Day 11 World Championship Snooker Extra

It would make the record more special to do it here. If I had

already done it coming into the World Championships, perhaps it

would not be as special. When more on tour that record,

century of centuries. Neil Robertson started the tournament on 93 and

then had two chances to get the century against Mark Allen.

I had a pretty bad shot on the rest. Let myself float on the black. Just

rattled it. I was about to celebrate it. I was about to look up to

Stephen Hendry in the box. He will have to wait a bit longer. But there

will be plenty more options to get that century. He came close to

getting that century. Will he come closer in his semi-final match?

Welcome to Dame -- Day 11. Neil Robertson is taking on Judd Trump.

This could be terrific. Let's join our match commentators. Judd Trump

gets the match under way. Two very impressive players. Two of the best

potters. What will come off the next few hours? Time will tell.

Doesn't look like there is an easy safety shot. There is your answer. A

favourable piece as well kiss in choice of blue or yellow. The key

thing will be who scored the best. A possibility of getting at least

three reds there. CD spin he gets on this. -- he did not really get near

it. As he left this on? He has. Both these players have had good wins in

the previous round. Judd Trump one against Ryan Day and Neil Robinson

one against -- Neil Robertson one against Mark Allen. They are both

very good players. Nice on the pink. He would like to be a little bit

closer to it to make it a certainty. Straight on the pink in the middle.

In some ways I would like to see Robertson make the hundredth century

early in the match just to take the pressure off him. These two players

are in fine form. It is nice to see Judd plays so well again. He has

slipped down to eight in the rankings. He used to be in the top

four. Still partly in the learning curve of his professional career.

Still will always be an exciting player to watch. He really does play

some it -- tremendous shots. Cueing down from a great height. For me

this is very dangerous. Is it enough? I do not think so.

Neil Robertson, eight. A slow start but plenty of fireworks going to

follow. Huge amounts of power on this one.

He was fortunate that the red did not cause more damage than that. A

very tight year for the Neil Robertson. Hopefully he can get a

part that down to finish it off. A pretty good shot. A matter of fact

he is pretty good at most shots. A little unfortunate not to have a

better shot on a colour like this. He might even refuse the brown

because all these threads are not available on the right has -- and

side. -- right-hand side. What is the angle like on the plea? --

blue? Neil Robertson. Going to be a chance now to drop it in. He's got

an angle to play that gap through the reds. He is pretty sure to

spread these far and wide. Just looking at the loose red that the

angle on the plaque appears to be perfect. He is going to play for the

loose one. Didn't get a particular good contact. Eight. APPLAUSE.

He could have played off the cushion fit this red. 15. He is having a

look there what's this angle he can go in. Off the cushion but not an

easy one. He just has to concentrate 100% on the pot. 16. Testing if

anything is available into the same pot he played the black in. If there

is nothing else on he will have to go to the reds we talk about --

talked about earlier. 23. He would love to play the red in the middle

of the three but I'm not sure whether it can get through to it.

24. Toast of blue on green. -- choice. Not sure if any of them will

go into the left corner pocket. APPLAUSE. He went around to have a

look at it. You can see the middle of the pocket there.

Could take the chance there is moving that read of the side

cushion. Another 20 or so point and is guaranteed of the frame.

Check on the scoreboard. 54 points in front. 45. He was in the perfect

zone last night of the final four games playing against Mark Allen.

That is unbelievable. That has just squared up completely. One of the

biggest kicks I have ever seen. Incredible. The frame is not safe

yet. He is bringing the plaque into play

here. -- black. But the double-kiss.

This red to is not in the centre. He has brought another read into play.

55 points in game -- front. How quickly things can turn around. The

worst kick he has ever seen. And he has seen a few. Yes, I have taken a

few kicks in my life and that one was colossal. Straight to the chore.

-- chore -- jaw. Never been a better single ball potter in the game. I

have not seen one. Barring sneakers Neil Robertson will take that

frame. Judd decided that was enough. Neil Robertson is looking in pretty

good shape again as he takes that frame.

APPLAUSE. So far the safety of Neil Robertson has been granite. Not a

bad line. So far he has dictated the safety battles. APPLAUSE.

Safety not seek easy this time. The left hand cushion causing the

problem. There is a gap through those two reds. I think you will

have to hit it be in rather than thick. He might decide to favour on

the thin side of the pot. Just to ensure he gets through that gap. He

did not take the pot on. This is the first opportunity of this match

really for Judd Trump. That is really well played. He had

to get I'm not sure that he is going to

clear up here, but he will be glad of the table time. He has potted a

few balls before this visit. His all-round game has certainly

improved, and he has worked very hard. He is still in the learning

process, as I said earlier. Aren't we all? Yes, there is never a day

goes by in Snuka that you can allow some kind of new shot. -- snooker.

It is very rarely that we see him slow roll, especially into the

middle pockets. He is 19 points in front. Somehow he

will have to get three more reds and colours after this pink. That is not

going to be easy. Getting out into open play could be

slightly tougher. That has worked out to be perfect, what are the

shot. -- a good shot. Another look at the scoreboard. 32

points in it now. Two reds, two colours.

Positive stuff from Trump. This is a clear-cut opportunity.

Trump is 46 points in front. There are 35 left on the table. Neil

Robertson will see what happens. I can't believe he played that. He

was hoping the red would go safe. Trump deliberately played that a

gentle place. Robertson doesn't have too potted but it will be difficult

not to and get a safe. -- to pot it. He needed to get on the black

really. It is a very difficult pot but he is still taking it on.

It is a target behind green and brown but playing of the pack of

reds, he is going to have to play the safety shot thick. That rings

reds into play. -- brings. He has got the angle right and he

has brought reds into play. Just a fraction too hard. Now we are going

to see a Trump special. This type of shot, there is no such

thing as if he is going to go for it but when.

He has put pressure on his opponent, especially with this

safety play. He played to get on the loo in the middle and Robertson, on

the last shot, he didn't yet into it. I wonder if the attempt was that

it down. There is no reason, the weather outside is fine! I presume

it is the same white they have been using on this table throughout the

tournament. It appears to be playing a bit heavy at the moment, the

white. Judd actually winced when he played that red. But still back in

prime position now. Once again, he didn't get into the cue ball enough.

There is the temperature gauge. The heat under the table. Another

example of Earth. -- there. He didn't get anything on that. Maybe

the cue ball. Once again, playing with a lot of

side spin here. Just as well he did because he caught that very thin.

Robertson is looking at this red. Neil Robertson hasn't potted a ball

for 13.5 minutes. He has this big shot in front of him.

Once again, there wasn't a lot of spin on that cue ball. We have had

about four shots where these players have been using backspin. Earlier on

in this match, they were tapping trouble. -- they were not having

trouble. Of course, the referee did take the cue ball to be washed and

get a white. It may have got a little bit damp, you don't know.

Referees are very good normally and cleaning the balls and making sure

they are dry. It is just coming up to an hour of

play. You would expect all four frames to be finished that it is the

way it goes sometimes. These players are very quick normally but in this

frame, conditions are not favourable. It is not an easy safety

shot to play. There is not really a gap between those two reds.

Nicely on brown and green. As you can see, there is only the red on

the spot available. We will get an example of whether the cue ball is

heavy here because he will play as crucial to maybe of the brown. -- a

cue shot maybe off the brown. The immediate backspin, once the cue

ball has stopped, it comes off very quickly.

A couple more inches needed but he can still get around that back of

the back. -- black. He decided to go for the loo, no problem with that.

-- blue. I can only presume that the black

doesn't pot in the left-hand corner. You can see clearly not.

That is a clever shot because he had to push the red out the way. If he

puts this black, he is 58 in front. So he only needs one more red.

He needs the cue ball to be back where it is now. He's playing for

the other red. In this frame ball, he would pot at least one more rate

to stop Robertson coming back to the table. I can't believe help that he

hits that particular shot. He played one like that the other day.

Amazing. He is looking for a cannon. He missed it. But he has still got

the Katong. -- cut on. If he manages to pot this black and

kiss these two reds into play, I will give up. That is why he has

taken an exhibition shot on the brown, to try to bring these two

reds into play. Good effort! No fireworks from these two players

yet. Robertson made 45 in the first frame. He takes a 2-1 lead.

It is near enough the perfect break because the black is still in play.

The truth of it is that it used to be an advantage to break off but not

so much these days. No point in just clipping the red. He should we open

in a few out to put pressure on his opponent. That is a poor safety

shot. He puts a bit of stunt on that as

well. It goes past the yellow line. But look at the reds and the black

still available. I don't think he can get past the

blue here. He didn't get near that one. The red

has gone in. He missed the red by a long way. By his standards, you

would expect him to pot those. But no trouble. Just four points given

away. That is too thin. He has got the

blue. It is like one of these what happens next situations. Let's get

back to normal here. He has been taken back a bit by this rush from

Trump over the last few frames. He looked very comfortable at the

start. As you can see, both pink and black

out of play. As he always does, he plays into them.

Dominic Dale only one had a couple of chances to do something like that

and refused it. It can show you what happens when you do play the

attacking shot. There are five or six reds in play.

Even though all those reds are in play, the pink is available. But it

is always hard to win a frame. That was a bit risky, to play that

cannon, but he is OK. He is now having to cue over the red. Tricky.

That is what makes them tricky. When you cueing down, you can miss

anything. He is looking down the line from the shot from a higher

position. You can miss the line of the shot because of that.

He is just looking to see what happens if he screws back about four

or five inches. He is looking to get where the white is now. It is going

to be difficult to pot that red and get back onto a colour again. He is

to play plenty of pace. He is trying to get a half all kiss

of the middle of the three reds. -- half ball. There is the half ball

kissed but no power. He hit it flew in the face. That is why there was

no screw. He is having a look at the red near

the right corner, which is available. If he can pop out and

avoid the other reds, he can't hold for the lack. He needs to play slow

enough to play for the black. But you never know with Judd. Sometimes

he feels like he would be playing the pot on. A bit of naughty

snooker, as he calls it. At the moment, Robertson 's short

time average is 36 seconds. Very high. Judd is 23 seconds.

Sometimes you have a cat to your choice of safety is. -- give care.

Excellent safety shot from Robertson. It is nice to see Judd

tapping the table in appreciation of that.

He has been over to China on numerous occasions in the last few

years. They spend a lot of time together.

That plant there is not far off straight into the pocket. I'm not

sure at this stage whether he will be able to pop the second red. He

would be fully aware you cannot really take the cue ball-up into the

pork -- baulk unless it meets certain conditions. Clearly the only

way he can get to it is by playing a little swerve. But then he would be

on the top cushion and no cover. The key thing is not to leave the red

hanging over the pocket. There is the white going towards the green.

Wow. How on earth has that not common in? A meeting -- amazing. He

might be angled on this planet. I'm not too sure from here. If you can

get through to decide to play the plant. Let's have a look at this

white now. For a money it looks like it is going in. But it stayed out.

Knocked on the door and stayed out, as they say. How fine Willie have to

play this? He might try and cut the red into that corner. How is the

white? That is a pretty good effort, Judd. Well done. That plant will

stay there for a while. The Hirst is clipped it now. -- that

has just. Just watch this red now. It has to be made now, hasn't it,

Terry? He will have to hit this extremely thin if he wants to take

the punt on. Just debating whether to take it on, I do not think you

will. You can see that there is a little bit of room in between them.

APPLAUSE. Another good safety shot. Judd has one more chance now on the

green. That is down to his new tip for me. It is just pushing a little

bit. On 23 occasions he has just got too much side on them -- two or

three occasions. APPLAUSE. A little surprised

Robertson has chosen this. Obviously he would prefer to get in behind the

green. Job is not sure -- Judd. Let's see where it was before.

That is where they were. You can see where the cue ball needs to go. The

referee trying to give him a hand. One of the top referees there.

They had the wrong still up there that time they're just having a

another look. He cannot make it work now. He cannot get the right steel

full -- still. The referee it needs to put the white about two inches

back from where it is now. I know he can hear us in the commentary box.

Just another 1.5 inches back. Laughter. That is not too bad.

It's fine, it's fine. Robertson was not totally happy with it. What a

great shot. APPLAUSE. Such an easy safety shot for Robertson.

He would be pretty pleased to have gotten away with that safety shot

there, Robertson. Or just take a few seconds to show you. When he missed

the last thread altogether this is where the cue ball was. The red that

is nearest to the cue ball. As it happened it did not cost him. He

escaped from the snooker very well. Virtually the same shot that Judd

played a few moments ago. That is what Robertson is trying to do. That

was not really a great effort from Robertson.

Nicely played. Not bad. With a red on the pocket he should not have too

much trouble. The blue is also available. Playing the blue meant he

was 100% guaranteed to get onto the red. There was a chance he could

have snookered himself but definitely the right choice. He does

not have a great angle on this red. He is not bound to play this shot

well. Keep very, very well there to generate the pace on that. Well

done. 40. He has gently cooked the red off the cushion. This will not

be straightforward to get on. Mark Allen led Neil Robertson by one.

This is a great talents for Judd to open up a gap. -- a great chance.

He is looking their as if he were leave himself outside.

A big pot coming up for Judd Trump. A tough one. Judd Trump, 20. A

surprise that he missed that one. He would have been disappointed he was

not closer to it. I did not see Judd missing that red.

His 32 points behind Robertson. All of a sudden there are a few mistakes

creeping in. He did not make a mistake against Mark Allen at all.

Now it is Judd is turned to make a mistake. Robertson will be trying to

get onto the pink. Somewhere where the cue ball is now would be nice.

Not happening at the minute. Very unlike him.

That is a poor safety shot from Judd. Robertson will be delighted if

he can get out of this session 2- two because he has been outplayed in

some of the frames. That did not go clean. He is not potting them in the

middle of the pocket at the moment. A lot more difficult pot now if he

takes it on but still available. A tough one.

She may get another chance but he will be disappointed he did not get

on that pink -- he may get another chance. He will get a another

chance. He needs it. Brought the red into play but the

cue ball is dangerously close to the cushion. A little bit of movement

behind the curtain there. Somebody properly thought they were in the

interval at this table. Good pot. Well done. Eight. Nine. If he is

straight his OK. Much if he can get inside their -- luxury fit and get

inside. 16. Not ideal on the red into the

middle, that is why he is taking the corner. He wants to try and get

right behind this. He is now on the black and he wants to get right

behind it for the red in the middle. Similar to the last shot. Not quite

in the middle. 25. The closer you are to the ball

the easier the pot is. Pretty good. Only problem is that he is

left-handed. Not guaranteed to knock this in. Judd Trump can play with

his right hand so we -- he will have a little bit of an advantage. The

good thing is he does not have to hit the yellow hard. It was always a

possibility. He potted a few good balls there. Perhaps he needed --

hit it a little harder than necessary. A big mistake that can

be. Two. Almost went wrong. Just didn't have enough angle.

Judd Trump four in front. He will have to get that pink to make sure.

Looks at the scoreboard. He is 13 points in front. There is just 13

left on the table. Judd Trump has won this match and he is 3-1 in

front. A very pleased Judd Trump getting this underweight. -- under

way. Neil Robertson missed an easy yellow during that final session. It

will be interesting to see how it goes about his work now. The first

time he has been to friends behind in this tournament so far. -- two

frames behind. He has had his 15 minute break to

think about things. That is one of Judd 's specialities, that shot.

He is having a look at this one in the centre. Then he goes to the

corner. A bit of a stretch. Very nicely played. He got the spin he

wanted. I said to the guys going into the dressing rooms and asked

them if they were having trouble with the cloth. They said they

thought perhaps it was the cloth. APPLAUSE.

The pink is available into the left-centre. If he is missed one of

those all week that is as many as he has missed and he has already missed

three in this match. He has missed seven out of 12, I think. A

percentage of 58. Not always reflect properly on the numbers. Some parts

are very easy and some are difficult but that is a good average. --

pots. Playing a gentle to cost two

cushions. As long as he does not hit it too hard.

Better this time. He will have to run off this pack of friends and try

and get in and around the yellow. -- pack of reds. Very good. Perfect.

APPLAUSE. The red on the bottom cushion here.

He has to find the gap, though, between the two reds. Excellent.

Trump has a red into the right centre.

If he can avoid the red that is behind it on the way down... He

played for the kids. He didn't get the pot. -- the kiss. He is not

happy. I'm not quite sure what he played

for because he wouldn't have been on any other colour. Only he knows.

Trump is looking down at the red just above the black. No, he is just

playing for the red in the centre. He will hold for the blue if you

can. He is looking at it now. If the red ghost past the black in the

right corner, he will be on it straightaway. -- red goes.

It is not perfect. We know the black doesn't pot, so fierce not on the

red above the black, he may have to play an alternative.

The red he's looking at looks very tight.

He knew he had to get a cannon. He is on the black but he would like to

a few inches further out. It is not just the black being a lot there

than he wanted. The cue ball comes into it as well.

Very gentle push through the cue. Natural instincts.

He has had some problems in this session. The spin didn't seem to

take on a few shots. I don't think he has had many bounces off the

cushion. There is another example of a damp

table. This is a great chance going into

this second session, which is tomorrow. No worse than all square,

and he would like to kick on from the possible lead he will have a few

moments. He has just over done that one slightly. He would have liked an

angle on the red to get closer on the black.

The perfect angle to stun up for those two reds. It will be

interesting to see how the white reacts. He didn't get the desired

stun again, but still reasonably OK. Another good pot. After playing that

shot, you would expect it to be a bit easier on the black or pink

going in to the left. He just played as it was. He didn't worry about it.

Judd is yet to make a century in this tournament. This is a chance

for one. He needs to try to bring the red

over to the corner pocket. That is Judd 's highest break of the

tournament. He didn't quite get into that

properly. APPLAUSE He may have to take the

pink. Once again, he just powers those in.

Really great shot. The guaranteed position is pink in

the middle and yellow into the right-hand corner. But he must make

sure of the century. APPLAUSE His first century of the

tournament. The 38 for the tournament in total.

Unfortunately, the brown has not gone in but the fact he has made 107

takes him three frames clear at 4-1. If he hits this week, he will kiss

one of the reds. -- this thick four. He doesn't fancy that too much. At

the moment, you feel that any mistake here means the player will

go on to win the frame. He is having a look at it. He is pretty brave.

What a great shot. Is the hat played it a fraction

harder, the white would have gone to the right. That was the shot of the

match so far, and here's 5-behind. What a time to pull that one out.

The brown is not a certainty. He is on the red in the middle but

he would have liked to have been straight on it.

There is a chance here in the centre pocket if you can get his cue past

year. The brown was perfect. This will hurt. He is 26 points behind.

But a chance at pinching a frame that will really, really hurt Neil

Robertson. Every shot at this moment seems so

important. You can see he is not pleased with the position he has

left himself on the black. He has the wrong angle on the black to play

up the reds. He needs to make sure he gets past the brown. Well played

off Robertson cushion but he still has to play for the pink. -- off one

cushion. He needs an easier watch to the

left. But he wants to bring the pink into play. He is looking very

confident today. He started a little shaky but since the first frame, he

has been pretty dominant in this match. Once again, bringing another

red into play of the pot. Full of confidence. He went beep playing for

the red behind the black spot. -- he won't be playing.

Going back to Robertson 's shot on the brown, when he was perfect, he

just let the cue ball run loose. He still should have pointed the red in

the middle but he left himself slightly awkward. Now the work

starts because his remaining two reds not certainties. Anything but

straight. He has been slamming the scene. -- these in. He can't slam

them all in. With those type of shots, when you hit them that hard,

you could bounce the red up before it reaches the pot and it catches

the top of the rubber instead of the lower part which helps the ball into

the pocket. He is struggling. It is easy to be

critical of these players, but when you are struggling, you can miss

anything. He has played some very poor shots. We have said this many

times about Judd. Even if he plays the ball into the middle pocket, he

stuns them in. He always wants to stun them in. Neil is facing a 6-1

deficit. This will be 19. If he has gone straight on this red, this is

perfect. Well played. Well played for the black to make

sure. I don't really understand why. That made the shot twice as hard. If

he had rolled in, he wouldn't have missed it.

It is almost like Neil has hit a brick wall at the minute. He had

pink, blue, brown, to get behind there. I'm not sure if he is maybe

feeling slightly unwell because he was coughing earlier on and he keeps

wiping his forehead. When you are struggling out that, anything can

affect you. He looks pale at the best of times, Neil. He has that

kind of complexion anyway, but he looks out of sorts.

He had brown. It looks as if it has come straight through the gap. One

good pot in a good positional shot here and things could look better.

It could have been better. He had no real control of the cue ball because

he had to play it without side. The loot is available. -- the blue. He

is looking at the brown which would have been perfect. He made played

this deadweight in case he misses it. The blue will stop on the

pocket. That's what he has done and he has played it pretty well. He

just has to hold himself together, and this is a massive frame to

Robertson. Five behind, or three behind. Well done.

Eight points behind. Blue and brown will put on one point in front, so

he needs the black. It looks like he has done the hard work now.

He has been given a second chance by Judd, having missed that red in the

middle. Usually 33 breaks don't mean a lot but in this context, it is a

massive break. The time he took on the blue means he can handle that.

He has closed the gap but still trails by 5-2.

This is a Neil Robertson special. He is normally very good at these

shots. Wow! I like to see the speed. Amazing. I don't think he is right,

but that was a tremendous shot. Would he have pointed that red if he

had lost the previous frame? -- potted. He wouldn't have been as

confident. A little 33 break to pinch the frame at the previous

visitors even his confidence boost. He will be doing cartwheels if he

gets out of this session 5-3. That is when you have to earn your

money as a coach. There are a few things happening. I

don't think Neil Robertson expects them.

The cue ball is far enough off the cushion that some kind of stun on it

and deviate the cue ball for the next red.

We don't really know if Neil Robertson is not feeling well here,

but the truth of it is that you have to play every day in the

championship. He has hit two shots just then and

didn't really get the contact he wanted. The previous one, the red to

blue, he was expecting topside. He hit it a bit harder to make sure he

got around the two cushions. If he gets nicely on the black, you would

expect him to score heavily. When he plays to screw topside on the blue,

there is no problem. But you can see he has left it short. This is a

little bit short as well. He may have to play at cannon too slow the

cue ball down. There is a red available into the

middle. Trump sees the shot very early. He

is very quick. It is nice to see him playing reasonably. We have only

seen flashes of his brilliance. There has been no consistency in his

game this season. I know what a fabulous talent he is. But to do it

on the biggest stadium, that is what it is all about. It is what

everybody strives for in Sheffield. Maybe he is saving his best for the

next two weeks. It is not too bad. But he is just

hitting the cue ball slightly out of position.

The reds deadweight with the black. Another contribution above 50.

A glance at the scoreboard tells them he is 42 in front. The black,

49. Two more reds and colours to be absolutely certain. He doesn't

really want to play for the one behind the black. He was rather

played the wind on the side cushion because he is left-handed. -- he

would rather played the one. If that had been any harder, it

wouldn't have gone in. Just look at this red.

He didn't risk going into them. I thought he would. But this is inch

perfect. That is the important red. He needs

to pot the black as well. He likes to entertain, Judd Trump. He is 65

in front with just 51 left. Neil Robertson obviously resigned to

the fact he will be 6-2 behind. He was one of the favourites of this

tournament. He has to win the next session, regardless, to get back

into the match. But this is really nice to see Trump playing like we

know he can. He has certainly been the most impressive out of the two

today. I'm sure we were all thinking he

would go all the way at the start of this match. No one would have

expected a 6-2 result for either player.

A few exhibition shots here now. Those in the front row had better

watch out. Not quite. But it has been a

wonderful break-building exercise care from Trump. He leads Neil

Robertson overnight by -2. Session one complete. The left-handers

continue their rivalry later today. Join us at 10am for further live

coverage from the sticker championship. We will see you then.

-- snooker.