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Hello in the long history of York there have been some memorable | :00:34. | :00:41. | |
contests, involving among other the Romans and the Saxons. King George | :00:41. | :00:45. | |
The Sixth once said the history of York is the history of England. But | :00:45. | :00:51. | |
now York is bound up in the history of the United Kingdom snooker | :00:51. | :00:54. | |
Championship. No blood has been spilled, but there has been some | :00:54. | :01:01. | |
suite and tears. A short walk from here in the Barbican we have the | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
makings of another memorable contest involving two men whose | :01:05. | :01:11. | |
roopts to the semi final have been -- roots to the semi final have | :01:11. | :01:21. | |
:01:21. | :01:35. | ||
Barry Hearn isn't doing what the players want. He changes the sport | :01:35. | :01:40. | |
as he see fits. Everyone who voted for him knew what they were getting | :01:40. | :01:50. | |
:01:50. | :01:50. | ||
themselves in for. I wasn't one of them. The positives are I'm the | :01:50. | :01:57. | |
underdog and to beat Steve is a fantastic win and I will be the | :01:57. | :02:07. | |
:02:07. | :02:16. | ||
It was only an opinion and the last time I checked, it was freedom of | :02:16. | :02:26. | |
speech and I'm entitled to my With the best you can go out and | :02:26. | :02:31. | |
know there will be a result. I would like to see the world stay as | :02:31. | :02:41. | |
:02:41. | :02:50. | ||
they, but this format suits me at I dug deep at 5-4 and produced two | :02:50. | :02:57. | |
good frames. I have been the underdog in all three games and I | :02:57. | :03:02. | |
dealt with that pretty good. I'm happy with that. I crept into the | :03:02. | :03:08. | |
semis, hopefully I can creep into the final. He has been outspoken | :03:08. | :03:15. | |
all week and now Mark Allen has his wish and will play the quiet but | :03:15. | :03:19. | |
capable Ricky Walden, the lowest ranked players left in the UK | :03:19. | :03:24. | |
Championship. But those two are going to have to go some to match | :03:24. | :03:29. | |
last night's thund rows conclusion to the first semi final. -- | :03:29. | :03:39. | |
:03:39. | :03:40. | ||
thenderous. It was between Judd Trump and Neil Robertson. | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
COMMENTATOR: What a match this is likely to be. Two of the greatest | :03:44. | :03:54. | |
:03:54. | :03:55. | ||
potters we have seen for some time and both are left-handers. That is | :03:55. | :04:03. | |
a nice start. You have got to take your hat off to Neil Robertson, he | :04:03. | :04:09. | |
was 2-0 behind and struggling. It is 2-2. He has stopped the flow | :04:09. | :04:18. | |
from Trump. Oh my goodness. I think it is anything you can do, can I do | :04:18. | :04:23. | |
better coming up here. How do you like those apples? Not many of | :04:23. | :04:31. | |
those in a pound. This is tricky. Well for us mere mortals any way. | :04:31. | :04:36. | |
What a shot that was. Robertson has been playing catch up all afternoon | :04:36. | :04:43. | |
and he's going to have to do it again. He needs the red to slow up | :04:43. | :04:53. | |
:04:53. | :04:54. | ||
and it has. We're all square at 4-4. Well, that was frame ball and Judd | :04:54. | :05:04. | |
:05:04. | :05:10. | ||
frump -- Judd Trump missed it. is just pure tension. What about | :05:10. | :05:18. | |
that for an attacking shot? advice not vintage snooker, but boy | :05:18. | :05:26. | |
is it exciting. -- it is not vintage snooker sh but boy is it | :05:26. | :05:32. | |
exciting. What about that for a shot? If this goes in, he has a | :05:33. | :05:40. | |
great chance and in it goes. And he can just sit and wait. Just the | :05:40. | :05:49. | |
brown needed. And the crowd erupts here at the Barbican centre. Both | :05:49. | :05:53. | |
players have had a fabulous reception from this terrific crowd. | :05:53. | :05:57. | |
What a match these two boys have provided for us. We'll be seeing a | :05:57. | :06:03. | |
lot of them down the years. But it us Judd Trump's night and he goes | :06:03. | :06:12. | |
through to his first ever UK final. It is topping off the year. It has | :06:12. | :06:17. | |
been a brilliant year, to reach the final and now the UK final it is | :06:17. | :06:22. | |
just a sign that I'm improving as a player. Even though I'm not playing | :06:22. | :06:29. | |
my best I can scrap it out. What a fantastic semi final yesterday | :06:29. | :06:36. | |
between Judd Trump and Neil Robertson. It finished 9-7 and some | :06:36. | :06:40. | |
game? Yes Neil will be disappointed. But Judd Trump is asking a lot of | :06:40. | :06:44. | |
his opponent and putting the heat on. In the potting department, it | :06:44. | :06:50. | |
puts pressure on their game to beed a gooz. What about Mark Allen and | :06:50. | :06:56. | |
rbgy Walden? Ricky has been doing excellent. And he is playing with a | :06:56. | :07:02. | |
freedom and could be the player, but Mark Allen is a tenacious | :07:02. | :07:07. | |
player. A different set up, one table, all eyes on you. Best of 17. | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
He must be strong, there is a controversy talking about the | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
change in the format. But he has put it behind him and look a tt way | :07:16. | :07:21. | |
he has played. That bunker mentality has stood him in good | :07:21. | :07:24. | |
stead, now we're at the sharp end of the tournament. One of the | :07:24. | :07:34. | |
:07:34. | :07:34. | ||
reasons why I became a player, you know? I know, go indoors. It is | :07:34. | :07:42. | |
freezing! We have a red hot atmosphere here, because it is semi | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
final Saturday at the UK Championship. Just one place left | :07:46. | :07:56. | |
:07:56. | :07:56. | ||
up for grabs in tomorrow's show down. It is all to play for. Please | :07:56. | :08:01. | |
welcome a player having one of best weeks of his career. His win over | :08:01. | :08:06. | |
Mark Williams was impressive and that over Shaun Murphy was superb. | :08:06. | :08:10. | |
Putting together the kind of run which took him to Shanghai Masters | :08:10. | :08:16. | |
title in 2008, here comes the stamina man, here comes Ricky | :08:16. | :08:26. | |
:08:26. | :08:49. | ||
Ricky, an amazing receptionment -- reception. Shanghai was special, | :08:49. | :08:54. | |
but I suspect this might mean more. Does it feel as though it could be | :08:54. | :09:04. | |
:09:04. | :09:07. | ||
a rung -- winning run. I have had a good run. Lady and gentlemen. Ricky | :09:07. | :09:17. | |
:09:17. | :09:18. | ||
Walden. And his opponent, a player whose trade mark tenacity is back | :09:18. | :09:24. | |
with force. After wince over Ali Carter and Marco Fu, he is on the | :09:24. | :09:29. | |
verge of his first ranking event final. One of the most exciting | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
players Northern Ireland has produced. Watch out, because he | :09:33. | :09:43. | |
:09:43. | :10:04. | ||
MUSIC: Ever So Shy by General Another great atmosphere. It has | :10:04. | :10:08. | |
been an interesting week, but it seems as though you have | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
rediscovered your fight on the table and more importantly your | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
appetite for the game? Yes I'm enjoying it a lot more. Obviously | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
if you can't play in front of a crowd like this, then you can't | :10:20. | :10:25. | |
enjoy it. I'm here to win at the end of the day. It is going to be a | :10:25. | :10:31. | |
great match. Mark Allen. HAZEL IRVINE: So the first of two | :10:31. | :10:38. | |
sessions, eight frames this afternoon. And now over to Willie | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
Thorne and John Virgo. JOHN VIRGO: well looking forward to this as | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
much as the other semi final yesterday. I think this is slightly | :10:46. | :10:53. | |
different in the fact that these two young players are coming into | :10:53. | :10:56. | |
unknown territory. Well I think nerve could play a part. | :10:56. | :11:01. | |
Particularly early on, Willie? We know that Ricky has won a | :11:01. | :11:06. | |
ranking event, Mark Allen is yet to reach a major final. He is the | :11:06. | :11:11. | |
person that is waiting to happen. He is a very remarkable potter, as | :11:11. | :11:15. | |
all left-handers seem to be. We had two of the best in the game | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
yesterday. It is amazing how left- hander seem to be better long | :11:20. | :11:26. | |
potters. But I have been impressed with Ricky Walden. This week he has | :11:26. | :11:32. | |
scored heavily in the balls and he is a very attacking players. -- | :11:32. | :11:38. | |
player. But now and again he does miss easy balls. Because he is such | :11:38. | :11:41. | |
a quick player. He does not spend much time once he is down on the | :11:41. | :11:46. | |
shot and times he needs to take more care. But I love watching him | :11:46. | :11:56. | |
:11:56. | :12:28. | ||
play. He breaks very well. But Mark Allen needs to up that. | :12:28. | :12:34. | |
Certainly room for improvement on those first two stats in the safe I | :12:34. | :12:38. | |
-- safety success. But safety success you have got to be looking | :12:38. | :12:48. | |
:12:48. | :12:54. | ||
at around the 90% mark for comfort. He could not have put that any | :12:54. | :13:04. | |
:13:04. | :13:24. | ||
As soon as you can get that black available into both corners, you | :13:24. | :13:34. | |
:13:34. | :13:34. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :13:34. | :14:26. | |
start thinking about a sizeable He has the choice of the reds to | :14:26. | :14:36. | |
:14:36. | :14:52. | ||
He would like to get the white where it is now. That red was | :14:52. | :15:02. | |
:15:02. | :15:31. | ||
It is a horrible pack to go into The reason, well he has overscrewed | :15:31. | :15:37. | |
this. The reason not to play for the blue, was with the pink being | :15:37. | :15:42. | |
separated from the reds, then hitting the pink full in the face, | :15:42. | :15:52. | |
:15:52. | :16:29. | ||
But he can't get on another red, so why take the risk. That is a pretty | :16:29. | :16:35. | |
good safety. He has covered the red on the left hand cushion. So he | :16:35. | :16:41. | |
gave that full concentration. If Ricky was to try and play safe on | :16:41. | :16:51. | |
:16:51. | :16:55. | ||
the main cluster, that red on the Is it hard enough? REFEREE: Foul | :16:55. | :17:03. | |
and a miss. You'd expect him to mitt them first. Not one loose red. | :17:03. | :17:10. | |
I wonder if there is a possibility of a double in the right middle. If | :17:10. | :17:20. | |
:17:20. | :17:23. | ||
it was, then why have it replaced? Both players waiting at the table! | :17:23. | :17:29. | |
The reason is John said have a go at the double, the next shot, Ricky | :17:29. | :17:39. | |
:17:39. | :17:41. | ||
will get the shot. If the double is on, take it on. Ooh and the worst | :17:41. | :17:49. | |
thing. That is why as it happens it has run save, but you never know | :17:49. | :17:54. | |
with a double. You can catch the jaw of the middle pocket. And this | :17:54. | :17:59. | |
red was coming back to the cue ball. But fortunately it had enough pace | :17:59. | :18:09. | |
:18:09. | :18:09. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :18:09. | :18:55. | |
He played that well. Got a good line. The length a little bit short. | :18:55. | :19:02. | |
He had to be wary of that red near the left hand cushion. As will | :19:02. | :19:12. | |
:19:12. | :19:20. | ||
Ricky here. There is a possibility Close. But it has not worked out | :19:20. | :19:24. | |
too badly, I promise you. That green is causing Mark Allen a | :19:25. | :19:34. | |
:19:35. | :19:48. | ||
Obviously both these two young players are reaching the latter | :19:48. | :19:53. | |
stages of the tournament not so often, but these players have | :19:54. | :19:57. | |
brought the Walden family, there they are in the darkness there. | :19:57. | :20:06. | |
There is mum in the middle there. And Ricky's girlfriend just being | :20:06. | :20:16. | |
:20:16. | :20:28. | ||
hidden by the rail. But they will Off the mark. And this is a decent | :20:28. | :20:38. | |
:20:38. | :20:41. | ||
chance. He came to the table 30 points behind. But a fluent player | :20:41. | :20:51. | |
:20:51. | :20:51. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :20:51. | :21:48. | |
A nice angle on the red to make sure he got the nice angle on the | :21:48. | :21:58. | |
:21:58. | :22:17. | ||
Well the angle he has got on the black, he may be forced into | :22:17. | :22:27. | |
:22:27. | :22:52. | ||
playing the red along the top He now takes the lead for the first | :22:52. | :23:02. | |
:23:02. | :23:04. | ||
time in this match. The next two reds are not too bad. So in a | :23:04. | :23:14. | |
:23:14. | :23:24. | ||
relatively good position to take It's high is it? There you go. One | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
we didn't expect him to miss. they're the ones, if people see | :23:28. | :23:33. | |
this shot again, look how quickly he plays it. He takes one pull and | :23:33. | :23:37. | |
that is something, when it is a slightly more difficult shot, I | :23:37. | :23:40. | |
wish he would give it another second. I would suggest in this | :23:40. | :23:45. | |
tournament he has missed ten of those easy shots and so far got | :23:45. | :23:55. | |
:23:55. | :24:01. | ||
But in fairness, if that is the way you play your game and you let your | :24:01. | :24:11. | |
:24:11. | :24:16. | ||
natural ability come to the fore. A couple of waggles and then through. | :24:16. | :24:21. | |
The one thing you don't want to do, there will be a lot of nerves there, | :24:21. | :24:31. | |
:24:31. | :24:51. | ||
you don't want to change your He hasn't played this well, unless | :24:51. | :24:57. | |
he hides it behind the brown. That is a poor shot for someone of his | :24:57. | :25:07. | |
:25:07. | :25:20. | ||
Ooh he hised it. Hit it much too thick. So another decent chance has | :25:20. | :25:30. | |
:25:30. | :25:51. | ||
A good opening red. But a big ask to win the frame, the way the reds | :25:51. | :26:01. | |
:26:01. | :26:01. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :26:01. | :27:00. | |
Well not certain about that shot. If he has got the snooker behind | :27:00. | :27:07. | |
the black, fine, if not he was leaving an easy snooker for Ricky | :27:07. | :27:17. | |
:27:17. | :27:33. | ||
A delicate shot. Nicely played. If he had hit that red full, he could | :27:33. | :27:43. | |
:27:43. | :27:58. | ||
have stunned it up the table and Trying to nestle this behind the | :27:58. | :28:04. | |
green. But not quite. Obviously a player would like to get in and win | :28:04. | :28:11. | |
a frame with one visit, but from a neutral's point of view it is a | :28:11. | :28:16. | |
good frame. Both players are having time to settle and get used to the | :28:16. | :28:26. | |
:28:26. | :28:50. | ||
Mark Allen a bit like Judd Trump, likes to g through his shots. -- go | :28:50. | :28:56. | |
through his shots. He will do well to miss contact on brown or the two | :28:56. | :29:06. | |
:29:06. | :29:25. | ||
He managed to miss both cannons. But I think he has got away with it. | :29:25. | :29:35. | |
:29:35. | :29:50. | ||
Does it pass the yellow? Yes it Well you're just looking now after | :29:50. | :29:55. | |
he has potted the colour, leave a nice angle on the colour to bring | :29:55. | :30:05. | |
:30:05. | :30:26. | ||
that awkward red away from the side That is nothing like where he | :30:26. | :30:34. | |
wanted to be. He may not even play a pot here. Let's have a look. | :30:34. | :30:44. | |
:30:44. | :31:00. | ||
Sounded funny, the white seemed to The extra two points is not really | :31:00. | :31:10. | |
:31:10. | :31:16. | ||
any good to him. I don't know But, why would you want to put the | :31:16. | :31:20. | |
yellow safe? I was going to pursue the same question, Willie. He needs | :31:20. | :31:30. | |
:31:30. | :31:53. | ||
the yellow. He has still got the Quite easy just to sneak it in | :31:53. | :31:58. | |
behind the yellow, here, and get it on to the baulk cushion. He's going | :31:58. | :32:02. | |
to have to come off the black cushion to get up and down for the | :32:02. | :32:08. | |
red. I don't know whether he's thinking about getting it round the | :32:08. | :32:17. | |
brown as well. Just sneak it behind the yellow. Can he see the edge of | :32:17. | :32:24. | |
it? Maybe just. Looks as though he can, he has to be wary of catching | :32:24. | :32:34. | |
:32:34. | :32:34. | ||
that bump on the middle pocket. Well, he did, but it was a good | :32:34. | :32:44. | |
:32:44. | :33:20. | ||
He will settle for that, trusting to luck, coming out of that snooker. | :33:20. | :33:30. | |
:33:30. | :33:32. | ||
Not too bad at all. He could double the red up to this end of the table | :33:32. | :33:42. | |
:33:42. | :33:49. | ||
but there is a risk of getting a Whichever way he plays, the double- | :33:49. | :33:55. | |
kiss is on. Just managed to avoid the double-kiss. Where is the red | :33:55. | :34:02. | |
going? That is another poor shot. He knows he was doubling over to | :34:02. | :34:12. | |
:34:12. | :34:18. | ||
the corner. This World Cup. -- will cut. I don't know if he can get to | :34:18. | :34:23. | |
direct. He may have to bend it, just to get the potting angle. If | :34:23. | :34:33. | |
:34:33. | :34:37. | ||
he knocks this in, he is a big Now, well the blue or pink, to his | :34:37. | :34:44. | |
rescue? I don't been so. That dry smile tells you there was a gap, | :34:44. | :34:54. | |
and directors. -- and there it is. Mark Allen now, favourite for this | :34:54. | :35:04. | |
:35:04. | :35:25. | ||
Obviously, lot of pressure on the first frame. It has been scrappy, | :35:25. | :35:29. | |
but we can promise you better snooker from these two players, | :35:29. | :35:37. | |
both have been hitting the ball very well this week. He's worried | :35:37. | :35:42. | |
about getting the wrong angle from the green to the brown. If he pots | :35:42. | :35:48. | |
the yellow, he can only hold it, half ball. That is one way he could | :35:48. | :35:58. | |
:35:58. | :36:09. | ||
He decided on John's wrote. Well try now to get round the back of | :36:09. | :36:19. | |
:36:19. | :36:49. | ||
Just blue and pink needed, and that Just this pink for the first frame. | :36:49. | :36:54. | |
Scrappy affair, Mark Allen won't mind that, Ricky Walden had a | :36:54. | :36:58. | |
couple of chances and will be disappointed not to have taken them. | :36:58. | :37:04. | |
Mark Allen was to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead. Yes, it was a | :37:04. | :37:09. | |
nervous start here in the Barbican. In the studio we have got Ken | :37:09. | :37:13. | |
Doherty practising hard, chipping in with discussion throughout the | :37:13. | :37:19. | |
afternoon. John Parrott and Steve Davis also joined us. Before a ball | :37:19. | :37:23. | |
was struck, what was you're feeling about the way these players matched | :37:23. | :37:30. | |
up? I was impressed with a Ricky Walden in getting this far and I am | :37:30. | :37:34. | |
always impressed with Mark Allen, his competitive spirit is | :37:34. | :37:39. | |
marvellous. Completely different styles. I like the way Mark Allen | :37:39. | :37:44. | |
hits the ball. Noel exaggerated backswing, he's very compact and | :37:44. | :37:51. | |
shot, there is not much that can go wrong with his cueing action. | :37:51. | :37:56. | |
key has won a world-ranking event in Shanghai three years ago. But | :37:56. | :38:02. | |
does Mark Allen edge it in terms of his experience? He has five ranking | :38:02. | :38:05. | |
semi-finals and one at the Masters. He has not got through to a final | :38:05. | :38:11. | |
yet but he's used to playing on the big stage. Ricky has not really | :38:11. | :38:17. | |
been in the final stages. In terms of experience, our lives on, we | :38:17. | :38:27. | |
:38:27. | :38:29. | ||
might see that. -- early on. It was a so defeat that Mark Allen had at | :38:29. | :38:32. | |
the Masters in earlier this year, and it took a long time for him to | :38:32. | :38:36. | |
get over that. Does that become a mental barrier when you reach | :38:36. | :38:40. | |
another semi-final? You need to be in that situation to have the | :38:40. | :38:44. | |
opportunity to do it. He's one of those players we have been looking | :38:44. | :38:49. | |
at and thinking, when he wins his first tournament, he is going to | :38:49. | :38:54. | |
win a few more, but of course it is there to go to win that first one. | :38:54. | :38:59. | |
Ricky Walden does not trumpet his opinions. It is very much a | :38:59. | :39:05. | |
contrast not just all styles but of personalities. The modern-day | :39:05. | :39:10. | |
player has just a playing machine. I don't think personality comes | :39:10. | :39:17. | |
into snooker as much as it used to. Ricky Walden he is just a great | :39:17. | :39:25. | |
cueist. Ricky Walden is great to watch, are amongst the balls. It is | :39:25. | :39:30. | |
nice that this is a best-of- 17 match. There is more of a storyline | :39:30. | :39:35. | |
that unfolds in a best-of- 17 match. Both of these players need to have | :39:35. | :39:39. | |
something of a story line against each other. Both of them likeable | :39:39. | :39:43. | |
characters. We see them in the practice room in the studio area. | :39:43. | :39:53. | |
:39:53. | :39:54. | ||
It is going to be a great game over the next Euros. -- few hours. You | :39:54. | :40:00. | |
would think they would have met a couple of times before. Mark Allen | :40:00. | :40:06. | |
won their last meeting in the 2008 World Championship. The red on the | :40:06. | :40:12. | |
cushion might cause a problem. Purposely got into the black, but | :40:12. | :40:18. | |
was unlucky enough to knock the black on. He has played the cannon | :40:18. | :40:28. | |
:40:28. | :40:28. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :40:28. | :42:31. | |
He has decided to come off the side Good pot. May have been better | :42:31. | :42:37. | |
served if he was able to run past the blue. Has the choice of baulk | :42:37. | :42:47. | |
:42:47. | :43:08. | ||
Ooh, wide. That was a blue you would expect him to pot. Looking at | :43:08. | :43:11. | |
the body language of the players, we talk about how people handle | :43:12. | :43:21. | |
:43:22. | :43:23. | ||
nouns, Mark Allen is very quiet and subdued at the moment. -- nerves. | :43:23. | :43:33. | |
:43:33. | :43:38. | ||
He is not in the zone yet. He's a very fluent break-builder. It would | :43:38. | :43:44. | |
suit the key of this does not go back on its own spot, and goes on | :43:44. | :43:54. | |
:43:54. | :43:59. | ||
the black spot. -- it would sit Looking at the demeanour of the | :43:59. | :44:09. | |
:44:09. | :44:15. | ||
players, you would think that Ricky Mark Allen was slight favourite to | :44:15. | :44:25. | |
:44:25. | :44:28. | ||
win this game. Mark is a round of ting, 14, in the rankings. Ricky | :44:28. | :44:38. | |
:44:38. | :44:39. | ||
Walden, in the 20s. -- around 13, 14. Decided to play for the black. | :44:39. | :44:45. | |
I assume there must be a plant available, because he is not going | :44:45. | :44:49. | |
to be potting this black and smashing into the cluster. I can | :44:49. | :44:55. | |
only assume there is a plant to the corner pocket. Black goes on the | :44:55. | :45:00. | |
highest available which is the blue spot and then you see the plant, | :45:00. | :45:10. | |
:45:10. | :45:13. | ||
two reds at the bottom of the He would have been hoping that the | :45:13. | :45:18. | |
first red would have stayed available, but it has not, so he is | :45:18. | :45:22. | |
going to have to play a cannon off the pink, of the top cushion lots | :45:22. | :45:30. | |
of pace. It is more difficult when you come off the cushion because | :45:30. | :45:33. | |
you don't know quite how much pace you need to open up the reds. But | :45:34. | :45:39. | |
he has given it a go. It could have worked out better. He has got a | :45:39. | :45:46. | |
chance but no easy red to carry on with. You see the white here | :45:46. | :45:52. | |
striking the pack, but he was unlucky not to get an easier shot | :45:52. | :45:59. | |
than this. When you play into the pack you do not have to play with | :45:59. | :46:06. | |
any side, the arc comes from the speed of the spin. That is an | :46:06. | :46:12. | |
excellent shot, deserves to win the frame now, for that. He just wants | :46:13. | :46:17. | |
to award the cue ball now. Coming off the cushion, though, it can go | :46:17. | :46:27. | |
wrong. The red just below the pink should be OK. And of course, when | :46:27. | :46:32. | |
he has potted the black, the black spot will be available, and into | :46:32. | :46:40. | |
both corners. This shot is so important. It is OK. He decided to | :46:40. | :46:46. | |
play round the red rather than the pink, but he is holding the cue | :46:46. | :46:55. | |
ball in the middle of the table. Players often ask why you plea can | :46:55. | :47:00. | |
ins and things, but you cannot afford to risk getting near the | :47:00. | :47:05. | |
cushion. If you win the frame at this was a Jew cannot afford to let | :47:05. | :47:09. | |
the cue ball run away. What's of cannons are played when there are | :47:09. | :47:19. | |
:47:19. | :47:20. | ||
loose reds around, just to slow the white down. -- lots of. When you | :47:20. | :47:25. | |
are in and around the black spot area, you just use little stuns and | :47:25. | :47:35. | |
:47:35. | :47:35. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :47:35. | :48:27. | |
That is the first half century of Just not got the right angle on the | :48:27. | :48:33. | |
pink. He may have to play for the red to the right centre. He has | :48:33. | :48:37. | |
decided he was straight enough so that he could hold the pink spot, | :48:37. | :48:41. | |
and that would leave them the red to the left corner. If he pots this | :48:41. | :48:51. | |
:48:51. | :48:56. | ||
red, he goes 61 points in front. He has taken it very well. We could | :48:56. | :49:03. | |
see the first century of the match here. It was key when he played for | :49:03. | :49:10. | |
that black on the cushion and spotted that plant. It has been an | :49:10. | :49:14. | |
excellent break and it probably deserves a century. Needs a good | :49:15. | :49:24. | |
:49:25. | :49:30. | ||
As well as he has played, Ricky Walden has yet to have a century in | :49:30. | :49:40. | |
:49:40. | :49:47. | ||
this tournament. He has made well He has obviously made plenty of 70 | :49:47. | :49:57. | |
:49:57. | :49:58. | ||
and aboves in this tournament, but he is yet to have a century. The | :49:58. | :50:03. | |
black is perfect. But he has decided to play the pink. Never | :50:03. | :50:06. | |
looked at the black, but it would have been better to kiss the red | :50:06. | :50:16. | |
out. This is what we were saying about Ricky Walden. He is very | :50:16. | :50:22. | |
quick and effective when he is on form. He has done this absolutely | :50:22. | :50:32. | |
:50:32. | :50:48. | ||
brilliantly. This will settle him Well played Ricky Walden, his first | :50:48. | :50:56. | |
century of the tournament, number 113, of his career. This tells you | :50:56. | :51:00. | |
what a good break-builder he is. And we are witnessing exactly that | :51:00. | :51:09. | |
right here, right now. A left- handed shot - I have never seen him | :51:09. | :51:19. | |
playing left-handed. He lost the first frame. Perhaps he thought he | :51:19. | :51:24. | |
should have won it. An excellent leaders of 124. Ricky Walden levels | :51:24. | :51:33. | |
the scores at 1-1. -- excellent clearance. The foundation of that | :51:33. | :51:38. | |
century break was the pink when it was on the black spot. Ken Doherty | :51:38. | :51:42. | |
you were watching this closely. A great shot back, straight into the | :51:42. | :51:50. | |
pack. Yes, here was a situation, he had a full pack, and instead of | :51:50. | :51:55. | |
playing the cue ball directly in a straight line, what he does, he | :51:55. | :52:00. | |
hits it with lots of top-spin, so the cue ball hits the pink, it | :52:00. | :52:04. | |
marks into the pack, that top-spin takes the cue ball through the pack | :52:04. | :52:09. | |
and splits the red, and it is a top-spin that generates the pack to | :52:09. | :52:15. | |
split open, and he subsequently won the frame. Great shot. His first | :52:15. | :52:19. | |
century in this championship. That has got to be a huge confidence | :52:19. | :52:24. | |
booster. We mentioned about him settling down and it being a big | :52:24. | :52:29. | |
occasion for both players. He struck the ball beautifully in that | :52:29. | :52:36. | |
break. Top break before this, 98, I suppose it is always a nagging at | :52:36. | :52:40. | |
you and so you make your first century break in a big championship. | :52:40. | :52:46. | |
You just want to get over the line in the frame. Deja notice that Ken | :52:46. | :52:51. | |
did not try to replicate that shot?! We will try to get them to | :52:51. | :53:01. | |
:53:01. | :53:02. | ||
do it at the next opportunity, Mark Allen gets frame three on the | :53:02. | :53:07. | |
way. We said when he missed the blue that let Ricky Walden in | :53:07. | :53:15. | |
format wonderful break of 124 that he was looking a little bit subdued. | :53:15. | :53:19. | |
Sometimes that can relax a player. You see the appalling starting to | :53:19. | :53:25. | |
play well, you know that you have got to play well. -- you see your | :53:25. | :53:35. | |
:53:35. | :53:37. | ||
We saw Ricky Walden playing an excellent pack short, this is what | :53:37. | :53:44. | |
top-spin is. If he needs to follow through at pace, look how stops | :53:44. | :53:50. | |
then you can see this been seeking. It takes a couple of seconds, and | :53:50. | :53:53. | |
that is what happened when he played that shot into the pack. And | :53:53. | :53:58. | |
the reason you get the arc is that the spin generates and you get that | :53:58. | :54:02. | |
little arc on the cue ball. It is not played with sight spin, just | :54:02. | :54:12. | |
:54:12. | :54:15. | ||
top-spin. -- side spin. He got the red, but he could have done with a | :54:15. | :54:20. | |
nice a kiss than this. He has a chance with the green, but that is | :54:20. | :54:28. | |
too risky. It was nice the way Ken Doherty did it. He just pushed the | :54:28. | :54:35. | |
ball through with his hand. I wish we could have done that when we | :54:35. | :54:45. | |
:54:45. | :54:45. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :54:45. | :55:42. | |
were playing! It would have been a He is giving these a close look. It | :55:42. | :55:49. | |
is not straightforward, just to come off the side cushion. Just one | :55:49. | :55:52. | |
loose red to the left of the pink that he is a little bit concerned | :55:52. | :55:58. | |
about leaving. Doesn't want to one past it. He has judged that to | :55:58. | :56:06. | |
perfection. Good shot. He has proved a couple of times, in hour | :56:07. | :56:16. | |
:56:17. | :56:17. | ||
there planes that he has got the pace of the table off. -- earlier | :56:17. | :56:25. | |
frames. Just looking at the very thin safety shot, to get behind the | :56:25. | :56:29. | |
brown. The only thing that could go wrong is that he could catch the | :56:29. | :56:39. | |
:56:39. | :56:52. | ||
jaws of the middle pocket, if he is That was amazing. He had to hit it | :56:52. | :57:00. | |
so thin. The only thing that could go wrong was going near the middle | :57:00. | :57:09. | |
pocket, but he got nowhere near anything. I am certain there has a | :57:09. | :57:17. | |
red that will go to this right hand,. If he knocks this in, he | :57:17. | :57:22. | |
will be in and around the black spot area, where you want to be. He | :57:22. | :57:32. | |
:57:32. | :57:38. | ||
has played that before. That was a Ricky's lovely to watch when he | :57:38. | :57:48. | |
:57:48. | :58:01. | ||
gets in a row and this end of the I remember when he scored the 81st | :58:01. | :58:11. | |
:58:11. | :58:13. | ||
competitive maximum in the TPCs. And who is the other top player | :58:13. | :58:21. | |
that does that? Mark King? Yes, he is a tall lad, but it is about what | :58:21. | :58:26. | |
you fall into when you first start playing. That is why you enjoy | :58:26. | :58:31. | |
watching Ricky Walden, because he is a natural. There is nothing | :58:31. | :58:36. | |
manufactured about his style. you walk by and gave him a match, | :58:37. | :58:44. | |
he would fall over. And I do not think you are allowed to do that! | :58:44. | :58:53. | |
What I was trying to say is that it is not a solid stance! He has an | :58:53. | :58:59. | |
angle on this red to bring another couple of reds into play. You have | :58:59. | :59:08. | |
got to generate a lot of top-spin to force through the pack. He just | :59:08. | :59:13. | |
played the thin flick. The problem when you play that is that if you | :59:13. | :59:19. | |
get on the wrong side of the pocket, you can play it too thick. He was | :59:19. | :59:22. | |
expecting at the thin contact and he was the wrong side of the pocket | :59:22. | :59:27. | |
and he caught the other red. If he thought that was going to happen he | :59:27. | :59:37. | |
:59:37. | :59:41. | ||
would have put more pace on the One other colleagues have a | :59:41. | :59:51. | |
:59:51. | :59:53. | ||
slightly bent at the knee stands, John Parrott. -- stance. It is just | :59:53. | :00:01. | |
what you get used to, when you first start playing. As long as the | :00:01. | :00:05. | |
stance does not stop the cue going to straight when you strike the cue | :00:05. | :00:15. | |
:00:15. | :00:38. | ||
ball, but he will be disappointed Is he going to play an attacking | :00:38. | :00:47. | |
safety? That is what he has decided to do. And he has played it well. | :00:47. | :00:52. | |
Okay, they red be a possibility of a cut in to the right middle pocket, | :00:52. | :01:02. | |
:01:02. | :01:03. | ||
but it is the very risky shot to take on. Yes, looking at the angle, | :01:03. | :01:11. | |
he could maybe get back up to the end of the table. He has got to be | :01:11. | :01:21. | |
:01:21. | :01:21. | ||
a little careful if he takes this on. If he does take it on, it is a | :01:21. | :01:28. | |
precious shot. It could be a frame or when or if he gets on a colour. | :01:28. | :01:38. | |
:01:38. | :01:41. | ||
Is it worth the risk? Yes, I think the two reds which would be left | :01:41. | :01:51. | |
:01:51. | :01:53. | ||
available are what is stopping him There is the path of the cue ball, | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
but these two reds are going to be available into the middle. He | :01:57. | :02:06. | |
thought it was worth the risk, but it could cost him the frame. He is, | :02:06. | :02:16. | |
:02:16. | :02:19. | ||
Mark Allen saw Ricky Walden was made of and the last frame, so what | :02:19. | :02:29. | |
:02:29. | :02:33. | ||
can he do with this very good Yes, it would be quite amazing of | :02:33. | :02:38. | |
Mark Allen went 2-1 in front, because he has done very little in | :02:38. | :02:48. | |
:02:48. | :02:49. | ||
Ricky Walden will be thinking he could be three frames ahead with | :02:49. | :02:56. | |
the amount of chances he has had. But Mark Allen is definitely the | :02:56. | :03:06. | |
:03:06. | :03:18. | ||
Okay, he is perfect on their red, but it would have been very easy | :03:18. | :03:28. | |
:03:28. | :03:30. | ||
for into bomb Pinter that cluster In his defence, each of these reds | :03:30. | :03:38. | |
is available. If he pots them all with colours, then that will be | :03:38. | :03:48. | |
:03:48. | :03:59. | ||
more than enough to take this third It does inspire you sometimes when | :03:59. | :04:04. | |
you're opponent hits a century. It makes you realise that only your | :04:04. | :04:10. | |
best is going to be good enough. In some ways, it actually helps you | :04:10. | :04:20. | |
:04:20. | :04:20. | ||
Ricky is pondering about a red he missed. I do not blame him for | :04:20. | :04:30. | |
:04:30. | :04:32. | ||
taking it on. There was not an easy The secret to this game is that you | :04:32. | :04:36. | |
should never doubt at the decision you need and you should not beat | :04:36. | :04:46. | |
:04:46. | :04:50. | ||
Just have a look at this again. As you say, there was not really a | :04:50. | :05:00. | |
:05:00. | :05:06. | ||
Now, if Mark can get on this red nicely - he would like to get up | :05:06. | :05:13. | |
for the bloke - it would Nicky easier for him to get on the | :05:13. | :05:19. | |
remaining three reds at the top end of the table. He just got the angle | :05:19. | :05:29. | |
:05:29. | :05:41. | ||
25 points the lead, with 51 points remaining. These three reds, which | :05:41. | :05:51. | |
:05:51. | :06:31. | ||
are all nice positions, will be He is making his highest break of | :06:31. | :06:41. | |
:06:41. | :06:51. | ||
On the chances, Ricky Walden should be leading. But Mark Allen is going | :06:51. | :07:01. | |
:07:01. | :07:02. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :07:02. | :07:42. | |
A little bit of an exhibition shot, but I do not think the cue ball is | :07:42. | :07:52. | |
:07:52. | :07:57. | ||
It did not matter. The frame was over. That was a good reply from | :07:57. | :08:02. | |
Mark Allen. A lovely break of 85 showed us just what he is capable | :08:02. | :08:12. | |
:08:12. | :08:17. | ||
Now, it is now the best of 17 frames. As you will have cared, the | :08:17. | :08:26. | |
format was changed in the early rounds. How it different is that | :08:26. | :08:36. | |
:08:36. | :08:36. | ||
for the players? If I think, from the purists point of view, it suits | :08:36. | :08:46. | |
:08:46. | :08:49. | ||
them. Do you think Mark Allen will feel happier about the best of 17, | :08:49. | :08:59. | |
:08:59. | :08:59. | ||
having wanted this from the start of the tournament? It is quite | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
ironic that the main grievance about the tournament season in the | :09:03. | :09:11. | |
semi-final. Although he did not like the former been changed, it | :09:11. | :09:21. | |
:09:21. | :09:28. | ||
could lead to his first victory. -- Yes, this is a big frame for Ricky | :09:28. | :09:38. | |
:09:38. | :09:41. | ||
Walden. If he came out of this 3-1 down, I think he would be mortified. | :09:41. | :09:51. | |
:09:51. | :10:05. | ||
But that is not the best break off I am just having a look. He can | :10:05. | :10:15. | |
certainly create an angle off this red. A good shot and he played the | :10:15. | :10:25. | |
:10:25. | :10:29. | ||
He is on the black. I am not certain where it will goal when it | :10:29. | :10:39. | |
:10:39. | :10:49. | ||
is re-spotted. Maybe the pink would Jan Verhaas our referee is asking | :10:49. | :10:59. | |
:10:59. | :11:01. | ||
mark to give him the second to see if the export will be available. -- | :11:01. | :11:11. | |
:11:11. | :11:30. | ||
The hands of a surgeon - steady as That is just about perfect. There | :11:30. | :11:40. | |
:11:40. | :11:42. | ||
But Mark Allen went straight into them and caught them really well. | :11:43. | :11:50. | |
He could have hoped for something a little bit better than that. Just | :11:50. | :12:00. | |
:12:00. | :12:09. | ||
watch the back spin he created here. A good pot. Okay, he is not on the | :12:10. | :12:14. | |
right side of the blue, but there is a red in the top half of the | :12:14. | :12:24. | |
:12:24. | :12:26. | ||
table. He is just looking to see if red ball goal in past the yellow. | :12:26. | :12:36. | |
:12:36. | :12:59. | ||
If it does not, he has a bit more He is going for the gap between the | :12:59. | :13:09. | |
:13:09. | :13:18. | ||
yellow and brown and that case on He looks to have found his stride | :13:18. | :13:28. | |
:13:28. | :13:32. | ||
now, Mark Allen. He played a shot in the previous frame on the blue. | :13:33. | :13:39. | |
Do you see how the weight stops and then how it generates that spin. | :13:39. | :13:47. | |
You really have to follow through to get that sort of spin. Now, the | :13:47. | :13:57. | |
:13:57. | :14:00. | ||
black is only available now in the This is not a frame-winning | :14:00. | :14:10. | |
:14:10. | :14:49. | ||
Amazingly, they have just potted exactly the same amount of balls. | :14:49. | :14:59. | |
:14:59. | :15:09. | ||
But Ricky, of course, is probably There is just that middle red in | :15:09. | :15:19. | |
:15:19. | :15:19. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :15:19. | :16:29. | |
Just coming up to 60 minutes of play. Mark Allen will be pretty | :16:29. | :16:34. | |
pleased with what has happened so far, even if he did get a bad | :16:34. | :16:44. | |
:16:44. | :16:45. | ||
contact there. Actually, it may have done and a favour. It is now | :16:45. | :16:55. | |
easy to screw off the blue round He needs a good angle off the | :16:55. | :17:02. | |
colour to get on the next red. Let us see what sort of angle here has | :17:02. | :17:11. | |
got. Pretty good. There is a chance here. I would favour cannoning into | :17:11. | :17:21. | |
:17:21. | :17:25. | ||
You could come in then, but the one down there would be better. You | :17:25. | :17:29. | |
could do the ones on the side cushion and not actually develop | :17:29. | :17:39. | |
:17:39. | :17:41. | ||
But the way he is playing this, perhaps one of these balls actually | :17:41. | :17:51. | |
:17:51. | :18:06. | ||
pots. It must be a planned, John. - All he needed to do was get the | :18:06. | :18:13. | |
ball down here. But then again, when he was playing the shot, I am | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
pretty sure he thought there was no way he could be snookered by the | :18:17. | :18:27. | |
:18:27. | :18:30. | ||
But he has not left a good safety. He has left this red over the | :18:30. | :18:40. | |
:18:40. | :18:44. | ||
OK, this is not going to be an easy opportunity, with the red lined up | :18:44. | :18:54. | |
:18:54. | :19:20. | ||
He will be disappointed he did not That has helped him. If he had run | :19:20. | :19:30. | |
:19:30. | :19:38. | ||
past he would not have been on He just requires us red. By will | :19:38. | :19:47. | |
put in 63 in front, with only 59 it remaining. So, at the interval, | :19:47. | :19:57. | |
:19:57. | :20:00. | ||
Mark Allen is going to have Eve 3-1 Ricky Walden has only himself to | :20:00. | :20:07. | |
blame. He has not been outplayed in terms of potting or safety. He has | :20:07. | :20:17. | |
:20:17. | :20:29. | ||
just missed too many shots. And Now, are their concerns for Ricky | :20:29. | :20:38. | |
at this point? Yes, insomuch as that Mark Allen now looks very | :20:38. | :20:47. | |
sharp. There have been less mistakes in this game and there was | :20:47. | :20:54. | |
in yesterday's, but Mark Allen is looking sharp. It is amazing that | :20:54. | :20:59. | |
everything he has said this week and it appears he will be in front | :20:59. | :21:06. | |
of a disciplinary committee in the next few months, it appears to have | :21:06. | :21:13. | |
galvanised him a rather than had an adverse affect? Yes, I do not have | :21:13. | :21:19. | |
a problem with an having an opinion, but it is the way he expressed it. | :21:19. | :21:26. | |
But he is the top class player. The way he is when he gets in amongst | :21:26. | :21:34. | |
the balls, we have said it about Judd Trump as well. We should say | :21:34. | :21:39. | |
that Mark Allen has apologise for any bad language he used in that | :21:39. | :21:49. | |
:21:49. | :21:53. | ||
press conference. Now, people have been sending in their tweeds. There | :21:53. | :22:01. | |
is a lot of talk that pot percentage is crucial. Given that, | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
how should you split your time in practice between safety play and | :22:05. | :22:15. | |
:22:15. | :22:15. | ||
poteen? It is hard to factor in time for work safety play. There | :22:15. | :22:22. | |
are bits and bobs you can do, a few routines you can do, but most of | :22:22. | :22:30. | |
you're time should be focused on poteen. The very few players would | :22:30. | :22:37. | |
practised safety play when they are practising Seoul. You practise your | :22:37. | :22:42. | |
safety play when you're up against another good player in practice. | :22:42. | :22:49. | |
You know, you might have a little bit on again, but that is when you | :22:49. | :22:53. | |
want to break practise the safety because it is any real life | :22:53. | :23:00. | |
situation. Here is another, if Steve could got back in time and | :23:00. | :23:09. | |
play any other frame again which one it would it be? I think I can | :23:09. | :23:19. | |
:23:19. | :23:25. | ||
guess that one! You all know which one it is! I played Stephen Hendry | :23:25. | :23:30. | |
in the UK Championship and one shot went wrong and that cost me the | :23:30. | :23:38. | |
match. And also, I was 7-1 up against Alex Higgins in this | :23:38. | :23:45. | |
tournament and lost that. He it is funny that, given everything that | :23:45. | :23:50. | |
Steve has done in the game, you always remember the ones that you | :23:50. | :23:58. | |
lose. Yes, any time I ask you how many times you have won this | :23:58. | :24:07. | |
tournament or that tournament, you can never remember. Yes, I can even | :24:07. | :24:15. | |
remember the shot. I still have the nightmares. It is a bat like Doug | :24:15. | :24:19. | |
Sanders when he missed that easy pot to win the open Championship | :24:19. | :24:27. | |
and was asked, do you ever think about it and Doug Sanders said, | :24:27. | :24:37. | |
:24:37. | :24:39. | ||
Now, we have got a technical question relating to you're barely | :24:39. | :24:48. | |
a shot, Kane. Yes, this is to do with what you look at when you're | :24:48. | :24:54. | |
about to pot. When you are getting down to the shot you're focusing on | :24:54. | :24:57. | |
the cue ball, but when you actually play the shot, you are focusing | :24:57. | :25:07. | |
:25:07. | :25:07. | ||
more on the object ball. Okay, let us discuss a bit about Ricky Walden. | :25:07. | :25:14. | |
He is the world No. 22 and made that breakthrough at the Shanghai | :25:14. | :25:20. | |
Masters in 2008. Since then, he has tried and largely failed, to live | :25:20. | :25:30. | |
:25:30. | :25:33. | ||
What a week it has been for Ricky Walden. He has been the surprise | :25:33. | :25:40. | |
package in York. He has beaten three top 16 players on the way and | :25:40. | :25:45. | |
he aims to stay on track all the way to the final. Unlike his | :25:45. | :25:50. | |
opponent, he is a quiet man who just gets on with his game. But he | :25:50. | :25:58. | |
could book a place in his second major final today. I have been the | :25:58. | :26:02. | |
underdog in all three games and I am quite happy with that. I just | :26:02. | :26:11. | |
like to get on with my own game. Along the line, the man from | :26:11. | :26:20. | |
Chester beat Stephen Lee in Rennes 1. Yes, we were going thick frame | :26:20. | :26:24. | |
for frame through the first six frames. But I was lucky enough to | :26:24. | :26:34. | |
:26:34. | :26:40. | ||
be able to string a few frames The next stop was Mark Williams and | :26:40. | :26:50. | |
:26:50. | :26:52. | ||
not even the world No. 2 could derail Ricky. Yes, I made good | :26:52. | :27:00. | |
breaks at the start of the match in a pinny and a good position. | :27:00. | :27:05. | |
Luckily enough, I managed to nick the seventh frame to go for three | :27:05. | :27:12. | |
and played solidly after that. the quarter-final, he was up | :27:12. | :27:20. | |
against his good friend and playing partner Shaun Murphy. Again, he | :27:20. | :27:30. | |
:27:30. | :27:32. | ||
rose to the occasion. Through my career I have managed to beat the | :27:32. | :27:37. | |
top players at one time or another, but actually to string it together | :27:37. | :27:44. | |
in one tournament has been very satisfying. Only Mark Allen stands | :27:44. | :27:50. | |
between him and a place in the final. Mark Allen has beaten him | :27:50. | :28:00. | |
:28:00. | :28:03. | ||
twice in their three meetings. always know you're going to have to | :28:03. | :28:10. | |
play well any time you going there. With the 147 in his last event | :28:11. | :28:20. | |
:28:21. | :28:21. | ||
before this, he is clearly in form and looking good. He is bidding to | :28:21. | :28:26. | |
become the 4th qualifier to reach the final of the UK Championship. | :28:26. | :28:36. | |
:28:36. | :28:46. | ||
Can you name the other three? Mountjoy, Stephen Maguire. Let us | :28:46. | :28:51. | |
talk about recreate Walden. We notice coming into this | :28:51. | :28:56. | |
championship that he has been in great form. He made his first | :28:56. | :29:06. | |
:29:06. | :29:07. | ||
competitive maximum in the last event. What has changed? Yes, he | :29:07. | :29:15. | |
says he has rededicated himself a bit. He has picked a bit more | :29:15. | :29:20. | |
effort into it. What has been impressive is that in all three | :29:20. | :29:27. | |
matches, he has not been pushed to the limit. He has won all of them | :29:27. | :29:37. | |
:29:37. | :29:37. | ||
6-3. We have got so many more tournaments - we have had a few | :29:37. | :29:44. | |
moans about this - but a lot of the players now can see it as a full- | :29:45. | :29:51. | |
time jaw and it has really inspired a lot of the players. It has | :29:51. | :29:56. | |
inspired me back to playing the game a bit more. When there were | :29:56. | :29:59. | |
only six ranking events, it did make you feel that you were | :29:59. | :30:08. | |
something of a part-time player. Yes, and it is harder to practise | :30:08. | :30:12. | |
when you get a bit older when you think that the next tournament is | :30:12. | :30:22. | |
:30:22. | :30:29. | ||
We took Mark Allen to the railway institute to talk about the game. | :30:29. | :30:33. | |
started when I was 1 or 12. My dad used to play and take me and my | :30:33. | :30:40. | |
brother down to the social club. I used to play every Sunday morning. | :30:40. | :30:44. | |
If you look around, this hasn't changed much in 40 years. If you | :30:44. | :30:50. | |
look at the table, it is a bit damaged. That is from people coming | :30:50. | :30:54. | |
and having a bit of fun and the social side of it too. The | :30:54. | :30:58. | |
traditions of snooker are part of what the game is about and in the | :30:58. | :31:03. | |
longer format and you look at club like this, this what is snooker's | :31:03. | :31:08. | |
all about. It was concern about traditions that led The Pistol to | :31:08. | :31:13. | |
shoot from the lip and there was that bizarre press conference. Did | :31:13. | :31:17. | |
a certain Welshman have anything to do with it. I felt I couldn't say | :31:17. | :31:23. | |
what I wanted. I got criticised from what I said. That is unfair in | :31:23. | :31:28. | |
the world we're living, everyone should be entitled to their | :31:28. | :31:33. | |
opinions. Griff is a funny man, he didn't put me up to it, but he | :31:33. | :31:37. | |
didn't disagree either. I don't mind the media attention. Will go | :31:37. | :31:41. | |
out there and try win. Now the focus is on firing to his first | :31:41. | :31:47. | |
ever ranking final A step that has tripped him up five times. I don't | :31:48. | :31:56. | |
think I play thrated well. -- that well. I played more solid. Against | :31:56. | :32:03. | |
Marco, I done what I needed to, from 5-4 down I produced the best | :32:03. | :32:07. | |
two frames of the match in my opinion. I don't deliberately go | :32:07. | :32:14. | |
out to lose in systemy finals. I have tried my best, but haven't | :32:14. | :32:22. | |
done well. -- semi finals. But who will the better player? Allen has | :32:22. | :32:27. | |
won their only long distance match. You have no right to turn up and | :32:27. | :32:33. | |
expect to win. Ricky is such a good player, if I don't play well I will | :32:33. | :32:38. | |
lose. He can keep you out for long periods and win frames in short | :32:38. | :32:43. | |
periods of time that. Is a bad combination. He has a good all | :32:43. | :32:47. | |
round game. But I'm confident about my chances. It would be nice to | :32:47. | :32:53. | |
prove a lot of people wrong. So can he win a first major final? And | :32:53. | :32:57. | |
what a good year it would be if he were to do that? Because he has | :32:57. | :33:01. | |
been open and honest about the depression and the battle against | :33:01. | :33:04. | |
depression that he was going through earlier in the season. He | :33:04. | :33:12. | |
was not in good shape coming to the Crucible earlier and he was very | :33:12. | :33:17. | |
honest about it. Yes, nothing I know a great deal about it. But it | :33:17. | :33:21. | |
affects people in different ways. Obviously, he was open about it. | :33:21. | :33:27. | |
But he seems to have coped with it. He says he is on the way back to | :33:27. | :33:31. | |
full health. I don't think that Mark would be a great fan of a | :33:31. | :33:35. | |
suggestion that has come in from Pete who, says do you think the | :33:35. | :33:40. | |
shot clock should be brought into all competitions? I can probably | :33:40. | :33:44. | |
speak for Mark, not a chance. What do you think? I think is the shot | :33:44. | :33:49. | |
clock is an awful invention. I really do. It doesn't need to be in | :33:49. | :33:56. | |
snooker. Snooker's good enough. The only one it is OK in is the Sky | :33:56. | :34:01. | |
shoot out. The other tournaments, it ruins them and it doesn't need | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
it. Snooker is fast enough as it is. That is my opinion. Some people | :34:06. | :34:11. | |
like the shot clock. For me it just makes fast snooker, but with no | :34:11. | :34:19. | |
tension. It has gone down to 20 second s in some competition. | :34:19. | :34:27. | |
Tension is part of the game and if you have dissipated the tension. | :34:27. | :34:31. | |
You had a shot clock in the seniors. We couldn't work it out. We didn't | :34:31. | :34:36. | |
know what was going on. Another technical one for you, this is from | :34:36. | :34:42. | |
Bradley who says when playing with side, how do you know, sorry, how | :34:42. | :34:46. | |
do you know how much to use. In other words how can you judge how | :34:46. | :34:54. | |
much side to put on a ball. It is basically you can see a shot f I | :34:54. | :34:59. | |
don't use side, the white will come back into the red. If I use the | :34:59. | :35:04. | |
left side of the cue ball, it widens the angle. You have to | :35:04. | :35:08. | |
understand where the cue ball is going to go without side and with | :35:08. | :35:14. | |
side. This brings the cue ball over here and you're on the red. Thank | :35:14. | :35:24. | |
:35:24. | :35:25. | ||
you. Thank you to all of you who have been sending us mess adges. It | :35:25. | :35:30. | |
is time for the rest of the four frames that we have this afternoon. | :35:30. | :35:36. | |
Here comes Mark, he is holding that 3-1 advantage as we back to Willie | :35:36. | :35:44. | |
and John. JOHN VIRGO: thank you, it is an interesting conversation and | :35:44. | :35:54. | |
:35:54. | :35:56. | ||
Ken, as ever, showing us how to flay shots. Ken lost 6-5 here. Of | :35:56. | :36:02. | |
course we all know how hard it is to qualify to get to this stage and | :36:02. | :36:08. | |
Mark Allen being in the top 16, he didn't have to go through all that. | :36:08. | :36:16. | |
And it he will be pleased with himself to have a 3-1 lead and for | :36:16. | :36:20. | |
Ricky Walden, there is another four frames in this first session. You | :36:20. | :36:28. | |
feel that he would like to win three of the four. We will see how | :36:28. | :36:34. | |
it unravels. WILLIE THORNE: The key thing is to hang on to his coat | :36:34. | :36:40. | |
tails, even 3-3 wouldn't be a bad result. But as we say, with matches | :36:40. | :36:43. | |
of this distance, you can't win the match in the first session, but you | :36:43. | :36:50. | |
can certainly lose it. So he can't afford to lose three of the next | :36:50. | :37:00. | |
:37:00. | :37:39. | ||
I think you're lookings at about 66%, which is fair. But they're | :37:39. | :37:43. | |
quite low and quite low from Ricky. We have seen him miss a couple of | :37:43. | :37:53. | |
:37:53. | :37:53. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :37:53. | :39:00. | |
what you could only describe as The danger red is the one over the | :39:00. | :39:10. | |
:39:10. | :39:17. | ||
far left corner. There is plenty of A slight tactical advantage to Mark | :39:17. | :39:21. | |
Allen. He is the one who has the opportunity always to bring the cue | :39:21. | :39:26. | |
ball back to the top cushion sm as long as he get it close to the top | :39:26. | :39:33. | |
cushion, then all Ricky Walden's got is a little roll into the reds. | :39:34. | :39:40. | |
But having said that, well, I was thinking for a minute Ricky maybe | :39:40. | :39:43. | |
able to cut this red to the right middle. He is going around to have | :39:43. | :39:48. | |
a look at the potting angle. That is a bit careless to have left this | :39:48. | :39:56. | |
opportunity. He is taking it on. Or is he? It was a similar shot that | :39:57. | :40:06. | |
:40:07. | :40:22. | ||
This was a similar type of shot, overcut it and it cost him dear. So | :40:22. | :40:31. | |
decided not to take the risk. But it is still advantage Mark Allen. | :40:31. | :40:39. | |
Well maybe more than advantage, can he get through to this red? Well he | :40:39. | :40:43. | |
could! That was so careless from Ricky Walden to leave that. But it | :40:44. | :40:48. | |
is amazing. How many times have we seen that in this game A player | :40:48. | :40:54. | |
play a very poor shot and then if your opponent doesn't pot the ball. | :40:54. | :41:04. | |
:41:04. | :41:34. | ||
Then that good chance now falls to John Spencer always said to me, he | :41:34. | :41:38. | |
said it doesn't matter about the opponent getting a fluke, until the | :41:38. | :41:42. | |
end of the match. Because that fluke could have won you the game. | :41:43. | :41:48. | |
Because it changes the whole path of the game. What a fabulous player | :41:48. | :41:58. | |
:41:58. | :42:16. | ||
he was, John Spencer. One of the And a great character as well. He | :42:16. | :42:26. | |
:42:26. | :42:30. | ||
He played ha beautifully. A lovely touch around the black spot area. | :42:30. | :42:35. | |
couldn't agree with you more. He has got one of the better games at | :42:35. | :42:45. | |
:42:45. | :43:00. | ||
this end of the table. But he is And the advantage of this situation | :43:00. | :43:05. | |
of course he will play to get on the blue to come on the business | :43:05. | :43:12. | |
end, where all the reds are, but if he is short on the blue he has that | :43:12. | :43:19. | |
red in the baulk end as a reserve. You could not ask for a better | :43:19. | :43:29. | |
:43:29. | :43:30. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :43:30. | :44:22. | |
The settling in frame was the first frame. It has been pretty quick | :44:22. | :44:32. | |
:44:32. | :44:34. | ||
since then. Both these players like to get on with it. Whoever plays | :44:34. | :44:44. | |
:44:44. | :44:54. | ||
Judd Trump, we know he likes to get Maybe too hard. Just pulled up. | :44:54. | :45:04. | |
:45:04. | :45:10. | ||
May decide just to play cannon here. You always have that red over the | :45:10. | :45:17. | |
far left corner. But he has decided there is one red in the middle of | :45:17. | :45:27. | |
:45:27. | :45:43. | ||
He is OK. He has got two reds available to the right corner | :45:43. | :45:50. | |
pocket. He already has a 51 point lead. Just about getting the pace | :45:50. | :46:00. | |
:46:00. | :46:02. | ||
right on this shot. He would like to be playing for the black. Two | :46:02. | :46:12. | |
:46:12. | :46:16. | ||
more reds, two blacks would be Mark Allen knows these should have | :46:16. | :46:21. | |
have been his. It was a straight forward pot. It is a frustrating | :46:21. | :46:30. | |
place, that Claire, when you make a mistake. -- that chair. A problem | :46:30. | :46:35. | |
here this blue will put him 59 points in front, because he is | :46:35. | :46:41. | |
playing the blue and not the black, he will need another red, colour | :46:41. | :46:51. | |
:46:51. | :46:59. | ||
He play play -- he may play a gentle cannon into that gap there. | :46:59. | :47:09. | |
:47:09. | :47:12. | ||
He played it nicely. That is what we talk about, using the balls to | :47:12. | :47:16. | |
slow the white done and that deserved to win any frame, the way | :47:16. | :47:26. | |
:47:26. | :47:39. | ||
Would you believe it? Would you believe it? That was basically | :47:39. | :47:49. | |
frame ball. Black off the spot. No excuse for that. And missed it by a | :47:49. | :47:59. | |
:47:59. | :48:05. | ||
He couldn't, could he? Well... He has more prospect than he must have | :48:05. | :48:10. | |
thought than when he was sat in his chair. Ricky Walden for all the | :48:10. | :48:16. | |
wrld, -- world, that black and one more red was all that was needed. | :48:16. | :48:26. | |
:48:26. | :48:38. | ||
The one thing you have got to do, never sacrifice a pot for position. | :48:38. | :48:42. | |
The cannon into the two reds leaves him the pink perfect. So using the | :48:42. | :48:52. | |
:48:52. | :48:53. | ||
balls as a stopper. There is nothing wrong with that at all, is | :48:53. | :49:03. | |
:49:03. | :49:34. | ||
Well has just goon favourite.Less 44 behind and he is now favourite | :49:34. | :49:41. | |
to win the frame. I don't know what can be going through Ricky's mind, | :49:41. | :49:51. | |
:49:51. | :50:03. | ||
That is a bit careless. Should have had the right angle. He had a good | :50:03. | :50:13. | |
:50:13. | :50:33. | ||
angle on the red. Should have been Does the brown pot? Ifs no he is OK | :50:33. | :50:43. | |
:50:43. | :50:44. | ||
on the blue. -- If not, he is OK on the blue. He can pot the brown and | :50:44. | :50:53. | |
be 26 points behind with 27 remaining. The brown will come down | :50:53. | :51:03. | |
:51:03. | :51:10. | ||
This is the only shot that can go wrong and he has overscrewed this. | :51:10. | :51:20. | |
:51:20. | :51:31. | ||
You can see him shaking his head. Where is the cue ball going? | :51:31. | :51:35. | |
REFEREE: Foul. There have been more twists and turns in this frame than | :51:35. | :51:42. | |
I can believe. You can only put it down to the occasion. He | :51:42. | :51:46. | |
overscrewed that yellow by a good foot. Left himself straight on the | :51:46. | :51:56. | |
green. As soon as he hit it, he knew it was heading to the middle | :51:56. | :52:00. | |
pocket. Now Ricky Walden is 28 points in front and there is just | :52:00. | :52:08. | |
25 remaining. So Mark Allen has missed a golden opportunity to give | :52:08. | :52:18. | |
:52:18. | :52:47. | ||
On the other hand, Mark Allen will Doesn't matter about the foul on | :52:47. | :52:51. | |
the pifpbg. It was a frame that could have gone either way. But the | :52:51. | :52:55. | |
final mistake was from the young man from Northern Ireland and Ricky | :52:55. | :53:00. | |
Walden will go back very relieved. Just one frame behind. HAZEL | :53:00. | :53:06. | |
IRVINE: Oh yes a few twists and turns, a frame of two shots. | :53:06. | :53:11. | |
dodged a bullet there. Because when he was on the black and he missed. | :53:11. | :53:16. | |
It is a simple shot. He has lost his conseason traigs. For a | :53:16. | :53:20. | |
professional to -- his concentration. For a professional | :53:20. | :53:26. | |
to miss one of those, that is a stinker.Ty Difference between about | :53:26. | :53:32. | |
four inches there for Mark Allen meant he was the wrong side of | :53:32. | :53:36. | |
green. On these fast cloths, with talk about how fast they are, | :53:36. | :53:40. | |
positional control, cue ball control, is critical and is the | :53:40. | :53:43. | |
difference. You have to make sure you're always the right side of the | :53:43. | :53:51. | |
ball. He needed to be short on that, to give himself a nice green. Well | :53:51. | :53:56. | |
in the end, all of the small differences add up and positional | :53:56. | :53:59. | |
play, at the top of the table, around the black spot, wrong side | :53:59. | :54:03. | |
of the red and you're going away from the black. Right side you have | :54:03. | :54:07. | |
all the room in the world. That is the difference between the great | :54:07. | :54:13. | |
positional player and an average one. Or a bit of tension and you | :54:13. | :54:22. | |
overhit it. But Ricky Walden's face was a picture. You were saying, | :54:22. | :54:29. | |
that could take some getting over. Yes the boys mentioned, for Ricky's | :54:29. | :54:35. | |
sake, thankfully, Mark didn't make the clearance. You would take a few | :54:35. | :54:40. | |
frames to get over that. If he goes 4-1 behind, then there is no way | :54:40. | :54:45. | |
Mark can be behind tonight and he had a chance to press on further. | :54:45. | :54:55. | |
:54:55. | :54:56. | ||
So that was a huge frame. It plays on their mind. Back we go. WILLIE | :54:56. | :55:01. | |
THORNE: That was a massive bullet he dodged. That could give him the | :55:01. | :55:07. | |
confidence he needs to get right back into this match now. He | :55:07. | :55:14. | |
wouldn't have been out of it at 4-1. But Mark Allen would be bound to go | :55:14. | :55:24. | |
:55:24. | :55:36. | ||
in front going into the night Mark Allen's safety has not been up | :55:36. | :55:40. | |
to scratch today. He has played a few shots where he has just played | :55:40. | :55:46. | |
it to get a good white and not worried about the object ball and | :55:46. | :55:56. | |
:55:56. | :56:05. | ||
He needs a good cue ball here. And that is very good. A good shot. | :56:05. | :56:09. | |
Always like to see that. A very important match for both players, | :56:09. | :56:19. | |
:56:19. | :56:34. | ||
but nice to see a bit of Is the brown going to be in the | :56:34. | :56:40. | |
way? If not, it is OK. It is a good exchange. It is a bit short of pace, | :56:40. | :56:45. | |
but the key was to get it past the baulk line. There is one more red | :56:45. | :56:50. | |
below the pink, he could play the same shot again and then the safety | :56:50. | :57:00. | |
:57:00. | :57:07. | ||
He played that with a lot of left hand side, but the red is going | :57:07. | :57:12. | |
towards the pocket. Is it in the pocket? It is not. Well even if the | :57:12. | :57:16. | |
blue's in the way it will be easy to knock one red on to the other. | :57:17. | :57:22. | |
The red to the right of the red over the pocket. That is a simple | :57:22. | :57:32. | |
:57:32. | :57:49. | ||
I thought that was unmissable. Well the way it rattled, I thought it | :57:49. | :57:53. | |
was going to stay there. But it wouldn't have mattered, the other | :57:53. | :58:03. | |
:58:03. | :58:09. | ||
He will play for one of the reds above the black. I don't think it | :58:09. | :58:14. | |
was a situation where 4 could get the black into play. You have got | :58:14. | :58:24. | |
:58:24. | :58:30. | ||
Just concentrate on building up a useful lead and don't miss anything | :58:30. | :58:40. | |
:58:40. | :59:12. | ||
It is all about where this pink goes when it is repotted. | :59:12. | :59:21. | |
referee I heard him say to mark, give' second.. The pink spot is not | :59:21. | :59:31. | |
:59:31. | :59:36. | ||
It may be available to the left corner. If he could get on that, he | :59:36. | :59:46. | |
:59:46. | :00:23. | ||
can bring those other five reds It may be worthwhile playing a | :00:23. | :00:33. | |
:00:33. | :00:40. | ||
little can in order those once He just slid past it and it it has | :00:40. | :00:50. | |
:00:50. | :01:17. | ||
For someone of his class, that is And decent safety shot, but he will | :01:17. | :01:27. | |
:01:27. | :02:06. | ||
be disappointed to not make more of He is not on line to hit this red. | :02:06. | :02:16. | |
:02:16. | :02:16. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :02:16. | :02:58. | |
He has a lead of 36 points and will be reluctant to bring the black | :02:58. | :03:08. | |
:03:08. | :03:11. | ||
into play. 36 points is quite a big lead the way the balls are at the | :03:11. | :03:21. | |
:03:21. | :03:44. | ||
That was not a bad effort, but unfortunately, he has left one on | :03:44. | :03:54. | |
:03:54. | :04:02. | ||
Yes, it the white ball will be running a rather freely, but he | :04:02. | :04:12. | |
:04:12. | :04:19. | ||
He got it too thick, but he knew that the safety shot would not be a | :04:19. | :04:29. | |
:04:29. | :04:29. | ||
It may be a problem, because I think Ricky can get past the brown | :04:29. | :04:39. | |
:04:39. | :04:42. | ||
and get it this one. Now, that cue ball has slowed up and given an | :04:42. | :04:52. | |
:04:52. | :04:59. | ||
I am not sure if he has the angle to get down in disturb the reds | :04:59. | :05:09. | |
:05:09. | :05:17. | ||
I am not quite certain what he played there. He has played it as | :05:18. | :05:27. | |
:05:28. | :05:36. | ||
if there raid would go. If it does, He did have a look to see if there | :05:36. | :05:40. | |
Redwood goal, but he would certainly not have played it that | :05:40. | :05:48. | |
way to get on it. Now, he puts his hand up and apologises to Mark | :05:48. | :05:58. | |
:05:58. | :06:16. | ||
Allen! It was the lucky positional He will be disappointed with that. | :06:16. | :06:21. | |
He can still pot this red, but he is going to be hampered by the | :06:21. | :06:31. | |
:06:31. | :06:33. | ||
other red close to the cue ball. It makes it the red it permissible. -- | :06:33. | :06:43. | |
:06:43. | :06:45. | ||
But that was very well played. There was a little bit of pressure | :06:45. | :06:50. | |
taken off it, because he could send the cue ball up towards the baulk | :06:50. | :07:00. | |
:07:00. | :07:22. | ||
area, but never the less, and good Whichever one he decides to take on, | :07:22. | :07:31. | |
the cue ball was going to be going twice across. But he is now looking | :07:31. | :07:41. | |
:07:41. | :08:07. | ||
Is he going to be lucky again? Not With a little bit of luck, he could | :08:08. | :08:16. | |
have hit that on the left-hand side and developed it. He is not looking | :08:16. | :08:21. | |
at a plant, but just seemed we and the second red it will goal once it | :08:21. | :08:31. | |
:08:31. | :08:37. | ||
has hit. He could not have judged I was thinking he might have left a | :08:37. | :08:47. | |
:08:47. | :08:48. | ||
possible pot on, but it is not easy He is trying to get the ball back | :08:48. | :08:58. | |
:08:58. | :08:59. | ||
in the same place, but it is very easy to hit that toothache. -- too | :08:59. | :09:09. | |
:09:09. | :09:14. | ||
I thought that was a bit optimistic. He was trying to get it in the same | :09:14. | :09:24. | |
:09:24. | :09:34. | ||
place! I did mean the same area of He is a few points behind, but will | :09:34. | :09:44. | |
:09:44. | :09:54. | ||
the colours are all Kay, the reds The brown is pottable. He will have | :09:54. | :10:04. | |
:10:04. | :10:07. | ||
to play this with the trace of If he misses the pink he is OK. | :10:07. | :10:17. | |
:10:17. | :10:18. | ||
That is beautifully played. 16 points behind no and although he | :10:18. | :10:23. | |
will do well to win the frame at this visit, he has given himself a | :10:23. | :10:33. | |
:10:33. | :10:48. | ||
He appears to have the angle to hit the middle red of the fee. -- there | :10:48. | :10:58. | |
:10:58. | :11:09. | ||
He still pushed one of them into Unfortunately, he has made the | :11:09. | :11:19. | |
:11:19. | :11:21. | ||
He is now only eight points behind, but there are a few hurdles to | :11:21. | :11:31. | |
:11:31. | :11:45. | ||
This could work in his favour, having to play for this more | :11:45. | :11:55. | |
:11:55. | :12:00. | ||
He may have to move one of the red Sea off the other red, which is not | :12:00. | :12:10. | |
:12:10. | :12:20. | ||
normally the done thing, but I He has moved to the red. He just | :12:20. | :12:30. | |
:12:30. | :12:33. | ||
caught it a bit too full. Does that If he'd if it does, he will drop it | :12:33. | :12:43. | |
:12:43. | :12:53. | ||
in and will be on one of the baulk I am not too sure if he can | :12:53. | :13:01. | |
actually hold for one of the colours in the baulk area. Yes, it | :13:01. | :13:11. | |
:13:11. | :13:18. | ||
just held up. He is now the This is a great chance to level the | :13:18. | :13:28. | |
:13:28. | :13:36. | ||
He decided to play up for the blue, knowing that if he did so it would | :13:36. | :13:40. | |
be easier to get on the yellow. But he has not played that particularly | :13:40. | :13:48. | |
well. This could go wrong. He has to avoid a kiss on the brown. But | :13:48. | :13:58. | |
:13:58. | :14:10. | ||
he has played that with left-hand How quickly it can turn. It looked | :14:10. | :14:20. | |
:14:20. | :14:26. | ||
very lightly as if Mark Allen was We saw Ricky looking very relaxed | :14:26. | :14:33. | |
and the practice the area at the interval. He was 3-1 down, but knew | :14:33. | :14:43. | |
:14:43. | :14:47. | ||
that he should have been 2-2 at the He made a break of 60 in the | :14:47. | :14:57. | |
:14:57. | :15:04. | ||
He needed to get a good start after the interval and that is exactly | :15:04. | :15:14. | |
:15:14. | :15:20. | ||
what he has done. It is all square Yes, and what could have been a 4-1 | :15:20. | :15:27. | |
deficit, it is now 3-3. The key shot was as red baulk right along | :15:27. | :15:37. | |
:15:37. | :15:39. | ||
the rail. 10, this is a key shot? Yes, it was just slightly off the | :15:39. | :15:49. | |
:15:49. | :15:51. | ||
cushion. The shot is touching the cushion. Players like it to be | :15:51. | :15:59. | |
catching the cushion because it makes the shot easier. It just | :15:59. | :16:03. | |
makes the shot a lot simpler if the object baulk is holding on to the | :16:03. | :16:13. | |
:16:13. | :16:18. | ||
Yes, which makes that shot of readies, with the ball slightly off | :16:18. | :16:26. | |
the cushion all the better? Yes, I think that standard of shot has | :16:27. | :16:33. | |
improved immeasurably down the years. So many of the players just | :16:33. | :16:42. | |
get down and not resign now. Yes, under normal circumstances, I thing | :16:42. | :16:48. | |
that shot is a bit harder. I do not know why, but on this table, the | :16:48. | :16:58. | |
:16:58. | :17:01. | ||
shorts along the top cushion seen to be going in. Anybody who plays | :17:01. | :17:06. | |
the game has been noticing how the ball falls towards that top cushion. | :17:06. | :17:16. | |
:17:16. | :17:32. | ||
It seems to be helping. Hockey, we It is certainly bubbling up now, | :17:32. | :17:42. | |
:17:42. | :17:47. | ||
At the very worst, going into this evening, one player can only be two | :17:47. | :17:57. | |
:17:57. | :17:57. | ||
frames in front. I do not know about you, but although we like to | :17:57. | :18:07. | |
:18:07. | :18:10. | ||
see the big breaks, I do like to Yes, that is the way the game has | :18:10. | :18:20. | |
:18:20. | :18:21. | ||
been. No one is cleaning up at one visit. It has certainly made for a | :18:21. | :18:31. | |
:18:31. | :18:31. | ||
very exciting match. These are perhaps not fee for players that we | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
expected to be competing in the semi-finals, but we have had some | :18:36. | :18:46. | |
:18:46. | :18:55. | ||
It looks as if Mark can actually just get through to that, but where | :18:55. | :19:05. | |
:19:05. | :19:07. | ||
What a misjudgment that was. He was hoping that red would career in to | :19:07. | :19:13. | |
another one. In all honestly, it probably should have done, but he | :19:14. | :19:23. | |
:19:24. | :19:27. | ||
The problem here is that the black will go back on to its own sport. | :19:27. | :19:37. | |
:19:37. | :19:43. | ||
Heaney ought to try for another He would like to get few he -- he | :19:43. | :19:49. | |
would like to get rid of a few of the loss reds before attempting to | :19:49. | :19:59. | |
:19:59. | :20:19. | ||
He is not ideal on it blue. It is He is having checked to see where | :20:19. | :20:29. | |
:20:29. | :20:40. | ||
the pink will goal when it is we That could make a huge difference. | :20:40. | :20:45. | |
They think the pink will go back onto its sport, but will it be | :20:45. | :20:54. | |
pottable? Certainly, it is not going to go into either of the | :20:54. | :20:59. | |
bottom pocket. He will have to concentrate on the blue for a few | :20:59. | :21:09. | |
:21:09. | :21:15. | ||
He did not have a good angle, but he does now. Now, will he risk try | :21:15. | :21:25. | |
:21:25. | :21:38. | ||
You can imagine, if he plays that, you have got control on either of | :21:38. | :21:48. | |
:21:48. | :21:58. | ||
these to red. But he did not fancy I agree with you. He isn't a bit of | :21:58. | :22:05. | |
trouble now, because he is not guaranteed to get on another red | :22:05. | :22:15. | |
:22:15. | :22:27. | ||
Will he play it this time? It is He obviously felt he could get on | :22:27. | :22:37. | |
:22:37. | :22:49. | ||
This could be the key shot in the frame. He has avoided playing for | :22:49. | :22:57. | |
the black so far. I wonder if he will play for at this time. But he | :22:57. | :23:07. | |
:23:07. | :23:13. | ||
is actually finished on the pink It was like the Sea of Galilee Year | :23:13. | :23:23. | |
:23:23. | :23:32. | ||
There was three reds on either side and somehow they all moved and the | :23:32. | :23:42. | |
pink did not. But he attempted to screw back and got nothing on the | :23:42. | :23:52. | |
:23:52. | :23:55. | ||
Nor, in the end, he did not fully commit to that. I think he quit on | :23:55. | :24:05. | |
:24:05. | :24:16. | ||
At least he has got rid of one of the problem reds. He is going from | :24:16. | :24:26. | |
:24:26. | :24:41. | ||
the top pocket. These can be a Yes, it was a little bit wide, but | :24:41. | :24:51. | |
:24:51. | :24:59. | ||
at that pace, the pocket accepted Now, we is the black going to go? | :24:59. | :25:07. | |
Does the red above the black just bought? I think it does. If it does, | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
I think he has to play for it. You do not want to be trying to screw | :25:12. | :25:22. | |
:25:22. | :25:27. | ||
back for the bloke off this. -- for But this is now a frame-winning | :25:27. | :25:37. | |
:25:37. | :25:45. | ||
The pot success - 93 % each. But this is the remarkable turnaround, | :25:45. | :25:51. | |
when you consider that Mark Allen looked certain to court 4-1 in | :25:51. | :26:01. | |
:26:01. | :26:01. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :26:01. | :27:00. | |
front. Now, it looks as if he made He made a break of 124 in frame two, | :27:00. | :27:09. | |
and he is a chance to get another century here. A lot of players have | :27:09. | :27:14. | |
been having problems with this back cushion. They seem to think it is a | :27:14. | :27:24. | |
:27:24. | :27:40. | ||
It does not matter now. The frame is over. That blow will mean that | :27:40. | :27:50. | |
:27:50. | :27:52. | ||
Mark Allen will not come back to the table. Now, he cannot be behind | :27:52. | :27:56. | |
going into the evening session. At the very worst, he will be all | :27:56. | :28:01. | |
square. But he will be looking to push on from this. There is one | :28:01. | :28:11. | |
:28:11. | :28:42. | ||
He made a 124 in the second frame, Ricky Walden. He needs to try and | :28:42. | :28:47. | |
get on this last red for the century and has decided to leave | :28:47. | :28:57. | |
:28:57. | :29:05. | ||
That was unlucky, but once again, Ricky Walden was gifted an | :29:05. | :29:08. | |
opportunity and the ease with his own mistakes by Mark Allen are | :29:08. | :29:14. | |
helping Ricky Walden a lot. He now leads by 4-3. One more frame left | :29:14. | :29:24. | |
:29:24. | :29:28. | ||
A gift of a chance. It was a straightforward safety shot by Mark | :29:28. | :29:38. | |
:29:38. | :29:41. | ||
Allen. There were plenty of red for Yes, he was a bit careless. It was | :29:41. | :29:51. | |
:29:51. | :29:53. | ||
a big target. I think Mark Allen Yes, he looked certain to go 4-1 in | :29:53. | :30:00. | |
front and there was another frame that he lost when he missed an easy | :30:00. | :30:07. | |
red into the middle pocket. This was the one. You have got to take | :30:07. | :30:12. | |
advantage of your opponent's mistakes. At the moment, it, Ricky | :30:12. | :30:22. | |
:30:22. | :30:48. | ||
He needs some help from one of the baulk colours because he has | :30:48. | :30:58. | |
:30:58. | :30:58. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :30:58. | :32:48. | |
knocked a red over the corner, and There are a couple of easy staffers | :32:48. | :32:57. | |
here for Ricky Walden. -- starters. Tough times for Mark Allen, at the | :32:57. | :33:07. | |
:33:07. | :33:19. | ||
94% pot success no for Ricky Walden, just increasing that percentage | :33:19. | :33:25. | |
since the start of play. Of course, it helps when you are getting | :33:25. | :33:35. | |
:33:35. | :33:35. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :33:35. | :34:55. | |
He may decide to play a little cannon to get on that red, but it | :34:55. | :35:04. | |
is not worth taking the risk. If he's going to win the frame at this | :35:04. | :35:14. | |
:35:14. | :35:14. | ||
visit, he has to start thinking about going into that cluster. Does | :35:14. | :35:19. | |
he play for the loose red, or does he play the cannon? I think he's | :35:19. | :35:27. | |
got to play the cannon, here. only thing that can go wrong is | :35:27. | :35:35. | |
that he hits the top of the pyramid of the reds in the centre triangle. | :35:35. | :35:43. | |
We have does the red go? Well, he may just have a red to the red that | :35:43. | :35:52. | |
will -- to the left middle. He hit this pretty well. You just got a | :35:53. | :35:57. | |
little bounce off the white off the cushion which stopped it arcing | :35:57. | :36:03. | |
round. Yes, it would have done that a fraction there were, if it had | :36:03. | :36:13. | |
:36:13. | :36:18. | ||
not have bounced. -- earlier. there, and what a chance to finish | :36:18. | :36:28. | |
:36:28. | :36:35. | ||
this first session with a two frame Mark Allen missed a trick with a | :36:35. | :36:41. | |
careless safety shot. He should have led 4-1. Instead he is almost | :36:41. | :36:51. | |
:36:51. | :36:51. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :36:51. | :37:37. | |
down to 55 and 3 behind. -- 5-3 55 points of a lead, so three reds | :37:37. | :37:42. | |
and covers still needed. So it is just a little bit awkward. Finding | :37:42. | :37:52. | |
:37:52. | :37:57. | ||
a place for the rest. -- and He has played that well. And the | :37:57. | :38:07. | |
:38:07. | :38:14. | ||
delicate act of getting the rest of the table. -- off the table. He has | :38:14. | :38:19. | |
put together some impressive breaks. Yes, but he had a lot of help from | :38:19. | :38:26. | |
his opponent. If you're upon it leaves you chances, you have got to | :38:26. | :38:36. | |
:38:36. | :38:42. | ||
This black will mean that he is 71 in front with 67 remaining. What | :38:42. | :38:48. | |
you're suggesting is, don't do anything silly on the black, like | :38:48. | :38:56. | |
in the previous round. Make certain - and that is what he did. If he | :38:56. | :39:03. | |
pots this red now in the middle, Mark Allen will concede. He will | :39:03. | :39:13. | |
:39:13. | :39:13. | ||
not come back to the table to try for snookers. And it isn't. -- it | :39:13. | :39:23. | |
:39:23. | :39:25. | ||
is in. He has had every chance. But good stuff here from Ricky Walden. | :39:25. | :39:32. | |
You could say that he is on a roll. Perfect angle just to flick the | :39:32. | :39:36. | |
outside of these three reds, pushing one towards the middle, one | :39:36. | :39:41. | |
towards the corner, and that is exactly what happened. Their | :39:41. | :39:46. | |
impressive. With a little bit of help from Mark Allen, but Ricky | :39:46. | :39:50. | |
Walden, when he gets among the balls, has looked the real deal | :39:50. | :39:56. | |
this afternoon. He has not had too much television time over the years | :39:56. | :40:00. | |
but it shows you the standard of these players these days, there are | :40:00. | :40:07. | |
lots of them. There are lots of them but not many of them can play | :40:07. | :40:12. | |
with this sort of fluency. When this lad is on form, he's an | :40:12. | :40:22. | |
:40:22. | :40:22. | ||
exceptional talent. He does it with such quickness of potting, he's | :40:23. | :40:28. | |
very exciting to watch. Mark Allen needs to pull his socks up this | :40:28. | :40:38. | |
:40:38. | :40:39. | ||
evening. Ricky Walden is finding top form. Century two for Walden in | :40:39. | :40:46. | |
this tournament, and a possible 127 which will eclipse the 124, in | :40:46. | :40:56. | |
:40:56. | :41:25. | ||
He played for the pink in the Very well played, Ricky Walden, 3-1 | :41:25. | :41:33. | |
behind, back against the wall, then breaks of 60, 66, 98, and a 127 | :41:33. | :41:43. | |
:41:43. | :41:43. | ||
clearance to take a fight I think the interval lead. -- a 5-3 | :41:43. | :41:50. | |
interval lead. Mark Allen was four or five inches away from a 4-1 | :41:50. | :41:53. | |
advantage if it had not been for that bad positional shot on the | :41:53. | :41:57. | |
yellow. And he looked to be playing every bit as good as Ricky Walden | :41:57. | :42:03. | |
has finished off. Had he made that clearance and gone 4-1, we could | :42:03. | :42:07. | |
have been raving about 7-1 in front and it was all over. The margins | :42:07. | :42:17. | |
are so small in snooker these days. Ken, what did you make of that | :42:17. | :42:22. | |
session? Fantastic finish from Ricky Walden. I was delighted at | :42:22. | :42:26. | |
the way that he expressed himself. He has been very prolific and | :42:26. | :42:32. | |
efficient, got on with his game, he makes lovely little cannons and | :42:32. | :42:36. | |
lovely little breaks, he looks as good as anybody this week when he | :42:36. | :42:41. | |
gets in and around the pink and black spot. John, you made the | :42:41. | :42:44. | |
point that he is very quick and animated among the balls when he | :42:44. | :42:50. | |
gets going. But the downside is his finish, because the way that he | :42:50. | :42:55. | |
hits the ball, he is going to not want to stop at 5-3. He now has to | :42:55. | :43:00. | |
go away and think about this evening session, but if he kept | :43:00. | :43:06. | |
going, he would definitely have voted for that one. When Mark Allen | :43:06. | :43:11. | |
missed that positional shot as we spoke about, the momentum seemed to | :43:11. | :43:17. | |
go all out of Mark Allen at that point. Yes, but at the same thing | :43:17. | :43:21. | |
you're watching your opponent not miss a ball. One or two poor safety | :43:21. | :43:27. | |
shots, but the rest of it has just been a badge of breaks. It is | :43:27. | :43:31. | |
amazing how a one shot can define the entire session and they quickly | :43:31. | :43:35. | |
the match can change around. That one missed position of getting onto | :43:35. | :43:41. | |
the green. He could have finished the session for a fie frames ahead. | :43:41. | :43:45. | |
But the match has been turned and a set now. -- four or five frames | :43:45. | :43:53. | |
ahead. This is where the experience comes in because Mark Allen has | :43:53. | :44:00. | |
been in this situation in longer events at semi-finals. How | :44:00. | :44:04. | |
important roll that prove? He will beat in an awful state coming off | :44:04. | :44:08. | |
the table, thinking he has thrown away the game, but he has time to | :44:08. | :44:15. | |
regroup. That is not enough of a deficit to be a worry. He can come | :44:15. | :44:19. | |
out and fire his engines again for the night-time session, and come | :44:19. | :44:27. | |
out. But it makes it more of a difficult job, being behind. That | :44:28. | :44:35. | |
is a massive frame coming up now. We're sandwiched between the | :44:35. | :44:41. | |
strictly come Dancing and X-factor finals, but if you don't want any | :44:41. | :44:46. | |
of that BBC Two is a place to be, for the semi-final. You're going to | :44:46. | :44:50. | |
have to go some to beat the thunderous conclusion he had to | :44:50. | :44:53. | |
yesterday's semi-final. It is worth reviewing some of this action | :44:53. | :44:58. | |
between Judd Trump and Neil Robertson. We're going to join this | :44:58. | :45:04. | |
in frame ten. Judd Trump is 55 and 4 ahead. He had been ahead most of | :45:04. | :45:07. | |
the way, with the old Robertson playing catch-up in the first | :45:07. | :45:11. | |
session, but this frame produced something of a cliff-hanging | :45:11. | :45:21. | |
:45:21. | :45:38. | ||
From that angle, if he takes the double on, Judd can only sit in his | :45:38. | :45:48. | |
:45:48. | :45:55. | ||
seat and see if Neil can create the Now, where is the black going to | :45:55. | :46:05. | |
:46:05. | :46:05. | ||
finish? He is having the run of the ball at the moment, the Australian. | :46:05. | :46:15. | |
:46:15. | :46:29. | ||
Judd Trump stays in his seat. He No, amazing, the first time he has | :46:29. | :46:39. | |
a go, and misses, he sticks it up. Normally he would pop this black. | :46:39. | :46:49. | |
:46:49. | :46:51. | ||
What a one of the ball new Robertson has had in this frame. -- | :46:51. | :47:01. | |
:47:01. | :47:10. | ||
Just look at the reaction from the Australian. He had two pieces of | :47:10. | :47:13. | |
very good luck. He must be wondering how he ever won that | :47:13. | :47:21. | |
frame, but he has, and he is all square at 5-5. Shades of Peter | :47:21. | :47:25. | |
Ebdon in this their new a few years ago. Neil Robertson was certainly | :47:25. | :47:31. | |
charged up after winning that one. -- in this venue. And it is Judd | :47:31. | :47:40. | |
Trump, the 22 year old, 15 points behind, here. He missed the cannon | :47:40. | :47:46. | |
on the second red. I think it was the pace that swung it past. Must | :47:46. | :47:52. | |
have been. Looked certain to hit the second red. What sort of angle | :47:52. | :47:58. | |
has he got on this yellow? The white is going to arc, if he screws | :47:58. | :48:08. | |
:48:08. | :48:17. | ||
He is looking at the possibility of a plant, and the only reason for | :48:17. | :48:27. | |
:48:27. | :48:27. | ||
doing that to be to play up towards the brown. But that is risky. It is | :48:27. | :48:32. | |
not a bad choice to take the plant on and get the white up behind the | :48:32. | :48:38. | |
brown. The only problem is with the plant, if you get too close to the | :48:39. | :48:45. | |
pocket it might stick in the jaws. That is the best shot, behind the | :48:45. | :48:55. | |
:48:55. | :49:19. | ||
He has played this a little harder than he intended, and with Judd | :49:19. | :49:23. | |
Trump, you cannot afford to leave that cue ball out in the middle of | :49:23. | :49:33. | |
:49:33. | :49:34. | ||
the table. And what about that for an attacking shot? He stunned that | :49:34. | :49:44. | |
:49:44. | :49:45. | ||
into the other red. This is If he can take this frame after | :49:45. | :49:55. | |
:49:55. | :50:00. | ||
what happened in the previous frame, He is straight on the black. What | :50:00. | :50:07. | |
sort of angle has he got on the pink? If he rolls the pink in he | :50:07. | :50:13. | |
has got a good yellow, and does not have much to do in terms of | :50:13. | :50:23. | |
:50:23. | :50:49. | ||
He needs up to, and including, the Having to screw across the table. | :50:49. | :50:57. | |
He can play right handed, Judd Trump. I would not say that he was | :50:57. | :51:01. | |
in the Ronnie Oswell than class, switching hands. But he has played | :51:01. | :51:11. | |
that nicely -- the Ronnie O'Sullivan class. Blue tits in 18 | :51:11. | :51:21. | |
:51:21. | :51:29. | ||
points in front but just 13 He might send this black into the | :51:29. | :51:39. | |
:51:39. | :51:43. | ||
crowd, John. Well, the white! That was a good frame. It is one that | :51:43. | :51:50. | |
Neil Robertson will fuel he had every chance to win. Boy, is this | :51:50. | :51:56. | |
exciting. And in frame 12, Judd Trump went 7-5 in front, first time | :51:56. | :52:03. | |
there had been a two frame swing. Robinson -- Robertson's 49 in the | :52:03. | :52:07. | |
next frame was enough to put him within one frame of Judd Trump | :52:07. | :52:17. | |
:52:17. | :52:30. | ||
Neil Robertson is back looking at the plant. He has caught that other | :52:30. | :52:40. | |
:52:40. | :52:53. | ||
red that the white crashed into as That was a good pot, but maybe not | :52:53. | :53:03. | |
:53:03. | :53:14. | ||
that good, just relieved to see a The only red he looks as if he can | :53:14. | :53:24. | |
:53:24. | :53:27. | ||
get on to is the one to the middle The red goes in the corner with the | :53:27. | :53:37. | |
:53:37. | :54:08. | ||
Interesting choice of shot. He can cut in this, but it is done, | :54:08. | :54:18. | |
:54:18. | :54:19. | ||
thinner than it looks. It takes him into the cluster. It is not bad. He | :54:19. | :54:27. | |
has got one, to the right middle. thought for a moment they were all | :54:27. | :54:33. | |
going to cover each other. All of a sudden that one just emerged close | :54:33. | :54:43. | |
:54:43. | :55:04. | ||
Just making sure he does not cannon That seemed to kick slightly. Which | :55:04. | :55:08. | |
just meant the cue ball did not trouble and finish on the green as | :55:08. | :55:13. | |
he would have liked. He is now looking at the long blue. He didn't | :55:13. | :55:23. | |
:55:23. | :55:24. | ||
play for the blue. At the green is hampering him slightly. He will | :55:24. | :55:34. | |
:55:34. | :55:34. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :55:34. | :56:26. | |
I don't know if the red's are available to the middle but if he | :56:26. | :56:36. | |
:56:36. | :56:51. | ||
With that nicely. -- played that nicely. Has a good chance to build | :56:51. | :57:01. | |
:57:01. | :57:01. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :57:01. | :57:56. | |
We talked about how this match could go all the way before it | :57:56. | :58:01. | |
started. That still might apply. The black having a good clean, | :58:01. | :58:11. | |
:58:11. | :58:11. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :58:11. | :58:54. | |
there, he must a spot of a chalk Neil Robertson calling on all his | :58:54. | :59:04. | |
:59:04. | :59:27. | ||
experience. He has won six world His highest break this evening has | :59:27. | :59:37. | |
:59:37. | :59:37. | ||
been a break of 56. This, coming at just the right time for the | :59:37. | :59:47. | |
:59:47. | :00:25. | ||
62 points in front. Just this red and one colour. The match will be | :00:25. | :00:35. | |
:00:35. | :00:46. | ||
He lost the first two frames of the match and then got it back to 2-2. | :00:46. | :00:56. | |
:00:56. | :01:02. | ||
That no peace and 68 points in That makes it absolutely certain | :01:02. | :01:12. | |
:01:12. | :01:30. | ||
He ran out of position. We have had 29 centuries in the tournament so | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:41. | ||
far. What a shot that was. You will not see a better pot than that. | :01:41. | :01:51. | |
:01:51. | :01:52. | ||
Okay, there was not any pressure on it, but what the shot. Neil has hit | :01:52. | :02:02. | |
:02:02. | :02:17. | ||
two centuries in this tournament. These reds, up one of the in the | :02:17. | :02:27. | |
:02:27. | :02:41. | ||
pot in the bottom left-hand corner. This was a frame that we had the | :02:41. | :02:48. | |
real break, when Judd was in front and the frame developed into a | :02:48. | :02:57. | |
stalemate. No century, but Neil Robertson will not worry about that. | :02:57. | :03:01. | |
That break of 83 is the highest break of the session and it draws | :03:01. | :03:11. | |
:03:11. | :03:13. | ||
And in the next frame, we rejoin it when it is 7-7 that pinpoints as | :03:13. | :03:23. | |
:03:23. | :03:42. | ||
But for Matt kiss on the all, he He just underscrewed it slightly. | :03:42. | :03:52. | |
:03:52. | :03:53. | ||
It would have been perfect had it It has been a bit of a problem for | :03:54. | :04:03. | |
:04:04. | :04:10. | ||
both players. They are both But this is a good recovery, but | :04:10. | :04:20. | |
:04:20. | :04:28. | ||
needs a good case on the brown and Can he get round into that position | :04:28. | :04:36. | |
I mentioned. He may be able to do it. He has come up the other side | :04:36. | :04:40. | |
of the table. There is one red available into the bottom right- | :04:40. | :04:50. | |
:04:50. | :05:03. | ||
Now, he can get the blue ball back With the pink in the open and the | :05:03. | :05:13. | |
:05:13. | :05:14. | ||
blue in the open, this is a good He showed how good he was under | :05:14. | :05:19. | |
pressure in the match against Ronnie O'Sullivan, when it went to | :05:19. | :05:29. | |
:05:29. | :05:29. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :05:29. | :06:10. | |
A delicate little stone and screw shot there. Keep some nicely in | :06:10. | :06:20. | |
:06:20. | :06:24. | ||
There are still a possible 75 points at remaining. Depending on | :06:24. | :06:34. | |
:06:34. | :06:41. | ||
what colours he plays here, he may Let us have a look. 44 points the | :06:41. | :06:49. | |
lead, so red, colour, red, could leave his opponent needing a | :06:49. | :06:59. | |
:06:59. | :06:59. | ||
He does not want to be too straight on that peak. And he could not be | :06:59. | :07:09. | |
:07:09. | :07:13. | ||
He cannot get anywhere close to and red. If he tries to screw it back, | :07:13. | :07:21. | |
he is right in line with the middle pocket. He is going to have to | :07:21. | :07:31. | |
:07:31. | :07:36. | ||
Yes, the pink will put in 51 points in front, but there will still be | :07:36. | :07:44. | |
59 points remaining. Any sort of angle one that the shot and this | :07:44. | :07:48. | |
frame would have been over. He could not have finished in the | :07:48. | :07:58. | |
:07:58. | :08:02. | ||
So, he is going to play the cut down the side cushion or the long | :08:02. | :08:12. | |
:08:12. | :08:29. | ||
And the last thing he wanted was to bring the black in to play. He was | :08:29. | :08:35. | |
a little unlucky. Any sort of angle one that pink and he would | :08:35. | :08:45. | |
:08:45. | :08:47. | ||
certainly have got a lot closer and He is looking for the safety. I | :08:47. | :08:52. | |
thought he could have taken the pot on to the left corner. And he has | :08:52. | :09:02. | |
made an ace of that safety shot. And that red that Judd Trump was | :09:02. | :09:08. | |
looking for is here now. And he is now on the pink. The frame now | :09:08. | :09:16. | |
looks as though it is going to go the way of Judd Trump. Neil | :09:16. | :09:20. | |
Robertson has always been playing catch-up in this match. He has | :09:20. | :09:30. | |
:09:30. | :09:40. | ||
never been in front. He has got to 58 points the lead, 51 points | :09:40. | :09:48. | |
remaining. So, to snookers required, but Judd Trump, quite rightly, not | :09:48. | :09:55. | |
taking anything for granted. But that will definitely mean that Neil | :09:55. | :10:05. | |
:10:05. | :10:05. | ||
Robertson will not be coming back It did not matter about the black. | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
I am sure Neil Robertson will concede. He is having a quick look | :10:11. | :10:18. | |
at the scoreboard. He is 59 behind and there is only 43 remaining. | :10:18. | :10:26. | |
That equates to four snookers. If he does not get them, Judd Trump is | :10:26. | :10:36. | |
:10:36. | :10:38. | ||
He did not get these snookers and Judd Trump is now just one frame | :10:38. | :10:43. | |
away from getting to the final of both the World Championship and the | :10:43. | :10:53. | |
:10:53. | :11:01. | ||
UK Championship in the same here. - I do not believe it. How has that | :11:01. | :11:11. | |
:11:11. | :11:12. | ||
It must be something to do with gravity in York. That is | :11:12. | :11:22. | |
:11:22. | :11:31. | ||
What a chance. That is quite Just a reminder that if it did | :11:31. | :11:41. | |
:11:41. | :11:47. | ||
suddenly drop in, it would be It wobbled and it warbled. And look | :11:47. | :11:57. | |
:11:57. | :12:01. | ||
at Neil Robertson's face. And why This will make the points all | :12:01. | :12:11. | |
:12:11. | :12:19. | ||
square. These remaining reds, with Judd did not know whether to get up | :12:19. | :12:29. | |
:12:29. | :12:34. | ||
out his chair or not. This really There is just the one century break, | :12:34. | :12:44. | |
:12:44. | :12:53. | ||
but some of the frames have been so Neil Robertson simply cannot | :12:53. | :13:02. | |
believe that Greene did not drop. It does not always have to be about | :13:02. | :13:12. | |
:13:12. | :13:18. | ||
tie-breaks to get drama in this To make do not get me wrong, I am | :13:18. | :13:23. | |
sure both players will say afterwards, I did not play my best. | :13:23. | :13:27. | |
Whoever wins will be pleased to just get through and the other will | :13:27. | :13:36. | |
be disappointed with their But would you believe it? He has | :13:36. | :13:46. | |
:13:46. | :13:53. | ||
Amazing. It was never going to be easy. It is going to be tense | :13:53. | :14:02. | |
climax to this free now. But will it be the last frame? That is the | :14:02. | :14:12. | |
:14:12. | :14:18. | ||
Neil has caught three victories against Judd. Judd has but two | :14:18. | :14:28. | |
:14:28. | :14:35. | ||
There is nothing to play behind, with the green over the pocket and | :14:35. | :14:45. | |
:14:45. | :14:55. | ||
he all out of commission. -- the At the moment, you could here a pin | :14:55. | :15:04. | |
drop in the Barbican Centre. The crowd are enthralled in this battle. | :15:04. | :15:10. | |
The reception both players caught when the Keane into the arena was | :15:10. | :15:20. | |
:15:20. | :15:35. | ||
What about that for a pot? Unbelievable. We have watched both | :15:35. | :15:40. | |
players missed relatively easy pot and then he goes and pulls out a | :15:40. | :15:47. | |
shot like that. But has he got the angle to can in one of these reds? | :15:47. | :15:54. | |
I am wondering if he can just run through and flick the second of | :15:54. | :16:04. | |
:16:04. | :16:04. | ||
these reds. If so, that will really Look where it has finished. Can you | :16:04. | :16:14. | |
:16:14. | :16:15. | ||
believe it? What is going to happen If he hits the cushion first, he | :16:15. | :16:25. | |
:16:25. | :16:32. | ||
Is he going to try and get in behind the all off this red. -- the | :16:32. | :16:42. | |
:16:42. | :16:42. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds | :16:42. | :17:42. | |
But he has got the red safe, which It is a straight forward twice | :17:42. | :17:48. | |
across. He just has to be a little careful that the red does not go | :17:48. | :17:57. | |
into the pink. He has played that nicely. How it is the length | :17:57. | :18:06. | |
correct? You bet it is. This is now a tough shot for real to get this | :18:06. | :18:16. | |
:18:16. | :18:17. | ||
Yes, he could push a ball for the pocket. He has got to be very | :18:17. | :18:24. | |
precise. He did push it over that way, but I think the pink has come | :18:25. | :18:34. | |
:18:35. | :18:41. | ||
A little thin shot is required of the side of but one next to the | :18:41. | :18:47. | |
pink. But he has got to be careful he does not catch the other red | :18:47. | :18:57. | |
:18:57. | :19:00. | ||
There was a lot of sidespin on that to make sure he did not get that | :19:00. | :19:09. | |
contact. It went a bit close to the green. Neil is looking to see if | :19:09. | :19:16. | |
there is a possible gap between the black and the red. But what a pot | :19:16. | :19:26. | |
:19:26. | :19:47. | ||
As you say, this would be some pot He is thinking long and hard. He | :19:47. | :19:57. | |
:19:57. | :20:10. | ||
knows that if he does not get it Brilliant! The week went perilously | :20:10. | :20:20. | |
:20:20. | :20:26. | ||
It was absolutely superb. Believe me, if he does not hit that right | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
in the heart of the pocket, he would not have found the gap. But | :20:31. | :20:41. | |
:20:41. | :20:49. | ||
it is not going to be easy to get The difference in the frame is now | :20:49. | :20:59. | |
:20:59. | :21:04. | ||
He could have played that a bit better. He wanted the thinner | :21:04. | :21:14. | |
:21:14. | :21:17. | ||
contact. If he had done it, the shot would not be available to Judd. | :21:17. | :21:27. | |
:21:27. | :21:40. | ||
What any for that was. -- what an He has hit that too thick. The pink | :21:40. | :21:50. | |
:21:50. | :22:01. | ||
Just looking at it, the all is going to be at key ball here. -- | :22:01. | :22:11. | |
:22:11. | :22:26. | ||
In it goes. A fabulous pot. I think the red is available. He could not | :22:26. | :22:35. | |
have played that much better. As you said earlier, the yellow ball | :22:35. | :22:45. | |
:22:45. | :22:46. | ||
is the key to this frame and the Although he is the left-hander, we | :22:46. | :22:56. | |
:22:56. | :22:59. | ||
know that he can play right handed. The brown is likely in the way. | :22:59. | :23:09. | |
Neil can just sit and wait. He has got a slight angle, so if he screws | :23:09. | :23:19. | |
:23:19. | :23:23. | ||
back, it could take the cue ball 14 points ahead - yellow, green and | :23:23. | :23:33. | |
:23:33. | :23:45. | ||
It is safely in the pocket. These two boys have given us a | :23:45. | :23:55. | |
:23:55. | :24:02. | ||
fascinating semi-final. Just the The crowd erupted here at the | :24:02. | :24:06. | |
Barbican Centre. Both players have Hardy terrific reception from this | :24:06. | :24:15. | |
crowd. Judd Trump must be absolutely delighted inside. He | :24:15. | :24:23. | |
misses the pink, but that does not matter. It is Judd Trump who goes | :24:23. | :24:33. | |
:24:33. | :24:45. | ||
through to his first ever UK final. It was a bit scrappy in the | :24:45. | :24:52. | |
afternoon. This evening, I think the standard was better. The | :24:52. | :24:56. | |
pressure was building a bit and I think both of us were just trying | :24:56. | :25:04. | |
to fall over the line. I played a pretty good game in that I was | :25:04. | :25:08. | |
leaving him shots that he may be was not comfortable with. But I was | :25:08. | :25:15. | |
not able to make the most of my chances. I lost control of the cue | :25:15. | :25:19. | |
ball and just put myself under pressure and started second- | :25:19. | :25:28. | |
guessing myself. It has topped off a great ear for me. Having reached | :25:28. | :25:33. | |
the World Championship final and now the UK Championship final and | :25:33. | :25:38. | |
although I am not playing my best snooker, I am managing to scrap it | :25:38. | :25:48. | |
:25:48. | :25:49. | ||
out. In what departments of the game was the one and lost? Yes, as | :25:49. | :25:53. | |
Neil said, he was giving itself the opportunities, but just could not | :25:53. | :26:00. | |
score as heavily as he needed to. It was not a grey standard quality | :26:00. | :26:05. | |
wise, but it did just show was the type of shots that these guys can | :26:05. | :26:14. | |
play. The cue power that they have got is amazing. And that last break | :26:14. | :26:21. | |
that Judd made was fantastic. There was some terrific pot. It was not | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
the best quality, but if he can play like that when you're not | :26:24. | :26:33. | |
playing at your best, it says a lot. Yes, there were only four or breaks | :26:33. | :26:39. | |
over 50 from Judd Trump in this match, which is very low compared | :26:39. | :26:46. | |
to what we have seen for of been in the rest of the tournament? Yes, he | :26:46. | :26:54. | |
will be actually very happy with that. As he said, he showed that he | :26:54. | :27:04. | |
:27:04. | :27:06. | ||
can tough it out. I think the crowd are very much behind Judd Trump and | :27:06. | :27:15. | |
the love to watch him play. He is a very brave player. And if that is | :27:16. | :27:20. | |
his level of scrapping, at the other players have to beware. | :27:20. | :27:24. | |
Because if he matures in the next couple of years, he is going to be | :27:24. | :27:32. | |
very hard to knock off the table. Now, we will find out who will join | :27:32. | :27:37. | |
him in the final in the final session this evening. For those of | :27:37. | :27:47. | |
:27:47. | :27:50. | ||
you coming in, the match largely came down to this one shot. As you | :27:50. | :27:55. | |
can see, Mark Allen had a chance to court for one ahead but fell the | :27:55. | :28:02. | |
wrong side of the screen and ultimately, ended up losing the | :28:02. | :28:12. | |
session 5-3. Yes, he has to win three out of the first four frames. | :28:12. | :28:20. |