Championship League - Live Stream

18+ | Gamble Responsibly
Watch Live Here

Mark Williams topples Judd Trump to reach fifth World Championship final

Jonathan Davies in World Snooker Championship

Left arrow

Shaun Murphy’s 2005 World Championship triumph: 20 Years On | Part Three
Right arrow

Zhao Xintong seizes control against Mark Williams in World Snooker Championship final

Williams celebrates his victory over Trump (PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

Mark Williams will play Zhao Xintong in the 2025 World Championship final, after a 17-14 victory over Judd Trump on Saturday.

The 50-year-old is the oldest player to reach the Crucible final, which he will contest for a fifth time after denying the world number one in a thrilling semi-final.

Williams avenged his 17-16 defeat by 2019 World champion Trump at this stage three years ago, as well as his agonising 10-9 reverse on the final black in this season’s inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters showpiece.

The three-time World champion’s reward is a showdown with Zhao, who trounced Ronnie O’Sullivan with a session to spare, in what will be the first Crucible final between two left-handed players.

Williams, who survived match ball against John Higgins in the quarter-finals, had recovered from 7-3 down to level 8-8 overnight, and took the opening frame of the third session with a run of 57.

Trump, targeting his fourth Crucible final, responded with successive breaks of 71 and looked good for an 11-9 lead at 52-35 up in frame 20.

However, a missed a tricky penultimate red, which Williams subsequently cleared from to steal on the pink, before breaks of 73 and 84 put him 12-10 to the good.

The Ace hit back with a stunning long plant paving the way for a 64, but a 62 saw the Welshman regain his two-frame buffer at the conclusion of the session.

Williams opened the final session with contributions of 67 and 65 to stretch his lead to 15-11 and, though Trump replied with 104, a break of 100 moved him to the brink of victory.

The world number one refused to lie down and a superb 116 clearance – his 100th century at the World Championship – helped reduce the deficit to 16-14.

But despite feeling the tension, Williams held himself together with a magnificent clearance of 123 seeing him through to yet another Crucible final.

“I was starting to twitch towards the end,” he told BBC Sport. “I did feel a bit of tension in my back arm. I’m never normally nervous at any stage, but I was during that [last] break.

“I can’t believe I’m in another final, I don’t know how I’m doing it! I came here with not much form, but I wasn’t really too concerned.

“I never really play the opponent. I shouldn’t really be competing with the number one player in the world over three days in a first-to-17, but somehow, I’m plodding along for us oldies!

“When I shook Judd’s hand at the end, he said some lovely words. He said: ‘it’s unbelievable that you’re still going at your age and all the best, I hope you win it’.

“I wouldn’t have thought I’d be here at the start of the tournament. But I’m still plugging away. I haven’t had an easy match. I don’t know what’s left in the tank – we’ll have to see, I suppose.

“It would be a great occasion if a Chinese player wins the World Championship and great for our sport – but not just yet!”

“I tried my best, I didn’t quite play as well as I did in the first few games,” Trump added. “Mark played extraordinarily well from when I think I should have gone 11-9 up at the interval [on Saturday morning].

“I didn’t do much wrong, a few little mistakes on safety. It wasn’t quite firing, but it wasn’t that far off. When you play someone as good as Mark, everything is magnified.

“The difference was just at the crucial moments, he potted them and I didn’t. There were a couple of times – a big frame at 7-3 and a big frame to go 11-9 – where I had a really good chance. I just didn’t quite find what I had in the first few games, Mark was the more consistent player throughout and, in the end, he really deserved the win.

“There are no negatives, I tried my heart out and just ran out of steam. I probably would have preferred to peak as the tournament went on, I probably started off too well.

“Any other player apart from Mark and I probably would have been in the final, so I think you just have to take your hat off to him, he was too good over the three days and I’ll try to improve for next year.”