Fourth Round: Day Two UK Snooker Championship Highlights

Good evening. We are fast approaching the quarterfinals of the

2015 Betway UK snooker championship. Two fourth round matches to be

completed and in one of them two old pals slugging it out in an

all-Scotland clash. You can only get excited in these

games. It doesn't get any bigger. The UK is the second biggest

tournament we've got on the calendar. To play somebody like John

Higgins, who is a four-time world champion and the greatest player

that's ever played, to me, you can only look forward to it. I'm loving

it. As I said, I have been here for the last couple of years and really

struggling and not the last couple of years and really

struggling and not knowing when my next win will come from. So at the

start of this year, it was great to win two tournaments and then

obviously we got to the final of the up with, me and Stephen, so that was

a bitter shame to lose but it's going great this season so far. You

don't want to see mates struggling, especially if you like and respect

them and everyone respects John Higgins. But he is looking

comfortable in the field again, you know, you can see the difference

between him now and a couple of seasons ago. You know, he is nearly

back to his best. He had some great wins gend Li Hang, the Chinese

player we rate so. He is feeling good in his game and we're good

mates on the tour and it's tough playing one of your pals on the

tour, but you have to get on with it and block out who's sitting in the

next chair. I know how good John is, he will play to win, and I'm not

worried about it or scared, you know, I've played him before, we're

the same age, we grew up together and I know him really well. So that

will make a difference. If I take my chances and play the way I have been

playing, I will be there. Higgins got off to a cracking start in this

one, racing into a 3-0 lead and took the third frame with a break of 71.

But Burnett pulled one back just before the interval and they then

shared the next two frames. So we pick it up in the seventh, Higgins

to play, trailing by 38 points. He might have come up a little bit

short on the one he played first, so he will have to take the one left

over the pocket, in between the pink and black. A very important stage in

this match for John Higgins, it has to be said, Steve? Yeah, a very

important miss potentially from Jamie Burnett. Didn't really hit it

that confidently, did he? I think when John pots this red it's

going to clear the path for the one next to it for the right cornerment

-- corner. Oh, he got a kick there. A possible plant on. Not absolutely

sure. ..If it's on. Possibly that red goes anyway,

that's above the two-ball line-up. Oh, these are lovely plants, even

more insurance. Just the one stumbling block,

possibly, for John Higgins - the red near the cushion - as he checks the

scoreboard. But he's going to need that and a few more after it. That

plant was on, but he doesn't have to play for it, because the two reds

are available into the left corner. That kicked off, so you can tell

just by the sound of it, and I tell you what, this time the kick has

spoiled the position. He was playing for the plant - I think he played

across the table. I just don't think he was playing for ... I think he

just played to roll it in and leave the two reds, but it threw it off at

that angle and that's why he snookered it. Perhaps. Would you

come off the side cushion and make the plant? I thought he was going to

play the pink harder, if it was the plant, and then go across to the

same side of the table, but... Yeah, he can't come off the side cushion,

it's a bad plant, because the reds are two close together. That would

be silly. You would play that in an exhibition. He has got a terrible

white here. He has lost it there on the strength of that kick. He has

ruined his concentration. A sinking feeling in your stomach when that

happens. He probably didn't... He must have widened it so much so that

it meant he was snookered. Well, he missed a black previously

that was probably slightly easier than this one, because he is tight

on the cushion. Let's see how well he can cue this.

Better! Good shot, that was. I'll tell you what, he might just have

the angle to stun this in and knock the red over the pocket and finish

on pink or black. And this could be a big turning point in this match,

if he can pull this shot off. A very positive shot there, from

Jamie Burnett, and if he can hold himself together, it would be a

fantastic chance to go only one frame adrift.

Very nice. OK, he is not dead straight on it, but every chance of

rolling this into the middle pocket and being in prime position.

That's the frame safe, and he'll be feeling pretty good about himself,

old Jamie. Won the last frame with a n aid of a

break of 52. And this is a nicely played shot. Doesn't matter if he

lands on top of the pink. Just hit it, double it, doesn't matter what

happens. It's not going to be hard enough for the double, is it? So,

Jamie Burnett, 4-1 down - all of a sudden, he wins two frames in a row

and he is only one behind. 3-4. Yes, this is some comeback from

Burnett. Could Yes, this is some comeback from

Burnett. Could he draw level in the next frame? Higgins to play and he

is leading. I think he can take this cut on, you

know. It's a free shot. Towards the black again with the cue ball.

Is he going to take a similar shot on again? He never got near it the

last time. This is so difficult. Oh! Well, considering that he had no

intention of disturbing yellow and red, the fact that that other red

went safe is about the best he could have asked for after butchering that

shot. Yeah, John played it with so much

side, he finished up getting the double kiss on that safety. I

thought he was going to try and pot it again as he did with the previous

attempt, but he was just playing the safety shot off that red. It had so

much side on it, that he double kissed it. He has just gone flat, at

the moment, John. Lost the initiative for certain - the dreaded

double kiss. And that red was always safe by the yellow, as well. Well,

Jamie is showing his intentions here, of getting on this red into

the corner, in such a way that he could maybe pot it and bring the

other red into play. Oh, the double kiss has worked out

for him! He had a couple of ways of going about that. He looked at the

possibility of leaving that red and then decided, "Well, I might try and

move this, if I don't, I'll finish on that red anyway". But what a

delightful double kiss. Well, I'd suggest that he is one

good pot away from 4-4 here. He needs to leave himself an angle on

this red, on the bottom cushion, but not too much of an angle.

Oh, he's not on the brown as well as I thought, so he is going to have to

leave himself distance, as well. In a club, you'd load up the cue ball

to the right hand side and get close, but you risk missing the pot.

So... Depends how much he risks. Not much.

Well, this definitely is the key shot as to whether he can draw level

with John Higgins. He is bound to finish on blue or yellow, if the red

drops in. Well, he hit it a little bit harder

- why, I don't know, because if he leaves himself on the blue or

yellow, it's straightforward. Now he has got to play a tricky little

black here, as we show you that delicate shot along the cushion.

Blue's the shot. Well, what a great effort this is

from Jamie Burnett. At 4-1, John Higgins was cruising. So he needs

the green, brown, blue and pink to get himself level.

Well, who would have thought this was going to happen? Certainly not

John Higgins. Certainly not this Barbican crowd. But there's going to

be a cliffhanger now. Early on in this match, we were all

saying how easy it would be for John - he has beaten Jamie on eight

occasions and this is just going to be a stroll in the park for him.

It's not now. He wins one more frame - four frames

out of five - and he gets himself level with John Higgins. Jamie

Burnett must be very quietly feeling pleased with himself. As he leaves

the arena, he is all square with John Higgins, four each. This is

excellent stuff from Jamie Burnett. Can he take the lead? Here he is at

the table trailing by 18 points. Well, Jamie, can you hold yourself

together here and put even more pressure on your good pal?

Well, there will be one player watching this, I'm sure, who's

taking sides. Neil Robertson faces the winner and,

not being disrespectful to Jamie Burnett whatsoever, I'm sure the

prospect of John Higgins going out here will be very much in Neil

Robertson's favour. I think Neil will be tucked up in

bed and getting a good night's rest, getting ready for tomorrow. I'm sure

you didn't watch too much snooker before you played your next match,

Steve? He'll be keeping an eye on it for

sure. Oh, he hit that harder than he

intended. A little bit of pressure back on Jamie now - the fact that

he's drawn level with John. But he could have held that for the black

and he wouldn't have had to hit it that hard. Now, can John Higgins get

himself back together here? Well, you can hear one supporter in

the crowd saying, "Good shot, John". Just about OK. There's only this red

and one more red available, so maybe a good angle on the black here.

Now he's just going to play for the single red at the moment. Wasn't

quite the angle that he would have liked, so imperative now that he

gets a good angle on the black. I mean, there are better points to go

into from the blue, but where this red is, he has got to play for the

black. And he has got a little bit of angle. If he can cannon into the

red, just between the pink and black. That would be perfect. And he

did do. But he stuck somewhat - he needed a little bit more spin on

that. Seemed to just stick in there - a little bit more bottom and the

white would have kept spinning a little. Tricky one now. Not sure if

he can guarantee position on the black . Very nicely done. Had to

judge the flick off the other red - could easily have lost the cue ball

to the cushion. No need for any cannons now. There's

a couple of reds available into the opposite corner. ..To the black.

Come up a little bit short, but he is already 46 ahead, so a slight

change of plan - but he should be able to drop nicely on the pink or

blue. That wasn't ideal, but he has got

that red into the corner - it will be a very relieved John Higgins who

gives himself a little bit of breathing space coming into the

nitty gritty part of the game. Look at that, though, with the

cannon, he has left all threat reds on - one to the right corner, one to

the left corner and one to the middle. A bit more like it but it

has to be said, Jamie Burnett has let him off the hook here. He was in

the balls with a great chance. He was in around the black spot area

and for some reason he didn't fancy holding for the black, tried to play

up for the blue and just seemed to hit it too hard.

This break coming just at the right time for John Higgins. 52 was his

highest - not in a match but the last break he made of any size was

52 and he led 4-1. I We're looking at a player that has

made 598 centuries in his illustrious career. 25 centuries

last season, 17 this season. We've had 90 centuries so far in

this year's UK championship - and make that 91! And it's come just at

the right time for John Higgins, because he had lost four of the last

five frames and no wonder he is going out of the arena at pace

there. But that century puts him one frame away from a place in the

quarterfinal. He leads Jamie Burnett 5-4. Brilliant stuff from the

four-time world champion John Higgins. So Jamie Burnett needs

something special - here he is on a Well, he thought long and hard about

which red to take and in the end he felt that was the better one. But

they're tricky little shots, you know. It's off the cushion, it's not

tight on the cushion, so it's a chance that's gone. He was 48 points

in front. One good pot and position and John could get right back into

this frame - a frame that would put him into the quarterfinals.

It's three reds that are a little awkward. Two on the side cushion

definitely very difficult. Can John Higgins do here what he has

done so many times throughout his career - when he is well behind in a

frame, he seems to play his best. Now, this is where it starts to get

tricky for John. Play for the one at the left side of

the table here and he has got enough angle to drop in behind that ...

Not bad. But goes past the green, I think. And ideally just past the

blue would give him a chance to knock the two reds out. He has

stunned it instead for an angle on the pink. He may have the right

angle, as well - it was more critical but this is a chance.

He had to be so precise there to get on the pink to give himself - I was

with you, I thought he might roll through for the blue. It was easier

to guarantee a good angle to move the reds. But another fraction and

this would have been on. It was a great way to play it. He knew

exactly what he was doing with that cue ball to get the right position

on the pink and - oh! What a shot that was! Well, we didn't see that

one coming! What a beauty that was. Didn't seem possible to get that cue

ball out! But he is going for the throw here - what a fantastic

performance. Oh, and I tell you what, that was ... .. ..... That was

courageous. Courageous. This is John Higgins at his best. He got half a

chance, it didn't look on, there was three difficult reds and he is only

two points behind now. So one good position or shot here - make sure

you don't cannon the brown. And it's just a bit shy. Another six

inches and it would have been ideal. It's just a bit wider than he wants.

Still, very gettable, of course. He really is a class act, John

Higgins. But this is what he does best .

So he just needs the brown and the blue and it will be quite a relieved

John Higgins, because he led 4-1, it all looked plain sailing, but his

good friend Jamie battled his way back to four each, and what a way to

close the match out. No wonder he is puffing his cheeks there! And what a

mouth-watering afternoon you are in for - Neil Robertson will be playing

John Higgins. Jamie Burnett put in a good effort and he almost got back

against John Higgins - from 4-1 down he levelled it 4-4, but in the end,

after Jamie made that break of 48, John Higgins showed his class and he

dished up and he goes through to the quarterfinal, winning six frames to

four. At 4-1 in front, I felt OK, I missed a couple but then Jamie came

back really strong at me and I was just bracing myself for the deciding

frame. He potted a great red at the start of the tenth frame and he was

looking good. Lucky for me, he missed a red and I managed to clear

up, which was good. I think Jamie had me under pressure in the ninth

frame and he missed a red which I'm sure if he went 5-4 in front he

could probably have won. He gave me a chance and I done 100, and a tough

clearance at the end there, but I just decided to go for it and

luckily for me, it went in. And John Higgins will meet the 2013 UK

champion, Neil Robertson, at 1:00 tomorrow after thumping another

Scott, Stephen Maguire, 6-1, knocking in three centuries and

winning six frames on the bounce. Last night, I was doing a bit of

practice and, you know, part of my routine, I was just playing some

safety shots, as well, and Stephen has come in, and he has gone, "Don't

you dare be playing any of those tomorrow, don't you dare play clip,

clip, clip". And I said, "Mate, you go for him and I will, I'm fine with

that" and the way he started off, he really put a marker down and I knew

I had to respond and be at my best today to beat him because he looked

in a really determined mood today. Meanwhile, a long old afternoon for

China's Liang Wenbo and Tom Ford, who accused Wenbo of being boring

after losing. I think I changed my mind, yeah, at 5-3 down and I don't

know why, yeah? I was very relaxed and enjoyed playing that red ball. I

don't know why, I just concentrated on playing. And after I gave in to

the pressure. I tried to work hard, and I had the safety long shot and

controlled the table and I had a good, good, good experience here.

Well done to Liang. What a story this is, 46-year-old Joe Swail from

Belfast didn't even get past the first round in last year's UK chafrp

but tonight was looking for a place in the last eight tonight taking on

Londoner Martin Gould. He leads the match 2-1. They share the first four

frames. We will pick up the action in the fifth, Swail trailing by

twelve points. Yeah, as long as nothing goes into the right centre,

it's OK, but the red that's pottable, it's not possible to find

a gap there around the back of the black, so just a containing safety

shot. But he has got to leave this red here. Now, it is a bit of a

tester for Martin Gould. Both reds pottable into this bottom right-hand

corner pocket. He does have a nice angle to - he has taken the second

red. Maybe he can get through the gap with the black in the pack. He

played that safety shot a little bit too hard, Joe. He wanted to leave

the cue ball right in the jaws. A little bit pacy, wasn't it? He would

love to try and get on one of these reds into the left-hand corner

pocket. Stay on the black. A similar type of shot - just down

between the pink and the red, just to the left of the pink. Throw this

one away anywhere in that gap and he will be on a couple of reds into

this left-hand corner pocket. Perfect.

Sometimes you play those containing safety shots and you know you're

going to leave a possible tempter. But the way Joe played it, it was

just that bit too hard, wasn't it? It should have been closer to the

corner pocket. You wouldn't have minded him playing for the first

red, but to leave that second one was disappointing. That may be could

and should have cost him the frame, the way the balls are.

Well, that was sort of betwixt and between. I was sure he was trying to

get on to the pink, maybe in the bottom right-hand corner pocket, but

he overran it and now the cue ball must go in and out of baulk here.

He is blessed with a lot of cue power, Martin, isn't he? He gets the

cue ball moving OK. Well, this will tidy up the awkward

reds, as regards staying around the black is concerned.

Everyone has been complaining about kicks on this table, but I don't

think we've had a kick tonight. Can you remember a kick? I'm not quite

sure whether there were too many. A few of the players were complaining

all week about kicks and we saw a few this afternoon, but not too many

tonight. Although a few times the players have got the cue ball

cleaned. Sometimes you get bad contacts, even though the balls

still do go into the pocket, but it's the cue ball that doesn't

travel through on the path chosen by the players. But the table looks to

be playing a lot better today - although there have been quite a few

bounces, I must say. The cushions are playing very, very quick indeed.

He is lucky there. Holds his hand up.

Frame one truly over now - he can start to concentrate on making a

possible century. Yeah, he has made 132 career centuries - 15 last

season, seven so far this season. That was an incredible achievement

from Neil Robertson two seasons ago - 100 centuries in one season. Quite

amazing. I will be absolutely amazed if anybody is anywhere near that.

Some people have made 60, but to get anywhere near 100 is just

remarkable. I think Judd Trump made 80 last season, yeah. Incredible

achievement. A lot of pros haven't made 80 in their career, never mind

in one season. Well played by Martin Gould - a

wonderful break. There has been a lot of really high

centuries this week, haven't there? I think we have had five breaks of

140, another three or four of 130. This is another chance of getting

another 130-plus. There has been quite a number. I'm not quite sure

of the complete amount so far in the UK championships, but it's well up -

and this is the 90th. And that's quite a lot, isn't it, for a UK

championship and we're still.. Three days to go? Everybody is moaning

about the tables but they can't be that bad, can they?!

So a wonderful clearance of 131 from Martin Gould. Gets his nose in front

for the first time in this match and he now leads by three frames to two.

Gould then took the next two frames before Swail pulled another back

thanks to a break of 54, but Gould kept piling on the pressure in frame

nine and with Swail needing snookers, the Londoner ranked 24 in

the world booked his place in the last eight, with Joe conceding and

Martin Gould will now meet David Grace in another all-England clash -

that gets under way tomorrow evening at 7:00. Well done to Martin Gould.

Struggled first sort of three, four frames. Didn't really settle down as

well as I would like. There was a lot of pressure on both of us.

Massive tournament, the UK championship, and to reach the

quarterfinals is a huge achievement. But I've managed to settle down and

come out and played some really good stuff. I had a fair little bit of

run, but I took advantage of it and Joe found the table quite difficult,

I think, he got little kicks and I don't think he was too happy with

how the table played. But I just carried on doing what I have to do

and tried to ignore what was going on with Joe. So, yeah, I'm delighted

to be through. A cracking quarterfinal line-up, this is how it

looks - Leeds David Grace takes on Martin Gould for a place in the

semifinals. Liang Wenbo takes on Marco Fu, who dumped out Shaun

Murphy. Neil Robertson takes on John Higgins, and Matthew Selt, the world

number 25, takes on world number one and 2012 you can champion, Mark

Selby. So we're all set for the quarterfinals. Extended highlights

of Liang Wenbo taking on Tom Ford coming up straight after this

programme. Thank you very much indeed for watching. We shall see

you again at 1:00 on BBC Two with further live coverage of the Betway

UK championship. From all of us here, bye for now.

This is the FA Cup and anything can happen.