2008 888.com World Championship

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Ladder - QUALIFYING RESULTS  - CRUCIBLE RESULTS  - INFORMATION - MATCH NOTES - PLAYER CUEFACTS

GALLERIES: No. 1 Preliminary Rounds - No. 2 Qualifying Rounds

STEPHEN HENDRY

v

MARK ALLEN

Round One - Match 4

(Best of 19 frames)

Sunday 20 April 14.30

Monday 21 April 14.30

 

Match Notes

...Join us again LIVE at 14.30 Monday 21 April...

Good afternoon and welcome to this eagerly anticipated match... Well here we go then, this match promises to be a real treat... Mark has already beaten Stephen once this season, but form really counts for nothing when the players go head to head in the heat of the Crucible... Mark is sporting a red fringe, not sure what that's all about but we'll find out more later... Allen misses his first long range red and Hendry smacks his attempt home... two shots gone and Hendry has the pack open... round the table off the blue and he's perfect, well he was until the white crept on an inch and he's not on black or pink now... he swallows his medicine and plays a good safety... Another chance for Hendry, but there's an easy missed red by Hendry, something we've seen a few times in recent seasons... Allen can't get the potting angle for a red and he's given Hendry another easy starter... he's opened a 59 point lead but no obvious red on now... 67 left on the table... Hendry's found another red and that's enough to leave Allen needing snookers...

A long red from Hendry rattles and doesn't drop, here's the first real chance for Mark... he's scattered the reds far and wide... did I blink? Allen's onto 51 already... sizzling stuff from Mark, he's red in the face, maybe a bit of pressure but more likely from racing round the table... onto 70, frame should be safe... 70 ahead, 67 left... Allen's missed that long red and Hendry will play on here... The Scot inadvertently pots a red, gets a good brown but now 65 behind with 59 on... two snookers needed.. Hendry takes 29 points and tries to lay the snooker on the last red and doesn't get it... a cracking red by Allen puts the frame beyond doubt...

Bang - down goes a long red by Allen straight from Hendry's break... wallop and the pack goes everywhere, it's not a precise way to open the reds, and he's tied up the pink and black a bit there... Allen is smacking balls in at the moment as if it was a practice session... onto 57 and he's perfect on the reds... frame safe, a seven minute frame... this is breathless snooker from Allen... the crowd is loving this, although Allen misses the last red, but a great 87 there...

A good red to centre by Hendry after Allen narrowly missed a long attempt... but he's not had much table time recently and lost position, however he's laid a snooker... it's not straightforward for Allen to get the reds safe here... well he's had a good result there, only left Hendry another safety option.. they don't want to play safe, a little glance at each other and it's a re-rack... Hendry is unlucky after getting a good opening red to middle... he's tried to split the pack, spun off it and landed on the top cushion - now there's an amazing pot by Allen, from tight on the cushion he's slotted the red up into the yellow pocket.. what can Hendry do to slow him down? Nothing at the moment as Mark's break moves to 56 now... and there's another frame over.. they go to the interval, we can all catch out breath for a few minutes... brilliant match so far... Hendry spent the interval on the practice table, but it's Allen to starts where he left off with a blinding long red.. only 8 and a good safety... Hendry hits the pink with his attempted safety... he does it again and gets a warning, as there are red he can see.. he makes sure of hitting a red the third time... Allen smashes in another long red, he's on the blue, the pack's going to move off this shot! No it doesn't he's played for the loose red... there's a very rare miss by Allen, only 19 made at that visit and Hendry has missed as well... Allen gets the red, a handy nudge and the black is on, he's off and running again... now 76 ahead, the frame is safe and Allen now goes 4-1 ahead... it's taken two visits this time, only a 49 break.

At last a chance for Hendry, onto to 41 and counting... a sense of calm returns to the table as Hendry quietly compiles this frame winning break... a brilliant last red with a bit of side and there's a century beckoning now for the Scottish scoring machine... and there it is... After the Lord Mayor's banquet though as Hendry misses a perfectly simple red... and there's the great sportsmanship of this sport as Allen declares a foul on himself... so that chance goes astray and a rare safety exchange now... Hendry launched at that long red, which rattles and rebounds... Allen takes it into the yellow pocket... he's relentless at the moment, there's another 60+ break and that's another frame on the board... and he's still potting balls, will he make the ton this time... no problem, 102... this matches heats up even more...

Allen over cuts a red to centre and Hendry has pounced... 47 break now and a 55 point lead.. he misses the last red on 93 so no century but an important frame for Hendry to win... Allen is nicely on a break of 38 in the last frame of this first session... onto 62 with a good red from tight on the cushion... but that's end of break... another long red from Allen and now he can clinch the frame and a 6-3 overnight lead.. He now leads 68-0 with only 59 left...

Another long red and Allen secures the frame to a loud roar from his supporters...

Join this match again on Monday afternoon - don't miss it! Hello, welcome back for the final frames of this thrilling match... a great cheer greets both players as they make their way into the arena... both players miss their first long red attempt but here's an easier red to get Hendry under way, only 8 and back to safety... Allen gets 33 but leaves a chance for Hendry missing that easy ball.. Hendry's run out of position... so Allen has a let off and still leads 33-21... there's a nice long red by Hendry but he's over-hit that attempted roll up and not snookered Allen.. some good safety as the players seek a shot at the last two reds... Allen leads 35-23.. Hendry makes a safety error... just the green to win the frame for Allen and he gets it... it's going to be 7-3 unless Hendry can get two snookers and there's the first one achieved and a clever shot by Hendry forces Allen to knock the black in, Hendry can win the frame now... what a big frame to steal that is so he's only 4-6 behind instead of 3-7 and that's given Hendry's a boost he's already onto 25 in the next... Hendry makes 68, Allen needs a snooker, but he's taking three of the reds and will try to get the snooker off the last red... he's made 30, but hasn't got the snooker, Hendry has.. now Allen has nailed a beauty behind the yellow... and there's 4 points for him although the red isn't on to pot, he's got another one... Allen gets the red but hits the black very hard to get an angle and it leaps off the table... frame over... Despite the pressure that Hendry has exerted so far today Allen is sticking to his game, he's on a run of 33 but he's broken down at 57, fouling a ball,  and here comes Hendry... just 6 points behind, one red left, and he's potted that with the rest, he's looking in very ominous form today... and he's cleared up to level the match, what a game we've got in prospect now... Allen is not going to compromise in anyway, an amazing red again there, he's on 24 with 4 reds open but the pack still quite packed and he's gone into them gently and stuck on them... well one hard little dink and he's got one... he's missed a red on 47 and he's left a red on... Hendry made 8, let Allen in, but he's missed pink to centre and Hendry has his second chance in the frame... Allen got back in and he's done enough to stop Hendry's charge... he'll feel a bit better now at the interval.. they're back, it's all to play for now in a possible 6 frames... this is a great break by Allen, onto 73 and only 67 left... a brilliant 89...

Hendry's not going down without a fight, he's smacked into the pack off the blue but it's cost him position... Hendry is battling through this break, a series of difficult shots to keep the break going, 37 so far and a 43 point lead... and now he's won the frame, this has been a brilliant effort.. Allen's pounced in the next on a break of 48 and now he's gone 9-7 ahead thanks to that 56... Hendry's left Allen a pot after a poor break-off, no mistake as another long red disappears... but he can't crate a good scoring chance... Hendry's safety puts Allen in trouble and he's left a red on for the Scot.. oh dear that's a fairly routine red that's gone astray... Allen gets a good recovery red but he can't hold position so he leads 27-6, still a long way from the winning line.. Hendry has two more open reds off the black, then he's have to get some off the side cushion... he's 31-27 ahead, he can't get the reds open, so 43-27 is the lead and there are three reds left... there's a brilliant red by Hendry, it might now be the frame-winner as everything is in the open now... Allen gets a good red and lays a horrible snooker tight on the cushion tucked in behind the yellow... and a good escape at the second attempt by Hendry, but he's left a red on... only 26 from that visit and now he's left a free ball for Hendry to get started... he's missed on 33, so all to play for, Hendry leads 39-27 and the reds are begging to be potted... but he can't and Allen is just one red away... he leads 66-39 after that break of 39, one red left... Hendry's got that and yellow, green, he's not ideal on the brown... good pot to the centre, he still needs blue to black to level the match... down goes the pink and he's perfect on the black, we're going to have another thrilling decider... Allen goes in off a red, amidst a tumult of noise from the other table, as Mark King narrowly misses making a maximum... Hendry pots a great long red, he's on the blue and the reds are waiting... what price a century in the decider from the from champion?

Hendry's moved along to 26, he's having a very long look to see if the black will pot... presumably not as he's played up to the blue... the lead grows to 44 and there doesn't look to be a safe ball on the table... 56 ahead, 75 left and this is a vintage Hendry break... and he's through, it's bad luck on Allen who has played brilliantly, but Hendry looks near his best at the end of the match, ominous signs for his opponents...

FRAME SCORES

1. 67-0

2. 29-91(70)

3. 0-87(87)

4. 13-91(91)

5. 0-88(49)

6. 110(110)-11

7. 8-110(102)

8. 101(93)-8

9. 16-75(63)

FRAME SCORES

10. 56-51

11. 80(68)-35

12. 79(64)-57(57)

13. 32-74(47)

14. 0-89(89)

15. 72(65)-0

16. 17-72(56)

17. 72(37)-27

18. 67-66

19. .

FRAME SCORES

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

QUOTES

WINNER

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QUOTES