:00:35. > :00:41.Hello and welcome to the Crucible, the first Snooker Extra of the 2014
:00:42. > :00:45.World Snooker Championship. We are focusing on match between Steve
:00:46. > :00:50.Mcquire and Ryan Day. The choir has been a semifinalist here in
:00:51. > :00:51.occasions. They has been a three-time quarter-finalist. Let's
:00:52. > :01:07.get straight to the action. What a close matchup this could be
:01:08. > :01:11.two great players. Day breaking of. They will both be very nervous.
:01:12. > :01:17.Steve Mcquire has been struggling over the last few tournaments with a
:01:18. > :01:22.bad back. Allegedly it is feeling a lot that are now. He needs to try to
:01:23. > :01:34.get himself fit. I expect this to be a very open
:01:35. > :01:41.game. Both are very attacking players. Yes, and Steve Mcquire has
:01:42. > :01:50.found out that the table is running very quickly. -- Maguire. The bow
:01:51. > :01:55.flight to go for those shots. They are the type of players that like to
:01:56. > :02:53.do breaks when they get the chance. He is just trying to play two
:02:54. > :03:46.cushions and rest into the pack. You could always go wrong. Not too bad.
:03:47. > :03:54.That was a very good shot. He has always been an aggressive rate
:03:55. > :03:57.builder, Maguire. The top players always go for the throat and try to
:03:58. > :04:24.win the frame at one visit. I do know how many years she has
:04:25. > :04:26.been here, but you can count on one hand the number of mistakes she
:04:27. > :04:49.makes. A very good referee. I don't think he played to catch the
:04:50. > :05:14.knuckle of the middle pocket. Maguire had a bit of back trouble at
:05:15. > :05:18.the Welsh open this year. It comes with the profession, I'm afraid.
:05:19. > :05:28.Next back problems. But he is better now.
:05:29. > :06:00.He is telling me now that he is fully fit again.
:06:01. > :06:22.He still has the pot available in the middle. But to keep that wreck
:06:23. > :06:41.going, he will have two go for the blue. -- the break going.
:06:42. > :06:50.If he screws it back, he might be able to get onto the black. He is
:06:51. > :06:55.trying to screw it back but there is not a lot of room to get back onto
:06:56. > :07:04.the black from here. What a shot. What a great shot. I would have to
:07:05. > :07:05.say, we are very early in the tournament, but who do you think
:07:06. > :07:46.will win? That was another very aggressive
:07:47. > :07:52.shot. His number one asset is when he gets into the balls, he scores
:07:53. > :07:59.very quickly. In five or six minutes, he could find himself a
:08:00. > :08:06.frame in front. Surely the pink is not available in the middle. He is
:08:07. > :08:17.holding his hand up to say that it is. That is amazing. It just opened
:08:18. > :08:27.up between V reds to get the pink. Unbelievable. It is surprising how
:08:28. > :08:29.quickly his facial expression changed when he thought he lost
:08:30. > :08:57.possession. He apologised to his opponent.
:08:58. > :09:05.Steve Mcquire spent most of his early career practising with Stephen
:09:06. > :09:07.Hendry in Stirling -- Maguire. He will be very good in the
:09:08. > :09:19.break-building department learning from the top man.
:09:20. > :09:24.Stephen Hendry, when he was playing, he was looking for an opportunity
:09:25. > :09:38.all the time. He was very aggressive and going for
:09:39. > :10:53.shot is that others wouldn't. Also splitting the pack up very early.
:10:54. > :11:11.He needs to slow down a bit. He is a cave. -- OK.
:11:12. > :11:26.This is good from Maguire, just the start he would have been looking
:11:27. > :11:31.for. Taking your practice table form onto the match table. He has been on
:11:32. > :11:40.the practice tables for little while earlier on. Apart from the good
:11:41. > :11:44.fortune he had when he got up to the pink in the middle when he wasn't
:11:45. > :11:56.expecting to, he has placed the rest of this break absolutely first
:11:57. > :11:56.class. -- played. He can now concentrate on making another
:11:57. > :13:15.Crucible century. Maguire breaking of frame two. The
:13:16. > :13:27.frame takes about five minutes. Ryan now has the pace on the table.
:13:28. > :14:00.It is the only red he can see. He may as well take it on.
:14:01. > :14:20.He has taken the green on the centre.
:14:21. > :16:35.He is swinging the cue ball, trying to get the white in between the
:16:36. > :16:42.green and brown. Just missed the kiss on the blue. He needs some
:16:43. > :16:54.help. But he hasn't got it. Another chance for Ryan. It is a typical
:16:55. > :17:01.type of safety shot that Maguire likes to play. He opens the balls
:17:02. > :17:08.very quickly. If he gets it did cue ball down the bottom, he puts
:17:09. > :17:49.pressure on his opponent. -- a good cue ball.
:17:50. > :18:11.This is an excellent chance to level the scores. The reds perfect. -- are
:18:12. > :19:29.perfect. Both these players were expected to win the frame.
:19:30. > :19:55.The pink looks available into the two corners.
:19:56. > :20:54.He has got so much cue power, he is able to make an angle.
:20:55. > :20:59.He just slightly underhit that one. He would have liked it to be a
:21:00. > :21:57.little straighter. He doesn't really want to kiss into
:21:58. > :22:12.those two reds. He has three open reds really.
:22:13. > :22:20.Seeing him play like this, it is a wonder that he is down to number 20.
:22:21. > :22:24.He was number six a few seasons ago but he lost his way little bit. I
:22:25. > :22:30.think he suffered a bit with a lack of confidence. Once you lose a
:22:31. > :22:36.couple of matches, it tend to doubt yourself a bit. But he cues
:22:37. > :22:58.beautifully. He is a great player to watch.
:22:59. > :23:06.He has clinched the frame. The crowd at the Crucible always enjoy the
:23:07. > :23:22.centuries. It is nice to see both players and
:23:23. > :23:26.fabulous form. A break of 71 from Maguire in the draw. This has been
:23:27. > :25:02.excellent as well. Ryan Day made 24 centuries this
:25:03. > :25:18.season. 218 century breaks in his career. He is one of the leakages.
:25:19. > :25:23.-- big hitters. Wonderful stuff from Ryan Day. It is level again. One
:25:24. > :25:44.frame each. The opening two frames have been of
:25:45. > :25:53.a very high standard. Ryan Day off at frame three.
:25:54. > :26:24.I think these pockets have got a bit bigger all of a sudden! Great stuff.
:26:25. > :26:28.A lot of people think you need to have contrasting styles to get a
:26:29. > :26:44.good match but you don't really. You get to people like this, very
:26:45. > :26:48.aggressive, great long potters. When you have two players playing at the
:26:49. > :26:55.top of their form, there is no weakness. Starting with a good long
:26:56. > :26:58.red shows that Maguire is not worried about what happened in the
:26:59. > :27:01.previous frame. He is trying to win the frame at this visit but that has
:27:02. > :27:46.gone astray. Beautifully played. He needs to get
:27:47. > :27:52.a cannon to dislodge the black. Very impressive stuff from both players.
:27:53. > :27:57.It is very early on in the championship, but we have seen some
:27:58. > :28:03.wonderful stuff already in this match. Either player when the draw
:28:04. > :28:08.came out would have been looking forward to it. There have certainly
:28:09. > :28:16.been a lot easier draws than this Maguire. It is nice to see him
:28:17. > :28:58.playing well again having suffered with that back problem.
:28:59. > :29:05.These two players have led each other seven times and Stephen
:29:06. > :29:10.McGuire has won six of those. It is quite surprising really. The only
:29:11. > :29:19.vendor that Ryan Day had was in the year 2000. Stephen McGuire has won
:29:20. > :29:34.the previous six matches that they have played. You would think, either
:29:35. > :29:45.styles, they would be close. I don't think Ryan would be too worried
:29:46. > :29:48.about that at the moment. When he is straight across, he is slightly
:29:49. > :29:50.restricted. What he can do with the cueball. It is slightly off its
:29:51. > :30:04.line. Looking at those results you just
:30:05. > :30:10.talked about, it seems strange, doesn't it? This style of play suit
:30:11. > :30:16.Stephen McGuire. This open, attacking play. You would have
:30:17. > :30:20.thought that Ryan Day would have a slightly wetter long potter it
:30:21. > :31:40.obviously that is not a case with the results. -- better long potter.
:31:41. > :31:47.These are never straightforward. He would like to punch this around to
:31:48. > :31:50.cushions to get to the red. But because he has to budget of one
:31:51. > :32:00.question, it makes it a bit more difficult. He has played it nicely
:32:01. > :32:11.though. It is not straightforward at all. Stephen McGuire is one of those
:32:12. > :32:16.players that want to play at deep screw here. He has just had a look
:32:17. > :32:28.at the scoreboard and knows that he needs at least another two reds.
:32:29. > :32:42.He played the loose one, which surprised me a little bit. He may
:32:43. > :32:43.wish he went straight for it on the last shot. I'm not sure what he's
:32:44. > :33:08.going to do there. Not good on this black, is he? He is
:33:09. > :33:12.blessed with a lot of two power, playing for the one loose red. --
:33:13. > :33:56.cue power. Obviously stopping just a little bit
:33:57. > :34:02.of movement in the crowd. Luckily it didn't make any difference. 68 in
:34:03. > :35:45.front with 67 on. When he decided to go to the pack or play safe?
:35:46. > :35:54.The red into the right corner is difficult. You can't get position on
:35:55. > :36:06.that. The one into the left corner looks available.
:36:07. > :36:13.He has had to raise it a bit in the air there. It is a lot more
:36:14. > :36:31.difficult. He didn't quite pull it away. How could he hit a shot so
:36:32. > :36:43.good and not be on a colour? That was very well played. Well cute. --
:36:44. > :36:46.cued. The one behind is a little bit risky but it looks like he wants to
:36:47. > :36:53.take it on. I'm not sure he should do. It was such an easy safety shot
:36:54. > :36:59.of the yellow, when a man is in form like Stephen McGuire is, you don't
:37:00. > :37:12.want to give them chances. He knows he's playing well, Ryan Day, but
:37:13. > :37:16.don't give him chances. Sometimes if you are forced into playing that
:37:17. > :37:22.type of shot, he feels he deserves to put something else and get a
:37:23. > :37:27.break. There are times when you have to turn them down. After saying
:37:28. > :37:39.that, if he had potted it we would have said what a great shot.
:37:40. > :37:45.That just shows what happens again. Sometimes this game kicks you right
:37:46. > :37:55.in the teeth. I was about to say that sometimes you feel if you are
:37:56. > :37:56.2-1 in front you can take a risk. That is undoubtedly the best flick
:37:57. > :38:26.of the tournament so far. -- fluke. Ryan Day is crouching up on his
:38:27. > :38:34.feet, I just saw him shrug his shoulders. If you could see Ryan
:38:35. > :38:37.Day's case at the same time as I could... All, Hallo, maybe there is
:38:38. > :40:42.a little bit of justice. That came out of nowhere. The first
:40:43. > :40:47.easy bull we have seen missed in this match. It wasn't a certainty
:40:48. > :40:49.but, with the form that Ryan has been showing, you would think it
:40:50. > :41:00.would be. Didn't have a great contact there.
:41:01. > :41:40.The referee is cleaning the cueball. Very rarely do you have a chance of
:41:41. > :41:49.winning a frame when you miss to blacks of the spot. That is the
:41:50. > :41:54.scenario here. This is his third chance in this game, the first two
:41:55. > :42:13.frames, the players had one chance. He looks to be finding a problem
:42:14. > :42:15.here. Just play off to cushions and comeback for the blue in the same
:42:16. > :43:14.pocket. Very well judged. This is a great
:43:15. > :43:39.chance to get a sizeable lead in this frame.
:43:40. > :43:50.He took a little bit more time over that black. He missed an easy one.
:43:51. > :44:02.It hasn't been a lot missed. From either player. Not much tactical
:44:03. > :44:14.play in this frame so far, it has all been break building.
:44:15. > :44:39.He took his eye off that one. That is three blacks Terry in one frame.
:44:40. > :44:53.That is cute dutifully. -- cued beautifully. Stephen McGuire has not
:44:54. > :45:20.played that well. He looked like he would pot it easy enough.
:45:21. > :45:28.He tends to wallop those into the middle of the pocket. Always been
:45:29. > :45:44.the same. It is amazing how some players would
:45:45. > :45:50.prefer to strokes that in, to give that pocket chance. Doing it that
:45:51. > :45:56.way, there was a small margin of error. If you look at him play, he
:45:57. > :46:04.plays with a very long backswing, always has. If he were to/ it in, he
:46:05. > :46:19.would have to slow the delivery down. He does like to give them the
:46:20. > :46:24.sump. -- thump. McGuire came into the professional game with high
:46:25. > :46:32.hopes. He is certainly one of the top players in the game. He would
:46:33. > :46:36.like to win this World Championship. When he got up to world number two
:46:37. > :46:41.we all thought he was the next big thing. The next Stephen Hendry is.
:46:42. > :46:45.He beat Ronnie O'Sullivan twice in the big tournaments. Everyone
:46:46. > :46:49.thought he would be the next big thing. He hasn't quite fulfilled his
:46:50. > :47:01.early promise yet. He still has time.
:47:02. > :47:08.He would like to take the red into the middle, kissing it into the
:47:09. > :47:15.green. He may be able to push the green little bit further closer to
:47:16. > :47:26.the pocket. I didn't see him missing that one. He has been fortunate to
:47:27. > :47:46.cover the long red up. Somehow, Ryan Day is still eight points in front.
:47:47. > :47:55.Is he on a colour? Can he pot that green? It looks like it. He deserved
:47:56. > :48:20.to be on a colour after that one. Just trying to do a bit of mental
:48:21. > :48:27.arithmetic to find out how many reds he needs. He is going to need
:48:28. > :48:34.virtually all the four reds to win the frame. He may decide to bring
:48:35. > :48:41.that bred out that is nearest the cushion. -- red. He doesn't have the
:48:42. > :49:58.angle to do that this time though. Not the best shot that because he
:49:59. > :50:02.needs the other red. He is just looking now to where he can get the
:50:03. > :50:07.cueball. Somewhere between the middle pocket and the black.
:50:08. > :50:17.Somewhere in that area. How good is he at that? He hit that so well I
:50:18. > :50:22.can't tell you. I don't know how he managed to get that angle from what
:50:23. > :50:32.he had on the pink to get on the inside of the red. This is a tricky
:50:33. > :50:41.one. 22 point in front, he is taking it on. Very dangerous. Played it in
:50:42. > :51:15.such a way that the... Didn't want that on the green there.
:51:16. > :51:19.There is now a chance for Ryan Day. 32 in front, he just wants the red
:51:20. > :51:37.to be safe. When you need that one ball, coming
:51:38. > :51:42.times can you miss that shot? You would expect Ryan Day to make that
:51:43. > :51:48.nine out of ten times. In normal circumstances. When it is the pot to
:51:49. > :52:02.win, it makes it different. Look at this. Right in line with the
:52:03. > :52:21.centre pocket. Surely he can't miss this one.
:52:22. > :52:30.Good sets from both players. We have had some high-quality break
:52:31. > :52:38.building. A few misses in this frame but it doesn't make any difference
:52:39. > :53:08.now. Now time for the midsession interval. It is two frames each.
:53:09. > :53:29.I don't really know why he doesn't play in behind the pack of reds, it
:53:30. > :53:34.looks like a straightforward shot to me. He can go right in behind the
:53:35. > :53:45.pack there, off to cushions, no chance of leading anything on.
:53:46. > :54:05.Ryan has to question whether he could see the red for balls because
:54:06. > :54:08.he knows the referee will tell him he needs to make contact on a red
:54:09. > :54:43.this time or he will lose the frame. The one next to the pink. No, this
:54:44. > :55:00.site. -- side. He has been given a warning now, he has to place in
:55:01. > :55:05.different. -- play something. A bit of reaction from the crowd there. As
:55:06. > :55:10.it happens, he couldn't have played it better. What happens if you
:55:11. > :55:41.missed cue? The problem with playing scene of
:55:42. > :55:42.the red is the blue. If you play this way around, the blue is still
:55:43. > :55:51.the problem. As long as he misses the blue he
:55:52. > :56:09.should play a good safety shot here. Missed it by a fraction. He has not
:56:10. > :56:17.left the red in a safe position. Ryan can get through to this red, I
:56:18. > :56:30.think. Maybe not. He has done pretty well there, Stephen. To get out of
:56:31. > :56:35.that. As it has turned out now, if Ryan Day takes that on and misses
:56:36. > :56:41.it, he guarantees Stephen most of the balls. He has come down now to
:56:42. > :56:51.see if he could get to the red nearest corner.
:56:52. > :57:16.Not too bad. Once again, he should be able to judge this OK. That is a
:57:17. > :58:04.good shot. That is nicely controlled. Their art
:58:05. > :58:19.to reds he could play for there. He has his flow on at the moment.
:58:20. > :58:23.Obviously Maguire was massive odds on to win that match. It would have
:58:24. > :58:25.been a body blow to his hopes. This is not helping when he sees a player
:58:26. > :58:47.playing so well. Yes, he lost to Maguire one year
:58:48. > :58:57.when he was 9-7 in front. He had eaten Ronnie O'Sullivan a few times
:58:58. > :59:03.that season. -- beaten. I think it affected him. Then he played John
:59:04. > :59:15.Higgins. He didn't quite get over the line. It didn't get easier.
:59:16. > :59:26.I watched him beat Anthony Hamilton in the first session a few years
:59:27. > :59:36.ago. He had breaks on every frame. He played to a very high standard.
:59:37. > :59:39.This is the one that is missing. If he could win the World Championship,
:59:40. > :59:49.I think he would be happy when he retires.
:59:50. > :59:59.Ryan Day certainly has the upper hand at the moment.
:00:00. > :00:04.As far as the draw was concerned, I thought he would be one of the
:00:05. > :00:09.rookie players and have a terrible draw.
:00:10. > :00:18.Obviously Ryan Day has a good chance of winning this match, and you would
:00:19. > :00:23.have to say that Dominic Dale, if he qualifies, and there is a few
:00:24. > :00:37.matches where you could see in on seed they are winning, -- an
:00:38. > :00:43.unseeded playwe winning. I think there were nine out of the 16
:00:44. > :00:58.players who lost in Sheffield. Nine of them lost.
:00:59. > :01:11.You drink it into the top 16 unless you are a very good player. -- you
:01:12. > :01:18.don't get. On one of the blocks I was doing, I thought at least 14 of
:01:19. > :01:26.the main seats would go through. -- seeds.
:01:27. > :01:33.The new system is having a bit of an effect now on the players. There are
:01:34. > :01:38.a lot of young players coming here for the first time do we don't see
:01:39. > :01:45.that often. But there is quite a number this year. I think it is five
:01:46. > :02:12.or possibly. -- five or six possibly.
:02:13. > :02:16.He moves that white ball very easily.
:02:17. > :02:35.It is so nice to watch. He didn't quite get into the cue
:02:36. > :02:41.ball. He needs a black and another red colour. Unless he plays a cannon
:02:42. > :02:57.into the reds, he is not going to get onto a red. Just thinking about
:02:58. > :03:25.putting a wall colour safe. -- baulk colour.
:03:26. > :03:36.That was a good break. He's in a very good position. For the first
:03:37. > :03:44.time in the match, we could have somebody going to Maguire and in
:03:45. > :03:55.front for the first time. -- two frames in front for the first time.
:03:56. > :04:04.The black has been covered. He can't pop the black and get onto the pink.
:04:05. > :04:17.-- pot. I think is going to have to take the loo on. -- blue. He has
:04:18. > :04:21.decided to bring the brown into play. He feels he can still get back
:04:22. > :04:45.into the frame. That is not his best. I expected the
:04:46. > :04:53.cue ball to a beyond the cushion behind the green and the brown in
:04:54. > :04:59.open play. The brown is in a better position. But he won't be happy with
:05:00. > :05:12.where the cue ball is. I can understand him turning the
:05:13. > :05:36.blue down because he hasn't had much table time this year.
:05:37. > :05:51.The one next to keep pink is pottable.
:05:52. > :06:01.50 points in front. Any colour will do. If he can see the yellow and he
:06:02. > :06:04.feels like he can cut it in without any problem, he will take it on.
:06:05. > :06:09.Otherwise he will be putting the round on the cushion and playing
:06:10. > :06:16.safe. He certainly won't be playing to position on the red.
:06:17. > :06:40.Very well done. He's cueing extremely well.
:06:41. > :06:45.Once again, Ryan Day looks to have done enough to take a two frame lead
:06:46. > :08:04.at 4-2. He is certainly looking the better
:08:05. > :08:25.player at this moment. That is the end of that frame. He
:08:26. > :08:31.now goes 4-2 in front. Ryan Day should be pretty pleased with his
:08:32. > :08:39.work so far. Leading 4-2. How many more frames can he take in this
:08:40. > :08:41.session to make the gap a bit more difficult for Stephen Maguire? We
:08:42. > :08:45.know how determined Stephen Maguire can be. He is now going to have to
:08:46. > :10:04.step it up little bit. That red has gone a bit further than
:10:05. > :11:10.he wanted but I think he has covered it.
:11:11. > :11:31.How is your luck? Not very good. You can see that often.
:11:32. > :12:02.He didn't have quite the right angle to get behind the black. Well
:12:03. > :12:07.played. Being 4-2 in front, the black looks a certainty. But you can
:12:08. > :12:15.see him missing it. But he played it dead weight. The way he started the
:12:16. > :12:19.match, it would be unusual if it did not score enough to take the frame
:12:20. > :12:27.from here. The reds were absolutely perfect. I would imagine he would
:12:28. > :12:37.play a slow for the black or up for the blue.
:12:38. > :13:31.There is a lot of pressure on this frame.
:13:32. > :13:40.He looks a bit used that the cue ball has travelled a couple of
:13:41. > :13:47.inches farther than he wanted to. -- a bit used. His back should be OK
:13:48. > :13:49.now. He has under yet that as well. He has got the cue ball under
:13:50. > :14:41.control. He seems to be having a bit of
:14:42. > :14:47.trouble with this cushion all of a sudden. It appears to be causing him
:14:48. > :15:14.a few problems. That was a better shot. He couldn't
:15:15. > :15:21.have played it more perfectly if he had picked it up by hand. The ball
:15:22. > :15:23.is an absolutely perfect position for not only a frame winning break
:15:24. > :15:53.but a possible century -- the balls. You wouldn't have expected him to
:15:54. > :15:56.miss that one. He will be very disappointed with that of all the
:15:57. > :16:06.good work he has put into get to this position. -- after all. Just a
:16:07. > :16:17.misjudgement. But it has cost him. He is 56 in front.
:16:18. > :16:25.Still a lot of work to do. Yes, but if you have a debt on this frame,
:16:26. > :16:41.you would say that Ryan is favourite. -- a bet. Just about
:16:42. > :16:49.being close over the line when he gets to that end of the table. This
:16:50. > :16:50.will really hurt Steve Maguire if he loses this frame now because he has
:16:51. > :17:46.controlled it. He doesn't have the perfect angle on
:17:47. > :17:57.the blue here. He may cannon into the pink. He just needs to hold the
:17:58. > :18:04.cue ball more than anything else. He has played it a different way. But
:18:05. > :18:08.he has one in the middle. He needs to move those two reds into
:18:09. > :18:32.position. The same problem as before. The
:18:33. > :18:40.angle on the blues is not good. Once again, he has to judge the gap in
:18:41. > :18:42.between the reds near the pink but is going to have to get the gap on
:18:43. > :19:51.the way back as well. This is tricky, this next positional
:19:52. > :19:54.shot, because the red next to the pink Allport in the corner. I'm not
:19:55. > :20:03.too sure of the Allport in the middle. It is going to be a good
:20:04. > :20:12.positional hook shot. He has played for the two reds in the opposite and
:20:13. > :20:19.has not hit it. It certainly doesn't support in the right-hand middle. --
:20:20. > :20:31.doesn't pot. He can play it in such a way that he
:20:32. > :20:51.can get onto the black. You can't hit the ball better than
:20:52. > :22:04.that. Into the heart of the pocket. Well played.
:22:05. > :22:23.He hook shot coming up here. -- a big shot. How many times have we
:22:24. > :22:25.seen that type of short myths? He has been potting those all the way
:22:26. > :22:55.through the match. 11 points in front with that red. 16
:22:56. > :24:17.with the blue. He has done as well as he possibly
:24:18. > :25:09.could but he is not really on it. He has got pot the green and brown.
:25:10. > :25:17.A bit of a thicker kiss on the blue meant it would have gone towards the
:25:18. > :25:24.corner. Maguire is 18 points in front. It doesn't really make any
:25:25. > :25:38.difference. Whoever pots the green probably will win the frame.
:25:39. > :26:01.An excellent shot. Excellent shot. It could be a frame when. -- winner.
:26:02. > :26:12.Using the brown to stop the green. He needs a bit of luck now. At first
:26:13. > :26:16.glance, he looks OK. The cue ball is going to be coming little bit low
:26:17. > :26:21.which makes it a very difficult ground. But it think there is any
:26:22. > :27:21.advantage taking this in the middle. -- I don't think.
:27:22. > :27:26.He is having a look down towards the side of the table. He needs to play
:27:27. > :27:36.with the lot of side to hit the green. Not an easy shot. He almost
:27:37. > :27:46.potted it. He needs the green to run on a bit.
:27:47. > :27:52.We've Ryan Day 's power, he might be able to put this and screw around
:27:53. > :28:06.the ground. He needs so much cue power. -- the brown.
:28:07. > :28:46.That is brilliant. You can't hit the ball better than that. He has played
:28:47. > :28:55.two or three shots in this frame that have been absolutely
:28:56. > :28:57.outstanding. And now the miss on the Black will be perturbing Stephen
:28:58. > :29:11.McGuire. This has been excellent from Ryan
:29:12. > :29:23.Day. And that young man is in trouble now. Very good from Ryan
:29:24. > :29:24.Day! It looked like he would lose the frame on several occasions but
:29:25. > :29:42.he now leads 5-2. We didn't see this coming when
:29:43. > :29:47.Stephen led 2-1. Since then, he has been outplayed and outscored. He has
:29:48. > :29:53.just broken off in a frame that I feel he must win. There are two
:29:54. > :29:57.frames to go in this session. He would love to win both, but
:29:58. > :30:57.certainly at least one. Otherwise it could be a bridge too far.
:30:58. > :31:05.That is amazing. He managed to get the screw off the pack after having
:31:06. > :31:12.not even gone into the pack. Amazing. If headed kitten nicely on
:31:13. > :31:15.the black the way the reds, he thought the way it was going, he
:31:16. > :31:21.could have scored very heavily indeed. He missed a black like this
:31:22. > :31:28.a few friends ago and didn't miss the frame. Surely this is too thin
:31:29. > :31:39.to take on. I think he's taking it on.
:31:40. > :31:43.If he is not on a red here he has been very unlucky. What an excellent
:31:44. > :32:37.pot. That was close. He looks at the
:32:38. > :33:31.moment as if he can pot anything. Not a good pot. Again, he is on the
:33:32. > :33:35.black. He made a 49 break in the previous game and lost it. He really
:33:36. > :33:56.needs to get going now. He is not one to turn pots down very often.
:33:57. > :34:00.If you play that is slowly better off the far corner. With pace, that
:34:01. > :35:25.would have stayed out. Not quite sure if he is good on this
:35:26. > :35:34.red. Not quite sure about the position on the side. If you can get
:35:35. > :35:43.the cueball past is to reds to the black on the corner. That was a very
:35:44. > :35:52.poor shot. Very poor. For his high standards, this is what happens when
:35:53. > :35:57.your opponent puts you under pressure. You see there, he has got
:35:58. > :36:38.the first red, knocked into the second one and nothing.
:36:39. > :36:49.Decision time. Does he make him play again or does he take the long red
:36:50. > :37:00.on? It takes a bit of pressure off the pot, playing for a colour. I
:37:01. > :37:06.don't ever seen anyone hit this shot better than Ryan does, apart from
:37:07. > :37:16.that one of course. He has not flipped it surely. Surely not. --
:37:17. > :38:25.fluked. That was so difficult to hold that
:38:26. > :38:38.cueball to the black. He had to stroke that in so slowly. Beautiful
:38:39. > :39:57.queueing. -- cueing. He now has a great chance to go in front. 6-2.
:39:58. > :40:09.He just has to be careful here. Nothing careless. And he will go 6-2
:40:10. > :40:19.in front. I didn't fancy Ryan Day to win like this. I thought he was
:40:20. > :40:25.going to win it would be very close. I'm sure people are used to Ryan Day
:40:26. > :40:29.playing now, he has been playing well for years. It makes you wonder
:40:30. > :40:36.somehow why he has not won anything big. Maybe a little temperament
:40:37. > :40:47.problem. He is as good as most in the break building department.
:40:48. > :40:55.I think both of these players struggle to find peace with
:40:56. > :41:04.infection. That is the best way to describe these two players. They are
:41:05. > :41:13.very good players both of them. But they struggle to handle when things
:41:14. > :41:16.go wrong out there. Even though Ryan is leading 5-2, he has had a few had
:41:17. > :41:26.checked this afternoon. You would think he would be pity pleased with
:41:27. > :41:31.how things have gone, wouldn't you? -- pretty pleased. Not quite as nice
:41:32. > :41:53.as he wanted. Played it nicely. He is hitting the
:41:54. > :41:58.ball very sweetly. 49 this. Another red colour after this. And it will
:41:59. > :42:09.be 6-2. Is that hard enough? I don't think so. This is a surprise. He has
:42:10. > :42:16.been struggling with himself in this effort here of 46, he has taken more
:42:17. > :42:27.time over all the shots. He wasn't taking this early on. I think he's
:42:28. > :42:35.sensing how important this is. -- this frame is. He is timing the ball
:42:36. > :42:43.so well. He can't hit it better than he is doing today.
:42:44. > :42:52.What can I say? It hasn't won him this frame but it has taken a much
:42:53. > :43:07.closer. This might be one of those where he
:43:08. > :43:18.gets a little bit petulant, Stephen, and hits it 100 mph. When
:43:19. > :43:23.you need three reds and three blacks and all the colours to win by one
:43:24. > :43:29.point, he would like to keep their reds at this end of the table. He
:43:30. > :43:39.will probably just West onto them. -- rest. That is as good as he could
:43:40. > :44:09.have hoped for. Clever little shot that. He put the
:44:10. > :44:11.black say. And now it is almost in a position where you would think that
:44:12. > :44:28.Stephen needs a snooker, whether Black is. -- where the black is.
:44:29. > :44:44.Ryan will definitely take this pot on.
:44:45. > :44:50.There is a slight chance here that Stephen can get onto the black. But
:44:51. > :45:14.he has to hit it well. Those type of shots become a lot
:45:15. > :45:18.more difficult when you are high -2 behind. Looking like going 6- two
:45:19. > :45:25.behind. Pockets tend to shrink a little bit. Not for Ryan Day at the
:45:26. > :45:52.moment though. He didn't even look at playing the
:45:53. > :46:04.pink in the middle. That is Ryan Day's fifth on the trot. He now
:46:05. > :46:08.leads by five frames to two. Ryan Day gets the last frame of the
:46:09. > :46:17.session under way. What a nice position he is in, with a possible
:46:18. > :46:24.chance of 7-2. I can't see Stephen coming from 7-2 behind. It goes
:46:25. > :46:29.without saying, he has to win this frame. At the minute, he is not
:46:30. > :48:24.playing good safety either. Ryan Day is certainly in command at
:48:25. > :48:32.the moment. Keeping things tough for Stephen. Stephen hasn't missed that
:48:33. > :48:44.many. He has just been outplayed a little bit by his opponent.
:48:45. > :48:51.He is looking around. There is no obvious escapee. He is looking to
:48:52. > :49:03.roll just into the reds just to the left of the pink. Two cushions. Best
:49:04. > :49:20.of luck. It looks as if he is all right. I don't think any reds have
:49:21. > :49:22.gone there. He needs to go through the near corner and get onto the
:49:23. > :49:42.black. A little bit of deceleration there
:49:43. > :49:50.in that shot. He knew it was a massive shot to take on. It took a
:49:51. > :49:58.bit of pressure off the pot. But he has missed it now. So Stephen has
:49:59. > :50:31.his first chance. What he wouldn't give for a 74 or above here.
:50:32. > :50:41.He wants that cueball to slow down. That is second prize. He certainly
:50:42. > :50:47.didn't play for that read. The angle he has on the red, it looks like
:50:48. > :50:50.he's gone to be kissing that the red in line with the pocket. He will
:50:51. > :51:12.have to do something with the cueball here.
:51:13. > :51:27.Now he has a nice angle on this red to get the black, he can ease that
:51:28. > :51:36.black back on to hit spot. So this is the key positional shot.
:51:37. > :53:29.He hasn't hit this good. He needs a little bit of help. I'm sure he
:53:30. > :53:35.played for the red in the middle there, trying to bounce it off those
:53:36. > :53:43.two cushions and come out a little bit wider. This is a tough shot to
:53:44. > :53:51.come on when you are so far behind. The natural angle of course is to
:53:52. > :53:56.kiss it into the black. Will he bite the bullet and play safe? It looks
:53:57. > :54:07.like he will do that. He is not taking it on. He didn't commit on
:54:08. > :54:23.the safety shot though. That is poor not to have queued the last read up.
:54:24. > :54:27.-- cued the last red. That is the first time he has twitched a little
:54:28. > :56:09.bit at that shot. He knew that was a massive shot.
:56:10. > :56:20.Has he got enough Czech side on? Yes he has. He is not hampered,
:56:21. > :56:22.thankfully. Three more reds and three colours. He closes the gap to
:56:23. > :56:56.three. This match comes to a conclusion
:56:57. > :57:00.tomorrow evening. Ryan Day will certainly sleep the better of the
:57:01. > :57:12.two. But give Stephen a chance if he wins this last frame.
:57:13. > :57:22.This is underhit. No, it has got there. I thought for a second he
:57:23. > :57:32.wasn't going to be high enough on this. He is actually perfect. Very
:57:33. > :58:01.well played. He needed to dig ridiculously deep in this break.
:58:02. > :58:11.He had a good chance in the last frame. It is now 6-3.
:58:12. > :58:16.Advantage to Ryan Day going into the second session which begins at 7pm
:58:17. > :58:17.this evening. We are back with live coverage from the Crucible at 10pm.
:58:18. > :58:46.See you then. the Teletubbies, the Log Lady
:58:47. > :58:50.and One Man And His Dog? Am I allowed to do it
:58:51. > :58:56.before you've asked the question? ..the quiz show that unravels
:58:57. > :58:58.50 years of programmes and forgets how to put it
:58:59. > :59:00.back together again. Richard Osman, and a host of stars
:59:01. > :59:05.from the channel's past and present. What happens after that
:59:06. > :59:08.is anyone's guess.