Mark Williams

Mark James Williams, MBE (born 21 March 1975, Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales) is a Welshprofessional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003.^[2] Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine. He has been ranked the world number 1 for a total of three seasons in his career.

The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 18 ranking tournaments (fifth on the all-time list), including the UK Championship twice, in 1999 and 2002. He has also won the Masters on two occasions, in 1998 and 2003. Williams' most successful season in his career to date was the 2002/2003 season, when he won the acclaimed treble of tournaments (known as the Triple Crown): the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. He is only the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win all three majors in one season. Following his second World Championship his form declined, and he dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007/2008 season, but regained his place for 2009/2010. He is one of only several players who have compiled over 200 centuries, as he has compiled over 250 century breaks, 8th on the all-time list.

The 1999/2000 season was a very successful one for Williams, winning both the 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 1 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 10–14 down to win 17–15.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, but he was a runner-up in two other ranking events, the UK Championship and the China Open. This was enough to retain his number 1 ranking, although his title defence at the World Championship fell in the second round with a 12–13 defeat to Joe Swail.

In the 2001/2002 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 1 ranking to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Another strong performance came in 2002/2003 season when he won the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship titles. This made him the 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 year. These results enabled him to reclaim the number 1 spot at the of the season. In the UK Championship final he beat Ken Doherty 10–9, and in the Masters he beat Hendry 10–4, 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.

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 Hann13–2, Hendry 13–7 and Stephen Lee 17–8 before facing Doherty in the final. He led 10–2, and looked to be heading for and 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.

The following season he lost in the first round of the UK Championship to Fergal O'Brien, a match which ended his record run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match, 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 saw him endure a run of poor form over the 2004/2005 season where he slid to 9th in the world rankings for 2005/2006.

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. Williams finished 6th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.

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

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,but failed to reach the semi-finals. At the UK Championship he reached the final, his run including a 9–8 victory overShaun Murphy after trailing 6–8,but lost against John Higgins 9–10 in the final, after leading 7–2 and 9–5 at some points of the match.Williams' next tournament was the Masters, where he lost 4–6 in the first round against Ding Junhui. Williams won the first ranking event of 2011, the German Masters, by defeating Mark Selby 9–7 in the final. At the China Open Williams couldn't defend his title, as he lost in the first round 4–5 against Stephen Lee, despite making four centuries.

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