00.If Bingtao has any sort of angle on this red he will be tempted to play

:27:01. > :27:04.it. A bit risky, though.

:27:05. > :27:10.He does have a slight angle. Don't think he can play it necessarily the

:27:11. > :27:12.safety to the top cushion because the red below the black... Can he

:27:13. > :27:21.get through a gap? This is a gad thought.

:27:22. > :27:28.-- a good thought. Well, he did find a path back to the

:27:29. > :27:33.baulk end. Nothing wrong with that. APPLAUSE

:27:34. > :27:35.Nothing wrong with that choice of shot.

:27:36. > :27:41.In trying to play the shot with an element of positional play, he has

:27:42. > :27:47.opened the door for Shaun Murphy, though.

:27:48. > :28:08.Which he gladly takes. Yeah, a nice clean pot from Shaun.

:28:09. > :28:14.Trademark Shaun Murphy long pot. Did score very well in the first

:28:15. > :28:20.session, in fact, both players did, three centuries we had in the first

:28:21. > :28:28.session. One from Yan Bingtao and two from Shaun. And that's not a bad

:28:29. > :28:34.pot success. I think the black is available.

:28:35. > :28:43.Maybe it's not. If it had, he would definitely have

:28:44. > :28:56.played for it off that red. He could go into the pink with this. But

:28:57. > :29:01.perhaps there are better options. Clearing that red away from the

:29:02. > :29:06.black is obviously a priority. Yeah, will make the black available.

:29:07. > :29:09.Because I assume it wasn't. A bit straight on the red, you have to

:29:10. > :29:18.power this back up for the blue. There's a surprise! Took his eye off

:29:19. > :29:31.the pot. A bad mistake. You can only assume he didn't hit

:29:32. > :29:48.the centre of the cue ball. Obviously straighter on this black,

:29:49. > :29:51.but I think it's this type of situation you drop the black, you -

:29:52. > :30:01.I think the cannon will take care of itself.

:30:02. > :30:05.Got a slight angle on the red along the top cushion. But not much of

:30:06. > :30:20.one. This is a tough shot. The harder you hit it, the more

:30:21. > :30:25.chance of missing it. That is why he is refusing it.

:30:26. > :30:34.I repeat what I said, everybody was telling me, the problem is with the

:30:35. > :30:41.young man he goes for everything. Well he is not going for everything

:30:42. > :30:44.here, is he? I don't blame him. Going for everything is a very fine

:30:45. > :31:05.line between winning and losing. That is a nice shot from Shaun.

:31:06. > :31:10.Generally, the trend in snooker's been towards more attacking play as

:31:11. > :31:16.the years have rolled on. Some of the best of seven matches that they

:31:17. > :31:26.now play on the tour, perhaps that is more the way the play.

:31:27. > :31:32.But when we talk about slot selection it is also the balance and

:31:33. > :31:37.being, having that comfortable in your mind what that balance is. You

:31:38. > :31:41.can't one minute be playing the safety shots and keeping control and

:31:42. > :31:51.then all of a sudden get down and thrash out at one.

:31:52. > :32:00.With a younger player, they're more likely to be aggressive any way. I

:32:01. > :32:04.think if you were looking to judge a younger player, playing the game of

:32:05. > :32:08.snooker, you could say OK, he is going to learn the safety part later

:32:09. > :32:26.in their career. But it is how quick you're learning

:32:27. > :32:30.the game. It is perhaps the difference between some players that

:32:31. > :32:36.have taken a lot longer to win on the circuit than others, how quickly

:32:37. > :32:43.they have cracked the code of the tactics of the game. At the age of

:32:44. > :32:51.17, he is obviously ahead of the game.

:32:52. > :32:58.Arguably you could say he is best-placed to, if he continues to

:32:59. > :33:04.improve, to become the youngest ever world champion. There is not many

:33:05. > :33:27.17-year-olds that have got this man's Trent. -- talent.

:33:28. > :33:29.When Shaun Murphy won the World Championship, he was very

:33:30. > :33:42.aggressive. Played some daredevil snooker.

:33:43. > :33:51.Outpoted everybody. Hasn't won the Championship since. And that style

:33:52. > :33:58.of play, not sure whether it guarantees you to win here that

:33:59. > :34:01.often. But if you get on a roll in the second week and start fancying

:34:02. > :34:07.the pots, it can work to your advantage.

:34:08. > :34:15.That was risky, just about got away with that safety shot. Might have

:34:16. > :34:24.put Bingtao in a bit of trouble here. He might have got lucky in how

:34:25. > :34:30.these have panned out. Certainly not an easy path back to the baulk end.

:34:31. > :34:34.That pink's causing problems for Bingtao. He has spotted something

:34:35. > :34:54.quickly. Oh! You can't beat a bit of luck and

:34:55. > :34:59.boy did he have some there! That cue ball was coming back up the table,

:35:00. > :35:06.having said that where it's ended up, he wouldn't have left any reds I

:35:07. > :35:16.think, other than the one he missed. Missable pink.

:35:17. > :35:23.The The yellow's an easier shot. He is forcing himself to play this

:35:24. > :35:34.pink. Pressure shot and he gets it. Bang in the centre. Once again he

:35:35. > :35:38.has come a bit awkward on the reds. May not have an easy way to get back

:35:39. > :35:43.out here. He has got to do some work with this. Punch it n try and get

:35:44. > :35:48.through the gap between the two reds.

:35:49. > :35:57.Good effort. Got the cue ball away from the cushion. Away from the

:35:58. > :36:09.cushion far enough to make this black a lot easier.

:36:10. > :36:20.Played that nicely. And in potting this red, he will nudge those two

:36:21. > :36:26.two reds and that won't do him any harm.

:36:27. > :36:50.A good chance and a big moment in the match.

:36:51. > :37:12.Played the cannon and played it well. Lovely judgment.

:37:13. > :37:20.Once again just over did it. He wanted to be low on the black so he

:37:21. > :37:23.could play a cannon or play for one of those two reds by the pink.

:37:24. > :37:31.He will have to play for the red along the top cushion and they're

:37:32. > :37:40.missable. Trying to make the red easy by playing the cannon. It was a

:37:41. > :37:47.bad last red. He had to make sure that he didn't leave himself in that

:37:48. > :37:52.trap position. Low or high and the positional play would have been so

:37:53. > :38:00.much easier. That is a chance gone begging.

:38:01. > :38:07.When you're playing that type of shot, that red around behind the

:38:08. > :38:10.black, you have to commit to playing it harder or softer, not just

:38:11. > :38:15.trusting that you're going to accidentally fall on the black in a

:38:16. > :38:17.nice way. He found the one place that gave him a problem and he's

:38:18. > :38:51.paid the price. If Shaun could get a good cue ball,

:38:52. > :38:56.he may be tempted to play the double. I think he can get past the

:38:57. > :39:05.black to play the red to the far right corner. I bit is risky.

:39:06. > :39:13.Got a good white. It would be a case of trickling up to the reds here.

:39:14. > :39:25.Can't beat a little trickle! Ooh, he didn't play the trickle!

:39:26. > :39:29.Well, I don't see the value in that. Particularly with that red on the

:39:30. > :39:33.baulk line, it is just an easy safety now for Shaun to get the

:39:34. > :40:43.upper hand. That was trickle time for me!

:40:44. > :40:52.Pulled that a bit too thin to be a telling safety shot. Shaun Murphy

:40:53. > :40:57.coming around the table to see if there is any long range plants on.

:40:58. > :41:12.Unlikely to make that into a plant. Also you would have to come around

:41:13. > :41:15.the table to see for a possibility of pushing a ball towards the pocket

:41:16. > :41:28.as well. Good effort from Shaun Murphy to cut

:41:29. > :41:34.off escape routes down the left-hand side of the table. Looking at the

:41:35. > :41:37.situation, I can't see, well, there is a return to baulk, but there is a

:41:38. > :41:50.few obstacles in the way. The red second out from the

:41:51. > :41:54.right-hand cushion I suppose, for someone like Shaun, he would play

:41:55. > :42:07.the pot and try and screw it back to the baulk end.

:42:08. > :42:17.As it happened, that red potted. He won't mind if this cue ball goes

:42:18. > :42:20.behind the green. Not quite. Long range screw back for Shaun Murphy.

:42:21. > :42:43.He has got the shot in the toolbox. And what a shot to have in your

:42:44. > :42:48.toolbox. He does it so easily. He has such a good and when we talk

:42:49. > :42:52.about cue power, it is the fact people can do that without having to

:42:53. > :42:56.throw everything into it - the shoulder and everything. If you can

:42:57. > :43:01.keep control of everything and still get that power.

:43:02. > :43:10.Given himself a chance now. He was a little bit short with that screw

:43:11. > :43:16.back off the yellow. Thought he was going to run past the black.

:43:17. > :43:19.Misjudged it. Don't know if he can get through to pot the pink in the

:43:20. > :43:38.right middle. Don't think he can. He doesn't really want to put a

:43:39. > :43:52.colour safe here. He is 24 points behind. He will need the yellow.

:43:53. > :43:59.It has to be said, whether by fair means or foul, he is not making the

:44:00. > :44:03.most of these opportunities. No it has been scrappy. Positional play

:44:04. > :44:21.has been not exactly to the inch. That is the best he could do in

:44:22. > :44:23.keeping the yellow in play. Perhaps forget about looking too far ahead.

:44:24. > :44:34.Just play a decent safety shot. Being forced to take the safe red

:44:35. > :44:41.off a cushion. Would have liked to have kept that there. There is a few

:44:42. > :44:46.options for Murphy here. I'm sure he will be going for a pot

:44:47. > :45:02.here. Only he will know the exact angle.

:45:03. > :45:08.This is a brave shot. This is dead straight.

:45:09. > :45:27.This is a monster. Oh! Oh, my goodness! You cannot hit the ball

:45:28. > :45:34.better than that. That was a tremendous pot. The acceleration of

:45:35. > :45:38.the cue. He pauses for a second and accelerated through, as effortlessly

:45:39. > :45:43.as you could do for such a power shot.

:45:44. > :45:52.He deserves everything he gets here. Is he going to be snookered. I

:45:53. > :45:56.wasn't talking about the snooker! Another roll or two and he may well

:45:57. > :46:05.have been. Very good play with the reds. Notice how his arm is up. The

:46:06. > :46:13.elbow is up. A lot of people using the rest keep the ep Bolo. Bow --

:46:14. > :46:18.elbow low. Played ha perfectly. The only problem I can see is the

:46:19. > :46:32.yellow. You can't win the frame without it.

:46:33. > :46:39.That yellow is sufficiently off the side cushion that he could be

:46:40. > :46:42.tempted further down the line in this break to get the cue ball

:46:43. > :46:58.behind it. This would be an excellent frame for

:46:59. > :47:05.Shaun Murphy to win from this position.

:47:06. > :47:11.If he did win this frame, you would have to say, he would be a massive

:47:12. > :47:22.favourite to win the match. Yes, I think that this will, well...

:47:23. > :47:31.Amongst many other things will make him feel good. He has potted two

:47:32. > :47:35.terrific long reds. If that last one can win him the frame at this visit,

:47:36. > :47:48.that will give him the confidence to push home the advantage.

:47:49. > :47:57.There again the power, the cue came off the bridge slightly, but still

:47:58. > :48:02.went through in a straight line. It is all about the yellow now. Needs a

:48:03. > :48:15.good angle on the the colour to get a position on the yellow.

:48:16. > :48:23.Obviously, you would think that possibly yellow into the yellow

:48:24. > :48:25.pocket is the shot. But there is the potential for him to try to get it

:48:26. > :48:34.better placed. This yellow is missable. Perhaps

:48:35. > :48:38.that yellow's a bit too close to the cushion to try and get behind it. I

:48:39. > :48:44.wouldn't say he has come perfect on this yellow. He would have like to

:48:45. > :48:49.have it three quarter ball, but bring the cue ball away from the

:48:50. > :48:52.cushion. He is goods with the rest, but he needs the yellow, the green

:48:53. > :49:07.and the grown. -- brown. I wond irwhether he would have been

:49:08. > :49:13.better trying -- wonder whether he would have been better trying to

:49:14. > :49:17.play behind the yellow. But I think he just played it too hard. It

:49:18. > :49:20.bounced off the cushion. If he had been where the cue ball is now, he

:49:21. > :49:31.wouldn't have needed the rest. This frame is still in the balance.

:49:32. > :49:37.And this looks like a pretty good shot. Poked its nose out there. But

:49:38. > :49:53.nevertheless, Shaun's still got to get it safe.

:49:54. > :50:04.That was a bit more risky. That is OK. You say it's OK. From what I

:50:05. > :50:07.have been told about this lad, this is the type of shot he goes for and

:50:08. > :50:23.knocks in. Big shot to take on. Yeah. Ideally,

:50:24. > :50:30.he would also like too pot the yellow and pull the cue ball back

:50:31. > :50:34.six inches to make the green easier. If he plays the yellow up and down,

:50:35. > :50:36.there is the danger of the double-kiss here. He is looking at

:50:37. > :50:50.safety options. Beware the double-kiss! Very thin he

:50:51. > :51:00.doesn't get the double-kiss. You're thinking cross-double? Yeah.

:51:01. > :51:08.Rather than up and down. Would you take the pot on? Honest

:51:09. > :51:31.answer! No. Only because I haven't been

:51:32. > :51:35.practicing! Well said slam! Not necessarily the wrong shot. If you

:51:36. > :51:43.can't see a safety shot that is guaranteed, then why not take it on?

:51:44. > :51:50.Pretty low success rate on that shot I would imagine.

:51:51. > :51:59.This a gap between green and blue? A wry smile on Shaun's face tells me

:52:00. > :52:20.there is. Just not hard enough. If he had got

:52:21. > :52:24.the snooker he would have the advantage in this very important

:52:25. > :52:30.tactical exchange. But he has handed it to Shaun now.

:52:31. > :52:43.And he has made the most of it. Good shot.

:52:44. > :52:48.Relatively easy two-cushion escape. But trusting to luck whether he can

:52:49. > :52:57.hit that yellow through the gap between green and brown.

:52:58. > :53:10.Just like that? Yeah, like that! It was never a problem.

:53:11. > :53:20.I know Shaun only needs the yellow, green and brown and Yan Bingtao

:53:21. > :53:22.needs all six colours. You feel whoever pots the yellow wins the

:53:23. > :53:51.frame. Nice shot. Tap on the table from

:53:52. > :53:54.Bingtao. Looks to have cut off, can he see a shot?

:53:55. > :54:03.I thought it was a complete snooker. Didn't really want that yellow to go

:54:04. > :54:12.in. As you can see from where the cue ball's ended up. Advantage Yan

:54:13. > :54:16.Bingtao! For a split second his heart would have been in his mouth.

:54:17. > :54:26.He has got that yellow too close to the green pocket.

:54:27. > :54:36.Shaun Murphy plays that perfectly. Wasn't much margin of error there to

:54:37. > :54:37.get that cue ball off of two cushions, as opposed to one before

:54:38. > :54:55.he hit the hello. It is tough to avoid poking its nose

:54:56. > :55:03.out. But what a lovely white ball he's got here. If he had picked it

:55:04. > :55:08.and placed it with his hand he couldn't have done better. I don't

:55:09. > :55:13.think Shaun's too impressed. It is a bit lucky. Absolutely. But he played

:55:14. > :55:17.it thin enough that he didn't really push the yellow right over the

:55:18. > :55:27.pocket. It was a tough shot he had on. This is a bit of a headache for

:55:28. > :55:31.Shaun. Ideally, he'd like to go around the back of the black and

:55:32. > :55:36.play this yellow from behind and push it back up the table. Get some

:55:37. > :55:40.separation between yellow and cue ball.

:55:41. > :55:58.Don't know if the angle's on. Doesn't look too bad.

:55:59. > :56:08.Hit the wrong side of the yellow and a chance for Bingtao. And a big

:56:09. > :56:16.frame now this, because Shaun Murphy has had his chances.

:56:17. > :56:25.It hasn't been the free-scoring snooker of the first session.

:56:26. > :56:32.Perhaps the nerves are jangling a bit. That goes in nicely. Has he

:56:33. > :56:41.controlled the cue ball? Not really. Don't tell me it goes behind the

:56:42. > :56:49.brown? Oh, my goodness! Nightmare. You could say he is unliky. I will

:56:50. > :56:53.give -- unlucky. But he overhit that so much.

:56:54. > :56:58.You see that cue ball hit the cushion, it would have been perfect

:56:59. > :57:02.on the green and the yellow pocket and the only thing is he would have

:57:03. > :57:10.had to play the pot slower. Nice shot. Proving he knows his way

:57:11. > :57:19.around the table. But what a chance he's missed there.

:57:20. > :57:32.An ironic clap there. Clapping his own bad positional shot really.

:57:33. > :57:40.Shaun keeps the pressure on. Two cushion escape. Similar to Shaun

:57:41. > :57:48.Murphy's off the back cushion. Got to catch it full. I'm wondering if

:57:49. > :57:50.there is a gap... A one cushion swerve. Or just get through that

:57:51. > :58:04.gap? Doesn't want to push it over the

:58:05. > :58:09.yellow pocket. He doesn't and he could get a snooker here. I think

:58:10. > :58:20.he's got the snooker. Not quite. Not quite. He may have left it. Hit as

:58:21. > :58:30.much of the green as you can see, you could pot it. Got to be careful

:58:31. > :58:33.he doesn't pocket it and snooker himself.

:58:34. > :58:47.He has potted it. And he has snookered himself! I mean, the

:58:48. > :58:51.trouble was, you know, he couldn't hit much of the green. He had to hit

:58:52. > :58:56.what he could hit and it was always going to send it towards the pocket.

:58:57. > :59:00.A quick look at the scoreboard. Can he get past the blue to hit this

:59:01. > :59:05.brown? Perhaps he can. Could swerve it. But that is pushing the brown

:59:06. > :59:11.towards the yellow pocket. He needs the brown though. Oh, what's going

:59:12. > :59:13.on with these phone. It seeps to be -- seems to be the same phone that

:59:14. > :59:26.keeps going off. Oh, bad shot. Yeah. That is the

:59:27. > :59:30.problem when you swerve and you put in left-hand side, you're going to

:59:31. > :59:36.check it. You catch it too thick, you're going to leave it. What a

:59:37. > :59:44.chance now for Yan Bingtao to really punish Shaun.

:59:45. > :59:56.Perfect on the blue. Big, big frame this.

:59:57. > :00:01.Talk about swings and round abouts. It hasn't been Bingtao getting into

:00:02. > :00:05.top gear. But he is only two frames adrift

:00:06. > :00:28.when this black goes in. And in it goes. He is applauding

:00:29. > :00:34.himself. Shaun Murphy had plenty of chances but did not do it, he is now

:00:35. > :00:38.only two ahead, one more to play before the mid-session interval.

:00:39. > :00:47.A flash of personality from Yan Bingtao, and that was a key frame

:00:48. > :00:52.for him to win. Yes, Perry Baker, Shaun Murphy had a lot of chances to

:00:53. > :01:07.go 8-4 ahead but he's back in the game, Yan. Watch this, clapping

:01:08. > :01:14.himself and then giving it what for. I think the players we have not seen

:01:15. > :01:18.a huge amount of, this is his debut, I think the Crucible crowd loves to

:01:19. > :01:24.see personality out there and that will endear him. Absolutely, nice to

:01:25. > :01:27.see a smile on his face and a reaction, you need more of that, a

:01:28. > :01:36.bit of interaction sometimes with the cloud crowd. I think the crowd

:01:37. > :01:41.loved it. This young man, Yan Bingtao, has beaten the Murphy

:01:42. > :01:46.twice, their head-to-head reads 2-1 to the youngster at the moment. It

:01:47. > :01:53.was a sore one at the Champion of champions when he was only 15 years

:01:54. > :01:58.old. Key is a proper player. Only 17, this will stand him in good

:01:59. > :02:01.stead, coming to the Crucible, it is different to what you have

:02:02. > :02:07.experienced and he is taking to it. Shaun Murphy has a lot of respect

:02:08. > :02:10.for him. A lot of shots he is refusing and playing safety, he

:02:11. > :02:15.knows how well he can play so years giving him plenty of respect. What a

:02:16. > :02:20.massive frame this is coming up before the interval, Shaun Murphy

:02:21. > :02:24.could have a lot of thinking to do. You wonder how much support the

:02:25. > :02:30.young man is carrying back in China, we talked a lot about the Chinese

:02:31. > :02:36.players, the sport itself back in China, he is emerging, a lot has

:02:37. > :02:41.been expected of him coming through the Beijing Academy. Yes, they are

:02:42. > :02:47.seeing here is the next big thing, they have big hopes for him being a

:02:48. > :02:54.very good top player. He won the World Cup, beating Scotland, Stephen

:02:55. > :03:00.Maguire and John Higgins a couple of years ago, he was only 15. What an

:03:01. > :03:04.impact he made in those early years. Beginning to see some of that

:03:05. > :03:13.potential coming through as an individual. Back we go. COMMENTATOR:

:03:14. > :03:25.I thought at first it was not the best break, can they get past the

:03:26. > :03:27.brown? He could not. Yan Bingtao fortunate, and where has the red

:03:28. > :03:50.gone? Stevie May. First opportunity in a massive frame

:03:51. > :03:57.in the context of the match. Going into the mid-session interval just

:03:58. > :04:59.one frame behind, all the pressure will be put on Shaun Murphy.

:05:00. > :05:09.He's missed this up of it. Not been a great start to this break. Needs a

:05:10. > :05:17.good positional shot to get this back.

:05:18. > :05:24.The pink going as close to its spot in a dead straight line down the

:05:25. > :05:44.middle of the table. Not ideal with those two reds

:05:45. > :06:54.guarding the black. Never going to be a good safety if

:06:55. > :07:07.you catch a ball colourful in the face.

:07:08. > :07:20.Key has tautly mis-hit that and got away with it. It's a funny old game

:07:21. > :07:26.isn't it? At the moment making mistakes but having a bit of luck.

:07:27. > :07:36.Shaun not punishing him. I say that, does this red goal? You said it did

:07:37. > :07:42.not go, it does go, he did not get away with it. I have not got my

:07:43. > :07:49.commentators eye in. I am not listening to you any more! I do not

:07:50. > :08:05.spend as much time in the commentary box, that is my

:08:06. > :08:21.excuse. Underhit that. Even I can see he is short of pace on that one!

:08:22. > :08:44.Makes the red Trekkie difficult. Nicely played.

:08:45. > :08:59.This is the last of the reds, will try to bring the others into play.

:09:00. > :09:05.Good angle on the black but has to play this with some pace. It is one

:09:06. > :09:25.of these where you would like to go high up on the cue ball. He is OK,

:09:26. > :09:30.has got one to the right middle. Shaun will be very relieved if he

:09:31. > :09:34.can convert this chance. A little bit up against it the way this game

:09:35. > :10:37.is panning out. Ideal chance to win the frame here.

:10:38. > :10:52.Keeping nice control of the cue ball this visit.

:10:53. > :11:13.Until then. Just misjudged the kiss of the second red. This is a tough

:11:14. > :11:21.one. Excellent shot. How well has he controlled it? Very nicely. He was

:11:22. > :11:24.given a gilt-edged chance and it looks like he has taken it. You

:11:25. > :11:34.cannot ask for anything more than that. And even though it's been

:11:35. > :11:40.hard-fought, as long as he gets the kiss right on the red will have

:11:41. > :12:00.drawn the session 2-2 and retained his three frame advantage. It looks

:12:01. > :12:20.a formality now. Red and blue will put him ahead. Nicely on the blue.

:12:21. > :12:21.Very poor safety shot from Yan Bingtao has cost him the frame but

:12:22. > :12:39.fair credit if he can go into the

:12:40. > :12:41.mid-session interval as you where, it could be a case of panic over for

:12:42. > :13:04.Shaun Murphy. Interesting to see what the players

:13:05. > :13:08.think about the next session, does Bingtao come out more aggressively?

:13:09. > :13:13.Ken Doherty has been on the circuit this season and probably seen more

:13:14. > :13:17.of Bingtao than we have. Or does he just try to play good, hard, match

:13:18. > :13:25.snooker and try to get back in that way? It's not panic stations until

:13:26. > :13:31.your opponent is on mainframes but he is running out of time,

:13:32. > :13:41.obviously. Yes, just a very poor shape they shot -- very poor safety

:13:42. > :13:51.shot. Much too thick. Left it on and he has been sat down ever since.

:13:52. > :14:04.Already been 16th century so far in the tournament, three in this match,

:14:05. > :14:08.two by Shaun and one by Yan. Most people thinking the record will be

:14:09. > :14:13.beaten this year. It was equalled last year and if you remember that

:14:14. > :14:21.was one of the tables playing pretty badly, I think it overheated. Tables

:14:22. > :14:36.seem to be playing... A lot better this year. More consistent. Much

:14:37. > :14:39.appreciated. Got his century and he has retained his three frame

:14:40. > :14:46.advantage going into the mid-session interval. Yan Bingtao could have

:14:47. > :14:53.closed it to one but it is back to three.

:14:54. > :14:58.The 2005 Champion definitely stung into action, his third century of

:14:59. > :15:02.the match and the fourth we have seen in the match in total and

:15:03. > :15:09.suddenly the game has sprung to life. Yeah, good response, nice to

:15:10. > :15:14.respond and keep the gap as they said on commentary. I think from Yan

:15:15. > :15:19.Bingtao's point of view is its experience catching up with them,

:15:20. > :15:23.simple shots. More experienced players at this level at the

:15:24. > :15:28.Crucible would be a bit more concentrated on the safety shots, he

:15:29. > :15:31.has played a lot of lax safety shots, simple shots you would

:15:32. > :15:37.normally find quite straight forward and he's given his opponent too many

:15:38. > :15:41.chances. That is what has happened in this match, it is not shone

:15:42. > :15:48.necessarily getting in, he has been put in, missing simple pots, when he

:15:49. > :15:52.looks back on this match he will learn a lot from it because it is

:15:53. > :15:57.his mistakes that have let him his opponents. Steve Davis posed the

:15:58. > :16:02.question what now, will he come out and play aggressively because time

:16:03. > :16:07.is running out or does he stick to the game plan? I would not panic

:16:08. > :16:12.just yet because Shaun still needs two, if he can get another frame on

:16:13. > :16:18.the board and try to keep within range basically but I would say play

:16:19. > :16:24.your own game, enjoy the experience. Don't close up, if you see the shot

:16:25. > :16:28.and you fancy it then go for it. We are taking a break, I think it is

:16:29. > :16:38.time to get Dr Palmer it into surgery. Let's do this. -- parrot.

:16:39. > :16:45.You have been sending us your ailments where your cue action is

:16:46. > :16:48.concerned so the first patient today says I am having difficulty using

:16:49. > :16:56.the rest, can you give me some pointers. OK, a few pointers using

:16:57. > :17:01.the rest which are important, first is the grip of the cue, generally

:17:02. > :17:08.you have two fingers on top and a thumb underneath, grip something

:17:09. > :17:11.like that. One of the things I see in the snooker clubs is when they

:17:12. > :17:15.are bad with it they do not have enough bridge over the end of the

:17:16. > :17:18.rest head, if you have it set up like that, you cannot take the cue

:17:19. > :17:22.back to play the shot and it stops you getting through the ball. What

:17:23. > :17:29.you need to do is make sure the rest has plenty of bridgehead, 6-8 inches

:17:30. > :17:34.over the end is perfect, keep the rest nice and putter on the bed.

:17:35. > :17:40.Some people will hold at our habit pressed against the table, but make

:17:41. > :17:43.sure it won't move, and basically you are trying to replicate your

:17:44. > :17:51.action and you come back, wait for it and hit through the ball and it

:17:52. > :17:52.should pot like that. Make sure you have plenty of bridge hand over the

:17:53. > :18:02.end. Hope that sorted you out, another

:18:03. > :18:07.one here saying whenever I am cueing off the top cushion I cannot see the

:18:08. > :18:11.ball very well, what is wrong with my stamps? One of the best cushion

:18:12. > :18:19.players in the game or so they said is John, so what is wrong? I was

:18:20. > :18:23.always told I was great of the cushion because I was not in

:18:24. > :18:28.possession. It's not that you cannot see much of the cue ball anyway, you

:18:29. > :18:34.have to do something to make sure you can. Slightly raise your bridge

:18:35. > :18:39.hand up. When you are playing you are trying to keep your cue parallel

:18:40. > :18:44.to the bed but on the cushion you have to come up and concentrate on

:18:45. > :18:50.hitting the middle of the cue ball. A couple of things, come up the butt

:18:51. > :18:53.of the cue, more control and put a slight bend in your front arm which

:18:54. > :19:00.will make you get to the ball properly. Pinch in your bridge hand,

:19:01. > :19:04.raise it slightly higher, eyes on the object ball, right down the

:19:05. > :19:10.table, if you thought I was playing a harder shot than that you are mad.

:19:11. > :19:17.Slightly pinch the bridge hand and threw the ball. The quality and

:19:18. > :19:26.quantity of responses is this what you are after? Yes, exactly this.

:19:27. > :19:29.And send in your videos as well. Thank you for your contributions

:19:30. > :19:36.today, get in touch and John will try to help you out. The other match

:19:37. > :19:40.this afternoon features John Higgins, he could not have drawn a

:19:41. > :19:46.tough qualifier, technically the toughest there is because he is the

:19:47. > :19:50.world number 18, Martin Gould, the highest ranked qualifier to make it

:19:51. > :19:54.through, they played the race jolly and open final a couple of years ago

:19:55. > :20:00.and it went all the way to a final frame decider won by John Higgins.

:20:01. > :20:06.But today John Higgins has led to a 2-0 lead, we will pick them up in

:20:07. > :20:43.the third frame, John Higgins trailing by 46 points.

:20:44. > :20:58.COMMENTATOR: That has a chance to get this third frame done and

:20:59. > :21:02.dusted. Even 47-1 down I think you have to make John Higgins may the

:21:03. > :21:12.slight favourite the way the balls are situated. He's not look at his

:21:13. > :21:23.absolute best but... This is normally a situation where he comes

:21:24. > :21:24.alive. Decent first shot. Do not expect him to miss the black even

:21:25. > :22:13.with the ball on the cushion. Finished a bit short to be on the

:22:14. > :22:36.blue but he's OK, the red next to the green.

:22:37. > :22:46.I think of all the qualifiers Martin Gould is not the one you would want

:22:47. > :22:51.to play because he can go on a run. He did win the last match they

:22:52. > :23:07.played against each other. He has previous of beating John.

:23:08. > :23:17.Can almost see a lapse in concentration -- can only see a lap

:23:18. > :23:25.in concentration denying John Higgins from taking this frame now.

:23:26. > :23:33.They played in the final of the destroy an open a few years ago,

:23:34. > :23:39.Martin Gould stormed that match but lost 9-8. They have played over

:23:40. > :23:41.distance before. I think you have to play this kind of distance to find

:23:42. > :24:23.out who is the best player. John Higgins will be fully aware

:24:24. > :24:31.that if he can pinch this frame it will really hurt Martin Gould. This

:24:32. > :24:38.is where he can turn the screw and make Martin Gould almost Ben --

:24:39. > :25:14.almost the morn his luck so far. That was quite a clever shot, played

:25:15. > :25:19.for the choice of brown or yellow, the yellow being off its spot, but

:25:20. > :25:30.has a nice go on the brown. Just looking if he can go yellow, yellow,

:25:31. > :25:35.RFC can pot the brown. I don't think he wants to play them Brian, you

:25:36. > :25:40.never really want to play for the green into the same pocket as the

:25:41. > :25:46.yellow. You want to play it into its own pocket. Looks like it is yellow,

:25:47. > :26:01.yellow. He's not quite got into that cue

:26:02. > :26:06.ball enough. Wanted it to be maybe an inch further towards the side

:26:07. > :26:12.cushion. Just wanted to be dead straight on this yellow. Amazing the

:26:13. > :26:16.amount of times he has missed perfect. Concentrating on keeping

:26:17. > :26:25.the quite close to the green. Safely in. Not expecting him to miss this.

:26:26. > :26:45.But it is a possibility. As soon as Martin Gould missed the

:26:46. > :26:52.middle-distance red it looked inevitable, what was going to

:26:53. > :27:00.happen. Pretty miserable start for Martin Gould this afternoon in many

:27:01. > :27:05.ways. This puts him 13 points in front, just rest on the cushion to

:27:06. > :27:12.try to get the pink, no heroics on the cue ball, just get the pink in.

:27:13. > :27:17.This will really hurt, making above 50 in every frame so far, John

:27:18. > :27:30.Higgins, but in some ways could have been 3-0 behind.

:27:31. > :27:42.STUDIO: John Higgins pushed on with this break taking him 4-0 up. Trying

:27:43. > :27:50.to become the first 40 something to win the title since 1978, he turns

:27:51. > :27:57.42 in May. Has had a great season so far. 4-0 up against Martin Gould. We

:27:58. > :28:02.will continue our coverage when they return from the interval in a little

:28:03. > :28:07.while. Steve Davis in the commentary box last night but after that did he

:28:08. > :28:14.go home and rest up and prepare to concentrate on another long day

:28:15. > :28:15.here? No, Norway. He is a moonlighting machine, check out his

:28:16. > :28:26.movements night. My love of doing a radio show has

:28:27. > :28:31.been for the last ten years and then out of the blue we were asked to do

:28:32. > :28:36.some DGN and it's gone from strength to strength. I retired from snooker,

:28:37. > :28:41.the DJ thing was by accident rather than design, now I have an alter ego

:28:42. > :28:48.which is very strange. We go towards more dance tracks. It's banging

:28:49. > :28:54.old-fashioned prog music mixed with modern day electronic music and the

:28:55. > :28:57.occasional bit of techno. We are going to be legendary Sheffield

:28:58. > :29:02.venue and it fell perfectly they had a Sunday off during the World

:29:03. > :29:04.Championships and it's the 40 year celebration so hopefully it's a

:29:05. > :29:17.great mix and everyone enjoys themselves.

:29:18. > :29:41.This is going on later on. What ever it takes to get them into it!

:29:42. > :29:47.I must admit, I am delighted we are here for the Crucible Theatre and

:29:48. > :29:51.the snooker is marvellous but there's nothing quite like the

:29:52. > :29:55.occasional night out and a bit of a party so being part of it, being the

:29:56. > :29:59.DJ means you are facilitating the party and it's a wonderful

:30:00. > :30:02.experience. A completely different bars to walking out at the Crucible

:30:03. > :30:13.but wonderful. Look at his face, he loves it! DJ

:30:14. > :30:19.thunder muscle strikes again. And he is in his other house, the

:30:20. > :30:23.commentary box, as we go for the climax of this match.

:30:24. > :30:34.COMMENTATOR: We had a lovely time, great fun.

:30:35. > :30:42.Meanwhile, back in the room... Shaun Murphy makes a break that he will

:30:43. > :30:49.not be too happy with. I am paying the price a little bit this morning,

:30:50. > :30:56.this afternoon. It feels like this morning! Everyone seems to be having

:30:57. > :31:06.a bit of fun and that is what life is all about. Played it confidently.

:31:07. > :31:09.You asked a question before the interval, would he be more

:31:10. > :31:16.aggressive and I think now it's time to let that the cue arm get through

:31:17. > :31:21.and starts going. Because he has not scored that heavily in the first

:31:22. > :31:37.four frames of this second session. I don't think he will win this match

:31:38. > :31:51.with bits and pieces. You didn't play that last night, did you? What

:31:52. > :31:54.he needs is an nice pack of reds, to get that you are going, to get a bit

:31:55. > :32:09.of rhythm going. Like we had last night. -- get the cue arm going.

:32:10. > :32:13.That is a superb shot. The old school way would have been to run

:32:14. > :32:18.through that but it would not have opened the pack up as nicely. Very

:32:19. > :32:33.well controlled. Perhaps he can get into the next year here, to get

:32:34. > :32:34.going. Hustle Shaun Murphy a bit. Nothing you can do when you're sat

:32:35. > :33:04.in your seat. Just under it slightly. That means

:33:05. > :33:11.he will have to go up for the blue but he will need to be careful. With

:33:12. > :33:19.that red adjacent to the blue, it's covered. So maybe the percentages go

:33:20. > :33:46.for a baulk colour. And that is what he has done.

:33:47. > :34:02.Nicely on the red. Reducing the pace of this.

:34:03. > :34:16.Just about got a slight angle to stun. He felt he could do it

:34:17. > :34:22.directly. As long as he is straight on the red, he can play for the

:34:23. > :34:29.black again. But that was the problem, if he stands on and off the

:34:30. > :34:37.cushion, he can put us back on this. But can he retain position? That is

:34:38. > :34:43.the problem with the run-through. OK, he has parted the red but he

:34:44. > :34:50.can't do a lot now without being so close to the side cushion.

:34:51. > :34:57.Desperately looking for a red. He just rolls the black in until he has

:34:58. > :35:10.something available. As I say, being so close to the cushion, but was --

:35:11. > :35:12.there is not a lot you can do. He must feel there is a red to the

:35:13. > :35:33.right middle. Having a close look, so it must be

:35:34. > :35:42.tight. Just off. It was the pace, really. There is always a good

:35:43. > :35:50.chance. He did not make the most of it. If he has left a pot on for

:35:51. > :35:56.Shaun, it could cost him dear. Even if he has got away with blocking

:35:57. > :36:06.reds to the left middle, the Rizwan in the yellow pocket. Assuredly

:36:07. > :36:12.would expect Shaun Murphy to get. That is the shot he is going to be

:36:13. > :36:20.playing, for sure. It looked OK from our perspective.

:36:21. > :36:37.Not happy. Somebody calling out in the crowd? Probably from the other

:36:38. > :36:42.side of the auditorium. You see, that is the way to play shots in the

:36:43. > :36:48.middle pocket. The roly-poly way of dropping the men, it is no longer

:36:49. > :36:54.the right way. You have to commit to those shots. Shaun Murphy played

:36:55. > :36:58.that excellently. Giving himself a great chance of a counterattack

:36:59. > :37:05.here. You would not put it past him to be 9-5 up here. He has a bit more

:37:06. > :37:17.of a glint in his eye. He smells blood.

:37:18. > :37:30.I think that century break in the interval, it will have given him the

:37:31. > :37:36.impetus to push for the line. The red is to the right of the bank.

:37:37. > :37:45.Something that he would like to get away soon. -- to the right of the

:37:46. > :37:49.pink. It does not matter too much with it back in play. There are

:37:50. > :37:53.loads of ways of going about this. We are talking about how players

:37:54. > :38:02.break build. They give themselves options. You do not know exactly how

:38:03. > :38:14.you're going to get the ball. The only

:38:15. > :38:25.problem is those two balls side-by-side. He has got to work out

:38:26. > :38:34.that minor puzzle. If they get a nice angle on the black... He cannot

:38:35. > :38:39.get as close as he would like because he was too straight on the

:38:40. > :38:45.blue. Missed that by the proverbial mile. He paid the price for not

:38:46. > :38:56.being positioned on the blue properly. So far, it did not wobble.

:38:57. > :39:06.Just when it looked like he was going to get a 9-5 lead, he has been

:39:07. > :39:17.pulled back to the table. Well, thank goodness for gravity.

:39:18. > :39:32.Any harder and that would have been back out again.

:39:33. > :39:57.That was not the greatest contact. A kick there. A slight kick. He still

:39:58. > :40:03.needs to make reds, two colours. Will he had one drop in at the

:40:04. > :40:15.middle. He never looked comfortable. Pressure. None of those shots were

:40:16. > :40:18.that difficult. He would have knocked them in without thinking at

:40:19. > :40:25.the club. Can Shaun Murphy, from this position, either open the two

:40:26. > :40:32.red top or play them into a middle pocket? The ball is going to the

:40:33. > :40:39.left middle and you have an angle on cushions to get in nicely behind

:40:40. > :40:47.them. A bad contact on the cue ball. It went a bit wide but he is on it.

:40:48. > :40:49.I think he would have been a bit straighter on the reds, but it was a

:40:50. > :41:03.good shot. Right in the heart of the pocket. He

:41:04. > :41:15.needs this black. Another red and the colour, informality. He nearly

:41:16. > :41:23.let it slip but he was punished. Not this time. -- a formality. Of course

:41:24. > :41:30.I got the score wrong. I was reading the scores the other way round.

:41:31. > :41:49.Up to and including the pink now, four points behind.

:41:50. > :42:02.Slightly overhits but still an excellent strike. It looks like he

:42:03. > :42:06.has not been polished. A clearing earlier error. You would have to say

:42:07. > :42:13.that this frame could be the frame that kills off Yan Bingtao's chance

:42:14. > :42:22.of a comeback. Let's see what he thinks about that. He is feeling the

:42:23. > :42:32.heat in the Crucible. So far, so good for Shaun Murphy. Brown,

:42:33. > :42:43.blue... Yan Bingtao was going through it in his chair right now.

:42:44. > :42:47.It gets you that way, you cannot look. You had a chance, a good

:42:48. > :42:59.chance. And he is not going to get another

:43:00. > :43:12.one in this frame because only the pink is required. Well, Shaun nearly

:43:13. > :43:20.let that slip. Bentaleb left him off the hook, big style. But now Shaun

:43:21. > :43:25.Murphy is one frame away from a place in the second round. -- Yan

:43:26. > :43:29.Bingtao let him off the hook, big style. There are plenty of ways to

:43:30. > :43:37.enjoy our coverage of this year's World Championship. Stephen Hendry

:43:38. > :43:46.brings a great championship to an end. Radio Five Live will bring you

:43:47. > :43:54.updates throughout the day. Steve Davies, then, continues his tempest

:43:55. > :44:00.of titles. And joining the conversation social media. Always a

:44:01. > :44:08.good day for the champion, Ken Doherty. There is live action on the

:44:09. > :44:14.BBC sports application, mobile and tablet. And don't forget, as well as

:44:15. > :44:19.our extensive coverage on BBC One and BBC Two, we are on the red

:44:20. > :44:25.button. Join Hazel, Jason understood your team from 7:00pm tonight. Just

:44:26. > :44:32.press red. There are lots of ways to find out

:44:33. > :44:38.what is happening. And what is happening to Yan Bingtao in his

:44:39. > :44:48.mind, I dread to think, because he is at the point of no return now.

:44:49. > :44:54.If he goes on to lose this match, surely he will be saying, well, this

:44:55. > :45:00.young lad has a great future and there is nothing to be too upset

:45:01. > :45:06.with. But all the rhetoric, it is not how Yan Bingtao will feel about

:45:07. > :45:09.it. All of those things about it making him a better player, all

:45:10. > :45:15.those lines... He will learn from the experience. We don't need to be

:45:16. > :45:19.telling him that rubbish. If he loses this match, he will be

:45:20. > :45:26.distraught. The way things have panned out, he just has to recover

:45:27. > :45:34.afterwards. He does not look in the right mental shape as we speak to

:45:35. > :45:39.get back in this match. But you never know how the balls go. It

:45:40. > :45:44.would be some return to win five frames on the trot. I cannot see it

:45:45. > :46:03.myself. But you never know. Stranger things have happened.

:46:04. > :46:11.A touching ball would help the situation. If the player can play

:46:12. > :46:16.back down the table, other than that, there is the outside

:46:17. > :46:21.possibility of a re-rack. Nobody wants to take a risk in getting back

:46:22. > :46:27.down the table. The players are clear these days to look at each

:46:28. > :46:30.other and have an early re-rack as opposed to getting bogged down in

:46:31. > :46:39.that kind of play. It might be touching. Touching ball.

:46:40. > :47:18.Nori rack. Fractionally short of pace, but...

:47:19. > :47:32.It has ended the stalemate, which is one good thing. A really good plant

:47:33. > :47:39.into the right corner, I think. He did not play that. No, and, well, he

:47:40. > :47:43.has left himself with a couple of different pots. We know how good

:47:44. > :48:01.Shaun ears. You would get it if it was just a

:48:02. > :48:06.plain ball, but if he is trying to do something with the cue ball, it

:48:07. > :48:11.makes the pocket more difficult. I thought he would get it.

:48:12. > :48:20.A judgment shot with the rest, as opposed to a long shot that is all

:48:21. > :48:29.about curing. I think he's trying to avoid a kiss on the second red. But

:48:30. > :48:31.these are chances now that Yan Bingtao cannot refuse. He has to

:48:32. > :48:48.make the most of these opportunities. Let the last frame

:48:49. > :48:52.slip. He's got to focus now, trying to put the scoreboard out of your

:48:53. > :49:01.mind. Concentrate on one shot, one frame at a time. He needs to try to

:49:02. > :49:13.find a bit of rhythm. He has not really had that throughout the

:49:14. > :49:17.session. I think that is a fair point. I have not seen him play

:49:18. > :49:22.before and I was really looking forward to that. He is not a very

:49:23. > :49:29.attacking player, but I think he just had a problem, the first time

:49:30. > :49:32.at the Crucible has not helped. He has not attacked as much as I

:49:33. > :49:37.thought he would have done. And the one thing that you have to have as a

:49:38. > :49:41.young player, you have to be a tremendous plotter. If you are not a

:49:42. > :49:53.good pot, you will not make a success of being a professional

:49:54. > :49:55.snooker player. It was not the greatest split.

:49:56. > :50:06.Perhaps he could have gone into the pack differently. He might have got

:50:07. > :50:12.a better result. A horrible shot into the middle pocket, and with the

:50:13. > :50:14.red begging to be potted in the middle, a bit of pressure on this

:50:15. > :50:38.shot. Very nice. I think from where he ended up he

:50:39. > :50:47.would have still ended up there. The pressure was on that shot. That made

:50:48. > :50:54.a satisfying crack into the back of the pocket. He does not hold back.

:50:55. > :51:00.He likes to thump the ball in. But he is overrunning slightly. He is

:51:01. > :51:03.looking to the corner to be able to run through. He did not really want

:51:04. > :51:28.to be playing this red. Playing for this red again. Back-up

:51:29. > :51:52.for the blue. Getting a bit more rhythm now,

:51:53. > :51:58.seeing if he can get his cue arm going. Playing a bit freer, hitting

:51:59. > :52:03.the ball more positively. You can tell by the sound of the ball going

:52:04. > :52:07.into the back of the pocket that he has perhaps freed his cue arm up a

:52:08. > :52:16.bit. Nothing to lose now. He is on the brink. And perhaps we are now

:52:17. > :52:23.going to see the people at the Crucible Theatre's first exposure to

:52:24. > :52:33.Yan Bingtao. We will see what he is made of, what his potential is.

:52:34. > :52:40.Straight on this red. Even though he is going to be slightly hampered,

:52:41. > :52:49.well, that is perfect. Slightly hampered but it should not affect

:52:50. > :52:54.the's. -- should not affect the pot. He had a chance to do this in the

:52:55. > :53:05.last frame, of course. Knocked down on 47.

:53:06. > :53:14.Can he get past? Yes. There is a difference now in the player. All of

:53:15. > :53:18.a sudden he is walking around the table fast, not overthinking the

:53:19. > :53:22.shots. He is doing the normal Chantilly is used to playing in

:53:23. > :53:29.practice. He looks like a different player now. I don't think that is

:53:30. > :53:37.exactly the cannon he played. He was looking to cannon the red. Red,

:53:38. > :53:48.pink, red, that is all that is required. Of all of the young

:53:49. > :53:57.players coming through from China, Yan Bingtao has started to raise his

:53:58. > :54:07.head above the pack. There are some excellent young players coming

:54:08. > :54:13.through. I think it is sometimes easy to forget. Perhaps because of

:54:14. > :54:20.this young man's stature. He is only 17. I know there is a big race

:54:21. > :54:30.between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui, but it is not usual that a

:54:31. > :54:34.17-year-old player comes through and shows the maturity to get through

:54:35. > :54:41.the qualifying sections. Stephen Hendry, of course. 17 of the World

:54:42. > :54:50.Championship. I think he was just about 17 when he first played.

:54:51. > :55:09.Willie Thorne and clapped him off. I wonder if Willie would have

:55:10. > :55:14.clapped him off, had he beaten him. You wonder. Anyway, it has been an

:55:15. > :55:17.excellent contribution from Yan Bingtao. He still has a little bit

:55:18. > :55:24.left in the locker and he has proven that if he gets the chance, he is

:55:25. > :55:33.going to take it. It is whether or not he has enough chances to get

:55:34. > :55:35.back into this match. If he won the next frame, maybe 9-7, it might be a

:55:36. > :55:49.bit more equal. You cannot beat a good "oooh" in the

:55:50. > :56:18.Crucible. Nicely played. So we could possibly

:56:19. > :56:32.see his second century of the match. He has been all round the table.

:56:33. > :56:38.Green, brown, blue, pink, blacks. You have to be accurate with this.

:56:39. > :56:40.Red and the blue would get into the century. He has got to be so

:56:41. > :56:58.accurate. It was a pity. It was a tough shot.

:56:59. > :57:05.So he still has a little bit left. How much? We will have to wait and

:57:06. > :57:13.see. 6-3 behind. Shaun Murphy leads 9-6. HAZEL IRVINE:. His biggest

:57:14. > :57:19.break this afternoon. I guess he has just and had our question, what is

:57:20. > :57:23.he going to do this half, because he is up against it now? He can relax

:57:24. > :57:27.to some extent. We have a match with a similar scoreline last night. In

:57:28. > :57:31.his position, there is nowhere else to go but give it all the best. If

:57:32. > :57:37.he gets to 9-8, that is different, the pressure is back on him. So play

:57:38. > :57:41.with a bit of freedom, and if the chance comes, make the best of it.

:57:42. > :57:46.It is a fantastic experience and he has come near, and he has performed

:57:47. > :57:49.very well. But sometimes debutants come here and they are like a rabbit

:57:50. > :57:55.in the headlines Billy Machon lights. But he has performed quite

:57:56. > :57:59.admirably. This is the first time we have seen at the Crucible. You have

:58:00. > :58:02.seen a lot of them this season. I have been watching other outlets and

:58:03. > :58:05.seeing him play but from what you have seen close-up, what would you

:58:06. > :58:11.say are the chief attributes that he brings to his game? He has got great

:58:12. > :58:14.composure. Apart from the cue action and the stands and everything, he

:58:15. > :58:19.has great composure, a great attitude. By all accounts he has a

:58:20. > :58:23.great work ethic. He practices hard and he's good under pressure. When

:58:24. > :58:26.you have all of those attributes and you walk out and practice hard, you

:58:27. > :58:32.are only going to go one way. Also, he is a scorer. You cannot win

:58:33. > :58:36.nowadays if you do not score. He certainly proved that with a lovely

:58:37. > :58:38.break of 94. Does he have much left? Let's find out as we go back into

:58:39. > :58:54.frame and 16. The obligatory red, the one closest

:58:55. > :59:04.to the right pocket, I don't think Yan Bingtao can see enough of it to

:59:05. > :59:09.play the's. -- to play the pot. Getting back to that point that Ken

:59:10. > :59:16.made about the work ethic, so many talented snooker players in the

:59:17. > :59:25.game, and they are all talented, but in the end natural talent counts for

:59:26. > :59:26.less at the top part of the game. It is more about who has got the best

:59:27. > :59:44.work ethic. That hard work and dedication, hours

:59:45. > :59:51.of practising simple shots as if they are in matches, it can pay

:59:52. > :59:58.dividends when it comes to the big matches. And that is why the best

:59:59. > :00:03.players in the world, when the cue up to the ball, every time they cue

:00:04. > :00:07.up, they would go for the same procedure, the same motions with the

:00:08. > :00:14.cue. They will make everything as repetitive as possible. Regardless

:00:15. > :00:19.of whether other people think it is boring. I think you would agree, to

:00:20. > :00:26.have that work ethic you have to love the game. Particularly at the

:00:27. > :00:33.age of Yan Bingtao. Yes, and you would also think that from afar, the

:00:34. > :00:35.mentality of the Chinese super players, perhaps the coaching

:00:36. > :00:40.schemes out there and the systems out there, they are ingrained that

:00:41. > :00:44.hard work and dedication into the young players. You want to get

:00:45. > :01:02.somewhere, you have to work your socks off.

:01:03. > :01:08.Nicely in using the extension. The other side of the spectrum we have

:01:09. > :01:12.Jimmy White who thankfully got a wild card to stay on the tour next

:01:13. > :01:19.season but he still loves the game, still puts the hours of practice in.

:01:20. > :01:28.A good number of the older players this year, Anthony Hamilton, mark

:01:29. > :01:30.King to name but two, stuck at it, continued to practice, what would

:01:31. > :01:40.seem like banging your head against a brick wall year after year, and

:01:41. > :01:46.finally getting the awards. Not ideally placed, this bunch of reds.

:01:47. > :01:53.It flat at the back. Can always cause problems. Looking like a

:01:54. > :01:59.different player now isn't he? Played nicely, played it without

:02:00. > :02:09.thought. Bouncing around the table a little bit.

:02:10. > :02:19.Just stayed down, wanted to be a bit more low on the black to help him

:02:20. > :02:29.get into the reds. That flat back pack, it's not easy to get on one.

:02:30. > :02:38.It's a lot harder to get the balls to open up nicely, especially if you

:02:39. > :02:42.play the screw back shot. If you play the screw back across the pack

:02:43. > :02:50.is the only shot you might have is the red and into the right middle. I

:02:51. > :02:58.agree, I think you are better off stunning into them. Should have been

:02:59. > :03:04.tight under the cushion. My not have let anything on but... It's not a

:03:05. > :03:22.difficult safety. Just the containing safety. Willie

:03:23. > :03:30.Thorne, one of the great break-builders of the game in many

:03:31. > :03:37.ways, not necessarily competitive play, used to make 147's for fun at

:03:38. > :03:41.his club in Leicester. I think he studied the art of positional play

:03:42. > :03:56.and breaking open the pack more than any player. Perhaps Yan Bingtao

:03:57. > :04:01.could do with an hour with Willie? An hour with Willie Thorne?

:04:02. > :04:02.could do with an hour with Willie? An hour with Willie I think that

:04:03. > :04:25.would be more than enough. What a video that would make. It is

:04:26. > :04:29.great, he does not know we are talking about him, he is

:04:30. > :04:39.commentating on the other table. I know, that is why we are doing it.

:04:40. > :05:05.30 point lead. It's a lead but not much of one at this level.

:05:06. > :05:16.Purposely driving the red into the main bunch to bring reds interplay.

:05:17. > :05:25.Putting pressure on Yan Bingtao. Yeah. He will go for the red.

:05:26. > :05:45.Perhaps not. I think he is. Nice. Just shows you sometimes, he was

:05:46. > :05:53.forced into it, it was his only escape route. Take nothing away from

:05:54. > :06:03.it, excellent. This is not certain. You should get it but it's not

:06:04. > :06:08.guaranteed. He's missed the cannon on the red. I think you probably

:06:09. > :06:22.thought he was going to cannon and red there. Not bad, long straight

:06:23. > :06:29.shot he should also get. Needs to cue this well. No. Decelerated.

:06:30. > :06:33.That's the problem. You can do it on a straight shot but not an one which

:06:34. > :06:49.is just off. We'll always finished wide of the mark.

:06:50. > :07:00.STUDIO: If this continues beyond 5:15pm which is our schedule time to

:07:01. > :07:06.come off BBC Two we are all going to continue on the red button. We will

:07:07. > :07:08.see this to a conclusion but be prepared, you might have depressed

:07:09. > :07:11.the red button in a few minutes time if this still going but for now we

:07:12. > :07:31.will continue on BBC Two. COMMENTATOR: Just considering the

:07:32. > :07:38.best red to play safe off. Decided on this one, got to hit it just

:07:39. > :07:43.right, a few obstacles in the way. That red that is close to the right

:07:44. > :07:54.middle could be makeable if you are right behind it.

:07:55. > :08:08.By golly he's got it! Those always look easy but when you are down

:08:09. > :08:14.there it's quite an acute angle. Dropped it in, lovely.

:08:15. > :08:23.Ideally would like to play the stun into the pink. Bit close to the

:08:24. > :08:34.cushion to make it easy. Digging down a bit, makes the pot harder.

:08:35. > :08:39.Nicely played. Could not have worked out much nicer, one to the right

:08:40. > :08:43.middle, I prefer the one to the left corner in all honesty. Shaun has

:08:44. > :08:53.still got a bit of breathing space in this match. But it's getting a

:08:54. > :09:10.bit more interesting now. I think it's getting very interesting.

:09:11. > :09:18.Just underhit it slightly. Straight on this red he could roll through

:09:19. > :09:22.for the black, now he's going to have to go up for the blue and a

:09:23. > :09:32.couple of reds he's got to avoid to get good position on the blue. Could

:09:33. > :09:37.possibly play to clip the pink out and go up for the blue but that's

:09:38. > :09:47.probably a stupid idea from me. A far better shot, not get involved in

:09:48. > :09:56.cannoning into other balls. Bit street on the blue. Yeah, I was just

:09:57. > :10:10.wondering. He's just got a slight angle. Controlled it well, should

:10:11. > :10:17.get lucky. That's OK I think. The one just below the pink, three reds,

:10:18. > :10:28.I think the one closest to the black years on, to the left corner.

:10:29. > :10:38.If that runs and it needs to run and it has, absolutely inch perfect on

:10:39. > :10:49.the blue. Yeah, stun into the pink and red looks to be the shot. OK,

:10:50. > :10:56.fair enough. I think he's just looking for an red and colour. Did

:10:57. > :11:00.not want anything to go wrong. And it could be that the pink goes to

:11:01. > :11:05.the left middle if you wanted to play it but the black is easy. Black

:11:06. > :11:16.would put him 72 points in front with just 67 remaining. He is

:11:17. > :11:25.hanging on in there. The young man. Showing what Ken Doherty said in the

:11:26. > :11:31.studio, he's got a good temperament. All of a sudden he looks much more

:11:32. > :11:42.alert himself. Enjoying being out there in the middle. Nothing like

:11:43. > :11:48.potting a few balls. Good to have a bit of an eagle in this game isn't

:11:49. > :11:56.it? Enjoy being a bit The Off. You have got to be. It is why the top

:11:57. > :12:07.players in snooker 's clubs like playing next to the bar, so people

:12:08. > :12:14.can watch them. As Hazel mentioned shoon you're going to have to go to

:12:15. > :12:21.the red button because there is going to be another frame. I

:12:22. > :12:26.remember going into or tell, it said press the red button, I pressed it

:12:27. > :12:43.and the TV went off! But they all have the red button nowadays!

:12:44. > :12:59.Bringing the red interplay. Not quite a century on here.

:13:00. > :13:29.STUDIO: The 17-year-old is over the line in this one and he will not go

:13:30. > :13:34.away, just two frames behind now, Yan Bingtao sticking in. We are

:13:35. > :13:42.going to continue watching this match over on the red button or on

:13:43. > :13:43.the BBC Sport website. Join us on the red button to watch the end of

:13:44. > :13:46.this one. See you there.