China Open Qualifiers - Live Stream

18+ | Gamble Responsibly
Watch Live Here

Williams demolishes Murphy for historic Xi’an Grand Prix success

Jonathan Davies in Xi'an Grand Prix

Left arrow

Mark Williams v Shaun Murphy live stream | Xi’an Grand Prix 2025 Final preview

Williams made history with victory in Xi’an on Monday

Mark Williams became the oldest ranking event winner in snooker history after beating Shaun Murphy 10-3 to claim the Xi’an Grand Prix crown.

At the age of 50 years and 206 days old, Williams surpassed the 43-year record set by the late Ray Reardon at the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.

The Welshman, who landed his 27th ranking title and the top prize of £177,000, also become the first player in history to win professional tournaments in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

Murphy, meanwhile, was denied a second ranking triumph in his many events, having won the British Open just over a fortnight ago.

“I played really well from the first frame to the last,” Williams said. “I don’t think I missed more than a couple of easy balls all day.

“I put pressure on Shaun and he missed a couple of times from 50 in front, I made some good clearances and kept the pressure on. I think I made more frame-winning breaks today than I did in the whole tournament.

“It’s amazing that I am still winning tournaments, I don’t know how I’m doing it because I am not practising enough to really compete in the later stages of tournaments. I try to play as much as I can while I’m at venues, and you have to scrape me off the table until the last ball is potted.”

The Magician had won both the previous ranking finals he had contested with Williams, including a dramatic 10-9 victory at the 2019 China Championship.

However, the Welshman was quick out of the blocks with a break of 75, before overturning early deficits in the next three frames with runs of 73, 56 and 68 after Murphy failed to convert his opportunities.

Trailing 4-0, the reigning Masters champion did stop the rot with a contribution of 69. Yet, after winning a scrappy sixth to guarantee a lead in the evening session, Williams hit breaks of 59, 55 and 127 to establish a commanding 7-1 at the conclusion of the afternoon.

The three-time World champion picked up from where he left off with a 122, though Murphy reduced his arrears to 8-3 with a top run of 93 along the way.

It proved a false dawn, however, for the Magician, with Williams producing further contributions of 65 and 61 to seal his historic triumph.

“Congratulations to Mark, he’s a wonderful player and an all-time great, and today he played like one,” Murphy added.

“He was very tough and the better man on the day. I missed a few shots and he punished me. His safety was good and his tactics were strong.

“I hate to lose, it’s very painful. I tried my best and that’s all I can ask. The fans were great, it was a great atmosphere, I’m just sorry I couldn’t do better.”