World Snooker Championship remaining: Mark Williams leads John Higgins on the Crucible

Two-time champion Mark Williams holds a 10-7 lead over four-time winner John Higgins after an attention-grabbing first day of the World Championship remaining.

Wales’ Williams, forty three, surged four-Zero forward earlier than Higgins learned his invent to win off the assign with a century destroy.

Two additional loads helped the 42-yr-primitive Scot level the the rest at 7-7 nonetheless Williams added one of his luxuriate in as he won the final three frames of the day.

The finest-of-35 remaining resumes live to sigh the tale BBC Two at 14:00 BST on Monday.

The winner will obtain the trophy and a listing £425,000 in prize cash at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

Each and every gamers are aiming to turn out to be the oldest champion since Ray Reardon, who was once forty five when he triumphed in 1978, and shared four centuries and eight additional breaks of fifty or more.

Late-night kebab gives Williams vitality

Williams, who final reached the the rest 18 years previously when he beat Ken Doherty, completed his dramatic final-four tie in opposition to Barry Hawkins at 23:50 BST the previous night.

Two hours later he was once having a kebab and chips at a takeaway in Sheffield and he was once clean feeling hungry all around the the rest when he requested to part some crisps, chocolate snacks and sweets with a fan sitting in the field beside him.

It perceived to help as Williams – who contemplated retiring final yr after a sad bustle of invent – punished the Scot for uncharacteristic errors to fabricate a narrow 5-Three again after the first session.

The first four frames of the 2d session were shared with Williams making Seventy two, and Higgins, who final won the title in 2011, taking a scrappy frame and following up his earlier 119 with a 127.

Williams seemed put of living to switch 8-6 in front in the 14th frame nonetheless the cue ball went in off and Higgins capitalised with one other century, this time 117, to level the match.

Williams, even though, stroked in a destroy of 118 and punished Higgins for lacking a black off the put of living with sixty four, besides taking the final for a three-frame cushion overnight.

‘Williams looks in point of truth assured’ – prognosis

Six-time world champion Steve Davis on BBC Two: « That was once an fine final frame with Higgins making a schoolboy error.

« I knew Higgins can also defend this remaining nonetheless I wasn’t so trot about Mark Williams nonetheless he’s shown he can. He looks in point of truth assured.

« John will rest up tonight and have one other enormous push the next day to come. He has the flexibility to fabricate that. »

Frame ratings

John Higgins (Sco) 7-10 Mark Williams (Wal)

First session: 23-75, 15-Sixty 5, 35-Seventy two, (fifty five) 60-70, (119) a hundred and twenty-four, Zero-133 (Ninety five), (fifty two) ninety eight-Zero, (59) eighty two-21

Second session: 46-Eighty one (Seventy two), (Fifty one) 75-31, (127) 127-8, 12-seventy six, (fifty six) 85-9, (117) 123-15, Zero-123 (118), 35-sixty four (sixty four), forty three-eighty

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