Second Round: Part 1 UK Snooker Championship Highlights

The champion for the United Kingdom,

1977 is the 26-year-old Irishman,

Patsy Fagan. Alex Higgins is

1977 is the 26-year-old Irishman,

Patsy Fagan. Alex Higgins is the UK

champion, 1983. Steven Davis has now

won the United Kingdom Championship

six times. Tonight belongs to

17-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan. The

champion, Stephen Hendry. The

champion, Mark Williams.

Unbelievable. A star is born. Ding

Junhui. 2010 UK champion, John

Higgins! Neil Robertson. The 2016 UK

champion, Mark Selby!

Good evening. Between strictly, The

X Factor, the jungle and Michael's

big show, it is a watchable Saturday

night but things have been even more

watchable for us here at the York

Barbican. The Betway Championship,

the first of snooker's three majors

in any given season. It is the 40th

anniversary of this great

Championship, so a special occasion

deserves a special match and boy did

we get one of those this afternoon.

It featured a defending champion,

Mark Selby who was 2-0 up in his

second-round match, however, young

Scott Donaldson, came roaring back

at him, taking a 5-3 lead. Now,

would his nerve hold with just one

more required

would his nerve hold with just one

more required to create a massive

upset?

And there was. Is he coming

far enough? Yes. As I said before,

after that exchange, look at the

reds now, what a chance. You would

have to say, not a lot to do with

the cue ball, just keep potting

balls. If he plays at cannon into

the three reds, it will kill the

pace of the cue ball and stop it

running away. That is good. It is

very good.

Just finished slightly

awkward. He played your shot and the

red has just bounced that little bit

too far. Just drop it in and be

nicely on the black.

This is now like practice setup now

where the reds are. It is all about

keeping your composure.

Backswing is getting a little bit

shorter, that is down to pressure.

Will he get a better chance than

this to win this match? I doubt it.

Mark has beaten him four times,

Scott has had one victory against

Mark Selby, 4-2, a couple of seasons

ago.

He is facing a much better player

now. Scott and the way he has

performed in this match has been

fabulous, it has to be said.

Can he keep it going?

Hewitt have to say, it is only going

to be nervous or a careless shot,

there is virtually nothing to do

with the cue ball -- you would have

to say. If he finishes either side

of the blue he will have an easy

positional shot.

He has let that cue ball drift. He

has got a red to the middle.

He tried to hold the cue ball here,

maybe if he had played a cannon into

the two reds, to the left for the

cue ball is now, that would have

been a better shot.

You could tell

he was thinking, I do not want to

risk playing a cannon and he tried

to it. -- he tried to hold it.

That is OK.

Unintentional cannon on the red, but

he has recovered the situation.

You have to say, from 2-0 down, he

has been by far the better player.

He has struck the cue ball with more

authority than his opponent. And

when he has got in, he has looked

more likely to win the frame in one

visit than his opponent.

That is great, 94% pot success rate.

His long pot success rate is way

above Mark Selby 's and I think he

has outplayed mark in all

departments. Even the safety success

rate at 93%.

And maybe as I mentioned, he is one

of these young players that loves

the limelight, loves to play on

centre stage because the way he is

playing here against the defending

champion is brilliant. Still needs a

few more to be safe.

That was a bit of a nervous one, he

could have done with skewing the cue

ball a bit to keep the pink

straight. He will have to go up to

the left of the album now. He is not

getting into the cue ball as much.

It is understandable. Huge result

this will be fought Scott Donaldson.

-- this will be for Scott Donaldson.

You have to say, he has had a bad

slump in form recently, Mark Selby,

for his standards. He did not play

in Northern Ireland last week, he

has had a break. But it has not

worked, the plan. Scott Donaldson

keeps potting balls here.

Just taking his time, composing

himself, a bit of noise from one of

the other tables.

Now 55 ahead. Two more reds, high

value colours, would be enough. And

that is just about perfect. He can

put this white in the position where

he will have a choice of three reds.

You can see the ankle, he screwed

the white, leaving himself options,

61 ahead, what a performance from

this young Scottish player.

There

will be a lot of talk about how

badly Mark Selby has played today,

but we really have to talk about how

well Scott Donaldson has played. He

has outplayed the world number one.

We hope to get you back to the

snooker as soon as we can.

Here's a modest young man, but

inside he is absolutely over the

moon.

I am delighted. For Scott.

Sometimes you need these results,

could even kick-start a career, a

result like this.

I think I detected a nice little

smile there. I think he suddenly

realised what he achieved here.

He

will be gutted, absolutely gutted.

He has come so close to making a

century break on two or three

frames. Can he get the cannon?

Unlucky. Hit it as hard as you can

and hope for a fluke. It is not

finished. It was nearly going into

that corner. He lost the two opening

frames and Mark Selby comes forward

and congratulate him. Absolutely

brilliant. Brilliant performance

from Scott Donaldson and he knocks

out the defending champion by 6-3.

Well he played well, to come back to

the tour, ie did not have that much

of a chance, he had two good breaks

to get back on and after

of a chance, he had two good breaks

to get back on and after the

interval he continued the way he

started, so I have got no

complaints, I am gutted to lose but

it is not as if I had chance after

chance and through the match away,

Scott went and won it and played

remarkable snooker. For most of the

season, people seem to be playing

fantastically against me and when I

am winning matches, I am trying to

play at my best.

If you get chances,

take them, it does not matter who

you are playing. If the other guys

sitting down, there is nothing he

can do. If I get chances in my next

game, I will hopefully try and take

them as well.

When you lose any

match, it hurts. You want to do well

in a tournament like this. I cannot

complain, I did not do that much

wrong, Scott just played better than

me and sometimes you have to say

well played.

Obviously I want to

win, I would not be here otherwise.

I have it in me to win the

tournament but it does not always

come out and I have been working on

that, trying to consistently play at

a high level and that is not easy.

Hopefully I will kick on. I could

easily lose my next match and it

will be difficult. Hopefully I will

take my chances.

He only got his first victory this

week. IPO scored and outplayed Selby

today. The man who has been three of

the last three finals and York will

not be

the last three finals and York will

not be here. No such problems for

Neil Robertson who has made six

centuries in his first two matches.

Another three in a row to be Ken

Doherty today. As you can see, top

16 players, they are all through.

Defeat for Peter Ebdon and Ken

Doherty means they can focus all of

their energies on their television

day

their energies on their television

day job with us. Another eight

matches this evening. The headliner

was Judd Trump, a man who won this

event six years ago, the flamboyant

left-hander. He is the highest

remaining seed with the exit of

Selby. I am sure that he felt very

confident as he stepped out tonight

to face a man he has beaten in all

six previous matches in which they

have squared up, Rugby Park smack

world number 60, Chris Wakelin.

Chris Wakelin has never managed to

take more

Chris Wakelin has never managed to

take more than two frames from Judd

Trump in a match. It was a ragged

start, Judd Trump took the first

three frames. Ken Doherty and

Stephen Hendry were watching this

one.

It has been very easy for Judd Trump

tonight. But he himself has not

played well.

Well, it was not in the centre of

the pocket by any means. Have a look

at this again. Any more pace and it

would have stayed out. This is an

ideal situation for Judd. He has

just got to control the cue ball

around the pink. He would like to

take that red to the bottom left of

the pink into this corner pocket

after this. That release is the

bottom left pocket.

He might play a little cannon on the

red tab the pink and will still have

a red into the left centre. Yes, he

has played it perfectly.

Another nice little cannon, played

on that red, just to hold for this

red. He has got a choice of reds. A

red into the left centre, one into

the left corner.

Seven reds, seven pinks. Sometimes

the pink is the best ball to use

when you need to make a break to win

the frame because a lot of time you

do not have four pockets to play

into. The first blue ball of the

break. That is such a careless shot.

It really is. It is still pottable,

this red, OK.

He control that well. He has got an

angle on the blue to goal of the top

cushion and cannon the reds. He has

got to be on something. Make sure

you pot the blue. Well, that is

incredible. You could have another

20 shots at that and not do that.

A nice 61 break, but he will not be

happy. He has not won a frame on a

single visit just yet.

He has not got too many of these

tonight. Normally his forte. He is

still struggling with them.

REFEREE: Foul and the mist. -- foul

and a miss. He maybe needs to get

his eyes done again.

Yes, but I think anything that has

been from some distance, it has been

a bit of a struggle for Judd Trump.

Maybe his eyes are taking a bit of

adjusting. The two safety shots, and

you mentioned the long pot, that hit

the wrong side of the red, and went

in-off.

Well, a very tough shot there,

potting the red and trying to bring

a red into play. He has not left the

red and full ball, but it is a

straightforward plan for Judd Trump,

45 points ahead, just the red and

the high value colour needed. It

should be straightforward to drop

this in and drop on the black. Well,

it looks like 4-0 two Judd Trump. --

to Judd Trump. Chris Wakelin will be

kicking himself with this

mid-session interval coming up. He

has certainly had lots of chances.

He just has not converted any. I am

sure his good friend Ian Waite will

be in the dressing room with him,

trying to give him some words of

encouragement. That is all you can

do. And sometimes the interval can,

at a good time. It is certainly

coming at a good time for Chris

Wakelin. He can gather his thoughts

and come out a fresh after the

interval, but at the moment, even

though my mate is not playing very

well, banning smokers, he is going

into a 4-0 lead.

Just the two breaks

over 50 was all that was an offer

tonight, but really all that was

required for Trump this evening,

because he pushed on to cross the

line. A 6-0 victory. He has already

been in the winner's circle this

season, runners-up spot in the

Shanghai Masters as well, so two big

finals for him so far this term, and

he is potentially moving towards

he is potentially moving towards

another. He is into round three.

Chris struggled, I struggled. When

you go out there and you're playing

in the first big event of the

season, you want everything to be

perfect. When it is not quite

perfect, the balls were not running,

the table was not playing great. We

both got down and dragged each other

down. Obviously being a little bit

more experience, I knew it was

important to win the first couple of

frames. That settled the match. He

got a little unlucky towards the end

with a few shots, but it was the way

the match had gone. I have played a

lot better and lost before so you

have got to be happy you are through

to the next round, and hopefully

more to come.

Evictee is a victory

and that was all happening on the

main stage in York's Barbican

Centre. We have got a second arena

in operation with eight tables on

the go at any one time in the early

stages, it is pretty busy, but you

could not get a seat in the other

arena tonight, because they had

crammed watch

55-year-old Jimmy White, the

Whirlwind, playing on an

invitational jerk -- tour card. He

enjoyed one of the best victories of

his career, knocking out a top 16

player, Ali Carter, in the last

round. He was up against a tough

Norwegian, and key could not crack

him. His opponent ran away with it

5-0. Jimmy White responded with the

next two frames, but his tournament

is over. Great to see him pulling in

the crowds and crating a few

headlines on the way, though.

I

realised this morning I was going to

play in the garage on the back. I

thought I would acclimatise myself

do it today. I even went and watched

one frame. There is lots of activity

going on, but it is the same for my

opponent. You know, the table was

like chalk and cheese to the other

table the other day and that was

disappointing for me. I was 60 in

front in two frames and I lost both

of those frames. It all went wrong

today. You do not beat Ali Carter by

the scoreline I did unless you can

still play. It is just disappointing

that one day you're in the main

arena and the next day you are in

like a garage with people walking

about.

It is frustrating. Jimmy

White frustrated but they can take a

lot of pride in his achievement of

sending Ali Carter home in the first

round. From a 55-year-old to the

younger generation and there is a

whole infantry of Chinese players.

All very ambitious and we saw one of

them in action tonight. The

20-year-old Zhao Xintong.

them in action tonight. The

20-year-old Zhao Xintong. He's only

20, he turned pro last year. He was

up against Hong Kong's immaculate

player, Marco Fu. Marco Fu has had a

very average season by his own

standards so far. This was close all

the way. 3-1, but it was soon 4-3.

We will join them in the next frame.

Watching this one, Peter Ebdon and

Dennis Taylor.

Well, that is absolutely ridiculous.

What an absolutely incredible pot.

This young man is so gifted it is

frightening.

Such a difficult pot into the

right-hand black pocket. Even in

practice, you would probably get

that one not work two times out of

time. My God. It has been the story

of this match. He has potted some

amazing balls, and then a lack of

concentration.

He not only miss that, he did not

even get it into the jaws of the

pocket.

There is no distraction now for the

players because play has finished on

the other three tables.

It has just been the story of this

match so far, Zhao Xintong have

spotted some amazing balls and given

himself so many opportunities in

this match and he has also missed so

many easy balls, through sheer lack

of concentration and lack of focus.

He has been very careless this

evening. And you cant give somebody

as good as Marco Fu countless

opportunities. -- and you cannot

give. Because even though he has not

played well and he has struggled

with the heavy conditions, sooner or

later, Marco Fu is going to step up.

Big frame, this.

He still needs a couple of the reds

after this black but they are

perfectly place, so, even though he

is straight -ish on the black, I

think he has a slight angle, yes,

there you see it.

Black and one more red would be

enough.

What a kick that was. Didn't affect

the shot that much.

Marco Fu showing his opponent that

he can knock those in.

Here's keeping the referee on his

toes. He did that before the blue

was on the spot.

Doesn't matter about that. 64 and 66

in the previous frame. It is Marco

Fu who produced the goods there and

he now leads 5-3, just needs one

more

he now leads 5-3, just needs one

more frame. Marco Fu is a former

runner-up and just one more frame

required to make progress this year.

Would

required to make progress this year.

Would it come in frame nine?

That was another big bounce. It

affected the angle that it came off

the condition. Came off a lot

squarer instead of sliding. This is

an opportunity.

This is another very good

opportunity for a Zhao Xintong. Can

he keep his focus and concentration

this time? And not make a careless

mistake. That has been the story of

this match so far. Generally he has

been getting in first. Creating

opportunities for himself.

Looks very comfortable around the

table, plays with a really nice pace

and rhythm.

And I think out of the two players,

because he generally hits the ball a

bit harder, the slightly more

difficult conditions have suited him

more than Marco Fu.

He has cannoned

the wrong red there, he is still on

this one, but it was not the one

that he played for.

But now that his back is against the

wall, he knows he has to focus 100%.

One more slip-up and he could be out

of this year's Betway UK

Championship. He has a precocious

talent.

You know, if he gets to 5-4, and

there is every chance he will do

that, who is to say he could not

play another couple of frames like

this. Meanwhile, he has just

finished slightly awkwardly on the

black. Nicely judged to go between

the two reds here and this red he

pots, clears the one to the right of

the pink. And he can play for about

one now, he can stand between the

two reds, play for either of those

two loose reds. That is the one he

played for and there red that he

previously potted, cleared the way

for this one.

And he certainly does not hang about

when he gets going.

He needs to pull out. He is OK. He

only needs the red.

Just a half ball cannon on this red

will leave it on.

Photo ball. Doesn't really matter,

because he can still cut this in the

middle pocket, frame is well and

truly over. Played the double

instead, it does not matter if it

does stop going. His back was right

against the wall and didn't he

respond well. That was a

frame-winning effort there from this

young Chinese player, he is far from

finished yet but he still trails

young Chinese player, he is far from

finished yet but he still trails

Marco Fu 5-4. The world number 74

are still hanging in there and that

is his best break of the match.

are still hanging in there and that

is his best break of the match. So,

frame ten.

And the target here with the safety

shot is with the yellow ball but I

think he can get past the black to

take this pot on. At first glance, I

didn't think he could, but there is

enough room.

Oh, I thought it was going to go

into the middle pocket. He is OK. He

can play for the red to the left of

the bunch. The black will go back

onto its own spot. In a couple of

shots time, he could have an

excellent opportunity.

Yes, if he has got an angle and he

has, to pot this red and leave the

black to the right corner. No

problem.

If he has got an angle he can screw

back to the one next to the black

and that will clear it into both

corners, good chance now for the man

from Hong Kong.

It has been interesting to note that

Marco Fu's own concentration and

focus has gone up since the players

stopped on other tables. I felt he

looked disinterested and was looking

at the other tables, which is most

unlike him. I think that that was

partly down to the fact that he has

been struggling under the conditions

this evening, but this is a winning

opportunity now.

And he has given this his fill focus

and attention.

-- he has given this his sole focus

Although he has slipped up here and

there, if you look at his breaks, he

opened with a 96 break and then a

56. 62 in frame number six. 70 one

frame eight. Although he has

struggled with part of his game,

overall, it is pretty solid.

But he is far from safe just yet.

Those reds all sort of covering each

other somewhat. He does not need

many of them.

It has been his positional play

which has been affected. The table

is playing heavier this evening,

more than any of his other game.

Such a great competitor. One good

cannon here. He only needs another

one or two to make absolutely

certain. There is the cannon played

to perfection and even if he cannot

hold for the black here, he has got

a gap to screw up for the blue. 65

in front. Three more pots. He is

just checking the scoreboard.

Looking at that angle, he will have

to play for the blue.

He can go through that gap. He is

taking the other one to hold this

end of the table. I'm surprised that

he played one. The other one seemed

much easier to pot and get on the

blue.

Just pushing the Green safe. He has

got a 66 point advantage. Not safe

just yet. Marco Fu was indeed soon

over the line but moments later he

made that official making absolutely

sure with another contribution of 44

to win by six frames to four at the

world number seven through into

round three where he will face

another emerging Chinese player who

beat Peter Ebdon earlier today.

another emerging Chinese player who

beat Peter Ebdon earlier today.

I am

happy with the way I played under

these conditions, conditions were a

bit heavy today. It was the same

last year, conditions were

inconsistent, this year is the same.

We struggled with the tables a lot

today. Just need to get used to it.

I think it is part of the skill. I

am happy with the way I played under

these conditions.

Andrew led the update you with

another couple of matches in the

main arena.

This one featured Liang

Wenbo, the 2015 runner-up in York.

He made quick work of England's

Mitchell Mann. He made a century and

five other half-century breaks to

sprint into round three 6-1.

Liang Wenbo will now face Stephen

Maguire. The Scot was not hanging

around this evening with a 6-0

victory over Jak Jones. Stephen

Maguire had four 70 plus breaks. The

former UK champion is in good form.

Frame and match.

One Scottish player

goes through and another followed

later this evening because Graeme

Dott produced a dramatic finale. He

was actually 5-2 ahead of Dominic

Dale before Dominik forced the final

frame decider at 5-5, which was won

by Graeme Dott. Did victories for

Joe Perry, the Masters finalist, and

the senior champion Peter Lines as

well. Snooker Extra follows next,

but we're back on Sunday afternoon

with Ronnie O'Sullivan, the man of

the season. He has been in four

finals to date and he has pocketed

more money under way. He is taking

on Michael Georgiou of Cyprus. We

will also see Liam Highfield and

Shaun Murphy. It has been an

eventful few days. We have lost the

engine way. We have lost the world

and defending champion, Mark Selby.

-- the world number one. The last

word has to go to the man who

knocked out, the Perth potting

machine. Well played, Scott

Donaldson.

A brilliant performance from Scott

Donaldson. He knocks out the

defending champion.