Mark Williams won the 20th ranking title of his career as he thrashed Graeme Dott 9-1 in the final of the German Masters in Berlin.
The 42-year-old won his first way back at the Welsh Open in 1996 before enjoying a golden period from 1999 to 2003 in which he won two world titles and two UK Championships - while he'd also collected a pair of Masters crowns by then, which are of course equally prestigious yet non-ranking.
His 18th ranking title came in 2011 when the German Masters was first held at the Tempodrom but after success dried up after that and he had to wait until last November to get his hands on a major prize again when he lifted the Northern Ireland trophy following a 9-8 triumph over Yan Bingtao.
Williams becomes the fifth player to reach that landmark after Stephen Hendry (36), Ronnie O’Sullivan (31), John Higgins (29) and Steve Davis (28).
The Welsh veteran's career 32nd ranking final proved to be a much easier affair than his last as he thrashed Dott 9-1, with top breaks of 110, 79 (x2) and 66 (x2).
His Scottish opponent, 28th in the world, was appearing in his first ranking event final in eight years and seeking a third title having triumphed at the Crucible in 2006 and the China Open a year later. But he was quite simply blown away in the most one-sided ranking final since since Mark Selby beat Ding Junhui 10-1 at the 2016 International Championship.
Over the weekend Williams won 15 frames and conceded just two, having beaten Judd Trump 6-1 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
He said: "I’m over the moon. I hadn’t won a tournament for donkeys’ years, now I’ve won three this season. My long potting was very good today and I played well all the way through. I felt zoned in from the start. I kept on going for my shots and felt at ease.
"I was genuinely thinking about giving it up after last season. I told my wife that I’d had enough and I couldn’t keep playing the same way. She was the one who talked me out of it, and what a turnaround it has been."
Related snooker links
