Mark Williams 'to attack' Ronnie O'Sullivan in Tour Championship final after dominant display

Mark Williams 'to attack' Ronnie O'Sullivan in Tour Championship final after dominant display

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Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 07/04/2024

- 08:07

The Welsh Potting Machine will aim to win his 26th ranking tournament on Sunday

Mark Williams says he will 'attack' the Tour Championship final against Ronnie O'Sullivan on Sunday.

The Welshman put in a dominant display to beat Mark Allen in Saturday's semi-final, surviving a late scare to win 10-5.


Williams raced into an 8-0 lead after the first session and looked set to whitewash his Northern Irish opponent.

He won the first frame of the evening session, too, to the disappointment of fans who wanted to see more action.

Mark Williams and Ronnie O'Sullivan

Mark Williams says he will 'attack' the Tour Championship final against Ronnie O'Sullivan

Getty

But, on the brink of losing 10-0, Allen finally won his first frame to the delight of the crowd.

He jokingly said to his opponent 'No one beats me 10-0' but Williams wouldn't have expected what happened next.

Allen then won the next four frames to close the gap to 9-5 before Williams eventually sealed the victory.

He will play fellow Class of '92 star O'Sullivan in the final after the Rocket beat Gary Wilson in a close encounter on Friday.

Williams will relish the opportunity against his old rival and will give it all he has got.

He said: "I'm just going to enjoy it. How many more times is this going to happen?

"I couldn't pick a better player to play in a final. I'm going to attack and try my best.

"I know I haven't played Ronnie in a final for a long time but that's because he keeps beating me before the final!"

The best-of-19 final begins at 1pm on Sunday and the winner will take home £150,000 in the final tournament before the World Championship.

Williams admitted he was slightly concerned once Allen had won five frames in a row.

He reflected: "I was a bit worried at 9-5. I had a couple of chances to win 9-1 or 9-2. Mark played really well after that.

"If it had gone 9-6 then I was really under it. But the break I made in the last frame was as good as any I made in the match, it's nice to know I've still got that bottle.

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Mark Williams

Mark Williams beat Mark Allen in the semi-final of the Tour Championship

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"In the first session my safety was really solid, my breaks and long potting were good.

"I could have easily had six or seven centuries during the match.

"He had one chance at 5-0 when he missed a tricky blue, apart from that in a lot of frames he was never in them because I tied him up in knots."

Williams believes Allen has a chance of winning at the Crucible for the first time this year.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan stands in Mark Williams' way of Tour Championship glory

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He added: "At the end he wished me best of the luck in the final.

"Mark is more than capable of winning the world title, as for me, who knows? That's for other people to say."

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