Mark Williams rolled back the years in 2018 with a magical performance to win his third World Championship. The Welshman recorded the longest gap between world titles by achieving the feat after last winning the crown in 2003. Williams almost called time on his career after failing to qualify for the World Championships in 2017 but bounced back to form to produce a thrilling run to the final before edging out John Higgins.
The 47-year-old’s form since then has been encouraging at The Crucible, reaching the semi-finals in 2022 where he was narrowly beaten by Judd Trump. He was a solid contender in one of the first major events of the 2022/23 season in the UK Championship, where he had a decent price in the UK Championship odds. However, Williams was eliminated in the first round of the competition by Jamie Clarke in a 6-3 defeat.
As a result, the Welshman does need to regain his composure around the table in the coming events ahead of the World Championship next year. He always seems to round into form for the tournament after reaching at least the last eight over the past three years. Williams’ recent matches against the leading players could be a cause for concern in his bid to record a fourth World Championship win.
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Neil Robertson is through to the Semi-Finals in Hong Kong after a 5-3 defeat of Mark Williams with top breaks of 105 and 140!#HongKongMasters pic.twitter.com/a8cKZF4jZl
— Live Snooker (@Livesnooker) October 7, 2022
He was beaten by Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Masters in a duel between the left-handers. Robertson continued his dominance against Williams in their meetings, winning for the 20th time out of their 29 matches. The Aussie displayed a clinical edge when it mattered the most to overcome the veteran 5-3 to advance to the semi-finals.
Williams’ charge at the Northern Ireland Open was halted by the form player of the early 2022/23 season, Mark Allen. Allen produced the magic when he required it to edge out Williams by a 5-4 margin on his way to the crown in his home tournament. Allen would later go on to win the UK Championship, highlighting another player that will stand in Williams’ way at The Crucible. Williams has also struggled against Allen, losing 13 out of 21 meetings, so he will be hopeful of avoiding the Northern Irishman in the future.
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Mark Williams draws cheers from the crowd as this brilliant quarter final battle goes to 4-3 Allen#NIOpen pic.twitter.com/vtwYY8DHL4
— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 21, 2022
Williams has played with a lot of freedom after his third championship victory four years ago. He will have that benefit over players such as Allen and younger players on the tour that he is playing with house money after almost calling it time in 2017.
As a result, his motivation and desire to triumph at ranking tournaments might not be as strong as it was during the peak of his career in the early 2000s, but he certainly has the focus and calmness of mind at the World Championship.
Compared to Judd Trump and Allen, his skills might not be where they were during his days as world number one, but no matter his form, he will be a dangerous competitor even for those that have excelled over the course of the current campaign under the bright lights of the Crucible.
