Mark Williams won a thrilling World Snooker Championship quarterfinal over long time rival John Higgins 13-12, with a black-ball finish in the deciding frame.

Welsh world number six, looking to win his fourth World Championship title, fell behind 5-1 in frames to his ‘Class of 92’ counterpart, before recovering to draw 8-8 overnight.

Williams came back strong in the morning session, winning the first four frames to lead 12-8. Higgins, a four-time World Champion himself, showed his quality to comeback strongly and level the game at 12-12.

Thrilling Final Frame

In a tense deciding frame, Williams took the first advantage, hitting a break of 25. It was not enough, however, as Higgins replied with 31.

After another solid visit to the table from Higgins, and two errors from Williams, the Scot led 56-25 and looked to have booked his spot in the semi-final.

Williams’ safety game got him out of trouble, though, forcing Higgins into a mistake as the cue ball hit the middle pocket knuckle, opening up an opportunity for the Welshman.

Williams closed the gap to 52-56 but opted for safety on the final red. Higgins took advantage and, after navigating a tricky brown on the far cushion, had a shot on the blue to win it.

Higgins missed the blue in extraordinary fashion, leaving Williams 13 points adrift and 18 points to play with. The Welsh Potting Machine lived up to his nickname and sunk the blue, pink, and black to win a thrilling quarter-final.

Williams’ celebrations are understated but his relief as he left the Crucible stage was palpable. He will play Luka Brecel or Judd Trump in the semi-final, with Trump leading 5-3.

Sportin Wales’s coverage of Wales’s World Cup qualifying campaign is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this year for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

Our podcast is back for the new season and our co-founder Alex Cuthbert is in charge! You can find all the episodes here or the video versions on our YouTube channel.

You can also keep track of our pieces and videos on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X or Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.