Day 6, Part 1 UK Snooker Championship

Good afternoon. It's quarter-final stage at this williamhill.com

United Kingdom championship at the York Barbican Centre. A couple of

the players are just warming up for their afternoon matches. Judd Trump

just getting warmed up, and behind us, Ding Junhui. But the line-up is

not perhaps what we have been expecting. We don't have the world

No. Has one, two or three and Selby and Higgins. But the line-up for

this year's championship is all for more enticing. I like to go for my

shots and so does Judd. I am expecting an exciting game. I like

to say I will have to improve to Ricky and I are good mates. I'm

I need to take my chances a lot We have got two world champions and

three UK champions in the line-up. Every one of our eight quarter-

finalists is a proven champion, having at least one world ranking

title to their name in their career to date. I know it has been a

pretty wild Dave in some parts of the UK and I understand in Scotland,

children have the day off school. So if you do find you have the

afternoon off, stay with us. We have plenty on the go. Judd Trump's

exciting players is sure to fire you up and get the blood moving on

this cold day. He is in his first UK quarter. He plays the wily

Stephen Maguire, who earned his nickname, up On Fire Maguire, a few

years ago. And on table two this afternoon, Neil Robertson aims to

boldly go where he has never gone before her and that is into a UK

semi-final. Ding Junhui is trying it's main man in snooker but has

only just scraped through his two games, both of them in final-frame

decider as. And more on Mark Allen and his short-lived bout of silence

last night. He is doing his talking on and off the table these days.

Judd Trump is like a breath of fresh air. That was at the World

Championship. What about here? must be said, he got a bit lucky,

but he hits the ball hard. The harder you do that, the more

chances you have of getting lucky. I thought he was brilliant. He said

he was not happy with his level of play at the press conference but he

showed a lot of character. I love the way he plays. He is the type of

player who does not shirk his responsibilities on the big stage

and who know where he -- who knows where he could go with that style

of play. With some players, you have to outplay them. Again

somebody like Stephen Maguire, you have to scrape him off the table.

It is a different mind set. The question is, what level has Judd

Trump jumped too? He may have jumped above that level already,

not saying Stephen Maguire is not a great player. Here's what Steve and

Getting the balance right between being far too nice and being a top

competitor and having to go to a management session is tough, isn't

it? Yes, Stephen definitely plays with his heart on his sleeve but it

definitely works for him. He expresses himself on the table,

which is fantastic to see, and if he is not happy, you let everybody

know. But it definitely works for him. He can be really intimidating

for his opponents as well. He is an awesome player when at the top of

his game. I would like to see somebody get annoyed! At least you

know the guy is 100% committed, if you control it? Yes. You can

definitely tell if he is up for it. I would not be doing that myself

but it definitely helps him and brings out the best in him. The

last couple of seasons, he has probably not shown his potential

and what he is good at, but I have seen him a couple of seasons ago

and Stephen was saying he could probably dominate the sport, the

next to dominate after Stephen. And I would agree. He is a great player

but he lost his way a little bit. Has he lost his way because the

players have got better? Stephen was always a fantastic guy at

practice. He stayed for hours and hours and whether he has the same

dedicated animal then, I doubt it. I don't think he is as in love with

the game as he was. But in terms of a competitor, obviously fiercely

and his reactions around the table... His cue has taken some

abuse! That is his character. But he didn't do that so much years ago

when he was winning, so whether it is frustration, winning the matches

you should be, I don't know. But in terms of a powerful presence....

terms of a new generation coming through? Yes. Stephen Maguire,

Carter, we have all come through at the same time and Stephen was

leading the race. He was the one winning tournaments before us. He

beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in the UK Championships and Ronnie said he

could dominate the game for 10 years if he carried on the way he

was. I think it is probably finding that balance of getting to the

point where it is better for your game in terms of temperament on the

table. I think when he was working with Terry Griffiths, Terry seemed

to calm him down and at the right moment in matches, whereas now he

is perhaps doing it at the wrong times and maybe his opponents are

getting positive feedback, thinking that maybe he is not quite up for

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. What a day of drama we

have here installed at the williamhill.com UK Championship! It

is quarter-final time and we have two giant-killers waiting in the

Please welcome one of the nicest guys on the circuit. He secured a

fantastic victory over defending champion John Higgins in the second

round. One of his title in 2004, the pride of Glasgow, he is on fire,

here comes Stephen Maguire! Stephen Maguire -

A great reception and I know you are a man of few words on these

occasions. How much confidence have you taken from that victory over

John, because he is so hard to put a way? A lot! Ladies and gentlemen,

Stephen Maguire! And his opponent, a player who

signals a new era for snooker. His bold attacking style took into the

China and World Championship final. Knocking out Ronnie the Rocket

O'Sullivan on Tuesday, the pride of Bristol, the ace in the pack - Judd

Trump! Just a quick word before we get

underway. He was somewhat surprised to get past Ronnie but how much

confidence have you taken him retrospect? A lot! Judd Trump,

ladies and gentlemen! HAZEL IRVINE: Before we get

underway in what is a serious occasion, we will keep you up dated

with events on table number two between Neil Robertson and Ding

Junhui. But for the time being, we will stick here on table number one.

If talking were an energy source, our commentators could keep us warm

This is an unbelievable tied up because we were thinking it could

be Higgins and O'Sullivan, but it is Trump and Maguire. He has proven

he can compete at this level and Stephen has been doing so for many

years, as was mentioned in the forum a few years before. Is this

the return to form? Look at his tournament pot success rate, Ken.

Judd Trump at the same stage, only Quite low from Judd Trump but high

from Maguire. But his record here, he is quite a bit away from that.

But his record has been exemplary for here for years. Been to a

couple of quarter-finals, two semi- finals, a final. He seems to like

He has been struggling of late but maybe that win against John Higgins

a couple of days ago will have given him a bit of confidence. A

Judd Trump is a player who turns hot and cold. He has said he

certainly should have been beaten by Dominic Dale if Dominic had been

more successful over the last couple of years. But then he comes

out and plays O'Sullivan and it is A good land with the cue ball but

he has knocked this red to the corner pocket. He has a possible

In his first couple of matches, not starting as well as he normally

does but both have missed but got What a marvellous World

Championship Judd Trump had last season, where he burst onto the

scene. I don't think I have ever had as much pleasure commentating

on a final than the one where he Yes, the crowd came out and was so

appreciative, as they are here. -- were so appreciative. Not a vacancy

at in the house. It is a wonderful venue. We all love coming here.

Plenty of people upstairs today as A great opener from Judd Trump.

Clean as a whistle and nicely on It is amazing how left-hander's

seem to be better potters than right handers. Jimmy White, among

Probably the last of the loose reds He is blessed with a lot of cue

power, it has to be said. He will If there is one slight criticism of

Judd Trump, it is how hard he hits the ball. When he is knocking them

But no Movement for knocking into the centre of the pocket. That was

good. He purposely played into the He missed the kiss on the pink but

Sometimes he misses an easy one and But it is the first frame and you

These players have only played each other twice and Maguire has won

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He totally misjudged the kiss. We thought he might be able to miss

that but he thought he couldn't so he tried to hit the yellow at least

full ball but he hit it half. He could get the pink in the middle

He really tough shot that. -- a really tough shot, that. I expected

him to hit it. He hasn't come out too bad. He has left Judd a half

It can be quite difficult to judge these. He didn't play it with too

much confidence. A good safety and he has got a good cue ball as well.

And a lovely bow-ties he has got on! Not seen one like that for a

while. He looks like why ate her up. We always knew he would be a good

player but the surprising thing was it took him a long time to prove it.

But at the championship last year, he certainly lit up that tournament.

Neither player is hitting the ball well at the moment. It will improve,

This is a possible nine, taking those two reds just below the pink

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That appeared to curl a little bit. It then straightened up a bit. It

looked like it was in the baulk line. That is the first one I have

Stephen Maguire are often likes to take the bull by the horns and play

for the pink or the blue. And that is what he has done. Played that

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very, very confidently and deserves He's not too bad. A nice angle on

Just coming around to have a look at that red. If he can get a little

angle on those two reds. He can He decided against it. It looked

too a little bit straight. He just potted it in the middle but if he

had potted it slightly to the right, he would have got the kiss. Lookout

closely got to the reds, so he might have actually played it but

That is how good these players are. But he did not play that shot the

way he should have done. He did not take the bull by the warns. That is

a mistake. He will be very disappointed with himself. A good

Played into the brown so you would have been using the brown in his

eye line. He didn't quite kiss the Well, you've got to love this guy!

When you think you have got him He's overrun that and he will be

disappointed. He still has a pot on the top red but a lot more

difficult than he would have liked. A big target from the yellow to get

He could knock the brown around the angles, couldn't he? Try and get

I would not be surprised if he took the blue on because that is what he

That is so bad. He just didn't concentrate on that. Very tough to

get these young players to give the same concentration to safety as

He's going to need all his concentration on this one. This is

He needs that red to go past the brown, otherwise he could be in a

Just a fraction away from potting This is very awkward to play, it

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He is looking to see if this red will pass the blue into the corner,

but I do not think it does. It is a relatively easy safety shot. As

long as the blue is not planted into the middle pocket he could

just play it thinned. -- thin. I can only presume that the blue is

very close to being potted if he Well, we talked about it, didn't

we? Why do you not listen?! Because he does not have any a piece -- an

earpiece. He has left himself in another precarious position. He may

Judd has put him back into play, thinking, I hope he has a go at

Very luckily, he got the double- kiss and got away with it. Not even

REFEREE: Foul and a miss. That has given Stephen Maguire a

chance to take this opening frame. A scrappy opening frame. Both

players have looked like winning it on at least one occasion. Just

coming up to 25 minutes, this opening frame. That will be almost

the longest frame of the match, I As in both his opening matches,

Judd has struggled to get off of I think the way Steve in his

playing, Ken, he needs to get a foothold in this match. He could

still win the next three, but at this moment in time he looks a

little out of sorts. On the other hand, Stephen Maguire is starting

to flow, like he did against John Nor real fireworks in this opening

frame, but a couple of 30-plus breaks. It is Stephen Maguire who

takes the opening frame. HAZEL IRVINE: It is interesting to

note that, in the last couple of matches that Stephen has played, he

has been back to that Bon Fire Maguire style. I like the way he

plays the game. The other day I gave him a backhanded compliment by

saying that I think he has under- achieved. For someone with a game

like he has got, to have only won four tournaments is not right.

is on form. I do not necessarily think he is the underdog in this

match, in many ways. Obviously, Judd Trump is the player that we

are all talking about, and he is breathtaking, but, for a game where

you are playing the table, styles do come into play, don't they,

John? Yes. He had Ronnie O'Sullivan the other day, and this is a

different type of challenge. These are two of the most crisp hitters

Stephen Maguire breaks off, again, leaving another attempt toer for

Judd Trump. -- another tempter. Judd Trump still has not settled

Yes, although Steve Maguire likes to go for them, I do not think he

is going to go for as many against Judd Trump. I think he has to be a

He attempted the plant there, Judd This is the the situation where

you're sort of forced into going for these types of shots. He may go

all-out to play for pink or black. He played the bottom red of the two.

That could be, and should be, very He has not found his striking boots

yet. OK, the pink is on in the middle, but he certainly would have

This has developed into a good early chance. From the way it

started, I think he needs to get 40 or 50, just to get some confidence

That was not the best shot you could play lie. -- you could play

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Just getting on the loose red. The two reds just above this one, he

may have a plant on into the corner pocket as well. He just had a quick

glance at the possible pot into the middle. That has turned out to be

very nice. It does not matter how good you are, you can always use a

bit of good fortune. He lost of white there, but luckily for him

the red came up as well. -- that He has not left the best angle on

the black. There are probably two reds that will pot in the opposite

corner. He has played that very Just this red and a colour. This

will certainly make Judd Trump feel nice and relaxed. He has looked a

little bit out of sorts in this match, but he soon gets himself in

stride. Just a little bit too much Saeed there. He started off a bit

slow against Ronnie, but when he gets going... It is a 70 to break.

-- 72. Two four-point snookers The key here, of course, is to pot

the next three reds and three big colours. No disrespect to Judd's

powers in the safety department, but he is not as good at getting

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out of problems as some players. When leaving the table there, he

Stephen Maguire acknowledges defeat. That wonderful break of 72 came at

just the right time for Judd Trump to level at 1-1. There is a prime

example off going into the bunch here. He left the black Perfect and

had the choice of playing for two plants. He plays with a lot of top

spin and plays the cannon. Yes, he plays this so well. He did not bark

it enough there -- arc. Watch the white now. It will virtually stop

and then the spin takes charge. Then it accelerates. This works

when you're playing the break off into the pack. The massive amount

of top spin gets the arc. As you said, when the white goes into the

reds, this top spin keeps accelerating the cue ball through

the reds and brings more balls into Maybe he was not on it. Sometimes

it is not an advantage to have the break. Can you remember, just a

couple of years ago, we were talking about whether it was still

an advantage to break off. I think, in fairness, Judd Trump breaks off

We always used to love breaking off because, with the thicker cloth,

you're almost guaranteed getting the white safe. Stephen Maguire

will be very pleased with that Judd Trump would like to get the

cue ball somewhere over to the left-hand side of the table. He has

left a very simple safety shot for Maguire.

Safety is an art that you have to learn. People like you, John

Higgins and Mark Selby look at the element of safety. Ken is putting a

line-up now to show the kind of Stephen Maguire is just going

around to have a look at the plant. It is going into the red just over

the whole, so it may just help it on its way. He needs a kiss on the

brown. Andy has got it. -- and he Quite clearly, as you can see, he

has overscrewed that. It is very He almost miscued there. The cue

came off his bridge hand. He hit it right on top of the white. His cue

came write off of his hand. Amazing. He has a possibility and a nice

angle on the brown. Will he attempts to go into the red and

He is still back in prime position again.

The pink and black or out of play. There are plenty of loose reds but

he has to play into the two reds to the right of the pink you. I am

surprised he has not. It is very tough to keep the break going at

the moment. Clearly, this red is on but, with black and pink out of

Oh! The thing is, because we commentate an awful lot you begin

to see when the advantages to play into the pack and when not, but

when you're out there you're so into the match that sometimes you

do not see the right shots. We know that the one next to the black does

pot, but it is tied. -- tight. He tried to use the jaws of the pocket.

This is a little bit dangerous because he has no idea of where the

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white's going to end up. He may He needs to be careful because, if

he plays the cross double, the red could cannon into one of those next

to the black spot. He managed to miss all four of them. I was sure

He has sort of playing into Steve Maguire's hands. He is not leaving

difficult safety shots for him. Quite straightforward. We just

talked about how sometimes Judd is just happy to get the ball past the

baulk line. Stephen faces a slightly tricky shot, but he is not

getting a real advantage from his There may be a gap here. He has

formed an opening. He will be very fortunate to get up for the blue

from here. He is not bound to get A lot of cases, none of them are

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This could be a mistake. He didn't want that red coming back up. He

has left the possibility of a pot. The only problem is, where is his

Well, how did he find the gap I can only presume the way he

played it, he was trying to bring the black into play because to go

through the gap of the red and the black was definitely not what he

He was very tempted by the long pot but he will be trying to get near

the blue here. Very good. But Judd can see the one below the pink and

get the white into a similar He just needs to play left-hand

side below the pink and he should I will have to have a little word

REFEREE: foul and a miss. Good luck! I think you are going to have

to put those back! We could be here for a while! They are all smiling!

Only 17 balls moving so he should be able to get those back very

He does have a pot on it, but certainly far from easy. That was

just to save the embarrassment for the referee. How has he not knocked

the black in? How has he not got This red is on and plenty of value

for the black in the corner pocket. And what a fantastic shot! That

He wipes his brow. Six balls have moved and he is relieved. If he

hadn't kissed the red he would almost have made it a shot to

But as it was, he was on the blue nicely, and a chance to score

nicely. Such a brave shot to take It has to be said, if he pots balls

like that under pressure, he deserves to win a frame. We talk

about making your own luck. He thought, well, if I am going to get

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You have always got to take a little bit of care with these. I

know they'll straightforward, but they can catch the jaws of the

pocket. -- they are straight This should just about put him past

That was an excellent shot there, playing for the choice of the two

Just a quick glance at the scoreboard. He is 24 in front and

He will need one of these reds on the cushion. The left-hand side is

Again, pretty good. The reds touching the cushion naked a little

He just makes sure of the pot, and a good break for Trump. An

Considering how poor Trump looked in the opener, I mean, that red

This is the opening red. But he could not just get it on the pink

or the black. He had to touch the Is it time for a few Judd Trump

trick shots now? Looks like it! Where well this end up? -- where

will? He is lovely to watch and a new kid on the block. He has taken

a 2-1 lead over Stephen Maguire. HAZEL IRVINE: I hope you would

enjoying this at home so far. -- you are enjoying this. The wind is

rattling around hey! Your assessment of the way Judd is

playing and that frame? When he is in the balls, he scores so quickly.

It is like when Jimmy used to play and of Ronnie. He racks up the

points so quickly and he is so good in the balls when he gets in there.

He knows where the cue ball is going all the time. Great to watch.

And the style and panache of the man. Yes. The opening of the game

sums things up and we saw Judd had the chance to put the balls back or

go for the shot. People ask, how has snooker change over the years

and what is the difference? But the game is so much more aggressive.

Players like Judd Trump of pushing the boundaries of what is the right

shot at the right time. In the past, commentators would have criticised

players for playing too opened but now you have to play that shot

because if you don't, you're player will. It is very much a cure or be

killed game. -- a killed or be killed game. When you are presented

with a shot over a long period of time, even for Stephen Hendry, that

he has refused, all of a sudden, you have to go for them even though

you don't like it. You have to change your attitude. Interesting

COMMENTATOR: Judd seems to have found a way of covering that

It used to be such an easy shot here, to whip it around and leave

the red, but going past the blue, Has he covered himself here? It

Such a fantastic potter, isn't he? Even the opening round. The balls

just crack into the back of the An excellent shot. Well played.

is amazing because sometimes he missed times the balls. He is an

That's unforgivable. That is a howler. Didn't have anything to do

with the cue ball. That is just a lack of concentration, Ken? Yes.

Just concentrating on position a bit too much rather than on the pot.

He will be disappointed because He is just having a look at that -

the two reds. Will they be a plant into this right hand corn are

pocket? So he is taking a few shots ahead here. -- right hand corner

pocket. The easiest thing would be to get on the black but that will

be tied up. He might have to go for You can see his grim is there

because he needed to be slightly higher on the black. -- you can see

him that were missing there. -- I can't begin to tell you how hard

that shot is to play. When you are playing with check side off the

cushion, very tough to play. That A slight error of judgement. He

didn't think the pink could go on a I don't know why he even attempted

the pot. He was planning to pot the red in the middle and bring the

pink and black into play. A very surprising choice of shot. Look how

hard he would have had to play it He is fortunate. It has left Judd

What an aggressive safety shot that was. I think he has decided he will

keep the balls open even though Judd is potting really well. A very

aggressive choice of shot. Really forces Judd into having a go at one

This is not like what Steve was saying. He was saying sometimes

players take an aggressive path. But here, there is no safety on.

Steve was saying they tend to play shots that most players would play

safe now. When are we going to oversee Judd Trump take a minute to

Such a difficult shot to get back. He will have to dig down and be

careful of where the red goes. He has been very fortunate. But could

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That's an excellent safety. It is Stephen Maguire's time to risk

taking a pot on because, once again, the safety is tough. Not too sure

whether he can get to the red to We know the red pots in the yellow

pocket and possibly in the middle as well. The one virtually on the

pink spot. But very risky. This is a possibility of two cushions.

Tried to land tight behind that red by the green pocket. But he has got

He didn't attempt the pot. The cue ball looks pretty good. Does this

not apart? Obviously not. -- does this not cut? Just coming into have

a look at the potting angle and it Looking there, I don't think it is.

What a clever shot that was! Very Excellent shot. Well played. Judged

that to perfection. Look at what he little beauty this was. Well worked

out with the safety in mind. An We talk many times about making

your own luck and that was another occasion where Judd opened up the

pink and so he deserves exactly He's having a look at trying to

cannon into those two reds over the right of centre. This is an

excellent shot again, well played. Very, very clever. Knowing full

well even if he misses the cannon on the two reds, he is on the red

over the green pocket. But he has brought those two reds into play as

It really does show you what Judd Trump is as a talent because

Stephen Maguire has not played Those stats don't necessarily tell

the truth because when you play the safety shot, that 80 should be

He has played two very, very clever shots in his opening round. The

double and that positional shot, bring those two reds into play.

Very similar to the previous game, Stephen Maguire will carry on if

this doesn't go in but left it Stephen Maguire has decided that is

Let's see what secrets we can on earth in the fault that belongs to

Judd Trump. -- unearth. I would like to think I was quite

laid-back, just easy-going. I don't take life too seriously, I just

enjoy it. At the start of my career I would say I was pretty nervous,

but after I won China the nerves went. I just enjoy it a lot more

now. The worst of anyone, I would say. If you going to my room after

an hour it is just shocking. You do make frames in any kind of sport --

make pals in any kind of sport. But when you're playing you have to

just concentrate on the table and completely block out to you're

playing. Just getting to the final under coverage, it was nice having

people supporting me. You have to enjoy what you're doing and learn

to love the game, otherwise there is no point.

I am sure he is enjoying the way this match is going this afternoon.

John, what were your observations from the last frame? He played a

very clever double. He plays it as a shot to nothing. Of course, it

goes straight in the pocket. A very clever shot. This shot on the pink,

where he is playing up the table, those two reds are awkward. He

opened up the table. A very clever shot.

Willie made the comment that Stephen Maguire's safety has been

superb. Safety play does not win you matches. It is becoming a

factor of the game of snooker that you have to be able to play safety

but it is about potting the ball backs. When you are among the balls

it seems more important to make the most of it. Positional play is

becoming a very important part of the game. From the coaching

perspective, you cannot teach that as easily. Having that imagination,

you cannot teach somebody that. Judd Trump obviously has it. If if

you were Stephen Maguire at this point might, were due be looking to

change anything? I do not think he has actually played badly. I would

just be hoping that I got opportunities. Stephen Maguire can

open up if his back is against the wall. He can be very aggressive.

Look for that to happen if he finds himself dropping behind.

He has had three centuries already and the highest break of the

championship, 144. He is certainly capable of it. In the meantime,

since they are having their break, we are going to concentrate on

events on table two - the match between Neil Robertson and Ding

Junhui. The Chinese player's record is exemplary in this championship.

He has a two titles in the last few years. This is how his fellow

players rate him right now. -- he has had.

Do you think it is time for Ding Junhui to stop talking about that

Masters match against Ronnie O'Sullivan? I think so. When he was

17 and 18, I think he played you, Stephen, and won the tournament. I

thought, what a talent. I thought he was going to go on to dominate

the game. Even to this day, I think he has under-achieved. He won the

Masters last year and I think his temperament is starting to get

better and better and he is maturing as a person.

He is certainly in the top half- dozen in terms of his cue action.

He looks like a machine amongst the balls. That is right. He probably

cue is about as straight as anyone in the game. -- cues about as

straight. He is quite mesmerising. He has won the UK Championship

twice, he won the Masters last year. I think he has put the match with

Ronnie O'Sullivan behind him. I think he probably thought he was

the best player in the world. He beat Ronnie in the final of the

Irish Masters. He probably wanted to show everyone, maybe to prove

that he was the best player in the world. And he found out that he was

not. Perhaps it is a little hard to accept. He seemed to be off the

boil for a couple of seasons. Stephen, you have been the most

prolific break-builder in the game, would you say that he does it in

the right order? Yes, he plays every single shot that I would play.

I can see what he wants to do. I think that this year in the World

Championship he showed that he was very close to being the complete

player. There are times when you watch Ding Junhui and he is in his

chair and slumped, he looks fed-up and like he does not want to be

there. I think he has come of age in this year's World Championship.

We are starting to know all little bit more about Ding Junhui as he

starts to speak our language. not forget, he has two billion

people who support him. It must be a huge pressure for him, playing in

China, but he does very well. Down the years it is almost inevitable

that the World Championship will be in China at some stage.

Well, we have hinted at Neil Robertson's burning desire to win

this event and become only the 11th man to claim the UK and world

titles, but his record is patchy here. He has never gone beyond this

point, losing in 2005 to Ding Junhui, and again last year. We're

going to join this match at 1-1. It is high-quality so far. This is the

third frame. The Australian is trailing by 14 points. It is Terry

Griffiths and John Virgo in the When you're playing that, he had to

hit the red he was playing very thin. The last thing he wanted to

do was to play it with drag, as he did there, with left and side. --

left-hand side. He did not make the best job of that. He wanted to

bring the other red away from the baulk cushion and he has not done.

I do not see how he can bring that it red into play or of any colour

that he pots. -- into play-off of The blue goes on the highest

available spot, which is the black He has not got the snooker behind

the green. Has the yellow come to It may be worth across double here,

the red into the Right Centre, bring the Ku ball right down for

He is normally very positive with his shot selection, especially

later on in the frame. He did not quite judge it correctly but I

REFEREE: Foul. The safety has not been of the

highest quality from either player. More colours are going safe, so it

is not going to be easy for either player to clinch when they get the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

If he pots the blight that will pit in four. -- that will put him four

points in front. -- pots the black. The think we have a new favourite

He just wants to leave a nice angle on the green. Whatever happens, it

is imperative that he gets a nice angle on the green and, of course,

a nice angle on the brown to get on to the blue. He has decided to play

this way. I don't disagree with it. It is all about potting this green

He wanted a better one than this. He is going to have to use all of

his cue power now to get position from brown to blue. This should

have been a quarter ball cut. You would normally play this with lots

of left-hand side but, the pacy is going to have to hit it, well, he

is going to have to be very accurate with the pot. In all

honesty, he will do very well to He did not get enough side on it.

He is 13 points in front, but there The only saving grace is the bridge

over the black can stop that makes this shot about 50% more difficult

to make it. You certainly can't control the Ku ball. -- the cue

How good a shot was that? We is the cue ball going? We will not see

many better pots than that, will we? He needs the three balls.

just has a slight angle on the Spink but has to be accurate. -- on

Superb, absolutely superb! He did not want to leave the pink in a

position where it could be missed. It went in favour of Ding Junhui.

He leads 2-1. HAZEL IRVINE: In Monfils, Robertson

had breaks of 41 and 31. It is 2-2 at their interval. Impressions of

what seems like a very open match? Yes, two of the straightest and

strongest cue actions in the game. Superb to win a frame in that way.

Of course, Neil Robertson has been excellent this season so far, so he

is no pushover. And this is the fifth match in the series between

these men. It is 2-2, so something has to give. There is nothing

between them. The two frames that Ding Junhui has won there, he was

lucky in both. You might remember the conversation

we had last night about the fall- out accruing from Mark Allen's

comments regarding Barry Hearn. It was actually John and Ken who were

in the studio, and this is what they had to say about the matter.

I don't see where he is coming from. We have more tournaments. There is

a World Cup this year, of which was very successful. We may have more

tournaments in India and China. I do not relate where -- know where

he is coming from. I think most of the players are happy that he has

come in. We only had six tournaments a few years ago. There

hath to be tweaks. How will it affect his performance

this evening? It just depends what he is like is a character whether

he can go out and blank everything out.

Mark Allen had a 6-2 victory. Clearly, all of the Ferrari has

served to galvanise him. -- furore. He came to the press conference

with a piece of takeover is. The silence did not last for long.

Obviously, with all of the press that I have got, most people seem

to be against me, but that does not bother me in the slightest. I am

here to try to win snooker matches and hopefully win my first major

tournament. Whether I get good press a bad, it does not make any

difference to me. If anything, I will use it as something to spur me

on. People were writing me off today, saying that I would be under

too much pressure with all the bad press, but what do they not? It

seems to have been blown out of proportion, really. If you take the

swear word out of what I said, which is what I am getting all the

criticism for, I think it was only an opinion, at the end of the day.

The last time I checked, it was freedom of speech and I was

entitled to my opinion. At no point might did I think he

could not win the match or the championship. He has a very good

chance. I was making the point Mike that he would be up against it to

put everything behind him and to win against Ali Carter. Oh well

done to him. In no way was it a criticism, it was merely an

observation. He was making his point, and this is clearly a man

who gets fired up because of a cost. It is actually galvanising him,

isn't it, Steve? Yes. I think some people can do well with a bunker

mentality. If you get that cause and you believe in it, you can be a

stronger player on the table because of it. On 16th December we

have our AGM where Barry Hearn will be in attendance. Any player who

wants to come along and speak about their grievances, that is a

fantastic platform to do that. I would encourage him to be at that.

There is further fall-out, not really from Mark Allen's comets,

but their defeat that he inflicted upon Ali Carter last night. Having

said that he was looking forward to his match, this is what Ali posted

yesterday. I am not sure whether this was done

in haste or whether it was a considered reflection. What was

you're view of that, John? Very surprising. There are few players

this morning he must be thinking they will be back in the top 16

soon. He will probably look at it in the cold light of day

differently. Perhaps he is serious. That is

another level entirely, really. This championship is proving rather

eventful, gentlemen. Shall we get Judd Trump was on Twitter during

the break, saying, I have not got going yet. I do not know what he is

going to do if he gets going! I would not mind playing the way

that he does and not get going! His pot success rate for this match

is good, but I do not think that Stephen Maguire has missed many.

The safety play from Maguire has been absolutely superb. This was a

poor safety shot from Judd, so that will bring his percentage down. He

hit it far too thick, hence The baulk colours have always been

on their spots since the game was invented. Because he is quite close

to the cushioned it will be a tough job to guarantee getting the

guaranteed gap that you would expect him to, playing at this

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A little shake of the head from Stephen Maguire. He knows these are

pretty straightforward for this boy. The problem is he will have to

swing the cue ball round the black and get up on either the blue or

He looks like he is going all-out for the pot here. It is the only

way he can guarantee getting back into baulk. He did not really get

the screw. He has left Judd Trump are relatively easy red at distance,

which he is usually pretty He may decide to play the blue into

He is just trying to see if that black gods there, what do you

think? He has got to be dead straight behind it. Can he stun

Excellent cue power again. Too many players in the game play these

types of shops -- not too many. is a lot easier when he is so close

to the blue to get the path through the baulk colours. Nearer the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

cushion it is harder to play, isn't Male thing that could go wrong

-- the only thing. And, once again, he has developed this from nothing

into a possible frame-winner. have a look at the cue ball here.

Lots of power here. He has played as a little more controlled. He is

on a red into this left-hand corner pocket. He is taking these really

Judd Trump up to 92% pot success. He is going to need one more could

cannon to win this frame. -- one of good cannon. When you play cannons

into the pack, would you prefer to be low on the black? That was my

A lot of players do not have the I think he is on the red into the

I wonder if he is feeling his left Just one more red and that will be

Judd Trump going further clear at Judd Trump is another one of those

at left-handed players that uses the rest right handed which is very

It does not get a lot better than this, does it? No, an excellent

break. The only thing missing now is a century. The highest break so

far, 144, that was by Stephen Maguire. Judd Trump's highest break

Both players made 35 centuries last season. This season, Judd Trump has

made 19 and Stephen Maguire has Has he snookered himself? Maybe he

can just see the outside edge? Excellent shot! They wonderful

century, century number 20 for the season so far. His highest break of

He does not know where the white is going! Not a good positional

player! He has got to be careful of his tip! 106 proves enough to take

the frame as Stephen Maguire walks at. He has got a lot to contemplate.

Judd Trump goes ahead there are two four frames to one. For talking

about spend, we can show you where Stephen Maguire was. I talked about

when it is near the cushion, how difficult it is to avoid the pot

colours. Before he is -- because he is digging down on the ball, the

white pushes through. He was playing to comeback in between the

green and brown. A few seconds later we see Judd Trump on the

opposite side of the table. His hand is right on the table and

there was no problem getting it round the table. Two different

examples. When it is in the middle of the table, it is virtually

impossible. We are going to show you the shot that Judd Trump played.

He hits very low on the left-hand side. Watch the cue ball when it

hits the cushion. It skids and then it's -- and then it week side takes.

You can see the examination of the cue ball as it hits the pop cushion.

It is amazing how long it takes before it speeds up. It is like a

delayed reaction, like a screw shot. It takes a while for the screwed to

take on the cue ball. It stops for a little bit and then accelerates.

You can see the statistics for both players. The safety success is the

key thing for me. Judd Trump has been doing all the scoring but his

safety success is relatively low. His pot success is absolutely

superb. The highest break of the match for Stephen Maguire. Only 37.

He will have to improve on that. After winning the first frame,

Stephen Maguire has lost the next four. He must get motoring pretty

soon. It was only an hour ago that we were suggesting that Judd Trump

needed to get a foothold in the match. An hour later, he is 4-1 in

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It is amazing, when things are going well, you can see on Stephen

Maguire's face, he is disgusted he got the double-kiss and the blue

has come to his rescue. It always goes to the player who appears to

be playing a little better. Because he played plain ball, he tried to

avoid the kiss and it kept rolling. Now he has only got a possible shot

He played it well, that is not too Here it is a possible shot. A long

red to corner. He wants to hit the top cushion and hit the red almost

full ball just below the black spot. The white will stay on the black.

He is a little bit unlucky. He did That was another example. Stephen

Maguire's safety, you would be happy with that. But he just knocks

it in. This is a difficult shot. Not quite sure how he will get at

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There is the difference. Stephen Maguire gets a double-kiss and

leaves one on. This is really worrying. If he lost this frame, it

would be very hard to see him when. Saying that, Shaun Murphy was 5-1

in front yesterday and Martin Gould did remarkably well to get back to

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

Judd Trump's pot success up to 93%. Can he avoid the kiss on the red

He has played that very well. key to that shot, getting the other

red to get out of the way. He could not have played it better. It

reminds me of Alex Higgins and Jimmy White. He sees the shot very

quickly. In advice to other players, sometimes when they take their time,

they might think of things that can go wrong. He seems to see it very

He has again opened up the reds. Perfect position. As John Parrott

You would have to suggest that he is possibly the quickest player in

the game now. Ronnie is very, very quick. I think his average shot

time in the Ronnie match was... 17 seconds. In this match, 19 seconds.

Because he plays so quickly, he does not see the negatives, he does

not see what can go wrong. He is full of confidence. Even though he

would have been disappointed at losing at the World Championship,

his win in China has given him so Particularly on this big stage in

front of the television cameras, big crowds, he just wants to

impress and show what he can do. do not think there was any player

in the world who could have beaten Judd Trump at that championship,

the way he was playing. John Higgins are hung on and then Judd

John Higgins got himself back into that match and went on to win. A

little cannon on the pink would In a few short years as a

professional, he has already are two related 129 centuries, 130

after the last frame. -- he has A good return. Stephen Maguire on

the other hand, to render them five centuries since he turned

professional in 1999. -- 205 centuries. It has been a master

Do you think he is feeling his left Playing a little exhibition shot

there but it never worked. Back to back centuries, both of 106.

Stephen Maguire did precious little wrong. Judd Trump goes 5-1 ahead in

the match. STUDIO: 5-1 is a very surprising scoreline considering

all of the pre-match build up and the credit we were giving 2 Stephen

Maguire. It is a bombardment of spotting. You can sit there and

wonder what is happening and I think Stephen Maguire is probably

doing that. It shows you what can be achieved if you go for your

shots. That is the modern-day way of playing. Probably, even though

Stephen Maguire has been playing very well, you would have to say

that Judd Trump is in the right time of his life to move it up and

come on to being a better player. We were discussing this while the

frame was going on, how he has suddenly jumped up a level. He has

not followed the typical craft of natural progression and an upward

curve. It has suddenly shot into life. It has indeed. We mentioned

that it would be a different day for Judd Trump because he is

playing someone like Maguire. It is also different day for Maguire

because he has never played anyone might Judd. Judd has had more

experience of playing in the Premier league. All of a sudden, he

likes being out there and being centre of attention. He would

certainly be centre of attention if he cleans this one up. I wonder

what sort of resistance Maguire can By the look of that pot, Hazel,

probably quite a bit. But he has finished a little bit close to the

cushion. I do not see how he can get onto a red. He will have to

play a stun shot. That makes the He deserves to be on the red and he

Just a little bit short of pace. He would love to be a little bit

straighter on the black. He might That looks pretty good to me.

Having said that, he cannot believe he is not on a red at there! For

all the world, it looks like those reds would go over the middle

pocket. They have blocked each You want to have good eyesight to

get that red in there! 6 definitely Very, very unlucky there, Stephen.

To think that none of those reds potted anywhere, it is incredible.

You are entitled to be moaning about your luck when something like

It never rains, but it pours! Completely mishit the safety. Hit

the jaw, kissed the brown and left APPLAUSE This would go down as a

relatively good safety shot from Stephen. He has got the cue ball on

the cushion. But you know that Judd He did not refuse it. Because of

being 5-1 in front, he probably Well done! He will be disappointed

he did not get a frame on the board now. The highest break is 37 so far.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

A nice little shot, wasn't it? Holding for the pink into the left

centre. I do not think pink goes on the spot so the highest available

is the brown coloured. -- is the He has already made a couple of

centuries in this tournament. He has scored pretty well in his

previous matches. As Steve Davis said, he is being bombarded by Judd

Trump who is potting and break- It is very hard to hide the white

anywhere. Every single shot, you are under pressure. It makes the

safety a whole different ball game. You have got to virtually snooker

him. You cannot afford to be anything sticking out, he will go

for it. That must have put Stephen off today because he has played

very well throughout the tournament, probably, in fairness better than

Judd. He has those little times in matches when he suddenly disappear

This is his highest break of the match so far and you would expect

69 ahead, just this red. That would He is hanging on in this tournament,

and when you think he might be going out of the tournament with a

94% success rate, that it just shows you how well Judd Trump is

playing. What a shame! No century. It's the lead of 78 is more than

enough what Judd Trump to concede. He now leads 5-2. Stephen Maguire

did what he had to do. It is so difficult, in fairness, when you

are 5-1 behind, sitting there thinking I have not done that much

wrong. Just a few loose safety shots. Judd Trump has made the most

of the opportunities. That is the difference between the two players.

Do you think Stephen has now got to play Judd Trump's way? Or would you

still think he has got to play safety first? The only things that

is letting Judd Trump down is his safety. That is very hard, to hide

the cue ball. He is such a good potter. Stephen Maguire has just

got to concentrate on his own game, take each frame as it comes. That

is the beauty of snooker. Every single frame is different. The

hardest one to win is always the one to get over the line and

Stephen Maguire will know that more than many. He just has to

concentrate on what is ahead and He has certainly discovered had to

cover the reds on the right-hand side but this time he has brought

one out on the left-hand side. I do not think it is anywhere near

straight enough to get back into baulk from it. He may roll it off

the side cushion into the pack. Too risky to play for the black come

That is a lot better safety. If it had kissed the brown it would not

have been any good. He has got it all -- got it snookered on all 15

reds apart from the one below the He played a shot similar to this on

his last attempt so the angle is still there. Past the yellow and

nestling on to the red. The only problem is, if he doesn't get tight

to the pack, he will have that He wanted to kiss the yellow but he

If it hadn't kissed, he would have been able to see this red between

the green and yellow. But he has now covered the red. Amazing.

Doesn't matter how good a player you are, that little bit of luck

A good shot. A little bit wary of believing that red over the bottom

hand right corner pocket. -- that Could come off the side cushion

A round of applause, but he has a few reds here. Not the best shot in

I just wonder whether we will see a turnaround in this match now. He

looks like he has the bit between their teeth and he is one of these

He is one of the very few players in the game where you can see a

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turnaround from 5-1 in the game, There are plenty of loose reds

available but because the pink and black are tied up, if he plays the

cannon onto the pink... And that was well played. Couldn't have hit

that much better. Earlier on, we talked about a shot where he could

have brought the pink into play but he didn't. I wonder whether playing

All of a sudden, everything he is Still not a wonderful chance

because those two reds obscuring that pocket. A little bit of work

to do yet. He could get the pink in the middle quite easily now, I

think. Or maybe not. He might have to screw back for the blue in the

middle and has to be a bit careful because if he plays that, it would

He played for the pink in the middle and this is a bit tricky. He

is playing for it into the corner pocket because he did not quite get

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He didn't have the correct angle on the right hand red to the pink, so

he played that one. And played very confident leave. He seems to have

found his form again, Stephen Maguire. Judd Trump will not be

worrying about things just yet but if he happens to win the next frame

as well, you might see some nerves The will to win from Maguire is

showing this afternoon. I am not sure if he has had that over the

last couple of years. When you are playing well, it is so easy but

when your opponent is playing well against you, do you have that

fight? Do you have that will to He has suffered a barrage of breaks

from Trump. But he has battled back Now he can try once again to bring

these other balls back into play. Two hours. It doesn't seem that

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The crowd enjoyed that one, and He misses the pink but he won't

mind. Another frame and he closes the gap. Judd Trump still leads by

five frames to three. We were telling you about Ali

Carter tweeting after his defence - - defeat to Mark Allen. Ali has

been on the phone and he has been saying, thank you for all your

messages. Maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself. They were in

the heat of the moment but I genuinely have serious thinking to

do about my future at the end of this season and which direction I

want to head. So he clearly is suffering in the wake of that

defeat to Mark Allen. Funnily enough, Mark always has raged you

must take on life. Mark King tweeted, I am number 28 and if 12

of them retire, I will be back in the top 16! He always has a laugh

at these things. It is interesting, though. The messages coming through

Twitter? Yes. And now Barry Hearn has come into the game and he is

asking more of the players to played everybody around. Some will

have to make a decision on their future because it could become a

young single man's sport. Well, there is a young single man out

there, 22-year-old Judd Trump. Stephen Maguire, father of three,

A very good. Macro, that. Stephen Maguire being a family man and

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

unable to play everybody around. -- Macro it has happened once in the

match and it nearly happened again. He can swing this cue ball round

He decided to find an alternative safety. Can't quite see... He is

not playing the last red in that Such a big target between the

A good opportunity and an excellent shot. He is on the black. That was

well spotted, wasn't it? But how Very well controlled. I am not sure

whether the black spots but have a look at the top spin here. The cue

ball just stops and that was very Usually when a player plays a hard

shot, his head would have to move a lot. But you will notice here, his

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head and never deviated. Very Just a fraction away from being on

Now the black spot is clear, he He could possibly play on a couple

of colours here. The pink bows go. He just overhit it slightly so he

is on the green or the blue, if he If he just rolls the green, he will

be on the red but at her distance. Anywhere in between pink and blue

This has certainly opened things up now. Excellent opportunity to seal

the frame and match at this visit. And it all came from that wonderful

Stephen Maguire had played such a good safety shot. And for the third

You can see the pot success there. It is strange, because in my

opinion, Maguire played the best This has been top four, this break.

Two more reds, two will colours and Trump will be the first player into

He always prefers to pump the balls Stephen Maguire will have to wait

another year to have a go at this This boy has scored so well when he

has got in. So prolific and his confidence is building in every

He could have been out in the first round against Dominic Dale but for

a couple of flukes. He has been a different player since then. And

I am just trying to get my head round what Stephen Maguire must be

thinking, because he has lost three frames from having him glued on the

top cushion. What are you supposed to do? This is the possible 27th

Absolutely played superbly today, has Trump. He has potted balls...

Well, I've never seen anything like Stephen Maguire has nothing to be

ashamed about today. He has just It is very rare to get a 92% pot

success rate, but that is what will happen here!

I bet you didn't expect that! Hold We can only congratulate Judd Trump

in what has been an amazing exhibition of snooker. Three

centuries and pots off the lampshade take Judd Trump into the

semi-final. HAZEL IRVINE: yes, the first into

the semi-final, with a spring in his step. And no wonder. My

goodness! He was possibly a bit lucky to get through his match

against Dominic Dale. He managed to get over the line against Ronnie

but that was a class apart. How has he been able to turn it on like

that? What has clicked? conference from beating O'Sullivan,

no matter what. -- the confidence. And it big day match played today,

and, boy, did he produce a performance! This fierce red he

knocks in here is just ridiculous O. When somebody comes of age in the

game, I do remember a moment in my career when I thought, OK, I am all

right. I could beat the lot of them. I remember the moment when I

thought, nothing can touch me. And it is that sort of moment. Judd is

in the wings. I don't want to tempt fate because anything could happen.

But that was amazing today. I am sure Stephen Maguire will go in and

he is disappointed. When two out of three are your best safety shots

and you don't get anything... he is. Congratulations, Judd. The

first time you have been Stephen and a bit more straightforward than

even you could have hoped for? I think the first few frames turned

it. In the second bit I just kind of kick on from there and did not

leave him a chance. He looked like he was playing well and did not

give up. Usually when you go behind, I thought he might go for a few

rash ones. But he kept me tired and I was just looking for a chance.

were just discussing before, three centuries, you have not made one

before this moment. You struggled past Dominic Dale and then Ronnie

O'Sullivan. What was the difference between your performance today and

those earlier rounds? I didn't feel good. I probably felt worse today

than those games. My safety is really getting me down. I have got

a lot to improve on. I am just giving away far too many chances

too easily. So just shooting in instead! It is working! But you are

going out there and once you get amongst the balls... We have had a

lot of Max play this season. And in amongst the balls? Yes. I am

playing well and potting well but my safety has not been great. But

when I am out there, I feel so confident. Whereas last season, I

just didn't want to be there. you think the Premier League

exposed to do that? Yeah, and even him playing in the PTC, because a

lot of the games have been on TV so I am just trying to get as much TV

coverage as possible and get used to it. There is the chance that on

with this, you might be one of the television tables featured often.

In general terms, though, you have amassed an army of fans and they

love the fact that you are communicating with them and a

profile you have. You are a young single man-about-town and you have

been featured in snooker and in sport in general. What is the best

part and worst part about your lifestyle? The worst is probably

practising! I have probably practised less than I have done in

my whole career this season and I am playing the best. So I just kind

of try to enjoy it and not take in too much practice and just go out

and have fun. Off the table, I am trying to enjoy myself and

forgetting about snooker. The thing is, you're playing more matches...

You cannot beat match play. With the PTCs and the tournaments, that

is what is keeping your shot. You don't need to do over-training.

am not putting words in your mouth, but from your perspective, you

obviously enjoying what you're doing. There are some players who

do not like so much of the PTCs. It is a tough balance? Yes. I think

Barry has tried very hard and you obviously cannot please everybody.

I think the European ones have been very successful. It is not nice

going back to playing cubicles in Sheffield and that. So I have been

thinking, cut those out and go back to 6 or aid big European ones.

they are more exciting? They are more enjoyable for everybody

because the crowds have been a great and a lot of the players look

forward to them. You are added point in your career now where

you're developing your own style. - - you are at. Is there the feeling

you can compete in big events and are you consciously trying to do

that, or are you just playing the I have looked forward to this

tournament more than Australia and China. It is different playing

abroad. The game is not quite as good. The conditions are not quite

as good as over here. The momentum that you are feeling, are you

beginning to get reminders of what back was like at the Crucible with

your progress here? I feel at home here now. I want to be in the

latter stages of the tournament and down to one table where it all eyes

are on me. You will be playing Ding Junhui or Neil Robertson. They are

out there now. Well done today. Let us dip into the bolt once again. --

I think I am quite a nice person. I am a good listener and I like to

give people advice. My mum gives me a call before every match. It does

not matter what time it is, if it is 4 am, she will always leave a

message for me. Seriously? You want me to do it? OK. My friend and I

worked at had to do it when we were eight years old in school. I am

quite lazy, I forget to do stuff. I do not do it on purpose, I just

forget. I love playing video games. I just love escaping. I can play

games for 10 hours straight, no problem. Pre-match, before the

World Championship, that was probably the most nervous I had

been. The whole country was expecting me to do well and that

The always interesting as Neil Robertson giving his thoughts. We

left this match at 2-2. We go into frame five. Robertson is at the

table. He will certainly be taking this

He is looking for the pink. He has hit that sweet as a nut. Beautiful

Quite a lot of respect for Neil Robertson. I have seen him play in

his earlier days travelling far away from the Australia. There is

something about his style of play... I've read an article once which

said that the mark of a championship -- the champion is

when someone can reach down to the best of themselves when the

I have always said it with the overseas players, it is very

difficult living out of a suitcase. When we used to go overseas to play,

we did not have to spend that much time there, living out of a

With no money, it is a little bit harder as well. Neil and many

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

others have had to go through that He caught that a little bit on the

full side. Slightly short on the pink. He is having a look what is

available. He may not have do go into the pack this time because

If he does lose position on the pink, he will have to go up for the

blue. So much easier when blue, pink and black are available, after

He looked to have the perfect angle on the red. He will be a bit

disappointed he does not have the If he had the nice angle, he would

not have to leave himself so far away from the next intended red. He

is such a good potter, you fancy him knocking it in. You would think

the one to the left corner would be the one he would play. He has still

got a bit of work to do with the He made light of their it -- light

of it and has the perfect angle on He has got the two reds in the open

on the left-hand side of the table. He has a 55 point lead. He does not

have to open the four reds. If he He did play the cannon and it has

gone wrong. OK, he wanted to hit the four reds more fully but there

was no need to play the cannon there. He may be able to pot the

red to the left middle but it is Caught the reds are in play.

Sometimes you feel as though it was a frame-winning opportunity and you

do not want to turn it down. But do He took it on and who could blame

him when you pot like that. He is a It does help to boost your self-

belief if you keep potting shots like that. This pink would put him

67 points in front with 67 Straighter on the pink than he

He could have left it easier than this. I do not think he can see

enough of the red to get the He only needs the red. Can he bend

it a little bit with side? If he could, I think he would have played

67 points in front, 67 remaining. I am sure he took into account

there that the black is safe. Ding needs the black with every red and

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

A good length to the cue ball but no real pressure on the shot. He

will make certain he puts that cue ball to the baulk end. But he has

hit that a little thin. There is a chance to hit the red. If he

cannons on the reds into the black, And he has got the reds in La! It

is not beyond the realms of possibility here that he can play

this frame. He has asked for the cue ball to be cleaned and he has

said, no. He cannot guarantee that he would be able to get the cue

The referee will be pleased that it This frame is continuing along the

lines of other frames. The good break is not quite clinching it.

One big break of 101 in the second That will come as a shot to Ding

That was frame at ball. Pension we had a slim chance there -- doing

didn't week had a chance. Now the frame is in the pocket of Neil

Robertson. Ding Junhui will not come back to the table. This will

be the first time that Neil Robertson has been in front in this

A terrific pot! He could not get a good position on the next red. It

is all immaterial. As soon as he misses, the frame will be conceded

and the referee will start setting So Ding Junhui concedes. Neil

Robertson for the first time in the match takes the lead. STUDIO: The

world champion is in the ascendancy for the first time in this quarter-

final. Roberts then finds himself 54 parlance -- 54 points behind in

He will have to bounce this one, heating down into it. He hit that

nicely. Unless the top a red of those three, he has got a tough pot

Ding's head was on his hands, wondering whether the red he took

on is going to cost him the frame. A few frames have turned around.

Ding was 55 behind in the first A chance here when potting the

black to nudge it into the two reds to bring them into play. The black

struggled in and one of those reds pots anyway. He does not have to

play the cannon. In an ideal world, he would have liked to have been

Important when potting that red that he did not kiss the other one

safe. A fraction short of pace there. He will have to go for the

There may be some value in potting the red and then going down for the

colours are down at the baulk end. He does not want to play for the

He did play for the blue! He has I am with you. I would rather have

gone up for the pink or the green. Eight points behind now and he has

overrun that slightly. I think the green passes the pink because

earlier on he potted the green. I issue it still passes the pink. He

would like to have been better on He rolled it in dead weight but he

has finished so tight on the cushion. It is debatable now

whether he has got the potting angle on the green to get position

on the brown coloured. When it you are that tight to the cushion, you

There may be some value in rolling up on the pink and playing the

He did not fancy playing the snooker. But I cannot see him play

in the brown here. It is a very Just the safety. As usual, that

went wrong, the clearance of the last red. He had to stun it down

for the yellow and it was a fraction too hard. He was trying to

force the angle and it is always difficult to judge the pace of the

cue ball then. That cost him the chance to win the frame at that

He may get another chance here. Ding was lucky then. He missed it

Just playing the safety. We have said it so many times, the pot

success of a player is what you need. 94%. Neil Robertson, 92%. --

Neil Robertson, 94%. But the safety That is another very poor shot.

That was so bad. He just mishit it. You cannot believe it sometimes.

Particularly when they are so accurate with the long potting. It

can only be a lack of concentration. He is not getting the spin on the

ball. He missed time did. Like you say, he was nowhere near it and it

could cost him. I do not think he can play it with too much pace but

That is two good opportunities he has had, Neil Robertson. I always

remember when Jimmy White was a young lad and he was a tremendous

player at the age of 17. He won the World Amateur Championships. I said

to him, if you could put as much concentration into playing safe as

you do it into potting the balls, you would when a lot more than you

lose. It is sometimes, that is what I honestly believe, they do not