Day 1, Part 1 UK Snooker Championship


Day 1, Part 1

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Snooker is back on the BBC and back in York. After a five-year absence,

:00:15.:00:19.

the championship returns to this magical city and tour newly

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refurbished Barbican Centre. That is not all that is new. -- to a

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

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John Higgins is the UK champion. Brilliant!

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So take your pick. Any one of those champions and a whole host of

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others besides could be the man to win snooker's second most important

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event. Since we were last on air in May, times have been changing in

:01:57.:02:07.
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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

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Yes, the players have certainly been notching up the miles,

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travelling all the world. Steve Davis has a few stamps on his

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passport this season. John Parrott has watched it all from the comfort

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of his armchair. Lovely to see you both. Steve, it has been a full-on

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start for everyone, hasn't it? There have been 10 PCT tournaments

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and a couple of invitations. The players are certainly match sharp

:04:13.:04:17.

coming into the UK Championship. They may not be as fresh as in

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previous years but they certainly know what shot selection is all

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about. It really is a beery -- a busy

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period for everyone. There are one or two grumbles emerging about the

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workload. How healthy is the situation if you're a professional

:04:34.:04:38.

player these days? It has probably gone from the

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sublime to the ridiculous for some of them. They have had hardly any

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work and then suddenly they have had hardly a day off. It is

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difficult to play in every event. All of this means that the world

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rankings are chopping and changing all the time. These are the current

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headlines from the top 16. We have a new world No. 1, Mark Selby,

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taking over from Mark Williams. Judd Trump has moved up to number

:05:07.:05:17.
:05:17.:05:17.

seven. Stuart Bingham has shot into Number 11. He will not is there is

:05:17.:05:21.

no Stephen Hendry. He has dropped out after two decades. There is no

:05:21.:05:31.
:05:31.:05:34.

Stephen Ebden either. I wonder how everyone will react to this new

:05:34.:05:40.

format. John, give up the headlines from that. To win a match he

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previously had to get nine frames, now you have to get six. There is

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going to be a result in every single session. The disadvantage is

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that the top players are thinking, the more frames to play the bigger

:05:54.:06:04.
:06:04.:06:05.

the chance I have of winning. -- frames I play. It was reduced to

:06:05.:06:09.

the best of five in the Grand Prix last year. I think it will happen

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here as well. They will soon get used to the format.

:06:15.:06:20.

It increases after the semi-finals. John Higgins has had something to

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say about this. As a 6-time winner in the longer format, what do you

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think and what is the current talk amongst the players? Players think

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they have a longer chance over a longer distance. The players who

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would like it to be shorter are the ones who perhaps take their chances

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of it. Back in the past and I would have wanted it as long as it could

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be. Barry Hearn has come in in the last two years, he has increased

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the price money -- the prize money. He has ruffled a few feathers

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because he has shortened some of the formats, perhaps tinkered with

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them too much for some of the purists. My take on it is, if you

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were inventing the tournament tomorrow, what type of tournament

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would you invent? We live in a faster world and people want

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results quicker. I think the best thing would be a balance. I think

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there is so little between the players at the top. I did a preview

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for the BBC website and when they mentioned each of the players I

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said, yes, he could win it, he could win it. It may prove to be a

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masterstroke. Here they are around here is how

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they all line up. -- here they are and here is how. Stephen's route

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here was trickier than usual. looking forward to playing at York

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again. Steve Davis is playing against

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Ronnie O'Sullivan. He is excited. People have to stop talking

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pathetically. It is a game of snooker, 11 frames. It is the same

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for everyone. Dominic Dale will try to bring down

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Judd Trump. I am going to focus on winning,

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whereas before I was just focusing on getting through the first frame.

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If I play like I did in the World Championships I think I have a good

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chance. Matthew Stevens won the UK in 2003.

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He meets Marcus Campbell. Graeme Dott's book hit the shelves

:09:09.:09:19.
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recently. He takes on Matthew Selt. No matter what, it will be a world-

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class player who wins the event. Mark Williams has been runner-up in

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both of the major ranking events already. He is up against Joe Jogia.

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London's Martin Gould is at last in the top 16. I think the fact that

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there will be two tables in York this year, every match will be

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televised and you can watch it. I think that makes a massive

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difference. For me, that balances it out.

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Ali Carter is up against Robert Milkins. It has been a big season

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for Stuart Bingham. He is up against Marco Fu. The world No.

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is Mark Selby. It was only a few years ago that we

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only had six tournaments and we did not know where the next one was

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coming from. Now we're playing week-in week-out. It is just a few

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frames less, it does not bother me. Among the more tasty morsels in

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round one has to be Ronnie O'Sullivan and Steve Davis. Steve,

:10:57.:11:07.
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you have played two qualifying matches. We got 96 on the tour. I

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am delighted to be here. When I knew I would be playing Ronnie I

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was delighted as well. There will be a lot of eyes on it. It is only

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the best of 11. It is like the best of one, best of 11. Anything else

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leap that you -- we power to achieve from that draw?

:11:36.:11:45.

The all-Scottish encounter. It is always fascinating to see Stephen.

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He is in here at the moment knocking a few balls around. He is

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obviously getting geared up for it. It is always fascinating to see

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what standard his game is at. It will be a good match.

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As tradition dictates we are going to start with John Higgins, the

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defending champion. You might remember that amazing comeback

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against Mark Williams in the final last year against -- in Telford.

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John has had a relatively quiet start to the season. We have been

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chatting to him about this championship and lots of other

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things besides. You might just get a clue that we spoke to him in

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November. This is obviously one of the biggest events that we play in.

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I would love to do well and give a good account of myself. It has

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taken a little while to get used to this season again. I think when

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you're in that sort of bobble for the last year -- bubble, and you

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were just playing match to match. Rory, a tough game. He does well in

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the qualifying matches but when it is on the TV he maybe doesn't play

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as well as he does in qualifying, but I am sure that will be his goal

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this year. A player in his 21st year as a

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professional, will they call them up The Highlander, Rory McLeod! --

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:13:35.:14:05.

MUSIC: "Jamming" by Bob Marley The defending UK champion, John

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We have had record advance ticket sales for the championship.

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Remember, it is the best of 11. Just one session until the semi-

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finals. The first to six goes through. Rory McLeod has taken a 2-

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1 lead over Labour Scot in this match. The Southampton player is

:14:51.:15:01.
:15:01.:15:09.

If he has gone far enough he might be able to come over and bring the

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yellow into play. It looks as if it has the perfect angle to go off the

:15:15.:15:19.

baulk cushion. I think he can force the angle of the plays it with a

:15:19.:15:26.

bit of right-hand side. I am not sure if he can force that angle. I

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think he might be able to pull this off. If he hits it hard he can move

:15:34.:15:41.

them. He is going to try and get the snooker. Not many players would

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have played to leave the snooker. A lot of players would have tried to

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disturb both of those. If he did not get the cannon you still have

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the chance of a snooker. Has he got the snooker? He does not want that

:15:56.:16:06.
:16:06.:16:06.

yellow to career into the blue. He will be disappointed with that.

:16:06.:16:13.

This yellow will certainly tie up the frame for John Higgins. Where

:16:13.:16:23.
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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

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Barring a snooker we're going to If he can stand this white there is

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a chance of getting a snooker behind the black. He has potted the

:17:18.:17:28.
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green. Has he? I do not think he can get past the black. This will

:17:34.:17:44.
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be some shot. He would have to come off of two cushions to get the

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green. If he goes across the table he would have to get so much swerve

:17:54.:18:04.
:18:04.:18:10.

on its. Not a bad effort but it is not there.

:18:10.:18:20.
:18:20.:18:37.

NR25 points remaining. -- There are That will do very nicely. I think

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he has an angle to miss the middle pocket and get nicely on to the

:18:41.:18:51.
:18:51.:18:51.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

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He played it well. He looks to have He has got that snooker and it

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:19:45.:19:46.

looks as if he will tie the frame. That is a certainty now. When he

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rolled to the green to play the snooker he was up as if he had

:19:49.:19:59.
:19:59.:20:12.

You always want to win the toss and put your opponent in. Rory wins the

:20:12.:20:20.

toss. John goes to the table. In the old days you played it up and

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down the sports to leave the black tights to the cushion. It will be

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interesting to see which way John plays it. You just have to avoid

:20:33.:20:43.
:20:43.:20:45.

the double-kiss. He has played that very well. He has the cue ball near

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the cushion. But you always leave the possibility of the double.

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the cue ball up against -- up at the other end of the table. If he

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tries to flick the black on to the top cushion behind the black spot

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that can go wrong, so why not have a go at the double and leave plenty

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of distance between the balls? This may go close to the left corner

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:21:20.:21:33.

He got us like double-kiss but he will settle for the outcome. -- a

:21:33.:21:43.
:21:43.:21:50.

He has played it better this time. I do not think the double is on

:21:50.:21:59.

this time. That is a great shot that John Higgins has played. It

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looked very simple and straightforward but it was judged

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to perfection. The only advantage from Rory's point of view is that

:22:06.:22:16.
:22:16.:22:27.

the cue ball as a little further Where is the black going to finish?

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He can cut this in but he has to keep an eye on the cue ball. It

:22:32.:22:42.
:22:42.:22:57.

will be flying up and down the He safely avoids the in-off. It

:22:57.:23:02.

looked like Rory McLeod was going to pinch that frame. He did not. It

:23:02.:23:05.

is all square as we got to the mid- session interval.

:23:05.:23:08.

Rory is proving pretty stubborn and problematic for John Higgins, just

:23:08.:23:11.

as he was in the second round at the Crucible a few months ago when

:23:11.:23:18.

it was a very hard-fought match, something like seven hours. When

:23:18.:23:21.

they come back from the interval, Rory McLeod has taken the fifth

:23:21.:23:27.

frame. He leaves it 3-2. We're going to join them live now. This

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is frame six. And it is hello to Dennis and John.

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Hello to you, Hazel. Great to be back at the Barbican Centre and

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great to see Rory McLeod making the world champion work very hard here.

:23:48.:23:52.

That was a good friend that he won with a nice break of 54 that helped

:23:52.:23:59.

him on his way. He is proving he has quite a good temperament.

:23:59.:24:08.

He is certainly relishing the fact of playing the world champion. John

:24:08.:24:11.

Higgins is slightly up against it. He has not really produced his best.

:24:11.:24:17.

He had a break of VAT on the first. Since then he has not really been

:24:17.:24:21.

scoring that well when he has had his chances. He certainly had a

:24:21.:24:30.

chance in the last frame and broke down prematurely.

:24:30.:24:36.

He has hit is a bit hard. I do not know if the first red passes the

:24:36.:24:46.
:24:46.:25:02.

black. -- hit this. He made decide -- he may decide. The reds had been

:25:02.:25:06.

split beautifully. You are always trusting a little bit to luck as to

:25:06.:25:12.

where the cue ball goes. It needed to run through another six inches

:25:12.:25:22.
:25:22.:25:32.

APPLAUSE It went in, and that was the most important thing.

:25:32.:25:39.

There was a lot of pressure on that at 3-2 behind. He needs another

:25:39.:25:49.
:25:49.:26:04.

You were right, John. What a golden opportunity he has left for Rory

:26:04.:26:14.
:26:14.:26:19.

McLeod. Off we go with the sort of chance that you would set up for a

:26:19.:26:29.
:26:29.:26:44.

John Higgins did have a little bit of a goal at the Association about

:26:44.:26:49.

the change to the number of frames. Players do like longer friends,

:26:49.:26:54.

especially someone like John. It adds a bit more pressure to him. If

:26:54.:27:04.
:27:04.:27:12.

he loses this friend he has a lot You can see Ding Junhui in the

:27:12.:27:15.

background. Usually there is a curtain that comes down, a dividing

:27:15.:27:20.

wall, but this is open plan. It is the sort of thing that the players

:27:20.:27:30.
:27:30.:27:30.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:27:30.:28:34.

have got used to. It means the If he gets a nice angle on this red

:28:34.:28:38.

he will play for the blue. The pink is available. It is plain sailing

:28:38.:28:48.
:28:48.:28:59.

Going way back to the second frame, it looked like Rory was going to

:28:59.:29:04.

fall behind. But he did make a nice break and won the frame and it has

:29:04.:29:09.

certainly given him the confidence to go on and produce this kind of

:29:09.:29:19.
:29:19.:29:19.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:29:19.:30:27.

He is in the driving seat at the Not bad. It is a little bit more

:30:27.:30:37.

awkward than he would have liked. He is having to use the rest.

:30:37.:30:47.
:30:47.:30:48.

I think he has got an angle for the black. Pink to the middle, black to

:30:48.:30:58.
:30:58.:31:10.

Just about perfect. I am seeing signs of a growing confidence in

:31:10.:31:18.

Rory. He is not the quickest player, I do not mean that as a detriment

:31:18.:31:28.
:31:28.:31:32.

It is all about confidence. He is on the verge of getting himself

:31:32.:31:42.
:31:42.:31:48.

into the top 32. Before I retired, I went to practise with him and he

:31:48.:31:52.

never missed in practice. He has never really produced the snooker

:31:52.:32:02.
:32:02.:32:33.

that he consistently produces in Pot this red, goal in front... A

:32:33.:32:43.
:32:43.:32:46.

formality, surely? Not much fun, practising with people who never

:32:46.:32:56.
:32:56.:33:01.

I think that is one of the great pet hates of the snooker player.

:33:01.:33:09.

Playing with someone who never misses. Get the worst player in the

:33:09.:33:19.
:33:19.:33:29.

club! That is the way I used to John Higgins currently has the

:33:29.:33:34.

highest break in this match. The break of 80 that he made in the

:33:34.:33:37.

opening frame. Sometimes when his back is against the wall, that is

:33:37.:33:42.

when he produces his best snooker. A remarkable comeback in last

:33:42.:33:52.
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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:33:52.:34:44.

That is now the highest break of A terrific break. I do not know

:34:44.:34:48.

whether it was the UK Championship one year, he was when -- well down

:34:48.:34:52.

but he some the produced three centuries, it might have been in

:34:52.:34:57.

four frames. He did not win the match, but he certainly played some

:34:57.:35:05.

marvellous snooker. He has run out of position their slightly. I think

:35:05.:35:11.

he had so an eye on bringing the last red away from the pressure.

:35:11.:35:20.

Can he make the century? He needs to pop the blue. Not quite. John

:35:20.:35:30.
:35:30.:35:32.

Higgins, world champion, in trouble, against Rory McLeod, who leads.

:35:32.:35:37.

Looking calm and composed. We know he has been playing well over the

:35:37.:35:44.

past few seasons. I think this is the story of things to come in the

:35:44.:35:48.

world of snooker. Rory has been a pro for 21 years. I could not

:35:48.:35:54.

believe that! For many years, considered a journey man, going

:35:54.:36:00.

nowhere. All of a sudden, instead of having six tournaments in the

:36:00.:36:03.

season, now we have got so many tournaments where the general

:36:03.:36:07.

standard has got better and a lot of the players who were considered

:36:07.:36:13.

the Jenny men are getting enough matchplay to become better players

:36:13.:36:17.

and also having enough confidence that they can perform at the level.

:36:17.:36:21.

Seeing the likes of John Higgins and Rory in some of the smaller

:36:21.:36:23.

tournaments, getting more opportunities to play, in that

:36:23.:36:29.

respect, is the fear factor of diminished slightly, John? I think

:36:29.:36:35.

so. Familiarity breeds contempt. Why not beat them in front of a

:36:35.:36:39.

television camera? That should not make a difference. That has held

:36:39.:36:49.

him back. If he was a race was, you would think that Rory McLeod never

:36:49.:36:53.

produces it on the racecourse. When he comes to the television stages

:36:53.:36:59.

and the camera, he never really did himself justice. He is now. He is

:36:59.:37:05.

indeed. From John's -- from the John's perspective, he knows that

:37:05.:37:11.

it is only best of 11 and suddenly he thinks, he has got to catch up.

:37:11.:37:16.

That is slightly problematic in itself. He is be difference between

:37:16.:37:23.

a best-of- 11 and best of 17. Perhaps John Higgins was looking at

:37:23.:37:25.

damage-limitation to get out of recession and come back in the

:37:26.:37:30.

evening. Now it is not damage limitation, it a couple of frames

:37:30.:37:35.

and he could be out. It is much more cut-throat. Normally, the

:37:35.:37:40.

players better under match conditions do come to the forefront.

:37:40.:37:49.

Back we go to the match. It is fascinatingly poised, this

:37:49.:37:54.

first round match with the defending champion slightly up

:37:54.:38:04.
:38:04.:38:17.

Not quite. There is a possible pot here. He can get the cue ball round

:38:17.:38:24.

the back of the black. His long hot success rate is much better than at

:38:24.:38:34.
:38:34.:38:43.

This would be a nice one up to slot in. Let us see what he can make of

:38:43.:38:53.
:38:53.:39:19.

Slightly awkward here. But he can screw back for the blue Label --

:39:19.:39:23.

for the blue from this, to try to get the white whip on the position

:39:23.:39:32.

a little bit. -- away from the cushion a little bit. John normally

:39:32.:39:42.
:39:42.:39:48.

goes into the pink fold ball. It is If he gets it right this time with

:39:48.:39:53.

a slightly better angle, he will then cannoned into the pink and

:39:53.:40:03.
:40:03.:40:14.

He has underhit it slightly again. Still a bright colour at the back

:40:14.:40:24.
:40:24.:40:41.

of the bunch, if he can't get into No, he has underhit back. That is

:40:41.:40:46.

probably the worst positional shot he has played for a while. He is

:40:46.:40:51.

going to have to force up the position here. He underscrew it

:40:51.:41:01.
:41:01.:41:07.

back by car it a way. -- by quite a Look at where the cue ball has

:41:07.:41:17.

gone! That is a bit unlucky. Absolutely, very unlucky. Not only

:41:17.:41:22.

did the cue ball run through and get past the blue, the red you

:41:22.:41:32.
:41:32.:41:39.

think he would be looking at, but Made no difference. If it stops

:41:39.:41:49.
:41:49.:42:14.

short of the bold line, he won How is the cue ball? It has come up

:42:14.:42:24.
:42:24.:42:37.

The two reds are not even a plant so he can not get that. Can he get

:42:37.:42:42.

past one of those reds to the left side of the table? It must be very

:42:42.:42:52.
:42:52.:43:02.

He has done well. He put everything into the pot there and sacrificed a

:43:02.:43:12.
:43:12.:43:27.

That looks much better this time. He has got a lovely little angle to

:43:27.:43:31.

pot best red and leave himself nicely on the black for the same

:43:31.:43:41.
:43:41.:43:41.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:43:41.:44:37.

He just went a little bit too far so had to play the cannon. He is OK.

:44:37.:44:44.

This is typical of the defending champion and current world champion.

:44:44.:44:48.

When his back is against the wall, that is when he does seem to be

:44:48.:44:58.
:44:58.:45:08.

Look at that determination on his face when he his down on the shop.

:45:08.:45:18.
:45:18.:45:51.

Needs a nice little cannon here to A couple of reds and a couple of

:45:51.:45:59.

colours would see him well in this frame. A little bit of work to do

:45:59.:46:09.
:46:09.:46:16.

How is it running? He will not be getting the red this visit. That

:46:16.:46:26.

was careless. A positional shot on the blue back was the poor shot.

:46:26.:46:36.
:46:36.:46:42.

Rory McLeod will be thinking he is This was the one that did not get

:46:42.:46:48.

the right side of the blue. He could do with the lifting this red

:46:48.:46:58.
:46:58.:47:20.

That middle jaws is trying to spoil He has not got many points to play

:47:20.:47:27.

with. He can afford one pink. The rest will have to be blacks to win

:47:27.:47:37.
:47:37.:47:40.

the frame in one visit. It may put him off playing the plant. Can he

:47:40.:47:50.
:47:50.:47:59.

Looking at the angle, it he may be able to screw this white and get on

:47:59.:48:09.
:48:09.:48:16.

He has not stuck anything up. Nothing easy, that is for sure. I

:48:16.:48:21.

think Rory when he took the plant on, thought, if I do not get this,

:48:21.:48:28.

I am going to lose the frame. was worth the risk, obviously. You

:48:28.:48:33.

have got to take some risks. He has got away with it. He will be coming

:48:33.:48:43.
:48:43.:49:06.

John has managed to get two reds near the question which is a big

:49:06.:49:16.
:49:16.:49:29.

John will not mind back. A pretty good shot from Rory. The red has

:49:29.:49:39.
:49:39.:49:40.

cornered near the back kitchen. -- bap cushion. If he can just get

:49:40.:49:50.
:49:50.:49:57.

I thought he could only see the edge of it but what a great long

:49:57.:50:07.
:50:07.:50:07.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:50:07.:51:47.

Terrific cueing going on here. Rory has not managed to score a point in

:51:47.:51:56.

this frame. As you said, that is what you expect from John Higgins.

:51:56.:52:06.
:52:06.:52:28.

You have got to scrape this man off He will not bother about that. Back

:52:28.:52:33.

for tea break has a queue at the frame. He closes the gap. John

:52:33.:52:39.

Higgins is just one behind now. The world and UK champion looks

:52:39.:52:44.

like he is suddenly in the group. He is up against it. He is up

:52:44.:52:49.

against someone who you do not win frames easily against. That was an

:52:49.:52:53.

exemplary performance. Rory McLeod is very difficult to play against.

:52:53.:52:58.

If it does not help from John's perspective that after the World

:52:58.:53:01.

Championship he said that he did not get back into the start of the

:53:01.:53:06.

season very quickly. It has taken him a while to find his feet. He

:53:06.:53:10.

does have a tendency to produce the right form for the right moments.

:53:10.:53:13.

Is that more difficult with a crowded schedule to be able to

:53:13.:53:18.

manage? Possibly, but I think every player will get themselves in the

:53:18.:53:22.

right frame of mind for the event. The only difficulty is that

:53:22.:53:26.

sometimes in the first round, the first day, that is when you can get

:53:27.:53:32.

caught cold. He has got to switch his snooker brain on. He proves he

:53:32.:53:38.

is able to do that. The alarm bells will be ringing. What makes Rory

:53:38.:53:45.

such a tough opponent? Years have faced him a fair bet. -- him you

:53:45.:53:53.

have faced him a fair bet. He is a top-class snooker player. The big

:53:53.:53:56.

thing that has been missing his performance in front of the TV

:53:56.:54:01.

cameras, as I mentioned before, but that looks like it is in the past.

:54:01.:54:05.

He has taken flak for being a more methodical player. Fair or not?

:54:05.:54:11.

do not think it is flat, it is just how he is perceived. He is a

:54:11.:54:14.

quality player. He has the opportunity bit more events if to

:54:14.:54:19.

flourish. There was not enough before and people were perhaps not

:54:19.:54:21.

depressed but down in the dumps that they did not get enough

:54:22.:54:27.

matchplay. The other thing was that when they are so few events, you

:54:27.:54:32.

put so much effort in that sometimes you go up in trying not

:54:32.:54:37.

to miss a ball rather than thinking you can win the event. Beck is not

:54:37.:54:44.

a case of that at the moment. -- that is not the case at the moment.

:54:44.:54:49.

In terms of motivation for John, I read early on the season that he is

:54:49.:54:55.

now targeting seven world titles. He has clearly had to reassess his

:54:55.:54:58.

ambitions. How realistic a target do you think that is for John going

:54:58.:55:02.

forward? He is one of the few players I would think it is

:55:02.:55:08.

possible for them to when it got a budget in their 40s. It has not

:55:08.:55:16.

been done ball so long. -- to win the World Championship in their 40s.

:55:16.:55:20.

He is one of those players. His strike rate is very good. To

:55:20.:55:26.

compare him fog Ronnie O'Sullivan who says he has under-achieve, John

:55:26.:55:35.

does get himself in the right state of mind for the big events.

:55:35.:55:38.

Remember it is first to six who will go through. A few more minutes

:55:38.:55:48.
:55:48.:55:51.

to enjoy the frame. Thank you, Hazel. A poor shot from

:55:51.:56:01.
:56:01.:56:19.

Normally you would think, is he on a baulk colour? With the blue not

:56:19.:56:25.

being on its spot, he has got a chance with the blue. With any

:56:25.:56:34.

player playing Rory, for some reason, their style of play, you

:56:34.:56:40.

feel as though you are sat in your seat quite a while. Looking at the

:56:40.:56:46.

table time, Rory McLeod has 61% table time, John Higgins 39%.

:56:46.:56:52.

Sometimes you never seem to get a rhythm going, do you? You have got

:56:52.:56:55.

to readjust and concentrate that bit harder when you are playing

:56:55.:57:01.

like that. You are always going to come up against different styles of

:57:01.:57:04.

play and John has been able to cope with all of the styles that have

:57:04.:57:14.
:57:14.:57:14.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 67 seconds

:57:14.:57:58.

That was a bit unlucky. He may only I said it was a couple of minutes.

:57:58.:58:02.

Coverage will continue of both matches on this afternoon online

:58:02.:58:08.

and on the red button. We are back on the air again on BBC Two at

:58:09.:58:14.

4:30pm. Well under way here in York but we are certainly less jovial

:58:14.:58:17.

than usual because we are missing a couple of great friends and

:58:17.:58:21.

colleagues who lit up the snookers seen with their skills and smiles.

:58:21.:58:30.

We miss them both. A tremendously well respected referee died in

:58:30.:58:35.

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