'Frightening' - Mark Williams wows Jimmy White with 'sensational' Crucible masterclass at World Championship

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 21/04/2022 at 20:39 GMT

Jimmy White has branded the play of Mark Williams "frightening" after the Welsh wizard stormed into a commanding lead against his practice partner Jackson Page at the Crucible. The 47-year-old produced some outrageous shots in breaks of 74, 53, 50, 100, 75 and 121 to take total control of the match at the 2022 World Championship as he eyes a fourth title on the biggest stage.

Mark Williams' play so far at the World Championship has been nothing short of "frightening", according to snooker legend Jimmy White.

The Welshman stormed into a 7-1 overnight lead over his good friend, compatriot and training partner, Jackson Page, on Thursday afternoon and played utterly sublime snooker in the process.

'The Welsh Potting Machine' was utterly dominant and was only pegged back as Page belatedly got on the board in the final frame of the session to prevent a whitewash against his mentor.

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Williams began the match with a glorious knock of 125, and he followed that up with breaks of 74, 53, 50, 100, 75 and 121 to keep his protege slumped in his chair for the majority of the proceedings.

The 47-year-old, who is a three-time world champion having triumphed in Sheffield in 2000, 2003 and 2018, looked to be back to his very best in the performance and White was left hugely impressed.

"Frightening! He was absolutely sensational," White said in the Eurosport studio.

"I watched that today and this season he has been in so many close matches. He has lost by the odd frame in five or so tournaments.

"But his three centuries were part of how brilliant he was. He is playing some sensational stuff and playing with so much freedom.

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"He has won three World Championships and didn't think he was going to win the last one. He has got nothing to prove.

"Poor Jackson Page didn't do anything wrong, he just didn't have a chance.

"He was 33/1 at the start of this tournament and a few people in the know have backed him to win. He hasn't converted matches into winning tournaments [this season], but boy is he playing some good stuff!

"On form so far, he is the man to win the tournament."

Williams made headlines prior to the match by hitting back at fellow legend Stephen Hendry for his comments recommending that Page should "stay away” from practising with his opponent ahead of the encounter.

When the comments were flagged up on social media, Williams was emphatic in his dismissal of the logic behind them and made his views on the subject abundantly clear.

"What an idiot," he said on Twitter, adding that it was a "load of nonsense" in another reply.

'Mesmerised' - Williams continues masterclass against Page

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