Mark Williams rolled back the years as he reached the World Snooker Championship final with a 17-14 win over world number one Judd Trump at the Crucible. At 50 years old, Williams is now the oldest player to make it to the final, beating the record set by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon, who was 49 when he lost the 1982 final.
Speaking to the BBC, Williams said, “I shouldn’t really be competing with the number one in the world over three days in a race to 17 frames, but somehow I’m still hanging in there for us oldies. I can’t believe I’m in another final. I don’t even know how I’m doing it, to be honest.”
The three-time world champion, whose last title came in 2018, came from 7-3 down to draw level at 8-8 by the end of Friday. He then led 13-11 after Saturday’s first session and stretched that lead to 16-12, needing just one more frame to win. Trump, the 2019 champion, pulled two back to make it 16-14, but Williams sealed the match with his second century break of the day.
Williams will face China’s Zhao Xintong in the final on Sunday. The 28-year-old reached his first-ever World Championship final after a dominant 17-7 win over seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan.
“I remember playing Zhao when he was just 11 or 12 in China,” Williams recalled. “We played a best-of-five match, and he beat me 3-1 in front of 500 people on live TV. I said back then that he’d be something special. It would be brilliant for the sport if a Chinese player wins the World Championship — just not this year!”
