Fourth Round - Part 2

:00:33. > :00:40.Hello. There has been a lot to get our heads around in the last few

:00:41. > :00:46.days in York in this year's UK Championship. 128 players started

:00:47. > :00:51.and have been whittled down to 12 and yesterday Marco Fu, David Grace

:00:52. > :00:56.and Mark Selby all booked their places in the quarterfinals. Today

:00:57. > :01:02.the remaining four spots are going to be filled. We have got an

:01:03. > :01:07.absolutely plumb tied to look forward to this afternoon. The only

:01:08. > :01:11.top 16 contests between Australia's Neil Robertson and Scotland's

:01:12. > :01:51.Stephen Maguire. Why not settle down for less? -- this.

:01:52. > :02:01.They are both former winners of this UK title, Maguire in 2004 and 2013

:02:02. > :02:06.for Robertson. What came along with that is the missing piece of the

:02:07. > :02:11.career jigsaw, the Triple Crown, a very significant win. On the way to

:02:12. > :02:15.that title he beat Stephen Maguire but in the six times that they have

:02:16. > :02:25.met since, quite surprising, Maguire has had the upper hand in five of

:02:26. > :02:29.those six. Bring on the rematch. The Aussie is on a roll with his first

:02:30. > :02:35.title of the season coming last month and an unbeaten run of seven

:02:36. > :02:39.matches. Keeping calm and carrying on Stephen Maguire says he beats

:02:40. > :02:46.himself up too much of the table. Keeping chilled food keep the men.

:02:47. > :02:50.Liang Wenbo is walking tall after his memorable comeback against Judd

:02:51. > :03:01.Trump. Leicester players are on the up. Jimmy Vardy and Tom Ford.

:03:02. > :03:04.Whether you get a kick out of another text conversation but the

:03:05. > :03:08.appliance of science is at hand and a machine mark top-seeded is about

:03:09. > :03:16.to be unveiled and you can join in the conversation if you are up for

:03:17. > :03:20.some chat. It is almost time to get cracking. The Barbican arena is

:03:21. > :03:23.filling up nicely and the players will be out any moment. The

:03:24. > :03:28.quarterfinal is calling and so is the trophy. Both of them have had

:03:29. > :03:41.their hands on it before. Before they come out we have time for an

:03:42. > :03:44.analysis of both. First the Aussie. Neil Robertson 2010 world champion

:03:45. > :03:49.has been a dominant force in the game for a long time. Walks around

:03:50. > :03:53.the table like a male peacock strutting his stuff. It must be

:03:54. > :03:59.tough for his opponent. I like his mental strength. He has the desire.

:04:00. > :04:04.He wants to win as many trophies as possible. His biggest rinses his

:04:05. > :04:08.term temperament. You would never know if he is winning or losing. He

:04:09. > :04:14.walks around like he owns the place. He has worked Snooker owed. He has

:04:15. > :04:19.worked out how to play this game. He does not just rely on his

:04:20. > :04:25.strengths. The way he plays is the way that a sports psychologist would

:04:26. > :04:28.try to teach somebody to become. You do not get the feeling he is in the

:04:29. > :04:31.dressing room having negative thoughts. He looks as if he is

:04:32. > :04:37.always going out for the next shot to be a positive one. As he always

:04:38. > :04:41.done it like that? I remember playing him very early on in our

:04:42. > :04:45.careers and I did not think he was that good, not meaning to sound

:04:46. > :04:50.horrible. He has turned out to be one of the best players we have ever

:04:51. > :04:54.seen in the game. Back then he was a mad potter and would go for

:04:55. > :05:00.everything. They had a bit of a brick wall. Unlike most he worked

:05:01. > :05:03.out the way round it. He has used YouTube and studied old footage to

:05:04. > :05:08.make himself better. He has worked out how to be a better player. He

:05:09. > :05:15.dropped off the tour a couple of times so it shows you his mental

:05:16. > :05:21.character. Mental strength. A very astute all-round player who stands

:05:22. > :05:24.out in all areas. Great at cueing. Great cue power. He annoys me he is

:05:25. > :05:32.so good. Does he have any weaknesses? He is not great at

:05:33. > :05:36.catching flights. Good. He is the current world number 1 of light

:05:37. > :05:41.mist. He is way ahead of all the rest of the tour. There are times

:05:42. > :05:46.when we have sat in the studio and thought he has got bogged down, he

:05:47. > :05:52.has taken too long over an obvious shot. He concentrates a bit too much

:05:53. > :05:57.in trying to be exact and constantly walking round the table too much.

:05:58. > :06:03.Sometimes he has slowed down that little bit instead of taking those

:06:04. > :06:08.few seconds of your shot time. Sometimes he is trying to be too

:06:09. > :06:13.exact. When he works he is very effective. He beat me in the Masters

:06:14. > :06:20.final a few years ago. Sometimes he had me in a unworkable possessions.

:06:21. > :06:26.He takes his time over shots. I was thinking, what is he playing here? I

:06:27. > :06:41.might as well have had my hands tied behind my back. When it works he is

:06:42. > :06:44.very good. On his day, very tough to beat, very good player, scores with

:06:45. > :06:51.the best, safety is with the best. Very tough cookie. If he knuckled

:06:52. > :06:56.down he could have won a lot more than he has done. His determination

:06:57. > :07:02.is second to none. He is such a tough fiery competitor. A great

:07:03. > :07:08.player and great guy. Very fiery character, shows his emotions, and

:07:09. > :07:12.sometimes it works against him. He has underachieved. He is a fantastic

:07:13. > :07:19.player. He is feisty, buying is the table. Most of us feel like that

:07:20. > :07:22.most of the time. I do not want to sound a rocketry because he has done

:07:23. > :07:27.more than me but I think he has underachieved. He shows his

:07:28. > :07:33.temperament but that is just him. Once he does that he is ready for

:07:34. > :07:36.the next shot. If he does not win a World Championship he will kick

:07:37. > :07:39.himself when he looks back on his career because then his heart he

:07:40. > :07:45.will know that he was good enough to be world champion. We all know he

:07:46. > :07:50.has the ability. He is waiting for that spark to reignite. For him to

:07:51. > :07:58.produce the snooker that he was producing seven or eight years ago.

:07:59. > :08:02.I am with somebody who is definitely qualify to know about Stephen

:08:03. > :08:06.Maguire because he used to be your practice partner. I used to play

:08:07. > :08:13.hours with him. Fantastic potential. I knew he would be winner and he won

:08:14. > :08:18.very quickly. A couple of the boys have said underachiever. I think he

:08:19. > :08:22.has everything. What stopped him? At times his dedication to the game has

:08:23. > :08:26.not been what it should have been. The last thing you want to do is to

:08:27. > :08:32.look back and think I should have done this or that. He should be

:08:33. > :08:40.world champion by now. He has a good record against the Australian. I

:08:41. > :08:44.think it is 11-7. Neil has a really tough match today and if he is going

:08:45. > :08:49.to win the tournament he has to do it the hard way. He could have Mark

:08:50. > :08:53.Selby or John Higgins just to get to the final. Yes, but I think he

:08:54. > :08:57.relishes that situation. He wants to beat the best. I am really looking

:08:58. > :09:08.forward to this match. It is hard to believe there are only

:09:09. > :09:12.four days to go in this year's UK Championship. By the end of tonight

:09:13. > :09:32.we will identity of identity of all of our quarterfinalist. Once again

:09:33. > :09:37.it is showtime at the Barbican. These welcome a former PDC Grand

:09:38. > :09:43.Final and snooker shoot out semifinalist, after victory and the

:09:44. > :09:47.reigning Shanghai Masters champion, this is one of the biggest

:09:48. > :10:09.opportunities of his career so far, give it up for Leicester's Tom Ford.

:10:10. > :10:15.His opponent, what a victory in the third round, coming back from 4-1

:10:16. > :10:19.down to beat Judd Trump. He reached his second major final this season

:10:20. > :10:42.at the six reds in Thailand. He is flying high, all the way from China,

:10:43. > :10:45.Liang Wenbo. On table one, this could be an absolute classic. Please

:10:46. > :10:50.welcome one of the most aggressive break-builders in the game. UK

:10:51. > :10:56.champion in 2004 he made the semis last year. Five times ranking event

:10:57. > :11:16.winner. When he is good he is on fire. He is Stephen Maguire. His

:11:17. > :11:26.opponent, a player who completed snooker's trickle, actionable crown

:11:27. > :11:28.here, winner of last month's Champion of Champions, what an

:11:29. > :11:34.impact he has made since his arrival from Australia. Can you hear the

:11:35. > :11:53.Thunder from Down Under? Here is Neil Robertson. Neil Robertson going

:11:54. > :11:58.for the theatrical twist to his work on. Do not forget you have red

:11:59. > :12:04.button and connected TV options for table two. We are not taking our

:12:05. > :12:10.eyes of table one. Neither are Steve Davis and John Virgo.

:12:11. > :12:21.Good afternoon. This has all the makings of a classic. Neil Robertson

:12:22. > :12:33.just filling his glass with water. They check cancer. -- shake hands.

:12:34. > :12:48.What a wonderful match this shapes up to be, so evenly matched. Yes, it

:12:49. > :13:03.is the vegan against the carnivore. Maybe not technically, but Stephen

:13:04. > :13:08.Maguire plays like one. One of the great keys to this match will be the

:13:09. > :13:12.safety. Good safety for seizure opponent into a mistake and then

:13:13. > :13:22.scored when you get in. Taking this one. Both great rate builders. Took

:13:23. > :13:26.it on in the belief that the only red he could leave was the 1 he was

:13:27. > :13:32.playing and that has proved the case, he is safe. If you look at

:13:33. > :13:41.head-to-head I would not have got that right. Stephen Maguire is in

:13:42. > :13:53.front. Yes. Not many people have a good record against Neil. Where is

:13:54. > :14:01.this red going? Over the pocket. Stephen will be little bit annoyed.

:14:02. > :14:04.He played off the reds. He misjudged the red hitting the bump in the

:14:05. > :14:10.middle of the pocket and that is why it has gone over the corner.

:14:11. > :14:21.Mistake. He will feel aggrieved. You cannot account for that. Well

:14:22. > :14:28.controlled. A chance to split the pack open should you so wish over

:14:29. > :14:41.yellow or green. Big targets from the side cushion into the pack. Just

:14:42. > :14:46.below the pink. Either side. Into them it goes. You always need a

:14:47. > :14:51.little bit of luck. He hit pink first instead of just below it. Even

:14:52. > :15:00.so, still a great shot anti-gang count himself unlucky. A little bit

:15:01. > :15:08.lower. And it would have stayed in the middle of the table.

:15:09. > :15:18.Understandably early on in the match that was a very missable shot into

:15:19. > :15:22.the middle pocket. Yes. One of the best poppers in the game.

:15:23. > :15:31.Disappointed that he did not make the most of that opportunity, but it

:15:32. > :15:36.is the first frame, nerves, tension. Stephen having a look to CV can get

:15:37. > :15:42.through to this red. It must be tight. It is not easy shot. With the

:15:43. > :15:46.cue ball. It is a tricky cut along the cushion. If you can get to this

:15:47. > :15:59.one to the left corner it would give him position on the black. It looks

:16:00. > :16:05.like it goes but it is typed. It is a very aggressive pots. It looks as

:16:06. > :16:10.if you would have to play for the black if that does pot. He has given

:16:11. > :16:28.us this enough attention that he must be going for it. That was a

:16:29. > :16:33.wonderful pot. You can always tell it is good the way it smacks the

:16:34. > :16:44.back of the leather. Good start. How straight did that you go through?

:16:45. > :16:45.Very positive strike. Got the cue ball into a place that was

:16:46. > :17:05.relatively safe if he had missed. That is an excellent shot. He did

:17:06. > :17:09.not really wind the angle. Lots of top spin. Could not have hit much

:17:10. > :17:30.better. -- it. He did have a look at this red that

:17:31. > :17:35.is by the green to see whether it was available. I know it is

:17:36. > :17:40.available into the opposite corner pocket to the brown. Obviously

:17:41. > :17:52.available into the middle. It is not ideal. He would not have

:17:53. > :18:00.liked to have been so straight on that ground. This is a lot more

:18:01. > :18:12.difficult than it looks. On our TV screens.

:18:13. > :18:21.Made to look easy. Really striking the ball positively. It is a trait

:18:22. > :18:25.of the modern-day players, they do not roll balls into the pockets to

:18:26. > :18:30.try to effectively make the pocket beggar, they beside to go

:18:31. > :18:37.full-blooded for the shots, strike it for Mike and hope that the firm

:18:38. > :18:42.strikers up better way of playing and trundling the ball towards the

:18:43. > :18:45.pocket. Particularly on these superfine cloth is you cannot date

:18:46. > :18:54.celebrate, you have to get through the ball. You have to go into them.

:18:55. > :19:01.You always need a little bit of luck. Does the black go in the

:19:02. > :19:10.opposite corner? Can he get up for the black? I thought he perhaps

:19:11. > :19:19.played that a tad too hard. In hindsight I am seeing that. It was

:19:20. > :19:30.not a blue that he could place soft to the pack. A bit tricky, this one.

:19:31. > :19:35.not a blue that he could place soft He has had a look at the black. The

:19:36. > :19:39.black only just goes. If you were straight behind the black universe

:19:40. > :19:51.thing you could miss it but there is no other pocket available. These are

:19:52. > :19:56.honourable shots. -- horrible. You try to play for the far job but you

:19:57. > :20:02.know if you do not get the perfect contact you get the half kick and it

:20:03. > :20:08.goes thick and you miss it and you cannot afford to play for the centre

:20:09. > :20:17.of the pocket, you could clip the red. Do you play this small or do

:20:18. > :20:32.you trust your good striking? -- slow. Played very well. Good start

:20:33. > :20:39.from Stephen. That was the view he was looking at. The only pocket

:20:40. > :20:45.available. They always look easy when they go in but before he played

:20:46. > :20:49.it he had been very concerned. He is on a red to the middle pocket. I

:20:50. > :20:55.think he may just be able to control the cue ball but he has to get into

:20:56. > :21:08.it and find the gap. Could play for the black once again. Absolutely

:21:09. > :21:11.marvellous shot. Superb. Stephen Maguire for a little while now has

:21:12. > :21:15.been knocking on the doors and producing something very special and

:21:16. > :21:21.he looks as if he is in that vein here. He may not have a better

:21:22. > :21:28.chance to win the UK Championship again. A number of big players

:21:29. > :21:33.already knocked out. I am not seeing the field this week, but he must be

:21:34. > :21:40.chancing the an fancying his chances. He is certainly laying down

:21:41. > :21:50.a marker. This is a tremendous contribution so far.

:21:51. > :21:59.Neil Robertson had the first chance but being the first frame a bit

:22:00. > :22:04.edgy, but he has seen one mistake can cost you the frame. The red into

:22:05. > :22:13.the middle pocket does not have to be played but players these days do

:22:14. > :22:18.not turn down half chances. I do not think you get anywhere in the game

:22:19. > :22:25.if you are refusing to try to win frames when you get a good chance.

:22:26. > :22:31.It is obviously not ideal on this black. It looks as though he can

:22:32. > :22:35.just hold for the right-hand side of those two reds. That is what he

:22:36. > :22:48.would like to do. If it was straightforward he would have played

:22:49. > :22:58.it by now. He is on a red. He is going to be running into other

:22:59. > :23:02.reds. Look a little bit as to where the cue ball is going to finish. A

:23:03. > :23:06.bit risky to try to hold for the black. I think you want to bash it

:23:07. > :23:23.up for the blue. Go through the reds. Deserves it, really, whatever

:23:24. > :23:29.happens here. Neil Robertson will be sitting thinking he is more likely

:23:30. > :23:34.to be on a colour, even though he was trusting to luck, than not. He

:23:35. > :24:05.could not have foreseen the kiss on the red. What a confident start.

:24:06. > :24:24.This black will put him 49 points in front. Probably another three reds

:24:25. > :24:28.required. I absolutely love watching Stephen Maguire when he is like

:24:29. > :24:34.this. He is an absolute animal, great to watch. Totally immersed in

:24:35. > :24:43.every break he makes. Totally committed.

:24:44. > :24:55.A quick glance at the scoreboard. This black will put him 57 points in

:24:56. > :25:01.front with 67 remaining. Just red and the colour. He will not mind if

:25:02. > :25:12.he has held the black spot. He did on purpose. Red and the colour. Once

:25:13. > :25:24.he pot the next red there will only be 59 points available. You would

:25:25. > :25:31.think he would play for the black. He decided to go up for the blue. It

:25:32. > :25:38.has gone slightly wrong. 58 points the lead. Still 59 remaining. Made

:25:39. > :25:49.bad contact on that. It did not mean that he missed the pot but the cue

:25:50. > :26:06.ball came off a little bit wider. No problems with this black. Safely

:26:07. > :26:12.negotiated. 65 ahead, 59 remaining. What a start from Stephen Maguire.

:26:13. > :26:23.Wonderful first red. He could just get through to it. He has taken the

:26:24. > :26:31.rest very well. He has certainly laid down a marker. Neil Robertson

:26:32. > :26:36.will now that first red right in the heart of the pocket... Neil

:26:37. > :26:39.Robertson will know that if he is to get anything out of this match he is

:26:40. > :26:46.going to have to play at the top of his game. It could be a classic. I

:26:47. > :26:52.think I am right in saying that Stephen Maguire had a very good

:26:53. > :27:04.early practice partner in Stephen Hendry in Scotland. He learned to

:27:05. > :27:06.play with the very best. I am sure Stephen knows all about the

:27:07. > :28:28.potential of this young man when he was coming through the ranks.

:28:29. > :28:34.What a superb start for Stephen Maguire in this match. He gave his

:28:35. > :28:41.opponent Neil Robertson the first chance and he only got three points

:28:42. > :28:58.from it. Since that opening red he has played some superb shots.

:28:59. > :29:06.Position side of it, pots. Great start from Stephen Maguire. Telling

:29:07. > :29:10.Neil Robertson you are going to have to play well if you're going to win

:29:11. > :29:18.mismatch. 1-0 to the Scotsman. I was that for

:29:19. > :29:26.a statement of intent? A pretty fascinating draw. Only one CD player

:29:27. > :29:31.left, Marco Fu, the world number 14. What a chance for David Grace who

:29:32. > :29:36.has landed ?20,000 by getting to the quarterfinals. The best progress of

:29:37. > :29:41.his career. Martin Gould has already been another a big final this season

:29:42. > :29:50.in Australia. Completely different story, Robertson, McGuire, Higgins,

:29:51. > :29:55.Selby, all top 16. A great win formats felt last night. He has been

:29:56. > :30:03.practising. He is officially very chipper. What a fight in the bottom

:30:04. > :30:07.half. It looks incredibly tough. If Neil Robertson is going to win

:30:08. > :30:09.this, it is going to be a really tough draw. Four potentially tough

:30:10. > :30:19.matches. And who is your pick from the top

:30:20. > :30:24.half to emerge into the final? That is very tough. You could make a case

:30:25. > :30:30.for almost anyone in that half of the draw. Martin Gould is probably

:30:31. > :30:34.someone to look for. What is interesting is how they cope with

:30:35. > :30:37.it. This is an unbelievable opportunity to get through to the

:30:38. > :30:44.final. It is who copes best with that. We will find out in the next

:30:45. > :30:49.few days. Let's have a chat about what we have seen. That is standing

:30:50. > :30:53.up to Neil Robertson. If you are playing any of the top players, you

:30:54. > :30:56.have got to go out with the belief that you think you can win and you

:30:57. > :31:01.have got to show that belief straightaway. Maguire is not

:31:02. > :31:07.intimidated by the way Robertson plays. He struts around like a

:31:08. > :31:11.peacock and it is as if he owns the table but Maguire will stand up to

:31:12. > :31:15.him. We have talked about his temperament and couple of times and

:31:16. > :31:20.in a couple of quotes after matches this week, he has said he is staying

:31:21. > :31:24.calm. He has tried to tell himself that his own worst enemy has been

:31:25. > :31:30.himself. Is this a change of philosophy? It is in his character

:31:31. > :31:34.to show emotion sometimes when he is angry that we have said for a long

:31:35. > :31:38.time he should stop some of the histrionics, banging the cue and

:31:39. > :31:45.punching. But that is a break only a top player is going to make. It is

:31:46. > :31:47.punching. But that is a break only a sheer determination. It is about

:31:48. > :31:52.trying to get the first punch in early. You don't see lesser ranked

:31:53. > :31:57.players making that sort of break in the first frame of the match. He has

:31:58. > :32:03.been making some pretty good breaks. He has made back-to-back

:32:04. > :32:08.centuries. He led pretty well in that match and then got pegged back.

:32:09. > :32:12.When you can click on again after being pegged back. I have been

:32:13. > :32:17.banging the drum for this fella for I don't know how many years. He

:32:18. > :32:25.really is a top player. Neil Robertson is still out. He might not

:32:26. > :32:30.be able to do this next season. Three minutes and 15 seconds he has

:32:31. > :32:37.been out of the arena. Barry Hearn is looking at the issue of toilet

:32:38. > :32:42.breaks. It is interesting. I think you have a lot of players that go

:32:43. > :32:46.out every -- after every single frame. I played against Peter Ebdon

:32:47. > :32:52.and he was going out after every single frame. I deliberately went to

:32:53. > :33:01.my dressing room and told him to knock on my door. Players were

:33:02. > :33:06.taking liberties with it. I don't know the right and wrong is and I

:33:07. > :33:09.don't know how people's bowel movements work but I can't see that

:33:10. > :33:15.you need to go after every single frame. It is four minutes and

:33:16. > :33:20.counting at the moment. We are going to be running a feature on this in

:33:21. > :33:23.the near future, probably tomorrow. We have actually canvassed some

:33:24. > :33:31.opinion about it. Some very interesting listening. In the best

:33:32. > :33:34.of seven, is it two times you are allowed to go? Including the

:33:35. > :33:41.mid-session interval. I think they are going to put rules in place

:33:42. > :33:47.quickly. Barry was to put a limit to how long players can be away for.

:33:48. > :33:53.Now we are beginning to ask, is Neil all right? This is rather an usual.

:33:54. > :33:58.Stephen Maguire has gone in there and is waiting patiently to see

:33:59. > :34:03.whether his opponent will come back. I can see a nod there. I am not sure

:34:04. > :34:07.whether he is on the way back. We can have a quick word about Stephen

:34:08. > :34:12.Maguire. 2004, the winner of this event. He has clicked on and won a

:34:13. > :34:17.number of world ranking tournaments since then. But you have talked

:34:18. > :34:22.about his promise and potential but it has not translated into major

:34:23. > :34:25.titles. I know it is very competitive and there are lots of

:34:26. > :34:30.great players about but he is definitely one that has

:34:31. > :34:34.underachieved. He should have more trophies. Better late than never, he

:34:35. > :34:41.is back and we are under way in frame two. Strange times.

:34:42. > :34:51.Could have been a dodgy nut cutlet, I suppose. A chance, John. A

:34:52. > :35:02.speculative read, even though he is on the back cushion. It looks like

:35:03. > :35:11.he is on the back -- black, and not necessarily any damage done if he

:35:12. > :35:19.misses. Well, absolutely. And the crowd sentiments entirely. Everybody

:35:20. > :35:28.thought that was in, including me. He got too close to it.

:35:29. > :35:41.As in the first frame, the first chance falls to Neil. But he knows

:35:42. > :35:42.now that his opponent is in good form so he needs to take these

:35:43. > :36:24.opportunities. A very crisp sounding head. On the

:36:25. > :36:29.cue ball from Neil Robertson. It sounds like he has got a very hard

:36:30. > :36:38.coupon. Unless it is just the acoustic in the room. If not hard,

:36:39. > :37:03.low, with not much left of it. Perhaps it is just my headphones.

:37:04. > :37:31.Four reds and the fourth black coming up here.

:37:32. > :37:48.Decided to play the run around off to cushions. You can never guarantee

:37:49. > :37:53.a good angle and I don't think he has got an angle on the black to go

:37:54. > :38:07.into the main bunch so he will have to play for the loose red here.

:38:08. > :38:16.Still black, but it is questionable whether he will play for the black

:38:17. > :38:25.of this red. The best way to get the reds open is off the blue.

:38:26. > :38:34.No worries about the maximum but he is a bit short on that one. All the

:38:35. > :38:40.pressure on the shot was in getting the judgment of pace right. It is

:38:41. > :38:49.easy to crack up on that part of it. He could not overhead kick, he could

:38:50. > :38:58.not underhit it. There will be some power on this off the side cushion.

:38:59. > :39:05.Well, he could not have hit it much better but I don't think he is on

:39:06. > :39:12.anything. Second time in the match Neil Robertson has gone into the

:39:13. > :39:24.pack and not got on a red. He will be feeling a little aggrieved.

:39:25. > :39:39.Certainly nothing easy. Is there a double, potentially? I don't know.

:39:40. > :39:56.I thought that was a bit too acute but obviously worth the risk.

:39:57. > :40:05.Assuming this black goes from this position. The referee is looking at

:40:06. > :40:08.this closely. When he hits the black, if the red just op. Cit.

:40:09. > :40:16.Against the potting angle. It is tight. A simultaneous hit is a

:40:17. > :40:22.foul, unlike in the world of 9-ball pool.

:40:23. > :40:35.Never in doubt, was it? He played it well. Where did the black though? He

:40:36. > :40:45.has got a problem now. The cue ball holding the black spot. The pink is

:40:46. > :40:51.off its spot. I take it all back. Here is an opportunity now for Neil

:40:52. > :40:58.Robertson. He sat down for most of the first frame. A marvellous break

:40:59. > :41:03.of 118 for Stephen Maguire. If he gets to 71 in this break, that will

:41:04. > :41:12.put him in the snooker is required stage. This time he has landed

:41:13. > :41:22.perfect on the blue because the bottom red in the cluster goes to

:41:23. > :41:25.the left corner as Wheelock. Nothing shoppers up your senses more than

:41:26. > :41:34.your opponent making a hundred in the first. He was out for four

:41:35. > :41:39.minutes and whatever he did has taken the pressure off.

:41:40. > :41:49.A great response. That is the power of positive thinking from both of

:41:50. > :42:01.these gentlemen this afternoon. It could well be immense. Just a little

:42:02. > :42:06.bit careless. He wanted to be straight on this red and then it

:42:07. > :42:16.would have been a formality. Can he hold for the pink? No. He has to

:42:17. > :42:20.come back up for the blue and he is the wrong side of the blue. What

:42:21. > :42:27.looked like a straightforward run to the line is not any more. He did not

:42:28. > :42:34.really get too much reaction from that cue ball. He had the ball

:42:35. > :42:38.cleaned, which suggests perhaps a bad contact. It took all the spin of

:42:39. > :42:51.the ball. Not ideal now to get on this next

:42:52. > :42:56.red. There is one in the pack that goes into the right corner.

:42:57. > :43:03.Trusting a big Dulac in getting through the gap and he will be quite

:43:04. > :43:12.pleased with that. It could have gone anywhere. He has got a nice

:43:13. > :43:15.straight pot. And also, what takes a little bit of pressure off him, he

:43:16. > :43:32.has left the brown reasonably safe. In it goes. Can he get through to

:43:33. > :43:36.the pink? If he can, he will pop the pink and go 73 points in front with

:43:37. > :44:23.just 67 remaining. A great reply. OK, there was a comfort break for

:44:24. > :44:27.Neal, but, playing time, we have not got to half an hour yet and the

:44:28. > :44:39.second frame is over. Will we see another century? Every likelihood.

:44:40. > :44:48.What a standard to start with. Neil Robertson is certainly not shy in

:44:49. > :44:55.stabbing his authority on the match. After Thepchaiya Un-Nooh had almost

:44:56. > :45:02.made a 147, he came back in the next set with a 145. Anything you can do,

:45:03. > :45:07.I can do better. That is the key to this game. There will be a period

:45:08. > :45:11.when you have got to sit down and watch your opponent pot balls. It is

:45:12. > :45:17.how you react when you get your chance at the table. He could not

:45:18. > :45:42.have done it any better than this. This is quality.

:45:43. > :46:11.Am I correct in thinking every point over and above a century break is

:46:12. > :46:15.money for charity? It is not just a hundred breaks, it is every point

:46:16. > :46:21.over and above? I think you are right. I am not sure the players are

:46:22. > :46:31.aware of that but mopping up these balls once he gets to 100 can equate

:46:32. > :46:40.to 300 or ?400 for charity. In goes the red. Stephen Maguire made a

:46:41. > :46:47.break of 118 in the first frame. It looks like he has had one chance, he

:46:48. > :46:50.played the long red, it looked in, but it rattled in the jaws and he

:46:51. > :46:59.has been sat in his chair ever since. He thought it was in, I

:47:00. > :47:13.thought it was in. It is just superb to watch. How often do you get this

:47:14. > :47:16.start to a match? Obviously, very hard to keep this standard ebb

:47:17. > :47:20.throughout the whole match but it just shows what standards we are

:47:21. > :47:29.likely to see for the rest of the day. That positional shot from brown

:47:30. > :47:34.to blue, it could not have been played better.

:47:35. > :47:50.Well, what a pity, but it does not matter about the black. We saw all

:47:51. > :47:56.the quality of Stephen Maguire in the first. What a match we are in

:47:57. > :48:03.for now. Both players at the top of their game.

:48:04. > :48:08.Maguire in with that 118 and Robertson raises him. Maguire got

:48:09. > :48:14.the first punch in, Neil Robertson has just proved he has got a good

:48:15. > :48:18.chin. It is a reply you expect from the very best in the game but to do

:48:19. > :48:24.that is a very high standard of snooker. It is a wonderful start,

:48:25. > :48:29.and I hope you are enjoying it. John, there was one shot you picked

:48:30. > :48:33.out. This would be a hard enough shot if you were right behind it but

:48:34. > :48:38.to play it at this pace, with a little bit of side, with that pays

:48:39. > :48:44.to get on the black. That is the best shot by a mile. What were the

:48:45. > :48:49.hallmarks of his brick building abilities right now? It was here

:48:50. > :48:53.about three or four years ago that you had a chat with him about how he

:48:54. > :48:59.went about making big breaks and you said at the time it was not the kind

:49:00. > :49:02.of thinking you expected. His description of how he would go

:49:03. > :49:08.around the break was that he would just pop the ball and hope he was on

:49:09. > :49:13.a colour. I thought, surely you have got to play for the angles of the

:49:14. > :49:19.colours. He said, no, just make sure I am on it. I thought it sounded

:49:20. > :49:25.very amateurish. But since then he has made a record break of a hundred

:49:26. > :49:30.centuries in one season. And that is his fourth of this championship.

:49:31. > :49:34.Pretty breathtaking start. Frame three.

:49:35. > :49:47.No pot left of the break here. I suppose, for the connoisseur, we

:49:48. > :49:50.would like to see a little bit of safety, wouldn't we? That would

:49:51. > :50:09.spoil it, wouldn't it? I think the natural conclusion of a

:50:10. > :50:15.match, if it gets close and tense, you always get one of those tactical

:50:16. > :50:21.frames. They sometimes dictate the outcome.

:50:22. > :50:31.I would not like to see who is the best in that department. What I

:50:32. > :50:40.would say about Neil Robertson, as a professional sportsman, all you can

:50:41. > :50:45.do is ask yourself that you give yourself every chance to improve on

:50:46. > :50:51.as many different disciplines of the game as possible, whether it be

:50:52. > :51:11.health, diet, fitness, practising, bridge building. -- break-building.

:51:12. > :51:20.He is certainly committed to his career. Played a good shot there. I

:51:21. > :51:27.am not sure he can pop the red and get back to the Borg end.

:51:28. > :51:34.Stephen Maguire was eyeing up the red to the left of the black but

:51:35. > :51:40.perhaps there is a danger of a collision with the blue. There is a

:51:41. > :51:46.better path. A bit risky with the red, perhaps. A poor safety shot

:51:47. > :51:55.from Stephen Maguire. He caught it to full. This is a chance for Neil.

:51:56. > :52:03.He will be slightly hampered by the brown. That brown is just where he

:52:04. > :52:08.would normally put his hand so his bridge hand is closer to the cue

:52:09. > :52:19.ball than it would normally be. But no difference. Right in the heart of

:52:20. > :52:23.the pocket. Now the red he would like to get on almost immediately to

:52:24. > :52:30.the left of the black is at the moment stopping the black going into

:52:31. > :52:35.the left corner. The sooner he can have the black available to both

:52:36. > :52:41.corners, the better. Neil Robertson is coming off the back of a big win.

:52:42. > :52:46.He has been taking it to another level. He is currently the most

:52:47. > :52:53.dominant player in the game, the most confident.

:52:54. > :53:02.He could well be standing here on Sunday evening and you would not be

:53:03. > :53:07.surprised if Neil Robertson blitzed the whole of the rest of the

:53:08. > :53:23.tournament. If he continues in this vein.

:53:24. > :53:33.But it is funny, in his last match, which I commentated on, all the talk

:53:34. > :53:39.was about the missed black by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for the maximum,

:53:40. > :53:46.and then Neil Robertson making a break of 145, but in the first

:53:47. > :53:52.frame, with just a reasonable run of the balls, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh could

:53:53. > :53:58.have been three or four frames in front. It is only after he started

:53:59. > :54:03.to play that Neil Robertson started to play well. At the start of that

:54:04. > :54:12.match, he did not play that well. He has gone into them and he may be

:54:13. > :54:24.unlucky again. The third time. He has got thin cuts into either corner

:54:25. > :54:28.but they are all horrible. When you go into them like this, you are just

:54:29. > :54:35.looking for an easy read to help you continue. You have got to control

:54:36. > :54:46.the cue ball. It is a bit harder with screw. Trying to hold the ball.

:54:47. > :54:48.Easier played as a plain ball shot. But he did not make it look

:54:49. > :55:08.difficult at all. Well, we could very easily be

:55:09. > :55:20.looking at three centuries in the first three frames here.

:55:21. > :55:47.If anything, if anything a sprain is the downside of snooker, it is this,

:55:48. > :55:52.because as we so on so many occasions, no matter how good you

:55:53. > :55:57.are, if your opponent is at the table potting balls, there is

:55:58. > :56:05.nothing you can do about it. OK, it was a week safety shot from Stephen

:56:06. > :56:10.but he is now thinking, that is the only shot I am going to get in this

:56:11. > :56:19.frame. It is a tough school at this level. And the shot Stephen Maguire

:56:20. > :56:23.missed in the second frame was only millimetres out at most from

:56:24. > :56:33.dropping. It could have been him winning the second.

:56:34. > :56:42.And we are talking as if this is a formality, which is far from the

:56:43. > :56:47.truth, but the way Neil Robertson is strutting around the table, striking

:56:48. > :57:01.the ball, it does not look like he is going to miss a shot.

:57:02. > :57:11.That is OK. He may have to get the extension out but he has got a nice

:57:12. > :57:20.angle on this red to pocket and stern of the side cushion. There is

:57:21. > :57:24.the barometer. He is looking for 68 points to get to the winning line in

:57:25. > :57:27.this frame. After what we saw in the last frame, you would be surprised

:57:28. > :57:47.if he did not. He will not want to play for the red

:57:48. > :57:53.that is near the top cushion but if he plays for another red, it could

:57:54. > :57:58.go slightly wrong. Maybe he is playing the pink rather than the

:57:59. > :58:05.black. That way he can just stun it in. As I say, he does not want to

:58:06. > :58:10.play for the red near the top cushion if he can help it. In the

:58:11. > :58:17.end, he thought, there is no other way. That is OK, as long as he has

:58:18. > :58:23.left himself a good angle on this red.

:58:24. > :58:44.There is a red on the right-hand side as we look, into the corner

:58:45. > :58:51.pocket. He just wants to roll this black in. Should find the gap, no

:58:52. > :58:56.problem. He is hitting the ball so sweetly. The cue ball under tight

:58:57. > :59:09.control. It really is sensational stuff,

:59:10. > :59:10.this. This black will put him 72 points in front with just 67

:59:11. > :59:27.remaining. Did not really pop that black into

:59:28. > :59:38.the right part of the pocket to get ideally on this red.

:59:39. > :59:47.An easy game, really, isn't it? He gets everything right in the middle

:59:48. > :59:49.of the pocket. Not the best flick of the brown but the frame looks well

:59:50. > :00:16.and truly safe. They are quite hard shots, whacking

:00:17. > :00:38.them full pace. Very easy to miss. Great try. A bit unlucky. That is

:00:39. > :00:42.enough for Stephen Maguire. It is plain for all to see, one mistake

:00:43. > :01:55.and it is going to cost you the frame. A high standard.

:01:56. > :02:06.A fascinating look at Neil Robertson's career. He is certainly

:02:07. > :02:17.proving today why he is number three in the world. Everything about his

:02:18. > :02:21.game has been clinical. When you consider he sat out most of the

:02:22. > :02:27.first frame it takes a lot of character to hit back as he has

:02:28. > :02:32.done. The mid-session interval is after this frame so it is a big one

:02:33. > :02:34.for Stephen. He does not want to drop two behind. He will be taking

:02:35. > :02:54.this red on. That is the way he plays. As he got

:02:55. > :03:09.away with it? He is having a look at Neal's face and whether he can get

:03:10. > :03:23.through to the red. Can he? I think not. Perhaps yes. You play it with a

:03:24. > :03:29.bit of right-hand side to turn it over, but tricky. Judging by his

:03:30. > :03:37.stance, he is not ready to play this shot yet. He is just lining it up. I

:03:38. > :03:47.am not sure looking from behind is going to make much difference. He is

:03:48. > :03:57.just mentally preparing himself. Stephen Maguire has played that same

:03:58. > :04:02.shot twice. Messed the frame up once, got away with at this time.

:04:03. > :04:06.Was not far off. There was an element of safety as you can see by

:04:07. > :04:13.where the cue ball has ended up but he was forced to go for that red

:04:14. > :04:22.twice on the trot. The fraction is just favoured Stephen Maguire on

:04:23. > :04:34.that occasion. No attempt at the pot. He is playing the containing

:04:35. > :04:44.safety. This could slow things down a little bit. Always a danger in the

:04:45. > :04:49.other half of the table. You have to try to cover that. I always felt

:04:50. > :04:54.that when you were in the ascendancy in a match it was renewed interest

:04:55. > :05:02.to clear the black as quick as possible just in case you got

:05:03. > :05:12.another cast iron chance of a big break. Could have tried to have

:05:13. > :05:21.knocked reds away from the black but chose not to. Not a great safety

:05:22. > :05:24.shot. There is a possibility of a pretty aggressive shot and hear from

:05:25. > :05:32.Stephen Maguire of the side of the pack with a bit of side spin. Could

:05:33. > :05:35.get behind the brown. He has to be a little bit wary he does not knock

:05:36. > :05:47.anything on towards the corner pocket. He has cast that a little

:05:48. > :05:54.bit too fig. He is not going to get in behind the brown. He had a good

:05:55. > :05:58.line. He has left a pot on for Neil Robertson. These are tough because

:05:59. > :06:06.you know you're going to be running into the reds. It is a shot for

:06:07. > :06:09.nothing guaranteed. He will be looking for the safety option, but

:06:10. > :06:14.there's the safety option easier than taking on the pot? I do not

:06:15. > :06:22.think there is any guaranteed route out of the top of the table after

:06:23. > :06:35.potting this. Gaps are not exactly a premium. It has to be good safety.

:06:36. > :06:41.You want to get as close to this baulk cushion as possible. Stop

:06:42. > :06:49.Stephen Maguire getting his hand on the table and getting the red he has

:06:50. > :06:54.turned down. I did not even think the pot was on. I thought it was a

:06:55. > :07:00.pure safety shot. Not a commentator's I. You can see the

:07:01. > :07:06.look on Stephen's face. How has he potted that? He is thinking. That

:07:07. > :07:12.has left in the perfect angle on the brown. Stephen did nothing wrong.

:07:13. > :07:19.Just a superb pot and Stephen Maguire is sitting wondering if he

:07:20. > :07:23.will get a chance in this frame before the mid-session interval.

:07:24. > :07:31.Having started the match so well, he could go into the interval 3-1

:07:32. > :07:37.behind in the blink of an eye. Neil Robertson has eyed up a position on

:07:38. > :07:42.this red into the left corner. He could have pocketed the red and

:07:43. > :08:10.freed up the black. He has misjudged it. He actually might have come out

:08:11. > :08:34.even better. A bit of a bad contact on that red.

:08:35. > :08:47.Not necessarily plain sailing as yet in this break.

:08:48. > :08:55.It is always a little bit tricky when the black is only available to

:08:56. > :09:08.one of the corner pockets. Going up for the blue. Everything in the

:09:09. > :09:11.moment is rates in the heart. That is usually a good sign for the

:09:12. > :09:23.player. Not too good for your opponent. Both with very high pot

:09:24. > :09:30.success. If you get that going you would win most matches, but there is

:09:31. > :09:38.only going to be one minor. -- winner. I do not know how Neil

:09:39. > :09:44.Robertson changed around his break-building from being, as

:09:45. > :09:53.Stephen Hendry put it, amateurish, to being one of the top rate

:09:54. > :10:02.builders in the game, but I would like to pick his brains and find out

:10:03. > :10:05.how he did it. Did he watch videos on the game or did he just put more

:10:06. > :10:29.attention into it in practice? He could play the red back of the

:10:30. > :10:37.black but he is concerned about running into another red. Back up

:10:38. > :10:45.for the blue. I remember when I first heard about Neil and he still

:10:46. > :10:49.practices with Joe Perry and Joe said, an unbelievable plot of the

:10:50. > :10:55.ball but that is about all he has got to the game. If you can pop a

:10:56. > :11:00.ball, you can be successful at this game, because that is the key, being

:11:01. > :11:06.able to pot balls. To acquire that touch to make these frame-winning

:11:07. > :11:14.contributions as he has done so far, that takes hours of practice,

:11:15. > :11:25.shot selection is key. You cannot do it unless you are a great potter. He

:11:26. > :11:31.certainly has that. At the moment he is keeping Stephen Maguire, who we

:11:32. > :11:38.know is in good touch, sat in his seat, and nothing he can do about

:11:39. > :11:41.it. He has got three or four reds that pot into the left corner so

:11:42. > :11:48.potting the blue and screwing between the brown and green should

:11:49. > :11:55.more or less guarantee position but he really wants to get on this black

:11:56. > :12:05.because he could come unstuck. Keep on going down for blues in the end.

:12:06. > :12:12.A bit too hard. Unless he can get through. OK. That is handy. That

:12:13. > :12:22.frees up the black should he want to. What's this red, either clears

:12:23. > :12:31.the other red to the left of the black away, does not have to do it

:12:32. > :12:45.that way, he could drop in out the back. Very precise. I thought he had

:12:46. > :12:54.overhead that blow. He could have laid on those two reds. A couple of

:12:55. > :13:10.good positional shots away from securing this frame. On slightly

:13:11. > :13:22.wrong. He will have to play the red to the middle. Imperative he gets a

:13:23. > :13:32.good angle on the blue. Image perfect. It all looked so good for

:13:33. > :13:40.Stephen that first frame when he made the break of 118. He sets down

:13:41. > :13:59.a marker. He has not had much chance since. That is not his best

:14:00. > :14:10.positional shot. Not too bad. He thank you passed the reds but it

:14:11. > :14:16.could have got awkward. Because he was not that good on the red he has

:14:17. > :14:20.run out of position somewhat. He looked quizzically at the cushion as

:14:21. > :14:31.if he got a bit of a bounce but that did not look like it to me. Still

:14:32. > :14:37.needs, you would think, three of these reds after the colour, so he

:14:38. > :14:44.is not over the line just yet. The yellow looks a good ball, if it

:14:45. > :14:55.goes. REFEREE: Yellow. It is just a

:14:56. > :15:10.fantastic shot. Unusual to see the yellow going

:15:11. > :15:15.above its spot in a direct line with the top cushion, but that is what he

:15:16. > :15:33.has had to do there. Obviously not something Neil

:15:34. > :15:36.Robertson is bothered about. He is just bothered about getting over the

:15:37. > :15:46.line, but it makes the 100 break difficult. Kick. I think he thought

:15:47. > :15:52.for a moment that maybe he had missed it. It bounced. It went right

:15:53. > :15:56.in the middle of the pocket, but if he catches that near jaw it could

:15:57. > :16:14.have been a problem. He only needs the red. He will have the 3-1 lead

:16:15. > :16:20.if he gets it. Amazing standard. Terrific snooker. Less than an hour

:16:21. > :16:29.it will have taken for these four frames. To have completely stole the

:16:30. > :16:33.day away from Stephen Maguire after what Stephen Maguire produced in the

:16:34. > :16:41.opening frame is a monumental achievement really. It just shows

:16:42. > :16:49.you the concentration and the belief that Neil Robertson has. Anyone

:16:50. > :16:53.after that first frame could have been forgiven for being a little bit

:16:54. > :17:08.shaken but it just seemed to spur him on. Some of his positional

:17:09. > :17:13.shots here in this break have been superb because he has slightly run

:17:14. > :17:18.out of position but every time he has come back for the reds he has

:17:19. > :17:28.landed almost inch perfect every time and that is not easy to do. On

:17:29. > :17:32.these costs. I do not think he will have bothered to do the maths but by

:17:33. > :17:40.taking the high colours all the time he can make the 100 break. Too many

:17:41. > :17:50.blues and he would have been struggling. Just a great

:17:51. > :17:56.performance. I remember of the other night when he bettered Stuart

:17:57. > :17:59.Bingham's break of 143 with 145 and I said to Stephen Hendry, do you

:18:00. > :18:04.think he will be aware of what the highest breakers? He said, he is

:18:05. > :18:11.aware of what everything is that is going on. This is for the 100.

:18:12. > :18:26.Absolutely brilliant. He has missed the cannon. Just another tremendous

:18:27. > :18:31.break. I think that yellow may have been going towards the middle. What

:18:32. > :18:37.a performance from Neil Robertson. Stephen Maguire started off like a

:18:38. > :18:43.house on fire and never really got a chance in the next three friends.

:18:44. > :18:46.This is a quite brilliant performance and quite brilliant

:18:47. > :18:51.match so far but I wonder how Stephen Maguire is going to be

:18:52. > :18:55.reflecting? He started like a drain but was effectively halted in his

:18:56. > :19:00.tracks. There is nothing you can do about it. There is nothing you can

:19:01. > :19:08.do about it. There's I would be surprised if he comes and hit a few

:19:09. > :19:14.balls. He brought wondering if the five-minute break had any bearing.

:19:15. > :19:22.Not for Neil Robertson. Very dominant. It was almost like, I am

:19:23. > :19:25.going to move up a gear. Stephen will not be too disappointed. It is

:19:26. > :19:30.worth a few have had chances but the fact he has had nothing wrong, he

:19:31. > :19:35.will probably still feel quite positive, but seeing your opponent

:19:36. > :19:45.win the frame at one visit Time after Time demoralises you after a

:19:46. > :19:50.while. Somebody accuses -- accused me last year of using the word

:19:51. > :19:57.awesome too much. Just for you, that was awesome. 101, does not get much

:19:58. > :20:02.better than that. That is top quality snooker. You talk about high

:20:03. > :20:07.standards. That is the very highest. We are looking forward to more of

:20:08. > :20:12.the same. We have the chance to reflect on events on the other side

:20:13. > :20:18.of the arena. A matching the top half of the draw, Liang Wenbo

:20:19. > :20:23.against Leicester's Tom Ford. He reached the final in a smaller event

:20:24. > :20:29.and this run to the last 16 of the UK is his best ever run at the UK

:20:30. > :20:34.Championship. He is very fast, a quick attacking player and he has

:20:35. > :20:38.been moving up the rankings in the last couple of months. The TV lights

:20:39. > :20:41.are calling. I think most of my friends will tell me that I play

:20:42. > :20:46.worse when I am on TV that the trouble is when I get to the TV I am

:20:47. > :20:50.always playing a good player or on the later stages of the tournament

:20:51. > :20:55.so I have not won many on TV but will fully well and the cameras do

:20:56. > :21:03.not really bother me anywhere. My confidence has come back and my game

:21:04. > :21:10.has come back. I feel like I am back in form and I feel confident when I

:21:11. > :21:14.am at the table. I have never beaten Mark. He has always been one of

:21:15. > :21:22.those players that just beats me. To beat Mark felt good in the match. I

:21:23. > :21:29.have taken that on into my next game. I feel good. It is a big event

:21:30. > :21:31.but it is nice to play in those big events. With this being the

:21:32. > :21:36.second-biggest there's a lot of pressure because there are a lot of

:21:37. > :21:46.pros. I was pleased to get through and hopefully I can push on. I have

:21:47. > :21:50.faced them I think a couple of times before. He is a very dangerous

:21:51. > :21:57.player. The danger will play safe against them and think it is fine

:21:58. > :22:05.and teapots along red -- and he pots along red. It is going to be an

:22:06. > :22:11.attacking game. There are not going to be many safety battles. You never

:22:12. > :22:16.know. It is snooker. We have been used to seeing the angry boar around

:22:17. > :22:26.for a few years, 14 years as a professional. -- Liang Wenbo. He

:22:27. > :22:34.beat Judd Trump and one of the best wins of his career. Ford took the

:22:35. > :22:39.first frame. It is Liang to play in the second and he is ahead by only

:22:40. > :22:50.two points. Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor teaming up for this one.

:22:51. > :22:55.He has covered that red but he may be forced to pot this using the

:22:56. > :23:01.cushion first and if he does I would think he could finish above the blue

:23:02. > :23:05.or the box cover. He has to be careful. It looks easy to hit the

:23:06. > :23:11.cushion and if it was closer it would be a lot easier. He will get

:23:12. > :23:24.through the gap of those three reds if the judges this correctly. I

:23:25. > :23:30.cannot see any other shot only to take that on. Yes. It is just that

:23:31. > :23:38.little bit of distance away from the pocket that makes it a bit more

:23:39. > :23:43.difficult to pot this red. I feel like you like he has to take it on.

:23:44. > :23:49.I do not see any other opportunities. He is looking at the

:23:50. > :23:59.cube. It does not take the red away from the pocket. He has to take this

:24:00. > :24:05.on. Well played. I would not have hit it as hard as that. Maybe he has

:24:06. > :24:10.dropped on the green. He has. If he has a bit of angle he might be able

:24:11. > :24:55.to get up for the reds. He has a slight angle. Good chance.

:24:56. > :25:05.A couple of easy reds and a couple of difficult reds. He is going to

:25:06. > :25:15.have at least one of those if not both of those two reds that are near

:25:16. > :25:18.the cushion. Yes, but position of these two reds, he could use one of

:25:19. > :25:26.these to bring the other two into play. The Jews the next red

:25:27. > :25:45.possibly. -- he could use. Pot the black, get a nice angle on

:25:46. > :25:50.the red that is closest to the bottom pocket and try to bring those

:25:51. > :25:59.to reds into play close to the bottom of the cushion. He has got

:26:00. > :26:07.the angle. He has to hit this with the lot of pace. It is no good just

:26:08. > :26:19.taking one red code. He has to knock the second, the first red onto the

:26:20. > :26:28.second. He has just gone for the one, but he still has the problem of

:26:29. > :26:37.leaving the other one there. The black will make M25 ahead. He could

:26:38. > :26:46.be snookered. He has got such a flyer of that top cushion. You saw

:26:47. > :26:57.the hand gesture. He is not happy. That took off of the top cushion.

:26:58. > :27:03.That is frustrating for a player. I do not know why he had to hit it at

:27:04. > :27:12.that pace. So much margin for error. Anywhere below the pink and blue. I

:27:13. > :27:16.think he was trying to get a decent angle on the red to possibly pot it

:27:17. > :27:30.and develop the last red but that has gone. He has a 25 point

:27:31. > :27:41.advantage. He is having to bring the difficult red into play. This is the

:27:42. > :27:51.only one he can see. That is a bonus. Knocking the pink safe is a

:27:52. > :28:49.big advantage. For Tom. Wonderful pot. Pleaded with an

:28:50. > :29:00.element of safety. When he hit the cube behind the pink. He is going to

:29:01. > :29:08.have to bring this pink into play. He has to be careful he does not

:29:09. > :29:11.snooker himself on the red with the pink when it goes back on its board.

:29:12. > :29:17.It is just about OK. Plenty of room by the pink. He was always a little

:29:18. > :29:27.bit worried about that. Just the red required. Yes. Well played, Tom

:29:28. > :29:30.Ford. Could not have wished for a better start. This is a good start

:29:31. > :29:51.from pencil for. -- him so far. Still a long way to go in this

:29:52. > :29:56.match, but he looks very relaxed and confident around the table. Yes,

:29:57. > :30:02.lots of good players coming through. Our viewers will be seeing newer

:30:03. > :30:05.players but these boys are playing all the time with the amount of

:30:06. > :30:10.events they have to play and they are getting so much experience and

:30:11. > :30:16.it makes the difference when they get to this stage.

:30:17. > :30:23.They are getting a lot of matchplay and building a lot of confidence.

:30:24. > :30:27.The beauty about having so many tournaments, even if you lose one,

:30:28. > :30:31.you know you have got when the following week or the week after

:30:32. > :30:39.that so you don't have much time to dwell on bad defeats. Ford has

:30:40. > :30:44.certainly taken advantage of his excellent play so far. In goes the

:30:45. > :30:49.black and Tom Ford will be delighted with himself at the moment. A

:30:50. > :30:55.fantastic start from him. He leads Liang Wenbo 2-0.

:30:56. > :31:05.That match continues on the red button. We will go back to it later

:31:06. > :31:09.on. This is a new piece of cloth that is being experimented with by

:31:10. > :31:14.World Snooker to stop those horrible kicks we spent a lot of time

:31:15. > :31:18.discussing yesterday. We have not had too many today but there have

:31:19. > :31:29.been more than a few over the last few days.

:31:30. > :31:30.Massive kick! It is the bane of a snooker player's life, I am afraid.

:31:31. > :31:38.Unlucky. Would you believe it? Would you

:31:39. > :31:59.believe it? That is horrendous. That is the

:32:00. > :32:05.biggest kick I have seen yet. And that is frustrating, it really is.

:32:06. > :32:09.It makes you look silly. It is pretty normal to expect one or two

:32:10. > :32:17.kicks in a match. It does not matter. When it is getting four or

:32:18. > :32:24.five, if you average one kit every frame, that is a bit ridiculous.

:32:25. > :32:29.That kicked. That was not Jamie's fault.

:32:30. > :32:40.He has got a kick on that green and it has slowed the pace of the green.

:32:41. > :32:50.That seemed to jump a little bit. Maybe he did get a bad contact. It's

:32:51. > :32:58.definitely jumped. What a horrible kick!

:32:59. > :33:06.It just changed the game, through no fault of my own. You get a kick and

:33:07. > :33:10.it changes the game because that would have been 5-1, the way I was

:33:11. > :33:26.playing. I am very disappointed. A monster kick. I was quite low on

:33:27. > :33:32.the black but as soon as I hit it, I felt the black was in, but as soon

:33:33. > :33:38.as the white hit the black, it just bounced and sent it right off-line.

:33:39. > :33:48.I felt a bit aggrieved. A monster kick. Dead straight.

:33:49. > :33:52.It was frightening. Absolutely ridiculous. I have never seen

:33:53. > :33:58.anything like it. Time and time again. It was soul destroying. The

:33:59. > :34:05.table played quite a bit different today. A lot more bounces and the

:34:06. > :34:08.number of kicks was soul destroying. You had no confidence in the shot

:34:09. > :34:10.you were playing because you were having bad contact after bad

:34:11. > :34:23.contact. It was very difficult. First things first, we have been

:34:24. > :34:28.talking about this for 15 years as a team and I want to know, in this

:34:29. > :34:34.championship, have there been more or fewer kicks than normal? I would

:34:35. > :34:39.say it is probably about normal. The trouble is, when they happen as

:34:40. > :34:42.well. Last night, Mark Selby looked like he was winning the match. He

:34:43. > :34:48.hit the ball and it went dead straight. It is generally when it

:34:49. > :34:53.happens and the importance of when it happens. But it is probably the

:34:54. > :34:57.same level we have been seeing for a long time. There was a debate

:34:58. > :35:02.yesterday about who is doing what to stamp this out. Shaun Murphy did an

:35:03. > :35:07.item for us a few years ago when he took some scientific advice and it

:35:08. > :35:11.was established that the cloth, when table heaters are used, impart some

:35:12. > :35:18.chemical reaction and that might be when we are getting kicks. While

:35:19. > :35:21.World Snooker are experimenting with this new cloth, we can't die bulge

:35:22. > :35:26.the composition because it is awaiting a patented at the moment,

:35:27. > :35:30.but a lot of the players have been practising on this over the last few

:35:31. > :35:35.days. What is the main difference between this cloth and the normal

:35:36. > :35:40.ones they are using? In layman 's terms, the nap on this feels a bit

:35:41. > :35:45.heavier, it is almost like sandpaper when you go against the grain. Not

:35:46. > :35:51.having played on it, it is hard to say how it will react. I played on

:35:52. > :35:56.it the other night. They call it the mystery table and the only mystery

:35:57. > :36:01.was, I could not find the pocket. It is a bit thicker, I thought it was

:36:02. > :36:07.extremely reactive. You don't know what is in it yet. Jamie Burnett is

:36:08. > :36:12.playing at the adjacent table and you have had a good number of

:36:13. > :36:16.sessions. What do you think? The difference is unbelievable. The

:36:17. > :36:25.reaction on that is ten times better than these. Fewer kicks, you have

:36:26. > :36:34.been getting? On there, I got a kick,. How big a problem is it for

:36:35. > :36:38.you as a professional? You get among the balls, you think you are doing

:36:39. > :36:41.well, you are favoured for the frame, and the next it just

:36:42. > :36:49.explodes. It can put you off in a match. So that is a big like from

:36:50. > :36:54.you. Good luck against John Higgins tonight. We will be watching. There

:36:55. > :36:58.is another thing that the World Snooker people are going to try and

:36:59. > :37:03.it is a magic, secret box. This could be the answer. It is a ball

:37:04. > :37:10.polisher. They put the special polish on these. In layman 's terms,

:37:11. > :37:14.in they go. They have not ruled it out yet but there is a spin

:37:15. > :37:18.underneath which cleans the balls. They already have the polish on them

:37:19. > :37:23.and it gives them a very even coating. I am sure Pete Williamson

:37:24. > :37:28.who has been referee in for a good number of years will be delighted

:37:29. > :37:33.because he was doing it by hand at an event last year. They are going

:37:34. > :37:36.to take this to Gibraltar for one of the smaller tournaments on Saturday

:37:37. > :37:42.and we will see what kind of reaction we get. The other question

:37:43. > :37:48.this raises, if they are going to do this, what happens? Do they have to

:37:49. > :37:55.keep doing this? Do we have to get to the tennis situation of "new

:37:56. > :38:02.balls please". You used to do it with a bit of polish at home. If the

:38:03. > :38:06.cue ball is buzzing too much, it makes it like a brand-new cloth. It

:38:07. > :38:13.makes the cue ball very light. We shall see. There is a lot to be

:38:14. > :38:18.decided. We will continue to/this new cloth and we will get back out

:38:19. > :38:21.to life play. Let's hope there are no more dreaded kicks out there for

:38:22. > :38:33.the rest of the afternoon. The gladiators are back. And what a

:38:34. > :38:39.performance so far from both players. But particularly the last

:38:40. > :38:43.three frames from Neil Robertson. You feel that Stephen Maguire needs

:38:44. > :39:04.a good start here in the second half of this match.

:39:05. > :39:11.Stephen, at the mid-session interval, was quite philosophical

:39:12. > :39:19.about it. He had done nothing wrong, he had nothing to reproach himself

:39:20. > :39:21.for. I think that pot success for Stephen, 94%, but Neil Robertson

:39:22. > :39:37.attitude 96% now. And the match time, for those first

:39:38. > :39:40.four flames, just under the hour mark. Quickfire potting and

:39:41. > :39:54.break-building. Stephen can get through to this

:39:55. > :40:02.thread on the right-hand side of the table. -- this red. It looks very

:40:03. > :40:08.straight though. It could not be straighter. He does not like it. And

:40:09. > :40:14.he knows that if he is going to play safe and open these reds and, he has

:40:15. > :40:24.got to get a good white and find that baulk cushion. A big bounce

:40:25. > :40:32.could put him behind the brown. At least it covered the reds on the

:40:33. > :40:36.right-hand side of the table. But you would expect a better safety

:40:37. > :40:52.shot now with Neil, with his hand on the table.

:40:53. > :41:00.The four cushion safety, cutting off the escape path down the left-hand

:41:01. > :41:15.side of the table and giving Stephen Maguire a potential problem here.

:41:16. > :41:20.That is one possible escape route but I think the reason he is

:41:21. > :41:27.concerned about playing that shot, he thinks he may knock the red

:41:28. > :41:35.towards the corner. He has got to be accurate with this though. Well,

:41:36. > :41:36.read is going over the corner. Is the blue going to come to his

:41:37. > :41:58.rescue? A long swerve looks potentially on.

:41:59. > :42:06.If he does not like that, he may be forced into knocking one red on to

:42:07. > :42:12.the other. The one to the left of the pink. This red looks like it is

:42:13. > :42:20.right in the jaws of the pocket but, in actual fact, it is not. One red

:42:21. > :42:26.onto the other is not guaranteed. If he did play the swerve, he could

:42:27. > :42:32.very well hit the red fall in the face and the cue ball could go in

:42:33. > :42:39.the pocket with the red. The problem is, the black is not available,

:42:40. > :42:47.neither is the pink. Not certain where the colour would come from. If

:42:48. > :42:53.he plays the swerve and pots the red, he is not on a colour, he could

:42:54. > :42:59.go the other way around the blue. This could be on a colour if he gets

:43:00. > :43:10.it in. Put that not back. I don't think it will be put back. It would

:43:11. > :43:16.be funny if it was. Never much doubt of that but they could have been a

:43:17. > :43:20.bizarre position. I can't believe he tried to swerve around the other

:43:21. > :43:26.side of the blue. It did not look onto me. Funnily enough, by hitting

:43:27. > :43:32.the blue, he has caused Stephen Maguire a bit more of a problem in

:43:33. > :43:37.making a sizeable break. This first positional shot has got to be very

:43:38. > :43:41.good. He is having a close look at the pink. I don't know whether the

:43:42. > :43:45.pink is available into the opposite corner pocket. But we have seen so

:43:46. > :43:54.many times, when the balls are close to the pockets like this, the pink

:43:55. > :44:03.is not available, he is going to have to go for a ball colour.

:44:04. > :44:12.It has not worked out and his big problem now, he sends a read to the

:44:13. > :44:20.baulk end so he can't play safe at that end of the table. Anything

:44:21. > :44:32.could have happened here. That black is not on its spot so a very thin

:44:33. > :44:40.cut on the black. Other than that, it looks like the safety shot to the

:44:41. > :44:48.middle of the baulk cushion and then sacrifice the tactical advantage. It

:44:49. > :44:59.is decision time. He obviously has deemed the black to be too

:45:00. > :45:05.difficult. Just as you say, I don't think he can possibly be playing the

:45:06. > :45:06.part. Not with the awkward cueing. That would be even harder than

:45:07. > :45:19.cutting the black in. He can get it safe, surely, across

:45:20. > :45:25.the face of the yellow. You would think that is the intention, just

:45:26. > :45:34.not to leave an easy pot on. But as Steve said, he just hands of the

:45:35. > :45:36.initiative to Neil Robertson. It is strange, by hitting the blue, he got

:45:37. > :46:13.away with it. There does not look to be a safety

:46:14. > :46:17.shot down the left-hand side of the table as we look. Unless he catches

:46:18. > :46:30.one very thin. I am just wondering, that red,

:46:31. > :46:34.second right on the table, can he get through to play the pot and

:46:35. > :46:39.maybe force the cue ball around the back of the black? It is very

:46:40. > :46:49.aggressive. But there is no other shot.

:46:50. > :46:58.He has got a path back to the baulk end but the red is going with the

:46:59. > :47:03.cue ball. A little unlucky. He could have played the one to the right of

:47:04. > :47:09.that as effectively a defensive shot. He could have played to roll

:47:10. > :47:19.into the jaws of the right corner. Very aggressive. Questionable, I

:47:20. > :47:24.think. Especially 3-1 behind. The only thing I would say, he did find

:47:25. > :47:30.a path back to the baulk end. Could you consider yourself a little

:47:31. > :47:37.unlucky that a red went back to that end of the table? Yes, although the

:47:38. > :47:44.way he got back was pretty fruity. He did give it a chance to get back.

:47:45. > :47:51.This is not easy but made to look easy. Now Neil comes to the table

:47:52. > :47:56.and he has got the black in the open. It is only available into the

:47:57. > :47:57.one corner but he has got a nice angle to play for the black in the

:47:58. > :48:14.left corner pocket. After potting the black, play the

:48:15. > :48:17.red into the opposite corner and then the black is available into

:48:18. > :48:21.both corner pocket. From what we have seen so far, a chance to score

:48:22. > :48:45.very heavily. Once again. A little surprise there that he did

:48:46. > :48:54.not play for the red to the opposite corner. But he knows best. He will

:48:55. > :49:03.certainly be playing for it this time.

:49:04. > :49:09.The positive attitude and mental strength Neil Robertson is showing

:49:10. > :49:15.is akin to the likes of eight Jordan Spieth Ouray Jason Day in the golf

:49:16. > :49:34.world. Never doubting, just looking forward positively.

:49:35. > :49:39.The red which is just to the left of the pink is available into the

:49:40. > :50:08.opposite corner. Decided to play the cannon and it is

:50:09. > :50:15.just about OK. I would not say it is inch perfect. In potting this red,

:50:16. > :50:18.he will be running into a second red. She has got to judge the path

:50:19. > :51:06.of the cue ball. That is the target in this frame, if

:51:07. > :51:17.he can get to 68 points. Just over half way there.

:51:18. > :51:24.The way this is going, from Stephen Maguire's perspective, he is going

:51:25. > :51:31.to need a bit of help from Neil Robertson.

:51:32. > :51:39.Just hoping that somehow, Neil is going to take his foot off the gas

:51:40. > :51:49.at the very least. But it does not look to be the case at all.

:51:50. > :51:56.Having a good close look here. Thinking of playing the blue to the

:51:57. > :52:01.middle. Depends what angle he would have on the blue. He could play a

:52:02. > :52:12.cannon into the pink as he runs through.

:52:13. > :52:22.It is not a straightforward run to the line, this.

:52:23. > :52:28.Those four reds in between the pink and black are obviously not

:52:29. > :52:31.available because he could have played for the lowest one when he

:52:32. > :52:38.potted the blue. He is having a look now. He has got the red on the

:52:39. > :53:16.right-hand side of the table. It gets a little more awkward.

:53:17. > :53:23.He has left himself a nice angle on the black. He is once again having a

:53:24. > :53:29.look to see whether this low red goes. I got the feeling it did not

:53:30. > :53:36.because I thought he could have played for rid of the blue. He may

:53:37. > :53:50.play the cannon. It could go wrong. And it has done. Just hit it a

:53:51. > :53:59.little bit too hard, a misjudgement really. Whilst it is not a potting

:54:00. > :54:03.mistake, Stephen Maguire gets another chance. A little bit of help

:54:04. > :54:17.from his opponent. With the green safe, it is advantage

:54:18. > :54:26.Robertson. Apart from the lead in point. That is probably why he will

:54:27. > :54:31.take this red on. He thought the only red he could leave was the one

:54:32. > :54:36.he was playing and he has left that red. For the first time in the

:54:37. > :54:41.match, a player gets the right to reply.

:54:42. > :55:14.That is the first point he has scored since his 118 break in the

:55:15. > :55:17.first frame. A tough school. He was hoping to be better on the pink. Is

:55:18. > :55:35.there pressure on this or what? Fantastic! That really was, because

:55:36. > :55:42.the way he has played it, he knew that if he missed it, the frame

:55:43. > :55:47.would have gone. Cancel that, I just talked rubbish, but it did feel like

:55:48. > :56:08.the first point he has scored. Backtracking now.

:56:09. > :56:14.Did not quite find the middle of the pocket with that red and that is why

:56:15. > :56:20.he is not as he would like on the blue. The pink is the second option.

:56:21. > :56:33.Just went in the left side of the pocket.

:56:34. > :56:48.Good cueing needed. I don't think he has to do a lot with the cue ball.

:56:49. > :56:52.Once again, did not find the middle of the pocket, but he is just about

:56:53. > :57:16.on the black. Neil Robertson did not have to go

:57:17. > :57:28.for that long red. He could have tried to tie the rest of the flame

:57:29. > :57:34.up. -- frame. This would be a marvellous counterpunch from Stephen

:57:35. > :57:42.Maguire. This red ran a long way and brought the reds into play. In these

:57:43. > :57:45.situations, what you have got to do as a player, just concentrate on the

:57:46. > :57:51.reds and the colours. He will know in the back of his mind that the one

:57:52. > :57:53.big problem he has got is green, if he is going to win the frame at this

:57:54. > :58:12.visit. But don't look too far ahead. Of course we can, in the commentary

:58:13. > :58:15.box, and try to work out how he can get that green of the cushion. Not

:58:16. > :58:36.so easy of the yellow. It is a thin cut into the corner.

:58:37. > :58:41.What we call a blind pocket because you can see the cue ball, you can

:58:42. > :58:43.see the object ball, but the pocket is not in your eyeliner so you have

:58:44. > :58:55.got to trust yourself. Write in the heart of the pocket. He

:58:56. > :59:03.played that very well indeed. Is it a possibility that he could cut the

:59:04. > :59:07.black in and run into the green? If he could run into the green full

:59:08. > :59:11.ball, he could retain position on the yellow. He does not want to hit

:59:12. > :59:30.it too hard. Just caught the wrong side of the

:59:31. > :59:36.green. The other side of the green by the same angle, the cue ball

:59:37. > :59:43.would have come of the cushion, the green would have been closer to the

:59:44. > :59:47.green pocket. Now this is almost impossible to keep on the green in

:59:48. > :59:56.potting the yellow dead weight. Such a dangerous shot. As you say, if it

:59:57. > :00:01.had just hit the green slightly more on this side, he would have ended

:00:02. > :00:05.nicely on the yellow and would not have been so close to the cushion.

:00:06. > :00:10.It looks impossible to pot the yellow and get position on the

:00:11. > :00:19.green. You could make a case for a safety shot her. He has got himself

:00:20. > :00:23.back in, I just don't think he is able to play slow enough to keep on

:00:24. > :00:29.this green. It is so risky, playing dead weight. Unless he thinks he can

:00:30. > :00:37.go twice a cross. I would concentrate on the yellow.

:00:38. > :00:50.Can't afford to put too much side on. Where's the cue ball going?

:00:51. > :00:55.Foul. Well, made a mistake there. Should have made certain of the

:00:56. > :00:59.yellow. I know they want to win frames in one visit but that was

:01:00. > :01:04.always the problem, that cue ball running loose. You can see nearly

:01:05. > :01:12.caught the jaw but just dropped in. It was such a positive shot but I

:01:13. > :01:16.don't think it was on. He wasn't really going to be on the green even

:01:17. > :01:24.from the jaws of the middle pocket. He was hoping to get a bit inside

:01:25. > :01:33.that. I agree that would have been OK, but these aren't certainties.

:01:34. > :01:46.He rolls it in. Steven's chance of winning this frame surely has now

:01:47. > :01:53.gone. But that's the way they play the game today. They try to win the

:01:54. > :01:58.frame in one visit. Maybe that was pushing the ball out a little too

:01:59. > :02:04.far for Steven, but that's the way they play. It was his decision to

:02:05. > :02:09.make. There you see it, 20 ahead, 18 remaining.

:02:10. > :02:20.APPLAUSE. So for the first time in the match, somebody's had a chance

:02:21. > :02:25.to make a counterattack, but it wasn't to be. Just ran out of

:02:26. > :02:38.position on the yellow. Fractions in it but Neil Robertson goes three

:02:39. > :02:42.frames clear now, 4-1. It is an attitude of mine, it is the culture

:02:43. > :02:48.of the modern-day to try to win the frame, but the yellow was a big ask.

:02:49. > :02:52.You couldn't drop it in dead weight to be on the green. The middle

:02:53. > :02:56.pockets were always going to be in the way. Yes, a case of knowing

:02:57. > :03:01.exactly the path of the cue ball here. When he plays the shot, if he

:03:02. > :03:05.could have got some right-hand side on he could have straightened the

:03:06. > :03:10.cue ball up off the first cushion. I don't know. I think he would have

:03:11. > :03:16.known it was going somewhere towards there. Chancing a fraction to luck I

:03:17. > :03:22.think. There is nothing wrong with cutting your losses if you're the

:03:23. > :03:28.out of position. Very easy to criticise. With mind sight, of

:03:29. > :03:34.course. Yes, we are all wise after the event, but it didn't look on. So

:03:35. > :03:39.maybe it would have been better to make certain of the pot on the

:03:40. > :03:47.yellow and playing a good safety snooker on the green. But it's

:03:48. > :03:54.history now. There was I think a potential safety shot off the yellow

:03:55. > :04:02.as well. That's me talking from the '80s.

:04:03. > :04:13.Neil Robertson gets frame six under way. The cue ball has done a lot

:04:14. > :04:17.better than I thought it would have done. He cut that break-off shot a

:04:18. > :05:03.little too thick. A couple of times in the match he's

:05:04. > :05:07.had this type of shot. This time hedging his bets somewhat. Trying to

:05:08. > :05:15.get the cue ball back to the baulk end. It is not completely safe

:05:16. > :05:20.though. Didn't want to risk rolling in dead weight. He could have left

:05:21. > :05:32.any of those reds just above the black.

:05:33. > :05:57.20% his long pot success, Steven. That's low.

:05:58. > :06:11.The ball you are frightened of leaving if you are playing off the

:06:12. > :06:17.main cluster. A bit pacy. He'll be a little bit dependented with that.

:06:18. > :06:20.You don't put your opponent under any pressure if you don't find the

:06:21. > :07:32.baulk cushion. Neil catching that one a little bit

:07:33. > :07:38.too thick. Not really left anything. That brown just hampering Steven's

:07:39. > :07:48.cueing. Trying to play safe down the right-hand side of the table. Is he

:07:49. > :07:50.taking this red on? He did! A great shot.

:07:51. > :07:59.APPLAUSE. More or less forced into playing

:08:00. > :08:03.this. Couldn't play safe down the other side of the table because of

:08:04. > :08:14.the awkward cueing which would have been caused by the brown. It is not

:08:15. > :08:20.the best table for making a sizeable break at the moment. He's really

:08:21. > :08:31.only got the blue, yellow and brown to play for.

:08:32. > :08:37.I think Steve listen be glad to be in first. Just stopped himself there

:08:38. > :08:43.in his stride because he's just overdone that. And because he's

:08:44. > :08:52.overdone it, maybe he might see the value in trying to play a cab a

:08:53. > :09:11.cannon into the pink and try to get that into play. Decided he can play

:09:12. > :09:27.for quite a few loose reds. Just needs to hurry. No, not in a good

:09:28. > :09:32.position now. Didn't really have the correct line up the table. Would

:09:33. > :09:37.have liked to have come down the right-hand side more than that, and

:09:38. > :09:43.a bit harder as well. I don't think he was ever playing for the red. The

:09:44. > :09:51.red inside the pink, although might have opened things up nicely.

:09:52. > :09:59.Easily done with the rest and putting a bit of sidespin on.

:10:00. > :10:04.Especially with the extension on the end. Adds a bit more Kate to the

:10:05. > :10:16.cue. When you put a bit of sidespin on it seems to push the cue ball

:10:17. > :10:26.further off path. -- adds a bit more weight to the cue. The first

:10:27. > :10:32.tactical battle unfolding here. Yes, and it's not easy to get a telling

:10:33. > :10:36.safety shot. Once the green's off its spot it is one less ball to uses

:10:37. > :10:51.a a blocker. He's played this nicely. This is a

:10:52. > :10:55.good length. Neil's having a look at the right-hand side of the table but

:10:56. > :11:02.look where the cue ball is Neil and you can't get there. He's got to

:11:03. > :11:29.catch this very thin. Ideally would have liked the cue

:11:30. > :11:33.ball on the baulk cushion. Given Stephen Maguire options of safety

:11:34. > :11:37.shots, although the one he's choosing there's a way that a red

:11:38. > :11:42.might get pushed over the right corner here, a three-ball plant if

:11:43. > :11:48.he catches it wrong. A two-ball plant. Don't tell me it was on. That

:11:49. > :11:53.was a misjudgment, surely. He should have looked at that I think, John,

:11:54. > :12:00.looked at how that would potentially pan out. It's a big error. Did have

:12:01. > :12:11.a safety shot down the other side of the table. Might have caught it a

:12:12. > :12:15.little bit thin. At this standard, when you're going play the safety

:12:16. > :12:20.shot when the red ball is colliding with other reds, you've got to come

:12:21. > :12:26.round and try to plot the path of any red you're going to hit. That's

:12:27. > :12:33.the one thing you've got to be aware of. We see it so many times. Players

:12:34. > :12:40.have a look, but he just caught it I think a little bit too thick or

:12:41. > :12:44.thin. Never expected that, but it is a nice easy starter, but the wrong

:12:45. > :12:51.side of the blue. A bit of work to do. Good pot though.

:12:52. > :12:57.APPLAUSE. And it's landed on this red. He could play for the black

:12:58. > :13:00.along the top cushion. Will he be tempted by this? These blacks along

:13:01. > :13:08.the top, could particularly when they are just off the cushion, are

:13:09. > :13:14.tricky. Will he play for it? Problem is not the pot. Pot. His problem

:13:15. > :13:20.also from his perspective is not even getting the black in. It's how

:13:21. > :13:31.to then get on that red that's next to the black. He's chosen a simpler

:13:32. > :13:38.way. But he is woefully short. Okay, perhaps not woefully but he might as

:13:39. > :13:44.well be. A big mistake not to get right side of the blue there. He's

:13:45. > :13:45.going to play another brown. He struck this last brown so crisply

:13:46. > :13:57.Once again no problem. This cue ball he's going to do it again.

:13:58. > :14:02.Once again no problem. This cue ball is running nicely on to this red but

:14:03. > :14:07.here's the choice again. He won't be playing for the black, so he's got a

:14:08. > :14:15.little bit of work to do with the cue ball. Ball.s How well did the

:14:16. > :14:27.strike the brown again? A carbon copy. He's got a bit more angle now

:14:28. > :14:41.on this shot, so the black isn't ideal. He'd love it on the spot, of

:14:42. > :14:48.course. That's perfect. Now a chance to get into a nice bunch of reds.

:14:49. > :14:55.Surely he can control the cue ball from this split. He doesn't have to

:14:56. > :14:56.go into them that hard. Medium paced, perhaps a fraction under

:14:57. > :15:17.that. Surely he's on a red. Yes, he's on it. But once again a

:15:18. > :15:30.little bit of work to do with the cue ball. Hit that perfect.

:15:31. > :15:38.You can't predict how they are all going to fan out, but what you can

:15:39. > :15:43.sense is the pace they go into them, can't you John? Because they were

:15:44. > :15:48.loose there was no need to use a lot of power. The reds would open up

:15:49. > :15:52.easily enough. He's landed just about on the blue, but he's just

:15:53. > :15:59.having a problem at the moment getting prime position. It will be

:16:00. > :16:07.wonderful if there was a guaranteed three-ball plant on from this shot.

:16:08. > :16:13.I will tell you what, they're not far off, are they? Might be the

:16:14. > :16:25.right shot to play if it's guaranteed.

:16:26. > :16:36.That's a bit adventurous with the rest. That means he's on the blue.

:16:37. > :16:38.Funny how he got the rest out to judge it, you get the feel of the

:16:39. > :16:49.shot. That's a new one on me. If he does play the three-ball plant

:16:50. > :16:53.the problem is the two reds that he's going to play the loose red on

:16:54. > :17:00.to are a plant. He's not going to play the plant. He thinks it's

:17:01. > :17:03.risky. And that was the d that was the problem with that shot - he

:17:04. > :17:12.wasn't guaranteed to be good on the colour. He must have thought it

:17:13. > :17:17.wasn't 100% otherwise I would have preferred the three-ball plant

:17:18. > :17:22.myself. A tough shot on the blue but usually knocks them in. Never in

:17:23. > :17:31.doubt. APPLAUSE. A good, solid pot. Didn't

:17:32. > :17:37.try to do too much with the cue ball. OK, he's got this red to the

:17:38. > :17:41.middle, but they are quite tricky, these. They are not that

:17:42. > :17:54.straightforward. Looks a lot easier up here than it is down there. But

:17:55. > :18:05.once again such a good Potter. And the way he pushes that cue through

:18:06. > :18:07.straight, time after time. Potter. And the way he pushes that cue

:18:08. > :18:22.through straight, time after time. But still having to do lots of lots

:18:23. > :18:34.of work with the cue ball on every other shot, it seems.

:18:35. > :18:39.He's going to be on the centre pocket. He's played that very

:18:40. > :19:06.nicely. He'll know that this is a very big

:19:07. > :19:15.frame. If he was to win this and go one frame away from victory, Stephen

:19:16. > :19:23.Maguire would have it all to do. Highly unlikely with the form that

:19:24. > :19:27.Neil Robertson is showing that Stephen would need, he's bound to

:19:28. > :19:31.get a couple of chance. The way he's playing, you think he will have to

:19:32. > :19:50.take them. But having said that, that's gone wrong. Actually arguably

:19:51. > :20:02.overhit that. Probably didn't intend to connect with that red half ball.

:20:03. > :20:08.Once again with hindsight it is easy to criticise a shot that probably

:20:09. > :20:15.would have come out alright under most situations. Can get in behind

:20:16. > :20:20.the yellow here. Or could have attempted...

:20:21. > :20:26.APPLAUSE. Could have attempted to get in behind yellow, perhaps brown,

:20:27. > :20:45.but chose to keep a red safe on the side cushion, with a 30-point lead.

:20:46. > :20:51.That's a good shot from Stephen Maguire getting the back into play.

:20:52. > :21:04.APPLAUSE. Not absolutely sure that red on the side cushion is going to

:21:05. > :21:11.be staying there. If he hit this, if it goes in, it looks a bit thin, but

:21:12. > :21:25.a chance. Oh, that's not good. That's helped no end. Unless it goes

:21:26. > :21:30.safe. Caught it much too thin. Not the green away from the side

:21:31. > :21:34.cushion. Stephen having a look. Obviously it's not a plant but he's

:21:35. > :21:39.looking to see if he hits it and it runs into the red near the top

:21:40. > :21:44.cushion, will it leave win to the corner? There's a cross double on

:21:45. > :21:47.with safety, and with the black where it is there's two chances of

:21:48. > :22:03.getting it in. A good length here with the cue

:22:04. > :22:11.ball. He's not quite got it. He's left a red here. They'll tempt Neil

:22:12. > :22:18.Robertson. If he can knock it in, he'll be a frame-winner. Assume the

:22:19. > :22:33.other red was a bit too far down the rail to be an ideal cross double.

:22:34. > :22:42.A big shot. There you go, John. You would have thought he would have

:22:43. > :22:45.gone for it wouldn't you? I can only think he thought the potting angle

:22:46. > :22:50.was getting him to run into another red. He's not turned much down

:22:51. > :22:54.today. Maybe a chance here for Steve on the play that red in the other

:22:55. > :23:01.half of the table and maybe get the cue ball behind the yellow. So much

:23:02. > :23:08.attacking snooker that you just assume it's attack all the time. But

:23:09. > :23:16.trying to contain things so far. Since he put that red safe on the

:23:17. > :23:22.side. Stephen just hoping he wasn't going to knock the red safe. It was

:23:23. > :23:30.a clever shot playing one red on to the other and sending them both up

:23:31. > :23:37.the table. Just got to hang on in there and stay positive and hope you

:23:38. > :24:22.get a chance. He's done very little wrong.

:24:23. > :24:31.Just trying to nudge a red safe. Stephen having a look. If he plays

:24:32. > :24:34.this red that's closer to the cue ball in the far corner pocket, can

:24:35. > :24:59.he told for the black? A good strike. And he played it in

:25:00. > :25:08.such a way he could play it slowly and the pink and red would block the

:25:09. > :25:13.path to it. But it was on the right-hand jaw. Neil Robertson is

:25:14. > :25:23.very close to being able to play a screw shot in behind the black here,

:25:24. > :25:30.but it is risky. Not a bad choice of shot, to play red on to the blue.

:25:31. > :25:42.Destroy the table a bit. Depend how much of the red he can get.

:25:43. > :25:53.I'm sure he can't get enough of the potting angle. It is not an easy

:25:54. > :25:58.screw-back behind the black. Got to get close to that corner pocket.

:25:59. > :26:02.Does he think he can get enough of it? Perhaps with a bit of left-hand

:26:03. > :26:20.side. Foul. Well, he hit the pink. I would

:26:21. > :26:26.have been maized if he could have got to the potting angle of that.

:26:27. > :26:30.Hit the pink first. Stephen would have noticed that. Wouldn't have

:26:31. > :26:35.played the cue ball if he thought the red was pottable. I'm not sure

:26:36. > :26:40.Paul said foul and a miss. I suppose it is a miss, but there is no way

:26:41. > :26:45.Stephen Maguire will be having the balls put back into the same

:26:46. > :26:50.position. A good chance he's going to put Neil Robertson back in here

:26:51. > :26:58.though from this position. The only danger with that, of course, the red

:26:59. > :27:03.is cuttable into the left middle. Stephen doesn't particularly want to

:27:04. > :27:05.play it, but if he puts Neil Robertson back in, maybe he'd have a

:27:06. > :27:17.go at it. It is one of those weird situations,

:27:18. > :27:23.John. That's the red I'm referring to. I know Stephen doesn't want to

:27:24. > :27:28.play it, but would you risk Neil Robertson playing it? Looks like

:27:29. > :27:52.he's found a safety, or thinks he has.

:27:53. > :28:07.APPLAUSE. A very good shot but he's still left a chance of a pot on

:28:08. > :28:19.here. Not as easy as it looks. More acute than on our TV screens. It's

:28:20. > :28:29.scary sometimes. He just flicked the yellow and left a path to that red.

:28:30. > :28:33.As you say, Stephen shaking his head. He rolled it in as if it was

:28:34. > :28:37.over the pocket. I don't think Stephen Maguire wanted the cue ball

:28:38. > :28:42.to come that far over, to be honest. I think he would have preferred it

:28:43. > :28:46.down in line with the green, in line with the yellow spots. That would

:28:47. > :29:22.have ahead that pot nigh on impossible.

:29:23. > :29:41.Used all the pocket there. 35 ahead, 59 remaining. He's not absolutely

:29:42. > :29:46.inch perfect here. But as we've seen so many times, he's such a good

:29:47. > :29:51.potter. You wouldn't put anything past him. If he can get through to

:29:52. > :29:56.this red I think he's got enough angle to rib round up to two

:29:57. > :30:04.cushions. The blacks available into the other corner. He's run a little

:30:05. > :30:12.bit too far. He's not on the black. He's not ideal on the pink. Maybe a

:30:13. > :30:24.little bit of hope for Stephen Maguire, sat in his chair here.

:30:25. > :30:30.He knocks these blues in inodes with amazing regularity. It will need

:30:31. > :30:38.He knocks these blues in inodes with cueing well. He's decided to play

:30:39. > :30:43.the pink. Another tricky shot. But no problem, didn't even look like it

:30:44. > :30:49.was going to hit the jaws of the pocket. This is a wonderful

:30:50. > :30:58.exhibition of snooker from the Australian this afternoon.

:30:59. > :31:09.Just looking for the colour. And he is plumb on the brown. This brown

:31:10. > :31:16.would put him 47 points in front with just 43 remaining.

:31:17. > :31:30.Still not really much that Stephen Maguire can do about this.

:31:31. > :31:39.Little mini screw back, there, from Neil Robertson.

:31:40. > :31:54.APPLAUSE Well, once again, another tremendous

:31:55. > :32:00.break from Neil Robertson. OK it was only 27 but some of the pots he made

:32:01. > :32:05.were just superb. What can Stephen Maguire do? It's hard to know. Neil

:32:06. > :32:08.Robertson now just one frame away from victory. 5-1.

:32:09. > :32:18.STUDIO It is hard to know, 96% pot success

:32:19. > :32:22.rate for Neil Robertson, 86% to Stevenage at -- full Stephen

:32:23. > :32:27.Maguire. What can Maguire do at the moment? Just watch. It's

:32:28. > :32:33.authoritative, the matchplay. If you had tuned in after the first frame

:32:34. > :32:38.and said what would the scoreline beat, you wouldn't have gone for

:32:39. > :32:41.5-1. His cue ball control is superb and everybody is going right into

:32:42. > :32:46.the centre of the pocket. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up

:32:47. > :32:49.and say superb, well played. We often see Stephen Maguire in this

:32:50. > :32:53.situation when the blood starts to boil a bit but he has remained calm

:32:54. > :32:58.and sanguine about it, I don't suppose he had any option at the

:32:59. > :33:01.moment? No, that was probably the most scrappy frame of the match but

:33:02. > :33:05.he has had very few chances to get in among the balls and make

:33:06. > :33:11.frame-winning contributions. It's a fabulous contribution. Possibly

:33:12. > :33:15.coming from that 145 he made in the last match. He's very inspired from

:33:16. > :33:20.doing things in snooker, from excellence. Since that match he was

:33:21. > :33:22.probably fortunate to win that match in a way because the first few

:33:23. > :33:27.frames he could have gone behind but he is possibly black and inspired by

:33:28. > :33:35.that 145 and it's going to be hard to stop him in this tournament. He

:33:36. > :33:41.made a couple of centuries against Aditya Mehta in the previous round.

:33:42. > :33:45.I was speaking to a colleague of mine and I said it was almost like

:33:46. > :33:51.Euro 96 when Scotland missed the penalty and then Gazza runs up the

:33:52. > :33:56.other end and scores, it was a hammer blow, wasn't it? It's quite a

:33:57. > :34:03.similar mindset to what I used to have. It's quite selfish. I think he

:34:04. > :34:06.would be quietly pleased that Thepchaiya missed that like because

:34:07. > :34:14.it means he can get the prize for the maximum now. I think it is one

:34:15. > :34:17.of the reasons he had that smile up at the commentary box. I'm surprised

:34:18. > :34:24.you consider yourself selfish, Stephen! Thepchaiya has been invited

:34:25. > :34:33.onto DFI Friday tomorrow evening. The missed black in that match...

:34:34. > :34:41.COMMENTATOR: Well, it's a cruel game. It's been very cruel for

:34:42. > :34:46.Stephen Maguire at the moment. OK he has had chances in the last couple

:34:47. > :34:54.of frames but I think what he needs now, he has got to start winning

:34:55. > :35:00.frames in one visit, which we know he's capable of. He did it in the

:35:01. > :35:07.first frame. When you're playing like this, you need to start racking

:35:08. > :35:11.up those frames quickly. Neil Robertson will be in no mood to give

:35:12. > :35:41.him any easy opportunities, you can bet your life on that.

:35:42. > :35:46.We did see at the end of the last frame Neil Robertson try to protect

:35:47. > :35:51.his lead a little bit more in that latter part of the frame. There is

:35:52. > :35:55.the possibility when you've got somebody on the ropes and they need

:35:56. > :36:04.all the frames that it can become a little bit more defensive. And try

:36:05. > :36:09.to let your opponent throw himself off the edge of the precipice. But

:36:10. > :36:19.it's not really the way Neil Robertson plays. It was an excellent

:36:20. > :36:25.opening red, a great positive strike on the blue and he has got the ideal

:36:26. > :36:28.angle now to open up the reds. Choosing the run-through as opposed

:36:29. > :36:35.to the screw back. Jumped out of the back of the pocket. I think the ball

:36:36. > :36:39.was in the air as he hit it so hard, I'm sure it jumped out of the back

:36:40. > :36:46.rather than wobble. Well, it may have wobbled a fraction. Or a lot!

:36:47. > :37:01.Never in. I take it all back! It just happened so fast. OK, you're

:37:02. > :37:05.forgiven! Unexpected miss. This is the problem, though. This is the

:37:06. > :37:09.nature of the game. He's missed but Stephen is left with an awkward

:37:10. > :37:14.shop, having to use the spider. Does he just roll it in and play for a

:37:15. > :37:16.difficult black along the top cushion? Nothing would be easy for

:37:17. > :37:44.Stephen at the moment. Delicately. You have to remove the

:37:45. > :37:51.spider yourself. He's having a look at this black, but boy this is

:37:52. > :38:02.tough. But he probably feels as though he is at the point of no

:38:03. > :38:04.return, he's got to play no-Miss snooker. He's got to take the bull

:38:05. > :38:18.by the horns. But this is tough. Big shot. But he probably felt as

:38:19. > :38:28.though he had to make something happen to turn this match around.

:38:29. > :38:37.Horrible shots to play. If that was the first frame committee could have

:38:38. > :38:41.been forgiven for turning that one down. But as you say, John, the need

:38:42. > :38:47.to try and get into the game overrides shot selection sometimes.

:38:48. > :38:53.Exactly what Neil Robertson is hoping for, that Stephen Maguire

:38:54. > :39:11.starts to take more risks and Neil can just pick his way to glory.

:39:12. > :39:40.I'm sure that Neil Robertson will be thinking this is a chance for frame

:39:41. > :40:23.and match. It's not a clear-cut opportunity for

:40:24. > :40:34.Neil Robertson. But in the type of mood he's in, you feel like it is.

:40:35. > :40:44.If he pots the pink at some stage, it may release another red. But it's

:40:45. > :40:47.not obvious thereafter exactly how the balls are laying.

:40:48. > :41:19.Well, it wasn't easy to hold for the pink. I'm not certain where the pink

:41:20. > :41:25.will go when history spotted. -- when it is re-spotted. He could play

:41:26. > :41:30.the cannon and make room for it to go on its own spot. I think it will

:41:31. > :41:34.go on his own spot. He may need to play a little cannon here. If this

:41:35. > :41:36.goes right, John, I think the reds will be spread very nicely. The blue

:41:37. > :41:44.is always available. You sort of feel like it's going to

:41:45. > :41:52.be a You sort of feel like it's going to

:41:53. > :41:57.spin on, try and run through them. But he may not have -- we may not

:41:58. > :42:02.have the angle exactly right from the commentary box. He may not be

:42:03. > :42:11.able to stun into them. It looks like the run-through.

:42:12. > :42:25.Now. Does the pink go on its own spot? He would like it not to. But

:42:26. > :42:30.it goes on comfortably. It wasn't a good outcome, really, was it? No.

:42:31. > :42:35.You could hardly have thought of a worse one really. OK he has got this

:42:36. > :42:42.red on the top cushion to the corner, but that is tough. This red

:42:43. > :42:48.does go to the right middle. And he's just dropping these balls in as

:42:49. > :42:49.though they are over the pocket. It is remarkable potting exhibition,

:42:50. > :42:55.this, from Neil. 96% still. Just the confidence in

:42:56. > :44:00.the strike, isn't it? He is coming round to see whether he

:44:01. > :44:07.can just roll this red in and be on the pink to the middle. These four

:44:08. > :44:08.reds in the middle of the table would be enough to clinch the frame

:44:09. > :44:23.at this visit. He is going to have to play another

:44:24. > :44:32.little cannon, here. He would know the worst way, he would still be on

:44:33. > :44:36.this red to the top cushion. I see no reason why not two, when potting

:44:37. > :44:40.the pink, play a little cannon. As long as he doesn't catch the red

:44:41. > :44:46.just below the pink full ball he should be OK. Well, he feels as

:44:47. > :44:56.though he can get to this, but... It just makes the positional side of

:44:57. > :45:04.the shop a little bit tricky, as we pass the two-hour mark.

:45:05. > :45:13.He just about held for the blue. This blue would put him 54 points in

:45:14. > :45:39.front with 67 remaining. Well, he got the cannon the second

:45:40. > :45:44.time. I thought he might have tried to nudge those two reds open off the

:45:45. > :45:51.pink but he managed to get to them off the blue. You have to say, after

:45:52. > :45:54.watching Neil Robertson here in this particular match and after coming

:45:55. > :45:59.off the back of winning the champion of Champions in great style, beating

:46:00. > :46:03.Mark Allen 10-5 in the final, it would be a brave person to bet

:46:04. > :46:04.against Neil Robertson for the rest of this event.

:46:05. > :46:14.Well, the form he is produced at the end of his match against the try

:46:15. > :46:25.-- against Thepchaiya un-Nooh, when he really started to strike the

:46:26. > :46:29.ball, and the way he has played in this performance after the start

:46:30. > :46:32.Stephen Maguire made just shows you that he's absolutely brimming with

:46:33. > :46:37.confidence. He's at the top of his game, queueing-wise. He's getting on

:46:38. > :46:42.with it. Sometimes I always feel that if he had a weakness, he can

:46:43. > :46:50.just get bogged down, but there has been none of that today. He has been

:46:51. > :47:02.in a good place. And quite simply on the day he has been too good for

:47:03. > :47:07.Stephen. And as John Parrott said, some days you've just got to shake

:47:08. > :47:18.your opponent's hand and say well played. Really, he can't, you can't

:47:19. > :47:22.play better than this. And even that black, even though the frame and

:47:23. > :47:27.match is well and truly over, he gave it every concentration. We

:47:28. > :47:31.caught a glimpse of Stephen, a wry smile, but at the moment Neil is in

:47:32. > :47:40.that zone where he just wants to pot every ball on the table. He's even

:47:41. > :47:48.playing plants now! Unbelievable. APPLAUSE

:47:49. > :47:50.Well, Stephen has... You've just got to resign yourself to the fact that

:47:51. > :48:08.it's not been your day. I think if you were Stephen Maguire

:48:09. > :48:12.and you were looking back, maybe the yellow was one frame that got away,

:48:13. > :48:19.but apart from that I can't think of many more mistakes he's made. No,

:48:20. > :48:24.Robertson has been relentless. The level of player required to beat

:48:25. > :48:32.this standard is of the likes of a Mark Selby or a John Higgins, to

:48:33. > :48:37.match him in that area. John Higgins has been playing great. That would

:48:38. > :48:40.be a bit of a match, wouldn't it? We've got some great matches to come

:48:41. > :48:43.and as we say about this game, no matter how good you are, if the

:48:44. > :48:47.other man is at the table potting balls, there's nothing you can do

:48:48. > :48:53.about it. It could happen to kneel as it has happened to Stephen

:48:54. > :48:57.Maguire today. -- to Neil Robertson. But this has been a performance of

:48:58. > :49:04.the highest quality. As good as I've seen him play.

:49:05. > :49:15.95. So this blue for his third century of the match. Superb.

:49:16. > :49:24.Absolutely superb. It doesn't get any better than that. And as I say,

:49:25. > :49:33.he just wants to pot every ball on the table. Brilliant! Absolutely

:49:34. > :49:38.brilliant. And Stephen Maguire will give him a warm handshake as Stephen

:49:39. > :49:42.is a great sport. He knows there's nothing you can do about that. That

:49:43. > :49:47.was a tremendous performance from Neil Robertson. He will take all the

:49:48. > :49:51.beating now. He runs out the winner, six frames to one.

:49:52. > :49:58.Magnificent. STUDIO

:49:59. > :50:03.Wow, three centuries, a 76, a 55, and a 96% pot success rate today. It

:50:04. > :50:07.reminded me of the session he played against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the

:50:08. > :50:10.semifinal of the a few years back. Absolutely incredible, almost

:50:11. > :50:14.unplayable at times. It was unplayable. He wouldn't have lost to

:50:15. > :50:19.anybody today, it doesn't matter who they are. That was as good as you

:50:20. > :50:22.like. Match play fantastic, scoring a cue ball control total authority.

:50:23. > :50:25.It doesn't get much better than that. How do you play against

:50:26. > :50:30.someone like that weighed in they are in that vein of form? It's

:50:31. > :50:34.virtually impossible. On this you get in first and you are able to do

:50:35. > :50:38.what he's doing, you just sit in your chair. That's the sort of thing

:50:39. > :50:42.about snooker that makes it such a tough thing at the top at this

:50:43. > :50:45.level. Stephen Maguire makes a century in the first frame,

:50:46. > :50:49.fantastic break, and you think this is going to be some match today and

:50:50. > :50:54.then basically he just sits in his seat for six frames. He's having to

:50:55. > :50:58.chase it and take some risks, he goes in-off the yellow in frame six

:50:59. > :51:01.and suddenly he's really up against it. You get caught between two

:51:02. > :51:05.stools because you are trying to get yourself back in the match. You

:51:06. > :51:09.can't always clear up. Maybe a safety here and there. But you're

:51:10. > :51:15.looking at the scoreboard and you're trying to chase him. Kneel, well

:51:16. > :51:19.played! That was extraordinary stuff. How do you rate that

:51:20. > :51:22.performance? Yeah, one of the best matches I've played. Gradual

:51:23. > :51:27.improvement from the start of the tournament up until now. I played

:51:28. > :51:32.really well there. Can't really fault too many things about my game

:51:33. > :51:35.today. Obviously Stephen Maguire came out and made a very bold

:51:36. > :51:40.statement with that opening century. You were out, we thought we lost you

:51:41. > :51:45.for a while! Five minutes... Before I went out, I said to Martin I've

:51:46. > :51:49.got to the toilet and he goes, you can't. I should have said to

:51:50. > :51:53.Stephen, whatever happens after this frame I've got to go to the toilet.

:51:54. > :51:58.I'm really sorry! When you've got to go, you've got to go. It's better

:51:59. > :52:02.off that the players can do their business behind closed doors than

:52:03. > :52:06.out in the arena! Well, anyway, that apart. You came back and suddenly it

:52:07. > :52:11.was century after century, big break after big break. Can you describe,

:52:12. > :52:14.we were talking about comparing the performance with something like the

:52:15. > :52:19.semifinal win against Ronnie at the Masters a few years back, was it up

:52:20. > :52:21.there with that? That was more similar to my match with Ali Carter

:52:22. > :52:25.in the quarters. The match against Ronnie in the Masters, he wasn't

:52:26. > :52:30.quite at his best, although I punished him. I forced a few

:52:31. > :52:33.mistakes today out of Stephen. The first frame he looked in incredible

:52:34. > :52:36.form. That can help you in some ways when you know someone is playing

:52:37. > :52:41.well, you know you have to be at your best. That's when I play my

:52:42. > :52:45.best snooker, anyway will stop the top half, people have been beating

:52:46. > :52:49.each other. But the bottom half has still got a really tough look about

:52:50. > :52:53.it. Is there helping you? You know you're going to have a hard match

:52:54. > :52:57.every match? Well, you expect to have a hard match every match. The

:52:58. > :53:02.first couple of rounds, as long as you play pretty decent, you would

:53:03. > :53:05.expect to win. But you've got players like Thepchaiya un-Nooh

:53:06. > :53:09.coming through who are so dangerous, you can quite easily draw him in the

:53:10. > :53:13.first or second round. At this stage now, you've got to play well to get

:53:14. > :53:17.through. You've potentially got a Higgins or a Selby. It doesn't come

:53:18. > :53:21.much tougher than that to get to the final. But that's the way you want

:53:22. > :53:24.to win tournaments, you've got to beat the best. You will take

:53:25. > :53:29.tournament wins wherever they come along but you have got to play the

:53:30. > :53:35.best players in the world. It's interesting because that is eight

:53:36. > :53:38.wins in a row now, going from the Champion of Champions coming in

:53:39. > :53:42.here. I read that you feel you are better able to pace yourself

:53:43. > :53:47.throughout a championship, has that been a problem for you? The Masters

:53:48. > :53:51.was a prime example, I peaked way too early for that. When you start

:53:52. > :53:55.playing and you know you're playing Willy well, you're not going to go

:53:56. > :54:01.down a couple of years and wait play well. The Worlds, I peaked way too

:54:02. > :54:05.early, and the Masters. But that's what happens. I lost to two

:54:06. > :54:08.fantastic performances from my opponents. That's just the way it

:54:09. > :54:13.goes. Is that the same with the season itself? It has taken a couple

:54:14. > :54:16.of years for you to tailor make your own season. I know you had five

:54:17. > :54:19.weeks off in the summer. I should have done that last year, last year

:54:20. > :54:23.I was not ready for the first three or four months of the season and my

:54:24. > :54:26.results were embarrassing really. The euro tour events are very

:54:27. > :54:30.difficult to get yourself up for, as even can tell you!

:54:31. > :54:34.LAUGHTER I've missed four of them already. I

:54:35. > :54:38.know next season we don't have the Euro tours which the players are

:54:39. > :54:42.quite happy about. But they are all going to be proper tournaments next

:54:43. > :54:47.season. I knew was going to be last -- the last year of the Euro tour,

:54:48. > :54:50.so I wasn't that fast if I missed a couple of them. Keeping that level

:54:51. > :54:54.for the rest of the season, have you worked out the correct for milk and

:54:55. > :55:02.to mark does it take a while? I don't know, two years ago I missed a

:55:03. > :55:05.Euro tour event before the Champion of Champions. This year I have done

:55:06. > :55:12.the same thing and I feel much better. You talked about Thepchaiya

:55:13. > :55:14.un-Nooh. Stephen has taught about how that could potentially be a

:55:15. > :55:19.turning point for your championship run. I said you and if you are the

:55:20. > :55:22.players might have been actually happy that he missed!

:55:23. > :55:27.LAUGHTER When he's on it, I'm so happy for

:55:28. > :55:30.him, but when he's missed it, I feel like I'm going to have Liddy pounced

:55:31. > :55:37.all over this. The next frame I was so determined to make a big break.

:55:38. > :55:46.U2 boys are just so greedy! I'm surrounded by greed! -- you two

:55:47. > :55:50.boys. You were right in the camera eye line on the paint. You sort of

:55:51. > :55:54.grimaced at that point. When he was on the pinky was sort of stretching

:55:55. > :56:00.a bit and then he got the white clean. I said that, I said don't get

:56:01. > :56:05.the white clean. He's got such great rhythm and then he just stops. He's

:56:06. > :56:08.probably the fastest player on the tour. He's so good to watch. I

:56:09. > :56:12.really felt for him but then I had to get on with my own business. Will

:56:13. > :56:19.you send him half the cheque for the maximum! Maybe a Christmas card!

:56:20. > :56:27.He's going on CSI Friday, he's getting a certain a bit of notoriety

:56:28. > :56:33.out of this. -- on TFI Friday. He's really exciting player. Most of the

:56:34. > :56:43.players on the tour say he's one of the players to watch. He's like Tony

:56:44. > :56:48.Drago, he could miss anything but then he could not miss for half an

:56:49. > :56:53.hour. Fantastic to watch. Thank you. Back to the other match on the other

:56:54. > :56:57.side of the arena today, Liang Wenbo against Tom Ford. We left this with

:56:58. > :57:01.the Leicester man 2-0 up and looking good. Very quick, very decisive

:57:02. > :57:03.player. We're going to join them and it's time at the table at the third,

:57:04. > :57:15.as we return you to Ken and Dennis. COMMENTATOR: This red pots into the

:57:16. > :57:20.bottom right hand corner pocket. He can hold for any of the baulk

:57:21. > :57:34.colours here. It's in all the way. Nice pot.

:57:35. > :57:41.Plenty of reds to go on here. He has had a quick look at the black to see

:57:42. > :57:54.if it goes into the corner pocket. It certainly does. But unfortunately

:57:55. > :57:59.the black spot is covered by the reds.

:58:00. > :58:05.There's no point trying to pot the black at the moment. Try and leave

:58:06. > :58:14.the cue ball somewhere in the middle of the table. He's got four or five

:58:15. > :58:17.read out in the open. -- four or five reds. Sometimes when you've got

:58:18. > :58:21.so many options, Dennis Kimetto you get a bit confused, don't you? I

:58:22. > :58:24.think what he's thinking about is getting on the red near the left

:58:25. > :58:29.corner pocket too clear that out of the way. He's played it into the

:58:30. > :58:33.middle of the table. You would have to clear that read out of the way

:58:34. > :58:36.and get up for the blue and then down for the 1 by the black spot

:58:37. > :58:40.before he can think about getting the black into play. A feud kicks on

:58:41. > :58:50.this table today. Yesterday it was the other table and

:58:51. > :58:54.I can only remember a couple of kicks in the whole match.

:58:55. > :59:02.Yeah, Peter Ebdon was complaining about this table yesterday after his

:59:03. > :59:11.match. A lot of kicks and a lot of bad bounces. Oh! That is poor from

:59:12. > :59:15.Tom. That is a let off for Liang Wenbo. He just confused himself a

:59:16. > :59:18.bit, he had so many options in his position, even though he got a bad

:59:19. > :01:03.contact on the brown. It wasn't a bad positional shot.

:01:04. > :01:09.We mentioned the black spot was covered, but all the other spots are

:01:10. > :01:14.covered also, so maybe the black might still be available. It will

:01:15. > :01:19.have to go in a direct line behind its spot. So it might still be

:01:20. > :01:36.available when it's respoted. But is there enough room in between

:01:37. > :01:56.those reds? Is there loads of room? Plenty of room. F room. Mustn't be

:01:57. > :02:09.touching that red. APPLAUSE. Definitely pack into the

:02:10. > :02:13.same pocket as the red has gone. He has a little angle on the black

:02:14. > :02:21.here. May be able to push the red out of the way and free up the black

:02:22. > :02:26.spot. Just tried to nudge it but got into the accountable too much. He's

:02:27. > :02:35.still OK. Black will go on the same position and still be available. The

:02:36. > :02:42.referee just making sure that the black is in line with its spot. It

:02:43. > :02:44.should be in line with the pink spot, and the blue and the brown.

:02:45. > :03:22.That's why he's looking up the line. The black is available but not the

:03:23. > :03:25.red that's next to the black. That's why he tried to nudge it away a

:03:26. > :04:27.couple of shots ago. Just can't make his mind up here

:04:28. > :04:33.which red to take. Still can't make his mind up. I know the black will

:04:34. > :04:37.go into the right corner. It may not go into the left corner. If that's

:04:38. > :04:47.the case he'll have to swing the right around here. Or maybe it does

:04:48. > :04:58.go into the left corner as well. Just about.

:04:59. > :05:11.The speed he played that black will tell you that he tried to clip that

:05:12. > :05:17.red away from the black spot. He missed it and the red has gone up

:05:18. > :05:35.the table, so he's going to have to use the rest.

:05:36. > :05:45.Nicely played. Now, has he got the angle on the black? Looks very

:05:46. > :05:50.straight again. Just wanted a couple more inches down and it would've

:05:51. > :06:01.been perfect just to pot the black and nudge the red away, but it looks

:06:02. > :06:09.straight at this angle. Judged that nicely. Frustrating for Tom Ford to

:06:10. > :06:12.be sitting in his seat watching this, because he had a terrific

:06:13. > :06:15.chance and he got himself a little bit confused. Couldn't make his mind

:06:16. > :06:28.up early on which red to play. He had so many options, so many reds

:06:29. > :06:38.in open play, and couldn't decide which to go for. Got his wires

:06:39. > :06:43.crossed, and it could cost him. It is important for Liang to score

:06:44. > :06:47.enough here to keep Tom in his seat and get his first frame on the

:06:48. > :06:54.board. Just came around to have a quick look to see this red, just

:06:55. > :06:59.below the pink in this bottom corner pocket. That tells us it does. This

:07:00. > :07:01.will certainly open up the other two reds into the bottom left hand

:07:02. > :07:25.corner pocket now. It wasn't straightforward Liang

:07:26. > :07:27.Wenbo when came to the table, but he's worked his way through this

:07:28. > :07:51.break quite well. Just a couple more pots away from

:07:52. > :08:52.making this a frame-winning effort. Shouldn't be a problemment he's a

:08:53. > :08:57.little closer to the red for comfort, having to use to rest, but

:08:58. > :09:07.hasn't got much to do with the cue ball.

:09:08. > :09:24.only a possible 59 left on the table now. He can't move the black now, so

:09:25. > :09:30.I don't know why he doesn't take the pink. . He's still on the black. I

:09:31. > :09:34.wonder if he got the black clean there, Dennis, what with a happen?

:09:35. > :09:39.The referee was up to it straight away. He knew straight away, I'm

:09:40. > :09:57.surprised Liang asked him. That would have been a away. Can you

:09:58. > :10:03.clean the black, please? Should be on the spot, it goes back on the

:10:04. > :10:09.spot. That's why I call you Crafty Ken. Always thinking that. Used to

:10:10. > :10:14.be crafty. More careless now, Dennis. I prefer the Darling of

:10:15. > :10:54.Dublin. Ken Dodd, DOD. He's taken this well, Liang. Got 8

:10:55. > :10:58.centuries this season, managed to make 18 last season. Made 1 4 in his

:10:59. > :11:08.career. . make 18 last season. Made 1 4 in his

:11:09. > :11:13.career. -- 144 in his career. Eventually he nudges the red away.

:11:14. > :11:19.He has given us a big smile. He tried on four occasions to nudge

:11:20. > :11:24.that red. He's quite a character, Liang. I will never forget when he

:11:25. > :11:28.was first introduced at the Crucible. They introduced the

:11:29. > :11:35.referee, he thought it was him, so he headed into the arena and headed

:11:36. > :11:40.out again. He walked past the commentary box like a Benny Hill

:11:41. > :11:44.sketch. It was really funny. I remember it well, I laz playing him,

:11:45. > :11:50.Dennis Couldn't stop laughing for the first couple of frames. Wouldn't

:11:51. > :11:56.it be nice if he could get a century here? The bluebell wood children's

:11:57. > :12:00.hospice gets a nice price every time a century break is made. It is over

:12:01. > :12:44.?13,000 at the moment. 87 search ries so far this year.

:12:45. > :13:44.Children's He really has taken these very well

:13:45. > :13:49.indeed. He missed the black, but it doesn't really matter. What an

:13:50. > :13:57.effort that is. A beautiful break at 122 from Liang Wenbo and he gets his

:13:58. > :14:13.first frame on the board. Tom Ford still leads two frames to one.

:14:14. > :14:19.92 centuries in total last year. We are going to smash that. It is going

:14:20. > :14:24.very well. Liang Wenbo very much back in this as we join them in

:14:25. > :14:32.frame four again. The world number 29 to play. This red is going close

:14:33. > :14:55.to the right centre. Gets thisle almost like it touching

:14:56. > :15:02.the black st -- gets this almost like it is touching the black.

:15:03. > :15:16.Leaving an easy safety shot but he's left a pot for Tom here. I wouldn't

:15:17. > :15:20.try and leave the cue ball where it is. I would try and pot this and

:15:21. > :15:24.roll the cue ball towards the centre pocket as well and leave it tight on

:15:25. > :15:34.the cushion. Try and get up for the blue rather than try to play for the

:15:35. > :15:41.pink here. I think if he can leave the accountable and go for this red,

:15:42. > :15:48.at least the cue ball is close to the cushion and not straightforward

:15:49. > :15:52.for Liang Wenbo. But this way if he Misseses, it is going to be leaving

:15:53. > :17:00.something. But he pots it. Nicely on the pink.

:17:01. > :17:08.He's too far from the one in the middle and not far enough from this

:17:09. > :17:13.one, so he can't go for the black. A change of plan. It is all about

:17:14. > :17:27.keeping close control of that cue ball, making it as easy as possible

:17:28. > :17:33.for yourself. Referee asking the crowd on the other side of the arena

:17:34. > :17:37.to be quiet. Probably playing for the blue and then get back up into

:17:38. > :17:50.the high-scoring section of the table. He had to sit out the last

:17:51. > :17:56.frame. He had the first chance with the balls nicely placed. He ran out

:17:57. > :18:02.of position early on. He hasn't hit that hard enough. That's where he

:18:03. > :18:07.hasn't delivered the cue. He's tapped on the table as if to say,

:18:08. > :18:16.nice shot, Tom. That's a pet it has of any snooker player. It is a bit

:18:17. > :18:22.like decelerating. What a mistake that is.

:18:23. > :18:31.The mid-session interval is coming up after this frame. If Tom goes

:18:32. > :18:33.into the interval 2-2, he will be very disappointed, because he was in

:18:34. > :18:59.with a glorious chance there. Liang almost hit that with a good

:19:00. > :19:04.couple of inches. Will have to run into maybe the pink here, try and

:19:05. > :19:09.stun it towards the left-hand centre pocket. He's running into the reds

:19:10. > :19:13.as well. He's always got the blue, but has to get high you enough up

:19:14. > :19:21.the table with the red. Red. Judged that nicely. Just getting the cue

:19:22. > :19:28.ball clean. There has been a few kicks already in this match. Going

:19:29. > :19:34.back to Tom Ford, what a glorious chance he had. Had a chance in the

:19:35. > :19:40.previous frame as well. He'll have to sit there and ponder those

:19:41. > :20:03.chances he had. Will be very disappointed.

:20:04. > :20:13.When he gets going, Liang, he looks very confident around the table, as

:20:14. > :20:34.if he owns the venue. When he's in full flow.

:20:35. > :20:45.It is amazing where the time goes. He's been around for ten years.

:20:46. > :21:07.Doesn't seem that long, since Liang turned professional.

:21:08. > :21:13.If he can score enough to leave Tom needing a snooker were the open

:21:14. > :21:16.reds, he doesn't need that one that's closest to the blue, the one

:21:17. > :21:20.that's out of commission at the moment. The other four are pretty

:21:21. > :21:58.comfortable, it has to be said. He hit that much too hard, but he

:21:59. > :22:02.had the blue over the pocket as a little bit of insurance. He should

:22:03. > :22:09.have been straight on the pink. Now he has to go in and out of the baulk

:22:10. > :22:18.area. Has to be careful not to catch one of the colours. With lots of

:22:19. > :22:26.side, as you can see. Squared the cue ball up there. All played with

:22:27. > :22:38.loads of left-hand side on the cue ball there. Judged it perfectly.

:22:39. > :22:41.Excellent positional shot. Choice of two reds, one into the left corner

:22:42. > :23:29.one into the right centre. He made a century in the previous

:23:30. > :24:05.frame and looks like he's going to clench the frame with this visit.

:24:06. > :24:15.APPLAUSE. The crowd acknowledged that.

:24:16. > :24:27.In different circumstances he would have brought that red into play.

:24:28. > :24:32.He's left a double. The black or pink with this last red and he could

:24:33. > :24:34.make another century if the double goes in. It is there. Excellent

:24:35. > :24:46.shot. APPLAUSE. This is a marvellous

:24:47. > :24:52.response from Liang Wenbo. Oh, such a shame to miss the black and try

:24:53. > :24:56.and make the century. He's very disappointed but most importantly

:24:57. > :25:01.he's got another frame on the board, as Tom Ford goes out he'll be

:25:02. > :25:06.disappointed but Liang will be over the Moon. He's levelled the match at

:25:07. > :25:11.two frames all. Liang is fuelled by the memory of having beaten Tom Ford

:25:12. > :25:13.in their two previous matches, 4-1 and 5-1. It hasn't been a couple of

:25:14. > :25:17.years since they last and 5-1. It hasn't been a couple of

:25:18. > :25:21.years since they last played. Into the next we go and we are ten

:25:22. > :25:35.minutes into this frame. Tom is at the table.

:25:36. > :25:45.He found a good gap there, but the cue ball's come up and down off the

:25:46. > :25:52.baulk cushion. Even though he covered the red close toast the

:25:53. > :25:58.left-hand side corner pocket. There's a red he'll be taking on

:25:59. > :26:07.into the left-hand corner pocket or into the right hand corner pocket.

:26:08. > :26:17.His long pot success, only 20%. Not very good. Missed a few in the first

:26:18. > :26:26.couple of frames but since then has potted very well.

:26:27. > :26:38.His long ball game just isn't there at the moment. There's a red on for

:26:39. > :26:42.this left corner but there's a bit of a gap. He might get through. I'm

:26:43. > :26:48.wondering if he could get through the gap and flick the red away

:26:49. > :26:55.that's next to the black, that's a possibility. Even if he didn't flick

:26:56. > :26:58.the red, as long as he gets the gap between the two reds here. Wouldn't

:26:59. > :27:02.it be something if he flicked that red away from the black? We've got

:27:03. > :27:06.the perfect picture there to see what happens. As long as he found

:27:07. > :27:25.the gap, he was OK. Again, red is closest probably to

:27:26. > :27:31.the pink spot, just above it. Will probably be his choice. Overran it

:27:32. > :27:36.slightly but is still OK. Maybe the red in the middle of those three

:27:37. > :27:38.reds around the pink spot may pot. If not, just take the loose one back

:27:39. > :27:53.up for the blue. He's having a look at that red to

:27:54. > :28:00.see whether it will pot into this right hand corner pocket. Looks very

:28:01. > :28:16.tight from this position. There you see not quite sure where that's on.

:28:17. > :28:20.He'd love to be able to get rid of those two reds that are around the

:28:21. > :28:22.pink spot, get the pink back on the spot, because of the black being

:28:23. > :28:46.tied up where it is. He'll have another look at it but it

:28:47. > :28:50.does look very tight that. I'd forget about that one, unless he can

:28:51. > :28:57.put a little trace of side on it. Maybe he is going to play it with a

:28:58. > :29:45.touch of side. He did and he made the angle.

:29:46. > :29:52.It is very important from Tom Ford's point of view that he got off to a

:29:53. > :29:56.good start after the mid-session interval. He never got much of a

:29:57. > :30:03.chance in the last two frames. OK, he might have been first in both

:30:04. > :30:09.frames, but Liang made 122 and then 67. It was very important to start

:30:10. > :30:17.well after that interval. Still got quite a bit of work to do here. The

:30:18. > :30:22.blacks still out of commission. Once again if he pots this red, can he

:30:23. > :30:39.avoid cannoning the two reds? If he could just avoid the cannon

:30:40. > :30:49.here, he could get onto the pink or blue. He hit it with lots of side to

:30:50. > :31:00.make sure he didn't cannon those reds. The two reds close to that

:31:01. > :31:04.left-hand side corner pocket are now available. He has come a little bit

:31:05. > :31:10.further than he would have liked for this pink.

:31:11. > :31:52.I didn't see much of... I didn't see any of Tom's match against Mark

:31:53. > :31:57.Williams, but that was quite a scalp to beat Mark, the waymark has been

:31:58. > :32:02.playing. He's quite capable, Tom, as you can see here. We mentioned in

:32:03. > :32:06.the opening frame how good he is in and around the pink and black with

:32:07. > :32:22.his delicate little touch that he has. Yeah, he has made 149 career

:32:23. > :32:29.centuries. He has a 147 to his name as well. It came during the Grand

:32:30. > :32:36.Prix in 2007. He made a second one on a European tour event as well, in

:32:37. > :32:37.bog area. A couple of 147s in tournament play, which shows you how

:32:38. > :32:56.good he is. Went through a bit of a stage of a

:32:57. > :33:00.crisis of confidence for a couple of years and wasn't getting many

:33:01. > :33:06.results, became very frustrated. But starting to get a few now. Looks as

:33:07. > :33:13.if he's going to play the cannon onto the red next to the black,

:33:14. > :33:16.here. Nicely played. Every chance now to secure this fifth frame and

:33:17. > :33:38.get himself back into a lead. There you see, 50 ahead with 59

:33:39. > :33:46.remaining. Shouldn't be any problem here. He will concentrate now on

:33:47. > :33:51.trying to make a century break, after putting this black. Just

:33:52. > :34:05.checking the scores. Sometimes when you're concentrating

:34:06. > :34:10.so hard, you look at the scoreboard and it takes you a while to figure

:34:11. > :34:19.out. In fact the marker hadn't put up the proper score. It's up now.

:34:20. > :34:25.But just went back a few shots. That is what he was waiting for, the

:34:26. > :34:27.correct score on the scoreboard. Anyway, this red will make sure of

:34:28. > :34:52.the frame. Well, he was hoping for a quick

:34:53. > :34:53.start after the mid-session interval, but it has changed things

:34:54. > :35:19.around. Not bad. It doesn't have to force

:35:20. > :35:26.it. If he rolls it in, the White will come away from the cushion and

:35:27. > :35:29.he will finish on the black. Still not going to be easy to make the

:35:30. > :35:34.century, with the green close to the cushion.

:35:35. > :35:45.He has got an angle on the yellow to swing the white across the table and

:35:46. > :35:53.in behind the green. And the standard in the last three frames

:35:54. > :36:03.has been pretty good. 122, 67 and now this, from Tom.

:36:04. > :36:12.Just a little bit straight on this, but he can screw it back and he

:36:13. > :36:17.won't finish tied on the cushion. Oh! What a shame. No century break

:36:18. > :36:20.but that is a great effort from Tom Ford. He will be finishing much

:36:21. > :36:28.better about himself now. He has come out of -- after the mid-session

:36:29. > :36:44.interval and won the frame. That is Tom's 14th plus 50 break

:36:45. > :36:45.over the last few days. He is ahead and with clear water between himself

:36:46. > :36:57.and Liang now. COMMENTATOR: I don't think the green

:36:58. > :37:06.has come to his rescue. Liang can get past the green adjust, to flick

:37:07. > :37:13.this red in. -- get past the green, just. He doesn't need position at

:37:14. > :37:17.the brownies over the pocket, but he could play to get on pink or blue

:37:18. > :37:26.here. The brown is always there just in case he runs a stray slightly.

:37:27. > :37:41.That's just about perfect. He might just be able to clear the pink spot

:37:42. > :37:42.a little bit more here, potting it and Canning into the red to the left

:37:43. > :37:52.of it. -- cannon. The pink is available into the left

:37:53. > :38:34.corner as well, now. And he doesn't have too play for the

:38:35. > :38:41.pink into that pocket, if he feels it's a little bit tight.

:38:42. > :39:11.Tom Ford made a lovely break of 86 in the previous frame. Can Liang

:39:12. > :39:21.bounced back with a sizeable contribution here? It has been a

:39:22. > :39:27.pretty good standard, hasn't it? A good opportunity here for Liang

:39:28. > :39:35.Wenbo. A few reds nicely situated around the pink.

:39:36. > :40:12.The red to the left of the pink will be his choice here. Worked out well.

:40:13. > :40:20.It doesn't have to do much yet, does he, Dennis? Another couple of links

:40:21. > :40:23.after this one, the two reds just below the pink spot, before he

:40:24. > :40:29.worries about bringing some more interplay. I was just thinking, it's

:40:30. > :40:32.very hard to separate these two players, very hard to pick a

:40:33. > :40:38.winner. They are both playing quite well. I mean, in the long pot

:40:39. > :40:43.department Tom is much better this afternoon, when Liang gets in he's

:40:44. > :40:47.scoring heavily. Not a lock to choose between them at the moment.

:40:48. > :41:01.27. He goes about his business quite proficiently when he's in and around

:41:02. > :41:08.the pink and black spot area. But he's only got one, possibly two.

:41:09. > :41:14.That is where he would like to put the cue ball after this pink. That

:41:15. > :41:19.would enable him to get the black back on its spot. Thinking about

:41:20. > :41:22.putting this pink, running through, getting on the red to the right of

:41:23. > :41:29.the black into the opposite corner pocket.

:41:30. > :41:33.Well, he was looking at that but maybe he's going to do it after

:41:34. > :42:04.takes this open red. Now, he has a nice angle to get on

:42:05. > :42:11.that red but he also has a nice angle to go and try and develop some

:42:12. > :42:26.reds as well. Looking to see if that red does pot.

:42:27. > :42:38.There you can see that only one of the two reds to the left would be

:42:39. > :42:43.available. At Liang does have a few choices here. He played for that

:42:44. > :42:58.one. Should be OK. This could develop a couple more

:42:59. > :43:09.reds, when he hits this with a bit of pace. Well... I don't think he

:43:10. > :43:13.was trying to get the black -- get on the black, I think he was trying

:43:14. > :43:16.to screw up for the pink. Because he could have hit that cue ball as hard

:43:17. > :43:22.as he likes, couldn't he? He wanted to get back a bit further. The angle

:43:23. > :43:27.he's got on the black, he can't hold for a read. If you just rolls the

:43:28. > :43:32.black in, he will head up past the pink spot area and he won't be on a

:43:33. > :43:36.read. He's going to be have to -- going to have to be very delicate

:43:37. > :43:44.with this shot. I'm not sure if he can play some sort of cannon here.

:43:45. > :43:47.Very strange shot, wasn't it? He was potting that red, he could have

:43:48. > :43:54.easily tried to put the red he was going into on the other side of the

:43:55. > :43:58.table, into the open. Could he hold it?

:43:59. > :44:11.He might just be OK. I think he's got a red to the right middle

:44:12. > :44:17.pocket. Or at up into the corner. He's just about OK. He did manage to

:44:18. > :44:19.get enough back spin with the rest to play a cannon and not lose the

:44:20. > :44:34.cue ball. Yeah, it's not the ideal angle, is

:44:35. > :44:43.it? He's screwing back for the black into the right corner pocket. Well,

:44:44. > :44:47.I thought he was. He's going for the middle. Excellent shot. The way he

:44:48. > :44:50.was shaping up I thought he was playing it into the green pocket but

:44:51. > :44:52.he has held it beautifully for the black, and a wonderful angle as

:44:53. > :45:03.well. That was an excellent shot. You get a little bit confused

:45:04. > :45:10.watching Liang Wenbo. He looks at so many options. Yeah, as long as he

:45:11. > :45:17.pushes one red out of the way he is OK here. Well, I say he's OK... He

:45:18. > :45:21.nearly missed the black in the end. He didn't play that very well. He

:45:22. > :45:26.was getting to the stage where he was about to clinch the frame. He

:45:27. > :45:55.put a little quick one in there, as we say.

:45:56. > :46:07.He's just a bit concerned that he doesn't knock this red towards this

:46:08. > :46:14.right-hand corner pocket. He wants to try and get the cue ball... Well,

:46:15. > :46:16.up behind the green would be ideal. Just got to be careful with the red,

:46:17. > :46:30.here. Liang Wenbo, 56. So, a nice 56 break

:46:31. > :46:36.from Liang Wenbo. He's in a very good position in this frame. But he

:46:37. > :46:39.will be disappointed. It was a straightforward black to knock the

:46:40. > :47:38.red into play. He still can't get near a long pot,

:47:39. > :47:44.Liang. Even though he's got that 50 point advantage here... He's smiling

:47:45. > :47:49.away to himself... He knows he can't pot a long one for some reason. A

:47:50. > :47:55.bit of a chance here for Tom Ford to get himself back into this frame.

:47:56. > :47:59.All those reds were tied up, four reds tied up around the black. He

:48:00. > :48:05.has missed the red by so much, he has careered into them and brought

:48:06. > :48:09.them into play. The perfect shot here would be to take that red and

:48:10. > :48:13.get the black back on its spot. OK it's going to be a difficult black

:48:14. > :48:14.he will be faced with, but it will give him the chance to win the

:48:15. > :48:30.frame. He really must get the black on its

:48:31. > :48:34.spot. Screw the red in, screw the cue ball back a few inches and he

:48:35. > :48:36.will be left with a tricky one down the rail, but certainly worth taking

:48:37. > :49:01.on. He doesn't like it. I'm just wondering if he will hold

:49:02. > :49:07.the pink spot here. The pink will go on the black spot. Yeah, that's what

:49:08. > :49:11.he's done. Then in potting this red, may be used the pink to possibly

:49:12. > :49:13.take out the 1 closest to the top cushion. That's the most difficult

:49:14. > :49:25.one. Now, ideally, pot the pink and take

:49:26. > :49:29.the 1 closest to the top cushion, try and bring that into play. He

:49:30. > :49:40.will still be on one of the other two reds. No, didn't like it. He's

:49:41. > :49:49.got to get this black on its spot, Dennis, I feel. Just over the

:49:50. > :49:58.two-hour mark for this match. This is where he will get that black back

:49:59. > :50:13.onto its spot. A very key. If somehow Tom could pinch this...

:50:14. > :50:23.Got to make sure you pot the black. Even if you sacrifice a little bit

:50:24. > :50:31.of the position. Played it beautifully. He really did. It's not

:50:32. > :50:36.going to be me easy, I mean the yellow is awkward. The red closest

:50:37. > :50:42.to the cushion is also a little awkward. But if he can leave a good

:50:43. > :50:43.angle to roll the red in and get a good angle on the black, he can

:50:44. > :50:56.develop that yellow. And that's just about spot on. He

:50:57. > :51:00.just has too roll this in and leave a nice angle on the black to take

:51:01. > :51:09.him over to the yellow. What a steal this would be. He's got to make sure

:51:10. > :51:14.he's in line with the black. Doesn't want to be high on the black, or

:51:15. > :51:23.straight. This is absolutely perfect. Almost in a straight line

:51:24. > :51:24.with the black. That's a wonderful angle to drop behind the yellow or

:51:25. > :51:36.bring it into play, as you said. Well... Has the yellow come out far

:51:37. > :51:40.enough? Can he just drop it in and hold for the long green? It looks

:51:41. > :51:58.very acute. Good shot. Now, this is the frame

:51:59. > :52:01.ball, you would have to say. It doesn't matter where he puts the cue

:52:02. > :52:06.ball, he would probably stunt it over to the left side cushion. He's

:52:07. > :52:10.played it perfectly onto the side cushion. He has got the perfect

:52:11. > :52:20.angle on the brown to drop onto the blue. What a pinch this will be. Oh!

:52:21. > :52:24.He's hit it too hard. He's going to have to go in and out of the baulk

:52:25. > :52:30.area, force it round. Maybe just a little bit of adrenaline there? A

:52:31. > :52:38.little bit. It's not too bad. When he puts this blue, he will only need

:52:39. > :52:45.the pink. It's too much! It's too much, is it? Is it going to slow up?

:52:46. > :52:52.Oh! He's going to have to take it to the middle now, isn't he? The only

:52:53. > :52:56.good thing for him here is that he only needs the pink. The cue ball

:52:57. > :53:02.would be behind the black. It takes a bit of the pressure off.

:53:03. > :53:13.Great shot! He doesn't need the black. And what a frame. 50 points

:53:14. > :53:18.behind, but... He won't worry about the black too much, but a wonderful

:53:19. > :53:22.58 break from Tom Ford to pinch it on the pink, and that gives him

:53:23. > :53:27.another two frame lead. He leads Liang Wenbo now by four frames to

:53:28. > :53:30.two. STUDIO

:53:31. > :53:35.A nod of approval from Liang Wenbo, that was some clearance, wasn't it?

:53:36. > :53:38.Liang Wenbo, a former Shanghai Masters finalist, renowned as a

:53:39. > :53:45.really tough character. He's going to dig in all right, Tom knows that.

:53:46. > :53:49.In two frame seven and he is ex-for up,

:53:50. > :53:56.COMMENTATOR: This red looks like it's going to be left for Liang

:53:57. > :54:30.Wenbo. It's worth a go for Tom Ford. Got to be very careful there that he

:54:31. > :55:08.doesn't foul that with his waistcoat.

:55:09. > :55:17.Not a straightforward chance here, but it's a big frame for Liang

:55:18. > :55:22.Wenbo. He goes 5-2 behind, it would be a tall order. That's why he's

:55:23. > :56:10.taking his time and making sure of every pot here, in this effort.

:56:11. > :56:56.He's picked off all the fairly comfortable reds. It's going to

:56:57. > :56:59.start to get a bit more difficult now.

:57:00. > :57:31.There are still three reds available to Liang at the moment. Three near

:57:32. > :57:35.the cushion that are going to be awkward. Of course if he gets that

:57:36. > :57:39.far he's going to be able to get an angle on the black and develop. That

:57:40. > :57:47.is a bit tight, but maybe just enough room.

:57:48. > :57:54.He could even take the chance of developing the two reds to the right

:57:55. > :57:59.of the 1 behind the black. He would be guaranteed a red for either

:58:00. > :58:01.corner pocket. It just depends how he feels. He may leave that for the

:58:02. > :58:15.time being. Clearly two easy reds away and then

:58:16. > :58:19.make sure he gets a good angle on the black to develop one if not a

:58:20. > :58:39.couple of the three difficult reds. Probably only need one of those

:58:40. > :58:44.difficult reds, and has he finished dead straight on the pink? If he

:58:45. > :58:52.has, he won't be able to get on that red. A bit of a problem now. You

:58:53. > :59:03.have to get on that red from the blue.

:59:04. > :59:20.Now, is he going to try and force? Well, just leaving a much more

:59:21. > :59:23.difficult pot. These are never easy, are they? Particularly if you are

:59:24. > :59:38.playing them with a bit of pace as well.

:59:39. > :59:53.APPLAUSE. What sort of angle has he got here? He hasn't gone far enough

:59:54. > :59:58.up for the blue, so he's to the to hit at least one, if not two

:59:59. > :00:03.cushions. It's a big target though isn't it? As long as he doesn't get

:00:04. > :00:08.too much right-hand side when potting this blue, shouldn't be able

:00:09. > :00:15.to make a connection with at least one of them. He's 36 points ahead,

:00:16. > :00:21.so he's going to need another red and a colour to make this frame

:00:22. > :00:32.safe. It is a big target, with the three reds on the bottom cushion.

:00:33. > :00:37.Didn't get any side on that at all. Usually you've already worked out

:00:38. > :00:42.what you need. He was 50 points ahead in the last frame and lost it.

:00:43. > :01:02.Got to be careful here. That's not the best. Was trying to

:01:03. > :01:15.get behind the yellow and green. That's exactly Watford Ford will be

:01:16. > :01:39.trying to do -- what Tom Ford will be trying to do. Not quite safe.

:01:40. > :01:50.This is a very negative shot. He's got the red safe, but he's going to

:01:51. > :01:54.be putting himself in a lot of trouble here. If Tom Ford can bring

:01:55. > :01:58.two reds out into the open, there's a big target between green and

:01:59. > :02:05.yellow here. That was a strange shot from Liang Wenbo. He could be in

:02:06. > :02:15.trouble here. A big target behind the green and yellow. A good shot.

:02:16. > :02:24.And now all of a sudden he's got the outside edge of a couple of reds,

:02:25. > :02:30.but one mistake could prove costly. That was a strange shot, the

:02:31. > :02:36.previous one that Liang played. The white, had it pulled up, he would

:02:37. > :02:43.have been in all sorts of trouble, but he has got the path down the

:02:44. > :02:47.table off that red to the right and two reds. As long as he misses the

:02:48. > :03:02.blue, every chance of getting in behind that green and yellow.

:03:03. > :03:11.It is not as big a target now, but Tom can still swing the right around

:03:12. > :03:18.and possibly get in behind the green. The target's not as big now

:03:19. > :03:24.after that last cannon. He could play the red next to the black and

:03:25. > :03:39.free the black. He needs the black in play. That's the one he's going

:03:40. > :03:46.to remove. He would hit that yellow if he could and knock it back into

:03:47. > :04:13.position. Liang Wenbo has tied up the green and yellow there.

:04:14. > :04:20.That's a big target again now he's cannoned the yellow back out, but it

:04:21. > :04:25.is awkward cueing for Tom Ford here. The, he didn't Le want that. He

:04:26. > :04:36.would have preferred to have those two balls tied up, particularly with

:04:37. > :04:44.a 41-point lead. This is a difficult shot he's faced with here, reaching

:04:45. > :04:49.over the green. Could possibly lay on the two reds, but it's the same

:04:50. > :04:53.old problem. OK he'll get the reds safe but he'll be in a lot of

:04:54. > :05:01.trouble following that. Decided against it. Hasn't played it well.

:05:02. > :05:04.It was always awkward, that. If the yellow and green hadn't been there

:05:05. > :05:08.this, it was a straightforward escape, but striking down you get a

:05:09. > :05:16.bit of unwanted side. Every chance for Liang now to clinch this seventh

:05:17. > :05:25.frame. As I mentioned previously it is a frame he badly needed to go 5-2

:05:26. > :05:27.down. Would have been a mountain to climb but he's right back in this

:05:28. > :05:46.match. 49 the difference. Just a possible

:05:47. > :05:56.43. All he did was make sure of the black there.

:05:57. > :06:02.Playing the safety shot. Barring a couple of snookers Liang Wenbo is

:06:03. > :06:14.just one frame behind at 4-3. Tom will carry on because of the

:06:15. > :06:23.yellow and green, as they are situated. If eventually he can get a

:06:24. > :07:13.chance to get in behind those. Can't do much with this though.

:07:14. > :07:28.APPLAUSE. Well, that's his first long pot for quite some time. He's

:07:29. > :07:30.only potted one out of 10 or 11 but that was a good time to make certain

:07:31. > :07:41.of the frame. He got the rest. I think he forget

:07:42. > :09:12.he was left-handed for a while. Still very little to pick between

:09:13. > :09:22.these two players. It was a frame for Liang that he badly needed. He

:09:23. > :09:29.is just one frame behind. It is 4-3 to Tom Ford. The rally from Liang

:09:30. > :09:35.isn't entirely unexpected. He came from 4-1 down to beat Judd Trump in

:09:36. > :09:43.the last round. It is getting tense now into frame 8. What a shot that

:09:44. > :09:48.is! OK, he was playing it in such a way that he had a bit of safety in

:09:49. > :09:53.mind, but what a bonus. And what a bonus kissing the yellow and being

:09:54. > :09:58.on yellow or brown. It was a half safety shot. If he misses the pot he

:09:59. > :10:01.wobbles, but what a shot he knocked in there. The flick on the yellow is

:10:02. > :10:13.definitely a big bonus. Could have a go at that another ten

:10:14. > :10:34.times and would be lucky to get it once wouldn't you.

:10:35. > :10:42.That was a poor shot. Didn't seem to get any side on that. Was unlucky to

:10:43. > :10:48.cannon the blue and cover the red. He had quite a margin for error. He

:10:49. > :10:55.screws back, a bit of reverse side would have kept him from that blue.

:10:56. > :11:04.It seemed to come off that side cushion quite quickly. After that

:11:05. > :11:12.unbelievable opening pot, can he still get through in he can still

:11:13. > :11:29.pot the red. I thought he had snookered himself on this one.

:11:30. > :11:43.That's tight, but if he does pot it, get on the red behind the black into

:11:44. > :11:49.the left there... That's the key red, if he can get the red away from

:11:50. > :11:56.the black after this pink, the one to the right of the black, that will

:11:57. > :12:05.free the black up into both pockets. He's played for the one to the left.

:12:06. > :12:23.He can get back up to that one to the right of the black in a couple

:12:24. > :12:30.of shots' time. Did that nicely. Got a nice angle, the blue.

:12:31. > :12:43.Doesn't have to hit this with too much pace. Got to play a nice cannon

:12:44. > :12:47.on the pink or the red. To the left of it and down a couple of inches.

:12:48. > :12:59.That was perfect, absolutely perfect. A lovely shot.

:13:00. > :13:06.Still not straightforward. He purposely played for that black. It

:13:07. > :13:13.is only available into one corner pocket, so it will be a little bit

:13:14. > :13:24.careful here. Decided to head back up for the blue. Could have played

:13:25. > :13:33.it better. It's all about making the next shot as easy as possible for

:13:34. > :13:39.yourself. I always like to play these into the pocket that you can

:13:40. > :13:53.see. It is difficult to judge the pace off the top cushion. He held it

:13:54. > :14:04.nicely. Perfect on this red to the right corner.

:14:05. > :14:15.Didn't have much chance in the last frame. Liang made breaks of 47 and

:14:16. > :14:21.42, but this is a key break from Tom Ford's point of view. 5-3 in front,

:14:22. > :14:34.Liang would have to win the last three frames. He'll put everything

:14:35. > :14:40.into this chance. In around the black spot area, the delicate little

:14:41. > :14:44.touch that he has. As long as he didn't get any kicks, he's having

:14:45. > :14:49.the cue ball cleaned not because of the last shot. I think he's trying

:14:50. > :14:54.to anticipate, I don't know whether that helps sometimes when you have

:14:55. > :15:03.the referee cleaning the ball before you play the shot.

:15:04. > :15:11.A nice angle now. Pot the black into the left-hand corner, come off the

:15:12. > :15:15.top cushion and try to get the red off the same pocket. Needs to free

:15:16. > :15:53.the black into both pockets. Just needs one more little cannon

:15:54. > :15:59.here. Didn't risk the cannon and I don't blame him. He's already 45 in

:16:00. > :16:06.front, so if he can pot them without having to risk a cannon, it's much

:16:07. > :16:28.better. He could hold the red to this corner on that occasion.

:16:29. > :16:49.Getting close to the winning line of this frame now.

:16:50. > :17:07.This black will put him 61 ahead. Just one more red after this black.

:17:08. > :17:14.He's worked this break nicely. That wonderful red into the corner

:17:15. > :17:35.pocket. Nice kiss on the yellow. He made five centuries last season.

:17:36. > :17:39.He made five this season so far. On a couple of occasions he's made

:17:40. > :18:06.them, 147. Held his spot on the pink, so the

:18:07. > :18:10.pink goes on the highest available, which in this case is yellow.

:18:11. > :18:18.Difficult to get that red off the right-hand side cushion to try and

:18:19. > :18:23.make the century here. There is an angle on the blue now. Will he try

:18:24. > :18:28.to come off the top cushion to try and dislodge the red, knock it over

:18:29. > :18:32.the centre pocket? Don't hit it too hard. This looks absolutely perfect.

:18:33. > :18:37.Oh, he was just a little bit unlucky. He knocked it over the

:18:38. > :18:43.middle but can't pot it from where the cue ball is. A John Parrott

:18:44. > :18:51.special. He's brilliant off the cushion. Can Tom knock this in? Good

:18:52. > :18:58.cueing there, Tom. He's had 89 centuries so far this year. This

:18:59. > :19:03.would be number 90. Every chance of doing that now. Playing for the

:19:04. > :19:08.pink, but he's got an angle thon last red. Then you leave the right

:19:09. > :19:16.where the pink is, and he's right on the yellow. Purposely playing with

:19:17. > :19:23.lots of side to get on that pink. It's been a great effort. It's been

:19:24. > :19:29.a good standard hasn't it? Oh, such a shame from Tom Ford. A wonderful

:19:30. > :19:34.break for 92. Didn't make the century but he won't be disappointed

:19:35. > :19:42.with that. Puts another frame on the board. Only needs one more to get

:19:43. > :19:49.into the quarterfinals. He leads Liang Wenbo by five frames to three.

:19:50. > :19:55.Every time he gets ahead back comes Liangment the same happened in frame

:19:56. > :20:00.9. Tom is 46 points behind here. I'm with you, with I think if he took

:20:01. > :20:05.that red to tight to the cushion and drop it in. Might have to cannon one

:20:06. > :20:10.of the reds on the way back. I think the other shot, he's undercating he

:20:11. > :20:29.might have had a kick but I'm not sure. -- he's indicating he might

:20:30. > :20:35.have had a kick, but I'm not sure. He's gifted, the frame, to Liang

:20:36. > :20:49.Wenbo. He is too straight on this pink.

:20:50. > :20:55.A delicate little screw shot here. He's taken the easier red with the

:20:56. > :21:37.rest. 61 points ahead. Red colour red will

:21:38. > :21:46.be enough to close the gap to one again. This is a gifted frame, would

:21:47. > :21:53.have to say, Tom Ford will be very disappoint ed disappointed. It is

:21:54. > :21:57.pinging off the cushions little bit. He played for the red to the right

:21:58. > :22:03.of the pink, but it doesn't really matter. He's got the other one. He

:22:04. > :23:38.only needs a red to secure the frame.

:23:39. > :23:48.With that red tight on the cushion it made it a much easier pot. Tom

:23:49. > :23:58.Ford decided to try a slightly more difficult pot up into the corner.

:23:59. > :24:02.He's going to have to wait for the next frame to get a chance to get

:24:03. > :24:32.himself into the quarterfinals of this year's UK Championship.

:24:33. > :24:42.He looked very fluent today when he's been in amongst the balls. I

:24:43. > :24:54.know Liang has missed a lot of long pots, but he's had breaks of 56, 56,

:24:55. > :25:43.a couple of 40s in frame seven. Already had a 46 in this frame.

:25:44. > :26:13.An earlier break of 46 and then he cleared the lot up there with that

:26:14. > :26:17.magnificent effort of 88. He keeps himself in this year's UK

:26:18. > :26:21.Championship. But Tom Ford still leads five frames to four.

:26:22. > :26:26.STUDIO: We've caught this match up, because we are going to dive into

:26:27. > :26:32.the arena now for frame 10. It's all been going on in there. Liang has a

:26:33. > :26:37.lead of 53 point to 26, but Tom Ford has got half a chance, Ken and

:26:38. > :26:44.Dennis, hasn't he? Absolutely. It looked like it was five each. Liang

:26:45. > :26:48.was in the balls and just ran out of position and left this chance. But

:26:49. > :26:53.Tom's kept getting himself slightly out of position. A chance he didn't

:26:54. > :27:02.think he had, and all of a sudden he could pinch the match here. Yes, it

:27:03. > :27:09.has become a little bit awkward now, because he can pot this red, but he

:27:10. > :27:17.could try and stun the cue ball out but has to use a lot of power.

:27:18. > :27:26.He's played for the black. Wow, this is going to be tough. OK, he just

:27:27. > :27:31.has to drop it in dead weight. But Dennis, this is easily missed It was

:27:32. > :27:35.a red he refused on one of the other frames, the tight on the cushion,

:27:36. > :27:42.but the black off the cushion makes it more difficult. That's a great

:27:43. > :27:50.shot. Oh, I thought it was going to drop. It looked close there, but it

:27:51. > :27:54.just seemed to leave the cushion slightly. Once you touch the jaw

:27:55. > :27:59.you've got no chance of it going in. He's going to have to get himself

:28:00. > :28:05.ready for a decider. He beat Mark Williams in the last 64 I think,

:28:06. > :28:15.6-5. He's going to have to do it again. Just thought when the black

:28:16. > :28:19.went towards that jaw it would fall back towards the top cushion and

:28:20. > :28:31.drop it. He played it at the right pace. Liang looks a bit tense there.

:28:32. > :28:35.He'd won this frame earlier but he made a mistake. This is what he did.

:28:36. > :28:39.It was quite musing. Heavy had a good laugh to himself. He gave

:28:40. > :28:55.himself a little smack on the side of the face.

:28:56. > :29:15.That puts him 34 points ahead and just 35 remaining, with this red. We

:29:16. > :29:20.are going to a decider, Dennis. He did it against Judd Trump didn't he,

:29:21. > :29:28.he was 4-1 down, came back and won Fyfe frames in a row to knock out

:29:29. > :29:33.the pre-tournament favourite. They always say it is the toss of a coin

:29:34. > :29:37.in the deciding frame, but Liang has won the last two, so it would make

:29:38. > :29:44.him slightly favourite. He has won twice against Tom Ford.

:29:45. > :30:18.OK, minor events, but... LAUGHTER

:30:19. > :30:22.Well, he got a horrendous kick on the pink but he won't be worried

:30:23. > :30:28.about it. He puts his cue down and goes out for a break, as Tom sits

:30:29. > :30:32.and reflects on that missed black. We're going into a decider, five

:30:33. > :30:34.frames all. STUDIO

:30:35. > :30:38.We are going into a decider and you're going to see this one, half

:30:39. > :30:44.an hour to go until the end of transmission. This should be a tasty

:30:45. > :30:47.30 minutes. Stephen said earlier on, top pundit... He said this could go

:30:48. > :30:53.into a final frame decider and he's dead right! Go on, gloat about it!

:30:54. > :31:08.Let's talk about the missed black. That was obviously match ball. It's

:31:09. > :31:13.not the first final frame decider for Tom in this championship. He was

:31:14. > :31:17.involved against Mark Williams, in extraordinary circumstances. He came

:31:18. > :31:24.right back into this one. 2-5 behind and he was 60 points behind him in

:31:25. > :31:27.the decider and still won it. He was 5-4 down, made a 70, and then an

:31:28. > :31:33.unbelievable performance in the last frame. He's got it in there. As we

:31:34. > :31:38.always say, all you want in a final frame decider is a chance. Liang

:31:39. > :31:42.Wenbo, real strength of mine as well out there. He's quite well known for

:31:43. > :31:48.that, a very strong player. Great character, Liang. It will be

:31:49. > :31:55.interesting to see how Tom reacts. Only had one half chance in the two

:31:56. > :32:01.frames since going 5-3 up. He missed it. How was he mentally? Liang has

:32:02. > :32:06.stayed there are possibly stewing a bit in his seat and thinking about

:32:07. > :32:11.it. It's going to be interesting. For you, whose performance has been

:32:12. > :32:15.better this afternoon? It's 5-5 for a reason, to be honest. Nothing

:32:16. > :32:18.between them. I thought this match was going to be difficult to pick a

:32:19. > :32:22.winner. I also thought it was difficult because Liang Wenbo had

:32:23. > :32:25.the euphoria of knocking out Judd Trump. He wasn't expected to do that

:32:26. > :32:30.even though we know he's a good player. To come from 4-1 and not

:32:31. > :32:34.came out, sometimes it's a little bit after the Lord memory Gripper

:32:35. > :32:37.show in his next match. Tom is now getting used to playing on the

:32:38. > :32:41.television which is great, because it has almost held him back a bit,

:32:42. > :32:44.he has always been a top-class player but generally away from the

:32:45. > :32:48.TV cameras. I thought this was a tough match to call a winner.

:32:49. > :32:53.There's one match that wasn't commented on a great deal and that

:32:54. > :32:58.was Tom's victory over Kyren Wilson. He beaten 6-1. This guy has had a

:32:59. > :33:02.great tournament, did well in the Champion of champions and the

:33:03. > :33:05.Shanghai Masters. Obviously after beating Mark Williams, that result

:33:06. > :33:09.possibly went under the radar a little bit but Kyren Wilson has had

:33:10. > :33:14.a great season, so 6-1 is a comfortable victory. He has got

:33:15. > :33:20.those results and obviously the 1 against Mark Williams and now this

:33:21. > :33:24.is the final frame. Here we go, final frame decider. Who will it be?

:33:25. > :33:34.COMMENTATOR: Yes, you can't beat a 1 frame shoot out. Liang almost with a

:33:35. > :33:38.good break off but you can tell from that facial expression he has left a

:33:39. > :33:43.possible pot for Tom Ford. Big lot of pressure on this because he may

:33:44. > :33:44.not find the gap. If he puts it, he may find the gap between black and

:33:45. > :33:58.red. If he doesn't... He was close! I think the crowd thought that was

:33:59. > :34:07.in. I'd say Tom thought it was in when he struck it. Lots of oohs and

:34:08. > :34:12.aahs coming from the crowd, they're getting excited. As John Parrott is

:34:13. > :34:19.always saying, you just want one chance in the deciding frame. You've

:34:20. > :34:26.just got to get the first real chance. I like this shot from Liang

:34:27. > :34:28.Wenbo. Aggressive safety shot. You have played a loose red but trying

:34:29. > :34:35.to bring some more reds into play and tight on the baulk cushion.

:34:36. > :34:40.Excellent shot. He just hasn't covered those two reds down the left

:34:41. > :34:43.side of the table. Tom had a look to see if they are a plant into the

:34:44. > :34:49.right-hand corner, and they are close. OK he would be careering into

:34:50. > :34:55.the reds if the plant was on, but maybe they are not in line.

:34:56. > :35:01.As we move round, we will show you that it's going to the left of the

:35:02. > :35:12.pocket, so it's not a dead set plant. It's not one you would like

:35:13. > :35:14.to take on either, is it? Risk going into all the reds. Particularly in

:35:15. > :35:37.the last frame. Liang also having a look at it.

:35:38. > :35:40.Seeing if there is anything pottable on the right-hand side, into this

:35:41. > :35:45.corner pocket. Having a look at the plant again. The problem with taking

:35:46. > :35:51.the plant on, because it's not set, he's going to be going into other

:35:52. > :35:58.reds and not exactly certain the cue ball would be on a colour.

:35:59. > :36:21.He has played some good safety in this match, Dennis, Liang Wenbo. You

:36:22. > :36:26.know, he played some very good safety against Judd Trump as well.

:36:27. > :36:31.We talk about his break-building but he's a pretty good tactical player,

:36:32. > :36:32.Liang. Now, this is good. This could be very good. In fact this could be

:36:33. > :36:53.excellent! Acknowledging it. Have a look at

:36:54. > :36:55.this. Off one, two, three, four conditions. Nicely behind the

:36:56. > :37:12.yellow. There is the safety success rate.

:37:13. > :37:17.85% each. Amazing. This is not straightforward. You've got to be a

:37:18. > :37:33.wee bit careful with the pace of this.

:37:34. > :37:40.It's not bad. I don't know if that read to the left of the black pots

:37:41. > :37:50.passed the black. But even if it did, he hasn't got a good angle.

:37:51. > :38:01.There you can see, it goes, but not directly. He is still looking at it.

:38:02. > :38:08.Maybe it's just a safety, though. Yeah, if you can get the cue ball

:38:09. > :38:12.anywhere near the jaws of the green pocket. He certainly won't be

:38:13. > :38:15.leaving an escape route down the left-hand side of the table. It's

:38:16. > :38:24.quite congested down this right-hand side of the table. See if he can get

:38:25. > :38:30.it somewhere down towards the jaws of this green pocket. Well, he

:38:31. > :38:34.couldn't get it down there, but I tell you what, he will settle for

:38:35. > :38:44.this. Wonderful shot. Wonderful shot.

:38:45. > :38:56.He ran the risk of almost running into the red just closest to the

:38:57. > :39:03.right centre. Similar type shop again from Liang. The same thing

:39:04. > :39:11.applies. Be careful with the pace of this.

:39:12. > :39:23.He's left that red this time, I think. It just depends, it's not a

:39:24. > :39:33.great angle. Tom not even looking at it. We know the red passes the

:39:34. > :39:38.black. But not a good angle to risk it, he feels. He's back looking at

:39:39. > :39:46.it again, though. It's very risky. He's running into the other red, it

:39:47. > :39:55.could double, kiss the other red and leave that on.

:39:56. > :40:03.It's a very good little tactical bout of play here. Who's going to

:40:04. > :40:12.crack first? It's a bit of an awkward frame, which sometimes can

:40:13. > :40:17.happen in a decider. Yeah, it's a bit like a game of chess at the

:40:18. > :40:25.moment, just trying to carve out that first opening. He's got to put

:40:26. > :40:29.the cue ball down the left-hand side of the table, but it's imperative he

:40:30. > :40:32.gets as close to the top cushion as possible.

:40:33. > :40:40.That's not the best shot he's ever played. I think he might have even

:40:41. > :40:46.left a pot on to this right corner pocket.

:40:47. > :40:52.Well, I said it a few times, it's such a big match for both players.

:40:53. > :40:57.To get through to the quarterfinal of the UK championship. What a

:40:58. > :41:16.feather in the Cabinet would be. It couldn't be more tense. This makes

:41:17. > :41:24.this long pot so much more difficult. That's why he wasn't down

:41:25. > :41:28.on the shot straightaway. He didn't want to refuse it. I don't blame him

:41:29. > :41:44.for it, he hasn't been good on the long balls all afternoon.

:41:45. > :41:52.Well, that's left things really awkward for Tom. He's hampered

:41:53. > :41:56.slightly with the yellow. Can't come off the side cushion and nestle on

:41:57. > :42:00.the red to the right of the table near the corner pocket, there's

:42:01. > :42:04.another one preventing that. No easy path I can see back down the table.

:42:05. > :42:09.Going to have to give this one a bit of thought. Maybe just come off the

:42:10. > :42:14.side cushion and nestle into the reds to the left of the black.

:42:15. > :42:22.Similar shot to the couple that Liang played.

:42:23. > :42:33.You said like a game of chess there. I remember one of the great

:42:34. > :42:38.commentators and ten times world champion John Pulman said it's like

:42:39. > :42:44.a game of chess with balls, snooker. So true.

:42:45. > :42:58.Just looking at this red, he might just be tempted here. Up into the

:42:59. > :43:01.corner. He could play down off it. The left middle pocket is a bit in

:43:02. > :43:14.the way of getting in behind the yellow.

:43:15. > :43:22.Well, it may be worth having a go at that red. He's just seeing how

:43:23. > :43:28.awkward it would be to cue between the two reds. The red does pot up

:43:29. > :43:35.into the green pocket. He would be bring the cue ball up off the side

:43:36. > :43:39.cushion and up into baulk. There you see it does pot. It's just awkward

:43:40. > :43:49.cueing between those two reds off the top cushion.

:43:50. > :43:56.So, there's nothing to play behind down the left side of the table, so

:43:57. > :44:02.he's got to get the cue ball close to the baulk cushion.

:44:03. > :44:07.And that looks to be pretty well judged. Have a look at the pace on

:44:08. > :44:43.that. Oh! He knew straightaway he had hit

:44:44. > :44:48.that too thick. Is he going to be OK? He might just have got away with

:44:49. > :44:54.that. But straightaway Tom was up off the shot. He knew he had not

:44:55. > :45:03.made the correct contact. It's awkward when you are that close to

:45:04. > :45:07.the cushion, to snick off them. When you see a player asking the referee

:45:08. > :45:15.to clean the ball, it means he's going to take this red on. I didn't

:45:16. > :45:18.think he could get past the blue. This would be a key one. He's

:45:19. > :45:22.absolutely dead straight. Push that cue threw in a straight line.

:45:23. > :45:34.APPLAUSE Good shot. Better cueing. He doesn't

:45:35. > :45:36.have to do a lot with this cue ball, just drop the pink in for the red

:45:37. > :45:48.over the right centre. Well, it's Liang who has had the

:45:49. > :45:55.first chance. It will be interesting to see how many he can make from

:45:56. > :45:57.that. Will Tom Ford get a chance? When you look at the way the balls

:45:58. > :46:13.are spread... Eight. In and around the pink and

:46:14. > :46:22.black spot he has been excellent all afternoon. It's just his long

:46:23. > :46:29.potting that has let him down. We'll Tom Ford get another chance to come

:46:30. > :46:34.back to the table? You would be fearing the worst for him in this

:46:35. > :46:42.situation, the way the balls are lying around this pink spot. Mind

:46:43. > :46:46.you, it is a deciding frame and it's amazing what can happen in a

:46:47. > :46:51.deciding frame. We are used to seeing the top three or four

:46:52. > :46:57.players, they know how to clinch a match. They are used to it. But it's

:46:58. > :47:05.always the toughest frame to win, the decider. He couldn't have the

:47:06. > :47:09.balls better placed. The black is out of commission but that doesn't

:47:10. > :47:41.matter. Oh! He just flicked that red but he's just OK.

:47:42. > :48:00.Taking his time, getting the cue ball cleaned. Just settling

:48:01. > :48:20.himself. Well... Has he got out far enough?

:48:21. > :48:23.Maybe just about. Yeah, he looked a little anxious there, but as you can

:48:24. > :49:04.see, just about OK. The break is at 28, four reds and

:49:05. > :49:08.four pinks. In this situation it's just about trying to keep control of

:49:09. > :49:12.the cue ball, try to make the next pot as easy as possible. And he

:49:13. > :49:14.still got another four comfortable reds. He won't mind taking the

:49:15. > :49:30.pinks. Five reds, five pinks, and there's a

:49:31. > :49:38.fair few more to come here. He can go for the blue if he doesn't fancy

:49:39. > :49:41.the pink here. 36. And he is the correct side of the blue. And it's

:49:42. > :49:56.now developing into a very good chance. The match just passing the

:49:57. > :50:02.four hour mark. There's been a lot said about kicks this week already.

:50:03. > :50:05.When you're a player sitting there and your opponent is at the table,

:50:06. > :50:09.that's all you're hoping for in situations like this, that he does

:50:10. > :50:13.get a kick. Because you can't really see him failing from the position

:50:14. > :50:17.that he's in at the moment. A little shake of the head from Tom. He knows

:50:18. > :50:21.that he may not get back to the table, he may not get that one

:50:22. > :50:26.chance that he was looking for. He led 5-3 and was looking

:50:27. > :50:34.comfortable, but Liang has come back again, as he did against Judd Trump.

:50:35. > :50:42.4-1 down against Judd and he won five frames in a Road rack

:50:43. > :50:55.-- he won five frames in a row to win 6-4.

:50:56. > :51:22.CHUCKLES He keeps coughing very loudly!

:51:23. > :51:26.That's a little bit of tension there, a little bit of a release. He

:51:27. > :51:27.knows how close he is. He's wandering round again, he's just

:51:28. > :51:48.steadying himself. A puff of the cheeks. Oh! Would you

:51:49. > :51:52.believe it? You know, Ken, he's gone round the table twice. What was he

:51:53. > :52:04.looking at? Just carry on with your natural game. That was just pure

:52:05. > :52:08.tension. What a miss. The only consolation for him is that he has

:52:09. > :52:11.got a good lead and most of the other reds are all safe, but that

:52:12. > :52:16.was the chance to get into the quarterfinal of a major event. Why

:52:17. > :52:21.was he screwing the pink? Why didn't he just try and hold the pink spot

:52:22. > :52:22.even, or just drop the pink in. Still got this red in the corner

:52:23. > :52:34.pocket. Tom would have loved to get just a

:52:35. > :52:38.fuller kiss on that pink. He may have had it to the left centre. He

:52:39. > :52:44.still got it into the corner pocket here. What were the boys saying in

:52:45. > :52:49.the studio in the last frame against Mark Williams? He was 60 behind or

:52:50. > :52:54.something? In the penultimate frame he was 60 behind and he made a 70

:52:55. > :53:01.break. If ever there was a time he was going to make one. Oh! Wow. Tom

:53:02. > :53:10.Ford, one. Well, that may have been his chance

:53:11. > :53:40.gone. That's a great shot with the rest.

:53:41. > :53:51.It really is. Second chance to clinch a quarterfinal spot.

:53:52. > :54:03.He's been very good with the rest today. 95%, 21 out of 22.

:54:04. > :54:11.He couldn't believe what he had just missed. "How did I miss that pink?"

:54:12. > :54:22.He's very anxious at the moment. He's getting down on the shop like

:54:23. > :54:25.he did on the pink. He's so close. Just a little bit of movement on the

:54:26. > :54:28.shop. CHUCKLES

:54:29. > :54:35.Not a little, Dennis, there was a lot! But you don't blame him for

:54:36. > :54:45.that. Just watch this, here. So he just needs the pink to leave Tom at

:54:46. > :54:48.the snooker is required stage. And that picture tells a story. He was

:54:49. > :55:05.so close, 5-3 in front. And even on the pink there he moved!

:55:06. > :55:11.APPLAUSE It just shows you, Ken, what it

:55:12. > :55:23.means for these boys out there. Yeah. A little fist pump, but he's

:55:24. > :55:32.still needing to make sure this one more red. Oh! Well, has he covered

:55:33. > :55:37.it? He may have covered it. Well, he gave himself another at all slap on

:55:38. > :55:38.the face, but barring a snook at you would think he is in the

:55:39. > :56:04.quarterfinal. -- barring a snooker. Well, he's so close. He's almost

:56:05. > :56:07.there. When he missed that red... Oh! That's another one, that strikes

:56:08. > :56:15.he's given himself a little smack in the face. -- that is twice he has.

:56:16. > :56:21.Needs to miss the green but he's not going to miss the green, so one long

:56:22. > :56:48.pot and that will be the end. Come on! Oh! Peter Ebdon style,

:56:49. > :56:52.that's what it means. We haven't heard one of those for a while. We

:56:53. > :57:02.used here those from Peter in the early days of his career. That was

:57:03. > :57:05.better than Peter Ebdon, that one! He's not being disrespectful to Tom

:57:06. > :57:08.Ford, it just shows what it means to this Chinese player.

:57:09. > :57:20.He will be absolutely over the moon with himself. Yeah. It's been a

:57:21. > :57:29.fantastic comeback as well, it has to be said. 5-3 behind. Tom Ford

:57:30. > :57:36.looked like he had one foot in the quarterfinals, but he is going to be

:57:37. > :57:42.on the way back to Leicester and this man, his first quarterfinal in

:57:43. > :57:46.the UK Championships, Dennis. Well, it doesn't matter about the pink.

:57:47. > :57:51.Tom looks very disappointed, but look what it means to Liang Wenbo.

:57:52. > :57:55.5-3 down, he takes the last three frames and he is absolutely

:57:56. > :57:57.delighted. He goes through to the quarterfinals, winning that deciding

:57:58. > :58:06.frame six frames to five. Congratulations to Liang Wenbo, that

:58:07. > :58:10.is quite a win. Three times he was too frames behind and his persistent

:58:11. > :58:14.really paid off. Yes, great last frame. The pink in the middle side,

:58:15. > :58:19.he really held himself together well. And the slapping of the face,

:58:20. > :58:23.interesting tactic! He will not consult out one of these days! A

:58:24. > :58:27.fantastic performance to come back. Tom Ford will be devastated to have

:58:28. > :58:31.lost that match but it is to someone else's delight and today it was

:58:32. > :58:35.Liang Wenbo. If the second time he's done it, from 4-1 down against Judd

:58:36. > :58:39.Trump and most recently in that match to beat Tom Ford. This is a

:58:40. > :58:43.release grabbing performance but of very high quality at the same time.

:58:44. > :58:47.You've got to stick in there and not every match is the same. He has a

:58:48. > :58:51.very interesting matchup with Marco Fu in the quarterfinal. That will be

:58:52. > :58:54.really good. It's been quite an afternoon. We've seen some awesome

:58:55. > :58:59.snooker from Neil Robertson, and Liang Wenbo has just shown us that

:59:00. > :59:03.persistence pays off. Not just this row but last round as well. Jason is

:59:04. > :59:08.back in the chair at 7pm this evening at the start of the evening

:59:09. > :59:11.session. John Higgins up against fellow Scot Jamie Burnett. It's a

:59:12. > :59:21.rivalry that goes back 19 years. We've got Joe Swail back in the last

:59:22. > :59:30.16. We hope you've enjoyed it. We certainly have! Goodbye.

:59:31. > :59:33.MUSIC: Everybody's Talkin' by Harry Nilsson