Three-time winner Mark Williams showed his enduring class to edge past China’s up-and-coming star Wu Yize 10-8 and reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship.
Having led 5-4 overnight, the Welshman compiled breaks of 101 and 69 to lead 7-6 but struggled to shake off his opponent in a nip-and-tuck encounter at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Williams, 50, then fell 8-7 behind but played a wonderful snooker on the final red to gain the advantage in the 16th frame as he levelled the contest.
A valuable break of 58, which included several stunning shots, moved him within a frame of victory and he sealed his win with a composed run of 75.
The world number six will face Hossein Vafaei, who came through a final-frame decider to beat Barry Hawkins 10-9, while Chris Wakelin held off a stirring fightback from 2010 champion Neil Robertson to progress 10-8.
It was a superb performance from Williams in his 70th match at the sport’s most famous venue. Booked in for surgery in June, he has been dogged by eyesight issues in the build-up to the tournament and has been dismissive of his own prospects.
At varying stages he was outplayed by Wu, who scored 1,022 points to his 838 – but found an answer whenever he appeared to be in difficulty.
“It was a tough game all the way through. I think I was 3-0 up and then I didn’t pot a ball for three or four frames. Some of the balls he potted were incredible,” Williams told BBC Sport.
“He’s got the potential to win this tournament, there’s absolutely no question.”
