Wednesday, 1st Round, Afternoon

:00:32. > :00:38.Hello, good afternoon, and welcome back to Sheffield, Day five of the

:00:39. > :00:42.2017 Betfred World Snooker Championship. Five more first round

:00:43. > :00:45.places up for grabs, two former world champions looking to join the

:00:46. > :00:54.likes of Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 16. Coming up

:00:55. > :00:57.this afternoon we will catch up with Judd Trump's match with Rory McLeod,

:00:58. > :01:05.the world number two in trouble yesterday. Twice beaten finalists,

:01:06. > :01:12.and Ali Carter also faces an uphill struggle against Graeme Dott. It is

:01:13. > :01:18.the 2006 world champion who leads Carter going into the final session.

:01:19. > :01:21.That resumes at 2:30pm. The 2010 world champion Neil Robertson gets

:01:22. > :01:28.his Crucible campaign under way this afternoon. Standing in Roberson's

:01:29. > :01:36.way it is Thailand's world number 72. Will also talk tables in our

:01:37. > :01:43.daily chat about the game in the appropriately named table talk. Mark

:01:44. > :01:51.Allen is through to the second round taking on our daily challenge pop

:01:52. > :01:56.quiz -- Pot Quiz. We would love to hear your questions and views, get

:01:57. > :02:01.in touch using the #BBC snooker and we look forward to hearing from you.

:02:02. > :02:04.All of that to come but first an update on the Ronnie O'Sullivan

:02:05. > :02:05.story. This statement came in at 7pm last night following his outburst in

:02:06. > :02:50.the press conference on Sunday. Ronnie O'Sullivan plays Shaun Murphy

:02:51. > :02:54.in the next round. Let's stop talking about Ronnie and concentrate

:02:55. > :02:59.on some snooker. This one got underway at 10am this morning, Judd

:03:00. > :03:02.Trump got off to a flier yesterday against the world number 54 Rory

:03:03. > :03:06.McLeod but amazingly the 46-year-old, the oldest player left

:03:07. > :03:11.in the competition won five frames in a row against the second seed to

:03:12. > :03:16.overturn a 4-0 deficit and lead 5-4 after an incredible opening session.

:03:17. > :03:20.Take a look at these pictures because Judd appeared in a little

:03:21. > :03:24.discomfort this morning during the frames. He looks like he has some

:03:25. > :03:29.pain in his back as he goes down to play a shot and he will be in even

:03:30. > :03:33.more pain if he loses this match. He has not been beaten in the first

:03:34. > :03:38.round since 2007. This is where we will pick it up. Rory McLeod looks

:03:39. > :03:42.as if he's heading into the second round. This will be the biggest

:03:43. > :03:46.upset of the competition so far. This is live, the scene at the

:03:47. > :03:50.Crucible from where we are in the Winter Gardens, let's join it live

:03:51. > :03:56.in the company of John Virgo Stephen Hendry. Good afternoon, gents.

:03:57. > :04:01.COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, Jason. This is turning out to be a massive

:04:02. > :04:06.frame. It's already been going on, it is in its 30th minute and still

:04:07. > :04:14.only eight points in it in favour of Rory McLeod.

:04:15. > :04:20.I have to say... This looks good, this could be tied up against the

:04:21. > :04:30.APPLAUSE This is turning out to be a bit of a

:04:31. > :04:45.dogfight here. Yes, that is a very good description. We have already

:04:46. > :04:50.mentioned that Judd Trump has got to forget about pretty snooker and

:04:51. > :05:00.high-scoring snooker, it's just getting the result at all costs.

:05:01. > :05:06.That's the way I'd prefer to go. He could hit the black or anything

:05:07. > :05:19.here. That would not have been my choice and if it runs on he will

:05:20. > :05:26.leave an easy starter. Bad decision. I think it has just stopped short

:05:27. > :05:32.enough. He has not left the pot on. That was fortunate. I don't think

:05:33. > :05:37.you would have had it replaced. OK, it wasn't an easy pot. I don't know

:05:38. > :05:44.what he doesn't go twice across. This is fraught with danger. He

:05:45. > :05:49.could catch the ball over the middle pocket if he over adjusts. I suppose

:05:50. > :05:54.the reason he has gone this way is there is nothing available into the

:05:55. > :06:05.corner. Fair play to him, he got it right in that time. This is exactly

:06:06. > :06:26.the sort of frame, if you can get a 20 point lead, it is so valuable.

:06:27. > :06:36.Just thin edge sticking out from the black but he caught it much too

:06:37. > :06:45.thick. Judd Trump has been a bit fortunate. It went close to the side

:06:46. > :07:00.cushion making it not an inviting pot. He is having a look at it. He

:07:01. > :07:08.would be a brave man to take this on. The longest frame of the match

:07:09. > :07:39.so far. And probably the most important.

:07:40. > :07:45.Decent length, but this red that's available to the left corner is the

:07:46. > :07:50.type of red that Rory has been knocking in most of the morning.

:07:51. > :07:53.He's not been making any Huybrechts, neither player has, but he's been

:07:54. > :08:01.very consistent with this type of pot.

:08:02. > :08:15.But not this time. He's brought the black into play. Jason was

:08:16. > :08:22.mentioning before you came to us about a few twinges that Judd has

:08:23. > :08:26.got and it appears to be in the right arm, the right shoulder. The

:08:27. > :08:33.thing is when he uses the rest, when he's getting down there, he plays

:08:34. > :08:40.with the rest right-handed and he's missed a few with the rest.

:08:41. > :08:58.The fact he potted it, squeezed it into the right-hand pocket, has

:08:59. > :09:04.given him a nice angle on the green. He did not seem to get into that cue

:09:05. > :09:08.ball at all, didn't seem to get any reaction. Has he got an angle to

:09:09. > :09:13.take the red of the cushion from this pot? Looks pretty good from

:09:14. > :09:17.here. He could still be on the brown that take the red away from the top

:09:18. > :09:24.cushion. He couldn't have played it better. When he pots the brown he

:09:25. > :09:35.will go three points behind. So any colour from this red and he

:09:36. > :09:40.can win this frame without needing the pink. He will need the awkward

:09:41. > :09:56.blue but at least he won't need the pink.

:09:57. > :10:07.Seemed to finish quite straight. Oh dear.

:10:08. > :10:15.He did have an angle. It wasn't the best angle. But if anybody had the

:10:16. > :10:21.power to get the cue ball out it was Judd Trump. He will be horrified by

:10:22. > :10:22.that shot. Five point lead will count for nothing if he doesn't get

:10:23. > :10:35.this yellow safe. All things considered he's played

:10:36. > :10:36.that escape very well. What an opportunity he's missed to win the

:10:37. > :11:13.frame. He's just having a look and a quick

:11:14. > :11:16.look at the school five points behind, now Rory is going to need up

:11:17. > :11:25.to and including the pink. This yellow pots as you can clearly see

:11:26. > :11:57.but it's a tough one. Is not certain to run safe should he miss it.

:11:58. > :12:06.He got close enough. The problem was with that shot if he didn't get the

:12:07. > :12:08.snooker he would leave the cue ball close to the yellow. Easy enough

:12:09. > :12:26.safety for Judd. It looks like he is looking at the

:12:27. > :12:32.options of sticking it round the three cautions and sticking baby cue

:12:33. > :12:36.ball in behind the black. He must get the yellow safe. Nowhere near

:12:37. > :13:04.hard enough. The only way that that was going to

:13:05. > :13:08.be a good shot was to cover the yellow with the brown. The last

:13:09. > :13:19.thing Judd will want to do is bring this pink into play. Where is the

:13:20. > :13:25.yellow going? Would you believe it? I can't believe he played, more like

:13:26. > :13:34.a Yankee than anything else. He's played this well. What a shot.

:13:35. > :13:57.Still needs the blue. I know he has tremendous cue power,

:13:58. > :14:01.but that was a strange way to try and get on the blue. He will still

:14:02. > :14:09.take this on to this right-hand corner pocket. Just the blue needed.

:14:10. > :14:16.Not there. But he did play it with an element of safety. The downside

:14:17. > :14:21.for Judd is the blue has gone adjacent to the pink so there is a

:14:22. > :14:24.chance for Rory playing the safety on the blue could bring the pink

:14:25. > :14:32.into play because that's what he needs. Rory Mac -- McLeod needs

:14:33. > :14:36.blue, pink and black. Strange the way Judd Trump played that, it is

:14:37. > :14:44.not his natural game. He needed the blue to win the frame, not bothering

:14:45. > :14:54.where the cue ball goes. It is the pressure. It is, yes.

:14:55. > :15:03.Hitting it from behind. Where is the cue ball? It is in the jaws. It

:15:04. > :15:06.makes it a good safety now. When you get the cue ball in the jaws. I

:15:07. > :15:11.don't think now he can definitely get through to the blue. He was not

:15:12. > :15:19.angled, as he was early on in this frame. This frame by far and away

:15:20. > :15:31.the longest frame of the match. Just coming up to 41 minutes.

:15:32. > :15:37.And when you put this much effort into a frame, if you don't win it,

:15:38. > :15:44.it really hurts. But here's another chance now for Judd to clinch it.

:15:45. > :15:54.Only the blue needed. Will he play this with more conviction? No. Dear

:15:55. > :16:02.me. And the worst thing is he has brought the pink interplay. But how

:16:03. > :16:14.far away was he with that? Judd Trump, widely regarded as the best

:16:15. > :16:21.potter in world snooker. There is no way that the ball can go anywhere

:16:22. > :17:04.near that pink. Just an edge sticking out. Good

:17:05. > :17:33.shot. But now that pink's in play, it's all about the blue.

:17:34. > :17:40.Another thing to think about, this match is looking like it might not

:17:41. > :17:44.finish in this second, so if Judd has a problem, physically, it may be

:17:45. > :17:51.will give him time to recover, if he can just win this frame. Yes, the

:17:52. > :17:58.cut-off line is 40 minutes before the next session starts. We have 15

:17:59. > :18:08.minutes before two 30p -- before that rule will come in to play. So

:18:09. > :18:16.maybe after this, if Judd, or even if Horie wins it, we will get one

:18:17. > :18:30.more frame to play -- if Rory. Where is the cue ball going? So close.

:18:31. > :18:42.That would have put Judd 19 points in front if it had dropped in the

:18:43. > :18:51.middle. But the snooker. Easy hit. Can he get it safe?

:18:52. > :18:58.You think if Judd can win this frame, win the next one, who do you

:18:59. > :19:00.fancy coming back for through to get to get to the second round of the

:19:01. > :19:10.World Championships? Look at this for a result. Look at this for a

:19:11. > :19:16.result. APPLAUSE He may well look up to the skies,

:19:17. > :19:18.Rory, there. No way he could have expected that to happen, and it

:19:19. > :19:35.gives him the advantage in this frame. Surely you come of this black

:19:36. > :19:40.cushion, no? Straight up. Playing at this speed, even if he hits the

:19:41. > :19:43.blue, he will just hand the initiative to his opponent. Could be

:19:44. > :19:49.snookered again next time he comes to the table. Good fit. As I say,

:19:50. > :19:58.because that cue ball and object ball were so close together, they

:19:59. > :20:02.could be another snooker. Looking at the possibilities of the pot down

:20:03. > :20:10.the cushion, but if he was the play, he would certainly be trying to

:20:11. > :20:26.cover the blue with the pink. He has got the snooker.

:20:27. > :20:35.I know what Judd is thinking here, but this is so damaging when you are

:20:36. > :20:38.in the snooker. I think you have just got the go-ahead and hit it and

:20:39. > :20:46.just hope that you don't hit the blue full in the face. That is the

:20:47. > :20:50.line. He is going the other side of middle pocket, try to hit it off two

:20:51. > :20:59.cushions, is he? It would not have been my choice. It leaves a

:21:00. > :21:06.freefall. It will just be replaced. It looks as though he could come

:21:07. > :21:09.from below the middle pocket. I think particularly at the pace I

:21:10. > :21:13.would want to have this, I would be coming from this side of the middle

:21:14. > :21:24.pocket, you hit it hard, checks it slightly. Just got to hit and hope.

:21:25. > :21:36.Maybe he can't get to the other side of the middle pocket. He has hit it.

:21:37. > :21:41.But he has left a chance. OK. It is going to take a good shot to pot

:21:42. > :22:01.this and get back up for position on the pink.

:22:02. > :22:12.He had to play it with a lot of pace, that's what made it difficult.

:22:13. > :22:14.Judd Trump, nine point front, still only needs the blue. As we watched

:22:15. > :22:45.that shot again. Excellent shot. Is it a snooker?

:22:46. > :22:49.Yep. Nice touch there. If he is playing this dead weight, he could

:22:50. > :22:50.leave this blue on here. If he doesn't hit it right, he could leave

:22:51. > :23:05.it on. PC. -- it is pacey. I know you would have taken it on,

:23:06. > :23:13.Stephen. It is for the frame. Is it worth the risk? He has not got a lot

:23:14. > :23:20.of room to manoeuvre. Judd Trump, committed, and he got it! Snooker

:23:21. > :23:37.needed. And in goes the pink. Well, that

:23:38. > :23:44.frame was in its 50th minute, and what a relief Judd Trump will have

:23:45. > :23:49.been to have won it. Rory McLeod will be disappointed, just one in it

:23:50. > :23:55.now, 8-7 Rory McLeod. STUDIO: Just to remind you that Judd Trump has

:23:56. > :23:59.not been blocked out since 2007 of the World Championships. John

:24:00. > :24:03.Parrott and Steve Davis, twists and turns that this one still to come.

:24:04. > :24:06.Every time you escape from a snooker you never know how they will end up.

:24:07. > :24:11.Simon on a good chance that could have done well. In the end it was a

:24:12. > :24:14.great blue from Judd Trump. Brave shot. He got a good white ball is

:24:15. > :24:18.well playing some insurance down the table but the difference between

:24:19. > :24:23.winning and losing that frame was massive. Idlette like one of those

:24:24. > :24:27.frames, the way it was going, that no matter what Judd did he was going

:24:28. > :24:32.to lose it but all credit to him, it was a cracking blue he did it. We

:24:33. > :24:37.showed a picture of Judd Trump having a bit of a twinge in his

:24:38. > :24:41.back. He seems to have got better. Is that something that perhaps has

:24:42. > :24:45.contributed to his poor form? I don't know. You'd left asking how

:24:46. > :24:49.bad it is. He has been grimacing through most of the match -- you

:24:50. > :24:53.would have to ask him. He is obviously still able to play so it

:24:54. > :24:58.is not completely bad but at the same time it is losing your mind if

:24:59. > :25:03.you have like that going on. Are you surprised how well Rory has played?

:25:04. > :25:08., Not really, because Judd let him back in. He gave him breathing space

:25:09. > :25:12.and Rory is a player, he qualified for the Crucible. Anyone who does

:25:13. > :25:17.that is a player, so therefore he got some breathing space in the game

:25:18. > :25:21.and he is taking his chances. I have been impressed with the way he kept

:25:22. > :25:26.it going. He would probably then be expecting more of a good performance

:25:27. > :25:29.this morning but perhaps from the perspective of Judd Trump, perhaps

:25:30. > :25:35.it is nice that this match doesn't finish in this session. Maybe so. It

:25:36. > :25:39.is only 8-7, there is a winning post in this session as well. Obviously

:25:40. > :25:42.the referee has had a word, maybe just had a word about the time going

:25:43. > :25:48.on in this match and what will happen. Given the faction we have

:25:49. > :25:58.matches touted at two 30p as -- given the fact. At 2:30pm.

:25:59. > :26:12.Rory McLeod the break. COMMENTATOR: I suspect this is the last frame

:26:13. > :26:16.that we will play in this session. It is the rule that no frame can be

:26:17. > :26:21.started 40 minutes before the next session. I suppose if they got this

:26:22. > :26:26.frame over in five minutes, we would have a chance. But it doesn't look

:26:27. > :26:33.as though that will happen, the way the frames have gone so far. Judge

:26:34. > :26:42.must have thought that was a plant, the speed he played shot at. --

:26:43. > :26:51.Judd. That is a bad misjudgement. Looking at the playing time, 23.5

:26:52. > :27:04.minutes. And looking at it, he had to catch the first red very thin. So

:27:05. > :27:15.first opportunity for can one. APPLAUSE

:27:16. > :27:26.Played the aggressive shot, a little bit unfortunate possibly not to have

:27:27. > :27:30.an easy -- an easier pot than this. Just a touch of Czech side. Always

:27:31. > :27:37.starts off addressing very low the cue ball.

:27:38. > :27:48.Yes, just a little bit too much check side. Didn't play it with the

:27:49. > :27:52.pace. The kiss on the green didn't help, of course. As I say, this is

:27:53. > :27:58.the last frame, and when they resumed they will play the remaining

:27:59. > :28:03.frames of this match on the first table available. It might not be

:28:04. > :28:23.this one, it might be the other table.

:28:24. > :28:31.Just thinking about the scenarios, if Rory was to win this frame, how

:28:32. > :28:36.do you like having all day to think about a 9-7 lead? Obviously it is

:28:37. > :28:38.not an ideal situation for Judd Trump, but he doesn't want to be

:28:39. > :28:46.thinking about that whole day. That's close. APPLAUSE

:28:47. > :28:50.Well, that was not a bonus was that he played safe there, he played a

:28:51. > :28:53.very poor positional shot of the last red, that is why he did not

:28:54. > :28:56.finish on the black. Played the safety on the black and potted it.

:28:57. > :30:02.Not what he wanted. It's not bad, might have look like a

:30:03. > :30:05.reckless shot from Judd, but as long as he got the red in the jaws of the

:30:06. > :30:11.pocket he would stay at this end of the table. If you can just get past

:30:12. > :30:22.the yellow, this might sneak into the right corner. He has hit it too

:30:23. > :30:27.thin, and that's why he hit the red on the left-hand side of the table.

:30:28. > :30:30.This is a chance for Judd, but, believe me, after what we have seen

:30:31. > :30:45.so far this morning, take nothing for granted. As you pot success, you

:30:46. > :30:50.always say 90% of both. What a test of character this is.

:30:51. > :31:00.This visit to the table. As we have said before, how badly do you want

:31:01. > :31:06.it? The has obviously got some sort of injury. He is not playing well.

:31:07. > :31:11.He is 8-7 down, the first round of the World Championship. You can't

:31:12. > :31:22.get more intense than this at snooker. That stat you are looking

:31:23. > :31:27.at, Judd won the first four frames put since then he has only had an

:31:28. > :31:34.82% pot success. As I say, take nothing for granted in this visit.

:31:35. > :31:38.It would be a Herculean performance if he was to win it in one visit

:31:39. > :31:45.here, and he has not helped himself by coming a little bit too Street on

:31:46. > :32:01.the black. -- a little bit too straight.

:32:02. > :32:13.That's no good. Unless there is a red that will squeeze into the

:32:14. > :32:22.middle. Maybe there will. He will play for this, particularly if it

:32:23. > :32:26.goes on but it is not there. He knew straightaway. 16 is all he needed

:32:27. > :33:04.from that excellent opportunity. Solid putter, and he looks like he

:33:05. > :33:20.will finish just about on the brown. Nine. We are using old money here.

:33:21. > :33:22.You would never have thought that in a match involving Judd Trump. That

:33:23. > :33:39.is the way it is playing out. He could have heard a better case

:33:40. > :33:48.than that. He is going to be slightly hampered by the red and

:33:49. > :33:51.pink. In all honesty when he potted the brown, all right, the brown was

:33:52. > :33:57.tricky enough, he had to give it full attention, but just needed to

:33:58. > :34:11.be trusting to lack a little bit as to what he finished on. He played

:34:12. > :34:15.that nicely. I would think that type of shot when he was stroking down on

:34:16. > :34:16.the ball doesn't have much affect on Rory, because he plays most of the

:34:17. > :34:42.shots striking down. Judd had first chance and didn't

:34:43. > :34:48.take it. APPLAUSE Needs another 40 points. To get to

:34:49. > :35:18.snooker is required. Looks like this red still goes to

:35:19. > :35:29.the middle. Not making it any easier.

:35:30. > :36:39.I wouldn't be surprised he played the cue ball, there is more for this

:36:40. > :36:44.red than I thought. I thought the left side of the table was a no-go

:36:45. > :36:56.there. Still in good position, though he has let that cue ball just

:36:57. > :36:58.loose. At the stage, when you want everything as easy as possible, with

:36:59. > :37:12.the pressure. He has rolled it in, though. 40

:37:13. > :37:13.points to lead. Two reds, two high value colours and the frame will be

:37:14. > :37:38.in the bag. If you had said to Judd your highest

:37:39. > :37:51.break in the match would be 65, he would laugh at you. He played that

:37:52. > :37:59.pretty well, he has the red to the middle, just a nice stunt down for

:38:00. > :38:05.the black. The red and the black will leave Judd Trump needing two

:38:06. > :38:11.snookers. Worrying times for the number two seed. OK, he's going to

:38:12. > :38:18.get a break and maybe have a bit of work on the shoulder, which seems to

:38:19. > :38:21.be giving him a little bit of jib. He has to come back this evening,

:38:22. > :38:27.there is a possible three to play, he has got to win them all. It is a

:38:28. > :38:30.difficult situation for him actually because you have no idea when the

:38:31. > :38:37.match is going to finish, so how do you prepare for that. Yes. Obviously

:38:38. > :38:39.that is the both players, not just Judd. Anything but an ideal

:38:40. > :38:59.situation. And that red going in means Judd

:39:00. > :39:01.Trump will come back later this evening with an awful lot to do.

:39:02. > :39:16.He's in a big hole here. Doesn't matter. Judd won't come back

:39:17. > :39:24.to the table 64 points behind, 43 remaining. So it will be a handshake

:39:25. > :39:30.and it will be see you later. APPLAUSE

:39:31. > :39:36.And Rory McLeod, who came into this session one frame ahead of Judd

:39:37. > :39:43.Trump, leaves its two frames ahead, just needing one. But that will be

:39:44. > :39:47.decided later this evening. Rory McLeod leads number two seed, Judd

:39:48. > :39:51.Trump, 9-7. Shock on the cards? Could be.

:39:52. > :39:59.At IS ask the boys. The players have to come back for one frame, could be

:40:00. > :40:06.a fume or, at the next available table really. -- let's asked the

:40:07. > :40:09.boys. He would have been delighted to have got to the nine frames and

:40:10. > :40:14.he now has the luxury of having three bouts of the cherry. When they

:40:15. > :40:18.come back, and I don't know what the policy is on how much time they

:40:19. > :40:22.would have, whether the tournament official would think tension leaves

:40:23. > :40:26.three frames, I need to give that much of a gap. Because of the two

:40:27. > :40:28.afternoon sessions went the distance, then there wouldn't be

:40:29. > :40:33.enough time to perhaps even fit one frame in. Do they then have to come

:40:34. > :40:37.back at the evening session right after? That is what they usually

:40:38. > :40:41.have done. I think basically it is guaranteed that you have the table

:40:42. > :40:47.with no interruptions. That is usually after the evening session.

:40:48. > :40:51.We had a bit of a marathon last night, what happened if you had one

:40:52. > :40:55.of those Anna Hansen night? They could come back at three o'clock in

:40:56. > :40:58.the morning, it doesn't matter, it will be played this evening, or this

:40:59. > :41:04.afternoon if there was a massive block that could be utilised. It is

:41:05. > :41:08.horrible, you don't know, and there is something weird about going on

:41:09. > :41:12.the other table. Yes, all the patterns are different. You have

:41:13. > :41:15.been playing with the crowd on one side, your chairs there, and then

:41:16. > :41:18.you are playing on the mirror image, the other side, and you have not

:41:19. > :41:21.played on that table. You have to trust that the table is playing

:41:22. > :41:25.excellently but it is not exactly the same table. If there is any

:41:26. > :41:30.minute rolling off you have got used to on your table, that won't happen.

:41:31. > :41:34.When we get back to the action, do you fancy Rory McLeod to seal the

:41:35. > :41:38.deal as the winner? He has to sit on that for the rest of the day but I

:41:39. > :41:43.would soon have it 9-7 in front. There was a really good frame that

:41:44. > :41:48.we will show you. This could not have come out better. Over the top

:41:49. > :41:52.of the reds. It was very missable. But by opening up those are the two

:41:53. > :41:56.beds, he could not have foreseen that exactly. What a wonderful

:41:57. > :41:59.situation to get into. He jumped a bit at the bit and messed up the

:42:00. > :42:04.positional shot but got himself out of trouble. Pretty calm and

:42:05. > :42:08.coordinated at the end. The problem for Judd Trump is, as we have seen,

:42:09. > :42:13.he is in some discomfort out there. We do now how bad it is. It offers

:42:14. > :42:17.replays on your mind. Perhaps he can get some work on it, perhaps a

:42:18. > :42:20.massage of some sort, to ease the pain but he still has three frames

:42:21. > :42:24.he has to win out of the blocks this evening, and it is tough coming out

:42:25. > :42:28.cold, and it will become by the time they possibly go on. I remember

:42:29. > :42:34.being at the Masters many years ago and asking you, Steve, what is going

:42:35. > :42:38.to happen next, and you replied no, I don't know. What will happen in

:42:39. > :42:43.this much? I would sense that Judd Trump is going to go out. Really?

:42:44. > :42:49.Yes, because you are coming out cold for three frames. Perhaps if it was

:42:50. > :42:54.continuing, Trump could go caution to the win, but coming out cold it

:42:55. > :42:58.is a spin of the coin, and if it is 50-51st frame, then Rory McLeod is

:42:59. > :43:02.favoured. It is a big story, the biggest upset we have had so far? He

:43:03. > :43:07.was the joint tournament favourite at the start so it is massive. Rory

:43:08. > :43:11.McLeod generally has not done is much justice on television

:43:12. > :43:15.tournament and has not have the best season, so most people did not give

:43:16. > :43:19.them a chance so it will be a shock. And the match, if it does happen

:43:20. > :43:23.that Judd loses this, was lost in the second session of the first

:43:24. > :43:27.session, so to speak of the second half of that because Judd was 4-0

:43:28. > :43:32.up, and I think he resented it more on a plate to get ten one back into

:43:33. > :43:35.the match. This is the first time at the Crucible in 40 years where there

:43:36. > :43:39.has only been one Welsh representative here at the World

:43:40. > :43:45.Championships, and that is in the shape of Ryan Day, who is taking on

:43:46. > :44:03.Ciao good long. Ryan Broyles as high as clear

:44:04. > :44:20.COMMENTATOR: Didn't play through well. Not the best there. Quite a

:44:21. > :44:26.big target between the pink, blue and brown to study the have got the

:44:27. > :44:37.cue ball tight. He chose not to play the shot that way. And he could be

:44:38. > :44:47.ruling that, because Guodong has just fluked a snooker. Guess. Good

:44:48. > :44:49.luck and bad luck. He has fluked the snooker, bad luck, knocked the blue

:44:50. > :45:04.safe. That was very good because it was a

:45:05. > :45:12.full ball swerve here to play and it was very difficult to execute that

:45:13. > :45:21.type of shot. Is he going to have a go at the double? He is and he's got

:45:22. > :45:28.it but has he gone too far? He needs to cut the black in, the pink is no

:45:29. > :45:37.use. If he pops the pink he will need one snooker. -- pots.

:45:38. > :45:49.When he got the double, he thought he was on the black but he just hit

:45:50. > :45:58.it a little too far. The black is very thin. It is not an impossible

:45:59. > :46:01.cut but it is incredibly thin and he will have absolutely no control over

:46:02. > :46:15.the cue ball whatsoever because he would have to play it with lots of

:46:16. > :46:21.pace. He is going to take it on. He will need the extended rest and the

:46:22. > :46:26.extension on his cue and, as Peter said, the white will be coming off

:46:27. > :46:31.this cushion with a lot of pace because it is so thin. If he plays

:46:32. > :46:34.it with screw and right-hand side he needs to avoid the in off into the

:46:35. > :46:48.right-hand corner pocket. He's played that brilliantly,

:46:49. > :46:54.absolutely fantastic shot. Yes, it was all about getting the pot. If he

:46:55. > :47:00.had been able to get onto the yellow it would have been a bonus but it

:47:01. > :47:04.was a must pot on the black so he can still tie this third frame. Not

:47:05. > :47:15.sure about that choice of shot. He's been rather fortunate because

:47:16. > :47:19.he should not have been anywhere near the jaws of the middle pocket.

:47:20. > :47:27.And is there enough sticking out for Ryan to take this on?

:47:28. > :47:34.He might be able to go past the brown and snick the yellow in that

:47:35. > :47:37.he has hit its too thick and he needs the brown to come to his

:47:38. > :47:50.rescue. How is this for a shot? How is this

:47:51. > :48:12.for a shot?! Wow! APPLAUSE Well, that snooker certainly got

:48:13. > :48:17.Peter excited and it was a cracking shot! He has left the yellow away

:48:18. > :48:27.from the cushion. This is not straightforward. Lots of side, two

:48:28. > :48:29.cushions. He has slipped around the back of it but I don't think it's a

:48:30. > :49:10.free ball. I don't think he intended that but

:49:11. > :49:14.it has put the blue into a slightly better position. I think he was just

:49:15. > :49:21.trying to get around the angles and get a bit closer to the green. What

:49:22. > :49:26.a shock this would be to take on. He is almost straight on the green, he

:49:27. > :49:34.would have to raise the cube as he is doing but what a shot this would

:49:35. > :49:37.be. -- you would have to raise the cue. But there is no easy safety so

:49:38. > :49:57.he has to have a go. APPLAUSE

:49:58. > :50:07.That is the shot of the match so far.

:50:08. > :50:13.And the fact that he disturbed the blue, he can swing this around but

:50:14. > :50:15.he is fully stretched and this is awkward but he can get round to the

:50:16. > :50:29.blue. And this looks pretty good as well.

:50:30. > :51:05.Dear me, what a cracking positional shot.

:51:06. > :51:14.Is he straight on this? If he is, he's OK. He would have to screw back

:51:15. > :51:23.off the cushion if it's dead straight.

:51:24. > :51:28.He had a bit of angle so he didn't have to do that. Is he going to

:51:29. > :51:49.pinch another one on the black? This young Chinese player has pulled

:51:50. > :51:56.off another clearance and he gets himself three frames in front now.

:51:57. > :52:06.STUDIO: This is brilliant for lured but disaster for Ryan Day. But Ryan

:52:07. > :52:11.fired back with three frames and then Xiao took the next to make it

:52:12. > :52:13.5-3 and we pick it up in the last frame of the session. Back to Dennis

:52:14. > :52:18.Taylor and Peter Ebdon. That is a tremendous pop from Xiao

:52:19. > :53:05.Guodong. APPLAUSE

:53:06. > :53:09.And that was another tremendous shot, a lot of cube power, top

:53:10. > :53:35.left-hand side. Wonderful shot. And after those two excellent pots

:53:36. > :53:47.and positional shots, this is an excellent chance for Xiao Guodong. I

:53:48. > :53:52.think he would be delighted to take the session 6-3. When he was 4-0 up

:53:53. > :54:00.it looked like he would carry on but the mid-session interval turned it

:54:01. > :54:13.round. Ryan did come out and played some fantastic snooker with breaks

:54:14. > :54:16.of 125 and 72. But 6-3 would be a healthy advantage going into the

:54:17. > :55:03.evening session. We have not seen the heavy scoring

:55:04. > :55:12.so far in this match that we might well have expected from both of

:55:13. > :55:16.these quality raked builders. -- break-builder 's. But there has been

:55:17. > :55:22.a lot of pressure and a huge amount of tension, partly because they have

:55:23. > :55:27.both been missing balls which has been most unexpected. But this is

:55:28. > :55:35.much more like it from Xiao. His highest break was in the opening

:55:36. > :55:45.frame, a break of 62. And Ryan had that magnificent 125, but the pot

:55:46. > :55:47.success rate, neither player in the 90s but Ryan has certainly climbed

:55:48. > :56:07.up. That wasn't the best shot he has

:56:08. > :56:15.ever played. It is quite tight, the two reds he is looking at. Not sure

:56:16. > :56:29.if he can pot the back red of the two. Just enough room.

:56:30. > :56:41.Now the scenario is turned around. Ryan Day with the possibility of

:56:42. > :56:47.just being one frame behind. But it's not an easy table to clear up

:56:48. > :56:55.from, there are three very awkward reds and the two together, they are

:56:56. > :57:01.not too bad, but it is the one on the right side cushion and the two

:57:02. > :57:54.on the left side cushion, those are the key balls, you would feel.

:57:55. > :57:58.He is already thinking about the difficult reds now and how he will

:57:59. > :58:31.get onto them. If he doesn't want to play the

:58:32. > :58:35.cannon, he would have to finish where I've got the other white to

:58:36. > :58:51.lead them on but it might be a natural angle to cannon them.

:58:52. > :59:03.He hit it a little bit too hard and flicked the reds.

:59:04. > :59:10.And the cue ball certainly came off a bit fast from the black cushion

:59:11. > :59:11.and a big square but that is an excellent recovery pot from Ryan

:59:12. > :59:25.Day. That's another good shot, well

:59:26. > :59:56.played. Has he got an angle to screw

:59:57. > :00:01.straight back onto that red that is just above the middle pocket and

:00:02. > :00:08.disturb it? It's not bad, he might be able to. The way he's looking at

:00:09. > :00:17.it, he's going to lead a double so maybe he feels he can't screw back

:00:18. > :00:20.and read it. -- and move it. I suppose the double is not a bad

:00:21. > :00:37.choice with the other two reds safe. APPLAUSE

:00:38. > :00:44.Well played. He's not absolutely ideal. On a

:00:45. > :01:08.colour here. He is digging down into the brown.

:01:09. > :01:16.Nice shot, he's left himself another double, Dennis. The reds were tied

:01:17. > :01:19.up and if they are, you can keep doubling them. That will do. But not

:01:20. > :01:36.this time. But it is a fine 47 at this stage in

:01:37. > :01:42.the last frame of the session. 14 is the difference.

:01:43. > :01:55.But now that the red is back in play, 14 points doesn't mean a great

:01:56. > :01:57.deal, it is who gets the first chance here. Because all the colours

:01:58. > :02:26.perfectly placed. Has he got away with this? Not

:02:27. > :02:32.quite. No way he intended to cannon the red. But I think the fact he had

:02:33. > :02:37.to play it with a bit of swerve and right-hand side, it took the white

:02:38. > :02:39.into the red that was near the cushion. He hit it a little thinner

:02:40. > :03:20.than he was hoping to. It's the green and I think he's got

:03:21. > :03:28.a bit of angle to screw back for that final red. He is looking at the

:03:29. > :03:36.yellow which is better to get him nicely on that red and closer to it.

:03:37. > :03:45.That is careless. That is a big turning point because instead of 6-3

:03:46. > :03:59.in front, every chance now that it is going to be 5-4.

:04:00. > :04:09.Yellow to green might be a bit of a problem but what other miss -- what

:04:10. > :04:31.a miss that was. Just enough side on that. Yellow and

:04:32. > :04:36.green will do. And as long as he doesn't snooker himself on the green

:04:37. > :04:47.with the blue, he should be OK, he can get onto it from this position.

:04:48. > :05:04.Purposely leaving a little bit short to prevent going over behind the

:05:05. > :05:08.blue so this is the shot. Well, the pressure, the importance of that

:05:09. > :05:27.green and he cued across it slightly. 22 in front.

:05:28. > :05:32.He will have to steady himself here, a bit of noise from the other side

:05:33. > :05:55.of the arena. What a cracking pot that was. What a

:05:56. > :05:57.gem he has pulled out there, and with all the noise going on he did

:05:58. > :06:27.well. He is just about perfect, I think he

:06:28. > :06:33.has got a slight angle here. He still needs the pink and black. For

:06:34. > :06:36.all the world it looked like Ryan Bate would just be one frame behind.

:06:37. > :07:04.-- Ryan Day. He needed a couple of chances and

:07:05. > :07:10.Ryan Day will be a bit disappointed but having said that, he was 4-0

:07:11. > :07:14.behind to the young Chinese player, Xiao Guodong who will be delighted

:07:15. > :07:19.as he is taking a 6-3 lead into this evening session.

:07:20. > :07:25.And you can watch that match live to its conclusion on the red button

:07:26. > :07:29.with us from 7pm with every match is being broadcast here on the BBC, the

:07:30. > :07:34.morning, afternoon and evening sessions, you will not miss a shot

:07:35. > :07:38.with us. Join Hazel Irvine for the conclusion of that. If you are just

:07:39. > :07:42.joining us here and you are wondering who is in and out in this

:07:43. > :07:44.year's World Championship, let us remind you of how the first draw

:07:45. > :08:58.stands. And you saw that England against

:08:59. > :09:02.Scotland class, Ali Carter taking on Graeme Dott which is our live match

:09:03. > :09:06.this afternoon here on BBC Two and you can keep up-to-date with the

:09:07. > :09:13.latest news on the BBC sport website and app. It is time now for today's

:09:14. > :09:22.Table Talk. Our cameras were here last week at

:09:23. > :09:27.the Crucible as the tables were constructed for this year's World

:09:28. > :09:37.Championships and just take a look at this. I wouldn't put a brand-new

:09:38. > :09:40.table into any major televised event because you need something tried and

:09:41. > :09:44.tested so these two have been selected from the season. It is like

:09:45. > :09:54.a big jigsaw puzzle, everything is numbered up. This is what they call

:09:55. > :10:04.the slate bracket, it screwed up and down. You put these in, there is a

:10:05. > :10:08.metal plate on the bottom. That allows you to bring the level of the

:10:09. > :10:12.centre of the table up so the slate is not like this and you can adjust

:10:13. > :10:21.the level up and down. There have been heat is on snooker tables since

:10:22. > :10:24.the 18th century. They used to used greenhouse heaters which are like

:10:25. > :10:29.tubes but they are inefficient and they just heat above the tube

:10:30. > :10:31.whereas these heaters heat the slate evenly and we can control the

:10:32. > :10:45.temperature. Come over a bit more. We have

:10:46. > :10:50.roughly positioned the tables underneath the centre of the lights

:10:51. > :10:54.but for the television cameras, they have to beat spot on, anything

:10:55. > :11:00.off-line and you won't be level on the TV. Our colleagues are running

:11:01. > :11:03.lasers from a set point that will give the centre of the tables and

:11:04. > :11:07.also when the wall goes up, the tables had to be level because there

:11:08. > :11:14.will be shots going across so they have to be parallel. And the theatre

:11:15. > :11:19.is so small, you are only five feet four from the table to the wall. You

:11:20. > :11:29.only have six inches of leeway with the queues cues. You have got to be

:11:30. > :11:32.very careful. Then you claim the top service to make sure that is

:11:33. > :11:37.perfectly flat and then the slate will go on. They are very heavy, 50

:11:38. > :11:42.millimetres thick which is normal than -- more than a normal table and

:11:43. > :11:48.they weigh just under 200 kilos each. But you need the weight to

:11:49. > :11:55.keep the level. If you don't have the level weight, you don't have the

:11:56. > :12:01.stability. And we used these engineering levels which are really

:12:02. > :12:05.accurate. This is actually perfect. And to show you how accurate they

:12:06. > :12:15.are, if you put a ?10 note underneath one end... You can see it

:12:16. > :12:20.now, the thickness of the paper has moved it over by 1 degrees and for

:12:21. > :12:27.us that is not acceptable because the costs are so thin, there is

:12:28. > :12:31.almost no tolerance. You want everything to be level. You fill in

:12:32. > :12:41.the gaps with filler and clean it off and it looks like one piece. Now

:12:42. > :12:44.we are about to put the role of cloth off and this is used for the

:12:45. > :12:50.whole event, the practice tables, if we cover them again, or one cloth.

:12:51. > :12:59.It is difficult to fit, it is like fitting a piece of cardboard. It is

:13:00. > :13:03.down to experience. I can feel the tension under my hands, when it is

:13:04. > :13:10.time to stop because you can rip it and you have to start again which

:13:11. > :13:15.you don't want. The cloth is on nice and tight and then you brush it an

:13:16. > :13:25.eye on it and then the outside part of the cushion go on. Each pocket is

:13:26. > :13:30.like two templates, for the corners and the middle and the bigger one is

:13:31. > :13:36.the top cut. That goes in and it should be firm with some resistance

:13:37. > :13:41.but not compressing the rubber so that is fairly tight. The important

:13:42. > :13:45.point is this, that controls the slate fall and the amount of

:13:46. > :13:51.undercut on the rubber. The more you take off from under here, because

:13:52. > :13:56.the ball is cylindrical, it makes the pocket easier. On these tables,

:13:57. > :14:07.the pocket openings have not altered since 1990. So that is 27 years.

:14:08. > :14:12.They have not changed. Then the outside freeze will go on which is

:14:13. > :14:16.where the pockets are connected and basically the table is finished

:14:17. > :14:23.apart from the marking out. Nobody likes doing it because you use like

:14:24. > :14:28.a Tippex pen and you only have one chance so you can't make a mistake.

:14:29. > :14:32.We have had accidents and we have had to start again! I'm still very

:14:33. > :14:37.proud of what we do, I still get butterflies when the World

:14:38. > :14:41.Championship starts but you hope everything is all right and you

:14:42. > :14:44.haven't missed anything. If you want to get up close and personal as a

:14:45. > :14:47.snooker player, this is the place to do it. It is the only tournament

:14:48. > :14:55.when the players are this close together. But looking at the table

:14:56. > :15:00.itself, it is pretty cramped. Just for starters, you have the cue ball

:15:01. > :15:03.in the corner pocket... If it is in the jaws, you'll like it more or

:15:04. > :15:07.less here and there is not much room and then you have to walk back to

:15:08. > :15:15.Yorkshire and it is excuse me like this! Then you come by here, you

:15:16. > :15:18.don't have a lot of room here to plate that shot. Especially if you

:15:19. > :15:24.are the type of player who wants to walk back and into the shot and you

:15:25. > :15:32.are so close. Nice to meet you! And they were saying, what was the

:15:33. > :15:37.distance? The tournament director said that if this room, the width if

:15:38. > :15:40.it was one yard less than it would never have been considered for the

:15:41. > :15:46.World Championship which is astonishing. Of course we looked at

:15:47. > :15:50.the tables and they have heaters which is a modern phenomenon and

:15:51. > :15:56.they have come down a few degrees. They were at about 50 but come down

:15:57. > :16:00.to 45 to make less problems. The reason there are heaters is the need

:16:01. > :16:04.for speed, the top players like fast conditions and if there is any

:16:05. > :16:09.moisture in the cloth it slows down the balls so they try it out and

:16:10. > :16:16.that makes it faster. This look great. This is miles better than in

:16:17. > :16:18.a snooker club. You have the luxury of space! You can walk around and

:16:19. > :16:25.everything. You are forgetting one thing. Here it is. But if you're

:16:26. > :16:34.here and I'm here! There we go! At last I've got rid of

:16:35. > :16:37.him! LAUGHTER

:16:38. > :16:41.APPLAUSE STUDIO

:16:42. > :16:45.What a double act they are. A little bit of a health and safety issue

:16:46. > :16:48.there. Fantastic stuff from John Parrott and Steve Davis. Our live

:16:49. > :16:53.match for you this afternoon is the conclusion of Graeme Dott, the 2006

:16:54. > :16:55.world champion, taking on Ali Carter, a man who knows the pain of

:16:56. > :17:10.losing in the Crucible final, twice. I think I've had a good season,

:17:11. > :17:14.really. I have won one event, I give Lee should have won another one. I

:17:15. > :17:18.have reached semis and quarterfinals. From where I was last

:17:19. > :17:22.year as a qualifier, now back in the top ten.

:17:23. > :17:28.COMMENTATOR: Play a good one, son. Marvellous! Marvellous! I've got

:17:29. > :17:35.experience in every round. I have one in every round and sort of lost

:17:36. > :17:40.in every round. I've made a max. I've been involved in some classics,

:17:41. > :17:47.so a privilege to be here. What a place to make it. The best place.

:17:48. > :17:51.The long format is always suit me. A lot of the tournaments are now best

:17:52. > :17:58.of sevens, which is tough. My opponent a night, Graeme, he is a

:17:59. > :18:01.longer format man as well. He's had a lot of success here as well.

:18:02. > :18:06.Hopefully we'll be a good game. I've got lots of things happening in my

:18:07. > :18:10.life and it is good. I feel healthy and I'm keeping myself fit, enjoying

:18:11. > :18:15.my life at the minute. That is the main thing. Well, it's very tight in

:18:16. > :18:19.the career head-to-head stats. They first met 16 years ago in the

:18:20. > :18:23.British Open. Just the one meeting here at the Crucible, Graeme Dott

:18:24. > :18:28.winning that 113-11 in the second round, when Dott went on to reach

:18:29. > :18:30.the quarterfinals. This is the story of the first session. -- winning

:18:31. > :18:46.that one, 13-11. COMMENTATOR: Ali Carter gets this

:18:47. > :18:47.first round match under way. And he looks to have played this well.

:18:48. > :18:57.Excellent shot. He's played it beautifully!

:18:58. > :19:19.Beautiful play. What a cracker. Got it absolutely perfect. Graeme

:19:20. > :19:24.Dott will be delighted. 4-0 in front.

:19:25. > :19:31.Well, that will help. That will help, and he'll have a nice angle on

:19:32. > :19:44.the brown. Graeme will stay in his seat, and he

:19:45. > :19:47.nods the concession to Jan Verhaas. Ali Carter, just what he needed

:19:48. > :19:51.after the mid-session interval, getting two frames on the board, but

:19:52. > :19:59.Graeme Dott still leads by four frames to two. He may have left a

:20:00. > :20:06.chance here for Graeme, this red in the middle of the table. It does pot

:20:07. > :20:09.do the right corner. This fourth 6-3 overnight, and there it goes! And

:20:10. > :20:12.Ali Carter is going to be three frames behind.

:20:13. > :20:18.STUDIO So, there we are. The players are

:20:19. > :20:23.standing by. There is Graeme Dott. Can he make it through to the second

:20:24. > :20:27.round this afternoon? 2006 World Championship winner and also won the

:20:28. > :20:30.China open. We will also keep you right up today with Neil Robertson,

:20:31. > :20:35.world number nine and the world champion here in 2010, he starts his

:20:36. > :20:40.match this afternoon against Noppon Saengkham, he gets that on the red

:20:41. > :20:44.button, BBC Sport online as well. But for us live here this afternoon

:20:45. > :20:49.it is Ali Carter against Graeme Dott. Let's get the players out. A

:20:50. > :20:53.very good afternoon to Rob Walker. Good afternoon, Jason. What a

:20:54. > :20:59.dramatic date has already been at the Crucible, Judd Trump and Rory

:21:00. > :21:05.McLeod will have to come back this evening to conclude their epic

:21:06. > :21:09.match. We are witnessing some superb matches to make it through to the

:21:10. > :21:11.second round. Waiting in the wings to entertain us, we have four more

:21:12. > :21:32.world-class players. Please welcome, first of all, the

:21:33. > :21:37.last of this year's debutants to appear on the big stage, former

:21:38. > :21:42.world under 1's -- world under 21 champion, quarterfinalist at last

:21:43. > :21:45.year's China open, and the fourth player from Thailand to make it here

:21:46. > :21:52.at the Crucible, he's Noppon Saengkham!

:21:53. > :22:17.What a great moment. And his opponent this afternoon is a player

:22:18. > :22:21.who has, without doubt, established himself as one of the game's greats

:22:22. > :22:26.since his arrival from Australia just over a decade ago. 12 times a

:22:27. > :22:34.ranking event winner, champion of the world here in 2010, can you hear

:22:35. > :22:41.the Thunder from Down Under? Here's Neil Robertson!

:22:42. > :23:02.On table two, here comes a man once again producing his very best here

:23:03. > :23:08.in Sheffield. Three times a finalist, champion 11 years ago. He

:23:09. > :23:18.has made a brilliant start in this, his 18th year in Sheffield. Can he

:23:19. > :23:25.keep it going? Let's find out. He's the Pocket Dynamo, he's Graeme Dott!

:23:26. > :23:42.And finally, contesting his 15th consecutive Crucible campaign,

:23:43. > :23:48.winning his fourth ranking title this season. From 4-0 down

:23:49. > :23:53.yesterday, he has given himself a foothold in this match. Twice a

:23:54. > :24:02.World Championship runner-up, give it up for the Captain, Ali Carter!

:24:03. > :24:16.Always looks super-sharp, doesn't he, Ali Carter? That is our live

:24:17. > :24:21.match for you on BBC Two this afternoon. And what a wonderful

:24:22. > :24:24.entrance from Noppon Saengkham, making his Crucible debut there. You

:24:25. > :24:29.can watch that match on the red button, BBC Sport online and also on

:24:30. > :24:33.our app. In fact, on our app, you can choose between table one and

:24:34. > :24:38.table two. Let's say a very good afternoon to our match commentators,

:24:39. > :24:41.Ken Doherty and Willie Thorne. COMMENTATOR: Could afternoon

:24:42. > :24:48.everybody. This is the nitty-gritty stage, the best of 19. We saw if you

:24:49. > :24:51.were watching the Judd Trump and Rory McLeod game, it can sometimes

:24:52. > :24:56.be a theatre of nightmares. The pressure here at the Crucible, it is

:24:57. > :25:00.a cauldron, and the one who can cope best with it usually goes through to

:25:01. > :25:05.win. Graeme Dott had a very good start yesterday, went into a 4-0

:25:06. > :25:09.lead. No massive breaks in the game to be perfectly honest, Graeme

:25:10. > :25:14.Dott's highest was 50 and Ali Carter only 76, but Ali Carter has got work

:25:15. > :25:18.to do at 6-3 behind, Ken. Absolutely. This is one of the ties

:25:19. > :25:24.of the round without a shadow of a doubt. Rain dog, former champion.

:25:25. > :25:28.Ali Carter, finalist here on a couple of occasions and of course

:25:29. > :25:34.made that wonderful maximum break here. -- Graeme Dott, former

:25:35. > :25:41.champion. It was always going to be a tough one because Ali of course is

:25:42. > :25:45.the seed and Graeme qualified this year. Hate to see him back

:25:46. > :25:55.Yes, he's -- great to see him back in good health. He has had his

:25:56. > :25:59.issues away from the table, well-documented. Great to see him

:26:00. > :26:04.doing so well. The things that worry me slightly about Ali Carter, Kent,

:26:05. > :26:09.he gets himself at it a bit these days, he's had a bit of bad form, he

:26:10. > :26:15.does a bit of head nodding and things, but he is an unbelievable

:26:16. > :26:21.player. If this -- this red goes into the green pocket, he can get on

:26:22. > :26:27.the black. He's got a wonderful cue action. Very confident, strokes the

:26:28. > :26:31.ball lovely. Got to be honest, Ken, I think he's got possibly the best

:26:32. > :26:33.cue action in the game now. We used to say that about Stephen Lee, now

:26:34. > :26:37.he's doing other things these days. REFEREE: Sure, OK. No one has hit

:26:38. > :27:00.it, have they? A little scratch on A little scratch on the black. Ali

:27:01. > :27:11.Carter just point something out to Jan Verhaas. You hit the ball as

:27:12. > :27:17.such ferocity, sometimes you can get a little scratch on it.

:27:18. > :27:27.It could have been from maybe this morning's match that wasn't noticed,

:27:28. > :27:30.but I'm sure if both players had a problem with it, it could be easily

:27:31. > :27:40.changed. That was a nice result, lots of top spin.

:27:41. > :27:46.Tremendous cue power, Ali Carter. He gets through the ball very nicely

:27:47. > :28:19.indeed. Another thing I love about Ali

:28:20. > :28:20.Carter, he never refuses the shop to get the ball in play very attacking

:28:21. > :28:30.player. Made over 230 competitive centuries,

:28:31. > :28:36.including that wonderful 147 here at the Crucible.

:28:37. > :28:47.I think he's going to need a fast start, Willie. Looking good at the

:28:48. > :28:52.moment so far. Lee's first four frames, try and at least get three

:28:53. > :28:55.of the first four, closed the gap. That's what his target would be. I'm

:28:56. > :29:06.sure anything above that would be a bonus. Yeah, that's it, always win

:29:07. > :29:10.the mini-session. As you say, can, if you can win 3-1, it is 7-6 and

:29:11. > :29:25.you're right back into the match. That bottom red of the pack pots, so

:29:26. > :29:28.he could play a nice little cannon on the red to the right of the pink,

:29:29. > :29:39.get in the open. He has missed the cannon. Has it

:29:40. > :29:48.gone too far? I think he's OK. Just about OK. Like you, Ken, I thought

:29:49. > :29:53.he should have played the cannon there but he is nicely on it, he can

:29:54. > :29:57.bring a couple more reds into blade playing the run-through for the

:29:58. > :30:00.black. Nice start, this. The only thing about not playing the cannon

:30:01. > :30:05.there, now he has an awkward angle. If he doesn't get enough top spin on

:30:06. > :30:12.this, he might end up in the pack. He's played it nicely. Good shot,

:30:13. > :30:18.well controlled. Just wondering whether the bottom red of the pack

:30:19. > :30:24.pots. If it does, he can play for that quite nicely. Go back behind

:30:25. > :30:27.the back of the red that is out in open play and leave a choice of reds

:30:28. > :30:36.into both corners. That is the art of break-building, if you're not

:30:37. > :30:40.sure of the angle to try and play for two reds at the same time. He

:30:41. > :31:18.has gone too hard, so he can try and take the red down the left.

:31:19. > :31:31.And their use are -- and their use are Ali's cue power. Look at the

:31:32. > :31:36.reaction on this cue ball. The reaction was amazing, but I think

:31:37. > :31:45.that could be end of break. He probably didn't need to hit it so

:31:46. > :31:53.hard. A little bit softer, into the packed a bit earlier.

:31:54. > :32:06.He is a half chance of this red into the bottom right hand corner pocket.

:32:07. > :32:13.Nice pot. Where is the cue ball going? It needs to slow up. It's OK.

:32:14. > :32:19.Good pot. There wasn't as much pressure on that because the cue

:32:20. > :32:25.ball was going back to baulk. But he has held it nicely short of the

:32:26. > :32:33.baulk line. Now, good positional shot here. If the red wasn't on the

:32:34. > :32:37.right side cushion, he may play the two cushions into the bunch slowly,

:32:38. > :32:40.knowing that if he misses the case he is on the other one. Playing for

:32:41. > :32:47.the loose one here is OK because it will free the red into the

:32:48. > :32:48.right-hand corner pocket. He only needs two more reds and two more

:32:49. > :33:00.colours. Purposefully left it high, so that

:33:01. > :33:35.he can play for that loose thread. Well, that knocked a few times,

:33:36. > :33:42.didn't it? But it has knocked another red out. 63 ahead, 75 left

:33:43. > :33:50.on the table. Red and brown, blue or pink will do.

:33:51. > :34:02.He may take the blue here. The red just below the pink spot will pot

:34:03. > :34:10.into this left-hand corner pocket. He's coming to have a look at that.

:34:11. > :34:14.I think the bottom red of the four will pot as well. If he can try and

:34:15. > :34:24.knock the blue in and avoid the case on the four reds, he should be OK.

:34:25. > :34:29.-- avoid the kiss on the four reds. This, of course, is frame ball. And

:34:30. > :34:34.it's just the start that Ali was looking for. We said he needed a

:34:35. > :34:42.fast start, and this is it. Particularly with a great break. The

:34:43. > :34:45.breaks haven't been great in this match but if he could get a century

:34:46. > :35:01.break it would give him a good boost.

:35:02. > :35:06.When he pops this thread, it would release the other two into the

:35:07. > :35:17.left-hand corner pocket. A bit straight on the black but

:35:18. > :35:23.still OK. Two reds go into the right centre. If ever you needed to see a

:35:24. > :35:26.tape of what you would call a perfect century, should he go on to

:35:27. > :35:28.get one, this is it. An absolutely brilliant display of cue ball

:35:29. > :36:12.control. The black for the century. He has a

:36:13. > :36:19.nice angle on the black to drop on this red, so he won't play to move

:36:20. > :36:27.it, he will just drop on it. That is the 25th century of this tournament.

:36:28. > :36:51.Ali Carter's 23rd of the season. His 234th of his career. Excellent.

:36:52. > :37:04.That was a lovely pot on the black, perfect angle on the yellow. The

:37:05. > :37:08.highest break of the tournament is of course 136 from Ding Junhui. He

:37:09. > :37:21.can equal it if he pots the remaining five colours. What a

:37:22. > :37:26.start. Oh! What a terrible shame he didn't manage to get the clearance,

:37:27. > :37:33.but a century for a good start and that's what he has done to close the

:37:34. > :37:36.gap to two. He still trails, 6-4. Super start for Ali Carter and back

:37:37. > :37:39.to that match shortly, but in the meantime let's bring you up-to-date

:37:40. > :37:44.with what has happened with Judd Trump. He's just one frame away from

:37:45. > :37:47.possibly getting knocked out in the opening round against Rory McLeod,

:37:48. > :37:51.the world number 54. If you were watching earlier today you would

:37:52. > :37:55.have seen every time Judd Trump went to play a shot, he seemed to have a

:37:56. > :38:01.twinge, either in his back or his shoulder. In the past few minutes

:38:02. > :38:07.we'd been talking to his manager. Judd is just having shoulder pain

:38:08. > :38:10.which he twisted a few days ago therefore the tournament we cut down

:38:11. > :38:16.on the amount of practice days we do. Generally he is fine but a

:38:17. > :38:21.certain shot he can't play properly. We're actually going to assess how

:38:22. > :38:27.bad he is at the moment. Probably have to take some painkillers. I

:38:28. > :38:33.don't think any physio will actually improve the situation in such a

:38:34. > :38:40.short period of time. Also, I talked to someone to see if there is any

:38:41. > :38:44.stretching exercises he can do. If not, just take some painkillers. He

:38:45. > :38:49.doesn't feel too comfortable about it. He's going to have some rest now

:38:50. > :38:53.for a couple of hours and then he will come down here and hit some

:38:54. > :39:01.balls to see if he can feel a bit better.

:39:02. > :39:10.COMMENTATOR: Well, that was quite interesting there, about Trump being

:39:11. > :39:18.injured, the pain in his shoulder causing some problems. Graeme Dott

:39:19. > :39:21.has the first shot to nothing of this frame. Potting an awful lot of

:39:22. > :39:31.these around the back of the black, playing for loo or baulk colour. As

:39:32. > :39:34.Ali got such a good start, all of a sudden that looked a lot more

:39:35. > :39:36.difficult, didn't it? It just shows you what you can do if you put

:39:37. > :40:02.pressure on your opponent early on. He's just nodding his head, Ali. I

:40:03. > :40:05.think the cue ball may be going towards the black but if he just

:40:06. > :40:09.flicks a little bit of right-hand side, he can hold the cue ball for

:40:10. > :40:14.the black into the opposite pocket. Oh! Well, he certainly could do

:40:15. > :40:22.because there was plenty of room even to come off the cushion. A

:40:23. > :40:31.slight misjudgement there, and very disappointed. A good chance to keep

:40:32. > :41:05.the momentum going there, and he has missed it.

:41:06. > :41:11.Well, that is a bit careless from Graeme Dott. Not what you would

:41:12. > :41:17.expect from an experienced campaigner here at the Crucible

:41:18. > :41:32.Theatre. This red does pot into the right centre.

:41:33. > :41:46.Well, was that a kick? Was that a kick? It may have been, you know.

:41:47. > :41:52.He's going to get the cue ball and the red cleaned. What a time to get

:41:53. > :42:31.it. One thing I have noticed about

:42:32. > :42:36.Graeme Dott over the last few years, Willie, is how much he has upped the

:42:37. > :42:44.pace of his game. There is much more fluency now and speed. Yes, there

:42:45. > :42:48.was a time when he was at the height of his career... Oh dear, that's

:42:49. > :42:52.unlucky. I was just about to say, at the height of his career he would

:42:53. > :42:55.sometimes take 30 odd seconds they shot and there was no need for that,

:42:56. > :42:57.because he's a much better player when he plays fluently. Very

:42:58. > :43:48.unlucky. Very unlucky, there. He is having a good look at the pink

:43:49. > :43:50.here. The blue is obviously the easiest shot, but the blue veils the

:43:51. > :44:03.best position. But it was obviously the hardest

:44:04. > :44:11.pot. So that is three chances he's already had in this frame. Never

:44:12. > :44:16.easy, those. Particularly when you know what you're going to leave your

:44:17. > :44:26.opponent, should you miss. Extra pressure on them.

:44:27. > :44:33.Now he needs one good positional shot, in and out of baulk. Three

:44:34. > :44:39.reds in the middle of the table around the pink spot that he can get

:44:40. > :44:44.on here, and this looks a bit hard. It needs to slow up.

:44:45. > :45:20.He would love to play for the red just to the left of the black but

:45:21. > :45:27.there was not much gap between that and the reds but it so maybe play

:45:28. > :45:32.two cushions for the one near the pink spot. If he gets a nice angle

:45:33. > :45:37.on the one on the pink spot, he can get onto the black and play a cannon

:45:38. > :45:42.onto the two read just above it and it will open everything up. -- on

:45:43. > :46:34.the two read this. There was a bit of disturbance from

:46:35. > :46:35.the other table but it hasn't disrupted Graeme Dott's

:46:36. > :47:04.concentration. Graeme also generates a lot of cue

:47:05. > :47:09.power, we talked about Ali Carter's, but he played that green very well,

:47:10. > :47:17.he didn't hit it hard but screwed back some eight or ten feet. A good

:47:18. > :47:21.response, especially as he knows Ali Carter has had three chances in this

:47:22. > :47:28.second frame. I was a bit surprised, having made a break of 111, that he

:47:29. > :47:33.missed those three chances. Yes, he would have expected a bit more. But

:47:34. > :47:38.still a bit more work to do for Graeme as he has a glance at the

:47:39. > :47:43.scoreboard. He has to get top side of the blue here to get a nice angle

:47:44. > :47:51.to go into the pack of reds here. It is always a bit of a problem. You

:47:52. > :47:56.can overcompensate to make sure you have an angle and then you run a bit

:47:57. > :48:02.too far. Now he is going to need a bit of cue power to force this brown

:48:03. > :48:09.in, a lot of top spin, off two cushions and into the pack of four.

:48:10. > :48:22.This looks pretty good. How is his luck? How could you get through that

:48:23. > :48:28.gap?! Have a look at this. That is unbelievable.

:48:29. > :48:35.Any sort of kiss would have been perfect apart from missing them

:48:36. > :48:40.altogether. He has up popped in the middle pocket which he can play as a

:48:41. > :48:49.shot to nothing. What a shot. APPLAUSE

:48:50. > :48:57.He is buzzing. He is great to watch when he plays at this speed, Graeme.

:48:58. > :49:03.And that is a good shot, that wasn't easy. 43 points in front, this is

:49:04. > :49:28.frame ball. The crowd recognised that was frame

:49:29. > :49:36.ball. This would certainly put it beyond doubt. This has been an

:49:37. > :49:40.incredible break. Under a bit of pressure but he has had to work it

:49:41. > :49:47.up and down the table a couple of times. Ali Carter is ruing those

:49:48. > :49:54.couple of chances he had. He was a bit unlucky with the kick he got but

:49:55. > :50:02.Graeme Dott has duly obliged. It is good stuff. He has started superbly.

:50:03. > :50:06.You might have thought there would be some nerves in this final session

:50:07. > :50:12.but they have both come out firing on all cylinders. And the average

:50:13. > :50:14.shot time for Graeme Dott now is 21 seconds but that will come down

:50:15. > :50:59.after this break. He won't be worried about missing

:51:00. > :51:05.the blue, a wonderful break of 74 from the former world champion. He

:51:06. > :51:13.takes the frame and is now leading Ali Carter 7-4. Ali was a bit

:51:14. > :51:17.unlucky when Graeme played a poor escape from the snooker and try to

:51:18. > :51:21.rest on the pack but he left a pot in the middle and the inevitable

:51:22. > :51:26.happens sometimes when you are out of form. You could see the cue ball

:51:27. > :51:31.jumping and it was a terrible kick but not only that, he left his

:51:32. > :51:37.opponent right in. It wasn't like he made it from that chance, he split

:51:38. > :51:42.the reds and one went in, but it was the pink that Ali missed, the tough

:51:43. > :51:48.one under the cushion and there is pressure enough but the fact that he

:51:49. > :51:52.knows he will leave reds and it was a golden opportunity. You did not

:51:53. > :51:54.fancy him missing, particularly after the weight he started. I

:51:55. > :52:01.agree, I thought he would knock it in. The pink was definitely the

:52:02. > :52:05.right shot. I remember about ten years ago with Graeme when he had

:52:06. > :52:10.won the World Championship, he went two years when he couldn't pot a

:52:11. > :52:17.ball and I remember him leaving and he snapped his cue in half. He looks

:52:18. > :52:20.a different player this year. And of course he came through qualifying,

:52:21. > :52:40.three matches down at Ponds Forge. Good break off. He won three matches

:52:41. > :52:49.there and his last was against Jamie Jones, former quarterfinalist here.

:52:50. > :52:54.He beat him ten hibernate in the last qualifying round. And like a

:52:55. > :52:57.lot of the other qualifiers, he has had some matches under his blood and

:52:58. > :53:03.some confidence from the qualifying and it has given him confidence. --

:53:04. > :53:08.under his belt. The top seeds are there because they are the best

:53:09. > :53:11.players over the season. Great shot. But coming through qualifying is

:53:12. > :53:18.such an advantage. We have seen it this year. Graeme is having a good

:53:19. > :53:31.look at this one and applauded the shot.

:53:32. > :53:43.There is an example of Ali Carter's cue power. The cue ball stops and

:53:44. > :53:48.then zips, almost like a dragster effect. Excellent. It makes such a

:53:49. > :54:00.difference when you have that in your locker room. I know because I

:54:01. > :54:06.never had it! Ali is concerned about the angles on the black but surely

:54:07. > :54:10.if he jabs the red in and lead the cue ball where the white is, the

:54:11. > :54:16.black is only half ball but he is worried about finishing hampered.

:54:17. > :54:23.Sometimes you can look for problems, can't you? As you said, I think if

:54:24. > :54:32.he leaves the cue ball just above where the red is now. I think he

:54:33. > :54:39.would be OK. He's going to need the spider. Maybe he can reach it with

:54:40. > :54:45.the rest but he would have to hold it and be careful. Has to be very

:54:46. > :54:46.careful with the wood of the rest that it doesn't clip any of the

:54:47. > :55:05.reds. This is a little tester, when you

:55:06. > :55:09.are bridging over a ball. He is looking concerned, he just has too

:55:10. > :55:20.popped it plain ball and off the cushion. -- he has too popped it.

:55:21. > :55:29.I think what is in his head, in that last frame when he got the kick, it

:55:30. > :55:31.was similar, he was bridging and it might be in the back of his mind and

:55:32. > :55:55.that is understandable. You can tell when a player is cueing

:55:56. > :56:00.well, you can overscrew a shot like that and when you are not timing it

:56:01. > :56:04.Craig Cumming you can underscrew it. -- not timing it great, you can

:56:05. > :56:34.underscrew it. He could have done with overscrew

:56:35. > :56:45.ink that cue ball a bit more to get down towards the reds, particularly

:56:46. > :56:46.these two on the outside. He has got to negotiate position, this is not

:56:47. > :56:51.guaranteed. He has played that very well. He had

:56:52. > :57:43.to stun it in and force the angle. He looked up to the heavens then, he

:57:44. > :57:47.feels a bit hard done by that he is not on anything easy. He just caught

:57:48. > :58:23.the pack a bit too full. He is a little bit concerned, he has

:58:24. > :58:27.had a bad run in the last two games, the kick in the previous frame and

:58:28. > :58:31.he didn't get a good split their doorstep looking up to his friend on

:58:32. > :58:33.the balcony thinking it is not going well but he is still well in the

:58:34. > :59:34.match. He felt there was no way he could

:59:35. > :59:41.get back to baulk so he put all his eggs in one basket. He has left half

:59:42. > :59:51.a chance for Graeme, the red to the left of the pink pops. You can screw

:59:52. > :59:58.these in, come in and out of baulk. But he is running it in, maybe

:59:59. > :00:06.playing for blue or -- or baulk colour. You can roll those in, you

:00:07. > :00:36.can always play the stun off two cushions and he played it perfectly.

:00:37. > :00:49.He hit the wrong red then. He has got one into this right-hand corner

:00:50. > :00:52.pocket. It is not too bad. And the pink pops into the right centre and

:00:53. > :01:04.if he can hold the cue ball, he might be OK. This has to go in

:01:05. > :01:14.almost dead weight. This looks OK. It is tight. You always look at the

:01:15. > :01:18.body language of the player, even when you are sitting in the chair,

:01:19. > :01:23.Ali Carter will be looking at Graeme Dott, if he is on it, if it is

:01:24. > :01:38.tight. It does look tight but maybe not.

:01:39. > :01:56.You used to give off some body language when you used to play,

:01:57. > :02:05.Willie! You were still in your cot when I was playing! I never had any

:02:06. > :02:13.luck, it was all bad luck. This is OK, he is a bit concerned about

:02:14. > :02:16.flicking one of the reds and taking the pace out of the cue ball which

:02:17. > :02:20.is why he is playing the more difficult want to get onto the blue.

:02:21. > :02:26.He knows this is a frame-winning chance and a chance to go four up

:02:27. > :02:35.with one frame to go before the interval. He has overdone that one.

:02:36. > :02:38.He has done that a couple of times, just going top site of the blue and

:02:39. > :02:53.overhitting it. Another good positional shot needed here.

:02:54. > :03:06.This is underhit. He knows that was a great chance to win this frame at

:03:07. > :03:09.that visit, the balls were perfect. A bit of value if you can reach it

:03:10. > :03:15.without playing the rest, he can play it down the cushion for blue or

:03:16. > :03:19.baulk colour but with the rest is a lot more difficult. There are many

:03:20. > :03:44.extensions under the table. Great pot. Worth another look. Can

:03:45. > :03:45.he get on the red? The second one up from the pink into the right-hand

:03:46. > :04:11.corner pocket. That looks pretty good. He was on

:04:12. > :04:14.this red early in the break and refused it but this is the perfect

:04:15. > :04:18.angle and he does not have to do a lot for the cue ball, run through

:04:19. > :04:25.for the black or played for the blue. As long as you get top side of

:04:26. > :04:30.the blue if he plays for it. And one little kiss, that is all he needs,

:04:31. > :04:36.the red to the left of the pink, he can float this blew in and get the

:04:37. > :04:41.full ball cannon but he has gone a bit too far on the blue to make it a

:04:42. > :04:57.certainty. He had to play some sort of a kiss here, that is for sure.

:04:58. > :05:04.If he can hit the pink and the red at the same time, the want to the

:05:05. > :05:09.left of it, that would push every ball into play but he has played the

:05:10. > :05:18.other cannon and missed it. He missed it. Goodness me. I didn't

:05:19. > :05:23.expect that. The red is available into the left centre. Very

:05:24. > :05:37.difficult. Will he risk it? He has parted some

:05:38. > :05:39.good balls into the middle pocket is already in the opening exchanges

:05:40. > :05:56.here -- potted. This could be a frame-winner. He may

:05:57. > :06:27.have pushed the boat out a little bit there.

:06:28. > :06:37.He needs a bit of fortune here and he's got its. He shouldn't bemoan

:06:38. > :08:36.his luck now, every chance to win the frame at this visit.

:08:37. > :08:43.He would have loved the angle on this red to run through and bring in

:08:44. > :08:49.one of the reds on the cushion but he hasn't got it. He can play top

:08:50. > :08:53.side of the blue and then you have a half ball pot off the blue off the

:08:54. > :08:57.cushion to try to bring one of them into play but if he plays for the

:08:58. > :09:02.pink he could finish dead straight and not have the chance of doing

:09:03. > :09:10.that. He has played for the pink, not guaranteed to get the angle. But

:09:11. > :09:15.it is OK. Would you play the drop on the cushion in between them or try

:09:16. > :09:23.to move the second out? I think the good shot is off the top cushion and

:09:24. > :09:28.to try to just nudge that one towards the middle pocket and have

:09:29. > :09:33.this one down the rail, but not too hard. He doesn't have to hit this

:09:34. > :09:40.extremely hard. He doesn't want to lose the right. It is the right

:09:41. > :09:45.pace. That is very unlucky, very unlucky. It was the right pace and

:09:46. > :09:52.he's the just missed that red and caught the other, it would have been

:09:53. > :09:58.perfect -- if he just missed the red. He caught it by a fraction. The

:09:59. > :10:06.shot can put up was perfect and if he had missed it it would have done

:10:07. > :10:27.exactly what we thought -- the shot Ken put up.

:10:28. > :10:37.He has a lead of 27 points but really he would like to have one of

:10:38. > :10:47.the colours safe just for a bit of insurance. You feel that if these

:10:48. > :10:51.two reds are about to release -- are eventually knocked out into the

:10:52. > :10:57.open, whoever gets the first child is favourite for the frame. --

:10:58. > :11:24.whoever gets the first chance. It is quite easy to get the cue ball

:11:25. > :11:29.is a good position but he has to be careful where the red ends up. It is

:11:30. > :11:33.hard to do both offer this shot and that is why keep played the -1

:11:34. > :11:40.because he was not sure about the red. --

:11:41. > :11:48.-- why keep played the negative shot. This is not quite a plant but

:11:49. > :11:57.I think it can make it. Because of the situation, 27 points behind. If

:11:58. > :12:02.he was 27 ahead he would not take it on but this might convince him to

:12:03. > :12:06.have a go at it. He can play the cue ball back towards baulk and hit it

:12:07. > :12:15.with a bit of pace but he doesn't fancy it.

:12:16. > :12:24.The only problem with that shot, you're guaranteed to be snookered

:12:25. > :12:33.behind the yellow. Or certainly as long as he covers... That's not so

:12:34. > :13:08.good. He got a good pace on the cue ball.

:13:09. > :13:45.If he misses the black he can take the white up towards the yellow and

:13:46. > :13:56.every chance of getting a snooker. He has to miss the yellow. APPLAUSE

:13:57. > :14:00.That is a telling safety shot. Excellent shot and appreciated by

:14:01. > :14:05.his opponent. Nice to see both players playing this match, a lot of

:14:06. > :14:20.pressure on it, but in a very good spirit.

:14:21. > :14:26.Well, it's a tempter. You've got to fancy him going for it. The fact

:14:27. > :14:30.that he needs both reds, I'm not sure he can get high on the black to

:14:31. > :14:35.leave a chance to get onto the last red. Because it's a little bit

:14:36. > :14:39.straight, he may actually refused it. The only thing he might do is

:14:40. > :14:42.just roll it in and then play the green or the brown colour rather

:14:43. > :14:46.than try to get onto the black, because he doesn't really have angle

:14:47. > :14:52.to do a lot with the cue ball. Just play a containing safety shot now,

:14:53. > :14:58.and then he has got the snooker, obviously. 28 points in front, the

:14:59. > :15:02.yellow safe. He can even put the blue on the side cushion, Ken, and

:15:03. > :15:06.played the white towards the pocket. Yeah, I do think he can put the

:15:07. > :15:10.yellow safe here because the cue ball would be going over to the

:15:11. > :15:16.right-hand side of the table, and then play the pink or the blue.

:15:17. > :15:23.Making sure of the pink on the side rail. But not really a great shot.

:15:24. > :15:32.The pink is always there for a possible double.

:15:33. > :16:07.Well, he will be happy with where that Lou went.

:16:08. > :16:25.This is not nice at all. Oh, that's a fantastic shot. It really is.

:16:26. > :16:26.Excellent cueing. Such a tough shot, particularly going up the table

:16:27. > :16:52.against the map. Well, that was a clever little shop,

:16:53. > :16:55.wasn't it? Just tried to bring the blue into play there. Could have

:16:56. > :17:00.done with a couple more inches bringing it into play. Blue to pink

:17:01. > :17:07.will still be the big problem. Brown is not easy either. Anything a bit

:17:08. > :17:28.straight... Yeah, just any sort of angle on that

:17:29. > :17:35.brown and he might have had a chance. It was very unlikely when he

:17:36. > :17:40.came to the table that he could make a frame-winning clearance, but that

:17:41. > :17:47.little notch on the blue. Yeah, this is too straight to get anywhere

:17:48. > :17:51.close to the blue. Now, I'm just wondering, Willie, we talked about

:17:52. > :17:55.that pink earlier, at did he put it in the right place? Should he have

:17:56. > :18:00.put another colour safe? If he can get the cue ball around to just pass

:18:01. > :18:04.the blue spot, that double may be on on the pink. That's what he's

:18:05. > :18:09.looking for. He's going to have to play the blue very pacey to swing it

:18:10. > :18:13.around three cushions. But if he does get anywhere near the chance of

:18:14. > :18:21.playing a double, one thing is for certain, he will play it. Now, has

:18:22. > :18:27.he got the pace right? Not quite high enough. Another foot of pace

:18:28. > :18:32.and he could play the cross double. Now I think he can only play the

:18:33. > :18:40.safety. He is right back in the frame. And a very good shot he has

:18:41. > :18:52.played as well, excellent. At least he has snooker at Ali. If Ali hits

:18:53. > :18:55.this full ball, he will get the snooker back. That is a situation

:18:56. > :18:58.where, even though you have your opponent snooker, you don't actually

:18:59. > :19:02.want them snooker! Because he could play cushion first and leave the cue

:19:03. > :19:06.ball exactly where the pink is. If Ali could see this full ball, it

:19:07. > :19:20.would be a much more difficult shot. He didn't get the intended stop on

:19:21. > :19:21.the cue ball. Ali mis-hit it there, didn't he? He didn't play to hit it

:19:22. > :19:37.like that. Well, he felt the table rolled off,

:19:38. > :19:43.didn't he? Ali Carter just needs the one ball, but the fact that the

:19:44. > :19:49.white is perilously close to the left-hand side cushion, this pink is

:19:50. > :19:54.not straightforward at all. First frame of the match, I guarantee he

:19:55. > :19:58.would pot this, but the pressure on this, to get 275...

:19:59. > :20:11.-- to get to 7-5. But in it goes. Ali Carter will be delighted. He

:20:12. > :20:15.closes the gap to two, at 7-5. STUDIO

:20:16. > :20:17.Very tight in the career head-to-head between these two. You

:20:18. > :20:22.could see this one possibly going down to the wire? When the draw came

:20:23. > :20:25.out there's a few of them I thought horrible matches for Beagle two play

:20:26. > :20:28.against. Ray. Would have been one of the qualifiers that most of the

:20:29. > :20:32.seeds would have been trying to avoid because he is a previous

:20:33. > :20:35.winner and a gritty competitor. You always knew it would be a tough

:20:36. > :20:39.game. And perhaps another endorsement as to why this could be

:20:40. > :20:42.a tricky one for Ali is because as well, and we've been talking about

:20:43. > :20:46.this on the red button show throughout the week, all those

:20:47. > :20:48.qualifiers who have come through three difficult matches, Graeme Dott

:20:49. > :20:55.has had to beat Alan Taylor, Dechawat Poomjaeng, who have weak --

:20:56. > :20:59.who we have seen here at the Crucible, and Jamie Jones in the

:21:00. > :21:03.final round. You've got to think that the qualifiers are more match

:21:04. > :21:08.it, and also the seed has got more expectation on their shoulders. Ali

:21:09. > :21:12.Carter had a bad session, that first one. I bumped into him in the lift

:21:13. > :21:15.on the way back last night and he was a bit deflated, he said he

:21:16. > :21:19.couldn't play any worse than he did yesterday so he was hoping to try

:21:20. > :21:22.and dig himself out of the hole. I think he's done that and he's done a

:21:23. > :21:27.good job. It's about getting the frames on the border at this stage?

:21:28. > :21:31.When you had a bad session like he's had, it's an old cliche but it is

:21:32. > :21:37.each frame at a time. Build your way back into the match? Put out of the

:21:38. > :21:40.back of your mind about winning or losing, just concentrate on winning

:21:41. > :21:45.the frame you've got and every frame you have to give 100% to and try and

:21:46. > :21:49.see the scoreboard that way. He started off with a century break in

:21:50. > :21:52.the first and that was great, then one step back in the next one. Keep

:21:53. > :21:56.plugging away and give it everything you've got. In many of the other

:21:57. > :21:59.matches, when we see qualifiers come through without the same Crucible

:22:00. > :22:05.experience, it's a question of experience them, but not with these

:22:06. > :22:08.two, because these two are seasoned Crucible campaigners. If it was the

:22:09. > :22:16.case that Graeme Dott got close to the finishing line, we wouldn't be

:22:17. > :22:19.coming out with the same rhetoric about, have they got what it takes

:22:20. > :22:22.to win and get over the line here? We know Graeme Dott can do that.

:22:23. > :22:24.He's probably one of the players, ironically, that saves his best

:22:25. > :22:27.performances for this particular venue. I agree with Ken in

:22:28. > :22:31.commentary before, Graeme Dott is a much better player when he is more

:22:32. > :22:38.fluid and around the table quicker. That's what we've seen in this

:22:39. > :22:44.tournament. Thanks, chaps. Back to Willie and Ken.

:22:45. > :22:47.COMMENTATOR: Yeah, nice comments from the lads in the studio. They

:22:48. > :22:55.know a thing or two about playing here at the Crucible over the years!

:22:56. > :23:08.As indeed these two lads out here are plenty of experience. Graeme, of

:23:09. > :23:18.course, won it in 2006, beat Peter Ebdon in the final. Also lost to

:23:19. > :23:23.Ronnie in the final. Going back to how Graeme is playing in the final,

:23:24. > :23:28.I think after that final against Peter Ebdon, it was a very elongated

:23:29. > :23:30.match and he may have felt he got a bit too much stick or not enough

:23:31. > :23:34.credit for being world champion at the time because it was a slow game.

:23:35. > :23:39.But since then he has really quickened up. As we can see, he is

:23:40. > :23:44.getting some great results and he looks a better player, a more

:23:45. > :23:48.confident type of player. And also a more frightening player. When a

:23:49. > :23:52.player is bouncing around, playing confidently, it always puts a bit of

:23:53. > :23:58.fear into your opponent. Well, he's got away with that. But for the kiss

:23:59. > :24:04.on the black, he would not have done. He is one of the players who

:24:05. > :24:20.saved their best performances for here at the Crucible. The longer

:24:21. > :24:26.course of frames. Some of his best matches and wins have come here in

:24:27. > :24:28.the Crucible in Sheffield. There we see it, absolutely packed. What a

:24:29. > :24:44.session it may be. Looking down the line of that cue

:24:45. > :24:49.ball, it definitely drifted out. I think that is what happened in the

:24:50. > :24:52.last frame. Graeme played the pink, it drifted off going back up the

:24:53. > :24:57.table, cost him the frame in the end. Let's have a look at this cue

:24:58. > :25:08.ball going down... Of course, you're going against the nap as well. There

:25:09. > :25:13.isn't much nap. Going past the baulk line, just watch it drifted out

:25:14. > :25:17.slightly. There you go. I remember many years ago when we used to play

:25:18. > :25:21.here that therefore the floor, it used to be a sprung floor and they

:25:22. > :25:30.vaulted it over the years, that kind of thing happens all the time. Good

:25:31. > :25:39.pot from Ali, though. He is right back into the match if he can win

:25:40. > :25:41.this frame. It used to be on hydraulics, the stage. So hard to

:25:42. > :26:39.get the tables levelled. Ali Carter held his hand up for

:26:40. > :26:44.something there, I don't know what. And he played the pot, he held his

:26:45. > :26:48.hand up to say sorry about something. I don't know whether it

:26:49. > :26:56.flicked the other red before potting the intended one.

:26:57. > :27:06.He's not nice on the blue, especially because there is no easy

:27:07. > :27:10.red to get onto. He's going to try and missed the cannon on the green

:27:11. > :27:12.and swing it around to cushions. He tried to swing it around and it

:27:13. > :27:18.didn't quite happen. He will be very disappointed to have

:27:19. > :28:12.only scored 12 from there. Needs a bit of help here... And I

:28:13. > :28:18.think he's got it. I don't think he can put anything from there.

:28:19. > :28:24.Could swerve it and pot this red, but he certainly can't pot it plain

:28:25. > :28:40.ball. He's playing the delicate swerve.

:28:41. > :28:46.Slow swerve to try to stay on the black. Foul. Graeme Dott, seven. Oh

:28:47. > :29:15.dear. You would think having careered into

:29:16. > :29:19.the pack he would have left something a bit easier than this,

:29:20. > :29:23.but he can bounce this on and off the cushion and get onto the black

:29:24. > :29:27.in the opposite corner. Not the tallest, Graeme, as you can see.

:29:28. > :29:31.Having a bit of struggle here stretching. A little bit hard for

:29:32. > :30:04.the black, but he still has the blue.

:30:05. > :30:10.Yeah, Ali Carter very disappointed. We saw Liang Wenbo headbutt the

:30:11. > :30:19.table yesterday, but a little mark on his head, there you see there

:30:20. > :30:22.could be a mark on Ali's head, gave it a right whack, didn't he? He

:30:23. > :30:31.might have walked the cue, there. This shot is so easy if he could

:30:32. > :30:36.reach it without the rest, isn't it, Ken? But now all of a sudden with

:30:37. > :30:40.the rest it is a difficult shot. He could certainly screw off the pack

:30:41. > :30:50.of reds and back for black or blue here. Well, look at that! That shows

:30:51. > :31:00.you... He had his little extension on at the bottom of his cue for

:31:01. > :31:04.that, didn't he? Yeah. The little extension bit, what that did is

:31:05. > :31:10.added weight to the cue. Because he had a bit more weight, that is how

:31:11. > :31:16.he got into it. He got more force, cue power. Amazing, that, isn't it?

:31:17. > :31:21.Totally agree. Thought he would be on blue or pink. And this green, I

:31:22. > :31:25.don't know how he can play a safety shot here unless he plays the yellow

:31:26. > :31:30.and tries to get on the baulk cushion somehow. OK if he plays the

:31:31. > :31:33.yellow he could be on a choice of reds, but I wouldn't be playing this

:31:34. > :31:37.green of them. This is very missable. What I would say is that

:31:38. > :31:42.he has ported some fantastic balls into the middle pockets and he seems

:31:43. > :31:49.pretty confident. It's a tough pot, though, as you say. I think you

:31:50. > :31:52.would be playing... Well, not playing a pot here, this is tough.

:31:53. > :32:00.Oh! I just don't know whether the

:32:01. > :32:06.percentages were right, there, Ken. The fact that he is 7-5 in front.

:32:07. > :32:14.That is almost saying, if I get it, I might go 7- -- I might go 8-5. If

:32:15. > :32:25.I missed it, 7-6. I don't think it was a 50-50 pot. He's not shirking

:32:26. > :32:32.the possibility of taking the big shots on.

:32:33. > :32:46.That was quite a wide shot, just probably didn't get quite the right

:32:47. > :32:53.result. To actually be on a red here is quite incredible, to find that

:32:54. > :33:04.gap. He could even pot this red, he has done! He had the perfect gap

:33:05. > :33:12.just to pot that red. Ali, a wry smile from him. He doesn't

:33:13. > :33:13.understand how he didn't get the cue ball in behind the yellow, just like

:33:14. > :33:34.that. The age-old problem. Hitting it, no

:33:35. > :33:44.problem. Getting it safe, massive problem. What a difference this

:33:45. > :33:47.would be, 8-5 or 7-6. Maybe we will see a hit and hope here because he

:33:48. > :33:52.is not guaranteed to get this, but if he plays on the red on the right

:33:53. > :33:57.side cushion here, just to rest on that one, at first glance I can't

:33:58. > :34:01.see anything potting to the left side corner or anything to the

:34:02. > :34:06.middle. Or he could swerve it, play the slow swerve and hit the red.

:34:07. > :34:15.That wouldn't be bad. Just coming round now to look to see whether he

:34:16. > :34:24.can do that. Play a slow swerve here with lots of side. Well, that's an

:34:25. > :34:27.excellent shot. Very well played. OK, he may have left half a chance

:34:28. > :34:42.in the middle, but he would have taken that before. Very good escape.

:34:43. > :34:43.Trying to get the cue ball behind that yellow again, this looks pretty

:34:44. > :35:55.good if it runs. Almost. There is a gap between the pack of

:35:56. > :36:01.reds where he can stand this in and swing the ball round two cushions to

:36:02. > :36:06.get onto the black or green. Got the gap perfectly, but missed the pot.

:36:07. > :36:17.At this level, you can't afford to do that. That wasn't a difficult

:36:18. > :36:22.red. He started off like it was a practice session, just knocking

:36:23. > :36:26.everything in. Now it comes to the nitty-gritty stage, where it could

:36:27. > :36:35.be 8-5 or 7-6 and all of a sudden there are balls being missed. Well,

:36:36. > :36:41.that was a nice little result, wasn't it? Screwing the cue ball

:36:42. > :36:46.back, hitting the black and knocking it over the middle pocket. Well, he

:36:47. > :36:54.doesn't want to stick on the red here. Wow. Why did he come back for

:36:55. > :37:03.the reds there? Why didn't he just play the red left of the blue and

:37:04. > :37:09.green? OK, he has got this red but it is tight to the cushion. Not as

:37:10. > :37:12.easy as it looks, this one. Particularly if you're playing it

:37:13. > :37:21.with pace. If you're dropping it in you should pot it but with pace it

:37:22. > :37:25.is missable. He has to play it with a bit of side. Unbelievable mistake

:37:26. > :37:28.on the previous shot. But a good recovery. Good recovery. It was a

:37:29. > :37:48.better shot than it looked. Well, Graeme will be amazed if he

:37:49. > :37:58.has come out of this session 2-2, should he go on to win this frame.

:37:59. > :38:04.Ali Carter has had chances in every single frame. Could have easily won

:38:05. > :38:09.all four in this ashen. Some heavy breathing going on there as he sits

:38:10. > :38:15.down in his chair. Yeah, that red that he missed with his arm in the

:38:16. > :38:16.middle of the table, he's such a good long potter, you didn't expect

:38:17. > :38:40.him to miss that. Just not ideal, here. He wanted to

:38:41. > :38:51.be down a little bit closer to the black. Yeah, didn't want

:38:52. > :39:08.-- yeah, didn't want that kiss. But he still OK. Let's have a look here.

:39:09. > :39:10.Mid-distance pop, you would expect him to get that. Cue ball in the

:39:11. > :39:24.middle of the table. Complaining about a bit of a bounce

:39:25. > :39:31.off the cushion, there. Trying to get onto the blue into the right

:39:32. > :39:37.vendor. Well, at the pace the cue ball was going on to the cushion, I

:39:38. > :39:42.don't know... I didn't detect a real bounce myself, but obviously he felt

:39:43. > :39:47.it was. He was quite lucky in that instance to finish on the green,

:39:48. > :39:53.after playing a poor shot on the red. Well played. Needs that white

:39:54. > :40:01.to travel a little bit further. Just about OK. 37 points in front. Three

:40:02. > :40:04.reds, three colours, he will go to the interval 8-5.

:40:05. > :40:12.REFEREE: Sorry. Wrong spot. LAUGHTER

:40:13. > :40:36.Jan Verhaas just decided that the green does go on its own spot.

:40:37. > :40:46.Not sure he can hold it for the red to the right of the black, but the

:40:47. > :40:51.two reds near to each other next -- to the right of the black might be a

:40:52. > :40:59.possible plant. There you see it. Pretty straightforward.

:41:00. > :41:10.Oh! Didn't hold the cue ball. Stunned it instead of stopping it in

:41:11. > :41:15.its tracks. Just watch the cue ball here.

:41:16. > :41:22.He could do with a colour safe. I'm surprised off the plant he didn't

:41:23. > :41:26.play up for the blue anyway. He would like to put a baulk colour

:41:27. > :41:32.safe if he can. In behind the yellow. Got a little bit of a kick

:41:33. > :41:52.there, otherwise the Green would have been on the side cushion.

:41:53. > :42:01.Well... That's one way of getting out of snookers.

:42:02. > :42:18.He's got to go all-out for the pink, surely? He just got a fluke,

:42:19. > :42:23.everything is a bonus now in this frame. Either play the black slowly

:42:24. > :42:29.or go for the long pink. Does the blue pass the green, Ken? Not quite

:42:30. > :42:34.sure. I think the blue might be his best option if it does pass the

:42:35. > :42:46.green. What he is 43 points behind, so he needs some colour. Blue it is.

:42:47. > :42:56.Oh, good pot. Excellent pot. And good position as well. A shake of

:42:57. > :43:05.the head from Graeme Dott. He can't believe it. How much will this hurt

:43:06. > :43:11.if he clears up? Great shot on the blue. Perfect angle on this red to

:43:12. > :43:18.come down for the black. Well, he can push the red into play. Wow! I

:43:19. > :43:20.didn't see that coming. After potting that blue, I didn't see that

:43:21. > :43:52.coming. He didn't make the most of that

:43:53. > :43:58.slice of luck, Ali Carter. He's going to have it all to do. He's

:43:59. > :44:07.going to be 8-5 down coming up to this mid-session interval.

:44:08. > :44:16.He's got to win five of the possible six remaining frames if he wants a

:44:17. > :44:18.place in the last 16 of this Betfred World Snooker Championship. It's

:44:19. > :44:28.going to be a tall order. Ten. And the frame. He won't worry

:44:29. > :44:34.about the yellow, Graeme Dott. Graeme Dott goes into the

:44:35. > :44:38.mid-session interval leading Ali Carter by eight frames to five.

:44:39. > :44:41.STUDIO To more frames for Graeme Dott and

:44:42. > :44:45.he is through to the next round and they are on a mid-session interval

:44:46. > :44:48.now. We will keep you entertained during that in just a moment. What

:44:49. > :44:55.is your reading of this game, John? He's such a competitor. Ali had a

:44:56. > :45:02.chance with a fluke after the Snooker, and it was a chance to get

:45:03. > :45:05.a counter clearance, but he is up against it now. Obviously Ali is

:45:06. > :45:09.putting in a better performance but the lead is still three frames. So

:45:10. > :45:10.Graeme Dott is doing his job if he can just maintain parity. He is over

:45:11. > :45:18.the line. Plenty to keep you entertained

:45:19. > :45:22.during the interval and one of the things we like to do at this stage

:45:23. > :45:29.in the data is having a bit of a pot quiz and today it is with Mark

:45:30. > :45:39.Allen. Welcome to another edition of pot quiz and today the defending

:45:40. > :45:46.champion, Mark Allen. APPLAUSE Last year a time of one minute if

:45:47. > :45:50.you can do that again, but on the board Stuart Bingham is the only

:45:51. > :45:55.other player so far, one minute 44 so you have some room. As long as I

:45:56. > :46:01.beat him I will be happy. Here are your questions. Each one can take a

:46:02. > :46:07.red of the table and then you pot the rest and finished on the black.

:46:08. > :46:12.You reached the semifinals here in 2009, who did you beat in the

:46:13. > :46:22.opening round that year? Martin Gould. Correct. That year you lost

:46:23. > :46:28.to the eventual champion, John Higgins, but who contested the other

:46:29. > :46:40.semifinal? Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson. Correct! There have only

:46:41. > :46:44.ever been two breaks of 146 at the Crucible, you made one but who made

:46:45. > :46:48.the other. I remember because he stole half of my high break prize,

:46:49. > :46:55.it was Graeme Dott! Could it be a clean sweep?! Name two the three

:46:56. > :47:12.players you have played more than once at the Crucible. Barry Hawkins.

:47:13. > :47:20.Correct. Ryan Day. Correct. The other person was Matthew Stevens.

:47:21. > :47:26.Non-snooker question. What was the number one record the date you were

:47:27. > :47:31.born on the 22nd of February 1986? Was it spirit in the sky by Doctor

:47:32. > :47:39.and the medics, edge of Heaven by Wham or when the going gets tough by

:47:40. > :47:49.Billy Ocean? The last one. Billy Ocean? Correct! Five out of five!

:47:50. > :47:54.You can take off five reds, your choices.

:47:55. > :48:11.I wouldn't have taken that one! Not sure about that... They all look the

:48:12. > :48:25.same! That's three. Is it four? One more. I've taken three off! What?!

:48:26. > :48:32.Sorry, your, that's why I gave up playing, you can't count! Your time

:48:33. > :48:41.starts when you strike the cue ball. Good shot. No wonder he is the

:48:42. > :48:52.fastest, look at that. Economy of movement with the cue action. Oh!

:48:53. > :49:06.That will not help. I'm lucky it didn't go safe. Still in good time.

:49:07. > :49:13.Not bad. Cue ball on a string? It's OK! 30 seconds so far. Putting

:49:14. > :49:17.Stuart Bingham shame. To He hasn't even choked his cue once, it is

:49:18. > :49:30.fantastic but out of position a bit here. Oh! Oh no! And almost a fine

:49:31. > :49:37.from World Snooker! That is a great recovery, a marvellous shot at this

:49:38. > :49:46.level. Nearly right-handed. Not as good as last year but still in with

:49:47. > :50:00.a chance. A bit short on the black. Oh! The defending champion, the

:50:01. > :50:04.curse of The Crucible! I'm on the ropes. This is a schoolboy stuff

:50:05. > :50:21.now! In it goes! APPLAUSE OK, your time, with all of those

:50:22. > :50:30.mistakes... What on earth do you think it could be? One minute... 35

:50:31. > :50:37.seconds. So you are in the lead. That's bad.

:50:38. > :50:47.What Alan is taking on John Higgins in the next round and that match

:50:48. > :50:53.begins on Friday -- Mark Allen. And John Higgins will also be taking

:50:54. > :50:56.part with pot quiz soon as well as Marco Fu. We are going to bring you

:50:57. > :51:01.some snooker because there is a fascinating tussle on the other

:51:02. > :51:08.table this afternoon which has 2010 world champion Neil Robertson taking

:51:09. > :51:16.on the one camp. -- taking on Noppon Saengkham. I still remember my first

:51:17. > :51:20.day is coming here, not knowing where I was going behind the stage,

:51:21. > :51:26.it is a bit of a maze with the different doors but it is amazing to

:51:27. > :51:31.see how far I have come. It is my 11th year and you always look back

:51:32. > :51:34.and you can see the posters of the previous champions and everything.

:51:35. > :51:42.It gives you a feeling that no other venue does. So many times I come to

:51:43. > :51:46.qualify but I cannot qualify for the Crucible and this is the third time.

:51:47. > :51:53.It was a big surprise for me because it is my dream. I have a good

:51:54. > :51:56.feeling here, I look for this tournament all my life. My form is

:51:57. > :52:01.pretty good coming in, better than in the last couple of years coming

:52:02. > :52:05.in. It is obviously missing tournaments like the UK

:52:06. > :52:11.championship, a couple of the big ones coming in but overall I'm happy

:52:12. > :52:15.with how I'd been playing. My opponent, Noppon is very good

:52:16. > :52:20.player, a young rising player from Thailand and very dangerous. One of

:52:21. > :52:24.these players who is maybe more dangerous the underdog. Playing

:52:25. > :52:28.against similar rankings he might struggle a bit but the goal is to

:52:29. > :52:34.put him under pressure early and try to not let him settle into this

:52:35. > :52:40.fantastic theatre that is the Crucible. That is very important. He

:52:41. > :52:47.better than me a lot but I try, I tried to play relaxed. I'm in

:52:48. > :52:50.Crucible now and I'm happy, just enjoy the game. Everything can

:52:51. > :52:59.happen, I think so. And a lovely moment from Noppon

:53:00. > :53:04.earlier, making his Crucible debut, this was the moment he worked into

:53:05. > :53:07.one of the world's great sporting arenas. He almost missed the

:53:08. > :53:14.entrance but a memorable day for the world number 72. Well done to

:53:15. > :53:19.Noppon. And you don't see this too often from a former world champion.

:53:20. > :53:23.How is that for a miscue! Leo Scullion as to scurry to the other

:53:24. > :53:29.side to pick up the ball. Can we have our ball back? It didn't effect

:53:30. > :53:34.Neil Robertson, he took the first frame and we join it in the second

:53:35. > :53:36.with Robertson playing and commentary from John Virgo and Peter

:53:37. > :54:28.Ebdon. JOHN VIRGO: he is just about still

:54:29. > :54:36.on this red to the corner. That was a confident shot from Neil. He took

:54:37. > :55:23.the risk and now he can reap the rewards.

:55:24. > :55:34.There are not many players who push the cue through as straight as Neil

:55:35. > :55:39.Robertson, Peter. No, he is a superb cueist. It goes through very

:55:40. > :55:47.straight. Which is not always the case for player that is so dominant

:55:48. > :55:51.with one eye. He is very dominant with his right eye, as you can see

:55:52. > :55:56.when he lines up and puts the cue down on his chin. Very dominant with

:55:57. > :56:03.his right eye and often when somebody is that dominant, they will

:56:04. > :56:07.cue up to the right of the centre of the cue ball when they feel

:56:08. > :56:11.themselves that are hitting centre and they come across to the left on

:56:12. > :56:14.the way through to actually hit centre where they thought they were

:56:15. > :56:20.aiming in the first place but he does not do that. He hits exactly

:56:21. > :56:25.where he is meaning to and the cue goes through ramrod straight and it

:56:26. > :56:37.is a huge advantage, especially on these cloths is so -- where it is so

:56:38. > :56:44.important. Just another 25 points away from winning this frame. But

:56:45. > :56:48.easier said than done. Those five reds near the left-hand side

:56:49. > :56:56.cushion. He needs a couple of good positional shots. Now he has the

:56:57. > :57:03.opportunity to bring a few into play but as Eddie Charlton used to say,

:57:04. > :57:13.never bring a red out when you are potting a red because you're not

:57:14. > :57:20.certain to be on a colour. And Eddie was right! He is on the colour but

:57:21. > :57:24.not good on it. I thought he would have known that, Eddie was

:57:25. > :57:28.Australian as well! I remember watching Eddie Charlton a number of

:57:29. > :57:34.years ago in the World Championship qualifiers against David Rowe, a

:57:35. > :57:38.former top 16 player, and Eddie played fantastic snooker, he just

:57:39. > :57:45.kept rolling in long balls and he hit everything plain ball. And what

:57:46. > :57:50.a sportsman he was. Yes, Eddie Charlton, a legend in the game.

:57:51. > :57:55.Meanwhile, what a tremendous pot on the black that was. I think these

:57:56. > :58:02.types of tables, where it is a bit scary to start using side, it would

:58:03. > :58:09.have suited Eddie down to the ground. The more plain ball shots

:58:10. > :58:23.you play these days, the better. If you use side it is at your peril.

:58:24. > :58:32.But he has taken these well, Neil. Colour and one more red required. He

:58:33. > :58:43.has got to avoid the kiss on the green here. And the did that. --

:58:44. > :58:47.heeded. 59 ahead, 67 remaining but when he pots this read there will

:58:48. > :58:53.only be 59 remaining and he will be 60 in front. Still a chance of that

:58:54. > :59:11.500th century. He timed that well with the rest,

:59:12. > :59:17.John, really got some action. And sometimes early in the match, when

:59:18. > :59:21.we saw him miscue, you get a bit worried that you can miscue again

:59:22. > :59:25.but he has obviously put it out of his mind. That was not a bad kiss,

:59:26. > :59:47.bringing an awkward red into play. A little bit awkward here. He is

:59:48. > :59:57.left-handed so he is able to play the pink.

:59:58. > :00:05.A little bit betwixt and between here. I suppose he can play the red

:00:06. > :00:08.into the middle and tried to disturb the one closest to the cushion but

:00:09. > :00:15.it looks like he is just concentrating on the pot.

:00:16. > :00:31.A little bit short of pace. And the brown goes.

:00:32. > :00:42.It just meant he could get a bit closer. He needs a fairly big

:00:43. > :00:45.bounce. This will test his cueing. He doesn't want to decelerate, push

:00:46. > :00:54.it through nice and straight and firm. Just overcompensated but it

:00:55. > :01:01.didn't matter and that break of 77 has given Neil Robertson 2-0 lead.

:01:02. > :01:07.STUDIO: He is in the mood, 3-0 up and that is what happened in the

:01:08. > :01:10.fourth frame with the players now a mid-session interval. Don't forget

:01:11. > :01:13.you can watch this blip on the red button and also the BBC sport app.

:01:14. > :01:22.This is what happened in frame number four. Neil Robertson with a

:01:23. > :01:30.break of 49. Noppon responded with a break of 48 but it looks like he is

:01:31. > :01:34.in the mood, John and Steve. And Noppon has not settled, he should

:01:35. > :01:40.have won that frame, he had a good chance earlier. But he didn't take

:01:41. > :01:45.it and he will have to go to the mid-session interval 4-0 down. And

:01:46. > :01:50.let's not forget that Neil Robertson was beaten in the first round last

:01:51. > :01:54.year by Michael Holt, 10-6. We have heard a lot of fans and pundits

:01:55. > :01:59.talking about who they fancy but not many saying Neil Robertson. He seems

:02:00. > :02:04.to have gone off the boil a bit, but he is a class player. Form is up and

:02:05. > :02:09.down and perhaps coming in under the radar is good for him. It was not

:02:10. > :02:13.the ago he made 100 centuries and it seemed like he would dominate but

:02:14. > :02:17.things can change in the sport. I remember him sitting in that very

:02:18. > :02:21.exceed talking about making the hundred of hundreds. He is what you

:02:22. > :02:25.would term a sleeper, not many talking about him no one thinks he

:02:26. > :02:28.can win and he has not had a great season by his own standards but he

:02:29. > :02:33.comes here fresh and he needs a couple of results and he can beat

:02:34. > :02:39.anybody on his data. And interesting, you look at his

:02:40. > :02:42.Crucible record, the won in 2010 at not that impressive, first-round

:02:43. > :02:48.exit on three occasions, to Michael Holt last time and Robert Milkins in

:02:49. > :02:57.90 13th when a lot of people fancied him and to Judd Trump the year after

:02:58. > :03:01.he won it -- in 2013. This venue does not necessarily suit every

:03:02. > :03:05.player in the game, it is so different as we saw at the top, how

:03:06. > :03:10.cramped and tight it is and every time you come here it is unlike any

:03:11. > :03:17.other tournament. It is like a shock to the system. And talking of former

:03:18. > :03:21.champions, Graeme Dott is breaking off and we can rejoin our

:03:22. > :03:23.commentators for our live maps, Ali Carter against Graeme Dott with Ken

:03:24. > :03:37.Doherty and Willie Thorne. WILLIE THORNE: thank you, Jason, you

:03:38. > :03:39.join us at an intriguing part of the match in the last session with Ali

:03:40. > :04:15.Carter adding it all to do. KEN DOHERTY: He is shaping up to

:04:16. > :04:23.have a go at that but he doesn't feel like he wants to take too many

:04:24. > :04:30.chances early on in this frame, trying to keep the pressure on his

:04:31. > :04:35.opponent. That is extremely careless. He will be taking it on

:04:36. > :04:40.now. The fact that it is nowhere near the cushion... He has a choice

:04:41. > :04:48.of two now, that was unbelievably careless. He has been very

:04:49. > :04:51.consistent into the middle all afternoon. Another one coming up.

:04:52. > :06:07.You expect him to get this. Just the wrong side of the blue. I'm

:06:08. > :06:22.not sure if the red at the back of the pack pots.

:06:23. > :06:31.What a shot this is. Fantastic, excellent shot. APPLAUSE

:06:32. > :06:37.And he has a lovely angle on this red. Worth another look. He can pot

:06:38. > :06:49.this and brush off the pack. A nice little nudge on the blue as

:06:50. > :06:56.well, that cue ball was running off into baulk. He has a nice angle on

:06:57. > :07:04.the brown. Will he go on the loose reds or back into the pack again? He

:07:05. > :07:13.needs a bit of luck and he hasn't got it. He was expecting them to

:07:14. > :07:23.split far and wide but it was like he hit a brick wall! He got no

:07:24. > :07:46.reaction at all. That was the explosion he was expecting.

:07:47. > :08:49.Has the yellow come to his rescue? By the look on the face of Graeme

:08:50. > :08:53.Dott, it tells of it has. -- it tells us it has.

:08:54. > :09:03.He can just about -- it's just about glanced past the yellow. Either side

:09:04. > :09:12.and it was a certain starter for Graeme Dott. Will he just play safe?

:09:13. > :09:23.He went for the pot but he stuck it up. Now a chance for Ali Carter. He

:09:24. > :09:26.needs a good break here just to get his momentum back and a bit of

:09:27. > :09:32.confidence. He started off very well in this afternoon session. But he

:09:33. > :09:38.lost his way a little bit in that last frame before the interval. We

:09:39. > :09:42.discussed in commentary that Ali Carter could have won all four

:09:43. > :09:45.frames before the interval and only shared them to Ball so he will not

:09:46. > :09:53.have enjoyed his cup of tea. He can get a bounce back in his step with

:09:54. > :10:07.870 odd break -- only shared them 2-2.

:10:08. > :10:21.He judged that nicely. He doesn't have too much work to do with the

:10:22. > :10:26.cue ball. But for the two read around the pink, almost every ball

:10:27. > :10:30.is pottable here. It is like he might set them up in the practice

:10:31. > :10:36.room just to get your arm going around the black. But there is a bit

:10:37. > :11:19.of a difference between the practice room and the pressure on him.

:11:20. > :11:25.Not too sure if he thought the blue might have been on its spot but it

:11:26. > :11:29.is well off it and that means he doesn't have the right angle but

:11:30. > :11:37.luckily he had a choice of reds to play for.

:11:38. > :11:44.The way he started this match, or this second session of the match,

:11:45. > :11:45.you would expect him to score heavily from these kinds of

:11:46. > :12:00.positions. Keep the noise down, please. Thank

:12:01. > :12:08.you. A bit of chatter coming from the other table.

:12:09. > :12:17.The players on the other table are out on the mid-session interval and

:12:18. > :12:21.the crowd was just settling back in all stop a beautiful view from the

:12:22. > :12:24.back of the theatre here at the Crucible in Sheffield. No place like

:12:25. > :12:45.it. He will be itching to get onto the

:12:46. > :12:53.black. He has a lot of cue ball movement here, a bit of a cannon

:12:54. > :13:00.into the pink could slow it down. He didn't play it, he knew he could get

:13:01. > :13:08.on three reds anyway. But he can win the frame without going into those

:13:09. > :13:12.two. I think he is just being careful here. He doesn't want

:13:13. > :13:30.anything to possibly go wrong. I think the mindset as well, the

:13:31. > :13:34.fact that, if he needed those two read out in the open he definitely

:13:35. > :13:37.would have played that shot that you mentioned. He has gone about these

:13:38. > :14:31.quite nicely. Now he has a choice. He can either

:14:32. > :14:37.try to get in between the two loose reds or try to make it a little

:14:38. > :14:48.cannon on the red directly above the black and below the pink.

:14:49. > :15:05.Just wants to play on the loose one. And he has played it very, very

:15:06. > :15:09.well. So, 36 is the difference. Red, black, red would be enough to leave

:15:10. > :15:10.Graeme Dott needing a snooker. He would ideally like to finish the

:15:11. > :15:36.frame from here. He says to Jan he might need the

:15:37. > :15:37.rest again. I think he will. Well, he's going to play it with the

:15:38. > :15:42.extension. Good shot. Good shot. Still needs

:15:43. > :16:00.the red. Yes, he would ideally like to get

:16:01. > :16:04.top side of the blue here, because he doesn't want Graeme Dott carrying

:16:05. > :16:14.on full snookers, he would like to keep him off the table, when the

:16:15. > :16:17.frame at one visit. Perfect. Now played a little slow cannon into the

:16:18. > :16:24.pink and the left-hander Richard go over the corner. -- and the

:16:25. > :16:29.left-hand red should go over the corner. And it does. So now a chance

:16:30. > :16:49.of a second century in this session. There is the blue. Didn't have to

:16:50. > :16:54.hit it that hard. Just judged the cannon very nicely indeed. This is a

:16:55. > :16:59.good response from Ali Carter. Graeme Dott will be a little bit

:17:00. > :17:07.disappointed. He was in first in this frame. And if we go back to

:17:08. > :17:12.that safety shot where Ali Carter opened all the reds, just missed the

:17:13. > :17:16.yellow on the way back to baulk, Snooker him over the red over the

:17:17. > :17:24.corner pocket. Subsequently, Graeme Dott made a mistake and left Ali in

:17:25. > :17:32.for these. He tried to pot it off the cushion. You don't blame him.

:17:33. > :17:36.Its fractions, isn't it? Of all the matches he has played at the

:17:37. > :17:39.Crucible, you could guarantee that three or four or maybe ten frames he

:17:40. > :17:44.would have won if the cue ball had just gone an extra inch. But you've

:17:45. > :17:49.just got to keep battling. Lots of check side needed to stay on the

:17:50. > :17:58.brown. Unless he plays it in and out of the black spot area. No, check

:17:59. > :18:02.side. Deserves a century. 25 centuries in the Crucible this year.

:18:03. > :18:11.I'm sure the record will be smashed. 86 is the record.

:18:12. > :18:20.How is the weight? Needs to slow down a touch. Very good. Well

:18:21. > :18:36.played. Very well done, Ali Carter. His back

:18:37. > :18:43.was right against the wall when he came to the table 8-5 behind. He

:18:44. > :18:46.replies with a century. He is playing a trick shot, I think this

:18:47. > :18:54.is very close. I think this is very close! Hello! Ali Carter played the

:18:55. > :18:59.trick shot. He will be delighted to have forced his way back into the

:19:00. > :19:02.match. He still trails by two, 8-6. STUDIO

:19:03. > :19:07.We said this could go right the way down to the wire, Ali Carter not

:19:08. > :19:13.giving up without a fight. Here at BBC Snooker we love our other sports

:19:14. > :19:16.of course, while we're here in we say congratulations to Sheffield

:19:17. > :19:19.United, congratulated to the Championship. Sheffield Wednesday

:19:20. > :19:24.could well make the play-offs in the Championship and even get promoted

:19:25. > :19:28.to the Premier League. There was a football flavour because the draw

:19:29. > :19:32.for a very popular world footballing tournament for under 14 still under

:19:33. > :19:38.16 is, some of the biggest clubs and teams in the world took place, 800

:19:39. > :19:44.players from the world's biggest football club participating in this

:19:45. > :19:48.prestigious tournament. Look at who they had pulling out the balls. Two

:19:49. > :19:52.snooker legend is, as it said in the local newspaper, Ken Doherty and

:19:53. > :19:57.John Parrott. Nice moment for you, John? Really popular tournament for

:19:58. > :20:04.all the youngsters. I got a message, make sure you give us a nice draw! I

:20:05. > :20:07.was under the cosh! But there are clubs from Manchester United to

:20:08. > :20:13.Houston Dynamo, Newcastle United, FC Basel, scour

:20:14. > :20:20.... Manchester United in that draw as well. Is it fair? I hope you

:20:21. > :20:25.signed all the disclaimers to make sure you didn't give eight

:20:26. > :20:30.favourable draw! Absolutely! Nice moment for you, Ken? Lovely moment,

:20:31. > :20:39.Jason. The oldest football tournament in the world, been going

:20:40. > :20:45.over 100 or so years, for under 14s and under 16s. Nice to see some of

:20:46. > :20:54.the referees there who we are used to seeing now at TV screens.

:20:55. > :20:58.Absolute pleasure it was. I said to John Parrott, probably the best

:20:59. > :20:59.chance of Everton winning something, that under 16 tournament, but there

:21:00. > :21:10.you go. I'm sure there will be lots of

:21:11. > :21:22.tweets coming in from Everton fans now after that comment. There is an

:21:23. > :21:30.Everton fan whose grandfather is 77 today, Joe Ryan, happy birthday,

:21:31. > :21:38.debuting during the snooker. I didn't know who you think is going

:21:39. > :21:44.to win this match, but... It's certainly a very high-quality match.

:21:45. > :21:54.Yeah, the only thing that has been missing is a Dott century really.

:21:55. > :21:58.His highest break is 74. He's played some really tight match play

:21:59. > :22:03.snooker. Every time he has got in, he has scored 40 or above. Ali

:22:04. > :22:05.Carter has been the better scorer of the two, but just losing the tight,

:22:06. > :22:31.scrappy frames. Graeme Dott held his hand up for

:22:32. > :22:35.being a little bit fortunate on his previous safety shot. Ali Carter is

:22:36. > :22:38.very fortunate there. Slightly thicker on that red and he would

:22:39. > :22:44.have left the cue ball in the middle of the table. There is a tempter for

:22:45. > :23:09.Graeme but he can't get onto a colour, so he won't take it.

:23:10. > :23:16.Well, he hasn't got away with it this time. The red is pottable into

:23:17. > :23:54.the right centre pocket. Just held up enough for the blue.

:23:55. > :24:12.Certainly didn't want to be this side of the blue.

:24:13. > :24:20.Played that nicely, through the gap of the yellow and brown. He's going

:24:21. > :24:38.to have to go in and out of baulk again, you feel, with this red.

:24:39. > :24:44.He would love to get onto the one to the right of the black. He can screw

:24:45. > :24:52.off the yellow in a straight line. Just looking to see if he can get

:24:53. > :24:56.onto that red. My colleague Ken Doherty has put a little circle

:24:57. > :25:03.there. If you can get anywhere near there, he is on to the red next to

:25:04. > :25:06.the black. And he has the one in the middle. He may decide just to play

:25:07. > :25:13.for the one in the middle. He has overrun it slightly but still

:25:14. > :25:46.has the one in the middle. Well, I left the circle up there,

:25:47. > :25:52.Willie. Maybe you might attempt to get up there this time. He's having

:25:53. > :25:55.a look at it now. He's got a nice angle to get there, just to play it

:25:56. > :26:01.off the side cushion with left-hand side. Let's see if he brings that

:26:02. > :26:07.black into play, he would have a chance of winning the frame at this

:26:08. > :26:22.visit. That's OK. He's got a choice of reds.

:26:23. > :26:30.Now, he must get on... He's just looking if there are any plants in

:26:31. > :26:32.the middle of the bunch, six reds. That one looks a bit close, the

:26:33. > :27:13.first one. Well, the bottom red pots below the

:27:14. > :27:17.black to the left. If he has enough angle, he can pot this red and then

:27:18. > :27:30.he really needs to get the backing -- get the black into play. Let's

:27:31. > :27:35.see, can he move the black? Oh, what a clever shot this is, if he gets on

:27:36. > :27:45.the black. Excellent, very well played. He knew he was going to go

:27:46. > :27:49.through the black there. Just had to get the pace right. I suppose he

:27:50. > :27:53.could have got into either corner pocket. He definitely played to get

:27:54. > :27:54.on the black, though, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt

:27:55. > :28:26.that he played it into this pocket. Can you clean the white, please?

:28:27. > :29:14.Sure. In some ways, it may be better to

:29:15. > :29:18.play for one of the baulk colours here, rather than risk playing a

:29:19. > :29:24.little stunt up for the blue. If you underhit it it is not in your favour

:29:25. > :29:29.this time. Only two loose reds on the outside of the pack. Now, he's

:29:30. > :29:35.going to need to go into them at some time. And he's got the perfect

:29:36. > :29:36.angle to do just that. I just wonder if he's going to take that chance

:29:37. > :30:08.now. Are those two reds a plant still? Or

:30:09. > :30:18.is he playing for the loose one to the right? He might be able to make

:30:19. > :30:24.the plant. Yeah. A little bit of distance between the two, but he is

:30:25. > :30:36.taking his time. Oh, didn't hit that into the middle

:30:37. > :30:41.of the pocket, and because of it, he has lost the cue ball. Now going

:30:42. > :30:51.back to having a look at the plant again. We always say in commentary,

:30:52. > :30:55.go into the pack early, but he still going to need to go into the pack at

:30:56. > :30:59.least once here and he has not got the chance to do it off this ball,

:31:00. > :31:07.so he has only got one more chance now unless the plant is on. When

:31:08. > :31:12.you've got a chance to go into them when it is unmissable to go into

:31:13. > :31:16.them. You tend to see what you think is the right shot and nine times out

:31:17. > :31:35.of ten, the top players play it. As Ali got this plant on or not? -- has

:31:36. > :31:53.Ali got it? Excellent shot. Held the cue ball nicely. Another plant to

:31:54. > :31:54.the bottom left-hand corner pocket. He's come round to have a look at

:31:55. > :32:34.those two reds. Just one more red after this blue.

:32:35. > :32:38.I'm sure those two reds below the pink plant into the corner pocket.

:32:39. > :32:51.Almost a dead set plant. Let's have a look. There you see it. That is a

:32:52. > :33:00.handy little bonus. Just the red required.

:33:01. > :33:16.APPLAUSE Very good. We can see a two plant

:33:17. > :33:23.century here. What a response this is from Ali Carter. A break of 104,

:33:24. > :33:34.and 72 and counting here. Another chance of a century here. Yeah, at

:33:35. > :33:36.8-5 it looked like his head had sort of gone down a little bit. But he's

:33:37. > :34:20.certainly got it back together now. Now then, does he have an angle or

:34:21. > :34:24.does this top red of the two pass into the corner? It's very tight,

:34:25. > :34:29.isn't it? He's got the perfect angle here, as long as he doesn't kiss the

:34:30. > :34:37.pink full in the face, half ball either side and he would be pushing

:34:38. > :34:41.both reds into play. Anything but full ball would be fine. Amazing.

:34:42. > :34:54.What a shame there's going to be no century. This could go anywhere...

:34:55. > :34:58.Get in! Oh! A very good break of 88 from Ali Carter. That is two in a

:34:59. > :35:04.row now. There's only one in it. Aim. Still leads by eight frames to

:35:05. > :35:08.seven. Almost ending that frame with a little exhibition shop. You can

:35:09. > :35:13.just seek by his eyes and his body language and his demeanour, he means

:35:14. > :35:16.business, doesn't he? Whoever gave him a team talk at half-time did a

:35:17. > :35:20.good job because he has come out and made they century on that

:35:21. > :35:23.contribution. He's scoring. Graeme Dott has just gone out to try to

:35:24. > :35:28.compose himself, and I don't blame him. Steve, a very different Ali

:35:29. > :35:31.Carter to the one we saw yesterday evening in the Crucible. That is the

:35:32. > :35:35.fascination of the World Championship. When it gets to the

:35:36. > :35:39.three session matches you get even more of a storyline unfolding. Just

:35:40. > :35:42.because a player might be in form in one session doesn't mean that will

:35:43. > :35:46.continue, especially overnight. The other guy goes into the match and

:35:47. > :35:50.has a bad session, it doesn't mean he's going to continue that way, he

:35:51. > :35:54.has a chance to dig himself out of a hole and probably has a bit less

:35:55. > :35:59.pressure on him today, Ali Carter. He can play with a bit more freedom.

:36:00. > :36:04.He's a great fighter, that is one of his great attributes, but he is up

:36:05. > :36:09.against another great fighter, a clash of two people that do give

:36:10. > :36:13.100% all the time. It's a dream comeback because it is two frames

:36:14. > :36:20.won in one visit. If you have two graft, it is hard work. But two

:36:21. > :36:24.frames won quickly. When you're scoring quickly, making breaks of

:36:25. > :36:27.104 and 88, suddenly you are in the groove and you must think mentally

:36:28. > :36:31.and psychologically, maybe this is my chance? Yeah, you've got momentum

:36:32. > :36:35.on your side and the other thing from the perspective of the other

:36:36. > :36:39.player, the frames slip away quicker that way. It's out of your control

:36:40. > :36:43.and the panic stations set in as such. If you are playing and the

:36:44. > :36:49.frames take 45 minutes, you've got more time to sort of regroup. Apps

:36:50. > :36:52.that is why both players have gone out. Ali Carter pleased to go out of

:36:53. > :36:57.the room first, perhaps let his opponent stew in the chair. Graeme

:36:58. > :37:02.Dott thinking it is time to go out of the arena, perhaps regroup and

:37:03. > :37:06.look in the mirror and give himself a "Come on". As the boys said, two

:37:07. > :37:10.of the greatest fighters in the game. Needs a bit of a help from the

:37:11. > :37:13.yellow here, that is not a good break. He can see this red. It is a

:37:14. > :37:59.very poor break. Well, you have to say, a bit unlucky

:38:00. > :38:06.to find the pocket, but I wasn't quite sure about the choice of

:38:07. > :38:14.positional shot. I can't work out what he was trying to do, play into

:38:15. > :38:20.the pink to open them up or Mr Pack altogether? I would say Mr Pack to

:38:21. > :38:25.be honest. But he didn't go up or down the table, neither hold it for

:38:26. > :38:31.the black nor go up for blue or baulk colour. -- he was trying to

:38:32. > :38:35.miss the pack. I think he was trying to avoid the pack down the left-hand

:38:36. > :38:53.side as opposed to the right-hand side. Anyway, done.

:38:54. > :39:01.Two reds, he's coming round to have a look, a possible plant here. Two

:39:02. > :39:06.reds look in a bit of a line and if not, he's going to try and make it.

:39:07. > :39:15.We saw Ali Carter get a couple of plants in the last frame. Ali Carter

:39:16. > :39:18.never came down to have a look on this side of the table and that

:39:19. > :39:29.could have been a mistake. It is a mistake. That plant was always

:39:30. > :39:37.there. Ali didn't see it. I wonder how much it's going to cost him.

:39:38. > :39:44.A bit of value here going into the bunch, actually, from the brown.

:39:45. > :39:49.That's what he's played. If this turns out right, it could be a

:39:50. > :39:55.frame-winner. Amazing, isn't it? Just when you ask for a little bit

:39:56. > :40:03.of fortune... He has broken the pack perfectly, unfortunately for him,

:40:04. > :40:06.but a bad second kiss. Similar to the first frame after the interval,

:40:07. > :40:12.he played the brown into the green pocket and it just stuck in the

:40:13. > :40:21.middle of the pack. This time he came out. He has a half chance of a

:40:22. > :40:22.red into the left centre. Or into the top left-hand corner pocket.

:40:23. > :41:11.That's a bit risky. Nice to see a former pro with Ali

:41:12. > :41:22.Carter. I saw Ryan Morgan here, very steady player, not on the circuit

:41:23. > :41:28.any more, in Ali Carter's corner. I played Brian many a time in the

:41:29. > :41:38.amateur days, the programmes. He was a professional review years. -- for

:41:39. > :41:47.a few years. Qualified airline pilot now, I believe. Is Ali qualified

:41:48. > :41:51.yet? I did know if he can fly any of the big planes yet. Oh, what a great

:41:52. > :42:00.shot. APPLAUSE

:42:01. > :42:02.I never fancied flying myself, can, do you? He's certainly flying today,

:42:03. > :42:40.isn't he? Another plant on, here? Wow no

:42:41. > :43:01.holding back there. He knew he was going into other

:43:02. > :43:06.reds. But took a chance. I tell you what, I know he hasn't had a look at

:43:07. > :43:09.the black, but the black does pot into this bottom right-hand corner

:43:10. > :43:17.pocket. The pink pots into the right centre. It's one of those, though,

:43:18. > :43:20.Ken, isn't it? If you get it, you're proud of yourself, but if you missed

:43:21. > :43:24.it, you go back to your seat with disappointment. This is tough. It's

:43:25. > :43:34.one of those where you think, should I or shouldn't I? As I said, he's

:43:35. > :43:43.been excellent at little pocket pots. This is one he would love to

:43:44. > :43:48.get. -- the middle pocket pots. No. Graeme Dott, one.

:43:49. > :43:55.The only problem with that, once you miss it, your opponent comes to the

:43:56. > :44:35.table thinking, he's twitching a little bit.

:44:36. > :44:45.A little unfortunate to have got the cue ball on the side, a similar

:44:46. > :44:49.scenario to Graeme Dott's pink, very risky and Ali does not think it is

:44:50. > :45:20.worth the chance, he is going to play safe.

:45:21. > :45:29.We heard the big size from Ali Carter. He's unhappy with that shot.

:45:30. > :45:39.It wasn't very good one. Cue ball should be tighter on that cushion.

:45:40. > :45:44.Given Graeme Dott a chance, here. He is going to feel unlucky because if

:45:45. > :45:49.he plays the red in the middle he will be cueing into reds. I don't

:45:50. > :45:53.think there is a gap through the reds, I think he's going to have to

:45:54. > :45:58.take a chance through the reds and hopefully play onto the black other

:45:59. > :45:59.pink. He can't play with confidence here knowing that he's going to get

:46:00. > :46:22.onto the black other pink. He came down... Oh, very good

:46:23. > :46:30.effort. Trying to get into that circle. He may have had a

:46:31. > :46:43.possibility of that black. Green ball. Graeme Dott, one. Ali Carter

:46:44. > :46:44.will be delighted that that poor safety shot has only cost him one

:46:45. > :47:17.point. This looks an excellent safety shot.

:47:18. > :47:19.Very well played. Just needed because the brown. Because Graeme

:47:20. > :47:38.has the same shot he can play Hill. -- he has the same shot that he can

:47:39. > :49:03.play here. This is the first, what we would

:49:04. > :49:08.consider a scrappy game, in this session. They have been very good,

:49:09. > :49:17.the opening few frames of this session. And this looks pretty good.

:49:18. > :49:53.Just a fraction too hard. Excellent pot. Didn't get the hard

:49:54. > :49:57.kiss on the brown, we can see it again. And he's going to be in a bit

:49:58. > :50:18.of trouble here. The only thing about these raids,

:50:19. > :50:20.close to the pink, -- these reds, shouldn't be leaving too much, pink

:50:21. > :51:16.and black tide up. That is so unlucky to go around the

:51:17. > :51:20.back of that red. He thought when he had hit it that he had played the

:51:21. > :51:27.perfect shot and somehow it has got around the back of that red. Will

:51:28. > :51:33.Graeme risk playing for the pink? Oh! You are joking! Obviously there

:51:34. > :51:39.was a kick but surely a little stunned short would have been

:51:40. > :51:41.sufficient? You could hear the sound, it was a very dead sound.

:51:42. > :51:58.Unlucky. He was unlucky, Graeme, there, he

:51:59. > :52:15.doesn't fancy this. He will be happy. Looking at the

:52:16. > :52:42.middle pocket there. Where is this cue ball going to

:52:43. > :53:00.finish? Will it give Ali Carter a chance? It is not too bad.

:53:01. > :53:07.I think it is worth taking the one to the right of the pink spot, he

:53:08. > :53:17.can play it quite hard of the cushion. Didn't have to put any side

:53:18. > :53:28.on the cue. A tough one it is, though.

:53:29. > :53:34.Decided to roll it in, the same scenario as on the yellow. Can he

:53:35. > :54:55.get back to where Any sort of angle on the blue, if he

:54:56. > :55:02.could get close to the red just above the black, so he is pretty

:55:03. > :55:13.straight on the blue. He could force it down and that is an excellent

:55:14. > :55:28.shot. It almost balances the cue ball. Again, he has to make sure he

:55:29. > :55:32.is top side of the blue. Break at these reds around the pink and

:55:33. > :55:37.black. Got a good angle this time on the blue. Needs to go again. Same

:55:38. > :55:50.shot. And that is careless, it must be said.

:55:51. > :56:15.Might just have to take it in and take the red in baulk.

:56:16. > :56:23.He will be making sure this time of getting the right angle on the blue,

:56:24. > :56:33.doesn't have to do a lot with the cue ball here, to get nicely on the

:56:34. > :56:43.blue. Decided to play for yellow, still got to do well to get up to

:56:44. > :56:49.this end of the table. Too soon to risk playing, cannon Inc into the

:56:50. > :56:56.pink would be ideal but he might play for the loose red. He has

:56:57. > :57:08.played the cannon and missed it by a mile. A much harder shot from the

:57:09. > :57:20.yellow. I think the mistake was made. A good chance missed from Ali

:57:21. > :57:44.Carter. Just took the paint off that red! A

:57:45. > :59:00.fine player, as they say. Does he go all out for the pot,

:59:01. > :59:15.cannon into the middle of the three reds and bring everything into play?

:59:16. > :59:18.I think this is worth the risk. He has gone all out for it,

:59:19. > :00:36.unfortunately kissed the wrong ball. It was a good effort. Maybe we'll be

:00:37. > :00:48.able to put it, does not have to have too much to do with the cue

:00:49. > :00:54.ball. Very tight but the fact that he can play it to the right side

:00:55. > :01:23.will help the part. 15. Good shot. When the frames go this close all

:01:24. > :01:33.these valuable points... They mean much more, particularly when you've

:01:34. > :01:43.got colours safe. This has been an excellent break. 15 ahead. Black

:01:44. > :02:09.will put him ahead. Did not attempt to get behind the

:02:10. > :02:18.red, a little bit of a surprise but that is such a big target, pink and

:02:19. > :02:24.black here, the bit more prudent, playing a safety shot. Trying to get

:02:25. > :02:49.on that red. What would you have done? I think

:02:50. > :02:54.even if he had had a go at the red stem the cushion and it had stopped

:02:55. > :02:59.over the hole it would have been very unlikely for Ali Carter to win

:03:00. > :03:03.the frame at that minute. And if it had dropped and he would have needed

:03:04. > :03:08.a snooker. A strange choice but if he had got the snooker it would have

:03:09. > :03:12.set up the good shot. So strange, this game, sometimes, you can see

:03:13. > :03:14.things differently. Ali Carter has played this pretty well. Too risky,

:03:15. > :04:42.the cut. Ali feels that Graeme has been

:04:43. > :04:55.fortunate that he got half of it right. If he plays this right he

:04:56. > :05:02.could get a snooker back behind green or yellow. Played and a bit

:05:03. > :05:12.too hard, needs a bit of luck, hasn't got it. It is portable, he

:05:13. > :05:22.could use the pink. To hold the cue ball for the black if he wishes. Or

:05:23. > :05:26.he could avoid pink and black altogether and screw around the

:05:27. > :05:38.blue. He has to take the putt on, though. Good part. Nowhere is the

:05:39. > :06:08.cue ball to finish. Excellent shot, Graeme come into the

:06:09. > :06:35.centre. Four. Six. Ali Carter, very disappointed. Oh!

:06:36. > :06:46.Well, hold on. Paul Dunne. Graeme Dott, six. -- hold on. 26 points

:06:47. > :06:53.ahead, 25 left on the table but a chance. That was to put the frame

:06:54. > :07:10.beyond doubt. And of course, pink and black, a

:07:11. > :07:15.big, big target for snookers as well. Where the brown is I'm not

:07:16. > :07:25.sure I'd want to put the green. I think I would rather keep the green

:07:26. > :07:29.on the table, yes, like that. Foul. The concession comes, is it time to

:07:30. > :07:36.be disappointed, Graeme Dott is just one away from victory. STUDIO:

:07:37. > :07:40.Dramatic stuff. We'll come back to their briefly. Let's show you what's

:07:41. > :07:46.happening on the other table. Neil Robertson, 2010 world champion, is

:07:47. > :07:56.taking on his opponent from Thailand. He has just reached a

:07:57. > :08:07.career milestone. He has just made another career century, the first

:08:08. > :08:10.player, currently leading his opponent five friends to one and

:08:11. > :08:19.that much is currently live on the Red Button. The BBC sport app and

:08:20. > :08:24.the BBC sport website. Brilliant stuff from Neil Robertson. One

:08:25. > :08:31.milestone. Phenomenal achievement, you are an elite company when you do

:08:32. > :08:37.that, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, for people have made

:08:38. > :08:45.that number of centuries. I'm not to sure you've got there. No, I am

:08:46. > :08:49.nowhere near there. If you can help us out, get in touch. We think it's

:08:50. > :08:55.John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Neil Robinson.

:08:56. > :09:01.And dropping like a lift down the lift shaft, I think outside the top

:09:02. > :09:08.ten now. Your number 11! I've just been told in my ill. We've got the

:09:09. > :09:14.same year! Let's go back to this much. But bit of anger from Ali

:09:15. > :09:18.Carter, perhaps understandable. Graeme Dott has the game at ball and

:09:19. > :09:23.thinks he has won the frame, how many times have you seen it, player

:09:24. > :09:28.drops his guard, you saw him biting his cue, he knew well he'd left him

:09:29. > :09:32.a chance at her Ali Carter to play such a bad shot has really let him

:09:33. > :09:38.off. You can see the frustration there. Ali Carter has completely

:09:39. > :09:44.misjudged his safety shot. And quite quickly whacks it in. He's given up

:09:45. > :09:49.the frame. It wasn't total anger, he didn't smashes and on the table but

:09:50. > :09:54.he will be fuming. And the path of the cheeks and Graeme Dott. He could

:09:55. > :10:00.have ported it, game over, he could have put himself in a good position.

:10:01. > :10:05.He's got a two frame lead. Here we go, Graeme Dott needs only one more

:10:06. > :10:11.frame to knock at Ali Carter. Back to the commentators. COMMENTATOR:

:10:12. > :10:17.Sank, lads. One more frame. -- thanks, lads. It has been a highly

:10:18. > :10:21.entertaining match so far, this man only needs one for a place in the

:10:22. > :10:41.last 16. He is a former champion, of course. Wow. Hold on. Might be in

:10:42. > :10:53.the middle. Has it open the path for the black into this bottom left-hand

:10:54. > :11:02.corner pocket? We think so. Just about. Not open before that. Ali,

:11:03. > :11:20.you have to get your putting boots on! -- potting. One. Any time he's

:11:21. > :11:21.gone in and around the pink and black he has been very proficient

:11:22. > :11:46.indeed. He is going to be at his best now.

:11:47. > :12:13.One chance and it could be it. Not quite sure what he can go on

:12:14. > :12:42.here. Try and hole for the red? Second, please, Ali. Asking for a

:12:43. > :13:02.bit of time, the pink goes directly in line.

:13:03. > :13:30.Didn't get the desired kiss on that red, wanted just to clip it quarter

:13:31. > :13:34.ball so he is closest to the same pocket when he put the black but he

:13:35. > :13:38.is OK. He's got this thread into the right centre. May be able to get top

:13:39. > :14:12.side of the blue from this. Perfect angle into the pack. Watch

:14:13. > :14:23.the cue ball here. Excellent split. How is your luck? It's not bad.

:14:24. > :14:32.Actually cover the pocket. The cue ball was held beautifully. Ali

:14:33. > :14:39.Carter having a quick look, he can play the middle read from the three.

:14:40. > :14:44.Settle down, thank you. Would be a bit reluctant to pay for it first

:14:45. > :14:47.time, would you go for the blue? I think is going to hold the black and

:14:48. > :14:54.he's pretty confident, there's plenty of room. It looks tight from

:14:55. > :15:06.that camera angle that this plenty around there. -- but there is plenty

:15:07. > :15:10.of room around there. 30. He would rather be dead straight on this

:15:11. > :15:14.black than the angle that he has got now. He can definitely see the

:15:15. > :15:21.centre of the pocket, can't he, at the right-hand jaw. Straight behind

:15:22. > :15:24.it, as can rightly says there's plenty of room, he's given himself a

:15:25. > :15:27.bit to do with this black that he's got. Could and should win the frame

:15:28. > :15:43.now. Yeah, purposely taking this red to

:15:44. > :15:48.free up the pocket completely. That's OK, he's going to be on

:15:49. > :16:27.either yellow or brown here. Now, he's got to judge this very

:16:28. > :16:38.well. Doesn't have a lot of room for error here. Yeah. Didn't have a lot

:16:39. > :16:42.of room for error. Had to judge and screw back in between the two reds

:16:43. > :16:47.for the black into the opposite pocket, and he's not on the black.

:16:48. > :17:02.Come in... Well, that was a big mistake, wasn't

:17:03. > :17:08.it? Putting a baulk colour safe, he is 43 points in front. Important to

:17:09. > :17:14.get it on the side cushion, and he's not done. Should Graeme get the

:17:15. > :17:20.chance at some stage, the clearance is on. Should have definitely put a

:17:21. > :17:23.baulk colour safe there. Played that shot with a bit of disappointment

:17:24. > :17:53.that he didn't get on the black. And now he wishes he would have put

:17:54. > :18:04.the yellow safe, Ken, doesn't he? Yeah, absolutely. No insurance now.

:18:05. > :18:10.What does Graeme do here? Does he hold the spot? Not sure about the

:18:11. > :18:15.pink spot. Doesn't really want to hold the spot, he would like to be

:18:16. > :18:18.on the red to the left of the black while keeping the black on its own

:18:19. > :18:38.spot, of course. That's OK. Yeah, this one is a bit tricky. He

:18:39. > :18:41.can play it plain ball and just miss the kiss on the red on the cushion

:18:42. > :18:45.and still get onto the black, or he can play it through the gap of the

:18:46. > :18:49.two reds on the cushion and still get onto the black. Played for the

:18:50. > :18:54.gap. Now a little cannon on the pink and the next four reds and colours

:18:55. > :18:59.should be straightforward, so he would be right back into the frame.

:19:00. > :19:03.It's all about those two reds on the cushion. Now the frame and possible

:19:04. > :20:02.match is there for the taking. Well, still got a bit of work to do,

:20:03. > :20:08.as you said. But you mentioned that yellow, how much will that play a

:20:09. > :20:13.big part in this frame? The yellow should have been safe, or at least a

:20:14. > :20:39.baulk colour safe. Oh! He nearly missed that Lou. He

:20:40. > :21:18.was up off the shop. -- that blue, he was up off the shot.

:21:19. > :21:38.Oh! Well... Any sort of half ball kiss on that red. So, Ali will get

:21:39. > :21:57.another chance. He is back in the frame, Graeme Dott. A good 45 break.

:21:58. > :22:06.Yes. Tap of the table from Graeme Dott, it was a good shot from Ali

:22:07. > :22:08.Carter. He's got to be careful here that he doesn't give him a chance.

:22:09. > :22:25.Nice shot. Well played. REFEREE: Switch your phone off,

:22:26. > :23:08.please. Not easy to play safe of the one

:23:09. > :23:13.that is on the cushion, which is the only one he can see, because he

:23:14. > :23:17.would be pushing the red towards the right-hand corner pocket. It's got

:23:18. > :23:25.to be as thin as you like, this one. And that is pretty good. Excellent.

:23:26. > :24:29.There's a gap between them, and now Ali has the same problem.

:24:30. > :24:36.Well, this is the first pottable chance for Ali for quite some time.

:24:37. > :24:44.If it goes in, he quickly goes favourite to pinch the frame.

:24:45. > :24:46.Unlucky. And now the yellow ghosts date!

:24:47. > :26:37.I don't think Ali can play the little slow roll up to get the cue

:26:38. > :26:41.ball in behind the brown. He could play it quite firm and just get the

:26:42. > :26:46.white to stunt on and off the cushion and in the jaws of the

:26:47. > :26:49.pocket and the red would spring up towards the top end of the table.

:26:50. > :26:54.Just playing the thin cut by the yellow. Got to make sure he gets

:26:55. > :27:01.behind the yellow, and he has done. But will this red pot? Does this red

:27:02. > :27:10.pot? It definitely does. That was very casual. What a chance he has

:27:11. > :27:23.given Graeme Dott here. Yeah, good pot. And nicely on the

:27:24. > :27:50.black as well. Couldn't get close to the red. The

:27:51. > :27:56.yellow may be slightly hampering him. This is a chance he should

:27:57. > :28:00.never have had. A very casual shot Ali Carter played. Will it be his

:28:01. > :28:07.last shot of this year's championship? It may be, if Graeme

:28:08. > :28:14.Dott can get on the yellow from this lack. -- from this black. Ali Carter

:28:15. > :28:37.may have played his last shot. Well, Ali has one chance. This is

:28:38. > :28:42.not ideal for Graeme Dott here. 18 ahead, he needs yellow and green.

:28:43. > :28:48.This is tough, Willie. He doesn't have the angle. Yes, I was going to

:28:49. > :28:53.say the only way he can guarantee getting on the green is playing off

:28:54. > :28:56.two cushions. But he won't play that Kameni will just screw back and try

:28:57. > :28:59.to have a green to win the match from tight on the cushion.

:29:00. > :29:08.Just pop the yellow and then you have got every chance of frame and

:29:09. > :29:12.possibly match ball on the green. He tried to make something happen

:29:13. > :29:23.there. Ali Carter, you've been given a lifeline. I don't think the yellow

:29:24. > :29:27.does pot. I've seen Graeme's hand go up to apologise. It never did help

:29:28. > :29:46.me when they did that! Fractions. Only fractions, he could

:29:47. > :30:05.have had a full ball snooker. Oh! That wasn't the best shot he's

:30:06. > :30:06.ever played, Graeme Dott. He's going to leave Ali Carter a possible

:30:07. > :30:21.chance. He may not take this on, the yellow.

:30:22. > :30:24.The cue ball would be going close to the left middle, so he may just try

:30:25. > :30:45.and play the snooker, here. He is on this yellow, but another

:30:46. > :30:50.ball to the left and he would have had him snooker. That is twice. It

:30:51. > :30:54.sometimes happens like that. There is a gap between the pink and the

:30:55. > :30:59.black, he can save this virtually plain ball and have the green to the

:31:00. > :31:04.opposite corner. There is the yellow. He has got the green may be

:31:05. > :31:07.in the middle. I'm not sure he played it to there but he's

:31:08. > :31:21.absolutely perfect. This is frame and match ball.

:31:22. > :31:33.He hasn't missed any, not many into the middle. And that was frame and

:31:34. > :31:42.match ball. What a match this has been. Ali Carter had a couple of

:31:43. > :31:47.centuries in this second session, but it is the 2006 former champion

:31:48. > :31:55.who is going to go through into the last 16, Graeme Dott has beaten Ali

:31:56. > :32:00.Carter to a place in the last 16 in this year's Betfred World Snooker

:32:01. > :32:03.Championship. He wins, ten frames to seven. Well played, Graeme Dott.

:32:04. > :32:07.STUDIO Look at that from the Scot, Graeme

:32:08. > :32:12.Dott. Delighted to be in the second round. As Ken says, former Crucible

:32:13. > :32:16.champion, another one through to the second round. He is a fighter, and

:32:17. > :32:20.all-round match player of the highest quality, and he never gives

:32:21. > :32:24.in. When his game is their scoring committee is a match for anybody.

:32:25. > :32:29.Terrific killing from Graeme Dott. He will take in a three frame lead

:32:30. > :32:31.from the first session. -- terrific hewing.

:32:32. > :32:38.He is a match for anybody on his day. If he gets a bit of confidence

:32:39. > :32:42.behind him, which I think has been up and down in his career, all of a

:32:43. > :32:47.sudden, no one is really a favourite against Graeme Dott, he's such a

:32:48. > :32:50.great all-rounder. He is disregarded in many ways, but he is a superb

:32:51. > :32:57.player. Let's hear from Graeme Dott, he is with Rob. Congratulations.

:32:58. > :33:01.From 4-0 and 6-3 it all looked smooth but you must have been

:33:02. > :33:07.feeling a bit edgy when he pulled it back to 8-7. I was always expecting

:33:08. > :33:13.him to come back, he is too good a player to win the match against

:33:14. > :33:17.10-4, although you are hoping you do! How big was that frame to

:33:18. > :33:22.re-establish a cushion of two frames? The frame when the white

:33:23. > :33:28.went in obviously helped. The next one may did good but I'm just happy

:33:29. > :33:32.to get over the line. What is it about this venue that seems to

:33:33. > :33:35.continually bring out your best? You're into the second round, I

:33:36. > :33:39.think that is now ten times you've made the last 16 will stop whatever

:33:40. > :33:44.is going on elsewhere at other tournaments, you always perform

:33:45. > :33:47.here. I honestly have no idea. I've spoken about it with some of my

:33:48. > :33:51.mates and try to work it out and we have no idea. Other than long

:33:52. > :33:55.matches, I have no idea. I've had times as well when I've had

:33:56. > :34:00.nightmares here but all in all I feel pretty comfortable here. Any

:34:01. > :34:04.preference, Barry Hawkins or Tom Ford? Just hopefully it is a 10-9

:34:05. > :34:11.but I'm not really bothered either way. Congratulations, Graeme.

:34:12. > :34:17.Cheers. That match between Barry Hawkins and Tom Ford starts at 7pm

:34:18. > :34:21.and Hazel will keep you up-to-date on the red button in our lovely new

:34:22. > :34:25.red button studio. In many ways, Rob was absolutely right in asking

:34:26. > :34:30.Graeme Dott, what is it about this venue? Because he seems to thrive

:34:31. > :34:34.here. He can play in best sevens and best of nine because he is a

:34:35. > :34:37.top-class player but I think it has suited his all-round game and his

:34:38. > :34:40.percentages and the way he plays the game, I think the longer matches

:34:41. > :34:48.suit him. I don't think it's coincidence because of that. It's

:34:49. > :34:53.funny, he says he wants it to be a long 10-9, he forgot to mention

:34:54. > :34:58.re-spotted black! Looking at his record company won it in 2006,

:34:59. > :35:05.Graeme Dott, and reached the quarterfinals in 2011. After that he

:35:06. > :35:09.was a runner-up in 2011 -- 2010 but it is littered with first round,

:35:10. > :35:15.second round and losing in the qualifying round. That is the way it

:35:16. > :35:18.is. When you come here for that best of 19 you feel like things can go

:35:19. > :35:23.wrong quite quickly and you can't recover them. With the fact that

:35:24. > :35:27.there is a 25 frame match in the offing afterwards, you tend to think

:35:28. > :35:34.it's a short one and you can get panicked in the first round. With

:35:35. > :35:40.Ali slightly losing his rag, did that have any bearing on the final

:35:41. > :35:46.frame? No, that is come and gone, Jason. You've got to concentrate on

:35:47. > :35:51.what is coming. It's only fractions but it was noticeable that Graeme's

:35:52. > :35:56.tactical and safety near the end was a little bit more advanced than

:35:57. > :36:01.Ali's. A couple of shots Ali blade were a bit loose. He shouldn't have

:36:02. > :36:05.been giving him the cut into that corner pocket. It was a bit of a

:36:06. > :36:09.loose one the shot he played. There a lot of players that, if they can

:36:10. > :36:14.get a run on past the first round, they can go on and do some damage.

:36:15. > :36:19.Graeme Dott is one of those players? So is Ali Carter but the trouble is

:36:20. > :36:23.one of them has to lose. Let's bring you another bit of action from the

:36:24. > :36:28.other match taking place today, 2010 world champion Neil Robertson taking

:36:29. > :36:32.on Noppon Saengkham. We showed you kneel getting his 500's

:36:33. > :36:39.-- we showed you Neil getting his 500th career century just a few

:36:40. > :36:41.moments ago. We're going to take you to frame seven where they are locked

:36:42. > :36:45.on 47 points apiece. COMMENTATOR: He desperately needs to

:36:46. > :37:04.win this frame for his confidence. Didn't play that very well. No, he

:37:05. > :37:12.got a bit too much stunned into that, didn't he? I wouldn't expect

:37:13. > :37:17.him to miss this yellow, but here at the Crucible, anything is missable.

:37:18. > :37:25.So you try to make it as easy as possible. But right in the heart of

:37:26. > :37:47.the pocket. He's not quite recovered the perfect position just yet.

:37:48. > :37:54.Once again, too close to the cushion. The longest frame of this

:37:55. > :38:01.match. Coming up to 27 minutes and it's not quite over yet. He still

:38:02. > :38:09.needs brown and blue, and he's not going to be nicely on the blue. But

:38:10. > :38:14.fair play to him, made certain of the brown, and now this difficult

:38:15. > :38:21.blue for the frame. Blue to go 18 ahead with their team remaining.

:38:22. > :38:42.Building himself up for this one. -- with 13 remaining.

:38:43. > :38:51.Well, that was his chance. Will he get another one? Just didn't have

:38:52. > :38:56.that good cue ball control on the yellow, green or brown. That's the

:38:57. > :39:02.problem and that is why he was left with that tough blue. Blue, pink and

:39:03. > :39:16.black needed for 6-1. Oh! It's not there, and he's left

:39:17. > :39:26.it! That's the problem, playing at that pace. If it doesn't go in,

:39:27. > :39:34.every chance you can leave it. So, this blue for the frame.

:39:35. > :39:52.Well, as I say... This is the Crucible Theatre. Take nothing for

:39:53. > :40:12.granted. But I didn't see that one coming.

:40:13. > :40:38.Noppon Saengkham will be struggling now. If he had won this week frame,

:40:39. > :40:40.he could have set his sights on the next two frames and only even been

:40:41. > :40:58.one behind. But not now. Well, you can see from Robertson's

:40:59. > :41:02.reaction, he thought it had gone but he got another chance and he didn't

:41:03. > :41:04.make any mistake on that one. He is now five frame is clear. He leads

:41:05. > :41:11.6-1. A quirk of the draw means that this

:41:12. > :41:19.afternoon we have seen two people in fine form, Graeme Dott on the other

:41:20. > :41:24.table and Neil Robertson, it was Dott who Neil Robertson beat 18-13

:41:25. > :41:27.in the Crucible final. Neil Robertson is wasting no time

:41:28. > :41:31.whatsoever this afternoon, an average frame time of just 18

:41:32. > :41:36.minutes and 17 seconds, and Robertson is storming away with this

:41:37. > :41:39.one. Coverage continues on the red button and the BBC Sport website and

:41:40. > :41:46.app. Terrific stuff from him this afternoon. It is but his opponent

:41:47. > :41:49.hasn't really pushed him, only to breaks over 40 and that won't cut it

:41:50. > :41:53.at the World Championship. A look ahead to denied and one of the

:41:54. > :41:57.things we're looking forward to, if they get on, Judd Trump and Rory

:41:58. > :42:00.McLeod. Judd Trump has got an injury, we could be looking at a

:42:01. > :42:04.real upset here. He's really up against the wall. He's got to win

:42:05. > :42:08.three frames and he's got to come in cold as if it is the start of

:42:09. > :42:13.another session, and you never know how the session is going to go

:42:14. > :42:17.anyway at the start. Perhaps there is pressure on from Rory's

:42:18. > :42:20.perspective but I don't think so. He was really struggling with his back,

:42:21. > :42:24.wincing when he was playing. That will be in the back of his mind as

:42:25. > :42:29.well. He's got it all to do. Coming under a different table as well

:42:30. > :42:33.tonight. Apparently it's a shoulder injury, so we wish Judd a speedy

:42:34. > :42:38.recovery. Hazel will be back at seven o'clock on the red button.

:42:39. > :42:42.Don't forget to get in touch using the hashtag BBC snooker. Anything

:42:43. > :42:57.you want answered from our studio guests. Ryan Day taking on Xiao

:42:58. > :42:59.Guodong, and we will round up at 1135 -- 11:15pm. See you later,

:43:00. > :43:02.goodbye for now.