Perhaps this will be the last time Mark J Williams will play at the Crucible Theatre? In the first round of the 2024 World Snooker Championships, Mark Williams and Chinese player Si Jiahui fought to 9:9, and the latter ended the match with a score of 77 in the next tiebreaker. The "Golden Left Hand", who suffered a round of tours, said after the game that he may not participate in this event again next year.
Three-time world snooker champion Mark Williams suffered a round trip
Si Jiahui, ranked 23rd in the world, made a name for himself in the last World Championships by knocking out players such as Shaun Murphy and reaching the semi-finals. In this battle, even if Mark Williams scored 142 points in the first game, and won another game to lead 2:0, Si Jiahui did not have stage fright, and he gradually controlled the rhythm of the game, and after the end of the first half of the game, he only fell behind the "golden left hand" by 4:5 in the number of rounds.
After that, Si Jiahui won 4 games in a row, overtaking the number of games to 8:5 in one breath, and Mark Williams, who was in a slump for a while, also made a force to chase back at this time, and played a wonderful long-table attack many times, chasing the score to 9:9. In the 19th game of the decisive game, Si Jiahui seized the opportunity under great pressure, and although he failed to complete the clearance, he still scored 77 points with a total score of 77 points, and narrowly defeated the "Golden Left Hand" with a total score of 10:9 and entered the top 16 in a thrilling manner.
faced a strong opponent in the first round, but Si Jiahui did not have stage fright
After the match, the 21-year-old lamented Mark Williams' attacking prowess and thought he was going to be overturned by his opponent in the lead, "We didn't get into the groove in the first half, he gave me a lot of opportunities to take the lead to 8:5, and the accuracy behind him was terrifying, and he deserved to be the most accurate man in the world." ”
Si Jiahui also said that he always considered himself "the challenger to try and beat him", so he didn't feel too much pressure, which is why he won this match.
Mark Williams also admits that he didn't play well in the first half, but he also praised Si Jiahui's performance: "I played well at 9:9, but Si Jiahui played probably the best shot I've ever seen in the tiebreaker, especially when you feel a lot of pressure. He thinks that if he can play at this level more, he will undoubtedly become a world champion.
Mark Williams thinks he didn't perform well in the first half
When asked if he would make a comeback next year, "Golden Left Hand" did not give a definite answer: "Who knows? I will be 50 years old next year, and I love every minute of my time here, but I don't know if I will come here again." ”
However, Mark Williams clarified that this answer was not intended to retire, "I haven't really thought about my future yet, I just had a tough fight, and it's not easy to get back here." I'm not retiring, but I'm going to play every game like it's the last, and who knows if I'll be playing again next year? ”