Neal Foulds snooker column: Champion of Champions Mark Williams hailed as 'remarkable'
You’ve got to play like it means nothing, when in reality it means everything.
Not my words, but the words of the great Steve Davis.
And Steve was right. There have been lots of very good players to play the game over the years, but more often than not, snooker is played between the ears, and temperament is more important than almost anything else. In that regard, I don’t believe we’ve ever seen anyone better than Mark Williams.
And at 49 years of age – ridiculous isn’t it – the Welshman is celebrating another major title, having dominated last week’s Champion of Champions in Bolton, beating world champion Kyren Wilson, another former world champion in Neil Robertson, and then a red-hot Xiao Guodong in the final.
All Mark does his play down his own achievements but even he, the very definition of laid-back, was emotional after Sunday’s victory, confirming to Rob Walker afterwards that he was lost for words. I don’t think he can quite believe what he's still managing to achieve in the game at his age.
It was an amazing performance in the final to cap an amazing week from Mark. To beat Kyren and Neil, two players he has struggled to handle for so long, will have given him great satisfaction, but to do so in the manner he did, with big breaks and terrific shot-making, will have made those wins taste even sweeter. It was a week for breaking hoodos, as Mark hadn’t won a single match at the Champion of Champions before this year. Now he's champion.
Mark missed a red for a first prize of £500,000 at the Saudi Arabia Masters in September and changed his cue immediately after that tournament. It seemed a strange move at the time, but Mark was adamant and after a quiet spell, his decision has been vindicated.
More than that, I think his continued association with close friend and coach Lee Walker is such a big factor behind Mark’s success. I’ve said many times before that I believe Lee is just about the best snooker coach out there. Lee has Mark doing some very good routines, and the practice I’ve seen them do together is intense and high quality. And that shows on the match table.
With that experience, knowledge, unbelievable potting – which he’s always had in his locker – and a temperament which puts him at such an advantage to many of his opponents, it’s no surprise he remains such a potent force.
He’s a truly remarkable bloke, he really is. When you listen to him talking about not feeling the pressure, and how the worst thing that can happen is losing a snooker match, you have to admire his approach to life, not just snooker. There are so few in the game that can think that way and it’s clearly been a big help to him, as is a very good life away from the table.
Alan McManus made the point on our coverage on ITV that he believes Mark is a better player now than even in his younger days, and I’d agree with that. When he was younger, the game came easy to him and everything was so natural. Nowadays, he’s got a new method, a new technique, something he’s really had to work at.
We shouldn’t forget that when he failed to qualify for the World Championship in 2017, Mark was close to retiring from the sport, and that year when there was a parade of all the past champions at the Crucible, Mark didn’t show up, so disappointed was he at not qualifying for the tournament that year. He would be world champion again only 12 months later. What a turnaround it's been.
And credit to his opponent on Sunday. In many ways, Xiao was the player of the tournament having come from a long way behind against Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby. The final was just a step too far. That said, he rallied valiantly to get back to 5-4 from 5-0 down, and it was only Mark’s unflappable nature that stopped what might’ve been another memorable comeback from really taking flight.
Xiao lost to one of the great players on Sunday, make no mistake about that. Ronnie is out in front, but for longevity at the very least, Mark is in there pitching with him and what a thing it will be that next year, he will be back competing in the Players Series as a 50-year-old.
As for Ronnie, I wouldn't be too disheartened by what I saw in Bolton. In fact, I thought much of his match against Xiao was highly encouraging with an eye on York and the UK Championship, which has always been a big target for him.
He came up against an inspired opponent last week but looked very sharp as he raced into a 3-0 lead. From there, Xiao didn’t put a foot wrong, nor did Ronnie really, and that’s just the nature of best-of-seven frames matches.
He’s been putting in the practice from what I gather and working on a few things in his game, so I’d be hopeful he’ll play well in York. He’s defending champion at the UK Championship for good reason and eight wins in this great tournament tells you just how much the event means to him. He could yet prove hard to beat.
I wonder if Ronnie will view next week as a chance to re-set his season ahead of a really important period and as we’ve seen so many times before, he just loves coming to York and putting on a show for the fans in Yorkshire.
He’s not the only one, of course. Kyren is sure to fancy his chances as well, playing in his first Triple Crown event since winning the World Championship last spring, and that can often be a good pointer at the UK Championship. World champions tend to perform well in York.
His game still appears in good order and his loss to Mark last week looks much better now. Like all of the seeded players, that first match against a battle-hardened opponent sharp from winning matches won’t be easy, but the likes of Kyren and Ronnie have been in that situation many times before.
That change to the format for York, with the top 16 entering the tournament at the last 32-stage has definitely helped the event add a touch of gravitas. Perhaps the UK Championship lost its way for a while, but the last few years have been very good and I know a lot of the top players have been looking forward to this week for a while now.
None of those top players will keen to draw Zhao Xintong or Neil next week, should they make it through, but I sense a buzz about this event again and everyone will be desperate for a deep run, with one sub-plot that this tournament is the cut-off for qualification for the Masters in January. For many reasons, York is a very big deal.
And in York, I think the UK Championship has found itself a real home. That’s important in snooker, especially for these bigger events, and at a time when there is lots of uncertainty surrounding the future of certain tournaments, it’s lovely to be heading back to York at Christmas time for the snooker.
It’s a great place to visit, especially when there is snooker on, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to joining the team in the Eurosport studio for what is always a special week. Whether it’s another tournament win for one of snooker’s golden generation, or a victory lap for the current world champion, the snooker won’t disappoint.