Mark J. Williams

Infobox Snooker player
Name = Mark J. Williams


Caption =
Born = birth date and age|1975|3|21
Birthplace = Cwm, Ebbw Vale
Nationality = Flagicon|Wales Welsh
Nickname = "Welsh Potting Machine", "Sprog"
Professional = 1992–
High ranking = #1 (3 years)
Current rank = #22
Prize money = GB£3,549,980 [http://www.worldsnooker.com/players_head_to_head-8760.htm World Snooker profile of Williams] ]
High break = 147 (2005)
Best finish =
Ranking wins = 16
Other wins = 4
World champ = 2000, 2003

Mark James Williams, MBE (born 21 March, 1975, Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales) is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, "The Welsh Potting Machine".

The only left-handed player to win the World Championship, [http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Players/Global_Europe/Global_Welsh/wales_mark_williams.htm Profile at the Global Snooker Centre] ] Williams has won 16 ranking tournaments (fifth on the all-time list), including the UK Championship twice, in 1999 and 2002; has also won the Masters on two occasions and has been ranked world number 1 for a total of three seasons in his career. He has also compiled 212 centuries to date, currently ninth on the all-time list.Cite web
url = http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Centuries.htm
title = Chris Turner's Snooker Archive - Snooker’s Top Century Makers
publisher =
date = 2008
accessdate = 2008-02-06]

Williams is officially referred to as Mark J. Williams, to distinguish him from another Mark Williams, an English player from the 1990s. After winning the 1998 Masters, the prize money was sent to the other Mark Williams by mistake.

Career

Early career

Williams started playing snooker at an early age, and scored his first century when he was 13. He won his first junior event when he was 11, and it was then that he realised that he wanted to pursue a career as a snooker player.Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/get_involved/4225648.stm
title = Mark Williams' snooker tips
publisher = BBC Sport
date =
accessdate = 2008-02-29] If he hadn't had such talent as a snooker player he could well have followed his father, Dilwyn down the pits to work as a miner. When he was 15 he did a 12 hour shift down the mines. Cite web
url = http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/snooker-id-rather-be-in-the-bingo-hall-than-in-the-players-lounge-575204.html
title = Snooker: I'd rather be in the bingo hall than the players' lounge
publisher = "The Independent"
date = 2004-02-01
accessdate = 2008-02-29] Williams was also a promising Amateur boxer being undefeated in 12 fights as a schoolboy, but he decided to pursue his snooker career instead. He turned professional in 1992, and finished his first season ranked 119, and within three seasons was ranked in the Worlds top 16, breaking into the 16 for the 1996/1997 season.Williams` first ranking tournament win came in January 1996 when he claimed the Welsh Open title, beating John Parrott 9-3 in the final. After failing to qualify for the 1996 World Championship he won the first ranking event of the new season - the Grand Prix - in October 1996, beating surprise finalist Euan Henderson 9-5 in the final. In 1997 he also won the British Open, beating Stephen Hendry 9-2 in the final. He also went on to win his first Masters title in 1998, beating Hendry on the final black 10-9 recovering from 6-9 down, in a thrilling final. In the 1997 World Championship he was drawn against Terry Griffiths, the latter's last appearance at the Crucible as a player, he eventually beat his coach 10-9 on the black but lost 13-8 to Hendry in the last-16.In 1998 World Championship he reached the semi-finals, and the next year he was runner-up to Hendry.

1999–2004

The 1999/2000 season was a very successful one for Williams. He won both the UK Championship and the World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title and three runner-up positions, allowed him to capture the world number 1 position at the end of the season. In the 2000 World Championship final he came from 7-13 behind his fellow countryman, Matthew Stevens to eventually win 18-16, he also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against John Higgins, coming from 14-10 down to win 15-17. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/730549.stm
title = Inspired Williams stuns Higgins
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2000-04-29
accessdate = 2008-07-08] Williams won only one ranking event in the following season, the Grand Prix, with a 9-5 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, Cite web
url = http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/season01-02/profiles/mwilliams/
title = Profile on Sporting Life 2001/2002
publisher = "Sporting Life"
date = 2001/2002
accessdate = 2008-02-05] but he was a runner-up in two other ranking events, the UK Championship and the China Open, and he maintained his number 1 ranking, although his title defence at the World Championship fell in the second round with a 12-13 defeat to Joe Swail.

In the 2001/2002 season Williams also only won one ranking tournament, the China Open, where he defeated Anthony Hamilton 9-8 in the final, struggling to find the form from the 1999/2000 season. However, he lost to the same player 13-9 in the second round of the 2002 World Championship, and he lost his number 1 ranking to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Another strong performance came in the 2002/2003 season when he won the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship titles. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3185564.stm
title = Williams wins thrilling final
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-10-12
accessdate = 2008-03-02] This made him the only the fourth player after Hendry, Davis and John Higgins to hold these titles simultaneously, and only the third player after Davis and Hendry to have won them all in one year. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3185564.stm
title = Williams wins thrilling final
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-10-12
accessdate = 2008-03-02] These results enabled him to reclaim the number 1 spot at the of the season. In the UK Championship final he beat Ken Doherty 10-9, and in the Masters he beat Hendry 10-4,Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/2741905.stm
title = Williams hammers Hendry
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-02-17
accessdate = 2008-02-29] in the last year of the event's sponsorship from Benson and Hedges. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/2708897.stm
title = Masters' Wembley swansong
publisher = 2003 World Championship he had a scare with his cue when it was damaged and badly bent on his flight with Ryanair to play in the Irish Masters, but he had it repaired before the tournament. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/2939779.stm
title = Damages claim over bent cue
publisher = BBC News
date = 2003-04-11
accessdate = 2008-04-02]

On his way to winning the 2003 World title he had a relatively untroubled route to the final with wins over Stuart Pettman 10-2, Quinten Hann 13-2, Hendry 13-7 and Stephen Lee 17-8 before facing Doherty in the final. He led 10-2, and looked to be heading for and easy victory, before Doherty fought back to 16-16. Williams regained his composure under intense pressure to win the last two frames and lift the trophy for the second time.

The following season he lost in the first round of the UK Championship to Fergal O'Brien, Cite web
url = http://www.snooker.org/plr/bio/mwilliams.shtml
title = Profile on WWW Snooker
date =
accessdate = 2008-02-29] a match which saw an end to his run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match, and saw him endure a run of poor form over the 2004/2005 season which saw him slide to 9th in the world rankings for 2005/2006.His defence at the 2004 World Championship started with a 10-7 win over Dominic Dale, but he lost 13-11 in the second round to Joe Perry.

2005–present

On April 20, in 2005 he became the first Welshman, and the fifth player in history, to score a maximum (147 break) at the Crucible Theatre during the World Championship. This came in the final frame of a 10-1 first round victory over Robert Milkins. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/sol/newsid_4460000/newsid_4466000/4466011.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm
title = Video - Williams overwhelmed by maximum break
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2005-04-20
accessdate = 2007-05-02] Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/4463091.stm#
title = Williams hits superb Crucible 147
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2005-04-20
accessdate = 2007-02-29] But he lost in the second round to Ian McCulloch 13-12, in a high quality match.

On March 26, 2006, Williams won his 16th, and first ranking event in two and a half years, the China Open in Beijing, beating Higgins 9-8 in the final. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/4846670.stm
title = Williams ends long wait for title
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2006-03-26
accessdate = 2008-03-05] This helped him return to the top 8 in the world rankings, after a dramatic fall in the provisional rankings which saw him facing a possible drop out of the top 16. He also showed good form in the 2006 World Championships, beating Anthony Hamilton 10-1 and Mark Selby 13-8 to set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan, the first time the two had met at the Crucible, and the match was given extra tension considering they had been rivals. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/2885295.stm
title = O'Sullivan opens Williams feud
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-03-25
accessdate = 2008-04-04] In a close fought match, O'Sullivan eventually won 13-11. It was revealed during that tournament that Williams had split with coach Terry Griffiths. The two remained very close friends, but Terry would no longer be coaching him. In late 2007, Williams returned to having Griffiths as his coach. Cite web
url = http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/worldchampionships2007/profiles/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=snooker/07/01/08/manual_142406.html
title = Profile on Sporting Life 2007
publisher = "Sporting Life"
date = 2007
accessdate = 2007-05-02]

On September 2, 2006, Williams won the Pot Black trophy after racking up a century break (119) in the final against John Higgins.Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/5309142.stm
title = Williams claims Pot Black prize
publisher = BBC Sport
accessdate = 2007-04-30] But Williams had perhaps the worst season of his career in Snooker season 2006/2007
2006/2007, losing his first match in a string of tournaments (including the World Championship, for the first time ever), but he retained his top 16 place, mainly through the ranking points he had earned the previous season.His first win of the 2007/2008 season came in the Royal London Watches Grand Prix with a 4-3 win over Ian McCulloch, but he still failed to qualify for the last 16 of the event and was outside the top 32 on the provisional ranking list.

In the Maplin UK Championship, he showed a return to some form. He beat Ricky Walden comfortably 9-3 in the last 32, and in the last 16 he faced Mark Allen who led 4-0 and 5-1. However, a cool comeback saw him win the remaining 8 frames to win 9-5. In the quarter-finals, Stephen Maguire was too strong and beat him 9-5. Still, reaching the quarter-finals is a sign that Williams may be returning to form, boosted by the news that Terry Griffiths is coaching him again.

However, after a 6-2 first round loss to Ken Doherty in the 2008 Masters, Williams revealed he was considering retirement from the game, although only 32 years old, if he dropped out of the top 32 and was forced to play in allthe qualifying competitions. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7190283.stm
title = Williams contemplates retirement
publisher = BBC Sport
accessdate = 2008-01-17] But he also stated at the Welsh Open at Newport, that this statement had been blown out of proportion, and that he would remain a professional. He began to show more consistency for the remainder of the season, reaching the last 16 of three ranking events and a run to the quarter-finals of the China Open, but he could not reach his first semi-final for 2 years, being beaten 5-3 by Ryan Day. His next outing was to the World Championship where he cruised to a 10-3 victory over Mark Davis. However, a 13-7 defeat to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round forced him out of the top 16, meaning he will have to go through the qualifiers for several events next year. In that match he was on the receiving end of a 147 from O'Sullivan. Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7369420.stm|title= O'Sullivan 147 sees off Williams|accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=August 15|publisher=BBC Sport|year=2008] Despite this he will start the new season 11th on the provisional one-year list. On 8th July 2008 it was announced that Williams had split from his management company 110 Sport, following O'Sullivan and Stephen MaguireCite web|url=http://www.walesandwest.com/sport/wales/080708_SNOOKER%20-%20WILLIAMS%20LEAVES%20110%20SPORT%20IN%20BITTER%20SPLIT.html|title=Snooker - Williams leaves 110 Sport in bitter split|accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=August 17|publisher=Wales and West News and Sport|year=2008|author=Gary Baker]

Playing style

Williams is believed by some snooker pundits to be the one of the greatest long potters in the game. Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3445533.stm
title = Masters 2004: Player profiles
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2004-01-30
accessdate = 2008-02-29] He has compiled over 200 competitive centuries during his career, but often prefers to do exhibition shots when a frame is won. Despite this he is still 9th on the all time list of century makers.Williams is known as a dry wit with a laid-back attitude towards the game, despite often having a serious expression whilst playing. An unorthodox aspect of his style is a tendency to play his cue directly underneath his body instead of using the rest, which he often does when a frame is won. He is colour blind and has difficulty to distinguish between the red and brown balls. Cite web
url = http://www.billiardindex.com/MarkWilliams.html
title = Profile for Mark Williams on Billiard Index
publisher = Billiard Index
date =
accessdate = 2008-04-04]

Personal life

Williams is also a keen poker player. Cite web
url = http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=28016
title = Profile on thehendonmob.com
publisher = The Hendon Mob
date = 2008
accessdate = 2008-03-05] He is proud of his Welsh heritage, and has a tattoo depicting the Welsh dragon eating the English flag. He and his fiancée Joanne have two sons: Connor (born April 2004), and Kian (born 2007). Cite web
url = http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0700sports/1200sportsroundup/tm_method=full%26objectid=18608027%26siteid=50082-name_page.html
title = Williams hopes to be top of the pops
publisher = icWales
date = 2007-02-11
accessdate = 2007-05-02] Williams is good friends with Matthew Stevens and Stephen Hendry, as well as boxer Joe Calzaghe. Williams was awarded an MBE in June 2004.Cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/wales/3798165.stm| title = MBE joy for Williams| publisher = BBC Sport| date = 2004-06-11| accessdate = 2007-04-30]

Tournament wins and career rankings

Ranking wins

*World Championship - 2000, 2003
*Grand Prix - 1996, 2000
*Regal Welsh Open - 1996, 1999
*British Open - 1997
*Irish Open - 1998
*Thailand Masters - 1999, 2000, 2002
*UK Championship - 1999, 2002
*China Open - 2001, 2006
*LG Cup - 2003

Other wins

* Benson & Hedges Championship – 1994
*Benson & Hedges Masters - 1998, 2003
*Pot Black Trophy - 2006

External links

*World Snooker|id=8760
* [http://www.snooker.org/plr/bio/mwilliams.shtml Profile at WWW Snooker]
* [http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Players/Global_Europe/Global_Welsh/wales_mark_williams.htm Profile at the Global Snooker Centre]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztWNLgn9ow4 Mark Williams 147 on YouTube]

References