Day 7, Part 1

:03:00. > :03:10.The into one table and that is going to be over longer distance,

:03:10. > :03:11.

:03:11. > :03:16.so I can just relax into the match. A remarkable talent, he really is.

:03:16. > :03:22.It is great to see that soap how that can't be in the game and not

:03:22. > :03:30.waste it. He enjoys himself but a lot of that has been over-hyped. He

:03:30. > :03:39.is a beleaguered professional at the tournaments. -- he is an really

:03:39. > :03:49.good. Be it is nice to be a bid it, but it brings some pressure. -- it

:03:49. > :03:51.

:03:51. > :04:00.is nice to be favourite. 1-1 at the moment, so, I think I will play

:04:00. > :04:09.better than I did in the worlds. I am going to be up against it. A

:04:09. > :04:14.monstrous opponent! I have always had quite tough games against Neil.

:04:14. > :04:24.He's an excellent player and a real battler. He's probably one of the

:04:24. > :04:24.

:04:24. > :04:34.best young potters in the game. I will have to build up a big lead,

:04:34. > :04:38.

:04:38. > :04:42.early. This, we will just have to see what happens. Here I am in the

:04:42. > :04:48.commentary box with two legends of the game, John Parrott, and Willie

:04:48. > :04:53.Thorne t. It is becoming an increasingly grey area, about who

:04:53. > :04:58.are the best players in the world. I think they have played their way

:04:58. > :05:03.into it. He showed brilliant character, he said he was not happy

:05:03. > :05:07.with his love will play, but yesterday, he was brilliant against

:05:07. > :05:13.Stephen Maguire. You have commentated on all the great

:05:13. > :05:17.players and again but these two are fascinating to commentate upon.

:05:17. > :05:21.When you dominated there was no, if you others who could be due, but

:05:21. > :05:30.now there are eight-10 players at any one time, going into a

:05:30. > :05:40.tournament. It is going to be a real putting match today. --

:05:40. > :05:44.

:05:44. > :05:50.potting. Which of these two players has their best B game? I would have

:05:50. > :05:58.to say Neil. I cannot see job, coming from behind, but he could

:05:58. > :06:08.win if he starts will quickly. you haven't got Europe a game today,

:06:08. > :06:14.-- your A game. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. What a match

:06:14. > :06:18.we haven't prospect here. It is semi panel time, and we have two of

:06:18. > :06:25.the best in the business, waiting to put on what should be quite a

:06:25. > :06:29.show. These will come a player who signals a new dawn in global

:06:29. > :06:34.snooker, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire to make it to

:06:34. > :06:39.the last four. His fearless style as one fans around the world. He

:06:39. > :06:49.says he is creating his own brand of no the snooker this week, it is

:06:49. > :07:15.

:07:15. > :07:25.Another massive reception, a great occasion. How malty is this going

:07:25. > :07:28.

:07:28. > :07:32.to be? The naughtiest! -- how naughty. And his opponent. You

:07:32. > :07:37.right in the UK with barely a penny in his pocket, and has since

:07:37. > :07:47.conquered all before him. He has won six ranking event titles, never

:07:47. > :07:53.

:07:53. > :08:03.losing a major final. He has beaten Graham Thorpe and -- Graeme Dott

:08:03. > :08:19.

:08:19. > :08:23.and Ding Junhui. It is the thunder The two of you on top form this

:08:23. > :08:28.week. Presumably these are the reasons why you are playing again.

:08:28. > :08:38.Yes, the crowds have been great all week and it is another fantastic

:08:38. > :08:38.

:08:38. > :08:48.her mad, again, today. Ladies and gentlemen, Neil Robertson! --

:08:48. > :08:57.

:08:57. > :09:02.Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We have two of the best

:09:02. > :09:11.potters in the game, both of them left-handers. I wonder why that is,

:09:11. > :09:21.John? These two today, Old Quarter final performances were absolutely

:09:21. > :09:28.

:09:28. > :09:38.top-class. Thank you, ladies and I understand what you are saying,

:09:38. > :09:48.

:09:48. > :09:58.if you don't have you're A game, Look how close they are, not a

:09:58. > :10:00.

:10:00. > :10:10.percentage between them in terms of their tournament pot success.

:10:10. > :10:26.

:10:26. > :10:31.for their success in terms of Any advantage of the fact that Judd

:10:31. > :10:35.is playing his first match on this table? Well, we know that Robertson

:10:35. > :10:45.is a formidable competitor. He has been in six finals and he has one

:10:45. > :11:12.

:11:12. > :11:18.of them. That is not a bad record. It looks like an nothing see the

:11:18. > :11:28.shot, he will see the contract to pass between these two writs. --

:11:28. > :11:29.

:11:29. > :11:39.reds. We talk about looks, early on, and that some time we might be able

:11:39. > :11:40.

:11:40. > :11:45.to show those two looks, against Dominic Dale. He played that in a

:11:45. > :11:55.way that, OK, it was a bonus if he got it. It was a good choice of

:11:55. > :12:07.

:12:07. > :12:17.Already, he looks like he has got himself in a prime position. Hold

:12:17. > :12:18.

:12:18. > :12:28.on to your hats, hear! -- here. would have expected the bunch of

:12:28. > :12:30.

:12:30. > :12:38.grids to be moved there. He didn't quite get hold of the cue-ball. --

:12:38. > :12:48.bunch of reds. When he is in amongst the balls, he does not see

:12:48. > :12:51.

:12:51. > :12:56.any other shot, that under -- other than the pot. You do not get any

:12:56. > :13:06.points from safety plea. You get the occasional opening, but I know

:13:06. > :13:23.

:13:23. > :13:28.what you mean. Great at to go into, for on the black. -- great pack to

:13:28. > :13:38.go into from the black. It will be interesting to see whether he

:13:38. > :14:04.

:14:04. > :14:14.decides to call into them from the Well, looks pretty good, no reason

:14:14. > :14:18.

:14:18. > :14:26.why he shouldn't get the right angle to go into the park. -- pack.

:14:26. > :14:36.Amazingly enough, this is a better pack to go into, kitchen first. --

:14:36. > :14:44.cushion. He has finished absolutely straight on this. I was just about

:14:44. > :14:49.to see, he did not play that very well, this nice black. He could are

:14:49. > :14:57.run through and catch the jaws, and come route for the black, but they

:14:57. > :15:03.never seen to play at shot any more. That is all because of the shot

:15:03. > :15:13.report. To get on that big, it was pretty rough, by his standards. --

:15:13. > :15:16.

:15:16. > :15:23.He could have let himself an angle from this one. That was no good,

:15:23. > :15:31.but he has got yellow and blue, slightly out opposition, no.

:15:31. > :15:41.could see the left hand side of the pack, through the pink and green.

:15:41. > :16:06.

:16:06. > :16:11.Could decide to play off the It is a touching ball, so he can

:16:11. > :16:18.play away. He would possibly like to leave the pat on show for Neil

:16:18. > :16:23.Robertson, so that he opens them up. All was the best way, just to leave

:16:23. > :16:33.the snooker. It will be the same sort of shot for Neil Robertson,

:16:33. > :16:35.

:16:35. > :16:42.just drop into them. Because it was touching the red, he was hampered

:16:42. > :16:52.in trying to get at the Black. Exactly the same sort of shot,

:16:52. > :17:02.going into the side of them, instead of coned off two cushions.

:17:02. > :17:07.

:17:07. > :17:15.Foul and Amiss, Judd Trump, four. think he has played the right shot

:17:15. > :17:23.you. He could get in behind blue and yellow, if it is done enough,

:17:23. > :17:33.off the top cushion. I don't blame him for taking on that type of shot

:17:33. > :17:41.

:17:42. > :17:51.himself, John. Good quality match play rain here, from --frame here

:17:52. > :18:03.

:18:03. > :18:08.from Judd. Foul and Amiss, -- four, Judd Trump. He might be a little

:18:08. > :18:18.bit nervous at the moment, because it is the first rain, but that was

:18:18. > :18:40.

:18:40. > :18:50.along we short. -- the first frame, This is probably brand new club, it

:18:50. > :18:53.

:18:53. > :18:56.usually is, for semi-finals and finals. -- brand new cloth. This is

:18:56. > :19:05.the first time that Neil Robertson is going to get the upper hand on

:19:05. > :19:15.the safety. It is a path She -- say Taoiseach to play, right into the

:19:15. > :19:21.

:19:21. > :19:31.He didn't into a team that, at all, leaving the option of bringing a

:19:31. > :19:41.

:19:41. > :19:51.few out to Judd. Una has a short who play, where he is moving ribs.

:19:51. > :19:59.-- a shot to play where he's moving reds out. 51. Leaders fabulous,

:19:59. > :20:08.with the yellow and blue where it is. But he needs there tree or 40

:20:08. > :20:12.more points to come, very quickly. -- for a tea of 40. That is a

:20:12. > :20:21.brilliant shot. He went all out for the pot, knowing that if he missed

:20:21. > :20:25.it, he would lose the frame. Absolutely brilliant shot. Knowing

:20:25. > :20:35.full well you are going to leave the game open. There was some

:20:35. > :20:38.

:20:38. > :20:48.pressure on, there. It has worked in his favourite, leaving Judd to

:20:48. > :21:00.

:21:00. > :21:09.open the grids up. -- reds up. will get right back into the game,

:21:09. > :21:17.here. There is a snooker there, if he wants it, involving the deal. A

:21:17. > :21:27.couple of things that can happen later on. -- involving the yellow.

:21:27. > :21:27.

:21:27. > :22:18.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:22:18. > :22:27.It is at all possible, it would be better to play the middle of the

:22:27. > :22:37.three reds. He England and it, that we head close to be cue-ball is

:22:37. > :22:47.

:22:47. > :22:57.tricky for Neil Robertson. -- he, He has decided it is a bit who

:22:57. > :22:58.

:22:58. > :23:08.packed, so he's going for the one on the pink spot. That is a

:23:08. > :23:09.

:23:09. > :23:19.wonderful shot. There was a little bit of ball you, playing -- or

:23:19. > :23:27.

:23:27. > :23:37.He has certainly accomplished the main priority, which was to get

:23:37. > :23:42.

:23:42. > :23:52.himself back in this to him. -- frame. Well played, great shot!

:23:52. > :23:55.

:23:55. > :24:05.took the chance there, or playing He is trying to get into the

:24:05. > :24:09.

:24:09. > :24:19.position, to plea -- play the cannon. This is excellent so far.

:24:19. > :24:20.

:24:20. > :24:30.If this goes right. He has gone straight, that is very clear. --

:24:30. > :24:50.

:24:50. > :24:56.He's dead straight, he can play to get on to the yellow, and he has

:24:56. > :25:06.played that well, he has got an absolutely perfect angle now on the

:25:06. > :25:08.

:25:08. > :25:15.green. He could plead at the end -- the Brown as well. It is a bit

:25:15. > :25:25.tricky, this. It is a case of, where are you going to knock it

:25:25. > :25:28.

:25:28. > :25:36.That is amazing. I am sure he has snookered himself. The smile tells

:25:36. > :25:46.us he has. I said that he could snigger behind the blue, but I did

:25:46. > :25:53.

:25:53. > :26:03.not mean like that! -- snooker. the green, he could have had a lot

:26:03. > :26:06.

:26:06. > :26:16.more freedom with the cue-ball. That as well and reset, and he is

:26:16. > :26:17.

:26:17. > :26:27.No 17 in front. -- it is all in the past. Was not the best of safety

:26:27. > :26:29.

:26:29. > :26:39.shots. You have to say, a very poor safety shot. He needed to get that

:26:39. > :26:40.

:26:40. > :26:50.object ball say, and he has not done it. -- safe. What at rain this

:26:50. > :27:19.

:27:19. > :27:28.It does not look too bad, just to roll through by about at that. -- a

:27:28. > :27:38.foot. I think that blue is a lot harder than it looks on the TV

:27:38. > :27:48.

:27:48. > :27:58.screen, to be honest. Signs of What an excellent first Korean. --

:27:58. > :28:28.

:28:28. > :28:38.This is tricky. The one thing you do not want to do is get a double

:28:38. > :28:42.

:28:42. > :28:52.Occasionally, we question whose see the game, but Steve Davis would

:28:52. > :29:02.

:29:02. > :29:06.have been proud of that one. -- we He felt it rolled off. He has not

:29:06. > :29:16.played on this table before, so there are all these little

:29:16. > :29:17.

:29:17. > :29:27.idiosyncrasies that come into it. What an opening first frame.

:29:27. > :29:27.

:29:28. > :29:34.Brilliant. The young teenage sensation takes the opening frame.

:29:35. > :29:41.The quality on display already from Robertson and Trump. They are at

:29:41. > :29:47.the top of the market for the outbreak betting. The world

:29:47. > :29:57.champion is second favourite at 12- 5, and Ricky Walden, the outsider

:29:57. > :29:58.

:29:58. > :30:05.at 5-1. You look the draw from has had he has come through a tougher

:30:05. > :30:14.half of the draw, that is probably why he is bit rich. Fantastic worst

:30:14. > :30:21.rain. It seems to have been spoiled by the table rolling off. He played

:30:21. > :30:27.it a bit there could to get past a middle pocket. So he did not hit

:30:27. > :30:32.the ball as hard, running into the middle pocket. It was difficult,

:30:32. > :30:35.but still, a great frame. You get the feeling that trompe is going to

:30:35. > :30:45.have to play even better, because Neil Robertson looks like he's in

:30:45. > :30:48.

:30:48. > :30:53.very good form, very sharp. By the way, we are welcoming any questions

:30:53. > :30:57.for the world champions in the studio this afternoon. Three world

:30:57. > :31:07.champions available to receive your Questions, if you fancy getting in

:31:07. > :31:07.

:31:07. > :31:49.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:31:49. > :31:54.touch, you can contact us via And the last rain, Robertson

:31:54. > :32:04.complained about a possible role of. You can see the white, just

:32:04. > :32:04.

:32:04. > :33:11.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:33:11. > :33:21.slightly debating to the left. -- It might just look off one of those

:33:21. > :33:21.

:33:21. > :34:23.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:34:23. > :34:33.reds, there, so see the, off the The I do not think Neil will be

:34:33. > :34:47.

:34:47. > :34:56.taking the left-hand red. -- I do A good clean pot, but nothing to

:34:56. > :35:06.come. It is always the same when you play a shot to nothing. These

:35:06. > :35:19.

:35:19. > :35:28.are hard to judge. That is superb. Some time Julie Guthrie ball if

:35:28. > :35:38.there is ever a colour in baulk. We have all done it. -- sometimes you

:35:38. > :35:38.

:35:38. > :36:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:36:26. > :36:35.This could be good. If it goes through the gap it could be very

:36:35. > :36:41.poor. And brilliant. Because he caught it full on the right-hand

:36:41. > :36:51.side, he has left... He can hit these far and wide and hope he gets

:36:51. > :36:57.

:36:57. > :37:02.on the black. If not, he has the He is hoping for the black. He is

:37:02. > :37:07.almost bound to be on the pink, and what happens? He nearly snookers

:37:07. > :37:17.himself. Unlucky. If he played it slowly enough he could pot the pink

:37:17. > :37:21.

:37:21. > :37:31.A good pot. Typical - the only place you do not want to finish is

:37:31. > :37:42.

:37:42. > :37:48.He can swerve this. The slower you play it the more chance you have.

:37:48. > :37:53.Watch the white. When you hit the ball, even if you may have hit it

:37:53. > :38:00.thick, with that amount of side on it it is going to kick the ball

:38:00. > :38:10.over. In the old days you could not transfer her side with the old

:38:10. > :38:24.

:38:24. > :38:34.balls. Now you can. -- transfer He just did not get hold of it. You

:38:34. > :38:44.

:38:44. > :38:52.really have to get into it when Ideally, you would not like that

:38:52. > :39:00.cue ball to close to the side cushion. He might have to run round

:39:00. > :39:05.the ankles here. It is not a problem when you can cue like that!

:39:05. > :39:15.The pack has generated from that is remarkable. He was not even cueing

:39:15. > :39:20.

:39:20. > :39:30.down on it and still managed to Not many players would have had the

:39:30. > :39:38.

:39:38. > :39:44.confidence to play the blue at that Yes, look at this. He takes the cue

:39:44. > :39:52.right back, let it do all the work. That is why it generates the power.

:39:52. > :39:59.Unfortunately, he has just had a kick here.

:39:59. > :40:09.Watch the white bounce, and the red. When you have a kick it just kills

:40:09. > :40:41.

:40:41. > :40:50.Every pot he has gone for he has got it. No-one has ever won a match

:40:50. > :41:00.with 100% pot success rate. Do you think it will happen? I think he

:41:00. > :41:13.

:41:13. > :41:19.I think one of the key features when Judd plays is just how quickly

:41:19. > :41:25.he scores. It really is remarkable. That was another funny contact, I

:41:25. > :41:30.think. Not quite as smooth as it should have been. It is

:41:30. > :41:38.disconcerting when you sit in the chair, knowing that you have played

:41:38. > :41:41.a bad shot and you find yourself 60 behind in about two minutes.

:41:41. > :41:51.Judd is favoured in this match. We said that Robertson had to get off

:41:51. > :41:59.

:41:59. > :42:07.to a good start. Unfortunately, he He still needs this blue. They were

:42:07. > :42:17.a little premature with the applause. That his game ball. --

:42:17. > :42:38.

:42:38. > :42:43.We had a 43 in the first game and we did not think that was going to

:42:43. > :42:47.be enough. Robertson replied with 60. This break of 68 has been top

:42:47. > :42:57.draw. He has been tight to the cushion and he has still kept the

:42:57. > :43:09.

:43:09. > :43:19.Standby - potting machine at work. He does not have their finesse of

:43:19. > :43:27.

:43:27. > :43:31.O'Sullivan yet but he pots just as good to -- as good as him. He is

:43:31. > :43:41.the real deal, this boy. I thought he was good at Sheffield, but he is

:43:41. > :43:44.

:43:44. > :43:48.backing it up here. Roberts and has to look on as Judd

:43:48. > :43:52.Trump takes the lead. At some stage in the Turner, if you're going to

:43:52. > :43:57.win, there has to be the odd match where you need a bit of luck.

:43:57. > :44:03.certainly had it in the early match with Dominic Dale. He was 4-2 down.

:44:03. > :44:13.He looked like he was in trouble and then he played this shot. He

:44:13. > :44:20.

:44:20. > :44:28.came down, can and that -- can andd It has gone across the table twice

:44:28. > :44:37.here. How do you like those? played at shot as if he was gone.

:44:37. > :44:41.It was almost like he had given up. He was in trouble at point.

:44:41. > :44:46.Afterwards he said he was not quite at his best but I think he showed

:44:46. > :44:56.tremendous character. Again Stephen Maguire he was absolutely superb.

:44:56. > :44:56.

:44:56. > :45:03.He sent out a good tweet at the interval. He came out after the

:45:04. > :45:13.interval and never missed a ball. His brother tweeted that he had put

:45:14. > :45:16.

:45:16. > :45:22.a bit of oil on his elbow at half- time! We expected the quality of

:45:22. > :45:29.this match and, boy, have we got it! Roberts and has to hang on to

:45:29. > :45:39.him in this session. He can still win 6-2 but, at this stage, you

:45:39. > :45:47.

:45:47. > :45:57.have to get a foothold in the match. Judd's family often come to watch

:45:57. > :46:07.him play and they will be delighted at the moment. They are watching

:46:07. > :46:16.

:46:16. > :46:21.with earpieces. The commentary is They have seen him progressing

:46:21. > :46:25.through the junior events. There he is, 22 years of age, at the semi-

:46:25. > :46:30.finals of the UK Championship. I do not think we can call him a

:46:30. > :46:35.prospect any more, he is already here. I have had the pleasure of

:46:35. > :46:38.knowing him since he was 12. My late brother used to put it loads

:46:38. > :46:44.of junior tournaments on and everybody used to come to the club

:46:44. > :46:54.and play. My brother once said, one-day this guy will be world

:46:54. > :47:17.

:47:17. > :47:27.champion. OK, he may not be, but he Any room for improvement there, the

:47:27. > :47:46.

:47:46. > :47:51.thing? -- do you think? He was never going to get the cue

:47:51. > :48:00.ball topside of the blue there. There has been a new cloth put on

:48:00. > :48:10.today. It sometimes traps the white a little bit. He could not have

:48:10. > :48:24.

:48:24. > :48:30.We talk about having to settle in a match. Robinson had a body blow. I

:48:30. > :48:40.go back to the shot when he was on 60 and looked like he was in

:48:40. > :48:43.

:48:43. > :48:51.control. Since then he has looked a little bit shaky. Neil Robertson

:48:51. > :49:01.has a wonderful temperament. And he is going to needed today. -- need

:49:01. > :49:10.

:49:10. > :49:14.Brown is a natural angle here. This might be a little bit low. He knew

:49:14. > :49:24.full well that he had the other red. It is going to be tricky here,

:49:24. > :49:33.

:49:33. > :49:43.He may have to play safe up to the blue. It is definitely worth doing

:49:43. > :49:45.

:49:45. > :49:55.it. It looks like he feels he can get out of there to the pink spot

:49:55. > :50:20.

:50:20. > :50:30.I would never question his shot selection because he has played

:50:30. > :50:32.

:50:32. > :50:38.fabulously. But why give him a chance to get back in? If he was

:50:38. > :50:48.behind I might say that was the correct shot, but not when he is in

:50:48. > :50:48.

:50:48. > :52:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:52:36. > :52:40.Once again, it does not look like He has played it plain ball. The

:52:40. > :52:47.angle is not there, is it? If he plays it that way he will keep

:52:47. > :52:57.going through the gap. Here you see him putting left Tyneside on the

:52:57. > :53:01.

:53:01. > :53:06.ball. Watch it when it hits the cushion. He had another attempt

:53:07. > :53:16.without check side and caught the pink. It was important to show you

:53:17. > :53:20.

:53:20. > :53:24.what happens with check side, the way it squares up. The problem he

:53:24. > :53:28.has here is that there is no red that he can drop onto. He cannot

:53:28. > :53:36.see the two reds on the right-hand side. He cannot play down the table

:53:36. > :53:46.and drop on to the one that is the other black spot. -- that is near

:53:46. > :53:47.

:53:47. > :53:53.the black spot. He changed his choice of shot so that he did not

:53:53. > :53:58.have to check it. It is worth persevering. He could throw the

:53:58. > :54:03.frame away. I do not know what the record is

:54:03. > :54:13.for points against, but this could get very close. REFEREE: Foul and a

:54:13. > :54:13.

:54:13. > :54:21.miss. Meal will come and have a look at

:54:21. > :54:28.this, but if there is nothing he likes then it will go straight back.

:54:28. > :54:38.I remember one match where there were 48 points on the board before

:54:38. > :54:40.

:54:40. > :54:50.anyone potted a ball. This is his sixth attempt. He has

:54:50. > :54:57.

:54:57. > :55:07.This may look dangerous. It is a lot easier to give this amount of

:55:07. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :55:31.At the seventh attempt he has hit it. Unfortunately it is not safe.

:55:31. > :55:41.This is massive for Robinson. He has to get a foothold in this match.

:55:41. > :55:53.

:55:53. > :56:03.He has a tricky decision to make These decisions make the difference

:56:03. > :56:15.

:56:15. > :56:25.I think he was right to play that. It helps that the green is off of

:56:25. > :56:35.

:56:35. > :56:45.That is not a good shot. He needs to be a lot further down the table.

:56:45. > :56:55.

:56:55. > :57:01.He does not have the pace of this He has to try to find the gap

:57:01. > :57:11.between the reds to get up for a colour near the baulk area. He

:57:11. > :57:14.played a bit of late. Plenty of top spin. You can see it with the top

:57:15. > :57:24.spin. He could not have it that much better. That was the shot of

:57:25. > :57:37.

:57:37. > :57:47.I think he can see the second red of the two, which means he could

:57:47. > :57:51.

:57:51. > :57:55.Look what happens when you play with top spin. John talked about

:57:55. > :58:00.the white stopping before it went through. The top spin pushes it

:58:00. > :58:10.through. That is how he played at last shot, and played it

:58:10. > :58:11.

:58:11. > :58:16.excellently. That has been the key shot of this break. He was not

:58:16. > :58:26.brilliant when he first came to the table. He has managed to get the

:58:26. > :58:35.

:58:35. > :58:45.green back on its spot and the pink. Judd may regret the attempt at the

:58:45. > :58:59.

:58:59. > :59:09.green should he lose this frame and Perhaps, in fairness, a little

:59:09. > :59:11.

:59:11. > :59:21.careless, that one. He has got a dead white there. Instead of

:59:21. > :59:24.

:59:24. > :59:34.screwing out it has stunned and sat on the black. It looks like he can

:59:34. > :59:34.

:59:34. > :59:39.still pot the black. It is pretty close. If I was worried about this

:59:39. > :59:43.I would be sticking the yellow on the side cushion here. No-one seems

:59:43. > :59:48.to play that shot very much these days. If he is worried about the

:59:48. > :59:58.black, put the yellow on the side cushion. Judd, being left-handed,

:59:58. > :00:09.

:00:09. > :00:18.that will be extra insurance. It He did that well.

:00:18. > :00:28.Watch this. He just flicks the red twice. The red is available in the

:00:28. > :00:51.

:00:51. > :01:01.Excellent break. Has recovered his bottom red of the two? If he has

:01:01. > :01:01.

:01:01. > :02:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:02:02. > :02:07.done that he is OK. I am not sure He could have done with slightly

:02:07. > :02:17.more on the cue ball, to get a better angle on the black. But the

:02:17. > :02:21.

:02:21. > :02:31.chance of developing the other one. If he sees a slight angle on that,

:02:31. > :02:44.

:02:44. > :02:54.He has got to be a little careful with this, nor do get the cue ball

:02:54. > :02:59.

:02:59. > :03:09.tangled up with the two reds there. -- not to get. Should be all right.

:03:09. > :03:16.

:03:16. > :03:23.Once again, hopefully, not dead He did not expect to miss that.

:03:23. > :03:33.He's very proficient with his right hand. Not quite as good with the

:03:33. > :03:44.

:03:44. > :03:54.other hand, as Ronnie O'Sullivan is He's thinking about playing round

:03:54. > :04:03.the table and just dropping on to the cushion. His snooker has been

:04:03. > :04:13.very, very good. Judd Trump always does that, looks down at the floor,

:04:13. > :04:40.

:04:40. > :04:46.It was a trickier than it looked, that, an acute angle. It looks

:04:46. > :04:56.pretty simple on there, but believe you me, on these tournament pockets,

:04:56. > :05:21.

:05:21. > :05:31.One snooker is needed, it is going to be -- going to have to be

:05:31. > :06:02.

:06:02. > :06:12.The fact that the blue ball is just slightly off the cushion, there may

:06:12. > :06:13.

:06:13. > :06:17.be some room to get a snooker in there at some time. Neil Robertson

:06:17. > :06:27.needs to get a frame on the board quickly now. He does not want to

:06:27. > :06:46.

:06:46. > :06:51.Not particularly easy to get a snooker you, sometimes it is more

:06:51. > :06:55.important just to get the object ball safe, you cannot have a

:06:55. > :07:02.snooker every time you come to the table. Although he has done well

:07:02. > :07:08.with that one, that is not bad. Neil Robertson putting the

:07:08. > :07:16.extension on, it is easier to get the required amount of side, not

:07:17. > :07:26.using the rest. Not quite enough. That would have been a tough shot

:07:27. > :07:45.

:07:45. > :07:55.if he needed the spider, or the Still has not had any great

:07:55. > :07:55.

:07:55. > :08:47.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:08:47. > :08:51.opportunities to get the snooker. There is a little age of the ball

:08:52. > :08:58.sticking out, but that was a brilliant try. Hopefully, it will

:08:58. > :09:03.move the blue, because it is really difficult to get behind that. If I

:09:03. > :09:13.was Judd Trump, I would pot the brown, and try to get the snooker

:09:13. > :09:21.

:09:21. > :09:31.off the blue, behind the pink or He has moved the black, which is

:09:31. > :09:40.

:09:40. > :09:44.If the game can be scrappy with these two great players, it could

:09:44. > :09:52.be called a little bit scrappy, but we still have plenty to talk about

:09:52. > :09:57.in this frame. He with a high break of 33, Neil Robertson will be

:09:57. > :10:02.delighted to get a foothold in this match. Will Judd Trump regret going

:10:02. > :10:06.for that long green? This is bubbling up nicely. In the first

:10:06. > :10:09.frame we saw some maturity from Judd Trump, in the sense that he

:10:09. > :10:13.took the chance to play safe when he would have been expected to go

:10:13. > :10:20.for the pot. Then we saw the old Judd Trump that we have loved this

:10:20. > :10:26.week, the Cavalier one. That is the way he plays the game. To be a

:10:26. > :10:29.future world champion, you can win playing like that. Shaun Murphy

:10:29. > :10:33.made more pots and everyone when he won the World Championship. You do

:10:33. > :10:42.not need to have such a strong safety game if you're knocking them

:10:42. > :10:45.in, all the time. It is tough, but it can be done. Somewhere along the

:10:45. > :10:54.line you will have to develop as safety game, it happens to every

:10:54. > :10:58.player. He has won ranking events, he has got the experience. He will

:10:58. > :11:03.definitely have a greater percentage game of the two, but

:11:03. > :11:13.that was an important frame, because at 3-0 down, the match can

:11:13. > :11:13.

:11:13. > :11:19.start to get away from you. Does stamina come into play? Yes, but it

:11:19. > :11:23.is a slightly different mind set, for a two session at match. A crowd

:11:23. > :11:32.has been enjoying this session. This will be the first session they

:11:32. > :11:42.have watched, where there is no conclusion. It is back to nil

:11:42. > :11:52.Robertson against Judd Trump, with Judd Trump 2-1 up. -- to Neil

:11:52. > :11:52.

:11:52. > :13:05.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:13:05. > :13:11.He cannot afford to leave any one What a clever shot that was. He had

:13:11. > :13:16.a look, found the gap, it was careless of Judd Trump to leave it,

:13:16. > :13:25.but he would not have dreamed he would have left an opportunity to

:13:25. > :13:31.I open talk about how you can make your own luck with an exceptional

:13:31. > :13:38.shot, and he knew that the gap was there, but the gap is only there,

:13:38. > :13:48.if you pot it. The players out there knows that if you get the pot,

:13:48. > :13:48.

:13:48. > :14:39.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:14:39. > :14:43.that was a prime example of a very There might not be too much of a

:14:43. > :14:53.problem if he can one through the pack, but I think he is just a

:14:53. > :14:53.

:14:53. > :14:58.little bit too low. Playing the screw shot now, for the blue. I

:14:58. > :15:08.know that people backed him at 12-1. That was a slight chance. But not

:15:08. > :15:22.

:15:22. > :15:29.He's a good competitor. You don't win the World Championship without

:15:29. > :15:35.being one of those, but when you first came, he was playing in, was

:15:35. > :15:45.at your club? This, he spent 18 months in Leicester once he arrived

:15:45. > :15:46.

:15:46. > :15:55.from Australia. He used to burn his table time by dishing the tables,

:15:55. > :15:59.and he was very poor, then, he made plenty of 50s and 60s, but he did

:15:59. > :16:09.not quite have the finesse, but he has turned into one of the greatest

:16:09. > :16:14.

:16:14. > :16:24.It is nice to have another professional in the camp, in the

:16:24. > :16:25.

:16:25. > :16:31.way you practice, because you can play a few games, for tenners and

:16:31. > :16:35.things, and it keeps you shark. you play someone at a higher level,

:16:35. > :16:45.it does not give you the opportunity to get lax, about your

:16:45. > :16:45.

:16:45. > :16:55.practice. He did well to hold that. The Iraq played. -- there a well

:16:55. > :16:56.

:16:56. > :17:01.That is a big target, to the left- hand side. It depends whether you

:17:01. > :17:08.want to take the chance on that. He is looking to see. Would you go for

:17:08. > :17:11.the yellow, and take out the pack? Absolutely, and so would have

:17:11. > :17:21.Ronnie O'Sullivan or and Alex Higgins. If you miss the pack, you

:17:21. > :17:23.

:17:23. > :17:27.still have the chance of being on a He still has that chance, or been

:17:27. > :17:36.on that red. I thought he would miss the pack on the left, not the

:17:36. > :17:41.right hand side. He did not quite get into the cue ball. When you

:17:41. > :17:51.play a screw shots, the white spins forward, before the stun takes on,

:17:51. > :17:55.

:17:55. > :18:05.and it is easy to misjudge that He's entitled to take this on, at

:18:05. > :18:10.

:18:10. > :18:16.A little unlucky, he is starting to cue very well, and he does not

:18:17. > :18:21.understand why he missed that. don't know whether he can get into

:18:21. > :18:31.the cue ball and flick if you out of the pack. Well, he could, and he

:18:31. > :18:38.

:18:38. > :18:42.has. -- flick a few. And fortunately for him, he stuck it up.

:18:42. > :18:48.You do not envisage the red that you have missed, cannoning into the

:18:48. > :18:51.black and staying up this end of the table. This could be a bit of a

:18:51. > :19:00.body blow, because Neil Robertson had got himself right back into

:19:00. > :19:10.this game. All of a sudden, Judd Trump could produce the killer blow,

:19:10. > :19:19.

:19:19. > :19:29.Now then, has he lined them all up? Is he on anything? He is looking

:19:29. > :19:39.He's looking at trying to make a plant. There is a bit of distance

:19:39. > :19:39.

:19:39. > :19:46.This is different to the green, when I mentioned that it was too

:19:46. > :19:51.risky. He is entitled to take this on if he wants to. The fact that he

:19:51. > :20:01.is 50 odd points behind going to the table, but he has missed it, by

:20:01. > :20:03.

:20:03. > :20:09.miles a! He took the red in the middle of the plant first, there.

:20:09. > :20:19.The yes, that is what happened. The red, closest to the one he played,

:20:19. > :20:37.

:20:37. > :20:47.Good pot, that, he can be slightly aggrieved not to be left something

:20:47. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:06.I thought he had hit the lower jaw of the pocket there. He decelerated

:21:06. > :21:11.on that. For one second, I thought he had missed that. Think of the

:21:11. > :21:15.years we have run to have, with these great potters, criticising

:21:15. > :21:19.the shots that they plea, were going to have abortions of time

:21:19. > :21:29.over the next five or six years. They are wonderful to watch, they

:21:29. > :21:54.

:21:54. > :22:03.-- oceans of time. This has been a good performance from they are

:22:03. > :22:12.Robertson, at 2-0 down, since then, he has had a task, and he has

:22:12. > :22:18.passed it. Not quite as good in the last couple of frames, but you have

:22:18. > :22:27.got to do your own stuff, and he has certainly done that. Looking

:22:27. > :22:35.forward to see what Tweet he puts on his phone, on the interval, Judd

:22:35. > :22:45.Trump. He started like a house on fire with a 100% pot success rate,

:22:45. > :22:48.

:22:48. > :22:54.but since then, his pot success Excellent pot, both of these

:22:54. > :23:01.players appear to have got the measure of the table. I think this

:23:01. > :23:05.is going to be a very good match. It is not clear who is favourite to

:23:05. > :23:15.win at this stage, I'll be it Judd Trump was favourite before the

:23:15. > :23:32.

:23:32. > :23:42.Neil Robertson is also bidding to be the 11th man to be a world and

:23:42. > :23:46.

:23:46. > :23:55.UK champion. A fantastic achievement. I suppose you are in

:23:55. > :24:00.the other 11? I would not have mentioned it, otherwise! You have

:24:00. > :24:06.got to take your hat off to Neil Robertson. He was 2-0 behind, and

:24:06. > :24:10.struggling, some 36 minutes with a, and Neil Robertson has stop the

:24:10. > :24:15.flow from Judd Trump. Judd Trump will be disappointed to come at a

:24:15. > :24:20.bad session level at 2-2. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

:24:20. > :24:25.Wonderful first session. Stephen? It looked like Judd Trump might

:24:25. > :24:30.have been getting away from it. He went for a rash plant, and almost

:24:30. > :24:36.got away with it, Neil Robertson had to pot a long ball after it,

:24:36. > :24:40.but then he cleared up, and now he looks solid. Steve, how good Tudor

:24:40. > :24:46.balance be? From the perspective of Neil Robertson, he will be

:24:46. > :24:55.delighted to have been given some chances, which he grasp. You have

:24:55. > :24:59.to look at Judd Trump and say that he is still a little raw and gives

:25:00. > :25:07.his opponent to many chances, so it will be fascinating to see how well

:25:07. > :25:14.that style play holds up over the next five years. Well that hold up

:25:14. > :25:24.against players who have that? You might win one tournament at playing

:25:24. > :25:29.

:25:29. > :25:34.like that, but can you Dominic? -- dominate. We have been hearing from

:25:34. > :25:38.you on a widow. One tour says, do you think Judd Trump can win the

:25:38. > :25:44.World Championship, the way he plays, or will he have to mature?

:25:44. > :25:50.Another says, Judd Trump has the same long potting that you had at

:25:50. > :25:55.his age. I won seven world titles without much of a safety game, so

:25:55. > :25:59.it is fine! I think that is the way you have got to play it. You have

:25:59. > :26:03.got to create your own chances, you cannot be waiting for chances. He

:26:03. > :26:07.can definitely win a World Championship. You are the

:26:07. > :26:12.archetypal 80s safety player because you had the all-round game,

:26:12. > :26:17.it seemed to be based on safety. Is that someone -- something that

:26:17. > :26:21.nobody else is going to be doing these days, they will be firing in

:26:21. > :26:25.pots, like Judd Trump does? game has changed. You could

:26:25. > :26:29.dominate someone by playing good safety and they would fall to

:26:29. > :26:35.pieces because they could not play safety. That seemed to be how it

:26:35. > :26:39.was. But now everyone can pot, off the baulk cushion, so you have got

:26:40. > :26:43.to change your game. The game is changing all the time. It is like

:26:43. > :26:48.golf, you cannot play for the centre of the green anymore, you

:26:48. > :26:54.have got to go for it, because if you do not, someone else will. That

:26:54. > :26:59.was the style then, safety play, don't take any risks. The break of

:26:59. > :27:05.has become such an important shot. If you leave anything sticking out,

:27:05. > :27:10.you have lost the frame. In that case, does Judd Trump have a lot of

:27:10. > :27:14.maturing to do or just a slight week? I think the way he is playing,

:27:14. > :27:18.he dominates players, just by potting. He puts fear into you, if

:27:18. > :27:24.you're not really tight on the safety, he is going to pot the ball.

:27:24. > :27:28.The next question is from Kelvin, with a very good question, if you

:27:28. > :27:37.could combine three players, who and what part of their games we you

:27:37. > :27:43.have? I would have Ronnie's left hand. I cannot player left handed.

:27:43. > :27:53.Williams' temperament is scrappy frames. He does not care how badly

:27:53. > :28:04.

:28:04. > :28:12.he plays to win a frame. And Steve's B game. I never had that.

:28:12. > :28:17.My A game was rubbish. I with Alex Higgins apportion his competitive

:28:17. > :28:22.instinct. If you look at the best statistics, this guy is the best

:28:22. > :28:29.break-builder. I cannot believe that you didn't have Willie Thorne

:28:30. > :28:39.in there! He filled out when you mentioned world champions! -- he

:28:39. > :28:43.felt left out. You guys at the end have to sign something, what is it?

:28:43. > :28:49.It is the score sheet for the match. You could sign any complaints but

:28:49. > :28:53.my notes were getting so long. is to destroy the Brazilian

:28:53. > :28:56.rainforests, and to prove that you lost. We have a copy of one of

:28:56. > :29:04.these. This has from the match between Shaun Murphy and Martin

:29:04. > :29:11.Gould. It is just a match resort sheet, both have signed it. --

:29:11. > :29:16.result sheet. The next one, also involves what you do as part of

:29:16. > :29:24.you're match retained. Natalie says, what do Stephen Hendry in

:29:24. > :29:29.particular, but any player, do in the 15 minute interval? In the

:29:29. > :29:33.Crucible, we have dressing rooms, I normally go and read the newspaper.

:29:33. > :29:39.If you have lost badly in the first session, you might have some

:29:39. > :29:42.practice, but, just relax and have a cup of tea. It is nice if you

:29:42. > :29:49.have your meets with you, just to have a chat about things, not

:29:49. > :29:53.necessarily about the snooker. It is a game where you can switch off

:29:53. > :30:00.and on, you just have to get the balance right. Ken Doherty is

:30:00. > :30:06.standing by. You are looking lonely out there! We have a couple for you.

:30:06. > :30:12.Tom says, how many cue tipsters the average player get through in a

:30:12. > :30:17.season? If you are playing a lot of snooker, a lot of tournaments, it

:30:17. > :30:23.depends on all the practice. would say, on average about four or

:30:23. > :30:32.five tips each year, but the world champions in the studio there,

:30:32. > :30:37.The next one is from Tim. He says, what is the best way of learning to

:30:37. > :30:42.see the potting angle? Out there, you will probably see them coming

:30:42. > :30:48.around and having a look at the target line, in this case the brown.

:30:48. > :30:52.They would light up the brown with their body and the cue. Here is a

:30:52. > :30:57.tip. Sometimes you can put an imaginary ball there, almost like a

:30:58. > :31:02.dead set plant. What you do is you take the red away and that is

:31:02. > :31:12.exactly where you want to hit the brown to pot the ball. And, of

:31:12. > :31:12.

:31:12. > :31:16.course, you miss it, as usual! But you get the point. Normally he is

:31:16. > :31:24.100% accurate. His practising has been sensational. Very diligent as

:31:24. > :31:28.well. We will have more of you're tweets later in their programme. We

:31:28. > :31:38.are looking at last night's match between Shaun Murphy and Ricky

:31:38. > :31:39.

:31:39. > :31:49.Walden now. Ricky Walden is in -- was in his first UK quarter-final.

:31:49. > :31:51.

:31:51. > :32:01.He needed just one more frame to seal and semi-final spot. -- a

:32:01. > :32:01.

:32:01. > :33:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:33:02. > :33:08.This match is now when the hands of He needs a perfect angle on the

:33:08. > :33:12.black to go into them. There is one Louis red. He needs to cannon into

:33:12. > :33:18.that. That would give him more chance of getting the other reds

:33:18. > :33:28.into play. If he plays with stun rather than with screw it could be

:33:28. > :33:40.

:33:40. > :33:47.That could have gone horribly wrong. He always had that one to the far

:33:47. > :33:57.left corner. He can certainly see the bottom red of the pack, and

:33:57. > :33:57.

:33:57. > :34:38.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:34:38. > :34:42.Do he played it nicely. -- he He did not get into that properly.

:34:42. > :34:52.He potted the black very thick, which meant that the white did not

:34:52. > :34:55.

:34:55. > :35:04.go as high up as he would have liked. He does not have the perfect

:35:04. > :35:08.angle to get straight on the blue. whatever colour he decides to play

:35:08. > :35:18.for, he is not going to be perfect on it. He is playing, for me, the

:35:18. > :35:19.

:35:20. > :35:29.slightly more difficult red. As you can see, he is not on a colour now.

:35:30. > :35:30.

:35:30. > :35:34.He looks a bit shaky. He is just about on the pink. It is a thin cut.

:35:34. > :35:44.The frame and the match are there for the taking. You feel that, if

:35:44. > :35:45.

:35:45. > :36:34.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:36:34. > :36:38.He has got it. 50 points of a lead. Red, colour, red for a big win.

:36:38. > :36:43.has a chance of beating another world champion tonight. This is the

:36:43. > :36:47.bigger shot he has played so far this week. And it is there. I think

:36:47. > :36:54.Ricky Walden now weighs in the semi-final. On reflection, John, I

:36:54. > :36:59.think he has been the stronger player of the two tonight. Yes, I

:36:59. > :37:09.think the first four frames were evenly matched. But since the

:37:09. > :37:11.

:37:11. > :37:21.interval I think he has been the better player. Now just the easy

:37:21. > :37:21.

:37:21. > :37:31.red. 57 points in front, best to go 58 points in front with just 51

:37:31. > :37:40.

:37:40. > :37:46.remaining. -- this to go 58 points in front. Shaun Murphy did not

:37:46. > :37:56.produce his best game this evening. If you do not produce your best

:37:56. > :38:04.

:38:04. > :38:11.game you will be susceptible to defeat. Will he finish this off

:38:11. > :38:21.with a century break? The frame and the matches well and truly in the

:38:21. > :38:26.

:38:26. > :38:36.back. -- the frame and the match are well and truly in the bag. He

:38:36. > :38:39.

:38:39. > :38:43.is now in the semi-final for sure. Shaun Murphy will congratulate him

:38:43. > :38:48.and say, well played. They are very good frames off the table. Ricky

:38:48. > :38:53.Walden will be absolutely delighted. Disappointment for Shaun Murphy,

:38:53. > :39:00.but take nothing away from Ricky Walden. After the interval he came

:39:00. > :39:07.out all guns blazing and leaves a very worthy winner. 6-3, he is in

:39:07. > :39:11.the semi-final. He is up against Mark Allen, who

:39:11. > :39:16.was in the semi-finals last year. It promises to be another cracking

:39:16. > :39:20.match. Ricky Walden is a player who, perhaps, has taken his game to

:39:20. > :39:25.another level. Even though the won in Shanghai, this is another

:39:25. > :39:32.difficult level that he has to lift his game to. Yes, this is all of a

:39:32. > :39:40.sudden the first time, perhaps, on the BBC that we have seen the best

:39:40. > :39:46.of him. He has a fantastic cue action. It does not look

:39:46. > :39:56.technically perfect, his legs are bent. When he pulls the cue back

:39:56. > :39:58.

:39:58. > :40:02.and hits the ball it is beautiful to watch. How much as his

:40:02. > :40:06.confidence grown -- does your confidence growth when you keep

:40:06. > :40:14.putting away former champion after former champion? He has actually

:40:14. > :40:22.been missing for a couple of years. He won in China, but in the top 16

:40:22. > :40:29.briefly and then we have not seen him. But he has come back to form.

:40:29. > :40:34.How do you think that one is going to pan out? It is tough to call.

:40:34. > :40:37.Mark Allen is a ferocious performer. The last frame last night, you get

:40:37. > :40:43.in in those situations with his back against the wall, he is

:40:43. > :40:53.brilliant. Ricky Walden looks impressive. Ricky Walden is a

:40:53. > :40:53.

:40:53. > :40:59.scrapper, isn't he? Yes. He is unorthodox in terms of how he'd

:40:59. > :41:08.grips the cue. He is not as smooth as some of the other players, but

:41:08. > :41:13.it is very accurate on these superfine cloths.

:41:13. > :41:22.We cannot ignore the fact that Mark Allen has made headlines off the

:41:22. > :41:26.table this wake, but does it affect him on the table? He is a more

:41:26. > :41:29.laid-back character than people might think. I do not think it

:41:29. > :41:36.concerns him at all. His form on the table is what he will be

:41:36. > :41:40.focusing on. We will take you back to Neil

:41:40. > :41:50.Robertson and Judd Trump. It is going to be quite awkward for Neil

:41:50. > :41:53.

:41:53. > :41:59.Robertson because he is a member of the Forum.

:41:59. > :42:06.When East see some people walking around the table, and you take an

:42:06. > :42:16.instant dislike to them, that look of being aloof or arrogant, it

:42:16. > :42:19.

:42:19. > :42:27.reminds me of... Stephen and meal. I think he definitely has an aura

:42:27. > :42:34.about 10. The days a was a winning six or seven tournaments a season

:42:34. > :42:37.are gone. If you win two or three it is a good season. Neil has such

:42:37. > :42:47.an improved player from five or six years ago. Now he is a proven

:42:47. > :42:47.

:42:47. > :42:53.winner. When you are playing him you know he is not going to crumble.

:42:53. > :42:58.I have known him for quite a few years. We lived together for a

:42:58. > :43:03.period when Neil was first on the tour. I used to practise with him a

:43:03. > :43:09.lot at Willie Thorne's club. Back then, he probably would say himself,

:43:09. > :43:13.he used to score well but he used to push the boat out a bit too much.

:43:13. > :43:18.He said to me that that was probably why he fell off the tour,

:43:18. > :43:24.he was taking on too many shots. In the last couple of years he has

:43:24. > :43:29.proved what a class player fears. I could watch him on TV and you would

:43:29. > :43:33.not know whether he was winning or losing. He has a great temperament.

:43:33. > :43:40.We know the story line, you were really on your uppers and then all

:43:40. > :43:44.of a sudden... Do you think that helped? What changed your game?

:43:44. > :43:49.think that, in some ways, I was a late developer. One of the problems

:43:49. > :43:52.I had was living in Australia and not playing with a lot of world-

:43:52. > :43:57.class players, although the standard of amateur snooker is very

:43:58. > :44:05.high. It is a completely different level from playing top professional

:44:05. > :44:11.players. I was always flying over to play in tournaments in the UK

:44:11. > :44:15.without much practice. It all changed for me when I moved to

:44:15. > :44:25.Cambridge in 2003, when I was practising with Joe Perry every day

:44:25. > :44:26.

:44:26. > :44:31.and players like Mark came. I had just built on it from there.

:44:31. > :44:36.never hear him morning in interviews. The thing I am most

:44:36. > :44:45.jealous of is that come on you think you have played a safe shot,

:44:45. > :44:52.and then he gets to it. What part of the game would you try to

:44:52. > :45:01.improve? My biggest focus this season was to improve my

:45:01. > :45:09.consistency. Watching somebody like Mark playing the last few seasons,

:45:09. > :45:13.I myself have been a little inconsistent. This season was just

:45:13. > :45:23.to practise really hard and try to get to the later stages as much as

:45:23. > :45:25.

:45:25. > :45:30.And that has helped him become one of the best players in the world.

:45:31. > :45:39.Back we got to this semi-final match. It is 2-2 with the promise

:45:39. > :45:49.of more top-quality snooker to come. John Parrott is standing by,

:45:49. > :45:57.

:45:57. > :46:03.Steve Davis, whom I have known for 25 years and two has never bought

:46:03. > :46:13.me a drink, has just sent some mince pies up to us! Thank you very

:46:13. > :46:13.

:46:13. > :46:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:46:59. > :47:09.Of the two players, I am sure Neil Robertson would have enjoyed his

:47:09. > :47:18.

:47:18. > :47:25.cup of tea more than Judd Trump. That is just awesome. The kiss may

:47:25. > :47:35.not have looked advantageous, but he feed goes for the black heat he

:47:35. > :47:53.

:47:53. > :48:03.will be splitting them. What a That was a little on the thick side.

:48:03. > :48:05.

:48:05. > :48:15.That is easily done. He could split the pack up from here. He may

:48:15. > :48:15.

:48:15. > :49:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:49:58. > :50:02.He has to hit it thick. He did not He can get through to the potting

:50:02. > :50:09.angle of the red to the left of the brown, but I do not see how he

:50:09. > :50:19.could miss the cannon on the black. If he is going to play it as a shot

:50:19. > :50:31.

:50:31. > :50:41.He would not mind hitting the black if he plays it slowly because he

:50:41. > :51:13.

:51:13. > :51:23.would be pushing it towards the That may have looked dangerous but,

:51:23. > :51:32.

:51:32. > :51:42.if it had worked, he would -- it I do not know whether this back red

:51:42. > :51:46.

:51:46. > :51:50.When Judd Trump was playing Steve Maguire yesterday, on three

:51:50. > :52:00.occasions Judd Trump was tight on a cushion and Maguire was thinking he

:52:00. > :52:00.

:52:00. > :52:42.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:52:42. > :52:52.That was all he could do, really. There was no path back to the baulk

:52:52. > :52:52.

:52:52. > :54:10.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:54:10. > :54:20.area. The start of this frame is a He chose to play the safety shot. I

:54:20. > :54:21.

:54:21. > :55:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:55:20. > :55:26.do not blame them. He played it You can see that both players are

:55:26. > :55:31.somewhat reticent tip open the side of the pack. The brown is up the

:55:31. > :55:35.table, the green is off its yellow -- off its spot, as is the law,

:55:35. > :55:45.there is not much to hide behind. If you're going to open up the reds

:55:45. > :56:24.

:56:24. > :56:32.you have to be pretty accurate to He may decide to stun round the

:56:32. > :56:35.back of the black, knowing that the blue is there if he does not get it.

:56:35. > :56:45.This red would be almost a certainty of the green were not

:56:45. > :56:57.

:56:57. > :57:07.He played it nicely, played round the black. I think he hit it a

:57:07. > :57:11.

:57:11. > :57:16.fraction too hard, he was probably The blue is not as easy as he would

:57:16. > :57:26.like, whether he plays it in the corner or the middle, neither of

:57:26. > :57:55.

:57:55. > :58:05.This is a really tricky set of I would suggest he is going to go

:58:05. > :58:23.

:58:23. > :58:32.off of the top cushion and rested He is cueing very very low, playing

:58:32. > :58:42.the dried shot. He could not have played it better. Under the

:58:42. > :59:05.

:59:05. > :59:09.circumstances, I think it was the We have a television screen that --

:59:09. > :59:19.he has a television screen that he can look at. He has to put the

:59:19. > :59:39.

:59:39. > :59:42.balls back where they were. I think the pink was on its spot. The red

:59:42. > :59:47.has to go nearer to the pink. The one in the middle of those three on

:59:47. > :59:57.the left. The one near the middle of the three. He does not have an

:59:57. > :00:09.

:00:09. > :00:14.He is getting there. It does not make an awful lot of difference.

:00:14. > :00:24.The pink still has to be in the way. It is not important whether reds

:00:24. > :00:42.

:00:42. > :00:49.are at this stage. -- where the Well that is where they were. Just

:00:49. > :00:55.trying to sort out where they are now. They have got everyone looking

:00:55. > :01:00.now. Anyone else want to have a look? Shall we nip down and have a

:01:00. > :01:10.quick look? It is still a big target off the side. He has three

:01:10. > :01:22.

:01:22. > :01:30.or four reds he could go into. LAUGHTER. APPLAUSE. Judd pointing

:01:30. > :01:35.at the table where he told him the cue ball was. You little fibber!

:01:35. > :01:42.will still play the same shot. We know the red two from the pink will

:01:42. > :01:52.pot in the left hand corner. So he doesn't want to hit it straight

:01:52. > :02:02.towards the pocket. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. Unlucky. I don't know

:02:02. > :02:04.

:02:04. > :02:10.why he's looking at the score board. I was asking whether the six-point

:02:10. > :02:20.Pennell tip was on. This red is pottable. But it is a tough snooker

:02:20. > :02:31.

:02:31. > :02:36.Judd had a perfect line the last time he played it. But the harder

:02:36. > :02:43.you hit it, the wider the white throws. He might not get the same

:02:43. > :02:51.line if he hits it harder. It is a new cloth and new cushions, the

:02:51. > :03:01.harder you hit the harder they slide. A lot harder he has played

:03:01. > :03:01.

:03:01. > :03:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:03:59. > :04:04.it and just about the same line. It is come back to, not where it

:04:04. > :04:14.was, but there is a cuttable red on. But he won't have much idea where

:04:14. > :04:33.

:04:33. > :04:43.He may have to go for a pot of some nature. It is difficult to get back

:04:43. > :04:46.

:04:46. > :04:56.to the baulk area. He may have to have a dig at one. He could try and

:04:56. > :05:27.

:05:27. > :05:34.get the cue ball into one of the Because he hit that thick, he

:05:34. > :05:44.didn't ark the cue ball between brown and blue and all after the

:05:44. > :06:20.

:06:20. > :06:26.tactical exchange it is a very good Be interesting to see how many he

:06:26. > :06:30.can score here. He has not made much above 306789 me needs to

:06:31. > :06:40.establish himself in this -- 30. He needs to establish himself in this

:06:41. > :06:41.

:06:41. > :07:30.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:07:30. > :07:40.A little bit short with the cue He may play the slow cannon into

:07:40. > :07:51.

:07:51. > :07:56.Decided to play for loose one x which is no probably. But he will

:07:56. > :08:06.need to get at least one more of those reds that are tied up at the

:08:06. > :08:44.

:08:44. > :08:54.Shows you how important it is to get the chance to play it on to the

:08:54. > :09:14.

:09:14. > :09:19.pink. He does need at least two Well that was nearly brilliant.

:09:19. > :09:25.We'll get a chance to show you what the white ball does. It is a shot,

:09:25. > :09:33.you can see he has arked it around the brown and blue and then the

:09:33. > :09:43.spins tuck. He got so much reaction. It was so late before it gripped

:09:43. > :09:54.

:09:54. > :10:04.A good 43. He will be glad to see those two reds go to the right hand

:10:04. > :10:04.

:10:04. > :10:14.side cushion. All the colours are fine, but the two reds on the right

:10:14. > :10:16.

:10:16. > :10:26.hand side cushion is a help. Immediately Neal chooses to get one

:10:26. > :10:48.

:10:48. > :10:58.I thought that red had covered the pocket. A fabulous pot again. Great

:10:58. > :11:05.

:11:05. > :11:15.Having considered what mood he would have been at the interval,

:11:15. > :11:25.

:11:25. > :11:35.when he let a two frame lead split, Eight frames played in this

:11:35. > :11:44.

:11:44. > :11:50.afternoon's session, the best of 17 What is he thinking of here? Oh my

:11:50. > :11:57.goodness! A bit of cue power do you think. If the pink hadn't been in

:11:57. > :12:07.the way he would have got on that red. It was a bit of exhibition

:12:07. > :12:12.snooker at the end. He made a break of 43 and he now leads 3-2. RISHI

:12:12. > :12:19.PERSAD: It may be fair to say we are going to get this. It will be

:12:19. > :12:24.to and fro. Both players have shown they're on good form. Well there is

:12:24. > :12:31.a point about a two session match, the mentality, because there is no

:12:31. > :12:35.finish to the match. It is eight frames so you're trying to play the

:12:35. > :12:39.frames as they come and see what turns up in the evening. But what

:12:39. > :12:44.is astonishing is the cue power both these lads have. They can hate

:12:44. > :12:50.ball and if they can do that, there is no shot you can't play. -- hit a

:12:50. > :12:55.ball. We heard John Parrott's reaction to the screw shot. Is it

:12:55. > :13:02.something you guys look at, having been capable of tremendous power

:13:02. > :13:07.yourself. Not me. You're Auking about other player's abilities, I

:13:07. > :13:12.would love to have that power. It is to do with the cue. If you have

:13:12. > :13:20.a stronger cue. But his power and the accuracy is phenomenal.

:13:20. > :13:27.else in the main players in your era would have had similar powers.

:13:27. > :13:32.Well Jimmy White. But I don't think he has the accuracy that Judd has.

:13:32. > :13:36.Steven Lee was a good screw back player. If you can screw the ball

:13:36. > :13:41.back a long way and get power on your shot, when you play those

:13:41. > :13:46.shots, you don't have to hit them as hard. It is a big advantage if

:13:46. > :13:55.you can strike the ball firmly and get lots of action on it. But it is

:13:55. > :14:00.a mystery to me how they do it! It is like watching boxers you see a

:14:00. > :14:07.boxer who can punch hard, but it Dun't look like he is trying hard.

:14:07. > :14:17.But another boxer looks like he is punching hard, but is not hard at

:14:17. > :14:32.

:14:32. > :14:42.JOHN VIRGO: John Spencer developed the screw shot. And of course Joe

:14:42. > :14:50.

:14:50. > :14:55.WILLIE THORNE: We saw an exhibition shot from Judd. If he had have

:14:55. > :14:59.kissed the pink, he would have got on the red. You have got to hit as

:14:59. > :15:04.low as you dare and really follow through. This is from a shorter

:15:04. > :15:08.distance, but look what happens to the cue ball. It stops for a while

:15:08. > :15:15.and when the spin takes the cloth, it bites and goes back. But I'm

:15:15. > :15:25.sure that young man who was playing that shot couldn't have have --

:15:25. > :15:39.

:15:39. > :15:46.have played the shot Judd played. And what a shot again. Able to hold

:15:46. > :15:56.it and make that into a shot to nothing. He played a three quarter

:15:56. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:05.ball pot and got a dead white. That You get what you deserve when you

:16:05. > :16:15.play a good shot and he could get plenty. You have got to hope when

:16:15. > :16:22.

:16:22. > :16:28.playing into the pack he gets out Hofs probably worried about

:16:29. > :16:38.finishing on the cushion. -- he was probably worried about finishing on

:16:39. > :17:07.

:17:07. > :17:13.the cushion. I expected him to He will be a little disappointed to

:17:13. > :17:18.that initial red that was a skrabger, to only get -- cracker,

:17:18. > :17:22.to only get nine. Judd looking to see in the baulk area whether he

:17:22. > :17:32.can cover that red that's in the centre to the right of the blue,

:17:32. > :17:32.

:17:32. > :18:28.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:18:28. > :18:33.Got to miss the yellow. Ooh! Good call, John. Those baulk colours

:18:33. > :18:43.have always been there and it is amazing how many times you hit them.

:18:43. > :18:46.

:18:46. > :18:53.The key was finding the baulk cushion and he has not done that.

:18:53. > :19:01.Didn't particularly want the kiss on the pink there. Just potted it

:19:01. > :19:08.slightly thin there. He will probably pot the pink and screw

:19:08. > :19:18.back and split the reds. The fact that the yellow is off its spot

:19:18. > :19:27.

:19:27. > :19:33.makes this blue very simple. He may He loves knocking long ones in. I

:19:33. > :19:43.think he is on one. He deserves to be on one. Because the blue was a

:19:43. > :19:52.

:19:52. > :19:59.lot easier in the middle. Never He seems to be getting back

:19:59. > :20:09.contacts at the moment. When you're cueing down, it is always going to

:20:09. > :20:36.

:20:36. > :20:46.bounce and you won't necessarily Well a very surprising miss, that

:20:46. > :21:08.

:21:08. > :21:18.after some of the shots he's played. The way he played that, the black

:21:18. > :21:37.

:21:37. > :21:47.He has decided it is too risky to play on that red behind the black

:21:47. > :22:02.

:22:02. > :22:06.spot just yet. But this is a very I think we got too excited with

:22:06. > :22:16.what will happen with this match. But it has been more exciting,

:22:16. > :22:40.

:22:40. > :22:48.because they have been missing a Playing into the three, you're

:22:48. > :22:58.bound to be on one. Still on. But cuttable. The white will be running

:22:58. > :23:00.

:23:00. > :23:10.loose. But it helps that the pink is where it is. He was able to held

:23:10. > :23:10.

:23:10. > :23:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:23:58. > :24:06.Stun done down on the green then a natural angle for the loose red on

:24:07. > :24:16.the left. And should have a perfect position now. Three reds just above

:24:17. > :24:18.

:24:18. > :24:28.the black are going to be, need to be promoted at some point. Like now

:24:28. > :24:43.

:24:43. > :24:46.He keeps looking at the score boorbgsd he is only 29 in front. --

:24:46. > :24:56.score board. Could still play for the two reds behind the black spot.

:24:56. > :25:11.

:25:11. > :25:16.But he is going to need one of This is not any good if this is

:25:16. > :25:26.straight, but I don't know what angle he has left himself. He

:25:26. > :25:30.

:25:30. > :25:40.He is going to have to play the kiss, but he is not guaranteeed to

:25:40. > :25:48.

:25:48. > :25:58.Played it well though. Very done. All his eggs went into one basket

:25:58. > :26:21.

:26:21. > :26:31.there. Couldn't have hit it better, It is going to be Lel pegging,

:26:31. > :26:44.

:26:44. > :26:48.At this level, you can't afford to miss a ball like this. He just

:26:48. > :26:52.misjudged it and Neil Robertson, he had the white running loose at

:26:52. > :27:02.times, but he still compiled a frame-winner. That is the important

:27:02. > :27:35.

:27:35. > :27:45.Not perfect on this yellow. Neil Robert son's only made one century

:27:45. > :27:45.

:27:45. > :28:37.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:28:37. > :28:45.in this tournament so far. This is How do you like those apple? Not

:28:45. > :28:53.many of those in a pound, John! Just to let Judd Trump know he is

:28:53. > :29:01.not the only one who can play with plenty of cue power. Trump missed

:29:01. > :29:06.an easy ball and Robertson replied 105 to level the game. RISHI

:29:06. > :29:12.PERSAD: With the 29th century of the tournament. We have another

:29:12. > :29:19.world champion, one playing, one commentating, not Willie obviously.

:29:19. > :29:23.Ken, how much did you enjoy Neil Robertson strutting his stuff?

:29:23. > :29:27.were gasping, a lot of the people in the crowd are gasping. I can't

:29:27. > :29:33.play those shots, all three 06 us can't. That is how difficult they

:29:33. > :29:41.are. There is not many players could play that shot. It is amazing.

:29:41. > :29:48.I did it in installments once. would be scared of doing my tip in.

:29:48. > :29:55.You would be wary. Somebody tweeted, can you sort of practice that. It

:29:55. > :29:58.is very hard. I just play safe on it. Do they practice. You can

:29:59. > :30:05.practice that shot, but you can perhaps generate it. The more you

:30:05. > :30:12.play it, the more you get used it. It is how quickly you can move that

:30:12. > :30:15.cue forward from a standing start and how explosive your muscles are.

:30:15. > :30:22.Ever tie time someone gets in, they're ready to take their chance,

:30:22. > :30:27.that is what makes it a great match. Judd was in first and missed a

:30:27. > :30:37.medium range red and Neil's punished him. Let's get back to it,

:30:37. > :30:41.

:30:41. > :30:51.Let us get back to a former Seniors world champion! They have been

:30:51. > :30:53.

:30:53. > :31:03.having a go at me, those boys in Judd Trump has the first chance in

:31:03. > :31:35.

:31:35. > :31:45.Tricky with Joe shot, trying to get the cannon right, so that he could

:31:45. > :31:47.

:31:47. > :31:57.promote the red. -- tricky little shot back. This red is tricky. It's

:31:57. > :32:15.

:32:15. > :32:20.Having to play for the single red, It was about 90 minutes ago that

:32:20. > :32:25.Neil Robertson was trailing 2-0 and we thought, he is going to have to

:32:25. > :32:29.get a foothold in this match. He is doing more than that now, with the

:32:29. > :32:37.chance to take the lead for the first time. A good shot needed here,

:32:37. > :32:47.to keep the break going. It is amazing how many times you lose the

:32:47. > :32:48.

:32:48. > :32:53.white, winner pink is hit, half ball. -- when that pink. Stephen

:32:53. > :32:59.Hendry always goes into that shot with screw, to keep the white, in

:32:59. > :33:03.the centre of the table. With a slightly thinner Cup or not blue,

:33:03. > :33:13.Neil would be able to generate a bit more. It is just unfortunate

:33:13. > :33:27.

:33:27. > :33:37.for him that it has run away a It is a big frame. You know that if

:33:37. > :33:38.

:33:38. > :33:48.you win this, you cannot go into It takes a bit of pressure off,

:33:48. > :33:56.frame eight, if you are 4-3 behind. But, going into the interval, two

:33:56. > :34:06.frames behind... I think 4-4 would be a fair reflection of the

:34:06. > :34:18.

:34:18. > :34:23.The red on the left-hand side cushion is causing problems. He has

:34:23. > :34:33.played round the angles, just inside that red, and he has played

:34:33. > :35:04.

:35:04. > :35:08.That's Andy -- handy. A shot to nothing plant. He must have been

:35:08. > :35:13.thinking when he played that shot match he would give it three out of

:35:13. > :35:23.10, so it was an excellent shot. It had to be made. It was not

:35:23. > :35:25.

:35:25. > :35:31.A lot of chalk on the table. I don't know if one of them has put a

:35:31. > :35:36.new cue tip on. That comes from those deep screw shots. It is

:35:36. > :35:43.getting through the ball, isn't it? Which these two certainly do, we

:35:43. > :35:47.have seen that with the screw shot ats they have been playing. We have

:35:47. > :35:54.seen two of the best screw shots we have ever seen on television, one

:35:54. > :36:04.on the yellow, which unfortunately hit the pink. And this one, just

:36:04. > :36:05.

:36:05. > :36:10.We can show you Neil Robertson's there, where he purposely left it

:36:10. > :36:14.like this just to play the screw shot. That is just wonderful.

:36:14. > :36:23.Meanwhile, Judd Trump has got a chance of taking the lead again in

:36:23. > :36:33.this match. It has proved to be a very clever little shot, that plant

:36:33. > :36:34.

:36:34. > :36:38.he played. There we are. There is a good chance it will go in, if it

:36:38. > :36:46.does not, the cue ball was going to be nice and safe. And this is the

:36:46. > :36:50.result. He has got to be careful here, not to cannon into something.

:36:50. > :36:54.The middle of the three reds above the black, if he hits that he is

:36:54. > :37:04.guaranteed to be on a red, if it hits any of the others, it is not

:37:04. > :37:22.

:37:22. > :37:29.Not that I wish to contradict you but I was thinking that was the one

:37:29. > :37:39.thing that could happen and it went through the gap. He is the best

:37:39. > :37:42.

:37:42. > :37:48.plan to an award. I do not see these things! We will be calling

:37:49. > :37:58.him Judd Titchmarsh, the way things are going! Plans, everywhere! --

:37:59. > :37:59.

:37:59. > :39:04.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:39:04. > :39:08.He has developed this into a chance to win the frame. This is

:39:08. > :39:16.developing into a classic. And I'm sure there will not be a spare seat

:39:16. > :39:19.in the house for this game. He felt he got a bad contact there, and he

:39:19. > :39:25.is not over the winning line yet. If he is dead straight, he can

:39:25. > :39:35.screw back on to the reds in the middle. There are a lot of half

:39:35. > :39:43.kicks, that just deadens the cue ball. This is not guaranteed, this

:39:44. > :39:49.last red, which he needs. This could be a telling shot. You cannot

:39:49. > :39:53.go for this, surely, can you? If the cue ball was tight near the

:39:53. > :39:58.side cushion and he was cueing it left handed you would say that he

:39:58. > :40:08.had a good chance of knocking it in, but playing with this -- this, with

:40:08. > :40:14.

:40:14. > :40:22.For mere mortals, anyway. What a shot that was! The pressure on that,

:40:22. > :40:27.knowing that it is frame ball, and he could throw the frame away, and

:40:27. > :40:37.we criticise him playing that green early on, but as Steve Davis was

:40:37. > :40:43.saying, it is the new game. He will pot more than he misses. A glance

:40:43. > :40:49.at the scoreboard will tell him that he is 56 in front. I will be

:40:49. > :40:59.surprised if Neil Robertson plays on. The break comes to an end at 69.

:40:59. > :41:29.

:41:29. > :41:35.If Neil can screw this black in and leave the cue ball behind the red,

:41:35. > :41:45.he has a guaranteed snooker. He needs at you, but that would be a

:41:45. > :41:46.

:41:46. > :41:52.starter. -- needs a few. He would love another two inches of pace, in

:41:52. > :42:02.that white ball, when tea? He could have made that such a tough snooker

:42:02. > :42:07.

:42:07. > :42:10.You would fancy Judd Trump hitting this, off the cushion. If the red

:42:10. > :42:20.had gone in between blue and yellow, it would have been a tough snooker

:42:20. > :42:27.

:42:27. > :42:37.Good chance to get another one, but he needs this to be tight behind

:42:37. > :43:02.

:43:02. > :43:09.the blue. This is what he tried to Good effort. This is a good effort.

:43:09. > :43:19.This is a little bit more difficult to hit, he can just about go past

:43:19. > :43:25.

:43:25. > :43:35.He needed to hit that one, otherwise it was a certainty to be

:43:35. > :43:43.

:43:43. > :43:47.He knows his way around the table, Mr Robertson. We know what a

:43:47. > :43:54.fantastic potters ears, but he has been playing the likes of John

:43:54. > :44:02.Higgins and Steve Davis, and learning how to play snookers. I

:44:02. > :44:12.don't know how he managed to hit that, but he did. A glance at the

:44:12. > :44:16.

:44:16. > :44:20.scoreboard will tell him he needs There will be a big sigh of relief

:44:20. > :44:30.from Judd, if this disappears, because he does not want to get

:44:30. > :44:36.involved in too many of these big safety battles. I am surprised when

:44:36. > :44:42.it is game ball, he plays it at that kind of pace. Now and again

:44:42. > :44:49.you have to give it a chance of being slightly off line with the

:44:49. > :44:56.pocket. That was a shame. Neil Robertson has decided that is

:44:56. > :45:00.enough, and a break of 69 puts Judd Trump in the lead at 4-3. Judd

:45:00. > :45:05.Trump over the last few years has become a sensation. He is covering

:45:05. > :45:10.his face, there. That is what makes him a character. Let us look at the

:45:10. > :45:20.walk on from last year's World Championship, when he rejoined the

:45:20. > :45:29.

:45:29. > :45:34.This was the walk on at the Crucible, almost a standing ovation

:45:34. > :45:44.from the 960 people in the audience at the Crucible. That made my last

:45:44. > :45:47.

:45:47. > :45:52.few years on my head stand on end! -- hairs. Yes, wonderful

:45:52. > :45:58.introduction, great atmosphere. He was brilliant and that tournament,

:45:58. > :46:04.and he is proving to be brilliant in this one, as well. Certainly the

:46:04. > :46:11.next superstar of the game, without any question. We have had some

:46:11. > :46:21.great players, haven't we? Alex Higgins, Jimmy White. All became

:46:21. > :46:21.

:46:21. > :46:31.the crowd's favourite. And the two, the three legends in the studio,

:46:31. > :46:34.

:46:34. > :46:38.Neil Robertson has been playing catch-up all afternoon. He needs to

:46:38. > :46:48.do it again otherwise he will be trailing 5 I think we, going into

:46:48. > :47:06.

:47:06. > :47:11.He will need to get tight to the baulk cushion, and he has. Even

:47:11. > :47:20.then, it might not save him, but it has made this shot much more

:47:20. > :47:30.difficult than it would have been. He is usually exceptional at these.

:47:30. > :47:34.

:47:34. > :47:44.It requires very straight cueing, It was a good long pot, but in

:47:44. > :47:49.between blue and pink. Amazing how difficult it is to get the required

:47:49. > :47:56.amount of top-spin when the object ball is so close to the cushion.

:47:56. > :48:04.This is a big shot at this stage of the game. Right into the heart of

:48:04. > :48:14.the pocket. Deserves to win a frame. You would wear the leathers out,

:48:14. > :48:24.with these two, that was bang in the middle. I thought 4-4 would be

:48:24. > :48:30.

:48:30. > :48:35.a fair result, and a reflection of deja might's play. -- today's play.

:48:35. > :48:45.I think we can see that Neil is fully focused, from his demeanour,

:48:45. > :48:49.

:48:49. > :48:59.and he knows the importance of Once again, he thinks he has had a

:48:59. > :49:06.fine contact. You can see the black, jumping off its spot. Makes this a

:49:06. > :49:09.little bit tricky. He is hampered now. He played to screw the white

:49:10. > :49:13.back to give them a choice of the red in the middle or the one in the

:49:13. > :49:20.corner, he was probably playing for the one in the middle. Because of

:49:20. > :49:30.the kick, it did not travel as far. He will try to pot the black into

:49:30. > :49:34.

:49:34. > :49:42.the same pocket, and this can go wrong. You see? That can go wrong.

:49:42. > :49:52.Be sure that is switched off, please. Somebody has just had a

:49:52. > :50:03.

:50:03. > :50:13.Great recovery shot. Thinner than it looked, with a little bit of

:50:13. > :50:28.

:50:28. > :50:33.It has become a difficult shot today, on this table, to get

:50:33. > :50:43.perfect position on the blue. I was talking to Stephen a studio about

:50:43. > :50:45.

:50:45. > :50:50.it the other day. -- to Steve, in the studio, about it. It has become

:50:51. > :51:00.harder to get good position on the blue with these cloths been the way

:51:01. > :51:01.

:51:01. > :51:11.they are, so much more reactive. Talking about that shot on the blue,

:51:11. > :51:17.

:51:17. > :51:23.if you go top side, you have always Both these players are having 90%

:51:23. > :51:33.pot success rate, and when you see a few balls missed, it shows you

:51:33. > :51:38.

:51:38. > :51:45.how consistent they are, most of Only thing missing from this match

:51:45. > :51:52.has been someone winning the frame at one visit having got there first.

:51:52. > :51:56.That will be a first for tonight, control on the frame from the front.

:51:56. > :52:06.It has been a very enjoyable match but you would have thought there

:52:06. > :52:15.

:52:15. > :52:20.would have been a little bit more If that had been forced room,

:52:20. > :52:26.without any fingermarks on the table, that would hard born in,

:52:26. > :52:30.that red. It has just came have slowed down there. That was a good

:52:30. > :52:34.news. The bad news was that the red went to the side of the black so it

:52:34. > :52:39.does not go into the corner pocket. He can try to play on the pink or

:52:39. > :52:47.the blue. But it would have been straightforward to drop that in and

:52:47. > :52:50.stay on the black. You can see, it doesn't go. He can get through to

:52:50. > :52:54.the red full ball, but he would like to hit it on the right hand

:52:54. > :52:58.side to make it easy to come out for the pink. But he would have to

:52:58. > :53:02.play it with side, to swerve it round the red a little bit. There

:53:02. > :53:07.is the alternative of playing one on to the other. You do not have to

:53:07. > :53:11.take the one that is over the pocket. You can knock the other one

:53:11. > :53:17.on to it. But you could leave that red in the jaws, and that can cover

:53:17. > :53:24.the pocket. So, he has got a few things to think about.

:53:24. > :53:28.guaranteed position is to get on to the pink in the middle. If he

:53:28. > :53:33.potted one red onto the other and screwed across to the black for the

:53:33. > :53:37.same pocket, the second red could stay on the pocket. He's playing

:53:37. > :53:44.lots of side, to swerve the white run that first red. He did not

:53:44. > :53:52.quite get enough on it, but it is a long way away from the pink. At

:53:52. > :54:02.this stage of the match, it can be missed. At 4-3 behind, there is

:54:02. > :54:12.

:54:12. > :54:20.That was beautifully cued. Under the circumstances, that was a big

:54:20. > :54:24.shot. Well played. On reflection of what we have seen so far, that is

:54:24. > :54:31.the first real pressure ball, where you could either win or lose the

:54:31. > :54:41.frame from playing it, and he pleaded path it were. -- he played

:54:41. > :54:45.

:54:45. > :54:53.He played to an area where if you are not on one, you are on another.

:54:53. > :54:58.There is a chance of three reds there. He's having a little work to

:54:58. > :55:08.make sure -- a little look to make sure there are no problems

:55:08. > :55:14.

:55:14. > :55:19.elsewhere. Looks straightforward to I am really looking forward to

:55:19. > :55:24.tonight's session. It goes without saying. Whoever wins this match

:55:24. > :55:34.will be the favourite going into Sunday's final was up but both

:55:34. > :55:39.

:55:39. > :55:44.players and the other semi-final It just shows under pressure, when

:55:44. > :55:50.you get a little bit twitchy. If he had played that a fraction harder,

:55:50. > :56:00.it would not have gone in. But he deserves it, he has played some

:56:00. > :56:11.

:56:11. > :56:20.As you mentioned, it was not a match where players have been

:56:20. > :56:26.winning the frame at one visit, until now. We might see a little

:56:26. > :56:35.bit of exhibition snooker, two cushions in between green and brown.

:56:35. > :56:43.The session started out, and these players looking in great form, and

:56:43. > :56:48.tonight, we are in for some session of snooker. Don't miss it, at 4-4.

:56:48. > :56:53.Wonderful stuff. We predicted, some of us, that it would be fantastic.

:56:53. > :56:59.What we have seen from both players his confidence and class. You never

:56:59. > :57:05.know how were snooker match is going to unfold. But it has been

:57:05. > :57:12.entertaining. Not every ball was potted. Some mistakes, but it all

:57:12. > :57:17.adds to it. Two great players, at the jousting part of the match.

:57:17. > :57:22.Tonight is the big occasion for them now. Stephen, it has been

:57:22. > :57:27.touched on that they did not pot of the ball even though the potting

:57:27. > :57:32.rate was over 90%, but that is what makes it so exciting, the fact that

:57:32. > :57:37.they t con pots that could be missed by the majority of people.

:57:37. > :57:41.Neil Robertson's game is a little more reserved than Judd Trump's.

:57:41. > :57:46.His control of the cue ball has been better through the match. But

:57:46. > :57:51.it is the best of nine, now, tonight. Do you think that Judd is

:57:51. > :57:58.playing as well as he has all week? Both players are at the top of

:57:58. > :58:02.their game, on the crowd are loving it, it is a great atmosphere. There

:58:02. > :58:07.is not much between them. We said at the start of the tournament that

:58:07. > :58:14.there is not very much between the top players, and still, we cannot

:58:14. > :58:17.pick a winner. It is very finely balanced. Great stuff from your

:58:18. > :58:24.Roberts in the last frame of the session. Nobody had taken their

:58:24. > :58:30.first opportunity and gone on to win the frame. It shows his class.

:58:30. > :58:34.Of the two, Neil Robertson will be the happiest. From 2-0 it looked

:58:34. > :58:39.like he could be getting into a hole, but he dug himself out of

:58:39. > :58:46.that predicament. You could say that Neil Robertson has shown that

:58:46. > :58:52.he does not go away lightly. There was pork, that we had not seen Judd

:58:52. > :58:56.Trump behind, but the answer to that is that he has not been behind,

:58:56. > :59:03.many times! It would be interesting to see if one of the players get

:59:03. > :59:13.into a lead, how the other deals with it. Does one deal better than

:59:13. > :59:13.

:59:13. > :59:18.the other, at 4-4? I think so. At 2-0 down, only six frames left,

:59:18. > :59:25.then the chances of coming out level are pretty slim. He has

:59:25. > :59:29.probably had less pressure on him this afternoon, Neil. Don't forget,

:59:29. > :59:33.during that match against Dominic Dale, he was one flick away from

:59:33. > :59:37.being 5-2 down and he could have been out, but how quickly he has

:59:37. > :59:42.changed his game and a much better he is playing from that first match.

:59:42. > :59:47.It is in the balance and there is not much between them. You can use

:59:47. > :59:53.all the cliches, but it literally is all to play for. Just tremendous

:59:53. > :59:58.stuff from Neil Robertson and Judd Trump. You have been sending us

:59:58. > :00:02.you're thoughts and questions on Twitter. This is from Matthew. He

:00:02. > :00:12.says, what is the opinion on what was the greatest snooker rivalry

:00:12. > :00:17.over the years and do all snooker All the players do get on with each

:00:17. > :00:23.other. We all rib each other, but we're all hewn from the same piece

:00:23. > :00:30.of rock. So we all know what it is like to be a player. Occasionally

:00:30. > :00:38.somebody gets out of order. But it doesn't last too long. Only five or

:00:38. > :00:43.ten years. I loved Steve and Alex Higgins. I used to h -- hate him

:00:43. > :00:51.for a while, because he stole my thunder. Bit race when players come

:00:51. > :00:57.at the same time as the peak of their game. It is hard to pick

:00:57. > :01:03.which is the best. My favourite was Steve Davis and Alex Higgins. They

:01:03. > :01:08.were two players who hated each other. Particularly Alex. He said

:01:08. > :01:13.he hated Steve. And totally different characters. I think he

:01:13. > :01:19.hated me, because I was the fast attacking one. That has been borne

:01:19. > :01:25.out by your style subsequently. This is from Robert, for you, would

:01:25. > :01:31.Stephen trade a world title to win one of this generation? I wouldn't

:01:31. > :01:36.give one away, because I have still got one more than him. To win now

:01:36. > :01:40.would be incredible. That is why I still play. If I won one now it

:01:40. > :01:47.would be worth more than the others put together. Because the standard

:01:47. > :01:54.is so high. Jake says, does Steve think he could take on Judd if he

:01:54. > :01:57.was still playing like he was in the 80s, that is you not Judd.

:01:57. > :02:01.views on snooker and how it has developed, I don't think any

:02:01. > :02:06.previous generation could have lived with the generation that is

:02:06. > :02:12.playing now. Why do you say that? It is just so strong, so attacking,

:02:12. > :02:20.so accurate. Among the balls, the players are better at clearing them

:02:20. > :02:26.up. The break building has got to the Nth degree. Yeah, OK you could

:02:26. > :02:31.tie players up in nots, but you can't tie Judd Trump up in nots.

:02:31. > :02:37.Were you saying defensive safety play is susceptible to a strong

:02:37. > :02:42.attacker? It is a thing of the past. I don't think it will work in this

:02:42. > :02:49.game. You can't work by playing safety. You can't win a tournament

:02:49. > :02:53.playing safety. You have still got to make the big breaks. Every era

:02:53. > :02:59.you gate couple who are spearheading that era and are above

:02:59. > :03:04.the general standard and they last a bit longer in the game perhaps.

:03:04. > :03:07.And Stephen is Jill just outside the top 16. That does happen. But

:03:07. > :03:12.somewhere down the line it is not just the age of the player, but

:03:13. > :03:17.somewhere the standard improves. We don't know how good Stephen is now

:03:17. > :03:22.as compared to the nineties, because the standard he is playing

:03:22. > :03:27.against is higher. And we have one more tweet from Ben. He says what

:03:27. > :03:37.is the best bit of advice you have been given in your career? Practice

:03:37. > :03:38.

:03:38. > :03:42.hard. I think so work hard you have seen players with tremendous talent

:03:42. > :03:47.who perhaps haven't put the graft in. Steve, I don't expect you to

:03:47. > :03:53.say work hard. I remember my father saying, why don't you go down the

:03:53. > :03:58.snooker club, I'm trying to put a bet on. Keep your head still.

:03:58. > :04:03.Before during and after the shot. And Neil Robertson and Judd Trump

:04:03. > :04:09.have been doing that. We're going to show you, we saw Ricky Walden is

:04:09. > :04:16.through to the semi final. But would he play Mark Allen or Marco

:04:16. > :04:22.Fu? Mark Allen lost in the semies here last year. There wasn't much

:04:22. > :04:31.to choose between the two and they shared the first four frames. We

:04:31. > :04:41.join it in frame five. Dennis and Terry are in the commentary box.

:04:41. > :04:42.

:04:42. > :04:47.Hello ooh well that changes things around a bit. DENNIS TAYLOR: never

:04:47. > :04:52.ceases to amaze me what can happen. You could stand all day and never

:04:52. > :04:58.be able to pull that shot off and all of a sudden there is enough

:04:58. > :05:08.points for Marco Fu to win. Mark Allen, well he couldn't stop

:05:08. > :05:09.

:05:09. > :05:19.smiling there. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Well you will need four blacks.

:05:19. > :05:19.

:05:19. > :06:06.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:06:06. > :06:10.Not an easy task where the reds are You have the perfect picture, if he

:06:10. > :06:20.can judge this with reverse side he will miss the pink and hit the

:06:20. > :06:31.

:06:31. > :06:41.Another good shot required, but he has an angle to screw back off the

:06:41. > :06:58.

:06:58. > :07:06.He can only draw if he takes the pink. That is interesting. He is

:07:06. > :07:16.taking the easier pot. A lot would flick the black in and try for the

:07:16. > :07:50.

:07:50. > :07:54.Well let's have a look at the ang - - the angle. That is the angle he

:07:54. > :08:04.is faced with. If he plays that with deep screw, the white's going

:08:04. > :08:15.

:08:15. > :08:22.He's avoided the blue. He's played a superb shot. He has played a

:08:23. > :08:32.little gem there. Well Mark Allen, I bet he can't believe how this has

:08:33. > :08:53.

:08:53. > :08:59.He needs to go a bit. A little bit short. He thought the frame was

:08:59. > :09:09.over. He all thought it was over. He just played a straight forward

:09:09. > :09:10.

:09:10. > :09:20.double. But how he knocked the blue in, I'll never know. He had a fast

:09:20. > :09:28.

:09:28. > :09:37.This a an excellent shot. Absolutely perfectly played. He

:09:37. > :09:42.will just screw down over the brown spot and back for the pink. Back

:09:42. > :09:52.with a touch of side and one good positional shot here and it is a

:09:52. > :10:02.respotted black and Mark Allen, well I bet he can't believe it. He

:10:02. > :10:26.

:10:26. > :10:31.It is a respotted black. Spin the coin. It is a head, Marco. Do you

:10:32. > :10:39.want to go first. Marco not only cleared up, he won the toss. Mark

:10:39. > :10:47.Allen must be in a bit of shock after what's happened. Ref rf just

:10:48. > :10:53.-- REFEREE: Just wait there for a second, please. That seeps to be

:10:53. > :11:03.the shot to play these days. But it leaves the possibility of a double

:11:03. > :11:03.

:11:03. > :11:13.on. The old traditional safety shot was to get a bit of distance

:11:13. > :11:36.

:11:36. > :11:46.between them. What does particular Ideally he would want that black

:11:46. > :12:23.

:12:23. > :12:29.touching that cushion down there. That is very well played. What a

:12:29. > :12:39.great shot there. Can Mark Allen get this around the angles and on

:12:39. > :12:39.

:12:39. > :12:44.to the baulk cushion again? There is a chance to sneak this in. The

:12:44. > :12:51.white will go near the left middle pocket. He will need a touch of

:12:51. > :13:01.side on it to avoid going in-off. What a frame this would be to

:13:01. > :13:17.

:13:17. > :13:27.He's not sure. Just having a look there, what he''s -- he's thinking

:13:27. > :13:43.

:13:43. > :13:53.He's got it. Oh it looked in from here. I tell you what this is not a

:13:53. > :14:07.

:14:07. > :14:13.give me by any means, this black Didn't get that close to 1-1.

:14:13. > :14:17.tell you what, he'll settle for outcome. It ice a very awkward pot.

:14:17. > :14:27.The right corner would be the best one to take it on and he would have

:14:27. > :15:00.

:15:00. > :15:06.You can't beat a black ball fight, there is oohs and ahs all over the

:15:06. > :15:16.place from the crowd! Well he is such a devastating long potter, but

:15:16. > :15:23.

:15:23. > :15:33.there is a lot of pressure on this He's got it safe again! It just

:15:33. > :15:51.

:15:51. > :16:01.won't go in. This with less pace That is perfectly played. A

:16:01. > :16:21.

:16:21. > :16:27.Has he fluked it? Well the black's in. I'm not sure if he played it or

:16:27. > :16:32.was playing a similar safety shot to the one Marco Fu played. But

:16:32. > :16:40.what a frame and Mark Allen, I'm not surprised he has gone out. He

:16:40. > :16:44.leads 3-2. RISHI PERSAD: That was the I fourth respotted black of the

:16:44. > :16:52.tournament. People have been asked about how best to play a respotted

:16:52. > :16:56.black. We have had three of the four gays playing it like John

:16:56. > :17:01.Higgins did. It is the easiest shot to plai. Most would prefer to play

:17:01. > :17:07.the white more positively. So it is an easier shot than playing middle

:17:07. > :17:12.of the white. Graeme Dott is the only one who did it differently.

:17:12. > :17:18.Yes he is trying to do what Mark Allen did. You can play the long

:17:18. > :17:23.double and if it does miss, there is a likelihood it will wobble and

:17:23. > :17:27.go safe. Or go where he played it. The lowest risk shot is the one

:17:27. > :17:34.we're going to see, all three have played this shot. Pushing the ball

:17:34. > :17:38.side to side. Very unlikely that you will leave a realistic chance

:17:38. > :17:44.of a double. It is interesting, it is a containing shot more than

:17:44. > :17:54.anything. It is not a positive shot. We're going to take high risk and

:17:54. > :17:54.

:17:54. > :17:59.ask Ken how he would play a respotted black. Here is a couple

:17:59. > :18:05.of options, one is the Graeme Dott way and if he misses the black ends

:18:05. > :18:10.up in the middle of side cushion. We will try this one first. You see,

:18:10. > :18:18.you miss the pot, but the black will finish up somewhere here. This

:18:18. > :18:24.a pretty safe. There is the new option a lot of players are playing

:18:24. > :18:29.is chipping the black to the side cushion. And the white to the

:18:29. > :18:33.opposite cushion. Something like that. We will play it the

:18:33. > :18:37.interesting way, that would have been the Steve Davis way, that

:18:37. > :18:44.would have been the old way, up and down and leave the black in the top

:18:44. > :18:50.of the baulk cushion here. There you see something like that. That

:18:50. > :18:57.is, well pretty pleased with that is not bad. This is the Dennis

:18:57. > :19:04.Taylor way, 1985, black on the spot. Hit the black as hard as you can,

:19:04. > :19:11.close your eyes. Something like this. You know Steve Davis is going

:19:11. > :19:15.to miss a sitter and Dennis is going to pot it and do a silly

:19:15. > :19:23.little celebration. Something like that. And of course we didn't ask

:19:23. > :19:31.Ken to pot a ball! So he was safe. So that is some options. We had

:19:31. > :19:41.loads of people tweeting in. We're going to go back to Mark Allen and

:19:41. > :19:49.

:19:49. > :19:57.Marco Fu. Mark Allen leads 4-2 as DENNIS TAYLOR: he should have

:19:57. > :20:07.thought more about that one. REFEREE: Foul and a miss. But he

:20:07. > :20:10.

:20:10. > :20:20.was trapped there. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Marco's earned his chance with that

:20:20. > :20:24.

:20:24. > :20:34.snooker he played behind the brown. He needs to get his scoring boots

:20:34. > :20:34.

:20:34. > :21:19.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:21:19. > :21:24.There is a red on the right of the Let's see what he plays here. He

:21:24. > :21:31.likes to take them out one at a time. But I think that was the time

:21:31. > :21:35.to go into them. How is your luck? Pretty good!. He's got to make

:21:35. > :21:41.something happen now. That was the correct choice there, try and get

:21:41. > :21:51.some more of the reds open. Didn't quite get the cannon as he intended,

:21:51. > :22:13.

:22:13. > :22:23.but once that red came back across, He has got another three pottable

:22:23. > :22:59.

:22:59. > :23:03.Normally he would put the red in the middle pocket and go for the

:23:03. > :23:13.blue. But he can't, because of the position of the pink so he has to

:23:13. > :23:13.

:23:13. > :24:01.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:24:01. > :24:11.This is a very important shot coming up with a 02-point lead. --

:24:11. > :24:21.

:24:21. > :24:31.He has done well there. That is a good split. A very good chance now

:24:31. > :24:35.

:24:35. > :24:39.to clinch the frame. A good He has probably been a bit more

:24:39. > :24:44.aggressive in this frame than the previous frame, where he had a

:24:44. > :24:54.chance to go into the reds and didn't quite go into them hard

:24:54. > :25:15.

:25:15. > :25:23.The standard has been high, the two opening frames were scrappy, but

:25:23. > :25:33.then we have had braebs of 73 and 68 from Marco and 6 and 51 from

:25:33. > :26:08.

:26:08. > :26:18.He forced the stun there instead of Maying -- playing back spin. But

:26:18. > :26:41.

:26:41. > :26:51.A round of applause for that pot on the red. He is on the pink in the

:26:51. > :26:51.

:26:51. > :28:01.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:28:01. > :28:11.He has made 321 centuries in his There is a good chance to turn this

:28:11. > :28:22.

:28:22. > :28:32.into a century. What a response He will get a terrific round of

:28:32. > :28:47.

:28:47. > :28:57.applause from this Barbican crowd. The highest break still held by

:28:57. > :28:57.

:28:57. > :29:45.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:29:45. > :29:54.What about this for a positional He may as well take the lot. Oh he

:29:54. > :30:00.is going to cut it in. Unlucky. He was 4-2 down and that was his

:30:00. > :30:06.response. He almost cleared the table. But with 131 he is just one

:30:06. > :30:14.behind at 4-3. RISHI PERSAD: Particular Coe has a great record

:30:14. > :30:24.in this -- Marco has a great record in this tour flament. Now -

:30:24. > :30:24.

:30:24. > :31:30.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:31:30. > :31:40.tournament, we rejoin it with Mark He's getting closer to the winning

:31:40. > :31:55.

:31:55. > :32:02.Bringing the black into play, now. Mark Allen won his opening round

:32:02. > :32:12.match against Adrian Gunnell, 6-3. Nice to see him back after a couple

:32:12. > :32:19.

:32:19. > :32:29.He is well on his way to just leaving himself needing one more

:32:29. > :32:31.

:32:31. > :32:41.frame from a place in the six semi- final of a major tournament. --

:32:41. > :32:48.

:32:49. > :32:58.Oh, welll. That was never in. He had one area in that pocket that

:32:58. > :33:02.fell, but that didn't. Never in the middle of the pocket. -- earlier.

:33:02. > :33:12.Once again we have seen someone miss a straightforward ball, when

:33:12. > :33:13.

:33:13. > :33:23.it was the one he needed to be safe. He only needed that red, didn't he?

:33:23. > :33:33.

:33:33. > :33:37.These four reds might look awkward, For a right hander, the two near

:33:37. > :33:47.the side of the cushion are OK, these two are available behind the

:33:47. > :34:05.

:34:05. > :34:10.The fifth frame in this match was extraordinary. Mark Allen had

:34:10. > :34:20.assisted be, then sent a blue into that centre pocket which was quite

:34:20. > :34:52.

:34:52. > :34:57.That is well played. He has an option, I am not sure if he can

:34:57. > :35:07.drop straight on to the reds, going into them and splitting them, but

:35:07. > :35:18.

:35:18. > :35:23.into them, it is. That worked out He is checking the scoreboard. 59

:35:23. > :35:31.points behind. He has an angle on the black to get on to this last

:35:31. > :35:41.red. He has got an angle, if he could get somewhere near that White

:35:41. > :35:58.

:35:58. > :36:06.Dot, that would be perfect, and Pleaded perfectly. Much easier to

:36:06. > :36:16.get from blue to yellow, than black. That is why he screwed it back.

:36:16. > :36:27.

:36:27. > :36:37.Mark Allen, if he loses this frame... Here is that miss, by Mark

:36:37. > :36:37.

:36:37. > :36:47.Allen. The applause as from the other table, where the game has

:36:47. > :36:48.

:36:48. > :36:52.just Dennis. Very important, this. -- the game has just finished.

:36:52. > :37:02.few times we have mentioned his temperament, but he has not batted

:37:02. > :37:07.

:37:07. > :37:11.an eyelid with all that noise going on. Didn't he here it? -- hear. He

:37:12. > :37:16.might go for the pink in the corner, he didn't have the angle to play it

:37:16. > :37:26.into the centre, possibly. He is running through, off two cushions,

:37:26. > :37:27.

:37:27. > :37:32.on to the black. He has just drop it in. -- dropped. Just the black

:37:32. > :37:42.to square things up. In a frame that looked out of his reach a few

:37:42. > :37:43.

:37:43. > :37:51.minutes ago. Excellent break their from Marco Fu. That clearance of 60

:37:52. > :37:59.p bring some back level. -- 63. tremendous fightback from Marco Fu,

:37:59. > :38:09.and having trailed 4-2, he found himself 5-4 in front. Mark Allen at

:38:09. > :38:14.

:38:14. > :38:22.the table, trailing by 13 poise. -- There is still one red that will go,

:38:22. > :38:30.in the middle of that bunch. If he is straight on the yellow, he might

:38:30. > :38:38.be able to screw back for it. is the only problem, he is going to

:38:38. > :38:43.come close to the cushion. That is the red he would like to get on. He

:38:43. > :38:48.is taking on the more difficult brown. He could play for that red,

:38:48. > :38:58.but you know what he is like, he might go into them. That is the

:38:58. > :39:02.

:39:02. > :39:12.The black has been out of commission from the start. It does

:39:12. > :39:22.

:39:22. > :39:32.There is one red at the back that goes to have -- goes to the right

:39:32. > :39:45.

:39:45. > :39:50.The pink is going back on its spot. It is not easy to get on. Certainly,

:39:50. > :39:55.going into the middle pocket, not sure about its availability to the

:39:55. > :40:02.right corner. A I don't think he can avoid kissing the red or the

:40:02. > :40:11.pink. He has got to be a bit careful. Can he find the gap? I'm

:40:11. > :40:21.not sure. He might need the rest were this. Even though he is left-

:40:21. > :40:21.

:40:21. > :41:05.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:41:05. > :41:11.handed, I don't know if he can I think he's come up short, or has

:41:11. > :41:17.he just come up far enough for the pink? If he has, and those three

:41:17. > :41:22.reds are tied up, he might just be able to cannon into them. You have

:41:22. > :41:32.a perfect picture there to see the outcome. The back red does. He did

:41:32. > :41:32.

:41:32. > :42:17.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

:42:17. > :42:26.not have to run through and cannon Five out of five for Mark Allen

:42:27. > :42:36.with the rest, the same for Marco This is a great response from Mark

:42:37. > :42:42.

:42:42. > :42:52.Marco was a little bit tentative, understandably so, but he had a

:42:52. > :43:07.

:43:07. > :43:14.good chance to split the reds, and Well, Terry, we have got a deciding

:43:14. > :43:23.frame again, and everyone loves a deciding frame. Apart from the two

:43:23. > :43:30.players! One of them's going to love the deciding frame, that's for

:43:30. > :43:40.sure, it will get them through to this year's semi-final of the UK

:43:40. > :43:44.

:43:44. > :43:54.The pattern has continued. Another break over 50. He is playing like a

:43:54. > :43:55.

:43:55. > :44:02.pull player, not even getting down on the shot! -- pool. Excellent

:44:02. > :44:07.effort, that 66 from Mark Allen, brought him level again. It is 5-5

:44:07. > :44:11.result what a match this has turned into. The 5th of the tournament

:44:11. > :44:21.that has gone to a final frame decider. Here it is, Marco Fu at

:44:21. > :44:30.

:44:30. > :44:35.It was a brave shot, and for one minute it looked as if he was going

:44:35. > :44:42.to be on the black, but there is no particular black on from there.

:44:42. > :44:46.Letters have a look at this double. He went back up for the blue.

:44:46. > :44:51.not think he thought that the white was going to go as close to that

:44:51. > :45:01.corner pocket. He was trying to get it back up to the baulk end of the

:45:01. > :45:07.

:45:07. > :45:17.table, but that is too risky a He is having a look to see if he

:45:17. > :45:23.

:45:23. > :45:28.could maybe take the pot on and go He did manage to get it round the

:45:28. > :45:38.back of the black in reds, did not get close to the pot, but will

:45:38. > :45:48.Act be able to get back down the table, although it looks pretty

:45:48. > :45:50.

:45:50. > :46:00.tight. If he tries a thin one of that red, it might hit the other

:46:00. > :46:05.

:46:05. > :46:15.one. I think he was looking to see Is he taking this on are playing a

:46:15. > :46:15.

:46:15. > :46:25.safety? Just about squeeze past that. Is he going to cover this

:46:25. > :46:42.

:46:42. > :46:48.red? I pink he has. -- I think he A might just be OK here, he has

:46:48. > :46:52.played for the blue to the middle, but, being a left-hander, it is not

:46:52. > :47:02.enough to send it past the green, but can he control the cue ball to

:47:02. > :47:04.

:47:04. > :47:07.get on one of those reds that are I think he can. He has got a slight

:47:07. > :47:16.angle and he can find the gap for that red to the right of the black,

:47:16. > :47:26.but he will have to be so precise with this. And he has found the gap.

:47:26. > :47:42.

:47:42. > :47:52.That is a great shot. And he can That seems good. He made a 66 in a

:47:52. > :47:56.

:47:56. > :48:01.previous friend, so he has got It is going to be interesting to

:48:01. > :48:08.see what he does to the black, after potting this red. A couple of

:48:09. > :48:14.reds still available, and he has left himself an awkward shot, that

:48:14. > :48:17.was a little bit careless with the cue ball. He could have left the

:48:17. > :48:27.half ball pot, and gone straight into the reds with those two at the

:48:27. > :48:37.back of the bunch as a bit of Has to leave himself the more

:48:37. > :48:41.

:48:41. > :48:51.difficult pot into the middle He is running through it. He cannot

:48:51. > :49:05.

:49:05. > :49:10.come back for the black. He is The one other ingredient you need

:49:10. > :49:16.as a top class the good player is to have a lot of bottle, and this

:49:16. > :49:26.player certainly has caught that. He lost three frames in succession

:49:26. > :49:29.

:49:29. > :49:35.to go 5-4 down. Responded with a 66 break, to level. And now, one good

:49:35. > :49:43.shot, but it is not a good bunch to go into, he does not have any red

:49:43. > :49:52.as a decent insurance. That was always going to be the problem. He

:49:52. > :50:02.holds his hands up to the heavens. Marco Fu will be delighted to see

:50:02. > :50:04.

:50:04. > :50:07.that outcome. He is looking on to the issue of Marco Fu! It was not a

:50:07. > :50:17.good pack to go into, you cannot always be guaranteed to finish

:50:17. > :50:29.

:50:29. > :50:39.nicely -- -- under the shoe. Why me, Surely not a double to get him out

:50:39. > :50:57.

:50:57. > :51:03.of trouble. He might have left the Marco will just be pleased that

:51:03. > :51:08.that went wrong, and he is still in the frame and match. He has caught

:51:08. > :51:13.the red up to the left of the brown, he has looked at the possibility of

:51:13. > :51:16.a double, also, because of the doubles the red it is a free shot,

:51:16. > :51:21.he would finish on the black and the only shot he would leave would

:51:21. > :51:28.be the one he would try and double, so he is weighing up the

:51:28. > :51:32.percentages. He's trying to avoid the long pot, because his long pot

:51:32. > :51:42.success is 15% and this match, which is not great, to say the

:51:42. > :51:44.

:51:44. > :51:50.least. Here we go, for the double. And Mark Allen might be tempted

:51:50. > :51:57.with the long red. If he can screw back for the black, the five reds

:51:57. > :52:07.are all covering each other, so, one good, long pot and screw back

:52:07. > :52:17.

:52:17. > :52:22.for the black, and he could get And he might just have to play

:52:22. > :52:27.another little cannon, but it is definitely on, cannon the two reds

:52:27. > :52:32.there, and that will open everything up. He has played the

:52:32. > :52:37.cannon. He did not have to hit it that hard. It has finished

:52:37. > :52:41.awkwardly. If he just leaves the red -- the white there, without

:52:41. > :52:51.finishing it that -- hitting it that hard, it has just finished a

:52:51. > :52:54.

:52:54. > :52:59.little awkwardly. Will he get another chance? I would be

:52:59. > :53:04.surprised if he did. Mark Allen is very strong under pressure. This is

:53:04. > :53:13.the second chance after the First split went wrong, but this one is

:53:13. > :53:23.not too bad. Just a fraction either way, and he would have had a sitter.

:53:23. > :53:31.

:53:31. > :53:36.Writer in the middle of the pocket. He may be dead straight on this

:53:36. > :53:43.blue. Going round to look at the pink, but that looks far too thin a

:53:43. > :53:46.contact, so back to the blue. All he can do is come back in a

:53:46. > :53:55.straight line. He must be absolutely dead straight on this

:53:55. > :54:05.blue. Being a left-hander, much better leaving this one to the

:54:05. > :54:09.

:54:09. > :54:16.right of the four. What a I think that difference, Terry,

:54:16. > :54:26.there is nothing between the two players, but he has been the more

:54:26. > :54:27.

:54:27. > :54:30.aggressive player in the closing Marco had the chance in the

:54:30. > :54:39.previous frame and was probably just a little bit more tentative

:54:40. > :54:49.than Mark Allen has been. But what a performance, 4-2 down, but it all

:54:50. > :54:54.

:54:54. > :55:01.might be ending. -- might be in He has played a good match, though,

:55:01. > :55:11.Dennis, lots of good stuff from both players. I have enjoyed every

:55:11. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :55:35.Fair play to Mark Allen. It is a pity there had to be a loser. But

:55:35. > :55:39.he will be absolutely delighted. Marco Fu's had a great run in the

:55:39. > :55:43.sure's UK Championship, knocked out the world number one Mark Selby,

:55:43. > :55:53.and when he went 5-4 in front, would like he was going to beat

:55:53. > :55:55.

:55:55. > :56:05.It is a great feeling when you're walking around potting balls when

:56:05. > :56:11.

:56:11. > :56:21.Asked Terry said, it has been a terrific quarter final -- as Terry

:56:21. > :56:30.

:56:30. > :56:34.He won't bother about that. It has been a very entertaining match.

:56:34. > :56:38.Played in a great spirit, but in the end it is the man from Northern

:56:38. > :56:42.Ireland who has won the last two frames to get himself into the

:56:42. > :56:49.semi-finals for the second year in a row, and he runs out a winner,

:56:49. > :56:54.and being congratulated there, by the closest of margins, 6-5. Well

:56:54. > :56:58.done to both players. Confirmation that Mark Allen is through to his

:56:58. > :57:07.second successive semi-final of the UK championship, and he faces Ricky

:57:07. > :57:11.Walden. Mark Allen is getting his wish, playing 17 frames. Yes, and

:57:11. > :57:15.up against a very good player in Ricky Walden. Difficult to predict

:57:15. > :57:21.the winner. Similar to the one today. Anyone who reaches the stage

:57:21. > :57:25.of the tournament has got to be cueing very well. Especially, Ricky

:57:25. > :57:32.Walden comes into this tournament in great form. Mark Allen seems to

:57:32. > :57:38.be finding form. Tremendous competitor. His record in final

:57:38. > :57:48.frames must be far more winning than losing. I have never seen him

:57:48. > :57:52.lose a final frame. That Robertson- Trump matches beautifully poised at

:57:52. > :57:59.4-4. Will it be won by great play or lost because of mistakes? Heart

:57:59. > :58:05.to tell. It is going to go right to the Wire. They're usually is at

:58:05. > :58:09.turning-point summer, I missed shot on a little bit of luck. A few

:58:09. > :58:14.people seem to think the winner of that match will win the UK

:58:14. > :58:20.championship, and I would not agree with that. Thank you very much. It

:58:20. > :58:24.has been a joy to be alongside three world champions, Ken Doherty,