Mark Williams (snooker Player)

Mark James Williams (born 21March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who is a three-time World Champion, winning the title in 2000, 2003 and 2018. He has been ranked the world number one player three times (May 2000 May 2002, May 2003 May 2004 and May 2011 September 2011). His most successful season to date was 200203, when he won snooker's Triple Crown—the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship—making him only the third player, after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, to have won all three events in the same season. He is the first, 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.

Williams became a professional player in 1992. He has won 26 ranking tournaments, including two UK Championships (1999 and 2002), placing him sixth on the all-time list of ranking titles. He has also won the Masters tournament 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 200708 season but regained his place for 200910. After winning the 2011 German Masters, he had to wait six years before his next ranking title victory at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open. The 201718 season proved to be one of the best of his career, as he won the 2018 German Masters before winning his third world title at the Crucible. Williams has continued to win titles into his late forties, including wins at the 2023 British Open and the 2024 Tour Championship. At the 2025 World Championship, Williams, aged 50, became the oldest ever player to reach the final of the tournament.

Known for his long potting ability, Williams is nicknamed "The Welsh Potting Machine". He is the first left-handed player to win the World Championship. He has compiled over 600 century breaks in professional competition, including three maximums, and has won over £8 million in prize money over the course of his career. He is one of the three players collectively known as the " Class of '92" who all turned professional during the 199293 season, the other two being Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins. Williams is a member of the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame.

Career

Early career

Williams was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, 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 decided to pursue a career as a snooker player. He scored his first century break when he was thirteen and had achieved his first maximum break by the time he was eighteen. As a schoolboy, he was also an amateur boxer but gave it up after being defeated. His father Dilwyn was a coal miner, and as a teenager Williams did a 12-hour shift down a mine.

In January 1991, Williams reached the final of the junior event at the World Masters but lost 16 to John Higgins. Later that year, he defeated Higgins 40 to win the British title. Williams was one of 173 players who all turned professional in 1992. He finished his first season ranked 119th out of 595 professional players; the rankings were based on results over two seasons, and Williams was one of only four first-season professionals to be ranked within the top 128. Three years later, he had entered the top 16 in the world rankings.

His first ranking tournament win came in January 1996, when he won the Welsh Open title, beating John Parrott 93 in the final. He failed to qualify for the 1996 World Championship but in October 1996 he won the first ranking event of the new season, the Grand Prix, defeating surprise finalist Euan Henderson 95. He won the British Open in April 1997, beating Stephen Hendry 92 in the final. At the 1997 World Championship, he was drawn against his coach Terry Griffiths, who was making his last appearance at the Crucible as a participant. Williams eventually defeated Griffiths 109 on the black, but he then lost 813 to Hendry in the last 16. He took his first Masters title in February 1998, defeating Hendry 109 in the final, which ended in a in the , after Williams had recovered from 69 down. He reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Championship, losing 1417 to Ken Doherty. The following year, he made it through to the final of the 1999 World Championship and finished the tournament as runner-up to Hendry, losing the final 1118.

1999–2005

Williams had a very successful 1999–00 season, winning both the UK Championship and the World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title at the 2000 Thailand Masters and three runner-up positions, allowed him to capture the world number one position for the first time. At the UK Championship in November 1999, he defeated Stephen Hendry 96 in the semi-final before beating his fellow countryman Matthew Stevens 108 in the final. In the 2000 World Championship final, he recovered from 713 behind against Stevens to eventually win 1816. Williams was the first left-handed player to win the World Championship at The Crucible. He also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against John Higgins, coming from 1014 down to win 1715.

He won only one ranking event in the 200001 season—the 2000 Grand Prix—with a 95 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He was a runner-up in two other ranking events: the 2000 UK Championship, where he lost 410 to Higgins in the final; and the 2000 China Open, where he was beaten 39 by O'Sullivan. This was enough for him to retain his number one world ranking, although his title defence at the 2001 World Championship ended in the second round with a 1213 defeat to Joe Swail. In the 200102 season, Williams struggled to find his best form from previous seasons and again won only one ranking tournament—the 2002 China Open—where he defeated Anthony Hamilton 98 from 58 down in the final. However, he was then defeated by Hamilton 913 in the second round of the 2002 World Championship and subsequently lost the number one world ranking to O'Sullivan.

The 2002–03 season was exceptional for Williams as he won all three Triple Crown events: the 2002 UK Championship, 2003 Masters and the 2003 World Championship. He was only the fourth player after Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and John Higgins to hold the three titles simultaneously, and only the third player after Davis and Hendry to have won them all in one season. These results enabled him to reclaim the number one spot at the end of the season. He became just the second player, after Ray Reardon, to reclaim the number one ranking position. He beat Ken Doherty 109 in the UK Championship final, and he beat Hendry 104 in the Masters final. Before the 2003 World Championship, he had a scare when his cue was damaged and bent on his flight with Ryanair on his way to play in the Irish Masters, but he had it repaired before the tournament. He had a relatively untroubled route to the 2003 World Championship final, with wins over Stuart Pettman 102, Quinten Hann 132, Hendry 137 and Stephen Lee 178. In the final against Doherty, he developed a 102 lead and appeared to be heading for an emphatic victory, before Doherty fought back to tie the match 1616. Williams regained his composure to win the last two frames and lift the world trophy for the second time.

The following season, he lost in the first round of the 2003 UK Championship to Fergal O'Brien, ending his record run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match. In February 2004, he was unable to defend his title at the Masters; after defeating Stevens in the first round, he then lost a close match to Paul Hunter 56 in the quarter-finals. His title defence at the 2004 World Championship ended with an 1113 defeat in the second round to Joe Perry. He endured a run of poor form over the 200405 season, including a first-round defeat to Jimmy White at the Masters where he lost 56. On 20 April 2005, at the World Championship, Williams became the first Welshman and the fifth player in history to score a maximum break at the Crucible in the World Championship. This came in the final frame of a 101 first-round victory over Robert Milkins, winning him £161,000 in prize money, but he then lost in the second round to Ian McCulloch 1213.

2006–2009

On 26 March 2006, Williams won the 16th ranking event of his career, and his first in two and a half years—the 2006 China Open in Beijing—defeating John Higgins 98 in the final. The victory helped Williams retain his place in the world rankings. He also performed well at the 2006 World Championship, beating Anthony Hamilton 101 and Mark Selby 138 to set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan. It was the first time the two had met in a match at the Crucible, and their well-publicised rivalry brought some extra tension to the encounter (although O'Sullivan has since said that the former feud has been replaced by friendship and mutual respect). In a closely contested match, O'Sullivan eventually won 1311. It was revealed during the 200506 season that Williams and his coach Terry Griffiths had parted company.

Williams won the Pot Black trophy in September 2006. In the final against Higgins, he compiled a century break of 119 which was the highest break in the history of the tournament. However, 200607 turned out to be perhaps the worst season of his career, as he lost his first match in a string of tournaments, including the 2007 Masters where he was whitewashed 06 by Neil Robertson, and the 2007 World Championship where he lost 910 to Joe Swail.

At the 2007 UK Championship, some of his previous form returned as he defeated Ricky Walden 93 in the last 32, before facing Mark Allen in the last 16; after trailing 04 and 15, Williams produced a comeback to win eight successive frames for a 95 victory. His run ended in the quarter-finals, where he lost to Stephen Maguire 59.

After a 2–6 first-round loss to Ken Doherty at the 2008 Masters, Williams revealed that he was considering retirement from the game if he dropped out of the top 32 and was forced to play in the qualifying competitions, although he was then only 32 years old. He later commented that the statement had been blown out of proportion, and that he intended to remain on the professional circuit. He began to show more consistency for the remainder of the season, reaching the last 16 of three ranking events as well as a run to the quarter-finals of the 2008 China Open, where a 35 loss to Ryan Day deprived him of a place in his first semi-final for two years. He was defeated 713 by O'Sullivan in the second round of the 2008 World Championship, which forced him out of the world's top 16 and pushed him into the qualifiers for the next season. It was announced on 8 July 2008 that Williams had split from his management company 110 Sport, as O'Sullivan and Maguire had done previously.

In the 2008–09 season, he suffered three qualifying defeats but also reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 UK Championship, where he beat both Selby and Graeme Dott 97, before narrowly losing 89 to Ali Carter. He qualified for the 2009 World Championship but lost 710 to Stephen Hendry after leading 75. Towards the end of the match, Williams was hampered by having problems with his .

2009–2013

The 2009–10 season started badly for Williams when he broke his wrist in a fall at home less than a month before the 2009 Shanghai Masters, which was the first ranking event of the season. He played in Shanghai despite the injury, losing in the second round 15 against John Higgins. He reached the semi-finals of the 2009 Grand Prix, where after making a 142 century break (the highest of the tournament) he was defeated 16 by Ding Junhui. He was leading Graeme Dott 62 at the 2009 UK Championship when Dott retired due to illness. Williams then lost 89 against Peter Lines in the last 16. At the 2010 Masters, he won in the first round 63 against Ali Carter to progress to the quarter-finals, despite being involved in a traffic accident the day before the match. It was reported that someone had driven into the back of the car that was carrying Williams and Stephen Hendry to a restaurant. He was then narrowly defeated 56 by Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals.

After these signs of form, in April 2010 Williams won his first ranking tournament in four years: the 2010 China Open. He met Ding in the final and, despite trailing 35 at one stage, he eventually won the match 106. This was his 17th ranking event win and his third China Open title. After the 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." At the 2010 World Championship, he lost his second-round match against O'Sullivan 1013.

Williams opened the 2010–11 season by winning the first event of the Players Tour Championship, defeating Maguire 40 in the final. The event was a new addition to the snooker calendar introduced by Barry Hearn, whose appointment as the new Chairman of World Snooker had been supported by Williams. Finishing sixth on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, Williams was selected to compete in the 2010 Premier League—marking the first time that he had competed in the event for five years. However, he failed to qualify for the semi-finals. He reached the final of the 2010 UK Championship, his run including a 98 victory over Murphy in the semi-finals after trailing 68. He lost in the final 910 against Higgins, after earlier leading 72 and 95; he was also 29 points ahead in the 17th frame with only the colours remaining, and Higgins needed a snooker to stay in the match.

His next tournament was the 2011 Masters, where he lost 46 in the first round against Ding. Williams won the first ranking event of 2011, the German Masters, defeating Mark Selby 97 in the final. At the 2011 China Open, he lost in the first round 45 against Stephen Lee, after making four centuries. At the 2011 World Snooker Championship, he defeated Ryan Day 105 in the first round and Jamie Cope 134 in the second round. He then won his quarter-final against Mark Allen 135, and in doing so he reached the semi-final stage for the first time since 2003, but he lost 1417 against Higgins. As a result of Selby's exit from the tournament, Williams became the new world number one after the event.

He was partnered with Matthew Stevens to represent Wales at the 2011 World Cup, and they reached the semi-finals, losing 14 against China. Williams then won through to the final of the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open but lost 89 against Bingham, after leading 85 at one stage of the match. He also lost from a winning position in the final of the next major ranking event, the 2011 Shanghai Masters. His run included a 65 win over Robertson in the semi-finals, and he led Selby 97 in the final before losing the last three frames for a 910 defeat. With the loss, he also relinquished the world number one spot to Selby. He was beaten in the last 16 of the 2011 UK Championship by Ricky Walden, and he reached the quarter-finals in his defence of the 2012 German Masters, where he succumbed 35 to Lee. Williams played in eleven of the twelve PTC events throughout the season, but could only reach the last 32 twice, in Event 10 and Event 11. He was ranked 82nd in the PTC Order of Merit, a long way outside the top 24 players who made the Finals.

Williams caused some controversy ahead of the 2012 World Snooker Championship by stating on his Twitter page that he "hates" the tournament's venue, swore while describing the Crucible Theatre, and said he hoped the event would be played in China soon. A spokesperson from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) confirmed that a statement would be released regarding the matter. Drawn to play Liu Chuang in the first round, Williams won 106 to set up a second-round clash with O'Sullivan, which he lost 613. The result meant that Williams had not beaten O'Sullivan in a ranking event for over a decade. He ended the season ranked world number three. A WPBSA statement revealed that Williams had been fined a total of £4,000 for the comments he had made before the World Championship. Williams was inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame in 2012.

His first ranking event of the 2012–13 season was the 2012 Wuxi Classic, where he lost 35 to Marcus Campbell in the quarter-finals. He went one better at the 2012 Shanghai Masters where he faced Judd Trump in the semi-finals. Williams fell 15 behind, but he fought back to trail 45 before losing the next frame to come up short of completing a comeback and was defeated 46. He then suffered a significant dip in form as he lost in the first round of several ranking events; after his 36 defeat to Mark King in the 2012 UK Championship, he said that he was contemplating retirement.

During his string of defeats, he managed to beat Stevens in the non-ranking 2013 Masters from 14 down (which would have been 15 had Stevens not missed a crucial pot), before losing 16 to the eventual champion Selby. His poor form continued as he was beaten 15 by Michael Holt in the last 32 of the 2013 German Masters. At the 2013 China Open in March, Williams won his first match in a ranking event since September with a 52 victory over Lü Haotian and continued his run by defeating Carter 54, but he then lost 15 to Selby in the quarter-finals. At the 2013 World Championship, he lost in the first round 610 to debuting compatriot Michael White and admitted afterwards that he could not wait to forget this past season, but he was committed to playing in the next one. Owing to his poor performance in 201213, Williams dropped 12 places in the rankings to world number 15.

2013–2017

At the start of the 2013–14 season, he won the Rotterdam Open by defeating Mark Selby 43 in the final. This was the second time that Williams had won a title in a Players Tour Championship event. However, he had a poor season in terms of ranking events as he failed to reach a single quarter-final for the first time since 200607. In February, after securing a 43 win over world number one Neil Robertson in the last 32 of the Welsh Open, he said that he was glad he had ignored Stephen Hendry's advice to retire and believed he still had ranking event titles left in him. He had chances to move 30 ahead in the last 16 against Marco Fu, but eventually lost 24; he said afterwards that the Williams who had won two world titles many years ago was "dead". At the 2014 World Championship, he lost 810 to Alan McManus in qualifying and was absent from the main stage of the tournament for the first time since 1996. He ended the season as world number 18, the first time in six years that he had finished outside the top 16.

Williams lost in the second round of his first two ranking events of the 201415 season. His first quarter-final of the campaign was at the 2014 International Championship; after trailing O'Sullivan 03, he won five successive frames with a high break of 120. The match went to a deciding frame, which Williams won to beat his opponent for the first time in 12 years. His semi-final match against Mark Allen also ended in a deciding frame, after Williams had trailed 47, but a miss on the final red proved crucial as he lost 89. He was defeated 26 by Stephen Maguire in the third round of the 2014 UK Championship.

After knocking out Judd Trump 41 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2015 Welsh Open, Williams said that he no longer expected to win tournaments and was more concerned with improving his ranking. He then made two centuries in defeating Fu 51 to earn a place in the semi-finals of the event for the first time since 2003. From 35 behind, he took advantage of missed chances by Ben Woollaston to send their match into a deciding frame, but he lost it and just fell short of reaching the final in his home tournament. He progressed to the final of the minor-ranking Gdynia Open but was whitewashed 04 by Robertson. Williams took part in the World Seniors Championship in March 2015 despite only being 39 years old, as he would turn 40 before the end of the season, and he won the title by beating Fergal O'Brien 21 in the final.

After defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 41 in the first round of the Players Championship Grand Final, Williams defeated both Selby and Matthew Selt 43. He then progressed to his first major ranking event final in more than three years with a 42 win over Trump and developed a 30 lead against Joe Perry. However, his highest break in the next four frames was 14, as Perry fought back to win the match 43. In a rematch of the 2000 final, Williams faced Matthew Stevens in the first round of the 2015 World Championship, but he was heavily defeated 210.

At the end of 2015, he was knocked out in the second round of the UK Championship by Tom Ford 56, after leading 53. He drew O'Sullivan in the first round of the 2016 Masters and was 42 ahead, but the match went to a deciding frame in which Williams missed a risky and lost 56. He was eliminated in the fourth round of the 2016 Welsh Open, where he lost 24 to Selby, and in the first round of three other ranking events, also failing to qualify for the 2016 China Open. At the 2016 World Championship, he defeated Michael Holt 138 in the last 16 to reach the quarter-finals of the championship for the first time in five years. However, he was heavily defeated 313 by Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals, with a .

He beat John Higgins 41 at the 2016 Northern Ireland Open, before losing 45 to Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals. He reached another quarter-final at the 2016 UK Championship but was defeated 26 by O'Sullivan. He made it through to the final of the 2017 China Open where his opponent was Selby. Williams needed to win the match to re-enter the top 16 and avoid having to qualify for the World Championship. He led 87 but lost the last three frames for an 810 defeat, missing out on his first ranking title for six years. He reached the last-32 qualifying round at the World Championship but was defeated by Stuart Carrington 710. This was only his second absence from the knockout stage of the World Championship since his first appearance at the tournament in 1997.

2017–2021

After losing his place in the top 16 of the world rankings in 2017, Williams teamed up with his friend Lee Walker and SightRight coach Stephen Feeney in an effort to revive his career. He won the Six-red World Championship in September, defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 82 in the final in Bangkok; with the scores level at 22, Williams won six consecutive frames to seal the victory. He then won his first ranking title after a six-year drought, the 2017 Northern Ireland Open, defeating Yan Bingtao 98 in the final; it was an emotional win for Williams, as he revealed that his wife had been suffering from ill health, and he had considered withdrawing from several tournaments. He faced Mark Selby in the first round of the 2018 Masters, recovering from 35 behind to defeat the reigning world champion 65, before losing 16 to Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals. At the 2018 German Masters, he beat Judd Trump 61 to reach the final where he faced Graeme Dott. Williams dominated the final, making six breaks over 50 and one century (a 110) in the eighth frame as he claimed a 91 victory.

He advanced to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Championship with a 138 win over Ali Carter. Before his semi-final match against Barry Hawkins, Williams stated that if he won the championship he would do his press conference naked. Hawkins proved to be his most difficult opponent of the tournament so far: Williams levelled the match at 1515 and secured two more frames to win 1715. Reaching his first World Championship final since 2003, he came up against 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 1816 to claim his third world title. Aged 43, this made him the oldest winner since Ray Reardon, who had won the title in 1978 aged 45. ( 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 previous world title, making it the largest time span between consecutive titles. After winning the final, Williams thanked his late sponsor Ron Skinner who had died two months earlier, and his wife for convincing him not to retire. As promised, he appeared naked at the press conference later, but he was instructed to wear a towel.

As world champion, Williams won the second event of the new season, the 2018 World Open. Recovering from 03 behind in his quarter-final against Jack Lisowski to win 53, he than came back from 25 down in his semi-final against Noppon Saengkham to win 65. In the final against David Gilbert, he recovered from another sizeable deficit of 59 to win the match 109. At the 2018 UK Championship, Williams reached the last-16 round where he took a 40 lead over Stephen Maguire but lost 56 after his opponent made a comeback. At the 2019 Masters, he lost 36 to Neil Robertson, having led 31. At the 2019 World Championship, his world title defence ended in the second round with a 913 loss to Gilbert.

Williams began the 2019–20 season positioned third in the world rankings. In early September, he reached the semi-finals of the 2019 Six-red World Championship, where he lost 57 to Higgins. He later reached the final of the 2019 China Championship; having been 59 behind to Shaun Murphy, Williams won four frames to force a deciding frame, which he lost. During the 2019 UK Championship, Williams commented that he "hates" snooker and would prefer to be playing golf. He then lost 26 to Michael White in the second round. After losing 26 to Stuart Bingham in the first round of the 2020 Masters, he admitted that his career was at a "crossroads". He reached the quarter-finals of the 2020 World Championship, where he played O'Sullivan. Williams took a 72 lead but ultimately lost the match 1013.

He lost in the first round of the 2021 Masters with a 46 defeat to Murphy. Williams won the 2021 WST Pro Series in March, his first title for three years, finishing top of the final group. He defeated long-term rival Higgins 137 in the second round of the 2021 World Championship, before losing 313 in the quarter-finals to Selby. During the championship, Williams caused some controversy by gently rolling his break shot off the bottom cushion so the cue ball would nestle into the reds, as a safety shot. The WPBSA players association contacted players to ask whether the shot should be banned.

2021–present

Williams won his 24th ranking title in August 2021, defeating Gary Wilson 64 in the final of the British Open. He lost 56 to Anthony Hamilton in the second round of the 2021 UK Championship after reportedly falling asleep during the match. At the 2022 Masters, he developed a 53 lead against Neil Robertson in the semi-finals, but Robertson fought back to win the match, including laying the two snookers that he needed to win the final frame. Williams reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championship, where he recovered from 512 down against Judd Trump to level the match at 1616, but Trump won the deciding frame for a place in the final. Williams compiled 16 centuries during the tournament, equalling the record set in 2002 by Stephen Hendry for centuries in a single World Championship.

At the end of 2022, Williams lost in the first round of the UK Championship to Jamie Clarke 36, reportedly feeling unwell with an upset stomach during the match. At the 2023 Masters, he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan for the first time in eight years with a 65 victory in their quarter-final clash. Williams went on to reach the final, where he was defeated 810 by Trump. He was eliminated in the second round of the 2023 World Championship by Luca Brecel, 1113.

In October 2023, Williams defeated Mark Selby 107 in the final of the British Open in Cheltenham to become the then second-oldest winner of a ranking event. Two months later, he was defeated 56 by Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship. Williams won their eighth frame 10194, which marked the highest scoring frame in snooker history. In January 2024, he lost in the first round of the Masters to Ali Carter 46. He won the Tour Championship in April, after a 105 victory against O'Sullivan, in which he came from 35 down to win seven consecutive frames for the title. At the 2024 World Championship, he suffered a first-round defeat to Si Jiahui 910.

In September 2024, Williams reached the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where he was defeated 910 by Trump. Williams had held a 62-point lead in the final frame before he missed a red. In November, he defeated women's world champion Bai Yulu 41 in the opening round of the 2024 Champion of Champions, marking his maiden win at the event, before securing a win over Kyren Wilson in the following round. He went on to win his first Champion of Champions title with a 106 victory over Xiao Guodong in the final. He was defeated by Stuart Bingham 56 in the first round of the 2024 UK Championship, and he lost 56 to Ding at the same stage of the 2025 Masters.

Williams advanced to the semi-finals of the 2025 World Championship after edging past John Higgins 1312 in their last eight clash. The result marked Williams's fifth win in six meetings with Higgins at the Crucible. He then overcame Trump 1714 in the semi-finals, and aged 50, became the oldest player to reach the final of the World Championship, superseding fellow Welshman Ray Reardon who was 49 when he played the final in 1982. In the final against Zhao Xintong, Williams lost the opening session 17, and trailed 817 after the third session. Williams won the opening four frames in the evening, before losing the match 1218.

Playing style

Williams is known for his laid-back demeanour and has been described by some snooker pundits as one of the greatest in the game. he is tenth on the all-time list of century makers, having compiled more than 600 competitive centuries during his professional career.

An unusual aspect of his playing style is a tendency to sometimes position his cue directly underneath his body as an alternative to using the rest in an underarm style. He is also known for sometimes playing shots one-handed. Williams has said, "I play them all the time in practice and in matches, I don't miss many underarm shots". He is partially colour blind and has difficulty distinguishing between the red balls and the brown.

Williams is nicknamed the "Welsh Potting Machine". He has won over £8 million in prize money during his career.

Personal life

In 2010, Williams became co-owner of Tredegar Snooker Hall in Georgetown, Blaenau Gwent. He is a keen poker player and has played on the European Poker Tour. Williams also enjoys playing golf. He and his wife Joanne have three sons: Connor (born April 2004), Kian (born 2007) and Joel (born 2014). He is good friends with retired snooker professional Stephen Hendry, as well as boxer Joe Calzaghe. Williams was awarded an MBE in June 2004.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 43 (26 titles)

Minor-ranking finals: 3 (2 titles)

Non-ranking finals: 25 (10 titles)

Pro-am finals: 8 (5 titles)

Team finals: 4 (2 titles)

Amateur finals: 10 (5 titles)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mark
1975 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Ebbw Vale
Welsh snooker players
Masters (snooker) champions
Members of the Order of the British Empire
World number one snooker players
Welsh pool players
UK champions (snooker)
Winners of the professional snooker world championship
Six-red World Championships champions
World Seniors Championship champions