Day 7, Part 1 UK Snooker Championship

The into one table and that is going to be over longer distance,

so I can just relax into the match. A remarkable talent, he really is.

It is great to see that soap how that can't be in the game and not

waste it. He enjoys himself but a lot of that has been over-hyped. He

is a beleaguered professional at the tournaments. -- he is an really

good. Be it is nice to be a bid it, but it brings some pressure. -- it

is nice to be favourite. 1-1 at the moment, so, I think I will play

better than I did in the worlds. I am going to be up against it. A

monstrous opponent! I have always had quite tough games against Neil.

He's an excellent player and a real battler. He's probably one of the

best young potters in the game. I will have to build up a big lead,

early. This, we will just have to see what happens. Here I am in the

commentary box with two legends of the game, John Parrott, and Willie

Thorne t. It is becoming an increasingly grey area, about who

are the best players in the world. I think they have played their way

into it. He showed brilliant character, he said he was not happy

with his love will play, but yesterday, he was brilliant against

Stephen Maguire. You have commentated on all the great

players and again but these two are fascinating to commentate upon.

When you dominated there was no, if you others who could be due, but

now there are eight-10 players at any one time, going into a

tournament. It is going to be a real putting match today. --

potting. Which of these two players has their best B game? I would have

to say Neil. I cannot see job, coming from behind, but he could

win if he starts will quickly. you haven't got Europe a game today,

-- your A game. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. What a match

we haven't prospect here. It is semi panel time, and we have two of

the best in the business, waiting to put on what should be quite a

show. These will come a player who signals a new dawn in global

snooker, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire to make it to

the last four. His fearless style as one fans around the world. He

says he is creating his own brand of no the snooker this week, it is

Another massive reception, a great occasion. How malty is this going

to be? The naughtiest! -- how naughty. And his opponent. You

right in the UK with barely a penny in his pocket, and has since

conquered all before him. He has won six ranking event titles, never

losing a major final. He has beaten Graham Thorpe and -- Graeme Dott

and Ding Junhui. It is the thunder The two of you on top form this

week. Presumably these are the reasons why you are playing again.

Yes, the crowds have been great all week and it is another fantastic

her mad, again, today. Ladies and gentlemen, Neil Robertson! --

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We have two of the best

potters in the game, both of them left-handers. I wonder why that is,

John? These two today, Old Quarter final performances were absolutely

top-class. Thank you, ladies and I understand what you are saying,

if you don't have you're A game, Look how close they are, not a

percentage between them in terms of their tournament pot success.

for their success in terms of Any advantage of the fact that Judd

is playing his first match on this table? Well, we know that Robertson

is a formidable competitor. He has been in six finals and he has one

of them. That is not a bad record. It looks like an nothing see the

shot, he will see the contract to pass between these two writs. --

reds. We talk about looks, early on, and that some time we might be able

to show those two looks, against Dominic Dale. He played that in a

way that, OK, it was a bonus if he got it. It was a good choice of

Already, he looks like he has got himself in a prime position. Hold

on to your hats, hear! -- here. would have expected the bunch of

grids to be moved there. He didn't quite get hold of the cue-ball. --

bunch of reds. When he is in amongst the balls, he does not see

any other shot, that under -- other than the pot. You do not get any

points from safety plea. You get the occasional opening, but I know

what you mean. Great at to go into, for on the black. -- great pack to

go into from the black. It will be interesting to see whether he

decides to call into them from the Well, looks pretty good, no reason

why he shouldn't get the right angle to go into the park. -- pack.

Amazingly enough, this is a better pack to go into, kitchen first. --

cushion. He has finished absolutely straight on this. I was just about

to see, he did not play that very well, this nice black. He could are

run through and catch the jaws, and come route for the black, but they

never seen to play at shot any more. That is all because of the shot

report. To get on that big, it was pretty rough, by his standards. --

He could have let himself an angle from this one. That was no good,

but he has got yellow and blue, slightly out opposition, no.

could see the left hand side of the pack, through the pink and green.

Could decide to play off the It is a touching ball, so he can

play away. He would possibly like to leave the pat on show for Neil

Robertson, so that he opens them up. All was the best way, just to leave

the snooker. It will be the same sort of shot for Neil Robertson,

just drop into them. Because it was touching the red, he was hampered

in trying to get at the Black. Exactly the same sort of shot,

going into the side of them, instead of coned off two cushions.

Foul and Amiss, Judd Trump, four. think he has played the right shot

you. He could get in behind blue and yellow, if it is done enough,

off the top cushion. I don't blame him for taking on that type of shot

himself, John. Good quality match play rain here, from --frame here

from Judd. Foul and Amiss, -- four, Judd Trump. He might be a little

bit nervous at the moment, because it is the first rain, but that was

along we short. -- the first frame, This is probably brand new club, it

usually is, for semi-finals and finals. -- brand new cloth. This is

the first time that Neil Robertson is going to get the upper hand on

the safety. It is a path She -- say Taoiseach to play, right into the

He didn't into a team that, at all, leaving the option of bringing a

few out to Judd. Una has a short who play, where he is moving ribs.

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

with the yellow and blue where it is. But he needs there tree or 40

more points to come, very quickly. -- for a tea of 40. That is a

brilliant shot. He went all out for the pot, knowing that if he missed

it, he would lose the frame. Absolutely brilliant shot. Knowing

full well you are going to leave the game open. There was some

pressure on, there. It has worked in his favourite, leaving Judd to

open the grids up. -- reds up. will get right back into the game,

here. There is a snooker there, if he wants it, involving the deal. A

couple of things that can happen later on. -- involving the yellow.

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It is at all possible, it would be better to play the middle of the

three reds. He England and it, that we head close to be cue-ball is

tricky for Neil Robertson. -- he, He has decided it is a bit who

packed, so he's going for the one on the pink spot. That is a

wonderful shot. There was a little bit of ball you, playing -- or

He has certainly accomplished the main priority, which was to get

himself back in this to him. -- frame. Well played, great shot!

took the chance there, or playing He is trying to get into the

position, to plea -- play the cannon. This is excellent so far.

If this goes right. He has gone straight, that is very clear. --

He's dead straight, he can play to get on to the yellow, and he has

played that well, he has got an absolutely perfect angle now on the

green. He could plead at the end -- the Brown as well. It is a bit

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

That is amazing. I am sure he has snookered himself. The smile tells

us he has. I said that he could snigger behind the blue, but I did

not mean like that! -- snooker. the green, he could have had a lot

more freedom with the cue-ball. That as well and reset, and he is

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

shots. You have to say, a very poor safety shot. He needed to get that

object ball say, and he has not done it. -- safe. What at rain this

It does not look too bad, just to roll through by about at that. -- a

foot. I think that blue is a lot harder than it looks on the TV

screen, to be honest. Signs of What an excellent first Korean. --

This is tricky. The one thing you do not want to do is get a double

Occasionally, we question whose see the game, but Steve Davis would

have been proud of that one. -- we He felt it rolled off. He has not

played on this table before, so there are all these little

idiosyncrasies that come into it. What an opening first frame.

Brilliant. The young teenage sensation takes the opening frame.

The quality on display already from Robertson and Trump. They are at

the top of the market for the outbreak betting. The world

champion is second favourite at 12- 5, and Ricky Walden, the outsider

at 5-1. You look the draw from has had he has come through a tougher

half of the draw, that is probably why he is bit rich. Fantastic worst

rain. It seems to have been spoiled by the table rolling off. He played

it a bit there could to get past a middle pocket. So he did not hit

the ball as hard, running into the middle pocket. It was difficult,

but still, a great frame. You get the feeling that trompe is going to

have to play even better, because Neil Robertson looks like he's in

very good form, very sharp. By the way, we are welcoming any questions

for the world champions in the studio this afternoon. Three world

champions available to receive your Questions, if you fancy getting in

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touch, you can contact us via And the last rain, Robertson

complained about a possible role of. You can see the white, just

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slightly debating to the left. -- It might just look off one of those

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reds, there, so see the, off the The I do not think Neil will be

taking the left-hand red. -- I do A good clean pot, but nothing to

come. It is always the same when you play a shot to nothing. These

are hard to judge. That is superb. Some time Julie Guthrie ball if

there is ever a colour in baulk. We have all done it. -- sometimes you

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This could be good. If it goes through the gap it could be very

poor. And brilliant. Because he caught it full on the right-hand

side, he has left... He can hit these far and wide and hope he gets

on the black. If not, he has the He is hoping for the black. He is

almost bound to be on the pink, and what happens? He nearly snookers

himself. Unlucky. If he played it slowly enough he could pot the pink

A good pot. Typical - the only place you do not want to finish is

He can swerve this. The slower you play it the more chance you have.

Watch the white. When you hit the ball, even if you may have hit it

thick, with that amount of side on it it is going to kick the ball

over. In the old days you could not transfer her side with the old

balls. Now you can. -- transfer He just did not get hold of it. You

really have to get into it when Ideally, you would not like that

cue ball to close to the side cushion. He might have to run round

the ankles here. It is not a problem when you can cue like that!

The pack has generated from that is remarkable. He was not even cueing

down on it and still managed to Not many players would have had the

confidence to play the blue at that Yes, look at this. He takes the cue

right back, let it do all the work. That is why it generates the power.

Unfortunately, he has just had a kick here.

Watch the white bounce, and the red. When you have a kick it just kills

Every pot he has gone for he has got it. No-one has ever won a match

with 100% pot success rate. Do you think it will happen? I think he

I think one of the key features when Judd plays is just how quickly

he scores. It really is remarkable. That was another funny contact, I

think. Not quite as smooth as it should have been. It is

disconcerting when you sit in the chair, knowing that you have played

a bad shot and you find yourself 60 behind in about two minutes.

Judd is favoured in this match. We said that Robertson had to get off

to a good start. Unfortunately, he He still needs this blue. They were

a little premature with the applause. That his game ball. --

We had a 43 in the first game and we did not think that was going to

be enough. Robertson replied with 60. This break of 68 has been top

draw. He has been tight to the cushion and he has still kept the

Standby - potting machine at work. He does not have their finesse of

O'Sullivan yet but he pots just as good to -- as good as him. He is

the real deal, this boy. I thought he was good at Sheffield, but he is

backing it up here. Roberts and has to look on as Judd

Trump takes the lead. At some stage in the Turner, if you're going to

win, there has to be the odd match where you need a bit of luck.

certainly had it in the early match with Dominic Dale. He was 4-2 down.

He looked like he was in trouble and then he played this shot. He

came down, can and that -- can andd It has gone across the table twice

here. How do you like those? played at shot as if he was gone.

It was almost like he had given up. He was in trouble at point.

Afterwards he said he was not quite at his best but I think he showed

tremendous character. Again Stephen Maguire he was absolutely superb.

He sent out a good tweet at the interval. He came out after the

interval and never missed a ball. His brother tweeted that he had put

a bit of oil on his elbow at half- time! We expected the quality of

this match and, boy, have we got it! Roberts and has to hang on to

him in this session. He can still win 6-2 but, at this stage, you

have to get a foothold in the match. Judd's family often come to watch

him play and they will be delighted at the moment. They are watching

with earpieces. The commentary is They have seen him progressing

through the junior events. There he is, 22 years of age, at the semi-

finals of the UK Championship. I do not think we can call him a

prospect any more, he is already here. I have had the pleasure of

knowing him since he was 12. My late brother used to put it loads

of junior tournaments on and everybody used to come to the club

and play. My brother once said, one-day this guy will be world

champion. OK, he may not be, but he Any room for improvement there, the

thing? -- do you think? He was never going to get the cue

ball topside of the blue there. There has been a new cloth put on

today. It sometimes traps the white a little bit. He could not have

We talk about having to settle in a match. Robinson had a body blow. I

go back to the shot when he was on 60 and looked like he was in

control. Since then he has looked a little bit shaky. Neil Robertson

has a wonderful temperament. And he is going to needed today. -- need

Brown is a natural angle here. This might be a little bit low. He knew

full well that he had the other red. It is going to be tricky here,

He may have to play safe up to the blue. It is definitely worth doing

it. It looks like he feels he can get out of there to the pink spot

I would never question his shot selection because he has played

fabulously. But why give him a chance to get back in? If he was

behind I might say that was the correct shot, but not when he is in

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Once again, it does not look like He has played it plain ball. The

angle is not there, is it? If he plays it that way he will keep

going through the gap. Here you see him putting left Tyneside on the

ball. Watch it when it hits the cushion. He had another attempt

without check side and caught the pink. It was important to show you

what happens with check side, the way it squares up. The problem he

has here is that there is no red that he can drop onto. He cannot

see the two reds on the right-hand side. He cannot play down the table

and drop on to the one that is the other black spot. -- that is near

the black spot. He changed his choice of shot so that he did not

have to check it. It is worth persevering. He could throw the

frame away. I do not know what the record is

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

miss. Meal will come and have a look at

this, but if there is nothing he likes then it will go straight back.

I remember one match where there were 48 points on the board before

anyone potted a ball. This is his sixth attempt. He has

This may look dangerous. It is a lot easier to give this amount of

At the seventh attempt he has hit it. Unfortunately it is not safe.

This is massive for Robinson. He has to get a foothold in this match.

He has a tricky decision to make These decisions make the difference

I think he was right to play that. It helps that the green is off of

That is not a good shot. He needs to be a lot further down the table.

He does not have the pace of this He has to try to find the gap

between the reds to get up for a colour near the baulk area. He

played a bit of late. Plenty of top spin. You can see it with the top

spin. He could not have it that much better. That was the shot of

I think he can see the second red of the two, which means he could

Look what happens when you play with top spin. John talked about

the white stopping before it went through. The top spin pushes it

through. That is how he played at last shot, and played it

excellently. That has been the key shot of this break. He was not

brilliant when he first came to the table. He has managed to get the

green back on its spot and the pink. Judd may regret the attempt at the

green should he lose this frame and Perhaps, in fairness, a little

careless, that one. He has got a dead white there. Instead of

screwing out it has stunned and sat on the black. It looks like he can

still pot the black. It is pretty close. If I was worried about this

I would be sticking the yellow on the side cushion here. No-one seems

to play that shot very much these days. If he is worried about the

black, put the yellow on the side cushion. Judd, being left-handed,

that will be extra insurance. It He did that well.

Watch this. He just flicks the red twice. The red is available in the

Excellent break. Has recovered his bottom red of the two? If he has

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done that he is OK. I am not sure He could have done with slightly

more on the cue ball, to get a better angle on the black. But the

chance of developing the other one. If he sees a slight angle on that,

He has got to be a little careful with this, nor do get the cue ball

tangled up with the two reds there. -- not to get. Should be all right.

Once again, hopefully, not dead He did not expect to miss that.

He's very proficient with his right hand. Not quite as good with the

other hand, as Ronnie O'Sullivan is He's thinking about playing round

the table and just dropping on to the cushion. His snooker has been

very, very good. Judd Trump always does that, looks down at the floor,

It was a trickier than it looked, that, an acute angle. It looks

pretty simple on there, but believe you me, on these tournament pockets,

One snooker is needed, it is going to be -- going to have to be

The fact that the blue ball is just slightly off the cushion, there may

be some room to get a snooker in there at some time. Neil Robertson

needs to get a frame on the board quickly now. He does not want to

Not particularly easy to get a snooker you, sometimes it is more

important just to get the object ball safe, you cannot have a

snooker every time you come to the table. Although he has done well

with that one, that is not bad. Neil Robertson putting the

extension on, it is easier to get the required amount of side, not

using the rest. Not quite enough. That would have been a tough shot

if he needed the spider, or the Still has not had any great

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opportunities to get the snooker. There is a little age of the ball

sticking out, but that was a brilliant try. Hopefully, it will

move the blue, because it is really difficult to get behind that. If I

was Judd Trump, I would pot the brown, and try to get the snooker

off the blue, behind the pink or He has moved the black, which is

If the game can be scrappy with these two great players, it could

be called a little bit scrappy, but we still have plenty to talk about

in this frame. He with a high break of 33, Neil Robertson will be

delighted to get a foothold in this match. Will Judd Trump regret going

for that long green? This is bubbling up nicely. In the first

frame we saw some maturity from Judd Trump, in the sense that he

took the chance to play safe when he would have been expected to go

for the pot. Then we saw the old Judd Trump that we have loved this

week, the Cavalier one. That is the way he plays the game. To be a

future world champion, you can win playing like that. Shaun Murphy

made more pots and everyone when he won the World Championship. You do

not need to have such a strong safety game if you're knocking them

in, all the time. It is tough, but it can be done. Somewhere along the

line you will have to develop as safety game, it happens to every

player. He has won ranking events, he has got the experience. He will

definitely have a greater percentage game of the two, but

that was an important frame, because at 3-0 down, the match can

start to get away from you. Does stamina come into play? Yes, but it

is a slightly different mind set, for a two session at match. A crowd

has been enjoying this session. This will be the first session they

have watched, where there is no conclusion. It is back to nil

Robertson against Judd Trump, with Judd Trump 2-1 up. -- to Neil

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He cannot afford to leave any one What a clever shot that was. He had

a look, found the gap, it was careless of Judd Trump to leave it,

but he would not have dreamed he would have left an opportunity to

I open talk about how you can make your own luck with an exceptional

shot, and he knew that the gap was there, but the gap is only there,

if you pot it. The players out there knows that if you get the pot,

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that was a prime example of a very There might not be too much of a

problem if he can one through the pack, but I think he is just a

little bit too low. Playing the screw shot now, for the blue. I

know that people backed him at 12-1. That was a slight chance. But not

He's a good competitor. You don't win the World Championship without

being one of those, but when you first came, he was playing in, was

at your club? This, he spent 18 months in Leicester once he arrived

from Australia. He used to burn his table time by dishing the tables,

and he was very poor, then, he made plenty of 50s and 60s, but he did

not quite have the finesse, but he has turned into one of the greatest

It is nice to have another professional in the camp, in the

way you practice, because you can play a few games, for tenners and

things, and it keeps you shark. you play someone at a higher level,

it does not give you the opportunity to get lax, about your

practice. He did well to hold that. The Iraq played. -- there a well

That is a big target, to the left- hand side. It depends whether you

want to take the chance on that. He is looking to see. Would you go for

the yellow, and take out the pack? Absolutely, and so would have

Ronnie O'Sullivan or and Alex Higgins. If you miss the pack, you

still have the chance of being on a He still has that chance, or been

on that red. I thought he would miss the pack on the left, not the

right hand side. He did not quite get into the cue ball. When you

play a screw shots, the white spins forward, before the stun takes on,

and it is easy to misjudge that He's entitled to take this on, at

A little unlucky, he is starting to cue very well, and he does not

understand why he missed that. don't know whether he can get into

the cue ball and flick if you out of the pack. Well, he could, and he

has. -- flick a few. And fortunately for him, he stuck it up.

You do not envisage the red that you have missed, cannoning into the

black and staying up this end of the table. This could be a bit of a

body blow, because Neil Robertson had got himself right back into

this game. All of a sudden, Judd Trump could produce the killer blow,

Now then, has he lined them all up? Is he on anything? He is looking

He's looking at trying to make a plant. There is a bit of distance

This is different to the green, when I mentioned that it was too

risky. He is entitled to take this on if he wants to. The fact that he

is 50 odd points behind going to the table, but he has missed it, by

miles a! He took the red in the middle of the plant first, there.

The yes, that is what happened. The red, closest to the one he played,

Good pot, that, he can be slightly aggrieved not to be left something

I thought he had hit the lower jaw of the pocket there. He decelerated

on that. For one second, I thought he had missed that. Think of the

years we have run to have, with these great potters, criticising

the shots that they plea, were going to have abortions of time

over the next five or six years. They are wonderful to watch, they

-- oceans of time. This has been a good performance from they are

Robertson, at 2-0 down, since then, he has had a task, and he has

passed it. Not quite as good in the last couple of frames, but you have

got to do your own stuff, and he has certainly done that. Looking

forward to see what Tweet he puts on his phone, on the interval, Judd

Trump. He started like a house on fire with a 100% pot success rate,

but since then, his pot success Excellent pot, both of these

players appear to have got the measure of the table. I think this

is going to be a very good match. It is not clear who is favourite to

win at this stage, I'll be it Judd Trump was favourite before the

Neil Robertson is also bidding to be the 11th man to be a world and

UK champion. A fantastic achievement. I suppose you are in

the other 11? I would not have mentioned it, otherwise! You have

got to take your hat off to Neil Robertson. He was 2-0 behind, and

struggling, some 36 minutes with a, and Neil Robertson has stop the

flow from Judd Trump. Judd Trump will be disappointed to come at a

bad session level at 2-2. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

Wonderful first session. Stephen? It looked like Judd Trump might

have been getting away from it. He went for a rash plant, and almost

got away with it, Neil Robertson had to pot a long ball after it,

but then he cleared up, and now he looks solid. Steve, how good Tudor

balance be? From the perspective of Neil Robertson, he will be

delighted to have been given some chances, which he grasp. You have

to look at Judd Trump and say that he is still a little raw and gives

his opponent to many chances, so it will be fascinating to see how well

that style play holds up over the next five years. Well that hold up

against players who have that? You might win one tournament at playing

like that, but can you Dominic? -- dominate. We have been hearing from

you on a widow. One tour says, do you think Judd Trump can win the

World Championship, the way he plays, or will he have to mature?

Another says, Judd Trump has the same long potting that you had at

his age. I won seven world titles without much of a safety game, so

it is fine! I think that is the way you have got to play it. You have

got to create your own chances, you cannot be waiting for chances. He

can definitely win a World Championship. You are the

archetypal 80s safety player because you had the all-round game,

it seemed to be based on safety. Is that someone -- something that

nobody else is going to be doing these days, they will be firing in

pots, like Judd Trump does? game has changed. You could

dominate someone by playing good safety and they would fall to

pieces because they could not play safety. That seemed to be how it

was. But now everyone can pot, off the baulk cushion, so you have got

to change your game. The game is changing all the time. It is like

golf, you cannot play for the centre of the green anymore, you

have got to go for it, because if you do not, someone else will. That

was the style then, safety play, don't take any risks. The break of

has become such an important shot. If you leave anything sticking out,

you have lost the frame. In that case, does Judd Trump have a lot of

maturing to do or just a slight week? I think the way he is playing,

he dominates players, just by potting. He puts fear into you, if

you're not really tight on the safety, he is going to pot the ball.

The next question is from Kelvin, with a very good question, if you

could combine three players, who and what part of their games we you

have? I would have Ronnie's left hand. I cannot player left handed.

Williams' temperament is scrappy frames. He does not care how badly

he plays to win a frame. And Steve's B game. I never had that.

My A game was rubbish. I with Alex Higgins apportion his competitive

instinct. If you look at the best statistics, this guy is the best

break-builder. I cannot believe that you didn't have Willie Thorne

in there! He filled out when you mentioned world champions! -- he

felt left out. You guys at the end have to sign something, what is it?

It is the score sheet for the match. You could sign any complaints but

my notes were getting so long. is to destroy the Brazilian

rainforests, and to prove that you lost. We have a copy of one of

these. This has from the match between Shaun Murphy and Martin

Gould. It is just a match resort sheet, both have signed it. --

result sheet. The next one, also involves what you do as part of

you're match retained. Natalie says, what do Stephen Hendry in

particular, but any player, do in the 15 minute interval? In the

Crucible, we have dressing rooms, I normally go and read the newspaper.

If you have lost badly in the first session, you might have some

practice, but, just relax and have a cup of tea. It is nice if you

have your meets with you, just to have a chat about things, not

necessarily about the snooker. It is a game where you can switch off

and on, you just have to get the balance right. Ken Doherty is

standing by. You are looking lonely out there! We have a couple for you.

Tom says, how many cue tipsters the average player get through in a

season? If you are playing a lot of snooker, a lot of tournaments, it

depends on all the practice. would say, on average about four or

five tips each year, but the world champions in the studio there,

The next one is from Tim. He says, what is the best way of learning to

see the potting angle? Out there, you will probably see them coming

around and having a look at the target line, in this case the brown.

They would light up the brown with their body and the cue. Here is a

tip. Sometimes you can put an imaginary ball there, almost like a

dead set plant. What you do is you take the red away and that is

exactly where you want to hit the brown to pot the ball. And, of

course, you miss it, as usual! But you get the point. Normally he is

100% accurate. His practising has been sensational. Very diligent as

well. We will have more of you're tweets later in their programme. We

are looking at last night's match between Shaun Murphy and Ricky

Walden now. Ricky Walden is in -- was in his first UK quarter-final.

He needed just one more frame to seal and semi-final spot. -- a

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This match is now when the hands of He needs a perfect angle on the

black to go into them. There is one Louis red. He needs to cannon into

that. That would give him more chance of getting the other reds

into play. If he plays with stun rather than with screw it could be

That could have gone horribly wrong. He always had that one to the far

left corner. He can certainly see the bottom red of the pack, and

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Do he played it nicely. -- he He did not get into that properly.

He potted the black very thick, which meant that the white did not

go as high up as he would have liked. He does not have the perfect

angle to get straight on the blue. whatever colour he decides to play

for, he is not going to be perfect on it. He is playing, for me, the

slightly more difficult red. As you can see, he is not on a colour now.

He looks a bit shaky. He is just about on the pink. It is a thin cut.

The frame and the match are there for the taking. You feel that, if

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He has got it. 50 points of a lead. Red, colour, red for a big win.

has a chance of beating another world champion tonight. This is the

bigger shot he has played so far this week. And it is there. I think

Ricky Walden now weighs in the semi-final. On reflection, John, I

think he has been the stronger player of the two tonight. Yes, I

think the first four frames were evenly matched. But since the

interval I think he has been the better player. Now just the easy

red. 57 points in front, best to go 58 points in front with just 51

remaining. -- this to go 58 points in front. Shaun Murphy did not

produce his best game this evening. If you do not produce your best

game you will be susceptible to defeat. Will he finish this off

with a century break? The frame and the matches well and truly in the

back. -- the frame and the match are well and truly in the bag. He

is now in the semi-final for sure. Shaun Murphy will congratulate him

and say, well played. They are very good frames off the table. Ricky

Walden will be absolutely delighted. Disappointment for Shaun Murphy,

but take nothing away from Ricky Walden. After the interval he came

out all guns blazing and leaves a very worthy winner. 6-3, he is in

the semi-final. He is up against Mark Allen, who

was in the semi-finals last year. It promises to be another cracking

match. Ricky Walden is a player who, perhaps, has taken his game to

another level. Even though the won in Shanghai, this is another

difficult level that he has to lift his game to. Yes, this is all of a

sudden the first time, perhaps, on the BBC that we have seen the best

of him. He has a fantastic cue action. It does not look

technically perfect, his legs are bent. When he pulls the cue back

and hits the ball it is beautiful to watch. How much as his

confidence grown -- does your confidence growth when you keep

putting away former champion after former champion? He has actually

been missing for a couple of years. He won in China, but in the top 16

briefly and then we have not seen him. But he has come back to form.

How do you think that one is going to pan out? It is tough to call.

Mark Allen is a ferocious performer. The last frame last night, you get

in in those situations with his back against the wall, he is

brilliant. Ricky Walden looks impressive. Ricky Walden is a

scrapper, isn't he? Yes. He is unorthodox in terms of how he'd

grips the cue. He is not as smooth as some of the other players, but

it is very accurate on these superfine cloths.

We cannot ignore the fact that Mark Allen has made headlines off the

table this wake, but does it affect him on the table? He is a more

laid-back character than people might think. I do not think it

concerns him at all. His form on the table is what he will be

focusing on. We will take you back to Neil

Robertson and Judd Trump. It is going to be quite awkward for Neil

Robertson because he is a member of the Forum.

When East see some people walking around the table, and you take an

instant dislike to them, that look of being aloof or arrogant, it

reminds me of... Stephen and meal. I think he definitely has an aura

about 10. The days a was a winning six or seven tournaments a season

are gone. If you win two or three it is a good season. Neil has such

an improved player from five or six years ago. Now he is a proven

winner. When you are playing him you know he is not going to crumble.

I have known him for quite a few years. We lived together for a

period when Neil was first on the tour. I used to practise with him a

lot at Willie Thorne's club. Back then, he probably would say himself,

he used to score well but he used to push the boat out a bit too much.

He said to me that that was probably why he fell off the tour,

he was taking on too many shots. In the last couple of years he has

proved what a class player fears. I could watch him on TV and you would

not know whether he was winning or losing. He has a great temperament.

We know the story line, you were really on your uppers and then all

of a sudden... Do you think that helped? What changed your game?

think that, in some ways, I was a late developer. One of the problems

I had was living in Australia and not playing with a lot of world-

class players, although the standard of amateur snooker is very

high. It is a completely different level from playing top professional

players. I was always flying over to play in tournaments in the UK

without much practice. It all changed for me when I moved to

Cambridge in 2003, when I was practising with Joe Perry every day

and players like Mark came. I had just built on it from there.

never hear him morning in interviews. The thing I am most

jealous of is that come on you think you have played a safe shot,

and then he gets to it. What part of the game would you try to

improve? My biggest focus this season was to improve my

consistency. Watching somebody like Mark playing the last few seasons,

I myself have been a little inconsistent. This season was just

to practise really hard and try to get to the later stages as much as

And that has helped him become one of the best players in the world.

Back we got to this semi-final match. It is 2-2 with the promise

of more top-quality snooker to come. John Parrott is standing by,

Steve Davis, whom I have known for 25 years and two has never bought

me a drink, has just sent some mince pies up to us! Thank you very

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Of the two players, I am sure Neil Robertson would have enjoyed his

cup of tea more than Judd Trump. That is just awesome. The kiss may

not have looked advantageous, but he feed goes for the black heat he

will be splitting them. What a That was a little on the thick side.

That is easily done. He could split the pack up from here. He may

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He has to hit it thick. He did not He can get through to the potting

angle of the red to the left of the brown, but I do not see how he

could miss the cannon on the black. If he is going to play it as a shot

He would not mind hitting the black if he plays it slowly because he

would be pushing it towards the That may have looked dangerous but,

if it had worked, he would -- it I do not know whether this back red

When Judd Trump was playing Steve Maguire yesterday, on three

occasions Judd Trump was tight on a cushion and Maguire was thinking he

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

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area. The start of this frame is a He chose to play the safety shot. I

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do not blame them. He played it You can see that both players are

somewhat reticent tip open the side of the pack. The brown is up the

table, the green is off its yellow -- off its spot, as is the law,

there is not much to hide behind. If you're going to open up the reds

you have to be pretty accurate to He may decide to stun round the

back of the black, knowing that the blue is there if he does not get it.

This red would be almost a certainty of the green were not

He played it nicely, played round the black. I think he hit it a

fraction too hard, he was probably The blue is not as easy as he would

like, whether he plays it in the corner or the middle, neither of

This is a really tricky set of I would suggest he is going to go

off of the top cushion and rested He is cueing very very low, playing

the dried shot. He could not have played it better. Under the

circumstances, I think it was the We have a television screen that --

he has a television screen that he can look at. He has to put the

balls back where they were. I think the pink was on its spot. The red

has to go nearer to the pink. The one in the middle of those three on

the left. The one near the middle of the three. He does not have an

He is getting there. It does not make an awful lot of difference.

The pink still has to be in the way. It is not important whether reds

are at this stage. -- where the Well that is where they were. Just

trying to sort out where they are now. They have got everyone looking

now. Anyone else want to have a look? Shall we nip down and have a

quick look? It is still a big target off the side. He has three

or four reds he could go into. LAUGHTER. APPLAUSE. Judd pointing

at the table where he told him the cue ball was. You little fibber!

will still play the same shot. We know the red two from the pink will

pot in the left hand corner. So he doesn't want to hit it straight

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

why he's looking at the score board. I was asking whether the six-point

Pennell tip was on. This red is pottable. But it is a tough snooker

Judd had a perfect line the last time he played it. But the harder

you hit it, the wider the white throws. He might not get the same

line if he hits it harder. It is a new cloth and new cushions, the

harder you hit the harder they slide. A lot harder he has played

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it and just about the same line. It is come back to, not where it

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

He may have to go for a pot of some nature. It is difficult to get back

to the baulk area. He may have to have a dig at one. He could try and

get the cue ball into one of the Because he hit that thick, he

didn't ark the cue ball between brown and blue and all after the

tactical exchange it is a very good Be interesting to see how many he

can score here. He has not made much above 306789 me needs to

establish himself in this -- 30. He needs to establish himself in this

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A little bit short with the cue He may play the slow cannon into

Decided to play for loose one x which is no probably. But he will

need to get at least one more of those reds that are tied up at the

Shows you how important it is to get the chance to play it on to the

pink. He does need at least two Well that was nearly brilliant.

We'll get a chance to show you what the white ball does. It is a shot,

you can see he has arked it around the brown and blue and then the

spins tuck. He got so much reaction. It was so late before it gripped

A good 43. He will be glad to see those two reds go to the right hand

side cushion. All the colours are fine, but the two reds on the right

hand side cushion is a help. Immediately Neal chooses to get one

I thought that red had covered the pocket. A fabulous pot again. Great

Having considered what mood he would have been at the interval,

when he let a two frame lead split, Eight frames played in this

afternoon's session, the best of 17 What is he thinking of here? Oh my

goodness! A bit of cue power do you think. If the pink hadn't been in

the way he would have got on that red. It was a bit of exhibition

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

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

to and fro. Both players have shown they're on good form. Well there is

a point about a two session match, the mentality, because there is no

finish to the match. It is eight frames so you're trying to play the

frames as they come and see what turns up in the evening. But what

is astonishing is the cue power both these lads have. They can hate

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

ball. We heard John Parrott's reaction to the screw shot. Is it

something you guys look at, having been capable of tremendous power

yourself. Not me. You're Auking about other player's abilities, I

would love to have that power. It is to do with the cue. If you have

a stronger cue. But his power and the accuracy is phenomenal.

else in the main players in your era would have had similar powers.

Well Jimmy White. But I don't think he has the accuracy that Judd has.

Steven Lee was a good screw back player. If you can screw the ball

back a long way and get power on your shot, when you play those

shots, you don't have to hit them as hard. It is a big advantage if

you can strike the ball firmly and get lots of action on it. But it is

a mystery to me how they do it! It is like watching boxers you see a

boxer who can punch hard, but it Dun't look like he is trying hard.

But another boxer looks like he is punching hard, but is not hard at

JOHN VIRGO: John Spencer developed the screw shot. And of course Joe

WILLIE THORNE: We saw an exhibition shot from Judd. If he had have

kissed the pink, he would have got on the red. You have got to hit as

low as you dare and really follow through. This is from a shorter

distance, but look what happens to the cue ball. It stops for a while

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

sure that young man who was playing that shot couldn't have have --

have played the shot Judd played. And what a shot again. Able to hold

it and make that into a shot to nothing. He played a three quarter

ball pot and got a dead white. That You get what you deserve when you

play a good shot and he could get plenty. You have got to hope when

playing into the pack he gets out Hofs probably worried about

finishing on the cushion. -- he was probably worried about finishing on

the cushion. I expected him to He will be a little disappointed to

that initial red that was a skrabger, to only get -- cracker,

to only get nine. Judd looking to see in the baulk area whether he

can cover that red that's in the centre to the right of the blue,

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Got to miss the yellow. Ooh! Good call, John. Those baulk colours

have always been there and it is amazing how many times you hit them.

The key was finding the baulk cushion and he has not done that.

Didn't particularly want the kiss on the pink there. Just potted it

slightly thin there. He will probably pot the pink and screw

back and split the reds. The fact that the yellow is off its spot

makes this blue very simple. He may He loves knocking long ones in. I

think he is on one. He deserves to be on one. Because the blue was a

lot easier in the middle. Never He seems to be getting back

contacts at the moment. When you're cueing down, it is always going to

bounce and you won't necessarily Well a very surprising miss, that

after some of the shots he's played. The way he played that, the black

He has decided it is too risky to play on that red behind the black

spot just yet. But this is a very I think we got too excited with

what will happen with this match. But it has been more exciting,

because they have been missing a Playing into the three, you're

bound to be on one. Still on. But cuttable. The white will be running

loose. But it helps that the pink is where it is. He was able to held

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Stun done down on the green then a natural angle for the loose red on

the left. And should have a perfect position now. Three reds just above

the black are going to be, need to be promoted at some point. Like now

He keeps looking at the score boorbgsd he is only 29 in front. --

score board. Could still play for the two reds behind the black spot.

But he is going to need one of This is not any good if this is

straight, but I don't know what angle he has left himself. He

He is going to have to play the kiss, but he is not guaranteeed to

Played it well though. Very done. All his eggs went into one basket

there. Couldn't have hit it better, It is going to be Lel pegging,

At this level, you can't afford to miss a ball like this. He just

misjudged it and Neil Robertson, he had the white running loose at

times, but he still compiled a frame-winner. That is the important

Not perfect on this yellow. Neil Robert son's only made one century

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in this tournament so far. This is How do you like those apple? Not

many of those in a pound, John! Just to let Judd Trump know he is

not the only one who can play with plenty of cue power. Trump missed

an easy ball and Robertson replied 105 to level the game. RISHI

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

world champion, one playing, one commentating, not Willie obviously.

Ken, how much did you enjoy Neil Robertson strutting his stuff?

were gasping, a lot of the people in the crowd are gasping. I can't

play those shots, all three 06 us can't. That is how difficult they

are. There is not many players could play that shot. It is amazing.

I did it in installments once. would be scared of doing my tip in.

You would be wary. Somebody tweeted, can you sort of practice that. It

is very hard. I just play safe on it. Do they practice. You can

practice that shot, but you can perhaps generate it. The more you

play it, the more you get used it. It is how quickly you can move that

cue forward from a standing start and how explosive your muscles are.

Ever tie time someone gets in, they're ready to take their chance,

that is what makes it a great match. Judd was in first and missed a

medium range red and Neil's punished him. Let's get back to it,

Let us get back to a former Seniors world champion! They have been

having a go at me, those boys in Judd Trump has the first chance in

Tricky with Joe shot, trying to get the cannon right, so that he could

promote the red. -- tricky little shot back. This red is tricky. It's

Having to play for the single red, It was about 90 minutes ago that

Neil Robertson was trailing 2-0 and we thought, he is going to have to

get a foothold in this match. He is doing more than that now, with the

chance to take the lead for the first time. A good shot needed here,

to keep the break going. It is amazing how many times you lose the

white, winner pink is hit, half ball. -- when that pink. Stephen

Hendry always goes into that shot with screw, to keep the white, in

the centre of the table. With a slightly thinner Cup or not blue,

Neil would be able to generate a bit more. It is just unfortunate

for him that it has run away a It is a big frame. You know that if

you win this, you cannot go into It takes a bit of pressure off,

frame eight, if you are 4-3 behind. But, going into the interval, two

frames behind... I think 4-4 would be a fair reflection of the

The red on the left-hand side cushion is causing problems. He has

played round the angles, just inside that red, and he has played

That's Andy -- handy. A shot to nothing plant. He must have been

thinking when he played that shot match he would give it three out of

10, so it was an excellent shot. It had to be made. It was not

A lot of chalk on the table. I don't know if one of them has put a

new cue tip on. That comes from those deep screw shots. It is

getting through the ball, isn't it? Which these two certainly do, we

have seen that with the screw shot ats they have been playing. We have

seen two of the best screw shots we have ever seen on television, one

on the yellow, which unfortunately hit the pink. And this one, just

We can show you Neil Robertson's there, where he purposely left it

like this just to play the screw shot. That is just wonderful.

Meanwhile, Judd Trump has got a chance of taking the lead again in

this match. It has proved to be a very clever little shot, that plant

he played. There we are. There is a good chance it will go in, if it

does not, the cue ball was going to be nice and safe. And this is the

result. He has got to be careful here, not to cannon into something.

The middle of the three reds above the black, if he hits that he is

guaranteed to be on a red, if it hits any of the others, it is not

Not that I wish to contradict you but I was thinking that was the one

thing that could happen and it went through the gap. He is the best

plan to an award. I do not see these things! We will be calling

him Judd Titchmarsh, the way things are going! Plans, everywhere! --

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He has developed this into a chance to win the frame. This is

developing into a classic. And I'm sure there will not be a spare seat

in the house for this game. He felt he got a bad contact there, and he

is not over the winning line yet. If he is dead straight, he can

screw back on to the reds in the middle. There are a lot of half

kicks, that just deadens the cue ball. This is not guaranteed, this

last red, which he needs. This could be a telling shot. You cannot

go for this, surely, can you? If the cue ball was tight near the

side cushion and he was cueing it left handed you would say that he

had a good chance of knocking it in, but playing with this -- this, with

For mere mortals, anyway. What a shot that was! The pressure on that,

knowing that it is frame ball, and he could throw the frame away, and

we criticise him playing that green early on, but as Steve Davis was

saying, it is the new game. He will pot more than he misses. A glance

at the scoreboard will tell him that he is 56 in front. I will be

surprised if Neil Robertson plays on. The break comes to an end at 69.

If Neil can screw this black in and leave the cue ball behind the red,

he has a guaranteed snooker. He needs at you, but that would be a

starter. -- needs a few. He would love another two inches of pace, in

that white ball, when tea? He could have made that such a tough snooker

You would fancy Judd Trump hitting this, off the cushion. If the red

had gone in between blue and yellow, it would have been a tough snooker

Good chance to get another one, but he needs this to be tight behind

the blue. This is what he tried to Good effort. This is a good effort.

This is a little bit more difficult to hit, he can just about go past

He needed to hit that one, otherwise it was a certainty to be

He knows his way around the table, Mr Robertson. We know what a

fantastic potters ears, but he has been playing the likes of John

Higgins and Steve Davis, and learning how to play snookers. I

don't know how he managed to hit that, but he did. A glance at the

scoreboard will tell him he needs There will be a big sigh of relief

from Judd, if this disappears, because he does not want to get

involved in too many of these big safety battles. I am surprised when

it is game ball, he plays it at that kind of pace. Now and again

you have to give it a chance of being slightly off line with the

pocket. That was a shame. Neil Robertson has decided that is

enough, and a break of 69 puts Judd Trump in the lead at 4-3. Judd

Trump over the last few years has become a sensation. He is covering

his face, there. That is what makes him a character. Let us look at the

walk on from last year's World Championship, when he rejoined the

This was the walk on at the Crucible, almost a standing ovation

from the 960 people in the audience at the Crucible. That made my last

few years on my head stand on end! -- hairs. Yes, wonderful

introduction, great atmosphere. He was brilliant and that tournament,

and he is proving to be brilliant in this one, as well. Certainly the

next superstar of the game, without any question. We have had some

great players, haven't we? Alex Higgins, Jimmy White. All became

the crowd's favourite. And the two, the three legends in the studio,

Neil Robertson has been playing catch-up all afternoon. He needs to

do it again otherwise he will be trailing 5 I think we, going into

He will need to get tight to the baulk cushion, and he has. Even

then, it might not save him, but it has made this shot much more

difficult than it would have been. He is usually exceptional at these.

It requires very straight cueing, It was a good long pot, but in

between blue and pink. Amazing how difficult it is to get the required

amount of top-spin when the object ball is so close to the cushion.

This is a big shot at this stage of the game. Right into the heart of

the pocket. Deserves to win a frame. You would wear the leathers out,

with these two, that was bang in the middle. I thought 4-4 would be

a fair result, and a reflection of deja might's play. -- today's play.

I think we can see that Neil is fully focused, from his demeanour,

and he knows the importance of Once again, he thinks he has had a

fine contact. You can see the black, jumping off its spot. Makes this a

little bit tricky. He is hampered now. He played to screw the white

back to give them a choice of the red in the middle or the one in the

corner, he was probably playing for the one in the middle. Because of

the kick, it did not travel as far. He will try to pot the black into

the same pocket, and this can go wrong. You see? That can go wrong.

Be sure that is switched off, please. Somebody has just had a

Great recovery shot. Thinner than it looked, with a little bit of

It has become a difficult shot today, on this table, to get

perfect position on the blue. I was talking to Stephen a studio about

it the other day. -- to Steve, in the studio, about it. It has become

harder to get good position on the blue with these cloths been the way

they are, so much more reactive. Talking about that shot on the blue,

if you go top side, you have always Both these players are having 90%

pot success rate, and when you see a few balls missed, it shows you

how consistent they are, most of Only thing missing from this match

has been someone winning the frame at one visit having got there first.

That will be a first for tonight, control on the frame from the front.

It has been a very enjoyable match but you would have thought there

would have been a little bit more If that had been forced room,

without any fingermarks on the table, that would hard born in,

that red. It has just came have slowed down there. That was a good

news. The bad news was that the red went to the side of the black so it

does not go into the corner pocket. He can try to play on the pink or

the blue. But it would have been straightforward to drop that in and

stay on the black. You can see, it doesn't go. He can get through to

the red full ball, but he would like to hit it on the right hand

side to make it easy to come out for the pink. But he would have to

play it with side, to swerve it round the red a little bit. There

is the alternative of playing one on to the other. You do not have to

take the one that is over the pocket. You can knock the other one

on to it. But you could leave that red in the jaws, and that can cover

the pocket. So, he has got a few things to think about.

guaranteed position is to get on to the pink in the middle. If he

potted one red onto the other and screwed across to the black for the

same pocket, the second red could stay on the pocket. He's playing

lots of side, to swerve the white run that first red. He did not

quite get enough on it, but it is a long way away from the pink. At

this stage of the match, it can be missed. At 4-3 behind, there is

That was beautifully cued. Under the circumstances, that was a big

shot. Well played. On reflection of what we have seen so far, that is

the first real pressure ball, where you could either win or lose the

frame from playing it, and he pleaded path it were. -- he played

He played to an area where if you are not on one, you are on another.

There is a chance of three reds there. He's having a little work to

make sure -- a little look to make sure there are no problems

elsewhere. Looks straightforward to I am really looking forward to

tonight's session. It goes without saying. Whoever wins this match

will be the favourite going into Sunday's final was up but both

players and the other semi-final It just shows under pressure, when

you get a little bit twitchy. If he had played that a fraction harder,

it would not have gone in. But he deserves it, he has played some

As you mentioned, it was not a match where players have been

winning the frame at one visit, until now. We might see a little

bit of exhibition snooker, two cushions in between green and brown.

The session started out, and these players looking in great form, and

tonight, we are in for some session of snooker. Don't miss it, at 4-4.

Wonderful stuff. We predicted, some of us, that it would be fantastic.

What we have seen from both players his confidence and class. You never

know how were snooker match is going to unfold. But it has been

entertaining. Not every ball was potted. Some mistakes, but it all

adds to it. Two great players, at the jousting part of the match.

Tonight is the big occasion for them now. Stephen, it has been

touched on that they did not pot of the ball even though the potting

rate was over 90%, but that is what makes it so exciting, the fact that

they t con pots that could be missed by the majority of people.

Neil Robertson's game is a little more reserved than Judd Trump's.

His control of the cue ball has been better through the match. But

it is the best of nine, now, tonight. Do you think that Judd is

playing as well as he has all week? Both players are at the top of

their game, on the crowd are loving it, it is a great atmosphere. There

is not much between them. We said at the start of the tournament that

there is not very much between the top players, and still, we cannot

pick a winner. It is very finely balanced. Great stuff from your

Roberts in the last frame of the session. Nobody had taken their

first opportunity and gone on to win the frame. It shows his class.

Of the two, Neil Robertson will be the happiest. From 2-0 it looked

like he could be getting into a hole, but he dug himself out of

that predicament. You could say that Neil Robertson has shown that

he does not go away lightly. There was pork, that we had not seen Judd

Trump behind, but the answer to that is that he has not been behind,

many times! It would be interesting to see if one of the players get

into a lead, how the other deals with it. Does one deal better than

the other, at 4-4? I think so. At 2-0 down, only six frames left,

then the chances of coming out level are pretty slim. He has

probably had less pressure on him this afternoon, Neil. Don't forget,

during that match against Dominic Dale, he was one flick away from

being 5-2 down and he could have been out, but how quickly he has

changed his game and a much better he is playing from that first match.

It is in the balance and there is not much between them. You can use

all the cliches, but it literally is all to play for. Just tremendous

stuff from Neil Robertson and Judd Trump. You have been sending us

you're thoughts and questions on Twitter. This is from Matthew. He

says, what is the opinion on what was the greatest snooker rivalry

over the years and do all snooker All the players do get on with each

other. We all rib each other, but we're all hewn from the same piece

of rock. So we all know what it is like to be a player. Occasionally

somebody gets out of order. But it doesn't last too long. Only five or

ten years. I loved Steve and Alex Higgins. I used to h -- hate him

for a while, because he stole my thunder. Bit race when players come

at the same time as the peak of their game. It is hard to pick

which is the best. My favourite was Steve Davis and Alex Higgins. They

were two players who hated each other. Particularly Alex. He said

he hated Steve. And totally different characters. I think he

hated me, because I was the fast attacking one. That has been borne

out by your style subsequently. This is from Robert, for you, would

Stephen trade a world title to win one of this generation? I wouldn't

give one away, because I have still got one more than him. To win now

would be incredible. That is why I still play. If I won one now it

would be worth more than the others put together. Because the standard

is so high. Jake says, does Steve think he could take on Judd if he

was still playing like he was in the 80s, that is you not Judd.

views on snooker and how it has developed, I don't think any

previous generation could have lived with the generation that is

playing now. Why do you say that? It is just so strong, so attacking,

so accurate. Among the balls, the players are better at clearing them

up. The break building has got to the Nth degree. Yeah, OK you could

tie players up in nots, but you can't tie Judd Trump up in nots.

Were you saying defensive safety play is susceptible to a strong

attacker? It is a thing of the past. I don't think it will work in this

game. You can't work by playing safety. You can't win a tournament

playing safety. You have still got to make the big breaks. Every era

you gate couple who are spearheading that era and are above

the general standard and they last a bit longer in the game perhaps.

And Stephen is Jill just outside the top 16. That does happen. But

somewhere down the line it is not just the age of the player, but

somewhere the standard improves. We don't know how good Stephen is now

as compared to the nineties, because the standard he is playing

against is higher. And we have one more tweet from Ben. He says what

is the best bit of advice you have been given in your career? Practice

hard. I think so work hard you have seen players with tremendous talent

who perhaps haven't put the graft in. Steve, I don't expect you to

say work hard. I remember my father saying, why don't you go down the

snooker club, I'm trying to put a bet on. Keep your head still.

Before during and after the shot. And Neil Robertson and Judd Trump

have been doing that. We're going to show you, we saw Ricky Walden is

through to the semi final. But would he play Mark Allen or Marco

Fu? Mark Allen lost in the semies here last year. There wasn't much

to choose between the two and they shared the first four frames. We

join it in frame five. Dennis and Terry are in the commentary box.

Hello ooh well that changes things around a bit. DENNIS TAYLOR: never

ceases to amaze me what can happen. You could stand all day and never

be able to pull that shot off and all of a sudden there is enough

points for Marco Fu to win. Mark Allen, well he couldn't stop

smiling there. TERRY GRIFFITHS: Well you will need four blacks.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds

Not an easy task where the reds are You have the perfect picture, if he

can judge this with reverse side he will miss the pink and hit the

Another good shot required, but he has an angle to screw back off the

He can only draw if he takes the pink. That is interesting. He is

taking the easier pot. A lot would flick the black in and try for the

Well let's have a look at the ang - - the angle. That is the angle he

is faced with. If he plays that with deep screw, the white's going

He's avoided the blue. He's played a superb shot. He has played a

little gem there. Well Mark Allen, I bet he can't believe how this has

He needs to go a bit. A little bit short. He thought the frame was

over. He all thought it was over. He just played a straight forward

double. But how he knocked the blue in, I'll never know. He had a fast

This a an excellent shot. Absolutely perfectly played. He

will just screw down over the brown spot and back for the pink. Back

with a touch of side and one good positional shot here and it is a

respotted black and Mark Allen, well I bet he can't believe it. He

It is a respotted black. Spin the coin. It is a head, Marco. Do you

want to go first. Marco not only cleared up, he won the toss. Mark

Allen must be in a bit of shock after what's happened. Ref rf just

-- REFEREE: Just wait there for a second, please. That seeps to be

the shot to play these days. But it leaves the possibility of a double

on. The old traditional safety shot was to get a bit of distance

between them. What does particular Ideally he would want that black

touching that cushion down there. That is very well played. What a

great shot there. Can Mark Allen get this around the angles and on

to the baulk cushion again? There is a chance to sneak this in. The

white will go near the left middle pocket. He will need a touch of

side on it to avoid going in-off. What a frame this would be to

He's not sure. Just having a look there, what he''s -- he's thinking

He's got it. Oh it looked in from here. I tell you what this is not a

give me by any means, this black Didn't get that close to 1-1.

tell you what, he'll settle for outcome. It ice a very awkward pot.

The right corner would be the best one to take it on and he would have

You can't beat a black ball fight, there is oohs and ahs all over the

place from the crowd! Well he is such a devastating long potter, but

there is a lot of pressure on this He's got it safe again! It just

won't go in. This with less pace That is perfectly played. A

Has he fluked it? Well the black's in. I'm not sure if he played it or

was playing a similar safety shot to the one Marco Fu played. But

what a frame and Mark Allen, I'm not surprised he has gone out. He

leads 3-2. RISHI PERSAD: That was the I fourth respotted black of the

tournament. People have been asked about how best to play a respotted

black. We have had three of the four gays playing it like John

Higgins did. It is the easiest shot to plai. Most would prefer to play

the white more positively. So it is an easier shot than playing middle

of the white. Graeme Dott is the only one who did it differently.

Yes he is trying to do what Mark Allen did. You can play the long

double and if it does miss, there is a likelihood it will wobble and