Stephen Lee is in the lead 3-0, in the 4th frame Selby is fighting for a snooker but failed, the score is 4-0 at the end of the first session.

Stephen Lee is leading Mark Selby by four frames now, with a score of 5 to 1 in the debute of the second session of their match.

Mark Williams lost the 4-0 lead he had in the morning and the score is now 5-4. The “Welsh Potting Machine” (MArk Williams) may have lost his former glory but hi is no pushover in this match.

Update(s):

Joe Swail manages to catch up but Mark Williams is back in shape and wins the 11th frame, he is now in the lead.

Joe Swail wins the 12th frame with a 100+ break and the score is 6-6. Mark Williams is in the lead by 71 points but makes a mistake, Joe Swail needs only one snooker and does not concede, the game gets pretty tense now that it’s approaching its end. Mark Williams doesn’t loose and he’s again in the lead. The saga continues.

After the 14th frame the “Welsh Potting Machine”, Mark Williams is in the lead by two with a score of 8 to 6, will Joe Swail catch up or will Mark Williams win his place in the second tour?

If you’re watching this game… this is a snooker demonstration by Mark Williams, he’s pulling great shots, he’s a pleasure to watch. Another frame goes to Williams and the score is 9-8.

There is no drama like here at the Crucible, Joe Swail needs one red to send the game in its decisive frame. And the red find the pocket indeed, we’ll be watching the decisive frame of this dramatic match.

A match full of dramatism, a nerve wrecking last frame and, after he trailed behind Mark Williams for the whole match, Joe Swail wins in the decisive frame.

Stephen Hendry finds himself having a hard time in the match against 26 yrs old debutant David Gilbert. David Gilbert is leading the 7 times world champion Stephen Hendry by one frame and is playing great.

In spite of his statements for BBC, Stephen Hendry is not doing so great. If he is to win the championship he has to find his former game. Hendry used to win before the matches even started, when you were playing Hendry you’d pack your bags at the hotel before going to the tournament, that’s how feared he was by the other players.

Update:

David Gilbert secures a 2 frames lead against Hendry in the end of the first session. Hendry finds himself in difficulty now and shouldn’t allow Gilbert any more chances to victory.

Gilbert is still in the lead 5-3 but hendry is in pursuit, he managed to win the last two frames and is playing better and better. Gilbert did make mistakes that looked like he forgot who he was up against. No matter what shape he’s in, Hendry remains Hendry and he shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Hendry’s bad play may be caused by the nue cue he is using, he came to the world championship with a cue he’s only been using for three weeks, it takes a lotof courage to do that but I don’t know if it was a good decision for Hendry, especially if he wants a shot at the title.

Alan Chamberlain
          (DOB: January 1, 1943)

Most memorable match?

In more than 20 years I’ve been involved in a few: the 1997 world final between Hendry and Doherty, the re-spotted black finish to the Masters final between Hendry and Williams, Doherty missing a 147 at Wembley and Hendry’s 147 in the final frame to beat O’Sullivan in the Charity Challenge final.

Most embarrassing moment?

Dropping the pink into the reds during an exhibition between John Spencer and Doug Mountjoy; leaving the green in a pocket for about three shots at another tournament.

If you weren’t a referee what would you do?

I’d probably be in ladies underwear! I used to have my own agency selling ladies lingerie.

Which is the toughest rule to apply?

Being from the old school I find the ‘foul and miss’ rule difficult because you know the majority of times a player has made a fair attempt to hit the ball. And when that’s the case it’s hard to then call ‘foul and a miss.’ When I first started it wasn’t in the rule book.

Which rule would you scrap?

I know you can’t scrap the ‘foul and miss’ rule and I understand why it was adopted. But I think sometimes the referee should be allowed to use his discretion when a player has made a genuine attempt to hit the ball. In the old days there were a few players who might try it on but generally the players are very fair.

What do you carry in your pocket?

A half crown piece and two ball markers.

Where do you get your gloves?

The same source as most of the refs-from colleague Paul Collier.

Interests?

I enjoy crosswords and sudoku. And while I don’t go very often I like to follow the fortunes of Wigan Athletic and Leicester City.

Stephen Maguire is facing Joe Perry and is in the lead 7-2. Bookkeepers in england are giving at this moment Joe Perry 1:1000 chances to the title, that means for every pound you bet you would get £1000 if Joe wins the trophy.

In the meantime the match between Stephen Hendry and David Gilbert has just begun.

Update(s):

Joe Perry loses another frame and Stephen Maguire is impatient to finnish the match. Joe perry wins another frame though and the score is now 8-3.

Stephen Hendry drew “first blood” in the match against David Gilbert. The breaks are small and the match is pretty slow but we hope for more action later on in the game when it will be als on TV.

Maguire’s win of the last frame would cut the match sfort as another session won’t be needed. He’s also in a hurry because after Joe Perry he has to face Mark Williams, and that’s today. So if Maguire wants to be fresh for Mark he needs to put an end to this game as soon as possible.

Young debutant David Gilbert enjoys the public’s applause as he wins the second frame of the match. Stephen Hendry, as he said in an interview by BBC, means business and has his eyes on the title. Hendry made his personal mission to secure the world champion title for the 8th time in his career. Be aware!

After 14 frames the score is 7-7 and the future of this match is terribly uncertain. The match is also plagued by mistakes, the players aren’t concentrating and the level has fallen a lot from what we are used to see here…. I think they are going to have a tense decisive frame and the next 6 frames are crucial, Crucible is turning up the heat.

In the meantime Mark Williams is in the lead 3-0 and 69 points in the last frame of the first session. It would be heavy blow for Joe Swail to finish the first session without a frame won and finding himself this evening led by four points in the match.

Update:

Mark Williams is in the lead 4-0 against Joe Swail. We are hoping for a comeback, for the beauty of the game to say the least.

Ken Doherty needs 3 snookers to win the 15th frame but does not concede, he fails to pot a red and Mark Allan puts an end to this frame, gaining back the 1 frame lead “stolen” by Ken inthe 14th frame with a 100+ points break.

Mark Allan wins against Ken Doherty 10-7 in an impressive match.

“I beat Steve Davis and John Higgins in an invitation event last year but to beat Ken Doherty in the best of 19 is definitely my best win.”
–Mark Allen for BBC

Joe Swail made a great comeback from 4-0 but Mark Williams is still in the lead 5-3.

Matches today are:

10am

2.30pm

7pm

A match in the European League in ‘95, Shaun Murphy was only 13…