Wednesday, 1st Round, Afternoon Snooker: World Championship


Wednesday, 1st Round, Afternoon

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

:00:32.:00:38.

2017 Betfred World Snooker Championship. Five more first round

:00:39.:00:42.

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

:00:43.:00:45.

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

:00:46.:00:54.

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

:00:55.:00:57.

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

:00:58.:01:05.

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

:01:06.:01:12.

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

:01:13.:01:18.

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

:01:19.:01:21.

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

:01:22.:01:28.

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

:01:29.:01:36.

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

:01:37.:01:43.

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

:01:44.:01:51.

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

:01:52.:01:56.

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

:01:57.:02:01.

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

:02:02.:02:04.

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

:02:05.:02:05.

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

:02:06.:02:50.

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

:02:51.:02:54.

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

:02:55.:02:59.

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

:03:00.:03:02.

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

:03:03.:03:06.

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

:03:07.:03:11.

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

:03:12.:03:16.

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

:03:17.:03:20.

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

:03:21.:03:24.

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

:03:25.:03:29.

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

:03:30.:03:33.

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

:03:34.:03:38.

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

:03:39.:03:42.

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

:03:43.:03:46.

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

:03:47.:03:50.

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

:03:51.:03:56.

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

:03:57.:04:01.

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

:04:02.:04:06.

only eight points in it in favour of Rory McLeod.

:04:07.:04:14.

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

:04:15.:04:20.

APPLAUSE This is turning out to be a bit of a

:04:21.:04:30.

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

:04:31.:04:45.

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

:04:46.:04:50.

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

:04:51.:05:00.

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

:05:01.:05:06.

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

:05:07.:05:19.

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

:05:20.:05:26.

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

:05:27.:05:32.

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

:05:33.:05:37.

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

:05:38.:05:44.

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

:05:45.:05:49.

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

:05:50.:05:54.

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

:05:55.:06:05.

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

:06:06.:06:26.

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

:06:27.:06:36.

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

:06:37.:06:45.

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

:06:46.:07:00.

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

:07:01.:07:08.

so far. And probably the most important.

:07:09.:07:39.

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

:07:40.:07:45.

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

:07:46.:07:50.

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

:07:51.:07:53.

very consistent with this type of pot.

:07:54.:08:01.

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

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

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

:08:23.:08:26.

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

:08:27.:08:33.

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

:08:34.:08:40.

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

:08:41.:08:58.

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

:08:59.:09:04.

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

:09:05.:09:08.

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

:09:09.:09:13.

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

:09:14.:09:17.

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

:09:18.:09:24.

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

:09:25.:09:35.

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

:09:36.:09:40.

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

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Seemed to finish quite straight. Oh dear.

:09:57.:10:07.

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

:10:08.:10:15.

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

:10:16.:10:21.

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

:10:22.:10:22.

this yellow safe. All things considered he's played

:10:23.:10:35.

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

:10:36.:10:36.

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

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

:11:14.:11:16.

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

:11:17.:11:25.

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

:11:26.:11:57.

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

:11:58.:12:06.

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

:12:07.:12:08.

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

:12:09.:12:26.

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

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

:12:33.:12:36.

hard enough. The only way that that was going to

:12:37.:13:04.

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

:13:05.:13:08.

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

:13:09.:13:19.

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

:13:20.:13:25.

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

:13:26.:13:34.

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

:13:35.:13:57.

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

:13:58.:14:01.

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

:14:02.:14:09.

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

:14:10.:14:16.

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

:14:17.:14:21.

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

:14:22.:14:24.

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

:14:25.:14:32.

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

:14:33.:14:36.

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

:14:37.:14:44.

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

:14:45.:14:54.

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

:14:55.:15:03.

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

:15:04.:15:06.

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

:15:07.:15:11.

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

:15:12.:15:19.

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

:15:20.:15:31.

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

:15:32.:15:37.

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

:15:38.:15:44.

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

:15:45.:15:54.

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

:15:55.:16:02.

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

:16:03.:16:14.

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

:16:15.:16:21.

near that pink. Just an edge sticking out. Good

:16:22.:17:04.

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

:17:05.:17:33.

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

:17:34.:17:40.

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

:17:41.:17:44.

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

:17:45.:17:51.

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

:17:52.:17:58.

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

:17:59.:18:08.

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

:18:09.:18:16.

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

:18:17.:18:30.

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

:18:31.:18:42.

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

:18:43.:18:51.

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

:18:52.:18:58.

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

:18:59.:19:00.

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

:19:01.:19:10.

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

:19:11.:19:16.

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

:19:17.:19:18.

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

:19:19.:19:35.

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

:19:36.:19:40.

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

:19:41.:19:43.

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

:19:44.:19:49.

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

:19:50.:19:58.

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

:19:59.:20:02.

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

:20:03.:20:10.

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

:20:11.:20:26.

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

:20:27.:20:35.

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

:20:36.:20:38.

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

:20:39.:20:46.

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

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

:20:51.:20:59.

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

:21:00.:21:06.

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

:21:07.:21:09.

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

:21:10.:21:13.

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

:21:14.:21:24.

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

:21:25.:21:36.

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

:21:37.:21:41.

this and get back up for position on the pink.

:21:42.:22:01.

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

:22:02.:22:12.

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

:22:13.:22:14.

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

:22:15.:22:45.

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

:22:46.:22:49.

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

:22:50.:22:50.

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

:22:51.:23:05.

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

:23:06.:23:13.

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

:23:14.:23:20.

needed. And in goes the pink. Well, that

:23:21.:23:37.

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

:23:38.:23:44.

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

:23:45.:23:49.

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

:23:50.:23:55.

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

:23:56.:23:59.

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

:24:00.:24:03.

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

:24:04.:24:06.

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

:24:07.:24:11.

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

:24:12.:24:14.

well playing some insurance down the table but the difference between

:24:15.:24:18.

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

:24:19.:24:23.

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

:24:24.:24:27.

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

:24:28.:24:32.

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

:24:33.:24:37.

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

:24:38.:24:41.

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

:24:42.:24:45.

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

:24:46.:24:49.

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

:24:50.:24:53.

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

:24:54.:24:58.

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

:24:59.:25:03.

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

:25:04.:25:08.

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

:25:09.:25:12.

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

:25:13.:25:17.

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

:25:18.:25:21.

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

:25:22.:25:26.

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

:25:27.:25:29.

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

:25:30.:25:35.

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

:25:36.:25:39.

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

:25:40.:25:42.

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

:25:43.:25:48.

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

:25:49.:25:58.

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

:25:59.:26:12.

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

:26:13.:26:16.

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

:26:17.:26:21.

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

:26:22.:26:26.

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

:26:27.:26:33.

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

:26:34.:26:42.

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

:26:43.:26:51.

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

:26:52.:27:04.

first opportunity for can one. APPLAUSE

:27:05.:27:15.

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

:27:16.:27:26.

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

:27:27.:27:30.

starts off addressing very low the cue ball.

:27:31.:27:37.

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

:27:38.:27:48.

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

:27:49.:27:52.

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

:27:53.:27:58.

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

:27:59.:28:03.

this one, it might be the other table.

:28:04.:28:23.

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

:28:24.:28:31.

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

:28:32.:28:36.

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

:28:37.:28:38.

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

:28:39.:28:46.

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

:28:47.:28:50.

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

:28:51.:28:53.

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

:28:54.:28:56.

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

:28:57.:30:02.

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

:30:03.:30:05.

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

:30:06.:30:11.

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

:30:12.:30:22.

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

:30:23.:30:27.

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

:30:28.:30:30.

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

:30:31.:30:45.

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

:30:46.:30:50.

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

:30:51.:31:00.

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

:31:01.:31:06.

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

:31:07.:31:11.

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

:31:12.:31:22.

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

:31:23.:31:27.

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

:31:28.:31:34.

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

:31:35.:31:38.

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

:31:39.:31:45.

the black. -- a little bit too straight.

:31:46.:32:01.

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

:32:02.:32:13.

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

:32:14.:32:22.

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

:32:23.:32:26.

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

:32:27.:33:04.

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

:33:05.:33:20.

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

:33:21.:33:22.

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

:33:23.:33:39.

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

:33:40.:33:48.

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

:33:49.:33:51.

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

:33:52.:33:57.

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

:33:58.:34:11.

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

:34:12.:34:15.

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

:34:16.:34:16.

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

:34:17.:34:42.

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

:34:43.:34:48.

snooker is required. Looks like this red still goes to

:34:49.:35:18.

the middle. Not making it any easier.

:35:19.:35:29.

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

:35:30.:36:39.

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

:36:40.:36:44.

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

:36:45.:36:56.

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

:36:57.:36:58.

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

:36:59.:37:12.

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

:37:13.:37:13.

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

:37:14.:37:38.

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

:37:39.:37:51.

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

:37:52.:37:59.

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

:38:00.:38:05.

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

:38:06.:38:11.

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

:38:12.:38:18.

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

:38:19.:38:21.

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

:38:22.:38:27.

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

:38:28.:38:30.

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

:38:31.:38:37.

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

:38:38.:38:39.

situation. And that red going in means Judd

:38:40.:38:59.

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

:39:00.:39:01.

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

:39:02.:39:16.

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

:39:17.:39:24.

and it will be see you later. APPLAUSE

:39:25.:39:30.

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

:39:31.:39:36.

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

:39:37.:39:43.

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

:39:44.:39:47.

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

:39:48.:39:51.

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

:39:52.:39:59.

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

:40:00.:40:06.

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

:40:07.:40:09.

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

:40:10.:40:14.

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

:40:15.:40:18.

would have, whether the tournament official would think tension leaves

:40:19.:40:22.

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

:40:23.:40:26.

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

:40:27.:40:28.

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

:40:29.:40:33.

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

:40:34.:40:37.

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

:40:38.:40:41.

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

:40:42.:40:47.

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

:40:48.:40:51.

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

:40:52.:40:55.

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

:40:56.:40:58.

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

:40:59.:41:04.

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

:41:05.:41:08.

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

:41:09.:41:12.

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

:41:13.:41:15.

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

:41:16.:41:18.

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

:41:19.:41:21.

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

:41:22.:41:25.

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

:41:26.:41:30.

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

:41:31.:41:34.

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

:41:35.:41:38.

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

:41:39.:41:43.

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

:41:44.:41:48.

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

:41:49.:41:52.

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

:41:53.:41:56.

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

:41:57.:41:59.

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

:42:00.:42:04.

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

:42:05.:42:08.

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

:42:09.:42:13.

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

:42:14.:42:17.

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

:42:18.:42:20.

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

:42:21.:42:24.

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

:42:25.:42:28.

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

:42:29.:42:34.

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

:42:35.:42:38.

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

:42:39.:42:43.

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

:42:44.:42:49.

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

:42:50.:42:54.

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

:42:55.:42:58.

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

:42:59.:43:02.

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

:43:03.:43:07.

McLeod generally has not done is much justice on television

:43:08.:43:11.

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

:43:12.:43:15.

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

:43:16.:43:19.

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

:43:20.:43:23.

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

:43:24.:43:27.

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

:43:28.:43:32.

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

:43:33.:43:35.

has only been one Welsh representative here at the World

:43:36.:43:39.

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

:43:40.:43:45.

Ciao good long. Ryan Broyles as high as clear

:43:46.:44:03.

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

:44:04.:44:20.

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

:44:21.:44:26.

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

:44:27.:44:37.

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

:44:38.:44:47.

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

:44:48.:44:49.

safe. That was very good because it was a

:44:50.:45:04.

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

:45:05.:45:12.

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

:45:13.:45:21.

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

:45:22.:45:28.

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

:45:29.:45:37.

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

:45:38.:45:49.

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

:45:50.:45:58.

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

:45:59.:46:01.

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

:46:02.:46:15.

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

:46:16.:46:21.

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

:46:22.:46:26.

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

:46:27.:46:31.

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

:46:32.:46:34.

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

:46:35.:46:48.

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

:46:49.:46:54.

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

:46:55.:47:00.

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

:47:01.:47:04.

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

:47:05.:47:15.

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

:47:16.:47:19.

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

:47:20.:47:27.

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

:47:28.:47:34.

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

:47:35.:47:37.

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

:47:38.:47:50.

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

:47:51.:48:12.

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

:48:13.:48:17.

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

:48:18.:48:27.

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

:48:28.:48:29.

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

:48:30.:49:10.

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

:49:11.:49:14.

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

:49:15.:49:21.

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

:49:22.:49:26.

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

:49:27.:49:34.

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

:49:35.:49:37.

he has to have a go. APPLAUSE

:49:38.:49:57.

That is the shot of the match so far.

:49:58.:50:07.

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

:50:08.:50:13.

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

:50:14.:50:15.

blue. And this looks pretty good as well.

:50:16.:50:29.

Dear me, what a cracking positional shot.

:50:30.:51:05.

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

:51:06.:51:14.

off the cushion if it's dead straight.

:51:15.:51:23.

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

:51:24.:51:28.

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

:51:29.:51:49.

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

:51:50.:51:56.

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

:51:57.:52:06.

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

:52:07.:52:11.

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

:52:12.:52:13.

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

:52:14.:52:18.

Guodong. APPLAUSE

:52:19.:53:05.

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

:53:06.:53:09.

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

:53:10.:53:35.

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

:53:36.:53:47.

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

:53:48.:53:52.

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

:53:53.:54:00.

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

:54:01.:54:13.

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

:54:14.:54:16.

evening session. We have not seen the heavy scoring

:54:17.:55:03.

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

:55:04.:55:12.

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

:55:13.:55:16.

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

:55:17.:55:22.

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

:55:23.:55:27.

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

:55:28.:55:35.

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

:55:36.:55:45.

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

:55:46.:55:47.

up. That wasn't the best shot he has

:55:48.:56:07.

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

:56:08.:56:15.

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

:56:16.:56:29.

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

:56:30.:56:41.

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

:56:42.:56:47.

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

:56:48.:56:55.

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

:56:56.:57:01.

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

:57:02.:57:54.

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

:57:55.:57:58.

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

:57:59.:58:31.

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

:58:32.:58:35.

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

:58:36.:58:51.

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

:58:52.:59:03.

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

:59:04.:59:10.

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

:59:11.:59:11.

Day. That's another good shot, well

:59:12.:59:25.

played. Has he got an angle to screw

:59:26.:59:56.

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

:59:57.:00:01.

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

:00:02.:00:08.

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

:00:09.:00:17.

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

:00:18.:00:20.

choice with the other two reds safe. APPLAUSE

:00:21.:00:37.

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

:00:38.:00:44.

colour here. He is digging down into the brown.

:00:45.:01:08.

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

:01:09.:01:16.

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

:01:17.:01:19.

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

:01:20.:01:36.

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

:01:37.:01:42.

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

:01:43.:01:55.

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

:01:56.:01:57.

perfectly placed. Has he got away with this? Not

:01:58.:02:26.

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

:02:27.:02:32.

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

:02:33.:02:37.

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

:02:38.:02:39.

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

:02:40.:03:20.

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

:03:21.:03:28.

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

:03:29.:03:36.

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

:03:37.:03:45.

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

:03:46.:03:59.

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

:04:00.:04:09.

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

:04:10.:04:31.

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

:04:32.:04:36.

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

:04:37.:04:47.

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

:04:48.:05:04.

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

:05:05.:05:08.

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

:05:09.:05:27.

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

:05:28.:05:32.

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

:05:33.:05:55.

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

:05:56.:05:57.

well. He is just about perfect, I think he

:05:58.:06:27.

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

:06:28.:06:33.

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

:06:34.:06:36.

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

:06:37.:07:04.

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

:07:05.:07:10.

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

:07:11.:07:14.

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

:07:15.:07:19.

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

:07:20.:07:25.

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

:07:26.:07:29.

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

:07:30.:07:34.

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

:07:35.:07:38.

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

:07:39.:07:42.

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

:07:43.:07:44.

stands. And you saw that England against

:07:45.:08:58.

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

:08:59.:09:02.

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

:09:03.:09:06.

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

:09:07.:09:13.

Table Talk. Our cameras were here last week at

:09:14.:09:22.

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

:09:23.:09:27.

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

:09:28.:09:37.

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

:09:38.:09:40.

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

:09:41.:09:44.

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

:09:45.:09:54.

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

:09:55.:10:04.

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

:10:05.:10:08.

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

:10:09.:10:12.

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

:10:13.:10:21.

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

:10:22.:10:24.

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

:10:25.:10:29.

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

:10:30.:10:31.

temperature. Come over a bit more. We have

:10:32.:10:45.

roughly positioned the tables underneath the centre of the lights

:10:46.:10:50.

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

:10:51.:10:54.

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

:10:55.:11:00.

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

:11:01.:11:03.

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

:11:04.:11:07.

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

:11:08.:11:14.

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

:11:15.:11:19.

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

:11:20.:11:29.

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

:11:30.:11:32.

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

:11:33.:11:37.

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

:11:38.:11:42.

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

:11:43.:11:48.

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

:11:49.:11:55.

stability. And we used these engineering levels which are really

:11:56.:12:01.

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

:12:02.:12:05.

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

:12:06.:12:15.

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

:12:16.:12:20.

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

:12:21.:12:27.

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

:12:28.:12:31.

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

:12:32.:12:41.

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

:12:42.:12:44.

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

:12:45.:12:50.

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

:12:51.:12:59.

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

:13:00.:13:03.

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

:13:04.:13:10.

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

:13:11.:13:15.

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

:13:16.:13:25.

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

:13:26.:13:30.

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

:13:31.:13:36.

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

:13:37.:13:41.

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

:13:42.:13:45.

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

:13:46.:13:51.

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

:13:52.:13:56.

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

:13:57.:14:07.

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

:14:08.:14:12.

where the pockets are connected and basically the table is finished

:14:13.:14:16.

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

:14:17.:14:23.

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

:14:24.:14:28.

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

:14:29.:14:32.

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

:14:33.:14:37.

Championship starts but you hope everything is all right and you

:14:38.:14:41.

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

:14:42.:14:44.

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

:14:45.:14:47.

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

:14:48.:14:55.

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

:14:56.:15:00.

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

:15:01.:15:03.

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

:15:04.:15:07.

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

:15:08.:15:15.

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

:15:16.:15:18.

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

:15:19.:15:24.

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

:15:25.:15:32.

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

:15:33.:15:37.

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

:15:38.:15:40.

World Championship which is astonishing. Of course we looked at

:15:41.:15:46.

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

:15:47.:15:50.

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

:15:51.:15:56.

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

:15:57.:16:00.

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

:16:01.:16:04.

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

:16:05.:16:09.

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

:16:10.:16:16.

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

:16:17.:16:18.

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

:16:19.:16:25.

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

:16:26.:16:34.

him! LAUGHTER

:16:35.:16:37.

APPLAUSE STUDIO

:16:38.:16:41.

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

:16:42.:16:45.

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

:16:46.:16:48.

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

:16:49.:16:53.

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

:16:54.:16:55.

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

:16:56.:17:10.

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

:17:11.:17:14.

have reached semis and quarterfinals. From where I was last

:17:15.:17:18.

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

:17:19.:17:22.

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

:17:23.:17:28.

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

:17:29.:17:35.

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

:17:36.:17:40.

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

:17:41.:17:47.

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

:17:48.:17:51.

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

:17:52.:17:58.

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

:17:59.:18:01.

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

:18:02.:18:06.

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

:18:07.:18:10.

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

:18:11.:18:15.

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

:18:16.:18:19.

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

:18:20.:18:23.

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

:18:24.:18:28.

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

:18:29.:18:30.

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

:18:31.:18:46.

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

:18:47.:18:47.

Excellent shot. He's played it beautifully!

:18:48.:18:57.

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

:18:58.:19:19.

Dott will be delighted. 4-0 in front.

:19:20.:19:24.

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

:19:25.:19:31.

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

:19:32.:19:44.

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

:19:45.:19:47.

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

:19:48.:19:51.

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

:19:52.:19:59.

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

:20:00.:20:06.

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

:20:07.:20:09.

Ali Carter is going to be three frames behind.

:20:10.:20:12.

STUDIO So, there we are. The players are

:20:13.:20:18.

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

:20:19.:20:23.

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

:20:24.:20:27.

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

:20:28.:20:30.

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

:20:31.:20:35.

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

:20:36.:20:40.

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

:20:41.:20:44.

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

:20:45.:20:49.

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

:20:50.:20:53.

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

:20:54.:20:59.

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

:21:00.:21:05.

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

:21:06.:21:09.

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

:21:10.:21:11.

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

:21:12.:21:32.

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

:21:33.:21:37.

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

:21:38.:21:42.

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

:21:43.:21:45.

at the Crucible, he's Noppon Saengkham!

:21:46.:21:52.

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

:21:53.:22:17.

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

:22:18.:22:21.

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

:22:22.:22:26.

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

:22:27.:22:34.

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

:22:35.:22:41.

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

:22:42.:23:02.

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

:23:03.:23:08.

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

:23:09.:23:18.

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

:23:19.:23:25.

And finally, contesting his 15th consecutive Crucible campaign,

:23:26.:23:42.

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

:23:43.:23:48.

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

:23:49.:23:53.

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

:23:54.:24:02.

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

:24:03.:24:16.

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

:24:17.:24:21.

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

:24:22.:24:24.

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

:24:25.:24:29.

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

:24:30.:24:33.

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

:24:34.:24:38.

Ken Doherty and Willie Thorne. COMMENTATOR: Could afternoon

:24:39.:24:41.

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

:24:42.:24:48.

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

:24:49.:24:51.

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

:24:52.:24:56.

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

:24:57.:25:00.

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

:25:01.:25:05.

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

:25:06.:25:09.

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

:25:10.:25:14.

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

:25:15.:25:18.

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

:25:19.:25:24.

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

:25:25.:25:28.

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

:25:29.:25:34.

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

:25:35.:25:41.

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

:25:42.:25:45.

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

:25:46.:25:55.

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

:25:56.:25:59.

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

:26:00.:26:04.

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

:26:05.:26:09.

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

:26:10.:26:15.

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

:26:16.:26:21.

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

:26:22.:26:27.

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

:26:28.:26:31.

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

:26:32.:26:33.

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

:26:34.:26:37.

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

:26:38.:27:00.

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

:27:01.:27:11.

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

:27:12.:27:17.

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

:27:18.:27:27.

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

:27:28.:27:30.

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

:27:31.:27:40.

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

:27:41.:27:46.

indeed. Another thing I love about Ali

:27:47.:28:19.

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

:28:20.:28:20.

player. Made over 230 competitive centuries,

:28:21.:28:30.

including that wonderful 147 here at the Crucible.

:28:31.:28:36.

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

:28:37.:28:47.

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

:28:48.:28:52.

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

:28:53.:28:55.

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

:28:56.:29:06.

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

:29:07.:29:10.

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

:29:11.:29:25.

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

:29:26.:29:28.

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

:29:29.:29:39.

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

:29:40.:29:48.

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

:29:49.:29:53.

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

:29:54.:29:57.

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

:29:58.:30:00.

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

:30:01.:30:05.

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

:30:06.:30:12.

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

:30:13.:30:18.

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

:30:19.:30:24.

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

:30:25.:30:27.

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

:30:28.:30:36.

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

:30:37.:30:40.

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

:30:41.:31:18.

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

:31:19.:31:31.

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

:31:32.:31:36.

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

:31:37.:31:45.

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

:31:46.:31:53.

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

:31:54.:32:06.

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

:32:07.:32:13.

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

:32:14.:32:19.

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

:32:20.:32:25.

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

:32:26.:32:33.

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

:32:34.:32:37.

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

:32:38.:32:40.

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

:32:41.:32:47.

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

:32:48.:32:48.

colours. Purposefully left it high, so that

:32:49.:33:00.

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

:33:01.:33:35.

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

:33:36.:33:42.

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

:33:43.:33:50.

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

:33:51.:34:02.

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

:34:03.:34:10.

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

:34:11.:34:14.

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

:34:15.:34:24.

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

:34:25.:34:29.

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

:34:30.:34:34.

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

:34:35.:34:42.

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

:34:43.:34:45.

break it would give him a good boost.

:34:46.:35:01.

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

:35:02.:35:06.

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

:35:07.:35:17.

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

:35:18.:35:23.

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

:35:24.:35:26.

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

:35:27.:35:28.

control. The black for the century. He has a

:35:29.:36:12.

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

:36:13.:36:19.

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

:36:20.:36:27.

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

:36:28.:36:51.

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

:36:52.:37:04.

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

:37:05.:37:08.

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

:37:09.:37:21.

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

:37:22.:37:26.

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

:37:27.:37:33.

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

:37:34.:37:36.

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

:37:37.:37:39.

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

:37:40.:37:44.

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

:37:45.:37:47.

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

:37:48.:37:51.

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

:37:52.:37:55.

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

:37:56.:38:01.

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

:38:02.:38:07.

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

:38:08.:38:10.

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

:38:11.:38:16.

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

:38:17.:38:21.

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

:38:22.:38:27.

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

:38:28.:38:33.

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

:38:34.:38:40.

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

:38:41.:38:44.

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

:38:45.:38:49.

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

:38:50.:38:53.

balls to see if he can feel a bit better.

:38:54.:39:01.

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

:39:02.:39:10.

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

:39:11.:39:18.

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

:39:19.:39:21.

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

:39:22.:39:31.

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

:39:32.:39:34.

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

:39:35.:39:36.

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

:39:37.:40:02.

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

:40:03.:40:05.

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

:40:06.:40:09.

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

:40:10.:40:14.

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

:40:15.:40:22.

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

:40:23.:40:31.

the momentum going there, and he has missed it.

:40:32.:41:05.

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

:41:06.:41:11.

expect from an experienced campaigner here at the Crucible

:41:12.:41:17.

Theatre. This red does pot into the right centre.

:41:18.:41:32.

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

:41:33.:41:46.

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

:41:47.:41:52.

it. One thing I have noticed about

:41:53.:42:31.

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

:42:32.:42:36.

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

:42:37.:42:44.

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

:42:45.:42:48.

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

:42:49.:42:52.

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

:42:53.:42:55.

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

:42:56.:42:57.

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

:42:58.:43:48.

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

:43:49.:43:50.

best position. But it was obviously the hardest

:43:51.:44:03.

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

:44:04.:44:11.

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

:44:12.:44:16.

opponent, should you miss. Extra pressure on them.

:44:17.:44:26.

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

:44:27.:44:33.

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

:44:34.:44:39.

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

:44:40.:44:44.

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

:44:45.:45:20.

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

:45:21.:45:27.

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

:45:28.:45:32.

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

:45:33.:45:37.

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

:45:38.:45:42.

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

:45:43.:46:34.

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

:46:35.:46:35.

concentration. Graeme also generates a lot of cue

:46:36.:47:04.

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

:47:05.:47:09.

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

:47:10.:47:17.

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

:47:18.:47:21.

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

:47:22.:47:28.

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

:47:29.:47:33.

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

:47:34.:47:38.

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

:47:39.:47:43.

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

:47:44.:47:51.

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

:47:52.:47:56.

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

:47:57.:48:02.

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

:48:03.:48:09.

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

:48:10.:48:22.

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

:48:23.:48:28.

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

:48:29.:48:35.

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

:48:36.:48:40.

shot to nothing. What a shot. APPLAUSE

:48:41.:48:49.

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

:48:50.:48:57.

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

:48:58.:49:03.

frame ball. The crowd recognised that was frame

:49:04.:49:28.

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

:49:29.:49:36.

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

:49:37.:49:40.

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

:49:41.:49:47.

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

:49:48.:49:54.

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

:49:55.:50:02.

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

:50:03.:50:06.

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

:50:07.:50:12.

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

:50:13.:50:14.

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

:50:15.:50:59.

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

:51:00.:51:05.

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

:51:06.:51:13.

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

:51:14.:51:17.

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

:51:18.:51:21.

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

:51:22.:51:26.

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

:51:27.:51:31.

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

:51:32.:51:37.

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

:51:38.:51:42.

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

:51:43.:51:48.

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

:51:49.:51:52.

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

:51:53.:51:54.

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

:51:55.:52:01.

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

:52:02.:52:05.

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

:52:06.:52:10.

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

:52:11.:52:17.

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

:52:18.:52:20.

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

:52:21.:52:40.

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

:52:41.:52:49.

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

:52:50.:52:54.

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

:52:55.:52:57.

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

:52:58.:53:03.

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

:53:04.:53:08.

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

:53:09.:53:11.

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

:53:12.:53:18.

look at this one and applauded the shot.

:53:19.:53:31.

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

:53:32.:53:43.

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

:53:44.:53:48.

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

:53:49.:54:00.

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

:54:01.:54:06.

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

:54:07.:54:10.

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

:54:11.:54:16.

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

:54:17.:54:23.

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

:54:24.:54:32.

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

:54:33.:54:39.

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

:54:40.:54:45.

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

:54:46.:54:46.

reds. This is a little tester, when you

:54:47.:55:05.

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

:55:06.:55:09.

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

:55:10.:55:20.

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

:55:21.:55:29.

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

:55:30.:55:31.

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

:55:32.:55:55.

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

:55:56.:56:00.

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

:56:01.:56:04.

underscrew it. He could have done with overscrew

:56:05.:56:34.

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

:56:35.:56:45.

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

:56:46.:56:46.

guaranteed. He has played that very well. He had

:56:47.:56:51.

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

:56:52.:57:43.

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

:57:44.:57:47.

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

:57:48.:58:23.

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

:58:24.:58:27.

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

:58:28.:58:31.

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

:58:32.:58:33.

match. He felt there was no way he could

:58:34.:59:34.

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

:59:35.:59:41.

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

:59:42.:59:51.

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

:59:52.:59:58.

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

:59:59.:00:06.

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

:00:07.:00:36.

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

:00:37.:00:49.

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

:00:50.:00:52.

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

:00:53.:01:04.

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

:01:05.:01:14.

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

:01:15.:01:18.

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

:01:19.:01:23.

tight. It does look tight but maybe not.

:01:24.:01:38.

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

:01:39.:01:56.

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

:01:57.:02:05.

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

:02:06.:02:13.

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

:02:14.:02:16.

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

:02:17.:02:20.

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

:02:21.:02:26.

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

:02:27.:02:35.

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

:02:36.:02:38.

overhitting it. Another good positional shot needed here.

:02:39.:02:53.

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

:02:54.:03:06.

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

:03:07.:03:09.

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

:03:10.:03:15.

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

:03:16.:03:19.

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

:03:20.:03:44.

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

:03:45.:03:45.

corner pocket. That looks pretty good. He was on

:03:46.:04:11.

this red early in the break and refused it but this is the perfect

:04:12.:04:14.

angle and he does not have to do a lot for the cue ball, run through

:04:15.:04:18.

for the black or played for the blue. As long as you get top side of

:04:19.:04:25.

the blue if he plays for it. And one little kiss, that is all he needs,

:04:26.:04:30.

the red to the left of the pink, he can float this blew in and get the

:04:31.:04:36.

full ball cannon but he has gone a bit too far on the blue to make it a

:04:37.:04:41.

certainty. He had to play some sort of a kiss here, that is for sure.

:04:42.:04:57.

If he can hit the pink and the red at the same time, the want to the

:04:58.:05:04.

left of it, that would push every ball into play but he has played the

:05:05.:05:09.

other cannon and missed it. He missed it. Goodness me. I didn't

:05:10.:05:18.

expect that. The red is available into the left centre. Very

:05:19.:05:23.

difficult. Will he risk it? He has parted some

:05:24.:05:37.

good balls into the middle pocket is already in the opening exchanges

:05:38.:05:39.

here -- potted. This could be a frame-winner. He may

:05:40.:05:56.

have pushed the boat out a little bit there.

:05:57.:06:27.

He needs a bit of fortune here and he's got its. He shouldn't bemoan

:06:28.:06:37.

his luck now, every chance to win the frame at this visit.

:06:38.:08:36.

He would have loved the angle on this red to run through and bring in

:08:37.:08:43.

one of the reds on the cushion but he hasn't got it. He can play top

:08:44.:08:49.

side of the blue and then you have a half ball pot off the blue off the

:08:50.:08:53.

cushion to try to bring one of them into play but if he plays for the

:08:54.:08:57.

pink he could finish dead straight and not have the chance of doing

:08:58.:09:02.

that. He has played for the pink, not guaranteed to get the angle. But

:09:03.:09:10.

it is OK. Would you play the drop on the cushion in between them or try

:09:11.:09:15.

to move the second out? I think the good shot is off the top cushion and

:09:16.:09:23.

to try to just nudge that one towards the middle pocket and have

:09:24.:09:28.

this one down the rail, but not too hard. He doesn't have to hit this

:09:29.:09:33.

extremely hard. He doesn't want to lose the right. It is the right

:09:34.:09:40.

pace. That is very unlucky, very unlucky. It was the right pace and

:09:41.:09:45.

he's the just missed that red and caught the other, it would have been

:09:46.:09:52.

perfect -- if he just missed the red. He caught it by a fraction. The

:09:53.:09:58.

shot can put up was perfect and if he had missed it it would have done

:09:59.:10:06.

exactly what we thought -- the shot Ken put up.

:10:07.:10:27.

He has a lead of 27 points but really he would like to have one of

:10:28.:10:37.

the colours safe just for a bit of insurance. You feel that if these

:10:38.:10:47.

two reds are about to release -- are eventually knocked out into the

:10:48.:10:51.

open, whoever gets the first child is favourite for the frame. --

:10:52.:10:57.

whoever gets the first chance. It is quite easy to get the cue ball

:10:58.:11:24.

is a good position but he has to be careful where the red ends up. It is

:11:25.:11:29.

hard to do both offer this shot and that is why keep played the -1

:11:30.:11:33.

because he was not sure about the red. --

:11:34.:11:40.

-- why keep played the negative shot. This is not quite a plant but

:11:41.:11:48.

I think it can make it. Because of the situation, 27 points behind. If

:11:49.:11:57.

he was 27 ahead he would not take it on but this might convince him to

:11:58.:12:02.

have a go at it. He can play the cue ball back towards baulk and hit it

:12:03.:12:06.

with a bit of pace but he doesn't fancy it.

:12:07.:12:15.

The only problem with that shot, you're guaranteed to be snookered

:12:16.:12:24.

behind the yellow. Or certainly as long as he covers... That's not so

:12:25.:12:33.

good. He got a good pace on the cue ball.

:12:34.:13:08.

If he misses the black he can take the white up towards the yellow and

:13:09.:13:45.

every chance of getting a snooker. He has to miss the yellow. APPLAUSE

:13:46.:13:56.

That is a telling safety shot. Excellent shot and appreciated by

:13:57.:14:00.

his opponent. Nice to see both players playing this match, a lot of

:14:01.:14:05.

pressure on it, but in a very good spirit.

:14:06.:14:20.

Well, it's a tempter. You've got to fancy him going for it. The fact

:14:21.:14:26.

that he needs both reds, I'm not sure he can get high on the black to

:14:27.:14:30.

leave a chance to get onto the last red. Because it's a little bit

:14:31.:14:35.

straight, he may actually refused it. The only thing he might do is

:14:36.:14:39.

just roll it in and then play the green or the brown colour rather

:14:40.:14:42.

than try to get onto the black, because he doesn't really have angle

:14:43.:14:46.

to do a lot with the cue ball. Just play a containing safety shot now,

:14:47.:14:52.

and then he has got the snooker, obviously. 28 points in front, the

:14:53.:14:58.

yellow safe. He can even put the blue on the side cushion, Ken, and

:14:59.:15:02.

played the white towards the pocket. Yeah, I do think he can put the

:15:03.:15:06.

yellow safe here because the cue ball would be going over to the

:15:07.:15:10.

right-hand side of the table, and then play the pink or the blue.

:15:11.:15:16.

Making sure of the pink on the side rail. But not really a great shot.

:15:17.:15:23.

The pink is always there for a possible double.

:15:24.:15:32.

Well, he will be happy with where that Lou went.

:15:33.:16:07.

This is not nice at all. Oh, that's a fantastic shot. It really is.

:16:08.:16:25.

Excellent cueing. Such a tough shot, particularly going up the table

:16:26.:16:26.

against the map. Well, that was a clever little shop,

:16:27.:16:52.

wasn't it? Just tried to bring the blue into play there. Could have

:16:53.:16:55.

done with a couple more inches bringing it into play. Blue to pink

:16:56.:17:00.

will still be the big problem. Brown is not easy either. Anything a bit

:17:01.:17:07.

straight... Yeah, just any sort of angle on that

:17:08.:17:28.

brown and he might have had a chance. It was very unlikely when he

:17:29.:17:35.

came to the table that he could make a frame-winning clearance, but that

:17:36.:17:40.

little notch on the blue. Yeah, this is too straight to get anywhere

:17:41.:17:47.

close to the blue. Now, I'm just wondering, Willie, we talked about

:17:48.:17:51.

that pink earlier, at did he put it in the right place? Should he have

:17:52.:17:55.

put another colour safe? If he can get the cue ball around to just pass

:17:56.:18:00.

the blue spot, that double may be on on the pink. That's what he's

:18:01.:18:04.

looking for. He's going to have to play the blue very pacey to swing it

:18:05.:18:09.

around three cushions. But if he does get anywhere near the chance of

:18:10.:18:13.

playing a double, one thing is for certain, he will play it. Now, has

:18:14.:18:21.

he got the pace right? Not quite high enough. Another foot of pace

:18:22.:18:27.

and he could play the cross double. Now I think he can only play the

:18:28.:18:32.

safety. He is right back in the frame. And a very good shot he has

:18:33.:18:40.

played as well, excellent. At least he has snooker at Ali. If Ali hits

:18:41.:18:52.

this full ball, he will get the snooker back. That is a situation

:18:53.:18:55.

where, even though you have your opponent snooker, you don't actually

:18:56.:18:58.

want them snooker! Because he could play cushion first and leave the cue

:18:59.:19:02.

ball exactly where the pink is. If Ali could see this full ball, it

:19:03.:19:06.

would be a much more difficult shot. He didn't get the intended stop on

:19:07.:19:20.

the cue ball. Ali mis-hit it there, didn't he? He didn't play to hit it

:19:21.:19:21.

like that. Well, he felt the table rolled off,

:19:22.:19:37.

didn't he? Ali Carter just needs the one ball, but the fact that the

:19:38.:19:43.

white is perilously close to the left-hand side cushion, this pink is

:19:44.:19:49.

not straightforward at all. First frame of the match, I guarantee he

:19:50.:19:54.

would pot this, but the pressure on this, to get 275...

:19:55.:19:58.

-- to get to 7-5. But in it goes. Ali Carter will be delighted. He

:19:59.:20:11.

closes the gap to two, at 7-5. STUDIO

:20:12.:20:15.

Very tight in the career head-to-head between these two. You

:20:16.:20:17.

could see this one possibly going down to the wire? When the draw came

:20:18.:20:22.

out there's a few of them I thought horrible matches for Beagle two play

:20:23.:20:25.

against. Ray. Would have been one of the qualifiers that most of the

:20:26.:20:28.

seeds would have been trying to avoid because he is a previous

:20:29.:20:32.

winner and a gritty competitor. You always knew it would be a tough

:20:33.:20:35.

game. And perhaps another endorsement as to why this could be

:20:36.:20:39.

a tricky one for Ali is because as well, and we've been talking about

:20:40.:20:42.

this on the red button show throughout the week, all those

:20:43.:20:46.

qualifiers who have come through three difficult matches, Graeme Dott

:20:47.:20:48.

has had to beat Alan Taylor, Dechawat Poomjaeng, who have weak --

:20:49.:20:55.

who we have seen here at the Crucible, and Jamie Jones in the

:20:56.:20:59.

final round. You've got to think that the qualifiers are more match

:21:00.:21:03.

it, and also the seed has got more expectation on their shoulders. Ali

:21:04.:21:08.

Carter had a bad session, that first one. I bumped into him in the lift

:21:09.:21:12.

on the way back last night and he was a bit deflated, he said he

:21:13.:21:15.

couldn't play any worse than he did yesterday so he was hoping to try

:21:16.:21:19.

and dig himself out of the hole. I think he's done that and he's done a

:21:20.:21:22.

good job. It's about getting the frames on the border at this stage?

:21:23.:21:27.

When you had a bad session like he's had, it's an old cliche but it is

:21:28.:21:31.

each frame at a time. Build your way back into the match? Put out of the

:21:32.:21:37.

back of your mind about winning or losing, just concentrate on winning

:21:38.:21:40.

the frame you've got and every frame you have to give 100% to and try and

:21:41.:21:45.

see the scoreboard that way. He started off with a century break in

:21:46.:21:49.

the first and that was great, then one step back in the next one. Keep

:21:50.:21:52.

plugging away and give it everything you've got. In many of the other

:21:53.:21:56.

matches, when we see qualifiers come through without the same Crucible

:21:57.:21:59.

experience, it's a question of experience them, but not with these

:22:00.:22:05.

two, because these two are seasoned Crucible campaigners. If it was the

:22:06.:22:08.

case that Graeme Dott got close to the finishing line, we wouldn't be

:22:09.:22:16.

coming out with the same rhetoric about, have they got what it takes

:22:17.:22:19.

to win and get over the line here? We know Graeme Dott can do that.

:22:20.:22:22.

He's probably one of the players, ironically, that saves his best

:22:23.:22:24.

performances for this particular venue. I agree with Ken in

:22:25.:22:27.

commentary before, Graeme Dott is a much better player when he is more

:22:28.:22:31.

fluid and around the table quicker. That's what we've seen in this

:22:32.:22:38.

tournament. Thanks, chaps. Back to Willie and Ken.

:22:39.:22:44.

COMMENTATOR: Yeah, nice comments from the lads in the studio. They

:22:45.:22:47.

know a thing or two about playing here at the Crucible over the years!

:22:48.:22:55.

As indeed these two lads out here are plenty of experience. Graeme, of

:22:56.:23:08.

course, won it in 2006, beat Peter Ebdon in the final. Also lost to

:23:09.:23:18.

Ronnie in the final. Going back to how Graeme is playing in the final,

:23:19.:23:23.

I think after that final against Peter Ebdon, it was a very elongated

:23:24.:23:28.

match and he may have felt he got a bit too much stick or not enough

:23:29.:23:30.

credit for being world champion at the time because it was a slow game.

:23:31.:23:34.

But since then he has really quickened up. As we can see, he is

:23:35.:23:39.

getting some great results and he looks a better player, a more

:23:40.:23:44.

confident type of player. And also a more frightening player. When a

:23:45.:23:48.

player is bouncing around, playing confidently, it always puts a bit of

:23:49.:23:52.

fear into your opponent. Well, he's got away with that. But for the kiss

:23:53.:23:58.

on the black, he would not have done. He is one of the players who

:23:59.:24:04.

saved their best performances for here at the Crucible. The longer

:24:05.:24:20.

course of frames. Some of his best matches and wins have come here in

:24:21.:24:26.

the Crucible in Sheffield. There we see it, absolutely packed. What a

:24:27.:24:28.

session it may be. Looking down the line of that cue

:24:29.:24:44.

ball, it definitely drifted out. I think that is what happened in the

:24:45.:24:49.

last frame. Graeme played the pink, it drifted off going back up the

:24:50.:24:52.

table, cost him the frame in the end. Let's have a look at this cue

:24:53.:24:57.

ball going down... Of course, you're going against the nap as well. There

:24:58.:25:08.

isn't much nap. Going past the baulk line, just watch it drifted out

:25:09.:25:13.

slightly. There you go. I remember many years ago when we used to play

:25:14.:25:17.

here that therefore the floor, it used to be a sprung floor and they

:25:18.:25:21.

vaulted it over the years, that kind of thing happens all the time. Good

:25:22.:25:30.

pot from Ali, though. He is right back into the match if he can win

:25:31.:25:39.

this frame. It used to be on hydraulics, the stage. So hard to

:25:40.:25:41.

get the tables levelled. Ali Carter held his hand up for

:25:42.:26:39.

something there, I don't know what. And he played the pot, he held his

:26:40.:26:44.

hand up to say sorry about something. I don't know whether it

:26:45.:26:48.

flicked the other red before potting the intended one.

:26:49.:26:56.

He's not nice on the blue, especially because there is no easy

:26:57.:27:06.

red to get onto. He's going to try and missed the cannon on the green

:27:07.:27:10.

and swing it around to cushions. He tried to swing it around and it

:27:11.:27:12.

didn't quite happen. He will be very disappointed to have

:27:13.:27:18.

only scored 12 from there. Needs a bit of help here... And I

:27:19.:28:12.

think he's got it. I don't think he can put anything from there.

:28:13.:28:18.

Could swerve it and pot this red, but he certainly can't pot it plain

:28:19.:28:24.

ball. He's playing the delicate swerve.

:28:25.:28:40.

Slow swerve to try to stay on the black. Foul. Graeme Dott, seven. Oh

:28:41.:28:46.

dear. You would think having careered into

:28:47.:29:15.

the pack he would have left something a bit easier than this,

:29:16.:29:19.

but he can bounce this on and off the cushion and get onto the black

:29:20.:29:23.

in the opposite corner. Not the tallest, Graeme, as you can see.

:29:24.:29:27.

Having a bit of struggle here stretching. A little bit hard for

:29:28.:29:31.

the black, but he still has the blue.

:29:32.:30:04.

Yeah, Ali Carter very disappointed. We saw Liang Wenbo headbutt the

:30:05.:30:10.

table yesterday, but a little mark on his head, there you see there

:30:11.:30:19.

could be a mark on Ali's head, gave it a right whack, didn't he? He

:30:20.:30:22.

might have walked the cue, there. This shot is so easy if he could

:30:23.:30:31.

reach it without the rest, isn't it, Ken? But now all of a sudden with

:30:32.:30:36.

the rest it is a difficult shot. He could certainly screw off the pack

:30:37.:30:40.

of reds and back for black or blue here. Well, look at that! That shows

:30:41.:30:50.

you... He had his little extension on at the bottom of his cue for

:30:51.:31:00.

that, didn't he? Yeah. The little extension bit, what that did is

:31:01.:31:04.

added weight to the cue. Because he had a bit more weight, that is how

:31:05.:31:10.

he got into it. He got more force, cue power. Amazing, that, isn't it?

:31:11.:31:16.

Totally agree. Thought he would be on blue or pink. And this green, I

:31:17.:31:21.

don't know how he can play a safety shot here unless he plays the yellow

:31:22.:31:25.

and tries to get on the baulk cushion somehow. OK if he plays the

:31:26.:31:30.

yellow he could be on a choice of reds, but I wouldn't be playing this

:31:31.:31:33.

green of them. This is very missable. What I would say is that

:31:34.:31:37.

he has ported some fantastic balls into the middle pockets and he seems

:31:38.:31:42.

pretty confident. It's a tough pot, though, as you say. I think you

:31:43.:31:49.

would be playing... Well, not playing a pot here, this is tough.

:31:50.:31:52.

Oh! I just don't know whether the

:31:53.:32:00.

percentages were right, there, Ken. The fact that he is 7-5 in front.

:32:01.:32:06.

That is almost saying, if I get it, I might go 7- -- I might go 8-5. If

:32:07.:32:14.

I missed it, 7-6. I don't think it was a 50-50 pot. He's not shirking

:32:15.:32:25.

the possibility of taking the big shots on.

:32:26.:32:32.

That was quite a wide shot, just probably didn't get quite the right

:32:33.:32:46.

result. To actually be on a red here is quite incredible, to find that

:32:47.:32:53.

gap. He could even pot this red, he has done! He had the perfect gap

:32:54.:33:04.

just to pot that red. Ali, a wry smile from him. He doesn't

:33:05.:33:12.

understand how he didn't get the cue ball in behind the yellow, just like

:33:13.:33:13.

that. The age-old problem. Hitting it, no

:33:14.:33:34.

problem. Getting it safe, massive problem. What a difference this

:33:35.:33:44.

would be, 8-5 or 7-6. Maybe we will see a hit and hope here because he

:33:45.:33:47.

is not guaranteed to get this, but if he plays on the red on the right

:33:48.:33:52.

side cushion here, just to rest on that one, at first glance I can't

:33:53.:33:57.

see anything potting to the left side corner or anything to the

:33:58.:34:01.

middle. Or he could swerve it, play the slow swerve and hit the red.

:34:02.:34:06.

That wouldn't be bad. Just coming round now to look to see whether he

:34:07.:34:15.

can do that. Play a slow swerve here with lots of side. Well, that's an

:34:16.:34:24.

excellent shot. Very well played. OK, he may have left half a chance

:34:25.:34:27.

in the middle, but he would have taken that before. Very good escape.

:34:28.:34:42.

Trying to get the cue ball behind that yellow again, this looks pretty

:34:43.:34:43.

good if it runs. Almost. There is a gap between the pack of

:34:44.:35:55.

reds where he can stand this in and swing the ball round two cushions to

:35:56.:36:01.

get onto the black or green. Got the gap perfectly, but missed the pot.

:36:02.:36:06.

At this level, you can't afford to do that. That wasn't a difficult

:36:07.:36:17.

red. He started off like it was a practice session, just knocking

:36:18.:36:22.

everything in. Now it comes to the nitty-gritty stage, where it could

:36:23.:36:26.

be 8-5 or 7-6 and all of a sudden there are balls being missed. Well,

:36:27.:36:35.

that was a nice little result, wasn't it? Screwing the cue ball

:36:36.:36:41.

back, hitting the black and knocking it over the middle pocket. Well, he

:36:42.:36:46.

doesn't want to stick on the red here. Wow. Why did he come back for

:36:47.:36:54.

the reds there? Why didn't he just play the red left of the blue and

:36:55.:37:03.

green? OK, he has got this red but it is tight to the cushion. Not as

:37:04.:37:09.

easy as it looks, this one. Particularly if you're playing it

:37:10.:37:12.

with pace. If you're dropping it in you should pot it but with pace it

:37:13.:37:21.

is missable. He has to play it with a bit of side. Unbelievable mistake

:37:22.:37:25.

on the previous shot. But a good recovery. Good recovery. It was a

:37:26.:37:28.

better shot than it looked. Well, Graeme will be amazed if he

:37:29.:37:48.

has come out of this session 2-2, should he go on to win this frame.

:37:49.:37:58.

Ali Carter has had chances in every single frame. Could have easily won

:37:59.:38:04.

all four in this ashen. Some heavy breathing going on there as he sits

:38:05.:38:09.

down in his chair. Yeah, that red that he missed with his arm in the

:38:10.:38:15.

middle of the table, he's such a good long potter, you didn't expect

:38:16.:38:16.

him to miss that. Just not ideal, here. He wanted to

:38:17.:38:40.

be down a little bit closer to the black. Yeah, didn't want

:38:41.:38:51.

-- yeah, didn't want that kiss. But he still OK. Let's have a look here.

:38:52.:39:08.

Mid-distance pop, you would expect him to get that. Cue ball in the

:39:09.:39:10.

middle of the table. Complaining about a bit of a bounce

:39:11.:39:24.

off the cushion, there. Trying to get onto the blue into the right

:39:25.:39:31.

vendor. Well, at the pace the cue ball was going on to the cushion, I

:39:32.:39:37.

don't know... I didn't detect a real bounce myself, but obviously he felt

:39:38.:39:42.

it was. He was quite lucky in that instance to finish on the green,

:39:43.:39:47.

after playing a poor shot on the red. Well played. Needs that white

:39:48.:39:53.

to travel a little bit further. Just about OK. 37 points in front. Three

:39:54.:40:01.

reds, three colours, he will go to the interval 8-5.

:40:02.:40:04.

REFEREE: Sorry. Wrong spot. LAUGHTER

:40:05.:40:12.

Jan Verhaas just decided that the green does go on its own spot.

:40:13.:40:36.

Not sure he can hold it for the red to the right of the black, but the

:40:37.:40:46.

two reds near to each other next -- to the right of the black might be a

:40:47.:40:51.

possible plant. There you see it. Pretty straightforward.

:40:52.:40:59.

Oh! Didn't hold the cue ball. Stunned it instead of stopping it in

:41:00.:41:10.

its tracks. Just watch the cue ball here.

:41:11.:41:15.

He could do with a colour safe. I'm surprised off the plant he didn't

:41:16.:41:22.

play up for the blue anyway. He would like to put a baulk colour

:41:23.:41:26.

safe if he can. In behind the yellow. Got a little bit of a kick

:41:27.:41:32.

there, otherwise the Green would have been on the side cushion.

:41:33.:41:52.

Well... That's one way of getting out of snookers.

:41:53.:42:01.

He's got to go all-out for the pink, surely? He just got a fluke,

:42:02.:42:18.

everything is a bonus now in this frame. Either play the black slowly

:42:19.:42:23.

or go for the long pink. Does the blue pass the green, Ken? Not quite

:42:24.:42:29.

sure. I think the blue might be his best option if it does pass the

:42:30.:42:34.

green. What he is 43 points behind, so he needs some colour. Blue it is.

:42:35.:42:46.

Oh, good pot. Excellent pot. And good position as well. A shake of

:42:47.:42:56.

the head from Graeme Dott. He can't believe it. How much will this hurt

:42:57.:43:05.

if he clears up? Great shot on the blue. Perfect angle on this red to

:43:06.:43:11.

come down for the black. Well, he can push the red into play. Wow! I

:43:12.:43:18.

didn't see that coming. After potting that blue, I didn't see that

:43:19.:43:20.

coming. He didn't make the most of that

:43:21.:43:52.

slice of luck, Ali Carter. He's going to have it all to do. He's

:43:53.:43:58.

going to be 8-5 down coming up to this mid-session interval.

:43:59.:44:07.

He's got to win five of the possible six remaining frames if he wants a

:44:08.:44:16.

place in the last 16 of this Betfred World Snooker Championship. It's

:44:17.:44:18.

going to be a tall order. Ten. And the frame. He won't worry

:44:19.:44:28.

about the yellow, Graeme Dott. Graeme Dott goes into the

:44:29.:44:34.

mid-session interval leading Ali Carter by eight frames to five.

:44:35.:44:38.

STUDIO To more frames for Graeme Dott and

:44:39.:44:41.

he is through to the next round and they are on a mid-session interval

:44:42.:44:45.

now. We will keep you entertained during that in just a moment. What

:44:46.:44:48.

is your reading of this game, John? He's such a competitor. Ali had a

:44:49.:44:55.

chance with a fluke after the Snooker, and it was a chance to get

:44:56.:45:02.

a counter clearance, but he is up against it now. Obviously Ali is

:45:03.:45:05.

putting in a better performance but the lead is still three frames. So

:45:06.:45:09.

Graeme Dott is doing his job if he can just maintain parity. He is over

:45:10.:45:10.

the line. Plenty to keep you entertained

:45:11.:45:18.

during the interval and one of the things we like to do at this stage

:45:19.:45:22.

in the data is having a bit of a pot quiz and today it is with Mark

:45:23.:45:29.

Allen. Welcome to another edition of pot quiz and today the defending

:45:30.:45:39.

champion, Mark Allen. APPLAUSE Last year a time of one minute if

:45:40.:45:46.

you can do that again, but on the board Stuart Bingham is the only

:45:47.:45:50.

other player so far, one minute 44 so you have some room. As long as I

:45:51.:45:55.

beat him I will be happy. Here are your questions. Each one can take a

:45:56.:46:01.

red of the table and then you pot the rest and finished on the black.

:46:02.:46:07.

You reached the semifinals here in 2009, who did you beat in the

:46:08.:46:12.

opening round that year? Martin Gould. Correct. That year you lost

:46:13.:46:22.

to the eventual champion, John Higgins, but who contested the other

:46:23.:46:28.

semifinal? Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson. Correct! There have only

:46:29.:46:40.

ever been two breaks of 146 at the Crucible, you made one but who made

:46:41.:46:44.

the other. I remember because he stole half of my high break prize,

:46:45.:46:48.

it was Graeme Dott! Could it be a clean sweep?! Name two the three

:46:49.:46:55.

players you have played more than once at the Crucible. Barry Hawkins.

:46:56.:47:12.

Correct. Ryan Day. Correct. The other person was Matthew Stevens.

:47:13.:47:20.

Non-snooker question. What was the number one record the date you were

:47:21.:47:26.

born on the 22nd of February 1986? Was it spirit in the sky by Doctor

:47:27.:47:31.

and the medics, edge of Heaven by Wham or when the going gets tough by

:47:32.:47:39.

Billy Ocean? The last one. Billy Ocean? Correct! Five out of five!

:47:40.:47:49.

You can take off five reds, your choices.

:47:50.:47:54.

I wouldn't have taken that one! Not sure about that... They all look the

:47:55.:48:11.

same! That's three. Is it four? One more. I've taken three off! What?!

:48:12.:48:25.

Sorry, your, that's why I gave up playing, you can't count! Your time

:48:26.:48:32.

starts when you strike the cue ball. Good shot. No wonder he is the

:48:33.:48:41.

fastest, look at that. Economy of movement with the cue action. Oh!

:48:42.:48:52.

That will not help. I'm lucky it didn't go safe. Still in good time.

:48:53.:49:06.

Not bad. Cue ball on a string? It's OK! 30 seconds so far. Putting

:49:07.:49:13.

Stuart Bingham shame. To He hasn't even choked his cue once, it is

:49:14.:49:17.

fantastic but out of position a bit here. Oh! Oh no! And almost a fine

:49:18.:49:30.

from World Snooker! That is a great recovery, a marvellous shot at this

:49:31.:49:37.

level. Nearly right-handed. Not as good as last year but still in with

:49:38.:49:46.

a chance. A bit short on the black. Oh! The defending champion, the

:49:47.:50:00.

curse of The Crucible! I'm on the ropes. This is a schoolboy stuff

:50:01.:50:04.

now! In it goes! APPLAUSE OK, your time, with all of those

:50:05.:50:21.

mistakes... What on earth do you think it could be? One minute... 35

:50:22.:50:30.

seconds. So you are in the lead. That's bad.

:50:31.:50:37.

What Alan is taking on John Higgins in the next round and that match

:50:38.:50:47.

begins on Friday -- Mark Allen. And John Higgins will also be taking

:50:48.:50:53.

part with pot quiz soon as well as Marco Fu. We are going to bring you

:50:54.:50:56.

some snooker because there is a fascinating tussle on the other

:50:57.:51:01.

table this afternoon which has 2010 world champion Neil Robertson taking

:51:02.:51:08.

on the one camp. -- taking on Noppon Saengkham. I still remember my first

:51:09.:51:16.

day is coming here, not knowing where I was going behind the stage,

:51:17.:51:20.

it is a bit of a maze with the different doors but it is amazing to

:51:21.:51:26.

see how far I have come. It is my 11th year and you always look back

:51:27.:51:31.

and you can see the posters of the previous champions and everything.

:51:32.:51:34.

It gives you a feeling that no other venue does. So many times I come to

:51:35.:51:42.

qualify but I cannot qualify for the Crucible and this is the third time.

:51:43.:51:46.

It was a big surprise for me because it is my dream. I have a good

:51:47.:51:53.

feeling here, I look for this tournament all my life. My form is

:51:54.:51:56.

pretty good coming in, better than in the last couple of years coming

:51:57.:52:01.

in. It is obviously missing tournaments like the UK

:52:02.:52:05.

championship, a couple of the big ones coming in but overall I'm happy

:52:06.:52:11.

with how I'd been playing. My opponent, Noppon is very good

:52:12.:52:15.

player, a young rising player from Thailand and very dangerous. One of

:52:16.:52:20.

these players who is maybe more dangerous the underdog. Playing

:52:21.:52:24.

against similar rankings he might struggle a bit but the goal is to

:52:25.:52:28.

put him under pressure early and try to not let him settle into this

:52:29.:52:34.

fantastic theatre that is the Crucible. That is very important. He

:52:35.:52:40.

better than me a lot but I try, I tried to play relaxed. I'm in

:52:41.:52:47.

Crucible now and I'm happy, just enjoy the game. Everything can

:52:48.:52:50.

happen, I think so. And a lovely moment from Noppon

:52:51.:52:59.

earlier, making his Crucible debut, this was the moment he worked into

:53:00.:53:04.

one of the world's great sporting arenas. He almost missed the

:53:05.:53:07.

entrance but a memorable day for the world number 72. Well done to

:53:08.:53:14.

Noppon. And you don't see this too often from a former world champion.

:53:15.:53:19.

How is that for a miscue! Leo Scullion as to scurry to the other

:53:20.:53:23.

side to pick up the ball. Can we have our ball back? It didn't effect

:53:24.:53:29.

Neil Robertson, he took the first frame and we join it in the second

:53:30.:53:34.

with Robertson playing and commentary from John Virgo and Peter

:53:35.:53:36.

Ebdon. JOHN VIRGO: he is just about still

:53:37.:54:28.

on this red to the corner. That was a confident shot from Neil. He took

:54:29.:54:36.

the risk and now he can reap the rewards.

:54:37.:55:23.

There are not many players who push the cue through as straight as Neil

:55:24.:55:34.

Robertson, Peter. No, he is a superb cueist. It goes through very

:55:35.:55:39.

straight. Which is not always the case for player that is so dominant

:55:40.:55:47.

with one eye. He is very dominant with his right eye, as you can see

:55:48.:55:51.

when he lines up and puts the cue down on his chin. Very dominant with

:55:52.:55:56.

his right eye and often when somebody is that dominant, they will

:55:57.:56:03.

cue up to the right of the centre of the cue ball when they feel

:56:04.:56:07.

themselves that are hitting centre and they come across to the left on

:56:08.:56:11.

the way through to actually hit centre where they thought they were

:56:12.:56:14.

aiming in the first place but he does not do that. He hits exactly

:56:15.:56:20.

where he is meaning to and the cue goes through ramrod straight and it

:56:21.:56:25.

is a huge advantage, especially on these cloths is so -- where it is so

:56:26.:56:37.

important. Just another 25 points away from winning this frame. But

:56:38.:56:44.

easier said than done. Those five reds near the left-hand side

:56:45.:56:48.

cushion. He needs a couple of good positional shots. Now he has the

:56:49.:56:56.

opportunity to bring a few into play but as Eddie Charlton used to say,

:56:57.:57:03.

never bring a red out when you are potting a red because you're not

:57:04.:57:13.

certain to be on a colour. And Eddie was right! He is on the colour but

:57:14.:57:20.

not good on it. I thought he would have known that, Eddie was

:57:21.:57:24.

Australian as well! I remember watching Eddie Charlton a number of

:57:25.:57:28.

years ago in the World Championship qualifiers against David Rowe, a

:57:29.:57:34.

former top 16 player, and Eddie played fantastic snooker, he just

:57:35.:57:38.

kept rolling in long balls and he hit everything plain ball. And what

:57:39.:57:45.

a sportsman he was. Yes, Eddie Charlton, a legend in the game.

:57:46.:57:50.

Meanwhile, what a tremendous pot on the black that was. I think these

:57:51.:57:55.

types of tables, where it is a bit scary to start using side, it would

:57:56.:58:02.

have suited Eddie down to the ground. The more plain ball shots

:58:03.:58:09.

you play these days, the better. If you use side it is at your peril.

:58:10.:58:23.

But he has taken these well, Neil. Colour and one more red required. He

:58:24.:58:32.

has got to avoid the kiss on the green here. And the did that. --

:58:33.:58:43.

heeded. 59 ahead, 67 remaining but when he pots this read there will

:58:44.:58:47.

only be 59 remaining and he will be 60 in front. Still a chance of that

:58:48.:58:53.

500th century. He timed that well with the rest,

:58:54.:59:11.

John, really got some action. And sometimes early in the match, when

:59:12.:59:17.

we saw him miscue, you get a bit worried that you can miscue again

:59:18.:59:21.

but he has obviously put it out of his mind. That was not a bad kiss,

:59:22.:59:25.

bringing an awkward red into play. A little bit awkward here. He is

:59:26.:59:47.

left-handed so he is able to play the pink.

:59:48.:59:57.

A little bit betwixt and between here. I suppose he can play the red

:59:58.:00:05.

into the middle and tried to disturb the one closest to the cushion but

:00:06.:00:08.

it looks like he is just concentrating on the pot.

:00:09.:00:15.

A little bit short of pace. And the brown goes.

:00:16.:00:31.

It just meant he could get a bit closer. He needs a fairly big

:00:32.:00:42.

bounce. This will test his cueing. He doesn't want to decelerate, push

:00:43.:00:45.

it through nice and straight and firm. Just overcompensated but it

:00:46.:00:54.

didn't matter and that break of 77 has given Neil Robertson 2-0 lead.

:00:55.:01:01.

STUDIO: He is in the mood, 3-0 up and that is what happened in the

:01:02.:01:07.

fourth frame with the players now a mid-session interval. Don't forget

:01:08.:01:10.

you can watch this blip on the red button and also the BBC sport app.

:01:11.:01:13.

This is what happened in frame number four. Neil Robertson with a

:01:14.:01:22.

break of 49. Noppon responded with a break of 48 but it looks like he is

:01:23.:01:30.

in the mood, John and Steve. And Noppon has not settled, he should

:01:31.:01:34.

have won that frame, he had a good chance earlier. But he didn't take

:01:35.:01:40.

it and he will have to go to the mid-session interval 4-0 down. And

:01:41.:01:45.

let's not forget that Neil Robertson was beaten in the first round last

:01:46.:01:50.

year by Michael Holt, 10-6. We have heard a lot of fans and pundits

:01:51.:01:54.

talking about who they fancy but not many saying Neil Robertson. He seems

:01:55.:01:59.

to have gone off the boil a bit, but he is a class player. Form is up and

:02:00.:02:04.

down and perhaps coming in under the radar is good for him. It was not

:02:05.:02:09.

the ago he made 100 centuries and it seemed like he would dominate but

:02:10.:02:13.

things can change in the sport. I remember him sitting in that very

:02:14.:02:17.

exceed talking about making the hundred of hundreds. He is what you

:02:18.:02:21.

would term a sleeper, not many talking about him no one thinks he

:02:22.:02:25.

can win and he has not had a great season by his own standards but he

:02:26.:02:28.

comes here fresh and he needs a couple of results and he can beat

:02:29.:02:33.

anybody on his data. And interesting, you look at his

:02:34.:02:39.

Crucible record, the won in 2010 at not that impressive, first-round

:02:40.:02:42.

exit on three occasions, to Michael Holt last time and Robert Milkins in

:02:43.:02:48.

90 13th when a lot of people fancied him and to Judd Trump the year after

:02:49.:02:57.

he won it -- in 2013. This venue does not necessarily suit every

:02:58.:03:01.

player in the game, it is so different as we saw at the top, how

:03:02.:03:05.

cramped and tight it is and every time you come here it is unlike any

:03:06.:03:10.

other tournament. It is like a shock to the system. And talking of former

:03:11.:03:17.

champions, Graeme Dott is breaking off and we can rejoin our

:03:18.:03:21.

commentators for our live maps, Ali Carter against Graeme Dott with Ken

:03:22.:03:23.

Doherty and Willie Thorne. WILLIE THORNE: thank you, Jason, you

:03:24.:03:37.

join us at an intriguing part of the match in the last session with Ali

:03:38.:03:39.

Carter adding it all to do. KEN DOHERTY: He is shaping up to

:03:40.:04:15.

have a go at that but he doesn't feel like he wants to take too many

:04:16.:04:23.

chances early on in this frame, trying to keep the pressure on his

:04:24.:04:30.

opponent. That is extremely careless. He will be taking it on

:04:31.:04:35.

now. The fact that it is nowhere near the cushion... He has a choice

:04:36.:04:40.

of two now, that was unbelievably careless. He has been very

:04:41.:04:48.

consistent into the middle all afternoon. Another one coming up.

:04:49.:04:51.

You expect him to get this. Just the wrong side of the blue. I'm

:04:52.:06:07.

not sure if the red at the back of the pack pots.

:06:08.:06:22.

What a shot this is. Fantastic, excellent shot. APPLAUSE

:06:23.:06:31.

And he has a lovely angle on this red. Worth another look. He can pot

:06:32.:06:37.

this and brush off the pack. A nice little nudge on the blue as

:06:38.:06:49.

well, that cue ball was running off into baulk. He has a nice angle on

:06:50.:06:56.

the brown. Will he go on the loose reds or back into the pack again? He

:06:57.:07:04.

needs a bit of luck and he hasn't got it. He was expecting them to

:07:05.:07:13.

split far and wide but it was like he hit a brick wall! He got no

:07:14.:07:23.

reaction at all. That was the explosion he was expecting.

:07:24.:07:46.

Has the yellow come to his rescue? By the look on the face of Graeme

:07:47.:08:49.

Dott, it tells of it has. -- it tells us it has.

:08:50.:08:53.

He can just about -- it's just about glanced past the yellow. Either side

:08:54.:09:03.

and it was a certain starter for Graeme Dott. Will he just play safe?

:09:04.:09:12.

He went for the pot but he stuck it up. Now a chance for Ali Carter. He

:09:13.:09:23.

needs a good break here just to get his momentum back and a bit of

:09:24.:09:26.

confidence. He started off very well in this afternoon session. But he

:09:27.:09:32.

lost his way a little bit in that last frame before the interval. We

:09:33.:09:38.

discussed in commentary that Ali Carter could have won all four

:09:39.:09:42.

frames before the interval and only shared them to Ball so he will not

:09:43.:09:45.

have enjoyed his cup of tea. He can get a bounce back in his step with

:09:46.:09:53.

870 odd break -- only shared them 2-2.

:09:54.:10:07.

He judged that nicely. He doesn't have too much work to do with the

:10:08.:10:21.

cue ball. But for the two read around the pink, almost every ball

:10:22.:10:26.

is pottable here. It is like he might set them up in the practice

:10:27.:10:30.

room just to get your arm going around the black. But there is a bit

:10:31.:10:36.

of a difference between the practice room and the pressure on him.

:10:37.:11:19.

Not too sure if he thought the blue might have been on its spot but it

:11:20.:11:25.

is well off it and that means he doesn't have the right angle but

:11:26.:11:29.

luckily he had a choice of reds to play for.

:11:30.:11:37.

The way he started this match, or this second session of the match,

:11:38.:11:44.

you would expect him to score heavily from these kinds of

:11:45.:11:45.

positions. Keep the noise down, please. Thank

:11:46.:12:00.

you. A bit of chatter coming from the other table.

:12:01.:12:08.

The players on the other table are out on the mid-session interval and

:12:09.:12:17.

the crowd was just settling back in all stop a beautiful view from the

:12:18.:12:21.

back of the theatre here at the Crucible in Sheffield. No place like

:12:22.:12:24.

it. He will be itching to get onto the

:12:25.:12:45.

black. He has a lot of cue ball movement here, a bit of a cannon

:12:46.:12:53.

into the pink could slow it down. He didn't play it, he knew he could get

:12:54.:13:00.

on three reds anyway. But he can win the frame without going into those

:13:01.:13:08.

two. I think he is just being careful here. He doesn't want

:13:09.:13:12.

anything to possibly go wrong. I think the mindset as well, the

:13:13.:13:30.

fact that, if he needed those two read out in the open he definitely

:13:31.:13:34.

would have played that shot that you mentioned. He has gone about these

:13:35.:13:37.

quite nicely. Now he has a choice. He can either

:13:38.:14:31.

try to get in between the two loose reds or try to make it a little

:14:32.:14:37.

cannon on the red directly above the black and below the pink.

:14:38.:14:48.

Just wants to play on the loose one. And he has played it very, very

:14:49.:15:05.

well. So, 36 is the difference. Red, black, red would be enough to leave

:15:06.:15:09.

Graeme Dott needing a snooker. He would ideally like to finish the

:15:10.:15:10.

frame from here. He says to Jan he might need the

:15:11.:15:36.

rest again. I think he will. Well, he's going to play it with the

:15:37.:15:37.

extension. Good shot. Good shot. Still needs

:15:38.:15:42.

the red. Yes, he would ideally like to get

:15:43.:16:00.

top side of the blue here, because he doesn't want Graeme Dott carrying

:16:01.:16:04.

on full snookers, he would like to keep him off the table, when the

:16:05.:16:14.

frame at one visit. Perfect. Now played a little slow cannon into the

:16:15.:16:17.

pink and the left-hander Richard go over the corner. -- and the

:16:18.:16:24.

left-hand red should go over the corner. And it does. So now a chance

:16:25.:16:29.

of a second century in this session. There is the blue. Didn't have to

:16:30.:16:49.

hit it that hard. Just judged the cannon very nicely indeed. This is a

:16:50.:16:54.

good response from Ali Carter. Graeme Dott will be a little bit

:16:55.:16:59.

disappointed. He was in first in this frame. And if we go back to

:17:00.:17:07.

that safety shot where Ali Carter opened all the reds, just missed the

:17:08.:17:12.

yellow on the way back to baulk, Snooker him over the red over the

:17:13.:17:16.

corner pocket. Subsequently, Graeme Dott made a mistake and left Ali in

:17:17.:17:24.

for these. He tried to pot it off the cushion. You don't blame him.

:17:25.:17:32.

Its fractions, isn't it? Of all the matches he has played at the

:17:33.:17:36.

Crucible, you could guarantee that three or four or maybe ten frames he

:17:37.:17:39.

would have won if the cue ball had just gone an extra inch. But you've

:17:40.:17:44.

just got to keep battling. Lots of check side needed to stay on the

:17:45.:17:49.

brown. Unless he plays it in and out of the black spot area. No, check

:17:50.:17:58.

side. Deserves a century. 25 centuries in the Crucible this year.

:17:59.:18:02.

I'm sure the record will be smashed. 86 is the record.

:18:03.:18:11.

How is the weight? Needs to slow down a touch. Very good. Well

:18:12.:18:20.

played. Very well done, Ali Carter. His back

:18:21.:18:36.

was right against the wall when he came to the table 8-5 behind. He

:18:37.:18:43.

replies with a century. He is playing a trick shot, I think this

:18:44.:18:46.

is very close. I think this is very close! Hello! Ali Carter played the

:18:47.:18:54.

trick shot. He will be delighted to have forced his way back into the

:18:55.:18:59.

match. He still trails by two, 8-6. STUDIO

:19:00.:19:02.

We said this could go right the way down to the wire, Ali Carter not

:19:03.:19:07.

giving up without a fight. Here at BBC Snooker we love our other sports

:19:08.:19:13.

of course, while we're here in we say congratulations to Sheffield

:19:14.:19:16.

United, congratulated to the Championship. Sheffield Wednesday

:19:17.:19:19.

could well make the play-offs in the Championship and even get promoted

:19:20.:19:24.

to the Premier League. There was a football flavour because the draw

:19:25.:19:28.

for a very popular world footballing tournament for under 14 still under

:19:29.:19:32.

16 is, some of the biggest clubs and teams in the world took place, 800

:19:33.:19:38.

players from the world's biggest football club participating in this

:19:39.:19:44.

prestigious tournament. Look at who they had pulling out the balls. Two

:19:45.:19:48.

snooker legend is, as it said in the local newspaper, Ken Doherty and

:19:49.:19:52.

John Parrott. Nice moment for you, John? Really popular tournament for

:19:53.:19:57.

all the youngsters. I got a message, make sure you give us a nice draw! I

:19:58.:20:04.

was under the cosh! But there are clubs from Manchester United to

:20:05.:20:07.

Houston Dynamo, Newcastle United, FC Basel, scour

:20:08.:20:13.

... Manchester United in that draw as well. Is it fair? I hope you

:20:14.:20:20.

signed all the disclaimers to make sure you didn't give eight

:20:21.:20:25.

favourable draw! Absolutely! Nice moment for you, Ken? Lovely moment,

:20:26.:20:30.

Jason. The oldest football tournament in the world, been going

:20:31.:20:39.

over 100 or so years, for under 14s and under 16s. Nice to see some of

:20:40.:20:45.

the referees there who we are used to seeing now at TV screens.

:20:46.:20:54.

Absolute pleasure it was. I said to John Parrott, probably the best

:20:55.:20:58.

chance of Everton winning something, that under 16 tournament, but there

:20:59.:20:59.

you go. I'm sure there will be lots of

:21:00.:21:10.

tweets coming in from Everton fans now after that comment. There is an

:21:11.:21:22.

Everton fan whose grandfather is 77 today, Joe Ryan, happy birthday,

:21:23.:21:30.

debuting during the snooker. I didn't know who you think is going

:21:31.:21:38.

to win this match, but... It's certainly a very high-quality match.

:21:39.:21:44.

Yeah, the only thing that has been missing is a Dott century really.

:21:45.:21:54.

His highest break is 74. He's played some really tight match play

:21:55.:21:58.

snooker. Every time he has got in, he has scored 40 or above. Ali

:21:59.:22:03.

Carter has been the better scorer of the two, but just losing the tight,

:22:04.:22:05.

scrappy frames. Graeme Dott held his hand up for

:22:06.:22:31.

being a little bit fortunate on his previous safety shot. Ali Carter is

:22:32.:22:35.

very fortunate there. Slightly thicker on that red and he would

:22:36.:22:38.

have left the cue ball in the middle of the table. There is a tempter for

:22:39.:22:44.

Graeme but he can't get onto a colour, so he won't take it.

:22:45.:23:09.

Well, he hasn't got away with it this time. The red is pottable into

:23:10.:23:16.

the right centre pocket. Just held up enough for the blue.

:23:17.:23:54.

Certainly didn't want to be this side of the blue.

:23:55.:24:12.

Played that nicely, through the gap of the yellow and brown. He's going

:24:13.:24:20.

to have to go in and out of baulk again, you feel, with this red.

:24:21.:24:38.

He would love to get onto the one to the right of the black. He can screw

:24:39.:24:44.

off the yellow in a straight line. Just looking to see if he can get

:24:45.:24:52.

onto that red. My colleague Ken Doherty has put a little circle

:24:53.:24:56.

there. If you can get anywhere near there, he is on to the red next to

:24:57.:25:03.

the black. And he has the one in the middle. He may decide just to play

:25:04.:25:06.

for the one in the middle. He has overrun it slightly but still

:25:07.:25:13.

has the one in the middle. Well, I left the circle up there,

:25:14.:25:46.

Willie. Maybe you might attempt to get up there this time. He's having

:25:47.:25:52.

a look at it now. He's got a nice angle to get there, just to play it

:25:53.:25:55.

off the side cushion with left-hand side. Let's see if he brings that

:25:56.:26:01.

black into play, he would have a chance of winning the frame at this

:26:02.:26:07.

visit. That's OK. He's got a choice of reds.

:26:08.:26:22.

Now, he must get on... He's just looking if there are any plants in

:26:23.:26:30.

the middle of the bunch, six reds. That one looks a bit close, the

:26:31.:26:32.

first one. Well, the bottom red pots below the

:26:33.:27:13.

black to the left. If he has enough angle, he can pot this red and then

:27:14.:27:17.

he really needs to get the backing -- get the black into play. Let's

:27:18.:27:30.

see, can he move the black? Oh, what a clever shot this is, if he gets on

:27:31.:27:35.

the black. Excellent, very well played. He knew he was going to go

:27:36.:27:45.

through the black there. Just had to get the pace right. I suppose he

:27:46.:27:49.

could have got into either corner pocket. He definitely played to get

:27:50.:27:53.

on the black, though, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt

:27:54.:27:54.

that he played it into this pocket. Can you clean the white, please?

:27:55.:28:26.

Sure. In some ways, it may be better to

:28:27.:29:14.

play for one of the baulk colours here, rather than risk playing a

:29:15.:29:18.

little stunt up for the blue. If you underhit it it is not in your favour

:29:19.:29:24.

this time. Only two loose reds on the outside of the pack. Now, he's

:29:25.:29:29.

going to need to go into them at some time. And he's got the perfect

:29:30.:29:35.

angle to do just that. I just wonder if he's going to take that chance

:29:36.:29:36.

now. Are those two reds a plant still? Or

:29:37.:30:08.

is he playing for the loose one to the right? He might be able to make

:30:09.:30:18.

the plant. Yeah. A little bit of distance between the two, but he is

:30:19.:30:24.

taking his time. Oh, didn't hit that into the middle

:30:25.:30:36.

of the pocket, and because of it, he has lost the cue ball. Now going

:30:37.:30:41.

back to having a look at the plant again. We always say in commentary,

:30:42.:30:51.

go into the pack early, but he still going to need to go into the pack at

:30:52.:30:55.

least once here and he has not got the chance to do it off this ball,

:30:56.:30:59.

so he has only got one more chance now unless the plant is on. When

:31:00.:31:07.

you've got a chance to go into them when it is unmissable to go into

:31:08.:31:12.

them. You tend to see what you think is the right shot and nine times out

:31:13.:31:16.

of ten, the top players play it. As Ali got this plant on or not? -- has

:31:17.:31:35.

Ali got it? Excellent shot. Held the cue ball nicely. Another plant to

:31:36.:31:53.

the bottom left-hand corner pocket. He's come round to have a look at

:31:54.:31:54.

those two reds. Just one more red after this blue.

:31:55.:32:34.

I'm sure those two reds below the pink plant into the corner pocket.

:32:35.:32:38.

Almost a dead set plant. Let's have a look. There you see it. That is a

:32:39.:32:51.

handy little bonus. Just the red required.

:32:52.:33:00.

APPLAUSE Very good. We can see a two plant

:33:01.:33:16.

century here. What a response this is from Ali Carter. A break of 104,

:33:17.:33:23.

and 72 and counting here. Another chance of a century here. Yeah, at

:33:24.:33:34.

8-5 it looked like his head had sort of gone down a little bit. But he's

:33:35.:33:36.

certainly got it back together now. Now then, does he have an angle or

:33:37.:34:20.

does this top red of the two pass into the corner? It's very tight,

:34:21.:34:24.

isn't it? He's got the perfect angle here, as long as he doesn't kiss the

:34:25.:34:29.

pink full in the face, half ball either side and he would be pushing

:34:30.:34:37.

both reds into play. Anything but full ball would be fine. Amazing.

:34:38.:34:41.

What a shame there's going to be no century. This could go anywhere...

:34:42.:34:54.

Get in! Oh! A very good break of 88 from Ali Carter. That is two in a

:34:55.:34:58.

row now. There's only one in it. Aim. Still leads by eight frames to

:34:59.:35:04.

seven. Almost ending that frame with a little exhibition shop. You can

:35:05.:35:08.

just seek by his eyes and his body language and his demeanour, he means

:35:09.:35:13.

business, doesn't he? Whoever gave him a team talk at half-time did a

:35:14.:35:16.

good job because he has come out and made they century on that

:35:17.:35:20.

contribution. He's scoring. Graeme Dott has just gone out to try to

:35:21.:35:23.

compose himself, and I don't blame him. Steve, a very different Ali

:35:24.:35:28.

Carter to the one we saw yesterday evening in the Crucible. That is the

:35:29.:35:31.

fascination of the World Championship. When it gets to the

:35:32.:35:35.

three session matches you get even more of a storyline unfolding. Just

:35:36.:35:39.

because a player might be in form in one session doesn't mean that will

:35:40.:35:42.

continue, especially overnight. The other guy goes into the match and

:35:43.:35:46.

has a bad session, it doesn't mean he's going to continue that way, he

:35:47.:35:50.

has a chance to dig himself out of a hole and probably has a bit less

:35:51.:35:54.

pressure on him today, Ali Carter. He can play with a bit more freedom.

:35:55.:35:59.

He's a great fighter, that is one of his great attributes, but he is up

:36:00.:36:04.

against another great fighter, a clash of two people that do give

:36:05.:36:09.

100% all the time. It's a dream comeback because it is two frames

:36:10.:36:13.

won in one visit. If you have two graft, it is hard work. But two

:36:14.:36:20.

frames won quickly. When you're scoring quickly, making breaks of

:36:21.:36:24.

104 and 88, suddenly you are in the groove and you must think mentally

:36:25.:36:27.

and psychologically, maybe this is my chance? Yeah, you've got momentum

:36:28.:36:31.

on your side and the other thing from the perspective of the other

:36:32.:36:35.

player, the frames slip away quicker that way. It's out of your control

:36:36.:36:39.

and the panic stations set in as such. If you are playing and the

:36:40.:36:43.

frames take 45 minutes, you've got more time to sort of regroup. Apps

:36:44.:36:49.

that is why both players have gone out. Ali Carter pleased to go out of

:36:50.:36:52.

the room first, perhaps let his opponent stew in the chair. Graeme

:36:53.:36:57.

Dott thinking it is time to go out of the arena, perhaps regroup and

:36:58.:37:02.

look in the mirror and give himself a "Come on". As the boys said, two

:37:03.:37:06.

of the greatest fighters in the game. Needs a bit of a help from the

:37:07.:37:10.

yellow here, that is not a good break. He can see this red. It is a

:37:11.:37:13.

very poor break. Well, you have to say, a bit unlucky

:37:14.:37:59.

to find the pocket, but I wasn't quite sure about the choice of

:38:00.:38:06.

positional shot. I can't work out what he was trying to do, play into

:38:07.:38:14.

the pink to open them up or Mr Pack altogether? I would say Mr Pack to

:38:15.:38:20.

be honest. But he didn't go up or down the table, neither hold it for

:38:21.:38:25.

the black nor go up for blue or baulk colour. -- he was trying to

:38:26.:38:31.

miss the pack. I think he was trying to avoid the pack down the left-hand

:38:32.:38:35.

side as opposed to the right-hand side. Anyway, done.

:38:36.:38:53.

Two reds, he's coming round to have a look, a possible plant here. Two

:38:54.:39:01.

reds look in a bit of a line and if not, he's going to try and make it.

:39:02.:39:06.

We saw Ali Carter get a couple of plants in the last frame. Ali Carter

:39:07.:39:15.

never came down to have a look on this side of the table and that

:39:16.:39:18.

could have been a mistake. It is a mistake. That plant was always

:39:19.:39:29.

there. Ali didn't see it. I wonder how much it's going to cost him.

:39:30.:39:37.

A bit of value here going into the bunch, actually, from the brown.

:39:38.:39:44.

That's what he's played. If this turns out right, it could be a

:39:45.:39:49.

frame-winner. Amazing, isn't it? Just when you ask for a little bit

:39:50.:39:55.

of fortune... He has broken the pack perfectly, unfortunately for him,

:39:56.:40:03.

but a bad second kiss. Similar to the first frame after the interval,

:40:04.:40:06.

he played the brown into the green pocket and it just stuck in the

:40:07.:40:12.

middle of the pack. This time he came out. He has a half chance of a

:40:13.:40:21.

red into the left centre. Or into the top left-hand corner pocket.

:40:22.:40:22.

That's a bit risky. Nice to see a former pro with Ali

:40:23.:41:11.

Carter. I saw Ryan Morgan here, very steady player, not on the circuit

:41:12.:41:22.

any more, in Ali Carter's corner. I played Brian many a time in the

:41:23.:41:28.

amateur days, the programmes. He was a professional review years. -- for

:41:29.:41:38.

a few years. Qualified airline pilot now, I believe. Is Ali qualified

:41:39.:41:47.

yet? I did know if he can fly any of the big planes yet. Oh, what a great

:41:48.:41:51.

shot. APPLAUSE

:41:52.:42:00.

I never fancied flying myself, can, do you? He's certainly flying today,

:42:01.:42:02.

isn't he? Another plant on, here? Wow no

:42:03.:42:40.

holding back there. He knew he was going into other

:42:41.:43:01.

reds. But took a chance. I tell you what, I know he hasn't had a look at

:43:02.:43:06.

the black, but the black does pot into this bottom right-hand corner

:43:07.:43:09.

pocket. The pink pots into the right centre. It's one of those, though,

:43:10.:43:17.

Ken, isn't it? If you get it, you're proud of yourself, but if you missed

:43:18.:43:20.

it, you go back to your seat with disappointment. This is tough. It's

:43:21.:43:24.

one of those where you think, should I or shouldn't I? As I said, he's

:43:25.:43:34.

been excellent at little pocket pots. This is one he would love to

:43:35.:43:43.

get. -- the middle pocket pots. No. Graeme Dott, one.

:43:44.:43:48.

The only problem with that, once you miss it, your opponent comes to the

:43:49.:43:55.

table thinking, he's twitching a little bit.

:43:56.:44:35.

A little unfortunate to have got the cue ball on the side, a similar

:44:36.:44:45.

scenario to Graeme Dott's pink, very risky and Ali does not think it is

:44:46.:44:49.

worth the chance, he is going to play safe.

:44:50.:45:20.

We heard the big size from Ali Carter. He's unhappy with that shot.

:45:21.:45:29.

It wasn't very good one. Cue ball should be tighter on that cushion.

:45:30.:45:39.

Given Graeme Dott a chance, here. He is going to feel unlucky because if

:45:40.:45:44.

he plays the red in the middle he will be cueing into reds. I don't

:45:45.:45:49.

think there is a gap through the reds, I think he's going to have to

:45:50.:45:53.

take a chance through the reds and hopefully play onto the black other

:45:54.:45:58.

pink. He can't play with confidence here knowing that he's going to get

:45:59.:45:59.

onto the black other pink. He came down... Oh, very good

:46:00.:46:22.

effort. Trying to get into that circle. He may have had a

:46:23.:46:30.

possibility of that black. Green ball. Graeme Dott, one. Ali Carter

:46:31.:46:43.

will be delighted that that poor safety shot has only cost him one

:46:44.:46:44.

point. This looks an excellent safety shot.

:46:45.:47:17.

Very well played. Just needed because the brown. Because Graeme

:47:18.:47:19.

has the same shot he can play Hill. -- he has the same shot that he can

:47:20.:47:38.

play here. This is the first, what we would

:47:39.:49:03.

consider a scrappy game, in this session. They have been very good,

:49:04.:49:08.

the opening few frames of this session. And this looks pretty good.

:49:09.:49:17.

Just a fraction too hard. Excellent pot. Didn't get the hard

:49:18.:49:53.

kiss on the brown, we can see it again. And he's going to be in a bit

:49:54.:49:57.

of trouble here. The only thing about these raids,

:49:58.:50:18.

close to the pink, -- these reds, shouldn't be leaving too much, pink

:50:19.:50:20.

and black tide up. That is so unlucky to go around the

:50:21.:51:16.

back of that red. He thought when he had hit it that he had played the

:51:17.:51:20.

perfect shot and somehow it has got around the back of that red. Will

:51:21.:51:27.

Graeme risk playing for the pink? Oh! You are joking! Obviously there

:51:28.:51:33.

was a kick but surely a little stunned short would have been

:51:34.:51:39.

sufficient? You could hear the sound, it was a very dead sound.

:51:40.:51:41.

Unlucky. He was unlucky, Graeme, there, he

:51:42.:51:58.

doesn't fancy this. He will be happy. Looking at the

:51:59.:52:15.

middle pocket there. Where is this cue ball going to

:52:16.:52:42.

finish? Will it give Ali Carter a chance? It is not too bad.

:52:43.:53:00.

I think it is worth taking the one to the right of the pink spot, he

:53:01.:53:07.

can play it quite hard of the cushion. Didn't have to put any side

:53:08.:53:17.

on the cue. A tough one it is, though.

:53:18.:53:28.

Decided to roll it in, the same scenario as on the yellow. Can he

:53:29.:53:34.

get back to where Any sort of angle on the blue, if he

:53:35.:54:55.

could get close to the red just above the black, so he is pretty

:54:56.:55:02.

straight on the blue. He could force it down and that is an excellent

:55:03.:55:13.

shot. It almost balances the cue ball. Again, he has to make sure he

:55:14.:55:28.

is top side of the blue. Break at these reds around the pink and

:55:29.:55:32.

black. Got a good angle this time on the blue. Needs to go again. Same

:55:33.:55:37.

shot. And that is careless, it must be said.

:55:38.:55:50.

Might just have to take it in and take the red in baulk.

:55:51.:56:15.

He will be making sure this time of getting the right angle on the blue,

:56:16.:56:23.

doesn't have to do a lot with the cue ball here, to get nicely on the

:56:24.:56:33.

blue. Decided to play for yellow, still got to do well to get up to

:56:34.:56:43.

this end of the table. Too soon to risk playing, cannon Inc into the

:56:44.:56:49.

pink would be ideal but he might play for the loose red. He has

:56:50.:56:56.

played the cannon and missed it by a mile. A much harder shot from the

:56:57.:57:08.

yellow. I think the mistake was made. A good chance missed from Ali

:57:09.:57:20.

Carter. Just took the paint off that red! A

:57:21.:57:44.

fine player, as they say. Does he go all out for the pot,

:57:45.:59:00.

cannon into the middle of the three reds and bring everything into play?

:59:01.:59:15.

I think this is worth the risk. He has gone all out for it,

:59:16.:59:18.

unfortunately kissed the wrong ball. It was a good effort. Maybe we'll be

:59:19.:00:36.

able to put it, does not have to have too much to do with the cue

:00:37.:00:48.

ball. Very tight but the fact that he can play it to the right side

:00:49.:00:54.

will help the part. 15. Good shot. When the frames go this close all

:00:55.:01:23.

these valuable points... They mean much more, particularly when you've

:01:24.:01:33.

got colours safe. This has been an excellent break. 15 ahead. Black

:01:34.:01:43.

will put him ahead. Did not attempt to get behind the

:01:44.:02:09.

red, a little bit of a surprise but that is such a big target, pink and

:02:10.:02:18.

black here, the bit more prudent, playing a safety shot. Trying to get

:02:19.:02:24.

on that red. What would you have done? I think

:02:25.:02:49.

even if he had had a go at the red stem the cushion and it had stopped

:02:50.:02:54.

over the hole it would have been very unlikely for Ali Carter to win

:02:55.:02:59.

the frame at that minute. And if it had dropped and he would have needed

:03:00.:03:03.

a snooker. A strange choice but if he had got the snooker it would have

:03:04.:03:08.

set up the good shot. So strange, this game, sometimes, you can see

:03:09.:03:12.

things differently. Ali Carter has played this pretty well. Too risky,

:03:13.:03:14.

the cut. Ali feels that Graeme has been

:03:15.:04:42.

fortunate that he got half of it right. If he plays this right he

:04:43.:04:55.

could get a snooker back behind green or yellow. Played and a bit

:04:56.:05:02.

too hard, needs a bit of luck, hasn't got it. It is portable, he

:05:03.:05:12.

could use the pink. To hold the cue ball for the black if he wishes. Or

:05:13.:05:22.

he could avoid pink and black altogether and screw around the

:05:23.:05:26.

blue. He has to take the putt on, though. Good part. Nowhere is the

:05:27.:05:38.

cue ball to finish. Excellent shot, Graeme come into the

:05:39.:06:08.

centre. Four. Six. Ali Carter, very disappointed. Oh!

:06:09.:06:35.

Well, hold on. Paul Dunne. Graeme Dott, six. -- hold on. 26 points

:06:36.:06:46.

ahead, 25 left on the table but a chance. That was to put the frame

:06:47.:06:53.

beyond doubt. And of course, pink and black, a

:06:54.:07:10.

big, big target for snookers as well. Where the brown is I'm not

:07:11.:07:15.

sure I'd want to put the green. I think I would rather keep the green

:07:16.:07:25.

on the table, yes, like that. Foul. The concession comes, is it time to

:07:26.:07:29.

be disappointed, Graeme Dott is just one away from victory. STUDIO:

:07:30.:07:36.

Dramatic stuff. We'll come back to their briefly. Let's show you what's

:07:37.:07:40.

happening on the other table. Neil Robertson, 2010 world champion, is

:07:41.:07:46.

taking on his opponent from Thailand. He has just reached a

:07:47.:07:56.

career milestone. He has just made another career century, the first

:07:57.:08:07.

player, currently leading his opponent five friends to one and

:08:08.:08:10.

that much is currently live on the Red Button. The BBC sport app and

:08:11.:08:19.

the BBC sport website. Brilliant stuff from Neil Robertson. One

:08:20.:08:24.

milestone. Phenomenal achievement, you are an elite company when you do

:08:25.:08:31.

that, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, for people have made

:08:32.:08:37.

that number of centuries. I'm not to sure you've got there. No, I am

:08:38.:08:45.

nowhere near there. If you can help us out, get in touch. We think it's

:08:46.:08:49.

John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Neil Robinson.

:08:50.:08:55.

And dropping like a lift down the lift shaft, I think outside the top

:08:56.:09:01.

ten now. Your number 11! I've just been told in my ill. We've got the

:09:02.:09:08.

same year! Let's go back to this much. But bit of anger from Ali

:09:09.:09:14.

Carter, perhaps understandable. Graeme Dott has the game at ball and

:09:15.:09:18.

thinks he has won the frame, how many times have you seen it, player

:09:19.:09:23.

drops his guard, you saw him biting his cue, he knew well he'd left him

:09:24.:09:28.

a chance at her Ali Carter to play such a bad shot has really let him

:09:29.:09:32.

off. You can see the frustration there. Ali Carter has completely

:09:33.:09:38.

misjudged his safety shot. And quite quickly whacks it in. He's given up

:09:39.:09:44.

the frame. It wasn't total anger, he didn't smashes and on the table but

:09:45.:09:49.

he will be fuming. And the path of the cheeks and Graeme Dott. He could

:09:50.:09:54.

have ported it, game over, he could have put himself in a good position.

:09:55.:10:00.

He's got a two frame lead. Here we go, Graeme Dott needs only one more

:10:01.:10:05.

frame to knock at Ali Carter. Back to the commentators. COMMENTATOR:

:10:06.:10:11.

Sank, lads. One more frame. -- thanks, lads. It has been a highly

:10:12.:10:17.

entertaining match so far, this man only needs one for a place in the

:10:18.:10:21.

last 16. He is a former champion, of course. Wow. Hold on. Might be in

:10:22.:10:41.

the middle. Has it open the path for the black into this bottom left-hand

:10:42.:10:53.

corner pocket? We think so. Just about. Not open before that. Ali,

:10:54.:11:02.

you have to get your putting boots on! -- potting. One. Any time he's

:11:03.:11:20.

gone in and around the pink and black he has been very proficient

:11:21.:11:21.

indeed. He is going to be at his best now.

:11:22.:11:46.

One chance and it could be it. Not quite sure what he can go on

:11:47.:12:13.

here. Try and hole for the red? Second, please, Ali. Asking for a

:12:14.:12:42.

bit of time, the pink goes directly in line.

:12:43.:13:02.

Didn't get the desired kiss on that red, wanted just to clip it quarter

:13:03.:13:30.

ball so he is closest to the same pocket when he put the black but he

:13:31.:13:34.

is OK. He's got this thread into the right centre. May be able to get top

:13:35.:13:38.

side of the blue from this. Perfect angle into the pack. Watch

:13:39.:14:12.

the cue ball here. Excellent split. How is your luck? It's not bad.

:14:13.:14:23.

Actually cover the pocket. The cue ball was held beautifully. Ali

:14:24.:14:32.

Carter having a quick look, he can play the middle read from the three.

:14:33.:14:39.

Settle down, thank you. Would be a bit reluctant to pay for it first

:14:40.:14:44.

time, would you go for the blue? I think is going to hold the black and

:14:45.:14:47.

he's pretty confident, there's plenty of room. It looks tight from

:14:48.:14:54.

that camera angle that this plenty around there. -- but there is plenty

:14:55.:15:06.

of room around there. 30. He would rather be dead straight on this

:15:07.:15:10.

black than the angle that he has got now. He can definitely see the

:15:11.:15:14.

centre of the pocket, can't he, at the right-hand jaw. Straight behind

:15:15.:15:21.

it, as can rightly says there's plenty of room, he's given himself a

:15:22.:15:24.

bit to do with this black that he's got. Could and should win the frame

:15:25.:15:27.

now. Yeah, purposely taking this red to

:15:28.:15:43.

free up the pocket completely. That's OK, he's going to be on

:15:44.:15:48.

either yellow or brown here. Now, he's got to judge this very

:15:49.:16:27.

well. Doesn't have a lot of room for error here. Yeah. Didn't have a lot

:16:28.:16:38.

of room for error. Had to judge and screw back in between the two reds

:16:39.:16:42.

for the black into the opposite pocket, and he's not on the black.

:16:43.:16:47.

Come in... Well, that was a big mistake, wasn't

:16:48.:17:02.

it? Putting a baulk colour safe, he is 43 points in front. Important to

:17:03.:17:08.

get it on the side cushion, and he's not done. Should Graeme get the

:17:09.:17:14.

chance at some stage, the clearance is on. Should have definitely put a

:17:15.:17:20.

baulk colour safe there. Played that shot with a bit of disappointment

:17:21.:17:23.

that he didn't get on the black. And now he wishes he would have put

:17:24.:17:53.

the yellow safe, Ken, doesn't he? Yeah, absolutely. No insurance now.

:17:54.:18:04.

What does Graeme do here? Does he hold the spot? Not sure about the

:18:05.:18:10.

pink spot. Doesn't really want to hold the spot, he would like to be

:18:11.:18:15.

on the red to the left of the black while keeping the black on its own

:18:16.:18:18.

spot, of course. That's OK. Yeah, this one is a bit tricky. He

:18:19.:18:38.

can play it plain ball and just miss the kiss on the red on the cushion

:18:39.:18:41.

and still get onto the black, or he can play it through the gap of the

:18:42.:18:45.

two reds on the cushion and still get onto the black. Played for the

:18:46.:18:49.

gap. Now a little cannon on the pink and the next four reds and colours

:18:50.:18:54.

should be straightforward, so he would be right back into the frame.

:18:55.:18:59.

It's all about those two reds on the cushion. Now the frame and possible

:19:00.:19:03.

match is there for the taking. Well, still got a bit of work to do,

:19:04.:20:02.

as you said. But you mentioned that yellow, how much will that play a

:20:03.:20:08.

big part in this frame? The yellow should have been safe, or at least a

:20:09.:20:13.

baulk colour safe. Oh! He nearly missed that Lou. He

:20:14.:20:39.

was up off the shop. -- that blue, he was up off the shot.

:20:40.:21:18.

Oh! Well... Any sort of half ball kiss on that red. So, Ali will get

:21:19.:21:38.

another chance. He is back in the frame, Graeme Dott. A good 45 break.

:21:39.:21:57.

Yes. Tap of the table from Graeme Dott, it was a good shot from Ali

:21:58.:22:06.

Carter. He's got to be careful here that he doesn't give him a chance.

:22:07.:22:08.

Nice shot. Well played. REFEREE: Switch your phone off,

:22:09.:22:25.

please. Not easy to play safe of the one

:22:26.:23:08.

that is on the cushion, which is the only one he can see, because he

:23:09.:23:13.

would be pushing the red towards the right-hand corner pocket. It's got

:23:14.:23:17.

to be as thin as you like, this one. And that is pretty good. Excellent.

:23:18.:23:25.

There's a gap between them, and now Ali has the same problem.

:23:26.:24:29.

Well, this is the first pottable chance for Ali for quite some time.

:24:30.:24:36.

If it goes in, he quickly goes favourite to pinch the frame.

:24:37.:24:44.

Unlucky. And now the yellow ghosts date!

:24:45.:24:46.

I don't think Ali can play the little slow roll up to get the cue

:24:47.:26:37.

ball in behind the brown. He could play it quite firm and just get the

:26:38.:26:41.

white to stunt on and off the cushion and in the jaws of the

:26:42.:26:46.

pocket and the red would spring up towards the top end of the table.

:26:47.:26:49.

Just playing the thin cut by the yellow. Got to make sure he gets

:26:50.:26:54.

behind the yellow, and he has done. But will this red pot? Does this red

:26:55.:27:01.

pot? It definitely does. That was very casual. What a chance he has

:27:02.:27:10.

given Graeme Dott here. Yeah, good pot. And nicely on the

:27:11.:27:23.

black as well. Couldn't get close to the red. The

:27:24.:27:50.

yellow may be slightly hampering him. This is a chance he should

:27:51.:27:56.

never have had. A very casual shot Ali Carter played. Will it be his

:27:57.:28:00.

last shot of this year's championship? It may be, if Graeme

:28:01.:28:07.

Dott can get on the yellow from this lack. -- from this black. Ali Carter

:28:08.:28:14.

may have played his last shot. Well, Ali has one chance. This is

:28:15.:28:37.

not ideal for Graeme Dott here. 18 ahead, he needs yellow and green.

:28:38.:28:42.

This is tough, Willie. He doesn't have the angle. Yes, I was going to

:28:43.:28:48.

say the only way he can guarantee getting on the green is playing off

:28:49.:28:53.

two cushions. But he won't play that Kameni will just screw back and try

:28:54.:28:56.

to have a green to win the match from tight on the cushion.

:28:57.:28:59.

Just pop the yellow and then you have got every chance of frame and

:29:00.:29:08.

possibly match ball on the green. He tried to make something happen

:29:09.:29:12.

there. Ali Carter, you've been given a lifeline. I don't think the yellow

:29:13.:29:23.

does pot. I've seen Graeme's hand go up to apologise. It never did help

:29:24.:29:27.

me when they did that! Fractions. Only fractions, he could

:29:28.:29:46.

have had a full ball snooker. Oh! That wasn't the best shot he's

:29:47.:30:05.

ever played, Graeme Dott. He's going to leave Ali Carter a possible

:30:06.:30:06.

chance. He may not take this on, the yellow.

:30:07.:30:21.

The cue ball would be going close to the left middle, so he may just try

:30:22.:30:24.

and play the snooker, here. He is on this yellow, but another

:30:25.:30:45.

ball to the left and he would have had him snooker. That is twice. It

:30:46.:30:50.

sometimes happens like that. There is a gap between the pink and the

:30:51.:30:54.

black, he can save this virtually plain ball and have the green to the

:30:55.:30:59.

opposite corner. There is the yellow. He has got the green may be

:31:00.:31:04.

in the middle. I'm not sure he played it to there but he's

:31:05.:31:07.

absolutely perfect. This is frame and match ball.

:31:08.:31:21.

He hasn't missed any, not many into the middle. And that was frame and

:31:22.:31:33.

match ball. What a match this has been. Ali Carter had a couple of

:31:34.:31:42.

centuries in this second session, but it is the 2006 former champion

:31:43.:31:47.

who is going to go through into the last 16, Graeme Dott has beaten Ali

:31:48.:31:55.

Carter to a place in the last 16 in this year's Betfred World Snooker

:31:56.:32:00.

Championship. He wins, ten frames to seven. Well played, Graeme Dott.

:32:01.:32:03.

STUDIO Look at that from the Scot, Graeme

:32:04.:32:07.

Dott. Delighted to be in the second round. As Ken says, former Crucible

:32:08.:32:12.

champion, another one through to the second round. He is a fighter, and

:32:13.:32:16.

all-round match player of the highest quality, and he never gives

:32:17.:32:20.

in. When his game is their scoring committee is a match for anybody.

:32:21.:32:24.

Terrific killing from Graeme Dott. He will take in a three frame lead

:32:25.:32:29.

from the first session. -- terrific hewing.

:32:30.:32:31.

He is a match for anybody on his day. If he gets a bit of confidence

:32:32.:32:38.

behind him, which I think has been up and down in his career, all of a

:32:39.:32:42.

sudden, no one is really a favourite against Graeme Dott, he's such a

:32:43.:32:47.

great all-rounder. He is disregarded in many ways, but he is a superb

:32:48.:32:50.

player. Let's hear from Graeme Dott, he is with Rob. Congratulations.

:32:51.:32:57.

From 4-0 and 6-3 it all looked smooth but you must have been

:32:58.:33:01.

feeling a bit edgy when he pulled it back to 8-7. I was always expecting

:33:02.:33:07.

him to come back, he is too good a player to win the match against

:33:08.:33:13.

10-4, although you are hoping you do! How big was that frame to

:33:14.:33:17.

re-establish a cushion of two frames? The frame when the white

:33:18.:33:22.

went in obviously helped. The next one may did good but I'm just happy

:33:23.:33:28.

to get over the line. What is it about this venue that seems to

:33:29.:33:32.

continually bring out your best? You're into the second round, I

:33:33.:33:35.

think that is now ten times you've made the last 16 will stop whatever

:33:36.:33:39.

is going on elsewhere at other tournaments, you always perform

:33:40.:33:44.

here. I honestly have no idea. I've spoken about it with some of my

:33:45.:33:47.

mates and try to work it out and we have no idea. Other than long

:33:48.:33:51.

matches, I have no idea. I've had times as well when I've had

:33:52.:33:55.

nightmares here but all in all I feel pretty comfortable here. Any

:33:56.:34:00.

preference, Barry Hawkins or Tom Ford? Just hopefully it is a 10-9

:34:01.:34:04.

but I'm not really bothered either way. Congratulations, Graeme.

:34:05.:34:11.

Cheers. That match between Barry Hawkins and Tom Ford starts at 7pm

:34:12.:34:17.

and Hazel will keep you up-to-date on the red button in our lovely new

:34:18.:34:21.

red button studio. In many ways, Rob was absolutely right in asking

:34:22.:34:25.

Graeme Dott, what is it about this venue? Because he seems to thrive

:34:26.:34:30.

here. He can play in best sevens and best of nine because he is a

:34:31.:34:34.

top-class player but I think it has suited his all-round game and his

:34:35.:34:37.

percentages and the way he plays the game, I think the longer matches

:34:38.:34:40.

suit him. I don't think it's coincidence because of that. It's

:34:41.:34:48.

funny, he says he wants it to be a long 10-9, he forgot to mention

:34:49.:34:53.

re-spotted black! Looking at his record company won it in 2006,

:34:54.:34:58.

Graeme Dott, and reached the quarterfinals in 2011. After that he

:34:59.:35:05.

was a runner-up in 2011 -- 2010 but it is littered with first round,

:35:06.:35:09.

second round and losing in the qualifying round. That is the way it

:35:10.:35:15.

is. When you come here for that best of 19 you feel like things can go

:35:16.:35:18.

wrong quite quickly and you can't recover them. With the fact that

:35:19.:35:23.

there is a 25 frame match in the offing afterwards, you tend to think

:35:24.:35:27.

it's a short one and you can get panicked in the first round. With

:35:28.:35:34.

Ali slightly losing his rag, did that have any bearing on the final

:35:35.:35:40.

frame? No, that is come and gone, Jason. You've got to concentrate on

:35:41.:35:46.

what is coming. It's only fractions but it was noticeable that Graeme's

:35:47.:35:51.

tactical and safety near the end was a little bit more advanced than

:35:52.:35:56.

Ali's. A couple of shots Ali blade were a bit loose. He shouldn't have

:35:57.:36:01.

been giving him the cut into that corner pocket. It was a bit of a

:36:02.:36:05.

loose one the shot he played. There a lot of players that, if they can

:36:06.:36:09.

get a run on past the first round, they can go on and do some damage.

:36:10.:36:14.

Graeme Dott is one of those players? So is Ali Carter but the trouble is

:36:15.:36:19.

one of them has to lose. Let's bring you another bit of action from the

:36:20.:36:23.

other match taking place today, 2010 world champion Neil Robertson taking

:36:24.:36:28.

on Noppon Saengkham. We showed you kneel getting his 500's

:36:29.:36:32.

-- we showed you Neil getting his 500th career century just a few

:36:33.:36:39.

moments ago. We're going to take you to frame seven where they are locked

:36:40.:36:41.

on 47 points apiece. COMMENTATOR: He desperately needs to

:36:42.:36:45.

win this frame for his confidence. Didn't play that very well. No, he

:36:46.:37:04.

got a bit too much stunned into that, didn't he? I wouldn't expect

:37:05.:37:12.

him to miss this yellow, but here at the Crucible, anything is missable.

:37:13.:37:17.

So you try to make it as easy as possible. But right in the heart of

:37:18.:37:25.

the pocket. He's not quite recovered the perfect position just yet.

:37:26.:37:47.

Once again, too close to the cushion. The longest frame of this

:37:48.:37:54.

match. Coming up to 27 minutes and it's not quite over yet. He still

:37:55.:38:01.

needs brown and blue, and he's not going to be nicely on the blue. But

:38:02.:38:09.

fair play to him, made certain of the brown, and now this difficult

:38:10.:38:14.

blue for the frame. Blue to go 18 ahead with their team remaining.

:38:15.:38:21.

Building himself up for this one. -- with 13 remaining.

:38:22.:38:42.

Well, that was his chance. Will he get another one? Just didn't have

:38:43.:38:51.

that good cue ball control on the yellow, green or brown. That's the

:38:52.:38:56.

problem and that is why he was left with that tough blue. Blue, pink and

:38:57.:39:02.

black needed for 6-1. Oh! It's not there, and he's left

:39:03.:39:16.

it! That's the problem, playing at that pace. If it doesn't go in,

:39:17.:39:26.

every chance you can leave it. So, this blue for the frame.

:39:27.:39:34.

Well, as I say... This is the Crucible Theatre. Take nothing for

:39:35.:39:52.

granted. But I didn't see that one coming.

:39:53.:40:12.

Noppon Saengkham will be struggling now. If he had won this week frame,

:40:13.:40:38.

he could have set his sights on the next two frames and only even been

:40:39.:40:40.

one behind. But not now. Well, you can see from Robertson's

:40:41.:40:58.

reaction, he thought it had gone but he got another chance and he didn't

:40:59.:41:02.

make any mistake on that one. He is now five frame is clear. He leads

:41:03.:41:04.

6-1. A quirk of the draw means that this

:41:05.:41:11.

afternoon we have seen two people in fine form, Graeme Dott on the other

:41:12.:41:19.

table and Neil Robertson, it was Dott who Neil Robertson beat 18-13

:41:20.:41:24.

in the Crucible final. Neil Robertson is wasting no time

:41:25.:41:27.

whatsoever this afternoon, an average frame time of just 18

:41:28.:41:31.

minutes and 17 seconds, and Robertson is storming away with this

:41:32.:41:36.

one. Coverage continues on the red button and the BBC Sport website and

:41:37.:41:39.

app. Terrific stuff from him this afternoon. It is but his opponent

:41:40.:41:46.

hasn't really pushed him, only to breaks over 40 and that won't cut it

:41:47.:41:49.

at the World Championship. A look ahead to denied and one of the

:41:50.:41:53.

things we're looking forward to, if they get on, Judd Trump and Rory

:41:54.:41:57.

McLeod. Judd Trump has got an injury, we could be looking at a

:41:58.:42:00.

real upset here. He's really up against the wall. He's got to win

:42:01.:42:04.

three frames and he's got to come in cold as if it is the start of

:42:05.:42:08.

another session, and you never know how the session is going to go

:42:09.:42:13.

anyway at the start. Perhaps there is pressure on from Rory's

:42:14.:42:17.

perspective but I don't think so. He was really struggling with his back,

:42:18.:42:20.

wincing when he was playing. That will be in the back of his mind as

:42:21.:42:24.

well. He's got it all to do. Coming under a different table as well

:42:25.:42:29.

tonight. Apparently it's a shoulder injury, so we wish Judd a speedy

:42:30.:42:33.

recovery. Hazel will be back at seven o'clock on the red button.

:42:34.:42:38.

Don't forget to get in touch using the hashtag BBC snooker. Anything

:42:39.:42:42.

you want answered from our studio guests. Ryan Day taking on Xiao

:42:43.:42:57.

Guodong, and we will round up at 1135 -- 11:15pm. See you later,

:42:58.:42:59.

goodbye for now.

:43:00.:43:02.

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