Day 4 World Championship Snooker Extra

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Welcome to Snooker Extra, day four. Today we have Fu versus Gould. He

has beaten him on two occasions, 2002 and 2011. Martin Gould has hard

a good round against Marco Fu. -- has had. Marco Fu has played

exceptional snooker of -- over the last two years. He can win almost

anything. That was all about safety. For a moment, I thought the

red was going to be over the pocket. He glanced at the long pot. Not much

reward with that. Touching ball. Touching ball, so he

should be able to get in behind the black somewhere. This is going to be

difficult with the two reds. It might be a re-rack. They might ask

right away, rather than messing around.

Players don't like to tiptoe around, but sometimes it happens. It is too

early for a re-rack. They were tiptoeing, but now with the white it

might be a few more shots. I think there is more chance of having a

re-rack than not. Playing the odds. If they continue that as they move

up the table, whoever has the first chance can break it right open. At

the moment, Marco Fu has the advantage.

He has left the red. Can Marco Fu get through to the red? Is not, --

if not, it will be very awkward. He can definitely see it. It is the

first chance in this round so far. He just about touched that. The cue

ball has come all the way back for the brew. -- blue. That suits the

players. Someone has been asked to turn bad device down. -- their

device. They are listening to the commentary. Someone has to know what

they are talking about. This is an excellent chance now.

You can just see this red. It will be a little straight. Marco Fu is

one of the best position players in the world. There is no doubt about

that. He keeps it tight. He doesn't leave himself with anything

difficult. He is very calm around the table,

Marco Fu. If you watch him, he never rushes. He makes sure he is playing

the right shot everytime. He looks around them. -- him. He is a very

nice man. He is very well respected by his fellow professionals.

This is nice watching Marco Fu break. You very rarely see it. His

cue ball control is excellent. He has won over 300 times. He is very

much under the radar. You notice him when he is playing well. He is the

player that nobody enjoys playing in the draw. He is up and down, but he

has his rank inside the top eight now. He does hang on. He is hard to

beat and he grinds a game out. There is not a player in the last ten

years that is so often out of form and is still one of the top players.

He likes to make it exciting. He says it is boring to play well the

time. -- all the time. Your son is living and working with him. He has

been in Hong Kong the last few years. He is here in Leeds at the

moment, playing with the lady players from Hong Kong. It is not

great when your son is doing better. I will put up with it. It is still

very popular, snooker, in Hong Kong. He has not had one difficult shot in

this break. This is how he plays the game. That is how you feel when you

are sitting in the chair. That is not quite what it is like, but it is

how it feels. Your opponent feels the pressure. The white has not

moved three or forefeet either side of the black. -- or four feet.

His family with him in Hong Kong are his wife Shirley and his child. He

would come with his dad, but then he was by himself in this country for

long periods. As they say, happy off the table, good on it.

That was a frame ball. The round of applause from the crowd tells you

that. He will look for another century. As we have mentioned, his

cue ball control has been superb. He will go for the pink Ball. -- ball.

If he loses concentration, it is usually because the fire alarm has

gone off. Even though Martin Gould has beaten Marco Fu the last few

times here art the Crucible, he knows he is up against a good player

today. -- at the Crucible. Other players have been pushed to the

limit. The cue ball has been incredible this frame. This is the

first time he has played a ball that he didn't want to play. This time it

was blue. A wonderful break. A classy player.

He was entitled to a round of applause they are. -- there. He has

missed one. Everything else has been absolutely to the inch. He has had

more than 300 centuries in his career. That was one of the best he

has made. Perfect control. Marco Fu takes the opening frame.

I think he can get past the green. He has played the safety on the

other one. He has left a tempter here. If he

can run through to the blue, he can get a pot. He can't go straight to

the blue, but it is worth a risk. There is a red behind. He will have

to be a little bit careful. Beautiful shot.

He struck that perfectly. A little bit too straight, if I am going to

be critical of it. He kept the cue ball perfectly under control. It is

one thing to talk about it, it is another to get the judgement with

the pace. Marco is in a position again where

he can score heavily. At this red, he can bring in a few reds, or score

from the black, depending on what he fancies. That is the second time in

a frame and a half that he has slightly lost position.

He might play a little cannon into the two reds. He doesn't want to

play the kiss, but sometimes you have to. This is absolutely flawless

snooker. You can get brainwashed with some of these players, but the

cue ball has been on a string. He is playing by inches.

That is OK. He would have liked to have been an inch or two back up the

table. He would have liked to have gone for the pink. That's part of

the table is crowded right now. -- that part. He would have been

practising like all the other players, Martin Gould. Now he has

had to sit out for a while. He has hired -- had 25 minutes without

potting a ball. He hasn't tried to. He has played safety. The middle one

is just about pots. Too risky. I'd be surprised if he took that one.

Unless he can see both sides of the pocket. He is taking the left-hand

one of the three to make sure he gets it. That is the third time he

has been two inches away from public. -- from perfect.

He is trying to run around two cushions here to get to the black.

It is slightly off straight. Marco Fu just kind of gets on with his

work, he doesn't really do anything too flash. There is a calmness about

him as he walks around, and as you talk to him. He is always

immaculately dressed. Can only presume the rednecks to the pink is

what he will pot. -- red next. Well he threatened to miss that one

but he was just having a song, really. -- us on. That could cut out

his chances of making back-to-back centuries. And it has. He is still

to kneel in front however. Two -- zero.

Yes, this is not an easy safety shot to play. He has played the defensive

safety, and he has been very lucky. So if you can see it, this is the

first part that Martin Gould has had to take on. It is definitely on. Not

the easiest shot to have there, when you have been off the table for so

long. Taking the black on, he is a very

aggressive player Martin Gould. Well, he didn't threaten the

pockets. You can understand why. Is strange when you watch Martin

Gould break, he has not been blessed with a lot of power, and Marco Fu

has been a bit unlucky here. Very, very, very aggressive shot. The

bridging over the black doesn't make it any easier to pot. When you are

bridging over the ball those are easy to miss.

Now then, a chance to see a bit of Martin Gould on the table. He had a

very good win in the final qualifying round, winning seven to

six. He is going to have to hit a red

into the two red balls. He will be disappointed with that one. He did

not get quite enough spin on the cue ball.

Very thin cut this. Caught it slightly thick.

I am not sure where he is looking. He might be looking at a plant

there, I don't know if I would go for that plant.

That cuts is on. Well that is amazing. How could you ever overcome

that? I was just about to say that, it is probably an eight of an inch

off the cushion and he over cuts it. -- eighth.

Yes, there is a lot going on there when there are four balls involved.

It is not a certainty this plant. Marco Fu is widely recognised as one

of the better players in the game as well. If he had played it slowly, I

don't understand how he could have missed it. Martin Gould was kept off

the table for the first two frames, so he has to take these chances.

Yes, Martin will be very pleased to get active table, but then of course

the pressure comes on. -- back to the. You cannot continue to build if

you keep getting him of position. He just had to pot that black deck

there, rather than thin. -- thick. Just three more reds, three

Colours. You have got to give Martin Gould a

lot of credit he, -- here, to come back and build a lead after being

down two breaks. You could not match up two more

contrasting styles could you? He is very busy Martin, always looking to

have things happening. I don't think he plots anywhere

here, Not happy with that, but I think it

might have landed. I think he was worried here, that he may leave the

red on the right side of the pack. There you see his reaction, as he

had the ball. -- hit. It looks like he might be tempted

with this, but I don't see the point because I don't see how he could get

back into play. He could play for the blue if you

wanted to, and then get on a red, at the red in the centre is the ball to

play. -- but. Well this could go wrong. Oh wow, it

certainly slowed up there didn't it? I thought he had it that far too

hard. Is in a great spot here. He has played that well. What a

great position shot that was. It was not easy, he had a slight angle on

the black, he had to make sure he went past the red. A succession of

easy shots. You may have won a two recovery shots in a break, but in

general terms, the more you do that, the harder it is to break it

down. The hardest position to be in his thin cut in the middle. It is

all about images these days. Once you lose the image when you are

playing the shot, it just distracts something in the mind and you have

to be strong to fight against it. He had to be careful there or he might

have snookered himself. Some players might have been a touch firmer than

that but of course if he was not firm enough then he would not have

ended up on the red. He has played to clear this red out

of the way because it was a bit of an obstacle for Marco Fu. This is a

tougher pot. He is stretching the ball very nicely today, very smooth

with his cue action. We have talked about his lack of power, most

players would have gone for a different red, but Marco hasn't

developed the topspin that a lot of players have, so he leaves a

different angle on the black. This time though, he will play for the

loose red. He may use the red at the back of the pack later on. He is

very clever, he was just using that red to get to the other reds in the

pack, without using that power. Opting to get the pink into play

their, but it didn't quite happen. -- there.

It is so nice to watch different players, the way they break. When

Marco Fu does not have the power shot, he will think of another way

of opening the bunch. A prime example is the way he left them at

the end of the pack, and now he has them at his mercy.

This is a very, very high standard we are seeing here at the moment.

I was not going to suggest there is a possible maximum on until now. He

might just play for the rednecks to the pink, all depends what he

fancies. He knows that was a great chance. You can never guarantee what

you are going to get. Sometimes you get a double in the centre pocket.

He is playing a triple. What a shame. Martin Gould is still sitting

in his chair. Marco Fu leads by four frames to one.

Martin Gould knew he would be in for a calf match, -- tough match, but he

didn't expect this. Martin Gould had a look to see if

Marco Fu could slip past the reds, but he couldn't. Very close to the

pink. He has gone for the split, unintentionally. That was a very

unusual shot from Marco Fu. Look at him. He looks as if he has just hit

a hundred. He never shows it on his face. He has held the cue ball well.

He did a lot of checks. He needs to slow it down.

It has been a very open game so far. The frames are not taking too

long. It seems as if when one player makes a mistake, the other has got a

chance. Oh well. Can I have that turned back again, please? Very

disappointing. He didn't quite make it. It is an art. He hit it too

thin. You would expect someone like Martin to hit it better than that.

The frame times have been shot. Short. About 25 minutes.

He is not missing much. That is perfect pace. He left himself a

choice. He will want to come down the right-hand side of the table.

There are two reds there. A lot of players would have played that

differently. Marco Fu realised there was not a lot on, and he has now

given himself another chance to score heavily. 96% pot success red.

That is almost unbeatable. Lee once almost lost with that statistic. It

was an unbelievable. Is you get above that, you are almost

guaranteed to win the match. -- if you. The longer the match is, the

more difficult it is to sustain. It is the same with darts. I really

like darts. He is having a look at the reds. This is top drawer

snooker. You don't often think of Marco Fu as one of the great

players, but all you have to do is look at his record.

He has given this plenty of thought. It is not straight forward from

here. There are four groups of two reds. He has played it nicely. He

used the backspin necessary to get it on to get it onto -- to get it on

to the red. A good angle. It looks straight. It

kissed off the red. He has left himself a nice angle. He has only

missed four pots. He has potted 117. It is an incredible statistic.

He has only missed four. You can't get them all. Martin Gould hasn't

made that many mistakes. He has played twice. He just can't get it

in. Marco Fu is taking his time. The

session has just about come to an end. Quiet, please.

Two more reds, two colours. That is an excellent positional shot. I

would have thought the red had potted by the look on his face. Oh,

it did. He was tricking me by the look on his face. He has to make

sure he pots that. He didn't get anything on that. 43 points in

front. 51 left on the table. The reds are in a perfect spot. The

colours are not safe. The key thing here is to get a good white. He

would like to put the colour safe, but the key thing here is not to

leave an easy pot or a pot of any sort. He was hoping to put the black

on the right cushion. He is putting it there. I would not play that

shot. Maybe he was worried about kissing one of the others. He has

now lost his advantage. He doesn't need the black until the very last

one. He can win the game with three reds and three pinks. He doesn't

need the blackened till the very last. -- the black until. You need

to know when to use the safety. You have to trap your opponent. That is

very good. He has got a safety shot here, but it is not easy. He will

try to get the pink and the red in the corner. I think he went for the

pot. It was a good weight. I wouldn't have fancied that. I think

we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think he would

have missed the kiss on both the red and the pink. He is looking to push

it to the middle. If he hits it to the right, the ball will go to the

middle pocket. That is his first port shot of the day. -- poor shot.

I think he has got away with it. Pretty fortunate. He didn't have the

angle to do it. He should have cut inside the blue. He should have gone

on the inside. Because of where the blue stopped, this is well worth a

go. Nicely played. There is nothing safe. Apart from the black that

Marco Fu made safe earlier on. It is on the cushion. He would like to get

the pink and cleared the red as well. -- clear the red. It is not

straightforward. He has gone too far. I thought he was going for the

one on the cushion. That was a very good shot if he meant to do that.

He will be better off if the red is tight on the cushion. I am not sure

if it is or not. We will see in a second. If it is not tight on the

cushion, it will make his pot more difficult. Let's have a look to see

how tight it is. It is slightly more difficult. With the angle, he is

closer to the red. Very well paid. -- played. He has a positive mind.

He is looking at the scoreboard. He knows he is 29 points behind. He

could go for the yellow, but he is going for the slightly more

difficult blue. He needs the points. He played that thin. With

the way he has played, you have to take your hat off to Martin Gould.

He has had great breaks. It has been brilliant. He has made a mess of

that. He has got a thin cut. He might be able to check the Brown. --

brown. He went for a plain ball. He has left himself the green. Between

the cue ball and the brown. He has given himself a chance to get the

pink so he can get behind the black. Under the circumstances, this

would be an unbelievable Clarence. -- clearance. The blacks are safe.

He is going to play that on the last ball. Somebody coughed when he was

about to play the shot. He stopped and said, cheers. If you have to

cough, you have to cough. I don't think that's right. This could be a

turning point in the match. It has been an excellent effort from Martin

Gould. Very well done. Great clearance from Martin. But he is

still 4-2 behind. That is not a very good safety. The

tap on the table from Martin says he appreciates it was a very poor

safety. All of a sudden, there are a few

balls being missed. There has been pressure in the last round. With the

green where it is, it has made it more difficult. He is going to have

to do something with the cue ball to miss the cannon.

That was a bit optimistic there, I felt. You could see what he was

trying to do. He was trying to hit the blue. It could have opened up

the whole pack. It was a very aggressive shot. He can go from

almost anywhere. He needs to get this right. He needs to go for the

angle after this and try to dislodge it. He hasn't given himself a lot of

room here. If you look at the cue ball, he is high up the table. It is

not enough of an angle to give himself a nudge. It was always going

to be difficult. It is about the only weakness that he has got in his

game. He is unable to do this then, but he more than makes up for it in

other departments. -- unable to do the spin. His temperament makes up

for it. But the cue power was not there.

Once again, that was unfortunate with how that red came into the

middle. That happened last time with the safety. He didn't want it to

kiss the red. He just about got past it.

Another example of a little bit of lack of spin. Other players would

have done differently. Still a good chance. He is going for the green

pocket. Ooh! I didn't expect him to miss that one.

I am sure that Martin Gould was not expecting this chance. He is able to

pull a frame back. Ten minutes ago, it looked like he was going to go

5-1 down. Now it could change. Don't think he has the same level of

skill is Marco Fu, but he has a different style and a different way

of break building. As he showed in the previous frame, he can plot the

difficult ones under each stream pressure as well. -- pot. It is

always difficult to get the pace just right, and now he will be

looking for an angle on the pink, or the black. He would like to get into

them if he can. So does he have the angle on the pink this time? There

is a red for pot, you cannot see those from our commentary position

but there is. This is his second break of over 50. He has had breaks

of 45 and 46. There have been a few errors creeping in in the last few

frames, that there has still been a high standard.

There are some great players in this game, but nobody can play well all

the time. There is too much skill involved, and too much room for

error. Martin Gould, that is excellent. I

have been very impressed with the way he has handled himself this

morning, he has been bombarded with excellent snooker and he is on his

way to getting back to 4-3. He has already made 23 centuries

this season. If you straight on the it will be OK, if he is not straight

on the green it will be tough to get on the brown.

Well, what a shame there was no century there, but some great

snooker from both players. He has got blue or pink as options.

Depends which taper shot he likes. Three of four inches further out and

I think he would be taking the pink. I think he deliberately played

down their to guarantee himself the red.

Some of the older players say you should never move a rat out with a

red button Marco Fu has done it twice in this break. -- red.

It is no good. Tough shot here. The angle there made that pot very

difficult. He must have thought he was getting closer to the yellow

than that and pocketed the brown on the wrong side.

As you could see, it just went into the left side of the pocket which

means he has cut it a little too thin. This is going to cost him, as

the brown is covering the green. He went all out for the yellow. He

played that OK. There may be a cross double on here. Bit of a good run

their four Marco Fu. -- there for. COMMENTATOR: He will have to stomach

a little bit. -- stun it. Well, you don't really want these

rounds at this stage of the table to meat on the table for your

children. -- Browns. He needs to the black. Oh. It could

have been worse. Marco Fu will be delighted with

that. Good attempt. Now he is not going to

play to open the pack, he is just going to move the other two reds,

with a safety shot. None of these shots are easy.

The blue is now a bit tricky but the fact that the red is over near the

black might create some problems. He does have an angle on this black

to bring the Reds into play, if he fancies that he might take it on.

Well, this is a pressure pot because he knows he is going to leave things

on. Another example of him not wanting to go all out, ringing Reds

into play -- bringing reds into play.

This has given Marco Fu a good chance now. He is not guaranteed to

win the frame from here, but you feel as if he won 6-3, he might

consider himself a little lucky. Yes he was at 4-1, but then Martin Gould

knuckled down and got himself back into it.

Now then, he is going to have to move something after this red, in

order to break the pack a little bit. Not sure if he played to get

that into position with the red, or a better angle on the black. That is

just about perfect. This time he needs to

stun into the Reds, not screw into them.

He is looking to see if there is a planned there as well, but there are

two reds he can get here as well. -- plant. As we said earlier, he does

tend to coax the reds out, rather than smash them. Disk crowd here at

The Crucible Theatre, enthralled, as we are in commentating, there has

been a very high standard of snooker played today. -- this. It looks like

Marco Fu will will be taking a three frame lead into tomorrow. He got

into it too much that time, he wanted to hit the left side of that

red, and got the right. Will very good break of 64. He will

take a three frame lead into tomorrow that. -- tomorrow's

session. Pretty good effort from where he

was, reaching over the ball. Now then, how will you hit that Martin?

More or less dead straight. He has given himself a chance now. If he

had have missed that it would have been all over.

He played that nicely. He wants the cue ball to come over a little bit.

Good quality stuff. It certainly isn't straightforward here. He has

to be careful that he does not catch the black on the way up. There are a

few things to think about here. Yet another attempt for Martin

Gould. He may just decide to screw it into the blue, that means he can

cover it for the other red. This has been a very enjoyable and

entertaining session of snooker. On the reflection of breaks this

session, Marco Fu has definitely been the better of the two. Lack

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