02/12/2013 UK Snooker Championship Highlights

we are seeing a new legend in the making tonight. The reception was

unbelievable. I cannot believe it. If you would have said to me 20

years ago, this is how your life will go, I would not have a legion.

I have defied lots of things. Everyone writing me off on a few

occasions. Welcome to the Barbican Centre, sit

back and relax some top-quality snooker. Amazing to think Ronnie

O'Sullivan first lifted the UK championship title 20 years ago.

This evening he was looking to book his place in the third round.

Standing in his way, Adam Duffy. I have dreamt about this for years. I

used to watch it at the Crucible. I used to think, I would love to play

you Ronnie, on the BBC. People watching. Now I have got my chance.

My third season on the tour. 24 years old, from Sheffield. Best

friends with Judd Trump, believe it or not. He is a bit of a wild man at

times. Like to go out and when I am not playing. But I work hard. I am

cueing well at the minute. Ronnie is a class act and I will have to play

really well. I will play my own game and see what happens. I played him

in Germany a year before. First year on the tour, first televised event.

He had a 147 as well. It took about an hour as well. So, could do the

cause an upset against the world champion? The first two frames which

assured. Breaks of 81 and 89. -- were shared. John Parrott and Willie

Thorne are commentating. Great pot. Would like to have come

off the cushion under the -- inch. He needs another one, but this boy

is very good coming off a cushion. He he he has played three beautiful

shots one after the other. And from looking in all sorts of trouble, he

has turned this into a great opportunity. Phenomenal. A lot of

great players left in this tournament, five or six at least can

win it. Robinson appears to be in tremendous form. Judd Trump, Murphy

is still there as well. I think this tournament is going to be great.

Just as we thought he might be winning the frame at one visit, he

has missed an unexpected read. Phoned the police! What happened? He

has missed an absolute dolly read, by his standards. Did not see that

one coming. He is looking very controlled this

evening. Has not had the best of seasons, but is putting in a good

show so far will neither player has missed a long

shot as yet. Both played to each. -- two.

His badge has fell off all stop the sponsors will not be happy. He did

not so that on very well, John? I think they only stick on these days.

23 points in front. Does not have to worry about the red on the left-hand

side. He was shaking his head, which tells

us he had got the wrong angle. Not too bad.

Just doing a bit of mental arithmetic.

He needs one more red after this red and pink.

Amazingly, he has plated finish on the cushion between those two red

balls. He has mishit that completely.

It is worth the risk playing it. OK, leaving the red on the pocket gives

Ronnie O'Sullivan a chance to clear. But it is highly unlikely he will

clear. He will not get a better chance of winning the frame from

this visit. He needs to make your mind up, 100%. If you are not 100%,

you are not going to get it in. Well played! Good shots. He played it in

such a way, even if it had been stuck in the jaws, it may have been

covered by the black. I am impressed so far. I don't know where he has

been the last couple of years, but he is a better player than his

results suggest. It looks like he is revelling in the occasion.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, an did miss on an easy red.

STUDIO: Ronnie took the next two frames. It is tied in frame six. The

fee to play, trailing by two. -- Duffy.

It is all about missing the kiss on the pink here. Had to hit it a bit

thick to make sure he missed the kiss on the pink. He was hoping the

Black would come to his rescue. Still plenty of work to do. You

fancy him knocking the first red in, but the one on the rail is very

difficult. Will he try and move it out? He did, but unfortunately he

has gone in-off. Obviously he will not put Ronnie

back into bat at this one. He has hit it a very thin again. I could

not have played that shot. Playing the white the other way round, is no

pressure. He could still have got in behind the yellow. Oh no! Can you

believe it? ! What a strange frame this has been. Adam, you don't get a

better chance to level the match than this.

Well, 14 ahead, 13 on the table. I suggest he rolls this as slow as he

can. If it rolls in then great, if not, then that is just what the

doctor ordered. Can Ronnie O'Sullivan keep this out?

So, Adam Duffy still in it. Can he piled the pressure on Ronnie? He is

back at the table. I think he is looking to see if this pots in the

middle. It will be some shots. Well done!

Not easy when you cannot see the pocket. Needs to do it again. Green

or brown. I think he has decided on the green.

Another good hot required. -- pot. That wasn't easy. Played it very

confidently. He does not have to worry about the pink at the moment.

When he gets to the pink, he probably will only need the 1-ball.

I thought he was going to go in-off. 23 behind now.

I would prefer to pop this then screw across the table and come back

for the blue. If you get straight on the blue, you are guaranteed to be

on the last red. All you have to do then is stunt it in. Yes. Played for

the blue but did not leave the cue ball on the side rail. Not perfect.

It looks at first glance he will travel into the green and red. That

is a good shot. I thought it was a little bit thinner than that. I

thought it was one of those ones he would have to play side cushion than

baulk cushion. He did well to control that.

Well, you could blow me over with a feather. How has he missed that? I

bet he will be asking himself the same thing. It can only be the

occasion. All he's got to do is pull the cue ball back but obviously he

has not looked at the brown. 21 points in it, that was game ball.

Ronnie thought where the pink was, it was worth having a go at that

will stop now, what kind of end has he got? That is one thing you cannot

do, go the wrong side because then you have no option. I bet he can't

believe he is back at the table. He must have thought when he missed the

brown, it was the end of the frame. He has decided to take this double

on, Ronnie. Unfortunately it left him plumb on the brown. Not played a

great shot there though, Adam. He needed to have this cue ball a lot

closer to the pink. So, still much work

the angle he has left now, has not left the pot on, so he will probably

play a safety shot. He has made sure he has not left an option. That is a

good safety. And that is a better safety.

When I saw him earlier today in the Pratt this room, that is what he was

Pratt to sing. He must have spent a good 20 minutes practising those

thin clips. What a good try, that was. It just

sneaked out unfortunately for Adam. All about getting a good pink. Those

shots, you have got to get the object ball said. The cue ball is

not so bad being in the middle of the table, but you cannot afford to

leave the object ball near a pocket. Dangerous to play it that way, but

he has played it well. Where is the pink going? It travelled and

travels. I am afraid I could not have played it that way. There you

go. After a frame that could have gone either way, it is Ronnie

O'Sullivan that potted the final pink. And that brown may have cost

Adam Duffy. Ronnie is now at the table trailing by 23 points.

Ronnie O'Sullivan will realise if he wins this frame now, Adam Duffy will

struggle to get back into the match and he may have broken his reserve

over the last couple of frames. He has started missing a couple now.

Slightly overscrewed that one, but it should not be a problem. 16, the

lead. He is taking these exceptionally

well. He scores so quickly. He wins

friends so quickly. -- frames. That was frame ball and he missed

the case on the red. He sealed the win in frame nine with

a break of 58 to see off the very brave challenge of Adam Duffy. He is

free to the third round where he will meet Marcus Campbell, the man

he beat in the opening round of the World Championships at the Crucible

earlier in the year. He has played a good match, getting

to venues, doing well, a very talented layer. One of the top

juniors coming through, lots of ability. He plays some good stuff.

The ball was running great for me at times but you have to accept that as

part and parcel of the game. I thought just stick in there, get a

bit more Christmas money, a bit more prize money so I can take a break

soon because I need one, I am overplayed. Well done to run

Sullivan. Time to round up the rest of the day

's action. Mark Selby took on champion Fay in a second round clash

-- Chang Ping Fay in a second round clash.

He took three one lead pinching the fourth frame on the black. Selby's

class shone through as he defeated the man ranked 60 places below him.

I have paid him a few times this year, I rate him really highly, he

is a good player. The 13 Neil Robertson had a far more

comfortable passage into round three against Robbie Williams. The 2011

runner up raced into the lead with some fine potting. The Liverpudlian

did manage to win one frame but unfortunately could not swing the

match his way. Robertson recorded the 50th century break of the

tournament. The Streller in a faxed comfortably. -- Australian advanced

comfortably. He had a couple of chances in the

first four frames but didn't make the most of them, missed a couple of

balls. Never settled down into the match. Overall it was pretty

straightforward victory, I didn't expend too much energy.

The surprise package has been Mitchell Travis. He beat Kurt Maflin

to reach the last 32 of the tournament.

Just a dream come true, playing in event like ash venue like this. Last

week but a week off work to watch it, and I am meant to be going back

to work on Friday. Hopefully I will still be batting away.

He played pretty well. He deserved to win.

John Higgins made heavy work of his victory over Jamie Burnett,

eventually winning 6-4 frames. Obviously needed a snooker and got

it. It was the only gives a long but I got all day. A game to forget for

me. Shaun Murphy had a smoother passage

through to the last 16 after knocking out his opponent.

I started the match well. He kind of dropped anchor. He said this far and

no further. It was a good couple of friends before I found my rhythm

again -- couple of frames. It could have been worse.

Judd Trump won this title two years ago that the world number four says

he has not been tested so far in this year 's tournament. The

question is, could China's Xiao Guodong test him?

The black definitely parts. Plenty of other red to play on. Plenty of

room to put that after making a century, very difficult to explain.

You could see plenty of it. A similar sort of a short interview

opposite pocket. We will get an open match.

He has finished very awkward on the blue, reluctant to put the black.

Doesn't want to tie that read up again. His plan was to be on the

blue, take the blue, but he came up short.

Having to leave the medium length pot into the left corner. You can

see Judge's name there. -- Judd Trump's name there.

He makes those look simple. Doesn't want to play that read. He might

have too. If you are right behind it it is easy. If you are at a right

angle to it. Might be able to get through to that

red ball. Now he has got at black spot clear.

Looking at the six red balls, they are all available, most of them into

the left corner so he has got to stay over the right type of the

table. -- the right-hand side. One of the most frustrating things

about snooker is when you have made a mistake and go back to your seat

and watch your opponent putting the balls you should have potted.

One of the few sports where you cannot really correct an error. If

you play up bad spot at golf you can get out of trouble. You have a lot

of time to dwell in your chair. And you get somebody like Judd Trump who

is a great break-builder. What do you think, will we get three

centuries in a row last month wouldn't that be something.

Definitely a chance. His priority will always be get enough points to

win the frame safe stop but if he does that he has probably opened up

a few other red balls in the process. Still 75 on, this will make

53 difference when this is potted, so there is work to be done to

secure the frame. Certainly one of those rates and

that will bring the other one into play. They both go, actually. Just

having the cue ball clean burn, not because he got a bad untapped, it is

the way he is going to play this one, this is the sort of shot you

would tend to get a kick on. Just this black and one more red,

and it is 2-1 to Trump. Not sure whether he played that, but

it is not bad. A very entertaining player when he

is at his peak, I like watching Judd play. Commanders junior player,

turned professional with so much weight on his shoulders. --

tremendous junior player. Took him a few years, losing in qualifiers to

seasoned professionals, made things tough, but burst into life in 2011

just before the World Championships. The China open. He could quite

easily have won the World Championship that year, ahead of God

Higgins in the final -- John Higgins. John Higgins one the frame

-- he won the frame and played some commanders snooker. I have never

seen somebody put all like Judd did in the championship. Later in the

year, in the new season, he won the UK championship, this event. That

was two seasons back. Since then, one an international last year, and

continued to have Acrobat play some brilliant snooker but signs this

season he is getting form at last. Straight on the black. He has

probably played the deep screw to get on the yellow. The black for the

third century in a row. Fantastic snooker from both players.

Just before this he had made 240 centuries in his career. Have a look

at him right-handed. Doesn't matter about missing the green. That was a

magnificent century break from Judd Trump. What a treat we are having

here, it is 2-1. Great stuff, three frames, three

centuries and victory was in sight for him going 5-1 up but another

century break, this time from his opponent, gave him some hope.

It is a half chance. Natural to tenant into the black so would have

to play some sort of screw. This is not easy. He made it look easy. It

is not a favourable case on the blue. -- kiss. Anywhere past the

blue spot will do, the cue ball. Played it well.

He had a look at the two red balls, juicy if they are a plant into the

corner. There are two loose red balls.

He is looking to see if the pink will go, if it doesn't it is quite

easy to get through on to get through onto the black.

He has got a choice here. I don't think he has the angle to hold for

the back. He may have spotted a plant to the left corner. That is

what he is having a look at. He has had a few looks at that. He wouldn't

go back a second time. It is definitely on. He will not be going

into them now. It does appear to be bang on. If he is right behind it,

probably thinks it is to the left. If he hits that followed it will go

in the pocket. Cannot imagine it not doing so, unless he hits it wrong

way. And from there, right behind it, I would be really so prized if

he misses this. -- surprised. He keeps staring at it.

Absolutely bang on, I didn't see it needed much looking at at all.

Come up a bit short but it might work to his advantage. He can get

back onto the black. Sometimes not easy to control the

cue ball when you are coming off the back like that. Another good

cannon. If that has run on a little bit he is not on the road. A great

chance, very tight. He might be able to play this with a trace of side

but I am not sure. It would be right-hand side, he might be able to

get this. The only way you could have stopped him is a bit of bad

luck. It helped he was close to the red. A chance he could win the match

here. As I mentioned, if he is asked how

did you get on in the championships? Couple of century

breaks, but lost 6-2. The other significant point is Jim Matic

improvement in Judd Trump's form. I am so pleased -- dramatic. He brings

his parents and friends along, good to see him playing well.

It was always a matter of time, a bit unlucky for that money has run

into trouble with his form. Would have liked to have been

straight on this red ball. Safely in, the correct side of the pink. It

has been a very entertaining match, I have enjoyed every shot. Even the

first frame where we had 15 minute of play, the Reds or went off the

table -- the red balls or went up the table. Who is to say we might

not have another century break to finish the match? Superb stuff. I am

with you, Neil, great to see Judd Trump back on the old BBC playing

the way we know he can. 96%, it is only statistics, but there are not

many players who have got that kind of strike rate, after a trend of

snooker, that are going to get beaten in this championship. --

after eight frames. All the top players, he joins that list. It will

take a good shot to make sure he gets the century from here but the

match looks safe, that is always the priority.

He is definitely back. He was only gone for a few months.

He will take a bit of beating in this form. A lot of great players in

the UK championship. But the way he has played here, he will take a bit

of stopping. This red moves the other two into play as well. One

little skirt when he thought he wasn't going to get to the corner

which he managed to squeeze in with a bit of side.

We have already had for centuries in the match, two each. -- macro for

centuries. One to indifferent performances.

It has not looked to tight table, they have plagued so well. Credit to

Xiao Guodong formate and a good match. -- for making it a good

match. This has been superb to watch. A joy to watch, two very

attacking players, Xiao Guodong has played his part. He has missed one

or two shots, this could have been a very different result. It could have

been closer. He is in a position to have possibly won the match, but a

couple of friends down. -- frames. It is significant somebody who has

won this title before is playing in the kind of form that took him to

victory two years ago. Xiao Guodong has beaten them twice. Bash him

twice. All the little kisses are going his

way now. Lovely cueing. A top match, seeing somebody really

entertaining like this, a trick shot to finish, perhaps? Brilliant stuff

from Judd Trump. He breezes into round three. He is back.

I played some decent stuff, wouldn't really surprise me I played well

because I felt like I had been hitting the ball well all year. My

last game, a few people started to miss. I capitalised. A lot of good

break-building in the game. He made a couple of centuries, still lost

6-2, quite hard. A quick reminder of the men already

through to the forefront. Joe Perry, Barry Hawkins, student Bing and they

have been joined by Graeme Dott and Stephen Maguire -- Stuart Bingham.

Another great day here in York and if you want more that is great

because Hazel is up next, extended highlights of Mark Selby's match. We

are back tomorrow with further live coverage here on BBC Two.