:00:19. > :01:22.the Dave's play at the snooker championship.
:01:23. > :01:34.Hello, good evening. Welcome, three former UK champion in play. We shall
:01:35. > :01:41.see Ronnie O'Sullivan and now Salvi. -- Mike Salvi. John Higgins, 13 of
:01:42. > :01:48.his first titles in 2010. It eat Mike Williams. He is up against
:01:49. > :01:50.world 27 Ben Wheeler send, the man from lesson, not out by Shaun Murphy
:01:51. > :02:12.last year. It is Wilson to play. It takes a special performance
:02:13. > :02:17.against John Higgins to knock him out. Even if he is not in top form.
:02:18. > :03:27.It makes it difficult for his opponents.
:03:28. > :03:36.You can see, it wobbled quite a bit. Very rarely do you find the centre
:03:37. > :03:42.of the pocket immediately. He just needs a few shots to keep going. The
:03:43. > :03:53.surprise about how consistently John is playing in the twilight of his
:03:54. > :04:06.career? -- are you surprised? In some ways, yes, it seemed early on
:04:07. > :04:10.in the season, that things were going wrong, and perhaps it will get
:04:11. > :04:16.more difficult to him to get into the line, a few losses, a few less
:04:17. > :04:20.lights beating in, but he has struck back very well. He had a marvellous
:04:21. > :04:40.October and November. What was the most tournament on the
:04:41. > :04:48.trot to win can you remember? Two or three is almost impossible. They got
:04:49. > :04:53.the latter stages. I don't remember. I do not remember the amount of
:04:54. > :05:06.matches without a loss, how long he went in the zone. It takes the like
:05:07. > :05:12.of Mike Williams to halt Higgins. A lot of matches won on the trot. A
:05:13. > :05:21.new record. But winning a couple of events on the main tour, at the
:05:22. > :05:25.moment, the circumstances with find ourselves in, it must be a great
:05:26. > :05:28.confidence this, especially coming into the UK championship, you can
:05:29. > :05:46.get your teeth into a best of 11. Just the one remaining loose, once
:05:47. > :05:50.he pops the loose rate, it can get the black into the same pocket and
:05:51. > :05:56.open the other red. Higgins is different to the modern players.
:05:57. > :06:01.Murphy, O'Sullivan, they can to go into the pack early. John Higgins is
:06:02. > :06:07.aggressive, but sometimes he will wait for the shot, most players
:06:08. > :06:19.would go into the pack to get the red. It will be interesting to see
:06:20. > :06:45.how plays. If you can push through the pack and get to the bottom of
:06:46. > :07:03.the pack, it is well played. Very quickly into his rhythm. He was
:07:04. > :07:08.always waxing lyrical about John, being the best player in the world.
:07:09. > :07:18.What about Steve Henry and Steve Davis? They just love talking about
:07:19. > :07:24.John Higgins. This will not do him any favours, the way he has started.
:07:25. > :07:27.So far, apart from the second red, everything has gone right into the
:07:28. > :07:32.middle of the pocket. Make no mistake, he is a great way. --
:07:33. > :08:26.player. That little cannon, as you can see,
:08:27. > :08:38.opens at things up. The centre of the first frame. You have to make
:08:39. > :08:49.sure that he got the joint of the two reds, which he did. He has
:08:50. > :08:58.already made 26 centuries this season, amazingly 648 centuries in
:08:59. > :09:13.total. 86. There is nothing this young man has not won.
:09:14. > :09:57.What a shame, Ben Willis has decided to give up. John Higgins is in great
:09:58. > :10:03.form. He leads 1-0. Higgins went on to win the next two frames to race
:10:04. > :10:09.into a three nil lead, but Mark Williams pulled either side of the
:10:10. > :10:22.interval, reeks of 64, and it is Higgins to play Brexit. -- break
:10:23. > :10:50.six. Wonder if bending get through to the
:10:51. > :11:10.red nearest to the cue ball. -- Ben can. Very good indeed. A good pot.
:11:11. > :11:16.Just enough room to get past that, there could be a few there. Oh, no.
:11:17. > :11:45.Just when he got into the position where he could have levelled the
:11:46. > :11:52.match. It is getting to the stage in professional snooker, it cannot
:11:53. > :11:58.afford to miss the black off the spot. It is just the level of
:11:59. > :12:05.punishment that your opponents delivered to you, means it is
:12:06. > :12:11.normally the end of the frame. This rare with the standard these days,
:12:12. > :12:15.with this many loose breads, you cannot get at East 60. It puts
:12:16. > :12:24.players normally the on the winning post in a particular frame. Once the
:12:25. > :12:50.black goes back, I will be amazed if he does not make at the 60. Seven.
:12:51. > :12:58.It is purely concentration. He got down and did not even am. I do not
:12:59. > :13:05.think it was settled on a shot. Did not have the balance right. It was a
:13:06. > :13:14.bit of a stretch over the top. It seems to have parted on the left.
:13:15. > :13:20.Yes. I do not think he had comfortable cueing. I think you
:13:21. > :13:35.presume that it was a pride of the Ford cue, that he could get it
:13:36. > :13:52.right. -- forward. Quite a long way out, really. Ben Woollaston choosing
:13:53. > :14:01.this shocked with a rest. -- shot. He played it very well as well. I
:14:02. > :14:23.think I would be saying more than yuck if the cue ball finished there.
:14:24. > :14:36.Nicely played. Not again. If he can just get to this outside red... To
:14:37. > :14:41.be honest, Ben Woollaston has played a great shot to pot the rest of the
:14:42. > :14:45.red, he had a great shot on the yellow, look at all the breads that
:14:46. > :14:51.are available, it finished awkward. Yes, he missed the red, but there
:14:52. > :14:53.has to be easier red than that. And he just gets away with the mess on
:14:54. > :15:07.the black. After what has happened in this
:15:08. > :16:11.frame, neither player can complain about losing it.
:16:12. > :16:40.A bit risky to take it on, but he has what away with it.
:16:41. > :16:48.This just wobbled a bit. He is not cueing as well as he was earlier on.
:16:49. > :17:44.It goes past the red on the corner pocket. Quickly getting rid of the
:17:45. > :18:02.red that is causing the problem with the Luck, once he gets on spot, he
:18:03. > :18:13.could win the frame. What did he played there? It would appear, he
:18:14. > :18:28.would have massively overplayed that shot, did he mean it to stay in the
:18:29. > :18:37.corner quest --? What control that was, regardless of the last effort,
:18:38. > :18:44.that was wonderfully judge. He just overheat that by 6-7 inches. Once
:18:45. > :18:50.again, he has got the same situation, with the blue. The way he
:18:51. > :19:05.has been playing, I am not too sure this is a certainty. Goodness me,
:19:06. > :19:23.how did that go in? He has suddenly lost his corrections. Choosing the
:19:24. > :19:33.more difficult red ball, for positional reasons. He could have
:19:34. > :19:55.played either red ball he. He has to try and screw it in. It
:19:56. > :20:02.looks like normal service has been resumed, are there any more hiccups?
:20:03. > :20:14.A tremendous amount of right-hand spin on that shot, sending the cue
:20:15. > :20:37.ball towards the red. Two more reds over the line. 33.
:20:38. > :20:45.Interesting to see the way that John played that previous black, a choice
:20:46. > :20:51.of two pockets, he has slightly overhit, so it is playing into the
:20:52. > :20:57.corner. This has been workmanlike, this break, but he has placed him 51
:20:58. > :21:17.point ahead, 50 on. He would be feeling relieved, all of
:21:18. > :21:20.a sudden, he was letting Ben Woollaston get back into the match.
:21:21. > :21:28.Ben Woollaston knows they should get 3-3 at the moment. Very shaky in the
:21:29. > :21:38.previous frame, John, and quite shaky in this frame until the break.
:21:39. > :21:44.John Higgins has taken a 4-2 lead. And the world number four made it
:21:45. > :21:50.4-2, and won the next two frames, with breaks at 52 and 89. Ben
:21:51. > :21:55.Woollaston lost by the same scoreline as last year at the same
:21:56. > :22:03.stage. John Higgins marches on and take up Mark Allen or Ryan Day. Ben
:22:04. > :22:09.is underrated. And when three in front, it should not have been three
:22:10. > :22:14.on front. He came back and played well. They made some good chances to
:22:15. > :22:19.make it 3-3. He was looking stronger. I was looking weaker. He
:22:20. > :22:24.missed a couple that he will be disappointed with. I managed to take
:22:25. > :22:34.the frame and go up. Well done to John Higgins. Meanwhile, Marco few
:22:35. > :22:44.has never landed the UK title, but came close, beaten by Shaun Murphy.
:22:45. > :22:52.And of Acres coming into European Masters, he raced to a 3-0 lead. He
:22:53. > :23:10.had a break of 128. He won for the next six. We join him in the next
:23:11. > :23:16.frame, and he is leading the match. He has played for the pink. He needs
:23:17. > :23:29.the pink and he will need the yellow. The pink will put him 26
:23:30. > :23:31.points in front, 27 remaining. He will have to force this in. The one
:23:32. > :24:31.thing to avoid, do not miss the pot. Well, it is not dead, 26 points
:24:32. > :24:38.ahead. Still 27 on the table. So, Marco Fu and still has a charm. --
:24:39. > :24:46.still has a charm. He will not be taking this yellow on. Not worth
:24:47. > :25:04.potting. So, trying to play a good safety shot. At the moment, he is
:25:05. > :25:12.feeling the most pressure of the two players. It is unusual to see,
:25:13. > :25:19.because of his vast experience, as opposed to his opponent will stop
:25:20. > :25:34.Mei Xiwen would not have this much experience at this level. At such a
:25:35. > :25:41.major championship. He was in Shanghai, in a major tournament,
:25:42. > :25:48.early in the season. Just making certain that he got that hit, but
:25:49. > :25:58.that will not be of much of advantage to him. Near the green
:25:59. > :26:04.pocket. He has a big cover between Green, brown, blue. As long does not
:26:05. > :26:18.go the gap, it should be OK. Pretty good. That is a bit unfortunate,
:26:19. > :26:20.that is a gap to get to the top cushion, to keep the yellow at the
:26:21. > :26:48.back of the table. So, does Marco Fu take this on? If
:26:49. > :26:55.he pot sit on the green, it will be a match winner. What we have seen so
:26:56. > :27:03.far, he can. And not have any money on him getting at. It is a natural
:27:04. > :27:07.part, for the cue ball to go a round of the green. Oh, that was close.
:27:08. > :27:09.Look where the cue ball was going. Near perfect. He has gotten away
:27:10. > :27:28.with it. That was not far away, look at it
:27:29. > :27:35.again. Yes, you do not get paid for faraway, I have let that. Mei Xiwen
:27:36. > :27:45.could use the brown and green again. You could put the pupil anywhere. He
:27:46. > :27:52.has hit that too hard. I was going to say, anywhere near the middle
:27:53. > :27:57.pocket. He missed a trick. At this stage of the frame, one good snooker
:27:58. > :28:09.could make the difference between winning and losing.
:28:10. > :28:25.It is snooker, but once again, there is a gap, which will unable to want
:28:26. > :28:42.to get to see the cushion. There is always a gap. -- which will enable
:28:43. > :28:59.Mei Xiwen to get to the cushion. Not bad, it is not easy.
:29:00. > :29:10.Did not want that kiss on the black with the yellow, because he could be
:29:11. > :29:16.in a lot of trouble here. Behind the black, he has always got the green
:29:17. > :29:29.and brown as a blocker. Towards blue and pink. He has played that well,
:29:30. > :29:44.has he got the gap, though? There is a gap. He may be on this for a pot.
:29:45. > :29:52.I do not think he will take it on. I think the last time that Mei Xiwen
:29:53. > :29:56.was at the table, he should have tried to get the cue ball in behind
:29:57. > :30:04.the black. I did not think he can do it, tight to the cushion. He can
:30:05. > :30:06.still send the yellow up and down the table. He has still got the
:30:07. > :30:42.brown, the green. To get behind. He has played that completely to a
:30:43. > :30:49.different side that I would play. Why would you play that way? Marco
:30:50. > :30:59.Fu, unique is its remaining colours. To win the frame and the match, on
:31:00. > :31:05.the black. It would be relieved. Don't call me he is not on the
:31:06. > :31:11.green! Do not tell me he is not on the green! He is not on the green. I
:31:12. > :31:48.have told myself! Marco Fu, two. A lot of twists and
:31:49. > :31:59.turns in this match, particularly in this frame.
:32:00. > :32:12.He has had a look at the angle to try and pot the green, and it is
:32:13. > :32:16.dangerous, time to send it around the ankles, he is worried that
:32:17. > :32:33.perhaps the black will be in the way. -- the angles.
:32:34. > :32:57.Not a bad shot. Can he get the cue ball behind the black? Pretty good.
:32:58. > :33:03.Just a slight little edge on the ground. I think he is still good
:33:04. > :33:09.but... He may be able to swerve it, would it be worth living, John,
:33:10. > :33:16.possibly try to cut the green into right centre? I would just be happy
:33:17. > :33:21.to hit it, to be honest with it Day year, but the only problem is when
:33:22. > :33:25.you play this shot you take a lot of pace out of the cue ball and
:33:26. > :33:32.suddenly the green is up and down the table, he is not guaranteed,
:33:33. > :33:43.because the cue ball may be going with the green together. He did
:33:44. > :33:49.catch it in, and now Marco Fu will get another chance to clinch frame
:33:50. > :33:59.and match. How many times have we said that? A little unlucky there, I
:34:00. > :34:08.have to say. Just to get the green that in and knocked it safe. It
:34:09. > :34:14.looks very good. This looks very good indeed, just short of pace,
:34:15. > :34:25.good positional shot that was. Need another one here. Needs before
:34:26. > :34:39.remaining colours. -- lbw remaining colours, now three. --4 remaining
:34:40. > :34:50.colours. Just off the black. Anywhere but straight on the pink.
:34:51. > :35:00.He's OK, he can hot the pink and get the cue ball close to the black. --
:35:01. > :35:09.pot the pink. What he frame. -- what a frame. Well, Marco Fu will be very
:35:10. > :35:13.relieved. I do not want to count my chickens because he has missed
:35:14. > :35:24.several opportunities the win the match, he just needs the black. And
:35:25. > :35:29.in it goes, and he would be mightily relieved, I am not saying he
:35:30. > :35:33.deserved that. Mei Xiwen, well, he will be looking back at the
:35:34. > :35:38.opportunities that he missed. A match of mistakes, and the last
:35:39. > :35:45.mistake was made by Mei Xiwen and that is why Marco Fu is through to
:35:46. > :35:50.the next round, a winner by 6-4. I played OK in the beginning, played
:35:51. > :36:01.well in patches, but a few frames, I was just, yes, missing a feud long
:36:02. > :36:06.hops Day pots, and Mei Xiwen is such a good pot are, and he took
:36:07. > :36:13.advantage and either way, a couple of frames, just managed to get
:36:14. > :36:28.through. None of that for Marco Fu, and a couple more results for this
:36:29. > :36:34.evening,: these players are very young, a couple just 18 years old
:36:35. > :36:40.and 16. Turning our attention to this afternoon 's matches at the
:36:41. > :36:44.York Barbican, and 5-time UK champion Ronnie O'Sullivan looking
:36:45. > :36:50.to book his place in the last 16, taking on Michael Georgiou, and
:36:51. > :36:58.Georgiou, surprisingly, won it opener, and it is the first frame
:36:59. > :37:05.that Ronnie O'Sullivan has dropped. He is looking the right corner, to
:37:06. > :37:08.the left middle, and now he is going back to the long red. If you can get
:37:09. > :37:23.back on to the black on the angle... He may be able to stop this into the
:37:24. > :37:28.right middle pocket, but this is an opportunity for Michael. That was
:37:29. > :37:36.more committal from Ronnie O'Sullivan. The red into the left
:37:37. > :37:46.middle, perhaps, would have been a shot to nothing. This is dead
:37:47. > :37:50.straight, not too difficult. He would be disappointed with that
:37:51. > :38:02.effort! Effectively, that was miles out.
:38:03. > :38:19.He hasn't screwed the ball back far enough to say this. -- phase Day say
:38:20. > :38:23.that this -- to savour this. He should discredit back another few
:38:24. > :38:46.inches and the red would not have been available for Ronnie.
:38:47. > :38:54.A fantastic shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan, just off straight, and
:38:55. > :38:59.he was able to actually pot the black into the right half of the
:39:00. > :39:05.pocket and generate more of an ankle, that was superbly played. So
:39:06. > :39:13.easy to miss those. A bit further away from the black than he would
:39:14. > :39:21.like on this one. He was almost straight on the black, he had to
:39:22. > :39:25.force the angle. He is cueing beautifully, that type of shot, he
:39:26. > :39:45.had made that look ridiculously easy. 16. 17.
:39:46. > :40:09.24. 25. When you see Ronnie O'Sullivan playing like this, it is
:40:10. > :40:14.no surprise that the general sycophant considers him by far the
:40:15. > :40:23.best player in the world, regardless of the ranking positions. When he
:40:24. > :40:28.plays at this standard, if he keeps it up for the whole tournament, he
:40:29. > :40:34.has the ability to make the rest of the field look pedestrian. It is
:40:35. > :40:40.getting harder for him to do that because of the standard of the top
:40:41. > :40:47.players is ever-increasing, but it's just great to watch. That was a
:40:48. > :40:53.lovely little piece at the top of the show with you and the others,
:40:54. > :41:01.drilling you about all of your wins and breaks, fascinating piece. I
:41:02. > :41:08.think this man has made 846 centuries. An opportunity he could
:41:09. > :41:16.reach 1000 before he decides to call it a day. There is no reason why
:41:17. > :41:20.Ronnie O'Sullivan cannot carry on for another five years or so, he is
:41:21. > :41:25.very fit, keeps himself to it, does a lot of running. It is tough to
:41:26. > :41:33.know whether he can make 1000 for the season if he is not playing in
:41:34. > :41:38.every tournament. And how long his motivation will carry on for. He
:41:39. > :41:48.will not make a thousand in a season, I can tell you that, Steve!
:41:49. > :42:02.In his career. The record for that is 100 in a season. Should get this.
:42:03. > :42:20.55. Not to sure how many century breaks he made last season, it will
:42:21. > :42:26.take a few years, to get to the thousands. He made 30 last season,
:42:27. > :42:35.and he has already made 22 this season. In a few more seasons. He
:42:36. > :42:39.has gone a bit too far there, but had he finished straight, it would
:42:40. > :42:59.have opened up the other tee from the shot. -- the other tee the other
:43:00. > :43:00.two. 98%, he has missed one ball. He wobbled the red into the green
:43:01. > :43:35.pocket early. What a shame. Once again, the 18
:43:36. > :43:39.needed one chance and that break before has quickly taken Ronnie
:43:40. > :43:45.O'Sullivan into the elite, 2-1. And many rattled the next three to go
:43:46. > :43:55.into a 5-1 leader and let's see what happens in frame seven, Georgiou at
:43:56. > :44:01.the table. All about the pace. And making sure you do not collide with
:44:02. > :44:06.the wrong colour, but that sort of help, he did have a quick look at
:44:07. > :44:10.it. He must have played it, but it was in a certainty, otherwise it
:44:11. > :44:21.will not have played not to get on a colour. Now we have one of those
:44:22. > :44:25.delicate little ones, he looks to roll up tight behind the colour but
:44:26. > :44:38.on the fast clock it is difficult to judge. -- cloth. He certainly did
:44:39. > :44:49.not leave it short, he has left the red to the left corner. He can
:44:50. > :45:05.quickly get the pot on. He was a little bit scared and overheated --
:45:06. > :45:09.overhit it. In the party has said his long game is not up to scratch,
:45:10. > :45:18.but it doesn't look as though there is much wrong it today. Regardless
:45:19. > :45:25.of the fact he had intimated he hasn't really been practising a
:45:26. > :45:38.great deal this season, using some of the matches as a way of
:45:39. > :45:52.practising. Cue action looks superb. Seven. This visit, what do you
:45:53. > :45:59.think? A great Tansey, isn't it? -- great opportunity, isn't it? Just
:46:00. > :46:05.talking about practising, when you go the play with some former world
:46:06. > :46:11.champions, they say they haven't played in a long time, and then they
:46:12. > :46:16.rake in a century. Not that Ronnie O'Sullivan is doing that many
:46:17. > :46:26.matches these days, but he is still match sharp. Yes, I think you are
:46:27. > :46:43.not far wrong, Steve, in saying that 6-1 is the target, 67.
:46:44. > :46:56.Going just over one minute and 23 seconds, --1 hour and 23 seconds.
:46:57. > :47:00.You say there hasn't been much tactical play, and it shows you the
:47:01. > :47:08.average frame time is under 15 minutes. Ronnie O'Sullivan doesn't
:47:09. > :47:18.seem to get down in tactical matches. Perhaps it is a mixture of
:47:19. > :47:23.the fact that he plays good safety himself and forces the issue, and
:47:24. > :47:27.also he is such a good scorer, it may be the case that perhaps his
:47:28. > :47:32.opponents have a slightly different mindset against him, and they feel
:47:33. > :47:36.like they need to be a bit more aggressive than they would normally
:47:37. > :47:42.be. Absolutely sure of the equation, I am not, but I know that some of
:47:43. > :47:46.them and the frame time, regardless of how fast the plays, his match
:47:47. > :47:59.times almost seemed to be finished by the time the others have
:48:00. > :48:12.finished. And in very little time, indeed. The frame is more or less
:48:13. > :48:19.over. When these red goes in. I must admit, I enjoyed the little of what
:48:20. > :48:23.we have seen of Michael Georgiou. He studied so well, I like his cue
:48:24. > :48:28.action, he keeps his head still and I think this will give him some
:48:29. > :48:34.confidence. OK, he will lose, 6-1, but he will lose here. -- he has
:48:35. > :48:43.done well here. Flying all over the table now. His highest break has
:48:44. > :48:52.been 84 in frame three. He has been very fluid, consistent, and just
:48:53. > :48:56.trying a little exhibition shot, but Michael Georgiou comes forward with
:48:57. > :48:59.a big smile on his face and congratulates Ronnie O'Sullivan. He
:49:00. > :49:05.got to a great start but after that, it was all be rocket, Annie won six
:49:06. > :49:09.in a row to take himself through to the next round with a very
:49:10. > :49:14.comfortable win by a 6-1 frames. Always nice to get the first round
:49:15. > :49:19.because when you lose, you think that you have to win the next one,
:49:20. > :49:24.is at the end of the world, plus I've never played in before, so, it
:49:25. > :49:29.was new territory for me. Selling a little bit nervous but I just had to
:49:30. > :49:42.be professional and not get to the Macquarrie. -- too worried. Mark
:49:43. > :49:46.Selby is through to the next round after thumping Robert Milkins, and
:49:47. > :49:56.Mark Selby still on course for a quarter-final showdown with John
:49:57. > :50:01.Higgins. When he is on his game, he can easily blow me away, he is a
:50:02. > :50:06.kind of player, so to play the way that I do, I feel like a plate 78%
:50:07. > :50:11.of my game, did not miss many shots and sort of controlled the match.
:50:12. > :50:15.Mark Selby on the Powell, and Allister Carter is gone, and other
:50:16. > :50:21.big-name, after defeating David Gilbert and Peter Lines was beaten
:50:22. > :50:25.by Liam Highfield by the son, Oliver, is still very much in the
:50:26. > :50:29.tournament, taking on Jimmy Robertson in the third round match
:50:30. > :50:35.on Tuesday afternoon. That is it from us, but stick to extract is up
:50:36. > :50:41.next with extended highlights of Mark Selby versus Robert Milkins,
:50:42. > :50:58.and you can also see more matches on the other channels. Good night.
:50:59. > :51:01.Wanting something to be true doesn't make it true.