:00:33. > :00:38.Hello, the Christmas shopping can wait as far as we are concerned.
:00:39. > :00:42.Here in York we started out 12 days ago in the williamhill.com United
:00:43. > :00:44.Kingdom championship with a flurry of activity on eight tables
:00:45. > :00:50.scattered throughout the Barbican Centre. Now it is all about events
:00:51. > :00:55.on that table. Today we find out who will join the world number one Neil
:00:56. > :00:58.Robertson in tomorrow's final. Will it be the defending champion Mark
:00:59. > :01:02.Selby, who lifted the trophy 12 months ago, or will it be a man we
:01:03. > :01:05.are growing more used to seeing in the later stages of major snooker
:01:06. > :01:19.events like these, Chester Kumar Ricky Walden? Take your pick. --
:01:20. > :01:22.Chester cue man Ricky Walden. I have got to take a lot of positives, we
:01:23. > :01:30.are down to the one table situation now. It is my second semifinal. I
:01:31. > :01:33.lost two Mark Allen, hopefully I can go one better this time and get to
:01:34. > :01:40.the final. It is everything you play for as a kid and as a pro. These are
:01:41. > :01:44.the times you want to cherish. Me and Mark have known each other for a
:01:45. > :01:49.long time, playing since the junior days. He has won so many
:01:50. > :01:55.tournaments, being in the number one spot, he is the ultimate pro. I have
:01:56. > :01:59.got my work cut out, he is a fantastic player. I think he has got
:02:00. > :02:03.a great all-round game. He scores very well, very heavy, very quickly.
:02:04. > :02:13.His safety is good, he has not got many weaknesses. You put in your
:02:14. > :02:16.day's practice, then you have to go and play high-pressure snooker, so
:02:17. > :02:22.it does take its toll but you are glad to be in the tournament, having
:02:23. > :02:25.a shot at the trophy. It has been a long season so I am sure everyone
:02:26. > :02:30.will be glad when Christmas comes around so we can have a rest and put
:02:31. > :02:34.the cue away for a couple of weeks. We could get a few more clues about
:02:35. > :02:37.the second semifinal from their previous matches.
:02:38. > :02:41.Selby has won seven out of ten in the most significant events, most
:02:42. > :02:45.recently in Beijing in the spring. But Walden, who reached The Crucible
:02:46. > :02:51.semifinal this year as well, beat the Leicester pro at this stage en
:02:52. > :02:59.route to the first of his two major titles a few years ago. Imagine over
:03:00. > :03:03.17 sessions stretches for them now. The shops are packs everywhere so
:03:04. > :03:08.why not settle down with us this afternoon? Bob Walker is about to
:03:09. > :03:12.get started. -- Rob Walker. We know the world
:03:13. > :03:17.number one will be in tomorrow's showdown, but who will be joining
:03:18. > :03:21.him? Good afternoon and welcome to the semifinal Saturday here at the
:03:22. > :03:24.williamhill.com UK Snooker championship! And absolutely
:03:25. > :03:35.cracking atmosphere here, and it should be an epic encounter.
:03:36. > :03:41.Please welcome a player who has had a superb run here at the Barbican.
:03:42. > :03:44.He has beaten former world champion Mark Williams, the inform Ding
:03:45. > :03:50.Junhui, and former finalist Mark Allen en route to the last four.
:03:51. > :03:51.Aiming for his first ranking event final on British soil, from
:03:52. > :04:18.Flintshire, Ricky Walden! And his opponent, a player who, this
:04:19. > :04:21.week, has been the comeback king, three times recovering in matches
:04:22. > :04:25.where he seemed down and out. He is one of the most colourful characters
:04:26. > :04:30.on the circuit, bidding for his second successive UK final, he is
:04:31. > :04:31.the defending champion, here comes the Jester from Leicester, Mark
:04:32. > :04:53.Selby! Eight friends to play in the opening
:04:54. > :04:58.session this afternoon and we are in good company today in the shape of
:04:59. > :05:01.two former world champions, Stephen Hendry and Dennis Taylor. Here they
:05:02. > :05:06.are, a difficult one to call, gentlemen, isn't it?
:05:07. > :05:12.It certainly is, Hazel. Good afternoon, everyone. Ricky Walden
:05:13. > :05:21.won the toss and will break. The first frame, Ricky Walden to
:05:22. > :05:34.break. Off we go, then, for the second
:05:35. > :05:39.semifinal, and if it is anything like the first semifinal we are in
:05:40. > :05:43.for an absolute treat. I think I got a little bit excited last night with
:05:44. > :05:53.the comeback from Stuart Bingham. It was unbelievable, Stephen a
:05:54. > :05:57.fantastic performance. Bringing the match back, he looked dead and
:05:58. > :05:59.buried at 8-3. All credit to the world number one for holding himself
:06:00. > :06:21.together in the final frame. Has not been at his best in the
:06:22. > :06:26.defence of his title but, I will tell you what, he has hung in there,
:06:27. > :06:36.Mark Selby, and seems to play his best snooker when he is under
:06:37. > :06:42.pressure. I think I commentated, since Davis, almost, he is one of
:06:43. > :06:50.the best I have seen at being able to get results when he is nowhere
:06:51. > :06:56.near his best. Davies always had a fantastic B and C game that would
:06:57. > :07:03.always getting through. -- that would always get him through. A
:07:04. > :07:14.little bit short with the safety shot so the first chance falling to
:07:15. > :07:21.Ricky Walden. One of the nicest in the game, Ricky Walden. Lives in
:07:22. > :07:24.Chester. He is from North Wales, only a matter of eight or nine miles
:07:25. > :07:44.from Chester. Good pots but too hard and not on
:07:45. > :07:50.the back. A very busy player around the table, as we show you this pot.
:07:51. > :07:59.He is always wandering around the table, Ricky. He does like a walk.
:08:00. > :08:12.He chokes is cue more than anyone I have ever known, just a mannerism he
:08:13. > :08:16.has. -- chalks his cue. It will be interesting to see how he does, he
:08:17. > :08:21.seemed to run out of steam and little bit in his last match, so it
:08:22. > :08:25.will be interesting to see how he copes today. He was leading Barry
:08:26. > :08:35.Hawkins by four frames and he let it slip.
:08:36. > :08:49.It was not all down to Ricky's form, Barry Hawkins came back very strong
:08:50. > :08:51.in that game. Another chance at a long pot, a type of shot he is very
:08:52. > :09:05.good at. He would knock that shot in eight or
:09:06. > :09:16.nine times out of ten, but this is not the practice table.
:09:17. > :09:39.That side view shows you how long the table is.
:09:40. > :09:45.Right in the centre of the pocket and he has got a possible brown hair
:09:46. > :09:47.and could go twice across the table and finish on the reds near the
:09:48. > :10:02.cushion. If you roll is the brown in he might
:10:03. > :10:12.be able to get somewhere near the line to drop on those reds. -- if he
:10:13. > :10:20.rolls the brown. This is much more difficult.
:10:21. > :10:28.He is looking at the red at the back, that goes and was probably a
:10:29. > :10:32.better red to play on. He just was a little bit too hard there. This is
:10:33. > :10:39.an aggressive shot early in the match.
:10:40. > :10:49.I thought he was going to go into the pack there, he was able to play
:10:50. > :10:53.that with a degree of safety. He would have taken the other red if he
:10:54. > :10:54.had not been so close to the cushion, it would have opened the
:10:55. > :11:39.bunch. Just looking to see if he plays the
:11:40. > :11:44.safety, will he not a red over the left corner? It looks to me a four
:11:45. > :11:45.ball plant would send the red towards the corner pocket which is
:11:46. > :11:55.why he is not playing off the bunch. Quite a few safety shots that have
:11:56. > :12:13.not been to his usual standard. He would like to follow through with
:12:14. > :12:18.this red and get the black to the centre circle but I don't know if he
:12:19. > :12:45.has got the angle for the shot. It is understandable to miss those
:12:46. > :13:20.shots in the opening frame. This is the first time they have
:13:21. > :13:24.played on this table since we went to the one table setup, New Cross,
:13:25. > :13:36.so it might take a few shots to get used to the speed. -- a new cloth.
:13:37. > :13:44.He can have a free shot at this red into the right corner. It would be a
:13:45. > :14:06.nice one to look in. He wanted to be further past the
:14:07. > :14:08.brown said that he could take the black and go into the reds but he
:14:09. > :14:24.looks pretty straight on the black. He is straight on the black. All he
:14:25. > :14:29.can do is bring the white back in a straight line and if he screws back
:14:30. > :14:46.he might just miss the middle pocket. Only just. He does hit those
:14:47. > :14:52.shots really, really well. That was great cueing. An exact straight
:14:53. > :14:59.line. Any trace of side and he would have hit the green or the brown.
:15:00. > :15:06.Yes, a lovely shot to watch. You have got to hit the cue ball right
:15:07. > :15:13.down the bottom, six o'clock if you were imagining a clock face. We can
:15:14. > :15:18.show you that. That is where you strike it, right down at the bottom,
:15:19. > :15:29.push the cue through and watched that ball stop and then the backspin
:15:30. > :15:33.takes. It keeps coming back. I don't know who made the shot but it wasn't
:15:34. > :15:42.the greatest you action in the world there.
:15:43. > :15:53.That was my good self. I did know it was you. I note you did. The cue
:15:54. > :16:03.action that gave you seven world titles. Not too bad.
:16:04. > :16:18.I was thinking about the black that Walden missed earlier. Those things
:16:19. > :16:49.linger in the back of your mind. He has caught that one very thick.
:16:50. > :16:57.Your macros just talking about settling down in an open frame.
:16:58. > :17:08.Stephen Davis was amazing the way he won the open frame. He did that
:17:09. > :17:15.throughout the 80s. -- Steve Davis. That helped to take into six UK
:17:16. > :17:21.titles and then, yourself, you came along in the 1990s. You would get in
:17:22. > :17:28.with a big break in the opening frame. It is so important, even in a
:17:29. > :17:33.long match, to stamp your authority as quickly as possible. If Walden
:17:34. > :17:35.loses this first round, the black will stick in his mind. The first
:17:36. > :18:18.decent chance in this frame. My target would always be to win the
:18:19. > :18:21.first session 6-2. If you have a figure in your mind, it is amazing
:18:22. > :18:35.how it focuses you. He had a quick look to see if there
:18:36. > :18:52.was another red available. He has plenty of tube power.
:18:53. > :19:02.The white stops and all of a sudden, it picks up pace and spins back
:19:03. > :19:06.through the reds. Both these layers are whether the sixth tool and it
:19:07. > :19:11.comes in handy for this type of shock. -- six foot tall. -- this
:19:12. > :19:36.type of shot. Just about OK. Another three or four
:19:37. > :19:50.inches and it would have been perfect.
:19:51. > :20:05.That was the shot. -- that was a poor shot.
:20:06. > :20:14.From being perfect, he has lost the tube all all of a sudden. You'll
:20:15. > :20:19.accurately could do with this blue being able to pass the red. He is
:20:20. > :20:59.just about OK. I don't know if he is finding this
:21:00. > :21:04.table slower than the one he played on in the quarterfinal, but he seems
:21:05. > :21:45.to be underhitting quite a few shots.
:21:46. > :22:28.This is how Mark played against Barry Hawkins in his comeback to win
:22:29. > :22:50.that match. The players are just dropping behind
:22:51. > :23:06.the yellow. He has played to move it. That could
:23:07. > :23:15.be the end of rake unless he doubles back the yellow.
:23:16. > :23:31.No double. Mark Selby takes the opening frame. We are in good
:23:32. > :23:37.company in this Judeo, we have to world champions. Your observations
:23:38. > :23:47.about Mark Selby, generally, through this tournament? His ability to win
:23:48. > :23:50.is phenomenal. He was joking yesterday and Steve said it was only
:23:51. > :23:57.77 and he said, if I made 77 where it matters. You will see a lot of
:23:58. > :24:02.60s, 70s, he is not quite doing what he did back in 2008 where he was
:24:03. > :24:11.making 100 clearances every time but it is very perfect. due nicknamed
:24:12. > :24:19.him the Hoover. 100 breaks all the time. His style has changed over the
:24:20. > :24:21.last five years. He has great matchplay instincts and survival
:24:22. > :24:25.instinct. I have commentated on a few of his matches this week and he
:24:26. > :24:31.hasn't played well at all but he keeps beating these top players. He
:24:32. > :24:38.keeps coming back, stick thin then bash there, and eventually, your
:24:39. > :24:43.form starts to go at some stage. We haven't seen the best of him yet. He
:24:44. > :24:48.is in the semifinal and he is still there. Why his own admission, he won
:24:49. > :24:53.this event and the Masters playing what he called his B game. I don't
:24:54. > :25:05.think he has hit the high scores yet. In 2008 and 2010, I thought he
:25:06. > :25:16.was the nominal. -- I thought he was phenomenal. He is right in the
:25:17. > :25:17.semifinal, 1-0. He has such a good all-round game, Mark, his tactical
:25:18. > :25:25.game is excellent. No value in taking the pot on there
:25:26. > :25:44.because the black is tied up. There is no point in playing your
:25:45. > :25:46.best snooker in the first round, the whole idea is to get better as the
:25:47. > :26:33.tournament goes on. Mark has won three ranking titles.
:26:34. > :26:35.And Neil Robertson, who is waiting on the winner of this semifinal, he
:26:36. > :27:06.has won eight ranking titles. Ricky Walden has one two ranking
:27:07. > :27:12.titles, one in China. 2008, the Shanghai Masters. And in 2012. So,
:27:13. > :27:23.he is quite capable. But he works so hard, Ricky Walden,
:27:24. > :27:28.he practices so hard, he deserves everything he gets out of the game.
:27:29. > :27:39.He has been getting to the business end of the big tournaments.
:27:40. > :27:45.I was given to say he had to pull his socks up but he was tying his
:27:46. > :28:01.laces. He put everything into the pot
:28:02. > :28:13.there. Sacrificed the safety side of it. It is a tricky brown.
:28:14. > :28:23.He was never going to be able to control the tube all.
:28:24. > :28:35.-- cue ball. That was a lot better shot than it looked. It looked like
:28:36. > :28:38.a simple straight pot to the middle but he had to pinch a little bit of
:28:39. > :28:55.the pocket to create the angle for the follow-through.
:28:56. > :29:46.He has been around a long time. He has been world number one.
:29:47. > :29:50.Moving that read away from the black. Moving it as soon as possible
:29:51. > :30:21.will be his priority. He won three Masters titles to mark
:30:22. > :30:26.and they are more difficult to win than ranking events because you have
:30:27. > :31:02.the top 16 players. There is always one of the big three.
:31:03. > :31:25.He seems to be cueing very well though in this match.
:31:26. > :31:33.You could see the focus there, Mark Selby, just looking at his eyes. He
:31:34. > :31:37.does move around slightly on the shot with his head, but that is
:31:38. > :31:42.something he has always done. But look at those eyes, back and
:31:43. > :31:49.forwards, from the cue ball to the object ball, then just on the object
:31:50. > :31:53.ball before delivering the cue. Looking to see what will happen if
:31:54. > :31:57.he goes into the bunch. It does not have to but he has got a good angle
:31:58. > :32:06.on the pink to bring quite a few of them into play. He hit it easy
:32:07. > :32:10.because there was a red heading towards the corner and it has gone
:32:11. > :32:12.slightly wrong. Those three balls, if he had hit it any harder, he
:32:13. > :32:27.would have knocked a red in. He does have a gap between the bunch
:32:28. > :32:34.of reds and the black to steer the cue ball through. The way he is
:32:35. > :32:36.lining up there, he may be playing a screw shot into the bunch, screwing
:32:37. > :33:02.the cue ball back to the blue. What a fabulous shot that is, not
:33:03. > :33:04.only to part the red button created the backspin and open the web like
:33:05. > :33:21.that -- open the pack like that. I think when you take the risk like
:33:22. > :33:23.that, you deserve the run of the ball and he got the run of the ball
:33:24. > :33:44.with the cannon on the blue there. I know it is early days in this
:33:45. > :33:47.semifinal, but it is the sharpest he has looked throughout this
:33:48. > :33:51.tournament. As you said, Stephen, he is doing it at the business end of
:33:52. > :34:25.the tournament, saving the best for last.
:34:26. > :34:52.Ricky is having the cue ball cleaned. I did not detect a heavy
:34:53. > :34:59.contact, he got a slight kick. Anyway, Ricky, you have got a chance
:35:00. > :35:03.that you did not think you would have. Have a look at this, it is
:35:04. > :35:09.hard to tell. It did not jump, did it?
:35:10. > :35:13.This is the trickiest of the reds and after this they are perfect
:35:14. > :35:24.replaced. -- perfectly placed. This would be a confidence booster,
:35:25. > :35:49.if he could pinch this frame. He had a choice of reds, looked at
:35:50. > :35:54.the want of the other corner but has come back to this. -- at the one to
:35:55. > :36:17.the other corner. Very fluent in amongst the pink and
:36:18. > :36:19.black, Ricky Walden. Almost every judge, brings the tip of the cue
:36:20. > :36:38.back to his hand. He is a very elegant player for such
:36:39. > :36:42.a tall lad. He has got his own little mannerism, a bit like Mark
:36:43. > :36:47.King, bends both legs are most players keep the back leg straight
:36:48. > :36:49.but he is more comfortable playing that way. You won't see it here
:36:50. > :37:09.because he has got the rest. I always think in a long frame match
:37:10. > :37:15.it is the frames that you should not win but you pinch that are important
:37:16. > :37:20.over 17 frames. Ricky would have been resigned to be two hyphens the
:37:21. > :37:40.road down a few minutes ago. -- to be two hyphens zero.
:37:41. > :37:52.I still don't know whether he got a slight heavy contact there. I think
:37:53. > :37:56.it was just a careless one. Both players will have their own
:37:57. > :38:08.nightmare blacks that they have missed in the first two friends. --
:38:09. > :38:12.two frames. The only ball that is a little awkward is the green, and it
:38:13. > :38:18.is not too badly placed. The fact that the yellow is off its pot makes
:38:19. > :38:21.it slightly more difficult. I say that because getting an angle on the
:38:22. > :38:50.yellow to get to the green... He owned the screw that. --
:38:51. > :38:52.overscrewed. He has got to get this spot on to give himself a chance to
:38:53. > :39:04.get on the green. A long way from the yellow but he
:39:05. > :39:09.will automatically stored over behind the green here if he plays
:39:10. > :39:16.the shot correctly. He could win the frame with this shot.
:39:17. > :39:35.Where will the cue ball finish? He got away with it, I think. It was
:39:36. > :39:38.the position onto the blue that caused the problem, wasn't it? It
:39:39. > :39:42.was a poor shot to leave himself the wrong end of the group. -- of the
:39:43. > :40:22.blue. You see, that is a terrific shot. I
:40:23. > :40:26.think you would have to say, Stephen, he has got to be probably
:40:27. > :40:32.the best tactician at the moment in the game. Yes, definitely up there
:40:33. > :40:38.in the top two all three. That shot was a lot better than it looked. He
:40:39. > :40:39.could not keep the cue ball tight but he got the object ball, the
:40:40. > :41:24.yellow, very safe. I don't think he is taking a pot on
:41:25. > :41:38.here. No value in it by the green is. -- where the green is.
:41:39. > :41:44.He has blocked the escape route down the right side of the table, which
:41:45. > :41:48.would be the easier one. You would have to swerve around the black to
:41:49. > :41:55.make the angle. If he goes the left side of the table, squeezes it
:41:56. > :41:58.around the yellow, I think he is contemplating swerving around the
:41:59. > :42:05.black to hit the question and then the yellow. -- to hit the question.
:42:06. > :42:09.He has got to get past the middle pocket.
:42:10. > :42:24.It is not all that bad. It will cut into the middle pocket but he ball
:42:25. > :42:35.cannon into the blue, which would not be a lot of use to mark. -- to
:42:36. > :42:54.Mark . He did not play as good a safety
:42:55. > :43:03.shut. He has left it pot to the right centre. Not easy to get a good
:43:04. > :43:07.angle on the green. I tell you what, Stephen, Ricky would be delighted to
:43:08. > :43:13.see that pink going on the side cushion, that is to his advantage.
:43:14. > :43:36.Mark unintentionally knocked it there.
:43:37. > :43:49.He still needs the green, the brown, and the blue.
:43:50. > :43:58.Mark all need all the colours. -- will need all the colours. This
:43:59. > :44:26.looks pretty good. Terrific shot. Can he hit the green, can he knocked
:44:27. > :44:32.it saves? -- knock it safe? No matter how good you are, you need a
:44:33. > :44:42.bit of luck to knock these safe. But he hit that beautifully... He has
:44:43. > :44:49.brought the pink back into play. That could not have worked out any
:44:50. > :44:54.better. The perfect shot there. Ricky Walden raising his eyebrows. A
:44:55. > :45:12.great hit on the green to bring the paint off. -- to bring the pink off.
:45:13. > :45:41.He was just looking to see if he can hit it and send the cream off that
:45:42. > :45:59.cushion. -- the green. That would be his plan, to double it
:46:00. > :46:11.back up and missed the pink. -- miss the pink.
:46:12. > :46:17.Can he get himself onto the round? It won't be easy. He might have to
:46:18. > :46:33.use the rest here. He is slightly hampered by the pink
:46:34. > :46:41.so he will be aiming down the cue ball here. It is sometimes hard to
:46:42. > :46:42.create the angle, it is not an automatic positional shot, it is
:46:43. > :47:09.tough. Where is that cue ball going? It
:47:10. > :47:17.needs to pull up a little bit. It will not be an easy brown now. If he
:47:18. > :47:36.pops the brown, it will put him 18 on front with 18 in the table.
:47:37. > :48:00.Maybe he got a heavy contact here. I can't believe Ricky would miss the
:48:01. > :48:08.pot by that much. The brown jumped a mile there. That was unlucky. It is
:48:09. > :48:18.quite close to the brown. It makes the pot into the left corner quite
:48:19. > :48:21.difficult to judge. If he plays little screw shot, looking at the
:48:22. > :48:29.angle, the white will be heading towards the pocket of the pink.
:48:30. > :48:48.He is going to get the extension to stop him using the rest. He might be
:48:49. > :49:29.able to pull this off. He played the percentages there and
:49:30. > :49:39.felt it wasn't worth the risk on the brown. This is a good shot. He will
:49:40. > :49:51.take that. Does he risk playing the snooker
:49:52. > :49:54.here, Stephen? If he can play at full in the face, he will play the
:49:55. > :50:20.snooker. That was a drag shot, he hit the
:50:21. > :50:23.white on the bottom, you can hit it a bit harder and take the pace out
:50:24. > :50:26.of the shot and it gives you to control. -- it gives you better
:50:27. > :51:07.control. That slows the all up. It stops the
:51:08. > :51:17.ball and all of a sudden it goes forward. Amazing.
:51:18. > :51:38.He seems to hit that very hard. He has knocked a few long ones in.
:51:39. > :51:43.Earlier, for the first and second frame but he didn't get close to
:51:44. > :51:56.that. A great chance for Ricky. Oh, he had fitted to thin. How can you
:51:57. > :51:57.overcome that? -- overcut that? Amazing. It didn't look possible to
:51:58. > :52:28.hit that too thin. It shouldn't be a problem getting on
:52:29. > :52:49.the pink by potting the blue. Well, that was much easier than the
:52:50. > :52:53.brown. A bit of tension creeping in in the second frame. Mark mumbling
:52:54. > :53:11.him -- await to himself. Although it is the best of 17,
:53:12. > :53:23.psychologically, this is such a frame. -- such a big frame. We have
:53:24. > :53:27.seen it a few times this week with Mark Selby where he is cruising in
:53:28. > :53:33.the first frame, and then he has missed an easy ball and all of a
:53:34. > :53:38.sudden, it is like his focus, his concentration has left him. Now, he
:53:39. > :53:45.doesn't look comfortable at all out there. Well, he has hit that all
:53:46. > :53:53.wrong. But having said that, the white is close to the cushion. And
:53:54. > :54:10.this will need extremely good during -- but cueing.
:54:11. > :54:17.No, he cued across that. He didn't push the cue through in a straight
:54:18. > :54:25.line. You can see the backhand coming
:54:26. > :54:57.slightly to the right. Some early tension in this
:54:58. > :55:10.semifinal. Coming up to the half hour and counting.
:55:11. > :55:15.That is a pretty good shot. Normally, you try and get the object
:55:16. > :55:53.ball safe but that time, he concentrated on the cue ball.
:55:54. > :56:02.That is pretty good. yes, they have been missing some hot spot the
:56:03. > :56:15.standard of safety has been pretty good. -- missing some pops.
:56:16. > :56:58.The blue needed to keep going. If he puts the trace of the side on the
:56:59. > :57:03.right, it will head to the left side of the table and Ricky knows that
:57:04. > :57:19.one but pot and he could be 2-0 behind.
:57:20. > :57:25.He has a slight angle on the pink but it will still need a good shot
:57:26. > :57:29.to get back up to the black. He has plenty of cue power but this will
:57:30. > :57:40.need a good one. He will have to run it around with lots of top spin. The
:57:41. > :57:55.cube will be going towards the green pocket.
:57:56. > :58:06.That was a pretty good effort. not easy, though. Little tester. Ricky
:58:07. > :58:29.Mr pink. That plays such a big part. If you
:58:30. > :58:32.play shots that and you miss it, and you don't put the black up, it
:58:33. > :58:55.doesn't half make a difference. He has less -- he has left the shot
:58:56. > :59:28.on to be played around the middle cushion.
:59:29. > :59:38.He decided to play it on to the top cushion. I am not sure about that
:59:39. > :59:47.shot. It has been a long second frame. But if Ricky Walden can sneak
:59:48. > :59:57.this in, he will be most relieved. Mark has a little wry smile there.
:59:58. > :00:08.Can you believe it? Psychologically, that will be a bit of a blow for
:00:09. > :00:23.Ricky Walden. The easiest of blacks, both players
:00:24. > :00:27.missing their opportunity there. Mark Selby will be absolutely
:00:28. > :00:34.delighted. He goes into a two hyphens zero lead.
:00:35. > :00:38.It is only frame two and very twitchy out there already! An
:00:39. > :00:43.unbelievable frame. Mark Selby played a terrible shot on the black.
:00:44. > :00:48.Ricky Walden had a chance to clean up, I don't know how long ago, half
:00:49. > :00:54.an hour ago! It goes to show how important it is, such a simple shot.
:00:55. > :00:58.He had the rest, the last red, anywhere low on the blue to go back
:00:59. > :01:02.up for the yellow and it is frame over. He has given himself so much
:01:03. > :01:11.aggravation for the last 20 odd minutes of that frame. The frame was
:01:12. > :01:16.all over. What has that frame told us about the way that both men are
:01:17. > :01:21.playing in this much? We talked about Selby, he missed a couple of
:01:22. > :01:25.blacks, a couple of shots there, even the Blackie played, the safety
:01:26. > :01:30.shot that let Ricky Walden leave the ball in the jaws of the pocket, was
:01:31. > :01:36.a terrible shot. He looks devoid of any confidence. He missed a simple
:01:37. > :01:40.black early in the frame. Ricky Walden, he will be so frustrated
:01:41. > :01:44.losing that frame, honestly. Because, clearly, Mark Selby is
:01:45. > :01:49.struggling a bit with his frame and yet Worden is two hyphens zero down
:01:50. > :01:55.already! That is the nature of it, sometimes you can play fantastically
:01:56. > :02:00.and still come out to -2 and wonder what has happened. I bet he cannot
:02:01. > :02:05.believe how many chances he has had. One of the talking points is the
:02:06. > :02:09.fact that Ricky is only in his second UK semifinal. How different a
:02:10. > :02:13.player has he come in the two years since he was asked at this point? He
:02:14. > :02:17.could have been in the final of the World Championships this year, he
:02:18. > :02:22.has been playing full of confidence. When he gets in, he has a lovely,
:02:23. > :02:26.free-flowing style. At that will have knocked the stuffing out of
:02:27. > :02:32.him, he needs to get his first frame on the board very, very quickly. You
:02:33. > :02:36.get very, very nervous and that is what will happen. At some point,
:02:37. > :02:43.Mark Selby will not miss all of the balls that he is taking. You cannot
:02:44. > :02:52.play without a cue ball! He is good, but not that good! I think we
:02:53. > :03:00.will have two give him a new nickname.
:03:01. > :03:04.DENNIS: That was quite funny, one of the best referees in the game and he
:03:05. > :03:06.left the white ball in the pocket at the end of the table! You need the
:03:07. > :03:34.white to play this game, Paul! That tells you that the second frame
:03:35. > :03:38.has boosted the confidence of Mark Selby, he has just knocked in a very
:03:39. > :03:42.good long pot, found the gap on the green and in a couple of shots he
:03:43. > :03:52.could be amongst the reds near the black.
:03:53. > :03:58.Too far for the one to the left, not far enough for the one to the
:03:59. > :04:12.right. He may be able to sneak this and put it. -- snick this and pot
:04:13. > :04:14.it. Four friends to be played in this little mini session before the
:04:15. > :04:38.mid-session interval -- four frames. He almost missed that red, he hit
:04:39. > :04:52.this very poorly. Still building, but he does not look
:04:53. > :05:09.as confident as he might be. I don't know if he can play a
:05:10. > :05:17.delicate screw shot to get around the black? It depends on the angle.
:05:18. > :05:22.He did not have the angle to do that, so he needs a good kiss now on
:05:23. > :05:39.the blue. He has not had it. He felt it was a bit too narrow to
:05:40. > :06:10.try to hold for the black. This will be a tester, a medium
:06:11. > :06:11.length pot, just off straight. It normally tells you how well you
:06:12. > :06:55.arguing, this type of shot. Paul just checking whether the pink
:06:56. > :07:04.would spot, if not it has to go behind the reds. He will have to win
:07:05. > :07:08.this frame in one visit, Mark Selby. He struggled over the line in that
:07:09. > :07:13.last frame after being in a commanding position at the start of
:07:14. > :07:19.the frame. Winning this frame in one visit would get his focus back. And
:07:20. > :07:35.it would get him three hyphens zero in front.
:07:36. > :07:45.He has still got a possible pot to the left corner. The white stop
:07:46. > :08:10.us... Look at the art he hit on that. -- the arc.
:08:11. > :08:45.That was a great shot, finding the gap between the pack and the black.
:08:46. > :08:52.Last frame lasted 35 and a half minutes, almost. This one will not
:08:53. > :09:07.take too long. We have only been going six minutes.
:09:08. > :09:13.He may not be able to play the cannon, he will have to unscrew back
:09:14. > :09:26.of the cushion with a bit of left-hand side.
:09:27. > :09:50.Slightly harder than he intended to hit it.
:09:51. > :10:13.Too much pace, but he was not in the centre of the pocket anyway. But he
:10:14. > :10:19.has got away with it, I think. The red next to the green, I am not sure
:10:20. > :10:21.he can see enough of that to pot. Nothing in that bunch of reds that
:10:22. > :11:28.goes, I don't think. I bet he is pleased to see that red
:11:29. > :11:29.coming back and hitting the bunch. It could have easily come back over
:11:30. > :11:48.the right corner pocket. Not even sure whether he fully
:11:49. > :11:49.committed to the planned there if you look at where the cue ball
:11:50. > :12:12.finished. A very good shot. Excellent shot. He
:12:13. > :12:16.has given himself a chance. He knew if he knocks that in he could finish
:12:17. > :12:17.on the blue, and he finished absolutely plumb on it to cannon
:12:18. > :12:37.into the reds. He is not happy, that was not a good
:12:38. > :12:43.shot. He needed to get into the gap. Just that gap between the five reds,
:12:44. > :12:46.he needed to get into there. Full ball compact on the red was never
:12:47. > :12:48.going to be good. You could say he was unlucky, but that was a poor
:12:49. > :13:17.shot. Yes, the cannon that he wanted, as
:13:18. > :13:21.Stephen said, was into that gap, it would have open all five balls up,
:13:22. > :13:27.and he hit the want of the left of the line full ball. -- he hit the
:13:28. > :14:01.one to the left of the line full ball.
:14:02. > :14:21.Not easy just to roll to a red to leave it safe. Having to give this
:14:22. > :14:24.plenty of thought. If he tries to get up the end of the table he is
:14:25. > :14:28.standing that now, he would have to be very precise or he would leave
:14:29. > :14:35.himself banged in trouble. Ricky could play the snooker of the
:14:36. > :14:46.rednecks to the green. -- off the red next to the green. One of these
:14:47. > :14:52.situations where he may be forced to take a pot on because a safety shot
:14:53. > :14:56.is just as difficult. I would always hate to lose a frame by a safety, I
:14:57. > :15:03.would always rather lose it by going for something. He could glance off
:15:04. > :15:07.the red and leave the white tight on the cushion and he would not leave a
:15:08. > :15:12.great deal, but he has got to try to get it back. You can see how high in
:15:13. > :15:20.the air he is with the butt of the queue here. -- the butt of the cue
:15:21. > :15:26.here. You can see how well he has done, it was worth the wait! To get
:15:27. > :15:29.it back into that position, being so close to the cushion, was played
:15:30. > :15:45.more or less like a trick shot. What a bonus, to get the cue ball
:15:46. > :16:18.behind the black. The cannon on the brown has pushed
:16:19. > :16:26.the rates down towards the bottom pocket. That would be quite a tough
:16:27. > :16:33.shot. If you take the red to that middle pocket, he could finish on
:16:34. > :16:35.the blue. He's just looking to see what he would leave if he attempts
:16:36. > :17:01.that. I think that red cuts in, the one
:17:02. > :17:06.near the brown. It is a thin one. The ones to the right corner, he
:17:07. > :17:12.missed the pink exactly the same as this, more or less. Can he pushed
:17:13. > :17:20.the Q3 straight this time? Well played. Very good shot. A glimmer of
:17:21. > :18:27.hope on this third frame now. I don't know if he has hampered
:18:28. > :18:47.himself slightly here. He could just you passed it. Only
:18:48. > :19:22.just. He could just cue past it. Only just.
:19:23. > :19:28.Because Ricky Walden is desperate to get his first frame on the board,
:19:29. > :19:47.there is a lot of pressure in this clearance.
:19:48. > :19:53.I think that the red that he is closest to now will pot towards the
:19:54. > :20:27.green pocket. Now, he can play for address, the
:20:28. > :20:28.red to the right centre ought to the right pocket. Whichever one he
:20:29. > :21:29.fancies. From a psychological point of view,
:21:30. > :21:36.this is a great frame for Ricky Walden.
:21:37. > :21:47.He should have won the previous frame.
:21:48. > :21:57.When your opponent makes a 50 bus break and you win the frame, it
:21:58. > :22:17.always gives you a roost. -- a boost.
:22:18. > :22:29.A 50 rate that Ricky Walden made there. Ricky Walden has his first
:22:30. > :22:37.frame on the school ought. Well deserved indeed. A fantastic break.
:22:38. > :22:45.Mark Selby was in, made a great break, fantastic clearance from wiki
:22:46. > :22:51.Walden. -- Ricky Walden. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. He
:22:52. > :22:56.has had a good run here, he has beat them Mark Williams and Egypt who had
:22:57. > :23:08.been pummelling the opposition in the last three events. We hark back
:23:09. > :23:13.to the World Championships. He would have loved to have one there that
:23:14. > :23:17.day but that it lets you know that you are capable of being in these
:23:18. > :23:20.events at the business end of it and I think he has matured and thrown
:23:21. > :23:26.into an all-round better player. That was a great piece of snooker.
:23:27. > :23:31.You could send Mark's weakness. You would have thought he would put the
:23:32. > :23:36.pressure on. What happened was a superb clearance. In a nutshell,
:23:37. > :23:44.what are key's strengths in this game? He has to keep positive. He is
:23:45. > :23:50.fluid and he scores very quickly. He has to believe in himself. He showed
:23:51. > :23:54.an awful lot of courage and belief in that clearance. Some other
:23:55. > :23:59.players under the pressure may have missed it. Dixie the way the last
:24:00. > :24:04.frame had gone. He stood up to the challenge and that will give him a
:24:05. > :24:08.tremendous boost. We take for granted that we have seen Neil
:24:09. > :24:12.Robertson and Mark Selby in many of these big events in the UK but this
:24:13. > :24:21.is a huge day for Ricky Walden, he has not quite taken that step yet.
:24:22. > :24:24.Absolutely massive. You are playing the something that could lead to a
:24:25. > :24:28.bit of history. To get through today would be sent -- magnificent for him
:24:29. > :24:36.today. He is equipping himself really well today. He has just let
:24:37. > :24:50.Mark Selby no, " I am here to play. "
:24:51. > :24:58.he had a chance to go 3-0 up. Is it that harder than he needed to have,
:24:59. > :25:05.really. But, under the circumstances, Ricky
:25:06. > :25:53.Walden's clearance was top draw. A little smile to the crowd there,
:25:54. > :26:01.Mark. That is an attacking safety shot.
:26:02. > :26:14.Look at the green and the brown now. If you get the colours like that, it
:26:15. > :26:23.is a great target to try and get behind.
:26:24. > :26:35.This looks pretty good, it might be up behind the yellow.
:26:36. > :26:50.He got so much right hand side on that last shot to create that angle.
:26:51. > :27:04.Just watch this here. If he plays the plain ball, straight up towards
:27:05. > :27:13.the yellow, it hit the site cushion and then the baulk cushion.
:27:14. > :27:23.That was the only side of the table that he could play for, Ricky. Red
:27:24. > :27:28.to the left of the blue, looks very readable. Mark has looked at that
:27:29. > :27:31.and has looked at the red to the right of the pink to try and take
:27:32. > :27:33.the tube or back down behind the green and the round. He is pretty
:27:34. > :29:12.good at this type of shop. To get the cue ball oval where Ricky
:29:13. > :29:18.was looking, he is going to happen -- have to cut this very thin.
:29:19. > :29:32.That was about the best that he could do, that line that he took.
:29:33. > :29:39.I don't think it is much value in playing snooker at the minute
:29:40. > :29:51.because the reds of quite an easy escape.
:29:52. > :30:00.He has cut that then. Maybe he was thinking about that and
:30:01. > :30:09.overcompensated. That was a good call, there.
:30:10. > :30:14.A tester, medium-range, straight shot, screw back for the pink or
:30:15. > :30:25.blue. When you hit them as badly as that,
:30:26. > :30:29.it does not fill you with confidence. And where the red has
:30:30. > :30:36.finished does not help. He did not cue that very well. It is
:30:37. > :31:03.the type of shot that they practice. I expected Ricky to get that after
:31:04. > :31:07.the clearance in the previous frame. He would have relaxed after getting
:31:08. > :31:08.his first frame on the board. He will be disappointed with that
:31:09. > :31:49.opportunity. He is OK if this read to the left of
:31:50. > :32:11.the pink is available in the opposite corner pocket.
:32:12. > :32:14.You could see that there was a possible planned on, not that he
:32:15. > :32:50.would be playing for that. Lots of choices here, he can play
:32:51. > :33:24.for the pink to the left centre, he can screw the cue ball back.
:33:25. > :33:30.You could hear a pin drop in the Barbican Centre. What a difference
:33:31. > :33:40.from a week ago when we started with four tables, 128 players. Lots of
:33:41. > :33:44.noise all around the place. All the people would just sat at one side.
:33:45. > :33:46.That is what the game of snooker is all about, the table surrounded with
:33:47. > :34:01.spectators. Let flair. -- let off there. Missed
:34:02. > :34:19.a feud. That was pretty comfortable for him.
:34:20. > :34:26.The pink has tied itself up with the reds, the black is out of position.
:34:27. > :34:31.You might have to take that plant that we spotted a few shots ago. He
:34:32. > :34:36.has got the red to the right of the pink but you have to be very precise
:34:37. > :34:40.to leave the pink one. He has got two choices, he takes the red to the
:34:41. > :34:45.left of the plant, screws back to get on the blue, or he takes the
:34:46. > :34:47.plant which will make the positional side of the shot a little bit
:34:48. > :35:05.easier. He has looked at the possibility of
:35:06. > :35:12.a little cannon if he takes this red but now playing it with a lot of
:35:13. > :35:13.screw. He did well to find that gap. He really did, that is a very good
:35:14. > :35:22.shot. He missed the red and the black by a
:35:23. > :35:44.fraction! Not easy here. If he risks a cannon
:35:45. > :35:48.onto the red to the left of the pink there are a few problems. You cannot
:35:49. > :36:00.just cannon the red by the black to bring it into play. Has he hit this
:36:01. > :36:04.to hard? He should be OK but if he screws back of this it has to be
:36:05. > :36:13.careful not to screw the white into the middle pocket.
:36:14. > :36:17.You have got to keep your eye on the pot, Ricky. I am not sure whether
:36:18. > :36:33.that kicked or not. The red jumped a lot, didn't it?
:36:34. > :36:40.Yes, but I think that sort of kit is June two not delivering the cue
:36:41. > :36:47.properly. It has gone a bit scrappy. Since the first frame, when
:36:48. > :36:50.Selby won in one visit, I don't think either player will be pleased
:36:51. > :36:55.with the way they have played. The pop success rate tells you that. --
:36:56. > :37:08.pot success rate. Last night's semifinal, a brilliant
:37:09. > :37:14.semifinal between the world number one Neil Robertson and Stuart
:37:15. > :37:38.Bingham, up at 93, 94, 95%, both players, with their success rate.
:37:39. > :37:42.It looks like he is very straight on this red now to go back for the
:37:43. > :38:53.blue. push that type of shot, that is
:38:54. > :39:00.where the cue ball and the object ball are all in contact at the same
:39:01. > :39:07.time. Can he see enough of this to take it to the middle pocket?
:39:08. > :40:21.He knew he had hit that too heart, he turned away from the table as
:40:22. > :40:45.soon as he made contact. The only problem with it ethical to
:40:46. > :40:51.read, it would be even more difficult to get a good angle on a
:40:52. > :40:58.colour to bring one of the difficult reds into play. I would like to play
:40:59. > :41:03.blue to the right centre and topspin off the cue ball off two cushions to
:41:04. > :41:06.go into those three reds. That is the most obvious shot. This looks a
:41:07. > :41:22.more difficult one to me. It looks good to stop he is going to
:41:23. > :41:28.have a chance with the left of the three reds.
:41:29. > :41:34.Not quite as far as he would have liked, he has had a look at the
:41:35. > :41:39.scoreboard, 53 ahead so he only needs this red will stop -- this
:41:40. > :41:57.red. That was frame ball. He was not far
:41:58. > :42:04.away. Just caught the question before the pocket. This is a thin
:42:05. > :42:08.snake that Ricky is faced with. It is so thin, I don't think he can
:42:09. > :42:22.cannon into the black, which you would like to do.
:42:23. > :42:31.He did not expect to finish on the pink in such a way as he could
:42:32. > :42:35.cannon the two reds. Got to be careful here. If he cannon is the
:42:36. > :42:37.reds, if he hits one of them full ball it will double-kiss and he will
:42:38. > :42:48.not be on anything. He found the gap! How did he get the
:42:49. > :43:05.White in between the two reds? You could try that another ten times
:43:06. > :43:52.and not poor but short. -- not pull off that shot. Well played, though.
:43:53. > :44:03.Is it going to reach? Of course it is. Mark Selby knows his way around
:44:04. > :44:18.a snooker table. That's why I christened him sat nabbed Selby --
:44:19. > :45:21.Sat-Nav Selby. Clearly, it you can see that he will
:45:22. > :45:52.get through to this red but what is he going to do with it?
:45:53. > :45:59.He might be able to take the pot on and can in the red. It is a delicate
:46:00. > :46:13.little cannon but could play it. He did but he didn't get the red
:46:14. > :46:40.which was the most important part. He just needs one red. He is having
:46:41. > :46:44.a look at the school. There are three reds left. He still only needs
:46:45. > :46:46.the