Williams defeated Allen, Class of '92 in the finals
In the semi-finals of the Tour Championship, Mark Williams withstood Mark Allen's last-minute attack and won 10-5, his first ranking final against Ronnie O'Sullivan in 24 years.
After falling behind 0-9, Allen played the greatest comeback in snooker history, and his opponent became more and more nervous at 9-5, but Williams finished the match with an excellent high score in the 15th game. After beating nemesis Judd Trump 10-4 in the previous round, the Welsh veteran has two of his best games in recent years – beating two of the top three in the world rankings.
On Sunday, he will face the world No. 1, an opponent he has known and respected since his youth, having become a professional player with Higgins in 1992. Williams and O'Sullivan last met in a ranking tournament final at the 2000 China Open, and tomorrow's showdown at Centre Court in Manchester will be a big match.
Williams said: "I just want to enjoy the game. How many more times will that happen? I couldn't have found a better player in the finals. I'm going to attack as hard as I can. ”
Looking back at the head-to-head record between the two, the Rockets lead 33-9 and Williams have won just two of their last 24 meetings, but if the 49-year-old can play as well as he did today, it will be a classic game. Williams will be playing in his 41st ranking tournament final, aiming for his 26th career title and second of the season. He won the British Open in September.
Three-time World Champion Williams scored 57, 99, 105 and 112 points in the first stage to crush Allen and win all eight games. When he opened the pitch tonight with a single-shot 140, a high-profile bloodbath was on the horizon and would be the first televised match since Murphy beat Lo Honghao 10-0 at Crucible in 2019. Over the past two seasons, Allen has won a lot of games with a never-say-die attitude. In the 10th game, he finally held back a single stroke of 65 points to gain a foothold, and then saved four match points in a row with 53 points, 79 points, 56 points and 69 points. However, Williams scored 75 points in a single stroke at the beginning of the 15th inning to seal the victory.
Williams admitted after the game: "I was a little bit worried at 9-5 and I had a couple of chances to end the fight 9-1 or 9-2. After that, Allen played very well. If it's 9-6, then I'm really pressed underneath the opponent. But my single-shot score in the final round was as good as any time I've ever had in the game, and it's good to know that I still have that feel. ”
"In the first stage, my security is very reliable, and my breaking 100 and far platform are very good. In this game, I can easily hit six or seven shots to break 100. He had a chance when he was 5-0 down, but he missed a difficult blue shot, and on top of that, he didn't score in many rounds because I controlled him so badly. Finally, he wished me the best of luck in the final. Allen is perfectly capable of winning the World Championship, and as for me, who knows? ”
"I know it's been a long time since I've played the Rockets in the finals, but that's because he kept beating me until the finals!"
The game will start at 8 p.m. on Sunday for eight innings, with the rest of the games starting at 3 a.m. the next day. The first to grab 10 rounds will lift the trophy and take home £150,000.