A fantastic positional shot from blue to pink is one of the highlights of the match so far - and Ronnie O'Sullivan sinks said pink to re-establish a three-frame cushion in this final.

Make that half-a-dozen and one chances...

Ding misses a long yellow with awkward cueing and leaves Ronnie a gimme.

Voice of the Mysterons: Ding just about hanging on in Frame 5, but you're not going to win a frame in which you give Ronnie half a dozen chances...

Image source, Getty Images

No clearance as Ding fails to get position on the yellow, which is right near the top cushion.

Both players then make a bit of a mess of attempts at laying snookers and it's 45-40 to Ding with just the colours remaining.

Hang on, Ronnie goes in-off on a safety so make that 49-40. But still in the balance as the yellow is safe - whomever pots it will be favourite to win the frame the way the other balls lie...

O'Sullivan misses the escape by some distance but rather than have the balls replaced, Ding goes for a very missable red.

Strokes it in lovely, a chance to pinch this fifth frame now and get back within one, having been 3-0 down.

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

What a shot that red is. Phenomenal. Shot of the match so far.

Felt he had no alternative, but some shot to knock it in.

Stunning long red from Ding Junhui - he put all his eggs in one basket there and boy did they hatch.

He tucks O'Sullivan up behind the yellow tight on the top cushion, in a horrible, horrible snooker.

Image source, PA Media

Ding's safety has been very slapdash and slipshod today.

He hands O'Sullivan a couple more opportunities to enable the Rocket to build a 24-point lead in this important fifth frame.

Four reds remaining, all stuck near the bottom cushion. But, 24 points behind, Ding cannot afford another mistake with only a possible 59 left on.

Not much actually, Shaun - as the Rocket breaks down fairly early on.

But after potting a long red on his return to the table, he's laid a nasty snooker behind the pink in baulk.

Good escape from Ding, though - and we're locked at 16-16 with the reds not attractively placed. Might be the first scrappy frame of this final.

Shaun Murphy
2005 world champion on BBC Two

Ding's unforced error count might only be three but they’ve been three absolute sitters.

The first two cost him two frames - what’s that one going to cost him?

Ding plays a plant on two reds and gets up the table for the black - which is on the brown spot.

Clever shot - as he can get the black on the now-free pink spot and improve his break-building chance.

But he misses the black. Oh dear. That's another bad miss, he's had a few now.

Image source, PA Media

However, there's no easy colour available after opening red, so O'Sullivan has to play safe.

But a couple of safety exchanges later, he leaves Ding a long pot opportunity - and it's taken.

The black spot is tied up, though, so he's going to have a build a break using pink and blue.

Back under way - and the second session begins just as the first did.

With Ding leaving Ronnie O'Sullivan a long red from his break-off shot - and the Rocket potting it.

So, reigning champion Judd Trump has a tough start to his Masters defence then, taking on former Crucible runner-up Kyren Wilson.

But the headline first-round matches are Mark Allen taking on John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan facing either Mark Williams or Ding Junhui, his opponent in today's final of course.

If Ding wins today's final, he would climb to fifth in the rankings and become a seed for the Masters - thus facing Ali Carter.

But if Ding loses, he'll remain where he is in the rankings and will meet the Rocket again while Williams would take on Carter. Even more motivation for the Chinese to turn this final around, you might think.

Mark Williams/Ding Junhui v Ali Carter

Mark Selby v Robert Milkins

Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson

Mark Allen v John Higgins

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Williams/Ding

Neil Robertson v Barry Hawkins

Shaun Murphy v Zhang Anda

Luca Brecel v Jack Lisowski

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport at York Barbican

All of the seedings, bar two, are pretty much nailed down for the Masters, the second of snooker's Triple Crown events this season which will be held at Alexandra Palace in January.

The two in question are Mark Williams and Ding Junhui, with the result of today's UK Championship final impacting on the final positions.

As it stands, the players are seeded in the following positions:

1 - Judd Trump, 2 - Luca Brecel, 3 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, 4 - Mark Allen, 5 - Mark Selby, 6 - Neil Robertson, 7 - Shaun Murphy, 8 - Mark Williams/Ding Junhui, 9 - Kyren Wilson, 10 - John Higgins, 11 - Ali Carter, 12 - Williams/Ding, 13 - Zhang Anda, 14 - Robert Milkins, 15 - Barry Hawkins, 16 - Jack Lisowski.

OK, the players will be back out in a few minutes - but first it's time for the draw for the Masters in January, when the world's top 16, including Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui, will compete for the prestigious title.

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan talks through pictures from his childhood and career, including his famous hug with Judd Trump at last year's World Championship.

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

It felt like that was a frame that Ding really needed to win or Ronnie could have run away with it.

If he was to win the next frame, it doesn't look so bad, does it?

He could easily have bailed out in a couple of matches this week but he's fought hard and that fighting spirit is what needs in this final - and that's probably what got him that fourth frame.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

Arguably Ding could have been 3-1 up. You could argue that Ronnie was in there [in frame four] and but for a slightly dodgy split of the pack he could have won the fourth frame and it could have been 4-0 to Ronnie.

At the end of the day, these finals come down to who misses the easy shots and who pinches frames they don't deserve to win.