Day 2 UK Snooker Championship

This year's UK Championship attracted the best prevent sales in

the history of the tournament. Tickets for this afternoon have

been in particularly high demand. This is a generation game or right.

Ronnie O'Sullivan against Steve He is flying. This is the first

tournament I have qualified for this year in the ranking events. It

is getting harder and harder. I have got to play currently two

matches to get through to the final stages. I am knocking on the door

of playing three if I do not put If you don't enjoy playing against

Ronnie O'Sullivan, you should give up. He is a fantastic player and

you have got to enjoy those moments. I just like playing. I just hope he

It is nice to be back in at York. I think it is an excellent venue. All

of the players are happy, they enjoy the atmosphere around York. I

believe the ticket sales are going round the roof. I am pretty good

for ticket sales no matter who did -- no matter who I am playing.

That is all coming up. From the players' lounge at the moment. A

few loose ends to tie up before the players are called into the arena.

A brief precis of the top stories of yesterday's opening day. First

knew it shortened format, only a single session, best of 11 frames

until the semi-finals. It caused a fair bet of drama yesterday, not

least for John Higgins. He had to 4-2 in front, with John Higgins on

the ropes. John Higgins is now looking for one more frame. He has

taken it to the decider. He is playing it well. Where is the red

Where is the yellow are going? Not another fluke?! Rory McLeod the

stands and smiles and things, what has happened? I am lucky to be in

He missed it by a long way. Has he got a fluke? You cannot believe it!

What a shame the match had to end in that way. I am a bit gutted

because I think over all I probably should have got that one. This time,

I was lucky. Next time, maybe not. He could not have played it better.

Good shot. And he retains the lead with a marvellous break of 134.

Steve Maguire wins this match. Six frames to breed. He is in the

second round -- 6-3. Do I am not even contemplating trophies or

anything just now. I am trying my hardest to get by John.

You can tell it is John's round because we have just got or water.

You opt old school of course, best of 17 frames. Yesterday, best of 11.

Did we miss that second session? do not think so. A lot of players a

have talked about not having the longer session but I think over all

when they look at it, at least there is a focus on two tables and

you are getting a result. I think that they are the first few rounds,

it is OK. Best of 11 is still a really good test, no matter who you

play. I think it will eventually lead to all the players enjoying it.

So interesting results. Matthew Stevens had a 140 and 136. Good

wins for Neil Robertson. By by Stephen Hendry. What did you think

of him? I thought he played well until he got level at 3-3. Steve

Maguire looked very solid. But Stephen Hendry showed glimpses of

his I'll sell. His long ball game is his Achilles heel. He is joining

the old be great because he is part of our telly team from Friday. --

the old brigade. Ronnie O'Sullivan against Steve Davis for a day for -

- today. Steve has beaten him many times but the last time was in that

1998. In terms of his attitude, what is Steve's mine said? He once

did go out and put on a level of performance that he fans acceptable.

If you play to the best of your capabilities at this time, whatever

else comes along, fair enough. He just likes to make sure that his

performance is good. As simple as that? I think he is playing at a

good time as well because he is playing a few of these tournaments,

getting a few results, he got to the semi-final in Poland, he has

brought up a -- built up a bit of momentum and confidence. As Ronnie

said, Steve Davis is playing well. He is going to be loving every

minute of playing Ronnie O'Sullivan. I see you need a good start but I

think it is crucial to go. He will be so nervous. If he can just get

the nerves to go into concentration and get a good start... He has it

all to do. As for Ronnie, he has shown some great flashes of form

all season particularly in the small events but not in the major

ranking events was that he did not go to Australia because of an

injury and went out in the first round in that Shanghai. If Ronnie

were to lose this today, there is a possibility he could drop out of

the top 16 which seems unthinkable at this time. There is pressure on

Ronnie and he will try to recruit some ranking points in a major

event like this. I think Ronnie is ready to shine. He has shown more

hunger for the game. He is enjoying it more. If you can tell from his

interviews that he is more relaxed. He wants to put on a show for the

British public and fans all over the world. Here we go. Gentlemen,

let us enjoy it. Willie Thorne and Ronnie gets this first round match

Four times winner of this event but no one does it better than his

opponent Steve Davis. He is a 6 time when it in the UK Championship.

I think my type of red you have got to be knocking him. That is what

happens when you get a little bit older. Those are the kinds of shot

you start missing at regular intervals. Steve Davis is still as

good as most in need balls. Ronnie O'Sullivan has not won a ranking

event for some time. He won at the league a couple of weeks ago and he

played well against Ding Junhui. It all depends, what mood is Ronnie

Just a little bit short of pace. I think he played for the blue. He

has got the green and loose reds on You still marvel, we have been

commentating on him for many years and the cue ball Movement he gets

with little effort, it is always lovely to see him play. He is an

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a pleasure to watch. It is absolutely packed up

here at York. We are so pleased to That may have gone wrong. He is

A good shot. He managed to play the cannon so the red did not stop the

black from going into the left corner. A coven up shop right

I think Ronnie noticed that the That has gone astray. End of breaks.

Any thoughts of making the frame It is funny how the game has

changed. On a match like this, you would think that Steve Davis's

trance is to use his experience. -- best chance. But it is so high-

scoring that when you get an opportunity... Ronnie O'Sullivan in

particular is as good a safety Very aggressive shot from Steve.

This is the difference. I do not know whether Steve has got the

angle to get into the bunch, but that act was a super shot. Steve

Ronnie would have generated more speed and gone in at pace. The

angle was there to play. He got into it a little bit too much. It

may be a possibility to get the red We know Ronnie O'Sullivan likes a

quick-fire game. It will be up to Steve to try and contain him. If

Back looked dangerous to people in the audience. If he gets the pot,

he misses the case on that the red on the cushion. They are relatively

good transport Steve. -- a Always difficult using the rest.

Only a fraction out. Ronnie has got a chance. The blue is making it

He has over a runner this a little bit. He will not be good on the

colour. When you consider how many shots he plays left-handed, I am

surprised he is good with the rest! It seems every department of the

Steve tries to play safe down the left-hand side of the table, he has

to be wary of the red near the He thought it was too risky. He has

played the containing safety. I do not think Ronnie will be tempted

Because of the respect back all of the players have bought Steve Davis,

Definitely taking this one on. A Just a fraction thick on that one.

But he is OK. Ronnie may play the double. A very unusual for a top

player to play a double but he can play it to a shot to nothing. He

He is taking the game very very seriously. He may be wishing now

that he had taken your advice and played the double because that is

not the best safety shot. There is A little bit disappointed with his

two opening attempts, he will be. The older players cannot get out of

the habit of playing that kind of shirt -- shot with the touch of

We used to call it a helping side. That drifted the cue ball over. But

with the superfine cloth, we have been playing with those for long

enough, I am not going to use that Played it beautifully. Could do

with a bounce to get on the yellow. He has got it. It is unlikely that

he will win from here but he will Nice clean pop on the yellow. Too

far with the cue ball. I think the His cue action has not changed over

the years. He has it right in the centre of his chin and hits the

Ronnie could not see any alternative than to roll the red.

Ronnie knew by leaving the cue ball on the cushion might deter Steve

from playing it. He is not bound to get the paint colour in play here.

A little bit of left-hand side, Now he has a 44 point lead. Still a

possible 67 left on the table but the way the balls are situated...

I suppose there is another challenge here for Ronnie to

outplay the master tactician. looks like he is enjoying this

safety exchange. If he gets anywhere near the pot, he will be

guaranteed to kiss the red on the right hand side. He did not even

Steve cannot get past the pink, I assume. An opportunity to get the

red away from the cushion and into Tactician wise, John, who would you

suggest is the best tactician? think it is a little bit of an

unfair question. No matter how good a tactician you are... And Ronnie

slipped up with that one, it is what you are going to do when you

get the opportunities. For the last two years -- few years, Steve Davis

does not seem to score as heavily. John Higgins still scores heavily.

I have never known anybody be so aware of where the object balls is

going to go up as Steve Davis. But to pick between the two is

That was a surprising choice. He felt he could not get onto a colour.

I am not sure whether Ronnie would have refused the red. With the pink

and black tied up, he really leaves the reds in the open. It might have

worked in his favour because the He got very close to this, Ronnie.

As John mentioned, the pink is now in play but he has got to avoid the

I am surprised he has played for baulk colour. He has left himself a

little bit to do here with the cue ball. He has still played it their

own. And played it very well. A little unlucky, he has just flicked

the black into the way a little. That was an excellent shot, perfect

The most awkward red is the one on the left-hand side cushion. He has

worked himself an opening. needed another two inches higher on

the black so he could hold for the He may end up to pot the black and

played for the red near the left hand Krishan as a double. -- left-

It might just be on for the double to the right centre. If it goes in,

How about the trouble?! -- trebled?! That red really squared

up off the first cushion. He has the perfect angle on the black to

He would have thought that Steve Davis would have such a good chance

in the spring? Still a lot of work It just shows you the value of

being patient. Bringing the reds away from the cushions, so that if

He played a double on the red near the left-hand cushion and it turned

into a troubled but these things can happen. The awkward ball is the

The pink gives him a nice opportunity to get up to the end up

Absolutely perfect to play the He decided to play and hit it fault

to develop the green for the white middle. He has not it away and it

is only just off straight green. If he cannot this end, he is a big,

big favourite. -- if he can knock Whatever happens, he still knows

how to get a frame one. At 54 years of age, the oldest player on the

circuit at this moment in time. Do think you are playing possibly one

of the all-time greats,... This would bring the house down if he

Superb! Absolutely superb matchplay from Steve Davis. The Nugget

brought the balls out. HAZEL IRVINE: So much for poker-

faced. I loved the treble, such panache. He did not even smile, did

he? It came at a great time for him. As Willie said, it squared up so

much and that is how it ended up as a treble. It is the best possible

start he could have made, isn't it? For his benefit, he needed a good

start. Hit matchplay qualities are still in evidence. -- his matchplay

qualities. It was a high tactical frame. Where do you stand on the

debate that Willie and John touched upon about the best tactician of

all time? You have played many great players, where does he rate?

I have played a lot of great players. Even John Higgins would

say that Steve was his idol. Everyone looked up them. When he

plays certain shots, you think, I would never have thought of playing

that. At one point, he took a red off the cushion because he knew

evil was -- he was going to need it later on. Not everybody would do

that. Shots like that, intuitive shops. That is what makes him the

best player of all time. This guy here is not so bad,

either! They did not call him Crafty Ken for nothing. Steve is up

there. He comes out of that game with enormous credit.

At first frame has really set the atmosphere here at the Barbican

Centre. It was just a wonderful frame. Ronnie has a shot to nothing

on. He has to be careful to miss But white has not kept the red. --

It is going to be interesting now. I do not think that Ronnie did much

wrong in that last frame. Of course, we can pinpoint the fluke that

Steve got on the third to last red. Ronnie's great advantage on paper

is that he is a much better scorer, break-builder and potter than Steve.

That was unlucky. Let us see if With all his experience, and he

It was very unlike Steve to miss a trick like that. We were just

discussing that the older player tends to be a little negative in

the opening the balls. That was an early attacking f -- attacking shot

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A little bit more pace in that cue Watch the arc of the cue ball. He

wanted to nudge up the reds Open. With these superfine cloths, it is

Ronnie O'Sullivan can win a frame in the blink of all eye. -- in the

It is amazing how he has not been a regular tournament winner, isn't

it? He looks so good at times that you would think, he must win three

or four tournaments a year. He is One more red and that will secure

That is a surprise. He may have been overstretching slightly, but I

certainly didn't expect him to miss that. Going back to what you said

in the first frame, he tried to put a little bit of help inside there.

He pushed it end, he didn't judge it, and that is why he caught it

Nice bump. There are good bumps and there are average bumps. That was

an average one. He is still on the Well, same scenario as the last

frame - 50-odd points behind and I do not know whether he can just

roll in this black and get on the He has played it nicely. The only

stumbling block appears to be the Inch-perfect on the blue. You would

think he will play for the open red This is a key shot. He got a good

result there, kissing the green full-on. Without that, it would

have been the end of the break. I think he can just about getting

to it. He has got to play with a lot of bottom here, lots of follow

through. Just too much pace. I am a little surprised he miss the kiss

there. There wasn't a chance for the back spin to take place. It

The problem is there are 30 -- he is 35 points behind and there are

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Remember, if Steve pots the red, it has to be followed by the black

otherwise he will need a snooker. The key thing for Ronnie was to hit

the red full to make sure there was maximum distance from the object

The kiss on the black has actually done him a favour. It was about to

Like you, John, I have played Steve Davis many times. Whenever he

needed a snooker, you almost felt like he went over the line. Even

when he needed three or four snookers, he was an absolute genius

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I rest my case about snookers. He found enough swerve to play it. In

this kind of situation you keep the last red on for the chance of a

free ball. Steve knows he can pot this red and get on the black, but

he will be reluctant to do that, given that he needs more than one

snooker. Normally it is highly unlikely that they would get rid of

He got the double-kiss. It took the pace out of the cue ball. Ronnie,

in a way, would not mind rolling in this red. He is just going to play

safe. He is trying to get it in behind the black. "This is what you

should have done, Steve" he is It has just gone closer to the

cushion to make this awkward. There is no pressure on this shot so he

can play it pretty confidently. He has certainly given Steve plenty of

respect, as you would expect, of course. He is an absolute legend,

but I am sure that Ronnie would normally have gone for the pot

there, the fact that he is 42 in The obvious target, you would think,

is the yellow, brown and pink, that He is trying to get it behind the

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green. What a great effort that was. REFEREE: Foul and a miss.

That was an exceptional gain of tactics for both of these players.

Having won the first frame, a marvellous performance from Stephen

the first frame. We picked out this plant. It is amazing that he did

not notice it. He had the confidence of winning that first

frame, you questioned whether he would try it and be aggressive.

Unfortunately, just below the pink there are two reds. And they are in

a direct line with the corner pocket. This is what happened next.

He hits the pink full in the face as he wanted, but did not see the

plant. From that, Ronnie made a break of 54. It turned out to be

good enough to win the second frame. A little bit of disappointment

there from Steve, after a high of winning the first frame as he did.

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This is a bit dangerous if he is playing the thin safety shot. He

could not have played it better. How well did he get that?! That was

slightly hampered by the brown. If he hit it any more than thing he

would have been catching the jaws We can see that Steve can hit the

red, but there is no point in playing that. It would just be

He had to avoid the black bear. Which he did, no problem. -- the

It is not just about getting the cue ball just in baulk, because he

wanted to cover the right-hand side of the table, he played it with a

little bit more side and got it in behind the brown and yellow area.

That blocked off that right-hand side of the table. He is always

Unless the pink is available in the middle, this is going to be an

awkward shot to play. The pink is I thought he was dead straight, but

he had an angle to get up for baulk colours. He certainly looks like he

I think he may have played for a couple of reds that around a black

area, so he did not get far enough down the table. -- that are around

Another excellent safety shot from Steve. I would be surprised if

Ronnie even looks at the red over the corner. This is where it is

important now. Ronnie has to find the top cushion, and he has not

done. An excellent safety shot from Steve Davis may have forced an

opening. Does anything going to the left-hand corner? If not, he has

He has found one, just to the left of the black. He needs a bit of

It was a good pot. Can he get past the green to pot the brown? I think

he can, because he is looking down for the next red. If he could not

get the brown he would be thinking about a snooker.

Once again, every opportunity, pink and black out of play, one shot and

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He will be a little disappointed with that, not getting on the right

He has not really recovered the situation. He has reds to pot, but

work to do with the cue ball for Yes, it is not getting any easier

at the moment. The last three pots have been awkward. He should be

able to get on a couple of reds if He has come back up for the blue. I

am not certain where the black spot A little flick on the black, I do

not think that was intentional. He Looking at that pack of reds, I

cannot see what he was thinking about. He played an excellent

safety shot. To be fair, all through that visit he never really

had control of the cue ball and eventually it caught up with him.

Steve will be relieved that, for one of only a few times, Ronnie has

not made the most of an opportunity. This is a head scratcher. It is no

Be one behind the pink, if it was not so near the cushion... That

The other problem with that shot, if he got it perfect and landed the

tightly knit the bulk macro Krishan, fine. But if he bounced out, the

red would be on. He is to say the Lucky, lucky, lucky. Apart from the

case on the brown, he would have been up the other end of the table.

That was very special -- kiss on Ronnie's turned to not hit the

safety shot quite right. The one to the right of the black, I do not

know if he could play that as a He is bound to be on the ground if

This is a tricky one. I would like to draw a line here and give you a

clue but I am not certain there is any red on the table that he can

hit and guarantee it being safe. That is as good as it gets.

Absolutely superb. OK, he may have That is as good as he could have

It is always hard to judge coming off two-cushions but he judged it

A little flip on the green has not done any harm. The cue ball tight

When you find the top cushion, it makes the safety so difficult. That

is half a chance for Steve. The case on the black has put it

slightly out of position. Ronnie's head dropped when he saw that.

Steve is probably going to try and play the cannon. He missed it but

He would have loved to have been straight on the black. The green is

an alternative. But to get back in the frame, he needs the black in

If he is straight on the red and plays a little stunned run it

through, he has got a good chance. Not quite straight. If he plays the

cannon on the red, he may not be on the black. He has got to be very

He has played it well. A little Of course, the big problem with

those three reds is that they are lined up at the top cushion but I

do not think he will be worried They are easy to get out, when he

finishes higher on the black. He wants to get back in the frame

first. This is an time now. It may I will be surprised if he does not

play a cannon of some kind on the three reds. He does not want a

double-kiss. If he hits one of them full ball, he could get a double-

He got the double Chris! I bet he That was disappointing. It was a

decent chance if he could have brought the three reds into play,

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he would have been favoured for the He has got an angle on the blue. I

do not know if he can avoid the case on the pink if he comes off

He screwed direct. It is imperative to get the three reds into play. It

is always difficult because when you play, by the time the cue ball

reaches the reds, it loses a lot of A nine-point lead. Back to the

APPLAUSE I think most people would have just clipped off the cue ball

to the baulk end, but the that was Can Ronnie get behind the

#ColourYellow And get in behind the red on the baulk cushion? Obviously

not. He needs to keep both reds at A good shot. OK, a bit fortunate

that he has covered the red in the baulk end, but it has worked out

nicely. It is Steve turn up now to This is why it eludes never caught

on! -- Billy its. Great Dane, but Back to normal now. He will be

playing off two-cushions. That is just about perfect. His safety has

been superb, hasn't it, John? is a lot of respect out there for

both players. Steve Davis has earned his respect over the years.

That was a tremendous shot from Ronnie. Even when it had dust on

halfway, 88% for Steve, 90% for It is not all about potting balls,

this wonderful game of ours. Unless he can get on to the red

here, there is no real advantage of A tricky shot. He decided to play

the snooker instead. I did not see that one. Ronnie may be snookered

He has to be a little bit careful Steve will be disappointed with

that by virtue of the fact he has We all love this century of breaks

and the frame-winning breaks, but when you see two top-class players

playing excellent safety... You can almost see the mind ticking over

here. He is in trouble because he can go one cushion to head the red

without a problem, but it is tough He may have to risk playing it very

He decided to play a bit slow. didn't understand that. Steve

thought he could not beat red to the top cushion but you were right,

He checked it up too much. You have got to be a little bit careful

because if you catch the near jaw, He did not really want the case on

the pink. Makes it a bit awkward now. The most important thing now

is to get good position on the most awkward colour which is the

#ColourYellow -- yellow. Left-handed is an advantage now.

The brown has gone in but he may have snookered himself here. Steve

is having a look. He may be so far in the jaws he might not be able to

He can get past the knuckle but this yellow is a tough. Wonderful!

Absolutely wonderful. OK, a look on the brown coloured gave him the

opportunity to play the shot but Back was one of the best pots on

the yellow that I have ever seen. But I do not like it, winning a

But that is part and parcel of this new club, I'm afraid. Ronnie could

probably say that Steve won at the first frame of a fluke. That yellow

was something else. Another frame at that could have gone either way,

in all honesty. Steve Davis will be a little bit disappointed. Ronnie

marches on. He now leads to have a one. STUDIO: You have been getting

in touch on Twitter. Nice tactical battle, nothing better. And this

one from... My Sunday afternoon is sorted, fire going, three up,

Ronnie and Steve battling. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. It was

through the fluke brown that make the difference. Steve had a foot in

the last frames. Ronnie decides to use his right hand and fluked it.

He was still in a bit of a predicament. He had a very tough

#ColourYellow -- yellow. If you get one of those in every 10, that is

good. You were saying, John, just with bowls. That is the frame that

comes to mind. Five or six consecutive shots were top class.

Willie alluded to it, saying that the minds were wearing a wave.

Ronnie is up for it today. He sees it as a challenge. I agree with

John. You do not want to get bogged down in it. But he is matching it

with the tactical stuff. The two players are clearly enjoying it.

Absolutely. You always enjoyed playing when you have contrasting

styles but Ronnie is enjoying the tactical battle with Steve. He is

testing himself and his own safety game against possibly the greatest

that has ever played the game tactical wise. He always likes to

have these protests. He is playing some fantastic safety, or I have to

say. This is the last before the When that Ronnie had fluked the

brown, I am sure Steve was wanting to have a go at it. His heart would

have sank when he saw the way he played it because he played it at

such a pace, it hardly touched the jaws. Not the big breaks we

expected but it has been matchplay The highest breaks, 54 each.

Sometimes it is the way the balls grunt as to whether you get lots of

the centuries when they open them up. Ronnie had one a good chance

and missed a red which eventually I am sure the big breaks will come.

Let us sit back and enjoy this. Those first three frames, Willie,

could have gone either way. You have the feeling that if Steve

Davis stays close to Ronnie, he has a chance. Not a favourite, I will

not go that far, but you know he is going to give everything. As much

of a challenge as it is for Ronnie, The blue... He will have been

disappointed to have caught that on the way back up. Amazing that he

has got all that space, whoever invented that game, how did they

know where to put the baulk Palace and the blue, you always kiss them.

-- the baulk colours. To play a shot at that pace, knowing that if

you miss it, you have left the lot In one at shot, he looks in good

position. I am sure the black will The fact that he was a little bit

low on that black meant he had to Unless of course the black will pot

in the left-hand corner... It does The pink pots! I thought the red

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He has certainly got his game based All these little cannons he plays,

that is the art of break-building. You cannot afford to let the white

run free. The cannons slow the He is very close to taking a 3-1

That is the highest break of the match so far. Red and pink and then

one Mort red... Back will be enough, you would have thought, to give

Ronnie i 3-1 lead. I fully expect a Port safety shot. Looks straight

forward, caught the blue straight in the face. Ronnie floated a nice

opening red in and the rest has looked a formality. He has never

really looked in trouble. How many times have we said that when Ronnie

is in and around the black spot He played back a little bit lax. He

knows people would love to see a century. The highest break in the

tournament so far is 140. That was by Matthew Stevens. Good to see

APPLAUSE That is his 659th competitive century. Catching up

with Stephen Hendry very quickly. Steve Davis is down at 326 and he

is one of the game's greatest break-builders. You mentioned

Matthew Stevens, I commentated on the match last night and he was

He paid for it in the middle. is his 11th century already in the

tournament this year. -- the 11th century. Just played exhibition

snooker there! In the end, at Ronnie O'Sullivan goes into the

interval leading 3-1. It was the long slow red at the

start that was the foundation of the break fault Ronnie. The opening

of red is played with such control and aplomb. To play it and land

through the gap, with a little bit of drag on it to drop it in. It

goes through the gap, softly it off the cushion and pots the black and

screws beat red of the black spot. The opening red was played with

such control. The interval may have come at the right time for Steve.

After the momentum of something like that. Some great pots followed

the back. It is great to see Ronnie. We have had a bit of everything in

the first four games. What a beautiful century it was. When

Ronnie is in full flow, he makes the game look so easy, compared to

anybody else. He is always full of little beautiful cannons and

knocking at reds and developing the reds and colours. And that is after

a bout of extended safety. Beck's - - sometimes you can't lose your

rhythm. Steve with all to do in the second half. We will be go up and -

What this season Mark Selby has had. Three trophies and elevation to the

top rank of snooker. He was playing Ryan Day of Wales, who has now

slipped down into the 30s in the rankings. We are going to sea frame

three. Ryan Day is on a break of 24 You're kidding! I thought that was

in. He seemed to be on his way to I am surprised he missed it, to be

honest. We have known Ryan Day for a long time. He is looking good

He has beaten Mark Selby before. It is not like he did not fancy the

job. Mark Selby has won twice. Last Here is another example of these

top break-builders. He managed to bring a few more reds into play and

that has developed into a good break. You always have to think

about different ways of holding the white. See that little kiss there,

it holds the white in place, splits the reds. You realise the advantage

of playing the shot, realise that it gets reds into play. It looks

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

Whenever you are cueing, you cannot afford any side or you will swerve

After about three minutes, he has them in perfect position. It looks

like another body blow for Ryan Day. He had first chance again. He

missed a very easy red into the middle. I think he thought it was

in, he but it pulled up and hit the Of course, when you're sitting

there, you have nothing else to do but think about shots like that,

just watching your opponent scoring. He has gone a little bit too far.

He has to find a way through the other two reds to get on a colour

from this. He would not be absolutely guaranteed to predict

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

That takes him 38 points in front. Pink or black is sufficient to take

him past the winning post in this frame. He is starting to look like

the Mark Selby of old. Ryan has missed a few to leave him in this

position, but he is looking very Very nice, he just missed the red.

Slightly awkward cueing with the rest on this shot. He would like to

think he could make a century. -- He has not had to play his best in

this match, but he is not playing He is getting ever closer to that

century. He made 86 in the previous frame and missed, he has 86 in this

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

He needs to get relatively close to Mark Selby takes a 3-0 lead.

HAZEL IRVINE: Further Bixter of 90, -- further breaks of 90 and 39

helped. Ryan Day, a former top eight player, goes out of this

year's championship, back home to Wales. Obviously, a little bit of a

crisis of confidence for him, but it is Mark Selby who marchers

through. I knew it would be a tough game

against Ryan. In my eyes, he is still a top 16 players. I think the

first frame could have gone either way. Ryan had a couple of chances.

After that I seemed to play really well and put him under pressure

from the second train onwards. Winning is what you strive for as a

professional. I know there are players out there who want to beat

me to get me off of that mantelpiece. It is tough, but I am

in good shape. I had a great performance.

I wonder how positive it it is for snooker that Mark Selby is the new

world No. 1? He is new one of -- he is one of the new up and coming

players. Not up and coming any more, but one of the new breed of players

who is carrying it forward now. He is very steady, he has a great

tactical brain. As we saw there, he scores very heavily when he gets in.

He is a fresh face on the top of the leader board. He is the one

they are trying to catch. It was earlier in the season that

he took over from Mark Williams, who started as number one. What do

you think of the ease with which he dispatched Ryan Day, who is

obviously a very talented player himself? I think he was looking for

the exit door when it went to 3- 014-0. If you get behind Mark Selby

it is very difficult to play against him. Going back to the

world ranking, he is number one but he would swap all that to win a UK

or a World Championship. He got to two ranking finals last

year, Mark Selby. He did not convert that into silverware. He

has three trophies on the mantelpiece already this season. He

has never traditionally been a great starter of the season, he

comes on towards the end. As John said, he has been to the final and

lost a close match against John Higgins. I think John Higgins

beaten in a couple of World Championships along the way. He is

one of those players who is knocking on the door of the big

tournaments. He would swap his world No. 1 for a UK Championship

or a World Championship. And to clarify, I think it would be a

travesty if he does not win one. It is the best I have seen anyone play

at the Crucible and get beaten. I think he is such a talent that he

deserves it. There are just so many good players about. That is what I

was going to save. They are so many good players just behind Mark Selby,

just on the periphery of winning big tournaments. It is such a fine

line between roundabout eight players who could win this

tournament. That is the exciting thing, chaps. Mark Selby is a very

polished article these days. But we have more news to bring you of the

first departure of the first of the seeded players in this year's

championship. Stuart Bingham has gone out, just a little earlier

this afternoon. He was beaten by Marco Fu, runner-up at the Masters

in January. It was a fine comeback from him. He is now ranked 30 in

the world. The man from Hong Kong won four frames in a row and

eventually closed at this match 6-4. His high break was 91.

Marco picked his game up, he came out, controlled the game, and he

did not really miss much, to be fair. When he did miss Mack, he got

lucky and did not leave me anything. Stuart played really well and the

first four frames. He punished me for every mistake that I made. I

was playing OK. It could have been 3-1 up to me, the way I was playing.

I knew I was not terrible. I just had to keep myself composed and

wait for my chances in the second session. I was able to produce some

pretty good snooker towards the end, so it was quite satisfying.

Amazingly, this is the first of the major ranking Championships that

Marco has qualified for this season. It has been a really ordinary time

for him. And you just never know which of the Marco Fus is going to

turn up. It is true in his case, isn't it? Marco is very much a

confidence player. He has done well in the UK before. The longer

formats generally suit him. He looks very quietly confident when

he is practising. He is hitting the ball might very well. Stuart

Bingham played very well and that match and Marco has done very well

to win. His wife Shirley accompanies him to

all of the championships there. As for Stuart, it is a big

disappointment for him. After winning his first world-ranking

title in Australia earlier this year obviously he wants to push on.

You want to get in there in all the big tournaments and have a good run.

The confidence that winning your first ranking tournament give you,

you get a taste for success and you want to keep the ball might rolling.

He will be very disappointed. He played so well in Australia,

beating Mark Williams in the final. He would be hoping for a good run

here in all of the big tournaments, particularly the television once.

Marco Fu was always going to be a tough test for him anyway.

Marco is through to the next round. We're just about to go back to the

arena alive. Before we do so, new to our coverage this year, we are

going to delve into the vault to unearth a few gems about Steve

Davis. Here are the ones that he I have no superstitions other than,

as a toddler to unfold, I find myself, if I get through round

after round, I find myself repeating what happened the day

before. I have a big problem with polystyrene. When they start

rubbing it against each other it is the worst thing in the world. I

would like to have gone back in time to see how good Joe Davis

really was. I do have a bell that was given to me. It has been in my

cue case ever since. I have a problem with vinyl. I like it. I am

a collector of records. Ignorant people, rude people and people who

have polystyrene in their pockets. Perseverance. There you go. I tell

you what, perseverance. I never give up. Perseverance.

And he is going to need those qualities this afternoon because

The Nugget finds himself behind in this match against Ronnie

O'Sullivan. I am sure that, had Ronnie known about his style for

beer, he might just have taken a few bits into the arena. -- his

A few little secrets about Steve Davis.

We have been getting some great messages on Twitter. Do you think

this format will hinder Ronnie? fact that it is all over in one

afternoon will help. Ross has text it to say, just had a

roast while watching the snooker. Nothing can beat that. -- Ross has

We will be happy to hear your comments if you want to get in

touch. Colin says, two living legends

serving up a right Sunday afternoon treat. Very nice of him to talk

about the commentary team like That was a bit of a loose safety

shot from Ronnie. He has left Steve with a comparatively easy safety

shot if he can get past the brown, which she obviously can. -- which

No attempt to pot it, of course. He has brought a red quite near or the

What a terrific shot, and perfect on the blue. I suppose, in a way,

Steve was a little unlucky to leave Ronnie that red. It was some

potting. What amazed me was the pace he got out of the cue ball.

When a ball is so close to the pocket, lots of players play it

with top spin. Somehow Ronnie managed to generate the pace to get

past the blue area. It is so unlikely. Once again, after that

long red, he has given him a chance to score heavily in this all-

Just looking at Ronnie's pot success there, 94%. That is really

good. As we say on so many occasions, if you drop below 90%

nowadays, at this level, you're going to struggle. Steve is just

not able to match him in in the safety success stakes at the moment.

The key to the pot success rate, it comes after a lot of safety as well,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

which makes it an even better This is the key shot, as far as

Steve Davis fans are concerned. If he splits these nicely he has taken

the frame. Has he done? I do not think there is anything on in his

right-hand corner. -- in this That was dangerous. Dangerous to a

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

What looks to be another frame- winning break. I cannot remember

Steve Davis missing anything easy. He is going to find himself 4-1

behind. You do not have to do a lot wrong with Ronnie, do you? He has

taken these superbly. Good opening red. As we said in the last ring,

once he gets in there, and the pacy plays at, it is just scary. -- the

He is just a pleasure to watch when he is in this frame of mind. We

have seen him too many times where he looks like he is not bothered.

He is certainly bothered this afternoon. Now, can he conjure up

some shot to keep the scoring going and hit another century? Not quite.

Steve Davis played aggressive safety but left the shot near the

corner. Ronnie knocked it in. He now leads 4-1.

We saw two wonderful examples of top spin there. He was in a

situation where he had a red at the back of the Ritz. If you play this

with normal pace, you have off white that is not going anywhere.

It pushes its way through the pack. Without top spin that was not

possible. Ronnie O'Sullivan, of course, went on to win the game.

This is what we call top spin. It stops before it goes through. Keep

an eye on the white. When it strikes the red it seems to stop

and then of a sudden the top spin takes. That is why you sometimes

see they have white forcing its way through. -- seed of white forcing

That is the worst possible start for Steve - she has broken off and

He did not judge that very well. I assume he was wanted to pot it.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

Steve has the option of having this replaced. That surprises me. It is

asking Ronnie to play from where It looked like a straight forward

safety to me. I would never question Steve Davis but he is in

Well-played from Steve. Perfect length. How dare you question a

He has developed a the opening from the little session of the safety

play. How does he get on a colour This is a decent chance. What can

he make of it? He has not scored a It is up to Steve to show Ronnie

that if he gets a chance, he can Somehow, the older you get, your

alignment definitely goes. You want to miss one of those bases and. --

So many easy balls have been missed by the players like Steve Davis and

Such a shame. He had played very well this afternoon until then.

worst pain is that as you well know, Willie, it is such a blow to your

confidence. He would never ever consider that... That he could miss

a pink. He was in the balls, he had a nice few reds to go at. He has

played a good safety, he created the opening with a good safety. But

you have got to put to the balls in I think there is a red in the

bottom cluster if he does not want to be playing cannons. He has

played it. Could have done with a full-ball contact on the road. --

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

He is just about on a red to the Not quite certain about that shot.

Did not get the slide on the that he expected. He needed to be

another two ft down the table. But it makes no difference! I do not

think the black is on. Steve Davis has got a reprieve here. He will

We were just talking off might about Ronnie's safety. He has found

the top cushion 10, 15 times at least. This is not a bad safety

Not this time. This red is on. He has hit it fit. Fractions make all

But missed the pink will be a real body blow, as I said at the time.

You would not be human if it did As you say, it must be alignment.

He must have put a little bit of traced to the side and not hit the

cue ball in the middle. Why do not know anybody who would bet him that

he would not pot a pink like that I am not going to say it is safe

because one of the reds below the pink will pot. Look at the cue

ball! Superbly shot. It may be two inches short of perfect but still

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

Normally when you play it a safety shot and leave the blue fault in

the face, leave -- you leave your He missed the pot. As always

happens in this game, when you need a bit of luck, you never get any.

He has missed the red and left it He has been totally in control

today, Ronnie. He has really enjoyed the safety battle. When he

is in the balls he is cueing very nicely. A lot of players are

playing well. I thought Mark Selby was excellent. Everyone gets up for

Steve Davis has had enough in that frame. No big breaks from Ronnie

O'Sullivan. But does not matter to him. He is further clear.

As Steve steps back to clear his head, just describe the way you

feel this match is running away from Steve? It is hard to catch

Ronnie O'Sullivan when he is in total control. Everything he is

looking at is going in. Steve had a couple of chances but the in the

previous couple of frames when he did not pot a ball... And then he

missed the easy pink. That is almost the final nail in the coffin

for a start and your assessment? comes with age. You could never

imagine missing that pink. When you are thinking about something else,

you forget the ball in front of you and miss something as daft as that.

He will be kicking himself. Ronnie O'Sullivan is in a very focused

mood and is difficult to play against. To be fair, Ronnie has

been focused all season. It is no coincidence. He started to see a

sports psychiatrist and I was speaking to colleagues of his and

he says that Ronnies -- Ronnie is one of his best pupils. It appears

to have settled them. It certainly looks that way. As I said, he seems

to have the appetite back. I know he has been talking about the BTs

and how he does not like playing them but I think it has probably

helped them get more matches and practice and more love for the

games. For a few seasons, he seemed to fall out of love with the game.

He loves it now I'm looking forward to every match. He seems at ease

with himself. He does not seem uneasy. That is always a good sign.

I hope he has a good run because if he falls out of the top 16... I

hope he ends up in the 16th, it would be ridiculous if not. There

is no danger at the moment. One More required fault Ronnie

O'Sullivan for a place in the last When Steve Davis came back in, he

got a tremendous reception. He has still got a few supporters. What

There is the trophy. Ronnie O'Sullivan's name on it many times.

A lot of great champions. There are no bad players on there. This is an

Just caught the bump of the middle pocket. The first chance, as in the

A nice opening red. A nice angle on the blue now. It would be good, but

he does not have do do it, but he needs to get beat red away from the

left corner pocket. He needs to get the black on its spot as soon as

That is a very, very poor shot. He was playing to get tight on the

I think he was so disgusted with his positional shot on the red that

he intended to play on, that he just tried to make that pottable.

It sounds a strange thing to say but sometimes you just talk

We have talked about Ronnie to date with the rest, he is still at 100%

success rate with the rest. I think he has played five now. He has

played seven, actually. That is not As he hit it hard enough? Can he

There are a few loose reds. He normally takes the first

opportunity to go into the pink. It is imperative as Steve tried to do

do remove the red away from the left corner. Then you can clear the

A bit short of pace on the blue. He will go in and out of baulk. It is

all about line and length. A lovely line. A beautiful land. --

The problem is still the bread on That is so clever from Ronnie. I

know it is not quite so good as he would like but because he knew the

black would be tied up, he needed to get the pink him play. So he

All he needs to do is finish low on the black so he can spring the red

Can he nudged the red away, as a Willie explained? He has got one to

Every chance that Steve Davis could have played his last shot in this

Could this possibly be the last time we ever see Steve Davis play

on television in the UK? It is not What a wonderful ambassador he has

He is still competitive. It is a case of how long you decide to go

He was the one most players looked Ronnie O'Sullivan was one of Steve

Davis's biggest admirers. Steve may get back to the table because that

Steve will get another chance. Back against the wall, 47 Points behind

but a possible 75 remaining. It does not look like he will be able

I think it is a tough shot to get safe here. He will have to move the

red away from the corner. It is I do not think this is going to

cover it. The kiss on the pink has The last Shot will definitely be

Steve's last. We saw Stephen Hendry go out yesterday. He is a five-time

winner of this championship. Steve Davis still holds the record,

having won it six times. Ronnie O'Sullivan looks as though he could

be the man to better that. He has It was the first tournament Ronnie

ever won at the ripe old age of 17, Their plate to Ronnie. He has

competed with Steve at every aspect of the game. -- fair play to Ronnie.

Steve has not managed a break above 30 since the first frame. He has

much to him in most departments Another wonderful position 0 a shot

from Ronnie. He has cued really well. We can talk about the demise

of Steve, but this is now laying down a marker for everybody in the

tournament. Ronnie O'Sullivan has come here focused. Long may it

continue. On this form, he is going to take some catching and beating.

At the start of the tournament, I had never seen Ronnie at such a

They shake hands. Ronnie O'Sullivan in his superb form. He has treated

this Barbican Centre crowd to some wonderful snooker. He goes out of

the arena and leaves the stage for Steve Davis and I am certain he

will get as big a reception when he leaves, possibly for the last time

ever in a UK Championship. One near San event is the winner by a 6-1.

STUDIO: Steve had to win at two qualifying matches to be here. He

will keep fighting, you can guarantee that. At 54-year-old,

Steve has no plans to be retired was that he is the oldest on the

circuit. A snooker legend, the record winner of this UK title. He

has won it six times. Well played, Steve. And of course, well-played,

Ronnie. How impressive it Ronnie look

today? Fabulous. He was brilliant. To get 3-1 was an exceptional

standard. Figo from three have a 126-1 -- to go from a 3-1 app 26-

1... How difficult is it to hold on to him? Very difficult. He beat

Reid 10-1. I was lucky to get one! It is hard to stop him went the he

is in a runaway train mode. For Steve, I think he will be back. He

has a great hunger for the game, a great passion. He is very well

respected. Everybody looks up to him and he has a great following

and a great tactical brain. could have had an easier draw,

couldn't he?! There are quite a few you would put -- pick before Ronnie

O'Sullivan. He is a credit to the sport. To be playing at this level

at 54, some achievement! It was indeed competitive before the

interval. It was really good to watch, the matchplay between the

two of them. A couple of balds and it could have been different. Once

Ronnie O'Sullivan got going, when he is in free flow, there is nobody

better to watch Oz but he makes the game look easy. It is great for

snooker. It is great for snooker fans that he is enjoying himself

And it is Dominic Dale or Judd Trump next for Ronnie O'Sullivan.

If Judd gets through and he plays Ronnie, that will be a sell-out.

watched them play at the final of the Belgian. Here comes Ronnie.

Well done. We really enjoyed that today. I wonder how you felt about

it, especially and -- in the early stages, that tactical interplay.

can't remember much of the match, to be honest. There were a couple

of flukes involved, but I got lucky in one of them and managed to make

a few breaks. Are you feeling good? That is the first time I have

played this week, to be fair. I have been lying in bed. I was not

feeling too good coming in. I managed to do all right. What has

been a problem? Just bad guts, to be fair. Not feeling good, a bad

tummy bug. It has not been a problem for you, putting a new tip

on and playing. Some people would take longer to play it in. I could

not really getting a bite into the white at first. It took a bit of

time. How are you feeling coming into this to none? Not good, mate.

I did not want to rest. It was an enforced rest. It not my immune

system down but I am here, and that is the important thing. You have

played a lot of snooker, running. When you look at what you have

achieved. I know you have had a lot to say about the PCTs, but do you

feel it has benefited again? No, I do not think it has. I give 100%. I

do not think it has made me a better player. I do not see it like

that. It is time to concentrate on the bigger championships this

season. In that regard, you have a little work to do. You're number 12

in the rankings at the moment. How do you feel about your chances

coming into these bigger events? How do you view them these days?

You want to be producing your best snooker and winning tournaments. I

do not really look at rankings. I would rather concentrate on trying

to win tournaments. As long as you can do that then the rankings seems

to take care of itself as I try not to get caught up in that sort of

thinking. I was saying to Ken and John before you came in, we were

talking about Dr Pete Stevens, who spoke at a conference that I was at.

He said you were one of his best pupils. It is a good complement,

considering he works with some of the biggest Olympians in British

history. I wonder what you're getting from him and how it is

benefiting you wrote looking competition? Before, if I played a

few dodgy shots, I would want to get out of there. I have stopped

thinking like that. I have moments when those thoughts come but I can

manage to turn them round a little bit more now. I may not be playing

my best of times, but I am still there trying. Is the joy in the

game returning a bit for you? always want to stay in a tournament

for as long as possible. If I was not cueing well I would think, I am

not enjoying it. That would turn into thoughts of maybe not wanting

to be there, go home and just chill-out and do some cooking and

do some running. Even though I am not at my best form, I am still

trying to play each ball as it comes and be a bit more optimistic,

I suppose. Does the confidence returned to win these big

tournaments? Earlier, you said you have under-achieve, but you have he

-- you have achieved a heck of a lot. Is there more to come for you,

do you think? There is a bit more to do. As long as I still think I

have one or two years left in me I will continue playing. If I do not,

there is no point in playing for me. It is about winning events. It is

not easy these days. There are a lot of tournaments, so you have to

take it as it comes. I still feel like, on my day, I can still

compete with the best of them. It was great to see playing

beautifully today. You have Judd Trump or Dominic Dale in the next

round. I am sure that you, like us, we'll wait with interest to see who

it is. Yes. Thank you.

A one of the big bonuses of this centre is that there is no dividing

wall between the two tables in the arena, which means that the crowd

get the chance to keep tabs on both of the matches that are going on.

Right now they are watching Ali Carter against Robert Milkins. We

will get to it in a moment, but let us fill you in a little bit about

Captain Carter. Mrs Howard jury of his Peers currently rates the

current world No. Eight. Obviously, all of the players we

are talking about the best in the war. But we're here to try to

discuss the differences between them and perhaps pick up where

there may be a fault. His Ali Carter's biggest Achilles heel his

temperament? -- is Ali Carter's biggest Achilles heel. I saw him

once admitting after a match that he wanted to smash the whole place

up after he missed a shot. He will probably suggest that sometimes he

has a little lapse in his temperament. A fantastic player,

are really great all-round game, but I think he would probably admit

himself that he sometimes lets himself down. Will he be aware of

this? Abu spoken to him? When I played him in years gone by, you

can see when he is feeling it. It gives you that bit of confidence. I

always think, why make it easier for your opponent? If there is one

thing he needs to sort out it is to try not to show his frustration as

much. Very few people had the ball as well as him. Is he a good

candidate for a sports psychologist? I think he definitely

needs to sort his temperament out. He has a great technique, a great

all-round game. Everything is there to show that he could go on and win

more titles. I do think his temperament does let him down when

he loses matches. With Stephen Maguire it seems to benefit him

more. I think that sometimes if people show no emotion it could

work against them. Ali definitely sometimes does let his opponent get

back into matches, or definitely gives them inspiration if he misses

something easy. He really let you know about it. I played him

recently in a match, sitting in the chair, watching him cueing up. One

of the best cure actions I have seen. -- cue actions I have seen.

He controls the ball wide to perfection. He has the shots and

the game. At times, it looks as if he is maybe trying a little too

hard. Sometimes you can tell that players are enjoying it. Ali

sometimes looks like he is not having fun out there. It remains to

be seen. Maybe he has under- achieved for the talent he has got.

Blocks of polystyrene everywhere. I wonder how Steve cope with that!

What is your view of Ali Carter's progress in the game so far?

temperament has let him down at times. He lets things get to him as

a bid is quite visible and, as the guys said, it gives you a pawn and

a boost -- it gives your opponent a boast to see that. He scores

heavily, a great lock potter. There are so many guys like Ali Carter in

the top 16 that are always knocking on the door. And you're waiting for

him to win a big, big tournament. He has won a couple of ranking

tournaments, but you are always waiting for him to take the next

step. He has not done that. It may be a matter of time. He could work

with a psychologist, I think everybody could. It can only

benefit of the players. How do you feel about that, John? He has also

had ill-health. He suffers from Crohn's disease, which certainly

cannot be held. That is something against him. You need everything to

be in your favour to compete and to beat the best players. To be

perfectly honest, we never talk about this, but at Ali does not

want us to talk about this. He never uses it as an excuse. There

are times where he is clearly suffering and that shows in his

form. To get back up to a level of fitness to be able to compete must

be very difficult. To be fair, even when he is playing well, he comes

unstuck against some of the players. Fair play to him, he does not use

it as an excuse, and we do not know how difficult it is, but he is a

great player. He has the potential, no doubt about it. He has

everything that you would want in the game, but his temperament lets

him down slightly. One thing I would say is that he is brilliant

when he is second favourite. The ones where he was not expected to

win, I used to think that he gave them such a hard time. And then he

would lose to a player who was ranked lower than him. Sometimes he

was better being second favourite. He has got past that now, he is up

and the upper echelons of the game. He is certainly a favourite in this

match against Robert Milkins. He is from Gloucester. He is making his

first appearance in the television stages of this championship for

four years, and it is certainly good to see him back. He has

knocked out former champion Peter Ebdon, and that is no mean feat, in

qualifying to be here. Their most recent meeting was two years ago.

This is best of 11 in round one. We join it with the score at 2-2. It

is Terry Griffiths and Dennis What a present this is for Robert

Milkins. Christmas has come a little bit early for the man from

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 69 seconds

An awkward bridge in there, but not If teapots the top red of the two

below the pink, that will open up -- if he pots. He has certainly

spotted a black. He has gone back to the pink again. Getting the

black back on its sport would not have been a bad idea. Not

imperative that he does that. -- back on its spot. He just has to

That was not the best position of shot. He wanted to leave himself

nicely on that red for the right corner. He might still be able to

He has won to the middle, one to He has left in -- left himself

hampered slightly. He has made things a little more difficult than

That was a good shot, a very good Once again, he has slightly

overdone it. I think he played for If he takes the black, it is black

I don't know whether he can hold and leave the red that is to the

right of the pink. He could. And he can get nicely on to the black

He made a 54 in the third frame, but that is his best so far. Carter

has done the two biggest breaks, 82 That was a cracking pot down the

cushion to give himself the possibility of making a century

break. It is going to be very difficult. He has made 73 centuries

in his career. He turned professional in 1995. No century

here unless it goes in-off the ground. He won't bother about that.

That break of 79 takes the man from Gloucester into the lead. It is 3-2

to Robert. HAZEL IRVINE: We can take you live

into the arena now. They are now into frame six. Robert has a 3-2

advantage. He has been to the quarter-finals of this UK

Championship. Let us get the low- down on what is occurring out there

now. As you join us, he missed the green

that would have virtually clinched The boys were talking about Ali's

temper but, earlier on he Mr shot and he gave the table such a wrap

with his knuckles. It looked as if he was going to go to my behind

there. Robert Milkins has certainly miss the trip. -- missed a trick.

That is going to leave a difficult black. That is just about perfect.

If he can screw up between the yellow and brown spot and get as

close to the crucial -- cushion as possible to make the black fairly

comfortable along the cushioned, but he has to get absolutely the

right position. Is he a bit too hard? He does not want that to

bounce. It is going to be a safety shot now. He might be able to cut

Well, he could, and Robert Milkins has missed a trick there. He had

the opportunity to open up at two- frame advantage. It is all-square

Well, that was some frame for Ali to win there. Just as you joined us,

it looked as if Robert Milkins was going to open up at two frame

advantage. It is a totally different Maginnis. He played a

great last red to get onto the green. He paid too much attention

here on the positional shot. He Well, can he recover from that? OK,

it is 3-3, but that was a pretty poor shot he played there. The

referee is just getting the balls set up. There is still a little bit

of noise, people moving around here Not the best break-off shot in the

He knocks a shot like that in and he missed a sitter of a green to

win the last frame. The green was a bit more important, though. Whether

he took his eye off of it, I do not know. Sometimes you could of your

concentration into the positional side of the shot and forget to pot

at the ball. He has given himself a great chance

here. In a few shots a posher the -- in a few shots' time. There is

one at the back of the bunch that he could roll in and leave the

black for the right corner. But has He hasn't and he is contemplating

taking his red into the centre. He may have left Carter uneasy red. I

am not sure if he can get through Yes, you're never sure exactly

where you're going to finish. You want to get away from the cushion

as much as possible. It is difficult to judge exactly where

And that is the result. Luckily for rally, he got the positional side

of it wrong. He hit that too hard. -- for Ali. There have been quite a

few breaks so far for both players, but in between there have been

quite a few errors, a few tactical battles. And this red is on, but he

is a bit under pressure on it because if he is going to stop the

white there, he is going to leave another red on if they were to miss

it. -- if they were to miss it. boys were talking in the studio

about psychology. Here, you think, if I'd miss this red I am going to

put my opponent up. Sports psychologist will tell you to get

down on the shot and think, if this goes in, I am going to pot these.

If you get a little bit of negative then you're on a downward spiral.

There have been a lot of very good players in the game who did not

achieve what they should have simply because the thinking was not

correct. Once they go down on the shot the decision is made. If they

are going to think about missing the short they should get up and

take another option. -- missing the shot. The standard has dropped a

little bit in the last half an hour. I think he has just lost his cool a

little bit, Ali, you can see it in his face. He normally knocks those

Temperament plays such a big part He hasn't played that too well. He

played for the red to the left of A good recovery pot. There may be

some value in going into the pink and a pack of reds there. The black

is off the spot. He is just looking at the possibility of whether he

cannons into the pink and a reds. He has a loose red at the back, it

He will have to force this red in to get the correct side of the blue.

The pink is available in to the left centre pocket, but I do not

know whether he can disturb He has left a good angle on the

pink. Now he can bring them into He is usually very quick around the

table. Have you been doing a little bit of work with Robert at the

Academy in Gloucester, Terry? He is a very good player. I think

he can do quite well in the game, but not with shots like that. I

think one of his problems is, when he comes out here on the television

table, he can be too quick. As he gets down to the shot he plays it

very quickly, which is fine in practice, and perhaps in the

qualifiers. When the pressure is at its highest, the pace sometimes

plays a part and you have to give yourself that extra half a second

Ali can get to the potting angle to scatter the reds. They will all be

He has lost it, at the moment, has Ali. He is not a happy bunny.

think you are being fair to him, saying he has lost it a bit. He

Obviously did not catch the red as intended and screwed directly into

Amazing. Now it is time for Ali Carter to regroup and get his

concentration back. The Scot is 3-3. He is playing in the UK

Championship. This will boost his No, but where is the red going to

finish? When it those scrappy like this, you have got to be careful

that you do not start looking for things that will happen before the

shot. Both players are missing chances. It is easy in the box to

be critical but the truth is that A little bit awkward with the

With that spider bridging over the red, he has left Ali in amongst

them. What a chance this is. He has missed a few, Robert. He had a

The pink back on its spot is what is needed here. The black is

All it takes is a nice little break to get going again and get your

Yes, and in this type of frame, the man who wins it come outside --

Early on it was great. Ali opened with an 82. Then he had a break of

64. Robert had a 54 in frame three and a 79 later. The standard up

until the last five or 10 minutes have been excellent. Made -- maybe

they are a nervous being at live on I remember the first time I

appeared on television in 1975. I watched it after and I was as white

The difference is 26. He will need That is as good as he could have

done from there. He was a bit short A good pot with the rest would

clinched the frame. Amazing! Frame at ball, a bit of pressure and he

has left Robert a chance to make up for the previous frame. Can he

He needed at least pink. He has not got a good angle. He has got to run

He has over done that slightly. It is a good angle to get onto the

wrong colour. It unsubtle 0 went you are clearing up and you

It just shows you that if you get slightly out of position, that is

what can happen. You have got to try and keep it as simple as

Nothing is certain at this stage. He is hampered with the black

because he would like to play this with loads of left-hand side. He

That white was dangerously close to He is struggling out there, Robert

Milkins. It is obviously carrying forward the shots he has missed

earlier in this frame. There is a chance this... A very good pot over

Luckily for odd Mark -- luckily for Ali, two snookers are required. It

is not imperative he hits this. He has missed it! They are at the