Pop icon Jones keeps Williams’ title hopes on track

It’s not unusual for Mark Williams to be in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship. After all he is a three-time winner of the sport’s biggest prize.

However, as he bids at 50 to become the oldest world champion, he admits he is seeking a little bit of extra help from the green, green grass of home.

After beating John Higgins in a dramatic final black-ball finish to their quarter-final, Williams told the BBC televsion audience it was the music of Tom Jones that got him over the line.

And Williams manager Lee Walker, himself a fomer snooker player, has revealed Williams then spoke to the pop icon on the phone after the match.

“They’re good friends,” Walker told BBC Radio Wales’ Breakfast programme.

Williams uses Jones’ 1960’s hit Delilah as his walk on music and, after his 13-12 win over fellow ‘Class of ’92’ veteran Higgins, said another of the Welsh singer’s hits also kept him going before Wednesday morning’s final session.

“I just kept playing Tom Jones ‘Delilah’ and ‘A boy from nowhere’ over and over this morning as I was getting ready because I’m knackered, I’ve got to be honest,” explained Williams in his post-match interview.

“In the dressing room I was still playing and singing those two songs over and over just to try and stay with it you know because it’s tough out there especially the older you get and you’re playing all day.”

Walker, who reached the quarter-final at the Crucible in 1997, says the friendship between the two Welsh legends is long-standing.

“Many years ago we went to holiday in Las Vegas and Mark was trying to get tickets and went to see Tom and basically they’ve been friends ever since,” he said.

Also a close friend of Williams, Walker added: “Quite a funny story, when he [Williams] won the Worlds in 2018 I was driving his car back and this number kept ringing and he wouldn’t answer it.

That 2018 victory was William’s third world title, beating Higgins 18-16 at the age of 43.

He now faces a semi-final against world number one Judd Trump (Thursday, 19:00 BST), so could the Welshman who was first crowned world champion in 2000 lift the trophy again 25 years later?

“Yeah, 100% he has a chance,” says Walker

“Judd Trump is number one player in the world, he’s probably playing the best snooker of anyone in the tournament so it’s going to be incredibly difficult, but over the last few times they’ve played, all their matches, whether Mark has won or whether Judd has won, they’ve always been very close affairs.

“The only thing I would say is Mark is 50 years of age now, to actually win this tournament, you know he played two sessions Tuesday, then we had to get up early, played another session yesterday and I know before we went into that session he was incredibly tired.

“Fatigue in this tournament does play a factor so that might come into a little bit, but as far as has he got a chance to win? Absolutely.”