Ronnie and Matthew in Top Form | O'Sullivan vs Stevens | 2015 Welsh Open L32

And that's what he can do, Dom, isn't it? I've got Dominic Dale in the commentary box with me. It's going to be a tough match, this, for Matthew, potentially. He hasn't beaten Ronnie since the 2003 LG Cup, but he did beat Ronnie on that occasion 5-0. They haven't played for three years, though, so that could help. I don't know what they're smiling about. Matthew must have said something to Ronnie, or vice versa. Ronnie's sitting in his chair with a big grin on his face at the minute as well, so it must have been funny. Very capable, of course, of Matthew and beating Ronnie. He really is one of the best players we've had in our game. That's a great opening there from Ronnie. That will settle him down nicely. Just the same as in any match, it will take a few shots just to get the feel of the cloth, the table, the way it's playing. Four. Ronnie Sullivan, four. Excuse me, could you just turn down your earpieces, please? They're too loud. Thank you. Nothing easy for Matthew, just a safety shot. Foul. And a miss. Better missing it altogether than having a second try at it. Oh dear, that's much, much too thick, quite obviously. And he's left Ronnie right in amongst the reds here. One. Possible saviour for Matthew will be that the pink's very awkwardly positioned. The black's out of commission, the blue's off its spot, so although the reds are well placed, certainly the colours aren't. Three reds to the right of the pink spot. He'd like to get on that middle red of the three, which of course then makes the path for the pink available. Can't do that this time. Well, he can get on the pink in the middle. Six. That's not a bad choice. Seven. So many shots in advance, Ronnie O'Sullivan. He's one of those players that wants to make every chance a frame-winning chance. He doesn't mess about getting 20 or 30. A lot of players there would have maybe just involved blue and bought colours for a while. 13. So he's got the pink back on the spot, but it doesn't seem to pot anywhere. Still a bit awkward for Ronnie, this. Well, he can play for it in the right centre pocket if he pots this red. 14. And I think Ronnie will be just happy now to concentrate on reds and pinks. He won't worry about that black. 20. He's got the pink available into three of the main scoring pockets now. It won't be too long before he's passed the winning post. He's a very, very quick break for Ronnie O'Sullivan. 27. 28. Good recovery shot from Ronnie. I think it may have been a photographer that was in his way, putting him off. I'll bet it's Monique from Belgium. 34. Those little things can really annoy you, because you're so keyed up when you play a big match like this, and you're very overwrought. Just the smallest thing can annoy you intensely. 41. 42. 48. Over-run that cue ball, or under-run it, whichever way you want to look at it. Probably go in and out of balk. Always miss all those into a blind pocket. 49. Hmm, that's not good. Such a great player, with the rest all left-handed. It looks like he can only get the two reds that are nearest the cushion into the top left-hand pocket, so not bound to be perfect on this. In saying that, he's absolutely perfect. Very good shot. You'd think with him being such a great player left-handed, he didn't use the rest that often. Very rarely misses balls with the rest as well. 52. 57. 1. Matthew Stevens. 1. Matthew Stevens didn't get a lot of chance in that opening frame. That break was 57, more than enough for one to take that opening frame and lead to 1-0. Thank you, Ian. Matthew Stevens has just broken off. Frame 2. Gotta have a go at this long red, though. He needs to make something happen. He's still run through about 8 or 9 inches. Well, he's played safe, I'm surprised. Surely that was probably... 1. Will he play the brown and take the cue ball into that pack of reds and open them up? He may try and screw it into cushions again on the one next to the black. Well, he's trying one cushion. He's got to make sure he gets past that red. Well, he's played it to perfection. 6. 13. Well, that was a colossal kick that Ronny suffered there. He's fortunate, really, the cue ball ran through sufficiently to still be on this black. But Ronny's one of these players where he does get a kick. He doesn't always have the cue ball cleaned. Will he either play topspin and force through them or screw back off them? But one thing for certain, he'll be bringing a few reds into play. If it wasn't that white bouncing a little bit straight, it could be under break. Yeah, always tough. And that little bit of extra pressure. That other red behind there. There's pressure on that one. He would be leaving Matthew a Giltes opportunity if he missed it. But that's gone in thinly. He's OK. He's just about held OK for the green. Clearly the best chance that Matthew's had so far. What can he do with it? The middle red of the three reds above the black just looks absolutely perfect. He's got too much stun on the cue ball there. Should have come down more to the left-hand side as we look. At least he's got a touching ball. That's a very poor safety shot from Matthew. OK, Ronny's not guaranteed to pop this red, but he'll certainly be taking it on. That's a reprieve. Came right across that, didn't hit that good at all. And he's been very, very fortunate. Very aggressive safety shot and looks to have played it very well. It looks like Matthew's been tempted. This red in the middle. It's going to have to go in though, because he'll be leaving everything on. One. Very well played. Deserved to win the frame from that one shot. Four. Well, he'll be delighted now, Matthew. When you play a real precious shot like that, your adrenaline flows straight the way, because you know that you've played a dangerous shot, and you know now you should win the frame. Eleven. Although it's not going to be an easy thing to do, but if you took very high-value colours with these open reds, you wouldn't need that difficult red, but three of these reds are above the pink spot, so to get back down for pinks and blacks off them, I don't know whether it's worth it, really. Yeah, good point there, Don, but it is a long way away, isn't it? Another six or seven shots before he starts thinking about that. Either play a cannon off brown or yellow onto that red, or even leave a double. You'd just be hoping he gets that far now. Four points in front, so three reds, three blacks, puts him 25 points in front. So, as Dominic said, now need that red. 25. It'd be good for Matthew if he could possibly leave this red near the right centre pocket, because he could have got on a bulk colour, cannoned it out from the yellow, and still been guaranteed on this red that he's just potted. He's not going to have that sort of an option now. He won't play it now, but he could play on and off the cushion and remove the red out, but he'll certainly just play for the green. Key thing on the next red, don't get straight on this next red. Hasn't played that very well. 41. Left himself hampered. Left himself plenty to do, didn't he? Matthew Stephens, 41. That was a really bad shot on the green. Yeah, he powered the green in because he was too straight on it and still couldn't get on this red nicely. Tricky shot that, though, it has to say, with all the pressure attached to it as well. At least he knows Ronnie's going to have the difficulty of that last red. And he doesn't have a good angle here on the green. One. If he ran the green in, he'd just miss the cannon on the red. So he may leave a double himself here, Ronnie. Well, he's perfect for the double, but there are no guarantees when you play these. Ah, good shot. Another good one on the brown. Well, there's a bit of pressure on that shot, but he's obviously just somebody who's just taking a photo on his shot there and he's just asking them not to do that. Nine. But what a great shot on the brown. Matthew should be one all. 14. 18. 20. 29. Ah, he's perfect on the black. Doesn't need it, in fact. Highest break in this frame was a 4-1 by Matthew Stephens, but it's Ronnie O'Sullivan who wins a frame and increases his lead to two frames to nil. Interesting to get his thoughts later on, but he leads 2-0. Willie and Dominic, back to you. Yeah, danger signs now for Matthew. Great red from Matthew. Doesn't have the cannon on the black there, though. That's another good positive shot from Matthew. Just needed a trace more right-hand side on the key ball to develop the reds. It's brilliant to be able to play in front of your home audience. The problem is, Matthew hasn't had the best run of form of recent months and you'd much prefer to play in front of your home crowd when you know your games as it should be and you're confident and you've got some good wins behind you. But it can be very difficult sometimes. A lot of expectancy on you, but deep down you know yourself, you're a bit short of your best game. And obviously playing O'Sullivan, in good form, well, makes it all the more difficult. Needs the green to come to his rescue. I think we might have a re-rack here, Willie, aren't we? Oh, push shot! Well, Ronnie O'Sullivan, 4. That was a push shot of all push shots. And I think this could be a touching ball. It's a touching ball, that's right. Here's another look at the push shot. That really was the first long shot that Matthew has taken on. And he can hold it for the black. Oh, he cued that beautifully. He thought it was in. And look where it's finished. Very unfortunate there. 1. Oh, Ronnie's showing his intentions. He wasn't certain to get on to this red. He hasn't got on it nicely. 6. But he'll be bringing pink or black into play here, if not both. Tried to bring both into play and he's got on nothing. 7. That's a reprieve for Matthew. He's got the blue in the green pocket, just a good measure. 12. That was a tremendous shot. Much, much harder than the other one because it was pretty much half ball, that one. So the pocket wasn't in his line of vision as he struck it. It was all judgement. That was a great shot as well. Do you know that was nearly as hard as a blue to strike it so cleanly. He's knocked everything in. He's now developed this into a frame winning chance. The pink's in open play now. The pink spot's covered. He might get rid of that red now. He decided to go for the blue rather than the pink here. Lighting. Such a quick brain, Ronnie. Making every pot. One that could win him the frame. 24. 25. Wow. I'm not suggesting he intended to leave the cue ball there. But, well, if he wanted to play the red above the black with the rest, he could have cannoned the other one away and held for the black. 32. I wish he did that now because he's certainly not nicely on this pink. Yes, went to the well once too often there, didn't he? 32 blues. Very lucky there, Ronnie, not to have left Matthew an easy red. Hmm. No, he's left Matthew half a chance. I don't think so. He can probably screw across the face of the black, but those two reds could be likely to cannon one of them. If he did find the gap, he could go across the table into the middle pocket. Oh, brilliant shot. Played it with deep screw and checked side. Still cannon one of the reds. Matthew Stephens too. Didn't get nicely on the black. Oh, that's flew off the cushion. Goodness me. Good job the brown was there. That's a super shot from Ronnie. The minute he struck that contact on the object ball was exactly the one he wanted. Oh, this is a good riposte from Matthew. Done exactly what Ronnie did. And this time, Ronnie won't have an easy return back to bulk. He's got Ronnie in a bit of trouble here. I just see Ronnie just tapping his cue on the table there just to acknowledge that great safety shot from Matthew. Great sportsman, Ronnie. Not too sure he can get through. I know he can't get to the potting angle. He's going to have to play a little roll-up, I think. There's a gap between yellow and green, as you can see. He doesn't want to get the double kiss. If he double kisses this, he'll leave the red on. Yeah, it's double kissed. One. Eight. Nine. Good chance for Matthew to, well, certainly not win the frame from here, but amass a small lead of some sort. Seventeen. There's still work to do for Matthew. Twenty-four. Just how he feels there. Twenty-five. He's done neither. That's not a good shot. Decided to take the double on. Thirty-two. Four points in front. Very well done, Matthew. These reds along the cushion are tricky, though. Could have done with another inch to make sure that he got the white away from the cushion. He couldn't leave the black perfect, could he? Here's the guaranteed positional shot. Well, he's gone for the roll, and I said you're not guaranteed to get the position right. You see, he's concentrating so hard on not over-hitting or under-hitting the shot, he's just took his eye off the black. Matthew Stephens should now be leading 2-1. In a few moments' time, it could be 3-0. Two. Let's have a look at this black again. I mean, it always looks wide, but sometimes I can just skid in off that top jaw. Oh, he's able to. Five. Just run through the pocket jaws there. But this is a tester. Especially with it being the black where it is, because he could run it in and leave the long blue, but he can't do that where the black is, so if he plays his pace, he's going to have to be very accurate. Nine. That was so difficult, I can't tell you how hard that shot was. Well, he cued the last two blues pretty well. He's going to have to cue this well. Couldn't have missed it by any further, could he? I don't think I've ever seen him miss a ball so far. Just has to pop the blue. Guaranteed to be on the pink. It's there. Five. What a sigh of relief Matthew Stephens will be breathing. He knows he's had chances now in every frame. Eleven. Sir Matthew Stephens just... O'Sullivan still leads the match though by two frames to one. I have to agree with Matthew. A number of times I've been out with players, you know, in China and places for meals, and after the meal they spend half an hour so despondent because once he hit that, he knew he was going to kiss into the brown. The way Ronnie O'Sullivan's playing when he's in the balls, it's very dangerous to take this on. Maybe playing up for blue or green. Right, needs a good white and he doesn't think he's got it. Brown and yellow going to be slightly hampering Ronnie for this easy red, or for this red that's in the middle of the table. And it's to boost his confidence, if he was lacking any in the first place, but any better. Just like to finish low on the black here, which he has done, just to flick the red away from the black spot. Didn't catch it right. Is it far too thin? He's annoyed just threw the chalk up in the air. Very, very thin, probably a 16th ball. Hardly moved it enough, but it's still on. Good recovery. 12th. Look at the amplitude of light. He's got a choice here. He could run through off the side cushion for the red near the pocket. He's likely to play with a lot more power on deep screw and try and get on this red. That was never going to be easy. He may be able to pop this and just glance off that little shelf of reds up for pink or blue here. Oh dear. A few balls in, isn't it? Well, Ronnie O'Sullivan, 19, Matthew Stevens. Open, he can screw across the face of the pack, get on the bottom red. That's what he's played, he's played on that bottom red. 7. 8. Foul. Matthew Stevens, 8. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 5. It was always going to be difficult to generate the pace with accuracy there for Matthew to dislodge any reds and be on anything. I thought there, though, he had the angle to run through off two cushions into them. And I guess that wasn't perfectly. Yes, the way your eyes work as well as you get older becomes different. It takes you longer to focus from one ball to another. There's Matthew again, comes across that shot. Fortunately, it was the pink that was hindrancing Matthew there. I haven't mentioned it yet, but there's an incredible number of kicks out there. Nearly every shot's a kick of some form. When you play anything from any distance with any pace, you're always getting a kick. A little bit unlucky there. You'd expect once he got the cannon he would leave the cue ball at the end of the table. Just to try and get in towards the brown off two cushions when he's played the pot. That is very reckless. This is entitled to finish right over the middle. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 6. I don't think he's happy with the sound of the strike either, which again is telling Ronnie that his tip's quite firm. What's wrong with the half ball safety up and down? Hmm, that's the one I thought he'd play. I thought he was taking the pot on the way he was cueing. It's absolutely perfect to go around the back of the black, but you've obviously got to get it. There it is, there's the natural angle. Perfect, you go around the back and you deserve to get onto a colour after that. Playing the pink would have been Matthew's shot choice had the pink spot not been occupied. So he took the green instead. Four. Five. Twelve. Thirteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-eight. Just about OK, I think, to get on the black. Twenty-nine. He knows this is the kind of challenge you need to win a frame at one visit. Forty-four. Forty-five. I couldn't really have a worse angle on this black than the one he's got. He's got to play deep screw here for side cushion. For the red in the same pocket. Yeah, good shot. Fifty-two. A red in any colour here will secure this frame, barring snookers. Fifteen. I want to leave myself an easier frame ball than this. That's a good shot. Brown. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Well, I'm sure Ronnie O'Sullivan won't get out of his chair now. Similar frame to the last, really. Forty-one break from Matthew in the last frame, although he lost it. Sixty-eight. Lost the second frame with the forty-one break in the last. Seventy-one. This is a great break from Matthew. This will give him a lot of confidence. It's time when he has had a good chance. He's taken full advantage of it. Seventy-five. Made a frame winner. This is more like the Matthew Stevens we used to see in his heyday. Great break, Bill, the great potter. Very confident looking player. And he's beginning to look like that now. Ah, the pink's not going to reach, but Matthew won't mind. Seventy-eight. A superb break of eighty from Matthew Stevens. He's drawn level with Ronnie O'Sullivan. It's two frames all. It's best of three now. Anything can happen. If he continues to play like he is, he's got every chance. You know, like you said at the start. It's best of seven. This is probably his best chance. Nicely poised. It's two-two. Ronnie looked great in the first two frames, but since those, he's looked vulnerable. One. As mentioned earlier, Matthew always been a great long potter. What a chance this is to get a few points on the board. He's fancying this now. Nine. Sixteen. Seventeen. And everything will happen. You'll open reds into both corner pockets. Don't have to play it too pacey. Ah, he just screwed it. He had to stun into it. Had to stun into them. Matthew screwed into them. In some regards, if there aren't any reds on it, it could have been better for Matthew if that red had gone in the middle pocket. This is dangerous, playing this shot. Is he playing the double? Matthew Stevens, twenty-four. Now, has Ronnie got any sort of plan to run on to red? If he has, it could be very, very dangerous. Yes, he does pot this. Just goes by the outside of the pack. One. Six. Seven. One off the blue, one off that last red. How's that cue ball gone through those reds like that? Nine. Not on an easy red, but he's got a choice of a couple. Ronnie O'Sullivan, nine. One. It looks the more likely of the two to win the match at the moment. Matthew appears to be only missing when he loses position. He's not missed anything easy in the last couple of frames, whereas Ronnie has missed a couple of shots. No problem with the slow plant. He doesn't have to do anything with the cue ball. Five. Thirteen. Just got to control the cue ball from here, Matthew. Twenty. He's topside. Twenty-one. I think on two part. He's gone two part. I'd be disappointed there, Matthew, because he knows playing Ronnie, he's so good at accumulating points and making breaks. The way the reds are, you know, if Ronnie did get a chance straight away, I think you'd make him a slight favourite to win the frame. Because you'd expect either of the players, Ronnie A to clear up or B, Matthew, to get the 30 points he needs to win the frame. So the next red is going to be the important one in this frame. Ah, good shot. He's played it into the black. In fact, that's really good for Matthew. He's put the black safe, so that's a very good shot. The red is obviously on, but if he plays it plain ball, he can only play for the blue. He won't be able to hold for the pink. One. Short of pace. Makes this red a little bit missable. Ah, good shot. And he's done very well there, Ronnie, to hold for the blue. I think Matthew would be very pleased that he's put that black on that side cushion. Twelve. The next three reds and three pinks are no problem, but... That red being on the cushion, it's hard to get onto the pink from that one. Maybe give Matthew an extra chance. Nineteen. Twenty. Two more reds and pinks will put him all square. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Got the perfect angle on the pink there, Ronnie, but this is the shot now that's the key to this frame here for Ronnie. If he pops this and gets good position on the colour, you'd have to fancy him. Thirty-seven. Thirty-nine. So up to and including the pink, to be sure. Forty-two. It's a frame that Matthew, as in the opening two frames, had chances to win. Fifty-one. But it's the rocket who's going to take a one-frame lead. Seven. He has done. What a fabulous break of fifty-seven. Matthew must have thought when he put the black safe it could come to his saviour, but it didn't do. Ronnie O'Sullivan now leads three frames to two. That was very risky. Until then. A little wry smile from Matthew, realises he's had a result there. Yeah. Just caught the blue, but it's still a very effective safety. That's a good shot from Ronnie. It's not nice, this one. He was actually planning to screw back into poor. He'd better hope the red hits the jewels. Didn't get the desired screw, did he? And usually he's blessed with cue power. I don't know what happened there. One. Well, there's an audible sigh from Ronnie there when he potted that green. He felt it jumped in the air a while, but the red he finished on just couldn't have been better. As you can see from the resulting cannons there and the position on the black. There's one player you don't like to see in these positions, it's Ronnie. Now this. Twelve. Just could be the beginning of the end for Matthew. Thirteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-seven. It's just like it's another frame. Twenty-eight. Thirty-five. Wow. Ronnie O'Sullivan, thirty-five. A rare miss. Three. Doesn't mind these reds down the cushion, Matthew, does he? Can't just drop it in dead weight. Eleven. Oh, this is definitely tricky. Oh, good shot, good shot. Could have played a cannon to those two reds below the pink, but had the natural angle to left-hand side cushion for the red. Nineteen. Possibly win this frame here if he can cannon that red away from the side cushion successfully. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Thirty-four. Thirty-five. Oh, you're kidding me, Dom. Matthew Stephens. You've got to concentrate. Thirty-five. Just took his eye off it. Concentrated so hard on getting position, took his eye off the pot. Oh, dear. Yeah. One. At least Ronnie's going to have the problem with that red near the middle pocket. Now, does the black pass the pink into the left corner? Four. Yes. Can he bounce it off the cushion and get the cannon? You're not going to believe me, but he played to move the red out there. Twelve. Amazing when you think it was just off straight and he developed that kind of angle. Well, he decided to... Well, it's been a great match, hasn't it? I mean, Matthew would be so despondent knowing that Ronnie was there for the take in today. And he may still well be. Can you believe that? I don't think I've ever seen Ronnie miss a game ball in the last frame of a match. Well, that's an amazing miss from Ronnie. When do you ever see him miss a ball like that at such a crucial stage? So close to being a great shot. Well, can he avoid the kiss on the pink in playing this yellow? He's going to have to play a stun run-through to miss that cannon. Too much stun. But what a great effort that was. His purpose is forced around the angles there for the green into its own pocket. I think he had to play it the way he did. That's about as good as he could have done from there. Is it this good? Needs that white to travel. The magic to travel. Oh, this is tricky. Very good. He wants to leave the white right on this back cushion to get onto the pink. Oh, good shot from Matthew. Yeah, as you say, he really had every chance there to just play the key ball to this top cushion. Knowing he'd be perfectly on the pink. He's just got an angle on this pink. It's a power shot, but he'll be happy enough with this angle. 20. Forced it out without the aid of the cushion instead. And this black is for three all. Ronnie made the break of 35 in this frame. It's the little 27 clearance at the end from Matthew Stevens. Enables him to draw level with Rony O'Sullivan at three frames all. Marinto decider. A little ripple of a pause tells you that Matthew Stevens is back at the table. So here we go then. The final frame decider. I think in fairness on what we've seen. Okay, Ronnie should have potted that yellow to win 4-2. But I think on reflection of the match, the balls that Ronnie's missed. I think 3-3 is about a fair reflection on what we've seen so far this afternoon. 1. That was such a tricky shot to play. Jetson pacing it to get this side of the reds. It's well controlled from Ronnie. Deep screw back off the pack, reverse side. 16. He's fortunate to still be on the red. 17. 24. 25. He left himself a little bit to do with the cue ball. In and out of walk. Yeah. He needs to be straight on that one. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 25. Ronnie's concentration at the minute is very poor. It's a great chance for Matthew now. If he can leave himself a nice angle. He's got a choice here. He can play the brown into the cluster. Yes, he'd love to get that blue out of the way. 5. 6. Oh dear. Why would he play that cannon? 13. This is a lot more difficult than the yellow that Ronnie missed in the previous frame. 14. Very well done. That was tough. Okay, he's got a free match. 18. Yeah, this has got to be the red he plays. If he plays the one by the pink, it's going into no man's land. Oh, good shot. Perfect shot. Matthew's got a chance to win the frame match now. 25. Just as soon as he gets rid of the black. Sorry, the red above the black. It's a frame and match winning chance. He's got a little bit of work to do. 31. 32. He may play a little cannon onto the two reds just to slow the white down. Play it onto the pink. Oh dear. Could that tie things up? 37. Yes, that's made things much more difficult for Matthew now. He's going to have to play for the blue. Oh, he's cannoned the pink. Oh dear. 38. Yeah, he's very annoyed with himself there, Matthew. Will Matthew get another chance in this frame? Matthew Stevens. 38. Well, that is unbelievable. He couldn't have hit that safety shot worse. This large capacity audience. Forced an angle to get onto the red next to the pink. He has done. Well, Matthew. Shame, really, because he can't get onto the black from this red. Two reds and two blacks. Well, he could only draw, but Matthew is going to need that red that's by the green. I honestly think, Dom, the angle he's got on the blue, he should play for the red next to the green now. I thought he'd have played it off the ball cushion to the side. He's going to have to play the snooker now, I think. Matthew Stevens. 12. Well, it goes without saying. He's trying to rest on this red over the pocket there. Well, he's not even played that red. Misjudged it. Played two cushions for the red that's down this end of the table. 1. No. Oh, Matthew. Matthew Stevens. 1. Oh, it's getting tense. He's not hit that very well. I think there may be a gap here. It's strange to me, Ronnie. He's actually tried to pop that for some reason. 1. For purposes that should be frame and match ball. 6. Matthew Stevens. 6. Boring snookers. Matthew Stevens will be into the last eight. 2. 5. He played there. Ronnie O'Sullivan. 5. I remember doing him a favour, putting pink and black together. Well, there goes the concession. Matthew Stevens.