Quarter-Final

:00:34. > :00:39.Three days to go in York at the Barbican Centre in this UK

:00:40. > :00:43.Championship. It is quarter finals day. It has been a long time

:00:44. > :00:49.coming. We have in the mix a few of the usual big names, and that the

:00:50. > :00:53.very least would be expecting a place in the last eight, but there

:00:54. > :00:57.is also a couple of faces particularly in the first half of

:00:58. > :00:58.the draw for whom today could be a career changing moment. Fame

:00:59. > :02:11.beckons. A fascinating quarterfinal line-up

:02:12. > :02:19.and if you want a considered opinion there is no better man to ask than

:02:20. > :02:22.Steve Davis. Martin Gould takes on David Grace tonight and you would

:02:23. > :02:27.think the greater experience for Martin Gould would stand him in good

:02:28. > :02:32.stead. Yes, especially getting to the final in Australia and narrowly

:02:33. > :02:37.losing. He is expected to press on. Perhaps more pressure on him, but

:02:38. > :02:43.the way the David Grace put out Peter Ebdon on the TV stage, who

:02:44. > :02:48.knows? He is enjoying it. Who knows what he can achieve? It is a shot

:02:49. > :02:55.into the dark for him. We have Mark Selby the world number one. He was

:02:56. > :02:58.better in his last March. You wonder if it is Mark Selby's tournament

:02:59. > :03:03.because of the fact he should have been out. I do not think that sell

:03:04. > :03:11.to is the player he was last year when he got rabbit in the headlights

:03:12. > :03:14.syndrome. He has jumped up as well. It is much more difficult to pick a

:03:15. > :03:20.winner for this afternoon, especially Marco Fu and Liang Wenbo.

:03:21. > :03:29.You would expect Marco Fu to be too lover. -- clever. Liang Wenbo is the

:03:30. > :03:36.X Factor in the tournament. He is the Judd Trump of China. We have one

:03:37. > :03:41.for the purist. Neil Robertson was flawless yesterday against John

:03:42. > :03:47.Higgins who has been researching the season. Playing the best at the

:03:48. > :03:52.moment. It goes without saying, this should be the final. A considered

:03:53. > :03:58.opinion. Always considered opinion from those

:03:59. > :04:03.two. Eight men from the world number 1 Mark Selby to the world number 81,

:04:04. > :04:08.David Grace. They have a few hours before they are due out this evening

:04:09. > :04:15.but I think you are going to enjoy our line-up this afternoon. Some,

:04:16. > :04:20.that is how Neal Robertson was described by Stephen Maguire

:04:21. > :04:25.yesterday. If he plays like that he will win the title he said. John

:04:26. > :04:33.Higgins may disagree. He is going to try to knock the sea off course

:04:34. > :04:39.today. Marco Fu shouldering increased expectations on himself

:04:40. > :04:45.and from others. He is facing an all Asian contest with his friend Liang

:04:46. > :04:50.Wenbo. Their first meeting for four years. 90 for you and us to get our

:04:51. > :04:56.teeth into to feel free to get in touch. We are starting with

:04:57. > :05:03.Robertson against Higgins. Between then these guys have picked up fewer

:05:04. > :05:08.than 14 major titles. It does have a real look and feel of a final. They

:05:09. > :05:16.have not made in a major event since a final, two and a half years ago,

:05:17. > :05:20.2013. Let us orbit is worth the wait. I have been building up to

:05:21. > :05:25.this for a while. I missed the big chunk of the season because I knew

:05:26. > :05:29.that the Champion of Champions at the UK would be the two biggest

:05:30. > :05:34.events. Coming into his season with the Masters a couple of months

:05:35. > :05:39.away. I paced myself and maybe some people would look at it as a bit of

:05:40. > :05:43.a risk but people do that in other sports as well. I am happy with the

:05:44. > :05:48.decision and I feel fantastic about my game at the moment. I think the

:05:49. > :05:52.way Neil Robertson played against Stephen Maguire he played

:05:53. > :05:56.flawlessly. I have watched a lot of Stephen Maguire this week and he was

:05:57. > :06:00.playing great. That is the thing with snooker which is so destroying,

:06:01. > :06:04.if you do not get a chance on the table there's nothing you can do and

:06:05. > :06:08.you have to just sit and watch the other guy clean-up frame after frame

:06:09. > :06:12.and that is what makes this one of the most difficult spots there is

:06:13. > :06:15.because you go through some mental torture sitting in the chair when

:06:16. > :06:22.the other guy keeps cleaning up. I hope to do that. It is going to be

:06:23. > :06:27.difficult, but I will be underdog and I will try to enjoy the game.

:06:28. > :06:32.John Higgins is probably the player of the season so far. He looks to be

:06:33. > :06:36.somewhere near his best. Maybe not his late 20s are something like

:06:37. > :06:41.that, but he is such a wonderful player, an all-time great. We have

:06:42. > :06:46.had some unbelievable matches over the years especially on the BBC.

:06:47. > :06:52.Someone I very much. And always look forward to. I know if I can get the

:06:53. > :06:56.chance I can clean up. I fancy I will need to do that in a few frames

:06:57. > :07:07.against Neil. Fingers crossed I can do it again. I have stumbled from

:07:08. > :07:15.the auditorium into the commentators' room. I am here with

:07:16. > :07:19.our two lumberjacks! You have heard me sitting on the fence about who I

:07:20. > :07:27.think is going to win this match. Pick a player. Simply because I did

:07:28. > :07:30.John Higgins' match last night I am going to go for Neil Robertson

:07:31. > :07:34.because of the way he played against Stephen Maguire. I have never seen a

:07:35. > :07:40.display like that and very rarely that comes along. Neil never looked

:07:41. > :07:45.like missing. John lost his way a little bit last night. In the end he

:07:46. > :07:51.had to pull off a fantastic 60 clearance to win the match. I am

:07:52. > :07:57.going to edge it with Neil. Neil looks very strong and looks as if he

:07:58. > :08:02.is going to continue strong. Yes. John is leading 7-5 but they have

:08:03. > :08:07.only played in one of the big ones. John edged that on the deciding

:08:08. > :08:11.frame. It is amazing they have never run into each other in the World

:08:12. > :08:20.Championship or the Masters. Make the case for John Higgins winning

:08:21. > :08:24.today. I think John has got fantastic belief in himself again

:08:25. > :08:27.after winning two tournaments this season. He is pinching frames which

:08:28. > :08:34.is his biggest strength after his break-building. He seems to have an

:08:35. > :08:38.air of expectancy and the fact he is back to his best has put the fear

:08:39. > :08:45.factor in other players. He struggled a bit last night. I did

:08:46. > :08:48.not see it. They will have tremendous respect for each other

:08:49. > :08:53.and both will want to win this match. Both of the players are

:08:54. > :09:01.ready. I am going to go and get my other teeth in!

:09:02. > :09:06.120 players have been eliminated over the last ten days and eight

:09:07. > :09:12.remain in this year's UK Championship. Table two is peak-time

:09:13. > :09:18.viewing in China and table one, Steve Davis has said it, it is good

:09:19. > :09:20.enough to be the final. Let us get things under way. It is short time

:09:21. > :09:43.in the atmospheric Barbican! Please welcome first of all the

:09:44. > :09:50.Asian tour event when a raking through an epic 6-5 match against

:09:51. > :09:53.Tom Ford yesterday. Winner in the Shanghai Masters in 2009 and bidding

:09:54. > :09:55.for his first appearance in the semis of one of the big three, from

:09:56. > :10:32.China, Liang Wenbo! His opponent, a brilliant ambassador

:10:33. > :10:37.for the sport here and in the far east, twice a ranking event when who

:10:38. > :10:42.beat Shaun Murphy in the fourth round. Runner-up in 2008, this

:10:43. > :11:16.dynamo loses his cool, even when the pressure is on. From Hong Kong,

:11:17. > :11:21.Marco Fu! On table one this could be absolutely immense. Please welcome a

:11:22. > :11:27.player who has this year already won three ranking event titles including

:11:28. > :11:31.the season's Australian Open and another championship. Four times

:11:32. > :11:38.champion of the world, three Times UK Championship, the pride of

:11:39. > :12:02.Scotland, the Wizard of Wishaw, John Higgins!

:12:03. > :12:08.His opponent, a player whose influence on the game here has been

:12:09. > :12:16.huge since his arrival from Australia just over a decade ago. UK

:12:17. > :12:20.champion in 2013. Three centuries yesterday against Stephen Maguire,

:12:21. > :12:56.he is right on form and he is ready to go. Can you hear the Thunder from

:12:57. > :13:00.Down Under? He is Neil Robertson. Through against Wenbo gets going on

:13:01. > :13:04.the red button and we will keep you posted on that through the

:13:05. > :13:11.afternoon, but we are going to focus on this match. We are very much

:13:12. > :13:16.looking forward to this. We certainly are. Good afternoon to

:13:17. > :13:21.everyone watching. What an afternoon we could be in for here. Two of the

:13:22. > :13:31.game great players. Scotland against Australia.

:13:32. > :13:50.John won the toss and he is going to get this quarterfinal under way. I

:13:51. > :13:53.cannot wait for this one. What I am really interested to see is if Neil

:13:54. > :13:58.Robertson can produce the kind of form he did yesterday, two days in a

:13:59. > :14:01.row, because he was awesome yesterday. He looked very serious

:14:02. > :14:25.and focused when he was walking down the stairs in his introduction.

:14:26. > :14:37.Just needs a thin snake of this red. It looks as if he is not playing the

:14:38. > :14:45.safety shot, the way he is cueing. Did well to find the gap. A pretty

:14:46. > :14:48.good shot. That is going to be some terrific break-building in this

:14:49. > :14:54.match but these two players are up there with the best as far as safety

:14:55. > :15:00.and tactics go. The deciding factor today will be who can win the frames

:15:01. > :15:14.that they should not. Either by getting it with a clearance... I

:15:15. > :15:21.think that will make the difference. John lining up this long pot. One of

:15:22. > :15:26.John's biggest strength is was winning frames from 40 or 50 behind

:15:27. > :15:29.and making it in one visit, the clearance, and I think today will

:15:30. > :15:35.come down to that for both players, who can do that the most. John did

:15:36. > :15:45.that against Jamie Burnett who was 48 behind. He had an unbelievable 60

:15:46. > :15:47.clearance to win the match. It is the first chance that falls to the

:15:48. > :16:06.Australian. He will probably play this in

:16:07. > :16:17.between the yellow and brown both ways. Slight right hand side on the

:16:18. > :16:23.cue ball. I do not think it got a big bones of the baulk cushion. It

:16:24. > :16:28.is OK as long as he can avoid the contact on the green. That

:16:29. > :16:46.definitely came off the cushion faster than it went on. This time it

:16:47. > :16:50.came up a little bit short, possibly because of what happened the last

:16:51. > :17:04.time. He was expecting it to come up quicker again. He is still OK. He is

:17:05. > :17:10.making it a little bit difficult for himself now that the cue ball has

:17:11. > :17:13.finished on the cushion but the yellow was not straightforward. He

:17:14. > :17:23.could not have played it any harder or else he would have lost the white

:17:24. > :17:29.up the table. This tells you how well you are cueing when you are

:17:30. > :17:39.almost tight on the cushion. That was the problem. At least he has not

:17:40. > :17:41.left the red. There was not a lot of room past the brown, but the white

:17:42. > :18:03.jumped a little as well. Yes, I think it did jump a little.

:18:04. > :18:12.We can have another look at it. It jumped a little and maybe that

:18:13. > :18:16.through the red onto the ground. A bit awkward with the red up the

:18:17. > :18:21.other end of the table to the right of the green. There was not a lot

:18:22. > :18:31.Neil could do. REFEREE: Touching ball. That helps

:18:32. > :18:52.the situation slightly. He can play away from that red. He has miscued.

:18:53. > :19:01.That has turned out not a bad shot. That has brought the game back to

:19:02. > :19:14.normal. Sending the red back up the table and normal play resumes.

:19:15. > :19:24.It must be great for John Higgins to be back within these big matches

:19:25. > :19:27.full of confidence. The last two or three years he was struggling with

:19:28. > :19:34.his game and was not competing with the other top players. It is a great

:19:35. > :19:42.feeling to be back. Just competing on a level playing field. They said

:19:43. > :19:46.it is a young man's game but John has turned 40 and he is right up

:19:47. > :19:50.there at the top, winning three major events in the last year.

:19:51. > :19:59.Stuart Bingham winning the World Championship at 38. He was not

:20:00. > :20:07.missing many of those against Stephen Maguire. They are not easy

:20:08. > :20:08.by any means but the way this man pots you expect him to get closer

:20:09. > :20:32.than that. Yes, when Neil first turned

:20:33. > :20:35.professional John would've been one of the top players winning

:20:36. > :20:40.tournament. The fear factor, John Higgins coming back to form again.

:20:41. > :20:47.He will know full well what John is capable of. It might just make him a

:20:48. > :20:48.little bit uneasy today. We will see if he can produce the same form as

:20:49. > :21:06.he did yesterday. That is the amazing thing about the

:21:07. > :21:09.game of snooker. You can beat an opponent 6-11-day and play the same

:21:10. > :21:15.opponent the next day and he can do the same to you. Looking at probably

:21:16. > :21:21.the greatest potter of the game has ever seen. He released is very

:21:22. > :21:30.special in that department. John will be looking for a nice angle on

:21:31. > :21:34.the blue to go into the bunch. A big target. The red is completely down

:21:35. > :21:44.from the blue. If anything he will be looking to have that on the

:21:45. > :21:51.left-hand side. Danger on the right. The left-hand side of the red is

:21:52. > :21:56.perfect. The only problem for John as the black. Should not be too much

:21:57. > :22:12.of a problem to go up for the blue. Against Jamie Burnett last night he

:22:13. > :22:30.won the opening frame with one visit.

:22:31. > :22:42.Could have been better, that one. He has finished a little awkward.

:22:43. > :22:46.Hampered slightly for this one in the middle but I think he can get

:22:47. > :22:57.through and get the correct angle on the blue.

:22:58. > :23:04.Maybe just a little jump. Let us look. Yes. Maybe caused the fact

:23:05. > :23:36.that he was striking down on it. The black might be available into

:23:37. > :23:41.the left corner but there is a red on the black spot. He is having to

:23:42. > :23:43.concentrate on the blue. The pinkies up on the brown spot, not a lot of

:23:44. > :24:15.use at the moment. -- pink is. He could choose to play a cannon on

:24:16. > :24:20.the red to the black, but it is risky. He was thinking about it and

:24:21. > :24:34.has changed his mind. Back for the blue. Good shot. So many times you

:24:35. > :24:42.see players coming short for the blue. He is perfect. He can almost

:24:43. > :24:46.put his cue ball wherever he wants. He looks quite fresh today. Last 90

:24:47. > :24:51.was rubbing his eyes a little bit at one stage. I do not know whether he

:24:52. > :24:59.had something in his left eye, but he looks pretty fresh today. Yes, he

:25:00. > :25:09.will be well up for this match today. It looks as if he has got his

:25:10. > :25:12.complete belief in himself back. He believes he can win this

:25:13. > :25:21.tournament. It is a great feeling to have.

:25:22. > :25:28.I think he was quite clever in his press comments as well, saying he

:25:29. > :25:32.was the underdog and how well Neil was playing, a little bit of

:25:33. > :26:07.psychology, you would have to say. Every chance to clinch this opening

:26:08. > :26:12.frame with this effort. This is the way Stephen Maguire started just a

:26:13. > :26:18.day against Neil Robertson, making a century break in the opening frame.

:26:19. > :26:45.-- yesterday. This really has been flawless. He

:26:46. > :26:49.has had to use the blue for the majority of this break but he has

:26:50. > :27:20.never once been the wrong side of the blue. Fantastic standard.

:27:21. > :27:29.A nice pot on the black. He will want to clear these up. He will not

:27:30. > :27:37.want Neil to come to the table. He will want to keep Neil on edge in

:27:38. > :28:01.his chair. Not give him the chance to pot a few.

:28:02. > :28:16.John has made 599 centuries in his career. 91 so far in this year's UK

:28:17. > :28:41.Championship, there have been. What a start.

:28:42. > :28:53.This brain for a little bit of a milestone in John's career. This

:28:54. > :28:53.will be his 600th century break. What an achievement. Fantastic from

:28:54. > :29:16.the Scot. Amazing. Exactly the same as the

:29:17. > :29:20.match started yesterday. Stephen Maguire had a century. John Higgins

:29:21. > :29:26.has a century. He takes the opening frame. Didn't he do it in style?

:29:27. > :29:33.What a start. This is the frame. Didn't he do it in style?

:29:34. > :29:42.betting odds after those matches frame. Didn't he do it in style?

:29:43. > :29:52.yesterday. David Grace is the world number 81. Do you agree? With this

:29:53. > :29:58.match today between Robertson and Higgins where it is so do forgot to

:29:59. > :30:04.pick a marker it will re-form again no matter what happens. People who

:30:05. > :30:08.took the 14-1 for John Higgins at the start will be very interested.

:30:09. > :30:13.Shades of yesterday with Stephen Maguire getting 118 to start. How

:30:14. > :30:17.much more wary will Neil Robertson be of John than perhaps he would

:30:18. > :30:22.have been Stephen or is that uncertain?

:30:23. > :30:28.He knows that he is a winner this season, a multiple winner so he's

:30:29. > :30:32.giving him the utmost respect. But I don't think Neil Robertson worries

:30:33. > :30:36.too much about who he plays. He thinks about himself, his own game,

:30:37. > :30:40.which is an excellent way to do it. The discrepancy between Neil

:30:41. > :30:47.Robertson's price and John Higgins' price as the best two winners of the

:30:48. > :30:55.season is a bit of a gap. I think John could be a much shorter price.

:30:56. > :31:03.John referred to himself as the underdog but not a bad start. The

:31:04. > :31:10.best thing you can do as well, don't do the team talk for your opponents

:31:11. > :31:16.by saying you are going in to do this, that and the other. The best

:31:17. > :31:23.approach is softly softly. How will Neil Robertson respond?

:31:24. > :31:27.He's got to be a bit careful he does not catch the reds on the left side

:31:28. > :31:37.of the table. It is a bit thinner than normal.

:31:38. > :31:46.APPLAUSE He is up there with the all-time

:31:47. > :31:53.greats as far as the tactical side of the game goes, John Higgins. You

:31:54. > :32:00.don't make 600 century breaks... There's only two players ahead of

:32:01. > :32:04.him and the one sitting next to me made 775 and Ronnie O'Sullivan has

:32:05. > :32:26.overtaken Stephen Hendrie to be at the top of the tree.

:32:27. > :32:32.John is just coming around to see. If he takes the reds it is a

:32:33. > :32:37.straight at macro more or less to the green pocket. The cue ball will

:32:38. > :32:45.be fairly safe, if he misses the reds, as well. -- red. Somewhere in

:32:46. > :33:32.the right middle pocket. He's got a choice of two roads will

:33:33. > :33:37.stop neither is easy but maybe because John got a slightly heavy

:33:38. > :33:43.contact, he has parted the cue ball quite tight to the cushion. --

:33:44. > :33:50.planted the cue ball. Good, solid pot, right in the middle of the

:33:51. > :33:54.pocket. I think he got a little kick, John. We might be able to show

:33:55. > :34:00.you that. Look at the cue ball, yes, it just jumped and that took the

:34:01. > :34:02.pace out of it. It was a great pot from Neil Robertson but it would not

:34:03. > :34:14.have been available without that heavy contact. So, an early chance

:34:15. > :34:15.for Neil so let's see how he responds to be century break made

:34:16. > :35:18.against him in the opening frame. It looks like the black is available

:35:19. > :35:21.to the left corner. The red to the right of it, I don't know if that is

:35:22. > :35:23.also available to the left corner because it would be a nice one to

:35:24. > :35:31.play for. You can see they are both available.

:35:32. > :35:43.He would love to play for that red. The red in the pink spot is the one

:35:44. > :36:24.he is playing now. 18. That is a poor positional shot from

:36:25. > :36:29.Neil. We saw in the last frame how John managed to get on the right

:36:30. > :36:36.side of the blue every time. That is a very slack positional shot. He

:36:37. > :36:41.will be annoyed with himself. Yes, and being a left-hander, if he

:36:42. > :36:46.screws back for the red to the left of the bunch, it is a bit awkward.

:36:47. > :36:51.If he was a right-hander, it would not be that bad. He would have two

:36:52. > :36:58.stretch a little bit for this one. -- have to stretch. He is quite a

:36:59. > :37:04.tall lad, Neil, six feet, so he might be able to reach as well. He's

:37:05. > :37:09.going to need his extension. He's got to get back for the blue because

:37:10. > :37:17.the black is not available into the right corner. This is not

:37:18. > :37:20.straightforward. It is going to run through to get there. That was all

:37:21. > :37:25.caused by what Stephen mentioned, getting the wrong side of the blue.

:37:26. > :37:30.Yes, when you put your extension into the cue, it never feels the

:37:31. > :37:34.same, it is never the same balance. You never get the same feel in your

:37:35. > :37:38.shots all stop he will be disappointed because the weight Neil

:37:39. > :37:39.things, every opportunity is a chance to win the frame in one

:37:40. > :37:47.visit. He will be frustrated. Even more frustrated now. APPLAUSE

:37:48. > :38:13.Great opening red. This is a big shot early in this

:38:14. > :38:18.frame. If he gets this right, and he has played it perfectly, he can pot

:38:19. > :38:30.the red and just nudge the other red away. It had to be absolutely spot

:38:31. > :38:36.on, there. And in to the pink and the reds, now. Got to be a little

:38:37. > :38:39.bit careful, he played for the stun, having a quick look to make sure

:38:40. > :38:44.those two roads are not a plant up into the corner when he cannons into

:38:45. > :38:55.them. You can see that he is setting to play more of a Stander than a

:38:56. > :39:01.screw. -- is stun. He is not straight on this thread but it is

:39:02. > :39:19.not bad. Yes, quite a clever shot, those two reds were available.

:39:20. > :39:28.Straight on the black is no good. You can see, even if he screws back,

:39:29. > :39:33.the cue ball will be colliding with the red on the left cushion. He will

:39:34. > :39:37.have to stun it to the right centre. If he can get straight on that read,

:39:38. > :39:50.you can see the pink is available to the left corner. -- straight on that

:39:51. > :39:57.red. Well spotted. I think he has finished straight on this red. When

:39:58. > :40:07.he takes this on, you will free up a red to the right corner. He

:40:08. > :40:16.APPLAUSE He is cueing well. He made a few

:40:17. > :40:20.errors last night when he led 4-1 against his good friend, Jamie

:40:21. > :40:22.Burnett, but he is not doing much wrong so far this afternoon.

:40:23. > :40:36.APPLAUSE As I mentioned at the top of the

:40:37. > :40:43.show, John leads 7-5 against Neil Robertson. 2009 was a big year when

:40:44. > :40:48.they battled it out. In the UK Championship, John one on the

:40:49. > :40:55.deciding frame -- won on the deciding frame. But two of Niall's

:40:56. > :41:00.wins were in the same year, 2009 and they were both on the deciding

:41:01. > :41:05.frame. -- Neil's wins. That was the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix. They

:41:06. > :41:41.have had some terrific matches, these two.

:41:42. > :41:48.He has just travelled about four or five inches too far with the cue

:41:49. > :41:52.ball to make it a miss of but you still expected him to get it, the

:41:53. > :41:55.way he has been cueing. You always have one eye on the cue ball,

:41:56. > :42:06.pushing through the reds, for the black.

:42:07. > :42:10.I think it will be relieved Neil Robertson, to get a second chance in

:42:11. > :42:20.frame. APPLAUSE Yes, he missed that one with the

:42:21. > :42:27.extension on his cue, that he would normally not in. It is not a

:42:28. > :42:29.straightforward chance come here, as you can see, a couple of awkward

:42:30. > :42:36.reds. He has got such a fantastic

:42:37. > :43:40.temperament, he really has. Yes, the red that is near the side

:43:41. > :43:41.cushion, there, not a bad side for Niall, -- for Neil, being a

:43:42. > :44:01.left-hander. Not in a great spot, that red, to

:44:02. > :44:17.move so he might have to drop in behind it in a few shots' time.

:44:18. > :44:29.23. Has he finished straight on the pink? He will have to play for the

:44:30. > :44:39.one behind the black if that is the case. No, he had a little bit of

:44:40. > :44:46.angles. And he has got a slight bit of angle on this red. He is 20

:44:47. > :44:57.points in front, so read much black, red would be enough. -- red, black,

:44:58. > :45:00.red would be enough. He wants to push the cue ball through slightly

:45:01. > :45:03.and leave the final red to the left-hand corner. He looks like he

:45:04. > :45:07.is trying to move the red but I think that is risky because the

:45:08. > :45:17.black will be a tough shot. He can't get it away from the cushion.

:45:18. > :45:27.APPLAUSE 30. What kind of angle has he left

:45:28. > :45:32.himself? I'm surprised he's left the cue ball there. Playing a cannon,

:45:33. > :45:41.you are not guaranteed to be on the red. He only needs the last red. Why

:45:42. > :45:45.not just leave the black dead straight so you can drop on it? Now

:45:46. > :45:55.he is thinking about refusing the black and playing a safety shot.

:45:56. > :46:03.That is definitely what he's going to do, now.

:46:04. > :46:17.He needs to get a colour safe, also. Knock the brown onto the side

:46:18. > :46:27.cushion and leave the snooker. Neil Robertson, 30. John needs lots of

:46:28. > :46:31.side on this if he is going down the right-hand side of the table. I

:46:32. > :46:33.think he would just have to do miss the middle pocket with lots of side

:46:34. > :46:46.on it. -- have to miss all know, and it is going to be a free

:46:47. > :46:52.ball, even if it goes in the pocket, it is still going to be a free

:46:53. > :46:56.ball. If he sets it next to the green, the referee, he's got to be

:46:57. > :47:02.able to hit the red on both sides. Do you want me to check that? What

:47:03. > :47:06.he will do is put a red next to the other one and then put the white

:47:07. > :47:11.next to the green and if he can hit the red that he has put on the

:47:12. > :47:21.table, full ball, it is not a free ball. I think the black is in the

:47:22. > :47:26.way of that. He can't hit that red, full ball. Just the edge of the red

:47:27. > :47:36.sticking out. John wants another look! They are both having a look.

:47:37. > :47:48.It is a tight one. But I think the referee has got it right. Yes, from

:47:49. > :47:52.our view, if you are playing that red, it definitely looks like it is

:47:53. > :47:57.going to clip the black. But sometimes you get a different view

:47:58. > :48:04.from the opposite side of the shot. It is a free ball, that red is

:48:05. > :48:14.sticking out. It is only fractional. It is a free ball. Yes? I think the

:48:15. > :48:18.referee has it absolutely right. He would just tip the black if he tried

:48:19. > :48:20.to hit the second red that he put on the table, full ball. It was a tight

:48:21. > :48:35.one. 25 is the difference. It makes a

:48:36. > :48:40.slight difference. The thing is, Neil is still going to need the

:48:41. > :48:43.difficult red. He will take the yellow all the green as his free

:48:44. > :48:49.ball which in theory is an extra red on the table and then get another

:48:50. > :48:53.colour. Play the yellow into the left middle and follow-through, for

:48:54. > :48:59.the blue. If you missed the pot, you still leave a snooker. Do you know,

:49:00. > :49:02.he is still thinking about whether it is a free ball so maybe he's not

:49:03. > :49:08.comfortable in taking the free ball but I think the referee has it

:49:09. > :49:19.right. That was very sporting Neil, double-checking. -- sporting of

:49:20. > :49:25.Neil. John Still has that little smile on his face. He still thinks

:49:26. > :49:26.it might not be a free ball but there we go. It is the yellow which

:49:27. > :49:39.will count as one point. And he is back to the same scenario,

:49:40. > :49:43.if he had gone on the black straight, as you said, he only

:49:44. > :49:51.needed the red along the cushion but if he pots the blue and leaves that

:49:52. > :49:57.red, that will be framed ball. -- frame ball.

:49:58. > :50:10.Six. He does not have to worry about getting onto the black, just make

:50:11. > :50:38.sure that the red... APPLAUSE Seven.

:50:39. > :50:49.Neil Robertson, seven. Two snooker is needed. It is going to be a tall

:50:50. > :50:57.order for John Higgins. -- snookers.

:50:58. > :51:06.APPLAUSE Arthur brown is in a terrific spot,

:51:07. > :51:10.if he gets a chance to play a smooth curve in behind that. -- but the

:51:11. > :51:16.brown. If this yellow disappears into the corner pocket, it will

:51:17. > :51:23.definitely be the end of frame. Nope. He can pot this yellow and get

:51:24. > :51:30.himself in such a position that he can play off the green, in behind

:51:31. > :51:34.that brown. It is not over just yet, this frame. Make sure you leave the

:51:35. > :51:44.white exactly where you want, to then play the snooker.

:51:45. > :51:50.Two. That is not a bad thing, believe it or not, sending the blue

:51:51. > :51:55.over there because you now have three balls that are in a pretty

:51:56. > :52:07.good spot to get a snooker behind. He could pot the green, also.

:52:08. > :52:14.Well, how is he going to get to this one? He's going to need a spider and

:52:15. > :52:27.an extension on it and he's going to need an extension on the cue and a

:52:28. > :52:32.parent steps. -- pair of steps. Do you want the long spider... ? He

:52:33. > :52:42.wants everything you've got! I don't know if there's enough under the

:52:43. > :52:44.table for this one. Well, you can't see the tip of the cue when you are

:52:45. > :53:02.so far away from it. LAUGHTER John said, "have you opened your

:53:03. > :53:08.wallet, Neil? " Because there was a moth flying around. This is so

:53:09. > :53:26.awkward. Yes, he has decided he's just going

:53:27. > :53:31.to come off the side cushion and if he can get a bit of bottom on this

:53:32. > :53:37.and stop the white where the brown is, he might get the

:53:38. > :53:44.and stop the white where the brown of bottom and the right contact and

:53:45. > :53:53.he can send the brown up the table. Nearly. John Higgins, five.

:53:54. > :54:28.That butterfly is going to wreak havoc! There you go. LAUGHTER

:54:29. > :54:46.Oh, dear. It's having a look. " Yes, good shot". O! A bit of a miscue

:54:47. > :54:56.from the referee. Let's see if he can get it. Nearly. Back on the

:54:57. > :54:57.table. I've never seen this before. CHEERING

:54:58. > :55:06.That's it. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

:55:07. > :55:43.All sorts going on! Neil is trying to forget all of that and get

:55:44. > :55:55.focused again. It looked a bit like a peacock butterfly to me. Are you

:55:56. > :56:03.up on your butterflies? No. John Higgins, four.

:56:04. > :56:12.Yes, I think it is, or it was. It is alive and well, anyway, if you want

:56:13. > :56:20.to know. But at the moment, John Higgins just needs one snooker to

:56:21. > :56:32.tie, now that he can get a 5 point advantage if he does get one.

:56:33. > :57:06.Just thinking, if the blue had stayed right over the pocket, John

:57:07. > :57:10.might have attempted to pot it and he would only have needed one

:57:11. > :57:15.snooker on the pink to win, then, but of course, it is more difficult

:57:16. > :57:21.with just the one ball on the table. We have had a bit of everything in

:57:22. > :57:26.this frame. We had the, was it a free ball or not, a butterfly in the

:57:27. > :57:57.middle of the table, watching everything.

:57:58. > :58:07.Well, look at this for a shot. APPLAUSE

:58:08. > :58:12.Now, wouldn't it be ironic if he comes across the table and finishes

:58:13. > :58:16.up? He is looking to swerve this, I think this is more difficult than

:58:17. > :58:20.going across the table. The only thing is, if he goes across the

:58:21. > :58:24.table, he could go into the middle pocket. If he plays a swerve, he

:58:25. > :58:33.would catch the black and John would win, you would be able to win the

:58:34. > :58:37.frame. -- or he would be able. Well, it is a little bit like a trick

:58:38. > :58:44.shot, this. But now he is looking across the table. You would think he

:58:45. > :58:47.could escape from it if it goes across the table but there's just

:58:48. > :58:50.enough room, if he does not fit the blue, the White could go in the

:58:51. > :59:01.pocket and suddenly, we could have a re-spotted black. He has decided on

:59:02. > :59:06.the swerve. It is not easy. No, it was never easy. Oh, look at this.

:59:07. > :59:12.He's going to hit the blue. Can you catch your breath? I think John's

:59:13. > :59:43.expression said everything. I'm just wondering if Neil, because

:59:44. > :59:47.he never said anything to John or held his hand up, I'm wondering if

:59:48. > :59:53.it was so far to swerve around the black he... Well, surely not, he

:59:54. > :59:59.could not have played that. But the situation now is that John has

:00:00. > :00:07.ported the blue and needs one 6 point snooker to win.

:00:08. > :00:17.You would think, Neil could not have played that shot because surely

:00:18. > :00:22.coming across the table was easier? There's no way he's played this, I

:00:23. > :00:29.don't think. No, he just did not get enough swerve on it. But he never

:00:30. > :00:36.batted an eyelid at and just went back to his seat.

:00:37. > :00:56.Might have drifted slightly at that pace.

:00:57. > :01:03.That was not a bad effort. He played the cushion first. He would have

:01:04. > :01:11.halted the pink which he does not want to do so one long pot on the

:01:12. > :01:17.pink and that will do it. Right in the centre of the pocket. A

:01:18. > :01:26.fascinating second frame. In the end it is the Australian that takes it.

:01:27. > :01:33.It had everything. A brilliant flute escape, the free ball incident and

:01:34. > :01:42.the referee did not apply to present Springwatch! Was that a fluke? Yes.

:01:43. > :01:48.He was thinking he could play this well. He hit it too hard for the

:01:49. > :01:53.spin to grab the cloth. He did not get the bend in the cue ball early

:01:54. > :01:59.enough. Definitely trying to play at first time. Unless he is a lot more

:02:00. > :02:05.advanced than we think he is, of course. Is he that good? Is he that

:02:06. > :02:10.lucky? He hit it with the right place, but I do not think so.

:02:11. > :02:16.Earlier we had the free ball incident. Did that uncertain things?

:02:17. > :02:20.It is another example of the sportsmanship. Neil was not entirely

:02:21. > :02:25.happy that that decision was correct, but the referee is in

:02:26. > :02:29.charge. It was tight. Really tight. Sometimes you can be a little bit

:02:30. > :02:34.wary about playing a shot. He did not look comfortable. Neil Robertson

:02:35. > :02:38.new at the start he was going to have to work very hard to get over

:02:39. > :02:42.the line and that is how it has proved in the frame two. Yes, a good

:02:43. > :02:48.effort from Neil Robertson, showing his mental strength. The second time

:02:49. > :02:53.in the tournament, the same with Stephen Maguire, suffering a loss in

:02:54. > :02:56.the first frame to a 100 break, and that mental strength is one of the

:02:57. > :03:02.things that makes him so strong in the game. It has been fascinating

:03:03. > :03:10.because we have seen that 600th century from John Higgins, that

:03:11. > :03:19.break of 118 in his first frame. Century number 600 of his career. He

:03:20. > :03:26.has seven years or Neil Robertson. That is the standard we are seeing.

:03:27. > :03:30.The number of big breaks. It was the 92nd century of the championship so

:03:31. > :03:35.far. It equals the total last year and we are only at the

:03:36. > :03:38.quarterfinals. For all of the controversy and moaning about the

:03:39. > :03:45.kicks on the table we are producing an of a lot of big breaks here this

:03:46. > :03:50.year. Back we go. Yes, this band and has been

:03:51. > :04:03.fantastic, it really has. -- the standard. No breaks in that second

:04:04. > :04:17.frame, just a 30 by each player. Still a fascinating tactical frame.

:04:18. > :04:27.He hit that one all wrong. Nearly cannoned into the red that John will

:04:28. > :04:30.take on. Can he not a long one in? To get his confidence up and running

:04:31. > :04:57.again. Probably just lost a little bit of

:04:58. > :05:07.rhythm with the tactical play in that second frame. I do not know if

:05:08. > :05:51.he can take the double on as a free shot. He has tried it.

:05:52. > :06:01.That was a mile out. A complete mess hit by John Higgins. He was

:06:02. > :06:03.expecting if he missed it to rattle in the jaws and go across the box

:06:04. > :06:31.cushion. It is not the sort of thing you want

:06:32. > :06:38.to be doing against an inform your Robertson. Leaving him in like this.

:06:39. > :06:45.He can bring a few more reds into play and still finish on the black.

:06:46. > :07:06.Yes, he deliberately wanted to be law on this. Maybe not as low as

:07:07. > :07:10.this. Is admissible? The black will pot to the right centre but this was

:07:11. > :07:14.a bit clumsy. I do not think he hit the red that he thought he was going

:07:15. > :08:16.to hit. That is why he lost the cue ball. Great recovery.

:08:17. > :08:27.I know we are only in frame three but Neil Robertson's highest break

:08:28. > :09:09.so far is only 30. I am sure he will supersede that by quite a few year.

:09:10. > :09:17.He will be wanting to win this frame in one visit. He lost the first to a

:09:18. > :09:23.brilliant break by John Higgins. The second frame was very scrappy. For

:09:24. > :09:43.his confidence and self belief, his rhythm.

:09:44. > :09:54.Two or three options, none of them straightforward. That is why he has

:09:55. > :10:01.gone round the table a couple of times. Squares of two cushions to go

:10:02. > :10:46.round the black. He does like a little wander round

:10:47. > :10:50.the table, Neil. A bit like one of his fellow countrymen who used to

:10:51. > :10:57.work around quite a bit. The older viewers will remember Eddie Charlton

:10:58. > :11:05.who made 112 trips from Australia to place looked in the UK. -- play

:11:06. > :11:12.snooker. Back in the 1970s he was as well known in still your as some of

:11:13. > :11:20.the top cricketers -- Australia. He was a great character. Steve Davis,

:11:21. > :11:29.myself, Ray Reardon, did six-week tours with steady Eddie. The game

:11:30. > :11:34.back in those days was as popular in Australia as it was in the UK. They

:11:35. > :11:40.used to do their own version of pot black. I thought it might take off

:11:41. > :11:46.again with Neil being so successful. They still go out there and play a

:11:47. > :11:48.ranking event. It would be nice to get it back to being as popular as

:11:49. > :12:11.it used to be. Yes, it makes it all the more

:12:12. > :12:17.incredible how successful Neil has been when you consider he is from a

:12:18. > :12:22.country that does not really follow snooker. To want to play the game in

:12:23. > :12:33.the first place and to become this good is a fantastic achievement.

:12:34. > :12:35.Without doubt the best overseas player I think we have ever had in

:12:36. > :13:34.the game. He made 60 centuries last season. 14

:13:35. > :13:38.this season only. The season before he made history when he made 100

:13:39. > :13:50.centuries in a season. That is incredible. The frame is well and

:13:51. > :14:08.truly safe. Just concentrate on trying to make another century here.

:14:09. > :14:15.Yes, I think the amazing thing about that century at centuries as the

:14:16. > :14:23.single-mindedness to be able to do it. Early on he was determined to do

:14:24. > :14:54.it, so to carry that out is a tremendous achievement.

:14:55. > :15:18.He has already made six centuries in this year's UK Championship.

:15:19. > :15:32.Absolutely fantastic from the Australian.

:15:33. > :15:40.It does not matter about that red almost leaving the table. He is back

:15:41. > :15:44.right at the top of his game. John Higgins just a couple of mistakes

:15:45. > :15:55.and one chance and Neil Robertson made that century break.

:15:56. > :16:00.Not worrying times by any means, but John after that fantastic start with

:16:01. > :16:08.a century break, just a couple of shots in that frame. Yes, he had

:16:09. > :16:15.along red early on in the frame, a pretty comfortable long red for

:16:16. > :16:20.somebody of John's ability. I would have expected him to get that. The

:16:21. > :16:27.most worrying one is the 1 that led Neil in for the century. He

:16:28. > :16:31.completely messes. The red he is potting, normally it would join the

:16:32. > :16:35.pocket and see up that end of the table, but he misses it by so far

:16:36. > :16:42.that the red comes back down on the right centre. Yes, that was the 1

:16:43. > :17:06.that cost him the frame. The mid-session interval is coming

:17:07. > :17:14.up after this fourth frame. John Higgins has only potted one out of

:17:15. > :17:20.five. Neil has got one out of the mag. I am sure that will improve. --

:17:21. > :19:03.three. A long way short

:19:04. > :19:11.intended. He wanted to be near the cushion. This red to the right

:19:12. > :19:19.corner... Similar to the one he missed in the previous frame. The

:19:20. > :19:23.yellow is hampering him slightly. Looking at the 1 to the right

:19:24. > :19:34.corner, not straightforward to get a good position. He will have to be

:19:35. > :19:43.absolutely spot on with the cue ball if he pots this. No. Another long

:19:44. > :20:04.one has slipped away. A is for Neil Robertson again. -- chance.

:20:05. > :20:16.If you can get the red away from the black spot he can then get the black

:20:17. > :20:18.bat -- back on its spot. He can do that with the angle he has on the

:20:19. > :20:43.blue. The choice of reds. Yes, you would

:20:44. > :20:44.think this one would play for the black to the same pocket. It looks

:20:45. > :21:12.the same shot. Was that a kick that caused the cue

:21:13. > :21:21.ball to go off line? It might have been. Let us look. It jumped

:21:22. > :21:26.slightly. That white would have just sailed past the red and he would

:21:27. > :21:30.have been perfect. It gave a different line for the cue ball and

:21:31. > :21:34.he just flicked the red and I do not know if there is just as these into

:21:35. > :21:39.the corner pocket. If it was he might just be able to recover the

:21:40. > :21:50.situation. We had a glimpse and I think it might just go. It is a free

:21:51. > :21:53.shot. He will not leave anything. That was one of those instances

:21:54. > :22:32.where we kick did not cost him. This clears a path for the red to

:22:33. > :22:35.the right corner. He can go into the pack, use the pack to set up for the

:22:36. > :22:43.blue and possibly even go on the pink. He can play the cue ball into

:22:44. > :22:52.the bunch, a little stunned shot to pull the cue ball away. He did not

:22:53. > :22:56.feel it was worth the risk. That is surprising. A nice angle. Maybe

:22:57. > :23:14.worrying about laying off into the right centre.

:23:15. > :23:29.A key shot coming up. Wants to bring quite a few more reds into play. In

:23:30. > :23:34.the end there was only one. One red that sprang out from the bunch. Even

:23:35. > :24:09.though he hit it quite hard. That red is going to be awkward near

:24:10. > :24:12.the side cushion. It will not be his normal stance the way he is having

:24:13. > :24:21.to avoid catching that with his waistcoat.

:24:22. > :24:31.He did not have to do too much with the cue ball to leave himself on

:24:32. > :24:34.this red. It is amazing how this match is following a similar pattern

:24:35. > :24:49.to his match with Stephen Maguire yesterday. Quite incredible.

:24:50. > :24:53.Yes, when he gets in first in the frame he does not look like missing,

:24:54. > :25:34.when he gets in his rhythm. This red goes. It did not look as if

:25:35. > :25:41.it would pot from the overhead shot, but plenty of room. Came up a little

:25:42. > :25:48.bit short on the blue, although with the red there to the right of the

:25:49. > :26:08.little bunch of five he should be OK. He is going to need to open that

:26:09. > :26:15.bunch of reds. If that one would go to the middle pocket tin-mac be able

:26:16. > :26:34.to get on that without risking the cannon. -- he might. Looking at the

:26:35. > :26:38.score, if he pots the black that is 59 in front. If he potted that red

:26:39. > :26:47.and the black it would be 67 in front of 67 remaining so he is going

:26:48. > :26:57.to need a couple more reds. He has come up quite a way short with this

:26:58. > :27:03.one. He has to be a little bit careful because he knows that John

:27:04. > :27:10.Higgins relishes this sort of situation by Mackie has cleaned up

:27:11. > :27:18.from so many times, being 50 behind. A couple of important shots coming

:27:19. > :27:25.up -- where he. As he stuck the red up? He is very fortunate in the end.

:27:26. > :27:28.Once he had the job the middle pocket the red could have gone

:27:29. > :27:35.anywhere. It makes a big difference in this game when you miss if you

:27:36. > :27:46.can get a little bit of good fortune and the red runs safe.

:27:47. > :27:52.John Higgins straightaway taking the opportunity to move the safe red

:27:53. > :27:56.away from the cushion. If he has covered the path to the right side

:27:57. > :28:00.of the table for a safety, which I do not think he has from his

:28:01. > :28:10.reaction... He will be disappointed with that safety shot. Even more

:28:11. > :28:14.disappointed if there is a plant. Yes, he just went a fraction too far

:28:15. > :28:22.with the cue ball otherwise the Green have snookered Neil on all of

:28:23. > :28:36.the balls. It is a free shot. He could possibly make it. Not quite.

:28:37. > :28:40.Although he leads by 59, the weather reds are situated at the moment, if

:28:41. > :28:48.John Higgins can put in a telling safety shot and force that chance, a

:28:49. > :29:05.little bit of snooker left in this fourth frame. He is coming up short.

:29:06. > :29:10.That is a poor shot from John. That is a rarity from somebody like John

:29:11. > :29:20.Higgins, a safety shot like that. That is two careless once he has

:29:21. > :29:26.played already. Neil Robertson eats those up for breakfast. John Higgins

:29:27. > :29:36.has a lot to think about at the interval. He has missed two or three

:29:37. > :29:40.long shots and then two careless safeties in this frame so he needs

:29:41. > :29:45.to get his focus back quickly in this match because we know what a

:29:46. > :29:50.great front runner Neil is, he can does run away with it, as he did

:29:51. > :29:58.yesterday with Stephen Maguire. -- just. You cannot leave the white

:29:59. > :30:15.ball-on the box lying, you have to get near the baulk cushion.

:30:16. > :30:22.Both players cueing very well. OK, John has missed a few long pots that

:30:23. > :30:23.he never looked like missing when he was in the balls in the opening

:30:24. > :30:44.frame, John. The first to 6, so 3-1 is a nice

:30:45. > :30:46.lead to have. John will be looking for a good start after the

:30:47. > :31:15.mid-session interval. Pretty quick. Just one minute and

:31:16. > :31:23.coming up to... Both players making century breaks. They have played for

:31:24. > :31:28.just over one hour, as we showed you, one hour and 30 minutes. The

:31:29. > :31:36.second frame was half an hour. Look at Neil's long pot success

:31:37. > :32:40.rate, up at 60%. APPLAUSE

:32:41. > :32:45.Well, he started this frame with a break of 59 and he finished it with

:32:46. > :32:50.that terrific clearance of 71. Neil Robertson, after losing the first

:32:51. > :32:56.frame to a century break, goes to the mid-session interval leading

:32:57. > :32:59.John Higgins 3-1. STUDIO: Just as he did yesterday. Perhaps the signs are

:33:00. > :33:03.a little ominous at this stage. For your money, what is the main

:33:04. > :33:07.difference between them today? The long game, I think, two or three

:33:08. > :33:11.shots that John has had that have not got in and he's left the

:33:12. > :33:13.opportunity. Wonderful match play snooker from Neil, taking his

:33:14. > :33:18.opportunities as he does. The worst thing you can do is win the first

:33:19. > :33:23.frame against him. You end up coming away 3-1 at the interview but

:33:24. > :33:27.terrific quality. Steve? There's very few players in the world who

:33:28. > :33:33.round after round can look nigh unemployable. Neil Robertson looks

:33:34. > :33:37.like that, John Higgins can do it and Ronnie O'Sullivan but not often

:33:38. > :33:40.do they repeat it throughout the tournament. They have good moments

:33:41. > :33:44.and might go off a bit and perhaps get it back together for the final

:33:45. > :33:50.but Neil Robertson looks mentally very strong. That continuation,

:33:51. > :33:54.frame after frame, is debilitating for his opponents. We had a chat

:33:55. > :33:56.with him yesterday about pacing yourself for the championship and

:33:57. > :34:01.that is some thing he has clearly been aware of, particularly after

:34:02. > :34:05.the Masters. I don't know about you but that is not pacing yourself. It

:34:06. > :34:09.is foot to the floor by our standards. He had a peak performance

:34:10. > :34:13.yesterday and it is difficult to maintain that, nigh on impossible,

:34:14. > :34:16.Stephen Maguire said it in his press conference, it's impossible he will

:34:17. > :34:20.play that well again but his line just below his best is still

:34:21. > :34:24.fantastic. That's the point because having played so beautifully at the

:34:25. > :34:28.Masters this year, he gets to the final against Sean Murphy and was

:34:29. > :34:31.blown away by Murphy in the final. He said, having learned that it will

:34:32. > :34:38.be foot to the floor every time. He can't afford to take his foot off

:34:39. > :34:42.gas. And if you get into that mentality, foot to the floor,

:34:43. > :34:47.playing that standard, it becomes the norm. It's very hard to achieve.

:34:48. > :34:49.If you don't think the last performance you played... Neil

:34:50. > :34:53.Robertson's last match was incredible but if you say it was not

:34:54. > :34:56.anything special and you will not overawed by yourself and you take it

:34:57. > :35:01.on board, you can do it all the time. But that is for the likes of,

:35:02. > :35:06.like in golf, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, who seem to have taken

:35:07. > :35:12.the level of consistency up a gear. It is nice to talk golf with Steve

:35:13. > :35:15.now! Now I am a golf fan. It's true. I'm sure there's a lot more to talk

:35:16. > :35:18.about in this match but in the meantime, we're going to talk about

:35:19. > :35:23.a sensational match on the other side which is the -- shedding a

:35:24. > :35:26.beautifully between Liang Wenbo and Marco Fu, the man who for the last

:35:27. > :35:30.18 years or so has very modestly and with wonderful talent made his mark

:35:31. > :35:35.in the sport. He is not showy or a big head but he is absolutely full

:35:36. > :35:40.of talent. Two world ranking titles but not in the big three in snooker,

:35:41. > :35:44.the UK, the world or the Masters. He's been into finals out of three

:35:45. > :35:53.in those events. So will the breakthrough come this time? -- in

:35:54. > :35:57.two finals out of three. There's no doubting Marco Fu is one

:35:58. > :36:01.of the top players in the game. His longevity has been testament to

:36:02. > :36:05.that. He has won a couple of ranking event and got in the final of the

:36:06. > :36:12.UK. But not that prolific a winner. He is such a great player. He really

:36:13. > :36:16.is, a real great player. I remember when he burst onto the scene and I

:36:17. > :36:20.was not on the tour at the time. I was watching at home. He burst on

:36:21. > :36:24.the scene and you know what he was known for back then was he just came

:36:25. > :36:27.to the table and kept on clearing up. His practice routines were based

:36:28. > :36:32.on clearing the table, setting a frame up and clearing up. He was so

:36:33. > :36:37.good in the balls and very naturally based. He just used to get on with

:36:38. > :36:42.it and play. For me, over the years, he has got that little bit too

:36:43. > :36:45.technical. He has opened a Pandora's box and looked into the technical

:36:46. > :36:51.elements of the game a bit too much, for me. I do think it helped him.

:36:52. > :36:54.You would expect with some of his talent, who's been very consistent

:36:55. > :36:57.since he has been a professional, that he has not been in more finals

:36:58. > :37:03.and won more tournaments. A very strange technique, that he does not

:37:04. > :37:07.prepare for the shot with backwards and forwards movement. He puts the

:37:08. > :37:11.tip to the ball and waits until he has judged the line and then slowly

:37:12. > :37:16.pulls the cue back and pulls the trigger. We were always taught that

:37:17. > :37:20.that was getting ready for the shot, feeling it out, preparing

:37:21. > :37:25.yourself but he does not do any of it. Very little. He does not have

:37:26. > :37:29.much power in the cue. That is not the end of the world but it helps if

:37:30. > :37:34.you've got a bit. I don't think he has that super confidence that some

:37:35. > :37:41.of the others have. When he does get to that position, that he has the

:37:42. > :37:43.self belief that the likes of Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, Mark Selby or

:37:44. > :37:48.O'Sullivan would have, that he has the belief against the top players.

:37:49. > :37:51.Even though he has excess against them, he does not lose confidence

:37:52. > :37:57.like some of them. That might just be him. -- lose confidence. I always

:37:58. > :38:00.thought he was quite an attacking play even though he would not think

:38:01. > :38:03.it from the way he walks around the table. It is just a feeling, maybe,

:38:04. > :38:07.he's quite aggressive when trying to win the frame with a few balls

:38:08. > :38:12.left, not break-building, although he's a pretty decent break-builder.

:38:13. > :38:16.He's very good in the balls and very heavy scoring. When he first came

:38:17. > :38:20.onto the scene, that was his hallmark on immense scoring. One of

:38:21. > :38:23.the critics we have had of other players has been their temperament

:38:24. > :38:27.but you could not say that about him. Marco's temperament is first

:38:28. > :38:30.class. You could watch any much of his from any time in history and you

:38:31. > :38:34.would not know if he was winning losing. His temperament is first

:38:35. > :38:39.class. Any kids watching out there should focus on his temperament

:38:40. > :38:44.because he is somebody to emulate. Marco is buying the world number 29,

:38:45. > :38:47.Liang Wenbo who no doubt has given himself a couple of laps around the

:38:48. > :38:50.chops like he did yesterday to get himself going. He did the same thing

:38:51. > :38:55.against Tom Ford yesterday and if he has gone it is certainly working

:38:56. > :38:59.because Liang came straight out of the practice arena and got a 106,

:39:00. > :39:02.his fourth century of the championship. We join them in the

:39:03. > :39:09.second frame with Liang five points behind. Willie Thorne and John Virgo

:39:10. > :39:20.watching this one. COMMENTATOR: And unexpected chance for Liang Wenbo.

:39:21. > :39:31.But the bottom line is, once again, Marco was first in and did not make

:39:32. > :39:35.the most of it. The black is available into both corners. OK, the

:39:36. > :39:38.wrong side of the blue but as I always say, if you are going to be

:39:39. > :39:45.on the wrong side, be well on the wrong side. He has got two reds on

:39:46. > :39:49.the right-hand side as we look that are available to the corner. It

:39:50. > :39:52.should not be a problem, just a little stunt in between the yellow

:39:53. > :39:56.and brown with a touch of left-hand side. -- stunt. Just like that.

:39:57. > :40:36.Perfect. The two reds either side of that

:40:37. > :40:39.cluster of six are both available into either corner so he does not

:40:40. > :40:43.have too plain to the pack at any stage for a moment. He would like to

:40:44. > :40:46.get rid of one of those red and then go into them because it gives him

:40:47. > :40:51.the option of the loose one behind the pack. He's got a chance to get

:40:52. > :40:55.onto one of them. The fact he has finished low, he did not play that

:40:56. > :41:00.very well. That cue ball should have been six or seven inches further

:41:01. > :41:03.away from big ocean. He will have too pushed through the reds now and

:41:04. > :41:07.he's not guaranteed to get nicely on the black. It is one of those

:41:08. > :41:11.situations, if you do, you will bring a few reds into play but how

:41:12. > :41:16.hard do you hit it? That is the problem. You feel as if you hit it

:41:17. > :41:21.too hard and you get through the reds and you can finish up near the

:41:22. > :41:28.top cushion. Did not put enough pace into the shot. OK, he can pot the

:41:29. > :41:32.black but it is tricky. Yes, it was not the poor shot, that one can it

:41:33. > :41:36.was the black before. But do you not feel when you play that shot, I

:41:37. > :41:41.preferred stunning off the reds because I had more control? You knew

:41:42. > :41:44.where the white was going to end up, guaranteed gum EU might leave a

:41:45. > :41:49.half-board black but he would not end up like this, finish short or

:41:50. > :41:54.you could finish tight on the other cushion. That is a good reply. Will

:41:55. > :42:00.it drop? APPLAUSE Good shot. I think there is a red on

:42:01. > :42:07.the top of the cluster that will go past the pink into the centre

:42:08. > :42:09.pocket. It was a good pot on the black because he knew if he missed

:42:10. > :42:52.it, he would be leaving this one. Now the work starts. He's got to

:42:53. > :42:56.make something happen after the next two shots. It's not a good pack to

:42:57. > :43:01.go into, of the blue and he looks like he's screwing it off the blue.

:43:02. > :43:08.The pink pots which opens up one more red. I just wonder whether the

:43:09. > :43:16.pink spot is available? I think it is. LAUGHTER

:43:17. > :43:20.Yes, I think when the pink is potted, it can go back onto the

:43:21. > :43:24.spot. It may still be available into one corner and one middle. He can

:43:25. > :43:32.risk getting on the next pink to move reds into play.

:43:33. > :43:41.Fair comment. I don't know if he is straight enough but he could roll

:43:42. > :43:48.through and maybe leave a three quarters ball pot on the pink. Maybe

:43:49. > :43:53.he could screw back and play for the pink in the same pocket. You always

:43:54. > :44:00.favour running through for the black. You are almost guaranteed to

:44:01. > :44:01.have an angle of some kind. Playing for the pink, you have to be very

:44:02. > :44:16.precise. Now the only problem with the angle

:44:17. > :44:19.he has got on the black, if he goes into the three reds, you could see

:44:20. > :44:22.they are very flat and he would need to hit one of them half ball because

:44:23. > :44:29.if it is full ball, it could stick and all the white ball would do is

:44:30. > :44:37.to come back the way it is now. Probably the left-hand side of the

:44:38. > :44:41.three in a line, as you say, stun it so you are bound to release at least

:44:42. > :44:48.four reds. That is exactly what he did. Well, if he's not on anything,

:44:49. > :44:57.he will be very unlucky. I think he's on something. Yes, the great

:44:58. > :45:01.break-builders, like O'Sullivan and Mark Selby, they play that shot so

:45:02. > :45:09.well, a power stunt to keep the white in the middle of the table. It

:45:10. > :45:12.could have gone wrong because it had a little bit of back spin on it but

:45:13. > :45:17.the stun would have sent it through the reds. Anyway, no problem. He

:45:18. > :45:23.needed one chance in the first frame, and won it with a wonderful

:45:24. > :45:31.break of 106. It could be a repeat dose, here.

:45:32. > :45:37.That is a good shot, he generated an angle which was not really there.

:45:38. > :45:41.That was why he played it so powerfully, on and off the cushion.

:45:42. > :45:44.It was just off straight but he generated a lot of cue ball

:45:45. > :45:50.movement, there, excellent shot, should be a frame-winner. That would

:45:51. > :45:54.be a nice milestone if he gets a century, his 147th century break.

:45:55. > :46:07.Yes, that has a nice ring to it. Oh, well, he has turned away,

:46:08. > :46:13.there, because it was a heavy contact. I'm certain it probably was

:46:14. > :46:19.but he did not seem to cue it that smoothly, to me. He just jabbed at

:46:20. > :46:24.it more than anything. He did not really get the cue going through.

:46:25. > :46:31.But he still has the red to the left middle which is not too difficult a

:46:32. > :46:35.pot. I hate to keep going on about it but I'm definitely an advocate of

:46:36. > :46:40.thicker cloth and a slightly heavier ball which I think would get rid of

:46:41. > :46:44.all the kicks. Those were the conditions we used to have in the

:46:45. > :46:45.snooker clubs years ago. I don't ever remember a kick in a snooker

:46:46. > :47:02.club. Just rolling that in. He's got a

:47:03. > :47:06.slight angle on the blue. This blue will put him 62 points in front with

:47:07. > :47:37.67 remaining so the blue and one more red is all that is required.

:47:38. > :47:49.A choice of reds, either one will help position on the pink. Good

:47:50. > :47:56.stuff from Liang, it really has been. He has taken the game to Marco

:47:57. > :48:04.Fu. Marco as yet has not had a hand on the table. Yes, well, he has had

:48:05. > :48:10.his hand on the table but I know what you mean, briefly. Most of the

:48:11. > :48:19.time, he's been sat there, sipping his water and watching a wonderful

:48:20. > :48:23.performance. This is very impressive for the man from China. There's a

:48:24. > :48:32.moth about, John. You haven't opened your wallet, have you?

:48:33. > :48:37.Wanted to come down and look at the action. It is flying about. I'm not

:48:38. > :48:41.sure if it has gone after the other table. It is buying about somewhere.

:48:42. > :48:52.I think it has gone on to the other table. -- flying about. Fair play to

:48:53. > :49:00.Liang Wenbo, with all this noise going on. He is keeping his

:49:01. > :49:04.concentration. Just stepped back, then, because he was not happy. That

:49:05. > :49:08.is what you have got to do, always a member, if you are not comfortable,

:49:09. > :49:16.get up and start again. -- always remember. He wants to pot the last

:49:17. > :49:20.remaining red down the side cushion and being left hand it will not be

:49:21. > :49:26.easy. Perfect angle for the pink but will need the rest. Oh, that moth is

:49:27. > :49:31.flying about. I hope it does not put him. It is having a right little fly

:49:32. > :49:37.around from to table, wants to watch both matches. We are only watching

:49:38. > :49:42.one. OK, just drop this in. Second century, will it be? Will it be?

:49:43. > :49:43.APPLAUSE Beautifully played an perfect on the

:49:44. > :49:58.black. Super stuff, this, from Liang Wenbo.

:49:59. > :50:06.One visit snooker. A century breaks that he has made now. -- 147 century

:50:07. > :50:13.breaks. The moth is back, nearly landed on Liang's head, then. I

:50:14. > :50:14.think it is a butterfly, actually. LAUGHTER

:50:15. > :50:25.Don't kill it! APPLAUSE

:50:26. > :50:31.The referee at the other table went to catch the butterfly and missed

:50:32. > :50:35.it. I'm not having him in my cricket team. Well, with all that is going

:50:36. > :50:41.on, this has been a tremendous contribution from Liang.

:50:42. > :50:46.Concentration or what? Come on, keep your head down. CHEERING AND

:50:47. > :50:51.APPLAUSE Well, when you are in the zone, it

:50:52. > :50:55.just proves, nothing can put you off. What a marvellous frame. Right

:50:56. > :51:01.out of the top drawer of break-building, he made 106 in the

:51:02. > :51:04.first frame and 132 in the second. Absolutely first class and he

:51:05. > :51:08.deserves to be 2-0 up, quite obviously. STUDIO: How about that

:51:09. > :51:13.for tunnel vision, right in the middle of the moth incident? By the

:51:14. > :51:16.way, we are now convinced it was a peacock butterfly for those of you

:51:17. > :51:21.who have been following on Twitter. That gave Liang back-to-back

:51:22. > :51:25.centuries and his fifth of the championship so far. Liang Wenbo has

:51:26. > :51:28.started beautifully. We heard about his opponent, got professional

:51:29. > :51:30.opinion on Marco Fu and time to get some more on the man who leads our

:51:31. > :51:44.other quarterfinal, Neil Robertson. Neil Robertson, one of the best

:51:45. > :51:50.players we have ever seen, triple Crown winner, and a fabulous,

:51:51. > :51:56.fabulous match player. On his. On his off days, he's very good, too.

:51:57. > :52:00.Lovely, straight cue action and his break-building has improved in the

:52:01. > :52:06.last few years, which makes him virtually one of the favourites for

:52:07. > :52:11.any single tournament. Fit, very good and slim. Heat use the ball as

:52:12. > :52:15.well as anyone out there. Great match player, great winner, great

:52:16. > :52:23.champion. Obviously he is of Egan as well. When he's on form, he is up

:52:24. > :52:26.there with the best in the world. Neil Robertson, typical Aussie, will

:52:27. > :52:30.to win, second to none, fantastic long potter, one of the best in the

:52:31. > :52:35.game. Off the table, he's into computer games also nothing wrong

:52:36. > :52:39.with that, I suppose. As a player, I think he's the in the world. He's

:52:40. > :52:44.got it all, the all-round game that everyone should aspire to. I just

:52:45. > :52:50.feel with meal sometimes come he plays certain players, like Mark

:52:51. > :52:54.Selby, and he can get Dawn into buying their style of game. Not very

:52:55. > :52:58.punk show. Lead the latest player on tour. He's been known to miss games.

:52:59. > :53:04.Some of his opinions, especially on football, really get to me and we

:53:05. > :53:08.fall out quite a lot! The boards of his fellow professionals and that is

:53:09. > :53:11.the situation in the arena. By the way, you can continue to watch the

:53:12. > :53:17.other quarterfinal this afternoon, Liang Wenbo and Marco Fu on the red

:53:18. > :53:19.button and unconnected TVs on the BBC sport website but we are back to

:53:20. > :53:24.what we are considering a real heavyweight contest. Robertson

:53:25. > :53:29.against Higgins, Robertson 3-1 up as we return to the commentators.

:53:30. > :53:40.Remember, the first to sixth is in the semifinals. -- six. COMMENTATOR:

:53:41. > :53:44.Thank you, Hazel. Will the mid-session interval change things

:53:45. > :53:56.around? John Higgins will be hoping so.

:53:57. > :54:07.That is the pot success rate, 93%, starting to motor, the Aussie. He is

:54:08. > :54:13.improving on his long pot success rate and John is way down at 17%.

:54:14. > :54:19.Straightaway in the fifth frame, it is going to be a bit awkward with

:54:20. > :54:24.that red heading up past the green. Neither player like that but Neil

:54:25. > :54:32.had no other shot available to him, there.

:54:33. > :54:48.O! APPLAUSE The trick shop that he did not want.

:54:49. > :54:51.-- trick shot. There is no real value in running up to the black

:54:52. > :54:55.because it is so easy... Not a lot else he can do. In fact, he's not

:54:56. > :55:01.going to run up to it, that is a good choice, really. It would have

:55:02. > :55:05.been a straightforward escape of the side cushion so now we have three

:55:06. > :55:07.red up the other end of the table. It is going to be a bit of an

:55:08. > :55:39.awkward frame, you would think. Yes, he's just thinking about

:55:40. > :55:43.pushing that red to the left of the black, up the table, leave the tube

:55:44. > :55:52.or on the side cushion. He did not like it. He can get enough of the

:55:53. > :55:56.cue ball to bring this back. That is another red joining the other three

:55:57. > :56:22.on the other half of the table, now. All of these 14 reds could finish up

:56:23. > :56:32.on the opposite end of the table to where they normally are.

:56:33. > :56:37.But now he might have to play the shot he looked at previously because

:56:38. > :56:45.he can't get back from there. He will just leave the cue ball on the

:56:46. > :56:47.side cushion. The red does not pass the green which is why he has played

:56:48. > :57:10.that. Just a little bit of a stalemate at

:57:11. > :57:27.the moment. Not much available to kneel. He can

:57:28. > :57:29.just nudge into the reds or slip off the side of them but he would have

:57:30. > :57:44.to get the long rest out to do that. Yes, it is one of those frames where

:57:45. > :57:49.you could get ten or 15 minutes of safety play. But when the first

:57:50. > :57:56.chance arrives, because the reds will be so spread out, I imagine the

:57:57. > :57:59.frame will be won in one visit. If they keep on rolling into the reds,

:58:00. > :58:06.the referee will probably have a look at both players and then ask

:58:07. > :58:12.them what they want to do. But John is now looking at the shot that Neil

:58:13. > :58:23.had, just to slide off the reds, on to the cushion behind the black

:58:24. > :58:30.spot. Oh, he has on the hit that by quite a way. -- underhit. No damage

:58:31. > :58:46.done but it makes it so much easier for kneel. -- for Neil. Where is

:58:47. > :58:52.that red going? Up the other end of the table, is the answer. It is

:58:53. > :58:57.amazing, you never get two frames of snooker the same.

:58:58. > :59:02.Difficult to get back from where the cue ball has finished. A little roll

:59:03. > :59:17.up. Highly unlikely, now, that there

:59:18. > :59:24.will be a rerun because they are starting to spread out a little bit.

:59:25. > :59:28.-- a re-rack. In a few shots' time, there may not be a rich to roll too.

:59:29. > :59:49.-- a red to roll to. Someone tuned in to watch snooker

:59:50. > :59:56.for the first time will think, this is a funny game, one player rolls to

:59:57. > :59:56.the red, the other puts the white on the cushion.

:59:57. > :00:07.the red, the other puts the white on the cushion. But they can't do

:00:08. > :00:09.anything tells at the moment. Gradually they are all going up the

:00:10. > :00:33.other end of the table. Not touching, so not quite as

:00:34. > :00:40.straightforward to get the cue ball back this time. Might have to raise

:00:41. > :00:43.the butt of the cue, and have a swerve shot, lots of side. If not,

:00:44. > :01:08.he's just going to roll into them. You used to love these sort of games

:01:09. > :01:17.didn't you, Steven? This was not my cup of tea, this sort of frame.

:01:18. > :01:23.Takes a bit of discipline this, not to play a loose safety just to get

:01:24. > :01:31.the normal frame back up and running.

:01:32. > :01:39.And the rolls have reversed now, it is John that's putting the white

:01:40. > :01:48.back on the cushion. There is an attempt to the middle pocket. He's

:01:49. > :01:50.just playing the safety shot, and another red will be heading up the

:01:51. > :02:07.table. I can honestly say I've never seen

:02:08. > :02:10.the reds in that sort of pattern before with a lot of them up past

:02:11. > :02:40.the blue. I was only making a bit of a broke

:02:41. > :02:45.when I thought there would be 14 reds up the other end of the table,

:02:46. > :02:48.but it's getting near to it. There's only three more to be pushed up

:02:49. > :03:18.there. It's a pretty dull frame. Gradually

:03:19. > :03:29.it's going to resolve itself. There is not many more to roll to. As I

:03:30. > :03:32.said earlier, we've had about 10 minutes of safety and whoever gets

:03:33. > :03:40.in first is probably going to win the frame. And he might win the

:03:41. > :03:50.frame with a 30 break. Reds and low-voweled colours. S and --

:03:51. > :03:58.low-valued colours. This is a tough pot. It will automatically be on the

:03:59. > :04:05.pink to the right centre. Looking at the red, the long red to the green

:04:06. > :04:10.pocket. He has to take one of them on. I don't think there'll be a

:04:11. > :04:16.safety shot here. The red to the left centre could possibly play the

:04:17. > :04:24.cue ball back to the black cushion and send it back into baulk, but you

:04:25. > :04:29.have to take a pot here. The fact that you mentioned it's been over 10

:04:30. > :04:36.minutes of safety here, you've lost a little bit of rhythm. The first

:04:37. > :04:43.attempt to pot's going be a little more difficult. The longer he looks

:04:44. > :04:48.at it the more likely you think he's going the refuse the pot. He's

:04:49. > :05:03.taking it on. That's a great shot.

:05:04. > :05:08.APPLAUSE. After 10 minutes of tipping and tapping the cue ball

:05:09. > :05:27.around, to have the concentration still to pot that red was excellent.

:05:28. > :05:38.Did that kick? It pulled the cue ball up a little bit short. Let's

:05:39. > :05:44.have a look. Not sure if it was the white or the pink that lifted

:05:45. > :05:50.slightly that time. Whatever it was, it's left him hampered slightly. I'm

:05:51. > :05:55.not, and not straightforward. You've got to play for a baulk colour. This

:05:56. > :05:59.red he's taking is going to help clear the blue. It is not

:06:00. > :06:16.straightforward. You have to concentrate that much harder.

:06:17. > :06:27.Well, does the brown pass the green or the white pass the brown to get

:06:28. > :07:02.to the green? It must be tight. You can just get through to the green.

:07:03. > :07:08.You would think it's virtually impossible not to win the frame from

:07:09. > :07:15.this visit. As long as you keep potting colours you are bound to be

:07:16. > :07:19.on a red. I suppose the only danger, Dennis, is snookering yourself on a

:07:20. > :07:27.colour behind all these reds if you're careless.

:07:28. > :07:37.That's why he's not rushing things here, he's making sure he doesn't do

:07:38. > :07:38.what you said. It's not a straightforward situation that

:07:39. > :08:20.you're used to. He's potted four reds, but with

:08:21. > :08:28.taking the lower-value colours he's only on 18. He's got quite a lot to

:08:29. > :08:34.pot. He did free the blue with the opening red that he took, one of the

:08:35. > :08:39.earlier reds, but got an angle on this red if the blue doesn't go he

:08:40. > :08:45.could possibly get on pink or black. I don't know if the pink is blocked

:08:46. > :08:53.into the corner, it might be, so he's staying with the lower-value

:08:54. > :09:01.ones. Just finished a bit awkward there. Cannoned into the green, had

:09:02. > :09:04.to play it with a bit more power. I think he can avoid the red for the

:09:05. > :09:19.cannon when he pots this red. Five reds, five colours, and the

:09:20. > :09:44.break's 21. This could turn out to be the lowest

:09:45. > :10:00.break ever to win a frame. Back to the high-scoring end of the

:10:01. > :11:13.table now. The two reds that are close

:11:14. > :11:35.together, probably cannon those, cushion first.

:11:36. > :11:41.Amazing, normally when you have potted nine reds and nine colours

:11:42. > :11:52.you're usually near the winning line, but he's only on 35. I don't

:11:53. > :12:03.think I've ever seen this before, so many low-coloured balls potted with

:12:04. > :12:20.reds. One pink and one blue and the rest yellows and greens.

:12:21. > :12:27.In the interval, it hasn't affected his focus or concentration at all. I

:12:28. > :12:30.think the opening red that you said he would have to take on was a

:12:31. > :12:41.terrific shot under the circumstances. It really was. He

:12:42. > :12:43.hadn't seen a pot for over 10 minutes and he rolled that terrific

:12:44. > :13:07.red into the left middle. It's amazing, he's potted 11 reds

:13:08. > :13:21.and 11 colours and he's still not safe in the frame.

:13:22. > :13:29.. Needs one more red, so he's going to play for one at the opening.

:13:30. > :13:30.Needs to make sure he doesn't contact that red in the left

:13:31. > :13:45.cushion. That wasn't straightforward and he's

:13:46. > :14:09.not on it nicely. It does cut but it has become missable.

:14:10. > :14:40.Quite Nazeing. -- quite amazing. You don't see that very often.

:14:41. > :14:51.John nods to the referee and he concedes. It was an Newcastle break

:14:52. > :14:53.but Neil Robertson potted enough balls to secure the frame and

:14:54. > :16:17.extends his lead to 4-1. Neil Robertson needs 4-1, a huge

:16:18. > :16:21.frame for John Higgins coming up. One thing John Higgins, this is a

:16:22. > :16:28.strange thing to say, but John is going to have to tighten his safety

:16:29. > :16:35.up. Last two or three frames played some pretty careless safeties for

:16:36. > :16:43.someone of his standard. He's missed a few long shots. Pot success on

:16:44. > :16:54.long ones hasn't been great. What one here to the right corner. A

:16:55. > :16:59.great shot. In the middle of the pocket. Hoped for the cue ball to

:17:00. > :17:07.stop short for a baulk colour but it's not going to. What do you think

:17:08. > :17:12.he'll play here, Den? He'll block the path of the right-hand side of

:17:13. > :17:17.the table, tuck into a brown and force Neil to try to go the other

:17:18. > :17:22.side of the pack. But I don't think he'll fall for that. He'll go twice

:17:23. > :17:32.across the table and into that pack from the right side as he look at

:17:33. > :17:42.it. Does have to be a bit careful that he doesn't catch the blue when

:17:43. > :17:48.going twice across. Foul. And a miss Wow, a shocker. You have to make

:17:49. > :17:59.sure you don't catch the blue. I'm amazed. Misjudged the first cushion

:18:00. > :18:02.completely. An early chance for John Higgins in a frame that he really

:18:03. > :18:59.could do with. He opened with that magnificent

:19:00. > :19:04.break of 119. He had a 33 break in the second frame which he lost, but

:19:05. > :19:12.it's been all Neil Robertson since then. That's the problem when you

:19:13. > :19:17.open the pack and you screw back, it's difficult sometimes just to

:19:18. > :19:31.judge where that cue ball's going finish. It has sprung back and

:19:32. > :19:44.finished awkward. In fact he can't get on to a red. I don't know if

:19:45. > :19:52.he's got one that will go to the middle or one up into the corner

:19:53. > :19:54.past the blue. He couldn't do anything else, with the black in

:19:55. > :20:10.there. He doesn't like that one to the

:20:11. > :21:08.middle. He's only going to make 24 from this effort.

:21:09. > :21:21.Needs quite a thinnish shot if he's going to playback down the table off

:21:22. > :21:32.this red. It's too thin. The second bite of the cherry for John Higgins.

:21:33. > :21:40.It's a good thing the blue is off its spot. Maybes it easy for John to

:21:41. > :22:08.leave the right angle on the blue. This is the last easy red. The rest

:22:09. > :22:14.are all covering each other, so he'll Ned a good angle when he pots

:22:15. > :22:21.this to play it a nice cannon to develop a few more. Looks as if he's

:22:22. > :22:31.going to screw on to the other red to leave the pink. Not

:22:32. > :23:07.straightforward this just yet. A little shake of the head. I was

:23:08. > :23:12.thinking, where's his next red coming from once he played that

:23:13. > :23:17.little cannon? I don't know if he can get on to that. But the pink

:23:18. > :23:22.looks as if it would have to go in the middle of those reds, because

:23:23. > :23:25.the pink spot is occupied. He's using the pink to see, and there is

:23:26. > :23:32.no way it will go in there. He was using the pink as a cue ball there

:23:33. > :23:40.to see if he could pot the red. So he feels he can, but the referee has

:23:41. > :23:46.a little bit of a predicament here to get in behind the reds. He's a

:23:47. > :23:52.tall man, Jan, so that helps. I know there's a few referees that might

:23:53. > :24:08.struggle with this one. But Jan's about 6 foot 3 inches. There you see

:24:09. > :24:15.it, no problem. The referee has been at the top of his profession for a

:24:16. > :24:32.number of years now. Still as steady as the first day he refereed.

:24:33. > :24:44.One good split here. Make sure you keep your eye on the black. It could

:24:45. > :24:50.be frame ball, this. He is stuck in them. Just needed a little bit more

:24:51. > :24:53.spin and the white would have just kept coming back. It just stuck on

:24:54. > :25:08.those two reds. Look how the reds have opened. He's

:25:09. > :25:10.51 in front. He needs a red on the cushion and he needs a good cue

:25:11. > :25:22.ball. A wee bit unlucky that. Just one

:25:23. > :25:33.good split and he would have got a frame back.

:25:34. > :26:14.It's a nice lead to have, but sometimes it is not enough against

:26:15. > :26:23.this man, but John did get the red safe there. A pretty good cue ball.

:26:24. > :26:39.I think this red cuts to the left corner here.

:26:40. > :26:52.There might just be a pot and a path between the pink and red for John

:26:53. > :26:57.here. It's a free shot for him. No, it looks as though he's cutting one

:26:58. > :27:00.into the right corner, but it's a similar scenario. Well played.

:27:01. > :27:49.APPLAUSE. Well picked out. I mentioned it was a frame he badly

:27:50. > :27:57.needed, and sometimes John Higgins produces his best snooker when his

:27:58. > :28:02.back's against the wall. That's why he became world champion and world

:28:03. > :28:20.number one in six seasons. Quite an achievement, that.

:28:21. > :28:33.Just the black to leave Neil needing a snooker. You felt he was always

:28:34. > :28:41.going to do this, Stephen, didn't you? Yeah, you don't get to achieve

:28:42. > :28:50.in the game what John has without being a fighter. That allows things

:28:51. > :30:20.like a 4-1 deficit, affect your desire to win the match.

:30:21. > :30:31.Just having a look to see if the yellow will pass the pink.

:30:32. > :30:38.Always nice when you win a frame, but if you can win the frame without

:30:39. > :31:05.letting your opponent score a point, that's even better.

:31:06. > :31:18.So we know he is back cueing very well again.

:31:19. > :31:41.This is how he started the match, with that magnificent break of 119.

:31:42. > :31:48.Doesn't matter about the pink. John Higgins has stopped the rot. He lost

:31:49. > :31:54.four frames in a row. But that was a terrific break of 69. He takes the

:31:55. > :31:57.frame but he still trails Neil Robertson 4-2.

:31:58. > :32:08.STUDIO: That's the biggest break for John since 33 in the second frame.

:32:09. > :32:11.He talked about being - well feeling soul-destroyed watching Neil

:32:12. > :32:13.Robertson make big breaks. I wonder how cold he must feel at that point

:32:14. > :32:22.going into that It's not great, but if you look at

:32:23. > :32:27.John hiking his's career over the years -- Higgins he has been here

:32:28. > :32:30.before. He knows what it feels like. But it still puts pressure on you

:32:31. > :32:35.when you get your chance because you know you have to do something. You

:32:36. > :32:39.have to fight the panic of perhaps going for one too many shots to get

:32:40. > :32:43.back in the game. But also being aggressive when you get the chance.

:32:44. > :32:47.I think that's where John Higgins is so good, his all-round game and from

:32:48. > :32:50.behind or in front I don't think you necessarily know where he is in the

:32:51. > :32:54.match, the game is the same. Do you think he will have gone through it,

:32:55. > :32:58.do you identify with what he called the mental torture of seeing someone

:32:59. > :33:01.at the top of their game stick in big breaks? You expect that to

:33:02. > :33:07.happen by the nature of the game. It's not like golf where we talk

:33:08. > :33:11.about it before, the cue ball, everything is about the cue ball. If

:33:12. > :33:13.you haven't got the cue ball like we saw yesterday with Maguire, you

:33:14. > :33:16.watch. It's important when you are in the chair and waiting for an

:33:17. > :33:19.opportunity as soon as your turn comes up you do what John Higgins

:33:20. > :33:24.has done and top players can do that. Sat there for ages, not had a

:33:25. > :33:28.chance and made that 69 break. The rhythm you get into making a break

:33:29. > :33:37.around the table is a wonderful thing. It's more a a rhythmal game,

:33:38. > :33:40.perhaps billiards as well, but more than pool. In the chair you have to

:33:41. > :33:45.start the motor again to get going but that's wh John Higgins does

:33:46. > :33:49.well, he has such a routine when he cues, he is straight back into that

:33:50. > :33:54.routine. He doesn't have to get the arm oiled. And so timely that break

:33:55. > :33:59.and important to get that frame on the board. You got to re-establish

:34:00. > :34:04.yourself but Neil Robertson knows John Higgins and he knows he isn't

:34:05. > :34:07.going away. Persistence is another great quality, you don't get rid of

:34:08. > :34:14.John Higgins easily, you have to beat him. This is the 2 ist time in

:34:15. > :34:21.ten years they've met. -- 21st. John with a superior record, 11 to eight

:34:22. > :34:26.in all competitions, but as Neil Robertson intimated they've had

:34:27. > :34:28.great tussles in the past. Seven final frame decideders in those

:34:29. > :34:33.matches, they've gone close. You would expect it to be a contest in

:34:34. > :34:37.the coming... That doesn't sound like a bad record. I would imagine,

:34:38. > :34:42.not that I have checked, I would imagine John Higgins record against

:34:43. > :34:46.everybody in the game is strong. Ronnie O'Sullivan? I am not sure.

:34:47. > :34:50.That's relatively level. That's how good Neil Robertson is. That's why

:34:51. > :34:54.our expectations of this match were so high. You probably expect from

:34:55. > :34:57.that record the first two or three times when Neil came through back on

:34:58. > :35:04.the circuit the results would have been slightly different but now as

:35:05. > :35:07.Robertson has got better as a break-builder he would probably hold

:35:08. > :35:11.the edge, I think. When it comes to the crunch of the game, the final

:35:12. > :35:14.part, I still think John Higgins is so strong, he seems to be able to up

:35:15. > :35:17.his game enough. He is playing against another player who seems to

:35:18. > :35:25.be able to do it as well, that's why I think it's a mouth-watering match.

:35:26. > :35:29.They both don't shirk responsibilities near the finishing

:35:30. > :35:31.line. Any time in the game of snooker there is only so many

:35:32. > :35:34.players seem to be doing that, even though there is a lot of great

:35:35. > :35:40.players, only so many seem to be actually producing the goods when it

:35:41. > :35:44.matters. OK. Frame seven. Robertson is 4-2 up. Remember, six is the

:35:45. > :36:05.finishing line. With John Higgins break-off shot he

:36:06. > :36:11.seems to get the white there every shot, but he keeps leaving that one

:36:12. > :36:15.red and this time Neil might have a go at it because the black is

:36:16. > :36:18.available. He wouldn't leave anything. The only possible red he

:36:19. > :36:26.could leave is the one he is going to have a go at here.

:36:27. > :36:35.Oh, the cueing there is superb! OK he ran too far, but that is some pot

:36:36. > :36:49.there. Almost on the cushion.

:36:50. > :36:55.Just looking to see the path of the cue ball.

:36:56. > :37:05.Not taking the black on, that surprises me.

:37:06. > :37:12.Maybe he wasn't happy with the path the cue ball was going to take once

:37:13. > :37:47.he potted the black, didn't think he was going to be on anything.

:37:48. > :37:56.Looks like he will leave the white up this end of the table. And send

:37:57. > :37:59.the red up. I think John will play that red that

:38:00. > :38:02.Neil sent up towards the blue because we don't want another frame,

:38:03. > :38:07.or John doesn't want another frame where the reds are all going up to

:38:08. > :38:09.the baulk end of the table. So he will send it back down and back to

:38:10. > :39:02.normal again. Jok OK. Maybe he can play this with

:39:03. > :39:08.a touch of side to make sure he doesn't go near the green. -- just.

:39:09. > :39:09.Oh, he knocked the red over the pocket, though. Needs the brown to

:39:10. > :39:40.come to his rescue. I think it has. A bit of a problem for Neil with

:39:41. > :39:59.that red over the corner pocket. He has to make sure he covers that.

:40:00. > :40:05.I am wondering if John will risk playing off the reds down the right

:40:06. > :40:08.side of the table and use the green and blue to cover that red that's

:40:09. > :40:13.over the pocket? If he gets the white in the jaws of the right

:40:14. > :40:16.corner pocket, he would cover that. I think he is thinking about

:40:17. > :41:04.He needs to travel... He is OK. He's covered it.

:41:05. > :41:10.It's not as straightforward for Neil to play a similar shot to John's. He

:41:11. > :41:25.has a long way to travel. But he may have to play it. Can he

:41:26. > :41:31.be as accurate as John? Looks pretty good.

:41:32. > :41:42.His anxiously waiting to see it pulls up in time.

:41:43. > :41:46.Has it? Maybe not. The black goes, Stephen. I think he

:41:47. > :41:50.has a nice angle to follow through off two cushions. He has to not

:41:51. > :42:06.snooker himself behind the red. Got closer to the pocket than he

:42:07. > :42:10.intended but he is on the black. It's a tough shot, though. It's all

:42:11. > :42:14.about the pot because he is going to cannon the red and he will be

:42:15. > :42:21.perfect. It's not a gimme here.

:42:22. > :42:45.You mentioned he was going to have to tighten his safety game up and he

:42:46. > :42:50.played a terrific shot that forced the error. Neil tried a similar shot

:42:51. > :43:58.and didn't pull it off. That has given him this chance.

:43:59. > :44:03.He has a perfect angle here if he wants to cannon into the little

:44:04. > :44:14.bunch because there is a couple of reds available, as well. He doesn't

:44:15. > :44:18.have to do that. He gently nudged into them because he knew these two

:44:19. > :44:22.reds were available. He could have played it with more pace, but he

:44:23. > :44:47.wanted to make absolutely certain. Just over two hours, some brilliant

:44:48. > :45:18.snooker. There you can see the pot success

:45:19. > :45:38.rate, both 93% now so they're evenly matched.

:45:39. > :45:53.It's amazing watching John Higgins how repetitive his cue action is.

:45:54. > :46:09.Just the same over and over again. So effective.

:46:10. > :46:16.59 ahead. He is going to need one of the reds in the little group of five

:46:17. > :46:28.to make absolutely certain. If he pots the black, Neil would

:46:29. > :46:33.still be able to tie. So one good cannon and he is going to win the

:46:34. > :46:53.frame with one visit. And that will do nicely.

:46:54. > :47:22.Obviously keeping Neil away from the table. Often you see a player get to

:47:23. > :47:27.the stage where they play a careless shot and let the frame drag out, but

:47:28. > :47:46.this is excellent match snooker, keeping your opponent in his chair.

:47:47. > :47:54.John never let Neil score a point in the last frame. He has only had one

:47:55. > :48:09.in this frame. That is John Higgins 5th century and

:48:10. > :48:29.what a time to make it. Awesome display here from John

:48:30. > :48:51.Higgins. His second century of this match.

:48:52. > :49:50.Neil Robertson has already had one. Brilliant from John Higgins! He was

:49:51. > :49:55.4-1 down. He has responded with a break of 69 and then his highest

:49:56. > :50:00.break in this year's UK championship, that magnificent break

:50:01. > :50:07.of 134 puts him just one frame behind at 4-3.

:50:08. > :50:12.Well, what a match we have on our hands here. We mentioned John having

:50:13. > :50:16.to tighten up a little bit on his safety, but he played a clever

:50:17. > :50:19.safety shot here, Stephen. It was quite a long way to travel with the

:50:20. > :50:24.cue ball but he knew he had the green and blue to cover that red

:50:25. > :50:29.over the pocket and he judged this to perfection. Yeah, this is more

:50:30. > :50:35.like the safety play you expect from John Higgins. Pinpoint accuracy with

:50:36. > :50:39.the cue ball. Neil tried to take the cue ball back to more or less the

:50:40. > :50:43.same place and failed. John puts the red over the pocket and we see what

:50:44. > :50:47.happened. He clears up. It was more difficult for Neil because he was

:50:48. > :50:53.such a long way away from the red to judge the shot. He thought it was OK

:50:54. > :51:00.but then he had an anxious look and he knew he had overdone it.

:51:01. > :51:07.John pots this red, didn't plan on getting the cue ball as close to the

:51:08. > :51:11.pocket as this. Went on to pot a great black after that and a

:51:12. > :51:26.fantastic break. As you said, match on, Dennis.

:51:27. > :51:33.I notice when John was making that break Neil was spending more time

:51:34. > :51:39.looking at the other table, which he wasn't doing in the first four

:51:40. > :51:49.frames, maybe his concentration's starting to dip a little bit.

:51:50. > :51:55.When I used to play against Steve Davis and then in the latter part of

:51:56. > :51:58.my career against you, I didn't like watching you too clearing up, I

:51:59. > :52:20.preferred to look somewhere else, as well!

:52:21. > :52:26.We said he is a fantastic temperament, Neil Robertson. He is

:52:27. > :52:33.going to have to prove that now because he scored one point in the

:52:34. > :52:48.last two frames. Didn't have a chance.

:52:49. > :52:56.Just a bit fortunate there. Wanted a thin one so he didn't cannon the red

:52:57. > :53:24.to the left side and he missed it altogether on the way.

:53:25. > :53:30.John Higgins has got that cue ball almost frozen on the baulk cushion

:53:31. > :53:35.there. Every part of his game is in tact at the moment.

:53:36. > :53:42.Gets a chance, he is clearing the table.

:53:43. > :53:50.He is making sure that he is not leaving Neil anything.

:53:51. > :53:59.The safety players and then there is safety players, some just play the

:54:00. > :54:13.white up the table every time John leaves it somewhere it's awkward.

:54:14. > :54:24.He is asking for more trouble playing that shot.

:54:25. > :55:00.He has his eyes on the other table, that's a bad sign for me.

:55:01. > :55:09.Foul. John Higgins four. It's not all that bad. He would rather go in

:55:10. > :55:14.the pocket than bobble around the jaw. Can John find a path if he

:55:15. > :55:24.takes this pot on? Not sure. He has two reds either side of the

:55:25. > :55:28.black. He would have to be absolutely spot on to get around the

:55:29. > :55:33.back of those. Does he risk playing a cannon on the

:55:34. > :55:39.black? No, he is not even going for the pot. He fooled us both there. I

:55:40. > :55:42.thought has he found a gap? He knew straightaway there wasn't a gap,

:55:43. > :55:57.there was no way he was going to risk that.

:55:58. > :56:03.This is a better shot. It's a very good safety shot from

:56:04. > :56:30.Neil Robertson. Straightaway as John came to the

:56:31. > :56:40.table he acknowledgeded good safety shot. Tapped the table with his

:56:41. > :56:46.chalk. The red on the left side of the table is causing the problems

:56:47. > :56:48.here. I think he can avoid that. If he gets a little trace aside on this

:56:49. > :57:10.he can swing it past that red. Yeah, he had to play that like a

:57:11. > :57:16.little swerve-type shot. He pushed the cue ball into the red

:57:17. > :57:20.thicker, and then when the cue ball reaches the red it has the side to

:57:21. > :57:31.take it around the angles. Well, this is brilliant from both

:57:32. > :57:46.players. John tapping the table again there with his chalk.

:57:47. > :57:53.You can see there with the chalk in his hand.

:57:54. > :58:05.Great to see that. It's always been the case in our game.

:58:06. > :58:17.Terrific sportsmanship. And declare fouls on yourself.

:58:18. > :58:21.He is going to have to be careful here. He is going to leave the white

:58:22. > :58:43.up this end of the table. Not sure if Neil can see the one

:58:44. > :58:52.along the cushion there. Might possibly be able to see it.

:58:53. > :58:57.John Higgins knew even if he left the red where the cue ball is there

:58:58. > :59:27.is no colour after it. So Neil can't take it on.

:59:28. > :59:34.This is terrific tactical battle. Some great safety from both players.

:59:35. > :59:38.We have seen John make two century breaks and Neil make one century.

:59:39. > :59:42.But I remember a few years ago they did a survey and a lot of people

:59:43. > :59:46.said they enjoyed watching the tactical side of the game as well as

:59:47. > :59:49.the big breaks. You are certainly getting a little bit of everything

:59:50. > :00:53.here this afternoon. Once again taps the table, so who's

:00:54. > :00:57.going to make the first mistake? That's the big question. John might

:00:58. > :01:04.have to come off the side cushion and nestle on the red that's nearest

:01:05. > :01:19.the right corner pocket. Dead weight here.

:01:20. > :01:34.I don't know if he can get in wine the AR -- I don't know if he can get

:01:35. > :01:41.in behind the brown. Just two from the cue ball. That's the one, the

:01:42. > :01:45.little thin one off that. Slides past the green it will be in good

:01:46. > :01:55.shape, but can he get it there? Looks as if he might be able to. No,

:01:56. > :02:08.he's gone to the corner. I thought a thinner one might have taken him up

:02:09. > :02:10.behind the green at least. He's playing the safety shot but look at

:02:11. > :03:16.those two reds. He's been playing for coming up to

:03:17. > :03:20.12 minutes. Not a ball potted. The only ball that was potted was the

:03:21. > :03:32.white. That's why we've got four points on the scoreboard for this

:03:33. > :03:37.frame. Eyeing up a plant to the right corner. He'll be screwing the

:03:38. > :03:41.cue ball back up towards the blue at the baulk end. This will be an

:03:42. > :03:54.attacking shot, especially as Neil's been frozen out for the past two

:03:55. > :04:08.frames. If he takes that on it will scatter the reds all over the place.

:04:09. > :04:15.Here we go then. Attention all pockets. He's got away with it. OK,

:04:16. > :04:19.he was screwing the white up the table, but that could have finished

:04:20. > :04:22.anywhere. Could have pushed the red over either corner pocket. A pretty

:04:23. > :05:23.good result there. Looks as if he attempted that double

:05:24. > :05:30.there. Knew he was going to cover it with the green. If he had potted it

:05:31. > :05:44.he was on the green, but Neil can hit a couple of cushions and tempt

:05:45. > :05:46.this red pack up the table. He hasn't judged it correctly but he's

:05:47. > :06:32.got away with it again. Now it's John's turn to be

:06:33. > :06:41.fortunate. A straightforward cue and that would have been no problem,

:06:42. > :07:56.that red, judge US just a drop for the black.

:07:57. > :08:10.This red may cut into the right corner. After not far off 17 minutes

:08:11. > :08:29.of tactical play, can John cut this red in? Oh, he's hit it too thin.

:08:30. > :08:33.Can you believe it? There's five reds behind the black spot but look

:08:34. > :08:39.at the rest of the reds. He can get the black back on to the spot here,

:08:40. > :08:45.didn't think he could hit it too thin. That happens so often when you

:08:46. > :08:48.have so long without potting a ball. Unless it's an easy one it's so

:08:49. > :09:15.tough. He was hoping for a more open frame

:09:16. > :10:07.but it is just the way it panned out.

:10:08. > :10:15.Didn't get a hold of the cue ball there. Playing for the pink to the

:10:16. > :10:20.right corner. Normally you would expect him to get this no problem,

:10:21. > :10:29.but he's not had much table time the last two frames.

:10:30. > :10:36.That's what top match snooker is about, the highest level able to

:10:37. > :10:40.cope with not potting a ball for a couple of frames and still have the

:10:41. > :10:43.focus and concentration to take advantage of chances like this.

:10:44. > :10:54.We've seen it earlier with Neil when he rolled that red into the middle

:10:55. > :12:24.pocket. Show you the blue again. He slotted a lovely red in the middle.

:12:25. > :12:36.He's given the right hand cushion a dirty look, as if the cue ball came

:12:37. > :12:57.off quicker than it went on. Played for a pink to the same pocket.

:12:58. > :13:26.Oh, hang on. Hang on a minute. There's an easier red into the left

:13:27. > :13:35.corner but he never expected to miss that. Let me show you that again.

:13:36. > :13:41.That sign of a little bit of tension there. Don't see that very often

:13:42. > :13:50.from Neil. But it is a big frame, this. He's lost the last two frames.

:13:51. > :13:55.So the chance is there for John Higgins, although it is not a good

:13:56. > :14:08.chance with all those reds. Six reds along the top cushion.

:14:09. > :14:15.There's been a few strange things in this match, six reds all lined up,

:14:16. > :14:42.almost touching the cushion behind the black.

:14:43. > :14:49.He wasn't expecting a trouble kiss. It's amazing where the cue ball has

:14:50. > :14:59.finished. E It's amazing where the cue ball has

:15:00. > :15:06.finished. -- a double-kiss. I think he feels that the pink is a risk

:15:07. > :15:14.worth taking. He would probably screw the cue ball to the side

:15:15. > :15:20.cushion first. The way the reds are he probably feels he wouldn't lose

:15:21. > :15:28.the frame even if he misses it. It's such a delicate shot. That's what

:15:29. > :15:47.he's attempting to do there, but he thought better of it.

:15:48. > :15:55.I bet John was so disappointed with the way he took that shot that he

:15:56. > :16:13.wanted to take the risky one on. A change of plan, and it might be the

:16:14. > :16:17.right dis. Dis. Decision. Three or four safety shots, virtually the

:16:18. > :16:19.same shot being played here. John can cover the right hand edge of

:16:20. > :17:41.these reds. Well, that's a shocker from John if

:17:42. > :17:50.he's left this red, in the black spot to the right corner. The only

:17:51. > :18:02.consolation is the positional side of it isn't straightforward at all.

:18:03. > :18:07.He's hit this far too hard. Neil has definitely lost that intensity of

:18:08. > :18:11.concentration he had in the first four frames. Or has he got away with

:18:12. > :18:41.it? He did. Can he see enough of this red to cut

:18:42. > :18:47.it to the left centre, bring the cue ball back up to the baulk end.

:18:48. > :18:52.Obviously he hasn't looked at that shot, so... It pots to the left

:18:53. > :19:34.corner, but that's too dangerous, you feel.

:19:35. > :19:58.APPLAUSE. That is a Neil Robertson special. He thought long and hard

:19:59. > :20:04.about it. And what a pot! I think that shot sums up why this

:20:05. > :20:07.Australian's classed as one of the greatest potters we've seen in the

:20:08. > :20:18.game, if not THE best. It's worth another look. Hammered it

:20:19. > :20:39.in the pocket. That was a good shot. Had to be high

:20:40. > :20:55.on the black to be able to play for this red. What made it so good after

:20:56. > :21:01.so much safety play and the balls being awkward, he slotted a red in

:21:02. > :21:23.the middle pocket and once again that's the shot of a true champion.

:21:24. > :21:34.Just didn't leave enough angle on that black there. Just had to force

:21:35. > :21:36.this. Move that out of the way to leave the other one to the left

:21:37. > :22:26.corner. 41 points, a good advantage with the

:22:27. > :22:31.balls as they are at the moment. And that's a clever shot. He's put the

:22:32. > :22:37.black into the middle of the table. He was hoping to maybe knock the

:22:38. > :22:44.black to a safe position. Can John see enough of this red? If he could

:22:45. > :22:50.knock it in, I don't think he will cannon the reds into the black spot

:22:51. > :22:57.area. Maybe he'll have to cannon the reds. It's all about the pot here.

:22:58. > :23:05.If he does flick the reds and open them up, as long as he doesn't stay

:23:06. > :23:13.there with the cue ball, what a shot this could be. Well, he tried it. It

:23:14. > :23:16.was a very attacking shot. Is he going to get away with it? That's

:23:17. > :23:21.the slight difference, Neil had a couple of goes with a pot and the

:23:22. > :23:28.red that he missed went safe. John had a go at a pot and he stuck it

:23:29. > :23:34.up. I suppose the only one good thing, he hasn't disturbed any of

:23:35. > :23:36.the reds. Neil can leaf himself a nice angle on the black here to this

:23:37. > :23:55.red to go into the four. He can cannon anything as long as he

:23:56. > :24:15.hits something now. Would have been better hitting

:24:16. > :24:20.cushion first there, hitting the red direct was always going be a problem

:24:21. > :24:25.at this pace. If he just misses the red it is going to hit here and it

:24:26. > :24:40.is cushion first, he would have been perfect. He could just drop this in.

:24:41. > :24:48.He played for the black. He's 50 in front so he only needs one more

:24:49. > :25:03.colour and he had enough angle to get out on to the black. It was such

:25:04. > :25:08.an important frame and we had that safety battle for about 17, 18

:25:09. > :25:16.minutes, where a ball wasn't potted. But that long red that Neil knocked

:25:17. > :25:41.in paved the way for this win in this frame.

:25:42. > :25:51.Tough cueing, this. Doesn't matter if he misses the red. And he got a

:25:52. > :25:55.kick, but it didn't matter. It was a frame that went very awkward at the

:25:56. > :26:01.beginning. But in the end the Australian takes the frame and he

:26:02. > :26:07.now puts himself just one frame away from a place in the semifinal.

:26:08. > :26:11.34-and-a-half minutes long, that's the longest frame of this match so

:26:12. > :26:16.far. I think you could just see perhaps how much pressure John

:26:17. > :26:20.Higgins felt. Take the shot here he played. Before we play this shot,

:26:21. > :26:25.he's got the red. He can only see that ball. Doesn't fancy moving the

:26:26. > :26:29.others, decides to go for it. He knows he is going to go

:26:30. > :26:33.full-bloodedly into the other four reds. If this was a player lower

:26:34. > :26:37.down the rankings and he played that shot, we would probably criticise

:26:38. > :26:42.them for playing a shot he didn't need to. But the problem is he's

:26:43. > :26:47.playing against Neil Robertson and I think John Higgins thinks that was

:26:48. > :26:52.the best chance he was going to get. You have to think he was being

:26:53. > :26:56.ultrapositive. It could have been out of character. John can usually

:26:57. > :27:01.play containing safety and containing snooker, but not against

:27:02. > :27:06.a fella like this Your opportunities come few and far between when you

:27:07. > :27:10.are playing someone of that quality. I've played for 25 minutes in this

:27:11. > :27:14.frame and not seen a ball. Sometimes your hand is forced into taking a

:27:15. > :27:19.shot on. I don't blame him for doing it. It is a good point Steve makes,

:27:20. > :27:23.if he was a lesser player, you would think that can't be the right shot.

:27:24. > :27:27.But with the two players being so competitive and so little between

:27:28. > :27:31.them, that's what you have to do now and then. In two-and-a-half hours,

:27:32. > :27:37.and in that frame we saw Neil Robertson, who hasn't had a pot for

:27:38. > :27:40.half an hour. All of these things are beginning to coalesce that the

:27:41. > :27:44.point aren't they? Great players can go a little while before they play a

:27:45. > :27:49.shot, but Neil Robertson plays a positive one. You can get stuck in

:27:50. > :27:56.the safety battle, but that's one of Neil's strengths. When we were

:27:57. > :28:00.criticising Neil for disjointed and playing slowly, he was still playing

:28:01. > :28:04.well. That was a fantastic frame of snooker. At the beginning it was

:28:05. > :28:08.slow, but there were three or four consecutive safety shots from

:28:09. > :28:13.Robertson where the cue ball was glued to the cushion. Fabulous

:28:14. > :28:18.safety play. A fascinating frame in among the breaks and visit that they

:28:19. > :28:23.have. In a nutshell, is there anyway back for John? I would never ever

:28:24. > :28:39.say John Higgins is finished in any match. I've played him too many

:28:40. > :28:49.times. Into frame 9 we go. Bring it on, Hazel. So say us all.

:28:50. > :28:55.That's the first time from John's break-off shot the red's put the

:28:56. > :29:02.black out of commission. Every time he seems to find that same spot.

:29:03. > :29:07.Neil's going to send this red up the other end of the table.

:29:08. > :29:17.Neil's going to send this red up the liked that shot. It means you can

:29:18. > :29:24.have an awkward frame again. John's bringing the black into play. That

:29:25. > :29:29.tells you that he doesn't want to get involved in another tactical

:29:30. > :29:37.battle like that, because he had two frames where he made breaks of 69

:29:38. > :29:44.and 134 and then that longest frame of the match ruined his whole

:29:45. > :29:53.rhythm. He's taking this one to the middle.

:29:54. > :30:04.The red next to the green, potted before, but just flicked the green

:30:05. > :30:09.in the way. He has had to play the shot that you never like to see. He

:30:10. > :30:13.is looking over it, which is an indication, he said to Neil, well,

:30:14. > :30:15.we have two reds up the other end of the table, there's not a lot we can

:30:16. > :30:30.do here. Hang on a minute!

:30:31. > :30:37.Has he left a possible pot to the middle? And able to hole for the

:30:38. > :30:39.black, I think he might have, it's a half-chance.

:30:40. > :30:44.Sglp There it is. There it is in the middle of the

:30:45. > :30:58.pocket. Amazing. John was glancing over,

:30:59. > :31:04.thinking he might have had a rerack and look at the situation now.

:31:05. > :31:17.He has that inner strength we have seen so many times when his back is

:31:18. > :31:34.against the wall, he plays some of his finest snooker.

:31:35. > :31:40.Straight into the pink here. Wants a decent split. Hit that very well.

:31:41. > :31:53.That's perfect. Great shot. The important thing is to get plenty

:31:54. > :31:54.of bottom on the cue ball, so it brings the cue ball away from the

:31:55. > :32:09.bunch. Is that careless safety shot going

:32:10. > :32:13.to cost Neil this frame? You would have to say yes with the way the

:32:14. > :32:19.reds are placed. It was as if he never gave it much

:32:20. > :32:43.thought, that safety shot. This was the shot that just looked

:32:44. > :32:49.pretty straightforward. He flicked that red out. It was a fabulous shot

:32:50. > :33:00.that John knocked in, but Neil shouldn't have pushed that one.

:33:01. > :33:03.Yeah, maybe being a little bit hard on Neil, it doesn't legislate for

:33:04. > :33:21.that red. I would be absolutely shocked if it

:33:22. > :33:25.didn't cost him the frame here. We have seen John do this so many times

:33:26. > :33:53.over the years. Can you believe it? It was one of

:33:54. > :33:59.those where it didn't matter what side of the blue he got and that

:34:00. > :34:05.smile tells you he's finished absolutely dead straight. He is

:34:06. > :34:13.still smiling away. It's funny, when you have got a choice of reds with

:34:14. > :34:20.the one up near the green, you don't put your full concentration into it.

:34:21. > :34:26.Still leave the one to the left of the bunch. But you want to be

:34:27. > :34:45.keeping them as easy as possible for yourself.

:34:46. > :35:21.Needs a slight angle and he just has a little bit.

:35:22. > :35:26.Perfect angle here to stun up between the yellow and the brown to

:35:27. > :36:10.leave that red. Just working out whether he has to

:36:11. > :36:20.play the cannon, but it's a... 59 in front. 64 after the blue.

:36:21. > :36:25.He would only need the red and one more colour, that's what he is

:36:26. > :36:29.thinking about. Maybe not risk the cannon.

:36:30. > :36:36.Yeah, don't blame him for that, as long as he gets enough pace on this.

:36:37. > :36:59.Could have done with a little bit more.

:37:00. > :37:24.He's only needed the one chance and he is making it count.

:37:25. > :37:33.A typical John Higgins performance. Back against the wall, what does he

:37:34. > :37:37.do? He comes up with this. That's why he is one of the all-time

:37:38. > :38:15.greats. This will be his third century in

:38:16. > :38:28.this year's UK championship. In the match rather.

:38:29. > :38:53.This will be his 6th in the championship.

:38:54. > :39:08.Have had 97 so far this year. Absolutely brilliant.

:39:09. > :39:47.What a match this is turning out to be.

:39:48. > :39:53.I don't know if he can hole this, he might have to go around the angles

:39:54. > :40:22.here to get back on the brown. Yeah, he wants the lot, doesn't he?

:40:23. > :40:27.Yeah, I said I would be shocked if that mistake never cost Neil this

:40:28. > :40:33.frame and John's proved me right. It's exactly what I expected him to

:40:34. > :40:36.do. He has to learn thousand play position, though, hasn't he -- has

:40:37. > :40:48.to learn how to play position, though, hasn't he? Look at that.

:40:49. > :40:54.Absolutely on the pink. He made 134 in frame seven. He's done it again,

:40:55. > :41:03.to keep himself in the match. The Australian Neil Robertson now

:41:04. > :41:07.leads by just one frame. It's 5-4. Well, what an effort from John

:41:08. > :41:11.Higgins there. At one point Neil was coming to the table and John had a

:41:12. > :41:15.little look, thought there was going to be a stalemate and Neil played,

:41:16. > :41:21.well, you never dreamt in your wildest dreams you could flick off

:41:22. > :41:26.that and just push the other one slightly out of the pack and it

:41:27. > :41:29.looked as if it was going to be perfectly safe but once that red

:41:30. > :41:36.came out... But what about the pot he knocked in there, Stephen? Yeah,

:41:37. > :41:39.it was a fabulous pot to the right middle. Not so much pressure because

:41:40. > :41:44.he wasn't leaving anything if he missed it, but automatically on the

:41:45. > :41:50.black. But what happened after that was just typical John Higgins. His

:41:51. > :41:55.will to win and his will not to get beat is as ferocious as anyone

:41:56. > :41:58.that's ever been in the game. I think over the years, when you go

:41:59. > :42:04.two frames down with three to play the amount of times he has come

:42:05. > :42:21.back, has to be more than anyone in the game.

:42:22. > :42:30.Well, last night when John Higgins beat his good friend Jamie Burnett

:42:31. > :42:36.and Jamie played quite well, John had to pull all the stops out to win

:42:37. > :42:36.6-4, we said this was going to be a mouth-watering quarter-final, it's

:42:37. > :42:57.that and much more. Here comes the flying Scot again.

:42:58. > :43:09.Neil can just sit there and see what happens.

:43:10. > :43:29.Just finished a little bit awkward. The two reds to the left of the

:43:30. > :43:37.table are covering each other for that corner pocket. This is an

:43:38. > :43:43.awkward positional shot here. He may choose to go into the bunch. Oh, he

:43:44. > :43:56.has overcut it. He played the cannon to perfection

:43:57. > :44:21.but took his eye off the pot. We said in the last frame a careless

:44:22. > :44:30.shot by Neil cost him the frame, is that care lost shot by John going to

:44:31. > :44:39.cost him the match? -- careless shot.

:44:40. > :44:44.Just thinking, if Neil did win the match, someone said to John how did

:44:45. > :44:50.you get on, he said I made two breaks of 134, 119, a 69 and I lost

:44:51. > :44:55.6-4. A long way to go before he will be saying that, though.

:44:56. > :45:07.Neil didn't play the best positional shot there. A tricky little cut back

:45:08. > :45:13.leads into a blind pocket. He is going to cannon the blue.

:45:14. > :45:17.If he's finished dead straight on this blue he is rather fortunate

:45:18. > :45:25.there. Because it looked as if he was going to run out of position.

:45:26. > :45:40.But I think he's finished with a pot to the corner. Not quite straight.

:45:41. > :45:48.It's a bit close to the blue, it's not

:45:49. > :45:56.angle out. It's safely in. But just a little

:45:57. > :46:00.bit fortunate there that he left that angle when he just didn't get

:46:01. > :46:21.on the blue as he intended. I don't think he is on the red to

:46:22. > :46:26.the right of the bunch, that's the one he would like to play, that will

:46:27. > :46:43.be opening up the other reds. Where he has left the cue ball, I

:46:44. > :46:49.presume he is going to go into the pack after potting this black. So,

:46:50. > :47:05.top spin. Red to the left centre. A

:47:06. > :47:21.possibility of a plant to the right corner.

:47:22. > :47:26.That's what he is looking at. Stephen mentioned the possibility of

:47:27. > :47:30.a plant, it's not in line, but he could make it. The red in the middle

:47:31. > :47:37.pocket, if you are dropping it in is OK, but to get on the black he would

:47:38. > :47:46.have to play it with quite a bit of pace. I think it's going to be the

:47:47. > :47:50.plant, as you suggested, Stephen. That will automatically take him on

:47:51. > :47:53.to the black, should he make the plant.

:47:54. > :48:00.He has picked the spot that he wants to knock the first red on to, on the

:48:01. > :48:05.cushion, that's what he was lining up.

:48:06. > :48:16.Well, he has covered it. The red is still on to the left

:48:17. > :48:21.centre. He may have a red to the right centre, as well, which will

:48:22. > :48:40.A similar angle of pot to the one he A similar angle of pot to the one he

:48:41. > :49:01.Just coming around to see if that red in the baulk end, if he can drop

:49:02. > :49:28.the black in and leave that to the centre, if it's a natural angle.

:49:29. > :50:01.Well, that's not bad. A brave shot at that pace.

:50:02. > :50:15.Can he just bring a few of them into play here with this? Yeah, he can.

:50:16. > :50:24.Just the one that he has brought out. Not sure if those four reds - I

:50:25. > :50:28.don't think there is any plants on. He could play a cannon into those

:50:29. > :50:49.four reds in a few shots' time. He might even do it now. And open

:50:50. > :50:53.those four reds up. Just coming up to three hours of some fascinating

:50:54. > :51:00.snooker. That's fine. He has the one to the

:51:01. > :52:08.middle pocket. The three reds, I think the left

:52:09. > :52:13.side one will pot to the corner. Lots of options.

:52:14. > :52:26.Yeah, the first one is the one he played for. I think the black to the

:52:27. > :52:33.right corner. He is just coming around to check. It clearly goes.

:52:34. > :53:00.Not too many more pots. I mentioned when his back is against

:53:01. > :53:06.the wall he produces some of his best snooker and isn't he doing that

:53:07. > :53:10.here? That magnificent 134-break, Neil knew this could happen. He was

:53:11. > :53:30.hoping it wasn't going to. So black and one more red to make

:53:31. > :54:00.absolutely certain. A quick glance at the scoreboard.

:54:01. > :54:25.John knows that this is frame ball. Neil was looking for one good chance

:54:26. > :54:33.to clinch the match. He tried that difficult plant and that was his

:54:34. > :54:38.last shot. The plant was worth the risk. There was a little bit of

:54:39. > :54:48.distance between the two reds. He didn't manage to pull it off. He sat

:54:49. > :54:57.in his seat ever since. Needs pink or black for his 4th century. No.

:54:58. > :55:04.Well, it doesn't really matter. Neil's looking at the scoreboard. 51

:55:05. > :55:08.in front. He stays in his seat. Absolutely incredible. John Higgins

:55:09. > :55:12.did what we thought he might do. He has done it in style. We have a

:55:13. > :55:17.one-frame shoot-out. It doesn't get any better than this.

:55:18. > :55:25.This will be be the 8th final frame decider between these two. You

:55:26. > :55:28.called it John. He cannot get rid of him, it's a nightmare playing him.

:55:29. > :55:32.Every time you play him, he never played well enough to get in front,

:55:33. > :55:37.you knew he was there hanging around. He has such determination

:55:38. > :55:43.and obviously is a brilliant competitor. A 134 and 66 to come

:55:44. > :55:49.back into this. He is a modern day William Wallace. Is there Sports

:55:50. > :55:52.Personality of Scotland? There is a trophy given out, but they don't

:55:53. > :55:55.have the big... 40-year-old still playing at the highest level winning

:55:56. > :55:59.tournaments this season. Put his name down on the list. I would

:56:00. > :56:07.agree. His long Geoff sit is extraordinary. Turned 40 in May and

:56:08. > :56:14.won three major titles this season. -- longevity. Hasn't won one of the

:56:15. > :56:18.big three since 2011. Suddenly he seems to be back in the groove. How

:56:19. > :56:23.does he do it? Confidence from winning. Got the results, winning

:56:24. > :56:27.tournaments, nothing like it. It just breeds confidence. Obviously

:56:28. > :56:32.when I look at him last year and he lost here to Steven Maguire, he

:56:33. > :56:35.looked bereft. His long game was struggling. I thought it might be

:56:36. > :56:39.the end of the line. To turn it around and been playing as well as

:56:40. > :56:43.he has is incredible. You also know allied to his determination and his

:56:44. > :56:47.will to win, when that's all together with him knocking balls in,

:56:48. > :56:52.honestly, difficult to get rid of. You can't see either of them

:56:53. > :56:56.cracking mentally at this point. They're as granite-like as the

:56:57. > :57:00.other. Whoever wins wins, whoever loses, loses and has to go home.

:57:01. > :57:05.It's a great match. Worthy of a final. It's everything that we hoped

:57:06. > :57:09.it would be. We have had fantastic breaks, we have had four centuries

:57:10. > :57:13.already in this match. A barrage of big breaks and it's come down to one

:57:14. > :57:22.frame. It's for a place in the semifinal.

:57:23. > :57:31.Both players there when they shook hands got a terrific round of

:57:32. > :57:37.applause from this Barbican crowd. They've had a treat here this

:57:38. > :57:43.afternoon. This match, as the boys were saying,

:57:44. > :58:11.would have graced any final. Neil Robertson choose to stay in the

:58:12. > :58:15.arena after the end of the last frame, which is sometimes

:58:16. > :58:21.surprising. Usually you see both players go out before a decider.

:58:22. > :58:28.Spent a lot of time looking at the other table. To me it's not a good

:58:29. > :58:32.thing. Never take the focus off what you are supposed to be thinking

:58:33. > :58:43.about. It's happened two or three times in the match already, starting

:58:44. > :58:47.off at this end of the table. He doesn't seem as focussed in this

:58:48. > :58:55.half of the match, Dennis. He could easily prove me wrong and win this

:58:56. > :59:01.frame in one visit. Has he left John another red to the middle? That was

:59:02. > :59:06.a risky one. Well, John thought he could maybe take it on and it would

:59:07. > :59:10.be the only red he could leave and he missed it by so far that it's hit

:59:11. > :59:49.the jaw. Neil Robertson hasn't had much to go

:59:50. > :59:52.at in the last couple of frames. John has dominated the two previous

:59:53. > :00:10.frames. The only chance he had, Neil, was a

:00:11. > :00:18.difficult plant. It was his last shot.

:00:19. > :00:28.But, as John Parrott said, all you in a deciding frame is one chance

:00:29. > :00:38.and Neil has had the first one. You wouldn't have called John's red to

:00:39. > :00:51.the middle. A chance by any means. Not a good chance by any means.

:00:52. > :01:02.The first big shot of this frame. He needs an angle. Maybe a red to the

:01:03. > :01:10.left of the bunch goes left centre, so may not need to get an angle and

:01:11. > :01:13.a black to go into the pack yet. He's going to make contact with the

:01:14. > :01:25.black after potting this red I think, so he has to concentrate. He

:01:26. > :01:32.made the slightest of contacts. Well, he's obviously not going to go

:01:33. > :01:36.into the bunch. If it is straight into the black it is going to be

:01:37. > :01:49.further away from this red than he would have liked.

:01:50. > :02:11.He doesn't want to be straight on this red now. A slight angle. Nope.

:02:12. > :02:20.Just show you that again, putting it on the right hand jaw. If John can

:02:21. > :02:30.knock this red in and get on the blue, he can go into the bunch then.

:02:31. > :02:37.A very key shot coming up here. No. It was a bit of a chance. He got

:02:38. > :02:45.nicely on the blue. Could have potted the blue and gone into the

:02:46. > :02:52.pink and reds. I must admit I fancied him to get that. Is that the

:02:53. > :02:54.first sign of weakness we've seen from John Higgins in the last few

:02:55. > :03:18.frames? Quite often you see in a deciding

:03:19. > :03:26.frame both players start missing a few. Purely because of the tension.

:03:27. > :03:34.That's not a good angle to do anything about the reds. May only

:03:35. > :03:37.get the extra seven points here. That will put him 28 in front, and

:03:38. > :03:54.look for a good safety. Well, he's done his best to try and

:03:55. > :04:05.bring something into play, but that was about the best he could do. The

:04:06. > :04:12.power he had to put interest that. -- put into that. A phenomenal cue

:04:13. > :04:26.to produce that much pace into the cue ball, from very little angle.

:04:27. > :04:29.It's a thin one. The white will be flying up the table somewhat. That

:04:30. > :05:01.wasn't easy. And that's the first careless one

:05:02. > :05:05.from John. Anywhere up in the corner this red wasn't pottable, catching

:05:06. > :05:10.the jaw of the middle pocket has left the pot on. I think that's the

:05:11. > :05:17.first careless safety shot that John's played.

:05:18. > :05:28.Shouldn't have been anywhere near the middle pocket.

:05:29. > :05:43.This is a pressure pink. If he takes this on there's a red to the right

:05:44. > :05:47.of the bunch. Let's see how Neil is feeling. This is a big shot in the

:05:48. > :05:58.context of this match. There's a red to the left and a red next to it

:05:59. > :06:03.available. Right in the middle of the pocket!

:06:04. > :06:10.APPLAUSE. Has he overstuned it? Did he put everything into the pot and

:06:11. > :06:16.forget the position? He has. That was just a little bit of adrenaline

:06:17. > :06:20.there. Just overstuned that. He can't believe it. John's getting

:06:21. > :06:49.himself ready again. There's a fantastic pot. He walked

:06:50. > :07:02.around and thought I'm automatically on that red and he overstunned it.

:07:03. > :07:10.This safety shot, the only red he can really come down the table off

:07:11. > :07:16.is the one behind the black. He's not going to risk opening the bunch

:07:17. > :07:26.up coming back down off them with a 35 point advantage.

:07:27. > :07:35.He's thinking about coming off the side of the pack. So he'll have to

:07:36. > :07:40.get the cue ball spot on if he's going to open reds up here. Is he

:07:41. > :07:43.going to roll to them? Surely not. That has to be a negative shot at

:07:44. > :07:54.this stage of the match, surely. I know the last thing you want to do

:07:55. > :07:58.is leave a pot on, but he could have played a more positive shot than

:07:59. > :08:00.that. He could find himself in trouble if John can get back to

:08:01. > :08:18.baulk. Had to play a safety off the red on

:08:19. > :08:22.the cushion there, Neil. He certainly caused that problem

:08:23. > :08:41.himself with that little negative shot where he rolled into the bunch.

:08:42. > :08:47.There is an escape through to the red that's behind the pink and black

:08:48. > :08:55.off the right side cushion, just to nestle on that, but I think after

:08:56. > :09:00.the way he played the previous shot he's given himself a few problems.

:09:01. > :09:09.This is a tough shot he's trying here. Oh, has he left this red at

:09:10. > :09:17.the back of the bunch this he tried the two-cushion escape shot. Hit it

:09:18. > :09:35.all wrong. But attention, a lot of tension at the moment out there.

:09:36. > :09:43.There is one difference I've seen in this last frame between John Higgins

:09:44. > :09:50.and the John Higgins of old. He's hit three or four bad shots in this

:09:51. > :09:57.deciding frame. He'll be really disappointed with that.

:09:58. > :10:06.Normally a half chance is enough for John Higgins to win the final frame.

:10:07. > :10:13.It's been such a fantastic match, it really has. He was a bit close to

:10:14. > :10:20.that one I suppose with the rest, but I still expected him to knock it

:10:21. > :10:31.in. Neil's had a few chances now in this deciding frame. You can pop the

:10:32. > :10:34.pink and open the reds up, he's got a great chance to get through to the

:10:35. > :10:50.semifinal. Tension. I said I thought there

:10:51. > :10:56.might be a few balls missed in this deciding frame, but has he got away

:10:57. > :11:01.with it again? He holds his hand up. He's been very fortunate. He missed

:11:02. > :11:06.a sitter, didn't open the reds as he intended, covered that one with a

:11:07. > :11:17.pink that he missed. Boy, has he had a result there. One he missed the

:11:18. > :11:21.pink, we have felt he stuck the frame up. This is tricky. Just a

:11:22. > :11:47.delicate little one. He's got play the safety shot off

:11:48. > :11:52.the red, the red close toast the cue ball. The

:11:53. > :12:31.the red, the red close toast the cue ball. -- closest to the cue ball.

:12:32. > :12:38.John was hoping to leave the cue ball a little closer to that baulk

:12:39. > :12:56.cushion. He's left a half chance here. He's

:12:57. > :13:09.looked at the red to the right corner. He's looking at the one to

:13:10. > :13:14.the left corner. Might be able to take that one, and he's coming

:13:15. > :13:19.around to see if he did have a go at that what he might leave. We've seen

:13:20. > :13:23.him in previous frames where he thought for quite a while and them

:13:24. > :14:01.hammered in a terrific long red. A chance for John Higgins. He

:14:02. > :14:16.thought for a long time, decided to have a go at it, the red will go up

:14:17. > :14:30.past the green. What a test, this first red. Oh, just amazing what

:14:31. > :14:35.tension can do, even for the greatest of players. He never looked

:14:36. > :14:45.like missing one of those in the last couple of frames. You feel he

:14:46. > :14:50.just needs one putt, John Higgins, to go from relaxed enough to win

:14:51. > :15:05.this frame in one visit. It is just getting that first pot down.

:15:06. > :15:15.When you fete up off the shot, just putting that tiny bit of doubt in.

:15:16. > :15:22.He is normally so good at this type of shot. You can see he's not

:15:23. > :15:28.comfortable. Just a bit of tension. Can't make his mind up whether to

:15:29. > :15:35.stun it. The stun shot will get him better position. If he rolls it in,

:15:36. > :15:41.he'll not be nicely on the colour, so the stun it is.

:15:42. > :15:56.APPLAUSE. That's got to be close to the cushion, this. There is nothing

:15:57. > :16:02.easy at this stage, is there. That was a fantastic pot under pressure.

:16:03. > :16:07.Needs another one here. Got to keep so still on these shots.

:16:08. > :16:21.Automatically on the red to the same pocket, should he get it.

:16:22. > :16:43.Good shot. APPLAUSE.

:16:44. > :17:07.We've had so many last-frame deciders, these two players.

:17:08. > :17:31.The last time they played in the UK Championship was way back in 2009.

:17:32. > :17:39.John Higgins won in the second round nine frames to eight, a deciding

:17:40. > :17:45.frame there the same year. Neil beat him in the Welsh Open 5-4, in the

:17:46. > :18:17.Grand Prix 6-5. Getting closer and closer to the

:18:18. > :18:24.semifinal. And that I don't think has worked out, so it is not over

:18:25. > :18:31.just yet. One good split there and the match was over, but he's stuck

:18:32. > :18:34.somewhat in the reds there. Is there another twist in this deciding

:18:35. > :18:58.frame? He's not quite just finished yet.

:18:59. > :19:02.It's just a straightforward safety shot, would feel, off the side

:19:03. > :19:16.cushion in behind the green, tight on the cushion. It looks natural to

:19:17. > :19:21.be able to play that shot. I think if he goes off that red off the side

:19:22. > :19:26.cushion, puts the white somewhere near the line it will keep

:19:27. > :19:32.everything pretty safe. He's 53 in front. He'd love to push a red safe

:19:33. > :19:39.but might have to sacrifice that to get a good cue ball.

:19:40. > :19:52.APPLAUSE. I'm just wondering if the pink goes

:19:53. > :19:57.on to the red and knocks the other red in, is it a three-ball plant

:19:58. > :20:12.with the pink? He can't knock this red on to it. He can't attempt that

:20:13. > :20:18.at this stage, but... But... A super shot from John Higgins. That was a

:20:19. > :20:22.possibility. It wasn't be after the next shot, but you would have needed

:20:23. > :20:29.to get yourself into position to make the red on to the pink to make

:20:30. > :20:38.the plant, but Neil's got to play-off the red that's two from the

:20:39. > :20:41.pink. And that's another pretty good safety shot, if he misses the brown

:20:42. > :20:49.it's a beauty. Is it just a little bit sticking out

:20:50. > :21:07.here? Yes. John was looking to see the path of

:21:08. > :21:17.this red when he plays it. Doesn't want to knock it into the right

:21:18. > :21:29.corner, obviously. APPLAUSE. A good safety shot. Just

:21:30. > :21:34.looking at this situation, he might have to come off the side cushion

:21:35. > :21:35.and nestle on the red near the red pocket, because there is no easy

:21:36. > :21:55.return to the safety area. That's is shot that's available to

:21:56. > :22:12.him. Maybe not as close to the green, but...

:22:13. > :22:24.That might not ba bad thing to play the red next to the pink and bring

:22:25. > :22:30.into it play. As long as he can get a good cue ball and just open the

:22:31. > :22:37.pink up just in case he does get a chance. He's got to find a good spot

:22:38. > :22:55.though for the cue ball. He could possibly play to get in

:22:56. > :22:57.behind the yellow off one of the other reds, but he would like that

:22:58. > :23:18.pink into play. The other possible shot would be off

:23:19. > :23:20.that red off the bottom cushion in towards the yellow, but that would

:23:21. > :23:44.leave the pink tied up. That's got the pink in the open now

:23:45. > :23:51.and it's a pretty good cue ball. APPLAUSE. I think the pink is

:23:52. > :23:57.blocking the path for a possible sneak into the right corner. Oh,

:23:58. > :24:02.well, I say that, he might be able to have a go at this. I don't think

:24:03. > :24:17.he'll cannon the red that's near the left side of the table.

:24:18. > :24:28.He's just brought the yellow into a slightly better position. If John

:24:29. > :24:37.Higgins was to get a counterattack in this frame...

:24:38. > :24:51.APPLAUSE. That was a good kiss on the green. He's left himself a

:24:52. > :25:07.perfect angle to come back down the table. And what a chance. Did that

:25:08. > :25:11.kick? I'm not sure whether he mishit it. He's having the cue ball

:25:12. > :25:17.cleaned, Neil. Let's have another look at it. I think it did kick a

:25:18. > :25:21.little bit. It stayed straight. That's unfortunate, after the

:25:22. > :25:36.fantastic pot on the red. What a way to go out of this year's UK

:25:37. > :25:42.Championship. He's 52 points behind. After such a fantastic quarterfinal,

:25:43. > :25:52.what a shame that it is decided on a heavy contact. He didn't react the

:25:53. > :26:01.way you would normally react if it was a kick. I think he would be a

:26:02. > :26:13.lot more disgusted. I think he was really disappointed in himself. But

:26:14. > :26:18.that's possibly one of the worst shots Robertson played in this

:26:19. > :26:26.match. He's 59 in front, there's 59 possible points on the table. It is

:26:27. > :26:38.as if he just thought the pink was enough and he had won the match.

:26:39. > :26:50.He has now. APPLAUSE. Well, only John will be

:26:51. > :26:54.able to tell us whether he got a heavy contact on the green or

:26:55. > :27:05.whether he mishit it slightly, but what a quarterfinal we've had here.

:27:06. > :27:13.John Higgins has made three century breaks, a 69 and a 66. And he's

:27:14. > :27:19.going to come out on the losing end. An amazing standard but you've got

:27:20. > :27:27.to give it to this Australian. He played an unbelievable match against

:27:28. > :27:33.Stephen Maguire, and equally as good here. We've had everything in this

:27:34. > :27:39.quarterfinal. Some brilliant tactical frames. And a lot of the

:27:40. > :27:42.frames won with one visit. It doesn't matter about the red, John

:27:43. > :27:48.Higgins will come forward and congratulate him. It would have

:27:49. > :27:52.graced any final, this match. And what a comeback from John Higgins.

:27:53. > :27:59.He was 4-1 down, 5-3 down, he took it in a decider. A very relieved

:28:00. > :28:04.Australian that goes through the the semifinal, winning the match 6-5.

:28:05. > :28:08.Puffs out his cheek. Congratulations to Neil Robertson but what an epic

:28:09. > :28:12.match that was. I suppose the big question for John Higgins, was it a

:28:13. > :28:12.kick or a misjudgment on his part on that

:28:13. > :28:14.question for John Higgins, was it a kick or a misjudgment on his part on

:28:15. > :28:19.that green? I think he got a bad contact. Just as much by the fact

:28:20. > :28:24.that Neil Robertson had the ball cleaned. You don't usually, but

:28:25. > :28:28.after a shot like that, if it is a kick, the incoming player does have

:28:29. > :28:33.it. His reaction was enough as if he felt it was a poor contact. It is

:28:34. > :28:37.not great when a match is seemingly decided like that, but he had better

:28:38. > :28:41.chances early. He was a long way behind, but we were waiting for

:28:42. > :28:46.perhaps that trademark comeback from Higgins. Neil kept himself together

:28:47. > :28:51.in the end. He did, but I'm going to say by the exacting standards he

:28:52. > :28:55.sets himself, he will be kicking himself. Behind the green pocket

:28:56. > :29:00.with the red, that was a chance he cued poorly. By the standards he

:29:01. > :29:05.sets himself, he'll be disappointed. How relieved do you think Neil is

:29:06. > :29:09.likely to be? I think he will be but he understands that's what top class

:29:10. > :29:14.snooker is about. You've got to play as well as you can. Congratulations.

:29:15. > :29:19.Over the like. What a match. Three centuries, a 69 and 66 at you and he

:29:20. > :29:25.made you wait until the end. Your reaction to get over the line. I am

:29:26. > :29:35.obviously delighted to win. The way I started the match to go 4-1 up,

:29:36. > :29:41.Neil, to go 4-1, I was pleased with the way I was playing, and he shut

:29:42. > :29:44.me out. He scored heavily, safety was unbelievable, had me in trouble

:29:45. > :29:50.all the time. I didn't have any answers. I had to dig deep to get

:29:51. > :29:54.over the line. How special a win is it because of the way you had to

:29:55. > :30:01.come through, show your resilience as well as your skills on the table?

:30:02. > :30:08.Maybe more balls missed maybe in the last couple of frames than in the

:30:09. > :30:10.entire match, so just I feel for John. I don't know if he got a kick

:30:11. > :30:22.on the green. It's difficult to know. It's one of

:30:23. > :30:28.those in between shots, in between a stun and a roll through. I expected

:30:29. > :30:34.him to clear up all the reds at least and then the yellow is in an

:30:35. > :30:37.awkward position but very relieved. A high standard of potting but

:30:38. > :30:42.something that perhaps the Lehmann might miss is the standard of safety

:30:43. > :30:49.was immense and not just from John Higgins, from himself. -- layman. I

:30:50. > :30:52.had to respond and I think I did that really well. I created a few

:30:53. > :30:56.opportunities from my safety, as well. John's one of the greatest

:30:57. > :31:00.safety players that's ever played. I think I did pretty well considering.

:31:01. > :31:04.I think that's about the 8th final frame decider you have played

:31:05. > :31:11.against John. How tense was that by comparison? Not as tense as the

:31:12. > :31:16.Grand Prix in 2009 when it was 6-5 on the black. We play each other I

:31:17. > :31:18.think three times on the BBC and it's a decider every time. They're

:31:19. > :31:22.always great matches of the highest quality and again today I thought it

:31:23. > :31:30.was a really good match. And you are through, semifinals. Looking forward

:31:31. > :31:35.to a match either between Selby. How could that go? We know Matt is a

:31:36. > :31:40.greatly improved player these days. Yeah, I mean, both Mark and Matt are

:31:41. > :31:44.similar players. Good safety game and they can both score when they

:31:45. > :31:48.get in amongst the balls, as well. Matt's probably not played as well

:31:49. > :31:51.in amongst the balls as what he usually does in the qualifiers. It

:31:52. > :31:55.will and tough match, whoever I play, it's going to be tough. It's

:31:56. > :32:02.not going to be the same, it won't be as open from their point of view.

:32:03. > :32:06.They'll keep it tight and a lot of safety shots to deal with but I am

:32:07. > :32:11.ready for the challenge. A different type of situation, playing Mark

:32:12. > :32:15.Selby, and Matt a mate of yours, spent a lot of time on the circuit

:32:16. > :32:20.supporting you. That would be a weird scenario. Yeah, I have got

:32:21. > :32:25.Matt out of trouble a few times by winning deciding matches in the

:32:26. > :32:31.qualifiers. Yeah, he is a fantastic friend of mine. He played a big part

:32:32. > :32:33.early in my career, he was driving me around a lot. He was getting

:32:34. > :32:37.great experience for himself but it's great to see him do it by

:32:38. > :32:40.himself now, as well. Looking forward to that. A couple of points

:32:41. > :32:43.about your performance today compared with yesterday. Clearly

:32:44. > :32:46.it's very hard to follow a repeat performance like that yesterday, we

:32:47. > :32:50.were talking about this, with something today. I wonder what you

:32:51. > :32:54.were most pleased with about today's performsance in total, Neil? Well,

:32:55. > :32:59.once I got in amongst the balls I was scoring heavily. I guess I was

:33:00. > :33:03.happy with the way I could recover from not seeing a shot really, three

:33:04. > :33:06.out of the four frames didn't really get a shot where I was able to still

:33:07. > :33:10.maintain the long game. I missed a couple but that's to be expected,

:33:11. > :33:15.you can't go 12, 13 frames in a row without missing some. Overall happy

:33:16. > :33:19.to beat an all-time great like John and be in the semis, it's a great

:33:20. > :33:24.progress. Last three tournaments now that the three big ones got

:33:25. > :33:28.quarters, and in the semis, now. Well done. It's been great. We loved

:33:29. > :33:32.watching that today. Thank you very much. Thank you.

:33:33. > :33:36.Well there was a totally brilliant afternoon here. Because on the other

:33:37. > :33:48.side of the arena, I am sure Neil was aware of what was going on, we

:33:49. > :33:59.had a great start from Wenbo. I wonder what would happen in frame

:34:00. > :34:04.three? It was the same situation. Here is Liang on his way to a

:34:05. > :34:10.tournament best from his point of view of 139, that's three centuries

:34:11. > :34:15.in a row from this young man. The 29-year-old, who is ranked in the

:34:16. > :34:20.high 20s in the world rankings and making a real statement, how did

:34:21. > :34:27.Marco respond? The answer is this. It went 5-5. Marco was 5-3 down and

:34:28. > :34:36.he made an absolutely epic clearance to the pink of 79 to go 5-4. Then a

:34:37. > :34:37.45 to go 5-5. Here we are into yet another final frame decider.

:34:38. > :34:54.Exciting? Doesn't even cover it. That's what happens when you are

:34:55. > :35:12.under pressure. You can miss anything under pressure.

:35:13. > :35:20.Asking for the cue ball to be cleaned. He would have wanted to be

:35:21. > :35:24.further down the table. Has Wenbo missed his chance? First three

:35:25. > :35:30.frames he made three centuries, that must seem a long time ago now.

:35:31. > :35:34.These are the hardest pills to swallow. You can forgive a player

:35:35. > :35:40.outplaying you, but when you know you should have won the match, he

:35:41. > :36:05.won't be enjoying Christmas if Marco Fu wins this match, that's for sure.

:36:06. > :36:18.A little bit careless there. Needed to get higher than this. It's forced

:36:19. > :36:23.him to play a cannon now. Middle of the three reds is a way to guarantee

:36:24. > :36:27.holding. But it's gone wrong. Still potable

:36:28. > :36:31.this one in the middle. But he thought he would get a second kiss

:36:32. > :37:01.there. You always worry with that type of

:37:02. > :37:04.shot playing it you are never certain where the cue ball is going

:37:05. > :37:10.to finish and you take your eye off the pot slightly. But that was a

:37:11. > :37:14.good chance that he has let slip there. Just over three hours, it's

:37:15. > :37:25.been absolutely intriguing snooker, it really has. You couldn't take

:37:26. > :37:29.your eye off it for a minute. The pink is in the way of playing this

:37:30. > :37:32.as a shot to nothing because he would like to finish where the pink

:37:33. > :37:36.is so it covers the red in the right corner should he take this long red

:37:37. > :37:46.on, which he wants to do, but the pink is in the way of playing that

:37:47. > :37:53.shot. Of course it's not an easy shot to

:37:54. > :37:59.go for. He has turned down a few in this frame. So he's not feeling that

:38:00. > :38:04.confident. If the pink wasn't there I would fancy him knocking it in. He

:38:05. > :38:11.is taking it on, I think. And he has got it and missed a

:38:12. > :38:16.cannon on the pink and is nicely on the black. Here is another chance

:38:17. > :38:35.for Wenbo. Sometimes having been given chance

:38:36. > :38:43.after chance you have to pull a good shot out, and boy, was that a good

:38:44. > :38:47.shot he pulled out there. This was undoubtedly - surely this will get

:38:48. > :38:52.him over the winning line here. Yes, once he pots this red he re-Lee he

:38:53. > :38:56.is -- releases the other two reds to the opposite corner. But he didn't

:38:57. > :39:00.get into that cue ball as he would like. He should have had not as much

:39:01. > :39:04.angle as this and just rolled the black in for the reds in the

:39:05. > :39:14.opposite corner. He is feeling it. So careless that.

:39:15. > :39:26.He has retrieved the situation. 29 points is the lead. He is going

:39:27. > :39:48.to need three of these remaining reds. There is a little bit of body

:39:49. > :39:52.movement coming in -- coming in now from Liang. Now the nerves are

:39:53. > :39:57.tingling. He is leaning in a few shots. That's what tension does for

:39:58. > :40:01.you. This is probably the biggest match he has played for five or six

:40:02. > :40:19.seasons. This black to go in front with 51

:40:20. > :40:24.remaining. He still needs another red.

:40:25. > :40:31.He is going to have to move that red, being a left-hander he can play

:40:32. > :40:35.it down the cushion. Hopefully he will get a good kiss on the red so

:40:36. > :40:41.he won't have to play it but he thoos play the cannon.

:40:42. > :40:47.-- but he is going to play the cannon. He has a good line. Is it

:40:48. > :40:53.hard enough to nudge the red into play? Sharp intake of breath. Does

:40:54. > :41:03.this red pot? Marco Fu is smiling. He realises he

:41:04. > :41:10.may have been given another lifeline. Just a fraction harder and

:41:11. > :41:19.it was all over. If there is a gap between this red and the cue ball,

:41:20. > :41:33.surely this red is pottable. He doesn't think so. Just nudging it

:41:34. > :41:40.past the middle pocket. I think... He may have knocked the red safe.

:41:41. > :41:42.It's not safe any longer. Also left an easy chance to get behind the

:41:43. > :41:47.blue. That was a mistake that safety shot.

:41:48. > :41:54.It really was. There was no thought into it. He

:41:55. > :41:58.just put himself in trouble there. Still a big favourite where the two

:41:59. > :42:02.reds are near the cushion. He knows he should get at least one

:42:03. > :42:09.more chance. Coming to nestle on this red near

:42:10. > :42:14.the top cushion. He can hit the one the left side of the table. He has

:42:15. > :42:24.run past it. That's the worst way. OK, he hit it... Oh! He covered it

:42:25. > :42:36.with the black. He hit the red. Marco didn't think he could. He hit

:42:37. > :42:40.it. Lucky, eh? That's the first time I have seen Marco get involved in a

:42:41. > :42:45.little bit of chat during a match. He is usually... Well, almost

:42:46. > :42:48.doesn't give any expression at all normally. From where he was he

:42:49. > :43:17.thought he had run past the red. That red is just about safe.

:43:18. > :43:21.Remember Wengo, just for one more red to leave Marco Fu needing a

:43:22. > :43:27.snooker. You play the cue ball here to play

:43:28. > :43:31.the cut shot because it will come away from the jaws and as long as

:43:32. > :43:39.you don't kiss the brown on the way back should get a good cue ball.

:43:40. > :43:42.He is thinking of playing it thin on the other side. It's easier to stick

:43:43. > :43:46.the red over the middle. This could go wrong.

:43:47. > :43:49.That was very dangerous, it really was.

:43:50. > :44:10.Well, I agree. It's the wrong shot. Playing it this way, if you catch it

:44:11. > :44:15.a fraction too thick, the red will go back up with the white. As long

:44:16. > :44:20.as he doesn't kiss the brown on the way back, it's an easy safety shot.

:44:21. > :44:37.He is struggling a little bit mentally at the minute. He has left

:44:38. > :44:41.this red on. Pressure can befuddle the brain. Needs that white to slow

:44:42. > :45:09.down. It hasn't. 40 points behind is Marco but there

:45:10. > :45:24.is 43 remaining. This frame and this match is still in the balance.

:45:25. > :45:30.Marco next time could be only about 20 behind. I can see him missing

:45:31. > :45:35.this snooker three or four times before he hits it. That's 16 points

:45:36. > :45:38.at this stage of the match that would be massive. Doesn't want to

:45:39. > :45:40.drift by it this time. If you are going to miss it, miss it on the

:45:41. > :46:19.right. Don't miss it on the left. A terrific hit. Terrific!

:46:20. > :46:23.Just a little bit of a fist pump as he went back. That could have cost

:46:24. > :46:35.him plenty. Behind the blue again. What a good

:46:36. > :46:39.effort. Forced to bring the other red out

:46:40. > :46:42.now. You would play off the cushion, John, wouldn't you and play the red

:46:43. > :46:46.in behind the black? I think I would be tempted to do that. That's what

:46:47. > :46:59.he is looking at. While he has that red near the

:47:00. > :47:05.cushion, it's a little bit of an insurance. Wants to hit this red

:47:06. > :47:11.pretty full from behind. Yeah, couldn't have played it much better.

:47:12. > :47:17.Also I think he may have covered the red on the left side of the table

:47:18. > :47:21.with the pink. Marco coming to the table, he didn't look too happy with

:47:22. > :47:31.the way the balls finished but I think he can get past the brown to

:47:32. > :47:38.hit the red in the baulk end. Marco wouldn't have thought it was

:47:39. > :47:56.possible to be snookered when he saw the shot played.

:47:57. > :48:05.Dangerous leaving it near a pocket. Has the flick off the black helped?

:48:06. > :48:13.I think not. This is Wenbo's chance. This red to go 41 points in front

:48:14. > :48:28.with 35 remaining. Is that the last shot that Marco will play?

:48:29. > :48:46.Could well be. A snooker is required. He is on the blue to the

:48:47. > :48:57.middle. This is to go 46 points in front with 35 remaining. In it goes.

:48:58. > :49:02.Started off the match with three centuries in the first three frames

:49:03. > :49:07.but it's been nip and tuck since. He has had chances. Eventually, he now

:49:08. > :49:15.looks as though he is going to go over the line. Three snookers

:49:16. > :49:19.needed. Should be in the semifinal. And Marco didn't get them. Having

:49:20. > :49:24.started with three centuries in a row and that's only been done once

:49:25. > :49:30.before in the UK championships in the 1988 final. Look at this. It's

:49:31. > :49:33.Wenbo through. Great friends these. Marco throws in the towel and

:49:34. > :49:40.genuine respect. Good-natured reaction, exactly what you would

:49:41. > :49:47.expect from Marco Fu. Liang Wenbo marches on. Marco is a good friend.

:49:48. > :49:55.I just concentrate to play. Enjoy to play. I play today, it's fantastic,

:49:56. > :49:58.the first season, the 4th frame, three centuries and the 4th frame I

:49:59. > :50:08.make 49, I missed the red. A good chance to make four

:50:09. > :50:14.centuries, but Macrco give me a lot of pressure, yeah. A tough game. I

:50:15. > :50:19.think I done very well to get to 5-5. At the start he was immaculate.

:50:20. > :50:24.Three centuries in a row and I just tried to win close frames, tried to

:50:25. > :50:30.make good clearanceances which I did and didn't know at the end, but at

:50:31. > :50:37.the end I think I had some chances but overall Liang played much better

:50:38. > :50:42.snooker, too strong for me. The Fu family moves out and Wenbo goes

:50:43. > :50:47.through. What an absolutely blistering start from him today,

:50:48. > :50:51.Steve. Wenbo is a special player. I remember studying a lot of

:50:52. > :50:56.break-building of younger players coming through, trying to have a

:50:57. > :51:02.gamble back in 50-plus breaks when we could gamble ourselves a few

:51:03. > :51:05.years back now and Wenbo's name kept popping up that he was making more

:51:06. > :51:08.breaks for his part in the game. He was obviously good in that

:51:09. > :51:15.department. I think he is maturing now and a great character. He is a

:51:16. > :51:21.great character. You had an amazing story and stats about his scoring in

:51:22. > :51:27.the early days. I was coming to the end of my career and can't believe

:51:28. > :51:31.what he has done. He had made three centuries, a maximum and 90 in the

:51:32. > :51:35.five frames he won. That is unbelievable scoring. How he got

:51:36. > :51:39.beat the next day? That's been the problem for him. He has been unable

:51:40. > :51:43.to follow up really big moments. I remember doing a commentary with

:51:44. > :51:47.Dennis one day and watching him play flying around the table. I said this

:51:48. > :51:50.boy is the next by thing. For a couple of seasons he just wasn't

:51:51. > :51:58.around. I thought what's holding him back with his progress? He has

:51:59. > :52:04.always been talented. Judd Trump tweeted during that match, easily

:52:05. > :52:08.the best person I have played with in practice, that shows what other

:52:09. > :52:14.guys think of him. We have seeing the older guard, average age has got

:52:15. > :52:18.older, the older arm keeping fitter, practising harder, so it's tougher

:52:19. > :52:21.for younger players to come through. Don't necessarily judge the

:52:22. > :52:25.20-year-old until perhaps they get to 30 and then you will see how good

:52:26. > :52:28.Wenbo is and players coming through because there's such an amount of

:52:29. > :52:33.players who are very good who are the older ones and experienced. It's

:52:34. > :52:37.worth reminding ourselves in this championship alone he was 4-1 down

:52:38. > :52:40.to Judd Trump. Three times he was down two frames down against Tom

:52:41. > :52:46.Ford as we saw yesterday that cliffhanger. This time it's the

:52:47. > :52:51.opposite. 5-2 up, had to withstand the onslaught of Marco. He is

:52:52. > :52:55.standing himself for good stead for the semifinal. We looked at the

:52:56. > :52:59.games today and we looked and thought two of these matches were

:53:00. > :53:02.difficult, John Higgins and Neil Robertson, I thought that was

:53:03. > :53:05.another one. No surprise it went to six-five. He is a fantastic

:53:06. > :53:08.character. It's difficult sometimes when a Chinese player doesn't speak

:53:09. > :53:13.English but you can see he is coming on and he is liked amongst other

:53:14. > :53:18.players on the circuit. Long may he get involved. He will be good for

:53:19. > :53:22.China. Yes, hasn't had to do any self-slapping today, he got through

:53:23. > :53:24.without any of that stuff. There are another two cracking quarter-finals

:53:25. > :53:32.in the making this evening. Let's remind you of how the line-up is.

:53:33. > :53:36.It's a huge occasion for 30-year-old David Grace for whom this represents

:53:37. > :53:45.his best progress in five years as a pro.

:53:46. > :53:54.He is taking on Australian Open runner-up Martin Gould. World number

:53:55. > :53:58.one Mark Selby will start as favourite against Matt Selt whose

:53:59. > :54:03.journey has put him up to a career high provisional world ranking of

:54:04. > :54:08.20. This first ever UK quarter is also his biggest pay day. He is

:54:09. > :54:18.getting a nice cheque for ?20 dhouz tonight no matter what happens. --

:54:19. > :54:21.?20,000. Selt has ambitions for much more.

:54:22. > :54:27.I used to travel everywhere when I was a kid, I was fortunate living in

:54:28. > :54:31.Essex, I had some of the best players in the world to practise

:54:32. > :54:36.with and that was a learning curve for me, I was privileged to be in

:54:37. > :54:39.that position. I practised with Ronnie for a couple of years and

:54:40. > :54:46.what I learned from him is priceless and used to travel to play Neil and

:54:47. > :54:51.Joe in Cambridge, but since I would say since April last year when

:54:52. > :54:53.obviously I am good friends with Stephen Hendry and started giving me

:54:54. > :54:58.advice and pointers, he said what you are doing is not working, it's

:54:59. > :55:02.time to do something different. Just practise on your own. Don't play

:55:03. > :55:06.anybody. I have kept that no secret. I probably played four or five

:55:07. > :55:10.people in the last year, he told me to put the work in on my own, I have

:55:11. > :55:17.been doing five or six hours a day on my own and it's paying dividends

:55:18. > :55:22.and my game is a lot sharper. I feel like if I need him obviously he is a

:55:23. > :55:27.lot older than me, nearly 60 now! I feel if I needed any advice or

:55:28. > :55:31.anything to ask him, he always answers the phone and if he doesn't

:55:32. > :55:35.he rings me back. I feel as a snooker player privileged to be able

:55:36. > :55:40.to ask him for advice and pointers but as a friend, you know, one of

:55:41. > :55:45.the few that I could count on and if I needed some help I think he would

:55:46. > :55:52.be there for me. Mark doesn't show any emotion, he is

:55:53. > :55:59.rock solid. He is a machine-like. Probably the greatest competitor the

:56:00. > :56:02.sport has got, maybe Higgins. Give him a couple of games last week, you

:56:03. > :56:07.know, I played really well against him last week. Obviously had to

:56:08. > :56:12.practise, I think the fact that the last year or so I have become a much

:56:13. > :56:16.more mature player since I got hammered by Ronny here. I felt my

:56:17. > :56:21.game has gone from strength to strength and learned a lot from

:56:22. > :56:26.that. I am hoping to take it into Friday's match. When I first came on

:56:27. > :56:30.the scene obviously my personality hasn't changed, I have always been

:56:31. > :56:37.outspoken, I wouldn't say rude or anything like that, but I am very

:56:38. > :56:42.jolly, I like to have a joke. It's one of those things where I tend - I

:56:43. > :56:47.get on with most people, upset people and fall out with people for

:56:48. > :56:51.sure, but the few thims I have, I have fallen out with Judd, I was in

:56:52. > :56:54.the wrongen and apologised, Mark Davis is another. I am prone to

:56:55. > :56:58.falling out with people but I normally admit where I have been

:56:59. > :57:03.wrong and make up easily enough because I am easy to get along with.

:57:04. > :57:07.I think Mark and Matt get along well. That could change this evening

:57:08. > :57:10.depending on how it goes. They've met three times before. Selby has

:57:11. > :57:23.had the edge. They haven't squared up since 2013.

:57:24. > :57:25.Selt has made giant strides up the rank

:57:26. > :57:29.Rankings and up to provisional number 20. He is possibly the most

:57:30. > :57:35.improved player on the circuit the last couple of years. A wonderful

:57:36. > :57:38.cueist, as well. You become dedicated and that was the final

:57:39. > :57:42.part of the jigsaw perhaps. He would be a funny world champion, I know

:57:43. > :57:46.that. He has a wicked sense of humour. Funny guy. When he upsets

:57:47. > :57:51.people it's because he is so funny that he can actually get inside

:57:52. > :57:55.them. He is very sharp. Coached by Chris Henry at the moment. He is

:57:56. > :57:59.using Stephen Hendry as a sounding post which appears to have paid huge

:58:00. > :58:03.dividends for him. Steven has been around and can give massive amounts

:58:04. > :58:06.of experience and sometimes it's one or two little things. The

:58:07. > :58:12.interesting thing he said about practising on your own, that gives

:58:13. > :58:16.you more table time. If you are playing somebody like Joe Perry or

:58:17. > :58:23.Robertson you can be taking balls out of the pockets all day. Who will

:58:24. > :58:31.play Wenbo, Gould or Grace? Sitting on the fence me. OK and Selby or

:58:32. > :58:35.Matt Can't do that, Matt is a mate and Mark is. We all like everyone.

:58:36. > :58:38.It will be an interesting evening. It's been a brilliant afternoon.

:58:39. > :58:44.Thank you very much. Don't forget that the evening session is online,

:58:45. > :58:47.red button from seven owe -- 7.00pm and highlights later with Jason.

:58:48. > :58:59.What a cliffhanger. Two of them! Bye.

:59:00. > :59:02.Enjoy exclusive access to some of the world's leading artists.

:59:03. > :59:11.Join Noel Gallagher performing live just for us.

:59:12. > :59:14...or watch on the red button.