:01:50. > :01:54.Today saw the start of the UK If you're still in a state of
:01:54. > :02:01.excitement over England's victory over the all blacks to date already
:02:01. > :02:06.stated his belief over strictly, we hope you'll find something to suit
:02:06. > :02:13.you in the we're was renewal. Today is the opening day of the
:02:13. > :02:20.championship. We have three former winners of the event. Firstly, John
:02:21. > :02:30.Higgins. He has picked up the trophy three times in the past. The
:02:31. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:37.Scot at Dundee in to win at six frames to three. It started off OK.
:02:38. > :02:44.But I was getting frustrated with myself. I thought Michael could
:02:44. > :02:54.have won the seventh frame. My head was getting scrambled. I was
:02:54. > :02:55.
:02:55. > :02:58.getting up tight. Meanwhile, Steve Maguire made history tonight as one
:02:58. > :03:06.of the only players to recover three consecutive centuries at the
:03:06. > :03:13.UK Championship. This was after a decisive win over Fergal O'Brien.
:03:13. > :03:21.Top break of 131. That was impressive. Not everything was
:03:21. > :03:30.impressive. Not everything was according to Stephen. If I am
:03:30. > :03:37.honest, the table was rubbish. It was coming off the cushion too fast
:03:37. > :03:42.and too slow. It was the same for both of us. In the last four, the
:03:42. > :03:52.balls in to spice for me. I did not really need to use the cushion.
:03:52. > :03:55.
:03:55. > :03:59.Everything was there for me. He's through safely. Today, perhaps he
:03:59. > :04:09.had a score to settle against Ryan Day who spoke to him out in the
:04:09. > :04:14.opening round at the Crucible earlier this year. Day has come
:04:14. > :04:24.back just as he did seven months ago in Sheffield. He is now within
:04:24. > :04:44.
:04:44. > :04:51.He has knocked in that some superb long pots. I think they have all
:04:51. > :05:01.been at the same pocket. It is funny how you can fable one pocket
:05:01. > :05:01.
:05:01. > :05:11.over another. He has definitely pulled a few beauties at into that
:05:11. > :05:38.
:05:38. > :05:44.This is the second one into the Just got to be careful to go around
:05:45. > :05:54.the two cushions. This is an excellent chance for frame and
:05:55. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:14.match. This will be the telling He got into bad too much. He wanted
:06:14. > :06:17.
:06:18. > :06:23.to leave the cue ball in the pack. But he has so much cue power. This
:06:23. > :06:33.is a tricky shot he is facing now cutting this one back into the
:06:33. > :06:43.
:06:43. > :06:52.Has he got enough pace on that cue ball? Just about. You never know
:06:52. > :06:57.quite where the ball is going to end up. He would not have had any
:06:57. > :07:07.idea where the cue ball was going to lend up. It is now a real good
:07:07. > :07:21.
:07:21. > :07:31.He is cueing absolutely beautifully. It shows you that the standard
:07:31. > :07:34.
:07:34. > :07:42.these days, you cannot take any No think the fact that these boys
:07:42. > :07:47.are playing week-in, week-out, they match-fit. A few years ago there
:07:47. > :07:57.were not that many tournaments to play. That was more emphasis on
:07:57. > :08:00.
:08:00. > :08:05.You cannot fault either play in this match. The loser will go away
:08:05. > :08:14.thinking I have had chances to win. When you are both playing at the
:08:14. > :08:24.top of the game, as far as scoring is concerned,... Anything above 90
:08:24. > :08:40.
:08:40. > :08:50.It looks as if it is staring him in He could not ask for a better
:08:50. > :09:00.
:09:00. > :09:05.chance, the way he has the red Once again, if he goes on to win
:09:05. > :09:15.this frame, then he has won three frames from potting an excellent
:09:15. > :09:29.
:09:29. > :09:34.read and going on to make an He is not playing he like a player
:09:34. > :09:40.ranked 22 in the world. He is playing like he should be in the
:09:40. > :09:49.top eight. There is no reason why he cannot get back or get into that
:09:49. > :09:52.top eight. He has an abundance of ability. If you set down and really
:09:52. > :09:59.looked at all the players today I think he would -- I would have to
:09:59. > :10:04.putting in my top eight players in the world. With the Rhine, I think
:10:04. > :10:14.the only thing that is stopping him is that when he gets tense he holds
:10:14. > :10:16.
:10:16. > :10:26.the cue a little bit tightly. When he is in the balls he looks as good
:10:26. > :11:01.
:11:01. > :11:11.He is doing it in style. Always He is in a good frame of mind. He
:11:11. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:26.looked at the commentary box with a It is there. Well-played Ryan Day
:11:26. > :11:34.
:11:34. > :11:41.Ding Junhui has won this championship on two occasions. He
:11:41. > :11:49.may have to wait another year. You cannot take anything away from Ryan
:11:49. > :11:54.Day, he has deserved this victory. Always nice on the opening day to
:11:54. > :11:59.get off on a win and beaten opponent -- opponent like Ding
:11:59. > :12:07.Junhui. Ding Junhui will be a little bit down. You cannot do much
:12:07. > :12:12.about this performance here. He has been nicknamed dynamite. He is
:12:12. > :12:16.playing virtually at the top of his game. Ding Junhui has been playing
:12:16. > :12:26.excellently. It is just a couple of shots. That is the only difference
:12:26. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:54.What a shame. This is top quality. It is Ryan Day from Wales who wins
:12:54. > :13:01.
:13:01. > :13:11.It is only one UK Championship in the year. All the players are first
:13:11. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:23.round. I will go back to practice, ready for the next tournament.
:13:23. > :13:32.Tony beat Ding Junhui is a good win. He has been the UK champion in the
:13:32. > :13:41.past, twice. He put in a good performance. I know I could play
:13:41. > :13:50.either Mark Selby or Michael White next. I might stay behind tonight
:13:50. > :13:57.As Day does the double over Ding Junhui, and knocks him out in the
:13:57. > :14:07.UK. And the Michael that Ryan is referring to his Michael White, he
:14:07. > :14:11.
:14:11. > :14:14.was a duty this evening against the world number two. Mark Selby, a
:14:14. > :14:19.former world number one. He has been suffering a disc problem in
:14:19. > :14:28.his neck. He says he is almost back to full fitness. Mark Selby
:14:28. > :14:38.galloped off to a 2-0 lead. This is the last frame before bit interval.
:14:38. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:51.You live and die by the decisions of the snooker player. I think that
:14:51. > :14:58.was a percentage that was not in his favour. He has had every chance
:14:58. > :15:08.in every frame so far. There's a chance that Mark Selby without a
:15:08. > :15:16.
:15:16. > :15:26.sizeable break could be going in Michael white has done all the
:15:26. > :15:45.
:15:45. > :15:50.Played a very aggressive shot there. He has left himself slightly
:15:50. > :16:00.hampered. Good news is that it is touching the cushion which should
:16:00. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:04.make it a bit easier. All that the cannon it now. The angle he has
:16:04. > :16:12.left himself on the black, he is going to have to dig down a bit of
:16:12. > :16:22.it. Just play the cannon into the pink. They would be very unlucky
:16:22. > :16:44.
:16:44. > :16:54.It is still on it but a very The frame does look to be all about
:16:54. > :17:14.
:17:14. > :17:21.Another look at the scoreboard, he is 14 points in front. He is trying
:17:21. > :17:28.to find a way to win without playing that awkward red. It will
:17:28. > :17:38.be interesting to see how he negotiates. He's going to have to
:17:38. > :17:38.
:17:38. > :17:48.play to move it out. Try and get an angle on the blue to get it into
:17:48. > :18:06.
:18:06. > :18:14.And do not think that angle is good. That is one I would prefer to play
:18:14. > :18:24.on the pink. Greater margin for error to get on that red. It has
:18:24. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:38.He leads by 27 but this frame is all about that last red. A begets
:18:38. > :18:49.
:18:49. > :18:59.that team would win the frame by He is one of the best safety
:18:59. > :19:00.
:19:00. > :19:10.players in the world. There is also the possibility of
:19:10. > :19:22.
:19:22. > :19:32.Hear be pretty pleased with the outcome. This is a lot more
:19:32. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:43.difficult to get it safe. A problem with heating this red. -- hitting
:19:43. > :19:43.
:19:43. > :20:25.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:20:25. > :20:33.He needs the blue to come to his Iron Lady changed his mind there.
:20:33. > :20:43.Cannot make a mistake from yellow to yellow. -- i am glad he changed
:20:43. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :21:02.He had any frame the stolen on him early in this match. And he
:21:02. > :21:14.
:21:14. > :21:24.Michael felt he had a bad contact there. Just got to make sure this
:21:24. > :21:48.
:21:48. > :21:58.is the key shot. How bad did he hit It is a good job he is a good pop
:21:58. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:27.And he has won at the next two frames. He could have lost them.
:22:27. > :22:31.
:22:31. > :22:38.Welshman Michael White, 21 years of age, was the youngest player ever
:22:38. > :22:46.to make a competitive century at the age of nine. He's certainly
:22:46. > :22:56.done well in this match against Mark Selby. In we go to frame five
:22:56. > :23:15.
:23:16. > :23:21.after the interval. It is Michael It is one of those, if you get the
:23:21. > :23:26.pot he missed the kiss on the yellow. If you miss the pot, you'll
:23:26. > :23:32.always kiss the yellow. That is what he was worried about. It could
:23:32. > :23:40.be very costly now. Mark Selby is not playing at his best this
:23:40. > :23:50.evening. Normally I would be saying he would win the frame from here.
:23:50. > :24:30.
:24:30. > :24:40.I can only presume, the fact that he had a bit of flu, is alignment
:24:40. > :25:01.
:25:01. > :25:06.is wrong. -- he's alignment is I thought he handled his time at
:25:06. > :25:16.number one well. When you're at number one you become the hunted.
:25:16. > :25:23.
:25:23. > :25:27.When you get up to number one you I was talking to him earlier today
:25:27. > :25:37.and he said he was -- it was great to be back get one of the Bega
:25:37. > :25:52.
:25:52. > :26:01.Him being a bigger time player coming back to the big venues is
:26:01. > :26:07.going to suit him. That is a good point, even some of the best
:26:07. > :26:17.players in the world are not natural players, they have to work
:26:17. > :26:17.
:26:17. > :26:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:26:59. > :27:09.at the game. There is more than one The old one was not a good thing of
:27:09. > :27:10.
:27:10. > :27:20.beauty. Cue to a mile away from the cue ball. The last one was not very
:27:20. > :27:25.
:27:25. > :27:35.Still got a little bit of movement. He has gotten a little bit still,
:27:35. > :27:53.
:27:53. > :28:03.he's had used to move a lot. Trying Got the cannon, a miss the pot, it
:28:03. > :28:03.
:28:03. > :28:09.is the eyes break of the match so Mark Selby finding a measure of
:28:09. > :28:19.fluency into that one. Into frame six we go. BT is another tied 1.
:28:19. > :28:27.
:28:27. > :28:37.Mark Selby is to back points behind. That black he played for, and
:28:37. > :29:04.
:29:04. > :29:14.played it beautifully. Still a lot There is one of those ones we wish
:29:14. > :29:28.
:29:28. > :29:38.I didn't think you can remember Mark Selby playing like this. It is
:29:38. > :29:57.
:29:57. > :30:06.a test and to him. He is a long way Mark Selby, 60. What a difference
:30:06. > :30:16.that has made. The pink is on the side cushion. If he pots this red
:30:16. > :30:16.
:30:16. > :31:09.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:31:09. > :31:17.The way he was looking at that I thought it was a tricky angle. It
:31:17. > :31:27.was a good pot. Not as difficult as I thought it was. He played that
:31:27. > :31:36.
:31:36. > :31:45.nicely. It is all about the pink ball. He has got the angle on the
:31:45. > :31:54.brown to screw back. He can come off the back cushion. He has to
:31:54. > :31:58.lead by quite a considerable margin. What is the angle like? Will he
:31:58. > :32:07.play it or drop the dead weight behind the pink? Can he moved the
:32:07. > :32:17.pink out? It looks like it will be the dead weight. A big shot coming
:32:17. > :32:19.
:32:19. > :32:29.up. Do you play this? If he plans to stun it in he could miss it. If
:32:29. > :32:32.
:32:32. > :32:39.he rolls that he could pot it. Very well played. He looked like losing,
:32:39. > :32:49.but he has gritted his teeth. He won it on the pink. He levels at 3-
:32:49. > :32:50.
:32:50. > :32:56.3. A great steel for Michael White. The man who has the 2007 Newcomer
:32:56. > :33:06.of the year is now making -- making himself felt. In frame seven here's
:33:06. > :33:10.
:33:11. > :33:20.That will be as poorer shot he has played this evening as a safety
:33:21. > :33:48.
:33:48. > :33:58.shot. Far too thick. A great chance Already a 40 point lead. There is
:33:58. > :34:06.
:34:06. > :34:11.plenty jour come. -- to come. just cueing down on the ball. His
:34:11. > :34:21.coach will have to have a word with him. He's cueing very hard at the
:34:21. > :34:36.
:34:36. > :34:43.moment. He is not hitting the ball in the centre. Anything but
:34:43. > :34:53.straight. Where has he finished? Just about straight. He can cut
:34:53. > :35:03.
:35:03. > :35:13.It did not appear that this red next to the black would pot, but it
:35:13. > :35:13.
:35:13. > :36:04.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:36:04. > :36:10.38. That takes him past the point where Michael will need snookers.
:36:10. > :36:20.He will have to play catch-up. He has been doing that all evening.
:36:20. > :36:47.
:36:47. > :36:56.Every time he has risen to the He will not be too worried about
:36:56. > :37:06.that, Mark Selby. A nice break for fortified. -- 45.
:37:06. > :37:16.A scrappy frame. Mark Selby pinched that one. We join them in frame
:37:16. > :37:36.
:37:36. > :37:46.nine. He could be closing in on the This is dangerous if he is playing
:37:46. > :37:49.
:37:49. > :37:59.to open up the reds. He has hit then thick, has he got it right? He
:37:59. > :38:08.
:38:08. > :38:18.Mark Selby needs one good long pot here foreign outstanding chance to
:38:18. > :38:28.win the match. He has been unlucky there. Can he get through the gap
:38:28. > :38:29.
:38:29. > :38:35.of the black? He can, but it is only a stun shot. If you had played
:38:35. > :38:42.the shot 20 times you could miss it two or three. Cueing down like this
:38:42. > :38:52.you will swerve it. It would not be at all surprising if he missed this.
:38:52. > :38:56.
:38:56. > :39:02.A good pot. He needs another one. I'll say it again, Mark Selby is
:39:02. > :39:12.one good long pot away from having an opportunity. It requires good
:39:12. > :39:52.
:39:52. > :39:59.A slight kick there, it has not done too much damage. I'm not sure
:39:59. > :40:02.whether the black is available in the left-hand corner. The black is
:40:03. > :40:12.not available to the left-hand corner. He will have to work quite
:40:13. > :40:17.
:40:17. > :40:27.hard there. He got into that. As good a shot as he has played all
:40:27. > :40:36.night. How well did he hit that? That was absolutely beautiful.
:40:36. > :40:42.did it with precious little pace. Usually when players play a screw
:40:42. > :40:48.back they hit it a lot harder than that. He struck it beautifully.
:40:48. > :40:58.With all the reds as they are, you would think this is great. He has
:40:58. > :41:13.
:41:13. > :41:19.That was a bonus, for that red. An excellent position. In horse racing
:41:19. > :41:22.terms, he will improve for the run. He has not played well tonight.
:41:23. > :41:32.He'll have to get rich in the day or two to get fit for his next
:41:33. > :41:49.
:41:49. > :41:55.match. -- get rid of it in a day or It is to his friends this evening
:41:55. > :41:59.as he has played the way he has. It looked like he is going to get
:41:59. > :42:06.through this match. He can always improve by the end of the
:42:06. > :42:16.tournament. He has been under the weather slightly. This is a good
:42:16. > :42:19.
:42:19. > :42:28.result. If you're in, you can win. He would like this to be another
:42:28. > :42:38.two inches further into the table. He may stun across the face of the
:42:38. > :42:39.
:42:39. > :42:46.blue to get into the pocket. That is the thing with these top players.
:42:46. > :42:56.When they sniff the chance to take the match they're very good at it.
:42:56. > :42:59.
:42:59. > :43:03.Selby is exceptional. He was not frightened to win. You have got to
:43:03. > :43:12.have belief in your game, that is what Mark Selby has got, a lot of
:43:12. > :43:22.belief. He has somehow manufactured a result. This will be his second
:43:22. > :43:24.
:43:24. > :43:27.highest break. What a time to do what, when it is frame and match.
:43:27. > :43:37.Just laughing to himself there, the one place he did not want the cue
:43:37. > :43:38.
:43:38. > :43:43.ball to land is where it has. Slightly hampered by the red. His
:43:43. > :43:49.game and match, but it for be tricky. He does not want to play
:43:49. > :43:57.the red on the left, because he is going to play cannoned. These reds
:43:57. > :44:07.could stick. So worried about sticky on then, he has gone through
:44:07. > :44:23.
:44:23. > :44:33.That is as good a shot as he has played all evening. He has played
:44:33. > :44:35.
:44:36. > :44:42.two fantastic shots in this break. He has screwed back for the blue.
:44:42. > :44:51.All the competitive duties other. He needs to find his game. He will
:44:51. > :44:58.do that in the next week. It has been a very workmanlike into this
:44:58. > :45:03.last frame when he has put in a few good balls. His long game is not
:45:03. > :45:11.bad. He has been under the weather. Some credit to Michael White. He is
:45:12. > :45:16.not playing his best other, he has pushed him all the way. 6-3 is not
:45:16. > :45:21.a fair assessment of the match. Michael White could easily have won
:45:21. > :45:27.the first to two frames. A couple of thing Salonen he will be a
:45:28. > :45:33.player. If he got a school report this evening it would say to work
:45:33. > :45:40.and his safety shots. He gave opportunities to Mark Selby. He can
:45:40. > :45:47.pot and he can score. He also needs to improve when he plays the top
:45:47. > :45:55.players. It has all been experience to him. You can get away with that
:45:55. > :46:00.against a top player. They do not punishing as much. When you're
:46:00. > :46:09.playing a cell the lorry Higgins, players have that quality, you get
:46:09. > :46:19.punished. It is all part of the learning curve. He has not play
:46:19. > :46:23.
:46:23. > :46:33.anywhere near his best. He looks as though he will make a century. That
:46:33. > :46:35.
:46:35. > :46:42.is his 269th century of his career. Six of the season. He missed that
:46:42. > :46:52.by a proverbial mile. He does not been pretty. Mark Selby goes to the
:46:52. > :46:54.
:46:54. > :46:57.next round. Quite convincingly, six frames to three. They have seen
:46:57. > :47:03.Michael play a little bit but I have never played him before. I did
:47:03. > :47:07.not know what to expect. I heard a lot about him at the past few years.
:47:07. > :47:13.He is were those players who is always talk about. He played well
:47:13. > :47:17.up there tonight. I do not feel like I have done that much wrong.
:47:17. > :47:22.It was not a fantastic letters from as breaks went, but Jeremy missed a
:47:22. > :47:27.few balls. He showed great character. He has been to way
:47:27. > :47:33.couple of venues. To go out there and perform like he did, he should
:47:33. > :47:39.take it. Generous comments from Mark Selby this evening. One other
:47:39. > :47:44.result to update to with. It features the pocket but of us,
:47:44. > :47:52.Graeme Dott and Martin Gould. There were to a deciding frame, this is
:47:52. > :47:56.it. It was won by the former world champion. Graeme Dott was not on
:47:56. > :48:05.top form this evening. His tenacity has seen him through to the second