Mark Williams Edges Towards Victory At Crucible

By Simon Kendal-Williams

Mark Williams took a giant step towards the second-round of the Betfred World Snooker Championship after dominating his opening session against Jimmy Robertson.

The 43-year-old surged into a 7–2 lead in the best-of-19 clash, and needs just three frames for victory when the pair resume on Tuesday.

Robertson looked to have made an ideal start to his fourth Crucible appearance, only for Williams to snatch the opening frame on the black with a 63 clearance.

The 2000 and 2003 world champion never looked back, compiling breaks of 84 and 102 as he raced to a 7-1 advantage.

An error-strewn ninth frame eventually went to the English qualifier, but it is Williams who is odds-on to progress.

Should he prevail, another Robertson potentially lies in wait – 2010 champion Neil.

It was a different story on the other side of the screen as Luca Brecel became the fourth top seed to crash out in as many days.

The world number 13 lost out 10-6 to Chester’s Ricky Walden, meaning the 23-year-old Belgian has yet to win a first-round match in Sheffield in three attempts.

Earlier, world number three Ding Junhui wasted little time in seeing off Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong.

Leading 6-3 overnight, the 2016 runner-up won the first four frames to book a second-round match against either Anthony McGill or Welshman Ryan Day.