World N°29 Ronnie O'Sullivan vs N°1 Neil Robertson | 2013 Champion of Champions SF Part 1

Okay, who wants to go? It's a head. Your choice, Neil. Okay. Yes, and it's a real test for both players in very different ways. Thank you, the first brain. Ronnie O'Sullivan to break. How well he's been scoring. He's got to recreate that kind of form to win tonight. Winning chances in one visit. As for Ronnie, he's not played as much snooker as others. After the World Championships, he's played in some tournaments. It was a strange one. He didn't go through the ball very straight there. And so, as you heard, a Masters winner. He said the other night, after the World Championships, he knew that his break build had to improve a little bit to the kind of level that O'Sullivan. He has improved that, no question, with those 49 centuries this season. That's a ridiculously high amount in such a little time. Towards the end of November. Certainly opening up reds here. There's a glance of it thin and made as well. He's got a red that he can go to, albeit queuing awkwardly. 15. It's the red just below the line of the pink that he's looking to hit. The one could have been better. He has a red to the middle. 20. 21. Michaela Tabb is the referee. Has refereed two World Finals. 29. That's quite a good shot. A touch of left-hand side on that to make sure the cue wouldn't go down towards the black end of the table again. 37. O'Sullivan played a slack shot. 42. Robertson has been at the table ever since. 43. This is absolutely perfect on the green. He wants to play into the little bunch. Quite a big target to go into. It's very nicely played. Unlucky. I mean, he's played it well. The plant didn't appear to be on, interestingly. I think that Neil is very surprised about that. I don't quite know how that red went in there, and neither does Neil. It certainly changed the shape of the frame, though. But O'Sullivan misses his first red. A shaky start, isn't it, for O'Sullivan? No question. He hasn't settled yet. 1. O'Sullivan didn't settle last night, either. He went 3-0 down to Ding Chun Wei. Although I think as the match went on, there were signs that he was getting back to his best when he really needed to. That is the mark of a champion. You see players, they're not sharp when the pressure's on them. That's when they get worse, not better. 16. 17. 24. 25. Already well past the post in this opening frame. 32. 33. 40. 41. 48. Neil Robertson, 48. Neil Robertson's first effort ended unluckily on 43 when he knocked a red in when opening the bunch. Breaks of 43 and 48 gave Neil Robertson the opening frame without Rony O'Sullivan potting a ball. It was great to see O'Sullivan relishing the battle last night. He came from two down with three to play to beat Ding Chun Wei. It meant a lot to him. Yeah, 50 points down in the decider as well. He's really up for nothing here. Knew that he would be covering the red on that diagonal by means of the blue. But not that red. He'd be at risk to get into bulk without that way because he would stick the red perhaps. Neil Robertson won. Certainly covered the red near the pocket. Not quite as good. No, he'd left it. 1. That was about the best he could hope for. Pressure on this next colour with the red over the pocket. 6. Yeah, it's the other red. It's the thinner red that he likes, the other one. Best of angles. 7. Settled very quickly tonight, Neil Robertson. There's always that streak of determination about him. His break building this season has been breathtaking. 18. 19. 20 minutes into the match. Sullivan yet to pot a ball. Not exactly where he wanted it. 21. 22. The flick on the blue was not required at all. Well, he can get to that red to the right corner. No down there's an easy shot at all. Probably heading back to bulk from it. Quite thin. Looking good. A little away from his spot makes things a little difficult though now. Seems to be heading down towards the red and the black close together. Just missed those. Things getting very awkward now. 30. 31. And managed to get above the blue. Very good shot. Close together cue ball and object ball. It's difficult to play that run through shot there. This is the 40th ball. Robertson is knocked in. Very good start from Neil. He doesn't look anxious at all. 37. He's been given no chance to settle. It might seem like a long match. First to six. But if you go a couple down without getting a shot, things are going to be awkward for Ronnie. 43. 44. Sure. Well, he wants a red colour and a red. The blame is his. Neil Robertson 50. Wasn't all that easy though. So, a chance for O'Sullivan to get a foothold in the frame and therefore in the match. Pretty sure he intended to be on blue to middle and the yellow left-handed. Three. There would be no trouble. Yeah, both reds actually pot here, as you see. Four. Now, this would be some frame to win. It's a long way off though. Now, looking ready at the cannon, on either the two reds, or the red by the black, or the one from the cushion, depending on which side of the pinky finishes here. They're going low, so he's looking to disturb that left-hand cushion red. Ten. Nicely done. Very nice. One major cannon still to be played. Probably from the blue. He gets there. It's around a couple of cushions. It's one of the options. So many shots that Ronnie's got in his repertoire. It's even making him think. He's just checking. He can take low-value colours. He can pretty much take anything. Eighteen. Wow. Interesting. Nice wide angle on the green. So, this would be some shot if he gets the cannon here. This is a great effort. Magnificent shot. Twenty-two. So, the stage is set now for a frame-snatching clearance. Oh, my word. What is he thinking? He's done very little wrong with this one ball. He left the table with reds everywhere, most of them safe. All of a sudden, Ronnie's turned that around in the way only he can, with the absolute class that he has. Thirty-four. Two great developing cannons from O'Sullivan. The rest should be straightforward. Thirty-eight. Forty-three. This is a truly breathtaking clearance. Forty-nine. O'Sullivan trailed by a frame, and 51 to nil. But with a terrific one-all, O'Sullivan always breaks off left-handed because he feels that he gets his cue straighter through the right-hand side of the ball as he looks at it than he would if he played the shot right-handed. Brim. Very close to the side cushion. He's going to use some force to get down to the reds. It's not an easy shot, this. Well played. It hasn't gone just too far. I'm not sure about that one. Neil Roberts, I'm fine. I think that would have shaken Neil Roberts, that clearance. All the world, it was going to go two nil. Ronnie hadn't potted a ball when he came to the table. He made a wonderful clearance at the end of that frame with reds tied up. I think it's looking like the two-cushion escape. There's every chance you'll miss it all together the first time. Oh, no, he didn't need a practice, did he? First try. That's quite a good shot, actually, under the circumstances. Kubal over on the orchid. Well, Ronnie O'Sullivan for full house. And they're all engrossed in it. They're really making things difficult for Neil with these safety shots. The reds spread so far and wide, it's difficult to get back to bulk. It isn't quite how he played it. Kubal should have... He's closer to the cushion. There's a red to the right middle available. Oh, what a thumping kick. He's got all the pace out of it. That kick's this week. Not a huge amount. Not the ones that stop the pots going in, but ones that deaden the white a little bit. Yeah, that red jumped up in the air. Like I say, the pot still went in. It's not a good shot. It's one of the few. That's a very poor shot from O'Sullivan. He can recover the situation with the blue. Oh, well done. He's going to need to break this with pink and black out of the game. But the creative mind of O'Sullivan usually finds a way. Well, on this evidence, his game's in great shape. We know that his mind's in great shape as well, following all the work he's done with Dr Steve Peters. 29, 30. Adds up to a formidable combination. Around the table here. Top spin. And left-hand side. Made to look simple. 35, 36. And this time, no such problem with the wrong side of the blue. Perfectly judged. This man just started very well. I haven't seen century breaks, but the nature of the clearance in the last, on his first chance, and the way that he started this break, created by the fact that he put Neil in lots of bother on about four occasions. 47, 48. And again, this time, he has no real angle. Second brown of the break coming up. Swinging the cue ball around the angles. Not bad. 52. Yeah, that was the worry. He wanted to go further because he couldn't avoid the black. 52. So, this round is certainly not over yet. Well, quite a long way out with that thin cut. Yeah, I think also he's trying to hold for staying this side of the line, and requires one more red after this blue. Just that forced red into this pocket a couple of shots ago is all he's missed. Six. To pace on it, I think, was the reason. Seven. These first three frames have been very interesting. 14, 15. Well, that would have been some shot if he could have developed those two reds. 22. Rodney O'Sullivan, 22 and 15. Great standard, great atmosphere. O'Sullivan leads by two frames to one. No angle camera. It looks like he's over the pocket, but he isn't. You get very close to it. He almost hit the wrong side of that, actually. I think Rodney's going for this. It's a very difficult shot. Missed it. Played it with some thought of safety. The red might wobble clear, and problems can be prevented by the black. He thinks that the right-hand red pots to the middle pocket. Touch of right-hand side on this. Well done. It wasn't playing ball. It was trying to make that pot. He's swinging the cue ball around the offending red. Oh, good shot. Very good. Could well prove a key shot. Four. On his way to a frame-winning contribution. Five. I think you're right about the shot that Rodney played. He played the red down the cushion into the right corner, thinking that he wouldn't leave anything. So it's one snooker needed. 39. Still got the advantage looking at the side of the table. Rodney will be interested in where the brown is placed, because that's a really good position to get the cue ball in behind. First of all, doesn't want to cannon the brown or green. Not much room around the yellow. Played it well. Played it very well. I wouldn't expect Neil to miss this one either, but he's got to be a little careful he doesn't hit the brown first. Yeah. Thank you. Well, it was close, but all right, I think. It was close. Yeah. This is the one before. Not the one now, but the previous shot. Very good escape for the reasons I've said. Multi-cushion attempt to lay the snooker. Five. Nine. Frame conceded. Frame nil, Robert. To all it is. That's the mid-session interval. A chance getting off the side. Black cushions tight. The back red. Well, it's not what he's playing. Attempted the thin safety return to Borg. He's been a bit lucky. His opening red isn't straightforward. He's close to it. It's going to be a good shot for Mo Sullivan to get from red to colour. Especially now he's pushed the pink up the table. There was a time when Rodney used to knock in long blues like this when he first turned professional. This is a difficult one with the red over the middle. This is a real cueing shot. He got nowhere near it, I'm afraid. Surprised he tried to screw that in. I would have thought that would have made it more difficult. He could have just stunned it. The red was available in the middle. One. That's a really good shot to be on the black as well. Eight. Nine. Fourteen. Fifteen. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Good chance for heavy scoring here. Thirty. The first two or three shots in this break were key. The way that Sullivan does, he manipulated the table to suit himself. He's always got the reserve red up the table there whenever he wants it. Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Marvellous chance to win the frame. Forty-four. Forty-five. Sullivan was forced to take on a long blue that you could see that he didn't fancy. That's why he's been sitting down ever since. Fifty-two. Fifty-three. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Overhead. I knew that there might be trouble once he left himself a thin cut on that red over the pocket. Get a high-value colour safe like the blue. He's done it with the brown, it amounts to the same thing. Robertson, fifty-nine. Hasn't quite got the brown safe. Hasn't quite got the snooker, but it's not bad. Well, caught that safety much too thin. Had it gone safe. The fact that it's on its spot means he can still win the frame. Robertson attempted the red that he needed to cleanse the frame, firing snookers. The cue ball there was as difficult as the pot. This would be more difficult a clearance than the second frame when he... Nine. ...pulled a rabbit out of the hat there to win that frame. Sixteen. Seventeen. Way short of what he hoped, I think. Might have tried to play him behind that. Twenty-four. Ronnie O'Sullivan, twenty-four. Long straight red again would give Robertson the frame. Should O'Sullivan have concentrated on the safety now? Yeah, I think so. I mean, double didn't really look like it was on. This table does not look as inviting as it did for the frame before the interval where he tried to get snookers. Didn't really fancy him here. Not sure how much interest he'd have in toiling away here than getting on with the next frame. Nearly half-hearted attempt. Probably gearing yourself up for the next frame, actually. Robertson's done well to get back in front because he must have been feeling a bit like he was up against it. Only 2-1 down the way that Ronnie was cueing. One. Eight. Two snookers needed. Ten. Asking a lot. Ronnie O'Sullivan, ten. Get behind the brown. Potted the green. Don't believe O'Sullivan will be coming back to the table. Neil Robertson, three. And the frame. Neil Robertson leads Ronnie O'Sullivan by three frames to two.