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Mark Williams (snooker player)

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For other people named Mark Williams, see Mark Williams (disambiguation).

Mark Williams
MBE
Williams at the 2015 German Masters
Born (1975-03-21) 21 March 1975 (age 49)
Cwm, Gwent, Wales
Sport country Wales
NicknameThe Welsh Potting Machine[1]
Professional1992–present
Highest ranking1 (May 2000–May 2002, May 2003–May 2004, May–September 2011)
Current ranking 6 (as of 11 November 2024)
Maximum breaks3
Century breaks650 (as of 12 November 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking26
Minor-ranking2
World Champion

Mark James Williams MBE (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2000, 2003 and 2018.[2] Often noted for his long potting ability, Williams has earned the nickname "The Welsh Potting Machine", and is regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.

Williams turned professional in 1992 and has been ranked the world number one player three times (1999–00, 2000–01 and 2002–03). His most successful season to date was 2002–03, when he won the Triple Crown: the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. In doing so, he became only the third player, after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. He is the first player (and to date, the only player) to win all three versions of the professional World Championship: the World Snooker Championship, the Six-red World Championship and the World Seniors Championship.

The first left-handed player to win the World Championship,[2] Williams has won 26 ranking tournaments, including two UK Championships (1999 and 2002), making him sixth on the all-time list. He has also won the Masters on two occasions (1998 and 2003). His form began to decline after his second World Championship title in 2003; he then dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007–08 season, but he regained his place for 2009–10. Williams has compiled over 600 century breaks in professional competition, including three maximum breaks. Winning the 2024 Tour Championship aged 49 years and 17 days made him the second-oldest player—after Ray Reardon—to win a professional ranking tournament.

He is one of the group of three players known as the "Class of '92" who all turned professional during the 1992–93 snooker season. They are Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins.

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Williams was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale,[3] in the Welsh county of Gwent (now the county borough of Blaenau Gwent). He started playing snooker at an early age and won his first junior event when he was eleven years old; it was then that he realised that he wanted to pursue a career as a snooker player.[4] He scored his first century break when he was thirteen, and had achieved his first 147 break by the time he was eighteen.[4] As a schoolboy, he was also a promising amateur boxer,[2] remaining undefeated in twelve fights.[5] He was encouraged to play snooker by his father Dilwyn, who was a coal miner. At the age of fifteen, Mark did a 12-hour shift down the mines.[5]

Williams finished his first season ranked 119th; three years later, he was ranked in the world's top 16 for the 1996–97 season. His first ranking tournament win came in January 1996, when he won the 1996 Welsh Open title, beating John Parrott 9–3 in the final.[6] After failing to qualify for the 1996 World Championship, he won the first ranking event of the new season in October 1996, the Grand Prix, beating surprise finalist Euan Henderson 9–5.[7] In April 1997, he went on to win the British Open, beating Stephen Hendry 9–2 in the final.[8] He also beat Hendry in a "thrilling" final in February 1998, to take his first Masters title, winning 10–9 in a black-ball finish in the deciding frame, after recovering from 6–9 down.[9] At the 1997 World Championship, he was drawn against his coach Terry Griffiths, who was making his last appearance at the Crucible as a player; Williams eventually beat Griffiths 10–9 on the black, but then lost 8–13 to Hendry in the last 16. He reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Championship, losing 14–17 to Ken Doherty. The following year, at the 1999 World Championship, he made it through to the final and finished the tournament as runner-up to Hendry.

1999–2004

[edit]

The 1999–00 season was a very successful one for Williams who won the 1999 UK Championship and the World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title and three runner-up positions, allowed him to capture the world number one position for the first time. In the World Championship final he came from 7–13 behind his fellow countryman Matthew Stevens to eventually win 18–16. He also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against John Higgins, coming from 10 to 14 down to win 17–15.[10] Williams won only one ranking event in the following season, the Grand Prix, with a 9–5 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final,[11] but he was a runner-up in two other ranking events, the 2000 UK Championship and the China Open. This was enough to retain his number one ranking, although his title defence at the World Championship fell in the second round with a 12–13 defeat to Joe Swail.

In the 2001–02 season, Williams also only won one ranking tournament, as he struggled to find the form from the previous season, winning the China Open, where he defeated Anthony Hamilton 9–8 from 5–8 down in the final. However, he lost to the same player 9–13 in the second round of the World Championship and the number one ranking to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Another strong performance came in the 2002–03 season when he won the 2002 UK Championship, Masters and World Championship titles.[12] This made him only the fourth player after Hendry, Davis and John Higgins to hold these titles simultaneously, and only the third player after Davis and Hendry to have won them all in one season.[12] These results enabled him to reclaim the number one spot at the end of the season. In the UK Championship final he beat Ken Doherty 10–9, and in the Masters he beat Hendry 10–4.[13] Before the 2003 World Championship he had a scare with his cue when it was damaged and badly bent on his flight with Ryanair to play in the Irish Masters, but he had it repaired before the tournament.[14]

On his way to winning the 2003 World title, he had a relatively untroubled route to the final with wins over Stuart Pettman 10–2, Quinten Hann 13–2, Hendry 13–7 and Stephen Lee 17–8 before facing Doherty in the final. He led 10–2, and looked to be heading for an easy victory, before Doherty fought back to 16–16. Williams regained his composure under intense pressure to win the last two frames and lift the trophy for the second time.[15][16]

The following season, he lost in the first round of the 2003 UK Championship to Fergal O'Brien,[17] a match which ended his record run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match.[18] His defence at the 2004 World Championship started with a 10–7 win over Dominic Dale, but he lost 11–13 in the second round to Joe Perry, and he endured a run of poor form over the 2004–05 season, dropping to ninth in the world rankings for the 2005–06 season.

2005–2009

[edit]

On 20 April, in 2005 he became the first Welshman, and the fifth player in history, to score a maximum break at the Crucible Theatre in the World Championship. This came in the final frame of a 10–1 first round victory over Robert Milkins,[19][20] but he lost in the second round to Ian McCulloch 12–13.

On 26 March 2006, Williams won his 16th ranking event (and his first in two and a half years), the China Open in Beijing, beating Higgins 9–8 in the final.[21] This helped him return to the top eight in the world rankings, after a dramatic fall in the provisional rankings which saw him facing a possible drop out of the top 16. He also showed good form in the 2006 World Championship, beating Anthony Hamilton 10–1 and Mark Selby 13–8 to set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan, the first time the two had met at the Crucible. The match was given extra tension considering they had been rivals (although O'Sullivan has since said that the former feud has been replaced by friendship and respect).[22][23] In a close-fought match, O'Sullivan eventually won 13–11. It was revealed during that tournament that Williams had split with coach Terry Griffiths. The two remained very close friends, but Griffiths would no longer be coaching him. In late 2007, Williams returned to having Griffiths as his coach.[24]

On 2 September 2006, Williams won the Pot Black trophy, after compiling a century break (119) in the final against John Higgins.[25] However, Williams had perhaps the worst season of his career in 2006–07, losing his first match in a string of tournaments (including the World Championship, for the first time ever), but he retained his top 16 place, mainly through the ranking points he had earned the previous season.

His first win of the 2007–08 season came in the Grand Prix with a 4–3 win over Ian McCulloch, but he still failed to qualify for the last 16 of the event and was outside the top 32 on the provisional ranking list.

In the 2007 UK Championship, he showed a return to some form. He beat Ricky Walden comfortably 9–3 in the last 32, and in the last 16 he faced Mark Allen who led 4–0 and 5–1. However, a cool comeback saw him win the remaining eight frames to win 9–5. In the quarter-finals, Stephen Maguire was too strong and beat him 9–5.

After a 2–6 first round loss to Ken Doherty in the Masters, Williams revealed he was considering retirement from the game if he dropped out of the top 32 and was forced to play in all the qualifying competitions, although then only 32 years old.[26] But he also claimed at the Welsh Open at Newport that this statement had been blown out of proportion, and that he would remain a professional. He began to show more consistency for the remainder of the season, reaching the last 16 of three ranking events and a run to the quarter-finals of the China Open, but he could not reach his first semi-final for two years, losing 3–5 to Ryan Day. At the World Championship he defeated Mark Davis; however, a 7–13 defeat to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round forced him out of the top 16, pushing him into the qualifiers for 2008/2009. In that match he was on the receiving end of a 147 break from O'Sullivan.[27] On 8 July 2008 it was announced that Williams had split from his management company 110 Sport, following O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire.[28]

In the 2008–09 season, he reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters and UK Championship, but also suffered three qualifying defeats. The 2008 UK Championship particularly saw some return to form as he beat Mark Selby[29] and Graeme Dott 9–7, before losing narrowly 8–9 to Ali Carter.[30] He also qualified for the World Championship but lost 7–10 to Stephen Hendry after leading 7–5. During the end of the match he suffered some trouble with his tip.[31] However, he had done enough to return to the top 16 at the end of the season.

2009–10 season

[edit]

The 2009–10 season started badly when Williams broke his wrist in a fall at home, less than a month before the Shanghai Masters, the first ranking event of the season.[32] He played in Shanghai despite the injury, but wore a cast on his wrist because its removal could have caused long-term damage.[33] There he won his first round match against Joe Swail 5–3, but lost in the next round against John Higgins 1–5. In the Grand Prix he secured wins over Stuart Bingham, Stephen Hendry and Robert Milkins on his way to the semi-finals. Despite racking up a 142 (the highest break of the tournament) in the first frame against Ding Junhui, he lost 1–6.[34]

In the 2009 UK Championship he led Graeme Dott 6–2, before Dott retired due to illness and Williams thus won the match 9–2. After this he lost his next match against Peter Lines 8–9. At the Masters he won his wild card round match, beating Rory McLeod 6–2. Then he won his first round match against Ali Carter 6–3 to progress to the quarter-finals of the event, despite being involved in a traffic accident the day before his match against Carter. It was reported that a car drove into the back of the 4×4 that his sponsors had lent him,[35] which was carrying Williams and Hendry to a restaurant.[36] In the quarter-finals he defeated Shaun Murphy 6–4, but eventually lost a high-quality match in the semi-finals 5–6 against Ronnie O'Sullivan.[37] In the Welsh Open, he reached the quarter-finals, beating Fergal O'Brien 5–2 and Andrew Higginson 5–0, before losing against Stephen Maguire 1–5.

After these signs of form, in April 2010 he won his first ranking tournament in four years – the China Open.[38] On his way he beat Jamie Cope 5–3, the then reigning world champion John Higgins 5–2, Marco Fu 5–1, and Ali Carter 6–4, setting up a clash with Ding Junhui in the final. Trailing 3–5 at one stage, Williams eventually won the match 10–6. This was his 17th ranking event win and his third China Open. After his victory, Williams said: "I'm over the moon to win again. It's been a long time coming but I've kept working hard and I felt that in the end the results would come."[39]

In the World Snooker Championship, Williams defeated Marcus Campbell 10–5 in the first round, but lost his second-round match against O'Sullivan 10–13. He finished the season ranked eighth.

2010–11 season

[edit]

Williams opened the season by winning the first event of the Players Tour Championship by defeating Stephen Maguire 4–0 in the final, a new addition to the snooker calendar introduced by Barry Hearn, a series of events that Williams has supported.[40][41][42] Williams finished 6th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.[43]

In the Shanghai Masters Williams won his first round match against Ricky Walden 5–3, but lost narrowly in the second round against Graeme Dott 4–5.[44] He then reached the semi-finals of the World Open, where he lost 2–3 against eventual winner Neil Robertson.[45]

He was selected to compete in the 2010 Premier League, due to his success from the previous season, the first time he has competed in the event for five years,[46] but failed to reach the semi-finals.[47] At the 2010 UK Championship he reached the final, his run including a 9–8 victory over Shaun Murphy after trailing 6–8,[48] but lost against John Higgins 9–10 in the final, after leading 7–2, 8–4 and 9–5 at some points of the match, as well as leading the 17th frame by 29 points with only the colours remaining, meaning Higgins needed a snooker to stay in the match.[49] Williams's next tournament was the Masters, where he lost 4–6 in the first round against Ding Junhui.[50] Williams won the first ranking event of 2011, the German Masters, by defeating Mark Selby 9–7 in the final.[51][52] At the China Open Williams lost in the first round 4–5 against Stephen Lee, despite making four centuries.[53]

At the 2011 World Snooker Championship, Williams defeated Ryan Day 10–5 in the first round, and Jamie Cope 13–4 in the second round.[54] He then won his quarter-final against Mark Allen 13–5, and in doing so he reached the semi-final stage for the first time since 2003,[55] but lost 14–17 against John Higgins.[54] As a result of Selby's exit from the tournament Williams became the new world number one after the event.[56]

2011–12 season

[edit]

At the World Cup Williams was partnered with Matthew Stevens to represent Wales, and they reached the semi-finals, losing 1–4 against China.[57] Williams then reached the final of the Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 8–9 against Stuart Bingham, after leading 8–5 at one point of the match.[58] Williams also lost from a winning position in the final of the next major ranking event, the Shanghai Masters. His run included a 6–5 win over Neil Robertson in the semi-final, and he led Mark Selby 9–7 in the final, but lost the last three frames to lose 9–10. The defeat also meant that Selby took the world number one spot from Williams.[59] He was beaten in the last 16 of the 2011 UK Championship by Ricky Walden and reached the quarter-finals in his defence of the German Masters, where he succumbed 3–5 to Stephen Lee.[60] Williams suffered a 1–5 defeat to Mark King in the first round of the World Open and by the same scoreline to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round of the China Open.[61]

Williams played in 11 of the 12 PTC events throughout the season, but could only reach the last 32 two times, in Event 10 and Event 11. He was ranked 82nd in the PTC Order of Merit, comfortably outside the top 24 who made the Finals.[62]

Williams caused a degree of controversy ahead of the World Championship by stating on his Twitter page that he "hates" the tournament's venue, the Crucible Theatre, and hopes it will be played in China soon. He also swore when describing the Grade II listed building. A spokesman from the WPBSA confirmed a statement would be released regarding the matter.[63] Williams was drawn to play Liu Chuang in the first round and won 10–6 to set up a second round clash with O'Sullivan which he lost 6–13. The result meant that Williams has failed to beat O'Sullivan in over 10 years in ranking events.[64] Williams ended the season ranked world number 3.[65] It was revealed by World Snooker that Williams had been fined a total of £4,000 for his comments made before the World Championship.[66]

2012–13 season

[edit]
2013 German Masters

Williams first ranking event of the 2012–13 season was the Wuxi Classic, where he beat Tom Ford and Mark Allen, before losing 3–5 to Marcus Campbell in the quarter-finals.[67] He went one better at the Shanghai Masters by seeing off Mark Davis, Ricky Walden and Joe Perry to face Judd Trump in the semi-finals.[67] Trump was 5–1 up and on a break of 53 for the match, but Williams came back to trail 4–5 before losing the next frame to come up short of completing a comeback, and Trump beat Williams 6–4.[68] Williams then suffered a huge dip in form as he lost in the first round of six successive ranking events; after his defeat to Mark King in the 2012 UK Championship he suggested that he was contemplating retirement.[69]

During his string of defeats he did beat Matthew Stevens in the non-ranking Masters from 1–4 down (Stevens also missed a pot for 5–1), but then lost 1–6 to eventual champion Mark Selby.[67] At the China Open in March Williams won his first match in a ranking event since September with a 5–2 victory against Lü Haotian and continued his run by defeating Ali Carter 5–4, before losing 1–5 to Selby in the quarter-finals.[67] At the World Championship he lost 6–10 to debuting compatriot Michael White in the first round and admitted afterwards that the season had been one he would be looking forward to forgetting, but he was committed to playing next year.[70] His poor season saw him drop 12 places in the rankings to world number 15.[71]

2013–14 season

[edit]
2014 German Masters

In July 2013 he won the Rotterdam Open, defeating Mark Selby 4–3 in the final.[72] This was Williams's second title in a Players Tour Championship event. However, he had a poor season in the ranking events as he failed to reach a single quarter-final for the first time since the 2006–07 season.[73] He did earn an encouraging 4–3 win over world number one Neil Robertson at the Welsh Open; Williams said afterwards that he was glad he had ignored his friend Stephen Hendry's advice to retire and believed he still had ranking event titles left in him.[74] He had chances to move 3–0 ahead in the last 16 against Marco Fu, but eventually lost 2–4; afterwards he said that the Williams who won two world titles over 10 years ago was "dead".[75] In the qualifying rounds for the World Championship, Williams lost 8–10 to Alan McManus, meaning he was absent from the tournament for the first time since 1996.[76] Williams finished the campaign as the world number 18, the first time he had ended the season outside the top 16 in six years.[77]

2014–15 season

[edit]
2015 German Masters

Williams lost in the second round of his first two ranking events of the 2014–15 season.[78] His first quarter-final of the campaign was at the International Championship and he trailed Ronnie O'Sullivan 0–3, before winning five successive frames with a high break of 120. The match went into a deciding frame, which Williams won to beat the five-time world champion for the first time in 12 years.[79] His semi-final match against Mark Allen also went all the way, after Williams had been 4–7 down, and a miss on the final red proved crucial as he was defeated 8–9.[80] He was beaten 2–6 by Stephen Maguire in the third round of the 2014 UK Championship.[81]

After knocking out Judd Trump 4–1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, Williams said that he no was longer expecting to win tournaments and was more concerned with improving his ranking.[82] He then made two centuries in defeating Marco Fu 5–1 to play in the semi-finals of the event for the first time since 2003.[83] Williams took advantage of Ben Woollaston missing chances to send their match into a deciding frame after he had been 3–5 behind, but lost it to just fall short of reaching the final in his home tournament.[84] Williams won through to the final of the minor-ranking Gdynia Open, but was whitewashed 4–0 by Neil Robertson.[85] Despite only being 39 years old, Williams took part in the World Seniors Championship as he would turn 40 before the end of the season and he won the title by beating Fergal O'Brien 2–1.[86] Another ranking event semi-final followed at the Indian Open, where he lost 2–4 to Michael White.[78]

After defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the Players Championship Grand Final, Williams produced back-to-back comebacks from 1–3 down to knock out both Mark Selby and Matthew Selt 4–3.[78] He then reached his first major ranking event final in over three years with a 4–2 win over Judd Trump and raced into a 3–0 lead against Joe Perry.[87] However, his highest break in the next four frames was 14 as Perry fought back to triumph 4–3.[88] In a rematch of the 2000 final, Williams played Matthew Stevens in the first round of the World Championship and was thrashed 10–2.[89]

2015–16 season

[edit]

Williams lost 1–5 to Judd Trump in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.[90] He reached the final of the non-ranking General Cup, where he was defeated 3–7 by Marco Fu.[91] He drew Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the Masters and was 4–2 ahead. However, the match went to a deciding frame in which Williams missed a risky plant and lost 5–6.[92] He lost in the fourth round of the Welsh Open 2–4 to Mark Selby and in the first round of three other ranking events and in qualifying for the China Open.[91] Williams saw off Graeme Dott 10–4 and Michael Holt 13–8 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the first time in five years.[91] However, he was then thrashed 3–13 by Ding Junhui in the quarter-final, with a session to spare.[93]

2016–17 season

[edit]

Williams won a trio of frames to force a decider in the semi-finals of the Riga Masters against Michael Holt, but missed the final brown to be defeated.[94] He reached the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open by beating John Higgins 4–1, then lost 4–5 to Kyren Wilson.[95] He recorded another quarter-final at the UK Championship, but was downed 2–6 by Ronnie O'Sullivan.[96] In the third round of the China Open, Williams came from 1–4 down to eliminate Higgins 5–4 and then thrashed Shaun Murphy 5–1.[97] Another comfortable win followed as he saw off Hossein Vafaei 6–1 to play Mark Selby in the final. Williams needed to win to break back into the top 16 and avoid having to qualify for the World Championship. He was 8–7 up, but lost the last three frames to be beaten 8–10, falling short of winning his first ranking event for six years.[98] He made it through to the final World Championship qualifying round, before Stuart Carrington beat him 10–7.[99] Williams was noticeably absent from the cast of players at the Crucible's 40th anniversary, O'Sullivan suggesting that he was bitter about not qualifying for the championship.

2017–18 season

[edit]

Williams won his first ranking title after a six-year drought, the Northern Ireland Open, defeating Chinese rising star Yan Bingtao 9–8 in the final; the victory was emotional for Williams, as he revealed that his wife had been suffering from ill health, and he had considered withdrawing from several tournaments. In the Masters, he faced Mark Selby in the first round, recovering from 3–5 behind to defeat the incumbent World Champion 6–5.[100] He lost 1–6 to Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals.

Having beaten Oliver Lines 5–1 and Matthew Stevens 5–3 to qualify for the 2018 German Masters, Williams lost the first two frames of his first-round match against Fergal O'Brien but went on to beat O'Brien 5–3, later overcoming Matthew Selt 5–2 and Jimmy Robertson 5–3 to reach the semi-finals. There, he recorded breaks of 109, 68 and 51 in defeating Judd Trump 6–1 to reach the final, where he would face Graeme Dott. In the final, Williams was dominant, making six breaks over 50 and one century, a 110 in the eighth frame. Dott won the third frame to trail 1–2, compiling a break of 64 after an earlier 56 by Williams, but did not win another, as Williams ran out a 9–1 victor.[101]

Williams advanced to the semi-finals of the World Championship fairly comfortably, and before his match with Barry Hawkins in the semi-final said that he would do his press conference naked as the world champion if he won. Hawkins would prove to be Williams's most difficult opponent of the tournament: Williams levelled the match at 15–15 and secured the lengthy, hard-fought frames needed to win at the eleventh hour. Williams reached his first World Championship final since 2003 facing his fellow "Class of '92" member, John Higgins. The match was described as one of the best finals in the history of the tournament, Williams winning 18–16 to claim his third World Championship making him (aged 43 at the time) the oldest winner since Reardon, who was 45 in 1978.[102] (Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth world title in 2020, aged 44, meaning that Williams is now the third-oldest winner of a world title in the modern era.) It also marked 15 years since his last title, making it the largest time span between consecutive titles.[103] Following victory, Williams thanked his late sponsor Ron Skinner, who had died two months earlier, his wife for convincing him not to retire, and coach Stephen Feeney for turning his game around so dramatically from a year ago. As promised, Williams appeared naked at his later press conference, much to the amusement of some news copywriters,[104] but was instructed to wear a towel.[105]

2018–19 season

[edit]

As world champion, Williams won the second event of the new season, the 2018 World Open. After recovering from 0–3 behind in his quarter-final against Jack Lisowski to win 5–3,[106] he than came back from 2–5 down in his semi-final against Noppon Saengkham to win 6–5.[107] In the final against David Gilbert, Williams again recovered from a sizeable deficit of 5–9 to win the match 10–9.[108] At the 2019 World Championship, Williams's defence of his world title ended in the second round, with a 13–9 loss to Gilbert.[109]

2019–20 season

[edit]

Williams began the 2019–20 season positioned third in the world rankings. In early September, he reached the semi-finals of the Six-red World Championship, where he lost 5–7 to John Higgins.[110] He later reached the final of the China Championship; having been 5–9 behind to Shaun Murphy, Williams won four frames to force a deciding frame, which he lost.[111]

During the UK Championship, Williams commented on Twitter that he was not enjoying snooker, before losing 2–6 to Michael White in the second round.[citation needed] He decided not to travel to China to defend his World Open title, and also opted not to play in any of the Home Nations Series tournaments, but he still ended 2019 as world number two.[citation needed]

Playing style

[edit]

Williams has been described by some snooker pundits as one of the greatest long potters in the game.[112] He has compiled more than 600 competitive centuries during his professional career,[113] and is 9th on the all-time list of century makers; this is despite his tendency to play exhibition shots, or to miss on purpose, when he knows that the frame is won. He is also well known for his ability to win "scrappy" frames, using his tactical play and by picking out "shots to nothing".

An unusual aspect of Williams's playing style is a tendency to position his cue directly underneath his body instead of using the rest, a technique that he often brings into play once a frame is secure. He is partially colour blind and has difficulty distinguishing between the red and brown balls; on one occasion, he potted a brown ball believing it to be red.[114]

Over the course of his career, Williams has earned the nicknames "Sprog",[115] the "Welsh Potting Machine",[116] and "The Welsh Wonder".[117]

Personal life

[edit]

Williams is also a keen poker player and golfer.[118][119] He is proud of his Welsh heritage, and has a tattoo depicting the Welsh Dragon eating the English flag. He is a keen Manchester United supporter. Williams and his wife Joanne have three sons: Connor (born April 2004),[2] Kian (born 2007)[120] and Joel (born 2013).[102] He is good friends with fellow snooker professionals Matthew Stevens, Jackson Page and Stephen Hendry, as well as boxer Joe Calzaghe.[119] Williams was awarded an MBE in June 2004.[121]

Performance and rankings timeline

[edit]
Tournament 1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95 		1995/
96 		1996/
97 		1997/
98 		1998/
99 		1999/
00 		2000/
01 		2001/
02 		2002/
03 		2003/
04 		2004/
05 		2005/
06 		2006/
07 		2007/
08 		2008/
09 		2009/
10 		2010/
11 		2011/
12 		2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23 		2023/
24 		2024/
25
Ranking[122][nb 1] [nb 2] 119 58 39 16 4 5 3 1 1 2 1 2 9 8 12 22 15 8 1 3 15 18 14 13 16 3 3 10 11 7 10 9
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event WD RR 2R F 3R
Xi'an Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 3R
Saudi Arabia Masters Tournament Not Held F
English Open Tournament Not Held 4R 3R 3R 2R WD WD QF 3R 1R
British Open 1R 1R 1R QF W SF 3R 3R 3R 3R SF QF 3R Tournament Not Held W 1R W LQ
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held WD WD
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held QF W 2R A 2R 3R QF 1R QF
International Championship Tournament Not Held 1R 2R SF 2R 1R 3R 1R 1R Not Held 1R 3R
UK Championship 1R LQ 3R QF QF 3R 3R W F SF W 2R 2R 3R 3R QF QF 2R F 2R 1R 3R 3R 2R QF 3R 4R 2R 3R 2R 1R QF
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held Non-ranking Event 2R 4R A 2R SF F 3R 2R
Scottish Open[nb 3] 1R LQ 2R 2R 3R 1R QF F 3R 3R 3R QF Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 4R WD A A 4R WD 3R LQ
German Masters[nb 4] Not Held 1R QF 1R NR Tournament Not Held W QF 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R W QF 2R LQ 1R LQ 1R
Welsh Open LQ LQ 3R W SF 1R W 3R SF 2R F 3R 2R QF 2R 3R LQ QF QF 2R 1R 4R SF 4R 1R 3R 2R 3R SF 1R 1R 2R
World Open[nb 5] LQ 2R 1R 1R W 2R 2R F W QF 3R W 1R 1R WD RR LQ SF SF 1R 1R 2R Not Held 3R QF W A Not Held WD
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R DNQ 1R QF QF
Players Championship[nb 6] Tournament Not Held QF DNQ 1R 2R F 1R DNQ SF QF 1R 1R QF DNQ 1R
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held QF DNQ DNQ QF DNQ W
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R SF F W 2R 2R W 2R 2R QF 1R 2R 1R 2R SF 2R 1R LQ 1R QF LQ W 2R QF QF SF 2R 1R
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held Ranking Event QF 2R Not Held 2R 2R
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held A A A A A 1R A A 1R A 1R
The Masters LQ LQ 1R LQ QF W QF QF 1R F W QF QF QF 1R 1R LQ SF 1R QF QF A A 1R 1R QF 1R 1R 1R SF F 1R
World Masters of Snooker Tournament Not Held 2R
Championship League Tournament Not Held RR RR RR SF RR RR RR RR SF RR 2R A RR F WD WD A
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held A A A A W 1R A A NH A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Asian Classic[nb 7] LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Not Held Non-Ranking Event F NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 8] LQ LQ 1R LQ 2R QF W W 2R W NR Tournament Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event QF 2R SF NH NR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR 3R 2R 3R Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 9] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event QF 3R 2R Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 10] Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held F A A A A Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held 1R QF 2R 2R F SF LQ 2R QF 1R QF Non-Ranking Not Held Non-Ranking
Indian Open Tournament Not Held 3R SF NH 2R A A Tournament Not Held
China Open[nb 11] Tournament Not Held NR 2R QF F W Not Held QF W 1R QF 1R W 1R 2R QF 2R 3R LQ F QF 1R Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 12] Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank SF SF 2R 2R Tournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR QF 3R F Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Not Held
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR QF A A SF 2R WD Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 2R Not Held
European Masters[nb 13] 3R 1R LQ 1R 1R NH W Not Held SF SF 1R 1R QF 1R NR Tournament Not Held LQ QF WD 1R 2R WD SF 2R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 10] Not Held SF A Tournament Not Held Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
China International[nb 11] Tournament Not Held QF Ranking Event Not Held Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 4] Not Held Ranking Event F Tournament Not Held Ranking Event
Millennium Cup Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A A A QF QF W SF QF Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Not Held A A SF QF SF R F Tournament Not Held
Champions Cup[nb 14] Not Held A A A QF 1R F F F Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A A A A QF A QF SF SF SF QF Tournament Not Held
World Champions v Asia Stars Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held 1R Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A A QF 1R QF SF QF Ranking Event NH A Tournament Not Held
Euro-Asia Masters Challenge Tournament Not Held SF RR Not Held A Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A A Tournament Not Held A W QF Tournament Not Held
Malta Cup[nb 13] Ranking Event Tournament Not Held Ranking Event RR Tournament Not Held Ranking Event
Masters Qualifying Event[nb 15] MR 1R W 3R A A A A A A A A NH A A A 2R A A Tournament Not Held
Power Snooker Tournament Not Held A 1R Tournament Not Held
Premier League[nb 16] A A A A A RR SF F RR SF F SF F A A A A A RR SF A Tournament Not Held
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held QF Ranking Event
General Cup[nb 17] Tournament Not Held A Tournament Not Held A NH A A A A F Tournament Not Held
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held 1R 2R QF 1R 3R SF Ranking Event
China Championship Tournament Not Held 1R Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
Romanian Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Macau Masters Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Masters Tournament Not Held A Tournament Not Held QF Not Held
Six-red World Championship[nb 18] Tournament Not Held A SF 2R NH 2R QF QF 2R 2R W 2R SF Not Held 2R Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking
  3. ^ The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  4. ^ a b The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  5. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix (1992/1993–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  6. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011–2015/2016)
  7. ^ The event was called the Dubai Classic (1992/1993–1994/1995) and the Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
  8. ^ The event was called the Asian Open (1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  9. ^ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  10. ^ a b The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  11. ^ a b The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  12. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  13. ^ a b The event was called the European Open (1992/1993–1996/1997), the Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  14. ^ The event was called the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)
  15. ^ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Championship (1990/1991–2002/2003)
  16. ^ The event was called the northern igue (1992/1993–1996/1997)
  17. ^ The event was called the General Cup International (2004/2005–2011/2012)
  18. ^ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)

Career finals

[edit]

Ranking finals: 42 (26 titles)

[edit]
Legend
World Championship (3–1)
UK Championship (2–2)
Other (21–13)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1996 Welsh Open England John Parrott 9–3 [123]
Winner 2. 1996 Grand Prix Scotland Euan Henderson 9–5 [124]
Winner 3. 1997 British Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–2 [125]
Winner 4. 1998 Irish Open Scotland Alan McManus 9–4 [126]
Winner 5. 1999 Welsh Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8 [123]
Winner 6. 1999 Thailand Masters Scotland Alan McManus 9–7 [127]
Runner-up 1. 1999 World Snooker Championship Scotland Stephen Hendry 11–18 [128]
Runner-up 2. 1999 Grand Prix Scotland John Higgins 8–9 [124]
Winner 7. 1999 UK Championship Wales Matthew Stevens 10–8 [129]
Runner-up 3. 2000 Malta Grand Prix Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 3–9 [130]
Winner 8. 2000 Thailand Masters (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–5 [127]
Runner-up 4. 2000 Scottish Open England Ronnie O'Sullivan 1–9 [131]
Winner 9. 2000 World Snooker Championship Wales Matthew Stevens 18–16 [128]
Winner 10. 2000 Grand Prix (2) England Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–5 [124]
Runner-up 5. 2000 UK Championship Scotland John Higgins 4–10 [129]
Runner-up 6. 2000 China Open England Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–9 [132]
Winner 11. 2002 China Open England Anthony Hamilton 9–8 [132]
Winner 12. 2002 Thailand Masters (3) England Stephen Lee 9–4 [127]
Winner 13. 2002 UK Championship (2) Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 10–9 [129]
Runner-up 7. 2003 Welsh Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–9 [123]
Winner 14. 2003 World Snooker Championship (2) Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 18–16 [128]
Winner 15. 2003 LG Cup (3) Scotland John Higgins 9–5 [124]
Winner 16. 2006 China Open (2) Scotland John Higgins 9–8 [132]
Winner 17. 2010 China Open (3) China Ding Junhui 10–6 [132]
Runner-up 8. 2010 UK Championship (2) Scotland John Higgins 9–10 [129]
Winner 18. 2011 German Masters England Mark Selby 9–7 [126]
Runner-up 9. 2011 Australian Goldfields Open England Stuart Bingham 8–9 [58]
Runner-up 10. 2011 Shanghai Masters England Mark Selby 9–10 [132]
Runner-up 11. 2015 Players Tour Championship Finals England Joe Perry 3–4 [133]
Runner-up 12. 2017 China Open England Mark Selby 8–10 [134]
Winner 19. 2017 Northern Ireland Open China Yan Bingtao 9–8 [135]
Winner 20. 2018 German Masters (2) Scotland Graeme Dott 9–1 [136]
Winner 21. 2018 World Snooker Championship (3) Scotland John Higgins 18–16 [137]
Winner 22. 2018 World Open England David Gilbert 10–9 [138]
Runner-up 13. 2019 China Championship England Shaun Murphy 9–10 [139]
Winner 23. 2021 WST Pro Series England Ali Carter Round-Robin
Winner 24. 2021 British Open (2) England Gary Wilson 6–4
Runner-up 14. 2022 Snooker Shoot Out Iran Hossein Vafaei 0–1
Runner-up 15. 2023 Championship League England Shaun Murphy 0–3
Winner 25. 2023 British Open (3) England Mark Selby 10–7
Winner 26. 2024 Tour Championship England Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–5
Runner-up 16. 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters England Judd Trump 9–10

Minor-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

[edit]
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 2010 Players Tour Championship – Event 1 Scotland Stephen Maguire 4–0 [140]
Winner 2. 2013 Rotterdam Open England Mark Selby 4–3 [72]
Runner-up 1. 2015 Gdynia Open Australia Neil Robertson 0–4 [141]

Non-ranking finals: 24 (9 titles)

[edit]
Legend
The Masters (2–2)
Premier League (0–3)
Other (7–10)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1994 Benson & Hedges Championship England Rod Lawler 9–5 [142]
Runner-up 1. 1995 WPBSA Minor Tour – Event 6 Scotland Drew Henry 5–6 [143]
Winner 2. 1998 The Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–9 [144]
Winner 3. 1998 Pontins Professional England Martin Clark 9–6 [145]
Runner-up 2. 1998 German Masters England John Parrott 4–6 [126]
Runner-up 3. 1999 Champions Cup Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–7 [146]
Runner-up 4. 2000 Premier League Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–9 [147]
Runner-up 5. 2000 Champions Cup (2) England Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–7 [146]
Runner-up 6. 2001 Malta Grand Prix Scotland Stephen Hendry 1–7 [130]
Runner-up 7. 2001 Champions Cup (3) Scotland John Higgins 4–7 [146]
Runner-up 8. 2002 The Masters England Paul Hunter 9–10 [144]
Winner 4. 2003 The Masters (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–4 [144]
Runner-up 9. 2003 Premier League (2) Hong Kong Marco Fu 5–9 [147]
Runner-up 10. 2005 Premier League (3) England Ronnie O'Sullivan 0–6 [147]
Winner 5. 2006 Pot Black Scotland John Higgins 1–0 [148]
Runner-up 11. 2009 Six-red World Championship England Mark Davis 3–6
Winner 6. 2010 Finnish Challenge Finland Robin Hull 6–1 [149]
Winner 7. 2015 World Seniors Championship Republic of Ireland Fergal O'Brien 2–1 [150]
Runner-up 12. 2015 General Cup Hong Kong Marco Fu 3–7
Winner 8. 2017 Six-red World Championship Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 8–2
Runner-up 13. 2018 Six-red Macau Masters England Barry Hawkins 2–3
Runner-up 14. 2021 Championship League Invitational England Kyren Wilson 2–3 [151]
Runner-up 15. 2023 The Masters (2) England Judd Trump 8–10
Winner 9. 2023 Macau Masters – Event 2 England Jack Lisowski 9–6 [152]

Pro-am finals: 7 (4 titles)

[edit]
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1995 Pontins Spring Open England Peter Ebdon 7–4 [153]
Winner 2. 2003 TCC Open Snooker Championship Wales Darren Morgan 6–1 [154]
Winner 3. 2004 TCC Open Snooker Championship (2) Wales Darren Morgan 7–6 [154]
Runner-up 1. 2006 TCC Open Snooker Championship Wales Paul Davies 4–7 [154]
Runner-up 2. 2008 TCC Open Snooker Championship (2) Wales Lee Walker 5–7 [154]
Runner-up 3. 2009 TCC Open Snooker Championship (3) Wales Darren Morgan 4–7 [155]
Winner 4. 2012 Austrian Open England Matthew Couch 6–5 [156]

Team finals: 4 (2 titles)

[edit]
Outcome No. Year Championship Team Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1999 Nations Cup  Wales  Scotland 6–4 [157]
Runner-up 1. 2000 Nations Cup  Wales  England 4–6 [157]
Winner 2. 2017 CVB Snooker Challenge  Great Britain  China 26–9
Runner-up 2. 2018 Macau Masters England Joe Perry
Hong Kong Marco Fu
China Zhang Anda 		England Barry Hawkins
Wales Ryan Day
China Zhao Xintong
China Zhou Yuelong 		1–5

Amateur finals: 1

[edit]
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1991 Mita/Sky World Masters – Junior (Under 16) Scotland John Higgins 1–6

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[edit]
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