Mark Williams

 D.O.B. 21 Mar 1975




Lives Ebbw Vale



Last 5 Seasons14-22-12-8-9



Turned Pro 1992



Ranking Tournament Victories 17 – Welsh Open 1996, 1999; Grand Prix 1996, 2000; British Open 1997; Irish Open 1998; Thailand Masters 1999, 2000, 2002; UK Championship 1999, 2002; World Championship 2000, 2003; China Open 2002, 2006, 2010; LG Cup 2003



Last season World Snooker Tour prize money

£152,920



Highest Tournament Break 147 – World Championship 2005

Williams re-established himself as a major force in snooker during the 2009/10 campaign, particularly in winning his first ranking title in four years.

He did that at the Sanyuan Foods China Open in Beijing, the same city in which he had won his previous ranking title in 2006. One of snooker’s most successful travellers, Williams has now won six ranking title in Asia.

This time he beat Jamie Cope, John Higgins, Marco Fu and Ali Carter to reach the final, then got the better of Ding Junhui 10-6. It was a high-quality contest with 15 breaks over 50 in the 16 frames, as Williams showed the break-building class, tactical nous and matchplay toughness which has made him one of the sport’s all-time greats.

“I'm over the moon to win again. It's been a long time coming but I've kept working hard and I felt that in the end the results would come,” said the Welshman. “My biggest goal for the season was to make sure of my top 16 place so it's great to have that as well as a title.”

Williams won at least one match in all six ranking events during the campaign. He got to the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, losing to Ding, and also the last four of the invitational Pokerstars.com Masters, where he came within a whisker of beating Ronnie O’Sullivan but crucially missed a tricky red to a centre pocket in the deciding frame and lost 6-5.

O’Sullivan again proved a tough opponent at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship in their last 16 clash. Williams led 8-6, but eventually lost 13-10. “It was a fantastic match to be involved in. There were a few little nudges that didn't go my way, and if they had it could have been a different story,” said the left-hander, who finished the season in eighth place in the official rankings.

He had spent the previous season facing the pressure cooker of the qualifiers, having dropped out of the top 16, but managed to regain his elite status at the first attempt.

Known for his awesome single-ball potting and exceptional touch, Williams first ruled the Crucible in 2000 when he became the only left-hander to win the world title.

He came from 13-7 down to beat fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens 18-16. His second world title followed three years later when he beat Ken Doherty by the same scoreline in another close final. That completed an incredible hat-trick of snooker’s biggest titles as earlier that season he had won the UK Championship and the Masters.

He has won 17 ranking titles in all as well as the Masters twice. His first Wembley crown came in dramatic circumstances in 1999 as the final against Hendry went down to a respotted black, Williams potting it to a baulk corner after Hendry had missed a chance to a centre pocket.

Williams made the first competitive 147 of his career in a match against Rob Milkins at Sheffield in 2005 – and that was handy timing as it scooped him a £161,000 bonus. He became the fifth player to make a maximum at the Crucible.

In 2004, Williams was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. "It is a tremendous honour for me, for Wales and for the game of snooker," he said.

In his teenage years, Williams was a keen boxer and won several fights before being on the wrong end of a thumping from an older, heavier boy which curtailed his brief career in the ring. His hobbies include playing golf and five-a-side football as well as driving exotic sports cars and motorbikes. He and partner Joanne have sons called Connor, born in 2004, and Kian, born in 2007.