MARK WILLIAMS secured arguably the greatest comeback of his career to reach the final of the English Open.
The Welshman, 51, was behind 4-0 and then 5-1 to Shaun Murphy before mounting a stunning comeback to win 6-5.
Williams, who has the chance to beat his own record as the oldest winner of a ranking event, will face Ali Carter in Sunday’s final.
After the monumental win, the snooker legend told TNT Sports: “I’ve got out jail there I think.
“I was 4-0 down and he was by far the better player. But, I just stuck in there.
“The two clearances I’ve done were good. I think I was 60-odd behind to get to 5-5. I made an excellent break in the last.
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“I felt so calm in the last, no pressure at all, until I got to 69 and I had a red and my arm just went! I missed it by about three inches!”
He added: “Even at 4-0, I was getting ready to watch the Conor Benn fight on my drive home!
“I was timing it, thinking ‘they’re walking out at 3.30, but that time I’ll be on the M4’.
“But I never give up. I was missing a lot, 4-0, 5-1, 5-2, but I never give up.
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List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
- 2025 – Zhao Xintong
- 2026 – Wu Yize
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
“1 in 1000 matches you turn it around from 4-0. That was my 1 in 1,000.”
After being told he was the oldest finalist in 40 years, Williams joked: “Stop saying that – every time I get to a final, you say I’m the oldest!
“I’m over the moon. I managed to win a tournament last year. I’m in the final of this one. I’ve got a chance to win it.
“I’ve got out of jail a couple of times this week. I’m just going to go for it, enjoy it, and hopefully play like the way I finished off there.”
Losing semi-finalist Murphy said: “It is a tough defeat to take. I’m disappointed of course.”
Speaking about his cue tip, Murphy said it “has got to go”, and added: “To get as far as I’ve got, to do as well as I’ve done this week, handicapped so badly… this has got to come off.
“Handicapped by that, I’ve done really well. I’m almost relieved because I can go home, take this off and see the back of it.
“We do throw the word ‘legend’ around a bit easy these days, but [Williams] is a true legend. That’s why he’s won.”
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