07/12/2013 UK Snooker Championship

It's a busy night here in York's Somebody turned around and said, I

a pretty ordinary session became an extraordinary one.

Ricky Walden won the toss and will break. Off we go then.

Ricky Walden has his first frame, 2-1. Good shot. Excellent. 3-1 it

is. Terrific pot there. Mark Selby opens

up a two frame advantage. It's 4-2. It's there, ?59,000, if a player can

knock a maximum in. What a big shot this is.

Come on then, come on then! Drop on that blue. Fabulous shot.

Get in! Oh, he's not on the black. He is going to have to roll it to

the middle pocket. He's not on the black. What a shot he is going to

have to take here. Here we go. Get in! Get in! Well

played, Mark Selby. What a black he has knocked in there. Absolutely

fantastic! That was the 100th official maximum break in snooker

history. A real milestone the first made by a certain Steve Davis. How

special a moment was that for Selby and for snooker, Stephen? Amazing.

It lights up any tournament when there is a 147. It's the most

special thing that can happen on a snooker table. Clearance from brown

all through to the black. The black, a difficult shot into the middle

pocket? There is a great camera angle. It's such a difficult shot.

Into a blind pocket, as we call it. He wasn't quite sure whether it

would fall a little bit. Thankfully it did. Magnificent break. Brown to

blue was another fantastic shot. He could smile and joke with the

audience in the middle of that tension. I don't have rapport with

the audience when I was playing. I couldn't do that. It would ruin my

concentration. Incredible how he had a laugh and come back to the table

and pot that pink and black. He said his brain was scrambled in the game

there after, he won that 6-2. What impact between this break between

session also have on the two players? He can relax. During the

time, he would have been full of adrenaline, buzzing. The break will

do both players good. Reflections for Ricky Walden. He must win at

least this mini session 3-1 to stay in this match. Anything can happen.

The match is alive. It is not over yet. A mountain to climb for Ricky

Walden. Neil Robertson is through to tomorrow's final. He was pushed hard

all the way by Bingham. That was an epic semi-final. Are we going to

have another one tonight? Both players are ready backstage. It's

time to get them out here. There is only one man for the job, MC Rob

Walker. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, this is the very last

session of snooker before tomorrow's William Hill.com UK Championship

Final. One magic moment this afternoon. Could we have another in

store this evening? Stilt back and relax and enjoy as the fireworks

fly, once again, in the Barbican Centre. -- sit.

Please welcome, a player who has beaten plenty of big names en route

to this his second UK Championship semi-final, twice a ranking event

winner in China. He will give it everything to turn it round tonight

and make his first UK ranking final. Let us hear a York raw for the pride

of Flintshire, Ricky Walden. -- roar.

His opponent, what a moment, 12 amazing minutes this afternoon. The

100th tournament 147 with an outrageously good last black. He is

the Jester from Leicester, here comes Mark Selby.

We saw a brilliant fightback by Stuart Bingham last evening from

8-3, how will Ricky Walden respond tonight. Gentleman, what was your

take on the 100th maximum earlier on today? For me, absolutely magical,

particularly with the four colours at the end because it didn't look as

though he was going to get the 147. That is what made it exciting, and

particularly the black. . Ricky Walden, he breaks off knowing he has

to up his game. They are going to play four frames before a mid

session interval. You feel, he has to win at least three of them? If he

comes out of it 77-5, with any other scoreline he won't be in the match.

There could be a chance that Selby will win the match before the

interval, which is what he will try to do to get as much rest as

possible should he go on to win this match tomorrow. Someone having

trouble their ear piece at the moment. Mark Selby gets down for the

second time. Tremendous opening red. A bit of a

scream from the audience. It was interesting tonight, when both

players were introduced tremendous reception. Great atmosphere at the

Barbican this evening. It has been good all week. Someone has bet that

Selby will pot the first red with our sponsor William Hill. That is

why that roar went up, I'm sure. Probably had his wages on.

He is taking a time out now, is Mark Selby, he asked our referee to clean

the cue ball. Wants to compose himself. He had a good long red.

It's a decent chance. Doesn't want to be put off by anything.

Right in the heart of the pocket. It's always a good feeling Assad --

as a player, particularly in the first frame.

Look at the pot success, 91%, 78% is well short of what is required.

Long pot success. That is excellent. I always thought in the mid 60% is

right. 36% is too low. Lots of thing Ricky has to pick up on. He can't do

it while he is sat in that chair. A little cannon. He will probably

have to screw the black in to get it just right.

Ideal, he would like to not kiss it it -- it at all.

He tried something there, hitting the pink that hard. You have to be

so accurate, I don't think he's left anything.

Just the pace he was hitting it, it had to be right in the middle of the

pocket, and it wasn't. Ran a fraction too much to cover the

outside of the pack. He is making sure he will not push another red

onto the right hand corner. He has played it a little bit too

thick. Good job he didn't catch the pink. It turned out to be a good

safety. He has nestled it up to the brown. He is in a spot of bother

here, Ricky. He is trying tole on this red.

Nestle on this red. He has hit the red so well. He has

covered it anyway. So good escape. He will attempt that loose red on

the right hand side. Anywhere in the jaws of the green pocket would be

nice. He has to be careful he doesn't leave an easier red.

Looks like he is going down the left hand side.

The red he didn't want to leave, as you can clearly see, covered by the

blue. A bit thin this. Is he going to be

saved by the blue? He may decide to hold for the black

here as well. He is in front in every department.

Ricky Walden has been outplayed. He has had chances, losing in frame to

-- two. He played to kiss the middle one of

three and it drifted by it. You have to take your hat off to

Mark Selby. He did have the tendency to miss the easy one every now and

again. He does not let it linger in his mind. He puts the bad shots to

the back of his mind, so that it does not affect the next. Every time

I him, he is disappointed with the way he has played, but he is still

getting results. And the big favourite, of course, in this match

could be in the final tomorrow. The case has not turned out to be

perfect. If he does not have the right angle

on the pink, he will have two play the yellow. He does not want to play

the yellow. He needs to get the cue ball back to the right-hand side of

the table. He has a bonus with pecan and he has

from the reds to the other Reds, bringing the other red into play --

cannon. He just has too mind his work and he will be 7-2 in front. He

has This was the one, and it was not

difficult. The cue ball should have hit this side of the middle pocket.

The way he jumped up, it was as though he got a heavy contact. We

can have a look. I might give him the benefit of the doubt. I think

the pink and went straight on. I did not notice the bounds until we saw

it in slow motion. He would be disappointed with that.

He did not get any action on the cue ball.

Sometimes, when this game can seem easy to the players, and at other

times, particularly when you are struggling, and things are not going

your way... I thought it would have been easy to screw that back. I

thought it would have been the best idea.

If he had played the direct screw back... That was a hard shot. It was

a strange choice. Unless he felt he was too close to the cushion. But he

should have been on the black. I do not know about putting it

back. I would not expect Mark Selby to make a mistake. Ricky Walden had

his hand on the table. He could have brought the reds into play.

That was a bit better, but no real pressure here of Mark Selby. -- on

Mark. When he plays the red towards the other three, you would expect,

if he hits it decently, the pink will lay the snooker. If not the

yellow. In the end, he did not want to risk

going back to the baulk end. As it happens, it is not a bad shot.

He had to play a containing safety because he was in trouble.

It is always risky to play it that slowly. He has not got the snooker.

There is a gap between the black ball and percussion. -- the cushion.

This red might pot. If he can screw back a little bit,

he might be on the black. He is a little bit too close, otherwise he

would definitely play it. The only problem is that it is such

an easy safety shot now for Ricky Walden.

Look at their faces. Absolutely unbelievable. Get out of that! Mark

was offering the cue to the referee. When you are shooting into a

cushion, you do not have a lot of idea about where it will go, so he

is now playing five questions. -- cushions.

We could be here for a while. This is the thing, with the miss rule. He

can lose so many points. 39 behind, what price he will be in front by

the time he gets back to the table? Well... He is asking for the white

line to be put up! It is a bit tricky, we cannot even find it! What

about off the jaw. The green is in the way. I know what you are saying.

It is almost impossible, this. It is getting the pace into the cue

ball that is the problem. And it is still not online to hit the reds.

This is one of the hardest snooker 's I have seen laid, especially at

this stage in the game when somebody has 40 odd points and they are

almost set to win the frame. The harder he hits it, the harder it

will swear up. He was never online with the reds.

Oh! He has not called a miss. Congratulations to the referee. That

was almost an impossible snooker. That is first class from the

referee. Well done. Ricky Walden is not complaining

about it. When you see how much it missed by...

As long as referees are consistent, I do not mind. We have seen balls

missed by less than that and being called a miss. Sometimes the referee

will call them a miss regardless. That was good. I enjoyed that.

That was a wonderful shot. If it did not drop, it he would have almost

certainly have lost the frame. And now he has a chance of getting back

into it. Gravity came to his rescue. He could

have played the black a little bit better.

He may elect to play the green. I am not certain he can hold the cue

ball, if he plays the black. It is a tricky shot.

He is looking at the green. If he plays the green, the cue ball will

have two travel quite a distance. He needs to be good on this red.

The green is not straight-forward, is it?

That is pretty good, did well to hold it that well.

When you are behind, as Ricky is, and strucking, as he is with his

game, you want everything to be as easy as possible, because anything

can be missed at the moment. He is struggling to find the centre of the

white at the minute. He came out of that one there, maybe played it with

a bit of side, to help the pot. It's one I expected him to pot. He has

got away with it. Mark may play the pot here but... It's not

straight-forward. A couple of mistakes are creeping

in. At the looked at the potting angle

of the red. It's going to be a thin one.

Lovely shot. Slotted it in, couldn't have cued it better. Looks like

another frame is going to slip away from Ricky Walden.

With a lead now of 23 points, he just needs red and black or maybe

red and blue. Red and green wouldn't be enough.

You expect him to be on the yellow, but the green puts him 27 points in

front with 27 remaining. The yellow will put him in the

snookers required stage. Just looking at Ricky there, he will

be very disappointed. He has had lots of chances in this match and

you have got to take them when they come along, because you don't get

many. Not at this level of the game. Same

could be said about this afternoon. He had enough chances. Mark wasn't

at his best this afternoon and clawed a 6-2 win out of the

afternoon session. Knock the pink in. Wife, Vicki, very

pleased, I think Mark Selby will be. He now stretches his lead to five

frames. It's 7-2. The defending Champion looking very good indeed as

we move towards that nine frame finishing line. There was one moment

we were discuss, the miss and no foul called third time around. This

is rather unusual. This was fendish, was it not? It's nice to see a

referee use a bit of common sense. A lot of them are just told, if the

snooker is missed, it's called a miss. They will be there all day.

That was common sense. Good. You agree? Absolutely. You see the

referee shaking his head saying, no, it wasn't a miss. Referees have to

use their discretion at time about the can difficulty and degree agree

of difficulty of the snooker. Almost impossible to hit. Nice to see the

referee being brave to make that decision. Sometimes they may not

feel brave. It wasn't contentious, Ricky potted a red down the rail and

had a chance to counter attack. Thankfully it wasn't an issue. Fair

play to Paul Collier, it was a brave decision and a right one at that. In

the next frame, Mark Selby now five frames ahead. This is looking very

worrying indeed for Ricky Walden the World Number 12 who made it to the

semi-final stages of the Crucible seven months ago. He has a lot to do

now. COMMENTATOR: He certainly has. He

seems to stutter a little bit. He had a one chance of getting to the

final of a major at the World Championship, he seemed to freeze a

little bit there. He has done in this match. Nothing like the form he

has shown throughout the tournament in this match. He probably thought

watching Mark Selby struggling, he thought it would be a good chance to

beat him, but Mark has found something.

Just about enough room to go round the back of this red. If he hit the

red thick, it would hit the other are red. If he pots it, it would go

round the back. Too thick. I think he may have left

this red to the left corner. You see it. You can't avoid leaving those

chances. Mark Selby is two frames away from winning this match.

That was good cueing. Just wanted to hold the cue ball a little bit more

so that it wasn't so high up on this black. Nudge it towards the pocket.

Well done. Just didn't catch that red full

enough. I think that could be end of break.

He didn't make the most of that good opening red. Just shows you a little

bit of lack of confidence there. Most of the players now tend to play

them along the top cushion. Mark decide to risk moving the red.

He had a nice angle to leave the red where he was. He probably didn't

feel that confident. He was trying to develop the red into an easier

pottable position, and it went wrong.

Passed the blue. Is there a red available? Yes, I think he can get

through to the red closest to this right corner. He wouldn't have to do

a lot with the cue ball to get position on the black. He is having

to look from both sides. You feel it's one of those, just a little

trace of left hand side on the cue ball should get to the potting

angle. It did bounce a little bit. The cue

ball is nowhere he wanted the red, close to the pink.

Two decent chances already, he's not scored enough.

Ricky has got to cut out these careless mistakes with the safeties.

It looks like a better safety. A reasonable length much he should

have been tight on the cushion. It makes it that little bit easier when

your opponent can get to any part of the cue ball he wishes. When it's

tight to the cushion, you can only hit the top quarter of the ball.

Not got the pot, but this could be a very telling safety, come snooker

here. He has to be careful he doesn't

catch the jaws of the middle pocket on the way back.

Once again, far too thick. Ricky has not played a good safety shot yet

this evening. That was a poor safety shot from

Mark. He just got away with it, but the kiss on the green.

That'll rattle of the Jaws has ended up with a better safety shot than it

looked like it was going to be. The cue ball is closed to the cushion.

Sometimes, when you are close to the cushion, you have to avoid the bump

of the middle pocket. And he did catch it.

I would like to say it is a good chance, but unfortunately, it is

not. The pink and black are tied up. It would take a good shot to pot

the bed and go up for the blue. He is a player who has the power to do

that. It is amazing. It is like the

pockets are smaller when Ricky Walden comes to the table. He had to

play that with pace to try to get back up for the blue and the more

pace you put in, the more accurate you have to be.

It helps that the Brown is not on its spot because you have more room

to the go she ate the path back. He has a choice of screwing back for

the blue, but he has to be careful of the in-off, or just potting the

red and nudging the pink to the opposite corner. The in-off was on,

if you screw back. I am surprised he played that like

that. The in-off was always on. You could see that the pink would have

been developed. Just that little bit of help that Ricky Walden leads. Can

he make the most of this opportunity? And excellent pots. --

pot. Ricky, this is your chance. That was to refix. He cued that

really well. -- that was horrific. Terrific. I do not think he played

for the red to the middle, but that would not be too bad.

It goes without saying, you cannot miss those.

Mark Selby's statistic has dropped to 90s. -- 90%.

He played that nicely and should be on the yellow. And the reds are

nicely spread and he has a 25 point lead. So, every chance to win the

frame at this visit. He will not get a better chance to

win the frame than this. He will beat three of the remaining

reds. Two are quite simple. He has a lot to think about. So

disappointing. The UK championship semifinal and you do not bring your

a game. How frustrating that is. He left a good angle to make that

positional shot quite easy. 56 points, the lead, and only 51

remaining and that black to follow. Nicely developing the awkward reds.

The red dropping in means that Ricky Walden will not be coming back to

the table. He played an exhibition shot and

almost got it. Unlucky. Obviously, it is a shot you can play when you

are 79 points in front. Well, that was it. Ricky Walden

could not play good safety and when he did get a chance, he could not

take it. Mark Selby is one frame away from a place in the final.

take it. Mark Selby is one frame away from a There seems to be an air

of inevitability about this, particularly when Ricky missed the

straightforward ball. In commentary they said this is your chance. He

has had so many chances throughout the match.

has had so many chances throughout Apart from the 147 and when Mark

Selby won the frame in one visit. Losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan some

years ago, 10-1, it and I was lucky to get one, you do get embarrassed.

You get embarrassed about your performance and go into your shell

and that is what is happening to Ricky Walden. You feel sorry for

him. He can produce big breaks and this is not what he is capable of.

He will be disappointed, the first semifinal in the UK championship

will stop he would have had high hopes. His long potting has been

poor, and that generates chances at the start of frames. Most frames,

Mark Selby has been in first. It you are potting the long balls, you get

in first. -- if. He is analytical and looks back keenly on his

performances and tries to get something out of it. He will be

disappointed he has not been able to capitalise. Mark Selby has not

played well. He has given away chances in almost every frame. He

will be more disappointed he got chances. Different if somebody plays

so well and you do not get a chance, but he will analyse this. The

defending champion is on the brink. WILLIE THORNE: I am not sure that

Ricky Walden has the game to stage a comeback like Stuart Bingham last

night. You never know, though. He is getting encouragement from

this crowd at the Barbican. They would love to see a match.

But that is not the best positional shot. He played for the red into the

left middle pocket. That was a nice pot, though. And a

decent angle on the blue, to pot that and cannon into the pink and

open up the reds. He did not catch the pink full in

the face. He will do well to keep this going now. That's type of

shot, you have two hit it fall and it holds the cue ball in the middle

of the table -- full. Pink and black are safe and so this

frame could take a while to sort out.

Maybe he can just slip past the green.

The reds are now spread and so he needs a good safety.

It looks like Mark is looking at the possibility of a plant. He cannot

get to them direct. If he could get direct to the reds,

it is a certain plant. He would have to play it as a three ball plant and

then you could miss it. Unlucky. He can afford to chances

his arm, the position he is in. Having got the plant, very unlucky

to screwing off. It is just not happening. Sad to

see. As they were saying in the studio, lot better than this. Lot

better than he has shown. He's knocking on the door. Semi-finalist

in the World an semi-finalist in the UK, but this is an unhappy

experience he is suffering now. You learn nothing from this.

I'm surprised he didn't try to get in and out of the reds to get up to

this end. This blue is definitely missable. You fancy him knocking

these in ten out of ten. Hampered cueing, not a certainty this one.

Yeah, I thought he would get closer than though. Not the best chance

obviously. We have mentioned the pink and black out of commission.

The blue hasn't gone into a favourable position. I wonder if

it's worth playing for the pink here? If he is going to make a

sizeable contribution, he could do with that pink on its spot. He's

decided to play for the pink. It did hit the size cushion. He

didn't play it with that much pace, so the pocket accepted it.

I think the blue will go as well, into the left corner, so a decent

chance. With what has happened so far this

evening, let's take nothing for granted.

44 points in the lead. Just two of these remaining reds would put him

in the snookers required stage. He's going to get a frame on the board.

That could help him, if he was to find his best game. He can win

frames in no time at all. The pink to leave Mark Selby needing

two snookers. In it goes. Well done. A frame on the board that break of

50 more than enough to keep Mark Selby sited in his chair, he still

trails. It was a chance there for Selby to win the frame and match.

For me, he should have played red in and out, but the blue he ended up

playing was a strange one? Yeah. I think he had gone wrong a couple of

shots before that when he played the blue and didn't get on the red

right. Then he played the red, I think he was expecting a cannon on

the second red to leave him a straighter blue, he didn't get it.

He was left with a blue which, as you said at the time, this was the

one. He wanted to catch that second red fuller, but he didn't. When we

look at this shot. He is cueing high up, digging down at it because of

the reds under his waist coat. He got half a kick. It was a long way

away. Nice to see Ricky Walden take that opportunity. Now there is a mid

session interval after this frame. Can Ricky Walden take us into the

second-half of the evening? Deciding to come off the side

cushion, shouldn't be a problem. Players always look to see if there

is a possibility of knocking something over the corner. The way

he looked there, is there a plant on?

He really gave it a close look. I can't see anything myself.

That's a better safety. Play a few more of them and he could get a

chance as we just go past the four hour mark in this match.

Everybody was looking at the referee there. Believe me, if he hadn't of

hit it he would have said four away. Looks like he is going to play an

aggressive safety here to make the next safety from Ricky tough. He is

usually very careful in that department. Ricky, this is not the

shot you need when you are trailing 8-3, but it's the kind of shots you

are going to have to take on. He can play it plain-ball.

Caught it slightly thick. You can't beat a bit of luck.

Here we go. All of a sudden, it started to cling to that top

cushion. Half way there it never looked like not going in.

Blue didn't go in the middle of the pocket, did it? A tricky red this.

If he had been straight on this red, you would fancy him not to miss it.

Look at the blue there, we will look again. A little bit wide. He wanted

it to be straighter on this red. Just a fraction wide. If it had been

straight on it, I don't think there would be anyway he could have missed

it. I thought it was in. We had a perfect picture. I thought it was

going to go in-off the jaw. Makes you laugh when people say the

pockets are buckets. Now, will he risk playing for the black or go up

for the blue. Not a lot of room to get on the black. The pink is

available as well. A chance for Mark Selby to win frame and match.

Took that cannon nicely. I don't think the black is available into

the... It may be. It can't be available into the right corner.

It's certainly available into the left corner. This is a great chance

now. May have played his last shot in

this year's William Hill.com UK Championship.

Careless there putting those two reds together, they are not in a

pottable position now. All these top players, I talk about

the top four or five players in the world, are usually so good at

closing frame and match out. The fact that Selby has not been at his

best this week he may find it different. This is the first time he

has been in front, he has always had to come from behind. What a

beautiful shot that was. Well, there you go. There you go. He

was a little bit fortunate there, that red that didn't go in the

middle came back and just nudged the cue ball towards the cushion. You

didn't expect him to miss that. This is what happened. It left the

pink perfectly and suddenly it was not on. And this is tricky.

It was a good pots. It does not matter if he is straight.

He obviously was not perfect on the pink.

What a chance this is to take the match to the mid-session interval.

We thought, when it was 8-2, it would be an early night for Mark

Selby. Anything but, now. But that was a poor shots. He did

not get into the cue ball. He is very good at this kind of shot,

around the blackspot, he is one of the best in the world. This is

tough. He will have two force through the red and he is not bound

to be on a colour. Just about OK. It is not

straightforward, though. JOHN VIRGO: he needed a little bit

more pace, but he was concerned about missing the pot.

Well played, but not quite hard enough.

It would have been tight, John, anyway. I do not know which read he

played for. There does not appear to be a path

back to the ball Kent. -- book end. -- baulk end. That was much too

thick. This is another chance for Ricky Walden.

If he plays the one to the right corner, he has to find the gap

between the red and the Black. I think he has the angle to run into

the pink. Or just run by them. He is just a

fraction short of pace, but I think he is OK.

It is one of those nights. Nothing is coming easy. He is having to work

for everything. He would not have minded the other

red going in because it has blocked the path or the black ball to the

corner. The pink is a little more difficult. And it goes without

saying, that is a not more pressure. It is also tight. It could be his

last shot. That was marvellous. I cannot tell

you how good that was. If he had missed it, as Willie Thorne said, it

could have been his lost -- last shot. Well played.

He has increased his speed. He is more comfortable when he is playing

aggressively. The match that we thought would be

finished before the interval, is now going past the interval.

There is always a chance, as we saw last night, when Stuart Bingham came

from three frames behind. He has played his best snooker in these

last two games. Safety has been the key thing

today. He has not competed in the safety Department.

After the interval, he will have to find baulk cushion a little bit

more. And an exhibition shot, to boot. And what a good one it was.

When your back is against the wall, you have to produce and he has.

Those two frames take us to the interval.

Mark Selby could have had the match wrapped up, if it was not for the

resistance shown I Ricky Walden. Noticeably, he did pick up the pace,

particularly as he went around the table with those two breaks. When he

plays fluidly, he is very fast, he can score quickly. But his long ball

game and his safety, as well as being totally way off, he has not

been getting the chances and he has been behind, but he has not produced

the form throughout this match. Stephen, what has been his problem

tonight? He has not played well enough will stop he still probably

does not believe he is going to win and that is why he relaxes. Your arm

tends to free up a little bit. He needs to keep doing that and throw

caution to the wind. See what happens. And the pride in

performance, Ken Doherty mentioned it earlier on, feeling embarrassed.

It will make him feel better to get the frames on the board. He will be

delighted to go into the interval. Stephen said it, give it a go, he

has nothing to lose. Sometimes, you can free up completely and suddenly

pots go in and maybe the pressure will revert back to Mark Selby. If

you missed last night's opening semifinal with Neil Robertson and

Stuart Wing, you missed a treat. It was a classic in the history of the

championship. You'll Robertson went into it 5-3 in front, but what a

fight act from Stuart Bingham. A fascinating evening's of snooker.

Who will be lifting that is little beauty tomorrow night -- on Sunday

night? What a shot the Australian has made. Stuart Bingham cannot

believe it. I think it is worth the risk to take it on.

He is beginning to draw away in this semifinal. That was a little bit

twitchy. Never in doubt! Hello! What a shot. Probably the

best shot of the match. This could be a matchwinner.

Absolutely brilliant, Stuart Bingham. It is going down to the

final frame. From eight - three behind, all square at 8-8. All you

are looking for is one chance at least. That is a brilliant pot.

That's the one. What a fantastic semifinal we have had.

Congratulations on reaching the final. How do you reflect on that

fantastic match with Stuart Bingham? When I got back to the hotel I still

could not believe it. He paid me back to 8-8. I went on to the BBC

iPlayer and they had the highlights package on at about one o'clock in

the morning. And I couldn't get to sleep. My head was still buzzing. I

watched it over. It was just amazing watching it all happen. Especially

that last frame. I was more keen to see Dennis's eruption in the box

when I was on 50, or something, and it was one of the most tense

deciding frames I have ever watched. Even though I won the match,

something in my head was still saying that it was still going on,

so I did not quite believe it until I potted the winning ball. It was a

wonderful match to be part of. You are the world number one. How do you

view your form over the week? My overall performance, perhaps 6.5,

seven, out of ten. Last year, I peaked too early in this tournament.

I hit a bit of a dead end playing Mark in the quarterfinals. This

year, you like to work your way into actual limit. You cannot just say I

am going to play well in this match. But, I seem to have steadily

improved as every match has gone on. I feel good for the final. I feel as

if my best snooker is ahead of ladies and gentlemen, your champion,

from Australia, Neil Robertson. What will it mean to you to be one of the

few players who have done that very select thing and win all three of

these tournaments? Ever since winning the Masters, it is something

that comes up, this time of year, the UK Championships, the one that I

am missing. It would be amazing to join Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry,

Williams, Higgins, and Ronnie, it would be amazing to join those guys.

It would be a dream come true for me. The most important thing is to

enjoy the match. I struggled all the way through to the final in the

Masters and did not expect him to play as well as what he did. Whoever

I play in the final, I will be much better prepared to produce my best

snooker. It is looking like it is going to be Mark Selby. One against

two, in the world. We have played each other a few times since the

Masters. I was disappointed with how I played. I made it a little bit too

easy for him. I was conscious of not being drawn into 35, 45 minute

frames. He surprised me. He scored heavily, he played very good slicker

and did not take any risks. He waited for me to make the creative

mistakes. I have played in three times since. I played him in the

quarterfinals of the World Open in China. And the finals of the China

open and the semifinals of the Estoril you opened. Some of those

have been some of the best games I have been involved in. -- the

Australian open. I can see us playing and many more UK finals,

Masters finals and possibly world finals. Neil is still in your

practising ahead of this. He has been in here for two sessions.

Interesting to hear him say that his head was buzzing and he had to go

back and watch iPlayer. Have you done that with a close-run thing? It

takes you some time to come down. I would not want to watch it back

having let slip and a 3- -- 8-3 lead. But it was amazing quality and

confidence in yourself to come through in that final frame. Because

you are probably not the favourite at that point. Such class and such

poise from Neil Robertson, in one of the most pressurised situations he

had been in. Yes, it gets very nervy in the last frame. You want to be

part of that final on Sunday. It is such a great occasion. If you can

get the triumvirate of UK Championship, the World Championship

and the Masters, that would be some achievement. But it will be some

occasion. The Mark Selby gets through, whoever wins that match

will be world under one. -- number one. Just going back to that match

against Stuart Bingham with Neil Robertson. What should Stuart

Bingham take from this campaign in York this week? He is learning all

the time. He is getting closer to being considered as one of the top

players, one of the favourites. He is not quite there yet, but he is

getting there. Beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in a massive tournament

like this will do wonders for his confidence. He is so close to being

considered in the top four or five people you talk about in these

events as potentially being the winner. He has brought us a lot of

enjoyment this week. Well done to Stuart Bingham. Judd Trump recorded

the 99th max mum break in snooker history this week. And he did it --

he did it against Mark Selby. Today, Mark Selby had a chance to make

history. This came after a grades and eight blacks had been ported. He

couldn't do it, pretty -- eight reds and eight lacks had been potted. --

blacks. This is possibly what Mark Selby

needed to focus his mind. He has been breaking down a lot at 50 and

60 in this match so far. That is the frame safe. Now to concentrate 100%

on the big prize. Those four reds are in a nice position. The cue ball

anywhere between the pink and blue spot you're going to be able to get

back on the black, so just to play into that area, each time.

He has achieved the maximum break on one occasion, 2009, in China.

Quite a place to do it, in the UK Championship semifinal.

If I was Mark, I would be looking to play for that read in baulk, before

getting rid of the other three. -- that red. Perhaps stung off two

cushions to get up to that read in baulk, would be a good choice.

It will be interesting to see if he takes your advice, Stephen. That was

a great call that you made, there. And he has done. He has done exactly

as you predicted. The key shot coming up.

And, if the brown passes the blue, if he gets that far, it may not be a

problem. Good shot, to make sure he was high

on that red. Absolutely perfect on the black. And

even Ricky Walden would love to see all these balls disappear for that

magical 147. Perfect. Playing the colours for a

147. It is still very magical. To do it

in a UK Championship, when you have been struggling with your game, this

is something very special we are watching.

Smiles from Mark, he knows he has come up a little bit short. Just

another few inches and it would have been so easy. Now, he has a slight

problem. Does he just dropped the brown, dead weight, or take a chance

going a long way round between pink and black? What a big shot this is.

Come on, then, come on, then, drop on that to extra measure Mark

fabulous shot! -- drop onto that blue!

That was a brilliant shot, round the angles and missing the right middle

pocket. He is going to have another tricky

thing. Can he reach it? -- tricky rink. He's going to have to screw

off the side cushion or just drop it off one cushion. The old, the Jester

from Leicester has a bit of fun with the crowd, and even Ricky Walden has

two smile. It is a bit of a stretch. I hope that that joking has not

spoiled his concentration. There was a massive amount of money on it,

?4000 for the highest break, ?55,000 for the maximum. There is a lot of

due sticking out there. Get in! Here's not on the black. He is going

to have to roll this into the middle pocket. He is not on the black. What

a shot he is going to have to take here. Come on, Mark, everybody is

urging him on. Roll this black into the middle pocket. Here we go. Get

in. Get in. Get in! What a player, Mark Selby, what a black he has not

been, absolutely fantastic, the defending champion. Everyone gets to

their feet. He has made the magical 147. What a special moment for

everybody in the crowd. Absolutely brilliant.

It was the hundredth in tournament play and professional snooker. I do

not think we have seen one where the black ball has had to go into the

middle pocket. I have never seen that before. The maximum was perfect

until he got to the colours. The shots he pulled out was phenomenal.

Have you ever witnessed that level of crowding gauge Mundt? I do not

know how he kept concentration -- engagement. The brown was very

difficult. The black ball was the most difficult. It was incredible,

the last few colours. We were jumping up and down. It was

incredible, the black, at any stage. To pot a black like that was

fantastic. It was a landmark moment for your sport and are you happy

that's it was achieved like that? His personality came out there. I

said I would not be doing that. He will remember that for ever. It is a

great moment in his career. It was terrific stuff. Business in hand

tonight. He just needs one more frame to get into the final, where

he hopes to defend this title. Back we go.

JOHN VIRGO: there is the trophy that Ricky Walden would love to be in

this arena tomorrow for, but he could not have woken off much worse

than that. That was the last thing he needed -- broken off. That is the

last thing he needed to, to give your opponent and easy starter when

they just need one more frame. This is a good chance to get a 30

point lead. Maybe he can hold for the black in the right-hand corner

the way he played that. I caught Mark Selby in the corridor. He said

he lost a little bit of focus. But to be fair, Ricky Walden played

better, even though Mark missed a couple.

Play on the loose red at the bottom of the cluster, leaving yourself

low, so that, in potting it, you bring other reds into play. But I

think he ran too far. He has left himself a nice angle to

go into the pack. If it broke nicely, it could be a match-winning

opportunity. It is not bad at all. I have never seen anybody better than

this. It goes round the first red and pushes through that red. He

deserved to be on one. But he lost the cue ball there. The rest did not

go in the middle of the pocket, that is why.

He went into the right half of the pocket, and that puts more pace on

the cue ball. He will be disappointed that he did not make

the most of that opportunity. But a big problem for Ricky Walden

to get this safe. There are plenty of loose reds. He will do well to

not leave a pot on. He needs to get to the three reds,

but how does he get their? That is about the only safe place, but he

cannot play that. He is playing for them. Going off

four cushion is to rest into them. It is a possibility that shot is on.

I feel that coming that way, maybe he is coming a little bit narrow. No

reason to not play it again, it needs a minor adjustments. Because

the reds are loose, he has to do catch it perfectly.

That looked better, but it was not pacey enough. That was the line. As

you say, if you play with more pace, its squares up a little bit more.

He just cannot generate enough pace into the cue ball going that way.

It is short again. These points are mounting up.

Again, not hard enough. This time, he hits the black. Seven points

away. Surely it is hard enough this time.

He puts up his hand. He got there in the end. It was the only safe place.

He has given away over 20 points. But he he led -- left on an easy

read, it could have been the end of the match. -- red.

It is essential not to hit one of the baulk end colours in this safety

shot. Given that he is a left-handed

player, it is probably better to play on the right-hand side. This

red might be on, but it is tough at distance. He has made it difficult

enough. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave any kind of chance

for Mark Selby. He decided not to take the risk.

With a 58 point lead, he thinks he might get a better chance than

that. But it is a very open frame. And

that was a good safety. The reds are away from the side cushions and the

colours are in the open. If Ricky Walden could get a chance, that 58

points might not be there for long. 107 points of remaining. -- are

remaining. He played that poorly. That 58 will

disappear very quickly. Already, slightly disappointed. He

wanted to stun the cue ball a little bit more. He will be hampered by the

red, I feel. That was very well played. And he

did not get a kiss. He hatched to put so much concentration into the

pot, he could not think about playing the Canon. But he probably

thought he was bound to be on an easy read -- cannon. He is going to

play the one at this end. If he plays it playing ball, he could kiss

the red and stay on the black. That was very well played. If the

scoreline was not as it was, you would have to suggest he was

favourite, even though he is behind, where the reds are. But this is to

stay in a match and it is not as straightforward. But he is starting

to play better. He was short of pace with that

positional shot. He wanted to be straight on the pink to the left

middle. The green ball looks the best to

play because he will have more control of the cue ball.

It needed to slow up, and it did. He just needs a good positional shot to

make life easier. Once again, he just ran a fraction

too far. There are two reds above it on the

left-hand side which will pot to the right-hand corner but importing

this, they will all -- Britpop. He is going to the pink. Just brought

that attraction too far. -- a fraction too far. It is not a great

angle. He can screw around two cushions and get to the reds in the

right-hand corner. Just past the reds with a little bit of right-hand

side. He has played the two cushions. It needed to have been a

fraction harder. Some of these fractions just make a difference.

Importing this pink, he could nudge those two reds interplay, that are

to the right of the pink. -- in potting this pink.

Nicely getting those two reds into play.

This is a terrific chance. We know the consequences, if he should miss

at any time. His breaks have improved, 62, to go

8-4, should he go on to win this match, he will get his highest break

of the match. He still has got a bit of work to do. He is 11 points

behind. That is not the best shot he has ever played. Just when you

thought he had done the hard work and got good cue ball control, he

has gone out opposition, slightly. -- out of position. It should have

been easier than this. And Mark Selby now just five points in front

in this frame and maybe getting a little bit concerned, because he has

not played that well this evening. He has given Ricky Walden several

chances, and he saw what happened to Neil Robertson last night. If you

keep missing chances and giving your opponent hope, well, this is a big

shot. He will take on one of the reds. He needs to get it, you feel.

Well played. Well played. Nicely on the green. I say the green because

that is the perfect angle to bring him down for the red. He may be

thinking about the brown, stunning round off two cushions, he feels

more comfortable with this. This, the last telling shot he the

playwright. -- he needs to play right.

Just a fraction, he needed to roll a couple of inches. It shouldn't be a

problem. He is pretty efficient with the rest. Nicely played. Green,

brown and blue. He has come up a bit short, you

don't expect him to miss the blue, but it is the blue, for the frame.

In it goes, very well played. He needed to play a couple of good

shots. But the balls had to be potted. It was a poor safety shot

Atleti men. And as I said, he is a fluent player, Ricky Walden. He can

rattle frames off in no time at all. The frame is over. Will he be

getting concerned, Mark Selby? Maybe a little. He has now reduced his

arrears, to three. It is now 85 -- 8-5. Mark Selby, undoubtedly in my

opinion is one of the top two players in the world in the safety

department but he hit this one very poorly. I thought he would be

looking to knock something into the side cushion. But a player that

badly. And all the reds in the open. The colours wherein the open.

But, you have still got to pot them and he took it very well. When he is

playing quickly and fluently, he looks excellent. His safety has been

poor this afternoon and this evening, but that little buzz of

three frames on the trot could give him that little sperm, and he

thinks, maybe I have got a slight chance. -- has given him a little

spur. He has got some rhythm going at the moment. Apart from the

maximum. Mark Selby has not been at his best. Not the entire

tournament, to be fair. He has had to scrape through. They have had to

change the black. The Black has got a mark on it from the Mac -- from

the back of the pocket. They have had to change it. It has come off

the leather of the pocket, bouncing about. It was like a game of

ping-pong. Mark Selby breaking off in frame 14,

he will be hoping that it is the last time that he has broken off in

this match. Will it be this frame, or the next? If he loses another, he

will not be too concerned, until about 8-6. Otherwise he has put

pressure on himself for no reason. That was a nice shot. Very well

played. You get the feeling that he is growing in confidence. His hopes

are hanging by a thread. That red on the side cushion is

causing him a little bit of a problem because it is slightly

thinner than he would like. Has he hit the red? Goodness me. It turned

out to be an excellent safety shot. A little tap on the table that, from

Ricky Walden. In the heat of battle, I like to see the sportsmanship. If

he misses the brown, this looks like another good safety. He is starting

to find the ball cushion. It certainly helps. -- the baulk

cushion. It must be like hitting a brick

wall, hinting that cue ball. How could you tell from here?

Commentator's I? -- commentator's eye. It is no good trying to get

behind the colour here, they would rather get onto the baulk fission

and try to force him to play a safety shot. -- the baulk cushion.

He may try to open a few reds out. He has got to be careful here,

because of that loose red. He does not want to leave a chance at a pop

for Ricky on that. -- a pot. He needs to cover something. Does the

brown country as rescue? I don't think so, I don't think so. -- come

to his rescue. He can get through to this red. Suddenly, his safety has

gone astray. Mark Selby, that is. Yes. A few errors creeping in.

He had to play the red. Nothing is easy at this stage, particularly

when you are trailing, as Ricky is. But, he had to take it on. He's not

going to win this match, by refusing shots like that.

He didn't have a lot of an idea of where the cue ball was going to go.

But he has got an excellent case, and the brown is on. He could get on

the red below the black. The one at the back of the pack does pot to the

right-hand corner. He has played this one on the side

cushion. Don't blame me for that! Because this is frame and match, he

is trying to be a little bit ultra careful. There was a lovely gap

between those two reds. If he gets through there, he opens them up. He

is trying to be ultra careful at the moment. I like that shot, if he

kisses the red on the outside, it is OK. We will just see whether he gets

the case. He's going to have to open them up sometime, so why not when he

has got the perfect angle? He is not laying it this time. -- playing it.

It surprises me a little, I have got to be honest, especially the way

that he has played that shot. He has gone into his shell little bit.

Maybe thinking he will try to play a no risk game and, he's bound to get

the frame he needs, but snooker is a funny game. If you don't play the

right shots sometimes, it can come back to haunt you.

He has got the blue. He could have finished up on nothing. If he ended

up touching the brown, which he was only a fraction away from doing.

He would like to get the white ball somewhere near where his knee is on

the table at the moment. Which he has done, now, so it should still be

OK. If he just cut the shot slightly thinner, he could lose the white

little bit, but the pink will be available to the middle. It is all

about getting rid of the red to the right of the black. That is causing

the problem. He played into them, and that was

nowhere near as good a chance to get into them as the previous time.

That was the only read he was left with. He is not in perfect position.

It was a good pot. A similar shot to what Ricky Walden had in the last

frame. Both played them well. This is his chance to get rid of the

red that is causing the problems. Because he can only play the black

in one pocket at the minute. Now he has the chance for frame and match.

Just over four hours and three quarters.

I am sure Ricky Walden is sitting there, thinking he is highly

unlikely to get another shot. Just a red and a colour is needed to

seal the deal. This black will put him 72 points in

front, with just 67 remaining. Ricky Walden will be very

disappointed with the way he played. There was a little bit of a

comeback from 8-2 down, but you always felt he left himself a little

bit too much to do. Mark Selby has taken these very well. And what a

final in prospects with the world 's number one and the world number two

in the second-biggest tournament we have in our calendar. It will be

something to savour. Mark Selby is the defending champion. There are

not many players who retain this title.

A chance of the 80th century of the tournament. And this will be his

fall. I think he will remember his third for quite some time. -- his

fourth. He did not get the best contacts so it might finish on 88.

Are they tears of joy? Yes, she knows her husband has done the job

this evening and not at his best. That was a good recovery. She is

happy now. That was very well played indeed.

There have been times this evening when he has not been at his best but

you know there is something about Mark, he will dig in and somehow

find a way. When a player is out of form, you do not expect them to make

a century, never mind a 147. He has the perfect temperament for the

game. It is not all about potting balls. When he came into the club as

a 14-year-old lad, playing for hours on his own, never at that time did

we think he could be doing what he is doing now, and doing it so well.

He should have seen the kiss on the black coming, shouldn't he?! And a

good pot on the blue. Will he finish on the pink?

You are supposed to keep one foot on the floor, but it does not matter.

What a way to finish the match. His wife Vicky and her father absolutely

overjoyed. Spare a thought for Ricky Walden, who will be disappointed.

But Mark Selby, the defending champion is in the final game, and

tomorrow he will play Neil Robertson. What a matchup will stop

England versus Australia. He will be mightily relieved. That MIDI

comeback from which he -- Ricky Walden kept him on his toes. He was

cheered on by his wife and father-in-law. Your assessment. He

had a 147, but he seemed to struggle. If you take away the 147

he will probably be disappointed in how he played, and disappointed that

he got 28-2 and it lasted so long tonight. But he is in the final of

the UK championship -- 8-2. Tomorrow's match is huge. He could

return to world number one. Where would you rate his form? I have not

seen him play at his best this week. He would say he is probably playing

at 60% of what he can play. He still has the mentor a la tea that he digs

in all of the time and that is a great asset to have. -- he has that

mentality. Give us your assessment of how and why you have managed to

get into the final. I have not played fantastic. 147 came from

nowhere. I was struggling. Ricky had chances but did not take them. I was

picking up the pieces when he missed. It was nice to finish with a

century. Playing tomorrow, I cannot afford those mistakes. We will take

you back to the shiny moment of the match. The only good moment. Up to

the green, I thought I had played the perfect break. I was telling

myself I must not under hit that and then idea to and after that every

shot seem difficult. On the pink, I probably should have used the rest,

but I did not feel comfortable under pressure. So I used the rest. It was

lovely to see the interaction with the crowd at a pressure filled

moment. It can't be down a little bit. If I did not do any thing, I

probably would have thought up the shot. I felt OK during the break.

When I got 280, I knew I had won frame. I felt OK -- once I got up to

80. When I potted the pink, all I was thinking about was, do not miss

it. When I saw where the white ball finished, I thought, not again. None

of us can remember a 147 made with the black ball to that pocket. When

I hit that, I did not think it was in at the start. On these tables,

they seem to stay straight a lot of the time. It was the 100th maximum

in professional snooker. I made one a few years ago but I was already

out of the tournament, it was in the group stages, and I got ?1000. But

to do it live on the BBC in a big tournament is a special moment. You

now have Neil Robertson. The third big final you have played of 2013.

He is a great player. He is world number one. He has been so

consistent. It will be tough. I need to perform better, no disrespect to

the opponents I have beaten, but I will have two perform better. The

147 must give you inspiration going into tomorrow. It can only get

better. It did, because I knew the next frame was huge. If Ricky had

got out with 5-3, he would have been over the moon. I managed to make a

good break afterwards. I want to know how he keeps winning when he

plays 50%. It is so difficult to do, particularly with the standard of

the game. I probably have played 50%, 60%. Sometimes I have played in

patches, sometimes I have laid like an amateur. Maybe it is

concentration, I do not know. Retaining the UK championship, you

would overtake Neil Robertson in the rankings. It would be great. Having

been there before, I do not see it like a milestone as before, when I

got there for the first time. With the new format, apart from this

tournament, when you are seeded number one, I do not think the

rankings matter so much with everybody coming in. You have given

us maximum entertainment. We wish you the best for the final. There we

are. We will return tomorrow at 1:55pm for the start of the two

session final. 128 players started and it is the world number one and

world number two who will finish it. Goodbye.

CHEERING As Bobby Moore

Sports personality of 1970 - our 'Enry - Henry Cooper!