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- Mark Williams Trails Judd Trump After Scrappy Opening Session At Crucible
Mark Williams has ground to make up on Friday if he wants to defy time and become world champion again.
Williams was left to rue a string of missed chances as Judd Trump carved out a narrow 5-3 overnight lead in a nervy opening session of their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible.
In a match brimming with tension but short on fluency, three-time world champion Williams saw his early momentum fade despite crafting two fine breaks of 73 and 116.
A crucial error on a straightforward black in the final frame of the evening gifted Trump the chance to clear up with a century and take a slender cushion into Friday’s play.
The 50-year-old Williams, the oldest player to reach the last four since his fellow Welsh legend Ray Reardon in 1985, appeared sharp in patches but was ultimately undone by inconsistency.
A scrappy start to the contest saw both men struggle to find their rhythm, with Williams taking the first frame thanks to a gritty 73 – helped by a fortunate red that dropped while escaping a snooker.
The caginess continued into a marathon second frame, lasting 39 minutes, where Williams’ aggressive shot selection backfired as he missed a key blue, allowing Trump to edge ahead.
The Englishman extended his lead in the third after nailing a three-ball plant, capitalising again on Williams’ mistakes.
But Williams, determined not to let the session slip away, responded with authority.
His clinical 116 break levelled things at 2-2 going into the interval, and although both men continued to falter upon resumption, the cue-man from Cwm kept pace to level again at 3-3.
As the session wore on, Trump’s luck turned, most notably in the seventh frame when, faced with a brutal snooker, he fluked a red into the corner pocket at the third attempt.
It proved pivotal as he scraped through a tightly contested frame to regain the lead.
The eighth frame then delivered the night’s decisive moment. Williams, seemingly in control, missed a black off its spot — a rare lapse in concentration that proved costly.
Trump seized the opportunity with a commanding break of 109, his 105th century of the season, to complete the session two frames clear.
READ MORE: Mark Williams Stands Tall In ‘Class of ’92’ Showdown At Crucible
The pair are no strangers to high-stakes Crucible drama, having gone toe-to-toe in a thrilling 2022 semi-final, and with plenty of snooker left to play in this best-of-33 encounter, Williams will be confident of hitting back.
In the other semi-final, seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and China’s Zhao Xintong are locked at 4-4 after a high-quality first session.
O’Sullivan won three consecutive frames at one stage, shutting out his opponent for over half an hour, but Zhao finished with an impressive break of 86 to ensure the contest remains finely balanced.
READ MORE: Mark Williams . . . Still Rocking And Rolling Back The Years At The Crucible
