Second Round - Higgins v Tian UK Snooker Championship Extra

Hello. It is round two of the United Kingdom championship here in your's

Barbican Centre. The man of the season so far in snooker, John

Higgins, at the age of 40. He has won the titles in Australia and

China, taking him to 28 world ranking titles in his career. That

is level with Steve Davis. Somewhere to go to catch Steve Henrich. He is

aiming for a fourth UK title. His second opponent was China's Tian

Pengfei. He has had some success. Wedding you sit back, relax, and

enjoy it is 11th frame is match. -- why don't you.

It is the inform John Higgins who breaks off in this opening frame. He

has played so well this season. He is up against Tian Pengfei. All the

way from China. A lot of Chinese qualify this year for the UK title.

-- qualified. Just about OK. Or is he? May be that red goes into the

corner. A chance for him. That is a pretty good safety shot

from John. A lot of people will not have seen

Tian play. He certainly has a couple of scalps under his belt. He beat

Ronnie Sullivan in the 2010 China open. He can play the game. Fell off

the tour and then back on again. So difficult these days. There are so

many players. A certain Neal Robertson fell off the tour once

upon a time. He came back to be one of the best of all time. You have to

be dedicated to go off the two and still want to compete. That is what

he is doing. -- tour. Looks like he is tempted by the one

in the middle. If it goes in he is on the black. You can see the

confidence, John Higgins. It is amazing. He was a little out in the

cold in the last few years. Is it just down to practising again?

What a mess after that build-up. He concentrated on the cannon and

missed the pot. It is quite easy to do. An unexpected chance for Tian.

He needs to pull up a little bit or he will have to take the green. On

the blue. The green at might be too straight to get nicely onto the red

that is next to the cue ball. That is why he is looking at the brown.

The green SNE Cea pot. -- is an easier. It is almost straight. A pew

pauses in that queue action. A little bit different. He does have a

wonderful? -- queue action. May be going into the pink in the

middle. This has not worked out well. A poor shot.

That was very good cueing from Tian. That was far from easy.

A tricky spotting situation there. No room. The pink goes on the

black's spot. The pink and black we now can play.

This is a perfect angle. If he goes in that little cluster of three just

to be left of that red he will open them far and right. He will be

getting one in the right-hand corner and one in the left-hand corner. He

has played for the loose one. He may regret that. If he does not get a

good angle on the pink you will have missed a chance. He could not fail

to be on the red. Let us see what happens.

Pot the blue and into the bench. A little more difficult at this time.

Pretty close to the cushion. That is the problem. He has been very

fortunate. The way the game is played today it is an all-out

attack. When you have a chance to go into the bunch you have to go into

them. Every chance of getting behind the

blue this time if he can avoid the middle pocket. Just sneaking off the

red. He has played it twice a cross to get the cue ball over there. --

across. A bit risky to trying to get in behind the blue off one question.

Not the best safety shot. That is far too thick. It has worked out to

Tian's advantage. He has to be careful not to send the

cue ball into a pocket. Has he dropped nicely on a colour?

Certainly did not play for the blue. But he is on the blue. Power needed

to get back to this end of the table. Should be getting up around

this end of the table. This red is not a certainty.

There were a couple of shots only on in this frame... Black off the spot.

Missed it by a long way. He has not settled yet. He is obviously very

excited by the fact he is playing very well. There is nothing that

breeds lack of confidence than missing easy balls like that. They

were two of the easiest all season. He just hit that far too hard. Did

not time it well. That red along the cushion not a lot of use. Not unless

he can get himself on the pink. It is the one in the middle he is

looking at. Not that bad. They red to the right

corner. I cannot see how Tian will get nicely onto a colour. A few of

those reds will go. Taking the left-hand red, so as he can get

himself back down on a colour. The middle one would go as well. Will he

get a favourable kiss? He has to take full advantage of this. He has

seen his opponent miss a few easy shots. If he can get the first frame

under his belt that would certainly fill him full of confidence.

That will help his confidence as well. You don't often see them

wobble and go across on the opposite pocket on these tight tables.

This is a great chance. A delicate touch on the other red. It will

leave him in perfect position. Most matches this season have been

the best of seven frames. Not on this occasion. It is the best of 11.

He will not be too perturbed. He will be perturbed about how he has

played in this opening frame. He has missed three simple shots.

Had not seen too much of Tian. He has a few pauses be for the final

pause -- before. That is unusual. The key is delivering the cue in a

straight line. APPLAUSE. Not many players queue

like that. Already 43 in front. Just this at along the cushion. The first

frame will be his. He must make sure this last red, he

does not want to miss this. He is a past master from winning frames I

snookers. That cannot go in, surely. He is having a look at the

scoreboard, Tian. He is having a thing about it. He concedes the

opening frame. -- John. Tian will be delighted.

Might just be able to get through to this red. But look at the black. A

red either side of it, tying it up completely.

I could not quite tell from the angle is that just pulled up a

little bit. He has covered it. What it did do, that last attempt,

it has cleared the black into one corner pocket. It has opened the

game up. Maybe try and get in behind the black, if he can, off the red.

Even if it is a snooker is no problem. He will come of the side

cushion and nestle into the bunch. -- off. I do not know what he is

looking at four. Off the side cushion and into that pack and he is

perfectly safe. That is a dreadful shot from Tian. It was such a wide

target. He cannot believe what he has just done. It is up there with

one of the worst shots we have seen. The target is six inches. Did not

even play its low enough. -- it slow.

John, what have you done here? Snooker the himself on the pink.

Might be able to bridge passed the red to get to the blue, but... That

tells you he does not fancy any of the colours. Can he see enough of

the black? Just flicking off of it. Still has not settled. If you did

not know any better you would think John Higgins is having a terrible

time and trying to get his confidence back and trying to win a

match. He has won so many this season. Three tournament victories.

Left a pot on here as well. Not the greatest he has played. A little

surprised he pushed the boat out. Funny

That is the last thing John wanted to do, pushed the black off the

cushion. Four reds. Might be a few more before the frame gets sorted

out. have to concentrate on the pot and

hope he gets have to concentrate on the pot and

there or not. I tell have to concentrate on the pot and

What he did not want to do was You would expect John to make

enough. He didn't miss a couple in the opening frame. Just forget about

the black. He has the blue and pink to concentrate on.

He is reluctant to take the pink this early in the frame because it

will be tied up. Ideally would like to get top side of the blue and play

can enter those four reds. That is why he is not taking the red to get

onto the pink this time. A good weight. Needs to get nicely on the

blue. -- white. Just between the brown and red. He

will leave the other easy red. Does not matter if he kisses that. He

still has the white where he intended. That little kiss was a

bonus for him. Superb queues, John Higgins, always

has been. A player that got to be world champion and world number one

in six seasons. Is it a weakness in his game. Very few weaknesses in his

game. White reminds me of Steve Davis. He gives 110%. That is what

some players do not do. I would have John Higgins in my top four players

of all time. He is 40 years of age and playing as well as he has ever

done. Quickly forgot about the three easy

shots he missed. He is working on the blue at the moment. He knows the

pink will be put out of commission. He will take one of the reds away.

Ideally the one just above the four reds. That will free the pink in the

right-hand corner. This is what it is all about. You have to seize the

opportunity. He is doing this now. He does not mind taking the pink at

some stage now. He will not be tied up.

I think you might have had a slight kick off. -- he. You're of a six

time world champion. A great tactical player. Ray is doing

fantastic. If it's raining, he plays snooker, if not, he plays golf. His

hair is a bit spiky. Let's see whether the pink will still be

there. APPLAUSE One Reg to throw -- red.

That was unintentional, but he is 66 ahead. He would have liked to have

carried on and played the ball up here, but this is very tough.

APPLAUSE Can't cue any better than that. Just streaking and around the

middle pocket. -- stretching stroking it. Enough to double the

scores at 1-1. He avoided the cavern, if he can get

the blue back on its spot, it would help. Hasn't quite got his timing

right yet, Tian. I've watched him a couple of times this season, he gets

into the ball. Trying to win the frame, sometimes not as aggressive

as he should be. They all look as if they are sitting nicely, but they

are blocking each other into both corner pockets. Having to give it a

little bit more thought. The good thing about that shot, he

cleared the pink. He can take it in a moment 's time. -- moment's.

Taking the red into the middle, rather than the one in the corner.

Better position. I think the red just below the pink will pot into

the opposite corner. APPLAUSE Either pink or blue, he's

go a little bit closer to the site. He might be better planned for the

blue rather than the pink. Playing for the blue, he could keep it two

or three inches off the cushion, if not more. Otherwise, the pink would

be difficult. Certainly better off playing for the blue. Unwell to keep

the white in play -- done well. A key shot coming up, he will have

to counter the other red. Not guaranteed to get nicely onto the

pink. That was always going to be a problem for him, trying to force his

way through. Trying to finish on the pink but it didn't work out. Quite a

decent advantage with the black tied up. Would have been a bonus to get

behind the green. Slightly thicker than he wanted. He has played at a

little bit hard. The might be a gap between the brown and blue --

there. A free shot, he went cavern into the black and should be able to

get around the back of The reds. -- the reds. A long way off. Good cue

ball, but did not even get the red in the jaws of the pockets.

If this is dead straight, he will attempt to play a bit of a screw

back. Very dangerous, but he can run through. Interesting angle he's got.

He has hit the wrong side of the ball. I think he just had a little

bit of side on the cue ball that he didn't intend. That is one of the

keys, the secret is, on a straight shot you have to hit the cue ball

right in the centre. Whether it is top or screw back. Getting a bit of

unwanted side is the sort of thing that can happen. If the white hadn't

have gone in, it would have been left on the table. The White goes in

the deep. The safety play for both players has not been good so far

today -- white. The referee asking Tian to top his shirt in -- tuck.

Must be a new rule. Have a look at this shot. You mentioned earlier,

one of the great safety players. That was a prime example. A triple

here. APPLAUSE I can't see him not leaving

a pot. I wonder if he's playing the one to the left of the black. It

looks like it. Could be under frame. Maybe it should be. He is in

front by 42, the second favourite. He made a nice break to secure the

second frame. APPLAUSE A terrible shock, he might

have won in the middle but he doesn't have the pace of the table

just yet -- have one. Should be OK, but has to keep it as easy as

possible. You couldn't ask for the balls to be sitting any better. He

has every chance of going on to take this frame. Not always a long pot

that gets you into the frame. The next snooker. It is almost

impossible to hit one and get it said. -- safe. He can only sit and

hope that the green will come to his rescue. Looking at the point --

points, this could be the saviour. He will have worked out that he is

going to need the difficult green. He would have to get perfect on the

yellow if he gets that far to give himself a chance of getting on the

green. Might even, he will have to go up the table. That angle. He can

hope for the pink. A key shot coming up. How he leaves himself on the

yellow. Doesn't want to be straight. If he doesn't get on to the green.

He had gotten angle, was able to force it across the table. Will need

the brown as well. It's one of those you would like to have it straight.

You can see the pop it in your eye line. If he just while sitting, it

makes it -- if he just wipes it in, it makes it more difficult. Very

good. You can tell he is growing in confidence. A few mistakes, starting

to look very good. Doesn't matter about the blue, if he

misses. Awkward, he just can't find a place to rest it. Not quite over

yet, barring a snooker John Higgins will take a 2-1 lead. Can he get

himself a good angle? Get the snooker? On the pink? Make sure you

get a nice angle either side so you can play a half wall and get it

behind the black. -- ball. Not the best place to put the cue

ball when trying to get a snooker. Behind the black. Only needs the one

snooker. He should concentrate on leaving a debtor angle than this.

Could it even attempt to snooker where he left the cue ball --

couldn't. Trying to get in behind the black. Just thought about pace,

if he gets it right. The angle of the cue ball... Obviously still the

big favourite. You usually need two or three snooker 's. -- snookers.

Getting behind the black. A half chance to get it behind the

black. A lot more difficult to play. John Higgins rolling the pink over

the corner. A check here if he hits the right

side of the pink. He could swing the white around the ankles. -- angles.

Doesn't look as if he is putting any side on this. Trying to keep it

safe. Trying to push the black over the corner. A bit of a surprise two

shot ago when John failed to put the pink in the left-hand corner pocket.

I would like the black away from where it is sitting, in a good

position to get a snooker. If the black is in the middle of the table,

it is tough to get a snooker behind. Where it is, if you get the right

angle, not in a bad spot to get in behind. From this position, not so

much. Much more difficult to get in behind

the black, close to the question. Do a chance but not as good. -- still.

That is why it was further away. That should just about wrap it up.

Having said that, a few safety shots cueing to finish this frame off.

Good cueing from John Higgins who lost the opening frame. He took the

next two, and now leads. I know Stephen Hendry favoured John to do

well this year. Has he left a path to the red in the left corner? No,

too tight. Never gain advantage with that kind

of shot. Making it easier for your opponent. It is what we call a

containing safety shot. Waiting for an attempt to get back into a

position where he can get to a snooker. He can't do it at the

moment. He has to suffer for a while. That's what you're looking

for, yet the white as close to the cushion as possible. Very

difficult. Still got a possible rollup available. I just wonder if

he's looking... No. Flexing his arm. I thought he was going to try to

create some backspin. Won't have to move too far, back in

the same position again I would feel. It was key that he got tight

on the cushion. Got to gain the advantage. Away from the cushion,

John can generate enough backspin. You can see him raising the cue.

Looks a little bit more comfortable. A little concerned in the opening

frame when he missed a few. That is good.

Straightforward this time for John. Those two reds. He could leave a

couple for the middle pocket. Might be able to play the Wandown the left

corner pocket. Off the side cushion. Just nestle in behind that. If he

does not fancy the two reds between the pink and black spot. I think he

will try to get the white up near where I mentioned. A very good shot

indeed. That is very tight, isn't it? White

past the brown. When you are so close to it is difficult to judge

it. John is having a good look over his shoulder it looks good to me.

The next one will be better. Good putt that. I cannot see an easy

safety shot to put John Higgins in trouble. -- pot. The only way

Keating get an advantage is to get the white tight on the cushion

directly behind the brown. -- he could.

Has he taken this on? Takes a pot on here, I will be very surprised. I

think it was a little bit of both. Half pot, half safety.

Nice attempt there. I don't see anything that pots in the middle.

They all seem to be covering one and other.

He would like to get the cue ball close to the yellow. If he can sneak

him on that red, which is trying to do... -- snooker. The only problem

if he plays that red, it is not going anywhere.

That is why he has just played to roll up to it. A spot of bother

now. Always tricky, that type of shot. It can roll off new slightly.

It did there. -- off on it you. Tian is smiling a way to himself. Maybe

it did drift slightly. The last frame, it was not as bad as this

situation. He was in a much tougher predicament, made one mistake, and

it cost him the frame. That is why he is giving this plenty of

thought. At first glance, the two reds, just above the black, it could

rest on those. If he over or under hits it could be a problem. I cannot

see an easy red to play. He has problems. That is why he is taking

so long. Even the cushion to flick of a red, that does not seem to be

on either. It has got to be so precise. That is nowhere near. Once

again, he has to go and sit down and see how many John Higgins will pot.

It is like these young players, they practise and practice the breaking,

but they have to spend more time on realising what these cushions do. It

was a big target to finish. You cannot afford to hit them on the

left-hand side. So you favour hitting them fickle or on the

right-hand side. That is to hit them on the left-hand side. So you favour

hitting them fickle or on the right-hand side. That is two shots

he has played in the safety department that has not been good

enough for the level. Just the way the reds are, you are

not playing from one specific red, you are giving yourself a choice of

three possible reds. Watch the white as it comes off the cushion. He is

leaving reds to the left corner and reds to the right. Those are bit

harder, one to the middle. -- goes a bit.

Although he has not been at his best and had a shaky opening frame, he

has had a break of 60 and a break of 63. He is getting better with each

frame. You are looking at a player who has

won 28 ranking titles. Equal with Steve Davis now. Stephen Hendry has

had 36. It is great to see him at the age of 40 back playing like

this. It becomes a more difficult game. You have battle scars, having

lost a number of matches. You start to wonder if you can ever do it

again. I think in-out has a table at home. -- he now has. It makes a

difference. And they think he changed cues a couple of times. The

one he has now he is comfortable with. That is important, getting the

right cue that suits you. It is not like golf or tennis where you can

just pick up or change a racket. You can get two cues made identical and

they will play differently. Is getting close to the 600 century

breaks. There is an excellent chance of making the century. He is one of

the game's great safety players. Tried to bring the pink into play to

make it easier to get the clearance. What a change. It takes Joe Higgins

into the interval. The interval is over. John Higgins

broke off. Left a slight chance of a pot. Do not think he will be playing

it. It is not bad, as it has turned out.

But he could have left all sorts on. I think he thought he had a

chance of getting on the black. He would have been awfully close to the

black. I thought he would play the dump a shot, as we call it.

Unfortunate not to leave the red on that he played for. Tricky. It has

turned out now to Tian's advantage. He is thinking that he would not be

John Higgins in the tactical department. Maybe he will go for

more of his shots. Not quite hard enough for the blue. To take the

yellow. The easiest ball to get on to his next red.

Mentioned in the opening frame about some of his wins throughout his

short career. Against Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ryan David. Last year

he defeated Neal Robertson at the German Masters. He was a runner up

in one of the European two events -- tour. As we mentioned, falling off

the tour and getting back on again does some doing.

This did not quite have enough angle to pot the pink and bring the red

into play. Don't think he can screw round the back of the black. It

looks thin. He may be able to do it. The cushion seems to be quick. He

has to be careful not to lose their white. By that I mean get it towards

the left-hand side cushion. It takes a bit of getting used to

watching Tian's cue action. He has two or three pauses before that

final pause. It is certainly different. You think is going to hit

it there. Then he stops again. The key is delivering the cue in a

straight line. It is terrific to see so many good

players coming from China. That win in the final of the World Cup, John

Higgins, Stephen Weigh, they lost to a 17 and a 15-year-old from China.

That is incredible. 15 years of age. I think he was the same player that

beat Shaun Murphy in an event in China. I think he also beat Neal

Robertson, the Champion of champions. Also Thailand. There are

a couple of players from there. I was impressed with the one who won a

tournament. Looks like another Jimmy White, he hits the ball so good.

Left-handed, like Jimmy was. He is a fabulous player.

Looks to have run out of reds. It is essential he gets a good angle on

the black. Not a great pack to go into. Two good shots on the trot.

Has he got the angle? It is offstreet, but he will have to power

it a little bit. -- off straight. Even then, it was difficult to

generate enough pace and spin to open the reds. The angle he got on

the black was not what he intended. That would have won him the frame if

he had a nice bit there. He knows, against John Higgins, the game is

far from safe. As it turned out, it is a terrible

shot but it might have worked to his advantage. He has knocked the blue

to a safe position. It is one of those occasions where the poorer

shot works to your advantage. The shot he is playing might open

the pink. He has to get a good cue ball to open the game up a bit. He

did not leave the pink -- move. John coming around to have a look. See if

he can have a go at a red-back and get himself onto the black. If he

stays at the right side of the table, not easy, there are a couple

of reds in the way of getting onto that black. He has played it well.

Kuyt that beautifully. The chance for the counter-attack. -- cued. If

he plays a plain-ball he does not get the position he got there. John

Higgins is favourite to win the frame now with where the balls are.

This would hurt Tian Pengfei as he knows he should win this frame.

Depends what colours he takes here as to whether he will need the blue

that was accidentally knocked into a safer position. John might be able

to score enough to leave Tian needing a snooker when they get to

that stage. There are an awful lot of bolster be potted before that

situation -- balls to. As we mentioned, he had a little

shaky start in the opening frame. He is starting to motor.

He could get nicely back onto the black again. Does not want to be

straight. He could have played that a little better. He wanted that

white further off the cushion. A little bit careless, that. As you

can see, now he has to Forsett. -- force it. That is no good. We'll

have to play the smirk Enow. He would have wanted to have clinched

it. -- snooker now. We will see how he plays the escape

from the snooker. He has not once got away with it. It is not about

hitting it, it is about getting it safe. That is dreadfully

unfortunate. It was a good escape. Tian is smiling. But how unlucky was

that? Took the chance, puts him 18 in

Florence. Trying to put the blue into play. He will be disappointed

he didn't play the brown. Now it is difficult to hit. I think he will be

playing the shot. There is no way for him to get onto the blue. It

will be a big advantage if he can knock it in, even if he doesn't

finish on the blue. It would leave him 18 in front.

Not an easy situation for John, got to be a wee bit careful.

A bit lucky, the way he played it. The double-kiss. Going back to his

seat with a little smile. Massive fluke. Still well into the game, 18

behind. Played that pretty well. Good shot from Tian. Even on an easy

escape, you're never sure whether blues going to finish up. -- Blue's

you just hit it and hope for the best. The referee cleaning the cue

ball. This is a chance. Got to cue this perfectly. Not easy. Will he

risked a double? Easy to play a snooker behind the luck. Might take

a double on to secure the frame -- black.

APPLAUSE Safely in the middle pocket. All looking very good for

John Higgins. The pink as well. Tian had a chance, was a bit unlucky.

Higgins grabbed his chance. In the lead, 4-1.

You mentioned he came out looking to be a bit more aggressive, he has a

chance here. Very good, I'm lucky. Pledge to drift past the pink. Still

got a pink he could pot in the middle. Not straightforward at the

moment. Slightly hampered with a few reds. Played that well, delightful

shot. A good run through to leave himself on the black. I think he

knows that this is a must win frame. Down against John Higgins,

you wouldn't give him much of a chance. Finished a bit straighter

than he intended. Still got the red to the right, he could screw back of

the side question and out onto it. You can see some reverse, as it hits

the cushion and spins to the right. Didn't get the side. Full got to put

a trace of side on it. A big margin for error. Callous. Even if he

thinks it is not onto plate, you could put a little bit of sight to

make sure. He needed that white behind the yellow.

Very close to being the perfect safety shot from John Higgins. He

must get a good weight this time. A bit better.

APPLAUSE There is a path around the black taking him into the left

corner. Should be able to avoid hitting one of the other balls.

Nicely played. Good chance, he has to take full advantage. If he can

get it to four - two, he still might have a chance. -- Seattle Seahawks.

Plenty of reds to -- play for. Leaving the black into

the left corner. Just have to be a bit careful, but should be OK.

Nicely played. A lovely shot to see. It is hard to play. You have to

practise it for quite sometime. A lot of stun run-through is a played

in the lineup. That is where you put six reds between the pink and black.

Just try and practice your break the thing without disturbing the red.

You have to pick them off. Good practice routine for break-building.

This is where he has to keep full concentration. To the stage where he

was in the previous frame. Trying to open the reds up. Nothing to disturb

him. Back in perfect position now. open the reds up. Nothing to disturb

him. Back in perfect position open the reds up. Nothing to disturb

he is a player who will do well in tournaments. Not

he is a player who will do well in breaks. Already got ten this season.

Could make it 11. breaks. Already got ten this season.

strongly favoured. He must have played at least eight is done

through shots in this break, their's and Ottawan -- eight stomp

through the back -- stun through -- and there's another one. Just one

more key positional shot. Could do with an angle on that road. Let us

have a look what angle he has got -- red. Could just about get it off the

cushion. Did not fancy that. Outshot kind of moves to the red, has he got

the angle to do it? We will find out shortly. -- that shot. I think it

will pass the blue, not the yellow. Have to cut it to the middle. It

would be nice if he made a century. APPLAUSE

You can imagine how good these players are in practice. It is like

a job of work, practising. Up to eight hours a day. They would not

miss in practice. It's the ones who can take that to the tournament

table that get the success. It has been a superb effort. Especially

after the disappointment of the previous frame. Saw the white

disappear into the top corner pocket. Needs to gather his thoughts

and make that century. Free. -- lovely. He is getting right back

into this match. Well done to Tian. He fell behind after the frame, but

he played so well. A good job the yellow is where it

is, he knows he is sure to have some sort of pot on it.

Didn't use that cannon nicely. Can't expect to get near the cushion.

Could play the pot in the middle, a bit fraught. He would not really

have a great shot. Very thin. A terrific cut to the middle pocket,

got the perfect angle to the red and pink. Just caught the side. It makes

all the difference. Hitting the side of the red rather than full on. You

have to be extremely careful here what you do in this safety shot.

Playing down the right-hand side, kiss on the green or the brown. A

bit of trouble if he misses the kiss on the brown. Wants to get the red

two up from the pink. Got to get through the gap between the green

and brown. If he kiss as those, he could get a pot in the middle. This

is not straightforward. -- kisses. Not too sure about the way he played

that. I thought he would have played it thicker. Noise in the crowd, John

Higgins turning around to have a look. That is why it was such a poor

safety shot. You can't afford to play a bad safety shot against John

Higgins. In a couple of shots, he could leave himself on the pink. It

would be perfect to open the -- bunch up. Hasn't got the angle

this time, he will have to play for the blue. Unless he can come off the

side of the bunch. Just off the side of the blue. Have a look around.

Always worth having a look. That is what he is doing. He could hit it

with a bit more pace. A red that goes. The one above the pink.

Nothing wrong with that choice, he can open the reds. Plenty of room

for that one. Going to be perfect on the pink. He thought he would be, he

is still OK. Slowly but surely getting close to a position where he

feels he can win the frame. Plenty available. Whatever happens, should

get a sizeable lead. Not sure about this one. It has kept

travelling. That's good, got right down the side of the pink.

Completely mishit a shot. -- that V3 reds are awkward. One will go

into the middle pocket. A little triangle of reds. A bit of work to

do to seal the match. If this one goes to the middle pocket, it will

be the end of the match you would think. It must be tight. Played

beautifully, the case was fine. He can screw back for the black or the

pink. Can't leave anything on. Brilliant, well done. Didn't quite

get enough on the reverse side. Still OK in the middle. That's

nearly popped out. It looks like the end. It looks like a comfortable win

for John, but there were a few frames that Tian could have won.

Yes. We talked about it in between frames. He looks very capable in all

departments. Could have easily won at least two

more frames. Can he finished with a century? Apart from the opening

frame, where he looked a bit edgy, everything else has been pretty

good. Solid stuff. APPLAUSE He has not really given any

impression that he would not be one of the favourites to win this

tournament. It would be great if he could win the UK championship at 40

years of age. Generous odds. 12-1. I think he was higher than that before

the tournament started. Take a bit of beating with this sort of form.

Safely through this match if he can get a century. He will only have to

make one more century to get into the 600 centre break club. There are

only about two players in that. Absolutely superb! Completing the

match with 103. Taking him to the second round. Good win for John

Higgins, he only conceded three frames in his first two matches. 20

more snooker coming your way from 1pm on Sunday. -- plenty. You will

be able to access it via the BBC website and the red button. We will

be on BBC Two at 5:25 p.m.. Could it be before that, depending on how

things go at the crucial Davis cup match in Belgium. We will catch you

at some point, in the meantime, sleep well.