mark williams Ending an eight-year wait for victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan, he came back from a three-frame deficit to win the Masters quarter-finals 6–5.
Williams’ hopes of defeating the seven-time Masters champion and world number one looked to be fading away as O’Sullivan raced to a 3-0 lead. Alexandra Palace on Thursday.
But the Welshman – who returned to the contest with a then tournament-best break of 143 – won three successive frames to lead his fellow veteran 5-4.
O’Sullivan responded to take the match to a decider, but Williams held his nerve with another century to set up a semi-final against Jack Lisowski, who beat Hossein Wafei 6–4 later in the day.
“I didn’t get my shots in the first three frames,” Williams told the BBC after six straight losses to O’Sullivan at the 2014 International Championships in China.
“He tied me in knots, he was too sassy.
“But I felt that the crowd started flowing towards me at the end and most of them wanted me to win, which was unbelievable.”
Asked if it was his most satisfying win in recent seasons, the 47-year-old three-time world champion said: “Yeah, you’re playing the greatest of all time… and I don’t think I beat him.” defeated in this tournament. UK for 20 years.
“He’s gone now. I can’t care if I don’t beat him for the next 20 years.
Second seed O’Sullivan took early control with a break of 115 and doubled his advantage in the 36-minute second frame.
Williams was penalized for missing a risky red with the rest in the third frame as O’Sullivan compiled a decisive break of 79 but the contest began before the interval.
O’Sullivan, between balls and ahead in the fourth frame, chose to wait until troubling a pack of reds and missed them entirely.
Williams capitalized with a frame-winning 55 and scored an 83 in the next with the help of a wonderful underarm shot.
O’Sullivan’s safety play helped him take a 4–2 lead, but Williams then produced a stunning 143 clearance – his best break at the Masters.
Another fluent 90 leveled the scores and, when O’Sullivan missed a dangerous red down the middle after opting not to play safe, Williams made a 59 clearance to lead for the first time.
O’Sullivan won a tense 10th frame, making 77 after a long safety exchange, but Williams was not to be denied and made the most of another error from her opponent to make a match-winning 102.
Lisowski also came from behind to pin Vafei in a high-quality bout.
The world number 12 started in style with runs of 96 and 76 to give her a 2-0 lead, but Wafei came back strongly to win the next three, equaling Williams’ tournament-high in the process. Made a break of 143.
Lisowski leveled after a break of 67 but the next three frames were closely fought. Lisowski eventually went ahead 5–4 and then closed out the win with a 74.
He said, ‘It is like a dream. “Three or four years ago I couldn’t win a game here, but now to be in the semi-finals is amazing.”