Third Round - Bingham v Ebdon UK Snooker Championship Extra

Hello. We are at the last 32 stage of snooker's Betway UK Championship

and on Extra tonight we are going the feature a man who is the

reigning world champion Stuart Bingham and a man who wore the crown

13 years ago Brad Ebert. Student is struggling a little bit to live up

to what was his greatest achievement of his career in May, but, Peter at

45 years of age, still going strong and still very much in love with the

sport and he came into this match at 1 clock in the afternoon having only

completed his second-round match against Dominic Dale at 1:30 the

previous morning. Did he have much left? Well, yes, was the answer.

Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor found out.

UMPIRE: thank you. Brad Ebert to break. Brad Ebert did win the toss

and he's elected to break off. -- Peter Ebden did win the toss and

he's elected to break off. It should be a pretty good break off. The

current world champion Stuart Bingham against the current world

champion Peter Ebden. Peter is away - and he's spotted something on his

glass. He got a fresh glass there. Great days to pick between both

players, in fact Peter has won six times against student's five wins.

They are very evenly matched. You have to say on the last couple of

years form Stuart Bingham would be favourite for this match. He had a

tough one -- he had a tough one on his hands here.

Looks like Peter Ebden can get through the gap. At least I think he

can. Perhaps not. He would have liked to have been

able to take the one that is nearest the pocket, but the other red is

slightly in the way. Or is it? Maybe he can just pass it and sneak this

in. Yeah, he could. A bit unlucky with the kiss, really. But he

couldn't really control the cuable path, so a very missable brown here.

There is an opening colour. I tell you what, if he takes the brown on,

Steve, there is a chance he could finish on the red next to the black

because he won't counter into the blue on the way across the table.

No. But if he misses it, he presents Stuart Bingham with a very nice

opening chance for the frame. A tough shot.

He's just dropped it dead wait, but still a good pot, as Steve said.

He's still a red to the right corner. Had he played it with much

more pace he could have dropped it on the one closest to the black. In

a couple of shots time he will be trying to get onto that one and then

he will be freeing the black up. Imperative he gets the right side of

the blue on this shot. UMPIRE: 6. Nicely struck. A little

bit unfortunate that it is going to be awkward cueing. Blue ball. Just a

fraction - I think it was OK there. I can see that distinctive black

plastic feral that Peter Ebden uses, as opposed to more urge brass feral

at the end. The plan for that type of feral is it throws a ball off

less when you are putting side spin on. Any time you play a shot with

side spin a cue ball skirts away from the line of the -- squirts away

from the line of the cue. The plastic feral doesn't push off so

much. Ite

UMPIRE: 90. I haven't seen Peter play for a

little while. He seems to have changed his stands. He's always

played with a -- stands. He's always played with a bent back leg but he

has a wider stands and his right leg seems to be much more of a side-on,

but perhaps he feels like he gets more solidity. Ore solidity.

UMPIRE: 25. Standing with his hips a little less square to the shot than

I remember him a few years back, at the very least. Meanwhile, he

underhit that. He wanted to be straighter on this red for the left

corner. If he plays a canon onto the other red, not guaranteed to finish

nicely on the black. All about the cannon here.

Just about and just about on the black here. He's started off very

APPLAUSE Fantastic judgement of pace here. I

would imagine this table is playing faster than the outside table he

played his match on yesterday. UMPIRE: 33.

Make no mistake about it, Peter Ebden, one of his greatest strengths

is the mentality side of things. He really is so focused. I have never

seen a player, in all of my years in the game, that focuses as much as

Peter. He puts everything into every single shot. His powers of

concentration are quite incredible. Yeah. Obviously, his reputation

proceeds him as being a slow player and -- precedes him as being a slow

player and tactical player and deliberate player, but that belies a

huge amount of talent. I would go as far as to say, the most talented

slow player you have ever seen in the game. If he chose to play at a

paster speed, it would be very easy for him to do so, but he likes to be

in control at all times these days. That is a little unlucky. He can

still cut the one into the left of the pink, but he played that very

well. Had he got a good split he would have been guaranteed with

taking the opening frame with that 49-point advantage. He can still pot

this. Can he get past the pink? Surely not. He can.

Oh, that is a bonus. He deserved that, but it looked a bit tight.

What a start from Peter Ebden! He's been very clinical so far. Even

though it is the best of 11, first frames are so often vital. A nasty

kick there. Awful quick. Destroyed the backspin on the cue ball. --

awful kick. Destroyed the backspin on the cue ball.

APPLAUSE UMPIRE: 57. It was a relatively

straight pot at speed, so it didn't affect the path of the black, didn't

miss the pot, but still dried the cue ball path. He should be able to

pot this, though. Once again, judged the pace nicely.

Looked a bit jaby with the wrist. But, a bit of pressure on the shot.

A couple more balls and he is over the line. A great start from Peter

Ebden here. He shot. A couple more balls and he is over the line. A

great start from Peter Ebden here. A flick on the red perfect. There is

the difference 65. UMPIRE: 65. So this red and black or

pink has got the first frame under his belt. Every possibility of

starting the match with a century break. Wouldn't that be something?!

UMPIRE: 66. He's made plenty of centuries in his career, 347, in

fact. Such a wide stance these days, wow! Oh, was that a kick as well,

strangely enough? I am not sure. UMPIRE: Peter Ebden 66. It is hard

to see. APPLAUSE

Looked like he overhit it. Well. I am not sure what happened there. I

tell you what, it was frame ball. Terrible. He could pinch this frame

now, could student. We know he is in fine form. He made that magnificent

143 break in the last round. If it wasn't a bad contact,

sometimes not obvious on a hard shot, it was a sign of not being

able to get over the line, which was not a nice feeling for Peter Ebden.

Stuart Bingham, in his last match, was presented with a similar

opportunity in the first frame, which he took so easily, as that one

red down in the bottom half of the table that needs some work to be

done. Perfect. What a great shot that is.

UMPIRE: 6. The only problem is he has got to stay on the black. If he

takes the pink, he will only be able to fire then. You can see 50 behind

with 51 on the table. Can he play this and hold it for to be black?

No, he's played it with a lot of side to get on the black.

UMPIRE: Stuart Bingham 60. That is the than he missed that. As soon as

you put side on the ball, you have got to allow for judgment when you

are making contact with the object ball. Especially when you add a bit

of weight to the cowboy iting an extension on, even a small

extension. -- wait to the cue, by putting an extension on, even a

small extension. So a reprieve for Peter Ebden and even though he

hasn't converted that, it is now very difficult for Stuart Bingham to

get enough points as the balls are currently situated. If he gets back

up for the black, pink off this shot, it will be a bit special.

UMPIRE: 1. If he takes the blue, he will need a snooker. He has got to

take the pink. Even then he will still only be able to fire -- tie.

And advantage Peter Ebden strongly. Tie -- tie. And advantage Peter

Ebden strongly. Well, he is on the red, but of

course he needs blacks. He's got to play the rescue into the pink. --

rescue into the pink to hold the cue ball. Shouldn't be that difficult.

All. Shouldn't be that difficult. It shouldn't be that difficult.

He could hold it without. Very nicely judged. Crewing into the pink

would have been better in that it had the better angle, but perhaps it

was too wide to screw into the pink. I would be leaving the white in such

a way that he can then weigh a snooker. All of a sudden, even

though Peter Ebden made a break of 66 and should have secured the

frame, it is anyone's frame at the moment. If this comes in behind a

colour here. It is OK. He tried to get in behind the black, but that

will do nicely. APPLAUSE

There is a very, very thin edge poking out, but it is pushing the

reds to the corner pocket. He has got to be careful he doesn't push it

up over the left corner pocket. It is not ideal, really, that - it

would have been nicer to have kept the red down the end of the table,

but there was no nice way of doing that. A good chance to draw here for

Stuart Bingham. Boy, that was close. Wobbled a few

times. It looked like we were going to have a respotted black there had

that red of dropped. But, this cut end to secure the opening frame,

which Peter should have won about six or seven minutes ago.

Yes, the shock of missing that black and will now have vaporated from his

body. An open-frame advantage secured.

UMPIRE: 9. Well, he slotted that in nicely with his opposite hand. He is

catching on, this switching hands. UMPIRE: 12.

APPLAUSE 16.

21. 27. Well, what a start for the former world champion Peter Ebden.

He had breaks of 66 and then that 34 - a good start. He leads the current

world champion one frame to nil. ANSMIT Once again the red going next

to the black and tying it up. It is a pretty good one. Two more frames

before the mid-session interval. Straight away, the only shot

available to student there was to send that red up -- Stuart there was

to send that red up the other end of the table. People are usually

reluctant to do that. You don't want the red knocked up towards the

yellow, green and brown. It makes it an awkward frame. I know a lot of

players would remove this red from the black. They would open it up. He

could do that and just play a nice little safety shot. Could do that

and just play a nice little safety shot.

He's gone for the pot and what a pot! What a shot!

APPLAUSE Didn't think it would go past the

other red. It is a clever shot because he wasn't going to leave a

great deal. What an angle that was. He is off and running again. That

black was very well played as well. Very easy to have played that great

opening red. Very opportunistic and then to play the black, a bit more

pressure on the black. UMPIRE: 9. I think the other thing,

Steve, this match he had be Dominic Dalethat went on past 1:00 in the

morning and to win it on a deciding frame.

APPLAUSE It sort of puts you in a good mental

state because you think, "I could have been out of the tournament. I

am here. I am still in" and he is playing there and doesn't appear to

be under any pressure whatsoever. He is straight back in the driving

seat, in the saddle, and I would imagine, as well, the TV table

playing slightly better than tables in the sports hall from last night.

APPLAUSE There were a few complaints that the

conditions had worsened so this is probably nice for him. He is in the

zone. Yeah, I know they have table heaters

and have had for many, many year, but then cans outside can play a

part and we've had a lot of rain around - well, every part of the

country - not only in York, but that can affect the atmosphere. He's

deliberately left - I think he's deliberately left this cue ball

short of the red, which means in potting the red, he's going to be

opening up the pack. He's got to try and get the cue ball out into open

play, though. Perhaps he would have liked a fraction more angle, but it

looks OK. The chances are the pink is going to be pushed down no the

ball -- what baulk area. He's got to get the white up the table. Couldn't

guarantee how they were going to split, so he decided against going

into the pack. I think that was the plan originally.

Appear chance to go into the pack here. But it is independent ideal.

So, I am not sure exactly what he is playing. -- but it is not ideal. So,

I am not sure exactly what he is playing. Controlled split of the

pack. A bit unlucky. Couldn't guarantee it. Looks like into break

unless he can cut the second red in next to the black. Perhaps that is

too thin. I don't know. Yeah, I think the black is covering that one

that you suggested, Steve. There is no pot on .

He's not got one down into the yellow pocket, has he, with a bit of

safety in mine as well? What a great shot this is.

What UMPIRE: 31. Does the pink go in the

middle pocket? LAUGHS

. It does. He's a bit close to the cushion, but does the black go? I

think the black does go. Wow! He has picked a few cracking pots out in

this match so far. A few belters. I think he can try to lay the cue ball

near the brown somewhere. Perhaps he is on the red into the yellow

pocket. Ohhh. He played it perfectly wait-wise. But there was pressure on

that black. First mistake, first genuine mistake since the missed

clinching of the first frame and so now from Stuart Bingham's

perspective, a chance he would like to take.

APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

You would have to say it is Stuart's first chance, really, in amongst the

balls early on in the frame. I don't know whether that jumped. It

got a bit of a kick there, I think. Once again, destroying the book spin

on the cue ball. He was playing for the cue ball to be a lot further off

the cushion than that. UMPIRE: 6. Now he's got a missable

red. Which ever one he takes on. Probably pushed himself into this

middle pocket pot a bit easier. Another bad contact. Went thick.

Balls are kicking a bit. It has been a big issue in the game recently. I

heard them talking in the players' lounge that they are trying out an

anti--kick cloth. If anyone knows anything about that, it has got to

be you, Steve. I have never heard of that before.

Well, there is a million theories currently out there about why the

balls are kicking and why the cushions are bouncing. I think we

are trying to try and come up with a solution and everybody is working

towards that. Some people would like it to be sooner rather than later.

So your answer is you haven't heard. I do know the whole sort of scenario

is that, if you want the whole theory, I can completely bore the

life out of you. We might have a little safety battle

here, but a short version, just one line would do, Steve. Different

material. Cloth might not dry the ball out as much and obviously

perhaps even a thicker cloth on the cushions might stop the cue ball

bouncing as much. That is the sort of general theory, I think. The

balls themselves have come under criticism in an effort to make the

surfaces of the balls better. There is all sorts of views on whether

they should be polished with wax and a variety of substances. I told you,

you would lose the will to live. A poor shot from Peter Ebdon there.

This is the way, if you were going to have a mini practice session, you

would throw the balls on the table like this and practice your stun

shots and positional shots. He had a couple of bad contacts when he was

at the table previously. It is time to go to work for the world champion

here. My theory, Dennis, are you

listening? My theory is you get more kicks in tournament play than we do

do in practice and the massive difference between the two

situations are that we have a referee with white gloves on and you

never practice and clean the balls as much as when they are in matches,

so perhaps the gloves themselves destroying the surface of the ball

out and giving them more friction. It is goodnight from me and

goodnight from Dennis. Oh, what has he done? Has he covered

the black? Might just be OK. Oh, it is tight.

Just...I can see it is back in prim position again. He really could do

with clinching the frame with this visit just to get that confidence up

and running. As against Anthony Hamilton, he played very well

against the tournament break. APPLAUSE

Most likely Stuart Bingham is going to need the red on the top cushion

to win this frame. UMPIRE: 24.

Doing the maths, I think he might be able to get over the line before

that. It depends on what colours he takes.

I don't think Stuart's quick count-up it might be worth while

having a quick count-up now. He might get over the line with three

blacks and not need that last red. Perhaps it was worth having a look

at the score board there. Yeah, he is going to need that red

that Steve mentioned, but if he can get that far, he will just drop in

behind it and help to roll it along the cushion and won't have to force

it. He can be 35 in front, coming to

that last red. APPLAUSE

Had it been tight on the cushion, it would have been more of an issue. I

think he still should have had a look at this before. It is easy to

sit here in the commentary box and do the maths, but when you are out

there, you are just looking at the situation of the balls and just get

on with it, high colours. As I say, if he had just dropped in behind the

red, he doesn't have to worry about forcing it to get on the black. He

can just roll the red in and make sure that the pocket accepts it.

Normally, if he had got it out on the black, he would have to hit it

hard but just drop it in nicely and the frame is his and the frame that

he badly needed. UMPIRE: 61. He would be feeling a

little better now because the way that Peter Ebdon started, he would

have been getting a little concerned. There is one more frame

after this before the mid-session interval.

UMPIRE: 68. APPLAUSE

UMPIRE: 70. UMPIRE: 77. Not enough points to

make the century break, but this has been excellent.

Always nice if you can clear the lot, though. Well, it doesn't matter

about the black not going in. A great response from the current

World Champion. He lost the first two frames but that was a

magnificent frefert Stuart Bingham and he -- from Stuart Bingham and

he's just behind and it's 2-1 to Peter Ebdon.

Stuart gets the fourth frame under way. The mid-session break coming up

after this, and have a look at the two reds wrrks they finished. How

many times have we seen that? More or less identical position to one of

the earlier frames, and straightaway put the black out of play.

It might have looked a little bit reckless, that, but that's exactly

what he tried to play, swing the red and white around the cushion.

Well, easy safety shot for Peter Ebdon. Is he thinking of something a

bit more aggressive here? Just wondering if he's going to take

a chance here and pot the red and cannon the right and send the black

towards the left corner and bring it in to play. It's a pretty aggressive

player, is Stuart. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't have a go at

that. He's unlucky. Very unlucky. Just

caught the red. A little thinner on the one next to the black, otherwise

he would have sent that over to the left corner pocket. But he's brought

the black in to play, at least. Long potting hasn't really been

Peter's forte this afternoon. Tried to get the cue ball in to a

safe area at the same time, but couldn't really keep it that

contained. That was nicely struck from Stuart Bingham. I think that's

a sign, really of a player, the in-form players seem to make the

longer shots look a lot easier. It is key. Peter's looked fantastic

when he's been in amongst the because, especially in the two

opening frames. But any long pot has been a long way off.

And that's the key these days. The game has changed. The standard

probably a little bit of difference, but the better longer pot as they

take on more long pots. I mean, we did have some fantastic long

potters. Many years ago, but there's a long pot success rate, Stuart

Bingham well ahead of Peter. Talking about great long potters, I

mean three times World Champion John Spencer, a fabulous long potter.

Oh, that's horrendous. That is the biggest kick we've seen yet. And

that is frustrating. It really is. It makes you look silly.

The referee from Manchester cleaning both the white and the red. And as

you say, Steve, with the gloves, when you rub away at the red there

and you know, it does possibly create a little bit of static. It's

not just the static, I think. It's also the fact that you're drying out

the surface of the ball and they've proven that if you were to really

dry out the surface of the ball by cleaning them with alcohol,

isproprol, you actually get kicks with no chalk. So it's a connundrum,

really. Where if you're playing in your snooker club, with greasy dirty

hands with the balls out of the pockets, then you get less kicks.

Very strange. That's an important shot to get

right, and it must have been in Peter Ebdon's mind that on that top

of cut, that type of pace, that he could have got a kick himself.

Just look how he's steadying himself up. I mean, it's a straight forward

shot, but just look at the focus there. He knows the importance of

this frame before the mid-session interval. If he could leave 3-1,

what a chance. Didn't quite get enough screw on

that because the pink is on, but he's just going to the right of the

reds. I don't know if he can just pass them. Just about!

Played that nicely. Pink having to go on to the highest available spot

on this occasion, it was the yellow. It's the only spot available.

The way these six reds are situated in the remaining part of the pack, I

don't think... There might be a red that goes in to the left corner

through a gap, but it may be easier to open the reds up, if that's what

he's planning to do from the pink or the green rather than the blue. So

that doesn't go in to the pocket, so now he's obleated to try to open the

reds up. Obviously off the blue is easier. But he can't guarantee

controlling the cue ball, so a decision to be made for Peter Ebdon.

Potting the pink or the green and coming off a side cushion in to the

side of the pack is more desirable, but you've still got to judge it

right, of course. UMPIRE: 22. Well, you said sometimes

it's difficult to predict what Peter is going to do, and this time he

decides to screw all the way back up from the black to play the cannon in

to the bunch. He had to be pretty precise on that. Too far and it

would have been a missable cut. A little bit less pace and he would

have been too close to the cushion. Still isn't a certainty, though.

Hit the wrong red. And he's put himself out of position because I

don't think that this red goes up past the blue. So misjudged the

cannon there. Yeah, I was with you. I thought he would have played for

the green or pink and then played to go in to the pack of reds. But Peter

has his own way of going about things. But he can get in behind the

yellow here. That's a good safety shot. And it doesn't matter houng he

thinks about it, that's the shot he'll play.

UMPIRE: Peter Ebdon, 29. little bit too much pace.

Well, he hasn't knocked a long one in yet in this match. Peter has

looked very good in amongst the because. What a time this would be

to knock this long red in. Well played! That was an important

pot. And a great chance now. Five

comfortable reds, and even the red near the cushion, those two reds,

one of them is available. Well, he could have played that

better. That's gone too far. Yeah, overhit that. Just a little bit of

tension in the shot and when you're not absolutely comfortable, you tend

to want to strike them a bit harder. This red not that much of a problem,

as long as he can reach it. But position is a problem. So if he

chooses this red to the left, more missable. They look roughly the same

shots, don't they? But it's in to a more closed pocket, this red to the

left, than the one he first chose. Of course, if he does play this red,

the less he can come down the table. So there's not so much pressure on

that part of the shot. Yeah, he took quite a while on that

shot, and can't blame him. He knew the importance of it because his

previous shot and he overhit it, he got quite a lot of margin for error

and just misjudged it completely. So one good shot could get him back in

to prime position. The pink would be ideal if it wasn't

for the fact that it ties up the three reds. So this is not as easy a

positional shot. Played it nicely. He still needs one decent pot and a

positional shot to get on these three reds to open them up. It

shouldn't create too much of a problem, this red. It is missable.

Struggling to keep the control of the cue ball. And he doesn't want to

play the pink, really. He's got some work to do with the brown.

Yeah, he didn't quite get the top spin on that. He played it more of a

stun shot, unintentionally, and he's left with a very difficult red now.

Well, he's still knocking them in. He's pulling out a few good pots to

keep the effort going. What is he now? 34 in front? The blue to follow

- 39. Yeah, great shot. Screw between brown and green with not too

much side spin on. Don't get too much side.

Very nice. Absolutely spot-on, because he'll just now nudge the

other red away. He can roll this in. Nudge the other red out of the way

and he's got the black. Just a little bit of noise on one of

the other tables at the mid-session interval, so he only needs this red

and the black. What's the difference? He doesn't want to hit

this too hard, but he could over screw it if he's playing with back

spin. He couldn't play it with top spin, so it's like just a little bit

tricky that shot. The end result is that he's more or less over the

line. Just needs the black and that red that's sitting to the left of

the black. That's why he played it gently so that he didn't push the

red on the cushion. It's been a terrific performance from Peter

Ebdon it has to be said. And it says a lot for his mental

strength to come back after winning that deciding frame at way past 1:00

in the morning to come back out here and put in this performance against

the current World Champion. Yeah, Peter is applying the anaesthetic

there to Stuart. It's not been flowing, Peter Ebdon, but it's been

very precise stuff in general. He's a tough cookie. Not easy to get a

rhythm going against Peter. Just roll this red in to make

absolutely certain. Well, the red is not in but barring

a good few snookers, Peter Ebdon is gone to the mid-session interval,

you'd feel, 3-1 in front. Pink and yellow, not too badly

placed for the snookers that Stuart needs. Ve chance to get up behind

the yellow now. Off the left side of the red. Twice across the table and

try to get in behind it. Not good there to collide with the

blue. At the moment, Stuart needs three

4-point snookers, a red, a black and all the colours to tie. Hoping for a

free ball situation which means not only would he like to get a snooker,

but he'd also like to get the red close to a colour. Which would

increase the chances of getting a free ball.

Not easy to control the cue ball there. Quite a way out, so Peter

would like to kill this off now. Chak this one in - all over!

Very good chance that Stuart Bingham could get in behind this yellow from

the two cushions. Well, it was nearly a far better

effort. UMPIRE: Peter Ebdon 13 and the

frame. It's been a good start for Peter Ebdon, up against the current

World Champion and he goes to the mid-session interval. He must be

delighted. He leads Stuart Bingham three frames to one.

He will hit it, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm very sure. UMPIRE: Foul, Peter

Ebdon. Yeah, he hit it, but he hit the

wrong one, didn't he! So Stuart already needing a snooker.

Once he made contact with that black.

Peter can't make his mind up whether he needs the extension on his cue or

not. So after hitting that black, it

means he needs a snooker and barring that snooker, Peter Ebdon is going

to be two frames in front. At 4-2. At the moment, Stuart needs one

4-point snooker to tie. He might be able to pot this red.

But can he get back up? It's a must-pot on the black.

Otherwise the frame will be over. And with the blue and the black as

they are, and the yellow is in a pretty good position... It's not a

certainty now this frame. Stuart is still in with a chance.

That's not a bad effort, I can tell you. Should be pretty comfortable

off the side cushion. Just this side of the middle pocket, left side of

the table. I think will get him to the red.

But you've got to give them due care and attention, especially on the

cushions if they're sliding slightly. But you would think if he

just goes beyond the middle pocket, he'll be OK.

Played that well! In fact, he made that angle.

Pretty good. Might be able to swerve it. Got to make sure that he gets

the swerve on the cue ball fairly quickly, otherwise it will be

heading a little bit towards the pink and then back again. Going

right down to the cue ball there. Another chance for maybe a better

snooker this time. If he can get tight in behind that yellow, it

won't be as easy to escape from will I think he's OK. Peter can swerve

around the brown a little bit and come off the side cushion and hit

that red. It's not that difficult, really.

Even if it's not a natural angle, he can get a little bit of side and

swerve on it. That's what he's having to do, raising the butt of

the cue. Oh, he's hit the black. Can you

believe it! I thought that he could have hit that easy, and now, Stuart

Bingham can win. He could only tie with one snooker, but the fact that

he's hit the black - didn't expect him to miss that! It was as if he

jumped a little bit at it when he played it with the swerve. Now, this

could be a huge turning point in this match because ten minutes ago,

it looked as if it was 4-2 to Peter Ebdon. All of a sudden, Stuart

Bingham has got a chance. Well, that's not a good sign. I

mean, what a chance he's let slip there. Lost a little bit of rhythm

at the moment with all the tactical play that's been going on. But,

well, that's what he thinks about that situation. He can't believe it.

That definitely is the end of the frame now, but a topsy-turvy frame,

it has to be said. I know that Stuart Bingham has a

great temperament, always good under pressure. But Peter Ebdon is

throwing the gauntlet down here. And he's going to have to up his game as

the World Champion. It doesn't matter about cannoning in

to the pink. Stuart will stay in this. He's going

to leave the arena, but Peter Ebdon handed Stuart a lifeline when he

didn't get out of the snooker and missed the black, but Stuart missed

that black and didn't take it, and now Peter Ebdon leads four frames to

two. Nothing is easy at the moment, is

it. He just can't properly get going.

Yeah, just can't get in to a rhythm, can he? He's trying to hard to get

something to happen for himself. Stuart would have been hoping on his

first tournament back on the BBC as World Champion, to have had a good

run in this event. If he was to go on and lose this particular match in

the style that he would lose it in, it would be a very big

disappointment. He just hasn't really produced, so far. So starting

to be attacking. Starting to try to make things happen. But is he

playing in to Peter Ebdon's hands? That's a poor shot from Peter, it

really is. Trying to drop in behind the black and he's left a pot on.

Now, he could do with knocking this in just to restore a bit of

confidence here. A bit of a weird one there from Peter. He had a lot

easier opportunities than that, and that's just a gift, really.

Obviously if he could have played a perfect snooker, but it's hard to

get the perfect snooker there. I'll tell you what, this could be a big

turning point in this match, because if he had have got in behind this,

he had Stuart in all sorts of trouble. Because he played it poorly

and he's left Stuart a chance now to get a bit of rhythm and get a head

of steam going, and he knows if Stuart Bingham can get things going

and if he can win this frame, he's only one behind. It's game on again

at 5-2. Peter would be a strong favourite, but Stuart's got the

opportunity now to show his class, as he did against Anthony Hamilton.

He made 143 break - the highest in the tournament in that match. So he

knows he has been cueing well, it's just been a little bit disjointed,

some of the frames here. And he's lost a little bit of rhythm, but

could get it going here. But once again, just finishing a little bit

awkward. If Stuart doesn't make the most of

the situation, I think the writing is on the wall that it's not his

day. Even that's finished a little awkward. Yeah, I know. I don't think

it's a problem really, here, is it? No. It was always on.

He's having to work hard for everything at the moment.

So even with that shot, he had to are careful that he could have

screwed quite easily in to the middle pocket. So he's 30 in front.

So the wrong side of the blue. Plenty of cue power, has Stuart.

Even this, it's amazing. When you ve you get out of position. It takes a

good few shots to get back in to prime position. So he's having to

work really hard for these. As long as you keep potting them, you'll win

the frame. Oh, dear, would you believe it! He

was only a few more pots away from securing the frame. And it is a big,

big frame for Stuart Bingham, this. Because 5-2 behind and it would be a

tall order. 4-3. You'd put him favourite again, almost.

Peter Ebdon, as you can see, carrying on with every shot.

Not a great deal of work to be done with the cue ball here. Pretty sure

that the yellow goes past the brown in to the top left corner as we look

on our screens. Pressure on the clearance in as much

as Peter Ebdon knows the significance of this frame.

Well, he just seemed to hit that much harder than he intended to.

It seemed like there was a bit of body movement as well. And just

reach for the shot a bit too much. Stuart has made a bit of a mess of

that. What's going on? Yeah, he wanted to get close to the red and

now he's going to leave himself further away from it. Good recovery,

but he's not certain - can he reach? He only needs the red. As we

mentioned before, even though this little bit is much more preferable

than playing with the rest, it still does change the queue a fraction.

Talk us through that one, Stuart. What did you do with that? He could

have gone up the other side and left the yellow, but... Well, even though

it doesn't really matter, I think he's over the line in the frame. I

think it sums up that Stuart Bingham is not totally firing on all

cylinders, really got to grips with the cueing arm tud. Well, he's got

out of the snooker that he put himself in, and barring snookers

from Peter Ebdon, Stuart Bingham is only one frame behind now.

Highly unlikely that Peter Ebdon will get the snookers, but of

course, he's got it try for them. And Stuart Bingham's frustration is

that he can't get on with the next frame. He wants to get going and

it's all been disjointed, even clinching the frame. It hasn't been

clear-cut. He'll probably try here. What a

fantastic try. Another foot more... Yeah, much too much stun on that. He

was trying to get in on the brown. It's amazing when the frame is over,

how bigger the pocket seems to grow. It was a frame that Stuart Bingham

badly needed. Peter Ebdon had chances but he let them slip and now

he only leads the World Champion by just one frame. It's 4-3 to Peter

Ebdon. Not a bad length with the break

shot, but once again, two reds puts it out of commission early on.

Peter Ebdon knocked in an unbelievable red at the start of

this frame. In fact, we can show you that. He just hammered the red and

he was trying to cannon the black, believe it or not there, because the

black has been tied up off the break in at least four or five frames. For

some reason, every time they break off, there's a red going either side

of the black. But as Peter Ebdon has been doing every shot in this match,

every shot he's putting everything in to it. It doesn't matter how easy

or how difficult, he puts the same concentration in. You've got to

admire this fellow. And to be fair, he had chances in

the previous frame. Stuart did very well to win that. And at one stage,

Peter looked like he could possibly open up a 3-frame advantage, but

Stuart right back in this now. Neither player has exselled here

this afternoon, but I think the style of the game is played more in

to Peter Ebdon's hands than it has, Stuart's.

Red available in to the middle pocket but no positional play. No

risk taken. It has been, as I said, a relatively disjointed

break-building. Of the two players, fair to say that Stuart is the one

that's more frustrated, I think. With his own standard for the day.

Peter is just getting on with the day, really. Playing his usual brand

of tough snooker. Well, that last safety shot has opened the black up.

Stuart came out after the mid-session interval and he seemed

to be bashing around the tail. He wanted to make something, but it's

not easy. Especially if the balls go rather awkward, and they did do on a

couple of frames. Peter has an obvious safety shot, but he hasn't

even considered that yet. He's got his eyes on that loose red. And

where can he attempt it and where can he put the cue ball that doesn't

leave his opponent with a shot? He's looked terrific in the balls, Peter.

He's knocked a couple of long ones in, but he's missed quite a few of

them. So it will be interesting to see how close he gets to it.

Fantastic shot and exactly where he played the cue ball. He'd already

looked at where he wanted the cue ball to be. It was a shot to

nothing, effectively. And he's got a red at the back of the pack here.

The top cushion. That wasn't the certainty. A bit of

pressure there. He knew it was tough. He would have dearly loved

that one in there and that was the trouble playing the shot to nothing

from the cushion. It did make the blue missable.

Three hours of pretty tough match play.

Stuart's highest break, # 8. -- 88. And Peter's 66.

They're very evenly matched over the years. In fact, Peter Ebdon has had

six wins to Stuart's five. One of those wins for Stuart was in the

world championship in 2011. And Peter has had two wins in the UK

championship. 2003 and 2006. Of course, Stuart over the last couple

of seasons has been the player in form and that's the reason he's

currently world number two, even though he hasn't had the best of

seasons. Wow, that did appear a fraction

rushed. It might have just been the way he played it, but it just seemed

like he played it a little bit hurridly. Trying to get an ideal

position on the black to then screw in to the pack and over hit the

shot. It wasn't dead in the middle so it rattled and wobbled out. No

damage done unless Peter can slot the red in the middle pocket and

play a shot to nothing at the same time. Might be a bit thin. That red

next to the pink is potable. I don't think is potable, but the one to the

right of it, which is even thinner, might be a potential. Unlucky

obviously not to have the red. What about the double? Or am I thinking

too aggressively for Peter at the moment, and myself, even? You were

always far too attacking, Steve! That's why you only won six world

titles! He could get to that red. Wow! Well,

he took a hell of a long time working out that shot.

It's not quite a key shot coming up here. And it's not great to go in to

if he hits the pink full ball or the red full ball when he hits the

cannon, he could stick in the back of these. On occasions Peter, when

he's had to put a bit extra in to the shot, there's some body movement

and missed a couple of key pots. Of course, you wouldn't expect him to

miss the black from here, but he would have to give this quite a

whack, I would think. Cheese to control it more than anything else.

And he's got the reward. So at least three reds that's

potable. So he doesn't have to think about playing any cannons the just

yet. Just came up a little bit short

there. Quite a margin for error and the white anywhere further up the

table, an easy one to the middle and an easy one to the corner. And the

fact that he's come up short makes it more difficult now from a

positional point of view, as you can see. Wouldn't have been so much of a

problem had the blue been on-the-spot. Pot this screw back

using reds. Come back towards the middle pocket. And now what's he

doing? Top spin. Can never guarantee these going right. But he'd be

pleased with the outcome. Nicely controlled.

Great chance of 5-3 here. Can he hold himself together?

I mean, if he could pull off a win against the World Champion, what an

achievement it would be. I mean, there's an awful lot of balls to be

potted, but you've got to give this man every credit the way he's come

out after finishing at almost 1:30 in the morning and he looks

pretty... He looks a lot fresher than Stuart, it has to be said. But

it's Stuart that's under the pressure, but he's such a fit bloke,

is Peter Ebdon. Mentally, I've never known anyone in the game stronger in

that department. And there's that wide stance that Steve was talking

about. Change of stance for Peter Ebdon. As if he's getting right down

lower on the shot. I haven't seen Peter playing for

quite some time, but he definitely has changed his stance at the table,

as you can see. Look at that, he never used to stand like that.

Yeah, he's certainly standing more side-on than I've ever seen him.

He's always had a bit of a bent back leg, that's all been a trade mark as

a way of getting lower for a taller player. Just a little bit more body

movement and head movement than would be ideal. A lot more players

these days are text book, absolutely rock solid with their head and upper

body on the shot. But so talented is Peter Ebdon that sometimes you can

break those theoretical rules. Well, he needs a red, he needs a colour

and he needs one of the difficult reds that are near the pink spot.

They're all covering each other, so he's going to have to get a cannon,

so it's imperative that he gets on the black correctly to bring at

least one of those reds in to play. That looks good! He's got enough

angle. As long as he doesn't hit the first red and stick on it. So any

sort of contact other than full ball and the frame will be his. As long

as he actually collides with the reds. I think he's more likely to

get a lead than not. But it wasn't certain.

A bit too straight on the black, I think. He would have liked a little

bit more angle. When he hit the red in the wrong side. I mean, what's he

looking at here? He's 50 ahead with 51 on the table. The red doesn't

pass the pink. It would be nice to get the black

safe, wouldn't it. The trouble is that you'd sacrifice a good safety

and just flick the black back on to the cushion.

Yeah, that's a pretty clever shot. He may have left a red on, but he

knows that Stuart needs three reds and three blacks and all the colours

to win the frame by one point. Purposely did what Steve suggested!

Not ideal in as much as Stuart will have opportunities should he get

back to the table. Break it out and the black could be broken out in

general safety play. He could argue that Peter could go for the red,

should he so want, with a little bit of insurance. There's plenty of

safety options as well. What about that for a shot. That's a

little trick shot there to clinch the frame. Stuart will stay in the

safety. So Stuart looked good when he got back to just one behind. But

Peter Ebdon, well, he's still playing well. He's enjoying every

minute of this and he extends his lead now. It's 5-3. He only needs

one more for a bit of a shock. Peter was out of the arena for

almost three minutes there in that little mini interval. This is

something that Barry Hern is looking at, only allowing the players to go

out at certain times. I don't know how he's going to implement that,

but they're looking at it. And Stuart just trying to make something

happen there. Peter was studying that from a few

different angles. He gets the flick and look at that,

what an early chance this is. Stuart had a go at that very difficult red.

He was a bit unlucky for it to come back over the middle pocket, but the

flick on the blue has really given Peter Ebdon, just watch this here

and he nudges the blue. Nothing better than one of those when your

opponent is there. That little screw, has he played it perfectly?

In the really. He would have liked to have stayed on the black, but I

don't think that he can. I think he was playing for the red behind the

black. And he's still OK, he's still got a very good chance here. A lot

of scalp this would be if he can clinch this frame here and the

match. There's certainly a few points to be

had before. The main pack has got to be smashed up. Another five reds.

One thing that you do know about Peter Ebdon, you don't win the world

championship without being able to smell the winning line and actually

get over it. The world ranked 34 at the moment

playing the world ranked number 2. Isn't he playing well. You've got to

say, the adrenaline is kicking in for Peter Ebdon now. He's walking

around the table with a bit more authority, a bit more of a spring in

his step. Fancies the job here. Just come up a little bit short, though.

He's going to have to leave a longish one. Another couple of

inches there and he would have been absolutely perfect. It's all about

trying to make it as easy as possible for yourself at this stage.

This is as rythmical as Peter has been in the whole match. He's upped

the pace a fraction. Still careful. But he's playing more on auto pilot.

He senses a victory. Peter has won nine ranking titles in

his illustrious career. His last was back in 2012 in the China Open.

Just look at that concentration on his face. Every single shot, no

matter how easy, no matter how difficult. He puts the same effort

in. They're not a good bumple to go in

to. Those three reds. Got to be careful that he doesn't stick in the

back of them. But he's played a few shots and he's made a pretty good

job of it. He could with a good split here.

Yeah, coming off the side of them and if this one goes past the three

reds, he's in really good shape here. Maybe it doesn't. He's having

to take the one with the rest. Perfect time to go in to the pack.

He's got four reds still available, arguably five reds which are in open

play. He can win it here and now. He's just got to hold himself

together. It will be a big scalp. Perhaps not as massive as a young up

and coming player who beats the World Champion, because Peter has a

track record, but even so. Peter fighting for his survival within the

game, like all the older players are, this is a great effort.

Just a couple more reds available. It's not a straight forward run to

the winning post. I wouldn't want to be playing any cannons at this

stage. She's there with the available reds. Already 51 in front.

To play a cannon just yet, he could win enough or score enough.

It was just short of pails. Wanted to be the right side of the blue.

A lovely way also for the confidence there. This is the key one coming up

now. The plant is not on but the other one, he can pot and glance off

the reds and hopefully finish nicely on the black. This could be a match

winner. He's played it well. This really is

a bit special from Peter Ebdon. OK, Stuart never really got going. But

take nothing away. Peter Ebdon started very well in this match.

Made a 66 in the opening frame. Solid match snooker and I tell you

what, he's only a couple of pots away from knocking out the current

world snooker champion. And what a scalp, Steve said. He's giving it

everything here. But he never really got going. Will he get another

chance? I'm not sure. It would be interesting to see how Stuart sums

up his performance today. He's usually very candid and honest about

things. Such a great season. Tough to keep going forever without having

some sort of a blip. I think he was really looking forward to this UK

championship and the way that he played against Anthony Hamilton in

the tournament high break of 143. Peter Ebdon has stuck to his game

plan and it must be a great feeling now. Stuart needs a snooker. And

there's another red available and there's no better feeling when you

clinch a match. And this is a big match, it has to be said, for Peter

Ebdon. It really is. It would be very easy now to perhaps mentally

ease up. Peter Ebdon will certainly be trying to make a century break

and go out in true. Every reason to believe that he's going to. His

confidence levels must be as high as they've been through yut the whole

match. It goes without saying, I suppose, really. But he's cueing

lovely. He really is striking the ball very nicely. And wouldn't it be

fitting if he did make a century, and at the moment, it is over

?10,000 to the snooker's charity. Has been for a couple of years. The

Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. The sponsors, Betway, have been

donating money for century breaks and there's well over ?10,000 at the

moment. Come on, Peter, finish in style! This is tough for Stuart

Bingham, but Stuart is a great ambassador for the game and he's

travelled around the world as World Champion. I'm sure that he'll put up

a great defence. Er of his championship when he get to the

Crucible in April. One of the nicest fellows you could ever wish to meet.

But today belongs to the former World Champion, Peter Ebdon. I'm

sure he'll get a generous round of applause if he does make the

century. He must be feeling so good inside. He really must.

APPLAUSE UMPIRE: 103. Yellow goes in to both

corner pockets. Even though it's not on its spot. So no real problems.

He's now made 348 centuries in his career. That as his 11th this

season. He's made the magical maximum on a couple of occasions.

Messed it up a bit. He's gone a but too close to the

cushion. It doesn't really matter much at all. If ever you were going

to knock one of these in, it's when you've won the match and you've

already made 100. Doesn't matter about the yellow.

What a magnificent way to finish a match. He started winning the two

opening frames and he finished with that superb century break. It

certainly is a bit of a shock. Peter Ebdon wins in style and in the end,

you'd have to say quite comfortably, six frames to three.

So, we say farewell to the world number two and the reigning World

Champion, Stuart Bingham. Can he find something in time for the

Masters next month. But for Peter Ebdon, a hugely significant win for

him. It's the fifers time in to the last 16 of any of the big events

this season. He marches on in York. Now, we'll be back at 1:00 this

afternoon with more live coverage of the last 32 matches featuring triple

crown winner Shaun Murphy, and the man who reached the Welsh Open

final. I do hope that you'll join us for that. In the meantime, have a

good sleep. Goodnight.