Day 7

:00:35. > :00:41.Hello and welcome to Snooker Extra. Extended highlights of the 2016

:00:42. > :00:51.Betfred World Championship. Our featured match tonight sees Ali

:00:52. > :00:52.Carter, twice a runner-up taking on McManus who knocked out Steven

:00:53. > :01:08.Maguire. Alan McManus gets the first frame of

:01:09. > :01:12.the session. Just to remind you, there's three sessions in the best

:01:13. > :01:21.of 25. First two sessions, eight frames. And then the remaining nine,

:01:22. > :01:27.if that's needed to make up the 25. It's a very interesting opening

:01:28. > :01:30.session and I wouldn't dispute Ali Carter at the table now having that

:01:31. > :01:42.2-frame advantage. So it will be very interesting to

:01:43. > :01:48.see how this second session pans out. He was 3-1 in front, Ali, and

:01:49. > :01:52.looked almost certain to go 4-1 in front and the simplest of pinks into

:01:53. > :02:07.the middle and Alan McManus, who looked to be struggling, really

:02:08. > :02:22.found a bit of confidence. He got a 40 and a 65 in the eighth frame. So

:02:23. > :02:27.all to play for in this. That was a poor safety shot. Caught

:02:28. > :02:33.it much too thick. That was the problem with it last evening. Both

:02:34. > :02:40.these players had tough opening first round matches. Ali Carter

:02:41. > :02:50.getting over the line in a brilliant match against Stuart Bingham 10-9.

:02:51. > :02:54.Fantastic shot. And Alan McManus, a great win over Steven Maguire 10-7.

:02:55. > :03:08.So both have been looking for a good performance here.

:03:09. > :03:19.And one person was enamored with that, more than the rest. It was

:03:20. > :03:23.noticeable in the first session that Ali Carter, particularly in the

:03:24. > :03:29.opening frames, didn't want to take on anything too risky. I wanted to

:03:30. > :03:33.keep it tight. And that was his plan and well, he got a 2-frame advantage

:03:34. > :03:45.out of the first session. It could have been more.

:03:46. > :03:50.Yeah, John, there is the possibility that players play different styles

:03:51. > :04:01.against different people. You can only play the balls but let's, for

:04:02. > :04:08.instance, say that Ali Carter thinks that Alan McManus is not a great

:04:09. > :04:13.tunist to get in amongst the balls -- opportunist to get in amongst the

:04:14. > :04:16.balls and think that if I'm getting him easy chances, I could have the

:04:17. > :04:22.upper hand. But that could mean that you fall into the trap of playing

:04:23. > :04:24.the game that your owe ponent plays. Yeah, it's a fine balancing act

:04:25. > :04:29.sometimes. But I agree with what you say. I think that he thought - well,

:04:30. > :04:38.if I don't take any liberties here, I'm a big favourite to win the

:04:39. > :04:44.match. I thought Alan McManus was superb

:04:45. > :04:53.against Maguire. So scoring pretty well himself in the first round.

:04:54. > :04:57.This isn't a nice opening for Ali Carter. He had the pots on, but with

:04:58. > :05:01.the cue so close to the bottom cushion, he can't really dig down on

:05:02. > :05:10.it. No real guarantee of any type of position, so he's on offer really if

:05:11. > :05:16.he misses it. And of course, unless he gets the cue ball into a very

:05:17. > :05:21.good safety area himself, Alan McManus will go for that red.

:05:22. > :05:25.There's a few players would commit to this. Yeah, and I think if he's

:05:26. > :05:30.going to play it, he's going to have to commit to it. I wouldn't try to

:05:31. > :05:33.find a path back to the ball, because as Steve said, it's on. If

:05:34. > :05:43.he tries to play the safety back to the ball, he has to be so accurate

:05:44. > :05:51.and get such a good cue ball. No, he'll be now thinking - why

:05:52. > :05:56.didn't I attempt the pot? Yes. And increasingly so in the game of

:05:57. > :05:59.snooker, the modern day ethic is if you're in a position where you could

:06:00. > :06:05.possibly mills the safety shot up, even if there's a risky pot, go for

:06:06. > :06:23.it. Forget the consequences. Be first.

:06:24. > :06:28.Short of pace there but he's still got the blue there. You would think

:06:29. > :06:33.that that would be the choice. And here's the shot that Ali decided he

:06:34. > :06:42.didn't want to risk the pot. But by the looks of that, hit the wrong red

:06:43. > :06:45.first. You'd expect Alan McManus to pot this blue, although he's getting

:06:46. > :06:50.the extension on, so perhaps he's trying to cut it in the middle as

:06:51. > :07:05.opposed to into the yellow pocket. So a bit of run on the cue ball. It

:07:06. > :07:08.changed the extension of the cue. Even though you can reach it more,

:07:09. > :07:14.it does change the cue. It gives the cue more weight and if you're

:07:15. > :07:23.putting any type of side spin on, it changes the aiming point.

:07:24. > :08:15.S The opening red of Ali Carter played with back spin to slow the

:08:16. > :08:20.cue ball down. Always a risky shot these days that you don't get some

:08:21. > :08:23.unwanted side spin on, and that ball just got into the pocket to give him

:08:24. > :08:37.this opportunity. Funny enough, years ago before we

:08:38. > :08:41.got to the superfine cloth, you played it with a trace of side, just

:08:42. > :08:53.to move the cue ball over. But you're playing with side on these

:08:54. > :08:58.clothes and it's at your peril. S This is a real good opportunity

:08:59. > :09:04.for Ali to stretch his lead. He was certainly the better of the two in

:09:05. > :09:15.the opening session. Made a century break in the third frame. And the

:09:16. > :09:20.reds he needs to clinch the frame in this visit, are all in the open. He

:09:21. > :09:54.doesn't need the two reds near the side cushion.

:09:55. > :10:01.I think the pink at the moment looks to be occupied. And if he's got the

:10:02. > :10:06.right angle, he could nudge the red away and make room for the pink. But

:10:07. > :10:13.if he hasn't, it won't be any great harm for the pink to go on the blue

:10:14. > :10:23.spot. Depends how he sees it down at the table. Oh, would you believe it!

:10:24. > :10:30.He missed a pink in the opposite middle. Last evening, it's

:10:31. > :10:40.unbelievable! He's just thinking about the cannon. Took his eye off

:10:41. > :10:43.the pot. Lightning struck twice. Yeah, I think that the last thing

:10:44. > :10:54.that Alan McManus was thinking was that he was going to get back to the

:10:55. > :10:58.table. Just a bit short of pace. That's made the situation a little

:10:59. > :11:03.bit more difficult. I think he's probably just about OK. In line with

:11:04. > :11:06.the pink, could have done with a little bit more. Shows you what I

:11:07. > :11:31.know! Correct side. I leave the commentator's eyes up to

:11:32. > :11:34.you, John! A couple of difficult reds that Ali Carter is pleased to

:11:35. > :12:10.see on the side cushion now. He could have controlled the cue

:12:11. > :12:15.ball slightly better. If he had the expension there. He would be wary of

:12:16. > :12:19.the red next to the cushion when he's reaching over here.

:12:20. > :12:32.As I was mentioning earlier, he was 3-1 down. Ali Carter looked certain

:12:33. > :12:36.to go 4-1 in front. Roll in a red to funnily enough, the opposite middle

:12:37. > :12:45.to where he just missed that last pink. And he missed the pink and all

:12:46. > :12:48.of a sudden, it was as though Alan McManus got inspiration from that

:12:49. > :12:52.mistake, but he's got it to do here with the two reds on the side

:12:53. > :12:54.cushion as Steve mentioned. Ali Carter could have won the frame

:12:55. > :13:09.without those, but Alan can't. Chance to move one of them. And

:13:10. > :13:12.retain position on the pink. It's always a risk if you do decide to do

:13:13. > :13:23.this. Very short of pace there. There

:13:24. > :13:27.would have been players would have tried to have moved that red. I'm

:13:28. > :13:29.not saying that it was right shot to do, but at some stage, you have to

:13:30. > :13:44.get them off the cushions as well. This is a tough pot and position.

:13:45. > :13:52.Tweaked it off to the left. And also wasn't on the red either. Playing

:13:53. > :13:58.for the double. Don't know what was not committing anyway. I'm not sure

:13:59. > :14:01.if that was... Might be me talking to a more positive frame of mind

:14:02. > :14:06.there about knocking that red off the cushion, but I think it was on.

:14:07. > :14:12.Yeah, and I think that it was a trick that he missed. Because there

:14:13. > :14:15.was no way that he could win the frame the way that the reds were

:14:16. > :14:22.situated. And when he's played that pink, as you say, he didn't play for

:14:23. > :14:23.the red near the top cushion, which you would normally expect a player

:14:24. > :15:23.to do. Nicely judged from Ali Carter. Not

:15:24. > :15:27.going to get any advantage from it, but it do have gone wrong. Possible

:15:28. > :16:12.double. There is the possibility that Alan

:16:13. > :16:15.McManus could pot the red in such a way as to leave himself in a

:16:16. > :16:22.position on the black in which to disturb the two reds, but that's

:16:23. > :16:32.very aggressive. And forward thinking. As it was, missed the red

:16:33. > :16:38.by some distance. That trade mark lifting up of Alan McManus towards

:16:39. > :16:42.the end of the back swing and then just before the hit, a fraction of

:16:43. > :16:45.head and body movement. That's been with him all the time. Not saying

:16:46. > :16:47.that it's the reason why he missed it at all, it's just part of his

:16:48. > :17:16.game. I think Alan McManus, depending if

:17:17. > :17:25.the red goes past the pink, for mak, if it doesn't go past the pink, he

:17:26. > :17:27.can play a very slow roll to keep the cue ball down there. Very nicely

:17:28. > :17:41.played. Don't know if there's enough room to

:17:42. > :17:44.get the cue ball behind the pink. There's your answer. Down the other

:17:45. > :18:37.side! Amazingly, that red stayed in the

:18:38. > :18:42.bottom half of the table and it's a very thin cut and one that Ali

:18:43. > :18:48.Carter couldn't really have expected Alan McManus would have had. Very

:18:49. > :18:55.thin. Cue ball is going to go off the top cushion down into the

:18:56. > :19:04.girlfriend pocket area. -- green pocket area.

:19:05. > :19:11.Well, that was an excellent pot and a nice kiss on the green because

:19:12. > :19:46.it's left him a perfect angle on the pink.

:19:47. > :19:51.In an ideal world, you'd like to leave the cue ball close to the

:19:52. > :19:55.right-hand side cushion to leave yourself an angle over the black

:19:56. > :19:58.corner and then pot the black and stun across and disturb the red over

:19:59. > :20:01.the top cushion. I don't know whether he's got the angle to do

:20:02. > :20:15.that off this red now. Well, that's what he's going for. He

:20:16. > :20:19.needs to get closer to the cushion. He's maybe just got the angle. So,

:20:20. > :20:27.will he play the cannon? You'd think he would. Otherwise the red along

:20:28. > :20:39.the top cushion will be tricky. Played it well. Played it very well.

:20:40. > :20:44.Yes, I would have been delighted to see the path of the cue ball which

:20:45. > :20:47.more or less guaranteed position on the red. Just got to be careful with

:20:48. > :21:03.this one. Would have liked to have been lower

:21:04. > :21:10.on the pink. So now, some more work to do. A screw back off the side

:21:11. > :21:20.cushion just before the middle pocket. He's caught that very well.

:21:21. > :21:23.Neerl too well. -- nearly too well. 19 points the lead. Yellow and green

:21:24. > :21:35.required. So Ali Carter missing that straight

:21:36. > :22:21.forward pink to the left middle. Eventually it's cost him the frame.

:22:22. > :22:27.And that's it for Ali Carter. He'll be very disappointed. Had a great

:22:28. > :22:35.chance to extend the lead to three. It's reduced to one. He still leads

:22:36. > :22:44.5-4. Ali Carter starts off the ninth

:22:45. > :22:54.frame. With a decent break off. I don't know if he's covered the red

:22:55. > :22:57.to the left-hand side of the table. Ali Carter can't really have asked

:22:58. > :23:04.for any better a break off than that. Alan McManus can't play to the

:23:05. > :23:09.top cushion because of the red behind the black so this is a bit of

:23:10. > :23:16.a shot from Alan McManus without being snookered. He's playing the

:23:17. > :23:20.two-cushion escape. He obviously had a big area. It wasn't just...

:23:21. > :23:29.Because there was a line of four reds, perhaps he felt there was a

:23:30. > :23:37.big area for error. I'd like to have that one again. S Well, you've got

:23:38. > :23:42.to see... See what shot he would have played or would he play that

:23:43. > :23:51.again? Because it could go wrong this one. Nearly went wrong. He's

:23:52. > :23:56.introduced as Alan 'Angles' McManus, so the clue is in the introduction

:23:57. > :24:04.that he's pretty good at this type of shot. No, that pink was close to

:24:05. > :24:08.the reds. Do you think it's a bit like combing your hair in a mirror

:24:09. > :24:13.or the other way around. No, combing your hair... In a camera. You mean

:24:14. > :24:16.when you're looking at something and it's reversed on the table? Yeah.

:24:17. > :24:22.Well, let's have a look at what it was? That's where it was. And where

:24:23. > :24:25.is it now? Almost perfect. If you're looking at a TV screen and the

:24:26. > :24:28.camera is on you and you try to comb your hair, you would go the wrong

:24:29. > :24:32.way because it is different to looking at it in a mirror. A bit of

:24:33. > :24:42.information for you! How very interesting! Shut up! OK, so he's

:24:43. > :24:54.playing the same shot and that pink is in the way a bit. Yeah, great

:24:55. > :24:59.shot. He does it again. Yeah, he didn't like the containing safety.

:25:00. > :25:02.He didn't feel as though it was a return to there, getting straight

:25:03. > :25:07.off the red. So played it like that. He has left a chance for Ali.

:25:08. > :25:12.Straightish red. He's usually very good at these but this is the type

:25:13. > :25:18.of shot he's been turning down in favour of safety. And there you see,

:25:19. > :25:25.he's doing it again. Big target behind green and brown here. And

:25:26. > :25:34.also, he's spotted that it was there. Does he get a good kiss on

:25:35. > :25:41.the brown? No. So no prizes for guessing what comes next.

:25:42. > :25:51.More angles required. Well, John, we're in the studio here in the

:25:52. > :25:56.commentary box. You're in front of the telly straighter. Dennis is

:25:57. > :26:08.recovering from appendicitis, so over to you. And in the blink of an

:26:09. > :26:18.eye, that's my solution. The mark of Zoro! Zoro. And the reason I've put

:26:19. > :26:22.him well away from that red to the left of the pink is that it is going

:26:23. > :26:27.to slide off the second cushion. He's got to have it where I've hit.

:26:28. > :26:37.If he doesn't hit there, he might miss the red. He slides.

:26:38. > :26:42.REFEREE: Foul and a miss. That's from the angles. Angles has let us

:26:43. > :26:50.down there. Now, will Ali be tempted? I would be. Well, wow,

:26:51. > :26:53.yeah! When you're looking at that shot on our TV screen, you think -

:26:54. > :26:57.well, why don't you try it along the cushion, but it is a little bit more

:26:58. > :27:03.of an angle on the pot than it looks. I thought he might have taken

:27:04. > :27:08.that on, but as you say, if he's got a game plan. He has a plan. Those

:27:09. > :27:15.angles weren't on by the way I think is the answer to that connundrum

:27:16. > :27:23.that while your lines are lovely, I don't think that angles decides that

:27:24. > :27:26.that is feasible with the slide. So now he's looking at God knows what

:27:27. > :27:34.now. I was thinking to the line, I think he's got to get a little bit

:27:35. > :27:37.closer to the blue. OK, he's found another alternative. I don't know

:27:38. > :27:46.how he can get it safely in this way. I think that this slides as

:27:47. > :27:53.well. Well, there's a line. Oh, it was of the perfect line. But not

:27:54. > :27:58.hard enough. He gets put back you have again. But whether he can

:27:59. > :28:04.replicate the exact release off the cushions of the cue ball. With a bit

:28:05. > :28:10.more pace. Yes, with a bit more pace is... Is arguable. So not guaranteed

:28:11. > :28:24.to get the line right even though he knows it's available.

:28:25. > :28:37.A bit more pace this time. Does it affect the line of the cue ball?

:28:38. > :28:48.Played it beautifully. He didn't let us down that time. That's why he's

:28:49. > :28:53.called 'Angles'. He's back. Ali Carter has got a pretty easy path

:28:54. > :28:56.back down to bulk behind the green. Could put Alan back in trouble. A

:28:57. > :29:37.bit shallow on that. No trul at all. Just looking at the possible outcome

:29:38. > :29:40.of the reds hitting other reds and plants that are on into the

:29:41. > :29:46.left-hand corner. For a second, I thought he'd spotted a plant. He's

:29:47. > :29:48.caught this far too thin. Didn't want to be hitting the far side

:29:49. > :30:05.cushion. An attempt for Ali Carter. Not even considering it, I don't

:30:06. > :30:14.think. Though, there's a bit of an angle on the shot. Quite a tactical

:30:15. > :30:24.match, as you say, John. Ali keeping it tight. That's Alan's preferred

:30:25. > :30:31.method, anyway. Good safety. He's got him in a bit of trouble, I

:30:32. > :30:35.think. Yeah, on the first bit, and this is what we were discussing last

:30:36. > :30:38.evening is that you'd think if it came to a tactical affair, that Alan

:30:39. > :30:44.McManus might have the advantage. But I think now he as working on the

:30:45. > :30:48.principle that if he gets in, he'll score heavier than Alan so keep it

:30:49. > :30:53.tight and don't open the reds as much as he would normally. It's a

:30:54. > :31:01.plan. It's working so far. If he's cut out those easy pots he's missed,

:31:02. > :31:07.Ali. Alan McManus could just get through to that red, bent it with a

:31:08. > :31:13.bit of left-hand side. And swung the right, the cue ball around off

:31:14. > :31:17.three, four cushions into what is an excellent safety area himself and a

:31:18. > :31:28.little tap on the table there from Ali Carter. A little less pressure

:31:29. > :31:31.on the safety aspect. With the black out of commission, but the pink is

:31:32. > :31:51.still in open play. He was more or less forced into

:31:52. > :31:56.playing that pot. Sometimes the positions of the balls dictate what

:31:57. > :32:01.shot you play and that of the case in question. But he didn't get the

:32:02. > :32:33.double kiss so he's not left anything. Nothing easy.

:32:34. > :32:40.I mean a lot of times in snooker, you play the balls this they dictate

:32:41. > :32:48.the pattern of play. I don't think that Ali Carter really needs to

:32:49. > :32:58.change his game at all. Perhaps he's had a thought coming into this World

:32:59. > :33:02.Championship to just readjust the balance of attack and defend.

:33:03. > :33:06.I don't know many players that have a game plan for each round, do you?

:33:07. > :33:11.I mean, I don't remember that was the case, not strongly. No, no. But

:33:12. > :33:14.he had to go through the three qualifying matches so maybe he

:33:15. > :33:19.decided that he felt more comfortable playing this type of

:33:20. > :33:25.game and not pushing the bolt out too much. Takes a little bit of

:33:26. > :33:33.pressure off if you're not going for everything.

:33:34. > :33:39.That was close to Mario Bernie who will be a name that not a lot of

:33:40. > :33:43.people will have heard of but he was a great amateur player from Wales,

:33:44. > :33:51.and he always used to say, "You've got to be fair to your ability."

:33:52. > :33:58.Playing outrageous shots, sometimes you're not. This doesn't look bad.

:33:59. > :34:04.Just a touch too hard, I think. I think Alan can just get to the edge

:34:05. > :34:11.of the red. That's tight. That is tight.

:34:12. > :34:16.Well, one thing is for certain, Ali Carter knows his way around a

:34:17. > :35:01.snooker table in the tactical department.

:35:02. > :35:12.Well, he's cut off escape routes down the right-hand side of the

:35:13. > :35:17.table as we look on our screens. And a pretty low return on risk for

:35:18. > :35:23.going for a pot for Alan McManus. What can he get on? The red is

:35:24. > :35:33.relatively straight. Hard to see how he can get out into open play. There

:35:34. > :35:37.is a gap. Not much of one. And effectively, a defensive pot really

:35:38. > :35:42.just to contain the situation. You do no damage if you miss. You can

:35:43. > :35:47.only leave that ball up and still hit it very nicely, though, so he's

:35:48. > :35:53.controlling the tactical play by potting that red. Needs to get this

:35:54. > :35:57.cue ball across to the left-hand side of the table sufficiently that

:35:58. > :36:08.he cuts off the route back down the table, which he's done. Advantage

:36:09. > :36:22.Alan McManus. Yeah, that containing pot there has given the edge here.

:36:23. > :36:27.You don't want to get dragged into a tctical battle unless you can help

:36:28. > :36:31.it -- tactical battle unless you can help it, I would have thought.

:36:32. > :36:33.Especially if you're Ali Carter. He's got all of the shots in the

:36:34. > :36:42.book. Well, he's hit that, but I think

:36:43. > :36:46.that well, Ali has come around to have a look. There may be a red

:36:47. > :36:56.available to the right middle. I don't know where the colour comes

:36:57. > :36:59.from, that's anybody's guess. A tough one into the right corner,

:37:00. > :37:02.which would give him position into the pink. The right-hand one of the

:37:03. > :37:08.two we can see are available. But he's playing this one to the middle.

:37:09. > :37:16.Well, maybe he can... Oh, just a safety. But there's not many players

:37:17. > :37:22.of the new breed of players who would refuse that red into the roith

:37:23. > :37:27.corner. That's old school -- right corn e. That's old school tactics

:37:28. > :37:38.off the side cushion there. 25 years he's been coming here, Alan McManus.

:37:39. > :37:42.Not criticising. He's old school. Not criticising the choice off the

:37:43. > :37:46.cushion. That was so much of a choice that could have gone wrong

:37:47. > :37:51.and presenting your opponent with an easy choice and Alan McManus makes

:37:52. > :37:56.sure that he makes it hard for his opponent. He's not a slow player in

:37:57. > :38:00.as much as the amount of time that he takes over the shots. It's not

:38:01. > :38:09.that. He makes up his mind pretty quickly. But as you say, John, he's

:38:10. > :38:15.old school. Won't be happy with that, though. He's left the red on.

:38:16. > :38:19.But the way that the colours are situated, black out of commission,

:38:20. > :38:24.pink tied up. He's going to have to pot this and just try to hope that

:38:25. > :38:33.he finishes up on a colour. But don't miss the pot.

:38:34. > :38:39.Well, you can hope and you can do what you like. He could have wished

:38:40. > :38:42.for something better than that. The only upside is that that he can get

:38:43. > :39:39.through to play safe off the pink. Much too thin. And this time if he

:39:40. > :39:48.pots the red, you would think that he would be on a colour. He's got

:39:49. > :39:54.the blue to play for. Such a good cuist normally, is Ali.

:39:55. > :39:57.He is solid. The only thing is that we could see the line of the cue

:39:58. > :40:02.ball when it was going straight back. Always looked as though he was

:40:03. > :40:11.going to run into the blue. And was probably hoping for a kiss on the

:40:12. > :40:16.blue, but not a full one. Such a superb cue-ist. Absolutely no head

:40:17. > :40:24.movement at all when Ali Carter plays power screw backs.

:40:25. > :40:31.Didn't really have to do a great deal with that yellow as far as

:40:32. > :40:37.getting up the table with that red over the corner pocket. A bit of

:40:38. > :40:45.left-hand spin, straighten the cue ball up off the cushion. Not enough

:40:46. > :40:52.slnd spin. I thought that that was -- left-hand spin. I thought that

:40:53. > :40:59.that was avoidable. And if he continues in his tactical play, he

:41:00. > :41:02.won't go for a pot here. I think even if he was playing attacking, he

:41:03. > :41:06.wouldn't be necessarily going for one. So trying to get in behind that

:41:07. > :41:21.brown perhaps. It was his intention to get in

:41:22. > :41:25.behind the brown, but he'll be pleased where the cue ball has

:41:26. > :41:29.finished. Tight into the cushion. It doesn't make this an easy return,

:41:30. > :41:42.particularly as there's quite a few reds could get in the way. Caught it

:41:43. > :41:49.much too thick. Much too thick. Well, I've got a feeling that Alan

:41:50. > :41:57.McManus had other options apart from that shot. I'll have to see it all

:41:58. > :42:01.again. But too late now regardless. He's left a lovely position for Ali

:42:02. > :42:05.Carter. But there was a bit of a ris yk that safety shot. Perhaps could

:42:06. > :42:13.have played for the top cushion somehow. Might be doing Ali a

:42:14. > :42:20.disservice there, but the last thing that you wanted to do was open all

:42:21. > :42:45.the balls up in a situation that he was in.

:42:46. > :42:52.Had to play for the pink in the middle pocket there. He's missed a

:42:53. > :42:54.couple in the middles, whether it is on his mind or not is another

:42:55. > :43:15.matter. Frame-winning chance. Without doing

:43:16. > :43:23.a great deal of work. Poor shot. Very poor shot.

:43:24. > :43:30.Yeah, just look at that. Surprised in a way that he didn't play for the

:43:31. > :43:41.pink in the middle. Maybe the fact that he's missed a couple of them.

:43:42. > :43:48.Anyway, he's potted the pink. Hasn't recovered the positional side of it.

:43:49. > :43:54.Still got a pot on, but it's a tough one. Yeah, I think he chose not to

:43:55. > :43:59.play the pink in the centre pocket because the position for pink in the

:44:00. > :44:05.corner was easy in his own mind. It was guaranteed. He just got into the

:44:06. > :44:15.cue ball too much. This is a tough shot.

:44:16. > :44:19.Is he playing safe here? Oh, playing safe. Trying to get in behind the

:44:20. > :44:27.brown. Well, he didn't get in behind the

:44:28. > :44:56.brown but once again, an excellent cue ball.

:44:57. > :45:03.Inchlths don't believe that. I don't think I've ever seen a cushion

:45:04. > :45:10.bounce as badly as that. That's laughable. It must be some chalk on

:45:11. > :45:16.the cue ball that's just got in the way of it. Just ridiculous bounce.

:45:17. > :45:25.Like six foot bounced further than it was going to. Yeah, that

:45:26. > :45:35.definitely came off a lot quicker than it went on. A springer. Gee

:45:36. > :45:38.whizz! Do you think that was what he wanted? I think that the cushions

:45:39. > :45:44.are playing very fast and bordering on too fast. I think we have tried

:45:45. > :45:48.different cloth on the cushions. I think that it is different cloth to

:45:49. > :45:54.the bed now, but it still doesn't slow them up enough and I think over

:45:55. > :45:58.the years, players have wanted faster and faster conditions and

:45:59. > :46:04.faster cushions rather than sluggish ones. We're now at the situation

:46:05. > :46:09.where the cloth is seemingly so thin that the rubber tends to play more

:46:10. > :46:15.of a part. There's no cushioning effect. And I know for one that

:46:16. > :46:19.Jimmy White is an advocate of thicker cloth on bed and cushion to

:46:20. > :46:22.try to stop kicks and bad bounces, but then of course, you have slower

:46:23. > :46:32.tables. And of course, if you have a slower

:46:33. > :46:37.table, then you have to hit the balls a little bit harder, as we

:46:38. > :46:40.watch this excellent safety shot from Alan McManus. But just to

:46:41. > :46:45.finish the point, slower table, you have to hit the balls a little bit

:46:46. > :46:53.harder. Makes the pots more difficult.

:46:54. > :46:58.You've retired now anyway. So you don't mind them being a bit tighter

:46:59. > :47:06.or bouncier, do you? Don't care now! (LAUGHTER)

:47:07. > :47:11.. I mean, the modern day players can play an amazing range of shots, and

:47:12. > :47:17.it wasn't that the older mayors weren't capable of that, but I don't

:47:18. > :47:27.think that the clothes were as responsive back in the 70s and 80s.

:47:28. > :47:32.Well, didn't necessarily want to make contact with that red you

:47:33. > :47:38.wouldn't have thought. But, it might cut back into the corner. Well, if

:47:39. > :47:43.it does, he can do some damage to these six balls on the top cushion.

:47:44. > :47:56.He's playing the pots. Ali Carter would be concerned here,

:47:57. > :47:57.although he's got some insurance policy with the green on the side

:47:58. > :48:14.cushion. Is this red going to spoil things?

:48:15. > :48:20.No. That was the only thing that Alan could hope for then. So it was

:48:21. > :48:25.a thin one. I've got to be honest with you, I expected him to get it.

:48:26. > :48:30.Maybe he had a bit more of an eye on the cannon and trying to bring the

:48:31. > :48:32.other balls into play, but Ali with a 41-point lead, chance to clinch

:48:33. > :49:06.the frame now. Yeah, I commentated on the session

:49:07. > :49:13.this morning on this table between ... Mark Williams and Martin... Yes.

:49:14. > :49:19.Sorry, I was looking at the positional play there. And there was

:49:20. > :49:27.so many bowed boups there. So many. So much so that Mark Williams was

:49:28. > :49:31.trying to calm down the cushion covers with his towel to try to

:49:32. > :49:39.re-align that and get all of the chalk off the cushions. Yeah, it's a

:49:40. > :49:43.funny thing. Since day one, this table has been having plenty of

:49:44. > :49:48.complaints. In fact, after day two, they recovered the cushions. Scus

:49:49. > :49:52.this red needed here. And they recovered the cushions and yet, the

:49:53. > :49:56.feedback from table 2 is that it's playing as good as any table that

:49:57. > :50:01.they've played on here at The Crucible. You know the table on the

:50:02. > :50:10.other side of the wall. So I don't know why they can't replicate it on

:50:11. > :50:23.this side. So 62 ahead and just 51 remaining. If he gets this double,

:50:24. > :50:30.no way back to the table for Alan. Well, this is the table that Stephen

:50:31. > :50:34.Hendry said should be burned. Was it this one? I would think so because

:50:35. > :50:38.this one is playing really well. That's the thing about Stephen, you

:50:39. > :50:42.ask him a question - he certainly doesn't hold back with his opinion,

:50:43. > :50:46.does he? Anyway, we're watching that and Ali Carter has finished the

:50:47. > :50:52.break and Alan McManus stays in his seat. He's now two behind as we

:50:53. > :50:59.started this session. Ali Carter now leads by six frames to four.

:51:00. > :51:11.Two frames played and two more before the mid-session interval.

:51:12. > :51:20.And it's Alan McManus getting frame 11 under way.

:51:21. > :51:25.Very important session, isn't it, the middle one of the three? Did you

:51:26. > :51:27.not always feel that? It was a chance to take that lead into the

:51:28. > :51:42.final session? Nice pot, althoughs more of a

:51:43. > :51:46.containing pot than anything else. No colour on. Yes, I think that the

:51:47. > :51:51.second session is where perhaps the player feels that he's got a chance

:51:52. > :52:00.to establish his dominance in the match. Fibs session perhaps is the

:52:01. > :52:07.player sparring for position. A bit loose with the cue ball. Yes,

:52:08. > :52:11.surprised that he just didn't concentrate there just to move the

:52:12. > :52:15.cue ball tight against the cushion. Off the red for Alan. Ohhing well,

:52:16. > :52:24.the black is not available and the pink is tied up. Have to go back up

:52:25. > :52:32.for blue. Good clean pot. Going along nicely there. You feel like

:52:33. > :52:47.he's got to go into the pink here at speed.

:52:48. > :52:52.He hit the pink but he didn't get the back spin that holds the cue

:52:53. > :52:54.ball after it hits the pink but he may be on the red to the left

:52:55. > :53:12.corner. He was. OK. Just short of ideal

:53:13. > :53:17.position on the blue there. So just going to have to drop the blue in

:53:18. > :53:22.and play for the red to the left corner.

:53:23. > :53:29.Temptation is to go in and out of baulk. As you say, just the wrong

:53:30. > :53:41.side of the blue line. A lot more players favouring just

:53:42. > :53:45.dropping the baulk, the blue in there and leaving themselves a

:53:46. > :53:51.middle distance pot. That's not a terrible situation to be in. If you

:53:52. > :53:59.go in and out of baulk, a lot of things can go wrong. That's the

:54:00. > :54:03.problem isn't it on the superfine clothes. Once you start to add some

:54:04. > :54:07.pace into it, unless you find the middle of the cue ball, you're going

:54:08. > :54:10.to miss pots, aren't you? You see a fair bit of body movement when Alan

:54:11. > :54:17.has to put any effort into the shot. He's always done it. Yeah, that as

:54:18. > :54:22.well. I don't think that he's by any means the best power player in the

:54:23. > :54:25.game. He'll admit that myself. Yeah, and as you mentioned earlier, he's

:54:26. > :54:29.one of those people, when he brings the cue back and he's ready to

:54:30. > :54:38.deliver it, he just lifts his head up slightly off the cue. It's been

:54:39. > :54:43.something he's always done. Nice to see him back playing well, though.

:54:44. > :55:01.That was 25 years when he made his debut here. Where has the time gone?

:55:02. > :55:06.That's opened up the frame a little bit now that the black is in the

:55:07. > :55:11.open. The red that Ali Carter is more or less forced to play does

:55:12. > :55:17.push a third red samingly towards the right-hand corner pocket.

:55:18. > :55:22.Arguably, even a plant of some port, a 3-ball plant. But probably

:55:23. > :55:30.won't... It will probably go to the top cushion a bit. Didn't want that

:55:31. > :55:34.red to the left of the table going anywhere near that pocket. Well,

:55:35. > :55:40.Alan McManus had a shot very similar to this in the last frame where

:55:41. > :55:44.after he hit the red, the cue ball was whizzing around like a ping

:55:45. > :56:00.uponing ball. So that will probably be on his mind a bit on this shot.

:56:01. > :56:05.Yeah, good pot. Pot. Well, not the best kiss on the yellow but I think

:56:06. > :56:10.that the green is just off the spot so the green not too difficult.

:56:11. > :56:14.Ideally, you would like to get on the red that is blocking the black

:56:15. > :56:37.spot. If he doesn't get on that red, he

:56:38. > :56:42.doesn't want to pot the black. Oh, just collided with the blue.

:56:43. > :56:53.Looks like he's going to have to play that red by the black spot. It

:56:54. > :56:55.you have spot. Yeah, he'll be a bit disappointed to have made contact

:56:56. > :57:04.with the blue. He knew that the blue was there. He should have tried to

:57:05. > :57:07.avoid it in some way. So good pot needed. He could possibly have

:57:08. > :57:11.played the one to the right of the black spot and all for the black.

:57:12. > :57:14.That's what he decided to do and he tell you what, he could not have

:57:15. > :57:36.played it any better. Good shot. And because of the situation he was

:57:37. > :57:47.in, he's opened up the black spot. OK, not ideal yet positional wise,

:57:48. > :57:50.but he's got a chance to drop this red on the right in, just float

:57:51. > :57:55.across the face of the other red for the black in the middle into the

:57:56. > :58:03.opposite corner. But he could decide to play it firmer. Yeah, he didn't

:58:04. > :58:10.trust playing it softly. They're not easy to control without the cue ball

:58:11. > :58:13.going to the far cushion. Chance to open the reds up. Or are there

:58:14. > :58:30.enough reds open anyway? I think in this situation, he's got

:58:31. > :58:33.enough reds to play with that he'll get a chance to open the pack up

:58:34. > :58:45.again with another date. Yes, he's going to have to disturb

:58:46. > :58:53.that little cluster of five around the pink if he's going to win the

:58:54. > :59:01.frame in this visit. That is now putting him 37 points in front. So

:59:02. > :59:04.37, 24. 61 with five reds, there's still 67 on. So yeah. He's going to

:59:05. > :59:12.need one of those reds. Yeah, there was a case to be made for opening

:59:13. > :59:18.them up. I think that he had a nice enough angle on the black. And I

:59:19. > :59:24.think he would have guaranteed to have been on a red as well.

:59:25. > :59:29.You done really want to leave... Oh, it's got a kick and it's gone

:59:30. > :59:36.straight. You don't really want to leave opening the pack of reds up to

:59:37. > :59:41.the last. Because it can always go wrong. Yeah, so you would think. And

:59:42. > :59:45.I think he's just got a slight angle. Play for the red close to the

:59:46. > :59:49.top cushion and then in potting that, leave an angle on the black

:59:50. > :59:52.and leave that red that's available to the right corner. But maybe

:59:53. > :59:59.hasn't got the angle to play that. He didn't. He was dead straight.

:00:00. > :00:17.Yeah, maybe running out of balls to get a good angle on this pack. Wrong

:00:18. > :00:22.side of the black for the red on the top cushion, so looks like he's a

:00:23. > :00:26.little bit... Well, perhaps he's OK for the pack here. Yeah, I think

:00:27. > :00:38.he's got a screw in to the pack. He needed to anyway. Not guaranteed to

:00:39. > :00:41.be on a red. OK, well, therein lies the case to be made for the

:00:42. > :00:47.opposition on opening the pack early. I think he's got one into the

:00:48. > :00:50.middle pocket but it's not ideal. He'll be just glad to have a chance

:00:51. > :00:58.there for the frame. I thought for a minute he was on nothing. But he's

:00:59. > :01:09.just about got one. Being ultra critical by discussing things in

:01:10. > :01:13.this way, but he's get ago bit frustrated with himself out there

:01:14. > :01:17.today, Alan. As you say, maybe he should have gone and opened the reds

:01:18. > :01:27.a little bit earlier and left it to the last minute. A shake of the head

:01:28. > :01:37.there. Anyway, chance now for Ali Carter to really hurt Alan McManus

:01:38. > :01:42.here. The big problem, of course, is the red on the right-hand side of

:01:43. > :01:46.the table. Not to say that if it was on that side for a right-hander, not

:01:47. > :01:55.too much of a problem, but he's not close to the pocket. But time enough

:01:56. > :02:00.to think about that. A few reds and colours to pot before. You'd love to

:02:01. > :02:20.know what Alan was saying there, what was going through his mind.

:02:21. > :02:28.I think the red up in the baulk will pass the brown so there's no need to

:02:29. > :02:39.worry about that. It's just the reds at this end. I'm surprised that he

:02:40. > :02:44.played for the pink there. Well, he might have to... Well, it looks like

:02:45. > :02:53.he's going up for that red into the baulk there. Oh, he wants to slow

:02:54. > :03:01.down a bit. He's overhit that a little bit. I'd be leaving this one

:03:02. > :03:07.until last, I think, myself. Yeah, I think he was forced to play for this

:03:08. > :03:14.one. Yeah, because of the angle he got on the pink. How can he play the

:03:15. > :03:19.pot here and play the cannon to try to disturb the red from the

:03:20. > :03:26.right-hand cushion. Obviously he couldn't. But he's missed the red.

:03:27. > :03:29.And I think he's just missed the red really because he was so disapointed

:03:30. > :03:35.with his position on the pink and then his position from the pink on

:03:36. > :03:40.that red. And I know it shouldn't let you affect the shot, but it just

:03:41. > :03:47.took him out of the comfort zone. And I think Alan can get through to

:03:48. > :03:52.this red. He's got a 29-point lead. He needs to with the swerve. Yeah,

:03:53. > :04:00.wasn't too of a problem. But he's not on the colour. He's got a

:04:01. > :04:10.30-point advantage but there's 43 remaining.

:04:11. > :04:22.REFEREE: Alan McManus one. Ideally, he would have liked to have got on

:04:23. > :04:27.the colour safe there. But the snooker was very tempting. Obviously

:04:28. > :04:31.if Ali Carter were to get out of this snooker and get the ball safe,

:04:32. > :04:38.then effectively, all balls are still out in the open. Ali Carter

:04:39. > :04:50.having to try to judge this in between yellow and blue. Not easy.

:04:51. > :04:56.Well, 35 behind. If he doesn't have the balls replaced. Well, it's not

:04:57. > :05:00.missed now. Is it, it's not a miss. No, he can't miss. About you I think

:05:01. > :05:04.now with the scores, there's only 35 points on, it's not a miss. I think.

:05:05. > :05:09.Oh, I don't know. That's a weird one. Oh! We changed the rules on a

:05:10. > :05:14.misrule. Because he wouldn't have it put back because the red gets put

:05:15. > :05:21.back on the table anyway. Yeah, but now he's 35 points in front. And

:05:22. > :05:34.there's 35 remaining. You don't see that often.

:05:35. > :05:40.But in the end -- but in the end, decided to play the safety. Gets in

:05:41. > :05:43.there in the end if Ali is going to get anything there. Well, he can see

:05:44. > :05:48.the red but if he's going to pot the red, he needs to be on the black to

:05:49. > :05:56.be able to tie. Can he squeeze this in? Doesn't look like it.

:05:57. > :06:06.Yeah, I forgot, you told me the rules had changed. When you can tie,

:06:07. > :06:21.you can't be called for a miss. I've got to say, an

:06:22. > :06:24.understandable... If I am correct in that, it's an understandable

:06:25. > :06:27.misjudgment by the referee. It's a weird scenario that happened here.

:06:28. > :06:30.Well, yeah, I think he called miss before the red had had gone in.

:06:31. > :06:35.Before the red had gone in. Well, that's enough anyway. Alan McManus

:06:36. > :06:40.has won that frame. So it's still nip and tuck now and Alan McManus

:06:41. > :06:44.hanging on in there. One frame behind now. Still Ali Carter leads

:06:45. > :06:52.6-5. REFEREE: Ali Carter to break.

:06:53. > :07:00.So there's one more frame. This is it before the mid-session interval.

:07:01. > :07:05.And it's Ali Carter who gets it under way. And the question is - is

:07:06. > :07:07.he going to have a 2-frame advantage that he started the session with, or

:07:08. > :07:17.are we going to be all square? Yeah, tough session of snooker in

:07:18. > :07:24.many ways in that the opening break off shots seem to have tied the

:07:25. > :07:28.black up on a number of occasions. Certainly that that's how it's felt

:07:29. > :07:34.to me. I've not been doing the stats on it. The full-blooded attempt

:07:35. > :07:54.there. He knew it was going into the side of the pack.

:07:55. > :07:59.Yeah, good pot. Wouldn't necessarily be pleased with

:08:00. > :08:02.the way that the cue ball has finished, but I think he's got a

:08:03. > :08:06.nice angle on the blue and he can just drop it in and be on the next

:08:07. > :08:13.red. Didn't have to do much with the cue ball here. Just don't miss the

:08:14. > :08:22.pot. Yeah, played it confidently enough.

:08:23. > :08:29.He'd like to be on one of the two reds above the black as we look at

:08:30. > :08:35.our screens, above the black. And then be able to roll through and get

:08:36. > :08:40.on to the black into the right corner. He'll be screwing back for

:08:41. > :08:48.the blue here. He's got to try to concentrate on the pace. Further

:08:49. > :09:16.back is better than short. Terrible contact on the short.

:09:17. > :09:26.Is there a 3-ball plant in the middle of the pack into the left

:09:27. > :09:31.corner? Hmm. I'll tell you what, it wouldn't be far off. Ali has not

:09:32. > :09:34.spotted it. He's not even looked at it. I wonder if he knew that that

:09:35. > :09:41.was very close. The 3 #-ball plant is gone. It's

:09:42. > :09:55.gone. It's gone now. It's history. But a long pot. It was a tough one.

:09:56. > :10:01.Don't get me wrong. Just trying to force the cue ball right back up for

:10:02. > :10:16.the blue. And having missed it, doesn't look like there's anything

:10:17. > :10:21.left easy for Alan. Good line-up using the green as a snookering ball

:10:22. > :10:25.there. Puts a bit of pressure on safety shot for Ali Carter because

:10:26. > :10:59.he's got to cover that red up. Part of the game. The most important

:11:00. > :11:03.part of the game isn't necessarily the fluke because they happen all

:11:04. > :11:16.the time. It's making the most of it.

:11:17. > :11:26.This black is even more tied up now into both pockets.

:11:27. > :11:34.If he pots the pink, it won't be in a desirable position on its spot

:11:35. > :11:52.into corner pockets I think. Might go into a corner. Yeah, I

:11:53. > :11:56.suppose the red that's to the left of the pink spot, if he plays on

:11:57. > :11:59.that, he can play for the pink to the same pocket he's going to pot

:12:00. > :12:02.the pink now and it will clear it to a corner. I think that's what he'll

:12:03. > :12:11.be thinking of. Black completely out of commission

:12:12. > :12:31.at the moment. Nah. Is it straight forward to play

:12:32. > :12:41.for the pink in in the middle? Well, he might just have to run it through

:12:42. > :12:45.slightly. And off the top cushion. He decided not to risk it and the

:12:46. > :12:50.fact that it is alongside the blue, normally he would be criticising

:12:51. > :12:56.that, but there is a red on that end of the table, so no problem there.

:12:57. > :13:03.It's a bit wide. A too much of an angle on the blue to be comfortable

:13:04. > :13:17.on that red in the bottom half of the table. I suppose he could play

:13:18. > :13:22.for the red above the black. As we look on our screens above the black.

:13:23. > :13:28.I'm sure that he can hold for the red somehow, in and out of baulk,

:13:29. > :13:29.but it's not certain, so perhaps he is playing for that red just above

:13:30. > :13:50.the black. Well, I'm sure that he didn't play

:13:51. > :13:53.that. If he was going to play it, why didn't he play it between the

:13:54. > :13:58.yellow and the brown? He's only got to drop it in there. Well, he made

:13:59. > :14:05.that look a lot easier than it was. He over hit the shot or he... He

:14:06. > :14:09.deliberately left himself there. But it looked like a misjudgment to

:14:10. > :14:23.start with. Now a deep screw back for that red that I talked about

:14:24. > :14:27.earlier. This looks absolutely inch-perfect. Well, not quite. Might

:14:28. > :14:34.just have needed another roll or two. Straight on the red would have

:14:35. > :14:38.been a lot better. Where does the colour come from, for certain. Not

:14:39. > :14:46.sure that he can power screw this red in and use the black to get out

:14:47. > :14:52.into open play. He might be able to just clip enough of it and get the

:14:53. > :14:57.back spin on. Or use the red I stead!

:14:58. > :15:23.Fe played it like that, it was very advanced.

:15:24. > :15:28.He never really had pin point positional play at any time in

:15:29. > :15:33.there. Maybe once and then he quickly post control of the cue

:15:34. > :15:50.ball. That's why he didn't make the most of that opportunity.

:15:51. > :15:56.A little bit thick on the safety, only just reaching that ball rather

:15:57. > :16:09.than the baulk cushion. But no harm done.

:16:10. > :16:24.Green is an ideal ball to try to get behind, but not from this shot.

:16:25. > :16:32.But he did very well to get even close to it, but I don't think that

:16:33. > :16:38.it would have been necessarily wide enough to get behind there. Although

:16:39. > :16:48.if the cushions are squaring up a bit, sometimes you can get some

:16:49. > :16:57.strange angles. That's a swerve there. Over-swerved and got away

:16:58. > :17:24.with it. Trying to play the 3-cushion safety.

:17:25. > :17:31.Hampered slightly by the brown. And he's a little bit reluctant to play

:17:32. > :17:37.the cross double safety off the reds on the left-hand side of the table.

:17:38. > :17:40.And the reason that is is because there's ever chance of the cue ball

:17:41. > :17:44.back to the end could have got a double kiss, but you could not play

:17:45. > :18:29.a better safety shot than that. Hampered as he was. That was superb.

:18:30. > :18:39.So the miss called and accepted. REFEREE: Was it far from the

:18:40. > :18:52.cushion? Alan showing the referee where the

:18:53. > :18:56.line was. You would think that this type of shot, if you missed it on

:18:57. > :19:05.the way up, you'd catch it on the way back. He's missed it again.

:19:06. > :19:11.He'll get a warning now. He'll be warned. Two misses at this time. He

:19:12. > :19:19.will lose the frame. Under pressure now. He thinks that the table has

:19:20. > :19:24.rolled off. Never nice. He's got to hit it thin to avoid collision with

:19:25. > :19:32.those two reds. He's hit it pretty firm and he thinks that the table

:19:33. > :19:37.rolled off. It's a brave player that will play the same shot again. Or a

:19:38. > :19:43.stupid one! Yeah, who was the first one... Oh, it was me. Don't, don't.

:19:44. > :19:47.Oh, who got the missed three? It was you, wasn't it? Yeah, table rolled

:19:48. > :19:53.off a mile! Lost a match! I wondered who it was! Change the shot. Still

:19:54. > :20:00.got to hit a red, though. Don't want to miscue. I always feared that that

:20:01. > :20:08.could happen one day. Change of shot. But that will surely cost him

:20:09. > :20:17.the frame. And he'll go into the mid-session interval as he started

:20:18. > :20:23.this session two frames behind. It's not taken off this match today.

:20:24. > :20:48.But it's a long hard road to The Crucible final. You can't play

:20:49. > :21:40.brilliant all the time. A bit of grafting required.

:21:41. > :21:51.Oh, perfect. Kiss on the black. Now 56 ahead. Two reds, two blacks. Two

:21:52. > :21:57.reds, two pinks would be enough. But the two reds that he needs are out

:21:58. > :22:22.in the open. He needs to slow up. It's OK.

:22:23. > :22:32.Under different circumstances, Ali Carter could have tried to develop

:22:33. > :22:37.those two reds, but with him only needing this red, it's pretty

:22:38. > :22:42.obvious on the shot selection. Can come off a side cushion and get

:22:43. > :22:49.nasty on the red. Red. -- nicely on the red in the forefront of our

:22:50. > :22:56.screens. Or just play safe now. Anyway, there you see, 71 ahead. 59

:22:57. > :22:58.remaining. That equates to three stooges and Alan McManus said -

:22:59. > :23:04.don't bother playing the safety. I've had enough. So they go to the

:23:05. > :23:08.mid-session interval and as they started the match, Ali Carter with a

:23:09. > :23:22.2-frame advantage over Alan McManus. Now, it's 7-5.

:23:23. > :23:36.Midsession interval over. Four more frames to be played. In the second

:23:37. > :23:48.session, best of 25. First to 13 for a place in the quarterfinal. Ali

:23:49. > :23:52.Carter has been to the final. Made a maximum break here one year. I was

:23:53. > :24:04.lucky enough to be in the commentary box in 2008 when he made it.

:24:05. > :24:16.So close. Oh, where is the red going? Where is the red ball going?

:24:17. > :24:19.He's on the black if it drops. He played that shot thinking... The

:24:20. > :24:24.only one that he could leave was the one he was playing and that's the

:24:25. > :24:36.red had a somehow has gone up and over the corner pocket. So a nice

:24:37. > :24:44.easy starter for Alan. It's OK, he's on a baulk colour.

:24:45. > :24:58.Big four frames this. In the context of the match.

:24:59. > :25:18.Or will it be at closely contested contest? That sounds funny doesn't

:25:19. > :25:23.it? Closely contested contest. I am sure there would be people that

:25:24. > :25:27.would pick you up on that. Obviously, you have picked yourself

:25:28. > :25:39.up on it. I thought you would have done that. That is why I got in

:25:40. > :25:54.first. IM using words that aren't really words like gettable. If you

:25:55. > :26:04.use it enough, it will be a word. It will be in the dictionary. That red

:26:05. > :26:16.going next to the blue. He has options and positional shots. Well,

:26:17. > :26:22.he made that angle using lots of left-hand side. In the ideal world

:26:23. > :26:32.he would like to be a little bit more straight on the black. He could

:26:33. > :26:37.play a little bit of a cabin. Just leave the red right next to the

:26:38. > :26:50.black in the centre pocket. He wouldn't go wrong. He wouldn't have

:26:51. > :26:57.thought that. 18. Yes, he wasn't low enough on the black. It is never

:26:58. > :27:04.easy enough to judge the cannon off of a cushion. So, there is a little

:27:05. > :27:14.bit of work to do here. Wow, not even close. It looks quite safe

:27:15. > :27:19.though. Yes, it was one of those where he played it really quick.

:27:20. > :27:33.When the red is next to the cueball you are aware that you must push the

:27:34. > :27:41.Q3 Strait. -- two Strait. -- cue straight. When he is an easy starter

:27:42. > :27:59.I would expect him to get more than 18 points there. A bit more pressure

:28:00. > :28:08.on the safety shot here. 18 points there. A bit more pressure

:28:09. > :28:21.on the safety shot here. A decent target green and brown. He has found

:28:22. > :28:27.the gap, I feel. Soon, without the availability of the black or the

:28:28. > :28:56.pink. There is some good cueing needed. Not quite. Decent chance.

:28:57. > :29:07.Decent half chance. I think Ali Carter has the same problem. He may

:29:08. > :29:19.be able to. Well, he could. He could have done without the four ball hits

:29:20. > :29:40.on the red. It was not as straight as he would have liked.

:29:41. > :29:47.Well, he did not play the pot. He did not play the pot. He really

:29:48. > :30:04.didn't. It is not about safety but there is

:30:05. > :30:12.a gap between green ground especially between the red and the

:30:13. > :30:17.Greens. It is all about is that middle one is pottable. I wonder if

:30:18. > :30:23.the top one is and he could swing out of that one? The idea is to get

:30:24. > :30:32.the cueball back to the baulk cushion. He could have really tried

:30:33. > :30:51.and potted that middle one. He just missed the green. He just select it

:30:52. > :31:08.back flicked it. -- flicked it. He tries to get it kind. -- behind.

:31:09. > :31:15.That is cutting in. I think that would have been a good option. I

:31:16. > :31:23.think, it did cut in but it would not have controlled the cueball as

:31:24. > :31:26.well. And Ali Carter is just trying to see if he has enough room to

:31:27. > :31:36.manufacture a safety shot. Especially between the two reds and

:31:37. > :31:40.the black. He will have to put a bit of right-hand side on this which

:31:41. > :31:50.will send it towards the black ball. Now look. Yes, look at that

:31:51. > :32:12.one. They're trying to get that cueball back to baulk. He has good

:32:13. > :32:19.cueing power. That was a fantastic shot! Did you see how he launched

:32:20. > :32:22.himself into that shot? Most shot seeking control with keeping his

:32:23. > :32:32.head as still as possible. However, that one was put to wards the floor

:32:33. > :32:42.kind of stuff. Yes, pedal to the metal as they say. This looks good.

:32:43. > :32:55.This looks good. This looks very, very good!

:32:56. > :33:13.Can he get out of that and keep it safe? Well, John, it is Lines

:33:14. > :33:24.aplenty. You can always stuck out by saying this is the red he wants to

:33:25. > :33:40.make contact with. How he gets to it, I do not know? Do you know?

:33:41. > :33:45.Well, the rest I will leave to him. You have more chance of solving a

:33:46. > :33:54.Rubik 's cube, then getting good on that one, I think. I mean, every now

:33:55. > :34:05.and again you think it is worthwhile. When you whack them as

:34:06. > :34:10.hard as possible. But, you can't even see getting lucky enough to get

:34:11. > :34:25.out of it. I think he is going for the heat and roll. Wow where has the

:34:26. > :34:31.cueball gone? Well, he would do well to do that again. Imagine the old

:34:32. > :34:39.days, it would not have been called a mess. I would like to play this

:34:40. > :34:47.with back spin. If he hits it with stun on bottom, he might get a bit

:34:48. > :34:55.more speed on the cue. Wow, what a result. What a result. Nothing easy

:34:56. > :35:00.with that cueball being in the side cushion. There is a lot of skill in

:35:01. > :35:06.this game, but sometimes you just have to trust the luck. Alan McManus

:35:07. > :35:15.is distraught with where that white wall would have ended up. Now he has

:35:16. > :35:27.a lot of pressure put on him. APPLAUSE Well, he must leave his

:35:28. > :35:38.disappointment behind him. He just floated it in with complete

:35:39. > :35:45.nonchalance. That was a great shot. A great shot from Alan McManus. He

:35:46. > :35:49.did so well to qualify for the Crucible winning three qualifying

:35:50. > :35:54.matches. It takes some kind of player to be able to do that. It

:35:55. > :36:04.would be nice to get the black on the spot. The pink is definitely out

:36:05. > :36:13.of commission, to some degree. You can see that trademark slight lift

:36:14. > :36:33.of the head here. Just as he starts to deliver the cue.

:36:34. > :36:44.Well, I wonder if the black is available in that right corner. If

:36:45. > :36:51.it is he could roll that one in. He could just hit it on the blue. That

:36:52. > :36:56.does not necessarily mean that the black will go towards the right

:36:57. > :37:05.corner. He didn't have the best angle to play towards the black.

:37:06. > :37:14.He will be playing on the black from this one though. He hits it nicely.

:37:15. > :37:19.It is a confident shot to play for that single red. Especially, if you

:37:20. > :37:26.know that it is the right one to play. You could play that is done at

:37:27. > :37:40.the lion of the spots colliding with the second red. -- at the line.

:37:41. > :37:47.Well, from where he was on the side cushion he has given himself a

:37:48. > :38:04.chance to produce their deficit to only one frame. 26. This is without

:38:05. > :38:11.putting the heat on it. Well, you certainly wouldn't bet against it,

:38:12. > :38:41.which you? He has 54 points in front now. 75 to win. So, red black red

:38:42. > :38:46.would be just enough. So if he pots this red he goes 63 ahead. This is

:38:47. > :38:57.with only 59 remaining. Yes, he played a good safety shot

:38:58. > :39:05.and got the cueball tightly behind the green. Therefore, Ali Carter has

:39:06. > :39:15.no option but to play the hit and halt. He has taken this well, Alan

:39:16. > :39:22.McManus. Let us to see if this red goes in. There is no way that Ali

:39:23. > :39:26.Carter will come back to the table. It is really just a question as to

:39:27. > :39:36.whether we are going to see the second century break in this match.

:39:37. > :39:59.57. As long as you have 73 points

:40:00. > :40:06.carrying on towards the yellow you can make that century. He has been a

:40:07. > :40:11.little bit ragged today been the first half of this second session,

:40:12. > :41:18.that this would do a lot for his confidence. Though what a tilt. 77.

:41:19. > :41:33.Well, that is a pity. No century, at 77 is pretty enough. He has got no

:41:34. > :41:36.luck and Alan McManus reduces it to just one. There are still seven

:41:37. > :42:45.trails. I think the story of those first

:42:46. > :42:53.four breaks is pretty disk jointed. -- disjointed. Ali Carter was

:42:54. > :42:58.playing not that defensively, but he really wasn't taking many risks.

:42:59. > :43:02.Nothing really happened. That break by Alan McManus, the most

:43:03. > :43:07.significant one. He would be feeling quite that after that break. He was

:43:08. > :43:14.starting to beat himself up out there, and he has hung on in there.

:43:15. > :43:28.So, I think it will set up quite nicely now. Just two more in the

:43:29. > :43:34.second session. Will anyone have the lead in the final session, tomorrow?

:43:35. > :43:41.The first to 13 will be the one who will play in the quarter-final.

:43:42. > :43:48.Those who are not watching this match last night, John, you

:43:49. > :43:53.commentated and you said you felt that Ali Carter had a game plan to

:43:54. > :44:00.take no risks and perhaps get Alan McManus to do less scoring than him.

:44:01. > :44:08.In open play he would feel that he could outscore Alan McManus. Of

:44:09. > :44:17.course, we do not know that. Yes, I think he just didn't want to get

:44:18. > :44:31.chances to Alan McManus. Wow that is a horrific pot! What an excellent

:44:32. > :44:38.red. It is very difficult to get Thai behind the green with this type

:44:39. > :44:49.of shot. At least he has covered his path to all the reds. The fact that

:44:50. > :44:52.there is less nap on the cloth is then they used to be it means that

:44:53. > :44:58.when the ball is hit each other they are separated more. It is hard to

:44:59. > :45:10.get a tight roll out on those walks colours. -- baulk colours. One of

:45:11. > :45:16.the reasons many people save the game is easier these days. The

:45:17. > :45:26.reason really is because the pack of reds looks like it can open up a

:45:27. > :45:33.little bit more. He seems a little bit more comfortable. Unless he can

:45:34. > :45:41.cue past the blue and those two reds together. It is a massive shot of

:45:42. > :45:46.the spiders to take on. He is using the spider in a very unconventional

:45:47. > :45:52.way. Obviously, the spider company will not happy with this. What is he

:45:53. > :46:12.doing there? I don't think we quite know. This is tricky. Marvellous

:46:13. > :46:24.shot! Well played. Well played indeed. I can only assume the spider

:46:25. > :46:30.he uses in his club has a year there you can use side on, which is not as

:46:31. > :46:35.high. I think that Alan McManus was checking to see if he could play it

:46:36. > :46:44.with his club spider. I can think of no other reason why you would do

:46:45. > :46:48.that strange thing, just beforehand. Yes, of course we went through at

:46:49. > :46:55.period where the grooves on the spider was round. When you push the

:46:56. > :47:00.cues through it would get stuck in and that is why it went towards that

:47:01. > :47:14.the shape. Not much more accurate with the V. You don't want a

:47:15. > :47:21.U-shaped bottom at the best of the rest. Maybe he has a different

:47:22. > :47:32.spider he practices with in his club? Good practice now. Yes, just

:47:33. > :47:41.coming back from the 77 break. He is just in touch. Earlier on in this

:47:42. > :47:44.match, in this particular session after three frames he lasted bit,

:47:45. > :47:50.Alan McManus. He started muttering in the chair, talking to himself. He

:47:51. > :48:13.would be getting himself under pressure. However, he has really

:48:14. > :48:18.rectified that. Well, we have some particular pinks in this that could

:48:19. > :48:25.spark a few that Ali Carter has missed in this match. I think it is

:48:26. > :48:38.a couple for Alan McManus, especially when he looks like it had

:48:39. > :48:45.to frame to his mercy. It is hard when he comes to the slate, doesn't

:48:46. > :48:52.give it a chance. That pink that he missed came in time for the black.

:48:53. > :48:58.If he is going to miss that Ali Carter is going to concentrate on

:48:59. > :48:59.blue and other baulk colours. It will be difficult to make a mistake

:49:00. > :49:44.with only those four balls to go at. It is quite tempting to try and open

:49:45. > :49:49.that. That, pink and black with a positional shot off of the blue. You

:49:50. > :49:56.could always do wrong going that way. It is not always easy to see

:49:57. > :50:05.how he can guarantee getting a frame winning contribution without

:50:06. > :50:16.resolving that particular situation. APPLAUSE

:50:17. > :50:51.Well, just Lancing that is the right next to that black? -- just gland --

:50:52. > :51:04.glancing. You just have to think, where would he like to be? I just

:51:05. > :51:15.don't know why he played for that one instead of the red near the

:51:16. > :51:21.black. It would be a fantastic shot in that fractional angle. I think

:51:22. > :51:27.what he's trying to do, is play a positional play near that side

:51:28. > :51:32.cushion. There are a few reds on the right-hand side of the table now,

:51:33. > :51:38.depending on the right-hand side of the blue that he can actually try

:51:39. > :51:45.for. Let us look at the blue line. He might be able to create a bit of

:51:46. > :51:56.an angle here and just bounce it in. Superb. That is just superb. He has

:51:57. > :52:03.the ideal position on the right to just be able to get in those massive

:52:04. > :52:09.colours. You see that line that we have on the table looked more or

:52:10. > :52:12.less dead straight. I think it had more of an angle than it was

:52:13. > :52:18.simulated in the screen. Either way, you can just pot the blue in the

:52:19. > :52:26.right-hand part of the pocket and create that angle. Yes, I think it

:52:27. > :52:37.was an excellent shot. Yes, he had the right angle to pot the one and

:52:38. > :52:45.gets the blue. He still refuses to play for the red above the green and

:52:46. > :52:48.black. The red above the middle pocket will be his target year to

:52:49. > :53:03.fit that into open play. It is not so easy with that except Shanshan

:53:04. > :53:07.one. -- extension on. But, then his group that red into play. He missed

:53:08. > :53:16.it. He just missed it. -- but can he get that read into

:53:17. > :53:36.play? -- red. He might just have a slight angle on

:53:37. > :53:42.the blue. I think he is trying to play the runthrough, play the

:53:43. > :53:49.cannon. He has got the blue. Has he got the cannon? Wow we will

:53:50. > :53:54.certainly find out. He just didn't stick to that top cushion a little

:53:55. > :54:00.more than we would have liked, but it was a great shot. Yes, that is

:54:01. > :54:08.exactly how he would have played it as well. Tricky with the red near

:54:09. > :54:17.that top cushion. 19 points to the lead. APPLAUSE He just made light of

:54:18. > :54:22.it and that is why he is not on the colour. A little bit surprised he

:54:23. > :54:31.didn't fully commit there. Particularly with those two reds on

:54:32. > :54:35.the right-hand side of the table. I mean, you play for the brown in the

:54:36. > :54:39.middle pocket, it seemed like that is how he wanted to play it. I don't

:54:40. > :54:53.know if he underhit it, he certainly didn't overheat it. -- overhit it.

:54:54. > :54:58.Bad contact. Took a bit of pace out of the queue ball.

:54:59. > :55:16.Bad contact. Took a bit of pace out of the queue ball. The cue ball. --

:55:17. > :55:22.pace out of the cue ball. He has a few options of safety shots here

:55:23. > :55:24.with a 24-point lead. He needs to force the pace still rather than

:55:25. > :55:33.contain the situation. APPLAUSE

:55:34. > :55:34.He did well there. Good 41, particularly where the balls were

:55:35. > :55:42.situated. CROWD: Awwww!

:55:43. > :56:26.APPLAUSE Yeah, I was going to say I've heard

:56:27. > :56:29.of ways of getting the cue ball near the top position but you can't leave

:56:30. > :56:57.the rest there, Of course, if Ali Carter, who's got

:56:58. > :57:06.a 24-point advantage, was to win this frame, he couldn't be behind

:57:07. > :57:12.going into the final session. So Alan McManus has to be very careful

:57:13. > :57:15.here. If he catches this red too thin, he could run into the red

:57:16. > :57:23.that's on the right-hand side of the table. It is not straightforward.

:57:24. > :57:24.And if he catches it too thick, could knock one over the left corner

:57:25. > :57:34.pocket. So he's got to Well, decided to leave Ali a tester

:57:35. > :57:50.along the top cushion. And if the black goes into the left

:57:51. > :57:54.corner, he's sort of got an element of insurance, should he try it along

:57:55. > :58:01.the top cushion. He can use those three balls to block the red, if it

:58:02. > :58:10.stays over the pocket, but he's loath to play it. It looks like it's

:58:11. > :58:21.a natural, really, isn't it? : -- isn't it? Yeah, that's the shot the

:58:22. > :58:25.play, whichever way you look at it. He won't miss anything should he

:58:26. > :58:30.miss it. If he gets it, he'll hit the black. But it's not part of the

:58:31. > :58:36.plan. I'm not too sure what I'm missing here. I don't really

:58:37. > :58:39.know...I'll bow to his judgment on this, why he doesn't want the play

:58:40. > :58:48.this along the top cushion and get on that black.

:58:49. > :58:57.I assume it wept, the black. We had a look at it, didn't we? Yeah, I

:58:58. > :59:00.think the black went but he just didn't fancy the pot. I'm a bit

:59:01. > :59:07.worried I can't work that one out. There must be a reason. Well, the

:59:08. > :59:16.thing is, I mean, and don't get me wrong - I'm not making light of it -

:59:17. > :59:21.but if Alan McManus can get this cue ball back to where it is now, then,

:59:22. > :59:27.to me, he'll become the favourite for the frame. There is a red pot to

:59:28. > :59:36.be potted over the middle pocket. That's why a clever little

:59:37. > :59:42.containing shot has been played. Now, Ali Carter could industry --

:59:43. > :59:50.could try and screw in behind pink and black, but it is fraught with

:59:51. > :59:54.danger. As someone once described to me, snooker is chess with balls - I

:59:55. > :00:02.think this is a classic example, isn't it? A couple of positive shots

:00:03. > :00:08.have been played. Only to risk it. I think Alan could play it now though.

:00:09. > :00:14.Yes. A mathematician once said to me that if that was true, that it's

:00:15. > :00:20.chess with balls, then that means that chess is snooker without balls,

:00:21. > :00:27.which was disrespectful to chess, if you understand. OK. Which is a

:00:28. > :00:31.chance to get behind pink and black. A bit of pressure on it, though.

:00:32. > :00:33.Perhaps a better shot is just to play into this left corner of the

:00:34. > :00:51.table. Well, surely, this red doesn't pass

:00:52. > :00:56.the black, does it? Doesn't cut back into the right corner.

:00:57. > :01:07.It's a big shot to take on. Is there a risk of an in-off in the middle

:01:08. > :01:13.pocket? Surely this is a better option he's playing now? He

:01:14. > :01:17.certainly doesn't want to present an easy opportunity for Alan McManus to

:01:18. > :01:21.get back into the frame. He struck that well. Yes. Perfect.

:01:22. > :01:30.The deign we are that shot was either the red or the cue ball to

:01:31. > :01:37.run into the brown, but hit it just as intended. This is not easy. If he

:01:38. > :01:42.plays thin off the red, there's a...might be a double-kiss. Don't

:01:43. > :01:51.know. Perhaps not. Perhaps the red escapes.

:01:52. > :02:01.But perhaps it doesn't. Did the red go? I don't think so, because Alan

:02:02. > :02:13.put his hand up and apologised and if the red goes... It flies in. Alan

:02:14. > :02:18.has apologised for... : -- Alan has apologised for... For nothing. He's

:02:19. > :02:24.left himself a nice angle on the black, is Ali. When the black goes

:02:25. > :02:31.in, you go 32 points in front, 51 remaining. He is only looking for a

:02:32. > :02:33.cover red. So back to two frames in front. I don't think Alan thought

:02:34. > :02:46.that red went. Well, that was just about as awkward

:02:47. > :02:50.as it could. The red closest to the cue ball is available to the left

:02:51. > :02:54.middle but it is not the perfect putting angle. Got to take it on

:02:55. > :03:01.though. It is a frame-winning opportunity.

:03:02. > :03:17.Neat position as well, so makes it a bit more difficult. A bit wide.

:03:18. > :03:20.Well, for all of the swings in this match, Alan McManus has a pretty

:03:21. > :03:22.decent chance to level the scores. The last time he was level, it was

:03:23. > :03:44.3-3. Came to the table 32 points behind.

:03:45. > :03:52.51 remaining. So, basically, he doesn't need particularly high value

:03:53. > :03:58.colours, but these three remaining reds. But he'll need all the balls,

:03:59. > :03:59.the red colours and the six remaining colours, to win this

:04:00. > :04:12.visit. APPLAUSE

:04:13. > :04:16.Played that nice. His heart would have been in his mouth for a moment.

:04:17. > :04:21.Looked like he was going to kiss the red but got past it. This red on the

:04:22. > :04:25.side cushion is far enough away from the cushion that it's quite nice to

:04:26. > :04:32.get in behind it for the red into the left centre.

:04:33. > :04:42.I think that's a really bad decision of Alan McManus' to try and shift

:04:43. > :04:47.that red. Oh, amazing. I mean, as you say, I mean, you had the nice

:04:48. > :04:51.hand to go up for the blue. To try and bring it into play... I mean, it

:04:52. > :04:56.wasn't out of play, totally. No. It was sign of perhaps a player lacking

:04:57. > :04:57.in a little bit of confidence. Arguably, a little bit of

:04:58. > :05:10.confidence. Well, he is not on the red now. And

:05:11. > :05:16.he's still 23 points behind. It's a thin cut into the left corner as we

:05:17. > :05:17.look on our screens. An element of safety, playing it that way, into

:05:18. > :05:35.the right corner. It is braver. In other respects,

:05:36. > :05:44.it's betwixt and between and he's lined up for both and he's playing

:05:45. > :05:48.it safe. Not going to argue with that, not going to argue with that

:05:49. > :05:54.at all. Plaus... -- APPLAUSE

:05:55. > :06:01.Yes, but he'll be very disappointed he didn't clinch the frame at that

:06:02. > :06:04.visit. I think Ali can get in behind this red. With a little bit of

:06:05. > :06:09.swerve, right-hand side. Though, the danger of this, to try and get right

:06:10. > :06:14.in behind it, if you misjudge it, you don't want to hit the red on the

:06:15. > :06:17.way up. You want to hit it on the way back. He could hit the black as

:06:18. > :06:23.well with the red. No, he's got right

:06:24. > :06:32.behind it But he's left the chance of a pot. And I think Alan McManus

:06:33. > :06:38.can put this and get round the back of the green, perhaps for the black.

:06:39. > :06:41.If anything, he's going to miss this to the left cushion, play a white

:06:42. > :06:48.wider to guarantee missing the green. He's played it slow. That's

:06:49. > :06:58.brave. What a great shot! APPLAUSE

:06:59. > :07:08.Well, that's fully commitment, that was. Does it past the brown? It

:07:09. > :07:15.does. Still needs this green and the six remaining colours to steal this

:07:16. > :07:20.frame. And what a big frame it is in the context of the match. This to

:07:21. > :07:27.draw level. Looks certain to go 2 behind. Ali Carter looks at the

:07:28. > :07:31.scoreboard. It's fractionally shorter a space on that screwback

:07:32. > :07:36.and he's left himself a little bit more work to do with this yellow

:07:37. > :07:44.than he would have wanted rnd pressure. May play it twice across

:07:45. > :07:49.if he didn't fancy rolling it in. Decides to roll it in. Stupid bounce

:07:50. > :07:55.off the cushion again, has ruined the position. Absolutely destroyed

:07:56. > :08:02.things. Potted that perfectly, the pace of this shot was perfect until

:08:03. > :08:07.it bounced off the cushion. Alan was stopped in his tracks by the bigger

:08:08. > :08:09.bounce than he should have. He now has an extension on his cue, that

:08:10. > :08:22.makes this missable. Trying to dolly the red in off one

:08:23. > :08:22.cushion. Just playing top spin. Nothing wrong with that.

:08:23. > :08:32.APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

:08:33. > :08:40.I always say that the key to a clearance like this is the position

:08:41. > :08:46.from brown to blue, particularly as the pink is not on its spot and

:08:47. > :08:59.close to top cushion. A good angle on this blue now off the brown. It's

:09:00. > :09:02.not bad. He's showing great character here, Alan McNanus. This

:09:03. > :09:07.would be a marvellous frame to win and really boost up his chances. It

:09:08. > :09:24.is all about this pink. It looks to have a nice angle. Doesn't have to

:09:25. > :09:32.do too much with the cue ball. CROWD: Awwww! They're never easy,

:09:33. > :09:34.those, believe we. Giving the cushion a gentle rub. But it has

:09:35. > :09:44.nothing to do with the cushions. You've got to be so accurate. When

:09:45. > :09:48.you're down actually playing it, you know how accurate you've got to be

:09:49. > :09:57.and it just puts that little bit of fear in you.

:09:58. > :10:05.He's had two good chances, Steve, and not taken them. Yes.

:10:06. > :10:13.Unfortunately, you've got to say that was just tension. You don't aim

:10:14. > :10:14.for the near jaw. You aim for the far jaw on these tables, and they

:10:15. > :10:17.gulp the ball in. Pink onto the black. Leave the pink

:10:18. > :10:38.where the black is, Obviously, the black does go safe to

:10:39. > :10:44.the side cushion. It's all about pink ball safety.

:10:45. > :10:50.APPLAUSE Ali Carter with the tang, five

:10:51. > :10:56.points -- with the advantage, five points in front. He only has to get

:10:57. > :10:59.the pink. Yes, but that was an excellent safety shot from Alan

:11:00. > :11:03.McManus, playing the up and down, not to leave it in the corner and

:11:04. > :11:11.halfway down the side cushion. Made a pretty good fist of that. Alan

:11:12. > :11:14.McManus still putting his finger along the cushions just disgustd

:11:15. > :11:20.with the bounce he -- disgusted with the bounce he got. He's tempted to

:11:21. > :11:25.get this in behind the black but he doesn't know where the pink is going

:11:26. > :11:26.to go playing it like that. So he just, once against, concentrated on

:11:27. > :11:32.pink ball safety. APPLAUSE

:11:33. > :11:39.Now, this is one you've got to be very, very careful with because when

:11:40. > :11:44.the object ball is so close to the cushion line, this, if you hit it

:11:45. > :11:50.just slightly thicker than you intend, that pink will come down the

:11:51. > :11:55.table with the cue ball. You can send it up off two cushions towards

:11:56. > :12:02.the black, the side cushion on the left-hand side on the table, or he

:12:03. > :12:05.can play what he's done, which is the full-ball double kiss, which

:12:06. > :12:09.is... He couldn't have played it any better. He couldn't have had a

:12:10. > :12:14.better cue ball than that. Yes, seems to be a much-favoured shot,

:12:15. > :12:20.these days. Yeah, it was always a shot that was on a lot of people

:12:21. > :12:27.were very reluctant to play it. Got to say, of all of the times that

:12:28. > :12:31.players are playering that, these days, it seems to come out

:12:32. > :12:37.advantageous on most occasions. Ali Carter has got a chance to get in

:12:38. > :12:44.behind the black. Of the... : Having a look at the potter. Yes, he only

:12:45. > :12:49.needs the pink. Yes. May be worth the risk.

:12:50. > :12:58.APPLAUSE And he's got it! He played well,

:12:59. > :13:03.Alan McManus will be ruing those mistakes. He's having a look at the

:13:04. > :13:07.cushions again. He's not happy with the table. But that won't matter to

:13:08. > :13:11.Ali Carter. He has a 2-frame advantage and cannot be behind at

:13:12. > :13:27.the end of this session now. He leads 8-6.

:13:28. > :13:50.Alan McManus can choose a couple of safety shots. A cue ball to the

:13:51. > :14:14.black cushion is probably the one with less danger.

:14:15. > :14:21.Ali Carter has got a red to the left middle, similar to Alan McManus'.

:14:22. > :14:34.A bit thin. Couldn't control the cue ball, so keeping it tite again,

:14:35. > :14:38.John? .. ... So keeping it tight again, John? Yes, very important

:14:39. > :14:44.frames now. Ali Carter will be thinking if he can win the next two

:14:45. > :14:53.with a 4-frame advantage going into the final session tomorrow.

:14:54. > :14:57.Break-off shot by Alan McManus. Reds over both corners. Got a good cue

:14:58. > :15:00.ball though, which helps slightly. Yes, he had to risk not knowing

:15:01. > :15:14.where the reds were going. He's blocked off the easier of the

:15:15. > :15:20.two from a positional perspective. So Ali Carter, even if he does pot

:15:21. > :15:28.this, can't guarantee going on a colour.

:15:29. > :15:39.That's all he could do. The most important part of that shot, of

:15:40. > :15:44.course, was to pot the red. And tucked under the bulk cushion as he

:15:45. > :15:48.was, had to get the pot due care and attention. Any colour he could pot

:15:49. > :15:52.would be the yellow. And if he could his hand on the table, not be

:15:53. > :15:57.hampered, he may consider taking it on but he can't, so just a safety

:15:58. > :16:03.shot. (APPLAUSE) Delicate path to the red over the

:16:04. > :16:07.right corner. There is a couple of gaps here as well but he is playing

:16:08. > :16:14.into this corner which is lined up with the blue. Has he hit it hard

:16:15. > :16:18.enough? It is short of pace. I've watched his body language, Steve. I

:16:19. > :16:23.think he's left it. Well, Alan McManus, if he can pot this properly

:16:24. > :16:26.in the right part of the pocket, can get out for the pink at the very

:16:27. > :16:35.least. APPLAUSE

:16:36. > :16:44.Yeah, when you said 'the pink at the very least', I agree with you. With

:16:45. > :16:49.the blue OK, not the right angle, but shouldn't be a problem to get in

:16:50. > :16:56.between the, well, yellow and Brown you would have thought --brown you

:16:57. > :17:00.would have thought. Coming in a straight line down, needs to slow

:17:01. > :17:21.up. It's OK. Red to the right corner.

:17:22. > :17:25.Missed a few good opportunities in the last frame, did Alan. He needs

:17:26. > :17:36.to make the most of this one. This keeps him in close contact with

:17:37. > :17:44.Ali Carter. A good chance here to reduce his

:17:45. > :18:13.arrears to just one frame again. He obviously doesn't like it. The

:18:14. > :18:19.face of it doesn't look too bad. I mean, OK, if you don't want to be so

:18:20. > :18:25.precise to play screwback for the pink then screw back for the blue. I

:18:26. > :18:31.think he's got to play the screwback. Just get it out to open

:18:32. > :18:36.play. He was looking at a run-through, which could have gone

:18:37. > :18:41.wrong. He took a long time to work out what looked like a relatively

:18:42. > :18:46.certain shot. But these are big moments for Alan McManus. He just

:18:47. > :18:53.has to steady himself. He has a great chance for 7-8. If he could

:18:54. > :18:58.get out of jail in this session and go 8-8, that would be amazing,

:18:59. > :19:01.wouldn't it? He hasn't looked the better player, that's for certain.

:19:02. > :19:06.No, it would be a real boost. Of course, once he gets to that final

:19:07. > :19:08.session and the pressure's really on, anything can happen - as we see

:19:09. > :19:29.so many times. It's fair to say that Ali Carter has

:19:30. > :19:30.not been scintillating himself. It's been a tough session for both

:19:31. > :19:48.players. Considering the way they played in

:19:49. > :20:02.their opening matches in this event, Ali Carter a brilliant match against

:20:03. > :20:06.Stuart Bingham to knock out the defendering -- defending champion.

:20:07. > :20:12.But neither player has got motoring in this match. Certainly not in this

:20:13. > :20:17.session. No, there have been chances gone begging for both players, a few

:20:18. > :20:18.steals. This match will be played to a finish, starting at 10 o'clock in

:20:19. > :20:47.the morning. He has just overrun that slightly. I

:20:48. > :20:57.don't see how he can guarantee position on a particular red. If he

:20:58. > :21:04.plays a cannon, you think he'd be unlucky to land on one. I think he

:21:05. > :21:12.can just about void. Yeah, just about. Back in prime position

:21:13. > :21:16.though. I say 'prime position', it would have been nicer to have played

:21:17. > :21:21.for the pink, perhaps, but he's going to make sure he get it is

:21:22. > :21:24.screw back on, get on the right side of the blue, which is very nicely

:21:25. > :21:33.done. Screwback for the red into the left corner.

:21:34. > :21:43.Opens up the two reds into the right corner. So, getting ever closer to

:21:44. > :21:49.the finishing line. Leaves three reds in open play.

:21:50. > :22:10.Got to kick, make the red along the top cushion a little bit more

:22:11. > :22:15.difficult. Ideally, he could have, perhaps, left that for a bit later,

:22:16. > :22:18.but he couldn't have counted for the kick. So, a bit of care. In it goes.

:22:19. > :22:30.APPLAUSE He certainly didn't want to be

:22:31. > :22:35.straight on this. This pink will put him 57 points in front. Still 67

:22:36. > :22:40.remaining. So he needs a red and a colour after this. Trying to force

:22:41. > :22:48.it in. Now he's got the red to the middle. 57 ahead, 67 remaining. As

:22:49. > :22:51.soon as he pots the red, it will only be 59 remaining, so just a red

:22:52. > :22:54.and a colour required. APPLAUSE

:22:55. > :23:09.He's hanging on in there! APPLAUSE

:23:10. > :23:13.This contribution made possible by the careless, you'd have to say,

:23:14. > :23:20.safety shot from Ali Carter when he needed to get the cue ball in the

:23:21. > :23:27.jaws of the pocket to cover the red on the opposite corner. Just under

:23:28. > :23:29.hit it. And at this level, just an inch or two short and it can be your

:23:30. > :23:54.last shot. Here's an example. CROWD: Awwww! Pity. Thought we might

:23:55. > :24:00.have seen a century, but that'll be enough. Ali Carter will concede. So

:24:01. > :24:13.Alan McManus hanging on in there. There'll be another frame in this

:24:14. > :24:18.second session. Will it be a 2-2 -- 2-0 advantage or will it be all

:24:19. > :24:29.square? The next frame will tell us. Good break-off shot it is. I think

:24:30. > :24:33.of the two players, if it did finish up 8 apiece, Ali Carter will be the

:24:34. > :24:36.most disappointed. He played well last night in the first session.

:24:37. > :25:36.He's not reached those heights today.

:25:37. > :25:54.This red is on for Ali to the left middle. It looks, just looking at

:25:55. > :26:01.the potting angle, it may just be colliding with the main bunch of

:26:02. > :26:03.reds. But that might not be a harm, as long as he catches them a

:26:04. > :26:18.glancing blow. He's on the pink, I think, just.

:26:19. > :26:50.APPLAUSE Oooh, he keeps missing those pinks

:26:51. > :26:56.in the middle. OFFICIAL: Ali Carter, 1. He missed

:26:57. > :26:58.one last night when he was certain to be going in front. One this

:26:59. > :27:08.afternoon. APPLAUSE

:27:09. > :27:08.Easier than that, actually. CROWD: Oooh!

:27:09. > :27:33.APPLAUSE A little bit of noise coming from

:27:34. > :27:36.the other side of the arena. So Alan, being the experienced

:27:37. > :27:38.competitor he is, just getting up and giving time for it to settle

:27:39. > :28:52.down. The advantage of playing this red,

:28:53. > :28:57.you bring the other reds into play, a few other reds. He's just

:28:58. > :29:08.over-stretching slightly. That's why he's refused it. Well, want it is

:29:09. > :29:15.middle pocket here. OFFICIAL: 12. OK. Well, he didn't

:29:16. > :29:19.like it but, perhaps, if he had have got his extension out and played

:29:20. > :29:25.that shot, he would have opened up the reds up, which is, to be quite

:29:26. > :29:35.honest, pretty important. He may not get a better chance to get the reds

:29:36. > :29:37.open. Now he's got to play an excellent shot to get back on the

:29:38. > :29:54.blue. OK, he's still going but if he'd

:29:55. > :29:59.have played that shot on the red, as you said, John, I know it was

:30:00. > :30:05.stretching a bit but he could have done some damage to the reds and

:30:06. > :30:10.that would have been far more assured from a positional

:30:11. > :30:16.perspective. Now, this blue in and out of baulk to get on a pretty

:30:17. > :30:20.tight red into the left corner is not easy, whichever one he goes for.

:30:21. > :30:26.I'm just thinking whether he could play it firm and come off two

:30:27. > :30:28.cushions and try and open up that cluster of reds. There's a big

:30:29. > :30:40.target. Well, he's tried it but he didn't

:30:41. > :30:52.have enough side on the cue ball. Official 23. --

:30:53. > :31:03.OFFICIAL: 23. Well, that pink going over the pocket, is a bit of a

:31:04. > :31:04.nightmare scenario. OFFICIAL: Alan McManus, 23.

:31:05. > :31:37.APPLAUSE All things considered, that was a

:31:38. > :31:40.pretty good safety shot. Not got the best length but he was in a spot of

:31:41. > :31:52.bother there. If Alan decides to play this red to

:31:53. > :31:59.the right of the black, that will bring the black into play but he's

:32:00. > :32:04.hit it too thick. Now, is the black going to help him in but, there

:32:05. > :32:13.another red available to the left corner. A big shot. A big moment in

:32:14. > :32:21.the match, this, for me. A big misjudgment by Alan McManus.

:32:22. > :32:26.You can see him in his chair there, steaming.

:32:27. > :32:36.Doesn't want to look. Doesn't have to do anything with the cue ball. If

:32:37. > :32:46.he pots it, he'll be on the pink. APPLAUSE

:32:47. > :32:51.Well played! That's a fully commit, and that's exactly what he did. Now,

:32:52. > :32:54.he's been given a chance here, Ali Carter, to take a 2-frame advantage

:32:55. > :33:05.into the final session tomorrow morning.

:33:06. > :33:53.I'm little bit surprised he's left this much potting angle on the red.

:33:54. > :34:01.I would have thought you'd play that red to hold for the blue. Yes,

:34:02. > :34:05.obviously he's got both colours and he has a nice screw across the face

:34:06. > :34:11.of the red for the blue into the right corner. Judged very nicely.

:34:12. > :34:15.It's all about opening the pack up, it would appear.

:34:16. > :34:21.OFFICIAL: 18. Yeah, you'd like to do it off the next black. Yes, and

:34:22. > :34:26.screw walk -- screw back across the face of the reds. So, low on the

:34:27. > :34:31.back. Kick, and he's also gone high on the black.

:34:32. > :34:34.OFFICIAL: 19. Yes, for me now, he'll just have to play for the red that's

:34:35. > :34:40.next to the black. He could run into the red but he's not certain to be

:34:41. > :34:45.on anything. Certainly, won't be on the one loose red. No, he's decided

:34:46. > :34:50.to play the pink. This way he'll guarantee being in a nice position

:34:51. > :34:54.on the red. But imperative now, he gets a good angle on the colour, to

:34:55. > :34:59.disturb that cluster of five. OFFICIAL: 25. Surely he habit got

:35:00. > :35:02.the angle -- surely, he hasn't got the angle to pot the red and screw

:35:03. > :35:07.across the face of the reds for the black on this one? This would be a

:35:08. > :35:12.very advanced shot, should he play this. A great way of opening the

:35:13. > :35:18.pack up. Oh, and he didn't hit it right. Oh, the anger!

:35:19. > :35:24.OFFICIAL: 26. Oh... Well, as you said at the time, it was an advanced

:35:25. > :35:29.way to play. For me, I wouldn't...I couldn't dream of playing it like

:35:30. > :35:32.that. Not unless I was absolutely certain. I think I he was. He just

:35:33. > :35:40.didn't hit it right. He got a bit too much angle on the

:35:41. > :35:46.pot. Perhaps if he could have potted it into the right-hand side of the

:35:47. > :35:51.pocket a bit more and he could have afforded a bit of leeway, he would

:35:52. > :35:55.have straightened the cue ball up, got more screw back on, screwed

:35:56. > :36:06.across the face of the pack. But it is a lifeline for Alan McManus. He

:36:07. > :36:13.must have been fearing the worst. What's the colour? He said, "Hang on

:36:14. > :36:18.a minute." He's not decided. Green. Green he's nominated. Is it a

:36:19. > :36:24.one-cushion escape. Needs to hit it. Nope. Guess it will be called a

:36:25. > :36:34.miss. OFFICIAL: Foul and a miss. Ali

:36:35. > :36:38.Carter 26, Alan McManus 4. I'm not digging our referee Terry out there

:36:39. > :36:45.- I suppose I am... Go on, dig him out. I'm not too sure he should ask

:36:46. > :36:52.whether what colour he is playing. If Ali Carter wants to nominate a

:36:53. > :36:57.shot without nominating a colour, it's a fall, 7 points away. No

:36:58. > :37:01.comment but I think they've always said if they're not certain, please

:37:02. > :37:08.nominate. Perhaps I'm speaking out of turn here but it is up to Ali to

:37:09. > :37:12.nominate, surely. Yes, but Ali would have nominated if he'd given a

:37:13. > :37:16.chance to. I don't know the rules, and I should, because I'll on the

:37:17. > :37:19.rules committee I was going to say, I thought you made the

:37:20. > :37:25.rules LAUGHS No, no. Green again. Nope. The

:37:26. > :37:27.problem is, because he's striking down, it's difficult to get the

:37:28. > :37:41.amount of side-on he needs. It would be easiest to hit the black

:37:42. > :37:45.but he knows, if he hits the black, there's every likelihood he'll use

:37:46. > :37:49.the right to the left middle. I think the referee is the sole

:37:50. > :37:57.arbiter of play and if he wants to find out, it's down to him to ask.

:37:58. > :38:00.So it's not a problem, I think on reflection. Great shot!

:38:01. > :38:11.APPLAUSE Yes, hit it this time. Ali, who got

:38:12. > :38:16.himself into a bit of a lead, giving those foul shots away, is now 4

:38:17. > :38:27.points behind in a very vital frame for both players. This is the type

:38:28. > :38:32.of safety shot that Alan has not been hitting

:38:33. > :38:38.He's either hit them too thin or too thick. So he's playing this one,

:38:39. > :38:46.just playing the containing safety, it appears. Didn't want to risk

:38:47. > :38:52.trying to play the orthodox back to box safety. He could have played the

:38:53. > :38:58.long, deep, screwback but it is not necessarily a shot that Alan McManus

:38:59. > :39:01.favours. I think a Judd Trump would have not thought twice about that. I

:39:02. > :39:05.think Ali Carter would have considered it as well. No slouch in

:39:06. > :39:12.that department. Didn't want to collide with the brown. Free shot,

:39:13. > :39:14.perhaps, for Alan McManus, free try, a red in the middle pocket with an

:39:15. > :39:29.element of safety. Or Does he just play the committed

:39:30. > :39:33.safety shot? Well, to me, he's got to play the pot. The only one he can

:39:34. > :39:36.really leave is the one he's maying. If he's striking down like this,

:39:37. > :39:50.he's not playing the pot. He's playing the safety.

:39:51. > :40:00.Was it worth a try in the middle? Don't know, it's hard to see the

:40:01. > :40:05.angle from here. It might have been a bit dts -- bit...I don't know.

:40:06. > :40:13.We've said once or twice this afternoon, Steve, there's been one

:40:14. > :40:19.or two strange shot selections. Yes, but the shot selections could have

:40:20. > :40:22.been traing -- strange from the commentary box, as well. You never

:40:23. > :40:26.know. But the thing is when you're actually down on the table behind

:40:27. > :40:35.the shot... Yes, you can see it. Only really you really know. Yeah.

:40:36. > :40:40.But there have been few... Yes, a few positional shots refused. That's

:40:41. > :40:46.what we're here for though. Alan McManus has a little problem in as

:40:47. > :40:49.much as when he does play this red onto the black, he's not absolutely

:40:50. > :40:52.sure where that second red is going to end up. But he's got a very nice

:40:53. > :41:11.line behind yellow, brown and blue. APPLAUSE

:41:12. > :41:16.Well, terrific length to the cue ball.

:41:17. > :41:23.The only thing, and as good a safety shot as that was, I don't see a

:41:24. > :41:30.safety shot for Ali Carter. So he may decide to take this pot on. And

:41:31. > :41:34.if it goes in, it could set-up a frame-winning chance. I don't see a

:41:35. > :41:36.safety. So if you don't see a safety, you may as well go for the

:41:37. > :41:53.pot. No, it was tough, but there was no

:41:54. > :41:57.return to baulk, so the opportunity now for Alan McManus. This red will

:41:58. > :42:11.pass the black. Don't play Ali for taking that on.

:42:12. > :42:23.Yes, such a tough shot. But as I was saying, no other shot that was on.

:42:24. > :42:30.Ooh, well, and is it...well, is it covered in I'm looking to see if

:42:31. > :42:37.Alan is going to think of apologising to Ali. He shook his

:42:38. > :42:40.head a few times. Well, Alan gave it a good look. Ali Carter, not even

:42:41. > :44:18.bothered. Well, not the most telling safety

:44:19. > :44:19.shot from Ali, but he's not left the pot on and that was his main

:44:20. > :45:12.concern. Super shot.

:45:13. > :45:14.APPLAUSE It looked tight, didn't it? Played

:45:15. > :45:24.it well. A chance to take a 2-frame advantage

:45:25. > :45:31.into the final session tomorrow now. He's got the angle. Might be tempted

:45:32. > :45:40.to go into the reds here. APPLAUSE

:45:41. > :45:48.He'd want to be on the red that's jest to the left of the pink. Is he?

:45:49. > :45:55.Does it past the pink? Just. Tite. -- tight.

:45:56. > :46:27.So now that pink's gone in, he's got an 11-point lead. The three

:46:28. > :46:29.remaining reds with colours more than enough to have an overnight

:46:30. > :46:46.lead of two frames. Every chance if that being the case,

:46:47. > :47:08.hasn't got to really do too much with the cue ball.

:47:09. > :47:31.It looks for all money now that Alan is going to be two frames behind at

:47:32. > :47:37.the end of this second session. He'd be thinking it could have been

:47:38. > :47:43.all-square. He certainly had chances, Steve?

:47:44. > :47:48.REFEREE: 27. Yeah, I think he's ruing a few things there. I think,

:47:49. > :47:53.on reflection, on the day I don't think he's played well enough to

:47:54. > :47:56.have won the session 5-3, which would have been the case if he had

:47:57. > :48:05.drawn level. REFEREE: 28. Looks like 4-4 for the

:48:06. > :48:08.session and nobody has really dominated, is a fair reflection.

:48:09. > :48:14.Playing for the blue, but the brown will do. I mean, the brown will put

:48:15. > :48:18.him 28 points in front with 27 left. And off the brown, he can bet

:48:19. > :48:22.position on the yellow. He is not guaranteed position on the yellow

:48:23. > :48:31.off the blue, but he thinks the blue is unmisable. Arghhh! Oh! He got a

:48:32. > :48:35.kick and missed the blue. Mind you, it was dead-straight, more or less.

:48:36. > :48:40.Wow! REFEREE: Ali Carter 28. I mean, it

:48:41. > :48:47.wasn't dead, dead-straight. But a big gasp from Ali Carter. How on

:48:48. > :48:55.earth could that...from the more or less dead-straight shot, kick that

:48:56. > :48:59.much to go to that far jaw? Amazing. Usually, it's on more of an angled

:49:00. > :49:05.pot. I think it wasn't quite straight. No, no, it wasn't

:49:06. > :49:09.dead-straight, no, but obviously where the cue ball was widened the

:49:10. > :49:14.angle. Can Alan McManus get past? He's had to play the safety shot...

:49:15. > :49:21.He could but he'd have the play safe. I tell you what, he'd just be

:49:22. > :49:26.pleased he's still in this frame. 27 points behind. 24 remaining. This

:49:27. > :49:31.would be a body blow to Ali Carter. He has regroup, Ali Carter. There is

:49:32. > :49:45.a possibility of a sneaky blue to blue side-to-side shot.

:49:46. > :49:49.Sent the cue ball towards the blue and the yellow up the side cushion.

:49:50. > :50:02.Perhaps a better choice. Alan McManus should be able to get

:50:03. > :50:08.round the back of the black here, get this yellow ball nailed on the

:50:09. > :50:11.bottom cushion. A bit close to the yellow pocket but far enough away to

:50:12. > :50:13.be no problem. And Ali Carter has just got to try and send this yellow

:50:14. > :50:24.up towards the black area. A bit wide. Is it going to bounce

:50:25. > :50:36.off this cushion enough that it gaves Alan McManus a chance? Ooh.

:50:37. > :50:48.He's coming round to have a look at the potting angle. It's very thin.

:50:49. > :50:50.If he played it with right-hand spin, he could widen the line and

:50:51. > :51:11.guarantee to be on the green. That's too thin. Funnily enough, he

:51:12. > :51:16.overcut it by so far he got it safe. Yeah. Advantage Ali Carter in the

:51:17. > :51:21.tactical department now. He's got first crack at a good safety shot.

:51:22. > :51:25.The only thing that Ali will be concerned, though, I think, if he's

:51:26. > :51:29.stun the yellow up and down the table, he doesn't want that yellow

:51:30. > :51:36.to run into the blue and bring the blue away from the cushion. I think

:51:37. > :51:41.it's worthwhile trying to play the perfect, thin cut in behind yellow

:51:42. > :51:46.and...in behind pink and black here. It is not the type of shots the

:51:47. > :51:51.players like to. When he's not playing it, he's going to somehow

:51:52. > :51:56.get it in behind thek black, although that's going to be

:51:57. > :52:02.difficult, I feel. Has to be care wfl the -- careful with the pace of

:52:03. > :52:06.the yellow here. Not over the middle. Oh, no. It's just gone far

:52:07. > :52:11.enough as it's nowhere near as easy as it looks on our screen. But you

:52:12. > :52:17.can see it. It was straight enough that he can't pot the yellow and get

:52:18. > :52:22.position on the green. He held the cue ball perfectly. But he did have

:52:23. > :52:30.to hit the yellow a bit too hard. The safety shot from behind the blue

:52:31. > :52:40.from Alan McManus here, I think. No. Quite a way out. Of course, now that

:52:41. > :52:44.he's nudged the blue, he has knocked the blue into a more favourable

:52:45. > :52:49.position, but Ali just needs the yellow. Oh, not a great shot from

:52:50. > :52:54.Ali Carter there. Jabbed a bit at because of awkward bridging.

:52:55. > :52:57.I think Alan McManus felt as if he played that yellow in and it rolled

:52:58. > :53:01.off a bit. APPLAUSE

:53:02. > :53:05.Perhaps a few fingermarks on the cloth at this late stage of the

:53:06. > :53:09.session. Now, we were talking about this

:53:10. > :53:13.shot, the double-kiss, John, it's arguably the shot to play, but not

:53:14. > :53:19.if the cue ball is jammed up against the top cushion. Mmm. Because you've

:53:20. > :53:22.got to guarantee hitting it very straight. Yes, you've got to hit the

:53:23. > :53:26.yellow full in the face. Otherwise, you get nothing. When you're tight,

:53:27. > :53:30.as you say, against the cushion, it is very hard to be that accurate. If

:53:31. > :53:32.he had his hand on the tail, I would agree -- table, I would agree. This

:53:33. > :53:48.is a horrible shot. He could get a bit fortunate and get

:53:49. > :53:53.a safety shot but I'd say it's 50-50 whether he can guarantee safety

:53:54. > :53:57.here. He's played the double-kiss...no, he didn't

:53:58. > :54:01.actually. He's played a great shot. He's played an excellent shot. What

:54:02. > :54:05.a fantastic shot that was. I think he's just left the edge of the

:54:06. > :54:07.yellow sticking out but considering the trouble he was in, a good

:54:08. > :54:18.safety. Oh, great try.

:54:19. > :54:26.APPLAUSE . I think he'll feel relieved he hit

:54:27. > :54:31.it. LAUGHS

:54:32. > :54:39.He wasn't far enough getting the perfect safety shot there. Not an

:54:40. > :54:47.easy one for Alan McManus to guarantee getting safe as well. I'd

:54:48. > :54:56.say it's nigh impossible to get a snooker from here. He might be

:54:57. > :55:02.forced to drive the yellow to the left side cushion, but looks like

:55:03. > :55:07.he's playing to the right-side cushion. Could get behind the blue,

:55:08. > :55:15.I suppose. He's hit it well. He's hit it very well. And that green is

:55:16. > :55:22.going to make it slightly awkward cueing for Ali.

:55:23. > :55:30.APPLAUSE A big frame and a big moment in the

:55:31. > :55:42.match. A big difference between 9-7 and 8-8. Ali Carter's favourite in

:55:43. > :55:51.as much as blue to pink is not easy. So whilst the blue is pottable, it

:55:52. > :56:00.might take Alan McManus two goes to get all the balls down.

:56:01. > :56:07.It's not exactly a yellow ball game because of that blue. He is 24

:56:08. > :56:11.points in front, is Ali. He needs the yellow. He's having a good look

:56:12. > :56:16.at this. Do you think he's considering playing the pot? He's

:56:17. > :56:20.gone against the type of shots he's been playing again. But does he

:56:21. > :56:27.think it's more tough to play the safety? I think he can go round the

:56:28. > :56:32.back of the black. That's what he's doing, going round the black of the

:56:33. > :56:38.black. Could be tempted, I suppose, to play the yellow. He'd be

:56:39. > :56:45.delighted with the outcome. APPLAUSE

:56:46. > :56:51.A little tap on the table from Alan McManus there. He's still very much

:56:52. > :56:56.in this frame. Trying to get down behind the blue has its own danger.

:56:57. > :57:03.There's a pocket down there as well. Yeah, and if it goes in, he'll go 28

:57:04. > :57:13.points behind with 27 remaining. Got to be wary of that. Called it thick.

:57:14. > :57:18.Got a bit of a kick, but he did catch it thick, and here's the

:57:19. > :57:28.chance for Ali Carter. A shot to nothing as well.

:57:29. > :57:36.It's there! APPLAUSE

:57:37. > :57:42.It's there! And Ali Carter will be mightily relieved. So when he potted

:57:43. > :57:46.the final red and was nicely on the blue or just to roll the blue in to

:57:47. > :57:50.clinch the frame and missed it, you thought, "What's going to happen

:57:51. > :57:56.next?" But after a decent bout of safety, it looks like Ali Carter is

:57:57. > :57:59.going to retain that two-frame advantage that he came into this

:58:00. > :58:06.session with for the final session tomorrow. Definitely now!

:58:07. > :58:11.APPLAUSE Alan McManus is not going to bother

:58:12. > :58:17.playing the blue. Well, it wasn't high quality but as we always get at

:58:18. > :58:21.the Crucible Theatre, it was high drama. Both players don't look happy

:58:22. > :58:28.but Ali Carter should be the happier of the two. He leads at the end of

:58:29. > :58:31.the second session 9 frames to 7. So it is advantage Ali Carter going

:58:32. > :58:43.into the third and final session. That is it from us but we're back at

:58:44. > :58:46.10 o'clock with more live coverage of the Snooker Championship. We

:58:47. > :58:47.shall see you then. Good night. Captions by

:58:48. > :58:52.Ericsson Access Services.