Day 3 World Championship Snooker Extra

Good evening and welcome to snooker extra, extended highlights of the

2017 that Fred World Snooker Championship. It is still the first

round and the night's matches in all China affair with Ding Junhui taking

on Jan Wayne Long making his Crucible Debbie and Sheffield.

Hadn't realised it is the first Chinese derby of the Crucible

Theatre. Isn't that great to see two Chinese players competing at the

Crucible? And making his debut. Looking forward to seeing this young

player. That is a pretty good return safety

shot. Ding may have been living in

Sheffield for a decade, so at an adopted Yorkshireman.

Interesting to see how deep Ding can go in this World Championship. Got

to the final last year. Generally hasn't played his best snooker here

at the Crucible. That needed very thin contact. Nice

shot. Very nice shot. Look at the pace on the cue ball. First couple

of shots on this table. Just played a couple of times these

players. Zhou won't forget the last one, it was 5-0 in the China open

this season. So he didn't get a much of a chance. And 6-1 was the

previous defeat and that was back in 2012. He will be a much better

player now. Takes a few years to serve your apprenticeship at this

game. I suppose there are different

pressures. Ding, is expected to win and he is under pressure against one

of his fellow Chinese players. And Zhou, has looked up to Ding for many

years, probably an idle of his, so there is pressure on him for many

reasons. -- idle. That was a bad slip-up. Was he was

-- what he was avoiding was the cannon shot. The first chance falls

to Ding Junhui. Ran a little bit further than he

intended. So now it's not straightforward. Pot the colour and

get close to his next red. It looks like he might be going straight into

the pink. And he did. And how is your luck? It looks like the red is

going to be nicely over the middle pocket. Little rays of the hand by

Ding to apologise, but I don't think he should apologise for that.

He felt it was a bit fortunate. But important for Ding, as the strong

favourite and the top player in this match to stamp his authority early

in this match. Got to keep your less experienced

opponent waiting as long as possible for his first frame.

This is, without doubt, the main strength, the biggest strength in

Ding Junhui's armoury. He is a ferocious scorer when he gets in

among the pink and the black. Definitely, in my opinion, the top

two or three break-builders in the game along with Sullivan, John

Higgins, Ding Junhui. I think these three are the best there is in

amongst the pink and black. I couldn't agree more. He has made 440

centuries since turning confessional in 2003. 32 centuries last season.

On 23 at the moment. Has made the magical maximum break on six

occasions. He has done everything in the game. The one title that is

missing is the Betfred World Championship. No one is going to

hand that to you on a plate. He mentioned he got to the final

lustre, Stephen. He had to qualify because he had dropped out of the

top 16. He had to win three tough matches to get through to the

Crucible. Then almost won the title. It is just Mark Selby who outplayed

him in the final. But look at that shots. That is a beautiful shot he

has played. Lots of screw on the right-hand side. Now look at the

White. That was a little beauty. That was top drawer. He looks

quickly into his stride. Relaxed, focused.

Incredible to think, somebody as good as theirs had to qualify last

year for the Crucible. Not long before that he had 15 ranking

tournaments in one season. -- had five ranking tournaments. Just

playing a little bit clumsy. Lost the cue ball, overscrewed it by a

good foot and a half, really. Don't expect him to miss this. He made it

missable. Went in-off the high jaw, which a few of them are doing so far

in this championship. Any more pace in that, you think he would have

missed it. But he is out of position again on the black. Might just be

able to catch the left red of those three, if you get into the cue ball

enough. All caused by the careless

positional shot when he was perfect on the black, a couple of shots

previously. He will be disappointed he didn't clinch the frame. With

that visit, it is always nice if you win the opening frame and you win it

in style. But he is the strong favourite for this opening frame.

Zhou Yuelong can still win at the moment. I was with Terry Griffiths,

commentating last night and they were saying Zhou wasn't well. I am

not sure what the problem was. What a cracker! Well, they don't

come any better than that. So that one shot has given him a glimmer of

hope of getting right back into the opening frame. Let's have a look at

the angle he has on the black. The little triangle of red scum if he

wishes to come he can play with a touch of side and cannon into those

three. There is another loose red and he could play for the one near

the cushion, if he wanted. And that is what he has decided to do. But he

could have done with being of the cushion a little bit more so he

could just drop the red in and finish nicely on the black. Might

Avenue to play it with a bit place now and it when you hit them with

more pace, you can wobble them in the jaws. Not straightforward.

Nicely played though. And I think he has got the angle to just cancel the

one that Ding tried to hit. If he flicks of the left red in the little

triangle, he will open everything up. And how many times do we see

that? Put everything into the cannon and take your eye off the pot and

the chance has slipped away. I think that will be the clue as to how Zhou

will get on in this match against Ding Junhui.

I think for all the qualifiers, if they can go through the match and

not miss anything easy, it is amazing how close they can get to

winning the match. Gary Wilson did that against Ronnie O'Sullivan. He

played extremely well and didn't miss many easy balls. Gave Ronnie a

little bit of a fright. 10-7 eventually Ronnie won that match.

It is just from a psychological point of view, if Zhou Yuelong had

gone on and nicked this frame from Ding, what a start it would have

been. He did have the chance, it was just the black of the spot he

missed, that cost him. Of course, we mustn't forget, it is his first time

at the Crucible. That is a pretty good start for Ding

Junhui. He had a break of 60, followed up with a break of 57. He

leads 1-0. You can't keep a good Scot down, can

you Stephen? It was a poor break of from Zhou.

Ding wasn't planning on cannoning the black. This is unusual. When the

break of shot was played it must have nudged the pink away from the

pack slightly. When the referee said the balls up, the pink doesn't pot

past the pack. That tells you it was just lodged

away from the pack. Leo did check with his little marker and there was

just enough room for the pink to go on its spot. Ding Junhui would have

loved the pink to have gone on to the black spot.

He is going to have to take the brown if he wants to keep the break

going, or possibly the green. He is the wrong side of the blue now. Is

he going to try and power it round the angles? Let's see the top spin.

Surprised he didn't even look at the brown to pot. Get into the bunch.

You can tell he didn't hit that properly. You can see the cue ball

accelerator with the top spin after it makes contact with the blue. A

smile from Ding. Don't expect to see many long safety battles in this

match. Both players want to get in and make big breaks. Both very

aggressive players. Be interesting to see how aggressive

Ding wants to be with the safety shot. He can come to the left side

of the pack and open the reds. But he doesn't want to disturb anything.

That is very poor. Needs to find a gap with the cue

ball. Well done. The long potting seems to be on form this morning

from Ding Junhui. He won't be happy with that, but he

will be pleased with the result. Missed the bunch completely.

He played for the cue ball to be on the baulk cushion. Some are behind

the green, but not where it has ended up. Zhou has to be careful

here. He would like to land on the one that is near the corner pocket,

but there is no way through to that. So this has got to be very precise.

He has left the one to the middle pocket. He had to reach the red.

Because if he hits it with any pace and slides past it, he leaves one of

the left corner. Now he has left an even easier chance. But not a good

chance with the pink tied up and the black of its spot.

End of break. Wasn't the easiest positional shot to play. No attempt

at the pot. Zhou, just pointing out he could see

enough of the cushion. He is trying to hit this from behind slightly and

just nestle on it. I would be clipping of the one next

to the black, bringing the black into play, rather than going off the

other edge. I suppose the fact he has a 35 point

advantage, maybe he doesn't want to particularly bring the black into

play. But he had a shot just the glance of that I get behind the

yellow and brown and free the black. But, as I said, 35 point advantage

is probably why he didn't do that. Same shot again, Zhou Yuelong. It's

not going to reach, is it? Don't think he can see enough to

take this pot to the middle. He will be just glancing of it.

And you can't pot them, if you can't see them.

This is a little test of your eyesight and cue action to miss the

pink and flick the red. Needs the blue to come to his rescue

here. I think it may have. On the way through to the one that's

closest to the pocket. There is a little bit of risk with this one.

Played it perfectly. Not only a good pot, as he could see, but look at

the cannon. Judged it to perfection. That is a frame win, if ever you

have seen one, Stephen? Yes, four out of four long pots now. His long

game has looked very sharp this morning. As you said, judged the

cannon beautifully. Clever little cannon. He has got all the shots.

Yes, very promising start from Ding Junhui here.

Doesn't matter about... He looks a bit disappointed but it doesn't

matter about missing the cannon there. The frame is well and truly

over. Tried a trick shot there. But as I say, it doesn't really matter.

That was a fine break of 54 and it's all gritty comfortable at the moment

for Ding Junhui. That is 2-0. It's a bit annoying for a player

when you play for the baulk colour and you hit the yellow, green or

brown. I remember the Australian Eddie Charlton used to mumble away

to himself on his way back to his seat when he did that.

It now means, with the green situated as it is, it's a good

target, the yellow, green and brown in that little triangular shape up

there, to try and get in behind. Let's see if Zhou Yuelong can get

the cue ball somewhere near there. Not quite, but the black not

available. Ding Junhui just coming around the table, so that red for

the right corner pocket, if the pink isn't available, he needs a bit of

an angle to get back up the table, and he has got a slight angle, so he

can get back up towards the blue. He looks very sharp this morning. When

you start knocking that type of shot in, you know you're cueing well. I

think in the modern game, that's the key, who gets in first with the long

potting, there is such very good long potters. All the top 64 players

are all terrific long potters. All a bit congested there, the way

the reds are. They looked open, but they are all covering each other.

You see there's just the one, and there's a possible plant. He can't

see the plant at this stage, but there are two lining up towards the

pocket. So it is this one past the blue into the corner.

Yeah, kept his head perfectly still there. And now a chance to do

something about those reds that are all blocking each other. He's had a

little survey around the table. He has got an angle on the blue to play

some sort of cannon to develop things. There might be one

available. Yeah, the one that is nearest the pocket. That's a pretty

good choice, because when he removes this, he's clearing a path for the

black into that pocket. But you can see the reds there, all

covering each other into this left corner pocket. You see, they are all

blocking each other. And it's similar to the other corner pocket,

believe it or not. That is why he could do with some sort of cannon,

but he is the wrong side of the blue to do that. He might have enough

angle to power the blue in and go between the green and yellow, and

hopefully get to the reds. You seek he's the wrong side of the blue

line. Now let's see if he can create enough... Well, he's hit the green.

So that is end of break. But when he does break down, he

keeps leaving the white near the baulk cushion. Stephen mentioned

earlier, Zhou Yuelong needs an easy chance in amongst the Bulls, but

he's not getting a look in at the moment. And this looks pretty good.

Almost got the snooker. The two reds on the left side of the table... In

fact, no easy safety. So Ding was looking at the possibility of taking

the pot on here, see if he could get on the black. Well, he's knocked a

view cracking long pots in, will this be another? Oh! Has it gone a

fraction too far? It's very tight. He might have to play with a trace

of side. Just to swerve it slightly around the red, yeah. Now, this is a

little risky, because to judge it when you're playing it with side,

just to bend it around the red slightly... He played it well. He

really did. Looked so easy, but so difficult to execute. Yeah, and if

he had missed it, he was leaving his opponent with an easy opportunity.

But seven out of seven so far long potting, that is some standard from

Ding Junhui so far. Nothing puts your opponent's safety play... Oh!

He has played a very careless one there, though. He will be with that

shot. I was going to say, nothing puts your opponent's safety play

under more than if you are knocking in long ones all of the time. This

was a shocker. Turning into one of those awkward

frames now, with three reds up the other end of the table. There might

be a a few more before we finished here joining them. Could finish up

with all these reds of the other end of the table!

That is five reds up there now and there might be another one heading

up in that direction after the next shot will stop does this red go in

the middle pocket? It might, and he would be on the black. It's good,

it's good... It's in! Good cueing, and it's the first chance he's

really had. He has been kept off the table. It is a bit of an awkward

table, but at least he is in the balls.

It's worked out reasonably well. The only problem is, he's going to head

up towards the yellow and brown now. Oh! Zhou Yuelong... As Stephen

mentioned at the start of this match, as long as you don't miss any

easy balls you give yourself a chance. And he's missed a sitter,

there. You just can't afford to do that.

He has hit this too thin, with the consequence that the white has

travelled a lot further than he intended. That was pretty poor from

Ding Junhui, there. Well, he's taking this one onto the

right middle. Bold shot. Very bold shot.

Yeah, he just needs to make 40 or 50, Zhou Yuelong. Just to really

settle into this match. Try and get a frame on the board. Going to go

too far for the pink to the left middle. He is seven out of seven for

long pots so far, so if he is not on the pink, he might fancy the yellow,

possibly even black. He can play the yellow just plain

ball for the red that is next to the brown to the same pocket. That's

very good. As long as he is not being put under

any pressure from his opponent, those long pots are going to be

three comfortable for Ding Junhui. -- to be very comfortable.

And that's another cracking long red. 100% pot success rate. That's

just the long pots. It's all looking very comfortable

for Ding Junhui this morning so far. First to 10 goes through to the last

16. He is 46 ahead but he's not on a red.

Just a safety shot, but barring a snooker, Ding Junhui is going into a

three frames to nil lead. Yeah, he needed to pop that and get

up onto pink or black, there. Still think about for the young man.

Although the frame is over, that was a lovely little shop to bring the

blue into play, there. Doesn't matter about missing the green, he

probably lost a bit of concentration because he knew the frame was over,

great start for Ding Junhui. He now leads three frames to nil.

Now, this would restore the young man's confidence, if he could not a

long read in and then get on the black here. No, he just cued across

it slightly. It's such a precise game and when you're under a little

bit of pressure or a lot of pressure, the margins are very, very

fine. Yeah, you could see that wasn't a smooth delivery of the cue

at all. Each frame that goes by without him winning it, the pressure

just gets more and more. Meanwhile, Ding Junhui is having a lovely time.

He's very relaxed and under no pressure whatsoever.

And he played that beautifully. Didn't screw into the pack, stunned

into the back, and look what he's done with the reds. Open them up

beautifully. Yeah, I suppose the only thing that has been lacking

this morning from Ding is winning a frame in one scoring visit, a

century break or even just a 70 and 80. He's had a couple of 50s and a

60 break, but none of them won the frame in that scoring visit. Good

chance here, the reds are very well placed.

He's got a choice of reds to play for, one to the left corner, one to

the left middle. It's going to be the one to the left middle.

Well, the way the reds are set now, how confident Ding is feeling, I

would be shocked if he didn't make a century break here. I think it could

only be a lapse in concentration that would stop it. ?10,000 for the

highest break in this year's Betfred World Championship, but just 5000 on

offer for a maximum. Pathetic. I think I mentioned yesterday, back in

the 90s you made a maximum here and you got a motorcar worth an hundred

and ?80,000 and you're still driving it, Stephen. It just astounds me

that there is not a major prize for a maximum. It's the most exciting

thing that can happen on a snooker table. How can the maximum prize be

less than the high break prize? You tell them, Stephen.

I might not commentate now for a wee while, Dennis, I'm just trying to

get over that, that stat that you just told me.

Another little clever break-building shop, there. It looks simple enough

but it's just... He just plays them at the right pace. Most snooker

players, professional snooker players, know that shot, but

sometimes they just hit it too hard. Every shot he has played precisely

when he's in amongst the balls. Just about. It looked like he was

going to nestle on the red, but he's fine. Well, as I said, the

mid-session interval coming up after this frame, and I think Zhou Yuelong

will have to head to the practice table, because he hasn't had much of

a chance. He's just missed one or two, in fact I can only think of one

easy shot that he missed. He hasn't had much to go out because Ding

Junhui looks very comfortable out there. Having to work a little bit

now to try and make that century break. If the pink goes in, he will

make it. We've had 12 centuries so far, and

into day three. I think Ronnie has got the highest with a break of 124.

This will be superseded if he can clear them up. Yeah, I think the

record will be broken this year, the number of centuries at the Crucible.

From what I've seen so far, the pocket are not playing too

difficult. -- the pockets. Coupled together with the players in such

fantastic form. As we see the century go in from Ding Junhui.

Inevitable. Yeah, 441 in his illustrious career, and his 24th

this season. A nice way to head to the mid-session interval. Enjoy your

little cup of tea. What a fabulous break from the

Chinese sensation, Ding Junhui. You can't play it much better than that.

He finished the session with a century break and goes into the

mid-session interval leading 4-0. Ding Junhui, gets the first frame

after the interval under way. Sometimes the interval can change

things around. Certainly, Zhou Yuelong, will be hoping that is the

case. He needs to drop onto a ball colour. Overcut it. -- ball colour.

Keep saying, you never really settle until you get the first frame on the

board. It wasn't an easy shot, but they practice that type of shot, if

you are ever walking through the practice rooms, you see the players

setting that. They obviously don't set up them thin safety shots.

Smiling away, Ding Junhui. Similar type shots, from the other

side of the table. That is better. He could do with knocking a few in

here, as we show you that very good long pot, right in the centre of the

pocket this time. This is what he has been looking

for, get in first in the frame. Maybe the red is available. Just

needs to concentrate 100%. I know it is easier said than done when you

are under pressure. Hasn't gone far enough. He wanted

the red to the left middle. Not a lot to do with the cue ball.

He could play this aggressively. He could play the red to the left, a

little cannon on back. Very well played. This was an excellent shot.

Just got to make sure you hit this hard enough because sometimes the

cue ball can stick on the red. Already, his highest break in the

match, up to this point. The two reds to the right of the bunch will

bow pot right middle. But he has a nice angle to go into the bunch

here. -- both pot. This has been more tricky than

perhaps it looks on the screen. The pot and the positional side of it.

Yes, just a bit unlucky. Even more unluckily, the red he has played,

has come back and ideally for Ding Junhui.

Always the case. Hold on a minute. I was going to say it is always the

case when you are struggling and you miss a potting macro, you always

leave something on. But couldn't see this coming, missing that red. So he

is back at the table a lot sooner than he anticipated. One good cannon

and he could keep Ding Junhui sitting in his seat for a while.

Nicely played. Nicely on the one to the right corner. Freed want to the

left corner. About five reds available. He's not the tallest

player in the world is Zhou Yuelong. He has to get the spider out to

bridge over that. This is where it is nice to be just over six feet

tall for a shot like this. I like his shoes. I really do. Very smart.

And that was the Swan, that spider. Someone wrote in and said it wasn't

a swan neck spider. But trust me it is a swan necked spider. There are

three types of spiders under the table. That is the swan neck. Then

there is the normal spider, and an extended spider.

We said the mid-session interval can change things around, so many times

but we never expected Ding to miss that sitter. But it does look as

though it has changed things? Yes, it can take away some of the

intensity you had, your focus and concentration.

Read on the left-hand side of the bunch will pot to the right middle

or the left corner. Couple more reds still needed.

Very nicely played. You can either just screw to the red to the right

corner or screw in behind it. Which is what he played.

Just finished a little awkward for the corner of the Middle pocket. He

only needs this red to leave Ding Junhui needing a snooker.

I think he is looking, if he rolled it, you will be close to be in. That

is where he was raising the butt of the cue to dig down slightly on it.

Doesn't matter about being perfect on the black. He put all his

concentration into making sure he knocked the red in. Just checking

the scoreboard to make sure. He can put the Green said. Wouldn't have

been a bad idea to knock the black said. Not the best shot in the

world, but barring a snooker, you have to say Zhou Yuelong has his

first frame on the board. Now maybe he can just settle down.

He will be feeling so much better. He can take a deep breath. Now

hopefully, he can relax and get into this match. Ding Junhui concedes. So

Zhou Yuelong gets his first frame on the board. He still trails Ding

Junhui 4-1. On the other side of the coin, Ding

Junhui will be looking for, 4-0, he would be looking for 81-macro as a

result of this session. Maybe 72 now. You always trying to kill off

your opponent in the first session of these long matches.

It all depends if this red is straight enough to go into the

black. If there is too much angle there isn't a path to get the cue

ball round. Suppose you could always screwed the cue ball directly over

to play the black to the right corner. That will take some chewing.

-- cueing. That is what he tried. Great pot,

just didn't get into the cue ball enough. Can still take the black on

though. Fantastic pot. Has got him seven points, but it is

very tight as to whether he can pass the pink to get the red from this

left corner. If he can, it was a terrific shot. Maybe he can just

pass the pink. Which makes the last shots better than we thought.

No. He could see enough from it, but the pink was a destruction. He has

put Ding right in. As we show you it again. He could see enough of it,

but misjudged it. Again, another clever little cannon.

The black doesn't go to the left corner now. Looks like he may just

be able to follow through and play for the black to the right corner.

He is already thinking a few shots ahead. Spotted the red in the middle

of that little bunch that may be available into the left corner. You

can see it there, right in the middle of that bunch. He's got a

good angle on the pink or the black. The one available to the right

corner. The pink spot is occupied. That was helpful for Ding Junhui,

the fact that the pink couldn't spot.

Just need to concentrate a little bit harder. Bit of noise from the

other side as they reach their mid-session interval.

Just a tricky little positional shot to negotiate.

And that flick on the blue, I was about to say it didn't help, but he

has finished with an angle on the pink to get back up to the reds.

Just slightly over Iran again. So he is having to work quite hard for

this break. And a key shock coming up as to

whether he should win the frame with this visit. All about the positional

side of this next shot. He's got one to the left middle. He

played it fairly well that last shots.

Looks like that blip in concentration in the last frame when

he missed the easy red, has been sorted out. Back focused again.

We know that Ding Junhui will have a lead going into the second session.

It is now how big a lead he can hammer home.

He made a complete mess of his positional shots, but the frame is

well and truly over. But might have spoiled the century break. No

century, but he got one chance and that's all he needed. The break of

78 has got him right back on track and he extends his lead now to 5-1.

He may be able to screw back for the red.

Has started to look a bit more composed at the table now, Zhou

Yuelong. Getting that first frame on the board. We said it was so

important. The referee just Sane, give me a

moment please. Has to get it in direct line with the black and the

blue, close to the reds without touching them.

Perfectly played, because he has got rid of all the loose reds. Now he

needs a good cannon. If this split works, keep your eye on the blue as

well. Don't miss that. You could be home and dry in this frame. He has

opened the reds, but look where the White has finished. That would have

been a frame-winner. Show you the cannon again. He played it very

well, but just unlucky to slide to the side of the reds and finish on

absolutely nothing. And the 46 point advantage is not

that great, but the way the reds are, he's looking at the red, I am

surprised he is moving this off the question. I would like to have left

that they're as security. He might just want to flick it and keep it

there. It is brought slightly out into play, but... I would have

preferred to have left that tight on the question. As a little bit of

insurance for the counter attack. If roles were reversed he would take

this red open to the corner past the blue. Roll through, drop on the

blue. But because he is 46 in front, you doesn't want to risk that one.

It is the sort of shot he would take on if you were behind by that

margin. Maybe attempting this pot, but with a bit of safety in mind.

Where is it going to finish up? Will it knocked the other red over the

pocket? Surely not. Not a ball safe on the table. I'd be a little

anxious here. Is he going to take the double on and get on the pink?

It is a double to nothing, you would have to say. Close.

Cue do it very well. Very confidently played.

Doesn't need that many points to secure this seventh frame.

Yeah, he's done well since the interval. I know you lost the last

frame, but it couldn't have been easy, coming out this morning

against Ding Junhui, first time at the Crucible. He would have been

very nervous. He looks to have settled down a lot now. He's cueing

a lot more smoothly than he was. I said before, his composure and

demeanour around the table looks a lot more relaxed.

Yeah, I mentioned earlier that Terry Griffiths was saying he was feeling

a little bit under the weather. Just a virus, a small touch of flu. It

would be good for his confidence if he can concentrate and try and clear

the table here. The frame is already won, but it gives you a good feeling

going into the next frame if you pot every ball on the table. Don't relax

for one minute. Haven't seen too much of this young

Chinese player, but I like his game. I like his cue action. Good solid

stance. Good long pause at the back before he delivers the cue. There's

so many great young players coming through from China and I suppose, as

Stephen says, Ding Junhui their hero. And they can copy it, it's

much easier to learn the game these days.

In the old days, they used to say you had to be a good billiards

player before you could be a good snooker player. These boys wouldn't

know what a set of billiard balls looked like! And that's a terrific

little positional shot to make sure he was on the black. Well played

Zhou Yuelong! Terrific break of 81. He had an earlier 42. He will be

feeling much better now, but he still trails by five frames to two.

You cannot underestimate how big a star he is in China, Ding Junhui. If

he were to win this World Championship, it would just be

phenomenal. Ding Junhui is looking at this

thread. He's going to either have to negotiate a path around the back of

the black... Well, he's turned the red down. Only because he can't get

position, there's no point in taking the pot on. Maybe because his long

pot success rate is only down to 91% now, he's not feeling confident (!)

Ten out of 11, he has ported. He's played a fabulous safety shot. The

cue ball absolutely glued to that baulk cushion. The way the reds are

the more one mistake here could cost Zhou the frame.

Well, that's what he's looking at, and I can't see an easy path to even

try and land on the red that is behind the black. You can see the

reds, but there is no path behind the black down the table. Nothing

there that will take him back down the table. As I say, the one behind

the black, he would like to be able to nestle on that one. I think he's

just going into the side of the pack. I don't know if he can get to

the one that I mentioned. Maybe he can, maybe he just can... Not a bad

effort, you know! Oh! He could have been a bit unlucky there, because

the black might be available into the same pocket as the red, but he's

very unfortunate to stick this red up. He's looking up at the monitor

to see what sort of angle he has left on it. Ding blade to screw off

the cushion there. A very difficult shot when cue ball and object ball

are so close together. There's pressure on this black. Well, good

shot. I don't know if the black is still

available to the left corner. It would make this visit to the table a

lot easier if it is. Well, that shot tells you that it

doesn't go. He's played a great shot, just finished perfectly on the

blue. If he picked the cue ball up with his hand and placed it, he

virtually couldn't do any better. I do know if he played for that or

not. Somewhere in the circle would be good. I think he's just about OK

there. Only just. He can play a little cannon here.

The two reds above the black. One of those, on the right-hand side as we

look at it. That's what Stephen was suggesting, there. Well, he stunned

off the other side. Or maybe I got it wrong!

Whatever, he played the cannon perfectly anyway.

He just makes break-building look so easy, Ding Junhui. It looks

effortless. Again, he's just looking... He's

definitely going to play some sort of cannon, he's just looking at the

best... The red directly between the red and the reds either side of

that, any of those would develop position.

This time he chose to go into the bunch at pace to try to guarantee

being on something. But he's not landed absolutely perfectly. Read to

write middle he should get. -- the red to the right middle, he should

get and he will have to eventually nothing with the cue ball. He is

hampered slightly. It is starting to look ominous now, in this frame.

Could be looking at possibly century number two this morning for Ding

Junhui. Yeah, he's missed precious little, just the odd slip-up, very

few of them. He started off nicely, with breaks of 60 and 57, and he

followed that with a 54 and then that magnificent 136 in frame four.

78 in frame six, and now this. That's a very high standard. He's

just let that cue ball run about three inches too far.

Did well in the previous frame, Zhou Yuelong, breaks of 42 and then 81.

But he can't do anything about this here.

Well, I said when Ding played that magnificent safety shot getting his

opponent on the baulk cushion that it could cost his opponent the

frame, and it has done. We're up to 14 centuries now in this

year's Betfred World Championship. Certainly looking like century

number 15, and Ding's 25th of the season. Just the black needed. He

will play to get on the yellow also. And that's another super century

from Ding Junhui, and there we have it. Ton up!

Doesn't matter about the yellow not dropping, he got his century break

but more importantly he extends his lead, and Ding Junhui has now got a

four frame advantage, 6-2. And Ding Junhui gets it under way

and you would have to say that Zhou Yuelong badly needs this final frame

of this session. 6-3 wouldn't be older -- wouldn't be all that bad.

Oh! That was a good effort. Well, he hangs his head: he knows he

has put Ding right in amongst them with that little nudge, a bit

unfortunate there. We will show you that again, because he is right in

with a great chance. As he just comes off the cushion here... Just

watch this little nudge here. He hit the red and then it hit the other

red and that is the reaction from Zhou Yuelong. And what sort of a

reaction are we going to get from Ding Junhui? Because it's a great

chance, it has to be said. He's just run that cue ball a bit

far. If he plays the blue, he's going to have to go into the pink.

All play some sort of cannon to kill the pace of the cue ball. -- or play

some sort of cannon. Make sure you keep your eye on the pot. He plays

that shot really well. More often than not he gets a completely full

contact on the pink. Still not ideal, but I think he can find the

gap to play up for the blue here. The pink is out of commission at the

moment. The black is available but that red do the right of the black

is just a little bit of a distraction as well. He's straight

on the blue but it doesn't matter this time, he's got the red to the

right corner. He can play for the black of this and then maybe do

something about the red that is just to the right of the black that, as I

mentioned, is just hampering the black slightly.

And I think that red also goes into the same pocket as the black, the

one that I mentioned. Though he's got a few ways of going about this.

If he is just in between the two reds, he can leave that red into the

same pocket as the black. He just has to be a bit careful position

side of things here. You always try to take the simplest way possible.

Take the other one first. But we know that that red that was a little

bit awkwardly placed is available. This is missable, playing it at

pace. Safely in. Well, that cue ball just brushed by

that red just to leave this awkward cueing. I thought it was just going

to cannon the red and be perfect. Just got to give this extra

attention, make sure you stay very still on the shot. Looks very strong

indeed now, Ding Junhui. OK, he's got a big lead in the match, and

he's been pretty comfortable for most of the morning, but he's been

pretty impressive. Yeah, he's been very, very

consistent this morning. If you keep making breaks over the

half you're well on your way, and he's certainly done that, along with

the magnificent two century breaks. As they used to say in Lancashire,

he's in fine -- he's in fine fettle. The cannon

on the two reds here, I think. That should open up everything. A bit

unfortunate, he would have loved to have cannoned the pink and the two

reds together. If he had just got a bit more grip on the cue ball. I

still expect him to put this red to the right middle. When you're in

this kind of groove of scoring, the pockets start to look like buckets.

But you wouldn't bet against him making his third century of the

morning now. Yes, all good stuff and it makes for

a great championship this year. As we've said, as most people have

said, it is the most open World Championship for quite a long time.

We keep saying that every year, but there's a lot of players in with a

great this year. Ding Junhui, who was a finalist last year, is

certainly in great form, as he just runs slightly out of position...

What a tough half of the draw this is, Dennis. Ding Junhui, Ronnie

O'Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson. Mark Selby! It's very

tough to pick a finalist out of this half of the draw.

He's going to need the last red to make the century break. He might

just try and develop it. And he did. And he played it well.

APPLAUSE As Stephen said, I think it was in

the first frame, one of the best break-builders the game has ever

seen. He's had 442 centuries in his career, and make that 443!

Yeah, I would say barring one or two lapses in concentration, Ding Junhui

has been brilliant this morning. 91% long pots. Pot success 97%. Three

centuries. Seven breaks over 60. Awesome, really. Yes. Zhou Yuelong

couldn't do much about this. He did play well to win the two frames that

he did, but this, without doubt, is the best so far on day three. Ding

Junhui finishes off with that magnificent break, there. Three

centuries, and he acknowledges the crowd. He finishes with a break of

132. He had 136, the highest of this year's tournament. And he

acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the arena. It's a great performance.

He leaves, seven frames to two. STUDIO

So, Ding in complete control of this match. We are back at 10am on BBC

Two. From all of us, good night.