Wednesday, 1st Round, Afternoon Snooker: World Championship

Hello, good afternoon, and welcome back to Sheffield, Day five of the

2017 Betfred World Snooker Championship. Five more first round

places up for grabs, two former world champions looking to join the

likes of Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 16. Coming up

this afternoon we will catch up with Judd Trump's match with Rory McLeod,

the world number two in trouble yesterday. Twice beaten finalists,

and Ali Carter also faces an uphill struggle against Graeme Dott. It is

the 2006 world champion who leads Carter going into the final session.

That resumes at 2:30pm. The 2010 world champion Neil Robertson gets

his Crucible campaign under way this afternoon. Standing in Roberson's

way it is Thailand's world number 72. Will also talk tables in our

daily chat about the game in the appropriately named table talk. Mark

Allen is through to the second round taking on our daily challenge pop

quiz -- Pot Quiz. We would love to hear your questions and views, get

in touch using the #BBC snooker and we look forward to hearing from you.

All of that to come but first an update on the Ronnie O'Sullivan

story. This statement came in at 7pm last night following his outburst in

the press conference on Sunday. Ronnie O'Sullivan plays Shaun Murphy

in the next round. Let's stop talking about Ronnie and concentrate

on some snooker. This one got underway at 10am this morning, Judd

Trump got off to a flier yesterday against the world number 54 Rory

McLeod but amazingly the 46-year-old, the oldest player left

in the competition won five frames in a row against the second seed to

overturn a 4-0 deficit and lead 5-4 after an incredible opening session.

Take a look at these pictures because Judd appeared in a little

discomfort this morning during the frames. He looks like he has some

pain in his back as he goes down to play a shot and he will be in even

more pain if he loses this match. He has not been beaten in the first

round since 2007. This is where we will pick it up. Rory McLeod looks

as if he's heading into the second round. This will be the biggest

upset of the competition so far. This is live, the scene at the

Crucible from where we are in the Winter Gardens, let's join it live

in the company of John Virgo Stephen Hendry. Good afternoon, gents.

COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon, Jason. This is turning out to be a massive

frame. It's already been going on, it is in its 30th minute and still

only eight points in it in favour of Rory McLeod.

I have to say... This looks good, this could be tied up against the

APPLAUSE This is turning out to be a bit of a

dogfight here. Yes, that is a very good description. We have already

mentioned that Judd Trump has got to forget about pretty snooker and

high-scoring snooker, it's just getting the result at all costs.

That's the way I'd prefer to go. He could hit the black or anything

here. That would not have been my choice and if it runs on he will

leave an easy starter. Bad decision. I think it has just stopped short

enough. He has not left the pot on. That was fortunate. I don't think

you would have had it replaced. OK, it wasn't an easy pot. I don't know

what he doesn't go twice across. This is fraught with danger. He

could catch the ball over the middle pocket if he over adjusts. I suppose

the reason he has gone this way is there is nothing available into the

corner. Fair play to him, he got it right in that time. This is exactly

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

Just thin edge sticking out from the black but he caught it much too

thick. Judd Trump has been a bit fortunate. It went close to the side

cushion making it not an inviting pot. He is having a look at it. He

would be a brave man to take this on. The longest frame of the match

so far. And probably the most important.

Decent length, but this red that's available to the left corner is the

type of red that Rory has been knocking in most of the morning.

He's not been making any Huybrechts, neither player has, but he's been

very consistent with this type of pot.

But not this time. He's brought the black into play. Jason was

mentioning before you came to us about a few twinges that Judd has

got and it appears to be in the right arm, the right shoulder. The

thing is when he uses the rest, when he's getting down there, he plays

with the rest right-handed and he's missed a few with the rest.

The fact he potted it, squeezed it into the right-hand pocket, has

given him a nice angle on the green. He did not seem to get into that cue

ball at all, didn't seem to get any reaction. Has he got an angle to

take the red of the cushion from this pot? Looks pretty good from

here. He could still be on the brown that take the red away from the top

cushion. He couldn't have played it better. When he pots the brown he

will go three points behind. So any colour from this red and he

can win this frame without needing the pink. He will need the awkward

blue but at least he won't need the pink.

Seemed to finish quite straight. Oh dear.

He did have an angle. It wasn't the best angle. But if anybody had the

power to get the cue ball out it was Judd Trump. He will be horrified by

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

this yellow safe. All things considered he's played

that escape very well. What an opportunity he's missed to win the

frame. He's just having a look and a quick

look at the school five points behind, now Rory is going to need up

to and including the pink. This yellow pots as you can clearly see

but it's a tough one. Is not certain to run safe should he miss it.

He got close enough. The problem was with that shot if he didn't get the

snooker he would leave the cue ball close to the yellow. Easy enough

safety for Judd. It looks like he is looking at the

options of sticking it round the three cautions and sticking baby cue

ball in behind the black. He must get the yellow safe. Nowhere near

hard enough. The only way that that was going to

be a good shot was to cover the yellow with the brown. The last

thing Judd will want to do is bring this pink into play. Where is the

yellow going? Would you believe it? I can't believe he played, more like

a Yankee than anything else. He's played this well. What a shot.

Still needs the blue. I know he has tremendous cue power,

but that was a strange way to try and get on the blue. He will still

take this on to this right-hand corner pocket. Just the blue needed.

Not there. But he did play it with an element of safety. The downside

for Judd is the blue has gone adjacent to the pink so there is a

chance for Rory playing the safety on the blue could bring the pink

into play because that's what he needs. Rory Mac -- McLeod needs

blue, pink and black. Strange the way Judd Trump played that, it is

not his natural game. He needed the blue to win the frame, not bothering

where the cue ball goes. It is the pressure. It is, yes.

Hitting it from behind. Where is the cue ball? It is in the jaws. It

makes it a good safety now. When you get the cue ball in the jaws. I

don't think now he can definitely get through to the blue. He was not

angled, as he was early on in this frame. This frame by far and away

the longest frame of the match. Just coming up to 41 minutes.

And when you put this much effort into a frame, if you don't win it,

it really hurts. But here's another chance now for Judd to clinch it.

Only the blue needed. Will he play this with more conviction? No. Dear

me. And the worst thing is he has brought the pink interplay. But how

far away was he with that? Judd Trump, widely regarded as the best

potter in world snooker. There is no way that the ball can go anywhere

near that pink. Just an edge sticking out. Good

shot. But now that pink's in play, it's all about the blue.

Another thing to think about, this match is looking like it might not

finish in this second, so if Judd has a problem, physically, it may be

will give him time to recover, if he can just win this frame. Yes, the

cut-off line is 40 minutes before the next session starts. We have 15

minutes before two 30p -- before that rule will come in to play. So

maybe after this, if Judd, or even if Horie wins it, we will get one

more frame to play -- if Rory. Where is the cue ball going? So close.

That would have put Judd 19 points in front if it had dropped in the

middle. But the snooker. Easy hit. Can he get it safe?

You think if Judd can win this frame, win the next one, who do you

fancy coming back for through to get to get to the second round of the

World Championships? Look at this for a result. Look at this for a

result. APPLAUSE He may well look up to the skies,

Rory, there. No way he could have expected that to happen, and it

gives him the advantage in this frame. Surely you come of this black

cushion, no? Straight up. Playing at this speed, even if he hits the

blue, he will just hand the initiative to his opponent. Could be

snookered again next time he comes to the table. Good fit. As I say,

because that cue ball and object ball were so close together, they

could be another snooker. Looking at the possibilities of the pot down

the cushion, but if he was the play, he would certainly be trying to

cover the blue with the pink. He has got the snooker.

I know what Judd is thinking here, but this is so damaging when you are

in the snooker. I think you have just got the go-ahead and hit it and

just hope that you don't hit the blue full in the face. That is the

line. He is going the other side of middle pocket, try to hit it off two

cushions, is he? It would not have been my choice. It leaves a

freefall. It will just be replaced. It looks as though he could come

from below the middle pocket. I think particularly at the pace I

would want to have this, I would be coming from this side of the middle

pocket, you hit it hard, checks it slightly. Just got to hit and hope.

Maybe he can't get to the other side of the middle pocket. He has hit it.

But he has left a chance. OK. It is going to take a good shot to pot

this and get back up for position on the pink.

He had to play it with a lot of pace, that's what made it difficult.

Judd Trump, nine point front, still only needs the blue. As we watched

that shot again. Excellent shot. Is it a snooker?

Yep. Nice touch there. If he is playing this dead weight, he could

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

it on. PC. -- it is pacey. I know you would have taken it on,

Stephen. It is for the frame. Is it worth the risk? He has not got a lot

of room to manoeuvre. Judd Trump, committed, and he got it! Snooker

needed. And in goes the pink. Well, that

frame was in its 50th minute, and what a relief Judd Trump will have

been to have won it. Rory McLeod will be disappointed, just one in it

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

not been blocked out since 2007 of the World Championships. John

Parrott and Steve Davis, twists and turns that this one still to come.

Every time you escape from a snooker you never know how they will end up.

Simon on a good chance that could have done well. In the end it was a

great blue from Judd Trump. Brave shot. He got a good white ball is

well playing some insurance down the table but the difference between

winning and losing that frame was massive. Idlette like one of those

frames, the way it was going, that no matter what Judd did he was going

to lose it but all credit to him, it was a cracking blue he did it. We

showed a picture of Judd Trump having a bit of a twinge in his

back. He seems to have got better. Is that something that perhaps has

contributed to his poor form? I don't know. You'd left asking how

bad it is. He has been grimacing through most of the match -- you

would have to ask him. He is obviously still able to play so it

is not completely bad but at the same time it is losing your mind if

you have like that going on. Are you surprised how well Rory has played?

, Not really, because Judd let him back in. He gave him breathing space

and Rory is a player, he qualified for the Crucible. Anyone who does

that is a player, so therefore he got some breathing space in the game

and he is taking his chances. I have been impressed with the way he kept

it going. He would probably then be expecting more of a good performance

this morning but perhaps from the perspective of Judd Trump, perhaps

it is nice that this match doesn't finish in this session. Maybe so. It

is only 8-7, there is a winning post in this session as well. Obviously

the referee has had a word, maybe just had a word about the time going

on in this match and what will happen. Given the faction we have

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

Rory McLeod the break. COMMENTATOR: I suspect this is the last frame

that we will play in this session. It is the rule that no frame can be

started 40 minutes before the next session. I suppose if they got this

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

as though that will happen, the way the frames have gone so far. Judge

must have thought that was a plant, the speed he played shot at. --

Judd. That is a bad misjudgement. Looking at the playing time, 23.5

minutes. And looking at it, he had to catch the first red very thin. So

first opportunity for can one. APPLAUSE

Played the aggressive shot, a little bit unfortunate possibly not to have

an easy -- an easier pot than this. Just a touch of Czech side. Always

starts off addressing very low the cue ball.

Yes, just a little bit too much check side. Didn't play it with the

pace. The kiss on the green didn't help, of course. As I say, this is

the last frame, and when they resumed they will play the remaining

frames of this match on the first table available. It might not be

this one, it might be the other table.

Just thinking about the scenarios, if Rory was to win this frame, how

do you like having all day to think about a 9-7 lead? Obviously it is

not an ideal situation for Judd Trump, but he doesn't want to be

thinking about that whole day. That's close. APPLAUSE

Well, that was not a bonus was that he played safe there, he played a

very poor positional shot of the last red, that is why he did not

finish on the black. Played the safety on the black and potted it.

Not what he wanted. It's not bad, might have look like a

reckless shot from Judd, but as long as he got the red in the jaws of the

pocket he would stay at this end of the table. If you can just get past

the yellow, this might sneak into the right corner. He has hit it too

thin, and that's why he hit the red on the left-hand side of the table.

This is a chance for Judd, but, believe me, after what we have seen

so far this morning, take nothing for granted. As you pot success, you

always say 90% of both. What a test of character this is.

This visit to the table. As we have said before, how badly do you want

it? The has obviously got some sort of injury. He is not playing well.

He is 8-7 down, the first round of the World Championship. You can't

get more intense than this at snooker. That stat you are looking

at, Judd won the first four frames put since then he has only had an

82% pot success. As I say, take nothing for granted in this visit.

It would be a Herculean performance if he was to win it in one visit

here, and he has not helped himself by coming a little bit too Street on

the black. -- a little bit too straight.

That's no good. Unless there is a red that will squeeze into the

middle. Maybe there will. He will play for this, particularly if it

goes on but it is not there. He knew straightaway. 16 is all he needed

from that excellent opportunity. Solid putter, and he looks like he

will finish just about on the brown. Nine. We are using old money here.

You would never have thought that in a match involving Judd Trump. That

is the way it is playing out. He could have heard a better case

than that. He is going to be slightly hampered by the red and

pink. In all honesty when he potted the brown, all right, the brown was

tricky enough, he had to give it full attention, but just needed to

be trusting to lack a little bit as to what he finished on. He played

that nicely. I would think that type of shot when he was stroking down on

the ball doesn't have much affect on Rory, because he plays most of the

shots striking down. Judd had first chance and didn't

take it. APPLAUSE Needs another 40 points. To get to

snooker is required. Looks like this red still goes to

the middle. Not making it any easier.

I wouldn't be surprised he played the cue ball, there is more for this

red than I thought. I thought the left side of the table was a no-go

there. Still in good position, though he has let that cue ball just

loose. At the stage, when you want everything as easy as possible, with

the pressure. He has rolled it in, though. 40

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

in the bag. If you had said to Judd your highest

break in the match would be 65, he would laugh at you. He played that

pretty well, he has the red to the middle, just a nice stunt down for

the black. The red and the black will leave Judd Trump needing two

snookers. Worrying times for the number two seed. OK, he's going to

get a break and maybe have a bit of work on the shoulder, which seems to

be giving him a little bit of jib. He has to come back this evening,

there is a possible three to play, he has got to win them all. It is a

difficult situation for him actually because you have no idea when the

match is going to finish, so how do you prepare for that. Yes. Obviously

that is the both players, not just Judd. Anything but an ideal

situation. And that red going in means Judd

Trump will come back later this evening with an awful lot to do.

He's in a big hole here. Doesn't matter. Judd won't come back

to the table 64 points behind, 43 remaining. So it will be a handshake

and it will be see you later. APPLAUSE

And Rory McLeod, who came into this session one frame ahead of Judd

Trump, leaves its two frames ahead, just needing one. But that will be

decided later this evening. Rory McLeod leads number two seed, Judd

Trump, 9-7. Shock on the cards? Could be.

At IS ask the boys. The players have to come back for one frame, could be

a fume or, at the next available table really. -- let's asked the

boys. He would have been delighted to have got to the nine frames and

he now has the luxury of having three bouts of the cherry. When they

come back, and I don't know what the policy is on how much time they

would have, whether the tournament official would think tension leaves

three frames, I need to give that much of a gap. Because of the two

afternoon sessions went the distance, then there wouldn't be

enough time to perhaps even fit one frame in. Do they then have to come

back at the evening session right after? That is what they usually

have done. I think basically it is guaranteed that you have the table

with no interruptions. That is usually after the evening session.

We had a bit of a marathon last night, what happened if you had one

of those Anna Hansen night? They could come back at three o'clock in

the morning, it doesn't matter, it will be played this evening, or this

afternoon if there was a massive block that could be utilised. It is

horrible, you don't know, and there is something weird about going on

the other table. Yes, all the patterns are different. You have

been playing with the crowd on one side, your chairs there, and then

you are playing on the mirror image, the other side, and you have not

played on that table. You have to trust that the table is playing

excellently but it is not exactly the same table. If there is any

minute rolling off you have got used to on your table, that won't happen.

When we get back to the action, do you fancy Rory McLeod to seal the

deal as the winner? He has to sit on that for the rest of the day but I

would soon have it 9-7 in front. There was a really good frame that

we will show you. This could not have come out better. Over the top

of the reds. It was very missable. But by opening up those are the two

beds, he could not have foreseen that exactly. What a wonderful

situation to get into. He jumped a bit at the bit and messed up the

positional shot but got himself out of trouble. Pretty calm and

coordinated at the end. The problem for Judd Trump is, as we have seen,

he is in some discomfort out there. We do now how bad it is. It offers

replays on your mind. Perhaps he can get some work on it, perhaps a

massage of some sort, to ease the pain but he still has three frames

he has to win out of the blocks this evening, and it is tough coming out

cold, and it will become by the time they possibly go on. I remember

being at the Masters many years ago and asking you, Steve, what is going

to happen next, and you replied no, I don't know. What will happen in

this much? I would sense that Judd Trump is going to go out. Really?

Yes, because you are coming out cold for three frames. Perhaps if it was

continuing, Trump could go caution to the win, but coming out cold it

is a spin of the coin, and if it is 50-51st frame, then Rory McLeod is

favoured. It is a big story, the biggest upset we have had so far? He

was the joint tournament favourite at the start so it is massive. Rory

McLeod generally has not done is much justice on television

tournament and has not have the best season, so most people did not give

them a chance so it will be a shock. And the match, if it does happen

that Judd loses this, was lost in the second session of the first

session, so to speak of the second half of that because Judd was 4-0

up, and I think he resented it more on a plate to get ten one back into

the match. This is the first time at the Crucible in 40 years where there

has only been one Welsh representative here at the World

Championships, and that is in the shape of Ryan Day, who is taking on

Ciao good long. Ryan Broyles as high as clear

COMMENTATOR: Didn't play through well. Not the best there. Quite a

big target between the pink, blue and brown to study the have got the

cue ball tight. He chose not to play the shot that way. And he could be

ruling that, because Guodong has just fluked a snooker. Guess. Good

luck and bad luck. He has fluked the snooker, bad luck, knocked the blue

safe. That was very good because it was a

full ball swerve here to play and it was very difficult to execute that

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

it but has he gone too far? He needs to cut the black in, the pink is no

use. If he pops the pink he will need one snooker. -- pots.

When he got the double, he thought he was on the black but he just hit

it a little too far. The black is very thin. It is not an impossible

cut but it is incredibly thin and he will have absolutely no control over

the cue ball whatsoever because he would have to play it with lots of

pace. He is going to take it on. He will need the extended rest and the

extension on his cue and, as Peter said, the white will be coming off

this cushion with a lot of pace because it is so thin. If he plays

it with screw and right-hand side he needs to avoid the in off into the

right-hand corner pocket. He's played that brilliantly,

absolutely fantastic shot. Yes, it was all about getting the pot. If he

had been able to get onto the yellow it would have been a bonus but it

was a must pot on the black so he can still tie this third frame. Not

sure about that choice of shot. He's been rather fortunate because

he should not have been anywhere near the jaws of the middle pocket.

And is there enough sticking out for Ryan to take this on?

He might be able to go past the brown and snick the yellow in that

he has hit its too thick and he needs the brown to come to his

rescue. How is this for a shot? How is this

for a shot?! Wow! APPLAUSE Well, that snooker certainly got

Peter excited and it was a cracking shot! He has left the yellow away

from the cushion. This is not straightforward. Lots of side, two

cushions. He has slipped around the back of it but I don't think it's a

free ball. I don't think he intended that but

it has put the blue into a slightly better position. I think he was just

trying to get around the angles and get a bit closer to the green. What

a shock this would be to take on. He is almost straight on the green, he

would have to raise the cube as he is doing but what a shot this would

be. -- you would have to raise the cue. But there is no easy safety so

he has to have a go. APPLAUSE

That is the shot of the match so far.

And the fact that he disturbed the blue, he can swing this around but

he is fully stretched and this is awkward but he can get round to the

blue. And this looks pretty good as well.

Dear me, what a cracking positional shot.

Is he straight on this? If he is, he's OK. He would have to screw back

off the cushion if it's dead straight.

He had a bit of angle so he didn't have to do that. Is he going to

pinch another one on the black? This young Chinese player has pulled

off another clearance and he gets himself three frames in front now.

STUDIO: This is brilliant for lured but disaster for Ryan Day. But Ryan

fired back with three frames and then Xiao took the next to make it

5-3 and we pick it up in the last frame of the session. Back to Dennis

Taylor and Peter Ebdon. That is a tremendous pop from Xiao

Guodong. APPLAUSE

And that was another tremendous shot, a lot of cube power, top

left-hand side. Wonderful shot. And after those two excellent pots

and positional shots, this is an excellent chance for Xiao Guodong. I

think he would be delighted to take the session 6-3. When he was 4-0 up

it looked like he would carry on but the mid-session interval turned it

round. Ryan did come out and played some fantastic snooker with breaks

of 125 and 72. But 6-3 would be a healthy advantage going into the

evening session. We have not seen the heavy scoring

so far in this match that we might well have expected from both of

these quality raked builders. -- break-builder 's. But there has been

a lot of pressure and a huge amount of tension, partly because they have

both been missing balls which has been most unexpected. But this is

much more like it from Xiao. His highest break was in the opening

frame, a break of 62. And Ryan had that magnificent 125, but the pot

success rate, neither player in the 90s but Ryan has certainly climbed

up. That wasn't the best shot he has

ever played. It is quite tight, the two reds he is looking at. Not sure

if he can pot the back red of the two. Just enough room.

Now the scenario is turned around. Ryan Day with the possibility of

just being one frame behind. But it's not an easy table to clear up

from, there are three very awkward reds and the two together, they are

not too bad, but it is the one on the right side cushion and the two

on the left side cushion, those are the key balls, you would feel.

He is already thinking about the difficult reds now and how he will

get onto them. If he doesn't want to play the

cannon, he would have to finish where I've got the other white to

lead them on but it might be a natural angle to cannon them.

He hit it a little bit too hard and flicked the reds.

And the cue ball certainly came off a bit fast from the black cushion

and a big square but that is an excellent recovery pot from Ryan

Day. That's another good shot, well

played. Has he got an angle to screw

straight back onto that red that is just above the middle pocket and

disturb it? It's not bad, he might be able to. The way he's looking at

it, he's going to lead a double so maybe he feels he can't screw back

and read it. -- and move it. I suppose the double is not a bad

choice with the other two reds safe. APPLAUSE

Well played. He's not absolutely ideal. On a

colour here. He is digging down into the brown.

Nice shot, he's left himself another double, Dennis. The reds were tied

up and if they are, you can keep doubling them. That will do. But not

this time. But it is a fine 47 at this stage in

the last frame of the session. 14 is the difference.

But now that the red is back in play, 14 points doesn't mean a great

deal, it is who gets the first chance here. Because all the colours

perfectly placed. Has he got away with this? Not

quite. No way he intended to cannon the red. But I think the fact he had

to play it with a bit of swerve and right-hand side, it took the white

into the red that was near the cushion. He hit it a little thinner

than he was hoping to. It's the green and I think he's got

a bit of angle to screw back for that final red. He is looking at the

yellow which is better to get him nicely on that red and closer to it.

That is careless. That is a big turning point because instead of 6-3

in front, every chance now that it is going to be 5-4.

Yellow to green might be a bit of a problem but what other miss -- what

a miss that was. Just enough side on that. Yellow and

green will do. And as long as he doesn't snooker himself on the green

with the blue, he should be OK, he can get onto it from this position.

Purposely leaving a little bit short to prevent going over behind the

blue so this is the shot. Well, the pressure, the importance of that

green and he cued across it slightly. 22 in front.

He will have to steady himself here, a bit of noise from the other side

of the arena. What a cracking pot that was. What a

gem he has pulled out there, and with all the noise going on he did

well. He is just about perfect, I think he

has got a slight angle here. He still needs the pink and black. For

all the world it looked like Ryan Bate would just be one frame behind.

-- Ryan Day. He needed a couple of chances and

Ryan Day will be a bit disappointed but having said that, he was 4-0

behind to the young Chinese player, Xiao Guodong who will be delighted

as he is taking a 6-3 lead into this evening session.

And you can watch that match live to its conclusion on the red button

with us from 7pm with every match is being broadcast here on the BBC, the

morning, afternoon and evening sessions, you will not miss a shot

with us. Join Hazel Irvine for the conclusion of that. If you are just

joining us here and you are wondering who is in and out in this

year's World Championship, let us remind you of how the first draw

stands. And you saw that England against

Scotland class, Ali Carter taking on Graeme Dott which is our live match

this afternoon here on BBC Two and you can keep up-to-date with the

latest news on the BBC sport website and app. It is time now for today's

Table Talk. Our cameras were here last week at

the Crucible as the tables were constructed for this year's World

Championships and just take a look at this. I wouldn't put a brand-new

table into any major televised event because you need something tried and

tested so these two have been selected from the season. It is like

a big jigsaw puzzle, everything is numbered up. This is what they call

the slate bracket, it screwed up and down. You put these in, there is a

metal plate on the bottom. That allows you to bring the level of the

centre of the table up so the slate is not like this and you can adjust

the level up and down. There have been heat is on snooker tables since

the 18th century. They used to used greenhouse heaters which are like

tubes but they are inefficient and they just heat above the tube

whereas these heaters heat the slate evenly and we can control the

temperature. Come over a bit more. We have

roughly positioned the tables underneath the centre of the lights

but for the television cameras, they have to beat spot on, anything

off-line and you won't be level on the TV. Our colleagues are running

lasers from a set point that will give the centre of the tables and

also when the wall goes up, the tables had to be level because there

will be shots going across so they have to be parallel. And the theatre

is so small, you are only five feet four from the table to the wall. You

only have six inches of leeway with the queues cues. You have got to be

very careful. Then you claim the top service to make sure that is

perfectly flat and then the slate will go on. They are very heavy, 50

millimetres thick which is normal than -- more than a normal table and

they weigh just under 200 kilos each. But you need the weight to

keep the level. If you don't have the level weight, you don't have the

stability. And we used these engineering levels which are really

accurate. This is actually perfect. And to show you how accurate they

are, if you put a ?10 note underneath one end... You can see it

now, the thickness of the paper has moved it over by 1 degrees and for

us that is not acceptable because the costs are so thin, there is

almost no tolerance. You want everything to be level. You fill in

the gaps with filler and clean it off and it looks like one piece. Now

we are about to put the role of cloth off and this is used for the

whole event, the practice tables, if we cover them again, or one cloth.

It is difficult to fit, it is like fitting a piece of cardboard. It is

down to experience. I can feel the tension under my hands, when it is

time to stop because you can rip it and you have to start again which

you don't want. The cloth is on nice and tight and then you brush it an

eye on it and then the outside part of the cushion go on. Each pocket is

like two templates, for the corners and the middle and the bigger one is

the top cut. That goes in and it should be firm with some resistance

but not compressing the rubber so that is fairly tight. The important

point is this, that controls the slate fall and the amount of

undercut on the rubber. The more you take off from under here, because

the ball is cylindrical, it makes the pocket easier. On these tables,

the pocket openings have not altered since 1990. So that is 27 years.

They have not changed. Then the outside freeze will go on which is

where the pockets are connected and basically the table is finished

apart from the marking out. Nobody likes doing it because you use like

a Tippex pen and you only have one chance so you can't make a mistake.

We have had accidents and we have had to start again! I'm still very

proud of what we do, I still get butterflies when the World

Championship starts but you hope everything is all right and you

haven't missed anything. If you want to get up close and personal as a

snooker player, this is the place to do it. It is the only tournament

when the players are this close together. But looking at the table

itself, it is pretty cramped. Just for starters, you have the cue ball

in the corner pocket... If it is in the jaws, you'll like it more or

less here and there is not much room and then you have to walk back to

Yorkshire and it is excuse me like this! Then you come by here, you

don't have a lot of room here to plate that shot. Especially if you

are the type of player who wants to walk back and into the shot and you

are so close. Nice to meet you! And they were saying, what was the

distance? The tournament director said that if this room, the width if

it was one yard less than it would never have been considered for the

World Championship which is astonishing. Of course we looked at

the tables and they have heaters which is a modern phenomenon and

they have come down a few degrees. They were at about 50 but come down

to 45 to make less problems. The reason there are heaters is the need

for speed, the top players like fast conditions and if there is any

moisture in the cloth it slows down the balls so they try it out and

that makes it faster. This look great. This is miles better than in

a snooker club. You have the luxury of space! You can walk around and

everything. You are forgetting one thing. Here it is. But if you're

here and I'm here! There we go! At last I've got rid of

him! LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE STUDIO

What a double act they are. A little bit of a health and safety issue

there. Fantastic stuff from John Parrott and Steve Davis. Our live

match for you this afternoon is the conclusion of Graeme Dott, the 2006

world champion, taking on Ali Carter, a man who knows the pain of

losing in the Crucible final, twice. I think I've had a good season,

really. I have won one event, I give Lee should have won another one. I

have reached semis and quarterfinals. From where I was last

year as a qualifier, now back in the top ten.

COMMENTATOR: Play a good one, son. Marvellous! Marvellous! I've got

experience in every round. I have one in every round and sort of lost

in every round. I've made a max. I've been involved in some classics,

so a privilege to be here. What a place to make it. The best place.

The long format is always suit me. A lot of the tournaments are now best

of sevens, which is tough. My opponent a night, Graeme, he is a

longer format man as well. He's had a lot of success here as well.

Hopefully we'll be a good game. I've got lots of things happening in my

life and it is good. I feel healthy and I'm keeping myself fit, enjoying

my life at the minute. That is the main thing. Well, it's very tight in

the career head-to-head stats. They first met 16 years ago in the

British Open. Just the one meeting here at the Crucible, Graeme Dott

winning that 113-11 in the second round, when Dott went on to reach

the quarterfinals. This is the story of the first session. -- winning

that one, 13-11. COMMENTATOR: Ali Carter gets this

first round match under way. And he looks to have played this well.

Excellent shot. He's played it beautifully!

Beautiful play. What a cracker. Got it absolutely perfect. Graeme

Dott will be delighted. 4-0 in front.

Well, that will help. That will help, and he'll have a nice angle on

the brown. Graeme will stay in his seat, and he

nods the concession to Jan Verhaas. Ali Carter, just what he needed

after the mid-session interval, getting two frames on the board, but

Graeme Dott still leads by four frames to two. He may have left a

chance here for Graeme, this red in the middle of the table. It does pot

do the right corner. This fourth 6-3 overnight, and there it goes! And

Ali Carter is going to be three frames behind.

STUDIO So, there we are. The players are

standing by. There is Graeme Dott. Can he make it through to the second

round this afternoon? 2006 World Championship winner and also won the

China open. We will also keep you right up today with Neil Robertson,

world number nine and the world champion here in 2010, he starts his

match this afternoon against Noppon Saengkham, he gets that on the red

button, BBC Sport online as well. But for us live here this afternoon

it is Ali Carter against Graeme Dott. Let's get the players out. A

very good afternoon to Rob Walker. Good afternoon, Jason. What a

dramatic date has already been at the Crucible, Judd Trump and Rory

McLeod will have to come back this evening to conclude their epic

match. We are witnessing some superb matches to make it through to the

second round. Waiting in the wings to entertain us, we have four more

world-class players. Please welcome, first of all, the

last of this year's debutants to appear on the big stage, former

world under 1's -- world under 21 champion, quarterfinalist at last

year's China open, and the fourth player from Thailand to make it here

at the Crucible, he's Noppon Saengkham!

What a great moment. And his opponent this afternoon is a player

who has, without doubt, established himself as one of the game's greats

since his arrival from Australia just over a decade ago. 12 times a

ranking event winner, champion of the world here in 2010, can you hear

the Thunder from Down Under? Here's Neil Robertson!

On table two, here comes a man once again producing his very best here

in Sheffield. Three times a finalist, champion 11 years ago. He

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

keep it going? Let's find out. He's the Pocket Dynamo, he's Graeme Dott!

And finally, contesting his 15th consecutive Crucible campaign,

winning his fourth ranking title this season. From 4-0 down

yesterday, he has given himself a foothold in this match. Twice a

World Championship runner-up, give it up for the Captain, Ali Carter!

Always looks super-sharp, doesn't he, Ali Carter? That is our live

match for you on BBC Two this afternoon. And what a wonderful

entrance from Noppon Saengkham, making his Crucible debut there. You

can watch that match on the red button, BBC Sport online and also on

our app. In fact, on our app, you can choose between table one and

table two. Let's say a very good afternoon to our match commentators,

Ken Doherty and Willie Thorne. COMMENTATOR: Could afternoon

everybody. This is the nitty-gritty stage, the best of 19. We saw if you

were watching the Judd Trump and Rory McLeod game, it can sometimes

be a theatre of nightmares. The pressure here at the Crucible, it is

a cauldron, and the one who can cope best with it usually goes through to

win. Graeme Dott had a very good start yesterday, went into a 4-0

lead. No massive breaks in the game to be perfectly honest, Graeme

Dott's highest was 50 and Ali Carter only 76, but Ali Carter has got work

to do at 6-3 behind, Ken. Absolutely. This is one of the ties

of the round without a shadow of a doubt. Rain dog, former champion.

Ali Carter, finalist here on a couple of occasions and of course

made that wonderful maximum break here. -- Graeme Dott, former

champion. It was always going to be a tough one because Ali of course is

the seed and Graeme qualified this year. Hate to see him back

Yes, he's -- great to see him back in good health. He has had his

issues away from the table, well-documented. Great to see him

doing so well. The things that worry me slightly about Ali Carter, Kent,

he gets himself at it a bit these days, he's had a bit of bad form, he

does a bit of head nodding and things, but he is an unbelievable

player. If this -- this red goes into the green pocket, he can get on

the black. He's got a wonderful cue action. Very confident, strokes the

ball lovely. Got to be honest, Ken, I think he's got possibly the best

cue action in the game now. We used to say that about Stephen Lee, now

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

it, have they? A little scratch on A little scratch on the black. Ali

Carter just point something out to Jan Verhaas. You hit the ball as

such ferocity, sometimes you can get a little scratch on it.

It could have been from maybe this morning's match that wasn't noticed,

but I'm sure if both players had a problem with it, it could be easily

changed. That was a nice result, lots of top spin.

Tremendous cue power, Ali Carter. He gets through the ball very nicely

indeed. Another thing I love about Ali

Carter, he never refuses the shop to get the ball in play very attacking

player. Made over 230 competitive centuries,

including that wonderful 147 here at the Crucible.

I think he's going to need a fast start, Willie. Looking good at the

moment so far. Lee's first four frames, try and at least get three

of the first four, closed the gap. That's what his target would be. I'm

sure anything above that would be a bonus. Yeah, that's it, always win

the mini-session. As you say, can, if you can win 3-1, it is 7-6 and

you're right back into the match. That bottom red of the pack pots, so

he could play a nice little cannon on the red to the right of the pink,

get in the open. He has missed the cannon. Has it

gone too far? I think he's OK. Just about OK. Like you, Ken, I thought

he should have played the cannon there but he is nicely on it, he can

bring a couple more reds into blade playing the run-through for the

black. Nice start, this. The only thing about not playing the cannon

there, now he has an awkward angle. If he doesn't get enough top spin on

this, he might end up in the pack. He's played it nicely. Good shot,

well controlled. Just wondering whether the bottom red of the pack

pots. If it does, he can play for that quite nicely. Go back behind

the back of the red that is out in open play and leave a choice of reds

into both corners. That is the art of break-building, if you're not

sure of the angle to try and play for two reds at the same time. He

has gone too hard, so he can try and take the red down the left.

And their use are -- and their use are Ali's cue power. Look at the

reaction on this cue ball. The reaction was amazing, but I think

that could be end of break. He probably didn't need to hit it so

hard. A little bit softer, into the packed a bit earlier.

He is a half chance of this red into the bottom right hand corner pocket.

Nice pot. Where is the cue ball going? It needs to slow up. It's OK.

Good pot. There wasn't as much pressure on that because the cue

ball was going back to baulk. But he has held it nicely short of the

baulk line. Now, good positional shot here. If the red wasn't on the

right side cushion, he may play the two cushions into the bunch slowly,

knowing that if he misses the case he is on the other one. Playing for

the loose one here is OK because it will free the red into the

right-hand corner pocket. He only needs two more reds and two more

colours. Purposefully left it high, so that

he can play for that loose thread. Well, that knocked a few times,

didn't it? But it has knocked another red out. 63 ahead, 75 left

on the table. Red and brown, blue or pink will do.

He may take the blue here. The red just below the pink spot will pot

into this left-hand corner pocket. He's coming to have a look at that.

I think the bottom red of the four will pot as well. If he can try and

knock the blue in and avoid the case on the four reds, he should be OK.

-- avoid the kiss on the four reds. This, of course, is frame ball. And

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

fast start, and this is it. Particularly with a great break. The

breaks haven't been great in this match but if he could get a century

break it would give him a good boost.

When he pops this thread, it would release the other two into the

left-hand corner pocket. A bit straight on the black but

still OK. Two reds go into the right centre. If ever you needed to see a

tape of what you would call a perfect century, should he go on to

get one, this is it. An absolutely brilliant display of cue ball

control. The black for the century. He has a

nice angle on the black to drop on this red, so he won't play to move

it, he will just drop on it. That is the 25th century of this tournament.

Ali Carter's 23rd of the season. His 234th of his career. Excellent.

That was a lovely pot on the black, perfect angle on the yellow. The

highest break of the tournament is of course 136 from Ding Junhui. He

can equal it if he pots the remaining five colours. What a

start. Oh! What a terrible shame he didn't manage to get the clearance,

but a century for a good start and that's what he has done to close the

gap to two. He still trails, 6-4. Super start for Ali Carter and back

to that match shortly, but in the meantime let's bring you up-to-date

with what has happened with Judd Trump. He's just one frame away from

possibly getting knocked out in the opening round against Rory McLeod,

the world number 54. If you were watching earlier today you would

have seen every time Judd Trump went to play a shot, he seemed to have a

twinge, either in his back or his shoulder. In the past few minutes

we'd been talking to his manager. Judd is just having shoulder pain

which he twisted a few days ago therefore the tournament we cut down

on the amount of practice days we do. Generally he is fine but a

certain shot he can't play properly. We're actually going to assess how

bad he is at the moment. Probably have to take some painkillers. I

don't think any physio will actually improve the situation in such a

short period of time. Also, I talked to someone to see if there is any

stretching exercises he can do. If not, just take some painkillers. He

doesn't feel too comfortable about it. He's going to have some rest now

for a couple of hours and then he will come down here and hit some

balls to see if he can feel a bit better.

COMMENTATOR: Well, that was quite interesting there, about Trump being

injured, the pain in his shoulder causing some problems. Graeme Dott

has the first shot to nothing of this frame. Potting an awful lot of

these around the back of the black, playing for loo or baulk colour. As

Ali got such a good start, all of a sudden that looked a lot more

difficult, didn't it? It just shows you what you can do if you put

pressure on your opponent early on. He's just nodding his head, Ali. I

think the cue ball may be going towards the black but if he just

flicks a little bit of right-hand side, he can hold the cue ball for

the black into the opposite pocket. Oh! Well, he certainly could do

because there was plenty of room even to come off the cushion. A

slight misjudgement there, and very disappointed. A good chance to keep

the momentum going there, and he has missed it.

Well, that is a bit careless from Graeme Dott. Not what you would

expect from an experienced campaigner here at the Crucible

Theatre. This red does pot into the right centre.

Well, was that a kick? Was that a kick? It may have been, you know.

He's going to get the cue ball and the red cleaned. What a time to get

it. One thing I have noticed about

Graeme Dott over the last few years, Willie, is how much he has upped the

pace of his game. There is much more fluency now and speed. Yes, there

was a time when he was at the height of his career... Oh dear, that's

unlucky. I was just about to say, at the height of his career he would

sometimes take 30 odd seconds they shot and there was no need for that,

because he's a much better player when he plays fluently. Very

unlucky. Very unlucky, there. He is having a good look at the pink

here. The blue is obviously the easiest shot, but the blue veils the

best position. But it was obviously the hardest

pot. So that is three chances he's already had in this frame. Never

easy, those. Particularly when you know what you're going to leave your

opponent, should you miss. Extra pressure on them.

Now he needs one good positional shot, in and out of baulk. Three

reds in the middle of the table around the pink spot that he can get

on here, and this looks a bit hard. It needs to slow up.

He would love to play for the red just to the left of the black but

there was not much gap between that and the reds but it so maybe play

two cushions for the one near the pink spot. If he gets a nice angle

on the one on the pink spot, he can get onto the black and play a cannon

onto the two read just above it and it will open everything up. -- on

the two read this. There was a bit of disturbance from

the other table but it hasn't disrupted Graeme Dott's

concentration. Graeme also generates a lot of cue

power, we talked about Ali Carter's, but he played that green very well,

he didn't hit it hard but screwed back some eight or ten feet. A good

response, especially as he knows Ali Carter has had three chances in this

second frame. I was a bit surprised, having made a break of 111, that he

missed those three chances. Yes, he would have expected a bit more. But

still a bit more work to do for Graeme as he has a glance at the

scoreboard. He has to get top side of the blue here to get a nice angle

to go into the pack of reds here. It is always a bit of a problem. You

can overcompensate to make sure you have an angle and then you run a bit

too far. Now he is going to need a bit of cue power to force this brown

in, a lot of top spin, off two cushions and into the pack of four.

This looks pretty good. How is his luck? How could you get through that

gap?! Have a look at this. That is unbelievable.

Any sort of kiss would have been perfect apart from missing them

altogether. He has up popped in the middle pocket which he can play as a

shot to nothing. What a shot. APPLAUSE

He is buzzing. He is great to watch when he plays at this speed, Graeme.

And that is a good shot, that wasn't easy. 43 points in front, this is

frame ball. The crowd recognised that was frame

ball. This would certainly put it beyond doubt. This has been an

incredible break. Under a bit of pressure but he has had to work it

up and down the table a couple of times. Ali Carter is ruing those

couple of chances he had. He was a bit unlucky with the kick he got but

Graeme Dott has duly obliged. It is good stuff. He has started superbly.

You might have thought there would be some nerves in this final session

but they have both come out firing on all cylinders. And the average

shot time for Graeme Dott now is 21 seconds but that will come down

after this break. He won't be worried about missing

the blue, a wonderful break of 74 from the former world champion. He

takes the frame and is now leading Ali Carter 7-4. Ali was a bit

unlucky when Graeme played a poor escape from the snooker and try to

rest on the pack but he left a pot in the middle and the inevitable

happens sometimes when you are out of form. You could see the cue ball

jumping and it was a terrible kick but not only that, he left his

opponent right in. It wasn't like he made it from that chance, he split

the reds and one went in, but it was the pink that Ali missed, the tough

one under the cushion and there is pressure enough but the fact that he

knows he will leave reds and it was a golden opportunity. You did not

fancy him missing, particularly after the weight he started. I

agree, I thought he would knock it in. The pink was definitely the

right shot. I remember about ten years ago with Graeme when he had

won the World Championship, he went two years when he couldn't pot a

ball and I remember him leaving and he snapped his cue in half. He looks

a different player this year. And of course he came through qualifying,

three matches down at Ponds Forge. Good break off. He won three matches

there and his last was against Jamie Jones, former quarterfinalist here.

He beat him ten hibernate in the last qualifying round. And like a

lot of the other qualifiers, he has had some matches under his blood and

some confidence from the qualifying and it has given him confidence. --

under his belt. The top seeds are there because they are the best

players over the season. Great shot. But coming through qualifying is

such an advantage. We have seen it this year. Graeme is having a good

look at this one and applauded the shot.

There is an example of Ali Carter's cue power. The cue ball stops and

then zips, almost like a dragster effect. Excellent. It makes such a

difference when you have that in your locker room. I know because I

never had it! Ali is concerned about the angles on the black but surely

if he jabs the red in and lead the cue ball where the white is, the

black is only half ball but he is worried about finishing hampered.

Sometimes you can look for problems, can't you? As you said, I think if

he leaves the cue ball just above where the red is now. I think he

would be OK. He's going to need the spider. Maybe he can reach it with

the rest but he would have to hold it and be careful. Has to be very

careful with the wood of the rest that it doesn't clip any of the

reds. This is a little tester, when you

are bridging over a ball. He is looking concerned, he just has too

popped it plain ball and off the cushion. -- he has too popped it.

I think what is in his head, in that last frame when he got the kick, it

was similar, he was bridging and it might be in the back of his mind and

that is understandable. You can tell when a player is cueing

well, you can overscrew a shot like that and when you are not timing it

Craig Cumming you can underscrew it. -- not timing it great, you can

underscrew it. He could have done with overscrew

ink that cue ball a bit more to get down towards the reds, particularly

these two on the outside. He has got to negotiate position, this is not

guaranteed. He has played that very well. He had

to stun it in and force the angle. He looked up to the heavens then, he

feels a bit hard done by that he is not on anything easy. He just caught

the pack a bit too full. He is a little bit concerned, he has

had a bad run in the last two games, the kick in the previous frame and

he didn't get a good split their doorstep looking up to his friend on

the balcony thinking it is not going well but he is still well in the

match. He felt there was no way he could

get back to baulk so he put all his eggs in one basket. He has left half

a chance for Graeme, the red to the left of the pink pops. You can screw

these in, come in and out of baulk. But he is running it in, maybe

playing for blue or -- or baulk colour. You can roll those in, you

can always play the stun off two cushions and he played it perfectly.

He hit the wrong red then. He has got one into this right-hand corner

pocket. It is not too bad. And the pink pops into the right centre and

if he can hold the cue ball, he might be OK. This has to go in

almost dead weight. This looks OK. It is tight. You always look at the

body language of the player, even when you are sitting in the chair,

Ali Carter will be looking at Graeme Dott, if he is on it, if it is

tight. It does look tight but maybe not.

You used to give off some body language when you used to play,

Willie! You were still in your cot when I was playing! I never had any

luck, it was all bad luck. This is OK, he is a bit concerned about

flicking one of the reds and taking the pace out of the cue ball which

is why he is playing the more difficult want to get onto the blue.

He knows this is a frame-winning chance and a chance to go four up

with one frame to go before the interval. He has overdone that one.

He has done that a couple of times, just going top site of the blue and

overhitting it. Another good positional shot needed here.

This is underhit. He knows that was a great chance to win this frame at

that visit, the balls were perfect. A bit of value if you can reach it

without playing the rest, he can play it down the cushion for blue or

baulk colour but with the rest is a lot more difficult. There are many

extensions under the table. Great pot. Worth another look. Can

he get on the red? The second one up from the pink into the right-hand

corner pocket. That looks pretty good. He was on

this red early in the break and refused it but this is the perfect

angle and he does not have to do a lot for the cue ball, run through

for the black or played for the blue. As long as you get top side of

the blue if he plays for it. And one little kiss, that is all he needs,

the red to the left of the pink, he can float this blew in and get the

full ball cannon but he has gone a bit too far on the blue to make it a

certainty. He had to play some sort of a kiss here, that is for sure.

If he can hit the pink and the red at the same time, the want to the

left of it, that would push every ball into play but he has played the

other cannon and missed it. He missed it. Goodness me. I didn't

expect that. The red is available into the left centre. Very

difficult. Will he risk it? He has parted some

good balls into the middle pocket is already in the opening exchanges

here -- potted. This could be a frame-winner. He may

have pushed the boat out a little bit there.

He needs a bit of fortune here and he's got its. He shouldn't bemoan

his luck now, every chance to win the frame at this visit.

He would have loved the angle on this red to run through and bring in

one of the reds on the cushion but he hasn't got it. He can play top

side of the blue and then you have a half ball pot off the blue off the

cushion to try to bring one of them into play but if he plays for the

pink he could finish dead straight and not have the chance of doing

that. He has played for the pink, not guaranteed to get the angle. But

it is OK. Would you play the drop on the cushion in between them or try

to move the second out? I think the good shot is off the top cushion and

to try to just nudge that one towards the middle pocket and have

this one down the rail, but not too hard. He doesn't have to hit this

extremely hard. He doesn't want to lose the right. It is the right

pace. That is very unlucky, very unlucky. It was the right pace and

he's the just missed that red and caught the other, it would have been

perfect -- if he just missed the red. He caught it by a fraction. The

shot can put up was perfect and if he had missed it it would have done

exactly what we thought -- the shot Ken put up.

He has a lead of 27 points but really he would like to have one of

the colours safe just for a bit of insurance. You feel that if these

two reds are about to release -- are eventually knocked out into the

open, whoever gets the first child is favourite for the frame. --

whoever gets the first chance. It is quite easy to get the cue ball

is a good position but he has to be careful where the red ends up. It is

hard to do both offer this shot and that is why keep played the -1

because he was not sure about the red. --

-- why keep played the negative shot. This is not quite a plant but

I think it can make it. Because of the situation, 27 points behind. If

he was 27 ahead he would not take it on but this might convince him to

have a go at it. He can play the cue ball back towards baulk and hit it

with a bit of pace but he doesn't fancy it.

The only problem with that shot, you're guaranteed to be snookered

behind the yellow. Or certainly as long as he covers... That's not so

good. He got a good pace on the cue ball.

If he misses the black he can take the white up towards the yellow and

every chance of getting a snooker. He has to miss the yellow. APPLAUSE

That is a telling safety shot. Excellent shot and appreciated by

his opponent. Nice to see both players playing this match, a lot of

pressure on it, but in a very good spirit.

Well, it's a tempter. You've got to fancy him going for it. The fact

that he needs both reds, I'm not sure he can get high on the black to

leave a chance to get onto the last red. Because it's a little bit

straight, he may actually refused it. The only thing he might do is

just roll it in and then play the green or the brown colour rather

than try to get onto the black, because he doesn't really have angle

to do a lot with the cue ball. Just play a containing safety shot now,

and then he has got the snooker, obviously. 28 points in front, the

yellow safe. He can even put the blue on the side cushion, Ken, and

played the white towards the pocket. Yeah, I do think he can put the

yellow safe here because the cue ball would be going over to the

right-hand side of the table, and then play the pink or the blue.

Making sure of the pink on the side rail. But not really a great shot.

The pink is always there for a possible double.

Well, he will be happy with where that Lou went.

This is not nice at all. Oh, that's a fantastic shot. It really is.

Excellent cueing. Such a tough shot, particularly going up the table

against the map. Well, that was a clever little shop,

wasn't it? Just tried to bring the blue into play there. Could have

done with a couple more inches bringing it into play. Blue to pink

will still be the big problem. Brown is not easy either. Anything a bit

straight... Yeah, just any sort of angle on that

brown and he might have had a chance. It was very unlikely when he

came to the table that he could make a frame-winning clearance, but that

little notch on the blue. Yeah, this is too straight to get anywhere

close to the blue. Now, I'm just wondering, Willie, we talked about

that pink earlier, at did he put it in the right place? Should he have

put another colour safe? If he can get the cue ball around to just pass

the blue spot, that double may be on on the pink. That's what he's

looking for. He's going to have to play the blue very pacey to swing it

around three cushions. But if he does get anywhere near the chance of

playing a double, one thing is for certain, he will play it. Now, has

he got the pace right? Not quite high enough. Another foot of pace

and he could play the cross double. Now I think he can only play the

safety. He is right back in the frame. And a very good shot he has

played as well, excellent. At least he has snooker at Ali. If Ali hits

this full ball, he will get the snooker back. That is a situation

where, even though you have your opponent snooker, you don't actually

want them snooker! Because he could play cushion first and leave the cue

ball exactly where the pink is. If Ali could see this full ball, it

would be a much more difficult shot. He didn't get the intended stop on

the cue ball. Ali mis-hit it there, didn't he? He didn't play to hit it

like that. Well, he felt the table rolled off,

didn't he? Ali Carter just needs the one ball, but the fact that the

white is perilously close to the left-hand side cushion, this pink is

not straightforward at all. First frame of the match, I guarantee he

would pot this, but the pressure on this, to get 275...

-- to get to 7-5. But in it goes. Ali Carter will be delighted. He

closes the gap to two, at 7-5. STUDIO

Very tight in the career head-to-head between these two. You

could see this one possibly going down to the wire? When the draw came

out there's a few of them I thought horrible matches for Beagle two play

against. Ray. Would have been one of the qualifiers that most of the

seeds would have been trying to avoid because he is a previous

winner and a gritty competitor. You always knew it would be a tough

game. And perhaps another endorsement as to why this could be

a tricky one for Ali is because as well, and we've been talking about

this on the red button show throughout the week, all those

qualifiers who have come through three difficult matches, Graeme Dott

has had to beat Alan Taylor, Dechawat Poomjaeng, who have weak --

who we have seen here at the Crucible, and Jamie Jones in the

final round. You've got to think that the qualifiers are more match

it, and also the seed has got more expectation on their shoulders. Ali

Carter had a bad session, that first one. I bumped into him in the lift

on the way back last night and he was a bit deflated, he said he

couldn't play any worse than he did yesterday so he was hoping to try

and dig himself out of the hole. I think he's done that and he's done a

good job. It's about getting the frames on the border at this stage?

When you had a bad session like he's had, it's an old cliche but it is

each frame at a time. Build your way back into the match? Put out of the

back of your mind about winning or losing, just concentrate on winning

the frame you've got and every frame you have to give 100% to and try and

see the scoreboard that way. He started off with a century break in

the first and that was great, then one step back in the next one. Keep

plugging away and give it everything you've got. In many of the other

matches, when we see qualifiers come through without the same Crucible

experience, it's a question of experience them, but not with these

two, because these two are seasoned Crucible campaigners. If it was the

case that Graeme Dott got close to the finishing line, we wouldn't be

coming out with the same rhetoric about, have they got what it takes

to win and get over the line here? We know Graeme Dott can do that.

He's probably one of the players, ironically, that saves his best

performances for this particular venue. I agree with Ken in

commentary before, Graeme Dott is a much better player when he is more

fluid and around the table quicker. That's what we've seen in this

tournament. Thanks, chaps. Back to Willie and Ken.

COMMENTATOR: Yeah, nice comments from the lads in the studio. They

know a thing or two about playing here at the Crucible over the years!

As indeed these two lads out here are plenty of experience. Graeme, of

course, won it in 2006, beat Peter Ebdon in the final. Also lost to

Ronnie in the final. Going back to how Graeme is playing in the final,

I think after that final against Peter Ebdon, it was a very elongated

match and he may have felt he got a bit too much stick or not enough

credit for being world champion at the time because it was a slow game.

But since then he has really quickened up. As we can see, he is

getting some great results and he looks a better player, a more

confident type of player. And also a more frightening player. When a

player is bouncing around, playing confidently, it always puts a bit of

fear into your opponent. Well, he's got away with that. But for the kiss

on the black, he would not have done. He is one of the players who

saved their best performances for here at the Crucible. The longer

course of frames. Some of his best matches and wins have come here in

the Crucible in Sheffield. There we see it, absolutely packed. What a

session it may be. Looking down the line of that cue

ball, it definitely drifted out. I think that is what happened in the

last frame. Graeme played the pink, it drifted off going back up the

table, cost him the frame in the end. Let's have a look at this cue

ball going down... Of course, you're going against the nap as well. There

isn't much nap. Going past the baulk line, just watch it drifted out

slightly. There you go. I remember many years ago when we used to play

here that therefore the floor, it used to be a sprung floor and they

vaulted it over the years, that kind of thing happens all the time. Good

pot from Ali, though. He is right back into the match if he can win

this frame. It used to be on hydraulics, the stage. So hard to

get the tables levelled. Ali Carter held his hand up for

something there, I don't know what. And he played the pot, he held his

hand up to say sorry about something. I don't know whether it

flicked the other red before potting the intended one.

He's not nice on the blue, especially because there is no easy

red to get onto. He's going to try and missed the cannon on the green

and swing it around to cushions. He tried to swing it around and it

didn't quite happen. He will be very disappointed to have

only scored 12 from there. Needs a bit of help here... And I

think he's got it. I don't think he can put anything from there.

Could swerve it and pot this red, but he certainly can't pot it plain

ball. He's playing the delicate swerve.

Slow swerve to try to stay on the black. Foul. Graeme Dott, seven. Oh

dear. You would think having careered into

the pack he would have left something a bit easier than this,

but he can bounce this on and off the cushion and get onto the black

in the opposite corner. Not the tallest, Graeme, as you can see.

Having a bit of struggle here stretching. A little bit hard for

the black, but he still has the blue.

Yeah, Ali Carter very disappointed. We saw Liang Wenbo headbutt the

table yesterday, but a little mark on his head, there you see there

could be a mark on Ali's head, gave it a right whack, didn't he? He

might have walked the cue, there. This shot is so easy if he could

reach it without the rest, isn't it, Ken? But now all of a sudden with

the rest it is a difficult shot. He could certainly screw off the pack

of reds and back for black or blue here. Well, look at that! That shows

you... He had his little extension on at the bottom of his cue for

that, didn't he? Yeah. The little extension bit, what that did is

added weight to the cue. Because he had a bit more weight, that is how

he got into it. He got more force, cue power. Amazing, that, isn't it?

Totally agree. Thought he would be on blue or pink. And this green, I

don't know how he can play a safety shot here unless he plays the yellow

and tries to get on the baulk cushion somehow. OK if he plays the

yellow he could be on a choice of reds, but I wouldn't be playing this

green of them. This is very missable. What I would say is that

he has ported some fantastic balls into the middle pockets and he seems

pretty confident. It's a tough pot, though, as you say. I think you

would be playing... Well, not playing a pot here, this is tough.

Oh! I just don't know whether the

percentages were right, there, Ken. The fact that he is 7-5 in front.

That is almost saying, if I get it, I might go 7- -- I might go 8-5. If

I missed it, 7-6. I don't think it was a 50-50 pot. He's not shirking

the possibility of taking the big shots on.

That was quite a wide shot, just probably didn't get quite the right

result. To actually be on a red here is quite incredible, to find that

gap. He could even pot this red, he has done! He had the perfect gap

just to pot that red. Ali, a wry smile from him. He doesn't

understand how he didn't get the cue ball in behind the yellow, just like

that. The age-old problem. Hitting it, no

problem. Getting it safe, massive problem. What a difference this

would be, 8-5 or 7-6. Maybe we will see a hit and hope here because he

is not guaranteed to get this, but if he plays on the red on the right

side cushion here, just to rest on that one, at first glance I can't

see anything potting to the left side corner or anything to the

middle. Or he could swerve it, play the slow swerve and hit the red.

That wouldn't be bad. Just coming round now to look to see whether he

can do that. Play a slow swerve here with lots of side. Well, that's an

excellent shot. Very well played. OK, he may have left half a chance

in the middle, but he would have taken that before. Very good escape.

Trying to get the cue ball behind that yellow again, this looks pretty

good if it runs. Almost. There is a gap between the pack of

reds where he can stand this in and swing the ball round two cushions to

get onto the black or green. Got the gap perfectly, but missed the pot.

At this level, you can't afford to do that. That wasn't a difficult

red. He started off like it was a practice session, just knocking

everything in. Now it comes to the nitty-gritty stage, where it could

be 8-5 or 7-6 and all of a sudden there are balls being missed. Well,

that was a nice little result, wasn't it? Screwing the cue ball

back, hitting the black and knocking it over the middle pocket. Well, he

doesn't want to stick on the red here. Wow. Why did he come back for

the reds there? Why didn't he just play the red left of the blue and

green? OK, he has got this red but it is tight to the cushion. Not as

easy as it looks, this one. Particularly if you're playing it

with pace. If you're dropping it in you should pot it but with pace it

is missable. He has to play it with a bit of side. Unbelievable mistake

on the previous shot. But a good recovery. Good recovery. It was a

better shot than it looked. Well, Graeme will be amazed if he

has come out of this session 2-2, should he go on to win this frame.

Ali Carter has had chances in every single frame. Could have easily won

all four in this ashen. Some heavy breathing going on there as he sits

down in his chair. Yeah, that red that he missed with his arm in the

middle of the table, he's such a good long potter, you didn't expect

him to miss that. Just not ideal, here. He wanted to

be down a little bit closer to the black. Yeah, didn't want

-- yeah, didn't want that kiss. But he still OK. Let's have a look here.

Mid-distance pop, you would expect him to get that. Cue ball in the

middle of the table. Complaining about a bit of a bounce

off the cushion, there. Trying to get onto the blue into the right

vendor. Well, at the pace the cue ball was going on to the cushion, I

don't know... I didn't detect a real bounce myself, but obviously he felt

it was. He was quite lucky in that instance to finish on the green,

after playing a poor shot on the red. Well played. Needs that white

to travel a little bit further. Just about OK. 37 points in front. Three

reds, three colours, he will go to the interval 8-5.

REFEREE: Sorry. Wrong spot. LAUGHTER

Jan Verhaas just decided that the green does go on its own spot.

Not sure he can hold it for the red to the right of the black, but the

two reds near to each other next -- to the right of the black might be a

possible plant. There you see it. Pretty straightforward.

Oh! Didn't hold the cue ball. Stunned it instead of stopping it in

its tracks. Just watch the cue ball here.

He could do with a colour safe. I'm surprised off the plant he didn't

play up for the blue anyway. He would like to put a baulk colour

safe if he can. In behind the yellow. Got a little bit of a kick

there, otherwise the Green would have been on the side cushion.

Well... That's one way of getting out of snookers.

He's got to go all-out for the pink, surely? He just got a fluke,

everything is a bonus now in this frame. Either play the black slowly

or go for the long pink. Does the blue pass the green, Ken? Not quite

sure. I think the blue might be his best option if it does pass the

green. What he is 43 points behind, so he needs some colour. Blue it is.

Oh, good pot. Excellent pot. And good position as well. A shake of

the head from Graeme Dott. He can't believe it. How much will this hurt

if he clears up? Great shot on the blue. Perfect angle on this red to

come down for the black. Well, he can push the red into play. Wow! I

didn't see that coming. After potting that blue, I didn't see that

coming. He didn't make the most of that

slice of luck, Ali Carter. He's going to have it all to do. He's

going to be 8-5 down coming up to this mid-session interval.

He's got to win five of the possible six remaining frames if he wants a

place in the last 16 of this Betfred World Snooker Championship. It's

going to be a tall order. Ten. And the frame. He won't worry

about the yellow, Graeme Dott. Graeme Dott goes into the

mid-session interval leading Ali Carter by eight frames to five.

STUDIO To more frames for Graeme Dott and

he is through to the next round and they are on a mid-session interval

now. We will keep you entertained during that in just a moment. What

is your reading of this game, John? He's such a competitor. Ali had a

chance with a fluke after the Snooker, and it was a chance to get

a counter clearance, but he is up against it now. Obviously Ali is

putting in a better performance but the lead is still three frames. So

Graeme Dott is doing his job if he can just maintain parity. He is over

the line. Plenty to keep you entertained

during the interval and one of the things we like to do at this stage

in the data is having a bit of a pot quiz and today it is with Mark

Allen. Welcome to another edition of pot quiz and today the defending

champion, Mark Allen. APPLAUSE Last year a time of one minute if

you can do that again, but on the board Stuart Bingham is the only

other player so far, one minute 44 so you have some room. As long as I

beat him I will be happy. Here are your questions. Each one can take a

red of the table and then you pot the rest and finished on the black.

You reached the semifinals here in 2009, who did you beat in the

opening round that year? Martin Gould. Correct. That year you lost

to the eventual champion, John Higgins, but who contested the other

semifinal? Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson. Correct! There have only

ever been two breaks of 146 at the Crucible, you made one but who made

the other. I remember because he stole half of my high break prize,

it was Graeme Dott! Could it be a clean sweep?! Name two the three

players you have played more than once at the Crucible. Barry Hawkins.

Correct. Ryan Day. Correct. The other person was Matthew Stevens.

Non-snooker question. What was the number one record the date you were

born on the 22nd of February 1986? Was it spirit in the sky by Doctor

and the medics, edge of Heaven by Wham or when the going gets tough by

Billy Ocean? The last one. Billy Ocean? Correct! Five out of five!

You can take off five reds, your choices.

I wouldn't have taken that one! Not sure about that... They all look the

same! That's three. Is it four? One more. I've taken three off! What?!

Sorry, your, that's why I gave up playing, you can't count! Your time

starts when you strike the cue ball. Good shot. No wonder he is the

fastest, look at that. Economy of movement with the cue action. Oh!

That will not help. I'm lucky it didn't go safe. Still in good time.

Not bad. Cue ball on a string? It's OK! 30 seconds so far. Putting

Stuart Bingham shame. To He hasn't even choked his cue once, it is

fantastic but out of position a bit here. Oh! Oh no! And almost a fine

from World Snooker! That is a great recovery, a marvellous shot at this

level. Nearly right-handed. Not as good as last year but still in with

a chance. A bit short on the black. Oh! The defending champion, the

curse of The Crucible! I'm on the ropes. This is a schoolboy stuff

now! In it goes! APPLAUSE OK, your time, with all of those

mistakes... What on earth do you think it could be? One minute... 35

seconds. So you are in the lead. That's bad.

What Alan is taking on John Higgins in the next round and that match

begins on Friday -- Mark Allen. And John Higgins will also be taking

part with pot quiz soon as well as Marco Fu. We are going to bring you

some snooker because there is a fascinating tussle on the other

table this afternoon which has 2010 world champion Neil Robertson taking

on the one camp. -- taking on Noppon Saengkham. I still remember my first

day is coming here, not knowing where I was going behind the stage,

it is a bit of a maze with the different doors but it is amazing to

see how far I have come. It is my 11th year and you always look back

and you can see the posters of the previous champions and everything.

It gives you a feeling that no other venue does. So many times I come to

qualify but I cannot qualify for the Crucible and this is the third time.

It was a big surprise for me because it is my dream. I have a good

feeling here, I look for this tournament all my life. My form is

pretty good coming in, better than in the last couple of years coming

in. It is obviously missing tournaments like the UK

championship, a couple of the big ones coming in but overall I'm happy

with how I'd been playing. My opponent, Noppon is very good

player, a young rising player from Thailand and very dangerous. One of

these players who is maybe more dangerous the underdog. Playing

against similar rankings he might struggle a bit but the goal is to

put him under pressure early and try to not let him settle into this

fantastic theatre that is the Crucible. That is very important. He

better than me a lot but I try, I tried to play relaxed. I'm in

Crucible now and I'm happy, just enjoy the game. Everything can

happen, I think so. And a lovely moment from Noppon

earlier, making his Crucible debut, this was the moment he worked into

one of the world's great sporting arenas. He almost missed the

entrance but a memorable day for the world number 72. Well done to

Noppon. And you don't see this too often from a former world champion.

How is that for a miscue! Leo Scullion as to scurry to the other

side to pick up the ball. Can we have our ball back? It didn't effect

Neil Robertson, he took the first frame and we join it in the second

with Robertson playing and commentary from John Virgo and Peter

Ebdon. JOHN VIRGO: he is just about still

on this red to the corner. That was a confident shot from Neil. He took

the risk and now he can reap the rewards.

There are not many players who push the cue through as straight as Neil

Robertson, Peter. No, he is a superb cueist. It goes through very

straight. Which is not always the case for player that is so dominant

with one eye. He is very dominant with his right eye, as you can see

when he lines up and puts the cue down on his chin. Very dominant with

his right eye and often when somebody is that dominant, they will

cue up to the right of the centre of the cue ball when they feel

themselves that are hitting centre and they come across to the left on

the way through to actually hit centre where they thought they were

aiming in the first place but he does not do that. He hits exactly

where he is meaning to and the cue goes through ramrod straight and it

is a huge advantage, especially on these cloths is so -- where it is so

important. Just another 25 points away from winning this frame. But

easier said than done. Those five reds near the left-hand side

cushion. He needs a couple of good positional shots. Now he has the

opportunity to bring a few into play but as Eddie Charlton used to say,

never bring a red out when you are potting a red because you're not

certain to be on a colour. And Eddie was right! He is on the colour but

not good on it. I thought he would have known that, Eddie was

Australian as well! I remember watching Eddie Charlton a number of

years ago in the World Championship qualifiers against David Rowe, a

former top 16 player, and Eddie played fantastic snooker, he just

kept rolling in long balls and he hit everything plain ball. And what

a sportsman he was. Yes, Eddie Charlton, a legend in the game.

Meanwhile, what a tremendous pot on the black that was. I think these

types of tables, where it is a bit scary to start using side, it would

have suited Eddie down to the ground. The more plain ball shots

you play these days, the better. If you use side it is at your peril.

But he has taken these well, Neil. Colour and one more red required. He

has got to avoid the kiss on the green here. And the did that. --

heeded. 59 ahead, 67 remaining but when he pots this read there will

only be 59 remaining and he will be 60 in front. Still a chance of that

500th century. He timed that well with the rest,

John, really got some action. And sometimes early in the match, when

we saw him miscue, you get a bit worried that you can miscue again

but he has obviously put it out of his mind. That was not a bad kiss,

bringing an awkward red into play. A little bit awkward here. He is

left-handed so he is able to play the pink.

A little bit betwixt and between here. I suppose he can play the red

into the middle and tried to disturb the one closest to the cushion but

it looks like he is just concentrating on the pot.

A little bit short of pace. And the brown goes.

It just meant he could get a bit closer. He needs a fairly big

bounce. This will test his cueing. He doesn't want to decelerate, push

it through nice and straight and firm. Just overcompensated but it

didn't matter and that break of 77 has given Neil Robertson 2-0 lead.

STUDIO: He is in the mood, 3-0 up and that is what happened in the

fourth frame with the players now a mid-session interval. Don't forget

you can watch this blip on the red button and also the BBC sport app.

This is what happened in frame number four. Neil Robertson with a

break of 49. Noppon responded with a break of 48 but it looks like he is

in the mood, John and Steve. And Noppon has not settled, he should

have won that frame, he had a good chance earlier. But he didn't take

it and he will have to go to the mid-session interval 4-0 down. And

let's not forget that Neil Robertson was beaten in the first round last

year by Michael Holt, 10-6. We have heard a lot of fans and pundits

talking about who they fancy but not many saying Neil Robertson. He seems

to have gone off the boil a bit, but he is a class player. Form is up and

down and perhaps coming in under the radar is good for him. It was not

the ago he made 100 centuries and it seemed like he would dominate but

things can change in the sport. I remember him sitting in that very

exceed talking about making the hundred of hundreds. He is what you

would term a sleeper, not many talking about him no one thinks he

can win and he has not had a great season by his own standards but he