Mark Williams was left ‘spewing’ after losing the English Open final, but only because it means he will not take any time off and play in two upcoming events.
Williams became the oldest ranking event finalist for 40 years as he reached the showpiece against Ali Carter in Brentwood.
The 51-year-old already set the record as the oldest ranking event winner last season when he claimed the Xi’an Grand Prix at 50.
He was bidding to break that record himself but fell short, losing 9-6 to the Captain and having to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize.
The veteran three-time world champion next plays an International Championship qualifier in Leicester on Friday and will go to the Shenzhen Open at the end of the month, although his plans were nearly very different.
Williams said that if he had landed the Steve Davis Trophy and the £100,000 top prize, he would have scrapped those two trips and taken the rest of the month off.
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‘Oh, if I beat Ali tonight, I won’t go in,’ Williams said of the Shenzhen Open, where he is defending champion as it has moved from Xi’an.
‘I’ve got a qualifier Friday, I won’t go in, and so now he’s done my head in and I’ve got to go to China and I’ve got to go to the qualifier. Spewing.’
Snooker fans will be delighted that they will see more of the legend of the game after another remarkable week for him in Essex.
34 years after turning professional, Williams produced an incredible comeback in his semi-final, beating Shaun Murphy 6-5 from 1-5 behind, with a superb string of breaks.
Earlier in the event he had downed a range of opponents from 20-year-old fellow Welshman Liam Davies to 47-year-old multiple ranking event winner Barry Hawkins.
When Williams played his first match as a pro, it was still a few weeks before Brian Deane scored the Premier League’s first goal and it was over 11 years before current world champion Wu Yize was born.
Just to confirm that he has been around a while, he is now sporting a fabulous grey beard, befitting his status as a snooker immortal.
Simply INCREDIBLE from a legend of the game! 🙌
From 5-1 down, Mark Williams reeled off five straight frames, capped off by this incredible break.
The oldest ranking event finalist for 40 years.#EnglishOpen | @betvictor pic.twitter.com/6vZMog1fQN
— WST (@WeAreWST) September 12, 2026
He can still produce magical stuff and intends to for some time to come, with no plans to retire at all. He also treated the crowd in Brentwood to his usual self-deprecation in defeat.
‘The conditions were tough tonight, very humid, but when you hit the ball like Ali, it’s unbelievable,’ he said. ‘I’ve played two players now, Murphy last game and him and it’s like playing the cue action, it’s like playing a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley.
‘Then I’m coming behind like a Lancia Delta, where you’ve got to drive the cue action, you’ve got to aim and you’ve got to fight the ball in. Fantastic ball-strikers and thoroughly deserved to win. He played much better tonight than me.
‘I tried my best, I played okay in patches, I didn’t play too well tonight. But Ali put the pressure on me, I didn’t handle it very well, but he deserved to win. It was a great game, I enjoyed it, tried my best.
‘The crowd’s been unbelievable all week. You know, the conditions have been good. It’s tough at times, but really good and good luck to Ali.’
There was great mutual respect between the two and Carter was thrilled to have a legend on his list of victims in ranking event finals as he landed his seventh title.
‘I think in all my ranking events, I’ve never beat one of the all-time greats, so to win today against one of the all-time greats makes it extra special,’ said the Captain.
‘I’ve beat, not being detrimental to players I’ve beat in finals, but lower-ranked players, probably lower-ranked players than me.
‘Obviously I’ve had a bit of a tough time with Ronnie in Triple Crown events, played him three out of four [finals]. So to play Mark Williams and win today, in front of my home crowd, is a dream come true.’
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