Third Round: Afternoon Session - Featuring Ronnie O'Sullivan

:00:32. > :00:39.Good afternoon. It seems slightly odd having pictures of Neil

:00:40. > :00:42.Robertson, last year's champion splashed all over the venue here at

:00:43. > :00:46.York. Last year's champion is long gone. He was beaten in the opening

:00:47. > :00:51.round long before the cameras even turned up. Hard lines? Well, in a

:00:52. > :00:56.way, yes. He was beaten by Yorkshire's own Peter Lines,

:00:57. > :01:00.46-year-old veteran who dropped off the tour last year and is now

:01:01. > :01:04.officially an amateur. There were more hard lines last night for

:01:05. > :01:09.another former champion, Judd Trump. The world number three was beaten by

:01:10. > :01:11.Peter's son, 21-year-old Oliver. So, you could say the Lines boy are the

:01:12. > :01:28.stars of the UK show so far. It was on TV in front of I'd say my

:01:29. > :01:35.home crowd because I'm from Leeds. Early on, it didn't really go to

:01:36. > :01:40.plan, I think. COMMENTATOR: Judd gets the first

:01:41. > :01:49.frame underway. There was a fluke at 1-0. What a slice of good fort Euan

:01:50. > :01:56.that is. He couldn't have cued that any better. -- cued that any better.

:01:57. > :02:02.He played that very well. A good line and a pretty good length. I

:02:03. > :02:09.felt very clear tonight and I haven't felt like that on previous

:02:10. > :02:12.matches on TV. At 3-2 he found a plant.

:02:13. > :02:20.COMMENTATOR: He didn't apologise. So maybe he spotted that? I felt

:02:21. > :02:25.something clicked. COMMENTATOR: That's perfect. He made

:02:26. > :02:31.a good clearance. That was a turning point after that. I was very calm.

:02:32. > :02:39.My brain was working. I was trying not to think any negative thoughts.

:02:40. > :02:45.COMMENTATOR: Terrific shot. Absolutely plum on the blue. It gets

:02:46. > :02:51.to the point when the ball's run like that, you feel invincible and

:02:52. > :02:55.the pressure comes off. COMMENTATOR: In it goes. Does that

:02:56. > :03:03.black bounce? It does. He's on the black. A chance to win frame and

:03:04. > :03:08.watch. -- match. I've never really won on TV before. Never against a

:03:09. > :03:13.world-class player. COMMENTATOR: Oliver's father, Peter,

:03:14. > :03:20.beat the defending champion Neil Robertson in an earlier round. Now,

:03:21. > :03:24.his son's following suit. So, another shock. We've seen a few. But

:03:25. > :03:31.that, to me, is one of the biggest ones. He beats the world number

:03:32. > :03:37.three, Judd Trump by six frames to two. Very annoying for me. It is the

:03:38. > :03:44.first big tournament of the season. So that is quite frustrating. And so

:03:45. > :03:48.the father and son combo march into the last 32 here in York. Dead,

:03:49. > :03:54.Peter, is in action this afternoon at the start of round three. So too

:03:55. > :03:58.is the five-time champion of this event Ronnie O'Sullivan who could

:03:59. > :04:05.match Steve Davies's record totele of six titles this week. He looks

:04:06. > :04:13.right in the mood as well. Five times champion of the world. Blink

:04:14. > :04:52.and you'll miss hip, The Rocket, Ronnie O'sullivan.

:04:53. > :04:59.Presumably Ronnie O'Sullivan will lose a frame in this tournament. It

:05:00. > :05:04.is always interesting comparing his statistics with Stephen Hendry and

:05:05. > :05:11.Steve Davis. Matching one, Ronnie O'Sullivan's won 837 but you've won

:05:12. > :05:22.875. Problem is, he's still playing. You're the governor, son. 921. He

:05:23. > :05:27.couldn't make a 30 break. When it comes to UK titles Ronny's won 5,

:05:28. > :05:31.you've won five but the governor... Always a sign of consistency. The

:05:32. > :05:37.World Championship used to bring up freak results. Doesn't matter how

:05:38. > :05:43.many world champions is. But UK Championships. Six. Come on! Ronnie

:05:44. > :05:50.O'Sullivan has five world titles. Steve Davis has six. Should have

:05:51. > :05:57.been seven. Why? Dennis Taylor commentary box. And you've seven

:05:58. > :06:03.Stephen? Quite happy with that, yes. Ronnie O'Sullivan's won six and

:06:04. > :06:09.you've won six. Steve Davis what happened to you? Didn't like the

:06:10. > :06:14.Sven ewe. It was in London. Maximum breaks, Steve, you made the first,

:06:15. > :06:21.fantastic. You had a double on the fifth red. You've made 11. What

:06:22. > :06:24.about Ronnie O'Sullivan? 13. They've opened the pockets up since I

:06:25. > :06:29.retired. Here's a cracker. Century breaks. Steve Davis 338. What was

:06:30. > :06:34.that all about? Over a lopping period of time. It was considered

:06:35. > :06:39.bad sportsmanship to make a century? I made a lot of tournament 100

:06:40. > :06:46.breaks but no, it wasn't the done thing back then. You, 775 centuries

:06:47. > :06:53.would be brilliant. But, it has been washed and erased. Ronnie

:06:54. > :06:59.O'Sullivan's 846. He played 96 tournaments a year. Of course. And

:07:00. > :07:05.counting. You might as well not have made yours. He will be 100 in front

:07:06. > :07:12.of me in no time. Not far behind you for centuries made in this event as

:07:13. > :07:16.well. All right, all right! Ronnie O'Sullivan's coming up this

:07:17. > :07:25.afternoon. You may even hear from these two prima donna's if you're

:07:26. > :07:29.lucky! So, engine still warm from yesterday afternoon's 6-0 canter.

:07:30. > :07:36.The Rocket prepares to power up again. This time, he'll meet world

:07:37. > :07:40.number 11, Michael Georgiou, a Londoner full of anticipation ahead

:07:41. > :07:43.of his first match against Ronny. World number one Mark Selby still

:07:44. > :07:55.moving through the gears here in York as he chases a second UK title.

:07:56. > :08:01.Now, quick fire rob Milkins. He can be very dangerous on his day. Whilst

:08:02. > :08:07.the new World Open champion, the ever-classy Ali Carter prepares to

:08:08. > :08:13.face Stafford vulcher's much improving Dave Gilbert. Feel free to

:08:14. > :08:18.share your thoughts or question the team through all the usual channels.

:08:19. > :08:24.So, who's next to try and down the Rocket? It is fellow Londoner

:08:25. > :08:28.Michael Georgiou. This is not the Michael Georgiou who was eliminated

:08:29. > :08:35.in bread week in the Great British Bake Off this year. This is

:08:36. > :08:44.snooker's Michael Georgiou who, like bake-off Michael Georgiou, shares

:08:45. > :08:49.Cypriot gene algae. Our Georgiou hopes to sent Cyprus one day. He's

:08:50. > :08:54.very proud of that link. He's had a few bumping landings in this sport.

:08:55. > :09:01.He's fallen over the World Snooker tour twice and has come through that

:09:02. > :09:11.nerve-shredding pro veries of the qualifying school in May. -- process

:09:12. > :09:18.I'm Michael Georgiou, aged 28. This is my story. When I first turned

:09:19. > :09:23.professional, I don't think I was mature enough. First year as a

:09:24. > :09:31.professional, I didn't actually win a single match in the whole season.

:09:32. > :09:35.Because I was working in between tournaments, it was very difficult

:09:36. > :09:42.to balance practice and work. I decided you can't commit fully to

:09:43. > :09:46.snooker as well. Because I'd been doing snooker all my life, I didn't

:09:47. > :09:51.really know, I couldn't really think of another interest I had. It was

:09:52. > :09:55.very difficult. Some family helped me get some work in recruitment. I

:09:56. > :10:02.did that for a few years. But it wasn't for me. I wasn't happy.

:10:03. > :10:08.Squaring up with the juniors I used to compete with week in, week out,

:10:09. > :10:11.seeing them on TV beating great professionals and thinking, why

:10:12. > :10:16.can't that be me? I don't think a day passed where I didn't log on to

:10:17. > :10:21.World Snooker's website to see what was going on. So, to be sitting here

:10:22. > :10:27.today is a bit of a dream come true, really. I saved a lot of money when

:10:28. > :10:30.I was working and as I was stopsoring myself getting back into

:10:31. > :10:34.snooker as an amateur it was very difficult. Sacrificing your time, my

:10:35. > :10:39.social life's completely gone downhill. I'm always at tournaments

:10:40. > :10:48.or practising. It's become a priority in my life. It's a bit of a

:10:49. > :10:53.childhood dream to be playing one of snooker's all-time grates live on

:10:54. > :10:58.TV. I'll be walking out there with Ronnie O'Sullivan it will be all

:10:59. > :11:03.worth it. If I do win, I won't know what to say, really. I've packed

:11:04. > :11:08.enough clothes for a certain amount of days. I'm not anticipating being

:11:09. > :11:12.here as long. I've run out of clothes. I've had to do some

:11:13. > :11:18.emergency shopping. I have everything I need and I'll be ready.

:11:19. > :11:22.So, Michael determined to make a go of his snooker career. This is a

:11:23. > :11:26.hugely significant day in his life. A first match against a player he's

:11:27. > :11:30.looked up to for so long. The contrast is stark between them in

:11:31. > :11:34.terms of snooker experience and earnings. Nearly ?10 million versus

:11:35. > :11:39.tens of thousands of pounds. In century break Ronny in the 800s.

:11:40. > :11:46.Michael with ten so far. John, what an opportunity this is for a very

:11:47. > :11:51.likeable Londoner? It certainly is. I'm here it Dennis Taylor and Steve

:11:52. > :11:57.Davis. This could be a fairytale. He's very likage. He's been lie a

:11:58. > :12:02.preying mantis around the corridors. I've seen him so many times. This is

:12:03. > :12:09.a player who fell off the tour, came back on again. He's been a pro eight

:12:10. > :12:13.years. What he's done recently is shortened his cue action. He's

:12:14. > :12:19.getting a lot more results. He has beaten a few of the top players in

:12:20. > :12:26.earlier rounds. His time might be here. This is a big thing. BBC TV,

:12:27. > :12:31.out on the main arena and Ronnie O'Sullivan? The importance of start

:12:32. > :12:36.cand be underestimated. He needs to go out and enjoy himself. Easier

:12:37. > :12:44.said than done. He needs to give it a go. You've some observations about

:12:45. > :12:50.Ronnie O'Sullivan? ? On the table, business as usual. Commentary

:12:51. > :12:57.superlatives, whizzing around. His play is fantastic. Off the table, I

:12:58. > :13:00.sense when consciously or sub consciously Ronny's trying to

:13:01. > :13:05.deflect attention away from whether he can win or dominate. He's going a

:13:06. > :13:11.lot more along the lines, there are other great players out there, I'm

:13:12. > :13:16.happy doing the commentary. Generally, he's trying to take the

:13:17. > :13:19.heat out of the equation. Whether that's for his own benefit or

:13:20. > :13:25.everybody else's attention, it seems to be working. He seems a lot

:13:26. > :13:30.happier around the scenes. Especially doing interviews with the

:13:31. > :13:34.media. We'll soon see, Rob Walker, it's all yours. After Sunday's late

:13:35. > :13:40.night drama, we are back at the Barbican ready to go again here on a

:13:41. > :13:46.thrilling Monday afternoon. This year's Betway UK Championship is

:13:47. > :13:50.already becoming one of the most unpredictable editions of this

:13:51. > :14:04.year's tournament. The crowd cannot wait for the action to start.

:14:05. > :14:16.Please welcome a player who came through a very tight match against

:14:17. > :14:22.Hammad Miah. A multiple ranking semi-finalist and shoot-out runner

:14:23. > :14:30.up, he may be a cider drinker but they call him The Milkman Robert

:14:31. > :14:36.Milkins # I am a cider drinker

:14:37. > :14:42.# So long he travels away . #

:14:43. > :14:46.His opponent, a player of immense talent and mental strength, he never

:14:47. > :14:53.panics and never knows when he's beaten. Winner here in 2012 and a

:14:54. > :15:00.runner up a year later, twice victorious, he's the reigning world

:15:01. > :15:03.champion, the current world number one, he's The Jester From Leicester

:15:04. > :15:17.Mark Selby. And now, please welcome a player who

:15:18. > :15:27.after losing his place on tour last year showed real character to bounce

:15:28. > :15:33.back straight away via cue school. Victories over Matthew sell ton and

:15:34. > :15:38.Dunn. Born and bred in London, what a moment for Michael Georgiou.

:15:39. > :15:45.# You know what it is # Yellow pack, yellow pack

:15:46. > :15:52.# You know what it is # Packing yellow, pack.

:15:53. > :15:58.# You know what it is And finally, his oi pone ept, a

:15:59. > :16:03.player who first appeared in this tournament in 1992 at the age of 16

:16:04. > :16:10.and lifted the title a year later. Yet to concede a single frame this

:16:11. > :16:16.year. Five times UK champion, five times world champion, blink and

:16:17. > :16:26.you'll miss him, Ronny "the Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan. We'll catch up

:16:27. > :16:31.with the Selby Milkins match throughout the afternoon. If you'd

:16:32. > :16:36.like to watch it from the start, watch it via the red button or

:16:37. > :16:45.online. For now, we'll see what Ronny and Michael serve up for us.

:16:46. > :16:53.With Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis. COMMENTATOR: Afternoon everyone. Big

:16:54. > :16:57.day for Michael Georgiou. As you heard, our referee tell you, Ronny

:16:58. > :17:27.won the toss. He will get this match underway.

:17:28. > :17:36.I haven't seen a great deal of Michael. Interested to see how he

:17:37. > :17:38.starts here. This would be terrific way to start if he could knock this

:17:39. > :17:58.in. You haven't come across Michael? You

:17:59. > :18:10.haven't played him, Steve, in qualifying rounds? No, I've not seen

:18:11. > :18:14.a lot of Michael play. To stay on the tour is tough these days.

:18:15. > :18:21.Doesn't mean just because you've dropped off on occasions that you

:18:22. > :18:26.are in any way under spec. I think the biggest problem for players like

:18:27. > :18:32.Michael Georgiou playing Ronnie O'Sullivan is the fact Ronny's so

:18:33. > :18:41.used to this scenario and his opponent in on this occasion is not.

:18:42. > :18:46.So, with all the positive thoughts in the world flying through your

:18:47. > :18:51.body, it's tough not to have a few worries about being made to look

:18:52. > :18:56.second class out there. You don't really want to be playing this game

:18:57. > :19:00.worried about being 'em barred on the table by your opponent. That can

:19:01. > :19:17.sometimes happen against Ronnie O'Sullivan.

:19:18. > :19:24.Ronny's one of the quickest players in the game. But Michael practices

:19:25. > :19:25.with Tony Drago who would make Ronnie O'Sullivan look like Steve

:19:26. > :19:41.Davis! Well, that's a confident way to

:19:42. > :20:02.start. And nicely on the blue. An early chance.

:20:03. > :20:10.Yes, discussing earlier about having a shorter cue action. Perhaps a

:20:11. > :20:16.shorter bridge, stops the cue being pulled back so far on shots like

:20:17. > :20:25.this. Still a fair amount to pull the cue back for a shot that didn't

:20:26. > :20:28.require that much speed. Mark Allen would have pulled the cue back a lot

:20:29. > :20:38.shorter distance in that that even. It's certainly something he has been

:20:39. > :20:46.working on, he was telling me. Whatever he's doing, it's starting

:20:47. > :20:53.to work. That would be nice to knock in a sizeable contribution here.

:20:54. > :20:57.Straight away, looking at his cue action and his head, it's perfectly

:20:58. > :21:13.still. Oh, that's a careless one. These

:21:14. > :21:18.tables are so fast and so lively, he can noned into the red. He didn't

:21:19. > :21:22.intend to do that. He just wanted to slip past it slightly and just

:21:23. > :21:27.flicked it in. That really has made it a little more difficult for him.

:21:28. > :21:37.If it pots, he will be opening up reds here, I think.

:21:38. > :22:02.He has a calmness about him, the way he walks around the table. I like

:22:03. > :22:23.his style. He's looked at both reds. He feels

:22:24. > :22:30.the one into the right corner is the better one to regain good position.

:22:31. > :22:36.He can stun down for the blue. He's come up a little bit short, though.

:22:37. > :22:53.The ping goes. That may be his choice instead. -- pink. Did play

:22:54. > :23:03.for the blue there, but. Pink is alternate. The pink spot's occupied.

:23:04. > :23:09.That side bar shows you if he can get to 68 points, Ronny would need a

:23:10. > :23:20.snooker. The referee has a tricky spotting to do here with the pink.

:23:21. > :23:27.Just deciding which red of the two is best position to get the perfect

:23:28. > :23:33.angle on the blue. Ideally, he'd like to perhaps get into the pack

:23:34. > :23:40.with this next shot. This shot off the blue, off the colour. Doesn't

:23:41. > :23:51.have to, obviously. Still four loose reds. Three after this.

:23:52. > :24:00.Not the correct angle, this shot, to go into the pack.

:24:01. > :24:07.Doesn't necessarily have to go into the pack from this situation. It

:24:08. > :24:09.could unfold in a different way. Yeah, he had that red at the back of

:24:10. > :24:27.the little bunch there available. He could go in this time off the

:24:28. > :24:32.cushion. He has the other one. Two loose reds still. As Steve said,

:24:33. > :24:42.it's not 'em per tiff he goes into the pack just yet. -- imperative.

:24:43. > :24:49.He can't win without opening more reds up. So, he has to be accurate

:24:50. > :25:04.from now on in. Now's the chance to go into the

:25:05. > :25:09.pack. He has a good angle on the blue. One good split here and he

:25:10. > :25:16.could win this opening frame with just one visit. It's not ideal. He

:25:17. > :25:25.could lose the cue ball if he's not careful or Ian unlucky. Or even that

:25:26. > :25:30.as an outcome. He did have a chance with a black to go into the pack. It

:25:31. > :25:36.would have been a more aggressive option. I think he was a bit

:25:37. > :25:48.straight on the blue to make that shot ideal. So, now, while he has a

:25:49. > :25:51.52 point advantage, the way the modern game pans out, he's nowhere

:25:52. > :25:59.near as much a favourite as you would think.

:26:00. > :26:06.Especially with an opponent like Ronnie O'Sullivan coming behind you

:26:07. > :26:22.who hasn't dropped a frame yet in this year's Betway UK Championship.

:26:23. > :26:40.All things considered, a very nice start for Michael Georgiou.

:26:41. > :26:48.This is another chance, if the red's dead straight. He can hold for the

:26:49. > :26:53.black. This ask a test of your cue action at this distance.

:26:54. > :27:08.Now, that is a real confidence booster. How still did he keep his

:27:09. > :27:12.head on that forcing shot? Well, there was probably more pressure on

:27:13. > :27:18.that shot than any of the previous ones he's played in the frame. To

:27:19. > :27:25.hit it as beautifully as that, it was, as you say, a real confidence

:27:26. > :27:30.booster. It looks like with that outcome, he will clinch this first

:27:31. > :27:31.frame. And it will be the first frame Ronnie O'Sullivan's lost in

:27:32. > :27:51.the whole tournament. And there he is. He's reached that

:27:52. > :27:57.68 points that we showed you earlier with the side bar. And what a start

:27:58. > :28:08.for the very likeable Michael Georgiou.

:28:09. > :28:15.I think this sums up how tough snooker is these days. A player

:28:16. > :28:22.who's fallen off the tour. Had to play in the cue school to get back

:28:23. > :28:24.on. Playing to a standard like this there just aren't any bad players in

:28:25. > :28:41.the game, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, they're playing so many

:28:42. > :28:45.tournaments these days, it doesn't phase the players when they get to

:28:46. > :28:49.the televised stage. They are playing all year round. Doesn't

:28:50. > :28:54.matter about that. The end of a break. But it's also the end of this

:28:55. > :28:58.opening frame. Will be interesting to see if Ronny stays in his seat or

:28:59. > :29:00.wants to try to get a little bit of potting practice. He'll probably

:29:01. > :29:09.just stay in his seat. Or maybe not. If he can see the red,

:29:10. > :29:18.he'll come for a little bit of practice.

:29:19. > :29:41.I think even this is a telling sign that Ronnie O'Sullivan comes back to

:29:42. > :29:46.the table. On many occasions, he would have just got on with the next

:29:47. > :29:54.frame. But I think he has his mind on the job, Ronny. Regardless of

:29:55. > :29:58.what he's saying in interviews. He looks very focussed, very relaxed. I

:29:59. > :30:06.was with him in Northern Ireland last week, he was in great form.

:30:07. > :30:09.Even when he lost his match to Kyren Wilson after making three century

:30:10. > :30:16.breaks, he lost a decider. But he was in great form. A very

:30:17. > :31:58.entertaining opening frame here. The Look what I'm going to do if you

:31:59. > :32:03.miss. Just a little message planted in his head. You have to see this

:32:04. > :32:07.fella. You have something smart to say about what happened there? No,

:32:08. > :32:13.nothing! In terms of the way you must have been feeling, Michael

:32:14. > :32:18.Georgiou coming out, says a lot about his spirit? He's not been read

:32:19. > :32:25.reading the script. He's lost one already. Very impressive. His cue

:32:26. > :32:28.ball control is impressive. If he hadn't that cannon into the pack, he

:32:29. > :32:32.probably would have cleared up. All in all, very impressive. Let's get

:32:33. > :32:55.back whilst we calm things down in here, shall we?

:32:56. > :33:00.There's three loose reds and one at the back of the bunch. Another

:33:01. > :33:05.chance for Ronny. There's the difference with Ronny clearing up in

:33:06. > :33:08.the first frame. He'd had enough exposure to the table. Hitting the

:33:09. > :33:16.balls, that opening shot he had to play was made a lot easier. If he'd

:33:17. > :33:42.given the game in and had to play that, it was arguably more missable.

:33:43. > :33:48.I don't think he has quite the judgment of weight on the shot with

:33:49. > :33:52.his left hand as he has with his right. Very rarely misses a pot

:33:53. > :34:20.left-handed. An awkward pack to go into. He plays

:34:21. > :34:35.this type of shot so well. There's one which will go to the

:34:36. > :34:40.middle pocket. If he drops nicely on to a colour, he's opened enough up

:34:41. > :34:47.to give himself a great chance. He got a little too much back spin on

:34:48. > :34:50.that one. Usually, that isn't the shot we recommend these days the

:34:51. > :34:54.players play as the cue ball can come back to this bottom corner.

:34:55. > :35:19.Perhaps he felt it was the only way to get a sniff at a red.

:35:20. > :35:28.Intimated in the studio after his last match, hasn't really been

:35:29. > :35:38.practising a great deal. But you would not know it yet from his

:35:39. > :36:11.cueing. He seems to be in fine fashion. -- in fine fettle.

:36:12. > :36:18.DENNIS TAYLOR: This particular table is playing delightful. We've had

:36:19. > :36:23.some in the century breaks on it. Fergal O'Brien played on this table

:36:24. > :36:32.and they made a record-breaking five centuries. That was in the six

:36:33. > :36:43.frames that Kibrom. It's very, very quick, but when you're cueing well

:36:44. > :36:44.sites beautiful to play on. Purposely going into the side of the

:36:45. > :37:08.bunch there. STEVE DAVIS: In between green and

:37:09. > :37:15.brown, with lots of right-hand side for that loose red to the left of

:37:16. > :37:20.the pink. Don't hit to be on this server way he plays it. Brilliantly

:37:21. > :37:27.fluent Key West, it's just amazing to watch. He hasn't got a definite

:37:28. > :37:31.pause at the end of the backswing, but it looks like he's got some much

:37:32. > :37:34.time in the transition between the pull-back and the hit. He's making

:37:35. > :37:54.this look, easy. He's already had five centuries in

:37:55. > :38:01.this year's championship. Three in the first round, two in the second

:38:02. > :38:06.round. And what a way ticket back on level terms. Yes, so you're

:38:07. > :38:11.presented with a loose break-off shot from Michael Georgiou, but the

:38:12. > :38:17.pack was still tight. And apart from one tricky shot, he's just

:38:18. > :38:45.annihilated this frame. That was a push shot, but it didn't

:38:46. > :38:51.really matter. It was a poor break-off shot and Michael had to

:38:52. > :39:05.sit in his seat and watch Ronnie finish off the frame. Well, that was

:39:06. > :39:12.just what the doctor ordered from Ronnie O'Sullivan. But it shows the

:39:13. > :39:17.importance of the break-off shot. Michael, having won the opening

:39:18. > :39:26.frame, it was his turn to break-off. He just caught it three-quarter

:39:27. > :39:33.ball, almost full ball. A little bit I'm lucky to leave the between the

:39:34. > :39:39.green and the brown, though. Yes, you don't really want to be catching

:39:40. > :39:42.that first red too thick. Still a nice opening shot from Ronnie

:39:43. > :39:48.O'Sullivan, made it look a lot easier than it was. Yes, and he

:39:49. > :39:54.would have had another century break just for sticking in the reds at the

:39:55. > :39:59.end of the break there. If those three had split up, he would have

:40:00. > :40:03.been certain to make a century. For he looks very relaxed so-called and

:40:04. > :40:45.calm. 21 minutes and we've had two frames

:40:46. > :40:51.played. That was a mis-hit break-off shot from Ronnie O'Sullivan as well.

:40:52. > :40:56.But he has left a bit more of the difficult opening shot for Michael

:40:57. > :41:01.Georgiou. Had to commit to playing that slow if he was going to play

:41:02. > :41:16.it. And has left Ronnie O'Sullivan options. None of them guaranteed. Is

:41:17. > :41:20.looked at the one into the right corner and the one into the left

:41:21. > :41:32.middle. He goes back to the long red. And he can get back onto the

:41:33. > :41:36.black from that angle. Oh, he might be able to slot this into the right

:41:37. > :41:40.middle pocket and stay on the black, because he would not leave a great

:41:41. > :41:50.deal. So this is a half chance for Michael here. , that was

:41:51. > :41:53.noncommittal from Ronnie O'Sullivan. The red into the middle perhaps

:41:54. > :42:00.would have been heard of shots to nothing. If this is dead straight,

:42:01. > :42:17.it's not too difficult. Dhoni he'll be disappointed with that effort.

:42:18. > :42:31.And he hasn't left it safe - he can this in an open bunch. -- and open

:42:32. > :42:35.the bunch. That last shot from Michael was pretty poor, because he

:42:36. > :42:38.should have screwed the white back a few more inches and that red would

:42:39. > :43:02.not have been available for Ronnie. That was a fantastic shot from

:43:03. > :43:08.Ronnie O'Sullivan. Was only just off straight. He was able to actually

:43:09. > :43:14.pot the black into the right-hand half of the pocket and generate more

:43:15. > :43:19.of an angle. It was superbly played to get onto the red as well. , easy

:43:20. > :43:28.to miss those. A bit further away from the black than he would of

:43:29. > :43:35.liked, this one. Yes, he was almost straight on that black son he did

:43:36. > :43:40.well to force the angle. Oh, his cueing beautifully. That type of

:43:41. > :44:14.shot, is just made that look ridiculously easy.

:44:15. > :44:24.And when you sing Ronnie O'Sullivan playing like this, it's no supply is

:44:25. > :44:30.that the general snooker fan considers him by far the best player

:44:31. > :44:38.in the world, regardless of the ranking positions. When he plays at

:44:39. > :44:42.this standard, if he keeps it up for the whole tournament solely has the

:44:43. > :44:51.ability to make the rest of the look pedestrian. It's getting harder for

:44:52. > :44:53.him to do that, because the standard of the top players is

:44:54. > :45:02.ever-increasing, but it's just great to watch. Yes, that was a lovely

:45:03. > :45:07.little piece at the top of the show with you, Stephen Hendry and John

:45:08. > :45:13.Parrott, drilling you about all your wins and breaks... Was a fascinating

:45:14. > :45:21.little piece, and I think this man has made 846 centuries. Every chance

:45:22. > :45:28.that he could reach 1000 before he decides to call it a day. I mean,

:45:29. > :45:35.there's no reason why Ronnie can't carry on for another four or five

:45:36. > :45:39.years. A very fit young man, keeps himself a very fit, does a lot of

:45:40. > :45:42.running. Yes, it's tough to know whether he can make 1000 in a season

:45:43. > :45:52.if he's not playing in every tournament. And how long his

:45:53. > :45:56.motivation will carry on for well, he would make 1001 season, I can

:45:57. > :46:09.tell you that Steve! Sorry, in his career! The record for that is Neil

:46:10. > :46:30.Robertson, 100 in a season. Should get this...

:46:31. > :46:35.STEVE DAVIS: Not too sure how many century breaks Ronnie

:46:36. > :46:40.O'SullivanAPPLAUSE made last season. But it is going to take a few years

:46:41. > :46:50.to get to that 1000. He made 30 last season and he's already made 22 this

:46:51. > :46:59.season. Three or four more seasons. Contact he can still open up the

:47:00. > :47:01.reds off this shot. And he pleaded with the left-hand, made it look,

:47:02. > :47:49.easy. 90 98%, he's missed one ball! What a shame. But once again he only

:47:50. > :47:56.needed one chance. And that has quickly taken Ronnie O'Sullivan into

:47:57. > :48:00.the lead. Two very big breaks in rapid

:48:01. > :48:06.succession from The Rocket. John, you did mention the fact that he was

:48:07. > :48:13.looking in good form, and he seems to have carried it on beautifully?

:48:14. > :48:16.It's funny, you're playing Ronnie, and Michael is playing really

:48:17. > :48:22.nicely, and in the blink of an eye, he's 2-1 behind. O'Sullivan is in

:48:23. > :48:33.fantastic form. He played one shot in that break off the black. This

:48:34. > :48:37.was an absolute peach. To put that there, you could not put it better

:48:38. > :48:46.with your hand. What does that do to your opponent, Stephen? It was

:48:47. > :48:51.disappointing, Michael Mr really easy year the middle. He played some

:48:52. > :49:00.well in the first frame and then he misses that easy red - that will not

:49:01. > :49:02.make him feel good. When Ronnie gets in amongst them, if he's playing

:49:03. > :49:05.anywhere near his best, he's still going to score. Qui go to the last

:49:06. > :49:50.before the interval. -- act we go. Paul Collingwood off just reminding

:49:51. > :50:18.the audience to keep their phones switched off.

:50:19. > :50:38.The has gone into quite an interesting position. -- yellow.

:50:39. > :50:56.A chance to get behind the brown now. He had the line, Steve, he just

:50:57. > :50:57.needed to hit it a little bit harder and he would have been in behind

:50:58. > :51:23.that brown that you mentioned. Not the best safety shot that Ronnie

:51:24. > :51:30.has ever played. There may be a long straight red but there's no colour.

:51:31. > :51:35.The yellow is over the pocket, that's one bonus. He has got a

:51:36. > :51:47.slight angle to get up towards the blue. Well, considering he's been

:51:48. > :51:51.effectively kept off the table for the last two frames and had his

:51:52. > :51:56.momentum halted, that was an excellent shot. But can he make

:51:57. > :52:13.anything from this position? It's not easy. Oh, that might be good!

:52:14. > :52:27.Little bonus there! , black and pink are out of commission here. Can he

:52:28. > :52:33.screw back for the blue? The flick-on the blue was not helpful. I

:52:34. > :52:40.cannot see many more points from this position. I think the red to

:52:41. > :52:49.the right of the pink might go in the left corner. If he screws back

:52:50. > :52:50.he might be able to have a go at that one of. That's the only one he

:52:51. > :53:30.can possibly get on, I think. Cued it beautifully. And he keeps

:53:31. > :53:47.his head, I'll say it once again,, still on the shot. He's ended up in

:53:48. > :53:53.no mans land a bit here. That's asking for trouble, that type of

:53:54. > :54:04.shot. Very committed. Did not like that shot. Trying to keep the break

:54:05. > :54:12.going. If Ronnie O'Sullivan can knock this red in, perhaps he can

:54:13. > :54:28.develop the black. Perhaps he's got other plans. Michael Georgiou gets

:54:29. > :54:37.away with it. And a chance. Yes, he can get out on to the blue, but just

:54:38. > :54:38.looking at the angle there, if he screws, he's going over towards the

:54:39. > :54:56.reds... He's still OK. Now, he could this

:54:57. > :55:00.in. I'm not sure, it might come twice across the table, there's

:55:01. > :55:07.every chance he might even hit the reds next to the pink and bring it

:55:08. > :55:14.into play. It depends how thin the blue is as to whether he will

:55:15. > :55:16.attempt at. Yes, not an easy position to try and win the frame

:55:17. > :55:38.from. He's got quite a lot to do. Is he

:55:39. > :55:49.going to try and bring the black into play here? You are right never

:55:50. > :56:02.going to BEC. Ronnie might have a bit of a chance here. If you just

:56:03. > :56:07.drops the red in... That black definitely goes along the cushion -

:56:08. > :56:15.and he would be on the red next to it. Well,, and no better player than

:56:16. > :56:20.Ronnie O'Sullivan in making what looks like an awkward situation into

:56:21. > :56:27.a frame-winning chance. Well, maybe the black did not go past the red to

:56:28. > :56:40.the other corner. He made that shot look a lot easier than it felt.

:56:41. > :56:52.Ronnie O'Sullivan will probably be looking to get this pink into the

:56:53. > :57:00.open play off the blue. Unless he can get to the back cushion. So,

:57:01. > :57:15.correct side of the blue - and then open the pink up.

:57:16. > :57:29.Yes, thanks, Ron! And that's why Ronnie O'Sullivan has perhaps made

:57:30. > :57:33.far more century breaks than me! He normally would do that, go straight

:57:34. > :57:38.into them to you never know with Ronnie! Sometimes he likes to change

:57:39. > :57:45.things around. I remember he went through a spell when he was working

:57:46. > :57:48.with the great Ray Reardon than he was not going into the bunch, he was

:57:49. > :57:52.knocking them out the couple at a time, and that was the way the old

:57:53. > :57:58.players used to do because the cloths were quite thick and it was

:57:59. > :58:08.not easy to open the bunch. But Ronnie really enjoyed playing that

:58:09. > :58:12.way for half a season. STEVE DAVIS: I've just got to say,

:58:13. > :58:15.I'm taking no delight in the fact that he's lost position here. Ronnie

:58:16. > :58:20.O'Sullivan does not like going into the pack if he doesn't know whether

:58:21. > :58:43.cue ball is going. He thinks that's a risk.

:58:44. > :58:50.Well, he's keeping this going quite nicely, even though the cue ball has

:58:51. > :59:15.done quite a lot of mileage! DENNIS TAYLOR: He's having to work

:59:16. > :59:27.really hard for these. Nothing available around the pink. Those

:59:28. > :59:30.three are all tied up. This time he would does go into them, maybe he

:59:31. > :59:32.should have taken Steve Davis's advice and gone into the pink off

:59:33. > :59:51.that blue. This was the shot where he thought

:59:52. > :00:51.he would open them up and go on and take the frame.

:00:52. > :01:04.Top that much too soon but the pot that he's left, don't think Ronnie

:01:05. > :01:09.can avoid cannon ink into the black and red. If it's a plain ball, he

:01:10. > :01:20.will, that's why he's taking the other one into the right corner, he

:01:21. > :01:25.can get back up the table off that. What a useful nudge on the brown and

:01:26. > :01:31.that was. It was going out of position, could have played snooker

:01:32. > :01:38.but once he flicked the brown that was a nice little bonus.

:01:39. > :02:07.Outside chance of winning the frame, getting over the line in this visit.

:02:08. > :02:20.Needs one of those reds on the side cushion, the top cushion.

:02:21. > :02:34.Looks to have a nice angle to shift this red, should he so desire.

:02:35. > :02:39.APPLAUSE Perfect judgment of weight, the

:02:40. > :02:44.positional shot was perfect. It was the position shot, to leave himself

:02:45. > :02:45.on the pink the way to cannon the rent out, that was pinpoint

:02:46. > :02:59.accuracy. -- can that makes the frame more or less

:03:00. > :03:08.safe. Going just over 42 minutes. The average frame time, nine minutes

:03:09. > :03:13.24 seconds. A few players used to take that long to break off.

:03:14. > :03:20.Considering how well Michael Georgiou started this match off,

:03:21. > :03:30.he's been totally put on the back foot by Ronnie O'Sullivan, in

:03:31. > :03:33.imperious form. You psych yourself up and get off to such a great start

:03:34. > :03:38.and you've got to be proud of yourself on the big stage. Not even

:03:39. > :03:49.half the battle against Ronnie O'Sullivan. Like holding wild horses

:03:50. > :03:53.back. Doesn't matter about the green. Michael just looks to the

:03:54. > :03:57.referee and he concedes the frame. Got off to a great start but it's

:03:58. > :04:04.been all the Rocket for the last three and he goes to the mid-session

:04:05. > :04:07.interval leading 3-1. Ronnie Berry firmly in command in this match,

:04:08. > :04:11.have we seen anything else about Michael Georgiou's game that gives

:04:12. > :04:18.you cause for optimism? No, I don't think so. He got a great start,

:04:19. > :04:22.looked good the first frame and now it's just more of the same from the

:04:23. > :04:24.first two groans from Ronnie, looks like he's going to steam-roll

:04:25. > :04:31.through the rest of this match pretty comfortably and he's yet to

:04:32. > :04:35.be put under any pressure in this tournament. That's the point, John,

:04:36. > :04:41.you made a point he conceded one frame but the longer he goes in,

:04:42. > :04:44.he's not having a work-out as yet and with the greatest of respect

:04:45. > :04:50.everybody who's been up against in so far, he's not funded going

:04:51. > :04:53.difficult. I'm more impressed with that this afternoon, he's had to

:04:54. > :04:58.play more this afternoon in the opening session that he had in the

:04:59. > :05:02.opening two games. Good start, 1-0 down, little test at the start. He's

:05:03. > :05:06.turned that around to go 3-1 and played much better in the other

:05:07. > :05:10.matches, even though he's made centuries but his overall play is

:05:11. > :05:13.much better. Hugely impressed and it's a funny thing playing against

:05:14. > :05:16.them because Michael will go back to the dressing room and think he has

:05:17. > :05:20.played too badly, missed one ball early on but this is the level

:05:21. > :05:23.you're playing against him. Words of encouragement if you were to offer

:05:24. > :05:28.anybody like Michael something to hold onto at this point, what would

:05:29. > :05:32.it be? You just have to concentrate on one shot at a time. But as much

:05:33. > :05:38.concentration and effort into every single shot. It's unforced errors

:05:39. > :05:45.that Ronnie pounces on and he got in there from Michael Georgiou missing

:05:46. > :05:48.quite a comfortable red to the bottom right pocket to try to ring

:05:49. > :05:52.the black into play. If you can't just give us much concentration as

:05:53. > :05:57.possible and if he can go through the rest of the match and not miss

:05:58. > :06:00.any easy ball, he'll be amazed how well he'll do. Those chances become

:06:01. > :06:05.magnified because you know there are less of them coming away and your

:06:06. > :06:08.focus has got to be there but you just know that when they come there

:06:09. > :06:13.are so important because you get less of them. You two have scared

:06:14. > :06:16.the living daylights out of players over the years, you'd been an

:06:17. > :06:22.Ronnie's position are some youngster is going to come in and play you,

:06:23. > :06:25.it's very daunting. Can you see it from the other perspective, how did

:06:26. > :06:33.you feel knowing this is someone that you're supposed to beat? Ronnie

:06:34. > :06:37.will know inside that Michael can't beat him, you have that superiority,

:06:38. > :06:42.that's what it is, you think this guy can't beat me. But Ronnie still

:06:43. > :06:45.has to keep his attitude right and get them respect and played the game

:06:46. > :06:51.properly but deep down he will think Michael can't beat me today. It's a

:06:52. > :06:57.tough situation for players coming in against the top boys. We're going

:06:58. > :07:02.to concentrate on events on the other side on table one, table two

:07:03. > :07:10.today. Mark Selby the world number one is up against Robert Milkins.

:07:11. > :07:15.E-readers Alarcon he comes on, his walk on music. Much more about

:07:16. > :07:19.points than pints during the match and racked up quite a few of those

:07:20. > :07:24.over the years, a prolific brick builder and he never ever likes to

:07:25. > :07:31.hang about. -- he raises a bit of a laugh when he comes on.

:07:32. > :07:43.In our circle he's a legend. We call him no thrills. No airs and graces,

:07:44. > :07:47.just funny. His own little TV show. He can chop his cue and he just

:07:48. > :07:54.walks around and knocks the ball is on. Been there for a while. He's

:07:55. > :07:58.very clever, seems a bit of a slapdash kind of player but he does

:07:59. > :08:03.think about it and play some clever shots. When he's on song you'll get

:08:04. > :08:09.to the latter stages of tournament. Devastating attacking player,

:08:10. > :08:12.doesn't appear there as a ball said on the table. Walking around with

:08:13. > :08:16.not a care in the world and that's how he plays the game, very

:08:17. > :08:20.dangerous, one of the most dangerous players on the tour. Scores very

:08:21. > :08:23.quickly and can beat anyone on his day. Another streaky player, when he

:08:24. > :08:28.plays well he's given me some very good hiding is over the years where

:08:29. > :08:31.you just don't see a ball, goes for all his shots, usually gets them off

:08:32. > :08:37.and then wanders round the table and clears up. He's a world-beater when

:08:38. > :08:39.things right, I like him, he saw easy come easy go in life, it's a

:08:40. > :08:48.good thing to have sometimes. There you are, universally liked in

:08:49. > :08:53.the snooker cycles and up against Mark Selby. This is a repeat of a

:08:54. > :08:59.match which was in the first round of this year's Crucible campaign

:09:00. > :09:06.which Mark Selby went on to win. It was Selby who led 7-2 but back came

:09:07. > :09:14.Milkins 6-7 and Mark Selby won the last three and he was in Hoover

:09:15. > :09:16.economic mode. This match a few months later and Selby has taken the

:09:17. > :10:57.opening frame, Whether he got a bad contact, I'm

:10:58. > :11:02.not sure. But he has a nice angle on the yellow. He can swing this round

:11:03. > :11:07.three cushion is to get onto that red. So, round the back of the

:11:08. > :12:45.green. cue ball needs to travel a little

:12:46. > :12:53.bit more. A little bit straight on the blue. Is the pink available into

:12:54. > :12:59.this corner pocket pocket? I think it's not quite available, Ken. I

:13:00. > :13:35.think the only way here is to pop the blue and leave the double.

:13:36. > :13:46.Three reds around the pink all appear to be covering one another.

:13:47. > :13:51.He's not out of the woods yet. I think what he can do, he can bounce

:13:52. > :13:57.it in. The top one may just sneak in, Ken? , But if he gets directly

:13:58. > :14:00.behind it, he may be able to get it in. Did not want to kiss, but it's

:14:01. > :14:22.still OK. Every now and again, he just throws

:14:23. > :14:28.in a little quick one. As we talked about at the top of this match, it's

:14:29. > :14:35.been his Achilles heel. When he gets going, he's hard to stop, but just

:14:36. > :14:38.every now and again, there's the occasional ball that you think he's

:14:39. > :14:51.going to pot and uncharacteristically misses.

:14:52. > :15:04.It's just off the cushion, Ken - a lot easier when they're tight. Yes,

:15:05. > :15:10.it's all about pace here. Perfect. He has a nice angle on the black to

:15:11. > :15:23.disturb these three reds around pink. -- around the pink. He had

:15:24. > :15:28.some screw on that, didn't he, goodness me?! Blessed with an awful

:15:29. > :15:37.lot of cue power, gets through the ball really well. Even though his 20

:15:38. > :15:45.points behind, he's just gone favourite to win the frame. In a few

:15:46. > :15:58.shots' time he will try and get on the pink. And he would like to do it

:15:59. > :16:14.off this shot, it he can. -- if he can.

:16:15. > :16:28.But if it was a direct line to screw back off the cushion, he would play

:16:29. > :16:36.that shot - but it's not. It will be interesting to see how he goes about

:16:37. > :16:45.moving that red now. Has he got in off-side on?

:16:46. > :16:49.He will try and leave this half-ball, so he can come off the

:16:50. > :17:08.top cushion. So, he's coming round now to try and

:17:09. > :17:14.leave the half-ball blue. Not quite right. , who are have to play a

:17:15. > :17:19.little bit of check side on this, Ken? , he will have to play a little

:17:20. > :17:31.bit of check side and try and straighten the cue ball up off this

:17:32. > :17:40.top cushion. With it being where it is, would you not play it a little

:17:41. > :17:44.bit harder? He could do that. But I think he's got a better chance just

:17:45. > :17:47.trying to rest it over the middle. In fact he probably put a little bit

:17:48. > :18:08.too much aside on it. Robert Milkins is going to be only

:18:09. > :18:16.two points behind as he comes back to the table. He's having a look at

:18:17. > :18:18.this pot down the cush. It's very, very difficult, but he could lay it

:18:19. > :18:37.with safety in mind. He's certainly blessed with enough

:18:38. > :18:46.power to be able to have got this one, Willie.

:18:47. > :18:54.WILLIE THORNE: He's going to put the red on the other cushioned the white

:18:55. > :18:56.in behind the green. But he has not played it well. Sooner Robert can

:18:57. > :19:18.take this on. Really surprised Robert did not take

:19:19. > :19:19.that on. He's such a good potter. He might not get a better chance than

:19:20. > :19:53.that in this frame now. He needs a bit of luck here, Robert

:19:54. > :19:55.- and he's got it! That flew into the pocket, and how about that for

:19:56. > :20:07.position?! NICK Doherty: Hasn't given this

:20:08. > :20:08.enough. But he could still went this yellow into the top left-hand corner

:20:09. > :20:24.pocket. He is judged it very nicely. But

:20:25. > :20:31.he's still going to need an excellent shot from green to brown.

:20:32. > :20:43.You need up to the blue to secure this frame. -- he will need.

:20:44. > :20:55.working ground in the middle. He has played it very well indeed. That was

:20:56. > :21:00.an excellent shot, lots of cute power. Anywhere on the blue and he's

:21:01. > :21:18.fine. That was a very welcome fluke of

:21:19. > :21:32.that red into the corner pocket. Well played Robert Milkins.

:21:33. > :21:44.Need a frame with a big break. Due to that flukey levels and 1-1. One

:21:45. > :21:50.piece there and there are of course another couple of matches going on

:21:51. > :21:54.this afternoon in the last 32. Let's drop in on table three because Ali

:21:55. > :21:59.Carter, the reigning World Open champion, great to see him back in

:22:00. > :22:01.very good form taking on Dave Gilbert, 14th season for the

:22:02. > :22:09.Staffordshire player, very good player. Gilbert needs a snooker in

:22:10. > :22:17.this frame, already 2-0 down and looks like Carter going 3-0 up at

:22:18. > :22:20.this point. At the moment, on paper it had the makings of a pretty close

:22:21. > :22:25.match because Dave Gilbert's form has been good of late, making

:22:26. > :22:28.improvements but Ali Carter clearly a class act, has been for a very

:22:29. > :22:36.long time, former runner-up in the United Kingdom at the Crucible at

:22:37. > :22:40.the World Championship. And the man who is now racking up even more

:22:41. > :22:47.world ranking Victor Ruiz as well. Got a book coming out shortly as

:22:48. > :22:50.well, I understand. Any match, Liam Highfield and Peter Lines who

:22:51. > :22:57.knocked out the defending champion, Neil Robertson, in the first round

:22:58. > :23:01.and Peter has made 65 to 2-1 up. Lim Highfield, one of the up-and-coming

:23:02. > :23:10.players had a century to reduce the arrears to just one frame so that's

:23:11. > :23:14.your right up to date. Back we go to events on the main table this

:23:15. > :23:19.afternoon Ronnie O'Sullivan has quickly sprinted into that 3-1

:23:20. > :23:23.advantage over Michael Georgiou, the 28-year-old Londoner playing his

:23:24. > :23:27.first match against Ronnie and one of the biggest matches of his career

:23:28. > :23:30.under the television lights in the UK championship and we go back to

:23:31. > :23:33.Dennis and Steve to see if Michael can reduce the arrears and inflict a

:23:34. > :23:36.little bit of pain upon running this afternoon.

:23:37. > :23:40.COMMENTATOR: He dearly love to do that in this frame but Ronnie will

:23:41. > :23:56.have other ideas. I was having a chat with Michael

:23:57. > :24:07.Georgiou in the tournament office and he says he's loving every minute

:24:08. > :24:09.out there. Didn't get much chance in the second and third frame, that's

:24:10. > :24:23.for sure. Certainly living the experience. Got

:24:24. > :24:29.off to a great start and just mis-hit the red into the middle

:24:30. > :24:37.pocket that he didn't hit correctly. Had to sit down for the rest of that

:24:38. > :24:47.second frame. Not a two all planned into the green pocket? He's given it

:24:48. > :25:00.a couple of looks. -- client plant. He's got to make it. And he has.

:25:01. > :25:04.He's made it into a plant. Michael Georgiou was a long way out with

:25:05. > :25:19.that red but the type of shot most times you get away with it.

:25:20. > :25:26.This time going into the pack. Perhaps can consider himself a

:25:27. > :25:40.little unlucky that he hasn't got a better split but this is, whilst

:25:41. > :25:46.tricky, relatively gettable. And if he hits the pack correctly and pots

:25:47. > :25:56.the red he did finish on the black candle can quite a few reds.

:25:57. > :26:16.He was on the black but he didn't putter the red. This is a type of

:26:17. > :26:28.opportunity that Michael Georgiou will have green.

:26:29. > :26:49.Now got converted. Not easy with shot get in on the blue weight. More

:26:50. > :27:03.to do now to pot the blue and retain position. The pink goes, that helps.

:27:04. > :27:07.If you get it. There's no question that you had to play it in the

:27:08. > :27:13.pocket you play for as long as you get it in. I was just about to say

:27:14. > :27:20.she head that the hard and have a look at that. He's got to capitalise

:27:21. > :27:49.on it, just hit it harder than he intended to.

:27:50. > :28:00.Presented in full pupil has been found wanting a bit. Straight after

:28:01. > :28:06.the interval. You'll be disappointed at difference in the very top

:28:07. > :28:08.players and players further down the rankings, out of the convert very

:28:09. > :28:24.easy looking chance. As I've mentioned on a number of

:28:25. > :28:34.occasions, the table, and they feed. You able and not in full evening of

:28:35. > :28:42.shots. Even the first shot of Michael Georgiou thing to get on the

:28:43. > :28:47.blue, in hindsight, arguably didn't seem to be the right thing to do,

:28:48. > :28:52.perhaps pots read and use that to get one of the business end of the

:28:53. > :29:27.table. Not such critical position required.

:29:28. > :29:36.One O'Sullivan just pointing out exactly that when he's going to

:29:37. > :29:37.attempt so that should keep mis-hit, the referee will know exactly where

:29:38. > :30:15.to put the cue ball back. Let's drop and constantly have a

:30:16. > :30:17.look to see where it was. Could get past the blue. Ronnie is looking

:30:18. > :30:29.over. Like a little game back and forwards

:30:30. > :31:09.there. I think the pupils. We can show you for it was, that's

:31:10. > :31:15.where it was. Ronnie will not take any advantage, he knows he could

:31:16. > :31:19.only see the edge of the red. I think he was trying to play to catch

:31:20. > :31:25.enough of the red that he could swing the cue ball around before the

:31:26. > :31:36.red on the right-hand side cushion. Looks tough to do. This red on the

:31:37. > :31:40.right-hand side cushion, he can see a lot more of it than I thought. Is

:31:41. > :31:48.this another chance for Michael Georgiou or has Ronnie O'Sullivan

:31:49. > :32:00.got away with it? It's a thin one. Surely he can sneak this end. --

:32:01. > :32:14.this in. He thinks it's a lot thinner than us on our picture. If

:32:15. > :32:16.he goes for it he must think it's certain but no guarantee of

:32:17. > :32:41.position, that's for sure. Had a little laugh with each other

:32:42. > :32:46.there, has he done the same thing? Maybe Ronnie can't cut it in now but

:32:47. > :32:50.there is one to the middle but that's so tough. This one looks much

:32:51. > :32:58.too thin, a lot closer than Michael was, and amazing how it finished

:32:59. > :33:07.there. He could have hit it thinner than that. Amazing little sequence

:33:08. > :33:16.there, good couple of shots and this is not easy as I mentioned. He was

:33:17. > :33:20.up and walking round as soon as he hit it he knew he'd struck that

:33:21. > :33:27.perfectly. He really is cueing so well and when ye not that type of

:33:28. > :33:42.shot in, he's on his way up, he knows it's in there.

:33:43. > :33:49.Arguably that last record was a big pressure shot in a tournament as big

:33:50. > :34:01.as the UK championship but Ronnie O'Sullivan seems immune from the

:34:02. > :34:20.pressure. On most occasions. Just plays very naturally.

:34:21. > :34:34.You've got to fancy 4-1 here. There's a few reds clustered on the

:34:35. > :34:59.left, but Ronnie will be able to get those out.

:35:00. > :35:14.Lovely to watch all these little shots.

:35:15. > :35:19.STEVE DAVIS:, Dennis. I wonder if there is some kind of statistics

:35:20. > :35:22.which shows the distance the cue ball moves during players' breaks,

:35:23. > :35:46.and how economic all they are. DENNIS TAYLOR: He's got to get in

:35:47. > :36:14.behind those four reds. He's hampered slightly. This might

:36:15. > :36:36.just be a little bit awkward. No problem. Made that one look easy.

:36:37. > :36:43.Woman from the O'Sullivan's greatest strengths is having such a quick

:36:44. > :36:51.thinking brain, from a positional aspect. -- one-off Ronnie O'Sullivan

:36:52. > :36:58.Nielsen greatest strengths. It does not destroy the flow of his killing.

:36:59. > :37:01.We have seen him look at the scoreboard a couple of times, just

:37:02. > :37:05.to calculate the score, but it still does not stop his flow. And snooker

:37:06. > :37:36.is very much a game of rhythm. Already 60 ahead. The frame is

:37:37. > :37:39.certainly safe. I think Michael will come back to the table, but barring

:37:40. > :38:04.snookers, it's going to be 4-1. Ten foul points needed - that's

:38:05. > :38:09.three snookers. Michael Georgiou will be looking to try and pot two

:38:10. > :38:18.reds and then get a free ball situation. That's if he gets a

:38:19. > :38:24.chance. And he's not going to get that chance. He will stay in his

:38:25. > :38:33.seat this time delay of Ronnie misses. -- this time, even if Ronnie

:38:34. > :39:15.misses. He's tried a bit of an exhibition

:39:16. > :39:21.shot. That break of 67P the way to him taking that frame. He now leads

:39:22. > :39:26.4-1. We were just talking about help for the cue ball moves. We have got

:39:27. > :39:34.a little sequence that we can show you here. He stand the first red.

:39:35. > :39:38.He's not too far away from the blue, it's just a series of stone shots.

:39:39. > :39:46.He's just not moving the white very far. His next shot, he's just not

:39:47. > :39:54.very far away from it. Now, that's nearly as quick as Tony Drago, the

:39:55. > :40:03.way Ronnie is clearing up here! It's always within a couple of feet or so

:40:04. > :40:06.of his next pot. It takes years to perfect this, doesn't it, Steve, the

:40:07. > :40:18.number of hours of practice you've got to put in to be able to control

:40:19. > :40:21.the cue ball like that? Yes. If you do keep that cue ball close in

:40:22. > :40:24.public more or less guarantees the pot. It takes a lot of heat out of

:40:25. > :40:47.the situation. Michael Georgiou could do with

:40:48. > :40:57.another frame here. This is a must-win frame for him. First to

:40:58. > :41:06.six. It is amounting to climb as it is, but 5-1, well, definitely all

:41:07. > :41:32.over. 4-2 - stranger things have happened.

:41:33. > :42:18.Now, is that possible guide? To may be knocking this red in?

:42:19. > :42:30.Funnily enough, I mentioned the other day about cleaning the table.

:42:31. > :42:34.Ronnie is playing a shot, and you've got the man sweeping away! It used

:42:35. > :42:42.to be like that at The Crucible, even though there is a petition

:42:43. > :42:48.there. But here, is there is no partition, he can see everything.

:42:49. > :42:53.He's just stopped at the moment, while Ronnie knocks this in the

:42:54. > :43:04.middle pocket. And he hasn't. He's smiling about it. Carry on sweeping!

:43:05. > :43:09.Yes. It's a trade-off, the open plan table set up we now have, between

:43:10. > :43:15.the crowd getting a lot of access to me watching different matches, and

:43:16. > :43:25.sometimes the players being put off by unusual movements. Steve, if that

:43:26. > :43:27.had happened in Ray Reardon's day, there is no way he would have played

:43:28. > :43:44.the shot while that was going on! Yes, there was a lot of criticism of

:43:45. > :43:53.the open plan table situation for this particular reason, that the

:43:54. > :43:56.table fitters have to come out and brush the tables, which is a

:43:57. > :44:02.dramatic thing to be doing whilst there is play on the other table.

:44:03. > :44:13.Ronnie O'Sullivan tried to get things under control in his brain,

:44:14. > :44:23.but the trouble was, the concentration had been snapped. I

:44:24. > :44:28.know it is a tough one, isn't it, Dennis? The open plan table set up

:44:29. > :44:57.is quite nice from the viewers' perspective.

:44:58. > :45:02.DENNIS TAYLOR: Well, very aggressive, and he's a little

:45:03. > :45:19.unfortunate. STEVE DAVIS: That shot is tough to

:45:20. > :45:31.perfect, with backspin on the cue ball. What a great recovery there.

:45:32. > :45:34.Got to be pleased with that - that's as good as it gets. Now, the chance

:45:35. > :46:05.to go into the pack if he wants to. , he has three loose reds, but I'm

:46:06. > :46:06.with you, he did not have to hit them too hard, he would have opened

:46:07. > :46:22.everything up. From this position now, you would

:46:23. > :46:36.think he would go into the pack and play for the loose two reds. I think

:46:37. > :46:41.he needed to go into them a little bit harder there. He can consider

:46:42. > :46:53.himself arguably a little bit unlucky. But these days, you look

:46:54. > :46:56.over the season at your choices of positional shots, when and when not

:46:57. > :47:03.to go into the pack, you do not always get it right. Perhaps he

:47:04. > :47:08.might have chosen a different way. I think he wanted to hit the reds on

:47:09. > :47:24.the right side, and he would have been OK. He hit them on the wrong

:47:25. > :47:28.side. Yes, if he had cannoned into them just on the right side as we

:47:29. > :47:36.look at it, it would have been perfect. Dennis, we have an expert

:47:37. > :47:39.break-builder in the studio, and it will be interesting to get his

:47:40. > :47:57.thoughts on that. Make him do a bit of work! I thought you were talking

:47:58. > :48:01.about Hazel for a while there! Hazel's break-building and shot

:48:02. > :48:28.selection is fantastic these days. Tried a very delicate pot there. Has

:48:29. > :48:34.he left one to the left middle? It must be tight. Yes, he can just get

:48:35. > :48:56.through to that one. Might be able to have a choice of

:48:57. > :49:11.reds here. We know that one goes, the other one is a little bit the

:49:12. > :49:17.tight side. Beautiful. Their all of a sudden, that advantage that

:49:18. > :49:24.Michael has at the moment could disappear very quickly indeed. Yes,

:49:25. > :49:33.excellent shot. And he was leaving reds if he missed. There was no way

:49:34. > :49:40.of getting that is shot to nothing. Chance now for Ronnie O'Sullivan. --

:49:41. > :49:45.of getting that as a shot to nothing. You certainly feel like

:49:46. > :49:52.he's going to get back in the frame here. Just does Rieff reds on the

:49:53. > :50:02.side cushion, and perhaps the one to the left side, will cause him

:50:03. > :50:06.problems later. From Michael Georgiou's perspective, he's hanging

:50:07. > :50:08.on to a string, hoping that those reds will be too much of a problem

:50:09. > :51:09.for Ronnie O'Sullivan. Once again, the cue ball doing very

:51:10. > :51:16.little. It is just ultimate control. I know it's a situation where all

:51:17. > :51:20.the reds are in a small area at the top of the table, you would expect

:51:21. > :51:27.that. But he very rarely gets the wrong side of a red. The first small

:51:28. > :51:35.mistake, you could argue, with that shot. But the yellow is an easy

:51:36. > :51:43.option to get back down the table for that loose red. And then Michael

:51:44. > :51:48.Georgiou has just got to hope Ronnie O'Sullivan does not convert this

:51:49. > :52:01.chance. What sort of angle has he got on this? A little bit further

:52:02. > :52:06.up, he might have attempted to move those two. Oh, he has. The only

:52:07. > :52:14.problem is, you're not guaranteed good position on the colour. He

:52:15. > :52:20.decided to bring them into play, and it's finished rather awkward. He

:52:21. > :52:24.thought about it for a while and decided, let's bring them into play.

:52:25. > :52:33.He thought he would be guaranteed to be on the blue. Yes, I think it was

:52:34. > :52:45.the wrong shot. He needed to have hit it harder. So, 13 points in

:52:46. > :52:56.front. He's just trying to work out the maths, and how to go about this.

:52:57. > :53:01.He might be thinking if he can put a colour safe, it gives him a little

:53:02. > :53:26.bit of insurance. There's the insurance policy, onto

:53:27. > :53:27.the side cushion with the green. Making it hard for Michael Georgiou

:53:28. > :53:53.to clear up in one visit. As I mentioned at the start of this

:53:54. > :54:07.frame so that it's a must-win frame for Michael Georgiou, it really is.

:54:08. > :54:22.5-1, very little chance. 4-2, a glimmer of hope for him.

:54:23. > :54:35.Ronnie O'Sullivan will not be too upset with that outcome.

:54:36. > :54:44.Poor safety effort there from Michael Georgiou - should have got

:54:45. > :55:00.that tubal a little bit better. -- that cue ball.

:55:01. > :55:08.He looks to have snookered Michael on the red on the right side of the

:55:09. > :55:19.table. He's got to be careful that he doesn't catch the other red here.

:55:20. > :55:25.And it looks as if the black is going to come to his rescue also -

:55:26. > :55:31.or has it? Can he get past the black? He can. This would be a

:55:32. > :55:40.fantastic shot if he could pot, screw right back. Fantastic!

:55:41. > :55:48.Who cannot hit the ball any better than that. That's probably perfect

:55:49. > :56:03.chewing, to pot that shot and screw back. -- perfect chewing. -- cueing.

:56:04. > :56:17.That could have worked out better. Unlucky.

:56:18. > :56:30.No attempt to pot the red there. Keeping his opponent under wraps.

:56:31. > :56:37.Michael Georgiou's last safety shot was a good line. A little bit

:56:38. > :56:43.heavy-handed. He's got another very difficult one now. He's more or less

:56:44. > :56:49.forced to push the red into the corner. Perhaps he will try and get

:56:50. > :57:00.it on the side cushion. Played very well.

:57:01. > :57:22.Using a little touch of side and swerve there. That was an awkward

:57:23. > :57:37.safety, when you've got a red close to the cushioned.

:57:38. > :57:44.I was going to say, that's a bit unlucky, catching the jewel of the

:57:45. > :57:52.middle pocket. This is where the left-hand comes into play for

:57:53. > :58:12.Ronnie. If he can pot this, it just shows you how useful it can be.

:58:13. > :58:19.That's just fantastic. That was just such a difficult shot, with your

:58:20. > :58:25.normal hand, never mind the opposite hand.

:58:26. > :58:34.It is going to win him the frame, that, Steve. Yes, I mean, he got a

:58:35. > :58:43.lot of screw back on that shot with very little effort - and

:58:44. > :58:59.left-handed. And you'd have to think he's secured the frame.

:59:00. > :59:04.Quick glance at the scoreboard for Ronnie. He's quite comfortable now

:59:05. > :59:24.in this frame. Even Ronnie O'Sullivan can't pot

:59:25. > :59:27.this mean, surely, left-handed? Not about effort, but it was the red

:59:28. > :59:34.with the left hand down the cushion which paved the way for Ronnie to

:59:35. > :59:39.take that frame. And he now extends his lead, and he just needs one

:59:40. > :59:42.more. There was a little bit of discussion

:59:43. > :59:49.about break-building. I could not show you, honestly, I don't want to

:59:50. > :59:55.show you up! But in all honesty, what was the point about the

:59:56. > :00:01.break-building? Was just one shot. I'm sure he did look, he just never

:00:02. > :00:05.played it right. You just have to make sure you go into the pack the

:00:06. > :00:11.right way. You cannot just go into the bunch and hope something

:00:12. > :00:16.happens. Fewer reds there are, the more important it comes to make

:00:17. > :00:19.contact with the correct ball in the right place. That was Dennis's

:00:20. > :00:28.point. Experience on this couch. It is

:00:29. > :00:34.interesting because I know you give some advice if you years ago about

:00:35. > :00:38.break-building. Is it something that you can learn from, just hearing

:00:39. > :00:42.advice and not just watching other people? Is it something that you can

:00:43. > :00:47.discuss? Absolutely. Stephen is one of the first players where he came

:00:48. > :00:52.of the blue and then hit the pack. He was one of the first players to

:00:53. > :00:56.play a full shot. No one had done that before. There are ways and

:00:57. > :01:04.means of doing it. What in the commentary box, people go in the

:01:05. > :01:07.pack at the last minute. They are giving themselves less chance. You

:01:08. > :01:12.see all Sullivan and Stephen play. They go in when they land on the

:01:13. > :01:16.ball in the correct manner. The pack can be gone, it is gone

:01:17. > :01:20.straightaway. Obviously, some players do better than others. They

:01:21. > :01:25.get to the table and there are 13 or 14 reds and they can just visualise

:01:26. > :01:28.the situation and now when the right time is going to be and before you

:01:29. > :01:33.start the break, you will think something and that is the time to

:01:34. > :01:38.get on the black or the blue. That is something that perhaps you cannot

:01:39. > :01:42.learn. You have to have that knowledge. Everyone plays

:01:43. > :01:47.differently. But Michael will learn so much today. From playing against

:01:48. > :01:50.Ronnie. He is watching one of the best out there. And sometimes they

:01:51. > :01:53.will be trying to get it on the angle with the black to split the

:01:54. > :01:58.pack up and they might have two or three goes to get there. The

:01:59. > :02:07.position might be right, and then they will go at the right time. Back

:02:08. > :02:12.with you for another masterclass. Bonnie has been fortunate to cover

:02:13. > :02:19.with the brown in the second frame. A gap was left between the green and

:02:20. > :02:31.the brown when he brought the red up and he sat in his seat for the remit

:02:32. > :02:35.of that frame. If he hits this to heart... Flight misjudgement. Just

:02:36. > :02:50.got the red. We have not seen much tactical play

:02:51. > :02:56.in this match. Ronnie is one of the best there has ever been in the

:02:57. > :03:01.safety Department of the game. Glancing at the other table there.

:03:02. > :03:12.Difficult not to when you are right next to it. Not the best. Can't

:03:13. > :03:22.afford to leave Ronnie O'Sullivan with this type of shot. Needs to be

:03:23. > :03:27.tight on the cushion. Really cute one on the previous frame. He does

:03:28. > :03:41.not have to hit this as hard. APPLAUSE

:03:42. > :03:46.Superb. If Ronnie O'Sullivan was to come out firing in this frame and

:03:47. > :03:53.the scoreline was to be 6-1, I am sure Michael Georgiou will be going

:03:54. > :04:03.back to his dressing room saying he played a lot of matches worse and

:04:04. > :04:09.one. That is what Stephen Hendrie was talking about in the studio.

:04:10. > :04:13.First chance Ronnie got he was straight into the bunch of the

:04:14. > :04:18.green. Would have been unlucky not to finish on one. Yet, because he

:04:19. > :04:52.went in with what you could have considered sufficient pace.

:04:53. > :05:00.Pretty easy path for Michael Georgiou. This is all about the

:05:01. > :05:07.pace. And making sure you do not collide with the ball colour. Well,

:05:08. > :05:12.that plant helps. He did have a quick look at it so he must have

:05:13. > :05:19.played it and it was not a certainty otherwise he would not have played

:05:20. > :05:24.not to get on a colour. We will just show you the plant again. It looks

:05:25. > :05:30.easy to roll up tight behind the colour but on the very fast cloth,

:05:31. > :05:41.difficult to judge this. You do not want to leave it short. He certainly

:05:42. > :05:47.did not leave it short. He has left enough of the red to the left

:05:48. > :05:50.corner. For Ronnie to take the pot on. He was just scared of not

:05:51. > :05:56.reaching the brown there, and he never hit it.

:05:57. > :06:10.On occasions in the past, Ronnie O'Sullivan said his long game is not

:06:11. > :06:24.up to scratch. Doesn't look to be much wrong with it today. Regardless

:06:25. > :06:29.of the fact that he has intimated he has not really been practising a

:06:30. > :06:47.great deal this season, using the matches as a way of practising. His

:06:48. > :06:54.cue action looks superb. 6-1. This visit. What do you reckon? It is a

:06:55. > :07:00.great chance, isn't it? Just talking about the practice here. Are member

:07:01. > :07:04.the early days when I turned professional, you would go to play

:07:05. > :07:08.the champions and they would say they had not played all summer and

:07:09. > :07:15.they had not practised and they would go on the table and just play

:07:16. > :07:24.mind games. Not saying that Ronnie is doing that but there are so many

:07:25. > :07:28.matches these days. But I think you are not far wrong in saying that 6-1

:07:29. > :07:59.is the target. Just going just over a minute and 23

:08:00. > :08:02.seconds. There hasn't been much tactical play and that just shows

:08:03. > :08:09.you with the average frame time under 15 minutes. Yes, Ronnie

:08:10. > :08:21.O'Sullivan doesn't seem to get bogged down in tactical matches.

:08:22. > :08:27.Perhaps it's a mix of the fact that he plays good safety himself and

:08:28. > :08:31.forces the issue and also he is such a good scorer. May be the case that

:08:32. > :08:34.perhaps his opponents have a slightly different mindset against

:08:35. > :08:38.him and they feel like they have got to be a bit more aggressive than

:08:39. > :08:44.they would normally be. Not absolutely sure of the equation but

:08:45. > :08:49.Ronnie O'Sullivan's frame times, regardless of how fast he placed

:08:50. > :09:01.himself, its match times come he always seems to be finished before

:09:02. > :09:08.the rest of the players around him. And in very little time indeed. The

:09:09. > :09:19.frame is more or less over. When this red goes in. I must admit, I

:09:20. > :09:26.enjoyed the little we have seen of Michael Georgiou. He started off so

:09:27. > :09:29.well. I like his cue action. He keeps his head still. And I think

:09:30. > :09:37.this will give him quite a bit of confidence. He will lose 6-1, but he

:09:38. > :09:48.has done well here. All over the table now. His highest break has

:09:49. > :10:00.been 84 and 83. He has been very fluent, very consistent. And just

:10:01. > :10:05.trying a little exhibition shot. He congratulates Ronnie. He got off to

:10:06. > :10:10.a great start, winning the opening frame, but after that it was all The

:10:11. > :10:16.Rocket. He gets through to the next and with a very comfortable win by

:10:17. > :10:19.six frames to one. Well, it is the first spring he has lost in the last

:10:20. > :10:22.three games but Michael Georgiou can take that sort of consolation.

:10:23. > :10:26.Ronnie will be playing either Matthew Stevens or Joe Perry in the

:10:27. > :10:31.last 16. Was that a harder work-out over all today? He does makes it

:10:32. > :10:35.look easy. It could be a match that other players may struggle a little

:10:36. > :10:39.but more web but he just steps up and looked a bit more focus in this

:10:40. > :10:43.match today than he did in the other one. He has played well and he has

:10:44. > :10:47.played 19 frames of snooker this week and he has lost one. We saw

:10:48. > :10:50.some absolutely fantastic pots from him, particularly in the last few

:10:51. > :10:55.frames. Yes, there was a point in a game where obviously you realise

:10:56. > :11:00.that you can't win and you just completely relax and towards the end

:11:01. > :11:03.it was basically just almost like a practice session. He was under no

:11:04. > :11:09.pressure whatsoever. It looked like frame over. So it was bread and

:11:10. > :11:13.butter stuff but you have still got to go out there and do it. It is

:11:14. > :11:17.very easy if you know you're going to win to let your concentration

:11:18. > :11:21.slip and then you start to miss all over the place but to keep your

:11:22. > :11:26.focus, that is a good thing. He potted a lot of difficult balls,

:11:27. > :11:29.certainly the left-hand screw back down the cushion that ultimately won

:11:30. > :11:34.him the match. There were a lot of awkward shot that he could easily

:11:35. > :11:38.have missed but his cueing was spot on. How much of an enjoyable moment

:11:39. > :11:41.is it when you realise that your opponent is not going to beat you

:11:42. > :11:46.and you have got a couple of friends almost to relax and show off? Is it

:11:47. > :11:49.a nice place to be? Absolutely. It is the best place to be. When you're

:11:50. > :11:52.feeling totally invincible and it does not matter what your opponent

:11:53. > :11:57.does, you know you're winning the match. It is a nice place to be. But

:11:58. > :12:01.there will be a lot of tougher matches to come. Here years. Well

:12:02. > :12:06.done. We are just talking about the work out. Was that harder than

:12:07. > :12:09.Europe at the last couple of days? Yes, first spring he got in and

:12:10. > :12:15.scored an potted some good ones and I felt a bit under pressure, to be

:12:16. > :12:19.honest. I am not used to this. So I had to try and get into the game. It

:12:20. > :12:22.was all right in the end. And what was a really big moment for him

:12:23. > :12:27.because obviously he has looked up to you and re-admired what you have

:12:28. > :12:33.done over the years will stop but it was a special moment for him. Were

:12:34. > :12:38.you aware? Could you sense that beer or excitement in the other player?

:12:39. > :12:41.No, not at all. If I had missed balls, you would probably have

:12:42. > :12:48.punished me. I don't think anyone cares about reputations. I think it

:12:49. > :12:52.was probably thinking it was a great occasion but if I would not have

:12:53. > :13:00.been on it, he would have beaten me. Your long game looking good as well.

:13:01. > :13:07.It was all right. Some awkward ones as well. Good stuff in there. Yes,

:13:08. > :13:10.it is all right. I am just trying to enjoy it. You get a little bit older

:13:11. > :13:13.and you think you just want to enjoy it. I don't want to be playing any

:13:14. > :13:17.long drawn out matches or get dragged down. I don't want to think

:13:18. > :13:21.it was hard work. I does want to enjoy it and that I get beaten, I

:13:22. > :13:24.get beaten and that I win, great. If not, I am not going to put any more

:13:25. > :13:28.miles on the clock. You've got to preserve yourself as you get a

:13:29. > :13:34.little bit older. How enjoyable was that for you today? Great. Now I

:13:35. > :13:37.have two days and I will be bored out of my head. Now I have got to

:13:38. > :13:43.kill some time, I don't know what to do. Will you go home? Don't know. I

:13:44. > :13:50.could probably get a train, I suppose. I can't run because I have

:13:51. > :13:58.a fractured heel. I don't know. I will have to go to an AA meeting or

:13:59. > :14:05.something. I tell you what I do want to ask you about, Bonnie. Lions

:14:06. > :14:08.gate, Hunger Games producers. They are talking about potentially making

:14:09. > :14:13.a film about you. What is the latest? I have sounded over. It is

:14:14. > :14:22.up to whether they want to make it or not. You have read the article in

:14:23. > :14:32.the mag new Yorker. I got a phone call and then I got if Eddie the

:14:33. > :14:41.capping eagle could make a film, so can I. Who would you like to play

:14:42. > :14:47.you? Properly it is hard. Because I am secretly in the closet. Did not

:14:48. > :14:54.expect to hear that. -- Eddie Izzard. I do not want to be on my

:14:55. > :15:01.deathbed and wishing I had done something. We live in this reality

:15:02. > :15:05.TV world and I have done our bit and other things and I just get really

:15:06. > :15:10.bored playing this game so it can be brain damaging. Stephen will tell

:15:11. > :15:13.you. It is a tough sport. I think sometimes I just need to lighten up

:15:14. > :15:19.and have as many distractions as I can. We have spoken about work- life

:15:20. > :15:22.balance. Is it hard to achieve? To get the balance right between what

:15:23. > :15:28.you want to do in the game and actually having a life away from it.

:15:29. > :15:32.Yes, it is. When you get the enjoyment from winning, when that

:15:33. > :15:37.stops happening, that is when the problem started for me. But I think

:15:38. > :15:41.there are only drawn it is these days as well. You do not get any

:15:42. > :15:46.time of. Every week there is a tournament. There is probably a

:15:47. > :15:53.tournament starting now while this is on. There are so many. It is hard

:15:54. > :16:00.for the top players you have got to work out which ones you want to play

:16:01. > :16:07.in. The great thing is, now you can pick and choose add it. Well, look

:16:08. > :16:10.at the players who missed Belfast. I don't think anyone is good enough to

:16:11. > :16:13.pick and choose at the moment. There are so many players who can beat

:16:14. > :16:19.each other. When Stephen was in his prime, he could have picked and

:16:20. > :16:25.choose to but now the gap is not that big so it goes to prove I may

:16:26. > :16:30.have been better going to Belfast and having some matches and learning

:16:31. > :16:35.to pace myself. Just getting to the last 16 and then coming to the UK

:16:36. > :16:39.and then thinking... Because that is what I used to do. I used to think I

:16:40. > :16:43.only had so many wins in me but you have to go to them to get the match

:16:44. > :16:47.practice and stay in touch. So how have you chosen this year? Last

:16:48. > :16:51.year, you did not come back until December anyway. Compared with

:16:52. > :16:55.previous seasons, you have done a reasonable amount. I think I am

:16:56. > :16:59.about 18 in the world now and I need to try and get a little bit up so I

:17:00. > :17:04.don't have to qualify for the World Championships. I did not play any a

:17:05. > :17:11.lot of tournaments and I've had to work out as well even when I have

:17:12. > :17:18.got beaten. So two trips to China. That is the weeks just for two

:17:19. > :17:22.tournaments. And is constant. But when you enter, you have to go. I

:17:23. > :17:25.just thought I needed to place the matches because I did not place are

:17:26. > :17:30.many and you lose that competitive edge, I think. One of the things I

:17:31. > :17:32.wanted to talk about what you said the other week about playing any a

:17:33. > :17:36.lot of ex-division matches. I think you did about 60 in the last year.

:17:37. > :17:40.An awful lot, in other words. If there are a danger when you're doing

:17:41. > :17:46.that that your technique loosens up a little bit? Do you become a bit

:17:47. > :17:51.ragged? The tables are really slow and heavy so you end up comping the

:17:52. > :17:54.ball about instead of hitting the ball Sweet and on these tables you

:17:55. > :18:00.need to strike it well. If you strike it poorly, it is like trying

:18:01. > :18:07.to putt on a bust up for people like us. You have to be able to strike it

:18:08. > :18:12.well. Anyway, that is history now. But it does affect your game. But I

:18:13. > :18:18.will still do some. Absolutely. It is all part of the game, isn't it?

:18:19. > :18:23.Next, Matthew Stevens and Joe Perry. Listen, the last 16 and I had one of

:18:24. > :18:30.my hardest matches last year was Joe Perry so if it is him, it will be a

:18:31. > :18:33.mega- tough match. Matthew Stevens, also world-class. He has never lost

:18:34. > :18:39.it and if he performed, here's a really fine player. So I have to

:18:40. > :18:44.bring my game. But I am just happy to still be in, I suppose. Good

:18:45. > :18:49.performance today. Thank you for coming in to chat to as. Listed

:18:50. > :18:54.quickly update you on what is going on on the other tables right now.

:18:55. > :19:00.This is an table three. We have Dave Gilbert who is gnashing his teeth at

:19:01. > :19:04.the moment because Carter 62-45 up in frame five and he has that 3-1

:19:05. > :19:13.advantage. I should tell you that in the other match Peter lines against

:19:14. > :19:19.the Highfield, it is 3-2 now. That has been turned around with breaks

:19:20. > :19:25.of 110-86 to go level and he has just got the last one. We will speak

:19:26. > :19:28.about another player who does not give up and does not know when he is

:19:29. > :19:39.beating, but does he have a technical advantage as well? Let's

:19:40. > :19:42.find out. I think it is said to say that if you become world champion

:19:43. > :19:46.and world number one, you know your way around the snooker table and

:19:47. > :19:49.Mark Selby certainly does. I think he knows his way around the table

:19:50. > :19:52.better than anyone currently playing the game. Someone who has played in

:19:53. > :19:58.more than anyone on tour, I have had my fair share with him and you just

:19:59. > :20:02.don't know what to do half the time. When he joined the circuit, he had a

:20:03. > :20:05.different bridge hand. He is to have a massive link the bridge between

:20:06. > :20:10.the tip and the back of it, and now he has gone in more compact like

:20:11. > :20:13.that. Similar to you, I think. I think a lot of us came on the tour

:20:14. > :20:16.as juniors and young players, we were used to playing on tables that

:20:17. > :20:23.were not as fast and not as good. And that technic citadels. But when

:20:24. > :20:26.you're playing on the super fast cloth and in television arenas

:20:27. > :20:31.around the world, you have got to have ultimate control of that ball.

:20:32. > :20:34.Being near and gives you that. It means there is less that can go

:20:35. > :20:38.wrong with your action and your action becomes shorter and that

:20:39. > :20:43.means that less can go wrong. But it takes a little bit of getting used

:20:44. > :20:45.to. He'll soon as the strange characteristic of his head moves

:20:46. > :20:49.from side to side as he comes into the shot. He definitely does that

:20:50. > :20:54.less than he used to but there is move there. As he is down on the

:20:55. > :20:56.shot, there is definite head movement backwards and forwards or

:20:57. > :21:01.from side to side sometimes, but at the moment of strike, he is always

:21:02. > :21:06.in the right position. I think, among many strong suits, shots

:21:07. > :21:13.selection is definitely one. I think it is this strongest suit. I perhaps

:21:14. > :21:17.personally go for the odd shot to many, whereas Mark never over

:21:18. > :21:20.exposes himself. He is always playing a shot, thinking about what

:21:21. > :21:25.happens if it goes wrong, what happens if this does not white work

:21:26. > :21:28.out, whereas someone like me is always thinking, what happens if it

:21:29. > :21:32.works? He tends to lean towards what happens if it goes wrong and that

:21:33. > :21:35.enables him to play any slightly different way. Does not take on too

:21:36. > :21:41.much damage. Means he is always there or thereabouts. Do you think

:21:42. > :21:45.that enabled his beat game to beat so good? Why he when so many matches

:21:46. > :21:49.when he is not quite on it? Yet, we can all win when we are playing at

:21:50. > :21:53.or best. When we are making great clearances. It is easy to do well.

:21:54. > :21:58.But when you are struggling, if you can have that extra sort of string

:21:59. > :22:02.to your bow, where you have got a B, C, or a deep game sometimes comic

:22:03. > :22:07.means you can relax, you know you do not have to keep clearing the table

:22:08. > :22:14.and you will always do well. It makes incredibly difficult to beat.

:22:15. > :22:19.There are the thoughts of two former world champion about the current

:22:20. > :22:23.Crucible king. We left this matter of Mark Selby against Robert

:22:24. > :22:29.Milkins, former world number 13, now into the 30s. We will head back into

:22:30. > :22:39.this. One frame a piece. Brain three from the start. Back to our taters.

:22:40. > :23:07.-- back to commentators. Not a good weight.

:23:08. > :23:21.APPLAUSE Tremendous pot from Mark Selby.

:23:22. > :23:27.Nicely on the brown or green here. He could try and take the green and

:23:28. > :23:32.go into the pack of reds, just to the right of the pink, tried to

:23:33. > :23:33.bring the paint into play because the black is not completely out of

:23:34. > :23:45.commission but difficult. Decided against going into the pack.

:23:46. > :24:24.Back up for the blue. Well, that was a complete list hit.

:24:25. > :24:29.He meant to brush by that pack of reds there. It would be a bonus if

:24:30. > :24:40.that Eddie Izzard ports now, I am sure.

:24:41. > :24:47.-- red. He has judged that nicely. That was a bonus. He probably put

:24:48. > :24:51.his hand up there to say that that was lucky. He played that one to the

:24:52. > :24:59.left of the black previously, which he will play now. That is where he

:25:00. > :25:05.played before. Just there. So now a chance with that black on the spot.

:25:06. > :25:11.If he gets just behind it, he could drop it in and the red just to the

:25:12. > :25:19.right of the black spot will be his next choice. After the black, of

:25:20. > :25:35.course. Does not want to be too straight on this black.

:25:36. > :25:44.Nice angled is to get out for that red. Good chance to win the frame

:25:45. > :26:38.from this visit. You running out of loose reds now.

:26:39. > :26:52.Needs to get back on the colour to bring the reds back into play.

:26:53. > :27:00.Essential either to get top side of the blue or even on the half green

:27:01. > :27:06.to play into the bunch. Decided to play on the half ball green. He

:27:07. > :27:10.could play for the loose red that is on the cushion. I presume that maybe

:27:11. > :27:21.the bottom red of that five pops into the right hand corner. Yes, it

:27:22. > :27:26.clearly does. He does not have to play into the bunch yet. He is also

:27:27. > :27:31.now looking at the plant. From this position, it does not look like you

:27:32. > :27:40.can get a red and there are three to pot. It looks pretty OK, the plant

:27:41. > :27:46.as well. Let's see what he decides to do. He is trying to get on the

:27:47. > :27:50.one just at the bottom of the pack now. He has come up short. He is

:27:51. > :27:58.having a look at the plant again. That is it. He did not take that

:27:59. > :28:07.very well. He has gone slightly towards the right-hand side of this

:28:08. > :28:14.pocket. Maybe just going towards that right knuckle but seems OK.

:28:15. > :28:50.APPLAUSE Nicely judged shot on the right-hand

:28:51. > :29:15.side. That red at the bottom of the pack

:29:16. > :29:27.is still available. Also the red have the right hand side cushion as

:29:28. > :29:34.well. The lead goes to 53 points. He will need red, black, red to secure

:29:35. > :29:40.this frame. And leave his wallet needing a snooker at least. -- open

:29:41. > :29:57.it. Looks just about perfect. Nice angle

:29:58. > :30:01.on the black. Just a stun up for the red. It's available into the

:30:02. > :30:22.opposite right hand corner pocket. Typical Selby this, just picking

:30:23. > :30:27.them off one by one. This is an already framed ball.

:30:28. > :30:41.Good kiss here, we could see the first century of the match.

:30:42. > :30:47.Just got enough of that red, didn't he, to push it out of the way and

:30:48. > :31:08.leave this spot and red on. Oh, just missed a cannon on the red,

:31:09. > :31:13.so there won't be a century unless he hits and hopes and the red finds

:31:14. > :31:20.a way into a pocket somewhere. Calling all pockets! Nothing went

:31:21. > :31:25.in, and Robert Milkins sits in his chair and says, that's enough. A

:31:26. > :31:29.nice 77 break from Mark Selby and he goes back into the lead once more.

:31:30. > :31:34.He leads Robert Milkins by two frames to one. The world number one

:31:35. > :31:38.Mark Selby has beaten Robert Milkins in the last five of the eight times

:31:39. > :31:43.that they've played, so he knows he has a very good record over this

:31:44. > :31:47.guy. Two frames to one then and we are going into frame four, the last

:31:48. > :32:35.before the interval. Just two points in it and Milkins is two adrift.

:32:36. > :32:41.That was a very good positional shot. Now, will he risk trying to

:32:42. > :32:46.get on the black in the middle? He could stun the rid off the top

:32:47. > :32:54.cushion and leave a black into left-centre. No, doesn't like it.

:32:55. > :33:01.Possibly try to win the friend this visit he's going to need that. That

:33:02. > :33:07.black on the spot. He has a chance now, pot the yellow, try and come

:33:08. > :33:15.down and maybe go into those two or three reds to the left of the black

:33:16. > :33:23.here. Bring some reds into play. Surely has to be on one red.

:33:24. > :33:37.Watch the cue ball. If he had hit that with a bit more pace, it was

:33:38. > :33:41.perfect line definitely on this red into the bottom right hand corner

:33:42. > :33:50.pocket, but just didn't hit it hard enough. He's not on it.

:33:51. > :33:56.REFEREE: Foul. Well, that was very sportsman like from Robert. He

:33:57. > :34:01.falled a foul on himself there and the referee didn't see it. Mark

:34:02. > :34:06.Selby having a little laugh, because he hasn't hit any of these reds into

:34:07. > :34:13.the corn pocket. He fouled the black actually, so it is seven away.

:34:14. > :34:18.That's the one great thing about our sport. Even when the referee doesn't

:34:19. > :34:25.spot the foul, the player generally will own up to it. You can feel it

:34:26. > :34:29.in your arm can't you when you misjudge the ball, sometimes it's

:34:30. > :34:34.hard for the referee to spot. Good news for Robert Milkins, he never

:34:35. > :34:38.left it easy. Albeit Mark Selby potted the red but it will only cost

:34:39. > :36:24.him one point, unless he wants to risk the yellow.

:36:25. > :36:30.This big target, the three reds sit together, he's worried about pushing

:36:31. > :36:34.the red over to the right hand corner but that's the angle off the

:36:35. > :36:38.Mildred into the three to get back into that Europe. He can't get back

:36:39. > :36:51.to it from the extreme left of the table. That's a good line. It's hard

:36:52. > :37:41.enough, it's a great line. Another inch could have had him snookered.

:37:42. > :37:47.That excellent safety shot Robert played at the previous visit to the

:37:48. > :38:04.table that developed this half chance.

:38:05. > :38:12.He's one of those players, Mark Selby is an excellent frontrunner.

:38:13. > :38:15.Robert, oh, dear, played the cannon on the brown and missed it. He's not

:38:16. > :39:16.feeling too good at the moment. We had a fluke from Robert Milkins

:39:17. > :39:23.in the second frame. And there's one from Mark Selby. A little kiss on

:39:24. > :39:26.the green has given him a chance of this brown into the top left-hand

:39:27. > :39:45.corner pocket. Didn't expect him to miss that one.

:39:46. > :40:11.And now, what a chance for Robert Milkins.

:40:12. > :40:23.It really is essential with a position like this to win the frame

:40:24. > :40:29.at this visit. It will make Mark Selby realise that Robert, if he

:40:30. > :40:33.wins this frame who he'll be the more pleased of the two, to be

:40:34. > :40:38.honest. To come out of this session 2-2, he'll be absolutely delighted.

:40:39. > :40:43.He has played a delightful little cannon to push the red away. When he

:40:44. > :40:54.putts this, it will bring the black into play as well.

:40:55. > :41:09.Just a couple of reds and high value colours here. Pink and black will be

:41:10. > :41:23.enough. I'm with you, it seems that... Oh wow, wow, wow! Can't

:41:24. > :41:32.afford to miss them, aim afraid. That was unmissable wasn't it? He's

:41:33. > :41:38.distraught there. But that's it, isn't it, he gets into such a mood

:41:39. > :41:41.when he's running around so quickly around the table, every now and

:41:42. > :41:44.again he'll throw a quick one in and miss an easy ball you don't expect

:41:45. > :41:58.him to miss. You would be surprised if Robert

:41:59. > :42:07.Milkins comes back to the table. OK, there's a bit of work to do, but

:42:08. > :42:12.Mark Selby is at his best winning frames on positions like this.

:42:13. > :42:17.Especially when he knows how much it's going to hurt his opponent if

:42:18. > :42:22.he clears up. Sometimes you put an extra bit of concentration in don't

:42:23. > :42:39.you, just to know it is going to sicken your opponent.

:42:40. > :42:54.Needs the cue ball to slow up. It's OK. If he can get on the green, I

:42:55. > :43:30.think the only difficulty from brown to blue and from blue to pink.

:43:31. > :43:42.This is the key shot coming up. May go in around the back of the blue

:43:43. > :43:51.here. Keeps his options open. Left centre pocket. This is his choice

:43:52. > :43:54.and he's played it pretty well. Two points ahead, Mark Selby. Blue and

:43:55. > :44:07.pink required to win this frame. It could be a key moment in the

:44:08. > :44:12.match already that miss on the pink for Robert Milkins. Looked like he

:44:13. > :44:15.was going to tie the match at two frames all and he is hurting in his

:44:16. > :44:23.chair at the moment. He doesn't want to look. Pink for a 3-1 lead. And

:44:24. > :44:31.it's there! APPLAUSE. And that will certainly

:44:32. > :44:36.hurt Robert Milkins. Mark Selby pinches the frame and goes into the

:44:37. > :44:39.mid-session interval, leading by three frames to one. And that

:44:40. > :44:43.half-time cup of tea will taste rather good. 3-1 in the lead at the

:44:44. > :44:49.moment for the world number one. It is not just been head down all

:44:50. > :44:53.practise here at the Barbican Centre for Mark and indeed for Dominic.

:44:54. > :44:58.They were lucky. They went along to the big RAF base here near York to

:44:59. > :45:03.try something that most mere mortals like you and me never get the chance

:45:04. > :45:09.to do, and that's to have a go in an RAF flight simulator. There was a

:45:10. > :45:14.price to play, he they had some official duties to perform too. Just

:45:15. > :45:19.a short distance from the Barbican the village of Lynton on Ous

:45:20. > :45:25.section, where the RAF train tomorrow's FastJet pilots. True

:45:26. > :45:27.intrepid players were more than willing to find out what's all

:45:28. > :45:40.about. This is the second stage of training

:45:41. > :45:48.for the pilots. First stage is elementary flying training. This is

:45:49. > :45:53.basic fast Jet training. All the guys train in a simulator before

:45:54. > :45:57.flying in an aircraft. They do about 36 hours in the sim out of a course

:45:58. > :46:05.of 100 live flying hours. That's good. Looking down the far end of

:46:06. > :46:09.the runway. Push with the right foot, push with the right foot, the

:46:10. > :46:14.push with the right foot, mull back on the control column. That's good.

:46:15. > :46:18.OK, now just lower the nose slightly. Night was a good

:46:19. > :46:22.experience. We came here today myself and Dom to have a go in the

:46:23. > :46:27.flight simulator to see how it works. Different experience to what

:46:28. > :46:35.we are used to, playing snooker, but it was fun. His break-off is better

:46:36. > :46:39.than his takeoff! As for Dominic, his own version of loop the loop...

:46:40. > :46:46.You have control. Roll quicker. Quicker! A bit more. Keep rolling.

:46:47. > :46:50.This is a very tough skill. It's been a lovely, enjoyable experience

:46:51. > :46:55.having a go on the flight simulator. The joystick and the pedals and what

:46:56. > :46:57.have you were just as sensitive as aimagined them to be. Controlling

:46:58. > :47:08.the aircraft was difficult. Full of variety. But it wouldn't be a

:47:09. > :47:13.snooker field trip if there wasn't a new club to met them. He shook the

:47:14. > :47:17.Station Commander's hand. It was all official at this point. And who

:47:18. > :47:21.better the make the club's first break-off than the world number one.

:47:22. > :47:28.Two or three years ago the Sergeant's mess was a changing their

:47:29. > :47:34.snooker room into a coffee ante room, so the snooker table was going

:47:35. > :47:40.beg being. We asked if we could have it. We got it set up and six months

:47:41. > :47:45.ago we got in touch with the Nuffield Trust who got the table

:47:46. > :47:51.reclothed and recushioned. A couple of new cues and new balls and we are

:47:52. > :47:56.now in a position to open the club. It is like an old-style billiards

:47:57. > :48:01.hall, with the high ceiling and the 1920s Riley table. It is a lovely

:48:02. > :48:14.facility and I hope it gets well used. It was good to see Mark.

:48:15. > :48:19.Thanks for them coming down. It is massively appreciated. Is there a

:48:20. > :48:24.future in fast jets for our budding Top Guns? They are perhaps a long

:48:25. > :48:28.way from maverick status but flying high in the UK Championship will do

:48:29. > :48:32.for now. Both are through to the last 32 and they are cleared for

:48:33. > :48:35.takeoff again in the Barbican Centre once more.

:48:36. > :48:41.What a fantastic thing to be able to do. I wouldn't mind that. I live not

:48:42. > :48:46.far from an airfield. I'm always tempted to have a couple of lessons.

:48:47. > :48:50.I find it fascinating. You are not scared of heights are you? Don't

:48:51. > :48:56.think so. Would you have a go at this? It looks quite interesting to

:48:57. > :49:01.know what's involved. It is a massive departure from what we do,

:49:02. > :49:07.isn't it? It is. I've been very lucky in my life, because about 20

:49:08. > :49:13.years ago I went up in a Tornado jet at RAF Leuchars when it was still

:49:14. > :49:18.going at the time. Wow! I did a proper loop the loop. Did you keep

:49:19. > :49:23.your lunch down? No, I did not! But it was a privilege. Was this before

:49:24. > :49:28.you came a wonderful break-builder or afterwards? Let's not go there.

:49:29. > :49:31.Even to have that sensation or the feeling of it again would be

:49:32. > :49:35.wonderful. Going out over the North Sea and breaking the speed of sound,

:49:36. > :49:42.wow! Are you feeling the freed for speed? Something like that. Mark got

:49:43. > :49:48.a taste of it in that flight simulator. We are from the top of

:49:49. > :49:55.frame 5, Mark with the 3-1 advantage today.

:49:56. > :50:03.Robert Milkins wouldn't have enjoyed his 15 minute interval. He didn't

:50:04. > :50:08.play well enough to be tall but that was the equation. It was an easy

:50:09. > :50:48.pink when he was certain to win the frame.

:50:49. > :50:56.An excellent shot. I'm not sure if he played to kiss the red first and

:50:57. > :51:01.stay on the black, but kissing the black like he did, I would give limb

:51:02. > :51:32.the benefit of the doubt. I imagine he wanted to free the red away.

:51:33. > :51:41.He's helping that red next to the black potted into this bottom right

:51:42. > :51:46.hand corner pocket but it doesn't, so trying to power the cue ball

:51:47. > :51:59.through the reds. Not good. Seemed to play that shot without any

:52:00. > :52:03.left-hand side. Normally a lot of players would have played that with

:52:04. > :52:07.a lot of left-hand side. Side. Once it touches the right-hand side

:52:08. > :52:12.cushion it would go up towards the blue to the middle of the table.

:52:13. > :52:16.Didn't seem to get any side on it whatsoever. Try to hit the yellow

:52:17. > :53:04.here just off one cushion. Looks like he's been tempted. It's

:53:05. > :53:09.going to have to go in. There is an example of his cue power. Hardly

:53:10. > :53:16.touched that and manage to do so screw back to baulk. Look at where

:53:17. > :53:41.the red is going. Just past the middle pocket.

:53:42. > :53:47.That's cueing at its finest. He couldn't have played that much

:53:48. > :53:52.better. Look at the lovely angle on the blue. Just come around to check

:53:53. > :53:57.the black pots, taking a few shots ahead here. If the black pots into

:53:58. > :54:02.this bottom right hand corner pocket it will try to get back on the red.

:54:03. > :54:07.Looks like it goes. It's got to be high enough on the black to pot the

:54:08. > :54:12.black in a couple of shots' time, if and move the red just to the left of

:54:13. > :54:20.the black away and into an open position. Putt this red and make the

:54:21. > :54:24.cue ball probably just a couple of inches lower than where the red is

:54:25. > :54:38.right now and a nice angle on the black.

:54:39. > :54:45.When he putts this black he wants to try and make sure when he hits the

:54:46. > :54:50.red he wants to bounce it off the top cushion here, or even hit it

:54:51. > :54:55.towards this bottom right hand corner pocket. He's played it

:54:56. > :55:02.nicely. Sometimes you can play that shot and if you don't play it hard

:55:03. > :55:06.enough, it will not come off this top cushion enough to make it an

:55:07. > :55:19.easier putt. He couldn't have played that much better.

:55:20. > :55:26.Trying to clear up the right hand centre pocket now, I'm sure. After

:55:27. > :55:30.putting this green. A couple of reds over the right middle. Try to free

:55:31. > :56:42.up the blue and to both pockets. In the previous frames Mark Selby's

:56:43. > :56:49.been in first in virtually every frame. He is still only 28 and

:56:50. > :57:09.that's just not good enough at this level.

:57:10. > :57:13.Cannon the two reds on to the pink spot to hold the cue ball. Didn't do

:57:14. > :58:41.it that time but that was an option. Nice little cannon into the red. A

:58:42. > :58:46.gentle cannon as it was, but it was perfect on this red, which he just

:58:47. > :58:49.pot there and brings the other reds into play. Play. Always got the red

:58:50. > :59:05.over the right centre as well. 58 points in the lead, so red colour

:59:06. > :59:41.red here will be enough. Again another frame on the board.

:59:42. > :59:47.A certain century there for Mark Selby, a series of little stunt

:59:48. > :59:51.shots. I suppose in fairness just getting on the yellow would be a

:59:52. > :59:57.slight problem but may play that if the baulk is off the last red. You

:59:58. > :00:15.would expect him to hit a century now he's settled.

:00:16. > :00:25.Six blacks, one pink, to green. Not the initial red as well. When he

:00:26. > :00:28.brought the black into play, that is when he could win the frame from

:00:29. > :00:35.this particular visit. And that is what we call the art of brick

:00:36. > :00:38.building. Getting the balls into position. Without a doubt. And

:00:39. > :00:45.getting the big colours into position. Something and eight red

:00:46. > :00:49.break of six greens and things like that, that is why you see these top

:00:50. > :00:57.players always tried to bring the black or pink back into play at the

:00:58. > :00:59.earliest possibility. This looks almost certain to be 442 consecutive

:01:00. > :01:28.centuries. He is certainly tall and of that he

:01:29. > :01:29.does not need the rest on that particular shot. He has pleaded very

:01:30. > :02:10.well. -- he has played it very well. It has been a masterclass of brick

:02:11. > :02:13.building. Already had 23 centuries already this season. This is his

:02:14. > :02:22.24th. Plenty more to come from this young man. Shows you how important a

:02:23. > :02:31.fourth frame was when he missed the pink.

:02:32. > :02:33.APPLAUSE This time he leads by four frames

:02:34. > :03:52.one. Mark Selby breaks off. 4-1 lead.

:03:53. > :04:02.Which essentially means that his opponent Robert Milkins must win

:04:03. > :04:11.five. Five out of six, if possible. To try to win this match. It is a

:04:12. > :05:30.tall order against a world champion. But he has had his chances.

:05:31. > :05:49.Nice to see Robert getting into a bit of a group here. He hasn't

:05:50. > :07:00.really made any decent breaks. Maybe just a bit of noise coming

:07:01. > :07:05.from the other table just disturbed his concentration a little bit. He

:07:06. > :07:24.was down and he got back up but missed some of those.

:07:25. > :07:30.He has had a good look at this pack of reds. I don't think he is going

:07:31. > :07:35.to make it planned by the ready possible plant at the back of the

:07:36. > :07:41.pack but he can't get to them. There are the balls he is looking at but

:07:42. > :07:47.how does he get to that last red. I think it makes a reverse planned

:07:48. > :07:50.because I think it will push towards the right-hand side and he will

:07:51. > :07:53.stick and right that the baulk of the misses it. There's got to be

:07:54. > :08:00.careful. He has got to avoid the red that is on the top cushion as well.

:08:01. > :08:05.Because he has hit that's and he has just gifted Mark Selby an

:08:06. > :08:54.opportunity here. There is a bit of frustration from Robert Milkins.

:08:55. > :09:01.Interesting to see now. Will he tried to nudge into the pack and

:09:02. > :09:06.beyond the two reds to the left-hand corner packet -- pocket? He could

:09:07. > :09:19.have nudged into them and maybe brought another one into play.

:09:20. > :09:28.Decided against it on that occasion. He has got the same shot here.

:09:29. > :09:32.Again, there are plenty of Liz reds. He may not take the opportunity to

:09:33. > :09:38.go into the pack here. Well, you did, now he is properly sorry that

:09:39. > :09:44.he has done. Did not get the normal sort of reaction from the cue ball

:09:45. > :09:52.than he usually does. Usually hits the reds and then side spin off the

:09:53. > :09:55.bottom of the cue ball and then take shape and then comes through the

:09:56. > :11:34.reds again. Well, it did not happen there. Maybe just a safety shot now.

:11:35. > :11:40.Well, this is a great shot. A fantastic shot from Robert Milkins.

:11:41. > :11:43.He could not have tools that much better. -- he could not have chosen

:11:44. > :11:57.that better. Might be able to do is nestle into

:11:58. > :12:08.these reds. He has got to judge this dead weight.

:12:09. > :13:27.Always keen to find the cushion when you play that shot, to stop your

:13:28. > :13:30.open and being able to screw back to the same place. Just needed to get

:13:31. > :15:26.closer to the cushion to make it difficult for Robert.

:15:27. > :15:42.Nice support. And where all the reds are. Up in the top of the table.

:15:43. > :15:48.Just going to have to concentrate on a possibly green or brown here. The

:15:49. > :15:59.only couple of ball colours that will pot. The brown can go into the

:16:00. > :16:04.left-hand corner pocket. Green if he gets it on to the spot after this

:16:05. > :16:28.red will pot as well right into the corner pocket.

:16:29. > :16:55.Just a matter of keeping control of the cue ball here, isn't it?

:16:56. > :17:03.So far, it is been a typical Mark Selby performance. We spoke about

:17:04. > :17:07.his matchplay and his the game and he has not been on his a game, it

:17:08. > :17:19.has to be said. He had one nice break of 120. But he certainly has

:17:20. > :17:26.not played anywhere near his best. But his second-best is so good and

:17:27. > :17:29.so consistent that he still plays well and can still win. It is always

:17:30. > :17:47.a good sign. It is most likely paces himself at

:17:48. > :17:51.times. Yes, absolutely. He is doing all the scoring but he is not that

:17:52. > :18:01.into it today. He has not had to play as tight as he is had to win

:18:02. > :18:06.his opponent is playing better. He has just gone 18 points in front of

:18:07. > :18:09.you can win the frame and the five remaining through open play. He does

:18:10. > :18:13.not necessarily need the one that is tight on the left-hand side cushion,

:18:14. > :18:17.depending on what colour is key parts of course. If you took all

:18:18. > :18:21.yellows or all greens then he may still need that last red. Let's look

:18:22. > :18:25.at the scoreboard. He would be better to get the blues back into

:18:26. > :18:35.his own spot. He is going to work it out now. He is having another glance

:18:36. > :18:45.at the scoreboard. Well, he has got 18 points already so he has plenty

:18:46. > :19:03.there. The four reds and even browns and greens should be enough.

:19:04. > :19:14.It is amazing, people will always ask how many shots and sometimes

:19:15. > :19:21.they may be thinking for or five or six shots ahead. In this case, Mark

:19:22. > :19:26.Selby is probably thinking about at least five reds, five colours, so

:19:27. > :19:33.that is ten shots and then will he need that red that is close to the

:19:34. > :19:42.left-hand side cushion? He is doing his car collisions. Can he get past

:19:43. > :19:45.the wing line without having to worry about those? That is the

:19:46. > :20:05.reason he stood at the scoreboard for quite some time.

:20:06. > :20:13.I know that the great Stephen Hendrie was commentating on Mark

:20:14. > :20:16.Selby and he put on twitter that he won a match and also played rubbish,

:20:17. > :20:19.but that is the way that he can play. He does not have to play well

:20:20. > :20:24.to win and he has not played his best today but it looks like he will

:20:25. > :20:34.win. He is scoring better than he did in his first match. Hammy

:20:35. > :20:39.players in the game would love to play like that and then also win?

:20:40. > :20:51.You can count them on one hand. Absolutely. It is a fine art. 37

:20:52. > :21:00.points ahead so he can drop the red in. And that is exactly what he has

:21:01. > :21:04.done. Just made sure of the red, as you try to get a ball colour into

:21:05. > :21:21.the same pocket. He could possibly miss it. And that is typical

:21:22. > :21:24.matchplay and a lesson for any young snooker player watching this

:21:25. > :21:43.afternoon. Well, except for a snooker, that

:21:44. > :21:48.fortified break will put another frame on the board for Mark Selby

:21:49. > :21:53.and he will go into a 5-1 lead. Yes, and that was indeed an offer that

:21:54. > :21:56.for a frame advantage. He has already had 16-1 win against Andy

:21:57. > :21:58.Hicks in the opening round. Is he heading for another? Let's find out.

:21:59. > :22:17.Frame seven, no points yet. I can't believe how careless Robert

:22:18. > :22:22.played that last 60 shot. Surely he will need to play to the left-hand

:22:23. > :22:26.side so he does not need that pot. Luckily for him, Mark Selby did not

:22:27. > :22:37.put it in. He has forced an opening, can he take it? Good first part.

:22:38. > :22:44.You are kidding. I am afraid he does not want to be here any more. He

:22:45. > :23:03.just wants to get out of the place. He is really struggling.

:23:04. > :23:12.You have to feel for him. It is just one of those days. Cant seem to do

:23:13. > :23:16.anything right. It is a tough game, particularly playing the best

:23:17. > :23:21.players in the world and the world number one in the world, the world

:23:22. > :24:32.champion. One of the best players who as of played.

:24:33. > :24:39.He needs to get down this end as quickly as he can. He will probably

:24:40. > :24:53.try to pot another colour. The black is the one that opens every thing

:24:54. > :24:57.up. Ideally of the next red or the one after that, she will be looking

:24:58. > :25:00.to get on the blue. And then it is easier to get onto the blue. He has

:25:01. > :25:57.just looked where to pot. And it surprised he has not gone a

:25:58. > :26:04.little bit earlier than this and he is still one shot away from this end

:26:05. > :26:17.of the table. He is looking at the brown for that red at the back of

:26:18. > :26:24.the pack. I don't know why he did that. Obviously played to go into

:26:25. > :27:15.the pack and missed it by a long way.

:27:16. > :27:21.Good pot. Nice angle on the blue Nile to go into the reds here now.

:27:22. > :27:24.Just looking to see if the bottom one will pot but may be an

:27:25. > :27:35.opportunity to go into the reds to try to open them all up and take a

:27:36. > :27:46.chance. Has not worked out. A little bit too straight for him. Just

:27:47. > :28:31.needed to hit that think a little bit fuller. -- pink.

:28:32. > :28:41.Follow the sudden, Mark Selby has become a little bit overcautious. He

:28:42. > :28:44.got into those with the reds at the reds and the other end of the table

:28:45. > :28:48.and nobody would quickly get up to the other end and then because he

:28:49. > :28:56.didn't he ran out of reds. And then his shot did not come off and he has

:28:57. > :30:11.become restricted. -- stated. -- frustrated.

:30:12. > :30:17.He's hard enough to beat without getting good cases like that. That

:30:18. > :30:26.was unbelievable, the way he got with that. He'd have been right in

:30:27. > :30:29.among them apart from that kiss. That's what happens sometimes, when

:30:30. > :30:35.things are going against you, they are going against you. You're not

:30:36. > :30:43.playing well, you're not getting a look, your opponent seems to get all

:30:44. > :30:51.the running. Nice little nudge, and he's putting in trouble here. Not

:30:52. > :31:03.straightforward to get back down to baulk this is very shot not

:31:04. > :31:15.straightforward to get back to baulk from this position.

:31:16. > :31:23.Sometimes you can make your luck if you are playing well. Everything

:31:24. > :31:28.seems like hard work at the moment, especially in this match. Could be

:31:29. > :31:35.his last shot, just the way the position of the reds now. The one

:31:36. > :31:44.red he wanted to avoid it, he's hit it full ball. Left his opponent Plum

:31:45. > :32:00.in amongst the reds here. It's just a practice set up.

:32:01. > :32:07.Milkins will be disappointed with his performance today. For the game

:32:08. > :32:12.he will have been very excited about playing on TV, playing the world

:32:13. > :32:18.champion, world number one, having a good match against him, but he just

:32:19. > :32:25.hasn't performed today. He is a much better player than this, believe me.

:32:26. > :32:39.Some days, like this, we've had plenty of them, haven't we? Many,

:32:40. > :32:43.many times. And yet you have days when you can't miss a ball. It's so

:32:44. > :32:50.strange, isn't it, what the mind can do to you? Even that was not his

:32:51. > :33:18.best shot, but he got a nice enough kiss to be perfect on the red.

:33:19. > :33:45.Not enough on for a century, of course, but he won't be bothered. He

:33:46. > :33:56.did make a nice 120 in the fifth frame.

:33:57. > :34:07.So, 52 points in front, bar the shouting, now. Mark Selby will be

:34:08. > :34:10.pretty pleased. Hasn't had to be at his all-time best but when he's been

:34:11. > :34:18.in the balls he's scored lots of breaks. Six or seven breaks of 30,

:34:19. > :35:30.couple of 70s, and a 120. So a good work-out.

:35:31. > :35:38.The cue ball needs to be travelling a bit more. Just about on it, is he?

:35:39. > :35:55.Good shot. Probably not been the work-out that

:35:56. > :36:02.Mark Selby expected from Robert Milkins today. Shakes his hand and

:36:03. > :36:07.says well played. Didn't play so well but Mark Selby won't be too

:36:08. > :36:12.worried about that, you'll be delighted. The world number one is

:36:13. > :36:19.in the next round, he beats Robert Milkins 6-1. And he is in the studio

:36:20. > :36:22.as well. Well played, straightforward 6-1, more

:36:23. > :36:26.straightforward than you could have imagined against a potentially

:36:27. > :36:31.dangerous player? He is, but he was nowhere near his game today. If he

:36:32. > :36:36.does play well he is a match for anyone. He wins friends so quickly.

:36:37. > :36:42.But wasn't on his game today. How much better did you play than your

:36:43. > :36:53.last match? I felt a little better, more in control. You were rubbish,

:36:54. > :36:57.then. That's a compliment. He's right, though, I was. Impact is I'd

:36:58. > :37:01.have a Hundred Break think I was playing well.

:37:02. > :37:08.The worst president in the commentary box is him. Before- four,

:37:09. > :37:12.all of a sudden he found a gear, which is what you do. Write

:37:13. > :37:16.interesting, you tweeted after that you'd seen both the world number one

:37:17. > :37:20.and two, and they were rubbish, and both came back and said it was a

:37:21. > :37:24.compliment. What would your assessment be? It looked a lot

:37:25. > :37:28.better, hitting the ball is more comfortable around the table, a bit

:37:29. > :37:32.of rhythm. Robert Milkins is the type of player, not on his game, he

:37:33. > :37:37.is quite comfortable to play because you get loads of chances. If he is

:37:38. > :37:42.on his game he is so dangerous, you can reel off trains in five or ten

:37:43. > :37:46.minutes. One ball that can be missed can completely change the momentum

:37:47. > :37:51.of the match, the Pinky missed at the middle pocket, before the

:37:52. > :37:55.interval. You know, when somebody misses like that and they have 15

:37:56. > :38:00.minutes in the interval to sit and think about it. That's right, I

:38:01. > :38:04.missed the brown earlier, tried to screw off when I should have rolled

:38:05. > :38:10.it in playing the ball off one cushion and I was cursing myself, I

:38:11. > :38:16.knew it was a good chance to go 3-1. And he couldn't play that pink any

:38:17. > :38:21.quicker, very careless. If he pots that, 2-2, different story. And you

:38:22. > :38:28.are through to play Mitchell Mann or Zhang Anda in the next round. It's

:38:29. > :38:34.been a surprising tournament, Trump and Neil Robertson going out to the

:38:35. > :38:38.same family, the Lines boys. How do you assess the number of big-name

:38:39. > :38:43.surprises? I think the way the format is now, 128, the fear factor

:38:44. > :38:49.that used to be there many years ago when everybody was seated, when

:38:50. > :38:55.these younger players played the top 16, a lot of times it would be live

:38:56. > :38:59.on TV and it's a completely different game. I think that fear

:39:00. > :39:03.factor has gone and it is showing in big tournaments like this. Which

:39:04. > :39:07.means that you are there to be shot at the whole time but yet you are

:39:08. > :39:11.still there as well number one. We said on Saturday, fifth season in a

:39:12. > :39:15.row you have ended as world number one and you've just had three big

:39:16. > :39:18.world ranking wins in six months. Would you say this is the best

:39:19. > :39:24.season of your career to date? Possibly, yeah. Definitely the best

:39:25. > :39:27.start I've had in a season. I won one of the big tournaments in China,

:39:28. > :39:33.and a smaller tournament at the start of the season. In terms of

:39:34. > :39:37.consistency, the last few years, I seem to win at least one tournament

:39:38. > :39:42.in the season. This year has probably been the best start to any

:39:43. > :39:48.seasoned. We talk about the seeds going out, but you your own business

:39:49. > :39:53.and let the draw unfolds, you can never really predict. You look at it

:39:54. > :39:57.sometimes and think, I must be playing him, next minute, you never

:39:58. > :40:01.know, just get on with your own match. That's true and it shows the

:40:02. > :40:04.strength of depth in snooker. You look at the seeds in your half

:40:05. > :40:08.thinking you will play them in the last 16 and before you know it, some

:40:09. > :40:12.of them get beaten and you are playing somebody you don't expect.

:40:13. > :40:17.We saw what you were doing away from the table, great piece when you had

:40:18. > :40:23.a go in the RAF simulator. Good job it was a simulator. You're telling

:40:24. > :40:27.me, definitely. Enjoyable? It was good. You had the guy talking in our

:40:28. > :40:30.ear telling us what to do, turn left, turn right, look at the

:40:31. > :40:34.different things. I was overanalysing everything and not

:40:35. > :40:38.concentrating on what I was doing. It was enjoyable but stressful as

:40:39. > :40:41.well. Stick to the day job, definitely. Looked like you were on

:40:42. > :40:47.autopilot today, cruise control, perhaps. Well done. Another couple

:40:48. > :40:50.of matches to update you with, Ali Carter looked as though he was in

:40:51. > :40:55.the ascendancy but he's been in an almighty scrap against Dave Gilbert,

:40:56. > :41:00.the man who made real strides in this came over the last couple of

:41:01. > :41:04.seasons. Dave was 3-0 down but he's come straight back to level at 3-3

:41:05. > :41:12.and he went back to back centuries to go 5-3 in front. It's now gone

:41:13. > :41:16.5-4, and that one very tense indeed for the four-time ranking win

:41:17. > :41:20.against Dave Gilbert. Now this is the other match, the only other one

:41:21. > :41:25.to be decided this afternoon, Liam Highfield has come roaring back

:41:26. > :41:30.having been 2-0 down against Peter Lines, the guy who beat Neil

:41:31. > :41:37.Robertson, the 46-year-old. He won six frames in a row and has gone 6-2

:41:38. > :41:42.with a century, 110 along the way as well. Just 26 years of age. Really

:41:43. > :41:49.beginning to make waves on the scene. Neil Robertson's conqueror

:41:50. > :41:53.has himself been conquered. This is the situation for tonight. For more

:41:54. > :42:01.matches this evening. Five of the eight players in action this evening

:42:02. > :42:13.are Chinese. Hong Kong Chinese in Marco Fu and for other mainland

:42:14. > :42:16.Chinese players. The match between John Higgins and Ben Woollaston is

:42:17. > :42:21.interesting, a repeat of the Welsh Open final, the first big event

:42:22. > :42:26.final four when Woollaston, a very likeable player. It was all a little

:42:27. > :42:32.too much for him, 9-3. This man making real inroads. You watched

:42:33. > :42:37.John's last match? He had a real tough outing. Pushed him right to

:42:38. > :42:43.the end. Looked for all the way like it would go 5-5. He was a very good

:42:44. > :42:47.player, he beat Ken Doherty 6-0 the round before. John Higgins had to

:42:48. > :42:50.work very hard. You consider the form Higgins has been in, winning

:42:51. > :42:57.two tournaments, the end he was relieved to get through. Fantastic

:42:58. > :42:59.November, he is also knocked in an eighth maximum break. He says he's

:43:00. > :43:04.been cueing up to this point probably better than he has for ten

:43:05. > :43:07.or 15 years, and that's some statement from a man who is as

:43:08. > :43:13.conservative with his opinions as John. Outstanding. In China against

:43:14. > :43:18.being, winning the last three frames in a row to win that. Champion of

:43:19. > :43:23.champions, outstanding against O'Sullivan. His form is back. They

:43:24. > :43:26.were not ranking events, so he still leads the points, so this is an

:43:27. > :43:32.important tournament for him. Important time for us to dash, our

:43:33. > :43:38.quickfire afternoon has come to a bit of a quickfire end. Thank you to

:43:39. > :43:42.you both for your company. Jason Mohammad will be back much later

:43:43. > :43:44.with the highlights programme but from us all here in York, thank you

:43:45. > :44:02.for your company. Goodbye. The most daunting

:44:03. > :44:05.of cookery challenges is back. It's not as simple

:44:06. > :44:07.as it first appears, is it? It's going to take a very skilled

:44:08. > :44:15.chef to pull this off to that level. I can't wait to see

:44:16. > :44:18.what they can do.