'The best venue in snooker' – Why Mark Williams feels Masters should be ranking event
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ByEurosport
Updated 10/01/2022 at 09:59 GMT
Mark Williams feels it might be time for the Masters to become a ranking event involving every professional on the World Snooker Tour. Speaking after his 6-4 win over defending champion Yan Bingtao in the first round, Williams feels every player must be given the chance to experience the best arena in the sport rather than the elite tournament being restricted to the world's top 16.
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Mark Williams has hailed Alexandra Palace in London as snooker's greatest arena, but believes the Masters may need to become a ranking event rather than an elite invitational tournament in future years.
Speaking after his 6-4 win over defending champion Yan Bingtao from 3-1 behind in the first round on Sunday, Williams feels the time has come for every player on the World Snooker Tour to have the chance to experience the sport's "best venue".
Williams won his two Masters titles at the old Wembley Conference Centre in 1998 and 2003, but feels the Ally Pally atmosphere can only be rivalled by the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield when the World Championship reaches its final stages.
The Welshman rolled in breaks of 63, 56, 62, 67, 64, 104 and 85 with 21-year-old Yan contributing 64, 71, 57 and 122 in a magnificent start to the 48th Masters.
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"I don't think I've played that many times here," said Williams. "A few times here, I was out of the top 16. I played a few Masters at the old venues and the Wembley Arena. That wasn't great.
"But this one is fantastic and it is just a shame everyone can't experience this venue.
It is only a top-16 event, but maybe there is a call as a major tournament for everyone to be in it with the 128 involved.
Williams will face old foe John Higgins or UK champion Zhao Xintong in the last eight on Thursday evening and added: "I didn't think anything would beat the Wembley Conference Centre, but I think now this is the best venue we've ever played in.
"It is even better than the Wembley Conference Centre. It has a big lounge at one side and sofas at the other end. It is a massive arena with around 2,000 people in.
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Williams' decisive fluke in winning frame against Yan
"It is hard to generate an atmosphere like that. Maybe the Crucible when it gets down to one table, but that venue out there is outstanding."
Williams would prefer to lock cues with Higgins in the quarter-finals. He said: "I’d like to play John next.
We’ve been around forever. He’s getting older, greyer and balder. I’m getting older, greyer and balder. There would be a fantastic crowd and it would just be like the Crucible back in 2018. It would be brilliant.
Yan praised the performance of Williams despite seeing his title defence end at the first stage a year after his 10-8 win over Higgins in the final in Milton Keynes.
"We both played very well. Mark was great, he made every long pot and every difficult shot. I lost but I am happy because I played well. That was the best I’ve played this season," he said.
“I enjoyed it out there. I had a lot of pressure as it was very different to last year having 2,000 people watching the match. This was my first time at Ally Pally. Today I played well and I enjoyed the arena.”
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