Mark Williams v Xiao Guodong live stream | Champion of Champions Final preview
Williams seeks his second title of 2024 (News Images LTD / Alamy Stock Photo)
Mark Williams and Xiao Guodong face off on Sunday for the right to be crowned the 2024 Champion of Champions in Bolton.
The two players will do battle over the best of 19 frames at the Toughsheet Community Stadium to become the seventh different winner of the popular invitational event, while pocketing the top prize of £150,000.
The final line-up is all the more incredible considering, prior to this week, Williams had never won a match in his three previous Champion of Champions appearances, while this is Xiao’s debut in the prestigious tournament.
Nevertheless, they have certainly earned the right to get this far. Between them, they have taken out five World champions, plus a former UK Championship and Masters winner.
Williams is appearing in his second final of the season, having suffered an agonising 10-9 defeat to Judd Trump on the final black at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The reigning Tour Championship winner ended his wait for a win at the Champion of Champions with a 4-1 victory over World Women’s champion Bai Yulu, before edging out reigning Crucible king Kyren Wilson 6-5 to progress as the Group Three winner.
Williams ended a seven-game losing streak against Wilson in defeating the Warrior, then repeated the feat against Neil Robertson in the semi-finals, hitting a top break of 132 on the way to a commanding 6-2 success.
Opponent Xiao has already made history in becoming the first Chinese player to reach the final of this event.
The Wuhan Open champion has done it in style, too. He appeared set for a swift exit at 3-0 down in his opening match against Ronnie O’Sullivan, but battled back to stun the four-time champion.
The world number 16 then overturned a 3-0 deficit to edge out Mark Selby 6-5 on the final blue and win Group Four, before dethroning reigning champion Mark Allen with a 6-3 victory in the semi-finals.
He now aims to become the first debutant to win this tournament, while claiming the scalp of another former World champion in the process.
The first nine frames will commence at 1pm GMT on Sunday, before resuming at 7pm with a maximum of 10 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton.
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